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There is a great danger of the government getting stampeded into actions in Kashmir that could result in long lasting damage, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).

There is a rising tide led by the chatterati/twitterati, the so-called liberal opinion, as well as some political pressure, on the government to do 'something' in the wake of violence in the urban areas of Srinagar.

There is a great danger of the Indian government getting stampeded into actions that could result in long lasting damage.

At a smaller level, what one is currently witnessing in the Kashmir valley is a re-run of Mohammed Ali Jinnah's 'direct action' ploy in August 1947.

On April 4, 1979, in the wake of ousted Pakistan prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's execution in Pakistan, a mammoth public meeting was held at the Hazaratbal dargah in Srinagar.

A resolution was passed at that meeting condemning Pakistan and thanking Allah that Kashmir had made the right choice in 1947 in joining India.

There were mass protests in Kashmir and the property of pro-Pakistan Jammat-e-Islami cadres was attacked. Many prominent leaders of the pro-Pakistani Jamaat sought and were given shelter by the Indian Army, which saved their lives.

Feelings ran high against General Zia-ul Haq, Pakistan's military dictator on whose orders Bhutto was hanged. Mobs in Srinagar shouted slogans demanding death for Zia.

In less than a decade, by 1986, the Kashmiri mood had changed totally.

Portraits of Zia-ul Haq in military uniform began adorning many Kashmiri homes and wayside tea stalls. Even the once marginalised Jamaat-e-Islami became a popular organisation.

To some extent, the popularity of the Jamaat and Zia can be understood as the consequence of the growing spread of Islamic fundamentalism all over the world.

This had much to do with the petro-dollars that began flowing into Kashmir after the oil boom that began in 1973 and the US-Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-led jihad after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.

Many Kashmiri separatists invoke Sheikh Abdullah to justify separatism. But they gloss over the fact that after the 1971 War and Pakistani atrocities in then East Pakistan, Sheikh Abdullah came out clearly in favour of J&K being part of India.

Even Sheikh Abdullah suffered at the hands of fickle public opinion. From near sainthood, someone who blessed babies, his grave has to be protected from the wrath of mobs intent on its desecration.

The Kashmir Valley is thus no stranger to the emotional rollercoaster ride of public opinion. The current unrest is thus no different from its several earlier avatars like the 2010 agitation.

Before India takes any steps in the valley, some salient points/questions need to be understood and answered.

The first and most important point about the current unrest is the limited nature of its geographic spread.

The unrest and violence is confined to the Kashmir valley with not a squeak from the Jammu, Kargil and Ladakh divisions.

It needs to be clearly asserted that the separatists and their followers have no support in the rest of J&K. It is bogus for them to claim to be talking of J&K and its future.

When agitators in the valley chant 'azadi' (freedom), in effect they want an independent Kashmir valley! The absurdity of this is not lost on the rest of the world. It is no surprise that the Kashmir agitation has not received any support from the world at large with the exception of Pakistan that wants all of J&K to merge with it.

The silence of the world media is due to logical fears that a tiny and unviable independent State of Kashmir will regress into a Da'esh or Islamic State den.

The ethnic cleansing of Hindus from the Kashmir Valley and slogans like 'Sharia rule' etc scare most countries. With the continuing campaign of terror worldwide, the Kashmiri cause of religion-based separatism has no takers.

Without global support Kashmiris have no hope of success. Pakistan has made three military attempts in the past to seize Kashmir, and failed. It will fail again should it try. That is the reality.

India guarantees freedom of faith and expression as a fundamental right to all citizens. It also promises equality before the law for all citizens.

As a result, India is home to all the world's religions and over 180 million Muslims. If 180 million Muslims can be part of India, what is the basis on which the 4 or 5 million Muslims in the Kashmir Valley wish to secede?

India should set the record straight and equivocally declare that since it gives all the fundamental rights to its citizens, including Kashmiris, it rejects the demands for secession based on religious identity.

I recall a conversation I had with a Kashmiri school teacher during an army search operation near Sopore. I asked him what he meant by 'azadi.' Which is the freedom he did not have as an Indian citizen? Be it freedom of faith, expression, movement or economic activity?

His vague answer was that yes he has all these freedoms, but he wanted 'Sharia' rule to be imposed on all!

The real problem in Kashmir is unemployment. This is due to a population explosion and continued unrest driving away tourists and investment. Thus, there is a Catch 22-like situation.

Over time, some mosques in the valley have ceased to be places of prayer and instead become dens of political propaganda.

All over the world -- even in Islamic countries -- political preaching in mosques is prohibited. Unfortunately, governments in India have been chary of taking action against this misuse of religious places due to the fear of accusations of interfering with faith.

Stopping political sermons in mosques and shutting down the constantly playing of tapes of propaganda from loudspeakers is the need of the hour. It is time we made it clear that secessionism is not a freedom movement and India will not accept another Partition on the basis of religion, whatever be the extent of popular support in some pockets of India like the Kashmir valley. We have learnt this lesson from 1947. What good has Partition done for the minorities?

Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) is a military historian who has been an observer of the Kashmir issue for over 40 years. His book on Kashmir, Let the Jhelum Smile Again!, was published in 1997.

REDIFF RECOMMENDS
'The problem in Kashmir is not about pellets, bullets or tear gas.'

'It is the government's policy and intention to criminalise the protest.'

IMAGE: A policeman fires tear gas shells at fleeing agitationists during a protest on the outskirts of Srinagar. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

If you recently went online, you may have encountered a social media campaign called #KashmirBlindSpot.

Khurram Parvez of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, the man behind the campaign, hopes this social media outreach will highlight the damage pellet shotguns used by the security forces in Kashmir cause.

The campaign's Web site mentions that the indiscriminate use of pellet shotguns has resulted in an estimated 105 civilians being partially or totally blinded since protests broke out in the Kashmir valley last month over Burhan Wani's death.

In an interview with Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf, Khurram, a human rights activist, addresses the Kashmir issue and what he thinks needs to be done.

Why did you launch this campaign against pellet guns?

This campaign is a creative one, and we are asking for a ban on pellet guns.

The situation in Kashmir is not getting enough attention and therefore, we want to create awareness. The message is through Braille.

Through this campaign, we are saying that we are being attacked in the eyes, but why is the world losing its sight?

Why can't people see? They are attacking our eyes, but the people of the world are not able to see our situation.

This is a very sarcastic way to garner attention.



The Jammu and Kashmir high court has told the government that the State must not use pellet guns. Why is your campaign still on?

Jammu & Kashmir high court on pellet guns 'A pellet is a round ball loaded with lead. If it penetrates the eye, which is a water ball, the damage is done. Can't you use other methods like water, tear gas?'

'These are your people. They have anger. They are protesting. That does not mean you should render them disabled. You have to protect them.' Hope it (the use of pellet guns) is reviewed.'

-- What the Jammu and Kashmir high court recently observed about the use of pellet guns in Kashmir.

They have only passed an observation, not an order. They have the power to pass an order, which they did not do, but said it is for the government to decide.

How many people in Jammu and Kashmir have lost their eyesight in pellet gun firing?



The number is more than 300. According to doctors, these people will have some amount of loss of vision (for life).

Another 100 people unfortunately will be blinded.



What is the history behind the use of pellet guns in Kashmir?



I would like to correct you, it is not a pellet gun, but a pellet shotgun. It is live ammunition used to kill people.

The pellet shotgun must be immediately banned. It is used only in Kashmir and not in any other conflict area.

The pellet shotgun has a cartridge and hundreds of pellets and we have seen that some people have even lost their lives. This is no more non-lethal.



The pellet shotgun has been used since 2010 as the government said it cannot use tear gas or open fire as that was causing deaths.

To avoid further casualties, the government started using pellet shotguns.



Many people have lost their vision (but the government does not seem interested in giving up the use of pellet shotguns.

Probably, they think they do not have any other means to control the people who come onto the streets, but the issue is: Why does the government not allow people to come onto the streets?

It is the democratic right of the people to express disgust against something. Why would they (the government) not allow that?



Protests take place across India, but it is only in Kashmir that people start throwing stones and mobs turns violent.



That is not true. If Indian journalists want to believe this lie, they can.

People only throw stones when the pellet shotgun is used or live ammunition is used on peaceful demonstrations.

In 2008, more than a million people came out onto the streets and there were huge demonstrations. No one was injured then because the police chose not to fire.

If the police opts not to fire, then there will be no violence.

Violence will go on in Kashmir till they stop criminalising the protest.

It is the State which has to stop the violence.

IMAGE: A boy stands next to a wall painted with graffiti as a policeman stands guard during a protest in Srinagar. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

As a human right activist you can always seek a meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to discuss the pellet shotgun issue. Have you ever meet the government?



We have always been trying to persuade and petition the government. Today it is Mehbooba, earlier it was Omar Abdullah. We have always petitioned them and reminded them about this problem.



The problem in Kashmir is not about pellets, bullets or tear gas. It is the policy and intention of the government to criminalise the protest.

To use violence as a political means is the problem.

The Government of India has to stop the violence and engage the people of Jammu and Kashmir politically, which it refuses to do.



We see protesters in Kashmir waving Pakistani flags on television. It is provocative and anti-national. Don't you think it is wrong to do so?



That is okay, Kashmir is disputed territory. Kashmir is not (like) any other territory of India.

Why does the Government of India talk to Pakistan? From 1947 till date, they have held several talks with the Pakistani government. There are so many bilateral declarations and statements -- in 1966, 1972, 1998, the Agra Declaration -- where the Government of India with Pakistan says they will resolve Kashmir.

You don't say that about Bihar or Gujarat. You only say that about Kashmir, so what does that mean?



There is a United Nations resolution on this and if this is a disputed territory, then there are aspirations of the Kashmiri people who would want to be independent.

Some would be want to be a part of India and some would want to be a part of Pakistan.

Therefore, a referendum is a must to know what Kashmiris want. And if you want to criminalise the waving of Pakistani flags, then do so, but they have been doing it since 1947.

Why are you critical of the Indian media?



A section of the Indian electronic media has been inciting violence.

The Indian media says Kashmir is an integral part (of India), how come?

They are campaigning for the Indian State. It is a lie.

If Kashmir is an integral part, then why do we have Article 370 and why has India been talking to Pakistan every now and then?

Whether it was the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) or the UPA (United Progressive Alliance), why were you talking to Pakistan that you will have a peaceful resolution of Kashmir?



There can be peaceful dharnas, fasts unto death through which people have successfully put across their point, but why violence?



We are not going to take lessons from Delhi on how to hold protests.

The burden of peace-building should not be on the people of Kashmir, it should be on the Government of India because they hold the territory.



Many believe Burhan Wani was a terrorist, hence, it was right to kill him in an encounter. So why are Kashmiris protesting a terrorist's death?

The Indian people can have any opinion on Burhan Wani and they are free to have an opinion. At the same time, the Kashmiri people are also free to have their opinion.

The Kashmiri people feel Burhan Wani was a hero.



Don't impose your understanding on the people of Kashmir. The people of Kashmir do not think of Burhan Wani as a terrorist. They think of him as a hero, therefore they participated in his funeral.

The people are not saying why did you kill him? No one is saying you should not have killed him. People are saying they have the right to participate in his funeral.



Why are young Kashmiris ready to die for the cause of 'azaadi,' which they know they will never achieve?



The people of Kashmir do not want to surrender whatsoever. How many ever people the Government of India kills or maims, the people of Kashmir are not going to surrender.



Don't young Kashmiris feel they have a future in booming India compared to a failed State like Pakistan?



Pakistan as a failed State is the dream of the Indian people. This is a dream more than analysis.



Come on, Pakistan is a failed State!



Listen to me. That can be your opinion. Kashmiris feel India is a failed State. You have 30 per cent of the population below the poverty line. You have half of the people who don't have homes to live.

Every day people die of hunger in India. Kashmir has not seen any hunger death in the last so many decades.

I don't think India's prosperity appeals to Kashmiris.

We have seen 400,000 to 500,000 Indians come to Kashmir every year as labourers. They work in Kashmir as migrants.

They are from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh. They get their livelihood here. I don't think India's economy is rosy. It might be rosy for the upper middle class and rich people like the Birlas, Tatas, Ambanis.

But you cannot deny that Pakistan is a failed State.



Don't compare India to Pakistan. You are using Pakistan's image against the people of Kashmir.

The people of Kashmir have nothing to do with Pakistan's image. Why should I be defending Pakistan's image? Why should you be raising this question of Pakistan against Kashmiris?



Because Kashmiris raise Pakistani flags.



Pakistani flags are shown to irritate Indians and you are getting irritated. That is the success of the Pakistani flags here.





IMAGE: Khurram Parvez, human rights activist. Photograph: Kind courtesy Khurram Parvez's Facebook page

How do Kashmiris see Mehbooba Mufti as chief minister?



It is not about any personality, whether it is Mehbooba or Omar Abdullah or anyone else. People in Jammu and Kashmir feel they are powerless and they are part of the facade which has been created by the Indian government.

These elected people are seen by the people of Jammu and Kashmir as representatives of India. They are not seen as the people's representatives.



That is why on the ground you will not see Mehbooba or Omar Abdullah's party workers or their MLAs.

Are they somewhere on the scene? Where are they? Are they to be seen (in this crisis)? No. They can't come out.

They have moved out of their own homes. They feel threatened by the same people who voted for them.



The message is clear. People who voted in the past voted for their small little interest. They voted because of their vulnerability, because development has been held hostage by the Government of India to votes.

People have to vote, otherwise they will not get roads in their villages. People will have to vote or they will not get jobs, irrigation and electricity in their villages.

This vote was used by the Government of India for propaganda that it is a vote for India.



People don't vote for India, people don't vote for their political ambitions. People vote for their daily needs.

It is not only in Kashmir. It is so even in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. So that vote is not for political aspirations. If you want to find out what people want to vote for, then a referendum is the best way to ascertain whether the people of Kashmir want to live with India.



So the people of Kashmir want roads, electricity and development from India, yet they hurl stones at Indian policemen and soldiers!



Are you serious about this question?



Yes, I am asking you this question.



The people of Kashmir pay taxes as well and pay for electricity. Nothing comes free, all this money comes from our own taxes.

Don't tell me this is coming as an act of benevolence from the Government of India.



The view is that India subsidises Kashmiris.



That is a very problematic view.

The view in India is also that Mehbooba Mufti is a pseudo-separatist, she is supporting pro-freedom groups in a clandestine manner by ensuring the supply of rations. What does it mean?

They are saying it should all be choked. They should have an economic blockade. Aap inka khaana bandh kar dijiye, aap inka ration bandh kar dijiye, yeh log bheek maangengey (Stop the supply of food to the Kashmiris, they will beg). This is fascism. Extreme fascism.

IMAGE: People look out during a curfew in Srinagar. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

Many Indians feel terrorism is imported from Pakistan and is not native to Kashmir.



I am not a politician and I speak in a very straightforward manner. The Indian argument that militancy in Kashmir is a problem because Pakistan sponsors terrorism, then you can say this is propaganda. You will start believing your own lie.



But India has captured Pakistani terrorists in Kashmir.



Don't jump the gun. In 1998, Parliament passed a resolution that the other part of Kashmir (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) is an integral part of India. By that logic, they are also a part of India.



What is the population in that part of Kashmir? 35 lakh (3.5 million). What is the number of Kashmiris who migrated from here to that part of Pakistan in 1947, particularly Jammu? The number was 5 lakh (500,000) then.

Their number has swelled up today to 20 lakh (2 million). So the number of people in that part of Kashmir which would be around 50 lakh (5 million), why do you think they will not get involved in the struggle?

They are involved. Most of the people who are getting arrested or killed here are from there.



I won't deny that Pakistanis have not participated in Kashmir's militancy. They have.

These people (the terrorists) are either from Pakistan administered Kashmir or Pakistan. Their number is not more than 3,000.



That is a lot of terrorists. When 3,000 people come from a different country to spread terrorism in India, don't you think that is wrong?



We are not talking about right or wrong. We are talking of what is happening.

According to the Government of India 21,000 militants have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir.

Out of 21,000, 3,000 people came from outside. I understand you saying it is managed from outside, but there is a huge number of Kashmiris killed and that number is 18,000 people.

28,000 local Kashmiri militants have been arrested and therefore this cannot be the fringe.



Pakistan cannot mislead Kashmiris.

Can you say that all Kashmiris who are participating in the freedom movement are controlled and sponsored by Pakistan? Of course, not.

This is a mass movement and this cannot be sponsored.



Do you think Kashmir has become like the Israel-Palestine problem, which has no solution and that the killings will go on?



India is no Israel, so please don't compare India to Israel, and Kashmir is not Palestine either.

A lot of Indians compare Kashmir to the Israel-Palestine conflict which has no solution.

Kashmir has a solution and India cannot afford to linger on this problem by trying to pose that it is like Israel.

REDIFF RECOMMENDS
'Raza exemplified a sense of warmth and a connectedness to his roots and to Indian earth.'

Hugo Weihe, CEO, Saffronart and former international director of Asian Art at Christie's, believes that S H Raza, the legendary painter who passed into the ages last month, is one of India' art heroes, someone who helped Indian modernism find a wider audience.

In the concluding part his fascinating interview with Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel, Weihe discusses Raza, his art and the late painter's philosophical inclinations.

You said in an interview that Raza is one of the most prominent modernists of India. But is he really a modernist?

His Bindu series symbolised so much culture. Modernism would be just a title for a huge amount of depth?

You are right. How do we define modernism? Geeta Kapur wrote a very important book -- When was Modernism in Indian Art? -- precisely to ask this question. It is not an exact definition. It really means something that has already become something classic.

We are already looking back in Western art. We look at the period of the early 20th century Picasso, and others, as defining modernism. And there is post-war art, after that, right.

For India, it is not post-war, it is post-Independence and that becomes the golden era now of modernism. But modernism starts with (Rabindranath) Tagore, it starts with (Raja) Ravi Varma.

Again it is a progression.

Yes. Raza looked at Indian culture and history and symbolism, as every artist is always conscious of everything. So, the Bindu refers to far deeper philosophical principles, which are thousands of years old.

Actually, the book that Ajit Mookerjee published in 1966 on tantra (Tantra Art) was a key moment.

That was also what released the thinking for Raza and a whole hippy generation in the West was drawn to India by this.

Anyway, modernism is something we look back now to the beginnings in the early 50s, and that's 50 years ago or more -- it is now modern as opposed to contemporary.

You told The Hindustan Times some years ago: 'Having studied the art of several cultures, especially of Asia, I find Indian art to be extremely human and emotionally expressive; it is easy to relate to. I appreciate the deep roots in philosophy, parallel concepts of iconic and aniconic representation.'

Would you say that about Raza too?

100 percent! What I meant with the iconic and aniconic (not portrayed in a form or image), which also relates to Raza -- Shiva as an anthropomorphic form and as a Shivaling. That is a fascinating concept really, that they co-exist.

With Raza too it is the tantric imagery versus the realist, which is also still behind it. But these things co-exist. That is an extraordinary thing that Indian art does. It doesn't exist quite the same way really in any other art form.

And then, yes, the deep humanity is there and Raza exemplified that.

In what way?

As a human being! In his sense of warmth, and his sense a connectedness to his roots and to Indian earth.

One of his key topics is La Terre, the earth, which is one of the (important) works. You will see the title re-appear, many times. He is fascinated by the roots; that's in a sense in my quote.

IMAGE: S H Raza's La Terre painting. Painted in 1986, this masterpiece sold for Rs 18.6 crore (Rs 186 million).

Do you own some Razas? When you look at one of his Bindu series, for instance, what do you feel?

He actually gave me, very kindly, a drawing (laughs) and dedicated it.

During that visit to Gorbio?

Yes. That's for me a much cherished memory.

I look at a work of art on an emotional level, instinctive level. But I also understand/appreciate the person behind it, the master behind it, and I appreciate the journey that he took to get there.

So, a painting is almost just a moment in time too, but it reflects a whole journey. I view it, always, as something much bigger and holistically.

Also for you especially that one, is a memory?

Absolutely...

IMAGE: Hugo Weihe inspects a painting before an auction.

How very saleable was his work in the international context? At the Mumbai Gateway Dialogue conference in June you spoke about how the work of an artist grows in esteem. What led to the growth in esteem towards Raza's work?

International recognition and validation is important. That happens through exhibitions, through the support of galleries, through the publication of books, notably the first catalogue resume of any Indian artist. That has appeared.

The Vadehra Art Gallery (with help from) and (Ann Macklin of) Grosvenor (Gallery) published the first volume of his works from the 50s. Raza (from) the very beginning had a system of recording numbers, serial numbers so to speak, for his paintings. They had those records and were able to establish which paintings that matches up with.

A catalogue resume means you are recording every single work an artist did in his lifetime. That's the first step, and it's the first time it's happened for an Indian artist; it was happening when he was still alive. So, that is a beautiful thing...

We need to look at the recognition now, over time. There is a legacy now. A complete body of work. We look to assess it and assess it further. It will lead, obviously, to more exhibitions. International recognition will grow.

It is not a straightforward answer to say the prices will immediately go up -- that's never quite black and white. Sometimes yes. Certainly over time. With (M F) Husain it didn't happen straightaway.

What happens really, I find, is a general assessment of the entire body of work, which is now finite. Then you see, with greater clarity, the sort of milestones as I described before, the highlights, and that whole journey as a complete journey. So it is a moment of assessment now.

Let's say you appreciate a certain writer. When you look at how he wrote when he was younger, you realize there are certain emotions associated with that period. Then, of course, the craft gets better and better as the writer gets older.

If you apply that to art, the Bindu phase was what happened later to Raza as a more sophisticated, experienced artist.

When you look at it from an emotional view point, how does his work earlier to the Bindu phase measure up?

That a very good question. For me it is the journey of the artist.

There is a raw talent in Raza right from the very beginning, which (the legendary photographer) Henri Cartier Bresson spotted in this late teenager, barely 20 years old. 'I can see you are going to be a great artist. You should come to France. That will be a big step for you.'

If you look at Picasso, we look at his Blue Phase, where he is barely 20 years old, as maybe one of his greatest achievements -- think about it.

Your argument is correct, you could argue well it is not a fully-formed or fully-polished artist yet, but the funny thing is over time (laughs) we see that actually those maybe (were Raza's) biggest steps and there you see what's going to happen later.

It doesn't mean that the latest work is the best one by your definition. Probably it isn't. Maybe that early one is. Maybe that one in the middle. The point is the whole view is what matters.

IMAGE: A sketch of S H Raza by Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com alongside one of his inimitable Bindu paintings.

Raza had a historical role in the Indian art community, as one of the founders of that early art chapter, Bombay Progressive Artists Group and more. Do you feel that added to his legend?

I think it is an incredibly important thing that happened. That there were like-mind artists -- (F N) Souza, Husain, Raza, (K H) Ara -- at the core of it and they felt: 'We need to go in a different direction.'

They all chose a different path. Raza (after earning a degree at JJ School of Art, Mumbai), he went to France. Souza went to London. Husain stayed home. And Ara too. What joined them together is (that they thought and discussed then) the new way forward and each of them plays an important role.

Raza's role was a very pre-eminent one. He defined a new artistic modernism for India. And it is a great achievement.

And you said M F Husain stayed home. Did Husain lose out by staying at home?

Not at all...

Or maybe Raza lost out by not staying home?

Yes... fair enough. Husain said the power of Indian culture lies in the villages. 'I must stay here. I must travel around and must see all that.' That was his source of energy and artistic inspiration. Later, he also travelled the world.

For Raza it was something else. It was absorbing all the art, he could, of the world, in the museums of Paris and then taking in that beautiful light of southern France, that in some ways matches up with the light of India and the colours, but in an interesting contrast.

He was very susceptible to exactly that sort of equilibrium. Or that tension in between. That was his artistic inspiration. There is no one way, right. Both of them benefitted, in their own way, from their sources of inspiration.

When you went to meet him, or in the earlier meetings that you had with him, what was something you always wanted to ask him about his work or his oeuvre?

Actually I didn't ask him any questions specifically because I felt I understood, just sitting there with him.
Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu was on Thursday denied interim bail in a rape case by the Supreme Court which asked the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to set up a medical board to ascertain his health condition before taking up his regular bail plea.

A bench of justices M B Lokur and R K Agrawal said that a three-member panel of doctors from AIIMS will assess the condition of 75-year-old Asaram and submit its report in 10 days.

We are not inclined to grant relief to petitioner.... We direct the director of AIIMS to constitute a panel of three doctors to examine the health condition of petitioner (Asaram) and submit report in 10 days, the bench said.

Asaram was arrested by Jodhpur Police on August 31, 2013 and has been in jail since then.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran appearing for Asaram, said the medical board constituted on the direction of the high court has opined that his health condition was deteriorating and sought interim bail for him for a period of one or two months.

As per the doctors, he needs to go to Kerala where he needs to undergoes Panchakarma (Ayurvedic purification and detoxification treatment) as the climate is suitable for this kind of treatment, Ramachandran said.

Referring to the Rajasthan high court order which has refused to grant him interim bail, Ramachandran contended that it erred in not granting relief to Asaram.

The bench said that high court has also said that another medical check-up should be done.

AIIMS can examine the petitioner and give its report, the bench said.

Ramachandran said that he will be filing an appeal against the high court order refusing his client the interim bail and till then his prayer for relief should be kept pending.

To this, the bench said it will look into the issue after the medical board submits its report on the present health condition of Asaram.

On August 9, the high court had rejected the bail application of Asaram Bap in the rape case.

A teenage girl had accused Asaram of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur. The girl belonging to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was a student at the ashram.

IMAGE: Godman Asaram, who is accused in a sexual assault case, arrives in a wheelchair at the court for hearing on his bail plea. Photograph: PTI Photo
Swedish prosecutors investigating a rape allegation against Julian Assange will question the WikiLeaks founder at the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has been holed up since 2012, in a possible breakthrough to the four-year impasse.

The Ecuadorean attorney general delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish authorities to question Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has been hiding out since the 44-year-old sought political asylum from Ecuador four years ago.

In the coming weeks a date will be established for the proceedings to be held at the embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom, a statement issued in Ecuador to the Guardian said.

It adds: For more than four years, the government of Ecuador has offered to cooperate in facilitating the questioning of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, as well as proposing other political and legal measures, in order to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties involved in the legal case against Julian Assange, to end the unnecessary delays in the process and to ensure full and effective legal protection.

In line with this position, Ecuador proposed to Sweden the negotiation of an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, which was signed last December and which provides the legal framework for the questioning, the statement said.

Ecuadors foreign ministry reiterates its commitment to the asylum granted to Julian Assange in August 2012, and reaffirms that the protection afforded by the Ecuadorian state shall continue while the circumstances persist that led to the granting of asylum, namely fears of political persecution.

Assange is wanted in Sweden in relation to a 2010 rape allegation, which the Australian national denies.

He has fought against being extradited to Sweden, saying he fears he would then be transferred to the US to face charges on WikiLeaks activities.

In 2012, while on bail, he claimed asylum inside the Ecuadorean embassy in central London after the UK Supreme Court had ruled the extradition against him could go ahead.

A United Nations working group had ruled in February that Assange was being arbitrarily detained.

However, the UK foreign office has called for the UN decision to be reviewed, saying Assange was staying in the embassy voluntarily and that the UK had a legal duty to extradite him to Sweden.

Scotland Yard had scaled back its multi-million-pound security presence from the Ecuadorean embassy last year, saying the operation was no longer proportionate.

The round-the-clock vigil on Assange had reportedly cost the force around 11.1 million (Rs 96 crore).

Image: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
Romanian national Gabrial Mariam, who was allegedly involved in the hi-tech ATM robbery which rocked the Kerala capital, was brought to Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday after being arrested from Navi Mumbai.

The 35-year-old Gabrial, one among four Romanians accused in the robbery in which a large number of persons lost their money from their accounts, was taken into custody on transit remand from a court in Mumbai and brought to Kerala by air, police sources said.

While the other three accused are still at large, Gabrial was nabbed from a hotel in Vashi by a team of Kerala Police on Tuesday night, with the help of Mumbai Crime Branch.

After the robbery came to light, a case was registered under Indian Penal Code Section 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc) and under relevant sections of the IT Act at Museum Police Station of Thiruvananthapuram.

The arrest came after Kerala Police zeroed in on four foreign nationals suspected to be the key players behind the ATM robbery and decided to seek Interpol's help to track them.

The four, found installing an electronic device inside an ATM kiosk of a public sector bank at Vellayambalam in Thiruvananthapuram, had been caught in the CCTV installed there.

Police sources said interrogation of the accused commenced on Thursday itself.

The foreign nationals, including Gabrial, had come to India on June 25 and reached Kerala on July 8.

They had come on tourist visas and had taken rooms in a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram for two days.

Over 20 people had lodged complaints, saying money was withdrawn from their accounts in a fraudulent way.

As per the preliminary assessment, about Rs 2.5 lakh had been lost, police said.

It is suspected that the electronic device at the ATM counter enabled the fraudsters collect the secret pin code and card details.

Image used only for representation.
Opposition members in Lok Sabha on Thursday took the government to task over its failure to check rising cases of atrocities against Dalits, with some members seeking a ban on right-wing cow vigilante outfits saying the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes were living in deep sense of fear.

Participating in a debate on attacks on Dalits, the members focussed on the poor conditions of these downtrodden sections across the country, with K H Muniyappa (Congress) alleging that in Gujarat, the attacks on them have a reached a level never seen in history.

Initiating a debate on the issue, P K Biju (Communist Party of India-Marxist) spoke about the overall poor conditions of Dalits and cited figures to argue that they were denied equal rights despite the Constitution promising all citizens same rights.

Every day, three Dalit women are raped and every 18 minutes a crime against Dalits occur, he said, adding that over 37.8 per cent of students from the community sit separately in government schools while over 24.5 per cent of them are not allowed to enter police stations.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modis statement against cow vigilante groups, Biju demanded action against these outfits and not remain confined to words alone.

If you have got such a feedback (about attacks on Dalits by the cow protection groups), then why should you not stop such atrocities? We would like him to take strong measures, the CPI-M member said.

Observing that he had visited Una in Gujarat where some Dalits were flogged for skinning a cow, he said ban it (cow vigilantes) throughout the country and also sought measures to fill up vacancies of posts reserved for Dalits.

Muniyappa said Dalits are living in the grip of deep sense of fear and insecurity. They had faith in the Congress to protect them but have no faith in BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). ... There was no protection needed for SCs and STs earlier. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was there, such incidents never happened.

He said quality education will bring SCs and STs to the mainstream and asked the government to open Navodaya Schools for them.

Muniyappa also raked up Union Minister V K Singhs alleged dog analogy in a case involving Dalits and questioned why he was still in the government.

Referring to cases of atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat, he said over 14,500 such cases have occured there so far since Modi had taken over as the chief minister and added that the conviction rate was only 3-5 per cent.

This never happened in history, he said.

Muniyappa and Bhartruhari Mahtab (Biju Janata Dal) sparred for a while when the Congress leader targeted the BJD government in Odisha over the recent killing of tribals in Kandhamal.

Defending his party, BJPs Udit Raj said no one but the system was responsible for the atrocities on Dalits. People are encouraged (to attack Dalits) as cases remain pending in courts for years on, he said, adding that the debate should not get entangled in a war between the BJP and the Congress or the BJD.

He used the opportunity to attack Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati saying under her rule several attacks took place against the community and her government did little to defend reservation in promotion policy in the Allahabad high court. He also said the conviction rate under the Prevention of Atrocities Act varies from 2-8 per cent which was very poor.

Raj also took on the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi saying it has not set up a vigilance committee to assess the progress made in cases relating to atrocities on Dalits.

Saugata Roy (Tirnamool Congress) asked Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to ban Vishwa Hindu Parishad and gau raksha dals saying in the name of cow protection, they were targeting Dalits and Muslims.

Taking potshots at the BJP, he also questioned why the prime minister had only referred to Dalits in his recent statements and made no mention of Muslims. He said it took Modi 26 days to speak out against Dalit atrocities after the Una incident.

Enough with Hindutva. You have come to power. Now is the time to wipe the tears of Dalits, he said amid protests by BJP members who questioned why the TMC member named VHP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in his statement.

Roy said while Modi has become the prime minister and was holding a responsible position, his followers were indulging in cow vigilantism. He also questioned the time lapse of nine days by then Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel in visiting Una after Dalits were beaten up there by the so-called cow vigilantes.

Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said the conflict was growing among dalit community and the society cannot be brought together by force.

Conflict is growing as Dalits demand for justice. The Constitution provides for equality but the society does not accept it, Mahtab said, adding that atrocities against Dalits have been growing day by day in last 10 years.

No political party has taken upon themselves to bind the society together and a number of parties are surviving by dividing the society either on the basis of society or caste, Mahtab said.

Image used for representation only: Photograph: Getty Images
A high-profile judge on Thursday escaped an assassination attempt targetting his convoy in Pakistans restive Balochistan but 14 people including security officials were injured in the roadside bombing, three days after 74 people mostly lawyers were killed in a suicide attack.

IMAGE: Security officials gather at the site of a bomb explosion in Quetta. Photograph: Naseer Ahmed/Reuters

Ten civilians and four security officials of the Anti-Terrorism Force were injured in Thursdays powerful explosion on the busy Zarghon Road in Balochistans capital city of Quetta near the Al Khair Hospital that also shattered windows of nearby buildings, with two in critical condition.

The ATF personnel were escorting the vehicle of Justice Zahoor Shahwani of the Federal Shariat Court when the blast took place.

The judge is safe but 14 others have been wounded including some civilians who were near the impact area, a senior police official said.

Balochistan Home minister Sarfaraz Bugti said the judge escaped the attack but one of the security vehicles escorting him was damaged.

No group immediately took responsibility for the attack, which came after a suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital on Monday killed at least 74 people, many of them senior lawyers, and injured 115 others targetting the legal community, seen as a strong force against terrorism in the troubled south-western region.

IMAGE: Police cordoned off the area immediately after the incident.

The suicide attack took place after lawyers and well-wishers had gathered at the CivilHospital to mourn the death of President of the Baluchistan Bar Association Bilal Anwar Kasi who was shot dead outside his residence earlier in the day.

Bugti said three to four kilogram of explosive material was used in Thursdays blast. The bomb was planted along the side of the road and exploded as the ATF vehicle passed by.

The area is a congested and busy one and those responsible for this have not been identified or arrested.

This is a busy road and the terrorists take advantage of this, planting bombs and fleeing on motorcycles, he said, strongly condemning the attack.

These blasts are aimed at sabotaging Independence Day activities in Balochistan. I believe these cowardly acts will not bring down our morale. We are in a conflict zone and we will fight with renewed resolve.

We are reviewing our security measures and you will see changes on the ground, the minister said.

Security forces and a bomb disposal squad reached the scene to collect evidence. Police cordoned off the area as a search operation went underway.

Bugti said the terror attacks in Quetta appeared to be an aim to sabotage Independence Day activities in Balochistan which has been hit by terrorist attacks by militants and separatists who demand more autonomy in the province in recent times while outlawed outfits have also carried out sectarian killings of Shia Muslim Hazaras and targeted police and security officials.
A string of coordinated bomb blasts within hours rocked Thailand's famous tourist towns, including Phuket, killing four persons and injuring several others just days after the country voted to accept a military-backed Constitution.

IMAGE: Officials investigate at the scene of bomb blasts in the tourist beach town of Patong on Phuket. Photograph: Reuters TV



At least 11 bombs, many of them twin blasts, hit five southern provinces in the past 24 hours.

Two bombs went off in the resort of Hua Hin this morning near the clock tower, a city landmark, killing one and injuring three.

"The bombs went off while we were working on site, they were not very far from each other," according to Police Lieutenant Colonel Samoer Yoosumran.

IMAGE: A screengrab of a video showing emergency services taking the injured to the hospital.

Around 200 meters away, another two bombs exploded late on Thursday as foreign tourists were leaving local bars to go back to their hotels, Yoosumran said.

At least 11 people -- mostly foreign visitors  were injured and a woman who had a food vending cart in front of a bar was killed, according to Yoosumran. No Indian has been reported injured.

Hua Hin is a popular coastal resort, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of the Thai capital, Bangkok. The city is home to many international hotel chains, including the Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt.

IMAGE: An e xplosive ordnance disposal official checks at the scene of a bomb blast in Hua Hin, south of Bangkok. Photograph: Reuters TV



It's also home to the KlaiKangwonPalace, the seaside residence of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The palace is located less than about 2 kilometers from the bombing site.

Two more persons were killed in three blasts in Surat Thani and Trang area.

There were reports of bomb explosions in popular resort town of Phuket in Patong beach injuring a few but no fatalities were reported.

A bomb also exploded near the governor's residence in Muang district.

The blasts came as the country celebrates the birthday of Queen Sirikit, a day also observed as Mother's Day in Bangkok.

This is is first time there have been bomb blasts in popular tourist spots like Hua Hin and Phuket.

IMAGE: Rescuers and medical officers push an injured person on a gurney at the site of a bomb blast in Hua Hin. Photograph: Reuters TV

No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts and it is not clear if they are connected.

Thai police said that the bombings were acts of local sabotage and not "terrorist" in nature.

"It is still unclear which group is behind the bombings," a police spokesman said and dismissed speculation that Muslim rebels waging a rebellion in Thailand's far south were behind the recent attacks.

The series of blasts come days before the one year anniversary of the Erawan Brahma Shrine bombing, which killed 20 people.

Thailand economy relies on tourism.

Thailand's junta chief said the bombings were an attempt to trigger unrest in a country blighted by a decade-long political crisis.

IMAGE: EDO officials said that the bombings were acts of local sabotage and not "terrorist" in nature . Photograph: Reuters TV

"The bombs are an attempt to create chaos and confusion," junta chief and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters.

"Why have the bombs occurred as our country is heading towards stability, a better economy and tourism -- and who did it? You have to find out," he said.

He ordered the security to be stepped up in the city areas and tourist destinations

"The PM has issued emergency orders to the relevant agencies in the areas to prevent other bombing incident from happening again, increase the security in the crowd areas, and appoint those who responsible to handle the situation on the emergency event," Government Spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.

Sansern said it was still too early to identify the suspects or the masterminds, but he assured that the officers will bring those who were responsible for these deadly blasts to justice.

However, he asked all the people to keep vigilant and report to the officers, if they find anything suspicious.

IMAGE: A policeman is seen at the site of one of the blasts, in Hua Hin, south of Bangkok, Thailand. Photograph: Reuters TV

Blasts are common in the three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces of Thailand which rejected the referendum on the new military-backed Constitution passed overwhelmingly in the rest of the country in Sunday's referendum.

The new Constitution give military the final say in the future elected governments.

Meanwhile, a series of suspicious fire broke out at four locations early this morning, but it was not immediately known if they were related to the attacks.

Between 2am and 7am a fire started in a three-story supermarket in Trang province, the Aonang Market in Krabi and a Tesco Lotus hypermarket in Nakhon Sri Thammarat causing some damage.

Junta spokesman Piyapong Klinpan said officials in every province were investigating the incidents to collect evidence and track down the perpetrators.

"We still have no information about them. But at this moment, we believe the attacks are all connected. We dont want to speculate on the motivation, but we believe its the work of a coordinated movement."

Klinpan added they have no information about any links to ISIS militants, whose attempts to wield influence among the southern Muslim Malay have been rebuffed in the past.
With China mulling its options to counter Vietnam's reported plan to send mobile rocket launchers to the disputed South China Sea, Chinese media on Thursday termed the move a "terrible mistake" and asked Hanoi to "draw lessons" from the war in 1979 between the two countries.

"If Vietnam's latest deployment is targeting China, that would be a terrible mistake. We hope Vietnam will remember and draw some lessons from history," an article in the state-run Global Times said.

While the Vietnamese foreign ministry reportedly termed the media report as "inaccurate", the discreet deployment appeared to have caught China by surprise specially in the backdrop of Beijing's efforts to reinforce its control over the South China Sea after the international tribunal struck down China's claims over almost all of the South China Sea.

China which rejected the verdict initiated by the Philippines petition has stepped up air and naval patrols to assert its controls over the region. China also enhanced its satellite monitoring of the area.

Besides Vietnam and the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the South China Sea.

The launchers deployed by Vietnam are said to be capable of striking China's runways and important trade routes in the region with missiles and experts believe the move by Hanoi will likely raise tensions in the region, the article said.

"As the waves created by the controversial South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines have barely subsided, the reported new deployment by Vietnam will add to the difficulty of solving the South China Sea disputes peacefully," it said.

Chinese officials say Vietnam has "illegally occupied" 29 of about 50 islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

It has conducted construction and reclamation work on over 20 of them since the 1980s, and the scale of the reclamation has increased in the past two years.

It also has built infrastructure, including runways and barracks, on the islands and reefs, another state-run newspaper China Daily said in its report.

China itself has developed islands with runways and military facilities in several islands.

Jia Duqiang, a senior researcher on Southeast Asian studies at the ChineseAcademy of Social Sciences, said it is Hanoi's latest effort to tighten its hold on islands in the South China Sea.

Xu Liping, another Southeast Asian studies researcher with CASS, said Hanoi is trying to emphasise its determination to strengthen its illegal occupation of the islands.

For its part, the Chinese foreign ministry reiterated its claim of the South China Sea specially over Spratly islands, which Beijing calls as Nansha islands also claimed by Vietnam.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the NanshaIslands and their surrounding waters. China has always firmly opposed the illegal occupation of parts of China's Nansha Islands and reefs by certain countries and their illegal construction and military deployments on these islands," the report quoted a Chinese foreign ministry statement as saying.
Rajnath says incidents of atrocities against Dalits have come down since the Modi government took over.

Under attack over atrocities against Dalits, government on Thursday said the states should take strict action against anti-social elements indulging in activities like cow protection as it pitched for a united fight against the perverted mindset.

Some anti-social elements are indulging in nefarious activities in the name of cow protection...I appeal to all state governments to take strict possible action against them, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha, while replying to a discussion on atrocities on Dalits.

To deal with vikrut manasikta (perverted mindset) of those who resort to such atrocities is a big challenge, he said.

The discussion was marred by acrimony and walkout by Congress and the Left members who alleged that the incidents of atrocities against Dalits have increased since the National Democratic Alliance came to power two years ago.

Singh insisted that the incidents against Dalits have come down since the Modi government took over and reeled out statistics to buttress the point.

He said the number of registered cases of atrocities against Dalits was 39,346 in 2013, they went up to 40,300 in 2014 and thereafter came down to 38,564 in 2015.

We have to accept the truth that the atrocities against Dalits are going on. We have to stop it and this is a challenge for all of us, the home minister said, while regretting that the House had to discuss the issue even 70 years after Independence.

Countering the opposition charge of not doing enough for the Dalits, he said what you could not do in 55 years, our government did in last two years.

To questions as to why Modi did not speak on the Dalit atrocities for so long, he asked the opposition to spell out if earlier prime ministers since 1947 used to speak on each and every issue.

The prime minister may speak or may not speak, but his aura should be such that action is taken against the perpetrators, Singh said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also intervened in the debate which lasted for six hours.

You did everything possible to humiliate B R Ambedkar, the messiah of Dalits, Paswan, a dalit leader, told Congress MPs who protested vociferously.

Rajnath Singh said the Centre has issued advisories to states asking them to take stringent action against people resorting to such atrocities in the name of cow protection.

He said it was unfortunate that Parliament has to discuss the issue of atrocities on Dalits 70 years after Independence.

The home minister said that laws have been made to protect Dalits, but much is desired to be done.

Our government is trying to check atrocities on Dalits. For their socio-economic upliftment, new laws have been made, he said, adding there was need to deliberate on how to stop such incidents.

There is an illusion that since our government came to power, atrocities against Dalits have gone up, he said, condemning the Una incident in Gujarat that triggered nationwide protests.

He praised the work of Sangh parivar affilates Sewa Bharti and Vanvasi Kalyan ashram for working for the cause of Dalits and adivasis.

Suggesting that Ambedkar and Keshav Baliram Hedgewar were contemporaries, he said while the Dalit icon fought for the socially deprived sections, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder worked for national renaissance.

Noting that government is totally committed for the development of Dalits, he said no one could accuse them of being anti-national and they have never demanded creation of a separate country.

He said the issue should not be politicised and all efforts should be made to put an end to the discrimination againt dalits.

Paswan said dalits are being discriminated even after they become Christians, Muslims and Budhhists.

Hindu religion is the most flexible religion. You continue to be Hindu even if you worship Lord Rama or you do not worship him, he said.

Pointing towards Congress, he said, You criticise RSS and Modi ji....if Modi ji says take action against so-called cow vigilantes, taking action against them is the duty of the state government.

His remarks that Samajwadi Party came in the way of ensuring reservation for Dalits and promotion evoked sharp response from Dharmendra Yadav (SP) who said the same facility is extended to people belonging to backward classes and Muslims.

Paswan appreciated Modis remarks in which he said, If you have to attack, attack me but stop attacking my Dalit brethren.

Jyotiraditya Scindia (Congress) said such a statement by the prime minister reflects his helplessness.

Scindia said the atmosphere of the country has deteriorated after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power.

Taking a dig at Paswan, he said, If you were so much unhappy with the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) why did you not leave the government... We need to work for principles.

He said the government's campaign for Swachh Bharat will not go anywhere until and unless we clean our heart and mind.

He wanted to know why the prime minister did not speak about the Dalit and Kashmir issues in the House when Parliament is in session.

IMAGE: Members of the Dalit community shout slogans at a protest rally in Ahmedabad against the recent attack on Dalits in Una. Photograph: PTI Photo
The first batch of 26 Indian workers, who had lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday after the country issued them exit visas.

Saudi Arabia had agreed to swiftly resolve plight of thousands of laid-off Indian workers including providing them free passage to return to India during visit of Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh to the Gulf nation last week.

Minister of State, V K Singh has had very productive meetings with the Labour minister and other senior ministers during his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As a result of these meetings, the process of lodging claims and for those wishing to come back to India has already started, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

He said India appreciated the magnanimous view taken by the Saudi Arabian government of granting exit visas expeditiously and agreeing to bear the expenses for the travel of the workers.

Saudi Arabia has also set up a crisis management group to address difficulties being faced by the jobless Indian workers while a separate panel has been appointed to look into their claims relating to unpaid wages.

Saudi rules restrict foreign workers to leave the country without No Objection Certificate by the employers.

The swift action to tackle a localised problem specific only to some companies of Saudi Arabia signifies the deep and abiding relationship that our two countries share. We are confident that this will alleviate the problems faced by workers of all nationalities, said the MEA spokesperson.

The spokesperson referred to the difficulties of retrenched workers of Saudi Oger limited and said the first batch of 26 Indian workers were issued exit visas. The workers came by a flight from Jeddah.

From here (New Delhi), respective state governments will be making arrangements for their travel to their home towns, Swarup said.

IMAGE: Indians stranded in Saudi Arabia leave for New Delhi from Jeddah airport on Thursday. Photograph: @CGIJeddah/Twitter
Militants on Wednesday shot dead a youth and injured another, who were working as porters with the army, in Keran area of Kupwara district near the Line of Control in Kashmir, the army said.



"In a cowardly act, terrorists today opened fire on a group of local civilians engaged in daily labour in Keran sector, north Kashmir resulting in the death of one local civilian while injuring another," the army said in a

statement.



As the group of locals, employed as porters, was moving in the forward area of Keran sector, militants hiding in thick jungles opened indiscriminate fire, instantly killing Shaukat Chauhan (25), the army said, adding another youth was seriously injured.



"Despite

the poor weather, the injured, after being given first aid by an army doctor, was evacuated by helicopter to the army hospital in BB Cantt, Srinagar where his condition is stated to be stable," the statement read.The army expresses its deep condolences on the death of Chauhan and stands in firm solidarity with his family in this hour of grief and loss, it said.The army is committed to extending all possible assistance to the bereaved family and in providing the best medical care to the injured person, the statement said."Such acts are a clear indication of frustration of terror outfits who have now even started targeting innocent, unarmed locals who are earning their livelihood through honest hard work," the army said.
United States-backed Libyan forces said they captured the Islamic State group's headquarters in Sirte on Wednesday, the militants' final bastion in Libya.

IS fighters remained in several parts of the city, officials said, but seizing control of their headquarters has been the key goal of the forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord.

The taking of the headquarters followed rapid gains by pro-government forces through the city on Wednesday and after the United States last week launched air strikes on IS positions in Sirte at the GNA's request.

The city's fall to IS in June last year raised deep concerns in the West, with fears the jihadists were gaining an important foothold just across the Mediterranean from Europe.

"The Ouagadougou centre is in our hands," the operations centre for pro-GNA forces said, referring to the Sirte conference centre where IS had set up base.

Reda Issa, a spokesman for the forces, said IS jihadists remained in three residential areas of the city and in a villa complex near the seafront.

"The announcement of the liberation (of Sirte) will only be made once the entire city is liberated," he said.

The militants seized control of the city, the hometown of Libya's former dictator Gaddafi, in 2015.

IMAGE: Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government fire weapons during a battle with IS fighters in Sirte, Libya. Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
In his first official visit, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar will travel to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq from August 17-23 during which he will discuss with the West Asian leadership key security issues, including threat by the Islamic State and the 39 Indians who were taken hostage in war-hit Mosul.

This was announced by external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup, who said the visit to these three important countries in West Asia is a reaffirmation of India's deep interest in promoting bilateral relations as also in the peace and security in the region in its extended neighbourhood.

The spokesperson also said that the minister's visit will also give India an opportunity to have first-hand assessment of evolving security situation in that region.

Asked if the issue of Indians, who were taken hostage in war-hit Iraq by the Islamic State in 2014, will figure during minister's talk, Swarup said the issue has been always raised by India during its interaction with the leaders and other interlocutors. "It is but natural that it will be discussed during minister's visit," he added.

Terming the Islamic State as that biggest "security threat", he said the minister will discuss it during his meetings.

In Lebanon, Akbar is expected to meet the top leadership including President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of Lebanon Tammam Salam and will have extensive discussions with the Lebanese leadership covering bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

In a continuing dialogue process with the leadership of Syria, the minister will pay a courtesy call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Prime Minister Emad Mohammad Deeb Khamis.

Among others, Akbar will also interact with the Grand Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun during this visit. "The discussions would focus on our bilateral cooperation and the unfolding security situation in the region," Swarup added.

During his visit to Iraq, he would hold discussions with Foreign Minister of Iraq Ibrahim Al-Eshaiqer Al-Jafari on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

"Our time-tested, warm and friendly relations with Iraq are underpinned by historical and religious linkages, strong people-to-people contacts, our energy security quest and capacity-building cooperation. The visit is expected to add further impetus to our bilateral engagement.

"It will also provide an opportunity to meet other senior leaders of Iraq, including religious leaders, and to convey India's abiding commitment to the emergence of a stable, peaceful, united and democratic Iraq, which is in the interest of regional and global peace and security," the spokesperson said.
He just wanted to meet Donald Trump...

The real estate mogul was not in the building at the time of the climb, but on the campaign trail. All photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

A 20-year-old man from Virginia created an hours-long media spectacle when he climbed up 21 floors of the TrumpTower in Midtown Manhattan using suction cups and straps allegedly to get a personal meeting with Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The man, whose identity was not revealed, was safely pulled in the building by the police personnel after nearly three-hours on Wednesday evening.

The stunt was witnessed by hundreds of passerby and live on television as the news and visuals of his escapade circulated widely on social media.

Police broke windows, raised a ladder and cut through a vent in attempts to talk to the climber.

Police said the mans motive was to climb to the top of the tower and get a personal meeting with Trump, whose name is on the priciest real estate in Manhattan.

Trump was on his presidential campaign tour in Virginia. Security is tight around the tower, which is the site of Trumps campaign launch and is also his residence.

The Republican presidential candidate responded through Twitter saying, Great job today by the New York Police Department in protecting the people and saving the climber.

Trump Tower is Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's highest-profile property, and where his campaign is headquartered.

Personnel from the NYPD had to undertake elaborate safety measures as well as some extreme steps like breaking some windows in the tower to pull the man inside the building.

They raised a ladder in an effort to stop him, but had to close it as he moved higher. Apart from breaking windows to reach him, police also placed inflated giant cushions below him in case he tumbled off the 58-storey Trump headquarters.

The man was eventually pulled inside moments after he ascended to a tight spot near a large window removed by police.

Police later said the man had told them that he had posted a YouTube video on Tuesday titled Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower).

In the message a hooded man claimed he was an independent researcher.

Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it, the man said in the video.

The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention.

IMAGE: Pedestrians gather to watch as officers from the NYPD monitor a man as he climbs the outside of Trump Tower in New York.

At the end of the entire episode, emergency responders brought the man out of the building on a stretcher and placed him in an ambulance. The man was then taken to a city hospital for mental evaluation.

Police said after being discharged from the hospital, he would be arrested and could be charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

The entire spectacle was watched by thousands online as passersby recorded videos of the climb and posted it on social media platforms.

Commander of NYPD emergency services Chief Vincent Giordano told reporters outside the TrumpTower that they were informed about the man about 3:30 pm (local time) and thought they were responding to a case of a jumper.

Police personnel said they had warned him that the suction cups could cause the windows of the building to crack as he tried to continue the ascent.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.

Taznim Miran, a 13-year-old Muslim girl, waves the national flag outside her house in Ahmedabad. Taznim said that she will unfurl the tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Independence Day. Photograph: PTI

Residents of Tengpora village in Srinagar shout slogans during a protest demanding arrest of DSP Yasir Qadri who allegedly killed a 26-year-old inside his house. The Supreme Court has sought a report from the police on the circumstances which led to the youth's death. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI

Workers install LED bulbs for the first time in place of incandescent light bulbs at Parliament House ahead of the Independence Day celebrations, in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/PTI

People remove a bed from their flooded house in Allahabad. Photograph: Jitendra Prakash/Reuters

Media persons taking a photo of Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Bahadur Ali from a screen during a press conference at the National Investigation Agency headquarter in New Delhi on Wednesday. Showing a confessional video of the captured LeT terrorist, the NIA has claimed that Pakistan is orchestrating unrest in Kashmir. Photograph: Kamal Singh/ PTI

A view of the Shri Bade Hanumanji temple submerged with the waters from Ganga and Yamuna at Sangam, in Allahabad on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI

Haj pilgrims wave at relatives from a bus outside the Haj House in Lucknow on Wednesday. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI

Policemen lathicharge to disperse sanitation workers near Municipal Corporation office in Hazratganj on Wednesday. Photograph: Nand Kumar/PTI

Army and National Disaster Response Force personnel carry out rescue operations after a two-storey building collapsed in Varanasi on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI

Security jawans stand guard during 33th day of curfew and strike in Srinagar on Wednesday. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI

Visually challenged women from National Association for the Blind make rakhis in Mumbai on Wednesday. The association will gift 1 lakh rakhis to the Indian Army on Rakshabandan. Photograph: Sahil Salvi

A Coast Guard ship succeeds in reaching a stranded fishing trawler from Kakdwip, South 24-Parganas and rescued its 10-member crew on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI

Police personnel paying last rights to former Arunachal Pradesh CM Kalikho Pul at the Chief Minister's Official Bungalow on Wednesday. Photograph: PTI
Parliament may have unanimously appealed to the people of the Kashmir valley to restore peace and harmony but one particular Rajya Sabha member seemed too overwhelmed by his emotions.

Taking part in the discussion of the situation in the Valley on Wednesday, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Navaneethakrishnan couldn't hide his love for Kashmir.

Sample some of his statements:

"'Kashmir, beautiful Kashmir; Kashmir, wonderful Kashmir'. Sir (RS Deputy Chairman P J Kurien), this is a popular song in one of the films acted by Dr Puratchi Thalaivar MGR. Tamil films, acted by MGR or any other actor, are very, very popular, but the shooting should have taken place in Kashmir. Any film, which has been shot in Kashmir, is very, very popular in Tamil Nadu."

"I would like to make it very clear that from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, India is one. I too belong to Kashmir and Kashmir belongs to me."

"I would like to reveal one secret. There is a product, which, in English, is called 'saffron', in Tamil, we call it korosanai. Kashmir's saffron is considered to be very good. In Tamil Nadu, every would-be mother is given saffron because they want a beautiful child. My mother had it, my daughter-in-law had it, my granddaughter will also definitely have it. So, I am proud to say that I belong to Kashmir."

Of course, 'Amma' had to be thanked as well.

"After seeing the movies, shot in Kashmir, I wanted to visit Kashmir. And, my this wish was fulfilled when I was in the Public Service Commission. I thank our Chief Minister, Amma, because I was able to visit Kashmir only because of her. Then, as a State guest, I visited many places and temples. I was provided with very good food. I enjoyed it very much. I belong to Thanjavur, in the Cauvery Basin, and so, I was under the wrong impression that Thanjavur was the only fertile land in India. But, I changed my opinion after seeing the agricultural land in Kashmir. Also, the people of Kashmir are very, very nice."
Curfew in some parts and restrictions on the assembly of people continued for the 34th day on Thursday in KashmirValley where normal life remained disrupted.

Curfew continued to remain in force in parts of the summer capital Srinagar and Anantnag town, a police official said here.

Curfew is in force in five police stations in downtown (interior) area of Srinagar city and Anantnag town in south Kashmir, the official said.

He said curfew was also clamped in the town of Pampore on Thursday in view of the death anniversary of former chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who hailed from the Saffron-town.

The official said restrictions on assembly of four or more people also continued to remain force in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

Even as the official said the situation across Kashmir has showed signs of improvement since the beginning of this week, normal life remained affected in the Valley for the 34th consecutive day due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatist sponsored strike.

Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off the roads.

The attendance in government offices and banks was also thin, the official said.

However, most of the shops open after 6 pm on alternate days as the separatist groups have announced relaxation in their protest programme to allow people to buy essentials.

Mobile internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire valley where the outgoing facility on prepaid connections is also barred.

The separatist camp has extended the shutdown call in Kashmir till Friday and as part of the protest programme had asked the people to march to the martyrs graveyard on Thursday to hold congregational prayers on the death anniversary of Aziz who was killed in 2008.

Violent protests have rocked Kashmir after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8.

As many as 55 persons, including two cops, were killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes between protesters and security forces.

Image: Police stand guard on the 34th day of curfew in Srinagar. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI
Buried in a Kolkata cemetery is an Englishman who served India well during her struggle for freedom.

A close friend of both Gandhi and Tagore, Charles Freer Andrews was more Indian than many Indians of his time.

Rediff.com's Indrani Roy rediscovers the priest-teacher who was a benevolent force that neither Indians nor the British could ignore.

EARLIER IN THE SERIES: The American who fought for India's freedom

IMAGE: A bust of Charles Freer Andrews at the Lower Circular Road Cemetery, Kolkata. Photograph: Abhiroop Dey Sarkar

It is a wet morning.

We are on our way to the Lower Circular Road Cemetery in central Kolkata to look for Charles Freer Andrews' grave.

A priest from Cambridge, C F Andrews came to India to teach philosophy at St Stephen's College and diligently supported India's struggle for freedom.

To Kolkatans, the Lower Circular Road Cemetery is mostly known for the graves of the poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt and his wife Henrietta Sophia White.

"Very few in this city are aware that it also has the grave of C F Andrews," Ashim Kumar Biswas, the cemetery secretary, says as he leads the way.

"While Michael Madhusudan Dutt's grave draws the maximum number of visitors, not many visit Andrews's grave," Biswas adds.

"In my long career here, I haven't seen much activity around this one," he says, pointing to Andrews' tomb that has the the inscription: The friend of the poor.

Many Englishmen understandably came to India during the British Raj. Some fell in love with this country and stayed back. History remembers only a few of them, says Professor Susanto Das, former head of Rabindra Bharati University's history department.

Of them, C F Andrews, a priest from the Church of England, an educator and social reformer, shines brightest.

In 1904, Andrews joined the Cambridge Mission to Delhi and arrived there to teach at St Stephen's College. Some years before my visit to the cemetry, St Stephen's alumni installed his bust by his grave.

Andrews taught at St Stephen's for ten years and became friends with many of his Indian colleagues and students.

Touched by the social and cultural injustice inflicted upon the Indians by the British, he became a part of the social and political movements of the day, and championed the causes of the labourers, railway workers and other downtrodden.

With his connections among influential people in England, he tried to arouse public opinion against the atrocities inflicted upon the colonised people in India, Fiji, South Africa and other parts of the British empire.

His love and compassion for the poor earned him the affectionate title, Dinabandhu, friend of the poor.

IMAGE: With Mahatma Gandhi and Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in Shantiniketan, 1925. Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Wikimedia Commons

Andrews first met Gandhi in Durban in January 1914, an encounter encouraged by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, one of the greatest leaders of his time.

Both men developed a strong bond. Andrews was deeply influenced by the Gandhian doctrine of ahimsa, says Gandhian Sailesh Kumar Bandyopadhyay.

Andrews was a key force at Gandhi's ashram in Natal and help the publication of the magazine, The Indian Opinion.

He also convinced Gandhi to return to India from South Africa and initiate a movement against British oppression in his mother country.

He then took upon himself the task of interpreting Gandhi to the West. He kept open the possibility of a dialogue between the Indian leaders and the British government, says Bandyopadhyay.

In a lecture delivered at the National Army Museum, London, on September 18, 2006, lawyer and columnist T Sher Singh said: 'In my readings on C F Andrews, I repeatedly came across people -- in India, in England, in different parts of the world -- who amazingly, over and over again, compared him to St Francis of Assisi.'

'My favorite quote on Andrews,' Sher Singh added, 'is from Sir Gordon Guggisberg, who served as the British governor of the Gold Coast (present day Ghana), and later of British Guyana.'



'Sir Gordon met with him, had discussions with him on various thorny issues, they had lunch together, and then, Sir Gordon saw him off at the door.'

'As the taxi drove away carrying Andrews -- an eyewitness describes this graphically -- Sir Gordon gazed after it with bowed head and fixed eyes... he breathed deeply (and said): "I feel as though I had been honoured to give lunch to Our Lord".'

Andrews decided to be a part of Tagore's Visva Bharati, an educational institution that was Gurudev's brainchild, after he met the poet in London in 1912.

Andrews was floored by Tagore's poetry when he heard them for the first time at William Rothenstein's house in London, the poems read no less by the acclaimed poet, William Butler Yeats.

Tagore's poetry had such a profound influence on Andrews that he roamed around the streets of London reciting On the sea shore of the world like a man possessed, the late writer Pramathanath Bishi wrote in his book, Purano Sei Diner Katha.

After Tagore won the Nobel Prize in 1913, Visva Bharati saw the arrivals of many foreigners, but of them Andrews stood out for the uniqueness of his character, Bishi noted.

In Santiniketan, Andrews was everyone's darling, Bishi, who had the privilege of working with the clergyman, wrote.

His presence at Shantiniketan will be written in gold forever, says Sabujkoli Sen, a senior professor at Visva Bharati. "When he and Tagore met for the first time in London in 1912, it was love at first sight for both," she told Rediff.com

After he arrived at Visva Bharati in 1914 with his friend W W Pearson, Andrews worked closely with Tagore in the making of Visva Bharati and travelled widely with the poet in India and abroad. He also translated many of Tagore's works into English.

Andrews was a soul besotted with the cause of the poor, Bishi wrote. He would give away money, food, even his clothes for charity. His heart wept for the downtrodden.

When Andrews wrote his life story, What I Owe To Christ, he earned a lot of money. 'He soon got rid of that wealth by providing for the education of one of our associates at Oxford University,' Bishi recalled.

Andrews was Tagore's constant companion -- he would read out newspapers to Gurudev or ferry him around Santiniketan in a rickshaw.

In the initial years at Visva Bharati, many parents did not pay the education fees on time and Andrews was entrusted with the task of collecting money from them.

On hearing that a sahib would be coming to ask for the dues, many parents would get scared. But in came Andrews, clad in a dhoti and kurta, with kind eyes and a golden heart.

The defaulting parents saw in him a friend, and not a collector.

The dues, therefore, hardly got cleared, Bishi wrote.

Andrews worked in tandem with Tagore when he initiated the Brati Balak Sangha, an indigenous form of the Scout Movement, health cooperative, movement to uplift the condition of the tribals, especially Santhals, in and around Visva Bharati.

Ian Charleson played C F Andrews in the film Gandhi .

He was 'Charlie' to both Gandhi and Tagore.

The unifying force that brought Gandhi and Tagore together on a common platform, the duo's ideological and political differences notwithstanding.

In Gandhi, Andrews saw a leader with enormous potential to free India from the clutches of British rule, whereas in Tagore, he saw unparalleled creativity that could make age-old conventions stand on their head.

"What fascinates me most about Andrews is that though he arrived in India with an aim to propagate Christianity, he fell in love with this country and its people," historian Chittabrata Palit tells Rediff.com

Both Gandhi and Tagore had a huge influence on him and they expedited the process of his 'Indianisation,' Professor Palit adds.

Andrews arrived in India at a time when the people were desperate for freedom from British rule, adds Professor Susanto Das.

One of the few Englishmen who courted arrest for taking part in the non-cooperation movement, many Indians believe Tagore gave him the title Dinabandhu. "He was named thus by the indentured labourers of Fiji whose cause he fought for," clarifies Professor Sabujkoli Sen.

In India, he divided his time between Tagore's Visva Bharati and Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram. Dwijendranath Tagore, Tagore's eldest brother, called Andrews the 'essential hyphen' that linked Rabindranath and Gandhi, Professor Sen adds.

IMAGE: C F Andrews died in Calcutta in 1940. Alumni at St Stephen's College, New Delhi, where he once taught philosophy, installed this bust. Photograph: Abhiroop Dey Sarkar

In 1925 and 1927, he was elected president of the Trade Union Congress. As a crusader against untouchability, he also worked with Dr B R Ambedkar in formulating the Harijan (Dalits) demands in 1933.

After taking an active role in India's fight for freedom, Andrews returned to England in 1935.

On his next visit to Calcutta in 1940, he was taken ill and passed away on April 5 that year. In those final days at a Calcutta hospital, C F Andrews refused to receive special treatment. He wanted to die among the common people, says Professor Sabujkoli Sen, those whom he worked for all his life.

A few days after Andrews' death, Tagore paid tribute in a song:

Prem eshechilo nisshobdo chorine/Prem eshechilo/Tai swapno mone holo tare/Dei ni tahare ashon

Loosely translated, it reads:

Love came to my life/Walking softly, silently/

Love came to my life/I mistook him for a dream/Didn't care to greet him

On the day Andrews died, Gandhi declared: 'I have not known a better man or a better Christian than C F Andrews.'
HS football Week 2 sectional live updates, scores, highlights

The IHSAA football state tournament got underway with a bang last week, and we've got even more action this week.
Local entrepreneur Cynthia McMillion is hoping her vision for Trade Days of West Texas will put it on par with some of the most popular such venues in the state.

'I see Trade Days of West Texas as a 'mini Canton' every month, and I really hope Abilene will embrace it,' McMillion said.

Canton is the site of the popular First Monday Trade Days, a massive open-air market featuring crafts, home furnishings, antiques and collectibles.

In May, McMillion purchased the old Hale Machine Shop, 2501 E. Highway 80 (southwest corner of Loop 322 and Highway 80). The 12,000-square-foot building has been completely refitted to accommodate up to 75 vendors in 10-by-10-foot booths.

'In addition to our inside space, we sit on 7 acres,' McMillion said. 'There is room for another 200 vendors outside, along with food trucks, space for live music and more.'

Trade Days of West Texas will have its premiere opening at 9 a.m. Friday. It will be open the second weekend of every month  from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

'We are specializing in vintage, antiques, handmade items, local businesses, small businesses, clothing, jewelry, and local artists,' McMillion said. 'Trade Days is my full-time business, so not only do I want it to be successful, I plan to be here for the long term.'

In addition to the First Monday Trade Days in Canton, which opened more than 150 years ago, other popular venues include Third Monday Trade Days in McKinney, Traders Village in Houston, Market Square in San Antonio and Buchanan's Vintage Market in Dallas.

'We are definitely not a flea market,' McMillion said. 'We will have stuff you can't buy in a mall, unique items, no animals, and we will be limiting the number of like-kind businesses  for example, one Scentsy distributor, etc.'

McMillion said she has commitments from vendors throughout Texas, including from Midland, Odessa, Irving, San Angelo, Stanton and Colorado City.

'We want to promote Abilene and are even excited to welcome some of the Canton vendors here for the grand opening,' she said. 'We will eventually have bands on the patio, and have space for up to 20 food trucks on the grounds.'

Jennifer Martinez, owner of 23 Junk Street in Abilene, said she plans to have a 'storefront' at Trade Days of West Texas.

'We're super excited about what Cynthia is doing, and wanted to have a permanent presence there,' Martinez said. 'We'll be occupying about 1,200 square feet, and I'll be selling items from several vendors. Our space will be laid out more like a traditional store than a vendor booth. It should be really cool.'

McMillion said there is no admission charge to Trade Days of West Texas, and parking also is free.

'We want people to come out for some family fun and shopping,' she said. 'Our entrance will look and feel a bit like a general store, and once you get inside it's going to be a great time.'

For more information about the market, visit www.tradedaysofwesttexas.com.
THURSDAY

Women's luncheon

A Christian Women's Connection luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Abilene Country Club, 4039 S. Treadaway Blvd. Tomi Calmes will be the guest speaker. Tickets are $16. For reservations, or for information, contact 325-370-6567 or AbileneCWC@aol.com.

ArtWalk

ArtWalk, a program of the Center for Contemporary Arts, will take place from 5-8 p.m. in downtown Abilene. The theme will be 'DogWalk.' Participants are encouraged to bring their dogs; a variety of activities for dogs, including a costume contest and swimming pool, will be available.

Diaper drive

A diaper drive benefiting the St. Mark's Episcopal Church Baby Room will be 6-8 p.m. at Mezamiz Coffee House, 3909 S. Seventh St. Diapers may be dropped off before the drive.

Dance

OLD GLORY  A dance will be 7-10 p.m. at the Old Glory Community Center. A band will perform and refreshments will be available. For more information, call 940-989-2816.

Grace After Dark

Screenings of several short films will be presented during Grace After Dark at 8:30 p.m. on the roof of The Grace Museum, 102 Cypress St. Food trucks will open at 6:30 p.m., and a cash bar will be available. Admission will be free, but will be limited to 100 viewers. Participants must be 18 or older.

Movie at the park

A free showing of the movie 'Inside Out' will begin at 9 p.m. at Rose Park, 2910 S. Seventh St. Participants are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and snacks.

Other ...

Abilene Garden Club, 10 a.m., 300 Westwood St.

Chronic Pain and Depression Group, 11 a.m. to noon, Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St., 325-673-2300.

Abilene Founder Lions Club, 11:30 a.m., Al's Mesquite Grill, 4801 Buffalo Gap Road.

Kiwanis Club of Greater Abilene, noon, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St. 325-695-0092.

Mental Illness Open Support Group, 1-2 p.m., Mental Health Association of Abilene, 333 Orange St. 325-673-2300.

Blood drive, 1-6 p.m., First Baptist Church, Albany.

Abilene 42 Club, 6 p.m., Rose Park Senior Center.

PEP (People Enjoying People) Club, 6 p.m., Wylie Baptist Church, 6097 Buffalo Gap Road 325-692-4909.

Teen Recovery Group, 6-7 p.m., Mission Abilene, 3001 N. Third St.

Free certified nurturing parent class (all ages), 6-8 p.m., Mission Church, North Third and Mockingbird streets. 325-672-9398.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly, 6:30 p.m. Brook Hollow Christian Church. Weigh-in begins at 5:30 p.m. 325-665-5052.

Free swim class for people with multiple sclerosis, 6:30 p.m., YMCA, 3250 State St.

Gambler's Anonymous, 6:30 p.m., Unity Spiritual Living Center, 2842 Barrow St. 325-338-2575.

Tea Party Patriots of Eastland County, 6:30 p.m., Myrtle Wilks Community Center, Cisco.

West Texas Genealogical Society, 6:30 p.m., Rose Park Senior Citizen Center.

Round Dancing, 7 p.m., Wagon Wheel. 325-829-1517.

South Pioneer Al-Anon Group, 8 p.m., 3157 Russell Ave.

Unity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander St.

Hendrick Hospice Care sponsors a 'Gone But Not Lost' support group the second Thursday of each month for any bereaved parent who has lost a child of any age. Information: 325-677-8516 or 1-800-622-8516.

FRIDAY

Trade Days of West Texas

An opening celebration of Trade Days of West Texas will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 2501 E. Highway 80. Crafts, antiques, food trucks and more will be available.

Alumni meeting

DESDEMONA  An annual alumni and community meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at the Desdemona Activity Center. Doors will open at 2 p.m. A meal will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Concert

A concert featuring the Booth Brothers will begin at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church, 701 Pioneer Drive. Admission is free, but an offering will be taken.

'Giant'

As part of the Paramount Film Series, 'Giant' will be shown at 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 352 Cypress St. Film historian Robert Holladay will give a lecture on the film at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, military and children. For information, visit paramount-abilene.org.

Dance

OPLIN  A dance featuring Midnight Blue will be 7:30-10:30 p.m. at the Oplin Community Center. Admission is $5. Information: www.grandoleoplin.com.

Other ...

Blood drive, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hendrick Medical Center, Tom Roberts Conference Center.

Abilene Chinese Corner, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Abilene Christian University library. lld09a@acu.edu.

Disabled American Veterans and Auxiliary, 6 p.m., 2555 Grape St. 325-793-9699 or 325-480-6175.

Mid-City Al-Anon, 7 p.m., First Christian Church. 325-670-4304.

SATURDAY

Back door garage sale

ASPERMONT  A 'back door best offer' garage sale will be open from 8 a.m. to noon at the Stonewall County Senior Citizens Center, 536 S. Washington.

Trade Days of West Texas

An opening celebration of Trade Days of West Texas will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 2501 E. Highway 80. Crafts, antiques, food trucks and more will be available.

Heirloom care workshop

Erika Parker will present a workshop, 'Preserving Home: Caring for Your Heirloom Textiles, Garments, and Fabrics,' from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Grace Museum, 102 Cypress St. Registration is $40 for members and $45 for nonmembers, with all supplies included. To register, or for information, go to www.thegracemuseum.org.

Movie at the library

A showing of a recent PG-rated animated movie will begin at 11 a.m. at the south branch of the Abilene Public Library, 1401 S. Danville Drive. Popcorn and drinks will be provided. Admission is free.

Chautauqua

BUFFALO GAP  The Chautauqua Learning Series will continue with a presentation by Robert F. Bluthardt, 'Fun and Frolic on the Frontier,' from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at Buffalo Gap Historic Village, 133 N. William St. Admission is free.

Portraiture demonstration

BROWNWOOD  Ken Dees will give a demonstration of the art of portraiture 1:30-3 p.m. at the Brownwood Art Association, 215 Fisk Ave. Admission is free.

'Giant'

As part of the Paramount Film Series, 'Giant' will be shown at 2 and 7:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 352 Cypress St. Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for students, seniors, military and children. For more information, visit paramount-abilene.org.

Benefit concert

Yanstock, featuring Happy Fat, Collector's Edition and other artists, will open at 5 p.m. at Play Faire Park, 2300 N. Second St. Admission is $15. Proceeds will go to medical bills incurred by Yan Hartman.

Other ...

Overeaters Anonymous, 10 a.m., Shades of Hope, 402A Mulberry St., Buffalo Gap. 800-588-4673.

Abilene Society of Model Railroaders, 10 a.m. to noon, 2043 N. Second St.

Abilene Creative Arts Club, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Buffalo Gap Historic Village, Rode Gallery. 325-514-0665.

Aglow International, 6 p.m., The Crossover, S. First and Poplar streets. 325-829-8826.

SUNDAY

Trade Days of West Texas

An opening celebration of Trade Days of West Texas will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2501 E. Highway 80. Crafts, antiques, food trucks and more will be available.

Other ...

Out & About Group LGBT AA Meeting, 6 p.m. Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, Lower Level Parish Hall, 602 Meander St.
Welcome to Club News, a weekly roundup of the latest news in the Big Country. To be included: in 75 words or less, send meeting highlights, guest speakers, officers elected, donations made or received, etc. We don't need the full minutes  just the decisions made or the fun things that happened. Information needed: when and where (with a full street address) the club meets and daytime contact information for questions. Only typed submissions can be accepted. To e-mail the information, please put 'club news' in the subject line and send to PublishMe@reporternews.com by 2 p.m. Mondays.

AARP Chapter 1346

Our speaker will be a policeman from the Abilene Police Department, so please come and learn how to be safer.

Next meeting: 10 a.m. Monday, Rose Park Senior Citizens Center, 2625 S. Seventh St., Room B.

Abilene Southwest Rotary Club

High school students who attended Rotary's Youth Leadership program recently were in charge of the Aug. 9 program. Kaylie, Rotary Youth Exchange student, will be the Aug. 16 featured speaker. Larry Bell, Abilene fire chief, will speak Aug. 23.

Regular meeting: noon Tuesdays, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St.

Contact: Charles Richardson, 676-4846.

Kiwanis Club of Greater Abilene

Dr. Willys Treanor will present Thursday's program. The speaker, Doug Thomas, will speak about memory.

Regular meeting: noon Thursdays, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St.

Contact: David McCaghren, 829-3030.

Rotary Club of Abilene

Kaylie Kohanowski, a Cooper High School student and returning Rotary Exchange student, will tell of her recent experiences studying in Taiwan. Next week, Abilene Police Det. Chris Collins will make a presentation on active shooter situations. Kudos to Richard Rolison, last week's Rotarian of the week, and to this week's Rotarian of the week, Myra Dean.

Regular meeting: noon Fridays, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St.

Contact: Mary Beth Kilgore, 518-5288.
The Laguna Hotel in Cisco is going to be converted to apartments. Contributed photo

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By Loretta Fulton, Special to the Reporter-News

The historic Laguna Hotel in Cisco is getting a new look, a new name and a new lease on life.

And that's not all that's happening in Cisco. John Diers, executive director of the Cisco Development Corp., said talks are ongoing to obtain a beef processing plant, a satellite office for a Dallas law firm and a sculpture studio and foundry.

"Lots of really good things are happening," Diers said.

The biggest news is the Laguna Hotel. On July 28, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs approved a tax credit application from MRE Capital, LLC, owner of the hotel. The tax credit will allow MRE to turn the 1929 hotel into apartments for moderate- to low-income residents, including Cisco College students. When completed, the old hotel will feature 12 one-bedroom apartments and 28 two-bedroom units.

The first floor will be reconfigured to serve as a common area for residents, a rental office, and offices for staff and management. The majority of rents will be between $550 and $650 per month, including water, sewer and trash services. Now that the tax credit has been approved, work is expected to begin soon, Diers said.

"Their goal is to have it completed by the end of next year," he said.

Diers said that if the project hadn't been approved, the property would have become a liability to local taxing entities. Instead, the renovated property is expected to produce $1.7 million in tax revenues over 10 years to be shared by the city of Cisco, Eastland County, the Cisco Independent School District, and Cisco College.

Diers said he believes the new housing also will bring new residents to Cisco. MRE Capital also is planning to build 10 new apartments in Cisco for general occupancy.

The good news July 28 followed a failed attempt in 2015 to gain a tax credit for the project. In a news release announcing approval of the tax credit, Diers said that MRE Capital, the development corporation staff, and civic and political leaders had spent two years trying to obtain the tax credit.

In March 2015, the hotel made news when it was placed on the 12th annual list of Texas' Most Endangered Places by Preservation Texas Inc.

Renovation of the hotel is just one economic boost to Cisco that is exciting to Diers  even though one planned project will dislodge him and his staff from their current offices in downtown Cisco. The Cisco Development Corp. is located on historic Conrad Hilton Boulevard, which happens to be the same location that a Dallas law firm wants to purchase for a satellite office.

The legal firm is buying three buildings on Conrad Hilton Boulevard and the CDC office will move to the renovated City Bank building, a half-block from its present location.

The announcement of the Laguna restoration, 10 additional apartments and more restoration of downtown buildings comes after already good economic news in Cisco.

In the past few years, a new airport has opened, and new restaurants and travel centers either are open or in the planning stages.

The Village at Cisco, located on the east side of town, is a planned development with multifamily housing, restaurants and retail shops. Higginbotham's hardware store anchors the development of the western edge of the site.
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Seven years ago, Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court, 74 days after her nomination by President Obama. Less than a year later, Elena Kagan took her seat on the court, 89 days after being nominated.

Merrick Garland is another story. Older at 63, more moderate and a more conventional nominee than his predecessors, he has been waiting 146 days for the Senate to begin the confirmation process. The justice he would replace, Antonin Scalia, died before Valentine's Day.

Congress failing to act isn't exactly breaking news. It's tied in knots on a range of issues, from the budget and trade to creating jobs and controlling guns. But flat-out ignoring a vacancy on the nation's highest court, which Senate Republicans have vowed to do while President Obama remains in office, is an abrogation of its constitutional duty.

Until last month, Garland's wait was merely the longest in a century, since Louis Brandeis waited 125 days to be confirmed in 1916. Now it is unprecedented.

To its credit, the court has not been completely hamstrung by the Senate's intransigence. Chief Justice John Roberts and his colleagues managed to get through their last term with only four tie votes. But one blocked Obama's effort to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation. Another upheld public employee unions' ability to collect fees from nonmembers. Those were major cases, but the 4-4 votes set no precedents. It's as if the court never got involved.

So what's the problem? Not Garland. He has been lauded by every group that has reviewed his qualifications. Even prominent Republicans, such as former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, have said that the time to act was yesterday.

Yet from Day 1, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear that Republicans simply could not let Obama replace Scalia. Despite GOP leaders' obvious unease with Donald Trump as their standard-bearer, they want to hand him the vacancy to fill. As Trump told The Washington Post last week, "The Republican Party more than any other thing has to have a victory, a presidential victory, for one thing, if nothing else: Supreme Court justices."

That's certainly how many Republicans see it. The next president is likely to get to replace one or more Supreme Court justices. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 83. Anthony Kennedy is 80. Stephen Breyer turns 78 this month.

But Scalia died on Obama's watch. To the winner goes the spoils, and the American people made Obama a winner, not once but twice.

Recently, with Trump's poll numbers slipping, some Republicans have sounded flexible. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas told a local TV station: "I assume this will be a topic of conversation legislatively when Congress is back in session in November and December." Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona said: "If it becomes apparent that we aren't going to win the White House  if we know in October that it's not good  then we've got to move forward at that point."

Translation: The Scalia seat may await Trump, but not Hillary Clinton. If she wins  or even if it looks like she will  all bets are off, because Clinton could ditch Garland for someone far younger or further left, and the GOP gambit will have backfired.

That's a hypocritical posture for Republicans to take. Either this is Obama's seat to fill or it isn't. When the Senate returns in September, it should put politics aside and give Judge Garland a hearing and a vote. It's the best thing for the court, the country and the Constitution.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff.
After deciding to open their workshop back in 2015 this was the second custom build that the Wrench Kings undertook and they went all out during the transformation. The bike started out life as one of Hondas mid-sized touring GL500s, which is essentially a CX500 with a revised ignition system, Pro-link monoshock rear suspension and a heap more plastic.

Absolutely everything has been done to the bike. Wrench King co-founder Bram proclaims. She turned out even cooler than we expected and handles like an absolute dream.



One of the more challenging aspects of customising these bikes is dealing with their hunched frames. Rather than trying to find a workaround for this the Kings resorted to cutting away the entire rear end of the frame. In its place they fit a revised subframe with a narrow single seat that followed the baseline of the stock fuel tank. Thanks to the bikes pro-link monoshock the new tail appears to float over the rear wheel creating a void of negative space that balances out the visual bulk of longitudinal v-twin.

To improve front end handling a set of modern Honda CB forks were mated to the frame along with the CB front wheel and its huge disc brakes. Both wheels wear beefy Hidenau K36 vintage styled rubber for ample grip. For modest power gains the carbs were rejetted and now wear cone filters and each shortened exhaust pipe vents through its own low slung muffler. For reliability the entire wiring loom has been remade and a hidden lithium battery effortlessly cranks the engine over.

Once the major work was done, attention was given to the details. Bram explained. The gas tank was stripped and repainted in black and white with the Wrench Kings signature striping in vintage grey. And the rest of the bike was fitted out with loads of new goodies!

To be specific the guys mounted clip-on bars upfront for classic cafe racer styling. A Daytona digital speedo replaces the original mechanical units and a halo ring LED headlight sits comfortably beneath the top clamp. A vintage style tail light sits on the rear loop with a custom license plate bracket that doubles as a mudguard. The ignition, kill switch and choke were all relocated to keep the cockpit clean and everything below the tank was resprayed in beautiful black.

Once the bike was finished it was listed on a classifieds website online recalls Bram. Within two hours we received a call from Belgium with the request to please remove the bike from thewebsite because its sold!

WRENCH KINGS

Photography by Bas Duijs

The Honda CX500s just keep coming! A while ago I read a feature on another custom motorcycle blog that mentioned how difficult it must have become to find an unmodified CB750; I think this statement could also now be applied to Hondas CX series of longitudinal v-twins. Personally, I was never a huge fan. In its standard form the plastic maggot looks about as appealing to me as playing Pokemon Go and after being involved in a few CX based custom builds, I learnt first hand how much work needs to go into one to achieve a decent result. My personal CX gripes aside though I have to admit when they are done right, a CX500 Cafe Racer cuts a fine figure and todays build from Netherlands based workshop Wrench Kings the is a perfect example.
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It's so much more than just a "truly f**ked up ride".
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When Seng Roatthy went to buy cigarettes at a stall near his familys home in Prey Veng province on Aug. 7, he couldnt have known that the short walk would end with a brutal mob beating that cost him his life.

Though six men were charged with killing the 33-year-old laborer, Seng Roatthys pregnant wife told Radio Free Asias Khmer service that the arrests are short-changing justice.

I would like the police to arrest more of the people involved, said Chan Sina. Im not satisfied with the few people arrested so far."

Its unclear what exactly triggered the beating, but according to Chan Sina, it started when a Vietnamese man asked Seng Roatthy for a cigarette and he refused.

The Vietnamese man then punched him in the face, Chan Sina told RFA.

As he fled, the attacker threw a crowbar at Seng Roatthy who threw it back, Chan Sina recalled to RFA.

Another Vietnamese man came upon the scene and ended up in a nearby drainage ditch, where he called out to friends to press a stormy attack on Seng Roatthy. A stormy attack is a Khmer Rouge term used for an offensive action.

According to accounts by Chan Sina and witnesses, she and her husband were boxed in by a Vietnamese mob armed with wooden planks, crowbars, hammers, and axes.

Those who were beating my husband said there was no need for me to try to rescue him, as they would just beat him to death anyway, she recalled. While my husband was lying near death, I begged them to stop beating him.

They didnt listen, she said.

I was trying to rescue my husband, but they continued beating him and broke his left leg. I was also hurt, she said. Then Suy [a Vietnamese construction supervisor] came and ordered the mob to finish us off. He said that if they let us live they would have to pay more compensation than if we were dead.

'I was afraid'

A witness who saw the attack told RFA that a group of a few hundred Vietnamese nationals were responsible.

He and other Khmers in Neak Loeung Village didnt step in to help because they were afraid the mob would turn on them. A large community of Vietnamese immigrants live in the village.

I was afraid to help the victims because I was scared by the huge crowd of a few hundred attackers who were armed with wooden planks and nail pullers and other objects, Bin Toeng explained. I saw the couple being beaten badly.

Chan Sina told RFA that she feared the men would attack other Khmer people unless they were jailed for a long time

I want them to be locked behind bars forever," she said. "If they walk free again they would kill more Khmer people.

District police chief Seng Punlork told RFA that the case was forwarded to the court on Aug. 10 for further judicial action.

Among the six suspects arrested only Chrin Barang, 36, and Den Vireak, 28, who are Cambodian, and Suy, have been identified. Suys age and any other names he uses were not immediately available.

The relationship between Cambodia and Vietnam is a fraught one. In 1979, Vietnam invaded Cambodia, overthrew the Khmer Rouge and occupied the country.

The occupation ended with the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, but distrust of the Vietnamese is still a potent force in Cambodia. Opposition politicians often criticize Prime Minister Hun Sen as being a puppet for Hanoi.

Desperate straits

Seng Punlork said the case is still open as authorities are searching for more of the people involved. Regarding the familys personal safety and security, he told RFA that he gave the family a police contact number so that they can call for help.

While the police say their investigation is continuing, Chan Sina said she holds out little hope and is in desperate straits.

Chan Sina said she not only wants justice for Seng Roatthy, but is also asking the court to order the perpetrators to pay her $100,000 as a form of civil reparation.

I am helpless. Im all by myself. My late husband was the great supporter of the family, she said. My kids and I are very desperate without him. If it were not for my kids, I would have no will to live anymore.

Reported by Thai Tha for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
An official in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu on Thursday denied a report that armed security personnel fired at protesters during ongoing anti-nuclear protests in Lianyungang city.



Police reportedly opened fire on a group of protesters who refused to leave on Thursday, according to a local resident surname Hu, who witnessed the standoff.



"This happened today, and one of the people there was hit by a bullet in the chest," Hu said. "That's got to be serious, right?"



Hu said security was still extremely tight as protests in the city against a planned nuclear waste-processing plant entered their sixth consecutive day.



"There are a lot of armored vehicles, and they detained around 20 to30 people [today], and a lot of people got hurt," Hu said.



"A lot of people were injured, whether intentionally or accidentally," Hu said, estimating that more than 100 people have been detained since the start of the protests on Saturday.



"But the government won't make public how many people have been injured or shot dead," Hu added.



An official who answered the phone at the Lianyungang municipal government offices on Thursday denied the reports of injuries and detentions.



"No, no, that never happened," the official said. "You should read the official news reports."



The official didn't deny protests were ongoing, however.



"There aren't so many protesting now," the official said.



Some fight back



A second resident surnamed Liang said she had seen more than 1,000 police patrolling the city, with checkpoints set up at every major intersection.



"The police stand at the sides of the road, watching and waiting," Liang said. "If a crowd gathers, they move in and beat them up, forcing them to disperse."



Liang said some protesters were fighting back with makeshift weapons, however.



"On Wednesday night, a bunch of guys went to attack the police; there are quite a lot of police receiving treatment in hospital," she said.



"The demonstrators attacked a lot of them with bricks."



Li Maolin, a rights activist from the northern province of Shanxi, said he was severely beaten after he arrived in Lianyungang in a bid to find out more about the protests, which have received little coverage in China's tightly controlled media.



"When I got there, I found the whole place under security lock-down," Li said. "I was grabbed ... and beaten unconscious."



Li said his injuries made it difficult to speak.



"I have a huge swelling on my head, and my throat hurts," he said.



Scant public trust



A Lianyungang resident surnamed Lu said there is scant public trust in the government's announcement that the project will be halted.



"They are just talking about a pause, not about canceling it," Lu said. "We would be happy if they canceled it, because we're worried about our health."



"If they won't cancel it, then they should relocate people somewhere safer."



Meanwhile, authorities in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou detained four people after they held up placards in a public park in support of the Lianyungang protesters.



The four were taken in for questioning after they held up placards in Zhengzhou's May the First Park on Wednesday.



"A few people gathered in May the First Park yesterday in Zhengzhou, Henan province, at around 10.30 a.m.," local resident Qiu San told RFA.



"They were detained by officers from the Jianshe Road police station."



He said two of the activists, who weren't residents of Zhengzhou, had been handed over to police from their hometowns.



"The other two are still in the police station. Maybe their local authorities haven't come to pick them up yet," Qiu said.



Article blamed



The Global Times newspaper, which has close ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, said the protests had been triggered by an article on nuclear energy website nuclear.net.cn, claiming the most likely location would be Lianyungang.



"[The article] caused huge waves among local people, after it went viral on social media," the paper said.



It cited experts as saying that China's nuclear industry had undergone safety upgrades since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, and that "safety concerns should not be an obstacle to the development of the nuclear industry in China."



China has pledged to peak its CO2 emissions by 2030, and to do this it needs to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20 percent, the paper said.



Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Yang Fan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.




Seven Myanmar army soldiers on trial at a military court in the volatile northern part of Myanmars Shan state have admitted to playing a part in the killing of five unarmed civilians, according to local residents who were permitted to attend the proceedings.

The trial of the military officers and low-ranking soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 362 began on Tuesday at a nearby military base in Lashio township.

The soldiers admitted that they killed the villagers, and military officers admitted that they ordered soldiers to kill them, said Sai Kaung Kham, a Mong Yaw resident who served as a translator during the trial.

The soldiers belong to the Myanmar army battalion, which arrived on June 25 in Long Mon village near the subtownship of Mong Yaw looking for armed ethnic troops.

They shot dead five villagers during an interrogation near a cornfield where some of them were working and dumped their bodies in shallow graves.

They also deposited the bodies of two young men they shot who were passing through the area on motorbikes and failed to stop at a checkpoint, and later claimed that the men had belonged to the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

On June 30, villagers discovered the corpses of the seven men, who were all from the Shan or Palaung (Taang) ethnic minority groups that live in the state.

During the court martial, the soldiers who killed the five villagers said they informed their commanding officers when they arrested them, and the officers issued the command to kill them, the villagers who attended the court proceedings said.

We came here to listen to how they killed the villagers, said village administrator Kyaw Aye. They said two sergeants and one soldier killed them.



At first, denial

Some of the locals who attended the hearing were family members of those killed, but they were not asked to speak during the daylong proceedings, the online journal The Irrawaddy reported.

Court administrators paid the villagers 5,000 kyats (U.S. $4.15) each and gave them either a shirt or blouse to compensate them for losing a days work while they attended the court martial, said one female villager who declined to be named.

The army had initially denied any involvement in the deaths, but a deputy regional commander visited the families of the five victims in early July and gave each a donation of 300,000 kyats (U.S. $257).

Later that month, Myanmars intelligence chief Mya Tun Oo publicly admitted that government troops had killed five of the seven men and said those responsible would be prosecuted.

Lashio township authorities exhumed all seen bodies earlier this week, and police there have said they have started their own murder investigation, The Irrawaddy reported.

Reported by Ko Kan Thar for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Mine Naung, in Mohnyin district of Myanmars Kachin state, is home to hundreds of gold mines. Residents of the small village say they are at odds over the industry that can uncover vast wealth, but at a cost to the local environment and traditions.
As Chinese work crews continue to demolish dwellings at Sichuans Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, authorities are forcing many monks and nuns living at the academy back to their family homes in the neighboring Tibet Autonomous Region, sources in the region say.



The move supporting Chinas plan to reduce the size of the sprawling complex has been aimed so far only at residents coming from the TAR prefectures of Lhasa (in Chinese, Lasa), Ngari (Ali), Nagchu (Naqu), and Chamdo (Changdu), a local source told RFAs Tibetan Service.



The family members of monks and nuns from these areas in the TAR have been ordered to come to Larung Gar to take their relatives home, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Academy residents coming from these areas had previously been summoned by authorities and harassed with questions and political education classes, the source said, adding, These sessions went on for weeks, and in some cases even months.



Monks and nuns native to Tibetan-populated areas of Chinas Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu provinces have so far not been subject to the expulsion order, he said.



But monks and nuns coming from Driru [Biru] county in Nagchu were among the first forced out, he said.



They were warned of consequences to their families in Driru if they refused to leave, including their right to collect cordyceps, a fungus highly valued for its medicinal qualities and an important source of income.



Tibetans in Driru, a county considered politically unstable by Chinese authorities, have long resisted forced displays of loyalty to Beijing, which has imposed tight restrictions in the area for the past several years.



'Heartbreaking scenes'



Many thousands of Tibetans and Han Chinese study at Larung Gar, which was founded in 1980 by the late religious teacher Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok and is one of the worlds largest and most important centers for the study of Tibetan Buddhism.



The order now to reduce the number of Larung Gars residents by about half to a maximum level of 5,000 is not a county plan but comes from higher authorities, with Chinas president Xi Jinping taking a personal interest in the matter, sources told RFA in earlier reports.



Monastic leaders at Larung Gar have urged the institutes monks and nuns not to resist the destruction of their homes, and the work is believed to have gone ahead so far without interference, though one suicide has been reported.



Despite the heartbreaking scenes of the demolition of their houses, the monks and nuns at Larung Gar are exercising patience and restraint and hoping for the Buddhist institutes survival, RFAs source said.



Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.




The rapprochement between Russia and Turkey has happened fast  from "backstabbing" to backslapping in the blink of an eye.



But not too fast to allow for the settings at a luncheon during Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fence-mending visit to St. Petersburg to feature a memento honoring his on-again relationship with Vladimir Putin: a plate showing the two presidents shaking hands.



Photographs from the mealtime meeting on August 9 show a setting with elegant black-and-gold dinnerware featuring the Russian two-headed eagle symbol -- and in the corner, a commemorative plate with a picture of Putin and Erdogan standing side-by-side during a June 2015 visit to Baku, Azerbaijan.



Dmitry Smirnov, a Kremlin correspondent for the Russian daily Moskovsky Komsomolets, reported that "nobody risked putting food on 'Putin and Erdogan' and some even took the plates as souvenirs."



Relations between historical rivals Russia and Turkey had been relatively warm under the two authoritarian leaders, but they were dogged by disagreements over the war in Syria and soured badly after Turkish jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in November.



In response, Russia imposed trade sanctions on Turkey and cut off the flow of Russian vacationers to its Mediterranean beach resorts. Putin called the downing of the warplane a "stab in the back" and demanded an apology from Erdogan, who pointedly refused.



But the Turkish leader abruptly changed tack in late June and the countries moved to mend ties, an effort that gathered force following a failed coup, attempted on July 15 against Erdogan -- whose crackdown in its wake has strained Ankara's relations with the United States and European Union.



LifeNews, a tabloid-style Russian news website with links to state security services, said that few visiting leaders are honored with such plates. It said the most recent such tribute was to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who visited Russia in August 2015.



Reuters photographs of souvenirs in Damascus show plates bearing portraits of Bashar al-Assad and Putin, a key ally in the Syrian president's war against opponents and rebels.


Russian President Vladimir Putin says the world faces the most dangerous decade since World War II and predicted that the historical period of the West's "undivided dominance over world affairs" is coming to an end.

Speaking on October 27 at a conference of international policy experts in Moscow, Putin said the decade ahead is "probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, important...since the end of World War II."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Putin laid the blame for the situation at the feet of Western countries, which he said have cast aside the norms of international affairs in order to maintain dominance and hold down countries they see as "second-class civilizations."

The Russian leader also said he had no regrets about sending troops into Ukraine and sought to explain the conflict as part of the efforts by Western countries to secure their global domination.

Putin claimed in his speech to the Valdai Discussion Club, a think tank, that the West had helped incite the conflict and also seeks to stoke a crisis over Taiwan in an attempt to enforce global dominance.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, triggering the biggest military conflict in Europe since World War II and driving relations with Western countries that back Ukraine and its drive to be part of the European Union and NATO to their lowest depths since the Cold War.

Putin cast the conflict in Ukraine as a battle between the West and Russia for the fate of the second-largest Eastern Slav country. It is partly a "civil war," he said, as Russians and Ukrainians are one people. Kyiv has flatly rejected both of those ideas.

The goal of what Russia refers to as a "special military operation" is to take the eastern Donbas region, Putin said, adding that in his view the region would "not have survived" on its own had Russia not intervened militarily in Ukraine.

WATCH: A local official told Russian conscripts "You are not cannon fodder" in a video published online recently. The men responded by angrily shouting that, actually, that's exactly what they are.

But the war has gone far beyond the Donbas region, with Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and other nonmilitary structures, killing tens of thousands of Ukrainians across the country.

Putin used the speech largely to rail against the West, saying it has nothing to offer to the world "except its own domination," and the goal of globalization "is neocolonialism to dominate the world." He said Russia is only trying to defend its right to exist in the face these Western efforts.

Putin also asserted that more and more nations refuse to follow Washington's demands and Russia will never accept the West's attempts to dominate the world.

Citing gay pride parades and the acceptance of transgender people in Western countries, Putin also defended "traditional values" and said "nobody can dictate to our people how to develop and what society we should build."

He also said Russia has never considered the West an enemy and has many things in common with it but will continue to oppose the diktat of Western neoliberal elites.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Putin's speech presented no new ideas.

"We don't believe that Mr. Putin's strategic goals have changed here. He doesn't want Ukraine to exist as a sovereign, independent nation state," Kirby said.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Putin's speech can be described as "for Freud," referring to psychoanalysis founder Sigmund Freud.



"The person who invaded a foreign country, annexed its land, and committed genocide accuses others of violating international law and the sovereignty of other countries? One truth: The person who started a wind will get a storm. The storm is coming," he said on Twitter.

Answering questions from journalists after his speech, Putin reiterated the Kremlin's assertion that Ukraine plans to use a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory. The claim has been dismissed as false by Ukraine and its allies, who say Russia may have raised the matter because it plans to use such a bomb in Ukraine as a pretext for escalation.

"It was me who ordered [Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu to inform by phone all his colleagues about it," Putin said, adding that Russia does not need to use dirty bombs in Ukraine.

Putin also said he supported plans by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit Ukraine's nuclear power plants for inspections.

"It must be done as soon and as openly as possible because we know that Kyiv authorities are now working to cover up such [dirty-bomb attack] preparations," Putin said, without giving any exact information proving the claim.

Ukraine invited IAEA inspectors to visit its nuclear facilities after the Kremlin made its unsubstantiated claim about the preparation of a dirty bomb -- which would use the explosion of a conventional warhead to spread radioactive material or chemicals over a wide area.

Ukraine said it would welcome inspections because it had "nothing to hide."

According to Putin, Russia has never talked about the use of nuclear weapons in the war with Ukraine despite his own promise to defend Russian territory with any means at our disposal" and saying his words were "not a bluff."

"We see no need for [using nuclear weapons in Ukraine]," Putin told reporters. "There is no sense for that, neither political, nor military."
A court in Russia-annexed Crimea has ruled that a noted Crimean Tatar activist, Ilmi Umerov, must be placed in a psychiatric clinic for examination.

The Kyiv District Court in Simferopol on August 11 approved the motion by investigators. Umerov's lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, said that the court's ruling will be appealed.

Umerov, 59, former deputy chairman of Crimean Tatars' self-governing body -- the Mejlis -- was charged with separatism in May after he made public statements against the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea by Russia.

Umerov was allowed to stay home during investigations into his case.

The Moscow-based Memorial human rights center has called the case against Umerov "illegal and politically motivated."

The majority of Crimea's indigenous people, Crimean Tatars, opposed the peninsulas annexation by Moscow in March 2014.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax
Isn't it funny how all of the sudden everybody is talking about Crimea as if it were Russian territory, and not as if it were territory that Russia illegally and forcefully annexed from Ukraine?

Isn't it strange how people are speculating about whether or not Ukrainian spies breached the "border" with Crimea to conduct terrorist attacks, when in fact -- legally speaking -- no such border exists?

Crimea, legally speaking, is Ukraine.

And isn't it odd that we're having another he-said-she-said debate about the details of one alleged incident, and forgetting about the larger reality?

Of course not. The Kremlin tricks us into doing this all the time.

Now, it's way too early to unpack what actually did or did not happen in Crimea over the past few days.

And to put it mildly, I'm more than a little bit skeptical of Moscow's official version that the FSB foiled a terrorist attack that Ukrainian agents were attempting to launch on the Russian-occupied peninsula.

There's scant evidence of this so far, other than the statements of Russian officials and accounts posted by pro-Russian bloggers online.

And the Kremlin regime's long track record of making things like this up out of whole cloth makes one very reluctant to give it the benefit of the doubt.

But one thing is clear as day.

Vladimir Putin's regime now has all of us talking about Crimea exactly the way they want us to.

And that may have been the point all along.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
ALMATY -- Kazakh officials say a police officer has died after sustaining gunshot wounds in an attack last month.

Almaty police officials say traffic police officer Zhalghas Keldibaev died in hospital on August 11, bringing to nine the death toll from multiple attacks last month in Kazakhstan's commercial capital that President Nursultan Nazarbaev described as a "terrorist act."

On July 18, a 26-year-old Almaty resident, Ruslan Kulekbaev, opened fire at the offices of the Almaty police department and National Security Committee, killing six people, including a retired police officer, a border-guard officer, and four police officers.

Two more police officers wounded in the attacks died in hospital later on August 1.

Kulekbaev was arrested and charged with terrorism, murder, and attempted murder.

Officials have said Kulekbaev, who served time in jail in the past, was a lone terrorist whose actions were motivated by hatred toward the police.
AQTOBE, Kazakhstan -- A Kazakh court has jailed three men for inciting social and religious hatred via their mobile phones.

A court in the northwestern city of Aqtobe found the men guilty on August 11 of "spreading terrorist ideas using the WhatsApp application on their smartphones and sentenced them to prison terms between 6 1/2 and eight years.

The convicted men's lawyers said the verdicts will be appealed.

Aqtobe is an industrial city of some 380,000 people located 100 kilometers from the Russian border.

It made headlines in June after some 25 suspected Islamic radicals killed five civilians and three members of Kazakhstan's security forces in the city.

Security forces killed 18 gunmen and arrested seven alleged attackers.

Aqtobe also was the site of Kazakhstan's first-ever suicide bombing 2011.
A bomb targeting a senior judge in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta has wounded more than a dozen police officers in the judge's security entourage.

The bomb went off in the capital of Pakistan's Balochistan Province on August 11 as Zahoor Shahwani's convoy passed by.

Sarfraz Bugti, the home minister of Balochistan Province, said at least 13 officers were injured and four were in critical condition.

The attack follows just days after a suicide bomber killed at least 53 people, mostly lawyers, outside a clinic in Quetta.

That attack on August 8 came as lawyers gathered at the clinic to grieve for prominent barrister Bilal Kasi, who was assassinated earlier the same day on his way to court.

Targeted killings have become increasingly common in Quetta amid rising violence linked to a separatist insurgency as well as sectarian tensions and rising crime.

Based on reporting by dpa and Reuters
The constitutional court in Bosnia- Herzegovina's autonomous Serbian region, Republika Srpska, has rejected an attempt by Bosniaks to block a planned referendum on whether to keep celebrating the entitys statehood day on January 9.

The court ruled on August 11 that the vital national interest of Bosniaks living in the entity would not be endangered by the decision to hold the referendum, scheduled for September 25.

In November 2015, Bosnias state constitutional court declared the Day of Republika Srpska unconstitutional, saying it discriminates against non-Serb residents of the entity.

The court ordered the Serb-run entity to choose a date that would also be acceptable to the countrys ethnic Croats and Muslims.

On January 9, 1992, Bosnian Serbs proclaimed the Republic of Serbian people at a time when Bosnia was still part of Yugoslavia.


A judge has been gunned down in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Daghestan.

Daghestani law enforcement officials say that unknown attackers rushed into the house of Ubaidula Magomedov in the western Shamil district very late in the night on August 10, shot the judge dead and left the house.

Investigators are working at the crime scene.

Daghestani police also said on August 11 that a suspected militant was killed in another of the region's western districts, Botlikh. A counterterrorism operation in the area continues.

Daghestan has been at the epicenter of a wave of violence by armed criminal groups and by militants seeking to establish an Islamic caliphate in the North Caucasus.

Organized crime, business turf wars, political disputes, and clan rivalry also contribute to the bloodshed in the region.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti, TASS, and Interfax
Russia has announced naval war games in the Black Sea and Ukraine has put its troops on combat alert, as the United States called on both sides to show restraint amid dramatic new tensions over the Crimea Peninsula.

The moves on August 11, coming one day after Moscow claimed it thwarted an incursion into Russian-held Crimea by Ukrainian saboteurs, stoked fears that in Ukraine and elsewhere Moscow may be planning to ramp up fighting in a war between Kyiv and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used some of his most aggressive rhetoric since the height of the war two years ago, pledging to take countermeasures against Ukraine, which he accused of sending saboteurs into Crimea to carry out terrorist acts.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau called for the avoidance of any actions that would escalate an already "very dangerous situation."

"We continue to remain in close touch with international partners on this," she said. "But we believe now it's the time to reduce the tensions, to reduce the rhetoric and get back to talks."

"Crimea is part of Ukraine and is recognized as such by the international community," she said.

Earlier, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said Washington has seen no evidence supporting the incursion claim by Russia, which accused Kyiv of plotting "terror" in Crimea and reported that two members of its security forces were killed in clashes last weekend with the alleged assailants.

"Russia has a record of frequently levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect attention from its own illegal actions," Geoffrey Pyatt said.

Following a request from Kyiv, the United Nations Security Council discussed the rising tensions in Crimea during a closed-door meeting in New York.

After the meeting, Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko said Russia had amassed more than 40,000 troops in Crimea and on the Ukrainian border.

Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, meanwhile, described the Security Council meeting as "useful" to explain the situation and dismissed concerns about a Russian military build-up.

"Instead of counting our military they should be bringing an end to the conflict [in eastern Ukraine]" he said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he wants to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and several Western leaders amid the spike in tensions.

Russia's lead security agency, the Federal Security Service, said on August 10 that an agency employee and a soldier were killed over the weekend while repelling what it described as attempts to get Ukrainian "saboteurs" onto the peninsula.

Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014 after deploying troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by Kyiv, Western governments, and a total of 100 countries.

The agency, known as the FSB, also said it had detained several men -- both Ukrainian and Russian citizens -- and confiscated weapons.

Putin accused Ukraine's pro-Western government in Kyiv of using terror tactics to seek to ignite a new conflict and destabilize Crimea, something the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, called preposterous fantasies and a pretext for Moscow to make more military threats.

In Moscow, Putin held a meeting of his Security Council and discussed additional measures to provide for the security of the citizens and vital infrastructure facilities of Crimea in connection with the prevention by the [Russian] special services of a terrorist act on the peninsula, the Kremlin said on its website.

On August 11, Poroshenko said he had instructed all military units near Crimea and in eastern regions near separatist-held territory to be at their highest level of combat readiness.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the deaths of two of its security forces would have consequences, and the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Black Sea Fleet, which is based in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, would conduct exercises on August 11-13 to practice "repelling an attack by underwater saboteurs."

The Russian claims came amid reports of an unusual increase in Russian military activity in the northern part of Crimea, near the administrative border with mainland Ukraine, over the past several days.

That activity, as well as the Russian allegations and the upsurge in fighting in eastern Ukraine, has stoked concerns in Ukraine that the Kremlin may seek to take control of more of its territory.

After annexing Crimea in March 2014, Russia threw its support behind separatists who seized territory in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, leading to a war that has killed more than 9,500 combatants and civilians since that April. The current tension in Crimea follows weeks of increased fighting in eastern Ukraine.

A NATO official was quoted as saying the military alliance was monitoring the heightened Crimea tensions with concern. The official, who asked not to be named, told the AFP news agency that "Russia's recent military activity in Crimea is not helpful for easing tensions" and called on Moscow "to work for calm and de-escalation."

In Russia, the daily Kommersant cited unnamed sources as saying that two of seven suspects in one group had been killed and the other five captured. Most of them were Crimea residents and some had Russian passports, the report said.

Kommersant also cited the sources as saying the detainees' objective had been to spread panic to destroy the tourist industry, but not to kill anyone.

Ukraine quickly denied the allegations, with military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk saying Moscow's claims "do not correspond to reality. Ukraine did not commit any armed provocations in [Crimea] or any other area. None of [Ukraine's] Defense Ministry intelligence staff was detained in occupied Crimea."

There was no way to check the veracity of the reports.

Russian authorities frequently report that suspects have confessed, and human rights activists say confessions are often extracted through pressure or torture.

Sergei Aksyonov, the head of the Russian-imposed government in Crimea, told state TV channel Rossia-24 on August 11 that "saboteurs" should be hanged.

"Saboteurs should be treated exactly the same way as farmers treat crows who rob them of their harvest -- they ought to be killed and hanged at the border so the others get the message," he said.

The Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based think tank, cast doubt on the circumstances of the incident, saying in a report on August 10 that there were no published photographs or videos of these incidents of gunfire and shelling.

Among those Russia says it has detained is Yevhen Panov, a Ukrainian truck driver who previously volunteered in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine. Moscow claims Panov worked as a Ukrainian military intelligence officer, and Russian television showed footage of Panov being questioned, with several cuts and bruises visible on his face and arm.

TASS reported that a court in Crimea arrested Panov for two months on suspicion of organizing terror attacks on the peninsula.

Kyiv, however, called him a hostage and Panovs half-brother, Ihor Kotelyanets, told RFE/RLs Current Time TV that Panov was not a member of Ukraines armed services and that he had been abducted.

Kotelyanets said Panov had left his hometown of Energodar on August 6 to visit friends over the weekend and had been due back on August 8.

WATCH: Brother Of Ukrainian Held By Russia Appeals To Kyiv For Help

Another statement questioning the Russian accounts came from the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, who said an armed skirmish had taken place in Crimea between the Russian military and Russian FSB border guards.

Valeriy Kondratyuk did not say when or exactly where the alleged shoot-out took place. He made the comments at a meeting with Poroshenko earlier on August 11 to discuss the crisis.

Other media outlets tried to puzzle out Putins motives for the Russian claims.

The independent Russian daily Vedomosti said that Russia may be intentionally increasing tensions and putting pressure on Kyiv and the West ahead of a possible new round of talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine scheduled for next month.

In an op-ed article titled A New Old Enemy, Vedomosti wrote that Moscow had a habit of ramping up tensions ahead of negotiations with Ukraine.

"The main political question now is what is the future of the Minsk process," the paper wrote, referring to a cease-fire and peace plan that was hammered out in the Belarusian capital in February 2015 but has not been implemented. "Will Russia bring an end to it or demand new concessions?"

Motuzyanyk, the Ukrainian military spokesman, said Russia's actions and statements were intended "to discredit Ukraine, to stall the Minsk agreements, and to escalate conflict in eastern Ukraine which was caused by the Russian aggression."

With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, Kommersant, and Vedomosti
Serbia's lawmakers have approved a new government headed by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, nearly four months after he won a snap election.

The government was voted into office 163-to-62 on August 11, following three days of heated debate.

Vucic cut short his previous term and called the early vote in April, saying that he needs a full four years to implement reforms and guide the Balkan country toward European Union membership.

The prime ministers Progressive Party will remain in coalition with the pro-Russian Socialist Party.

Socialist Party leader and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has retained his cabinet post, alongside Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic.

The governments six new ministers include Ana Brnabic, the first openly gay minister in Serbia, who was appointed minister of public administration and local government.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Turkey's ambassador to Russia says that Turkey will develop its ties with Russia despite tensions between the West and Moscow.

"Our relations with Russia are highly important to us and we will do everything we can to develop these relations," Umit Yardim told a press conference in Moscow on August 11. "We will develop them regardless of whether countries of the West want it or not."

He added, "In no way can NATO limit our contacts with other countries."

He also said that the Turkish government believes that the current Syrian leadership could potentially take part in talks aimed at resolving the Syria crisis.

However, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on August 11 in an interview with private broadcaster NTV that a political transition in Syria with President Bashar al-Assad was not possible.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized on a visit to Moscow on August 9 that Ankara is ready to cooperate with Russia in seeking a resolution to the Syria crisis.

The two countries are on opposite sides in the conflict. Ankara supports rebels seeking to topple Assad, while Moscow backs the Syrian government and supports its military with Russian air power.

Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS
Ukrainian authorities say they have blocked several channels being used by militants traveling to fight with the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said on August 11 that the discovery was made in a wave of raids across several Ukrainian cities.

The SBU said an apartment in the northeastern city of Kharkiv was being used as a temporary shelter by alleged IS members who intended to travel to Syria and Iraq.

"This 'transit point' had four foreign nationals from Central Asian states," it added.

Two of them have already been expelled from Ukraine, the SBU statement said.

The agency added that an "IS recruiter from one of the former Soviet republics was also detained.

Security agents detained another "IS supporter" in the Kyiv region who had undergone training in Syria.

Based on reporting by AFP and Interfax
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he has instructed all military units near Russian-occupied Crimea and in the easterly Donbas region to be at the highest level of combat readiness, following Russian allegations of a Ukrainian incursion into Crimea.

Also on August 11, the spokesman for Ukraine's General Staff told Reuters that Ukraine had been holding scheduled military exercises in southern Ukraine since August 10.

The statements come as Kyiv says Russia has amassed more troops in recent days equipped with more modern equipment on Ukraine's border with Russian-annexed Crimea

Oleh Slobodyan, the spokesman for the Ukrainian border guards, said on August 11 that "we can unequivocally say that Russian troops who were there since March are now being replaced with others."

"These troops are coming with more modern equipment and there are air assault units. In recent days, we see a strengthening of the units that are at the border. Their number increased," Slobodyan said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv on August 10 of trying to destabilize Russian-annexed Crimea through saboteurs. Kyiv has rejected the charges as "senseless and cynical".

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
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TARRYTOWN, NY--(Marketwired - Aug 10, 2016) - alpha-En Corporation (OTC PINK: ALPE), an innovative clean technology company enabling next-generation battery technologies through the production of high purity lithium metal, announced today it will host a joint press conference with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano at its new corporate headquarters and product development center in Yonkers, New York.

This event is being organized to publicize awareness and support for the bipartisan legislation "Made in America Manfuactoring Communities Act," that will benefit local businesses in New York State and the City of Yonkers by bringing together resources of multiple federal agcencies that drive business development in the local community. The legislation will stimulate the manufacturing industry and help create well-paying jobs in Westchester County by creating a permanent program that designates local regions as "Manufacturing Communities," which would put them in the front of the line to receive federal economic development funding specifically for the purpose of investing in manufacturing.

"We are pleased and honored to welcome Senator Gillibrand and Mayor Spano to our new corporate headquarters and product development centeter for a press conference to supporting manufacturing business development initiatives," said Jerry Feldman, Executive Chairman of alpha-En. "As an emerging and publically traded clean technology company with novel disruptive technology we will benefit from the supportive legislation sponsored by Senator Gillibrand and Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and we will capatilize on the are honored to have the opportunity we have to make a profound impact, environmentally and economically, for our community, the nation and the world, here in Yonkers, NY."

The press conference will take place at 12:30 p.m. today, at alpha-En's new facility in the innovative iPark Hudson technology and office campus which was the original manufacturing headquarters for Otis Elevators.

Corporate Contact

Michael Feldman

alpha-En Corporation

914-418-2000

mfeldman@alpha-encorp.com

Investor Relations Contact

Rob Fink

Hayden IR

646-415-8972

alpe@haydenir.com

About alpha-En Corporation

alpha-En Corporation (OTC PINK: ALPE) is an innovative clean technology company focused on enabling next generation battery technologies by developing and bringing to market high purity lithium metal and associated products produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. For more information, please visit http://alpha-encorp.com.

Safe Harbor

Except for the historical information herein, the matters discussed in this news release may include forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as they are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary materially. alpha-En Corporation assumes no obligation to update the information in this release. Reference to the Company's website above does not constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon into this press release.
A North Carolina man has been charged with operating an illegal gambling operation inside a Richmond storefront that police said offered casino-like games of chance  one of five so-called internet gambling sites that have drawn the attention of local police.

A Richmond grand jury indicted James Michael Bowen Jr. of Randleman, N.C., on a felony charge of operating a continuous gambling enterprise inside a store at 437 E. Belt Blvd. in the Circle Shopping Center, across from Southside Plaza. Police said the operation used the names Top Katz LLC and CrazieOverstock.com.

Bowen was charged with being the operator, so he was the operator and manager of that particular location, which is the only one in Richmond, said Richmond Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Joshua Boyles. Bowen remains a fugitive because police have been unable to locate him to serve the indictment.

Boyles said the operation was licensed as Top Katz, but also claimed to be affiliated with CrazieOverstock.com, an online retail company that sells surplus products. But I have no idea whether that is true, the prosecutor said.

The business had what appeared to be CrazieOverstock.com promotional posters on the store front windows when a reporter visited in early April.

The business, which was raided by Richmond police in December and closed, is one of five operations that were shuttered by authorities throughout the area for alleged illegal gambling.

Police said many of the operations were promoted as legitimate retail establishments but in reality were illegal internet gambling sites, stocked with hundreds of computers that customers used to play games that had the look and feel of Las Vegas-style slot machines and other digital games of chance.

After the Richmond raid, police in Henrico County searched and closed three different storefronts on Feb. 17 and a grand jury was convened to investigate. Those include Starbidz RPM at 5316 Chamberlayne Road in the Brookhill Azalea Shopping Center; Starbidz of Virginia at 3075 Mechanicsville Turnpike in the Oak Hill Plaza Shopping Center; and Henrico Lucky Bids at 4501 Williamsburg Road.

Investigators seized a total of 197 computers, $10,859 in cash, digital money counters, receipt machines and various business documents from all three locations, according to court documents.

Henrico authorities this week declined to disclose the status of their investigation.

A month after the Henrico raids, Chesterfield County police searched and shut down the grand opening of Chippenham Bids on Midlothian Turnpike, confiscating 567 computers in the 10,000-square foot store and arresting the owner, Lu Liang of Morehead, N.C. He was charged one felony count of operating a continuous gambling enterprise.

He pleaded guilty April 19 to a reduced count of misdemeanor gambling and was fined $500, according to court records.

In a police statement of facts in Liangs court file, a detective wrote that he encountered Liang inside Chippenham Bids and asked how his business worked. Liang advised that people played the machines and won prizes. When the detective asked where the prize room was, Liang replied that he had not set one up yet.

The detective then questioned Liang on how his customers received their prizes, and Liang said he would send them after taking down their names and addresses. But Liang couldnt produce a list of names, the police statement said.

I advised Liang that his story did not make sense and that I had sent in an undercover police officer a few days ago that walked out of the business winning money, the statement said. Mr. Liang stated that sometimes you dont have to take the prize and you can win money.

Liang also told the detective that his lawyer in North Carolina advised him that his operation was legal.

I asked Mr. Liang how his operation was regulated to make sure no cheating was taking place, the detective said in the statement. Mr. Liang stated that he didnt know because he was new at this.

In the Richmond case, city police said in a search warrant affidavit that they were asked in September to investigate what appeared to be illegal gambling activity at the Belt Boulevard location.

An undercover police officer was sent into the business Sept. 11 and exchanged $60 for 60 credits, the affidavit said. The officer was then shown a computer station and instructed on how to log on.

Once logged in, the 60 credits were registered and credited to the machine. Over the next 15 minutes, the officer used those credits to spin a digital version of a slot machine. That would result in the officer winning or losing credits. The officer eventually cashed out his remaining credits, which were converted to money by a cashier and resulted in a $20 loss, the affidavit said.

Another uncover officer lost $58 while playing a digital slot machine on Nov. 19, according to the affidavit.

(T)he business clearly displays a sign inside with possible max payouts from the various games, the affidavit said. The business is void of any significant merchandise, and the gaming activity appears to be the only reason anyone patronizes the establishment.

William Brian Jr., an attorney with a North Carolina law firm that represents CrazieOverstock.com, said the Richmond search warrant affidavit bears no resemblance to the online retailers cash-back rewards program business model, which he said several private attorneys and prosecutors in Virginia have vetted and determined to be lawful. He said there are two possible explanations for the discrepancy.

Either the officer who prepared the affidavit in support of the warrant observed and participated in the operation of a different system, or that officer intentionally left information out of the affidavit which he knew would be exculpatory under the applicable legal standard, and therefore would have undermined his ability to get a judge to issue the warrant, Brian said in an email.

Brian said CrazieOver stock.coms relationship in Richmond was with Top Katz LLC, and Bowen  the man indicted  is not a principal, manager or owner of Top Katz to the best of my clients knowledge.

Brian said CrazieOverstock has never had any dealings or relationship with Bowen, nor has there been any licensing agreement between Bowen and CrazieOverstock for use of the companys name or business model.

However, Brian declined to say whether CrazieOverstock.com had a licensing agreement with someone else associated with Top Katz at the now-closed Richmond location.

If Top Katz was operating the CrazieOverstock.com rewards program, then the Richmond Police appear to have filed a fraudulent affidavit in support of the search warrant that was issued, Brian said. If Top Katz was running some other system, our client knows nothing about that situation and has nothing to say about it.

Richmond police declined to comment on Brians allegations.
Through a series of releases by the University of Virginia and most recently a column by current Rector William H. Goodwin, Jr. appearing in The Washington Post, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and other state-wide papers, the University has outlined its thinking behind the new strategic investment fund.

I applaud Rector Goodwin, the Board of Visitors, President Teresa Sullivan and her team for taking this bold step to enhance the quality of the student experience at one of the nations premier universities. Fundamentally, a world-class university committed to excellence is good for Virginia.

This recent effort furthers the work of the board in 2015 when it increased the spend rate on the endowment to devote more funds for financial aid; reduced student debt by $10,000 for low- and middle-income Virginia families (by 71 percent for low-income families and 36 percent for middle-income families); established a predictable framework for future tuition increases; made a U.Va. education more affordable by enhancing the universitys financial aid program; established a long-range financial plan; and adopted organizational excellence as a goal with projected savings of $150 million in efficiencies over seven years.

Given the transformative nature of this new strategy, a collaborative decision-making process involving the faculty, administration and the board has been proposed to determine how best to deploy the investment returns from the fund.

To be clear, no awards from the Fund have been made and the process is at its beginning stage. The projects that align with the Universitys Strategic Plan adopted in 2013 and the Medical Center Strategic Plan adopted in 2012 will receive priority.

The plan salutes the need to attract new faculty as our talented Baby Boomers retire. It is admirable that the strategy bolsters the university, a major research institution, in this critical area.

Over 12 years ago, U.Va. and several other public universities went through restructuring as a result of legislation enacted by the General Assembly. To qualify for restructuring, a school had to have a certain bond rating. U.Va.s bond rating was and remains the highest: AAA.

Through the years the rating agencies have required the University to maintain a certain level of liquidity. At one point the rating agencies wanted the university to have 300 days of liquidity. Why? Given that a significant portion of the universitys revenue budget is derived from the endowment earnings, a healthy reserve fund was a prudent way to protect the school in the event of a downturn in the market. Indeed, at one point during the recent recession, the value of the endowment was down 30 percent. Also a couple of years ago, the state did not have a budget. Even though we were collecting tuition, we could not spend it without an appropriation. Fortunately the state adopted a budget before we had to use our reserves, but that was our strategy to continue to operate the university. In large part, the interest on these reserves will fund the proposed strategic investments.

As a former rector, I appreciate the challenges facing higher education and U.Va. in particular. We cannot be satisfied with the status quo. Our goal should be to enhance, not just maintain, excellence. Indeed, the commonwealth is known for excellence, and we must uphold that tradition.

Virginia has been blessed to have one of the countrys pre-eminent universities. As such, it has attracted talented individuals from within the atate and throughout the world. The Economist has routinely identified U.Va. as one of the best values for a college education, and Money magazine recently ranked U.Va. the most affordable university among the top 100 public and private institutions in the nation.

Also worth celebrating is the schools graduation rate for African-American students. For the 23rd consecutive year we ranked No. 1. And just this week, U.S. News & World Report ranked U.Va.s hospital as the best in the state. These accomplishments speak to the outstanding efforts of the university leadership to address affordability, diversity and excellence.

The University of Virginia is not perfect, but it is special. And one of the reasons it is special is its commitment to excellence and affordability. I am proud to be associated with an institution that shuns mediocrity and embraces excellence.

Rector Goodwin, the Board of Visitors and the administration should be commended for their efforts to advance U.Va.s overall excellence while at the same time remaining committed to affordability.
Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington, the founder of The Huffington Post, is leaving the company, The Wall Street Journal first reported on Thursday.

Huffington plans to focus on a new startup called Thrive Global, which will launch in November and focus on health, productivity, and wellness issues.

The company shares the name of her book "Thrive" and will offer workshops, online courses, and other ways it hopes will help companies improve the well-being of their employees. It has already begun testing its services with the professional services company Accenture, according to a press release sent out by the company on Thursday.

Thrive Global secured series A funding last week. A source close to the company told Business Insider it was a $7 million round that valued Thrive Global at $33 million.

The investment convinced Huffington she could not remain at the media company she cofounded 11 years ago.

She told The Journal: "I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up, I realized that it really needed my full attention. It is important to know when one door closes and another opens and I felt that moment had arrived."

AOL acquired The Huffington Post in 2011 for $315 million. But questions lingered over Huffington's future role at the company after Verizon acquired AOL for $4.4 billion in 2015.

Huffington ended up signing a four-year deal in June to stay on as chair, president, and editor-in-chief at the Verizon-owned content business.

She told The Journal there had been discussions for her to continue in a different role at The Huffington Post when Thrive Global launches later this year, but she said it wasn't an option.

Huffington said: "I have been running Huffington Post for 11 years and I couldn't imagine having another relationship with it."

Tim Armstrong

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said in a statement that the company intended to partner with Thrive Global in the future.

Story continues

The full statement reads:

"Arianna is a visionary who built The Huffington Post into a truly transformative news platform. Today, The Huffington Post is a firmly established and celebrated news source and AOL and Verizon are committed to continuing its growth and the groundbreaking work Arianna pioneered. We are confident that our strong editorial leadership team will maintain the exacting standards and high-quality journalism of our Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. The Huffington Post draws more than 178 million people worldwide on a daily basis and continues to distinguish itself with groundbreaking reporting and analysis. We remain committed to our mission of making The Huffington Post the most influential and innovative news company in the world.

"We are looking forward to partnering with Arianna on Thrive Global and are grateful for what she has done in creating such an iconic brand."

Thrive Global's series A round was led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures, the venture fund created by Huffington Post cofounder Ken Lerer, former Huffington Post CEO Eric Hippeau, and Thrillist Media CEO Ben Lerer.

Other participants in the round include: Blue Pool Capital, Greycroft Partners, Advancit Capital, Female Founders Fund, Zoe Baird, Nicolas Berggruen, Joanna Coles, Ray Dalio, Mohamed El-Erian, Nick Green, Gunnar Lovelace, Fred Harman, Isabella Huffington, Andre Iguodala, and Sean Parker.

Arianna Huffington: A timeline

arianna huffington

1950: Born in Athens, Greece

1966: Moves to the UK and later studies economics at Cambridge, where she became the president of the university's Cambridge Union Society debate club.

1973: Writes the "Female Woman" book, which attacks Germaine Greer's "The Female Eunuch."

1979: Cohosts BBC1's late-night talk show "Saturday Night at the Mill" for 12 episodes.

1980: Moves to the US. Publishes several articles for the National Review and writes two biographies, one of Maria Callas and another about Pablo Picasso.

1985: Marries Michael Huffington and helps support his campaign for a seat in the US Senate. He lost the race to the incumbent, Dianne Feinstein.

1996: Reports on the presidential election for Comedy Central.

1997: Arianna and Michael Huffington divorce.

2003: Bids, unsuccessfully, for the governorship of California.

2005: Cofounds The Huffington Post with Ken Lerer and Jonah Peretti.

Arianna Huffington

2007: Writes her eleventh book, "On Becoming Fearless ... In Love, Work, and Life."

2011: AOL acquires The Huffington Post for $315 million.

2014: Writes international best-seller "Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Wellbeing, Wisdom, and Wonder."

2015: Verizon acquires AOL for $4.4 billion. Huffington signs a four-year deal to stay on as chair, president, and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post.

2016: Publishes "The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time."

2016: Huffington announces the launch of Thrive Global, a wellness company.

NOW WATCH: Arianna Huffington says these are the things you should never do before bed





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Congressman Morgan Griffith's office shares his e-newsletter for the week of Aug. 8:

9th District agriculture and a better way to do tax reform

Last week, among other visits to businesses and organizations in Virginias Ninth District, I had the opportunity to visit Hillwinds Farm, a local cow/calf operation in Dublin.

Not only are agriculture and forestry an integral part of our regions economy and heritage, but agriculture is the largest industry in the Ninth Congressional District.

Hillwinds Farm is a cow/calf operation, and is also a bred heifer business. They take cattle from birth to slaughter, owning the cattle all the way through the process.

Tim Sutphin and his wife Cathy bought the farm in 1994, and since that time, have become respected leaders in the industry. Cathy is also well known as the associate director of 4-H Youth Development for the Virginia Cooperative Extension.

The Sutphins run about 800 cow/calf pairs in Pulaski and Bland Counties. Between all federal, state, and local taxes, the Sutphins pay approximately $185 per cow in taxes on their farm operations. That sure adds up.

During our visit, Mr. Sutphin indicated that we needed to improve our tax system.

I couldnt help but nod my head in agreement when I heard this. I immediately thought of the reform plan being proposed by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) as a taxes-related portion of the Houses A Better Way agenda. Like any proposal, the Brady proposal is not perfect. But it is far better than the complicated tax system we currently have.

As I have often said, when you have a daily publication devoted to reviewing tax court opinions and Internal Revenue Service rulings, your tax system is far more complicated than the average citizen could ever understand. And even those who love accounting have often indicated to me that the system needs simplification.

That is one of the reasons I have always supported the bill by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) which would end the current tax code after six years. But if Chairman Bradys proposal could meet that goal in the next year, thats even better. This would force Congress to do the heavy lifting that must be done in order to fix our tax system.

Among Chairman Bradys goals is to make it so the majority of Americans can fill out their income taxes on a form no larger than a postcard. That is an appropriate goal.

If I had it my way, the United States would be the best place in the world in which to do business (various organizations rate us differently, but I dont know of any that currently rank the United States in the top ten). A new tax code could help with this.

Among other things, Chairman Bradys A Better Way to do Tax Reform would work to make the tax code simpler, fairer, and flatter. It would also make it easier to create jobs, increase wages, and expand opportunities.

And rather than almost encouraging the shift of jobs overseas, as does our current tax code, Chairman Bradys plan would reduce the tax penalty for those businesses wanting to bring overseas earnings home to America to invest. Other countries permit their companies to make money in foreign countries and bring that money home without significant penalty. Under our current system, American companies must pay a significant tax penalty if they bring foreign earnings back to the USA.

Thats right. If they earn $1 billion overseas, they cant bring that money home to invest in new American facilities and new American jobs without the federal governments tax system punishing them. I think we should let them bring their money home and create new jobs, new factories, and new innovations for the American people, not the people of China, India, Australia, etc.

As described in the policy paper for Chairman Bradys tax plan, American worldwide companies currently hold more than $2 trillion in capital overseas  funds that can be reinvested in America only after payment of a hefty U.S. tax bill.

The A Better Way vision is about addressing some of our countrys biggest challenges in areas such as tax reform, poverty, national security, health care, cutting regulations, and restoring constitutional authority. I look forward to continue working and advancing some of these policies so Virginia businesses such as the Hillwinds Farm can continue confidently pursuing success.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. Also on my website is the latest material from my office, including information on votes recently taken on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Submitted by Anie Pivarunas
Nicholas Irving is a retired US Army Ranger sniper who has logged multiple enemy kills while serving in Afghanistan.

Irving, author of "Way of the Reaper," discusses why he thinks that Donald Trump should never have the codes that can unlock America's nuclear arsenal.

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By the numbers: The interactive map below offers a locality-by-locality look at the number of people affected by the voter registration cancellations. The map was made with figures compiled from the Virginia Department of Elections list released Wednesday and prior department reports on voter registration activity. Click on the map to see data for each locality.

State elections officials released the names and addresses Wednesday of nearly 13,000 felons recently removed from voter rolls to comply with the Supreme Court of Virginias July 22 order overruling Gov. Terry McAuliffes executive order that restored political rights to more than 200,000 ex-offenders.

Until Wednesday, the McAuliffe administration had kept the felons identities confidential.

At a State Board of Elections meeting Wednesday morning Edgardo Cortes, McAuliffes appointed elections commissioner, said he is required to release the list because of a federal law that declares voter cancellations as public records. The partial list, which elections officials posted online Wednesday evening, includes names and addresses, but no information on would-be voters criminal history.

Of the 12,832 voter registrations canceled because of the Supreme Court order, 1,075 had Richmond addresses.

The list also included 249 people in Roanoke City, 121 in Roanoke County and 45 apiece in both Salem and Botetourt County. It also included: six people in Craig County, 21 in Floyd County, 72 in Franklin County, 18 in Giles County, 60 in Montgomery County and 53 in Pulaski County.

The elections board voted 2-1 to certify that the state has fully complied with the Supreme Court of Virginias July 22 order. The ruling, a result of a Republican-led legal challenge, required the elections department to cancel the invalid voter registrations and add roughly 214,000 felons back to the prohibited voter list.

Clara Belle Wheeler, the boards lone Republican, opposed the resolution, saying she could not verify compliance without having a complete list of all felons being made ineligible again.

I think that it would behoove us to not pass judgment on something that we cant verify, Wheeler said.

Cortes said he wasnt sure if the complete list could be shared with the board members who oversee his agency.

The department would have to consult with counsel to determine whether or not thats allowable to release or how that process would work, Cortes said.

McAuliffe officials have been vague when asked whether a separate list exists showing who was covered under the governors April 22 order and subsequent renewals.

At the meeting, Cortes told the board its not a matter of just printing out an Excel file. Documents obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch suggest thats exactly how the list has been passed among state agencies.

On April 27, an IT staffer in the elections department sent an Excel spreadsheet to the Virginia Department of Corrections as an email attachment to allow corrections officials to perform a demographic analysis on felons covered by the order. A summary of that analysis was later released publicly.

The corrections department refused to release the underlying Excel file to the Times-Dispatch, saying it was exempt from public records law as both protected voter information and working papers of the governor. When asked about the Excel email after Wednesdays meeting, Cortes told reporters he wasnt aware of it.

Cortes assured the board that the department has complied with the Supreme Courts directives, and board members thanked him for completing the work before the Aug. 25 deadline imposed by the court.

Board Chairman James Alcorn said he saw nothing in the Supreme Court opinion ordering outside access to the full felon list.

I dont read this as saying that the board or the general public is to have a public list of the prohibited voters, Alcorn said.

Wheeler also said she would have liked to hear feedback from local registrars, who were unable to attend Wednesdays meeting because of a conference underway in Roanoke.

In a 4-3 opinion, the Supreme Court of Virginia found that the governor does not have the authority to issue a blanket clemency order without case-by-case review. Such a step, the court majority said, effectively undermines the states constitutional policy of lifetime disenfranchisement for felons.

McAuliffe, who has characterized his efforts as an attempt to end a restrictive voting policy that prevents rehabilitated felons from fully reintegrating into society, has vowed to restore voting rights on an individual basis for all people covered by his previous order. He has signed no such orders since the Supreme Court decision.

At a town hall held in Richmond on Tuesday night, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kelly Thomasson asked for patience, saying the administration is finalizing a process for restoring rights individually.

Staff writer Alicia Petska contributed to this report.
By Jonathan Barrett and Byron Kaye

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia blocked the A$10 billion ($7.7 billion) sale of its biggest energy grid to State Grid Corp of China and Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings citing security concerns, in a blow to the country's privatisation plan.

Nine months after clearing the sale of TransGrid to an investor group 40 percent controlled by Kuwaiti and Abu Dhabi interests, Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison said on Thursday he was rejecting the sale of Ausgrid to the rival Asian bidders because of risks to the national interest.

"During the review process national security issues were identified in critical power and communications services that Ausgrid provides to businesses and governments," Morrison said in a statement.

State Grid, China's dominant power distributor, did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI), controlled by Hong Kong billionaire tycoon Li Ka-Shing, said the decision was not related to CKI.

Australia's decision to reject the bids deprives the New South Wales state government of what would have been a record haul for a single privatisation sale, and also underscores the country's changing political climate since a handful of protectionist senators took power in elections last month.

The Australian Senate cannot block offshore sales, but Morrison's conservative government needs to maintain favourable relations with the crossbench which now holds the balance of power in the upper house.

CHINA TIES

The decision also sets new parameters to the relationship between Australia and its biggest export partner just eight months after a A$100 billion free trade agreement took effect.

"If you put your biggest trading partner in the category of 'security risk', it might start to impact on the overall atmosphere, and on Chinese involvement in other areas," said Hans Hendrischke, a professor of Chinese business at University of Sydney's business school.

Story continues

"That is not necessarily something you want with bidding for other big infrastructure projects," he added, noting Chinese interests have routinely bid in Australian infrastructure sales.

China's state news agency Xinhua said that Chinese investment should not become a source of strategic concern for trade partners but a sign of cooperation.

"To suggest that China would try to kidnap the countries' electricity network for ulterior motive is absurd and almost comical," Xinhua said in a commentary, reflecting government thinking.

"It's also ridiculous to suggest that Chinese enterprises would risk their credit and commit suicide on the world stage by threatening to deny the Australian and British public electricity," Xinhua added.

Britain has delayed signing off on a $24 billion nuclear power project, which has deeply frustrated the Chinese government.

BACKLASH OVER AUSTRALIAN PORT SALE

Apart from Ausgrid and TransGrid - which State Grid also attempted to buy last year - the government of NSW, Australia's most populous state, has put up a third grid for sale, rural-focused Endeavour Energy, expected to fetch about A$5 billion based on the valuation models used for the first two.

The national sell-off programme has been under political pressure since the 2015 sale of Port of Darwin to Chinese government-affiliated interests that sparked a backlash over the security implications and even a rebuke from U.S. government officials.

Soon after that, Morrison blocked proposed sales of the country's biggest agricultural land holding, S. Kidman Co, to Chinese bidders.

NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian said she respected the federal government's decision and "there will be no delays to our infrastructure pipeline".

In a statement to Reuters, CKI spokeswoman Wendy Tong Barnes, said: "We believe that the Australian government must have reasons beyond the obvious which led them to make today's announcement. The issue is unrelated to CKI."

State Grid and CKI have until Aug. 18 to make submissions to Morrison. A further rejection would open the possibility that the sale process would be re-run in the hope that a competitive local bid would emerge for the network that serves nearly a quarter of NSW's 7.5 million people.

($1 = 1.2994 Australian dollars)

(Additional reporting by David Stanway in SHANGHAI, Donny Kwok in HONG KONG, and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Mike Collett-White)
I WRITE to encourage readers of the Rotherham Advertiser to mark World Humanitarian Day on August 19 by asking ourselves how might we all contribute to a more humane Britain.



The United Nations created World Humanitarian Day to celebrate the ordinary heroes around the world working to save lives and alleviate suffering when disaster or conflict strikes. Yet even here in Rotherham, we can contribute to the humanitarian cause.



Right now, the UK government is making decisions on how many places of sanctuary to offer to refugees from Syria and elsewhere. You often hear it said that charity begins at home and one small thing we can all do is to tell our government that we stand for a country based on compassion, inclusion and treating people with humanity, wherever theyre from.



Please visit http://careint.uk/refugeepetition16 to sign a petition calling on our government to do more to protect refugees, here and across the world. And please ask your friends and family to do the same. In the relative comfort of Rotherham it is the least we can do.





Mr David Gosling, Beevers Road, Rotherham
Diamcor more than doubles Q2 revenue Diamcor generated gross revenues of about $3 million from its operations in the interim period ended September 30, 2022, compared to $1,4 million for the same period in the previous year. The company is still conducting trial mining exercises at its...

IBJA commits to Declaration of Responsibility & Sustainability Principles The Indian gold industry has signed a Declaration of Responsibility and Sustainability Principles, convened by the LBMA and the World Gold Council, which expresses a commitment to operate responsibly and sustainably, based on a clear set of shared goals...

De Beers boosts Q3 output, maintains production guidance De Beers rough diamond production rose 4% to 9.6 million carats, mainly due to the treatment of higher grade ore at both Orapa in Botswana and South Africa as well as continued strong performance in Namibia, according to its parent company, Anglo...

Hong Kongs major jewellery fairs are set to return in 2023 An announcement from Informa Markets Jewellery indicates that the industrys two biggest B2B sourcing events will be back in action in Hong Kong in 2023 following a three-year forced pandemic break.
At the government-jewellery industry summit in Bangkok, CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri had proposed Thailand position itself as the primary access point to the gemstone and jewellery industries and markets of the ASEAN bloc in Southeast Asia, says a press note from CIBJO.He also suggested that Thailand should be serving as a centre that connects and services the entire region, and also acting as a bridge-way that links it to the world.Cavalieri was the keynote speaker at a dinner summit held in Bangkok on August 8, organised by the country's Department of Trade Promotion (DITP), which brought together senior government and industry representatives to consider strategies for consolidating Thailand's leadership role in the business.DITP, which is the department within Thailand's Ministry of Commerce responsible for promoting the country's export industries, has recently expanded its involvement in the critically important gemstone and jewellery industry, taking over the management of the Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair. The summit was presided over by Apiradi Tantraporn, the Minister of Commerce, who was joined by the DITP Director General, Malee Choklumlerd.In his address, Cavalieri noted, "Your credentials as a major gem and jewellery centre are indisputable," Dr Cavalieri continued. "But what then are the elements that set you apart? What is your USP, or Unique Selling Proposition?""Besides being a rich source of gemstones and pearls, and home to a group of fast-growing gemstone and jewellery industries, it is a region with a population of than 600 million people, which is larger than those in the European Union or North America, and it has the third-largest labour force in the world, behind China and India," he explained.
Gem Diamonds said full year guidance for ore tonnes treated and operating costs will likely be re-assessed due to extreme weather conditions recently experienced across the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho, where the Letseng Mine is located.

Excessive snow falls and severe winds had limited access to the mine.

The company, however, said that carats recovered were not expected to be affected materially as a result of a strong operational performance during the first half of the year.

Following damage to the overhead power lines, standby generators installed at the mine have been used to mitigate some of the impact, allowing the plants to operate, albeit at reduced rates, it said in a statement emailed to Rough & Polished.

The Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) is currently on site carrying out repairs to damaged overhead power lines. External power supply is expected to be fully restored in the short term.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Petra Diamonds has recovered a 138.57 carat Type IIa, D colour diamond at its Cullinan mine in South Africa.It said in a statement that the diamond would be offered for sale as part of the companys next sales process end of this month in Johannesburg.Cullinan was a famous source of large white diamonds and frequently yields diamonds larger than 10 carats.The mine had produced over 800 stones weighing more than 100 carats, 140 stones weighing more than 200 carats, and around a quarter of all diamonds weighing more than 400 carats.The largest rough gem diamond ever found in the world  a 3,106 carat stone  was discovered at Cullinan in 1905.This iconic stone was cut into the two most important diamonds which form part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London - the First Star of Africa, which was mounted at the top of the Sovereign's Sceptre and which at 530 carats was the largest flawless cut diamond in the world, and the Second Star of Africa, a 317 carat polished diamond which forms the centrepiece of the Imperial State Crown.Cullinan was also renowned as the world's most important source of blue diamonds, providing the collection of 11 rare blues displayed in 2000 at London's Millennium Dome alongside the Millennium Star and which included the fancy vivid blue 'Heart of Eternity'.
U.S. polished diamond imports were basically flat in June, underlining continued stability in the largest market for diamond jewelry, according to Rapaport.

Imports crept up 0.3 percent to $1.72 billion, according to the latest government figures. By volume, polished imports jumped 7.2 percent to 790,061 carats, while the average price fell 6.4 percent to $2,171 per carat.

Polished exports, meanwhile, dipped 3 percent to $2.59 billion, driving net imports down 8.7 percent to negative $877 million.

Rough diamond imports advanced 9.5 percent to $23 million, while rough exports soared more than fourfold to $50 million. This left net rough imports at negative $27 million versus positive $9 million a year ago. The net diamond account, calculated as rough and polished imports minus exports, was pared to a deficit of $903.9 million from $953.2 million a year earlier.

In the first half of 2016, polished imports declined 0.3 percent to $12.2 billion and polished exports declined 1.7 percent to $9.99 billion. Net polished imports increased 6.2 percent to $2.21 billion. Rough imports almost tripled to $349.9 million and rough exports more than tripled to $232 million, leaving net imports at $117 million versus $42 million a year ago. The U.S. net diamond account for the first half of the year increased 9.6 percent to $2.33 billion.




French officials said homes had been destroyed in the towns of Vitrolles, about 25km (15 miles) north of Marseille, and nearby Pennes-Mirabeau. More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the Rhone river delta area. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told that 1,800 firefighters make efforts to keep the flames out of Marseille, the third-largest city in France and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Cote dAzur region. Its a hard battle and Four firemen have been injured, three of them seriously. At least two other people were reported injured, one of them seriously, In the Canary Islands, a helicopter fighting a massive wildfire has crashed. Provence Airport was closed for a period, but it had reopened Wednesday night.
Metro Transit

Metro Transit announced Aug. 10 the agency has received the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) 2016 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award.

Also known as the System of the Year award, the highly regarded award recognizes Metro Transits achievements, such as growing ridership, improving accessibility, advances in sustainability and system safety from 2013 through 2015. Metro Transit officials will be presented with the award at APTAs Annual Meeting next month in Los Angeles, Calif.

Richard A. White, APTAs acting president and CEO said, Metro Transits record ridership, its emphasis on safety, its outstanding vehicle reliability and its great effort in sustainability are just some of the reasons APTA is giving Metro Transit this prestigious award.

The recognition comes following the agencys 2014 unveiling of the METRO Green Line, which company officials say brought in Metro Transits highest ridership in 30 years. The agency also recorded upwards of 85.8 million rides taken in 2015.

General Manager Brian Lamb attributed the agencys success to the companys 3,200 employees, who build lasting relationships with both customers and partners.

Being named APTAs System of the Year is a humbling and high honor, and one that can be celebrated by all who helped bring us to this point, Lamb said.

Metro Transit officials say the company has seen $16 million in savings by using hybrid buses and solar energy, along with making additional sustainability measures. The Metro Transit Police Department has also grown, and improved train operator instruction and safety campaigns have shown improved safety along the agencys routes.

Winning the 2016 Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award means that Metro Transit has been recognized as the top large public transit system in North America, said Paul Skoutelas, APTA Awards Chair and national transit director, WSP|Parsons Brinckerhoff. Metro Transit is a model for other public transit systems.

Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota Tina Smith lauded the agencys accomplishments, noting that the states economy relies on a dependable, modern transportation system.

This need will only intensify in coming years as the Twin Cities adds an estimated 800,000 residents and 490,000 jobs by 2040, she said. This award confirms what the thousands of Minnesotans who rely on transit already know: Metro Transit delivers consistent, high-quality service. This recognition is well deserved, and an important reminder that Minnesota needs to continue to expand and improve transit services if we want our economy to stay strong.
Croatia's producer prices declined at a steady pace in July, figures from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday.

The producer price index fell 5.5 percent year-over-year in July, the same rate of decrease as in the previous month. Prices have been falling since March 2013.

Domestic market producer prices dropped 0.7 percent annually in July and prices in the foreign market went down by 5.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, producer prices slid 0.8 percent from June, when it rose by 0.9 percent. It was the first decline in three months.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
Panda Express, the worldwide American-Chinese restaurant chain, has added General Tso's Chicken to its menu, to "honor Chinese inspired, American crafted cuisine"

The entree dish will be available for a limited time at all locations through December 27, the company said.

Panda's General Tso's Chicken is made with all-white meat chicken, freshly prepared green beans, red and yellow bell peppers, and onions, then tossed in a sweet, spicy and tangy sauce.

"As authors of American Chinese cuisine, it seems only natural for Panda to offer a deliciously crafted take on an iconic American Chinese original, General Tso's Chicken," said Andrea Cherng, chief marketing officer of Panda Restaurant Group.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - MRV Engenharia e Participacoes SA, Brazil's largest low-income housing builder, said on Thursday that its quarterly profit fell 13.6 percent to 138 million reais ($43.94 million), squeezed by the country's severest recession since the 1930s.

Total sales dropped 5.5 percent in the second quarter to 1.3 billion reais, according to a securities filing.

Still, a drop in sales cancellations helped the company weather the storm, Co-chief executive officer Rafael Menin said in an interview. He added the low-income segment is less affected by the recession because its buyers can take out government-subsidized loans unavailable to buyers of more expensive houses, a segment where the company does not operate.

"In some cases, rents are more expensive than the installments of a loan," Menin said.

Cancellations dropped to 23 percent of gross sales from nearly 30 percent a year ago, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2014, the company said. As a result, MRV generated 324 million reais of free cash flow, a record for the first half in any year of operation.

Earnings before interest, tax, debt and amortization, a measure of operating profitability, fell 15 percent to 163 million reais.

LAND-BANK

MRV will buy up more land in 29 of the 142 cities where it operates, focusing on population centers like Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, Menin said. The company's 1.76 billion reais in cash on hand and lack of foreign currency risk on its 2.2 billion reais of debt give the company flexibility to invest and expand, the CEO said.

In Brazil, residential construction typically starts around 30 months after the acquisition of land mainly due to the bureaucracy associated with getting construction permits, Menin said.

MRV invested approximately 550 million reais starting in 2014 to expand its land reserves. Menin declined to say how much the company will spend on land in the coming quarters.

($1 = 3.1408 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Christian Plumb, Bernard Orr)
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

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Kris Kobach death penalty ad uses footage of Tiger Woods DUI arrest

A new ad from Kris Kobach featured footage of golf star Tiger Woods being arrested with the language "no capital punishment for cop killers."
The Chief Executive Officer of O le Siosiomaga Society and Vice President of Samoa Umbrella for Non-Government Organizations (S.U.N.G.O.), Fiu Mataese Elisara, has been re-elected by regional civil society representatives to be the Regional Focal Point for the Pacific to the Global Environment Facility.

After an extensive nomination and voting process, Fiu representing O.L.S.S.I. and supported by S.U.N.G.O. was once again elected to represent the voice of C.S.O.s to the G.E.F., after four years of service in the same role.

He will now serve for another four years

I am pleased to once again represent the voice of Pacific C.S.O.s to the G.E.F. meetings as part of the G.E.F-C.S.O. Network, said Fiu who has served in the Network for years.

The G.E.F-C.S.O. Network encourages civil societies to influence policies and actions at all levels to safeguard the global environment and promote sustainable development.

The network task is strengthen civil society partnership with G.E.F. by enhancing informed participation, contributing to policy development and inspiring local action.

The Network aims to strengthen the capacity of C.S.O. Members to participate in G.E.F.-Related activities. O.L.S.S.I. is a member of S.U.N.G.O. and we are pleased to declare our continue support in enhancing the role of communal societies.
As a high school senior, Hwang Yu-mi went to work bathing silicon wafers in chemicals at a Samsung factory that makes computer chips for laptops and other devices. She died of leukemia four years later.

After Yu-mi's 2007 death, her father, Hwang Sang-gi, learned a 30-year-old worker at the same semiconductor line also had died of leukemia. The taxi driver launched a movement demanding the government investigate health risks at Samsung Electronics Co. factories.

When Hwang sued after his claim for government compensation was denied, he struggled to get details about the factory environment. Samsung did not release that information to worker-safety officials.

An Associated Press investigation has found South Korean authorities have repeatedly withheld from workers and bereaved families crucial information about chemicals used at Samsung's computer chip and liquid crystal display factories. Sick workers need access to such data through the government or courts to apply for workers' compensation. Without it, government rejections are common.

In at least six cases involving 10 workers, the justification for withholding the information was trade secrets.

South Korean law bars government agencies from withholding public health and safety-related information because of trade-secrets concerns, but there are no penalties for violations.

Samsung no longer omits lists of chemicals used on production lines from reports, as it did in Hwang Yu-mi's case. But officials have withheld details about exposure levels and how chemicals are managed.

"Our fight is often against trade secrets. Any contents that may not work in Samsung's favor were deleted as trade secrets," said Lim Ja-woon, a lawyer for 15 sick Samsung workers.

Lim's clients have been unable to see full, third-party reports on factory inspections and have accessed only excerpts of some independent inspections in some court rulings, he said.

Samsung says it has never "intentionally" blocked workers from accessing information and that it is transparent about all chemicals it is required to disclose to the government. It said in a statement that information disclosure was never "illegally prevented."

"We have a right to protect our information from going to a third party," Baik Soo-ha, a Samsung Electronics vice president, told the AP.

Government policies have generally favored Samsung and other corporate conglomerates that powered South Korea's rapid industrialization after the 1950-53 Korean War.

Officials say corporate interests take priority, evaluating trade secrets claims is difficult, and they fear being sued for sharing data against a company's will.

"We have to keep secrets that belong to our clients," said Yang Won-baek, of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, or KOSHA.

Samsung has dominated memory-chip makers since the early 1990s. Toxic and often carcinogenic materials are commonly used to produce semiconductors, mobile phones and LCDs, including arsenic, acetone, methane, sulfuric acid and lead.

The worker safety group Banolim has documented more than 200 cases of serious illnesses including leukemia, lupus, lymphoma and multiple sclerosis among former Samsung semiconductor and LCD workers. Seventy-six have died, most in their 20s and 30s.

Worker safety advocates want South Korea's courts and government to more flexibly interpret links between workplace conditions and diseases, since exact causes of many factory workers' ailments are unknown. They also want thorough disclosure of workplace hazards.

Since 2008, 56 workers have sought occupational safety compensation from the government. Only 10 won compensation, most after years of court battles. Half the remaining claims were rejected and half remain under review.

Families of the victims often deplete their savings and sell their homes to pay hospital bills. Some workers end up incapacitated and unable to work.

Left with few options, more than 100 families accepted a compensation plan Samsung proposed last year, but many rejected it.

Hwang Sang-gi said Samsung offered him 1 billion won ($864,000) in 2007 to not pursue a case over his daughter's death. He said no, founded Banolim and joined four former Samsung semiconductor workers suffering from various blood cancers in filing for workers' compensation.

In 2014, seven years after Yu-mi's death, an appeals court affirmed a lower court's finding of "a significant causal relationship" between Yu-mi's leukemia and her likely exposure to benzene, other chemicals and ionized radiation at work. Hwang Sang-gi received nearly $175,000 from the government.

Samsung's CEO issued a formal apology in 2014, though some ailing workers consider it inadequate. The company promised to give workers documents they need to seek compensation, and this year launched a committee to oversee independent inspections of some factories.

Workers and their bereaved families want more a complete apology and changes in how compensation is awarded. Hwang and other campaigners regularly protest outside Samsung's Gangnam complex. They view suing Samsung as a poor option; the standard of proof would be higher than in workers' compensation cases, and they couldn't seek punitive damages.

They also say it remains difficult to get details about working conditions.

Labor ministry official Goo Ja-hwan said the government usually accepts companies' requests to keep details secret. "We cannot evaluate whether things that companies have hidden as secrets are real trade secrets or not," he said.

Baskut Tuncak, the U.N. special rapporteur on hazardous substances and waste, said in a phone interview that such policies don't protect workers.

"That simply allows their abuse of the system where information about hazardous substances is hidden from the public from victims under claims of confidentiality," he said.

-AP
MIAMI (AP)  Donald Trump repeatedly accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State group on Thursday, refusing to take back a patently false allegation even when questioned about the logic of his position.

A day after lobbing the attack against the president during a rowdy rally, Trump pressed ahead during a round of interviews. The Republican presidential nominee brushed off conservative radio commentator Hugh Hewitt's attempt to reframe Trump's observation as one that said Obama's foreign policy created the conditions in Iraq and Syria that allowed IS to thrive.

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do," Trump said, using another acronym for the extremist group that has wreaked havoc from the Middle East to European cities.

Hewitt asked Trump if he would acknowledge that Obama hates the Islamic State, noting that the president is "trying to kill them." Over the past two years Obama has organized a broad coalition of countries and launched more than 10,000 U.S. airstrikes to defeat IS.

"I don't care," the billionaire businessman replied. "He was the founder. The way he got out of Iraq  that was the founding of ISIS, OK?"

In a later speech to homebuilders in Miami on Thursday, Trump said his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, would be given "the most valuable player award" by IS. "Her only competition is Barack Obama," he said. He later added of Clinton, "Oh boy, is ISIS hoping for her."

Clinton's campaign accused Trump of "trash-talking" the U.S. while failing to present any serious counter-terrorism plans of his own. Jake Sullivan, Clinton's top policy aide, called Trump's accusation a "false claim" and drew a connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Once again, he's echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests," Sullivan said.

Dozens of frustrated Republicans, meanwhile, gathered signatures Thursday for a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus that urges the party chief to stop helping Trump and instead focus GOP resources on protecting vulnerable Senate and House candidates.

A draft of the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, warns that Trump's "divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide."

At least 70 Republicans have signed the letter so far, according to Republican operative Andrew Weinstein, who said it included five former members of Congress and 16 former RNC staffers. The RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the interview with Hewitt, Trump did acknowledge the root of his argument was that if Obama "had done things properly, you wouldn't have had ISIS." But he then added, "Therefore, he was the founder if ISIS."

Trump had previously said Clinton founded the militant group, but shifted the blame to Obama on Wednesday during a rally in Florida. He also pointedly referred to the president by his full legal name: Barack Hussein Obama.

The accusation  and his use of the president's middle name, Hussein  echoed previous instances where he's questioned Obama's religious faith and loyalties to the country.

In June, when a shooter who claimed allegiance to IS killed 49 people in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, Trump seemed to suggest Obama was sympathetic to the group when he said Obama "doesn't get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands."

In the past, Trump has also falsely suggested Obama is a Muslim or was born in Kenya, where Obama's father was from. The president, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

Trump has long blamed Obama and his former secretary of state  Clinton  for their Mideast policy. Republicans believe that the U.S. decision to leave Iraq in 2011 created a power vacuum that allowed al-Qaida in Iraq, a subsidiary of the larger terror group al-Qaida, to morph into the 30,000-strong Islamic State group that in 2014 seized a third of Syria and Iraq.

The U.S. has led a coalition of a dozen Western and Arab countries in a sustained airstrike campaign  backed by Iraqi ground forces  that have cut the group in half and cost it 45 percent of its territory. Yet, the group still inspires or backs terror attacks around the world.

The White House declined to comment on Trump's accusation.

The Islamic State group began as Iraq's local affiliate of al-Qaida, the group that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. But the group carried out massive attacks against Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, fueling tensions with al-Qaida's central leadership, which blames its grievances on the West.

The local group's then-leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in 2006 in a U.S. airstrike but is still seen as the Islamic State group's founder.
MOSCOW (AP)  Ukraine put its troops on combat alert Thursday along the country's de-facto borders with Crimea and separatist rebels in the east amid an escalating war of words with Russia over Crimea.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending several groups of "saboteurs" to carry out attacks in Crimea and said that two Russians died while fending off their incursions. Ukraine has denied the claim.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, and a conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces flared up in eastern Ukraine weeks later. The conflict in the east has killed more than 9,500 people and is still raging.

Russia's domestic security agency known by its Russian acronym FSB said in Wednesday's statement that one of its officers was killed in a gunbattle with a group of "saboteurs" from Ukraine over the weekend. It said the intruders carried an arsenal of bombs, ammunition and mines.

The agency also said that two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armor. One Russian army soldier died in that clash, the FSB said.

Russian media reports say at least five members of a sabotage group were captured.

One of the captured suspects, identified as Yevgeny Panov, told FSB investigators in remarks released by Russia's REN TV television that he was part of a group preparing to conduct acts of sabotage at a ferry crossing, an oil depot and a chemical factory and to blow up Russian military equipment. He said the group was directed by Ukrainian military intelligence and included some of its officers.

Poroshenko rejected the Russian claims as "fantasy" and "a provocation."

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he described as Ukraine's "stupid and criminal" action and called a session of his Security Council Thursday to discuss boosting security in Crimea.

He also said Wednesday that it makes no sense to discuss the implementation of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine with leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany at the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in China next month as had been planned earlier.

The Russian Foreign Ministry followed up Thursday by warning that if Poroshenko had been involved in "criminal decisions to stage armed provocations" in Crimea, "he could claim the role of the grave digger of the Minsk process."

"And if he had been unaware of these decisions, it's even worse," it said.

Poroshenko, in his turn, ordered Ukrainian troops to go on combat alert not only on the de-facto border with Crimea but also along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, where the warring sides have continued to routinely exchange fire despite a 2015 truce.

He also ordered Ukrainian diplomats to organize his conversations with the U.S. and European leaders and Putin.

The strong language used by Putin and other Russian officials, particularly Putin's refusal to discuss the implementation of the peace accord with Poroshenko, has raised fears of a possible escalation of hostilities.

While local media and social media users have largely corroborated reports of a shootout at the Crimean border, independent accounts of the second border incident reported by the FSB were missing.

"A pretense of an anti-terrorism operation staged by Russia is more plausible than an actual Ukrainian attack on Crimea," commentator Oleg Kashin wrote Thursday on Slon.ru. "Russia deliberately pushes for an escalation and ignores the opportunities it has to preserve the status quo."

As soon as Russia forced the last Ukrainian troops based in Crimea to leave in 2014, Moscow set up fortified border crossings and sent new weapons to the peninsula  from cutting-edge fighter jets to the newest missile systems.

Despite the military buildup, hardly any disturbances or let alone cross-border shootings have been reported in Crimea since the annexation.

The 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine signed in Minsk has helped reduce fighting in eastern Ukraine, but peaceful settlement has floundered. The deal obliged Ukraine to grant broad autonomy to the rebel regions before it can fully regain control of the border with Russia, but those provisions haven't been implemented.

Independent Moscow-based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said that if the Kremlin wanted to make gains or solidify its positions in Ukraine, now would be a good moment because the world's attention is elsewhere.

"The temptation is high to try and use this occasion to solve the Ukrainian problem once and for all," he said. "While America is right now not very operational because it's in a midst of a divisive election campaign, Europe is also divided  on Brexit, on refugees, on sanctions against Russia."

Putin menacingly referred to the Ukrainian leadership as "the people who seized power." Moscow refused to recognize Ukraine's interim authorities after Ukraine's pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych, was driving from power by massive protests, but later recognized Poroshenko.

"The main issue is what is going to happen to the Minsk talks  whether Russia will stop them or start asking for more concessions," respected daily Vedomosti said in an editorial Thursday. "In his rhetoric, Putin has returned to 2014, when he did not consider the Ukrainian government legitimate."
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In November 1941, Demaree Bess argued that it was time for Americans to stop pretending that we were staying out of the war in Europe, because we were already deeply involved.

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Seventy-five years ago, Americans were watching their country heading into a war without declaring war. In 1939, the Neutrality Acts that prohibited the U.S. from supplying arms, ammunition, or financial aid to belligerent countries were replaced by the Lend-Lease agreement, which enabled the U.S. to loan, or give, armaments to Great Britain.

America had become the supply line that enabled Great Britain to resist Hitler, sending billions of dollars of aid in weapons, ships, and other vital needs  hardly the actions of a neutral country.

Yet we were not at war.

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The U.S. had also reached an agreement with the government of Greenland to build bases and station troops there to extend Americas protection of Lend-Lease ships. American soldiers were, technically, within a few miles of the war zone.

Yet we were not at war.

In 1940, America had more than a million American men in uniform and being trained in Army camps. Congress approved funding for a 70 percent increase in Americas combat fleet, enough to create a two-ocean navy.

Yet we were not at war.

President Roosevelt saw the inevitable threat from the Axis powers but didnt have enough public support for an official declaration of war. Nonetheless, as Demaree Bess points out in Put Up or Shut Up  published just two weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor  the U.S. had been deeply involved in the war for a while, and it was time for Americans to stop pretending otherwise.

Put Up Or Shut Up

By Demaree Bess

Excerpted from an article originally published Nov. 22, 1941

My work in Europe was to cover the war there as a reporter for The Saturday Evening Post. I stress that word reporter because there are not too many of us left. Some of the foremost American newspaper and magazine writers have been transformed by events, or by their personal convictions, into propagandists. It is not for me to criticize them: a man who becomes converted to any cause is privileged to propagandize on its behalf.

Nevertheless, I suspect that the American people today could use more reporting and less propaganda. The function of a propagandist is to present his cause in the best possible light, while the function of a reporter is to get the facts. In search of the facts, I have covered both sides of this war as thoroughly as it was possible for me to do. I have visited both England and Germany during each of the three war years: 1939, 1940, and 1941. I watched the German army enter Paris, and since that time I have visited practically every country on the continent.

I mention these experiences because they are my credentials. Whatever information I possess has not been obtained by remote control from secret sources or mysterious documents or confidential reports to Hitler or Churchill. The only facts in my possession are those which I have observed with my own eyes or obtained from men on the spot whose judgment I trust. The only bias of which I am conscious is a pro-American bias. It is on this basis that I venture to point out how the war stands in its third winter, and how we Americans stand in relation to it.

The first and foremost fact about the war in Europe, so far as Americans are concerned, is that we are definitely in it. It is only in the United States that any doubts still continue on this matter. Every European, whether he is German or British or neutral, understands well enough that we have adopted the European war as our own, and Europeans are bewildered by evidence that some of us still shirk looking this plain fact in the face.

We Americans can appreciate our position most clearly if we accept, without further equivocation, the fact that no matter how gray this war may be, we have got ourselves into it, for better or for worse. As Hugh Johnson recently pointed out, we have even sent the first unit of our expeditionary force across the ocean to Iceland, where our soldiers are serving in cooperation with the British command.

We have taken too many belligerent actions against Germany to be able, as some of our isolationists still propose, to tell the Nazis, Lets forget everything; all we want now is to mind our own business. No nation can make war its business, as we have done, without being forced to face the consequences of victory or defeat.

Some of our political leaders have repeatedly assured us that we can win the war without actually fighting it. That assurance sounded like a fairy tale when it was first advanced, and it sounds even more fabulous to anyone who, like myself, has just returned from the battlegrounds.

Every move which we have made thus far in this war has served merely to enable other nations to continue to fight on the defensive. It doesnt seem to be generally known in this country that we have sent most of our warplanes and munitions to the Near East, and not to the British Isles. We have arranged to fly our own planes across the center of Africa, and to send our own munition ships around South Africa into the Red Sea.

But this sort of thing cannot go on forever. The British have accomplished everything which they hoped to do. They have consolidated their defenses in the British Isles, and they have managed to hold and even to extend their defensive positions in the Near East. They have played a waiting game, because they could not do anything else. What were they waiting for? They were waiting for us.

The time is now rapidly approaching when we Americans will have to put up or shut up. That is not an expression of personal opinion or a piece of propaganda; it is a cold fact. This European war, with all its infinite complications and appalling prospects, has been dumped into our laps. We are confronted now with a fact which should have been apparent to us from the outset  that no nation can get itself into a war, as we have done, without expecting to fight that war.

So where does that leave us? It still leaves us the most fortunate people in the world. We are fortunate, in the first place, because the war is not going to ruin us, no matter how it comes out. Whatever our nightmare mongers may tell us, no power or combination of powers can emerge from this cataclysmic conflict in any position to destroy the United States.

We are fortunate, in the second place, because we are the only people who still have a clear voice in shaping our own destiny. All the peoples of Europe already have had their destinies shaped for them, either by their own decisions or by circumstances beyond their control.

We still can choose, but our choice is not so wide as it was in 1939, or even in 1940. Since that time we have got into the European war, and this fact cannot be exorcised by any political hocus-pocus. Our choice today is confined within narrower limits.

From both Germany and Britain the same question will soon be directed to us: What are you Americans going to do now? And because of our own actions, we are now restricted to only two possible answers.

We can reply, We are going to do just what we have been doing, edging bit by bit into the war without getting fully into it. If that is to be our answer, then we must accept the probability that the war in Europe will end at best in stalemate and at worst in German victory. And since we have openly challenged the Germans, a German victory would mean a humiliating defeat for us.

The only other answer we can make now is, We are going into an all-out shooting war against Germany. If that is to be our answer, we must realize that American soldiers probably will go into action first in Africa and Asia, in those Near Eastern regions where American reinforcements will be most urgently required.

If we make this maximum choice, we should understand the price we will have to pay. The cost will be incalculable in both lives and treasure. And we shall have accepted the burdens of Europe, not for a year or a few years, but for generations.

Read the complete article, Put Up or Shut Up.
Asia-Pacific's ICT Spends in Education Sector - Future Perspective to 2019: New Research Report

Fast Market Research announces the availability of the new Kable Market Intelligence report, "Asia-Pacific's ICT Spends in Education Sector - Future Perspective to 2019", on their comprehensive research portal
China Health Examination Industry Overview, 2011-2020 - New Market Report

Fast Market Research announces the availability of the new CRI report, "China Health Examination Industry Overview, 2011-2020", on their comprehensive research portal
Mount Pleasant, SC -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/11/2016 -- South Carolina Mortgage Expert, Frank Hanna, joins LifeTree Lending, LLC Mount Pleasant, SC as Sr. Loan Officer, Residential & Commercial Lending. Prior to joining LifeTree Lending, LLC Frank was Vice President, Regional Sales Manager for BNC (Bank of North Carolina) Charleston, SC Office.



In his career, Frank has been a Home Finance Mortgage specialist with over 40 years industry experience; 30 of which were in the Charleston, SC area with firms such as TD Bank, NBSC / Synovus Mortgage, Bank of America, First Reliance and others helping families achieve the American Dream of Home Ownership.



Combine Mr. Hanna's wealth of knowledge in the management and origination of quality residential loans in South Carolina with LifeTree Lending advantage as a successful Mortgage Broker for 14 years, the borrower will receive the most competitive conventional, FHA, VA, Jumbo, Construction and / or Commercial loan at great price. Frank is a US Army Vietnam Era Veteran who was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service 1970-1972. He will be honored to Assist Veterans in obtaining Home or Business Financing.



In his new position as Senior Loan Officer, Mr. Hanna will be working with South Carolina Residential and Commercial Clients as well as helping Real Estate Agents Statewide. If you are one of the thousands of customers who have worked in the past with Frank, let him know that you are excited that he is back in the mortgage business at LifeTree Lending.



Frank Hanna has a passion to help all who ask for help securing residential or commercial financing with innovative solutions and great pricing. If you or someone you know needs mortgage financing backed by wisdom and experience, Frank Hanna wants to help people find the best possible mortgage solution.



Frank graduated from Francis Marion University with a Bachelor's degree in 1979. He is active in a broad range of civic and veterans groups throughout the LowCountry to help others fulfill their dreams in business and financing the home of their dreams. He lives with his wife Joy in Charleston, SC. Frank loves to spend time with his family, grandchildren, church activities and his favorite recreational sport of fishing.



About LifeTree Lending

LifeTree Lending is a South Carolina Licensed Mortgage Broker that works directly with 25 of the Nation's Leading Mortgage Lenders to offer Residential and Commercial clients excellent financing solutions.



As a Senior Loan Officer with LifeTree Lending, LLC in South Carolina, Mr. Hanna will be based in the LifeTree new Corporate Headquarters Office at 3094 Highway 17 North in Mount Pleasant.



If you are looking for mortgage experience with integrity, Frank Hanna is the right man to call at 843-729-4419.



For media relations contact:



Michael E. Deitsch Sr.

VP, Marketing / Recruiting

LifeTree Lending & Real Estate

3094 Hwy 17 North

Mount Pleasant, SC 29466

Mobile: 843-345-9304

Office: 843-375-5900 michael@lifetreelending.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/medeitsch
Watertown, SD -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/11/2016 -- After experiencing catastrophic injuries in a car accident, Laura Dziadek was informed by Charter Oak Fire Insurance, which is owned by Travelers Indemnity Co., that she was not insured or covered under the policy when in fact she was covered. The insurance company's behavior prompted a federal jury to order Travelers to pay Dziadek compensation for denying her insurance claim and making her live without $900,000 she was entitled to under the policy, as well as punitive damages.



The people who handled the claim at Travelers were accused of committing deceit, fraud, and acting in bad faith when they withheld information that confirmed Dziadek was entitled to coverage under a $1 million insurance policy. The jury found Travelers acted with deceit and awarded Dziadek $750,000 in compensatory damages, $200,000 in interest, and an additional $2.75 million in punitive damages. Punitive damages were meant to deter Travelers and other insurers from engaging in wrongful practices in the future.



"Insurance companies have a responsibility to fully and fairly investigate insurance claims and inform individuals of coverage that is available when a claim is made," Liam Culhane, attorney at Turbak Law Office, said. "To intentionally withhold details that confirm coverage exists after the insurance company has been paid for both the coverage and the service related to the coverage is deceit. Sometimes insurance companies engage in this kind of unfair insurance claim practice because they don't think the insured will pursue legal action, and if an insurer can get away with it  the profits are huge."



The vehicle that Dziadek was a passenger in when the accident occurred was owned by a company that had a $1 million policy for underinsured motorists. In 2009, Dziadek's lawyer received a letter from Travelers informing Dziadek that she was not covered by the policy, effectively denying her insurance claim. Later that year, after requesting a copy of the complete policy, Dziadek's lawyer received a copy of the insurance policy that did not include the underinsured motorist coverage. Travelers' lawyers claimed it was a coincidence that what was provided to Dziadek's lawyers ended on the page immediately before the pertinent coverage started. Once Dziadek filed a lawsuit against the company, Traveler's paid the claim. By that time Dziadek had experienced serious hardship from her impaired physical condition and financial hardship associated with not having the coverage to pay for her losses.



When insurance companies unfairly delay or deny a claim for compensation, policy holders need to know their rights as well as the rules and regulations insurance companies are required to follow when evaluating a claim. If an insurance company misrepresents the facts of the policy or fails to fulfill the contractual benefits of the policy without a reasonable basis, they may be acting in bad faith or purposely being deceitful, similar to the behavior Travelers was found to have committed in this case. There are different rules for how insurers must treat policy holders that the average policy holder does not know, and that many lawyers do not even know about. These rules favor policy holders, but if you don't know about them, your insurance company may not be giving you the benefit of the rules, and that can make the difference between coverage and no coverage.



About Turbak Law Office, P.C.

A plaintiff's only personal injury law firm in Watertown, South Dakota, Turbak Law Office advocates for people across South Dakota, never the insurance companies. Our cases cover a wide range of situations: people who experience unreasonable delays, discounts, or denial of their policy holder's claims for compensation by insurance companies, families grieving the wrongful death of a loved one, workers left disabled by a catastrophic on-the-job injury, individuals hurt in a car crash by the carelessness of another, and whistleblowers coming forward with evidence of fraud, waste, or abuse.



For more information, visit turbaklaw.com or call 877-380-8517



Related link: http://turbaklaw.com/jury-verdict-insurance-company-nearly-4-million-deceit/
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/11/2016 -- This market research study analyzes the Pet Food Market in Europe, and provides estimates in terms of revenue (USD million) from 2015 to 2021 as well as volume in terms of kg million from 2015 to 2021. It recognizes the current market trends affecting the pet food market and analyzes their impact over the forecast period. Moreover, it also analyses the Average Selling Price (ASP) in various product segments across various countries.



The pet food market has been segmented by pet type into dog food, cat food and others. The others segment includes fish food, bird food, reptiles and other small animals. The cat food segment held the largest market share in Europe. Increasing trend for nuclear families coupled with demand for small pets is one of the major factors boosting the demand for cat food in Europe. In terms of food type the pet food market has been segmented into wet/canned food, dry food, nutritious food, snacks/treats and others. Raw meat and other household products are covered within the scope of others segment. However, the others segment including reptile food, bird food, fish food and other small pets is the fastest growing segment in pet food market in Europe.



Complete Report with TOC @ http://www.mrrse.com/europe-pet-food-market



The dry food segment held the largest market share in pet food market in Europe. Ease of handling and lower prices compared to other segments is one of the major factors boosting the demand in the dry food segment. Apart from this, added nutritional value in the dry food segment is also expected to boost the demand for dry food in Europe. However, the nutritional food segment is the fastest growing segment in Europe. Increasing awareness about pet health is one of the major factors boosting the demand in the nutritional food segment. In the coming years, with increasing concern the demand for nutritional food is expected to reach considerably.



The pet food market in Europe has been segmented by country into, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and rest of Europe. U.K. is the largest market for pet food in Europe. Increasing demand for pet specific products is one of the major factors boosting the demand in U.K.. Apart from this, nutritional food segment is the fastest growing segment in U.K.. Increasing awareness about pet health among the pet owners is one of the major factors boosting the demand for nutritional food in U.K.. However, Spain is the fastest growing market in Europe. Increasing trend for nuclear family is one of the major factors boosting the demand for pet food in Spain. Apart from this, increasing awareness about pet health is also boosting the demand for pet food in Spain.



The report also analyzes macro economic factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of pet food market in Europe. In addition, the report also provides Average Selling Price (ASP) across all the product segments in countries analyzed in the course of research. The report will help manufacturers, suppliers and distributors to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their strategies accordingly.



Request a Free Sample Copy of the Report @ http://www.mrrse.com/sample/795



This report provides strategic analysis of the Europe pet food market, and the growth forecast for the period 2015 to 2021. The span of the report includes competitive analysis of various market segments based on the pet type, food type and in-depth cross sectional analysis of the pet food market across different countries.



In the report, the market has been segmented by food type, pet type and by country. The study highlights current market trends and provides the forecast from 2015 to 2021. We have also covered the current market scenario for the pet food market and highlighted future trends that will affect demand. By country, the market has been segmented into U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and rest of Europe. The present market size and forecast until 2021 have been provided in the report. In addition, the report also provides brand share of the major brands in the countries covered within the scope of research.



About MRRSE

MRRSE stands for Market Research Reports Search Engine, the largest online catalog of latest market research reports based on industries, companies, and countries. MRRSE sources thousands of industry reports, market statistics, and company profiles from trusted entities and makes them available at a click. Besides well-known private publishers, the reports featured on MRRSE typically come from national statistics agencies, investment agencies, leading media houses, trade unions, governments, and embassies.
Petaling Jaya, Selangor -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/10/2016 -- Bed bug infestation is nothing new in the hospitality sector, in fact, with the rapid hike in the Malaysian tourism industry, it is extremely important for hoteliers to ensure that their hotels have established an integrated pest control program in case of infestations. A recent survey performed at the University of Kentucky proved that nothing drives guests away faster than bed bug problems. 91% of the guests even mentioned that they would not return to the same hotel if they have had a bad experience during their first visit.



According to a report by The Telegraph, a British tourist had an unpleasant experience during her birthday celebration in Langkawi, Malaysia when the 3-star hotel that she checked into was plagued with bed bugs. Incidents like these not only give hotels a bad reputation and discourage return visits, it can also cause severe repercussions, leading to serious financial impacts such as lawsuits.



What should hoteliers do in case of bed bug infestation?



Bed bugs live in the cracks and crevices of walls, bed frames, headboards, bedside tables and draperies. An infestation in a hotel will most likely spread throughout the whole facility by crawling as adult bed bugs and these creepy crawlers can move up to five feet in about a minute. Besides that, they may also hitchhike their way into hotel rooms through vacuum cleaners, laundry, luggage and even housekeeping trolleys.



In case of a bed bug infestation breakout, it is recommended for hoteliers to:



- Assist guests to seek medical assistance for bites if necessary and relocate guests adjacent, side, above and below of the room infested.



- Document identified areas of bed bug infestations, either through staff, guest complaint and pictures; this will help with the elimination process for the pest control operator.



- Assist guest to launder their clothing and hotel to replace all linens. Ensure all items are wrapped in plastic bags during room relocation so that bed bugs do not spread during transportation of these items to the laundry or new room.



- Minimize furniture movements in the infested room to prevent bed bugs from spreading further to other rooms. This restricted movement also applies to the occupant's belongings, if possible, until the arrival of pest control operator.



Besides reactive actions, preventive measures and early detection are also essential because they are one of the keys in reducing the risk of a full-blown infestation. This can be achieved by carrying out periodic inspections by experienced service technicians.



Why pest education is necessary in minimizing potential bed bug infestation?



Housekeepers and hotel staffs are highly encouraged to equip themselves with fundamental bed bug knowledge. Which is why the Bed Bug Awareness Week was initiated and organized annually to provide hoteliers and housekeepers continuous awareness on bed bug issues. Leading pest control company like Rentokil provides educational pest trainings to their customers in the commercial sectors. These trainings are beneficial to the hoteliers as it enables them to understand basic bed bug biology and help them identify the signs of an infestation before it spreads like a wildfire.



The pest control expert also aims to provide hoteliers with complete peace of mind by introducing their 10-day Bed Bug Treatment Program. Rentokil's bed bug elimination program starts off with extensive treatments and it follows with periodic checks to ensure that all bed bugs are eliminated.



"With the growth of online review sites and social media platforms, it has become very easy for consumers to share their bad experiences online. Therefore, hotel owners need to be extra vigilant when it comes to managing bed bug infestations in the hotel facilities because all it takes is one bad review to impact the business negatively." said Carol Lam, the Managing Director of Rentokil Initial Malaysia.



About Rentokil Pest Control Malaysia

Rentokil Pest Control is part of Rentokil Initial group, one of the largest business services companies in the world.



At Rentokil Initial Malaysia, we have 2 brands that are focused on providing the best services with nationwide coverage, fast response and expert technical knowledge: Rentokil Pest Control and Initial Hygiene.



Visit http://www.rentokil-initial.com.my to find out how Rentokil Initial (M) Sdn Bhd services can add value to different business sectors.



For media inquiries please e-mail louise.leong@rentokil-initial.com.



For more information on Rentokil Pest Control, please contact:

1300 885 911

http://www.rentokil.com.my/

15th Floor, Menara Yayasan Selangor

No. 18A, Jalan Persiaran Barat

46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Two lucky tourists from Texas made an incredible archaeological discovery during a July visit to Hawaii. They found a rare series of petroglyphs on Hawaiis Waianae coast on the island of Oahu.

Lonnie Watson and Mark Louviere from the Ft. Worth, Texas metro area, discovered at least 10 figures, stretching over 60 feet of beach.

The petroglyphs are believed to be roughly 400 years old, and were created by aboriginal inhabitants of the Waianae coast.

Archaeologists from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and the U.S. Army have been working together to record and document the petroglyphs; which now number at least 17 figures.

They record our genealogy and religion, said Glen Kila, a lineal descendent of the aboriginal families who first settled in Neneu on the Waianae Coast. His family home is a short ways from the petroglyph field.

Its very important to know about the lineal descendants of the area and their understanding of these petroglyphs.

The interpretation of these petroglyphs can only be interpreted by the lineal descendants who are familiar with its history and culture.

We can now come up with a plan to further protect and preserve this site, said Army archaeologist and Waianae native Alton Exzabe.

The ones with the fingers, for me, are pretty unique.

I believe there are some elsewhere with fingers, but fingers and hands are pretty distinct, as well as the size of them.

We find a lot of petroglyphs that are a foot or so tall, but this one measures 4-5 feet from head to toe, Exzabe said.

Its pretty impressive, he added.
After being rejected twice, Heron Therapeutics Inc.'s long-acting injection to prevent chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting has finally been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, making it biotech's first regulatory approval. On Wednesday, the company's shares were said to be 17 percent up at $23.35 in premarket trading.

Nausea and vomiting are the most common acute side effects of chemotherapy. According to the National Institute of Health, it is experienced by up to 80 percent of patients undergoing the treatment, cnbc.com reported. Other management for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) includes the Palonosetron injection, which generally takes effect for 48 hours or less. However, Heron's new long-acting injection could last up to five days, according to a statement issued by the company.

"Sustol appears to have gotten a favorable label ... and the approval removes a major overhang on the stock," Leerink's Jason Gerberry wrote in a note. A report by Reuters said that in April, the FDA found no glitch in Sustol's marketing application, after numerous times of postponing the decision on the drug, first in January and then later in February. The drug was approved to be combined with other agents to manage nausea and vomiting brought about by some forms of chemotherapy, except platinum-based regimens, Heron said.

Not having platinum-based therapies from the label is a little disappointing for the company, because Sustol has showed a good response in patients in this particular type of chemotherapy, wrote Cowen & Co's Boris Peaker. It also means that the total number of people that can be managed by Sustol will decrease by about 7 percent. Some of the most common adverse effects brought by the use of anti-nausea drug includes headache, constipation, fatigue, diarrhea, insomnia, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, dizziness and asthenia which is abnormal physical weakness or lack of energy.

Patients may see several reactions in the injection site following administration like pain, bleeding, infection, tenderness, nodules, induration and swelling. Tech Times reported that some of these injection site reactions may occur two weeks or more after being injected with Sustol. Meanwhile, Heron has not yet said how much Sustol costs, although the company it said it would reference recently approved treatments for CINV. However, industry experts approximate it to be around $200 per patient.
China announced that they are working on hypersonic spaceplane, which they refer to as the next spaceflight breakthrough. The hypersonic spaceplane will be Space Shuttle's efficient successor that is bound to carry combined cycle engines with the ability to take-off from airport straight to orbit.

The hypersonic spaceplane from China will use either turbojet or turbofan engines to enable its cycle engines to takeoff straight from its landing strip horizontally. When airborne, its engine will immediately shift into its ramjet propulsion, adjusting speed and scramjet engine via supersonic airflow, Space Flight Insider reported.

China's hypersonic spaceplane will engage into its hypersonic flight when it reaches near space status during the scramjet stage. The near space distance is 100 km above sea level. The rocket motors will then be used to get out of the near space level and enter orbit.

Aside from the long-term program of developing hybrid spaceplane, China is also aiming to offer space trips more affordably. According to reports, China foresees to send ordinary people to space in 2030 at lower expenses than the current costs. The hypersonic spaceplane will be reusable, landing and taking-off like usual aircrafts. These attributes will reportedly reduce the space travel cost substantially, Popular Science reported.

"We have made a long-term plan of taking about three to five years to master the key technologies, and significantly improve the capability of the spacecraft during the application. We aim to implement the technology in suborbital flight and orbital insertion by 2030," said China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Zhang Yong.

Meanwhile, China is scheduled to go back to crewed flight within the year alongside Shenzhou-11 launch. The mission will reportedly dock in Tiangong-2 space lab following lift-off in Jiuquan. The Tiangong-2, on the other hand, is expected to reach orbit at the same time that the Shenzhou spacecraft crew are aloft. The exact dates of launch for the missions are confidential information as of this writing.
TIMMONSVILLE, S.C.  South Carolina Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman urged teachers Thursday to do more than just lecture the children in their classroom.

Spearman was in Timmonsville addressing teachers, faculty and staff of Florence School District Four as they prepare for their students' first day of school on Monday. She spoke to the group about the importance of what they are doing.

(My parents) set high expectations for us but we didnt have a lot at home in the education world," Spearman said. School was the place that opened the world up for me. It was full of people who saw something in me, who believed in me, who pushed me and gave me opportunities I didnt even know to ask for. Thats what school was for me; thats what school is for a lot of children. I know thats what school is for a lot of children right here in Timmonsville.

Spearman said teachers need to do more than lecture.

First, theyve got to know that you love them and theyve got to know you're here for them, Spearman said. I know you understand that. If you cant reach their hearts, you cant reach their brain. Youve got to believe in them and show them opportunities they didnt even know are out there. What you are involved with is the most wonderful occupation in the world.

After her address, Spearman gave the faculty and staff an opportunity to ask her questions about anything, including the states involvement in the district.

Spearman said extra resources have been provided to District Four, including but not limited to money. Department of Education staff members have been in the district, assisting the administration. New financial software was purchased by the state and is being installed; this will allow the state and the district administration to know what state the districts finances are in.

When it came to the timeline for the Education Departments labeling of two of the districts three schools to be in a state of emergency, Spearman apologized if things were handled indelicately.

I cant imagine living through it, Spearman said. If I said anything improperly at the time, I apologize. I went into the office in January 2015. Over that summer, I asked my office where the schools were that we really needed to be in working the most. They immediately said Florence Four was one place  when I saw how the children were not performing well, I knew that I needed to do something. It wasnt time for messing around. We needed to get on it and thats what I was trying to do.

Spearman said the Department of Education is doing all that it can to help the district become self-sustainable again.
WASHINGTON

Every couple of years or so, I feel the need to whine about the plight of newspapers. It's August. I'm Trumped out. So today's the day.

Except that HBO's John Oliver beat me to it with the best defense of newspapers  ever. His recent "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" monologue about the suffering newspaper industry has gone viral in journalism circles, but he deserves a broader audience.

Besides, it's funny.

Leavening his important message with enough levity to keep the dopamine flowing, Oliver points out that most news outlets, faux, Fox and otherwise, essentially rely on newspapers for their material. This includes, he says, pulsing with self-awareness, Oliver himself. He's sort of part of the problem, in other words, but at least he knows it, which makes it OK, sort of.

The problem: People want news, but they don't want to pay for it.

Consequently, newspapers are failing while consumers get their information from comedy shows, talk shows and websites that essentially lift material for their own purposes.

But somewhere, somebody is actually sitting through a boring meeting, poring over data or interviewing someone who isn't nearly as important as he thinks he is in order to produce a story that will become news. As Oliver points out, news is a food chain, yet with rare exceptions, the most important members of the chain are at the bottom, turning off the lights in newsrooms where gladiators, scholars and characters once roamed.

Some still do, though most are becoming rather long-ish in the tooth. (You can actually get that fixed, you know.)

That any newspapers are surviving, if not for much longer in any recognizable form, can be attributed at least in some part to the dedication of people who really believe in the mission of a free press and are willing to work harder for less  tweeting, blogging, filming and whatnot in addition to trying to write worthy copy. Most of the poor slobs who fell in love with the printed word go unnoticed by any but their peers.

An exception is Marty Baron, the unassuming executive editor of The Washington Post, recently featured in the film "Spotlight" about the Boston Globe's stories under Baron's leadership about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

It's a good movie, not just because of great casting and acting but because it's a great tale about a massive investigative effort that led to church reform and the beginning of healing for victims. (Not to worry, my pay comes as a percentage of the money I make for the company. This won't make a dime of difference.)

My point  shared by Oliver  is that only newspapers are the brick-and-mortar of the Fourth Estate's edifice. Only they have the wherewithal to do the kind of reporting that leads to stories such as "Spotlight." What happens to the "news" when there are no newspapers left?

We seem doomed to find out as people increasingly give up their newspaper subscriptions and seek information from free-content sources. And though newspapers have an online presence, it's hard to get readers to pay for content.

As Oliver says, now is a very good time to be a corrupt politician. Between buyouts, layoffs and news-hole reductions, there's hardly anyone paying attention.

Except, perhaps, to kitties.

In a hilarious spinoff of "Spotlight" called "Stoplight," Oliver shows a short film of a news meeting where the old-school reporter is pitching a story about city hall corruption. The rest of the staff, cheerful human topiaries to the reporter's kudzu-draped mangrove  are more interested in a cat that looks like a raccoon.

And then there's Sam Zell, erstwhile owner of the Tribune Company, who summed up the sad trajectory of the nation's interests and, perhaps, our future while speaking to Orlando Sentinel staffers in 2008. When he said he wanted to increase revenues by giving readers what they want, a female voice objected, What readers want are puppy dogs.

Zell exploded, calling her comment the sort of journalistic arrogance of deciding that puppies dont count.  Hopefully we get to the point where our revenue is so significant that we can do puppies and Iraq, OK? (Expletive) you.

Yes, he said that.

Moral of the story: If you don't subscribe to a newspaper, you don't get to complain about the sorry state of journalism  and puppies you shall have.

Kathleen Parker's email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com.
mongolia

All is not well with Mongolia's finances.

"We are in a deep state of economic crisis," Choijilsuren Battogtokh, the finance minister in Mongolia, said in a nationally televised address on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.

"We came into a situation where we may not be able to afford to finance salaries and operational costs of government departments, such as the Mongolian military who protect our borders and national security, the social and health employees who are in charge public health, as well as individuals in culture and sport."

He noted that the projected budget deficit is $2.6 billion  or 21% of GDP  and that the country's ratio of government-debt-to-GDP will reach 78% this year, above the target of 55%. Additionally, Mongolia's central bank's foreign reserves are net -$429 million.

The government's "critical goal" is to avoid default, added Battogtokh.

In the aftermath of the finance minister's televised announcement, Mongolian bonds, which are rated five steps below investment grade, fell the most on record, according to Bloomberg's Nick Edwards.

Moreover, the Mongolian tugrik has now weakened against the US dollar for 19 days in a row, which Edwards reported is the longest streak since 1993. The currency is down by 0.4% at 2,147.50 a dollar as of 1:27 p.m. ET.

Screen Shot 2016 08 11 at 1.04.01 PM

All of this comes at a time when the country has been dealing with weaker commodity prices and slower growth amid the slump in China, which is one of Mongolia's major export partners.

The economic slowdown is particularly noticeable given that country saw double-digit growth rates in the early 2010s.

As the Globe and Mail's Nathan VanderKlippe described it back in May: "... in a few short years, Mongolia has gone from Asias golden child to its binge-drinking adolescent, with government borrowing to make payroll, cash-short consumers reduced to bartering for goods, and observers openly talking about the possibility of either a sovereign default  national bankruptcy  or a massive bailout."

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mongolia

Notably, the finance minister's televised announcement follows June elections, in which the main opposition party, the Mongolian People's Party, won an 85% majority by taking 65 seats in the 76-member parliament.

"The economy appears to be a significant factor in the MPP's landslide victory," wrote The Diplomat's Peter Bittner at the time. "The majority Democratic Party has been widely blamed for mishandling the economy after a boom from 2010 to 2012 quickly turned to bust on their watch."

"In our view, Mongolia's economic situation is clearly challenging, and the government has limited flexibility on both the fiscal and debt fronts," argued Barclays' Avanti Save. "However, we also believe the government is engaging in some 'kitchen-sinking,' announcing all possible bad news at once, and blaming the previous government for the country's challenging fiscal and debt dynamics."

So this appears to setting up the stage for addressing some of these financial problems. Already, Bloomberg's Edwards reported that the government is likely looking at austerity measures and will be axing several stimulus programs. But the government may also be toying with the idea of looking for an IMF bailout.

"We do not believe the government wants to default or restructure. However, it recognizes that the total amount of external debt is very large," added Save. "Therefore, in our view, it is using a public forum to suggest that it needs a multilateral funding program, possibly from the International Monetary Fund."

NOW WATCH: Animated chart shows the incredible growth of Asias major cities compared to the rest of the world





More From Business Insider


(Recasts with update cancellation numbers, share price)

By Jeffrey Dastin

Aug 10 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc on Wednesday canceled more than 300 flights and upended thousands of travelers' plans for the third day in a row after a power outage hit its computer systems, though it forecast a return to normal operations later this afternoon.

Delta, the No. 2 U.S. airline by passenger traffic, said systems that allow customer service agents to process check-ins and dispatch aircraft are now functioning normally. Most of Wednesday's delays and cancellations are the result of flight crews being displaced or running up against maximum allowed work hours, it said.

As of 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT), Delta said it had canceled 311 flights on the day, adding to the more than 1,600 cancellations since Monday. Another 2,540 flights departed on Wednesday, with 70 percent of them within 30 minutes of their scheduled times, the airline said.

"We're in the final hours of bouncing back from the disruption," Bill Lentsch, Delta's senior vice president for airport customer service and airline operations, said in an online posting.

The travel havoc at one of the world's largest carriers has brought into focus the vulnerability of airlines' technology infrastructure. Experts say mergers - and sometimes insufficient investment in back-end technology - have left airlines with a hodgepodge of systems.

What is more, a drive by companies to automate operations, from mobile boarding passes to check-in kiosks, means the impact of any single glitch will multiply.

Delta said problems arose when critical systems did not switch over to a backup source following a power surge and outage on Monday.

The airline is still investigating the cause, Chief Executive Ed Bastian said in an online video post, adding that the company has invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" in infrastructure upgrades and backup systems.

"I'm sorry we let you down. We'll do everything that we can to make certain this does not happen again," Bastian said in the video.

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"There have been no indications of a hack," Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter added in an emailed statement.

Shares were down 1.3 percent at $36.47 in late afternoon trading.

PASSENGERS FRUSTRATED

Frustrated fliers like Camille Davies-Mandel of Maplewood, New Jersey still faced multihour waits at airport lines on Wednesday.

"I have two kids with me, looking forward to getting to their cousins so they can seek out (characters) in Pokemon Go," she said in a telephone interview after waiting three hours to check in at Newark Liberty International Airport. She was unable to download a boarding pass online and missed her flight.

Davies-Mandel said she appreciated Delta's outreach on social media and messages from management, but she added "when you get on the phone and you deal with their customer service, that's a whole different experience," noting two calls took her four and a half hours.

Delta said it contacted some of its most frequent fliers who would be stuck in the disruption and offered them seats on its Delta Private Jets subsidiary to finish their journey.

Analysts expect passenger refunds, overtime hours for workers and other costs will reduce Delta's profit this quarter. Daniel McKenzie, an analyst with the Buckingham Research Group, said in a research note that earnings per share may be 5 percent to 10 percent lower, or 10 to 15 cents per share below his prior estimate.

"Delta still remains the best operation in the industry by a wide margin," McKenzie said, noting that the airline had canceled far fewer flights than rivals in recent years.

Other carriers have also suffered from technology issues.

Southwest Airlines Co forecast on Wednesday a further drop in a key profitability metric for the quarter due to delays and cancellations of more than 2,000 flights after an outage hit its computer systems in July.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin, additional reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; editing by Maju Samuel and G Crossa)
Passengers wait in line to check in after Delta Air Lines computer systems crashed leaving passengers stranded at airports around the globe as flights were grounded at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, U.S., August 8, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

By Jeffrey Dastin

(Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) on Wednesday canceled more than 300 flights and upended thousands of travelers' plans for the third day in a row after a power outage hit its computer systems, though it forecast a return to normal operations later this afternoon.

Delta, the No. 2 U.S. airline by passenger traffic, said systems that allow customer service agents to process check-ins and dispatch aircraft are now functioning normally. Most of Wednesday's delays and cancellations are the result of flight crews being displaced or running up against maximum allowed work hours, it said.

As of 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT), Delta said it had canceled 311 flights on the day, adding to the more than 1,600 cancellations since Monday. Another 2,540 flights departed on Wednesday, with 70 percent of them within 30 minutes of their scheduled times, the airline said.

"We're in the final hours of bouncing back from the disruption," Bill Lentsch, Delta's senior vice president for airport customer service and airline operations, said in an online posting.

The travel havoc at one of the world's largest carriers has brought into focus the vulnerability of airlines' technology infrastructure. Experts say mergers - and sometimes insufficient investment in back-end technology - have left airlines with a hodgepodge of systems.

What is more, a drive by companies to automate operations, from mobile boarding passes to check-in kiosks, means the impact of any single glitch will multiply.

Delta said problems arose when critical systems did not switch over to a backup source following a power surge and outage on Monday.

The airline is still investigating the cause, Chief Executive Ed Bastian said in an online video post, adding that the company has invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" in infrastructure upgrades and backup systems.

"I'm sorry we let you down. We'll do everything that we can to make certain this does not happen again," Bastian said in the video.

Story continues

"There have been no indications of a hack," Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter added in an emailed statement.

Shares were down 1.3 percent at $36.47 in late afternoon trading.

PASSENGERS FRUSTRATED

Frustrated fliers like Camille Davies-Mandel of Maplewood, New Jersey still faced multihour waits at airport lines on Wednesday.

"I have two kids with me, looking forward to getting to their cousins so they can seek out (characters) in Pokemon Go," she said in a telephone interview after waiting three hours to check in at Newark Liberty International Airport. She was unable to download a boarding pass online and missed her flight.

Davies-Mandel said she appreciated Delta's outreach on social media and messages from management, but she added "when you get on the phone and you deal with their customer service, that's a whole different experience," noting two calls took her four and a half hours.

Delta said it contacted some of its most frequent fliers who would be stuck in the disruption and offered them seats on its Delta Private Jets subsidiary to finish their journey.

Analysts expect passenger refunds, overtime hours for workers and other costs will reduce Delta's profit this quarter. Daniel McKenzie, an analyst with the Buckingham Research Group, said in a research note that earnings per share may be 5 percent to 10 percent lower, or 10 to 15 cents per share below his prior estimate.

"Delta still remains the best operation in the industry by a wide margin," McKenzie said, noting that the airline had canceled far fewer flights than rivals in recent years.

Other carriers have also suffered from technology issues.

Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) forecast on Wednesday a further drop in a key profitability metric for the quarter due to delays and cancellations of more than 2,000 flights after an outage hit its computer systems in July.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin, additional reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; editing by Maju Samuel and G Crossa)
IRVING, TX--(Marketwired - Aug 10, 2016) - (OTCQB: DYNR) - DynaResource, Inc. ("DynaUSA", and "the Company") is pleased to announce that Mineras de DynaResource S.A. de C.V. ("DynaMineras"), the 100% owned subsidiary of DynaUSA and the exclusive operator of the San Jose de Gracia Property in northern Sinaloa, Mexico ("SJG"), is reporting the delivery for sale, on August 10, 2016, of an approximate 525 Oz gold contained in concentrates (exact weights in gold and silver oz. to be determined at final settlement).

DynaMineras further reports July 2016 production of an approximate total of 1,390 Oz gold contained in concentrates (exact weights in gold and silver oz. to be determined at final settlement). DynaMineras reports the below summary of the pilot mill operations conducted during June, with assays reported according to internal lab reports:

1) 4,605 Tons: Feed material processed;

2) 12.75 g/t Au: Average grade of mill feed;

3) 1,390 Oz Gold: Gold concentrates produced (exact weights in gold and silver Oz to be determined at final settlement of sale);

DynaMineras further reports contract mining at San Pablo mine, and test mill runs of the pilot mill facility at SJG are continuing, with an average volume output from the pilot mill facility in July of approximately 164.5 tonnes per 24 hours of operation.

DynaMineras - Mine Plan and Mill Operations (Pilot Operations)

DynaMineras is conducting operations at SJG according to internally developed mine plans for San Pablo Mine (compiled by Company VP- Director of Exploration and Resource Development, Pedro I. Teran Cruz, using Surpac software), and through the internally designed SJG Pilot Mill facility (consisting of a basic gravity-flotation circuit) which was previously operated by DynaUSA during the 2003-2006 period. There is no preliminary economic assessment report completed for SJG so the precise cutoff grade for underground mining has not yet been determined. The operations are being funded internally by DynaMineras and DynaUSA, and from revenues generated from the test mining and pilot mill operations. The mine plan was developed from the block model of resources as defined in the DynaMexico NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate which was included in the DynaMexico NI 43-101 Technical Report and filed by the Company with SEDAR; and from the analysis of underground mining works conducted in 2003-2006.

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SJG Ownership

DynaResource de Mexico SA de CV ("DynaMexico") owns 100% of the SJG Project. DynaUSA currently holds 80% of the total outstanding Capital of DynaMexico, and, DynaUSA currently holds 100% of DynaMineras.

General Manager appointed at San Jose de Gracia Project

On February 4, 2016 DynaUSA announced the appointment of Mr. Rene L.F. Mladosich as General Manager of the San Jose de Gracia Project, effective February 1, 2016. (See DynaResource, Inc. news release dated February 4, 2016).

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

K.D. DIEPHOLZ;

DynaResource, Inc.; Chairman and CEO

IMPORTANT CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING CANADIAN DISCLOSURE STANDARDS

The Company is an "OTC Reporting Issuer" as that term is defined in Multilateral Instrument 51-509, Issuers Quoted in the U.S. Over-the-Counter Markets, promulgated by various Canadian Provincial Securities Commissions.

Accordingly, certain disclosure in this news release or other disclosure provided by the Company has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of United States securities laws. In Canada, an issuer is required to provide technical information with respect to mineralization, including reserves and resources, if any, on its mineral exploration properties in accordance with Canadian requirements, which differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") applicable to registration statements and reports filed by United States companies pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. As such, information contained in this news release or other disclosure provided by the Company concerning descriptions of mineralization under Canadian standards may not be comparable to similar information made public by United States companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC and not subject to Canadian securities legislation. This news release or other disclosure provided by the Company may use the terms "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources". While these terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations (under National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects), the SEC does not recognize them. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted to reserves. In addition, "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian securities legislation, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, although they may form, in certain circumstances, the basis of a "preliminary economic assessment" as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that part or all of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This News release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27 A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Certain information contained in this news release, including any information relating to future financial or operating performance may be deemed "forward-looking". All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that DynaResource expects to occur, are "forward-looking information". These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the Company's expectations regarding the future growth, results of operations, business prospects and opportunities of DynaResource. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current internal projections, expectations or beliefs and are based on information currently available to DynaResource. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. Certain assumptions have been made regarding the Company's plans at the San Jose de Gracia property. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of DynaResource and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct. Such factors include, without limitation: capital requirements, fluctuations in the international currency markets and in the rates of exchange of the currencies of the United States and Mexico; price volatility in the spot and forward markets for commodities; discrepancies between actual and estimated production, between actual and estimated reserves and resources and between actual and estimated metallurgical recoveries; changes in national and local governments in any country which DynaResource currently or may in the future carry on business; taxation; controls; regulations and political or economic developments in the countries in which DynaResource does or may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; competition; loss of key employees; additional funding requirements; actual results of current exploration or reclamation activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; accidents; labor disputes; defective title to mineral claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks) as well as those risks referenced in the Annual Report for DynaResource available at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and actual results and future events could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. All of the forward-looking information contained in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Although DynaResource believes that the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on reasonable assumptions, readers cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with such statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking information. DynaResource expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.
Edward Snowden at the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark, on June 28. (Photo: Scanpix Denmark/Mathias Loevgreen Bojesen/via Reuters)

More than three years after fleeing the United States with a massive cache of top-secret documents, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden remains a federal fugitive, living in Moscow courtesy of President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

But Snowden  who is the subject of a new Oliver Stone biopic that hits movie theaters next month  is making the most of his exile: Over the past year, he has collected more than $200,000 in fees for digital speaking appearances that have been arranged by one of the countrys elite speakers bureaus, according to a source close to Snowden who is intimately familiar with his business affairs. At least three of these paid speeches were hosted by public American universities, and documents obtained by Yahoo News highlight various concerns raised by college officials about paying Snowden.

The former intelligence analyst uses video chat technology to address audiences around the globe: In the last five months, a larger-than-life Snowden has appeared on giant screens to a sold-out audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, northern Europes largest music festival, a symposium on surveillance and civil rights in Tokyo, and Comic-Con in San Diego. In all of these cases, as with most of his appearances, sympathetic crowds greeted him with thunderous applause and praise for his decision to leak classified documents to journalists about U.S. surveillance programs.

Arguing you dont care about privacy because youve got nothing to hide is no different than saying that you dont care about free speech because you have nothing to say, Snowden, using one of his classic lines, told Denmarks Roskilde Festival in June. After the crowd  reportedly Snowdens largest ever  sang Happy Birthday, the 33-year-old said: Everyone, thank you. Really. You guys staying with me is overwhelming. But this is not about me. This is about us.

Snowden appears on a screen during the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on June 28. (Photo: Scanpix Denmark/Mathias Loevgreen Bojesen/via Reuters)

The events promote Snowdens credentials as a whistleblower whose disclosures triggered significant changes in U.S. surveillance laws. And they come at a crucial moment for him. Timing their efforts to coincide with next months release of the Stone movie about his life, Snowdens supporters are planning a major public relations campaign this fall to petition President Obama to grant him a full pardon before he leaves office.

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But the spectacle of Snowden, who stole hundreds of thousands of classified government documents, profiting from his celebrity has irked some U.S. intelligence officials. This could frustrate his supporters hopes  admittedly unlikely to be realized  of striking a deal with the Obama administration to allow him to return to the United States without standing trial and risking substantial prison time.

In my view, I think he has violated the oath that he made to this Constitution and this government, said CIA Director John Brennan in a recent interview with Yahoo News. Getting remuneration for it is very unfortunate and wrong.

Ben Wizner of the ACLU, who serves as Snowdens U.S. lawyer, strongly defended his clients blossoming speaking career.

There is nothing remotely improper about Edward Snowden making a living by speaking to global audiences about surveillance and democracy, Wizner said, arguing that some in the U.S. intelligence community who approved torture and other abuses have cashed in with lucrative book deals and consulting careers. Snowden is not getting rich off public speaking, Wizner said. He lives a frugal and modest life.

One of the only photos featuring Snowden in Moscow, taken in the fall of 2013 while he rode a boat passing the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. (Photo: LifeNews/Rossiya24)

I can assure you he will pay all taxes that he might owe

Snowden has kept a well-crafted media profile in exile, digitally emerging more than 100 times at various events since arriving in Russia, according to a review of his public appearances. In 2014, he began appearing via video chat  or robot  at events around the world. Sometimes the American leaker turned activist speaks to events for free, especially for nonprofit groups, according to Wizner. In other cases, including talks at American colleges and universities, Snowden is paid as much as $25,000 for an appearance, his lawyer says.

Since September 2015, these paid talks have been arranged by the American Program Bureau (APB), a prestigious speakers bureau whose A-list clients range from world leaders such as former President Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu to TV stars such as Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres. (Also advertised on the bureaus website are a number of former U.S. officials, including retired Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the former U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and former State Department counterterrorism coordinator Daniel Benjamin.) During that time, three public universities  the University of Iowa, the University of Colorado and the University of Arizona  signed contracts with the bureau for Snowden to appear, according to documents obtained by Yahoo News under open records requests.

The website for the American Program Bureau.

The APB does not publicize its arrangement with Snowden, omitting his name from a list of advertised speakers on its website, although its officers have signed the contracts for Snowdens talks at the schools. The emails obtained by Yahoo News show that officials at the schools, while usually enthusiastic about the idea of having Snowden speak to their students, raised multiple questions about his appearances, including whether he was donating some portion of his payments to charities or nonprofit groups, whether he was paying U.S. taxes on his fees and whether the payments might be prohibited by an executive order signed by President Obama last year declaring cyberhacking a national security threat subject to sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department.

The bureau declined repeated requests to answer any questions from Yahoo News about its arrangement with Snowden. Wizner, Snowdens U.S. lawyer, indicated to Yahoo News that Snowden has not filed any U.S. tax returns on his income in exile, but added: I can assure you he will pay all taxes that he might owe. But hes going to do that in connection with a settlement of all the charges against him.

Snowdens legal trouble dates back to the spring of 2013. On May 20 of that year, he landed in Hong Kong with what some U.S. officials feared were as many as 1.7 million classified documents taken from NSA systems during his work as an NSA contractor for Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton. (Exactly how much he took remains unclear.) He subsequently gave American journalists Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald an estimated 200,000 documents, the contents of which became the subject of hundreds of news stories detailing NSA practices, including a top-secret program to collect records of phone calls made by Americans. Snowden also provided documents to Washington Post journalist Barton Gellman and South China Morning Post journalist Lana Lam. The subsequent media reports informed the world about pervasive spying by Western governments and spurred efforts by all three branches of government to reform the U.S. surveillance apparatus.

On June 14, 2013, Snowden was charged in a Justice Department criminal complaint with theft of government property and two violations of the U.S. Espionage Act for disclosing classified communications. Nine days later, Snowden, asserting he was on his way to Latin America, wound up at the Moscow airport and was unable to go any farther because the U.S. government had revoked his passport.

A TV screen shows a news report of Snowden at a shopping mall in Hong Kong. (Photo: Vincent Yu/AP)

How much is actually donated?

The idea for Snowdens appearance at the University of Colorado, Boulder, arose after the APB speakers bureau emailed the universitys Distinguished Speakers Board. The chair of the board told Yahoo News that the email was more of an advertisement-type format, just informing us that Mr. Snowden was on the speaking circuit. The university agreed to pay the bureau $56,000 to host a joint appearance with Snowden and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Ron Suskind on Feb. 16, 2016, for 90 minutes.

The speaking fee for Snowden is also a donation to a non-profit, correct? Brandon Myers, coordinator for Student Activities + Special Events at the University of Colorado, Boulder, asked APB senior agent Tammy Haschig in a Feb. 1 email. If so, which organization? The ACLU? How much is actually donated?

Haschig replied that Snowden contributes a significant portion of his speaking fees to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, where he is a board member.

APB correspondence with the University of Colorado.

Snowden echoed the claim during his digital talk with Suskind, telling the crowd that he planned to donate part of his fee to the press organization  a San Francisco nonprofit whose stated mission is to support and defend journalism dedicated to transparency and accountability. Other board members of the Freedom of the Press Foundation include Greenwald and Poitras, both of whom received the initial cache of NSA documents from Snowden.

I want to make sure journalists are able to operate, said Snowden, explaining his decision to make the donation. Suskind, whose appearance with Snowden was also arranged by APB, said it was his understanding from Wizner that Snowden was going to donate half his fee to the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

But Trevor Timm, president of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Yahoo News that the organization never received any direct donations from Snowden as a result of the Colorado talk or any other of his speaking appearances. On a handful of occasions, Timm said, Snowden has forfeited speaking fees and directed that they go to the group, estimating that the organization has received between $10,000 and $20,000 this year under such arrangements. But, he added in an email, there have been no direct donations from Snowden to Freedom of the Press Foundation.

If Snowden did not actually make the contribution to the Freedom of the Press Foundation for the Colorado talk, then I would be disappointed and surprised, Suskind said in an interview.

Snowden appearing with writer Ron Suskind at the University of Colorado on Feb. 16. (Photo: Patrick Campbell/University of Colorado)

When asked about the discrepancy, a University of Colorado spokesman told Yahoo News that Snowden and APB fulfilled their end of the contract. And we paid the specified amount to APB as outlined in the contract. (The contract obtained by Yahoo News does not specify how the $56,000 was divided between Snowden and Suskind, or how much APB took as its fee.) Wizner said his client still intends to direct some future speaking fees to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, estimating this will amount to $50,000 by the end of the year.

Ed doesnt have a clue what the LLC is

The question of whether Snowden was directing donations to nonprofits was only one of the issues raised by school officials in preparation for Snowdens talk. Norm Skarstad, the assistant director for the University of Colorados Student Organizations Finance Office, asked Haschig in an email if Snowden was paying taxes on his speaking fees. I only ask because paying foreign nationals can be problematic for us. Haschig replied: This is not an issue. We are actually paying him through an LLC [a limited liability company] to streamline things.

APB correspondence with the University of Colorado.

Haschig, like other APB officials, did not respond to questions about the corporation that is paying Snowden. But Wizner said he is confident that the LLC referred to in the email is not a corporation in which Snowden has any interest.

Ed doesnt have a clue what the LLC is, Wizner said after consulting with his client.

In light of potential legal issues, Wizner said he assumes the LLC was set up by APB to shield the fees it pays to Snowden from the amounts it collects on behalf of other clients, presumably in case the U.S. government targets Snowdens income.

Tom do we have other options or is it the last one?

The possibility of the government targeting Snowdens fees was raised by some university officials, who took notice of an executive order by President Obama last year aimed at thwarting malicious cyber-enabled activities.

Kelly, Please hold everything, University of Iowa vice president for student life Tom Rocklin told university lecture committee adviser Kelly Soukup on Sept. 17, 2015, during final arrangements for a talk featuring Snowden. [A] concern has been identified. Based on an executive order signed by President Obama in January, it is illegal to transfer funds to a fugitive. My understanding  is [that] unless we can have an assurance that no funds will be transferred to the speaker we cannot have him.

APB correspondence with the University of Iowa.

The executive order, signed in April 2015 and referenced in subsequent emails, imposes financial sanctions against anyone found to be directly or indirectly involved in cyber-related activities deemed to be a significant threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States.

On Sept. 18, the University of Iowa withdrew the $3,000 offer to host Snowden at the talk, which also featured former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former FBI agent Coleen Rowley. Three days later, after speaking with Wizner, Soukup emailed Haschig: Wait! We may have some hope! Soukup then explained to his colleagues that according to Wizner, the interpretation of the executive order is incorrect. He indicated that Snowden is not on the list at the Dept. of Treasury for those who are impacted by the order.

In fact, as Wizner pointed out to Yahoo News, the Treasury Department had yet to designate any violators who might be subject to financial sanctions. Asked if Snowden could potentially be subject to sanctions in the future, a Treasury Department spokeswoman replied by email: Treasury does not speculate on any potential future actions.

As of Sept. 24, four days before the event, Iowa lawyers still wondered if a payment to Snowden falls under the umbrella of donation that is restricted [no] matter how it reaches him.

Rocklin subsequently asked if the university could pay for the appearances of Rowley and McGovern instead of Snowden. The nonprofit Veterans for Peace agreed to pay for Snowden, but Snowden didnt want to take money from Vets for Peace, according to Soukup.

The deal to have the veterans pay for the speaker has fallen through, Rocklin emailed then-interim university president Jean Robillard, conspicuously avoiding Snowdens name at that point. Are you still comfortable with paying the speaker using foundation funds?

Tom do we have other options or is it the last one?

Last one I can identify.

APB correspondence with the University of Iowa.

After Robillard decided to use funds from a University of Iowa foundation account, Rocklin told other Iowa staff: FYI. Were back on with the speaker we discussed.

SNOWDEN IS A GO! Soukup subsequently emailed to the venue. As they say: better late than never! When asked about the deliberations about hosting Snowden, University of Iowa spokeswoman Jeneane Beck told Yahoo News in an email: The University of Iowa values intellectual debate and believes in providing students the opportunity to hear from speakers with diverse viewpoints.

She added: However, as a public institution, we are careful to follow all state and federal guidelines, so it was important to do our due diligence when hosting Mr. Snowden.

After the event, which was deemed a huge success, Haschig told Soukup, Im sure [Snowden] would appreciate if you kept the fee confidential as he did this more as a favor to colleagues. We wouldnt want other clients feeling as though they were being over charged as Im sure you can understand!

The most recent paid Snowden appearance at an American university occurred at the University of Arizona on March 25, 2016. The school paid APB $20,000 for Snowden to digitally appear for a talk with Greenwald and prominent linguist turned activist Noam Chomsky (who spoke for free).

Snowden appearing with Glenn Greenwald and Noam Chomsky at the University of Arizona on March 25. (Photo: University of Arizona)

The pardon power exists

How Snowden has made money in exile has been an open question from the beginning. He claimed that he withdrew enough financial resources to survive on my own for years without anyones assistance before leaving the United States with classified documents. Nevertheless, while settling into asylum, the former systems administrator accepted a job at a major Russian website, according to his Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena. And by November 2013, the American was reportedly almost broke. The savings he had, he has almost entirely spent on food, rent, security and so on, Kucherena told the Russian newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta. As of February 2015, according to Kucherena, Snowden was still working for a Russian company, and the former CIA technicians salary was commensurate with his skill level, so he has no problems making a living.

But by mid-2015, according to Wizner, speaking fees that sometimes exceeded $10,000 were his primary source of income. The APB organized its first Snowden event in September 2015, speaking to an invitation-only investors forum sponsored by a Chinese brokerage firm in Hong Kong.

Snowden has appeared in about 25 interviews and appearances so far in 2016 and is reportedly scheduled for more. He has supplementing his public profile with a Twitter account; he now shares his riffs on world events with his 2.1 million followers.

Through tweeting regularly, Snowden burnishes his credentials as a privacy advocate. In June, he criticized a Big Brother surveillance law passed in Russia. In July, he appeared to chastise WikiLeaks for publishing personally identifiable material in leaked documents related to the Democratic National Convention.

A recent tweet by @Snowden.

When asked about his life in Russia at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in March 2016, Snowden replied that he lived an ordinary life in an apartment like anybody elses.

He continued: My physical location is different, but thats not new for me. I worked for the CIA, under cover, overseas, in Switzerland and other places. I worked for the NSA as a contractor in Japan and other places. And so having a foreign posting where I have to live in a country that I dont plan to stay in for the rest of my life to pursue work on behalf of my own country is really nothing new for me. I do have a normal life, I do all of my own shopping, I ride the subway like everybody else.

At this point, more than three years and many revelations later, Snowdens backers are aiming at a full pardon. According to Wizner, they are creating a new nonprofit organization that will promote the cause starting this fall, after the Stone movie is released on Sept. 16. Among the advisers to the campaign, he said, is veteran liberal public relations executive David Fenton.

The basis for the campaign, Wizner said, is that Snowden has really made a significant contribution to a global conversation about open societies at a time when open societies are under threat around the world. As a result of Snowdens disclosures, he added, weve had an historic debate about surveillance and democracy and the most significant legal reforms since the 1970s  none of which would have occurred without Snowden.

I would only support his coming back and facing the charges

But arguments for clemency are not likely to sit well with U.S. intelligence community officials, who continue to argue that Snowdens disclosures endangered national security by alerting terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) and al-Qaida, to ways they could evade U.S. surveillance, accelerating their move to encrypted communications.

Youve seen al-Qaida expressly, for example, reference the [Snowden] disclosures, said NSA Director Michael Rogers about Snowdens disclosures in an interview with Yahoo News earlier this year. Youve seen groups  ISIL does the same  talk about how they need to change their discipline, need to change their security as a result of their increased knowledge of what we do and how we do it.

In early 2015, an ISIS-affiliated group used clips of Citizenfour, the Oscar-winning documentary about Snowden, to make a 13-minute propaganda video titled The Electronic War and the Negligence of the Supporters of Mujahedeen. At the end, the film points viewers to more than 20 tutorials and several online manuals detailing encryption and information security.

A screenshot from the ISIS video The Electronic War and the Negligence of the Supporters of Mujahedeen, which uses clips from Citizenfour.

And while many experts have argued that the movement toward encryption is the inevitable result of evolving new technologies, Rogers pointed to Snowden.

No one should doubt for one minute there has been an impact here, Rogers said. I will leave it to others to decide right, wrong, good or bad. But there shouldnt be any doubt in anybodys mind that there has been an impact as a result of these disclosures.

Asked about comments by former Attorney General Eric Holder that Snowden has contributed to an important public debate about surveillance, CIA Director Brennan took a decidedly different view.

I respectfully but vehemently disagree with the former attorney general, Brennan said in his interview with Yahoo News. I would only support his coming back [to the United States] and facing the charges that have been levied against him and to let a court of law determine his fate.

Wizner, for his part, doesnt dispute that his client violated federal law by stealing and disclosing NSA documents. The argument is not that he didnt break the law, he said. The argument is that the president should use his discretion [to pardon Snowden] just as he used his discretion not to investigate and prosecute members of the intelligence community [who] broke the law by engaging in torture and other illegal activities.

Asked whether President Obama would be open to considering a request to pardon Snowden, White House spokesman Edward C. Price replied by email: When it comes to Edward Snowden, our position has not changed. Mr. Snowden is accused of leaking classified information and faces felony charges here in the United States. As such, he should be returned to the U.S. as soon as possible, where he will be accorded full due process.

Daniel Klaidman contributed to this report.

Edward Snowden contracts with U.S. colleges
Net loss for the first half ended 30 June 2016 was recorded at MYR37.45m ($9.36m), as against the profit of MYR49.81m in the previous corresponding period.

First half revenue nosedived by 95% year-on-year to MYR24.32m due mainly to a reversal of revenue from Perdana Petroleums cancellation of an accommodation work barge and lower number of vessels delivery.

Nam Cheong, however, posted a second quarter profit of MYR2.67m compared to the bigger gain of MYR10.48m in the year-ago period.

While oil prices have rebounded from the lows since the beginning of the year, the offshore and marine industry continues to be under pressure. This has invariably affected the flow of OSV orders, said Tiong Su Kuok, executive chairman of Nam Cheong.

We continue to be prudent by tightening our cost management, and are glad to note that our shipbuilding segments gross profit margin has improved during the second quarter, Tiong noted.

The outlook for the oil and marine sector remains weak and the group anticipates that the progress of vessel sales and shipbuilding to remain slow.

In response to the challenging business environment, Nam Cheong has deferred the schedule of deliveries of its vessels currently under construction, both at customers request and at its own initiative. The group has a gross orderbook of approximately MYR1.1bn as at June 2016, comprising a mix of OSVs due for deliveries up to 2018.
Back in Detroit's post-World War II era, community leaders had many grand ideas that transformed the face of Metro Detroit. One of the grandest was the creation of a major beach attraction out of marshland south of the Clinton River.

"If you go back before the Metropark was here, there was a large wetland here," explains Paul Muelle, Chief of Natural Resources for the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority. "Folks back then had big ideas and big dreams and big projects. This park was one of them."

In the late 1940s, hundreds of acres of marshland were dredged and filled to create the sprawling beach complex at Metropolitan Beach. A massive recreation center with paved walkways and huge parking lots greeted generations of families from all over the region who flocked there for swimming, boating, and picnicking starting in 1950.

Known today as Lake St. Clair Metropark, the 770-acre tract is a part of the Huron-Clinton Metropark system that serves the region. Over the past several decades, the beach on Lake St. Clair has been notorious for ongoing closures related to high levels of E. coli bacteria. At times, the shoreline has been overrun with a film of green algae. This year, Metro Beach has been closed for swimming only one day, on July 7. However, Memorial Beach has been closed since July 19.





Data provided by Macomb County Health Department



But today, government, academic, business and environmental interests are converging to restore Lake St. Clairperhaps not to its original condition, but to something that can continue to provide recreation and ecological benefit to the region.



The area that would become Metro Beach in 1932. Courtesy Huron-Clinton Metroparks.







Despite challenges, an ecological hub



Though not officially one of the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair plays a critical role in the ecology of the lower Great Lakes, forming part of the connecting channel between Lake Huron and Lake Erie along with the St. Clair River, which accounts for most its water input. But today, government, academic, business and environmental interests are converging to restore Lake St. Clairperhaps not to its original condition, but to something that can continue to provide recreation and ecological benefit to the region.

Th e Clinton River and other local tributaries such as the Salt River flow directly into the lake. The watersheds of these waterways feature significant residential, commercial and industrial development. Vast areas of impervious surface and aging and undersized infrastructure result in intermittent sewage overflows and heavy stormwater runoff, which often impair water quality in the nearshore areas of the lake.





Although researchers have been studying the effects of development on the areas water for years, water quality problems continue to plague the lake. Despite these challenges, the lake still continues to support a billion-dollar recreational boating and fishing industry while providing significant habitat for local wildlife.



Lake St. Clair provides habitat for 70 species of fish, 48 of them dependent on remnant marshlands and shallow areas of the lake, 38 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 90 species of birds, according to Bill Parkus, who manages the for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. This high biodiversity is the driver behind Lake St. Clairs internationally acclaimed sport fishery. Fishing and boating activities along the Huron to Erie Corridor pumps approximately $1.7 billion annually into Southeast Michigans economy.



Greening the landscape to support a "blue economy"



For several years, Macomb County has promoted its " " initiative, designed to leverage the economic opportunity presented by the county's proximity to water resources. To compound the problem, virtually all of Lake St. Clair's natural shoreline wetlands have been removed and replaced with rock and metal barriers, preventing the natural flow of stormwater through cleansing wetlands along the waters edge. Lake St. Clair/St. Clair River Protection and Restoration Partnership for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. This high biodiversity is the driver behind Lake St. Clairs internationally acclaimed sport fishery. Fishing and boating activities along the Huron to Erie Corridor pumps approximately $1.7 billion annually into Southeast Michigans economy. Blue Economy " initiative, designed to leverage the economic opportunity presented by the county's proximity to water resources.





The overall goal is to increase tree canopy coverage in the area to 40 percent of the land area in Macomb County. The city of Centerline currently has a tree canopy of just 10 percent; Shelby Township, one of the counties less intensively developed suburbs, has a tree canopy of 32 percent, according to Gerard Santoro, program manager of the Macomb County Land and Water Resource Group.



"Weve recognized that we severely lack in tree canopy," Santoro says. He says the county not only needs to replenish trees, but also needs to find "the right trees in the right place for the right purpose." Its less about aesthetics and more about functionality.



"You have 1.5 million people living in a densely populated watershed in the south end of Macomb County," says Santoro. "All of this water drains into Lake St. Clair. It is a very important part of the Macomb County story."



Softening the shoreline



Another part of that story is 29 miles of hardened shoreline, including several miles of residential canals, which minimizes the natural process of water absorption and flow into the lake.



This year, the county has gone inland with the Green Macomb initiative, an effort to reforest a portion of the Clinton River watershed in 12 southern Macomb County communities. The absence of tree canopy and wetlands in older, fully developed places like Warren, Roseville, and Fraser reduces their ability to absorb and clean stormwater. The result is a heavy impact on local infrastructure, the Clinton River and ultimately Lake St. Clair.

But over the past several years, Lake St. Clair Metropark has undergone a transformation, re-engineering and reconnecting the Black Creek Marsh with the Clinton River to the north and the Point Rosa Marsh with the lake to the south. Muelle has overseen work on restoring the marshes, which included a redesign of the park's massive parking lot.



Originally, stormwater runoff from the parking lot was collected in catch basins and storm pipes and discharged directly into the Black Creek, which outlets into Lake St. Clair along the park's northern border. A hydrology study found that the marshes needed more water to be healthy. So several wetlands and green infiltration islands have been created within and around the parking lot to redirect storm water to the Point Rosa Marsh on the west side of the park. Not only does this restore the marshes, but it also reduces the amount of unfiltered runoff going into the lake.



"Marsh systems are a mechanism for helping us clean water. Were using that for our parking lot and the park in general," says Muelle. "Now when it rains, the stormwater is still collected in the catch basins and pipes, but it outlets into the ditches and flows into new vegetative swales and wetlands that were created where there once was a parking lot. Eventually, it flows into the marsh, helping to improve the ecosystem."



The revived ecology is already revealing benefits. Muelle says several wildlife species determined "threatened" or of "special concern" have been observed recently in the wetlands, such as marsh wren, least bittern, Blandings turtle, spotted turtle, common moorhen, black-crowned night heron, eastern fox snake, and Forsters tern.



Studying the problem
Author William Rapai is a former newspaper reporter and amateur naturalist. His first book, on the efforts to save the Kirtland's Warbler from extinction, was named a 2013 Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan. He recently published his second, "Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes," which looks at the ecological upheaval caused by non-native plants and animals in the Great Lakes and the political challenges in addressing those threats.

Kirk Haverkamp recently sat down with Rapai to talk about it. This interview is edited for length and clarity.

We began to see this change in the Great Lakes with things like the introduction of the quagga and zebra mussels. We began to see how diporeia, an important plankton, was beginning to be wiped out. Wherever those mussels went, diporeia was beginning to disappear. Diporeia is an important food source for young whitefish.

We've seen it in places like Hawaii, where native bird populations have been wiped out because of snakes, mongooses and non-native birds that have been introduced. Look at places like New Zealand where native bird populations and plants have been wiped out by introduced species. It took awhile for these things to build, but when they became apparent, it was an "Oh, my god!" kind of moment.

Humans have been moving species around the world for centuries. Think about how the dandelion came to North America. It came from Europe, probably with the pilgrims, as a food source. Only recently have we begun to see the impacts of those species moving around the world because they've kind of slapped us across the face.

Haverkamp: One of the surprising things you write about in this book is how the topic of invasive species is relatively new. You say that the term wasn't coined until 1990, though alewives and sea lamprey have been around for in the Great Lakes for years. Why is that?

So there are cascading effects. But it's just recently that we've begun to realize that these things coming in from around the world are having an incredible impact on our lakes.



You write that there's been a cumulative effect since the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1950s; that these exotic species have been coming in since then but have only gotten traction more recently. Tell us about that.



Prior to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, anything that made it into Lake Ontario could only make it in through the Welland Canal. That was a fairly narrow and difficult way to make your way from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.

Things really picked up once we started having massive ocean liners dumping ballast water

The Great Lakes have changed so much from their natural state already. They've lost so many of their original species and so many new ones have come in. So someone might wonder, what difference would a few new species make?



The problem is those species are artificially finding their way across biological barriers like the Atlantic Ocean. So we are introducing things that are not natural into the Great Lakes ecosystem, and these things are becoming superior predators and are changing the food web order of the Great Lakes.



William Rapai It matters because we are losing much of the biodiversity of the Great Lakes. We've lost a subspecies of the walleye, the blue pike, in Lake Erie. We've lost a couple of sculpin species that were important food fish for top predators. And when you begin to lose that diversity, it means that the next time the lake is stressed by some new introduced species, that lake becomes less able to fight it off. So each time something new comes in, it has an even bigger impact.



One of the interesting things you touched on in the book is that despite all the damage, some of these invaders seem to be getting integrated into the system, and some are even having positive effects. For example, the round goby eats zebra and quagga mussels. With the spiny waterflea , there are some fish that are able to eat them and depend on them as a food source.



There are tradeoffs here. For example, the exotic round goby has become critical to the survival of the Lake Erie subspecies of the northern water snake, because it has wiped out virtually all the other prey species that the northern water snake used to eat. So now, it is the northern water snake's number one prey item.



And so when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is writing a conservation plan for that northern water snake, it has to take into account the health of the population of exotic round goby.

Round goby is also the number one prey item for the top predator in Lake Michigan, the lake trout. Without the round goby, the lake trout would have very little to eat.



Alewives, which used to be a huge problem, are mostly gone?



Yes. One of the things I'm fond of talking about is the cascading effects these invasive species have had over the years. When the alewives first came in, their population in Lake Michigan alone was somewhere around a trillion fish at one time. That's a lot of fish.

So when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources decided to stock Lake Michigan with salmon, the salmon had a ready-made food source.

But now, because of the quagga and zebra mussels, the amount of plankton in the lakes has been significantly cut, so the alewife population (which feeds on plankton) is pretty much gone in Lake Huron, and it is falling very rapidly in Lake Michigan.



And because the alewife is gone is Lake Huron, the salmon population there has followed that decline. There's practically no salmon left in Lake Huron, and as the alewife population continues to decline in Lake Michigan, the salmon population is also going to continue to decline there as well.



And that's a big impact for the sport fishery?



Towns like Frankfurt and Muskegon and Ludington, where a lot of charter fishing is based, are really beginning to hurt a little bit because of the lack of people coming back from previous years. People are realizing that those fish that they used to catch, which were once so plentiful, are no longer there.



It seems that one of the big challenges is coordinating policy. I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn that states have primary authority on invasive species management, rather than the federal government.



Because there's nothing in the Constitution that says the federal government shall have control over the Great Lakes, it becomes a matter of state control. Now, what happens when all the states surrounding the Great Lakes and the provinces of Canada have conflicting interests?



That's what we are seeing with Asian Carp in Chicago-area waterways. You've got Michigan saying "No, we don't want those carp here in our Great Lakes" and Illinois and Indiana saying "Yes, we don't want the carp here either, but we also want to keep this canal open, because it's a direct waterway to the Great Lakes."



That also relates to the problem of enforcement. You talk in your book about a ship emptying ballast water that may have organisms in it, but the state of Michigan can't hold the ship for testing.



Right. The State of Michigan has absolutely no authority to stop a ship because the federal government has authority in this matter, due to the interstate commerce clause in the Constitution.



And that means the State of Michigan and the State of Wisconsin cannot go on board a ship and seize it or stop it or tell it to stop dumping ballast water. And that limits what a state can do to protect its own water and its environment.



It often seems like there's an awful lot of hoops to go through before you can take action. For example, you have to be able to prove a species is a threat before you can ban it.



You're right. And because of the federal government's policy, the Lacey Act of 1900, we have largely been playing from behind. The Lacey Act says that harmful organisms can't be imported into the United States. But you can only know that it is harmful after it has been here and has become established, and you can show that it is injurious to plants or wildlife in the United States. In that way, it is innocent until proven guilty.

Well, we need to flip that on its head and say it's guilty until proven innocent.



What would you say is the biggest obstacle to taking action?



Number one, government moves slowly. It takes a long time for policy to be developed. We've created policymaking structures where we have to go out and talk to the public, and then we have to make revisions, and then we have to go out and talk to the public again and then we have to make revisions. The process, by its nature, moves slowly.



The other problem is getting the states and the provinces to all work together. Policy needs to be united across the Great Lakes basin. It's like a chain. And any one of those political entities that has the weakest policies is the weakest link.



You can read more about invasive species and the Great Lakes in " " by William Rapai.



This story is a part of a statewide Invasive Species Community Impact Series. Support for this series is provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes " by William Rapai.This story is a part of a statewide Invasive Species Community Impact Series. Support for this series is provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

water that keeps the ship stable as it's coming across the ocean into the Great Lakes as they take on cargo. As the ships dump out all the water, all the little critters inside that water come out too.
A now-extinct giant "Siberian unicorn" existed much more recently than previously thought, paleontologists say.

The animal, an elasmotherium Siberian rhinoceros or Elasmotherium sibiricum, was previously thought to be extinct 350,000 years ago. However, new research by experts at Tomsk State University (TSU) in Russia indicates that the "unicorn" may have existed until 29,000 years ago.

This means that the "unicorn" may have roamed the Earth at the same time as humans  a human fossil found in western Siberia in 2008 was dated to 45,000 years ago.

The researchers cite a well-preserved fossilized skull fragment discovered near Kozhamzhar village, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan as evidence for the rhino's more recent existence. The findings are detailed in the "American Journal of Applied Science."

"Most likely, in the south of Western Siberia it was a refugium, where this rhino had preserved the longest in comparison with the rest of its range," explained Andrey Shpanski, a paleontologist at TSU, in a press release. "There is another option that it could migrate and dwell for a while on the more southern areas."

Radiocarbon dating was performed on the skull at Queen's University, Belfast, in the U.K. "Most likely, it was a very large male of very large individual age (teeth not preserved)," said Shpanski, in the press release.

It is thought that the giant animals were about 6.7 feet tall and 15 feet long.

The rhinos could be found across a vast habitat that spanned from the Don river to the east of modern Kazakhstan, according to experts. Residue from the animal in Kazakhstan reveals that the rhinos had "quite a long existence" in the southeast of the west Siberian plain, TSU says.

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When the United States and the Soviet Union were at the height of the Cold War, a solar storm could have been mistaken for an incoming attack, according to new research. A solar storm on May 23, 1967 jammed U.S. polar surveillance radars, which the Air Force took as a sign of an incoming attack. However, space weather forecasters conveyed news of the storm -- and its potential to wreak havoc with communications -- just in time. Today it's better known that solar storms can cause electromagnetic disturbances that jam radio communications and power lines. "This is a grave situation," lead author Delores Knipp, a space physicist a the University of Colorado in Boulder, said in a statement of the 1967 situation. "But here's where the story turns: things were going horribly wrong, and then something goes commendably right."

RELATED: Sun Erupts With Biggest Solar Flares of 2016 At the dawn of the space age in the late 1950s, the U.S. military started watching solar activity to make better predictions about when space weather would affect Earth. This expanded into the Air Force's Air Weather Service (AWS) that looked for solar flares starting in the 1960s. Their observers were located around the country and spoke regularly with solar forecasters at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which controls and defends the airspace above North America. Luckily for history, these reports were often sent daily to NORAD by 1967. On May 18 of that year, observers saw an unusually large group of sunspots in one spot on the sun. Five days later, the storm erupted and was visible to the naked eye in New Mexico and Colorado, according to observatories there. Because the flare was pointed approximately in the direction of the Earth, a coronal mass ejection of solar particles was expected to follow 36-48 hours later and hit our planet. On the same day -- May 23 -- NORAD's Ballistic Missile Early Warning System's three radars in the north all jammed. A NORAD weather forecaster asked Arnold Synder, the on-duty solar forecaster that day, if the sun was being active at all. "I specifically recall responding with excitement, 'Yes, half the sun has blown away,' and then related the event details in a calmer, more quantitative way," said Snyder, who is now a retired colonel, in the same statement.

More evidence piled up for the sun's jamming, including the fact that the three BMEWS sites had the sun shining overhead at the time, and that the jamming lessened as solar activity faded. However, some unaware commanders put nuclear aircraft in "ready to launch" status during the jam. WATCH: How the Cold War Spurred the Space Race
There is a shakeup in the list of the world's longest-lived animals, as researchers have just determined that Greenland sharks live to be at least 272 years old, making them the vertebrates -- animals with a backbone or spinal column -- with the longest-known life expectancy. Like an Olympic race for longevity, the Greenland sharks now exceed other incredibly long-lived animals, such as bowhead whales and tortoises. The findings, reported in the journal Science, indicate that the large, carnivorous sharks could even live much longer than 272 years. Julius Nielsen, a doctoral student at the University of Copenhagen and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, told Discovery News: "We report the oldest shark to be at least 272 years (old). In more technical terms, it is with 95% certainty between 272 and 512 years old." RELATED: Italian Village Holds Longevity Secret (Rosemary?) WATCH: Humans Can Be Dated Like Trees

He added that the shark most likely died at around 390 years old, but due to the noted age range, he and his team stuck with the lower and more conservative figure for the paper. It has long been suspected that Greenland sharks live ultra-long lives, but figuring out just how long has stumped marine biologists for decades. Usually the age of sharks and rays can be determined by counting seasonally deposited growth layers in hard calcified structures, such as fin spines. Greenland sharks, however, lack these hard structures. To get around the problem, Nielsen and his team analyzed the eye lens nucleus of 28 female sharks sampled as accidental by-catch during the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources' annual fish and shrimp surveys. The research project is nicknamed Old and Cold, referring to the sharks' chilly environment and advanced ages. RELATED: Earth's Largest Living Thing Is in Danger Co-author Christopher Bronk Ramsey, a professor of archaeological science at the University of Oxford, told Discovery News, "The eye lens in all large animals forms during the initial development of the animal, and so dating this gives the age of the animal. Other body parts typically grow, or at least the carbon overturns over time. This is not possible for the lens because it has no internal blood supply." The scientists measured the radiocarbon content of the Greenland shark eye lenses. Then, they estimated the age of the individuals by matching and calibrating the data using data representing radiocarbon changes in the northern North Atlantic marine food web the past 500 years. The study marks the first time that scientists have applied a radiocarbon approach on eye lenses to date the longevity of a fish, which sharks are. Ramsey indicated that even he is in awe of the fact that the Bayesian statistics behind some of his and his colleagues' work were formulated in the 18th century, when the oldest of the sharks in the study were alive. "This perhaps puts quite nicely into perspective how long the lives of these animals are, and conversely, how much humans have achieved within the lifetime of one of these sharks," he said. WATCH VIDEO: NOAA Expedition's 2013 Encounter with a Greenland Shark

The researchers estimate that the long-lived Greenland sharks do not reach sexual maturity until around 156 years of age. Ramsey suspects that, since females have to attain a certain size to keep the developing shark embryos within their bodies, they cannot begin to mate until they reach that size. Their growth rate is incredibly slow. As for why this rate is so slow, and why the sharks live such long lives, Ramsey said these characteristics are probably due to "low metabolic rate, cold temperatures and limits to food supply. The shark is a very slow moving, cold-blooded species." Ramsey said at least one commonality seems to apply to all of the long-living species: a very low metabolic rate. While work remains on applying such information to improving human longevity, there is some general advice to follow, with the caveat that at least one factor is out of our hands for now. Steven Austad, a leading expert on the biology of aging at the University of Alabama Department of Biology, wrote in a paper published in the Journal of Comparative Pathology, that "if you want to become a healthy 80-year-old you need to live a healthy lifestyle, if you want to become a healthy 100-year-old, you need to inherit the right genes."

style="text-align: left;">10. Tuatura style="text-align: left;">Tuataras, which are lizard-like burrowing reptiles, can live well beyond 100 years. "Henry," a tuatara at the Southland Museum in New Zealand, mated for the first time at the age of 111 in 2009 with an 80-year-old female. The pairing was successful, resulting in 11 baby tuaturas. style="text-align: left;">Photo: Male tuatura from New Zealand. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

style="text-align: left;">9. Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo style="text-align: left;">Many birds, such as the sulphur-crested cockatoo, reach very advanced ages. Anecdotally, one such cockatoo died at the age of 142. Andean condors and greater flamingos often live past 80. style="text-align: left;">Anthony Hickey of the Univeristy of Aukland and his team have studied long-living birds. They believe that "perhaps exercise and limiting calories by 'eating like a bird'" could help humans to live longer lives. style="text-align: left;">Photo: Sulphur-crested cockatoo in Queensland, Australia. Credit: Tatiana Gerus, Wikimedia Commons

style="text-align: left;">8. Bowhead Whale style="text-align: left;">According to Michael Keane of the University of Liverpool and colleagues, "The bowhead whale is estimated to live over 200 years and is possibly the longest-living mammal. These animals should possess protective molecular adaptations to age-related diseases, particularly cancer." style="text-align: left;">Photo: Bowhead whale at the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. Credit: Kate Stafford, Wikimedia Commons

style="text-align: left;">7. Koi style="text-align: left;">Some koi can live to be 226, researchers suspect. Three other long-lived fish are the rougheye rockfish, orange roughy and sturgeon. style="text-align: left;">Photo: Koi eying prey. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

style="text-align: left;">6. Giant Tortoise style="text-align: left;">An Aldabra giant tortoise died at the estimated age of 255 at the Zoological Garden of Alipore, India. It might have been the oldest known terrestrial animal. Many turtles and other tortoise species also live impressively long lives. style="text-align: left;">Photo: Aldabra giant tortoise. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

style="text-align: left;">5. Greenland Shark style="text-align: left;">New research finds that Greenland sharks have the longest life expectancy of all vertebrates, which are animals with a backbone or spinal column. They can live to at least 272 years, and maybe even much longer. style="text-align: left;">Photo: A Greenland shark returning to the deep and cold waters of the Uummannaq Fjord in northwestern Greenland. Credit: Julius Nielsen

style="text-align: left;">4. Quahog style="text-align: left;">Ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) have been radiocarbon dated to 507 years. The species is nicknamed the "Bivalved Methuselah." style="text-align: left;">Photo: Handful of quahogs. Credit: Ken Hammond/Gef Flimlin's hands, USDA, Wikimedia Commons

style="text-align: left;">3. Black Coral style="text-align: left;">Black coral (genus Leiopathes) are among the oldest living organisms on the planet. They look white underwater, but turn black when they are removed and brought on land. style="text-align: left;">Photo: Black coral. Credit: NOAA, Wikimedia Commons

style="text-align: left;">2. Deep Sea Sponge style="text-align: left;">It is estimated that some deep sea sponges, such as Scolymastra joubini, can live to be 15,000 years old. Like Greenland sharks, they live in cold water and grow extremely slowly. The giant barrel sponge and Antarctic sponge are two other very long-lived sponges, which are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them. style="text-align: left;">Photo: Deep sea "Picasso" sponges (Staurocalyptus sp.). Credit: NOAA/Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Wikimedia Commons
The recent knife attack in Japan that killed 19 people was the largest mass killing in the country's history. The tragedy stunned the country, which has one of the lowest homicide rates in the world. In fact, Japan's crime rate has declined steadily for the last 60 years.

In today's Seeker Daily report, Trace Dominguez examines Japan's record as one of the safest countries on the planet.

Studies suggest that several factors are involved in Japan's low crime rate. Underpinning everything is a strong cultural affinity for passivity and non-violence. Anger and aggression are considered shameful in Japanese society, which puts a premium on personal honor and intricate social protocols. Some experts contend these traditions were further strengthened in the aftermath of World War II, when Japan turned away from violence after suffering the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

RELATED: Taxi Drivers Claim Ghost Passengers in Japan

Japan has also managed to rid its society of guns to a significant degree. According to reports by the United Nations and the University of Chicago, just one in 175 households in Japan has firearms. Compare to the United States, where the rate is one in three. The types of firearms that are allowed are heavily regulated, and most are flatly illegal. Buying a gun in Japan requires rigorous background checks and safety classes every three years.

Crime rates are also kept low by an astonishingly efficient legal system. In fact, some might call the statistics suspiciously efficient: According to Japanese criminal justice officials, police solve 98 percent of homicide cases and convict more than 99 percent of all suspects brought to court.

Other factors come into play, as well. Compared to the rest of the world, Japan has extremely low rates of poverty, unemployment and drug use. All of these societal factors combine to make Japan one of the safest countries in the world.

-- Glenn McDonald

Learn More:

New York Times: In Low-Crime Japan, Rarity of Mass Killings Only Heightens the Shock

Business Insider: How Japan's Murder Rate Got To Be So Incredibly Low

Japan Times: Number of reported crimes in Japan fell to postwar low in 2015

The Atlantic: A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths
Press Release

August 11, 2016 Gatchalian Renews Call for "No Parking Space, No Car" Policy

to Solve Transportation Crisis On Thursday, Senator Win Gatchalian renewed his call for the implementation of a strict "no parking space, no car" policy in Metro Manila as part of the government's push to solve the troubling transportation crisis in the nation's capital. "The transportation situation in Metro Manila has hit an all-time low. Around-the-clock traffic jams are causing significant economic losses and have had a grave impact on the quality of life of NCR residents. We need to take decisive action to clear the roads of improperly parked cars," said Gatchalian, the freshman senator from Valenzuela City. To fully implement this policy Gatchalian urged his congressional colleagues to act on his proposed measure, Senate Bill No. 201, also known as the "Proof-of-Parking Space Act". Under the Proof-of-Parking Space Act, individuals and businesses based within Metro Manila would only be allowed to purchase vehicles after the execution of an affidavit confirming that they have acquired, either through purchase or lease, a parking space for the vehicle being purchased. The bill also mandates the Land Transportation Office, the Metro Manila Development Authority, and local government units to conduct frequent ocular inspections of major and minor thoroughfares across the NCR to remove illegally parked vehicles and to punish vehicle owners who refuse to comply with the law. "If passed into law, the Proof-of-Parking Space Act would play a critical role in the Duterte administration's push to solve the transportation crisis. This law will help bring discipline back to our streets, for the benefit of vehicle owners and the commuting public," said Gatchalian. In addition, Gatchalian reiterated his openness to granting emergency transportation powers to the executive branch as long as the concerned agencies would present detailed and transparent plans on how they will use these powers. Gatchalian also urged the Department of Transportation to fast-track the implementation of a long-term public transportation plan which would use bus rapid transit and light rail technologies to significantly ease the burden of commuting for the millions of Metro Manila residents who rely on public transportation. "The present administration is in a good position to achieve real, tangible change by overhauling Metro Manila's outdated public transportation system. Alleviating the constant struggles of the commuting public should be one of government's top priorities," said Gatchalian.
Press Release

August 11, 2016 GORDON, HOPES THERE WILL BE NO CONSTITUTIONAL

CRISIS BETWEEN THE EXECUTIVE, JUDICIAL BRANCHES Senator Richard J. Gordon is hopeful that the seeming discord between the president and the chief justice over the inclusion of several judges in the former's narco-list, would not lead to a constitutional crisis between the executive and the judiciary. Gordon expressed disbelief that President Rodrigo Duterte would really declare martial law, adding that he may have only issued the statement out of pique. "It's obvious na passionate ang ating presidente. I don't think he intends na pakialaman ang Judiciary, co-equal branch of government 'yan. In fact, he told the judges to report to the Supreme Court to explain their presence in the list. Dapat mag-usap sila. I don't believe that he will really declare martial law. I don't think he is going to declare martial law. Na-pique lang yan. I don't think nagpapapatay siya ng tao I don't think he is serious about that. Sinabi na n'ya 'yan noong araw pa eh. And besides hindi basta-basta mag- declare ng martial law. Remember dadaan pa sa Senado yan, dadaan sa Kongreso for approval and he cannot abolish the court. So it's useless to declare because the president will not have total control," he said. Article 7, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution states, among others, that "(t)he Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or the extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision thereon within thirty days from its filing." The senator pointed out that Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno had a point in warning the concerned judges against surrendering themselves to the police unless warrants have been issued against them. "Tama din si CJ Sereno. Ang problema, mabagal ang mga prosecutors. Mabagal yung mga pulis na maghanda ng mga kaso. Kapag nakakuha ka ng ebidensiya at may arrest warrant ka, dapat properly arrested, properly prepared yung kaso. Ang abugado ay marunong at handang i-prosecute, properly arrested," he said. Gordon also called on Duterte to exercise more prudence in his statements, lest he be misunderstood. He added that as a former mayor himself, he understands that there are times when a mayor makes statements that are misunderstood because of the pressure in implementing the law. "It can be dangerous to everybody because he could be very, very misunderstood. I was also a mayor so alam ko yan. Meron kang mga statements na ibinibigay para ang tao ay makinig sa yo. Pero kung minsan, dapat konting hinay-hinay because he has got a lot of pressure. Isipin mo may Abu Sayyaf, may pressure dito sa NPA. He is getting it from all sides. Ang Amerikano pa nakikialam. Dapat konting pasensya pa tayo. Hindi naman siguro mangyayari 'yun. Especially since the president was a former prosecutor, I know that he is going to do something about the prosecutorial system dahil doon ang problema-mabagal," he advised. The senator also reiterated his earlier advice to Philippine National Police Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa to be careful with his statements because all kinds of people may imitate him and he is also unprotected against charges since he is not covered by immunity from suit. Gordon also stressed anew that the country is not really helpless against the spate of killings since the PNP's Internal Affairs Service, under its charter, could conduct motu proprio investigations on policemen's firearms discharge. "We are not helpless against that (killings). You have the law which requires that every time a policeman is involved in a shooting, whether it is a discharge of firearms or somebody is wounded or dead, there's got to be an investigation by the Internal Affairs Service. Nandyan yan so dapat gamitin natin yan. Halimbawa, binaril yung si Del Rio. Yan may imbestigasyon-naka-posas eh, makukulong ang mga pulis dun. Yung isang pulis nung isang araw hindi nya sinunod ang sistema, nakasakay yung tatlong naka-motorsiklo, siya nag-iisa dapat sinabi nya, 'taas ang mga kamay ninyo, bumaba kayo dyan at dumapa.' eh hindi nya ginamit yun proper procedure, eh. May failure, especially in this time, na nagkakaroon na ng takot ang lahat babaril kaagad yun. Yan ang situation na ayoko.
Press Release

August 11, 2016 POE: PROACTIVE OVERSIGHT EYED IN DUTERTE EMERGENCY POWERS Legislators are duty-bound to review and closely monitor the implementation of emergency powers that Congress is poised to grant the President, Senator Grace Poe said today, as a proactive oversight committee will be established under the measure being deliberated on to solve the country's transportation woes. The oversight panel, which will be composed of members from the Senate and the House of Representatives, is one of the safeguards that lawmakers declared is necessary during the implementation of the extraordinary powers, which will be limited to two to three years. "We can put also other certain conditions like there will be an oversight committee composed of some members from the House and some members from the Senate to make sure all the deliverables are complied with," Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services that led the proceedings, said in a television interview Thursday. "I am supportive but we are not abdicating our role in also checking on the executive. That it is really important. We have to tread fine line between being supportive and being permissive and being cautious and being an obstructionist. That is why there are three branches of government and not just one so that we can support each other but we can also police each other," said Poe. Transportation officials pleaded senators during Wednesday's Senate hearing that there is urgency in dealing with traffic nightmares and other transportation problems, but vowed such extra powers to the President will not be abused. Poe earlier said government transactions must be transparent and compliant with the Freedom of Information, adding that such is a non-negotiable principle. Conditions such as ensuring the track record of the supplier, enough capitalization of suppliers and no conflict of interest are among the details that senators wanted to see in the final form of the emergency measure, Poe stated. "I would like to see this administration succeed but I am not going to give up on my role to make sure that they actually do it according to the processes that are laid out to become a law," the lady senator added. Poe also allayed fears on the proposed emergency powers, saying Congress can withdraw such powers if deemed necessary. "I think that we should only fear it if Congress does not have the power to withdraw such emergency powers. And I think for as long as [the Executive] is complying with the restrictions and the provisions that [Congress] set forth: the bidding or the procurement process is above board [and] they're delivering on schedule. If they need those emergency powers to be able to acquire right of way, properties, or to be able to facilitate faster relations with the local government units, why not? Again, there's that particular provision where Congress can take it back anytime if we feel that it's not needed anymore," Poe said.
Press Release

August 11, 2016 Nation must learn to auto-delete the colorful parts of Digong's statements The nation should learn by now to "auto-delete" the "colorful parts" of President Duterte's pronouncements and must not always take "his antics as policies." This was Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto's view on how to read the chief executive's statements which may be "shocking" to many. For those who are outraged, "the best coping mechanism is not to let his curses get in the way of studying the causes he is fighting for," Recto said. "Makulay ang kanyang pananalita. May halong pangungutya. Yung pang-aasar ay parte ng kanyang stagecraft. Hiwalay ito sa state policies he is pursuing," he said. But just the same, Recto is advising Duterte and other public officials to "finesse" the way they communicate. "Words can move a nation, incite people, disturb the peace, and make the political temperature rise," he said. "So people wielding large bullhorns should exercise caution in what they say," he said. Recto said when disagreements rise among branches of government, and between the rulers and the ruled, "these must be welcomed as a healthy feature of democracy." "And it must be resolved in a manner that crystallizes the issues and does not muddle them, in a manner that brings light, not heat to the discussion," he said. Referring to Duterte's recent threat to declare Martial Law if the Supreme Court will hinder his anti-drug campaign, Recto said "unnecessarily raising the specter of a constitutional crisis will not bring us closer to what we commonly want to achieve-to defeat crime and bring law and order." "We can best serve the people by mutually strengthening the democratic institutions, and not by one branch threatening to subvert the other," he said. "When there is divergence of thought, we plod on. As both Batanguenos and Bisayas would say: Kalma lang," he said.
Press Release

August 11, 2016 To erase backlog, Recto backs gov't plan to make car plates locally Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto is backing the plan of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to manufacture car plates locally - a move, he said, "which would prevent a repeat of imported plates being seized at ports over a dispute in Customs duties." Recto also welcomed Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade's statement made before senators Wednesday that he would study the possibility of refunding motor vehicle owners who have paid for new car plates but have not received them. Tugade, however, said the refund may only be partial. "Siguro ay portion, hindi kabuuan," he said when asked by Recto if motorists' demands for refunds will at least be studied by his agency. On the same topic, Tugade said that the solution to the delayed issuance of motor vehicle license plates lies in manufacturing them locally. Queried by Recto on when the plates will be released, Tugade said the problem is "kung bakit ba yung plaka ginagawa pa kung saan-saan? Di ba pwede gawin dito?" Tugade said government can buy the machines and be the one to make the plates "and even driver's license cards" so government can "control the supply." "Nabanggit ho ng kasama ko kanina na plano naming kung pwede ho ay bilhin na ang machine then apply an expanded analytics on the plates," Tugade said. This can be implemented, Tugade said, "on the medium-term, gusto ko ho iyon, para kontrolado natin 'yung supply and demand." Asked by Recto if the authority to procure the needed equipment is included in the emergency powers President Duterte is asking from Congress to solve the traffic crisis, Tugade replied that he would welcome it if given, moreso if it would lead to the release of embargoed plates. "Kung masasaklaw sa mga kasulatan na ilalagay sa emergency power para ma-address ko yung mga nandito na ngayon in relation to our relationship with the Commission on Audit (COA), bakit hindi? Para mai-withdraw ko yung 300,000 plates, at least makakatulong yon," Tugade said. The DOTr chief was referring to Dutch-made car plates, part of the 15.2 million pieces to be supplied under a P3.85 billion contract, but has been blocked by a COA finding that any payment made would violate government auditing and anti-graft laws. But what is needed is equipment, Tugade stressed, "so magpagawa na ng mga plaka dito ngayon at magpadala ako dito ng equipment with the analytics that can trace and monitor yung tinatawag na colorum." Recto said DOTr's plan to stamp "smart" car plates locally must be replicated in other government purchases as part of a wider "Buy Philippine-Made" policy. "The big picture is that by buying local, government will be supporting local firms, creating local jobs and giving manufacturing a much-needed boost," he said. The senator described the government as a huge supplies and equipment buyer, with a budget in the hundreds of billions annually. "From soap to cars, from paper to guns, government buys these in bulk." For 2016, the national government alone will be buying P73.5 billion worth of supplies and materials, many "common-use" items for offices but also medicine for hospitals and parts for its vehicle fleet. To the extent allowed by law, government must prefer local products or those with high local content in shopping for these, Recto said. "In the case of car plates, kailangan pa ba talaga made in Netherlands ang mga yan? Hindi ba yan pwede gawin ng mga Pilipino?" Recto asked. "If we're buying boats for coastal or river patrol, then let our shipyards in Subic, Cebu and Bataan make them," he said. "If other nations find them exceptional, then we should too."
Twelve years ago, I left the beautiful and chaotic city of New Orleans for the high desert vistas of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was an impulsive move, driven by professional frustration rather than any disenchantment with the Big Easy, and one I've often questioned over the years. New Orleans' culture and history set it apart from mainstream America, and I liked being in that space. Of course, the city's foodits backyard crawfish boils and platters of fat, salty oysters, freshly shucked and waiting for some Crystal hot saucewas, and remains, palpably inseparable from its character.

And so, between starting my new job and adjusting to New Mexico's shocking lack of humidity, I found myself hunting for similar touchstonesingredients and flavors that would help me understand what the state was made of. Happily, there was no shortage of inspiration in the region's history of Native American settlements, followed by Spanish conquest, Native rebellion, Spanish reconquest, and centuries of relative isolation.

One dish in particular captured my imagination and my palate alike: carne adovada, a meaty stew that is ubiquitous here, found in beloved diners and family-owned restaurants, tourist hotspots, and even some upscale eateries.

At first glance, the recipe itself isn't complicated: Pork is marinated for hours in a sauce of red chiles (say "chilies" instead and you'll instantly be identified as an out-of-towner); seasoned with salt, garlic, Mexican oregano, and perhaps some cumin and vinegar; then stewed until the meat is fall-apart tender. The flavors are simple as wellprovided that the heat isn't overpowering, you'll taste meltingly tender pork, the smoky tang of chile, and subtle hints of oregano. But each home cook and restaurant chef puts his or her own twist on it. The dish can come flooded with heat, or mildly spiked for a subtle kick on the finish; some cube the raw pork before marinating, while others insist on cooking the whole pork shoulder, shredding or cubing the meat only to serve. In fact, no matter the variation, there's only one thing that's guaranteed: If you've eaten carne adovada once, well, you've only eaten it once.

Unlike so many Southwestern dishes, like fajitas and burritos, carne adovada has yet to jump the state's borders. Lois Ellen Frank, a Native foods historian and author, relates the localization of carne adovada to the idea of terroirit carries the flavors of the land, and is inextricable from them. And sure enough, I have a hard time imagining the dish thriving outside its original environment. In part, that's because it starts, naturally, with chiles.

Mary & Tito's carne adovadastuffed sopapilla.

Chiles have been around for some 6,000 years, says Frank, spread throughout what we now know as North and South America, both by birds, who deposited the seeds along migratory routes, and by trade among indigenous tribes. The Spanish certainly found chiles among the Aztecs when they arrived in present-day Mexico in the 1500s. Thanks to trade (and those birds), chiles were already in what would become New Mexico when the Spanish set out to settle the northern frontier, but they also brought new varieties with them, says Frank.

The Native people they encountered in pueblos relied on wild game rather than domesticated animals for food, and it's likely the Spanish saw them using chiles both in food and as medicinechiles, Frank adds, have antifungal, antibacterial, and probiotic properties. The conquistadors introduced chickens and hogs to the region, and, with no refrigeration, chiles provided an excellent way to keep meat around a little longer. Capsaicin, which gives chiles their heat, stops oxidation, explains Jane Butel, an author and expert on Southwest cuisine.

Making pork into a kind of stew with the chile was probably a take on mole, Frank says, though it lacked that dish's complexity of flavor. Indeed, mole de olla is another likely inspiration for carne adovada, says Dave DeWitt, a food historian who has written extensively about peppers. The thick soup or stew is popular in central Mexico and features meat and a variety of local vegetables, like cactus, squash, green beans, corn, and potatoes, in a broth flavored with chile guajillo and chile pasilla. Two of carne adovada's key seasonings, garlic and oregano, have long grown wild in New Mexico, Butel says, which is probably why they were integrated into the dish. Though it's not clear what the original chile of choice was for carne adovada, it's common to include several different chiles in a single preparation.

Commercial chile pepper production is now centered in Hatch, New Mexico. But many swear by the historic Chimayo chiles, from the verdant northern New Mexican village of the same name. Years of selective breeding in that area have yielded chiles that devotees say have a sweetness and citrusy flavor that make them superior to other varieties. Chimayo is also one of the first places where landraces* developed in New Mexico, as the Spanish introduced more varieties and cross-breeding flourished, says DeWitt.

A crop or animal breed that evolves through traditional agricultural practices in a specific place, often in isolation.

Many of the area's visitors come to eat at Rancho de Chimayo, a restaurant housed in what was once a sprawling hacienda, whose carne adovada helped it land on the America's Classics list from the James Beard Foundation. Chef Janet Malcom likes to add some pequin pepper to her recipe to give it a little extra kick, and bucks tradition by adding some green chile (made with unripe peppers) to the final dish. As all New Mexicans will tell you, "red or green?" is the state's iconic culinary question, and, while some consider it unthinkable to add green chiles to carne adovada, Malcom swears it brings out more flavor.

No matter where you stand in the chile debate, though, you're certain to find carne adovada on the menu at any down-home, mom-and-pop operation serving New Mexican cuisine. Many restaurants rely on traditional family recipes, though the dish does occasionally show up in more fancified forms, such as the carne adobada (an alternate spelling) at Eloisa in Santa Fe, which features a kurobuta pork chop and corn custard with black quinoa and red amaranth. Butel prefers to work with whole pork shoulder, which she marinates for two hours at room temperature (or eight in the fridge) in a combination of crushed red chiles and chile powder, cumin, Mexican oregano, and salt. Only after roasting it at 325F for up to two hours, until it's fork-tender, does she shred it.

A hearty plate of the pork stew at Duran Central Pharmacy.

Meanwhile, at Duran Central Pharmacy, near Old Town in Albuquerque, the carne adovada starts with cubed pork. Dried red chile pods, reconstituted in water, are pureed and mixed with flour, garlic, salt, and oregano to make a marinade. Manager Jay Guthrie says his in-laws, Robert and Monika Ghattas, bought the store in 1965. They wanted to make the soda fountain more profitable by adding New Mexican food to the menu, and turned to one of their workers for her family's recipe.

"At that time in the 1960s, all the butcher shops had carne adovada," Guthrie says. (One of them, Nelson's Meats on Old Coors Drive in Albuquerque, still does.) The dish was less common in restaurants, Guthrie adds, "but everyone made it at home."

Duran's serves it with steamed potatoes, a unique twist requested by city workers who frequented the cafe, says Marcel Ghattas, one of four Ghattas children. He thinks it's a great way to soak up that red chile. But it proved a little too oddball for customers at Duran's Station, which Marcel opened 10 years ago, just five miles from the original Duran's, so he added the option of fried potatoes to the plate. Both restaurants use a similar method of preparation, cooking the carne adovada in enormous steam-jacketed kettles.

Others prefer roasting the pork. Chef Antoinette Knight's parents founded the Albuquerque cafe Mary & Tito's in 1963, which went on to be named an America's Classic by the James Beard Foundation in 2010. She roasts pork shoulder at 350F for four and a half hours, rather than using the steam kettle method.

"You can tell the difference," she insists. "The pork really absorbs the red chile." The resulting dish has a juicy texture and a smoky, earthy flavor. You can get the basic carne adovada plate at Mary & Tito's with refried beans, Spanish rice, and shredded lettuce. But, if you're willing to stray from the classic, there's also a sopapilla stuffed with the delicious mixturedubbed a "Mexican Turnover" on the menunot to mention enchiladas, omelettes, and even a pizza featuring the versatile carne.

Carne adovada breakfast at Barelas.

At Barelas Coffee House in Albuquerquea must-stop for politicians on the campaign trail, local or nationalbreakfast can include a generous pile of carne atop your eggs. Manager Geri Lucero says their baked version uses pork shoulder and a variety of chiles blended with cilantro and oregano. They also use carne adovada, rather than just plain pork, in their posole (hominy pork stew). The resulting posole is so much more tender, and the chile flavor so much more intense, there's no going back.

Recently, I grabbed a carne adovada burrito from Espanola's El Parasol for the road. I balked at the heat initially, spicier than I usually like. But I found myself returning for more nibbles as I drove, letting the tender pork sit on my tongue and thinking of terroir. Gradually, the subtleties came outan earthiness emerged, along with undercurrents of oregano and garlic. It seemed fitting to eat this essential New Mexican food as I drove through the Espanola Valley, where the Spanish established what was arguably their first capital in the New World. It was also where the Pueblo Revolt began in 1680, which would drive out the Spanish conquerors for more than a decade. I still miss New Orleans terribly, but tasting the red chile in the burrito's juicy carne adovada made me feel lucky to live in another state where food and place are still so intertwined.
San Francisco tiki bar Smugglers Cove might be the best rum bar in the country, if not the world. It was recently named the best cocktail bar in America. This summer, owner Martin Cate and his wife, Rebecca Cate, published their first book, Smugglers Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki (Ten Speed Press). It is an impressively extensive examination of all things tiki  from the movements rich and almost mythical history, to the Hayes Valley bars award-winning cocktail recipes. Here, we excerpt a small slice of the book, reprinted with permission, wherein Cate begins to explain what exactly defines a tiki drink in an essay titled But ... What Is An Exotic Cocktail?  Paolo Lucchesi

During the golden era of tiki bars in the United States, the siren call that would lure you through the bamboo doors most often included the words exotic cocktails. Tropical drinks, tiki cocktails or Polynesian cocktails may also have been used, but the romantic in me still prefers the term exotic cocktail because it so neatly captures the time period and desire to escape to somewhere mysterious.

We celebrate exotic cocktails today, and rightfully so, as a unique and important chapter in the history of the American cocktail  but there remains confusion about what, exactly, they are. A fantastic modern cocktail may have unusual tropical ingredients, but being served over ice and having an interesting garnish doesnt make it an exotic cocktail. Having nine ingredients doesnt qualify, either. Clearly, a definition is needed  not only to help quantify the category, but also to provide a structure for developing new drinks.

But lets be clear: Im not the one declaring what an exotic cocktail is. The definition that follows belongs to Donn Beach, and those in the 1940s and 1950s who did their best to imitate Donn.

Since Donn is the father of this revolution, we can safely start to define the exotic cocktail template the way he did: as an elaboration of the traditional planters punch formula balancing sour, sweet, spirit (rum), weak, and spice components.

Lets look at the palettes Donn, Vic and the later pioneers were painting with. Thanks to the work of Jeff Berry, we have much more insight into what these early building blocks of tiki are. As Jeff points out, through his turbo-charged planters punches, Donn laid the foundation on which all other tiki drinks were built.

When all the primary ingredients are laid out like this, the first thing you notice is that there are simply not that many. The sour component is very straightforward: lime, grapefruit, and orange. The only tropical things are pineapple (shipped to California) and passion fruit (cultivated commercially in Southern California). There is no papaya, mango, or guava. Coconut doesnt make the list (it appeared only as a dehydrated powder in one recipe, and later in one drink served in a fresh coconut). The state of commercial refrigeration and shipping meant only the heartiest imported tropical fruits would make it to the mainland. So Donn crafted cocktails with the harvest that was around him.

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Given that the palette he worked with was so limited, what made his drinks so diverse? First up was the sour: using vibrant fresh citrus gave his drinks their bright sparkle and made them balanced and refreshing. Secondly, the sweet. Of course he could just use sugar, but he found that blending or substituting in additional sweeteners like honey and maple syrup lent earthy depth to his concoctions. Thirdly, the rums. What rums they were! During Prohibition, production of American spirits had been severely curtailed, but in the Caribbean and elsewhere, rum production had continued unabated, and when the floodgates opened at the end of 1933, high-quality, long-aged rum was plentiful and cheap. (Much is made of how rum allowed Donn to build an empire on cheap hooch, but imagine if Scotch were the cheapest spirit on the market  island-themed Scotch cocktails would not have worked conceptually. Clearly, the choice of rum was of passion, not of price.)

Donn began experimenting with blending rums of several styles in the same drink. If, he would reason, a drink made entirely with heavy Jamaican rum was too bold, why not make it lighter and more complex with the introduction of a light Cuban rum, or perhaps a touch of smoky Demerara rum? It may not strike an imbiber today as particularly innovative, but there was certainly no one making martinis with three gins, nor would the residents of one Caribbean island have considered adding another islands rums to their own drinks.

Donns real secret weapon was the spice. People in the Caribbean had been spicing rums and liqueurs for centuries, but after the colonial era, it was uncommon in America. He had a gift for taking the spices out of the baking pantry and blending them into cocktails in exciting new ways. Unlike the punch of early, Colonial America, Donn did not use spice to cover up the harshness of poorly made rum. Flavors like cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, when blended with other ingredients and out of context, made a drinker furrow their brow and ask themselves, I know what that is, but I just cant quite place it ... 

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

So using just Donns palette alone in a baroque version of a planters punch gives you everything you need to produce the original generation of exotic cocktails. And now to this framework, we add the innovations of the man who was, in Donns words, his greatest imitator, Trader Vic.

Jerry Telfer/The Chronicle

Vic began with attempts to reverse-engineer what he had tasted at Donns bar alongside the drinks he enjoyed in Havana. Most of the Cuban drinks were a success thanks to published recipes in souvenir guides sold at bars like La Florida. His efforts at Donns drinks yielded more uneven results. But it was part of his journey, and he soon landed upon a house style. Trader Vic added lemon, which had a longer California growing season and more availability than lime, and was an ingredient Donn never liked or did much with. He also added banana  it was, remember, his Banana Cow that made him realize the power of the exotic on his guests at Hinky Dinks. But perhaps Vics most important contribution was the French ingredient orgeat, a lightly floral almond syrup he knew from his French upbringing, which would become a signature ingredient in many of his most famous drinks. Vic rarely turned to spices at all, opting instead for the occasional dash of Angostura bitters for depth. He also added ingredients hed experienced in Havana like sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and white creme de cacao. In addition to blending rums, as Donn did, he also innovatively blended other base spirits with the rum, such as gin and brandy. Notice also that at this point there is still no vodka, which would not rise in popularity in America until the 1950s.

With the spread of tiki across America, a few more ingredients expanded the exotic cocktail palette during the golden era. Better transportation networks meant more of the expected tropical fruit juices, and blue crept into the tiki menu by way of the curacao-laced Blue Hawaii, invented by Harry Yee in 1957 at the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Waikiki. Coconut began its rise with the commercialization of Coco Lopez coconut cream in 1954, removing prior transportation and labor hurdles. Whats still noticeably absent is spiced rum, which wasnt broadly popular in the United States until the introduction of Captain Morgan in 1984.

So, the template established by Donn and built on by Vic still held fast through tikis golden era, albeit a little battered by changing tastes.

Reprinted with permission from Smugglers Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki by Martin Cate with Rebecca Cate, copyright  2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
College students preparing to study abroad this school year will be weighing more than just their suitcases. With turmoil and frequent attacks in places where American students often spend time overseas, theyll also be deciding whether or not its worth the risk.

The reality of terrorism hit home this summer, as two UC Berkeley students were killed in attacks in Bangladesh and France in a span of two weeks. Sophomore Tarishi Jain was just starting an internship in Dhaka, Bangladesh, when she she was killed by armed militants in a bakery on July 1. Junior Nick Leslie was studying abroad in Nice when he was killed by a man who drove a truck into crowds gathered to watch Bastille Day fireworks.

Their deaths stunned the Cal community and raised the questions: Are college students safe abroad? And how can they best be protected?

Part of our challenge, as faculty, is to prepare (students) to work in and effect change in the world. The events this summer demonstrate the challenges for keeping students safe as conditions on the ground change and change rapidly, Lawrence Cohen, the director of UC Berkeleys Institute for South Asia Studies, which sponsored Jains internship, wrote in an email.

The secondary tragedy of these events is that they may prevent us from supporting student internships, training, or research abroad to the extent we have.

Studying abroad is a right of passage for many American college students, who ship off to another country for a semester, summer, or school year to pursue their studies in foreign environments. More than 300,000 American students study abroad annually, according to the State Department, and Italy, France and Spain are among the most popular destinations.

FRED MARVAUX/AFP/Getty Images

Students studying internationally this summer felt the weight of terrorism heavily in their time abroad.

UC Berkeley student Cassidie Bates studied in Barcelona this summer. Her first night in Spain, she and other students learned that Tarishi Jain had been slain in Bangladesh. Just two weeks later, when the Nice attack occurred, Bates cancelled a trip to France for the coming weekend.

Her parents gave her the option of leaving Spain early and coming home in light of the attacks, but she decided to stay.

A lot of people started readjusting if they were going to travel, if they were going to go home that day, Bates said. If you want to travel and see the world, you have to have your wits about you and be smart, but you also cant predict anything like this. All you can really do is try to educate yourself about whats going on.

Nisha Srinivasa, a UC Berkeley student who studied in London this summer, said terrorism was never far from her mind during her time in Europe.

It generally just affected the way I moved about the city and the way I communicated, Srinivasa said. Always making sure you have a backup plan in the case that some method of transportation didnt work out or being able to communicate with a variety of people.

The frequency of attacks also has study abroad programs alert to student safety. Officials at San Francisco State, University of San Francisco and UC Berkeley all emphasized the safety measures their programs provided, and urged students to continue studying abroad. None have cancelled their programs due to recent violence.

Shirley McGuire, the senior vice provost for academic affairs at the University of San Francisco, said that USFs study abroad office is constantly monitoring the countries where they send students. They subscribe to updates from the State Department, and also rely on contacts in the countries where students are studying to keep them updated on current events and safety. McGuire said the university is working on a program to allow students to check in faster after an emergency  students are asked to check in with their university in the event of an emergency, but McGuire said this sometimes can take muliple days.

The university has not suspended programs in Europe for the fall, but McGuire said the study abroad office will be bolstering their conversations with students about safety.

The most important thing is safety and that students know how to get ahold of us really fast.... There are things you cant predict, McGuire said. Anything I would teach a student about being careful abroad would be applicable to their hometown.

U.S. citizens travelling internationally can enroll their travels with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate through a State Department called STEP  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. Families who are struggling to contact a student while abroad can call Overseas Citizens Services in Washington D.C. as well as contacting the students specific program.

Hildy Heath, the international programs director at San Francisco State said the campus study abroad programs will continue as scheduled this fall. She said she hopes that fear of terrorism will not scare students away.

Its the only way we can truly understand what is going on in the world, Heath said of studying abroad.

Its these benefits that Bay Area parents are reminding themselves of as they send their children overseas.

Kris Ruffinos daughter, Taylor Silleman, is an architecture major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who will soon depart to spend her senior year studying in Florence, Italy. Ruffino, who lives in Napa, said that despite some misgivings, she is determined that her daughter study abroad.

When I hear a college student from America has been killed, well, it knocks the breath right out of me. It just too close to home and the fear is just unbearable at times knowing I am sending my only daughter over into that, Ruffino wrote in an email. What I do know, though, is in two weeks Im sending my daughter into one of the most exciting and awesome years of her life.

Darren Zook, a UC Berkeley professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, said that students have emailed him asking if they should still study abroad, and he expects to get more questions on the subject come fall. His answer, definitively, is yes.

In spite of what happened over the summer, which is horrible, I think the best reaction to that is for students to continue studying abroad or travelling in whatever capacity they can, Zook said.

The fact is anything can happen anywhere.... Understanding that the world isnt safe and learning how to react to that not by staying home and not going anywhere is part of a lifes education.

Libby Rainey is a Chronicle staff writer. Email: lrainey@sfchronicle.com
A woman suspected of setting more than a dozen brush fires that blazed through a remote area of Sonoma County Tuesday night was arrested, authorities said Thursday.

Maria Acevedo, 26, was arrested on suspicion of arson, being a felon in possession of ammunition and on an outstanding drug-related charge.

The incident unfolded about 9 p.m. Tuesday as Sonoma County Sheriffs deputies were called to an area on the 13300 block of Old Skaggs Springs Road in the unincorporated community of Geyserville to assist the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection with an arson investigation.

Upon arrival, officials found that Acevedo was detained for setting spot fires in the area. Further investigation revealed that a nearby property owner had come across her as she was igniting the fires along the road. The property owner, who was not identified, stopped Acevedo from lighting one of the fires and sought her assistance in extinguishing it as he called for help.

A Cal Fire battalion chief was able to extinguish all the fires.

Officials eventually determined that Acevedo set a total of 13 fires along the road, encompassing a total burned area of 2 acres.

Acevedo told officials that her boyfriend had dropped her off in the remote area and that she was lighting fires as way to signal for help, despite later being identified as a resident of nearby Geyserville.

A subsequent search of Acevedos purse also led officials to find ammunition, which Acevedo is not legally allowed to possess due to her status as a felon.

Officials booked Acevedo into the Sonoma County Jail where she was being held on $45,000 bail.

Kevin Schultz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kschultz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kevinedschultz
Health insurers Aetna and Humana will go to trial on Dec. 5 to defend their planned $37 billion merger against antitrust concerns cited in a Justice Department suit, meaning that a judges decision on completing the deal almost certainly wont come until after the companies self-imposed year-end deadline.

The decision on the trials timing came Wednesday after the Justice Department tried to persuade U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington to delay the start until January. Although Bates settled on Dec. 5, he said he doesnt expect a ruling until around the middle of January.

The Justice Departments antitrust division sued last month to block the tie-up and the separate $48 billion merger of Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp., contending that both combinations, which would reduce the number of national health insurers from five to three, would harm competition and undermine choice for consumers. The companies dispute assertions that their planned mergers would result in public harm.

Aetna shares were unchanged Wednesday at $119.54, while Humana rose 1.5 percent to $179.70.

Both antitrust cases were initially assigned to Bates, who handed off the Anthem case to another judge after Anthem told him last week that it too needed a ruling by the end of the year. Aetna declined to comment on the hearing, while Humana didnt respond to a request for comment.

At Wednesdays hearing, Bates first suggested a Nov. 7 start date and then pushed it back to December after objections from the Justice Department. Craig Conrath, a lawyer for the government, said the Dec. 31 deadline wasnt a drop-dead date and could be extended. He said the government needed more time to prepare for trial because of the complexity of the case and because Aetna has proposed a divestiture of assets to Molina Healthcare Inc.

We need a fair chance to try our case, Conrath said.

Aetna lawyer John Majoras characterized the governments position on the deadline as another plank in the case, suggesting that if one company walks away at the end of year, the government could declare victory.

The date is there. The date does have consequences, he said.

Andrew Harris and David McLaughlin are Bloomberg writers. Email: aharris16@bloomberg.net, dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net
A federal judge in San Francisco has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Twitter of supporting the Islamic State group.

The family of two men shot and killed in Jordan claimed that Twitter had contributed to their deaths by allowing the group to sign up for and use Twitter accounts. The judge agreed Wednesday with Twitter that the company cannot be held liable because it wasnt the speaker of the groups hateful rhetoric. Federal law protects service providers that merely offer platforms for speech, without creating the speech itself.

A similar lawsuit against Google, Facebook and Twitter is also moving through the courts. That suit was filed by the father of a young woman killed in Novembers Paris massacre.

Employment

Hiring goes

up in June

Employers advertised more openings and hired more people in June, adding to evidence that the job market has rebounded from a brief soft patch in the spring.

Job openings rose a modest 2 percent to 5.6 million in June from 5.5 million in May, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Still, that figure remains below the 5.8 million openings advertised in April, the highest on records going back 16 years.

Hiring increased 1.7 percent in June to 5.1 million, a solid level but below a recent peak of 5.5 million in February.

Businesses are hiring at a healthy pace even as economic growth has lagged, in part because the workforce has become less productive.

Hotels

Waldorf picks

site in S.F.

The Waldorf Astoria plans to move into a tower near the yet-to-be-completed Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco. The hotel will be part of the planned Oceanwide Center on Mission Street between Ecker and First streets near the transit center, the company announced.

The Oceanwide Center, designed by Foster & Partners with Heller Manus, was approved this year by the City Planning Commission. The 2.1 million-square-foot development will have two towers, with the hotel, residences and offices. Groundbreaking is planned for November.

Chronicle News Services
Jacom Stephens / Getty Images

A stray bullet grazed the hand of a 5-year-old girl as she played outside in San Franciscos Bayview district Wednesday evening, police said.

The child was on the edge of Hilltop Park, near Whitney Young Circle and Hudson Avenue, when the bullet hit her in the right hand about 5 p.m., said Officer Grace Gatpandan, a police spokeswoman.
The owner of a now-bankrupt premium wine store in Berkeley pleaded guilty Thursday to defrauding customers out of at least $45 million, in what a judge described as a wine Ponzi scheme.

John Fox, 66, said that he spent some of the money on fancy cars and a home in Alamo, and that nearly $1 million went to women he met online. He faces 6 years in federal prison under a plea deal with prosecutors.

Fox founded Premier Cru, which advertised the worlds finest wines at extremely competitive prices, in 1980. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in January, listing $70 million in debts and $7 million in assets.

Premier Cru, at 1011 University Ave., specialized in wine futures, the advance sale of high-quality vintages, mostly from France and Italy. It offered collectors and wine shops a chance to buy wines soon after harvest, for less than the product would cost after bottling.

But customers have complained of waiting many months or even years years for promised deliveries, and prosecutors concluded Fox was collecting money for wine he hadnt yet acquired. Former Premier Cru employee Brian Nishi said in a court filing in April that company records showed no bottles in the warehouse for nearly $45 million in pending wine orders from more than 6,600 customers.

Fox was taking (customers) money knowing he had not contracted to purchase wine and could not, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Kingsley said at Thursdays court hearing in San Francisco. He also purchased white wine that he knew he could not pay for and embezzled money from the business, the prosecutor said.

U.S. District Judge James Donato asked whether the operation could be called a wine Ponzi scheme, and Kingsley agreed.

Fox said little during the hearing. But in his plea agreement, also filed Thursday, he admitted selling about $20 million worth of phantom wines, which he said he knew he could not deliver, from 2010 to 2015.

Fox said he used some customers money to buy wine for previous customers  the Ponzi scheme practice  and had also embezzled funds from his company. He said he used some of those funds to pay the mortgage on his home in Alamo, to pay credit card bills for himself and his wife, and to buy or lease fancy cars.

I also spent more than $900,000 on women that I met online, Fox said, without offering specifics on who the women were or what he paid them for. He said he made the payments through PayPal.

The fraud charge to which Fox pleaded guilty covers a period from about 2009 to 2015. But Fox said in his plea agreement that he first started creating fraudulent purchase orders in about 1993 or 1994.

Fox isnt the first wine futures merchant to admit cheating his customers.

In 2005, Barry Silver, owner of two liquor stores on Long Island, N.Y., pleaded guilty to failing to deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Bordeaux wines he had sold as futures, and later offering many of those wines for sale a second time at higher prices. He was sentenced to a year in prison.

Ronald Wallace, a Colorado wine dealer, pleaded guilty to fraud in 2006 and was later ordered to pay $11 million to customers in restitution for wines they had never received.

The fraud charge against Fox carried a maximum 20-year sentence. In addition to a 6-year term, his plea agreement includes restitution of at least $45 million to Premier Crus customers and at least $6.5 million to its lenders.

In view of his declaration of assets, however, it isnt clear how much money Foxs creditors will recover. Sale of the wine in the Premier Cru warehouse is pending in Bankruptcy Court.

Donato scheduled Foxs sentencing for Dec. 14. Fox turned himself in on Wednesday and remains in custody.
OXFORD, Miss.  A Mississippi woman who once sought to disguise a planned journey to join the Islamic State group as her honeymoon was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday to 12 years in prison on a terrorism charge.

Vicksburg native Jaelyn Young broke down in heavy sobs during her sentencing by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock. Young pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Young had faced up to 20 years in prison.

Her parents pleaded for leniency at Thursdays hearing. Young, amid sobs, said she was ashamed of her actions.

Her fiance, Muhammad Dakhlalla, pleaded guilty March 11 to a similar charge and is set to be sentenced Aug. 24. Prosecutors have said Young, who converted to Islam while studying at Mississippi State University, had prodded Dakhlalla into the plan.

The two were arrested in 2015 before boarding a flight from Columbus, Miss., with tickets for Istanbul.

I found the contacts, made arrangements, planned the departure, Young had written in a farewell letter to her family. I am guilty of what you soon will find out.

Young and Dakhlalla were among a number of people arrested around the country for Islamic State sympathies. Like many, authorities said, they had developed views supporting the Islamic State in part by watching online videos and were arrested after social media posts attracted the attention of the FBI.

The daughter of a school administrator and a police officer who served in the Navy Reserve, Young is a former honor student, cheerleader and homecoming maid at Vicksburgs Warren Central High School.
The consequences of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.s criminal convictions for violating pipeline-safety rules and obstructing the investigation into the 2010 San Bruno disaster might not be limited to the modest fine of up to $3 million set by federal law.

The company, which has said it is intent on regaining the publics trust after the lethal pipeline explosion, will have to satisfy a court-appointed overseer if San Bruno officials get their way.

San Bruno will be asking the judge to install an independent monitor at PG&E to provide independent oversight of the companys policy and operational practices, City Manager Connie Jackson said Wednesday at a news conference applauding Tuesdays jury verdict.

The federal court jury in San Francisco found Californias largest utility guilty of five felony charges of violating laws that require natural-gas pipeline operators to inspect their lines, using the most reliable methods, and to repair or replace dangerous segments. The company was also convicted of obstructing the federal investigation of the San Bruno explosion by covering up its practice of pumping natural gas through aging pipelines at excessive pressures.

The jury acquitted PG&E of six charges of knowingly keeping defective records of pipeline tests and repairs.

Prosecutors had initially sought a fine of up to $562 million, twice the amount they said PG&E saved by cutting costs on safety, but backed off after U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson limited the evidence they could use to show that any savings were linked to illegal conduct. The maximum fine Henderson can now impose is $500,000 per conviction, or $3 million overall.

But federal law also allows judges to place a corporate defendant on probation, in addition to fines, and impose conditions to ensure the companys compliance with the laws it has violated, said Steve Solow, a Washington, D.C., attorney and former chief of the U.S. Justice Departments Environmental Crimes Section. He said those conditions commonly include an independent monitor.

San Bruno officials have called for a monitor for PG&E for years, and unsuccessfully urged the California Public Utilities Commission to appoint one after its investigation of the explosion. The commission, which regulates PG&Es supply of power to about 16 million Californians, found the company at fault for the blast, which killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes. The agency imposed a record $1.6 billion fine, to be paid by the shareholders rather than the customers.

Asked about the proposed monitor, Terrie Prosper, a spokeswoman for the state commission, said Wednesday it was already the agencys role to oversee the operations and safety practices of PG&E, and ensure it is adhering to rules and regulations.

San Brunos Jackson said a court-appointed monitor should not merely report PG&Es compliance actions to the judge, but should also have some say in guiding or directing company policy and operations.

She noted that Henderson, in a separate case, gave a court-appointed monitor extensive powers over the Oakland Police Department in a 2003 settlement of a lawsuit over illegal detentions and beatings by officers. Federal court oversight of the department continues to this day.

PG&E plans to ask Henderson to overturn the convictions and dismiss the charges, a request that typically is the forerunner of an appeal to higher courts. The company hasnt announced the grounds for its challenge, but Solow said prosecutors had mounted an unorthodox case  alleging intentional safety violations by an entire company rather than individual employees or executives  that might be vulnerable to an appeal.

Its highly unusual for the government to prosecute a corporation based on the notion of corporate collective knowledge that it was acting illegally, the former Justice Department official said.

He said the prosecution also appeared to conflict with a September 2015 directive by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, the Justice Departments second-ranking official, who said federal investigations into corporate wrongdoing should focus on individuals and not just their employers.

Solow said Hendersons instructions to the jury on determining PG&Es collective intention may not have been clear and are likely to be challenged in a PG&E appeal.

PG&E declined to comment on San Brunos proposal for a court monitor. A spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office, which will make its own sentencing recommendations to the judge, did not respond to a request for comment.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @egelko
LIZ MANGELSDORF/SFC

A teenage boy knocked a man out of his wheelchair Thursday morning and stole his camera at San Franciscos Pier 40 near AT&T Park, police said.

The suspect, believed to be between 15 and 18 years old, approached the 25-year-old victim at South Beach Harbor shortly after midnight.
We need more high-speed internet options (image: Tony Webster/ Flickr)

Its been a rough few days for people looking for alternatives to their current internet providers.

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission issued a report documenting what many of you already know: You dont have much choice when it comes to broadband. In fact, most of you have only one or no companies selling high-speed internet. Then on Wednesday, a court ruling held the FCC cant override state laws restricting cities and towns from launching their own broadband services to increase their residents provider options.

Neither development should have been that much of a surprise.

Pick one: fast broadband or a wide choice of providers

The FCCs Internet Access Services: Status as of June 30, 2015 report, released Aug. 5, leads off with the reassuring news that our download speeds are getting faster. Of the 91 million residential wired connections counted as of last June 30, just over half52%hit at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps), the minimum download speed the FCC considers to be broadband. Another 25% ranged between at least 10 Mbps to just below 25 Mbps.

Connections between 3 Mbps and less than 10 Mbps, what amounts to entry-level broadband these days, constituted 17% of the total, and sub-3 Mbps service added up to 6%. The report, based on data broadband providers reported to the FCC, excluded connections slower than 200 kilobits per second.

Unfortunately, many Americans dont have much choice when it comes to selecting broadband providers in their areas. The FCC found that while 75% of Census blocks (the smallest demographic unit the Census Bureau counts) had three or more 3-10 Mbps residential providers and 63% had three or more 10-25 Mbps providers, just 3% offered at least three broadband sources with speeds of 25 Mbps or faster. That last figure was unchanged from the FCCs mid-2014 data.

In that 25-Mbps-and-up range, 48% of Census blocks had only one provider available, 30% had none and only 22% had two options.

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Its not all bad news, though. According to a 2010 report, only 4% of Census tracts had three or more internet providers selling at least 4 Mbps service. Were definitely doing better than that.

The FCCs latest report indicates that cellular connections vastly outnumbered wired access  they made up 68.8% of total residential connections  but those come with data caps that make them unusable as a primary connection for most home users.

The FCC report also underscored the dominance of cable, which constituted 59% of residential wired connections. Slower phone-based digital subscriber lines had second place at 28%, and fast fiber-optic service  the only technology out of those three to offer upload speeds generally as fast as download speeds  was third at 10%.

Municipal-broadband plans take a hit

Some speed-starved cities and towns have considered getting into the broadband internet business themselves. But that wont work if their states prohibit them from offering municipal broadband or chain any such ventures down with restrictions that make them unviable.

About 20 states have done just that. As a 2015 Pro Publica report outlined, generous campaign contributions from telecom firms to state-level candidates ($870,000 in North Carolina, $921,000 in Tennessee) helped that happen.

Two cities with muni broadband services constrained from expansion by state laws  Chattanooga, Tenn., and Wilson, N.C.  asked the FCC to override those bans. In February 2015 the commission voted to do so in the same meeting that saw the adoption of sweeping net-neutrality regulations.

And just like those better-known rules, which ban Internet providers from slowing websites and services or charging a site for faster delivery, the FCCs preemption of North Carolina and Tennessee laws quickly drew a court challenge. But while the FCC won the net-neutrality case, it lost the municipal-broadband decision.

A three-judge panel at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the FCC had no authority to knock down state muni-broadband limits. The commissions move, Judge John M. Rogers wrote in the courts opinion, requires at least a clear statement in the authorizing federal legislation  and the provision of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that the FCC cited falls far short of such a clear statement.

I cant say that surprised me. Tech-policy types who favor muni broadband thought last year that this preemption was riskier than the net-neutrality rules, which relied on a more specific branch of telecom law.

Rogers was careful to note the appeal of services like Chattanoogas EPB, which charges $69.99 for 1 Gbps, and Wilsons Greenlight, which sells the same speed for $99.95. The former led to job growth and attracted businesses to the area, pushed competing providers to cut their rate and made money for the city, while the latter also turned a profit and has won the business of the top seven employers in Wilson.

(A study released last month by Tennessees economic-development department about the states broadband needs endorsed the potential of community broadband and suggested ending the states restrictions on it.)

Now what?

Alas, neighbors of these two cities will have to wait longer to get such fast internet speeds at those rates. FCC chair Tom Wheeler conceded as much in a statement saying the ruling appears to halt the promise of jobs, investment and opportunity that community broadband has provided in Tennessee and North Carolina.

A longtime advocate of municipal broadband was a little more hopeful. We are better off for the FCC having pushed this hard to encourage competition, said Christopher Mitchell, who runs the Institute for Local Self-Reliances community-broadband initiative. He pointed to the incredible record of muni-broadband success now in the public view.

But the courts ruling now makes it clear that help for this wont come from Washington. People in states like North Carolina and Tennessee will either need to elect some new state representatives or get their current legislators to pay less attention to Big Telecom. Either way, we may be looking at a longer download time for a better choice in broadband.

More from Rob:

Email Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at @robpegoraro.
NEW YORK  The man whose brazen climb of Trump Tower riveted people across the country has been charged, the police said Thursday.

The man, identified as Stephen Rogata, 19, of Great Falls, Va., now faces charges of reckless endangerment and trespassing in connection with the unauthorized ascent of the Fifth Avenue building Wednesday, the police said.

A police spokesman said Thursday morning that Rogata was still being evaluated at Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was taken shortly after he was subdued by the police during a dramatic encounter as he tried to scale past the 21st floor of the building.

Rogata checked into the Bowery Grand Hotel on Tuesday around 10 p.m. New York time after driving from Virginia, the police said. The car he used, a 1998 Honda, was found in downtown Brooklyn, they said. A spokesman said the police believed Rogatas birth name is Michael Joseph Ryan. (Police officials initially said he was 20 years old.)

The police said Rogata told them his stunt had a simple motivation: He wanted to meet Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.

Officers recovered a spiral notebook with multiple handwritten notes referring to a YouTube video titled Message to Mr. Trump (Why I Climbed Your Tower), the police said. The video, which was widely shared before the police confirmed the connection, depicts a man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt who speaks in a solemn tone, saying he is seeking to discuss an important matter with the presidential candidate. He ends by urging people to vote for Trump.

The police said that Rogatas roughly three-hour climb began around 3:30 p.m. After being alerted by a 911 caller, officers found the man about five floors up the exterior of the building, using power-grip suction cups to aid his climb. He was taken into custody after the police removed the glass panes from windows on the 21st floor and a team of officers wrestled him into the building.
Gigi Gorgeous said she was refused entry into Dubai and detained at the airport for hours, allegedly for being transgender.

The Canadian model told TMZ that she was stopped from entering the country when an immigration officer said to her, "I was told you are transgender. You cannot come into the country."
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Three years ago Armando Lacayo was at a computer every day managing equity funds.

Now, he's among the best bakers in the country.

Bon Appetit named Lacayo's tiny Inner Richmond bakery Arsicault, opened only a little over a year ago, the top in the nation for 2016.

The reason? Lacayo's croissant, described by the publication as "so preposterously flaky it leaves you covered in crumbs, so impossibly tender and buttery on the inside that it tastes like brioche, and so deeply golden that the underside is nearly caramelized."

Lacayo has baking in his blood. His great-grandparents (The Arsicaults) owned a bakery in France, and his grandfather worked for them in his teen years. After experimenting with baking in his home kitchen, Lacayo opened Arsicault.

"I'm still transitioning from Martha Stewart to an actual baker," says Lacayo, who grew up in Paris. "All I care about is the quality of the croissant and every morning if I taste one, I want to be able to tell myself, 'This is really good.'"

"I still have to work on making my baking more efficient," adds Lacayo, who bakes his croissants in batches of about 40.

You can visit Arsicault at 397 Arguello, between Euclid and Cornwall streets. In addition to croissants, you'll find an array of other baked good such as fruit tarts, quiche, galettes, and what Lacayo calls a "Raisin Kouign," a traditional French raisin roll baked like a kouign amann to get a nice caramelization.
It's not surprising that Christie Brinkley's 1891 Hamptons mansion Tower Hill is in perfect shape, considering that her ex-husband, renowned architect Peter Cook, gave it a thorough renovation when he lived there.

Cook managed to preserve the integrity of the home's original design. Its centerpiece, a 100-year-old observation tower, is also the namesake of this 20-acre Bridgehampton, New York property, according to Top Ten Real Estate Deals.
With the number of mass shootings that have been going on lately, it's hard to feel safe anywherebut according to 24/7 Wall St., some states are safer from violence than others.

The site ranked the peacefulness of each U.S. state; states with high violent crime and homicide rates, as well as high estimated small arms ownership and high incarceration rates were identified as less peaceful, while states with lower incidences of these factors were more peaceful.
In many populist Westerns, the villain isnt some ornery, black-hatted gunman, but the sort of institutions  banks, railroads and organizations of cattle barons  that keep working people at the bottom of the heap.

Despite its modern setting, Hell or High Water is directly in that movie tradition. Taking place in an economically devastated West Texas, the film depicts two brothers who stick up banks to settle a grievance, and a pair of Texas Rangers who pursue them. You can just about smell the sagebrush.

Its a story that relies on strategic pairings to help make its point. The younger brother, Toby (Chris Pine), is smarting from a divorce and doesnt want his two boys to wind up on the poverty treadmill; his sibling Tanner (Ben Foster), newly out of prison, is a die-hard outsider whos happy to help him acquire the stockpile of cash he needs.

The plan is to execute robberies of small-town banks, but minimize the brothers chances of capture by taking small bills only, getting in and out quickly and seeing that no one gets hurt. These strictures are mostly from Toby  his loose-cannon brother doesnt care much for rules.

Theres little love for banks in the West Texas we see here, but the law is the law, and Marcus (Jeff Bridges), an about-to-retire Ranger of the old school, and his partner, an Indian Mexican named Alberto (Gil Birmingham), set out to find the robbers. Despite their obvious differences, and Marcus penchant for non-PC ribbing of Albertos ethnic heritage, theres an easy and admirable rapport between the two. They are brothers, of a kind.

Director David Mackenzie handles it all as if it were second nature. He works in references to other films, Westerns and neo-Westerns, that deal with similar issues  Badlands, Bonnie and Clyde, the Coens True Grit (which also featured Bridges), any number of old Westerns about Jesse and Frank James, and maybe even No Country for Old Men. What Mackenzie has crafted here is a crowd-pleaser with undeniable art-house elements.

The final pairing is perhaps the most elemental, that of the land- and cityscapes. The kind of plains were used to seeing in the great Westerns, sweeping visions of countryside that are full of resonance, are contrasted to the dismal and dusty towns that have no future. The landscape holds promise that has been crushed, a theme spelled out in the bitter words of a cowboy the lawmen encounter who is trying to save a herd of cattle from a brushfire  his work is a dead end from which young people are rightly fleeing.

Classic Westerns often ended with a showdown, and you could argue that Hell or High Water serves up a clever variation on that. In any case, the ending left me a bit uneasy, and represents something of a falling off from the quality of what precedes it. But I dont think its enough to undo Mackenzies generally good work.

Finally, despite the weighty issues at play, theres much about the movie to simply enjoy  the camaraderie of the brothers and the lawmen, and the not infrequent elements of humor. Theres an especially funny scene in which the Rangers try to order in a rundown steak house, where the aged waitress effortlessly gets, and keeps, the upper hand.

These are grounded people, with a sense of what is, or ought to be, really important, and theres something liberating about the comedy here, which provides effective moments of release. Credit goes to both Mackenzie and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, who wrote last years excellent Sicario.

Walter Addiego is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: waddiego@sfchronicle.com

Hell

or High Water

Crime drama. Directed by David Mackenzie. With Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges. (Rated R. 102 minutes.)

To see a trailer: www.imdb.com/title/tt2582782/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
WATERLOO, Iowa  The city with Iowas highest African American population has settled lawsuits against white police officers who roughed up three black residents, including a 13-year-old girl who was handcuffed after yelling at a passing officer to slow down.

Videos obtained by the Associated Press in two of the cases show questionable uses of force by Waterloo officers at a time when interactions between police and minority residents around the country are being scrutinized after several high-profile deaths of blacks at the hands of police.

In one, officer Mark Nissen slams 17-year-old Malcolm Anderson face-first into a concrete sidewalk outside a hospital and leaves him handcuffed and injured on the ground. In another, Nissen points his stun gun at a crowd of black residents before using it to shock 31-year-old Justin Jones, who had been helping police break up an early-morning party outside his home.

In a third case outlined in court records, officer Timothy Everett took the 13-year-old girl to the ground and handcuffed her after she refused to give him her last name. Everett initiated the encounter after the girl yelled slow down after he sped by in his patrol car, pulling a U-turn to confront her about the comment.

The incidents occurred between 2013 and 2015, prompting lawsuits that were settled last month, according to court records. The settlements follow a $2.5 million payment that the citys insurer agreed to in January with the family of a 22-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a white officer in 2012.

Sixteen percent of Waterloos 68,000 residents are African American, but just two of the citys 124 police officers are black, which can make for tense relations.

Waterloos insurer has agreed to pay $170,000 to settle the Jones and Anderson cases. An additional amount expected to go to the 13-year-old girls family hasnt been released since the settlement needs approval from a judge.

Attorney Tom Frerichs, who represented all three plaintiffs, said he could only comment on two cases filed by Jones, who will receive $70,000 to settle the 2013 stun-gun incident and a separate wrongful arrest in 2015. The other two cases include confidentiality agreements.

The Jones cases reflect a serious and nearly complete lack of any meaningful disciplinary policy within the Waterloo Police Department, Frerichs said, calling it a recipe for disaster.

In each case, charges that were filed against the suspects were later found to be meritless and dismissed. Yet internal affairs investigations justified the uses of force and found no violations of policy or law.

Police Chief Daniel Trelka said officers made honest mistakes due to deficient training.
1 Deputy slain: An Arkansas man who wanted to cause a ruckus ahead of a court hearing shot and killed a sheriffs deputy Wednesday, and wounded a small-town police chief, before surrendering to law enforcement officers who had surrounded his rural home, a sheriff said. Sebastian County Deputy Bill Cooper was pronounced dead about 1:15 p.m. after being shot in the neck, Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said during a news conference. Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells suffered superficial wounds after apparently being grazed by a bullet. Billy Monroe Jones, 34, is accused of shooting the officers, who were responding to reports that Jones, a convicted criminal, was threatening his father with a gun.

2 Police kill teen: A Los Angeles police officer investigating a graffiti tagging report shot and killed a 14-year-old boy after the teen opened fire on him during a brief foot chase, authorities said Wednesday. The shooting occurred Tuesday in Boyle Heights, a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles that police say is still home to nearly three dozen gangs. Deputy Chief Robert Arcos did not say if the slain teenager or a second detained youth were gang members. A witness saw the subject shoot a handgun in the direction of the pursuing officers, Arcos said, adding that the officers heard the gunfire. Neither officer was hit. Moments later, an officer rounding a corner shot the boy, who died at the scene.
PUNTA GORDA, Fla.  The officer who shot and killed a 73-year-old retired librarian during a police shoot/dont shoot demonstration in Florida was accused of using excessive force with his police dog and resigned from another police agency in 2013 for failing to satisfactorily complete a field training program.

Officer Lee Coel, 28, was put on administrative leave as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates why real ammunition was used by mistake at an event designed to bring police and the public together in the small Gulf Coast city of Punta Gorda.

Chief Tom Lewis said Thursday he is taking full responsibility for the shooting, which he witnessed on Monday night. He expected the state agency to finish its investigation in about two to four weeks.

Coel has worked for the department since 2014 and frequently gave department presentations and tours, specifically role-playing in these shoot/dont shoot scenarios, police spokeswoman Lt. Katie Heck said.

On Tuesday night, Mary Knowlton, a well-known community volunteer, assumed the role of the officer during the shoot/dont shoot exercise, Heck said.

During such an exercise, the citizen assumes the role of the officer, and is confronted with situations in which they must make a decision about whether to use force on the role player, Heck said. The situations escalate quickly, forcing fast decisions. Historically, it fosters a better understanding for what officers face during an intense situation, and leads to informative dialogue between the community and officers who act as role players.

Coel left the Miramar Police Department after 14 months of service in the Broward County agency. Tania Rues, Miramar police spokeswoman, said Coel resigned, but could not comment on the reasons why. Coel wrote a resignation letter saying he was resigning for personal reasons; the News-Press reported that he failed to complete an agency field training program.

A Punta Gorda lawyer said Wednesday that Coel shouldnt have been on the Punta Gorda force. Scott Weinberg, who is representing a man who said he was mauled by Coels K-9 during an arrest in November. Scott Weinberg took the mans case in June, and thats when he viewed Coels dashcam video of the arrest and informed local media about the case.
BRISTOL, Va.  On the defensive once again, Donald Trump is blaming faulty interpretations and media bias for an uproar over his comments about the Second Amendment. Hes insisting he never advocated violence against Hillary Clinton, even as undeterred Democrats pile on.

The latest controversy to strike Trumps campaign arose, as they often do, out of an offhand quip at a boisterous campaign rally. Claiming falsely that Clinton wants to revoke the right to gun ownership guaranteed in the Constitutions Second Amendment, Trump said there would be nothing you can do, if shes elected, to stop her from stacking the Supreme Court with antigun justices.

Then he added ambiguously: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is  I dont know. But Ill tell you what: That will be a horrible day.

Was Trump suggesting gun owners take matters into their own hands if Clinton wins the White House? Or was he merely musing about the indisputably powerful influence of the gun lobby?

Like so many times before, Trumps supporters and opponents construed his comments in entirely different ways.

Give me a break, Trump said hours later, insisting he was referring to the power that voters hold. He told Fox News that there can be no other interpretation.

But Democrats saw  and seized  an opportunity to reinforce the perception that Trump cant moderate the things that come out of his mouth, much less the decisions he would make as president.

I really, frankly couldnt believe he said it, said Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Nobody who is seeking a leadership position, especially the presidency, the leadership of the country, should do anything to countenance violence, and thats what he was saying.

By Tuesday evening, Clintons campaign was fundraising off the firestorm, asking supporters by email to chip in $1 to show that we dont tolerate this kind of politics in America. Trumps team, too, was using the controversy to reinforce a theme its been pitching to voters: that an underdog Trump is being unfairly treated by the media.

They will buy any line, any distortion, and spin that the Clintons put out, said former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an ardent Trump supporter.

But House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was celebrating a primary victory in Wisconsin Tuesday night, said: It sounds like just a joke gone bad. I hope they clear this up very quickly. You never joke about something like that.

The controversy immediately overwhelmed Trumps intended campaign-trail focus: the economic plan he unveiled just a day earlier and was promoting during rallies in the most competitive election states. It also underscored the concern, voiced by many worried Republicans, that he cannot stay disciplined and avoid inflammatory remarks that imperil not only his White House prospects but also the re-election chances of many Republican lawmakers.
SunPower Corporation SPWR disappointed investors Teusday evening after posting its second quarter earnings results. The companys shares have lost over 30% in value since yesterdays earnings release, and the price loss is mainly attributable towards SPWRs lowered income guidance for this year. In May, the company had issued earnings guidance between $0 and $50 million for fiscal 2016. Now, Sunpower expects to post a net loss amounting to as much as -$175 million.

SPWR stock is a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), so you may be better off by picking up some solar stocks that have been building earnings momentum in the form of positive earnings estimate revisions from analysts. The pay off on these stocks could be big if they surprise, and because of the positive EPS (earnings per share) revisions trending upwards this quarter, they have a strong chance of topping expectations. To capitalize on some potential gains, you should forget about SunPower for now and pick up these two Strong Buy ranked solar stocks instead.

Sunrun Inc-RUN

Sunrun Inc. develops and sells residential solar energy systems in the US. The company currently operates across 15 states and also offers leasing services on its solar products for no money down. Sunrun stock is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it isnt profitable yet, but it is heading in the right direction with regards to growing revenues and minimizing net losses. Last year, company sales grew by 53% and net losses improved to -$28 million from -$71 million in 2014. In addition to demonstrating growth potential, there is value in owning RUN shares since they are currently trading at a price-to-book ratio of 0.65. A price-to-book below 1 suggests that a stock may be undervalued.

SUNRUN INC Revenue (Quarterly)

SUNRUN INC Revenue (Quarterly) | SUNRUN INC Quote

In the last 2 months, analysts have unanimously revised their EPS estimates upwards for the current quarter, current year, and next year. For the current quarter, EPS estimates have trended upwards over the last 60 days. In that span of time, the consensus for the current quarter has improved, going from -$0.47 to -$0.41. Our EPS consensus estimate for the current year has moved up as well, going from -$2.16 to -$1.54 over the last 90 days. Sunrun reports its Q2 earnings results on the 11th of August.

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Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited-YGE

Yingli Green Energy, also known as Yingli Solar, is a vertically integrated solar panel manufacturer with photovoltaic products in China. The companys manufacturing process covers ingot casting and wafering through solar cell production and solar panel assembly. The company has over 30 regional subsidiaries and its solar panels have provided 15 gigawatts (GW) in total installed capacity for customers worldwide. Like Sunrun, YGE is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The stock has a beta of 2.91, so expect more price volatility from an investment in this company. The company is highly leveraged, so unless it proves itself capable of making a profitable turnaround in the long run, you should definitely make an investment in this company with the hopes of realizing profits in the short term.

YINGLI GREEN EN EPS Diluted (Quarterly)

YINGLI GREEN EN EPS Diluted (Quarterly) | YINGLI GREEN EN Quote

Shares are trading for around $4, so compared to its four year share price high of about $80, YGE shares are trading at a significant discount. Yingli Solar has seen its EPS outlook improve significantly over the last few months. Three months ago, our earnings estimate predicted EPS of -$2.00 for the current quarter. The estimate has updated since then, and it now forecasts an earnings loss of -$0.30 per share. The current year estimate has also seen a large change over the last three months, going from -$8.28 to -$1.71. Yingli posted a significant beat on our EPS consensus last quarter, reporting EPS of $0.60 after subtracting nonrecurring items versus our estimate of -$0.97. This represents a beat of 161.86%, so hopefully the company can carry the optimistic EPS momentum going into its Q2 earnings report, which is scheduled to be released on the 23rd of August.

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Bill Maris, the founder and CEO of Google Ventures is leaving the firm, Recodes Mark Bergen reports, and current managing partner David Krane will replace him.

A source confirmed the shift to Business Insider.

Maris founded the corporate investment group in 2009 (it was rebranded as GV after the company restructured as Alphabet last year).

Since then, the company has invested in hundreds of companies, including Uber, ecommerce company Jet, which just sold to Walmart for more than $3 billion, and Nest, which Google bought in 2014. GV also has a particular focus on life science startups, like Flatiron Health, 23andMe, One Medical Group, and buzzy startup Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based versions of animal products like meat and cheese.

The firm had ~$2.4 billion in assets at the beginning of 2016 and has actually been the most active corporate VC of the last six months, according to CB Insights.

As for Krane, he joined Google in 2000 as its director of global communications and public affairs. After a decade at the search giant, Krane moved to Google Ventures in 2010. He was promoted to managing partner in 2014 and one of his most famous deals was investing in Ubers Series C round.

NOW WATCH: Elon Musk just unveiled Teslas top secret master plan  here are the details

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In a victory for lawyers who file class-action suits in California, generally on behalf of employees or consumers, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that they can be paid a percentage of the settlements they negotiate with their adversaries.

The unanimous decision resolved an arcane issue that had been fiercely contested in the legal profession.

Class-action attorneys, joined by consumer and civil rights groups, argued that paying them a quarter or a third of the settlements they won was fair compensation for work on cases that often lasted many years and would pay them nothing if they lost. Otherwise, they said, few lawyers would be willing to represent groups of workers or customers who had small individual claims but could join forces in suits against powerful adversaries.

Opponents argued that the system results in overpayment of lawyers at the expense of their clients. They contended the court should limit fees by tying them to the hours the attorneys worked on the case, with increases based on the difficulty and riskiness of the litigation.

The ruling is a confirmation of the status quo ... a victory for lawyers and a loss for class members, said Berkeley attorney Lawrence Schonbrun, who represented an opponent of the settlement in the case and has devoted much of his work to challenging class-action legal fees.

Kevin Barnes, the Los Angeles attorney who defended the fee system, countered that the justices had helped to preserve access to the court.

If fees were based only on hours of work, Barnes said, no competent, qualified counsel is going to handle ... class-action cases which may be paid one to 12 years later only if they win.

Nationally, class-action suits have been under attack by business groups and judicial conservatives. The U.S. Supreme Court, in two California cases in 2011, refused to allow 1.6 million women to pursue their sex-discrimination claims against Walmart as a class action, and allowed AT&T and other companies to enforce arbitration clauses requiring customers to litigate their complaints individually before private panels.

Thursdays case involved a statewide suit, filed 12 years ago, by more than 2,000 entry-level account executives at the staffing firm Robert Half International who claimed the company illegally denied them overtime pay for 60-hour workweeks. Lawyers for both sides eventually negotiated a $19 million settlement, with one-third going to the attorneys and the rest to the employees.

The agreement has been on hold for more than three years while Schonbrun and his client challenged the fee provision. In upholding the percentage award, the court said it was a reasonable method that has been approved in other cases by federal appeals courts and most state courts around the country.

Basing fees on a percentage of the overall settlement makes them easy to calculate, gives lawyers an incentive to seek higher amounts for the group they represent, and encourages them to seek an early settlement and avoid unnecessarily prolonging the litigation, Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar said in the 7-0 decision.

Werdegar said trial court judges remain free to approve alternate settlement methods and can use hours of work and other factors as a cross-check on the fairness of percentage fees. Justice Goodwin Liu, in a separate opinion, said judges should also consider appointing a class guardian who could challenge excessive fee agreements.

The case is Laffitte vs. Robert Half International, S222996.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko

View the ruling: www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S222996.PDF
1 Rebel attacks: A wave of Kurdish rebel attacks targeting police and soldiers in Turkeys mainly Kurdish southeast killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, as Turkey was still dealing with the aftermath of a failed military coup attempt that threatened the government. Officials said rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party launched simultaneous bomb attacks targeting police vehicles in the city of Diyarbakir and the town of Kiziltepe, killing eight people, while four soldiers were killed in a separate attack near the border with Iraq hours earlier. The attack in Kiziltepe was caused by a roadside bomb that went off as a police bus was passing by. Three people were killed and at least 25 others were wounded there, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations. At the same time, a car bomb explosion targeting police in a historic part of the city Diyarbakir killed at least five civilians and wounded 12 others, the Diyarbakir governors office said.

2 Impeachment vote: Brazils Senate voted in the early hours Wednesday to begin the last phase in the impeachment trial of Dilma Rousseff, the president who was suspended in May, setting the stage for her final removal from office. The trial in the Senate is expected to take place this month. After hours of debate in the capital, Brasilia, senators voted 59-21 to indict her on charges of budgetary manipulation, formally making her a defendant. Although only a simple majority was needed in Wednesdays vote, the number of senators that went against Rousseff exceeded the two-thirds that would be needed to oust her permanently when a final vote is held after the trial ends. She also lost the crucial support of a senator from the governing Brazilian Democratic Movement Party who had previously voted against the impeachment process. Rousseff has been accused of manipulating the federal budget to conceal mounting economic problems.
The Sacramento fire department, noted rescuer of lost cats, again came to the rescue when eight tiny kittens were discovered trapped in a storm drain.

The Sac Fire department's Twitter account posted video of the recovery last week, as the kittens were pulled out one-by-one by several rescue team members as a crowd of people watched.
Bullion and precious metals miners have benefited from the recent shift toward safe-haven assets and ongoing accommodative monetary policies around the world. However, miners and related exchange traded funds could continue to outperform in a strengthening gold environment.

Year-to-date, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) , iShares Gold Trust (IAU) and ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL) gained over 26.0%.

Meanwhile, the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) jumped 124.2% and VanEck Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) surged 164.0% so far this year.

SEE MORE: Gold Miners ETFs Confirm Strength Against Broad Market

Precious metals gains are much lower than that of ETFs that hold gold mining stocks; these ETFs have more than doubled in value over the first seven months, Todd Rosenbluth, S&P Global Market Intelligence Director of ETF Research, said in a note.

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Matt Miller, S&P Global Market Intelligence equity analyst, attributes the sudden outperformance in gold miners to the high levels, and in some cases financial, leverage among the mining industry. Furthermore, many miners are seeing higher margins and strong free cash flow, which have been due to a dip in All-In Sustaining Costs  AISC is a standardized measure of cost reporting that projects full-cycle costs to produce and sell one ounce of gold, so a lower AISC contributes to wider profit margins.

For example, Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) has gained 191.7% year-to-date. The stock has been strengthening after recently reporting strong earnings on increased operating efficiency, despite revealing a second quarter dip in revenue year-over-year. ABX is the largest component in GDXs portfolio, accounting for 10.4% of the ETFs holdings.

SEE MORE: Pros Bet on Gold ETF Rebound

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Looking ahead, given the rising price of gold, Miller argues that these miners can generate even greater profits, especially after recent cost control efforts.

For more on the gold market, visit our gold category.

VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF
BEIRUT  Syrian activists said air strikes targeting the Islamic State groups de facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday killed at least 20 civilians, as neighboring Turkey called for greater cooperation with Russia against the extremist group.

The offer by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu followed a meeting between the Russian and Turkish leaders in which they agreed to mend ties.

Cavusoglu also announced that his country will resume its air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, months after they were suspended amid a major row with Moscow. He said in an interview with Turkeys private NTV television that Ankara will again, in an active manner, with its planes take part in operations against Islamic State targets.

Turkey had temporarily suspended its limited participation in the air strikes campaign by the U.S.-led coalition, following soured relations with Moscow after Turkish air force jets downed a Russian warplane on the Syrian border in November. Russia had retaliated by deploying long-range air defense missile systems to its base in Syria, 30 miles south of the border with Turkey and imposing an array of economic sanctions.

On the issue of Daesh, we have made a call to Russia. We said we have a common enemy which we can struggle against together, Cavusoglu said, using an Arabic language acronym for the Islamic State group.

The local activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, meanwhile, said the air strikes on Raqqa killed at least 20 civilians and cut the citys water supply. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 24 civilians were killed, along with six others whose affiliation or identities could not yet be confirmed.

Both groups said the strikes were launched by Russian jets, though it was not clear how they made that determination. The Russian military said six of its long-range bombers had flown from their base in Russia to strike Islamic State facilities near Raqqa, but did not mention civilian casualties. It said the raid destroyed a large ammunition depot, a plant producing chemical weapons and a large Islamic State training camp.

Meanwhile, there was no letup in the embattled northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where Turkey and Russia are supporting opposing sides of the conflict and where residents and activists reported a chlorine gas attack.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 10, 2016) - Intrinsyc Technologies Corporation (ITC.TO) (ISYRF) ("Intrinsyc" or the "Company"), a leading provider of solutions for the development of embedded and IoT products, today announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 ended June 30, 2016. Intrinsyc achieved annual revenue growth of 68% in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 over the prior year, with sequential growth of 12%. Revenue was US$4.8 million representing an increase from US$2.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2015, and US$4.3 million in the previous quarter. Intrinsyc achieved net income of US$599,868 and earnings per share of US$0.03. Financial information is reported in United States dollars and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS").

"Intrinsyc had another quarter of impressive revenue growth, with higher revenue coming from both the software and services segment and embedded computing hardware segment which included a sizable follow-on order from one of our largest customers," said Tracy Rees, Chief Executive Officer, Intrinsyc. "We benefitted from our recent employee hiring as we were able to meet the client demand for engineering services inclusive of achievement of critical mass in our new Boulder, CO engineering operation, leading to higher services revenue in the quarter, while still having the necessary resources to invest in product development to generate future sales opportunities."

The Company made progress with new client projects signed, clients completing development and entering into production phase, as well as expanding our ability to deliver future client projects and proprietary products; including the following business highlights:

Quarterly Business Highlights

Announced a new client for the Company's Open-Q SOM. Delivery of embedded computing modules, valued at more than $250,000, initially were expected to ship in the third quarter, however they were delivered in the second quarter.

The Company signed two agreements with an existing client that are valued at $985,000 and cover the Company's Field Programmable Gate Array ("FPGA") design and development services.

A customer of the Company encountered financial difficulty resulting in Adjusted EBITDA and Net Income being reduced by $97,000.

Announced that the arrangements with Stream TV were further amended, to increase the purchase commitment to $6,000,000 in Intrinsyc products, services and royalties to be generated on or before December 30, 2016. In addition, the secured promissory note, valued at USD$1.5 million, has been further amended to extend the maturity date from June 30, 2016 to December 30, 2016.

Over the first half of the year, increased employee headcount by 30%, boosting engineering capabilities and capacity for client project delivery, as well as proprietary product development.

Expanded engineering operations and achieved critical mass for operations in Boulder, CO with commencement of revenue generating client projects and began establishment of an additional engineering office in Taipei, Taiwan.

Participated in several key industry conferences throughout the quarter in North America including: ESC Boston, IoT Devcon, Qualcomm Automotive Showcase and Xponential 2016 as well as Wavefront's 2016 Internet of Things Roadshow. The Company frequently exhibits at these events as an invited guest of our strategic technology partners.

As of June 30, 2016, the Company had more than thirty (30) companies that are currently incorporating Intrinsyc's Open-Q embedded computing modules into their products, with eight (8) of those companies in commercial production.

Financial Highlights

Three Month Comparative Results

The Company reported revenue of US$4.8 million, up 68% over the same period in the prior year of US$2.9 million and up 12% over the US$4.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2016. The increase in revenue was due to increased revenue from the sale of product development engineering services, as well as hardware products.

The Company had net income of US$599,868 in the three months ended June 30, 2016, compared to net income of US$266,359 in the same period in the prior year and net income of US$490,738 in the prior quarter.

Gross margin(1) in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 was 38%, which was slightly lower than the 41% gross margin in the same period in the prior year but consistent with the gross margin in the previous first quarter of fiscal 2016. Reduction in gross margin over the same period in the prior year was due to several factors, including; the temporary increased engagement of third party contractors, increased Vancouver facilities expansion costs, ramp up of the Company's new engineering center in Boulder, CO, increased labor cost due to the recent strengthening in the value of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar, the cancellation of an client project in-process due to their financial challenges, and the increased sales of embedded computing products to a single client at less than typical margins. Adjusted EBITDA(2) was as follows:

Three months ended

June 30, 2016 Three months ended

March 31, 2016 Three months ended

June 30, 2015 Operating income $ 395,013 $ 308,040 $ 160,967 Add: revenue recognized as interest income as per IFRS 33,750 33,750 33,750 Add back: Other operating expenses 116,637 119,240 98,298 Adjusted EBITDA $ 545,400 $ 461,030 $ 293,015

Six Month Comparative Results

The Company reported revenue of US$9.1 million, up 77% over the same period in the prior year of US$5.1 million. The increase in revenue was due to increased revenue from the sale of product development engineering services, as well as hardware products.

The Company had net income of US$1,090,606 in the six months ended June 30, 2016, compared to a net loss of US$61,976 in the same period in the prior year.

Gross margin for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was 38%, which was lower than the 44% gross margin in the same period in the prior year. Reduction in gross margin over the same period in the prior year was due to several factors, including; the temporary increased engagement of third party contractors, increased Vancouver facilities expansion costs, ramp up of the Company's new engineering center in Boulder, CO, increased labor cost due to the recent strengthening in the value of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar, the cancellation of an client project in-process due to their financial challenges, and the increased sales of embedded computing products to a single client at less than typical margins. Adjusted EBITDA was as follows:

Six months ended

June 30, 2016 Six months ended

June 30, 2015 Operating income $ 703,053 $ 165,255 Add: revenue recognized as interest income as per IFRS 67,500 67,500 Add back: Other operating expenses 235,877 180,836 Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,006,430 $ 413,591

Financial Position as at June 30, 2016

Working capital(3) as of June 30, 2016 was US$11.1 million (which included cash and cash equivalents of US$4.9 million and short term investments of US$2.3 million). This is compared to net working capital of US$9.8 million as of December 31, 2015 (which included cash and cash equivalents of US$5.9 million and short-term investments of US$1.1 million).

Financial Statements and Management Discussion & Analysis

Please see the audited consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") for more details. The audited consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and related MD&A have been reviewed and approved by Intrinsyc's Audit Committee and Board of Directors. Intrinsyc recognizes that the majority of its investors are now accessing Intrinsyc's corporate and financial information either through pushed news services, directly from www.intrinsyc.com or SEDAR. Thus, Intrinsyc has prepared this truncated news release to alert investors to its results and that a more detailed explanation and analysis is readily available in the MD&A. These reports have been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and also posted at www.intrinsyc.com.

Conference call

The Company will hold a conference call to discuss its fiscal year 2016 second quarter financial results at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time) today. On the call, Tracy Rees, Chief Executive Officer and George Reznik, Chief Financial Officer, will discuss the financial results announced. This conference call may be accessed, toll-free, by dialing 1-800-952-4972, and internationally by dialing 1-416-340-9432 approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. This conference line is operator assisted and an access PIN is not required. The conference call will also be broadcast live over the Internet and available for replay on the Company's Investor Relations Conference Calls web page (http://www.intrinsyc.com/company/investors/). Analysts and investors are invited to participate on the call. Questions may be submitted to invest@intrinsyc.com prior to the call.

Non-IFRS Measures

The following and preceding discussion of financial results includes reference to EBITDA, Gross Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Working Capital, which are all non-IFRS financial measures. The measure of gross margin is provided as management believes this is a good indicator in evaluating the operating performance of the Company. EBITDA is defined as operating income (loss) less other operating expenses. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as operating income (loss) inclusive of revenue reclassified as interest income (as per IFRS) less other operating expenses. Both measures are provided as a proxy for the cash earnings from the operations of the business as operating income (loss) for the Company includes non-cash amortization and depreciation expense and share-based compensation which are classified as other operating expenses. The measure of working capital is provided as management believes this is a good indicator of the operating liquidity available to the Company.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements which, to the extent that they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements or information may include financial and other projections as well as statements regarding the Company's future plans, objectives, performance, revenues, growth, profits, operating expenses or the company's underlying assumptions. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "expect," "anticipate," "intend", "plan", "forecast", "project", "estimate" and "believe" or other similar words and phrases may identify forward-looking statements or information. Persons reading this press release are cautioned that such statements or information are only predictions, and that the Company's actual future results or performance may be materially different. There could be variability in future financial performance based upon the timing of our Client's product deployment and other factors.

Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the need to develop, integrate and deploy software and hardware solutions to meet the Company's customer's requirements; the possibility of development or deployment difficulties or delays; a customer's decision to cancel or fail to proceed with a commitment to purchase units of the Company's products contained in an executed purchase order; the dependence on the Company's customer's satisfaction; the timing of entering into significant contracts; customers' continued commitment to the deployment of the Company's solutions; reliance on products manufactured by other companies for resale or distribution and reliance on third-party suppliers; the performance of the global economy and growth in software industry sales; market acceptance of the Company's products and services; the success of certain business combinations engaged in by the Company or by its competitors; possible disruptive effects of organizational or personnel changes; technological change, new products and standards; risks related to international expansion; concentration of sales; international operations and sales; dependence upon key personnel and hiring; reliance on a limited number of suppliers; industry growth; competition; intellectual property; product defects and product liability; currency exchange rate risk; and other factors described in the Company's reports filed on SEDAR, including its Annual Information Form and financial report for the year ended December 31, 2015. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking information.

These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by this cautionary statement and there can be no assurance that actual results or developments anticipated by the Company will be realized. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

About Intrinsyc Technologies Corporation

Intrinsyc Technologies Corporation is a product development company that provides comprehensive and tailored solutions that enable the development and production of next-generation embedded and IoT devices. Solutions span the development life cycle from concept to production and help device makers and technology suppliers create compelling differentiated products with faster time-to-market. Intrinsyc is publicly traded (ITC.TO) (ISYRF) and is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

(1) Non-IFRS measure that does not have a standard meaning and may not be comparable to a similar measure disclosed by other issuers. Gross margin referenced here relates to revenues less cost of sales.

(2) Non-IFRS measure that does not have a standardized meaning and may not be comparable to a similar measure disclosed by other issuers. This measure does not have a comparable IFRS measure. Adjusted EBITDA referenced here relates to operating income (loss) inclusive of revenue reclassified as interest income (as per IFRS) less other operating expenses.

(3) Non-IFRS measure that does not have a standardized meaning and may not be comparable to a similar measure disclosed by other issuers. This measure does not have a comparable IFRS measure. Working capital is defined as current assets less current liabilities.
(Adds analyst comment, details on trials)

Aug 10 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co on Wednesday said it would continue a late-stage trial of its experimental breast cancer drug in combination with a widely used treatment even though an independent panel determined the combination therapy failed to meet its interim effectiveness goal.

The independent data monitoring committee recommended the trial continue without modification through the first half of 2017 despite the fact that its interim look at the data suggested the combination treatment was not delaying progression of the disease.

Lilly shares were down 1.2 percent in morning trading.

Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez said continuation of the study, called Monarch 2, would allow Lilly to better understand abemaciclib, which is also being tested in a variety of other trials.

The Monarch 2 study included 669 patients who had previously failed to benefit from anti-estrogen treatment for metastatic breast cancer. It compared combined use of abemaciclib and anti-estrogen therapy fulvestrant with fulvestrant alone.

Lilly's drug is from the same new class of breast cancer treatments as Pfizer Inc's recently approved Ibrance, which brought in more than half a billion dollars in second-quarter sales. They work through a new mechanism, by blocking the proteins CDK 4 and CDK 6.

Lilly is evaluating abemaciclib as a single agent in breast cancer patients who have not derived enough benefit from prior treatments. Three other studies are testing abemaciclib with other drugs.

Abemaciclib, which was granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) breakthrough therapy status for breast cancer last year, is also being tested for use in lung cancer.

After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

About 40,000 of the 220,000 American women diagnosed with breast cancer die each year, the CDC estimates.

(Additional reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Will Dunham)
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Another day, another apology from a television announcer at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation issued multiple apologies late Wednesday and Thursday after color commentator Byron MacDonald - apparently believing his microphone wasn't live - said the following after the women's 800-meter freestyle relay final:

"The little 14-year-old from China dropped the ball, baby. Too excited, went out like stink, died like a pig. Thanks for that."

China finished fourth in that race, with the United States winning gold, Australia silver and Canada the bronze. In the race, 14-year-old Chinese swimmer Ai Yanhan swam the second leg in 1:57.79, which was 1.61 seconds behind Canada's Taylor Ruck.

ALSO SEE: NBC announcer apologizes for comment about Simone Biles' family

Here's a clip of MacDonald's comments:

Later during the broadcast, CBC host Scott Russell apologized to the audience. After viewers seemingly from the Yukon to Newfoundland deluged CBC's Olympic Twitter account blasting MacDonald and the network, it issued multiple apologies via social media and then a longer apology Thursday morning to the National Post.

"We sincerely regret that these statements were made, and that they were allowed to go to air. We moved quickly last night to apologize to our viewers on-air and to our followers on Social media," CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson told the newspaper in an email.

"To be clear, Byron's comments were related to the swimmer's performance, not to her as an individual. That said, they were inappropriate and an unfortunate choice of words and Byron is very sorry for what he said."

MacDonald, a former member of Canada's national swim team, had previously won Gemini Awards for his work at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in Athens and (ironically) Beijing, respectively.

Earlier this week, NBC's Al Trautwig came under fire for referring to U.S. gymnast Simone Biles' adoptive parents as her grandparents. She refers to them as her parents. Trautwig later apologized after being pilloried on social media by viewers and adoption advocates.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA--(Marketwired - Aug 10, 2016) - Lloyd I. Miller, III announced the acquisition of ownership, control or direction over an aggregate US$100,000 principal amount of Senior Secured Convertible Debentures due 2020 ("2020 Convertible Debentures") of Gran Colombia Gold Corp. ("Gran Colombia"), that are convertible into approximately 769,231 common shares of Gran Colombia, representing an increase in Miller's securityholding percentage of approximately 0.13% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis taking into account only the outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Gran Colombia, and the 2020 Debentures over which Mr. Miller exercises control or direction and no others. Mr. Miller acquired the foregoing 2020 Convertible Debentures through Milfam II L.P., a partnership of which Mr. Miller is the managing member of the general partner.

Prior to the acquisition, the number of outstanding common shares of Gran Colombia ("Common Shares") increased from approximately 23.7 million Common Shares as of September 30, 2015 to approximately 137.1 million as of March 31, 2016. The increase in the outstanding Common Shares decreased Mr. Miller's securityholding percentage from approximately 85.59%, as previously reported, to approximately 51.24% after the transaction described herein, in each case on a partially diluted basis taking into account only the outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Gran Colombia, and the 2020 Convertible Debentures over which Mr. Miller exercises control or direction and no others. Assuming the conversion of all 2020 Convertible Debentures, Mr. Miller's securityholding percentage has decreased from approximately 17.14%, as previously reported, to currently approximately 15.46%.

The 2020 Convertible Debentures were acquired through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange for total consideration of US$100,000 of principal amount, which based on the Bank of Canada noon exchange rate on August 4, 2016 equals approximately CDN$130,271 in total consideration.

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Immediately prior to the transaction described herein, Mr. Miller had ownership, control or direction over an aggregate principal amount of US$18,627,223 of the 2020 Convertible Debentures, and assuming conversion of the entire principal amount of the 2020 Convertible Debentures over which Mr. Miller had ownership, control or direction, such 2020 Convertible Debentures were convertible into approximately 143,286,331 Common Shares, representing 51.11% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis taking into account only the outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Gran Colombia, and the 2020 Debentures over which Mr. Miller exercised control or direction and no others (15.38% of the outstanding Common Shares taking into account the outstanding Common Shares (as reported by Gran Colombia) and all of the outstanding 2020 Debentures; full conversion, partially diluted basis).

Immediately after the transaction described herein, Mr. Miller had ownership, control or direction over an aggregate principal amount of US$18,727,223 of the 2020 Convertible Debentures and assuming conversion of the entire principal amount of the 2020 Convertible Debentures over which Mr. Miller has ownership, control or direction, such 2020 Convertible Debentures are convertible into approximately 144,055,562 Common Shares, representing 51.24% of the outstanding Common Shares on a partially diluted basis taking into account only the outstanding Common Shares, as reported by Gran Colombia, and the 2020 Debentures over which Mr. Miller exercises control or direction and no others (15.46% of the outstanding Common Shares taking into account the outstanding Common Shares (as reported by Gran Colombia) and all of the outstanding 2020 Debentures; full conversion, partially diluted basis).

The 2020 Convertible Debentures were acquired for investment purposes. Depending on the evolution of Gran Colombia's business, financial condition, the market, if any, for Gran Colombia's securities, general economic conditions and other factors, Miller and his joint actors may acquire additional securities of Gran Colombia, or sell some or all of the securities they hold, in the open market, by private agreement or otherwise, subject to their availability at attractive prices, market conditions and other relevant factors.

For inquiries or a copy of the related early warning report required under Canadian provincial securities legislation, a copy of which has also been filed on www.sedar.com, please contact the persons below.
Malia Obama was caught on camera allegedly smoking "something," and social media is getting a high off her adolescent antics, overwhelmingly praising her for having fun before she starts college at Harvard in a year.

"If she's not careful, she might end up winning 21 Olympic gold medals or becoming president of the USA," wrote comedian Chris Rock on Twitter.
As a guidebook author and TV host, I do most of my work in Europe during the day. But after hours, I love to get out and see whats happening, especially after dark. And Im always impressed by how much travelers who hide away in their hotel rooms miss.

For example, each summer night when darkness falls in the Champagne-making town of Reims, France, a crowd gathers at the foot of the towering cathedral to enjoy a free sound-and-light show. The cathedral, one of the greatest in Europe, is remarkable for its harmony and unity of style. And the lights, colors, and sounds are all formidable (say it in French: for-mee-DAH-bluh). I struggle with the idea that Europes wonderful Gothic church facades were boldly painted in the 13th and 14th centuries. In Reims, the sound-and-light show did a good job of helping me envision how they might have looked to a (perhaps intoxicated) medieval peasant.

The French are enthusiastic and expert about floodlighting their great monuments. Another fun illumination spectacle takes place all summer long at the perfectly preserved Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard, a blockbuster sight in Frances Provence region.

Though most of the 30-mile-long Nimes Aqueduct is on or below the ground, at Pont du Gard it spans a river canyon on a massive bridge over the river. Its one of the most remarkable surviving Roman ruins anywhere, second in height only to the Colosseum.

During summer months it stays open until midnight so people can hike, enjoy a picnic or the riverside restaurant and watch the music-and-light show projected on the monument. Seeing this amazing structure lit up in the evening is dramatic (and less than $20 for five people).

Its no surprise that Frances capital is also brilliant after dark. Experiencing the City of Light lit is a great finale to any day in Paris. For less than the cost of two seats on a big-bus tour, you can hire your own cab or Uber and have a glorious hour of floodlit Paris on your terms and schedule. Sunday is the best night to go, as theres less traffic  youll get a better value for the time spent. Make sure to join the party on Place du Trocadero for a magnificent view of the glowing Eiffel Tower.

Berlin is another city that lends itself well to sightseeing by night. Its many memorials mark a tragic history, and some of them make a more profound impact after dark. One such place is the burning of the books memorial on Bebelplatz, a transparent pane in the cobbles with a room of shelves under the square. This is the spot where, in 1933, people threw 20,000 newly forbidden books into a huge bonfire on Nazi orders.

During the day, the area is full of glare and commotion, so the experience never quite works. But after dark, its quiet, and the shelves are hauntingly bare and beautifully lit. Ive stood over this memorial many times in broad daylight and never really been moved. Finally, at night, it grabbed me.

I also pondered Berlins Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe at night with only the streetlights at the monuments edges for illumination and only the security guard sharing the moment with me. At this Holocaust memorial, 2,711 gravestone-like pillars made of hollow concrete stand in a gently sunken area, which can be entered from any side.

During the day, you see people appear and disappear between columns, and no matter where you are, the exit always seems to be up. Is it a symbolic cemetery, or an intentionally disorienting labyrinth? I thought its architect may have wanted it to be experienced just the way I had chosen  in the dark and alone.

While after-dark sights and spectacles can be particularly memorable, enjoying Europe on a summers night doesnt require seeking out somber monuments, light shows and floodlit buildings. When in doubt, just get out in the evening and be in a great city.

The streets of Rome and Madrid in summer are most engaging after dark, when the fountains are lit and the cool evening air brings locals out to stroll. In towns all along the Mediterranean harbor front, promenades are lively with romantics  locals and tourists alike. In London, theres a cauldron of activity where gay, theater and tourist districts come together at Piccadilly Circus. In Florence, warm nights bring musical performers to the piazzas, bridges and courtyards to serenade the citys residents and guests.

Wherever your travels take you, admire glittering promenades and floodlit fountains, and enjoy another kind of light show  the sun going down over the historic and natural wonders of Europe.

Rick Steves writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com
Q: I have used Booking.com for several years, and I have always been very satisfied with the service Ive received. However, my recent experience was truly hurtful.

Six months ago, I made a reservation at the Ritz-Carlton Abama in Tenerife, Spain, for two adults, two children and an infant. Booking.com did not give any restrictions, specifically relating to having an extra crib in the room.

According to Booking.com, a crib would be supplied at no additional cost. This was confirmed several times by phone by Booking.com representatives. But I recently received an email from the Ritz-Carlton saying that it wont be able to honor this reservation on the dates I will arrive. If you incur any additional costs as a result of this situation, please send us your receipts, and we will do our best to offer adequate compensation, the hotel added.

The same day, I was offered two options by Booking.com: Las Terrazas de Abama and Villas Fanabe & Bahia Suites. The offered properties were not even hotels, but apartments. Booking.com has tried to offer properties within my budget. However, I assume these properties were probably much cheaper six months ago than now, so this also was quite inadequate.

A few days ago, a Booking.com representative wrote to me, saying that the company was still trying to negotiate with the hotel about a possible solution. I received a phone call and an email today from Booking.com, saying that regarding the baby crib policy, please note that extra beds or baby cots are upon request, and the hotel needs to double confirm for them to be valid or to be honored. The representative also confirmed that the website does not quote any maximum room occupancy to alert guests of restrictions.

I never would have booked this vacation if Id known it would cause me so much stress and inconvenience. Can you help?

Faig Babayev, London

A: Booking.com should have informed you about the correct occupancy requirements. When I clicked on Booking.com (at the time I was researching this story), it recommended a junior suite for a party of two adults and two children, but there was no mention of an extra crib and no category for infant.

Room occupancy rules in Europe are a little different. Sometimes hotels charge extra for more than two occupants. A check with the Ritz-Carlton site suggests that the junior is its smallest room category, which means that Booking.com is sending other guests like you to the same fate.

But what, exactly, happened? Technically, you were trying to fit three kids into a room meant for two. Had it been just two children, per the propertys room capacity guidelines, this would not have been an issue, a Booking.com spokesman told me. It appears that the reservation did include a third child, and hence the issue of room capacity, needing a crib and additional costs.

Theres also an age discrepancy. You referred to your youngest as an infant, but Booking.coms records show that the child was 2 years old. It looks as if everyone was a little confused.

Booking.com tried to fix this by offering you alternate accommodations within your budget, which you found to be inadequate.

I list all the names, numbers and emails of Booking.coms executives on my consumer-advocacy site: http://elliott.org/company-contacts/booking-com. My advocacy team sent you these contacts. You emailed them, and we also contacted Booking.com on your behalf in an effort to get details about your case. The company agreed to upgrade the room to accommodate your entire family, and paid the 749-euro price difference, an exceptionally generous resolution.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Find travel tips at www.elliott.org. E-mail: chris@elliott.org Twitter: @elliottdotorg
WASHINGTON  The military campaigns in Iraq and Syria have taken 45,000 enemy combatants off the battlefield and reduced the total number of Islamic State fighters to as few as 15,000, the top U.S. commander for the fight against the Islamic State group said Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland said that both the quality and number of Islamic State fighters is declining, and he warned that it is difficult to determine accurate numbers. Earlier estimates put the number of Islamic State fighters between 19,000 and 25,000, but U.S. officials say the range is now roughly 15,000 to 20,000.
Firefighters on the Portuguese island of Madeira continued on Thursday to battle wildfires that have reached Funchal, the islands largest city, killing three people and destroying more than 150 homes, while the national government sought help to deal with nearly 200 blazes on the mainland.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa was scheduled to travel to Madeira on Thursday, and Portugal activated a European Union plan to receive emergency assistance. Italy has already sent one firefighting aircraft. Madeira is the largest island in an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean that lies about 360 miles off the Moroccan coast, and about 600 miles southwest of Lisbon.

The biggest fire on Madeira broke out on Monday and rapidly encroached on the residential outskirts of Funchal, home to about 110,000 people.

The fire caused chaos, panic and despair around Funchal. Portuguese television showed footage of elderly people, many of them barefoot or in wheelchairs, being escorted to safety in the middle of the night by emergency services or neighbors. Residents watched in tears as their homes burned down, and some were seen running around helplessly, trying to cover their faces to minimize smoke inhalation.

The fires also set off a debate over whether authorities had responded with sufficient speed and adequate means, especially in light of previous fire disasters in the hot and dry summer months.

Police have arrested two people as part of an investigation into whether the Madeira fires were started deliberately. People have also been detained on the mainland, where criminal acts are believed to be behind several major fires.

By Wednesday afternoon, there were 186 fires burning in mainland Portugal, mostly in the northern part of the country, according to the Civil Protection Agency, a dozen of which were labeled major fires that were out of control.

In the first nine days of August, nearly 62,000 acres burned across Portugal, according to authorities.

Strong winds and high temperatures have complicated the efforts of the more than 4,000 firefighters and other emergency workers who have been deployed on Madeira and in mainland Portugal to fight the blazes. One forestry official died on the mainland.

The fires also threaten to hurt Portugals tourism industry at the peak of the summer holiday season.

A luxury hotel on the outskirts of Funchal was among the buildings gutted by fire, and some of the islands other hotels have been forced to evacuate guests. More than 1,000 residents have been moved to emergency shelters.

Madeira authorities said Wednesday that two people who had been hospitalized remained in serious condition, and that one person was missing.
The City of Santa Fe has unveiled its latest in a suite of transparency tools. This one is specifically aimed at allowing the public to better understand the budgeting process, particularly in the wake of this year's deficit-solving chaos. What's available now on the city's website is just the start.

The desire is to continuously, over time, update the OpenGov portal to allow citizens to monitor how the city is spending money, says Mayor Javier Gonzales. This will be a continuous work in progress, so what we see today is a first step.Short of taking the time to attend a finance committee hearing during the budget talks at the beginning of the year, residents would be hard-pressed to access this data, Gonzales says. The goal is to present it in a user-friendly way.The website, accessed at www.santafenm.gov/opengov, allows for clicking on a few key questions (for example, where the money goes and where it comes from), and also enables users to drill in on specific topics around funds, departments, and types of revenue and expenses. A user can, for example, see how much the city spends on its meter-reading unit ($3 million) and see total expenses for the Southside Library (which increased 37 percent between the 2013-14 and 2014-15 fiscal years before decreasing 10 percent for the 2015-16 year). For those looking to dig in even deeper into the raw data, the share button allows for downloading the data in a spreadsheet. The city also already posts the salaries of its employees and has a searchable contract database. The new system will be powered by OpenGov, a cloud-based software company thats been employed by 700 government entities, including the cities of Anaheim, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale and San Diego, and the District of Columbia. Santa Fe will pay $7,900 a year for the service, which includes an internal portion that allows city employees to exchange reports.OpenGov will work with city councilors to train them on how to use and understand the many facets of the data available. Renee Martinez, information technology and telecommunications director for Santa Fe, says theyd be open to running a forum to train the public in navigating the site. She also recommends the help button and the introduction to multi-fund accounting available on the site.Update: OpenGov's presentation to city council is available to view here: https://youtu.be/U7FQr6PchiU

Santa Fe Reporter
Youi NZ will plead guilty to charges of using misleading sales practices when trying to sell insurance policies to potential customers seeking a quote, the Commerce Commission says.

The antitrust regulator said 15 charges under the Fair Treading Act have been laid against the local unit of the South African insurer, claiming Youi made misleading representations on its website over customers' ability to get a quote, during sales calls including telling clients they had to provide bank or credit card details, asserting a right to payment for unsolicited policies, and sending invoices to unsolicited customers without telling them they had no obligation to pay.

"Youi has cooperated with the commission's investigation and has indicated that it intends to plead guilty to the charges," the regulator said in a statement.

The commission completed its investigation into the insurer's sales techniques earlier this year after receiving a number of complaints.

Youi incorporated in New Zealand in 2013, launching a year later offering home, contents and vehicle insurance.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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NEW DELHI: Giving a refreshing look to its Note series, South Korean giant Samsung on Thursday launched its flagship device Galaxy Note 7 in India with iris biometric scanner for enhanced security, upgraded S Pen and a dual-curved screen.

"Galaxy Note 7 is the combination of all our learnings to take smartphone experience to a whole new level and I am confident that the new edition will help Samsung Note loyalists to achieve more in life," H.C. Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, told reporters here.

The company also launched a new wearable portfolio with new Gear VR, Gear Fit2 fitness tracker and Gear IconX earplugs.

"Our wearable portfolio comprising Gear Fit2, Gear IconX and Gear VR will further strengthen Samsung's commitment to a connected ecosystem strategy," added Manu Sharma, Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India Electronics.

Galaxy Note 7 comes with a 5.7-inch QHD super AMOLED dual-curved display protected by the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the first device in the Note family to be water resistant to a maximum depth of 1.5 metre upto 30 minutes.

The device is dust-proof and the display is 30 per cent stronger and 20 per cent more scratch resistant from its predecessor.

The new S Pen features a smaller 0.7mm tip and has an Air Command Translate feature that quickly translates any on-screen text with ease by simply placing the S Pen above the word. The feature also include functions like magnify and glance, etc.

The iris scanner provides an extra layer of security alongside the fingerprint scanner. The device has a "Secure Folder" to keep private information safe.

With Samsung Pass, the iris and fingerprint authentication is passed on to apps and services.

Equipped with 64-bit Octa core processor and 4GB RAM, Galaxy Note 7 delivers unprecedented performance with Vulkan graphics.

The Galaxy Note 7 has 64GB of internal storage which can be expanded by a 256GB microSD card. The battery has been increased to 3,500 mAh and one can set the quality of the display -- HD, FHD or QHD -- according to the need.

It comes with a 12MP camera with f/1.7 aperture and a 5MP front-facing camera.

In other devices, Gear Fit2 is fitted with sensors like GPS, 24/7 heart rate monitor and accelerometer. The 13,990 device runs on Android 4.4 and comes with 1.5GB RAM.

With Gear IconX, one can control music by simple tapping or swiping. The 13, 490 device comes with a real time voice-based workout input feature.

The new VR headset is available for 7,290 from the first week of September.

Read Also:

Xiaomi Launches Affordable Redmi 3S Smartphones In India

Samsung To Unveil Two New Smartphones With Its Most Awaited Galaxy Note 7
NEW DELHI: The government today pitched for establishing an international clean energy data grid and asserted that information related to green and unclean energy should be put in public domain.



Noting that it is essential for the common man to realise that the energy being used is unclean, for the world to shift to clean energy, Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said such a shift will come only through data that is stored and analysed properly.

"India has given a call for the establishment of an International Clean Energy Data-Grid that is corruption-free.



"An international grid is a must as common man has the right to access data. The data must pertain to both production as well as consumption patterns of a society," an official statement quoting Dave said.



He was speaking at the day-long national conference on energy data: management, modelling and GIS mapping organised by NITI Aayog here.



Dave asserted that the world will have to understand the difference between clean and unclean energy.



"Data on green energy and unclean energy should be made available in the public domain. Till the common man realises that the energy being used is unclean, the day will never come when the world will shift towards using clean energy.



"Such a shift will come about only through data that is stored and analysed properly. Facts projected through correct data will lead us in the right direction," he said.



Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to establish an International Solar Alliance (ISA), the Environment Minister emphasised that solar energy is the answer to energy requirements of the future.



"Dave also strongly advocated for disciplined consumption in every field, be it in the consumption of power to reduce the burden on power production," the statement added.

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LinkedIn Crosses 100 Million Members In Asia-Pacific Region
NEW DELHI: Vietnam today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Hanoi, possibly in the first week of September, will open a "new page" in bilateral relations even as it welcomed India's stand on the ruling of an international tribunal on the South China Sea dispute.



Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh said the situation in the South China Sea region was "getting worse" with militarisation.

"We expect that Prime Minister Modi's visit will be soon. It will open a new page in bilateral relationship. We hope the visit will upgrade ties to a more comprehensive level. Preparation for the visit is going on," he said during a media interaction at the Foreign Correspondents Club here.



He did not announce any date when asked whether the trip would be around Modi's visit to China to attend the G-20 meeting or Asean summit in Laos in the first week of September.



The visit will be the first by an Indian PM in the last 15 years.



The envoy reminded that the two countries were gearing up to celebrate milestones in the form of 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the establishment of strategic partnership.



Thanh said Vietnam "appreciates" India's position on the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling whereby it "recognises" the international court as well as the UN Convention on Law of Seas (UNCLOS).



"The most important part is that India respects international law and especially freedom of aviation and navigation. Other countries should not use force or threat of force in South China Sea," Thanh said.



Stressing that Vietnam deplores "militarisation", the envoy said the court ruling, which holds the potential to reduce the area of dispute, needs to be complied with.



"The situation in South China Sea is getting worse with militarisation and so the ruling is welcome. The situation is not stable and territorial issues have not been settled yet," Thanh, the country's ambassador to India since 2014, said.



Asked whether Brahmos would be on the table during Modi's visit, Thanh said while Vietnam appreciates India's "achievements" in the defence sector, "whatever we buy is for self-defence".



Referring to the 100-million-dollar line of credit extended to Vietnam for defence procurements during President Pranab Mukherjee's visit last year, he said the contractor has been chosen and the construction of the naval patrol boats would start soon with that amount.



He said Vietnam, which will host the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit next year, would welcome India's membership in the grouping provided there was a consensus to lift the moratorium imposed on any such new joining.



Thanh added that Vietnam was trying to manage good relations with both India and China and that mutual ties between any two countries should not be seen as "against" a third country.



"On bilateral disputes we are ready to talk bilaterally while on multilateral disputes we are ready for negotiations involving two more more parties. But if needed we may explore other legal options," he said.

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By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - A New York state judge on Wednesday threw out billionaire hedge fund manager Louis Bacon's $100 million defamation lawsuit against Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard, saying the case tied to their long-running feud over neighboring properties in the Bahamas belongs there.

Bacon, the founder of Moore Capital Management LP in New York, had accused Nygard in the lawsuit of engineering a "malicious" smear campaign against him including street rallies, bogus YouTube videos, and attempts to falsely link him to arson, bribery, drug smuggling, the Ku Klux Klan and murder.

That prompted Nygard, the chairman of Winnipeg-based Nygard International, to file a $50 million countersuit accusing Bacon of pursuing a "vendetta" against him.

Each man has denied the other's claims. Wednesday's decision may spell an end to the New York state court litigation.

Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Kern in Manhattan wrote that while Bacon is a New York resident, the Bahamas is a "more appropriate forum" for his case.

She said this was because most of the actions that Bacon accused Nygard of undertaking to further his alleged smear campaign occurred in the Bahamas, and most of the potential witnesses live there.

Bacon has opposed Nygard's effort to expand his property in the Bahamas' gated Lyford Cay community, following a 2009 fire.

Some environmental groups and residents have said an expansion may damage the surrounding ecosystem and beaches.

Kern's decision contains several conditions, including that Nygard submits to the Bahamian courts' jurisdiction and lets employees there be subpoenaed.

The judge said Bacon has already pursued nine legal actions in the Bahamas since 2011 against alleged co-conspirators.

A spokesman for Bacon said the fund manager disagrees with the decision and is "considering his appellate options," but remains "committed" to proving his claims in court.

"It is up to Mr. Bacon to decide whether he wants to start this process anew in the Bahamas," Aaron Marks, a lawyer for Nygard, said in a telephone interview. "Mr. Nygard would vigorously defend against such a case."

Story continues

Bacon is worth $1.9 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

The cases is Bacon v Nygard et al, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 150400/2015.

(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)
The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed that crude stockpiles recorded a surprise build. Worryingly, supplies at the Cushing, OK storage hub jumped, too. On a bullish note, the report revealed that refined product inventories  gasoline and distillate  both decreased from their previous week levels.

While the unseasonal crude build report offset the big drop in fuel supplies, data showing record July production from Saudi Arabia weighed on markets. As a result, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 2.5% (or $1.06) to settle at $41.71 per barrel Wednesday.

Analysis of the EIA Data

Crude Oil: The federal governments EIA report revealed that crude inventories increased by 1.06 million barrels for the week ending Aug 5, 2016, following a rise of 1.41 million barrels in the previous week.

The analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts  the leading independent commodities and energy data provider  had expected crude stocks to go down some 1.75 million barrels. Lower refinery usage led to the surprise stockpile build with the world's biggest oil consumer even as imports and production fell.

In particular, crude inventories at the Cushing terminal in Oklahoma  the key delivery hub for U.S. crude futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange  was up 1.16 million barrels from previous weeks level to 65.26 million barrels.

Following the third straight week of inventory rise, at 523.60 million barrels, current crude supplies are up 15% from the year-ago period and are at the highest level during this time of the year.

The crude supply cover  at 31.3 days  remained unchanged from the previous week. In the year-ago period, the supply cover was 26.8 days.

Sector Price Index

Sector Price Index

Gasoline: Supplies of gasoline were down for the second time in two weeks as demand strengthened. The 2.81 million barrels draw  comfortably exceeding the analysts polled number of 1.6 million barrels decrease in supply level  took gasoline stockpiles down to 235.38 million barrels. Despite last weeks decline, the existing stock of the most widely used petroleum product is 9% higher than the year-earlier level and is comfortably above the upper half of the average range.

Story continues

Distillate: Distillate fuel supplies (including diesel and heating oil) fell by 1.96 million barrels last week, as opposed to analysts expectations for an 400,000 barrels rise in inventory level. The decrease in distillate fuel stocks  for the third time in four weeks  could be attributed to lower production and strengthening demand. But at 151.20 million barrels, distillate supplies are still 2% higher than the year-ago level and are near the upper half of the average range for this time of the year.

Refinery Rates: Refinery utilization was down by 1.1% from the prior week to 92.2%.

About the Weekly Petroleum Status Report

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) Petroleum Status Report, containing data of the previous week ending Friday, outlines information regarding the weekly change in petroleum inventories held and produced by the U.S., both locally and abroad.

The report provides an overview of the level of reserves and their movements, thereby helping investors understand the demand/supply dynamics of petroleum products. It is an indicator of current oil prices and volatility that affect the businesses of the companies engaged in the oil and refining industry.

The data from EIA generally acts as a catalyst for crude prices and affect producers, such as Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM, Chevron Corp. CVX and ConocoPhillips COP, and refiners such as Valero Energy Corp. VLO, Phillips 66 PSX and HollyFrontier Corp. HFC.

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ZUG, SWITZERLAND--(Marketwired - Aug 10, 2016) - Panex Resources Inc. (OTC PINK:DBGF) (the "Company," or "Panex") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Farm-In agreement with Afrimines SARL, a company registered under the laws of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to acquire up to 90% direct interest in the highly prospective Matala Gold Project in the South Kivu Province, DRC. The Matala Gold Project is located at the southwestern end of the prolific Twangiza-Namoya Gold corridor where Banro Corp has defined to date, more than 17 Million Ounces ("Moz") of gold resources from four deposits adjacent to the project area. The main drill target, Kanana, is located within the Matala project area shown in Figure 1, and has the same geological setting as Banro's 8.6Moz Twangiza and 5.6Moz Lugushwa deposits. A 1,500m diamond drilling program is expected to commence mid-to-end August.

Matala Gold Project

The Matala Gold Project comprises 14 exploration permits for 1,967sqkm on the north-western edge of the Kibaran Belt, an intracontinental mobile belt located between the Congo and Tanzania cratons. The Kibaran belt and adjacent Tanzanian Craton host more than 70Moz of gold resources, currently being mined by Banro, AngloGold Ashanti, Barrick and Barra, in the well renowned, world class gold province.

Panex's initial focus will be to drill the high priority Kanana Prospect where channel sampling has identified high grade gold mineralisation along the fold axis of a major antiform, similar to that which hosts both the Twangiza and Lugushwa deposits.

Historic channel sampling across a 3000 metre long gold-in-soil anomaly shown in Figure 2 at Kanana returned a number of significant results including:

17m @ 2.51g/t Au

6m @ 2.55g/t Au

12m @ 3.03g/t Au

6m @ 4.37g/t Au

2m @ 12.95g/t Au

To view Figure 1. Matala Gold Project licences in red and location and Banro Corporation's gold deposits, please click the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160810-1065497_fig1.jpg

Story continues

Panex has contracted International Drilling Services SARL from Goma, DRC, to drill 5 diamond drill holes for 1,500 metre ("m") aimed at testing the mineralised fold axis over 1,100m of strike. The drill collars are positioned approximately 400m apart over the highest grade portion of the gold-in-soil and channel sampling anomaly shown in Figure 2. Holes will be drilled at -50 degrees towards the southwest across the fold axis of the northwest trending Kanana anticline.

Drilling is expected to intercept multiple zones of high-grade gold mineralised quartz veins, several metres wide, surrounded by broader, low to moderate grade disseminated sulphide quartz stock work zones tens of metres wide, across the fold axis.

Project Background

Historic exploration across the Matala Project undertaken by Afrimines in 2010, identified numerous geochemical anomalies (5 gold, 1 tin) which formed the basis of follow-up regional exploration undertaken by Regal Resources Ltd (RER.AX) between 2011 and 2014 (in a joint venture with Afrimines).

Regal's exploration focused on the two highest priority targets, Ngoy and Matala, with 51 holes drilled at Ngoy for 8,768m of diamond core and a JORC 2012 compliant Inferred Mineral Resource of 2 million tonnes ("Mt") at 3.3g/t gold ("Au") for 213,000oz Au estimated by CSA Global, Perth, Western Australia.

To view Figure 2. Gold-in-Soil anomalies and channel sample results and location of fold axis at Kanana, please click the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20160810-1065497_fig2l.jpg

Exploration at the Matala Project consisted of soil, rock chip, geological mapping and channel sampling. Kanana was advanced to the drilling stage following the delineation of a 3km long gold-in-soil anomaly (>100ppb Au) and in-situ, high-grade channel sample results, coinciding with the fold axis of a positively identified anticline. The anticline is interpreted to outcrop in the southeast and to gently plunge towards the northwest. Regal withdrew from the joint venture in 2015 to focus on a copper project in the Katanga Province in DRC. The highly prospective Kanana Prospect has not yet been drill tested.

Two styles on mineralisation have been identified at Kanana from channel sampling and geological mapping, both being associated with intense silica alteration. These are:

brecciated, ferruginous quartz veining <10cm up to 5m wide containing <1% pyrite. The veins are generally aligned to layering and foliation in outcrop (quartz vein-hosted gold mineralisation).





strongly silicified, foliated, schists containing 1 to 5% pyrite commonly containing bedding parallel quartz veins 1mm to 5mm thick (disseminated and stock work vein-hosted gold mineralisation).



The potential of known gold mineral occurrences within the remainder of the Matala Gold Project, including the mineral resource at Ngoy, will be further evaluated should results from the initial drilling at Kanana confirm the potential for discovery of significant gold mineralisation.

Terms of Agreement

Panex may earn an initial 51% interest in the Tenements by incurring:

expenditure totaling US$500,000 on the Tenements (Phase 1 Expenditure) during the period of 6 months after the Commencement Date (Phase 1 Period); and



expenditure totaling a further US$500,000 on the Tenements (Phase 2 Expenditure) during the period of 12 months after the Phase 1 Period (Phase 2 Period).

Panex may earn a further 19% interest to take its then aggregate interest to 70% by incurring a further US$3,000,000 in expenditure on the Tenements (Phase 3 Expenditure) during the period ending on the date that is 2 years after Panex has earned the Initial Interest (Phase 3 Period).

Panex can earn a further 10% interest (Phase 4 Interest) to take its then aggregate direct interest to 80% by incurring a further US$10,000,000 in expenditure on the Tenements (Phase 4 Expenditure) during the period ending on the date that is 3 years after Panex has earned the Phase 3 Interest (Phase 4 Period).

Upon completion of a Definitive Feasiblity Study ("DFS"), Panex shall also have the option to acquire up to a further 10% interest to take its then aggregate interest to 90% by payment to Afrimines of an amount determined through an independent valuation of the assets.

Panex is to fund all exploration to completion of a DFS.

Historic expenditure of US$12 million by Afrimines will be treated as a loan which will be recoverable from the proceeds of production within the first three years of commencement of production.

At any time after the Phase 1 Period, Panex may terminate the agreement, and Panex shall have no further obligation to make any expenditure in respect of the Tenements.

A vendor consideration of 125m shares in Panex and US$20,000 cash payment is due on closing of the transaction.

ON BEHALF OF PANEX

Mark Gasson

Chief Executive Officer

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains statements that plan for or anticipate the future, called "forward-looking statements." In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of those terms and other comparable terminology.

These forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this press release and include, but are not limited to, statements about: our market opportunity; revenue generation; our strategies; competition; expected activities and expenditures as we pursue our business plan; the adequacy of our available cash resources; our ability to acquire properties on commercially viable terms; challenges to our title to our properties; operating or technical difficulties in connection with our exploration and development activities; currency fluctuations; fluctuating market prices for precious and base metals; the speculative nature of precious and base metals exploration and development activities; environmental risks and hazards; governmental regulations; and conduct of operations in politically and economically less developed areas of the world.

Many of these contingencies and uncertainties can affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Specific reference is made to our most recent annual report on Form 10KSB and other filings made by us with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for more detailed discussions of the contingencies and uncertainties enumerated above and the factors underlying the forward-looking statements. These reports and filings may be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can obtain information about operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov.

We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.

This press release is for informational purposes only and is not and should not be construed as an offer to solicit, buy, or sell any security.
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The ACT government will turn its attention to helping greyhound trainers "transition", as a bill to ban the sport is rushed through the NSW Parliament.

A NSW ban  which would begin in July next year  would effectively spell the end of racing in the territory, because of how local trainers are licensed.

The ACT government plans to no longer support greyhound racing in the territory. Credit:Melissa Adams

The territory's greyhound trainers are regulated in NSW, so they would not have a licence to race if the neighbouring state's ban went ahead.

The NSW bill to ban greyhound racing passed through the state's upper house on Wednesday, after it was officially declared "urgent".
It has wine critics in Australia and overseas reaching for new superlatives as Clonakilla's 2015 Shiraz Viognier is due to be released next month.

But the first public outing of the legendary red from Murrumbateman will be in the humble surrounds of St Thomas More's Holy Faith Hall in Campbell on September 2.

Clonakilla's 2015 Shiraz Viognier has been put in the same realm as Penfolds Grange. Credit:David Reist

Clonakilla's winemaker Tim Kirk has agreed to host a wine tasting for the parish including a drop or two of the 2015 Shiraz Viognier, which reviewer Nick Stock, on the influential jamessuckling.com, has put in the same stratosphere as Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace. James Halliday gave the "masterpiece" a pretty damn good 98/100 while another critic Mike Bennie gave the "new classic" 97/100.

Kirk, who once considered the priesthood, and who has a background teaching theology, has spoken at the St Thomas More forums and is a prominent lay person in the Catholic community.
The public has helped police identify two men involved in a graffiti spree in Isabella Plains on Saturday morning, during which St Mary Mackillop College was damaged.

At about 8:30am, ACT Policing officers were called to reports of graffiti at the school grounds and arrived to find damage to the front entrance doors, as well as tiles, walls and windows of multiple buildings.

police thanked the community for their assistance in finding the criminals involved in a Tuggeranong graffiti spree.

Shortly after, police found more graffiti on businesses and cars at the Isabella Plains shops on Kadina Street.

Officer in charge at Tuggeranong Police Station, Chris Meagher, said the officers were appalled by the offensive nature, language and images of the graffiti.
The feedback was mostly positive, but consultant Roz Chivers described some responses as simply racist.

It was hoped changing one of the public holidays to mark Reconciliation Day would help promote unity and healing, and recognise the significant contribution of Indigenous Australians in the ACT.

The ACT government is planning to replace the Queen's birthday or family and community public holiday, and hired a consultant to gauge community views.

A proposal to hold a public holiday on Reconciliation Day has drawn "outright racist" responses from a minority of Canberrans.

"Those not in support typically saw this as an attack on the monarchy and republicanism by stealth; didn't understand that this was a celebration for all Australians not just the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community or were racist," she wrote in her final report.

Some of those opposed to the idea described it as "divisive", "gratuitous", and "pandering" to a small portion of the population.

One respondent wrote: "What is being proposed is an insult and a mockery of our history. Atrocities have occurred on this land as they have occurred elsewhere in the world but we should stop dragging up the past and dwelling on the 'victim' status."

The overwhelming majority believed having a Reconciliation Day public holiday would be "brilliant", showed "maturity", and would help to reflect on Australia's history while finding "unity in moving forward".

Of 94 submissions, 70 were in support, 14 against, and 10 were unsure.
Travis Cloke's future at Collingwood is set to come into focus yet again after the Magpies spearhead was axed for the third time this AFL season.

Cloke had 11 touches in the Pies' loss to Richmond last week and has kicked just two goals in his last three games.

He was sent back to the VFL for six weeks earlier this season.

And although he managed four goals in a match-winning display against Greater Western Sydney in round 16, his form has been poor otherwise.
The benefits to consumers are sometimes harder to see. There are obvious risks, of course, in posting your location and activities online, particularly if they are seen by people who don't like you very much. But there are benefits too. Your personal information feeds into a better informed market for exchanges. You might pay full price for this breakfast, but perhaps you'll benefit from a future discount targeted at consumers like you. Perhaps more restaurants will open up in your area to target consumers like you. It's easy to focus on the potential downsides of revealing more of your information online, but the digital era has opened up a world of new possibilities for mutually agreeable exchanges. And privacy is the currency of this new economy. When you leave a review on Trip Advisor, Amazon, or Airbnb, it leaves you vulnerable to retaliation from that service provider. But you also contribute valuable information to the market which helps others to consume better. You benefit, in turn, when others do the same.

The digital economy and fast global transportation has opened up previously undreamed of possibilities for consumption. A Persian rug? Delivered to your door. Those shoes in your exact size? Coming right up. Deeper markets increase possibilities for consumption, while deeper information about participants in that market  particularly bad sellers and bad buyers  helps increase the quality of that consumption. Information helps you avoid doing dud deals. Employers want to know they are hiring someone who lives up to their talk. Consumers want to know they are buying from a reputable dealer. The possibility for bad reviews encourages both buyers and sellers to act more scrupulously, lifting standards and trust across the market. This only encourages more exchanges of mutual benefit. There are obvious downsides, of course, to giving up some of your privacy  particularly for those with something to hide, like a criminal record or childhood convictions. There are public interest arguments as to why we might want to protect some individuals by keeping some information out of the market place. And there is a wider downside to companies knowing too much about your preferences. When companies know a lot about what you have paid for things in the past, or what people like you have paid, they have a better ability to price discriminate against you. Price discrimination is charging different customers a different price for the same good. Sellers want to be able to charge the maximum each customer is willing to pay.

Apple, for instance, cottoned on early that Australians are willing to pay quite a lot for online purchases of music and movies. We're still paying the price for that. Generally, in bargaining scenarios, it's better if your bargaining partner doesn't know what you would be willing to pay, otherwise known as your "reservation price". You want them to believe it is much lower, so that you can get the same enjoyment for a lower price. In this new era of big data, companies have a better idea of what consumers' reservation prices are, helping them to maximise profits. Of course, in open market, sellers who charge too much will soon face new competition. Although the ability of some companies to sustain monopolies or duopolies in the online space has confounded many economists' expectations, mostly due to winner-takes-all network effects  everyone wants to be on the biggest network. But before we go donning that tin foil hat and retreating from the online space, it's important to remember the benefits of freer exchange of information. That school friend you've reconnected with on Facebook. That awesome little place you stayed at in south Melbourne through Airbnb. That Uber driver who charged half the price of a taxi. Negotiating this new online landscape will require care and diligence from policy makers to protect the vulnerable. It will require strong competition laws to ensure new players don't just start erecting barriers to entry like the old.
The Senate results showed once again that it is the upper house not the lower house that deserves to be called the people's house. While the Senate voting system does privilege the smaller states over the more populous states of NSW and Victoria and is therefore not a one-vote one-value system, within each state the final result is more democratic in that voter preferences are given free rein. The result meant that in the six states where proportional representation meant something, 20 of the 72 Senate seats went to minor parties and independents (nine to the Greens and 11 to the so-called crossbench. Each state elected at least one Green and at least one other crossbencher (an average of more than three per state).

But here too state differences were notable. One Nation won three of its four Senate seats in Queensland and Western Australia while NXT won its three in South Australia. The two free-market conservatives, Leyonhjelm and Day, won in NSW and SA. One of the major parties, Labor, was reduced to just three out of 12 senators in South Australia and non-major parties won five of the 12 Senate seats in that state.

The result in the Senate surprised the experts. They generally got both the numbers and the mix wrong. Before the election there was a widespread consensus that the Senate voting reforms would reduce the number of crossbenchers because too much of their success was attributed by experts and the media to the voting system and not enough to serious disaffection with the major parties. Too little attention was given to the fall in the major party vote and the attraction of the "anyone but a major party" idea in the community. This misled both Turnbull and the crossbench itself, which feared the worst, took the reforms to the High Court unsuccessfully, and were favourably surprised by the outcome.

The mix was also not well predicted. One Nation's result was certainly at the high end of expert expectations. The party was once again underestimated. Likewise the return of both Day and Leyonhjelm was beyond most expectations. And as the count proceeded the unexpected distribution of voter preferences in several states meant that even those experts who were meticulously following the count got the final seat wrong. So if the Coalition and the Greens wanted to promote voter choice when they introduced the reforms they certainly got it in spades in ways they never predicted.

John Warhurst is an emeritus professor of political science at the Australian National University
In Phillip Noyce's enjoyably daft thriller there's only a trace of that fluid, voluble sense of wanton emotion that characterised Angelina Jolie's early roles, when she was like some kind of unchecked natural event, but it underscores the deftly composed action scenes. Jolie's Evelyn Salt is a veteran CIA agent who debriefs a Russian defector only to be told that she is a traitor  on the run from her colleagues, she goes from blonde to black widow as she tries to protect her innocent husband while solving the conspiracy. Eschewing the modern predilection for over-editing and spatial disorientation, Noyce spotlights Jolie as an avenging angel who can't be stopped; not even a fortified presidential bunker deep underground can keep her out. This is Jolie's forte as a movie star, taking a male archetype  Salt was written for Tom Cruise  and outdoing the boys while maintaining her femininity.

Craig Mathieson

Genius: Planes

SBS, 9.35pm

Next time you're sitting in a silver tube 10 kilometres high, trying to wrestle the top off a lunch container without spilling tomato sauce down your shirt while wondering whether the cabin crew will peg you as a lush if you ask for another tiny bottle of chardie, spare a thought for the Wright brothers and that less well know aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss. Of course, you've heard of the Wilbur and Orville, probably via a paragraph in a school textbook, but it's worth remembering that some of the stuff they got up to was seriously sketchy, even resulting in the first fatal air crash. The unfortunate victim on that occasion was one Thomas Selfridge, who happened also to be a close pal of their bitter rival, Curtiss, which made things a touch awkward between them, to say the least. All this aerial derring-do is recounted in this flawed documentary. The central issue facing the filmmakers is that, obviously, there is not a lot of footage around from the era so to spice things up they rely extensively on dramatic recreations of imagined scenes, populated almost exclusively by chaps in flat caps, hairy suits and bow ties. Thus we get Wilbur staring at a bird in the sky wondering what it would be like to fly, while the gravelly voiced narrator intones, "For Wilbur, bicycles are not enough." Later, after a big crash, tough-guy Curtiss declares: "We fly again tomorrow." The overblown comic effect is not helped by the intrusive musical accompaniment that runs through every dramatic cliche in the film composer's handbook. It's rather a shame, because the bravery, persistence and inventiveness of these pioneers are remarkable and more than enough to carry the story without the need for quite so many bells and whistles.

NG
Stepping outside is like "walking into a fire", said Zainab Guman, a 26-year-old university student who lives in Basra. "It's like everything on your body - your skin, your eyes, your nose - starts to burn," she said. Guman has rarely left home during daylight hours since June, when temperatures started rising above 49 degrees and metal objects outside turned into searing-hot hazards. About that time, Aymen Karim also began feeling trapped. The 28-year-old engineer at a government-run oil company in Basra said employees were ordered to stay at home for several days over the past month. He and his family try not to go outside before 7pm.

"We're prisoners," Karim said. Bassem Antoine, an Iraqi economist, said the weather has inflicted serious damage to the country's economy. He estimates that Iraq's output - about $US230 billion ($US298 billion) annually - has probably contracted between 10 and 20 per cent during the summer heat. Iraqi officials say scores of farmers around the country have been struggling with wilting crops, and general workforce productivity has decreased. And hospitals have seen an uptick in the number of people suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion. Tens of thousands of Iraqis displaced by battles between government forces and Islamic State militants have endured the heat in tents and other makeshift shelters. Humanitarian organisations have been unable to reach all of them because of budget constraints, restrictions by Iraq's government and risks associated with operating in war zones.

"A lot of these people are probably dying, but it's hard to know," said an official at an aid organisation who was not authorised to discuss the issue publicly, so spoke on the condition of anonymity. In Baghdad, the temperature measured at its international airport has reached 43 degrees or higher nearly every day since June 19. The government has declared multiple mandatory official holidays because of the heat. Even when that happens, many public employees have turned up to work anyway because of the constant airconditioning available at government offices. Most Iraqi homes and businesses suffer daily power cuts for 12 hours or more. And most Iraqis - unlike their rich neighbours in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - are too poor to afford 24-hour airconditioning anyway. Such a luxury requires paying expensive fees for gas-powered generators. During daylight hours, Baghdad's streets are empty, but some businesses remain open. It's either sweat at work or starve at home, said Eissa Mohsen, who owns a fruit stand in the Karrada area of downtown Baghdad.

"Look over there. That's an airconditioning unit, but I can't afford to pay the generator fees to run it," he said at his stall recently. The immediate cause of all this is a stubborn high-pressure system, but a fundamental shift in the country's weather patterns appears to be taking place, said Mahmoud Abdul-latif, spokesman of Iraq's meteorological department. In Baghdad, he said, the number of days with temperatures at 48 degrees or higher have more than doubled in recent years. "If you look back 40 years ago, you'd have these temperatures for four or five days, but then the wind would kick up dust and that would cool the surface. That's just not happening now," he said. Climate scientists say this shouldn't be surprising. A study published by the journal Nature Climate Change in October predicted that heat waves in parts of the Persian Gulf could threaten human survival toward the end of the century.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Cyprus Institute in Nicosia recently predicted a similarly grim fate for the Middle East and North Africa, a vast area currently home to about half a billion people. The region's governments are generally not prepared to deal with rapidly growing populations and climactic shifts, Francesca de Chatel, an Amsterdam-based expert on Middle Eastern water issues, said. For years, they have failed to address these problems adequately despite warnings from climate experts and UN agencies, and it may be too late now, she said. The UN predicts that 22 Arab countries' population of about 400 million people would grow to nearly 600 million by 2050. That would place tremendous stress on countries where climate scientists predict significantly lower rainfall and saltier groundwater from rising sea levels. Already, most countries in the region face acute water crises because of dry climates, rapidly surging consumption and wasteful agricultural practices. Analysts cite inadequate government handling of an unprecedented drought in Syria as a trigger for the country's devastating civil war, which has produced extraordinary refugee flows that have spilled into Europe. Last year, Iraqis rallied in Baghdad against their government's inability to provide enough electricity during another scorching summer heat wave. Little, if anything, resulted from those demonstrations. According to some estimates, Iraq's population of about 33 million will nearly double by 2050.

"The countries in the region are not prepared to cope with the effects of climate change," de Chatel said. Such a blistering future doesn't seem like a far-off possibility to Arkan Farhan, 33, who lives with his family near Baghdad in a tin hut at a camp for people displaced by Islamic State. Last month, he said, he contracted typhoid from a communal water source that has become particularly crowded - and filthy - this summer. To cool off, his sons use it to fill a pan for bathing. Earlier this month, his 69-year-old father, Jassam, was rushed to the hospital after passing out from the heat. "Fortunately, he was only bruised. He didn't break any bones," Farhan said of his father while sitting in his sweltering shack.
More than three-quarters of Australians say they would oppose a popular vote on their right to marry, a new survey has found.

The latest research from a breakaway group campaigning against the Turnbull government's decision to hold plebiscite on same-sex marriage shows 36 per cent of respondents support a popular vote on same-sex marriage when asked to consider their own right to marry.

The Galaxy survey of 1000 Australians, commissioned by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, found 76 per cent of respondents would not be happy if they needed popular support before getting married.

Long-time same-sex marriage advocate Rodney Croome said: "It's clear that when everyday Australians are encouraged to walk in the shoes of LGBTIQ people, they reject a plebiscite."
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has blocked the NSW government's planned sale of electricity distributor Ausgrid to foreign companies, citing national security issues, in a preliminary decision that could have broader implications for foreign investment in Australia.

Two bidders, the Chinese government-owned State Grid Corporation and the Hong Kong-based company Cheung Kong Infrastructure, had been in the running to secure the 99-year lease for the 50.4 per cent stake, in a deal that was expected to be worth about $10 billion to the state government.

Mr Morrison said on Thursday that, after carefully considering the two bids: "The foreign investment proposals put to me for this transaction are contrary to the national interest, in accordance with the required provision on the grounds of national security.

"I have invited the bidders to make submissions to me by 18 August 2016 in order to make a final decision after that time."
Hillary Clinton has delivered a major economic speech pitched to the middle class, meeting Trump on issues like manufacturing and trade. "We are builders and we need to get back to building," she said. She also pledged every American home will be connected to broadband by 2020. China, Germany or the US will be the renewable energy superpower of the future, Clinton says. "I want it to be us!" [Guardian recap] 2. Twin blasts in Thailand Two bombs have exploded at the Thai tourist resort Hua Hin, with reports suggesting one local woman has been killed and 11 people, including foreigners, sustaining injuries. [Fairfax]

While bombings are not rare in Thailand, attacks in tourist areas are, reports Jonathan Head. [BBC] 3. Migrants and refugees to hand over smartphones instead of passports. Migrants convicted of minor crimes could be deported faster under a counter-terror policy unveiled by the German government. But before they get there, they could be required to hand over their smart phones and social media accounts if they lack a passport. [The Guardian] Interior Minister Thomas de Maizire announced a 2 billion increase in funding for the police and the creation of a new counter cyber team to fight terrorism on the internet. The government will further consult with the medical profession about a plan to force doctors to report their patients if they suspect them of planning an attack.

One of the most interesting aspects is inclusion of integrated teachers to recognise war trauma in refugees and migrants considered susceptible to radicalisation. [Deutsche Welle] The Minister rejected calls to ban the burqa. 4. Small time 'hactivists' responsible for Census Fail Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison. Credit:Daniel Munoz We may never know the true origins of whatever it was that brought down the census website in Tuesday night, hobbling Malcolm Turnbull's already flailing political authority. Experts doubt it was a foreign entity (read China), beliving it was more likely a few small-scale hactivists or professionals marketing their ability to disrupt websites. Which makes sense, if it were China wouldn't they want to penetrate the system to access the information, rather than prevent it from being collected? [David Wroe/Fairfax] The census was restored online nearly 48 hours after first collapsing. Bureaucrats will pay, Turnbull is warning. [James Massola,Michael Koziol/Fairfax]

To some cracking comment pieces - One of the best I've read on the whole census debacle is from David Penberthy. He writes the inability to mix politics, PR and technology properly has vindicated the stunts from Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Nick Xenophon. [Adelaide Advertiser] His piece includes this cracking line: "While our nation has now celebrated a decade without a properly functioning federal government" - a similar theme to former Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson who says Malcolm Turnbull has joined the ranks of Gillard-Rudd-Abbott in being a colossal disappointment. (Although this suggests the public had an investment in Abbott which I highly doubt). [The Australian] Press gallery veteran Michelle Grattan sounds almost despairing as she writes off hopes for any meaningful reform in this term. [The Conversation] NT Chief Minister Adam Giles is accusing the ABC of plotting to oust his CLP Government with its Four Corners program highlight the treatment of juvenile detainees. [James Oaten/ABC] Presumably Malcolm Turnbull's decision to call a Royal Commission into the allegations raised are part of the conspiracy?!

And former New South Wales Premier and Labor foreign minister Bob Carr says Treasurer Scott Morrison caved into the "witch's Sabbath" stirred up in the recent federal election ie. rising populism, by blocking Chinese interests from buying half of the state's electricity grid. [Sean Nicholls/Fairfax] 5. Arianna Huffington to leave Huff Post Arianna Huffington, pictured at the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscar party, is stepping down as editor-in-chief. Credit:AP The 66-year old, who wrote two books about preventing burnout after fainting from exhaustion, has no plans to retire. Huffington is quitting as editor in chief of Huff Post to launch a new start up, Thrive Global, which will train businesses on how to build a sustainable work/life balance. [My report/Fairfax]
More than half the academic and professional jobs will go from Sydney College of the Arts as the University of Sydney downsizes its fine arts program and moves it to the main campus, following the collapse of a planned merger with UNSW's art school.

Jewellery, ceramics and glassmaking programs, described as "more resource intensive mediums", will be scrapped, and the university will not accept any commencing students in visual arts degrees in 2017.

Senior lecturer in jewellery Dr Karin Findeis, who is expecting now to lose her job, said "there is great sadness" among staff who were surprised by the level of job cuts.

The university's plans for its fine arts school have been laid out in detail for the first time in a "change proposal" document that was given to staff and students on Tuesday, indicating 25 of the 43 full-time equivalent positions will be cut.
She was the trusted best friend called upon to perform the "boyfriend test", and from the moment she met Michael James Quinn at community markets she did not like him.

In the Supreme Court on Thursday, Medina Hasic described the man accused of fatally stabbing her childhood friend as insecure, controlling and overbearing.

Michael Quinn appears in Kiama Court in July 2013 charged with murder. Credit:Andy Zakeli

"I think that he was obsessed with her and he wasn't planning to live without her," Ms Hasic said.

Mr Quinn is accused of stabbing his on-off girlfriend Cherie Vize, 25, in the neck, before stabbing himself, on the front lawn of the Wollongong home where he lived with his parents in July 2013.
Days before the March 2015 NSW election, tensions over the Baird government's proposal to privatise the state's electricity assets were running high.

Unions had unleashed a TV ad warning of the national security implications of selling assets such as transmission company Transgrid to Chinese government-owned State Grid Corp.

NSW Premier Mike Baird's rhetoric has come back to bite him. Credit:Fiona Morris

Then-NSW Treasurer Andrew Constance slammed the ad as a "racist rant", while Mike Baird declared it a "disgraceful scare campaign".

The slagging match over StateGrid continued after the election.
The Sydney doctor in charge of Sydney's lone supervised injecting centre has decried as "hurtful" and "offensive" suggestions by the NSW deputy premier that the centre was trying to "tout" for business among pregnant women.

The Medically Supervised Injecting Centre, brought into Kings Cross in 2001 in response to a heroin epidemic, is undergoing a mandatory review.

Marianne Jauncey in the injecting centre in Kings Cross. Credit:Janie Barrett

Submissions to that review included calls to allow pregnant women and children older than 16 to use the centre.

That submission was immediately dismissed as "ludicrous" by Deputy Premier Troy Grant.
With her stiletto heels, sleek clothes and perfectly groomed hair, Kirsty Dayment is not someone whom you might typically expect to be an accused drug dealer.

But the glamorous Sydney model and socialite and her then boyfriend Nicholas James Riganias have been accused by police of selling drugs, including ecstasy and cocaine, from his Coogee Beach studio apartment.

Sydney model and socialite Kirsty Dayment, left, with a reporter outside Central Local Court on Thursday. Credit:Melanie Kembrey

In the Central Local Court on Thursday, lawyers indicated that Ms Dayment and Mr Riganias intended to enter guilty pleas to at least some of the drug-related charges.

Prosecutor Chris Allison said the charges had not yet been settled nor an agreed-upon statement of facts determined.
Detectives have made a major breakthrough in a two-year murder investigation after a tip-off led police to the remains of missing mother-of-two Carly McBride.

Ms McBride had been missing since September 2014, when she visited her child at her ex-partner's home at Muswellbrook in the NSW Hunter region.

Her boyfriend waited to pick her up after the visit, but she never arrived.

Family and friends slowly lost hope she would be found alive, and on Sunday her skeletal remains were found in bushland west of Scone.
A Brisbane chef was bludgeoned to death so severely parts of his skull shattered into fragments and his brain tissue was torn, a jury has heard.

James Thomas Howell on Thursday pleaded not guilty to murdering chef Peter Milos on May 4, 2014.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay with slain Brisbane chef Peter Milos. Credit:Mariosarti.com.au

The Brisbane Supreme Court jury heard the chef's body was found face down at a Morningside property with 14 abrasions and lacerations to his head and parts of his skull shattered into fragments.

Forensic analysis suggested he had suffered "repeated blows with a heavy object using severe force", Crown Prosecutor Vicki Loury said.
A Queensland woman has formally pleaded guilty to three counts of bestiality.

Jenna Louise Driscoll, 26, faced Brisbane District Court on Thursday, where she also entered guilty pleas to three drug-related matters.

Jenna Louise Driscoll has pleaded guilty to bestiality and drugs charges. Credit:Robert Shakespeare

She is expected to be sentenced on November 3.

AAP
Two men have been told to stop trying to climb a treacherous Queensland mountain after they had to be winched to safety in their second forced rescue in two months.

The friends, 54 and 63, were airlifted from a perilous cliff face on Thursday evening after getting lost close to the peak of Mount Barney, near the New South Wales border.

They called police for help about 2pm after taking the wrong track to the summit and getting lost but the LifeFlight rescue helicopter had to be called in when police and SES couldn't reach them in time.

In a statement, a LifeFlight spokesman said it was the second time the pair had been rescued from the mountain in two months.
Uber and ride-sharing services in Queensland will be legal from early September - with the taxi industry to be compensated with a $100 million "transition package" to be funded by the Palaszczuk government.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe announced the package on Thursday, announcing it would include "one-off" payments of up to $40,000 for existing taxi licence holders - $20,000 a licence, capped at two licences, with limousine licence holders receiving up to $10,000.

The fund, which Mr Hinchliffe said would come from government funds, not a levy on trips, would also include a $26.7 million "hardship fund" taxi licence holders would be able to apply for, to ease the transition.

Fees for the taxi industry would be waived up to the tune of $4.3 million with a further $3.75 million available for the taxi industry to improve their business.
Perhaps delaying sex until you are 150 is the secret to longevity.

It seems to be working for the Greenland shark.

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen and Oxford have used a novel technique to determine that the giant carnivore that hunts in the north Atlantic is the world's longest living vertebrate.

Living up to 400 years means that the oldest of this species started hunting freezing waters when Pope Paul V was persecuting Galileo, Pocahontas arrived in England and Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog landed in Shark Bay, Western Australia.
An elderly Reservoir man is missing after he failed to return from supermarket shopping on Thursday morning.

Police would like to find Antonio Pesce, 78, who told his family he was driving to IGA in Reservoir and would return about 10.30am.

Police are appealing for assistance to help locate Antonio Pesce.

His family reported him missing at 5.45pm, when he didn't return to his Hughes Road home.

Police received reports that his vehicle, a silver 2007 Toyota Corolla sedan with registration UMT674, was seen driving erratically south on Plenty Road in Whittlesea about 5.15pm.
A man has been carjacked while unloading groceries from his car outside his home in Melbourne's south-east.

Two balaclava-clad thieves ambushed the man outside his Albert Road home in Hallam about 3pm on Thursday.

They demanded the car keys and assaulted the man before taking off in his Holden Commodore SS.

The victim suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital.

A short time later, the car was found abandoned beside the Belgrave/Hallam Road Monash Freeway on-ramp, having crashed into some bushes.
A man will testify in court against his wife and her teenage daughter, who are accused of attempting to murder him with poisoned meatballs and a weedkiller cocktail.

Joanne Debono, 53 of Gowanbrae, and Shannon Debono, 19, have both been charged with attempted murder and intentionally causing injury over an alleged attack on Stephen Debono on March 12, 2016, at their family home.

Shannon De Bono and her mother have both been charged with attempted murder. Credit:Eddie Jim

They will contest the charges.

Mr Debono told a witness he planned to kill the pair for their roles in the alleged murder plot, according to documents tendered at an earlier court hearing.
Dr Harris believed the location at Metricup was suitable because of the infrastructure already established at the property and farming opportunities which would have been incorporated into the rehabilitation program. Dr Harris said he was disappointed at the decision made by the council and that the application was supported and recommended by the city's planning department. "The councillors all agreed that there exists an urgent need for the establishment of such a facility somewhere in the South West," he said. "However, after considerable debate, the application was not supported. "We have looked at a number of other properties between Bunbury and Augusta but because of the existing infrastructure and the agricultural nature of the property, this particular one was ideal, fitting all the criteria."

Dr Harris said since the meeting he had received a lot of support from community members from Busselton to Margaret River who wanted the facility to go ahead in the South West. "We are currently considering our options," he said. Councillor Rob Bennett, who spoke against the development, said it was ironic so much effort had gone into the Margaret River brand and now someone wanted to capitalise on it to pitch a rehabilitation facility to patients. Mr Bennett said Margaret River was recognised for wine and 70 per cent of the people who would attend the facility were likely to have issues with alcohol. Mayor Grant Henley and councillors Gordon Bleechmore and Paul Carter all said there would be better locations in the region to develop the facility.

Mr Henley said while he thought a rehabilitation centre that could offer serenity and privacy was needed in the region, he did not believe the Metricup location was the right fit. Councillor Terry Best said a drug and alcohol treatment centre was urgently needed in Busselton but voted against the facility. Deputy mayor Coralie Tarbotton said she could not support the facility because the proponent had failed to conduct a public consultation with nearby residents. Councillors Robert Reekie and Ross Paine were the only councillors who voted in favour of the facility going ahead at the Metricup location. Mr Reekie said he was disappointed with the outcome but understood it was a hard decision for all the councillors.

Mr Reekie established the Mates Men's Support Group 14 years ago in Busselton and has become the go to person for men's issues in the South West. "We have a drug and alcohol problem in the area and it is getting worse, we need a facility to combat the problem," he said. Mr Reekie said there was a misconception about people who had problems with drugs and alcohol who were often perceived as hardcore criminals. "Not everyone with a drug problem is on smack or meth," he said. "People with drug and alcohol problems are not rapists or murderers, there is a distinct difference between hardcore criminals and people with a problem.

"There is no demographic for it, they are not just down and out people who have no vision." Mr Reekie said he maintained his position that having a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in a tourism area would give people the serenity they needed while they received treatment. "We cannot put this type of a facility in the middle of the light industrial area," he said. While he was disappointed with the outcome at the council meeting Mr Reekie hoped the proponent would look elsewhere in the area to establish a similar service. On August 9 the Mail published an article online and on social media about the rehabilitation facility going before council.
A crane has gone up in flames causing $500,000 worth of damage at a building site in Perth's northern suburbs.

Police on patrol in Gnangara heard explosions and found a mobile crane alight at a Fellowship Road and Blaze Road just after midnight.

The fire caused several explosions, apparently heard by residents as far away as Darch and Landsdale.

Speaking from the scene on Thursday morning 9 News reporter Rebecca Johns said the vibrations from the suspected arson attack shook homes in and around the area.
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PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin announced on Wednesday that the amendments that have to be made to St. Maartens constitution were sent to the parliament of St. Maarten for the house to schedule a meeting to debate it. The amendment is aimed at curtailing ship-jumping.

Marlin said he does not know if the Parliament of St. Maarten will debate and vote on the issue in the September 26th elections. He said in order for that amendment to be legal the government would need a two-thirds majority in the parliament (10 votes) before it is accepted. Another point Marlin raised on this topic he said that even if all 15 MPs on St. Maarten votes in favor of an amendment, the Kingdom Council of Ministers would still have to adopt it and if they dont then St. Maarten cannot make use of the amendment.

The Prime Minister said since the negative advice St. Maarten got from the Kingdom Council there have been some teleconference meetings held between the legal arms of the Kingdom and St. Maarten to trash out the issue.

The Prime Minister made clear that the Kingdom cannot apply their rules on St. Maarten when it comes to changing certain parts of the constitution. He said that the Kingdom Council has to take St. Maartens reality into consideration when it comes to the problems the country is facing.

He also mentioned that the Council of Advice on St. Maarten had raised some concerns about the electoral reform process.

Another piece of legislation that was sent to the Parliament of St. Maarten is the voting rights of students studying in the Netherlands. Marlin further explained that this has become a hot topic because several persons expressed their concerns and felt that there is some kind of segregation. He said persons that are from St. Maarten and living in the BES islands are also complaining while persons that are ill and is off-island for medical treatment feel they too have the right to vote if they are overseas for medical reasons. Marlin said some years ago St. Maarten got rid of the voting by proxy for good reasons and they do not want to re-introduce that system again. He said that students that are in the Netherlands are not living in the Netherlands by choice, they left the island to study there and as such, they do need to have a say in their country since at some point they will return back to their homeland to live and work.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Friday, August 12th, 2016, is International Youth Day (IYD), as declared by the United Nations. This day presents an opportunity for every country to assess their investment in and commitment to their young people.

The IYD will be commemorated on Sint Maarten by having a Youth Congress, to be held on Friday, August 12th from 1:00-5:00pm at the University of St. Martin in Philipsburg, hosted by the Sint Maarten Christian Party (SMCP). The Youth Congress is open to all young people, especially between the ages of 10 and 26.

The SMCP recognizes the importance of involving our youth in the development of Sint Maarten. The Youth Congress is not about a political party but about allowing our young people to lend their voice to the issues at hand in the country. There will not be any discussion about elections but about the youth's perspective on issues that affect them. The SMCP has established a committee to organize this event, which will be held every two.

We encourage the youth of St. Maarten to attend this congress and be the voice of the nation.

"Young people are not only our future -- they are our present" - Director-General of UNESCO
Acting Director August Emmanuel stripped.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The civil case the IND director Udo Aron brought against the Minister of Justice Edison Kirindongo to reinstate him to his job was heard in court on Wednesday. According to information SMN News received, Aron was not heard by the National Detectives since the Attorney General ordered the investigation that the Minister of Justice on St Maarten requested. When the Minister of Justice was informed that the investigation would take place he suspended Aron. However, at the time Aron kept the vehicle and telephone he obtained from the government but later turned over the vehicle back to the Ministry when he was asked to return the vehicle.

SMN News learnt that Aron felt that he was sent home and was never heard, the only thing he was asked was to provide a report on the incident that took place on May 5th, 2016 at PJIAE when he brought in a woman from the Dominican Republic who did not have a visa to enter St. Maarten.

According to sources close to Aron said that even though Aron was suspended pending an investigation into the incident that took place on May 5th, 2016, he was never heard by the National Detectives, thus he decided to challenge the Minister of Justice through the courts to reinstate him back to his position.

SMN News learned that the woman was denied a visa by the Dutch consulate in the Dominican Republic but Aron granted her a visa waiver to enter the country. He also traveled with the woman on the same Insel Air flight back to St. Maarten when an immigration officer refused to stamp the woman passport, Aron then decided to walk the woman through even though she was not processed by immigration.

However, during the handling of the civil hearing on Wednesday, a prosecutor was present and it was in court that Aron was handed a letter informing him that he was fired. Minister of Justice Edison Kirindongo confirmed that Aron was given the letter in court to inform him that he was officially fired, the Minister also confirmed that the offices of IND were searched by the National Detectives.

SMN News further learned that after the case was handled, a team of detectives rushed to the home and office of the suspended IND Director and conducted a house search.

The spokesman for the Prosecutors Office Gino Bernadina was asked by SMN News why did the National Detectives take this long to act on the case, why they did not hear the suspect and why did they wait until after the civil hearing to present Aaron with a set of documents and also searched his home. Bernadina promised to provide the information as soon as he obtained it.

In the meantime the acting director August Emmanuel was stripped of his position as Acting Director of IND who was at PJIAE when Aron committed the act, SMN News learnt that Emmanuel got upset when Richard Panneflec was appointed Acting Director of IND and refused to respect or accept the Minister's decision. A well-placed source stated that Emmanuel went to the Minister and told him that he better make the situation clear because he is in possession of a Ministerial Beschikking to replace Aron whenever he is not on the job.

Based on those statements, the SMN News learnt that the Minister was forced to revoke the MB Emmanuel had in order to make Richard Panneflec the Acting Director of IND. SMN News further learnt that August Emmanuel has since reported sick and is not working ever since his MB was revoked.

In a press release from the Prosecutor's Office it states the following:--

House search in 'ROBALO investigation

In connection with the criminal investigation code name ROBALO, a house search was carried out on Wednesday, August 10th, 2016 at the home of the (suspended) Director of Immigration, U.G.A. (55) and in the offices of the Immigration and Border Protection Service. The search was led by the Judge of Instruction and a Prosecutor. Important documents, digital data carriers and telephone(s) were confiscated.

This investigation started in May 2016 under the authority of the Prosecutor's Office and is being carried out by the National Detective Agency (Landsrecherche). U.G.A. is suspected of human smuggling committed on the 5th of May 2016 and other criminal offenses related thereto. No arrests have been made in this investigation. The investigation is in full swing, so possible arrests cannot be ruled out.
PHILIPSBURG:--- There have been several comments circulating on social media and in the opinion pages of the newspapers which Minister Lee provided clarity on in the Press Briefing on Wednesday.

Is the bidder qualified?

The tripartite worked together with Royal HaskoningDHV, one of the largest and most experienced hospital engineer in the Netherlands, to determine which companies would be able to qualify. During the pre-qualification, all the candidates, including INSO, had to provide financial statements to ensure they are financially stable, references for previous projects, company profiles. Those reference project for hospitals were extensively checked by the evaluation committee supported by Royal HaskoningDHV. The 5 candidates, including INSO that was selected for the bid all, passed the due diligence phase and scored the highest points from the due diligence. INSO is a large and international construction company and has proven experience in building large and smaller hospitals all over the world and in the Caribbean region.

Many persons are also referencing the hospital in St. Lucia which was built by INSO, which is now not operational. Therefore Minister Lee took the liberty to contact the Prime Minister of St. Lucia who happens to a close friend and colleague from the tourism sector to inquire about that specific project. The issue is not that the project was not properly executed, the problem lies in the fact that the medical equipment that was placed in the building was a high specification which the staff needs the training to be able to operate. St. Maarten will not experience this challenge as the equipment will be purchased with consensus from SMMC.

Is the Price too Low? Why the big price difference?

Minister Lee explained that the price difference is based on the way the terms of reference was set up. In the terms of reference, bidders have given the opportunity to develop their proposal based on functional requirements, more specifically the needs of the hospital. All tenderers received the same package with information including a complete list of the functional requirements for the New Hospital. Based on these functional requirements, tenderers had to come up with their concept/design and some tenderers designed a functional hospital (as requested) and others build a more luxurious resort type of hospital which translated into a luxurious price.

Before beginning the public tendering process a very detailed budget for the New Hospital was created by Royal HaskoningDHV. This allowed the tripartite to know what we could afford and what exactly the costs should be for the needs of the hospital. Based on our detailed price/functional check including the in-depth analysis of our internal budget, INSOs price fits the estimated range, stated Minister Lee.

How can we guarantee they will finish for the price quoted?

According to the Fidic Gold Book which provides detailed arrangements to keep the contractor accountable for the works provided there is a performance security of 10% of the contract value covered by a bank guarantee. Next to that there is parent company guarantee to make sure that we are not only dealing with a shell company that can easily be dissolved if the Project goes wrong. Furthermore, we have an advance payment guarantee as well as arrangements for delay damages with steep penalties.

How do we know they will deliver a quality project?

INSO will be responsible for maintenance for the next 10 years with the possibility to extend for another 10 years. Therefore, all shortcomings, if any, has to be repaired within the fixed budget for which they tendered. This provides an incentive for INSO to not take shortcuts in the construction of the building as they will be responsible for all repairs. If the repairs exceed the lump-sum in their contract they must cover the costs for the repairs. In addition, the tripartite has appointed Royal HaskoningDHV as cost and quality consultant. They will be supported by our local engineering company ICE who will be responsible for assessing the project construction.

Next to that, the Tripartite will have their own (technical) supervisor on the ground and together with the project manager will execute a detailed quality program under the supervision of the Tripartite. Minister Lee stated there is no other way he could have thought of to make the process more open and transparent. Through his approach, Government was able to save money and ensure that the process yielded the most efficient product for the health care needs of our people.
San Juan/ PHILIPSBURG:--- Director of Bureau Telecommunications and Post St. Maarten (BTP) Mr. Anthony Carty together with supporting staff paid a working visit to Puerto Rico to meet with the Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico (TRB), to discuss a wide variety of telecom & regulatory matters in our region.

In-depth discussions took place on (fiber) infrastructure, the regulation of Over- The-Top Content (OTT) and Net neutrality. Net-neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites. It remains a hot topic in the Telecom Sector, and while the EU and USA ruled in favor of an open internet without any data discrimination, several service providers in the Caribbean Region are contesting the basic principles of this model. They often feel the need to block or throttle content that is either consuming a lot of bandwidth, or can form a potential threat for there own revenue models. One can think of applications such as Viber, Skype, WhatsApp Voice and Netflix that are allowing end users to make phone calls and watch a variety of TV content over the internet for next to nothing.

As operators are fighting for fair competition and sustainable business models, regulators and governments are trying to safeguard that the rights of the citizens of their nations  to access information on an open internet - are not being trampled on. BTP recognizes the urgent need to take a formal position as it relates to this subject, and advice the minister and other stakeholders accordingly.

The Directors of both regulatory bodies mutually agreed that they will continue to work together in the future. Mr. Carty stated; for the further enhancement of telecom services, strategic alliances in the region are vital. Our team remains committed in leveraging our networks, and finding sound solutions for national, regional and global issues in our sector.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Eleven (11) aspiring entrepreneurs in the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Commerce & Industry s Small Business Plan Competition 2016 were selected, according to Board of Directors Member and project leader Nzinga Lake .

The St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce & Industry (COCI) hosted a successful Informative meeting on Thursday August 4th, 2016 at the COCI. The session was well received as the eleven (11) contenders of the Small Entrepreneur Business Plan Competition took advantage of this opportunity to network among themselves, acquire information and tips on becoming successful entrepreneurs by motivational speaker and Marketing Specialist Mr. Jimmy Challenger.

Additional speakers were last years Overall Winner of the Business Plan contest 2015, Ms. Sabrina Vrutaal of Educare, Executive Director Mr. Claret Connor and Board member, Mr. Stanley Lint. Ms. Vrutaal, spoke on her experience being a finalist, presenting her plan to the panel of judges and how her life has changed since taking the important step of becoming an entrepreneur.

In addition to the presentations given by the speakers, Ms. Nzinga
New rules will allow more medical marijuana research.

DEA will announce on Thursday that it will allow more research into marijuana but has rejected requests to relax the classification of the substance as a dangerous, highly addictive drug with no medical use, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

In a sudden reversal, the US Drug Enforcement agency has refused to reclassify marijuana as a schedule 2 drug. This would've allowed experimentation and even prescription edibles and other cannabis products.

The DEA has decided to stick with its current classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug. This seems to be political which is ironic since Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have both admitted to using marijuana at some point in their lives, and libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson actually owned a pot farm.

The DEA announced on Thursday that it will allow more research into marijuana but has rejected requests to relax the classification of the substance as a dangerous, highly addictive drug with no medical use, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

In 2011, two former State governors presented a petition asking that marijuana be moved to schedule II. At this time, the DEA has sent emails to news organizations that it will have a major announcement on marijuana tomorrow. Officially the content of that announcement has not been released, but people with knowledge of the matter have said the content of the announcement will be a few significant changes.

Marijuana is legal with a prescription in 25 American states, and as a practical matter, US federal agencies do not normally enforce marijuana laws in those states. In California, an initiative is on the November ballot to completely legalize recreational marijuana. Four states already allow recreational marijuana use.

marijuana has been classified as a "Schedule I" drug with "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse," on par with heroin. The government has repeatedly rejected appeals over the years to reclassify marijuana. Loosening that definition could encourage scientific study of a drug that is being used to treat diseases in several U.S. states despite little proof of its effectiveness.

Sources told The Washington Post on Wednesday that the FDA concluded marijuana has no accepted medical value, dooming the rescheduling petition. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/08/10/u-s-affirms-its-prohibition-on-medical-marijuana/

This decision isnt based on danger, DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg told National Public Radio. This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine, and its not.

The decision angered marijuana supporters.

DEAs decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion, National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith said in a statement late Wednesday

The DEA will announce on Thursday that it will allow more research into marijuana but has rejected requests to relax the classification of the substance as a dangerous, highly addictive drug with no medical use, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

There is genuine sentiment in Congress to provide some relief to those well, seeking relief. Bernie Sanders repeatedly said that Marijuana laws should be entirely up to the States. Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agencys (DEA) decision not to remove marijuana as a Schedule 1 narcotic, thereby preventing doctors from prescribing marijuana to patients for medical use.

The DEA's refusal to reclassify marijuana to permit medical use is a cruel decision that ignores the suffering of patients who find well-documented relief in medical cannabis products. It also shows a profound disregard for where the medical community and the American public stand on the issue. Medical decisions should be made between a patient and his or her doctor--not the government. The DEA should be spending its limited resources on targeting high priority narcotics rather than erecting roadblocks to medical marijuana. Lieu said in a statement.
In 1982 the wild population was down to just 22 individuals; Nesting pairs in Path of Fire

A fire that began on August 31 with an illegal campfire is within eight miles of 3 nests with young California condor hatchlings. The months-old young are not yet able to fly and could not escape the flames on their own.

The Soberanes fire has roared through nearly 70,000 acres of wildland, destroying 57 residences and 11 outbuildings.

Biologists report that none of the condors living in the area has yet been killed by the fire, but one of the feeding stations where they leave dead animals for the birds has been destroyed.

The fire is moving south across coastal Monterey County toward the remote sections of the Los Padres National Forest where the condors nest. This is also the location of a "condor sanctuary" site with pens, trailers and a cabin that scientists use when they release condors that have been hatched in zoos.

Biologists have spent 30 years painstakingly nurturing the California condor back from the brink of extinction. They are America's largest land bird, with a wing span reaching up to 9 feet. Due to habitat loss, hunting and lead poisoning, the majestic birds' population had dropped to just 22 nationwide by 1982. In a desperate gamble to save the birds, federal biologists captured all the remaining wild condors in 1987 and began a breeding program in zoos. The birds' young have been gradually released back into the wild.

There are now 82 condors living free in the Big Sur area.

Kelly Sorenson is the executive director of the Ventana Wildlife Society, a nonprofit group that helps lead condor recovery efforts in Big Sur. He told Paul Rogers at the Mercury News that biologists are hoping they won't need to go in and rescue the young birds from the nests. The chicks are 3- to 4-months-old and won't be able to fly on their own for another two or three months

"At this point it wouldn't make sense to pull the chicks out of the nests because we'd have to figure out how to raise them," Sorenson said. "We might do it as a last resort. We are going to be watching day by day."

The chicks are still being fed by their parents.

Adult condors regularly travel up to 100 miles in a day, so they would likely just leave area until the fire was out and the other plants and animals returned. Two adults did disappear in the 2008 Basin Complex Fire that burned 162,818 acres in Big Sur. Their transmitters were never found, leading researchers to believe they may have been overcome by smoke or flames.

In that same blaze, fire burned all around a redwood tree where one condor chick was still in a nest. That bird survived. Nicknamed Phoenix, it is still flying today as an adult along the Big Sur coast.

Experts say that despite the current fire risk, lead poisoning remains the main threat of condor deaths. Condors are scavengers and they eat deer, wild pigs, ground squirrels and other animals that hunters or ranchers may have shot, ingesting lead fragments from the ammunition.

In 2013, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law banning all lead ammunition in hunting in California beginning in 2019. Since then, Sorenson's group has handed out $100,000 in non-lead ammunition to ranchers and hunters around the Big Sur-Pinnacles area. That, he said, has resulted in a decline in lead poisoning deaths in recent years.

Last year was a milestone in the recovery effort. For the first time, in three decades, more condors were born in the wild, 14, than died in the wild, 12.

Joseph Brandt, Pacific Southwest Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 30-day old California condor chick

As of Dec. 31, 2015, there were 435 California condors living in the world. Of those, 268 live in the wild, and 167 live in captivity in places where they are bred and hatched, including the San Diego Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, Oregon Zoo and World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho.

For hikers and tourists interested in seeing the magnificent birds, the Big Sur fires have not yet caused more condors to move inland.

"We're definitely getting smokier air. But in terms of the birds behavior we're not seeing any changes," said Rachel Wolstenholme, condor program manager at Pinnacles National Park. "Some days there might be 40 here, and some days there might be zero. On most days you have a 50-50 chance of seeing a condor."

You can help California Condors by donating to one of the Condor breeding or protection programs. To find out more, go to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service condor page at

http://www.fws.gov/cno/es/calcondor/CondorResources.cfm
SMMUSD Picks a principal from Mason Ohio, wherever that is, Instead of promoting from within

Antonio Shelton replaces Eva Mayoral who left the district in July to be with family out of state.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education approved the appointment of Antonio M. Shelton, Ed.D., as the new principal of santa monica high school at the August 10, 2016 regular meeting.

Dr. Shelton comes to SMMUSD from Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he served as principal since 2011. Indian Hill High School is ranked in the Top 100 schools in America by Newsweek and has earned a gold star ranking by US News and World Report. However, it is much less diverse than SamoHi. Reportedly, Indian Hill High is 92% white.

Prior to this position he served as assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at William Mason High School in Mason, Ohio from 2009 to 2011. He served as assistant principal at Sycamore High School in Cincinnati from 2004 to 2009.

Dr. Shelton began his teaching career in 1998 teaching honors United States and world history along with government and African American history.

"I am excited about this new and amazing opportunity to lead Samohi," Dr. Shelton said. "It is my hope to entrench myself into the school community and get to know the many students, faculty and parents. I am looking forward to continuing the academic success and collaborative spirit that Samohi has experienced."

Dr. Shelton holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Hampton University; a Master of Arts in social studies with an emphasis in social studies, psychology, political science and sociology from Ohio State University; a Masters of Art in educational administration from the University of Cincinnati and a received a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Shelton replaces Eva Mayoral who left the district in July to be with family out of state. Mayoral had come up through the ranks at SMMUSD. This time the school board opted for an outsider to lead its largest school.

"Dr. Shelton will be a valuable addition to our district leadership team," Interim Deputy Superintendent Dr. Mark Kelly said. "I would like to congratulate him on his new position and welcome him to SMMUSD."
Nacional Financiera Measures Business Performance With Information Builders WebFOCUS

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO  (Marketwired)  08/10/16  Information Builders, a leader in (BI) and analytics, data integrity, and integration solutions, today announced that Nacional Financiera (Nafinsa) has selected the to measure business performance and increase productivity. Nafinsa, a development bank established by the Mexican government, is responsible for promoting savings and investment through management projects, establishment of financing programs, and coordination of capital investments.

Faced with complex financial calculations, large databases, and manual information management processes, Nafinsa set out to acquire a BI and analytics solution to simplify operations. We had to perform several types of daily and weekly calculations, which meant we spent lots of time analyzing data with an unacceptable response time, said Carlos Ivan Cobb Chew, alternate channels promotion director at Nafinsa. We were determined to standardize and automate our analytics and decision-making processes.

A bank selection committee compared market-leading BI tools according to applicable procurement laws, focusing on software vendors that were well positioned in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for analytic tools. They selected WebFOCUS for its affordable licensing terms and wide-ranging technical capabilities. In only four months the application, bearing the internal name eBI Development, was ready to automate decision-making processes in three important areas: guarantees, chains, and credit. Each segment includes key performance indicators related to credit guarantees, account balances, financing terms, and other essential functions. The BI application makes it easy for managers to track important affiliations, statistics, balances, and many other banking details. Popular reports include Summary Detail Balances, Operations Summary, and Operations Detail. The eBI Development team continues to incorporate new features for data visualization, graphics, and trend analysis.

The primary sources of credit information come from Mexican financial institutions, which are required to submit credit information for Nacional Financiera registration. The bank also has a portal for examining electronic credit operations and supply chains. For the three aspects of Nafinsa credit, we have developed numerous sectoral projects for specific markets, added Chew. Information Builders supplied a key platform for managing and measuring data. As the system has evolved, we have been able to combine data from multiple areas and enter it into a repository that allows us to perform multidimensional analysis of different product areas and programs.

The new BI application includes a dynamic interface that supports mobile and wireless devices. It includes real-time alerts, analytics, financial reports, automated distribution of information, integration with the Microsoft Office suite, and web access. The system has provided a single source of information for the entire organization. Analysts use it to determine patterns of customer behavior as well as to monitor how prices affect bank revenue. With WebFOCUS, Nafinsa has succeeded in automating manual processes, decreasing the risk of information loss, and improving decision-making. It has been particularly helpful in generating critical reports for the National Banking and Securities Commission.

Over the last six years, we have experienced a 15 percent increase in the number of analytic projects, said Chew. WebFOCUS has allowed us to measure and incorporate information into a single platform from the financial system.

Established in 1934 by the Mexican government, Nacional Financiera, S.N.C., (Nafinsa) is a development bank that stimulates growth and monitors banking activities throughout Mexico. Nafinsa runs its operations primarily through commercial banks and non-bank financial intermediaries. Its main funding sources are loans from multilateral agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), credit lines from foreign banks, and the placement of securities in international and domestic markets.

Information Builders provides solutions for business intelligence (BI), analytics, data integration, and data quality that help drive performance improvements, innovation, and value. Through one set of powerful products, we enable organizations to serve everyone  analysts, non-technical users, even partners, customers, and citizens  with better data and analytics. Our dedication to customer success is unmatched with thousands of organizations relying on us as their trusted partner. Founded in 1975, Information Builders is headquartered in New York, NY, with global offices, and remains one of the largest independent, privately held companies in the industry. Visit us at , follow us on Twitter at , like us on , and visit our page.

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Spark Networks(R) Reports Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results

LOS ANGELES, CA  (Marketwired)  08/10/16  Spark Networks, Inc. (NYSE MKT: LOV)

Spark Networks, Inc. (NYSE MKT: LOV), today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Board Member John H. Lewis commented, Spark Networks has industry-leading brands in the Jewish and Christian communities. The Board continues to see significant potential in expanding these brands to serve much larger audiences. PEAK6 is bringing a comprehensive and transformative package to Spark Networks that includes access to significant operational resources and a new leadership team with an outstanding track record of success with both large, established brands like Microsoft, Orbitz, and FTD.com, and smaller entrepreneurial success stories like OptionsHouse. The transaction also brings additional strength to Sparks balance sheet.

The highlights of the PEAK6 agreement:

PEAK6 purchased 5.0 million shares at $1.55 per share, resulting in $7.8 million of cash proceeds

PEAK6 now owns approximately 16% of Sparks outstanding shares

Pro Forma for the agreement, Sparks Q2 2016 net cash position increases from $3.1 million to $10.9 million

Spark issues PEAK6 warrants to purchase 7.5 million shares with an exercise price of $1.74 per share. These warrants vest as to 50% of the shares when the share price reaches $2.50 per share and the remaining 50% of the shares vest when the share price reaches $3.50 per share

PEAK6 executive Danny Rosenthal to become Chief Executive Officer and will join the Board of Directors

PEAK6 Chief Architect David Budworth to become Chief Technology Officer

PEAK6 Chief Marketing Officer Lisa McLafferty to become Chief Revenue Officer

PEAK6 President Brad Goldberg to join the Board of Directors

Spark Networks Chairman Michael McConnell stated, The board greatly appreciates Michael Egans efforts over the last 18 months to stabilize the core subscriber base at a profitable level while substantially enhancing the brands in communities that Spark serves. PEAK6 is bringing significant talent, resources and capital to Spark as we continue to work to drive shareholder value. I want to specifically recognize fellow Board member John Lewis for his origination and leadership in driving this transaction.

Incoming Spark CEO Danny Rosenthal added, Im excited to step into this leadership role. Spark has tremendous brands, and with a deeper focus on the customer experience and our technology platform, we see a tremendous opportunity for the business to grow.

For the second quarter of 2016, total revenue was $9.1 million, a decrease of 26% compared to the year ago period, and an 8% decrease from the prior quarter. The year over year decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in average paying subscribers as well as a decrease in our Q2 2016 ARPU. The sequential decrease was driven primarily by a decrease in average paying subscribers. The decrease in average paying subscribers was the result of seasonality and our decision to reduce our paid marketing efforts.

For the second quarter of 2016, contribution was $7.6 million, an increase of 10% compared to the year ago period, and a 58% increase from the prior quarter. Our contribution margin increased to 84% from 49% in the previous quarter and 57% in the year ago period. The sequential increase in contribution was driven by the significant reduction in television spend on Christian Mingle in the second quarter of 2016.

For the second quarter of 2016, Net Income was $329,000, an increase of $424,000 versus the year ago period and a $3.7 million increase from the prior quarter. During Q2 2016, the Company released a prior-period tax reserve after agreeing to settlement terms in a state tax matter, resulting in $719,000 of non-cash tax benefit in the period.

For the second quarter of 2016, Adjusted EBITDA was $1.4 million, an increase of $821,000 versus the year ago period and a $3.7 million increase from the prior quarter. Excluding the operating impact of Smooch Labs, Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $1.7 million. Current period Adjusted EBITDA does not include $367,000 of severance expense related to the workforce reduction initiative during the period.

For the second quarter of 2016, the Company ended with $3.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $4.1 million at the end of the prior quarter. As of June 30, 2016, the Company had no outstanding debt.

The Company will discuss its financial results during a live teleconference today at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time.

Toll-Free (United States): 1-877-705-6003

International: 1-201-493-6725

In addition, the Company will host a webcast of the call which will be accessible in the Investor Relations section of the Companys website at or by clicking .

A replay will begin approximately three hours after completion of the call and run until August 24, 2016.

Replay

Toll-Free (United States): 1-877-870-5176

International: 1-858-384-5517

Passcode: 13639962

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding the companys ability to expand its existing brands and managements expectations following its transaction with PEAK6, including expectations with respect to the companys new leadership team. Any statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be considered to be forward-looking statements. Written words, such as may, will, expect, believe, anticipate, estimate, intends, goal, objective, seek, attempt, or variations of these or similar words, identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the near future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially, including, but not limited to, our ability to: successfully implement our strategy to stabilize our subscriber base and grow; avoid significant subscriber declines; attract and retain members; convert members into paying subscribers and retain our paying subscribers; retain and enhance the new marketing team; develop or acquire new product offerings and successfully implement and expand those offerings; keep pace with rapid technological changes, including making the technology stack more nimble; drive use of newly-updated mobile applications; maintain the strength of our existing brands and maintain and enhance those brands; continue to depend upon the telecommunications infrastructure and our networking hardware and software infrastructure; estimate on-going general and administrative costs, and obtain financing on acceptable terms. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ are discussed under the heading Risk Factors and in other sections of the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and in the Companys other current and periodic reports filed or furnished from time to time with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

The Spark Networks portfolio of consumer Web sites includes, among others, JDate.com (), ChristianMingle.com (), JSwipe (), CROSSPATHS (), Spark.com (), BlackSingles.com (), and SilverSingles.com ().

(1) Q2 2016 Net Income includes $719,000 of non-cash tax benefit in the period resulting from the release of a prior-period tax reserve relating to the settlement of a state tax matter.

(2) Contribution is defined as revenue, net of credits and credit card chargebacks, less direct marketing.

(3) The Company reports Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). This non-GAAP measure is one of the primary metrics by which we evaluate the performance of our businesses, budget, forecast and compensate management. We believe this measure provides management and investors with a consistent view, period to period, of the core earnings generated from on-going operations and excludes the impact of: (i) non-cash items such as stock-based compensation, asset impairments, non-cash currency translation adjustments related to an inter-company loan and (ii) one-time items that have not occurred in the past two years and are not expected to recur in the next two years. Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as a substitute for net income (loss) (as determined in accordance with GAAP) for the purpose of analyzing our operating performance or financial position, as Adjusted EBITDA is not defined by GAAP. A reconciliation of the Adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 can be found in the table below.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, impairment of long-lived assets, non-cash currency translation adjustments for an inter-company loan and non-recurring significant executive and non-executive severance, and acquisition costs.

(4) Paying Subscribers are defined as individuals who have paid a monthly fee for access to communication and website features beyond those provided to our members. Period ending subscribers for each quarter represent the paying subscriber count as of the last day of the period. Average paying subscribers for each month are calculated as the sum of the paying subscribers at the beginning and end of the month, divided by two. Average paying subscribers for periods longer than one month are calculated as the sum of the average paying subscribers for each month, divided by the number of months in such period. The calculation excludes results from the Companys HurryDate business due to its relative size.

(5) In accordance with Segment Reporting guidance, the Companys financial reporting includes detailed data on four separate operating segments. The Jewish Networks segment consists of JDate, JDate.co.il, JDate.fr, JDate.co.uk, Cupid.co.il, and JSwipe. The Christian Networks segment consists of ChristianMingle, CrossPaths, ChristianMingle.co.uk, ChristianMingle.com.au, Believe.com, ChristianCards.net, ChristianDating.com, DailyBibleVerse.com and Faith.com. The Other Networks segment consists of Spark.com and related other general market websites as well as other properties which are primarily composed of sites targeted towards various religious, ethnic, geographic and special interest groups. The Offline & Other Businesses segment consists of revenue generated from offline activities and HurryDate events and subscriptions.

(6) ARPU is defined as average revenue per user per month. Total ARPU excludes results from the Companys HurryDate business due to its relative size.

(7) One month plans may also include a small amount of two month plans. Three month plans may include a small amount of four month plans. Six month plans may include a small amount of twelve month plans.

(8) Represents the composition of average paying subscribers in the period. First Time Subscribers are defined as those subscribers that have never purchased a subscription from the Company for that reporting segment. Winback Subscribers are defined as those individuals who have purchased a subscription from the Company for that reporting segment, allowed their subscription to lapse, and subsequently purchased a subscription from the Company for that reporting segment. Renewal Subscribers are defined as those subscribers that have auto-renewed a subscription from the Company for that reporting segment. Figures exclude results from JSwipe and CrossPaths.
Ingram Micro Commerce & Fulfillment Solutions to Partner With RocketSpaces Logistics Tech Accelerator Program

IRVINE, CA  (Marketwired)  08/11/16  Ingram Micro Commerce & , a strategic business unit of Ingram Micro Inc., (NYSE: IM), today announced it has teamed up with RocketSpace and its Logistics Tech Accelerator, a first-of-its-kind program enabling startups and corporations to come together to build the future of logistics.

The partnership is led by Ingram Micro Labs, the innovation group of Ingram Micro. The Labs mission is to facilitate creativity and ingenuity, working with customers and partners to help accelerate technological advancements globally. Ingram Micro Labs will support the efforts of select technology startups in North America and Europe that have been accepted into RocketSpaces program. In a collaborative effort Ingram Micro will gain insight on  and access to  the Smart technology work being done by the startups. The move is in line with the Fortune 64 companys ongoing efforts to offer their customers access to the broadest, deepest pool of innovative technology and solutions available.

This partnership is bringing two ecosystems together to drive innovation and disruption within the industry, said Ken Beyer, EVP, Ingram Micro Commerce & Fulfillment Solutions. Our future-friendly commerce and fulfillment solutions enable our customers to evolve from the legacy systems of the past, to meet the demands of customers in the millennium. The Logistics Tech Accelerator brings together the thought leaders within corporations like ours and disruptive innovators at the best startups, to change the industry and market as a whole.

The industry-specific accelerator program is ground zero for disruption in logistics technology and gives the best startups access to the Ingram Micros global logistics scale, award-winning Shipwire platform, and 30 years of industry expertise and executive mentorship.

When evaluating and co-designing pilots, our goal is to always look for ways to leverage the value of our technology platform and its capability to advance global growth for retailers and brands, said Ignacio Garcia, Business Strategist for Ingram Micro Labs. The work we are doing with RocketSpace will help shape our internal technology roadmap for the future.

Together, the strategic partnership will help accelerate the delivery of commercially viable products to the logistics industry.

Ingram Micro Commerce & Fulfillment Solutions offers an unrivaled global infrastructure to propel the global growth of brands and retailers. Powered by its award-winning Shipwire Platform and the scale of Ingram Micros 154 distribution centers in 45 countries, the company provides B2B and B2C and commerce solutions. The largest brands and retailers in the world trust us to deliver exceptional buyer experiences on every order, every day, everywhere. With access to the unique growth opportunities of the worlds largest tech distributor and a network of more than 200,000 resellers, Ingram Micro Commerce & Fulfillment offers enterprise solutions for the future of global commerce. Find out more at .

RocketSpace is a technology campus headquartered in the heart of San Francisco. Since 2011, the company has been helping tech entrepreneurs, startups and corporate innovation professionals bring the future to market. The company offers services to its members including programming, consulting, events, and office-as-a-service, which together create the perfect ecosystem and community for innovation to thrive. Select startup alumni include Uber, Spotify, Practice Fusion, and Leap Motion, and RocketSpaces roster of Corporate Innovation Services clients include Schneider Electric, Converse, Tata Communications, Royal Bank of Scotland, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, Samsung, and ABinBev. For more information, visit .

Ingram Micro helps businesses Realize the Promise of Technology. It delivers a full spectrum of global technology and supply chain services to businesses around the world. Deep expertise in technology solutions, mobility, cloud, and supply chain solutions enables its business partners to operate efficiently and successfully in the markets they serve. Unrivaled agility, deep market insights and the trust and dependability that come from decades of proven relationships, set Ingram Micro apart and ahead. More at .

Press contact:

Yolanda Kokayi

Director of Marketing

Ingram Micro Commerce & Fulfillment Solutions
High school football: Follow along as area teams continue playoffs journeys

It's high school football playoff time in Indiana and Michigan. Follow along with live updates of South Bend area playoff games Friday night
* Ciudadanos opens door to supporting Rajoy as PM

* Move could help end 8 months of political stalemate

* Rajoy's People's Party to vote on Ciudadanos deal

* Failure would edge Spain closer to third election (Recasts with Rajoy's comments, adds background, quotes)

By Angus Berwick

MADRID, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Spanish acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday his conservative People's Party would hold a leadership vote next week on a reform pact proposed by centrists Ciudadanos as a condition of their support to form a long-awaited government.

Agreement between Ciudadanos ("Citizens") and the PP - which won the most votes in a June election re-run but fell short of a majority - would mark the biggest step yet in ending a near eight-month political morass. Until now Ciudadanos had said only that it would abstain in any parliamentary confidence vote to install Rajoy as prime minister.

Though the PP would still need support from other forces to form a stable government and press on with an economic recovery, a shift from Ciudadanos, Spain's fourth-biggest party, could encourage others to ease objections to a conservative government.

Rajoy told a news conference that the Executive Committee - a body of about 100 people largely loyal to Rajoy - would vote on Aug. 17 on whether to back a six-point political reform package proposed on Tuesday by Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera. He would not say whether he supported the package as presented.

"Spaniards want a government and we hope we can start negotiations with Ciudadanos as soon as possible," Rajoy said. "The PP will do everything in its power."

The reforms could yet prove unpalatable for PP leaders, given they are aimed at tackling corruption scandals that have tainted their party, and at changing an electoral system that benefits larger forces.

But without an agreement, Spain may have little option but to hold its third election in a year.

With support from Cuidadanos, a natural ally for the PP on economic matters, Rajoy would still be seven seats shy of the 176 he needs in the 350-strong lower house of parliament for an absolute majority.

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Their endorsement would, however, pile more pressure on the second-placed Socialists to abstain in a confidence vote or be blamed for worsening the deadlock as worries rise over its impact on Spain's strong economic recovery.

So far growth has continued unhindered, outperforming many of its European peers, but important deadlines are approaching. Without a government, Spain will struggle to deliver its 2017 budget plans to Brussels by mid-October.

FRESH ELECTION?

There were few signs on Wednesday that the Socialists, under leader Pedro Sanchez, were yet willing to end their decades-long rivalry with the PP, though some former leaders have called on the party to change its stance.

"The PSOE has its position, it is clear ... there was a long, in-depth debate and that position is to vote no," Oscar Lopez, a senior Socialist party member, said in a TV interview.

Rajoy said he would continue to try to persuade the Socialists to back him. A third national election, according to polls, would likely deliver a similarly fractured result.

"If Sanchez maintains his 'no' position, we will again hold elections," Rajoy said.

Rajoy has yet to commit to a confidence vote, despite accepting a mandate from the king last month to form a government.

He declined to specify a date for the vote beyond saying he hoped to have a government in place that can deliver a budget to parliament before the end of September.

Rivera said he hoped the confidence vote would take place either in August or in early September.

"Spaniards' patience has a limit," he said.

(Reporting by Angus Berwick; Editing by Sarah White and Ralph Boulton)
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For more than 50 days Hugh Keir and his regiment were outgunned and outnumbered by the Taliban.

Low on food and ammunition and with little chance of outside help, they were bombarded from dusk to dawn by relentless attacks from the enemy.

The 34-year-old sniper, who was brought up in Cilfrew, Neath, was then a corporal serving in Afghanistan with Easy Company, of 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (3 PARA).

Their story, which was one of the most intense battles during the Afghanistan conflict, has remained untold since it happened in 2006, as their freedom was ultimately guaranteed in a deal with the Taliban.

The Ministry of Defence has blocked veterans who served during that part of the conflict in Musa Qala and remain with the Army from speaking out about the situation in a new documentary.

But dad-of-two Hugh, who is now a director of a security company, has opened up in the Channel 4 programme Heroes of Helmand: The British Army's Great Escape.

He told the Post: "Everywhere was difficult given we were trying to guard an area the size of England with a few people.

"We went to Musa Qala  3 PARA didn't choose to be in the compound of that town."Two units had gone to help an Afghan police unit. The Danish went to help them out and became stuck and another unit went in there and they got stuck.

"We went in to get them out, it was relentless attacks from dawn to dust.

"We couldn't get out because we didn't have the man power and ammunition.

"It was going to take a whole battlegroup to get us out because of a lack of food and the RAF wouldn't come in to resupply us and they wouldn't always come in for casualties.

"It was non-stop attacks from five to six to 10 to 15 days."

'Escape from Musa Qala'

Hugh said a deal was struck with the enemy from the incident, which was dubbed the Escape from Musa Qala.

He claimed: "The OC (officer commanding) started negotiating a deal with the Taliban  a deal was brokered that we would relinquish the land and they would guarantee our safe passage. The Taliban got us out.

"I didn't find out the morning before we had to leave at first light and Afghan males drove in with their cattle trucks.

"The Taliban picketed the whole route out of town.

"We were that fatigued we were like look whatever. We were met by Chinooks in the desert and I remember going to Camp Bastion and we were told this was not to be mentioned and that it never happened.

"The first I saw of it was several years later on Wikipedia under Escape from Musa Qala."

He said there were 12 days where they endured 55 casualties, including Afghan policemen during the conflict, which he described as not "conventional warfare."

The former Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive School pupil and Neath Port Talbot College student said he believed British troops had had a positive impact in the area in which they served, in terms of offering better access to education and protecting the population.

He added: "To have a long lasting effect you have to do this for decades, between 10 and 13 years does not have an impact.

"But he said if there was an opportunity to serve again for his country he would."I wouldn't turn it down," he said.

An MOD spokesman said: "Our Armed Forces served with professionalism and bravery in Helmand Province, making sacrifices to deliver important security gains which gave the Afghan forces space to take the lead for protecting their people.

"We have conducted a thorough and frank review of the Afghanistan campaign, which will help inform future military planning."
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WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - August 11, 2016) - Today, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) released the findings of the new, comprehensive 2016 Asia Cruise Trends study. Once again, the data reveals the cruise industry in Asia is growing at a record pace and shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, according to the latest study, Asian source markets experienced the most growth year over year in ocean cruise passengers with an impressive 24 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 and a total of 2.08 million passengers in 2015. Asian cruise deployment, capacity and destinations have been showing remarkable growth too.

"While we expected Asia to experience record-breaking growth in cruise travel, we are astonished at the rate at which the region is emerging as one of the most significant cruise destinations and cruise source markets in the world," said Dr. Zinan Liu, Chair of CLIA North Asia. "The Asia Cruise Trends project has again developed extremely valuable data on what is happening in Asian cruising, its current size and recent growth trends."

"The cruise industry has been nimble and responded quickly to the demand for cruise travel in Asia by delivering cruise ships with amenities and experiences tailored to Asian travelers," said Cindy D'Aoust, President and CEO, CLIA. "Asian cruise travel continues to deliver a growing number of enticing opportunities for international guests to visit Asia's fascinating destinations."

The project reveals many essential facts and trends on the current State of the Asia Cruise Industry:

More Cruises Offered - The number of ocean cruises and voyages offered in the region continues to grow to meet demand with 1,560 sailings scheduled for 2016 alone, a sharp increase of 43 percent when compared to last year. There has also been a significant increase in the number of days cruise ships are in operation, from 4,307 operating days in 2013 to 7,918 in 2016.

Increase in Cruise Ships - This year, 60 ocean cruise ships will sail in Asia versus 43 ships in 2013, 15 percent more ships than the 52 operating in 2015. Of the ships sailing this year, 14 operate year-round while another 12 have extended deployment in Asia.

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Capacity Boost - The capacity to carry passengers continues to grow, surging by 51 percent in 2016. As a result, the overall passenger capacity on ocean cruise ships will reach 3.2 million in 2016.

Demand for Destinations - Cruising in the region includes more than 204 destinations across 17 countries, making traveling by cruise ship one of the easiest ways to see multiple destinations throughout Asia. While the introduction of new ports throughout Asia is great for travelers, it is also great for local economies by bringing more visitors to Asian destinations. Japan is again the biggest destination country with 1,526 port calls in 2016, followed by China (850), South Korea (745), Vietnam (466) Malaysia (422) and Singapore (391).

The most visited port in 2016 will be Jeju Island, South Korea (460 calls), closely followed by Shanghai (437), Singapore (391) and Fukuoka (258).

Asia Passenger Growth - Asian travelers are cruising more than ever before. Asia experienced the most growth year over year in ocean cruise passengers with an impressive 24 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 and a total of 2.08 million ocean cruise passengers in 2015.

Increase in Chinese Cruisers - From 2012 to 2015, the number of Chinese passengers grew at an annual compounded rate of 66 percent. Growth in 2015 alone was 40 percent. In 2015, 986,000 passengers were from mainland China, representing close to half of the Asian volume, compared to 703,000 in 2014. In both 2014 and 2015, China has been the world's fastest growing major source market.

Preference for Shorter Cruises - Asian passengers continue to prefer shorter ocean cruise lengths. In 2015, almost three out of ten (30 percent) Asian passengers continued to choose cruises two to three nights in length and half (50 percent) chose four to six night cruises. Almost a fifth of passengers chose extended cruises with 19 percent of Asian passengers opting for seven to 13 night cruises. As a result, the average length of cruises taken by Asian passengers has increased slightly from 5.2 nights in 2014 to 5.3 nights in 2015.

Asian Exploration - While Asian outbound tourism is exploding around the world, the study found that Asian cruisers are primarily exploring Asian destinations. More than eight out of ten Asian passengers (84 percent) cruised within Asia. The remaining 16 percent flew to cruise destinations outside the region, primarily in Europe with 74 percent of the international volume, followed by Alaska and the Caribbean. From Japan, 23 percent are traveling outside Asia, along with 30 percent from India. Only 3.6 percent of Chinese travel outside of Asia.

Under 40 Cruisers - In China, the average age of cruisers is below 43 with about 42 percent of cruise travelers below 40 years old. For the region, the same segment represents 38 percent of all cruisers.

Attracting the Asian Traveler - Cruise lines have recognized the need to bring their best ships and amenities to the region. New onboard offerings tailored to the Asian guests include inclusive onboard activities aimed at multi-generational families, high-end shopping, languages, adapted menus to include familiar favorites and regional cuisine, cabin amenities and high-tech features.

About the Project

CLIA commissioned the 2016 Asia Cruise Trends study to further develop an in depth understanding of the quickly evolving cruise marketplace. The research builds upon the 2013 White Paper: "Information, Intelligence, Insights" and the 2014 Asia Cruise Trends study, also undertaken by CHART Management Consultants.

The 2016 Asia Cruise Trends initiative collected trending data from 31 international and regional cruise lines, representing over 95 percent of Asia cruise ship capacity. The analyses exclude one-night cruises.

The report is available at http://cruising.org/AsiaCruiseTrends.

About Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) -- One Industry, One Voice

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is the unified voice and leading authority of the global cruise community. As the largest cruise industry trade association with 15 offices globally, CLIA has representation in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australasia. CLIA's mission is to support policies and practices that foster a safe, secure and healthy cruise ship environment for the more than 23 million passengers who cruise annually, as well as to promote the value, desirability and affordability of the cruise vacation experience. Members are comprised of the world's most prestigious ocean, river and specialty cruise lines; a highly trained and certified travel agent community; and cruise line suppliers and partners, including ports & destinations, ship development, suppliers and business services, committed to the sustained success of the cruise industry. For more information, visit www.cruising.org or follow Cruise Lines International Association on CLIA Facebook and Twitter pages.
An illustration of Prospector-1, a mission that will visit a near Earth asteroid to look for water ice.

LOGAN, Utah  Deep Space Industries plans to launch a small satellite by the end of the decade to survey a near Earth asteroid, the next major step in the company's long-term ambitions to mine asteroids for resources.

The company, based in Mountain View, California, announced its Prospector-1 mission Aug. 9. The 50-kilogram satellite is designed to visit an asteroid and look for deposits of water ice that could, in the future, be mined and used as propellant by other spacecraft.

"This is intended to be a very low cost first commercial mission to an asteroid," said Grant Bonin, chief engineer of Deep Space Industries, in a presentation about Prospector-1 Aug. 9 during the 30th Annual Conference on Small Satellites at Utah State University here. [Deep Space Industries' Asteroid-Mining Vision in Pictures]

The rationale for the mission, Bonin said, is based in the lack of knowledge about asteroids, what resources they offer, and how difficult it would be to extract those resources. "Pretty much every asteroid that we have studied extensively is fundamentally different," he said. Even asteroids with the same spectral type, as determined by groundbased telescopic observations, "can be completely different from a geophysical standpoint."

The Prospector-1 mission will launch into low Earth orbit as a secondary payload. It will then use its own chemical propulsion stage to leave Earth orbit, and onboard thrusters that use water as propellant to rendezvous and maintain position with the selected asteroid.

Once at the asteroid, Prospector-1 will use visible and mid-infrared cameras to map the surface to look for evidence of water in the form of salts and hydrated minerals. A neutron spectrometer will probe below the surface to measure hydrogen abundance linked to the presence of subsurface water ice.

Once the mapping is complete, Prospector-1 will attempt a landing at "a site of interest which think is extremely prospective" for detecting water, Bonin said. That landing, he said, would allow for additional science as well as "assert a commercial presence on an asteroid which can validate the policy regime for private companies to harvest space resources."

The company hasn't disclosed a specific date for the mission, which will depend on the asteroids they choose to visit. "We have mission concepts of operation that give us departure windows every year from 2019 to 2022," he said, that also minimize travel times to the asteroids. "We've got about half a dozen very, very attractive targets, which as you might imagine we're playing very close to our vest."

Prior to Prospector-1, Deep Space Industries plans to fly a technology demonstration mission, Prospector-X, in low Earth orbit. That spacecraft, being developed by the company in cooperation with the government of Luxembourg through its spaceresources.lu initiative, is planned for launch in 2017.

The company ultimately plans to develop follow-on missions that will extract water ice from asteroids, which the company can then sell to other customers for use as in-space propellant or other applications, reducing the cost of missions that would otherwise have to launch those resources from the Earth.

"Water is going to be a key enabler of the cislunar economy," said Bonin, who mentioned proposals like those offered by United Launch Alliance to both grow the number of people working in space and the economic value of space applications. "It's a grand vision, but it's predicated on the use of space resources."

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
Here's what to expect from US weather for the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks overnight tonight (Aug. 11-12).

If you're hoping to get a good view tonight, the best weather prospects favor the western U.S., most notably anywhere west of a line extending from roughly International Falls, Minnesota, southwest to El Paso, Texas. Skies are expected to be partly cloudy to clear during the late-night hours of Thursday night into Friday, thanks chiefly to a zone of high pressure spread out over the central Rockies. This promises a good view of this year's Perseid performance in that region.

The exception will be near and along the northern and central California coast, where low clouds and fog  the marine layer  will move in from the Pacific and spoil the view, but anyone taking a short drive inland should find clearer skies. [Perseid Meteor Shower 2016: When, Where & How to See It]

Meanwhile, in a zone stretching from the upper Great Lakes down through Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and through the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle, the weather will be problematic. Two low-pressure systems  one centered near Duluth, Minnesota, and the other near Omaha, Nebraska  and an associated frontal line stretched across the central and southern plains will team up to bring extensive cloud cover as well widespread showers and scattered thunderstorms.

This Sky & Telescope chart shows the location of the Perseid meteor shower radiant in the constellation Perseus as it will appear during the peak of the 2016 Perseids display at 11 p.m. local time on Aug. 11, 2016. (Image credit: Sky & Telescope Illustration

Across Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, some of the storms could be strong to severe, possibly delivering excessive amounts of rain. Put simply, the only meteors to be seen in this viewing zone will be those of the "hydro" variety.

As for the rest of the central and eastern U.S., the weather will be dominated by a large "Bermuda High," a high-pressure weather pattern off the middle-Atlantic coast, producing a large area of hazy, hot and oppressively humid weather. Generally speaking, skies should be no worse than partly cloudy for Perseid viewing, but local weather disturbances interacting with such a humid air mass can produce clouds, showers and thunderstorms. One such disturbance is expected to adversely affect the weather near the central Gulf Coast, perhaps causing showers or heavy rain for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Minor weather disturbances over parts of the Ohio Valley, heading east to the New York City area, could generate unwelcome cloud cover late Thursday night. A nearly stationary weather front draped across southern parts of Ontario and Quebec, and stretching east to northern Maine, might also throw a few unwanted clouds between the Perseids and skywatchers.

Another factor that makes the Perseids popular is that the temperatures are generally comfortable: 50s and 60s Fahrenheit (10 to 20 degrees Celsius) across most of the western states (except 40s F, or4 to 10 degrees C, over the high elevations of the Rockies) and balmy 70s F (20 to 26 degrees C) over much of the eastern U.S., as well as the desert Southwest and Southern California.

You can get the latest forecast for your local area here, where you'll find links to all of the National Weather Service Forecast Offices around the country. Just locate the region that you are in for the office that serves your area.

Observing tips

Generally, it is thought that showers like the Perseids are the debris of comets, while larger meteors that make it to Earth as meteorites are made of the same stuff as asteroids  possibly fragmented planet material. The Perseids appear white or yellowish in the sky, numerous and bright, with some fireballs and glowing trains.

At the shower's peak tonight, these meteors appear to diverge from a small area in the northern part of the constellation Perseus (hence the name, "Perseid"). This is so far north that it's above the horizon for most of the country when darkness falls. Hence, you might sight a Perseid or two during the evening hours. But only after midnight, when the radiant is high in the northeast sky and observers have been turned by the Earth onto the planet's forward-moving side, do the numbers really begin to increase to the one-per-minute rate (or more) that makes this shower so exciting. [Perseid Meteor Shower Explained - Most Active of the Year! (Video)]

In the eastern U.S., observers should pay close attention for a possible brief surge of meteor activity around 1 a.m. EDT; Earth will be interacting with a localized "clump" of dusty debris shed during the 11th century by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the progenitor of the Perseid meteoroids.

I have always found that it helps to have had a late-afternoon nap and a shower, and to wear fresh clothing before going out to watch a meteor shower. Expect the temperature to be below what your local forecast suggests. When you sit quite still, close to the rapidly cooling ground, and the air is damp, you can become very chilled. Long lawn chairs, heavy blankets, sleeping bags, ground cloths, auto cushions and pillows are essential equipment. Some food or drink will also help keep you comfortable.

Good luck and enjoy the show!

Editor's note: If you catch an awesome photo of the Perseid meteor shower that you'd like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes sent in this photo of an incredibly bright and visible Milky Way galaxy behind a Perseid meteor over an observation dome at Cherry Spring State Park in northern Pennsylvania on the morning of Aug. 8, 2016.

Determined to capture the most spectacular photos of the Perseid meteors, veteran astrophotographer Jeff Berkes headed to the darkest hills in Pennsylvania a week before the meteor shower's peak, which occurs tonight (Aug. 11).

Berkes, who goes by the nickname "Milky Way and Meteor Man," has been taking landscape astrophotography pictures since the 1990s. And he wasn't going to let the weather get in the way of the perfect shot.

The Perseid meteor shower is an annual display of celestial fireworks that peaks each year in August, when Earth passes through a stream of dust from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Late tonight and early Friday, the Perseids will be at their peak, with NASA scientists predicting up to 200 meteors per hour for observers with super-dark-sky views away from city lights. But the bright moon, which does not set until around 1 a.m., can limit the number of meteors seen. [Perseid Meteor Shower 2016: How and When to See It]

To get the best view of the Perseid meteor shower, Berkes headed to the state parks of northern Pennsylvania before the shower's peak. Berkes, who hosts night-sky photography workshops, brought along a group of amateur astrophotographers eager to learn how to best photograph some Perseid meteors.

The crew first set out to Lyman Run State Park on Aug. 6. "I chose this location and the date on a gamble that the weather would be bad during the peak this year," Berkes told Space.com in an email. "I did that because I know this shower is a good one, and the rates are decent from August 5 to August 15." At Lyman Run, Berkes captured a stunning view of a meteor shooting across the sky above a walkway with the Milky Way sparkling in the background.

Astrophotographer Jeff Berkes sent in this edited photo of a Perseid meteor dashing through the sky to the left of the Milky Way, with an added spiral light painting. The photo was taken at Lyman Run State Park in northern Pennsylvania on the evening of Aug. 6, 2016. (Image credit: Jeff Berkes

Berkes and his group moved on to Cherry Spring State Park the next night. This area is known for having the darkest skies east of the Mississippi River, making it one of the best spots to see the night sky.

"We were rewarded with over 100 meteor sightings," Berkes wrote. "On the final night, while walking back to our cars, the biggest meteor of the weekend crossed the sky in front of us  much longer than the width of the Big Dipper." You can see more of Berkes' amazing night-sky views on his website, Jeff Berkes Photography.

If bright city lights or bad weather conditions spoil your view of the Perseid meteor shower, you can watch it online tonight on Space.com in a free webcast provided by the Slooh Community Observatory. You can also see our full rundown of Perseid meteor shower webcasts here.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookand Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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"Perhaps the best political prevention would be to create a stable situation for the refugees and provide immediate access to integrative measures, partly to avert the kinds of horrific acts we have recently experienced," says Wenk-Ansohn in Berlin.

What Makes People Kill?

It isn't easy to recognize commonalities in the biographies of the violent attackers of Wurzburg, Munich and Ansbach. There still isn't enough available information, and the roles played by confidants and supporters remain unclear.

But the one thing that many individual perpetrators have in common is their sense of despair. From mad gunmen to Islamists, they tend to have narcissistic personalities, seek individual fame and hate everything else. The differences lie in what they do about it.

Britta Bannenberg, a criminologist in the central German city of Giessen, has studied the crimes and profiles of all young men who have gone on a rampage or have attempted to do so in Germany since the 1990s. They include the killing sprees in Erfurt, Emsdetten and Winnenden. All of the perpetrators have developed a "bundle of motives consisting of rage, hate and thoughts of revenge," which "is not based on rational reasons," Bannenberg writes in her study. "They often feel humiliated and badly treated, feelings those in their surroundings are unable to comprehend."

This is why it is difficult for relatives and friends to recognize potential signs in advance. It is true that lone perpetrators usually become socially withdrawn before committing their crimes and show little interest in the feelings of other people. Many of them listen to music with hate-filled lyrics or spend a lot of time playing violent computer games. But other young people with no emotional problems may behave in the same way without using weapons to attack others.

Bannenberg has established an interdisciplinary prevention program. A telephone hotline has been available to parents, teachers and friends since April 2015. The hotline has received 40 calls to date. Two-thirds of them were very serious and frequently led to investigations. In some cases, the police were able to seize weapons from the would-be perpetrators.

These days, psychiatrists are often better prepared to recognize potentially problematic cases. For instance, says Kai von Klitzing, a child and youth psychiatrist at Leipzig University Hospital, he and his colleagues become alarmed when young people who are at risk sever ties with doctors or refuse to engage in open conversations. "We inform the parents and speak to them openly about the threat it poses when a young person withdraws from treatment. We learned that from Winnenden, where the father of the perpetrator accused the doctors treating his son of having failed to tell him how dangerous he was." The Winnenden killing spree -- during which a 17-year-old student killed 15 people and himself near Stuttgart in 2009 -- also taught mental health professionals to ask whether the patient has access to weapons in his or his parents' environment, Klitzing adds.

But when do psychiatrists violate medical confidentiality and notify the police? When does the need to protect the public trump the need to protect the patient's right to confidentiality? By law, medical confidentiality can be lifted if there is a "current and otherwise unavoidable" threat to life and limb. The psychiatrist has the discretion to decide when this is the case.

Klitzing says that medical confidentiality should only be lifted in exceptional cases. "Many of our adolescent patients talk about fantasies of killing themselves or others. Talking openly about such fantasies with a therapist creates favorable conditions for limiting them -- and protects against the fantasies being turned into actions." Those who call for tougher rules in the name of prevention are in fact obstructing prevention, says the professor.

Need for Customized Strategies

The police in Germany have now developed their own guidelines for improving their ability to assess murderous threats. In their experience, they receive an increased number of these threats after an attack has just occurred. Is the person behind them a copycat or someone on the verge of committing a crime? In many cases, the initial clues come from a person's immediate environment. For instance, the schoolmates of David Sonboly, the Munich killer, reportedly said after the attack that they immediately knew that he was the killer.

When concerned fellow students, teachers or parents report that someone is showing a noticeable affinity for weapons or an interest in mass murders, trained police teams are available to prepare a threat assessment.

In special cases, the police department convenes a case conference involving representatives from the school, the offices of public order and public health, and the psychiatric service. The police then compile a report containing information from all of these sources. Is the person suicidal? How concrete are the plans? Has the person already taken initial organizational steps? Does he or she have access to explosives or weapons? This can be followed by a targeted discussion with the individual in question, intensified counseling, confiscation of computers, house searches and commitment to psychiatric care.

Delusions of grandeur, a deep sense of worthlessness, emptiness: The same elements keep reappearing in the stories of people who perpetrate or develop an interest in these kinds of attacks. But each problem group requires nuanced responses and customized strategies, and those with the potential to go on hate-filled killing sprees need therapeutic help.

What about those who appear to suddenly turn to Islamism? How can they be reached and convinced to change their minds before they go to Syria and return as IS warriors?

The first preventive step is often to understand the narrative style that lures young people into the clutches of jihadists. Most of the videos disseminated by IS do not depict scenes of prisoners being beheaded or shot, as one might believe. Instead, the highly professional films convey a softly sketched, romanticized image of life in the caliphate. They show groups of laughing men in dapper uniforms, cleaning their weapons and then driving to the bazaar to buy gifts for the children and perfume for the women. They depict a cozy life in which people live both autonomously and as part of a large community.

Western governments attempt to offer something in reply to these tall tales. A team of advisers has formed at the EU level, with the goal of using research, social media training and its own communication strategies to debunk the myth of the idyllic "caliphate."

In Germany, the Federal Center for Civic Education has collaborated with well-known YouTube stars to develop videos intended to explain terms like "jihad" and "Salafism." A video by popular German YouTuber LeFloid on the question of "What does 'caliphate' mean?" was viewed more than 130,000 times. But the question is whether these videos are enough to deter young people from traveling to Syria or setting off a bomb in Germany.

'We Need More Prevention'

At the Legato prevention project in Hamburg, Andre Taubert has deliberately chosen a different approach, which he somewhat awkwardly describes as "systemic withdrawal counseling."

Taubert, a social worker and religious educator, describes a classic case: A 16-year-old girl converted to Islam after meeting a young Muslim on the Internet. She promised to marry him, even though she had never met him in person. She began wearing a headscarf, which she recently traded for a full veil.

The mother, whose parents were devout Christians, has no interest in religion and often quarreled with her daughter. "Conflicts within the family, as banal as they may be, are often the gateway to radicalization," says Taubert. On the other hand, he adds, he feels optimistic about the fact that the mother and daughter are still arguing, even after drifting apart. "This shows that the daughter still wants something from the mother." The mother, he says, expressly asked him to report on her case -- to embolden others.

Taubert generally does not advise young people, but rather their parents. They are the key to the problem, he explains. He tries to make them understand why the teenagers are at odds with them. He suggests that they approach their children in a more relaxed manner and surprise them with their reactions.

"In reality, it isn't about the religion. In my cases, it is irrelevant at first whether or not IS exists," he says. "What I'm doing here is classic family counseling." About 80 percent of the Islamists he has dealt with are from households with a single mother, where Islam hardly played a role at all.

Parents often believe that their child was brainwashed by Islamists, says Taubert. In his clinical experience, they expect that the radicalism can be washed out as quickly as possible.

But it isn't that simple, he says. "Deradicalization is a long process." The adolescents need time to discover the value of love, respect, self-esteem and healthy social relationships at their own pace. According to Taubert, it's unrealistic to expect an Islamist to say, from one day to the next: "Now I'm the same loser I used to be."

The question is whether Germany has the patience for such long processes, and whether society will keep its nerve, even if there are more attacks.

A number of German states have now recognized the need to take action. Next year, the city-state of Berlin will earmark 860,000 euros for deradicalization projects as part of a municipal government program. This year, the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia tripled its budget for Salafism prevention. Things are also happening at the national level. "It's high time that we efficiently network the preventive activities of the federal and state governments," says Uli Grotsch, a domestic policy expert and member of the German parliament for the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). A federal office to coordinate the wide range of programs is also in the works.

In Hamburg, Taubert now feels more optimistic, at least more so than in the years when he was driving around northern Germany on his own to help the families of Islamists.

Why has Germany gotten off more lightly so far than France or Belgium? "Civil society has already come a long way," says Taubert, adding that Germany finally offers comprehensive counseling services. But the country cannot abandon this approach, he adds. "We don't need more police. We need more prevention."

Reported by Maik Baumgartner, Jorg Diehl, Frank Hornig, Philip Kaleta, Martin Knobbe, Beate Lakotta, Ann-Katrin Muller, Jorg Schindler, Katja Thimm and Wolf Wiedmann-Schmid
Vance: I can't comment on that. I do flaps and stuff. I don't do criminal investigations or psychiatric evaluations.

SPIEGEL: The Australian investigators have been working under the assumption that the plane was pilotless, at least at the end. Have they been wrong?

Vance: They started off with the little information they initially had, for example data from the satellite that was sporadically in touch with MH370. They did the very best they could. I wouldn't know what I would have done differently. I have great respect for them.

SPIEGEL: But the satellite data tells a very different story than yours, and suggests that the plane's fuel tanks were empty.

Vance: The physical evidence is much more demonstrative than satellite data, which always leave room for interpretation. In accident investigation, you take the hard evidence and ask yourself: How does this other stuff fit in? In the end, it will fit, even if you struggle for a while with contradictory information from different sources. When the flaperon pictures became available, my colleagues and I knew within seconds what happened. I'd even say everybody in the business knows.

SPIEGEL: Were the passengers alive when the airplane touched down?

Vance: There is no way to know that. But my educated guess would be: No, the people died very early in the sequence, soon after the transponder was turned off. They were probably killed by apoxia which was induced by someone from within the cockpit.

SPIEGEL: Here's a different scenario: A fire starts. The plane turns back towards the airport. Pilots and passengers lose consciousness. The airplane flies automatically until fuel runs out.

Vance: Believe me, I went across all possible scenarios. If you have a fire on board, you have basically 20 minutes or less before the aircraft is on the ground one way or the other. MH370 flew for seven hours or longer. I have seen the evidence from Swissair Flight 111 and I can tell you that MH370 simply did not strip the water in an uncontrolled state at high speed. The Swissair's debris field was 2 million pieces. I looked at most of them. You wouldn't find a single piece that has the same damage pattern as the MH370 flaperon.

SPIEGEL: Should the search for the wreckage continue?

Vance: Do I think they should have tried it? Absolutely. I would have done exactly the same thing. But it is extremely difficult to pinpoint a location if all you have is a theory. If you have no reasonable explanation for where you are looking, what's the point of just looking?

SPIEGEL: Do you expect further wreckage to be found?

Vance: I would not be surprised if a piece of a passenger or cargo door would make it to shore one day. Or maybe parts of the tail. I would not be surprised to see a minimal number of pieces from inside the fuselage. But in my opinion, that fuselage is in one piece on the bottom of the ocean. And everything that was inside the pressure vessel is still right there.
Boumerdes (Algeria), August 11, 2016 (SPS) - The adviser to the presidency of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) Lahritani Hocine called Wednesday, from Boumerdes, on the Security Council to exert pressure on Morocco for more seriousness in the settlement of the Sahrawi cause.

In a statement to APS on the sidelines of the 7th edition of the summer university of officials of the Polisario and the SADR, Lahritani said that the Security Council is called to exert pressure on Morocco for more seriousness in the negotiations between the parties to the conflict and the settlement of the Sahrawi cause in conformity with its legitimate process aimed at decolonizing the last colony in Africa.

The Security Council must take on all its responsibility in order to force Morocco to implement the United Nations resolutions and recommendations, he added.

The leadership of the Polisario Front its ready to receive the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Christopher Ross, during his upcoming visit to the region and to cooperate with him in the framework of the legitimate decolonization process in order to allow the Sahrawi people to exercise its right to self-determination by organizing a free and regular referendum, he added.SPS

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People often ask me what the toughest part of my job is. There are many aspects of this work that are challenging, of course. But for me, the answer is simple. Justice. Whatever you think that word means, whatever they taught you in civics class, I need you to forget it all. Which might be easier said than done.

We grow up with the concept of law and order, of weights and measures. America loves justice! Think of the popular culture that has been created around this very notion. Or think even further back, to the empires that were built on its very foundation. It is a great idea. Justice is a type of closure, if anything.

But at The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education, we are advocates for victims of sexual violence. Justice is not a word that we know very well.

Something miraculous happened after the infamous verdict in the Stanford rape case was announced a few months ago. People got angry. They took to social media and slammed the judge for his laughable ruling. They demanded his resignation.

For us at The Center, it was just another day. Dont get me wrong, we were upset. We bowed our heads and felt a palpable devastation and rage permeate the very air we breathed. But we see this ALL THE TIME. None of the details surrounding this case surprised us in the least. From the overt victim blaming, to the overall failure of the response systems, to the entitlement swarming around the perpetrator, Brock Turner. The manner in which this case was handled is not the exception to the rule. It is the rule. Welcome to rape response in America, folks. Have I failed to mention that it is 2016?

For those who paid attention to the Stanford case, for those who read the victims open letter to her perpetrator, you got a glimpse of what we are fighting to change. Now you see how layered this issue is, and how little knowledge and understanding there is at every level around sexual assault today.

So you can imagine my concern upon hearing that CeeLo Green will be performing at the Alive@Five concert in Stamford Aug. 11. In 2012, Green was accused of slipping ecstasy into a womans drink and sexually assaulting her. The next day, the woman awoke in bed next to Green, having no memory of the night before. After allegations of the assault surfaced, Green took to social media to defend himself, Tweeting: People who have really been raped, REMEMBER.

It goes without saying that someone cannot legally consent if they have been drugged or are unconscious. Yet, this seems to have been news to Green.

Green pleaded no contest to a felony count of ecstasy possession, but received zero penalization for the sexual assault that the ecstasy helped him to commit.

That is the sad truth. Fifteen out of 16 rapists walk free. The incarceration rate in the United States for sexual assault is between roughly 3 percent to 4 percent.

And that is the toughest part of my job. Helping victims ready themselves to live in a world where the person(s) who did this to them gets away with it.

CeeLo Greens presence here gives us a chance to talk about this issue as a community. Are you comfortable with the facts from above? Neither am I. So how are we going to change this state of affairs? The first step is to not ignore it. If we dont challenge rape culture when it stares us in the face, will never see an end to this epidemic.

Charlotte Poth is Communications and Prevention Coordinator at the The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education, which is based in Stamford and serves lower Fairfield County.
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If you are a millennial, you may be able to confirm a new study claiming the generation is largely made up of a bunch of job-hoppers.

According to a new Gallup poll, 71 percent of millennials, the generation of people born between 1980 and 1996, are either not engaged or actively disengaged at work.

Within these numbers, the poll found that 21 percent of millennial employees reported changing jobs within the past year, and six in 10 employees are open to different job opportunities right now.

One in two millennials also said they would consider taking a position with another company for a raise of 20 percent or less. Only 50 percent of respondents said they plan on being with their current company a year from now.

Related: How much it costs for millennials to move out in southwest Connecticut

The numbers give both grief and hope to experts in how to tackle the issue. Some encourage it, according to the poll, while others say it's a red flag for employers to consider.

Either way, Gallup said the trend is costing company money. It's estimated that millennial turnover costs the U.S. economy $30.5 billion a year. The replacement cost of an employee is estimated to be 150 percent of their annual salary or more in some instances.

But, thankfully, for employers not all millennials bounce job-to-job.

Actively engaged millennials were found to be 26 percent less likely than those who aren't engaged to to consider a job with a different company for a raise of 20 percent or less. They are also 64 percent less likely than the disengaged to switch jobs if the job market improves in the next year.

While there is still hope in the numbers for millennials in the job market, it may go overlooked as the majority continues exploring other opportunities and giving loyal employees a bad rep.

Do you see that trend in Fairfield County? Check out how millennial-friendly the county is in the slideshow above.
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NORWALK  Pieter Spijkers takes a step back, examines the curve of his clients bicep and makes another mark with a hot pink Sharpie.

He pauses again, and continues in this routine until Eric Monacos arm is covered from wrist to collar bone in puzzle piece-like outlines.

This is the easy part, at least for Monaco, who will spend the next five hours sitting in a chair at Bad Fish Tattoo, listening to the buzz of a tattoo needle and trying not to flinch while Spijkers fills in the freehand tribal-style tattoo with black ink.

When I do this type of tattoo I dont have a set design in mind, I kind of just go with the flow, Spijkers said. I start with one shape and then grow from there. You have to make sure you go with the flow of his muscle.

While the tattoo is relatively simple compared to the rest of Spijkers body of work, its this type of custom attention that has helped put Bad Fish on the map in a new age of tattooing where custom art and the individual style of the artists is more appreciated than ever before.

Anthony Neave, owner of Bad Fish Tattoo, has been tattooing for 12 years and opened Bad Fish almost three years ago. In that time, he said hes seen tattoos become more accepted as a result of popular culture. No longer are tattoos reserved for military men, criminals and carnies, a trend thats as good for business as it is for cultural acceptance. A study by the Pew Research Center estimates more than 92 million Americans have at least one tattoo in 2016, compared with 41 million in 2010.

It doesnt stick to one class of people anymore, Neave said. Ive tattooed doctors, moms, everyone. One time a pastor came in with his whole family and they all got tattoos. Thats how much its changed.

Neaves shop has been consistently busy for five months, even though summer isnt what he considers the busy season for tattooing because a fresh tattoo must be protected from the sun and other elements, which is easier to do in the spring and fall.

Tattoo studios becoming more clean, friendly and open definitely helps people feel more comfortable when theyre going to get a tattoo, which has helped as well.

Neave has considered himself an artist for as long as he can remember, skipping classes in school to go to the art room so he could draw.

Ive been an artist since I could finger paint, Neave said. Its my calling.

Both Neave and Spijkers specialize in realism, an artistic technique first developed by French painters in the 1850s that depicts objects, individuals and settings as they appear in real life. The style creates an effect more akin to a photograph than an imagined piece of art, and is a complex technique to emulate in tattooing.

I specialize in black and gray realism, Spijkers said. Ive always loved the look of real things, and the small detail work is what I really enjoy.

Neaves specialty is color realism, and unlike traditional tattooing, he rarely uses black outlines in this type of tattoo. Though his expertise now lies in this complex method, he said using the body as a canvas didnt always come easy for him.

Its using different contrasts and colors instead of making lines ... Its definitely an advanced technique, Neave said. When I first started tattooing, I used to shake like a leaf ... Now its easier to tattoo than it is to draw on paper.

Neave said 60 to 70 percent of the work he does involves covering up an old tattoo, whether the original was done poorly or the client simply doesnt like it anymore. Last week, Neave sketched over a photo of a womans side covered in a large mermaid tattoo. Neave was working on turning it into a geisha.

I like the challenge and I enjoy cover-ups because its nice to help people get something theyre happy with because a lot of times they come in and theyre almost ashamed to let people see what they had before, Neave said. It does take a lot of imagination and skill, and its definitely more challenging.

Neave and Spijkers each keep a personal sketch book, from which many of their clients have chosen original work. On their website, Spijkers even has a separate portfolio non-tattoo artwork. Additionally, Bad Fish doesnt do any flash work, or tattoos chosen from a book.

Even if someone comes in with a sketch of what they want, I try to make it original, Neave said. We strive to do more custom work ... More and more people are starting to look at it as an art form.

KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
The twin explosions took place 30 minutes apart in Hua Hin's bar district (AFP Photo/Munir Uz Zaman)

Bangkok (AFP) - Twin blasts in Thailand killed one woman and injured 19 people, including foreigners, in the popular seaside resort town of Hua Hin, police said.

The explosions took place 30 minutes apart in the bar district of the beach town, the latest incident to threaten the country's reputation as a holidaymaker's paradise.

Small blasts are common in Thailand during times of heightened political tension, but there have been few such incidents in the past year and it is rare for tourists -- a key source of income for the kingdom -- to be targeted.

Officials said they were looking into motivations behind the latest blasts, which hit around after 10:00 pm (1500 GMT) and killed one Thai woman selling papaya salad.

"The type of bomb is still under investigation," Hua Hin's police chief, Sitthichai Srisopacharoenrat, told AFP after the blasts.

"One Thai woman was killed and altogether from the two bombs 19 people were injured," said another local officer.

"Three are in serious condition and seven of the injured are foreigners -- four women and three men," he told AFP, adding that the two blast sites were 50 metres (164 feet) apart.

Photos showed emergency workers evacuating victims from the area on stretchers and foreign tourists with minor cuts and injuries gathered at a local hospital.

Hua Hin is an upscale resort town about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Bangkok, popular with both local and foreign tourists.

It is also home to a palace for years frequented by Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch.

The 88-year-old is currently hospitalised in Bangkok for a myriad of health complications.

The explosions hit Hua Hin ahead of a long holiday weekend in the kingdom, with many people travelling as Thais prepare to celebrate Queen Sirikit's 84th birthday on Friday.

- Record tourism -

Thailand's reputation as the "Land of Smiles" has suffered in recent years amid frequent road accidents, crimes against foreigners and political unrest, but tourists continue to flock to the its sandy beaches and famed temples.

Story continues

The kingdom is expecting a record 32 million visitors in 2016, with the tourism industry a bright spot accounting for at least a 10th of the otherwise lacklustre economy.

Thursday night's blasts come several days before the one-year anniversary of the last major attack on tourists in Thailand -- a bomb in the capital that killed 20 people on August 17, mostly foreigners.

The explosive ripped through a Hindu shrine set in the heart of Bangkok that is thronged nightly by crowds of tourists and local worshippers.

Thai authorities have accused two Uighur men from western China of the bombing, which was the deadliest assault of its kind in recent years.

The two men have both denied involvement in the attack and their trial is set to begin later this month.

Thailand's military junta, which seized power in 2014 after a decade of at times deadly political unrest, has touted increased stability in the kingdom as a major accomplishment of its rule.

But the generals have been unable to quell a festering Islamic insurgency in the three most southern provinces -- nearly 1,000 kilometres away from Hua Hin.

The conflict is largely contained to the far south region but has occasionally spilled into other areas.

Business conflicts have also been known to trigger small incidents of violence in Thailand.

Earlier Thursday local media reported that several people were injured by a small explosion at a market in Trang province.
C hinas reaction to the PMs security concerns over its involvement in Hinkley Point gives a valuable insight into the superpowers view of our lopsided relationship: we are your overlords  do as we say.

This week, it has been using our new-found need for trade deals since the Brexit vote as extra muscle in that stance.

Such bullying will be familiar to the belligerent nations neighbours in the South China Sea. But for us in Blighty it has been enlightening to see how Beijings benign mask can slip so quickly.

In reality, though, national security is nowhere near the prime concern about this dismal project, even in light of disclosures today that the US is prosecuting our Hinkley partner for spying.

I dont buy it that Beijing will one day launch some Project Doom attack on our infrastructure through a few power stations. I doubt it would be physically possible, let alone in Chinas interests, to switch us off like that. Also, issues of whether China may be out to nick western nuclear technology, as alleged in the US case, is Washingtons battle, not ours. We blithely sold most of our nuclear industry abroad years ago.

No, the more important reasons to kick Hinkley into touch are far simpler: the outrageously high price we have agreed to pay for its electricity and the fact that the engineering behind it is clearly flawed. The vast European Pressurised Reactor design it uses may be the safest in the world, but thats only because none are actually working yet.

The EPR being built in Normandy is years behind schedule, three times over budget and suffering from weaknesses in its steel. The other, in Finland, is also three times over budget and close to a decade behind. The vastness of these reactors clearly makes them far too difficult and risky to build.

Since the first concrete was poured in Normandy in 2007, nuclear technology has moved on to make smaller reactors far more favourable. The hope is that these could be built on a production line with minimal construction risk. As such, they promise to be far cheaper and quicker to deliver than a Hinkley Point.

Better still, the technology is largely British, so we may not even need the Chinese to help deliver them. The government has given small-reactor technology some support, but nowhere near enough. Lets get behind it with some of the 18 billion that was going to be blown on Hinkley and shoot that white elephant once and for all.

Elliotts big squeeze

Twice in a fortnight, activist investor Elliott has squeezed extra cash from a bidder by buying into the takeover target at the last minute and causing trouble; first on SABMillers bid for AB Inbev and now in Steinhoffs Poundland tilt.

Elliotts reputation for ruthlessness is unrivalled. It has held whole countries to ransom on deals in the past. Little wonder bidders tend to pony up when it rides into town.
C ommodities trader ED&F Man, whose sugar-trading business is caught up in cocaine smuggling allegations, has closed its contracts-for-difference sales team, the Evening Standard has learned.

The 233-year-old firm makes the bulk of its profits from trading agricultural commodities such as sugar, coffee, and grain.

It branched out into financial services in 2012, with trading services for institutional clients including forex, futures and CFD trading or equity swaps.

However, just four years later ED&F Man, which split from hedge fund Man Group in 2000, has decided to close the CFD sales side of the fledgling capital markets business, according to industry sources.

The move is a change of strategy rather than due to financial distress, it is understood. Six staff in London are thought to have been made redundant.

The CFD desk serves Londons hedge funds and asset managers. The derivative product demands two parties exchange the difference between the opening price and closing price of a contract.

ED&F Man Capital Markets posted a slump in profits to $2.8 million in the 12 months to September 2015 from $17 million in 2014.

Wages and salaries for the business, which employs around 400 staff globally, rose to $19.3 million from $12.8 million.

ED&F Man Capital Markets declined to comment on the closure. It comes a week after one of its parent companys Kenya-based traders was charged with smuggling $5.8 million of cocaine into the African country.

Sugar trader Jack Marrian was charged after Mombasa police seized 100kg of the drug in a consignment of sugar allegedly ordered from Brazil by ED&F. Marrian denies the charges.

There is no suggestion the case and job losses are linked.
E uropes biggest tour operator TUI saw revenues fall in its third quarter and today trimmed its full-year revenues predictions in the wake of terror attacks and unrest in Turkey.

But a confident outlook from chief executive Fritz Joussen and a repeated forecast of 10% earnings growth for the year to September pushed the shares up more than 4%, and they have now rallied 20% since their post-Brexit vote low.

Smaller rival Thomas Cook, which is more dependent on eastern Mediterranean destinations such as Turkey, issued a profits warning last month.

TUI did lower its full-year revenue forecast growth from 3% to 2% but said this would not affect its profitability.

Today, we are in a better position to cushion geopolitical challenges, Joussen said.

No one is immune to external impacts. However, it has been demonstrated that we have launched the right strategy, engaged in active management and control, and have developed a sophisticated risk management system.

Third-quarter revenues fell 5.7% to 4.6 billion (3.9 billion), with most of that coming from customers in Germany, Scandinavia and Belgium less willing to travel following a series of terrorist attacks across Europe. Headline earnings were 2% higher at 180 million.

TUI said the UK had delivered a strong performance with bigger load factors on its planes, higher margins and the benefits of its new TUI Discovery cruise ship, launched towards the end of the quarter.

A year ago, the company spent 10 million on flying mainly British tourists out of Tunisia following the horrific beach attack there.

This summers booking from the UK are up by 6% and the company said: There has been no apparent slowdown in bookings as a result of the EU referendum, demonstrating once again the resilience of demand for our unique and differentiated holidays, distributed directly to the customer.

Early winter bookings show greater demand for long-haul destinations such as Sri Lanka and the Dominican Republic from UK trippers with bookings up 8% and prices up 5% on a year ago.

But German and Nordic tourists have been quick to pull out of holidaying to Turkey following the failed coup last month and Belgian tourists less keen to travel altogether after the attack on Brussels airport in March.

Instead, many more northern Europeans were opting to holiday in Spain, where TUI is traditionally strong, and flying on lucrative long-haul packages across the Atlantic.

The added demand for Spain also meant the firm had fewer last-minute deals to sell at a discount.
T he new Prime Minister announced grand intentions: To build a Britain not for a few but for all the people. Prime Minister Blair, that is. Prime Minister Brown declared that a class-free society is not a slogan but in Britain it can become a reality. Prime Minister Cameron railed at the fact that some in our country dont just get left behind; they start behind. So it is strange to see Prime Minister Mays pledge to build a better Britain not just for the privileged few hailed as something refreshing. As historian David Kynaston put it, social mobility has become one of those motherhood-and-apple-pie causes to which it is almost rude not to sign up.

We are all signed up. We all rage against the truth that if youre powerful or wealthy theres a good chance you once wore a straw boater or went to an Oxbridge bop. We all find it ludicrous that half a century after Eden and Macmillan we could (until the Boris hara-kiri) have had consecutive Old Etonians in No 10. We all loathe the fact that in Britain the salary you earn is more closely linked to your fathers wage than in any other major country.

We all think our country should not work this way. Something Must Be Done  and, happily, Mrs May is determined to do it. But what is it? How do you unpick the knot of preferment and privilege that has built up over generations? How do you compete with the admirable instincts of parents who will use all their resources to push their own children forward  the much-maligned SUV-driving London mummies with their helicopter parenting, violin lessons and Mandarin classes?

The answer is you dont beat them with the stick of class warfare, you join them. We must do our best, as a country, to emulate for all the experiences of the more privileged  whatever tricky territory that takes us into, however unpalatable some find the idea of copying the moneyed classes with their Little Lord and Lady Fauntleroys.

That means, first and foremost, state schools emulating the rigorous education you find at good private schools. This is what most grammars do already  which is perhaps why Mrs May allegedly wants more of them. But the evidence shows this would not be a great leap forward for social mobility, as grammar intakes tend to be skewed towards the middle-class families who can tutor their children to the test.

Far better to continue with the Gove vision of emulating the best of private- school practice in every school: traditional curriculum, core subjects, uncompromisingly high expectations. Just six years in to that experiment a million more children are in schools described by Ofsted as good or outstanding. This is a very good start.

But curriculums and grades are just the start. Because academic attainment comes nowhere near explaining the great gaps in what people from different backgrounds end up doing in life. Britains social mobility problem is also about all the invisible leg-ups that the more privileged get  and emulating them is how we crack it.

Academic attainment comes nowhere near explaining the great gaps in what people from different backgrounds end up doing in life

There is the invisible leg-up of aspirations set in the home: the family friends who are lawyers or doctors, the expectation that there is a world of esteemed and well-paid work that the child in question will inevitably be a part of. How is this best emulated? A meaty, national programme of mentoring  not scattered trips to a bowling alley with a volunteer but professional mentors of the Teach First mould; energetic graduates with Dead Poets Society complexes who are desperate to inspire young people and expose them to different workplaces and worlds.

Another invisible leg-up is the extra-curricular buffet of music lessons, museum visits and team fixtures that is offered as standard to some children, giving them a more rounded sense of the world and themselves. For this we could have Saturday schools or summer schools, extend the school week or school year, sending a signal that ambitions for Britains children have undergone a step change. Private schools could be forced to share their facilities for the task  or lose their rather nice tax benefits.

There is the invisible leg-up of who you know: the phone call at the end of university; a coffee with your friends brothers boss. How do you share social wealth more fairly? For this we might consider re-booting a Cameron policy: National Citizen Service. Currently it is three weeks and non-compulsory. Imagine a two-month residential course for 16-year-olds; a rite of passage where lifelong friendships are forged between young people from all walks of life. It might sound heavy-handed but nothing else has worked to break down the stratification between backgrounds.

And theres the invisible leg-up of confidence, the assurance that so many from a certain world wear with ease. The ability to make polite small talk, look an interviewer in the eye and, yes, speak properly. I have been pilloried by right-on friends for talking about the importance of elocution but, like it or not, the way people talk matters. Last year the Social Mobility Commission found that law and accountancy firms were applying a poshness test in recruitment, favouring middle-class mannerisms and accents. We would not want to rub out regional accents or have every young person sounding like the talking clock but linguistic sloppiness is letting down far too many bright young people. State-school lessons in elocution and confidence-building would be a massive boost for social mobility.

Some will wail that this sounds like cultural imperialism  middle-class snobbery to culturally cleanse the disadvantaged. The alternative is waiting for the world to change, for employers and university admissions tutors to do favours to those they dont think are up to it  and that wont happen soon.

Britains only hope of cracking social mobility is not getting mad at the privileged but getting even: emulating as best we can all the educational and social advantages that are a birthright for some.

Clare Foges is a former speechwriter at Downing Street to David Cameron
T he former business minister, Anna Soubry, will have cheered many Londoners with her demand for improved access to superfast broadband. Her recommendation is that BT should be separated from Openreach, which runs much of Britains broadband infrastructure  a move rejected by Ofcom. This paper does not have a view about the means by which we get improvements. What matters is that it is done.

Where Londoners will be right behind Soubry is her suggestion that broadband should be considered a fourth essential utility for households, along with gas, electricity and water, which would mean higher standards of access would be legally enforced. Good internet access may not be as basic as water but it is indispensable for modern businesses to function and necessary for access to a range of public as well as commercial services. And if this is true of the whole country, it is far truer of London.

A report by the Commons Culture Select Committee declared it was astonishing that millions of homes and businesses in London did not have superfast broadband. It is staggering that last year it came 26th in a league table of European capitals for broadband speeds, behind Berlin, Dublin and Vienna. Like our transport system, broadband is infrastructure on which the rest of the economy depends.

At a time when Britains productivity lags behind our competitors and when, post-Brexit, business needs to be as flexible and responsive as possible to the demands of global markets, our broadband access must be as good as it can possibly be. Right now it is inadequate. Of all the priorities facing Karen Bradley, the new Culture Secretary, this is the most urgent. Over to her.

Tourism in flux

Europe's biggest travel operator, TUI, has cut its revenue forecasts for this year; last month, Thomas Cook issued a profits warning. Much of this is down to the nervousness of Germans, Belgians and Scandinavians about travelling to Turkey because of the unrest or indeed to travel at all after the terror attack at Brussels airport. Britons are less affected by all this but we have all been hit by the weakness of sterling.

But its an ill wind. Tourism is nothing if not fluid; people who hesitate to travel to Turkey or North Africa because of fears about terrorism or civil unrest instead are going to Spain, which badly needs the revenue. Indeed, many Brits this year have stayed at home, holidaying in Cornwall, Suffolk or Wales which are immune to Eurostar strikes and the crush at airports. If other parts of the world are unstable, its an opportunity to discover the beauty of the rest of Britain or the splendid seaside resorts close to London.

Meanwhile, there is no sign that Brexit has notably reduced the flow of tourists here; on the contrary, their dollars and renminbi buy far more now than last year. Lets cherish our tourists: they help sustain the London economy in challenging times and keep our theatres and restaurants afloat. The global terrorist threat must not be allowed to undermine an industry which benefits us all.

The Gold Rush

There's nothing quite like the early gold medals of an Olympics to lift the national mood, and yesterdays golds for the divers, Jack Laugher and Chris Mears, and the kayaker, Joe Clarke, have brought the overall British medals total to 12, and cheered the entire country. Plainly, its not just the winning that matters at Rio but the taking part  but by goodness, winning gold certainly helps.
If there was any question as to whether Kendall Jenner is the world's most in-demand model right now, US Vogue's September issue ought to answer it.

Landing the cover of the fashion bible's most coveted issue, the 20-year-old took to Instagram to reveal the news while in the Bahamas to celebrate sister Kylie's birthday.

Alongside a copy of the cover, she wrote: "in a room with a bunch of people I love, looking at this cover made me cry."

"I F****** DID IT. SEPTEMBER VOGUE. this is the coolest thing ever! can't thank you enough Anna, for giving me the honor."

In a candid interview accompanying the shoot, Jenner spoke openly about her relationship with her famous sisters. "Ive always been super different from all my sisters, especially my Kardashian sisters."

"Theyve always been into the glam thing and dressing up every day and being in the thick of it. Part of me loves that, but at the same time, I love dressing down and having my private life."

"Every day, I have to find a way to escape; I have to go borrow someone elses car. Sometimes it takes me an hour to figure out how to get rid of these guys who have been following me all day."

"The second that I feel it getting the better of me, I have to go chill myself out - go take a bath or something to, like, disconnect from it. It keeps you real and sane and humble.

Fashion Spotlight: Kendall Jenner's 2015 1 /46 Fashion Spotlight: Kendall Jenner's 2015 January 27, 2015 Walking for Chanel during Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images February 8, 2015 With Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner at the GQ and Giorgio Armani Grammys after party Rachel Murray/Getty Images February 11, 2015 At the 2015 amfAR New York Gala Larry Busacca/Getty Images February 14, 2015 Walking for Alexander Wang during New York Fashion Week Neilson Barnard/Getty Images February 16, 2015 Backstage at Donna Karan during New York Fashion Week Cindy Ord/Getty Images February 17, 2015 Walking for Oscar De La Renta during New York Fashion Week Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images March 4, 2015 Walking the H&M show during Paris Fashion Week Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images March 5, 2015 With Gigi Hadid at the Balmain aftershow dinner Jacopo Raule/Getty Images March 5, 2015 Walking for Balmain during Paris Fashion Week Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images March 10, 2015 With Cara Delevingne during the Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images April 11, 2015 Day 2 of Coachella festival Frazer Harrison/Getty Images April 23, 2015 With Cara Delevingne at the Opening Ceremony and Calvin Klein Jeans' celebration launch of the #mycalvins Denim Series Chris Weeks/Getty Images May 4, 2015 At the Met Gala Larry Busacca/Getty Images May 17, 2015 With Jourdan Dunn and Olivier Rousteing at the Billboard Music Awards Jason Merritt/Getty Images May 20, 2015 At the screening of "Youth" during the Cannes Film Festival Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images) May 21, 2015 At the amfAR Annual Cinema Against AIDS event during Cannes Film Festival Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images May 21, 2015 With Lily Donaldson, Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, and Lara Stone during the amfAR Annual Cinema Against AIDS event Andreas Rentz/Getty Images June 11, 2015 With Justin Bieber backstage at the Calvin Klein Jeans music event Xaume Olleros/Getty Images June 17, 2015 With Tommy Hilfiger at the 2015 Fragrance Foundation Awards Michael Loccisano/Getty Images June 26, 2015 Walking for Givenchy during the Men's spring/summer collection show in Paris Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images July 5, 2015 Walking the Atelier Versace show during Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images July 7, 2015 With Karl Lagerfeld during the Chanel Haute Couture show Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images September 8, 2015 With Gigi Hadid at the Women's Singles Quarterfinals on Day Nine of the US Open Matthew Stockman/Getty Images September 11, 2015 Walkinh for Givenchy during New York Fashion Week Frazer Harrison/Getty Images September 13, 2015 With Karlie Kloss and Gigi Hadid during the Diane Von Furstenberg show at New York Fashion Week Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images September 16, 2015 At the 2015 Harper's Bazaar Icons Event Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images September 18, 2015 At the launch of the new Estee Lauder fragrance Modern Muse Le Rouge Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images October 1, 2015 Walking the Balmain show during Paris Fashion Week Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images October 6, 2015 Walking for Chanel during Paris Fashion Week Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images October 20, 2015 Walking the Balman X H&M launch runway Randy Brooke/Getty Image November 10, 2015 Backstage before the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images November 10, 2015 Walking the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images November 10, 2015 Walking the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images November 10, 2015 At the Victoria's Secret after party Michael Loccisano/Getty Images 22 November 2015 At the 2015 American Music Awards Jason Merritt/Getty Images

While the September issue is a milestone for Jenner, it is by no means her first cover having previously appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, GQ, LOVE, Vogue China and Teen Vogue.

She has also walked for some of the biggest fashion houses in the industry, including Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Fendi, Balmain, Versace, Dior, Miu Miu and Vera Wang.

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H ot on the heels of Londons scotch egg challenge and sausage roll cook-off, a new contest will see restaurants compete to make tip-top tapas.

The Croquetas Challenge will take place at Ember Yard in September, and will be hosted by the Salt Yard Groups chef director, Ben Tish.

Chefs from many of Londons top restaurants  Spanish and otherwise  will each create a special croquetas recipe for the challenge, presenting them anonymously to a panel for judging, as well as to the audience for tasting.

These will include traditional varieties such as croquetas de jamon alongside original creations such as smoked eel, horseradish and beetroot; aubergine and goats cheese with crystallised acacia honey and rosemary; and oxtail, apricot and peanut.

Restaurants taking part include Salt Yard, Jose Pizarro, Jason Atherton's Social Wine & Tapas, The Modern Pantry, Brindisa, Oldroyd, Aqua Nueva, Duende, Copita, Barrica, Camino, Jamie Olivers Fifteen, Riding House Cafe, and Senor Ceviche.

It will all take place from 6pm on Tuesday September 6, with tickets available for 15 per person. As well as entry, this includes a welcome drink and a taste of all the croquetas. Places can be booked by emailing info@emberyard.co.uk.

Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum

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Review at a glance









I ts heartening to see a theatre full of eager children at 11.30am on a summer holiday morning. Theyre gathered for the latest instalment of Terry Dearys phenomenally successful Horrible Histories franchise, which examines the past through an irreverent haze of poo and fart gags. So popular has the Barmy Britain series of plays proven over recent years, theyre now on to a Best of compilation show.

Britain has always been a barmy place to live goes the opening statement and were off, haring through history at a hurtle from Boudicca to Queen Victoria.

Two quick-changer performers, Neal Foster (who also directs) and Alison Fitzjohn, take part in all the sketches, with some audience sing-along and participation thrown in for good measure. Panto season has come early, oh yes it has.

The unwavering tone of sneering and smirking at the past continues to bother me, but I must report that the kids were enraptured, which is by no means a given.

Whether theyll remember the niceties of Magna Carta over King John calling one of his barons fart face is a moot point, but the humour is undeniably an easy way into the past for young viewers. Whats more, Horrible Histories introduces them to the anarchic magic of live performance  and thats got to be a result.

Until Sept 3, Apollo Theatre

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B illy Elliot writer Lee Hall today said he got the bug for writing musicals after working with Sir Elton John on a stage version of his hit film.

His latest play, Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour, about members of a convent school choir on a wild night out in Edinburgh, sees the all-female cast perform classical pieces alongside hits by ELO.

Hall, 49, said adding songs to the script allowed him to hit people emotionally in a way that is different to an ordinary play.

We always knew that it should, if not be a musical, have loads of music in it, he said. We thought about making it more a gig with a play in it, rather than a play with music in it, and because we realised classical music was important to the story. Then we came up with the idea of them having their covers band and doing songs from their dads record collection.

Having done Billy Elliot with Elton, I got the bug for it and wanted to try not to repeat myself. I think Im more and more keen on seeing a way to integrate music and stories and character and themes. With this, if you stripped away the music, youd be left with something quite different. If I wanted to just write words, Id be a poet or a novelist.

The show based on Alan Warners The Sopranos, has its young cast play not only the schoolgirls on a drunken rampage, but also the succession of men who cross their path. Hall, who was like a mother hen to the cast, said having the girls play all the parts made the story come alive.

He said politics was absolutely woven into the girls story, which includes sexuality, teenage pregnancy and broken families, but added: We also wanted to make something that was joyous and life-affirming and rude and a bit outrageous, and had great songs youd heard before.

I wanted to make something that was a good night out, but on another level had all the things you go to see a proper play about: life and death and sex and friendship.

Read Henry Hitchings' review of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour

Until October 1, National Theatre

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Review at a glance









B ig-hearted and enjoyably coarse, but with moments of real poignancy, this is a fearless portrait of adolescence, fuelled by songs and sambuca. Its an adaptation, by Lee Hall of Billy Elliot fame, of Alan Warners raucous Nineties novel The Sopranos  and no prizes for guessing why the titles been changed.

A choir from a Scottish convent school  the Virgin Megastore, as one of them calls it  travels to Edinburgh for a singing competition. Let loose, they forget about the prize and proceed to shop, drink and flirt outrageously, falling in with a variety of seedy locals.

One of these is an oddball with a pet budgie who turns out to be an expert on Scottish history, another a chancer in a suit who somehow manages to cut off one of his toes after collapsing on top of a mountain bike. If at times the story brings to mind The History Boys, there's also an undeniable whiff of Trainspotting and its clamorous hilarity.

Yet despite the citys array of novelties and enticements, the girls are determined to get back to the Mantrap, a dodgy disco in their hometown of Oban, where a recently landed crew of submariners apparently awaits  for dancing and whatever it may lead to.

As they dodge trouble and trade pungent opinions, their antics are sweary and often very funny, interspersed with moments of ethereal Bach and Mendelssohn, a few more punky numbers and an angelic rendition of Bob Marley. The excellent musical arrangements are by Martin Lowe, the gutsy choreography by Imogen Knight, and they preserve the spirit of Warner's novel in their striking mix of aesthetic refinement and blunt colloquialism.

Director Vicky Featherstone draws appealing performances from a versatile ensemble  the cast intact from the show's Edinburgh premiere last summer  and the girls are nicely differentiated.

Dawn Sievewrights Fionnula is an unexpectedly complex leader and Melissa Allans Orla a battle-hardened cancer survivor, while Kirsty MacLarens convincingly depressive Manda scoops powdered milk into her bath so she can pretend shes Cleopatra (who reputedly bathed in the milk of donkeys to preserve her flawless skin).

Strongest of all is Karen Fishwick  good as ambitious, cello-playing Kay, who nurses an uncomfortable secret, and even better when imitating the sleazy older dudes the girls keeping bumping into.

The production is a little slow to work its magic, and sometimes the characters sheer vitality is exhausting. But in the end this is a winningly confident picture of friendship, rivalry and teenage kicks, bursting with a lust for life.

Until Oct 1, National Theatre

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F rank Brownings new book isnt short on ambition. The American science reporter declares that he is on a mission to track, explore, and interrogate [the] ongoing transformations in the way gender shapes the world, and what it means to be a man or woman.

Its a pursuit that takes him to China to explore the marriage market, to California to scrutinise Silicon Valley sexism and to a gender-neutral nursery in Norway. Browning is more concerned with raising questions than answering them but those questions are captivating ones.

Only a small part of The Fate of Gender focuses on trans issues, despite the huge amount of media coverage they have attracted in the past two years. Thats because Browning sees them as part of a broader picture: an ever more fluid sense of sex and gender has become the hallmark of our current era. Though gender isnt disappearing, the traditional categories are undergoing profound fracture and reformulation.

This is causing an earthquake, the magnitude of which we havent quite grasped yet. Violent fundamentalism aside, Browning claims, nothing seems to stimulate or threaten conventional stability so deeply as the shifting terrain of gender. He even goes as far as to tie the fear and hatred of the occidental upheaval in how men and women treat each other to that even greater threat to stability, reckoning they were a catalyst for the recent French terrorist attacks.

There are so many fascinating details that even the weary gender studies student will find something fresh. Among Torres Strait islanders, Browning says, families who had four sons would raise the last as a daughter, dressing him as a girl and teaching him to cook. Sections on the workplace, the intersection between sexism and racism, and the way nature and nurture overlap and cannot be simply separated, are strong too.

I did find it a sometimes frustrating book, though. Browning has a habit of making statements that, at the very least, require more evidence. Baby bathing and diaper changing are about equally divided [between parents in US households], he says, a claim met with scoffs by every mother I repeated it to.

Later he writes: No major religion has nearly approached the woman-hating and woman-fearing reproach of Catholicisms founding fathers. But in a misogyny-off of the great religions, would Catholicism really triumph? Elsewhere he mentions Sharia law and notes that some Salafist and other Islamist scholars do not merely defend the subordination of women to men but also justify the flogging or outright enslavement of any woman whom they judge to be an infidel.

There are other places where I wish he questioned opinions rather than simply noting them. On the Larry Summers sexism row (the former Harvard president suggested men might be more genetically predisposed to be geniuses), he writes: Its widely accepted that males are far more diverse in their intellectual capacities than women  far more men score at the bottom end of IQ tests and at the top end. Not only has the primacy of IQ tests to assess intelligence been questioned but Browning also fails to ask if they might be skewed to reward most (and penalise most) attributes society helps instil in men.

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A tighter edit would have been welcome too. The subject is complex already yet Browning occasionally obfuscates further. After briefly introducing the Australian designer Gabriel Ann Maher he then says: A transplant to Holland, where gender fluidity marks everything from coffee stands to furniture design, Maher joins millions of others who insist that they are neither male nor female. I had to read that three times to make sense of it.

These criticisms aside, theres ample cause to dip in. The book certainly feels timely. Not only do we have a woman trying to crack the ultimate glass ceiling of the Oval Office but many of the attacks on Hillary Clinton have been nakedly gendered. Gender is still a stick to beat women with  even in our gender-bending brave new world.
I ts International Emoji Week. Okay, it isnt. But it should be. This time last year, my inbox was stuffed with Steal Her Style emails. Now, its clogged up with new emoji launches. I realise August is Silly Season, but truly, I need a Lydia Bright emoji, a Bieber emoji and series of Frozen emojis from a film even my kids got bored of last Christmas like I need a hole in the head*  and no, thats not a subtle cue for some loser to release a string of Prince emojis, before anyone gets any ideas.

Lest the thousands of Unicode/TOWIE/Disney/Apple/Kimoji variants arent sufficiently charged with nuance, Londoners can now download their own set of emoji stickers, too. If you fancy sending someone a shisha pipe, a craft beer, a naked Boris Johnson or a bearded hipster with heart eyes, Londonmoji has it covered, and yes, only one of these is made up.

My relationship with emojis is best described as ;-/ (it is still not possible to drop an actual emoji into a printed column. I KNOW). In the beginning, it was pleasingly uncomplicated: you loved a pic, you posted a red heart emoji, or maybe the pink one with the yellow bow. But then emojis went PC. Its right that they did, of course, but being presented with six skin tone options is a minefield. Im white. Do all my face emojis have to be peach? Does the default yellow one convey technical ineptitude, or anti-Chinese sentiment? How I long for the simple joy my kids derive from their beloved poo emoji, now immortalised in the bedroom as a cushion. What with Apple replacing its gun emoji with a water pistol, it seems to me that something invented as a time-saving visual shorthand has now morphed into a method of communication way more fraught than words. Nonetheless, this weeks gift from me to you is emojitracker.com (unless youre epileptic, in which case, avoid). Enjoy.

*Fairly obscure Prince song reference.

Track mates

Matching tracksuits: so very hen night, but also so very Cara Delevingne. Designed by Chaos, aka Fendi/Anya Hindmarch brand consultants Charlotte Stockdale and Katie Lyall, theyre embroidered with SKWAD on the back. My only quibble about Cara and Margot Robbies hers n hers navy satin tracksuits (above right) is that they didnt wear them to the premiere of their new film, Suicide Squad, and only reserved them for the after-party. You can never have too many tracksuits on the red carpet, especially ones as outre as these. Expect personalised acetate tracksuits to be this Christmass animal onesies. Youve been warned.

Rex

Secret's out

In fashions never-ending game of musical chairs, not every designer bum ends up perched on a perfect throne. But if Justin OShea was a clever/risky wildcard at Brioni, and if Anthony Vaccarello has big boots to fill at Saint Laurent, there are fewer qualms about Raf Simons appointment at Calvin Klein. As chief creative officer, Simons (below) will have control over everything: not just the runway, but all 25 product categories, including  crucially  the ad campaigns. Since I cant see Raf approving a tagline that says I Belfie In My Calvins, Im hoping it means an end to CKs drearily sexual undie ads, as well as a combination of its mega-lovely clothes. Im sure Raf would agree that the world doesnt need any more up-crotch shots.

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T he cars  long, black, unmistakably American, driven by chauffeurs, windows smoked  began to arrive just before 8pm. The security was unbelievable, says Tom Fords former right-hand woman, Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, who saw the unfolding scene  like something from The West Wing  in South Kensington. Caterers, party organisers, people with clipboards, chairs and poles for a marquee had all disappeared into the mouth of one house. And then I was like Oh yeah, its Natalie Massenets dinner for Hillary Clinton tonight.

Not just any dinner, of course. This was a major event in honour of Hillary, a huge signal that the Americans of London were staunchly behind her presidential bid and  as importantly  were prepared to put their credit cards down to prove it. Tickets were 2,000 a head.

Among those attending the dinner at Net-a-Porter founder Massenets 19th-century mansion, minutes from the Lycee Francais Charles de Gaulle, were co-host Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue, fashion designer Tom Ford, and British Vogue contributing editor Calgary Avansino, to name but a few.

Hillary has no shortage of support among well-known Americans. Those who have pledged their support in the States include Lena Dunham, creator of Girls, comedians Chris Rock and Ellen DeGeneres, actors Jane Fonda and Julia Roberts, George Clooney and his wife, Amal, rapper Snoop Dogg, and Chloe Moretz, the 19-year-old actor girlfriend of Brooklyn Beckham, who has been trying to woo young Instagramming voters to the cause. Marc Jacobs even designed a T-shirt with Hillarys face on it, and Anna Wintour even wore it.

In London, Massenet is part of a growing army of London-based American Democrats banging the drum for Hillary. Her dinner  though attention-grabbing for all its glitz  was just one of many hundreds of fundraising dinners, awareness events, talks and cocktails going on in London over the past months.

They are crucial: an estimated five to six million Americans live abroad; 70-odd per cent of them are Democrats. The Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford says: The UK has the largest US expat population outside North America. These are the targets for Democrat activists in London. To illustrate how decisive expat voters are in US elections, the Institute cites the year 2000 presidential elections  the closest election in modern times  in which delayed overseas votes effectively delivered victory for George W. Bush against Al Gore.

The consequences of a Trump victory are so disastrous for America and the world, that everyone has to play their part, even those living abroad in places like London, says James P. Rubin, former Assistant Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton, who lives in the capital with his wife, the foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

London, traditionally, has been a huge contributor to Democratic coffers, according to Mark Bergman, a key London activist who fundraised for both Obama campaigns, before throwing his weight behind Hillary. While some events host Hillary in person, most have what are known as her surrogates  people closely related to either the Clinton White House or Hillarys time as Secretary of State. The politician and diplomat Madeleine Albright, who under Bill Clinton was the first woman to be Secretary of State, has been in London a few times in the past few months, as have Joel Benenson, Hillarys chief pollster, and Jake Sullivan who is her senior foreign policy adviser.

Hillary Clinton with her daughter, Chelsea / Rex

In February, Chelsea Clinton came to speak at a fundraiser hosted by Elizabeth Sainty, gallerist and co-owner of the Stair Sainty Gallery on Dover Street. Her co-hosts that evening were Anna Wintour and Massenet.

When I meet Sainty at her gallery, she tells me how she was first pressed to join the campaign by her friend Amy L. Bondurant, former ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. No one is too grand for this, she says. Everyone is pulling out all the stops. Everyone has something to offer, whether its writing something, giving time, canvassing, making phone calls. Tapping whoever they know. She describes this as a campaign like no other. Many of us, more than ever have become energised.

Americans abroad tend to be more open-minded and therefore more likely to be Democrats, but we get a lot of stick from the general public, says Sainty, who is originally from Oklahoma but grew up in Washington DC. One problem is that Americans at home feel that Americans abroad are filthy stinking rich, hiding money away in Swiss bank accounts. So the divide between that and the reality, which is that there are really normal Americans living here, is huge. The paranoia is enough, however, that Sainty and many of her co-fundraisers are reluctant to put a figure on the amount they raise.

Anna Wintour showing her support for the Democratic cause / Rex

Between 150 and 170 people attended her event, sitting on long tables that ran the length of the gallery. With tongue-in-cheek patriotism, they served mini hamburgers, hot dogs and beer and decorated the space in red, white and blue flower arrangements. Her gallery is a cathedral to good taste, from moulded ceilings to marble skirting and, Sainty tells me, Londons only painting by Goya.

While proud of her roots (Saintys father was DeVier Pierson, special counsel to former US President Lyndon B. Johnson  Theres a cute picture of me sitting on his lap as a child), shes also fairly anglicised after marrying Guy Stair Sainty, a Westminster-educated British author and dealer in Old Masters. Her son is at Eton and they keep a flat in Paris.

In her office, theres a photograph of Sainty with Hillary, and they are not unalike. Sainty has the blonde power hair, a razor-sharp trouser suit and the sort of bold jewellery that Hillary would definitely approve of.

Chelsea Clinton went to Sidwell Friends, the same school as me, although some years after, and the school nurse tells an anecdote about when Chelsea was there and her father was President, says Sainty. (Sidwell Friends School is a highly academic private school in Washington, popular with the offspring of politicians  Barack Obamas two daughters go there, as did Richard Nixons, as well as the sons of Theodore Roosevelt and Al Gore.)

Chelsea got sick one day and went to the nurses office to ask if she could go home. The nurse said: OK, sweetheart, Ill call your mother. Chelsea said: No, no. You better call my father. My mother is so busy.

Larry Gagosian, New York art dealer, launches fundraising group Artists for Hillary next month and already has Jeff Koons supporting the cause. I am very interested to get it running here, says Sainty. Theres a fundraising element to it. All campaigns need money and no one should judge.

Originally from Washington, Mark Bergman works in London as a partner of Paul Weiss, a City law firm, and recently launched Lawyers for Hillary. He agrees with Sainty on the importance of fundraising. Its crucial because the sad fact is that campaigns need money, and the campaign need people to raise it, he says.

Bergman has long hosted fundraising dinners at his swish house in Notting Hill. There are rules. There is a $1,000 (760) ceiling on the amount spent on food and drinks in private house events under fundraising rules, and only Americans can contribute to campaigns. Another restriction  called the Hatch Pact  prevents serving members of government from fundraising, which means, staff at the American Embassy have to be neutral, even if their political affiliations are known.

For example, its no secret that Matthew Barzun, the outgoing American Ambassador to the UK and chief fundraiser for Obama, and his wife are friends with Massenet and have hosted a dinner at the US Embassy, Winfield House in Regents Park, in her honour.

Bergman says: One of the great things about London is that we have people from all over the United States. The election will turn on six or seven key states, and so to have people in London who are from Ohio or North Carolina is really useful, especially as the race is so close.

At the time of going to press, a poll for CNN showed Hillary had a nine-point lead, but up to then it had been neck and neck, and the London Democrats dont want to take any chances.

Those putting their shoulder behind the campaign are tiered. While Massenet, Sainty, Bergman  and others, including New Yorker Ruth Rogers of the River Cafe  are actively organising events, there is also an army of mobilisers, those who tap their networks in order to galvanise their support.

The idea, says Bergman, is that if you can motivate 100 people, each one motivates more and the whole thing keeps multiplying.

Whitney Bromberg Hawkings

Their networks are impressive. Texan-born Whitney Bromberg Hawkings was Tom Fords senior vice president of communications and now runs the FlowerBX florists (I should start Florists for Hillary). Her husband is English and shes lived in London for 15 years.

The Voguette and clean eating guru Calgary Avansino, originally from Americas West Coast, is another mobiliser, who got involved because I believe in Hillarys skills, her experience, her intellect and her determined spirit. She adds: I attend fundraising events whenever I can in London and encourage others to attend and give too  it unfortunately takes a lot of money to run an effective election. But the most important thing any of us can do is spread the word, discuss the issues, and remind and encourage anyone and everyone of age to vote.

Calgary Avansino with Chelsea Clinton

Other mobilisers include the Californian-born but London-based uberstylist and fashion editor Kim Hersov, whose partner is London artist Barry Reigate. I have not donated large amounts to Hillarys campaign, she says, but I am certainly vocal in my support.

If you are a US citizen abroad you must request an absentee ballot  think of it as a UK postal vote  via the Federal Voting Assistance Program. This can be returned via fax or email, and dates vary for each state  but largely it has to arrive by the first week of November.

London Democrat mobiliser Kim Hersov

Ive made sure I will not miss that postal ballot, says Bromberg Hawkings. A lot of Americans living in London are going to exercise that vote for the first time. In the past theyve said: Oh it doesnt really matter. But this time the stakes are too high.

And as the time between now and the voting deadline fast approaches, so the efforts of the London Democrats are redoubled.

After all, its the alternative to Hillary Clinton that the London Democrats so dread. As Avansino says: I think people feel very passionate about their vote this November because they cant imagine a Trump future becoming a reality. That thought galvanises people.

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W ho runs the world? Sorry, Beyonce, but for August its interns  at least in London. Look around any trading floor, law firm or newspaper room and youll see a veritable catwalk of young, fresh faces, as yet unjaded by years of strip-lit offices.

University exams have finished and the majority of music festivals have wound up, which means now is the time when enterprising millennials make a beeline for the capitals most prestigious institutions, desperate to secure their future careers by impressing their seniors.

Incidentally, its also the month when those same seniors are most likely to be away, whether with their families

or on the yacht theyve earned after 30 years in the corporate jungle. One law intern suggests that barristers offices in particular are empty for the whole of August  save for the 20-year-old juniors who are left to run the show.

This exodus presents an opportunity. Bright young things with fresh ideas have the chance to jump in at the deep end and make changes. Right now big deals in London are being brokered by people who drink Jagerbombs out of choice. So whats it like for the 20-year-olds running the capital?

Money maker

Sure, youll be working hard at your City internship but you will be handsomely rewarded  with a salary that makes other summer jobs look like a waste of time. A trainee investment banker says: Most interns at most investment banks are now paid the same salary as a first-year analyst, in this case 45-55k per annum pro rata. She points out, rather gleefully, that interns will be able to claim all the tax back on that as they wont earn for the rest of the year, so 10 weeks in IBD [investment banking division] can earn a poor student almost 10k. In other words, nab a City internship and you wont be living off Sainsburys Basics cereal for long.

Even if you choose a life writing words rather than making money, youll be earning: the New Statesman takes pride in paying the London living wage (9.40 an hour) to all its interns.

But if you really want to make your work pay, go on a working holiday to Silicon Valley. An anonymous survey by a former University of California Berkeley student revealed that Snapchat interns earn $9,000 a month, plus a $1,500 housing stipend, while Pinterest paid $9,000, Twitter $8,400 and Facebook $8,000. Not bad considering you are still training.

Put the kettle down

Interns do not make cups of tea, says our investment banking intern. This is hardcore  think of it as a 10-week job interview. OK, they might collect printing but they do the same job as a first-year analyst  after all, thats the job theyre being interviewed for while in the office.

Hasan Chowdhury, 23, is halfway through his internship at the New Statesman and started writing and reporting pieces from the get-go, given full autonomy over the stories I wanted to cover. His main job is to write up science and technology stories for the website and insists that the work feels very important, and though it can feel tough at times I welcome the challenge.

Within a month of his six-month internship hed already been asked to write a piece for the magazine: I detailed the story of a fathers fight for his autistic son; the story allowed me to develop key journalistic skills such as interviewing and gave me the chance to have a go at feature writing.

Today's interns don't make cups of tea / Shutterstock

Independent minds

One research and development intern at a blue-chip consumer goods company found herself left pretty much entirely to her own devices from the start. She had to learn quickly on the job but her independent work was eventually rewarded once the bosses returned from the beach. I couldnt start the original experiments because everyone I needed to speak to was away, so I had to come up with something new with no help from my managers as they were both on holiday for the same two weeks. It worked out well and I learned a lot rather than being spoon-fed.

Another 21-year-old who has just started at a national newspaper has found himself in a ghost town: My office isnt as busy as I expected  a lot of the senior editors are away on holiday right now. One management consultancy intern, who has been based on her clients site for a few months, is mostly grateful for the mass exodus because its actually possible to get a seat.

The best apps for Londoners 1 /16 The best apps for Londoners Zip car Join, reserve, unlock and drive  it really is that simple. The capitals preferred car clubs app gives 24/7 access to cars and vans in your neighbourhood and lets you extend or cancel reservations on the go. Free Uncover Sick of being stuck on waiting lists? You need Uncover, which redistributes cancelled reservations at some of the capitals top restaurants, including The River Cafe and Nobu. Not for planning freaks, though  tables typically become free at 40 minutes notice. Free Uber So popular its become a verb, this private driver service has revolutionised travel in the capital. Its speedy and affordable, making it a welcome alternative to the night bus. Free Santander Cycles Launched this summer, the official app for Boris fifth child can be used to search for nearby docking stations and check bike availability. Theres also a journey planner featuring easy, moderate and fast routes to satisfy all cycling tribes. Free Plume Air Report This new app has been downloaded by 3,000 Londoners. Sensors gathering air pollution data submit updates every hour, resulting in a scale that ranges from fresh to extremely polluted. Free Nightcapp Heres an app that will have booze hounds raising their glasses. NightCapp is a map that pinpoints more than 1,500 London watering holes that stay open past 11.30pm. It also shows users when a bar is about to close by highlighting it in orange. Better get moving. Free Money Dashboard An award-winning budget planner, this helps you keep track of personal spending across multiple accounts, pay off credit cards and even makes suggestions on how to manage your finances better. Free Her Promising to introduce women to a lesbian that hasnt slept with any of your friends, this revamped dating app includes queer-themed news and blogs, upcoming event notices and an improved algorithm-matching system. Free FoodMood This new startup, which reckons its Tinder for food, pledges to narrow down your choice of lunchbreak destinations. Hit yum or yuk on photos of dishes in your area. Juvenile, but strangely addictive. Free Daily Yoga This offers more than 50 yoga sessions, as well as a database of 500 yoga poses. Suitable for all levels, programmes include yoga aimed at specific areas of the body and weight loss. Namaste to that. Free Coffee Meets Bagel Billed as the anti-Tinder, this new kid on the block delivers just a single match to users once a day. Coffee Meets Bagel uses Facebook profile information to recommend suitors based on friends of friends. Neither coffee nor bagels are included. Free. Bristlr Do you have a beard? Perhaps youd like to stroke one on a regular basis? This can be arranged. Unlike other dating apps, Bristlr is unashamedly all about hooking up the hairy with the hairless. Theres even a beard-rating option for aficionados. Free

Work ethic

One banker admits that for anyone coming straight from university the hours are a shock. Its a step above the leisurely college routine of writing an essay a week in between naps. But, she adds: You get used to the routine quickly. You just have to be honest with yourself and accept that from Monday to Thursday you will eat every meal at your desk.

Most analysts have some kind of cereal and if an intern is feeling comfortable at their new, temporary desk, theyll do the same. Dinner is left to Deliveroo, Ubereats or Just Eat. Most of the time you can make it for dinner with friends on Friday. But on week nights, if youre leaving before cab time (10pm-11pm at most investment banks) youre pretty pleased with yourself.

The hours are a shock / Shutterstock

The determination to prove yourself to be an indestructible superhuman intern who doesnt require sleep is still the norm. It took a few weeks to develop a healthy work/life balance; the importance I placed on the work I was doing at the beginning tipped the scales in favour of work, says budding journalist Chowdhury.

Sam, another investment banking intern, says: The problem is the lack of certainty, which means making plans is nearly impossible. The demands of the business, and more depressingly the culture, inevitably cause late-night pile-ups in work that suddenly materialise at 8pm once youve started hatching plans for a few drinks with friends.

Ive lost track of lunch dates, evening plans and nights out that Ive had to cancel at the last minute.

And do they party?

I put nearly all my eggs in one basket, and that basket is called Saturday night, says Sam. City interns, at least, embrace the cliched work-hard-play-hard mentality. Our management consultant says her company organises boozy events for them, while Sophie, an intern at law firm Wedlake Bell, has been taken on picnics in Hyde Park  and boozy nights with the bosses.

Beer-fuelled networking is as key to internship success as nailing that pitch. Every intern is encouraged to show their personality, and going out with the team is part of that, says another investment banking intern. Assume something along Kings Road, clubs with tables. Remember, bankers are in male-dominated groups so the only way in is to play along.

Thursday nights might be the new Fridays in the summer but hungover mornings are not an option when you have a career to build. Our investment banking mole adds: As an intern, though the analyst you work for might turn up at 11am the next day, you should still make sure you make 9am sharp. You never want to be the intern who rocked up after midday. So work hard now, and you can play all you like once youve earned that bonus.

Follow Frankie McCoy on Twitter: @franklymccoy
I ndoor blackspots are the bane of London living. In theory we can have all and sundry delivered to our door, but if we cant get a signal whats the point? And thats if we can even get reception to make a phone call.

Theres nothing more annoying than having settled on a pile of pillows only to find your sisters update on your niece and nephew has turned into garbled Klingon.

The options for finding a signal are limited, and often seem to include getting as high up as possible, but recommending we all dash up stepladders doesnt seem practical.

Last year, Three became the first network to offer a VoLTE service (meaning 4G calling), called 4G Super-Voice. In less techy terms, VoLTE allows signal to travel further into buildings, eliminating those weird Bermuda Triangles of no reception usually found in gyms, supermarkets and my bedroom. Last year it was estimated that 20 per cent of Brits have a mobile black hole at home.

Three enables VoLTE by using a lower frequency, 800 MHz spectrum of shorter wavelengths.

Bryn Jones, Chief Technology Officer at Three explains: If your neighbour is having a party and you are trying to sleep, the noise that you hear is the bass, which is low frequency. You cannot hear the singing voices because thats high frequency.

Even when your 4G data connection zips along, calls are generally made on 3G, which struggles deep inside buildings, but short wavelengths travel more easily through layers of building materials and insulation.

Carphone Warehouses Geek Squad Agent Mark Lee says: Your home is full of potential sources of interference, from microwaves and TVs to construction materials. Voice and data use different transmission protocols so they react differently to the different types of interference.

This is why opening a window really can help improve signal. With VoLTE, you should be able to hear people more clearly on the phone and calls usually connect quicker. Since Three launched 4G Super-Voice, 100 million calls have been made in places that were previously blackspots.

The best apps for Londoners 1 /16 The best apps for Londoners Zip car Join, reserve, unlock and drive  it really is that simple. The capitals preferred car clubs app gives 24/7 access to cars and vans in your neighbourhood and lets you extend or cancel reservations on the go. Free Uncover Sick of being stuck on waiting lists? You need Uncover, which redistributes cancelled reservations at some of the capitals top restaurants, including The River Cafe and Nobu. Not for planning freaks, though  tables typically become free at 40 minutes notice. Free Uber So popular its become a verb, this private driver service has revolutionised travel in the capital. Its speedy and affordable, making it a welcome alternative to the night bus. Free Santander Cycles Launched this summer, the official app for Boris fifth child can be used to search for nearby docking stations and check bike availability. Theres also a journey planner featuring easy, moderate and fast routes to satisfy all cycling tribes. Free Plume Air Report This new app has been downloaded by 3,000 Londoners. Sensors gathering air pollution data submit updates every hour, resulting in a scale that ranges from fresh to extremely polluted. Free Nightcapp Heres an app that will have booze hounds raising their glasses. NightCapp is a map that pinpoints more than 1,500 London watering holes that stay open past 11.30pm. It also shows users when a bar is about to close by highlighting it in orange. Better get moving. Free Money Dashboard An award-winning budget planner, this helps you keep track of personal spending across multiple accounts, pay off credit cards and even makes suggestions on how to manage your finances better. Free Her Promising to introduce women to a lesbian that hasnt slept with any of your friends, this revamped dating app includes queer-themed news and blogs, upcoming event notices and an improved algorithm-matching system. Free FoodMood This new startup, which reckons its Tinder for food, pledges to narrow down your choice of lunchbreak destinations. Hit yum or yuk on photos of dishes in your area. Juvenile, but strangely addictive. Free Daily Yoga This offers more than 50 yoga sessions, as well as a database of 500 yoga poses. Suitable for all levels, programmes include yoga aimed at specific areas of the body and weight loss. Namaste to that. Free Coffee Meets Bagel Billed as the anti-Tinder, this new kid on the block delivers just a single match to users once a day. Coffee Meets Bagel uses Facebook profile information to recommend suitors based on friends of friends. Neither coffee nor bagels are included. Free. Bristlr Do you have a beard? Perhaps youd like to stroke one on a regular basis? This can be arranged. Unlike other dating apps, Bristlr is unashamedly all about hooking up the hairy with the hairless. Theres even a beard-rating option for aficionados. Free

By next year, up to 5.5 million Three customers are expected to have access to the service, subject to device compatibility and take-up. A caveat is that its not compatible with every handset yet but generally most phones made in the last year or two would be able to operate using VoLTE; its the networks that must catch up.

Vodafone and EE have rolled out a similar service while O2 are rumoured to be close to launching. Until then there are things you can do to boost your signal and avoid balancing on a chair in the corner to call your mum.

A wifi service can let you make calls using a wifi signal even if your 3G or 4G looks ropey. Vodafone also offers Sure Signal, 69, which fits into a normal plug socket and generates a 3G signal which will allow up to eight people (all on Vodafone) to make calls at the same time, even the room is in the basement of bank vault.

There is also the Opensignal app, which creates coverage maps to indicate which networks work best and where. Its a nice idea but it relies on crowdsourcing and there isnt currently enough data collected in the UK to make it useful. Better to use Whatsapp, Skype or Facetime if your signal consistently lets you down.

Ultimately, if youre missing out on news of engagements and chats with your BFF, switch networks rather than putting your iPhone on speaker and waving it out of the skylight.

Rachael Sigee: @littlewondering
S cotland Yard has launched an investigation into a scam involving airside security passes at Healthrow Airport.

Three hundred staff working for Sodexo, which supplies airline lounge services have had their passes suspended, Sky News reports.

Those affected as said to mostly work as cleaners or caterers.

The police investigation was launched following the arrest of two women at the airport over alleged fraud.

The pair, who are aged 20 and 24 and from Surrey, were held on suspicion of money laundering and fraud on August 3 after money was taken from a bank account.

The bank account involved belongs to a private individual rather than a business, police said.

It is understood that the fraud investigation then triggered an inquiry into airside passes.

Scotland Yard stressed that there is no counter-terrorism link and that there is no evidence that staff airside passes have been sold.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Officers from the Met's Aviation Policing Command are investigating an allegation of fraud, reported to them on July 28.

"Detectives arrested two women from Surrey, aged 24 and 20, on suspicion of fraud and money laundering on August 3.

"They have been arrested in relation to an allegation that money has been fraudulently taken from a bank account.

"Other matters have come to light during the inquiries and form part of the ongoing investigation."

Scotland Yard said the women have been released on bail until late November.

A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said: "Our top priority is the security and safety of our passengers and colleagues and we have taken appropriate action until the investigation is completed."
Uber protest Costa Rica Latin America

Thousands of tax drivers took to the streets around Costa Rica's capital, San Jose, on Tuesday to protest the continued operation of Uber in the country, where the ride-hailing app is working without government authorization, according to AFP.

Taxi drivers' efforts to block and obstruct vehicles on highways and major roadways snarled traffic and led to clashes with police.

By noon, 78 taxi drivers had been arrested and 33 cars were seized, according to Public Security Minister Gustavo Mata.

Anti-riot police stepped in to prevent protesting drivers from blocking access to the country's main airport, which is northwest of the capital city.

Many of the arrests took place east of the capital, where one confrontation led to the arrest of four drivers and left a police officer bloodied, according to TV reports.

Juan Jose Andrade, the country's national police director, said that tax drivers who resisted arrest in a neighborhood east of the city caused injuries to three police officers, one of whom went to a hospital after losing three teeth.

On other roads around the city, taxi drivers attempted to slow or disrupt traffic. In some places, drivers employed a tactic called "tortuguismo," meaning a slowdown, in which hundreds of taxis drove at very slow speeds, while in other areas protesters left just one driving lane open, causing severe congestion.

Andrade, the national police director, said in the tweet below that officers found nails strewn across the road in one place, "affecting civilian, emergency, and police vehicles." The initial hours of the demonstration would likely cost some $145,000 for resources and damages to police vehicles, Andrade said.

Ubicamos gran cantidad de clavos en Coris de Cartago, para afectar a vehiculos de civiles, emergencia y policiales pic.twitter.com/UVjbemW5Zv  Juan Jose Andrade M (@j_j_andrade) August 9, 2016

Members of the taxi drivers' guild were protesting to demand the government stop Uber's operations in the country. The taxi guild said Uber presents unfair competition, as it doesn't pay insurance and taxes that are required of taxi drivers and offers low rates without any regulation from the state.

Story continues

According to the guild, 40,000 families rely on the taxi industry and have seen their incomes affected. One taxi driver taking part in the protest said drivers have seen their income fall 50%.

Uber said on Tuesday that all rides would cost "un rojo," a commonly used term meaning 1,000 Costa Rican colones, or a little less than $2.

"Because we believe in the healthy coexistence with different forms of transport, because we are committed to ensuring the free movement of citizens and, above all, because Uber is all good with the rojos, today all rides will cost one rojo!" the ride-hailing service posted on its website.

Uber protests Costa Rica Latin America

"Uber is all about keeping cities on the move, connecting people to safe, reliable and affordable transportation at the tap of a button," Uber told Business Insider in an emailed statement. "That is why yesterday, during a protest that was making mobility difficult for San Jose, we offered rides with a significant discount in order help citizens arrive to their destinations."

Around 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Gilberth Urena, the leader of the National Taxi Drivers Forum, said the protest ended after taxi drivers reached an agreement with Roberto Jimenez, the head of the country's Public Services Regulatory Authority (Aresep), according to The Tico Times.

Urena said the drivers would meet with Jimenez on August 16 to hear the government's response to the taxi drivers' petition to block the app's services in the country.

A little before noon on Tuesday, Ruben Vargas, a leader of the protesting taxi drivers, also announced the meeting with Aresep but cautioned that should the meeting not result in a solution, "the government must abide by the consequences."

"We have explained that the taxi driver is hungry," Vargas said. "And a hungry taxi driver is dangerous."

Uber Costa Rica protest Latin America

Vargas also asked that if the government legalizes Uber's operations in Costa Rica, each taxi driver be paid an indemnization of 70 million colones, or little under $130,000.

Amid the protests, Jose Maria Figueres, a former president and precandidate for presidential elections in 2018, said he did not support the strike but offered a compromise that would allow Uber to continue operating in Costa Rica but require it to submit to many of the same taxes and regulations as taxi drivers.

Growing pains

Costa Rica is the latest Latin American country where Uber has encountered pushback from regulators or from drivers. Earlier this year, an anti-Uber protest in Guadalajara, Mexico, devolved into a riot. In Argentina, a court ordered authorities to shut down the service's activity in Buenos Aires just a day after it started operating.

And in Colombia, where some authorities have deemed Uber "an illegal transportation service," the government has levied fines against the company and seized cars, though Uber told Business Insider that there "is no administrative or legal act that has declared our operation illegal, nor are there any rules in [Colombia] that prohibit or punish citizens who share their private vehicles."

Uber protest in Mexico City

Despite this hostile response to Uber's expansion in Latin America, the ride-hailing app saw the number journeys ordered through the service triple in the region during the first four months of this year, which made it the company's fastest-growing region.

Were still only at the tip of the iceberg, Rodrigo Arevalo, Uber's general manager for Latin America, told Bloomberg in May. Theres still lots to do in terms of access, so that we become available to the whole population and become part of the solution to road congestion.

NOW WATCH: Uber China is merging with an Apple-backed competitor





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T hree bogus lettings agents have been sentenced for conning prospective tenants out of tens have thousands of pounds.

Adam Coote, 36, was jailed for 28 months at Southwark Crown Court, while Andrew Rickard, 51, was received an 18 month term.

Sahila Kauser, 34, was also sentenced at Southwark and got an 18 month sentence suspended for two years, with 140 hours unpaid work and a 12 month supervision order.

All three were sentenced for conspiracy to commit fraud.

Coote had previously served a sentence of four years for fraud after orchestrating a similar scam, and it is believed that he met Andrew Rickard in prison, where they hatched the plan.

The trio used false aliases and made up business names to convince unwitting landlords and tenants that they were running a legitimate enterprise, before taking large deposits and never returning them.

The nationwide scam saw victims shown around properties before being told that a credit check was required before they could move in.

Potential tenants were then told that they had failed and were asked for six-months of rent in advance.

In some cases tenants gained access to the properties, but the money was not passed on to the landlords; while renters were also told that their utility bills were covered, but in actual fact these were not being paid.

Coote used the names Jordan Lawson, Elliot Portman and Lewis Goldman to conceal his identity, while Kauser posed as Jasmine Khan, Zara Khan and Zara Kauser, and Rickard used the names Andrew Rommel and Joshua Benson.

Coote changed his name via deed poll on a number of occasions, going from Adam Coote to Elliot Joshua Wilson in 2006, then becoming Elliot Portman before his latest offence.

The scammers used serviced offices in Mayfair, as well as elsewhere in the UK, to give the impression they were running a respectable established business.

However, they often left the offices quickly, defaulting on payments.

The yalso used a number of different business names to help conceal the fraud, including Belgravia Property Group, Carlton Residential, Park Lane Residential Ltd and Mayfair Residential.

The trio were caught after an investigation by Westminster City Council, with the assistance of the National Trading Standards Scambusters and the Met Police, helped to expose the scam.

Twenty-one victims came forward to provide statements to the Westminster City Council investigation, with losses amounting to roughly 26k.

Cllr Nickie Aiken, Westminster City Council cabinet member for public protection and licensing, said: These fraudsters have wilfully exploited their victims in a cold and calculated fashion  but eventually their luck ran out.

The hard work of Westminster City Councils Trading Standards team, Scambusters and the Met Police left them with no more fake names to hide behind.

There is a serious message for the consumer here - be careful who you are dealing with and do not just trust somebody because they have a slick office or a fancy company name.

"If you are letting a property make sure that you check the agent is a member of a proper redress scheme.

Carl Robinson, chair of the Tri-Region Scambusters team, added: Yet again, the collaboration and partnership working of local authority Trading Standards and the Tri Region Scambuster team has ensured another excellent result in court.

Trading Standards services and regional assets such as the Scambuster teams work closely together to tackle serious consumer issues such as property and lettings fraud.

Criminals have no respect for local authority borders, but together, as this case has clearly demonstrated, we can successfully prosecute offenders to protect vulnerable consumers."
A man who filmed himself sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy he met on a dating app has been jailed for more than four years.

Federico Traversa, 31, lured his young victim to his home where he filmed them together and made the boy watch child pornography.

He was found out after the victim lent his phone to his sister and she discovered a video of her brother being abused.

Traversa, of Galleons View, Isle of Dogs, pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child, causing a child to watch a sexual act and taking and possessing indecent images and videos of children.

He met his victim on a gay dating app March and invited him to his home where the boy told Traversa he was 14-years-old, Scotland Yard said.

He showed the victim pornographic videos involving young children before engaging in sexual activity with him, which he then filmed without the victims knowledge.

The boy then pretended to receive a phone call from his mother and left.

The pair continued to speak via social media and Traversa sent the victim the video he had filmed of them together, as well as indecent images of young children.

In April, the victim lent his mobile to his sister and the video was discovered, sparking Traversas arrest.

He claimed the acts had been consensual and that the victim had said he was 16.

Investigating officer DC Jonny Newell said: "Traversa claimed the victim was above the age of consent but the boy told him he was 14; that didn't stop Traversa from engaging in sexual activity.

"The evidence later recovered demonstrated Traversa's sexual interest in children and I am pleased he has brought before the courts."

He was sentenced to four years and eight months at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday.
T his is the moment a helmet-clad moped gang broke into a north London shop to raid its cigarette cabinet.

Four men, one of them wielding a crow-bar, smashed their way into the store in Barnet in the early hours of the morning.

CCTV footage from inside the shop in Potters Road shows two of the raiders using brute force to get into a locked cigarette stand behind the counter.

Police said the thieves filled a large sack with cigarettes and tobacco before riding away from the scene on two mopeds.

Left to right: suspect reference 220433, suspect reference 220432 / Metropolitan Police

Officers are appealing to anyone who recognises the men shown in the CCTV or who witnessed the burglary at the Potters Road Food and Wine store at about 5am on July 10 to come forward.

The first suspect is described as of medium build and wore a black helmet, grey padded jacket, grey trousers and black boots.

Left to right: suspect reference 220434, suspect reference 220435 / Metropolitan Police

Police said the second man is of slim build and also wore a helmet, a dark blue jacket and trousers and black Adidas shoes.

The third suspect is described as of slim build and wore a black top, dark trousers and trainers.

The fourth man is described as of medium build and wore a woolly hat and black scarf over his face and dark clothing.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A good-looking 80-year-old woman drugged and robbed several men she met through lonely hearts columns in local newspapers, a court has heard.

The pensioner, named only as Janina M, was arrested by officers in southern Poland after she allegedly mixed drugs into her victims food, before stealing valuable items from their homes.

Dubbed the "predatory pensioner" by the Polish media, she faces up to 20 years in jail for a series of attacks in which she used the anxiety drug lorazepam.

Described by a prosecutor as a nice old lady at first glance with carefully applied make-up and an attractive haircut, she denied the charges in Brzesko and was remanded in custody for three months pending her trial.

In one instance she is said to have stolen over 1,500-worth of gadgets, jewellery and money from a 78-year-old man who invited her to his home in Szczurow.

Police believe she used the same technique to rob a number of pensioners.
T hree Foxtons employees have been sacked after allegedly brawling with activists outside Foreign Secretary Boris Johnsons home, it emerged today.

Several workers from the estate agents Islington branch were filmed clashing with demonstrators.

Footage of the protest shows a group of businessmen in fitted suits clashing with masked demonstrators before police move in to break up the scuffles.

The activists, whose faces were covered with scarves and hoods, set off coloured smoke bombs and paraded a banner of the newly appointed Foreign Secretarys face beneath the blade of a guillotine.

Activists wave smoke canisters in their protest

The Standard understands that the Foxtons branch in Upper Street had been forced to close early on July 15 amid concern it could become a target for anarchist group Class Wars planned demonstration.

The demo was advertised on the groups website.

Activists were urged to march on Mr Johnsons home two days after he was made Foreign Secretarywith the words: Bring pitchforks, flaming torches and incandescent anger!

A source said several Foxtons employees went to a nearby pub before encountering the protesters outside Mr Johnsons home.

He said: They closed the shop and went to the pub, They had a scrap. It involved a few people from the Islington branch.

It is understood three people are no longer with the company and another is suspended pending further investigation.

A spokeswoman for Foxtons said: We were extremely disappointed to learn of this incident.

Foxtons absolutely does not condone this sort of behaviour.

"We pride ourselves on the professionalism of our agents and this isolated incident was treated with the utmost severity.

Following an internal investigation, those employees found responsible are no longer working for the company.

The class War activists take part in the demonstration

Patrik Aghabeh, 28, of Ashburton Triangle, Drayton Park, was charged with assault by beating and bailed to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Monday, 15 August.

Ian Lewis, 68, of Alfred Road, south Norwood, was charged with assaulting a constable in the execution of his duty.

He was due to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates on Monday but failed to appear.

He was granted unconditional bail and will appear on August 22.

A 49-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault on police and has been bailed until later this month.
I mmigration officers carried out a raid on an upmarket Italian cafe in Kensington yesterday.

Eight officers arrived in two vans and stormed Locanda Ottoemezzo in Thackeray Street at around 2:30pm.

The immigration enforcement squad checked the documentation of members of staff but did not make a single arrest.

James Fairhead, a university teacher who was enjoying a quiet lunch when the officers arrived, said: They swarmed in like locusts; it was like a scene out of an American movie.

They all lined up looking stern and serious, it was very dramatic, and then they demanded to see the paperwork of the staff.

This is a lovely little restaurant, Ive always come here and I will continue to come here when Im in London, added Mr Fairhead, who was visiting from County Cork, Ireland.

Locanda Ottomezzoe cafe was opened in 1995 by Italian brothers Emidio and Francesco, with the adjacent restaurant added in 2002.

One cafe worker told the Standard: They just came in and checked ID certificates, that was it.

They are looking for immigrants who dont have permission but we are all okay.

We werent expecting them and it didnt seem necessary at all to have eight officers charge in.

The Home Office confirmed it had undertaken the raid after receiving allegations of illegal workers.

A spokesperson said: Immigration Enforcement officers conducted a visit to a business on Thackeray Street, Kensington, this afternoon in response to allegations of illegal working.

Staff were questioned but no arrests were made. No further action was taken against the owners of the business.

Two weeks ago, upmarket burger restaurant Byron was lambasted for reportedly collaborating with the Home Office in a sting which resulted in the arrests of 35 members of staff.

Byron defended itself, saying it had a legal obligation to help authorities.

However, hundreds of protestors still gathered outside the venues in Holborn and Central St Giles, with both closed after thousands of live locusts and cockroaches were released inside.

The chain carried out the correct right-to-work checks on staff members but had been shown false or counterfeit documentation, and will therefore not face civil penalty action, the Home Office said.
F irefighters battled a huge blaze at flats next to a north London Tube station.

The fire is believed to have started in flats above a shop "three doors down" from Preston Road station.

London Fire Brigade took 43 calls from concerned members of the public about the blaze just before 8.30pm on Thursday.

Dramatic images showed huge plumes of grey smoke billow across the road.

Rob Powderly, 28, told the Standard that when he arrived at the station a shop "three doors down" was alight.

He added that firefighters forced their way into a neighbouring shop.

Mr Powderly said: "The flames got worse and began to spread towards the Tube station.

Huge blaze: Eight fire engines were called to battle the blaze Robert Powderly / Robbie Metal/Twitter

"About 10 minutes after that (the building) one door away from the station was opened with force by the fire brigade and an ambulance arrived."

Sameer Shah, 30, was forced to flee his Tube and said he could "see lots of smoke around the train".

Rose Liberty, 23, was also forced to evacuate her Tube.

She said flames "started at the small window (of the flat) and then spread up along the roof quickly".

Tubes suspended: Passengers were forced to flee Tube trains after the fire broke out close to tracks Rose Liberty / Liberty Rose

Metropolitan Line services between Harrow on the Hill and Wembley Park were suspended.

Preston Road was part-closed while firefighters dealt with the blaze.

An LFB spokeswoman said: Twelve fire engines and 81 firefighters and officers attended a fire at two flats above a parade of shops in Preston Road, Harrow."

London Ambulance Service were also called and took one man to hospital.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.
A n elderly man who died after he was hit by a lorry on a busy central London shopping street was today named by police as a retired barrister from Camden.

Samuel Mtepuka, 86, was killed after he was struck by the vehicle near Oxford Circus Tube station.

Paramedics fought to save him but he was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in Regent Street.

Emergency services were called to the crash at the junction with Hanover Street at about 8.10pm on August 3.

Crash: A man died after being hit by a van in Regent Street / Neil Crump

Mr Mtepuka was a British national of Malawian origin, who divided his time between his homes in Switzerland and the UK.

Police said a post-mortem examination was carried out on Tuesday but a cause of death has yet to be determined.

The driver of the lorry involved in the collision stopped at the scene and is assisting police with their enquiries. He has not been arrested.

Officers are still appealing for anyone who witnessed the crash or the moments leading up to it to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at Merton Traffic Garage on 0208 543 5157.
T wo branches of Starbucks have been hit with fines approaching 200,000 after repeatedly leaving rubbish bags on a Mayfair pavement opposite the Ritz Hotel.

The coffee shops on Berkeley Street were fined a total of 160,000 after Starbucks head office ignored regular warnings from Westminster City Council, dating back to April 2015, to stop putting rubbish bags on the street outside of normal collection times.

They also paid seven of eleven 80 fixed penalty notices, with the first issued in 2011.

Bags were repeatedly left on the street for hours, cluttering the pavement and resulting in rubbish spilling out onto the street.

Starbucks pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates Court to four waste offences and were fined 40,000 for each.

Repeat offender: penalty notices dated back to 2011

Speaking at Westminster Magistrates court, District Judge Coleman said that Starbucks had acted in a deliberate manner, ignoring complaints from residents' associations and numerous warnings from Westminster City Council.

The judge did not accept the mitigation submitted by Starbucks that head office hadnt been aware at the appropriate times due to internal procedures.

Spilling: waste was spotted pouring out onto the pavement

District Judge Coleman added that there was a history of non-compliance from Starbucks and noted the prestigious location and impact on the local amenity.

Waste is collected at both 7am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday, but the court heard that rubbish was seen dumped on the streets just after midday, with waste bags often spilling and leaking onto the public highway.

Night time: rubbish was often left out on the street overnight

Businesses are expected to put rubbish out no more than 30 minutes prior to the collection time and waste should stay on the street for no more than two hours, but the court was told that bin bags have previously been left out overnight in what is one of Westminsters busiest night-time economy hotspots..

Cllr Nickie Aiken, Westminster City Council cabinet member for licensing and public protection, said: Starbucks have shown a complete disregard for local residents and visitors to this historic part of Westminster.

On a regular basis Starbucks dumped their rubbish straight onto the pavement rather than following very simple collection schedules.

This sentence proves that every business has a responsibility to keep our streets clean and tidy, regardless of the size of the company.

Warnings: the coffee chain had been asked several times to comply with waste management policies

Cllr Melvyn Caplan, Westminster City Council cabinet member for city management, added: Keeping Westminsters streets clean is a busy job which requires a huge amount of effort from council workers, residents and businesses.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all around the world visit Westminster every day. A lot of them are likely to stop and enjoy a coffee, but not many of them want to pick their way through piles of rubbish.
D onald Trump has accused President Obama of being the founder of Islamic State in another extraordinary attack on the White House campaign trail.

The Republican candidate also branded crooked Hillary Clinton as the co-founder of the terrorist group.

Mr Trump used the presidents full legal name - Barack Hussein Obama - in his latest extreme broadside targeting his Democrat foes.

He told a raucous crowd at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last night that Mr Obamas Middle East policies created the power vacuum that allowed IS to establish itself as the worlds most feared terror organisation.

In many respects, you know, they honour President Obama, he insisted. He is the founder of ISIS, using an alternative acronym for the group.

"Unfit for presidency": US President Barack Obama previously said Mr Trump was inadequate for the job at a press conference / EPA/Shawn Thew

Mr Trump repeated the allegation three times.

And I would say, he added, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder! Crooked Hillary Clinton! And thats what its about!

Mr Trump also blasted the president for pulling US troops out of Iraq, claiming the retreat only served to create the kind of instability in which groups like IS have been able to thrive.

We should never have gotten out the way we got out, he added. We unleashed terrible fury all over the Middle East.

Instead of allowing some small forces behind to maybe, just maybe, keep it under control, we pulled it out.

He has previously tried to taint Mrs Clinton with claims that her decisions as US Secretary of State effectively helped create IS.

Mr Trump railed at both Obama and Clinton for refusing to put a name to radical Islamic terrorism.

Our president refuses to use the term. Every time another event happens, I keep saying, I wonder if hes gonna say it this time. And he doesnt say it.

And Hillary wont say it either. She doesnt want to say it, cause she doesnt want to offend the president, because then bad things could happen to her if she offends the president. Bad things could happen to her.

So shes afraid to say it. Hillarys afraid to say it. She did say that she would say it because of me, but shes afraid to say it. But, we have a real problem with radical Islamic terror. Its what it is. Its terror.

The White House refused to comment on Trumps latest claims.

Whipping his supporters into a fervour, Mr Trump pointed out the fact that the father of the gunman who killed 49 people in the Orlando nightclub shootings in June was spotted at a Clinton campaign event on Monday.

Of course he likes Hillary Clinton because Hillary wont even say the words radical Islamic terrorism, said Mr Trump. Wasnt it terrible when the father of the animal that killed the wonderful people in Orlando was sitting with a big smile on his face right behind Hillary Clinton? he asked the crowd.

Moments later, Mr Trumps supporters were chanting lock her up, a common response to the Democrat candidate at the Republicans rallies.

Mr Trumps verbal attacks raised the temperature even higher in the bitter head-to-head race towards Novembers presidential election.

A woman tried to disrupt a Clinton rally yesterday by rushing the stage in Des Moines, Iowa, in a protest over animal rights.

She was quickly escorted away but the incident illustrates how how tensions are growing.

Earlier Mrs Clinton accused Trump of inciting violence with his call for gun rights activists to stop her from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices.

If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks, Mr Trump claimed on Tuesday, adding: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know.

Words matter, my friends, Mrs Clinton said in Des Moines. And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences.

Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line, she said, citing his casual inciting of violence.

Every single one of these incidences shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the United States, she added.
B T should be stripped of delivering superfast broadband because of its nightmarish provision of the service, a former business minister said today.

Anna Soubry said the telecoms giant should be split from Openreach, the subsidiary which runs much of the countrys broadband infrastructure.

She suggested superfast internet should become the fourth utility  with gas, electricity and water  so higher standards could be legally enforced.

Londons patchy broadband service was slammed by a committee of MPs last month as a major problem for businesses trying to grow in the city.

The Culture Select Committee said it was startling that homes and businesses in the heart of London had no access to superfast download speeds.

Communications regulator Ofcom rejected splitting Openreach from BT last month. But Mrs Soubry, business minister under David Cameron, said BT had had enough second chances.

She told the BBCs Today programme: They have not delivered. I say this not only because I have listened to business but in my own life as an MP and a consumer, and I have enough constituents who have found them to be pretty nightmarish. She also cast doubt on BTs claims that 90 per cent of properties have access to superfast broadband. I seem to meet every single member of the 10 per cent, she said.

Mrs Soubry said the previous government had been too soft on BT and that new Culture Secretary Karen Bradley must tackle the problem as a priority.

Kim Mears, managing director of infrastructure at BT Openreach, insisted over 91 per cent of the UK had access to superfast broadband, generally defined as 24 Mbps or more.

Weve got a network across the UK thats capable of giving those speeds, she said. The firm has said 95 per cent of the country will have high-speed internet by the end of 2017, and hopes the final 5 per cent will get it by 2020.

Weve got some great technology, some great ideas, were leaning forward to work with Government about how do we provide and work towards that final 5 per cent, Ms Mears said.

Rivals such as TalkTalk, Vodafone and Sky have long called for a split between BT and Openreach. Last year, London came 26th in a table of European capitals for broadband speeds, behind rivals such as Dublin and Vienna.
S o, I say to Paapa Essiedu, were you aware that it was significant when you were cast as the first black actor to play Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company this year? The 25-year-old Londoner of Ghanaian extraction laughs and says, I was made aware of it very quickly. Surprise in the media that it had taken the RSC this long was pegged to eulogies for Essiedus complicated, deeply riven prince in a production that transposed the play to Africa.

The Standards Henry Hitchings hailed the star quality of his brash and youthful Hamlet. The Telegraph reviewer simply declared a star is born.

This softly-spoken, deeply thoughtful and (it must be said) strikingly handsome young man now finds himself included as a game-changer in this years Evening Standard Power 1000 list of the capitals most influential people.

Essiedu says his casting was significant and insignificant at the same time: Yes, I am the first black actor to play the part at this particular institution but Im not the first black actor ever to do it. The RSC is a great bastion for classical work, and has a responsibility to do that in as responsible and diverse a manner as it can.

I think its part of its manifesto to inspire the next generation of theatregoers, the next generation of Shakespeare-lovers and performers. And that next generation, I really hope, is made up of a far wider variety of people.

Im not just talking about race, Im talking about gender, sexuality, physical ability. The work we create on our stages needs to be representative of the world we live in, and include all the different people we have in our society.

This shouldnt just be true of Shakespeare plays but Chekhov, Ibsen, Coward, Pinter  any truly good play can be transposed to a range of different iterations  he crafts sentences beautifully.

With regard to race, it feels like the long-smouldering debate about the lack of representation is finally ablaze, with protests over the overwhelmingly white Oscars and prominent figures from Lenny Henry to Idris Elba criticising the industry here.

Its not enough for people to talk about it, says Essiedu. The industry has a tradition of being skewed in favour of certain people. But its 2016. We live in a multicultural society, with people of all different creeds and colours, and I dont think it is acceptable for those traditions to become stagnant and remain the status quo. People need to focus on the practicality of how to make changes.

I sense that hes not totally comfortable being a spokesperson, however incisive and articulate. Hed far rather talk about the play, and Simon Godwins production. Simon is a fantastic man and brilliantly collaborative, he says. From day one he was asking me what I thought about Hamlet, what resonated with me, what I thought we should pull out from it, and I was talking about my history, my culture and my heritage.

Both of my parents come from Ghana but I was brought up in London and for a long time had quite a distant relationship to Africa. When I went to Ghana to visit my family there was something very different about the energy and the air and the culture  while I love it and feel very at home and rooted there, to begin with it felt quite alien. That was useful for Hamlet because you are talking about a guy who is in a world that he feels isolated and alienated from.

There are other, more personal resonances. Essiedus father, who had two older children in Ghana, died when Paapa was 14. His mother, a fashion and design teacher and the most important person in my life, died of cancer while he was midway through his drama studies at Guildhall.

This obviously strengthened his personal sense of connection to the bereaved Hamlet: A lot of people talk about Hamlet as mad, but to me you are looking at a man going through deep, deep grief  and the trauma caused by that leads to the events of the play. I can relate to that feeling of grief and trauma at a young age.

He says he had a good network of friends and family to support him when his mother died, and that the energy and commitment demanded by his studies also helped.

Does he think its a shame she didnt get to see his Hamlet? I dont feel particularly separated from my mum, that this is something that is happening without her, he says. He adds that his half-brother and half-sister in Ghana were more impressed by him performing a Hamlet sketch on TV with Prince Charles to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeares death than with him performing Hamlet for the RSC.

Essiedu grew up in Walthamstow, which was very multicultural, and is very trendy now, whereas back in the day we had dodgy pubs and a dog track. But it was a place with a lot of community and a lot of identity.

His mum wasnt well off but he won a scholarship to the independent Forest School, near Epping Forest, and had a really happy childhood, good friends and a good education. Teachers steered him towards science but he auditioned for a play because (classic tale) a girl he fancied was also going for it.

Performing became like a drug. (He wont tell me if he got the girl, and bats away questions of whether hes in a relationship now, saying its complicated.)

Despite getting the drama bug he was going to become a doctor. Id accepted a place at Kings, got my halls set up and everything, I was on that train but pulled out at the last minute. How did his mum feel about that? She was always so, so, so supportive, and said that the most important thing was to do something I was passionate about, he says. Which is advice I would echo to any young person.

His first job was a minor role in the Merry Wives of Windsor for the RSC but he made waves when he stepped up to play Edmund opposite Simon Russell Beales King Lear when the actor he was understudying lost his voice. Now Essiedu is in rehearsals to play Edmund again, for the RSC this time, opposite Antony Shers Lear. This production transfers from Stratford to the Barbican in November. Hamlet, unfortunately, is not currently scheduled to come to the capital.

Essiedu shares a flat in Tooting Broadway with three friends from drama school, two of them his partners in a theatre company, Invertigo, that they set up to have a level of control over the work we do. He does yoga for mental as well as physical stability, and is veering towards vegetarianism because of climate change.

His RSC contract takes him up to the end of the year, so he hasnt been approached about film or TV work or even future stage roles yet, and dismisses talk of going to the US to make his name. I feel so far from a finished product, my focus is to get opportunities that help me grow as an actor and an artist, he says. I would like to do work that challenges me, and audiences, and continues the journey of dragging this industry into the modern world. But in an industry that is so tempestuous and unpredictable, anything can happen. I could very easily not work for a year or two.

I seriously doubt that.

Hamlet is at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until Saturday. King Lear is at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Aug 20-Oct 15, and at the Barbican Theatre, Nov 10-Dec 23; rsc.org.uk

The Progress 1000, in partnership with Citi, and supported by Berkeley Group, is the Evening Standard's celebration of London's most influential people. #progress1000
C omplaints have been made against a judge who called a racist thug "a bit of a c***."

Judge Patricia Lynch QC made the remark when sentencing John Hennigan at Chelmsford Crown Court for his ninth breach of an anti-social behaviour order in 11 years after racially abusing a Caribbean mother.

The 50 year-old criminal was in the dock when he told the judge she was "a bit of a c***".

Judge Lynch responded with: "You are a bit of a c*** yourself. Being offensive to me doesn't help."

Mr Hennigan then told the judge: "Go f*** yourself", to which she replied: "You too."

The Judicial Conduct Investigations (JCIO) office, which handles complaints made about judges both inside and outside court, has confirmed that complaints have been made about Judge Lynch,

A JCIO spokesman said: "The JCIO has received complaints regarding HHJ (Her Honour Judge) Patricia Lynch's comment in court which will be considered in accordance with the Judicial Conduct (Judicial and other office holders) Rules 2014."

The spokesman added that the JCIO would not comment on how many complaints had been made and the circumstances.

After news of her four-letter retort circulated, scores of people took to social media to praise her reaction and choice of words - with many branding her a "hero" and an "idol".

Stan Keaton tweeted: "Judge Patricia Lynch QC has a cracking reply to a racist thug in her courtroom."

David Duncan added: "What a legend judge Patricia Lynch is", while Gemma Tomlinson wrote: "I would like to buy judge Patricia Lynch a drink."

Greg Stone tweeted: "Judge Patricia Lynch, a nation salutes you."

Luke Farley said: "Hats off to Judge Patricia Lynch. I think it was a reasonable response given the vile racist in front of her."

Marc Thomas posted: "It is a bit hard to give children role models nowadays but Judge Patricia Lynch QC is definitely one."
T his is the mother killed alongside her children in a horror crash involving four lorries and four cars as they made their way off for a weekend break.

Tracey Houghton was going away with her partner Mark Goldsmith and their children when the crash happened.

Ms Houghton, 45, died with her two sons, aged 11 and 13 and the 11-year-old daughter of her partner Mark Goldsmith.

They were involved in the pile-up on the busy A34 commuter belt road near Oxford.

Mr Goldsmith was following in the car behind and saw the crash. One witness said the familys car was crushed between two lorries.

The aftermath of the horrific crash on the A-road / uknip/Alamy Live News

George Maguire 70, a distant relative of Mr Goldsmith, said: The family are all just heartbroken. Mark saw everything.

"He was travelling in the car behind. They were all looking forward to a long weekend away.

A 30-year-old driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of dangerous driving following the crash at 5:10pm yesterday.

Investigators worked through the night to gather evidence and remove the wreckage from the northbound carriageway of the A34, at East Ilsley, as tributes today poured in for the family, from Dunstable, Bedfordshire.

A schoolfriend of one of the children said: Today one of the most horrible things happened. One of the most innocent and nicest boys I know got killed in a car crash on the A34 along with his brother, sister and their mum. All gone, took too soon.

Another schoolfriend of the boys added: R.I.P. I have known you since year 5 you were such a good friend and now you are truly missed by all rest in perfect paradise.

The family of four were pronounced dead at the scene and a fifth man airlifted to hospital was in a serious condition.

Medics treated nine people at the scene for minor injuries and a man and teenage boy were taken to Royal Berkshire Hospital. They have since been discharged.

Witnesses today claimed bodies were seen lying on the tarmac in the aftermath of the smash. Alex Rawlings, of Gosport, said it was the worst crash he had ever seen. He said he saw two cars sandwiched between lorries with both vehicles crushed by the collision.

Chief Inspector Henry Parsons, from Thames Valley Police, said: Can I ask anyone who witnessed the collision, including anyone travelling on the southbound carriageway who saw anything they believe is significant, to contact police.

The rush-hour pile-up closed a six-mile section of the A34, from junction 13 of the M4 near Newbury, Berkshire.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: A 30-year-old man from Andover was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and has been bailed until October 5.
H undreds of families were evacuated from the Disneyland Paris train station yesterday after a suspicious package triggered a security alert.

Visitors, including young children, were ordered to leave the area at around 8pm as police and soldiers armed with rifles stationed themselves at the Marne la Vallee station near the theme park.

A police spokesman reportedly told the Sun: Marne-la-Vallee station is being shut down as a precaution.

Searches are underway following a warning about a suspicious package.

High alert: Police on guard after a man carrying two handguns and a Koran was arrested at Disneyland in January / Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

By 11pm, the investigation was reportedly scaled down but the station has been cordoned off while police investigate. The park remains open.

France is in a state of high alert following recent attacks and this latest incident comes after warnings from terrorist groups including Islamic State and Al-Qaeda that Disneyland is a prime target.

The theme park had a security scare in January when a man was arrested after he was caught carrying two handguns, ammunition and a guide to the Qu'ran.

He was given a six month sentence for arms possession.

Such scares have severely impacted Frances tourist industry and has seen Disneylands turnover decrease by nine per cent since the same time last year.
A man who attempted to scale the facade of the 58-storey Trump Tower in New York has been detained by police.

The daredevil, nicknamed the human fly, began climbing the iconic glass building using suction cups and rope at around 3.50pm yesterday.

Trump Tower is the home of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as well as his campaign, although it is unclear if the climb was a protest.

Police officers leaning out of a window on the buildings 21st floor were able to seize the climber, known only as Steve from Virginia, and pull him in at just after 6.30pm to cheers from the crowd below.

He was arrested and taken into custody for a psychological evaluation, while charges are pending.

However, a video posted online purporting to be the climber claims he simply wanted to get Trumps attention to discuss an important matter.

Trump Tower Climb 1 /6 Trump Tower Climb A man scales the all-glass face of Trump Tower, the home of the Republican presidential candidate Alex Cannon via AP The climber scales the outside of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, New York Lucas Jackson/Reuters Police waited for the 'perfect' moment to catch the climber, who was tiring after hours of climbing Julie Jacobson/AP Police grab the unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images The climber, nicknamed the human fly, is finally caught at 6.30pm Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images

He ends by asking viewers to ensure they get out and vote for Mr Trump in the 2016 election.

In a press conference after the incident, police said they had been waiting for the "perfect" moment to capture the daredevil climber.

Detective Christopher Williams said: "He was climbing for a while and I could see he was getting tired.

However, he refused to accept the rope that was thrown to him and had to be forcibly pulled in to the building.
O ne woman is dead and 20 people are injured after two bombs exploded at a popular holiday resort in Thailand.

The blasts happened within 20 minutes of each other in seaside resort Hua Hin south of Bangkok, Thai police said.

The explosions came ahead of a public holiday on Friday to mark the birthday of Queen Sirikit.

A Thai woman was killed and at least 20 foreign tourists were injured in the second blast near a bar at about 10.20 pm (1.20pm GMT) on Thursday, local media reported.

The injured are being treated at a local hospital, local deputy police chief Samer Yousamran said.

The first bomb went off about twenty minutes earlier about 50 metres away, he said.

Nobody was injured in the first explosion.

Police are investigating and as yet do not know the motive or the identity of the bombers, he said.

In a separate incident earlier on Thursday, a bomb exploded at a market in the southern Trang province in Thailand, injuring six people, police said.

Police believe that explosion was related to a local dispute.

Thais voted less than a week ago in a referendum to adopt a military-backed constitution, the first test of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha at the ballot box since he seized power in a coup in May 2014.

Thailand's 88 year-old King Bhumibol Adulayadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, and his wife Sirikit are in hospital in Bangkok but have resided in recent years in Hua Hin at the Klai Kangwon Palace royal palace, which translates as "Far from Worries Palace".
H ugh Grant has claimed that the secret to a happy marriage is having affairs  but not boasting about them.

The 55-year-old actor believes humans are not wired to be monogamous for decade long marriages and said Britons should look to the French, who he claims have successful marriages without staying faithful.

"If you ask me the question, 'Do I think human beings are meant to be in 40-year-long monogamous, faithful relationships'  No," Grant told US radio host Howard Stern.

"Whoever said they were? Only the Bible or something. No one's ever said that that's a good idea."

The actor  who has dated a string of women from Elizabeth Hurley to Jemima Khan  dismissed the idea that it is contradictory of him to dismiss the idea of monogamy but promote happy romances in his films.

"I dont think those two things are contradictory, he said. I think there's something unromantic about marriage. Youre closing yourself off."

Grant  who also argued that marriage brings out "possessiveness, ownership and jealousy" in a spouse  said he likes the fact his character in Florence Foster Jenkins has a mistress because he feels it challenges the audiences views on love and marriage.

He continued: Ive always admired the French and the Italians who are very devoted to their marriages and take them very seriously  but it is understood that there may be other visitors at five in the afternoon.

Florence Foster Jenkins - UK Film Premiere 1 /10 Florence Foster Jenkins - UK Film Premiere Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant arrive on the red carpet Dave Benett Meryl Streep signs autographs for fans outside the Odeon Dave Benett Meryl Streep faves to the fans lining Leicester Square Dave Benett Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant pose for photos Dave Benett Hugh Grant takes time out for a few selfies Dave Benett Simon Helberg with wife Jocelyn Towne Dave Benett Director Stephen Frears Dave Benett Co-star Stanley Tucci arrives at the premiere Dave Benett

And you never boast about it or say anything and thats what keeps them together.

The Notting Hill actor also revealed that he was spurred on to get fit after a British newspaper "fat shamed" him.

Speaking about the report he said: "The headline was 'Four Bellies and a Turkey Neck.'

"They weren't wrong. I looked shocking. It was awful...I hang off a strap every morning [now] called a TRX."

Follow @StandardEnts for more entertainment news.
H ugh Jackmans latest Instagram has shocked fans and left some fearing for his health.

Jackman, 47, shared a picture of himself dressed in black and making a thumbs up sign above three large fish.

He captioned the shot: Now that's what I'm talking about!

But the Australian actor sparked concern with his beard and noticeably thinner physique.

Some users said he looked tired while others lamented the ageing process.

One fan posted: His eyes looks like he hasn't slept well or he's sick take care Mr Jackman.

Another wrote: My hero become old, hope you have good health, love you....

A third commented: What happened to you Hugh? You are looking much older than your age...please take care...not looking healthy at all...please (sic).

Some users defended the actor with one writing: People cannot age gracefully anymore before being attacked (sic).

Others were less concerned and suggested his apparent new look was for his role as old man Logan in the new Wolverine film.

One posted: I guess shooting is started for old man Logan.

Another commented: That's the old man Logan beard... Looks like the comic come to life!!! I'm really gonna miss your take on Wolverine.

Jackman is currently filming his final outing as Wolverine, and film bosses are keeping tight lipped about plot details, but it is widely assumed that it will follow the old Man Logan story.

The as-of-yet untitled film may also mark Sir Patrick Stewart's last outing as Professor X.

Speaking to ITV he teased: I would imagine this is probably the end of this franchise for me.

"But the thing about science fiction and fantasy is that you can never, ever say its the end, its over.

Follow @StandardEnts for more entertainment news.


T he forthcoming new Star Trek TV series is set to have the franchise's first female lead since 1995's Star Trek: Voyager, according to reports.

The show, titled Star Trek: Discovery, is due to arrive on Netflix UK in January 2017, and comes from executive producer Bryan Fuller.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the protagonist will be a woman, but shes not the captain of a ship  instead shes a mid-ranking lieutenant commander.

Previous TV series in the sci-fi saga have revolved around male ship captains  from the original James T Kirk, to Jean-Luc Picard in The Next Generation  though Star Trek: Voyager, which ran for seven seasons between 1995 and 2001, focused on Captain Kathryn Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew.

Fuller said that Discovery's lead is a character who is on a journey that is going to teach her how to get along with others in the galaxy.

For her to truly understand something that is alien, she has to first understand herself.

The showrunner also confirmed that the new show is set 10 years prior to the original series (which takes place in a different universe to the current cinema outings), and will feature an openly gay character.

Star Trek announce Discovery series

Speaking about the diversity of the crew, he said: We wanted to paint a picture of Star Fleet that's indicative of encountering people who are much more different than we are.

This summers film Star Trek Beyond revealed John Chos Sulu to have a husband and child, becoming the first ever gay character in the franchise.

Star Trek Beyond European premiere 1 /13 Star Trek Beyond European premiere Group photo Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Sofia Boutella, Idris Elba, director Justin Lin, Simon Pegg, Lydia Wilson, Chris Pine and John Cho attend the UK premiere of Star Trek Beyond Dave Benett Catching up Simon Pegg, Lydia Wilson and Chris Pine have a chat on the white carpet Dave Benett Kiss me quick John Cho and Chris Pine greet each other with a kiss at the premiere of Star Trek Beyond Dave Benett Peace out Idris Elba makes a peace out sign as he mingles with fans Dave Benett Nice to see you John Cho and Idris Elba share a hug Ian West/PA Live long and prosper Zachary Quinto poses for the cameras before speaking about his predecessor Leonard Nimoy Dave Benett Suited up Simon Pegg is all smiles as he arrives Dave Benett Hostess with the mostess Laura Whitmore was on hand to welcome the stars Dave Benett Looking dapper Chris Pine poses for the cameras at the premiere Dave Benett Stunning Jaylah actress Sofia Boutella strikes an over the shoulder look Dave Benett

While the move was made in tribute to original Sulu actor George Takei, who is gay, Takei himself was not pleased with the change.

Im delighted that theres a gay character," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Unfortunately, its a twisting of Gene [Roddenberry]s creation, to which he put in so much thought. I think its really unfortunate.

Star Trek Discovery will arrive on Netflix UK in January 2017
A fter ten weeks, raunchy French period drama Versailles has reached the, ahem, climax of its first series.

The show has been spicing up Wednesday nights on BBC Two with its flamboyant royals, telling the story of Louis XIVs notorious reign.

The young aristocrat famously moved French royalty from their Parisian base to the small town of Versailles where the now iconic palace stands.

Picking up plaudits along the way has been Welsh actor Alexander Vlahos, who plays Louis brother Philippe I  a man whos desperate to get from under his older siblings shadow, and wears womens clothes to get attention.

Vlahos spoke to Toby Earle about the fan reaction to his character, and why hes proud of the depiction of Philippes homosexual relationship in the series.

When it goes on screen, it becomes the fans character, he explains of his performance. They own it more than you do, bizarrely.

Which is lovely, because it means that you have the ownership while youre filming, but then you hand over the sort of rites of passage, you hand it over when it goes on screen, you have no more say.

Versailles - meet the cast 1 /10 Versailles - meet the cast George Blagden as King Louis XIV Thibault Grabherr/Canal+/BBC Alexander Vlahos as Philippe I Thibault Grabherr/Canal+/BBC Elisa Lasowski as Marie-Therese Thibault Grabherr/Canal+/BBC Evan Williams as Chevalier de Lorraine Thibault Grabherr/Canal+/BBC Stuart Bowman as Bontemps Thibault Grabherr/Canal+/BBC Anna Brewster as Madame de Montespan Thibault Grabherr/Canal+/BBC Noemie Schmidt as Henrietta of England Thibault Grabherr/Canal+/BBC Versailles Meet the cast of the historical drama Canal Plus/ BBC

Speaking of Philippes gay romance, Vlahos says: Thats the one part of Versailles that Im extremely proud of, our portrayal of this sort of gay relationship.

The funny thing is that we never say that theyre gay, we never use the word homosexual.

People see in these two guys, that just so happen to be guys, a beautiful, three-dimensional relationship based on truth, and respect, and deviance  but thats what any relationship has.

Versailles Series 1 is available now on DVD and BluRay
Religious Freedom Imperiled Worldwide

Contact: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, 212-371-3191, pr@catholicleague.org

NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- Bill Donohue comments on the findings of the 2015 International Religious Freedom Report issued by the U.S. State Department:

It is a mistake to ascribe all religious persecution to Muslim madmen who belong to terrorist groups such as ISIS, al Qaeda, al Shabab, and Boko Haram. The sad fact is that Muslim-run governments are centrally involved in oppression, as are Communist-run governments.

The Report cites Penn State researchers who found that "the number of countries that require some sort of [religious] registration has increased significantly over the last two decades, to nearly 90 percent of all countries." Worse is the practice of punishing people for merely criticizing Islam or converting to another religion. Such persons are routinely tortured and killed, with the approval of street mobs.

In Mauritania, a blogger critical of the government was initially sentenced to death, but it was revoked after he apologized; he is still in prison. Mobs in Pakistan have killed 62 persons for blasphemy since 1990. Sudan punishes anyone who claims that the Quran--not the government--is the sole source of authority.

In Saudi Arabia, a Palestinian poet was sentenced to 8 years in prison and 800 lashes (he was initially sentenced to death); three others had their death sentences upheld. The Syrian government has been on a tear killing Sunnis and other religious minorities. Iran executed at least 20 persons for blasphemy. Religious minorities were tortured in Eritrea, and three persons were legally stoned to death in Brunei for apostasy. China demolished several Catholic and Protestant churches, and "the exercise of religious freedom continued to be nearly non-existent in North Korea."

Still worse is the fact that the Obama administration continues to cut deals with Iran, and has been muted in its condemnation of Christian persecution. Beyond belief is the fact that the Clinton Foundation has received upwards of $25 million from the thugs in Saudi Arabia. For obvious reasons, the Democratic-controlled State Department failed to cite any of these facts.
Libyan forces fights ISIS

For the first time, US and Libyan officials have confirmed that US Special Operations troops are on the ground fighting Islamic State militants in Libya.

Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the mission was not yet officially made public told The Washington Post the roles of these operators were limited to assistance of Libyan forces by exchanging intelligence information to coordinate American airstrikes.

Stationed with British forces at a joint operations center near the coastal city of Sirte  the Islamic State's stronghold in North Africa  these elite troops were also reported to have constructed small outposts in the area to establish friendly relations with the locals.

This decision from the Pentagon comes at the heels of the commencement of airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Sirte. The Post reports that since these airstrikes received approval last week, nearly 30 militants have been killed and numerous Islamic State-owned fighting positions and vehicles have been destroyed.

In a quote from the article, European Council on Foreign Relations expert Mattia Toaldo explained that the US's role in Sirte was different than it was elsewhere in Libya because the numerous political factions wouldn't mind an intervention against the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh.

"As long as they keep this low profile  the risks both for the US and for the Libyan government are quite low," he said.

Since their arrival in Libya in 2014, ISIS militants in Africa have imitated their Middle Eastern counterparts through their brutal over-the-top methods of garnering attention. To combat their spread, other NATO nations, such as France, have also been reported to have deployed special operators into the region earlier this year.

Story continues

Western nations have started deploying special operators against ISIS in greater numbers recently. Newly published photographs show British special operators close to the ISIS frontlines in Syria, and US special operators have been active working alongside the Kurds in northern Syria.

NOW WATCH: GREEN BERET: What elite forces are saying about Trump





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Solar-powered cars rolled into the Scotts Bluff National Monument under overcast skies on Friday, Aug. 5. The cars were part of a challenge headed by the American Solar Challenge who partnered with the National Park Service for its 2016 Centennial celebration.

According to the American Solar Challenge website, the solar car crews of collegiate students were expected to travel for 1,975 miles, for eight days through seven states.

The challenge started at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio, with the cars in a staggered start and went on to stops and checkpoints at Dayton Aviation National Historical Park in Dayton Ohio, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Vincennes, Indiana, Ulysses S. Grant National Historical Site at St. Louis, Missouri, Wilsons Creek National Battlefield in Republic, Missouri, Brown V Board National Historical Site in Topeka, Kansas, Homestead National Monument of America in Beatrice, Nebraska, Scotts Bluff National Monument in Gering and finished at Wind Cave National Park in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Scotts Bluff National Monument Superintendent Dan Morford thinks its great that the solar car challenge stopped at the monument.

We are proud to have been chosen, Morford said. The thing that makes it unique is the history involved.

Morford said the cars drove on the same trails the pioneers did when they came through the area. He also said that the representatives at the park spent a lot of time planning and setting up for the challenge to come through.

The students must design the vehicle according to regulation and must go through a series of inspections and tests. Then, the students must participate in the Formula Sun Grand Prix to qualify for the cross country American Solar Challenge.

The first car to come into the area, and the winner of the challenge, was the University of Michigan Solar Car Team which had a race crew of 16 students. Four other solar cars drove their way into Gering, but the remaining seven were trailered in.

Gail Lueck, event coordinator for the American Solar Challenge, deals with everything pertaining to the teams. She started her career with the challenge as a competitor in 1999.

The National Parks Service is acting as the host during the Centennial to show off the cars and for people to see what they are doing, Lueck said.

Lauren Blacik, park ranger, was at the stop to engage the public about the impact of climate change and what the National Park Service is doing about it.

She felt having the National Park Service as the host helped celebrate the centennial while showing the drivers various historic places along their routes.
The family of dirt-track racer Bryan Clauson says his organs have been donated to five other people.

Clauson was in a crash in a Kansas race last weekend. He was airlifted to Bryan Medical Center in Lincoln, where he died surrounded by his family.

In a statement posted on the Twitter account of Bryan Clauson Racing on Wednesday, Clauson's family members say they knew as they were saying their last goodbyes "that five families were also sitting in a hospital room somewhere, comforting their loved one and each other while praying for a miracle that Bryan ultimately delivered for them."

They say he will live on in part through "the lucky individuals that will benefit from Bryan making a decision to be a donor."

Clauson died in a Nebraska hospital Sunday following Saturday night's crash at the Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Millions of weddings occur around the world each year. I have only attended a few, but one thing is always the same. Two people stand in front of friends and family to declare their love and devotion to each other.

I recently had the opportunity to attend an Episcopal wedding. Id never been to one before. It was the first time Id been to a wedding with a woman performing the ceremony. Other than being female, she said many of the same things Ive heard before. She gave words of wisdom and told the happy couple to love each other as Christ loved them.

There was laughter and smiles, and crying babies. There were guests dressed to the nines and some in T-shirts and jeans. The happy couple didnt care. They just wanted their friends and family to witness their special day.

Ive been to a wedding in Tanzania where my friends Hendrik and Salma were married. Salmas mom is Christian. Her dad is Muslim. So, I attended two weddings. The Christian wedding was similar to those in America. There was dancing, speeches and well-wishers. The Muslim wedding took place over a week and included aspects of Tanzanian culture.

Salma didnt see Hendrik for several weeks before the wedding. This was a cultural thing. They cheated and texted each other at night after the lady who made sure Hendrik didnt sneak in had gone home to sleep.

I was embraced in the close family parts of the wedding, which included matching outfits. At each gathering, we wore a different one. We were given the fabric colors and designed something we were comfortable wearing, which would then be tailored.

On another day, I had to go to the kitchen party. No men were allowed. At first, I was not happy about this, but there was food. A lot of food. I ate so much food. I ate things I couldnt identify. But it was tasty, so I didnt care.

At the mosque the next evening, men and women were separated during dinner. After we all stuffed ourselves, the men came upstairs and everyone celebrated together.

Ive been to overly religious weddings where the minister spoke about Jesus being with the happy couple so much I became uncomfortable. The young couple were clearly in love, had known each other for most of their lives and they wanted everyone to share in their joy. So I sat quietly, and even listened to the cheesy songs.

At the Episcopal church, the priest also spoke about having a Christ-centered relationship. And I had to sit through mushy, cheesy, love songs.

Ive been to a Catholic wedding where the groom was a Marine. The bride walked down the aisle under a canopy of swords. The wedding took 97 minutes. It was tedious. Stand up. Sit down. Stand up. Say a prayer. The reception was predictable. There was food. There were drinks. There were silly drunk people. There was a conga line and cake being shoved in faces.

The best part of every wedding is, of course, cake. I like cake. And the most recent wedding I attended did not forget this important part of the ceremony.

In The Netherlands, everyone gets married at city hall. Anyone can attend. The judge made some special accommodations just for my friends. I dont speak Dutch and my friends parents and grandparents only spoke Greek. So the judge spoke in Dutch, as required by law, then English, and my friends brother translated from English to Greek.

After the civil ceremony, some choose to have a church ceremony for family and close friends. Theirs was at the Orthodox Greek church in Rotterdam. Everything was in Greek, but I learned Greek in college and could kind of follow along. At the end, you get to pin money on the bride and groom. Then, there is dinner, which is reserved for immediate family. My other Dutch friends tell me it was a big deal that they invited me and my husband to the dinner. Later, there is a reception where friends, acquaintances and coworkers come to have a few drinks, some snacks and wish the happy couple well.

The Episcopal church does things a bit different from other ceremonies, like blessing the rings, but much of it is similar to other weddings Ive attended.

The happy couple that day had already spent a decade together, through good times and bad, in sickness and health. They werent allowed to get married until the U.S. Supreme Court said they could last year in the landmark ruling Obergefell v. Hodges. Yet, I saw nothing different in their declarations and devotions to each other from other weddings Ive attended. When the priest said, You may now kiss the bride, she did. And the sky did not fall.
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Thursday, 11 August 2016 09:56:54 (GMT+3) | Shanghai

Hebei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Chengde Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd (Chengde Steel), a subsidiary of Chinese steel producer Hebei Iron and Steel Group Co. (Hebei Steel), has announced that its vanadium-alloy automotive steel sheet has successfully obtained the ISO/TS16949 certification issued by the British Standards Institution (BSI).





The ISO/TS16949 is a quality management system standard in the auto industry issued by ISO on the basis of the ISO9001 standard, which is the qualification required for entering the auto industry.
At the end of July this year, the China Iron Ore Price Index (CIOPI) stood at 215.63 points, up 16.86 points or 8.48 percent month on month. In particular, the domestic production iron ore price index stood at 195.23 points, up 6.33 points or 3.35 percent month on month, while the import iron ore price index stood at 219.47 points, increasing by 18.84 points or 9.39 percent month on month.

For the whole month of July, the average China Iron Ore Price Index (CIOPI) was at 206.69 points, up 16.70 points or 8.79 percent month on month. In particular, the average domestic production iron ore price index was at 192.11 points, up 4.03 points or 2.14 percent, while the average import iron ore price index stood at 209.43 points, increasing by 19.07 points or 10.02 percent, both month on month.
Thursday, 11 August 2016 15:59:25 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) which includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Armenia, has announced that it has started an antidumping (AD) duty investigation on hot rolled steel angle imports from Ukraine

The EEC stated that in the July 2015-March 2016 period the average price of hot rolled steel angles imported from Ukraine was lower than that of angles produced in the Eurasian Economic Union.

The investigation was launched following the application lodged by Russian steel producer Evraz Groups subsidiaries Evraz ZSMK and Evraz NTMK and supported by Russian producers Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) and Severstal.

The products in question currently fall under Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers 7216 21 0000, 7216 40 1000, 7216 50 1000, 7216 50 9900 and 7228 70 1000.
Wednesday, 10 August 2016 10:44:06 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

India s Ministry of Finance has announced its provisional antidumping (AD) duty rates regarding imports of hot rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel originating in or exported from China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia.





Accordingly, the provisional duty rates for hot rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel in coils of width up to 2,100 mm and thickness up to 25 mm imported from the six countries will be equivalent to the difference between the minimum reference price of $474/mt and the realized import price, while the minimum reference price is $557/mt for hot rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel not in coils (commonly known as sheets and plates) of width up to 4,950 mm and thickness up to 150 mm imported from the given countries.





Meanwhile, last week India s Directorate of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce announced that the products on which AD and safeguard duties were imposed were pulled out of the minimum import price (MIP) list, including flat rolled non-alloy products and zinc or lead coated steel among others.





The products subject to provisional antidumping duty currently fall under Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers 7208, 7211, 7225 and 7226.




Thursday, 11 August 2016 15:19:53 (GMT+3) | Istanbul

According to the data released by the Japan Ship Exporters' Association (JSEA), Japanese new ship export orders in July this year increased by 86.4 percent on tonnage basis compared to June, rising to eight ships, up from four ships recorded in June, totaling 303,299 gross tons, consisting of seven bulk carriers. In July last year, Japan 's new ship export orders had totaled 25 ships amounting to 1.44 million gross tons.

In the first seven months of this year, Japanese shipbuilders received new export orders for a total of 47 ships with an aggregate of 2.3 million gross tons, down 81.2 percent year on year.

On the other hand, in July this year Japan delivered 16 ships for export, totaling 597,338 gross tons, falling from 22 ships totaling 1.06 million gross tons recorded in June. In July 2015, Japan 's new ship deliveries for export had totaled 40 ships with 1.55 million gross tons.
Thursday, 11 August 2016 23:37:42 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Apparent consumption of steel end products in Peru in 2016 should keep the same levels seen in 2015around 3 million mtaccording to a media report citing data from Scotiabank.





Scotiabank said a lower level of execution of civil construction works by the Peruvian government should limit steel demand, analyst Carlos Asmat said.





Scotiabank said it expects an increase in Peruvian steel demand by 2017, which should surpass 3 million mt.





Scotiabank attributed the expected increase in steel demand in 2017 to a better dynamism in the countrys infrastructure projects that began in 2015, such as the Lima subway line 2, whose constructions works are expected to take place in 2016, the Cusco airport, as well as the San Martin port in Pisco, among other projects.





A recovery in the countrys real estate sector is also expected for 2017.





Peruvian major steelmakers are Gerdau-owned Siderperu and Aceros Arequipa.


Zambia's incumbent president Edward Lungu and his wife Esther leave a rally.

Zambia goes to the polls today (Aug 11) to choose a new president, as well as lawmakers, and local mayors. Theyll also vote on whether or not to approve a new bill of rights.

Voters wrapped in blankets formed long queues outside of polling stations before they opened at 6am. So far, voting has been calm and peaceful, according to Zambias electoral commission.

Massive turnout in #Zambian elections for new President, MPs, mayors, local councillors, Constit ref #ZambiaDecides pic.twitter.com/VWXrEA40Pe  Alhagie Jobe (@freejobe39) August 11, 2016

Eager voters hold out their ID cards to my lens. Despite waiting at least two hours, all smiles #zambiavotes2016 pic.twitter.com/OcAfD7Mni4  Akwasi Sarpong (@akwasisarpong) August 11, 2016

The election will be close. According to new electoral rules, the winner must gain more than 50% of the national vote instead of just a simple majority, a challenge for incumbent president Edgar Lungu, who won last years election with 48.3% of the voteonly 27,000 votes ahead of his rival Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party of National Development party (UPND).

If none of the nine candidates, which include Lungu and Hichilema, gain more than half the votes today, a run-off will be held within 37 days.

Story continues

Todays election also tests Zambias reputation as one of the most stable multi-party democracies on the continent. The country has held competitive and peaceful elections since the 1990s. Its consistent stability is a subject academics have studied.

Various methods have been employed to ensure the credibility of todays poll. Voters are getting their thumbs marked to avoid attempts to vote twice. The ballot for the referendum on whether to give parliament power to approve a new bill of rights uses pictures to simplify the form.

But these small measures may not be enough.

Preparations for the vote have been marred by violence between supporters Lungus ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and Hichilemas UNPD. Police killed one UNPD supporter at a rally in July. Authorities also closed the countrys only independent newspaper, The Post, on charges that the paper owes $6.3 million in taxes, leaving only state-run media to report the election:

There have even been reports that the ruling party has brought in nationals from Malawi and Congo to vote. Others say that the ballotsimported from a company in Dubai, after years of Zambia purchasing them from South Africahas given PF an opportunity to tamper with them.

#ZambiaDecides ballot papers whose sourcing from Dubai firm triggered diplomatic storm with Uganda arrive in Lusaka pic.twitter.com/4GCg6l0NNr  SAM (@The_Optics) July 28, 2016

Incumbent president Lungus left-leaning party oversaw the countrys worst economic downturn in a decade. Zambia, once one of Africas fastest growing economies thanks to Chinese demand for its copper, is now facing rising unemployment, electricity shortages, and soaring costs of living. Zambias currency, the kwacha, weakened so much last year that Lungu publicly prayed for it. (It recovered six months later.)

Hichilema, a wealthy businessman, has also said he will turn to God for help righting the economy.

Both have said they are confident of outright victory, and post-election violence could be an issue. Lungu has threatened to call the national army if his rival rejects the vote result.

As researcher Danielle Resnick previously wrote this week, [The elections] could herald a complete rupture of the existing party system and a worrying slide towards a competitive authoritarian regime. But they could also simply reflect a minor detour on the countrys road towards democratic consolidation.

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According to the preliminary data released by Statistics South Africa (SSA), in June this year South Africa 's manufacturing output increased by 4.5 percent compared to the same month last year.

In June, the production of basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery increased by 0.3 percent on year-on-year basis. In the given month, the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa rose by 23.7 percent, while the production of structural metal products decreased by 3.3 percent, both on year-on-year basis. As compared with May, in June this year the production of basic iron and steel products in South Africa increased by 3.3 percent and production of structural metal products narrowed by 1.9 percent.
Thursday, 11 August 2016 23:38:27 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Venezuela s state-run steelmaker Sidor has resumed production at its rebar rolling mill, the company said on Thursday, indicating the equipment was reactivated on August 10.





Jose Bastardo, chief of department at the companys rebar rolling mill, said the companys No. 2 production line located at its semi-finished products area has resumed activities as well.





The No. 2 production line can roll export quality rebar of 12mm.





In July, Sidor resumed billet production and later in the month the company announced it had resumed operations at its wire rod rolling mill.





Sidor had halted its operations in most H1 due to electricity issues.


2000 - 2022   24 .-   .       focus-news.net,                 () .                  24 .                 24      .       .       24 .
Donald Trump expanded his economic advisory team on Thursday, adding eight women and one man to a team that was previously comprised of all men.

Trump was criticized after announcing a team of 13 economic advisers, all of whom were men and almost half of whom were named Steve. The team was mostly ultrarich financiers and businessmen, with few policy experts.

Thursday's announcement helps round out the gender balance on Trump's economic team, but it still includes mostly business people. There are no new academic economists or policy experts.

Many of the new additions are donors, including Anthony Scaramucci, a top Republican fundraiser and New York investor, Diane Hendricks, a Republican fundraiser who is active in the Koch political network, which has refused to back Trump's campaign, and Liz Uihlein, who is a major party donor.

One of the members, Judy Shelton, has been an outspoken advocate for the gold standard. Another, former New York lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey, suggested in 2009 that the Affordable Care Act included a provision that would "absolutely require" seniors on Medicare to attend a panel every five years on how to end their lives sooner. The comment is believed to be the launching point for inaccurate claims about "death panels" in the legislation, which President Obama signed into law in 2010.
Whether youre a dedicated ramen aficionado, a recent convert to the Japanese noodle soup as it enjoys its moment in the St. Louis dining scene, or a curious rookie, I offer you the same advice for your first visit to Vista Ramen: Leave any expectations or concerns outside. Dont even think of it as a ramen restaurant, really. Its a Chris Bork restaurant that happens to serve ramen.

Borks career has seen him excel across a range of restaurants, from the casual breakfast and lunch fare of the Mud House to the upscale dining of members-only Blood & Sand, where he was the inaugural executive chef. Since Bork left Blood & Sand at the end of 2013, those of us who have followed his work with interest have waited (and waited) for this, his first restaurant.

Hes rewarded our patience with one of 2016s most exciting debuts.

Bork and Mud House owners Casey and Jeremy Miller opened Vista Ramen at the end of May on Cherokee Street just west of South Jefferson Avenue. The space is tight, seating about 40 at dining tables, the bar and a counter along the length of the open kitchen. A gorgeous ghost sign for an old bank covers one wall, and in such cramped quarters, this is enough to lend the entire room a unique character.

Bork doesnt adhere to any particular ramen style. We decided to make up our own broth, he told me in a phone interview when the restaurant opened, taking notes from classic stuff. For the signature Vista ramen ($13), he begins with a dashi base and then builds the broth with ham hock, pigs feet, chicken bones, ginger and Granny Smith apple. The result is light and clean but still complex  savory, even meaty, but without the sticky, almost overwhelming porkiness of a tonkotsu broth  with a zippy undercurrent from the ginger.

To this broth, Bork adds the noodles, of course, as well as nori, chopped scallion, an egg and a cut of pork shoulder that has been cured with brown sugar and salt and then braised with aromatics in a blend of soy, miso, sake and mirin. The pork rounds out the already excellent broth with a satisfying, but not heavy, richness.

For the Posole ramen ($13), served with chicken, hominy, and an egg, Bork uses the Vista broth as a base and then adds what he describes as an almost mole-like ancho-chile paste. This imparts a subtle sweetness and smokiness to the broth, while fresno chiles give it a jab of heat. Remarkably, the broth for the Veggie ramen ($13) is as hearty as the Vista broth or its Posole variation. For this, Bork begins with a mushroom dashi and then builds the broth with roasted vegetables (beets and eggplants among them). Whichever ramen you prefer will be a matter of personal taste; I recommend all three of them without reservation.

Ramen is the heart of Vistas menu, but Im equally excited about the selection of small plates.

A piece of chilled salmon confit ($10) is as luscious and flavorful as a piece of nigiri at your favorite sushi restaurant. Around the salmon Bork arranges dollops of curry sauce, carrots and everything crumble, shortbread seasoned like an everything bagel that obviously evokes a bagel with lox. Yet the carrots sweetness and the curry sauces warm spice are what make the dish; this is the rare salmon dish that looks and tastes new. What the menu calls warm corn pudding ($10) is reminiscent of spoonbread. The two pieces sit in a shallow pool of corn dashi  it turns down the volume on traditional dashis umami richness, but not all the way  garnished with smoked corn kernels and Sun Gold tomatoes. Its a lovely summer dish.

Not every small plate is so finessed. Pork ribs ($10)  coconut-marinated, cooked at low temperature in a CVap oven and then fried to order  arrive in a fragrant stack. Bork encrusts these in a sweet, funky, crunchy blend of caramelized fish sauce and crab paste, peanuts and fresh herbs. I picked my ribs clean and, had I not already ordered ramen, would have asked for a second round. The Korean-style fried chicken sandwiches ($10) could become Vistas unexpected hit: Crisp, meaty, with slivers of pickle and doused in a fiery gochujang sauce, they pair perfectly with a cold lager.

For a small restaurant with a very small bar, Vistas beverage program still presents a brief but focused list of cocktails and spritzes (my favorite was a five-spice daiquiri, a special), sake and Japanese teas, with a modest selection of beer and wine. Nor has Vista overlooked dessert. Bork serves a simple lemongrass-basil ice cream ($5) and a dish of poached peaches with Champagne sorbet ($7) so brilliant and refreshing that you wonder why everyone doesnt serve it in the height of summer.

Vistas menu is seasonal, which already presents a reason to return sooner rather than later. And as bright as Vistas outlook already is, as Bork and his team continue to experiment and gain confidence, I suspect even brighter days over the horizon.

Where Vista Ramen, 2609 Cherokee Street  Three stars out of four  More info 314-797-8250; vistaramen.com  Menu Ramen and seasonal small plates with influences from various Asian cuisines  Hours Dinner Monday-Saturday
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.  Bryan Fuller would love to tell you everything about "Star Trek Discovery." But he can't.

Fuller and Alex Kurtzman are developing "Discovery" for CBS. The 13-episode series will debut on the network in January, and then move to subscription service CBS All Access.

Casting is just getting started, but Fuller ("Pushing Daisies," "Hannibal") confirmed that the lead character (not a captain) will be human female. There will also be a gay character, and plenty of aliens.

"Discovery will be set in the Prime universe (Trekkers will understand) 10 years before Captain James T. Kirk's five-year mission in the original "Star Trek." Expect a mixture of light and dark in the tone.

"We're much closer to Kirk's time than to 'Enterprise,' so we get to play with all that iconography," Fuller said in a Q&A session with TV critics meeting in Los Angeles.

But no, "Discovery" won't be set during the Romulan War, Fuller told one questioner. "Close, but no banana."

CBS All Access won't have to hew to broadcast TV standards and practices. "Why do you think we call it STD?" Fuller said, joking about the new show's acronym.

The decision not to make the lead character a captain, in a break from "Trek" tradition, is an effort to view the action from a different perspective. "We've had, what, six series from captains' points of view," Fuller said.

Gail Pennington is attending the TV Critics Association summer press tour. Follow her on Twitter (@gailpennington), Facebook (@tubetalkPD) and here at stltoday.com/tubetalk.
UPDATED at 11 a.m. Thursday with information about the driver.

ST. LOUIS  Police say they have arrested the driver involved in a hit-and-run crash that fatally injured a 12-year-old boy Tuesday night near the Bevo Mill in St. Louis.

Capt. Steven Mueller, commander of the department's First District, posted a message on Facebook on Wednesday evening thanking the public for leads and saying he believes police found the car and took the driver into custody. Police said they are seeking charges against the driver, a 23-year-old man.

The victim was identified as Clinton Vorce, who lived in the 3600 block of Neosho Street. He died at a hospital at about 4 a.m. Wednesday from injuries suffered Tuesday night.

Police said Clinton was walking west on Delor Avenue at about 8:40 p.m. Tuesday. He crossed Gravois Avenue against the light, police say.

A vehicle traveling north in the 4700 block of Gravois hit Clinton, police said. The car was traveling at high speed and didn't stop after striking the boy.

Police say the car was a red four-door Audi.

Clinton's grandmother, Michelle Ashby, said Clinton had two sisters, 16 and 12, and would have started seventh grade at Long Middle School this fall.

Ahmad Sultani, 27, a worker at the All Wireless store, 4641 South Grand Boulevard, said Clinton would regularly hang out there to use the store's Wi-Fi. Sultani described Clinton as a "very, very nice kid" who often played the "Clash of Clans" game on his cellphone while at the store.

Scott Coleman, 42, of Washington County, described himself as an uncle to Clinton because he has worked in the auto salvage industry with Clinton's father for years. Coleman said his 14-year-old son and Clinton were close friends and just spent last weekend together go-karting, skating at a roller rink and shooting BB guns in the woods.

Coleman said Clinton frequently helped his father out at a salvage yard in Hillsdale where his father worked.

"He's a great kid," Coleman said.

Coleman said he rallied friends and family on Wednesday to look for the car, and alerted police to possible leads.

"Everybody I know has been looking for this car," he said. "It's family, you know what I mean? And I would expect someone to do the same for me. An innocent child's life was taken because of someone's neglect. He was a very loving kid, you know? He loved life and this is a tragedy that he had to go out the way he did."

Kim Bell of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
UPDATED with officer being honored at baseball game

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Three men arrested by Kansas drug agents in an alleged murder plot may have ties to last months shooting of Carbondale police Officer Trey Harris, authorities say.

The three were booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit capital murder against three men not connected with the officer. The suspects were being held Thursday in the Saline County, Kan., jail in lieu of $1 million bail each.

Sources say the three are accused of traveling to Illinois to carry out a drug-contract killing that never happened; instead, they ended up in a high-speed chase on July 31 that involved Harris, who was shot in the face during the chase.

Harris, 26, was treated to a St. Louis hospital for serious injuries, but he has since been released.

Thursday night, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Southern Illinois Miners minor-league game in Marion, Ill. on a night honoring members of law enforcement.

Authorities say Alex Bryan Karcher, 22, Xavier Lee McCray, 22, and Xavier Everett Lewis, 24, were arrested late Sunday night or early Monday morning in central Kansas.

Officers from the I-135/I-70 Drug Task Force, Saline County Sheriffs Office, the Salina, Kan., Police Department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation were among those who made the arrests.

Charges allege the trio traveled to Illinois to carry out a contract murder against three people.

Karcher, McCray and Lewis are all residents of Kansas. Jail records show Karcher and Lewis living in Salina; no hometown is listed for McCray.

The Salina Journal covered the initial court appearance for the three men on Wednesday in Saline County District Court.

Criminal complaints accuse the men of unlawfully, feloniously and intentionally agreeing to assist in the crime of capital murder pursuant to a contract or agreement to kill between July 27 and Aug. 1 and of traveling to Jackson County, Ill., to commit the crime, the Journal reported.

Carbondale is in Jackson County.

Their intended victims were Judios Kizeart, Darien Williams-Wright and Robert Harris, according to the complaints, the Journal says. Those intended victims are alive and are listed among the states witnesses on the complaints, the Journal says.

In an announcement Wednesday, the Carbondale Police Department made the connection between the Kansas arrests and the shooting of its officer.

It says, The Kansas investigation culminated in a sealed indictment in Saline County, Kansas that is associated with the July 31, 2016, shooting in Carbondale.

The Kansas case doesnt include charges for assaulting the Carbondale officer. Michael Carr, the states attorney in Jackson County, Ill., could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Carbondale police say Carr is working with prosecutors in Kansas.

Harris has been with the Carbondale police force more than three years. Carbondale Mayor Mike Henry said at a City Council meeting this week that Harris was lucky the bullets didnt hit his brain stem and he hoped Harris wont lose his eye.

Carbondale Deputy Police Chief Stan Reno said he talks to Harris daily. Hes in good spirits, he said. Were blessed he wasnt injured worse than he is.

Harris was on patrol in Carbondale late on the night of July 31 when he and other officers heard shots and drove their vehicles toward the sound of the gunfire. Police then saw a tan, four-door vehicle speed off.

Carbondale officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to pull over. During the pursuit, someone in the vehicle fired several shots at the officers. Harris was hit. Police did not return fire, authorities say. The shots that hit Harris came from a vehicle that was later found abandoned and destroyed by fire in neighboring Williamson County.

The City of Carbondale offered a $15,000 reward for information that leads to the "identity, arrest and conviction" of the person or persons who shot Harris. A task force led by the Illinois State Police investigated the shooting.

Anyone who wants to make donations to help in Harris' recovery can send checks payable to "CPD Injured Officers Fund" to the City of Carbondale Police Department, 501 South Washington Street, Carbondale, IL 62901.

Ballgame fundraiser

Officer Harris threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Southern Illinois Miners minor league baseball game Thursday night in Marion, Ill. Wearing a Miners jersey and shorts, Harris jogged to the mound to the thunderous sound of applause, whistles and cheers, the Southern Illinoisan said.

John Wilson, general manager of the team, said said half of the ticket money from the game will go to the CPD Injured Officers Fund.

Wilson said his players wore ballcaps from local police departments. About 35 police agencies, from Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri, planned to have officers attend the game. The evening was called "Stand Up for Blue Night." Every fan at the stadium was be given a placard to show support for an officer.
A St. Louis County circuit judge is set to hear arguments over three days this fall about the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission's request to bar UberX from operating in St. Louis and St. Louis County.

The matter had been set for Thursday afternoon, but was postponed because Judge Tom DePriest, Jr. wants more time to hear testimony, said Chuck Billings, legal counsel for the taxi commission.

That testimony will be heard on Oct. 3, 4 and 17.

A federal judge on Monday ordered that the case be returned to St. Louis County Circuit Court, where it originally was filed.

The two sides have been at odds on what court should hear their suits against each other.

The taxi commission filed a suit in St. Louis County on Oct. 5 seeking to have Uber barred from operating.

The case later was moved to federal court , where Uber wanted the case heard, but the taxi commission filed a motion seeking for it to be returned to St. Louis County.

The San Francisco-based company objected, saying in court documents that the "core dispute" between itself and the taxi commission was a federal antitrust case.

Uber alleged that the taxi commission's desire to have the case removed from federal court was part of a game that's "rigged by the market-participant commissioners" to protect their financial interests in the companies they own.

A state law specific to St. Louis and St. Louis County mandates that four of the taxi commission's nine members be from the taxi industry.

UberX is an app-based, ride-hailing service in which drivers use their own cars to ferry passengers.

On Sept. 18, the taxi commission voted to allow ride-hailing services, but it required drivers to be fingerprinted and possess a Class E Missouri commercial drivers license, also known as a chauffeurs license. Those terms are dictated by a state law specific to St. Louis and St. Louis County.

That same day, Uber launched UberX, even though drivers had not met the requirements set by the taxi commission, and the company filed a federal lawsuit against the commission alleging anti-competitive practices in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

UberX has operated in defiance of commission regulations since then.

The Legislature wrapped up in May, but none of the bills put forth for consideration to create statewide ride-hailing regulations in place of a patchwork of local rules was passed into law.

Last week, six cab companies and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay called for Lambert-St. Louis International Airport officials to crack down on UberX drivers picking up passengers at the airport.

Taxis must pay a $4 fee for every airport pickup  $3 goes to the airport, and $1 goes to the taxi commission. UberX drivers have not been paying the fee and are not supposed to be picking up airport passengers.
O'FALLON, Ill.  Prosecutors in St. Clair County charged a man Wednesday with murdering his infant son.

Joel B. Bundt, 24, was arrested Monday. On Wednesday, the state's attorney's office filed a first-degree murder charge. Bundt is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Authorities say Bundt is responsible for the death of Quinten Finnley David Bundt, who was nearly eight weeks old. According to the charges, Bundt inflicted "traumatic brain injury" to Quinten knowing it could kill the baby or cause him great bodily harm.

Quinten was born May 25 and spent several weeks in the hospital before his death.

He died July 18 at St. Louis Children's Hospital, according to an obituary from Wolfersberger Funeral Home. He was the son of Joel Brantley Bundt and Carol Duenan Lorraine David Crawford of OFallon.

Lt. Kerry A. Andrews, investigations commander with the O'Fallon Police Department, said after the baby was hospitalized the medical staff alerted the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services. The state agency then contacted police. Andrews said police were investigating the case as child abuse before Quinten died.
FLORISSANT  As their teachers spoke, the 34 sixth-graders considered the role they could play in changing the course of the Ferguson-Florissant School District.

This is a ground-breaking year for us, guys, teacher Amanda Mathews told the group gathered in a classroom to kick off the school year Wednesday. This is the time to make your mark here in this community.

It involves creating a new school  one thats unlike anything in St. Louis County.

Elyse Gipson, who likes building robots, listened attentively. So did Makayla Handlang, who loves art, and Mariah Savala, who thrives on hands-on science projects.

They are among the inaugural class of sixth-graders who will receive full-time gifted instruction this year at the districts Probe Center, where gifted elementary school pupils have long come for weekly enrichment.

This is probably going to be much more exciting than a regular school, said Elyse, whose cousin Elyssa Gipson is also in the program.

This time next year, this class will be joined by another grade level and become a stand-alone middle school. One year later, the school will grow to include eighth grade. Classes at this new middle school will emphasize science, technology, engineering, art and math education, known as STEAM. District officials are working on plans to ensure that high school, once these students get there, also will be tailored to meet their needs and ambitions.

Really think about college, Superintendent Joseph Davis said as he welcomed the sixth-graders to the Probe Center on their first day. Think about what you want to do with your life. We want to make sure you have the kind of experiences so you could begin thinking about who youre going to be when you grow up.

No other middle school in St. Louis County offers self-contained gifted instruction. Only St. Louis Public Schools has a magnet school for gifted middle schoolers  McKinley Classical Junior Academy.

A new approach

The sixth-graders at the Probe Center are pioneering an effort that many hope will become a model in the struggling Ferguson-Florissant system, which has faced challenges in recent years with academics, funding and community unrest.

Davis, in his second year as superintendent, is working to increase rigor, equity and access throughout the district. He speaks of the importance of identifying more students, particularly African-American and low-income students, as gifted, and giving them more exposure to problem solving and project-based learning. And hes working to ensure teachers and principals have the support from district administrators to lift reading levels and overall achievement.

What we hope will happen is that our students will be learning at a deeper level, he said.

Last year, Davis commissioned a transition team to study the district. The team was led by one of his professors at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In January, it reported there must be a stronger sense of urgency about immediate improvement in Ferguson-Florissant schools.

The study raised concerns about the district, including how well it is educating African-Americans and disadvantaged students. College readiness was also an a issue  just 16 students in the district of 11,000 took an Advanced Placement exam last year.

Davis is using the report to help set priorities as he moves forward in his second year.

Washington Universitys Institute for School Partnership and the Santa Fe Center for Transformational Leadership are working with district officials to strengthen the leadership of principals, assistant principals and some teachers.

Davis is working with Equal Opportunity Schools to expand access to Advanced Placement courses in the districts three high schools, particularly for minority and low-income students. Davis said he had reached out to International Baccalaureate in hopes of offering the program. What we can do here is build that pipeline, he said of the sixth-graders at the Probe Center.

What were after is building a model within our district, a model school, Davis added. Were going to start here. Were going to begin to focus on those students whove already shown much promise. We want to create the kind of teaching environment where our teachers become consummate educators. As we build out the (STEAM) school, we want to scale that up.

huge opportunity

In 2015, district residents approved Proposition I, a $30 million bond issue that among other things, is to fund the conversion of a facility into a STEAM learning center. A permanent location for the new middle school hasnt been announced. Gifted elementary school students will continue to get weekly enrichment at the Probe Center, 1005 Waterford Drive.

Andrea Savala said she and her husband had tossed around the idea of private school for their two daughters. But theyve been reinvigorated by the changes theyre seeing in the school district. When they learned about full-time gifted instruction, they didnt hesitate to enroll Mariah.

She is a kid who will sometimes get bored, Savala said. This is a huge opportunity for her. It was too valuable to pass up.
JEFFERSON CITY  Hoping to boost support in Missouris traditionally Republican rural areas, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Koster has trumpeted a weeks worth of endorsements from farm-based lobbying groups.

On Thursday, the attorney general received the backing of the Missouri Soybean Association, hitting the trifecta on the agriculture front after having been endorsed in the past week by the Missouri Farm Bureau and the corn growers association.

The endorsements telegraph how Koster may be hoping to chart a path to the governors mansion against Republican Eric Greitens, a former Navy SEAL and first-time political candidate who is running as an outsider.

If Republicans hoping to gain control of the executive branch to complement their hold on the Legislature were surprised by Kosters early endorsements, they werent alone.

Ive been sort of surprised by hearing this as well, said John Messmer, a political scientist at St. Louis Community College at Meramec.

But, Messmer said, Koster is a moderate to conservative Democrat who has deep roots in political circles throughout the state after having served two terms as the states top attorney.

The Greitens camp played down the endorsements.

If this election cycle has shown anything, it is that endorsements dont move voters like they used to. Eric looks forward to working with these organizations when he is governor, campaign manager Austin Chambers said in an email.

Along with gaining the support of the rural groups, Koster also has taken more conservative positions on some of the hot-button issues facing state government.

Koster has said he isnt opposed to a voter identification law that would require Missourians to show a photo ID at the polling place. He also says he will vote against a proposed tobacco tax increase that would raise money for early childhood programs. He also favors a loosening of state gun laws that was vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon.

Koster also took on a popular foe of Republicans when he criticized President Barack Obama for moving too quickly in issuing guidance on transgender students access to public school bathrooms.

Like Nixon, Koster hopes that he can keep the governors office in Democratic hands by picking his spots with more conservative voters.

In 2012, Nixon won the state with 54.7 percent of the vote, the same as Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Koster defeated Republican Ed Martin by 15 points that year, after running television ads featuring him holding a shotgun.

Greitens adopted a similar meme in his successful bid for the GOP nomination when he closed out the primary campaign with an ad showing him doing nothing but spraying bullets out of a machine gun for 20 seconds.

Messmer said that although the ag-based groups represent voters in more conservative areas of the state, they may not be as ideological when it comes to elections.

Rather, they may see a virtue in keeping a Democrat in the governors office and Republicans in control of the House and Senate.

Its not too shocking that you have groups like this that are leaning toward keeping divided government, Messmer said.

In endorsing Koster, Missouri Soybean Association President Matt McCrate said the attorney general has gone to bat for farmers against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has shown a commitment on biodiesel and other key issues.

He has been a great partner to Missouri soybean growers and has committed to prioritize agriculture as our governor, said McCrate, a soybean farmer from Cape Girardeau.

Missouris soybean farmers are a vital part of our states economy and tradition, and I am proud to have their support, Koster said in a statement.

With less than three months to go before voters head to the polls, Greitens and Koster have been busy raising money since the primary election.

Greitens has collected over $1.25 million in large donations since Aug. 3, including a $1 million gift from the Republican Governors Association, while Koster has received $200,000 from contributors.
COLUMBIA  Days after Donald Trump called on Second Amendment supporters to stop Hillary Clinton from nominating Supreme Court judges, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt said Thursday he presumed Trump was referring to what those voters could do at the polls.

I assume he meant by voting, Blunt said after being publicly endorsed by the National Rifle Association at a firearm supplier in Columbia.

Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment, Trump said during a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday. By the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know.

Trumps remarks have been interpreted by some as insinuating violence against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, which Trump has denied. As echoed by Blunt, he later said he was referring to the power of the electorate.

Blunt, like many other Republican senators running to keep their seats, has endorsed Trump but has tried to distance himself from the often controversial nominee.

He did criticize Trump for denouncing parents of a decorated Army captain killed in Iraq, but didn't withdraw his endorsement.

On Trump's second amendment remarks, NRAs chairman Chris Cox and executive vice president Wayne LaPierre also weighed in after publicly speaking on behalf of Blunts U.S. Senate campaign.

What (Trump) said was the Second Amendment is going to be a major, a major factor in the election, and we agree with that, Cox said.

LaPierre said theres never been a more important time to get out and vote, and that was the point Trump was trying to make.

I think he was talking about the tidal wave of support that is out there among average American citizens all over the country for their second amendment freedoms, and the impact that could make on the election when they all get out and vote, LaPierre said. I think it was very clear what he was talking about.

Earlier, while speaking to a crowd of sporting signs, shirts and hats that supported both the candidate and the organization endorsing him, Blunt stressed the need to elect officials who will nominate and confirm Supreme Court justices ready defend constitutional rights.

This is not just about a four-year presidential term, or a six-year Senate term. Its about a generation of Supreme Court judges, he said. The next president and the next Senate in all likelihood will fill certainly two, possibly three, maybe four judges to the court.

And it must be the healthiest place in America to work, because once you get on there, youre there for a long time, he added over laughter from the crowd.

Cox praised Blunt for his record of defending gun rights, including working on legislation that would prohibit gun confiscation in states of emergency and voting against President Barack Obamas nominees to the Supreme Court. He also slammed Blunts opponent, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander.

There are pro-gun Democrats in this state. Jason Kander is just not one of them, Cox said. (Clinton) will stack the court, with Jason Kander and others help, and they will overturn this basic freedom, and we will lose everything we believe in, Cox said.

Blunt said that with the White House, majorities in Congress and Supreme Court vacancies up for grabs, Nov. 8 is especially crucial.

You know, we say every election, this is the most important election ever. It would be hard to find an election where freedom is more in the balance than right here, he said.
JEFFERSON CITY  A Republican state lawmaker said Thursday he would formally resign his office, avoiding a potentially embarrassing scene when the Missouri Legislature returns to action next month.

Rep. Ron Hicks, who formerly lived in St. Peters, announced he would step down Friday, more than two months after moving outside the boundaries of the 107th House District.

Under Missouri law, a seat in the House or Senate must be declared vacant when a lawmaker moves out of the district.

Hicks, who isnt seeking reelection to a third term, had initially said he would continue serving his constituents through the end of his term in January, even though he now lives in Dardenne Prairie  an estimated 10 miles outside his St. Charles County district.

Democratic leaders in the House, however, said allowing Hicks to stay in office casts a pall of illegitimacy over the entire House of Representatives.

In a statement, Hicks said he would quit the $34,000-per-year post after discussing the matter with Speaker Todd Richardson, who has made ethics a key component of his tenure as the leader in the House.

While I was concerned about leaving my constituents without representation for the rest of the year, my conversations with my family, many of my constituents, and Speaker Richardson made it clear that resigning my seat is the right decision, Hicks said.

House Minority Leader Jake Hummel, D-St. Louis, and Assistant House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, had earlier called Richardson to convince Hicks to step down.

The two Democrats said if Hicks refused to quit, Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, should take the lead on initiating expulsion proceedings against Hicks when the House returns for the fall veto session Sept. 14.

That could have put lawmakers in a tricky political situation during the one-day session dedicated to dealing with vetoes issued by the governor. Officials said there is no process in place for lawmakers to take quick action on expelling one of their own members.

Hicks, 44, is not eligible for a taxpayer-paid pension because he did not serve the required three full terms to become vested in the retirement system.

In addition to his previous legislative duties, Hicks works at his familys Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises. He made an unsuccessful bid for St. Peters mayor in the spring.
CLAYTON  A St. Louis County Circuit Court judge has rejected a petition seeking a special election in Berkeley to settle the outcome of the April mayor's race. Balloting returned incumbent Theodore Hoskins to office by a mere 13 votes.

The county Board of Elections petitioned for a new Berkeley election after April 5 ballot shortages raised questions about the legitimacy of victory margins in tight municipal races.

Judge Maura McShane indicated in a ruling handed down Tuesday that the outcry over the irregularities  an uproar that spawned legislative hearings at the state and county levels  might have been overblown.

The Court finds that the drastic remedy of a new election is not called for as the evidence demonstrates that the irregularities were not sufficient to cast doubt on the outcome of the election, McShane wrote, adding  There were no errors on the part of any election personnel that cast doubt on the outcome of the election.

The decision left Hoskins accepting congratulations for an electoral victory four months after the ballots were tabulated.

I took the position that I was the winner because I didn't receive a complaint from one resident that the polls ran out of ballots when they tried to vote, the second-term mayor said.

Hoskins in April received 485 votes, 13 more than his nearest challenger Babatunde Deinbo.

A third mayoral candidate, William Bayless III, received 232 votes.

The election commissioners must now decide whether to seek the court's permission to schedule a special election in the first Sunset Hills aldermanic ward, where incumbent Richard Gau topped Franklin Hardy by 171 votes.

Hardy believes Sunset Hills ballot shortages contributed to his April 5 defeat and has asked the commissioners to return voters to the polls to settle the issue.

The commission will address the Sunset Hills question at its Aug. 23 meeting.
Since 2009, the U.S. Justice Department has opened 23 investigations into law enforcement agencies around America, leading to 14 consent decrees and 17 agreements designed in large part to stop police officers from targeting minorities and using excessive force.

An investigation by the departments Civil Rights Division concluded Wednesday that the Baltimore Police Department engages in patterns of misconduct including unlawful stops, searches and arrests. Enforcement strategies produce severe and unjustified disparities aimed at African-Americans. Such charges no doubt sound eerily familiar to most St. Louisans.

The fact that federal civil rights probes keep reaching similar conclusions, regardless of the urban venue, demonstrates that a lot of work remains to heal relations and rebuild trust between police forces and minority residents. Both sides need to acknowledge uncomfortable truths about how this situation developed and how to reverse it.

Events in Ferguson Tuesday night underscore that its not just police behavior that deserves scrutiny. During events commemorating the Aug. 9, 2014, shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson, a protest march erupted in gunfire when a motorist appeared to have accidentally hit a marcher standing in a dimly lit center lane of West Florissant Avenue. Police, monitoring from afar, had nothing to do with the violence. Two cars were hit by bullets.

Police officers know that things can so south very quickly in neighborhoods full of drug-related crime, mistrust and guns. A seemingly routine stop can quickly devolve into armed confrontation.

Theres also no avoiding the fact that police actions, as reiterated in the 163-page Baltimore report, can put minority residents on edge whenever they encounter officers.

Baltimore has drawn national scrutiny because of the recent acquittals of three officers involved in the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a young black man who sustained fatal injuries while in police custody. Criminal charges were dropped against another three.

The Justice Department cited multiple problematic statistics, including disproportionate stops targeting blacks without reasonable suspicion and arrests for misdemeanor offenses such as loitering. Baltimores police department lacks accountability systems to identify abusers and deter misconduct, the report said.

The investigation came at the request of the city and its police department  a healthy sign that Baltimores leadership is willing to accept criticism and open to changes. Thats a smart way to avoid the kinds of costly and coercive federal consent decrees that the city of Ferguson had to accept this year.

It should be troubling that such reports sound so numbingly familiar. The fact that protests continue in and around Ferguson suggests community relations still need improving. And when protesters engage in unlawful activities that lead to a serious traffic accident and gunfire, thats a clear sign that new tactics are needed to foster constructive dialogue instead of confrontation.
LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE makes weekly gain but banks weigh on Friday

Friday, October 28, 2022 - 17:08

The FTSE 100 managed a weekly gain, despite underperforming peers on Friday, while strong results from oil majors lifted the mood in New York, shaking off poor numbers from Amazon.

Central banks move into focus again next week. The Federal Reserve announces its rate decision on Wednesday, with the Bank of England following on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 26.02 points, or 0.4% at 7,047.67 on Friday, but finished the week 1.1% higher.

The FTSE 250 ended down 165.25 points, or 0.9%, at 17,916.67 - closing the week up 4.1%. The AIM All-Share closed down 4.09 points, or 0.5%, at 805.37, finishing 2.7% higher over the past five days

The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.5% at 703.81, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 1.0% at 15,378.84, and the Cboe Small Companies ended down 0.5% at 12,320.39.

The pound was quoted at $1.1595 at the London equities close Friday, up slightly from $1.1573 at the close on Thursday. Though sterling's marked rise tempered slightly on Friday, the currency has gained 3.2% over the past week.

Markets have so far taken confidence from the new UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

In the FTSE 100, Centrica added 5.2% after it announced the reopening of the Rough natural gas storage facility off the east coast of England.

Centrica, which owns British Gas, said the facility is operational for winter. The facility increases the UK's storage capacity by 50% despite it operating at just 20% of its previous capacity.

GSK closed up 2.3% after it said its majority owned ViiV Healthcare venture has received the European Medicines Agency's validation for its marketing authorisation application for HIV prevention, and said its MAA for respiratory syncytial virus adult vaccine has also been accepted.

NatWest was the worst performer. It plunged 8.3% as it reported strong income growth in the third quarter, boosted by both increased lending and higher interest rates, but the bank warned it is keeping a close on eye on any change in behaviour from its customers.

In the three months to September 30, operating profit before tax rose to 1.09 billion from 976 million a year before.

Putting a cap on the bank's profit, NatWest set aside 247 million in the quarter to cover an expected increase in bad loans, which is reversed from a 221 million gain the year prior.

Lloyds fell 3.3% in negative read across.

Glencore fell 1.0% as it trimmed annual guidance for some of its commodities after a disappointing third-quarter performance dominated by supply chain disruptions in Kazakhstan, extreme weather in Australia, and strikes in Canada and Norway.

In the FTSE 250, ASOS tumbled 11%.

The stock was rocked by a Telegraph report which stated some hedge funds have shorted the stock, just days after retailer Frasers bought a stake.

Elsewhere in London, China-focused investment trusts fell.

JPMorgan China Growth & Income fell 2.9% and abrdn China Investment dropped 3.5%.

Investor sentiment turned sour as Chinese cities doubled down on Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

Stocks in New York were firmly in the green at the London equities close, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 2.0%, the S&P 500 index up 1.7% and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.8%.

After disappointment from tech stocks, oil majors put some shine on this week's US corporate earnings calendar.

Exxon Mobil revenue in the third quarter of 2022 jumped 52% to $112.07 billion from $73.79 billion a year prior. Attributable net income soared to $19.66 billion from $6.75 billion. The oil major's bottom line rose 10% from $17.85 billion in the second quarter.

Chevron posted pretax earnings of $14.80 billion, up from $8.06 billion the year before. Revenue increased to $66.64 billion from $44.71 billion the year before.

Exxon shares rose 1.8%, while Chevron was up 0.3%. Amazon slid 10%, after its poor numbers overnight.

Wall Street also shook off a higher inflation reading for the US on Friday.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Fed's preferred inflationary measure, the core personal consumption expenditures index, which excludes food and energy, shot up 5.1% year-on-year in September, quickening from a 4.9% hike in August.

"The Fed's favoured measure of inflation is heading higher, rather than lower, while employment costs continue to rise at double the rate experienced over the past 15 years. The market is probably right to expect the Fed to slow the pace of rate hikes from December, but this is by no means guaranteed," analysts at ING commented.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank on Thursday lifted its benchmark interest rates by 75 basis points, as expected.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.5%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.2%.

The euro stood at $0.9943 at the European equities close Friday, lower against $0.9984 at the same time on Thursday.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP147.54 late Friday, higher compared to JP145.90 late Thursday.

Gold was quoted at $1,640.91 an ounce at the London equities close Friday, down sharply against $1,662.60 at the close on Thursday. The precious metal has an inverse relationship with the greenback, weakening as the dollar strengthens.

Brent oil was quoted at $93.34 a barrel at the London equities close Friday, down from $94.75 late Thursday.

In Monday's UK corporate calendar, there are full year results from self storage company Lok'n Store and kidney disease-focused diagnostics firm Renalytix.

In the economic calendar, the EU will publish its latest GDP and CPI readings.

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Kevin Byrne, Mark Berrisford-Smith and Michael Portillo will all appear at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce annual economic conference. (Submitted photo)

FORMER government minister Michael Portillo is among leading figures from the world of business and politics who will address Coventry and Warwickshires premier economic conference.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual economic conference at the Ricoh Arena on Friday, 14th October, which will focus on its Go For Growth campaign and look at the effect of Brexit on businesses in the region.

Mark Berrisford-Smith, the head of economics at HSBC, will provide the economic outlook and will be followed by keynote speeches by Mr Portillo and Check-a-trade founder Kevin Byrne.

There will also be two expert panels including the likes of Microsoft, HSBC and Simplify IT, while David Burbidge, the chair of Coventrys bid to be UK City of Culture in 2021, will also be speaking.

The conference is being sponsored by HSBC, the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, Coventry University Enterprises and Simplify IT. Adam Dent, of Advent Communications, will facilitate the event, which will run from 8.15am until 1pm and will be followed by lunch.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: Our annual conference is the biggest economic event in the region and each year we look to make it even better. As explained in binaryoptionsexplained.com economic binary options trading.

We are thrilled with the quality of the speakers we have managed to secure and it really does cover a cross section from business and politics, locally and nationally.

Its been an historic year, dominated by the countrys decision to leave the EU and the political fall-out that followed, and this will be an opportunity to hear from a range of experts on how that has already affected firms across the patch and what the long-term effect will be.

At the beginning of 2016, we launched our Go For Growth campaign that was looking to help firms overcome hurdles to growth and also highlight positive stories  that has proved extremely effective but, of course, Brexit has overtaken the media agenda.

However, the vast majority of our members are saying they are operating a business as usual policy and we want the conference to reflect that too.

It promises to be a great chance to network with businesses from across the area and also to hear from a wonderful array of speakers.

More information on the conference is available at www.cwconf.com. To book on e-mail events@cw-chamber.co.uk, or call 024 7665 4321.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) posted the following to its Blog on Thursday:

Flight operations have returned to normal following Mondays outage, airline officials said at noon today. Delta started the day with roughly 25 mainline flights canceledsome due to bad weather in the Midwestand no additional cancellations are anticipated.

The airline is back on its feet, moving past this weeks disruption and operating normally, said Dave Holtz, Deltas Senior Vice PresidentOperations and Customer Center. Running a reliable operation is something we pride ourselves on and frankly, that didnt happen this week. But our teams have worked tirelessly to bring back the dependable airline our customers have known us to be and have come to expect from us.

With the impact of the power loss is in the rearview mirror, the airline is carefully monitoring the development of a weather system that may hit the eastern third of the U.S. later today, with the possibility of air traffic control-related delays possible in the Northeast. No additional cancellations as a result of weather are expected, however.

The airline plans to fly more than 610,000 people today. By noon Thursday, nearly 2,200 flights had departed with more than 85 percent departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time.

Even so, customers traveling today should check the status of their flight at delta.com or the Fly Delta App. Delta's travel waiver has been extended through Thursday.
The General Mills logo is seen on a box of Cheerios cereal in Evanston, Illinois, June 26, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - A federal judge has ruled that General Mills Inc (NYSE: GIS) must face a lawsuit claiming it tricked consumers by marketing Cheerios Protein as a high-protein alternative to regular Cheerios, when the main difference was that it contained 17 times more sugar per serving.

In a decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson in San Francisco said consumers may pursue a claim that General Mills violated the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act since it "misbranded" Cheerios Protein, which is sold in Oats & Honey and Cinnamon Almond flavors.

Though "skeptical" it would succeed, Henderson also refused to dismiss the plaintiffs' claim that reasonable consumers would likely be deceived by packaging for the cereal, noting that text mentioning its sugar content and being "sweetened" appeared in small print on the boxes.

Mike Siemienas, a General Mills spokesman, said the Minneapolis-based company does not discuss pending litigation.

Though Cheerios Protein has 7 grams of protein per serving versus 3 grams for regular Cheerios, the plaintiffs said the real difference was negligible because the serving size of Cheerios Protein, and the calorie content per serving, was twice as big.

The plaintiffs also called the Cheerios Protein name misleading because it said nothing about the 16 or 17 grams of sugar in a serving, versus a single gram in regular Cheerios.

A Washington-based nonprofit group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, filed the lawsuit last November on behalf of consumers in California and New York.

"We know that consumers are deceived to their detriment by this product," CSPI litigation director Maia Kats said in an email, "and look forward to the opportunity now to prove so in court."

The case is Coe et al v. General Mills Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 15-05112.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Richard Chang)
Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE: LAD) has acquired Kemp Ford in Thousand Oaks, California. The store will be renamed DCH Ford of Thousand Oaks and will add $65 million in estimated annual revenues.

Bryan DeBoer, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to welcome DCH Ford of Thousand Oaks to our team. This store marks the third acquisition for our DCH platform this year and complements our existing operations in Southern California. We are excited to expand our relationship with Ford and further diversify our brand mix. We remain focused on continued acquisition growth within both rural and metropolitan markets in the future."
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSX: AR) (the "Company", "Argonaut Gold" or "Argonaut") is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016. All dollar amounts are expressed in United States dollars unless otherwise specified.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 months ended 6 months ended June 30 June 30 -------------------- ------------------- 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Data (in millions except for earnings (loss) per share) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue $ 39.1 $ 43.5 (10%) $ 74.4 $ 94.5 (21%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross profit (loss) $ 7.8 $ (10.2) 176% $ 16.7 $ (3.5) 577% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income (loss) $ (0.7) $ (10.5) 93% $ 3.6 $ (9.0) 140% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Earnings (loss) per share - basic $ (0.00) $ (0.07) 100% $ 0.02 $ (0.06) 133% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted net income(3) $ 3.1 $ 0.9 244% $ 4.9 $ 2.6 88% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted earnings per share - basic(3) $ 0.02 $ 0.01 100% $ 0.03 $ 0.02 50% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash operating working capital and other items $ 9.2 $ 11.4 (19%) $ 18.1 $ 28.2 (36%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash and cash equivalents $ 54.1 $ 43.7 24% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold Production and Cost Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOs loaded to the pads(1) 63,724 55,871 14% 114,726 110,125 4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOs projected recoverable(1), (2) 32,125 31,617 2% 59,981 63,251 (5%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOs produced(1) 29,237 36,529 (20%) 61,391 79,784 (23%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOs sold(1) 31,230 36,547 (15%) 61,242 78,965 (22%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average realized sales price $ 1,258 $ 1,201 5% $ 1,220 $ 1,206 1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash cost per gold ounce sold(3) $ 794 $ 779 2% $ 776 $ 755 3% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- All-in sustaining cost per gold ounce sold(3) $ 947 $ 909 4% $ 910 $ 895 2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Gold equivalent ounces ("GEO" or "GEOs") are based on a conversion ratio of 65:1 for silver to gold for 2016 and 55:1 for 2015 and are the referenced ratios throughout this release. (2) Recoverable ounces - El Castillo expected recovery rates: ROM oxide 50%, crushed oxide 70%, ROM transition 40%, crushed transition 60%, crushed sulphides argillic 30% and crushed sulphides silicic 17%; La Colorada expected recovery rates: gold 60% and silver 30%. (3) Please refer to section "Non-IFRS Measures" below for a discussion of these Non-IFRS Measures.

SECOND QUARTER 2016 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:

-- Revenue of $39.1 million from sales of 30,355 gold ounces at an average price of $1,258 per gold ounce and 56,827 silver ounces at an average price of $17 per silver ounce. -- Adjusted net income of $3.1 million (refer to Non-IFRS section). -- Net increase in cash balance of $7.6 million, including $3.3 million by way of a flow-through share financing. -- Cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital and other items of $9.2 million. -- Capital investments of $7.8 million (mineral properties, plant and equipment).

2016 Q2 and Recent Company Highlights:

-- Corporate Highlights: -- Cash balance at June 30, 2016 was $54.1 million. -- Completed $3.2 million private placement of flow-through common shares for Magino project drilling. -- Sold a 100% interest in the mineral claims known as the La Fortuna project located in Durango, Mexico. Received $0.8 million on closing and will receive potential deferred cash consideration of up to $1.2 million, primarily contingent on a construction decision. Also retained a 2.5% net smelter royalty subject to a maximum amount of $4.5 million. -- Entered into a $30.0 million revolving credit facility. -- Production: -- Production of 29,237 GEOs. -- Overall cash cost of $794 per gold ounce sold for the second quarter and $776 for the first six months of 2016 (refer to Non-IFRS Measures section). -- All-in sustaining cost of $947 per gold ounce sold for the second quarter and $910 for the first six months of 2016 (refer to Non-IFRS Measures section). -- El Castillo: -- Production of 15,358 GEOs. -- 35,222 contained gold ounces loaded on the leach pads. -- Over 76,700 tonnes per day mined and 2.7 million tonnes of ore placed on the leach pads. -- La Colorada: -- Production of 13,282 gold ounces and 38,819 silver ounces, for 13,879 GEOs. -- Achieved higher than budgeted crusher throughput of over 13,000 tonnes per day (versus 11,000 tonnes per day budgeted). -- 20,388 contained gold ounces and 527,398 contained silver ounces loaded on the leach pads. -- Over 56,300 tonnes per day mined and approximately 1.2 million tonnes of mineralized material placed on the leach pads. -- Completed construction of Northeast leach pad ahead of schedule and on budget. -- San Agustin -- Published updated Preliminary Economic Assessment with improved project economics. -- Acquired land necessary to develop project. -- Submitted Change in Use of Soil permit application. -- San Antonio -- Received favourable ruling in Federal lawsuit relating to permit.

CEO Commentary

Pete Dougherty, President and CEO of Argonaut Gold stated, "We continued to generate cash from the operations and saw our cash balance grow by $7.6 million during the quarter. At Magino, we have initiated a Feasibility Study to further define and de-risk the project. Key elements of the study include: reserve definition drilling in the starter pit, geotechnical drilling, detailed engineering, capital and operating costs, permitting and First Nation consultation. The estimated investment to complete the study is $7 million to $10 million to be spent over the next twelve to fifteen months.

"At the operations, second quarter production did not meet expectations due to mine sequencing leading to more sulphide and transition ore placed on the pads at El Castillo and low grade ore gains at La Colorada; however, we continue to place significant ounces to the pads at both mines. We have now mined through some of the lower grade portions of the pits and expect grades to improve during the second half of 2016, which is expected to contribute to greater production. As we look to the balance of the year, we expect to increase loaded tonnes at El Castillo by bringing the idled CR2 crusher on line, which will help improve the production profile. The combination of these two factors, improved grade and additional crushing, is expected to further increase ounces loaded and subsequent production gains over our most recent quarter."

Financial Results - Second Quarter 2016

Revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2016 was $39.1 million, a decrease from $43.5 million realized during the three months ended June 30, 2015. During the second quarter of 2016, gold ounces sold totaled 30,355 at an average realized price per ounce of $1,258 (compared to 35,321 gold ounces sold at an average price per ounce of $1,201 during the same period of 2015). Gold ounces sold decreased in the second quarter 2016 due to additional ounces produced in the second quarter of 2015 associated with the re-leach program of previously placed tonnes at the El Castillo mine.

Production costs for the second quarter of 2016 were $25.1 million, a decrease from $28.6 million in the second quarter of 2015, due to the decrease in gold ounces sold. Cash cost per gold ounce sold (refer to Non-IFRS Measures section) was $794 in the second quarter of 2016 compared to $779 in the same period of 2015.

Net loss for the second quarter of 2016 was $0.7 million or $0.00 per basic share, a decrease from the net loss of $10.5 million or $0.07 per basic share for the second quarter of 2015. The decrease in net loss was due principally to the write-down of the leach pad inventory value and ounces totaling $9.3 million, net of tax effects, during the second quarter of 2015.

During the second quarter, cash and cash equivalents grew by $7.6 million, including $3.3 million by way of a flow-through share financing. Cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash operating working capital and other items was $9.2 million. Cash spent towards capital expenditures in the second quarter was $7.8 million, primarily for deferred stripping at El Castillo and La Colorada and leach pad construction at La Colorada.

SECOND QUARTER 2016 El CASTILLO OPERATING STATISTICS

3 Months Ended June 30 6 Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 % Change 2016 2015 % Change Mining Tonnes ore (000s) 2,774 2,855 (3%) 5,521 5,666 (3%) Tonnes waste (000s) 4,207 4,401 (4%) 8,370 8,283 1% Tonnes mined (000s) 6,981 7,256 (4%) 13,891 13,949 0% Tonnes per day (000s) 77 80 (4%) 76 77 (1%) Waste/ore ratio 1.52 1.54 (1%) 1.52 1.46 4% Heap Leach Pad Tonnes crushed (000s) 1,365 1,263 8% 2,627 2,660 (1%) Tonnes overland conveyor (000s) 1,316 1,533 (14%) 2,807 2,948 (5%) Production Gold grade (g/t)(1) 0.41 0.31 32% 0.33 0.32 3% Gold loaded to leach pad (oz)(2) 35,222 27,954 26% 58,481 58,510 0% Projected recoverable gold (oz) 17,458 17,143 2% 30,536 36,205 (16%) Gold produced (oz)(3) 15,195 21,409 (29%) 32,554 46,031 (29%) Gold sold (oz) 16,287 20,679 (21%) 31,693 44,535 (29%) (1) "g/t" refers to grams per tonne (2) "oz" refers to troy ounce (3) Produced ounces are calculated as ounces loaded to carbon

Summary of Production Results at El Castillo

The gold ounces loaded to the pads in the second quarter of 2016 were 26% higher compared to second quarter of 2015, primarily due to higher grades. Gold production of 15,195 ounces in the second quarter of 2016 was a 29% reduction over second quarter of 2015 due to additional ounces produced in the second quarter of 2015 associated with the re-leach program of previously placed tonnes at the El Castillo mine.

SECOND QUARTER 2016 LA COLORADA OPERATING STATISTICS

3 Months Ended June 30 6 Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 % Change 2016 2015 % Change Mining Mineralized material tonnes (000s) 1,189 578 106% 2,352 1,061 122% Tonnes waste (000s) 3,935 2,130 85% 7,335 4,674 57% Total tonnes (000s) 5,124 2,708 89% 9,687 5,735 69% Waste/mineralized material ratio 3.31 3.68 (10%) 3.12 4.41 (29%) Tonnes rehandled (000s) 0 767 (100%) 50 1,430 (97%) Heap Leach Pad Crushed mineralized material tonnes to pad (000s) 1,216 1,346 (10%) 2,429 2,486 (2%) Production Gold grade (g/t)(1) 0.52 0.47 11% 0.54 0.48 13% Gold loaded to leach pad (oz)(2) 20,388 20,331 0% 41,907 38,539 9% Projected recoverable GEOs loaded (oz)(4) 14,667 14,474 1% 29,445 27,046 9% Gold produced (oz)(3) 13,282 13,948 (5%) 27,176 31,117 (13%) Silver produced (oz) 38,819 52,648 (26%) 88,189 120,909 (27%) GEOs produced (oz)(4) 13,879 14,905 (7%) 28,533 33,315 (14%) Gold sold (oz) 14,068 14,642 (4%) 27,840 31,760 (12%) Silver sold (oz) 46,282 55,628 (17%) 91,313 122,762 (26%) GEOs sold(4) 14,780 15,653 (6%) 29,245 33,992 (14%) (1) "g/t" refers to grams per tonne (2) "oz" refers to troy ounce (3) Produced ounces are calculated as ounces loaded to carbon (4) GEOs are based on conversion ratio of 65:1 for silver to gold for 2016 and 55:1 for 2015

Summary of Production Results at La Colorada

Total tonnes mined in the second quarter 2016 increased 89% to 5.1 million tonnes compared to the second quarter of 2015 due to the end of processing of historical material from the old heap leach pads and the ramp up of mining rates from the pit.

Chief Operating Officer Comments

Richard Rhoades, COO of Argonaut Gold, commenting on the second quarter of 2016, stated, "At El Castillo, we are moving from mining phase seven to mining phase six, which contains higher grade oxide ore than phase seven of the pit. With phase seven now mined out, we are using this area as an in-pit waste dump to reduce haul distances. In addition to the higher grade oxide ore we expect to mine during the third quarter, we are also installing the CR2 crushing unit, recently relocated from La Colorada, which should be up and running during the third quarter. We also saw an increase in sulphide ore to the leach pads during the second quarter. While this material is higher grade, it yields a much lower recovery than oxide ore. We expect to be mining primarily in oxide ores during the third quarter.

At La Colorada, we continue to achieve better than anticipated throughput rates at the crusher. Since we encountered more low grade material than planned, we saw a reduction in strip ratio but also reduced grade compared to budget."

Capital Investment for 2016

The Company plans to invest a total of $34 million on capital expenditures and exploration initiatives in 2016. Major capital expenditures in 2016 are expected to include approximately $8 million at El Castillo, $13 million at La Colorada, $1 million at San Antonio, $2 million at San Agustin (construction capital is excluded pending a construction decision) and $5 million at Magino. Exploration and other capital expenditures in 2016 are expected to amount to approximately $5 million.

The increase in capital expenditures at El Castillo reflects additional stripping and equipment overhauls to support increased ore placements. Magino capital spending increase is due to the decision to advance permitting and feasibility related activities. The increase in exploration is primarily the drill campaign at Magino to upgrade the mineral resource expected to be mined in the first two years of production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Capital Budget ($ millions) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mine / Project Original Revised ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- El Castillo 4 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- La Colorada 14 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Antonio 1 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Agustin 1 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magino 1 5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exploration and other 2 5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Estimated Capital Investment 23 34 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Argonaut Gold Q2 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast:

The Company will host the Q2 financial results conference call on August 12, 2016 at 8:30 am EDT.

Q2 Conference Call Information Toll Free (North America): 1-877-291-4570 International: 1-647-788-4919 Conference ID: 27628035 Webcast: www.argonautgold.com Q2 Conference Call Replay: Toll Free Replay Call (North America): 1-800-585-8367 International Replay Call: 1-416-621-4642

The conference call replay will be available from 11:30 am EDT on August 12, 2016 until 11:59 pm EDT on August 26, 2016.

About Argonaut Gold

Argonaut Gold is a Canadian gold company engaged in exploration, mine development and production activities. Its primary assets are the production stage El Castillo mine in Durango, Mexico and La Colorada mine in Sonora, Mexico. Advanced exploration stage projects include the San Antonio project in Baja California Sur, Mexico, the Magino project in Ontario, Canada and the San Agustin project in Durango, Mexico. The Company also has several exploration stage projects, all of which are located in North America.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws concerning the proposed transaction and the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Argonaut Gold Inc. ("Argonaut" or "Argonaut Gold"). Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to estimated production and mine life of the various mineral projects of Argonaut; synergies and financial impact of completed acquisitions; the benefits of the development potential of the properties of Argonaut; the future price of gold, copper, and silver; the estimation of mineral reserves and resources; the realization of mineral reserve estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; success of exploration activities; and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Argonaut, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Argonaut and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include changes in market conditions, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, risks relating to international operations, fluctuating metal prices and currency exchange rates, changes in project parameters, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated. Although Argonaut has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Argonaut undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered if the property is developed. Comparative market information is as of a date prior to the date of this document.

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company has included certain non-IFRS measures including "Cash cost per gold ounce sold", "All-in sustaining cost per gold ounce sold", "Adjusted net income" and "Adjusted earnings per share - basic" in this press release to supplement its financial statements which are presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Cash cost per gold ounce sold is equal to production costs less silver sales divided by gold ounces sold. All-in sustaining cost per gold ounce sold is equal to production costs less silver sales plus general and administrative expenses, exploration expenses, accretion of reclamation provision and sustaining capital expenditures divided by gold ounces sold. Adjusted net income is equal to net income (loss) less foreign exchange impacts on deferred income taxes, foreign exchange (gains) losses, non-cash impairment write down (reversal) related to the net realizable value and changes in the expected recovery of gold ounces from mineralized material in the work-in-process inventory, change in unrecognized Mexican deferred tax assets and other adjustments. Adjusted earnings per share - basic is equal to adjusted net income divided by the basic weighted average number of common shares outstanding. The Company believes that these measures provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the performance of the Company. Non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. Therefore they may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies. The data is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Please see the management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for full disclosure on non-IFRS measures.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and associated MD&A, for the same period ended, which are available from the Company's website, www.argonautgold.com, in the "Investors" section under "Financial Filings", and under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Qualified Person, Technical Information and Mineral Properties Reports

Technical information included in this release was supervised and approved by Thomas Burkhart, Argonaut Gold's Vice President of Exploration, and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). For further information on the Company's material properties, please see the reports as listed below on the Company's website or on www.sedar.com:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- El Castillo Mine NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources and Reserves, Argonaut Gold Inc., El Castillo Mine, Durango State, Mexico dated February 24, 2011 (effective date of November 6, 2010) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- La Colorada Mine NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment La Colorada Project, Sonora, Mexico dated December 30, 2011 (effective date of October 15, 2011) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Agustin Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment San Agustin Heap Leach Project, Durango, Mexico dated June 10, 2016 (effective date of Resources April 29, 2016) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magino Gold Project Preliminary Feasibility Study Technical Report on the Magino Project, Wawa, Ontario, Canada dated February 22, 2016 (effective date January 18, 2016) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Antonio Gold Project NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources, San Antonio Project, Baja California Sur, Mexico dated October 10, 2012 (effective date of September 1, 2012) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contacts: Argonaut Gold Inc. Dan Symons Vice President, Investor Relations 416-915-3107 [email protected] www.argonautgold.com

Source: Argonaut Gold Inc.
CONYERS, GA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. (OTC PINK: GOSY) (http://www.GeckoSystems.com) announced today that after over two years of negotiations with this advanced AI developer in New York City, that additional, substantive progress, a Letter of Intent (LOI), has been signed to form their first US joint venture. For over nineteen years, GeckoSystems has dedicated itself to development of "AI Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security and Service"."

"Less than two weeks ago, I met with this Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) firm's CEO. Our two days of meetings were very cordial, frank and productive. To that end, we immediately effectuated our Safety Clause NDA such that our discussions became of sufficient substance for us to sign our second agreement, an MOU, clearly revealing that both parties believe significant AI synergies appropriate for multiple markets would be garnered by each firm. Now we have the additional clarity with this third agreement, an LOI, as we continue to gain traction in our pursuit of this multi-million-dollar licensing revenue opportunity," stated Martin Spencer, CEO, GeckoSystems Intl. Corp.

NYC has national prominence in the AI development community. For example, NYC has twenty listed here: http://nycstartups.net/startups/artificial_intelligence Atlanta, GA, reports only one AI robotics startup, Monsieur, a leader in the automated bartending space. http://monsieur.co/company/

Artificial intelligence technologies and applications span Big Data, Predictive Analytics, Statistics, Mobile Robots, Service Robotics, Drones, Self-driving Cars, Driverless Cars, Driver Assisted Cars, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Homes, UGV's, UAV's, USV's, AGV's, Forward and/or Backward Chaining Expert Systems, Savants, AI Assistants, Sensor Fusion, Subsumption, etc.

Recently the Company revealed a new AI mobile robot concept for better, lower cost public safety. All of those affiliated with the Company, as do most Americans, share the abject horror we are all still trying to process regarding the recent, indoor (and outdoor) mass shooting and murdering of dozens of innocent victims.

To better manage those 21st century mass shootings, the Company is offering to prototype and deploy the GeckoNED", a new type of mobile security robot that is a Non-violent Enforcement Device with a high level of independent mobile autonomy, sensor rich for enhanced situational awareness, and ease of complete control under tele-operation by designated, vetted public safety personnel.

The following was written by Spencer shortly after the Sandy Hook mayhem, but not updated since the Pulse nightclub carnage.

Safety for our children is a moral imperative for all enlightened civilizations. The present proliferation of lethal weaponry in the form of readily obtainable semi- and full automatic pistols and rifles has brought increased child safety to nearly blinding visibility that requires new thinking and solutions for this long overdue, poorly addressed need in our culture.

Mobile robots could be the most proximate and final deterrent to those that would harm our children in public schools and other venues. GeckoSystems has named the mobile robot concept that would provide yet another barrier between our children and those immoral individuals intent on doing them significant harm the GeckoNED. "NED" stands for Non-violent (or non-lethal) Enforcement Device.

Fundamentally, the GeckoNED (or "NED") is a new type of mobile sentry robot that would deter, detect, and contain those that would violently harm our children in their schools. The NED would be a new type of school mascot that could be customized by the children, teachers and staff to be a daily part of their school time lives. The NED would be able to automatically patrol all wheelchair accessible areas in any school without human oversight or intervention using GeckoSystems' proven SafePath" mobile robot AI navigation software.

What does it do? Deters, Detects, and Contains to provide better Protection-

1. Marquee deterrent video and audio surveillance systems with fully autonomous self-patrolling in loose crowds, etc.

2. Quick detection using AI augmented sensor fusion systems with fully autonomous auto-find/seek

3. Deployable, multiple non-lethal containment systems under direct human control only

4. Ready mobile detection, protection and containment systems that are fully tele-operable remotely

The NED would be a marquee deterrent due to its robust audio and video surveillance systems employing WiFi LAN data communications to connect to the school's Internet access. The primary, high-resolution pan/tilt zoom video camera and professional quality microphones would be selected such that their features and benefits are appropriate for the expanses to be "sight and sound" monitored in the school.

Further enhancing the marquee deterrence, the NED would be available for direct human tele-operation almost instantly when direct human control was appropriate and timely due to a clear and present danger to the children having been identified with a high level of confidence by the NED's AI enhanced sensor systems. In addition, cell phone and police band communication capability could be included using the voice synthesis ability of GeckoChat.

The NED would:

Enable prompt intruder detection using multiple, different sensor systems (sight, sound and smell) AI fused to produce a one plus one equals three synergy. This counter-intuitive metaphor describes a common benefit of GeckoSystems' advanced artificial intelligence and sensor fusion competencies.

The NED's AI's would sensor fuse:

Augmented Vision These would include machine vision, including that visible to the human eye, and that invisible, such as infra-red (IR) due to body heat, heat from fired weapons, etc. and AI software

Extended Hearing Frequency response range widened beyond human hearing, into the ultrasonic using multiple microphones (omni directional and directional) and AI software

Enhanced Smell Odor detection systems for appropriate gas detection, whether odorless to human sense of smell or not with intelligent inhalation system and AI software



Singly, and in concert, the preceding systems would detect unwanted intruders by:

Video surveillance enhanced by AI object recognition machine vision In both visible and invisible IR light spectrums

Audio surveillance enhanced by AI expert systems Within and outside human hearing range, atypical sounds such as



i. Gun shots ii. Breaking glass iii. Doors being broken down iv. Students and/or staff stressed voices; screams

Odor and odorless gas surveillance Smoke, carbon monoxide, and natural gas Potentially odors from:



i. Handguns, long guns, rifles ii. Guns in lockers iii. Explosives, gun ammunition in lockers

The NED would pre-position ready mobile protection that is fully tele-operable remotely when atypical situations arise. It would immediately alert pre-designated parties for human intervention and direct human control of the NED and its various containment systems.

The NED's exterior size would be about thirty (30) inches in diameter and seventy-two (72) inches tall

a. Cannot be readily disabled by small arms fire thus affording cover for students and staff when the NED places itself between the intruder and all others. b. The NED's shroud could be bulletproof covering using a combination of Kevlar, ceramic armor, and/or aluminum plates sufficient for absorbing small arms fire.

Immediate intervention after detection resulting from a top speed, in obstacle free hallways, of up to 20 mph

a. SafePath technologies with obstacle avoidance five to six times faster than a person preclude NED hitting anything, even when under teleoperation (direct human) control.

Bull horns, sirens, high power speaker system and/or other sound projection systems capable of hitting the threshold of pain

The NED would have readily deployed, multiple non-lethal containment systems solely under the control of a designated, responsible party such as a "watch commander" at the local police station.

The non-violent and/or non-lethal containment capabilities would consist of:

1. Targeted, high volume water spray 2. Sleeping gas with directed dispersement 3. Irritant sprays, such as pepper spray, tear gas, etc. with directed dispersement 4. Acoustical stunners, flash-bangs, "stun bombs" 5. Targeted net guns, "projectile nets" 6. Targeted sticky foam, an extremely tacky material carried in compressed form with a propellant 7. Targeted electrical stunners (Tasers)

In addition to providing children and staff in schools a higher level of safety, the school would now have a new kind of school mascot, a NED. The covering could be painted in school colors, and designed like the school mascot, if desired. For an example, Huber U. Hunt Elementary School is a tiger. They could have a tiger design with verbal UX customized for a pleasing dialect for the students. The NED's battery recharging pads would be located at various desirable sentry positions throughout school. Literally the school's NED would be unique in its use and appearance in every school.

Resulting from this LOI, the GeckoNED, for example, would benefit from more powerful, analytic, reliable, comprehensive AI software even more situationally aware and autonomous to provide an even higher level of safety for our school children and other "soft targets," such as movie theatres, night clubs, etc. This is completely congruent with GeckoSystems' strategic focus.

The Company is also negotiating an investment from a Japanese trading company, KISCO Ltd., and those discussions continue under NDA.

"This LOI portends well for us and our shareholders. We are definitively on path to consummate our first domestic joint venture licensing agreement. It comes as no surprise, that a highly advanced NYC AI company understands the market potential of our suite of AI mobile robot solutions.

"We continue to have numerous ongoing joint venture and/or licensing discussions, not only in Japan, but also in the US, as revealed in this press release. I am also pleased that as the Service Robotics industry begins to offer real products to eager markets, our capabilities are being recognized. Our 1300+ shareholders can continue to be confident that we expect to be signing numerous multi-million-dollar licensing agreements to further substantiate and delineate the reality that GeckoSystems will earn additional licensing revenues to further increase shareholder value and ROI," concluded Spencer.

About GeckoSystems:

GeckoSystems has been developing innovative robotic technologies for nineteen years. It is CEO Martin Spencer's dream to make people's lives better through AI robotic technologies.

The safety requirement for human quick WCET reflex time in all forms of mobile robots:

In order to understand the importance of GeckoSystems' breakthrough, proprietary, and exclusive AI software and why another Japanese robotics company desires a business relationship with GeckoSystems, it's key to acknowledge some basic realities for all forms of automatic, non-human intervention, vehicular locomotion and steering.

1. Laws of Physics such as Conservation of Energy, inertia, and momentum, limit a vehicle's ability to stop or maneuver. If, for instance, a car's braking system design cannot generate enough friction for a given road surface to stop the car in 100 feet after brake application, that's a real limitation. If a car cannot corner at more than .9g due to a combination of suspension design and road conditions, that, also, is reality. Regardless how talented a NASCAR driver may be, if his race car is inadequate, he's not going to win races.

2. At the same time, if a car driver (or pilot) is tired, drugged, distracted, etc. their reflex time becomes too slow to react in a timely fashion to unexpected direction changes of moving obstacles, or the sudden appearance of fixed obstacles. Many car "accidents" result from drunk driving due to reflex time and/or judgment impairment. Average reflex time takes between 150 & 300ms. http://tinyurl.com/nsrx75n

3. In robotic systems, "human reflex time" is known as Worst Case Execution Time (WCET). Historically, in computer systems engineering, WCET of a computational task is the maximum length of time the task could take to execute on a specific hardware platform. In big data, this is the time to load up the data to be processed, processed, and then outputted into useful distillations, summaries, or common sense insights. GeckoSystems' basic AI self-guidance navigation system processes 147 megabytes of data per second using low cost, Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Single Board Computers (SBC's).

4. Highly trained and skilled jet fighter pilots have a reflex time (WCET) of less than 120ms. Their "eye to hand" coordination time is a fundamental criterion for them to be successful jet fighter pilots. The same holds true for all high performance forms of transportation that are sufficiently pushing the limits of the Laws of Physics to require the quickest possible reaction time for safe human control and/or usage.

5. GeckoSystems' WCET is less than 100ms, or as quick, or quicker than most gifted jet fighter pilots, NASCAR race car drivers, etc. while using low cost COTS and SBC's

6. In mobile robotic guidance systems, WCET has 3 fundamental components. a. Sufficient Field of View (FOV) with appropriate granularity, accuracy, and update rate. b. Rapid processing of that contextual data such that common sense responses are generated. c. Timely physical execution of those common sense responses.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In order for any companion robot to be utilitarian for family care, it must be a "three legged milk stool."

(1) Human quick reflex time to avoid moving and/or unmapped obstacles, (GeckoNav": http://tinyurl.com/le8a39r)

(2) Verbal interaction (GeckoChat": http://tinyurl.com/nnupuw7) with a sense of date and time (GeckoScheduler": http://tinyurl.com/kojzgbx), and

(3) Ability to automatically find and follow designated parties (GeckoTrak": http://tinyurl.com/mton9uh) such that verbal interaction can occur routinely with video and audio monitoring of the care receiver is uninterrupted.

An earlier third party verification of GeckoSystems' AI centric, human quick sense and avoidance of moving and/or unmapped obstacles by one of their mobile robots can be viewed here: http://t.co/NqqM22TbKN

An overview of GeckoSystems' progress containing over 700 pictures and 120 videos can be found at http://www.geckosystems.com/timeline/.

These videos illustrate the development of the technology that makes GeckoSystems a world leader in Service Robotics development. Early CareBot prototypes were slower and frequently pivoted in order to avoid a static or dynamic obstacle; later prototypes avoided obstacles without pivoting. Current CareBots avoid obstacles with a graceful "bicycle smooth" motion. The latest videos also depict the CareBot's ability to automatically go faster or slower depending on the amount of clutter (number of obstacles) within its field of view. This is especially important when avoiding moving obstacles in "loose crowd" situations like a mall or an exhibit area.

In addition to the timeline videos, GeckoSystems has numerous YouTube videos. The most popular of which are the ones showing room-to-room automatic self-navigation of the CareBot through narrow doorways and a hallway of an old 1954 home. You will see the CareBot slow down when going through the doorways because of their narrow width and then speed up as it goes across the relatively open kitchen area. There are also videos of the SafePath" wheelchair, which is a migration of the CareBot AI centric navigation system to a standard power wheelchair, and recently developed cost effective depth cameras were used in this recent configuration. SafePath" navigation is now available to OEM licensees and these videos show the versatility of GeckoSystems' fully autonomous navigation solution.

GeckoSystems, Star Wars Technology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYwQBUXXc3g

The company has successfully completed an Alpha trial of its CareBot personal assistance robot for the elderly. It was tested in a home care setting and received enthusiastic support from both caregivers and care receivers. The company believes that the CareBot will increase the safety and well-being of its elderly charges while decreasing stress on the caregiver and the family.

GeckoSystems is preparing for Beta testing of the CareBot prior to full-scale production and marketing. CareBot has recently incorporated Microsoft Kinect depth cameras that result in a significant cost reduction.

Kinect Enabled Personal Robot video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn93BS44Das

Above, the CareBot demonstrates static and dynamic obstacle avoidance as it backs in and out of a narrow and cluttered alley. There is no joystick control or programmed path; movements are smoother that those achieved using a joystick control. GeckoNav creates three low levels of obstacle avoidance: reactive, proactive, and contemplative. Subsumptive AI behavior within GeckoNav enables the CareBot to reach its target destination after engaging in obstacle avoidance.

More information on the CareBot personal assistance robot: http://www.geckosystems.com/markets/CareBot.php

GeckoSystems stock is quoted in the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) markets under the ticker symbol GOSY. http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/GOSY/quote

GeckoSystems uses http://www.LinkedIn.com as its primary social media site for investor updates. Here is Spencer's

LinkedIn.com profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/martin-spencer/11/b2a/580

Safe Harbor:

Statements regarding financial matters in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, technology efficacy and all other forward-looking statements be subject to the Safe Harbors created thereby. The Company is a development stage firm that continues to be dependent upon outside capital to sustain its existence. Since these statements (future operational results and sales) involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results may differ materially from expected results.

Telephone: GeckoSystems Main number: +1 678-413-9236 Fax: +1 678-413-9247 Website: http://www.geckosystems.com/

Source: GeckoSystems Intl. Corp.
Hoboken, NJ (PRWEB) August 11, 2016

Student loan debt is a serious issue for college graduates, according to a new report issued by LendEDU. At nonprofit public and private colleges in 2015, six out of ten graduates had student debt. According to the report, the average borrower had approximately $28,400 in student debt in the Class of 2015. Private institutions gave average borrowers $31,710 in student debt, whereas public institutions gave average borrowers $26,872 in student debt. On an overall basis, the average graduate had approximately $16,033 student debt in the Class of 2015.

LendEDU's Student Loan Debt By State By School Report 2016 was created using the newest Peterson's financial aid data. Peterson's released the fresh data for the Class of 2015 at the start of August 2016. LendEDU is the first organization to aggregate and analyze this data for the Class of 2015. The data was reported through a survey to the colleges and universities listed in the report. For reference, the data is released on a one year delay. The Class of 2016 data will not be available until the Fall of 2017.

LendEDU organized the report and data on a state level and a school level. You can use LendEDU's interactive map to explore the data on a state by state basis. LendEDU ranked the states on the basis of average student debt per borrower. From there, LendEDU ranked the individual institutions to show which colleges are giving student debtors the most, and the least, amount of student debt at graduation.

"Our team put in over 50 hours aggregating and analyzing this data," said LendEDU CEO/Co-Founder Nate Matherson. "Student debt is an important issue. We hope our report and rankings help students and families make educated decisions when it comes to student debt. And, we hope that our data inspires educators and policymakers to concentrate on this issue."

The results were quite diverse on the state and school level. School averages for student debt at graduation in 2015 ranged from a low of $3,000 per borrower to a high of $86,262 per borrower. State averages for student debt in 2015 ranked from a low of $18,772 per borrower in Utah, to a high of $36,864 per borrower in Connecticut.

States with High Student Debt

Connecticut -- $36,864.63

Rhode Island -- $35,169.37

New Hampshire -- $34,809.66

Pennsylvania -- $34,538.34

D.C. -- $31,941.74

Minnesota -- $31,434.81

Massachusetts -- $31,411.30

New York -- $31,139.17

New Jersey -- $30,536.25

South Carolina -- $30,387.06

To see the full school level and state level rankings please review the full report. We analyzed all 50 states and over 1,300 colleges in our full report. LendEDU licensed the data from Peterson's for this report.

###

About LendEDU

Since 2014 LendEDU has delivered free financial aid resources to high school and college students. LendEDU is a marketplace for student loans and student loan refinancing. LendEDU helps graduates find the lowest student loan quotes with one application. The company is partnered with all of the leading student loan companies including SoFi, Citizens Bank, Sallie Mae, College Ave, Earnest, LendKey, Darien Rowayton Bank, among others.

LendEDU was founded by Nate Matherson and Matt Lenhard in August of 2014. LendEDU is a graduate of Y Combinator's W16 class, the Iowa Startup Accelerator, and the Horn Program at the University of Delaware.

For more information, please contact:

Dave Rathmanner

Email: dave.rathmanner(at)lendedu(dot)com

Phone: (302) 690-7186

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/08/prweb13608990.htm
By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi

ZURICH (Reuters) - Amnesty International warned of a buildup of migrants on Italy's border with Switzerland and demanded clarification from Swiss authorities over reports by children that they had been sent back when trying to join their parents there.

Switzerland said the buildup was due to an influx of African migrants seeking passage to north European countries such as Germany. Any individual requesting asylum would be granted the opportunity.

Several hundred migrants have been sleeping near the train station in Como, Italy, since July after a Swiss clamp down on crossings.

"We're concerned about reports from minors who by their own accounts were sent back to Italy at the Swiss border and were prevented from joining family members in Switzerland," Amnesty International Switzerland said in a statement on Tuesday.

"If a minor has family members in Switzerland who could care for her or him, ultimately Switzerland should process that asylum request," the agency added.

Some two-thirds of the nearly 7,500 migrants who reached Switzerland via the southern canton of Ticino have been turned back since early July, a steep rise from the one in seven denied entry earlier this year.

That proportion was still rising in recent weeks.

Swiss authorities said this was due to an influx of people -- mainly from Eritrea, Gambia and Ethiopia -- wishing to transit Switzerland from Italy to Germany or other northern European countries, which requires a valid permit.

But any individual requesting asylum in Switzerland -- or communicating a desire to do so to border guards -- would be granted the opportunity, customs and migration authorities said.

That practice hadn't changed in recent weeks, they said.

Martin Reichlin of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said he would expect any child arriving at the border and attempting to join relatives in Switzerland to be delivered to the care of his organization.

Authorities have a responsibility to inform minors of their rights, Amnesty said, and a systematic return of children would be incompatible with the U.N Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"Recognizing the precarious circumstances for refugees in northern Italy, it's unacceptable to turn away especially vulnerable people," Amnesty said.

Migrants turned back at the French and Swiss borders are beginning to pile up in Milan, the city's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said on Tuesday. More than 3,000 migrants in transit to other European countries were stranded in Italy's financial capital.

(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich and Steven Scherer in Rome; editing by Ralph Boulton)
Chile's President Michelle Bachelet delivers the annual State of the Nation address at the national congress building in Valparaiso city, Chile, May 21, 2016. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

By Antonio De la Jara

LIMA (Reuters) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's proposal to hike the pension contribution rate by 5 percentage points will cost about $3.8 billion per year, with the state paying $1.5 billion, the government said on Wednesday.

Bachelet announced plans late on Tuesday to have employers pay for a gradual increase in the contribution rate to 15 percent within 10 years to boost payments for retirees and provide minimum pensions for those in need. Self-employed workers would also gradually be required to pay into the system.

"Each percentage point in the contribution rate equals about 0.3 percentage points of GDP, or $765 million," Valdes said at a news conference.

Because the state is one of the biggest employers in the country, the measure will increase the burden on the budget, Valdes said. "The fiscal cost is about 0.5 percent of GDP, about $1.5 billion."

Opponents of Chile's private pension system have staged protests in recent weeks to demand it be dismantled, saying it forces workers to give their earnings to for-profit funds that do not ensure a dignified old age for all Chileans.

Chile's private pension system was started in the 1980s during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The six private pension funds, known as AFPs, manage some $160 billion in assets.

Bachelet's government promised to forge a "great social pact" with all stakeholders to build consensus for the proposed reforms, ahead of a pot-banging protest against the AFPs scheduled later on Wednesday.

Rodrigo Perez, president of the Association of Administrative Pension Funds of Chile, which represents AFPs, told reporters it looked forward to being part of the debate but warned that some proposed reforms could end up hurting pensions.

Bachelet proposed forcing the AFPs to pay back contributors after periods of losses, giving workers more say on their investment decisions and eliminating hidden fees.

The reforms must be passed by Congress, where there is broad support for boosting pensions.

(Reporting by Antonio de La Jara, Writing by Mitra Taj; Editing by Richard Chang)
By Denis Dumo

JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan said on Wednesday it opposed a proposal to station extra foreign troops in the country under U.N. command, something the United States, Western nations and regional countries want in order to prevent a slide back into civil war.

The government said last week it would allow a deployment of African troops to Juba, after fighting between President Salva Kiir's forces and fighters loyal to his rival, former vice president Riek Machar, killed dozens of people and drove tens of thousands from the capital last month.

But on Wednesday, Information Minister Michael Makuei said the force should be independent rather than under U.N. command. He said U.S. moves to impel the government to accept such a force smacked of imperialism.

"We do not want the protection force to be under UNMISS," Makuei said, accusing the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan, which currently has 12,000 troops, of failing to protect civilians.

The U.N. Security Council is negotiating a U.S.-backed proposal for an additional 4,000-strong force to ensure peace in Juba, under UNMISS command. Makuei said Washington's aim was "turning South Sudan into a protectorate."

The proposal would impose an arms embargo if Juba failed to accept.

"There is a clear split in the (Security Council) between those who insist on sovereignty above all else and those who want to make sure there is a robust protection force," said a senior Security Council diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The regional African grouping IGAD and other African nations have pushed for the additional troops, saying they should be put under U.N. command in a statement on Sunday.

Machar withdrew his troops to outside of Juba after a ceasefire ended street battles in the capital in July and called for the foreign troop deployment to act as a buffer between the rival forces.

The five-year history of South Sudan has been dominated by civil conflict between the two sides, much of it following ethnic lines.

A shaky peace deal was agreed a year ago, but it was frequently violated. Machar returned to Juba as deputy president in April but Kiir appointed a new deputy to replace him in late July.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported)  August 11, 2016

ROYAL ENERGY RESOURCES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

DELAWARE 000-52547 11-3480036 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission file number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)

56 Broad Street, Suite 2, Charleston, SC 29401

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

[ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) [ ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) [ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) [ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

ITEM 4.01 CHANGES IN REGISTRANTS CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT

(a) Termination of Paritz & Company, P.A.

i. Effective August 11, 2016, Royal Energy Resources, Inc. (the Company) received notification from Paritz & Company, P.A. (Paritz) that they would be unable to continue as the Companys principal independent registered public accounting firm. The board of directors does not have a separate audit committee and approved the resignation of Paritz.

ii. The report of Paritz on the Companys financial statements for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2015, did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor was it modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles, except that Paritzs report for that fiscal year contained an explanatory paragraph with respect to the substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern.

iii. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2015 and during the subsequent period through the date of Paritzs resignation, there were no: (1) disagreements between the Company and Paritz, whether or not resolved, on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which if not resolved to the satisfaction of Paritz, would have caused Paritz to make reference thereto in its opinion to the subject matter of the disagreement or (2) reportable events (as defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K).

iv. The Company provided Paritz with a copy of this Current Report on Form 8-K and has requested that Paritz furnish the Company with a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission stating whether or not Paritz agrees with the statements made in this Current Report on Form 8-K with respect to Paritz and, if not, stating the items with which they do not agree. A copy of Paritzs letter has been filed as Exhibit 16.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

(b) Engagement of Brown, Edwards & Company, L.L.P.

i. Effective August 11, 2016, the Company engaged Brown, Edwards & Company, L.L.P. (BrownEdwards) as the Companys independent registered public accounting firm. The engagement was approved by the board of directors, which also serves the role of audit committee.

ii. In connection with the Companys appointment of BrownEdwards as the Companys independent registered accounting firm, the Company has not consulted BrownEdwards on any matter relating to the application of accounting principles to a specific transaction, either completed or contemplated, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the Companys financial statements.

2

ITEM 9.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(a) Financial Statements of Business Acquired  not applicable (b) Pro Forma Financial Information  not applicable (c) Exhibits

Exhibit Number 16.1 Letter from Paritz & Company, P.A., to the Securities and Exchange Commission

3

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

ROYAL ENERGY RESOURCES, INC. August 11, 2016 By: /s/ William L. Tuorto William L. Tuorto Chief Executive Officer

4

EXHIBIT 16.1

August 11, 2016

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street, N.E.

Washington, DC 20549

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have read Item 4.01 of Form 8-K of Royal Energy Resources, Inc. dated August 11, 2016. We agree with the statements made concerning our firm contained therein.

Yours very truly,

/s/ Paritz & Company, P.A.

Paritz & Company, P.A.
The New Zealand Defence Force has airlifted a 2.4-tonne shipping container to volcanic White Island near Whakatane, to provide visitors an emergency shelter in case of an eruption.

Air Component Commander Air Commodore (AIRCDRE) Darryn Webb says an NH90 helicopter from the Royal New Zealand Air Forces (RNZAF) Ohakea-based 3 Squadron shifted the six-metre container to the island from Whakatane Airport, about 50km south.



Helicopter Loadmaster Sergeant Sam Riordan surveys White Island during a reconnaissance flight.

The container was placed on an old mining site to provide a natural protective barrier in case of a volcanic eruption.

We are pleased that we have been able to help address what has been a long-standing concern of communities as well as police and emergency management authorities in the Bay of Plenty and Whakatane areas.

The airlifting of the container is the latest example of how the NZDF assists our communities and other government agencies.

NH90 captain Flight Lieutenant (FLTLT) James MacKenzie says the task was the latest demonstration of the NH90s range and lift capacity.

It is important to our training that we get to lift large and heavy loads that challenge the range and lift capacity of the NH90. A task like this prepares us to conduct more complex tasks when we go on operations, whether it is humanitarian assistance and disaster relief or stability and support operations.

It also gives us another opportunity to operate with personnel from the Armys 5 Movements Company, who assisted in preparing the load.

White Island is an active volcano that is visited by over 10,000 tourists every year. It fluctuates through periods of increased and reduced activity, and last erupted in April.



An NH90 helicopter from the Royal New Zealand Air Forces 3 Squadron yesterday lifted a 2.4-tonne shipping container to volcanic White Island near Whakatane, to provide visitors an emergency shelter in case of an eruption.

Clinton Naude, the Director of Emergency Management Bay of Plenty, saysthe shipping container will help ensure people have a safe area to go to in the event of a volcanic eruption or an emergency event.

The container will also be used to store safety gear, spare clothing, food supplies and emergency and rescue items.

We have been working closely with GNS Science, New Zealand Police, other partner agencies and tour operators for some time to improve the safety of visitors to White Island. The placement of a container is another step towards ensuring we are better prepared for an event which may impact visitors.

The RNZAF introduced the NH90s into service in 2013 to perform a wide range of roles in New Zealand and overseas. With sophisticated systems and greater capacity, the NH90 is able to carry up to 19 passengers or undersling artillery in support of combat operations.

The RNZAF has used the NH90 helicopters for search and rescue missions, transport for military and government personnel, and lifting of equipment while also maintaining a counter-terrorism response.

In June, it shifted a 1.7-tonne Department of Conservation hut sitting on an active slip in Marlborough to safer ground.

The helicopters confirmed their ability to support a humanitarian aid operation on their first overseas mission in Fiji early this year, when they provided a critical link between the main population centres and outlying islands devastated by Tropical Cyclone Winston. Almost 160 hours of relief missions were flown by the NH90s during the seven-week operation.
A Matakana Island local had to be flown to Tauranga Hospital with breathing difficulties last night.

The Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter conducted the flight using night vision equipment to transport the 32-year-old man to hospital after he began to have trouble breathing as a result of an ongoing injury suffered while playing rugby.
A season that started on the West Coast of New Zealand has turned to Rio gold for British kayaker Joe Clarke.

Clarke won the K1 canoe slalom crown at the at the Whitewater Stadium in Deodoro X-Park today in a time of 88.53 seconds, ahead of Peter Kauzer (Slovenia) and Jiri Prskavec (Czech Republic), with New Zealands Mike Dawson finishing 10th in 93.07.
Two Bay of Plenty homes have been gutted following a fire which is being treated as suspected arson.

Firefighters were called to the properties in Te Kaha just before 6.30am.
IdeaeItalia is the studio behind the nuanced and contemporary interior of WIDER 150, the superyacht awarded as the quietest vessel on the water. This, combined with the innovative use of space and layout, creates perfect living areas and an exciting challenge for an interior designer.

The Challenge of Matching Technology with Universal Style

Technology is an integral part of the evolution of style and the architecture needs technology to renew itself, explains Eng. Alessio Battistini of IdeaeItalia when discussing matching technology with universal design. Research on new materials and new applications stimulate the designer to overcome new frontiers. To integrate, to combine without hiding the technological features with the furnishings was certainly vital in order to make the WIDER 150 design quite universal and timeless.

The technical innovations on board create new lifestyle options, which merge with the overall style to stay discreet until needed. At the push of a button, the owners apartment balcony folds down so those on board can enjoy life by the water. Lateral full-height windows in the sky lounge also slide open silently to better the view of the passing scenery in perfect harmony with the sound of the waves.

The silence during navigation and the extreme technology on board, coupled with an interior concept with a strong personality and always balanced and harmonious, we are sure they can be challenging for new generations of owners, adds Archt. Davide Bernardini, Alessios partner, when discussing how the entire product is naturally attracting a young generation of owners.

Creating a Completely New Experience on Board

The comfort and sober elegance achieved from natural materials that give the right balance to receive and convey a feeling of extreme relaxation to the customer, says Davide Bernardini, painting a picture of the interior style. Leather and wood to warm up the atmosphere along with the stone monumentality also provide an unusual flavour to the indoor areas.

Thanks to the engine room located in the bow, the layout is out of the ordinary, continues Alessio Battistini with an amazing owner's area for this type of boat, along with the large beach area and the use of innovative materials for the furniture brought WIDER 150 to be one of the most discussed superyachts now on the market.

Working with Tilli Antonelli and the WIDER Team is a stimulus in order to reach always different and innovative solutions. The project was born around the 'master area and the beach area, and we have been helped by the innovative propulsion of the Wider 150, which allowed us to deploy the technical areas below deck in an unusual way. Throughout the collaboration with the Shipyard we were able to offer the customer huge living spaces, both for private and common use. This is confirmed by the owners apartment of 75 square meters, extraordinary on a motor yacht under 50 meters.

The owners apartment is a standout feature on board WIDER 150, offering unparalleled space, created by a world of innovations throughout the project which furthers life on board. The WIDER 150 superyacht will be on display at the 2016 Monaco Yacht Show from September 28th - October 1st, representing a new school of thought in terms of superyacht design, construction and experience.
A New Take on a Classic Format

I really enjoyed the inaugural MYBA Pop-Up Show in Porto Montenegro last year, explains Fiona Maureso, Charter Director of Northrop & Johnson and President of MYBA. It was a simple format that reminded me of boat shows in the early days, just agents and yachts, and no distractions. The Pop-Up this year is likely to be on a bigger scale but hopefully it wont lose that simplicity.

The second year is already preparing for exponential growth, with 92 brokers as of writing registered and ready to explore Montenegro. Compare this to the 76 brokers in attendance last year, and with three weeks left to go until opening day; the popularity is already evident.

The MYBA Pop-Up Superyacht Show is set to become a leading superyacht event in this part of the world, adds Y.CO broker Max Bulley. Porto Montenegro is a world-class new superyacht marina, the home berth of a fantastic fleet of yachts, and the Adriatic is an increasingly popular charter destination.

From a sales perspective, continues Max, this is a great opportunity to test the temperature of the current market here as well as to connect and reconnect with Clients and industry professionals. Now in its second year, the 2016 event will further to establish the show and I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

A Rise in Attendance

The list of registered participants already includes brokerage houses such as Fraser, Burgess, Ocean Independence, Northrop & Johnson, Camper & Nicholson, Y.CO, IYC and Blue Water; all preparing to return or explore what Montenegro has to offer for the first time.

The reason why Im going is because everyone involved last year were really happy with this show, adds Tove Johnson of Fraser Yachts. Well organized in a beautiful setting and you are able to inspect yachts that you normally dont see. Another very important aspect is to see the port and area as we send many clients this way and most of the charters (for Croatia and Greece) start in Montenegro as there is no VAT. I really look forward attending this years show and I think there will be more and more brokers going.

I went to the 1st edition of the MYBA pop-up show in Montenegro last year and it was my third time there. says Nicolas Fry of Camper & Nicholsons Charter Division. I go back this year as I was invited by the organizers, being one of their most active ambassadors within the charter industry and amongst our brokers. I will go there with [Charter Broker] Vaniese [Baldacchino], as she was eager to discover the destination and to participate in this fast growing show. I love the area as the Bay of Kotor is unique and so picturesque. And Porto Montenegro is just for me the best marina in the Med.

"Montenegro (and Croatia) has seen an increase in business for the charter market this year with clients for Eastern European charters preferring these areas to Turkey given the recent turbulence there," explains Adelheid Chirco, Charter Director of Ocean Independence. "This market shift makes Montenegro the ideal place to show charter yachts, there are already more yachts making the area their home base, my own fleet has doubled here, so it makes sense for brokers to become better acquainted with both the area and the yachts available here."

Furthering the Natural Beauty of Montenegro

The infrastructure and vision behind Porto Montenegro, combined with an incredible natural landscape and geo-political location, makes this one of the focal yachting hubs which has been rapidly growing in popularity.

"The show provides charter brokers and managers with an excellent opportunity to learn something more about Montenegro, since it has become such a major hub for superyacht charters," explains Neil Moore, Director of Charter Management at Burgess. "Not only is learning more about the facilities in Kotor important for both the yachts and crews, but also for the client experience."



The show represents an excellent opportunity for yachts to extend their summer season by attracting more charters in the Eastern Mediterranean, Tom Debuse, Director of Charter Management at Y.CO. It also gives brokers the chance to experience and get to know one of the most popular jumping off points for charters in the Adriatic.

The Adriatic continues to be an increasingly popular cruising destination and most charters in this area start in Porto Montenegro in order to benefit from the tax advantages, continues Fiona Maureso. For brokers, this is a wonderful opportunity to inspect charter and brokerage yachts in a stunning location that they are certainly aware of but may not be familiar with yet. For yachts that are finishing up the summer season in the Adriatic, the timing and location of the show is very convenient.

Click here to register for the Porto Montenegro Pop Up Show.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A city man has been accused of repeatedly stealing from a store at Destiny USA and then threatening an employee with a knife.

Deray L. McGee, 26, of 310 Cortland Ave., was charged with petit larceny and fourth-degree grand larceny.

On May 3 Travis Trudell, the asset protection manager for Lord & Taylor, called the police to report a man stealing six Michael Kors handbags valued at $1,788.

"I was able to get a good look at the subject and could identify him again, but I did not know him at the time," Trudell wrote in a statement given to police.

The man was not caught, but he returned to Lord & Taylor on May 19. He picked out a Polo brand pair of jeans valued at $89.50 and a Polo brand men's shirt valued at $98.50, concealed them in his jacket, and left without paying, Trudell said.

Trudell said he tried to stop the man, but he discarded the stolen items and ran.

On June 12, Trudell again called the police to report that the man had again selected two Michael Kors, concealed them in a shopping bag and left without paying. When Trudell approached the man he ran back into the store.

When Trudell caught up to the man he began to fight with him.

"He scratched my face strong enough to draw blood, pushed my head into a building column causing substantial pain and a concussion, pulled a small folding knife and threatened me with it at close range," Trudell wrote.

Trudell backed off and the man fled. While he was canvassing other stores at the mall, Trudell said he learned the staff of JC Penney had a photo of the suspect from another incident and had identified him as McGee.

McGee was charged by Syracuse police in March with possession of stolen property. In July he was arrested by DeWitt police on charges of grand larceny and petit larceny. He was also charged with possession of stolen property by the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office in July, and grand larceny in August.

McGee is being held at the Onondaga County jail without bail.
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. -- When the allegedly stolen check did not turn into magic money at a Utica bank recently, police said Kristofer M. Torchia tried to get creative.

He jumped back into the allegedly stolen vehicle, drove back to the scene of the crime -- the victim's home-- and picked up the victim's telephone. He called the bank and "impersonated" the homeowner, police said, in hopes the bank would reconsider.

Kristofer M. Torchia, 24

He stole the homeowner's phone and returned to the bank, police said.

"Torchia ...entered the bank but immediately fled the area when he observed the bank manager on the telephone," New Hartford police spokesman Shane Yoxall said in a news release.

Torchia was arrested Aug. 10.

Yoxall did not immediately respond to a question about why Torchia, 24, might have stolen the phone.

Torchia is facing numerous felony and misdemeanor charges, including attempted grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, burglary, auto theft, identity theft, petit larceny, possession of a forged instrument, criminal impersonation and other charges, police said.

He's been arraigned at the Town of New Hartford court.
2016-05-08-mjg-Maddox.JPG

Mother's Day balloons and card left were at the memorial for Baby Maddox near Onondaga Creek in May. Maddox's family and the City of Syracuse have discussed creating a permanent memorial for her in the area.

(Mike Greenlar | Syracuse.com)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A makeshift memorial that popped up following one of the most heartbreaking tragedies in recent city history might become more permanent, according to a city spokesman.

The abduction and killing of 21-month-old Maddox Lawrence in February, allegedly by her 24-year-old father, Ryan, saddened Central New York and prompted a memorial along the Inner Harbor where her body was recovered.

Since then, the size of the memorial has ebbed and flowed as passersby and well-wishers add flowers and stuffed animals.

Alexander Marion, a city spokesman, said in an email Thursday that city representatives have had "preliminary discussions" with Maddox's family members for a more-permanent memorial at that site.

He did not elaborate on what type of memorial was being discussed or say when it might be built.
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Andrew Cuomo applause.jpg

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is applauded at his Sustainable Development & Collaborative Governance Conference Thursday at the Hotel Syracuse in Syracuse.

(Darren McGee | Office of the Governor)

Syracuse, N.Y.  Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to Syracuse Thursday to defend his economic development efforts, which are under fire from critics and under investigation by state and federal officials.

Cuomo called together about 220 government, business and community leaders at the Hotel Syracuse for a conference on "sustainable development and collaborative governance." The conference, which ran most of the day, included panel discussions on how communities can work together to revamp their economies, create jobs and draw young people back.

But the conference, which the governor's aides said was the first of many to be held around the Upstate area, also gave Cuomo the opportunity to defend his economic development programs from critics who have said the programs have failed to create significant numbers of Upstate jobs.

"The state government did a 180," he said. "I'm very proud to go down in the history books when they write them," he said. "My administration has done more for Upstate New York than any administration in the history of the state. And that is the truth."

He said the state has invested $25 billion in economic aid to the Upstate region, including $3 billion for Central New York, under his administration, reversing decades during which state government, dominated by downstate lawmakers, ignored Upstate as it lost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

Among the state's investments, he said, were $50 million in upgrades to the State Fairgrounds in Geddes, a $50 million amphitheater on the west shore of a cleaned up Onondaga Lake, and a nanotechnology center and digital movie production hub in DeWitt.

"Wait 'till you go see the State Fair," he said. "The same for 50 years. Nothing changed. It was like going to your grandparents' home. Everything was exactly where it was. Nothing moved. We did a $50 million facelift. You go there and you're not even going to recognize the place anymore."

In a meeting with reporters later, Howard Zemsky, president and CEO of the state's economic development office, Empire State Development, also defended the administration's record on economic development.

"The economy is doing really quite well," he said. "Unemployment in most every region of the state has been cut in about half. We've got holistic, comprehensive economic development strategies in every region. We can always find something that somebody wants to pick at, but I think in total, you'd have to say that the trajectory of the economy in every region has gotten dramatically better."

Critics jumped on Cuomo's START-UP NY program recently when it was revealed that it has created only 408 jobs in its first two years. The program lets startup companies that align with a State University of New York campus to operate free of state income taxes for 10 years.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating possible fraud and conflicts of interest in Cuomo's marquee economic development projects in Buffalo, Syracuse and elsewhere in Upstate.

In addition, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating whether there was wrongdoing in a request for proposals that a SUNY Poly subsidiary issued last year for a developer to build a student dormitory in Albany.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148


Syracuse, N.Y. -- More than once last month, Brooke Fraser found herself with a problem: She couldn't finish hooking a child up to an IV in Ethiopia because the family didn't have the medical tape needed to secure the line.

In that country, families have to pay for nearly everything in the hospital. A roll of the tape costs about a dollar; the average family's income is a little more than $1 a day.

But what happened next was always the same: Another family would find extra among their supplies to give to the child who didn't have enough. No matter how little they had, there was always enough to give to someone who had less. The same was true for IV fluid, which families must also pay for, themselves, Fraser said.

Generosity is so ingrained in the Ethiopian culture that giving was a reflex: Families helped each other without a second thought.

Fraser is a pediatric oncology nurse at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital. She spent her summer vacation, all two weeks of it, on a medical mission trip to Jimma, Ethiopia. She was there July 17-31. Fraser worked with The Aslan Project to help ready the new pediatric oncology unit at the Jimma University Specialized Hospital.

Fraser had already been going to Rancho Grande, El Salvador, for the past three years during her spring vacation to do medical work in that community. The Elbridge mother of three boys, who is also completing her master's degree so she can be a family nurse practitioner, said these trips help her see that the world is not nearly as small as we think it is. And that even amid the worst conditions, people are able to find enough hope and happiness to share it with others.

Strangers would invite Fraser to their homes for coffee. In Ethiopia, coffee's birthplace, sharing a cup is an offer of friendship.

For Fraser, it was both difficult and wonderful to work with children amid such poverty.

She arrived the week after the hospital moved its patients into the new building. The old building, Fraser said, did not have running water and was dirty and disjointed. It was difficult, she said, to keep children with contagious illnesses such as measles, separate from children with cancer, who have delicate immune systems.

In the new building, that is possible. And there is running water and soap. The nurses had to show families from rural areas how to use the flush toilets.

Fraser helped families, too, which was tricky, because she doesn't speak Amharic, the language of Ethiopia.

"I have learned in life there is such a thing as a 'universal language'," she said.

While in Ethiopia, Fraser spent three days with a 14-month-old girl from the Sudan. She didn't speak the family's language and no one in the family spoke English.

"I spent three days smiling and interacting," Fraser said. "After three days, she finally left the hold of her mother and came to me, letting me hold her and carry her around."

The parents learned to trust Fraser. "They saw me smiling every day and the barriers were broken," she said. "No words were spoken."

Fraser said she often consulted on cases where children had symptoms of leukemia, like anemia, but they were actually suffering from malnutrition. There were children who were blind from Vitamin A deficiency, and others who were disabled from diseases, like polio, that we haven't seen here in generations.

That was hard to see, Fraser said. But there was also great beauty.

"I found beauty every day in Africa. In the people, in their culture, in their landscape, their language, their kindness, love, community, family. All the things that are still most important in life, they have," Fraser said.

Fraser said there is a still work to be done before the oncology clinic in Jimma is up and running. Staff there are still working to get all of the drugs they need.

She hopes to go back to Ethiopia next year, and is planning to return to El Salvador as well. Last year, she took her son, Bennett, to El Salvador. He graduated from high school this year. Next year, Fraser hopes to take her middle son.

The trips claim nearly all of her vacation time. And she spends much of her free time raising money to pay for them. But Fraser doesn't mind.

"It's me who ends up learning the most," she said. "It has changed my life"

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Contact her anytime: email | twitter | 315-470-2246.


Rio Olympics Swimming

United States' Katie Ledecky checks her time during a women's 800-meter freestyle heat during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

(AP)

American swimmer Katie Ledecky set an Olympic record with the fastest time in the 800-meter freestyle preliminaries on Thursday.

The 19-year-old American swam the 16-lap event in 8 minutes, 12.86 seconds Thursday, bettering the old mark of 8:14.10 set by Rebecca Adlington of Britain in 2008.

Ledecky now owns the 12 fastest times in the event ever.

Not only did Ledecky set a new record in the 800m, she blew the field away.

This is probably the best illustration of how absurd Katie Ledecky is. pic.twitter.com/BigqAh4awF  SB Nation (@SBNation) August 11, 2016

Katie Ledecky just finished the 800 meter freestyle 6 1/2 seconds ahead of the 2nd place swimmer pic.twitter.com/uTh1Dwoo9V  Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 11, 2016

Ledecky's time was nearly seven seconds faster than anyone else. She will swim the final Friday night, seeking to complete a sweep of the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles for the first time since the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Boglarka Kapas of Hungary qualified second in 8:19.43.

Others moving into the final are Jazz Carlin of Britain, American Leah Smith, Lotte Friis of Denmark, and Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain, who won the 200 butterfly on Wednesday.



Contact Brent Axe: Email |Twitter

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report
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Jim Malatras, the state's top negotiator of the deal to save the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant, sits between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney at a separate event Sept. 30, 2015 at the Holiday Inn in Salina. Malatras led negotiations with plant owner Entergy Corp. that took more than eight months to complete.

(Michelle Breidenbach)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- After months of fruitless negotiations aimed at saving the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant, a team of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aides had reached a breaking point in late January.

Entergy Corp. had announced it was closing the plant because it had become a money pit. State-brokered negotiations to arrange a sale to energy giant Exelon had stalled when Entergy insisted its offer had to be accepted within two weeks.

Cuomo's chief negotiator thought it might be time to give up. FitzPatrick would close in January 2017, eliminate 615 jobs, wipe out a $74 million annual payroll, and leave a massive hole in the heart of Oswego County's economy.



Jim Malatras, the 38-year-old director of operations for Cuomo's administration, decided it was time to "throw the long ball" in a final attempt to jump-start serious negotiations.

"We floated the idea of taking the plant by eminent domain," Malatras said. "We were trying to break the logjam and get people to move."

Entergy had said the plant was losing $100 million a year, so Cuomo's team of lawyers and finance experts figured out a legal path to seize FitzPatrick for $1 using the New York Power Authority's right of eminent domain.

"We were pushing the concept that if they say it's worth nothing" there's probably no value to the plant, Malatras said this week. "So we would condemn the plant and give it to someone for nothing."

The state's move, which has not been previously reported, gained the attention of Entergy executives and helped break a stalemate in the negotiations, Malatras said.

"That really kick-started more serious discussions," Malatras said. "That shook up everybody who thought maybe we were a little crazy."

What followed for the next five months were daily negotiations -- by phone and at the state Capitol - among Cuomo's team, Entergy and Exelon. The result was Tuesday's agreement to keep open a nuclear plant that many thought could never be saved.

Those negotiations continued into the early morning hours Tuesday, only hours before Cuomo and the nuclear companies would announce their deal along the shores of Lake Ontario at the FitzPatrick plant in Scriba.

Under terms of the agreement, Entergy will sell the FitzPatrick plant to Exelon for $110 million. The state will transfer a $700 million decommissioning trust fund for the plant to Exelon, which agreed to accept all liabilities for FitzPatrick.

The deal quickly followed New York's approval on Aug. 1 of a $1 billion package to subsidize FitzPatrick and the neighboring Nine Mile Point nuclear reactors in Oswego County, along with Ginna nuclear plant near Rochester.

The state Public Service Commission approved 12-year contracts under which the three Upstate nuclear plants are guaranteed revenue increases. The deal would provide the plants with about $480 million in new revenue next year.

All of it was made possible by the nation's first clean-air subsidies for nuclear plants as part of the clean energy standard requiring half the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030.

Exelon President and CEO Chris Crane on Tuesday thanked Cuomo for his work on the clean energy standard, and said it made it feasible for the company to keep operating both FitzPatrick and the Ginna plant, along with its Nine Mile Point plant in Scriba.

Crane and Joe Dominguez, an Exelon vice president, had spent the previous six months on the phone and shuttling back and forth to Albany for face-to-face negotiations with Malatras and Richard Kauffman, the state's energy czar, who called them daily.

Bill Mohl, Entergy's president of wholesale commodities, who represented the FitzPatrick plant's owner in the negotiations, met separately with state and Exelon officials and joined some of the bigger meetings in Albany.

Entergy officials declined to comment Thursday. Tammy Holden, speaking for Entergy, wrote in an email: "We are not going to discuss details of private negotiations."

Malatras said he made phone calls at least every other day, sometimes daily, to all of the parties as he tried to move along the negotiations. In rooms near his office, separate teams of lawyers and finance experts worked out the details.

The nuclear plant issue became the top priority for Malatras as he tried to balance his other duties, including oversight of the state's response to emergencies that included the Zika virus, an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, and a collapsed crane on the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Cuomo personally drove his team to think creatively about FitzPatrick and nuclear energy in late 2015, before his state of the state address in mid-January. He wanted New York to become the most aggressive in the nation for hitting its clean energy goals by 2030.

"We started working on a renewable energy plan," Malatras said, "and it wasn't about just FitzPatrick. We saw this as a larger issue, and we wanted to find a way to meet our clean energy goal."

The state viewed Exelon, the nation's largest nuclear plant operator, as a natural partner in the effort and began making inquiries as early as November about potential interest in buying FitzPatrick.

A meeting at the state Capitol quickly followed with Cuomo's team and Exelon executives. Kauffman, the state's first-ever chairman of energy and finance, found several private investors who were willing to work with Exelon to help the company purchase the plant from Entergy.

Audrey Zibleman, chair of the state's Public Service Commission that oversees utilities, started working on the clean energy standards.

Trying to work out a deal

As a show of good will, Exelon made an early offer in November to buy the nuclear fuel needed to refuel FitzPatrick at the end of the year, buying time for a deal to be worked out.

"Entergy at the time was in pretty hard-ball mode," Malatras said. "They rejected it, which surprised us. But we didn't take 'no' for an answer. The governor told us to keep working to find a solution."

In December, Exelon proposed managing the plant for Entergy, and again was rejected.

Entergy came back with a sale offer for FitzPatrick. The utility gave the state and Exelon two weeks to accept or reject their terms, and once again no deal could be worked out.

The state wanted to keep everybody at the negotiating table and continued its "shuttle diplomacy" through the winter. Cuomo's clean energy standard, and the state subsidies for nuclear power, would go a long way toward building trust with both Entergy and Exelon.

"We started down the clean energy path, which was important for the nuclear plants because they couldn't compete with natural gas," Malatras said. "And it was important for us because we wouldn't have a way to make up for the loss of clean power" if FitzPatrick and Ginna closed.

The big break

After the state made its eminent domain threat in late February, negotiations took off. Thousands of technical details had to be worked out.

Among the big questions: What would be a fair purchase price for FitzPatrick? What would happen to the $700 million decommissioning fund held by the state for when the plant reaches the end of its useful life? What would happen if federal regulators won't approve the sale?

As the deal moved toward the finish line in June, members of the state legislature who represent Oswego County helped by applying political pressure.

State Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Oswegatchie, authored a bill aimed at speeding the process.

Her legislation, offered near the end of session, authorized the state Power Authority to use eminent domain in taking over the FitzPatrick plant.

"It was important, when it looked like we weren't getting to where we needed to be, to put the bill in to sort of force the issue," Ritchie said in an interview Thursday. "If an agreement couldn't be reached, that plan needed to be there."

Throughout the negotiations, Ritchie served as an important unofficial mediator with Entergy and state officials.

"I would say a lot of time was spent calling Entergy and then calling the governor's people, making sure everyone was up to date," Ritchie said.

By early August, Crane, Mohl, Kauffman and Malatras were sitting together in Albany working out the final details.

"We all looked each other to say we're all serious about this," Malatras recalled. "We had a gentleman's agreement we were going to try to work these pieces out. I actually thought it would take a month or two longer."

In the end, it wasn't just about saving a nuclear plant and jobs, he said. It was about driving a larger discussion about how to transition to a carbon-free economy.

"I would say it was probably one of the most fulfilling things we've done here so far," Malatras said.

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
mom_daughter.JPG

Abby Bohnert hams it up with her mom, Janine Bohnert, for a photo. Janine Bohnert used this photo on her Facebook page. Abby died Monday; her mother died last night.

(Provided photo)

Abby Bohnert

On Monday, Le Moyne College student Abby Bohnert died while having dinner with her aunt at an area restaurant. No one knows yet what caused

the 19-year-old's sudden death.

Her mother, 42-year-old Janine Bohnert, spoke Wednesday about her daughter, and how grief stricken she was at Abby's untimely death.

Overnight, Janine Bohnert died in her sleep in bed at the family home in Earlville , according to her husband, Chad. He suspects her death is linked to complications from emergency surgery she'd had recently.

"I don't even know what to say,'' Chad Bohnert said today. "I'm numb - we're all numb. It's unbelievable."

Funeral services for mother and daughter will be held together.

Janine Bohnert poses for a photo with her son, Austin, 17.

LeMoyne College's campus ministry sent out an email to students and staff today announcing Janine Bohnert's sudden death.

Chad Bohnert said the couple's son, 17-year-old Austin, went to check on his mom last night in bed.

"He made her pinky promise that she wouldn't leave us too'," Chad said. "I went in to see her at about 1 a.m. - she was sleeping in Abby's room - and told her the same thing. She promised not to leave us."

Chad found his wife dead this morning at 9:30 a.m. He said the family is certain her death was not suicide.

"I guess Abby needed her mom,'' he said.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Burgess & Tedesco Funeral Home, 3 Preston St., Earlville, followed by burial in the Poolville Cemetery.

Calling hours are 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Contributions in Abby's memory may be made to LeMoyne College Campus Ministry,1419 Salt Springs Rd., Syracuse, NY 13214.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- A 20-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to eight months in jail for killing his sister's pit bull with a shotgun.

Kobe Hanns.

Kobe Hanns of Conklin was sentenced in Broome County Court Wednesday.

Hanns had been fighting with his sister on Jan. 2 because her dog, Dozer, kept urinating in their house, New York State Police said. Police said he threatened to kill the 4-year-old dog, then took it outside and shot it in the head.

Judge Kevin Dooley found Hanns guilty of felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and third-degree criminal mischief after a bench trial in June. Dooley had sole discretion over sentencing on Wednesday.

Defense attorney Mike Garzo sought leniency, saying it was a "one-time anger" event.

Broome County District Attorney Steve Cornwell said animal cruelty cases are taken seriously.

"It was necessary that the punishment include incarceration," Cornwell told the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.
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In this 2015 file photo, Louisa Hoster (age 13) of Seneca Falls carries four cups of chocolate milk from the Rainbow Milk Bar for her family. The state announced today that milk will stay a 25 cents a cup.

(David Lassman)

Syracuse, N.Y. -- A cup of milk at the New York State Fair will still cost a quarter after all.

A day after Syracuse.com reported that the price of a cup at the Milk Bar would increase this year from 25 to 50 cents, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office stepped in to bring the price back down.

New York state will kick in $90,000 from fair revenues to subsidize the milk bar and keep the cost at 25 cents per cup, according to the governor's office.

"The Great New York State Fair showcases the very best New York has to offer, which includes milk and dairy products that are second to none," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "This action will help ensure more visitors drawn by the Fair's $50 million renovation will taste the difference for themselves."

The state is spending $50 million on the fairgrounds, including a new entrance and an expanded midway and RV park.

The price of milk at the milk bar has been 25 cents since 1983, when Andrew Cuomo's father, Mario, was governor. The nonprofit New York State Dairy Exhibits Inc., which runs the milk bar, said Wednesday it needed to finally raise the price to meet its expenses.

"The 33 years of swallowing and absorbing all the costs of doing business became too much this year," Bruce Krupke, a member of the group's governing board, told Syracuse.com.

The group's biggest source of income is the sale of 7-ounce cups of white and chocolate milk, Krupke said. Each year, 350,000 to 400,000 cups are sold, he said.

Contact Glenn Coin: Email | Twitter | Google + | (315) 470-3251
SU chancellor REDC

Syracuse University chancellor Kent Syverud makes opening remarks in the press conference held by the CNY Regional Economic Development Council for the Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

(Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud is stepping down from the regional development group that netted $500 million for Central New York.

Syverud has served as co-chair of the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council for two years, nearly as long as he has held the top post at SU. He was selected as co-chair by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Under Syverud's co-leadership, Central New York won $500 million through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, the largest single infusion of state aid the region has ever received, according to the REDC. CNY was one of three Upstate regions selected for the grants.

Central New York's proposal included several initiatives all geared toward job creation and training the local workforce for those jobs. Syracuse University was affected by some of those key initiatives, including funding to continue Say Yes to Education's promise to make college tuition-free for city school graduates, and funding for SU's Institute for Veterans and Military Families.

Syracuse University is currently undertaking an overhaul of its long-term academic plan and a massive modernization project for campus facilities. The updates to physical structures at SU are known as the Campus Framework and West Campus projects, which includes renovations to the Carrier Dome.

In his role as chancellor, Syverud will be overseeing one of the largest construction and economic development projects in Central New York history, he said in the statement.

"Now is the right time for someone new to step in and help lead the council," Syverud said. "As we pursue that project and other new capital investments that will be made in our campus facilities footprint during the next decade, it is the right time for me to conclude my service on the REDC."

Rob Simpson, president and chief executive officer of Centerstate CEO, remains on the development council as co-chair.

Syverud prasied Simpson and the other members of the council, as well as Cuomo, who created the initiative and funding opportunity for Central New York.

"[Cuomo's] vision has ... created new economic growth and opportunity in Central New York and beyond. I am proud to have played a small part in that success," Syverud said.

He said he looked forward to working with the council, "to help the whole world see Syracuse and Central New York as the best place anyone could want to be."

Reporter Julie McMahon covers Syracuse University and Syracuse city schools. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
American Airlines-Frequent Fliers

In this Jan. 25, 2016, file photo, a passenger talks on the phone as American Airlines jets sit parked at their gates at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport.

(Susan Walsh | The Associated Press)

Travel advisories from the U.S. government warning citizens about areas of violence, terrorism, disease and anti-U.S. sentiment are common, but a new report shows a growing number of foreign nations warning citizens about travel to the United States.

USA Today collected warnings from from a number of countries showing a growing concern abroad about the political climate, violence, unrest and even disease in the United States.

Most of the warning concern specific instances involving foreign visitors running into trouble in the states. Tom Buncle, a tourism consultant with the Yellow Railroad tourism company, notes that those individual instances paint a different picture of the States when viewed together.

"All of the warnings that come from specific instances add up and can potentially erode the positive image of the U.S.," Buncle said.

He noted that anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim attitudes cause particular concern.

"If you are in any of those groups, ... you might feel threatened because of the color of your skin or sexual orientation," Buncle said.

Mass shootings and gun violence have also surprised other countries, sparking some warnings about firearms.

Take a look at some of the recent warnings from countries in the list below:

United Kingdom:

France:

Germany:

Bahamas:

United Arab Emirates:

Bahrain:

New Zealand:

Mark Toner, a deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said the advisories should not deter tourists.

"The United States remains a first-rate tourist destination," Toner told USA Today. "We value the enormous economic benefit that foreign tourists bring to the United States each year."
When the news of the unconditional surrender of Japan on August 14, 1945, ending World War II, reached Syracuse, crowds of people swarmed to downtown for the celebration.

The headline in the next day's Post-Standard said it all: "Syracuse Cuts Loose at Surrender News."

Syracusans grabbed a hold of every noisemaker they could find, whether it was pots and pans, car horns, whistles, or the horns being sold on every corner for 25 cents, to celebrate "the best news of the past 3 and a half years."

It was said people gathered downtown, "as if they had a previous engagement." Police officers directed traffic so that the whole width of S. Salina Street was open for an impromptu pedestrian parade.

Cars were loaded to capacity, young boys and girls sat on fenders or stood on running boards. One two-seat coupe carried 15 youngsters.

Celebrations were noisy and spontaneous, but they were peaceful and happy, with no major destruction reported by police. The Post-Standard said that the celebrations were "in tune with the hopeful new era."

Lacking ticker tape, the streets of the city were covered in torn leaflets and office stationary thrown from the Chimes Building and other office buildings.

Soldiers, sailors and marines, "with lipstick-smeared faces," linked arms with strangers, sat on shoulders, and joined civilians in "snakelines" through the streets.

And it was not just young people. Husbands and wives with children joined the party. A "gray-haired woman" was blowing a noisemaker with all of her strength.

Another woman, about 60, on East Genesee St., was clapping two kettle-tops together.

But it was not all smiles and merriment. There was also sadness about the costs of the war.

A car parked near the Onondaga Hotel was spotted with four women and one man inside, with tears streaming down their faces.

When the news of the surrender made it to the Persian terrace room of the Hotel Syracuse, waitresses told diners and several employees, with loved ones in the service, began to weep quietly.

Milt Hert and his trio were on stage, but decided to not play their usual "bouncy tunes," but instead their first full number was "The Star Spangled Banner," which brought the diners to their feet.

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle: Email | 315-427-3958.
BATAVIA, N.Y. -- Police in Western New York say two people found dead in a cemetery were struck by lightning.

Batavia Police Det. Sgt. Todd Crossett said today two people were found dead in Batavia Cemetery Wednesday afternoon. They're identified as 34-year-old Richard Garlock, of Newstead, and 32-year-old Jenea Macleod,of Corfu.

The Erie County Medical Examiner determined both people were struck by lightning, but the cause of death is still pending further testing.

The Buffalo News reported that National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologists determined that lightning had struck the area between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m.

The Daily News in Batavia said that maintenance crews found the bodies about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The last time anyone was killed by lightning in New York was July 7, 2013, when a 26-year-old man in Columbia County was hit while standing under a tree, according to NOAA's storm events database.
The fish Reuben at Castaways Gastropub is a generous portion of mahi-mahi on a grilled ciabatta bread with homemade coleslaw, Thousand Island dressing and Swiss cheese. (KAREN LENNON/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

Karen Lennon Columnist SHARE The Castaways cheese steak is filled with thin slices of seared steak, sauteed bell peppers, sweet onions and provolone cheese. (KAREN LENNON/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) Castaways' version of friend pickles feature savory, spicy and sweet pickles coated in beer batter, deep fried and served with creamy horseradish sauce. (KAREN LENNON/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

Boston may have Cheers, but Jensen Beach has its own special tavern, Castaways Gastropub.

Castaways Gastropub on Northeast Jensen Beach Boulevard serves craft beers and pub-style food with a twist. The pub, owned by 25-year Jensen Beach residents, has 70 different beers on tap, with at least 20 taps dedicated to Florida brews. There is a large bar area where each seat has a power station. There are mostly high-top tables and nine HD TVs so you can stay tuned in to several sporting events.

A friend of mine, a Jensen Beach local, told me about its version of fried pickles ($6), which feature my favorite brand of pickle, which is savory, spicy and sweet. Each of these tasty disks are coated in beer batter then deep fried and served with a creamy horseradish sauce. The crunchy outside has a hint of hoppy flavor. The inside bursts with just enough heat, leaving a lingering memory of a warm fire in your mouth. The sauce is the perfect accompaniment to this deliciously unique dish. The horseradish adds the perfect amount of cool zing to make these thickly coated pickles really pop with delightful flavor.

I am a huge fan of a fish Reuben, ($11) and I have to say I was extremely pleased with my choice. The grilled ciabatta bread could barely contain the generous portion of mahi-mahi (which can be grilled, blackened, jerked or fried), homemade coleslaw, Thousand Island dressing and Swiss cheese. The Thousand Island dressing was the special sauce that married this flavorful combination of multiple tastes and textures. For my side, I sampled the waffle fries, which were crispy and not overly salty.

Other specialties include Castaways poutine ($8), which tops crispy waffle fries with brown gravy, white cheddar cheese curd and slow-cooked pulled pork. The Castaways chicken sandwich ($9) is a grilled chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms, pork belly and Swiss cheese. The chicken also can be blackened, jerked or fried. The jumbo chicken wings (10 for $10, 20 for $18, 50 for $45) are served with homemade sauces, including nuclear, brown sugar bourbon and sweet buffalo sauce.

Our server recommended the Castaways cheese steak ($13) since this sandwich sticks to a more traditional version, which pleased my less adventurous dining companion. The fresh hoagie is filled with thin slices of seared steak, sauteed bell peppers, sweet onions and provolone cheese. For an additional $2 you can upgrade your side and get the three cheese mac & cheese. Let me tell you, it is well worth the upcharge. The crispy bacon added the right amount of smoky flavor to this over-the-top cheesy and gooey pasta dish.

When a restaurant sticks around for more than 25 years, it has to be doing something very right. It is not a surprise that Castaways continues to be a local favorite. The atmosphere is lively, the food is fabulous and it's a wonderful place that will surely please the entire family.

Karen Lennon dines anonymously at the expense of Treasure Coast Newspapers for #TCPalmSocial. Contact her at yourmobilechef@gmail.com or follow @urmobilechef on Twitter.

CASTAWAYS GASTROPUB

Cuisine: American, gastropub

Address: 911 N.E. Jensen Beach Blvd., Jensen Beach

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; 11 a.m.-midnight Thursday through Saturday

Phone: 772-618-3838

Alcohol: Beer, wine

Handicap access: Yes, but limited seating so call ahead.

Reservations: No

Online: www.castawaysfla.com
SHARE Five refugees were detained Wednesday near Peck Lake Park in Hobe Sound. (PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE)

By Nicholas Samuel of TCPalm

HOBE SOUND  Five people have been detained after they came ashore near Peck Lake in Hobe Sound, said Christine Christofek, spokeswoman for the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office received a call about possible immigrants coming ashore about 1 p.m. at Peck Lake, which is near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge.

The Sheriff's Office's marine and road units found five people walking along the road.

The immigrants were detained and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol, she said.

No further information was available Wednesday night.
German Rodriguez

SHARE

By Jan Lindsey, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers

Arrested: German Rodriguez, 42, 100 block of South 15th Street, Fort Pierce.

Charges: Two counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition.

Crime: Rodriguez is accused of being nude and approaching a sleeping girl about 10 p.m. Monday. He left the room when she kicked him, according to an arrest affidavit. A boy also saw Rodriguez's naked body, the affidavit states. Rodriguez was arrested Tuesday afternoon.

What's next: Rodriguez will be released from the St. Lucie County Jail if he posts $60,000 in bond.

Agency: Fort Pierce Police Department

Quote: The girl told a woman about the incident and she called police, the affidavit states.
SHARE Port St. Lucie resident Taylor Anthony Mazzanti was in the St Lucie County Kail on $100,000 bond after being arrested Wednesday on an enhanced battery charge related to the July beating of a man at the Fort Pierce mosque.

By Melissa E. Holsman of TCPalm

FORT PIERCE  State prosecutors filed a more severe battery charge against a Port St. Lucie man accused of beating a congregant at a Fort Pierce mosque in July.

If convicted, Taylor Anthony Mazzanti, 25, could face up to life in prison after being rearrested Wednesday on an upgraded charge of "aggravated battery  evidence prejudice on property of (a) religious institution."

He's accused of attacking a member of the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce early July 2 in its parking lot and then yelling at him to "go back to your country."

Mazzanti, who records show is being held at the St. Lucie County jail in lieu of $100,000 bond, was initially charged on July 5 with felony battery.

On July 8, Jensen Beach lawyer Hilary Hunt was assigned to represent Mazzanti, who according to court filings entered a plea of not guilty.

Reached Thursday via email, Assistant State Attorney Sara Hedges without elaborating confirmed that she "filed the charges based on what the evidence supports."

"It is filed as a life felony," Hedges wrote in an email.

If Mazzanti is released on bond, he's been ordered by a judge to stay away from the victim, who St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office deputies found bleeding from the mouth, according to arrest reports. The injured man told deputies he'd been praying in the mosque before being confronted by Mazzanti and getting repeatedly punched in the face.

Florida law doesn't identify accused criminal acts as actual hate crimes. But prosecutors may upgrade a misdemeanor or felony charge if the offense was committed "on the property of a religious institution while the victim is on the property for the purpose of participating in or attending a religious service."

State law also allows enhanced charges if there's evidence the crime was committed based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or national origin.

On July 19, sheriff's investigators released a 22-page report that concluded enough evidence existed for state prosecutors to upgrade Mazzanti's felony battery charge.

Investigators, in their report, found it significant the victim was wearing his religious clothing at the time of the battery.

"The religious clothing was a long white shirt that goes down below the victim's knees and  is not common clothing worn by the majority of citizens of St. Lucie County. (It) indicates the victim is different in religion, possible ancestry and possible ethnicity," according to the report.

Detectives said Mazzanti's telling the victim to return to his country also was significant.

"This statement indicates the suspect saw the victim as different and not belonging in this community or country, " investigators wrote.

The Islamic Center of Fort Pierce has been in the national spotlight since the June 12 mass shooting at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse. The shooter, Omar Mateen, who lived in Fort Pierce, worshipped at the mosque and had been there the night before the shooting.
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By Nicholas Samuel of TCPalm

PORT ST. LUCIE  Police are warning citizens to keep their cars locked after a string of auto burglaries in the Southeast Hillmoor Drive area, according to the Port St. Lucie Police Department.

The car burglaries took place from July 28 to Aug. 9 in a half-mile radius in the Hillmoor Drive area. An iPhone 4, jewelry, Xbox One, book bag, Apple MacBook Pro, iPod and $30 in coins were stolen from unlocked cars during the burglaries.

Three happened in the 2800 block of Southeast Round Table Drive and another three in the 1900 block of Southeast Hillmoor Drive.

There was one each in the 1600 and 1700 block of Southeast Durango Street, one in the 1900 block of Southeast Grand Drive, one in the 1700 block of Southeast Ridgewood Street and one in the 2300 block of Southeast Calcutta Circle.

Police are asking citizens to remove valuables from their cars and to lock their car doors.
SHARE

Annmarie Rubertone, 47, 600 block of Southeast Port St. Lucie Boulevard, Port St. Lucie; possession of heroin with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver; trafficking in opium or derivative.

Michael Buchanon, 22, 3300 block of Mcneil Road, Fort Pierce; resisting an officer  fleeing/eluding officer with lights/siren active.

Marcus Ferguson, 49, 2500 block of Avenue D, Fort Pierce; warrant for vending goods with counterfeit trademarks.

Brian Porter, 20, 1900 block of Avenue M, Fort Pierce; aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; property damage  criminal mischief.

Shawn Donahue, 30, 100 block of Southeast Calmoso Drive, Port St. Lucie; aggravated battery  cause bodily harm or disability; DUI  serious bodily injury to another; hit-and-run  failure to stop/remain at crash involving injuries or other serious bodily injury.

Willis Daniel, 53, 2400 block of North Ocean Drive, Fort Pierce; warrant for aggravated battery on a pregnant victim.

Joseph Macminn, 21, 1700 block of Southeast Vesthaven Court, Port St. Lucie; warrant for possession of marijuana resin (hash).

Leo Denson, 59, 4300 block of Metzger Road, Fort Pierce; warrant for violation of probation, burglary of a dwelling, grand theft.

Terry Moseley, 42, Melbourne; warrant for out-of-state fugitive, Virginia Beach, Virginia, threatening an illegal act over the phone, threat in writing, harassment by computer.

Daniel Carmichael, 19, 4200 block of Southwest Whitebread Road, Port St. Lucie; warrant for failure to re-deliver leased property.

Taylor Mazzanti, 25, 500 block of Southwest Banks Terrace, Port St. Lucie; warrant for aggravated battery  evidencing prejudice on property of a religious institution.

Jodi Cornish, 21, Abaco; resisting an officer with violence; burglary of an occupied structure while unarmed; larceny/grand theft; battery on an officer.
State officials planned the design of the St. Lucie Canal, which allowed water to be drained from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie Estuary, by the late 1800s. Water first flowed down the canal in 1924. (FILE PHOTO)

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By Cynthia A. Williams, Special to The News-Press

To paraphrase an old joke, when youre up to your whatever in sewage, its difficult to remember that your original objective was to drain the swamp.

Think of the swamp in this joke as the Everglades. The Everglades is a vast space. It begins at Lake Okeechobee and declines in elevation all the way down to below sea level at Florida Bay.

Originally occupying 4,000 square miles of south Florida, the sawgrass marsh of the Glades was actually a slow-moving river descending from Lake Okeechobee in overflow to the sea. Other ecosystems within the Glades are hardwood hammocks, pineland, cypress swamps, mangrove and coastal prairie, and the marine ecosystem of Florida Bay itself.

Even before Florida was a state, Americans have been studying the Ever Glades, drumming their chins with their fingertips, trying to figure out how to drain what they considered to be a big useless swamp and turn it into productive and profitable farmland.

The early builders of Fort Myers were particularly eager to drain the swamp, because the only way in to the Glades at the time was the Caloosahatchee River and Fort Myers would be the port of entry for the millions of new settlers needing overnight accommodations, supplies and passage upriver. Dollar signs danced in their eyes.

However, things didnt go exactly as planned. The Caloosahatchee became a pipeline between the tank (Lake Okeechobee) and the toilet (Florida Bay) and Fort Myers ended up on the downside of a toilet flush.

It seemed like a good idea at the time

Interest in draining the Everglades began as early as 1837, eight years before Florida became a state. The second Seminole war (1835-1842) brought the U.S. army to the wetlands of south Florida and focused the attention of the nation upon them. Almost immediately after the war ended, Congress directed the secretary of war to prepare a report in relation to the practicability and probable expense of draining the Everglades of Florida.

The report described the Ever Glades as suitable only for the haunt of noxious vermin or the resort of pestilent reptiles, and requested an appropriation of  million to drain them. In 1850, Congress opened debate on the proposed Swamp and Overflowed Lands Act, which gave states title to any wetlands they could reclaim.

But first, time out for war

A third Indian war intervened, followed by the Civil War, but when the U.S. had succeeded in reeling the Confederate states back into the Union, the subject of draining the Everglades came up again. Floridas Internal Improvement Fund (IIF) agency, tasked with improving the infrastructure of Florida with roads, railways and canals, found a Pennsylvania real estate developer named Hamilton Disston interested in the Everglades project. Disston gave the IIF $1 million for 4,000,000 acres of land in south Florida, which he promised to drain in return for title to half of the reclaimed land.

Exciting times

On September 21, 1881, a tug came slowly upriver to Fort Myers. Gliding in tow behind the boat was a contraption that probably awed the townsmen, delighted the kids and worried the townswomen. It was the monster dredge that was going to gnaw its way up the Caloosahatchee, with its terrible teeth widening, deepening and straightening the twisting upper reaches of the river all the way to its headwaters at Lake Hicpochee. From the lake, Disstons engineers would dynamite and claw their way to Lake Okeechobee, opening a canal for the discharge of Everglades water from the Kissimmee River basin via the Caloosahatchee River into the Gulf of Mexico. It was possibly the largest reclamation project in the history of the nation.

However, things didnt go exactly as planned. The predicted reclamation of millions of acres, containing some of the most vital sugar lands in the United States, fizzled in the stubborn standing water of the dad-blasted ever-lasting Everglades. Simply stated, Disstons drainage canals didnt drain. In 1888, he called a halt to the dredging operations and despite having failed to reclaim so much as one acre of wetland, walked off with a gift from friends in Tallahassee of 2 million acres of land.

Promises and politicians

The subject came up again in 1904.

In the gubernatorial election of that year, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward ran on the promise of reclaiming the Glades for the people. He was elected. Efforts to drain that abominable pestilence-ridden swamp" began again.

James Wright, a USDA engineer, drew up a report stating that draining the Glades would not be difficult or costly; he calculated that eight canals designed to hold a maximum daily rainfall of 4 inches would be sufficient to drain 1,850,000 acres. Land speculators went into frenzied overtime, advertising the Everglades as The Promised Land, where crops and livestock would attain mythic proportions with little effort. People from all walks of life poured into Fort Myers hotels and boarding houses, booking passage by steamers upriver to Lake Okeechobee.

In 1910, Congress passed the River and Harbors Act, appropriating $121,000 to deepen the Caloosahatchee River channel. Victory over the evil forces of nature seemed assured.

However, things didnt go exactly as planned. Wright came under the scrutiny of the U.S. House of Representatives, to whom Wrights USDA colleagues testified that he was absolutely and completely incompetent for any engineering work."

Land values sank, sales plunged. Land developers were sued and arrested for mail fraud, leaving the people who had invested their life savings in the land wading around in water black with the larvae of mosquitoes. Mired in muck that neither mules nor tractors could plow, people had tried to burn off the sawgrass, only to discover that the underlying peat kept on burning, desiccating the soil that then blew around them like clouds of gunpowder. By 1914, it was obvious that the experiment was over.

Here they come again

Incredibly, six years later, the land developers, trailed by hopeful settlers, were coming back. Efforts to drain the Glades had been dismal failures, but on the slightly elevated, natural levee areas around the lake, experiments in soil improvement had made the production of sugarcane and vegetables possible. By 1921, 2,000 people lived in little start-up communities like Moore Haven (Little Chicago) and Belle Glade (Muck City) created to contain them. Clewiston was cut out of whole cloth to house agricultural workers brought in to labor in the sugar cane fields.

However, things didnt go exactly as planned. The levees built around Lake Okeechobee were only 18 to 24 inches above the level of the lake. On September 16, 1926, a levee engineer predicted that in the event of high winds, Moore Haven is going under Two days later, a category 5 hurricane struck and 1/3 of the people in Moore Haven, including the engineers wife and daughter, drowned.

On September 16, 1926, another hurricane-driven storm surge collapsed the levee and thousands more drowned, many of the bodies unrecoverable.

Flood control became the new priority in Everglades reclamation.

The U.S. Army, back in the field

The war upon the Everglades now passed from individual and state control to federal. In 1929, the Okeechobee Flood Control District was formed, and the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) took over field operations. The USACE built an earth berm 35 feet high to encompass the 730 square miles of Lake Okeechobee and named the dike after President Herbert Hoover.

Then they dug east from the lake to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee and named this new 155-mile cross-state channel the Okeechobee Waterway. We had opened a scenic shortcut between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers thus joined to the great Okeechobee would serve, incidentally, as conduits for the discharge of excess water from the lake.

And for once, things went exactly as planned.

Let the games begin

A well-intended but fools game of Slice and Dike ensued. The newly established Central and South Florida Flood Control Project (C&SF) severed Lake Okeechobee from its headwaters (the Kissimmee River basin), sliced the Glades below the lake into sections for agriculture (the Everglades Agricultural Area or EAA) and water conservation (Water Conservation Areas or WCAs), and ran canals from the lake to the WCA reservoirs smack dab through the sugar cane fields of the EAA

sending toxic agricultural runoff into the WCA reservoirs, which drain into our nature preserves and the underlying Biscayne Aquifer from which we draw our drinking water, and into our rivers, which deliver the contaminated water to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

To understand the whole of the damage done to the ecosystems of the Everglades in the great pump and spigot chase of the past half century is tantamount to tracing the DNA of the most complex mosaic of interdependent animal and vegetative life on earth. In taking over from nature the management of water flow into and out of the Glades to meet the needs of U.S. Sugar and the exploding population of our urban areas, we have undermined the sustainability of both. But that is the subject of another story.

Suffice it to say that we have tracked down the perpetrator of the Okeechobee Flush. As Walt Kelly succinctly put it in his Pogo comic strip, We have met the enemy and they are us.
Sen. Joe Negron talks during a public meeting regarding the toxic Lake Okeechobee discharges in Stuart. (FILE PHOTO)

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By Tyler Treadway of TCPalm

One significant factor is missing from state Sen. Joe Negron's plan to build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee and stop discharges to the St. Lucie River, say environmental scientists.

The water sent south to the Everglades has to be clean.

Negron's plan unveiled Tuesday calls for water stored in a 60,000-acre reservoir to flow through existing man-made marshes, called stormwater treatment areas, en route to Everglades National Park. Right now, and during most rainy seasons when there are Lake O discharges, those stormwater treatment areas are full of water flowing off farmland south of the lake.

"When the reservoir is built, it's got to be written into the operation schedule that water from the lake gets priority, or at least shares the STAs with water coming off the farmland," said Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart. "It's got to be in black and white that only when all else fails that water is sent east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River."

With that caveat, scientists say Negron's plan will work.

"The size of the reservoir he's outlined is adequate and the money he's calling for, the $2.4 billion, sounds about right to buy the land and build the project," Perry said. "Both the size and the amount of money pretty well match up with what we at the Rivers Coalition estimated."

Either of the two general sites for the reservoir Negron identified  one in the center of the Everglades Agricultural Area and the other to the east  will work, Perry said.

Negron's plan is consistent with the findings of a University of Florida Water Institute study of ways to stop the discharges, said Wendy Graham, the institute director, as long as it includes ways to get clean water to the Everglades.

"However, as they say, 'The devil is in the details,' which are not yet available," Graham added.

Negron's plan is not "the end-all for solving the problem, but it's a giant first step," said Nathaniel P. "Nat" Reed of Jupiter Island, a former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the dean of Treasure Coast environmentalists. "The whole system above Lake Okeechobee and below the lake is out of whack. This is a triumphant first step that will lead to other steps."

Negron's plan calls for the state and the federal government to split the $2.4 billion cost. He'll propose in the 2017 legislative session, when he'll be president of the Senate, using $100 million in Amendment 1 funds each year over 20 years to generate the state's $1.2 billion share.

Also, Congress would have to add the plan to the water projects it approves every two years.

MORE | Joe Negrons plan to reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges would need sugar land
St. Lucie County Clerk of the Circuit Court building. (FILE PHOTO)

By Will Greenlee of TCPalm

ST. LUCIE COUNTY  The circuit court clerk primary election pits incumbent Joe Smith, first elected in 2008, against former employee Martha Hornsby, whose job Smith eliminated three years ago.

The winner of the Aug. 30 Democratic primary will face write-in candidate Dinah Walker in the Nov. 8 general election.

Smith, 39, is a past St. Lucie County commissioner who attended Lincoln Park Academy and holds a master's degree in political management.

"We've found innovative ways to increase the technology of our office. We've found ways to make money and save money for the taxpayers," Smith said. "I have a record of leadership, a record of experience and a record they can go and look at."

Hornsby, 62, held a variety of positions in the clerk's office after being hired in 1982 before her job was eliminated in 2013. She has a master's degree in criminal justice and has worked as a substitute schoolteacher.

"I have the leadership skills, the management skills, to turn the office around," she said. "We need to get back to the basics of why we're there."

The clerk is responsible for all court-related documents, including traffic tickets, divorces, lawsuits, foreclosures, case evidence, domestic violence petitions, wills and tenant evictions. The clerk is also responsible for managing the county's jury system, processing payments from the County Commission and preserving the official record books.

In the campaign for the job, Hornsby has outspent and outraised Smith. Hornsby has spent more than $41,000 of her $44,505 campaign fund, which includes $25,000 of her own money.

Smith has spent $23,350 of his $29,265, which includes $3,100 of his own money.

REVENUE, SERVICE

Smith said he has generated almost $750,000 in new revenue by using a credit card program to pay off the county's bills each month, which earns a cash rebate. Smith said he began the program in April 2011 in a partnership with Wells Fargo. The Martin County Clerk's Office has used two e-payable programs since 2009 and Indian River County got on board in 2012.

Smith said his office is one of the most technologically advanced organizations in the state. In 2014, his office was one of 13 government agencies nationwide recognized for Outstanding Achievement for websites by the Interactive Media Awards, he said.

A new website featuring live chat that launched in November 2013 offers easy access to services, and about 70 customers a month get answers to their questions there, he said. A self-service center implemented in 2013 allows people to file civil and family cases more easily and generates about $1,700 a month, he said. He also has an internal audit department that seeks ways to improve and minimize waste.

"We're always looking for ways to help save money and make money for the taxpayers," Smith said.

WASTE, MISTAKES

Hornsby countered that Smith wastes money, and she promised a line-item review of expenditures.

Smith created new positions and a top-heavy administration, Hornsby said.

One example was contracting with attorney Travis Walker in July 2013, whom he's paid almost $491,000 since. It's Walker's mother who's running as a write-in candidate to close the Aug. 30 Democratic primary to improve Smith's chances of winning.

"Having an attorney on staff is a total waste of taxpayer money because the county attorney didn't charge us for legal advice," Hornsby stated. "I will eliminate unnecessary positions in top administration and make sure that the departments are properly staffed to provide the services needed for the courts and the public."

Hornsby also expressed concerns about inaccurate record keeping, citing an example involving a Fort Pierce attorney whose staff always reviews the clerk's system.

"On one particular case, they checked the notes and found a lot of information stating who was present, what happened in court and the judge's ruling," Hornsby stated. "The attorney's assistant was very concerned because she told me they were not even in court on that date. They had requested a continuance before the court date."

Hornsby claimed this has happened more than once.

"This scares me to death because we are dealing with people's lives, and this information has to be right," Hornsby said. "He (Smith) doesn't appear to have any concern about it because it's been this way for a while."

OTHER CRITICISMS

Hornsby also said the level of service to the public is suffering because Smith has created a toxic environment and low morale.

"I'm getting text messages from the employees that they're just holding on, hoping that I can win because they're in such a terrible state," Hornsby said.

Smith said that's "absolutely untrue" and touted the Best Place to Work Award the St. Lucie County Human Resource Association has given his office for the past six years.

"If the public wants to know about the environment of our office, they are more than welcome to ask any of the professionals who work there," he said. "Our office takes great pride in providing operational excellence."

Smith was re-elected in 2012 despite a flap over $15,000 of taxpayer money being spent on his May 2011 wedding reception at the county's Havert L. Fenn Center. Smith was cleared of wrongdoing and repaid the county, but a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation concluded then-Parks, Recreation and Facilities Director Debra Brisson committed grand theft. The State Attorney's Office declined to pursue charges, saying there wasn't enough evidence for a conviction.
Indian River County voters can cast early primary ballots from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily Aug. 20-27 at these locations:

Indian River County Main Library, 1600 21st St., Vero Beach

Sebastian City Hall, 1225 Main St., Sebastian

Supervisor of Elections Office, 4375 43rd Ave., Vero Beach

Editorial roundup: 2016 political endorsements Ask the Candidates: TCPalm's interactive election hub Editorial roundup: 2016 political endorsements

Ask the Candidates: TCPalm's interactive election hub

VOTER GUIDE

School Board Group 3

Candidates: Douglas Wight, 65, Vero Beach, retired teacher; Laura Zorc, 44, Vero Beach, operations management consultant

Voters: All Indian River County registered voters regardless of their party affiliation

At stake: 4-year term, $33,417 annual salary

Next step: Top vote-getter wins and takes office Nov. 22

Issues: Wight says teacher turnover is far too high and he would advocate for educators. The district's debt is one of the biggest issues for Zorc, who says the board needs to make sound fiscal decisions. Graduation rates and student achievement are high priorities for both candidates.

School Board Group 5

Candidates: Tiffany Justice, 37, Vero Beach, mother; John Kim, 23, Vero Beach, business owner

Voters: All Indian River County registered voters regardless of their party affiliation

At stake: 4-year term, $33,417 annual salary

Next step: Top vote-getter wins and takes office Nov. 22

Issues: Justice wants to improve reading proficiency among students and get the community more involved with the district through town hall meetings. Kim's focus is on fostering students who are primed and ready to enter the workforce through vocational programs. He's also concerned about improving the district's debt situation.

Indian River County Commission, District 1

Candidates: Susan Adams, 38, Fellsmere, Marsh Landing restaurant manager; Richard Gillmor, 69, Sebastian, real estate investor

Voters: All Indian River County registered voters regardless of their party affiliation

At stake: 4-year term, $58,995 annual salary

Next step: Top vote-getter wins and takes office Nov. 15

Issues: Regarding Vero electric: Both candidates favor having all parties involved talking with each other over filing lawsuits. Regarding All Aboard Florida: Adams said the county has exhausted its legal options in fighting the high-speed rail and needs to consider a Plan B. Gillmor said he opposes spending tax money to fund "losing battles" and favors finding alternative solutions. Regarding the Indian River Lagoon Council: Both candidates support the county's inclusion. When the County Commission opted out of joining, Gillmor recruited the cities to contribute money to become a member.

Indian River County Commission, District 3

Candidates: Incumbent Tim Zorc, 55, Vero Beach, consultant; Joe Earman Jr., 55, Vero Beach, Indian River County Fire Rescue captain and business owner; Charles "Chuck" Kirby, 55, Vero Beach, Indian River County sheriff's lieutenant; Mark Rodolico, 46, Vero Beach, Mark's at the Pointe Salon & Boutique owner

Voters: All Indian River County registered voters regardless of their party affiliation

At stake: 4-year term; $58,995 annual salary

Next step: Top vote-getter wins and takes office Nov. 15

Issues: Regarding Vero electric: Kirby and Earman said the county should be working with Vero Beach to resolve the electric issue; Zorc said the county tried working with the city, and favors continuing to fight for those county residents in Vero's electric system; Rodolico said the county should help the city move forward with a partial sale of the Indian River Shores customer base. Regarding All Aboard Florida: Zorc and Rodolico said they will continue the legal opposition fight until their constituents say otherwise; Kirby opposes the current legal fight and says he wants to look into negotiating for a future stop; Earman says he supports the current fight, but wants to look at mitigating the trains' impact. Regarding the Indian River Lagoon Council: All candidates support the county's inclusion.

Indian River County Commission District 5

Candidates: Incumbent Bob Solari, 64, Vero Beach, businessman; Jay Kramer, 47, Vero Beach, entrepreneur

Voters: Registered Indian River County Republicans

At stake: 4-year term; $58,995

Next step: Top vote-getter will face Brian Heady, who has no party affiliation, in the Nov. 8 general election

Issues: Both candidates oppose All Aboard Florida. Solari said the county should continue fighting the high-speed train until AAF is defeated, but said the issue will be decided within the next three years. Kramer favors hiring lawyers to keep AAF accountable and make sure the company is following all regulations, but he opposes filing "bogus" lawsuits. On the Vero Beach electric issue, Solari said he will continue fighting for Florida Power & Light Co. rates for those within the city's service area, and favors legislation that will make the Florida Municipal Power Agency provide the market value of the assets. Kramer said Vero Beach has tried to lower its electric rates. If elected, Kramer said he would continue petitioning the Public Service Commission to keep the electric issue on the forefront. Both claim to be fiscally conservative. Kramer would support a taxing district for the Children's Services Council, while Solari would oppose because he thinks it would create another government entity.

Circuit judge, Group 1

Candidates: Incumbent James McCann, 62, Fort Pierce; Beth Allen, 41, Port St. Lucie, owns Beth E. Allen, P.A. law firm

Voters: All registered voters who live in the 19th Judicial Circuit (Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties)

At stake: 6-year term, $146,080 annual salary

Next step: Top vote-getter wins and takes the bench Jan. 3.

Issues: Judicial candidates are not permitted to take stands on issues.

Circuit judge, Group 6

Candidates: Michael J. McNicholas, 52, Palm City, attorney; Robert Meadows, 58, Vero Beach, criminal attorney; Kiernan Patrick Moylan, 46, Vero Beach, solo practice attorney; Leonard Silvio Villafranco, 56, Port St. Lucie, litigation attorney

Voters: All registered voters who live in the 19th Judicial Circuit (Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties)

At Stake: 6-year term, $146,080 annual salary

Next step: 50 percent plus one vote is required to win and take the bench Jan. 3. If no one wins that majority, the two top vote-getters advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

Issues: Judicial candidates are not permitted to take stands on issues.

Public defender

Candidates: Incumbent Diamond Litty, 59, Port St. Lucie; Thomas Burns, 55, Fort Pierce, attorney

Voters: All registered voters who live in the 19th Judicial Circuit (Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties)

At stake: 4-year term, $154,140 annual salary

Next steps: Top vote-getter wins and takes office Jan. 3

Issues: Litty, who's facing a challenger for only the second time since 1992, touted her years of service, and said last year she managed a $7.5 million budget as the lawyers in her six offices handled 14,000 criminal cases. Burns, a criminal defense attorney under contract with the office of Regional Conflict Counsel in Fort Pierce, has said after six terms, Litty has been in office long enough and "it's time for a change."

Property appraiser

Candidates: Incumbent David Nolte, 73, Vero Beach, former banker, stockbroker; Wesley Davis, 46, of the Wabasso area in northern Indian River County, current Indian River County commissioner and real estate sales associate and apprentice auctioneer

Voters: All Indian River County registered voters regardless of party affiliation

At stake: 4-year term; $121,991 annual salary

Next step: Top vote-getter wins and takes office Jan. 3

Issues: Nolte stresses his 36 years' experience doing the job, while Davis says it is time for a change. Davis has criticized Nolte for not studying the impact All Aboard Florida would have on local property values. Nolte said he would look into the issue, if the County Commission directed him to do so.

Sheriff

Candidates: Incumbent Deryl Loar, 48, Vero Beach; Darrell Rivers, 46, Indian River County, Vero Beach police corporal

Voters: All Indian River County registered voters regardless of their party affiliation

At stake: 4-year term, $130,941 annual salary

Next step: Top vote-getter wins and takes office Jan. 3

Issues: Drug crime, civil asset forfeiture and police-community relations are the biggest issues in the race. Loar said his office has fought crime effectively under tight budget constraints, cut spending and reached out to the black community, holding monthly meetings where community members can express their concerns directly to Loar. Rivers, who wants to improve communication and transparency, said he has a number of ideas he believes would improve crime-fighting, and he promised to be sheriff for everyone and to be fair to all citizens and employees.

Florida House District 54

Candidates: Dale Glading, 56, Vero Beach, minister; Erin Grall, 39, Vero Beach, attorney; Greg MacKay, 56, Indian River Shores, gastroenterologist; Lange Sykes, 30, Vero Beach, businessman and Realtor

Voters: Registered Republicans who live in District 54 (Indian River and St. Lucie counties)

At stake: 2-year term, $29,697 annual salary, plus $129 daily during session

Next steps: Top vote-getter will face write-in candidate James Bailey in Nov. 8 general election. However, Bailey's name will not appear on the ballot.

Issues: All four have vowed to continue state Rep. Debbie Mayfield's work trying to crack down on the Florida Municipal Power Agency, especially when it comes to disclosing its financial information. MacKay and Glading support buying land south of Lake Okeechobee with Amendment 1 tax revenue; Grall and Sykes have offered limited support for the proposal. MacKay also advocates curbing health care costs while increasing access. Glading opposes same-sex marriage and proposes banning abortions after 18 days of conception. Sykes has said the three big issues in the state are health care, jobs and immigration. Grall, a longtime champion of children's issues, seeks to enact a communitywide initiative designed to have 90 percent of third-graders reading at grade level by 2018.

Florida Senate District 17

Candidates: Debbie Mayfield, 59, Vero Beach, Florida House District 54 representative; Ritch Workman, 43, Melbourne, Florida House District 52 representative; Mike Thomas, 58, Melbourne, physician assistant

Voters: Only registered Republicans who live in District 17 (all of Indian River County and part of Brevard County)

At stake: 4-year term, $29,697 annual salary, plus $129 daily during session

Next steps: Top vote-getter will face Democrat Amy Tidd and write-in candidate Ronald Julian Thomas in Nov. 8 general election. However, Thomas' name will not appear on the ballot.

Issues: Mayfield and Workman, who are barred by term limits from seeking re-election to the Florida House, have vowed to continue agendas they championed during eight years in Tallahassee. Mayfield opposes All Aboard Florida, has stood against Common Core and has said she will continue to protect ratepayers against increased power and utility bills. She also supports having an elected education commissioner. Workman also wants to eliminate Common Core standards from public schools. He's an advocate of water farming, and wants more money dedicated to dredging and stormwater projects. He also supports negotiating a strategy for Vero Beach to buy its way out of the Florida Municipal Power Agency. Thomas has said he wants to improve access to affordable health care, backs Second Amendment rights and supports protecting and cleaning the Indian River Lagoon and Banana River.

U.S. Senate

Republican candidates: Incumbent U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, 45, Miami; Carlos Beruff, 58, Bradenton, homebuilder; Ernie Rivera, 58, Land O' Lakes, businessman; Dwight Young, 50, Clearwater, Pinellas County sheriff's detention deputy

Democratic candidates: U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, 33, Jupiter; U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, 58, Orlando; Pam Keith, 47, North Palm Beach, lawyer; Rocky De La Fuente, 61, Orlando, businessman; Reginald Luster, 52, Jacksonville, lawyer

Libertarian candidates: Augustus Invictus, 33, Orlando, lawyer; Paul Stanton, 31, Deland, computer programmer

Voters: Florida registered voters cast ballots only for the candidates who are affiliated with their same party.

At stake: 6-year term; $174,000 annual salary

Next step: Top vote-getters in each primary will face each other as well as 10 nonpartisan and write-in candidates in the Nov. 8 general election

Issues: Here's how the candidates stand on immigration, one of the many top issues in the race:

Republicans: Rubio co-sponsored the failed 2013 immigration reform that included a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country illegally; Beruff supports Donald Trump's plan to build a wall on the Mexico border; Rivera and Young oppose amnesty

Democrats: All candidates support immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship.

Libertarians: Invictus opposes amnesty; Stanton hasn't publicly stated his position.

School tax

The school district wants to generate an additional $9 million annually for operating expenses.

Yes vote means: Property owners would pay a tax of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for four years; that's an update of the previous four-year, 60-cent tax.

No vote means: The district will have to make do or find another funding source to retain teachers, purchase and upgrade technology and infrastructure, and fund career and technical programs.

Solar amendment (statewide)

If at least 60 percent of Florida voters approve this amendment, the Legislature has until Jan. 1, 2018, to create tax credits for solar and renewable energy devices.

Yes vote means: Exempts solar and renewable energy devices from property tax assessments for commercial and industrial properties. Extends an existing tax break for residential properties through 2037. Proponents say it will expand the use of renewable energy in the state, but it's unclear what kind of impact the loss of tax revenue would have on local governments.

No vote means: Does not authorize business tax breaks or extend residential ones.

HOW TO VOTE-BY-MAIL

5 p.m. Aug. 24: Deadline to request a ballot via phone, website or mailing a written request

5 p.m. Aug. 29: Deadline to request a ballot in person

7 p.m. Aug. 30: Elections office must have all ballots, whether they were mailed or dropped off

BALLOT REQUEST

Website: voteindianriver.com

Call: 772-226-3440

Address: 4375 43rd Ave., Vero Beach, FL 32967

WRITTEN REQUESTS

Must contain the following:

Voter's full name and signature

Date of birth

Phone number

Address (residence and, if different, where you want the ballot sent)

Which elections you want a ballot for

AUG. 30 POLLING PLACES

1: Indian River Estates, 2250 Indian Creek Blvd. W., Vero Beach

2: Fellsmere City Council Chambers, 21 S. Cypress St., Fellsmere

3: Fellsmere City Council Chambers, 21 S. Cypress St., Fellsmere

4: Indian River Estates, 2250 Indian Creek Blvd. W., Vero Beach

5: Liberty Magnet School, 6850 81st St., Vero Beach

6: St. Sebastian Catholic Church, 13075 U.S. 1, Sebastian

7: St. Sebastian Catholic Church, 13075 U.S. 1, Sebastian

8: American Legion Hall Post 189, 807 Louisiana Ave., Sebastian

9: Sebastian Elks Lodge No. 2714, 731 S. Fleming St., Sebastian

10: Sebastian Christian Church, 190 Day Drive, Sebastian

11: Sebastian Christian Church, 190 Day Drive, Sebastian

12: Liberty Magnet School, 6850 81st St., Vero Beach

13: Realtors Assn. of Indian River County, 3250 67th St., Vero Beach

14: IR Shores Community Center, 6001 Highway A1A, IR Shores

15: IR Shores Community Center, 6001 Highway A1A, IR Shores

16: IR Shores Community Center, 6001 Highway A1A, IR Shores

17: Christ By The Sea United Methodist, 3755 Highway A1A, Vero Beach

18: St. Edwards Upper School, 1895 St. Edwards Drive, Vero Beach

19: Trinity Episcopal Great Hall, 2365 Pine Ave., Vero Beach

20: Trinity Episcopal Great Hall, 2365 Pine Ave., Vero Beach

21: Gifford Community Center, 4855 43rd Ave., Vero Beach

22: Central Assembly of God, 6767 20th St., Vero Beach

23: Unity Church of Vero Beach, 950 43rd Ave., Vero Beach

24: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 1590 27th Ave., Vero Beach

25: Our Savior Lutheran Church, 1850 Sixth Ave., Vero Beach

26: Our Savior Lutheran Church, 1850 Sixth Ave., Vero Beach

27: Royal Palm Clubhouse Vista Royale, 400 Woodland Drive, Vero Beach

28: Vero Beach Highlands P.O.A., 625 Highland Drive S.W., Vero Beach

29: Morning Star Presbyterian, 698 Timber Ridge Trail S.W., Vero Beach

30: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall, 1590 27th Ave., Vero Beach

31: Unity Church of Vero Beach, 950 43rd Ave., Vero Beach

32: Freedom Church, 455 58th Ave. S.W., Vero Beach

33: Indian River Estates, 2250 Indian Creek Blvd. W., Vero Beach

34: Lakewood Village Club House, 1455 90th Ave., Vero Beach

35: Central Assembly of God, 6767 20th St., Vero Beach

36: Gifford Community Center, 4855 43rd Ave., Vero Beach

37: Realtors Assn. of Indian River County, 3250 67th St., Vero Beach
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By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON  With money for Zika vaccine research set to run out at the end of the month, the Obama administration announced Thursday it will transfer $81 million from other areas of the Department of Health and Human Services to keep the study on schedule.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell said she will transfer $34 million from the agency to the National Institutes of Health and will also transfer $47 million to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA.

The news comes as congressional lawmakers from Florida and Gov. Rick Scott have been calling for Washington to do more on Zika. They've asked the Obama administration for extra resources and slammed their counterparts in Congress for not passing a Zika funding bill.

Sen. Marco Rubio, who had pushed for such a move, called the announcement "long overdue." He said the administration should do even more "to find unspent funds that can be redirected toward fighting Zika in Florida."

The Florida Department of Health announced 21 new travel-related cases of Zika, pushing the number of cases in the state above 500. Twenty-five of those cases involve local transmission of the disease, and 57 involve pregnant women.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases launched the first phase of a Zika vaccine trial last week and has planned to begin the second, larger phase of the research in January. But the institute's Zika money will run out at the end of the month, said director Anthony Fauci. With more funds, the second phase of the trial would have been delayed. Scientists at Biomedical Advanced Research also are working on Zika vaccines.

Delays are a problem for a fast-moving epidemic such as Zika, Fauci said. Scientists have been working to expedite the vaccine research, given concerns about Zika's ability to cause catastrophic birth defects in infants.

Fauci praised Burwell for making the decision to continue the vaccine research.

Burwell "made a courageous decision to do something that she didn't really want to do," Fauci said. While transferring money from other institutes will help fight Zika, Fauci said, "we're taking money away from cancer and diabetes and all these things ... . All of that is extremely damaging."

President Obama asked Congress for $1.9 billion to fight Zika in February, but Congress has not been able to agree on a funding package. In April, Obama transferred $510 million in unspent funds that had been earmarked for the Ebola outbreak.

USA TODAY staff writer Ledyard King contributed to this report.
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By Editorial Board

STAY ALERT: As Treasure Coast students return to school after the summer break, motorists should be on high alert before and after school.

Last week, the American Automobile Association cited a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report that showed Florida has the second-highest child pedestrian fatality record in the nation. In 2014, 34 Florida children died in pedestrian accidents; only California had a worse record.

We urge motorists to drive carefully, follow the speed limit and come to a complete stop at intersections with stop signs. Put down your phone  AAA research shows taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles your chance of crashing. Talk to your teen about good driving and pedestrian safety practices. Information is available at www.TeenDriving.AAA.com.
Florida Sen. Joe Negron addresses news media after a public meeting regarding the toxic Lake Okeechobee discharges Tuesday at the Flagler Center in Stuart. (HOBIE HILER/ SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

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By Eric Draper And Eric Eikenberg

This week was a celebratory one for the Everglades.

In front of a room of business leaders, environmentalists and local residents, Florida Senate President-Designate Joe Negron announced his plan to move forward with the much-needed Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir.

The Everglades Foundation and Audubon Florida have advocated for this critical Everglades restoration project for a number of years. This project is vital to re-connecting Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Keys.

By storing, cleaning and sending Lake Okeechobee water south, the project significantly reduces the amount of polluted water being dumped east and west.

MORE | Joe Negrons plan to reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges would need sugar land

Sen. Joe Negrons plan to stop Lake Okeechobee discharges must clean Everglades-bound water

We are in a state of emergency here in Florida because of the billions of gallons of lake water that have caused a severe outbreak of toxic algae in our coastal rivers and estuaries. The crisis has galvanized Floridians of all walks of life to come together with a simple message for our elected officials on what to do with Lake Okeechobee water  "Send it south."

The best way to reduce the outflows from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries is to increase the discharge to other outlets, particularly southward to the Everglades.

Prior to the construction of the Okeechobee Waterway and the Central and South Florida Project (C&SF Project) in the mid-1900s, nearly all of the outflow from Lake Okeechobee went south to the Everglades, and its level was controlled by the elevation of the southern rim of the lake. When the lake levels got higher than the elevation of the southern rim, water would spill out over the southern rim and flow southward.

After the construction of those projects, lake levels were lowered to protect the surrounding communities from flooding.

Today, whenever the lake rises above its regulation schedule, nearly all of the excess water is diverted to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries.

Decreasing the flows to the estuaries requires a fundamental retooling of the C&SF Project. This is why short-term actions do not result in much improvement and why multiple projects are needed to make significant improvements in the estuaries.

Fundamentally, we need to convey more water south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades, increase the storage to provide water supply to maintain flow in the Everglades, clean the water before it enters the Everglades and increase the flow through the Everglades by removing dams. This is what Everglades restoration is about.

In 2000, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. A key component of CERP is the EAA Reservoir President-Designate Negron announced yesterday. Thanks to Florida voters, we have the money for the project. In November 2014, 75 percent of Florida voters amended our state constitution allowing for dollars to go toward purchasing land south of the lake for Everglades restoration.

Negron is an Everglades champion. With his latest announcement, he has placed his political capital on the table in an effort to not only bring relief to his constituency along the east coast, but to begin a project that will provide significant benefits to America's Everglades  a national treasure.

We ask Negron's Senate and House colleagues to embrace this moment and work to alleviate the harmful dumping of toxic algae east and west. Let's send it south.

We look forward to working with President-Designate Negron, his legislative colleagues and all stakeholders in the Everglades restoration efforts.

Eric Draper is executive director of Audubon Florida, and Eric Eikenberg is CEO of the Everglades Foundation.
DALE NESEMAN/SPECIAL TO THE COURIER NEWSWEEKLY

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The following is a Guest Editorial written by a member of the Palm Beach North and Jupiter area community.

Since Christopher Norton first opened the doors of the Lighthouse Gallery in 1964, Tequesta has been home to a thriving cultural community here in northern Palm Beach County.

This year, the Lighthouse ArtCenter welcomes a new executive director and curator who bring a fresh sense of possibility and growth to "the best kept secret" in our area.

 Nancy Politsch, executive director, is a lifelong supporter of the arts. As an enthusiastic and talented fused glass artist and photographer, she comes to the ArtCenter with more than 30 years of finance and wealth management experience in Baltimore, Md.

Her involvement in the Maryland Hall Center for The Creative Arts in Annapolis informs and inspires her work.

Nancy's clear perspective on the importance of the arts is a powerful motivator for moving local arts programming forward. As she explains, "the Lighthouse ArtCenter focuses on enhancing life experiences through exhibits, educational classes, summer camps and special events for all ages.

"The ArtCenter is here to engage, educate, entertain and enrich our community."

Nancy brings an open-hearted and mindful focus to carrying the ArtCenter into the future with boundless creativity and success.

The ultimate goal, supported by the Board of Directors, is to fund a new building, which will allow the ArtCenter to expand programming within a central location.

 The Lighthouse ArtCenter also welcomes a new curator, Janeen Mason. A nationally recognized artist, speaker, environmental advocate and children's book author, Janeen brings a wealth of experience and passion to the galleries.

Having served as a member of the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, Citizens for Florida Arts and as founder of Solidarity Arts, Janeen is able to connect the vast cultural landscape of Florida with her endless network of artists and cultural leaders.

A lifetime in the arts has prepared her for the role of curator, and our community is benefiting from her rich experience and brilliance.

Working with her friend and internationally known deep sea explorer, Dr. Edie Widder, Janeen is beyond excited to present "Illuminating The Deep (The Fine Art of Exploration)" this season.

This exhibition explores and discovers some of the bizarre and wonderful creatures from our planet's last frontier. In light of the environmental crisis in South Florida, this exhibit will allow visitors to awaken to the fragile beauty of our endangered waterways. Inspired to protect what we love in solidarity, Janeen will work with youth groups and environmental initiatives to educate visitors in what can be done to preserve and protect the ocean and deep sea marine life for generations to come.

Cutting edge technology will be part of this "deep" experience, as visitors to the galleries will have the opportunity to paint with light on the newly released Google.

Tilt Brush, in virtual reality!

Through the years, locals have seen this nonprofit organization shift and change as generations of artists, administrators and board members bring their own sense of identity.

From the Lighthouse Gallery, to the Lighthouse Museum and School of Art, to the Lighthouse Center for the Arts, to the Lighthouse ArtCenter Museum, Gallery and School of Art  and now the Lighthouse ArtCenter Gallery and School of Art.

Evelyne Bates, who opened the doors of the gallery with Christopher Norton more than 50 years ago, is still a staff member at the ArtCenter and ensures that his original vision remains.

At the heart of this cultural institution are local artists and passionate patrons of the arts who believe in the crucial role that the arts play in our daily lives. As Pablo Picasso said, "The purpose of Art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls."

Stop by the ArtCenter to experience the transformative power of art, and to meet the incredible people who are bringing the best of arts and culture to northern Palm Beach County.

About the Lighthouse ArtCenter

The Lighthouse ArtCenter, a member-supported nonprofit organization, provides visual and performing arts for the community through unique collections, engaging exhibitions and culturalprograms, a dynamic School of Art and diverse outreach activities.

The Lighthouse ArtCenter Museum is located at 373 Tequesta Drive and the School of Art is located at 395 Seabrook Road in Tequesta. For exhibition or Museum information, please call 561-746-3101 or visitwww.lighthousearts.org.

Cynthia Trone

Director of education/Lighthouse ArtCenter School of Art

Mother of three/advocate for humanitarian, arts and environmental issues

Earning Master's Degree in Mindfulness Studies at Lesley University
BlackBerry on Tuesday made a play for security-conscious Android users with the announcement of its new DTEK50.

Running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and BlackBerry security software, the new unit is the most secure Android smartphone in the world, the company claimed.

Among the DTEK50s security features:

rapid patching for quick delivery of security updates;

DTEK software for monitoring a phones operating system and applications, and to alert a user whose privacy is at risk;

Hardware Root of Trust, which allows security to be baked into a device at the manufacturing stage;

secure boot process that monitors each stage of a phones startup to ensure none of the components in that process have been tampered with;

Android hardening to prevent an attack on a phone by scrambling an applications system memory; and

full disk encryption.

Who Cares About Security

Many Android users have concerns about the their phones security, according to BlackBerrys April survey of 8,000 consumers between the ages of 34 and 54.

Fifty percent of the respondents felt their phones were only somewhat secure, and only one in six knew about security patches for their phones, researchers found.

With an increase in cybercrime on smartphones, people need to recognize that the private details of their lives  where they live, their bank info, pictures of their kids  are at risk on their personal device, said BlackBerry Chief Security Officer David Kleidermacher.

You wouldnt leave the doors of your house unlocked at night. Having a smartphone that doesnt take your privacy seriously is the equivalent, he pointed out. Its equally important for businesses to protect their sensitive data from cyberattacks at all points of their mobile environment  from the device to the network and servers.

On Last Legs?

Apart from its security extras, the DTEK50 has a 5.2-inch HD display, supports SD cards with up to 2 terabytes of storage, and has two cameras  an 8-MP front facing shooter and a 13-MP rear facing unit with phase-detection autofocus and a dual-tone LED flash.

BlackBerry on Tuesday began accepting DTEK50 preorders at its online store. It sells for US$299, and through Aug. 8, anyone buying the phone there will receive a complementary BlackBerry Mobile Power Pack.

This phone is an interesting twist on BlackBerrys asset-light approach to hardware development, said IHS Markit analyst Wayne Lam. The physical hardware is essentially a rebranded Alcatel Idol 4 smartphone with BlackBerry security software.

BlackBerry once dominated the smartphone market it help create in the first decade of the century, but in recent years its hardware fortunes have steadily declined. This latest offering isnt likely to change that.

Theyre doing a number of right things with this phone, but its a tough sell, said Bob ODonnell, chief analyst at Technalysis Research.

There are some organizations for whom a secure Android device could be attractive, but people see BlackBerrys phone business on its last legs, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Not a Customer Magnet

The DTEK50s security and selling price are both strong points of the phone, but the list of features needed to attract consumers to a smartphone these days has more than just two items, maintained Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen.

For that reason, it will not attract new users in any significant way, but it could help keep existing users, he told TechNewsWorld.

Its entirely possible that the new phone will help BlackBerry stem the tide of customers leaving its platform for other devices, but I expect that attracting new customers will continue to be a challenge for the company, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

Thats especially true given the security improvements that competitors have instituted over the past 12 to18 months, he told TechNewsWorld.

Unaffected Trajectory

BlackBerrys competitors, who have more robust phones, already have started chipping away at the companys security corner of the market, noted Gartners Nguyen. Samsung, for example, has introduced Knox, which adds security to Android phones.

BlackBerry really doesnt have much to offer the smartphone market from a hardware perspective, maintained IHS Lam.

They have essentially vacated this space and are no longer a competitive hardware vendor. The use of Alcatel design on the DTEK50 is testament to that fact, he said.

Will the DTEK50 have a significant impact on BlackBerrys smartphone fortunes?

Will this phone make their trajectory more positive? Nguyen asked. Im highly skeptical of that.

That may not be a critical issue, however.

The companys leadership is already preparing for a future where software and services are more important to BlackBerrys bottom line than hardware, said Pund-ITs King.

Thats a rational approach to take in a smartphone market where the line between mainstream and premium handsets is getting thinner and thinner, he maintained.

I really think BlackBerry should just stop making hardware, suggested Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.

BlackBerrys CEO [John] Chen wants the press to stop asking and focusing on hardware sales, she told TechNewsWorld. The best way to do that is to stop making hardware.
Officials at the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures deposits in U.S. banks, made false statements to Congress and failed to make timely notification of serious cybersecurity breaches, according to a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technologys interim staff report.

FDIC CIO Lawrence Gross has created a toxic work environment, misled Congress, and retaliated against whistle-blowers, the report claims.

The FDIC deliberately evaded congressional oversight, it also says, further noting that the agency has a history of cybersecurity deficiencies that continue into the present.

The FDIC effectively controls the finances of the country, observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Every U.S. company and every U.S. citizen is at risk if the FDIC fails. I dont think theres any possibility of overstating how bad this is, he told the E-Commerce Times.

FDIC Breaches

The FDIC has experienced seven major cybersecurity breaches, starting in 2010, according to the interim report.

FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg in 2013 got a memo from the agencys then inspector general, which included notification of an advanced persistent threat, probably from the Chinese government, compromising an FDIC employees desktop computer in October 2010, according to the committee report. The memo reportedly noted that the same threat had compromised FDIC computers in 2011 and 2013.

FDIC Chairman Gruenberg testified that the FDICs IT department did not fully inform him or other members of the agencys board and senior executives about the breaches in 2010 and 2011.

This kind of thing is far more common in firms and government organizations than most realize, said Enderle noted. Typically, however, the top executive is still held accountable.

Gruenberg earlier this year notified committee Chairman Lamar Smith about a breach that took place in Florida last fall, saying that an employee leaving the FDIC inadvertently had downloaded sensitive information onto a thumb drive  including customer data for over 10,000 individuals  and taken it away.

The committee since has learned that the employee had downloaded more than 100,000 files, impacting more than 40,000 individuals and almost 31,000 banks and other entities.

The FDIC earlier this year notified the committee that an employee had obtained sensitive data of 44,000 individuals before leaving the agency. This spring, it retroactively reported five additional major breaches, including one in which a retiring employee took three portable storage devices containing nearly 50,000 individuals personal data.

In all, sensitive personal information of nearly 160,000 individuals likely was exposed, according to the committee report.

The FDIC decided to offer credit monitoring to the breaches victims this spring, following a hearing by the Oversight Subcommittee.

Holy cow, said Jim MacGregor, a principal analyst at Tirias Research.

The fact that a quasi-government agency let this go on  didnt report breaches, didnt react to them and didnt notify consumers  is terrible, he told the E-Commerce Times.

For an organization that oversees the banking sector to be hacked and react like this is completely unacceptable, MacGregor emphasized.

Who Should Carry the Can

The committees allegations showcase a level of mismanagement that should result in criminal charges for the CIO who put the nation at risk to protect their negligence, suggested Enderle.

This was likely due to the fact that security was underfunded, which put that CIO between a rock and a hard place, but they should have resigned and disclosed the breaches. [Blame] should also flow to Congress, because they have been repeatedly warned that their tendency to underfund security is putting the nation at high risk, he said.

The problem is, we punish the folks who were given an ugly choice but not those that put them there, Enderle added.

Threat Level

Theres always a degree of high drama when these kinds of things are aired in a public forum, but the threat is real, noted Mike Jude, a program manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

The revelations are especially troubling since were on the verge of an Internet of Things, he told the E-Commerce Times. Potentially every system, service and device will be network-connected and potentially vulnerable to attack.
Xiaomi on Wednesday unveiled the Mi Notebook Air, its challenger to the MacBook Air.

The 13.3-inch model is priced at US$750, compared to the MacBook Airs $1,050 price tag in China. The device is also available in a 12.5-inch version.

The Mi Notebook Air, which runs Windows 10, offers a number of features that arent available in a MacBook Air.

This is Xiaomis way of saying, Lets not let Apple, Lenovo, or the bigger manufacturers from Taiwan, like Acer and Asus, take this opportunity from us, said Jeff Orr, a senior practice director at ABI Research.

While Xiaomi is in the shadow of Apple from a brand perspective, they let Apple be that iconic brand, he told TechNewsWorld, and instead give people something like the functionality and experience of Apple at a more affordable price but in the Windows experience.

Under the Hood

The Mi Notebook Air has a full-sized backlit keyboard and an edge-to-edge glass screen with thin bezels.

The 13.3-inch model is gaming-ready, with a full HD display (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), an Intel Core i5 processor, Nvidias GeForce 940MX discrete graphics card, 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, and a SATA slot that can handle drives of up to 256 GB.

It weighs about 2.8 pounds. It has one USB-C port for charging, two USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI port and a 3.5mm audio port.

It has a 9-hour battery life, and the battery gets a 50 percent charge in 30 minutes, according to the company.

Xiaomis Mi Notebook Air

Users can play games like Dota 2 at 85 frames per second at full HD resolution, Xiaomi said.

The 12.5-inch Mi Notebook Air has a 12.9 mm frame that weighs about 2.4 pounds. It has an Intel Core i3 processor, 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.

It does not have discrete graphics. Battery life is said to be more than 11 hours, and its priced at about US$525.

State of the PC Market

There have been some recent encouraging signs in the global PC market.

Its sales decline has slowed, according to IDC. Worldwide PC shipments in Q2 totaled 62.4 million units, a 4.5 percent decline year over year. The firm had expected a 7.4 percent drop.

That sets up the market for improved performance in the second half of the year, IDC suggested.

Xiaomi may benefit from this expected slight upturn.

The opportunity in China is the younger middle class, ABIs Orr remarked. This kind of computing platform would be a centerpiece in their home environment, and Id expect multiple users rather than a single user.

Xiaomi is offering both lightness and great performance, and this will elevate them above local original device manufacturers, who make products for Taiwanese OEMs, Orr suggested. What those local ODMs lack that Xiaomi has is marketing and distribution.

Locking Horns With Apple?

Apples revenue from China fell 33 percent year over year, to $8.8 billion, and it no longer is the companys second-biggest market.

This laptop from Xiaomi mostly targets Lenovo, Asus and Acer customers rather than Apples, observed Eric Smith, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Its just sexier to call out Apple, he told TechNewsWorld.

In any event, Apple isnt going to try to open all the doors in China for its products, ABIs Orr remarked. The reason it wants to have Macs in China is because of the developer potential. If you can develop more Mac content and services that benefit the regional market, you create a demand and distinction for the Mac.
We're used to hearing about Google facing charges from antitrust authorities in Europe, but the search giant is also having a troubled time in Russia, where the country's national regulator has just fined the company $6.75 million for demanding hardware makers bundle its own services in Android devices.

Russia's Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) ruled last year that Google is "abusing" its position in the mobile market after a six-month investigation following a complaint from Yandex, the country's largest search engine and Google rival.

Google is facing the same charge from European regulators, who say that requiring manufacturers to pre-install Search on Android devices as a condition to license certain Google apps breaches antitrust rules.

Google appealed against the ruling in March, but Moscow's arbitration court stood by the FAS decision.

A FAS representative said the fine was determined as a share of Google Play's domestic sales in Russia. Local rules stipulate that fines represent 1 to 15 percent of a violator's revenue - from 2014, in this instance - but what percentage Google will have to hand over is unknown.

Google now has two months to pay the fine. It has also been ordered to change its agreements with device makers.

In a statement to Reuters, the company's press service said: "We have received a notification from FAS about the imposed fine. We will familiarize ourselves with the ruling before deciding on further actions. In the meantime, we continue to talk to all invested parties to help consumers, device manufacturers and developers thrive on Android in Russia."

Google isn't the only US tech firm facing antitrust charges in Russia. The FAS is investigating Apple over allegations the Cupertino company may have been involved in fixing prices for iPhones - something it says is left up to Russian resellers.

Image credit: Gts / Shutterstock
A federal appeals court overturned a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission that pushes for the expansion of city-owned broadband services into areas that are not being serviced by commercial providers.

The decision is seen as a victory for private companies that provide internet services and a setback for the FCC and its chairman, Tom Wheeler.

The ruling involves a dispute between the FCC and the states of North Carolina and Tennessee over the expansion of the high-speed broadband internet services that have been established in their respective cities of Wilson and Chattanooga to adjacent areas.

The two states have passed laws to prevent such an expansion, with lawmakers arguing that commercial broadband providers will find it challenging to compete with internet services that are subsidized by the local government.

The FCC, however, voted last year to override the laws passed by North Carolina and Tennessee, prompting the two states to turn to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to review the ruling of the FCC.

According to the appeals court, the FCC preempted state laws with its ruling to override the regulations. The action by the FCC, according to the court, requires a clear statement of such an authority within federal laws, and there are none to show.

The city of Wilson constructed the foundation of a fiber-optic network in 2005 to connect all city-owned facilities, which was later expanded to a municipal broadband network known as Greenlight. The city is offering internet, phone and cable services that it claims are cheaper than those offered by private companies, with Wilson also providing a free Wi-Fi network to its whole downtown area.

The city of Chattanooga has also offered high-speed broadband internet services to both residential and commercial customers within a 600-square-mile area, with about 63,000 subscribing to the service.

Residents in nearby communities to these two cities have requested to be able to sign up for the services, but the overturning of the FCC's ruling will make it harder for such a thing to happen.

Wheeler criticized the ruling, stating that it halts promises of jobs, investments and opportunities to other areas that were given to North Carolina and Tennessee due to the community broadband services.

The court decision is not the end of the fight, however, as it only meant that the FCC could not overturn laws passed by states regarding municipal broadband services. If Congress can be convinced to rewrite the laws regarding city-owned broadband internet, things will change.

As such, the upcoming United States presidential elections will play a huge role in determining the future of the issue. If Hillary Clinton wins, she is expected to continue the efforts of outgoing President Barack Obama to promote the expansion of municipal broadband.

In other recent news, the FCC ordered telecommunications provider AT&T to pay out $7.75 million for enabling a phone scam that charged customers about $9 per month in exchange for absolutely nothing. The businesses that ran the scam were able to do so for four and a half years, with AT&T allowing the scammers to charge customers through telephone bills and then receiving a fee for each of the charges placed.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a blog post by the White House, it was announced that citizens are now allowed to send their messages to President Barack Obama with the help of a chatbot on Facebook Messenger.

Every night, as part of a daily routine since he took office back in 2009, President Obama reads 10 letters that citizens sent to him. Reading these letters have allowed him to largely keep in touch with what is happening around the United States from the perspective of the country's people.

"It ends up being a powerful motivator for me," Obama has said about the practice, which has been done before by the presidents of the United States going back to Thomas Jefferson, and as early as the 1880s, the White House began receiving phone calls.

Messages that will be sent to the official White House page on Facebook through Messenger will be among the 10 messages that will be considered to be sent to President Obama for his nightly readings.

To be able to send a message to President Obama, users will first have to access the official Facebook page of the White House. From there, users can then click on the Message option that will bring up a chatbox. After clicking on the Let's Go option, users can then type out their message. Afterward, they will be requested to provide contact information, and then they can finally send the message out.

A chatbot will be guiding users throughout the whole process, simulating a conversation that leads to users sending messages to the Office of Presidential Correspondence, which is the department that collects and processes all the messages that citizens send to President Obama.

The chatbot does not really do a whole lot in the process, but according to the Washington Post's Andrea Peterson, using the chatbot turned out to be actually more complicated than simply sending an email to the White House, which is a method to reach the President that has been available to citizens since 1994.

Nevertheless, the addition of a Facebook Messenger option to send a message to President Obama shows how times changed, as people are now increasingly using digital communication tools over other forms. Taking advantage of Facebook's chatbot features for Messenger is an easy decision for the White House in that regard.

What is surprising, however, is that the White House embraced the new Facebook feature, without any unnecessary gimmicks, just months after the company announced that chatbots were being released to Messenger. This shows the commitment of President Obama in keeping in touch with citizens through all means possible, and his involvement in technological advances is one of the legacies that he will leave once he steps down from office in January 2017.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The next-gen version of Huawei's robust Mate 8 phablet  the much-rumored Mate 9  is in the news again. The Android-powered smartphone has been spotted on a benchmarking site, which offers a peek into the handset's specs.

Huawei is poised to release new devices at the upcoming IFA 2016 and has a press event slated for Sept. 1. The OEM is widely rumored to be working on the successor of its Mate 8 phablet, but it's not likely to be unwrapped at the IFA 2016.

This news was confirmed in June by Bruce Lee, Huawei's Mobile Product manager. Lee revealed that the Mate 9's debut at the IFA 2016 would be too early for the company.

Now, a mysterious Huawei smartphone  believed to be the Mate 9  has surfaced on the GFXBench database and reveals the upcoming handset's specs.

The GFXBench listing was first spotted by Dutch publication Telefoonabonnement on Aug. 10.

"The above benchmark we have discovered today and looking at the specifications, it could hardly be otherwise than that this should go Huawei's latest flagship (translated)," asserted the publication.

The listing of the impending Huawei flagship points to a 5.9-inch Full HD screen with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels for the device. Under the hood, the Mate 9 will supposedly house an octa-core HiSilicon Hi3660 processor, which is clocked at 2.6 GHz. The chipset's higher speed seems to suggest it is more robust than the Kirin 955, which clocks in at 2.5 GHz.

In April, Tech Times reported that analyst Pan Jiutang had noted that the Huawei Mate 9 would possibly be powered by the Kirin 960 SoC, which would support CDMA and LTE Category 12 speeds. The benchmark points to a Mali-T880 GPU for the Mate 9. A previous leak from Huawei vendor Gizok also hinted at a Kirin 960 SoC, but coupled with a Mali-T900 GPU for the Mate 9.

The listing also points to the Huawei smartphone housing 4 GB of RAM, as well as 64 GB of on-board storage.

The benchmark reveals an 11-megapixel primary camera (read: 12-megapixel) for the smartphone, with 4K video support. The Mate 9 will also come with a 7-megapixel (read: 8-megapixel) camera for selfie lovers. Previous rumors and estimates have hinted at a dual 20-megapixel rear-facing camera for the Huawei smartphone.

The Mate 9's listing also reveals that the smartphone will come pre-loaded with the latest Android 7.0 Nougat OS.

Considering that Android N will be released by Google in August, the Mate 9 could be one of the first devices from the company to boast the new OS.

A possibility exists that Huawei could launch the Mate 9 flagship in time for the holiday season or the end of this year, as estimated by analysts.

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Apple is scheduled to launch its highly awaited iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus at an unannounced event in September. Analysts predict that the next-generation iPhone may not perform as well compared to its predecessors and will instead disappoint.

Newly launched iPhones need no selling. Apple normally includes top-end features in its latest iPhones and iFans are hoping for the same in the next-gen iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus.

Rumors of the iPhone 7 had started surfacing soon after the launch of the iPhone 6s in fall 2015. Some speculations suggest that the iPhone 7 will have 3 GB of RAM and run on Apple's new A10 processor.

Customers look for a good camera in smartphones and iPhones do not disappoint. Apple bumped up the cameras of the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus and now rumors hint that the iPhone 7 will have a better camera. The next-gen iPhone may be equipped with a dual-lens camera, which will improve the quality of images taken by the handset.

The iPhone 7 could also be waterproof and may be available in a blue hue. In addition, rumors claim that the iPhone 7 will have a pressure-sensitive home button and will not include an audio jack.

All these features are rumored and Apple has not confirmed any of these. Although Apple may include some novel features in next iPhone, reports suggest that the company is saving major updates for its 10th anniversary iPhone, dubbed iPhone 8, which is estimated to be launched in 2017.

Market experts have commented that the upcoming iPhone 7 may not live up to the hype.

"Right now everyone is looking forward to the iPhone 7. ... I think it can only disappoint," says Steve Grasso, director of institutional sales at Stuart Frankel.

Previously, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also predicted that iPhone 7 will have better features than the iPhone 6s, but the sales of the new phones will not be as high as its predecessor. Kuo added that the iPhone 7 looks similar in design to the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6s, so nothing is really exciting about an old look with a few tweaks here and there.

According to the Mobile Web Intelligence Report Q2 2016 [PDF], which measures the popularity of brands by analyzing web traffic, Apple lost web traffic in 18 out of 20 countries in Q2 of 2016 compared to the same quarter of 2015.

Apple's web traffic reduced by 4 percent in the U.S., 6 percent in Germany and 10 percent in the UK. On the other hand, Samsung's web traffic increased in 18 out of 20 countries during the same period.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple was placed second in the top five smartphone vendors list based on global shipments for Q1 and Q2 of 2016, only after Samsung. However, Apple sales declined in both the quarters.

"Apple's second quarter saw the Cupertino-based giant ship 40.4 million iPhones, representing a 15.0% year-over-year decline from the 47.5 million units shipped last year," says IDC.

Although market observers believe that the iPhone 7 may disappoint customers, it does not mean that Apple will be doomed. Apple has a huge fan base and there's a good chance the iPhone 7 will still attract many customers across the world.

Only time will tell if the next-generation iPhone 7 will live up to customer expectations.

Photo: Karlis Dambrans | Flickr

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The excitement surrounding the LG V20 is growing as its September debut draws nearer. The South Korean company has given consumers another feature to look forward to on the upcoming flagship  Quad DAC, digital to analog converter.

The company revealed on Aug. 11 that it has teamed up with ESS Technology to bring a superior audio experience to the LG V20. LG shared that the flagship will be the world's first to boast support for a 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC, which will bring premium audio experience to a smartphone.

"We are extremely excited that our Quad DAC technology will be featured in the V20, LG's latest flagship smartphone for consumers who demand the best media experience. As a technology more typically available in high-end audio equipment, Quad DAC on the V20 will make users feel as if they are carrying around a professional home-audio system on their smartphone," noted Robert Blair, CEO and president of ESS Technology.

Quad DAC will essentially facilitate clear and crisp sound, which can be equated to the sound quality of a live performance. The sound quality produced by Quad DAC is superior compared to those created by a regular DAC. This is because the ambient noise levels get reduced nearly 50 percent in Quad DAC.

The predecessor LG V10 also touted 32-bit DAC courtesy of ESS and found favor with critics. As technology evolves, LG understands the importance of imbibing features that will lure consumers. LG Electronics' President Juno Cho revealed that as the smartphone space continued to evolve, consumers were beginning to look for more massive displays and superior processors on their handset.

With multimedia consumption on the increase, LG believes that creating a device that offers a superior audio quality is a natural step. Therefore, the company is persevering to bring the best possible audio experience in its LG V20 and not limiting its offering to a robust processor and a big screen.

The LG V20 will be the harbinger of many firsts in the smartphone space. In August, LG spilled the beans that its impending flagship will be the first Android-powered device to come with the new Android 7.0 Nougat operating system out of the box.

Now a user agent from LG Korea has reaffirmed the same to TimesNews. The user agent's details not only showed off the latest Android build running on the LG V20, but also revealed that the handset will sport the model number LG-H910.

"The LG V20 with model number LG-H910 has been spotted in the user agent details running the upcoming Android 7.0 Nougat OS," notes the publication.

Considering the LG V10 sported the LG-H900 and LG-H901 model numbers for the AT&T and T-Mobile variants, the information seems plausible.

The LG V20 is scheduled to debut on Sept. 6 in San Francisco and will likely hit the shelves in Q4 2016.

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U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick of San Francisco ruled that a legal action where Twitter was accused of offering material support to ISIS is groundless.

The lawsuit debuted in January, with the main accusation describing that the numerous ISIS-linked accounts on Twitter are a powerful material support for the terrorist group, and sought to hold the social network accountable for an ISIS-linked attack.

The action was started by the family of Lloyd Fields, a contractor who died in an ISIS-linked attack in Jordan. The suit asks Twitter for damages for Fields' life, arguing that ISIS manages an important part of its foreign recruitment policy via the social network.

According to the suit, Twitter violates the Anti-Terrorism Act by knowingly allowing ISIS to use its platform as a "tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits."

The suit underlines that during last year alone, the organization convinced at least 30,000 foreign actors join its ranks through ISIS Twitter accounts.

The judge dismissed [PDF] the arguments of the plaintiffs, saying that their reasoning is faulty and their data does not make Twitter a culprit. The judge allowed the plaintiffs, in the next 20 days, to present an improved version of the complaint.

The verdict underlines that Twitter behaves like "a publisher of information provided by another information content provider."

Under the section 230(c), the confidential nature of Twitter's Direct Message is in accordance with the law.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, or the Safe Harbor clause, is one of the cruxes of the matter in the lawsuit.

The clause was designed to guard online services from liability for speech published on their network. For example, a user who posts aggressive comment on the page of a newspaper can be held responsible, but the website (news organization) cannot be held accountable thanks to Section 230.

The situation with platforms such as Twitter and Facebook is precisely the same, as the social networks get immunity from all charges for what happens inside their networks.

The lawsuit against Twitter argued that the platform's continuous provision of material support for ISIS can be compared to a newspaper that chooses to publish a particular reporter.

The judge rejected that argument as well, ruling that "courts have repeatedly described publishing activity under section 230(c) as including decisions about what third-party content may be posted online." To support his decision, the judge cites the case Klayman versus Zuckerberg and Doe versus Myspace.

"As horrific as these deaths were ... Twitter cannot be treated as a publisher or speaker of ISIS's hateful rhetoric and is not liable under the facts alleged," says Judge Orrick.

Twitter has been in hot water over its incapacity to consistently locate and disrupt ISIS-linked accounts. The company repeatedly fought the criticism, pointing out that it did pull the plug on 26,000 ISIS accounts in March 2016 alone.

Meanwhile, Brookings Institute scholar Benjamin Wittes crafted a complex argument why Twitter should be held accountable both criminal and civil grounds. Only time will tell if his reasoning will find appeal with the courts.

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Samsung Electronics has come under fire from family members of employees, accusing the South Korea-based OEM of being responsible for poisoning its workers.

The information comes courtesy of an investigative report from Associated Press's Youkyung Lee. The report also details that a safety group for workers has managed to document more than 200 cases of serious diseases in ex-employees who were deployed in the company's LCD and semiconductor factories.

According to the report, family members of Samsung employees have disclosed that nearly 76 officers have died due to exposure to poisonous chemicals. These toxic chemicals are used when producing gadgets for the tech company.

The documentation reveals that Samsung employees as young as those in their 20s and 30s fell victim to illnesses such as lymphoma, multiple sclerosis, lupus and leukemia as a result of exposure to the harmful chemicals while working in the factories.

Even though Samsung employees have died due to the hazardous environment in its factories, the company is reportedly not forthcoming with information to employees as it will compromise its trade secrets.

Moreover, affected employees seeking a compensation from the South Korean government are unable to make any headway, as the government is allegedly making things difficult for the affected employees. Additionally, the government is also being accused of permitting Samsung to withhold details on the toxic exposure from its employees.

Reportedly, the father of a 22-year-old Samsung employee was offered 1 billion won, which is equivalent to $864,000, if he does not pursue the case. His daughter, however, died due to leukemia. Another ex-employee shared that she lost her vision post being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The worker revealed that the company did not bother to educate the factory employees on the dangers of certain chemicals so that they could be more vigilant.

A worker in Samsung's chip manufacturing unit who developed breast cancer protested that Samsung "brought uninformed kids from the countryside and acted like money is everything, using them as if they were disposable cups."

This is not the first time Samsung has been accused of deplorable work practices. In January 2013, a hydrofluoric acid leak occurred in one of the company's plants. The incident resulted in the death of an employee. While the South Korean government started an inquiry into the incident and its alleged "cover-up"  because Samsung did not report it until after 10 hours  the company was eventually only fined for inaction.

In light of the current accusations, representatives from Samsung assert that the company is not withholding any detail illegally and is complying with any judicial decision. Samsung also stresses that employees' safety is its utmost priority.

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Bill Maris, the founder and CEO of Alphabet's GV (formerly known as Google Ventures), is leaving the company.

GV is the venture capital investment arm of Alphabet, which was founded in 2009. GV has made investments in many companies such as ride-hailing service Uber, health food company Impossible Foods, discount online retailer Jet.com, which was recently acquired by Walmart for $3.3 billion, and more.

During an interview with Recode, Maris revealed that he had spent about eight years in GV and he is leaving to spend time with his family.

"I have an 11-month-old son and a wife. And I legitimately want to spend more time with them. It's mission accomplished for me. Eight years is longer than I thought I would spend," says Maris. "GV is seen as a premier venture capital operation around the world. If it weren't in great shape, that would be the wrong time to leave. I'm leaving because everything is great."

When asked if he was leaving because of changes in Google and Alphabet, Maris suggested that the restructuring had little impact on GV.

David Krane, the managing partner at GV, will replace Maris. Krane served as the director of global communications and public affairs at Google for about 10 years before joining GV in 2010. Krane was promoted to the position of managing director of GV about two years ago and he is expected to be the permanent CEO of the company.

"I'm so proud of the GV team and the work we've done together. I'm excited to see what they do from here," says Maris. "GV is in great hands and I'm looking forward to a little time off and seeing what the future holds."

GV's focus on five sectors namely life sciences, consumer, enterprise, robotics data and artificial intelligence will not change under Krane. However, Krane is expected to increase GV's investments in consumer products and services.

In the last few months, several high-profile Alphabet executives have parted ways with the company.

Tony Fadell, the founder and CEO of home-automation unit Nest, left Alphabet in June.

Chris Urmson, the chief technology officer and former director of Google's self-driving car division, left the project at a very crucial juncture. Urmson did not give a clear reason of leaving the organization.

Maris says that he does not have any new career plan as yet. However, TechCrunch cites sources familiar with the matter and reports that Maris has several ideas, but will take some time off to recharge.

Photo: TechCrunch | Flickr

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Here's a reason to look up tonight: the Perseid meteor shower.

The Perseids actually show up every year in August, but 2016 is a special year because an outburst has been predicted with double the usual amount of meteors seen per hour.

"Under perfect conditions, rates could soar to 200 meteors per hour," said Bill Cooke from NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office.

The last Perseid outburst was documented in 2009.

The Perseid meteor shower happens when the Earth runs into debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years. The last time the comet passed by the sun was in 1992.

However, what will be lighting up the sky from Thursday evening to Friday at dawn are not leftovers from this most recent pass. Rather, this year's Perseids will be coming from debris from the Comet Swift-Tuttle's trip from 1862 or earlier.

Meteors range in size, but most are about as big as a grain of sand. It's expected that numerous small bursts will be visible in the sky, with the Perseids zooming by at about 133,000 miles per hour and bursting some 60 miles overhead.

To view this year's Perseid meteor shower, it will be crucial to find a spot with a clear view of the whole night's sky, preferably where the skies are dark. This may be difficult for those in the city, so Jackie Faherty of the American Museum of Natural History suggests looking for the next-best thing: a spot with a wide, unobstructed view.

Take note that moonlight and weather can obscure views, but the best time to watch the spectacle is between midnight and dawn of Friday, Aug. 12. Allow your eyes to adjust to the dark, giving it about 45 minutes. Just lie back and look straight up. No need to look in any particular direction.

According to NASA, while the Perseid meteor shower will peak Aug. 11 and 12, there may also be increased activity from Aug. 12 to 13.

In the event that weather and the moonlight get in the way of the view, you can still catch the Perseids online, as NASA will be live-streaming the event Thursday and Friday starting 10 p.m. EDT.

In addition to NASA's Ustream account, Slooh will also be broadcasting the Perseid meteor shower live from an observatory in the Canary Islands. During the broadcast, astronomers will also be on hand to talk more about the celestial event and to answer queries from the public.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Check Call-Drop Rates Via TRAI's MySpeed Portal | TechTree.com

Dropping calls, bad network connectivity, and fluctuating call quality are common problems which virtually every Indian has faced. These symptoms are rather indicative of the fact that India, despite being one of the best markets for telecom and IT growth, cannot live up to the expectations of robust infrastructure.

However, consumers can now be relieved to know that they can check out the quality of calls, rate of call drops, and network coverage at any location, via TRAI's newly launched 'MySpeed' web portal.

According to a recently published report on TOI, during the launch of the site, the Chairman of TRAI, R S Sharma said, "It is a transparency portal where consumers will get information on all parameters of quality of service (QoS) including call drops, coverage or call quality." He then described the inner functionalities, adding, The information will be available in different granuality... overall, at an aggregate level and even down to the tower level. Consumers, in a particular location, can see the number of towers around the area, see the call drop rate, and what is the performance of individual service providers on different parameters in that area."

The way this works is; one can go to the site, check the service providers active in each area, check their towers and call quality, and the drop rate of each tower. On a Pan-India level, the portal is useful for getting information on network utilization trends, BTS Density and also the trends of call drops. More than just the consumers, this site will help the telecom companies, as they can get detailed information of the service quality.

With the news site up and running, R S Sharma spoke about what is different and more advanced this time around, "This data was being received earlier also. The only difference is that data is being received digitally and electronically from service providers so the delay is much less. Second, it is now being put up in a visual form on the portal to give a clear idea on what are the quality of service parameters for various service providers." He was also quick to reveal that the TRAI will also be launching an initiative which will measure consumer satisfaction levels for call quality, so that each user could rate the call quality based on their experiences. This ought to do a fair bit in measuring real on-ground performance of telecom service providers.

[Image via Trak.in]

TAGS: TRAI, MySpeed, telecom
Elecciones presidenciales

El pais mas grande de la region elige este domingo a su proximo mandatario. Tras no lograr hacerse con la mayoria de los votos en los comicios del 2 de octubre, Luis Inacio "Lula" Da Silva y Jair Bolsonaro se disputan la Presidencia en una balotaje que enfrenta tendencias y valores contrapuestas. Con equipos en el terreno, Telam presenta una cobertura exclusiva con noticias, analisis, opinion, fotos y mas.
O Globo will broadcast the last presidential debate on Friday night. Voting intention surveys show that Lula da Silva is the favorite to win the ballot. | Read More
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Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) The southern Taiwan city of Kaohsiung has seen its second indigenous dengue fever case since May 1, the Centers for Disease Control said Thursday, urging residents take precautions, although the number of such cases is much smaller compared with the same period in previous years.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust has reportedly spent US$12 million increasing its stake in Vietnam Enterprise Investment Ltd (VEIL), local media reported.

The trust now controls 11.34 percent of one of the oldest and largest Vietnam-focused funds, news website VnExpress reported on Wednesday.

With a total asset of $900 million, VEIL now owns many of Vietnam's blue chip stocks such as technology conglomerate FPT, mobile retailer The Gioi Di Dong, dairy giant Vinamilk and major lender Vietcombank.

Established in 2006, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust functions as the manager of endowment assets for philanthropic Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which distributes money to grantees, according to the foundation's website.

The trust foundation's asset was estimated at $39.5 billion at the end of last year, including endowment from billionaire Warren Buffet and shares in his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway.
Vietnam plans to introduce e-visa next year as part of the government's effort to attract more tourists and boost the tourism industry.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Tuesday that the government will allocate up to VND200 billion (US$9 million) for developing the e-visa system.

He asked the public security ministry to make sure the system will start operating on Jan. 1, 2017.

The ministries of finance, public security and foreign affairs are assigned with working out the e-visa fees and ensure that foreign tourists are warmly welcomed in the country.

The prime minister approved the establishment of a tourism development fund to support promotion activities, develop products and human resources, and enhance the sectors institutional capacity.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visits a souvenir shop in Hoi An. Photo: VNA

He also asked relevant ministries to reinforce the management of the tourism environment to "turn tourism into a spearhead economic sector."

The World Economic Forum ranked Vietnam 75th out of 141 countries in its 2015 report of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.

Currently, a Vietnamese tourist visa can be obtained upon arrival at the country's international airports, or through Vietnamese embassies or consulates.

Vietnam has waived visas for tourists from 22 countries and territories.

The industry served 5.5 million foreign visitors in the first half of this year, a rise of 24 percent year on year, together with 38.2 million domestic tourists.

Vietnam targets to attract 10 million to 10.5 million international visitors by 2020, with tourism revenue reaching $18 billion to $19 billion each year.
A pangolin rescued from traffickers is returned to the wild in northern Vietnam. Photo courtesy of the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program

Wildlife activists in Vietnam on Wednesday released 20 pangolins back to the wild after they were rescued from traffickers in June.

Forest rangers in the northern province of Ninh Binh saved the animals on June 19 just in time. They were transported in tight nets from Hue in central Vietnam and could have ended up in local restaurants.

The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program (CPCP), a cooperation between the national not-for-profit organization Save Vietnams Wildlife and Cuc Phuong National Park in the province, had taken care of the animals until they proved fit enough to go back to nature.

Some of the pangolins gained between one to 1.5 kilograms, members of the program said.

This is a positive sign for pangolin conservation in Vietnam, because the chance of the animal surviving in confined spaces is low, Tran Quang Phuong, a manager of the program, told news website VnExpress.

Local conservationists have repeatedly criticized a rule that requires animals seized from traffickers to be kept as crime evidence for quite a long time. They requested that the animals be released immediately to their habitat.

At least 30 pangolins received by CPCP died last year due to the long process. At another rescue center in Hanoi, 300 pangolins have also died in similar circumstances, including 80 this year.

Vietnam bans the trade of pangolins and any products made from the animal.

The animals meat is considered a delicacy by some while its scales are used to make boots and shoes and to treat conditions such as psoriasis and poor circulation in traditional Chinese medicine. Such practices have not been backed by adequate scientific evidence.
A reservation confirmation that Vi Tran has sent to a client

New South Wales police on Thursday said that they have arrested a woman accused of swindling at least A$360,000 (over US$250,000) from hundreds of Vietnamese students in Australia in a massive air ticket scam.

The 24-year-old Vietnamese woman was arrested at her home in Petersham, southwest of Sydneys central business district, a police statement said, without mentioning her name.

The woman, who is charged with 10 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, was granted conditional bail. She is expected to appear before a local court on February 3.

Police on January 7 started investigating an air ticket scam after receiving reports from hundreds of students.

Initial investigation found that the woman, known on Facebook as Vi Tran, cheated at least 317 Vietnamese students, who wanted to buy Vietnam Airlines tickets to return home for the coming Tet Lunar New Year holidays.

Tran offered to help them book the tickets at cheap prices. Each student would receive a reservation code from Tran after sending money to her account.

However, Tran allegedly canceled the bookings soon later, before the tickets were officially issued.

Many students in Melbourne and Sydney were denied when trying to check in at airports.

"Some people, they go to the airport and they check in and it says their ticket is invalid," Minh Nguyen, a course co-ordinator within the student group, told Fairfax Media in Australia earlier this month.

Many Vietnamese who are victims of a massive air ticket scam come to report their cases to the New South Wales Police. Photo credit: Emily Tran Seeking answers, students of the group visited the woman's home in Petersham. However, the woman could not be found.

On Monday, a scanned copy of a letter from the NSW Police Force was posted on the Vietnamese Dynamic Students Facebook page, asking for "all people who believe they are victims of this fraud" to contact the police.

Nguyen said he and his friends were "quite happy" to hear the woman had been charged.

"Hopefully they recover what we have lost. Maybe later this afternoon we will try to get in contact with the police to find out the next stage," he told Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday.
A gate that discharges household waste together with storm rain into the sea of Da Nang. Photo: Nguyen Dong/VnExpress

Officials in the coastal city of Da Nang have admitted that household waste has been discharged directly into the sea through a combined sewer system that also handles storm water.

The disclosure came days after local media reported that a large amount of waste had been discharged straight into the sea, near the outfall gates of the city's apparently inadequate sewer system.

Le Quang Nam, director of the environment department, at a meeting Wednesday said that household sewage has been carried directly into the sea through 29 gates along Nguyen Tat Thanh Street and 16 others on Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Streets.

He said the city uses a combined sewer system, in which household sewage is pumped into the same drains that receive storm water.

The city has installed a couple of sewage treatment plants to deal with the waste. Theoretically, only storm water will be discharged without treatment, but the system has failed during heavy downpours and overflows.

It has been going on for many years, Nam said, as cited by news website VnExpress.

He does not reveal the amount of sewage that ends up every day on local beaches, some of the most popular in Vietnam and the region.

People living around Thanh Khe Beach, which stretches 4.3 kilometers with nine outfall gates, said the beach is stinky with all kinds of trash, including dead animals.

Officials have pledged to come up with a more effective sollution to tackle the problem.

Da Nang is one of the favorite tourism destinations in Vietnam thanks to its beautiful scenery and luxury coastal resorts.

The city, the third largest in Vietnam, received 1.25 million foreign visitors last year, up 30 percent from 2014.
A reservation confirmation that Vi Tran has sent to a client Police in New South Wales on Thursday said they are looking into a massive air ticket scam in which a Vietnamese woman has been accused of swindling more than A$400,000 (US$280,000) from hundreds of Vietnamese students in Australia.

Initial investigation found that the woman, known as Vi Tran, cheated at least 317 Vietnamese students, who wanted to buy Vietnam Airlines tickets to return home for the coming Tet Lunar New Year holidays.

Tran offered to help them book the tickets at cheap prices. Each student would receive a reservation code from Tran after sending money to her account.

However, Tran allegedly canceled the bookings soon later, before the tickets were officially issued.

Many students in Melbourne and Sydney were denied when trying to check in at airports.

Mai Hoang, one of the victims, said she had paid a total of AU$8,000 to buy tickets for herself and her family. She only realized that she was scammed one day before her travel.

Tran has reportedly closed her Facebook account and turned off her mobile phone after information about her scam was spread among the overseas students community.

It is believed that Tran started her business last year, offering Vietnam Airlines tickets at lower prices than usual. Her clients said they know nothing else about her besides her name and bank accounts.

Police said they are searching for her and finding out if she has any accomplice.
More than 100 police officers are hunting for a suspect in the murder of four people, including three children, in a mountainous area in northern Vietnam, authorities said.

Police of Lao Cai Province said the suspect is identified as Tan Lao Lo, 24, who lived in near the victims' house in Bat Xat District.

Lo is believed to have fled after he allegedly murdered 22-year-old Tan Ta May, her two children and her niece on Tuesday.

May's husband Tan Ong Nai was at work when the crime took place.

Tan Ong Nai, whose wife and children were found murdered on Tuesday, and his mother Cheo Mui Coi. Photo: Vu Minh

Their bodies were found hidden in streams and ponds near their house.

According to the police, May and her niece Tan Thuy Chi, 6, were battered to death, possibly with a log of wood. Her two children, including a newborn, were drowned to death.

The suspect also allegedly set up in the victims' house a booby trap with a loaded gun rigged to fire when the front door was opened.

A booby trap was set up in the victims' house using a gun rigged to fire when the front door opens

About VND14 million in cash was missing, Nai, the husband, said.

According to Nai, his family and Lo had conflict a few years ago when Lo was caught sexually abusing May.

The police have set up many check points in Bat Xat, as well as tightened monitoring cross-border paths to China.

They warned that Lo may be armed with a home-made shotgun.
A photo from the Facebook page of Hong Quang Minh, or Minh Beo, shows him posing at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat Airport on March 18, before his flight to the United States

A Vietnamese comedian has been arrested in the US on charges of sexual offenses involving a minor while he was on tour in California, local media reported on Tuesday.

Hong Quang Minh, 39, is now in Orange County Jail and slated to appear in court this April 15, according to news website Zing.

His bail was set at US$1 million.

News website Orange County Register reported that Minh was arrested last Thursday. He now faces charges of oral copulation of a minor, attempting to commit a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, and meeting with a minor with the intent to engage in a lewd conduct.

If convicted, he could be jailed for up to five years and eight months and face mandatory lifetime sex offender registration, Orange County Register reported, citing the district attorney's office.

Speaking with Thanh Nien, the actor's manager also confirmed his arrest, saying that he may have been drugged that day. His family in the US will hire an attorney to defend him, the manager said.

Minh, better known for his stage name Minh Beo or Fatty Minh, started his month-long tour around the US on March 18. He was set to perform for Vietnamese communities in different cities.

In its report, the Orange County news website cited prosecutors as saying Minh met a group of dancers of a talent show at a local radio station on March 20 and told them he was hosting auditions for a video project.

When a boy arrived for an audition three days later, the actor allegedly abused him sexually, according to the news report.

The boy later reported the incident to local police who launched an investigation.

Minh also attempted to set up a meeting with an undercover officer who posed as a minor to approach him, the website said, citing prosecutors.

He is accused of intending to commit a sexual assault at the meeting and was subsequently arrested.
A touring Vietnamese comedian arrested in the US in March has been found guilty on two felony counts on Tuesday, including sexually assaulting a minor.

Hong Quang Minh, who goes by the stage name Minh Beo, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony count of oral copulation of a minor and one felony count of attempting to commit a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14.

A press release from the Orange County District Attorney said Minh is expected to be sentenced to 18 months in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration on December 16.

The 38-year-old, a well-known entertainer, reportedly started his month-long tour around the US on March 18. He was set to perform for Vietnamese communities in different cities.

On March 23, he reportedly assaulted a 16-year-old boy when the latter arrived for the audition. The victim reported to police after that.

The next day, he allegedly attempted to set up a meeting with the intent of committing a lewd act with an undercover officer who posed as a minor to approach him, the website said. He was arrested after that.
Hong Quang Minh appears in court for an arraignment hearing with his attorney, Do Phu, at the jail in Santa Ana on April 15, 2016. Photo credit: The Orange Country Register

A Vietnamese comedian who was arrested in the US on charges of sexual offenses pleaded not guilty in his arraignment on Friday, US media reported.

Hong Quang Minh, the 38-year-old well-known entertainer who goes by the stage name Minh Beo, denied allegations that he molested a boy during a dance-video audition in Huntington Beach.

At the first hearing, Superior Court Judge Craig Robison approved the US$1 million bail  10 times higher than the normal amount for the charges  despite protests from Minhs attorney, who called the amount unfair.

The attorney, Do Phu, said his client has agreed to surrender his passport and wear an electronic ankle monitor to assure he will not leave the country.

I dont think he would flee... He loves being in America, Phu was quoted by news website The Orange County Register as saying after the hearing.

He said Minhs family is trying to raise sufficient funds so his $1 million bail can be posted.

Minh was arrested on March 24 and detained at Orange County Jail. He faces charges of oral copulation of a minor, attempting to commit a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, and meeting with a minor with the intent to engage in a lewd conduct.

He reportedly started his month-long tour around the US on March 18. He was set to perform for Vietnamese communities in different cities.

In its report, the Orange County news website cited prosecutors as saying Minh met a group of dancers of a talent show at a local radio station on March 20 and told them he was hosting auditions for a video project.

When a boy arrived for an audition three days later, the actor allegedly abused him sexually, according to the news report.

The boy later reported the incident to local police who launched an investigation.

Minh also attempted to set up a meeting with an undercover officer who posed as a minor to approach him, the website said, citing prosecutors.

He is accused of intending to commit a sexual assault at the meeting and was subsequently arrested.

His case prompted State Sen. Janet Nguyen to propose new legislation that would allow judges in future cases to deny bail for felony suspects who are deemed a flight risk, according to The Orange County Register.

Under federal law, a suspect can be held without bail if the court believes there is a flight risk. But in California, the court can only deny bail in capital cases or in rare cases where the judge believes the suspect poses a danger to the community. Minhs case is in state court.

In a news conference this week, Nguyen said she believes Minh is a flight risk.

The next hearings are scheduled on May 13 and June 10.
A Vietnamese woman who swindled roughly A$466,000 (US$359,000) from more than 300 Vietnamese students in Australia in an air ticket scam early this year has been sentenced to 18 months of home detention.

My Truc Le was also ordered to serve 32 hours of community work each month and pay compensation of an amount up to the maximum allowed to be ordered in the Local Court  A$100,000 (US$77,000), New South Wales Sergeant Bennett Nolan told Les victims in a letter sent on Tuesday.

However, Nolan said that it is very unlikely that most of the victims would be getting any of their money back.

This is because even when an order is made at court, if the offender cannot pay the money then it just becomes an unpaid debt, he said in the letter.

The victims of My Truc Le's air ticket scam report their cases to the New South Wales Police in a file photo. Photo credit: CTV .

The policeman said while the victims can pursue the matter through their own civil claim, if the offender has no money left then this is often very difficult.

New South Wales police began investigating Le in early January after receiving reports of her air ticket scam from hundreds of students.

The 24-year-old woman, known on Facebook as Vi Tran, cheated more than 300 Vietnamese students who wanted to buy Vietnam Airlines tickets to return home for the past Tet Lunar New Year holidays.

She offered to help them book the tickets at cheap prices. Each student would receive a reservation code from her after sending money to her account.

However, Le canceled the bookings soon later, before the tickets were officially issued.

Many students in Melbourne and Sydney were denied when trying to check in at airports.
Le Van Tam showed a piece of broken glass and his bleeding foot to other tourists at Dinh Cau Beach.

He said it was not the first time he was cut like that.

Dinh Cau is a popular tourist attraction in Phu Quoc with very few hotels and resorts. But don't expect to see unspoiled nature here: the place looks like an open landfill as local restaurants let diners dump plastic bags, bottles and cans right on the beach.

Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that the southern island, which emerged as a new holiday destination several years ago, is now notorious for its trash problem. Local authorities have failed to deal with the issue, leaving many tourists and locals frustrated.

Tuong, a local, said he and other islanders would travel a little further to more pristine, cleaner beaches, but most of foreign tourists are stuck with the more popular, dirty beaches.

Many tourists and resorts have tried to pick up some of the trash themselves, but their efforts have failed to end the crisis.

Nguyen Quoc Hung, a manager at a four-star beachfront resort on the island, said his employees have to go out and collect 20 to 30 sacks of garbage every morning.

Someone then has to guard the beach all day to pick up trash, Hung said.

Huge waste discharge

Nguyen Van Ngoc, head of Phu Quoc Public Works Management Board, told Tuoi Tre that the amount of waste discharged on the island has surged from 50 metric tons a day in 2010 to 190 tons at present.

He claimed that his unit can only collect 180 tons.
Malaysian Nor Mohamad loved her job with a major Western tech company. But she gave it up after two years, tired of bickering with her parents who felt shed be better off in the public service.

Its boring but stable, said the masters degree holder, who is in her thirties and asked not to be fully identified, citing government policy. Even though Im not so in love with the job, Im thankful that in this economic situation theres no bad impact to my career.

Malaysias civil service employs 1.6 million people, or about 11 percent of the labor force. The jobs provide stability and security, including for ethnic Malays who are the majority of the population. Now the bloated bureaucracy presents a challenge to Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Najib, whose ruling coalition Barisan Nasional has been in power for nearly 60 years with the help of the Malay vote, has pledged to gradually narrow a budget deficit the country has been running since the Asian financial crisis. The commodity-driven $296-billion economy is expected to grow at the slowest pace in seven years in 2016, with lower oil prices eating into revenue.

But trimming the public workforce to improve the governments coffers is difficult. While Najib has survived a year of political turmoil over funding scandals, he needs the support of Malays to win the next election due by 2018. His party, the United Malays National Organisation, has for decades propagated policies that provide favorable access to education, jobs and housing for Malays and indigenous people, known collectively as Bumiputeras.

The civil service in Malaysia is intricately jived in with the ethnic policies of the government, said Jayant Menon, an economist at the Asian Development Bank. This is a form of ensuring not just employment, but relatively attractive employment.

About 79 percent of the civil service was made up of Malays as of the end of 2014, with over 11 percent from indigenous Bumiputera groups, the official Bernama news agency reported in March 2015, citing a government minister. About 5.2 percent of public servants were Chinese and 4.1 percent were Indian.

Malaysias civil service relative to population is large, at more than double the average in the Asia-Pacific region by some measures, according to Menon. The cost of maintaining it is draining resources at a time government revenues are falling.

Salaries, pensions and gratuities account for about a third of the budget every year, the biggest expenditure item. The government doesnt regularly publish data on the size of the public service.

Najib has weathered a year of graft allegations over hundreds of millions of dollars that appeared in his personal bank accounts before the last election in 2013, with the claims putting some pressure on his leadership. He denies wrongdoing and was cleared by the countrys attorney-general earlier this year.

Najibs office didnt respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the civil service. The office of the chief secretary to the government also did not reply to an e-mailed request for comment.

Malaysian officials have previously defended the size of the civil service, which includes teachers, doctors, soldiers and police. Idris Jala, then-minister in the Prime Ministers office, said in 2014 that it wasnt bloated even though it could be made more efficient to save the government money.

Najibs government spent 1.1 billion ringgit ($275 million) to raise salaries for civil servants last month -- the biggest rise since 2013 -- and increased their minimum starting pay to 1,200 ringgit a month. Like in previous years, public employees received a 500 ringgit special allowance just before the Eid al-Fitr holidays in July, a celebration marking the end of the Muslim fasting month.

Support base

The civil service forms an important support base for the government and can usually be counted upon to show up and vote for the ruling party during elections, said Chia Shuhui, an Asia analyst at BMI Research in Singapore. The government is not going to cut benefits to their support base, and therefore it is unlikely to make significant changes in terms of its expenditure on the civil service.

The government has been taking steps to streamline the civil service and improve the efficiency of the public sector as part of its long-term efforts, Chia said.

Given that nothing much could be done to the civil service because of political and ethnic sensitivities, the government should focus on cutting its business exposure through the government-linked corporation divestment program to increase revenue, the ADBs Menon said.

While UMNO has worked to retain Malay voters, the opposition has also sought to support the bureaucracy. The opposition-controlled Selangor state government pledged a 1.5 month bonus to its civil servants to mark Eid.

In neighboring Thailand, the ruling junta gave the nations two million civil servants and soldiers a four percent salary increase in December 2014 at an expected cost of 22.9 billion baht ($659 million). Many civil servants took part in anti-government protests that led to the May 2014 military coup and the junta has since emphasized the need to give bureaucrats greater power over elected officials.

Civil servants are indeed an indispensable support base for Barisan Nasional in general and UMNO specifically, said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Hence the need to constantly improve their welfare.
U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during a rally at Lincoln High School in Des Moines, Iowa August 10, 2016.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Wednesday accused Republican opponent Donald Trump of inciting violence with his call for gun rights activists to stop her from nominating liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Clinton's comments added to a growing outcry over Trump's remarks on Tuesday at a North Carolina rally, which some interpreted as a call for violence against his White House rival. His remarks also fueled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track.

"Words matter, my friends," the former U.S. secretary of state, who rarely engages in direct back-and-forths with her Republican rival, said at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. "And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences."

"Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line," she said, citing "his casual inciting of violence."

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken Aug. 5-8 - before Trump's latest controversy - showed that nearly one-fifth of 396 registered Republicans said they want Trump to drop out of the race.

Trump insisted in an interview with Fox News that his remarks were a call for political, not physical, action.

There is tremendous political power to save the Second Amendment, tremendous," the New York businessman said. "And you look at the power they have in terms of votes and thats what I was referring to, obviously thats what I was referring to, and everybody knows it."

The U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms.

"I cant think of anything remotely comparable to it. No one tells a joke about the opponent getting shot. Ive never heard it," said Bob Shrum, a top aide for Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000 and John Kerry's in 2004.

Republicans shaken

High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters appeared shaken on Wednesday after a string of Trump misfires, struggling with how to best reject his divisive candidacy. Some pledged to withhold their endorsement and others backed Clinton.

Some, including MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, called for party leaders to replace Trump on the ticket.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a campaign rally at Crown Arena in Fayetteville, North Carolina August 9, 2016.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken Aug. 5-8 - before Trump's latest controversy - showed that nearly one-fifth of 396 registered Republicans said they want Trump to drop out of the race and another 10 percent said they "don't know" whether the Republican nominee should or not.

Clinton's campaign, seeing an opening, has moved to bring disenchanted Republicans into the fold by announcing an official intraparty outreach effort on behalf of the Democratic nominee.

Clinton's campaign now has a website for Republicans and political independents to sign up to pledge their support, listing 50 prominent Republicans and independents who have endorsed her.

On Monday, 50 Republican national security officials signed an open letter questioning Trump's temperament, calling him reckless and unqualified to be president.

Other top Republicans, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine this week, have disavowed Trump but said they cannot back Clinton.

James Rohrscheib, 74, a registered Republican and retired U.S. Navy officer from Washington state, told Reuters the reality is the Nov. 8 election will be a "tough one."

"Im in a quandary as to who I am going to vote for," Rohrscheib said.

Trump has dismissed the defections and criticism as an unsurprising reaction of the so-called Washington elite to his drive to change the status quo.

One group that appears unswayed is Trump's donors. Reuters interviewed nine major Trump donors on Wednesday, and not one said his Second Amendment comment had given them pause.

Trump Texas fundraising co-chair Gaylord Hughey called the interpretation of his remark as condoning violence "ridiculous" and "ludicrous."

"Its just another issue the press has really twisted to make headlines," Hughey said.

But Mike Smith, a Republican voter and Reuters/Ipsos poll respondent, said the support Trump is still receiving from Republicans "almost seems obligatory rather than voluntary."

"Im almost at the point where I think Im going to vote for Hillary. I don't like her," said Smith, a 74-year-old retiree who lives in Clearwater, Florida. "But Mr. Trump is making me very nervous."

Reset abandoned

Republican strategist and Trump supporter Ford OConnell said Trump has "dug himself a deep hole" with voters and to win the election he will need to "make it a referendum on Hillary Clinton and the 'rigged system.'"

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reacts as she arrives at a field office for Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Davie, Florida, August 9, 2016.

Trump sought to do just that by using an economic policy speech in Detroit on Monday to correct a series of missteps that included a prolonged clash with the parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier. But his remarks Tuesday undermined that effort.

"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," Trump said at the rally in North Carolina. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know," he continued.

A federal official familiar with the matter denied a media report that the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates threats against presidents and candidates, had formally spoken with the Trump campaign about his remark.

Trump's comment and the resulting backlash occurred as Reuters/Ipsos polling showed some 44 percent of 1,162 registered voters believe Trump should exit the race, and that as of Tuesday, Clinton led Trump by more than 7 percentage points, up from a 3-point lead late last week.

Strategists and Trump detractors agreed that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove Trump from the Republican ticket.

"Its wishful thinking to believe the Republicans are going to replace its nominee after the convention. People are grasping at straws," Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with Trump, told Reuters.

A more likely scenario would be a replay of the 1996 presidential race, when the Republican Party essentially deserted nominee Bob Dole, who was badly trailing President Bill Clinton, to focus on congressional races.
The outside of the ''Camp Five'' detention facility is seen at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay December 10, 2008 in this pool image reviewed by the U.S. military.

Detainees at the Guantanamo military prison include fighters who sought to kill Americans, but also men who cooked, translated or had only tenuous militant ties but were nonetheless held for many years, according to a report released on Wednesday that is likely to fuel debate over closing the facility.

The report is the first unclassified compilation describing more than 100 prisoners held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba as of November 2015. More than two dozen have since been transferred.

Among detainees described in the 33-page Pentagon document are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

Others include Mahammad Mani Ahmad al-Qahtani, whom U.S. immigration authorities denied entry to the United States in August 2001 as he sought to be the 20th Sept. 11 hijacker, the report said. While al-Qahtani has often been referred to as the "20th hijacker," several other men have also made the claim.

Al-Qahtani later fought in Afghanistan against the Northern Alliance, said the report released by Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, who requested it from the Department of Defense.

Ayotte, an advocate for keeping Guantanamo open, pushed the Pentagon for years to provide more than minimal information about inmates cleared for transfer.

"Most of the detainees who remain at Guantanamo are the worst of the worst, as demonstrated by the fact that 93 percent of the detainees who remained there as of late last year had been assessed as a high risk for a return to terrorism," Ayotte said in a statement.

Among those held for more than a dozen years were also Muhammad Said Salim bin Salman, who trained at an al Qaeda camp, but was on the frontlines "possibly as a cook."

Another, Abdul Zahir, said he was a bookkeeper and translator for al Qaeda and the Taliban only because his family was threatened.

President Barack Obama, who vowed to close the prison before leaving office in January, is downsizing it by transferring detainees not considered security threats to foreign countries.

There are now 76 detainees, of whom 31 have been cleared for transfer. Overall, about 800 have been transferred, most under Republican President George W. Bush.

Obama and other Democrats said holding prisoners for years without charge goes against U.S. values and makes Guantanamo a militant recruiting tool. Ayotte and like-minded Republicans call the prison essential for handling dangerous suspects.
Russia said on Wednesday there would be daily three-hour ceasefires in Syria's Aleppo starting Thursday to allow humanitarian convoys to enter the city safely, a proposal which the United Nations said it would consider.

Aleppo is split into rebel and government controlled areas. The rebel-held east, where about 250,000 people are thought to be living, came under siege in early July after government forces cut the Castello Road, the main supply route into the district.

Last Friday rebels staged a major assault southwest of Aleppo to break this siege. Rebel fighters did manage to pierce the ring of government-controlled territory, but a safe corridor for civilians and aid has not yet been established as fierce fighting continues.

Speaking at a televised briefing, Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian Defence Ministry official, said the pause in fighting would run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time.

Rudskoi said the question of joint control over delivery of humanitarian aid via Castello Road was being discussed with the United Nations and the United States.

He said "all military action, air and artillery strikes" would be halted for the three-hour periods.

"This is to ensure that all interested organizations have the opportunity to deliver their humanitarian assistance to the residents of Aleppo," Rudskoi said.

He added that Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels in Syria's five-year-old civil war, would work with Damascus to ensure safe delivery of the aid.

A spokesman for a major rebel group fighting inside Aleppo told Reuters it was skeptical of the Russian plan.

"Is this publicity that Russia is a neutral party? What is three hours? In those three hours they will just be bombing (rebel-held) Idlib!", said Abd al-Salaam Abd al-Razzaq, military spokesman for the Nour al Din al-Zinki insurgent group.

Air strikes killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens in rebel-held Idlib province, southwest of Aleppo, on Wednesday. One Idlib town, Saraqeb, has received daily heavy air strikes since a Russian helicopter was shot down nearby 10 days ago.

Quarter of a million people trapped

At least four people died and many suffered breathing difficulties when a gas, believed to be chlorine, was dropped alongside barrel bombs on a neighborhood of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday, a hospital and a civil defense group told Reuters.

Food supplies, infrastructure and medical services are immensely strained for the roughly 250,000 people believed to be trapped inside eastern Aleppo.

United Nations aid chief Stephen O'Brien said on Wednesday he was willing to consider the Russian plan, but that a 48-hour pause in fighting was needed to meet all the humanitarian needs in the Syrian city, Syria's most populous before the war.

"At all times I will look at any kind of suggestion which enables humanitarian aid to be delivered," he told reporters.

"When we're offered three hours then you have to ask what could be achieved in that three hours - is it to meet the need, or would it only just meet a very small part of the need?

"Clearly, from our point of view, were simply there to meet the need, all the need...," O'Brien said. "To meet that capacity of need you need two (road) lanes and you need to have about 48 hours to get sufficient trucks in."

He said last month that any Aleppo humanitarian pause needed to be 48 hours because the Castello Road was so damaged that only smaller trucks could be used, taking longer to deliver the assistance needed.

Sergei Rudskoy, head of Russian General Staff's main operations command, speaks during a news briefing on Syria, in Moscow, Russia, August 10, 2016. REUTERS.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the United States would welcome any pause in fighting in Syria to facilitate delivery of vital humanitarian aid, but a truce must be observed by all parties.

Rudskoi said that a point for collecting the aid and forming convoys has been established near Handarat, on the northern outskirts of Aleppo.

Two weeks ago Russia and the Syrian government declared a joint humanitarian operation for the besieged area, showering it with leaflets telling fighters to surrender and civilians to leave through a number of "humanitarian corridors" it had set up.

Russian and Syrian warplanes have bombarded eastern Aleppo and other rebel-held areas of Syria daily for months and the United States suggested the humanitarian corridors plan may have been an attempt to depopulate the city so that the Syrian army could seize it.

"All seven humanitarian corridors, established for the exit of peaceful residents and militants who wanted to lay down their arms, are open and work around the clock," Rudskoi said. "An additional humanitarian corridor for militants with weapons continues to operate near the Castello Road."

He said that a "number" of armed groups, with weapons, had already left the eastern part of Aleppo through that corridor.

Rudskoi said the situation in the southwest of Aleppo remains difficult, with about 7,000 Jabhat Fatah al-Sham militants massing there for the past week and still being joined by new combatants. He said the militants had tanks, artillery and combat vehicles with weapons mounted on them.
Heads up to prevent injury from falls Morning walks in my neighborhood are one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. I love the coolness of daybreak and the special sightings of the stag and two does that frequent our open space. I also enjoy my walk because each day at...

Signs that point to the best time for retirement Ive been thinking a lot about retirement lately. One of our amazing staff members, who has been with Senior Concerns for the last 13 years, retired last month. It just doesnt seem real. I always thought of Dana as young. Certainly not the person to...

Rethinking the mandatory retirement age How old is too old for working at a job? Last week a news story hit my inbox and it really got me to thinking about age and retirement. The article noted that Target Corp. abandoned its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO,...

Tips to promoting a healthy nights sleep for children Question: Help, please. My daughter is almost 2 years old and has been an easy child to put into her own bed. Yet in the past few weeks she is purposefully stretching out the bedtime routine longer and longer. She wants more: more stories, more...
Pastor pleads guilty to manslaughter, assault after churchs counseling session turned fatal

By Travis M. Andrews October 24In the eyes of the World of Life Christian Church, 19-year-old Lucas Leonard and his 17-year-old brother Christopher had sinned. One of Lucass sins was his desire to leave the church entirely, to seek a new path.Tiffanie Irwin, the churchs pastor, along with other worshipers there, wouldnt accept any sort of new path and decided the teens needed to repent.So on Oct. 11, 2015, the pastor gathered with her brother Joseph Irwin, mother-son pair Linda and David Morey and several other believers at their church in New Hartford, N.Y., and decided to hold a counseling session. Among them were the teens parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard.After an eight-hour Sunday service, they asked the Leonard brothers to stay behind for a few moments.It would end up being 14 hours.During that time, the Associated Press reported, the congregation told the brothers they had to repent for sins of all stripes  from using a voodoo doll or allegedly molesting their half-sisters children, a claim police say is unsubstantiated and unsupported by any evidence  according to Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara.To force this repentance, the worshipers beat the teens for most of the 14 hours, taking a folded 4-foot electrical cord to their torsos and genitals while telling them to confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness.As Sunday slipped into Monday, the parishioners continued to punch, kick and beat the teens until, at one point, the older brother stopped breathing.I looked over and saw Luke on the ground, Christopher later told the court, according to the Observer-Dispatch. I rushed over and saw he wasnt breathing. I was trying to give him CPR. Someone went up to find [the pastor]  she was pressing on his chest while I tried to fill up his lungs.As The Washington Posts Lindsey Bever reported, Lucas was rushed to St. Lukes Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from blunt-force trauma.Praise Jesus!
Take that Clint.Will Smith slams Islamophobia and Donald Trump in DubaiCNN)Actor Will Smith used a recent press conference in Dubai to speak out against Donald Trump and Islamophobia.Smith was there promoting his new film "Suicide Squad" when talk turned to American politics.Read more: Will Smith looks to reclaim his throne as king of summer with 'Suicide Squad'The "Fresh Prince" had a few things to say about GOP nominee Donald Trump."As painful as it is to hear Donald Trump talk -- and as embarrassing as it is as an American to hear him talk -- I think it's good," Smith said. "We get to hear it. We get to know who people are and now we get to cleanse it out of our country."
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The federal fraud trial of politically connected Mandeville businessman Raymond Reggie has been pushed back from next week to next June in Baton Rouge at the request of his latest attorneys.

Reggie pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges in 2014 and was sentenced last summer to more than 11 years in prison, but a federal appeals court threw the plea and sentence out in May because Reggie was impaired by a stroke when he pleaded guilty.

Reggie was charged in August 2013, but his current attorneys have represented him since only May 2015.

Those lawyers, Matthew Coman and James Garner, recently told U.S. District Judge John deGravelles they needed more time to prepare for trial. Federal prosecutors objected to delaying the trial.

"The Court finds that the ends of justice served by granting a continuance outweigh the best interest of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial," the judge wrote, citing the complex nature of the case.

The new trial date is June 21.

Reggie is accused of billing several south Louisiana automobile dealerships, including Super Chevy Dealers of Baton Rouge and Slidell-based Supreme Automotive Group, more than $1.2 million for advertising purchases he never made as a media consultant between 2008 and 2012.

Reggie contends he had a "nontraditional pay arrangement" with the dealerships and stole nothing from them.

Reggie, a brother-in-law of the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, is the son of the late Crowley City Judge Edmund Reggie. He worked on the campaigns of former President Bill Clinton and other high-profile Democrats.
For a second time, lawyers argued to judges of a Baton Rouge state appellate court over the issue of whether charter schools should be considered public schools and continue to receive a share of the roughly $60 million allocated annually by the state via the Minimum Foundation Program.

Iberville School Board attorney Mike Fontham argued to the five-judge panel that the state is illegally redirecting Minimum Foundation Program funds from the Iberville school system to charter schools.

"This is unconstitutional," he said. "They're taking our money and giving it to the charter schools. That cannot be constitutional."

Louisiana's Minimum Foundation Program is the key source of aid for public schools.

Education Department attorney Joan Hunt told the panel that MFP funds are distributed "equitably," with poorer parishes getting more and wealthier parishes getting less.

BESE president testifies states MFP formula is distributed equitably Louisianas legislatively approved aid formula for public schools funds school districts equ

"The MFP was to apply to all public schools," she said. "These (charter schools) are public schools."

The litigation began when the Iberville Parish School Board and Louisiana Association of Educators, one of the state's two teacher unions, filed separate lawsuits in 2014 against the state Department of Education and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Teachers union challenges state aid for some charter schools A teachers union filed a lawsuit Monday that contends the state is improperly spending $60 

A three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal first heard arguments in the case in February. But, because the panel later voted 2-1 to either modify or reverse state District Judge Wilson Fields' 2015 ruling that state education officials were properly using tax dollars to fund the operations of certain types of charter schools, the case was reassigned to a five-judge panel of the court.

At stake is the flow of state money to about three dozen BESE-authorized charter schools, including seven in East Baton Rouge Parish, six in Orleans Parish, three in Lafayette Parish and two in Jefferson Parish.

Mark Beebe, a lawyer for the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools and others, warned that the public education of 20,000 students is at stake in the case.

"The Constitution doesn't say 'only,'" he said of the LAE's and Iberville School Board's argument that MFP money can go to only city or parish school systems.

Fontham, who said he does not agree that charter schools are public schools, and LAE attorney Brian Blackwell also argued Wednesday that BESE-authorized charter schools, and those approved by local groups, don't qualify as "city and parish school systems" that the state Constitution requires be provided with MFP funds.

Circuit Judge Guy Holdridge, who sat on the original panel that heard the case, pointed out that the Constitution also says "all students" in public elementary and secondary education are to be funded through the MFP.

Circuit Judge John Michael Guidry, a former state senator who also served on the prior panel, said the state can fund all education, both traditional public schools and charter schools, through the appropriations process without harming the Constitution.

Chief Judge Vanessa Whipple, who did not sit on the three-judge panel, said it is her understanding that charter schools were created because some public school systems were not meeting the needs of all students.

"They're either public or they're not," she said of charter schools.

Charter schools are run by nongovernmental boards and they operate without much of the red tape associated with traditional public schools.

Whipple, Guidry, Holdridge and fellow Circuit Judges Ernest Drake and Wayne Ray Chutz took the arguments under advisement without indicating when a ruling would be issued. Chutz was the third member of the original panel.
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Democrat Hillary Clinton's running mate U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine picked up a shrimp poboy at Parkway Bakery and Tavern on Wednesday evening -- making a surprise drop in on locals who were finishing up their meals at around 8 pm.

Many of the restaurant's patrons strained to get a view of the former Virginia governor and snapped quick photos.

"Hey guys. I'm Tim," Kaine said in his thick Midwestern accent as he made his way through the tight barroom, shaking hands. "How's it going?"

Kaine was joined by Congressman Cedric Richmond, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Kaine's nephew, John, who is a graduate student at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Kaine spent Wednesday evening in the Big Easy, courting voters for this fall's presidential election -- as well as donors.

On Thursday, he's expected to speak to a conference of faith leaders in New Orleans.

Kaine's visit is the first presidential campaign stop in Louisiana since the Democratic and Republican parties held their respective conventions.

Hillary Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, scheduled to speak in New Orleans on Thursday Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's running mate U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine will be i

Earlier Wednesday evening, Kaine hobnobbed with high-profile Louisiana Democrats at a fundraiser at Calcesieu, the private event space above Cochon restaurant. Several state lawmakers and other elected officials were reportedly in attendance at the fundraising event, which was closed to the press.

The Republican National Committee pounced on the Louisiana fundraising event in a statement Wednesday afternoon, claiming a Clinton presidency would be bad news for Louisiana's economy.

"As the Clinton-Kaine ticket lines their campaigns pockets with Louisianas money, they cant escape the fact that voters across the country cant afford the consequences of a Clinton presidency," RNC Spokeswoman Natalie Strom said. "Clintons plans will double down on oppressive regulations from the Obama administration which are smothering Louisianas energy sector and stifling job growth."

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump held two events in Louisiana -- one in Baton Rouge and one outside New Orleans -- during the run-up to the state's presidential primary. Trump, who has picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate, went on to win the GOP primary in Louisiana. Recent polls in Louisiana have shown Trump leading Clinton, who won the Democratic primary.
THE WALL OF SHAME

"The only thing [Trump's] mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c--k holster."

--STEPHEN COLBERT

"[Ivanka Trump] Your father is a racist birther. Steve Bannon an anti-Semitic opportunist. You and your husband are enabling hatred. F--- your shoes."

--BRADLEY WHITFORD

"Melania [Trump] is a hooker."

--JACOB BERNSTEIN

"And my job is to shut other white people down when they want to interrupt."

"We have to, at the DNC, provide training. We have to teach them how to communicate, how to be sensitive, and how to shut their mouths if they're white."

--SALLY BOYNTON BROWN

"And to our detractors that insist that this march will never add up to anything: F--- you! F---you!

"Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House."

--MADONNA

"Barron Trump looks like a very handsome date-rapist-to-be."

--STEPHEN SPINOLA

"Barron [Trump] will be this country's first homeschool shooter."

--KATIE RICH

"Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if we kick 'em all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts."

--MERYL STREEP

"There's a billion to one chance we're living in base reality."

[That means we're almost positively living in a simulation, like a video game.]

--ELON MUSK

"When I would deny that there was a significant racist component in some of the politics on our side, it was because the people I hung out with were certainly not. When suddenly, this rock is turned over, there is this'Oh shit, did I not see that?'"

----------------------------

"In any other scenario, Hillary Clinton's lying about her emails, and her pay-for-play relationship with the Clinton Foundation would be disqualifying issues. The only reason they're not disqualifying is because Donald Trump is a fundamentally more repellent, dishonest figure."

--CHARLIE SYKES

"I made a mistake in recalling the events of twelve years ago... I said I was traveling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire. I was instead in a following aircraft."

--BRIAN WILLIAMS

"I'm here to tell you if you elect me governor of this state, I will end the civil war."

--TOM BARRETT

"I would not look to the U.S. Constitution, if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012. I might look at the constitution of South Africa. That was a deliberate attempt to have a fundamental instrument of government that embraced basic human rights, had an independent judiciary. It really is, I think, a great piece of work that was done."

--RUTH BADER GINSBURG

"Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now, do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?"

--ROBERT DE NIRO

"The death of Andrew Breitbart disproves the adage that only the good die young."

--JULIAN BOND

"The National Institute of Health has said that it is a danger to women's health and safety of their families that for 30 years to be exposed to the prospects of pregnancy."

--GWEN MOORE

"[Tea Party Republicans] have acted like terrorists."

--JOE BIDEN

"Why did- Couldn't the President have said at that moment, way back in December of last year, 'no game playing. No hostage-taking. No terrorizing this country with the debt ceiling. I'm not going to negotiate with you guys. You can't play it that way.' Could he have done that?"

--CHRIS MATTHEWS

"[T]he tea-party Hobbits could return to Middle Earth having defeated Mordor."

--WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL

"I remember distinctly an image of--we were sitting on his couches, and I was looking at [Obama's] pant leg and his perfectly creased pant, and I'm thinking, a) he's going to be president and b) he'll be a very good president."

--DAVID BROOKS

"I feel like calling her back and smackin' her around."

--FRED CLARK, DEMOCRAT

"The picture was of me, and I sent it."

--ANTHONY WEINER

"[I]f you go back to the year 2000, when we had an obvious disaster and - and saw that our voting process needed refinement, and we did that in the America Votes Act and made sure that we could iron out those kinks, now you have the Republicans, who want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws and literally - and very transparently - block access to the polls to voters who are more likely to vote Democratic candidates than Republican candidates. And it's nothing short of that blatant."

--DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

"This is probably one of the worst times we've seen because the numbers of people elected to Congress. I went through this as co-chair of the arts caucus. In '94 people were elected simply to come here to kill the National Endowment for the Arts. Now theyre here to kill women."

--LOUISE SLAUGHTER

"The protesters have proven today that theyre not going away. It was a pretty rough night last night. You can imagine if people said, well, we just cant fight the power. Instead, this morning, they came by tens, by hundreds, by thousands. By midday today, it was easily more than 10,000, perhaps as many as 15,000 people on the square here in Madison. Not organized by anyone, just grassroots citizens who came out just like the Minutemen in 1776."

--JOHN NICHOLS

"They're sitting on the money, they're using it for their own -- they're putting it someplace else with no interest in helping you with your life, with that money. We've allowed them to take that. That's not theirs, that's a national resource, that's ours. We all have this -- we all benefit from this or we all suffer as a result of not having it. I think we need to go back to taxing these people at the proper rates."

--MICHAEL MOORE

"Why don't we just raise the taxes and let these folks have their collective bargaining, have their union representation and go back to their jobs? Raise the taxes on the wealthy."

--DAVID LETTERMAN

"In 1933, [Hitler] abolished unions and that's what our Governor [Scott Walker] is doing today."

--LENA TAYLOR, Democrat State Senator

"So I would urge my Republican colleagues, no matter how strongly they feel -- you know, we have three branches of government. We have a House. We have a Senate. We have a president. And all three of us are going to have to come together and give some, but it is playing with fire to risk the shutting down of the government."

--CHUCK SCHUMER

"Well, when you start off with the Preamble of the Constitution, you talk about the pursuit of happiness."

--JOHN LEWIS

"I'm Rebecca Kleefisch. I performed fellatio on all the talk show hosts in Milwaukee. And they endorsed me and that's how I became lieutenant governor."

--SLY SYLVESTER

"Do you think this Constitution-loving is getting out of hand? I mean, is it a nod to the Tea Party?"

--JOY BEHAR

"We cant just leave it up to the parents."

"[Military leaders] tell us that childhood obesity isnt just a public health issue; they tell us that it is not just an economic threat -- it is a national security threat as well."

--MICHELLE OBAMA

"Actually, I did not take part in [the assassination of Sarah Palin]. I led it."

--KATHLEEN PARKER

"[The repeal of ObamaCare is] a kind of creeping genocide."

--JESSE JACKSON

"[Obama] has to realize that Mitch McConnell has virtually said so that politically he wants to cut out his heart and throw his liver to the dogs."

--DAN RATHER

"And the instructions are not to improvise a comedy sketch, but to elect a group of unqualified, unstable individuals who will do what they are told, in exchange for money and power, and march this nation as far backward as they can get, backward to Jim Crow, or backward to the breadlines of the '30s, or backward to hanging union organizers, or backward to the trusts and the robber barons.

"Result: the Tea Party. Vote backward, vote Tea Party. And if you are somehow indifferent to what is planned for next Tuesday, it is nothing short of an attempted use of democracy to end this democracy."

--KEITH "Reagan's dead and he was a lousy President" OLBERMANN

"I gotta wonder when people are gonna start wearing uniforms. I mean they've got an army out there in Alaska of militia people. You've got these guys going around acting like street thugs. I mean it isn't far from what we saw in the thirties, where all of a sudden, political parties started showing up in uniform."

--CHRIS MATTHEWS

"[Sharron Angle] is a moron on top of being evil... I'd like to see her do this ad in the South Bronx. Come here, bitch. Come to New York and do it. I'm not praying for her. She's going to hell. She's going to hell, this bitch."

--JOY BEHAR

"So people have been hurting and I understand that. And it doesn't give them comfort or solace for me to tell them, you know, but for me, we'd be in a worldwide depression."

--HARRY REID

"And to play Dick Cheney, all I had to do was find my Dick Cheney. And you can find all the villainy in the world in your own heart, and that's what an actor's job is. I always say to kids, inside you is Hitler and Jesus. And you got to find the appropriate person and bring them out."

--RICHARD DREYFUSS

"Because I live in the District of Columbia which is so predominantly Democratic, I am a registered Democrat. But I am an avowed neutral. And to put that into practice, I take my young daughter into the voting booth and she votes for me. She's now 14. We've been doing this since she was about age 4. She's now quite informed."

--BOB WOODWARD

"Sarah Palin's an idiot. Come on. This is a remarkably, stunningly, jaw-droppingly incompetent and mean woman."

"The Democrats may have moved into the center, but the Republicans have moved into a mental institution."

--AARON SORKIN

"Perhaps the greatest threat of all is the undermining of our Constitution and the systematic attack against the inalienable rights of the citizens of this nation, rights that are guaranteed by our Constitution. At the vanguard of this insidious attack is the Tea Party. This band of misguided citizens is moving perilously close to achieving villainous ends."

--HARRY BELAFONTE

"[Christine O'Donnell is] a witch who doesn't masturbate."

--JOY BEHAR

"Ah, the Tea Party, the nativist bed-wetters who somehow control our national dialogue. Yes, I call them the Pee Party, Jay, because they're always peeing in their pants about something. They're just, they're afraid of a mosque being built in New York. They're afraid of guns. You know, they think Obama, who like every other pussy Democrat has never said a single word about gun control, but they are very sure that he and his Negro army are coming after their guns. You know what? If you think that he's coming after your guns, you need to get out of your chat room and have your house tested for lead. He's not coming after your guns or your Bible or your fishing pole or your chewing tobacco."

--BILL MAHER

"That's a trade-off society is making because of very, very high medical costs, and a lack of willingness to say, you know, is spending a million dollars on that last three months of life for that patient, would it be better not to lay off those ten teachers and to make that trade-off in medical costs. But that;s called the 'Death Panel' and you're not supposed to have that discussion."

--BILL GATES

"NOT the 'whiteman's bitch'"

--IESHUH GRIFFIN

"[If Rush Limbaugh suffered a heart attack in my presence, I would] laugh loudly like a maniac and watch his eyes bug out. I never knew I had this much hate in me. But he deserves it."

--SARAH SPITZ

"You want freedom, you going to have to kill some crackers. You going to have to kill some of their babies."

--KING SAMIR SHABAZZ

"If this was Texas, which is the state that, that is directly on the border with Mexico, and they were calling for a measure like this, saying that they had a major issue with, you know, with undocumented people flooding their borders, I would say I would have to look twice at this. "But this is a state that is a ways removed from the border. And, um, it just, it doesn't make sense to me that when you google this subject, if you put in 'Arizona S.B. 1070,' that you see a picture of the governor of Arizona meeting with President Obama in May of 2010. If you have direct linkage to the president, there are already National Guard troops on the border in Arizona."

--PEGGY WEST

"Tell [the Jews] to get the hell out of Palestine. Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not German. It's not Poland. [The Jews] can go home. Poland. Germany."

--HELEN THOMAS

"After the last eight years, it's good to have a president that knows what a library is."

--PAUL McCARTNEY

"By the way, I just want to point out I'm wearing my splash shield because I was told I was going to be in the splash zone (during Harry Smith's colonoscopy on live TV)."

--KATIE COURIC

"And that Word is, we have to give voice to what that means in terms of public policy that would be in keeping with the values of the Word."

----------------------------

"Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance or that people could start a business and be entrepreneurial and take risk, but not job loss because of a child with asthma or someone in the family is bipolaryou name it, any condition  is job-locking."

--NANCY PELOSI

"Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as 'yellow, slant-eyed dogs' that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what's going on today?"

--TOM HANKS

"The 'White Right' is trying to set Barack up to be assassinated.... Here are Christians praying for God to kill Barack Obama."

--LOUIS FARRAKHAN

"I refuse to accept the notion that the United States of America is not going to lead the world economically throughout the 20th Century."

--JOE BIDEN

"Obama's critics keep blasting him for Chicago-style politics. So, fine. Channel your inner Al Capone and go gangsta against your foes. Let 'em know that if they aren't with you, they are against you, and will pay the price."

--ROLAND MARTIN

"Martha Coakley is running to fill the rest of Ted Kennedy's term, and her opponent is a far-right tea-bagger Republican."

--CHUCK SCHUMER

"I tell you what, if I lived in Massachusetts, I'd try to vote ten times. I don't know if they'd let me or not, but I'd try to. Yeah, that's right, I'd cheat to keep these bastards out. I would. 'Cause that's exactly what they are."

--ED SCHULTZ

"We also see how revved up the tea baggers are at the thought of hijacking health care reform and every chance we have at making progress in Washington."

--JOHN KERRY

"A few years ago, this guy (Obama) would have been getting us coffee."

--BILL CLINTON

"I didn't realize I had written a column defending Roman Polanski and minimized his crime - are you sure it was me? I mean, I? There is, apparently, more to this crime than it would seem, and it may sound like a hollow defense, but in Hollywood I am not sure a 13-year-old is really a 13-year-old."

--TOM SHALES

"Joe Wilson yelled 'You lie!' at a president who didn't. But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!"

--MAUREEN DOWD

"One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game... During the 7th inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."

--DAVID LETTERMAN

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasnt lived that life."

--SONIA SOTOMAYOR

"We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature."

--REMBERT WEAKLAND, Archbishop of Milwaukee 1977- 2002

"You know, you might want to look into this, [President Obama], because I think maybe Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker, but he was so strung out on Oxycontin he missed his flight."

"Rush Limbaugh -- 'I hope the country fails.' I hope his kidneys fail."

----------------------------

"[Obama] told me I did a great job. The first lady said the same thing. I got a 'well done' from the president, I'm on cloud nine."

--WANDA SYKES

"Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less."

--COLIN POWELL

"[Tea Party goers are] just a bunch of wimpy, whiny, weasels who don't love their country."

--PAUL BEGALA

"I wouldn't want [gay marriage] to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court."

--BARNEY FRANK

"Going forward, my mind will be open to every solution -- except one. We should not -- we must not -- and I will not -- raise taxes."

--JIM DOYLE, Liar

"He's a terrorist. Rush Limbaugh is a terrorist."

--JOY BEHAR

"You know, I just want to say to her (Sarah Palin), just very quickly...F--- you."

--JON STEWART

"Should I be worried about being a slave and being returned to slavery?"

--WHOOPI GOLDBERG

"I also believe that America is the greatest sin against God."

--FR. MICHAEL PFLEGER

"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken. Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation."

--MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD

"We'll be eight degrees hotter in ten, not ten but 30 or 40 years and basically none of the crops will grow. Most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals."

--TED TURNER

"Look, [Mitt] Romney comes from a religion founded by a criminal who was anti-American, pro-slavery, and a rapist. And he comes from that lineage and says, 'I respect this religion fully.'"

--LAWRENCE O'DONNELL

"Mexico does not end at its borders... Where there is a Mexican, there is Mexico."

--FELIPE CALDERON

"The planet has a fever. If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor says you need to intervene here, you don't say, 'Well, I read a science fiction novel that told me it's not a problem.' If the crib's on fire, you don't speculate that the baby is flame retardant."

--AL GORE

"Don't fear the terrorists. They're mothers and fathers."

--ROSIE O'DONNELL

"Is America ready for a black president? Well, I say we just had a retarded one. When did being black become a bigger deterrent than being retarded?"

--CHRIS ROCK

"Shut the f--- up! Shut up if you can't take a joke [about President Bush]!"

--BARBRA STREISAND

"Right, oh, yeah, Happy 9/11! Celebrate the day, right?"

--JAMES BROLIN, Mr. Barbra Streisand

"I think President Bush very well may have signed an authorization for the 9/11 attacks."

--KEVIN BARRETT, UW-MADISON Lecturer

"I said what I said. I am not guilty."

--SADDAM HUSSEIN

"Terri will not be starved to death. Her nutrition and hydration will be taken away."

--MICHAEL SCHIAVO

"On the eve of the election last month my wife Judith and I were driving home late in the afternoon and turned on the radio for the traffic and weather. What we instantly got was a freak show of political pornography: lies, distortions, and half-truths -- half-truths being perhaps the blackest of all lies. "

--BILL MOYERS

"I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for."

--HOWARD DEAN

"The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not 'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or 'The Enemy.' They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win."

--MICHAEL MOORE

"And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs."

--JOHN KERRY

"F---ing retarded."

"[Republicans] can go f--- themselves!"

--RAHM EMANUEL

"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president."

--HILLARY CLINTON

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

--BILL CLINTON

"And let me tell you something -- for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment."

--MICHELLE OBAMA

"If asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a Jew, uh, as a janitor, makes me a warrior for the working class, I wear that with a badge of honor."

----------------------------

"If you love me, you got to help me pass this bill."

----------------------------

"[F]or most of my lifetime, the United States was such a dominant economic power, we were such a large market, our industry, our technology, our manufacturing was so significant that we always met the rest of the world economically on our terms. And now, because of the incredible rise of India and China and Brazil and other countries, the United States remains the largest economic and the largest market but theres real competition out there. And that's potentially healthy. It makes -- Michelle was saying earlier I like tough questions because it keeps me on my toes. Well, this will keep America on its toes."

----------------------------

"If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, 'We're gonna PUNISH OUR ENEMIES and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,' if they don't see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it's gonna be harder and that's why I think it's so important that people focus on voting on November 2."

----------------------------

"We don't mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but THEY GOTTA SIT IN BACK."

----------------------------

"We can absorb a terrorist attack. We'll do everything we can to prevent it, but even a 9/11, even the biggest attack ever... we absorbed it and we are stronger."

----------------------------

"We're buying shrimp, guys."

----------------------------

"We are the ones we've been waiting for."

----------------------------

"We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers so I know whose ass to kick."

----------------------------

"We're not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that's fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money. But, you know, part of the American way is, you know, you can just keep on making it if youre providing a good product or you're providing good service. We don't want people to stop fulfilling the core responsibilities of the financial system to help grow the economy."

----------------------------

"If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

----------------------------

"It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them. And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure."

----------------------------

"But I -- I think that the most important thing for the public to understand is, we're not handling any of these cases any different than the Bush administration handled them all through 9/11."

----------------------------

"One such translator was an American of Haitian descent, representative of the extraordinary work that our men and women in uniform do all around the world -- Navy CORPSE-MAN Christian [sic] Brossard. And lying on a gurney aboard the USNS Comfort, a woman asked Christopher: 'Where do you come from? What country? After my operation,' she said, 'I will pray for that country.' And in Creole, CORPSE-MAN Brossard responded, 'Etazini.' The United States of America."

----------------------------

"I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout-out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It's good to see you."

----------------------------

"We are God's partners in matters of life and death."

----------------------------

"[T]he Cambridge police acted stupidly."

----------------------------

"I am going to teach [my daughters] first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."

----------------------------

"The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings, and INEFFICIENCIES to our health care system."

----------------------------

"Over the last 15 months, weve traveled to every corner of the United States. Ive now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

--BARACK OBAMA
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump left watches as vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence R-Ind. speaks near the site of the Republican National Convention Wednesday July 20 2016 in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ORG XMIT: OHEV113
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Disturbing new details of a Canberra school placing a 10-year-old boy with autism in a cage have come to light, as the case spearheads an investigation by the United Nations into potential human rights violations of 55 students with disabilities across Australian schools.

While the boy's parents do not wish to make a public statement and do not want their son's identity or school revealed, Fairfax Media can confirm that the boy was forcibly placed in the cage on a handful of occasions early last year.

The metal pool fence structure at the centre of the ACT's withdrawal space crisis.

On one occasion he struggled so violently to get out of the cage  which was 2 metres x 2 metres in size and constructed out of metal pool fencing  that he broke the lock.
March 10, 2015: A two by two metre cage in blue metal pool fencing is constructed in a Canberra Primary school at a cost of $5195.

Over the next 17 days a 10-year-old boy with autism will be placed in it on at least a handful of occasions. On one occasion he struggled so violently to get out that he broke the lock.

The metal pool fence structure at the centre of the ACT's withdrawal space crisis.

March 27: The structure is taken down after the ACT Human Rights Commission makes a complaint to the Education Directorate.
A big protest vote against the latest $11 million pay day for James Hardie boss Louis Gries overshadowed a moment in Australian corporate history that is worth noting.

Former Telstra chairman Don McGauchie stepped down from the asbestos-blighted group after its shareholder meeting in Dublin on Thursday.

His retirement ended a 13-year tenure that began in August 2003.

It was not a great time to join the company.
Since her crowning as Cass County Fair Queen in August 2015, Brenna Backemeyer has been on the move meeting new people as she attended festive events throughout the county.

Something I didnt anticipate about being Miss Cass County would be the people I would get to meet from the events and towns. Also, I had the opportunity to share with people why I was passionate about living in a small community and the county I grew up in. Being able to share with people and represent our county this year was a unique and humbling experience, she said.

Brenna said she started her year by spending every day at the fair.

Many parades followed and activities stayed consistent throughout the year during the holiday seasons, Brenna said. Over Christmas break I had the opportunity to read to some students at Louisville Elementary School, Weeping Water Elementary School and Elmwood-Murdock Elementary School. I also went to Louisvilles car show at the end of July and then attended the luncheon for next years candidates. Im especially looking forward to meeting all of the girls who are participating this coming year!

Over the past year, Brenna has represented Cass County at Elmwood Holiday Extravaganzas Parade of Lights, Plattsmouth Princesses on Main, Elmwood Memorial Day Ceremony, Murdock Fourth of July parade and Murray Fourth of July parade.

She also judged a cupcake contest at the Elmwood Extravaganza. I absolutely love baking so this was awesome, Brenna said.

Most of all, Brenna enjoyed talking with all the children who gathered around her wherever she went.

One of my favorite parts of being Miss Cass County this year was seeing young girls, and occasionally boys, eyes light up when they would try on my crown. Interacting with kids was definitely the most memorable part of this entire experience. I distinctly remember riding the Ferris wheel with two young girls during the fair. That was my favorite moment of the entire year, she said.

While serving as Cass County Fair Queen, Brenna kept an active schedule as a freshman at University of Nebraska-Lincoln pursuing degrees in accounting and secondary business education.

During the year, she also added several honors to her already-extensive resume. Brenna was elected Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA) president and The Big Event Executive Team treasurer. She took third place on the UN-L team at the Washburn University Leadership Event and first place in accounting principles at the State Leadership Conference Phi Beta Lambda. She serves as the College of Business Administration Honors Academy Philanthropy Chair and is on the LAUNCH Leadership volunteer staff. Brenna is the daughter of Curt and Cindy Backemeyer of Elmwood.
The brother of recently bankrupt businessman Joseph Gutnick has launched urgent legal action to stop being evicted from a property linked to his brother amid allegations the one-time mining magnate has been hiding assets from his creditors.

Abraham Gutnick is fighting a series of eviction notices served between May and June this year ordering him to leave his home of more than 10 years at 7 Balaclava Road, East St Kilda.

The Supreme Court of Victoria heard on Thursday the eviction followed a "set of circumstances within the family", Abraham Gutnick's lawyer Kristine Hanscombe, QC, told the court.

Abraham Gutnick lives at the property with his wife, five children and 83-year old mother-in-law, the court heard.
While the ACT Liberals might like to think they are offering voters a straight-up choice between a new hospital or a new tram, health and public transport are more complex than that.

First, it is disingenuous to suggest the one can only be achieved at the cost of dropping the other.

ACT Liberals Leader Jeremy Hanson has promised a new $395 million Canberra Hospital building.

More importantly, just as the Opposition has been saying for months the Barr government has yet to make a case for its tram, the same is true of its own hospital proposal.

If this isn't done then the hospital announcement is somewhat akin to announcing a mega-dollar light-rail project five minutes out from a territory election.
Enough, surely, is enough. The mandatory offshore detention by successive Australian governments of people seeking asylum from persecution, war, torture and worse is inhumane, unsustainable and a massive waste of taxpayers' money. It is so far out of kilter with the values of this nation that it beggars belief, and will come to be seen as a shameful chapter in our history.

The predominant decency and fairness of people who live in Australia was evident in the widespread shock and outrage expressed after recent video footage revealed the abuse of children in detention in the Northern Territory. Within hours of the broadcast on the ABC's Four Corners program, the Coalition government announced a royal commission. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was clearly deeply disturbed by the evidence.

And yet Mr Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, like their predecessors, refuse to acknowledge and act on the parallels between the situation in the NT and that of the asylum seeker detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. As The Age has pointed out, video evidence of the hellish conditions in these places, as well as of the mistreatment of desperate and vulnerable people, exists. It is in a recently released documentary, Chasing Asylum, which is screening in Australia and internationally, and will be available online and on DVD before the end of the year. We urge as many people as possible to witness what is being done with their money in our nation's name. It is as disturbing as the NT footage so many found so upsetting. We challenge politicians to view it.

Further evidence of the inappropriateness of these centres came this week, when Guardian Australia published as many as 2000 leaked reports about child abuse, squalor, self-harm, assaults and mental ill-health for those that have been banished to Nauru.
And UN indictments and documents named the man ultimately responsible: General Wiranto, then commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces. Under the international law doctrine of superior responsibility, commanders are obliged to take all reasonable measures to prevent crimes from occurring and/or to punish those who perpetrate such crimes. Commanders who fail to take such measures are criminally responsible for those crimes. But Wiranto has never been brought to account. Indonesian president Joko Widodo last month appointed him to the powerful position of Co-ordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. This week, Justice Minister Michael Keenan and Attorney-General George Brandis caught up with him at a conference in Bali, as if none of the atrocities had occurred and there is no such thing as the UN indictment.

Mr Keenan said he was not going to run a commentary on his ministerial colleagues in other countries. "I don't think that's particularly helpful," he said. The fledgling government that was formed in East Timor after the Indonesians left the territory never forwarded Wiranto's indictment to Interpol, meaning he was never put at risk of arrest while travelling abroad. East Timor's leaders, Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta, apparently took the realistic view that they couldn't risk antagonising their giant neighbour, where anger has simmered for years over losing the UN-sponsored independence vote. Indonesia sent six warships uninvited to the waters off Dili when East Timor celebrated its independence on May 20, 2002, highlighting the potential fragility of the hard-won freedom of what was then the world's newest nation.

Successive governments in Canberra have largely remained silent on the atrocities committed just over an hour's flight from Australia's shores, despite a large volume of evidence against the Indonesian military and its proxy militia forces. But if Australia wants to have a reasonably health relationship with Indonesia, unpleasant matters need to be dealt with. In 2001, a UN report by former Australian diplomat James Dunn said a campaign of destruction, deportations and killings were planned by a group of Indonesian military officers two months before the independence vote. The report said it was inconceivable that Wiranto was unaware of the campaign, which saw more than 250,000 East Timorese transported to West Timor within a fortnight of the vote, a move that required vast military resources. Indonesia's Truth and Friendship Commission concluded after a two-year investigation that the Indonesian military, police and government must all share the blame for gross human rights violations carried out by militias and targeting East Timorese independence supporters.

In 2008, former foreign minister Alexander Downer admitted knowing the Indonesian army was behind outbreaks of violence in East Timor but said he and former prime minister John Howard tried their hardest to prevent it. Wiranto has challenged his accusers to prove the allegations against him. "I'm hoping that the issues regarding my involvement in cases of human rights violations can be proven in detail," he said in an Antara report. "I will then offer my explanation to each accusation." However if Wiranto was to travel to East Timor he would find people in every village and town who suffered because of the brutality of Indonesian forces under his command during those tumultuous months of 1999. I would like to ask the co-ordinating minister about the Indonesian soldiers who murdered my Dutch colleague, Sander Thoenes, and cut off his ear as some sort of bizarre souvenir.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has accused asylum seekers and refugees of making false abuse allegations and self-immolating in order to get to Australia.

Speaking after more than 2000 incident reports of abuse and self-harm among asylum seekers and refugees in Australian immigration detention centres on Nauru were leaked to Guardian Australia this week, Mr Dutton sought to down play the information but said he would not tolerate any sexual abuse reports.

"If a mother or father smacks their child in the detention centre, or on Nauru, that is reported by the guards as an incident report," he told 2GB radio.

"That's not an allegation of sexual assault. People can have their own views about discipline of children, if there is movement of children or if a child is having problems at the Nauru school and doesn't want to go to school, that forms the basis of an incident report."
The cyber attacks that sparked a deliberate shutdown of the census website on Tuesday night appear to have been small-scale and likely carried out by ordinary "hacktivists" rather than sophisticated organisations or governments, experts and insiders say.

While their origins remain murky, there are strong indications that the "denial of service" attacks were not particularly formidable. But in combination with the volume of legitimate traffic and the sheer fragility of the system set up by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, they caused enough panic to prompt authorities to take the system offline.

Many experts seized on the fact that the attacks had not shown up as spikes on publicly available cyber-attack tracking websites such as digitalattackmap.com as they should have done.

Insiders said this indicated the attacks had not been of any great magnitude  pointing to the lack of preparedness by the ABS.
It's amazing what gets up people's grills, isn't it? The census website going down is apparently a national calamity demanding urgent action. But children in Australia's care being assaulted and abused in offshore detention camps? No biggie. Move along.

The vastly divergent reactions to the census fiasco and the Guardian's publication of 2000 incident reports from Nauru are a fascinating study of the politics of this country, which appears to care more about an inconvenient IT bungle than systemic abuse of children and refugees.

"I too am very angry about this. I am bitterly disappointed about this," Malcolm Turnbull said on Thursday morning. If only he were talking about the kids.

The Nauru files, as they have been termed, are the biggest ever leak of information on what is happening in Nauru in our name. The reports are so valuable because the government won't tell us what is going on, and we're not allowed to go and see it for ourselves.
Eighteen-year-old Malia Obama, daughter of President Barack Obama, was spotted on camera taking a drag from what could have been a rolled-up cigarette or cannabis.

The eldest daughter of Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who is currently taking a year out before beginning her studies at Harvard University, was hanging out with her friends at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago on July 31, therefore skipping the Democratic National Convention in order to be a teen and let her hair down with friends.

Malia Obama may or may not have smoked cannabis and everyone seems upset. Credit:Getty

Cannabis was recently decriminalised in the state of Illinois, where the concert was held, which means smoking it is still illegal, but the punishment and penalties are lenient. Rules state that someone caught with 10g or less of the drug would be penalised with a "civil violation" with no incarceration and a $US200 fine.

News initially spread of her possible drug taking by US gossip site Radar Online. It claimed a witness Jerrdin Selwyn, 18, saw Malia smoking pot during a Bryson Tiller set.
Students of Australia, you are being watched. Not only in the lecture hall, but every time you log on, and even when you walk across the campus.

At the University of Melbourne, Wi-Fi routers track students as they move through the campus and leave a digital trail with their mobile phones.

Universities are collecting unprecedented amounts of information about students to personalise their learning and improve retention rates. Credit:Louise Kennerley

And at the University of Sydney, students' online activity is matched with their demographic background to predict who might drop out.

It's called "learning analytics" and universities say it is the key to improving retention rates and the student experience.
Lorraine Reh is keeping her pledge.

More than 50 years ago, the local womans father bought a house for Lorriane and her husband, Bob, in the Third and C Street area.

I told my dad Id keep it as long as I could, she said.

Shes kept her promise for decades. But in more recent times, the house has needed repairs and modifications in order for the couple to live there safely. Bob, who was in a nursing home, wasnt able to come home until an access ramp was built.

Thats where a partnership between Rebuilding Together and other organizations has proven invaluable. The groups have worked together to help provide the needed work for the Rehs house and another home owned by LaDonna Grosse of Fremont.

The work was made possible, in part, through a grant from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synods Helping Hands Initiative.

We wrote the grant last winter in cooperation with Trinity Lutheran, because the grant always goes through a church. We worked with Pastor (David) Coe at Trinity, said Gail Goltz, administrative assistant for Rebuilding Together Platte Valley East.

Competing nationwide, the locally based organization was edged out by another project in East St. Louis, Mo., for that grant, but was able to receive a smaller one for $10,000.

With that grant, Rebuilding Together assisted people living in two homes in the vicinity of the Trinity Lutheran Early Childhood Center near downtown Fremont.

To receive assistance, those benefiting from the work had to be low-income homeowners and had to apply for the help.

The Rehs needed a ramp not only for Bob, but for Lorraine, who uses a walker and scooter.

During a home inspection, it was determined that other work needed to be done as well.

When we do house inspections, we look at health and safety issues. So our goal is to make the home a safe and healthy place to live  and in the case of older homeowners like these  to make it possible for them to remain in the home, Goltz said.

The back of the home had an old deck and entrance that were unusable.

We tore that off and replaced that little porch, Goltz said.

Because of wheelchairs and walkers that had repeatedly gone over floors in the home, the carpet was old, wrinkled and not safe for the Rehs to get around.

Were replacing that carpet with laminate that works much better, Goltz said.

Robert Huisman, whose wife, Leann, cares for the Rehs, put in the flooring with materials paid for through the LCMS grant. Leann has done painting at the house. A professional service did tree trimming.

The Fremont Area Community Foundation provided funds for materials for the ramp, designed and built by Fremont High Schools SkillsUSA students, who helped install it.

Many other volunteers, including Trinity members, Jefferson House volunteers and students in the Nebraska Leadership Conference assisted with work at the house. The leadership conference volunteers helped stain the ramp and did yard work.

Grosse, whos lived in her home for more than 40 years and worked Trinitys childhood center for 28, knew her home needed exterior scraping and paint.

An inspection revealed other concerns, including drainage problems at basement windows and windows that were broken and needed to be replaced. Interior and exterior back doors were replaced and handrails added at that entrance and at the basement steps.

She, too, has some mobility issues and were replacing carpeting with some other flooring, Goltz said.

The house is being repainted and yard work and tree trimming done.

Goltz said the C Street projects are wrapping up. Those were the major summer projects.

But Rebuilding Together has had several other projects, too, which included some roof work and painting. The non-profit organization also has worked on a well for a woman who lives outside of town.

Its been a real busy summer for a small organization like this, Goltz said.

Goltz said Rebuilding Together received a FACF matching grant of $20,000 for 2016 toward construction of the home accessibility ramps. Thus far, the non-profit has raised $15,000 in matching funds.

She also noted that ramps, such as the one installed at the Rehs home are reusable. When no longer needed at one house, the ramp is taken down, stored and reused at another site.

The nonprofit has needed storage space and part of the grant funds have been used to pay for that. Most other costs are covered with volunteers and some of the Rebuilding Together funds.

We depend entirely on the generosity of the community for their donations and support and volunteer time, Goltz said.

The nonprofit plans to keep moving forward.

We have 15 homes on a waiting list, she said. They are low-income people and the majority are elderly and/or people with disabilities. We also serve younger clients and families. Everyone must be a homeowner and living in their own home.

Those whove benefitted from the organization have expressed their appreciation for Clarence Riess, project manager, and Brad Wiese, executive director, and volunteers.

Clarence and Brad are good communicators, Grosse said in RTs Tool Times newsletter. They even brought paint samples and let me pick out my own colors. Very kind.

Huisman also expressed appreciation for the Rehs, who are benefitting from the new ramp.

It means mobility for them and a sense of freedom and independence, she said. Theyve always been independent and never asked for help. Theyre very grateful for what Rebuilding Together has done for them and their home, inside and out. The dedication these guys put in is amazing. I was overwhelmed.

And for Lorraine Reh, the recent work provides her with opportunity to keep the pledge she made to her dad.

Im keeping my promise, she said.
The chief executive of government agency UrbanGrowth NSW says he "hopes like hell" he can introduce affordable housing into new development schemes the agency is planning across the city, but an overall policy on the issue is still a year away.

The NSW government has been facing growing calls to introduce new measures to boost the supply of affordable housing. Former premier Nick Greiner has advocated for measures to encourage housing for households on average incomes, while property developers have indicated some support for the idea.

David Pitchford, the chief executive of UrbanGrowth NSW, with chairman John Brogden. Credit:Rob Homer

But there is no government policy to do so in areas where it has said it wants to build thousands of new homes, such as through Central to Eveleigh in the inner city, around Glebe Island and White Bay in the inner west, or in North Parramatta.

At a forum on Thursday, the chief executive of UrbanGrowth NSW, the agency managing these developments, offered support for the idea but also indicated it would not be easy.
The under-treatment of chemotherapy patients in NSW hospitals will be subject to a parliamentary inquiry amid warnings that improper treatment could be found to extend to hundreds more patients.

The state government and its embattled Health Minister, Jillian Skinner, have resisted calls for a special commission of inquiry into the under-dosing scandal after the release last week of a report that found more than 100 cancer patients at St Vincents Hospital had received off-protocol doses of medication from Dr John Grygiel.

But the upper house agreed on Thursday to instead initiate a select committee to inquire into the treatment of patients of Dr Grygiel and that of another Sydney oncologist, operating at Sutherland and St George Hospitals.

Opposition health spokesman Walt Secord said he had received briefings that indicated Dr Grygiel had charge of as many as 300 patients a year in central-western NSW for decades, but information about those treatments was lacking.
It will cost $8.2 billion over the next 10 years to repair the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland's Environment Minister Steven Miles says.

That is eight times the $1 billion the federal government has set aside for its reef recovery efforts over the next decade.

It is the first detailed cost estimate of reducing the damage from nutrients and sediments that run into rivers and onto onshore and offshore reefs.

Dr Miles told a reef conference in Townsville on Thursday night that extra public and private sector money was needed.
A teenager accused of leaving Caboolture toddler Mason Lee to die says he is "petrified" of jail and worried about being assaulted, as he makes another bid for freedom.

Ryan Robert Barry Hodson, 17, has applied for bail for the second time in two weeks, this time asking the Supreme Court to free him while he awaits further proceedings over the toddler's death.

He's one of three charged with the 21-month-old's manslaughter, along with the child's mother, Anne Maree Lee, and stepfather, William Andrew O'Sullivan.

A court deciding Mr Hodson's initial application heard he'd refused to get medical help for Mason multiple times, allegedly telling one person who suggested a doctor "f--- your mouth up, it's not our business, it's not our problem".
So what is an astrophysicist doing at an exhibit on particle physics?

The festival features more than 100 events across the city, including the Indigenous Science Experience at Redfern Community Centre on August 21, the Secret Life of Eels in Parramatta on August 20 and Astronomy in the Park tonight at Centennial Park.

Dr Alan Duffy points to an image of the Compact Muon Solenoid, or CMS, detector at the Collider exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum. The real CMS detector is 15 metres high. Credit:Steven Siewert

Festival Ambassador Alan Duffy and fellow astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith hosted an adults-only excursion into science at the Powerhouse that included periodic table scrabble, driving a Mars rover in the museum's Mars lab, live music, "speed meeting" scientists and a look inside Collider, Powerhouse's exhibition of the Large Hadron Collider.

"My interest is through dark matter," said Dr Duffy. Dark matter is the mysterious substance that physicists say makes up about a quarter of the mass of the universe. The bits we can see  people, clouds, stars, butterflies, comets, planets  only make up 5 per cent of all mass.

Scientists aren't sure what dark matter is and haven't been able to directly detect it.

"We could wait for it to come to us and that's what we are doing with the SABRE experiment a kilometre underground in a Victorian goldmine at the Stalwell Underground Physics Lab," Dr Duffy said. "Or we could try to create it in experiments like the Large Hadron Collider."

The Large Hadron Collider is a 27-kilometre circumference particle accelerator 100 metres underground the French and Swiss countryside. Dr Duffy is speaking tonight about the LHC at the Powerhouse at a sold out event on "The World's Greatest Experiment".

The Large Hadron Collider smashes protons together at near light-speed to create particles that help us understand how matter works. It is where the Higgs boson was detected in 2012.
People are being urged to gather in Collingwood on Friday afternoon to show support for homeless people who are occupying homes bought by the Victorian government for the cancelled East West Link project.

A post on the "Defend the Bendigo Street homeless occupation" Facebook page said all homeless people occupying government-owned homes in the street had been served with eviction notices on Thursday.

Bendigo Street in Collingwood in April 2016. Credit:Justin McManus

The group also said: "The state government forcibly acquired these homes in 2014 in preparation for the scrapped East West Link project. Since then more than 100 government-owned homes have remained empty while Melbourne's homelessness crisis grows. Homeless people and housing activists have demanded these state-owned homes be transferred to public housing for some of the 33,000 Victorians currently on the waiting list."

When The Age in April visited a government-owned home in Bendigo Street, Collingwood that was occupied, six people appeared to be living in the three-bedroom house.
A man wanted over the bashing of a North Fitzroy chef at a tram stop has handed himself in to police.

Police released two images of men they were seeking over the assault which left young father Theo, 27, with a fractured skull.

Theo was left with a fractured skull after he was bashed while waiting for a tram. Credit:Justin McManus

A 27-year-old man presented himself to Footscray police station on Wednesday.

The Footscray man was charged with recklessly causing serious injury, intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing serious injury, affray and assault in company.
A public servant has been charged with the indecent assault of a schoolgirl on a Melbourne tram.

Marshall Jordan, 31 of Reservoir, has been charged with performing an indecent act on a child under 16 over an offence allegedly committed on a tram in Northcote on May 4 last year.

Mr Jordan denies the charges.

He has been suspended without pay from his role as a public servant at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection after being arrested and interviewed on May 12.

Police told the Melbourne Magistrates Court Mr Jordan boarded the 86 tram on Plenty Road at 8am on his way into the city where he worked.
A second housemate has been charged with the murder of Bendigo woman Samantha Kelly.

Christine Ann Lyons, 45, has had her charges upgraded from being an accessory to murder, to one count of murder, the Bendigo Advertiser reports

A spokesperson for Victoria Police confirmed the upgraded charge on Thursday.

Ms Lyons was the housemate of Ms Kelly and has remained in custody since she was initially charged on February 13.
A teenage girl has had her hair set alight after being repeatedly kicked in the face and body during a terrifying robbery at a skate park in Melbourne's outer south-east.

Seven youths set upon the 15-year-old girl at the Frankston Skate Park last Friday.

The Frankston Skate Park

One of the alleged offenders  a 13-year-old boy  had been released on bail for other charges just three hours before the horrific attack.

Police say the group lured the girl to the Cranbourne Road park about 9pm.
A barbecue is always a great way to bring people together for a fun afternoon of socializing, great food and some stress relief.

Early Wednesday afternoon, teachers from Johnson Crossing Academic Center and Fremont Middle School took an hour-long break from school preparations as they enjoyed the annual First National Bank Fremont Teacher Appreciation Lunch.

For the past two years, the bank has grilled out for Trinity, Archbishop Bergan, FMS/JCAC, Fremont High School and all district elementary school instructors prior to their given school years starting, said Cody Horrocks, loan officer for First National Bank Fremont.

First National Bank hosts these grill-outs to show appreciation for our districts teachers because they are the essential foundation of the success of our students and community as a whole, he said.

Brent Harrill, second-year principal at JCAC, spent some time chatting with the Tribune as he finished up a bag of chips and a hamburger inside of the JCAC lunchroom.

Harrill said that the Teacher Appreciation Lunch is a great way for his staff to take a brief break from their busy preparation schedule to relax, have a good meal and interact with their friends and co-workers at Fremont Middle School.

First National Bank of Fremont has been a great partner of Fremont Public Schools, Harrill said. This event they put on really provides us an opportunity to get our staff together  combine both of the buildings. Its a really nice community outreach event, and we really appreciate what those guys do for us.

This year, roughly 48 instructors will oversee the 700 fifth and sixth-graders enrolled at JCAC.

Eight new teachers are set to make their teaching-debut in the school, Harrill said.

One of these instructors is Kendall Kucera.

Kucera, a Fremont High School and Midland University Graduate, is preparing to teach fifth-grade math and one section of reading on Team 5C  each grade is broken down into four teams.

They are kind of like their own small schools within themselves, Harrill said.

Prior to this year, Kucera served as a substitute teacher and para at Linden Elementary.

I mainly worked with the kids who either needed extra help or couldnt do certain things in the classroom, whether because of behavior issues or focusing issues, she said. I mainly did third and fourth-grade but I also did second-grade interventions.

While Kuceras teaching experience has been primarily with younger children, she is qualified to teach at the fifth and sixth-grade level. When she saw a job opening on the districts webpage she jumped at the new opportunity that presented itself.

I saw the job posted online, and I figured if I didnt apply for it Id kind of be mad at myself, she said. So I took a chance and went for it.

Although shes never taught children this age, she feels up to the challenge  she has four younger brothers.

Ive grown up with them and seen them at different age levels, she said. So I can handle fifth-grade boys and fifth-grade girls  But we will just have to see how it goes because Ive never done it before.

Kucera said her nerves were running a bit high, but after having a back-to-school night she feels prepared to tackle the upcoming year.

As soon as the kids came in and I got to meet them and their parents, I was like This is going to be just fine, this year is going to be OK, she said. I felt a lot calmer about it  I know we have a really good team so Im really excited about all of it.
A Melbourne grammar school has been granted an exemption from Victoria's Equal Opportunity Act, allowing it to target female enrolments to improve its gender balance.

Ivanhoe Grammar School began as a boys' school in 1915, with female students introduced 13 years ago.

Ivanhoe Grammar has accepted female students for the past 13 years.

However, the school has struggled to attract female students, and in June almost two-thirds of its students  62 per cent  were boys.

On Wednesday the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal granted an application by the school under two sections of the 2010 Equal Opportunity Act, giving it "exemption from prohibitions on gender-based discrimination in relation to education and services".
Louise Asher has announced her retirement from state politics at the next election. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer

There will be significant pressure on the party to replace Ms Asher  who served as a minister under Jeff Kennett, Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine  with a woman after Opposition Leader Matthew Guy declared he wanted a 10 per cent rise in the number of female Liberal MPs at each election. Currently just 27 per cent of Spring Street Liberals are women.

Former minister Louise Asher has called time on her 26-year parliamentary career, opening a potentially bruising preselection contest in her blue-ribbon Brighton seat.

On Thursday the 60-year-old said she believed it was time for a generational change, so would not contest the next election, in November 2018. She leaves Brighton with 9.8 per cent margin.

"By me stepping down, I will create an opportunity for a younger and new member for Brighton to enter the Parliament," she said.

Her decision comes a day after former education minister Martin Dixon also announced he was retiring at the 2018 election.

The Liberals hold his Nepean seat by 7.6 per cent. Former Prahran MP Clem Newton-Brown has declared an interest in the seat, along with former Frankston candidate Sean Armistead.
Shanghai: A newly launched satellite will help China protect its maritime interests, the official China Daily newspaper reported on Thursday amid growing tensions over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

The "Gaofen 3" satellite that was launched on Wednesday has a radar system that captures images from space with a resolution down to 1 metre and can operate in all weathers, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence told the newspaper.

A Chinese rocket awaits launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. Credit:Getty Images

"The satellite will play an important role in monitoring the marine environment, islands and reefs, and ships and oil rigs," the China Daily said, citing project leader Xu Fuxiang.

"Satellites like the Gaofen 3 will be very useful in safeguarding the country's maritime rights and interests," he added, according to the newspaper.
London: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be questioned by Swedish prosecutors inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, in a possible breakthrough to the impasse over his case.

The Ecuadorian attorney-general delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish prosecutor to question Mr Assange.

The Australian is wanted for questioning over a sex allegation, which he denies, and believes he will be taken to the United States to be quizzed over the activities of WikiLeaks if he goes to Sweden.

Mr Assange has been living inside the embassy for over four years and has been granted political asylum by Ecuador.
Kiev: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday he had instructed all military units near Crimea and in the easterly Donbass region to be at the highest level of combat readiness, following Russian allegations of a Ukrainian incursion into Crimea.

It came amid reports of Russian troop movements near the border.

Tensions flare: members of a pro-Russian self defence militia at a checkpoint in Crimea in 2014. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev on Wednesday of using terrorist tactics to try to provoke a new conflict and destabilise Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia said it had thwarted armed Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into the peninsula.
Since WikiLeaks started releasing the private emails of the Democratic National Committee, the digital activist group has been forced to fight accusations that it is trying to harm the Democratic Party and help Donald Trump get elected.

The DNC hack and leaks comes as Trump himself is suspected of having ties to Russia. Because experts believe Russian hackers accessed the DNC documents, suspicions about a WikiLeaks-Russia connection flourish.

Julian Assange speaks via video link from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Credit:Getty Images

Russia and WikiLeaks just keep crossing paths. In WikiLeaks' current form, the organisation has taken roles in disseminating information about geopolitical events at a critical time in which such information could shift events in the field. Instead of simply providing transparency, the information can be used to confuse or be wilfully misinterpreted  particularly if networks of bloggers, tweeters and meme generators recirculate it.

WikiLeaks is promising more leaks about the DNC. Here are examples of times WikiLeaks and Russia have crossed paths.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly linked the US President Barack Obama and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to the Islamic State on Thursday, labelling them the "co-founders" and "MVPs" (most valuable players) of the terrorist group, of igniting fresh criticism of his inflammatory campaign style.

The New York real estate developer has previously attacked Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton, secretary of state from 2009-13, for how the United States pulled out of Iraq after the war, saying it helped create the militant Islamist group that has seized swaths of Iraq and Syria.

The idea that a sitting US president created a militant group determined to kill Americans and other Westerners took that line of attack to a new level. Mr Trump first made the "co-founder" assertion in a speech Wednesday night in Florida. He repeated it in an interview Thursday morning with CNBC.

In a speech to the National Association of Home Builders later on Thursday, he repeated the claim again and took it a step further.
TRUMP: No, I meant that he's the founder of ISIS, I do. He was the most valuable player. I gave him the most valuable player award. I give her too, by the way.

HEWITT: Last night you said that the President was the founder of ISIS. I know what you meant, you meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace.

TRUMP: He was the found, his - the way he got out of Iraq was the founding of ISIS.

Trump doesn't get that in moving into a general election campaign in which he is pitted one-on-one with Clinton, that the contest has changed dramatically; that it's no longer about competing with other Republicans for a share of the vote from the party's base. It doesn't seem to have occurred to him that the vast majority of those who turn out for his rallies are the base - and that a persistent pitch to their prejudices is not likely to win undecided or conservative Democrats in the numbers that he needs to win.

Interviewed on CNBC on Thursday, he refused to concede that he was making errors - claiming as proof that he had won the GOP primaries contests.

Challenged on his free-falling polls, Trump, whom fact checkers judge to be one of the greatest political liars to offer themselves to the American people, parried: "Whatever happens, happens. I'm giving it straight. I don't know that it'll work because I'm a non-political person and I'm proud of that. But I'm giving it straight."

Asked about defections in demographics he must hold to win, Trump insisted: "We'll see what happens. I have a whole group of people out there that people don't even know about. At the rally last night I had 10,000 people. If Hillary had that rally, she would have had 200 people if she was lucky. I don't know that translates to votes. In theory, it should. But I don't know it translates into votes."

And pressed on falling support in critical swing states, Trump went all Forrest Gump: 'I don't know. Whatever it is it is. Look, all I do is tell the truth. I'm a truth teller. All I do is tell the truth. If at the end of 90 days I fall in short because I'm somewhat politically correct even though I'm supposed to be the smart one and even though I'm supposed to have a lot of good ideas, it's OK.
Seeking the Finer Things in Life: 2017 Mazda6 Makes Global Debut +VIDEO







Mazda's Midsize Sedan Adds G-Vectoring Control, Heightened Refinement and Newly Available Nappa Leather Interior Appointments

 Mazda Research and Buyers Guide

IRVINE, CA - August 10, 2016: Mazda introduced the 2017 Mazda6, gaining further premium refinements and continuing to redefine the notion that one need not compromise driving pleasure for practicality and efficiency.

Long regarded as one of the best-handling, most engaging vehicles in its segment, Mazda6 once again raises the bar with Mazda's first application of the all-new G-Vectoring Control (GVC) in North America. GVC is the first in a series of new SKYACTIV-VEHICLE DYNAMICS technologies that provide integrated control of the engine, transmission, chassis and body to enhance the car'sA Jinba Ittai"horse and rider as one"feel. >

GVC benefits drivers with more precise control of their vehicles, which its engineers have designed to help reduce the need for steering corrections, leading to greater confidence and control both in day-to-day and spirited driving.

But engineers didn't stop there. Their desire to seek constantly higher goals led them to bestow Mazda6 with greatly enhanced sound insulation. Using improved door seals, tighter tolerance between panels, thicker front glass, and sound insulation materials added to the underbody, rear console, headliner, and doors, the aim for Mazda6 was to outclass common midsize-segment cars with its attractive design and establish a unique "Mazda Premium" positioning.

For 2017, entry-level Mazda6 GX models now come equipped with a wide-angle rearview camera, redesigned steering wheel, redesigned seatback pockets, and redesigned side mirror turn signals.

Mid-trim GS models gain standard with navigation system, Smart City Brake Support with increased detection distance and expanded detection angle, heated steering wheel, and Advanced Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) with enhanced range.

2017 Mazda6 GT model enhancements include a new full-colour Active Driving heads-up display, 4.6-inch full-colour TFT multi-information display (MID), and Traffic Sign Recognition.

Lane-Keep Assist has also made its way into the 2017 Mazda6 in the GT Technology Package, joining other safety technologies such as Mazda Radar Cruise Control (MRCC), Smart Brake Support (SBS), Forward Obstruction Warning (FOW), Distance Recognition Support System (DRSS), Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), and High Beam Control System (HBC), in addition to SiriusXM Satellite Radio, i-ELOOP Reggenerative Braking System, and Active air shutters.

With the top-of-the-line GT Premium Package, the 2017 Mazda6 also receives numerous interior appointments, including Nappa leather seating surfaces with contrast-colour piping, a black headliner, traditional Japanese chidori stitching on the steering wheel similar to what can be found in CX-9 Signature models, and a satin chrome plated finish to switches and trim throughout the interior.

These enhancements join a long list of upgrades made to the previous year's Mazda6, which included a completely redesigned interior, a new front fascia when equipped with full LED headlights in certain models, an LED-backlit "signature wing" grille, seven-inch Mazda Connect touchscreen display with Commander control knob, white LED interior lighting, electronic parking brake, and a Sport Mode drive selection switch in models equipped with automatic transmissions.

In the U.S., Mazda6 continues to be one of the few midsize sedans offered with an available manual transmission for discerning enthusiasts. All U.S. models are powered by a 184-horsepower, 2.5-liter SKYACTIV-G engine.

The 2017 Mazda6 arrives in dealers in September, with pricing to be announced closer to its on-sale date.
If we ask parents what they want for their kids, one answer were likely to hear is: I want them fully prepared for the real world once they g
A SHUNPIKERS JOURNAL RADIO PROGRAM







The next installment of A Shunpikers Journal begins airing Wednesday, August 10th and will run for about 3 to 4 weeks

Listen to a live-stream at www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com every Wednesday at 1 PM and 7 PM and every Thursday at 1 AM and 7 AM, or go to the Website, click on Programs and Hosts, A Shunpikers Journal.

Podcasts become available shortly after the first streaming of each program.

This weeks program comes from the Concours dElegance of America at St. Johns and the Center for Automotive Researchs Management Briefing Seminars, an important automotive industry conference held for more than 50 years in beautiful Traverse City, MI.

Segment 1: Hagerty Insurance- Doug Clark, VP of Marketing, talks about Hagertys role at the Concours dElegance and other shows around the country including their kids judging program. Hagerty is the largest private employer in Traverse City and one of the largest purveyors of classic and collector car insurance in the country.

Segment 2: CAR MBS - Continental Automotive - Tejas Desai, Head of IES North America, talks about two new technologies his company is promoting - one can see around blind corners and the other can see traffic signals ahead and calculate for a driver the speed to maintain to catch it green.

Segment 3: CAR MBS - Mitsubishi Electric  Gareth Williams, Director of Advanced Development, talks about his companys new system that can see and evaluate a cars surroundings and evaluate relative risk. They have also partnered with AccuWeather to integrate minute-by-minute weather predictions into the cars navigation system.

Segment 4: CAR MBS - Square One and Wayne-Westland Community Schools  JC Irvine, Game Design and Programming instructor, talks about efforts to interest kids from kindergarten through 12th grade STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education subjects.

Segment 5: CAR MBS - Michigan Technological University  Pete Cattelino, Associate Director of Industry Relations, carries on the STEM education subject talking about Michigan Techs programs to help out with getting kids interested in STEM subjects and filling the universitys pipeline to educate students in these fields.

Segment 6: CAR MBS - Tata Technologies  Roger Townsend, VP of Engineering, Research and Development talks about the difference between the Tata Motors business unit that presides over Jaguar, Land Rover and other brands you will know and Tata Technologies, a contract engineering firm with big projects throughout the automotive industry. Much of the design, engineering and integration of the two is done by firms like Tata that can augment the resources of OEMs.
Editors note: This is a previously run column.

Sometimes, youve just got to be fiercer than your fight.

Ive come to believe this since learning about a war hero who was from our area.

That man was Donald Schwab and he lived in Hooper. Don was a farm boy who went to fight for his country during World War II.

In 1944, Don was a first lieutenant of Company E, 15th Infantry Division when he took actions that would earn him the Distinguished Service Cross and  more recently  the Medal of Honor.

The Distinguished Cross citation states what happened.

On Sept. 17, Don and his men met with intense fire, which burst without warning from some woods in front of them.

Don freed his men from the attempted ambush and led them to another position.

Ordered to overwhelm the enemy line, he organized the men into a skirmish line and led them into lethal enemy fire.

Halted a second time, he went from man to man, supervising collection of the wounded. He then rallied the decimated force for a third charge, worked his way to within 50 yards of the enemy position and ordered his men to hit the dirt.

While automatic weapon fire blazed around him, he rushed forward alone toward the enemy pistol nest that had caused so many casualties among his men.

Reaching the emplacement, he ripped off the shelters cover and hit the gunner on the head with his carbine. He then dragged the gunner back through a hail of gunfire.

His action so disorganized the enemys troops that they abandoned their defenses and withdrew.

Such bravery amazes me, but Dons son, Terry, will tell you that his dad was humble. And if he were alive today, Don probably would say that he was just doing his job.

Don died in 2005, but not before leaving a legacy of community service. He also provides an example of what one person can do.

The Bible records the story of another courageous young man, but this one lived centuries ago.

His name was David.

This story begins when David, a young shepherd, comes to the site of an impending battle between the Israelites and the Philistines. The scene starts at two hills. King Saul and the Israelites are on one hill with the Philistines on the other.

Only a valley separates them.

Davids three oldest brothers have been sent to the battle. There, they and other Israelites see their enemy  Goliath of Gath, a 9-foot-tall warrior with a bad temper and a big mouth.

Goliath shouts at the Israelite soldiers. He wants them to choose a man to fight him.

If the Israelites win, then  Goliath claims  the Philistines will be their servants. But if Goliath wins, then the Israelites will become the Philistines slaves.

Its a fight Goliath figures he cant lose.

So he takes his stand every day for 40 days, challenging the Israelites.

All the Israelites are terrified  except for David, who decides to take on Goliath.

Not everyone likes that idea.

Davids oldest brother calls him conceited and even the king tries to dissuade David from what surely is a suicide mission.

Youre only a boy and hes been a fighting man from his youth, Saul says.

Such talk doesnt stop David.

Instead, he focuses on past victories.

When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it, David says.

Few people would grab the hair of a lion or a bear, but David had found his confidence in his God.

The God who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine, David says.

So David chooses five smooth stones from a stream and with a sling goes to meet Goliath.

The huge Philistine hurls insults like spears at David. But the words just bounce off the young man, who has a message of his own.

This day, the Lord will hand you over to me, David says.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by the sword or spear that the Lord saves: for the battle is the Lords .

Then, kind of like Donald Schwab, David runs to meet his opponent.

David hurls a stone, which hits Goliath in the forehead. Goliath falls face down and dies. The rest of the Philistines run off.

What does this have to do with us today?

Its true, well probably never face a 9-foot-tall, armor clad giant.

But we still face our own Goliaths.

Have you lost a loved one? Are in you in a terrible financial crisis? Do you have a life-threatening illness?

Thats your Goliath.

Worse yet, you may be facing an army whose soldiers are fear, doubt and despair.

Where can you get help?

Go back to that ancient day battlefield.

Imagine that young shepherd.

Now remember who was on his side.

Better than any human army, our God is able to deliver us from the lions and bears and giants of this world.

After all, he created it.

He knows how to handle it.

Whats more, he knows how to handle us.

He can give us extra strength  that Holy Spirit gumption  right when we need it.

The Apostle Paul knew this. And in a letter to the Ephesians, he wrote: I pray that out of his glorious riches (God) may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.

Strength in the inner being. Thats important when your insides are quaking.

It can mean the difference between staying frozen and frightened and taking that life-changing action in tough times.

I think Don and David must have had that spirit-fueled inner strength, which helped carry them through life.

After he returned from the war, Don was an active member of Redeemer Lutheran Church.

David went on to fight many battles before becoming king of Israel.

Ill bet both men sensed the peace and gentleness of a most gracious God.

And so can we  even if were not a soldier or a shepherd or a king.

Because  as David said  the battle is the Lords.

And nobody knows how to win a fight like our God.
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The GOP must dump Trump.

That was the headline of an op-ed appearing on the Washington Posts website late Tuesday night. The most surprising thing about the pieces incredibly logical argument was its author: Morning Joe host and former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough.

For the past year, Scarborough, and by extension his left-leaning co-host Mika Brzezinski, have repeatedly been accused of being Donald Trump apologists. Early in Trumps unlikely bid president, Morning Joe was eager to host long, rambling phone interviews with the candidate, posing the type of softball questions that helped him rise above his more traditional competitors.

Scarborough was also prone to bringing up his personal relationship with Trump, casting himself as a sometimes-trusted adviser who could tell the candidate things he needed to hear. Ive actually called him up and said, Donald, listen, you need to speak in complete sentences at debates, Scarborough told an audience at the 92nd Street Y in New York last fall. Later, leaked voicemail messages appeared to confirm the cozy relationship between the two men.

Yet despite the fact that Trump has publicly referred to Scarborough and Brzezinski as supporters or at least believers during one of his live interviews on Morning Joe, the hosts have been eager to dispel that notion. At times they have protested a bit too much , for instance during a much-maligned town hall event they hosted with the candidate back in February when they called his previous debate performance disastrous and terrible.

The perception that Scarborough in particular is in the tank for Trump has been hard to shake. But this was the week he may have finally done it. It started on Tuesday morning when Scarborough described Trumps racism and bigotry as nothing more than a marketing ploy.

He doesnt believe Barack Obama was born in Kenya and Im not defending him. I say this is even worse that you play it cynically, the host said. Ive known the guy for 12 years, Ive never heard him say the first thing that even resembles a racist remark. And hes just the type of person that if you were sitting around the table and somebody made a racist remark, he would raise his eyebrow and say, Are you kidding me? Where are you from, the 1950s? This is all a scam.

The next morning, Scarborough addressed his alleged support for Trump more directly. As he put it, a lot of stupid people have watched him and Brzezinski predict Donald Trumps success and made the conclusion that they supported him and enabled him from the very beginning. He went to say that he has repeatedly asserted that he could never vote for Trump, dating back to his proposed Muslim immigration ban in November of last year and reminded viewers about that time he cut off Trump mid-rant , something he said other shows wouldnt dare do.

It wasnt advocacy, Willie Geist agreed. It was explanation and analysis.

Most forcefully, Scarborough used his WaPo op-ed to argue that Trumps latest comments suggesting that Second Amendment people could stop Clinton from taking their guns away should disqualify him as a candidate.

Calling on the Secret Service to investigate Trump and for Paul Ryan and other Republican to revoke their endorsement of him, Scarborough concluded, A bloody line has been crossed that cannot be ignored. At long last, Donald Trump has left the Republican Party few options but to act decisively and get this political train wreck off the tracks before something terrible happens.

In the MSNBC hosts view, it is not too late to get Trump on track. Rather, the GOP needs to find a way to get him off the tracks before its too late.

If nothing else, Scarborough still has the power to get Trumps attention. Earlier Wednesday morning, Trump once again used his Twitter account to attack Morning Joes ratings, calling the program sad and irrelevant. But apparently not too sad and irrelevant to ignore.

Just as Trump cant help but frame his criticism of Scarborough around Morning Joes ratings, Scarboroughs attitude about Trump has always centered around his poll numbers. When Trump was ascendant during the Republican primary, Scarborough rewarded him with political praise and ample airtime. Now that all signs point to a humiliating defeat in the fall, perhaps Scarborough is simply hedging his bets.

Ironically, its a principle Trump should in theory support: Get behind the winner, but as soon as he starts to look like a loser, run the other way.
KIEV  It all began from one personal story about sexual harassment told by a Ukrainian, whose beauty may have played a part. Nastya Melnychenkos almond-shaped eyes seem to appraise and challenge the readers of her Facebook page. And there, earlier this year, Melnychenko was the first woman publicly to declare in Ukraine a story whose outlines are, in fact, all too common.

She had been molested at age 6 by a relative; when she was 12 a mana passer-bygrabbed her between her legs right on Kievs central avenue. At age 21 her former partner violently forced her onto a bed, undressed her, and took photographs, threatening to post the pictures on the internet if she did not stay with him.

Until this month Melnychenko did not dare to admit that she was a victim of such sexual violence; she was terrified that the homemade porn would appear on the internet. But I grew out of it, she wrote as she launched a growing flashmob group called #Iamnotafraidtosayit in Ukrainian. She stopped worrying about blackmail, she said. I am not afraid to speak, I do not feel guilty, she wrote.

Melnychenko tells The Daily Beast that she had not the slightest idea that in a few weeks the movement she inspired would draw in 93,666 Ukrainian and 96,868 Russian Facebook users.

And here is what was even more shocking: About one third of all the flashmobs confessions were told by people who said they are rape victims. Even experts dealing with issues of sexual violence in post-Soviet countries, where the problem is known to be extreme, were amazed to see the scale of the movement.

I knew that in some regions almost every third woman had experienced rape, but when I saw that even among your friends there are victims of incest, sexual violence, rape, as if they were norms of life, I felt shocked, Irina Kosterina, a sociologist studying gender issues in Russia, told The Daily Beast.

And now we are hearing from the men whove been victims of rape as well.

Zoryan Kis was 17 years old when a group of men, who he thought were his friends, raped him at a party in somebodys apartment, humiliating him while he was drunk and helpless. Kis tried to heal his wounds alone and kept the rape a secret from the entire world.

I buried my pain deep inside for 16 years, said Kis, who is now a Kiev based human rights defender and LGBT activist. Until this month, when I saw brave confessions by thousands of women telling their rape stories in the internet movement called #Iamnotafraidtosayit.

He saw that some of those who responded to the posts on Facebook felt intimidated by the feminist zeal and suggested that men should write about the times when they were rejected or ditched by women.

That idea angered Kis: I thought that men should hear from a man, what it feels like to be raped. Looking back at his life, Kis realized he saw violence around him from an early age. My father, the most intelligent philosopher, often grabbed my mother when they argued and threw her against the wall, Kis recalled. She fell on the floor, but he would grab her again and smash her against the wall again and again, until she divorced him.

The flashmob turned out to be a litmus paper for tolerance in Ukrainian and Russian society. How to explain that these huge countries in Europe were full of rapists, full of violent men?

In both Ukraine and Russia, generations suffered from militaristic rule, from endless wars, political repression, and domestic violence, that led to such a high level of rape, said Kosterina. If in the West a potential rapist might be stopped by a rape button and legal procedures that, ostensibly at least, encouraged the victim to tell the truth, In Russia raped women have to collect the evidence themselves, while cops laugh and humiliate them. Children, teens, young women, and men stayed silent.

Two years ago, during pro-European protests in Kiev, the Maidan Revolutions activists put up I am not afraid signs in the Ukrainian capitals central square.

Last year the Moscow region AIDS Center began a campaign#dontbeafraidwearewithyouin which celebrities and ordinary people with HIV negative results of blood tests published their photographs in support of HIV patients. But getting rid of fear became an avalanche.

In recent months, women have talked of their complexes, of losing the sense that their bodies belonged to them, with many of them telling their stories on Ukraines Hramadske TV as well as on the social media.

One of the star reporters at Hramadske, Ekaterina Sergatskova, also wrote on Facebook about a few episodes in her lifebut not everything.

I also have a story, but I am not ready to share it, as I am not sure if I did not cause the violence myself, Sergatskova said.

Russians and Ukrainians are still learning, it seems, that while relationships are complicated, violence is not, and they should not be afraid to say that.
With a role in the R-rated animation Sausage Party, a high profile stint on Mr. Robot, his upcoming Spike TV game show, and a surprising award-winning turn in the Sundance darling Morris From America, we are currently experiencing a bountiful moment in the career of stand-up-turned-actor Craig Robinson. One might even call it a creative renaissance for the Office, Hot Tub Time Machine, and This Is The End star: a Craig Robinsonaissance.

Its about the opportunities! Robinson beams appreciatively on a recent afternoon in Los Angeles, where hes come full circle with Morris From America, an indie gem from writer-director Chad Hartigan thats brought new dramatic prospects into his horizon. In it he plays Curtis, the widower father of a 13-year-old boy (newcomer Markees Christmas) whos just beginning to feel his first pangs of rebellion and interest in girls while feeling awkwardly out of place in the German town his dad has moved them to.

Inspired by Hartigans own adolescence feeling awkwardly out of place abroad, the sweetly perceptive coming-of-age tale is infused with hip-hop songs that bond father and son, including a memorably cringe-worthy Robinson rendition of a Biggie classic. I like that Chad knows more about hip-hop than me, he laughs, dropping two lines of Juicy before trailing off, admitting he cant remember the words. I love hip-hop, but hip-hop is a way of life.

Its also a refreshingly loving film about African-American adolescence and family. Thats another thing that made me want to do this, says Robinson. I dont see that relationship often in television or movies. And the relationship itself, between fatherhood and friendship, the respect that is given, the sense that we are one, were in this togetherI love all those things.

The film also handles itself gracefully when Morris, the only black kid in town, is confronted by subtle and overt racism. Chad didnt make that what the movies about, Robinson notes. He just didnt ignore that these things happen.

While Robinsons paternal chemistry with Christmas flows with a familiar ease, its the 44-year-old comedy veterans silently wrought grief that helped earn the actor Sundances Special Jury Award for his performance. The plaudit caught him by surprise and helped put his turn in Morris on the industrys radar, leading to his casting as Ray, an enigmatic figure with a deep, dark online life on the current season of Mr. Robot.

[I was] mind. Blown. Just mind-blown, he said, shaking his head. I so respect Sundance. Id been hearing about it for years. It was a huge honor. In the next few years, he says, he wants to pursue more dramatic roles. I want to go deeper.

Robinsons charisma buoys his turn as a man sympathetically watching his son hit the turbulent teens in a strange land, striking a lovely note that earned Robinson the laurel of Woke Dad Of The Year. He smiles at the phrase, crediting his own parents for raising him to be as chill as Curtis in real life.

You might see somebody comment on something on the internet. You might think theres a whole racial thing going on, but instead of name-calling, lets all realize were in the same boat. Lets have a discussion, he offers. He says hes never been the type to escalate a conflict, which also might explain why the unflustered Craig Robinson we know from the movies seems so much like the unflustered Craig Robinson you meet in person.

Yeah! Why should I name-call? Im not going to resort to that, he said. I think I said something mean when I was little and my mother snapped on me. I was just like, Im sorry! I could relate. If I had cursed out my dad, I probably would be just waking up.

Theres a sense that one things led to another in Robinsons life and career. Hes long been a part of the extended Judd Apatow universe that led him to voicing a box of grits opposite Seth Rogens heroic wiener in Sausage Party, and it was his Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green who recommended him to Hartigan. Chad says David said, Craig Robinson can do anythinghes just afraid of small spaces, he says. Its true! Im claustrophobic.

One pitfall of getting more recognizable over the years, he tells me, is that fame has made it difficult to hit the karaoke bars. Thats a fate I wouldnt wish upon anyone. He at least gets to scratch that itch on Spike TVs Caraoke Showdown, a game show on wheels thats something like Carpool Karaoke meets Cash Cab, in which he drives strangers around in a car playing zany karaoke games.

Karaoke Ill destroy you, he challenges, a grin spreading across his face. He throws his head back, conjuring memories of karaoke nights past. Ive had some good moments at karaoke. Back in the day, oh my gosh before I was more in the public eye. Nowadays I dont do it as much because if you do, its going to be on the internet. But man, when I was

His go-tos? Purple Rain. Smells Like Teen Spirit. Our Time Is Running Out by Muse. Johnny Cashs Hurt. Creep. Ive seen some people, one person sang Princes Nothing Compares 2 U. It was this guy, and the aura around him I think he was also kind of out of his mind with drugs, but whoooo! I can still see him. He also had a tutu on. It was amazing.

Karaoke, however, was not involved the night he serendipitously met and befriended Michael Fassbender in New Orleans when 12 Years A Slave and This Is The End happened to be filming at the same time.

No, there was no Fassbender karaoke, he recalls. He breaks into a huge grin. I was drunk Fassbender, I think he had some drinks. I sat next to himI didnt know who he was yetbut immediately we clicked. Hes that dude. We shot pool!

I remember at one point it was probably three in the morning and I had to be up at 7. I was about to say, Im about to go to bed. Before I could he said, Shall we play some blackjack? I was like, NO!

One of his next films is James Francos adaptation of Zeroville, a movie stuffed with more pals like Franco, Rogen, and Danny McBride. I befriend people, a smiling Robinson shrugs. People befriend me.
The Drug Enforcement Administration teased an announcement about the classification of marijuana today at 11 a.m., an uncharacteristically transparent move for the tight-lipped agency.

But hopes of change were quickly vanquished as an old familiar refrain echoed across the internet: The DEA will affirm its prohibition. The big reveal is nothing more than the decision to reduce some barriers to researchevery bit the blow it seems.

With marijuana legal for medicinal purposes in 26 states and recreationally in four, it may seem that the U.S. is already beating the war on drugs, but state laws bypassing a federal one do not a legal drug make. The DEA currently considers marijuana a Schedule I substance, its strictest classification. Paired alongside heroin and LSD, its deemed a lethal drug with a high potential for abuse, and no medicinal value.

As such, testing it on humansthe only way to prove this classification wrongis all but impossible. Removing some obstacles to this may advance research, but even studies of legal substances take years. In the interim, people of color will continue to be prosecuted at higher rates for pot, and people with ailments that could be treated with the drug may still not have access.

Reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule II substance alongside oxycodone and methadonethe conclusion many hoped forwould have been a huge win. Upholding the 30-year prohibition of pot instead isnt a novel move for the DEA, but it stings more when youve briefly tasted freedom.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), explains why.

The federal regulations have made clinical investigations involving cannabis needlessly onerous and have placed unnecessary and arbitrary restrictions on marijuana that do not exist for other controlled substances, he says. Ample scientific evidence already exists to remove cannabis from its Schedule I classification and to acknowledge its relative safety compared to other scheduled substances, like opioids, and unscheduled substances, such as alcohol.

Its not the first time the DEA has flatly rejected petitions to reclassify marijuana, the first of which was filed in 1972, another in 1988, and a big one in 2002. The current strike-down springs from two recent petitionsone filed in 2009 by a nurse practitioner and another in 2011 by the governors of Washington and Rhode Island.

Despite rejecting the chance to reclassify the drug, the announcement will not come without any positive changes. Armentano and others say the agency will be loosening its grip on some of the roadblocks to research (which, of course, could also be achieved by reclassifying it). This will likely involve lifting the National Institute on Drug Abuses monopoly of research-grade medical marijuana, which admittedly is a big win.

In the current legal landscape, getting approval to test cannabis on humans is something that few attempt to doand even less succeed. In the last two decades, only two researchers in America have gotten a green light. Even writing the grant itself requires getting funding to study a drug that is federally illegal, a huge hurdle. Next you need approval from the DEA, Department of Health and Human Services, and NIDAa major undertaking.

The latters approval is crucial, as it manages the only plot of land in the U.S. dedicated to growing research-grade marijuana, located at the University of Mississippi. The supply is not only low, but contains less-than-optimal strains of marijuana for research that rests on the caliber of just that. That is what the DEA is likely to change Thursday.

Perhaps the greatest example of how difficult it is to study marijuana on humans at this point is the story of Sue Sisley, a researcher who won approval to study it in 2014, only to be fired from the University of Arizona where it was to be carried out. Sisleys project involved testing the drug on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, a debilitating condition and one of the leading causes of suicide in that demographic.

It took Sisley nearly two more years to find another place where she could perform the study with NIDAs approval, and plans didnt begin until this April. With roughly 20 veterans committing suicide each day, that could be 16,000 men and women who have died since she won the $2 million to study it.

So although loosening the restrictions on the supply itself may be a step forward, its not exactly the historic announcement that everyone was hoping for. There are many fallouts to upholding the criminal status of the drug, specifically those prosecuted. Changing the research process will do nothing to curb the thousands of arrests that happen each year for marijuana violations.

Despite the changing legality of cannabis, arrests nationwide continue to rise, specifically among minorities. According to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union, black men and women are three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as whites. Arrests for marijuana rose 30 percent in New York from mid-2015 to 2016, just 9 percent of which involved white peopledespite research showing that blacks and Hispanics use marijuana in equal numbers.

Refusing to lift the strict status that allows police to prosecute marijuana violators is nothing short of devastating for the families of those affected. Thats not to mention people who now struggleand will continueto get access to medical marijuana to treat conditions that it has been shown to virtually cure, such as wasting syndrome (from HIV) and childhood epilepsy.

For drug experts nationwide, Thursdays declaration is a disappointment of huge proportions.

The DEAs refusal to remove marijuana from Schedule I is, quite frankly, mind-boggling, Mason Tvert, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, told The Daily Beast. It is intellectually dishonest and completely indefensible. Not everyone agrees marijuana should be legal, but few will deny that it is less harmful than alcohol and many prescription drugs. It is less toxic, less addictive, and less damaging to the body.

Armentano, for one, hopes that Congress will use the opportunity to amend the status, which it has the power to do. Ultimately, the federal government ought to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act altogether in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco, he says. Thus providing states the power to establish their own marijuana regulatory policies free from federal intrusion.

Failure to do so continues the federal governments flat Earth position, says Armentano. It willfully ignores the well-established therapeutic properties associated with the plant and it ignores the laws in 26 states recognizing marijuanas therapeutic efficacy.

While Armentano does commend the decision to change the research status, Tvertwho helped author Amendment 64, which legalized recreational cannabis in Coloradois less impressed. The DEAs announcement is a little sweet but mostly bitter, he says. Praising them for it would be like rewarding a student who failed an exam and agreed to cheat less on the next one.

Editor's Note: The original version of this piece misidentified methamphetamine as a Schedule I substance. In fact, it is Schedule II.
No one loves the Second Amendment more than Donald Trump , according to Donald Trump.

Whats more, he says, only he can save it from the likes of Hillary Clinton, whom, he recently claimed without evidence in a seeming incitement of violence , would scrap the right to keep and bear arms from the Constitution.

As with most of his political opinions, the Republican presidential nominees stance on gun rights has changed over the years. But Trump does have a plan to rescue the sacred yet apparently imperiled Second Amendment, one he lays out in his official position , published on his campaign website in September 2015.

Trumps plan calls for a number of policies, such as an expansion of gun rights and the overhaul of a broken mental health care system, common refrains from Second Amendment advocates. It begins, however, with another directiveEnforce The Laws On The Booksand as best practice, Trump invokes, but never names, Senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine. Indeed, Trumps plan to Make America Great for Gun Owners Again leans heavily on Project Exile, a 1997 program Kaine implemented as mayor of Richmond, Virginia, that was aimed at driving down crime rates by elevating gun offenses to the tougher federal court system.

Several years ago there was a tremendous program in Richmond, Virginia called Project Exile, Trumps policy reads.

It said that if a violent felon uses a gun to commit a crime, you will be prosecuted in federal court and go to prison for five yearsno parole or early release. Obamas former Attorney General, Eric Holder, called that a cookie cutter program. Thats ridiculous. I call that program a success. Murders committed with guns in Richmond decreased by over 60% when Project Exile was in placein the first two years of the program alone, 350 armed felons were taken off the street.

It continues: We need to bring back and expand programs like Project Exile and get gang members and drug dealers off the street. When we do, crime will go down and our cities and communities will be safer places to live.

Project Exileimplemented when the Richmond had the nations third-highest murder rate per capitawas the result of a collaboration among federal prosecutors, law enforcement agents, local police, and state attorneys who agreed to prosecute qualifying gun crimes in federal court, where sentences were stiffer; bail, plea-bargains, and parole were unlikely; and, as the programs name suggests, time was usually served out of state, far from family and friends.

Word spread quickly. If a convicted felon was found carrying a gun during the commission of a crime, local prosecutors would now toss the case to the feds, who would seek sentences twice as harsh. The policy was blasted to would-be criminals in a massive advertising campaign. Billboards and city buses emblazoned with An illegal gun gets you 5 years in Federal Prison, were funded in part by the NRA, which donated $125,000 to the marketing initiative.

Our idea was, Lets do a lot of cases, well incapacitate the worst gun carriers in Richmond and maybe will scare the rest of them through word of mouth into not carrying guns, then Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney James Comey said at the time .

Its just amazing how afraid these guys are of the federal system, Kaine told The Chicago Tribune in 2000. People who you think are tough and not afraid of anything, well, theyre afraid of federal prison. So it means they think twice about taking their gun out with them.

The general consensus from politicians and law enforcement officials was that Project Exile worked. Cheerleaders for the program touted statistics showing an extreme reduction in crime: After one year, the homicide rate fell by over a third, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Schiller told The New York Times in 1999 that Project Exile had led to the recovery of 475 illegal guns, and more than 400 indictments.

Project Exile was so popular that even the NRA and the the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, then known as Handgun Control, Inc., got behind the initiative, with NRA president Charlton Heston requesting $50 million at a House subcommittee hearing to expand Project Exile into more major cities. The bipartisan support for Project Exile was, as one committee member put it, something that is unrivaled in the annals of history, perhaps only by Mr. Hestons parting of the Red Sea.

But not everyone was convinced.

Several federal judges labeled the practice as an overreach by the federal government into state matters, with one writing to Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist that Project Exile had turned his federal court into a minor grade state police court.

More than 200 gun possession cases totally lacking in Federal significance have been processed through our court, U.S. District Judge Richard Williams wrote. Moreover, the cost of trying cases in federal court, which fell on taxpayers, was three times that of those tried at the state level, he said.

There was also a human cost, critics said. Local defense attorneys argued the program was inherently racist, prosecuting black city criminals almost exclusively under federal guidelines while their white suburban counterparts were tried in state courts. More recently, Black Lives Matter advocates have criticized Project Exile as a continuation of the 1990s initiatives enacted by former president Bill Clinton that led to the mass incarceration of the nations back men and boyspolicies from which Hillary Clinton has struggled to distance herself .

Project Exile broke black families, Nicole Lee, a civil rights lawyer in Washington D.C., told Reuters last month . This is not a benign thing to be for. These measures were not used against white kids in the suburbs with guns, they were used against black kids in the cities.

Perhaps the most damning critique of the initiative has come from academics who have questioned the reported success of what were, in effect, sentencing enhancements. An analysis from the University of Chicago found claims of Project Exiles accomplishments to be misguided and attributed the reduction of gun murders to other factors (PDF).

Despite its critics, Kaine has repeatedly offered the program as an example of his tough stance on crime and used Project Exiles overwhelming popularity to win elections.

Kaine sat on Richmonds City Council when Project Exile was created in 1997. He was elected mayor in 1998.

During his ultimately successful 2001 bid to be Virginias lieutenant mayor, Kaine told The Washington Post that he had [kept] our community safe from crime by implementing Project Exile.

In 2003, then Lt. Governor Kaine criticized House Republicans who cut the programs funding. As a leader in implementing Project Exile, I was able to see the positive impact this valuable and effective crime-fighting program had in Richmond and then statewide, and finally as a national model, Kaine wrote in a press release.

As a result, the program was slowly and unceremoniously phased out. Last week, an assistant Richmond commonwealths attorney, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch , I think officially Project Exile, as Project Exile, doesnt exist.

As Mayor of Richmond, Tim Kaine helped implement Project Exile, his 2005 campaign website reads. Project Exile, it continues, provide[s] a powerful illustration of the right way to combat the problem of gun violence: crack down on the criminals who use guns instead of restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

Trumps campaign did not return a request for comment from The Daily Beast. But in numerous appearances and tweets since the announcement of Kaine as Clintons running mate, Trump has attacked the pick as evidence of her questionable judgement.

Tim Kainenobody even knows who he is. No, hes done a terrible job for Virginia, Trump said to supporters in Roanoke, Virginia, at a July rally.

One assumes hes not counting Kaines tremendous program in Richmond.
Lost in the furor surrounding Donald Trumps remark that Second Amendment people might be able to do something about Hillary Clinton was the ad-libs context: Trump was talking about appointing judges and justices.

Just a few sentences after the Second Amendment remark, Trump boasted, we have such great Justices, you saw my list of 11 that have been vetted and respected. At the top of the listprepared not by Trump but by the Heritage Foundation, the conservative-to-libertarian think tank funded by the Coors family, the Koch Brothers, the Bradley Foundation, the Scaife Foundation, and the Olin Foundation, some of the same funders who have blocked the nomination of Judge Merrick Garlandis Judge William Pryor of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Now, Bill Pryor is, by all accounts, a distinguished and ethical jurist. Born in 1962, he has had a brilliant career, serving as Alabamas youngest attorney general from 1997-2003 before being nominated by President George W. Bush to a federal appeals court.

During Pryors confirmation hearings, though, he emerged as a fierce ideologue, particularly on the issue of abortion. Pryor was the polar opposite of Judge Merrick Garland, President Obamas Supreme Court nominee who is widely praised as a circumspect centrist. Pryor didnt back off from his past remark that Roe v. Wade was the worst abomination in the history of constitutional law. Nor did he disavow his shocking statement that I will never forget Jan. 22, 1973, the day seven members of our highest court ripped the Constitution and ripped out the life of millions of unborn children.

On the contrary, when pressed to explain such statements, Pryor doubled down, saying that Roe has led to the slaughter of millions of innocent unborn children and created out of thin air a constitutional right to murder an unborn child.

I believe that abortion is the taking of human life, he said in response to a question from Senator Orrin Hatch. I believe that abortion is morally wrong.

Of course, Pryor, who is Catholic is entitled to hold any moral beliefs he wants. Hillary Clintons choice for vice president, Tim Kaine, for example, is personally pro-life. Yet while Pryor told Hatch that I am able to put aside personal beliefs and follow the law, even when I strongly disagree with it, he clearly was not able to do so even in the context of the confirmation hearing, in which he disregarded the careful substantive due process reasoning of Roe and the legal conclusion that embryos, blastocysts, and fetuses before viability are not legally children, despite some religious teachings to the contrary.

The National Review called the hearings one of the most extraordinary Judiciary Committee sessions in recent memory.

Following the hearings, Democrats filibustered Pryors nomination until Republicans threatened the nuclear option of eliminating the filibuster altogether.

Pryor is also (in-)famous for a 2000 speech he gave (to the Heritage Foundation, incidentally) in which he called Miranda v. Arizona one of the two worst examples of judicial activism. (The other, of course, was Roe.) If youve ever watched a cop series on TV, you know Mirandathats the case that required police to tell arrestees you have the right to remain silent.

In Pryors world, those warnings wouldnt exist.

Then theres the time in 2002 Pryor argued before the Supreme Court that cuffing a prisoner to a hitching post in the hot Alabama sun, with his hands tied over his head, was not cruel and unusual punishment. The Court disagreed, noting obvious cruelty inherent in the practice.

Now, Pryor is not some caricature. Indeed, Pryor once irritated conservatives for supporting the removal of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore over Moores open defiance of a federal court order to remove a blatantly unconstitutional sculpture of the ten commandments from the front yard of the states judicial building. At the time, Pryor said that Moore had flagrantly disobeyed the law, incited the public to support his misconduct and undermined the integrity, independence, and impartiality of the judiciary. (Moore did the same thing this year, ordering clerks not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples).

Pryors record on racial issues is more complex. Prior to his confirmation, he supported several African American causes in Alabama, siding with the NAACP on redistricting issues, prosecuting the perpetrators of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, and working to eliminate racial disparities in criminal sentences.

But Pryor also urged Congress to repeal Section 5 of the Voting Right Act way back in 1997, fully 16 years before the Supreme Court said it had outlived its usefulness because there was no more racial discrimination. And since becoming a judge, Pryor wrote the opinion upholding Georgias voter ID law, and, with one other judge, voided an antidiscrimination claim by saying that a supervisor calling a black employee boy was not evidence of racism.

In an odd way, Pryor isnt so different from his new number one fan, though hes certainly far more intelligent. Both are outspoken, using hyperbolic language when discretion might be better advised. Both seem relatively uninterested in the suffering of others. And both, if Americans care to pay attention, might raise the profile of the Supreme Court as a crucial issue in presidential elections. In this way, perhaps in this way alone, both might be doing a service to our democracy.
Channeling the open-plains lyricism of Terrence Malicks 1973 masterpiece Badlands and its modern spiritual offspring, Andrew Dominiks 2007 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (not to mention David Lowerys even more recent Aint Them Bodies Saints), David Mackenzies Hell or High Water concerns two brothers on a bank-robbing spree through West Texas, and the just-shy-of-retirement ranger intent on catching them. Its a well-worn premise made fresh by the fact that these poor crooks arent driven by greed, but by a desperate desire to save their family ranch, and a bone-deep anger at the predatory bank looking to foreclose on it. That motivation lends this crime saga an of-the-moment timeliness to itthough its the films ominous atmospheric stillness and contemplative fatalism that truly makes it such a well-timed antidote to the cacophonous CGI-infested letdowns of this summer movie season.

Written by Sicario scribe Taylor Sheridan (whose script topped 2012s Black List, the collection of Hollywoods best unproduced screenplays), Hell or High Water requires only minutes of action and dialogue to fully establish its protagonists and their unfortunate circumstances.

Commencing with a circular pan around a parking lot outside a bankwhere a graffitied message laments, Three tours in Iraq but no bailout for folks like usMackenzies camera soon settles on two masked, hooded gunmen forcing a teller to empty out the establishments petty cash drawers before opening for business. Its an efficient heist, albeit one that concludes with hotheaded Tanner (Ben Foster) giving the just-arrived bank manager a pistol-butt-to-the-face farewell. Cooler Toby (Chris Pine) isnt pleased with this bit of excessive violence, but as their car careens through back alleyways while cop sirens begin to howl, he too gives in to the euphoric rush of an illicit job well done.

Two more stick-ups quickly follow, including one performed solo by Tanner as Toby finishes a meal at a diner andgrateful for the waitresss kind offer of a jobleaves a gigantic tip. Along with a visit back to the homestead, where Tanner remarks upon the abodes deterioration and the cattles emaciation, as well as gazes at the bed where his mother spent her final days while he was in prison, these early scenes are marked by conversational exchanges that reveal backstory and personality details in unassuming drips and drabs. Hell or High Water defines its characters in quick, sharp brushstrokes, just as it suggests its milieus financial hardship, and the forces behind its decay, via a series of early images of the duos car driving past signs that read In Debt? and Debt Relief.

As it turns out, theres a method to Toby and Tanners mayhem: namely, to rob various Texas Midlands bank branches, launder the stolen money through a nearby casino, and then use those funds to pay Texas Midlands whats owed on their ranchs outstanding mortgage. In essence, theyre robbing Peter to pay Peter, all so Toby can leave the property to his estranged sons. And theyre doing so in small enough individual hauls to avoid attracting the attention of the feds. Nonetheless, their gun-toting romp is fraught with bad omens, not least of which is wild-man Tanners fondness for drinking too much (Who the hell gets drunk off of beer? he questions while having another brew) and, later, his decision to bring a couple of assault rifle-shaped bags with them on their jobs.

A more immediate problem is law enforcement, which here comes in the form of Texas Ranger Marcus (Jeff Bridges) and his partner Alberto (Gil Birmingham), whom the former incessantly bombards with barbs about his half-breed Native American-Mexican heritage. Theirs is a combative rapport, and like Toby and Tanners, its developed over numerous, natural back-and-forths that are infused with a sense of shared history. As the two embark on their pursuit, Hell or High Water proves content to merely sidle up alongside its primary pairs as they deliberately set about their (inevitably converging) paths. Theres a leisurely pace to the material, which isnt the same as sluggish; instead, the proceedings unhurried momentum amplifies the feeling that inescapable doom looms just over the vast, imposing horizon that Mackenzie (a stylistic chameleon whos following up 2014s gritty prison drama Starred Up) often captures in gorgeous magic hour panoramas.

Most hauntingly evoked in the image of Toby and Tanner palling around in silhouette at dusk, Hell or High Waters characters are all on the verge of becoming ghosts, left to wither away and disappear in a gone-to-seed environment about to do likewise. Mackenzies assured direction so ably conveys this notion in visual terms that its a shame when Sheridans script forces its subjectsmost notably Alberto, in a speech equating the stolen-land plight of Native Americans to that of Texass bank-exploited whitesto spout on-the-nose exposition about the storys themes. Courtesy of Pine and Fosters superbly lived-in performances, Toby and Tanners fury at their unjust economic mistreatment is visible in their determined, sorrowful eyes, and doesnt require the film to belabor its The Grapes of Wrath-ish point through overt statements of purpose.

Such gestures, however, do little to undercut Hell or High Waters electric power, nor its ultimate, mature recognitionduring an unbelievably well-orchestrated finale and codathat two opposing facts about a situation can be true at the same time. Rather than reconciling his scenario in tidy moralizing fashion, Mackenzie simply lets both perspectives on his story exist in uneasy conflict. Just as shrewd, it allows Jeff Bridges to deliver what may be one of the most colorful, and yet nuanced, performances of his career.

With roughneck charm, the actor speaks in a deep, borderline-slurry southern drawl that makes it sound like his mouth is half-coated in peanut butterhearing him say They bopped you in the schnozola, huh? is one of the movie years finest highlights. And he dons and removes his Stetson (and places it, while seated, on the tip of his boot) with preternatural old-world grace. Embodying Marcus as a cowboy futilely clinging both to a past that continues to recede, and a present constantly shifting under his feet, its a turn that imbues a potential caricature with profound depths of knotty feelings, and is epitomized by a post-climactic outburst of simultaneous satisfaction, joy, and hopeless grief that also, in the end, sums up the mood struck by this remarkable genre gem.
Senior officials at U.S. Central Command manipulated intelligence reports, press statements, and congressional testimony to present a more positive outlook on the war against the so-called Islamic State, a House Republican task force concluded in a damning report released Thursday.

The report, written by the members of the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees and the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, confirmed more than a year of reporting by The Daily Beast about problems with CENTCOM analysis of the war against ISIS.

House Democrats, who conducted their own separate investigation, reached a similar conclusion as their Republican colleagues, finding that CENTCOM insufficiently accommodated dissenting views, Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

The altering of intelligence reports, which included information that made its way into briefings to President Obama, was systematic, lawmakers found.

There was a consistent trend that across four specific campaigns against [ISIS] in Iraq throughout 2014 and 2015, assessments approved by the J2 [CENTCOMs Joint Intelligence Center] or leadership were consistently more positive than those presented by the [intelligence community], the report found.

The lawmakers noted, for instance, that the CIA publicly portrayed ISIS as a more resilient and powerful organization than CENTCOMs analysiswhich was not publicly sharedsuggested.

The lawmakers were limited in the amount of reporting they could review, but focused their attention on the period when ISIS expanded its reach to Iraqi cities like Fallujah, Tikrit, and Irbil in the Kurdish north. They found that senior CENTCOM intelligence officials gave a deference to operational reporting, including reports on the number of ISIS targets that were hit in airstrikes each day. But these incremental, day-to-day reports didnt fully capture the trajectory of the overall war effort, which analysts said was not leading towards a U.S. victory over the terrorist group.

The Daily Beast had previously reported that CENTCOM intelligence leaders demanded significant alterations to analysts reports that questioned whether airstrikes against ISIS were damaging the groups finances and its ability to launch attacks. Reports that showed the group being weakened by the U.S.-led air campaign received comparatively little scrutiny.

The congressional report confirmed those earlier allegations. The result of the altered reports was analysis that was more positive regarding the capabilities of the [Iraqi Security Forces] and the progress of the fight against [ISIS] than analysts felt could be justified.

According to multiple interviewees, operational reporting was used as a justification to alter or soften an analytic product so it would cast U.S. efforts in a more positive light, the report found.

Lawmakers pinned the blame for the doctored reportswhich prompted more than 50 analysts to complain to the Defense Department inspector generalon the top two leaders in CENTCOMs intelligence directorate, Maj. Gen. Steven Grove, the head of the organization, and Gregory Ryckman, his civilian deputy. (Neither were mentioned by name in the report, but it makes clear that the problems coincided with their tenure and leadership.)

But for all the congressional reports troubling findings, there is one important question that remains unanswered: Why did senior leaders alter the intelligence about ISIS? The report doesnt answer whether Ryckman or Grove were acting on orders from higher up or suggestions of their leadership, whether changes in analysis were politically driven, or whether there was a climate that encouraged a positive assessment of the war effort.

The report doesnt find any evidence that the White House ordered reports to be changed to present a rosier picture.

But Rep. Mike Pompeo, who was part of the task force, said the group believes that there was an unspoken understanding within the administration of how the war against jihadists was going and that drove decision makers within CENTCOM.

The most senior leaders in Central Command and the J2 had a deep understanding of the political narrative the administration was putting forth, Pompeo said in an interview with The Daily Beast. The culture was one where you were rewarded for embracing that political narrative.

The president was out talking about the same fight, the success of defeating the jihadist threat. The messaging from the [National Security Council] and the White House was all in one direction. So there is no alternative explanation for why they would behave this way they did, Pompeo said.

Indeed, theres little doubt that the rise of ISIS was a political embarrassment as well as a security challenge for the White House. It came one year after President Obamas re-election, in a campaign that celebrated the wind down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In early 2014, Obama infamously described ISIS as the J.V. team among terrorist groups. U.S. troops left Iraq at the end of 2011 and, at the time, were supposed to be mostly out of Afghanistan by 2015.

Despite nearly nine months of review, we still do not fully understand the reasons and motivations behind this practice and how often the excluded analyses were proven ultimately to be correct, Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and member of the task force, said in a statement.

But Wenstrup noted the effects have been damaging regardless.

We cannot win a war against ISIS with incomplete intelligence, he wrote.

The Republican report attributed the problems at CENTCOM in part to a change in leadership and in the process by which intelligence reports are created. In the weeks after ISIS took control of Iraqs second-largest city, Mosul, in June 2014, intelligence leaders were given a more direct say in how lower-level analysts reports were produced and then sent along to the military brass. That irked some analysts who, while outranked by the CENTCOM leaders, had been studying ISIS and other terrorist groups for years and thought their expert views werent being given full weight.

In May 2015, CENTCOM analysts formally complained to the inspectors general for the Defense Intelligence Agency and for the intelligence community, which passed the complaints on to the congressional committees. Seven months later, an internal survey of intelligence analysts revealed that 40 percent of respondents had experienced an attempt to distort or suppress intelligence in the past year, the report found.

The survey results alone should have prompted CENTCOM and [intelligence community] leaders to take corrective action without other inducements. During interviews, however, multiple Intelligence Directorate senior leaders challenged the legitimacy of the survey results rather than taking responsibility for them, the report found.

The amount of damage such misleading reports had on the Obama administrations and the militarys overall understanding of the war on ISIS remains unclear. But the report noted that Ryckman and Grove had several secure conference calls with top civilian intelligence officials, including the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, and that such access gave CENTCOMs reports outsized influence on the material presented to the president outside of formal coordination channels.

The impact was that you have a false signal being sent to officials, Pompeo told The Daily Beast. They had information what wasnt true. It difficult to wind back and say what would have happened had they had different information.

As part of a normal personnel rotation, Grove left CENTCOMs intelligence directorate this summer and now is stationed at the Pentagon as director of the Army Quadrennial Defense Review Office. He has been replaced by Maj. Gen. Mark R. Quantock. Ryckman remains in the same position.

U.S. Central Command has seen the Congressional Joint Task Force initial report and we appreciate the independent oversight provided, Navy Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a CENTCOM spokesman, said in a statement to The Daily Beast. We are reviewing the findings of the initial report; since the Joint Task Force investigation is ongoing, as is the [Defense Department Inspector Generals] investigation, we will refrain from further comment at this time.

The Defense investigation is expected to be released by the end of this year.

The task force investigation in ongoing, Pompeo said, and he hopes to release a final report by the end of the year.
Some things in life are constants: death, taxes, and bad vaginal advice from the Kardashians. After Khloe Kardashian made headlines for recommending that women put vitamin E oil inside their vaginas, gossip and lifestyle blogs decided it would be the perfect time to resurface the celebrity sisters recommendation of a boutique radiofrequency vaginal treatment called ThermiVa. And, once again, those bloggers are not applying nearly enough scrutiny to a Kardashians genital guidance.

Hollywood Life interviewed Kim Kardashians celebrity dermatologist Dr. Harold Lancer whosurprise!called ThermiVa a transformative technology for treating a multitude of vaginal issues, which prompted YourTango to declare that the new vagina obsession has a doctors seal of approval.

The millennial-focused Refinery 29 recently put it on a list of instant-gratification beauty treatments calling it a vaginal-rejuvenation process you can have done before you even finish an episode of The Bachelor.

Whats worse is that this hyperbolic ThermiVa talk should have been put to bed a long time ago: Khloe first brought it up on a March episode of her now-cancelled talk show Kocktails with Khloe during a conversation with Botched plastic surgeon Dr. Terry Dubrow.

My sisters, theyve had kids, and theres a vagina lasering thing to tighten it, said Khloe. So in all my household, all they do is talk about this vagina laser. It works, added Dubrow. It shrinks the inside and it basically  re-virginizes you. Its like a face-lift of the vagina, kind of. ThermiVa does have FDA clearance for dermatological use but that doesnt mean its been FDA-approved for any of the purposes that the Kardashians have used it for. The device is essentially a wand that dermatologists can insert into the vaginal canal to heat tissue, theoretically stimulate collagen production and alleviate vulvovaginal laxity. To try it, youll need a Kardashian-sized bank account because a full set of treatments can cost over $3,000.

Even if you have that kind of money lying around, ThermiVa is still unproven, and its certainly not advisable for young, childless women looking for instant gratification beauty treatments.

As San Francisco Bay Area OB/GYN and writer Dr. Jennifer Gunter told the Daily Beast, there have been zero long-term studies and zero studies on nonmenopausal women.

Why would a young woman who has never had kids be concerned about her vagina size? Dr. Gunter added.

Indeed, the target demographic for ThermiVa is considerably older than the readership of beauty blogs that take advice from Khloe Kardashian. The official website for the device focuses on its use among postmenopausal women and women who have had a particularly strenuous vaginal childbirth [or] multiple births. One woman featured in the ThermiVa testimonial video is 44 years old and had two surgeries after her first child. The other has had three children. (A representative from ThermiVas parent company was not immediately available for comment.) To be fair, 35-year-old Kim Kardashian has had two complicated childbirth experiences and that 37-year-old Kourtney has three children herself. But there are other treatments for women suffering from symptoms like vaginal atrophy and dermatologists seem more than willing to use ThermiVa on women who are looking for aesthetic improvement alone.

As Dr. Lancer told Elle, About 50 percent of my patients come for the cosmetic aspect of the procedure; they are looking for visual improvementjust as they look for visual improvement on their face, neck, or decollete.

Only about 35 percent, Lancer said, were trying to improve their sexual experience.

In 2007, The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a committee opinion on surgical vaginal rejuvenation procedures noting that a womans concern regarding the appearance of her genitalia may be alleviated by a frank discussion of the wide range of normal genitalia and reassurance that the appearance of the external genitalia varies significantly from woman to woman.

ThermiVa is nonsurgical, but the same principle applies: Concerns about genital appearance probably dont justify putting a heated wand inside your vagina.

You should also be skeptical of ThermiVas boast that the device promotes [the] tightening of vulvovaginal tissues. So far, theres no hard evidence to support that claim and the visible effects of the procedure require maintenance treatments one to two times per year.

Besides, as one OB/GYN told Cosmopolitan, the pelvic floor muscles are what truly determine tightness so an intra-vaginal treatment like ThermiVa that only reaches the vaginal lining will end up being a money sink for many women.

If youve got the net worth and medical ignorance of a Kardashian, thats not a problem.

Everyone else should hold onto their cash and leave their vaginas alone.
Every few years the world, and the United States with it, finds a reason to turn its attention to Brazil, whether its because of the samba, a certain trick with wax, the Sport of the Gods (or at least Pele, who is close enough), or this whole Olympics business. One thing the rest of the world has taken away from these periodic opportunities to study.

South Americas largest, and arguably most dynamic, country is the incontrovertible fact that the Caipirinha, the countrys national drink, is delicious, as is the local sugarcane spirit on which its based. Up to now, that hasnt really sunk in here in the States. Maybe this time will be the charm.

Brazil has been turning sugarcane into distilled spirit for at least as long as anyone in the Western Hemisphere and quite possibly longer. Portuguese colonists planted sugarcane there as early as 1520 and by 1535 one Erasmus Schetz, from Antwerp, was turning the stuff into booze. By 1585, there were 192 working distilleries. That number would only go up: in 1629, it was 349. Today, the common estimate is 5,000. Estimate, because nobody knows for sure: Brazil is a very large place, and with few exceptions the cities of any size are near the coast. It doesnt take long to get into the backcountry, a universe of two-lane highways meandering past Dr. Seuss trees on Dr. Seuss hills, over lazy brown rivers and through scraggly tin-roof towns, stretching on and on under an unquenchable sun without apparent end. Off the highways, there are dirt roads. Down the dirt roads are cane fields. Among the fields, here, there and everywhere, are stills. Good luck counting them all.

Most modern sugarcane-based liquor is made from industrial waste: you crystallize out the sugar, sell that, and then turn the sticky black gunk thats left overbetter known as molassesinto rum. But to get that molasses you need a sugar refinery, and these days that means a hell of a lot of expensive machinery. The low-tech old ways of making sugar yield a product thats simply too impure and too costly to be competitive.

Down those dirt roads, modern sugar refineries are rare. Instead, Brazilians press and ferment the pure juice of the cane to make their rum, skipping the sugar-extraction stage entirely. Cachaca, its called, or pinga, or, well, in 1960 the Brazilian folklorist Osvaldo Ogiar was able to list more than 650 other popular names for the stuff, from abencoada to zunzum.

Fortunately, the low-tech old ways of distilling, the kinds you find in use down those dirt roads, can and often do yield a spirit thats pure and subtle and even delicatean artisanal product in the true sense of that much-abused word. Most of those 5,000 distilleries, or however many there are, are more or less artisanal.

Some of those make a spirit as good as any in the world. Unfortunately, few of the good ones have succeeded in exporting their products to the United States, but that is starting to change. Look for that word artisanal on the label; here, it means something, and is worth seeking out. (The cachaca industry, I should point out, also has its industrial wing, which cranks out an extremely cheap, barely mediocre version of the spirit in vast quantities. You can easily find the results here. They wont say industrial on the label, but theyll be plenty cheap. You can drink them, but you wont enjoy them.)

That vast Brazilian hinterland is also responsible for the countrys most famous drink, the Caipirinha. Americans north and south have been drinking sugarcane spirit mixed with sugar and citrus juice since the mid-1600s and the same thing cooled with ice since the 1800s. Yet those four simple ingredients yield drinks as different as the Cuban Daiquiri, Martiniques Ti Punch and Jamaicas Planters Punch. Small differences in spirit, technique and proportion yield large results.

Somehow, for whatever obscure reason, Brazil seems to have been a bit slow off the mark in figuring out its own way with the canonic ingredients. By the late 1800s, however, things got going in the rural parts of Sao Paulo state, where pinga com limao, cachaca with sugar and lime, starts turning up as a standard remedy for whatever ails you, from cholera to bad luck. Not, however, in the city itself: cachaca was not what the sophisticated urban Brazilian would drink, no more than a New Yorker would be dosing himself or herself with corn likker; it was for the Caipira, the rural cane-chopper, not the suit-and- tie office worker.

Yet the effectiveness of the combination lingered somewhere in the back of those bourgeois brains. In times of pestilence or stress, or even merely when nobody fancy was around, this Batida Paulista, as it was knownroughly, Sao Paulo Shakehad a habit of appearing on tables poor and rich alike. The latter would add ice, and sometimes even a splash of gin and the white of an egg (thus one chronicler noted in 1951, anyway). But at its simplest, a glass of cachaca prepared a Caipirinha (even more roughly, hillbilly style), with the lime chopped up and muddled together with the sugar, thus extracting some of the bitter, piquant oil from the peel, had a way of hitting the spot like nothing else did.

Eventually, this local drink spread to Rio and Bahia and the rest of Brazil. In the 1970s, European tourists picked up on the drink and made it a global classic, but by then it was the Disco Era and stylish Brazilians were making theirs with vodka or white rum. Indeed, for a long time it was probably easier to get a good Caipirinha in St. Tropez than in Salvador. Fortunately, thats beginning to change as Brazil catches the modern interest in craft and localism.

The Caipirinha

Ingredients:1 Lime1 tsp Sugar2 oz CachacaGlass: Old-fashioned

Directions:To make a good Caipirinha, you need good, unaged artisanal cachaca (Im partial to Avua and Novo Fogo, two truly artisanal brands; there are others, but theyre harder to find) and you need to prepare the lime properly. It takes longer to explain how to do that than it does to do it, but here goes.

Cut off the ends of a lime and slice it in half lengthwise. Then, make two inward-slanting incisions along the length of one of the halves to remove the pithy white stem. Make one more, deeper cut along the lime halfs length and one or two cuts across its width, creating four or six easily muddlable pieces.

Put those pieces in an Old-Fashioned glass, add a heaping teaspoon of granulated white sugar and muddle it into the lime. Fill the glass with cracked ice, add a couple of ounces of cachaca and stir. Repeat as necessary. (After all, youve still got another half a lime, dont you?)
A decade ago these guysand they are mostly guyswere folk heroes, and for many people, they remain so. They represented everything traditional business, from Wall Street and Hollywood to the auto industry, in their pursuit of sure profits and golden parachutes, was nothip, daring, risk-taking folk seeking to change the world for the better.

Now from San Francisco to Washington and Brussels, the tech oligarchs are something less attractive: a fearsome threat whose ambitions to control our future politics, media, and commerce seem without limits. Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, and Uber may be improving our lives in many ways, but they also are disrupting old industriesand the lives of the many thousands of people employed by them. And as the tech boom has expanded, these individuals and companies have gathered economic resources to match their ambitions.

And as their fortunes have ballooned, so has their hubris. They see themselves as somehow better than the scum of Wall Street or the trolls in Houston or Detroit. Its their intelligence, not just their money, that makes them the proper global rulers. In their contempt for the less cognitively gifted, they are waging what The Atlantic recently called a war on stupid people.

I had friends of mine who attended MIT back in the 1970s tell me they used to call themselves tools, which told us us something about how they regarded themselves and were regarded. Technologists were clearly bright people whom others used to solve problems or make money. Divorced from any mystical value, their technical innovations, in the words of the French sociologist Marcel Mauss, constituted a traditional action made effective. Their skills could be applied to agriculture, metallurgy, commerce, and energy.

In recent years, like Skynet in the Terminator, the tools have achieved consciousness, imbuing themselves with something of a society-altering mission. To a large extent, they have created what the sociologist Alvin Gouldner called the new class of highly educated professionals who would remake society. Initially they made life bettermaking spaceflight possible, creating advanced medical devices and improving communications (the internet); they built machines that were more efficient and created great research tools for both business and individuals. Yet they did not seek to disrupt all industriessuch as energy, food, automobilesthat still employed millions of people. They remained tools rather than rulers.

With the massive wealth they have now acquired, the tools at the top now aim to dominate those they used to serve. Netflix is gradually undermining Hollywood, just as iTunes essentially murdered the music industry. Uber is wiping out the old order of cabbies, and Google, Facebook, and the social media people are gradually supplanting newspapers. Amazon has already undermined the book industry and is seeking to do the same to apparel, supermarkets, and electronics.

Past economic revolutionsfrom the steam engine to the jet engine and the internetcreated in their wake a productivity revolution. To be sure, as brute force or slower technologies lost out, so did some companies and classes of people. But generally the economy got stronger and more productive. People got places sooner, information flows quickened, and new jobs were created, many of them paying middle- and working-class people a living wage.

This is largely not the case today. As numerous scholars including Robert Gordon have pointed out, the new social-media based technologies have had little positive impact on economic productivity, now growing at far lower rates than during past industrial booms, including the 1990s internet revolution.

Much of the problem, notes MIT Technology Review editor David Rotman, is that most information investment no longer serves primarily the basic industries that still drive most of the economy, providing a wide array of jobs for middle- and working-class Americans. This slowdown in productivity, notes Chad Syverson, an economist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, has decreased gross domestic product by $2.7 trillion in 2015about $8,400 for every American. If you think Silicon Valley is going to fuel growing prosperity, you are likely to be disappointed, suggests Rotman.

One reason may be the nature of social media, which is largely a replacement for technology that already exists, or in many cases, is simply a diversion, even a source of time-wasting addiction for many. Having millions of millennials spend endless hours on Facebook is no more valuable than binging on television shows, except that TV actually employs people.

At their best, the social media firms have supplanted the old advertising model, essentially undermining the old agencies and archaic forms like newspapers, books, and magazines. But overall information employment has barely increased. Its up 70,000 jobs since 2010, but this is after losing 700,000 jobs in the first decade of the 21st century.

Tech firms had once been prodigious employers of American workers. But now, many depend on either workers abroad of imported under H-1B visa program. These are essentially indentured servants whom they can hire for cheap and prevent from switching jobs. Tens of thousands of jobs in Silicon Valley, and many corporate IT departments elsewhere, rent these technocoolies, often replacing longstanding U.S. workers.

Expanding H-1Bs, not surprisingly, has become a priority issue for oligarchs such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and a host of tech firms, including Yahoo, Cisco Systems, NetApp, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel, firms that in some cases have been laying off thousands of American workers. Most of the bought-and-paid-for GOP presidential contenders, as well as the money-grubbing Hillary Clinton, embrace the program, with some advocating expansion. The only opposition came from two candidates disdained by the oligarchs, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump.

Now cab drivers, retail clerks, and even food service workers face technology-driven extinction. Some of this may be positive in the long run, certainly in the case of Uber and Lyft, to the benefit of consumers. But losing the single mom waitress at Dennys to an iPad does not seem to be a major advance toward social justice or a civilized societynor much of a boost for our societys economic competitiveness. Wiping out cab drivers, many of them immigrants, for part-time workers driving Ubers provides opportunity for some, but it does threaten what has long been one of the traditional ladders to upward mobility.

Then there is the extraordinary geographical concentration of the new tech wave. Previous waves were much more highly dispersed. But not now. Social media and search, the drivers of the current tech boom, are heavily concentrated in the Bay Area, which has a remarkable 40 percent of all jobs in the software publishing and search field. In contrast, previous tech waves created jobs in numerous locales.

This concentration has been two-edged sword, even in its Bay Area heartland. The massive infusions of wealth and new jobs has created enormous tensions in San Francisco and its environs. Many San Franciscans, for example, feel like second class citizens in their own city. Others oppose tax measures in San Francisco that are favorable to tech companies like Twitter. There is now a movement on to reverse course and apply tech taxes on these firms, in part to fund affordable housing and homeless services. Further down in the Valley, there is also widespread opposition to plans to increase the density of the largely suburban areas in order to house the tech workforce. Rather than being happy with the tech boom, many in the Bay Area see their quality of life slipping and upwards of a third are now considering a move elsewhere.

Once, we hoped that the technology revolution would create ever more dispersion of wealth and power. This dream has been squashed. Rather than an effusion of start-ups we see the downturn in new businesses. Information Technology, notes The Economist, is now the most heavily concentrated of all large economic sectors, with four firms accounting for close to 50 percent of all revenues. Although the tech boom has created some very good jobs for skilled workers, half of all jobs being created today are in low-wage services like retail and restaurantsat least until they are replaced by iPads and robots.

What kind of world do these disrupters see for us? One vision, from Singularity University, co-founded by Googles genius technologist Ray Kurzweil, envisions robots running everything; humans, outside the programmers, would become somewhat irrelevant. I saw this mentality for myself at a Wall Street Journal conference on the environment when a prominent venture capitalist did not see any problem with diminishing birthrates among middle-class Americans since the Valley planned to make the hoi polloi redundant.

Once somewhat inept about politics, the oligarchs now know how to press their agenda. Much of the Valleys eliteventure capitalist John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins, Vinod Khosla, and Googleroutinely use the political system to cash in on subsidies, particularly for renewable energy, including such dodgy projects as Californias Ivanpah solar energy plant. Arguably the most visionary of the oligarchs, Elon Musk, has built his business empire largely through subsidies and grants.

Musk also has allegedly skirted labor laws to fill out his expanded car factory in Fremont, with $5-an-hour Eastern European labor; even when blue-collar opportunities do arise, rarely enough, the oligarchs seem ready to fill them with foreigners, either abroad or under dodgy visa schemes. Progressive rhetoric once used to attack oil or agribusiness firms does not seem to work against the tech elite. They can exploit labor laws and engage in monopoly practices with little threat of investigation by progressive Obama regulators.

In the short term, the oligarchs can expect an even more pliable regime under our likely next president, Hillary Clinton. The fundraiser extraordinaire has been raising money from the oligarchs like Musk and companies such as Facebook. Each may vie to supplant Google, the company with the best access to the Obama administration, over the past seven years.

What can we expect from the next tech-dominated administration? We can expect moves, backed also by corporate Republicans, to expand H-1B visas, and increased mandates and subsidies for favored sectors like electric cars and renewable energy. Little will be done to protect our privacyfirms like Facebook are determined to limit restrictions on their profitable sharing of personal information. But with regard to efforts to break down encryption systems key to corporate sovereignty, they will defend privacy, as seen in Apples resistance to sharing information on terrorist iPhones. Not cooperating against murderers of Americans is something of fashion now among the entire hoodie-wearing programmer culture.

One can certainly make the case that tech firms are upping the national game; certain cab companies have failed by being less efficient and responsive as well as more costly. Not so, however, the decision of the oligarchsdesperate to appease their progressive constituentsto periodically censor and curate information flows, as we have seen at Twitter and Facebook. Much of this has been directed against politically incorrect conservatives, such as the sometimes outrageous gay provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.

There is a rising tide of concern, including from such progressive icons as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, about the extraordinary market, political, and culture power of the tech oligarchy. But so far, the oligarchs have played a brilliant double game. They have bought off the progressives with contributions and by endorsing their social liberal and environmental agenda. As for the establishment right, they are too accustomed to genuflecting at mammon to push back against anyone with a 10-digit net worth. This has left much of the opposition at the extremes of right and left, greatly weakening it.

Yet over time grassroots Americans may lose their childish awe of the tech establishment. They could recognize that, without some restrictions, they are signing away control of their culture, politics, and economic prospects to the empowered tools. They might understand that technology itself is no panacea; it is either a tool to be used to benefit society, increase opportunity, and expand human freedom, or it is nothing more than a new means of oppression.
Let us try a thought experiment.

Assume youre running for president on a platform of restoring national greatness, self-respect and security, and you wish to criticize the sitting commander in chief for being oblivious to, if not accidentally enabling, the rise of the worlds deadliest terrorist organization. What might you say to make your case?

You might point out that Barack Obamas wholehearted support of an Iranian satrap in the form of the former Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Malikia man Obama described on the White House lawn in 2011 as the elected leader of a sovereign, self-reliant and democratic Iraq and the most inclusive government in that nations historywas probably a bit of a bloomer in hindsight, and an avoidable one.

Obamas own vice president correctly assessed, not a year earlier when the administration backed the premier for re-election, that Maliki hates the goddamn Sunnis and that the goddamn Sunnis are the bellwether constituency determining the fortunes of Sunni jihadism in Mesopotamia as well as the necessary bulwark for destroying and discrediting it, as Obama has lately discovered to his own embarrassment.

You might also point to the near-criminal indifference by the current White House to the slow-motion catastrophe that has unfolded in Syria. Many decent and non-radicalized Syrians initially saw the United States as a prospective savior from Assadist atrocities. Now many view it as an Assad accomplice, just as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the so-called Islamic State, has been saying for years.

I know, I know. The Middle East is such a complicated and messy place, so difficult for Westerners ill-versed in the theology of Islam or the history of the Arab people to wrap their heads around. Yet I recall one Syrian rather ably trying to translate this obscurantist culture: If my daughter is being gang-raped in front of me, I would prefer the person taking revenge to wear a green beret, but am I going to object if he instead arrives in a long black beard?

You could say quite a lot to make your case, as it happens.

But here is what you probably should not say if you are already on record suggesting that President of the United States was born in Kenya and is a closet Muslim:

In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama. Hes the founder of ISIS. Hes the founder of ISIS. Hes the founder. He founded ISIS. I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.

For added measure, as The New York Times dutifully reported Thursday, Donald Trump made sure to then articulate Obamas full name, probably because his middle one, Hussein, doesnt sound so reformed Protestant.

Through the morning I have watched people on social media try to explain away this latest descent into demagogic incitement as yet another example of how the mainstream media spins and lies about Trumps rhetoric to suit its own pro-Clinton agenda. See, by saying founder three times and founded once, the tell-it-like-it-is, anti-establishment nominee with the discourse of a sixth-grader was speaking artfully. He only meant that Obamas misguided decision-making led inadvertently to the establishment of the caliphate in 2014 and that Clinton (who opposed much of that decision-making as secretary of state), was complicit.

But then, Trump doubled down. In a follow-up interview with the conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, Trump clarified his perhaps overly nuanced position about Barack Hussein Obama: No, I meant hes the founder of ISIS. I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton.

Whenever debating a Trump surrogate over what isnt even a dog-whistle but rather a bullhorn-relayed conspiracy theory, bigotry and or fanatical imbecility, the usual response one hears is twofold.

First, one is told, he didnt mean what you think he meant and he was clearly or obviously saying something different and benign.

Rudy Giuliani tried this trick on CNNs New Day on Thursday morning, in a lengthy and tough interview with Chris Cuomo, over Trumps earlier comment about how the Second Amendment people might stop Clinton from appointing Supreme Court justices who intend to destroy the constitution. For Giuliani, there was no ambiguity except that created by the Clinton spin machine.

Trump was advocating that gun-rights activists merely lobby to keep the Democrat out of office or perhaps her nominees from the bench, not open fire on anyone with an AR-15. But when pressed by Cuomo, he allowed that the statement was open to interpretation. (That it certainly was to the Secret Service, which repeatedly questioned Trump about encouraging violence against his political opponent.)

Well, which interpretation does Giuliani believe that the GOP nominee wants his most ardent backers to make when he refers to the president as the creator and MVP of a terrorist network? And what does the former New York City mayor suppose Trump really meant when he wondered elsewhere who the true perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks are?

As Morning Joe Scarborough, once a Trump pal, and now Trump-appalled, has told the world (at last), Trump may not really believe any of this stuff. This is just Trumps way to play it cynically, essentially betting he can pander to the worst instincts and ignorance of his audience. This is all a scam, Scarborough said.

And heres the ultimate irony. Its the burnt sienna blowhard the head-loppers want to see in the Oval Office. A Syrian rebel Ive known for quite a while, and whos in the trenches fighting both Assad and ISIS, told me the other day, apropos of nothing, that jihadists on the ground pine for a Trump victory in November. Why? I asked. Because he will destroy America before they will.
My local airport is Cardiff, so when I was offered the chance to review the executive lounge prior to my recent holiday to Greece I was so looking forward to it.



I've used executive lounges at different airports before and I find that it helps to start your holiday in a relaxed mood. The executive lounge is through security and past the duty-free shop at Cardiff airport.



When my husband and I arrived at Cardiff airport it was very busy as it was the first week of the Summer holidays in the UK, so when we got to the executive lounge we breathed a sigh of relief as it really was a little oasis of calm.



We were greeted by staff, welcomed and given a code for free wi-fi and two 10 percent discount vouchers for the duty-free shop. Top tip here would be to go to the lounge first in case you are given a discount voucher. You can come and go from the lounge as you please.







In the lounge, there is an array of hot and cold drinks, such as tea, coffee, juice, squash, and alcohol.













The choice of alcoholic beverages is good, from white and red wine to spirits such as gin, vodka, and Penderyn Welsh whisky. You are allowed to have a number of drinks, but obviously getting drunk is frowned upon.







There is also a range of snacks, from crisps and peanuts to cereal, muffins, croissants, waffles and the like as well as fresh fruit. You certainly couldn't consider it a meal but it was a nice addition.







There was a selection of newspapers and magazines as well to relax with as you wait for your flights.





If you are travelling for business the executive lounge also offers facilities such as telephone, fax and photocopier use and free access to Internet terminals.

In the last year, Cardiff airport has expanded the flights they offer greatly and has now over 50 direct routes as well as 900 connecting destinations. This is great for travellers but does mean the airport is busier than ever, the perfect reason to treat yourself to the executive lounge.



The executive lounge at Cardiff airport is available for 3 hours prior to your flight time and is priced at 20. Opening hours for the lounge is 5am to 9pm in the Summer with shorter opening hours November to April and closed on Christmas Day.



When you consider the free wi-fi, snacks and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages I think it is a fair price. The best part for me was the peace and tranquillity prior to my flight as I am a nervous flier. If you want to start your holiday in a relaxing way, this lounge is the way to go.
SAN ANTONIO  Ted Cruz, seeking to reconnect with Texans after a brutal presidential race, told business leaders here Wednesday that the United States needs a return to common sense.

Speaking at a chamber of commerce breakfast, the U.S. senator largely checked politics at the door as he delivered his first public speech in Texas since he caused an uproar at the Republican National Convention by not endorsing the partys presidential nominee, Donald Trump. Cruz instead kept the focus Wednesday on issues he has worked on in the Senate and his expectations for the next Congress  though he did allow at least one allusion to the wild race for the White House.

Its a strange political season right now, he said. I dont know whats going to happen nationally in the political season, but I do know as a country, we need a return to common sense. We need a return to the common-sense values that have built Texas, that have built San Antonio.

Cruz stopped Wednesday in the Alamo City as part of a weeklong tour of the state in his official capacity, geared toward getting back in touch with constituents. The trip is nonetheless coinciding with new speculation that he could face a credible primary challenger in 2018, with Trump supporters urging U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul of Austin to give it a shot.

Asked a few times as he left the breakfast how he was feeling about re-election, Cruz smiled and kept walking.

Inside the breakfast, Cruz received a warm reception as he revived many of the themes from his presidential campaign, arguing the values that have built Texas are jobs, freedom and security. On the third topic, he briefly dabbled in current events as he called for clear-eyed leadership taking on the bad guys who want to kill us, taking on ISIS, taking on Iran.

And by the way, taking on Iran doesnt mean sending an unmarked cargo plane with $400 million in foreign currency to pay ransom for American hostages, Cruz said, referring to the Obama administrations payment to the country around the time Tehran released four American hostages. It would be difficult to come up with a more foolhardy policy.

When you pay $400 million in ransom, to the surprise of no one, Iran has already captured two more hostages, Cruz added. The federal government will start paying big chunks of money for American citizens being kidnapped  nobody should be surprised when the bad guys start kidnapping more and more citizens.

Cruz later summed it all up as a part of an ethos that goes beyond politics.

None of this should be Republican versus Democrat. None of this should be liberal versus conservative. It should be common sense, he said. In Texas, its common sense.
Sweeteners'

BHEL won the tender for the $1.49 billion construction contract at the beginning of this year but the official signing of the deal dragged on to July due to, as local media sources have pointed out, the company holding out for "extra sweeteners" from the Bangladesh government including exemptions from taxes and duties as well as from the mandatory insurance process. In what could be a worrying precedent for Bangladesh's state coffers when the involvement of Indian companies is sought for major infrastructure projects, it's also been reported that it took a personal intervention from Prime Minister Sheikk Hasina in April to settle the tax waiver in BHEL's favour.

Meanwhile, in another clear sign that Delhi is running the Rampal show and putting Indian interests first, negotiations are reportedly under way between the project promoters and Coal India on the supply of 4 million tonnes of Indian coal per year to fuel the plant.

If this materialises, then it would undermine some of the baseline calculations - on emissions and pollution - included in the project's already highly questionable environmental impact assessment (EIA), in which scenarios have been based on coal supplies originating from Australia, Indonesia or South Africa.

Indian coal is generally reckoned to be of a lower grade than coal from the other countries referred to in the EIA, but the potential impacts remain vague since precise details on sulphur and ash content are unknown. The mounting coal glut in India may, however, have an even bigger long-term outlet near the Sundarbans - as the controversy over the currently proposed plant rages, an often overlooked detail in the EIA is the alarming proposal to build a second 1320 megawatt coal plant adjacent to the first "in the future".

Some state (of the art)

Yet, insist Rampal proponents, the coal plant will involve the world's most efficient and environment-friendly technology. Modern ultra-Super Thermal Technology' is touted by BIFPCL, but the company's construction tender document does not require state of the art pollution control technologies.

For example, the technology required at Rampal will emit nearly 30% more sulphur dioxide than truly state of the art technology. Similarly, the outdated technology required at the proposed coal plant can remove roughly 96% of fine particulate matter, but state of the art technology can remove 99%. Three percent might not seem like a lot, but when it comes to extremely toxic, long-lasting and widely dispersing heavy metals such as mercury emitted over the 60 year life of a coal plant, it matters.

Shockingly too there are no technologies required at Rampal to specifically eliminate harmful emissions of mercury, nitrogen oxides, nickel, chromium, arsenic, antimony, cadmium or cobalt, though widely available technologies exist to do so. Finally, toxic unburned coal particles from the massive coal piles and transfer points will enter the Passur River and Sundarbans ecosystem on a daily basis, as the tender documents require only ineffective water sprays on coal piles, and optional enclosure of stockpiles and transfer points.

And of the many question marks still hanging over the project's EIA considerations - including air pollution, direct impacts on water resources including heavy coal transportation traffic through the network of sensitive Sundarbans waterways and cumulative ecosystem impacts - poor planning for the disposal of 0.94 million tons of toxic coal ash per year is just one aspect of the project design attracting increased expert scepticism and concern.

The proposed disposal of ash by lagooning and uncontained land development' poses huge environmental risks in an area minimally above sea level, prone to seasonal flooding, typhoon-driven storm surges, tsunamis, and subject to - as the EIA does at least acknowledge - large seismic events up to 7.0 on the Richter scale.

Escalating PR offensive

While many of the EIA's assumptions have been heavily criticised, it does at least admit to the possibility of project impacts arising: "dredging activities," it concedes for example, "may have impacts on river water quality." Any such precautionary language about the Rampal project, however, seems to have gone out the window as part of the promoters' escalating PR offensive.

On July 19, the day after a major splash in the Washington Post ("A new power plant could devastate the world's largest mangrove forest") increased international awareness of the long list of problems that Rampal is stacking up for the Sundarbans and its inhabitants, BIFPCL's Public Relations Manager Anwarul Azim hit back with a stunning run-through of positive bullet points about the project, leading him to the flourishing conclusion that the "Rampal Power Plant will not damage rather it will preserve the Sunderbans (sic)".

Before getting stuck into his version of project details, Azim points to energy generation from coal statistics from around the world (including USA 40%, Germany 41%, China 79%) and contrasts with Bangladesh's current 2.05% figure. No mention is made of international agreements to curb emissions, of efforts now materialising in these countries to drastically cut coal power emissions due to public health and climate crises, or of the rapid scaling up of renewable energy around the world. Yet Azim writes, "In order to accelerate the economic development of the country, it is the demand of time to increase the production of coal-based electricity at the present moment."

This narrow demand of time' narrative also fails to mention the rapidly encroaching effects of climate change which Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable countries on earth, is staring in the face, nor does it acknowledge Bangladesh's burgeoning solar power industry, with over 65,000 solar home systems being installed every month, making it the largest and fastest growing off-grid program in the world.

Nor is Azim detained by perhaps the easiest to grasp time calculation when it comes to clean versus dirty power generation: solar plants can be set up in slightly over a year, as opposed to the four to five years that coal plants take, thereby providing electricity very quickly to people who desperately need it, as in Bangladesh.

Just one example bullet point from the article illustrates the kind of glossing of project impacts that is now going on as the project promoters seek to navigate what could be their final, crucial administrative hurdle - clearance from Bangladesh's Ministry of Environment and Forest.

"A negligible amount of water (0.05% of the lean period flow) of [the Passur] River will be used," Azim writes. Yet the project's EIA acknowledges that water use at the plant will reduce the downstream flow of the Passur River by 4 million litres an hour, or 35 billion litres each year, which Bangladeshi NGOs point out is considerable in an ecosystem already stressed by increasing salinity and reduced freshwater flow from upstream diversions. The same river, one of the Sundarbans' key waterways, suffered the latest sinking of a large coal cargo vessel in March this year.

Project finance will involve reputational risk

Waiting in the wings too is India's Exim Bank, currently considering a $1.6 billion loan for the Rampal plant construction even if this will involve taking a reputation risk', as the bank's head recently admitted. Over 135,000 people and 100 civil society groups have so far petitioned the head of India's Exim Bank not to finance the Rampal project.

Informed speculation suggests that Exim will only bankroll the project if agreement on the supply of Indian coal is reached. There are many reasons why, following global pressure from civil society, none of the other major international banks - which are still not averse to financing coal projects especially in the developing world - are prepared to touch Rampal.

Civil society groups in Bangladesh are also taking their concerns to the international stage. Last month 53 Bangladeshi groups, under the umbrella group National Committee to Save the Sundarbans, reiterated their concerns about Rampal to the United Nations's World Heritage Committee and IUCN. Over 50,000 people from around the world supported their petition.

Reputations, facts and one of the world's most prized natural assets are at the mercy of Indian coal dreams, and the Bangladesh government's capitulation is set to unleash a nightmare on its people and environment. The international community needs to stand with the resistance movement in Bangladesh and demand that India's Exim Bank abandons its financing plans for the construction of the reckless Rampal coal plant.

Action: Ask India's Exim to drop its financing plans for the Rampal construction.

This Author:

Greig Aitken is a coal campaigner with BankTrack, a Netherlands-based campaign group tracking the operations and investments of private sector banks and their effect on people and the planet.

Twitter: @BankTrack
Court weighs future of Iowa's 'fetal heartbeat' abortion ban

Lawyers argued in court on Friday over whether Iowa should reinstate a 2018 law banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,"driving under the influence" (DUI) or "driving while intoxicated" (DWI) was the cause of 31 percent of motor vehicle fatalities in 2014.

That's a high number, but according to WalletHub, it used to be higher before states started really cracking down on drunk driving in the 1980s. Still, some states take a harsher approach to punishment than others.

More Living States that allow underage drinking  kind of

WalletHub compared the enforcement rules in all 50 states and Washington DC to find out which states are the strictest and most lenient on DUI.

Click through the slideshow above to see how Connecticut ranks in specific DUI penalties as well as the strictest and most-lenient states on DUI. Visit WalletHub for the full report.

Connecticut came in pretty high on the list as the seventh strictest state. According to the study, minimum jail time for a second offense is no less than 120 days and it becomes an automatic felony on the third offense. The minimum fine on first offense is $500, and it doubles to $1,000 on the second offense. It will also cost you in insurance, as the average insurance rate increase after DUI is 100 percent.

WalletHub writes that "in addition to the loss of human life, the government estimates that drunk driving costs Americans more than $40 billion per year in economic losses."

In order to rank each state, WalletHub took a look at criminal penalties (which includes: minimum jail time, minimum fines and other factors) and prevention (which includes: license suspension, substance abuse treatment, car impounding, insurance increase, sobriety checkpoints and other factors).

The strictest state is Arizona, which ranks first in the country in criminal penalties and second in prevention. In Arizona, the minimum jail time on a first offense is 10 days and 90 on second offense. Your first DUI will cost you a minimum of $750 in fines and your second will cost $1,750.

South Dakota, the most lenient state on DUI in the country, has no minimum jail time for first or second offense, yet the third offense becomes an automatic felony. Here, your first and second DUI's might not cost you a cent in fines as there is no minimum.
Two glasses of white wine stood shoulder to shoulder on the table: one pale the other golden, one with a rich buttery caramel accented character, the other with the crisp, light, fresh minerality so sought after these days; one from Uruguay, the other from Spain. As the platters of tapas kept coming, the wines seemed to change character, each dish bringing out new flavors.

A wine bar should be a place where you can experience the full range of the wine makers art  a place where you match wine flavors with menu selections on a quest for the best combination. It should have carefully chosen wines, both mainstream and from far flung corners of the wine world. Its best if the wines are hand made by small producers and judiciously picked by the bar staff.

There are a couple in Norwalk youll want to visit.

Tablao at 86 Washington St. in SoNo bills itself as a wine bar and restaurant and has 28 wines by the glass to back up its claim. It also has, as restaurants must these days, a good selection of craft beers, along with signature cocktails mixed by expert bartenders. What makes this a good wine bar, though, is the thoughtful construction of the wine list to explore high-quality, lesser-known wines and wine regions. Its the kind of place where you can have enough faith in the wine pickers to try something new without fear of disappointment.

The wines here are mostly from Spain, Portugal, and South America  Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay  with a smattering of French and Italian, plus one lone representative from Napa. Most surprising, the wines (including the sparkling wines) are reasonably priced between $10 and $12 a glass.

A couple dozen tapas choices plus salads, charcuterie, cheese, and a handful of large plates, provide ample opportunity to try lots of food and wine combos. In these situations, I hope everyone gets a different wine to try with a few tapas for the table. If it goes well, theres a lot of plate passing and some shared sipping. Do this for two or even three rounds, and youll know a lot about the restaurants food and the breadth of their wine offerings.

Salmon Tartar with light-as-feather house-made potato chips was perfect for the crisp, fresh, organic Ipsum Verdejo from Spain, and the Grilled Calamari a la Plancha was excellent with the buttery caramel flavors of the Bouza Albarino from Uruguay. But if you switched the wines, the magic was gone. The wines were still good, but not in sync with the food.

Mencia, a little known grape from Spain, in the Pinot Noir style, was made into a delicious wine with dried fruit and dusty berry flavors by Adegas Guimaro in Spain. It was a treat with Chorizo sauteed with white beans and figs. A Tempranillo/Garnacha blend from Moro in Spains Ribera del Duero was a full-bodied, tannic, berry-scented wine, excellent with shiitake-sauced Hanger Steak. Again, reversing the food/wine matches didnt work nearly as well.

All four wines were delicious on their own, but with the food, each had a favorite partner.

The Fat Cat Pie Co. on Wall St. only has four things on the menu  pizza, salad, cheese, and charcuterie. On the other hand, there are 33 wines by the glass and a bottle list that runs on for pages. This place is all about the wines.

Mark and Mike, the expert wine pickers at Fountainhead Wines (12 Knight St. just across from Fat Cat), are the creative forces behind this significant wine bar effort. Theyve spent their careers scouring the world, bringing us the best wines they can find. Many are imported directly by them and are only available at the store or restaurant.

The wine choices by the glass are organized as follows: Bubbly, White, Riesling (a favorite category here), Orange (white grapes fermented on the skins like a red), Pink (to meet the Rose craze), and Chilled Red (bet you never saw that one before). There are also four categories of red: Red  mouth-watering/mineral driven; Red  lush, opulent; Red  Garriguey with scrub herbs; and Red  Darker, full-bodied with earth and spice. The list is an in-depth survey of some of the worlds most enjoyable wines from Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Oregon, Chile, South Africa, Paso Robles, and Sonoma. The very reasonable prices range from $5 to $13 with the majority between $7 and $10.

Ill confess I oversimplified the menu a little: there are more than a dozen pizza toppings, six salad condiments, and three choices of dressings, which make for a lot of possibilities. The rotating selection of cheese from the legendary Ken Skovron at Darien Cheese and the changing list of Lazlos charcuterie are always delicious . But wine is at the heart of this true wine bar, and what a selection it is! Theres something for everyone and no way to taste them all - at least not in one sitting.

The staff here is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the wines. Ask them anything and theyre likely to know, but if they dont, theyll find someone else who will. Its clear they enjoy being on the inside of this remarkable wine program.

A great wine bar experience, besides being lots of fun, should begin with plenty of tasting and end up with at least a few new favorite dishes and wines.
Here is a shocking stat I came across recently: 48 percent of all 25-year-old Americans are living at home with their mommy and daddy (ZeroHedge).

The problem is debt; they just can't afford to move out.

To get an idea of how much money it would take to move out on your own here in southwestern Connecticut's cities, above is a sampling of some of the one-bedroom apartments and studios for rent right now in the area.

If you happen to be one of them, Im here to tell you that you dont have a debt problem, nor do you have a spending problem. What you have is an income problem.

The dream of living in a loft as Joey-and-Chandler from Friends is quickly turning into an army of millennials living in their parents basements. A Pew report shows that while massive numbers of young men are in their parents basements, young women are actually living with their parents more now than at any time since 1940! My guess is that more and more women graduating college with the massive debt that comes with that is contributing to this.

Related: Want a Career in Real Estate? Don't Go to College.

Many twenty-somethings are eager to get out of debt, but not all debt is bad. I go into debt if it will produce income for me. The problem is most Millennials are in bad debtstudent loans and such. There is a simple fix to get out of debt except to increase income. Income solves all.

3 Things Millennials Need to Be Doing:

1) Make a conscious decision to increase income.

2) Promote and sell yourself (in that order).

3) Reinvest the money.

I advise not listening to people who say that your first priority should be on paying off debt. Stacking more paper should be the only priority. Once income rises youll be able to pay off debts much faster and easier.

I was once doing a real estate deal and liked the service the young agent was providing. He was 28, and not making enough dough. I offered him the opportunity to go work for me where he would make three times his $25,000 salary helping me do my real estate transactions. The guy didnt want to move and follow the money.

Young people are graduating college more than any other generation. They are in greater debt after college and they cant get work. Why? They dont follow the money.

Source: Pew Social Trends

Related: 7 Steps You Can Take to Stop Trading Time for Money

If you are a Millennial ready to get out of debt, my advice to you is:

1.Follow the money.

2. Be willing to get uncomfortable.

3. Do the difficult things.

4. Cut out the negative influences.

5. See opportunities and act.

Millennials are the most educated generation who have the most debt and the most trouble finding jobs.

I suggest millennials throw out their resumes because they only end up in a black hole and no one cares about resumes. One should approach searching for a job like looking to sell to prospects. In a job hunt, you are selling who you are and what you can do for a company. Job hunters should seek out people who they want to work for, seek them out and find a way to get in front of them.

You need to follow money and opportunity, dont be held back by old ways of thinking. It is vital to your success to break out and seize opportunities available to you in todays world. If you are a Millennial in debt, think about relocating in order to increase your income if youre struggling in your hometown with jobs that wont pay you anything.

experience is key to succeed in real-estate investing.

Related: 6 Lies They Teach in Business School

Make a list of people, not companies, but people that you want to work for and then research how to get to them. You must do whatever it takes to make that connection. Create wealth for yourself. If you are forced to return back to your parents, you will continue to suffer if you do not take massive action to achieve financial freedom.

College is a middle-class trap...

...and every young person should have a clear purpose and goal before taking on such enormous debt. I created Cardone University as a much cheaper alternative to the Yales and Harvards that will give the tools millennials need to succeed today in 2016, with over 1500 videos on demand.

Related:

Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com
WILTON  A Wilton man turned himself in after allegedly making a false statement while filling out a pistol permit, police said.

Robert Howard Pollak, 64, applied for his pistol permit back in the beginning of the summer. During the requisite police background check, police said that Pollak lied about having a criminal record.
NORWALK  The Common Council on Tuesday approved a tax abatement agreement for the first phase of the Washington Village Transformation Plan following discussion about what the project will mean for existing South Norwalk residents.

We want to make sure that the residents of South Norwalk and the minority community are being protected, Councilman Travis L. Simms said afterward. We want to make sure that these folks arent being pushed out of this city.

Of concern to Simms and Councilwoman Phaedrel L. Bowman, in whose district Washington Village is located, are rising property values and gentrification of the larger neighborhood.

They ultimately joined 11 other council members in voting for the tax abatement agreement between the city, the Norwalk Housing Authority and developer Trinity Financial LLC for the first phase of the Washington Village Transformation Plan.

Trinity Financial hopes to break ground this fall on phase one: 80 housing units at 13 and 20 Day St.

We need it in place to close on our financing, Eva Erlich, Trinity vice president of development, said of the abatement.

Erlich said Trinity Financial hopes to secure financing for the first phase of the project in early October.

Under the 15-year tax abatement agreement, the annual property tax bill will be determined by the number of occupied housing units and the income that they are generating.

The initial tax years property tax liability shall be determined by multiplying by $1,000 the number of housing units for which a certificate of occupancy has been issued.

For the first three years, the annual tax liability will be 7.25 percent of the propertys effective gross income in the previous fiscal year. If the effective gross income in year one were $1,035,892, the tax bill the following year would be $75,102.

In the fifth year, the tax liability would rise to 8.25 percent of the previous years gross income, and the annual tax bill would climb to $106,896 in the final year of the 15-year agreement.

Effectively, it is abating a portion of the property taxes, said Norwalk Assistant Tax Assessor Bill OBrien.

The council approved the agreement after subjecting it to the Transit Oriented Development plan being approved by the Redevelopment Agency later this month. The draft plan recommends zoning changes to encourage mixed-use, infill development in the areas surrounding the train station.

Bowman questioned linking the tax agreement to the development plan, which she fears may bring gentrification to the area.

The point of the issue is protection of folks homes and their ability to stay there, Bowman said.

Diane Beltz-Jacobson, assistant corporation counsel for the city, said state statutes allow tax agreements only for properties within approved redevelopment plan areas. As such, the abatement cannot be approved without the redevelopment plan in place.

Council President Bruce I. Kimmel, an at-large Democrat, noted that the tax agreement would apply only to the first phase of the Washington Village project. He deemed the abatement necessary for Trinity Financial to secure financing and the city to begin receiving tax revenues on the Day Street parcels.

Right now, that portion of the project is not generating any property taxes for the city at all, Kimmel said.

At the same time, Kimmel acknowledged the concerns about gentrification. He said that issue must be addressed by the city.

Its really the responsibility of the city to begin to address this problem, Kimmel said Wednesday. It is not the responsibility of Trinity. What we have to do is look to see what options we have under state law regarding these types of issues.

The larger Washington Village Transformation Plan calls for razing Washington Village and building in its place 136 public-housing units, 67 workforce housing units and 70 market-rate units in two-, three- and four-story buildings.

Councilman Douglas E. Hempstead, an at-large Republican, described the plan as a game-changer for South Norwalk.

Its going to help the people who will hopefully come back, said Hempstead of existing Washington Village residents. And it will bring a new life to that whole Water Street area.
WILTON  As back-to-school week draws near, the Wilton Social Services Department is teaming up with local organizations and community members to distribute school supplies and shoes to students in need.

Its our mandate as the Wilton Social Services Department to assist families who live in town so that their children can be on par with their classmates, said Lauren Hughes, the departments senior services coordinator. We want the kids feeling comfortable in school and to help their families provide the same opportunities for them so that theyre equally prepared for school.

Hughes said the Wilton Congregational Church and Our Lady of Fatima Church will donate 80 backpacks and at least 30 gift cards with $50, $75 and $100 value. According to the Wilton Congregational Churchs online checklist, there is still a need for backpack and gift card donations. The Wilton Congregation Church will be accepting donations until Monday, Aug. 15, at 70 Ridgefield Road.

The donations will then be brought to the social services department by Aug. 22, and families on the social services department list will be able to pick up backpacks and gift cards during that week.

The Cider Mill and Miller-Driscoll PTA committees will donate about 20 prepackaged school supply sets for students of grades K-5. The prepackaged sets will have everything included in the school supply lists, with pens, pencils, folders and everything else you would find in an elementary students desk, said Nicola Davies, president of the Cider Mill PTA.

Each set varies by grade depending on requirements that the teachers identify earlier in the year, Davies said. Social Services were looking for alternative ways to provide school supplies for the kids they served, (so) they reached out to the Wilton PTAs last year to see if we could help.

School supply lists for grades 3-5 can be viewed on the Cider Mill website; the respective lists for Miller-Driscoll students have yet to be published on the schools website.

For the past five years, the Wilton unit of the Salvation Army has been donating $30 Payless gift cards to families in town, said the units chair, Tina Gardner.

Its a program that the Salvation Army has in Connecticut that we purchase the Payless shoe cards and we distribute to families that are on the list that the social services has, she said. This year, we had 75 cards to give to families in town.

The nonprofit organization also accepts donations all year round to help individuals and families in need with utility and rent expenses. Checks can be written out to Wilton Unit Salvation and sent to 35 Woodsend Drive.

Members of the Wilton community can also help by bringing school supply donations or gift cards to the social services department, Hughes said.

While new school supplies are accepted, these donations tend to be less useful since the school supply lists are so specific. Instead, Hughes encourages people to donate gift cards from Staples or Walmart, or to write out checks to The Wilton Community Assistance Fund.

The Wilton Department of Social Services is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Comstock Community Center at 180 School Road.

For more information, contact the department at 203-834-6238.

SKim@hearstmediact.com; 203-354-1044; @stephaniehnkim
Geekologie has shut down.

Thank you to everybody.

Now go be happy.
LINCOLN - Even before it hits the finish line, a petition drive to allow Nebraskans to vote on whether to legalize casino gambling at horse-racing tracks looks unlikely to reach the winners circle.

In Douglas County, the home to one of the four operating racetracks in the state, nearly four in 10 signatures submitted for one of the three gambling petitions have been disqualified by county election workers.

In Lancaster County, which also has a racetrack, the rejection rate was an unusually high one in three.

The rejection rates in the states two largest counties for the constitutional amendment portion of the initiative raise doubts that the pro-gambling group, Keep the Money in Nebraska, can qualify the issue for the November ballot.

Last month, the group said it submitted about 11 percent more signatures than needed to place the proposed constitutional amendment before voters. The issue needed about 117,000 signatures statewide; about 130,000 were submitted, including 52,995 in Douglas County.

Former State Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha, a spokesman for the pro-gambling group, acknowledged Wednesday that it would be challenging to overcome rejection rates as high as the 38 percent in Douglas County. But he said his group is seeking to discover whether there were discrepancies, or differences, in how the signatures were verified as compared to the past.

That sounds like an unbelievably high rejection rate, Lautenbaugh said. Our own verification was showing that our cushion was small, but we thought it was sufficient.

He said that because of recent rumors of trouble with the petitions, he sent a letter to the Nebraska Secretary of States Office on Tuesday, and he submitted a public records request with that office last week.

We just want to figure out how this (high rejection rate) could possibly happen, Lautenbaugh said.

Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse and Lancaster County Election Commissioner Dave Shively said the process they used to verify, or disqualify, signatures this summer was the same as in past verification efforts.

Verification of the proposed constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling at racetracks one of three petition issues circulated by the pro-gambling group is expected to be completed as early as Friday.

Laura Strimple, a spokeswoman with the Secretary of States Office, said she did not know whether other counties reported similarly high rejection rates.

To qualify for the ballot, the constitutional amendment portion of the initiative must have valid signatures from 10 percent of registered voters, or about 117,000 signatures statewide, as well as signatures of at least 5 percent of the registered voters in 38 of the states 93 counties.

The two other petitions, which propose state laws to regulate the expanded gambling and to spell out how tax revenues would be divided, require about 82,000 signatures each to qualify.

In Douglas County, the 38 percent rejection rate of signatures is more than twice as high as the rejection rate of a successful petition drive last year that placed a death penalty referendum on the November ballot.

Kruse said that only about 15percent of the signatures submitted by a pro-death penalty group were disqualified.

Kruse said he did not know why the gambling petition had so many more invalid signatures, but Shively said his office found a higher number of signers who were not registered voters in the county or who had signed petitions more than once.

You can sign as many times as you want but its only going to count once, Shively said.

The high rejection rate in Douglas County means that only 32,557 of the 52,995 signatures submitted there for the constitutional amendment were valid. In Lancaster County, about 33.5 percent of the signatures were disqualified, leaving about 13,800 valid signatures.

While it appears that both Douglas and Lancaster Counties would help the gambling petition meet the 5-percent signature requirement in 38 counties, the nullification of about 27,000 signatures in the two counties would appear to leave the drive well short of reaching the statewide requirement of 117,000.
James W. Jim Deuel, 81, of Grand Island died Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, at the Grand Island Veterans Home.

Celebration of Life Gathering will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at All Faiths Funeral Home.

To honor Jims wishes, cremation will follow the Celebration of Life Gathering and burial of ashes will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday in Highland Park Cemetery in Ravenna. Military honors will be rendered by the Offut Air Force Base Honor Guard and Ravenna VFW and American Legion Honor Guard.

Jim was born June 11, 1935, in Grand Island, son of James J. and Lydia E. (Schmidt) Deuel.

He was raised and received his education in Grand Island, graduating with the class of 1953 from Grand Island Senior High School. Following graduation, Jim enlisted in the United States Air Force on Jan. 25, 1956, serving during peacetime until Jan. 24, 1960.

On Aug. 27, 1961, he was united in marriage to Betty Jean Otte at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ravenna. This union was blessed with a son, Patrick. The family made their home in Grand Island, where Jim was a Jack of All Trades and master of all of them. During his working life he was employed as a construction worker, factory foreman, welder, truck driver as well as custodian, to name a few.

Jim was a member of both Destiny Church and Trinity Lutheran Church. He enjoyed tinkering in the garage he built with the help of his son, Patrick. Jim also enjoyed working on stained glass with his wife. Jim took pride in making sure his yard and house looked just right.

He is survived by a brother, Danny (Vicki) Deuel of Grand Island; sisters, Marie (Frank) French of Friend and Marjorie (William) Fulton of Grand Island; a daughter-in-law, Edith Deuel of Gibbon; stepgrandchildren, Charlotte Hrnchir and LeRoy Clinger Jr., and five great-grandchildren; along with numerous extended family and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; son, Patrick; and sister, Dorothy Suzick.

Memorials are suggested to the family to be designated at a later date.

Words of comfort and kindness may be left for the family at www.giallfaiths.com.
While the Edwardsville District 7 administration was able to move the transportation budget from a negative $140,000 to a positive $130,000 this past year through budget reductions and changes to fuel costs, that work quickly vanished when the Illinois State Board of Education announced the 2016-17 prorations on categoricals last week.

Proration is a form of backdoor budget cuts designed to issue across the board percentage cuts to school districts in Illinois.

During the Edwardsville District 7 Finance meeting Monday night, Dave Courtney, Edwardsville District 7 Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations, noted that they had received the proration information last week and that it wasn't good news.

Despite the fact that the state has passed a budget, it's not fixing any of our problems, he said. Actually every proration this year will be worse than last year. As an example special education transportation proration will drop to 93 percent. It was running 97 percent last year. Regular transportation proration will be 69 percent this year. Last year it was about 71 (percent).

Just looking at transportation and the new proration, Courtney estimated that the transportation fund would be going back to a negative $200,000 to $250,000 next year.

Other categoricals were also taking a hit. Special ed personnel extraordinary costs had been funded at 100 percent. This year they are prorated for the first time, Courtney noted.

Special education private tuition is changing from 94 percent proration last year to 91.2 percent this year while special education summer school decreases from 84 percent proration last year to 80.1 percent this year.

So despite the (state) budget passing, what actually was funded was not even what was funded last year, Courtney pointed out.

On top of that, it's becoming obvious to me and most people that the state is going to fall further and further behind (in payments) like they were a couple of years ago. Last year, it's pretty obvious now that the reason we were being paid on time was because they weren't paying anybody else.

Courtney elaborated, noting that since the state now has an adopted budget and has begun paying its bills again to other institutions, it gets further behind in paying District 7.

The district had yet to be paid for the month of June.

And my guess is that as we go into this year, they will get further and further behind, Courtney added.

The comptroller recently said that we're about $7 billion in backlog bills now. By the end of December, she thinks its going to be $10 or $11 billion. They just don't have the cash. So I think the combination of the prorations and being further behind, as Dr. Andre said, we will be borrowing for sure at the end of this year. I don't see any way around it.

He stressed that the district may need to borrow earlier in the school year if the state falls three to four months behind in its payments to the district.

The only possible positive to come out of the finance meeting was that Courtney said the state's general state aid payments wouldn't be changing much and that they'd be about the same as last year. At 92 percent.

That's kind of where we're at today, Courtney said.
World Elephant Day is observed across the globe every year and is designed to bring attention to the plight of elephants in the wild. On Friday, Aug. 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saint Louis Zoo visitors can meet members of the Zoos three-generation Asian elephant family in Rivers Edge, participate in interactive elephant-themed activities and hear keeper chats.

The Saint Louis Zoo is teaming up with zoos across the country to break the Guinness World Records title for the "largest display of origami elephants. A global conservation coalition created to fight poaching and encourage a ban on ivory, 96 Elephants has set a goal of reaching 35,000 origami elephants to represent the 35,000 elephants that are poached on average each year in Africa. Reaching 35,000 will break the current record of 33,764 held by the Whipsnade Zoo in Great Britain. Stop by the 96 Elephants booth to fold an origami elephant or two and help the Zoo reach its goal of 1,000 paper creations from St. Louis. Learn more at stlzoo.org/96elephants.
Entrepreneurs and new business startups are invited to compete in the 2016 Metro East Start-Up Challenge (MESC), Southern Illinois University Edwardsvilles third annual regional business plan competition.

The Challenge is organized by the Illinois Metro East Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The purpose of the Challenge is to identify, encourage and support entrepreneurs and business startups across the SBDCs nine-county service area.

The first-place winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize. Two runners-up will receive $5,000 each. Prizewinners will also receive an array of in-kind professional services.

Sponsors include the SIUE School of Business, PNC Bank, St. Louis Regional Chamber, the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, the Cities of Edwardsville and Columbia, Riverbend Growth Association, University Park at SIUE and Artigem. SIUEs School of Business, the SBDCs host organization, will assist with facilitating the competition.

The Metro East Start-Up Challenge elevates the discussion of and support for entrepreneurship across our region, said Jo Ann Di Maggio May, SBDC interim director. The interest in the annual Challenge continues to grow with each passing year.

The 2016 Challenge invites entrepreneurs and startup businesses from four target industries: information technology, manufacturing and health care. For a startup business enterprise to be eligible, it must have been established after April 30, 2012, and be headquartered in the Illinois portion of the St. Louis Metro region (Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe and Randolph counties). For pre-venture entrepreneurs, proposed new business operations will need to be located within the same nine counties.

The Metro East Start-Up Challenge includes three rounds, beginning with a brief questionnaire and executive summary submittal that is open to all applications that meet the eligibility guidelines. Participants selected for the second round are invited to expand on their business idea by submitting a full business plan. The last round is the final pitch in front of a panel of business experts.

For more information on the 2016 Challenge or to initiate the application process, go to siue.edu/metroeaststartup. The entry deadline is Friday, September 9. Semi-finalists will be announced Friday, Sept. 16, with finalists notified on Friday, Oct. 21.

The Challenge will announce its cash prizewinners on Friday, Nov. 4.

The Illinois SBDC Network is a service to the community supported, in part, by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and the SIUE School of Business.

SIUE operates two Small Business Development Centers and the International Trade Center. All three Centers provide resources, information and support to entrepreneurs, and small business owners in the nine-county Metro East region of Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe and Randolph. By aiding entrepreneurs and companies in defining their path to success, the SBDC positively impacts the Metro East by strengthening the business community, creating and retaining new jobs, and encouraging new investment. When appropriate, the SBDC strives to affiliate its ties to the region to support the goals and objectives of both the SIUE School of Business and the University at large.

To learn how the SBDC can help your small business, contact the Metro East SBDC at (618) 650-2929 or sbdcedw@gmail.com.
WATERLOO -- Calling it a compromise, U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-1st District, is challenging his Democratic opponent Monica Vernon to six debates.

Blum, a Dubuque businessman who is vying for his second term, had previously proposed 10 debates; Vernon countered with two. So, now Blum is trying to meet her in the middle -- reducing his proposal by four, and hoping to increase hers by four.

I think thats reasonable, trying to compromise, Blum said Thursday. Im puzzled. Im absolutely puzzled why a challenger would not want to debate.

Blums current proposal calls for the six debates to be held in Cedar Rapids, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area, Decorah, Dubuque, Grinnell and Marshalltown. Vernon, a former Cedar Rapids City Council woman, initially countered for the two debates to be held in their respective home towns.

Vernons campaign continues to push for two debates just as Congressman Blum agreed to in 2014. Vernons campaign previously cited the precedent for two debates during the 2014 and 2012 general elections in the 1st District.

Blum noted his defiance of tradition by issuing the challenge as an incumbent. Usually, the challengers call for more debates, not fewer.

But he said he wants to debate on their respective visions.

I think I know the issues, so Im not afraid to have that conversation or that debate about my vision for the country, and the policies, versus, I dont even know what her vision is, Blum said, adding that he believes most eastern Iowans agree with him on the issues.

Blum said it may benefit him to have fewer debates -- so fewer people learn where Vernon stands on issues -- but he wants to have the conversation. Blum added that Iowans deserve to hear for themselves about their visions.

Vernons campaign, meanwhile, said Iowans deserve answers to questions on Blums positions.

Northeast Iowans have a lot of questions for Congressman Blum: Why does he keep supporting unfair, job-killing trade deals? Why does he keep trying to cut Social Security and privatize Medicare instead of looking out for Iowas middle class? Iowans deserve to know, said Vernon campaign spokeswoman Michelle Gajewski.

Blums campaign once again called the counter-proposal disappointing, though not surprising.

Blum made his initial proposal in June and his campaign hasnt gotten a response beyond Vernons public call for two October debates. But his campaign offered in a statement to work closely with Vernons campaign to organize the debates and find mutual agreement on the terms and structure of the debates.

Christinia Crippes is a reporter for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, another Lee Enterprises newspaper.
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Linkedin Pandaya (The Jakarta Post) Rome  Thu, August 11, 2016

After President Joko Jokowi Widodo signed the ratification of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) in May, Indonesia can rest assured of global partnership in its effort to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.



The long due event heralded Indonesias stronger commitment to combat IUU fishing largely blamed for the worlds dwindling fish stocks and the missing US billion dollars worth of marine resources vital for food security.



Now, Indonesia is among 34 countries, plus the EU, that have joined the agreement that aims to block access of IUU fishing products to the legal market.



Admittedly, much is yet to be done to make the common effort effective given that the worlds biggest fish consumers and exporters like China, Japan and Taiwan have yet to join it.



As of today, only four of the worlds 10-largest fish-producing countries have been party to the PSMA: Indonesia, the US, Chile and Thailand, while China, Peru, India, Japan, Vietnam, and Russia have not.



Last month, the countries that have ratified the accord celebrated its formal enforcement during a fisheries conference at the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) headquarters in Rome.



It took almost a decade for the PSMA to come into force. Some countries came up with the idea in 2007. Indonesia was the 25th FAO member country to sign the agreement when it was opened for signature in 2009.



Under the UN, an accord can be enforced with the support of at least 25 member countries.



That it took eight years for Indonesia to ratify it remains a mystery. Indonesian officials duck for cover when the issue is raised; but it is widely believed that behind the impasse were politically wired businesspeople that feared the pact would jeopardize their interests.



Even though it is but one of numerous methods to combat illegal fishing, the PSMA is expected to bolster Indonesias firepower made famous by Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastutis literally dynamite approach.



The accord is a milestone in the global effort against IUU fishing, which combined with ineffective fish stock management has wasted between US$75 billion and $125 billion of global output every year, not to mention extensive damage to the marine ecosystem, the World Bank figures show.



It is especially important for Indonesia, where IUU incurs losses of about $20 billion in revenues and has particularly affected small-scale fishermen, whose number declined to 800,000 from 1.6 million in the decade between 2003 and 2013, government statistics shows.



Indonesia can greatly benefit from the accord. Foreign fishing vessels may enter designated ports that enforce requirements prescribed by PSMA for stringent supervision.



For now, Indonesia has earmarked five commercial fishing ports: Samudera Bungus in West Sumatra, Nizam Zachman in Jakarta, Samudera Bitung in North Sulawesi, Nusantara Ambon in Maluku, and Nusantara Pelabuhanratu in West Java.



Stringent procedures are billed to make the PSMA highly effective. First, any fishing vessels wishing to enter the designated port must provide details on registration, licenses, total loads, catch origins, kinds of fish and what it wishes to download. Then, once received by the port master, the vessel is examined for validity of its documents. Port officials will have access to the vessels flag state for verification.



Under the PSMA, parties to the agreement must close all their ports to IUU fishing and its support vessels. It helps them identify vessels suspected of committing IUU fishing and deny them access to, or the use of, their port services.



For Indonesia, guarding its 17,500 islands and 95,000 kilometer coastlines against modern, well-equipped pirate ships sailing under flags of convenience can be an overwhelming duty for security authorities.



Inadequate patrol boats, corruption, weak law enforcement are but a few major problems. To make his dream of making Indonesia a global maritime axis come true, Jokowi has improved coordination among maritime security agencies and set up Task Force 115, which has been credited for destroying about 180 illegal fishing vessels since its establishment in 2014.



It is understood that the root cause of IUU fishing is the lack of effective state control of vessels flags. Many states have failed to meet their obligations under international laws to properly control and supervise vessels authorized to fly their flags.



Now, member countries must take the initiative to stop the chain of illegal fishing activities, ensure the legality of the fish on board by examining the information of the incoming foreign vessels.



According to the FAO, IUU fishing threatens sustainability of global fisheries; yet lack of transparency in the sector means the perpetrators can fearlessly go about their criminal enterprise.



Consequently, illegally caught fisheries products find their way into the legitimate market while global secrecy hampers efforts to impose effective traceability measures.



The PSMA requires that parties to the agreement register all fishing vessels of 100 gross tons or larger with the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) for a global record that is made available real-time.



The record builds and shares a global database of fishing vessels identities, including names, owners, flag states, authorizations, physical characteristics, inspections, and presence on IUU lists. It is meant to improve traceability and dissemination of data on global fishing fleets.



A PSMA requirement that Indonesia has yet to meet is having all fishing vessels weighing 100 gross tons bear registry numbers issued by the IMO, the UN agency overseeing safety and security of shipping and prevention of pollution by ships.



According to the 2014 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, the worlds fishing vessels numbered about 4.72 million in 2012 with the largest being in Asia, with 3.23 million vessels.



The PSMA greatly facilitates exchange of information among countries which need vital real-time information in combating IUU fishing. They will spread the identities of vessels engaged in IUU activities and block poachers access to the international market.



Developing countries like Indonesia will have easy access to international cooperation, such as training for inspectors, capacity building, technical assistance and funding for activities related to PSMA. Now Indonesia should design ministerial regulations, facilities and adequate human resources to meet PSMA requirements. Designated ports have to be up to par with PSMA standards.



It looks like a long way to go but joining forces with other port states is definitely a good option.

***

The author is a staff writer at The Jakarta Post.

---------------

We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here.
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Linkedin Rendy Satria Dalimunthe (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

No one in this world likes to pay taxes, no matter how generous they are. The problem with taxes can be traced back to the earliest recorded history when the scripts, the equivalent of a tax collector during the reign of the pharaohs in Egypt, imposed taxes on cooking oil.



Ever since then, taxation has evolved from its initial function to pay for emergency wartime expenditures to become the backbone of most governments spending in recent decades.



Taxes indeed have many beneficial functions without which a countrys development cannot be done in a sustainable manner. Moreover, they also serve as a tool to reduce inequality, bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. Nonetheless, the noble goal of taxes can only be achieved if a robust management system is in place.



It is not hard to explain why citizens are reluctant to pay their taxes. The instinct to keep what is ours and what we have earned to ourselves is wired deeply in our brains, thanks to the adventurous lives of our hunter ancestors.



Hence, it has become the task of governments to encourage their citizens to pay their dues.



Problems occur when a government is unable to do its job of creating an environment in which the people are willing to pay their taxes happily, as happened in Indonesia, Southeast Asias largest economy.



After years of reliance in oil and gas taxes, the worlds fourth most populous country is now forced to shift the taxation target onto trickier objects: income and corporate taxes.



The shift apparently has become a major hurdle for the Indonesian government. While it has a massive potential tax base, Indonesias tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio is among the lowest in the region (10.8 percent), outperformed by its regional peers such as Thailand (17 percent), Malaysia (15.5 percent), the Philippines (14.4 percent), Singapore (14.2 percent) and Vietnam (13.8 percent).



Low tax compliance and high tax evasion are the main antagonists that have caused Indonesia to miss its revenue targets for seven consecutive years and it does not need a rocket scientist to understand the roots of both: the unwillingness of Indonesians to pay what they owed to their country.



This issue can be traced back to perceived corruption by government officials, causing a loss of trust by taxpayers.



In addition, the outdated system and bureaucratic hurdles also make the idea of dealing with Indonesias Directorate General of Taxation seem unpleasant.



In line with the government aspiration to channel massive investments into crucial projects for infrastructure, health and education, tax collection has been put under a bright spotlight.



The government, through the tax office, has been trying to transform the image of taxation in Indonesia, something that should be appreciated given how inferior Indonesias taxation administration has been in prior decades.



While a tax amnesty has been given a green light by the legislature, it will only provide a short-term boost of revenue collection. Indonesias tax collection, however, remains systematically problematic unless lasting and impactful changes are implemented. One way to do so is by extensive implementation of information technology.



An overhaul of the tax offices IT system will yield greater benefits for all stakeholders in the long term through a more robust and accountable tax administration system.



Combined with the modernization of several delivery channels, such as the registration and payment systems, it will generate positive effects and impressions, positioning the tax office to become more trustworthy in the eyes of taxpayers.



The implementation of new payment mechanisms such as e-billing is a very good starting step toward better tax compliance. It also creates an encouraging sign that the tax collection system in Indonesia is keeping up with the younger tech-savvy taxpayer generation, which will soon make up almost two-thirds of the entire population. Along with the online registration (e-registration) and tax report submission (e-filing) implemented earlier, the whole experience of dealing with the tax administration will be less painful since less paperwork and human interaction are needed.



The huge size of the potential tax base means terabytes of data. This will pose a huge challenge for the tax office should the agency be unable to manage it comprehensively. Utilization of big data technology must also be considered and the Indonesian governments decision to allow the tapping of taxpayers credit card transaction and bank information will be the first test on how far the tax office can turn the abundance of data into actionable insights.



The implementation of business analytics and intelligence will enable the tax office to extract meaningful information, revealing even the slightest anomaly leading to tax evasion or other non-compliance activities.



Obviously, there are a number of success stories in this world from which the tax office can draw inspiration.



Take South Korea, for instance, where the implementation of a cash receipt system (CRS) has created an environment in which taxpayers are encouraged to report their retail transactions in order to obtain sizeable tax incentives.



While there is still a lot of work to be done in order to maximize the revenues and reduce the tax gap, the implementation of IT should be the very first step to achieve the sought-after robust and transparent tax management system in Indonesia.



This may be costly, complicated and time-consuming, but its impact could be a much needed reinforcement for Indonesia to live up to its tax potential.

***

The author is a business technology consultant and investment practitioner who holds an MSc in engineering with finance from University College London (UCL). The views expressed are his own.

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We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

A new option to enjoy Cantonese cuisine in style is now available at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central Jakarta. Li Feng, now open to the public, serves an array of sights, smells, tastes and textures -- a full-throttle sensory dining experience.

Headed by Chef Loy, executive Chinese chef at Mandarin Oriental and member of the Singapore Chef's Association and Chaine des Rotisseurs, and Chef Fey, a new addition who was voted the best chef in China in 2016, Li Feng boasts authentic Chinese and Cantonese cuisine translated for the Indonesian palate.

Its signature dishes; the swan dumpling with black pepper duck meat, the sweet and sour chicken with pineapples and bell peppers, the chicken consomme with matsutake mushrooms, the sauteed beef with Szechuan pepper and chilli and the braised hele crab with Japanese rice in hoisin sauce all come with serious attention to detail.

(Read also: The kick of Minahasa cuisine)

The beauty of Chinese and Asian food is that its so unlike classical European cuisine preparation. There isnt much prep you can do, and its not as simple as putting things together on a plate. Its done so a la minute, in fact, I saw Chef Loy preparing fried rice in a wok for 80 people yesterday, said Sebastian Gassen, the hotel's food & beverage director, over lunch on Tuesday.

The lushness of both the food and the interior, which includes a beautiful seascape chandelier and a glass representation of an ancient map illustrating the Chinese travels to Indonesia made by an Italian missionary in 1601, is eye-catching. Patrons can also expect to enjoy simple yet delicious dim sum at a reasonable price and even dine like a king with lavish, live seafood.

Li Feng is open for lunch and dinner services, and hosts three private dining rooms for up to fourteen people. (jam/kes)
DES MOINES  In her first appearance in Iowa since winning the states caucuses, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stressed her economic proposals during campaign stops Wednesday at a popular local T-shirt shop and a high school.

During a visit to Raygun, Clinton said she wants to make it easier for young entrepreneurs to start businesses and she wants to encourage businesses to invest in American-made products.

Clinton contrasted her plan by accusing Donald Trump of outsourcing much of his businesses work to other countries.

This is one of the big differences I have with Donald Trump, Clinton said. He could make his ties in Denver. He could make suits in Ohio. He could make furniture in North Carolina.

You can build it in America, and I am determined that were going to build more, and were going to be able to create more businesses and more jobs by doing so.

The Trump campaign responded to Clintons assertions by pointing to Trumps previous responses to questions on the subject.

During a recent interview with an Ohio radio station, Trump said he has been forced to make his products overseas because of trade deals that he said are bad for U.S. businesses.

All Im doing is Im doing the market, Trump told WSPD-AM in Toledo. But I want products to be made in our country. And Im going to bring companies back so that we can actually buy products from our countries so that we do make televisions in the United States again.  So that we do make different products in the United States again. 

A lot of products arent even made here anymore because theyre outsmarting us at the negotiating table, other countries.

In a conference call hosted earlier Wednesday by the Republican Party of Iowa, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge tied Clinton to President Barack Obama, whose policies she said create over-regulation of small businesses and businesses across this great country.

Clinton, during her address to a crowd of 1,600 at Des Moines Lincoln High School, cited an analysis by Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moodys and a former economic adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Zandis analysis said Clintons proposals would result in 7.1 million new jobs, which would outpace current law by 2.2 million jobs.

Clinton also pointed out Zandis analysis called Trumps economic proposals fiscally unsound and would result in very large deficits and much higher debt load.

Clinton said that during her first 100 days as president she would call for heavy investment in both physical and electronic infrastructure, in clean and renewable energy sources and programs and in programs that promote small business growth.

She also proposed a three-year moratorium on student loan payments, which she said would not only help young people start businesses but also would help recent college graduates manage their student debt.

If we do infrastructure and we do clean, renewable energy jobs, then were going to be on our way to a 21st-century economy that will work for everybody, not just those at the top, Clinton said. If we want to get the economy working for everybody, then we need a campaign that lays out the agenda so people can vote for it so when Im elected I can tell Congress this is what the people of America voted for.

At one point during the rally, U.S. Secret Service stormed the stage to protect Clinton; they were responding to protesters who unfurled two large signs directly behind Clinton. The protesters appeared to be from an animal rights group.

During her visit to Raygun, Clinton talked shop with store owner Mike Draper, telling him her father, Hugh Rodham, printed drapery fabrics.

For the event, Draper wore a Raygun-printed T-shirt that displayed one of Clintons campaign slogans, America: Hill yes, and he gave one to Clinton.

Clintons return to Iowa was brief. She appeared at Raygun for roughly a half hour, popped in on a local coffee shop, then spoke for roughly 17 minutes at the rally, after which she also greeted supporters.

Clinton left immediately; she is scheduled to give a speech Thursday in suburban Detroit.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11 2016

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a court hand down a sentence of four years in prison to the former president director of property giant, PT Agung Podomoro Land, Ariesman Widjaja, accusing the businessman of masterminding a high-profile bribery case surrounding the controversial reclamation projects in Jakarta Bay.

The prosecutors claimed that Ariesman was the prime actor in the alleged bribery of former city councilor Muhammad Sanusi of council Commission D, which oversees city development affairs.

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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama has expressed his optimism that the Indonesian Democratic of Struggle (PDI-P) will finally throw its support behind him in the last minutes of the candidate registration period. During this period, candidates and parties must register with the Jakarta General Elections Commission.

Im an injury-time player. In 2012, no one ever thought that I would pair with Jokowi [President Joko Widodo]. Even the Gerindra Party wrote supporting statements to Jokowi and Deddy Mizwar [current West Java deputy governor], Ahok said at City Hall on Thursday.

Back in the 2012 election, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri picked Ahok to pair with Jokowi and registered them in time for the election.

The registration of governor and deputy governor candidates from political parties will take place from Sept. 19-21. Currently, Ahok is supported by three political parties -- Golkar Party, the NasDem Party and the Hanura Party.

Previously, PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto said his party was still considering three options for the race, one of which involves pairing Ahok with his current deputy governor, Djarot Saiful Hidayat. (bbn)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

Indonesian Army chief of staff Gen. Mulyono has said the government may grant amnesty to East Indonesia Mujahiddin (MIT) members who are still at large. However, they should still need to face the legal process for committing attacks against security personnel, he said.

"Whether or not the government will grant them amnesty, it will depend on the legal process the government should conduct on their violations, no matter what," Mulyono said on Wednesday.

The governments plan to grant amnesty to the 16 militants if they agree to surrender to security officials is considered a soft approach. It is hoped this approach might persuade the terrorists to end their guerrilla warfare in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

(Read also : Operation Tinombala should continue: Army chief)

Shortly after the death of MIT leader Santoso, aka Abu Wardah, in the middle of July, Luhut Pandjaitan, then the coordinating political, legal and security affairs, said giving amnesty to Santoso's militants was a better way to prevent them from committing more attacks against security personnel in the future.

The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) has reportedly supported the governments plan to provide amnesty for Santoso's followers, saying that providing amnesty was better than continuing with Operation Tinombala, which was too costly and led to fatalities. (ebf)
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Linkedin Madjedi Hasan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11 2016

One of the new ministers appointed in the latest Cabinet reshuffle announced on July 27 is Arcandra Tahar, 45, who replaced Sudirman Said as energy and mineral resources minister. Looking at their educational backgrounds, the previous and current ministers would have different views on improving the management of Indonesias oil and gas activities.

This is certainly not surprising, as the previous minister is an accountant while his successor is a professional petroleum engineer and definitely has more knowledge on petroleum operations (onshore and offshore), etc.

Arcandra lived in the US for the last 20-years and his connection with Indonesia was mostly as a technical consultant. The energy minister portfolio on the other hand is a political position and how he will handle the political side of his job remains to be seen.

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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Nusa Dua  Thu, August 11 2016

Countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in cross-border counterterrorism at the end of an international meeting on Wednesday.

We agreed that there needs to be an attempt to prevent the cross-border movement of terrorists through an intelligence cooperation and border security, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto told a press conference on the sidelines of the International Meeting on Counterterrorism in Nusa Dua.

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Linkedin Jill Lawless (Associated Press) London  Thu, August 11, 2016

Ecuador said Thursday it's ready to set a date for Swedish prosecutors to question Julian Assange inside its London embassy  a potential breakthrough in the yearslong international impasse over the WikiLeaks founder.

Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish police over alleged sexual offenses stemming from his visit to the country in 2010. He denies all the accusations against him made by two women. In June 2012, he sought shelter in Ecuador's embassy in the British capital and has been holed up there ever since.

Ecuador announced last year that it had agreed to a Swedish proposal to interview Assange at the embassy, but no interview has taken place.

Ecuador's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a date for the questioning in the embassy would be set "in the coming weeks."

Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Karin Rosander said Sweden handed over a formal request to interview Assange in January, and a reminder in June, and received Ecuador's reply on Tuesday.

"It means that a questioning can make the case go forward," Rosander told The Associated Press. "This is decisive to be able to take a decision whether to formally charge him or not."

Rosander said the Swedish prosecutor is on holiday and no date has been set for the trip to London.

Assange's defense team said in a statement that it welcomed the steps to take the WikiLeaks founder's statement, which it said "comes after six years of complete inaction on the part of the Swedish prosecutor."

Assange fears that if he is extradited to Sweden he will be sent to the United States for prosecution over WikiLeaks' publication of secret documents.

He faces arrest by British police if he leaves the building and, with the exception of occasional trips to the embassy balcony, has not been outside for years.

In February, a United Nations panel said Assange's stay at the embassy constituted arbitrary detention and he should be freed. The British and Swedish governments have rejected the non-binding findings of the U.N's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

In its statement, Ecuador said it stands by its August 2012 commitment to grant Assange asylum due to "fears of political persecution." (dan)

___

Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this story.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra  Thu, August 11, 2016

Haunted by the trauma of anti-Chinese rioting in 1998, a number of residents of Tanjungbalai, North Sumatra, have fled their homes following the recent ransacking and burning of viharas and pagodas in the port city.



A member of the Indonesian-Chinese community, Tony, alias Aci, said that those who had left were so traumatized by the incident, fearful that the 1998 anti-Chinese riots would be repeated, that they had decided to go abroad.



He said many of them had left for Malaysia and Singapore as both countries were close to Tanjungbalai.



Many of them have still not returned from Malaysia and Singapore. They say they are still traumatized, Tony, who runs his own business, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.



He said he was in Singapore when the riot broke out in city at the end of July and saw many people of Chinese descent from the city arriving in Singapore. He himself was afraid to return home for three days after the riot.



Who was not frightened at that time? All the temples were burned and destroyed, just like in the riots in 1998, said Tony, who said he had always previously felt comfortable living in Tanjungbalai.



The trouble reportedly started when local woman Meliana, a woman of Chinese descent, complained about the volume of the loudspeaker that a local mosque used to broadcast the adzan (call to prayer).



Provocative messages then circulated on social media saying the woman had thrown rocks at the mosque and forcefully stopped prayers and these are believed to have fueled the anger of locals.



Tri Ratna Vihara Foundation chairman Petjong Li, also known as Akhun, said he was very surprised that the riot had been triggered by Melianas complaint.



We deeply regret Melianas complaint, which triggered the incident in Tanjungbalai, Akhun said after he accompanied a lawmaker observing the damage to the Tri Ratna temple.



He said that because of Meliana, a woman who was not well-known among the Chinese community in Tanjungbalai, the interfaith harmony in the city had been ruptured and temples burned down. He expressed the hope that the people involved would face punishment for their actions.



Fourteen temples in Tanjungbalai were burned and ransacked by mobs on Friday night and early Saturday morning. No fatalities were reported in the incident but damage ran into the billions of rupiah.



The local police have so far arrested 21 suspects in the case. They comprise eight looters, nine people accused of burning or ransacking temples and four provocateurs, of whom two are underage.



A community leader in Tanjungbalai, Zulkifli Marpaung, said a number of major businessmen had left the city when the riot broke out. Zulkifli said he did not know where they had gone.



They left on the night of the riot, said Zulkifli.



Zulkifli said that not all of the city had been affected by the riot but the businessmen still left because of fears of a bigger riot erupting as happened in 1998.



Tanjungbalai Mayor M. Syahrial said he had not heard reports of an exodus of residents of Chinese people, but some might have left the city over safety fears.



He gave an assurance that the city was currently peaceful with no reports of any trouble.



Its safe now. Nobody should leave the city, he said.



Syahrial called on all residents who had left the city to return and get back to their day-to-day routines.



In 1998, the Chinese-Indonesian community was targeted by mobs and many members of the community were killed and raped. The mobs blamed Chinese-Indonesians for the economic crisis that led to the downfall of then president Soeharto. In 2006, students in Makassar, South Sulawesi, rallied and called for the expulsion of Chinese-Indonesians after a local court convicted a man of Chinese descent of abusing his two maids and killing one of them.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11 2016

A man claiming to be a passenger of ride-hailing app Uber says he was cheated by a driver when he took a ride to Setiabudi from Kota Kasablanka Shopping mall, both in South Jakarta on Tuesday night.

The passenger, Dolly Surya, said he was charged Rp 595,000 (US$45.82) for a journey he said that normally cost Rp 18,000.

Dolly, an employee of a private company, told kompas.com on Wednesday that the problem occurred because the driver did not stop the meter after he got out of the car.

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Linkedin Severianus Endi (The Jakarta Post) Pontianak  Thu, August 11 2016

Haze blanketed a number of regions in West Kalimantan from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning and was visible especially in Pontianak as days before the sky over the city had been relatively clear.

West Kalimantan councilor Maskendari said he had to wait 45 minutes before the sky was clear enough for the plane he was on to take off from Supadio Airport in Pontianak and head to Jakarta via Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on Wednesday morning.

When heading to the airport from home I saw the haze was relatively thick. I estimate that visibility was less than 200 meters, Maskendari told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, adding that his flight was initially scheduled for 7:40 a.m.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Kupang  Thu, August 11 2016

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has asked the police and prosecutors to oversee the management of rural funds in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which this year received Rp 3.62 trillion (US$278 million) in rural development for 2,995 villages in 21 regencies.

This year each village has received Rp 600 million. The total sum amounts to Rp 3.6 trillion when multiplied by 2,995 villages. The KPK has asked the police and prosecutors to participate in supervising the management of the funds to prevent irregularities, said KPK deputy head Basaria Panjaitan in Kupang on Wednesday.

Basaria was on a two-day working visit to Kupang, the capital of NTT, to meet the governor, regents and mayors, as well as NTT Police chief Brig. Gen. Widyo Sunaryo and NTT Prosecutors Office head John Purba.

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DES MOINES  Revisions to Iowas water-quality standards approved Wednesday by a state regulatory panel were cheered by cities, towns and businesses facing potential cost uncertainties in making improvements but panned by environmentalists who worry protections are being weakened.

The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, without dissent, approved a change that removed a benefit analysis from anti-degradation standards as part of a process that limits to 115 percent the cost of pollution-reducing upgrades or treatments. The amended guidelines implemented under emergency rule-making procedures take effect Friday.

Timothy Whipple, general counsel for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, called Wednesdays change to Iowas anti-degradation policy minimal by clarifying but not lowering standards to balance environmental stewardship and fiscal responsibility.

We want communities to be able to have a say in how much cost they take on and when, he said.

Wednesdays action was in response to a court order in which a district judge ruled that state Department of Natural Resources officials must ensure projects seeking permits to add new pollution to a waterway have considered and appropriately accounted for the environmental benefits of alternative, pollution-reducing designs regardless of the potential for higher costs.

Representatives from the Environmental Law & Policy Center and Iowa Environmental Council spoke against the proposal Wednesday, saying the changes to clean water anti-degradation standards likely will lead to more pollution and undermine the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

Opponents contended the new policy removes a provision requiring consideration of environmental benefits before eliminating less-polluting alternatives, replacing the existing case-by-case approach with a one-size-fits-all approach based on cost alone. The change opens the door for Environmental Protection Agency intervention, they say.

DNR Director Chuck Gipp said the current situation poses a conundrum for small cities with aging or declining population that want to take steps to upgrade wastewater treatment or make other improvements but face prohibitive costs that increase charges for residents and deter job-creating development.

Gipp called it a reach for opponents to contend the change represented a step backward for the states nutrient-reduction strategy with the required 115 percent of the base cost.

Nobodys for dirty water, but what can you actually spend? How can we improve water quality overall but at the same time make it affordable so that we just dont drive some citizens into bankruptcy? he asked. Thats what this rule is about, is to make sure you know what you have to do and theres no darkness or uncertainty.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan  Thu, August 11 2016

Police have so far this year shot four crime suspects in Balikpapan and Samarinda, East Kalimantan, leaving one dead and three seriously injured.

They include two suspects who robbed and raped a 5-year-old girl in Kampung Baru, Balikpapan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Jeffri Dian Juniarta revealed on Wednesday.

The one fatality was Syarifuddin, alias Udin, 32, who allegedly killed his wife and a neighbor on July 18. Udin was shot and killed after trying to resist arrest in Gang Tugu Monas, Jl. Jakarta, Loa Bakung subdistrict, Sungai Kunjang district, Samarinda.

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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

Lawyers of murder suspect Jessica Kumala Wongso reported Judge Binsar Gultom to the Judicial Commission on Thursday, claiming that Binsar had violated the judges code of conduct by ignoring the presumption of innocence during a court hearing.

On July 27, Binsar said during a hearing that it was not a problem that there were no witnesses who saw anyone place anything in Wayan Mirnas Salihin Vietnamese coffee, which was allegedly laced with cyanide.

In his claim, Binsar referred to the 2015 murder case of 12-year-old child that proceeded despite the lack of a witness in Jasinga, Bogor, West Java, in which he sentenced the defendant to life in prison.

Jessicas lawyer said that according to a Supreme and Judicial court regulation, judges must treat all parties fairly and should not have the sole intention of sentencing a suspect.

Binsar has implied a threat for the verdict. He has also dismissed information from witnesses as legal evidence in the courtroom, Jessicas lawyer, Hidayat Bostam, said on Thursday, adding that all witnesses had acknowledged that they did not see Jessica put anything in Mirnas drink.

In a letter signed by Hidayat, Sordame Purba and James Pangaribuan, the lawyers demanded that the commission examine and monitor Binsars performance according to the law. Previously, one of Jessicas other lawyers, Otto Hasibuan, called for the removal of Binsar from the Central Jakarta District Court bench.

Jessica has been charged with the premeditated murder of Mirna on Jan. 6 by lacing Mirnas iced coffee with cyanide. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

The Jakarta administration has given the management of Kalibata City apartments in Rawajati, South Jakarta until October to repair its seven broken wastewater treatment facilities.

If the management fails to meet the deadline, we will urge the Jakarta Urban Planning Agency head to revoke the operational license of the apartment complex, head of the Jakarta Environment Management Board (BPLHD) Junaedi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Last week, the BPLHD warned the apartments management after learning that it had dumped untreated wastewater in local waterways because its wastewater treatment facilities were broken.

The management of Kalibata City apartments was not available for comment. (rez/bbn)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11 2016

Imagine you wanted to buy a new gadget or dress online but had neither the means nor knowledge on how to shop via an e-commerce platform, perhaps you would ask someone you trust to buy the product for you in return for a small commission.



Now, multiply the commission by a million transactions, and hey presto, assisted online shopping turns out to be a highly profitable business.



Not many people realize such opportunities exist in Indonesia, home to over 250 million people. Among those who do, entrepreneurs Albert Lucius, 30, and Agung Nugroho, 31, are indisputably exemplary role models for the business.



After spending years on different career paths, the two high school buddies met again a few years ago when pursuing masters degrees in the US. Enchanted with the rapid growth of e-commerce in their home country, Albert and Agung came up with a fresh idea to develop a new technology platform that could connect online merchants with offline customers nationwide. They later named it Kudo, an acronym of the Indonesian words kios untuk dagang online (online shopping kiosk).



While many e-commerce platforms have been focusing on attracting end users making online purchases, Kudo has come up with a different idea, targeting those who dont have credit cards, or even bank accounts, to make transactions through so-called agents.



In Indonesia, only 5 million people have credit cards and therefore access to e-commerce. This is a tiny fraction of the 125 million people of productive age said Agung, the companys chief operating officer, in a recent interview with The Jakarta Post. Thus, the app has been introduced to enable all people to access e-commerce and help them become entrepreneurs.



After launching its mobile application early this year, as of July Kudo, a sister company of online marketplace Bukalapak, claimed to have recruited more than 100,000 agents to market products

offered by its partners, including Bukalapak, online shop Lazada and various airlines.



Therefore, by just downloading the Kudo application on an Android phone, someone can instantly own an online store offering millions of products to customers.



The agent, meanwhile, receives a commission for every product he or she manages to sell. The agent typically receives cash from buyers and might arrange the payment to be made in installments schemes.



Such transactions can only happen if the agent and buyers trust each other, Agung said, adding that some Kudo agents earned commission of up to Rp 15 million (US$1,140) a month.



Agung said the company expected to have 200,000 agents by the end of this year and increase this number fivefold by 2018.



Currently, around 50 percent of Kudo agents are based in Java, 30 percent in Sumatra and 20 percent in Kalimantan and other parts of the country.



Although Kudo has seen rapid growth in the number of agents in Indonesian major cities, Agung said the long-term future of the business would lie in its expansion in suburban areas and smaller cities.



Indonesias e-commerce market was estimated at Rp 18 trillion last year, with 37 million consumers, according to World Economic Outlook data compiled by the Internet Service Providers Association.



The association also predicted that the e-commerce market would reach Rp 25 trillion by 2016, with 49 million consumers.



The vast potential of e-commerce in the country has led equity firms KKR & Co. and Warburg Pincus LLC to recently inject $550 million into Indonesian start-up darling and online transportation app Go-Jek last week.



Considering the recent trend, University of Indonesia economist Fithra Faisal Hastiadi says it is possible another massive capital inflow from foreign investors is likely in the near future as there are lots of sectors that had yet to be technologically developed here.



The government is committed to strengthening interconnectivity by boosting the development of internet infrastructure across the country.



This is an era of disruptive innovation, in which a start-up company can come out of nowhere and suddenly disrupt established business models, he said. Hence, we should prepare ourselves, as big things are on the way. (vps/hwa)

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11 2016

Vice President Jusuf Kalla has told the Culture and Education Ministry to review its plan to extend elementary and junior high school hours, saying that the plan was viable but could not be applied at all schools.

Kalla said many private schools had implemented the full-day system, but many aspects would have to be considered before it was extended to all schools. He made the comment on the sidelines of the fourth Indonesia International Geothermal Convention and Exhibition at the Jakarta Convention Center on Wednesday.

He urged the minister to assess which schools were ready to conduct trials. Try it first in particular areas, if the results are good, we can carry out the plan gradually. Because Im sure not all regions need it. For example, in rural areas some students might need time to help their parents.

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

The Indonesian Army says the joint police-military security operation in Poso, Central Sulawesi, named Operation Tinombala, should continue despite calls for the remaining members of the East Indonesia Mujahiddin (MIT) militant group to surrender.

"Calling for [MIT members] to surrender does not mean we have to stop the operation. We also conduct territorial operations there, which serve as a soft approach [to end guerilla warfare]," Army chief of staff Gen. Mulyono said on Wednesday.

The territorial operations in Poso, which began following the death of MIT leader Santoso in July, aim to unify local residents hit by prolonged conflict in the Central Sulawesi region, including through fostering development in the area.

(Read also : E.Kalimantan dispatches Brimob personnel to Poso)

The Army's position is contrary to that held by rights activists grouped together in a counterterrorism evaluation group called Team 13. The team earlier urged security officials to uphold a sense of humanity in persuading the militants to surrender without the exchange of gun fire.

Following a visit to evaluate the counterterrorism operation in Poso, Team 13 member Busyro Muqqodas said the group had decided to cooperate with the National Police and the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), adding that Team 13 would persuade the remaining MIT members to surrender without using violence. (bbn)
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Linkedin ,Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Makassar  Thu, August 11, 2016

MAS,15, a second grader at state vocational school (SMKN) 2 Makassar, along with his father, Adnan Achmad, 43, reportedly beat up an architecture teacher, Dasrul,52, at the school on Wednesday.

Dasrul, who sustained injuries to his nose, reported MAS and his father to the Tamalate Police.

Dasrul told the police the incident happened after he had scolded the student for failing to bring in a drawing kit and slapped him in the face.

MAS reported the slapping to his father, who came to the school to look for the teacher.

"No parent would accept their children being slapped," Adnan told police investigators.

Separately, Tamalate Police subprecinct chief Comr. Azis Yunus said the police were still investigating the incident. (dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

The Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has joined a coalition of seven parties known as the Kinship Coalition, but party secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto has said the decision to do so was not based on PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputris instruction.

Each regional chapter has a mandate to cooperate with other political parties, said Hasto on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

As reported previously, seven political parties  the PDI-P, the Gerindra Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Democratic Party (PD), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Mandate Party (PAN)  have formed a coalition for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.

But Hasto stressed his party had not made a decision on who it would nominate as a gubernatorial candidate. The party is considering three options.

The first option is paring incumbent Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama with his current deputy governor, Djarot Saiful Hidayat. The second option is to nominate a figure selected by the PDI-P's Jakarta chapter. The third option is not yet clear.

It is possible we will introduce a shocking decision at the last minutes, said Hasto.

PDI-P, with 28 seats on the City Council, is the only party that has a Jakarta gubernatorial ticket. The other parties failed to meet the electoral threshold of 22 seats to nominate a candidate. Therefore, they have had to form coalitions. (bbn)
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

State-run oil and gas producer Pertamina will send off 105 of its engineers abroad to get professional certificates in operating new refinery systems over the next few months.

Pertamina vice president for corporate communications Wianda Pusponegoro said the company would send off 105 engineers from July to November for "knowledge updates".

Were opening new refineries that will be ready by 2019. Our manpower needs to get licensed certificates to be able to work on the new sites by then, she said on the sideline of the send-off ceremony in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Study destinations for the engineers vary from France under oil technology provider Axens, the US under Bechtel and UOP, and Britain under Foster Wheeler and Bechtel.

Pertamina is currently upgrading refineries in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, and Cilacap in Central Java. Both are scheduled for completion by 2019 and 2022, respectively.The refinery in Balikpapan will have six new facilities producing gasoline and aerosol, among other products, with new and advanced technologies that require updated knowledge.

Wianda said more engineers would be sent abroad to satisfy the company's needs in the coming years. (dmr)
CEDAR RAPIDS  Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, became the 44th president of the National Conference of State Legislatures at its annual meeting in Chicago.

In the unpaid position, Gronstal, 66, will lead the bipartisan organization that serves the nations 7,383 state lawmakers and more than 20,000 legislative staff members. The leadership alternates between Republicans and Democrats. The president oversees and presides over the executive committee, which is the NCSLs governing body.

Gronstal believes governing should be a bipartisan effort, and said that was reflected in what many called an impressive, even landmark, session last year with a noticeable lack of gridlock.

There are so many issues that transcend across party lines and NCSL provides that very opportunity to discuss solving some of those pressing issues impacting each of our states, Gronstal said.

Gronstal has represented the Council Bluffs and Carter Lake region in western Iowa for more than 30 years, two in the House and 31 in the Senate. He has served as Senate president, minority leader, majority whip and assistant majority leader, and, during the Senates historic tie in 2005-2006, he was elected to serve as co-leader.

Gronstal has been a social worker, shipping clerk and stay-at-home dad. His priorities include addressing Iowas shortage of skilled workers, improving teacher pay and making community college even more affordable.

He has been recognized by his colleagues for his dedicated work and knowledge of complex issues in the insurance and utilities industries.

Gronstal is a graduate of Antioch College in Ohio, a third generation Council Bluffs resident. He and his wife, Connie, have two grown daughters.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) lambasted Tanjung Balai Police in North Sumatra for slow action and failing to detect the potential for religious and ethnic conflict, which erupted in the city at the end of July.

Ibu Meliana complained about the volume of the adzan (call to prayer) from a mosque in her neighborhood one week before the conflict occurred, Komnas HAM commissioner Natalius Pigai told journalists on Thursday.

He was referring to a 41-year old Buddhist woman of Chinese descent, identified as Meliana, who complained about the volume of the loudspeaker at Al Maksum Mosque in Tanjung Balai. Several vihara (Buddhist monasteries) and pagodas were looted and burned in a riot that erupted following a meeting between Meliana and the mosques congregation members on July 29.

Natalius said that one week before the attacks occurred, Meliana told her neighbor, whose father was one of the mosques administrators, that the volume of the adzan from the mosque was louder than usual.

On the day of the riot, Natalius said a rumor circulated among residents that a woman of Chinese descent had urged a mosque to not issuing the adzan and asked the mosques administrators to turn off the mosques loudspeaker.

The commissioner said the police had one week to detect and prevent the riot. He said the police failed to take measures that could have prevented the riot, which involved hundreds of people. (wnd/ebf)
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Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Semarang, Central Java  Thu, August 11, 2016

The Central Java Police are still investigating the destruction of two spiritual statues at the Santo Yusuf Pekerja Catholic Church in Gondangwinangun, Klaten, Central Java.

The Central Java Police chief [Insp. Gen. Condro Kirono] has instructed the polices general crime investigation directorate to immediately investigate the case and discover both the perpetrators and motives for the act of destruction, National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Martinus Sitompul said as quoted by Antara News in Jakarta on Thursday.

We cannot yet reveal the perpetrators because there was no one who witnessed the incident. No CCTV camera has been installed in the area, he said.

As reported earlier, a statue of Jesus Christ and another of the Virgin Mary inside the Catholic church were found to have been damaged by unidentified persons on Tuesday.

The two statues were moved and then damaged. We are still investigating the case, Klaten Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Faizal told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said the destruction was suspected to have taken place in between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, but the police received a report about the incident only later in the afternoon.

It was Rev. Sukowalyono, a Catholic priest in the church, who first reported the vandalism to the police, shortly after he returned from a trip to Yogyakarta. After I arrived in the church at around 4 p.m., I got a report that two statues had been damaged. I then filed a report with the police, Sukowalyono said.

The Jesus Christ statue was found in a river near the church, while the Virgin Mary statue had fallen down on the floor near the altar.

Both statues are quite big and heavy so it is likely that the destruction was committed by more than one person, said a church officer who wished to remain anonymous. (ebf)
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Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11 2016

The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) has urged the police not to issue investigation termination warrants (SP3) in the alleged sexual assault of an intern by three civil servants and continue the investigation into the case.

Komnas PAs chairman, Aries Merdeka Sirait, said on Wednesday that it was unwise for the police to issue the SP3 merely based on information discrepancies between the victim, suspects and witnesses.

The police should not only underscore the investigation based on information, but also vital evidence, which includes the victims underwear and the suspects [use of] anesthetic, he said.

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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

Indonesia must pay close attention to its geothermal power pricing policy as it has been highlighted by the market as a key catalyst for the successful growth of renewable energy in the future, an expert has said.

Global business consulting firm Boston Consulting Group principal Alex Doyla said the Indonesian government had set an ambitious target of generating 8 percent or 7,200 Megawatts (MW) of its total electricity from geothermal energy by 2025.

However, since the 1980s Indonesia has only utilized 1,494 MW of geothermal energy capacity, he went on.

"The geothermal energy growth has been low in the last three decades. The former President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] had issued a commitment to triple the countrys utilized geothermal capacity by 2014, but the actual growth was relatively low during 2010-2015, standing at only below 300 MW," Alex said during the 4th Indonesia International Geothermal Convention and Exhibition (IIGCE) at Jakarta Convention Center on Thursday.

He admitted the government had made positive developments in the geothermal energy sector during the past year, including its decision to offer production bonuses for local administrations, introduce a price ceiling concept and categorize geothermal exploration as a "non-mining activity".

The government also had been successful in centralizing tender processes and permit issuance and introduced sanctions to parties attempting to hinder geothermal activities.

"To develop further our geothermal sector, pricing issues must be resolved as it is the key catalyst for its growth in the future," said Alex.

He further said that two pricing policy components Indonesia must prioritize to speed up geothermal development were pricing schemes and tariff escalation. (ebf)
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Linkedin Grace D. Amianti and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11 2016

Australias dominance of the Indonesian imported beef market may be challenged soon by imported beef from Latin American countries and Spain, as the government pursues efforts to lower stubbornly high prices.



The Latin American countries are Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, while Spain is known for its high-quality beef. Australia has so far been the main source for Indonesias beef imports and this months importation of 10,000 tons buffalo meat from a disease-free zone in India marks the first-ever shipment of such meat.



We will soon open the opportunity this year; G-to-G [government-to-government support] will be sought, said newly inaugurated Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita on Wednesday, adding his belief that there would be an equilibrium price.



Enggartiasto, along with other ministers and officials went to the State Palace on Wednesday to update President Joko Jokowi Widodo about the efforts to curb rising food prices as well as to improve supply and distribution. It is hoped to bring the price down to Rp 80,000 per kilogram (US$6.1) from current range of Rp 100,000 to Rp 130,000 per kg, still at the peak level during Ramadhan last month.



Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman revealed that his ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with one of the Latin American countries to import more than 10,000 tons of beef. The country remains unidentified, reportedly it has never previously exported beef to Indonesia.



Recently, the Agriculture Ministry was involved in intense discussions on a plan to import beef cattle from Spain and Latin American countries such as Mexico.



[Spain] does not use hormone stimulants on their cows, so it has become one of Europes best producers of beef. The price is more or less equal to that of Australia, but with better quality, said State Logistics Agency (Bulog) president director Djarot Kusumayakti.



Major local livestock breeder and meat processor Santosa Agrindo (Santori) welcomed the governments initiative to start importing from Latin America as it would offer alternatives for the company, which gets its supply of heifers solely from Australia.



The company, a subsidiary of publicly listed poultry firm Japfa Comfeed, is attracted by the idea of importing calves from Latin America, particularly Mexico as one of the countries with foot-and-mouth disease-free zones, protocols for which have been agreed with Indonesia.



The quality of cattle from Latin America wont be an issue as long as they still have matching genetics of the Bos Indicus type for tropical conditions, just like Brahman cows in Mexico, head of breeding Dayan Antoni said.



Gustavo Westmann, the economic, commercial and cultural attache at the Brazilian Embassy in Jakarta, said in parallel with a consultation initiated by his country against Indonesias non-tariff barriers on beef imports at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Brazil will also present its sanitary certificate to Indonesia to try and sell its meat here.



I think the beef price is really high. In Brazil its half the price [...] In Brazil beef is sold for Rp 60,000 to Rp 65,000 per kg, he told The Jakarta Post in June.



Experts criticized the governments move to diversify beef import sources as merely emergency action that would not provide sustainable nationwide self-sufficiency in food.



The government should start thinking of developing domestic beef production, which is the main issue that hasnt been touched, said Rochadi Tawaf, a cattle expert from Padjadjaran University.



Esther Samboh contributed to the story

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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

National Exploration Committee head Andang Bachtiar said on Thursday that geothermal exploration and development had been running very slow.

Out of 12 geothermal exploration areas, he said, none of them had shown progress since 2000, except an exploration site managed by geothermal producer PT Supreme Energy in South Solok.

"Some essential problems haven't been solved. They include a lack of database resources, both quantity and quality data, and problems in tenders," Andang said at the fourth Indonesia International Geothermal Convention and Exhibition (IIGCE) at the Jakarta Convention Center on Thursday.

He further said electricity rates produced by geothermal power plants were not considered competitive. The development of a geothermal power plant, which was high risk and needed significant capital, was the main factor for why geothermal energy prices remained stubbornly high.

"In terms of business permits, most geothermal fields are located in forest areas and this leads to overlapping government regulations. The permit issuance needs to be simplified," said Andang, adding that geothermal developers also had to face fiscal and social issues during exploration.

To resolve the problems, he said, KEN had evaluated and proposed revisions of government, ministerial and local administration regulations that were counterproductive to the governments prime mission to make geothermal energy the basis of national energy security.

"KEN has also encouraged the role of state-owned firms in conducting exploration and well drilling activities and pushed the government to optimize the use of its geothermal funds for those activities," he said. (ebf)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

The Indonesian Army is ready to impose severe punishments on all personnel found guilty of using drugs or being involved in drug trafficking networks, a top ranking official has said.

Army chief of staff Gen. Mulyono said the institution was still waiting for the results of its investigation into the alleged involvement of a two-star military General in executed drug kingpin Freddy Budimans business empire. The investigation is being conducted by a team established by and working under the command of Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo.

Personally, I don't want any of my personnel to be involved in drug networks. If anyone is proven guilty, I will immediately take him into a legal process and dismiss him from the military if necessary," Mulyono said on Wednesday.

(Read also : Kontras leader questions defamation charges against him)

Mulyono said that in line with ongoing internal reforms in the military, he had also called on all Army personnel to perform ethically, including by avoiding the use of official Army vehicles and facilities for activities outside of official military tasks.

The investigation will be conducted following the widespread circulation of Freddys testimony released by rights activist Haris Azhar. In his testimony to the coordinator for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) in 2014, Freddy revealed the alleged involvement of high ranking officials from the National Police, the TNI and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in his drug business.

Freddy claimed he had once delivered drugs from Medan, North Sumatra, using a car belonging to a two-star TNI General. The General even accompanied him in the car during the journey, Freddy said. Haris published the drug lords testimony one day before he was executed on July 29. (ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, August 11, 2016

Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendys controversial plan to extend school hours for elementary to high school students will positively impact students  both in academic achievement and personal development, some parents have said.

All this time, students from rich families can afford to pay private teachers for extra lessons, while the poor cant afford it, said Wiwin Darwinah, a parent, who lives in Ciputat, South Tangerang. She is the mother of a sixth grader and a ninth grader and sends her children to public schools.

Meanwhile, Mustiana Dewi from Bekasi, West Java, said her daughter, who studies at a private junior high school in Bekasi, attended more classes in her day. She added that the programs encouraged her daughter to spend more time engaged in productive activities at school instead of hanging out with friends at malls.

My daughter studies at school until the afternoon. Therefore, once she arrives at home, she only has a short time for her own activities at home, Dewi, the mother of a third grader, said.

Critics say many public schools are not yet ready to adopt a longer school day. Muhadjir has said a longer school day will mean that parents can send their children to school and then pick them up at the end of the day after work.
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DES MOINES  Steve King, Iowas conservative congressman from northwest Iowa, had kind words Thursday for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Trump fared far better, to be sure, during Kings remarks Thursday at the Des Moines Registers Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

But King, when talking about the 2016 presidential race, also said Clinton is someone with whom he has been able to work in the past.

King said if he is re-elected to Congress and Clinton is elected president, he will do his best to oppose an agenda with which he presumes he will disagree.

But I also know that I sat across the table from Hillary Clinton, eye-to-eye, and when youre working outside of staff and outside the press, she is somebody I can work with, King said.

After his public remarks, King reaffirmed to reporters that he has in the past been able to work with Clinton when not operating under the eyes of media or staff.

I can reason with Hillary Clinton under those circumstances, King said.

That is as far as King was willing to go with Clinton; he was far more supportive of Trump.

King told reporters he plans to vote for Trump in November, plans to encourage others to do the same and supports many of the plans Trump laid out in his acceptance speech at last months national convention.

King fell short of officially endorsing Trump, but he gave reporters the impression he will at some point before the election.

The Irish in me lends to the utilization of hyperbole and superlatives. So I have more of them that I havent unleashed yet, King said. Ive just got more good things that I can say.

King said he supports Trumps proposals on border security, a three-tiered tax plan and placing a moratorium on new federal regulations.

King also said he disagrees with Trump on some issues but those are things that I can live with that may or may not be high priorities.

On (Trumps) agenda, almost everything there I agree with, and I think we should commit to working on that agenda, King said, adding that he is working with Trump supporters such as Iowas Sam Clovis.

King also was effusive in his praise of Mike Pence, the Indiana governor chosen to be Trumps running mate.

I think this is a terrific choice. Mike Pence fills in whatever you might see as gaps in a Trump candidacy, King said. And he adds an element of stability. Hes got a deep understanding of foreign policy having sat on the foreign affairs committee for years (as a former congressman) along with the judiciary committee. I know where his head and his heart is.
The mayor says he might rethink a contract awarded to Slate Property Group in Brooklyn. Slate is one of the firms that acquired Rivington House. He said yesterday: Were going to take a very hard look at that situation. That contract has not been finalized I think what they did was inappropriate Anyone who seeks to do business with the city of New York (and) mislead(s) us needs to know there will be consequences. [Daily News]

Commercial leasing takes a tumble as worries about a slump in New Yorks economy increase. [Real Deal]

Cops are looking for a woman who knocked over an 82-year old man in a building on Rivington Street, stealing a gold necklace. [DNA Info]

A cheeky Instagram model and artist copped to disorderly conduct Wednesday stemming from a Lower East Side pot arrest. In an episode outside 106 Rivington St., Anna Barratt had made her problems worse by pushing NYPD Police Officer Luis Perez. He said in a criminal complaint that handcuffing her was a two-person job. [Daily News]

Chinatown Fair reviewed: The Lost Arcade is an enjoyable and nostalgic portrait of a bygone era and a local institution that has now lost the pungent atmospheric flavor that made it so unique. [Hollywood Reporter]

A new bar, VNYL, on 3rd Avenue will feature Long Island ice teas on tap and candied bacon quinoa sushi. [EV Grieve]
What does the rest of the world know about North Korea and the people who live there? In her latest book, How I Became North Korean, Krys Lee takes readers past the border and deep into the lives of defectors. Were tossed next to Yongju, Jangmi and Danny, three kids who have been forcefully displaced, out of North Korea and into a new world: China.

Life across the river poses many challenges for these three dissimilar characters. China is far from a promised land; the dangers are many, from government informants to thieves, Catholic missionaries, and even other refugees. Yongju, Jangmi, and Danny are part of a vibrant community that struggle to make it in China under heavy discrimination, racism, and political persecution.

The novel, long-listed for the 2016 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, looks deep into religion and the political agendas of North Korea. But this story is also  and maybe primarily  about family and identity. Aside from the obvious grittiness and tension that goes along with nationhood, nationalism, and crossing the border, Lee writes a human story, with maturity and sovereignty. How I Became North Korean is both delicate and menacing; the books details are fascinating, along with its social and political background. However it is, most of all, an overwhelming, emotional story. Lees book is shaped by its characters fragility, but mostly driven by their courage.

Lee is currently Assistant Professor of creative writing and literature at the Underwood International College of Yonsei University in Seoul. She and I spoke via Skype.

The Millions: With your short story collection Drifting House you gave us a deep look into Korean-American life, and I think you have helped to build the identity of that group as part of migration mythology. Now we have a glimpse of North Korea too. What made you decide to tackle the North Korean refugee issue for this new book?

Krys Lee: I have a lot of North Korean friends; Ive been friends with defectors for a long time. One of my closest friends in South Korea was an activist, so I became involved with that world too. Drifting House (the story) arose from learning about North Korea, about the famine and the kids that starved on the streets. It was an obsession of mine; the things people do to survive. Those morally ambiguous situations interested me a lot. However, Drifting House was a story about a specific period of time, and I felt compelled to address more broadly human rights in China and the lives of the refugees that are contemporary today.

TM: Has North Korea become a literary obsession for you, after writing this novel?

KL: For me its not about North Korea per se, but about what happens to the people who come out. Its about people. Theyre so vulnerable, so at risk. I felt that those were concerns that needed to be addressed. Many people in South Korea tend to look at North Koreans with a sense of pity and sympathy, but I hope we can look at them with less pity and more a sense of recognition, because of their courage and strength.

TM: What did you know about North Korea during the time you lived outside South Korea?

KL: I knew nothing, frankly, outside of the fact that the Korean War had resulted in the division of the nation into North and South. I had also read books about the war and Korean modern history. But until I moved to South Korea, it was a terrible, sad, but abstract history that affected my family. My understanding and feelings about it changed the person Ive become. Its the same way I feel about death  once someone in your immediate family dies, you cross one threshold and become another person. Crossing national borders and living in another country, and experiencing the countrys past and present, changes a person to the same degree.

So much has happened while Ive lived here. North Korean bombed an inhabited island in South Korea, which sent the two countries to the verge of war, I became friends with North Koreans who had risked their lives to come to South Korea and now dont know whether their family members are dead or alive. I met activists who worked anonymously and sold their house and used those funds to bring North Koreans from China into a safe third country. Kim Jong-Il passed away and left his young son to rule the nation, who tightened his power (as well as security at the border between China and North Korea) through a typical demagogues reign of terror. The dizzying events are many, and my feelings and reactions are complicated and bewildering, even to myself, as they change day to day.

TM: Can you tell us about your activism?

KL: First, I dont consider myself an activist. I just had close relationships with people in that world, and became a kind of accidental activist. Once I knew details about them it was hard for me to do nothing. I did some volunteering as a teacher, interpreter, translator, and then more. Later I was asked to help set up a safe house at the border area, which led to struggles with the missionary culture and eventually, to helping a North Korean to safety in a third country. Seeing the dangers and fear people go through, it changed me.

TM: Youve moved around a lot. How did that affect your writing?

KL: I dont know how it has affected my writing but it did affect me as a person. What affected my writing the most was reading. Books have been a constant in my life. And in another sense I suppose moving has shaped my work, for the fact that I moved between continents has augmented my understanding of everything. Moving broadened my horizons; it made nationhood less important to me, and made even clearer to me that identity is a fluid, precarious thing.

TM: I found it fascinating how the North Korean experience as depicted in How I Became North Korean echoes and relates to the mojado, or Latin American immigrant experience, or to the current refugee crisis. Not just the tragedies and drama, but their behavior and braveness.

KL: I thought about that too as I was finishing writing the book. With my first book I knew I was writing about Koreans and Korean Americans, but again its also about people. I write about certain cultures because thats what I know best, but that doesnt mean its just about Koreans. Koreans are individuals, after all. While I was writing I often thought about how identities are made and formed and imposed on us, and the way the passport determines where you belong, who you are, and your political identity. Its an identity with benefits and opportunities, but its also a geographical jail. Citizenship has political and cultural repercussions, and its an idea applicable all around the world, whether youre North Korean, Latinx, or Syrian.

TM: The novel is family driven. How important is family during your writing process?

KL: I wasnt aware when I started writing the novel, but for me, family and nation are two ways to frame how to understand a human being. Thats something I do in real life too. People are shaped by either resisting or accepting different aspects of their environment, their personal life, political situation, family, or nation.

TM: Did you interview North Koreans specifically for this book?

KL: Oh no, I couldnt even think about the book when I was there. I was thinking about peoples lives and not putting them at risk. Once I met a woman who was hiding and we visited her. She was so afraid of meeting us, trembling all over out of fear, but she was desperate to get some help, and some money. But no, I didnt interrogate them, because I think thats their private life, and most of them have gone through traumatic experiences. If they choose to share something with me thats fine, but I was not looking for material. My characters are not based on those people; theyre inspired by them and their experiences.

TM: Are you still working with the North Korean community?

KL: Im friends with a lot of North Koreans, and Im in an out of the community. I do something for them, if theres an opportunity for me to be of service, and Ive maintained many close relationships over the decade. But I also devote time and energy to abused childrens shelters and other areas that matter to me. I think as a human my responsibility is to make one life at a time a little better, if I can. Ive always wondered what my life would be like if I had become a full-time activist. My life wouldve been very different  I would be so busy that I probably wouldnt write anymore.

TM: Can we talk about the structure of the book? Why did you decided to have three narrators? Were you always interested in a plurality of voices for it?

KL: If I could have 20 voices in a novel, I would. I dont experience the world as a single voice, and Ive never been interested in seeing the world through my single, limited viewpoint. The novel form is an opportunity to imagine the way of thinking and being of other people, as well as, in this case, a way of more fully exploring the very different experiences and personalities of North Korean refugees.

TM: Why didnt you use the third-person?

KL: Actually, How I Became a North Korean went from first-point of view, to second-person plural, to third, and back to first, and at each stage I learned something about my novel and my characters. Thats one of the reasons it took me nearly five years to finish. I generally trust my instincts in life and in writing. When the point of view finally felt like the right one, I stayed with it.

TM: Did you made a map for the structure of the novel, or did it come naturally? Can you describe the process of putting together those three characters in the story?

KL: I wrote; only when I was stuck did I write ideas, character studies, a basic outline, and whatever else helped me move ahead. But once writing, I rarely refer back to all those notes and outlines, partly because the writing always takes me in another direction, and partly because Im disorganized and have scraps of notes everywhere. Still, I trust that everything I read and write helped me become closer to the heart of my novel.
DES MOINES  Steve King, Iowas conservative congressman from northwest Iowa, had kind words Thursday for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Trump fared far better, to be sure, during Kings remarks Thursday at the Des Moines Registers Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

But King, when talking about the 2016 presidential race, also said Clinton  the Democratic candidate and former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state  is someone with whom he has been able to work in the past.

King said if he is re-elected to Congress and Clinton is elected president, he will do his best to oppose an agenda with which he presumes he will disagree.

But I also know that I sat across the table from Hillary Clinton, eye-to-eye, and when youre working outside of staff and outside the press, she is somebody I can work with, King said.

After his public remarks, King reaffirmed to reporters that he has in the past been able to work with Clinton when not operating under the eyes of media or staff.

I can reason with Hillary Clinton under those circumstances, King said.

That is as far as King was willing to go with Clinton; he was far more supportive of Trump, the New York businessman and Republican candidate for president.

King told reporters he plans to vote for Trump in November, plans to encourage others to do the same and supports many of the plans Trump laid out in his acceptance speech at last months national convention.

King fell short of officially endorsing Trump, but he gave reporters the impression he will at some point before the election.

The Irish in me lends to the utilization of hyperbole and superlatives. So I have more of them that I havent unleashed yet, King said. Ive just got more good things that I can say.

King said he supports Trumps proposals on border security, a three-tiered tax plan and placing a moratorium on new federal regulations.

King also said he disagrees with Trump on some issues but those are things that I can live with that may or may not be high priorities.

On (Trumps) agenda, almost everything there I agree with, and I think we should commit to working on that agenda, King said, adding that he is working with Trump supporters such as Iowas Sam Clovis.

King also was effusive in his praise of Mike Pence, the Indiana governor chosen to be Trumps running mate.

I think this is a terrific choice. Mike Pence fills in whatever you might see as gaps in a Trump candidacy, King said. And he adds an element of stability. Hes got a deep understanding of foreign policy having sat on the foreign affairs committee for years (as a former congressman), along with the judiciary committee. I know where his head and his heart is.
Empire Cinemas have quietly sold off some of their biggest locations, including their main Leicester Square cinema - one of Londons core IMAX theatres.

As of Friday 12th August, Empire Cinemas theatres in Leicester Square, Basildon, Hemel Hempstead, Poole and Bromley will be taken over by the competing Cineworld chain.

True, this is pretty good news for Cineworld Unlimited card holders - suddenly their reach has grown massively. But what does this mean for watching films on the big screen as a whole?

Well, Empire Cinemas arent gone for good; theyre still retaining a great deal of their sites and seem to still be operating the same price plans, but being forced to sell off their biggest locations, specifically their flagship London branch (a top capital hot spot that has hosted many, many red carpet premieres), isnt good news at all for the company.

Less than two years ago they kitted out the recently sold-off Basildon cinema with a top-of-the-range IMAX theatre, and replaced the famous Empire 1 screen at their Leicester Square site with the same treatment, boasting one of the only IMAX Laser projectors in Europe, offering the clearest image around.

Clearly such an investment didnt quite work out for them, digging back up the question of whether or not cinemas as we know them today still have a future.

Sure, these locations arent closing down but simply changing hands, and Cineworld are a reputable chain (none of that sneaky blockbuster tax like Odeon or Vue) but this basically kicks Empire out of the running as one of Britains top cinematic competitors, leaving only a few left to pick up the pieces.

Are audiences finally giving up on spending a small fortune to see a brand new film on the big screen?

Obviously piracy comes into this argument a huge deal too, especially considering how popular it is amongst the key Hollywood demographic of 16-24 year olds.

It seems to be becoming more and more likely that at least within the next few decades, we could well see the death of the multiplex altogether, and the only cinemas that will remain will be the prestige chains like Curzon, and the independents like Londons Prince Charles.

The digital revolution has certainly made things a lot faster and more efficient, but its changed the marketplace massively and it looks like, even now, were still adjusting with it.

So whilst the future of the cinema remains hugely ambiguous, one thing does remain clear: if you care even slightly about seeing movies on the big screen, dont stream or download illegally, go out and support your local cinema.

If we want another generation of Spielbergs and Tarantinos, and not another wave of blockbusters made by committee (see the mess that is Suicide Squad), the world needs movie theatres.

Remember, Christopher Nolans adoration of the cinematic image didnt come from watching a grainy copy of Barry Lyndon on a laptop screen.

More information about the switch and the locations affected can be found on the Cineworld website.
And winning the category for today's weirdest and frankly most ridiculous news: Russian police have reported that a woman has issued a formal complaint against a Pokemon who allegedly 'raped' her.

The woman, whose name has not been released, told officers that she had been sexually assaulted by a giant Pokemon in her Moscow apartment. Playing Pokemon GO before she went to sleep, the woman claimed that she woke up to find a huge Pokemon lying on top of her, 'raping' her. The woman, whose name has not been released, told officers that she had been sexually assaulted by a giant Pokemon in her Moscow apartment. Playing Pokemon GO before she went to sleep, the woman claimed that she woke up to find a huge Pokemon lying on top of her, 'raping' her.

The woman claimed that the Pokemon disappeared when she jumped out of bed - but says the Pokemon GO app on her phone could still detect the same virtual character's presence in her room.

Needless to say, her disgruntled husband - who was awoken to this claim - told police officers that he did not believe her and told her to see a psychiatrist.

Russian news website Bloknot reports that the police did not believe her either and that the woman then went to see a psychiatrist who was also unable to help.

The woman's friend, Ivan Makarov said: "She says there are too many Pokemon at her place and even the dog can sense them. She says the dog barks whenever she plays Pokemon GO."
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BUFFALO CENTER  Funeral services will be held Friday for a former Buffalo Center man killed in a plane crash.

Alex Winter, 22, of Indianola, was one of two people killed when a Piper PA-11 crashed about 11:40 a.m. Friday, according to the Warren County Sheriffs Office.

A Federal Aviation Administration report says the plane crashed into a field at Laverty Field Airport near Indianola.

The fixed-wing single-engine plane was registered with Agri-Flite Inc. of Indianola.

Winter was a 2012 graduate of North Iowa Schools.

Neil Jackson, 23, of Jerome, Idaho, also was killed in the crash.

Officials have not said who was flying the plane.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.

Services for Winter will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at First Reformed Church in Buffalo Center.

 Molly Montag
CHARLES CITY  Officials say a lighting strike may have sparked a house fire in Charles City Thursday morning.

Damage from the fire at 611 Clinton St. was minor, but a firefighter was transported by ambulance to the Floyd County Medical Center for a medical issue, according to a statement from the Charles City Fire Department.

The firefighter was treated and released. No other injuries were reported.

The home is owned by Guy Bucknell, according to the Floyd County assessor records.

The Fire Department responded to the residence when smoke alarms were activated shortly after 8 a.m.

Upon arrival firefighters noted smoke coming from the roof of the home. The residents were evacuated.

Aided by a thermal imaging camera, firefighters removed a small part of the second-story ceiling to find the affected area.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation but it is believed to be due to a lightning strike on Thursday morning. Firefighters remained on scene for about an hour and a half.

The Colwell Fire Department, Floyd Fire Department, Charles City Police Department, AMR Ambulance, Floyd County Search and Rescue, Floyd County Emergency Management Agency and MidAmerican Energy assisted the Charles City Fire Department at the scene.
99 kilos of ganja seized

KHON KEAN: Highway police arrested two men early on Wednesday morning (Aug 10) and seized 99 kilogrammes of marijuana smuggled into the country from Laos.

crimedrugspolicetransport

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 11 August 2016, 09:12AM

Highway police show the suspects with the 99 kilos of ganja. Photo: Jakkrapan Nathanri

Mongkhol Khamtheera, 26, and Pheeraphol Muang-ngam, 21, both from Saraburi, were arrested at a checkpoint on the Mitrapharp Highway in tambon Kham Muang of Khon Kaens Khao Suan Kwang district about 5am. Highway police found 99 slabs of compressed marijuana in three bags behind the drivers seat. They were well packed and waterproofed for the rainy season, said Col Aphichart Phojan, chief of highway police in Khon Kaen. He said the two men confessed they received the marijuana from smugglers in Si Songkhram district of Nakhon Phanom, bordering Laos, and were taking it to Phetchabun province for delivery to a large drug gang. The suspects said they were to be paid B50,000 for making the delivery, Col Aphichart said. Read original story here.
Myanmar migrant stabbed to death on first day at Phuket wood factory

migrant worker was stabbed to death on his first day at work at a wood-processing factory on the bypass road last night (Aug 10).

Myanmarcrimeviolencedeathpolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Thursday 11 August 2016, 10:51AM

A worker at the factory recounts to police how Mr Ar Nai was chased and stabbed in the back. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Police were notified of the incident at 7pm, with Phuket City Police Chief Col Kamol Osiri and Lt Ranaphum Permphoon arriving at the Wangmai Phuket wood-processing factory soon after.

At the scene was the body of Myanmar national Ar Nai, 37, lying face up between on stacked planks of wood. He had stab wounds on his left arm and his back.

Mr Ar Nai had quit his job at Bypass Timber Co Ltd and was on his first day of work at Wangmai Phuket, police were told.

Witnesses told police that Ar Nai was unloading wood from a truck when two men approached him on a motorbike.

They said that the three men got into a confrontation and began assaulting each other. One suspect then chased Ar Nai with a big knife and stabbed him in the back inside the factory, Col Kamol said.

The suspect then ran outside and dumped the knife in a rubbish bin in front of the factory before speeding away with his accomplice on the motorbike, he said.

Police believe that the suspects are also Myanmar nationals

We believe that they knew Mr Ar Nai and that they probably had some issues with him and so they followed Mr Ar Nai here and attacked him, Col Kamol said.

Workers do not remember the make or model of the getaway motorbike. We are questioning witnesses and those who work at the factory to get more information, and hopefully we will find the suspects soon, he added.
Phuket Dinghy Series kicks off

Sport >> Phuket

Thailand

World Phuket Dinghy Series kicks off

YACHTING: One of the most prestigious international sporting events in Southeast Asia, the Phuket Kings Cup Regatta Under Royal Patronage, has recently kicked off its Phuket Dinghy Series 2016 to celebrate the regatta's 30th Anniversary at 3 Naval Area Command Beach off the coast of Cape Panwa.



By The Phuket News

Thursday 11 August 2016, 04:42PM

The last weekend of July was the first of three events taking place before the main regatta sails, and saw competitive dinghy racing with over 28 young sailors. Photo: Ghislaine Bovy

Since 2010, the lead-up to the regatta has traditionally been a chance for young Thai sailors to hit the waters in Optimist and Laser dinghy classes. The last weekend of July was the first of three events taking place before the main regatta sails, and saw competitive dinghy racing with over 28 young sailors. In the Lasers, Tanakorn Kaewluan of the Songkhla Sailing Club achieved first place followed by Keeratika Krongboon and Aekkorn Naulplub of the NAC3SC. Yada Hasap took victory in the Optimist class, with Bunyamin Klongsamut and Tanawan Malikee (all from NAC3SC) in runners-up. The second race of the series will be run from 24-25 September (again at 3 Naval Area Command Beach) off the coast of Cape Panwa. The 3rd race will be held from 26-27 November at Bang Tao Beach. The Phuket Kings Cup Regattas introduction of the Dinghy Series in 2010 created a network between sailing clubs to inspire more youths in Thailand to take up the sport (especially the Optimist Challenge for the under 15s). The establishing of the Phuket Dinghy Series has helped bring to the fore many young Thai sailing talents from sailing clubs in Phuket, Phang Nga and Songkhla in order to prepare them for international competition  and for future Phuket Kings Cup Regattas, of course.
Six injured in Trang bomb explosion

TRANG: At least five people were reported to have been injured in a bomb explosion in the Muang district of Trang today (Aug 11), Daily News Online reported.

crimepoliceviolence

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 11 August 2016, 05:09PM

One of the injured people is brought to an ambulance after a bomb went off on Ruenrom Road in tambon Thap Thieng of Muang district, Trang province, at 3pm on Thursday. Photo:   Facebook

The explosion occurred on Ruenrom Rd in tambon Thap Thieng of Muang district, about 200 metres from the house of the provincial police chief and near the city hall, government office complex and office of the provincial election committee. The bomb went off at about 3pm while vendors were preparing their goods for sale at a market on Ruenrom Rd. After the blast, about 50 policemen were deployed to seal off the area to facilitate police investigation. The bomb was believed to be well-planned as witnesses earlier saw a man bring a suspicious object to the area. Investigation was still underway. Read original story here.
Storytellers to grow your niche

Making the most of media personalities

Thursday 11 August 2016, 09:04AM

In this column we will work towards connecting hospitality businesses with the right customers through social media channels. Its a brave new world for business and we will do our best to equip you for it!

In my previous article we talked about how your business here in Phuket can benefit the most from content marketing. Today, I would like to explain how to promote your business through what is called an influencer.

An influencer is a person who has amassed a great number of followers on one or more online channels. They may be an actor/actress, TV personality or just a passionate commentator who writes about a specific topic and who has generated several thousands of followers on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or a blog.

Usually influencers are great storytellers and develop their content around niche topics, such as travel, food, fashion or sports, garnering the trust of others to deliver expert advice. Influencers with a large amount of followers are now getting paid to do sponsored posts for brands.

The price can be anything from a free meal or accommodation in a hotel, to a few thousand or hundred thousand baht. For instance, Amanda Lee has become a big personality in the fitness industry on Instagram and now receives $5,000 (approximately B174,000) for a single post  note that she has more than 4 million followers on her Instagram account.

The down side of influencers is that it is very difficult to track the return on investment (ROI) for a sponsor post, just as any other social media marketing campaign. However, it is worth trying to find the right personality that could become an ambassador and continually post about your business or brand.

However, dont be fooled. Just because a profile has hundreds or thousands of followers, doesnt mean that they are the real deal. People can purchase followers on these platforms. Fake followers will bloat their number of fans, but also means that if they post about your brand, no one will really care, or perhaps no one will even see the post.

To avoid paying or offering these fake celebrities sponsored posts, try to check what is happening on their profile. Are people commenting on the post? Are they performing well on only one platform? Who is engaging with their audience? Do they have a blog? Do they have references from previous venues that they have visited before? All these questions will send you in the right direction, and further towards your targets.

Daniel Villota is the Managing Director of E-Media Asia, the number one social media consulting agency in Southern Thailand. He can be contacted at daniel@e-media.asia or visit www.e-media.asia
CLEAR LAKE | A North Iowa woman police say bit someone during a custody dispute and pulled her infant from a car seat faces criminal charges.

Julie Rockwell, 34, of Meservey, was charged Wednesday with felony domestic assault and misdemeanor child endangerment.

Her next court appearance is Aug. 19 in District Court in Mason City.

She's accused of biting someone in the back and yanking on the person's shirt during a dispute about 2 p.m. Tuesday in the 4000 block of 15th Street in Clear Lake, according to court documents.

Police say Rockwell has a child with the victim.

She's also accused in documents of having "forcefully pulled her infant from a car seat creating a risk to the child's safety."

Rockwell faces a felony-level domestic assault charge because she has previous convictions. The charge can be filed as a felony or a misdemeanor.

She has been released on bond.

-- Molly Montag
Woman in see-through kaftan causes controversy at Phuket temple

PHUKET: A foreign woman of unknown nationality who caused controversy by wearing a see-through kaftan during a visit to Wat Chalong yesterday (Aug 10) received a Thai cultural lesson from Phuket Tourist Police. A tour guide and the tour company connected to the incident were also given the lesson.

culturetourismpolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Thursday 11 August 2016, 11:19AM

The tourist in the see-through kaftan was photographed by residents who were also visiting the temple. Photo: Nattawut Laawsuwan

The incident happened at 11am when a tall, blonde haired tourist walked into Wat Chalong wearing a see-through kaftan usually worn on the beach. She went inside the temple with other tourists to worship Buddhist images without any concern of people staring at or taking pictures of her.

Residents who were also at the temple took photos of the tourist and sent them to local officials in the hope they would make tourists understand Thai culture and respect sacred places by dressing appropriately.

Yesterday evening, Phuket Tourist Police gave a press release to media to inform them that officers led by Col Srisak Kampheepan and Maj Naruewat Phutawiro had asked the tourist involved in the incident, along with a tour guide, representative from the tour company which had taken the tourist to the temple and Wat Chalong spokesman Chaiwat Chatwetwaiyawatkorn to attend the Tourist Police Station at 9pm.

During their meeting, Tourist Police explained to them about Thai culture and manners, and discussed with them how a tourist should behave to be considered appropriate and accepted in Thai culture, especially when he or she enters a place of worship.

Police also told them that what happened what not right and it should not happened again.

The tourist, who police did not want to name, apologised for her actions and told Mr Chaiwat that she was very sorry about the incident. She also asked for Thai people to forgive her and said she did not know any better. She had no intention of disrespecting a place of worship for Thais and Phuketians.

Tourist Police also stressed the issue to the tour guide and tour company and told them they must inform their tour groups of how to act and dress while visiting a place of worship.

They also told Mr Chaiwat to take this incident as a lesson and make it more clear at the temple with regards to its rules and regulations to prevent such incidents happening again.
SIOUX CITY  As Britt deals with backlash from its pit bull ban, another Iowa city has been sued by two women who claim that communitys ban on such dogs is unconstitutional.

Two Sioux City dog owners want that citys ordinance banning pit bulls declared unconstitutional, claiming it violates their right to due process.

Jennifer Frost, who had to place her dog, Jake, with family in New York to comply with the ordinance, and a woman referred to as Jane Doe want an injunction prohibiting Sioux City from enforcing the ordinance in the meantime.

Plans to enforce a pit bull ban in Britt caused controversy, leading officials there to form a committee last week to study its ordinance.

Several North Iowa cities have similar bans, including Manly, Lake Mills, Fertile and Forest City.

Rottweiler dogs are also outlawed in Lake Mills.

The two women said in their lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, that Sioux Citys ordinance, passed in 2008, is enforced in an arbitrary, inconsistent and discriminatory manner, bans animals that are not harmful and does not ban animals that do pose a risk to harm other animals or humans.

According to the lawsuit, Frost and her family have lived in Sioux City since October and they obtained Jake, a purebred Staffordshire bull terrier, in 2006 and Reba, a mixed-breed dog, in 2014.

Animal-control officers picked up Jake near the Frost home earlier this year and informed the family that his breed was one of those banned in Sioux City and that the dog would be subject to impoundment and being euthanized if the family kept him. Frost said that she gave Jake to relatives in New York after failing to find someone closer to Sioux City to take him.

Frost said in the lawsuit that she has concerns that the city could take similar action against Reba. Neither of her dogs has ever bitten or harmed anyone, the lawsuit said.

Doe, who is seeking anonymity for herself and her dog, Daisy, said in the lawsuit that her mixed-breed dog looks similar to Jake, and she is concerned that Daisy also could be subject to the pit bull ban. Doe and her family moved to Sioux City in June 2015 and obtained the dog in February.

The Sioux City Council passed the ordinance banning pit bulls and pit bull mixes within city limits in September 2008 because at that time a high number of dogs that had been declared vicious or at risk were pit bulls or mixes.

The ban prohibits city residents from having dogs that are at least 51 percent pit bull, but allowed owners to keep the dogs they already owned at the time of the ordinances passage as long as they registered them with the city.

The ordinance describes a pit bull as an American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier or any dog that looks like or has characteristics of being one of those breeds.

Britt has had ordinances banning pit bulls on the books for some time, but officials admitted in public meetings last month that the ban was not being enforced.

Several dog owners lobbied against the ban at last weeks Britt City Council meeting, saying pit bulls were not inherently dangerous and should not be singled out.

As a result, city officials formed a committee to examine the ordinance. It may seek input from other communities with bans and insurance companies.

The committee is to present recommendations at the Britt City Councils Sept. 6 meeting.

In Sioux City, the womens lawsuit said the American Veterinary Medical Association has said that national statistics on fatalities and injuries caused by dogs do not prove any breed is more dangerous than another.

The lawsuit said the citys ban relies on visual identification of pit bulls and mixes and that the ordinances identification of the animals is overly vague.

North Iowa humane society against breed-specific bans MASON CITY  Cities adopting breed-specific bans only increases the stigma attached to certa

The Sioux City suit also says an owners seven-day time limit to request a breed-determination hearing is too short and doesnt give them enough time to respond to allegations.

The ordinance in Sioux City also places the burden on the owner to prove that a dog is not a prohibited breed and does not provide owners with a way to receive a breed determination before the dog is seized. Only after the city impounds a dog can an owner contest the citys breed determination, the suit said.

The threat of impoundment of their dog and associated fees keeps many dog owners from exercising their due process rights, the lawsuit said.

City Attorney Nicole DuBois said Tuesday that the city had yet to be served with notice of the lawsuit, and she declined to comment because she had not yet seen it.

Sioux City City Manager Bob Padmore and Cindy Rarrat, owner and manager of Sioux City Animal Adoption and Rescue, which has a contract to provide the city with animal-control services, were also named in the suit. Rarrat declined to comment. Padmore did not immediately return a call.
11AAA semis will be awesome and more from HS football quarterfinals

The Class 11AAA high school football playoffs should be awesome, and 11B and nine-man teams also offer plenty of excitement.
MASON CITY  Library Director Mary Markwalter and the Mason City Library board know what its like to put a lot of energy into an idea.

On Thursday, they celebrated their three-year quest to have solar energy at the library with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Solar panels have been installed on two of the librarys roofs.

The first talk of solar power at the library began in 2013, said Markwalter. In 2014, the city budgeted $375,000 in its capital improvement budget for it and bids even came in below budget.

But there was an 18-year payback on the investment and the City Council decided that was too long to wait and rejected the plan.

Markwalter and the library board remained convinced that solar energy was a good idea. The challenge became finding other possibilities.

Moxie Solar of North Liberty, a company that specializes in solar energy projects, provided the solution and installed the solar panels.

The unique aspect of the Moxie plan is that the company, not the city, financed the project through private investors.

The company did the installation and will deal with all maintenance for 15 years, after which the city will purchase the system for $15,000  the fair market value, according to Markwalter.

The citys expense will be the cost per watt used and will be comparable to what it would pay a private utility company, she said. But by using Moxie, it avoids having to pay the $300,000-plus for purchasing the solar panels.

First estimates show the projected savings in energy costs at $166,765 in the 10 years after the city purchases the system, she said.

Markwalter said the system is guaranteed for 25 years and the solar plant is expected to last 45 years.

Markwalter praised the library board, the Library Foundation, Friends of the Library and library staff for their assistance and cooperation while the project was being done.

She said the foundation paid for engineering and design costs totaling $27,000.

Jason Hall, chief executive officer of Moxie, took part in the ribbon-cutting. He praised Markwalters leadership and pointed out she oversaw the librarys multi-million-dollar renovation project which included the addition of the Commons area and coffee shop.

Also attending Thursday were Steven Kent and Randy Portz from Sun Powered Solutions, the financing arm of the project.
An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
Dont look too closely at what we do. Thats the order from the Obama administration. It has spied on reporters, threatened them with jail and thwarted interviews. It has tricked the press into inaccuracy. More than a half million times last year it came up short on citizen requests for government information.

It has also twisted embarrassing facts to confuse critics, a technique expertly displayed last week in President Barack Obamas mocking fulmination about $400 million in foreign cash delivered early this year to Iran. The delivery happened the same day Iran released four Americans from prison, and some dared call it ransom.

Not so, snorted Obama in a press conference, looking to quash a storyline of him encouraging kidnapping. He disdainfully observed he had earlier announced we were returning money that belonged to Iran. We returned these particular millions when we did, he said, because of a court proceeding that could have cost us more if we waited.

So, in other words, if the money is legitimately Irans, theres no way it could be connected with release of prisoners? Even putting aside the questions of whether the transfer via foreign cash in a secretly deployed airplane was actually legal and whether the stacks of dough will enable terrorism, the logic doesnt work, especially when you consider more details.

1) The Justice Department was concerned that if the money was returned on the same day the prisoners were released, it would look like ransom. It asked that the two events happen on different days. 2) Without explanation, the State Department refused the request. 3) A prisoner being released said he and the others sat on a plane for hours waiting for another plane to arrive. 4) Iranian officials said the money was definitely a ransom. 5) U.S. officials agreed Iranian officials demanded cash before the release.

It was The Wall Street Journal that told most of this story, not a president who had said right after his first inauguration that his would be the most transparent administration in history. In fact, in 2015, it set an astonishing record of either censoring government materials or providing none at all in 77 percent of citizen requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

That would be 596,095 instances of less than was sought, the Associated Press reported. The excuses were many, and in some cases no doubt valid, but thousands of pages that at first couldnt be found were somehow discovered when the courts stepped in, and the administration admitted it had in some cases sidestepped the law.

And the press? The Obama administration has been the greatest enemy of press freedom in a generation, according to James Risen, a New York Times reporter who faced prison for not revealing a source. The administration has intimidated still others and has stubbornly denied White House reporters access to officials in the know. It has spied on Associated Press reporters and others. An aide to the president also revealed in a New York Times Magazine article that he easily manipulated inexperienced journalists into producing misleading stories about the Iran nuclear deal.

As president, Hillary Clinton just might top all of this. A short Q-and-A session with an organization of minority journalists last week was the first official press conference she has had in seven months. She recently lied still again on the topic of recklessly managed classified emails, the latest fib in a lifetime of whoppers.

The corrupt Clinton Foundation has broken rules by not reporting who its donors are and how much money it has taken in, and she has refused to release recordings of her cozy confabs with corporate contributors.

Worst of all, she wants a rewrite of the First Amendment to give D.C. politicians greater power to regulate speech.

Donald Trump could be frightening, too, but has stomped his candidacy to death, and whats needed is election of a Republican-controlled Congress to counterbalance autocratic impulse.
Donald Trump didnt listen.

I recently said the only thing that could save his campaign was for him to literally shut up for at least a month.

My modest proposal was for his campaign people to lock him in a soundproof booth until Nov. 9.

But forget that. Ive got a better idea to put the Trump circus train on the right track.

Trumps support in the polls is stuck at about 42 percent.

To win, we know he has to get the votes of disaffected Republicans, terrified independents and people who dont already believe Obama was born in a grass hut in Kenya.

But to get their support by Election Day he has to do two things.

He has to stop saying stupid things in public and he has to give a hundred more speeches like the great one he delivered in Detroit on Monday.

Unfortunately, theres just one way to prevent Trump from saying stupid things, and its probably against federal election laws.

His campaign people need to make him wear a shock collar  just like the ones you put on your family dog for those invisible backyard fences. That way, every time Donald strays from the teleprompter, Paul Manafort can just hit the button and give him a big jolt upside the neck.

Although the Second Amendment people, maybe ....  ZAAAPPPPP.

This week was a total disaster, but it began with a really good speech in Detroit. Of course someone else wrote it. Of course Trump read it.

But with a few exceptions his conservative economic ideas sounded like they came from the Wall Street Journal editorial page.

Trump said hed cut income tax rates, increase individual exemptions, reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three and slash the corporate tax rate to 15 percent.

Hed also end the death tax and the alternative minimum tax.

What Trump said in Detroit  especially the part about how the city has been wrecked by half a century of local Democratic rule and liberal federal social policies  should become his standard stump speech. He could read it almost word for word in city after city. All hed have to do is change Detroit to Chicago, Toledo, St. Louis, etc.

A speech like that is what it takes to win a general election, not another speech calling Hillary a liar or charging the Clinton family with pioneering the globalization of graft.

Trump got great media coverage for his Detroit speech but it didnt even last a day.

On Tuesday every liberal in the media was parsing his comments about Second Amendment people to prove he was encouraging the assassination of Hillary or joking about it.

The media dont really care what he actually says or meant to say. Theyll spin it whichever way they can.

Trump blew himself up again, thanks to his own stupidity and lack of self-control.

Instead of getting a week of praise for a hard-hitting economic speech, he spent four days watching the print and electronic media gang up on him like he was Americas Vladimir Putin.

Instead of enjoying Hillary Clinton stumbling over answers to questions about her emails or explaining why the Taliban-loving father of the Orlando mass murderer was her biggest supporter, Trump hogged the airtime.

He proved my point last week  just shut up, Donald.

Its a shame. If any of the other 16 candidates had won the Republican primary, this election would be over.

All Trump and his daily fumbles are doing now are opening the door wider and wider for the libertarian twins, ex-Republican governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld.

At the end of the day, they may be the only adults in the room.
Leave your gun at home and grab a corn dog instead.

Gov. Terry Branstad said as much Monday, publicly supporting a ban on weapons at the Iowa State Fair, which kicks off Thursday in Des Moines. Iowa State Patrol officers provide substantial security, Branstad correctly noted.

You really dont need to have your own firearm for your protection at the fair, he said.

The venerable governor was absolutely correct. And his assessment strikes at the heart of the American gun debate. Guns just dont belong in some places, even when carried by those permitted to carry concealed.

Schools, bars, churches: The always-armed populace movement thats taking hold in much of the country  and the good guy with a gun myth that supports it  dont withstand reason nor investigation. Branstad essentially admitted that he doesnt buy it. Only pressure from Branstads right flank instigated his remarks.

What Branstad didnt say is an interesting glimpse into a longtime Republican talking about guns within the current political ecosystem.

Branstad didnt comment on whether hed veto a bill to permit firearms at the State Fair. Political reality meant he didnt have to comment. Republicans are making a run at the state Senate this year. But Democrats are likely to maintain control of the upper house, so the chances are slim such a bill ever sees the governors desk.

The gun-control debate has raged for decades. Yet in the past decade its taken a stark rightward turn. A few states, primarily in the Northeast, enacted tough gun restrictions after mass shootings, particularly in the wake of the one in Newtown, Connecticut. Many more states, though, have moved toward total deregulation. Permitless and open carry is the newest fad. These bills have striking success rates considering police forces often oppose them. Police chiefs cite data showing very few people are prepared for a live-fire situation.

Politics too often has steamrolled knowledge. Its just another example of a world that rejects experts and prefers emotionally driven opinions.

Branstad, in his own way, rejected the National Rifle Association narrative. Its a position right-minded gun owners, including members of this editorial board, should appreciate.

The fact is, limitations of gun ownership are as old as the country itself. It was common to ban pistols within the boundaries of Western cities. The government does have an interest in stalling unfettered access. Some shooters arent criminals until they start squeezing the trigger. Thats a fact that many forget when they make the law-abiding gun owner argument.

Even late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia  the intellectual standard bearer of conservative ideology  acknowledged the Second Amendments limitations.

Guns never belonged within every corner of society. Its become increasingly true as weapons become more effective killers. Guns in university classrooms can muzzle spirited debate. Guns at political rallies increase the chances of assassination. Guns have absolutely no place in bars.

Too many elected officials roll over for the gun lobby, moneyed organizations that represent a tiny fraction of gun owners. They fear political retribution in poor ratings and the anti-gun label. Its a black or white position that, when mixed with a solid dose of fear mongering, keeps a vocal few pushing for more.

Gov. Branstad pushed back on Monday. And, in so doing, took a stand for reason.

 By the Quad-City Times,

another Lee Enterprises newspaper.


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LITTLE-KNOWN HIP JOINT CAN CAUSE EXCRUCIATING LOWER BACK PAIN

-CT Surgeon Unveils New Procedure to Relieve Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction-



DANBURY, Conn., Aug. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Every year, 31 million Americans grumble "Oh my aching back". Low back pain can range from a dull, constant ache to a sudden, sharp sensation that leaves the person incapacitated. Pinpointing the source of the pain and proper treatment is complicated enough, but what if the pain isn't really caused by a problem with the spine?



Dr. David A. Bomback, a Spine and Scoliosis Surgeon with Connecticut Neck and Back Specialists, LLC in Danbury and performs surgery at Danbury Hospital, is helping patients find relief by treating a little known condition called sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Dr. Bomback is the first surgeon at Danbury Hospital to treat the condition with a sacroiliac joint fusion procedure and one of only a few surgeons in the entire state.



Where is the sacroiliac joint?

The sacroiliac joint connects the sacrum, the lowest bony segment of the spine, with the pelvis. The sacroiliac joint transmits most of the load from the upper body to the lower limbs, acting as a shock absorber in relieving forces on the spine. The joint is reinforced and supported by very strong ligaments. Occasionally, these ligaments can become too loose or too stiff so that the joint itself becomes arthritic, leading to persistent pain.



What causes sacroiliac joint dysfunction?

Sacroiliac issues are most commonly seen in mothers who have ligament loosening due to pregnancy, patients who have suffered trauma from an injury or accident, patients with certain arthritic conditions, and patients with previous lower back surgery (especially previous lumbar fusions). Approximately 25% of patients who visit spine surgeons actually have sacroiliac pain rather than true lumbar (lower back) pain.



Tough to Diagnose

Unfortunately, most tests including MRIs, x-rays, and CAT scans do not detect sacroiliac joint dysfunction, making the diagnosis challenging. "The diagnosis is truly made by sitting down and talking to the patient and getting an appropriate history, as well as a physical exam consistent with sacroiliac joint dysfunction," explains Dr. Bomback. "When I examine a patient with sacroiliac pain, I stress the sacroiliac joint in a number of ways to see if I can elicit and/or reproduce the patient's pain."



Common Causes of Back Pain

The vast majority of low back pain is mechanical in nature, meaning damage to a vertebra of the lower spine. In many cases, it is caused by general degeneration of the spine associated with normal wear and tear that occurs in the joints, discs, and bones of the spine as people get older. Sprains, strains and traumatic injury are also contributors.



According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, about 80% of adults experience low back pain at some point in their lifetimes. It is the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work days. About 20% of back pain sufferers develop chronic pain with persistent symptoms lasting over one year. In some cases, treatment successfully relieves chronic pain, but in other cases pain persists despite medical and surgical treatment.



"Spinal surgeries at times can have a poor outcome if the diagnosis is made prematurely or incorrectly," notes Dr. Bomback. "It is critical that the diagnosis of sacroiliac dysfunction is made appropriately, often times after diagnostic injections."



The nuts and bolts of sacroiliac joint fusion surgery

The surgery involves a minimally invasive approach, placing three screws across the sacroiliac joint, bridging the spine to the pelvis to eliminate any abnormal motion thus allowing the joint to fuse over time. The surgery significantly reduces and oftentimes completely relieves the pain. An incision less than 1 inch in size is made through a tiny tube guided by a live x-ray. The surgery takes approximately 30 minutes and there is minimal and often no blood loss. The patient can usually go home the same day or occasionally after a one night hospital stay.



"The procedure has been around for five to seven years," said Dr. Bomback. "To date, approximately 19,000 patients have had the surgery in this country. We feel it is likely a permanent solution to the cause of their lower back pain and therefore offers an improvement in their quality of life."



For more information on sacroiliac joint fusion surgery or to learn if you are a candidate for the procedure, please call 203-744-9700 or visit www.ctneckandback.com.



About Western Connecticut Health Network

Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN) is the region's premier, patient-centred health care organization built for the people we serve in Western Connecticut and adjacent New York. WCHN is anchored by three nationally recognized hospitals, Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital and Norwalk, with the continuum of outpatient health and wellness services offered by numerous medical practices and sub-specialties across the region through the Western Connecticut Medical Group, the Western Connecticut Home Care. Committed to learning and innovation, our hospitals collaborate with the University of Vermont Medical College and many other well-known academic institutions to promote the most progressive care possible. The nationally renowned WCHN Research Institute, the WCHN Foundation and Norwalk Hospital Foundation and other affiliates complete the WCHN family where We Know You Well! For more information, visit TheNewWCHN.org. Share your comments with us at Facebook.com/DanburyHospital; Facebook.com/NewMilfordHospital and/orFacebook.com/NorwalkHospital

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=41083
Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy

By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat
Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Manjula Chellur, who is part of the division bench hearing the Narada case, has been transferred.

Manjula Chellur | via Commons

Confirming reports, High Court sources told THE WEEK that the chief justice has received the transfer order. According to sources, she has been transferred to Bombay High Court as chief justice.

Incidentally, the news of her transfer comes a day after Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, confirmed that the Narada tapes were genuine. The tapes had showed many ministers and senior leaders of Trinamool Congress leaders accepting bribes.

Hailing from Karnataka, Chellur began her career as a counsel in Karnataka High Court where she was made judge later. She is known for the sharp observations and remarks she makes in the court. During one of the hearings, she had pointed out the pathetic condition of the industrialists in West Bengal and observed that chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana directly talk to investors to attract businesses.

She was also vocal about syndicate raj (TMC leaders running construction material business and forcing people to buy from them) and extortion of money from businessmen by the ruling party leaders. She was moved by the plight of tea estate workers in the state whom she visited several times and promised legal assistance. Her efforts earned her the sobriquet 'peoples judge'.

Last week, she had asked the state government not to carry out investigation into the Narada sting operation as the case was already in the court.

She had never shied away from taking on the Mamata Banerjee government over several issues including Narada scam and Saradha scam.
Doctors from 85 cancer institutes, which are part of the National Cancer Grid (NCG), on Wednesday, discussed several initiatives, including making standardised cancer care accessible to everyone in the country, during their sixth meeting, which took place at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.

The NCG is the largest network of cancer centres in the world that brings together all stakeholders like research institutes, NGOs, cancer groups and patients.

Funded by the Union government and Department of Atomic Energy, the NCG is expected to play an important role in cancer treatment in the country since the burden from the disease is expected to double by 2035.

Without a network of cancer institutes, patients from all over the country flock to only a handful of cancer centres like Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. The hospital sees about 38,000 new patients every year, of which only 25 per cent of patients are from Maharashtra, while the remaining 75 per cent come from other states.

Dr C.S. Pramesh, Department of Surgical Oncology, said, Our main objective was to create standard guidelines for patient care at their doorstep, to create an ecosystem for training resources in cancer management and for collaborative research.

There are also efforts to identify regional centres in each state to provide standardised cancer care to patients.

We are following a hub-and-spoke model with large regional centres and district hospitals, said Dr Rajendra Badwe, medical director of Tata Memorial Hospital. Our goal is to provide care to at least 75 per cent of cancer patients near their home.

One of the early achievements of the NCG was to draft guidelines for 22 different types of cancers, which will soon be finalised after considering suggestions.

The grid, meanwhile, organises other training initiatives like 'travelling school of pathology' that takes faculty to seven cities in the northeast to conduct sessions. Also, there are efforts to set up palliative units at every cancer centre that is part of the grid to fill the crucial gap for the end-stage cancer patients.

Dr Preeta Rajaram, South Asia Program Head of National Cancer Institute, US, termed the NCG as one-of-a-kind initiative that has not been attempted on this scale before. It is a landmark initiative that will change the landscape of cancer care, she said.
Normal life in Kashmir Valley remained disrupted for the 34th consecutive day on Thursday, with curfew continuing to be in force in parts of Srinagar and Anantnag, a police officer said. Restrictions on the assembly of people, too, were in place.

"Curfew is in force in five police stations in downtown (interior) area of Srinagar city and Anantnag town in south Kashmir," the officer said.

He said curfew was also clamped in Pampore town on Thursday in view of the death anniversary of former chairman of Jammu and Kashmir People's League Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who hailed from the saffron town of Pampore.

The officer said restrictions on assembly of four or more people also continued to be in force in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

Even as the officer said the situation across Kashmir has showed signs of improvement since the beginning of this week, normal life remained affected in the Valley for the due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatists-sponsored strike.

Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off the roads.

The attendance in government offices and banks was also thin, the officer said.

However, most of the shops opened after 6pm on alternate days as the separatist groups have announced relaxation in their protest programme to allow people to buy essentials.

Mobile internet services continued to remain blocked in the entire Valley where the outgoing facility on prepaid connections is also barred.

The separatist camp has extended the shutdown call in Kashmir until Friday and, as part of the protest programme, had asked the people to march to the martyrs graveyard to hold congregational prayers on the death anniversary of Aziz who was killed in 2008.

Violent protests have rocked Kashmir after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8.

As many as 55 people, including two cops, were killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes between protesters and security forces.
The Karnataka government's large-scale demolition drive against encroachments in Bengaluru has reached the doorsteps of a war hero. Slain Lt. Col. Niranjan's home in the Doddabommanahalli area in Yelahanka zone has been marked for demolition by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials.

According to reports, Niranjan's house, which has encroached upon 5 feet of the drain area, will be demolished by the BBMP task force along with other properties in Yelahanka zone.

A portion of the duplex house sits on the storm water drain which is a room built for Niranjan at the time of his wedding, said reports.

Niranjan's family is ready to cooperate with the authorities and demolish the illegal portion by themselves. They pleaded with the officials that using an excavator for the job will affect the entire house and sought 15 days' time. However, officials were not ready to make an exception for Niranjan's family.

Lt. Col. Niranjan attained martyrdom while disarming a grenade during the mop-up operations at the Pathankot airbase, which came under a terrorist attack in January.

Niranjan's house is one among over 1,800 properties that have been identified to have encroached upon lake beds or storm water drains in the city. So far, about 60 houses have been demolished since Wednesday.

About 800 properties have been razed in earlier drives in last five years.

"Criminal cases will be filed against officials, who were responsible for illegal structures," BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad, who is overseeing the demolition operations, told the media.

The anti-lake encroachment drives in various parts of the city, in order to resurrect the storm water drains, have come days after the city came to a standstill due to heavy monsoon showers.
Canadian police killed a man on Wednesday, CTV and CBC television news channels reported, after the police had earlier issued a statement saying that they had identified a suspect after receiving "credible information of a potential terrorist threat".

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had said in the statement that the suspect had been identified and the police took action to ensure the safety of the public.

Intelligence sources, who declined to be identified as they did not have permission to speak to media, said that the suspect was Aaron Driver, who was arrested last year for openly supporting Islamic State on social media.
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Aug. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DataWind Inc. (TSX:DW), the leader in delivering Internet access to emerging markets, is providing its third required bi-weekly default status report further to its news release dated June 29, 2016, announcing a delay in the filing of its audited annual financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2016, the related managements discussion and analysis, certificates of its CEO and CFO and its annual information form.



As previously disclosed, on July 6, 2016, in response to an application made by the company in connection with the companys delay in filing the annual filings with Canadian securities regulators by the June 29, 2016 filing deadline, a customary management cease trade order (the MCTO) relating to the trading in securities of the company by the companys CEO and CFO was issued by the Ontario Securities Commission. The MCTO prohibits all trading in securities of the company, whether directly or indirectly, by the companys CEO and CFO. The MCTO does not affect the ability of other shareholders to trade in the securities of the company. However, the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities could determine, in their discretion, that it would be appropriate to issue a general cease trade order against the company affecting all of the securities of the company.

The companys board of directors and management confirm that the audit is on-going and that they are working diligently with the companys auditor to complete the annual filings. The company expects that it will not be able to file its quarterly financial statements and managements discussion and analysis for the three-month period ended June 30, 2016, which are due on August 15, 2016, before the filing deadline. The company will file its quarterly results as soon as practicable after its annual filings have been completed.

In connection with the issuance of the MCTO, and in accordance with its obligation to provide biweekly updates under the alternative information guidelines set out in National Policy 12-203 Cease Trade Orders for Continuous Disclosure Defaults, the company confirms that it has fulfilled its stated intentions regarding compliance with such alternative information guidelines and that, except as disclosed herein or as previously disclosed, there have been no material changes to the information relating to the companys delay in making the annual filings or its other required filings under applicable Canadian securities laws or otherwise concerning the affairs of the company.

Details regarding when the earnings release will be issued, when the conference call will be held, and when the annual filings will be filed will be provided in due course.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations, which involve risks and uncertainties associated with our business and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including those identified by the expressions anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect, intend and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the company or its management. The forward- looking statements are not historical facts, but reflect managements current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. The company does not undertake or accept any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in the companys expectations, except as prescribed by applicable securities laws.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this press release/media advisory.

About DataWind

DataWind, Inc. is a leader in providing affordable mobile Internet connectivity in emerging markets. The company's patented, cloud-based technology reduces up to 97% the amount of data needed for web browsing, providing a broadband experience on any network -- even on legacy 2G networks that are still prevalent in developing countries. DataWind also provides economical smartphones and tablets that come bundled with one year of unlimited Internet access, making it the largest tablet provider in India. DataWind's unique solution offers broad social and economic benefits for the billions of people around the world for whom an Internet connection was previously out of reach. DataWind is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:DW). For more information, visit www.datawind.com.
[By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times]

The question is one that hundreds, if not thousands of people, are now asking: Is it permissible for an observant Torah Jew to save ten thousand dollars each year in insurance costs by joining a Health Care ministry run by Christians? The savings are remarkable: For singles $149 per month, for couples $249 per month and for entire families $399 per month.

Health Care ministries have become very popular alternatives to ObamaCare (also known as the Affordable Care Act) particularly because their rates are far far lower than traditional health insurance policies. Here is how they work:

Members of a shared health ministry can opt out of ObamaCare and not have to pay the penalty specified in the IRS Tax form for doing so. Members of the plan send in their monthly gift to an escrow account. The ministry disburses payment for eligible medical bills.

The health ministry usually has a member advocate that often negotiates discounts off the fees and usually cover the rest of the bill.

There are four main cost-sharing ministries in the United States that have a combined total of about a half million members. According to a February, 2015 New York Times article, these ministries have achieved a remarkable level of member satisfaction.

One organization, Medi-Share, requires members to live by biblical standards  no tobacco, no illegal drugs, and no activities outside of traditional Christian marriage. Samaritan Ministries, with headquarters in Peoria, Ill., requires a pastors approval of medical expenses. Liberty HealthShare, based in Independence, Ohio, it seems is the only Affordable Care Act-exempt ministry that is open to people of other faiths.

This latter organization has a statement of shared beliefs that anyone who wishes to join must sign onto. The $64,000 question is whether a Torah Jew may sign onto it. This author is aware of numerous families in New Jersey and New York who are just waiting upon the answer. Liberty HealthShares statement is reproduced below. The main obstacle is statement #2.

Statement of Shared Beliefs

1. We believe that our personal rights and liberties originate from G-d and are bestowed on us by G-d, and are not concessions granted to us by governments or men.

2. We believe every individual has a fundamental religious right to worship the G-d of the Bible in his or her own way.

3. We believe it is our biblical and ethical obligation to assist our fellow man when they are in need according to our available resources and opportunity.

4. We believe it is our spiritual duty to G-d and our ethical duty to others to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid foods, behaviors or habits that produce sickness or disease.

5. We believe it is our fundamental right of conscience to direct our own healthcare, in consultation with physicians, family or other valued advisors, free from government dictates, restraints and oversight.

These beliefs form the moral, spiritual and ethical basis for our interaction and relationship as a community. We make a somber and significant pledge to one another that we will aid, support and devote our resources to one another in this most personal area of our life: our healthcare!

If you can agree with that belief system, we were meant for each other!

Statements 1,3,4, and 5 are all okay in terms of hashkafah. However, statement number 2 is the one that we must analyze: We believe every individual has a fundamental religious right to worship the G-d of the Bible in his or her own way.

DEFINING THE G-D OF THE BIBLE

Firstly, there is the issue of the G-d of the Bible. Since this is a Christian organization, we must assume that they mean the Christian bible. Like it or not, theologians of the Christian faith have a slightly different conception of G-d than Jews and non-Trinitarian Christians do. (The more kosher ones are (1) Christadelphians, (2)Christian Scientists, (3)Dawn Bible Students, (4) Friends General Conference, (5) Iglesia ni Criso, (6) Js Witnesses, (7) Living Church of G-d, (8) Oneness Pentecostals, (9) Members Church of G-d International, (10) Unitarian Universalist Christians, (11) The Way International, (12) The Church of G-d International and (13) the United Church of G-d.)

TWO MITIGATING RATIONALES

There are, however, those who are members of mainstream denominations of Christianity that do not truly share the theology of their denomination. Their conceptualization of the nature of G-d is, what Rav Elchonon Wasserman describes as intuitive. In an unofficial survey, a good percentage of this country falls under this category.

There is also the view found in some Poskim that modern day practitioners of the religion are just following the ways of their parents (Maaseh avosaihem byadeihem), and do not truly believe in the theological underpinnings (See Shulchan Aruch, YD 148:12; Bach ibid; Responsa Yehudah Yaaleh YD #170).

It perhaps can be assumed that the founders (and writers) of this Christian Health ministry are from the Rav Elchonon Wasserman intuitive types and therefore, the G-d of the Bible would be kosher.

FUNDAMENTAL RELIGIOUS RIGHT

But lets get to the next issue  believing that any individual has a fundamental religious right to worship G-d in his or her own way.

What does fundamental religious right mean? Does this refer to an inalienable universal natural law? Or does it refer to a fundamental religious right in America? If it is the latter, then it should not be problematic. If it is the former then we have some new questions. We have to differentiate between Jews and gentiles, who have more fundamental religious rights according to the Torah. We shall see what this means shortly.

GENTILES HAVE MORE LATITUDE IN BELIEF

The Ramah in Orach Chaim 156 cites the view of the Ran (end of first chapter of tractate AZ). He writes that in modern times, when the gentile mentions idol-worship, he is really intending for the creator of Heaven and Earth it is just that he is looking at it as if it was shituf  i.e. both G-d and (lhavdil) the Avodah Zarah entity who created things. He writes further, and this is the key idea, that gentiles are not commanded against shitufa belief in both G-d and (lhavdil) the Avodah Zarah entity.

The reading of this Ramah is the subject of great controversy. Does he really mean that a gentile is not commanded against a belief in G-d plus Avodah Zarah? A look at the RaN itself shows that his view is that there is no special prohibition of a gentile swearing to Avodah Zarah, but not that there is no prohibition in believing that Avodah Zarah can co-exist with G-d.

TWO DISSENTING VIEWS

One might, therefore, be tempted then to read the Ramah as only referring to a gentile taking a business oath. Yet the Ramah elsewhere (Darchei Moshe YD 151) clearly refers to more than just permission to cause them to swear in the name of the Creator. Rabbi Akiva Eiger, in a letter to his son Rav Shlomo (new responsa, end), writes that one may not rely on the lenient view of this Ramah.

Yet we find that the Chsam Sopher, Rabbi Akiva Eigers own son-in-law, writes in his Toras Moshe (parshas VaYishlach) that, in fact, gentiles are not commanded on Shituf. There is also a fascinating Rashi on Tehillim 6:11 that finds fault with the gentile nations for making idol-worship central and the Holy One Blessed be He  minor. The takeaway from this Rashi is that it is the lack of centrality rather than actual sharing that is what is faulty. The Maharatz Chajes (Horios 5) also writes clearly that a gentile is not commanded in shituf.

So in regard to gentiles, statement number 2 would be permitted according to the Chsam Sophers reading of the Ramah, the Rashi on Tehillim and the Maharatz Chajes. According to Rav Yoseph Karo, and Rabbi Akiva Eiger it would still be a problem.

NOT FOR JEWS

But this would only work for gentiles, not Jews. A Jew is forbidden to believe in shittuf. Indeed, there is a careful protocol in the Torah as to how a Jew must serve G-d, which is distinctively not in his or her own way.

ANOTHER ANGLE

We can perhaps deal with this issue too. Both Rav Tzadok haKohen (Pri Tzaddik Shabbos Shuvah #17) and the Gerrer Rebbe (Imrei Emes Purim 5795) cite the Rambam (Hilchos Geirushin 2:20) that each Jew in his very essence wants to fulfill the ratzon Hashem. Rav Tzaddok writes that each Jew wants to do so bnekudas libo  with the very essence of his heart. The Imrei Emes writes that each Jew wants to do so in his pnimius  his essence. So we can read the words, in his or her own way to refer to the individuality that each one possesses in his proper Avodas Hashem.

WHAT DID THEY (LIBERTY HEALTH SHARE) MEAN?

Finally, there is the other factor. Perhaps the very people that wrote the statements of shared beliefs probably did not actual mean to say that statement in its simpler interpretation. How so? Religious Christians do not necessarily countenance a natural universal Divinely ordained right to worship G-d in bizarre ways that are subject to the whims of individuals. When it was initially conceived and written they had some other intent  perhaps similar to some of the ideas set forth in this article. They wrote it in this manner to make it be able to pass muster for legal purposes, and had some other meaning  such as an American right but not a natural universal right. Thus, even their intention when they wrote it was not to be understood in to imply something that we hold to be hashkafically unpalatable.

CHILUL HASHEM ELEMENT

Some Poskim this author had spoken to brought up the notion that the fact that Orthodox Jews having signed onto this declaration, even if it is technically permitted, may constitute a grave Chilul Hashem. Other Poskim stated that everyone recognizes that it is merely a perfunctory formality and that no one pays attention to the elements of the declaration any way. The dust surrounding the issue has not yet settled.

DEJA VU

This question may stir up memories of two previous issues that had similar halachic implications. In Monroe, there was a school for special children that was publicly funded. Those who ran the school had to sign that there was no religious instruction going on in the facility. The Satmar Rebbes own Dayan wrote a scathing criticism of the entire idea. Others ruled that the issue was permitted in its entirety.

By the same token, there were many religious Jews who had no swimming options during the hot summer months except for the local YMCA. Then too, a membership paper had to be signed. Some Poskim permitted it, while others ruled that Heaven forbid that Jewish children should swim there and join.

CONCLUSION

What is recommended is that anyone considering to join the organization should speak it over with his or her Rav or Posek and mention the issues set forth in this article.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

Attention Readers: The seventh volume of Not Your Usual Halacha has just been released. The authors books, including the Not Your Usual halacha Series, Hilchos Shabbos, Hilchos Meuzah, Hilchos Kashrus can be purchased at amazon.com
The IBA (Israel Broadcasting Authority) Building in the Romeima neighborhood of Jerusalem will be vacated in the coming months and transformed to a Boyaner Chassidus beis medrash. While the building is yet to be vacated, chassidim are optimistic they will be in the new building before the Tishrei Yomim Tovim.

The Boyan Beis Medrash is about 150 meters from the IBA Building. Ladaat News reports it has learned the building is being given over to Boyan to permit the chassidus to expand its beis medrash. The IBA has moved to Jaffa Street, into the old Shaare Zedek Hospital Building. It is added while at present it appears this will occur; the final bureaucratic decision has not yet been made so a last-minute change is possible.

There are other reports that Boyan plans to relocated to Modiin Illit to a larger beis medrash to accommodate the need for a larger facility. There is also a report that says the current beis medrash will be enlarged by taking some of the area of the yeshiva.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Representatives of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jewry have been invited to the Presidents Residence this week for a pre-Tisha BAv event called  . It appears President Rivlin wishes to set a new precedent as Rabbi Prof. Dalia Marx, affiliated with the Reform Movement and Hebrew Union College, will give the pre-Tisha BAv limud. Prof. Marx serves as an associate professor of liturgy and midrash at the Hebrew Union College.

The Reform Movement has praised the decision by President Rivlin, stating The President of Israel is displaying leadership and responsibility by including all streams of Judaism in the learning that will take place in the Presidents Residence.

The statement adds This is especially important his year during which the Reform Movement has been exposed to difficult incitement from extremist circles along with being excluded from f spiritual and Jewish institutions in the State of Israel and holy places.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Neemanei Torah VAvodah Organization conducted a poll that reveals the issues of marriage and religious legislation in Israel in the eyes of most religious and traditional Israelis distances them from Yiddishkheit.

The poll was conducted by the Rafi Smith Institute to examine the relationship between sectoral affiliation and the position of Israelis regarding religion and state, and it refutes many a basic premise based on the Israeli political arena. 500 respondents took part in the poll. According to the poll, being religious and ones connection to tradition are not significant in fact regarding support for religious legislation in its current scope.

For example, the poll reveals that 25% of the general religious population in Israel supports civilian marriage and 41% of the traditional community opposes religious legislation at the current pace.

56% of religious Jews in Israel agree with those who accuse the Chief Rabbinate of Israel of compelling couples to get married religiously and as a result, there is an increase in the number of couples going abroad to get married in a civil ceremony. Among those identifying as traditional, the number climbs to 73% and in total, 80% of all Israelis agree with this position.

Similarly, the poll reveals that 42% of the traditional population in Israel lend support to this for they feel the current religious legislation distances citizens from Yiddishkheit. 63% of religious respondents feel todays legislation has no influence on becoming closer to religion and 11% feel they are distanced as a result of the legislation. All total, 56% of Israelis feel religious legislation pushes the further away.

41% of traditional citizens are opposed to the current religious legislation and 50% of that number back civilian weddings.

Alongside studying the relationship between sectoral affiliation  religious or traditional  and between opinions regarding religion and state, was also examined transversely  in different parts of Israeli society  the relationship between attitudes about religion and traditions and attitudes about religion and state.

According to the survey, 69 % of Israelis said that they are very close or pretty close to the Jewish tradition. While only 31% responded that they were not so close or away from tradition.

That said, 47% of those identifying as being pretty close or very close to tradition are also opposed to religious legislation. Only 27% of this group backed religious legislation. Another example from this same group pertaining to the influence of religious legislation, 44% feel religious legislation distances people from Yiddishkheit.

The poll cites another example in which the current religious status quo distances people from Jewish tradition. The Smith poll learned that mitzvos that are observed not compelled by law and matters included in the status quo. For example, 38% of those who stated that fast all the time or some of the time on Yom Kippur also supports the sale of chametz in stores on Pesach. 23% of this group even supports eliminating the legislation prohibiting the raising of pigs in Israel.

Shmuel Shattach, executive director of Neemanei Torah VAvodah, feels the polls blows away some holy cows including the claim that one opposed to the current religion and state status quo is necessarily opposed to religion, but quite the contrary. He feels it shows that those who genuinely care about religious are opposed to legislation and the status quo is distancing Israelis from religion, including religious Jews

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

New finds contribute significantly to research of Roman art in Israel: Provide first evidence of figurative images in wall paintings at the site, and precede earliest mosaics discovered at the site by a hundred years

A team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has discovered hundreds of fragments belonging to frescoes from the Roman period, in the Zippori National Park. The fragments, which contain figurative images, floral patterns and geometric motifs, shed light on Zippori (Sepphoris), which was an important urban center for the Jews of the Galilee during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

The discovery was made this summer in the excavations at Zippori, in memory of Ursula Johanna and Fritz Werner Blumenthal of Perth, Western Australia. The excavations are directed by Prof. Zeev Weiss, the Eleazar L. Sukenik Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew Universitys Institute of Archaeology.

The frescoes decorated a monumental building that was erected in the early second century CE north of the decumanus, a colonnaded street that cut across the city from east to west and continued to the foot of the Acropolis. The building, whose function is not clear at this stage of excavation, spread over a wide area, and the nature of the artifacts discovered indicate that it was an important public building. In the center of the building was a stone-paved courtyard and side portico decorated with stucco. West and north of the courtyard, several underground vaults were discovered. Some of these were used as water cisterns and were of high quality construction. The monumental building was built on the slope and the vaults were designed to allow the construction of the superstructure located on the level of the decumanus.

The monumental building was dismantled in the third century CE for reasons that are unclear, and was replaced by another public building, larger than its predecessor, parts of which were uncovered during this season. The monumental buildings walls were dismantled in antiquity and its building materials  stone and plaster, some colorful  were buried under the floors of a newly established Roman building on the same location. Hundreds of plaster fragments discovered during this excavation season were concentrated in one area, and it seems that they belong to one or several rooms from the previous building.

The patterns on the plaster fragments are varied and are decorated in many colors. Among them are geometric patterns (guilloche) and brightly colored wall panels. Other fragments contain floral motifs (light shaded paintings on red backgrounds or various colors on a white background).

Particularly important are the pieces which depict figures  the head of a lion, a horned animal (perhaps a bull?), a bird, a tigers hindquarters and more  usually on a black background. At least one fragment contains a depiction of a man bearing a club. Research on these pieces is in its early stages but it is already clear that at least one room in the building was decorated with figurative images, possibly depicting exotic animals and birds in various positions.

The population of Zippori prior to the Great Revolt against the Romans was not very large, and archaeological finds dating to this period are particularly notable for the absence of figurative images  both humans and animals. The construction of the Roman city of Zippori after the Great Revolt, in the late first century and the second century CE, is indicative of a change in the attitude of Galilean Jews toward Rome and its culture. The city gained the status of a polis thanks to its loyalty to Rome during the Great Revolt, and constructed monumental public buildings, as befit a polis, that stood out in the urban landscape. This building boom also included the monumental building discovered north of the decumanus whose walls were decorated with frescoes, and whose remains were discovered during this season.

The new finds in Zippori contribute significantly to the research of Roman art in Israel. To date, excavators uncovered the walls of several public and private buildings from Roman Zippori (second and third centuries CE) which were decorated with colorful frescoes in geometric and floral patterns. This seasons finds are the first, only and earliest evidence of figurative images in wall paintings at the site. The finds date to the beginning of the second century CE. Parallels to these finds are virtually unknown at other Israeli sites of the same period. Some panels bearing depictions of figures were discovered a few years ago in Herods palace at Herodian, and according to Josephus (Life of Josephus 65-69) the walls of the palace of Herod Antipas in Tiberias were also decorated with wall paintings depicting animals; but beyond that, no murals with depictions of figures, dating to the first century and the beginning of the second century CE, have been discovered to date in the region.

The discovery in Zippori is unique and provides new information regarding murals in Roman Palestine. Zippori is well known for its unique mosaics. The newly discovered frescos are now added to the citys rich material culture. While the earliest mosaics discovered at the site date to around 200 CE, the ancient frescoes precede them by about a hundred years and are thus of great importance.

These finds raise questions relating to their socio-historic background. Who initiated the construction of the monumental building that was discovered north of the decumanus? Who is responsible for choosing the patterns that adorn the walls, and for whom were they intended? The various finds uncovered throughout the site indicate that Zippori, the Jewish capital of the Galil, was home to many Jewish inhabitants throughout the Roman period, but the city also had a significant pagan community for which the temple was built to the south of the decumanus, opposite the monumental building, parts of which were discovered this season. It is difficult to determine who was responsible for the construction and decoration of this monumental building, at this stage of excavation. However, the new finds clearly reflect the multi-cultural climate that characterizes Zippori in the years following the Great Revolt, in the late first century and the second century CE.

About the Excavations at Zippori

Most of the archaeological work conducted in Zippori since 1990 was led by the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. This team worked both on the Upper Hill as well as in an area to the east. The Hebrew University team revealed a well-planned city built around an impressive network of streets. Various buildings, public as well as private, were built in the city which existed throughout the Byzantine period. Among the public buildings uncovered are a Roman temple, bath houses, a theatre, two churches, and a shul. Over 60 mosaics dating from the 3rd to 5th centuries CE have been uncovered to date in Zippori, in both public and private buildings. The mosaics include numerous rich and varied iconographic depictions, ranking the city among the most important mosaic centers of the Roman and Byzantine east. The assortment of finds that have come to light in the course of the excavations provides a wealth of information about this multifaceted urban center, allowing one to draw significant conclusions about this Hellenized citys demographic composition, architectural development, and everyday life, as well as the cultural relationships between the various communities residing in Zippori during the first centuries of the Common Era.

Photo: The back of a tiger with its tail curling, in a fresco from Zippori, dating from the early Second Century CE

Photo: Guilloche, in a fresco from Zippori, dating from the early Second Century CE

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: G. Laron)
Both the United States and European Union have warned Israel there would be a heavy price to pay if Israel destroys the PA (Palestinian Authority) village of Sussia near the Jewish community bearing the same name in the Southern Hebron Hills area.

According to the Haaretz report quoting US and EU officials anonymously, both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahus Office and Defense Minister Avigdor Liebermans Office have been informed that removing the houses in the village would elicit a severe response.

The PA turned to the US and other Western nations seeking assistance, reporting Israel is planning to destroy the homes in the village. Haaretz adds the PMO has informed the Americans Israel has no plans to destroy the village, adding the matter is currently being adjudicated by the High Court and Israel will act in line with the courts ruling as is always the case.

The petition was submitted by Regavim, citing the Arab Sussia is illegal, calling on the IDF Civil Administration to raze the illegal structures. Regavim points out the village is on an area C, which means it is under total exclusive Israeli control as per the Oslo Agreements.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), is working with Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), a leader in aerospace and defense systems, to conduct an architectural design study for a habitation system that would enable NASA astronauts to live for long durations beyond low-Earth orbit. SNC is serving as the prime contractor under NASAs Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnership-2 (NextSTEP-2), which seeks commercial development of deep-space exploration capabilities to support more extensive human spaceflight missions.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/28dbf465-4114-4234-ade9-c2fc426e41d2

We look forward to working with our industry partners on an architectural study for a habitat system that will allow humans to live in space farther from Earth and for longer durations than ever before, said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. Its an especially unique opportunity to help stimulate the commercial space industry while leveraging existing and emerging technologies, furthering our nations ability to explore the frontiers and expand our knowledge of space.

As part of that study, Aerojet Rocketdyne has proposed to build a fully-functional prototype PowerTrain Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) system designed to deliver power from the solar arrays to the thrusters on the spacecraft. The PowerTrain SEP system uses a peak-power tracking capability and is compatible with current and future advanced Hall-effect thruster propulsion systems. Last year, the company successfully built and tested a prototype system in a simulated mission environment to show that it could achieve improved system efficiency over current Power Management and Distribution approaches used on satellites. The prototype was tested at Aerojet Rocketdynes Los Angeles facility, where most of the International Space Station power-system hardware was developed.

Under the 18-month architectural design study, Aerojet Rocketdyne and SNC will devise concepts that include standards, common interfaces and testing approaches for the habitation system. It will also include the development and integrated testing of the full-size ground prototypes by 2018. The project details will depend on final contract negotiations.

According to NASA, the prototypes will demonstrate critical aspects of the engineering processes involved in the development of the operational unit. The engineering test units will closely resemble final hardware and software products, and will be built and tested in order to establish confidence that the designs will function as expected in the harsh environments of space.

Aerojet Rocketdyne is an innovative company delivering solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defense markets. The company is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets. Additional information about Aerojet Rocketdyne can be obtained by visiting our websites at www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com.
Following the success of the Mabat 2000 camera surveillance program in the Old City of the capital, the decision has been made to add additional cameras in problematic areas of Jerusalem, predominately Arab areas. The Mabat 2000 program refers to the hundreds of surveillance cameras operating in the Old City, monitored 24/7 in a central command post and often used to prevent a crime or attack or to apprehend a wanted suspect. The cameras provide live real-time feed of the areas covered, 95% of the Old City.

Jerusalem police will be expanding the camera program and in the future there will also be cameras transmitting to the central command station from the Jerusalem light rail and cameras that will be incorporated into traffic signals.

An additional 193 cameras are going to be added to the hundreds operating today, and the live feed from the cameras will be broadcast to the command center in Jerusalem police headquarters. New cameras will be added to the eastern areas of the capital including Issawiya, Wadi Joz, and Silwan, frequent venues of clashes between residents and security forces.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
There were clashes between right-wing activists and supports of Bilal Keyed, who is hospitalized in Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon as he continues his hunger strike. The right-wingers arrived on the scene to protest against supporters of the striking security prisoner on Tuesday evening 5 Menachem Av.

Keyed has been on the hunger strike for over 50 days and taken to the hospital due to his weakened condition. According to hospital officials, he is being given life-sustaining fluids, electrolytes and vitamins, nothing more.

Among the supporters of the striking terrorist were MKs Ahmed Tibi and Hanin Zoabi.

Members of Lehava and Otzma Yehudit arrived waving Israeli flags and it did not take long for the confrontation to erupt. Police arrested 13 people in total including Jews and Arabs.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A French citizen with ties to the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris has told a court in Bulgaria he is a victim of injustice.

Mourad Hamyd was arrested on a French arrest warrant in Bulgaria for allegedly planning to join the Islamic State group in Syria or Iraq.

He is the brother-in-law of one of the men who attacked the satirical newspaper in January 2015. He was initially suspected of a role in that attack, but his classmates launched a successful campaign to clear his name.

Hamyd agreed Wednesday to be extradited to France, but shouted This is unjust! before entering the courtroom.

At the end of the hearing he added: I think that I am a victim of injustice. I have been declared a terrorist only because of suspicions.

(AP)
[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] 2:32PM IL: One person was injured in a stabbing attack in the eastern capital in the A-Tur area. It is reported that the lone attacker, who fled the scene, used a screwdriver to attack his victim who is reportedly about 18-years-old.

When the first EMS units arrived on the scene, they reported the victim is conscious and alert.

Additional information to follow as it becomes available.

2:54PM IL: According to Magen David Adom, the young male, a yeshiva bochur, was attacked while heading to Har HaZeisim, reportedly by an Arab male with a screwdriver. The victim is listed in light-to-moderate condition, conscious and alert, being transported to Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital.

The search for the attacker continues.

3:04PM IL: Ichud Hatzalah reports the victim was near the kever of the Admor of Slonim ZTL on Har HaZeisim when he was attacked.



(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Media Resource Group)
Doctors employed in the nations government-run hospitals made good on their threat and began a strike on Thursday morning 7 Menachem Av. This is the result of a breakdown in talks between physicians and the Finance Ministry. Israel Medical Association (IMA) officials explained it is not about additional salary or benefits for them, but about saving the nations healthcare service from total collapse. They insist there is a critical shortage of doctors as the system struggles to meet the growing demands of the nation, albeit unsuccessfully. IMA officials add the lines are too long, as is the average waiting time for diagnostic tests and follow-up visits.

Hadassah Hospitals spokesperson Hadar Elboim released a message to the media on Thursday morning that it turned to the labor court seeking a back-to-work order. The petition was successful and Hadassah doctors were ordered back on the job no later than 10:00AM.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
United Nations Special Envoy Laurie Cardoza-Moore has called on all international humanitarian organizations to immediately halt all aid money to Gaza until it can be proven that the money isnt being squandered by Hamas.

Her position comes hours after a UN employee in Gaza was indicted for funneling charity donations to fund Hamas naval units and days after a representative of the Evangelical World Vision organization was accused of channeling up to $50 million in charitable donations to the Islamist terror group.

Cardoza-Moore who represents the World Council of Independent Christian Churches (WCICC) at the United Nations and is President of the Evangelical Christian organization Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN) stated: The enemy of the people of Gaza is Hamas, not Israel. Hamas has hijacked the coastal strip and rules over its people with an iron fist. For decades, the leadership of Hamas has robbed its people of aid money. The time has come to halt all aid money into the Gaza Strip as long as Hamas is in control.

She continued: If the international community wants to help the impoverished people of Gaza, they must work to free them from Hamas. It is unacceptable that hundreds of millions of dollars are likely being directly transferred to the coffers of an international terrorist organization in the name of Christianity and humanity. No Church or humanitarian organization should send a single cent to Gaza as long as it is run by a band of murderous terrorist bandits.

Cardoza-Moore contacted World Vision last week to clarify how an Evangelical Christian organization could hire a Hamas terrorist sympathizer to distribute aid money -to date she has not received a response. In addition, she has lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and demanded that they immediately stop distributing aid to Gaza.

Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN), a non-profit organization, was established to educate Christians about their Biblical responsibility to stand with their Jewish brethren and Israel, utilizing powerful film and video presentations, a variety of grassroots rallies, events and speaking engagements to facilitate dialogue between the Christian and Jewish communities in support of the State of Israel and against global genocidal anti-Semitism.

Photo Caption: Laurie Cardoza-Moore speaking at the United Nations

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Proclaiming Justice to the Nations)
Chabad-affiliated rabbonim have confirmed a deal reported on Kol Berama Radio by which most Chabadnikim will serve in the IDF. According to the deal, 85% of Chabad males will serve in the IDF, inducted by the age of 26. The remainder will be permitted to continue learning. Those included in this 15% will receive a draft deferment to permit dedicating their time to limud.

The deal includes permitting the talmidim to travel to 770 for Kvutza for a year and an additional year to study for semicha and prepare for shlichus. This is unique for at present, a draft-eligible male from age 18 who is abroad for over sixty days loses his limud Torah status and is immediately drafted. This agreement was tailored to the needs of the Chabad talmidim.

After the bochrim return from two years abroad, they are generally about 22-years-old and will be permitted to continue learning full time for an additional two years in kollel or yeshiva. One who wishes to may enter the IDF upon his return.

At the age of 24, the talmid will have to make a decision, to enter the military or continue learning. One opting to learn will be permitted to do so until age 26 and then he will have to enter the IDF. This deal is applicable to 300 bochrim who face induction today. Now they will be able to push off their service until the age of 26.

One of the rabbonim who played a major role in negotiating the deal is Rabbi Vileshensky from Tzfat, working with Rosh Yeshivas Chabad Migdal HaEmek Rabbi Goldberg and Rosh Yeshivas Chabad Kiryat Gat Rabbi Havlin.

Among the audible voices of opposition to the deal is Rabbi Zalman Gopin of the main Chabad Yeshiva in Kfar Chabad. HaGaon HaRav Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau Shlita of Bnei Brak has in the past spoken out harshly against such a deal, explaining the Rebbe ZTL was adamantly opposed to IDF service and as such, no Chabad rav has the authority to make such a deal.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
LISLE, Ill., Aug. 11, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, partnered with Crest Foods and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable and secure military families, to honor a Midwest City, Oklahoma military family.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d815a897-b4f7-4364-8cbf-f3a6fb9aa599

Eckrich surprised the Roden family inside a Crest Foods store, to honor, thank and support the Roden family. As the family checked out at the register they were surprised with a gift of $5,000 in free groceries at Crest Foods, courtesy of Eckrich.



Private Patrick Roden served honorably in the United States Army for over three years. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His wife, Amanda, is his caregiver. The couple has three children.

"We are grateful for this gift from Eckrich and Crest Foods," said Roden. "With three growing kids and school starting soon, this gift is really going to help our family. We want to thank Eckrich and Crest Foods again."

The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. The Roden family is supported by Operation Homefronts Hearts of Valor program, a network of people caring for wounded, ill or injured service members.

Eckrich, in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization since 2012.

Eckrich is proud to honor our military families throughout the country, said Chuck Gitkin, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. We thank the Roden family for their sacrifice and are proud to partner with Crest Foods to present them with $5,000 in free groceries.

For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.

About Eckrich

Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Farmland, Armour, Cook's, John Morrell, Gwaltney, Nathan's Famous, Kretschmar, Margherita, Curly's, Carando, Healthy Ones, Krakus, Morliny, and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Operation Homefront

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families since its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefronts expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.
Aarushi

MBA Consulting Team

PythaGURUS Education Signature Read More

Think of an MBA as a for you and the recruiters. Schools do not have a problem with your biological age. Their problem is their insecurity about producing a success story out of you. They think that you will turnout to be an unhappy customer or an unsuccessful product( It is a Joke actually- Whether you are a product to them or a customer to themComing back to your predicament- you got to think through your current handicaps, and tell the schools what is it that you really want from them. Based on your work experience, I am assuming you have great leadership experiences. Show the school how you want to further build on those to explore - WHAT KIND OF CAREERS?They would certainly expect a lot of maturity from you in terms of your understanding of the future aspirations. They will expect you to be the guy with the least problems once you get into a school. They would want you to ideally be very very focused. And yes- your WHY MBA Story has to focus on telling them- what will be the incremental value of an MBA to you ?Honestly speaking- you should spend good 2 to 4 months thinking your reasons through. Rather than making this up for the business schools, and trying to impress them, you should authentically explore- why do you need an MBA now? And do not include things such as networking, admiration, credibility- leave them aside- and think through the real reasons.When you are truly convinced, it becomes easy to convince others. On the other side of the Business school admissions committees are real human beings willing to consider stories, and be inspired.Send me an email to Jatin@pythagurus.com if you are still confused. We will see what we can do. Thank YOuJatin_________________
Clairvoyant, lucky, or just plain smart? Maybe Theresa May is all three. Whichever she is, the Prime Minister now has the ammunition she needs to block China's involvement in the Hinkley Point nuclear power station. And she can do so immediately without losing face.

For Britain's potential partner in Hinkley Point, the state-owned China General Nuclear Power giant, is being accused in the US of leading a conspiracy to steal American power secrets to speed up the development of Chinese reactor technology.

A senior adviser of China's nuclear giant is due to appear in a US court next week to face charges of recruiting US experts to obtain sensitive nuclear technology following a probe by the FBI and the National Security Division.

Following the arrest in America of a senior adviser to China General Nuclear Power Theresa May can block China's involvement in the Hinkley Point without losing face

The US case follows deep-rooted fears about Chinese cyber-related espionage. Only a few months ago, Susan Rice, the US National Security Adviser, warned that Chinese espionage 'isn't a mild irritation, it's an economic and national security concern to the US'.

Australia is worried too, and moved swiftly yesterday to stop more Chinese investment.

The Aussies have put a block on Chinese and Hong Kong bidders from taking a controlling stake in Ausgrid, the country's biggest electricity network, citing national security fears.

Security experts in the UK  inside and outside of government  have also been warning about China's predilection towards industrial espionage and questionable business practices.

But the previous Government was so busy bending over backwards, courting the Chinese in the so-called 'golden era' of inward investment, that they turned a blind eye to the warnings. Or ignored them.

May's chief of staff, Nick Timothy, did listen and so did his boss, which is why she has delayed approval.

Timothy went further than listen, criticising ministers publicly last year after the Hinkley deal was signed for ignoring MI5 and other expert advisors who warned the Chinese might build weaknesses into the computer systems, allowing them to shut down the UK's energy at will.

As part of the Hinkley deal, China's CGN was also to be allowed to back a new Sizewell plant in Suffolk and potentially build its own plant at Bradwell; that's a lot of Chinese-controlled power. National security aside, there are other problems with the 18billion Hinkley project.

The strike price for electricity is high at a time when energy costs are falling and the technology of the new Pressurised Reactors being built by France's EDF is unproven  and EDF has little spare capacity because it is finishing plants in Normandy and Finland.

May should scrap the project and look seriously at the alternatives. There are many, and they are cheaper.

Let's pipe in more gas, speed-up fracking, put big money behind solar technology, which, once the storage issue is solved, will be efficient and cheap, invest in new battery technology and tidal power, more research into thorium nuclear fuel and push ahead with SMRs, the small modular nuclear reactors being built by the British.

Such sources of energy are growing faster than you think; on some days the entire electricity supply of Portugal is run on solar and wind.

Once the PM is back from holiday, she should call her new industrial strategy committee together, drop Hinkley and get cracking on alternatives; time is running out.

Alibaba turns the ARM

There is another twist to the ARM story which might be appropriate for the UK authorities to look at as they mull over the 24.3billion bid from Japan's SoftBank.

As part of winning approval, SoftBank's boss, Masayoshi Son, will give certain assurances to the Takeover Panel about keeping ARM's HQ in the UK.

In an interview here yesterday, Son said he was unlike other foreign buyers. He wants to invest and create more jobs, and says he will sign a legal contract in the UK courts.

Son sounds sincere and there is no reason to doubt his intentions. But what about SoftBank's own financial position?

Looks a little perilous to me. Worth 54billion on the Japanese stock market, it has debt of 85billion.

Son also owns a 38billion stake in China's Alibaba, the e-commerce giant. What happens if SoftBank gets into trouble, Alibaba goes to the rescue and ends up owning ARM?

Now that would be a technology transfer we might regret. Should clauses about a future sale be built into Son's agreement?

Mountain power

What is it about power ladies and mountains? Theresa May is on a walking holiday in the Swiss Alps. Germany's Angela Merkel is a mountaineer too: this year she's hiking in the Italian Solda mountains.

Lady Thatcher was another regular Alpine guest.

Then there is the Queen, outdoors whenever she can. After Helen Mirren wore a Barbour jacket in the film The Queen, sales shot up.
Travel operator TUI Group today declared that there has been no slowdown in UK holiday bookings in the wake of June's shock Brexit vote.

Posting a 6 per cent rise in UK revenues from April through to June, Europe's biggest holidays group said: 'There has been no apparent slowdown in bookings as a result of the EU referendum, demonstrating once again the resilience of demand for our unique and differentiated holidays.'

Nevertheless, overall group revenue fell 5.7 per cent over the same period as a decline in holiday bookings to North Africa and Turkey and the impact of terrorist attacks across Europe took their toll.

Undeterred: British holidaymakers have ignored Brexit and terrorist attacks to hit the beach

But TUI's earnings still rose 1 per cent to 180million (154.5million) in its third quarter and the firm said its summer programme was 87 per cent sold.

Bookings to markets excluding Turkey, where an attempted military coup was thwarted last month, were up 8 per cent.

TUI's chief executive Fritz Joussen said: 'We are in a better position to cushion geopolitical challenges. No one is immune to external impacts.

'However, it has been demonstrated that we have launched the right strategy, engage in active management and control, and have developed a sophisticated risk management system.'

The robust trading update helped the FTSE 100-listed group's shares soar in early morning trading, rising nearly 5 per cent, or 47p at 1,060p after it also confirmed it was still confident of hitting its full year targets.

Wyn Ellis, anlayst at Numis Securities, said: 'Superior business model relative to other tour operators leading to a remarkably resilient bottom line performance.

'Revenue under pressure in a weak German market but TUI taking market share and cutting costs to preserve profitability.

'I'm surprised by how well the UK operations are holding up post Brexit.'

The impact of the terror attacks in Turkey and North Aftrica have hit rival Thomas Cook hard, with the travel firm forced to lower its full year earnings guidance in July as it worked to move holiday packages from the eastern to the western Mediterranean.

However TUI's focus was already on Spain and long-haul holidays, meaning it has less exposure than Thomas Cook to Turkey.

The firm has also benefited from a focus on exclusive hotels, which tend to be booked earlier and so need less late season discounting.

Ian Forrest, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, said: Trading over the summer has remained in line with expectations as packages to Spain, Greece and distant countries helped make up for a drop in customers choosing Turkey and North Africa for their holidays this year. Interestingly TUI also stated that said Brexit appears to have had little to no impact.

Despite revenues coming slightly below expectations these were reassuring results given the challenges faced by the sector including major events across Europe during the period including terrorist attacks.

Disposals have strengthened the balance sheet and allowed the company to invest in new cruise ships and hotels.
South African suitor Steinhoff International has raised its agreed bid for discount retailer Poundland after a US hedge fund investor demanded better terms.

Steinhoff, which is owned by billionaire Christo Wiese, upped its takeover offer after activist shareholder Elliott Management built up a 17.5 per cent stake in the UK retailer, potentially giving it power to derail the deal.

The Poundland deal is the first European takeover success for Steinhoff this year after the company failed to acquire Home Retail Group, which was snapped up by Sainsburys instead, and was also outbid for France-focused white goods retailer Darty.

Takeover deal: Poundland has accepted a final, higher offer from Steinhoff International

Steinhoff will now pay 227p in cash for each Poundland share, including a 2p-a-share dividend payment, up from the 222p a share it offered in July.

Shares in FTSE 250-listed Poundland were 1.0 per cent, or 2.1p lower at 221.9p in mid-morning trading.

The 5 pence rise in the Steinhoff bid for Poundland is a pretty modest victory for shareholder activism, said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb.

Darren Shapland, chairman of the UK retailer, said: The Poundland board is pleased to recommend Steinhoff Europe's increased all-cash offer which presents Poundland shareholders with an opportunity to realise their shareholding at an improved price.

Markus Jooste, chief executive of Steinhoff, added: By offering Poundland shareholders an improved cash offer we aim to bring certainty to the transaction recognising the strength and value of the business and its management team.

Elliott Management has a track record of taking stakes in companies and then demanding a better offer, as happened with brewing giant SABMiller, in which it acquired a 1.6 per cent stake and then asked suitor Anheuser-Busch InBev to up its offer.

Last week it emerged Elliott has built a 5.2 per cent stake in struggling engineering group Meggitt, which recently reported a 60 per cent plunge in pretax profit.

Frankfurt-listed Steinhoff International, which started life selling cheap furniture from West Germany to East Germans in the 1960s, already owns a 23.6 per cent stake in Poundland.

The group also owns furniture chains Bensons Beds and Harvey's in Britain, but it has been determined to expand further across Europe.

In command: Steinhoff owner Christo Wiese

Earlier this week, the acquisition-hungry South African retailer unveiled plans to break into the US market with a $3.8billion bid for Mattress Firm, the countrys largest bedding retailer.

Mattress Firm Holding operates 3,500 retail stores across America under the Sleepys and Mattress Firm brands.

Steinhoffs owner Christo Wiese also has controlling stakes in Virgin Active, New Look and food chain Iceland through his Brait investment group.

Poundland has around 18,000 staff across more than 900 stores and is headquartered in Willenhall, near Wolverhampton.

Steinhoff has already said it has no plans to change the group's head office or employment conditions for staff.

The takeover comes amid a testing time for Poundland, with trading tough and a less than smooth takeover of rival 99p Stores.
Old Mutual was one of the biggest FTSE 100 fallers today after it reported a slump in profits and said its break-up plans could delayed by a watchdog investigation.

Shares in the investment giant were down by more than 5 per cent at lunchtime, off 11.6p to 213.8p.

The slump comes after the group posted a 9 per cent drop in first half adjusted operating profit to 709million, lower than analysts expectations for 769million.

Falling profits: Old Mutual said uncertainy has continued in the UK, US and South Africa

An uncertain environment continues in our three largest markets of South Africa, UK and US which may lead to further challenges, Old Mutual said in its interim results statement.

In the UK, despite uncertainty among investors following the Brexit vote, Old Mutual said it still saw positive inflows of money - although it added that it does not expect that to continue in the second half.

The Anglo-South African group, which announced plans to split itself into four business in March, is one of the insurers being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority amid concerns that savers are in danger of being ripped off when cashing in their pension pots.

The group said that they were making 'good progress' with the separation plans and that they expected the split to be completed by the end of 2018.

However, chief executive Bruce Hemphill also told reporters that the FCA investigation could have an impact on the timing of the break-up of the group.

These things take time...it is theoretically possible that it could impact (the break-up timetable), Hemphill told Reuters, but he also added: We've got the flexibility.

Under rules introduced last year savers can cash in their pension pots to spend the money as they like rather than turning them into an annuity to pay for an income for life.

But fears are growing that too many customers are choosing the first pension their insurer offers them and risk missing out on the best deals.

According to the FCA, in the final three months of last year 53 per cent of savers who chose to dip into their pensions stuck with the same insurer, while 57 per cent of those who signed up for an annuity did not move elsewhere.

Old Mutual plans to separate its businesses into four units comprising its South African bank Nedbank, plus its US, UK and emerging market operations.

The group still has to decide how to go about spinning off the units  the most probable option is to list them on the stock market, although it could also decide to sell them off.

Demergers by FTSE 100 firms are rare, with just six major splits since the index was established in 1984.
The bank chief who had an alleged affair with a mistress at a work conference in Singapore lectured other business leaders on being 'simple and boring' and how to set an example to staff.

In a widely praised speech, Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio, 52, said banking must transform to improve its tarnished image.

He told some of Britain's leading business figures of the need for higher standards of integrity and a new relationship with the public built on trust.

Allegations: Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio, 52, (pictured with wife Ana) said banking must transform to improve its tarnished image

'We must recast the banking model,' he told the audience of business leaders and politicians, including then-Chancellor George Osborne, at CBI Scotland's annual dinner in Glasgow in 2012.

'We must remember that the way we see ourselves is not always the way others perceive us.

At Lloyds, we will take a zero-tolerance approach to issues of inappropriate conduct, as I have made clear since I joined.'

It was seen as a welcome break from the antics of pre-crisis executives such as Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred 'the shred' Goodwin, who had an affair before losing his job when the bank was bailed out.

The speech was just days before Horta-Osorio met 45-year-old Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group of universities, with whom he is alleged to have had an affair.
Shikhar22 wrote:





I have two precise queries around conclusion/inference based cr questions:



1. How to know wether the question wants us to point out a conclusion already present in the stimulus or we have to recognise one from the answer choices that is engendered out if the information given? Is there a specific question type for each?



2. How different is main point from the conclusion? Would you say that the main point and conclusion for the question above is the same?



Thanks in advance. I appreciate your help, always!



Posted from my mobile device Hi AndrewN hope youre well!I have two precise queries around conclusion/inference based cr questions:1. How to know wether the question wants us to point out a conclusion already present in the stimulus or we have to recognise one from the answer choices that is engendered out if the information given? Is there a specific question type for each?2. How different is main point from the conclusion? Would you say that the main point and conclusion for the question above is the same?Thanks in advance. I appreciate your help, always!

Shikhar22

Attachment:



Screen Shot 2021-06-09 at 19.17.48.png [ 140.57 KiB | Viewed 2256 times ]



the conclusion drawn in the argument

LSAT

boldface

complete the passage

main point

conclusion

as a result of

premise

Because X [premise], [then] Y [conclusion].

Sentence one provides background information only. You might think the first part serves as a premise for the latter, the part that follows the comma, but a careful look at the frame of the so-called conclusion would reveal otherwise. Consider:



[ Because ] Novel X and Novel Y are both semiautobiographical novels... [ therefore ] which might lead one to suspect plagiarism...



There is a judgment or commentary in which might that is different from saying because of this, such-and-such is the outcome . That is, instead of a premise-conclusion relationship, we are being told about a possible conclusion one can reach, not unlike the difference between the famous line, "I think, therefore I am" and my telling you that Rene Descartes posited that he thought, therefore he was. The quotation fits the premise-conclusion relationship, while the latter is a statement. All of this is to say that the opening line of the passage is a statement of fact, neither a premise nor a conclusion.

There is a judgment or commentary in that is different from saying . That is, instead of a premise-conclusion relationship, we are being about a conclusion one can reach, not unlike the difference between the famous line, "I think, therefore I am" and my telling you that Rene Descartes he thought, therefore he was. The quotation fits the premise-conclusion relationship, while the latter is a statement. All of this is to say that the opening line of the passage is a statement of fact, neither a premise nor a conclusion. Sentence two begins with the conclusion and finishes with its supporting premise. Just who , exactly, thinks that something is more likely ? That is an opinion or argument, not a fact. Notice that we can transpose the two parts of the sentence to perfectly fit the premise-conclusion mold:



[ Because ] both authors are from very similar backgrounds and have led similar lives, [ therefore ] it is more likely that the similarity... in the two novels is coincidental.



The since of the original sentence is used not in the temporal sense, but synonymously with because .

premise

if

not

Since it is raining, I will go to the movies.

If it is raining, I will go to the movies.

official questions from the Official Guide or Verbal Review to practice for the Verbal section.



CR (708 questions)

RC (~ 1000 questions)

SC (884 questions) - coming soon (feel free to use this download for now) Please usequestions from the Official Guide or Verbal Review to practice for the Verbal section. Signature Read More

Hello,. Good questions. I will attach an image below to assist with my answers.Notice that the question stem asks explicitly about. We know we are dealing with a standardidentify-the-argument question, then, rather than an inference question, in which we might be given background information and premises but no discernible conclusion. I say "LSAT" question because apart fromquestions or the occasional, there really is no analogue on the GMAT for this type of question. You may have to evaluate an argument, but you are not asked to do so here. This is more like labeling something. Even the more old-fashioned "method of reasoning" or "logical flaw" question types do not follow this format.That said, theandare often one and the same. How do we identify the conclusion? A basic litmus test is to place "thus" or "therefore" ahead of the line in question. If the word fitsthe line or lines surrounding it, the information they convey, then you have likely found a conclusion. By contrast, awill often follow a "because" framework:How about we break down this passage to see how these tests can be brought to bear?With that out of the way, we can examine the answers one by one.(A) fails because it restates the background information.(B) fails because it also more or less restates the background information.(C) fails because it mislabels theof the final line as the conclusion.(D) restates the view that logically follows the premise and background information, so it is difficult to argue against.(E) fails because theconditional isa part of the passage at all. The passage provides statements of fact instead, except as I have noted above. To illustrate the difference, take the following simple notions:1)2)The first presents a causal relationship; the second introduces a separate considerationit may not be raining (and I may not go to the movies). In the passage, we see the first type of sentence instead of the second. It really is that simple.I hope all of the above proves helpful. Thank you for thinking to ask.- Andrew_________________
Profile Evaluation Request [ #permalink

Hi,

I would really appreciate if you could evaluate my profile and provide feedback. I am an Indian male, 23 years old and working in EPC sector. I am targeting top20 B-schools of USA and looking to get some scholarship as well.



I graduated from Delhi Technological University (Formerly Delhi College of Engineering), which is one of the best in India, in 2015 with 7.5/10 CGPA (8.6 was the highest) but if I convert my grades to GPA, my grade would be around 2.5. This scores seems to be low but I am getting a degree with distinction with this score.



Currently I am working in BECHTEL Corporation, biggest privately owned firm of USA, in India as a mechanical engineer. My work here includes coordinating with other departments of the project, floating purchase requisition to bidders, technical evaluation of bids received, vendor document review. It's a core engineering profile. As of now I just have 1 year of experience and I am thinking of applying after completing 2 years here. I haven't got any promotion yet because in my profile we get promoted after completing 3 years.



Apart from this I also have 3 years of part time experience of working in a non profit organisation (Make A Difference). This organisation is present in 23 cities in India and works for children in orphanages and shelter homes. In my first 2 years I was a teacher, I used to teach kids on weekends. In my 3rd year I was working as a mentor and was mentoring a team of teachers(24 teachers).



During my college days I was involved in many projects and events where I worked as an organiser. Also, I was a part of a project team which designs and fabricates all-terrain vehicles and I designed steering and suspension for that vehicle.



I haven't taken GMAT yet but I am targeting 710-730. That's what I get in my mock tests.



I want to become an Investment Banker some day as I am really interested in working in finance. I have recently started reading about equity markets and I have also started investing in share markets.



I would appreciate if you could have a look and suggest any further action, if you feel, I should take to enhance my profile.
Addressing fire safety Living in San Diego County, the threat of fires is constant, that is why I have made fire safety one...

Supporting animals As a trained Project Wildlife Native Songbird Rehabilitator, my experience raising orphaned and injured songbirds and returning them to the...
Four people accused of stealing $470,000 in cash and jewelry from victims while supposedly lifting "generational curses" have been arrested.

On Monday, August 8th, Yuqun Liang, 57; Yacheng Chen, 50; Yan Chen, 46; and Xuekun Su, 44, were arrested, the NYPD stated. According to the Daily News, a detective who was on his way to work recognized one of the suspects, and police arrested her, along with three of her alleged confederates. Reportedly, the suspects were talking to an elderly woman on Market Slip and the detective stopped a scam in progress.

The four women, as well as a fifth suspect, allegedly ran the so-called "Chinese blessing scam" targeting Asian women in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn from April until recently.

A complaint from the Manhattan DA's office alleged that on April 18th, Yan Chen and Su approached a 55-year-old woman on Grand Street, and told her that unless they blessed her valuables, a generational curse would physically harm her family.

The woman went to her safety deposit box, took out $280,000 in cash, and brought it in a bag to the Chen and Su, according to the complaint. While the victim recited prayers away from Chen and Su, they allegedly swapped the money for newspapers and bottles of water.

They then told the victim not to look into her bag until a few days later or else the blessing ceremony would not work, per the complaint.

Using the same M.O., Yacheng Chen and Su allegedly stole $130,000 from a 61-year-old woman in front of 73 Bay 22 Street in Brooklyn on April 17, and $19,000 in cash and $3,000 worth of jewelry from a woman in Brooklyn around June 22nd.

On Tuesday, Yan Chen and Su were arraigned in Manhattan criminal court with bail set at $500,000, according to the Manhattan District Attorneys office. Both were charged with grand larceny in the second degree, and scheme to defraud in the first degree.

The Brooklyn DA's office says it will be arraigning Liang and Yacheng Chen in Brooklyn. The NYPD also announced yesterday Yacheng Chen was "additionally arrested and charged" with grand larceny (extortion) and criminal possession of stolen property.

Police would not say how many more suspects they are looking for in connection to the scam, but encouraged victims to come forward to the NYPD.

Often, the victims of the scam do not speak English.
A former Brooklyn cop  accused of taking sex workers back and forth from appointments, often right after his NYPD shifts  has had his bond revoked and is back in jail.

Eduardo Cornejo, 34, faces interstate prostitution charges and was out on a $200,000 bail bond.

In an August 10th letter addressed to Judge Brian Cogan, prosecutors pointed to a trifecta of evidence that theres probable cause that Cornejo has continued to commit prostitution-related offenses while on pretrial supervision.

Part of that evidence is an Instagram post that shows a photo of Cornejo and a comment underneath.

"His boldness is also on display in the attached Instagram post from July in which the defendant flouts his supervision and brags that I got a bag for the lawyers, like What's your charges?Hop out of the courtroom like #WhatCharges? Big P[IMP]in' on you court steps," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Trowel and Alexander Solomon wrote.

However, the Daily News reported that attorney Michael Padden said the caption is lyrics rapped by Jay Z in DJ Khaleds song "I Got The Keys."

According to prosecutors, Cornejo agreed to post an advertisement for prostitution services, and sent texts like "Send me your account info & pics," and this follow-up text  "Yo did it get any better?"  to see if the ad had generated business.

GPS tracking showed Cornejo in the vicinity of five different hotels in Staten Island, East Elmhurst and Woodbury on 10 different dates. One of the locations, according to the prosecutors, is where he "was surveilled pre-indictment conducting prostitution activity."

"There is therefore no legitimate reason for the defendant to have been at area hotels on the 10 listed occasions, other than to promote or patronize prostitutes in violation of the laws of New York," according to the letter.

NYPD Internal Affairs Division also observed him in a car with a prostitute with whom Cornejo had associated prior to his arrest, according to prosecutors.

The NYPD fired Cornejo in January due to failing a random drug test. He also had a history of brutality complaints, and was named in four federal civil rights lawsuits that accused him of false arrest, baseless strip searches, and beatings.
Hello friend, and welcome back to the sunny world of Mr. Robot, where everything can be fixed with a well-placed punch (or punchline), Alf, and expert bludgeoning with a tire iron. This week was oddly funthough last week ended with Elliot being beaten unmercifully, last night we got a Too Many Cooks-esque opening and sitcom goofiness, along with a cute spy sequence starring Darlene in a goofy blonde wig. Still, this season's starting to make me wonder when we're going to get to the fireworks factoryand I've got some questions!

WHY DID WHITEROSE LET DIPIERRO LIVE?

The last time we saw ace FBI agent/total weirdo Dominique Dipierro, she was outgunned by terrorists who broke into her hotel. She survived though, and as we learned in the recap she gave her boss, she was cornered until the gunmen killed themselves. Surely a group as ruthless as The Dark Army, who jammed metal under Cisco's fingernail merely for asking "Hey, what's the deal with you guys anyway?" wouldn't screw up a surprise FBI ambush and let the smartest person in the room live. Is Whiterose just messing with Dipierro because of overconfidence? Or, maybe, he thinks he can just shake her confidence in everything until she switches teams? You saw a glimmer of defeat when her favorite bodega closed thanks to the show's ongoing economic catastrophe, and any moment Whiterose could just let Dipierro in on the fact that Phillip Price has been happy to go along with it.

WHY DID ANGELA LET CISCO AND FSOCIETY SKATE?

One big reason Angela is in the pickle she's in is because her idiot horny boyfriend couldn't resist a street CD hustle, which, come on, is New York City Life Skills 101. But it was Cisco who did the hustle, obviously targeting an idiot, and obviously doing it so that Angela could be made a patsy by her best friends Elliot and Darlene. It all came together for her when Cisco showed up to drop off a necessary piece of equipment for the FBI hack and he clearly knew everyone. Angela has shown herself to have remarkable ambition this season, so why wouldn't she turn state's evidence, tell the FBI fsociety demanded she help them or the'd leak her nudes and be done with the whole thing? She can't possibly be so mad her first attempt at using a little leverage for a nicer job and office failed, so what weird chess is Angela playing that includes her risking her freedom to help hack the FBI?

IS THIS ELLIOT BEING "HANDLED"?

Remember that bonus scene in the nice fancy rich person room where Richard Price and Whiterose talk about a Congolese mine and the Roman emperor Nero and the like? Also remember how Price told Whiterose he knew who was behind the hack and they were "being handled"?

Keeping in mind Price clearly doesn't know as much as he thinks he does, but that he's also a guy who CLEARLY loves complicated plots, is he the one who led Ray to Elliot, and somehow knew it would end poorly for our favorite hacker? I mean, Elliot is basically chained up in a basement now, while the rest of fsociety flounders without him. Obviously this isn't the simplest way to handle things, but once again I have to object to the behavior of Ray's goons at the hospital. Musclebound goons don't just carry a clearly injured guy out of the hospital without some kind of large bribe being paid, no matter what kind of crappy insurance Elliot has.

BITS & BYTES


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By Patrick Donachie

Candidates in the Democratic primary race to run for the seat left vacant by the death of state Assemblywoman Barbara Clark have learned if they qualified for the ballot.

Five candidates remain on the ballot for the Sept. 13 primary after the city Board of Elections approved the signatures gathered on their petitions to run for office. Leroy Gadsen, head of the Jamaica branch of the NAACP, was knocked off the ballot.

The five are vying to represent Assembly District 33, an area that includes Cambria Heights, St. Albans, Queens Village, Hollis and Bellerose.

Barbara Clark died in February after holding the seat for nearly 30 years.

Community advocate Clyde Vanel, a lawyer; Roy Paul, a board member for the Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults; community advocate Sabine French; Community Board 13 Chairman Brian Block; and Nantasha Williams, the chief of staff for Assemblywoman Diana C. Richardson (D-Brooklyn), have qualified for the race, according to the primary contest list released on the Board of Elections site.

Vanel announced recently that he received the endorsement of Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Arverne) and Pastor Floyd Flake, who heads the congregation of the Greater Allen AME Cathedral in Jamaica. Flake said Vanel would be the kind of leader the community needs in the Assembly.

Paul was elected to public office on a school board at the age of 19, and he has continued his passion for education issues. In an interview, he also spoke about the need for equity in funding and in the allocation of resources, saying that schools in the district sometimes lack the essentials that schools in nearby District 26 have in ample supply.

Its that different, and were only 10 to 15 minutes apart from each other, he said. When teachers have to go on GoFundMe to get chalk and erasers, we have a problem.

In an interview, French said her desire to run was spurred prior to Clarks death and was inspired by the challenges she faced with a child who was enrolled in several schools.

I believe I can be a voice of the community, as a community organizer and as a parent, she said and stressed the need for equity in education funding. I believe all children deserve an equal opportunity to get an education, but the money and opportunity should be distributed equally.

Williams stressed the need for increased public participation in local elections and stepped-up efforts to protect southeast Queens residents from foreclosure.

Protecting homeowners is really important. We have one of the highest rates of foreclosure. Its an issue for everyone in the community, she said. We have to provide necessary resources for people to stay and maintain their homes.
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By Patrick Donachie

The lawyer for a Jamaica man who was assaulted this spring has called on the Queens district attorney to prosecute the attack as a hate crime.

The request came during a news conference at Queens Criminal Court Monday afternoon, when attorney Ali Najmi stood with his client, Gazi Rahman, and displayed pictures and video of the incident that occurred May 7.

At about 8 p.m. that evening, according to Najmi, Rahman, 46, was standing near the corner of Hillside Avenue and Parsons Boulevard when he was approached by Christopher Porr. Najmi said Porr began assaulting Rahman, who suffered a broken nose and other lacerations during the beating. Najmi and Glen Rozada, a witness to the incident who attended the press conference, said Porr exclaimed f Indians during the attack.

We have come together as a community to say we will not tolerate any hate crime, especially in the county of Queens, Najmi said. He showed members of the press a video of the incident he obtained from an NYPD camera overlooking the intersection, saying he had to file a Freedom of Information request to retrieve the footage.

The video shows a white man who Najmi identified as Porr, approaching another man he identified as Rahman, who is from Bangladesh and has lived in the United States for 18 years. The video, which is without sound and looks as if it is taken from about half a block away, shows the man identified as Porr, who is white, approaching the man identified as Rahman. The two seem to briefly exchange words, at which the point the man identified as Porr violently shoves the other man. After a brief scuffle, the man identified as Porr punches the other man, who falls to the ground.

Both men were arrested at the scene and given desk appearance tickets, which is an order to appear in criminal court at a later date. It is typically used for misdemeanors, but Najmi said it was highly inappropriate for Porr to be issued a ticket and that Rahman should not have been arrested at all. Because both Rahman and Porr were issued tickets, he said, the investigation had not progressed until the first criminal court date July 8.

On the date, Najmi offered the court copies of the NYPD video, with photos and two witness affidavits. Najmi said the DAs office told him that it would dismiss charges against Rahman, but had not yet made a decision on whether to charge Porr with a hate crime.

A spokeswoman with the Queens DAs office would not confirm any changes to charges, saying that the office was reviewing the allegations against both individuals.

The next scheduled date in court for both men is Sept. 8.

Rahman expressed anxiety about the ordeal, and said police accused him of being drunk when he was initially arrested. When he replied that he never drank or smoked, Rahman said police contended he was lying about drinking.

I want justice. I want him to be punished for this hateful act, Rahman said. Nobody should go through what Ive been through.

Rozada, who lives two blocks away from the incident, said he was still frightened to walk around, but pledged to continue supporting Rahman by attending whatever court proceedings would be necessary.

I saw it happen, Ive seen it with my own eyes, he said about the assault. I saw the anger and hatred in his eyes.
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By Patrick Donachie

Police doubled the reward for information leading to Karina Vetranos killer to $20,000 as authorities continued to search for clues in the mysterious murder of the Howard Beach jogger. The victims family also announced a fund to raise a reward that quickly exceeded more than $100,000.

The news comes after a tumultuous week for the Vetrano family and the larger Howard Beach community, marked by Vetranos funeral Saturday at St. Helens Catholic Church at 157-10 83rd St. and a packed town hall meeting for worried residents held at the same spot Monday evening.

Karina Vetrano, 30, was last seen leaving her Howard Beach home shortly after 5 p.m. Aug, 2 for an afternoon jog. According to authorities, she entered the remote Spring Creek Park, which is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, onto a path surrounded by high weeds. Vetrano often ran with her father, a retired firefighter, but he did not accompany her that day due to pain in his back. According to police, she texted a friend on her run.

Police responded to calls of her missing at about 7 p.m., and her body was found in the parks marshland area later that evening. Police said she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death.

Vetrano was a graduate of St. Johns University and worked as a caterer at the nearby Vetro Restaurant in Howard Beach. She was also a speech pathologist.

At the town hall meeting, investigators hesitated to go into specifics about the investigation, but did say they had retrieved video recordings from private individuals or businesses and interviewed hundreds of people. Incoming Chief of Department Carlos Gomez and Deputy Inspector Michael Kemper were on hand and praised the community for its cooperation.

Ive never seen the level of communication between police and community that Ive seen in the past week and Im being sincere, Kemper said. The best in the world are on this case.

Kemper said there were currently no persons of interest but evidence was recovered at the scene and the authorities were questioning sex offenders. He also said there was no reason to believe there was a connection with the Sunday murder of a New York jogger in Massachusetts, although he said the two police departments were comparing notes.

Hundreds of community members packed the pews and lined the walls of the church during the town hall meeting, with the questions and answers amplified through loudspeakers outside of the church for the overflow crowd who could not enter because of the lack of space.

Many of the questions revolved around safety issues in the weeds, or the Baja, as it is called by some community members, which hide the path from view. During the meeting, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz announced that she had allocated funding for NYPD cameras to be set up on the streets outside the park.

I wish it had been there previously, but its there now, she said. You enter there and exit there, youre going to be filmed.

An audience member questioned if cameras on the street would be able to see the path through weeds that stretch higher than 10 feet, and a friend of the Vetrano family said proper funding was needed to protect Howard Beach, which she called an urban community with a national park.

The biggest thing that worries me is that we need a plan in place to secure the park like every other national park is secured. This is not a conversation that has come up because of the murder of Karina, she said, referring to a history of back and forth with federal agencies.

Though the exterior of the park is city property, the interior of Spring Creek Park, along with the entirety of the Gateway National Recreation Area, is owned by the federal government and managed by the National Park Service. The 26,607-acre area extends from Queens through Brooklyn to Staten Island and Monmouth County in New Jersey.

In addition to the cameras, Capt. Peter Culver of the United States Park Police said the federal government had allocated resources in the short term for additional park patrols during weekdays, and 106th Precinct Capt. James Fey said additional resources had been allocated for the NYPD to offer patrols of the grounds during weekends. The federal park patrols the area during weekdays only, but both officials pledged their agencies would collaborate to ensure patrols each day.

One community member who identified himself as Joe suggested closing the park, with other individuals in the audience saying that the weeds be burned or mowed.

Those weeds are not a park, he said. The petition we need to be signing as a neighborhood is to close that park, lock it up and dont let anybody in there whatsoever.

Father Francis Colamaria, who also said the funeral mass for Vetrano in the same church a two days before the meeting, said he disagreed with that assertion.

It is a park. It was a park that Karina loved. Her parents told me that, he said. We need to make it safe.

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), who represents Howard Beach in Congress, wrote Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Monday, requesting federal aid in properly securing Spring Creek Park along with all of Gateway, including funds to maintain the parkland in a manner that controls growth of the shrubbery and weeds, which is a potential shelter for criminal conduct.

Police asked anyone with information about the case to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 577-TIPS.
If you're paying for an unlimited MetroCard but only using the subway trains to get around, you're ripping yourself off. Don't you realize that access to hundreds of city bus routes is included in the price, and that some of them may even take you where you want to go?

New Yorkers' persistent allergy to riding the bus is part of the inspiration behind Anthony Denaro's new transit map, which imposes a carefully-structured chart of the MTA's sprawling bus system over subway lines and points out the intersections where transferring (for free!) from one to the other is most convenient. The map's goal is to show the full transportation power of a MetroCard, empower neighborhoods underserved by the subway system, and demystify bus routes to those who rarely even consider them as a means of transportation.

In a Medium post, Denaro describes his "long slow journey" of making the new maps. He recalls staring at the subway map while waiting late at night for a bus transfer en route to Jamaica, Queens. It got him wondering why the train map is so ubiquitous, while bus maps are rarely seen outside of buses themselves. "When you're standing around waiting for a bus, there aren't maps. In Jamaica, Pelham Bay Park, or Flushing, the biggest bus hubs in the city, you wont find bus maps near the bus stops. Then the thought hit me: If I can transfer to the bus for free, why isn't there a map that shows where to connect with buses? Why does the system map only show subways?"

Manhattan:

Queens:

Brooklyn:

The Bronx:

The new maps work to present bus routes and subway lines as one symbiotic transit system. In doing so, Denaro scaled back the information overload of the MTA's current bus maps and only included what he deemed to be the most-essential notes about where buses like the B57 and B62 run parallel, and where you can switch from the D train to the BX1. "The system has never been presented as one. The MTA rarely advertises the fare integration between subway and bus. It doesn't announce transfers to bus lines at subway stations. It doesn't have a single map that shows all of it's services together."

When viewed in comparison to the MTA's current subway map it's obvious that Denaro's new designs look crowded and impossibly complicated. But the reality is that they show the full capabilities of our public transit system, and after studying them for a few minutes it becomes easy to find solutions to travel problems the subway can't solve. With the subway system imposed over the bus routes, it's easier to find points of reference and better understand buses as a direct and affordable transit option (plus, they'll soon have WiFi).

Denaro is up-front about these maps are hugely unforgiving for those without pre-existing knowledge of the MTA system, and that tourists looking for the easiest route from their Bushwick Air BnBs to Times Square will likely find them unintelligible. "My audience is people who live in NYC and who frequently ride the transit system," he writes.

"Millions of NYC residents live beyond a 15 minute walk to a subway station. Hundreds of thousands of people start their commute by boarding a bus and then transferring to the subway. This is a map for us."

Read more about Denaro's map project and check out high-resolution images right here.
The cash market for U.S. wheat crops has bottomed out, and in an attempt to stay solvent, some farmers are replacing a portion of their vast wheat fields with alternative crops.

But in North Texas, there's no consensus among farmers on how to best recoup on losses in the wheat market, which may reach its lowest point in a decade because of oversupply and international production. Some farmers here are turning to corn, despite its traditional unpopularity in the region. Others have planted canola, which is regarded as relatively lucrative but hard to harvest.

Sorghum grain  a feed additive that can fall prey to wild hogs if left unguarded  is being experimented with, and some enterprising farmers also are planting mung beans, a cover crop that can also be harvested for use in Asian cuisine.

'It's a scary time,' said Trevor Lalk, who grows wheat, corn and canola near Electra in Wichita County. 'Basically, what's going to lose the least money?'

Wheat is the No. 1 cash crop in North Texas, but as its market spirals downward, Lalk and other farmers have been forced to consider other options. Lalk has opted to nearly double his corn acreage from 20 percent to 35 percent next year, replacing some of his wheat production.

'I like to raise corn. I've had successes and some failures, but I kind of enjoy raising it,' he said.

Some critics say it's too hot and dry in North Texas for corn to be viable for several consecutive seasons. And despite gains in Texas corn acreage over the last decade  from 2 million acres to 2.6 million  the increases generally weren't seen in this region, said David Gibson, executive director of trade association Texas Corn Producers.

'We've had some really good corn progress in relation to wheat in the last six or seven years,' Gibson said. 'We've had some producers look at those prices and with the new hybrid crops and technology, it's encouraged some of them to venture into growing corn on some non-traditional corn acres.'

A more comfortable standby for North Texas farmers may be canola, a flowering plant used to produce cooking oil. Between 10,000 to 20,000 acres are planted near the Texas/Oklahoma border.

Similar to winter wheat, canola is planted in the fall and harvested in spring of the following year. It's per-bushel price of $6.80 is more than double wheat's current posted selling price of $3 a bushel.

'People are taking a real hard look at it because wheat prices are so low,' said Ron Sholar, a former Oklahoma State University agronomist and current executive director of the Great Plains Canola Association.

He acknowledged the perceived added difficulty of growing canola instead of wheat  canola must be harvested in a two-step process whereas wheat is gathered in one step, though 'our long-term growers don't find it that difficult. Those who have been committed to it see it being that worthwhile,' Sholar said.

Coming months may also see the encroachment of sorghum grain and cover crops in the fields where wheat traditionally has been king, farmers and agriculture experts predict.

Sorghum, a plant in the grass family, typically has its seed converted to a syrup, which is then used as a feed additive. The term cover crop can relate to a large variety of plants grown to rejuvenate soil, but legumes such as peas and beans are some of the most popular choices.

Michael White, a farmer in Wilbarger County, planted 500 acres of mung beans this year where he could have grown wheat. It proved to be a good choice  the beans, whose sprouts are widely used in Asian cuisine, sold well. White said he also has dabbled in sorghum grain in the past.

The acreage he allotted for mung beans represents about one-quarter of the land he uses for wheat, but White said the choice still involved sizeable risk. Five hundred acres is a lot of land to take a gamble on, which goes to show the lengths some farmers are going to turn a profit this year.

'It's a pretty big experiment, isn't it?' he said.
When it comes to an active shooter situation, the goal should be to try to survive the first five minutes, according to Midwestern State University Police Chief Patrick Coggins.

Coggins, quoting a report published by the FBI in 2014, said there were 160 active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2013. The FBI was able to determine a duration of time the threat lasted in 64 cases and, of those, 44  or 69 percent  ended in five minutes or less.

The police chief spoke about the 'very distressing topic' to about 50 people at the Dillard College of Business Wednesday as part of America's SBDC at MSU's monthly Back-to-Business series.

'As a business leader, what do you have in place to notify your employees (if there was an active shooter)?' Coggins asked after going over the statistics, such as 45.6 percent of these situations happen in commerce locations such as malls or businesses.

How will you know whether or not the noises you heard were from a gunshot?

'Don't doubt your instincts,' Coggins said. 'Assume it was a gunshot and act accordingly until it is proven otherwise.'

In the event of an active shooter, Coggins shared three basic responses using a video produced by the city of Houston and the Department of Homeland Security.

The first priority, he said, should always be running away from the shooter and putting as much distance between you and that person. If you can safely get away, Coggins said to evacuate the area and, once safe, call 911 and try to prevent others from entering the affected area.

If that wasn't an option, or there isn't a safe escape route, the next best option is to secure yourself and others in place and hide. If possible, get behind cover and stay close to the floor, but make sure not to limit your movement and back yourself into a corner, Coggins said.

As a last resort, be prepared to fight with the goal of incapacitating the shooter. The video recommend acting with physical aggression using improvised weapons to interrupt the attack and disable the shooter. If this is the only option, Coggins said you must commit to the action.

Once law enforcement is on the scene, Coggins warned that people might hear and see things they aren't used to. The environment might be chaotic with fire alarms and noises from police radios, and officers will have long rifles and ballistics protection.

Coggins said multiple law enforcement agencies are now trained using the same protocol, which includes going directly to the threat without stopping to help the wounded initially.

'The first group's sole mission in life at that point is to stop the shooting,' he said, noting that plans are in place to help those who are injured.

After the lecture, Coggins answered several questions from the audience about how license-to-carry holders should respond to the situations.

While he didn't have immediate answers on how LTC carriers should handle the shooter, Coggins advised that, if they perceive a law enforcement presence, they should distance themselves from their weapon with their hands up and leave it in plain view of the officers.

However, he recommended staying in the vicinity of the weapon in case the person is instead the shooter.

'There is no easy answer as to how to tell law enforcement that you're a good guy,' Coggins said. The best advice is to always follow the directions of the officers.
Unseen hazards lurk underground that could have dangerous results or unintentional disruptions for construction workers or homeowners working on projects that require digging.

That's why utility companies are urging people to call 811, a number for the national 'Call Before You Dig' initiative, before putting spade or backhoe to dirt. Not only is the service free to customers, but it's the law to call before digging.

While the service is free, utility companies have to pay a subscription fee to have their lines spotted.

Wichita Falls does not subscribe to it to have their storm, sewer and water lines spotted.

Randy West, public relations manager for Atmos Energy in Wichita Falls, said when Texas residents dial 811, they will be routed to one of two call centers in Texas  Texas 811 in Dallas or Lone Star 811 in Houston. The call centers will then contact professional line locaters to mark the areas where utility lines are buried.

The most common utility lines include natural gas pipes, telephone, cable, water and sewer lines.

According to information provided by Atmos, the energy company has seen a 36 percent increase since 2008 in the number of requests to have gas lines located and marked. Studies show that calling 811 prevents accidents 999 of 1,000 excavation projects.

'Even minor damage such as a scrape, dent, or crease in a pipeline or its coating can cause a leak,' said John Paris, president of Atmos Energy's Mid-Tex division.

Daniel Nix, utilities operations manager for Wichita Falls' water and sewer systems, said the city's Stormwater, Wastewater and Water divisions under Public Works dispatches crews to mark lines for contractors and homeowners

'Anybody that wants to have their water, sewer or stormwater lines spotted, they need to contact the city directly,' he said. 'We typically try to get it done within three to five days.'

Nix said if it is an emergency, city crews will respond much faster, as will other utilities.

Jose Ortega, a damage prevention manager with Texas 811 and the Red River Damage Prevention Council, said whether someone is wanting to plant a tree, build a cattle guard or put in a fence, they should plan accordingly and call 811 at least three days before the scheduled beginning of a project.

'811 is a free service,' he said. 'It's out there to protect the environment, protect communities and protect underground lines.'

Ortega said homeowners sometimes make the mistake of thinking they know the location of lines, but because of weather and shifting soil, the utility line or lines could have shifted a little.

The Damage Prevention Councils of Texas, 23 in all, was established in 1984 to protect underground infrastructure. The Red River chapter meets in Wichita Falls once every other month, typically at the Oncor office at 1900 Old Jacksboro Highway.
Cadet Paul Moga walked passed a static display of an F-15C Eagle just about every day while attending the Air Force Academy in Colorado from 1991-1995.

There was never any real aviation influence in his life growing up in Saint Paul, Minnesota, but he applied to the academy instead of following his older brother, David, to West Point. But, he said, his thought at the time was that if he was going to go through the Air Force Academy, he might as well become a pilot.

One problem  he wasn't qualified because of less than 20/20 vision and a medical history of allergies.

But a simple change in Air Force regulations would later set now-Col. Paul 'Max' Moga on a new runway full of unique opportunities and firsts over the next couple of decades, including his assignment now as vice commander at the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base. The base is home to the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program, the only internationally manned and operated military pilot training program in the world.

'U.S. instructor pilots, if they're fighter pilots, have their impressions and their thoughts about what's important for a U.S. fighter pilot,' he said. 'But to have all the other non-U.S., the international partners show up and add to that bucket of experience from an IP corps (or) IP cadre ... it's completely unique. There is not another program like this anywhere in the world where there're students and instructors from so many international partners training together every single day.'

Moga said the Air Force began granting waivers for vision up to 20/70 when he was a junior at the academy, a reversal of fortune that seemed to put a little air under his wings. After passing a vision test with the new standards and getting cleared by a doctor for his childhood allergies, he was ready to pull chocks and move on toward his goal of piloting an F-15C.

Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas, was his next stop for undergraduate pilot training, where he graduated top of his class in early 1997. That ranking put him in good position when his class was gathered in the auditorium at the base for 'Drop Night,' the night at which they, along with other classes at Vance AFB in Oklahoma and Columbus AFB in Missouri, selected the aircraft they would go to next.

There was no doubt, Moga said, what he was going to select  the F-15C.

'Thinking back on it, for me, surprisingly the reason why I always wanted to fly the F-15C wasn't because I flew with F-15C pilots at Laughlin because I never did,' he said. 'Actually, I'll never forget walking by the F-15 static on the grounds of the academy every day for four years.

'Every time I walked by that thing, I said, 'That is one awesome looking aircraft and I would give my left arm to be able to fly one of those some day.''

Moga spent the next seven years as an 'Eagle driver' including 250 combat hours over Iraq in Operation Southern Watch and Yugoslavia during NATO's Operation Allied Force. It was during Allied Force, he said, that he went through a life-changing experience in combat against the forces of Slobodan Milosevic and surface-to-arm missiles were launched with Moga's F-15C the target during a nighttime mission.

He said his training took over during those tense moments and he relied on muscle memory and skill to survive. But, he said it also gave him the opportunity to reflect on what's important and change how he viewed things.

Moga went to Tyndall AFB in Florida in 2001 to instruct future F-15 pilots. It was while there working out at a gym that he was summoned to his squadron, where he was greeted by his commander, the operations group commander and his next career-changing opportunity.

'They're standing there hanging out (and) I'm thinking I'm in huge trouble, and they say, 'Hey Max, you know you're up for assignment, right?' And I go, 'Yes sir. I'm aware,'' he recalled. 'Tex Merrell  Col. (Timothy) 'Tex' Merrell was the ops group commander  he said, 'How do the numbers 2-2 sound to you.''

That was how Moga was notified that he and a handful of other Air Force aviators had been selected to set up the Air Force's first F-22A Raptor training squadron. Moga said he and others went through upgrade training to be able to fly the service's newest fighter and train other pilots.

The transition was fairly easy and that if a pilot could fly or land a T-6A Texan II or T-38C Talon  both are used to train pilots at Sheppard  they can fly an F-22. The big difference, he said, is the fifth-generation fighter's computerized flight controls which often has the aircraft's computer deciding for the pilot what it can do and push the envelope.

Moga said F-22 pilots send digital signals to the flight control computer through the stick, throttle and rudder pedals and the computer will determine what the pilot is asking for. He said the hardest thing for pilots to grasp is that the F-22 is able to do what other aircraft simply can't.

'Until you figure that out, you really don't maximum perform the aircraft,' he said. 'Once you do and realize the jet can do a whole ton more than other airframes, then it kind of starts to sink in.'

The Air Force came calling again for Moga in 2006 when he was asked to moved to Langley AFB in Virginia and be the first ever F-22 demonstration pilot  an aside was that he was going to be the person, along with a team, to develop the demo routine. He said he was hesitant at first, but eventually accepted the assignment as the service was looking for someone experienced, and he was among the best.

He said the routine was developed from scratch and included dogfighting and other maneuvers to the most sophisticated aircraft in the Air Force's inventory. He said the routine was to do three things: Be safe, repeatable and showcase it's capabilities.

Another opportunity popped up while learning how to fly a routine at an uncomfortable 300 feet above the ground when the Air Force's public affairs office at the Pentagon and the Discovery Channel came calling. The cable TV channel wanted the Air Force to provide a seasoned pilot to host a show called 'Showdown: Air Combat' that would highlight some of the country's most notable dogfights during war. Moga was the obvious choice because he was widely known because of his assignment as the F-22 demo pilot.

He was later tabbed to host another Discovery Channel show called 'Great Planes.'

'It was like a lesson in Air Force history for me,' he said. 'I learned a lot about the Air Force and the development of a lot of our earlier aircraft and our current fighters that I never knew before. It was a lesson in Air Force heritage.'

Unfortunately, though, he said student pilots at Sheppard approach him and often tell him they watched Moga on television when they were in grade school. The great thing, he said, about talking to those student pilots is he sees in their eyes the same spark, desire and hunger to be an Air Force pilot he had when he started undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin more than 21 years ago.

Moga said being at Sheppard, especially this year, has been a special opportunity for him because he's been able to see nation partners train side by side. He's also going to be part of significant milestones with Sheppard's 75th anniversary, as well as the 50th anniversary of the German air force sending student pilots to train here and the 35th year of ENJJPT.

The Air Force celebrates its 69th anniversary this year.
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Seoul, South Korea

As a high school senior, Hwang Yu-mi went to work bathing silicon wafers in chemicals at a Samsung factory that makes computer chips for laptops and other devices. She died of leukemia four years later.

After Yu-mi's 2007 death, her father, Hwang Sang-gi, learned a 30-year-old worker at the same semiconductor line also had died of leukemia. The taxi driver launched a movement demanding the government investigate health risks at Samsung Electronics Co. factories.

When Hwang sued after his claim for government compensation was denied, he struggled to get details about the factory environment. Samsung did not release that information to worker-safety officials.

An Associated Press investigation has found South Korean authorities have repeatedly withheld from workers and bereaved families crucial information about chemicals used at Samsung's computer chip and liquid crystal display factories. Sick workers need access to such data through the government or courts to apply for workers' compensation. Without it, government rejections are common.

In at least six cases involving 10 workers, the justification for withholding the information was trade secrets.

South Korean law bars government agencies from withholding public health and safety-related information because of trade-secrets concerns, but there are no penalties for violations.

Samsung no longer omits lists of chemicals used on production lines from reports, as it did in Hwang Yu-mi's case. But officials have withheld details about exposure levels and how chemicals are managed.

"Our fight is often against trade secrets. Any contents that may not work in Samsung's favor were deleted as trade secrets," said Lim Ja-woon, a lawyer for 15 sick Samsung workers.

Lim's clients have been unable to see full, third-party reports on factory inspections and have accessed only excerpts of some independent inspections in some court rulings, he said.

Samsung says it has never "intentionally" blocked workers from accessing information and that it is transparent about all chemicals it is required to disclose to the government. It said in a statement that information disclosure was never "illegally prevented."

"We have a right to protect our information from going to a third party," Baik Soo-ha, a Samsung Electronics vice president, said.

Government policies have generally favored Samsung and other corporate conglomerates that powered South Korea's rapid industrialization after the 1950-53 Korean War.

Officials say corporate interests take priority, evaluating trade secrets claims is difficult, and they fear being sued for sharing data against a company's will. "We have to keep secrets that belong to our clients," said Yang Won-baek, of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, or KOSHA.

Samsung has dominated memory-chip makers since the early 1990s. Toxic and often carcinogenic materials are commonly used to produce semiconductors, mobile phones and LCDs, including arsenic, acetone, methane, sulfuric acid and lead.
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Electronic music, duo jazz pianists, one pianist on two pianos, 3D audio, inaudible sound, a video using Kung Fu footage and a dancer performing with an avatar will all be featured in the fall lineup of events and installations announced for EMPAC at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.

The events include the film series for the fall, "Watering the Flowers," which presents works that influenced EMPAC resident artists.

The full schedule is below. For more information, see empac.rpi.edu or call 276-3921:

Through Dec. 31: "SubBassProtoTon," EMPAC director Johannes Goebbel's walk-in bass generator, which physically renders lower-than-audible sound. Mezzanine. Free.

Monday, Aug. 22, through Thursday, Sept. 22: "108 Troubles," installation. EMPAC's new, 496-channel wave-field audio system producing 3D sound. Studio 1  Goodman. Free.

7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1: New video work by San Francisco-based artist and Patricia L Boyd and poet Anne Boyer. Commissioned by EMPAC and grounded in Boyd's research into the exhausting debts paid to capitalism, the video was shot with four cameras and features repetitive gestures by performer Nour Mobarak. Theater. $6.

7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2: "108 Troubles," music/sound performance by RPI composer and professor Rob Hamilton. Inaugural performance of EMPAC's 496-channel wave-field audio system producing 3D sound. Studio 1  Goodman. Free.

8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7: "Three Cases for Amnesia," performance by dancer-choreographer Jonah Bokaer, who will appear alongside a digital avatar mirroring his moves. Theater. $6 RPI student, $13 student and senior, $18 general.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22: "Trois Hommages by Georg Friedrich Haas," simultaneous performance of on two pianos by Chicago's Mabel Kwan, who will record the massively difficult work as part of her EMPAC residency. Concert Hall. $6 RPI student, $13 student and senior, $18 general.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29: "One can make out the surface only by placing any dark-colored object on the ground," performance/film by Hannah Rickards, who uses navigational techniques to choreograph two live performers and a camera. Studio 1  Goodman. $6 RPI student, $10 senior and RPI faculty and staff, $12 general.

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6: Electronic music by artist Lapalux, the London producer who takes inspiration from the hypnogogic limbo between sleep and waking. Studio 1  Goodman. $6 RPI student, $13 student and senior, $18 general.

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13: "Return of the Electric Love (Take II)," talk and film/video by Hudson-based artist Ephraim Asili, whose film  a sequel to a movie he made and then lost in transit  incorporates found footage of Kung Fu movies. Concert Hall. $6.

7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27: "Hypercube," talk and film/video by Charles Atlas. Discussion and screening of Andrzej Sekula's "Cube2: Hypercube" and other films related to the development of "Tesseract," Atlas' work-in-progress to debut at EMPAC in January. Theater. $6.

8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29: Performance by Albany-born Vijay Iyer and Detroit native Craig Taborn, experimental jazz pianists. Concert Hall. $6-$18. ($50 for ticket plus three-course dinner with wine at Evelyn's Cafe in EMPAC. For reservations, call 276-3921.)

9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4: Electronic music/sound by Jlin and Qrion, producers and recording artists hailing from Gary, Ind., and Sapporo, Japan, respectively. Studio 1  Goodman. $6 RPI student, $13 student and senior, $18 general.

7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10: "The Unreliable Narrator," talk and film/video by Los Angeles' Martine Syms, who's in residence at EMPAC to shoot a feature-length project with a 360-degree camera rig. Theater. $6.

7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1: "Magic Electronics," performance, talk and film/video by French artist and EMPAC resident Laure Prouvost in conversation with EMPAC curator Victoria Brooks. Theater. Free.

8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9: "Ipsa Dixit," performance of six-movement chamber music/theatrical work composed by Kate Soper. Percussion, flute, violin and voice in music mixed with elements of Greek theater and other text. Theater. $6-$18.

abiancolli@timesunion.com  518-454-5439  @AmyBiancolli
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HUDSON  A Columbia County jury Wednesday found four people guilty of sexually abusing four children, prosecutors said.

Goliath VanAlphen of Claverack was convicted of four counts of predatory sexual assault of a child, the top count of the indictment, as well as other charges, Assistant District Attorney Ryan Carty said.

His ex-wife Jeanine VanAlphen-Moot of Hillsdale, her brother-in-law Eugene Shackleton of Copake and her brother William Wendover of Cairo were each convicted of two counts of predatory sexual assault of a child, Carty said.

The trial began July 26 before Judge Richard M. Koweek and ended Wednesday afternoon.

Sentencing will be Oct. 18. Carty said they face at least 10 years in prison.

The four were indicted on 58 counts in December 2014 after a two-year investigation. The trial covered about two dozen counts.
Malta

The town Planning Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall.

According to the town website, items on the agenda are:

A site plan amendment from Arnoff Global Logistics for a 20,320-square-foot addition to 1 Racemark Way, for the use of relocating its operations. The plan includes changes to on-site traffic and parking, a new parking lot, signs, landscaping and stormwater management.

A public hearing will be held on a subdivision application by Linda Casse at 203 Ruhle Road that includes 17 single-family homes with common open space areas on a 33-acre parcel.

Mangino's Restaurant on Route 9P proposes a 4-lot subdivision of lands containing 2.6 acres. A dwelling on Lot #3 will be razed.
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ALBANY  State Police said a Rotterdam man hit multiple cars before abandoning his vehicle on the shoulder of I-90.

Troopers located Aaron Merritt, who traveled by foot through the woods to Central Avenue, after he left his car. Merritt had a blood-alcohol content of 0.18 percent, State Police said.
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Baltimore

With startling statistics, a federal investigation of the Baltimore Police Department documents in 164 single-spaced pages what black residents have been saying for years: They are routinely singled out, roughed up or otherwise mistreated by officers, often for no reason.

The 15-month Justice Department probe was prompted by the death of Freddie Gray, the black man whose fatal neck injury in the back of a police van touched off the worst riots in Baltimore in decades. To many people, the blistering report issued Wednesday was familiar reading.

Danny Marrow, a retired food service worker, said that over the years, he has been stopped repeatedly by police for no good reason.

"It started when I was 8 years old and they'd say, with no probable cause, 'Hey, come here. Where are you going?'" he said. "No cause, just the color of my skin."

"Bullies in the workplace," he said. "They don't want you to get angry or challenge their authority, so they'll use force, they'll put the handcuffs on too tight. And if you run, they're going to beat you up when they catch you."

The Justice Department looked at hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, including internal affairs files and data on stops, searches and arrests.

It found that one African-American man was stopped 30 times in less than four years and never charged. Of 410 people stopped at least 10 times from 2010 to 2015, 95 percent were black. During that time, no one of any other race was stopped more than 12 times.

With the release of the report, the city agreed to negotiate with the Justice Department a set of police reforms over the next few months to fend off a government lawsuit. The reforms will be enforceable by the courts.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Kevin Davis acknowledged the long-standing problems and said they had started improvements even before the report was completed. They promised it will serve as a blueprint for sweeping changes.

"Fighting crime and having a better, more respectful relationship with the community are not mutually exclusive endeavors. We don't have to choose one or the other. We're choosing both. It's 2016," said Davis, who was appointed after the riots in April 2015.

Six officers, three white and three black, were charged in Gray's arrest and death. The case collapsed without a single conviction, though it did expose a lack of training within the department.

Calvin Void, 45, said Wednesday that he was once tackled by a police officer who was convinced he had just participated in a drug deal. But when the officer checked his pockets, he found no cash or drugs. Still, Void was arrested.

"He smacked me in the head with his walkie-talkie," Void said, motioning to a patch of discolored skin on his scalp. "And he said if I reported him I couldn't come around here anymore because he'd jump out and whip my ass. It made me frightened."
Bristol, Va.

On the defensive once again, Donald Trump is blaming faulty interpretations and media bias for an uproar over his comments about the Second Amendment. He's insisting he never advocated violence against Hillary Clinton, even as undeterred Democrats pile on.

The latest controversy to strike Trump's campaign arose, as they often do, out of an offhand quip at a boisterous campaign rally. Claiming falsely that Clinton wants to revoke the right to gun ownership guaranteed in the Constitution's Second Amendment, Trump said there would be "nothing you can do," if she's elected, to stop her from stacking the Supreme Court with anti-gun justices.

Then he added ambiguously: "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is  I don't know. But I'll tell you what: that will be a horrible day."

Was Trump suggesting gun owners take matters into their own hands if Clinton wins the White House? Or was he merely musing about the indisputably powerful influence of the gun lobby?

Like so many times before, Trump's supporters and opponents construed his comments in entirely different ways.

"Give me a break," Trump said hours later, insisting he was referring to the power that voters hold. He told Fox News that "there can be no other interpretation."

But Democrats saw  and seized  an opportunity to reinforce the perception that Trump can't moderate the things that come out of his mouth, much less the decisions he'd make as president.

"I really, frankly couldn't believe he said it," said Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. "Nobody who is seeking a leadership position, especially the presidency, the leadership of the country, should do anything to countenance violence, and that's what he was saying."

By Tuesday evening, Clinton's campaign was fundraising off the firestorm, asking supporters by email to chip in $1 to "show that we don't tolerate this kind of politics in America." Trump's team, too, was using the controversy to reinforce a theme it's been pitching to voters: that an underdog Trump is being unfairly treated by the media.

"They will buy any line, any distortion, and spin that the Clintons put out," said former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, an ardent Trump supporter.

But House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was celebrating a primary victory in Wisconsin Tuesday night, said: "It sounds like just a joke gone bad. I hope they clear this up very quickly. You never joke about something like that."

The controversy immediately overwhelmed Trump's intended campaign-trail focus: the economic plan he unveiled just a day earlier and was promoting during rallies in the most competitive election states. It also underscored the concern, voiced by many worried Republicans, that he cannot stay disciplined and avoid inflammatory remarks that imperil not only his White House prospects but the re-election chances of many Republican lawmakers.

For Trump, the next opportunity to shift themes was to come Wednesday when he holds a pair of rallies in Abington, Va., and in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Clinton, fresh off her own campaign swing in Florida, planned to spend the day in the battleground state of Iowa, where she will tour a Des Moines T-shirt shop and hold a rally.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Trump's latest stumble would continue to dog him or whether, like many in the past, it would quickly fade away. In Ohio, a competitive state coveted by both candidates, Trump's comments struck some of those questioned in a focus group of voters the wrong way.

"Maybe I'm hearing it wrong, but sounds like he's basically saying take her out," said Julie B., an office administrator and married mother of two who was identified only by her first name and last initial.
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Albany

SUNY Polytechnic Institute is merging its two real estate development entities  Fuller Road Management Corp. and Fort Schuyler Management Corp.  into one operation.

A merger would streamline the commercial development activities of SUNY Poly, which have come under scrutiny as part of a larger statewide probe by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's economic development projects.

Fuller Road Management Corp. was created when SUNY Poly was part of the University at Albany as a way to create research centers at what was then known as Albany NanoTech.

Fuller Road Management, a nonprofit, owned the real estate and entered into contracts with corporate tenants at a time when SUNY schools were not allowed to do so.

The structure was key to developing research partnerships between the high-tech sector and academia that came to define the SUNY Poly model.

SUNY Poly then created Fort Schuyler Management Corp. to do the same with projects it was planning in Utica at SUNY IT, which later was merged with SUNY Poly into one school.

The two entities are also used to finance the projects. For instance Fuller Road has issued bonds to raise capital, along with getting traditional bank loans.

Fort Schuyler Management has also been used by SUNY Poly to expand and replicate the SUNY Poly model in other upstate cities. Cuomo promoted its use, and used Fort Schuyler Management for most of what has been called the Buffalo Billion  a massive construction effort by the state in Buffalo that includes construction of a $900 million solar panel factory to be run by SolarCity.

Bharara's investigation appears to have first focused on the Buffalo Billion and has since expanded to include other SUNY Poly sites.

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SUNY Poly has since beefed up its corporate governance of both Fuller Road Management and Fort Schuyler Management, adding more independent board members and opening up its meetings to the public. It has also put in place new guidelines for awarding bids to contractors.

At the Fuller Road Management board meeting on May 4, board members discussed the merger of Fuller Road Management and Fort Schuyler Management, an idea that SUNY Poly officials first floated back at the beginning of the year.

It is unclear when the merger will take place, but the idea would appear to make sense, especially since the two entities, which essentially do the same activities, have separate boards and separate meetings.

It was also noted the move will save SUNY Poly a considerable amount of money and would allow SUNY Poly to convert bonds that were used to build the school's new $192 million ZEN building to tax exempt status, which would reduce interest on the bonds by $800,000.

lrulison@timesunion.com  518-454-5504  @larryrulison
The barest details of Diane Cameron's latest book are shocking enough. It is a story about the World War II-era veteran who killed his wife and mother-in-law and then, years later, married Cameron's mother.

These facts Cameron found out when her mother returned from her honeymoon. Florence Oklota didn't tell her five grown children about her new husband's past until after she married him.

But the author didn't learn the details about Donald Watkins' life until after he and her mother died. The story of how trauma undoes a person and how the horrors of war leave an indelible mark on all its witnesses is the subject of Cameron's "Never Leave Your Dead: A True Story of War Trauma, Murder, and Madness."

The book took Cameron 20 years to write. She dove deep into research after she first wrote about Donald and she realized the dates she had for the murder of his first wife and mother-in-law didn't add up. Donald killed them in 1953, 14 years after he was discharged from the Marines. Cameron learned that because of a breakdown he suffered while stationed in China, he was in a mental hospital for seven years after he was discharged. She realized Donald was a "China Marine," the name of the Marines who were sent to China before Pearl Harbor, before the United States officially entered World War II. She uncovered the Donald's diagnosis  called dementia praecox then, schizophrenia now  through the lens of today's research into how trauma affects the brain and the body. Donald didn't get the help he needed at the mental hospital; it made him worse, Cameron realized.

More Information Book events Diane Cameron What: Cameron will read from her book "Never Leave Your Dead: A True Story of War Trauma, Murder, and Madness," available at local bookstores and on Amazon.com. When: 6 p.m., Sept. 28 Where: Guilderland Public Library, Guilderland What: Cameron will participate in A Writing Workshop: Trauma, Healing and Faith. When: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 6 Where: The Interfaith Center at the University at Albany See More Collapse

The author's research also gave her an education in military history and culture  particularly that of the Marines. When she realized Donald had likely been a witness to the Rape of Nanking, when Japanese soldiers savaged, raped and murdered as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians, she started looking for other Marines from the same era. She found men who could explain what life would have been like for Donald and what he saw.

But none of them came home and killed people they loved. Cameron then talked to psychiatrists and experts on trauma. She learned about moral injury, "which occurs when soldiers look at their behavior in a negative way because they believe they have violated their core moral beliefs." It happens when they participate in or fail to stop atrocity."

She attended a Veterans, Trauma and Treatment conference and learned for every one or two soldiers who die in combat, 16 will die in suicide. She learned, most of all, that trauma is difficult to treat.

Cameron writes in her book, "When we look at the scattered pieces of trauma in one person's life, we have to remember that it's not as simple as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle lying on a flat surface that might, with therapy and time, be coaxed into place. No, trauma is more of a three-dimensional puzzle with some of the pieces permanently lost."

Donald was found to be insane in 1953 and never went to trial for killing his first wife and mother-in-law. Instead, he was sent to Farview State Hospital outside of Philadelphia. He was released after 22 years through the work of two young law students, who argued successfully Donald's civil rights had been violated.

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A year later, widespread torture, starvation, rape and the murder of patients by guards was uncovered by Philadelphia Inquirer reporters. Nine years after his release, Donald met Cameron's mother. They were married for 10 years, a union Cameron said was happy, loving and fun.

"I saw my mother through a split screen. On the one side I thought it was amazing she could set aside his past. On the other, I thought she was crazy to marry Donald."

Whether or not Cameron's mother would come to regret marrying Donald is a twist the author saves for later in her fascinating story.

lhornbeck@timesunion.com  518-454-5352  @leighhornbeck
Pairing Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's flamboyant and seductive prints of Paris nightlife with Ansel Adams' American wilderness photographs seems a bit of stretch  even preposterous. What could they have in common?

Colorful prints of the fin de siecle singing, cavorting and cackling in smoke-and-absinthe-filled cabarets adjacent to bold, black-and-white pictures depicting vast open spaces is more than just a contrast: You'd be hard -pressed to find two artists and subjects more different.

The two main summer exhibits at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, "Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Bohemian Paris" and "Ansel Adams: Early Works," present a conundrum of bringing opposites together. Although not in the same gallery, they're only a few steps away from each other, begging the comparison.

In Toulouse-Lautrec's ubiquitous 1890s "Belle Epoque" series documenting the lively Montmartre neighborhood in Paris during the 1890s at places like Moulin Rouge, you won't find a patch of green. For Adams, who is in the pantheon of American landscape artists, working in the 20th century when photography truly comes of age, there isn't a single human.

More Information If you go "Toulouse-Lautrec in Bohemian Paris," "Ansel Adams: Early Works" and "James McNeill Whistler: The Perfection of Harmony." Where: Fenimore Art Museum, 5798 Route 80, Cooperstown When: Through Oct. 10 Hours: Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost: Adults and juniors (13-64) $12; seniors (65+) $10.50; children (12 and under) free Info: (607) 547-1400; fenimoremuseum.org See More Collapse

Yet the exhibits feed off each other in a surprising way. Add the evocative James McNeill Whistler, with an intimate, introspective exhibit of the 19th-century artist in the upstairs gallery, and things get interesting. There's an underlying creative tension between all of them, as if virtuosos playing the same concert hall at the same time.

Tucked away in the label texts is their connection. Toulouse-Lautrec describes music as the underlying theme that sparks his creativity, while Adams, an accomplished pianist in his youth, writes "Nature contains the elements, in colour and form, of all pictures, as the keyboard contains notes in music."

It is their musicality that binds them together. Flings of the shoulder, the angle of a leg, a wry facial gesture, all in simple lines on paper, yields the infectious movement and tone underscoring Toulouse-Lautrec's staying power. On the other hand, Adams has peaks providing the altos, with angular rock ledges the bass line, and jagged-ice formations the crescendos.

Meanwhile, the Whistler exhibit, aptly titled "The Perfection of Harmony," is a soothing bridge between Toulouse-Lautrec and Adams. His impressionistic brushstrokes of water and buildings, with some humans, have an ethereal quality that induces more contemplation than his counterparts' flashy and bold realisma refreshing interlude.

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This musical motif is enhanced by a rousing production of "La Boheme'' at nearby Glimmerglass Music Festival. Several years ago, Glimmerglass and the Fenimore began to collaborate by tying one exhibit with one performance each year. This year, Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition includes ''La Boheme'' costumes from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

All of the exhibits have a few stars, but, for the most part, they offer glimpses into each artist's process through drawings and sketches, rather than the big hits. There's Toulouse-Lautrec's "Jane Avril" and "Mary Belfour," while "Yosemite" and "Moonrise, Hernandez" shine for Adams. It's Whistler at his best in "The Guidecca ; Note in Fresh Colour" (1879-80), with its masterly use of light in measured dollops to seep through the scene instead of overtaking it.

All three exhibitions are strong in their own right. They're not designed to be retrospective or major surveys, but small slivers of the artists' works based on a single collection, either from a museum or private holdings. They're inherently quirky. By putting them together, the curators have enhanced their individuality through their diverse companions.

Tim Kane is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.
Actress Annie Golden is "a woman of a certain age" and she's not afraid to say it.

Golden is 64, to be exact. That's the kind of information that often disqualifies women from work on the stage or screen.

Maybe it's because Golden's so busy lately that she's so frank and open about things. Today, Golden is rather easily recognized for her part as the mute character Norma in the hit Netflix series "Orange is the New Black." Beyond that, her list of movie and TV credits is long and starts with the 1979 film "Hair" and also includes recurring roles in "Miami Vice" and "Cheers."

Golden has been spending a good chunk of her summer in the Berkshires, where she's set to star in "Broadway Bounty Hunter." The show, with music and lyrics by Joe Iconis, opens at Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, Mass., on Friday and runs through Sept. 4.

More Information If you go "Broadway Bounty Hunter" When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Friday and continues through Sept. 4. Where: Barrington Stage Company, St. Germain Stage, 36 Linden St., Pittsfield, Mass. Tickets: $45-$52. Call (413) 236-8888. Or visit: www.barringtonstageco.org See More Collapse

The musical was written specifically as a vehicle for Golden. But the creators didn't tell her that when they asked her to come over and read through a couple of songs.

"They called me at home in Brooklyn and asked if they could play me something, saying that they wanted my input as a stage veteran," recalls Golden. "Joe played the opening song 'Woman of A Certain Age,' and another called 'Spin Those Records.' Then they handed me some pages and told me to read the part of Annie Golden. What a gift, honor and blessing!"

That was back in 2012 and the material has been workshopped and developed at a number of venues during the ensuing years. The Barrington Stage production, directed by Julianne Boyd, is billed as the world premiere.

The show's a spoof of the so-called "blaxploitation" films that came mostly from the 1970s. The breakthrough hit of that genre was "Shaft."

Golden puts the whole movement into context: "People weren't getting hired by conservative or conventional studies to have their screenplays produced or to direct films. So they started a separatist genre with black detectives and inner city urban story lines about drug lords and slumlords and drug trafficking. There were black heroes and women who were badass. They were superstars."

"Broadway Bounty Hunter" brings that look and feel to the stage and places at the center of the action Annie Golden  who's white.

"They're putting Annie Golden in a movie that should star Foxy Brown," she explains. "It's sweet and funny."

Apart from the race switch, there's also the age factor.

According to Golden, a current trend in Broadway casting is that one female actor is hired to take on several roles, usually of varying ages. With proper makeup, a younger actress can also play older. But the reverse is not so easily achieved.

"Everyone says 'a woman of a certain age.' That's the code for you've peaked, your creative juices have dried up, your opportunities have passed you by," says Golden. "Then there's the silver haired foxes. No one says he's an actor of a certain age."

It's become a familiar complaint that leading film roles for middle-aged women are rare to nonexistent. But maybe things are changing, at least when it comes to featured roles in TV and theater.

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"The creators of 'Orange' use women of all shapes and sizes and colors and complexions and body types," says Golden. "And it's now become a kind of movement. The first time I noticed it was on the Dove soap commercial where they show all these women, young, middle aged and older. And they all use Dove."

Good skin is nice, but you can go to the bank with steady work. And Golden isn't complaining about her schedule. Nor are the many women who've gotten work and notoriety through "Orange Is the New Black."

Now filming its fifth season, the show is a kind of soap opera that's set in a women's prison. Golden's part, though not featured in every episode, is still a standout because the character doesn't speak.

"Playing the role is a gift and a challenge," she says. "It's a silent screen performance and is really quiet stunning."

Golden has the same enthusiasm for "Broadway Bounty Hunter" and her future prospects on the stage.

"I have my foot firmly in the door of brilliant young writers who will always need the spinster aunt or the nosy neighbor lady," she says. "Those are good roles that are age-appropriate."

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.
An allegation of bullying at St Patrick's College, Thurles some decades ago, by an anonymous source, will not damage the reputation of the third level institution which has just merged with Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, writes Noel Dundon.

The College enjoys a fine reputation locally and nationally and while most people accept that life in the former seminary was tough, there is also a widely held perception that student priests received very appropriate formation in advance of their Ordination.

When it ceased as a seminary fourteen years ago, due in the main to dwindling numbers of student priests, St Patrick's College had prepared more than 1,500 priests for Ordination.

A large number of former students of the college became priests and bishops in other countries as was the focus of the seminary for many years, such as Dr. James Byrne (Toowoomba, Australia), Dr. Lawrence Scanlan (Bishop of Salt Lake City), Dr. John Cantwell (first Archbishop of Los Angeles) and Dr. Thomas Flanagan (Bishop of San Antonio).

Others associated with Irish parishes include Archbishop of Cashel & Emly Dr Thomas Morris DD, Bishops Dr. Michael Russell, former Professor of Moral Theology as well as vice-president, and former college president Dr. William Lee of Waterford. Bishop Thomas Quinlan of Borrisoleigh spent over four years in the College before joining the Columban Missionary Society.

Canon John Hayes the founder of Muintir na Tire studied in Thurles for a time. John Finucane, Home Rule MP for East County Limerick from 1885 to 1900 studied at the college, taking first honours in rhetoric, logic and metaphysic. The Nationalist MP for Tipperary South from 1900-1918 John Cullinan also studied at the college.

Current President, Rev Fr Tom Fogarty, who has just been appointed to the parish of Moycarkey Borris following the merger between St Patrick's and Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, is also a past pupil.

From 2011, teaching degree programmes at St. Patrick's College were accredited by the University of Limerick, and graduates from 2012 onwards were awarded degrees from the University. The degrees awarded were BEd with Irish and Religious Studies and BEd with Business Studies and Religious Studies. Graduates were registered with the Teaching Council of Ireland and were qualified to teach to Leaving Certificate standard.

And, in September 2015 a new deal was agreed which now sees the 3rd level institution work with Mary Immaculate College in becoming a linked provider to the Limerick Centre of Excellence. The incorporation into Mary Immaculate sees the college re-branded as MIC St. Patricks Campus, Thurles.

Under Fr Fogarty's watch the college has flourished and is now a bustling hub af academic endeavour. Over recent years refurbishments have taken place to lecture halls, tutorial rooms, library, old research library, computing facilities, playing pitch and the Refectory as well as to the colleges retreat and conference facilities, making St Patrick's an ultra-modern centre nestling in the distinguished surrounds of the heart of Thurles town.

Following the closure of the seminary in 2002, St Patrick's College continued to function as a centre for theological, pastoral and spiritual renewal in the archdioceses of Cashel and Emly.

The College, founded in 1837 has enjoyed tremendous support in the local community and has been opened up in recent years with many local events taking place there. It's reputation remains intact as a new chapter in it's history begins with Mary Immaculate College.

The college has been a real focal point in Thurles for generations and has evolved with, and reacted to, the changing times. It remains an educational beacon of the highest repute, a source said
Irelands largest privately owned Builders Merchant group, HPC Group, has recently acquired Cahir based JP Corry, previously trading as Lonergan Hardware, securing 10 jobs with further growth expected in the coming months.

Bringing together the extensive experience of Home Project Centre and JP Corry, formerly Lonergans, the acquisition ensures that customers will continue to enjoy excellent customer service whilst also availing of new product ranges and the latest industry innovations at affordable prices.

Lonergans was established in 1978 by John Lonergan and was taken over by his son, Paul, in 1994.

The store was re-branded as JP Corry in 2007 following a buy-out. JP Corry, Cahir, will now trade as TJ OMahony, a well-known Builders Merchant which currently operates three locations in Dublin as part of the HPC Group.

The OMahony brand is synonymous with the supply of quality timber and building materials to the building trade and home improvement sector for almost sixty years.

Speaking about the recent acquisition, Cahir store manager Pat Power said: I am really looking forward to working with the other 11 branches in the HPC Group.

Since the acquisition, we have reintroduced strong industry brands which were welcomed by our customers immediately. Thanks to the buying power of TJ OMahony and exclusive partnerships with key suppliers, we can continue to provide our customers with wider choice, value and expertise.

Dennis OConnor, Commercial Director of HPC Group, added: We are delighted to extend the famous TJ OMahony service to new customers in the South. New jobs will be created in Heating and Plumbing, Paint Centres and our showrooms in the coming months as part of our renovation plans for the Cahir store. www.tjomahony.ie or call the Cahir branch (052) 7441452.
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The parish of Nenagh was in mourning this Thursday with the news of the passing of much-loved priest Fr Dan Fitzgerald.

Fr Dan, who was in his 101st year, died on August 8 in Dalgan Park, where he was retired.

Fr Dan, a Columban, was originally from Cork and had served in the Columban missions in China, Australia and Scotland. He came to Nenagh in 1988.

He was well known through his visits to the sick at Nenagh Hospital, cheering up the patients with his joy and great sense of humour. He celebrated his 100th birthday earlier this summer in Dalgan Park surrounded by family, friends and his Columban confreres.

Fr Dan, who was born in Cork City in 1916, was educated by the Christian Brothers, and in St Columbans, Dalgan Park (then sited in County Galway), before he was ordained at Christmas in 1939.

His first missionwsa to the Phillippines in 1940, but the outbreak of World War II meant he couldn't travel.

Eventually he was given a temporary appointment in the Cork diocese as chaplain to the Maria Reparatrix nuns.

Towards the end of the War, he was assigned to Nottingham diocese, before finally his opportunity to go on the missions arrived in the summer of 1946.

Ten places had been secured on a troop transport to Hong Kong, and Fr Dan was accompanied by four Columban priests and five Columban Sisters.

They travelled on a coaster to Shanghai, where the Sisters were allocated to a school. Fr Dan and two other priests were assigned to the Diocese of Hanyang.

The only way of getting to that part of China was by the Yangtse river, he once recalled, and the three of us went up the river on a US Navy landing craft.

When Mao Tse-tungs Red Army took over in 1949, bit by bit they confiscated the diocesan property. He was expelled from China in 1952.

Fr Dan is reposing in St Columban's, Dalgan park, this Thursday at 7.30pm. His funeral is due to take place following concelebrated Requiem Mass this Friday at 11am, with burial after in the community's cemetery.

His death was regretted by the Fitzgerald and Burke families as well as his great friend, Sr Damien Rooney, the Comumba sisters, Magheramore and his confreres.
[August 11, 2016] BIZERBA Canada Announces Growth with the Expansion to New Office

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Aug. 11, 2016 /CNW/ -- Continuing to strive for excellence and to meet the growing needs of its customers; Bizerba Canada made the move to 6411 Edwards Blvd, Mississauga, Ontario. The new facility will increase Bizerba Canada's capacities for customer service and support. It also brings about unique opportunities to expand its sales and leadership in the region. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony coincided with Bizerba's 150th anniversary. Showing his commitment to family values, his employees, and the company, Mr. Andreas Kraut, owner and Executive Board Chair Bizerba GmbH, shared in the celebrations with local management, staff, several close customers and suppliers as well as many local, provincial, and international officials. The day was filled with tours around the new offices, a German inspired lunch and several speeches, including one from Michael Lauber, Deputy Consul General of the German Consulate The event also marked the 30th anniversary of Ian Longley, Vice President Bizerba Canada. "When I started with the company we were a very small office. Since then we have grown tremendously and we are all proud to have this new facility to continue to deliver outstanding work for our clients and allow our team to keep growing."



Bizerba Canada has shown considerable growth in all areas of its business, including Retail Scales, Food Processing, Weigh-Price-Labeling, Industrial Scales, Software and Labels which has demanded this expansion project. "We are honored to celebrate Bizerba's 150 anniversary here in Canada today and this expansion is a prime example of Bizerba's continuous growth over the years. We are and will be dedicated to provide great products, extraordinary value and outstanding customer service." Robert Slykhuis, CEO North America. About Bizerba:



Bizerba offers its customers in industry, trade, and logistics; a globally unique solutions portfolio of hardware and software around the central value "weight". This portfolio includes products and solutions related to slicing, processing, weighing, cashing, checking, commissioning and labeling. Bizerba's complete portfolio spans a wide range of services from consulting and technical support to labels and consumables and leasing. Press contact: Claudia Hennig

Marketing Manager, North America

Bizerba North America

5200 Anthony Road

Sandston, VA 23150

T: 804-822-3933

[email protected]

www.bizerba.com This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com SOURCE Bizerba Canada

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Bynder Puts Branding Automation on the Map with $22.3 Million (20M) in Series A Funding

Bynder, the branding automation company, today announces $22.3m (20m) in Series A funding from Insight Venture Partners, a New York-based venture capital and private equity firm.

The funding is a milestone for the 'branding automation' category as marketers seek a solution to deliver brand consistency across all channels and international markets at the touch of a button. The capital will be used to continue international growth and to support further product development enabling brands globally to easily create, find and use digital content. Jeff Horing, Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners will join the company's Board of Directors.

Global brands are experiencing exponential demand for more content across increasingly automated channels in order to meet business goals. Research shows that 50% of marketers have more digital content than they can effectively manage at the moment, and over half (53%) spend more time on the operational details of managing content, rather than aligning their daily tactics to business strategy.

Bynder develops marketing software that empowers marketers to easily create, find and use their content. Through an intuitive, customized online portal, marketing departments and their agencies are able to collaborate from any location, anytime in order to create, deign, share and approve collateral, as well as reshape graphics and videos. In addition, Bynder's solution is a trusted and secure host for intellectual property.







Chris Hall (News - Alert), Founder and CEO of Bynder comments, "What Salesforce did for sales tech, Bynder can do for brands. The cloud is allowing marketers to work faster and smarter, freeing up time for creative and strategic initiatives instead of repetitive administrative tasks. Branding automation lets marketers respond to real-time issues because there is a foundation for brand materials, which is accessible and consistent across the business. This new category of Mar-Tech will be a game changer for any brand."

With headquarters in Amsterdam, the platform services over 150,000 users across more than 350 brands around the globe including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Logitech (News - Alert) and AkzoNobel. Recently, the company has seen increased innovation in product development and has doubled its headcount for its research and development and customer success teams. Overall staff levels have increased from 1 to 200 in just three years. In June, Bynder announced its newest office in Dubai to support continued growth within the Middle East and its growing customer base in the region.

Hall adds, "Starting out as a small European business, we had to concentrate on the fundamentals: developing a great product; looking after our people; and running a tight ship. There's a shifting tide in investment towards rewarding closely managed businesses and there's no doubt that's been our focus from the outset. We can now use this investment to accelerate profitable growth."

"Bynder is a clear innovator in the branding automation market," said Jeff Horing, Managing Director, Insight Venture Partners. "We share their vision for comprehensive brand management technology that enables teams to seamlessly communicate as they create content. We are pleased to partner with Bynder's executive leadership team in this new phase of growth."

About Bynder

Bynder is award-winning marketing software that allows brands to easily create, find and use content, such as documents, graphics and videos. More than 150,000 brand managers, marketers and creatives use Bynder's brand portals every day to collaborate globally, produce, review and approve new marketing collateral, and circulate company content at the click of a button. Brands using Bynder go to market faster and achieve end-to-end brand consistency across all channels and regions, with simplified collaboration across the organization.

Bynder delivers the most advanced branding automation solution, empowering over 350 companies globally including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Logitech, and Puma.

Founded in 2013 by CEO Chris Hall, Bynder is established globally with headquarters in Amsterdam and offices across the Netherlands, UK, US, Spain and UAE.

About Insight Venture Partners

Insight Venture Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight has raised more than $13 billion and invested in more than 250 companies worldwide. Our mission is to find, fund and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on growth expertise to foster long-term success. For more information on Insight and all of its investments, visit http://www.insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert): @insightpartners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160810006237/en/
[August 11, 2016] CirraGroup and Lafayette General Health Help Tackle the U.S. Medical Debt Crisis

CirraGroup, the first crowdsourced medical debt settlement solution, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Lafayette General Health system (LGH; Lafayette, LA) for its Debt Resolution Platform. Today, one in four Americans are covered by a high deductible health plan, and half of them cannot afford to pay. As of Q1-2016, 51% of patients owed more than $1,000 to providers and 77% owed more than $500. A December 2015 Google (News - Alert) Consumer Survey reported that 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts "With an increasing number of patients having high deductible health plans, medical debt resolution is now at the forefront of many medical practices," states David L. Callecod, FACHE, President of Lafayette General Health. "We believe CirraGroup's Debt Resolution Platform will help us improve patient communication across our network of hospitals and conveniently settle outstanding patient balances." "Considering that 80 million Americans are covered by a high deductible health plan puts patients at the center of the complicated healthcare revenue cycle," says Mark Fontenot, CEO of CirraGroup. "These plans are shifting the cost to patients and between 2014 and 2015, the average deductible and out-of-pocket expenses increased 13%. CirraGroup's innovative solutions create a new healthcare accounts receivable marketplace that aggregates providers and their patients with the objective of helping to resolve medical debt." CirraGroup's implementation of its Debt Resolution Platform with Lafayette General Health will benefit their patients as well as LGH's network of hospitals and physicians. During healthcare encounters, patients are made aware of their outstanding medical balances and given opportunities to view and settle their debt, with options for financing. For more information, please visit www.cirragroup.com.



About U.S. Medical Debt Today, medical debt is an all too often occurrence coinciding with the popularity of high deductible insurance plans, which are causing many patients to incur out-of-pocket liabilities. As healthcare costs are increasingly shifted to patients, there is a corresponding decrease in a patient's propensity for out-of-pocket payments, resulting in increasing medical debt. The 2016 Kaiser Family Foundation - NY Times survey found that 1 in 5 (20%) working-age Americans (18-64; 200 million) with insurance report having problems paying medical bills in the past year. According to a December 2014 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 43 million Americans have delinquent medical debt on their credit reports, which translates to about 1 in 5 credit reports. Medical bills account for 52% of all overdue debt that shows up on credit reports.

About CirraGroup CirraGroup's mission is to connect providers and their patients to help understand and resolve their medical debts using our innovative solutions. Our proprietary platforms harness the power of crowdsourcing to assist patients and providers with resolving financial obligations in a secure, compliant, and dignified environment. CirraGroup's cloud-based suite of applications provides a convenient and cost-effective solution to the growing medical debt problem. CirraGroup is backed by a strategic investment from Lafayette General Health Innovation Fund. About Lafayette General Health Lafayette General Health (LGH) is a non-profit, community-owned regional healthcare system committed to always delivering excellence. LGH serves the south-central region of Louisiana by aligning with facilities across a 10-parish area known as Acadiana. LGH's flagship hospital, Lafayette General Medical Center, in operation since 1911, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that does not pay out any revenue to shareholders as for-profits do. LGH also owns or manages Lafayette General Surgical Hospital, Lafayette General Southwest, St. Martin Hospital, University Hospital & Clinics, Acadia General Hospital and Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital, and has several affiliations with facilities across the region. Both Lafayette General Medical Center and University Hospital & Clinics are major teaching hospitals, providing graduate medical education across many disciplines. LGH owns LGMD, a non-profit corporation that operates and manages several physician clinics including Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, as well as many specialists and surgeons. In 2015, LGH offered community benefits in excess of $250 million. LGH property and assets total nearly $500 million, employing approximately 4,000 staff. For more information about LGH and its affiliates, visit LafayetteGeneral.com. For further information about CirraGroup, please see our website at www.cirragroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005197/en/

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[August 11, 2016] iBIO Institute's PROPEL Center Awards Grants to 6 Illinois MedTech Companies for AdvaMed 2016

The PROPEL Center of the iBIO Institute, dedicated to increasing the number and success rate of early-stage life sciences companies in Illinois, announced today that it has awarded 6 grants to help Illinois entrepreneurs attend AdvaMed 2016: The MedTech Conference in Minneapolis. AdvaMed 2016 is the leading medtech conference in North America, bringing more than 1,000 companies together in a uniquely multifaceted environment for business development, capital formation, innovative technology showcasing, world-class educational opportunities and networking. The Innovation Showcase presents the most promising medical device, diagnostic and digital health technologies to industry leaders and investors at AdvaMed 2016. "3PrimeDx is very excited to be accepted into the AdvaMed 2016 Innovator Showcase and proud to represent the dynamic Illinois healthcare startup community at AdvaMed this year. We expect Innovation Showcase participation to provide another tremendous boost to our mission," said Phil Lefebvre, CEO of 3PrimeDx. "We are honored to receive this grant from PROPEL, another example of its tremendous support of 3PrimeDx." PROPEL awarded grants to help Illinois early-stage medical device and medtech companies participate in the conference's Innovation Showcase, as well as grants to attend the conference itself. In addition to 3PrimeDx, PROPEL grant recipients selected for the Innovation Showcase include Innoblative Designs and Preora Diagnostics. Additional PROPEL companies receiving grants to attend AdvaMed 2016 include Briteseed, Corvida Medical and NovaScan.



"PROPEL's long standing support of the health care innovation ecosystem provides young companies with critical resources to help move innovative technologies forward. Presenting at and attending AdvaMed 2016 is a tremendous networking opportunity in which these companies, investors and business development professionals are able to come together in a focused way," said Kathleen Tune, Partner at Thomas, McNerney & Partners and Co-Chair of the AdvaMed 2016 Business Development Committee. "Early-stage life sciences companies can benefit from the opportunities that AdvaMed 2016 provides, but often the cost of registration seems high to bootstrapping startups," said Barbara Goodman, senior vice president of PROPEL.

"The technologies these companies are developing are shining examples of the innovation we continue to see from Illinois-based businesses, and their attendance at AdvaMed 2016 will surely help them to identify investors as well as learn from and network with industry leaders and peers," said Ashley Wittorf, executive director, AdvaMed Accel. "Opportunities like this are crucial for emerging-growth medtech companies, and we are proud to work with PROPEL to work towards the goals of AdvaMed Accel and the conference." Funding for the PROPEL conference grant program is funded by the Searle Funds of The Chicago Community Trust. PROPEL's active companies raised $50 million 2016 YTD - already surpassing the $45 million raised in all of 2015. Since its launch in 2008, PROPEL has funded over $1 million in grants and awards in programs including AdvaMed registration grants. PROPEL's active portfolio of companies have raised $200 in new funding for every $1 that PROPEL awarded. "PROPEL, through its tiered-programming approach and milestone awards, continues to produce record-setting metrics and outcomes, providing critical and meaningful support to grow early stage companies," said Warren Ribley, iBIO Institute's President & CEO. For more information on PROPEL or the iBIO Institute, visit www.ibioinstitute.org. For more information on AdvaMed 2016, visit www.advamed2016.com. About PROPEL PROPEL is a group of programs aimed at increasing the number and success rate of early-stage life sciences companies in Illinois. PROPEL helps guide the development of formation-stage and early-stage life sciences companies by providing entrepreneurs with access to specialized resources and expertise to prepare them for early-stage funding. PROPEL is a Center of the iBIO Institute. To learn more about PROPEL and its programs, visit www.ibiopropel.org. About iBIO Institute The mission of the iBIO Institute is to orchestrate business leadership in delivery of world-class educational programs and job-creating new technology ventures. The Institute's EDUCATE Center delivers science and math programs for teachers and students, thereby inspiring the next generation of innovators and helping restore America's leadership in technology education. The Institute's PROPEL Center increases the number and success rate of early-stage life sciences companies in Illinois. To learn more about iBIO Institute and its programs, visit www.ibioinstitute.org. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811006040/en/

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[August 11, 2016] InVivo Therapeutics Appoints Pamela Stahl as Chief Commercial Officer

InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV) today announced the appointment of Pamela Stahl to the newly-created position of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), effective September 14, 2016. In this role, she will be responsible for building a comprehensive global commercial strategy that includes developing the company's sales, reimbursement, and marketing strategies across key market segments to ensure a clear path for growth. Prior to joining InVivo, Ms. Stahl served for 10 years in various roles of increasing responsibility at UnitedHealthcare, most recently as Chief Executive Officer, Community Health Plan of Wisconsin. In that role, she was responsible for the largest Medicaid business in the state, providing healthcare benefits and services for over 160,000 Wisconsin residents. Ms. Stahl also held other Senior Vice President roles at UnitedHealthcare with responsibilities for the Office of the Consumer; Sales Operations and Organizational Effectiveness; the Women's Health Line of Service; and Consumer Marketing. Mark Perrin, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, said, "We are delighted to be bringing such an experienced and seasoned leader to InVivo at this pivotal time in the company's history. We are progressing through our clinical development program and it's imperative that we further develop the market for the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold as we look toward commercialization. Pam brings three essential skills and experiences: reimbursement, building commercial organizations, and patient advocacy. She has decades of experience in the industry, having worked at all levels of a commercial organization, and I am confident she will be a tremendous asset to the company." Prior to UnitedHealthcare, Ms. Stahl was Vice President, Sales and Commercial Operations for Orphan Medical, Inc. from 2001 to 2006. She built and supervised a specialty sales force and established the sales operation function, implemented a risk management program, and created the patient affairs department. Before hat, she served as Vice President, Sales and Marketing for American TeleCare, Inc. From 1992 until 2000 she held various sales and marketing roles of increasing responsibility at AstraZeneca, including Regional Marketing Manager, Account Team Leader, Customer Unit Director, Product Optimization Leader, and Regional Sales Director. Ms. Stahl began her sales career at Merck & Co. Inc.



Ms. Stahl has been a contributing member of many organizations including the National Organization for Rare Diseases Corporate Council, National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities, National Stakeholder Workgroup for Childbirth Connection, and the UnitedHealthcare Women's Health Scientific Advisory Board (Chair). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from St. Olaf College. About The INSPIRE Study

The INSPIRE Study: InVivo Study of Probable Benefit of the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold for Safety and Neurologic Recovery in Subjects with Complete Thoracic AIS A Spinal Cord Injury, is designed to demonstrate the safety and probable benefit of the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold for the treatment of complete T2-T12/L1 spinal cord injury in support of a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) application for approval. For more information, refer to https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT02138110. About the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold Implant Following acute spinal cord injury, surgical implantation of the biodegradable Neuro-Spinal Scaffold within the decompressed and debrided injury epicenter is intended to support appositional healing, thereby reducing post-traumatic cavity formation, sparing white matter, and allowing neural regeneration across the healed wound epicenter. The Neuro-Spinal Scaffold, an investigational device, has received a Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation and currently is being evaluated in the INSPIRE pivotal probable benefit study for the treatment of patients with complete (AIS A) traumatic acute spinal cord injury. About InVivo Therapeutics InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. is a research and clinical-stage biomaterials and biotechnology company with a focus on treatment of spinal cord injuries. The company was founded in 2005 with proprietary technology co-invented by Robert Langer, Sc.D., Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Joseph P. Vacanti, M.D., who then was at Boston Children's Hospital and who now is affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2011, the company earned the David S. Apple (News - Alert) Award from the American Spinal Injury Association for its outstanding contribution to spinal cord injury medicine. In 2015, the company's investigational Neuro-Spinal Scaffold received the 2015 Becker's Healthcare Spine Device Award. The publicly-traded company is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. For more details, visit www.invivotherapeutics.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005054/en/

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[August 11, 2016] Jacobs Awarded Contract for Novartis Biotechnology Center Expansion in France

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) announced today it was awarded a contract to expand the Novartis Pharma S.A.S. Biotechnology Center in Huningue, France. Under the terms of the agreement, Jacobs is providing engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services to increase the site's production capacity by 70 percent and create a second line of purification that allows for multiple drugs to be manufactured simultaneously. Already one of the world's largest production facilities for monoclonal antibodies from mammalian cells, the expansion project adds cell culture bioreactors to the site. Jacobs' services are being led from its operations in Milan, Italy. In making the announcement, Jacobs Senior Vice President Life Sciences Robert Norfleet stated, "We look forward to partnering with Novartis on the expansion of its Hningue site. We're proud to have this opportunity to draw on our extensive global EPCM expertise for a project that can help Novartis improve the lives of people who depend on its treatments."



The $100 million expansion project is scheduled to be completed in four years. Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organizations globally. The company employs 60,000 people and operates in more than 30 countries around the world. Its Life Sciences business is the largest professional services provider to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. For more information, visit www.jacobs.com.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our 2015 Form 10-K, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 - Business, 1A - Risk Factors, 3 - Legal Proceedings, and 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005013/en/

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[August 11, 2016] Medical Education Company Launches Free Web-Based CME/CE Program for Primary Care Providers Facing Complex Conditions, Rare Diseases

Today, Health and Wellness Education Partners (HWeP) of Ramsey, New Jersey, launched a free continuing education (CME/CE) activity for primary care providers, titled Optimizing Primary Care for Patients with Rare Diseases. This Web-based program features expert video presentations, patient- and caregiver-presented case studies, downloadable print resources, and more, focused on the successful delivery of primary care to patients with complex conditions and rare diseases. The content is intended for physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists and offers up to 6 credits to eligible participants. The program is available now at www.RareOpportunities.com. This new CME/CE activity, jointly provided by the University of Cincinnati and HWeP, is part of HWeP's rare-disease initiative called Rare Opportunities in Primary Care. The overall mission of the initiative is to deliver education, tools, and resources to primary care providers to help them give comprehensive care to patients with rare diseases. Of note, HWeP is self-funding this first-of-its-kind CME/CE offering, a testament to the company's commitment to addressing the great unmet need for high-quality education in this area. Nearly 1 in 10 Americans, or 30 million people, lives with a rare disease-and two-thirds of these patients are children. Despite primary care providers assuming responsibility for the management and care of these patients' common needs, the majority of these providers do not receive any special training on how to administer or adjust routine care for their patients with rare diseases. HWeP hopes that Rare Opportunities in Primary Care and this new CME/CE activity will bring these issues to light, as well as raise the bar for the quality of primary care provided to this population. Program chair Dr. Robert Saul of Greenville, South Carolina, notes: "Although each of these diseases is rare on its own, together they affect the lives of 30 million Americans. Clearly, primary care providers must be better prepared to help identify and care for these patients." A survey conducted for this initiative confirmed that many primary care providers are less than confident providing routine care to patients with rare diseases. The first CME/CE program of its kind, Optimizing Primary Care for Patients with Rare Diseases strives to help these clinicians: Identify clinical clues that expedite diagnosis of rare diseases in differnt clinical settings

Develop successful referral networks

Optimize care for pediatric patients

Utilize a whole-patient approach with an enhanced understanding of the impact of rare-disease progression on mental health conditions



University of Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. More information about this CME/CE program and Rare Opportunities in Primary Care is available at www.RareOpportunities.com. About Health and Wellness Education Partners

Since 2005, Health and Wellness Education Partners (HWeP) has worked with academia, industry, patients, and payers to advance patient care. HWeP's latest initiative is Rare Opportunities in Primary Care, developed to provide education, tools, and resources to primary care clinicians that will help them provide comprehensive care to patients with rare diseases. University of Cincinnati

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the University of Cincinnati and Health and Wellness Education Partners (HWeP). The University of Cincinnati is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Physicians | The University of Cincinnati designates this activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should claim only the credits commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Learner Assurance Statement

The University of Cincinnati is committed to resolving all conflicts of interest issues that could arise as a result of prospective faculty members' significant relationships with drug or device manufacturer(s). The University of Cincinnati is committed to retaining only those speakers with financial interests that can be reconciled with the goals and educational integrity of the CME activity. Disclaimer Statement

The opinions expressed during the activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Cincinnati. The information is presented for the purpose of advancing the attendees' professional development. University of Cincinnati College of Nursing

Nurses | 6 continuing education contact hours for nurses approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing through the OBN Approver Unit at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing (OBN-011-93). American Academy of Family Physicians

This Enduring Material activity, Optimizing Primary Care for Patients with Rare Diseases, from 08/01/2016 - 07/31/2017, has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 6 Prescribed credit(s) by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. The program is accredited by the University of Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @RarePrimaryCare View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005076/en/

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BUTTE -- Within one week, water flows have improved by 26 cubic feet per second in the Jefferson River, an official with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said.

As of Wednesday mornings Jefferson Watershed Council meeting in Whitehall, the river had reached 46 cfs at Waterloo, just south of Whitehall, which is the critical water level spot, said Ron Spoon, fisheries biologist for FWP.

This brings the critical water level almost back to normal, which for this time of year is about 50 cfs. Its almost entirely due to ranchers all along the drainage using less water for irrigation, Spoon said.

Despite the rains that have hit southwest Montana in the last week, Spoon said Wednesday that the storms have traveled north of the Jefferson River drainage and that the ranchers giving up water from their operations has been the primary source of the improvement.

Last week the Jefferson Rivers flows were distressing to Spoon as well as to John Kountz, a rancher and chairman of the Jefferson River Watershed Committee.

But ranchers all along the drainage  including the Ruby, the Beaverhead and the Big Hole rivers  made the difference. Rick Sandru, whose ranch is on the Jefferson five miles north of Twin Bridges, said this is the 17thyear the watershed councils drought management plan has had to kick in to protect the flows in the river. When the drought management plan goes into effect, ranchers begin calling their neighbors and everyone voluntarily starts limiting water usage for the overall health and good of the river and the fish.

They (the ranchers) would have better crops for more regrowth and cattle feed (if they didnt have to give up water), Sandru said Thursday. We sacrifice to keep water in the river. We recognize people recreate and make their living from the river.

Jodi Kountz, drought management coordinator for the watershed council, said Wednesday that 20 people showed up for Wednesday's meeting, and that everyone is cooperating.

Spoon said he hasnt seen any fish kills due to the low flows. Last week, the watershed council reported that water levels had dropped to 19 cfs at Waterloo.

Spoon said the cooler temperatures have helped, too, but even so, he anticipates that young fish were negatively impacted.

Juvenile fish dont fare very well (under low cfs conditions), but were not seeing adults die off, Spoon said.

Mountain whitefish are a native species that are particularly sensitive to water temperature and are the first to show stress, Spoon previously told The Montana Standard.

The way forward, according to Spoon, is to continue to keep the flows around 50 cfs. He anticipates that by September, things will be back to normal in the Jefferson River.

I think if we hover around 50 (cfs) for the rest of August, thatll mean its successful, as opposed to the bottom dropping out, Spoon said. We have to hold firm until we get September weather. Thats usually what turns it around.
[August 11, 2016] PAX Global Announces 2016 Interim Results

HONG KONG, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PAX Global Technology Limited ("PAX" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries collectively known as the "Group", Hong Kong Stock Code: 00327.HK), one of the world's leading Electronic Payment Terminal Solutions Providers, is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2016 (the "Period").







HK$ million Six months ended 30 June Change 2016 2015 Revenue 1,332.7 1,107.6 +20.3% Gross profit 581.6 459.3 +26.6% Gross profit margin 43.6% 41.5% +2.1 pts R&D expenses 62.1 53.8 +15.3% Operating profit 354.8 297.6 +19.2% Profit attributable to owners of the Company 310.6 309.0 +0.5% Basic earnings per share (HK$) 0.279 0.279 0% Interim Dividend (HK$) 0.04 0.02 +100%

During the Period, the revenue of the Group surged 20.3% to HK$1,332.7 million, and operating profit rose 19.2% to HK$354.8 million. The profit attributable to owners of the Company increased by 0.5% to HK$310.6 million with basic earnings per share at 27.9 HK cents (1H 2015: 27.9 HK cents). Revenue from overseas markets increased by HK$182.9 million to HK$738.3 million, representing a gain of 32.9%. The Board of Directors of the Company resolved to declare an interim dividend of HK$0.04 per ordinary share, which surged 100% (1H 2015: HK$0.02 per ordinary share). Revenue from the People's Republic of China ("PRC") excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan ("China Market") increased by 7.6% year-on-year or HK$42.2 million to HK$594.4 million. Gross profit margin for the period was 43.6%, representing a rise of 2.1 percentage points as compared to 41.5% for the six months ended 30 June 2015. This was mainly due to an increase of contribution from overseas sales and successful cost reduction. In addition, PAX Computer Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of PAX, was recognized as a High and New Technology Enterprise under the Corporate Income Tax Law of PRC and is eligible to enjoy a preferential tax rate of 15% for 3 years from 2015 to 2017. During the Period, the sales of E-payment Terminal generated the majority of the Group's revenue. Total sales revenue of E-payment Terminals rose 12.5% year-on-year to HK$1,181.7 million. The sales volume of E-payment Terminals recorded during the period was close to 1.7 million units. The number of distributors and partners increased to nearly 90 from approximately 30 in 2012. PAX has been recognized as one of the three major international mainstream brands. According to The Nilson Report issued in July 2015, PAX is the third largest E-payment Terminal supplier in the world in 2014. In 2015, PAX' s terminal shipments exceeded 4 million units, surging by 46.4% as compared with 2014 which represents the highest growth rate among the top three suppliers in the world and shows the sustained and steady growth of PAX. Due to the reduction in other income and the increase in effective tax rate, the net profit margin in the Period dropped 4.6 percentage points to 23.3% (Net Profit: HK$310.6 million), as compared with 27.9% (Net Profit: HK$309.0 million) for the six months ended 30 June 2015. Other income was comprised primarily of value added tax refunds and interest income, which dropped 28.9% to HK$31.9 million (1H 2015: HK$44.9 million), mainly due to the decrease of value added tax refund, government grant and subsidy. During the Period, the effective tax rate significantly rose to 11.6% (1H 2015: 0%), the income tax expense surged to HK$ 40.2 million (the income tax credit for 1H 2015: HK$11.4 million); The profit before income tax in the Period increased by 16.7% to HK$347.4 million (1H 2015: HK$297.6 million). As of 30 June 2016, the Group maintained strong financial position with cash and short-term bank deposits of HK$2,019.9 million and zero borrowing. Revenue from overseas markets was HK$738.3 million during the Period, representing an increase of 32.9% as compared with HK$555.4 million for the six months ended 30 June 2015. Most overseas business units recorded notable growth especially in the United States of America and Canada Region ("USCA") and Asia Pacific Region ("APAC") business units. Central and South Europe, Middle East and India and Indonesia have become new focal points for the business growth of PAX. Leveraging the experience of continuous overseas markets expansion in the past 15 years and the well-developed sales channels, PAX's branding, product techniques, quality and its good reputation have been affirmed in the international markets. PAX has become the only Asian listed company in the league with other top competitors around the globe. Subsequent to the encouraging results achieved in Brazil and USCA during the Period, the overseas sales revenue of PAX surpassed China and accounted for 55.4% of the total revenue (1H 2015: 50.1%). During the Period, revenue from the China Market increased by 7.6% to HK$594.4 million (1H 2015: HK$552.2 million). The growth in the China Market is within our expectation in the first half of 2016, and is expected to slow down in the second half. The China Market revenue contributed 44.6% of total revenue (1H 2015: 49.9%). The growth was mainly attributable to the increase of shipment volume to UMS and the Third Party Operators, but part of the revenue's growth has been offset by Renminbi depreciation, which the Group's revenue as denominated in Hong Kong dollars has been affected. Mr. Jack Lu, Chief Executive Officer of PAX, said: "The overseas markets are sizeable, accounting for over 85% of the global E-payment Terminal sales. While extending its reach to the international markets has always been the goal of PAX since its establishment. In the coming years, counting on the Research and Development team, and leveraging on the strong branding influence and sales channels, PAX will capture the thriving payment industry development trend, and continue to become the forerunner in the global market." ~ End ~ About PAX Global Technology Limited PAX Global Technology Limited (Stock Code: 00327.HK) is an innovative global provider of E-payment Terminal solutions. Building on its service excellence and proven leadership position, PAX is one of the fastest growing payment industry suppliers with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, excellent R&D capabilities and a worldwide network of sales and channel partners. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pax-global-announces-2016-interim-results-300312299.html SOURCE PAX Technology Limited

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[August 11, 2016] Scroll & Absorption Chillers Market Worth 7.13 Billion USD by 2022

PUNE, India, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Scroll & Absorption Chillers Market by Product (Scroll Chiller & Absorption Chiller), Capacity (<100 kW, 101 kW-300 kW, 301 kW-700 kW, & >701 kW), Vertical, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated to grow from USD 5.61 Billion in 2015 to USD 7.13 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 68 market data Tables and 77 Figures spread through 148 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Scroll & Absorption Chillers Market". http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/scroll-absorption-chillers-market-81768652.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Scroll and absorption chillers are the mechanical equipment used in various cooling processes and air conditioning applications. The growing market for these chiller products is expected to present several opportunities for stakeholders over the next few years. Rising awareness about energy-efficient products According to the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. - DOE)., over ~30% of the energy in commercial and industrial applications is used for heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC), of which chillers consume more than half. In the mid-1990s, due to the global warming mandates, companies began to offer energy-efficient chiller products. One of the technological advancements to be supervised and initiated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Oak Ridge National Library (Oak Ridge, U.S.) was polygeneration/combined cooling, heating, and power (CHP). This is one of the reasons for the growing awareness of the need for energy conservation and the introduction of energy-efficient scroll and absorption chillers. For example, the use of absorption chillers helps control higher electricity costs and ensures better performance. For instance, Trane, Inc. (Ireland) demonstrated its single-effect absorption chiller featuring low-grade waste-heat utilization along with cost-optimized design integrated with distributed power generation. The growing electricity costs and electricity shortfalls are the major factor driving technological advancements in different chillers. Using the appropriate scroll & absorption chillers, ~12% to 15% of the total electricity usage of a building/commercial complex can be reduced. The usage of natural heat sources or the cooling process helps to balance the electric loads during peak periods.



Many industries such as chemicals, printing, & plastic are prioritizing chiller optimization as their main goal owing to the low maintenance costs, low electric energy use, eligibility for electric utility rebate, and so on. This factor is expected to remain moderately important throughout the forecast period. Commercial vertical to play a key role in the scroll & absorption chillers market

The market for scroll & absorption chillers was led by the hospital application in 2015 because of the growing medical & pharmaceutical industry in the region and the increased governmental investments in the healthcare sector. The market for the institutions and commercial buildings application is expected to grow at a healthy rate between 2016 and 2022. As the usage of scroll chillers has grown significantly in low-capacity commercial verticals, the market for hospitals and institutions also gained traction between 2016 and 2022. APAC region is expected to contribute the largest market share and Europe is likely to grow at the highest rate In 2015, the Asia-Pacific region held the largest share of the global scroll & absorption chillers market. In addition, the increasing capacities of nuclear, geothermal, and solar power plants in Asia-Pacific are driving the demand for chillers in the region. Europe held the second-largest market share and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of between 2016 and 2022. This growth is supported by the growing commercial building & construction industry, resulting in increased deployments of heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) systems. Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=81768652 Some of the key players in the scroll & absorption chillers global market space are Carrier Corporation (U.S.), Johnson Controls (U.S.), Trane Inc. (Ireland), Thermax, Inc. (India), and Daikin Industries Ltd (Japan), Broad Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. (China), Yazaki Energy Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Robur Group (Italy), and Shuangliang Eco-Energy Systems Co., Ltd. (China) among others. A detailed analysis of the key industry players has been done to provide insights into their business overview, products, services, key strategies, new product launches, and recent developments related to the scroll & absorption chillers market. Browse Related Reports HVAC Systems Market by Equipment Type (Heating (Heat Pump, Furnace), Ventilation (Air Filter, Dehumidifier, Air Purifier), Cooling (Room AC, Unitary AC, Chiller)), Software & Services, Implementation Type, Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/hvac-system-market-202111288.html About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.

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[August 11, 2016] Travelytix Inc. Pilots New Guestfriend Service

Today marks an important milestone for Travelytix Inc. with the pilot launch of Guestfriend BOH (Back of House) - preventative maintenance, project management, asset management, housekeeping supervision, and response-dispatch coordination. "Guestfriend is designed as an end-to-end solution with guest-facing iOS and Android (News - Alert) apps. This rollout demonstrates that our product is modular and flexible enough to be tailored to the unique needs of various hotel types," says Ariel Absera, Travelytix CEO. "My team works hard to ensure that each guest has a great stay," says Rocky Pintozzi, President of Midwest Management Inc. and owner of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Aurora, Illinois. "We have both our hotels in town, top ranked on TripAdvisor and we strive to keep it that way. Keeping up on the guest experience in real time as well as maintaining the physical plant are paramount to stay on top. We're always looking for ways to stay ahead of the curve and it's obvious that Travelytix is as passionate about hospitality as we are." Rocky Pintozzi is a second-generation hotelier who operates limited service hotels in the Midwest. "We're so fortunate to work with Rocky," says Ariel. "His guidance has made BOH more intuitive and robust."



After receiving an MBA from INSEAD Ariel has focused on early stage startup growth. On his decision to create Guestfriend: "I grew up watching my folks endure lots of stress building a business with many moving parts. When an opportunity to enhance their daily lives through disruptive innovation presented itself, I felt more fired up than ever before." Like Rocky, he grew up on hotels. On his team: "they really complement one another and it's a privilege to work alongside this caliber of talent. Laurynas and I met at a company that raised $50m with Accel Partners, Matt is an actual ninja who was at Google before this, and Gabe, whose laptop can beat Usain Bolt in a foot race, left Facebook to join forces with us." Adly Elewa (Lead Visual Designer) and JP Gonzalez (Software Engineer) round out the team. Regardless of where their journey takes them next one thing can be said with confidence about Travelytix, these guys have fully embraced mobile tech and are exploring every potential hospitality application.

For more information visit guestfriend.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005201/en/

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[August 11, 2016] WNS Ranked a 'Leader' in Everest Group PEAK Matrix Assessment Report 2016 for Property and Casualty Insurance BPO

WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, today announced it has been named as a 'Leader' in the Everest Group PEAK Matrix Assessment Report 2016 for Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance BPO. "We are delighted to be recognized as a 'Leader' in the P&C Insurance BPM space," said Keshav R. Murugesh, Group CEO, WNS. "This recognition is a testimony to our best-in-class domain capabilities in the P&C insurance industry. Today, WNS delivers technology-led business transformation for over 30 global insurers that results in reduced cost, improved operating efficiency, an enhanced end-customer experience, actionable insights and competitive advantage." The Everest Group PEAK Matrix defines 'Leaders' as companies having scored in the 75th percentile for both market success and delivery capability. Market success is measured by revenue, number of clients and year-over-year revenue growth. Delivery capability measures a company's ability to deliver through scale, scope, technology solutions and innovation, delivery footprint and buyer satisfaction. WNS was specifically cited in the report for its market share in the UK, Europe and APAC, TPA license in the US, diverse portfolio of clients, comprehensive process capability, and overall buyer satisfaction. WNS clients highlighted domain expertise, responsiveness, and ability to handle complex processes as key company strengths. WNS' Insurance vertical offers coprehensive solutions across the P&C value chain, including claims processing, policy administration, underwriting, actuarial solutions, sales support, and industry-specific Finance and Accounting. Earlier this year, WNS introduced a suite of next-generation technology, analytics and digitally-led solutions designed to help insurers accelerate the digitization of their business processes, and better-serve their end-customers.



About WNS WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), is a leading global business process management company. WNS offers business value to 200+ global clients by combining operational excellence with deep domain expertise in key industry verticals including Travel, Insurance, Banking and Financial Services, Manufacturing, Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods, Shipping and Logistics, Healthcare and Utilities. WNS delivers an entire spectrum of business process management services such as finance and accounting, customer interaction services, technology solutions, research and analytics and industry specific back office and front office processes. As of June 30, 2016, WNS had 32,448 professionals across 42 delivery centers worldwide including China, Costa Rica, India, Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, visit www.wns.com.

Safe Harbor Provision This document includes information which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied are discussed in our most recent Form 20-F and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. WNS undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005344/en/

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[August 11, 2016] Yroo Announces $11 Million in Funding

BALLSBRIDGE, Ireland, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Yroo, the world's most powerful search engine for smart shoppers, announced it has secured a total of $11 million in seed funding from private investors. Additionally, Margaret Nelligan, partner with Aird & Berlis LLP, and Nick Zhu, CTO of Yroo, have joined the company's board. Yroo will use the funds to invest in customer acquisition and retention in order to drive more click-throughs and purchases for merchant partners. The company will also continue to invest in development of its intelligent shopping search tool. The Yroo platform is currently growing by an average of 15,000 registered users per day, primarily driven by peer-to-peer recommendations. "Yroo has focused on smart and lean growth from day one," said James Cunningham, CEO of Yroo. "We are already delivering a superior shopping search experience to consumers, expanding globally and driving impressive revenue for our merchant partners. This latest round of funding will further accelerate our development and evolution." The announcement comes as Dublin, Ireland-based Yroo wraps up a first half of 2016 marked by impressive user growth, and on the heels of a successful beta program and international expansion in 2015. Yroo has more than 10 million users o its proprietary, intelligent social shopping search engine that shop, collect and share from over 100 million products from over 7,000 merchants. The Yroo platform helps consumers discover, compare and purchase items from the largest catalog of retail items across the globe.



"Most e-commerce shopping trips begin with a search, but shoppers' needs are underserved by the current search platforms and shopping aggregators on the market," said Walt Macnee, executive vice chairman of Mastercard. "Yroo is fully equipped to continue delivering a superior shopping experience to consumers, and offering more merchants, products and promotions than any other shopping site." Margaret Nelligan will bring her experience as a leading corporate finance lawyer to Yroo while Zhu, who has an extensive background in IT consulting and systems development, will continue to drive the company's technological vision. They join current board members Gordon Cunningham, chairman of London Life Insurance Company and founding partner of Cumberland Private Wealth Management; David Galloway, former Chair of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and former CEO of Torstar Corporation and Harlequin; Peter Sharpe, former president and CEO of The Cadillac Fairview Corporation; Walt Macnee, executive vice chairman of Mastercard; Sean St John, executive vice president, managing director and head of fixed income, debt and equity capital markets at National Bank; John Staines, COO and global director of sales at Yroo; and James Cunningham, CEO of Yroo.

About Yroo

Yroo is the world's most powerful search engine for smart shoppers, enabling shoppers to discover, research and buy from the largest collections of products, stores and promotions available anywhere. Yroo offers its users a seamless search experience and empowers them to shop more than 100 million items from over 7,000 merchants all in one place. Currently, Yroo is actively transacting in over 35 countries across North and South America, Europe and Asia with its seven market-specific catalogs and eight supported languages. To experience Yroo: https://yroo.com/ To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yroo-announces-11-million-in-funding-300312283.html SOURCE Yroo

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[August 11, 2016]

Agile Network Announces Partnership with Green Mountain Technology Combining Multi-Carrier Transportation Execution with Parcel Spend Management

CHESTERFIELD, Mo., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Agile Network, leading enterprise shipping software provider announced their partnership with Green Mountain Technology (GMT) to enhance their transportation management solutions for greater parcel spend management and freight costs control. The partnership will serve parcel shippers' needs for automated transportation management solutions to drive optimal costs and improve carrier service outcomes.

"This is an opportunity to join powerful parcel spend management technologies with robust transportation execution," according to Kevin V. Cox, CEO at Agile Network. "We are very excited to begin working together in service to our customers as they focus on building strategies to improve their parcel shipping performance."



"I got a great feeling from Founding Member and Principal, Steve Cooper, in terms of personal and business integrity. He described this as a common thread among Agile Network's leadership, and this being core to the foundation for them having built a culture at Agile that's committed to doing things the right way from the inside out. This partnership is culturally and strategically a strong fit. We are excited about the opportunity," according to Jim Jacobs, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Green Mountain Technology.

About Green Mountain Technology

GMT partners with the world's largest parcel shippers to create customized, big data platforms to drive improved cost and service outcomes. GMT's analysts and engineers help shippers leverage that data to plan, monitor and execute a high performing parcel network, allowing them to make significant decisions, faster and with greater confidence. Current GMT customers represent more than $4 billion in annual parcel spend. Leading-edge technology forms the foundation of GMT's comprehensive Parcel Spend Management solution, and GMT's deep parcel expertise and ongoing partnership model drives powerful results. Year-over-year savings for GMT's customers ar consistently 5 - 10X the annual fees.







About Agile Network

Agile Network is a leading provider of enterprise shipping software, returns management solutions, and transportation management solutions with more than 3 decades of experience supporting over 1,200 clients and hundreds of Fortune 500 Brands in the United States, Canada, Latin America, United Kingdom, European Union and Asia-Pacific. Agile Network's Transportation Management and Execution platform, TME, handles both freight and parcel shipments tailored to serve a diversity of industrial applications, including Retail, eCommerce, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Financial Services, Industrial Manufacturing and Third Party Logistics. The TME solution provides users with certified support for a global network of carriers, including: FedEx, UPS, DHL, USPS, Purolator, Canpar, Canada Post, and hundreds of regional operators. TME is available on-premise or in the cloud, and features real-time rating and routing, pack verification, consolidation, automatic ACE filing, export document generation, and integrated carrier invoice reconciliation. Agile Network TME may be configured to operate in both attended station and 'black box' modes with full support for high volume material handling, automatic weighing and dimensions, and print-and-apply systems. To learn more, visit www.agile-network.com

For additional information, contact:

Agile Network

732 Crown Industrial Court, Ste A

Chesterfield, MO 63005

1.866.686.2445 | [email protected]

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/agile-network-announces-partnership-with-green-mountain-technology-combining-multi-carrier-transportation-execution-with-parcel-spend-management-300312615.html

SOURCE Agile Network
JD England reflects on time as Mayor of Mitchell before stepping down

JD England reflects on his time on the Mitchell police force, his first term election by just four votes and his accomplishments in office.
At the campus first schoolwide assembly since the start of the pandemic, the Colina family celebrated one of its own, a custodian whose talents have extended far beyond keeping the school looking tidy to making students feel welcomed and loved.



https://www.toacorn.com/articles/nate-the-great-students-surprise-beloved-custodian/
The Montana Human Rights Network and the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana are calling upon Lewis and Clark County Coroner M.E. Mickey Nelson to resign.

Documents recently released by county officials detail allegations against the coroner that prompted Eric Bryson, the countys chief administrative officer, to reassign a member of Nelsons staff in July 2015.

County officials received similar allegations regarding Nelson's behavior this year, which prompted Bryson to move the coroners two-person staff from the office and Nelsons supervision.

None of the coroners staff have done anything wrong, Bryson noted previously.

Nelson could not be reached for comment in time for this story. Messages were left with the coroners office answering service, the deputy coroner, county officials and with a member of Nelsons family.

According to an Aug. 9 letter that was sent to Nelson and Bryson, Kim Abbott with the Human Rights Network and Caitlin Borgmann with the ACLU wrote they were deeply concerned about what has been presented regarding his service to Lewis and Clark County.

Specifically, your disturbing comments about women, people of color, low income people, and those who hold sincere religious beliefs leave us with absolutely no confidence that you can perform your duties impartially and without bias, the letter stated.

Your use of racial epithets in reference to the president, your disparaging comments about Native Americans, other racial minorities, religion, and poor people in your county office and in front of your employees is a clear indication that your personal bias has pervaded your professional life, the letter continued.

In calling for his resignation, the letter concluded, Once a public servant can no longer be trusted to execute his or her official responsibilities with the fairness the law requires, the time has come for that person to move on from public life.

Nelson doesnt seem to deny the remarks attributed to him, nor does he seem to understand the significance of them, Borgmann said.

While Nelsons alleged behavior is a concern for staff, she added, its also a concern for the public.

He cannot be engaging in that kind of conduct, Borgmann said.

My hope is that he steps down, Abbott said and explained the allegations lead her to believe the publics trust in the office is broken.

Nelson, 71, has been the coroner for 42 years.

Former and current members of the coroners office staff allege Nelson engaged in frequent offensive language during tirades in his office regarding African Americans, Native Americans and other ethnicities, as well as people who are poor and those receiving public assistance, among others.

In addition to the staff person who was moved to a different county department in July 2015 and the two others who were relocated to a different office this year, the duties of county registrar were removed from Nelson in July by the state in response to a request from the county commission.

Further indication of unrest in the coroners office is contained in the resignation letter of a deputy coroner who stepped down in April after four months on the job.

The deputy coroner complained of Nelsons administration of the office and his behavior toward grieving families.

In addition, Nelson and the county faced the threat of district court action earlier this year to compel Nelson to finish 51 death certificates dating from 2011 to 2015 that listed the cause of death as pending.

Nelson met the 45-day deadline given by the Office of Vital Records with the state Department of Public Health and Human Services to complete the work.

In an Aug. 2 news release, Nelson defended his actions and wrote that being the coroner has been his lifes work.

I have never abused or taken the publics trust for granted as I perform the duties of my elected office. I strive to earn the trust and respect of the public I serve every day.

Staff members have never complained directly to him of the unwelcome or offensive nature of his remarks, he wrote in his news release. While he acknowledged the offensive nature of some of the remarks attributed to him, he wrote that some were taken out of context.

However, I am not racist or sexist or anti-religion. I have never engaged in discriminatory acts as county coroner against fellow staff members or while performing the duties of my office. I bear no ill-will towards any faith, minority, ethnicity or income class, his news release stated.

A July 21, 2016, memorandum from Bryson to the county commission and County Attorney Leo Gallagher, stated that after a member of Nelsons staff was moved at her request to another county occupation, K. Paul Stahl, a civil deputy county attorney, and Commissioner Susan Good Geise met with Nelson to discuss allegations made by that member of the coroners office.

During that July 14, 2015, meeting they also informed him that the behavior was not acceptable, and required him to seek and find a training course on sexual harassment/discrimination, according to Brysons memo.

Geise represented all three commissioners at that meeting, Commissioner Andy Hunthausen said on Thursday.

(Nelson) did not follow through on the demand that he obtain the training, Hunthausen said.

In response to the letter calling for Nelsons resignation, all three commissioners said they were unanimous in their concern regarding the comments made about Nelson.

I wasnt surprised to see that occurred, commissioner Susan Good Geise said of the letter from the ACLU and Montana Human Rights Network.

I hope that he would take that under consideration, she continued.

She too said she believed the time had come for Nelson to resign.

I have told Coroner Nelson on several occasions that I thought that it was time. And the reason that I feel strongly about that is because we have a duty to our taxpayers and our citizens to apply the law equally: everybody is equal under the law, Geise said.

She said that during her July 2015 meeting with Nelson, he was told comments attributed to him could result in a lawsuit against the county.

If there were a complaint that came from an employee, like a hostile work environment, it isnt the coroner who would have been sued. It is the county, Geise said.

And if those allegations were proven to have been true, we would have not been able to defend ourselves. And thats why it became important to move that particular employee out of that office as quickly as we could.

The issue isnt, and I think is an important distinction to make, it isnt about whether or not the coroner does or does not hold certain beliefs. That is his prerogative, Geise said.

He may certainly do that. He can say things in his home  but when you come to a county office you cant talk like that in a county office and you cant expose employees or the public (to it), she continued.

And thats where it becomes a legal question, and thats where we have a liability as a county.

I soundly reject the comments attributed to Mr. Nelson, Hunthausen said. I reject them and Im disappointed in those comments, that's coming from a county office.

Our employees deserve to work in an environment  that is safe and without discrimination and that is not a hostile work environment. They deserve that. 

I dont disagree with anything thats in this letter, he added of the call for Nelsons resignation.

The actions attributed to him were very inappropriate, Hunthausen said.

Commission Chairman Mike Murray said he didnt disagree with Geise or Hunthausen and reaffirmed that employees deserve a safe working place.

Nelson needs to respond to the letter, Murray said, adding that Nelson should be given that opportunity.

Nelson is considered the dean of criminal investigations regarding death, statewide, Murray said in praise of Nelsons skills and knowledge, but added his behaviors unacceptable.

Nelson was elected by voters, as were the commissioners, Hunthausen said to explain the limits of what they can do regarding Nelson.

The only people that can remove him from office are the voters, or Mickey himself, or if there were an act, a criminal act that rose to that level that meets the law. But us as county commissioners, were not necessarily his boss, Hunthausen said.

While the commission oversees the operation of county government and has fiscal responsibilities, it is also responsible for providing a safe workplace, Hunthausen continued and explained, thats why we removed the employees from his office.

Were following the advice we received from our legal counsel, that we have no authority to fire Mickey Nelson, Murray said.

Its important that the public understand that our hands are tied in this matter. What action we may take with a county employee is different than the action the law allows us with an elected official, Murray added.
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The Immersive Technology Alliance (ITA), the host of the Immersed and Immersed Europe VR/AR conferences, is taking on an ambitious vision for Immersed 2016, which takes place October 16 through 18 in Toronto, Canada.

The ITA started the Immersed Conference in 2014 as a small gathering of professionals from the virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3D technology industries. The event is primarily meant to be about networking and education, but it also includes a technology showcase that is open to the public.

Expanding

Last fall, the Immersed Conference took place in a rented section on the upper floor of the Ontario Science Center in Toronto, Canada. This year, thanks to the enthusiasm of the centers CEO, the public space will be magnitudes larger. The Science Center will provide up to 20,000 square feet of showcase space for immersive technology demonstrations. Neil Schneider, Executive Director of the ITA, plans to fill that entire space with immersive technology demonstrations and educational experiences.

Last year at Immersed 2015, Schneider managed to squeeze two HTC Vive demonstrations, Starbreeze with its StarVR HMD, a PSVR demonstration, and a dozen other exhibits showcasing in-development games, 360-degree cameras and other immersive technologies, along with the actual conference, all into a 4,000 square foot space. The ITA includes a number of high-profile technology companies such as AMD, Starbreeze, Crytek, Basemark and Futuremark, so theres bound to be some interesting booths at the show.

Schneider said that the immersive technology exhibition will be open to the public on Sunday, October 16. On Monday, the ITA would like to have students attend the exhibition through school field trips.

Update, 8:30am PT, August 11, 2016: Neil Schneider reached out and informed us that the public exhibition has been extended through Tuesday. There will still be school trips, but the public is still welcome to visit on those days. "We are expecting over 8,000 consumer attendees for this over the three days," said Schneider.

Professional Conference

The Immersed Conference is taking on a larger public presence, but it is still sticking to its roots of being a networking and educational event for industry professionals. Guests of the conference will be treated to three days of seminars and panel discussions with technology makers, content creators, investors and media partners.

Immersed 2016 already has over a dozen speakers lined up, including Dr. Jon Peddie, CEO of Jon Peddie Research; Ryan M. McCall, Director of Business Operations and Sales at Futuremark; and Dr. Jason Jerald, Co-Founder and Principal Consultant of NextGen Interactions. The ITA also announced that Ajay Fry, co-host of InnerSpace on Space Channel, will be among the panel moderators.

The ITA said that it will be announcing additional speakers regularly and has an open call for industry professional interested in speaking. If youd like to be considered, send an email to speakers@getimmersed.com with a bio of yourself and a synopsis of the subject you wish to discuss.

Toms Hardware is a media sponsor of Immersed 2016. Look forward to more coverage as we lead up and during the event.
We watched the normal tit-for-tat product announcements unfold here at the Flash Memory Summit. SSD density is, as always, a hot talking point. Each company jockeys for attention at the show, which usually entails claims of having the "best" of something, and then another company will match or trump them, which makes for an interesting sideshow at the tradeshow.

Samsung set the storage world afire last year when it debuted its 15.63 TB PM1633a in a special "floating SSD" case. The announcement and demonstration, in typical tradeshow form, came long before the SSDs were actually available, though we did just notice the PM1633a in retail two weeks ago for the low low price of ~$10,000. As such, don't expect to see any of these new hefty SSDs in the real world until late next year, which will be about the time we begin the not-so-virtuous cycle of "World's Largest SSD" claims all over again.

Samsung's Supertanker

Samsung dusted off the ol' floating SSD case this year (it's the same one from last year) but impregnated it with an updated 32 TB PM1643 model. The new SSD uses 64-layer V-NAND with a 512 Gbit density, as opposed to the 48-layer NAND (256 Gbit) that it used with the old PM1633a model. The move to denser NAND provides the neat doubling of capacity that Samsung promises it will deliver every year, but the real question is which year it will actually be available.

The poorly named PM1643 (can't they name it "The Supertanker" or something?) does bring the promise of a beefy 32 TB of flash tied to a speedy 12 Gbps SAS connection, but it will remain relegated to the enterprise market due to its high cost. The previous(current?)-gen PM1633a provides up to 200,000/32,000 random read/write IOPS, and although Samsung did not release the new PM1643's specs, even if it's marginally faster than its predecessor, the limits of the SAS connection will hamstring performance.

The hefty design is a good example of why Samsung is now selling more flash into the enterprise than it does in the consumer SSD world, and the small 2.5" form factor with a 15mm Z-height (thickness) makes the SSD particularity attractive for space-constrained data centers. No, it won't fit in a laptop, but it is a good indication of where the increased density of 3D NAND will take us.

Huawei's Little (big) Gem

Marketing-averse Huawei's booth lacks the pomp and circumstance of the massive Samsung operation, but it has its own 32 TB HSSD hidden away. The Huawei SSD also uses the 12 Gbps SAS connection, which will limit performance. None of the "World's Largest" SSDs have an NVMe connection, which might be due to heat concerns in the small device. The Huawei beast uses an undisclosed 2D NAND from Toshiba, which means that it should come at a friendlier price point. 2D NAND tends to consume more power, and thus run hotter, than 3D NAND. Huawei has louvers on both ends of the SSD to assist in thermal dissipation. Huawei did not share any performance data on its newest SSD.

Image 1 of 2

Seagate Drops The Mic

Seagate beat its competitors to the punch with the announcement of its 60 TB SSD earlier this week, but it comes in a much larger 3.5" form factor (in comparison to the 2.5" form factor used with the other SSDs). The bigger case gives Seagate more room to pack in more 2D NAND, but when the company switches to 3D NAND, it will increase density tremendously. Seagate provided sequential performance specifications of 1,500/1,000 read/write MBps and 150,000 random IOPS at QD32. The real attraction to the Seagate SSD, beyond just the 60 TB of capacity, is its low 15W power consumption. Unfortunately, we do not have comparative power specifications from the other vendors.

Seagate also had a demo unit in a clear case, which reveals that the interior design of the SSD houses three sandwiched PCBs packed to the gills with flash. The SSD uses the same design as the Seagate 1200.2 SSDs we recently reviewed. A co-branded LSI/Seagate TT50761 ASIC works in concert with an array of eASIC ONFI bridges, which allows the SSD to address up to 1,280 flash die per controller.

Image 1 of 2

And The Winner Is...

Seagate 60 TB 3.5" form factor Samsung 32 TB 2.5" form factor Huawei 32 TB 2.5" form factor Cubic Inches 17.25 6.39 6.39 Density 60 TB 32 TB 32 TB TB per Cubic Inch 3.48 5 5

The Samsung and Huawei SSDs obviously share the same cubic density, as they both utilize the 2.5" form factor. The Seagate SSD throws a wrench in the process because it is larger than the competition, so we calculated the TB per cubic inch in the chart above, which indicates that the Samsung and Huawei SSDs have 5 TB of capacity per square inch, thus winning the density wars.

The Seagate SSD outweighs the others in sheer capacity, but as an interesting side note, 3.5" form factor drive bays aren't as common in slim 1U servers. However, this aligns well with the stated intentions of using it for archival workloads. The slimmer, and faster, 2.5" SSDs will find many friendly slots in slim servers that are geared for more intense workloads.

As always, price and the full performance specs will dictate the winner in many situations, and unfortunately, we have neither for the "World's Largest" SSDs.
This morning, were very happy to bring you the exclusive stream of The Superjesus latest record, the Love And Violence EP.

Its the first record from the ARIA-winning outfit since their reformation in 2013 after a decade-long break, and the band havent lost any of the melodic punch from their 97 breakthrough with hits like Down Again, and later Aussie rock staples Gravity and Secret Agent Man.

Frontwoman Sarah McLeod, who has been keeping busy with her own solo work, describes the bands decision to jump back into the fray.

We had performed one show at The Gov in Adelaide to see if we still had the vibe, says McLeod. After that we came home and started exchanging ideas immediately. Love And Violence was the first cab off the rank. Its about the uncontrollable extremities of emotional connections.

With a swag of new music raring to go, The Superjesus are taking Love And Violence on a six-date national tour throughout October, dates below.

Love And Violence is available for pre-order now, and out tomorrow on iTunes via Golden Robot Records, while signed physical copies will also be available.

LOVE AND VIOLENCE TOUR DATES

Fri 7th Oct  Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Sat 8th Oct  Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

Fri 14th Oct  The Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Sat 15th Oct  Fowlers, Adelaide

Fri 28th Oct  The Northern, Byron Bay

Sat 29th Oct  Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane
After going viral with his live Stranger Things theme remix earlier this month, Adelaide producer Luke Million has unveiled a full-length version of the remix, which is certainly set to give Kavinsky a run for his money.

Millions last video ended up raking in just over three million views and garnering over 32,000 likes, including a nod of approval from Aussie synth-masters The Presets. You can check out the full-length version in all its splendour below.

Meanwhile, the soundtrack to the acclaimed Netflix series, which was composed by Austin synth outfit Survive, has garnered so much attention and praise it will finally be given an official release this Friday.

According to Pitchfork, the Stranger Things official soundtrack will be split into two volumes. The first one drops this Friday, with a CD release set for September. Volume two, meanwhile, will drop digitally 19th August.
Following on from a highly successful sophomore event last year, the organisers of the Central Coasts Lost Paradise festival have announced their stacked 2016 lineup, featuring Sticky Fingers, Flight Facilities, Gang of Youths, and more.

Punters headed to the scenic surrounds of Glenworth Valley will also be treated to appearances from the likes of Fat Freddys Drop, Hot Chip, Hudson Mohawke, Eats Everything, Big Scary, Skream, Harts, Montaigne, Methyl Ethel, and Lunice.

Lost Paradise is committed to giving punters a distinctly boutique experience, with an attendance of 8,000 punters, all getting lost in live music from some of the worlds most original musicians, food curated by Sydneys top chefs, and more.

Tickets to this family-friendly home away from home are on sale now. Check below for all dates and ticketing details or head on over to the official Lost Paradise website for more info.

Lost Paradise 2016

Sticky Fingers

Flight Facilities

Fat Freddys Drop

Gang of Youths

Hot Chip (DJ Set)

Hudson Mohawke

Eats Everything

Big Scary

Kolsch (DJ Set)

Skream

Harts

Montaigne

Mark Pritchard

Methyl Ethel

Motez

Lunice

Doorly

Bad//Dreems

Heidi

Optimo

Young Franco

Leon Vynehall

Dro Carey

The Belligerents

Ocean Alley

Harvey Sutherland & Bermuda

No Zu

KLLO

Set Mo

Luke Million

Mossy

Mosquito Coast

Human Movement

Goodwill

Wild Honey

Wednesday, 28th December 2016  Sunday, 1st January 2017

Glenwroth Valley NSW

Tickets: Lost Paradise
Were stoked to share with you some live footage of NZ electronic group Groeni, taken from their debut Melbourne set at The Gasometer Hotel.

The Wellington outfit were launching their single Hinde as part of the Wondercore Island label showcase, with fellow labelmates like Sampa the Great, Jaala and Corin. The night also featured visuals from the talented Melbourne crew at John Fish.

One of the members of Groeni also plays in the electronic orchestral outfit The Strowlini Orchestra, whose excellent single Cham we premiered last month.

These guys are definitely one of our favourite electronic bands doing the rounds at the moment, and will be heading back to our shores in October.

For now, give the footage a geez  produced and edited by James Ruse, and shot by Jackson Tipping, Sammy Pearson and Charlie Freedman.
Our pal Jimmy C. offers this tribute to news that most people checked their phones or watched on TV . . . As usual his thoughts are insightful worth considerationthe very fact that the writing is shared online kinda proves the TKC thesis . . . Our blog community objects to daily published print as a conveyance for newsgathering and JimmyC confuses the issue by talking about journalism and championing reporting that is often biased, faces increasing competition and, again, is more widely consumed online. You decide but his latest post is certainly worth a look: For the invaluable, enduring role of newspapers...let us offer sincere thanks
"Kansas City Streetcar Authority board chairman Mike Hagedorn said Thursday that the authority intends to take a leadership position and strike while the iron is hot to propel route expansion south from downtown.





"Ridership to date (on the toy train starter line) totaled 656,882, with an average daily ridership of about 6,800. By far the busiest day is Saturday, but several board members said they werent worried that novelty rides would abate. Rather, they said, the streetcar line is fostering a lifestyle change for people who live and work downtown.





The economic development angle is undeniable, Hagedorn said of an estimated $1.7 billion in development thats at least partly related to the line. But he also acknowledged that board members need to be ready to respond to members of the public who question the lines value and long-term viability . . ."

KANSAS CITY TOY TRAIN STREETCAR ENTHUSIASTS SEEM EMBOLDENED IN THEIR GERRYMANDERING EFFORTS THIS TIME AROUND AND COULD BE WEARING DOWN THEIR OPPOSITION!!!

The Kansas City Streetcar Authority is climbing aboard the latest effort to expand the line after voters rejected a similar proposal about two years ago.Here's the newspaper publishing unquestioned hype . . .#######Of course there's not a lot of mention that most of the development is also taxpayer subsidized to the hilt.Still . . .Last time around Mr. Peanut pretty much killed the project and it's not clear if opponents can rally the same kind of funding to battle another Kansas City secret tax election hidden away from a public ballot using sketchy mail-in tactics.You decide . . .
Flags have been around for a very long time. You probably saw a bunch of them at the Opening Ceremonies in Rio last week. The oldest flag ever found dates back to the 3rd millennium BC in present-day Iran, and was made out of bronze. Their purpose was to give people information and became especially useful during battles, in order to tell friend from foe. Usually of rectangular shape, national flags today stand to represent the country they belong to and have a strong patriotic link attached to them.

Either simple or complicated, each color or symbol stands for something, usually stemming from way back in history. Most often they represent a religious or military aspect of that particular nation, even if they arent perceived as such today. Below well be discussing ten such national flags and their meanings.

10. France

The French flag is the greatest source of inspiration for other national flags. Pretty much every other national flag in the world with three equally wide vertical bands was inspired directly or indirectly by the French. But where did it come from, and how come its so easily recognizable? Well, technically the French werent the first to adopt a tricolor flag. Or, for that matter, to use red, white, and blue as its colors. That was the Dutch, but well be getting to them shortly. The famous French flag stems from the French Revolution in 1789. And like every other conflict, the opposing sides needed to have distinct banners so they could tell each other apart. Pre-revolutionary France had a white flag adorned with many fleur de lis.

The white is strongly linked with the monarchy and dates back to Joan of Arc during the 1400s. She used a white banner with a picture of Jesus in her battles against the English. In 1789, the revolutionaries sought inspiration from the flag of Paris, which is made out of two vertical bands of blue and red. They then added the historic white between the two as a symbol of the monarchy being subdued by the people. The blue of the Parisian flag comes from St. Martin of Tours and the legend surrounding his cloak. The red represents the banner of the Abbey of St. Denis, and is more commonly known as the Oriflamme, or golden flame.

France did, however, change flags several times during the Napoleonic period, when the old Bourbon monarchy was brought back to power. From 1815 to 1830 France had a plain white flag, until the July Revolution, when King Louis Philippe I came to power and reintroduced the tricolor.

9. The Netherlands

The Dutch flag is the oldest tricolor in existence and dates back to Charlemagnes time during the 9th century, but in a somewhat different arrangement. A more similar variant has been in use since 1572 when the Netherlands went into a rebellion under William I, Prince of Orange, fighting a war of independence against King Philip II of Spain.

Similar to the present day flag, the one back then used orange instead of red. Orange was the color of the Princes coat of arms. However, the orange dye was quite unstable and turned into red after a while. Fortunately, red was the original color used by the region during the previous centuries, and the flag was officially changed in 1630.

The Dutch flag became the inspiration for many other flags and banners around the world, especially in their own colonies. New York Citys flag is based on the old Dutch flag. So are the flags of Orange and Nassau Counties in New York State. Another country that drew inspiration from the tricolor was Russia, which rearranged the colors and adopted it as its national flag in the late 17th century. Many other Slavic states in Europe including Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Croatia modeled their banners on Russias, using the so called Pan-Slavic Colors: horizontal stripes of red, blue, and white.

8. Palestine

Though unrecognized by many other nation states, the flag of Palestine presents a striking resemblance to the original flag of the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule at the end of WWI. The colors used for both the Palestinian flag and that during the Arab Revolt are also used by several other Arabs states today. Theyre commonly known as the Pan-Arab Colors.

Also very similar to Jordans flag, the Palestinian tricolor is made out of three horizontal bands and a red triangle issuing from the hoist. The four colors used here were first mentioned together in a verse by 14th century Iraqi poet Safi Al-Din Al-Hilli: White are our acts, black our battles, green our fields, and red our swords.

When the colors were chosen during WWI, red represented the Khawarij. That was the first Islamic group to revolt against Caliph Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The red banner became the symbol of the Islamic rulers of Andalusia (756-1355). Green represents Caliph Ali, who once covered himself in a green quilt instead of the Prophet, in order to thwart an assassination attempt. The Fatimid Dynasty (909-1171) was the one to take up this color for its banners. White stands for the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750), which took up the color as a symbol for the Prophets first battle at Badr. Black stands for Muhammad himself.

7. South Korea

Officially adopted 1949, though in existence since the early 1880s, the South Korean flag is known as Taegukki, or Great Extremes. The flag is a plain white field, which itself represents peace and purity. Then, in its center there is a red and blue Yin-Yang symbol, which represents opposites (or extremes).

Part of the Chinese I Ching divination text from 900 BC, the earliest use of the Yin-Yang symbol can be found within the Cucuteni  Trypillya Culture in Eastern Europe. This dates back an extra 1,000 years before its Chinese version. The symbol here represents the belief that all aspects of the universe have a duality of positive (red) and negative (blue) that cannot exist without the other.

Surrounding the Yin-Yang, there are four groups of three long and short black bars called Kwae. These are also part of the I Ching text. They represent the four classical elements and the natural form in which theyre presented. The broken bars represent yin (dark and cold) and the unbroken bars symbolize yang (bright and hot). These four Kwae stand for: heaven  air (three unbroken bars), earth (three broken bars), the moon  water (one unbroken line between two broken bars) and the sun  fire (one broken bar between two unbroken bars). Each of these kwae are placed opposite of its counterpart for balance.

6. Venezuela

The Venezuelan flag dates back to their War for Independence (18101823) against the Spanish Empire. The colors and design used are attributed to Francisco de Miranda, who unsuccessfully tried to liberate Venezuela in 1806. In 1811, however, the first variation of the flag came into being. It had unequal yellow-blue-red stripes and a white canton showing a complex emblem. Throughout the duration of the war, some other variations were used, and in 1821 the tricolor was adopted by the region of Gran Colombia. This region was a temporary a republic that later broke off into present-day Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Both Colombia and Ecuador use a similar layout and identical colors for their flags today.

From 1864 until 2006, the Venezuelan flag had a seven-star arch in the middle. These represented the seven provinces that supported the war for independence. The countrys coat of arms was located in the top left corner. The red is said to represent courage, or possibly Spain. Blue is for Venezuelas independence from the Spanish Empire. It could also represent the Atlantic Ocean, which separates the two. Yellow stands for the countrys riches and new opportunities.

The latest modification to the flag was brought on in 2006 when an additional star was added in memory of the countrys hero, Simon Bolivar. It stands for the historical region of Guyana.

5. United Kingdom

Were not sure just how United this Kingdom is after Brexit, but thats neither here nor there. Also known as the Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom is made out of the individual flags of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The flag of England can also be called St. Georges Cross. It is believed that Richard the Lionheart was the one who adopted a red cross on a white field during the Third Crusade, when it was used by the French.

The Scottish flag is also known as St. Andrews cross, or the Saltire. Its origins revolve around the martyr St. Andrew, who is the patron saint of Scotland. According to legend, he was crucified on an X shaped cross. This symbol first began to appear in Scotland in 1180 during the reign of William I. The first confirmed historical use of the white X on a blue field was in 1542. The English and Scottish crosses merged together in 1606 after James IV of Scotland became the ruler of all three British Isle Kingdoms.

The Irish St. Patricks Saltire began to be associated with Ireland as a whole only in 1783, and was adopted as an emblem by the Order of Saint Patrick, which itself was created by the English King George III. As a result of this, many Irish nationalists disregard this symbol. They consider it an English invention. In 1801, with the inclusion of Ireland into the Kingdom, the Union Jack took on the form it has today.

4. Denmark

The Danish flag, or Dannebrog (cloth of the Danes), is the oldest flag still in use today. A simple design, it represents a cross in a rectangular field. The center of the cross is shifted towards the hoist. The shifted cross is known as a Scandinavian cross and was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, as well as the Shetland and Orkney archipelagos. Each has its own color variations. Within the Danish flag itself, the colors dont have any specific symbolism. But the white of the cross is believed to represent honesty and peace, while red stands for valor, bravery, and strength.

Legend has it that during the Battle of Lyndanisse in 1219, when the Danes were waging a Crusade against the Estonians, and the fighting was shifting in favor of the pagans, the Dannebrog fell from the sky. This gave the Danes enough courage to win the battle. The first recorded use of this flag, however, was in the 1300s. Greenland is the only Nordic region which has a different flag design.

3. United States of America

The Star-Spangled Banner can trace its roots back to the American Revolution. The original 13 colonies are represented by horizontal red and white stripes on the flag itself. Initially the Old Glory had the Union Jack in the upper left corner (the Grand Union), but this was quickly replaced by 13 stars on a blue field. Today that field has a total of 50 stars, representing the 50 states. But the history of the American flag, similar to its revolution, is a bit more complicated than that.

The Revolution started off as a mere protest, which ultimately ended up in independence. The horizontal stripes can be traced back to the beginning of the protest, to the Sons of Liberty. Better known as the guys who threw the tea into Boston Harbor. In 1767, the Sons of Liberty adopted a flag called the rebellious stripes flag with nine vertical stripes of red and white.

The star pattern, on the other hand, can trace its origins to George Washingtons Headquarters flag in 1775. This was a plain blue banner with 13 six-pointed stars, arranged in a 3-2-3-2-3 horizontal pattern. The story of Betsy Ross designing the first American Flag with 13 stars, after the nation declared its independence, is mere speculation. More likely to have designed the flag is Francis Hopkinson, who also signed the Declaration of Independence.

Up until 1912, Congress didnt set the specifics on where the blue field would be positioned, how many points the stars should have, or how the parallel white and red stripes be arranged. Due to this, there have been a number of variations.

2. Ethiopia

Ethiopia has always identified itself with its green-yellow-red national colors. Its flag draws inspiration from the Book of Genesis. It associates these colors with the rainbow, from the story of the Flood. The same colors were used for the flag of the Ethiopian Empire in 1897, one year after they decisively defeated the Italians at the Battle of Adwa. These three colors have been in use in Ethiopia as early as the 17th century. They were part of the official banner of the Ethiopian Empires Solomonic dynasty. Red represents sacrifice for freedom and equality. Green is equated with labor, development, and fertility. Yellow stands for hope and justice.

Except for a brief period under Italian control during the 1930s, Ethiopia remained outside European control during the colonial era. Because of this, the country and its national colors drew admiration and offered inspiration for many other African nations in their struggle for independence. As a result, the three colors of the Ethiopian flag, plus black, are considered today to be the Pan-African colors. The first state to adopt a red, gold, and green flag upon independence in Africa was Ghana in 1957.

The South African flag is a combination of these colors and the flag of the Netherlands. On February 6, 1996, the final addition to the Ethiopian flag was added: an outlined, golden, five-pointed star within a blue disc. This blue stands for peace, and the star represents the equality of all Ethiopians regardless of race, creed, or sex.

1. Nepal

Nepals flag is the only one in the world to not have four sides, and instead has a shape formed by two intersecting triangles. Its red color is that of the Rhododendron, Nepals national flower. The blue border around it symbolizes peace. Adopted in 1962, the unusual shape of the flag was designed to show the Himalayan Mountains; a very important aspect of Nepal.

The sun within the lower triangle represents determination and a fierce resolve. The moon in the upper part stands for peace, tranquility, and harmony. Both of these elements stand together representing the hope that Nepal will be as everlasting as these two heavenly bodies.

Its also the only country whose flag design and construction are written into the Constitution. It gives a 24 step-by-step mathematical walkthrough for designing the intricate flag. The previous flag of Nepal, prior to 1962, was of similar shape and somewhat more intricate design. It was in use for more than 2,000 years.

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The Rocca Mare Venetian Fortress (Koules) in Heraklion will reopen its doors to the public with a concert in the framework of events for the full moon of August, Thursday 18 August 2016

The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Heraklion Ephorate of Antiquities announced that the Rocca Mare Venetian Fortress (Koules) in Heraklion will reopen its doors to the public with a concert in the framework of events for the full moon of August, Thursday 18 August 2016.

The Venetian fortress of Koules dominates the entrance to the Venetian harbour of Heraklion. The Venetians called it the Sea Fortress (Castello a Mare or Rocca a Mare), but today it is known by its Turkish name, Koules, a corruption of Su Kulesi (Water Tower). It is one of the most familiar and beloved monuments of the city, and the symbol of Heraklion.

Today the fortress of Koules gazes proudly out across the Sea of Crete, reminding us of the glory of Venetian Chandax. It is haunted by legends that Cretan rebels were horribly tortured in its damp, dark rooms.

The history of Koules

We do not know the precise origins of the history of Koules, but a harbour in such a strategic position in the Mediterranean could not remain undefended. The first fortress was probably built on the site of Koules during the Arab period (9th-10th c.), while there is a reference to a tower called the Castellum Comunis at the harbour entrance in the Second Byzantine period (10th-13th c.) Several sketches by travellers who mapped Heraklion show a tower at the harbour entrance, the earliest being that by Buondelmonti in 1429.

The tower is depicted as a tall structure with sheer walls, either circular or oblong in layout. These depictions are not necessarily to be trusted, as the structure rather resembles a Western European fortification.

In the mid-14th century, gunpowder (a mixture of nitre, sulphur and carbon) made its appearance in Europe. It came to play such a major part in warfare, radically changing military science, that it replaced existing machines of war and neutralised the defensive capabilities of earlier fortifications.

Thus the mid-15th century found Heraklion inadequately fortified and the harbour tower, the Byzantine Castellum Comunis, weak and useless for purposes of defence. In 1462 the Venetian Senate approved an ambitious programme of fortification of the city, which was to defend both Heraklion and the burgs (suburbs) outside it, according to the principles of the new bastion front system. As part of this project, the harbour tower was demolished in 1523 and replaced by the Koules fortress still standing today.

The natural rocky outcrop at this point of the harbour was banked up extensively to form the platform on which the fortress was to be built, covering an area of 3,600 m2. The work was carried out in a very interesting way: old ships were filled with stone from the island of Dia and sunk off the north side of the mole, forming a breakwater and increasing the space available.

The Construction of Koules

Work on Koules continued until 1540. The outer walls are almost 9 metres thick, while the inner walls are up to 3 metres thick at some points. The sea damaged the foundations from early on, and repairs were carried out at intervals. The fortress also had many weak points, due to the fact that it was built in a transitional period when fortification architecture was still at an experimental stage.

Structurally speaking, Koules is formed of two sections:

the south-western, rectangular section, slightly higher

the north-eastern, semi-elliptical section, slightly lower

There were three entrances to the fortress, on the west, north and southwest sides; the main gate was on the west. Various plaques, inscriptions and coats of arms carved in relief were set into the outer walls. The best are the three marble reliefs depicting the winged lion of St Mark, the symbol of the Most Serene Republic of Venice, one over each entrance. Two of them are still preserved today, clearly weathered by constant exposure to the sea air.

The fortress is a two-storey building with 26 rooms. There were originally five casemates (special areas for cannon) on the ground floor. It soon became apparent, however, that the use of guns indoors was problematic, due to the limited field of vision through the narrow embrasures, and the choking smoke produced on firing. Thus the cannon were moved to open platforms on the upper storey and the casemates were abandoned.

The ground floor also housed a prison and various storage areas for food and munitions.

On the north side of the upper storey, which formed a spacious square, was the lighthouse tower. There were also quarters for the soldiers, the officers and the governor.

The fortress also contained its own mill, oven and chapel, ensuring the autonomy of its garrison.

The fortress of Koules did not play a particularly important part during the Turkish siege of Chandax (1646-1669), as the Turkish batteries, strategically placed, were able to neutralise its firepower fairly early on and the Turks gained control of the harbour entrance.

No major modifications were carried out to Koules during the period of Turkish rule, apart from the addition of stone battlements with fire steps for their musketeers, and gun embrasures. The Turks built a smaller fortress, known as Little Koules, opposite Koules on the landward side. Unfortunately this monument was demolished along with part of the Venetian shipyards in 1936, during the modernisation of the city.

Today Koules is occasionally used for art exhibitions held indoors on the ground floor and plays or concerts on the top floor, weather permitting. You can visit Koules from 08:30 to 15:00 in the winter and 19:00 in the summer, every day except Mondays.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Excavations this summer on Mount Lykaion, once worshipped as the birthplace of the god Zeus, uncovered the 3,000-year-old skeleton of a teenager amid a mound of ashes

Archaeologists have made a sinister discovery at the top of a Greek mountain which might corroborate one of the darkest legends of antiquity.

Excavations this summer on Mount Lykaion, once worshipped as the birthplace of the god Zeus, uncovered the 3,000-year-old skeleton of a teenager amid a mound of ashes built up over a millennium from sacrificed animals.

Greeces Culture Ministry said Wednesday that the skeleton, probably of an adolescent boy, was found in the heart of the 30-meter (100-foot) broad ash altar, next to a man-made stone platform.

Excavators say its too early to speculate on the nature of the teenagers death but the discovery is remarkable because the remote Mount Lykaion was for centuries associated with the most nefarious of Greek cults: Ancient writers  including Plato  linked it with human sacrifice to Zeus, a practice which has very rarely been confirmed by archaeologists anywhere in the Greek world and never on mainland Greece.

According to legend, a boy was sacrificed with the animals and all the meat was cooked and eaten together. Whoever ate the human part would become a wolf for nine years.

Human sacrifice

Several ancient literary sources mention rumours that human sacrifice took place at the altar, but up until a few weeks ago there has been no trace whatsoever of human bones discovered at the site, said excavator David Gilman Romano, professor of Greek archaeology at the University of Arizona.

Whether its a sacrifice or not, this is a sacrificial altar ... so its not a place where you would bury an individual. Its not a cemetery, Romano told The Associated Press. A very unusual detail, he said, was that the upper part of the skull was missing, while the body was laid among two lines of stones on an east-west axis, with stone slabs covering the pelvis.

The mountaintop in the Peloponnese region is the earliest known site where Zeus was worshipped, and even without the possible human sacrifice element it was a place of massive slaughter. From at least the 16th century B.C. until just after the time of Alexander the Great, tens of thousands of animals were killed there in the gods honour.

Human presence at the site goes back more than 5,000 years. Theres no sign yet that the cult is as old as that, but its unclear why people should otherwise choose to settle on the barren, exposed summit.

Pottery found with the human remains dates them to the 11th century B.C., right at the end of the Mycenaean era, whose heroes were immortalized in Greek myth and Homers epics, and several of whose palaces have been excavated.

So far, only about 7 percent of the altar has been excavated, between 2007-2010 and again this year.

Source: AP

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Weather to clear up again on Saturday

The Greek Meteorogical Services (EMY) issued a severe weather warning for Friday. The report forecasts heavy storms, hail and strong winds across regions of the country. The phenomena are expected to fade on Saturday.

Areas expected to be affected are: eastern and central Macedonia, Thrace, northern Aegean, Thessaly, the Sporades island cluster, Euboea and eastern and central Sterea (mainland), and possibly the Peloponnese in the morning hours.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Group earnings up by 14.1 per cent in Q3 but turnover drops 5.7% year-on-year in the past quarter due to the impact of terrorism

The worlds biggest travel company, Tui, has warned that UK holidaymakers will have to pay higher prices next summer due to the pounds tumble following the Brexit vote.

The group stuck to its full-year profit forecast as it sold more package holidays to Spain, Greece and long-haul destinations, offsetting a sharp drop in tourism to Turkey and North Africa.

Tui, which owns Thomson and First Choice, said UK revenues and bookings for this summer were up 6%, with no apparent slowdown in bookings as a result of the EU referendum.

Friedrich Joussen, the chief executive, said: We havent seen a change in booking patterns since the referendum.

However, he noted that sterling had lost 9% of its value against the euro, and said if this continued it would push up the cost of holidays next summer. He said: Yes, you will see some price increases but in the last three years you didnt see price increases.

Joussen noted that 60% of holidays sold in Britain were packages.

Tui has sold 89% of its summer holidays in the UK, beating last years figures. Long-haul bookings are up 16%, with Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica popular, as well as new destinations such as Costa Rica. UK bookings for the winter are up more than 20%, mainly to the Caribbean, Mexico, Thailand and Mauritius, as well as the Canaries and Cape Verde. Bookings for next summer have also got off to a good start.

Sales drop by 5.7%

Tui, based in Hanover, Germany, reported underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) of 180m (155m) for its third quarter to 30 June, up 1.1% and excluding the Easter and FX effect, it climbs by 14.1 per cent to 203.3 million euros. Sales dropped 5.7% to 4.6bn, as demand dropped following the attempted coup and terrorist attacks in Turkey and a spate of other attacks in Europe.

Like its rival Thomas Cook, Tui has switched holiday packages from the eastern to the western Mediterranean. Joussen said about 2 million customers had altered their travel plans, with bookings to Turkey down 40%. Egypt has also suffered while UK tour operators stopped offering package holidays to Tunisia for summer 2016.

When you have a lot of incidents, that affects the industry, Joussen said. Its like a rollercoaster, up and down, pointing to the failed coup attempt in Turkey and attacks in Nice, Paris and Brussels. However, he insisted that people were still travelling, albeit to other destinations.

He was confident that customer numbers would be up from last year, and that Tui was on track to deliver at least 10% growth in underlying EBITA this year. Tui launched two cruise ships this summer and opened five hotels, with a further cruise ship due to join its UK fleet next summer.

Thomas Cook has been hit more by the slump in travel to Turkey. The company lowered its full-year profit forecast last month, when it revealed a 25m pretax loss on operations in the three months to June.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Bahrain's Prime Minister His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has reviewed a plan to develop the area between the Shaikh Isa and Shaikh Hamad causeways to make it a recreational facility for the citizens and build a tourist resort.



HRH Premier tasked the Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure to study the facilitys designs and implementation time frame, a BNA report said.



Inspecting development projects in the Muharraq area of the kingdom, HRH Premier said: "Our ultimate goal is to improve the living conditions of our citizens, and enhance the services provided for them."



The Prime Minister made the statements during his field visit today to the area between the Shaikh Isa and Shaikh Hamad causeways in Muharraq.



He directed officials to develop the area and rehabilitate it as a recreational destination for the citizens and residents and build a family tourism facility, given its unique location. The project should include facilities that enable visitors to rest and practise their hobbies, he instructed.



The Prime Minister was briefed by the Deputy Premier and chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, on the governments plan to implement the Premiers directives to revamp the area.
Iran is expecting a surplus in wheat production this year and plans to release the grain in regional markets, said the top national body in charge of ensuring food security.



The Iranian government has already purchased more wheat from farmers than needed for domestic consumption this year, said Hassan Abbasi Maroufan, deputy head of the Government Trading Corporation (GTC), added Iran Daily News, citing a Mehr News Agency report.



He added that the country looks to export the surplus crop to regional markets.



Maroufan said that state-sponsored wheat purchases from farmers have hit 10.283 million tonnes so far and are on course to reach 11 million tonnes  a 30 per cent rise against the figure for the previous year.



He further noted that the total production this year is estimated at 13 million tonnes, which is quite significant and valuable.


The US State Department has approved the potential sale of more than 130 Abrams battle tanks, 20 armoured recovery vehicles and other equipment, worth about $1.15 billion, to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.



The approval for land force equipment coincides with Saudi Arabia leading a military coalition in support of Yemeni forces loyal to the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who are trying to oust Iran-allied Houthi forces from the capital, Sanaa. Human rights groups have criticized the coalition's air strikes because of the deaths of civilians.



The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which implements foreign arms sales, said that General Dynamics will be the principal contractor for the sale.



"This sale will increase the Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF) interoperability with US forces and conveys US commitment to Saudi Arabia's security and armed forces modernisation," the agency said in a notice to lawmakers posted on its website.



Lawmakers have 30 days to block the sale, although such action is rare.



Saudi Arabia and its mostly Gulf Arab allies intervened in Yemen's civil war in March 2015 after the Houthi movement had pushed the Hadi administration into exile in Saudi Arabia.



On Tuesday, the Saudi-led military coalition conducted air strikes on Sanaa for the first time in five months, residents said, after UN-backed peace talks to end the conflict broke down at the weekend.



Medics said nine civilians were killed in a strike on a potato chip factory in the Nahda district of the capital.



Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on the United Nations General Assembly in June to suspend Saudi Arabia from the U.N. Human Rights Council until the military coalition stops killing civilians in Yemen.



"The Saudi-led coalitions campaign in Yemen has been devastating for civilians (and) the US should be suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia, not approving more," said Kristine Beckerle, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.



US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who has been critical of arms sales to Saudi Arabia, said in a statement that he was concerned about the high civilian casualty rate in Yemen. Murphy said Saudi Arabia had "largely backed away from" the fight against Islamic State militants "and Id like to see them commit to rejoin that fight as part of major new military sales." - Reuters
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Labor and Social Development has lifted a ban on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers, a report said.



The ban was in force for the past six years except for domestic helps from the country, said the Arab News report.



Welcoming the development, Bangladesh Ambassador Golam Moshi told the newspaper that the lifting of the ban will pave the way for all categories of Bangladeshi workers to be employed in Saudi Arabia, including skilled, unskilled, professionals such as doctors, nurses, teachers, farm and construction workers.



Currently, there are about 1.3 million Bangladeshi workers in the kingdom, the report said.


Oman will not participate in a meeting of oil producers and consumers in Algeria next month as it is disappointed by the group's failure to address the issue of low oil prices, Minister of Oil and Gas Mohammad bin Hamad al-Rumhy said.



The International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, is due to meet on Sept. 26-28 in Algiers. Qatar said on Monday that Opec members had agreed to hold talks on the sidelines.



Oman, a non-Opec oil producer, doesn't "see the point of continuing to be part" of the group, Rumhy told Reuters in an interview in Muscat.



"We are moving into difficult times, and others still believe that everything will be fine. Those who expected the expensive oil producers will be run out of the business and shut down their operations, have been proved wrong."



Rumhy added: "There were hopes of seeing the impact of fewer investments in oil and gas, and less exploration, on supply and demand with hopes that this might affect the low oil prices. But that didn't happen, and there has been no positive impact on oil prices."



As a result, he said, producers would have to tighten their belts further or find some way to prop up prices by revisiting the idea of freezing production. Oman has reduced state spending as it grapples with a big budget deficit caused by cheap oil.  Reuters
State oil giant Saudi Aramco has appointed to its board Yasir al-Rumayyan, managing director of its top sovereign wealth fund, in a sign that the two institutions plan to cooperate closely to restructure the economy in an era of low oil prices.



Aramco updated its website to show Rumayyan as a new board member but did not explain the change. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Rumayyan had replaced telecommunications minister Mohammed al-Suwaiyal on the board.



Rumayyan heads the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which the government aims to develop into a $2 trillion behemoth that would invest abroad to earn money and domestically to help expand the kingdom's non-oil sectors.



As Saudi Arabia's biggest company, Aramco is to play a major role in the economic plan, providing money, expertise and worker training to develop industries such as shipbuilding.



To build up the PIF, the government has said it will transfer ownership of Aramco to the fund and offer up to 5 percent of the oil company for sale, raising money which the PIF can reinvest.



Officials have been studying proposals for an Aramco share offer for months but have not announced any concrete plans. An overseas offer could be technically difficult because of regulatory requirements, while Saudi Arabia's own capital market might be too small to cope with such a large equity offer.  Reuters
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In recent times, exporters, importers and manufacturers have decried the high cost of doing businesses at Ghanas ports and borders. The delays and its attendant cost have placed huge burden on businesses.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) including other international organisations have also recognised these difficulties and so at the 2013 Bali Ministerial Conference, an agreement on Trade Facilitation which contains provisions for faster movement, discharge and clearance of goods, in addition to transit goods was concluded. Trade facilitation is a concept geared towards the simplification of import and export procedures with the overarching aim of reducing trade transaction costs. It also emphasizes transparency of procedures, harmonization and modernization of international trade procedures.

The agreement also sets out measures for effective collaboration between customs and other key stakeholders on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. Provisions for capacity building and technical assistance for least developed and developing countries was also included in the agreement. The pdf Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) (150 KB) amendment protocol was adopted by the WTO in 2014, consequently paving the way for member countries to ratify the agreement through their domestic legislative procedures.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement is very important to businesses because it can have a major impact on bringing down trade transaction costs. There are high transaction costs with respect to international trade in developing countries and these inhibit exporters and importers from integrating their businesses in the international markets. Ghanaian traders are better able to benefit from this agreement when ratified and implemented. Though Ghana has shown signs of commitment to the agreement by establishing a National Trade Facilitation Committee, it is yet to ratify the Agreement or send a notification on a category of the Agreement to the WTO. Whiles the agreement is yet to be ratified, traders have given positive remarks about Ghanas implementation of a single window system, an aspect of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

The relevance of trade facilitation has long been captured in the 1994 General Agreement on Tariff and Trade of the WTO thus in articles V, VIII and X. However, considering the increases in technology and the dynamics in international trade after the GATT, there was the need to enact an agreement that addresses trade facilitation issues in modern times. The scope of trade facilitation measures the GATT addresses is very limited. Beside the limited facilitation issues the GATT addresses, these articles are scattered in the text even though they are very important to business growth and the international trade process. These made it difficult to address trade facilitation issues, more so when it came to light that a trade facilitation agreement could reduce business costs by between $350 billion and $1 trillion, according to WTO (WTO, 2013), and could increase world trade by between $33 billion and $100 billion in global exports per year and $67 billion in global GDP (World Bank, OECD, 2011).

The new WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation comprises three sections: Section I, deals with trade facilitation measures and obligations; and Section II, focuses on flexibility arrangements for developing and least developed countries (otherwise known as special and differential treatment) and Section III emphasizes institutional arrangements and final provisions.

This is the only time since the WTO was established that the capacity of a country to implement an agreement is clearly linked to the agreement, what is called special and differential treatment. The agreement also underscores the need to provide financial and technical support to developing and least developed countries in the implementation of the agreement. As a result, countries are required to categorize their commitments into A,B and C. Category A meaning fully compliant measures; Category B signifying partially compliant measures requiring transition period to nationally upgrade the measures and Category C representing measures requiring financial and technical assistance.

Following the repeal of about nine (9) Customs Acts some of which include the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (Management) Act, 1993 (P.N.D.C.L. 330), Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (Management) (Amendment) ACT, 1996 (Act 511), Customs and Excise (Duties and other Taxes) Act, 1996 (Act 512) and Customs House Agents (Licensing) Act, 1978 (S.M.C.D 188), a new Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891) was introduced as a replacement.Clearly,the new Customs Act 891 draws its strength from the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. It highlights issues such as Advance Ruling, post-audit clearance, risk management, provision of information which are key articles in the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

Though the Act compares favourably with the Trade Facilitation Agreement, there are several portions of the Agreement that the Act ignores. The Act does not highlight or capture some of the articles such as Establishment and Publication of Average Release Time, customs cooperation, Electronic Payment though it specifies that other than cash other means under the laws of Ghana could be permitted, i.e. Customs Act 891, Article 73(1).The strength of the Act also lies in its ability to address domestic issues such as Auctioned goods and free zones.

As at July 2016, 89 WTO members have ratified the TFA and have submitted mostly their Category A commitments. Once two-thirds of the 164 WTO members submit their ratification notice to the WTO, the agreement becomes enforceable irrespective of whether Ghana ratifies or not. Among the West African countries that have ratified the agreement include Niger, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, and Mali.

Why the Agreement will benefit Ghana

Ghanas exports are mostly time sensitive products. Statistics on trade with Ghanas main trading partner, EU, shows that export of agricultural products i.e. food (including fish) and raw materials constitute 60.5% of the overall total export to the EU in 2014. As such, speeding the export process will help companies deliver on time to their foreign partners.It will also save companies in Ghana the cost of prolong refrigeration as a result of delays at our ports. Indeed, the WTO indicated in its 2015 World Trade Report that by speeding up the clearance of goods across borders, trade facilitation could prove a boon for trade in perishable goods.

Majority of Ghanas top 10 non-traditional exports, as shown in the figure, are agricultural product of which some are time sensitive. As Ghanas export of non-traditional products continue to peak with the passage of time, we must speed up facilitation to the international market so as to derive the maximum benefits.

Over the years,Ghana has instituted reforms to encourage business and trading activities. However, it is limited by financial and technical resources as a result of competing demands from other sectors. This agreement provides the country the opportunity to categorize those items in Category C for which it can only implement if it receives financial and technical support. The resources that would have been channeled to these areas can then be used to develop other sectors of the economy.

The national single window which is in article 10 of the TFA and currently being implemented by the Ghana Revenue Authority and West Blue Consulting has so far yielded positive results. A research conducted in 2016 by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Trade Center (WTC) Accra with funding from BUSAC showed that it takes a maximum of 48 hours for importers to get their Customs Classification and Valuation Reports (CCVRs), something that took one to two weeks to get under the Destination Inspections Companies regime. The respondents (95%) also indicated that the various stakeholders at the ports are major source of delay in the system.

The delays at the ports create the opportunity for importers and exporters to make unsolicited payments. Indeed, the WTO World Trade Report 2015 corroborates this assessment by indicating that the incentives to engage in fraudulent practices at the border are greater when the time needed to complete trade procedures are longer. Since trade facilitation is expected to shorten the duration of these procedures, it creates important avenue for reducing the incidence of trade-related corruption.

The Boankra Inland Port and the Eastern Railway Line projects are part of Ghanas Public-Private Partnership (PPP) pipeline projects by the Government of Ghana. The viability of this inland port and the railway line largely depend on usage by Ghanas landlocked inland countries. As a result, ratifying the TFA will promote transit trade in Ghana since this is a major requirement of the Agreement. There will also be value for money on the 1.5 billion dollar Tema Port expansion project which is a joint venture between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and three companies: Meridian Ports Services, APM Terminals and Bollore? Africa Logistics. Countries such as Ghana, Togo, Cote dIvoire, Benin and Senegal are presently competing for the same transit cargoes of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. Perhaps this is why Togo and Cote Divoire have ratified the agreement.

Ratifying the TFA will also serve as a sign of commitment to Ghanas neighbouring landlocked countries that are currently patronizing the services of other ports such as Cote Divoire to Ghanas disadvantage.

The agreement also provides the greatest opportunity to address the excessive delays in doing business across borders in the ECOWAS sub-region. Members should be bold to drag each other to ECOWAS or WTO in order that there will be improvement in flow of goods in the ECOWAS region.

Conclusion

Customs, Ministry of Trade and Industry, the private sector and all key stakeholders must work collaboratively to champion the implementation of the agreement once the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana ratifies the agreement. Implementation of the TFA should be done in tandem with active support to the private sector for Ghana to reap the benefit of the agreement.

World Trade Center Accra is a trade organization licensed by the World Trade Center Association in New York. Services provided by WTC Accra include Trade Missions, Trade Education, Events, Virtual Office, Projects and Facilities.
Avanti's Growth Explosion

The tour operator has expanded to Europe and Latin America - and now into Asia

Tour Operator David Cogswell
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On June 1, Armenias Police Department signed a 40 million AMD (US$ 84,000) service and repair contract with Toyota-Yerevan Ltd.

30% of the company is owned by Sedrak Kocharyan, the son of Armenias second president Robert Kocharyan. Another 30% is owned by Natalya Matinyan, who in turn owns 50% Haykakan 2 TV.

While the contract obliges Toyota-Yerevan Ltd. to service twenty Toyota automobiles purchased by the Police during 2012-2015, the Police Public Affairs Department says that the 40 million AMD is for servicing the 119 Toyota police cars during the current year.

The department claims that the twenty Toyotas purchased from 2012-2015 are still under warranty and will be serviced at no charge.

One of the addendums to the June 1 contract reveals that the Police purchased 27 Toyotas from Toyota-Yerevan Ltd. for a total of 302 million AMD ($634,270).

Their warranty is for 36 months or 100,000 kilometers.
Many in the know were more than slightly amazed when yesterday, in Moscow during a meeting with visiting Armenian President Sargsyan, Russian President Valdimir Putin remarked that Armenias GDP had grown by 10% since becoming a member of the Eurasian Economic Union in January of 2015.

Its a pleasure for me to note, and I want to thank you on the occasion. Ive looked at last years figures. Armenias GDP, as the data shows, has risen 10% since joining the Eurasian Economic Union. Of course, this is a very positive number, said Putin.

How Putin came up with 10% is a question that remains unanswered.

Armenia has never registered such growth since the international financial crisis. According to the countrys National Statistical Service, Armenias GDP rose 3% in 2015 and 3.5% in 2014.

Tooting his own horn at the meeting, President Sargsyan announced that Armenias trade volume had increased by 12% over the last six months.

I would like to satisfactorily note that, despite international and regional economic problems, out trade numbers have increased by 12% over the past six months, and Armenian exports to Russia have grown by 90%. This is naturally due to the possibilities extended by the Eurasian Economic Union, Sargsyan said.

However, lets take a sobering look at Armenias recent trade figures.

In 2015, Armenia - Russia dropped by 18%. Armenian exports to Russia fell by 26.7%. The drop occurred during the very year Armenia joined the Russian-backed Eurasian Economic Union.

Over the past five years, Armenian exports to Russia peaked in 2013, at US$334.2 million. The number dropped to $308.2 in 2014, and 225.9 in 2015.

Based on official data, Armenian exports to Russia are up 87.4% during the first half of 2016 over the same period in 2015.

It goes without saying that the positive numbers noted by Putin and Sargsyan are designed to justify Armenias last minute decision not to sign an EU Association Agreement in favor of joining the EEU.

How they came up with these figures remains a mystery. Then too, what would have happened if Armenia never joined the EEU? Would the country have fared better?
New Delhi: As the number of violations by the pilots from different airlines is on the rise, civil aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the licence of two pilots for four years.

Besides suspending the two pilots from Air India and Jet Airways for being found drunk on arrival of their overseas flights in India, the DGCA has also taken action against 63 pilots of SpiceJet for operating flights beyond their stipulated duty hours.

As the DGCA also directed the two airlines to also register FIRs against the two pilots, reports suggested that a cabin crew member of Air India had also been slapped with one-year suspension after post-flight checks found traces of alcohol on the person. This is possibly the first time that pilots have been tested positive for alcohol during tests conducted soon after operating a flight and the DGCA has come forward with such strict action.

Sources said although the aviation regulator has written to the chiefs of Jet Airways and Air India to register FIRs against the pilots concerned for this serious violation, the two airlines were still to register the same. Both incidents, involving overseas flights, have been reported this month, they added. TNS
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 11

Eleven doctors, including six women, who had graduated from different medical colleges across the country, were commissioned as captains into the Army Medical Corps at an impressive ceremony held at Command Hospital, Chandimandir, here, today.

Presiding over the ceremony, the hospital Commandant, Maj Gen Mukti Sharma, called upon the new officers to keep abreast of the latest developments in the healthcare system to ensure optimum well-being of patients.

Describing the profession of an Army doctor as challenging which required constant selfless devotion and preparedness to meet demands of the armed forces, she especially felicitated the girls who have chosen the Army as a career.
Harish Khare

ELEVEN months ago this column had reflected (A bonfire of vanities, August 28, 2015) on the long-term corrosion the Patels agitation for reservations had caused to the durability of the so-called Gujarat Model. Predictably, there was this familiar chorus of denunciation and denigration: how could anyone dare speak less than reverentially about Narendra Modi and his Gujarat? That ritual of abuse apart, it needs to be recalled that on August 25, 2015, a 22-year-old man named Hardik Patel had managed to mobilise a massive crowd, defiant and dismissive of the state government. This was the culmination of a months old agitation. The alarm bells were ringing loud and clear; only the deaf and the arrogant could not hear.

Eleven months later, Gujarat has a new Chief Minister. This change of guard is deemed as a fire-fighting operation, dousing the fires of disarray and discontent in Gujarat. It was only two years ago that Anandiben Patels accession to the chief ministerial gaddi after the Saheb had moved to Delhi was being hailed as an inspired move. A woman Chief Minister. A first for Gujarat. A loyal lieutenant rewarded for loyalty through thick and thin. A true leader takes care of those who stand by him. And, much more. But then the 2015 Patel agitation happened. The very community that had sustained the BJP and its boorish  and, often violent  politics since the early 1980s, was now being contrarian. It was advertising to the whole world that it too had a grievance: economic prosperity had eluded it. Blasphemy. Suddenly the social and political precariousness of the much over-sold vibrant Gujarat Model was visible to the naked eye. Without the Modi-Shah duos daily micro-management, the vibrancy had lost its steam and all the hidden fault-lines stood exposed. Within two years the very loyal Anandiben was demarched to make way for a colourless and mediocre man. Vijay Rupani is the new man, and perhaps the new scapegoat.

In May 2014, we were told that Anandiben was the most trusted lieutenant. During these two years it was never suggested that she had even remotely tried to roll back any of the Modi initiatives. Indeed, this limited, taluka-level politician had fully downloaded in her politics all the Modi mantras and masquerades. It must be presumed that the Gujarat she inherited in May 2014 was economically vibrant, administratively super-competent, and politically immersed fully and wholeheartedly into the modernist project of development. During 12 years of Modi raj, Gujarat had become a shining example of industrial prosperity and growth; the praja was at peace with itself and with the raja; harmony prevailed, and the Gujarati asmita was reclaimed and deepened.

Gujarat, in fact, was deemed to be on auto-pilot of growth, prosperity and vikas. All that the good Anandiben had to do was to carry on pretending to be the Chief Minister. She was fortunate enough that the Prime Minister had both the time and the inclination to guide her. Yet, it became necessary that this loyal woman was asked to make way for another loyalists loyalist.

Duplicity and double-crossing that attended the change of guard in Gujarat was chillingly ruthless. It needs to be argued that the installation of a new dummy in Gandhinagar is not a simple question of the BJPs internal intrigue and infighting. It is much more than that. Could it be that if Anandiben fumbled and floundered, it was precisely because of the deleterious effect of Modi rule on the States governing institutions?

Admittedly, it would be unfair to single out Narendra Modi for reducing Gujarat to a personal fiefdom. It is an unvarnished reality that all States, irrespective of the colour of the ruling party, tend to get reduced to be a chief ministerial show. Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and, Odisha are prime instances of a chief minister dictating the tone and tenor of governance, often at variance with the constitutional norms and political conventions. In fact, almost all chief ministers do it, some do it bluntly and defiantly, others do it with some touch of sophistication; mercifully, some chief ministers are constrained to answer to a high command.

To his credit, as Chief Minister, Modi defied the high command of his own party. He carved out for himself an autonomous zone of supremacy in Gujarat. The central writ  political and administrative  did not run in Gujarat, be it Vajpayee rule or the Manmohan Singh arrangement. During those 12 years Gujarat had been made to experience what, for want of a better term, can only be called vanzarafication of a presumably constitutional government. Ruthlessly loyal officers were relied upon and empowered to untie messy entanglements. Difficult customers were simply put away. Every single legal instrument of governance was made to bend to suit the whims and fancies of a single man. This model of command and control produced results  and, the crony corporate India took the front row as the applauding chorus sang hosannas.

Why then this sudden sense of disquiet, even panic? We are told the trigger for the ditching of a loyalist was that very shameful incident at Una. As if that was the first time that the upper caste assertion was on display so crassly. Indeed that kind of barbaric behaviour towards the Dalits should be no surprise to any BJP district-level leader. Indeed, the rise of the BJP in Gujarat since the early 1980s had very much hinged on such entrenched anti-Dalit attitudes. It was in the 1990s that anti-Muslim polemics and violence were used to commandeer the Dalits into the Hindutva tent. The very intensity and the benumbing brutality of the 2002 anti-Muslim riots further trapped the Dalits in this inclusive model. That does not mean that the Dalits were accepted as social equals. Rural and semi-urban Gujarat remains a site of extensive and elaborate social discrimination.

The only thing new about the Una violence is that it became available on the social media and it provoked a national hue and cry. The consternation among the BJPs apologists is not because of an intrinsic unjustness but because the expose has the potential of hurting the partys electoral chances in Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP may be animated by electoral calculations; but the flawed Gujarat Model is crumbling because of built-in redundancy. Narendra Modis very success at the national level has loosened up the anti-Muslim social coalition. The natural clamour for a piece of the pie is the very stuff of contested and competitive politics and social protests. The Dalit upsurge is as natural as is the Hindutva forces' aggression; the vikas-centric jumala-baazi cannot contain for long social and economic contradictions. All said and done, governance is an essay in trust.

Also read: A bonfire of vanities, by Harish Khare (August 28, 2015)

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)
THERE was no immediate provocation for the BKUs agitation on Wednesday but it was different this time. Instead of blocking rail tracks and highways, and thereby annoying common people, the farmers chose to write letters to the President, seeking a favourable announcement in his pre-Independence Day address. They expect a loan waiver and the President is unlikely to oblige them. Their logic: since the government has granted tax and other benefits worth Rs 42 lakh crore to the corporate sector and hefty pay hikes to its employees, why leave out farmers?

Punjab farmers collectively reel under a debt of Rs 1 lakh crore, including Rs 80,000 crore taken from banks. Heavy debt and multiple crop failures have ruined farmers and driven some to suicide but their demand for a loan waiver is unlikely to receive a sympathetic hearing in the BJP-led dispensation in Delhi. In the banking system loan waivers are frowned upon. Politically, Punjab farmers and even the Akali Dal do not count much at the national level. Then there are different rules and ways to deal with corporate bankruptcies and farmer loan defaults. Farmers can be allowed to be humiliated over small amounts, not corporate czars who fund political parties. The BJP is trying hard to shed its pro-corporate image but being farmer-friendly in not in its DNA. The party has conveniently dropped the Swaminathan Commissions idea of giving farmers input costs plus 50 per cent profit. Few buy the BJPs budgetary promise to double farmers incomes in five years. This years budget increased funds for crop insurance and irrigation but this has no relevance to Punjab farmers. The state has assured irrigation and crop failures are due to reasons other than droughts and floods. The Centres one-size-fits-all approach does not work here.

Farmers are to blame partly for their plight. They have become so dependent on bailouts that they refuse to change. They stick to paddy despite the water crisis deepening and use excessive chemicals despite the soil quality deteriorating. Instead of agitating for quality education and healthcare, they are happy to enjoy Badals freebies and direct their anger at the Centre.
Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 11

Union Steel Minister and former Haryana Congress stalwart Choudhry Birender Singh said today that workers felt uncared for in the Congress because the Congress was a cadre-less party unlike the BJP where the situation was the opposite.

In a candid conversation with women journalists at the Indian Womens Press Corps here, Birender Singh, a former member of the Congress Working Committee, spoke of how he felt about the BJP, his new political sanctuary.

One fundamental difference I find is that the Congress is a movement and has no cadres while in the BJP worker is the foremost. When there is no cadre, no one looks after you. The BJP, on the other hand, gives complete attention to workers. Workers are the BJPs principal driving force, said Birender Singh, who quit the Congress in August, 2014, after a long innings of 42 years in the party.

Asked whether his heart still pines for the parent outfit, the former Congress man said: The heart doesnt exist in isolation of mind and body. I chose the BJP because it was led by a man who had acquired a pan-India presence.

Narendra Modi, like Germanys Bismarck, is on a mission to unify India. For once, we have a leader who does not speak of governing India in a compartmentalised way.

Birender Singh didnt say a word against Congress President Sonia Gandhi but reiterated his legendary rivalry with Bhupinder Singh Hooda, his powerful cousin and former Chief Minister of Congress-ruled Haryana, whom he has blamed for his own exit from the party.

Not only the land deal involving Congress Presidents son-in-law Robert Vadra but all CLU projects cleared by the Hooda government must be probed. I have always maintained that 10 years of Hoodas misrule led to the Congress drubbing in Haryana. I stand by my words, the Minister said.
New Delhi, August 11

The Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has planted around 87,000 saplings in the forest range of Parwanoo, Dharampur and nearby areas as compensatory afforestation, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Thursday informed the National Green Tribunal.

NHAIs counsel informed a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar that around 52,800 saplings and over 27,000 saplings were planted in Parwanoo and Dharampur, respectively.

After the counsels submission, the bench said, We will send local commissioner to these two places. It appointed a local commissioner to visit these places to see plantation of saplings, saying It was necessary to have a complete verification.

It also said that the saplings would be counted and the commissioner would prepare a video of the area.

Let the report be filed within two weeks from today, the Bench said.

The green panel observed that as per NHAI, these saplings have been planted as a compensatory afforestation in view of the trees which were uprooted for a road project from Parwanoo to Shoghi.

It had earlier pulled up the authorities concerned for not planting trees after cutting thousands of plants for the road project and had observed that time is not far away when people will have to carry oxygen cylinder due to environment degradation.

The tribunal had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the matter pertaining to cutting of trees from Parwanoo to Shoghi in Himachal Pradesh for the project.

The NGT had directed the conservator of forest to file an affidavit giving details of number of trees cut in the stretch and had also asked the NHAI and state government to file their reports on the issue.  PTI
Our Correspondent

NURPUR, AUGUST 11

Residents of five gram panchayats of Indora development block today lost road connectivity to their native villages after washing away of eight pillars (supporting columns) of Kandrori Bridge on Chhonch rivulet on the Indora-Damtal road.

Heavy rain since last night flooded the rivulet which washed away bridge pillars with a span around 50 metres. The damaged bridge had 160 meters span and had been built in 1972. The administration had restricted plying of heavy vehicles on this bridge yesterday following heavy rain and floods in the rivulet.

As per information, the approach road of Malot bridge in the area was also damaged but movement of vehicles on the bridge has been allowed by the Public Works Department.

Nurpur SDM Rakesh Prajapati said that the traffic on the Indora-Damtal road had been diverted through Kathgarh and Malot link roads. The local Army authorities have been apprised of the diversion of traffic through Kandrori army cantonment area vial Kathgarh and the authorities have allowed it, he said.

Meanwhile, Basu Dev (64), a farmer and resident of Bassa village in Nagrota Surian, remained trapped in flood water of Gaj khud for over 10 hours as khud in spate reportedly changed its course and flooded his field where he had gone in the morning.

SDM Jawali Mohan Dutt Sharma said that local gram panchayat intimated the police and administration. Help was rushed to the spot immediately and the trapped farmer was rescued after a struggle of 10 hours.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, August 11

Politicians in Himachal are more aam than the leader of AAP in Delhi, said a local who was keen to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Dharamsala Circuit House today but failed even after waiting for hours. This was the inference drawn by people who had come to meet Kejriwal at the Circuit House where he stayed for a few hours after completing his 10-day meditation course.

Another resident from Kangra, who was there to meet Kejriwal, said, I did not get a bottle of water free of cost in the Volvo bus going from Dharamsala to Delhi. I sent an SMS to Transport Minister GS Bali. Soon after, the bus conductor provided me the water bottle. Even I got a message back from the minister. But here we were not being allowed to meet the AAP chief, he said.

You can stop the Chief Minister and talk to him but it is difficult to approach AAP leaders from Delhi, said another person.

The comparison was drawn by those who waited for hours at the circuit house to meet Kejriwal but had to return dejected.

Kejriwal came to the circuit house around 11 am. He was accompanied by his personal staff and security men from Delhi. Only state president of AAP Rajan Sushant managed to have audience with Kejriwal.

Amarjit Singh Chahal, Dr Ram Saran and Joginder Singh Chinna were among the aspirants from Gurdaspur district who had come to meet Kejriwal for ticket. However, none of them got a chance to meet him.

The stay of Kejriwal was extended due to bad weather. He was scheduled to take flight to Delhi but it was cancelled due to low visibility. Kejriwal had to go by road from Dharamsala to Chandigarh about 2 pm.

Kejriwal was also given the guard of honour by the Himachal Police as he was accorded the state guest status by the state government.
Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 11

The Sikh community in Union City of California today protested the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib by a miscreant. The incident took place yesterday when pages of the holy book were torn and thrown away.

Sikh bodies have decided to take up the matter with the American Sikh Congressional Caucus tomorrow. The caucus, formed around six years ago, comprises 50 members of the US Congress. It deals with issues pertaining to the Sikh community.

Pritpal Singh, president of the American Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (ASGPC), said it was the first such incident in the US and needed to be investigated.

Unlike other holy books, we consider Guru Granth Sahib to be a live embodiment of our Gurus. It is important to make the US authorities understand this fact. We will take up the matter with the American Sikh Congressional caucus tomorrow, he said while talking to The Tribune over the phone from California.

He said the accused would be caught as he was seen by the people present in the park. He said the police were checking the CCTV footage to identify the culprit. Around 7 pm (local time), a man in his late 30s arrived in the park holding a bag. He went to the area where some people from the Sikh community were sitting and took out some pages from his bag and tossed them in the air, he said.

Initially, people did not pay attention, but when they realised these were the pages from the holy book, they objected to his act. The man said he would pick up the pages, but he began to run towards a car parked nearby. A boy almost caught hold of him, but the accused managed to escape, he said.

City mayor Carol Dutra and senior police officials visited the area today and met key witnesses of the incident. Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director, North American Punjabi Association, said the incident seemed to have been planned to disturb harmony in the area.

Union City has a large Sikh population. It seems the accused intentionally chose the park where members of the Sikh community came for a walk daily, Chahal said. He has urged the US authorities to take preventive measures.

Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal also condemned the incident and asked Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to take up the issue with the US. He expressed concern over the alleged attempts to disturb communal harmony through sacrilege incidents in India and abroad. He appealed to the Sikhs across the globe to maintain peace and harmony. SGPC chief Avtar Singh urged Sushma to take up the case with her counterpart in the US.
Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Two questions will need answers from the all-party meeting In New Delhi on Kashmir tomorrow and both of these would test the political will of the nation to deal with the decades-old problem once and for all. Or, the meet will be destined to get reduced to yet another charade of looking for some patchwork.

The first question: do any of these parties have anything different and more acceptable to offer to the whole of Jammu and Kashmir than what they have already spoken in Parliament? Will they reverse their stated positions on Kashmir, or will they be talking about the entire state or merely about the Valley which is the pellet-riddled face of the country at the moment?

It is a significant query because both the BJP and the Congress are busy wooing the electorate in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP is saying what it did not say in its Agenda of the Alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party where the Valley was seen as the whole of the state, while Jammu and Ladakh were treated as peripheral references. It is now looking for the Hindu vote consolidation by remembering that Jammu and Ladakh, two non-Muslim majority regions, also exist on the map of the state.

The Congress is overplaying the Kashmiri card, again with an eye on the UP Muslim votes, and working on some hope, though very slim, that it would return to power riding piggyback on the National Conference or the PDP. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad might have thought that he had echoed the dominant Kashmiri sentiment dont love our land, love us too when he told Prime Minister Narendra Modi: Dont love Kashmir alone but Kashmiris. But his emotional salvo was wrapped with a political message, seeking to rewrite the history of the current trouble, history of which can be traced to 2008, when he was the Chief Minister. His party has always taken Jammu and Ladakh for granted. Jammu and Ladakhs problems cannot be summed up as development.

The second question is: who are the moderates to whom the Centre would like to talk to? There was a clear distinction born out of the difference of opinion on the Kashmir solution between the hardliners and the moderates in the separatist-oriented ideology. Syed Ali Shah Geelani was seen as a hardliner, and he was happy with this tag because it gave him some acceptability among the pro-Pakistan sections. His fortunes were reversed in 2005, when the then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf turned his back on him for what was called Geelanis obstinacy to stay frozen in 1947.

By that time the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq faction, seen as doves, had held two rounds of talks with the Centre. It was known as a moderate group. There were more separatist groups in this faction than in that of Geelanis faction. Now it is vice-versa. Most of the erstwhile moderates have joined the hardline faction, of course, at the behest of Pakistan. For similar reasons, Mirwaiz has made common cause with Geelani. His speeches and statements bear the stamp of approval of Islamabad.

The moderate separatist camp has vanished. The Centre is responsible for uniting the separatist camp. Now separatists and Geelani along with Yasin Malik are called the united resistance camp. This is the moderate camp given the hardened attitude of the stone-throwers and the gun-wielding militants, some of whom are calling for nuclear war on Kashmir.

This group has given a call for referendum march on August 13 and 14 and prayers for Pakistan, pre-empting the Centres move to open dialogue with the moderates. August 15 will be a black day and all the official functionaries have been asked not to hoist the Tricolour. The Centre needs to wake up to the social media, where the tragedy of pellet victims is being exploited to paint India black.

It would be interesting to see how the all-party meeting on Friday will discover or rediscover the moderates sitting on the other side of the talks table.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 10

Expressing concern over the situation in the Kashmir valley and pledging to win back peoples confidence, the Rajya Sabha today unanimously passed a resolution, appealing to all sections in Jammu and Kashmir to work towards restoring normalcy and harmony.

The House conveys its deep sense of anguish and concern over the loss of lives and critical injuries caused by the deteriorating situation. The House is of the firm and considered view that while there cannot be any compromise on national security, it is equally an imperative that urgent steps are taken to restore order and peace for the alleviation of the sufferings of the people, read the resolution which was passed at the end of a daylong discussion.

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In his reply, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would attend an all-party meeting on Kashmir scheduled for August 12. No power in the world can take Jammu and Kashmir away from us, he said adding, talks will be on PoK, not on Kashmir when we speak to Pakistan.

Warning that pro-Pakistan slogans would not be allowed, Rajnath said, I request the people in Kashmir not to stand on Indian soil and raise anti-India slogans.

Referring to the Prime Ministers absence from the House, Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad slammed Modi for speaking about the turmoil-hit Valley while in Madhya Pradesh. Expressing admiration and respect for former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who spoke of resolving the Kashmir issue through jamhooriyat, insaniyat and Kashmiriyat, Azad said: it sounds odd when those who do not believe in it use the same words, an obvious reference to the PM.

It is only when the pain is felt from the heart that it will reach the people of Kashmir, the former Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister said. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir is sensitive. It is imperative that the House speaks as one on the issue, Leader of the House Arun Jaitley pleaded.

Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) leader, said: There is a need to address the trust deficit in the Valley. Please start the process of political dialogue. Please stop using pellet guns. Explaining the trust deficit, Nazir Ahmed Laway (PDP) said "delegations come and go, nothing ever is done."

Dr Karan Singh said it was naive to believe that the solution to the Kashmir problem could be found overnight. It is a mammoth humanitarian, political and economic problem. Let us put our heads and hearts together and solve it.

Pointing out that the Kashmiri Youth wanted to be beneficiaries of India's success story, Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh said, Most children who are killed in the Valley are from the poorest of the poor sections while those provoking trouble have their children living in metros and abroad. Congress MP Vivek Tankha said the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley would help resolve the issue.

"Pro-Pakistan slogans will not be allowed. I request the people in Kashmir not to stand on Indian soil and raise anti-India slogans." - Rajnath Singh, Home Minister

"It sounds odd when those who do not believe in insaniyat, jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat use these words. Pain felt from the heart alone reaches the people." - Ghulam Nabi Azad, Cong Leader
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 11

A 42-year-old sub inspector, Tariq Ahmed (name changed), of the J&K Police is yet to resume his duties after he was hit by a stone close to his right eye a day after the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani. His vision is getting blurred with each day despite treatment.

My eyesight is getting weak, the officer said.

Posted as an in charge of the police post in central Kashmirs Budgam district, the officer who hails from a north Kashmir district, recalls as to how fierce was the group of protesters on July 9 when they made umpteenth attempts to storm a police installation in the area.

A group of nearly 2,000 youth appeared near our police post at 10 am on July 9. They lobbed petrol bombs, threw stones and tried to storm the police post, which we did not allow. At least 15 policemen and CRPF jawans stationed at the post were injured while ensuring that the mob does not storm the post, he said.

I was hit by a stone near my right eye at around 3 pm and felt piercing pain, he said, adding that he was yet to resume duties.

A Deputy Superintendent of Police was hit by a stone on July 29 on his left hand, resulting in compound fracture. He was operated upon at the Army Hospital and has resumed duty.

I joined duty after the surgery, he said.

The widespread clashes that broke following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani has left 54 civilians and two policemen dead and over 7,000 people injured. Union minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said 4,515 security personnel and 3,356 civilian were injured during the protests in Kashmir. However, hospitals across Kashmir have so far received over 6,000 injured civilian.

According to official figures, nearly 150 police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel were hospitalised in J&K police hospital and Armys 92-Base hospital in Srinagar after they came under attack of stone-throwers.

Inspector General, CRPF, Atul Karwal said over 1,600 CRPF personnel were injured in the clashes and most of them received burn injuries, head injuries, fractures and splinter injuries.

One of our jawans is in a critical condition, Karwal said.

The civilian killings and using pellet guns, which has blinded several hundred protesters, including teenagers, have generated anger against the men in khakhi and put pressure on them and their families. They are also facing open threats from protesters, separatists and militants as the anger against them is growing.

Apart from threats of social boycott, coupled with separatists and protesters naming certain police officers for their alleged atrocities on protesters during the current phase of unrest, graffiti and posters have appeared in various areas threatening police officers with dire consequences.

A senior police officer in Srinagar said the police had already registered cases wherever threats had been issued to their officials or personnel.

Cases have been registered and investigation will be taken to logical conclusion, he said.

Amid all these pressures on professional and social front, the police officials, who are engaged in maintaining law and order situation, said this was the toughest situation they were facing after 2008 and 2010.
Ehsan Fazili

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 11

With no discernible improvement in the overall situation in Kashmir, curfew and restrictions continue to remain in force across all 10 districts of the valley on day 34 of the ongoing unrest on Thursday.

Curfew has been imposed in seven police stations in downtown and Batamaloo in the uptown area of Srinagar. Elsewhere, curfew remains imposed in Anantnag town of south Kashmir and Kupwara town in the north.

The government has decided to disallow the march to Eidgah by restricting the movement of the All Party Hurriyat Conference leader, scheduled to march from his house at Nigeen at 1.30 pm.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The authorities are keeping a strict vigil in view of the proposed march to the martyrs graveyard at Eidgah to pay tributes to separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who was killed on this day in 2008 during a march to Muzaffarabad near Uri. Thursdays call for march to Eidgah was also to pay tributes to those killed in the Amarnath land row in 2008, the summer unrest in 2010 and those killed in Kashmir since 1990. The authorities, however, foiled the proposed march.

Normal life has been affected due to the curfew and restrictions coupled with the shutdowns called by separatists against the civilian killings during the ongoing trouble. All shops and business establishments are closed and traffic continues to be off the road. Educational institutes are closed and government offices have thin attendance.

To counter the separatists protest calendar, the authorities have restricted the movement of traffic on the main roads in the valley during night over the past three days. The decision has been resented by people, particularly in north Kashmir, as they were not able to have traffic movement due to the stone-pelting incidents along the main roads during day.

Mobile internet services have remained suspended since early July, while mobile telephone services were later resumed, though with a bar on the outgoing facility on pre-paid connections. The prevailing unrest has also led to the suspension of Kashmir-centric train services between Baramulla and Banihal since early July.

The trouble triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in south Kashmir on July 8 has claimed the lives of 54 civilians and two J&K Police men and led to injuries to more than 6,000 others.
Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 11

As the unrest in the Valley continues for more than a month now, it has not only killed or maimed residents, buts also affected the health of people who are just caged inside their homes due to frequent use of pepper gas and teargas shells.

In Srinagars downtown where dozens of neighbourhoods are interconnected by alleys making it a reason for frequent stone-throwing incidents, the police frequently use pepper gas and teargas shells to disperse the protesters, which is affecting the health of residents even when they are inside their homes.

After the recent trouble started in Kashmir following the killing of militant commander Burhan wani, the old Srinagar has mostly remained under curfew. The areas under police stations of old Srinagar, Rainawari, Nowhatta, Khanyar, MR Gunj and Safa Kadal, according to security agencies, are more volatile and prone to violent protests. Whenever there are clashes, the residents are trapped inside their homes.

When we hear the teargas shells being fired outside our homes we try to sit in one room with windows closed and curtains spread, but still the gas enters the room. We are not able to sleep as it causes continuous irritation and cough. We are not even able to see a doctor due to strict curfew in place. It seems a punishment for no offence, said Mymoona Jan, a resident of Saraf Kadal.

Not only the young people are affected, but also the use of pepper gas has been troubling elders and children.

My daughter has recently given birth to a baby and the frequent smoke and pepper gas in the air has severely affected the health of the baby and all family members. It has choked our throats and created respiratory problems. Even sometimes the security forces fire pepper gas shells without any protest or anything, said Mohammad, a resident of Nowhatta.

Similar problems are faced by people in restive Pulwama and Anantnag where frequent clashes between security forces and the youth lead to collective punishment for the residents.

We live on the main road. Teargas shells sometimes land in our compound forcing us to take refuge in the rear area of our house. We have developed ailments due to pepper gas and teargas. Our lives have become miserable. The bullets kill once, but we are dying a slow death, said Shazada, a mother of two who resides in Pulwama town.

A Registrar in the Department of Medicine at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital said due to the use of harmful gases like pepper gas to quell the protests, patients suffering from various chest diseases like COPD incurred increased risk of asthma attacks.

It causes allergy, irritation and cough in all age groups, but people who are already suffering from chest diseases, they have a risk of severe respiratory problems. The pepper gas is more harmful to children and the elderly, said Dr Adil Ashraf.

Doctors and attendants alleged that teargas shells were fired on the lawns of SMHS Hospital recently, causing severe problems to patients. Last week when the teargas shells were fired in the hospital we had to admit four patients with lung problems. They had COPD, but it got aggravated after inhaling the gas, said a doctor at SMHS Hospital.

The government, however, maintains that the pepper gas being used in the region is non-lethal.
Manika Ahuja

Freshers functioneach one of us has a different experience to share about the special day. While some are reminded of a younger and radiant version of the self sashaying down the ramp with elan, for the rest, induction day implies a rather emotional stepping stone phase which follows soon after their dearest alma mater bids them a hearty farewell. Young girls dressed to the nines for their Freshers Party organised by Campus Buzz Tribune Life+Style, at Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector 42, had similar experiences to narrate.

While a large majority was chuffed at winning titles such as Miss Fresher, Miss Best Dressed and Miss Face of the Day, others were beyond elated as they danced to their hearts content to foot-tapping music beats. Heres what they had to say.

Special moments

First year student of Bsc. Computer Science, Rajinder Kaur, who won the Miss Fresher title, could not stop raving about the great time all the fresh faces had while walking down the ramp, Everybody was brimming with energy. Fifteen girls were short listed for the second round, out of which the final winning titles were announced.

Miss India moment

Bharti Ahluwalia, Bsc first year student, lived her Miss India moment of sorts when she was adjudged Best Dressed fresher of the day. I won the same title back in school as well. It felt great, nonetheless, to win it again! gushes the Chandigarh girl, who aspires to become a professional model.

Down the memory lane

For Deeksha Chandok, second year student of Bio Technology Elective, welcoming freshers came as a reminder, Looking at all these new faces having a gala time today, I am reminded of my special moments as a fresher.

Unforgettable

Winning the Face of the Day title came as a pleasant surprise to Ambala dame Bhawna Vig, who is all set to pursue a course in Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA). I have heard it from seniors that Freshers Day memories remain etched in the memory forever, now that I have won a title, I am sure it will be unforgettable for me, she shares.

Title winners aside, Chahat Sharma, who anchored the event, puts it best, Last year, our seniors made us feel at home by breaking the ice, and now, we are doing the same. It feels great to see fresh faces making a foray into college life. There is a flutter in the campus again!
Jasmine Singh

This was our chance to see the Tiger, from close quarters. And, this one was present at the launch of a popular radio channel in Chandigarh.

Piercing eyes with excellent depth, an exotic gaze; dressed in black from top to bottom, this Tiger takes his place on the stage, while we are ready to shoot... a battery of questions of course! Flying straight from the jungle of Bollywood, Tiger Shroff and Remo DSouza land in Chandigarh to promote their upcoming film A Flying Jatt, slated for an August 25 release, and also the radio channel.

Tiger Shroff is sitting quietly, taking queries, making no snarling sound or pulling out those predator claws, though he kids about having those needle-sharp teeth. I used to scratch everything around and I have these really sharp teeth, so my father named me Tiger. He is kidding, mind you!

If he gets the name Tiger from his father, Flying Jatt is his new name that he gets from Remo D Souza, the director of his upcoming movie A Flying Jatt where Tiger plays a goofy and a clumsy superhero! A clumsy superhero, are Krrish and Jadu listening to this? I always wanted my superhero to be a normal person; a superhero who is not aware of his powers. This is how I perceived and wrote the story of the film eight years back, adds Remo.

But has the superhero, Tiger Shroff, himself seen or heard about such superheroes? I just followed Remo sir. This was indeed the most challenging role for me. I always thought that I could do all the action myself, but for A Flying Jatt, I had to use a harness. And it was too hot when we were shooting, the mask would come out now and then, Tiger tells his tales.

Remo too shares his story; the biggest one of proving himself as a director first. This story of A Flying Jatt was with me for the last eight years, but first I had to prove myself as a director. So, I made Faltu, ABCD, ABCD 2, and now it is A Flying Jatt. I thought action was a challenge, now I realise it is like choreography only; action choreography like we do in Hollywood, says Remo.

Ah well, all the flying action did land up the film in some trouble with the SGPC! The Sikh religious body objected to certain scenes in the film. Its all cleared now, well get the certificate today, a happy Remo announces.

This jatt will finally be flying happily in the open sky, after having eaten a gracious amount of makhan and sarson ka saag. You bet, both Tiger and Remo look at each other, In the beginning of the film, Tiger gave his measurements for the superhero suit and the suit was stitched accordingly. These measurements had to remain the same during the entire shoot, so you can well imagine that Tiger couldnt enjoy all the Punjabi food, Remo provides dope on this. All said and done, I like Punjab and the Punjabis. Tiger backs it up, I bet the audience of Punjab will like A Flying Jatt too. Also, since it has a message, which is making the youth realise the importance of Dastar and Khanda, Remo D Souza gives us this last bit of information before getting on with the pictures. And we... patiently see the Tiger moving around, up close and personal!

jasmine@tribunemail.com


Saint Catharine's Roman Catholic Church stands at 25 Second Avenue in the Village of Pelham, New York. In 1895, the Village of Pelham had not yet been incorporated within the Town of Pelham. In the tiny little hamlet of Pelhamville there lived more than fifty Catholic families. The area was within the parish of St. Gabriel's Church, New Rochelle that was led, at that time, by Rev. John Anthony Kellner, Rector.

Families in Pelhamville asked Father Kellner to allow the construction of a church in Pelhamville. Father Kellner, in turn, sought the sanction of then New York Archbishop Michael Augustine Corrigan. Archbishop Corrigan granted the necessary permission. According to an announcement published in The New York Times on Christmas day the same year, a beautiful edifice was planned. The report said, in part: "The church will be Gothic in style. It will have a seating capacity of 350 persons. The dimensions will be 35 feet by 76 feet. It will be a frame structure, with a bell tower over the sacristy. The basement will be of stone." Catholic Church For Pelhamville, N.Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1895, p. 16.

The 100 x 100 lot for the building was a gift of Patrick Farrell and was located near the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Blessed Redeemer. Residents raised five hundred dollars toward construction of the building and obtained crosses and seven stained glass windows for inclusion in the new edifice. Id. Plans were made for a ground-breaking in January 1896 with an expectation that the building would be completed six months later in June. On July 5, 1896, Archbishop Corrigan led the dedication of the new church building in Pelhamville.

Within only a few years the tiny little church building was no longer large enough to serve the needs of the growing church. It only held about one to two hundred worshipers. By 1908, the church needed a sanctuary that could hold up six hundred to meet not only its then-current needs, but also to allow for anticipated growth. Reverend Father Francis P. McNichol, the Rector of the Church sought to build a bigger and more magnificent church building to replace the tiny structure.

Father McNichol was a driving force in the early years of Saint Catharine's. Indeed, when he became Rector in 1897, the church had only its church building -- a building that was not even fully furnished. He quickly set out to furnish the building. By 1908, Father McNichol had successfully built a rectory (and paid for it himself), a convent for the Sisters, of whom six were living there in 1908, and a brick parochial school building.

Father McNichol next oversaw the construction of a new church building on the site of the old one, building around portions of the old church and even incorporating elements of that church in the design of the new one. According to one account, for example, by 1908:

"Very little of the old church building remains, and that portion is merely a porch on the new church. The front of the old church was taken out to make room for confessionals and baptistery, with a marble baptismal font.

The new church has been beautified with a new and graceful looking spire. The wooden stairs have give place to a masonry structure with great blue stone steps. The wooden supports of the old church have been replaced by brick piers. The old time furnace has been relegated to the scrap heap and in its place a fine heating plant with radiators have been installed together with a concrete cellar." (See full transcription of article from which this quote is taken, below.)

On November 1, 1908, the new church of Saint Catharine was blessed in ceremonies that lasted for much of the day. Among many other dignitaries, His Grace Joseph Aversa, Archbishop of Sardes, Apostolic Delegate to Cuba, conducted the blessing. In the afternoon, sixty boys, girls, and adults were confirmed in a beautiful confirmation ceremony in the newly-blessed church building.

I have written about the rich history of Saint Catharine's Roman Catholic Church in North Pelham before.

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Mon., Jul. 27, 2015:

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Wed., Apr. 09, 2014:

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Fri., Feb. 28, 2014:

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Thu., Sep. 13, 2007:

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Wed., Sep. 12, 2007:

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Tue., Dec. 06, 2005:

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Pelham is lucky in that local newspapers reported extensively on the ceremonies that were held that day. Thus, there are records of the ceremonies, attendees, decorations, musical programs, and more for the event -- a rich historical record for a beautiful church.

Saint Catharine's in April, 2011. Source: Wikipedia.

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge. 



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Below is the text of several articles published at the time regarding the blessing of the new church building at Saint Catharine's. Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

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North Pelham, Oct. 28. -- This village will probably witness the largest gathering of Catholic clergymen and laity in his history next Sunday, when St. Catherine's church will be blessed with appropriate ceremonies. Services will be held in the morning and afternoon. In the morning at 10:15 o'clock, Archbishop Aversa, papal delegate to Cuba and Porto Rico, will bless the new church while the sermon will be preached by the Rev. John O'Rourke, the distinguished Jesuit preacher and editor of the 'Messenger of the Sacred Heart.' Archbishop Farley will administer confirmation in the afternoon at 3 o'clock, and will also preach and give the benediction.





Archbishop Aversa is expected to arrive in New York from Rome tomorrow, and it is said that he will remain here in this country two months. He will then return to Europe as Nuncio to Vienna, which is the highest diplomatic post of the papacy, the occupant of which becomes a cardinal within a year or two. One of the first duties which Archbishop Aversa will be called upon to perform will be the blessing of this new church edifice. North Pelham is certainly fortunate in having him so soon after his arrival.





After the blessing of the church mass will be said by Rev. George Waring, chaplain to the United States army in Cuba, and captain of the staff of General Barry. Among the distinguished guests whom Rev. Father McNichol, the rector of the church, will have at dinner, will be: Archbishop Aversa, Archbishop Farley, of New York; Adrian Iselin, jr., Supreme Court Judge Keogh, Thomas M. Mulvey, president of the Emigrant Savings bank of New York, who was lately created a Knight of St. Gregory; John George Beresford, Monsignor Lavelle, the rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral and vicar general of New York; Monsignor Hayes, the chancellor of the diocese.





The new church edifice is a credit to the village and is in reality the crowning event of Rev. Father McNichol's work here. He began his pastorate in this village with practically no parish at all. Very little of the old church building remains, and that portion is merely a porch on the new church. The front of the old church was taken out to make room for confessionals and baptistery, with a marble baptismal font.





The new church has been beautified with a new and graceful looking spire. The wooden stairs have give place to a masonry structure with great blue stone steps. The wooden supports of the old church have been replaced by brick piers. The old time furnace has been relegated to the scrap heap and in its place a fine heating plant with radiators have been installed together with a concrete cellar.





The new church is in the form of a cross. The old structure seated 200; the new church will have a seating capacity for 600. In the cross section of the church are six great stained glass windows. On the northern side the subject of the center window is 'St. Joseph.' The subjects of the windows on either side of the center are 'St. Frances de Sales, Bishop of Geneva,' and the 'Guardian Angel' protecting of the old church building remains, side of the section the subject of the central window is 'The Blessed Virgin Mary,' which is a copy of the celebrated picture of the Immaculate Conception at Lourdes. The others are St. Francis of Assisium [and] St. Clare.





All of the subjects are exquisite in expression and coloring.





The sanctuary is large and spacious. The two new marble altars are certainly gems in beauty. The sanctuary is covered with a rose colored Royal Wilton carpet. The vestry for the priests, with its altar of polished oak and stained glass windows, resembles a beautiful chapel. It is connected by a passageway, with a vestry for the altar boys. The entire building has been covered with galvanized iron and stuccoed with cement.





On the grounds, which extend from First to Second avenues and have a frontage of several hundred feet, Rev. Father McNichol during the time that he has been in the village has built a rectory and paid for it; a convent for the Sisters, of whom six are now living there, and a brick school building. This school is under the direction of the regents of the state of New York. At the last examination one of the pupils took the blue seal of honor, which, it is said, is the second time that such an honor has come to any scholar in the town.





One of the oldest residents in the town and one who has seen the village grow from a small hamlet with a few houses to the present prosperous village, is Michael McHugh. He said the other day: 'Yes, I told Rev. Father McNichol when he came to Pelham that he would starve. But now when I look on the church, the school, the rectory, the convent and the beautiful grounds, I take my hat off to him. In a way it reminds me of an article I read in the newspapers the other day. A man in Pittsburgh died and left thirty thousand dollars for a monument in his memory. After his death his nephew sold the monument. When I look at what Rev. Father McNichol has done, I say that they will never sell his monument.'





Certainly when one looks at the complete parish which Father McNichol, had built up during his short pastorate, the four buildings provide a scene which a New York paper has pronounced to be the most picturesque that can be found on the line of the New Haven road."





Source:

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[Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 28, 1908,

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Archbishop Aversa To Be Assisted by Archbishop Farley at Service.





The new Church of St. Catherine [sic] at Pelham will be blessed to-morrow at 10:15 by Archbishop Joseph Aversa, Papal Delegate to Cuba and Porto Rico. The celebrant at the high mass which follows will be the Rev. George Waring, United States chaplain of the 1st Cavalry and captain on the staff of General Barry. The Rev. J. H. O'Rourke, S. J., will preach the sermon. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon Archbishop Farley will administer the sacrament of confirmation.





This parish was founded eleven years ago as an offshoot of St. Gabriel's, at New Rochelle. In this time the rector, the Rev. Francis P. McNichol, has built a schoolhouse, a convent, a rectory and the new church."





Source:

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Pelham, Nov. 4. -- Never before in the religious annals of the town of Pelham have such gatherings been seen in any church as attended the services held in St. Catherine's [sic] church Sunday, when the church was blessed in the morning by Archbishop Averse, papal delegate to Cuba Porto Rico, and in the afternoon the rites of confirmation were administered to sixty boys, girls and adults by Archbishop Farley. Not only did the residents of the town attend these services in large numbers, but there were visitors from Mount Vernon and New Rochelle. The central and side altars were decorated with candles and red roses, carnations, lilies and other flowers.



The important service was that which took place at 10:15 a.m., when the church was blessed by Archbishop Averse. The papal delegate first blessed the exterior, walking entirely around the structure, followed by the prelates. As he entered the church and blessed the interior the choir chanted the 'Ecce Sacerdos.' At the conclusion of the ceremony mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father George Waring, chaplain to the United States army in Cuba, with the rank of captain on the staff of Gen. Barry.



In addition to Archbishop Averse, the following clergymen were in the sanctuary during the mass: Rev. Francis McNichol, pastor of the church; Most Reverend M. Lavelle, Very Rev. Dean Lings, Right Rev. Monsignor Hayes, Very Rev. Monsignor Murphy, Rev. John H. O'Rourke, S. J.; Rev. James N. Connolly, Rev. Thomas McLoughlin, Rev. John B. McGrath, Rev. Charles Cassidy, Rev. J. V. Lewis, Rev. P. Manzelli, Rev. D. J. McMakin, Rev. Jose;ph Smith, S. J.; Rev. John McQuade, Rev. John Kellner.



During the mass the following musical program was presented: 'Come Holy Ghost,' choir; 'Just for Today,' soprano solo by Miss Marie Straehle; 'Mary, Dearest Mother,' choir; 'Oh, Lord, I Am Not Worth,' choir.



At the conclusion of the mass, the Rev. Francis McNichol spoke briefly of the work that had been done during his pastorate in North Pelham.



Then followed the sermon of the morning, preached by the Rev. John H. O'Rourke, S. J. He congratulated, in the name of his grace, the archbishop, the Rev. Father McNichol for his untiring energy in bringing to completion the beautiful church which had just been rededicated to the service of God, and thanked the people for their self-sacrificing generosity in enabling the pastor to beautify the house of God.



He then proceeded to give a graphic description of the ceremony which had preceded the mass, pointing out its origin and its symbolism. He drew briefly pictures of the dedication of the tabernacle by Moses, and Aaron in the desert, spoke of the dedication of the temple of Jerusalem, in the time of Solomon, and of the dedication of the temple under Zarubabel, after the years of lingering captivity of the children of Israel in Babylon. His final description was that of the dedication in the days of the Machasbees after Antiochus had interdicted the ceremonies in the temple on Mount Moriah. Coming then to the new law, the preacher eloquently instanced the example of Constantine and dwelt at length upon the dedication to the service, of the mothers and of God and all the lambs, the pagan temple of the Pantheon. He said that the sacred rite which had been witnessed symbolized two things, namely, a separation and an ablution. He called attention to the fact that the church now, after the ceremony, was a thing set apart and separated from profane use and destined only for the worship of the most high God. The rite performed was an oblation by which this holy temple was presented to the Almighty, and it now became His home, not that the heavens and the earth do not belong to him, but it is His under the peculiar aspect, that it is His, as a free and sacred offering from His loving children.



Rev. Father Waring dwelt upon the symbolism of the sacred rite and pointed out that it symbolized the dedication of the soul to God. He contrasted God's love for the material temple and then His love for the temple of men's souls, for which He died and shed His blood.



The sermon was followed by the benediction of the most blessed sacrament by Archbishop Aveners, who was assisted by the prelates. In closing, the choir rendered 'The Holy God.'



In the afternoon a class of sixty was confirmed by Archbishop Farley in the presence of a large assemblage, including many persons from other churches. The boys had red bows tied around their right arms. About a half hour before the ceremony began they filed into the church down the center aisle and occupied the front seats to the right. They were followed by the girls who were attired in white dresses and wore veils, which were tied up with white satin bows and wreaths made of smilax, decorated with red carnations. They presented a beautiful scene as they marched down the center aisle. They occupied the front seats to the left.



It was 3:30 o'clock when Archbishop Farley entered the sanctuary. He also immediately began his address to the confirmation class, saying in part: 'My dear children, this day will prove a most memorable one to you. Great happiness comes to you today, and I hope that you will always remain in your present state of faith, and keep in the love of God. I don't know as it has occurred to you why the church has taken so much interest in you. Children are supposed to be more or less in the way with many people. Not so with the church. They are the dearest objects in her care. Why is that?



'See the beautiful school that you have and which your pastor has placed here for you. Why has the church made all these sacrifices? Simply for this reason. That the church may prove to the world that she is the true church of God. If there were no other proof, the evidence of her devotion to her children would be enough.'



The archbishop spoke of Christ's love for the children and gave examples of this love which were manifested during the divine ministry of Jesus. He continued: 'What did Jesus mean when He said, 'Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.' He meant to say that these children reminded Him more than anything else of His heavenly home. We might go on with other illustrations why our Lord and Saviour loved the little children and why the church loves them.



'I wish to congratulate your pastor and this congregation on the improvements that have been made here since my last visit. You have a church here that compares very favorably in size and beauty with many of the churches in New York. You have added a parish school here. Such a school is second only in importance to the church, and I congratulate your pastor on this work done. If we do not have Catholic schools, we will not have Catholic churches. If our children receive instruction elsewhere, it is with very great danger to them.' He referred to the comfort which parents might experience realizing that their children were attending the parochial school.



He referred to his visit with the pope in Rome, which occurred only a few weeks ago, and told how gratified the pope was to receive so many congratulations from his people on the occasion of his golden jubilee. He said that he brought with him the papal benediction.



Archbishop Farley then said to the children: 'Why are you here today? You are not here today to show your white veils and dresses. When you are confirmed, you are made soldiers of Jesus Christ. You have courage -- not the kind of courage such as is shown on the battle-field -- but that kind of courage which would impel you to die rather than evade and disobey God. Remember that there is nothing so precious as the faith in which you were confirmed. Pray to God that you may ever be willing to suffer any loss.



'Dear parents, you have your part to perform. It will depend largely on you to what extent your children persevere in the faith. It will depend largely on you whether the children remain loyal Catholics to the end. God has so ordained it that no influence is stronger than the influence of parents. God has given to them a two-fold power over the souls of their children. The child looks on his mother as a queen and on his father as a king. This two-fold influence is given you so that you may mould [sic] the lives of your children for eternity. See to it that nothing happens in your lives which will in any way interfere with the growth of your children. It is most urgent on you that you walk carefully before them.'



He then asked the children to pledge themselves never to touch intoxicating liquors. The children then arose from their seats and holding their right hands over their heads repeated the following pledge after the archbishop: 'I promise, with the help of God and through the intercession of the blessed mother and St. Joseph, to abstain from all intoxicants until I am twenty-one years of age.'



The following children were then confirmed by the archbishop, assisted by Rev. J. V. Lewis, Rev. James N. Connolly, Rev. Dean Lings, Rev. P. Manzelli, Rev. Thomas, McLoughlin, Rev. Kellnes:



Girls -- Agnes Mary Lowery, Lillian Mary Costello, Helen Marie Walsh, Avera Maria O'Sullivan, Gertrude Cecelin Mulligan, Cecelia Dorothy Marvel, Katherine Mary Bernadine, Alice Josephine Jetter, Mary Florence Straehle, Mary Marie Kennedy, Mary Marie Barker, Josephine Maria Kelly, Emma Maria Jettir, Frances Maria Cammarano, Emogine Maria Barker, all of North Pelham; Anita Mary Curnen, of Pelham Heights; Mary Margaret Loring, of Vernon Heights; Mary Catherine Van Horn, Catherine Maria Templeton, Mary Florence Tilford, Elizabeth Margaret English, Margaret Maria Carson, Helen Maria Desmond, Mary Elizabeth Templeton, all of Pelham Manor.



Boys -- Malcom Paul Pickhardt, Irving Augustine Godfrey, John William Costello, Edward Joseph Pickhardt, Philip Joseph Marvel, Ernest John Ohliger, William Thomas Reilly, Raymond Joseph Ohliger, John Lawrence Burke, Godfrey Francis Keller, Thomas Francis Kennedy, Francis Michael Kennedy, all of North Pelham; Edward Joseph Rosenheimer, Vincent Francis Rosenheimer, George Joseph Boldin, of Pelham; Henry Michael Tilford, William Francis Say, John Paul Connelly, William Paul Desmond, Steven Francis Loughman, all of Pelham Manor. Several adults were also confirmed, including Michael McHugh, one of the oldest residents in the village.



During the confirmation the choir rendered 'Veni Creator' and 'Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest,' and the Misses Justina O'Sullivan and Esther Smith sang a duet.



The service came to a close with the benediction of the most blessed sacrament by Archbishop Farley, assisted by the visiting clergymen."



Source:



Pelham, Nov. 4. -- Never before in the religious annals of the town of Pelham have such gatherings been seen in any church as attended the services held in St. Catherine's [sic] church Sunday, when the church was blessed in the morning by Archbishop Averse, papal delegate to Cuba Porto Rico, and in the afternoon the rites of confirmation were administered to sixty boys, girls and adults by Archbishop Farley. Not only did the residents of the town attend these services in large numbers, but there were visitors from Mount Vernon and New Rochelle. The central and side altars were decorated with candles and red roses, carnations, lilies and other flowers.The important service was that which took place at 10:15 a.m., when the church was blessed by Archbishop Averse. The papal delegate first blessed the exterior, walking entirely around the structure, followed by the prelates. As he entered the church and blessed the interior the choir chanted the 'Ecce Sacerdos.' At the conclusion of the ceremony mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father George Waring, chaplain to the United States army in Cuba, with the rank of captain on the staff of Gen. Barry.In addition to Archbishop Averse, the following clergymen were in the sanctuary during the mass: Rev. Francis McNichol, pastor of the church; Most Reverend M. Lavelle, Very Rev. Dean Lings, Right Rev. Monsignor Hayes, Very Rev. Monsignor Murphy, Rev. John H. O'Rourke, S. J.; Rev. James N. Connolly, Rev. Thomas McLoughlin, Rev. John B. McGrath, Rev. Charles Cassidy, Rev. J. V. Lewis, Rev. P. Manzelli, Rev. D. J. McMakin, Rev. Jose;ph Smith, S. J.; Rev. John McQuade, Rev. John Kellner.During the mass the following musical program was presented: 'Come Holy Ghost,' choir; 'Just for Today,' soprano solo by Miss Marie Straehle; 'Mary, Dearest Mother,' choir; 'Oh, Lord, I Am Not Worth,' choir.At the conclusion of the mass, the Rev. Francis McNichol spoke briefly of the work that had been done during his pastorate in North Pelham.Then followed the sermon of the morning, preached by the Rev. John H. O'Rourke, S. J. He congratulated, in the name of his grace, the archbishop, the Rev. Father McNichol for his untiring energy in bringing to completion the beautiful church which had just been rededicated to the service of God, and thanked the people for their self-sacrificing generosity in enabling the pastor to beautify the house of God.He then proceeded to give a graphic description of the ceremony which had preceded the mass, pointing out its origin and its symbolism. He drew briefly pictures of the dedication of the tabernacle by Moses, and Aaron in the desert, spoke of the dedication of the temple of Jerusalem, in the time of Solomon, and of the dedication of the temple under Zarubabel, after the years of lingering captivity of the children of Israel in Babylon. His final description was that of the dedication in the days of the Machasbees after Antiochus had interdicted the ceremonies in the temple on Mount Moriah. Coming then to the new law, the preacher eloquently instanced the example of Constantine and dwelt at length upon the dedication to the service, of the mothers and of God and all the lambs, the pagan temple of the Pantheon. He said that the sacred rite which had been witnessed symbolized two things, namely, a separation and an ablution. He called attention to the fact that the church now, after the ceremony, was a thing set apart and separated from profane use and destined only for the worship of the most high God. The rite performed was an oblation by which this holy temple was presented to the Almighty, and it now became His home, not that the heavens and the earth do not belong to him, but it is His under the peculiar aspect, that it is His, as a free and sacred offering from His loving children.Rev. Father Waring dwelt upon the symbolism of the sacred rite and pointed out that it symbolized the dedication of the soul to God. He contrasted God's love for the material temple and then His love for the temple of men's souls, for which He died and shed His blood.The sermon was followed by the benediction of the most blessed sacrament by Archbishop Aveners, who was assisted by the prelates. In closing, the choir rendered 'The Holy God.'In the afternoon a class of sixty was confirmed by Archbishop Farley in the presence of a large assemblage, including many persons from other churches. The boys had red bows tied around their right arms. About a half hour before the ceremony began they filed into the church down the center aisle and occupied the front seats to the right. They were followed by the girls who were attired in white dresses and wore veils, which were tied up with white satin bows and wreaths made of smilax, decorated with red carnations. They presented a beautiful scene as they marched down the center aisle. They occupied the front seats to the left.It was 3:30 o'clock when Archbishop Farley entered the sanctuary. He also immediately began his address to the confirmation class, saying in part: 'My dear children, this day will prove a most memorable one to you. Great happiness comes to you today, and I hope that you will always remain in your present state of faith, and keep in the love of God. I don't know as it has occurred to you why the church has taken so much interest in you. Children are supposed to be more or less in the way with many people. Not so with the church. They are the dearest objects in her care. Why is that?'See the beautiful school that you have and which your pastor has placed here for you. Why has the church made all these sacrifices? Simply for this reason. That the church may prove to the world that she is the true church of God. If there were no other proof, the evidence of her devotion to her children would be enough.'The archbishop spoke of Christ's love for the children and gave examples of this love which were manifested during the divine ministry of Jesus. He continued: 'What did Jesus mean when He said, 'Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.' He meant to say that these children reminded Him more than anything else of His heavenly home. We might go on with other illustrations why our Lord and Saviour loved the little children and why the church loves them.'I wish to congratulate your pastor and this congregation on the improvements that have been made here since my last visit. You have a church here that compares very favorably in size and beauty with many of the churches in New York. You have added a parish school here. Such a school is second only in importance to the church, and I congratulate your pastor on this work done. If we do not have Catholic schools, we will not have Catholic churches. If our children receive instruction elsewhere, it is with very great danger to them.' He referred to the comfort which parents might experience realizing that their children were attending the parochial school.He referred to his visit with the pope in Rome, which occurred only a few weeks ago, and told how gratified the pope was to receive so many congratulations from his people on the occasion of his golden jubilee. He said that he brought with him the papal benediction.Archbishop Farley then said to the children: 'Why are you here today? You are not here today to show your white veils and dresses. When you are confirmed, you are made soldiers of Jesus Christ. You have courage -- not the kind of courage such as is shown on the battle-field -- but that kind of courage which would impel you to die rather than evade and disobey God. Remember that there is nothing so precious as the faith in which you were confirmed. Pray to God that you may ever be willing to suffer any loss.'Dear parents, you have your part to perform. It will depend largely on you to what extent your children persevere in the faith. It will depend largely on you whether the children remain loyal Catholics to the end. God has so ordained it that no influence is stronger than the influence of parents. God has given to them a two-fold power over the souls of their children. The child looks on his mother as a queen and on his father as a king. This two-fold influence is given you so that you may mould [sic] the lives of your children for eternity. See to it that nothing happens in your lives which will in any way interfere with the growth of your children. It is most urgent on you that you walk carefully before them.'He then asked the children to pledge themselves never to touch intoxicating liquors. The children then arose from their seats and holding their right hands over their heads repeated the following pledge after the archbishop: 'I promise, with the help of God and through the intercession of the blessed mother and St. Joseph, to abstain from all intoxicants until I am twenty-one years of age.'The following children were then confirmed by the archbishop, assisted by Rev. J. V. Lewis, Rev. James N. Connolly, Rev. Dean Lings, Rev. P. Manzelli, Rev. Thomas, McLoughlin, Rev. Kellnes:Girls -- Agnes Mary Lowery, Lillian Mary Costello, Helen Marie Walsh, Avera Maria O'Sullivan, Gertrude Cecelin Mulligan, Cecelia Dorothy Marvel, Katherine Mary Bernadine, Alice Josephine Jetter, Mary Florence Straehle, Mary Marie Kennedy, Mary Marie Barker, Josephine Maria Kelly, Emma Maria Jettir, Frances Maria Cammarano, Emogine Maria Barker, all of North Pelham; Anita Mary Curnen, of Pelham Heights; Mary Margaret Loring, of Vernon Heights; Mary Catherine Van Horn, Catherine Maria Templeton, Mary Florence Tilford, Elizabeth Margaret English, Margaret Maria Carson, Helen Maria Desmond, Mary Elizabeth Templeton, all of Pelham Manor.Boys -- Malcom Paul Pickhardt, Irving Augustine Godfrey, John William Costello, Edward Joseph Pickhardt, Philip Joseph Marvel, Ernest John Ohliger, William Thomas Reilly, Raymond Joseph Ohliger, John Lawrence Burke, Godfrey Francis Keller, Thomas Francis Kennedy, Francis Michael Kennedy, all of North Pelham; Edward Joseph Rosenheimer, Vincent Francis Rosenheimer, George Joseph Boldin, of Pelham; Henry Michael Tilford, William Francis Say, John Paul Connelly, William Paul Desmond, Steven Francis Loughman, all of Pelham Manor. Several adults were also confirmed, including Michael McHugh, one of the oldest residents in the village.During the confirmation the choir rendered 'Veni Creator' and 'Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest,' and the Misses Justina O'Sullivan and Esther Smith sang a duet.The service came to a close with the benediction of the most blessed sacrament by Archbishop Farley, assisted by the visiting clergymen."Source: NOTED PRELATES AT CHURCH IN NORTH PELHAM LAST SUNDAY , The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Nov. 4, 1908, p. 7, cols. 1-3

The Daily Argus
Vadodara, August 11

A gangster and two policemen from Maharashtras Pune crime branch were injured in a shootout in the city, police said on Thursday.

The crime branch team from Pune had come here to nab Sagar Rajput, a member of Gajanan Marne gang (of Pune), who is wanted in a murder and several other cases in Maharashtra.

As the police team dressed in plain clothes around 10 pm on Wednesday zeroed in on Rajput who was riding a scooter at a spot behind Nehru Bhavan here, he tried to escape.

This was followed by a shootout between Rajput and the police team that continued for 20 minutes and 12 rounds were fired by both the sides, police said.

One of the policemen received injury in the chest while the other hurt his leg, they said. Rajput received injuries on his leg and jumped a wall of a residential locality and hid behind it.

Rajput was nabbed with the help of local police after residents of the locality informed them about him being hiding behind the wall.

City Police Commissioner E Radhakrishnan and other officials rushed to the spot.

We have been trying to locate Rajputs wife and his other contacts in the city and the weapons used by him, a senior police official said, adding that an investigation is under way.

According to police sources, there is a rivalry between the Marne and Nilesh Ghaywal gang in Pune. PTI
Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 11

The first internal audit of the governments low cost drug stores has shown they are helping address Indias principal public health challenge, out-of-pocket expenses.

The nine existing Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) stores, which the Centre opened beginning November 16 last year, have so far sold life saving drugs with market price of Rs20 crore. Buying patients have, however, paid only Rs7 crore for these drugs resulting in the direct benefit of Rs13 crore to the consumers of healthcare.

This is the first time we have evidence of real ground-level impact on reduction of out-of-pocket expenditure for patients. Nine AMRIT stores have to date sold drugs with MRP of Rs20 crore in just Rs7 crore to consumers. This means out-of-pocket expense has been reduced to the tune of Rs13 crore, a Health Ministry source told The Tribune today.

AMRIT pharmacies are retail pharmacy stores where the government buys over 200 life-saving medicines in bulk to reduce the price for buyers. The drugs being procured are of three specifications  cardiovascular treatment, cancer treatment and cardiac stents and implants.

While CVD and cancer medicines have been sold at AMRIT since the start, the government has started selling stents recently, with stents costing Rs66,000 now available at all existing AMRIT stores for Rs22,000.

Armed with evidence that these stores are working, Health Minister JP Nadda will tomorrow launch three new AMRIT outlets at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong; Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal; and AIIMS Jodhpur. The launch, sources say, will happen through video conferencing.

With this launch tomorrow, the number of AMRIT stores (retail pharmacies at Central Government institutions) will go up to 13. The government plans 300 in the current fiscal.

Existing AMRIT stores are located in AIIMS Delhi, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, AIIMS Raipur; three stores in PGI Chandigarh; JIPMER, Puducherry, and AIIMS Rishikesh, and anyone can buy medicines from these stores. The buyers need not be undergoing treatment at the central institute where the store is located to buy AMRIT medicines.

Out-of-pocket expenditure on health in India is among the highest in the world and is a major driver of poverty.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 11

Delivering the 21st Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture today, distinguished former diplomat G Parthasarathy today talked about the Old Dangers, New Challenges for Indias Foreign and Security Policies and interestingly sought to focus on China rather than Pakistan.

During the course, P Vaidyanathan Iyer, National Affairs Editor, The Indian Express, was conferred the Prem Bhatia Memorial award for best political reporting in 2016. Iyer was part of the team which investigated the Panama Papers.

Reji Joseph, Staff Reporter, Rashtra Deepika, was conferred with the Prem Bhatia Award for excellence in environmental and development reporting.

Parthasarathy talked of various challenges being faced by India, particularly posed by China and Pakistan, as it sought to expand economically and politically. He cautioned that India cannot ignore the fact that China has acted as a spoiler in every effort it has made to enhance its role in the eastern neighbourhood. He elaborated on Beijings opposition to Indias participation in ASEAN and ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit.

In his lecture, he dwelled on the rise of China and how its support to Pakistan, is a crucial factor for India to understand. The Western powers, he pointed out, are now quite tired of Pakistan but China is the cushion for it and that is another factor India has to consider as it manoeuvres its way into the international arena.

India should be clear that China is determined that it should be the unchallenged and predominant power in Asia, the former envoy stressed. He said Chinas overall strategy to contain India lies in its strengthening Pakistans conventional, maritime and nuclear weapons capabilities, while acquiring access to naval facilities, across the Indian Ocean.

The overall thrust of the lecture was highlighting how crucial Indias engagement with China is even as Beijing stays opposed to Indias rise and also how to better deal with a Pakistan.
R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 11

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to cancel the six-month bail granted to Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case on March 2, but asked the police to submit its investigation report by September 2.

Justice PS Teji rejected two petitioners contention that Kumar had made another anti-national statement in violation of the bail conditions.

The HC held that the petitioners had made the contention on the basis of television reports and without any personal knowledge. They also did not know Kumar personally, nor had they lodged a police complaint. The Delhi government had told the court only two days ago that it did not want the bail to be cancelled.

The court also noted that the police do not wish to enter into the question whether he had made any speech in violation of the bail terms and instead wanted to continue with the investigation smoothly without any hindrance.

Such pleas by strangers could not be entertained without any substantial set of facts and circumstances, the HC held.

It would be appropriate if the investigating officer submitted his report within the six-month deadline (September 2), it said.

The HC had granted Kanhaiya bail subject to his assurance that he would not participate actively or passively in any activity that could be termed as anti-national. Justice Pratibha Rani had said the court was not asking him to provide any surety as he had stated that his mother was an Anganbari worker earning Rs 3,000 a month on which the entire family was surviving.

The HC had said Kumar should also make all efforts to control anti-national activities on the JNU campus. As president of JNUSU, the petitioner is expected to be responsible and accountable for any anti-national event organised on the campus, the HC said. He had been arrested on February 14 on the charge of sedition.
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 11

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant bail to Asaram in a rape case, but asked the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) director to set up a three-member medical board to examine the self-styled godman and submit a report in 10 days.

A Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur rejected 80-year-old Asarams plea for immediate interim bail for treatment. His senior counsel Raju Ramachandran contended that his client, who was in jail since September 2013, was suffering from several serious ailments, including lack of control over urination and motion and as such required ayurvedic treatment in Kerala.

The apex court said it would consider his bail plea after receiving the medical report.

Asaram has come to the SC, challenging the Rajasthan High Courts refusal to grant him interim bail on July 18. A girl has alleged that Asaram raped her when she studied at a school in his ashram.

Rajasthan Police have booked him under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (Sections 376, 342, 506 and 509) dealing with rape and sexual harassment, besides Section 8 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and Sections 23 and 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Earlier, the SC had rejected his bail plea in a rape case registered against him in Gujarat. The case has been filed by a Surat-based woman, also naming Asarams wife Lakshmi, daughter Bharti and his four women followers as accused. According to the victim, she was sexually assaulted for 10 years when she lived at his ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad from 1997 to 2006.
New Delhi, August 11

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is to remain in hospital for some more time as she is suffering from infection.

A team of doctors today examined the Congress chief and advised her to remain in the hospital on account of fever due to infection, said a health bulletin released by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. She is on antibiotics and showing signs of improvement, said Dr DS Rana, chairman, board of management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.  TNS
New Delhi, August 11

The Rajya Sabhas pre-noon session saw three adjournments on Thursday as the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal (United) refused to allow the House to function over "failure" to release grants to their respective states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

SPs Ram Gopal Yadav gave a notice to suspend business in the House to discuss what he called discrimination against Uttar Pradesh.

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SP claimed that Uttar Pradeshs Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had written several letters to the central government asking it to release UPs grants the party estimates to total Rs 18, 000 crore for various schemes.

"If the Centre does not give an assurance that the due funds will be released in 2-3 days, the House will not be allowed to function," he said, as SP politicians trooped into the Well of the House.

JD (U) also added to the mayhem as leader Sharad Yadav accused the central government of not implementing the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) in the flood-hit state of Bihar.

The chaos caused by the two parties forced Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to adjourn the House thrice: first for 15 minutes, then until noon and again until 2 pm.

"I am expressing my inability and apologies to them (members who were to make Zero Hour mention)," Deputy Chairman Kurien said, after other Parliamentarians' attempts at reading out their statements amid the din failed.

SP leaders were also seen asking Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar  who adopted a village in Uttar Pradeshs Amethi, Congresss traditional bastion  to join them in the Well saying he represented Uttar Pradesh.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said: "Wherever there are non-BJP governments, they (the Centre) are not giving money."

Chairman Hamid Ansari's pleas that the Rajya Sabha be allowed to function went unheeded, forcing him to adjourned the House till 2 pm.

Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to hold elections next year. Considered a mammoth contest, the elections will see the Bharatiya Janata Party  the dominant constituent of the NDA alliance that has done exceedingly well in the state in general elections in 2014, take on the SP  the ruling party in the state.  TNS/ Agencies
New Delhi, August 11

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met the family of Indian prisoner Hamid Nehal Ansari, who was attacked at least thrice by inmates in a Peshawar jail, and assured them of all possible help.

Swaraj last week had directed the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to seek consular access to Ansari.

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External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India has again "strongly" taken up with Pakistani authorities security of Ansari in the wake of reports that he was attacked inside the jail.

"On August 5, we again strongly took up the matter of security of Hamid Ansari while he is in the custody of Pakistani authorities. This was done specifically in the light of reports that he was attacked again in prison in which he is lodged.

"We have reminded the government of Pakistan of its responsibility to ensure his security," Swarup said, adding, "We have also conveyed that according to our understanding since his sentence of three years is already over he should be released and repatriated to India at the earliest."

Swaraj met the family of Ansari and assured that government will keep pursuing his case with Pakistan.

Ansari, a Mumbai resident, was arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online. He had suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison recently.

Ansari (31) was sentenced to three years imprisonment by a military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card.

Ansari's lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar told a Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday that his client was attacked at least thrice by jail inmates in recent months.

Anwar also told the court that Ansari had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

Ansari was attacked and injured three times over the last couple of months and shifted to the hospital for treatment, the counsel said. He said even the head warden would subject him to brutality and slap him on a daily basis without any reason.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.  PTI
New Delhi, August 11

Afghanistan wants more military supplies from India  including attack helicopters  a top US and NATO commander in the war-ravaged country said on Wednesday, as the country intensifies its offensive against the Islamic State.

On his second visit to India, General John Nicholson said India had been making "enoromously valuable" contribution in strengthening Afghan security forces and the US favoured increased military support.

India has already provided four Mi-25 helicopters to Afghanistan. The US Commander said the country needed more military aircraft for its war on terrorism.

Nicholson said terror outfits like the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad were a threat not only to Afghanistan but also to the rest of the region  India included  and that the US was increasingly pressuring Pakistan to do more to contain jihadists.

"We consistently encourage Pakistan to take action against terrorist groups that operate from its territory and close down their safe havens," he told journalists as he appreciated India's contribution to restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Nicholson, who heads the US operations in Afghanistan, met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar and discussed Afghanistan and terrorism in the region.

The US commander said Afghan forces  with US support  had launched a major offensive against the Islamic State two weeks ago and is reported to have killed 300 Islamic State fighters.

"In the course of the operation they killed a number of top leaders of the organisation and up to 300 of their fighters. Obviously, it's difficult to get an exact count, but what this amounts to is about 25 per cent of the organisation at least, and so this represents a severe setback for them. It reduced their territory," he said.

The US Commander said military training by India to thousands of Afghan security personnel has helped that country in significantly enhancing its military capability.

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"I know that they have requested more and would like more and I think there is an immediate need for more as these aircraft can immediately get into the fight," he said when asked whether Afghanistan wanted more military aid from India apart.

He said Afghanistan was struggling to get spare parts for the Russian aircraft due to Western sanctions against Moscow and that India could supply them.

Nicholson said the US was trying to build a "counter-terrorism platform" focusing on containing all terror groups emanating from the region and ensure its peace and stability.

Asked whether he will have to make an immediate visit to Islamabad to balance his trip here, Nicholson said the Pakistan Army Chief knew about his trip here "he welcomes it".

Specifically asked about Pakistan's sincerity in coming down hard on terror outfits, he refered to American administration's inability recently to certify that Pakistanis have put adequate pressure on the Haqqani network.

Asked whether there was growing concern in Pakistan about India's role in Afghanistan, he only said: "I think it is an accurate statement".  PTI
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PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 11

The counter-intelligence (CI) wing of Punjab Police on Thursday claimed to have busted a terrorist module and arrested three men in this connection.

One of the accused and key conspirators worked as a sewadar in a gurdwara at Veronangal village here.

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According to the police, the suspects belonged to Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and have links with Pakistan- and other foreign-based terrorists.

Those arrested are Gurpal Singh alias Pala of Jalalpur Kalan in Jalandhar; Major Singh, who hailed from Karnal in Haryana but now lived at Dera Gurdwara Guruana Sahib, Veronangal village here; and Rachhpal Singh Rakh Ameer of Jalalabad, who lived at Khuda Ali Sher in Chandigarh.

Giving details, CI IG MF Farooqui said the police learned about the terrorist module while investigating the attack on RSS state president Brig Jagdish Gagneja (retd).

He said following a tip-off, the CI nabbed Gurpal Singh from Umrangal Morh as he was riding a motorcycle. The police recovered a .9mm pistol with six cartridges from him. He was booked under the Arms Act and later his interrogation led to the arrest of key conspirator Major Singh. He was attached with the gurdwara for the past six years.

Farooqui said Major had links with wanted terrorists in Belgium, England and Pakistan, including Ranjit Singh Neeta and other members of the KZF. He was entrusted with the task of identifying targets and carrying out attacks, the IG said, adding that Major was asked to enlist more people and revive militancy in Punjab by speeding up terrorist activities.

He had recently received a major consignment of arms and ammunition and was planning targeted attacks at different places, he said. Major was arrested and a .30 bore pistol and 10 cartridges were seized from him. His interrogation led to the arrest of Rachhpal Singh from Khuda Ali Sher near Chandigarh on Thursday. He was also being brought to Amritsar for investigation.

Major told the CI that Gurpal and Rachhpal were working at the behest of Jagdish Singh alias Bhoora, who was based in Belgium; Kuldeep Singh alias Keepa Sidhu; and Jasbir Singh alias Jassi of England. Bhoora was further connected with Neeta of the KZF.

He said investigations were on to ascertain the origin of the weapons recovered from them and unearth the nexus. Their contacts in the state and abroad were also being looked into, the IG said.

2 additional IG posts created

Learning a lesson from the recent terrorist attacks in Gurdaspur and Pathankot, the Punjab government has created two additional posts of IG, Counter-Intelligence, at Bathinda and Amritsar. The Bathinda IG will look after the borders of Abohar, Fazilka and Ferozepur while the Amritsar IG will look after the Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Pathankot borders. Farooqui said a counter-intelligence unit was also formed at Pathankot, which would be headed by an AIG.

Talking about intelligence inputs on disruptive activity during Independence Day celebrations, he said though there are some threats, Punjab Police are prepared for this. He said extra vigilance is being maintained all over the border districts.
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 11

A local court today acquitted dismissed DSP Jagdish Singh Bhola and four other persons, including an Akali leader, in a drug case registered at Lambra police station on December 24, 2013.

The court sentenced Tarsem Singh of Amritsar and Dalvir Singh of Kapurthala to 12 years imprisonment in the case in which 1-kg heroin was recovered from the duo.

Their interrogation led to the registration of a case against Bhola, Akali leader Maninder Singh Bittu Aulakh, businessman Jagjit Singh Chahal and head constables Dharamvir and Sandeep.

The Jalandhar Rural police had interrogated Bhola, Chahal and Bittu in January last year.

As per the police, Bhola said in his confessional statement that he had been selling heroin to Tarsem and Dalvir for Rs 7 lakh per kg; with this money, he purchased properties in Goa, Sriganganagar and Delhi worth crores of rupees. On the basis of his disclosures, the police raided the three places, but failed to find any property owned by Bhola there.

Bholas advocate Darshan Singh Dyal said the confessional statement was not admissible unless there was a recovery from the accused persons, adding that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had also found Bhola and four other persons innocent.

Bhola was produced in the court under tight security. He was brought here from the high-security Nabha jail.
Tribune News Service



Dharamsala/Chandigarh, August 11

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday completed the 10-day meditation camp near Dharamsala amid reports of infighting in the party over the recent announcement of party candidates for the Punjab Assembly polls.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Kejriwal had been camping at Dharamkot, 12 km from Dharamsala, for the past many days.

Returning back from 10 day Vipassna course. Feeling v fresh n energetic  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 11, 2016

As the flight to Delhi was cancelled following bad weather, Kejriwal left for Chandigarh by road on his way to the national capital.

Earlier, talking to the media, Kejriwal said he was rejuvenated after the meditation session and was ready to take on his opponents. Talking about the partys prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections in Punjab, he said the AAP would win no less than 100 seats there.

When asked about the court judgment on the role of the lieutenant-governor in Delhi, he refused to comment.

AAP volunteers raise objection over party candidate

In Chandigarh, some volunteers of Aam Aadmi Party objected over name of Ahbaab Singh Grewal as party's Ludhiana West candidate, claiming he is not a "winnable candidate".

Sanjay Singh, AAPs Punjab in-charge, however, played down the reports of discontent in the state unit over the first list of candidates for the 2017 Assembly polls.

Singh said Sucha Singh Chotepur, party's state convener, will meet Kejriwal to sort out the issues.

On whether AAP will declare its Chief Ministerial candidate in Punjab soon, Singh said the party will decide at an appropriate time as "we have a long list of leaders with absolute clean records.

Earlier, volunteers of AAP from Ludhiana (west) Assembly constituency led by Dr D S Grewal and Amandeep Singh Bains expressed displeasure over the name of Grewal.

Grewal's name figured in the AAP's first list of 19 candidates.

"We wish to request AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal that the Grewal, candidate from Ludhiana (west) Assembly seat, must be withdrawn in the interest of the party as he do not meet the core values of AAP," they said.

They claimed that there were certain "shortcomings" in the first list of candidates announced by the party.  With agencies
Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 11

Basmati growers, exporters and agriculture scientists in Punjab are up in arms against the Centres plan to redefine the Geographical Indication (GI) area for the crop so as to include Madhya Pradesh.

They fear that the inclusion of MP in the GI zone will dilute the niche market of basmati. The stakeholders maintain that only rice grown in the Indo-Gangetic plains can qualify as basmati. If the rice (inferior to traditional basmati varieties) grown in other areas gets the GI tag, it will adversely hit exports and the basmati from Pakistan will make a dent into the foreign markets served by India.

Vijay Setia, a prominent rice exporter from the region and a former president of the All India Rice Exporters Association, shot off a letter to the Prime Minister today, seeking his intervention to review the move to redefine the GI zone.

The post-harvest quality of rice being grown in the new areas proposed to be included is not on a par with the basmati grown in the Indo-Gangetic plains. In national interest, all political and vested interests should be ignored, he pleaded.

It was on the recommendation of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board that the Geographical Indication Registry demarcated the area in the Indo-Gangetic plains, following which the GI tag was issued for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, western Uttar Pradesh and two districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources in the state government and Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) said the central Indian state could be included in the GI area next week, thus affecting the competitive edge enjoyed by basmati growers of the region.

The sources told The Tribune that the state government would urgently take up the matter with the Centre, so as to keep MP out.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal said expanding the area could lead to a fall in exports.
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 11

The Counter-Intelligence (CI) wing of the Punjab Police today claimed to have busted a terror module with the arrest of three persons.

One of the accused was working as a sewadar in a gurdwara at Veronangal village here. According to the police, the accused belong to the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and have links with Pakistani and other foreign-based terrorists.

Those arrested were identified as Gurpal Singh alias Pala of Jalalpur Kalan (Jalandhar), Major Singh, who hails from Karnal (Haryana) and now resides at Dera Gurdwara Guruana Sahib, Veronangal village, and Rachhpal Singh of Jalalabad (Fazilka) who lives at Khuda Ali Sher near Chandigarh.

IG Counter-Intelligence MF Farooqui said the police learnt about the module during an investigation into the attack on RSS leader Brig Jagdish Gagneja (retd).

Farooqui said Major had links with terrorists in Belgium, England and Pakistan, including Ranjit Singh Neeta and other KZF members.

He received a major consignment of arms a few days ago and was planning attacks at several places, Farooqui said. Major was arrested with a .30-bore pistol and 10 cartridges. His interrogation led to the arrest of Rachhpal from Khuda Ali Sher today.
The Hon'ble Mr. C.Y. Chintamani delivered an interesting inaugural address at a meeting of the Law Hostel Literary Union, Allahabad. He spoke of the importance of lawyers and of legal knowledge in a country where the majority of the population was ignorant, and after referring to the overcrowded condition of the profession, spoke of lawyers' duties to the public at large. He said a lawyer had his obligation to the poor and should not refuse to assist a poor man who could not pay.
Karachi, August 11

A high-profile judge today escaped an assassination attempt targetting his convoy in Pakistans restive Balochistan but 14 people including security officials were injured in the roadside bombing, three days after 74 people mostly lawyers were killed in a suicide attack.

Ten civilians and four security officials of the Anti- Terrorism Force were injured in todays powerful explosion on the busy Zarghon Road in Balochistans capital city of Quetta near the Al Khair Hospital that also shattered windows of nearby buildings, with two in critical condition.

The ATF personnel were escorting the vehicle of Justice Zahoor Shahwani of the Federal Shariat Court when the blast took place.

No group immediately took responsiblity for the attack. Security forces and a bomb disposal squad reached the scene to collect evidence. Police cordoned off the area as a search operation went underway.  PTI
Marseilles, August 11

Fires whipped by high winds ravaged swaths of southern France and Portugal, killing at least four people, burning scores of homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands, including tourists.

In France, multiple fires formed a column marching toward the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, yesterday. Hundreds of miles away, a fire swept overnight into Funchal, the capital of Portugals Madeira Islands, killing three elderly people and leaving more than 300 with minor burns and smoke inhalation.

A forest watchman was killed on the mainland during the night when one of more than 100 blazes engulfed the caravan he was sleeping in 150 kilometers (95 miles) north of Lisbon.

Two people were reported injured, one seriously, as the fire in southern France moved toward Marseille, firefighters said, and 20 to 25 homes were burned. At least 2,700 hectares (6,670 acres) of land were devastated.

Four firefighters were injured, three seriously, battling a separate blaze in the nearby Herault region a brought under control like a fire in an industrial area outside Marseille that stocks oil and petrochemicals.

The Marseille airport rerouted incoming flights to make way for firefighting aircraft, while officials in Marseille, Frances second-largest city, were bracing for flames that risked lapping at its doors, and the airport warned flights risk delays or cancellations today.

Thick layers of ochre-colored smoke dimmed the afternoon skies of sun-drenched Marseille, while black plumes rose above Vitrolles and Pennes-Mirabeau.

It was a scene really like the end of the world, Caroline Vidal, a Vitrolles resident told iTele TV, describing the scene as she fled her home to her grandmothers house and saw people running on the highway to escape.

Assistant Prefect Yves Rousset, asked at a pre-dawn meeting with reporters in Marseille, whether the fire might reach Frances second-largest city overnight, said, We can never say there will be no risk, but were doing everything so it doesnt. Firefighting aircraft were restarting duty at daybreak, while the battle continued on the ground.

Firefighters in both countries battled multiple blazes fanned by high winds and fed by brush in a hot, dry summer, considered fire season in both countries. A full 186 wildfires were counted yesterday on Portugals mainland.

But the blazes were exceptionally powerful in both countries, roaring through Madeira and southern France at the height of the tourist season a a mainstay of the economy of Madeira islands, off northwest Africa.

Portugals National Civil Protection Service reported 14 major wildfires burning out of control in mainland Portugal where almost 4,500 firefighters were in action in a massive operation, supported by 28 water-dumping aircraft and 1,300 vehicles. Desperate, the government requested help from other European Union countries.  AP
Karachi, August 11

At least 14 persons were injured when a roadside bomb targeting a judge exploded near a hospital in Quetta in Pakistans restive southwestern Balochistan province, days after a deadly attack killed 74 persons, mostly lawyers.

Fourteen persons were injured in the blast when a vehicle belonging to the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) accompanying Justice Zahoor Shahwanis vehicle was hit on Quettas Zarghon road.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said the judge escaped the attack but one of the security vehicles escorting him was damaged.

The bomb was planted along the side of the road and exploded as the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) vehicle passed by.

According to rescue officials, ten civilians and four security officials were injured, with two in critical condition, in the blast near Al Khair Hospital in Balochistans provincial capital. The blast also shattered windows of nearby buildings, the Dawn reported.

Police spokesman Shahzada Farhat said police officers and passers-by were wounded.

Security forces and a bomb disposal squad reached the scene to collect evidence. Rescue teams moved the injured to nearby hospitals.

Police cordoned off the area as a search operation went underway.

This is a busy road and the terrorists take advantage of this, planting bombs and fleeing on motorcycles, Bugti said, strongly condemning the attack.

These blasts are aimed at sabotaging Independence Day activities in Balochistan. I believe these cowardly acts will not bring down our morale. We are in a conflict zone and we will fight with renewed resolve, the minister said.

We are reviewing our security measures and you will see changes on the ground, he said.

Bugti said that three to four kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast.

The explosion comes just days after a suicide bombing killed 74 people and injured 115, mostly lawyers and journalists, at the emergency ward of Quettas Civil Hospital on Monday.

A combing operation is ongoing throughout Quetta following Mondays blast.  PTI
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 11

Hitting out at Pakistan over its continued interference in Kashmir, India today said the neighbouring country had no locus standi in the matter.

It does not matter how many letters are written, it will still not whitewash cross-border terrorism, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Vikas Swarup said.

He was answering a question on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif writing to the UN Secretary General and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urging for efforts to end the persistent and egregious violation of the basic human rights of the Kashmiri people and also to implement UN Security Council resolutions.

Tension over Kashmir shows no signs of calming down anytime soon with both countries now hurling accusations at each other regularly.

To further drive home the point that Pakistan is responsible for the cross-border terrorism, Swarup mentioned the recent arrest of LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali who has confessed to Indian authorities of the training he received in Pakistan and the indoctrination that they undergo prior to infiltration into India.

Pakistan has no locus standi in addressing any aspect of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internal matter of India, except to put an end to all cross-border terrorism, infiltration and support and instigation to terrorism and violence against India, Swarup said.

The government reiterated that Alis confessions proved the LeT was sending its cadre into India in connivance with the Pakistan security forces and that Pakistan now stood fully exposed.

The latest spike in the war of words between the two countries stems from Home Minister Rajnath Singhs visit to Pakistan about a week ago. Sources confirm that Indian media was deliberately kept out of venues and the ministers speech was censored. Thereafter, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had summoned the Pakistan High Commission here and issued him a demarche over Pakistan sponsoring cross-border terrorism.
Washington, August 11

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called US President Barack Obama and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton co-founders of Islamic State on Thursday, igniting fresh criticism of his inflammatory campaign style.

The New York real estate developer has previously attacked Obama and Clinton, secretary of state from 2009-13, for how the United States pulled out of Iraq after the war, saying it helped create the militant Islamist group that has seized swaths of Iraq and Syria.

The idea that a sitting US President created a militant group determined to kill Americans and other Westerners took that line of attack to a new level. Trump first made the assertion in a speech Wednesday night in Florida. He repeated it in an interview Thursday morning with CNBC.

His remarks followed a troubled week for the Republican candidate. Party leaders urged Trump to focus on the campaign to beat Clinton after he drew strong criticism for a persistent confrontation with the family of Muslim American soldier who died in Iraq and for his initial refusal to support prominent Republican congressional candidates in their primary races.

Recent opinion polls have shown Trump losing ground to Clinton, a former US senator and first lady, in the race for the election. An average of polls by RealClearPolitics has Clinton 7.7 percentage points ahead, at 48 per cent to his 40.3 per cent.

He (Obama) was the founder of ISIS. And so was she. I mean I call them co-founders, said Trump, who says he opposed the Iraq war. He shouldnt have gotten out way he got out. It was a disaster, what he did, he told CNBC.

Obama had opposed the Iraq war and campaigned for the White House in 2008 on a promise to end it. The United States pulled out combat troops in 2011.

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS or ISIL, had its roots in the Al-Qaida insurgency that arose after the United States led an invasion of Iraq in 2003. Known for its brutality, the group in 2014 declared an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq, where fighting continues to rage.

Clinton spokesman Jesse Lehrich, in response to Trumps comments, pointed to US advances against the militant group in Libya this week. US-backed militias retook ISISs stronghold in Libya today thanks to Obama-authorised air strikes, he said in a tweet.

Supporters of Trump like his combative and often insulting style but it has drawn wide criticism, not just from the Clinton campaign. Many Republicans have urged him to change tactics and focus on the economy.

US Representative Sean Duffy, a Republican from Wisconsin who backs Trump, said Obama and Clinton did not found Islamic State and urged Trump to stay on message. Stay on script. Dont go off script. Read your teleprompter and youre going to be fine, Duffy said on MSNBC.  Reuters
Quito, August 11

Ecuador said on Thursday it will let Swedish officials interview Julian Assange at its embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder has been sheltering since June 2012.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said a letter has been sent by the Ecuadoran government to set up a meeting with Swedish officials at Quitos embassy in London.

The meeting is to take place in the coming weeks, the statement said.

Prosecutors in Sweden want to interview Assange in connection a 2010 rape allegation against him.

The 45-year-old Australian sought refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London in June 2012 after exhausting all his legal options in Britain against extradition to Sweden.

Assange fears that if he were sent to Sweden to face trial, he could be extradited to the US to be tried over WikiLeaks publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents and face a long prison sentence or the death penalty.

Assange yesterday appealed a Stockholm district courts decision to maintain a European arrest warrant against him over the rape allegation.

We have appealed the decision to keep him remanded in custody in absentia, his attorney Tomas Olsson told AFP.

Assanges lawyers have said that is why he refuses to travel to Sweden to be questioned by prosecutors.

A UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on February 5 ruled in a non-binding decision that Assanges confinement in the Ecuadoran embassy amounted to arbitrary detention by Sweden and Britain.

Both Britain and Sweden have angrily disputed the UN groups findings.  AFP
Tastykake is one of many brands owned by Flowers Foods. 2009 photo by Ezra Wolfe, used under Creative Commons license.

The Department of Labor may be getting involved in an employee misclassification situation involving delivery drivers at Flowers Foods, the Georgia-based company that owns Wonder Bread, Natures Own, Tastykake and other brands.

This week, the U.S. Department of Labor notified Flowers Foods Inc. that it has been scheduled for a compliance review under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company simply said it intends to cooperate, but because the review process is confidential, it has no further comment at this time.

However, observers believe the review has to do with the bakery giants alleged misclassification of drivers.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the company already faces nearly two dozen lawsuits from delivery drivers saying they are misclassified as independent contractors and really should be classified as employees.

One of the first misclassification claims against Flowers, brought in North Carolina in 2012 and granted class status in March of last year, is slated for trial in October, says the WSJ.

The paper also notes that FLSA investigations have been rare. But last July the Labor Department issued guidance suggesting businesses examine the issue of misclassification and consider designating more of their independent contractors as employees. Since then, the Labor Department has brought at least two cases against other companies over misclassification.

A Forbes article from earlier this year explains how Flowers system appears to run afoul of guidance issued last year by the Department of Labor that was characterized as a shot across the bow by one legal advisor.



As I reported last year, that guidance offered an interpretation of economic realities as it applies to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The guidance said most workers are employees under the FLSA, and that a worker is an employee based on the economic realitiesnot by job titles or any agreement the parties may make.

The economic realities test has been used by several courts and regulatory agencies for years and includes the following factors:

The extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employers business;

The workers opportunity for profit or loss depending on his or her managerial skill;

The extent of the relative investments of the employer and the worker;

Whether the work performed requires special skills and initiative;

The permanency of the relationship; and

The degree of control exercised or retained by the employer.

Lets look at just one of those: the relative investments of the employer and the worker. The Forbes article reports that according to the Flowers 10-k, when an independent distributor terminates their relationship with the company, the company, although not legally obligated, generally purchases and operates that territory utilizing the leased truck of the former distributor.Once the territory is resold to an independent distributor, the truck lease is assumed by the new independent distributor.

So the contractor doesnt really appear to be having to bear the risk.

In February, as Forbes.com reported, as most Wall Street analysts rated Flowers a buy, Timothy Ramey of Pivotal Research rated it a sell.

Why? Ramey said much of Flowers earnings growth was due to the fact that since drivers were independent contractors rather than company employees, Flowers enjoyed a lower distribution cost than competitors.

After the news came out about the Department of Labor case, Ramey cut his price target on the stock in half, to $4 per share.

This story is just the latest in a string of employee misclassification cases faced by trucking operations. Just last month, a class-action lawsuit representing nearly 400 Southern California port truck drivers resulted in a $5 million settlement agreement with port trucking company group QTS.

Many states have been trying to crack down on what they see as a serious labor issue, and California is a hotbed of such activity, especially with the Teamsters union pushing for port drayage drivers to become employees that can participate in organized labor. New York and New Jersey legislators have worked to pass laws making it harder to classify drivers as contractors, with varying degress of success.

But now it looks like the federal government is getting more involved. If you use owner-operators and haven't taken a close look at your independent contractor program lately, you should.
UPDATE: Gibson has responded to reports of his suspension, according to Hollywoodreporter.com.

"There were creative differences on the set and a disagreement," Gibson said in a statement to the website. "I regret that it occurred. We all want to work together as a team to make the best show possible. We always have and we always will."

THR added his character will be written out of both episodes for which he is suspended and he has been replaced as director. The incident allegedly occurred between the episode's writer, who was on set at the time, and Gibson who was directing

Thomas Gibson, who has starred in CBS' "Criminal Minds" since its debut in 2005, has reportedly been suspended from "at least one and likely two" episodes of the hit series following an altercation with a producer on set, according to deadline.com.

The website posted early Thursday morning that in addition to being suspended from acting on the show, his directing job on the series may have also been axed. Deadline's Nellie Andreeva reported Gibson has been written off episodes during his suspension and production on the show, said to be filming its third and fourth episodes, is continuing. She also reported her sources telling her the altercation may have involved kicking the show's producer.

Gibson plays Agent Aaron Hotchner in the drama series.

"Criminal Minds" is produced by ABC Studios and CBS TV Studios. It is set to return September 28 on CBS.
Turkish energy company Polat Energy is set to make additional investments worth $1 billion soon, company head Adnan Polat said Friday.

Polat Energy is one of the largest investors on wind power in Turkey.

The company made the decision to increase its investments in wake of the July 15 coup attempt, which was defeated by ordinary Turkish people.

Polat said the Fetullah Terrorist Organizations aim was to block everything in the country, including economic activities through such heinous acts. He said the best way to fight the organization was by making more investments in the country.

An energy investment worth $1 billion is being planned, which will be completed in two years by Polat Energy in collaboration with its foreign partners, EDF, the world's biggest electricity producer, and PSP Investments, one of Canadas largest pension investment fund, he said, adding the investments would begin within a month after some paperwork gets done.

He said the aim is to push Soma Wind Power Plant to the top of the list of largest wind power plants.

We will make the Soma Wind Power Plant [WPP] the biggest WPP in Europe and the fifth biggest in the world with an additional investment of 371 megawatts capacity, Polat said.

Power plants operated by the Polat Group in collaboration with the Demirer Group have an installed capacity of 1,100 megawatts already.

If the government makes necessary regulations, we plan to invest an additional 2,000 megawatts, worth $2 billion, until 2023. We will have made investments worth of $3.5 billion by then, he said.

Polat noted the company will also participate in a campaign launched by Emlak Konut GYO and GYODER, an association of real estate investment companies, aimed at supporting economic activity in wake of the defeated coup.

Highlighting that investing in housing rather than gold or foreign exchange was more profitable, he said no real estate investors in Turkey had ever suffered losses.

This is a great opportunity for citizens and I call them to utilize this benefit as it is not something they can bump into frequently, he said.

The campaign, limited till end of August, enables people to pay almost 20 percent less as it reduces the percentage of down payment from 25 percent to 20 percent and 10-year home loan rate from 1.08 percent to 0.7 percent.

Anadolu Agency
Russia's multi-billion dollar sovereign wealth fund has announced it is ready to take part in a Turkish-Russian joint investment fund, just hours before presidents of the two countries meet in St. Petersburg.

The state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has $10 billion of reserved capital under management, said in a statement on Tuesday it expects to sign a joint investment deal with a leading Turkish holding company during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visit to Russia.

Erdogan will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of St. Petersburg for the first time since ties between the two countries deteriorated following the downing of a Russian jet near the Syrian border last November.

The statement said the head of RDIF, Kirill Dmitriev, would also attend the meeting between the two presidents.

Dmitriev is also expected to meet Turkish business people in St. Petersburg to discuss investment opportunities.

The fund said a deal with a Turkish company would generate joint investments worth several hundred million dollars in many industries.

"There is a possibility of signing hundreds of million dollars worth of investment agreement with one of the leading Turkish companies at that meeting," the statement said.

The RDIF was established in 2011 under president and prime minister of the Russian Federation, which attracted over $27 billion of foreign capital into the Russian economy through long-term strategic partnerships, according to the fund's website.

Ankara and Moscow started to work on liberalization of services and investments last year, including a joint investment fund in 2015 but everything was suspended after the downing of a Russian jet in November last year.

The meeting between Erdogan and Putin is expected to give a boost to economic relations between the two countries.

After the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian jet that violated Turkish airspace over the Turkey-Syria border last November, relations between the two countries soured, until the issue seemed largely resolved on June 29 through a letter and subsequent telephone calls between the leaders.

Two months prior to the jet crisis, the two countries had set a goal to increase mutual trade volume to $100 billion by 2023.

Energy cooperation, and in particular the Turkish Stream pipeline project, and the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project in Turkey are other topics of critical importance expected to be discussed at the meeting.

Russian Media reported on July 26 of the year that Russia and Turkey have resumed talks on the establishment of a joint investment fund.

The RDIF and Turkey's Renaissance Holding signed an agreement in December 2014 worth $400 million for joint investment in the construction of trade centers and health facilities.

Anadolu Agency
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Turkey and Russia are determined to boost ties to levels beyond what they were before last November's jet crisis.

He revived a target of $100 million for trade between the Black Sea neighbors -- a leap from the $38 billion trade volume in 2008 that fell to $23.3 billion last year.

His Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said the priority was to turn back to before the crisis era but warned restoring ties needs time.

In a news conference with Putin in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, Erdogan said: Both sides are immensely determined and have the necessary will to move our relations back to previous levels again and even beyond them.

I am of the opinion that the public of both countries expected this from us. Thats why, at the end of the meetings today, we have taken decisions to move Turkey-Russia relations to the levels they must be in political, financial, cultural and humanitarian fields.

The Turkish president also revealed that Turkey and Russia had agreed on establishing a joint investment fund and boosting cooperation in the defense sector. The Turkish-Russian High-Level Cooperation Council would also be revived as well as other previous arrangements such as visa-free travel and bilateral trade arrangements.

We are also leaning towards establishing a Turkey-Russia-Azerbaijan trilateral summit mechanism to discuss regional issues, Erdogan added. God willing, with the help of these steps, we will make the Ankara-Moscow axis into an axis of trust and friendship again.

Putin described the meeting -- the first between the leaders since the downing of a Russian warplane by the Turkish Air Force over the Turkey-Syria border last November -- as concrete and constructive.

He added that Russia would revive cooperation with Turkey and lift sanctions against Turkish firms incrementally to restore trade ties to previous levels.

Sanctions, Syria, energy

We decided to prepare a government-level commercial, economic, cultural and industrial cooperation program to cover the 2016 to 2019 period, Putin told journalists. I hope this program is approved soon.

On Syria, he acknowledged that the two countries held different views but said they shared the same goal.

Its obvious that we have divergences on the solution of the Syrian crisis, he said. We agreed to find a resolution together with foreign ministries and intelligence services We will try to find a suitable solution in this common approach.

On energy issues that are vitally important to both states, Erdogan said the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline would now be completed as fast as possible.

Announced by Putin in December 2014, the pipeline will carry Russian gas via the Black Sea and Turkey to southeastern Europe. The project was shelved following the jet crisis.

Erdogan announced that the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project in Mersin province, southern Turkey, would be granted strategic investment status. In a 2010 agreement Russia said it would help construct and operate Turkeys first nuclear power plant, which is expected to produce around 35 billion kilowatt-hours per year and cost around $25 billion.

Meanwhile, Russias Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukaev said a boycott of Turkish food imports could be removed by the end of the year, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

A breakthrough in the crisis between the countries came in June when Erdogan and Putin reestablished contact. On June 30, Russia lifted a ban on tourist flights to Turkey following a phone conversation between the pair.

Turkish and Russian foreign ministers met in the Russian city of Sochi on July 1 and Putin was one of the first to give his support to Turkey following the July 15 coup attempt.

Anadolu Agency
The Turkish Armed Forces will be modernized to prioritize homeland defense, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Sunday.

Kurtulmus appeared on CNN Turk TV speaking about latest developments after the defeated coup of July 15.

The Turkish Armed forces will enter the modernization phase of the restructuring process. So, the only duty of the Turkish Armed Forces will be homeland defense, Kurtulmus said.

Turkeys army will only protect the state but the army will no longer be a part of domestic policy, he said.

Our citizens are at ease with the new regularities.  No one should interfere in the policymakers job, he added.

The coup attempt claimed 240 lives and injured nearly 2,200 others, sending shockwaves throughout Turkey, the region and the world at large.

Ankara has accused U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen for leading the putsch through his followers within the military who formed the Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO).

Gulen is being sought by an Istanbul court to face charges, and Turkey has made an official request to Washington for his extradition.

Gulen is also accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state'.

Anadolu Agency
A Turkish pivot towards Moscow was dismissed by EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik in the wake of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans meeting with his Russian counterpart on Tuesday.

Celik, who is responsible for Turkeys long-running EU accession bid, made his remarks after several commentators claimed Erdogans meeting with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg -- the first since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane last November -- marked a shift of axis in Ankaras foreign policy.

In an interview with broadcaster Haberturk, Celik said close ties between the nations dated back to the Ottoman and Russian empires.

He said discussion about a change in direction had come during times when the EU failed to set up real and meaningful relations with Turkey.

He added: No-one should ask us whether one of our relations is an alternative to another. All are relations are complementary of one another.

Erdogans visit to Russia was his first overseas trip since the July 15 coup attempt, the aftermath of which has seen Turkey criticize Western governments and the EU for failing to support Turkish democracy in the face of a military takeover while warning Ankara to respect human rights and the rule of law.

Anadolu Agency
Turkish soldiers and military students who were deployed on Istanbuls July 15 Martyrs' Bridge during last month's failed coup night said that they were "misled and deceived" by Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) commanders.

During interrogations, some of the soldiers argued that, initially, they had no idea that they were taking part in an attempt to overthrow the elected government, thinking that it was just a military exercise or bomb attack threat.

In his testimony to an Istanbul prosecutor, H.Y., a private at Istanbul's Kuleli Military High School, said all soldiers were ordered to gather in the assembly area after dinner on the putsch night and each was given four cartridges with 80 bullets.

He said he was not one of the pro-coup soldiers, he was just ordered to deploy on the bridge for a "military drill":

"When we arrived at the bridge with tanks, there was no military vehicle. I think we were the first troops having reached the bridge that night. Then the tank stopped in the middle of the road and closed the bridge to the traffic."

"During the time on the bridge, we could not find out what was going on. Then, we were told to say to the people that the army declared a state of siege. When we did it people swore at us but a commander fired his gun up in the air to scare the people," H.Y. said.

H.Y. said as the number of civilians increased on the bridge a major, named Ahmet, gave the order to open fire on the civilians. "Soldiers did not want to carry out the order first, but once he threatened: 'Fire on the civilians or I will shoot you', soldiers started to fire on the people," H.Y. said.

H.Y. also gave some information on Kurtulus Kaya, a soldier who was allegedly lynched.

"We took shelter in front of the tank. When the tank fired, we were shocked. We hid behind the tank, and we saw our friend, Kurtulus, shot in his eye and lying dead; we started to cry," H.Y. said.

Similarly, private F.T. at Kuleli Military High School, said in his testimony that they were firstly told they were taking part in a military drill.

F.T. said, however, they were later told by a senior officer that there was a bombing threat for the bridge.

"During the time on the bridge, we were confused. A high-ranking soldier ordered us to fire to anyone who resist [to coup soldiers], F.T. said.

Stating that one of the majors opened fire on civilians on the bridge, F.T. said: "He also told us that the civilians could be attackers. And he ordered us to fire on people."

On coup night, tanks were on the streets of Istanbul, including the bridge, to block the crossings from the city's Asian to European sides, announcing that the army had seized control of the country.

In the aftermath the thwarted coup, thousands of army officers have been detained for suspected links to FETO as part of a nationwide investigation.

The coup probe has seen also hundreds of officers sacked from the military.

Turkey declared a state of emergency on July 20 after a group of rogue military officers were defeated in their July 15 coup attempt.

During a state of emergency, the Cabinet has the right to issue statutory decrees under the president of the republic without regard to routine procedures and restrictions in Article 91 of the Constitution. These decrees are first published in the Official Gazette and then submitted to parliament for ratification.

Under the statutory decree, the country announced wide-ranging changes in its armed forces. As part of changes, all military schools would be closed and war colleges replaced with a National Defense University.

The university will offer new institutions to train staff officers and give postgraduate education, including war academies and vocational schools that train non-commissioned officers.

At least 239 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured in the coup attempt, which Turkish officials have repeatedly said was carried out by FETO, led by U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.

Anadolu Agency
Russian press weighs up visit of economic minister's visit in Turkey.

As Russian Minister for Economic Development Alexey Yulukaev visits Turkey on Aug. 6, there are hopes that a number of factors will encourage both the Russian and Turkish sides restoring their bilateral ties in sphere of economy, energy, agriculture, transport and other sectors, Ekho Moskvy reported today citing Russian Deputy Minister for Economic Development Alexei Likhachev.

Both Russia and Turkey are seeking to restore relations for gaining political, economic and strategic considerations. They will also like to improve their bargaining position vis-a-vis the European Union and also to release pressure from Brussels which is posed in the form of many demands and regulations posed by the EU.

Russia is recalculating its considerations in view of falling energy prices, lesser market share and reduced revenues, Economy Professor Pavel Rodkyn told Daily Vzglyad Tuesday. For that reason Russia will prefer to have a significant deal with a major buyer. Having the option of the Turkish Stream as a southern outlet will improve Russias gas supply options outside the preview of the stricter EU regulations.

Turkey is looking to improve its bargaining prospects to ensure an important role in the future energy landscape, extract concessions for future gas purchases and secure uninterrupted supplies to meet domestic needs. Moreover, the prospects of increased sales of Russian grain to Turkey are quite high. Nikolai Protsenko wrote in Vzglyad, Aug 2nd.

Moscow is also mindful that in recent months Gazprom faced a 0.8 percent decline in its exports to the CIS countries, noted Daily Vzglyad on Tuesday.

Russia will prefer to have a pipeline extended through Turkey to increase its prospects for delivering more gas to Europe before competitors such as Azerbaijan via Southern Gas Corridor or Iranian and Turkmen suppliers find their way to reach the European markets, Ilgar Grabunov wrote for Eurasia Monitor Tuesday.

Russia is prepared to restore economic ties with Turkey seeking better alternative prospects. This is because Moscow will prefer to wriggle out of the arrangement with Ukraine as the contract expires in 2019 and instead invest in Turkish Stream an option which will bring higher returns, Pavel Felgenhauer wrote for Eurasia Monitor Tuesday. In the long term, Turkey will be a major purchaser and when it comes to extending gas supply lines for Russia there will fewer regulatory bindings and less hassle as compared to options passing through European territories.

To have a bigger share in Turkeys energy market Russia is interested to bypass the Ukraine transit pipeline system by sending gas to Southeastern Europe through a hub in Turkey, added Felgenhauer.

In recent months, circumstances have lead both Turkey and Russia to scale down the plans for the Turkish Stream project to make it a smaller, quicker and more affordable option. Such an option might prove attractive not just for Turkey but also for countries in South-East Europe who may find themselves better off to receive gas from an alternate other than Ukraine, Yuri Zainashaev wrote in Vzglyad July 26.

Anadolu Agency
The Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO) Turkey holds responsible for the bloody July 15 coup attempt has even broader ambitions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Saturday.

"FETO not only seeks a takeover in Turkey, but also tries to reach towards African countries," Erdogan said in an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera network.

The group has hundreds of schools and institutions in 170 countries, Erdogan said.

"They are raising the children of top government leaders and public figures, and they seek to take over those countries in due time," he said.

FETO is accused of mounting the military putsch attempt on July 15 that killed 240 people and injured 2,200 others. The terrorist group's leader, U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, is sought by an Istanbul court on charges related to the coup attempt.

The Gulen-led movement has long been accused of a broader effort spanning decades to infiltrate state institutions, forming what is commonly referred to as a "parallel state".

Erdogan said the post-coup investigation, whereby thousands of people were detained and tens of thousands of civil servants were suspended, would be a long-term process, and ridding the country of FETO would take time.

"We will wipe them out. We will reestablish the state. We will cleanse our security forces," the president said.

Commenting on allegations that the post-coup environment gave him free rein to do whatever he wants, Erdogan said: "I strongly reject these claims. I would not exercise any right not given to me by the Turkish people. I am not a despot or a dictator."

The president also touched on Ankara's request from Washington for the extradition of Gulen to face charges. Erdogan said that when Joseph Dunford, U.S. chairman of joint chiefs of staff who visited Turkey earlier this week, asked for evidence for accusations against Gulen, Turkish chief of the general staff, Hulusi Akar responded: "I am the evidence."

Akar, who was held hostage the night of the overthrow attempt, said in his first testimony that among the coup plotters who captured him, Brig. Gen. Hakan Evrim, commander of the Akinci 4th Main Jet Base, told Akar that if you so wish, we can arrange for you to meet our intellectual leader, Fetullah Gulen.

More evidence is mounting as high-profile witness accounts and testimony from military officials and coup plotters emerge, pointing to the cleric and his followers as culprits.

As for his visit to Russia to meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Erdogan stressed the trip's importance, saying: "Us standing shoulder to shoulder is important for the region."

Russia and Turkey are coming out of a tense period in bilateral ties following the downing of a Russian jet by Turkish military aircraft in November last year. Tuesday's visit will mark the first time the two leaders will meet face to face.

Anadolu Agency
Millions of people are gathering in Istanbul on Sunday ahead of a cross-party Democracy and Martyrs' Rally called to protest the defeated July 15 coup launched by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

People have started to gather hours before the mass rally in the citys Yenikapi district, many carrying national flags.

Participants are going through security checks before entering the rally area. Only Turkish national flags have been permitted, not those of political parties.

Smaller rallies will take place in every Turkish province. The public gatherings are expected to attract people from all types of ideologies, regardless of their political preferences.

The Yenikapi rally is to be addressed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who is also the leader of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

Leader of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli have confirmed they will attend the rally which will start at 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT). A collection of Turkish celebrities will also be at the event.

"Let the nation be there together," Erdogan said earlier on Sunday.

Suggested by Erdogan, the rally was set up under the aegis of the presidency and organized by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality together with the Office of the Governor.

The Yenikapi event will mark the end of weeks of democracy watch rallies held in cities across the country since the defeated coup, which martyred 240 people and wounded nearly 2,200 more.

A huge stage has been erected in the area, as well as television screens and sound systems.

Air-supported security measures have been taken around the rally point. Around 13,000 people, aside from police officers, will be on duty to organize the event and perform other technical duties.

Helicopters, ambulances and over 700 medical personnel will also be on duty.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the defeated attempt was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1997.

Gulen is also accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

Erdogan repeatedly said that he saw no difference between terrorist groups such as the PKK, PYD, YPG, and Daesh, and U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen's FETO.

Anadolu Agency
One of the heroes of the July 15 coup resistance told the crowd at Istanbuls Democracy and Martyrs' Rally about the night.

We had our belief on our side, we kept on moving towards, Orcun Sekercioglu, who lost his leg after being shot as he confronted rebellious troops, said. My friends and I were hit by bullets. My brothers were shot.

Sekercioglu compared the night to World War Is Battle of Gallipoli, known as the Battle of Canakkale in Turkey. It was a new Canakkale, a war of independence, he said. My friends were shot on my right and left but we kept on moving.

Referring to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization accused of plotting the coup, he added: The FETO members thought people would be afraid to take to streets, to resist, but all people -- Turks and Kurds -- were on the streets in solidarity.

Sekercioglu was among nearly 2,200 injured in the coup attempt, which also left 240 people martyred.

Anadolu Agency
Turkish citizens on Sunday took to the streets and squares all across the country to share in the spirit of Democracy and Martyrs' Rally held in Istanbul in protest against the July 15 defeated coup.

Tens of thousands gathered in the July 15 Kizilay Democracy Square, the capital Ankara's main public square, to support the historic rally in Yenikapi, Istanbul. The citizens watched the rally live on giant screens set up in the area as they waved more than 150,000 Turkish flags supplied by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

Thousands more flocked to Konak Square in western Izmir province to chant slogans against Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO) that organized the coup attempt while citizens of Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic origin, as well as Syrian refugees, came together in Rabia Square of southeastern Sanliurfa province.

A 209-meter Turkish flag was carried by the citizens in the streets of eastern Bingol province.

The coup attempt was protested in dozens of Turkish cities on Sunday. The Yenikapi event, which became the first venue where ruling and opposition party leaders shared the same platform, is the highlight of weeks of democracy rallies held in cities across the country since the defeated coup, which led to 240 martyrs and wounded nearly 2,200 people.

Turkeys government has said the coup was organized by the followers of Fetullah Gulen, leader of FETO who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999. Ankara has formally asked Washington for his extradition.

Anadolu Agency
Turkeys most senior soldier on Sunday said the heaviest penalty would be imposed on those behind the July 15 attempted coup.

Gen. Hulusi Akar, chief of the general staff, was speaking at a Democracy and Martyrs Rally in Istanbuls Yenikapi district to mark the defeat of the coup bid

Referring to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) that has been accused of planning the takeover, Akar said there was no doubt the heaviest penalty would be imposed on the blood-shedders of FETO.

Akar, who was held hostage by pro-coup soldiers during the attempt, added that the betrayers were challenged and defeated as they deserved in the squares.

It is extremely rare for a senior Turkish military figure to address a public gathering.

Turkey has repeatedly said the coup was organized by followers of preacher Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999.

Anadolu Agency
Turkeys post-coup attempt Democracy and Martyrs Rally will mark a fresh chapter in history, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said Sunday.

Devlet Bahceli praised the popular resistance to the July 15 attempted coup in his speech at Yenikapi Square in Istanbul.

I watch Turkey beaming with pride, there is faith here, will here, he said. A new voyage begins from Yenikapi.

He added: People stood tall, taught a lesson to the traitors and terrorists of the July 15 coup bid.

Bahceli, who controls the Turkish parliaments fourth party, said the attempted coup was a fresh attempt to invade, carry out a massacre and destroy Turkey.

He called the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, which is held responsible for the coup attempt, a cancer and called on Turks to unite against the coup plotters.

The leaders of two other political parties -- the Justice and Development (AK) Party and the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) -- are also due to address the crowd, as is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Anadolu Agency
The July 15 coup attempt has opened up a new door of compromise in Turkeys political scene, which if utilized could make the country better, the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP) leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said Sunday.

In his address to millions of people gathered at the "Democracy and Martyrs Rally" in Istanbuls Yenikapi Square, Kilicdaroglu said: "The July 15 coup attempt has opened up a new door of compromise. Post July 15, now there is a new Turkey. If we can carry this power and the culture of reconciliation even further, we will leave a better Turkey for our children."

He went on to say that this was the bloodiest coup attempt in Turkey's history.

"We have 240 martyrs. They took their places in the gold pages of our history of democracy. They are the heroes of democracy.

"All political parties, including me should learn lessons from this calamity [coup attempt]," he added.

The opposition leader listed 12 lessons to be learnt from the coup attempt.

Politics should be left out of mosques, barracks [and] courthouses, was the first lesson, according to him.

Other lessons he mentioned included allowing criticism in politics; supremacy of merit in government jobs; protecting democracy under every condition; eliminating all tutorship in democracy; strengthening of the parliamentary system; giving importance to freedom of media; promoting impartiality and independence of the judiciary; and giving importance to secularism and education system.

In a reference to the Sledgehammer (Balyoz in Turkish or Ergenekon) trials, he also called for returning the rights of yesterday's victims. The trials had allegedly been cooked up by a junta within the Turkish Armed Forces in 2003 to overthrow the elected government, only a year after the current ruling Justice and Development Party came to power.

"We should struggle together in this land in peace by strengthening our democracy and respecting each other's differences," he said.

The Yenikapi event marks the end of weeks of democracy watch rallies held all across the country since the defeated coup.

Leaders of Turkeys three main political parties, including the Justice and Development (AK) Party, CHP and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are present at the rally together, which is a historic first in the country.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the coup was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

Anadolu Agency
The July 15 coup attempt was Turkeys second War of Independence, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Sunday.

In his speech to crowds at a Democracy and Martyrs Rally in Istanbul, the premier compared the coup bid, which led to 240 deaths, to the 1919-23 conflict that gave birth to modern Turkey.

They attempted to occupy our land disguised in Turkish military uniform and steal away the national will, he said, referring to the coup supporters.

Thank God and thanks to our martyrs lying honorably under the ground, today we are living on this land united as one, and with our honor, independence and solidarity intact.

Every coup which does not kill us, makes us stronger. Just like here and now.

The prime minister also praised the opposition Republican Peoples Party and Nationalist Movement Party for their support for the national will and democracy.

Yildirim vowed to clear the country of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, which is held responsible for the coup attempt, and bring its alleged leader Fetullah Gulen to justice.

The terrorist leader will come to Turkey and account for his [actions], he told millions of people crowded into Yenikapi Square. We will not act in revenge. We will abide by the law.

The prime minister also vowed to maintain and boost the atmosphere of reconciliation between the government and opposition. We will do our best to maintain this historic unity, he said.

Ankara has accused U.S.-based Gulen of leading the putsch through his followers within the military.

Anadolu Agency
An estimated five million people attended the Democracy and Martyrs' Rally in Istanbul on Sunday, according to the Istanbul Police Department.

The massive gathering of people is believed to be the largest of its kind for a political rally anywhere in the world.

The turnout was so huge that people were packed near the Yenikapi rally stage, the Kennedy Street, Eminonu and Zeytinburnu districts.

Millions of people had flocked to Yenikapi from all districts of Istanbul. Public transport, including the metro system, buses and ferry service was provided free of cost to all people in the city. Also, the Istanbul municipality delivered five million water bottles and one million food packages for free to the participants. The municipality had provided the services of 7,000 buses; 203 boats and 10 ferries were also available for the participants.

There were strict security measures in place during the rally; around 25,000 police personnel had been deployed, while 728 health personnel were also at hand at the square. Helicopters also hovered above the rally as security boats remained on alert; 22 X-Ray machines and 165 gates with metal detectors were in place for security checks.

Besides security forces 2,500 municipal guards and 900 cleaners as well as 500 assistants were on duty during the rally.

More than a 100 ambulances remained on the ground; one sea ambulance and 20 fire trucks had also been reserved. Meanwhile, 50 buses were used for transporting disabled people.

Erdogan was the final speaker to address the massive crowd. It was the first time the leaders of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) had shared a platform.

Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Turkeys top cleric Mehmet Gormez also attended.

The Yenikapi event is the highlight of weeks of democracy rallies held in cities across the country since the defeated coup, which led to 240 deaths and wounded nearly 2,200 people.

Turkeys government has said the coup was organized by the followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999.

Anadolu Agency
Our unity reflects that coups have now been buried in Turkey's history forever, Parliament Speaker Ismail Kahraman said Sunday.

In his address to millions of people gathered at the "Democracy and Martyrs Rally" in Istanbuls Yenikapi Square, Kahraman said: We are here to show solidarity, that we are united as one nation, state and homeland under one flag, and to declare that we have now buried coups in history.

He said the people of Turkey had defeated the forces who wanted to sow chaos in the country.

We have gone through a massive calamity. We opposed the maligning forces trying to create trouble among the public and we won, he said.

He added the Fetullah Terrorist Organization had infiltrated state institutions through traitors, but despite that it failed.

Leaders of Turkeys three main political parties, including the Justice and Development (AK) Party, Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are present at the rally together, which is a historic first in the country.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the coup was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

Anadolu Agency
Millions of people on Sunday gathered in Istanbul in a spectacular display of unity that brought ruling and opposition party leaders together in a first in modern Turkey history.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was joined by Prime Minister and ruling AK Party chairman Binali Yildirim, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli at the massive Democracy and Martyrs' Rally" in a show of national solidarity and a common protest against the July 15 defeated coup that left 240 people martyred and 2,200 others injured.

The rally started with a moment of silence, the Turkish national anthem and the recitation of the Holy Quran in memory of the martyrs. Mehmet Gormez, head of religious affairs, led a prayer of healing and blessing.

One of the heroes of the anti-coup resistance, Orcun Sekercioglu, who lost his leg after being shot at a confrontation with rebellious troops, told the crowd of the historic struggle: We had our belief on our side. My friends were shot on my right and left but we kept on moving."

Sekercioglu compared the night to World War Is Battle of Gallipoli, known as the Battle of Canakkale in Turkey. It was a new Canakkale, a new struggle of independence," he said.

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahceli praised the popular resistance to the July 15 attempted coup in his speech.

I watch Turkey beaming with pride. There is faith here, there is will here, he said. "People stood tall, and taught a lesson to the traitors and terrorists of the July 15 coup bid.

A new voyage begins from Yenikapi, Bahceli said.

Yenikapi, the name of the massive square that hosted Sunday's rally, means "new door" in Turkish.

Main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu stressed that in the post-coupTurkey, politics should be left out of mosques, barracks and courthouses.

The July 15 coup attempt has opened up a new door of compromise. Post July 15, now there is a new Turkey. If we can carry this power and the culture of reconciliation even further, we will leave a better Turkey for our children, he added.

Gen. Hulusi Akar, chief of the general staff, delivered a surprise address at the rally. Coup-plotters would face the "heaviest punishment", he said, in a rare public speech by a Turkish military figure.

Akar paused his remarks many times to repeatedly say "thank you" to the audience, who kept chanting praises for the Turkish military.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, in his address, likened the resistance to the July 15 coup attempt to the War of Independence that helped establish modernTurkey.

They attempted to occupy our land disguised in Turkish military uniform and steal away the national will, Yildirim said, referring to putschists.

Every coup which does not kill us, makes us stronger. Just like here and now, he said.

The prime minister also praised the opposition Republican Peoples Party and the Nationalist Movement Party for their support.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who took the podium to thunderous chants, said: Our presence today upsets our enemies just like it did on the morning of July 16."

Referring to the July 15, Erdogan said: On that night there were people who risked their lives to stop the coup and they filled the streets. History will remember the names of our martyrs in golden letters.

About a possible reinstatement of the death penalty in Turkey for those involved in the defeated coup, Erdogan reiterated his stance that the decision would be left up to Turkish lawmakers in the parliament.

"Parliament is the authority that will decide on the death penalty. The next step will be clear after the parliament takes a decision. I will approve reinstating the death penalty if the parliament approves," Erdogan said, adding that he thought political parties would abide by the will of the people.

The president asked Turks across the country to extend their democracy watch rallies until Wednesday. "Today is a comma [pause] in democracy rallies, we will end the rallies on Wednesday," he added, before asking the crowds "Is that alright?" and receiving a resounding "yes".

Sundays massive Democracy and Martyrs Rally was the first time the leaders of the AK Party, CHP and MHP had shared a platform. Former President Abdullah Gul and former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu were also in attendance.

Heightened security greeted demonstrators attending the historic rally that police said numbered nearly five million people.

Bag checks and searches were carried out at the rallys entrance points as a police helicopter hovered overhead, and large numbers of police and security personnel, as well as ambulances and more than 700 medics, were on duty for the cross-party event.

Political flags and banners were banned from the rally to underline the political consensus against the July 15 coup attempt.

Anadolu Agency
The huge rally to mark the defeat of the July 15 attempted coup was another blow for Turkeys enemies, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.

Speaking at the Democracy and Martyrs' Rally in Istanbul's Yenikapi district, he said: Our presence today upsets our enemies just like it did on the morning of July 16.

On that night there were people who risked their lives to stop the coup and they filled the streets. History will remember the names of our martyrs in golden letters.

Erdogan said Turkey would now take a path in solidarity towards the future. "Gulenists [supporters of U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen] didn't take the people into account... Night of the July 15 coup bid showed that this country cannot be undone," he said.

"We will make the whole world know what Fetullah Terrorist Organization [FETO] is," the president said.

About a possible reinstatement of the death penalty in Turkey for those involved in the defeated coup, Erdogan reiterated his stance that the decision would be left up to Turkish lawmakers in the parliament.

"Parliament is the authority that will decide on the death penalty. The next step will be clear after the parliament takes a decision. I will approve reinstating the death penalty if the parliament approves," Erdogan said, adding that the Turkish political parties should abide by the will of the people.

In his speech, the president also slammed Germany for preventing him from addressing a rally in the German city of Cologne via a video link last week where between 30,000 and 40,000 people gathered to denounce the coup attempt in Turkey.

"Where is democracy [in Germany]? They let those [PKK terrorists] in Qandil [a mountainous region in Iraq] broadcast via video conferenceLet them feed the terrorists, they will hit them back like a boomerang," Erdogan said.

The president asked the people to extend their democracy watch rallies until Wednesday in the country. "Today is a comma [pause] in democracy rallies, we will end the rallies on Wednesday," he added.

Erdogan was the final speaker to address a crowd that police said numbered nearly five million people.

It was the first time the leaders of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) had shared a platform.

Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Turkeys top cleric Mehmet Gormez also attended.

The Yenikapi event is the highlight of weeks of democracy rallies held in cities across the country since the defeated coup, which led to 240 deaths.

Turkeys government has said the coup was organized by the followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999.

Anadolu Agency
Turkeys migrant deal with the European Union 'will not be possible' if visa-waiver demands not met, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told French daily Le Monde on Monday.

The European Union does not behave sincerely with Turkey. We currently host three million refugees, whereas the only EU concern is that they do not arrive on its territory, Erdogan was quoted as saying.

He said the EU had offered the readmissions in exchange for visa exemption for Turkish nationals and this had been supposed to enter into force on June 1.

We are now in August and there is still no visa-waiver. If our demands are not met, readmissions will no longer be possible, said the Turkish leader.

Turkey and the EU signed the deal on March 18. It aimed to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving conditions for nearly three million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The deal included a six billion euro ($6.8 billion) aid package to help Turkey care for millions of refugees hosted in the country.

Anadolu Agency
Turkeys efforts to combat enemies at home and abroad have been carried out in line with the countrys democratic principles, Turkeys top diplomat said Monday.

While resolutely fighting the PKK and Daesh, Turkey has now also managed to endure a terrorist military coup against its democracy. Yet, our fight is being kept strictly in line with democratic rules, Mevlut Cavusoglu wrote in an opinion piece published in the American weekly magazine, Newsweek.

The article comes roughly three weeks after a defeated military coup bid in Turkey that left 240 people martyred and injured nearly 2,200 others.

The Turkish government has accused the U.S.-based preacher, Fetullah Gulen, of masterminding the July 15 putsch.

In full betrayal to their sacred uniforms, they massacred the civilians who bravely stood against them; their tanks crushed these innocent democracy defenders, Cavusoglu wrote.

"Turkish democracy won a battle that night. Yet, there is also the war to win to fully finish this painful episode of our life, he added.

The foreign minister warned against hasty conclusions concerning Turkeys fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

As Turkey goes through this period, what we expect from our friends abroad is solidarity and understanding, he wrote. For this, we certainly keep all channels open as always for constructive dialogue.

Turkey has long warned its partners about Gulen's "ominous aims", Cavusoglu wrote, noting that the foiled July 15 coup "has left, hopefully, no doubt about" his followers.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish state through the infiltration of institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

Turkey has requested that the U.S. extradite Gulen to face trial.

Turkish ambassador to the U.S., Serdar Kilic, told Anadolu Agency on Sunday that Washington was in cooperation with Ankara over the extradition process, a concerted effort he said would be solidified with American and Turkish delegations getting ready to pay mutual visits in the coming days.

Anadolu Agency
Economic relations between Turkey and Russia are expected to be on top of the agenda when Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin meet Tuesday.

The meeting in St. Petersburg marks the first meeting between the two leaders since Russia and Turkey began normalizing relations following the downing of a Russian jet in November last year.

After the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian jet that violated Turkish airspace over the Turkey-Syria border last November, relations between the two countries soured, until the issue seemed largely resolved on June 29 through a letter and subsequent telephone calls between the leaders.

Cooperation in energy projects, tourism, food and industrial exports as well as new investments are expected to be discussed during the talks, in addition to efforts towards boosting trade volume.

Two months prior to the jet crisis, the two countries had set a goal to increase mutual trade volume to $100 billion by 2023.

The trade increased nearly 18 percent between 2010 and 2014 to over $30 billion, according to Turkish Statistical Institute.

Official data from Turkish Statistical Institute and Russian Federal Statistics Service Rossat showed that last year Russia was the second largest destination of Turkish exports while it was the third largest source of imports to Turkey.

In the first six months of 2016, Turkeys exports to Russia dropped by 60.5 percent to $737 million compared to the same period last year.

The crisis also had a negative effect on tourism, after Moscow banned the sale of package tours and charter flights to Turkey.

Due to these restrictions, Turkey lost $840 million in tourism revenue over the first half of the year, as the number of Russian tourists travelling to Turkey dropped by 87 percent to around 184,000 compared to the same period last year.

On June 30, Russia lifted a ban on tourist flights to Turkey following a phone conversation between Putin and Erdogan.

On July 22, Russia also lifted restrictions on flights to Turkey, which had been implemented temporarily following the coup attempt, after Turkish officials assured their Russian counterparts that additional security measures were taken.

Energy cooperation

Energy cooperation, and in particular the Turkish Stream pipeline project, and Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant are other topics of critical importance expected to be discussed at the meeting.

Announced by Putin in Dec. 2014 during a visit to Ankara, the Turkish Stream pipeline project plans to carry Russian gas via the Black Sea and Turkey to southeastern Europe.

The project was shelved following the crisis. Now with the normalization of relations between the countries underway, the project is expected once more to be an important topic for bilateral talks.

On July 29, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said that talks with Turkey had resumed on the Turkish Stream natural gas project.

The meeting is also expected to help re-start Turkey's first nuclear power plant project.

In 2010, Turkey signed agreements with Russia on the construction and operation of nuclear power plants in Turkey.

Turkeys first nuclear power plant Akkuyu, in the province of Mersin at the southern Mediterranean coast, was due to be carried out by Russia with a budget of $25 billion. It is under construction and will have a capacity of 4,800 megawatts with four units.

Anadolu Agency
Turkey expects the U.S. to rethink its position on Fetullah Gulen after witnessing the participation of millions of people at pro-democracy rallies, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said in Ankara on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in the parliament following a Cabinet meeting, Kurtulmus said: I think the U.S. officials will now hesitate in hiding, providing protection and guarding Gulen there [in the U.S.] after witnessing this rally.

"We have no doubt the U.S. administrators will revise their position on this person in Pennsylvania after [Turkish] people clearly revealed their views [about Gulen] at rallies [across Turkey]According to security figures, around 25 million people attended the 'democracy watch' rallies across the country so far."

Turkish government has accused the U.S.-based preacher of being the mastermind of the July 15 coup bid that left 240 martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Gulen is being sought by an Istanbul court to face charges, and Turkey has made an official request to Washington for his extradition.

Upon a question that some members of the military allegedly linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) fled to the PKKs base in northern Iraq, Kurtulmus said a total of 216 fugitive military personnel including, 9 generals and 30 gendarme officers were still at large.

Without providing information about the fugitives' whereabouts, Kurtulmus said speculations on where they are hiding are not confirmed by the government.

In addition, he said ten foreigners are accused of having links to the FETO organization. "Four of them were remanded into custody," said the deputy prime minister.

To alleviate the concerns on the future of Turkeys economy over the coup bid, Kurtulmus said a bill to ensure businessmens movable property is underway.

Turkey economy was not affected by [the] coup bid and [its] aftermath, he said.

The deputy premier also said the ban on annual leaves of public employees declared amid the three-month state of emergency in the country had been now lifted.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the coup attempt was organized by followers of Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and the FETO terror group.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

Anadolu Agency
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has highlighted the importance of cooperation between Turkey and Russia in finding a solution to the long-standing Syria conflict.

In remarks made during an interview with Russias TASS wire service and state television Rossiya 24 prior to his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, Erdogan on Monday said: I must tell this clearly, the most important step, and primary actor in bringing peace to Syria is the Russian Federation.

"I think that we, Russia and Turkey, should resolve this [Syria] issue by taking a step together."

He added that if need be, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.S too could be included in the process. In a reference to the Bashar al-Assad regime, he said: Of course, we are not up for backing the killer who committed the state terrorism. Let the Syrian nation elect the one or ones who will rule them.

About the oppositions hopes for excluding Bashar al-Assad from the solution to the crisis, Erdogan said: In this regard, Iran can be included in this issue; we all desire to end the blood and deaths as soon as possible.

- New page in bilateral ties

About his scheduled meeting with Putin, Erdogan said both sides will discuss a number of sensitive issues, including the downing of a Russian jet last November, which he described as an unfortunate incident.

He noted that eight months have passed since then. During this time we continued to contact each other. As you know, we had a project in the economy, worth about $100 million. A number of huge projects have been suspended in between, such as the Akkuyu [nuclear power plant agreement, which was signed in 2010 between Russia and Turkey].

Now, I believe, we have a chance to reconsider everything, to open a new page in Turkey and Russia relations. I believe we have a lot to do as two important actors in all areas, including cultural, trade, political, military, economy [sectors]. I have no doubts in this matter, he said.

He later described his upcoming visit to Russia as a rebirth, saying: I consider this visit as rebirth, a new beginning of relations between the two countries and an opening of a new page.

About punishment for the Turkish pilot who killed a Russian pilot in Syria when a Russian jet was downed for violating Turkish airspace, the president said: The pilot in question has been in jail since then. There is a judicial process underway, I especially want to express this, too."

- Joint projects

Erdogan noted the loss of time and long delay in Turkey's first nuclear power plant project, which is being built with Russia.

In 2010, Turkey signed agreements with Russia for the construction and operation of nuclear power plants in Turkey.

The project was planned to end in around seven years. However, even though the due date is approaching, the project could not be started properly, Erdogan said.

Turkeys first nuclear power plant Akkuyu in the province of Mersin on the southern Mediterranean coast was due to be carried out by Russia with a budget of $25 billion. It remains under construction and is expected to have a capacity of 4,800 megawatts.

Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Project is the most important contract signed by us with Russia, he said.

Due to the latest issues, we are losing time, continually. We wish to discuss it and finish the project, soon.

- Turkish Stream pipeline

Erdogan said the two sides should also take steps to move forward the Turkish Stream pipeline project.

Turkey imported around 12.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia, so far. We are now the biggest buyer of Russian gas and there are steps to be taken jointly, in this regard, Erdogan said.

Announced by Putin in December 2014 during a visit to Ankara, the Turkish Stream pipeline project plans to carry Russian gas via the Black Sea and Turkey to southeastern Europe.

The project was shelved following the November crisis. Now with the normalization of relations between the countries underway, the project is expected to once more be an important topic during bilateral talks.

On July 29, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said talks with Turkey had resumed on the Turkish Stream natural gas project.

"We should take more steps for diversification of Turkish products to Russia, he added.

Erdogan will go to Russia with a delegation that will include Turkish businessmen. They are the most powerful investor firms in Turkey, he said, adding that he hoped both sides would start a fresh process.

- Turkey invites Russian tourists

Erdogan said there were no problems in Turkeys tourist areas and dismissed fears based on security concerns.

"All security measures have been taken," the president said.

He said no single tourist was killed even during the July 15 coup attempt, pointing out that all those who lost their lives that night were Turkish nationals who stood against tanks, helicopters and warplanes.

"We are ready to host our Russian friends in Turkey," Erdogan said.

Anadolu Agency
Turkey's justice minister has said Fetullah Gulen is no longer "a useful tool" for the U.S.

Answering journalists questions at Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk in Ankara on Tuesday, Bekir Bozdag said Gulen's direction of the July 15 coup plot was a "fact known by all".

Speaking two days after five million people in Istanbul attended a huge cross-party, pro-democracy rally, Bozdag said:

"If you ask what the message of Aug. 7 and July 15 is, it is a declaration to both friends and enemies that henceforth coups cannot be staged in Turkey, Bozdag added the Turkish people would never allow it.

"Our nation said it would settle its freedom and future," the minister said.

Bozdag went on to say that tools which act with foreign forces behind them cannot "seal the fate" of Turkey or decide the countrys future.

The justice minister also said the U.S. authorities' message so far about extraditing Pennsylvania-based Gulen had been "positive".

"They discuss extraditing Gulen and care about the demands of extradition. We consider this a positive development," Bozdag said. "The U.S. must facilitate the unconditional extradition of Fetullah Gulen to Turkey."

Bozdag added that he believes the U.S. will do what is necessary and return Gulen to Turkey.

Torture allegations

Bozdag rejected allegations of ill-treatment reportedly meted out to some coup suspects while in custody:

"It is a great distortion of events to display acts during the conflict as if they were made during the custody period," Bozdag said. "The files are clear. Turkey is a country which acts within the understanding of zero-tolerance of torture."

Bozdag reiterated that although Turkey temporarily suspended the European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR] for the duration of a three-month state of emergency the country had not compromised on its obligation to prevent torture.

The justice minister said stories and commentaries about the torture issue are made "deliberatively to shadow Turkey's righteous battle".

"International institutions' claims on torture are subjective allegations. This parallel structure's lobbying is powerful in Europe and in the U.S. These institutions publish reports on Turkey without asking any Turkish official or without gathering any actual information about Turkey."

Unethical FETO

Bozdag also questioned the functioning of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), asking: "Why would a legitimate organization give aliases to its members?"

"If there is transparency in where you go, then everything is good in there," Bozdag said. "But they immediately give you an alias ... Without a doubt, that place is illegitimate, unethical and unlawful."

"They called themselves the 'golden generation', but they tried to undermine a generation," Bozdag said. "They almost managed to undermine the states functioning as well."

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the coup attempt was organized by followers of Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

The July 15 coup attempt left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

16,000 arrests

Bozdag gave latest figures for those arrested, remanded in custody or under judicial restrictions.

"As of right now, the number of arrests is around 16,000. The number of people who have been remanded in custody is around 6,000. The number of people who are under judicial control decision is 7,668."

Bozdag said the number of arrests and detainments is constantly changing.

Adil Oksuz case

When asked about the case of Adil Oksuz, an assistant professor at Sakarya University's Faculty of Theology who is suspected of being one of the top coup plotters, Bozdag said "all of Turkey" was looking for him.

"Hopefully our security forces will lock him down and hand him over to justice. The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors has already started an investigation about the prosecutors who interrogated him during the coup night."

Oksuz went to Akinci 4th Main Jet Base on night of July 15 but was released after a 21-minute interrogation. An arrest warrant has been issued for his detention.

Anadolu Agency
Fugitive soldiers of the recent coup attempt may organize attacks against the Turkish state, the country's deputy prime minister said Tuesday.

"They and their collaborationists may go into some individual actions, assassinations. They may attempt to cyber attack," Numan Kurtulmus said during a live broadcast on the Haberturk television channel.

"We need to be on the alert from now on. The state is on the alert with its all departments. It is cautious to get rid of all kind of possible threats in future," he said, adding that there are currently 216 fugitive soldiers.

All state departments should be cleared of individuals who have ties to the Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO), according to Kurtulmus.

Turkey's government has said the July 15 coup attempt, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his Fetullah Terrorist Organization.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

Anadolu Agency
Eight people, including police officers, were martyred and several others injured on Wednesday in two separate PKK bomb attacks in southeastern Turkey, according to the country's transport minister.

At least three people, including one police officer, were martyred and 30 others, including five police officers, were injured when a handmade roadside explosive was detonated by terrorist organization PKK as a police vehicle was passing by in the Kiziltepe district of the southeastern Mardin province, said Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan.

The terrorist organization PKK also carried out a separate attack in the Sur district of the southeastern Diyarbakir province on Wednesday, targeting another police vehicle.

In Diyarbakir, five civilians were martyred and 12 people, including five police officers, were injured during the bomb attack, according to a statement of provincial governorship. A bomb-laden car was used in the attack, the statement added.

The U.S. "strongly" denounced the attacks with Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter calling them "despicable" in a statement.

"With these attacks, we are reminded of the remarkable bravery and self-sacrifice that allied security personnel demonstrate every day in the fight against terrorism," he said. "The United States remains committed to cooperating closely with Turkey - bilaterally, within the counter-ISIL coalition, and within NATO - in order to defend our nations against common threats."

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, over 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers and village guards have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists killed or neutralized in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.

Anadolu Agency
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday gave the U.S. an ultimatum following Ankara's repeated requests for the extradition of US-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, accused of orchestrating the July 15 defeated coup.

"Sooner or later the U.S will make a choice. Either Turkey or FETO," Erdogan said.

"Either the coup-plotting terrorist FETO or the democratic country Turkey. It has to make this choice," he said, referring to the Gulen-led Fetullah Terrorist Organization that Ankara says mounted the bloody coup attempt through rogue elements within the military.

The president's remarks came as he addressed a mass crowd in front of the Presidential Palace in the capital  one location attacked on the night of the coup attempt.

The gathering in Ankara was the last night of daily pro-democracy rallies which has been held since July 15, Erdogan announced.

The daily gatherings, which have attracted hundreds of thousands wishing to show their opposition to the foiled July 15 coup, culminated Sunday in a rally in Istanbul that 5 million people are thought to have attended, according to local officials.

Erdogan warned citizens, however, to stay constantly vigilant as "betrayal can come from anywhere and anyone.

"We want to finalize it here [Ankara]. But, I see that our people do not want to leave the squares," he said.

"Democracy watch cannot be only kept in certain hours, in certain places," he added, and called on Turks to protect "democracy, freedom, the state, and the future" 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Turkish president once more suggested he sees no difference between terrorist groups such as the PKK, Daesh and U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen's FETO.

"Those who follow the Pennsylvania-based charlatan who sold his soul to the devil, or Daesh, which shed Muslim blood, or the PKK that also has shed blood for 30 years to divide the country and the nation, will all lose in the end."

He stressed his "one nation, one flag, one homeland, and one state" slogan.

- Erdogan to approve death penalty if parliament approves

About a possible reinstatement of the death penalty in Turkey for those involved in the defeated coup, Erdogan reiterated his stance that the decision would be left up to Turkish lawmakers in the parliament.

He said he would approve reinstating the death penalty if the parliament approves.

Such a penalty could be imposed on Gulen as well, who is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

Turkey's government said the foiled putsch, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Gulen, who has lived in a self-imposed exile Pennsylvania since 1999.

"We will certainly call the murderers to account [for their crimes]. We will impose the heaviest penalty," said Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who took the stage late Wednesday to address the crowd before Erdogan.

Praising Turks as "the hero of democracy," Yildirim added: "Coup plotters believed that they would defeat the nation, but they were mistaken."

On the night of the attempt, Erdogan urged Turks to swarm the streets in opposition to the coup, a call that was met with an overwhelming response from thousands who went to defy tanks and bullets in major cities and millions who took part in anti-coup demonstrations across the country.

Anadolu Agency
UN envoy to Yemen Islami Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Saturday announced a one-month suspension in peace talks between the Yemeni government and the Shia group for resolving the conflict in the Arab country.

Speaking at a press conference in Kuwait, Ould Cheikh said the talks will be resumed within one month at a venue to be determined later.

Earlier today, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi said that the UN-brokered talks with the Houthis ended without reaching a peace deal.

The move came shortly after the Houthi group and allied former president Ali Abdullah Saleh named ten officials who would comprise a council to run the war-torn country.

Yemen has been racked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

In March of last year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive military campaign in Yemen aimed at reversing Houthi gains and restoring Hadis embattled government.

Backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, pro-Hadi forces have since managed to reclaim large swathes of the countrys south -- including provisional capital Aden -- but have failed to retake Sanaa and other strategic areas.

In April, the Yemeni government and the Houthis entered into UN-sponsored peace talks aimed at resolving the conflict, which has so far killed more than 6,400 people and forced 2.5 million others to flee their homes.

Anadolu Agency
Syrian opposition forces on Saturday claimed killing 150 regime troops and confiscating military vehicles after breaking the siege on opposition-held areas in northern Aleppo city.

According to a local opposition source, who wished to stay anonymous due to safety concerns, On the seventh day of clashes, some 20 tanks, seven armored combat vehicles, 10 artilleries and 60 troop carriers have been captured from regime forces.

Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) opposition fighters also seized control of regime positions in Ramousa area in southern Aleppo, opening the route to opposition-held neighborhoods in the city, the source told Anadolu Agency.

According to the same source, groups of opposition fighters arrived in besieged neighborhoods in Aleppo.

Clashes are still raging on in Ramousa outskirts between regime forces and opposition groups, which are trying to widen their control, the source said.

On Friday, opposition fighters in Aleppo captured a regime school regarded as one of the most significant strongholds of the Bashar al-Assads forces in the contested city.

In February, the Syrian regime cut the supply route between Aleppos northern countryside and opposition-held eastern neighborhood.

In early July, regime forces moved to cut the Castello Road, which links the contested city of Aleppo with opposition-held Idlib, imposing a total blockade on opposition-controlled areas in Aleppo.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research puts the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.

Anadolu Agency
A regime aircraft conducted a vacuum bomb attack late Monday against the opposition-held district of Sevre in the northwestern province of Idlib, local civil defense sources told Anadolu Agency.

Five victims were killed and 12 others, including a civil defense staff, were wounded in the attack, according to a medical source who spoke to Anadolu Agency.

A building was demolished after the attack and civil defense personnel are trying to reach victims trapped in the wreckage, the source said, adding that the wounded have been taken to local hospitals.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime of Bashar al-Assad cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million victims have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, puts the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.
Leaders of Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan gathered in Baku on Monday to discuss closer economic ties, including international energy and transport corridors in the Caspian Sea region.

Today, of course we are starting off with a clean slate in our relations with this trilateral meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and Azeribaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

This is a historic day...Our meeting will contribute to the economic development of our countries, Aliyev told a news conference after the trilateral meeting. We can realize joint investment projects.

The three leaders also signed a declaration on security issues and fighting against terrorism.

Aliyev warned there is a growing risk of global terrorism and that all countries should join efforts to fight it.

The Azerbaijani president said Karabakh conflict with Armenia has violated his countrys territorial integrity for many years, adding that 20 percent of Azerbaijani land is under occupation.

Armenian militia have occupied Azerbaijans Karabakh region since 1993, similar to how pro-Russian militia have illegally occupied parts of Ukraine since 2014.

Over a million Azerbaijanis are suffering from this occupation, Aliyev said.

Meanwhile, Rouhani said his country supports any initiatives that aim to boost cooperation with neighboring countries, adding that enlargement of ties is Irans top priority.

Putin further said Azerbaijan and Iran are good neighbors and important partners of Russia.

Anadolu Agency
At least 70 people were killed by a suicide attack at a hospital in southwestern Pakistan on Monday, according to a senior official.

Balochistan Home Minister Safraz Bugti said 103 people were also injured by the suicide bombing in the state capital, Quetta.

The explosion hit moments after a group of lawyers brought in the body of colleague Bilal Kasi, the president of the Balochistan Bar Association, after he was shot dead by unknown assailants in Quetta earlier in the morning.

Most of the dead and injured were lawyers, Anwar ul-Haq, a spokesperson for Balochistan state government, told reporters.

Irfan Saeed, an eyewitness, told Anadolu Agency the blast occurred in the midst of a crowd gathered outside the hospital's emergency ward. He said several bodies were lying on the hospital floor as staff ran for safety after the blast.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the blast "cowardly" and pledged his government and security forces will continue their attempts to defeat militants based in the country.

The UN condemned the attack and in a statement said the targeting of mourners at a civilian hospital makes the attack particularly appalling.

In Washington, the White House also condemned the attack "in the strongest terms.

"That this attack occurred at a hospital and appeared to target a gathering of lawyers mourning the death of a respected colleague makes it all the more heinous," spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.

The local government declared a state of emergency and prepared to transfer the injured to private hospitals.

No group has claimed responsibility though similar attacks have frequently been claimed by the Taliban.

Anadolu Agency
There will not be a political transition in Syria without adding to Russia and Irans body count in the country, according to the former acting director of the CIA.

Speaking with storied journalist Charlie Rose, Michael Morell said he would covertly encourage members of Syrias moderate opposition to go after Russian and Iranian agents in Syria.

Theyve got to pay a price for what theyre doing, he said in an interview that aired late Monday, drawing parallels to U.S. actions to subvert Russia in Afghanistan in the 1980s. We need to make the Iranians pay a price in Syria. We need to make the Russians pay a price.

Russia and Iran have been Syrian President Bashar al-Assads principle backers, providing the embattled leader with crucial military hardware and troops. Russia also began an air campaign nearly a year ago that has greatly bolstered Assad on the battlefield.

The turn in tide to Assads favor has resulted in a moving away from a potential diplomatic settlement to Syrias more than five-year conflict, Morell said.

He proposed U.S. action to go after assets that Assad sees as vital to his power base, including his presidential guards, aircraft and offices in order to bring the Syrian president back to the negotiating table.

I want to scare Assad, he said. I want to make him think were coming after him. Im not advocating assassinating him.

I want to put pressure on him; I want to put pressure on the Iranians; I want to put pressure on the Russians to come to that diplomatic settlement, he added, arguing that alone would renew hopes for the long-sought resolution.

The former spook publicly endorsed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton last Friday, saying her rival, Republican Donald Trump, is not only unfit to hold office, but also poses a threat to national security.

Morell told Rose he would be part of Clinton's national security team.

Anadolu Agency
Eight Iranian soldiers, including two senior Revolutionary Guard officers, were killed in northwestern Syria, Irans local media reported this week.

According to Defapress and other Iranian news websites, eight Iranian military personnel -- including senior officers Qolam Hossein Mousavi and Ali Nazari -- were killed in recent clashes in Syrias northwestern Aleppo province.

On Saturday, Syrian opposition forces broke a weeks-long siege that had been imposed by the Assad regime on opposition-held parts of Aleppo city.

Fighters from the Jaysh al-Fatah (Army of Conquest), an armed opposition group, seized regime positions in southern Aleppos Ramousa area, opening the route to opposition-held districts of the city.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which had erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

However, the Syrian Center for Policy Research, an NGO until recently based in Damascus, has put the death toll from the conflict at more than 470,000.

Anadolu Agency
Four Corners has rejected claims by Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles that ABC deliberately delayed its report on the Don Dale abuses to cause maximum damage to his election campaign.

Giles told SKY News yesterday the story, which revealed graphic CCTV footage of the alleged abuse of young boys inside juvenile detention, gave the Labor opposition a clear advantage.

He said the ABC report was outrageous and had stirred up racism in the NT.

I think Four Corners should be ashamed of what theyve done, he said.

For me to be talking about child protection policies in the lead-up to the territory election is just food for Labor to drive racism at the heart of territory politics, rather than put the interest of the child at the forefront.

Four Corners producer Sally Neighbour utterly rejected the claim.

On the night of the ABC broadcast Giles released a statement calling for a royal commission into the incidents, saying he was shocked and disgusted by what he had seen.

A community is judged by the way it treats its children and serious questions were raised by ABC tonight, he said.

Source: The Guardian
Foxtel has invested in Australia Day, a film from Brisbane-based Hoodlum productions.

Directed by Kriv Stenders (Red Dog, Kill Me Three Times, The Principal) it will be released in 2017 and have its Australian television premiere on Foxtel.

Exploring diverse Australians whose worlds collide on our national holiday it stars Bryan Brown, Shari Sebbens, Sean Keenan and Matthew Le Nevez.

Written by Stephen M. Irwin (Secrets & Lies) it also features Jenny Wu, Daniel Webber, Elias Anton, Isabelle Cornish and Phoenix Raei and newcomer Miah Madden.

A release indicates, Set in Brisbane over 12 hours, Australia Day explores the lives of three Australians from diverse backgrounds whose different worlds collide, illuminating contemporary issues that simmer beneath the surface of modern Australia. The heartfelt drama interweaves these three stories and highlights the aspirations of everyday Australians on the most controversial national holiday, Australia Day.

Foxtels Director of Movies Ross Crowley said: As we expand Foxtels ongoing commitment to original drama and telling Australian stories it is natural that we work directly within the feature film format. Were excited to work with Hoodlum, the acclaimed Kriv Stenders and the entire creative team to tell this compelling and contemporary Australian story.

Hoodlums Executive Producer Nathan Mayfield said: This powerful story is one that every Australian will connect with. We are constantly questioning what it means to be Australian and what it means for both our newest and oldest Australians. Working closely with local communities, Australia Day offers a rare insight into our current hopes and fears at a grass roots level. We are so excited by the ensemble of cast who bring their own unique perspective to the project. Australia Day is bold storytelling we could only make with Foxtel and with Kriv at the helm we are destined to see a drama that will provoke conversation and give hope to audiences.

Executive Producers are Nathan Mayfield, Tracey Robertson, Leigh McGrath and Foxtels Head of Drama Penny Win and Producer Edward Herbert.

Production commences in and around Brisbane from August 22.
US actor Barry Jenner, best known for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Dallas, has died, aged 75.

He died on Tuesday in Los Angeles after a battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

Jenner played Admiral William Ross in a dozen episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine during the sixth and seventh seasons.

On Dallas he played the Ewing familys doctor (and love interest for Sue Ellen) in 25 episodes from season 7 to season 9. He also appeared in 18 episodes of Family Matters as Lieutenant Murtaugh.

His resume also includes such credits as Hart to Hart, Knots Landing, Fame, Simon & Simon, Highway to Heaven, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Falcon Crest, Matlock, Silk Stalkings, Something So Right, JAG, Another World, Looker, V: The Series and Walker: Texas Ranger.

Thanks to his Star Trek links, Jenner remained popular on the convention circuit.

Source: Entertainment Weekly.
Its been Vampire week all week on SBS 2 and just to vary things up, SBS 2 turns to a little bit of lycanthropy beginning on Sunday.

The Company of Wolves **Movie** Sunday, 14 August at 8.30pm

Wolves and werewolves lurk throughout the dreams of young Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson). When she meets a rugged hunter in the woods, she discovers she has an animal-like attraction to him, leading to a macabre turn of events.

Cat People **Movie** Monday, 15 August at 8.30pm

Nastassja Kinski stars in this erotic fantasy about a beautiful young woman who discovers love for the first time, only to find that the explosive experience brings tragic consequences.

When Animals Dream **Movie** Tuesday, 16 August at 8.30pm

Scandinavian superstars Lars Mikkelsen (The Killing) and Sonja Richter (The Keeper of Lost Causes) star in this modern horror fairy tale in the vein of stylish masterpiece Let the Right One In. When 16-year-old Maries body begins to transform in a superhuman manner, she starts searching for answers and discovers a long-kept family secret

The Howling **Movie** Wednesday, 17 August at 8.30pm

After a bizarre and near-fatal encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem in this 1981 fantasy thriller.

The Pack **Movie** Thursday, 18 August at 8.30pm

As Charlotte travels alone through the French countryside, she picks up a hitchhiker, Max, but later loses him when they stop at a restaurant. Suspicious, Charlotte returns later that night only to be attacked by the restaurant owner and confined in a cage  the owners got a pack of hungry customers and Charlottes next on the menu.

Brotherhood of the Wolf **Movie** Friday, 19 August at 8.30pm

In 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his Native American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to investigate the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast.

An American Werewolf in London **Movie** Saturday, 20 August at 8.30pm Two American college students, David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne), on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
Russian-backed militants launched 67 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO Headquarters press center.

"The situation in ATO area remains tense but controlled. Russian-backed militants launched 67 attacks on Ukrainian servicemen over the past day," the statement reads.

The majority of attacks was launched in Mariupol area. The enemy violated the Minsk agreements, shelling Vodiane (16km north-west of Donetsk) from heavy artillery. In addition, terrorists carried out armed provocations using machine guns, grenade launchers, and mortars on the front line of Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk)  Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol).

In Donetsk area, Russian-backed militants launched numerous attacks, using mortars, grenade launchers and machine guns, to fire at Avdiyivka (18km north of Donetsk).

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The Russian army can outgun British troops on the battlefield as Russia is currently testing its weapons, tactics, and developments in the war against Ukraine.

Such a conclusion was made by British military experts, studying the results of the NATO joint military exercises recently held in Ukraine, The Daily Telegraph reports.

In the unlikely event of a direct confrontation between NATO and RUS [Russia], we must acknowledge that RUS currently has a significant capability edge over UK force elements, the paper reportedly said.

The report also reads that one of the goals of Russia's aggressive policy in Ukraine is to test in practice the "new methods of warfare, as well as to test modern and prohibited weapons."

In June, Poland and its NATO allies launched the largest-ever joint military exercises aimed at shoring up security on the alliance's eastern flank amid the West's worst standoff with Russia since the end of the Cold War.

More than 31,000 soldiers from 24 NATO and former-Soviet "Partnership for Peace" states including Ukraine took part in the manoeuvres, held biannually across Poland since 2006.

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PJSC Ukrzaliznytsya Ukrainian Railways promises to introduce a special mobile application for purchasing train tickets by the end of 2016.

Chairman of the Board of PJSC Ukrzaliznytsya Wojciech Balczun said this during the meeting with representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We want to eliminate scams with tickets. We have learned that there is a secondary market of railway tickets sale. A special mobile application for smartphones will be introduced for purchasing train tickets," Balczun said.

He said that these changes would take place before the end of this year.

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The meeting of the UN Security Council can be convened in connection with the actions of the Russian Federation in the occupied Crimea and the far-fetched accusations against Ukraine.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko said this at the briefing, 112 Ukraine TV channel reports.

"The issue of convening the UN Security Council meeting is considered now," Yelchenko said.

He noted that the Security Council participants might be summoned even at night, if necessary.

Yelchenko also said that he intended to inform the Chairman of the Security Council and the UN Secretary-General about the current dangerous situation. He recalled that "the Russian military aggression in Georgia also started with the far-fetched accusations."

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The U.S. Government sees no confirmation of Russia's statements on alleged Ukraines "invasion of Crimea."

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt posted this on Twitter on Thursday.

"It is not the first false accusation against Ukraine, which Russia puts forward to divert attention from its own unlawful acts. The U.S. Government sees no confirmation of Russia's statements on alleged Ukraines invasion of Crimea," the diplomat noted.

He added that the U.S. sanctions related to the occupation of Crimea would remain in place until Russia returns the peninsula to Ukraine.

"We condemn the Russian occupation of Crimea and call for its immediate cessation. Our position regarding the status of Crimea is well known. Crimea has been and will always be the part of Ukraine," Pyatt added.

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The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urges all parties to the conflict to ensure, first and foremost, the safety and dignity of civilians, including families and vulnerable groups trapped in Aleppo city, who are facing constant bombardment, violence, and displacement.

Furthermore, UNHCR is gravely concerned by the spate of attacks on internally displaced person (IDP) settlements in Idleb Governorate over the last 10 days, as well as other attacks on other IDP settlements and civilians elsewhere in the country, which have resulted in civilian casualties and further displacement. The attacks indicate a shocking disregard for civilian life. UNHCR reiterates the importance of allowing access to safety, and respect for the civilian and humanitarian character of IDP settlements.

UNHCR reiterates its call for ensuring the protection of civilians based on international humanitarian law, international refugee law, and human rights law. UNHCR calls for a durable and sustainable solution to this conflict.

News contacts:

In Geneva, Ariane Rummery, [email protected], +41 79 200 7617
A Madison man being arrested on an outstanding warrant early Thursday morning ran away from a deputy and is now facing charges of escape.

Dane County deputies are looking for Matthew Ringelstetter, 28, who was being placed under arrest at about 1 a.m., the Sheriff's Office said.

A deputy spotted Ringelstetter walking along Highway 30 just east of Fair Oaks Avenue in the town of Blooming Grove.

"He was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Wisconsin Probation and Parole," said Sgt. Mike Ziesch. "He was handcuffed and was being escorted to the squad car when he resisted the deputy and fled on foot."

Ringelstetter is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, 157 pounds, short brown hair, hazel eyes, last seen wearing a black tank top, dark-colored shorts and black shoes.
The anguish of faraway parents and their desire to forgive led to probation Thursday for a former UW-Madison student whose friend plunged from an apartment building last year under the influence of LSD.

Drew M. Wadel, 22, of Appleton, pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanor possession of LSD, the hallucinogenic drug that he gave to his friend, Kenneth L. Luangpoomyut, on June 3, 2015, before Luangpoomyut jumped or fell from a third-floor balcony of a Downtown apartment building.

Wadel was originally charged with one felony count of delivering LSD.

After reading a written statement by Luangpoomyuts mother, who lives in Thailand, Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds said that a proposed agreement for sentencing Wadel made sense.

I must say, this is probably the most unparalleled act of forgiveness I have ever seen in a victim impact statement, Reynolds said.

As a condition of probation, Wadel will spend 30 days in jail. Wadels lawyer, Chris Van Wagner, quoting former Circuit Judge James Martin, said that the time in jail would be a memory lesson for Wadel, incentive to stay out of trouble in the future.

And if he finishes probation without getting into any other trouble, Wadel can ask that the case be expunged.

Wadel apologized to Luangpoomyuts family for their loss, and promised that out of this tragedy, he would make the most of his life.

Luangpoomyut was found outside the Equinox apartment building, 409 W. Gorham St., and died from his injuries on June 23, 2015. A criminal complaint states that Wadel told police that Luangpoomyut and his roommate had asked him to get LSD for them, which they all took. Wadel told police that Luangpoomyut wanted LSD so that they could trip.

Wadel left the apartment later, and when he returned, there were police and ambulances outside the building.

As medical personnel attended to Luangpoomyut, he told them he lived on the buildings third floor and had jumped from there, the complaint states.

In a written statement, Luangpoomyuts mother, Wan-ling Luangpoomyut, asked the court not to be hard on Wadel.

We do understand that kids at this age have the tendency to try something new for fun, she wrote. If the kid does not have bad intention, we believe that he must already (feel) very bad that he caused Kenneths death. He will have to live with that for the rest of his life.

Putting him in jail for a long time, she wrote, is not going to help. It may make him worse since he has to encounter many bad people in the jail.

We forgive him and hope he learned his lesson, she wrote.

Van Wagner said that Wadel did six weeks of one-on-one grief counseling after his friends death. He said Wadel plans to move to Chicago and essentially start his life over.
In Bani Hushaysh, Ms. Abdu is a lifeline for the residents. She is described by the residents as an integrated package  she administers vaccines, manages childhood diseases such as respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea and measles, and she also manages malnutrition by screening children, providing treatment and referring severe cases for further treatment.



A passionate midwife

Ms. Abdu is not only a committed professional but a passionate one. She says her dream was to be a doctor but she could not afford to go to medical school. She ended up enroling in a degree programme in education, but her dream of serving in the medical field kept haunting her.

One day when she heard that the District Health Office was looking for educated women to be trained as community midwifes, she quit the education course and instead registered for a midwifery degree. That was when her journey with the community started as she began providing midwifery support to women in the district. Since then she has assisted in the delivery of countless babies in the area, making her a household name in her community. As we walked through the village with her, we could see peoples respect and gratitude as they greeted and waved.

Every month, she says she helps about three to six women give birth. She then follows up to ensure the mother and baby are well nourished and healthy.

Today she took us along on a visit to Alis house where one month ago she helped his wife Om Mohammed deliver their eighth child, baby Mohammed. As soon as we arrived, with a smile on her face, she started doing physical checks on the baby for any signs of sickness or malnutrition. She did the same for the mother and then started giving lessons on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding.

She explained to the mother that exclusive and continuous breastfeeding for the first six months helps the rapid growth of the child physically and mentally. She also talked about the importance of maintaining good hygiene and sanitation. Soon, the other women in the house joined in and listened attentively, asking questions as Ms. Abdu responded in turn. Their conversation was punctuated with laughter  they were all enjoying the session.

We left Alis house after an hour and walked to Ms. Abdus house. She calls her home a mini hospital because she has a room where she receives patients after working hours. She also keeps delivery records for mothers and other medical cases, helping her stay up to date on cases that require follow up.

I am doing something for my people and I am happy about it, she said as we ended our visit.
A Dane County Jail inmate trying to hang himself was stopped by deputies Wednesday evening, with the inmate now under suicide watch.

The incident happened at about 6:30 p.m. on the seventh floor of the jail in the City-County Building, the Sheriff's Office said.

"As deputies were conducting a security check down the hallway, a deputy noticed an inmate with a ligature around his neck, attempting to hang himself," said Sgt. Brenda Reinen.

Deputies responding to the scene took the ligature off the inmate's neck.

"He did not lose consciousness and was quickly evaluated by jail medical staff," Reinen said.

The 22-year-old inmate, who's been in jail since April, was cleared to remain in the Dane County Jail where he will be monitored under suicide precaution protocols.
The Iowa County Sheriff's Office is asking for help from the public in locating a man wanted on alleged sexual assault and battery charges.

Orlando Garrido, 44, of Mineral Point, was last seen in the town of Mineral Point on Saturday, the Sheriff's Office said.

The tentative charges against Garrido include second-degree sexual assault and substantial battery. Authorities did not disclose what the tentative charges stem from.

Garrido could possibly be driving a blue-colored Nissan Altima with Wisconsin license plate 896 NFD. Authorities believe he may be in the Madison or Janesville areas.

Anyone with information about Garrido is asked to call the Iowa County Sheriff's Office, 608-935-3314.
You know him as the Tonight Show host and has popularized prank and game segments on television. He moved from being a segment actor from Saturday Night Live to becoming one of the most awaited talk show host on television. But Jimmy Fallon has a secret. He is smart and somebody knows this.

Born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and was raised in Saugerties, New York, the late night talk show host grew up with an interest in comedy and music at an early age. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of 21 to try his hand at stand-up comedy.

But before he hit the road to pursue his dream, he attended St. Mary of the Snow elementary school. Later on, he developed an obsession with Saturday Night Live. He would impress people with his celebrity impersonations. Later on, he started to pursue comedy. In Saugerties High School, he performed in multiple productions. He graduated in 1992.

Jimmy Fallon has finished his bachelor's degree and at the same time received an honorary degree, according to Business Insider. Back then he attended the College of Saint Rose in the 1990s, the former SNL cast member then left his education to pursue a career in television and comedy. He did so without graduating from his major in Bachelor of Arts in Communications. He initially started with a major in Computer Science but switched.

When he returned to Saint Rose in 2009 to recite the school's commencement address, he did not expect to be honored with both his Bachelor's degree and an honorary doctorate for his accomplishments in the field of television and media. His experiential credits earned him those doctorates.

Currently, he is a successful actor, comedian, talk show host, musician and even writer. He released two comedy albums and three books in his name, in addition to his work in television.

Watch Jimmy Fallon discussing the pros and cons of graduating from college below, for some humor!
Locomotive No. 844 pulls locomotive No. 4014 out of the Union Pacific steam shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

With the successful restoration of locomotive No. 844 in the books, the Union Pacific Steam Team has embarked on their next giant-sized challenge: restoring the Big Boy, locomotive No. 4014.

Its the largest steam locomotive restoration in the last 50 years, said Ed Dickens, senior manager of heritage operations.

So how does such a large project begin? With massive disassembly, of course.

The engine and tender were separated first. The tender is the car that follows the steam locomotive. Its the fuel and water storage vehicle for the steam locomotive, Dickens said. Its connected to the locomotive with two giant steel bars with 7-inch holes at both ends.

Taking the Big Boy for a Spin Locomotive No. 844 moves the Big Boy, locomotive No. 4014, to the turntable in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in preparation for the massive restoration project.

Right now, No. 4014s tender car is designed to carry coal. The steam team plans to convert it to carry oil.

The logistics of coal are very impractical for a big boy, Dickens said. It can be a fire hazard.

When a locomotive burns coal, the coal eventually burns down to ash and cinders. Those cinders travel up and out the smoke stack  eventually raining down on all the surroundings.

Imagine the voracious appetite of a Big Boy burning 28 tons of coal in a matter of hours, Dickens said. Thats a lot of ash and cinder. With an oil burner, the locomotive doesnt produce this kind of debris.

The Big Boy has a device on the engine and tender called a stoker. The stoker delivers coal from the tender to the firebox. Inside the firebox, the coal burns on a large grate. Its kind of like your backyard barbeque grill, Dickens said. Steam locomotives have a really industrial version of that. Well remove both the stoker and the large grate and replace it with an oil conversion apparatus.

Dickens said the conversion is not as complicated as it sounds. Theres a large iron casting called a burner with two cavities in it, Dickens said. The top cavity is for oil, the bottom for steam.

Inside the cab, where the stoker control valves are located, the fireman controls the firing valve, which precisely regulates oil. When the fireman wants to develop more horsepower, he has to burn more oil.

As work begins on the tender and fire box, the team also plans to begin a detailed inspection of the boiler. Like we did on locomotive No. 844, well use an ultrasonic test device that uses sound waves to measure the thickness of every part of 4014s boiler, Dickens said.

With information gathered from the analyses underway, Dickens feels confident No. 4014s restoration will be as successful as No. 844s.

We have a good plan, he said. When everyone starts to see it all come together, theyre going to get excited.
A man sitting outside in Downtown Madison Tuesday night was robbed by a man who pointed a gun at the victim during the robbery.

It happened at about 10 p.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of State Street, Madison police said.

The 51-year-old Madison man who was robbed didn't immediately report the incident because his cellphone had no battery power.

"He told police the gunman, a man he has seen before, sat next to him and demanded money while pointing a small handgun at him," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

The robber fled with the victim's cash; the victim was not injured.

The robber was described as black, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, medium build, with short black hair.
Published: August 10, 2016

Shanghai Study Abroad Exposes Senior to Her Familys Culture

Kristen Au 17 was excited to step out of her textbook for her Asian studies minor and into real-life China this summer when she headed to Shanghai for six weeks of cultural immersion and academic pursuit.



Au, an international studies major, is studying international trade and global emerging markets at the East China Normal University, as well as meeting other students, traveling and just observing all she can.



I enjoy people-watching, because I get a better sense of what everyday life is for a Chinese citizen, even their sense of fashion, said Au, who starts each day by heading across the street from her apartment to a local cafe to study where the WiFi is strong, there is a good crowd to watch and there is air conditioning. Since the weather gets up to 100 degrees here in Shanghai, air conditioning is always a selling point in a cafe.



Her classes have exposed Au to China as a global emerging market and its role in international trade.



I understand more of the Chinese perspective, and how they foresee Chinas international standing in the future, said Au of Roslyn, NY. I think what impacted me the most was seeing how important Chinas history was in shaping where it is today economically.



She arranged the experience through International Studies Abroad (ISA) for which she is a global ambassador and with whom she travelled to Morocco in the spring of 2015. She chose China because of her family roots  her grandfather came to the U.S. from China when he was 13.



Coming here has been fulfilling, because I've learned more about my Chinese heritage and culture, said Au, who has learned to make dumplings and is eating her way through the street markets. While she studied Mandarin at UT, it has proven difficult to pick up the conversational language she is finding in Shanghai. But she is picking up on crucial phrases used for ordering food or finding a bathroom.



While riding the subway, Au and her roommate will pick random stops to get off at and explore. Shanghai is so big that I feel like I see or learn something new every day.



Au is considering several options after graduating this coming spring  from Fulbright to Peace Corps to teaching English as second language.



Meeting Chinese people my age has had a huge impact on how I view Chinese youth culture, Au said. My favorite moment was meeting a few Chinese youth for dinner and learning more about them and their likes/dislikes and interests. It turns out were not much different at all! We all enjoy socializing over food and aspire to support ourselves in the future with a stable job.





Have a story idea? Contact Jamie Pilarczyk, Web Writer

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UWyo Magazine

May 2016 | Vol. 17, No. 3

Students Christian Bopp, J.P. Willson, Jessica Grunow and Karissa Rybicki photograph river hippopotamus on the Ewaso Ngiro in Laikipia, Kenya, on a study-abroad course with Assistant Professor Jacob Goheen. Photo Courtesy of Britt Brito

Gateways Abroad

Short-term, faculty-led courses provide the perfect introduction to study abroad.

By Micaela Myers

About 400 University of Wyoming students study abroad each year, and the International Board of Advisors (IBOA) is committed to helping raise that number so that 25 percent of the total UW student body has an international experience by the year 2025. For many students, short-term, faculty-led study-abroad courses are the perfect way to get started. Held over summer, winter and spring breaks, these courses allow students to travel with other UW students and faculty members while learning hands-on and gaining course credit.

If UW graduates are going to have a chance at competing in our global economy and global organizations, they must begin as undergraduates to develop international understanding, says Celeste Colgan, an IBOA board member whose career highlights include serving as a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, vice president for administration for Halliburton, director of the Wyoming Department of Commerce and deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. I spent three months in Europe between my junior and senior years at UW. That experience dropped scales from my eyes. I understood and saw people and ideas in an entirely different way. Schoolwork was easier, and I began to view my own future broadly.

Recent graduate Caroline Boarini of Indianapolis, Ind., took two faculty-led summer coursesone to the Yucatan of Mexico and one to Spain. I acquired a totally new outlook on life and education, says Boarini, who graduated with a dual degree in history and Spanish in 2015 and now works as an archival assistant at the American Heritage Center before attending graduate school. Improved language skills are one of the many things she gained from the trips. When youre in a different country, you have to take advantage of your language skills and really bolster your vocabulary. I tell everyone that if youre learning a different language, you need to study abroad.

Faculty-led courses can cover everything from language to science. Students in Department of Zoology and Physiology Assistant Professor Jacob Goheens Ecology and Human Dimensions of Wildlife Conservation course may very well see elephants or even leopards in their campsite in the Laikipia Highlands of central Kenya. There, they study issues of human-wildlife interactions and conduct fieldwork in methods of wildlife ecology, including independent projects. Rather than completing known experiments in the lab, this hands-on learning shows them that science is also about creativity. Theres a perception that science is a meandering accumulation of facts: You just learn stuff, and its buried in a library somewhere, Goheen says. But in fact, its a process of generating and overturning ideas. Thats one of the things that were able to do out there when we do independent research projects.
A Madison Area Technical College professor promoted religion in class and encouraged a student to have a personal relationship with a living God, according to a Madison-based watchdog group that now wants the college to take action.

MATC officials said Wednesday that they will investigate the allegations from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which said a student in a business school course taught by professor Hiep Van Dong contacted the group with concerns.

The three-credit class focuses on leadership principles, practices and contemporary ethical implications to develop the leader within you, a course listing from MATC, also known as Madison College, says.

But the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which calls attention to what it sees as violations of the separation of church and state across the country, said Van Dong crossed the line into encouraging religion when he taught the course last spring.

After one student wrote about rejecting religion for a class assignment, Van Dong wrote in an email that the unidentified student should take care of his or her spiritual health. Van Dong then told the student not to forsake your faith and spirituality because of ineffective spiritual leaders in your life, according to the foundation.

The emails were quoted in a letter a foundation lawyer sent Monday to Bryan Woodhouse, the dean of the MATC School of Business and Applied Art.

Legal fellow Ryan Jayne further took issue with Van Dongs use of the book Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn, by the author and pastor John C. Maxwell, as a course reading, saying the book promotes religion. Van Dong encouraged students in his class to contact him about the truth in Maxwells book as well, Jayne said.

Public university professors may not tell their students that any religion is true or that leaving religion is a mistake, Jayne wrote.

He asked the college to provide written assurances that (Van Dong) will not promote religion in his classroom in the future.

Such blatant religiosity has no place in a public institution, foundation president Annie Laurie Gaylor said. Madison College needs to put a check on (Van Dongs) religious activities in class.

Van Dong did not return email or phone messages Wednesday afternoon seeking comment.

Responding to Jaynes letter, Woodhouse told the foundation MATC plans to investigate Van Dongs alleged conduct.

We will take the appropriate measures when we know all the facts, MATC spokesman Cary Heyer said.
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Madison officials advocating for paid leave for city employees got a boost this week after receiving a federal grant to study the issue.

The $155,317 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor will help the city research the financial and logistical impact of offering paid leave for the citys approximately 2,700 permanent employees. Partnering with UW-Madison, the city will use the money to gain robust intelligence of how such a policy could work, said Ald. Maurice Cheeks, 10th District.

This is going to put the city of Madison in the position to lead by example by providing a model for other public employers, as well as private-sector employers, to be able to provide paid leave to their workers, Cheeks said.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act already requires all public employers and private employers with 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year. The law allows employers to require their employees to first use up accrued vacation or sick time, but it doesnt require paid leave beyond that.

The Madison study will look into the feasibility of allowing for paid time off after a child is born, for dealing with health problems or caring for a family member with health problems, Cheeks said.

You need to be able to put your family first, Cheeks said.

A total of $1.1 million was available to state and local governments through the U.S. Department of Labors Paid Leave Analysis Grant Program, which started in 2014. Madison was among six recipients of the grants.

Among the other recipients were the city and county of Denver, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and the Hawaii Department of Human Services.

According to the federal Department of Labor, 12 percent of private-sector employees get paid family leave through their employers.

Cheeks, who has a 7-month-old daughter, said he was fortunate that his employer allowed him to take a couple weeks of paid time off after she was born.

Being a new parent absolutely helped to inform my thinking about the importance of this, he said. Theres so many folks in the workforce who dont have the privilege of being able to take paid leave.

The city is partnering with several people from the university to attain a high level of efficacy and to leverage the great expertise that we have right here in our backyard, Cheeks said.

The study should take about a year to complete, he said.
This is an especially busy time for the Salvation Army of Dane County.

In addition to the just-announced redevelopment proposal for its East Washington Avenue site, the organization is launching a new initiative that is expected to immediately help reduce homelessness.

The project is in an area of homelessness prevention called rapid rehousing. It will allow the Salvation Army to quickly place homeless families into apartments while providing the families with temporary rent subsidies and other assistance to stabilize them, said Melissa Sorensen, the organizations director of social services.

The Salvation Army is partnering with Dane County and a group of private investors for the project. The investors, who prefer to stay in the background, sought a way to help ease the affordable housing crunch in the city, Sorensen said. They are purchasing dozens of apartment units at scattered sites across the city, which they will then make directly available to tenants chosen by the Salvation Army, she said. The target population will be families with children.

Salvation Army case managers will work closely with the families, with the goal of getting them back to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible, perhaps in four to six months, Sorensen said.

The collaborative effort, she said, will address one of the biggest problems facing homeless families: finding landlords willing to take on tenants with poor credit histories, prior evictions, criminal convictions or other challenges.

Those factors have become particularly serious barriers in the citys tight rental market.

Many of the homeless people the Salvation Army works with have jobs but cant secure housing because of these barriers, or because they make minimum wage and cant come up with an initial security deposit, Sorensen said.

A really big part of this is that the landlords wont be screening out potential tenants, she said. They will own and manage the property, but well be picking the tenants.

Tenants will pay 30 percent of their income toward rent, she said. However, the program will assist homeless families with no income while they work toward self-sufficiency, she said.

A large part of the money for the rent subsidies and other assistance will come from Dane County, which will redirect funds it already provides the Salvation Army for shelter services and homelessness prevention, said Joe Parisi, county executive. Some of that money currently is used for motel vouchers for homeless families. Specific budget figures were not immediately available.

Parisi used a health care analogy to explain why funding rapid rehousing makes sense.

Homeless shelters are like hospital emergency rooms, he said. They serve a critical function, but the goal should be to limit the number of people needing to visit them.

Were investing more into primary care, Parisi said of the rapid rehousing project. There will still be that safety net there, but were going to be able to address the root causes on the front end.

Sorensen anticipates about 40 apartment units being available for the rapid rehousing project this fall. The private investors plan to keep adding units going forward, she said.

As families become self-sufficient, they could choose to stay at their current apartments by signing independent leases, she said. If a family chooses to move, the Salvation Army would put another homeless family in the unit, she said.

In a second major programming change, Sorensen said the Salvation Army on Nov. 1 will convert the 18 dormitory-style rooms on its second floor at 630 E. Washington Ave. into emergency drop-in shelter for families with children.

The rooms currently are used as temporary housing for homeless families with children. The families can keep their belongings there for 90 days while they work with case managers to find permanent housing.

The rapid rehousing initiative is expected to help many of these families, freeing up the 18 rooms for emergency shelter use, which is desperately needed, Sorensen said.

The Salvation Army has been turning away families this summer, even with First United Methodist Church serving as a much-valued overflow site, she said.

Some of the Dane County money being redirected to the rapid rehousing project has been helping to fund the 90-day rooms.
SHARE Contributed Photo Kathleen Bosworth stars as Rat in Sindy McKay's new play "Sugar," showing through Aug. 21 at Backstage@Santa Paula Theater Center.

THEATER

VENTURA COUNTY

"In the Heights": Rubicon Theatre Company presents the summer youth production of the Tony Award-winning musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, actor-composer-lyricist of the Broadway sensation "Hamilton." Helmed by Education and Outreach Director Brian McDonald, the play explores themes of tradition and change. Through Aug. 13, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. $15-$25. 667-2900; rubicontheatre.org.

"See How They Run": The 3 Masketeers Theater Group presents Phillip King's three-act farce. A preview performance will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 12. 8 p.m. Aug. 18-28, Ojai Art Center Theater, 113 S. Montgomery St., Ojai. $15. To purchase tickets, visit threemasketeers.bpt.me.

"Sugar": Backstage@Santa Paula Theater Center presents the new play by two-time Emmy Award-winning television writer Sindy McKay. The show, which tells the story of a downtrodden woman who is faced with a difficult decision, will be presented as a "work in development," with time allowed for audience feedback after each performance. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 21, 125 South 7th St., Santa Paula. Donations accepted. For reservations, call 525-4645 or visit santapaulatheatercenter.com.

"In the Midst of All That is Good": Elite Theatre Company presents Tom Eubanks' play about an evangelical pastor who tries to escape the struggles of his everyday life by taking a trip into the wilderness. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 21, 2731 S. Victoria Ave., Oxnard. $18 general admission, $15 seniors and students. 483-5118; elitetheatre.org.

"Peter and the Starcatcher": Actors' Repertory Theatre of Simi presents this grown-up prequel to "Peter Pan" written by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barber. Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, the musical features a dozen actors portraying more than 100 characters. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 28, Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3050 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley. 583-7900; simi-arts.org.

Down South

"As Straw Before the Wind": As Straw Productions presents the world premiere of Filipino playwright Felix Racelis' new work about a Filipina nurse who survives the trauma of World War II, only to discover that her war is not yet over. Lesley Asistio directs and Tita Pambid leads a cast of seven actors in the central role of nurse Nene Santos. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays, Aug. 13 through Sept. 4, Ruby Theatre at The Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. $20 general admission, $12 seniors, students and groups of ten or more. 800-838-3006; strawbefore.brownpapertickets.com.

"Tom": Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum presents this world premiere stage adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The play offers a new look at the complicated title character and racial inequality through the years. Through Oct. 1, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. $15-$38.50. 310-455-3723; theatricum.com.

CLASSES

VENTURA COUNTY

African drumming class: Malik Sow, an African master drummer from Senegal, and Solo Soro, from Ivory Coast, lead a weekly class in West African drumming from 7:30-9 p.m. Mondays at Lightning Ridge Screen Printing, 4435 McGrath St., Ventura. Cost is $20 per class, and a drum can be rented for $5. For information or to arrange a drum rental, call 650-7455.

COMEDY

VENTURA COUNTY

John Heffron: Levity Live Comedy Club & Dinner Theatre presents "Last Comic Standing" winner John Heffron performing his stand-up act. Aug. 11-14, 591 Collection Blvd., Oxnard. $20. 457-5550; oxnard.levitylive.com.

HashtagComedy: Age-18-and-over comedy shows featuring a different lineup every month. This month includes Jerry Rocha, Gary Cannon, Same Wiles, Matt Donaher, Julia Jasuna. Aug. 13, Hillcrest Center for the Arts  Theatre on the Hill. $12 presale, $15 at the door; $9 with student ID. 381-1246.

UP NORTH

Amy Schumer: Sept. 17, Santa Barbara Bowl.

Nick Offernan & Megan Mullally, "Summer of 69: No Apostrope," Sept. 25, Lobero Theatre.

DOWN SOUTH

Stephanie Miller's Sexy Liberal Comedy Tour: Nov. 5. The Saban, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. $45-$150. sabanconcerts.com.

Rickles & Regis: "Mr. Warmth" Don Rickles' 90th Birthday Laughfest, Classic stories, film clips, fun, hosted by Regis Philbin. Nov. 12. The Saban, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. $45-$150. sabanconcerts.com.

Rickles & Regis: "Mr. Warmth" Don Rickles' 90th Birthday Laughfest, Classic stories, film clips, fun, hosted by Regis Philbin. Nov. 18. The Canyon, 28912 Roadside Drive, Agoura Hills. $98-$168. www.canyonclub.net.

Rickles & Regis: "Mr. Warmth" Don Rickles' 90th Birthday Laughfest, Classic stories, film clips, fun, hosted by Regis Philbin. Nov. 20. The Rose, 245 E. Green St., Pasadena. $98-$168. roseconcerts.com.
SHARE Beatles tribute band Britain's Finest includes (clockwise from top left), Ruben Amaya, Benjamin Chadwick, Robert J. Bielma and Luis G. Renteria. Contributed photo Ruben Amaya portrays John Lennon in the Beatles tribute band Britain's Finest. Robert J. Bielma of Britain's Finest portrays George Harrison during the Sgt. Pepper era. Contributed photos Contributed photo Ruben Amaya portrays John Lennon in the Beatles tribute band Britain's Finest.

By Mike Nelson, Special to The Star

Robert J. Bielma figured he and his Britain's Finest bandmates were doing something right when, after a recent performance, a woman from the audience told them, "You know, a lot of bands get up there in costumes and pretend to be the Beatles. But I really believed you guys WERE the Beatles; you have the look, the sound and the chemistry."

"And she was someone who'd seen the Beatles live at Dodger Stadium 50 years ago," said Bielma, aka George Harrison, with honest-to-goodness, shaggy brown, George-ian hair circa 1964 (which fans aren't afraid to tug on after performances to see if it's real).

Britain's Finest  lead guitarist Bielma, bassist Benjamin Chadwick (Paul McCartney), guitarist (and newest member) Ruben Amaya (John Lennon) and drummer Luis G. Renteria (Ringo Starr), all native Southern Californians  will perform a sold-out show Aug. 13 at Olivas Adobe in Ventura, as part of the 29th year of the Music Under the Stars concert series, hosted by the city of Ventura. This is the second year (and second sell out) for Britain's Finest at Music Under the Stars. Later this month, the lads head to Liverpool as the only North American Beatles tribute band to participate in the annual International Beatle Week.

"That's quite an honor for us," says Bielma, who helped found Britain's Finest in 2011, and looks forward to playing at the legendary Cavern Club. "It wasn't anything we competed for; they invited us."

With good reason, said Ventura resident Ivor Davis, author of "The Beatles and Me on Tour," an account of the Beatles' 1964 concert tour.

"Britain's Finest is my personal time machine," Davis said. "They brilliantly conjure up all that Beatle magic."

'I'll Cry Instead': Beatles or else ...

That magic, for Bielma, began in the crib.

"I was a crier, according to my mom," he said with a laugh. "And the only time I'd stop crying, she says, was when she'd play her Beatles music. And my aunt loved the Beatles, too, so I guess my career was meant to be."

Growing up in Bell (southeast of downtown Los Angeles), Bielma played trombone at Nimitz Junior High in Huntington Park and Pius X High School in Downey. "My music teacher told me I was the one student he had who really cared about music," he said. "He was a huge influence."

Enamored with the Beatles, he really wanted a guitar, and received one for his eighth-grade graduation. That came in handy when, in high school, he met the fellow who became his best friend, and one day showed him his father's vast collection of Beatles records, both U.S. and British releases.

"All that vinyl just knocked me out," Bielma said. "It was the first time, too, that I'd seen and heard a lot of that music, apart from what mostly gets played on the radio. And I thought, wow, it must have been fantastic to have been around in that era, to experience Beatlemania firsthand. I tell you what, when they invent time travel, I'm gonna sign up for a trip to 1964."

After his friend taught him guitar chords, Bielma formed a band with him and a few others, which played parties and clubs around the L.A. area, and became good enough to attract attention from Warner Brothers.

"We were inspired by Nirvana, the only band outside the Beatles that really moved me," Bielma recalled. "But right before we were going to head into the studio, the band broke up."

So discouraged by the breakup that "I didn't even want to play for a whole year," Bielma  who studied music theory at L.A. City College  eventually formed a new band. Playing at clubs around town, he was drawn to those in the music scene who, like him, had Beatle-esque musical tastes.

One was Chadwick, whose band began to appear on the same bill as Bielma's at various clubs. "I was blown away by Benny's music," Bielma said. "And it turns out he was a big Beatles fan who played in a Beatles tribute band. I thought it'd be awesome to be in one of those."

One thing led to another. Bielma received a Myspace message from a guy who'd played in an offshoot of the stage show "Beatlemania," and told him, "You look like George; ever thought about being in a Beatles tribute band?"

"He came over and showed me what I needed to learn to play George's parts on guitar, and I spent three months learning George's music. He put together a band, we played around town, and I began to realize, 'There are Beatle guys everywhere.' "

There was a call to fill in for the Fab Four tribute band, then an invitation from Rain, among the best-known tribute bands, to perform in their shows and TV promotional spots.

"That really got the ball rolling," Bielma said. "And in October of 2011, we established Britain's Finest."

'Get Back': The original look and sound

A typical Britain's Finest performance highlights three distinct eras: the black-suited, Ed Sullivan Show period; the colorful, psychedelic "Sgt. Pepper" stretch; and the final, wistful, free-flowing "Abbey Road/Let It Be" chapter. Indoor shows are augmented by appropriate background sets and video.

Their shows have earned plaudits and honors from all over, including AXS TV which has named them among the "World's Greatest Tribute Bands." And Chris Carter, host of "Breakfast with the Beatles" on KLOS-FM, noted, "Interviewing Britain's Finest must have been what it would've been like interviewing the Beatles."

As a tribute band, Britain's Finest's biggest challenge might seem to be overcoming the general stigma surrounding most tribute bands  the belief that no one other than the original can possibly be much good, at least in the minds of some fans.

"Yeah, some people think like that," Bielma said. "But very honestly, I'd say 60 percent of the people who come to our shows are there mainly because they want to hear Beatles music. So our goal is to make sure that we represent the whole Beatles experience, the visual as well as the musical."

To that end, the members "endlessly" study photos and video, as well as recordings, in search of the smallest detail that lends authenticity.

"I noticed, for example, that when George is going to do a solo, he does this double-foot hop," Bielma said. "We also work hard on the accents, and unless you're a real Liverpudlian, I don't think you can tell that ours isn't real. And it's also true that the Beatles, once they started getting more popular, added a more English and American quality to their speech and dialogue."

It also helps that the four members of Britain's Finest have a youthful appearance.

"We're thin guys who look like we belong in those black suits," Bielma said. "Some tribute bands are older and the guys have to squeeze into the wigs and costumes. But people see us come on stage to start the show and say, 'OK, these skinny guys look like the Beatles, now how do they sound?' "

The sound is generally the clincher. "We get told, 'You guys have to be lip-syncing, there's no way you can sound like that,' " Bielma said. "But we do. It's all about working hard to get every detail right. We just come together and fine tune it," including the spirited Beatles repartee that delighted their audiences as much as their music captured them.

The biggest challenge, Bielma said, is satisfying fans who may want to hear a particular song in the 90-minute show.

"We have a pretty standard set, in which we may switch out one or two songs from show to show," he said. "But afterward, we'll hear, 'Hey, man, how come you didn't do "Let It Be" or "Happy Just to Dance With You"?' And you can't please everyone, but we are very blessed that we have received such positive response.

"In fact," he adds, smiling, "we're educating a whole new generation of fans, including teenagers who tell us, 'I didn't know these were Beatles' songs.' So we're keeping the music alive for them, and hopefully for their kids, too." .

If you go

Additional concerts in the Music Under the Stars series include Shari Puorto Band (Aug. 20), Savor (Aug. 27, sold out) and Lisa Haley & the Zydekats (Sept. 3). The 7:30 p.m. concerts take place at the historic Olivas Adobe, 4200 Olivas Park Drive, Ventura.

Tickets: Advance tickets ($20) can be purchased at Ventura City Hall, Room 226, or by calling 658-4726.

www.cityofventura.net/mus.
Heavy rains Thursday morning in western Wisconsin washed out or closed roads, with a flash flood watch staying in effect for about a dozen counties until Friday morning.

Some areas of Buffalo and Trempealeau counties got up to eight inches of rain, the National Weather Service said, with people needing to be rescued from flooded areas.

The State Emergency Operations Center said Buffalo County officials declared a state of emergency, with travel not recommended until the flooding subsides.

"Law enforcement reported propane tanks floating down a creek in the Cream area," according to a storm update from the state.

Parts of Highway 93 in Trempealeau County were closed by flooding, with several other roads washed out.

Highway 86 in Price County in northern Wisconsin was closed in the town of Ogema, with high water also reportedly flowing over Highway C in Price County.

The flash flood watch in effect until 7 a.m. Friday includes Adams, Buffalo, Crawford, Grant, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, Trempealeau and Vernon counties.

In Dane County, a line of storms moved through later Thursday morning, with only 0.14 of an inch of rain recorded at the Dane County Regional Airport.

The Weather Service forecast is looking at a diminished chance for showers and thunderstorms in the Madison area Thursday afternoon, but a good chance for showers and storms overnight, with rainfall possibly totaling an inch to an inch and a half by mid-day Friday.

There is a marginal risk for thunderstorms becoming severe, with damaging winds the greatest hazard from the storms.

The heavy rain and storms are ushering a cold front through Wisconsin, with temperatures expected to be decidedly cooler during the weekend.

Forecasts initially called for highs around 90 in Madison on Thursday, but the morning rain and persistent cloud cover kept temperatures down in the low 80s through 2 p.m.

The Weather Service said highs could reach the mid-80s later in the afternoon, with a jump in humidity as well.

Showers and thunderstorms developing Thursday night most likely won't come through the area until after 1 a.m., and should end mainly before 2 p.m. Friday.

When the weather settles, the weekend looks good, with sunshine and highs in the low 80s.

The day-to-day outlook:

Thursday night: An 80 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, up to three-quarters of an inch of rain is possible.

Friday: An 80 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, high near 83

Friday night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, low around 66.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, high near 82.

Saturday night: Mostly clear, low around 64.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, high near 81.

Sunday night: Mostly clear, low around 61.

Monday: Sunny, high near 81.

Monday night: Mostly clear, low around 61.

Tuesday: Sunny, high near 82.

Tuesday night: Partly cloudy, low around 63.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, high near 83.
LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Jeffrey Becker double checks the plating of a smoked salmon dish served during the 2016 Yummie Top Chef Dinner on the CSU Channel Islands campus in Camarillo. The event takes place two nights before the Casa Pacifica Angels Food, Wine & Brew Festival.

SHARE LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Jeffrey Becker, a 2015 graduate of Ventura High School, will attend the culinary arts program at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island this fall. LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Jeffrey Becker, far right, poses at the Yummie Top Chef Dinner in June with, from left, Ernie Borjas of Waterfront Catering, Nic Manocchio of University Glen, and Jason Collis of Plated Events. LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Jeffrey Becker stirs risotto for a dish created by chef Jason Collis of Plated Events for the Yummie Top Chef Dinner in June. LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Shaved carrots garnish wild boar risotto, the Yummie Top Chef Dinner dish presented by chef Jason Collis of Plated Events. The fourth-course dish was prepared with an assist from culinary student Jeffrey Becker.

By Lisa McKinnon

Welcome to the first installment of Chef Chat, an occasional feature in which we get a local culinarian to spill the beans about his or her training, hobbies and favorite places to eat.

THE CHEF: Jeffrey Becker, 20, of Ventura.

WHERE YOU'VE SEEN HIM: Regulars at Panera Bread on Telephone Road may have spied Becker working in the kitchen. But his main gig for the past two years has been with Plated Events, the Ventura County-based catering company operated by chef Jason Collis. Becker was hired while still enrolled in Ventura High School's culinary arts program, then led by Pat Doler.

"I got to work on my knife skills. I learned about sauces and emulsions and got to work with fish and meats I'd never worked with before, like wild boar and venison," Becker said of his time with Collis.

FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Working alongside Collis at the Casa Pacifica Angels Food, Wine & Brew Festival in June held special meaning for Becker. He was in and out of foster care and lived at Casa Pacifica Centers for Children & Families in Camarillo before he was adopted at age 7.

"I was thinking about how the event helps kids like me. It meant a lot to be able to give back."

ALL HANDS ON DECK: During the pre-festival Yummie Top Chef Dinner, Becker joined Collis and other previous winners of the Casa Pacifica award to prepare a seven-course meal.

"I loved how, even though each dish was from a different chef, we all worked as a team to plate them and send them out."

FOOD MEMORIES: During one of their getting-to-know-you visits, Becker's adoptive father took him to Burger King. "It was the first time I remembered going out for a meal with a foster parent and having a chance to talk."

ON TRACK: When appendicitis knocked Becker off the track team during his sophomore year at Ventura High, he decided to enroll in the school's culinary program as his new elective  and stayed.

"I loved the teachers and the social aspect of it. It was more hands on. I found my passion for cooking there."

LOCAL FAVORITES: "I really like Toki, a ramen restaurant on Johnson Drive. The food is always fresh and the portions are generous. Sicily by Gino downtown has great food, great service and great atmosphere. I get the lasagna; it's creamy, with a great Bolognese sauce. And the sushi is always presented beautifully at Sumo. The chefs work cleanly and there's a respectful vibe. I like that."

FREE TIME: "I like to try new restaurants. I also like hiking, reading and playing the video game 'Dark Souls.' It doesn't hold your hand. It throws you into its world and lets you fend for yourself."

DRIVING AMBITION: Becker will start culinary classes next month at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. Scholarships and other awards are covering the cost of his first year in the two-year program.

To get there, Becker and girlfriend Angela Cedano will drive cross country in his 2007 Subaru Forester. "We're excited to stop at the Grand Canyon and other places along the way," he said.

WHAT'S NEXT: "My long-term goal is to be a sushi chef. Sushi can take more than 20 years to really learn, so we'll see how it goes."

FOLLOW ALONG: Becker is on Instagram as jeffreyb56.

Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. Her Cafe Society column appears in the Sunday Life section and Fridays in the Time Out section. For between-column updates, follow 805foodie on Twitter and Instagram and "like" the Facebook page VCS Eats. Please send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com.
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Tish Greenwood has been named executive director of the California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks.

By Staff Reports

Tish Greenwood has been named the new executive director of the California Museum of Art Thousand Oaks.

Greenwood will take over the administrative aspects of running the museum, a news release stated. She also will develop family programming, community outreach efforts and exhibit proposals, form new cultural partnerships and bring awareness to the museum's expansion plans.

"I am confident that Tish's professional experience at the Getty Museum, photo l.a., National Endowment for the Arts and ArtSlant will give CMATO a fresh connection to the arts community," board of directors Chairman Tony Principe said. "In addition, her educational background provides us with new perspectives about the role of a museum in the contemporary digital age."

Greenwood said she is looking forward to the opportunity.

"It is an exciting time, but also a bit challenging," she said. "The excitement is the chance to serve the community by creating programs where ideas are shared and people connect. The main challenge is securing funding to help realize these goals  but I know we can do it. The board is extremely committed, the community wants us here, and the city has provided us with an amazing location  now we just need to make it happen."

Greenwood starts her new job Monday.

With her appointment, former Director of Operations Bill Mercer's professional affiliation with the museum "comes to a close," stated a news release announcing the changes at the museum. Sandy Galin will continue as director of development, the news release stated.

An open house is planned for September for the public to visit the museum, meet Greenwood and hear about her plans.

The nonprofit museum at 1948 Thousand Oaks Blvd. is open during exhibits from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Its next exhibit, "Balancing Act: Paintings by Jack Reilly," will open Sept. 16.

Call 405-5240 for more information.
STAR FILE PHOTO Ojai City Hall

SHARE

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, Special to The Star

People illegally operating vacation rentals in the city of Ojai could soon be prohibited from advertising those rentals under an ordinance moving its way through the city council.

The council approved the new ordinance in a first reading Tuesday night and will give the measure final consideration at a future meeting. The ordinance prohibits landlords, property managers and tenants from advertising short-term rentals of less than 30 days. Violators of the law could be fined as much as $500 for each day an advertisement is posted.

The council agreed to remove language that would also have penalized online sites such as Airbnb and VRBO.com for advertising short-term rentals in Ojai. City Attorney Matthew Summers said removing the language would reduce the city's risk of getting sued by those sites.

Airbnb filed lawsuits against San Francisco and Anaheim after those cities passed bans on short-term rental advertising that did penalize online sites.

Mayor Paul Blatz conjectured that if sites still run the ads, it would actually help city officials with enforcement because they'd be able to find out who is renting illegally.

"Clearly, the people that are advertising are the ones we want to go after," he said."I think that allowing the platform to remain in business and not subjecting them to this ordinance is actually beneficial to us because it's going to give us the ability to find out who's advertising on the platform."

Short-term rentals are prohibited in Ojai, with the council agreeing in January to uphold long-ignored zoning regulations outlawing them. Since May, city officials have been actively cracking down on the rentals, sending out warning letters and issuing citations. Councilman Bill Weirick called the proposed advertising ban "a cost-effective enforcement tool."

Seven speakers addressed the council to express support for the advertising ban, including Ojai Unified School District board member Kevin Ruf, who called short-term rentals a threat to the community. The school district is experiencing a decline in student enrollment, which some people attribute to a lack of affordable housing options for families. That's been exacerbated because vacation rentals eat up available residential housing stock, opponents say.

"I think the commercialization of our residential areas is something that, if it happens, will never be able to be undone," Ruf said.

Chris Gardner, leader of a stalled initiative to allow some vacation rentals in Ojai, objected to the city's crackdown. He said the prohibition is having a negative effect on the local economy and businesses, a claim other speakers disputed.

In other business, the council appointed new members to four city commissions. Bobbi Corbin and Ray Powers became the two newest members of the Planning Commission, filling two out of three vacant spots. Judy Murphy will join the city's Building Appeals Board. Patrick Murphy is the newest addition to the Parks and Recreation Commission, and three members  Maya Gilbert, Ryan Firestone and Sage Intner  have been reappointed to four-year terms. Christine Beirne joins the Arts Commission, where Michael Addison and Christine Golden will each continue to serve for another term.

Also at the meeting, Weirick distributed a report from a study group he formed to discuss ways Ojai can regulate medical marijuana within the city. The report suggests licensing delivery services and indoor cultivation, among other proposals. The council agreed to put the issue on a future agenda.
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett, Special to The Star

The November ballot will be packed with candidates for the Santa Paula Unified School District board, thanks to a rare confluence of term expiration dates.

All five seats on the board are up for grabs, an unusual situation resulting from unification of Santa Paula's high school and elementary school districts in the 2012 election. Four incumbents have confirmed their intention to run again, and five other potential candidates have stepped forward.

Incumbent board members Michelle Kolbeck, Christina "Tina" Urias, board President Chris Wilson and Vice President Kelsey Stewart have said they will run for another four-year term. Diana Ponce-Gomez is the only board member not running for re-election.

Retired Santa Paula High School teacher Pamela Thompson, former Santa Paula Elementary School District board member Tim Hicks, and residents Jeri Brandt Mead and Edward Arguelles also have pulled papers to run.

The plethora of potential candidates comes at an optimistic time for the school district. Increases in state education funding aimed at benefiting poorer school districts in particular have helped lift Santa Paula Unified out of financial difficulties, allowing more money to be spent on educational programs, support staff and teacher salaries.

Voters in June also approved an almost $40 million bond measure to modernize the district's elementary and middle schools. And the district is getting ready to build a new school on the east end of town as part of the Harvest at Limoneira development.

"It's an exciting time," said Wilson, who also served on the high school district's board prior to unification. "My time with both the high school and the unified boards has helped me understand how the whole system works. ... I think that the perspective gained from being on the board for a little while is worthwhile."

Longtime board member Kolbeck, who started out on the elementary district board in 1998, also cited her experience as an asset and said the board needs someone with foresight to guide how the bond money is spent.

"We won't see this kind of money again for years, so it's time we had some vision," she said. "Even though I've been on the board since '98, I still think I have a lot of vision. I've seen where students can go, what they can reach."

Urias said she wants to stay on the board to continue implementing unification. Although the physical unification of the districts has taken place, she said more work must be done to integrate the "culture" of the schools and get everyone on board with working together.

Ponce-Gomez said in a statement that she is not running for re-election because she wants to spend more time with her three children.

"When they have all left for college, I will probably return to serving my community in some fashion," she said. "This isn't goodbye. I am just taking a break."

Thompson, who retired in June after 35 years of teaching, said she feels the board needs a teacher's perspective. She said she'd like to see the district install air conditioning in classrooms and increase college-readiness programs.

"I just felt like maybe I can do more for the kids if I'm on the school board," she said. "There have been no people on this school board that have actual teaching experience."

Hicks said he'd like to be on the board to have a say in how the bond money is spent and because he wants to ensure that development of the district's new livestock and agriculture facility moves ahead.

Brandt Mead and Arguelles could not be reached for comment.

Candidates will be listed on the Nov. 8 general election ballot. To stagger term expiration dates for the next election, the three top vote-getters in November will serve four-year terms. The other two winners will serve two years and will have to run again to serve a four-year term after that.
STAR FILE PHOTO Edward Clift, former president of Brooks Institute, poses at the Gardner Building in downtown Ventura.

By Jean Moore of the Ventura County Star

The president of Brooks Institute was ousted this week, and the majority of the board of trustees has resigned.

It's not clear what will happen with plans to move Brooks, a for-profit photography and visual arts school, to downtown Ventura, but they were suddenly put on a 30-day hold in late July.

"We felt this was the best way to step aside, to let the school's management make essential decisions swiftly and decisively in the best interest of the students, faculty and the city of Ventura," Frederick Van Johnson, former chairman of the board, said Wednesday night.

Johnson also confirmed that Edward Clift, who was president of Brooks for only about a year, had been dismissed by the school's owner, Green Planet Inc.

Johnson, who was among the four board members who resigned, did not know the terms of the dismissal or specifically why Clift was fired.

"I would assume it's financial," Johnson said. "I assume there's a myriad of reasons."

Clift declined to comment directly on his dismissal.

Green Planet, which also does business as Gphomestay, bought Brooks last year, as the school continued to struggle with declining enrollment. Brooks, which had 500 students a year ago, plans to enroll about 350 students this fall, Clift said. In 2005, enrollment was 2,563.

Officials had hoped moving downtown would attract more students. The owner of the company is in town this week, Johnson said.

"She's going to try to pull a rabbit out of a hat and make everything work," Johnson said.

Officials from Green Planet did not return phone calls.

While plans for the move downtown are up in the air, classes for the fall semester, which starts Sept. 6, will be held on the existing campus, Johnson said.

Brooks, a for-profit school that now sits just outside Ventura city limits, has been converting several downtown buildings into classrooms, labs and offices.

The move to downtown would benefit both Brooks and the city, said City Councilwoman Cheryl Heitmann.

"We really pride ourselves on being an arts community, and to have an arts college there really rounds out that art scene," Heitmann said. "And honestly, it's good for the economy."

Plans call for Brooks to occupy four buildings in downtown Ventura, including one owned by the city.

Workers are renovating the top two floors of the city's building at 505 Poli St., right behind city hall. That space would hold offices, a conference room, student services and photography studios.

Jim DeArkland is managing owner of the three remaining properties where the school plans to move. Work is about three-quarters complete at two of those properties but hasn't started at the third, DeArkland said.

The Erle Stanley Gardner Building, at 21 S. California St., would house a welcome center, as well as admissions and offices for faculty and administrators, DeArkland said. A property at 101 S. Chestnut would house digital labs, classrooms and a library. Work hasn't started on the third property, at 83 S. Palm St., which would house a film school, he said.

"It's hard to say ultimately what's going to happen," DeArkland said. "But I'm glad to hear there's a possibility they're moving ahead."

Clift, though he will no longer be involved, also hopes the plans move forward.

"The whole downtown movement was to create a more viable campus that students would be interested in," he said. "I think the idea is still solid, and the ownership group is committed to the downtown."
JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Christie Boser (left), of the Nature Conservancy, and Stacy Baker, of the National Park Service, perform a health check on a 3-year-old female fox on Santa Cruz Island. Foxes on Santa Rosa, San Miguel and Santa Cruz were removed from the endangered species list Thursday.

SHARE JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Stacy Baker, of the National Park Service, performs a health check on a 3-year-old female island fox Thursday on Santa Cruz Island. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR At a press conference Thursday on Santa Cruz Island, U.S. Fish and Wildlife representatives announced the island fox had been removed from the endangered species list. JUAN CARLO/THE STAR Stacy Baker, (left), of the National Park Service, and Christie Boser, of the Nature Conservancy, perform a health check a female island fox Thursday on Santa Cruz Island.

By Cheri Carlson of the Ventura County Star

Small, cinnamon-colored foxes living on the Channel Islands broke a record Thursday.

Their rebound over the past decade or so has marked the fastest recovery of any mammal in the history of the federal Endangered Species Act.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe on Thursday announced that the foxes on Santa Rosa, San Miguel and Santa Cruz islands will come off the endangered species list.

"This is an unfortunately rare occasion when we can remove something from the endangered species list," said Ashe, who was on Santa Cruz Island on Thursday with National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, and others.

The foxes found only on the Channel Islands are three of just 37 species to come off the list in the act's 43-year history.

"Hundreds of people representing dozens of agencies and organizations helped get us to the point we are at today to make this recovery possible," Ashe said.

Officials said populations had declined by 90 percent by the late 1990s due to predators  golden eagles, which were attracted by nonnative, feral pigs.

Just 15 foxes were left on Santa Rosa and San Miguel, down from 1,780 and 450. Santa Cruz had 55 foxes, down from 1,400. All three islands are part of Channel Islands National Park.

Biologist Tim Coonan started working with the park's foxes in 1992.

He was on San Miguel seven years later when he and others realized there were too few left. They would have to try to save the foxes in captivity.

Courtesy of the National Park Service

"When you make that decision, it's a hell of a thing for a biologist," Coonan said.

Scientists typically deal with populations, and they suddenly were concerned about the fates of individual animals. That's not a business anyone wants to be in, he said.

Four island fox populations were federally listed as endangered in 2004. Along with those on Santa Rosa, San Miguel and Santa Cruz, an outbreak of canine distemper disease had decimated the fox population on Santa Catalina Island to the south.

Recovery efforts already were well underway on several fronts, from removing nonnative animals on the island to taking foxes into captivity.

The captive breeding program started in 1999 on San Miguel Island and later on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz.

"There were a lot of unknowns at that time," said David Garcelon, president of the Institute of Wildlife Studies, which works with the National Park Service. "As it turns out, the foxes were real champions as far as breeding in captivity."

The first foxes were released back into the wild in 2003.

After the last golden eagle was relocated from Santa Cruz in 2006, island foxes started going back into the wild there, too. All foxes were back in the wild by 2008.

"It got really dicey, especially on our two next-door-neighbor islands  Santa Rosa and San Miguel Island. Those populations got down to very scary low numbers," said Scott Morrison, science director for The Nature Conservancy, which owns and manages Santa Cruz along with the park agency.

"When you start getting that small of a number, there's a lot of things that can go wrong," he said.

But a network of experts came together and provided a lot of the ideas, science "and the passion that we really fueled a lot of this effort and kept us going through some pretty long days and nights," Morrison said.

Coonan, who has since retired but continues to lead the island fox conservation group, also credited that cooperative effort with saving the foxes. The group, which started meeting in 1999, included public agencies, private organizations, academics and zoo experts.

"People got together quickly, decided what needed to be done and did it," Coonan said.

That made the difference, he said. "Had we waited, we would not be celebrating the island fox recovery today."

As of 2015, there were about 700 foxes on San Miguel Island, 1,200 on Santa Rosa, and 2,100 on Santa Cruz.

A relative of the mainland gray fox, the small foxes weigh 3 to 5 pounds and stand about 12 inches tall, a little smaller than a house cat.

On Thursday, Stacy Baker, biological technician with the park agency, held a small island fox on Santa Cruz, giving her a quick checkup. Health checks occur every year as one of the ways groups monitor the foxes.

The 3-year-old female fox stayed quiet and still as Baker checked her fur, teeth and belly.

She was a little skinny, likely a sign of recently having pups, said Christie Boser, California islands ecologist with The Nature Conservancy. But she was doing well, Boser said.

"When I think about the most important element of this project, it is that it serves as a reminder of what can happen when a group of people come together and just decide they are not going to let something go extinct on their watch," Morrison said.

"That's what happened. Those people got to work, and they produced an extraordinary outcome."
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It may be hard to imagine, but I fear this election campaign is going to get worse  maybe a lot worse  before it gets better. By the time it's done, the whole nation may feel like it needs a shower.

I base this depressing prediction on three assumptions: Polls showing the Obama coalition coming together behind Hillary Clinton are correct; Donald Trump does not want to be embarrassed as a massive loser; and the Republican Party cares more about keeping its majority in the House than about Trump's tender feelings. Any of these premises can be wrong, but I think they're sound.

The logical result is not pretty. Those who believed this campaign hit rock-bottom long ago should keep in mind one of Sen. John McCain's favorite sayings: "It's always darkest before it's totally black."

First the polls: Following the two conventions, Clinton has taken a clear lead over Trump. The Real Clear Politics average of recent national polls has her at 48 percent with Trump at 40.3 percent, by any measure a healthy advantage. Moreover, in the swing states that will decide the election, Clinton leads Trump by decisive margins in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Virginia and New Hampshire; and by a smaller but significant margin in Florida.

Ohio and North Carolina are seen as essentially tied. But a recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll had Clinton leading Trump by 4 points in Georgia, a red state that Democrats haven't won since 1992. And a recent CBS/YouGov poll showed Clinton within 2 points of Trump in Arizona, which has voted for a Democrat only once since 1948.

In other words, if the election were held today, it would be what is technically called a butt-kicking. Closer examination of the polls suggests the coalition that twice elected Barack Obama as president  led by women and minorities  is reassembling for Clinton; and that college-educated whites, who narrowly favored Mitt Romney, are moving into Clinton's column as well.

The Trump campaign may be hoping for some sort of deus ex machina game-changer  more embarrassments from the Clinton emails, say, courtesy of Russian hackers or WikiLeaks. But that's not a plan.

It seems to me there are two things Trump can do. One is to raise questions in voters' minds about Clinton. Having already called her "Crooked Hillary" and questioned her mental competence, it's hard to imagine how the attacks could get much nastier. But I'm afraid they will.

Trump can also try to bring non-college-educated whites  his strongest demographic  out to vote in unprecedented numbers. Theoretically this might allow him to pick off a Rust Belt state or two, although it's a long shot. "I love the poorly educated," he said in February. He needs even more of them to love him back.

So I expect Trump to double down not just on his attacks against Clinton but on the two issues that won him his white working-class following: immigration and trade. That means more bigotry, more xenophobia and more totally unrealistic promises about the miracles that he and his team of rich-guy economic advisers will magically perform.

It doesn't help him that the Clinton campaign has bought time during the Olympics broadcasts for an ad in which Trump acknowledges that his Trump-branded shirts are made in Bangladesh and his neckties in China. Does it even occur to Trump that anyone might ever expect him to practice what he preaches? Sorry, that was a rhetorical question.

Meanwhile, the implications of the recent polls are not lost on the GOP leadership. If Clinton defeats Trump soundly, Republicans probably will lose their majority in the Senate. But if she wins in a landslide, the party could lose control of the House as well.

"If we fail to protect our majority in Congress, we could be handing President Hillary Clinton a blank check," House Speaker Paul Ryan wrote in an urgent fundraising appeal last week. Coming after a disastrous week in which Trump had attacked the Gold Star parents of a Muslim-American Army captain killed in Iraq, Ryan's words were seen by many who follow politics as a recognition that the time may have arrived for damage control.

Some Republicans will be under increasing pressure, either from their constituents or their consciences, to distance themselves from Trump and perhaps even rescind their endorsements. How will Trump react to such betrayal? Surely by lashing out, which is how he deals with any perceived slight.

This ought to be a debate about the nation's future. Thanks to Trump, it promises instead to be an unedifying brawl with kicking, biting and gouging allowed.

Eugene Robinson's email address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com. He writes for The Washington Post Writers Group.
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As a longtime resident of Oxnard, our community has fallen on some hard times. Our city is facing some serious financial hardships, and our community no longer fosters a business-friendly environment.

Only a month ago, Mandalay Berry farms closed its doors, eliminating hundreds of good Oxnard jobs. Now another respectable Oxnard partner, NRG, could be the next business to leave our city.

Given our citys economic insecurity, we need our leaders to focus on adding positive revenue to our city budget. Spending time and millions of taxpayer dollars on attorney fees to stop a project that will add millions in new sales tax revenue will not ensure our economic recovery.

Instead, our city is considering cuts that will hurt our public safety programs in the police and fire departments, and reductions already have been made. How can our city justify money for litigation that will ultimately lower city revenues while cutting vital services like public safety?

In fact, just weeks ago, the city voted to significantly increase the allocation for legal fees from $200,000 to $500,000. How many police and fire units will that take off our streets?

The decision for the Puente power project is out of our hands  the state Energy Commission ultimately has jurisdiction. The city should reverse course and stop spending precious resources on lawyers and consultants it cannot afford.

Charles McLaughlin, Oxnard
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Re: Terry Paulsons column Aug. 8, "America needs some tough love":

Paulson objects to health care, welfare, a college education, a high wage and a secure retirement for all Americans. Why? Its the way to make the economy work better.

Canadians werent sold on Reagans trickle-down economics. The average Canadian now has more income than the average American (2014 Luxembourg Income Study). The average Canadian household now owns more wealth than the average American household (Bloomberg, Hardheaded Socialism). Swiss bank Credit Suisse agreed (2012 Global Wealth Report).

Paulson thinks hes found the way for the American dream to continue to work for future generations. This is pure mythology. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz stated: The chances of even a middle-class citizen making it to the top in America are smaller than in many countries in Europe. Canadas social mobility is higher than Americas due to its investments in human capital. For Americans, wages have stayed flat for 40 years, despite working longer hours.

America now has a permanent underclass. Paulson wants to kick them even more unless they join his pet faith communities espousing his bigotry and beg for help. Put aside your bigotry, Mr. Paulson, look at the facts and join the real world. Its a beautiful place.

Raymond Freeman, Thousand Oaks
The Gift of Lights is moving to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sunset Park hosted the event for the past nine years, but organizers decided to move the event to the speedway for the 2010 holiday season.

Were really excited to host the Gift of Lights, said LVMS president Chris Powell. This is one of the real highlights of the holiday season for all Las Vegans, and were proud to do our part in providing a facility for this event. And most importantly, childrens organizations in Southern Nevada will benefit as a result of charitable contributions through Speedway Childrens Charities.

The speedway is donating the facility to event organizers, Meehan and Associates, but $2 from every car visiting the experience will go to the Las Vegas Chapter of Speedway Childrens Charities. All funds raised by the local chapter benefit youth organizations in Southern Nevada.

The move to the speedway will allow for the largest Gift of Lights in the events 10-year history. All displays will be in LED lighting, which will provide the most brilliant light display ever for this event.

The experience will open on Friday, Nov. 19 and run nightly through Sunday, Jan. 2. Admission is $15, but any car bringing a donation to Goodwill will receive $2 off the admission price. Various youth organizations will be on hand selling hot chocolate and warm apple cider and their proceeds will help fund programs for their organizations.
Those four areas are hi-tech industrial projects with high added value, energy saving, environmentally friendly and highly competitive products; seaport logistics for Cai Mep  Thi Vai international transit port; high-quality tourism projects focusing on sea resort tourism, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events ( MICE ) tourism, high-quality ecotourism and spiritual tourism; hi-tech agricultural projects with processing facilities and agricultural mechanics.

The provincial authorities said the province would implement many incentive policies to encourage investment, simplify administrative procedures by implementing a one stop shop mechanism, improve infrastructure.



Nguyen Van Binh, Head of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission, urged the province to build breakthrough policies to develop industry, seaports, seaport logistics and tourism and boost linkages with provinces in the southern key economic zone.



Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said the province needs to further improve business and investment environment, perfect referential mechanisms and policies as well as create favourable conditions for investors.

On the occasion, the province signed four memorandums of understanding (MoU) in the fields of seaport infrastructure, transport and tourism with a total of VND50 trillion (US$2.24 billion).
At Sabeco, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the states representative in the board of directors, approved Vu Quang Hai, son of former minister Vu Huy Hoang, as general director in 2015. Hai was 25 when he assumed the post, giving up his two-year position as the head of a loss-making PetroVietnam subsidiary.

Meanwhile, the State Audit of Vietnams 2015 audit of Habeco showed that the companys unorthodox accounting practice made the 2014 net profit of VND927.13 billion ($42 million) unreliable. Habeco has subsidiaries in the construction and real estate sectors that run projects behind schedule, which means its investment practices are inefficient. A subsidiary, Habeco Haiphong, is not using the whole land area it is assigned to manage, which is a waste of government property.

The Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI), which asked the MoIT to explain the assignment of Vu Quang Hai to the post of general director in June, said that such use of personnel is tantamount to weak governance and weak management of state capital. VAFI also claimed that Sabeco and Habeco grew slowly over the past eight years, even though the field of beer, alcohol, and beverage in Vietnam has a lot of potential.

According to Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), when leadership positions are assigned to people with no ability, companies will operate inefficiently. Economist Le Dang Doanh and former head of the Development Strategy Institute Luu Bich Ho both agreed that only when the two companies become public and listed will they become more efficient. Dao Van Hung, director of the Academy of Policy and Development, said that the private sector would do a much better job managing the two companies and that the government could reinvest its earnings from divesting from the two beer companies into infrastructure.

The state currently holds 90 per cent in Sabeco and 82 per cent in Habeco. In the middle of May, leaders of Sabeco said they had proposed the government sell 53 per cent of its stakes currently owned by the state. As of now, there is no further information on this scheme.
German soldiers (Bundeswehr) at a training area on Aug 9, 2016 in Ohrdruf. (Photo: AFP/Martin Schutt)

For many, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen set alarm bells ringing when she ordered soldiers on standby as an 18-year-old went on a gun rampage in a shopping mall in Munich in July.

The troops did not end up hitting the streets, for the attacker committed suicide following the shooting, in which nine people were killed.

But after a string of attacks in the same week - including two claimed by the Islamic State group - German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a nine-point plan to bolster security, including training the military to respond to major terror assaults.

"It is now time to carry out exercises on major terror situations ... which can involve the armed forces under the leadership of police," said Merkel.

Von der Leyen did not miss her cue and her ministry promptly confirmed the army and police were preparing for joint exercises.

But the possibility that the army may patrol at home for the first time in seven decades set off an outcry in the country haunted by its Nazi past, exposing a deep rift within the coalition.

Under the Nazi regime, the murky lines between the military and police in part enabled the regime to persecute Jews, Roma, leftwingers, gays and other declared enemies of the state.

Germany's post-war constitution has since drawn clear lines between the country's internal and external security forces.

It prohibits the Bundeswehr, as the federal armed forces are known, from deploying domestically, save for a few exceptions.

These include helping humanitarian relief in cases of natural disasters or emergencies, or in the event of a threat against "the free democratic order of the federal state".

'NODOBY TELLS ME WHY'

The debate over the domestic role of the army has resurfaced several times, most recently in the wake of the November 13 Paris attacks targeting a concert hall and cafes that left 130 dead.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, himself a former interior minister, said troops should be used to bolster police forces should Germany be struck by a major terror assault.

Yet there is deep scepticism among the population.

A poll by Die Zeit weekly found that 66 percent of the population did not think that deploying the army in Germany was a good idea.

Junior coalition partner the Social Democrats were quick to lead the criticism, with their party chief Sigmar Gabriel batting off suggestions of a deployment and arguing instead that police should be given more support.

The police force itself also did not appear to welcome the help, with the chairman of the police union GdP, Oliver Malchow, saying that "the armed forces are completely unable to offer the help that we need."

"We need investigators, we need policemen who are trained constitutionally," he said.

But proponents seized on the July attacks to argue that it was better to be prepared.

Klaus Bouillon, interior minister in the western state of Saarland, warned that it would be "paradoxical and absurd, if the police were strained to the limit in an exceptional emergency while the army had to watch helplessly from the sidelines."

Christian Moelling, an expert on security and defence at the German Marshall Fund think tank, said the issue invited political posturing, with the two sides reverting to entrenched positions.

"I can't tell you if I'm for or against it because nobody tells me why - why should the armed forces be used?" he said.

"An honest debate is needed, that is, what is happening on the ground and how can armed forces support with their capabilities the police forces," stressed Moelling.

He added that Germany has been "very lucky for the past years." "We know that it is a target of terrorism, and we have been able to prevent almost every attack so far".
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference after a meeting with his Armenian counterpart (not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow. (AFP/Vasily Moximov)

Russia's security agency announced it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back an armed assault, claims that have ratcheted up tensions first sparked by Moscow's 2014 annexation of the strategic Black Sea peninsula.

The FSB said in a statement that one of its officers was killed in armed clashes while arresting "terrorists" on the night of Aug 6-7 while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with "sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian defence ministry on Aug 8.

"This is very alarming news. In fact, our security services prevented an incursion into the territory by a sabotage-reconnaissance group from Ukraine's defence ministry," Putin said.

The Kremlin leader accused the authorities in Kiev of "practising terror" and pledged not to leave the deaths of the two Russian officers unanswered.

"From the Russian side there were losses - two servicemen killed. We obviously will not let such things slide by," Putin said.

"This is a very dangerous game. We will of course do everything to assure the security of infrastructure, citizens and will take additional measures to provide security, including serious additional measures."

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter feud since the Kremlin seized Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Moscow's claims were "senseless and cynical". "These fantasies are only another pretext for the next military threats toward Ukraine," Interfax news agency reported him as saying.

Ukraine's national security council chief Oleksandr Turchynov, meanwhile, branded the allegations as "hysterical and false" and said Moscow was trying to stoke fear in Crimea.

Ukraine's defence ministry also dismissed the allegations as "nothing more than an attempt to justify the redeployment and aggressive actions" of Russian forces in the region.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring the frontier between mainland Ukraine and Crimea did not report any incidents.

But it said road traffic was halted this earlier this week and border guards appeared to be on "heightened alert".

'DESTABILISE SITUATION'

In its statement, the FSB - which controls Russia's border guards - said it had "foiled terrorist attacks on the territory of Crimea prepared by the intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian defence ministry".

"The aim of the sabotage and terrorist attacks was to destabilise the social and political situation" ahead of elections in Russia and Crimea next month, it said.

The security agency said that in the Aug 6-7 raids, several people were detained, including a Ukrainian military intelligence officer, and a cache of explosives was discovered.

"On the night of August 8 2016 special operations forces from the Ukrainian defence ministry carried out two more attempts to make a breakthrough by sabotage-terrorist groups," it said.

The assault included "massive firing from the side of the neighbouring state and armoured vehicles" but was beaten back by the Russian authorities, the statement said.

The FSB said it had stepped up security measures around the peninsula following the alleged incidents.

Russia seized Crimea in 2014 after sending in thousands of special forces troops to take control of Ukrainian bases and holding a hastily-organised referendum that was rejected by the international community.

The move shattered ties between the two ex-Soviet neighbours and sent relations between Moscow and the West plummeting to their lowest point since the Cold War.

Since its annexation by Russia, Crimea has remained largely peaceful.

However, a separatist conflict - that the West and Kiev blame on Moscow - has killed some 9,500 people in two regions of Ukraine's industrial east.

Fighting in the east between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels is still rumbling on as a peace deal to end the violence fails to make progress.

Putin said the alleged incidents in Crimea meant he would not hold a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and mediators German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French leader Francois Hollande on the conflict at the G20 summit in China in September.

Russia is gearing up for nationwide legislative elections on September 18 and Putin has previously warned his security officials that "foreign enemies" are seeking to disrupt the vote.
At the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Victims of AO/Dioxin (VAVA), said that on August 10, 1961, the US army began spraying the so-called herbicide in Vietnam, triggering the biggest and longest chemical warfare with the most catastrophic consequences in human history.



The date of August 10 has become the day for AO/dioxin victims to remind people of the disaster on the environment and human health, and call for joint efforts to ease the AO pain, he noted.



From 1961 to 1971, the US army sprayed 80 million litres of toxic chemicals, 61 percent of which was AO that contained at least 366kg of dioxin  the most toxic substance ever known in history, on nearly 25 percent of the area of southern Vietnam. That made 4.8 million Vietnamese people expose to the toxins, and more than 3 million of them were victims.



Dioxin has made many women infertile while a large number of children were born with deformities. Notably, its impacts are long-lasting as there have been fourth-generation victims, Rinh added.



Susan Schnall, a US veteran who took part in the USs war in Vietnam and now head of the New York branch of Veterans for Peace organisation, apologised for AOs massive destruction to the country.



She vowed to work with Vietnam to deal with the wars impacts, detoxify contaminated land and care for the victims.



At the commemoration, President Tran Dai Quang expressed deep sympathy for AO victims and hoped that they will keep faith in life.



The Party and State have continually paid attention to AO impact settlement, including offering monthly financial aid and health care for the victims, combining the national action plan on resolving AO impacts with local socio-economic development activities, and calling for domestic and foreign support for the victims.



He appreciated contributions by all-level authorities, businesses, and people at home and abroad to caring for the victims. He also thanked diplomatic agencies and foreign organisations and people for advocating the fight for AO victims justice.



Good settlement of AO consequences will also help promote Vietnam  US relations, along with global efforts for peace, cooperation and development, the leader said, calling on people around the world to work together to prevent chemical warfare.



At the ceremony, President Tran Dai Quang presented the VAVA with the Labour Order (first class) for its outstanding performance over the past years.



The association also launched a campaign inviting Vietnamese people and foreigners to support AO victims by texting DACAM to 1409. The campaign lasts from August 10 to September 30.
The palace was owned by Hoang Yen Chao and his son Hoang A Tuong. These Tay ethnic minority men were reportedly regarded as kings of the Bac Ha region and ruled a region where 70% of the population were HMong people before 1945.

According to the website of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (vietnamtourism.com), Bac Ha was a semi-feudal colonial region where there were the ruling and ruled classes before 1945. As members of the ruling class, Chao and Tuong took advantage of their influence to exploit people of the ruled class and occupy their fertile land. The family gained monopoly to sell salt, food, and other necessary items to French military posts and their lackeys.

When Chao and Tuong had become moguls of the region, they decided to build a palace to show off their affluence and power. They employed French and Chinese architects to choose the location, direction and the design of the palace based on the feng shui theory. The building got off the ground in 1914 and was completed in 1921.

The mansion was left uninhabited for many years as Hoang A Tuong had to live in exile in France after the region was liberated by revolutionary soldiers in the autumn of 1945. Nearly a century has gone by since its completion, the building remains intact and its Asian European-architecture still shines under sunshine.

The main two-storey mansion is surrounded by auxiliary houses on the left and the right, and has beautiful decorations on its facade and inside its rooms. To enter it, visitors have to walk on one of the two staircases in front of the building to the waiting room before they can step into a large yard. The door-domed mansion has four rooms on the two sides which used to be the places for family activities while the central rooms on both floors were used as meeting venues.

Hoang A Tuong Palace is certainly worth a visit as the light yellow building with moss can give visitors an opportunity to learn about the live of a family of the ruling class and part of Bac Has history in the past.

Following are some snapshots of Hoang A Tuong Palace in Bac Ha District in Lao Cai Province.
A man spends three hours scaling Trump Tower, the New York home and headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president, before police captured him through an open window. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Live television footage showed uniformed New York police officers reaching out and grabbing the young man - dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap - around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups.

The man with curly auburn hair had been edging his way up the side of the building gingerly - at times with his feet dangling precariously as he gripped the suction cups - on a hot and steamy afternoon.

New York billionaire Donald Trump was outside the city on Wednesday, holding a rally in Virginia with another event planned later in Florida.

"The climber has been taken into custody," tweeted Sergeant Carlos Nieves from the police public information office.

The climber, whose identity and motive was not immediately known, was watched by a crowd of mesmerised onlookers, as well as reporters and police, who cordoned off the block between Fifth and Madison Avenues, an AFP reporter said.

In an anonymous video posted on YouTube, entitled "Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower)," a young man dressed in a black hoodie with his face partially obscured exhorted Americans to vote for the Republican in November.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," said the man, addressing the White House candidate and identifying himself as "an independent researcher."

"As for anyone else who's watching, please help make this video go viral so that it gets to Mr Trump and be sure to get out and vote for Mr Trump in the 2016 election," the young man added.

EARLIER EVASION

There was no immediate confirmation about the authenticity of the video.

Authorities removed two windows from the 21st floor and it was there that officers grabbed him about 6.35pm (6.35am Singapore time Thursday), after starting his ascent from a terrace area on the fifth floor.

The climber had earlier evaded police by climbing around an opened window and washer scaffold. Police deployed airbags in case he fell.

Trump lives in a marble triplex at the top of the 68-storey building, which is also the headquarters of his Trump Organization and election campaign.

The Republican nominee unleashed a firestorm on Tuesday when he suggested that "Second Amendment people" - those who support gun rights - could take action to stop Hillary Clinton from appointing US Supreme Court justices as president.

Since he launched his controversial, media-saturated bid for the White House, the tower on New York's prestigious Fifth Avenue has become a magnet for tourists.

Members of the public are free to roam inside its public atrium until 10.00pm most days as part of an agreement that allowed Trump to build 20 stories higher.
A boy was reportedly home alone die after falling from the eleventh floor of a building in Linh am urban area in Hoang Mai district.Poor safety in high-rise buildings in big cities are a danger to residents living there, particularly children. - Photo vnexpress.net

Several tragic accidents in high-rise apartments have been reported recently due to poor safety measure for windows and balconies.

The latest accident was the death of six-year-old boy in Ha Noi last month, Lao ong (Labour) newspaper reported.

The boy was reportedly home alone die after falling from the eleventh floor of a building in Linh am urban area in Hoang Mai district.

Earlier, a child aged six in Long Bien Districts Viet Hung urban area died after falling from a sixth floor balcony.

According to the newspapers survey, balcony and window designs in some buildings in Ha Noi such as Linh am, Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh or Nam Trung Yen are still unsafe.

Many of the high-rise apartments were designed without window bars.

In some buildings, the distance between safety bars was too large and easy for children to climb.

According to Ministry of Construction design standards, bars are needed in apartments from the ninth floor upward and must be at least 1.4m in height.

Dr Pham Sy Liem, vice chairman of Viet Nam Construction Federation, said poor safety in high-rise apartments railings and balconies was due to design error.

According to him, railings in high buildings must be at least 1.2m tall.

Balconies must be designed with vertical bars to prevent children climbing up easily, he said.

Tran Ngoc Mai, a Hanoian mother, said her husband made iron cages around the balcony to prevent their boy climbing.

Col Nguyen Ngoc Chau, head of Ha Noi Fighting Police No 8 also said that the main cause of accidents in high-rise buildings was poor design.

Railings and balconies were not high enough, leading to tragedies, he said.
One of these is the Phuoc NamEnfinity wind farm invested by Belgian company Enfinity in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan. The project has been awaiting construction for five years to date.

The Ninh Thuan Peoples Committee has sent an ultimatum to Enfinity, requiring the investor to submit a detailed report on the implementation plan and the projects financial potential. In addition, the investor will have to make a large deposit and give written proof of its commitment to develop the project on schedule. Furthermore, Enfinity will have to complete the necessary procedures to kick off the construction in December, in line with previous plans.

Licensed in March 2011, the 553-hectare project has the total investment capital of $266 million. It was designed with a capacity of 124.5 megawatts. The investor committed to starting construction immediately after receiving the investment certificate so that the project could come into operation in December 2012. However, no move was implemented at that time.

At the end of 2011, Enfinity committed to start construction works in December 2012, but it backed down later and proposed the province to extend the deadline.

In 2014, after securing approval for four consecutive extensions, the provincial leader required the investor to pay a deposit to ensure the projects implementation and accelerate the construction progress to put the plant into operation in December 2016.

However, as of yet, the investor has not given more than empty promises.

Being particularly suited for the development of wind farms, Ninh Thuan committed to providing favourable conditions for investors. The province currently has 12 wind farm projects in its master plan, however, all of them are behind schedule. These projects include Mui Dinh, as well as wind farms of Enfinity, South Korean LandVille Energy, and Malaysian wind power company Timur.

The province revoked the investment certificates of three projects. The first is Phuoc Dan wind farm, invested by Thuong Tin Power Joint Stock Company. The project was licensed in December 2008 with the total investment capital of VND1.29 trillion ($57.8 million). However, as of now, the construction has yet to kick off, despite the provinces prodding.

In the 2014-2015 period, the province revoked the investment certificates of two projects worth over VND2.4 trillion ($107.5 million), located in Ninh Phuoc district.

In April 2016, Ninh Thuan denied the plan of Argentinean wind farm company IMPSA to invest in a project in the two districts Ninh Phuoc and Thuan Nam. The reason was that IMPSA had not finished the administrative procedures to start investment within six months, as promised back in 2011 when the peoples committee agreed in principle to the project.

Earlier, IMPSA proposed constructing a wind farm and a plant producing wind turbine parts, with the total investment value between $2 and $3 billion. At the end of 2011, IMPSA gained approval to raise the project area to 1,000 hectares from the initial 600. Since then, the company made no more moves.

According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, a total of 50 wind farm projects have been registered, but only five saw implementation. Three of these, namely Tuy Phong in the south-central province of Binh Thuan (30MW), a 6 MW wind farm project on Phu Quy island, also in Binh Thuan, and the 99MW Bac Lieu plant, are generating commercially.
The Cambodia National Rescue Partys chief whip, Son Chhay, has denied reports that the opposition is setting up a shadow cabinet following suggestions from officials that such a move would be illegal.

Instead, the CNRP is forming 10 commissions that will cover the functions of government in parallel to ones that already exist in parliament  and which CNRP lawmakers chair  in order to do research and compile the policies of the party ahead of the next general election in 2018.

National Assembly spokesman Leng Peng Long said the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party was skeptical of the motives behind forming the commissions, when the CNRP already has members assigned to the parliamentary commissions.

The formation of a unit or institution which is the same as state institutions would mean there was a state within a state. That cant happenthey would be formed in a private and illegal manner, he said.

He added that if the CNRP wanted to form a shadow cabinet similar to those in other parliamentary democracies, where lawmakers are given policy positions that mirror the ministerial posts of government, then it should enter into negotiations with the CPP.

Ou Virak, head of the Future Forum think tank, said a functioning shadow cabinet would allow for greater transparency and scrutiny of the affairs of state.

There are a lot of benefits to forming [a shadow cabinet] because it makes the competition [between parties] more serious, he said.

Gen. Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, on Thursday said the government would need to review the constitutional basis for the proposition, adding that while the opposition had not announced it had formed a shadow cabinet, in practice they have done it.

Cambodian officials have a history of aversion to the idea of an effective opposition organizing its members to scrutinize the work of government ministries.

In 2005, opposition politician Cheam Channy was arrested and charged with sedition after being given the portfolio of shadow defense minister. Prime Minister Hun Sen had accused Channy of seeking to overthrow the government by raising a shadow army.
Female opposition councilors have set their sights on running local communes after elections scheduled for next year.

Sin Chanpao Razath, the deputy commune chief in OChar commune, Battambang province, is one of several up-and-coming councilors in the Cambodia National Rescue Partys arsenal.

Its very important to have women as leaders, not only in the communes, but also national leaders, its important for the whole society, she said. Firstly, women understand other womens struggles and secondly they understand mens as well. If women become leaders corruption in the communes and society at large will be reduced drastically.

Razath was one of several local officials who met this week with CNRP deputy leader Kem Sokha at the partys headquarters in Phnom Penh.

She said that if she won the election she would work hard to improve the lives of her constituents. As deputy commune chief, she added, she had often met with local residents to help them solve problems.

Chan Samnang, deputy chief of Russei Keo commune in Phnom Penh, also hopes to be elected to the top job.

In every commune, especially in my commune, there is an awful lot of work to be done, from developing infrastructure to improving peoples healthcare, to public service issues, she said.

Kun Lum Ang, head of the CNRPs Women Movement, urged more women to come forward to stand in the elections.

We are organizing women at the local, commune, district, provincial and national levels, and we are also running training courses, she said. In the training course we educate them and strengthen their capabilities to prepare them to run for election.

Yoeung Sotheara, a legal observer from elections watchdog Comfrel, said there were only a very small number of women represented at the top level in local government  just 108 last year out of more than 1,600 communes.

In politics, women are better at using knowledge than men, and intelligent because they work systematically and clearly, and they use soft techniques to negotiate and implement their policythey solve problems better than men, Sotheara said.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday delayed a ruling on whether to grant bail to opposition lawmaker Um Sam An.

Sam An, an American citizen, was detained in April after he made comments on Facebook regarding the line of demarcation between Cambodia and Vietnam.

He maintains that as a lawmaker he is immune from prosecution according to the constitution and refused to answer questions from judges on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Chhoun Chantha called for the court to continue Sam Ans imprisonment ahead of a verdict in the case.

Kim Sathavy, one of the presiding judges, said the decision would be postponed until August 17.

Sam An is being held under article 205 of the criminal code, which allows or detention without bail if there is a fear that releasing the defendant could endanger public order.

His legal team, however, argues that Sam An did not commit a crime and his Facebook comments were protected by freedom of expression rules and therefore he should not be held.

I hope that the jurist council of the Supreme Court will confer [justice], because at this time the Supreme Court didnt yet announce its ruling, meaning they decided to delay until [August] 17, he said.

Dressed in an orange prison-issue jump suit, Sam An said that he did not expect to be released while political tensions in the country remained high.

The ones who protect the border are in prison, while the ones who cut out the land for Youn have their freedom, he said, using a word for Vietnamese that is often considered derogatory.

Some 17 other opposition members and activists are also in jail, including Sam Rainsy Party Senator Hong Sok Hour, who was charged with the same offense as Sam An.
The small community of Ferguson, Missouri is still recovering from the economic fallout following weeks of protests and riots in August and November of 2014. The social unrest began after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer two years ago. Dozens of businesses were vandalized and damaged. VOA's Chris Simkins reports from Ferguson there are signs of some progress but the community still faces economic challenges.
Seven Cambodians have been chosen to take part in the Fulbright scholarship program where they will pursue a masters degree in the United States.

The young scholars  Sou Jolyda, Sopha Boramey, Kong Ratanakvotey, Huy Lyhour, Chuong Thort, Oung Ty Keithya and Heang Vanny  are now preparing to take the leap into the unknown.

Jolyda, a graduate of the Institute of Foreign Languages and the National University of Management, will study law and diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Applying for Fulbright wasnt easy, she said. But, if we know exactly what we want to study, what to write about, how to answer their [interview] questions, and meet all the criteria, I think that greatly helps alleviate some difficulties.

I knew about Fulbright since I was in high school. It really interested me, so I studied hard and worked in [relevant] fields in order to get the scholarship. I invested a huge amount of time preparing for it, she added, encouraging others to not be put off by the rigorous application procedures.

Keithya, who previously studied at the Royal University of Phnom Penh and at Pannasastra University, will head to Syracuse to study environmental policy at the State University of New York.

I wanted to apply for Fulbright for a long time, since I was in school. I told myself that if I wanted to get a Masters degree, I would definitely apply for Fulbright, he said.

On hearing he had been accepted to the program, Keithya said he felt surprised because I could just not believe that I passed the final stage.

Jay Raman, public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, said the Fulbright scholarship program offered Cambodians the opportunity to gain knowledge from top professors at some of the countrys best universities.

Fulbright alumni have come back from the experience and gone on to have incredible success in a wide variety of fields from government, public service, civil society, arts and culture, you name it, he said.

Borei Sylyvann, president of the Fulbright and Undergraduate State Alumni Association of Cambodia, said his parents were overjoyed when they found out he had been accepted to the program in 2010.

My parents were so happy when they got the news. Before we left for the US, we attended an orientation session at the embassy, along with my parents. They met and talked with the ambassador. It was a great achievement for our family to be proud of.

He added that the Fulbright alumni network offers students access to jobs and internships.
Retired reverend Dr. Samuel Nuon has kept a close eye on the rise of his former roommate, vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine.

Nuon met Kaine at a leadership training course at the Winter Green Retreat in Virginia in 1991 and the pair ended up sharing a room.

I know him very well. He is a man who pays attention to his people and is known for his breathtaking speeches, he said.

He was so simple that I had to take a bed and he was late so he had to sleep on a couch, he recalled with a smile.

Kaine first took office in 1994, serving as a city council member before becoming mayor of Richmond. In 2002 he joined the governors office and became governor in 2006. He was elected to the senate in 2012.

The 58 year old was selected as the Democrats presidential candidate Hillary Clintons running mate ahead of the November 8 election.

I believe that he will be a good candidate for [the] Cambodian community and all other communities in the U.S., Nuon said.

At Wat Khmer Samacky in south Richmond, Kaine needs no introduction.

He was a very good governor, said Keo Sum, a Richmond resident. He contributed a great deal to Virginias economy and social work. When he was our representative he always found ways to help people in Virginia.

Kaine is seen as a good pick for Clinton to win in swing states such as Virginia.

Despite having previously voted Republican, San Oeun said he would likely vote for the Democrats in November, partly due to Kaine.

I normally voted for the Republican [party], but according to the current political situation I will probably change my mind to vote Democrat, he said.

First we want peace, secondly [a strong] economy so that people can live at eat, and finally social issues, he said.

Samoeun Por, who has been living in Richmond for 35 years, said the community wanted to see a strong focus on health issues, to make sure that medicine prices are not too expensive.

Richmond is home to about 1,000 Khmer-Americans, with about 5,000 in the state altogether.

Hok Hak, a member of the temple committee, said Kaine would need to do more to ensure the vote of Khmer-Americans in the state, adding: If Mr. Tim Kaine has a compassion and willingness to help our Cambodian community we will embrace and welcome whatever he wants.
U.S. officials are looking to boost economic engagement with Myanmar, a country that has been dubbed by some as "the final frontier" because it is one of the last markets largely untouched by Western companies.

The United States imposed heavy economic sanctions on Myanmar in 1997 over the ruling military junta's repression of the democratic opposition. In recent years, Washington has rolled back many sanctions following pro-democratic reforms.

With the further easing of financial sanctions announced in May, Washington sees great economic potential in what is the largest country in Southeast Asia. It's rich in natural resources and arable land, but the World Bank says just one-third of its people have access to the electricity grid.

"The election of Aung San Suu Kyi and the easing of almost 80 percent of those sanctions offers a new opportunity to usher in a new era with American business and connectivity with the United States," Charles Rivkin, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, told VOA in an interview.

Rivkin is leading a trade delegation heading to Myanmar next week to facilitate economic ties between the two countries. Among the high-profile companies joining are IBM, GM, Chevrolet, Deloitte, Coca Cola and Omidyar Network.

The "innovation roadshow" is an initiative by the Obama administration to engage with Asian entrepreneurs to strengthen ties with innovative U.S. companies, and to encourage governments in Asia to develop regulatory environments that foster innovation, attract investors and create jobs.

$21 million in U.S. aid

This trade trip follows a U.S. announcement in July that Washington would pledge $21 million in assistance to facilitate Myanmar's long-term capacity building.

White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, who visited Myanmar in July, said the new assistance would help promote the country's economic growth, with the goal of tripling exports in five years, and help modernize the agriculture sector that will be the driver of employment over the next 10 years.

The easing of sanctions is expected to help Myanmar support its political reforms and economic growth, and to facilitate U.S. trade with the country, also known as Burma.

"Economic policy is foreign policy," said Rivkin. "Most predictions are by the year 2025, Burma will be a five-hour plane flight from half of the world's population. It has a $63 billion economy currently, but you can only imagine its potential if it starts to become a hub, in a way, for the highest-growth area in the planet."

In June, the U.S. government's development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, announced it had launched operations in Burma with a $250 million loan to a Yangon telecommunication company.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has recently partnered with the Myanmar Computer Company to train 100,000 people with IT skills inside Burma.

While Myanmar was tapped for American investment after the easing of sanctions, critics see "cronies" that have close connections to the military as among those greatly benefiting.

The U.S. has said the key to lifting the remaining sanctions would be for Myanmar to move toward more reforms and progress in reducing the military's influence over the political system.
U.S. presidential candidates are holding rallies in states where the voter population is still undecided. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton returned to Iowa, where she hopes to sway voters with her plan for economic growth. Her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, is proving to be immune to criticism, despite a desertion from some of his own party members. Zlatica Hoke reports.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration maintained Thursday that marijuana will remain on the list of dangerous drugs and has no medical benefit.

Former governors of California and Rhode Island had requested that the DEA review its classification of the drug, which has been legalized in some form in twenty-five states and the District of Columbia.

But the DEA "concluded that marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use in the United States, and lacks an acceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision".

Despite being fully legal in many states and decriminalized in many others, marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
A special tribunal dealing with war crimes committed during Bangladesh's independence war against Pakistan in 1971 on Wednesday sentenced a former lawmaker to death and seven others to life in prison for murder and other crimes.

The tribunal sentenced Sakhawat Hossain, a former parliament member belonging to the Jamaat-e-Islami party, to death on Wednesday. He and one of the other defendants were present in the court. The six others were tried in absentia.

Hossain was a central committee member of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami party at the time, and was accused of acting as a local commander of a group that aided Pakistani soldiers. He left Jamaat-e-Islami and joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. At the time of the court case he was involved with Jatiya Party headed by former military dictator H. M. Ershad.

His lawyers said they will appeal.

Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women in 1971.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina initiated the process of prosecuting suspected war criminals in 2010 by forming the tribunal. More than 20 people have already been convicted, and five men, mostly Jamaat-e-Islami's top leaders, have been executed.

Jamaat-e-Islami party openly campaigned against Bangladesh's independence in 1971 and formed militia groups to help the Pakistani army crush the uprising.
A city in eastern China city on Wednesday suspended preliminary work on site selection for a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility following days of protests by area residents that underscored a growing willingness by the public to oppose projects seen as threatening lives and property.

A one sentence notice posted Wednesday on the website of the Lianyungang city government offered no details on longer-term plans.

The city government had earlier responded to the weekend demonstrations in a downtown square by announcing that plans for the nuclear project were in early stages and no location had been confirmed.

The police responded additional protests Tuesday with a ban on unauthorized public gatherings and a call to disregard rumors. About a dozen people who threw stones were reportedly detained by police.

There have been no reports about the protests in Chinese media, indicating censors likely ordered publications to suppress information about them.

China has 32 reactors in operation, 22 under construction and more planned, making it the most active builder of nuclear power plants

The government has spent heavily to build up its ability to produce fuel and process waste and the state-owned China National Nuclear Corp. has been seeking to build a nuclear fuel reprocessing center with French partner Areva starting in 2020. State media say a unit of CNNC and its French partner have looked at more than 10 potential locations for the reprocessing center and did preliminary research last year on Lianyungang.

In 2013, similar plans to build a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in the southern city of Heshan, near Hong Kong, were scrapped following protests by residents over possible risks.

Chinese authorities also have scrapped or postponed other petrochemical and other industrial projects elsewhere following protests, but in some cases work goes ahead after tensions die down.
A splinter group of Nigerian oil militants accuses former President Goodluck Jonathan and other politicians in the oil-rich Niger Delta of sponsoring attacks on oil installations that have slashed the West African nation's petroleum production.

Jonathan denied the allegations Monday and, through a spokesman, said the militants want to kill him.

On Sunday, the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers published names of 20 alleged sponsors of the Niger Delta Avengers, the group it broke away from, including former and current governors of southern states.

Politicians long have been accused of backing the oil militants. Southerners are accused of trying to destabilize the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim from the north. The southerners, who are predominantly Christian, have accused politicians backing Buhari of sponsoring the militants as a ploy to militarize their region.

Buhari made himself even more unpopular in the south by suspending stipends under a 2009 amnesty program for 30,000 ex-militants who were paid to halt attacks. Buhari's government last week resumed the payments and said it is negotiating with the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which negotiated the amnesty.

But that group has been denounced as corrupt by the Niger Delta Avengers, a new group responsible for this year's devastating attacks that have cut oil production by up to 45 percent. It has refused to negotiate without foreign mediation.

The Avengers want the withdrawal of multinational oil companies responsible for massive pollution and want locals to control production.

In a separate development, residents of Jonathan's home state of Bayelsa said unidentified men dressed as priests Monday gunned down three soldiers at a military checkpoint in Nembe town. A farmer and a trader spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
1 1 An exiled Tibetan holds a placard as he participates in a protest in Dharmsala, India, against the demolition of buildings in Larung Gar by Chinese authorities. Larung Gar is an area in eastern Tibet housing Buddhist institutions and thousands of monks and nuns.
A retired Australian army officer on Wednesday won a 50-year struggle to gain official recognition for the bravery of 10 soldiers who fought under his command during Australia's most costly battle of the Vietnam War.

Harry Smith, 83, was presented at Parliament House with a recommendation by a review tribunal for nine soldiers to be decorated for the first time and a 10th soldier to have his medal upgraded for courage shown during the Battle of Long Tan in a Vietnamese rubber plantation on Aug. 18, 1966.

Smith, a retired lieutenant colonel, led a company of 105 Australian soldiers plus three New Zealanders supported by artillery that won a rain-drenched, three-hour battle against more than 2,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, the Australian government said.

Eighteen Australians were killed and 24 wounded, while the Vietnamese were estimated to have lost hundreds of troops.

Within hours of the battle ending, Smith said he recommended to his commanding officer that 20 soldiers under his command be decorated.

Initially, only eight battle veterans were honored, including Smith. He was awarded the Star of Gallantry, the highest honor after the Victoria Cross.

He has since campaigned relentlessly to have others recognized. Wednesday's verdict of the Defense Honors and Awards Appeal Tribunal -- an independent court established five years ago to investigate such cases -- brings the number to 16, Smith said. The government accepted the recommendation.

Smith said he was happy with the decision despite the tribunal dismissing his application for another soldier to be awarded his first decoration and another two decorated soldiers to have their honors upgraded.

"Justice has been done," Smith said. "I learnt from my years in the army that you have to keep on fighting and you eventually win."

Three of the 10 veterans to receive new honors have died since the war.

Australia deployed more than 60,000 military personnel to Vietnam between 1962 and 1973, of whom 521 were killed. The Battle of Long Tan anniversary next week has become Australia's official Vietnam Veterans Day.
It was a moment no one imagined would ever happen: a handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat on the White House lawn in September 1993, sealing the historic agreement that set the long-time enemies on a path to peace.

Despite a major effort by Washington to bring the two sides together, the agreement was forged during months of secret back-channel talks in Norway. A new off-Broadway play, OSLO, looks at this little-known part of the peace process.

The play, by J.T. Rogers, is based on his interviews with the two people responsible for those talks, sociologist and academic Terje Rd-Larsen and his wife, Mona Juul, a foreign service officer. At the time, she had been posted to Cairo, where they got to know people on both sides of the conflict. When official peace talks in Washington, D.C., stalled, and riots in Israel and the West Bank increased, the couple decided to step in.

On stage, Rd-Larsen notes that the conditions on the ground, tragic as they are, are perfect for progress. "The desperation theyre feeling on both sides," he tells Juul, "this is our ally."

Rd-Larsen, now president of the International Peace Institute, recalls that they arranged for both parties to meet secretly in Norway, without the initial approval of their government.

We did it in a way, exactly the opposite way of what it was done in Washington. We did not put proposals on the table. We said we would facilitate, bring the parties together, be go-between, assist them in any way, saying 'Its your problem, you have to resolve it yourself. We dont want to push anything on you.' And number two, we set up the delegations, should never exceed three persons on each side, because trust is dependent on personal relationships and to build personal relationships. And then we also insisted that they should live in the same house. They should have all meals together; breakfast, lunch and dinner. When there were breaks they could go for walks together, etc. They had to live together.

The sociologist was testing a theory. But playwright J.T. Rogers says the story behind OSLO is anything but a dry academic treatise. It was very clear that it was a thriller, because it was  the ticking clock is the dramatists friend. And the actors who play the Norwegian couple, Jennifer Ehle and Jefferson Mays, say thats how it feels every night.

We are continually surprised by this play; the doing of it," Mays said, "It feels like an ambush. We never know exactly whats going on or" Ehle jumps in to add, "or whats coming next." Both actors say they continually refer to the script. Mays says, "Theres something about doing this play that feels like a wild improvisation.

Rogers says he wanted to explore the intersection of the personal with the political. The hope was to make a political play in the Greek sense of that word; a play about the public and the larger ideas about who we are, as human beings and as nations. And how do we go forward and how do we live, with our enemies and with ourselves?

Rd-Larsen says OSLO suggests an answer, one as relevant today as it was two decades ago. If you bring the right toolbox and handle the tools the right way, there are also possibilities today, because there is one similarity with the situation at the time of Oslo and the time of today; that is, that everything looks impossible. And sometimes the impossible is easier to do than the possible. If you have resilience and are persistent, you can do things that nobody believes is possible.

And critics and audiences have responded to that message; the off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center is sold out, and it was just announced that OSLO will move to Broadway next spring.
The Brazilian Senate has voted to begin the impeachment trial of embattled President Dilma Rousseff, a move that could officially hand over power to her former vice president  current interim president  Michel Temer.

Senate debate stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning, but the results were clear-cut, with a 59 to 21 majority voting in favor of moving forward with the impeachment proceedings. The Senate needed just a simple majority to decide on taking Rousseff to trial, but a two-thirds majority will be needed in the final vote, which will come after the trial in late August.

The Senate suspended Rousseff in May after allegations emerged that she illegally fudged the numbers on the countrys budget to make it seem like a slump in the economy wasnt as bad as it actually was during her 2014 re-election campaign. Throughout the impeachment process, Rousseff has maintained that she did nothing wrong and called it a coup.

Rousseff has denied she broke budget laws and maintains she is the victim of a right-wing conspiracy to overthrow her government that advanced the interests of Brazil's poor.

In her written defense last month Rousseff said Brazilians knew an honest woman was being put on trial and she called the impeachment proceedings a "farce" and her alleged crimes no more than "routine acts of budgetary management."

Her conviction would end her 13-year reign over Brazil, and leave the largest economy in Latin America in the hands of her conservative former vice president.

Since the Senate suspended Rousseff on May 12, Brazils stock market and currency have strengthened based on investor speculation that Temer, who has laid out policy proposals that favor private business, will be better for the economy.

Temer has implored the Senate to move quickly, saying that the "people need to know who the president is."

If Rousseff is found guilty, Temer will become the president until the next election is held in 2018.
The images from the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro have been strikingly beautiful. But underlying all that beauty is great turmoil as Brazil is in the grip of a crippling political and economic crisis. Ordinary Brazilians are feeling the pinch, especially those who live in the Rio slums called "favelas."

Huberto Sousa spent most of his life renting beach chairs to tourists on Copacabana beach. Then in October 2010 he decided to open a bar in the favela of Cantagalo, where he was born and raised.

I always wanted to work for myself rather than to work for others because I am lazy and I dont want a boss getting on my nerves. And this way I would be able to choose my own hours and earn my own money instead of earning it for someone else, said Sousa.

Known in the neighborhood as the king, Hujberto opened the Kings Castle and business took off.

2010 was a unique moment in Brazilian history. The economy was booming and many Brazilians moved out of poverty and into the middle class. Between 2003 and 2013, the median household income grew 87 percent in real terms. But the good times didnt last.

The good times were when the middle class people from down there would come and socialize with people from the favela, and it was cool because it was a mix of those people. That was the best time, but it started to drop off about 2014. And people would say they dont have the money, said Sousa.

Brazils economy hit a wall. Some blame rising debt and cuts in government spending. Others think of it as a convergence of economic forces  cuts in spending, consumption and investment.

Blame aside, Brazilian economist Rodrigo Magalhaes said the impact was felt hardest among people who had recently moved up into the middle class.

When the recession began it broke the expectation of these people because in the last 10 years they had seen the situation getting steadily better and then it all collapsed, said Magalhaes.

Public services like hospitals and public schools also have been hit hard. At the Amaro Cavalcanti school in Rio, the sign on the gate says The struggle has only just started.

Across Brazil, teachers like Fabiola Camargo have been on strike. And students have been occupying schools for weeks.

We have not had a raise since 2014. The occupations are supporting the strikes just as much as the strikes are supporting the occupations because they both were wanting improvements in education. It is as if the federal government and the city of Rio wants to stop investing in schools," said Camargo.

Unemployment in urban areas is reaching 8 percent and Brazil's GDP is expected to dip another 2 percent this year. Economists dont see any quick solution - a reminder that while the favela Cantagalo may have a beautiful ocean view, the outlook isnt always pretty.
Recent clashes in northern and central Mali are hampering the deployment of humanitarian assistance, leaving vulnerable populations with limited or no access to health care, food, water and shelter.

While non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, can access most areas, banditry and continued attacks on roads slow down operations while posing a threat to humanitarian staff, says Badjougue Dambele, humanitarian coordinator for Oxfam.

The security situation remains extremely volatile, he said. Following the signing of the peace agreement last year, we were hoping for an improvement. Instead, we saw the situation deteriorate with clashes erupting not only in Kidal, but in other regions as well."

The conflict between the northern separatist and pro-government militias has fractured into inter-communal violence.

Last year, the number of hostile incidents targeting aid organizations increased threefold compared to the previous year, according to the U.N. humanitarian office OCHA.

Radical groups use improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, to mine roads, and while they are mainly targeting Malian and international troops, they limit access for NGOs as well.

Food is also regularly stolen, mostly by bandits. Criminality is the biggest risk for humanitarian agencies operating in the region, says Muriel Tschopp, country director of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

"We are targeted very regularly for car theft and so on, Tschopp said. It's usually non-violent, but it makes operations difficult."

Violence

Since July 21 in the far northern town of Kidal, fighting between groups loyal to the Bamako government and separatists killed more than 30 people and injured 82 others.

A week earlier, violent protests in the northern city of Gao killed at least two civilians. The protests mirrored some of the population's disappointment with authorities over the lack of improvement since 2013, when the north was retaken from occupying Islamist militants.

These are also the regions with the most vulnerable populations, says Come Niyongabo of Doctors Without Borders, or MSF.

Food insecurity is chronic. And as this lean season wraps up ahead of the next harvest, close to one-third of the population in northern Mali is struggling to have enough to eat.

"When the fighting broke out in Kidal, we had just started a malaria prophylaxsis campaign for children under five years, Niyongabo said. The violence forced us to stop our operations and focus on treating injured."

Interference

While MSF has resumed operations, NGOs working in the Kidal and Menaka regions that are largely controlled by armed groups say they are constantly forced to negotiate access to villages and vulnerable communities, slowing down operations.

"Imagine you have an injured person in a village that needs to be evacuated and you have to negotiate access before going into that village, said Barthelemy Brou Saoure of the International Committee of the Red Cross. In that case, the insecurity does not only affect us, but also the people we are here to help."

In urban centers, such as Gao and Timbuktu, the situation has improved.

However, continued insecurity outside the cities prevents NGOs from addressing poverty and other long-term issues, such as unemployment.

And funding for emergency response in Mali has continued to fall since 2013. Current funding covers only one-third of the activities in the humanitarian response plan for Mali in 2016, according to OCHA.
South Africa faces a political dilemma after opposition parties finally loosened the African National Congress' iron grip on South African politics in last week's local government elections.

In 26 cities, including Johannesburg and Pretoria, the black-dominated ANC, the white-dominated Democratic Alliance, or DA, and the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, or EFF, failed to win a majority.

That means the parties, which in the past have battered and bruised each other's images, have to find a way to cooperate.

So far, that isn't happening. DA leader Mmusi Maimane says his party needs coalition partners, but the ANC is not an option.

"We are clear that when we spoke about change, we meant we wouldn't work with the ANC, Maimane said. I will only work in any coalition that says firstly, can we deliver for the people? Is it a non-racial movement? Is it based on the rule of law? Will it create work for the people of that city? Will it ultimately make sure services are better and improved, and that there will be no corruption?"

EFF leader Julius Malema has also ruled out the ANC.

"We are not prepared to speak to the ANC or engage in any form of coalition with the ANC," he said.

The election results seem to put the EFF in the kingmaker's role in some areas. In Pretoria, for instance, the DA won 43 percent of the votes, the ANC won 41 percent, and the EFF took 12 percent. The EFF's share is enough to give either the DA or ANC the lead role in a majority coalition.

Given the history and the tension among the parties, independent analyst Piet Croucamp sees only a couple of workable combinations.

"The likeliness of a coalition, for instance, between the DA and the ANC is very, very small, Croucamp said. It's possible, but very, very small. It will always be most likely between say the ANC and very small parties, or the ANC and the EFF."

And given a choice, he says, the ANC and the DA will not consider a partnership with the EFF, whose leader, Malema, is known for fiery, controversial speeches.

"Both the ANC and the DA will not necessarily consider the EFF as a reliable partner because they have seen in the past that they could use destructive means of gaining political influence, Croucamp said. So both the ANC and the DA will do everything they can to avoid having a coalition with the EFF."

Parties have until August 20 to conclude negotiations, or run minority governments.

It's anyone's guess how the negotiations will turn out, but one thing is certain: A new kind of politics has begun in South Africa.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has escalated his criticism of President Barack Obama's policies in Iraq and Syria, accusing Obama of being what he called "the founder" of the Islamic State terror group. Democratic leaders contend Trump will say anything to get news coverage. Jeff Custer reports from Washington.
Will they decide to "make America great again" or are they with her?

Voters in this predominantly white, working-class city of 77,000, set in a region buffeted by manufacturing losses, might readily align this November with presidential nominee Donald Trump for the Republicans protectionist stance on trade. Or, given the states tradition of supporting Democrats, they could hew to Hillary Clinton, who also has family ties here.

Bob Bolus is not shy about who he wants as America's next president.

"I have a strong belief in Donald Trump," he said. "Trump's a leader; ISIS will be no more. Countries that pushed us around like North Korea, they're not going to push anymore."

From "Make America Great Again" to "Build a Wall," Trump's campaign slogans adorn Bolus' semitrailer, which he has parked outside Trump, Sanders and Clinton rallies across the United States.

The Scranton businessman says he supports the Republican candidate because he wants a different America  one in which the borders are closed and imports are banned.

"We are going to have a balance in trade. Trucks like this will be running all over the United States again, dealing with American-made products in America, not from some foreign-made product in a foreign country," Bolus said, standing next to his trailer in a Scranton parking lot.

Disaffected blue-collar voters

The sentiment is not uncommon among white working-class voters in northeast Pennsylvania, says Muhlenberg College political science professor and Scranton native Christopher Borick.

A recent Franklin and Marshall College poll shows Trump leads 53 to 31 percent over Clinton among non-college-educated whites in the state.

"They feel threatened because of the loss of their jobs," Borick said. "They might feel, when they weave that together in the narrative, that some of that is because of trade deals or immigration  people taking their jobs."

This group is partly why Pennsylvania is considered a battleground state. Disaffected workers, like Borick, are believed to have the potential to swing the former manufacturing state to the right.

Residents of northeast Pennsylvania have seen companies close their factory doors and move operations to Mexico, as Thomson Consumer Electronics did in 2001.

Marty Coar Sr. steps out of his family restaurant, Two Brothers Pizza, in neighboring Dunmore Borough and points to an empty lot next door.

"This used to be a dress factory. My mother actually worked there," Coar said.

He remembers a time when industry was bustling in the Scranton area, before trade agreements took jobs elsewhere, he says.

"I could take you to 10 factories that are within 10 miles [16 kilometers] of here that are gone, because I used to pick up a lot of the garment industry. I was a truck driver," he said.

Democratic stronghold with Clinton roots

While the demographics may favor Trump, he will have to overcome the state's historically Democratic voting record.

Democrats have won the last six straight presidential elections at Pennsylvania ballot boxes. The state has not swung Republican since 1988, when George H. W. Bush won here.

"The long roots, the Democratic strength  that is something that does not erode overnight," political analyst Borick said. "When you add on the local dimension with Hillary Clinton and her family from here, it's going to make it hard for Donald Trump to necessarily come in and just sweep an area."

Clinton's family ties

Clinton's father, Hugh Rodham, was born in Scranton. Her grandfather worked at the Scranton Lace Co., which closed its doors in 2002. And the Democratic candidate spent many childhood summers in northeast Pennsylvania.

Scranton restaurateur Paul Cooper remembers the day in 1993 he met Hillary Clinton and her husband, then-newly elected President Bill Clinton.

"She couldn't be any nicer to me. As far as I am concerned, they were really nice people. They seemed really down to earth, really nice people," Cooper said, pointing to a framed photo of the Clintons and restaurant chefs on the wall.

The Clintons hosted a gathering at Cooper's Seafood House restaurant 23 years ago, following the funeral of Hillary's father, who is buried in Scranton.

The Democratic presidential candidate will likely highlight her roots, as she has in the past, during a campaign stop next Monday in the city, alongside Scranton native and Vice President Joe Biden.

During Clinton's last visit to the area in April, Marty Coar Jr., who now runs Two Brothers Pizza, made what he called a "Madam President" pizza topped with hot sauce.

His daughter was invited to meet the Democratic presidential candidate after the rally at Dunmore High School.

"How many 12-year-old girls from Dunmore, whose father made a pizza, get to meet someone of that stature?" the younger Coar asked. "I mean, she is a brilliant woman, she is smart. So, if you are a young girl, that shows you can do something with your life."

The pizzeria owner says he understands why some in the state may be leaning toward Trump, remaining loyal to Clinton or simply disaffected by either candidate's campaign promises of change.

For his part, Coar does not want to talk politics, but he has a message for any politician who will listen.

"Worry about the working people," he said. "We are the people that make America great. Not Trump, not Hillary. It's the people."
Whether vowing to build walls or break down trade deals, Donald Trump swept the U.S. presidential primaries and won the Republican nomination largely by appealing to white working-class voters in the United States. VOA correspondent Aru Pande traveled to northeast Pennsylvania, a traditionally Democratic industrial state, where she found voters leaning toward Trump with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
The death toll from weekend protests in Ethiopia has climbed to nearly 100, by some accounts. Hundreds of people have also reportedly been arrested and many have been injured.



Protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions on Saturday and Sunday left dozens dead and hundreds injured. Amnesty International puts the number of fatalities at 97.



Opposition parties and human rights groups say Ethiopian security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters who were unarmed and peaceful.



The government tells a different story, saying some protesters carried lethal weapons, including explosives, and that the opposition was organizing unauthorized protests by forces of violence.





Different grievances



Despite their simultaneous demonstrations, the Oromo and Amhara do not have the same grievances, says Fisseha Tekle, a human rights researcher at Amnesty Internationals regional office.



In Oromia region, the immediate cause for the protest was about the master plan, that expanded the border of the city to Oromia. And in Amhara region, it is about the unrest of the five members of the Wolqait Identity and Self-Determination Committee. These are the immediate causes that have sparked the demonstration and the opposition rallies.



In the Oromia region, people began protesting in November 2015 against a government master plan that would annex parts of their land to Addis Ababa, the capital city. The plan was officially put on hold, but people have still been demonstrating. In the weekend violence, Amnesty International says at least 67 people were killed in 12 cities and towns.



In the Amhara region, reports suggest at least 30 people were killed in the capital, Bahir Dar, over the weekend. The opposition had cancelled a planned rally after saying officials did not give authorization, but protesters still came out to support the Oromia people and ask the government to address local issues.



One grievance had already surfaced in July, when security forces tried to arrest a leader of the Wolqait Identity and Self-Determination Committee on alleged terrorism charges.



The Wolqait administrative district was formerly part of the Amhara region until 1991, when the ruling party took charge. In subsequent years, it has demanded reintegration.



Fred Nyabera works with child anti-poverty group Arigatou International. He believes that the common bond between the Oromo and the Amhara is their inability to express the grievances to the government.



I think partly, according to my thinking, is that theres been a shrinking space for civil society organizations and alternative voices in Ethiopia generally. And people might have different grievances but they dont have a place to air it out, he said.

Coming together



Awol Allo, a fellow in human rights at the London School of Economics, says that the groups are now starting to come together, after historically being pitted against one another.



But what really happened over the course of the last one year is that people on both sides tried to come together and sort out the things that prevent them from having a conversation with one another so there are already very interesting expressions of solidarity between the Oromos and the Amharas, said Allo.



But no one, including Amnestys Fisseha Tekle, is quite sure what the future will hold.



It depends on the government. If the government is going to let the people demonstrate, and express their opinion, the situation will kind of improve. If the government is going to continue the use of excessive force, the situation will remain dire or it may even degenerate, said Fisseha Tekle,



The government continues to warn against protests, which it says could lead to destabilization.


Its not often that a major ally calls the next potential United States president sickening, but that indeed was how French President Francois Hollande described the excesses of Republican candidate Donald Trump just a week ago.

In neighboring Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is striking a more diplomatic note, saying merely she is following the U.S. campaign with interest.

But German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls Trump a hate preacher, while Italys Prime Minister Mateo Renzi has placed his bets squarely on Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

If the presidential campaign is polarizing America, it is also riveting Europe.

Mainstream leaders are following every dramatic and often unscripted Trump turn on issues such as NATO, nuclear weapons and immigration with concern and even fear, analysts say, even as populist parties are cheering his run.

People are kind of stuck as slightly horrified spectators, said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the London-based Centre for European Reform. Hoping that it turns out all right, but not having much influence over the outcome.

Low confidence in Trump

A June poll by the Washington-based Pew Research Center found just 9 percent of Europeans had confidence in a Trump presidency, compared to 59 percent for Clinton, a known quantity here after her years as secretary of state.

Clintons chief handicap among U.S. voters, a popular perception she cannot be trusted, doesn't necessarily resonate in Europe. In France, for example, allegations of scandal have not stopped politicians such as former President Nicolas Sarkozy from eyeing another run for office.

I dont think trust is an issue so much in France as it is in the United States, said Paul Godt, a former political science professor at the American University of Paris.

Europes parliamentary system also means voters tend to back parties, he says, rather than individuals.

After years of diplomacy, Clinton holds an advantage when it comes to European leaders.

Many probably found her to be a reliable, steady interlocutor, analyst Bond said. From that perspective, the trust issue is a much bigger hurdle for Trump in terms of future relationships with allies, than it is for Clinton.

Defense

That is especially the case when it comes to defense.

Trumps nuclear stance, questioning why nuclear weapons cannot be used and suggesting new countries such as Japan and South Korea should adopt them, has sparked unease in a region haunted by its Cold War past and recent terrorist strikes.

Eastern European countries, in particular, reacted strongly to his suggestion the United States may not defend NATO allies who dont pay their fair share," not to mention his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the benefits of closer U.S.-Russian ties.

Recent remarks by a key Trump ally, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who described Estonia as a suburb of Saint Petersburg, have not helped.

This really adds to the sense that something horrendous has happened to the Republican Party. This is not the party of Ronald Reagan standing in Berlin and saying, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,'  analyst Bond said. Its not the party of George H.W. Bush dealing with the consequences of the Cold War.

Trump has also criticized Germanys refugee policy that saw the country take in nearly 1 million asylum-seekers last year, and predicted Merkel would not win reelection.

The German leader has offered a low-key response, telling reporters she did not want to wade into the American debate. But Foreign Minister Steinmeier has been more outspoken, accusing Trump of fear-mongering.

Trump has also ruffled feathers in the Britain, where the British parliament debated whether to ban him from entering the country, and its new foreign minister, Boris Johnson, described him earlier this year as unfit to be president.

Past leaders sparked concern

To be sure, the American business titan is hardly the only U.S. candidate who has sparked European jitters.

Three decades ago, many saw Republican hopeful Ronald Reagan as just another Hollywood star, overlooking his two terms as Californias governor.

Eyeing the presidency in the 1990s, Democrat Bill Clinton was seen as an inexperienced Arkansan with an isolationist bent. Barack Obama, too, had little experience when he ran for the job eight years ago, as a mere junior senator from Illinois.

Europeans have long considered Americans quite naive when it comes to politics, Godt said. So I dont think that having someone unqualified running for president bothers them very much.

Even so, Trump stands out, Godt and others say, with his rhetoric about immigration and Muslims resonating with populists on both sides of the Atlantic.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has built border walls to keep out illegal migrants, has described him as an "upstanding candidate. Far-right politicians in the Netherlands and France also praise him.

"What appeals to Americans is that he is a man free from Wall Street, from markets and from financial lobbies and even from his own party," French National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who is eyeing her own presidential run, told Valeurs Actuels magazine, adding that if she were American, she would vote for Trump.

No wonder, perhaps, that some of the harshest anti-Trump rhetoric is coming from Hollande.

The French president faces reelection next year and is battling abysmal ratings and Le Pens sizeable appeal. His excesses make you want to retch, Hollande told French reporters of Trump.

The last thing Hollande wants is Trumps anti-Muslim views to become respectable, because they rather parallel the sorts of things the National Front has to say, analyst Bond said. The language may not be the same, but the appeal is.
The sound of battle has long gone. But the ghosts remain in Ukraine's Independence Square, where more than two years ago police and protesters clashed for weeks amid acrid black fumes billowing from burning tires.

In Ukraine's Maidan where sniper rounds once cracked, there are now foreign tourists. Where 53 people were slain either with clean shots by expert marksmen or gunned down at closer range by less skillful assassins, there are now snaking lines of school kids visiting from other Ukrainian cities.

The kids listen in various states of indifference or interest to the guides explaining the events that led to the ouster of President Vladimir Putin's satrap Viktor Yanukovych.

That ouster triggered the Russian land-grab of Crimea and what Ukrainian and Western officials say is Moscow-fomented separatism in the country's mainly Russian-speaking eastern region of Donbas.

For all of the calm now in Maidan, Ukrainian officials fear the Kremlin is limbering up for another destabilizing offensive in the east. They say it is part of Moscow's hybrid war involving dirty tricks and misinformation to snap Ukraine back into the Russian orbit and prolong a state of uncertainty to hinder the government in Kyiv from accomplishing the political reforms Maidan protesters demanded.

Mounting tensions

And tensions are increasing, not only in the Donbas but on the Ukraine-Crimea frontier following the off-and-on closure over the weekend of all three border crossings by Russia. Kyiv accused Moscow on Tuesday of stepping up military activity on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 within weeks of Yanukovych's fall. More helicopter gunship sorties reportedly are being flown along the border, as well as surveillance drone flights.

Ukraine's general staff is reinforcing units in Kherson, the Ukrainian region bordering Crimea, and residents say they have spotted anti-tank rocket launchers being transported by Ukrainian forces.

The Russians also are building up in Crimea. The deputy chairman of the outlawed Crimean Tatars' Mejlis, or council, Nariman Dzhelalov, wrote on his Facebook page August 7: "Witnesses report that large groups of Russian military hardware have been massed near Armyansk and Dzhankoy [in northern Crimea]."

On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service claimed it had thwarted an armed Ukrainian incursion into Crimea that aimed to sabotage critical infrastructure. The FSB said a Russian soldier and an intelligence employee had been killed in clashes, and a group of Ukrainian saboteurs had been arrested.

That drew a curt denial from Yuriy Tandit, an adviser to Ukraine's security service SSU. "Ukraine is not trying to regain Crimea by force," he said.

The mounting tensions along Ukraine's border with Crimea coincide with a weeks-long uptick in fighting in the Donbas, where a Ukrainian soldier was killed Monday and five others wounded.

To the outside world, the confrontation in the Donbas is another one of Moscow's "frozen conflicts" subverting former Soviet countries on Russia's periphery, such as Georgia and Moldova, and blocking them from moving on from their Communist pasts  and, in Ukraine's case, from joining Western institutions.

Frozen isn't how it feels for Ukrainians living or fighting in the east more than two years after pro-Moscow separatists seized government buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk, and 18 months since Ukraine and Russia concluded an armistice, known as Minsk 2.

Rising violence, civilian deaths

U.N. officials worry at the rising civilian casualty toll: in June, 57 people were wounded and a dozen killed. Last month, eight civilians were killed and 65 injured.

Monitoring groups suspect the numbers of civilian casualties are higher. July was an especially deadly month for Ukraine's military, with 42 soldiers killed and 181 wounded.

Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, a spokesman for Ukraine's presidential administration, says that from Sunday to Monday, pro-Moscow separatists launched 47 attacks on Ukrainian positions; more than 50 attacks were recorded Monday to Tuesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Ukraine for the jump in fighting, claiming he is "seriously concerned" about the escalating violence.

Some Ukrainian officials worry the increased violence is a prelude to full-scale fighting and the world may be witnessing the start of another land-grab launched by Russia during an Olympics. They point out it was during the Winter Olympics in the southern Russia city of Sochi in 2014 that Putin and his generals planned the annexation of Crimea.

Something bigger

Other analysts and Ukrainian officials suspect what is happening in Donbas is part of a two-year destabilizing pattern that has seen a rise in provocation, only to be followed by a period of quiet. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) accuse both sides of violating the cease-fire.

Motuzyanyk told VOA that Kyiv is only responding to Moscow-directed provocation. He says the separatist and Russian forces number 45,000 on Ukrainian territory, a mixture of local recruits, former Russian servicemen and current Russian military.

And he argues the separatists' political leaders are "just puppets and have no say about what happens." He adds, "The military forces are commanded directly by Moscow."

The Ukraine spokesman says, "It is disappointing to see the Russians using heavy artillery again. It is summer now and it easier to move vehicles and to launch military actions. And there is a huge possibility we might see something bigger, but we have large forces along the contact line. And in order to breach it, they would have to amass even more forces."

Both sides appear readying for that "something bigger" by redeploying forces.
The first U.S. ambassador to Somalia in 25 years has arrived in Mogadishu and presented his credentials to the Somali government.

Ambassador Stephen Schwartz, who met Tuesday with Foreign Affairs Minister Abdisalam Omar Hadliye, is tasked with helping Somali officials stabilize the country after decades of civil war and the al-Shabab insurgency.

"The appointment of an ambassador to Somalia is a sign of the strong bonds between the two countries," Schwartz said after the meeting. "... I am pleased to have this opportunity to help the people of Somalia build a peaceful nation with a stable democratic government."

Schwartz praised Somalia's progress over the last eight years and urged Somali's leaders to deepen their commitment to improving the lives of Somali people, including women and youth, according to a statement from the Somali Foreign Ministry.

Why US closed embassy in 1991



State collapse is the main reason for the long U.S. diplomatic absence from Somalia. In 1991, the U.S. embassy in Mogadishu closed after the regime of Mohamed Said Barre was overthrown and violence erupted between warring clan militias.

In late 1992, President George H.W. Bush deployed U.S. troops to Somalia to support a U.N. aid mission aimed at relieving mass starvation. But 10 months later, 18 American soldiers were killed in Mogadishu by rebels who shot down two U.S. helicopters, in the "Black Hawk Down" incident. The United States withdrew its troops the next year.

After two decades of war and chaos, it was only in 2012 that Somalia achieved some measure of stability with the creation of an internationally-backed government.

Security issues remain



But security remains a problem, as the militant group al-Shabab continues to launch attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere, a situation noted by the new envoy.

On Tuesday, Somali leaders ended a meeting in Mogadishu aimed at making final preparations for the upcoming elections.

Leaders endorsed a new timetable announced by the Somali Federal Electoral Implementation Team (FEIT) that sets October 30 as the date for presidential election.

Lawmakers will elect the president, after officials agreed it was not possible to hold one-person one-vote elections across the still-volatile country. President Hassan Mohamud has said he will seek re-election.
Her father was born there and she spent her summers there as a child. Now, just weeks after accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton will return to the northeastern city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on August 15 to campaign alongside Scranton native, Vice President Joe Biden. VOA correspondent Aru Pande travels to this traditionally Democratic stronghold where Clinton hopes to tap into her roots to win votes in November.
Indian human rights activist Irom Sharmila has ended a 16-year hunger strike, vowing to continue her fight against a law that grants military immunity by entering politics.

Sharmila broke her fast in front of reporters Tuesday by licking honey from her hand. "I will never forget this moment," she said.

Earlier on Tuesday, a judge granted her bail after she assured him that she planned to resume eating.

The rights activist had been hospitalized and force fed through a tube in her nose after beginning her strike in November 2000.

She said she plans to run for office in the next elections in the remote northeastern state of Manipur, where she is from.

Sharmila began her fast after security forces, given wide powers under the immunity law, killed 10 people in the state, which has been long plagued by violent government crackdowns and separatist violence.

"I will use everything that I have for the positive change of the society," Sharmila said. "The foremost thing will be the removal of this draconian law."

She was charged with attempting suicide, which is a crime in India.

Her decision to end the protest comes as the federal government has asked its security forces to exercise restraint in responding to protests in the disputed Kashmir region. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act gives forces the right to kill suspected rebels without fear of prosecution and detain militants without warrants.
The lawyer of prominent Iranian journalist says a court has sentenced his client to three years in prison on charges of insulting authorities and spreading propaganda against the ruling system.

Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his client, Isa Saharkhiz, who was detained in November, can appeal the verdict within the next 20 days.



The lawyer says the verdict was announced on Monday and that Saharkhiz got two years for insulting authorities and one year for spreading propaganda.



Saharkhiz was recently hospitalized because of a heart problem. His detention came amid a campaign that saw the arrests of other cultural figures critical of Iran's clerical system.



Saharkhiz had been released in 2013 after serving nearly five years in prison on similar charges.
Two soldiers in Ivory Coast have been sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with a deadly al-Qaida attack in the beach resort town of Grand-Bassam last March.

Late Thursday  the same day the trial opened  a military court in Abidjan found Zanga Zoumana Coulibaly and Brice Toure guilty of criminal conspiracy and failing to report a suspected terrorist to police.

The charges against them stemmed from their meeting with Assane Barry, also known as Sam, who is suspected of having been the driver of the car that al-Qaida operatives used to carry out the terrorist attack in Grand-Bassam that left 19 people dead.

The soldiers argued they were innocent and said they didnt know that Barry was involved in terrorist activities. Barry is still awaiting his own trial.

The soldiers' attorney, Raoul Gohi Bi, denounced the sentencing of his clients as illogical, since Barry hasnt yet been convicted of terrorism activities.

Im going to appeal this decision because I want it overturned with the highest rigor by the Supreme Court, the attorney said.

Ivorian authorities have arrested more than 80 people in connection with terrorist attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast over the past year. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb has claimed responsibility for all three attacks.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will travel next week to Serbia and Kosovo, where the government recently named a highway after one of the vice president's sons.

Beau Biden, who died May 30, 2015, of brain cancer at age 46, served a stint in 2001 as an interim legal adviser in post-war Kosovo.

In June, the Kosovo government decided to name a segment of the Gjilan-Ferizaj road that leads to Bondsteel, the American military base in Kosovo, after Beau Biden.

The White House, which announced on Tuesday the vice president's Aug. 15-17 visit to the Balkan countries, said Joe Biden would also hold meetings with each country's president and prime minister. The statement did not say what subjects would be discussed.

In March, Biden met with Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga at the White House, where he thanked Jahjaga for her "efforts to counter violent extremism and her leadership in strengthening Kosovo's democracy."

Last November, Biden traveled to Croatia to discuss the influx of migrants, energy issues and the fight against terrorism with Croatian officials and European Council President Donald Tusk.
Kenyas government made maternal health care free in 2013. The goal is to save lives by encouraging more women to deliver their babies in hospitals. But some women say they arent satisfied with the quality of care and they are returning to traditional birth attendants.

In 2013, Kenya had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world - 488 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the Ministry of Health.



The most common causes of maternal death in Kenya are hypertension and hemorrhage. Prenatal care and giving birth in an equipped medical facility are key to reversing that trend.



So Kenya made prenatal care and childbirth free in public hospitals nationwide.



Jacinta Omoro has had three children. She says she escaped death by a whisker delivering her second baby at her home in Nairobis Kibera Slum.

My first born, I went to a birth attendant. Everything well," said Omoro. "For my second baby, I also went to the same birth attendant. I gave birth but I bled a lot. For the third baby I decided to go to hospital and for clinics. When I went to hospital, I saw a very big difference. I honestly think its the safest.



Not all women have had the same experience.



Delivery stories



Four women are seated inside a house in Kibera. Among them is Mama Atoti, a local midwife. She delivered the babies of the three other women. But that was before 2013.



Now Benta Amolo is pregnant again and she is back.



Benta Amolo tells Atoti that the doctors sent her for a scan to see the babys position and she is worried. Her pregnancy is almost at term.

The other women nod and share stories. One says she had a safe delivery at a hospital in 2014 but the doctors there scared her.

Benta Amolo says the doctor told her to prepare to face the knife this time because her baby is breech so she came to Mama Atoti.



The room goes silent as Atoti asks her to lie on the bed.



She then uses her hands on Amolos belly to turn the baby to a head down position, a procedure known as external cephalic version.



This procedure is considered risky. In some countries, it is only performed at a hospital with fetal monitoring in case the umbilical cord is compromised, something that can immediately endanger the life of the baby.



Doctors in Kenya dont perform the procedure. When a baby is breech, they schedule a cesarean section, a surgical procedure to remove the baby at term, arguing that it is safer.



Obstetrician Dr. Andrew Toro says he knows some women still feel more comfortable with traditional birth attendants.

Some people who have come to hospitals have probably experienced rude staff either because of misunderstanding or maybe because of emotional or physical burnout so we are also trying to educate our staff to be kind and courteous because sometimes we can stigmatize the hospital by offering bad care because of poor relation," said Dr. Toro.



The Ministry of Health says since the introduction of free maternal care in 2013, public hospitals have reported a 50 percent increase in deliveries.

The question is: were they ready for such a rapid influx of patients?

Midwives vs hospital



The ministrys four-year strategy report released in 2014 indicates that they were not. The report points to the urgent need to fill a staffing gap in doctors and nurses in public hospitals by 2030.

Women who visit Mama Atoti say they prefer her bedside manner. She tells us she has been doing this for 36 years and has delivered over 3000 babies.



She says community midwives pamper and take care of women during and after delivery. She says we help them give birth with dignity. She says that is why women come back to her when they are having another baby.

But there have been close calls. She has had women brought to her in the middle of the night already bleeding profusely. She says she sends them immediately to the nearby hospital.

She also refers HIV-positive women to the hospital, but she says she knows not all women disclose their status to her. She says its a constant risk.


Farmers in Kenya's eastern and northern drylands have found a way to stay afloat as water becomes scarcer: cultivating catfish.

"This is my new source of income," said Sylvester Kinyori, 32, who operates a kiosk in Isiolo town where he sells fish products from local farmers who have turned to aquaculture.

Kinyori, who hails from Turkana, a pastoralist area in northeast Kenya, now earns a living from selling cooked fish fingers prepared from catfish fillets, eggs and bread.

Small-scale farmers started rearing fish here four years ago, after an aid agency introduced them to a simple way of trapping and storing rainfall run-off in what are known as "home dams".

The water is stored in reservoirs sunk in the grounds of a household compound, fitted with a thick polythene lining to stop it percolating away into the soil.

The technique was developed by members of the Yatta community in eastern Kenya who had teamed up to end their reliance on food aid, called "mwolio" in the local Kamba language.

After the success of "Operation Mwolio Out", in 2009 ActionAid Kenya decided to introduce home dams to hundreds more households in east and northeast Kenya.

These regions are semi-arid, sometimes receiving annual rainfall of less than 150 mm (5.91 inches). They have seasonal rivers, some of which flood for just a few hours after heavy rains, leaving women with no option but to dig deep into the riverbed to access the little water left under the sand.

Drying climate

A long-term analysis of Kenya's climate trends, published by the U.S. government in 2010, showed rainfall had declined in central food-producing areas since the 1960s.

And it predicted large parts of the country would experience a drop of more than 100 mm in long-season rainfall by 2025, along with a temperature rise of around 1 degree Celsius from 1975.

That underlines the importance of efforts to help farmers adapt to shifts in the climate.

When it rained in 2012 in the Kitui and Isiolo regions, some households managed to trap water in their home dams. They then decided to introduce young fish into the ponds.

John Njiru from Mashamba village in Mbeere explained that nearly all the farmers started with the African tilapia, which had been popularized across Kenya by the government as the best species for aquaculture on farms.

But the yields were disappointing, prompting a change in tactics when it rained again in 2014.

"We all went for the catfish species, given the fact that those who tried (it) in 2012 were not as disappointed as some of us who went for tilapia," said Njiru.

In 2015, those who enjoyed a good haul of catfish were motivated to invest more, so as to profit from the unusual September rains linked to the global El Nino weather phenomenon.

Njiru said the village experiment had shown catfish  which have distinctive whisker-like filaments around their mouths - could be more resilient to a harsh climate than tilapia, withstanding higher temperatures.

"We are happy because we can eat the fish, and sell it to generate income," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "It's my hope that fish farming in this region will stand the test of time given the tough and changing climatic conditions."

Mature catfish sell for KES 500 ($4.93) each at the local market. To hasten their growth, many farmers also breed tilapia to feed the catfish.

Breeding business

Meanwhile, growing demand for catfish fingerlings is spawning more business for local people. Rhoda Mwende from Kanyonga village in Mbeere South Sub-County has mastered the complex art of breeding and hatching the young fish.

The single mother of three, who just five years ago depended on food aid, sold 40,000 catfish fingerlings to local farmers after the September rains, earning her KES 400,000.

Following the long rainy season in April, she sold more than 80,000 fish, earning her over KES 800,000. She has bought 1.5 acres (0.61 hectare) of land with the proceeds, where she lives with her children and her mother.

Mwende has mastered the entire catfish breeding process - from injecting the female fish with hormones to stimulate egg production, to squeezing eggs out of the fish and removing semen manually from male fish to fertilize the eggs.

"It is amazing to see people who depended on food aid just a few years ago turn around their lives using an idea nobody had ever thought of," said Dinah Wambua, field officer for ActionAid in Makima, Mbeere.

The farmers harvest the fish from the home dams when water levels drop, and wait again for the next elusive rains before introducing new fingerlings.

A full-sized home dam - about 20 feet (6.1 m) square and eight feet deep - can provide water for an average family of eight for domestic use and irrigation for at least an acre of land for a year, according to Njue Njangungi, agricultural extension officer for Mbeere's Kyome Thaana ward.

Such a dam can also hold 1,000 catfish fingerlings. "Home dams are a double win for us," said Elizabeth Musyoka from Kithambioni village in Kitui, east of Nairobi.

"We now have water, and our children can enjoy a delicacy, which gives them an important protein they had always missed."
Turkish officials say at least eight people have been killed in twin attacks by Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey. The bombings Wednesday also wounded dozens more.

Rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, detonated a roadside bomb in the town of Kiziltepe, in Mardin province, killing three people and wounding at least 25, including at least five children.



At the same time, a car bomb explosion targeting police in a historic part of the city Diyarbakir killed at least five civilians and wounded 12 others.

Both bomb attacks were aimed at passing police vehicles but ended up killing mainly civilians.

The bombings came hours after an earlier attack, also blamed on the PKK, killed four soldiers and wounded nine others near the border with Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter offered condolences to the victims of the attacks in a statement expressing Washington's solidarity with Turkey in combating terrorist activity. Both countries consider the PKK a terrorist organization.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Turkish allies in strongly condemning these despicable attacks, which appear to have targeted Turkish security personnel," Carter said. "The United States remains committed to cooperating closely with Turkey," both in the coalition of nations fighting against Islamic State extremists in the region and within the NATO alliance.

Since hostilities with the PKK resumed last year, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Human rights groups say hundreds of civilians also have died.
Africa's Lake Tanganyika has more biodiversity than the Galapagos Islands. It is the worlds longest freshwater lake and is home to many of the colorful freshwater fish (called cichlids) that fill home aquariums. Hundreds of the species that call the lake home can only be found there.

But those species are being threatened by human activities. Commercial fishing practices are playing a role but the biggest threat has been around longer than the fisheries, according to a study in PNAS that threat is climate change.

Getting to the core

Lake Tanganyika, which laps the border of Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Zambia, provides anywhere from one-third to one-half of the animal protein that local villages need. Commercial fishing began in the lake in the 1950's, and now hauls in over 200,000 tons of fish a year. But in the 1990s, fishermen and local villages started noticing that the catch was declining.

There has been debate in academic circles whether overfishing or climate change is primarily responsible for the decline in fish populations seen over the last few decades. Past research has shown that the lake's surface water temperature has been increasing over the last 150 years. In an email to VOA, Jouko Sarvala, professor emeritus in the biology department at Finland's University of Turku, noted that although the temperature of the lake was rising, local fisheries reported an increase in their catches between the 1950s and 1970s. For the next two decades, the size of catches fluctuated in response to changes in fishery practices. It wasnt until the early 2000s that fishermen started noticing a clear decline.

In order to assess the impact of climate change on the fishery, a group of U.S. researchers extracted sediment cores from various locations in Lake Tanganyika. The layers of mud contain fossils which tell the story of rises and falls in fish populations. The researchers compared those shifts with temperature data that goes back 150 years.

They found the fluctuation of the fish population followed the natural warming and cooling cycles of the lake. But the researchers also saw a population decrease that followed the overall warming that began 150 years ago, around the Industrial Revolution. That indicated that the decline in fish had begun well before commercial fishing began in the area.



What this tells us is that the fish are responding primarily, not exclusively, [to climate change]. Fishing is certainly an important part of the equation and we have to take it into account when developing any management strategy but it ... really comes down to climate change, explains Andrew Cohen, a professor in the department of Geology at the University of Arizona and lead author of the study.

Sarvala acknowledges the study establishes, for the first time, a credible relationship between increasing lake temperature and decreasing fish populations, confirming that currently, both climate and fishermen are impacting the lake.

Habitat lost

Peter McIntyre, an associate professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who also participated in the study, estimated a 38% loss of habitat for the fish and snails in the lake. Thats a staggering loss and something that had not been documented before, he tells VOA.

Most of the aquatic life lives in a bathtub ring of biodiversity along the coasts or at the very bottom of the lake says McIntyre. This is because having a maximum depth of almost 1500 meters makes it difficult to disperse oxygen throughout the lake. Oxygen enters the surface water from the air and is usually mixed to depths of 100 meters by winds. The temperature of the water decreases as you go deeper into the lake meaning the water also becomes heavier as you descend. Climate change causes the outside temperature to rise also warming the surface water, making it lighter. The difference in density between the much lighter surface water that holds oxygen and the cold water that holds nutrients means the wind can't mix the water to normal depths. Oxygen doesnt go down as far and fish food doesnt come up.

Maybe oxygen was getting down to 100 meters in some places 50 years ago, now its only getting down to say 70 meters, Cohen explains. So, a lot of the bottom habitat where the water had been rich in oxygen where animals could live, its no longer usable habitat.

Global changes, local effects

The effects of climate change are visible on all scales, from the melting of ice sheets in the Arctic to mice going extinct because their habitat is underwater. Just like the polar bears and mice losing their ecosystems, the people who rely on the fish from Lake Tanganyika cannot do much to stop climate change, but theyre working on strategies to mitigate the effects.

Ismael Aaron Kimirei is a principal researcher and center director for the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TFRI). TFRI advises the Tanzanian government on all fishery related matters. Kimirei tells VOA in an email that their main concern is how to make changes in fishery management and affect policy so that this important source of protein remains accessible. The fisheries of the lake are open access. Basically anyone can go in and fish and there are no regulations in terms of how much one should fish, he explains. If the warming continues, and the fishing is not regulated, sustainability of the fisheries will be a riddle.

TFRI is working with other universities and organizations to study the effects of climate change on the lake and inform local communities and policy makers. Kimirei hopes that explaining the situation will get them involved in the decision making process. The fishery industry is the third most important economic activity in the Kigoma region and the lake is the major provider of protein for the country, he notes. However, we have noticed that most poor families now cannot afford a daily intake of fish protein as a result of hiking prices and reduced supply of the commodity.

Focusing on local communities is how Colin Apse, the freshwater conservation director for the Nature Conservancys Africa Program, is trying to increase their resilience. His efforts involve community based fishing organizations that promote sustainable fishing techniques such as fishing nets that let juvenile fish escape. Apse clarifies that even though climate change has been driving the fish decline longer, removing juvenile fish from the population and inundating coastal areas with sediment have had a larger impact in recent years. These are the threats they can focus on, he explains, while also recognizing that climate change is a driver that these local villagers cannot control.

I am happy that the [study] authors recognize that while climate change may be at the center of the decline, the increase in fishing effort cannot be ignored, says Kimirei. In view of these results, much darker days are expected if the lake continue[s] to warm and the fishing ... continue[s] unabated.
Thailands military is looking to extend its government oversight following Sundays referendum approving a new, junta-backed constitution, legal experts say. But, one adds, the vote didnt directly endorse military leadership.

The draft charter  which won 15 million of the 25 million votes cast, or 61 percent  strengthens the militarys influence. A controversial clause enables a military-appointed 250-member Senate to join with the lower houses 500 elected members in selecting a new prime minister in the next election.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said at a Tuesday press conference that a general election would be held in 2017. He reiterated the point in a nationally televised address Wednesday in which he also called for unity.

"I would like us to leave our differences, those feelings of like and dislike, acceptance or disagreement in the ballot boxes and walk forward," said the prime minister, who leads the National Peace Keeping Council (NCPO). "The referendum may be over but your mission and our mission is not over yet."

The referendum was the first to test public support since a May 2014 military coup led by the prime minister, the armys chief at the time. Sundays turnout was estimated at almost 60 percent. The government had tamped down opposition to the charter before the referendum.

The United States and European Union have called for an open election as soon as possible, and for unrestricted political debate leading up to it.

Thais last went to the polls in 2011 and elected the Pheu Thai Party, led by Yingluck Shinawatra. That government was ousted in 2014.

Assessing vote

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said Sunday's outcome highlighted voters desire to move to general elections.

It was not a direct endorsement for the legitimacy of the military government. But Thai people dont really vote for a document. They are used to voting for individuals. So the overall result suggests that people want to have their say at the polls. Its a way of going forward to the polls, towards elections.

Henning Glaser, a lecturer in law at Thammasat University, said the new constitution reflects a trend in Thailand of "anti-electoral" charters, similar to those in the United States and Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

"Thai constitutionalism is always or has always been fundamentally anti-electoral," Glaser said. "However, looking at this draft constitution we see a kind of radicalization of this anti-electoral stance."

The Pheu Thai Party opposed the charter. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva personally opposed the draft, leading to splits within his party.

Weak parties

Glaser said the main political parties, such as Pheu Thai and Democrat, also known as Phak Prachathipat, will be weakened under the new constitution.

"In terms of the election law, bigger parties will lose. This affects especially Pheu Thai and Phak Prachthipat parties, while middle-sized parties will relatively gain in elections, Glaser said.

We have a weak parliament consisting of weak politicians and political parties, which are highly fragmented. We will have a weak government, too," he said.

The 250-member appointed senate will include six military leaders and senior defense officials for at least five years.

We have very probably a government which will be represented by the powers supporting the government right now," Glaser said, predicting the power bloc would rule into 2017 "if theres no major interruption."

The latest charter is Thailands 20th since becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932 and the second written since May 2014. The first was voted down by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) last September.

Controlling power

Suchit Bumbongkam, a Chulalongkorn University professor of politics who collaborated in writing the earlier draft charter, said the military leaders will not relinquish power easily.

"They will continue to play a very vital role in setting up the government" and "overseeing national security issues," the professor said. "It might be possible that one of the leaders of the NCPO would be the prime minister."

Under Thailands current interim constitution, Prayuth replaced martial law, imposed soon after the May 2014 coup, with Article 44, a law granting the leader absolute power. Rights groups have described it as "draconian."

The law  and others enacted by the military since taking power  grants soldiers the power of arrest, prevents political gatherings of more than five people and allows for media censorship.

David Streekfuss, director of the Council on International Educational Exchange - Thailand, said such laws are expected to remain in place even after a new government comes to power.

"Hundreds of laws and announcements, directives  all remain legal ... even after an elected government " comes to power, Streekfuss said. "All these things that we see  the suppressing freedom of speech  will stay in play. So you get more than just a constitution by voting for this draft, youd get the NCPO forever and ever."

But analysts say voters were willing to let the military take a central role while Thailand undergoes a transition against the backdrop of the popular but ailing 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulaydej.

Chualonglongkorn Universitys Thitinan said many Thais are hoping the transition will be peaceful.

People "want to see some kind of peaceful and viable transition and thats why theyve cut some slack for the military," he said.
Increased U.S. airstrikes in Libya could be the start of an effort to smother the Islamic State terror group as it tries to cling to a key North African stronghold.

U.S. Africa Command announced eight new strikes Tuesday against IS positions in Sirte, a key coastal city that has served as a base for the terror groups operations.

The U.S. has now carried out a total of 28 airstrikes against IS as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning, which began August 1 following a request from Libyas Government of National Accord (GNA).

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told VOA that U.S. special forces are also in the area doing some coordination, though the official was unable to elaborate.

USAFRICOM spokesperson Robyn Mack said the U.S. effort is "limited to strikes and information sharing to support those strikes" at the request of the GNA.

"As we have said, U.S. personnel have periodically gone in and out of Libya to exchange information to strengthen the fight against ISIL in Libya and that will intensify under this new approach," Mack said.

Forces loyal to the GNA had been making solid progress against IS fighters, pushing them back into the center of Sirte before the advance started to encounter heavy resistance and began to stall.

But aside from the U.S. airstrikes, it remains unclear how much more help will be coming.

Waiting for GNA



The U.S., Britain and France have all had special forces on the ground in Libya in preparation for increased cooperation. But each country, as well as Italy, has pinned any additional help to specific requests from the new Libyan government.

We are keen to support the new Libyan government, a British official told VOA. So far they have made no such request."

The official also said British diplomats have been meeting more regularly with counterparts in the GNA in recent weeks. Still, there are no plans for British planes to join in the anti-IS airstrikes.

Another Western diplomatic official also acknowledged mixed signals from the GNA.

They are keen on having our support, the official said, adding the new Libyan government also wanted to make sure any help  even shared intelligence  would be low key in order to avoid any public backlash.

French special forces

Late last month, the death of three French special forces in a helicopter crash set off a series of Islamist-backed protests across Libya, prompting the GNA to summon the French ambassador.

Libyan officials may also have been emboldened by the initial success of the forces loyal to the GNA, which has cut the number of IS fighters in Libya from an estimated 6,000 to just 1,000, including several hundred still holed-up in Sirte.

Yet, there have been persistent concerns from U.S. and Western officials that Libyas new government will need help to eradicate the IS threat, and fears that a reticence to ask for that help could prove costly.

The Islamic State is definitely receding but it is far from over, the Western diplomatic official told VOA.

Daesh has surprised us before in its ability to move people, the official said, using the Arabic name for the terror group. Theres definitely a possibility that they see the fight is lost in Sirte and theyve gone somewhere else."
Local news media in Nigeria are reporting two new cases of polio on what would have been the country's two-year anniversary of being polio free.

Nigeria's Leadership newspaper reported Thursday that Nigeria's minister of health said a team is being sent to immunize children in Borno State, where the outbreaks have been reported.

The health minister, professor Isaac Adewole, called the development a setback, but said, "I can assure the nation that we will do everything possible to be on top of the situation," according the Leadership newspaper. The government is expected to release a further statement on the outbreak later Thursday.

The cases reportedly occurred in a state in Nigeria's north, where the insurgent group Boko Haram has been active. Last month, Doctors Without Borders issued a statement calling the health situation in Borno State "critical" with at least 500,000 people in urgent need of drinking water, food, medical care and shelter. The group called for a "massive relief operation" as the Nigerian army retook control of the main towns and villages, some of which had been under Boko Haram's sway for two years.
Myanmar authorities have launched an investigation into a reported threat by the Islamic State group to kill State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, state authorities say.



Media reports say the threat was communicated in a two-page letter titled IS Ancaman (IS Threat) sent to the Nilai police in Negeri Semblian, one of Malaysias 13 states that lies on the western coast of the country.

According to the Malaysiakini news website, the letter also threatened Malaysias Prime Minister Najib Razak and his deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, along with the countrys attorney general, Mohamed Apandi, and inspector general of police Khalid Abu Bakar.

Quoting the Malaysian Chinese-language China Press newspaper, the website reported that the letter contained photographs of Aung San Suu Kyi and the Malaysian leaders.



Zaw Htay, spokesperson for Myanmars president, told VOA that although Myanmar authorities have not received any official notification from Malaysian authorities, the government is analyzing and investigating the credibility and reliability of the sources.

The spokesperson added that security measures for Aung San Suu Kyi are being taken seriously and Myanmar authorities will not underestimate such security threats.

Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to visit Malaysia at the invitation of Prime Minister Razak. A date for the visit has not been announced yet.

IS has been trying to establish a presence in parts of East Asia. Last June, a Malaysian fighter in Syria was featured in an IS propaganda video, threatening security personnel, according to media reports.

Myanmar, a Buddhist majority country, had been under military rule. Last year, Aung San Suu Kyis National League of Democracy won an absolute majority in the countrys first openly contested elections since 1990.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has reaffirmed its committment to Turkey as a valued member of the 28 nation alliance in attempt to allay Turkey's concerns that it does not have the full support of the West.

"Turkey is a valued ally, making substantial contributions to NATO's joint efforts. Turkey takes full part in the alliance's consensus-based decisions as we confront the biggest security challenges in a generation," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said Wednesday in a statement.

Lungescu issued the statement in response to "speculative press reports" about last month's aborted coup in Turkey and Turkey's NATO membership. "NATO counts on the continued contributions of Turkey and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO," she said.

NATO released the statement one day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The meeting fueled speculation that Turkey's strong relationship with the West could be weakening.

Turkey, the second largest military power in NATO, is an important ally with the West as it confronts unprecendented levels of instability in the Middle East.

Erdogan has been extremely critical of the U.S. and the European Union (EU) for not being more supportive of Turkey after the failed coup attempt. He has also brushed aside warnings from the West to exercise restraint and to respect human and democratic rights as he executes a broad crackdown that has netted thousands of people.

But Lungescu reassured Erdogan NATO has not wavered in its support of Turkey.



"The NATO secretary-general spoke to the Turkish Foreign Minister on the night of the attempted coup and later with President Erdogan, strongly condemning the attempted coup and reiterating full support for Turkeys democratic institutions. He expressed support for the elected government of Turkey and respect for the courage of the Turkish people," said Lungescu.
A new batch of U.S. State Department emails from Hillary Clinton's earliest days as secretary of state in 2009 shows close connections between the country's top diplomatic agency and the charitable Clinton Foundation that she founded with her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Clinton, now the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and leading in her race against Republican Donald Trump, has long denied that donors to the charity, which funds humanitarian programs across the globe, had special access and influence at the State Department during her tenure there from 2009 to 2013.

Previously undisclosed emails released Tuesday by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group and frequent Clinton antagonist, show exchanges of emails between her aides and officials at the foundation.

In one instance, an executive at the foundation, Doug Band, emailed two Clinton aides, Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, asking for assistance connecting Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and top donor to the foundation, with someone at the State Department to discuss his interests in Lebanon.

"We need Gilbert Chagoury to speak to the substance person re Lebanon," Band wrote. "As you know, he's a key guy there and to us and is loved in Lebanon. Very imp."

Abedin responded, "It's jeff feltman," referring to Jeffrey Feltman, who was the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon at the time. "I'm sure he knows him. I'll talk to jeff."

Band asked Abedin to call Chagoury immediately if possible. "This is very important," Band wrote.

In another email, Band lobbied the Clinton aides for a State Department job for someone else. Abedin told him, "Personnel has been sending him options."

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said, "No wonder Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin hid emails from the American people, the courts and Congress. They show the Clinton Foundation, Clinton donors and operatives worked with Hillary Clinton in potential violation of the law."

The Clinton campaign said the emails did not relate to her work at the foundation before she became secretary of state.

The newly released emails are separate from the thousands of work-related emails that Clinton turned over to the State Department after she left office.

Those emails became the subject of a long-running investigation over whether she mishandled classified information on the emails that ran through an unsecured private email server she used as secretary of state rather than a more secure government email server. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation recently concluded that she was "extremely careless" with the national security material, but that no criminal charges were warranted.
The United States delivered 50 armored vehicles, 40 artillery pieces and 50 grenade launchers to the Lebanese army on Tuesday, part of its efforts to bolster Lebanon against a threat from militant groups in neighboring, conflict-ridden Syria.

The equipment, worth $50 million, is part of an aid package that has now topped $220 million this year, making Lebanon the fifth-biggest recipient of American military assistance, U.S. ambassador Elizabeth Richard said during the delivery.

Fighting between Islamic State and other Islamist militant groups in Syria often flares in the mountains along Lebanon's northern frontier and the violence has periodically spilled across the border.

Eight Islamic State suicide bombers targeted a Christian village in Lebanon near the Syrian frontier last month, killing five and raising fears of a new campaign of attacks.

Fighters from Islamic State and other groups also stage regular incursions across the poorly demarcated border around the northern Lebanese town of Arsal, which they briefly overran in 2014 before the army drove them out.

Lebanon has a weak government and a number of countries support its armed forces as a bulwark against destabilization in a country where around a quarter of the population are Syrian refugees.

This year Saudi Arabia, traditionally an important financial backer of the Lebanese state, suspended $3 billion in aid to the security forces over what it saw as growing closeness between Beirut and Iran, Riyadh's main regional foe.

Syria once dominated its smaller neighbor, whose own sectarian fissures fueled a 15-year civil war from 1975-90.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has fought alongside Syrian government forces in Syria's civil war since 2013.
The head of a Pakistan-based militant group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir has warned that his followers will storm the cease-fire line that divides the region unless New Delhi ends its current wave of violence against Kashmiris.

Syed Salahuddin, commander of the separatist Hizbul Mujahideen, or HuM, issued the warning Thursday while addressing an anti-India rally in Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistan-ruled part of the disputed Himalayan region.

He reiterated his call for Islamabad to cut all ties to New Delhi.

We will now have to announce and God willing practically cross the bloody line [the disputed Kashmir border] together with the entire population of Azaad Kashmir [Pakistani Kashmir] and mujahideen (holy warriors) as well as refugees [who have come from the Indian side] without fearing any restrictions, Salauhddin said. He did not announce a date.

Tens of thousands of residents of Indian Kashmir have for weeks defied a strict curfew and security crackdown to attend street protests over the killing of a 22-year-old HuM commander, Burhan Wani, by Indian government forces on July 8.

Since his death, clashes between stone-throwing Kashmiri youth and Indian security forces firing live ammunition, shotgun pellets and tear gas have left more than 55 civilians and two police officers dead.

Thousands of civilians have been injured and hospitals in Kashmir are overwhelmed while scores are threatened with blindness by pellets lodged in their eyes; but, the violence continues to paralyze life in Kashmir.

India regards Salahuddin, who also heads an alliance of 15 Kashmiri rebel groups called the United Jihad Council, or UJC, and his group as terrorists and blames Pakistan for fueling the recent unrest.

Islamabad denies the charges and maintains it provides moral and political support to Kashmiris. It has condemned the killing of Wani as an "extrajudicial murder" and consistently denounced the use of force against protesters as a "blatant violation of basic human rights."

Pakistans High Commissioner Abdul Basi in New Delhi was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday amid allegations that Pakistanis have been trained and instructed to carry out attacks in India and Kashmir.

Speaking at the weekly news conference in Islamabad Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria responded to the summoning of the Pakistani envoy in India and the confession by an alleged Pakistani national.

We have rejected the [Indian] allegations or claim of any infiltration across LoC. We have a very firm policy in this regard that we would not allow our soil to be used for any terrorist activity against anyone, Zakaria said.

A military cease-fire line called the Line of Control, or LoC, divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan and both claim the region in its entirety. The dispute has sparked two of the three wars between the two countries and remains at the center of bilateral tensions.

A major cause of the uprising is the resentment among Kashmiri youths who have come of age under an Indian security apparatus that acts against civilians with impunity, noted The New York Times in a July 21 editorial.

Kashmir is subject to Indias Armed Forces Special Powers Act, or Afspa, which grants the military wide powers to arrest, shoot to kill, occupy or destroy property. The result is a culture of brutal disdain for the local population, it said.

The newspaper emphasized the need for an independent investigation into the use of force by Indian security forces, saying that a failure to take such steps will only push more young Kashmiris into militancy, and make impossible a political solution that alone can end the desperation gripping the region.
The Pakistani government says it wants to introduce a new counter-extremism policy. But as Mondays bombing in Quetta shows, Pakistan has a long way to go to stop the carnage that has plagued the country, analysts say.

A new counterterrorism policy in Pakistan would be a good thing, but I worry it could just be window dressing that papers over the broader problem, Michael Kugelman, senior researcher at the Woodrow Wilson Center, told VOA.

Kugelman said that the militant extremism problem would not end if Pakistan continues to refuse to crack down on all forms of terrorism and all forms of terrorist groups.

Pakistans National Counter-terrorism Authority (NACTA), which monitors and proposes counter-extremism strategies, is in the process of forming a new national counter-extremism policy in the country, officials said. A national counter-extremism policy will be introduced within two months, NACTA chief officer, Ehsan Ghani told VOA.

School reforms



According to Ghani, the policy will propose new laws as well as amendments to some existing laws in the country. It would also propose reforms in the education sector, including the widespread Madrassa system, to change the mindset in the country so the people be tolerant.

But Peshawar-based defense analyst Saad Mohammad Khan, a retired military leader, said the new laws and policies cannot be effective if they are not properly enforced.

Extremism is everywhere in the society, Khan added in the interview with VOA. It is present in our houses, in our schools, offices, market...

Khan said that unless the entire education system is overhauled, extremist views would be nurturing even in the mainstream and secular schools.

Children are taught that we [Pakistanis] are better human beings than others, and that other people [nations] are anti-Islam, Khan told VOA. When those children grow up, most are paranoid which leads them towards extremism."

According to Khan, prominent members of the ruling Muslim League, which is not an Islamist party, have shown opposition to changing the current curriculum in Pakistani schools.

Experts say many madrassas in Pakistan have been a source of militancy in both Pakistan and in neighboring Afghanistan.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government was scathingly criticized last month for a $3 million grant it recently allocated to Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa, a controversial Islamic seminary that some critics call the University of Jihad.

Taliban sympathies



Headed by former senator Samiul Haq, the madrassa houses about 4,000 students and is widely known for links to, and publicly expressed sympathies for, the Taliban who are fighting local and U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan. That association has won the Islamic cleric the title of Father of the Taliban.

You also have an environment in Pakistan that enables extremism, said Kugelman. Networks of religious institutions and clerics as well as powerful victimization narratives that fuel the hardline ideologies that allow militancy to thrive.

I cannot imagine a new counterterror policy would do much to address this. The bottom line is that killing terrorists will not make terrorism go away, Kugelman said.

Anti-terror chief Ghani told VOA that under the governments National Action Plan, an action plan established in January 2015 to crackdown on terror networks in Pakistan, the government has taken a number of stern actions to counter extremism, including the closure of 98.4 million unregistered cellphone sim cards in the country. He acknowledged, however, that a number of terror and banned group leaders still appear on television channels in Pakistan to further their agenda.

US military aid

In Washington, the Pentagon has withheld $300 million in military aid to Pakistan because of insufficient action by Pakistan against the Haqqani terrorist network.

The U.S. congress has shown that it is unhappy with Pakistans continuing support for groups like the Haqqani network that continues to fight Afghan and the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. And we saw that with the blocking of the U.S. government funding for F-16s sale to Pakistan, Lisa Curtis, a senior researcher at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, told VOA.

Curtis said that ongoing Pakistan military operations against militants in the tribal region has reduced violence in Pakistan but other militant groups should be targeted too.

The Zarb-e-Azb operation has reduced violence in Pakistan but the U.S. also has concerns about other militant groups operating in the region and there are disagreements on these issues between Washington and Islamabad, Curtis said. There will be a change The frustration will grow. Whoever is the next U.S. president, it is likely to develop tougher policies towards Pakistan and demand more changes with regard to its policies toward Taliban.."

Pakistan denies the allegations, saying it does not distinguish between good and bad militants. We have taken decisive action against terrorists and extremists and also cooperate widely with other countries to defeat it, said Pakistans Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nafees Zakaria.
Human rights activists joined a call by some members of Pakistan's Hindu community to protest alleged forced conversions of Hindu girls to Islam on Thursday, officially deemed National Minorities Day in Pakistan.

The call for protest in various Pakistani cities  as well as abroad in Toronto, New York and Houston singled out an individual famously known by the alias Mian Mithu as the prime culprit for the alleged conversions.

"He's a symbol of terror. He's a symbol of forced conversions  and Hindus from that area, they cannot even dare to utter a single word [against him]," said activist Kapil Dev, who used social media to initiate the push to demonstrate.

Mithu, whose real name is Mian Abdul Haq, is a politician and Muslim cleric who belongs to an influential family in Pakistan's Sindh province  home to most Hindus who live in Pakistan. The country's Hindu community has long alleged that he provides protection to those who kidnap Hindu girls, often under age 18, and forcefully converts them to Islam before he marries them off to their kidnappers.

Mithu was targeted in a case several years ago when the family of a Hindu girl, Rinkle Kumari, filed a petition in court alleging he supported her abduction.

The court decided, after hearing Kumari's statement, to send her with her husband, but her family alleged that Mithu used strong-arm tactics and political influence during the legal process to influence the outcome.

Mithu strongly denies these allegations.

"The girls who come to us are mature, he said. Within hours of their arrival, we call their parents so they can talk to their daughters  offer them to come meet them. If the girls still refuse to go, as Muslims we then provide them protection."

Dev, however, questioned whether these were simple cases of voluntary conversions, asking why most of the girls from around the province went to Mithu and not to any other Muslim cleric.

Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, President of the Pakistani Hindu Council, said the forced conversions, particularly of Hindu girls to Islam, was one of their biggest problems and the catalyst for Hindus leaving Pakistan.

Hindus are demanding a change in the law and a mechanism for conversion that could help determine free will.
Russia is willing to discuss lengthening its daily, three-hour suspension of military action in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo, according to U.N. officials who are also investigating reports that a bomb containing chlorine gas was used by the Syrian military in the area.

The Russian military on Thursday was set to begin a daily pause in hostilities from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time to allow humanitarian aid workers to bring in much-needed supplies.

But Mohammed Rasheed, a spokesman for one of the rebel groups fighting the Syrian government, told Reuters the Thursday ceasefire had not been upheld. Instead, he said, he cited an "escalation in Russian warplanes" and said government forces had tried to advance on the Ramousah district of Aleppo. A witness in Aleppo and another rebel official corroborated Rasheed's claims, Reuters reported.

The U.N. has said the three-hour window is insufficient and is trying instead to negotiate a 48-hour ceasefire to deliver aid to some 2 million people trapped in the city.

Barrel bombs dropped



Late Wednesday, a Syrian military helicopter flying over Aleppo reportedly dropped four barrel bombs  one of which was filled with chlorine gas  and killed at least three people.

In response to a question from VOA, U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said he is unable to confirm reports that a gas was used in the attack but there is a lot of evidence that it took place.

"We have a special U.N. and other organization that are addressing that. But if it did take place, it is a war crime. And, as such, it would require everyone, all co-chairs and everyone else to address it immediately. I think the investigation is still taking place. ... But, your point is well taken. That is a war crime," he said.

The Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer rescue organization based in Aleppo, said Thursday that 24 people were injured in the attack along with the three dead  a mother and her two children.

The British nonprofit group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the barrel bombing. It did not mention chlorine, but said that several people were having trouble breathing after the bombing.

Supplies running low



The United Nations says food and medicine stocks are running dangerously low in east Aleppo, where an estimated 300,000 people have been cut off from humanitarian assistance since early July.



In addition, escalating fighting between government and rebel forces in recent weeks has severely damaged Aleppos electric and water infrastructure, leaving some two million people with no access to running water and power.

U.S. General Sean MacFarland, the top commander for the coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, told reporters Wednesday that the humanitarian disaster in Aleppo is "a model of how I don't want to fight in Mosul [Iraq]."

"We want to conduct a campaign to liberate Mosul in a way that leaves the city largely intact and its people in good health," MacFarland said. "That does not seem to be the overriding consideration in the fight for Aleppo."
Known as Islamic State, the group of hard-line jihadists that once dominated large areas of Iraq and Syria is infamous for its sheer brutality, including beheadings, drownings, burning people alive, rape, and the promotion of slavery.



Initially a largely Sunni Arab group, IS grew out of the terrorist organization known as al-Qaida in Iraq (AQ-I) led by Jordanian Abu Musab al Zarqawi in 2004. AQ-I fed off the deep sense of Sunni disenfranchisement after the United States decided to disband the Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein's powerful Ba'ath party.



AQ-I began terrorizing the Iraqi population, both those Sunnis who refused to join them and Shi'ites, bringing the country to the brink of civil war in 2006-7. Sunni Arab tribal leaders, tired of the brutality, finally turned their back on the group in 2007 during the U.S.-backed "Awakening."



Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike, and for a while there appeared to be peace in Iraq. But AQ-I had merely gone underground, and it soon emerged again under the leadership of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.



A former U.S. detainee in Iraq, Baghdadi discarded al-Qaida as too meek, and channeled his radical ideology into creating Islamic State.



The group flourished under Iraq's sectarian Shi'ite led governments and also rapidly gained power and territory in the war-created power vacuums in neighboring Syria under the name al-Nusra.



Internal divisions led al-Nusra to formally split with IS in April 2013 and pledged its allegiance to al-Qaida. But IS maintained a strong presence in Syria, capitalizing on an unprecedented flow of tens of thousands of foreign fighters to join the conflict.

In 2014, IS declared its "caliphate's capital" in Raqqa, Syria, and launched a major military push across Iraq, seizing the key cities of Mosul, Ramadi, and Fallujah.



Baghdadi has called for Muslims around the world to recognize its supreme authority, and exploited its brutal notoriety to launch an international social media campaign to recruit new fighters and to expand it's self-declared caliphate, claiming provinces in at least nine countries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.



Western intelligence officials say IS has also created a well-developed external operations wing with cells in Europe, blamed for carrying out high-profile attacks in Paris and Brussels, while enabling and inspiring terror attacks from the United States to Southeast Asia.



The U.S. fight against both AQ-I and IS has spanned two administrations, but ramped up in 2014 after shocking scenes of IS militants beheading American citizens, mass executing Iraqi soldiers and civilians, and capturing and enslaving thousands of Yazidi women.



U.S. military officials say about 45,000 IS fighters have been killed in the past two years as the militant group has steadily lost ground in Iraq and Syria. But the U.S. intelligence community estimates the group can still muster 18,000 to 22,000 fighters in the conflict zone.



There are also concerns that the underlying local political and sectarian grievances that allowed the group to take hold in Iraq and Syria have yet to change, and that even if IS loses its self-declared caliphate it will persist both as an insurgency and as a global terror threat.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of choosing terror over peace following "attacks" in Crimea that he says were orchestrated by Ukrainian military and intelligence forces.

"The attempt to provoke an uptick in violence, to provoke conflict is nothing but an attempt to distract public attention," Putin said in a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.

"We will, of course, do everything to assure the security of infrastructure, citizens and will take additional measures to provide security, including serious additional measures," he said.

But, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko rejected Putin's claims, calling them "equally cynical and insane." He said, "We would never ever use terror to de-occupy Crimea."

"Ukraine is devoted to restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity exclusively through political and diplomatic means. That includes [the] de-occupation of Crimea," Poroshenko said Wednesday.

The FSB says it foiled "terrorist attacks" in Crimea by Ukrainian military and intelligence forces during the weekend. The security agency says two of its officers were killed during the clashes with groups it says were sent by the Ukrainian defense ministry.

Authorities say they found 20 homemade explosives, ammunition and mines in the area of the attack.



In a statement, the FSB said "the aim of the sabotage and terrorist attacks was to destabilize the social and political situation" ahead of next month's elections in Russia and Crimea.

It said several Russian and Ukrainian citizens were detained, including one it identified as a Ukrainian intelligence officer.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 following the ouster of Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych following pro-EU demonstrations.
The head of the Scottish government has reached out to Germany, the European Union's most populous member, as she tries to keep Scotland in the bloc  and is arguing that Scotland should be able to remain part of the EU without leaving the United Kingdom.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told German broadcaster ARD that "because we are in unprecedented circumstances, we should be prepared to think about unprecedented solutions. And that's the spirit that I will have in any discussions.''



The U.K. as a whole  which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland  voted narrowly to leave the EU in a June 23 referendum, but voters in Scotland voted by a wide margin to remain in the 28-nation bloc.



"I would have thought it was very positive for the wider European Union for a part of the United Kingdom, if not the whole of the United Kingdom, to want to stay and continue to be part of the European family of nations,'' Sturgeon said on Tuesday.



The Scottish leader, who already has traveled to Brussels to press the same argument, met in Berlin on Tuesday with Germany's deputy foreign minister, Michael Roth. He is responsible for European issues at the German Foreign Ministry.



Sturgeon reiterated her stance that a new referendum on Scottish independence from the U.K. remains ``one option'' for Scotland to stay in the bloc.



Roth said the meeting was a "very pleasant and constructive conversation between two dedicated pro-Europeans.''



"I hope that the U.K. finds a way forward that will benefit Europe as a whole in the end,'' he said.



Prime Minister Theresa May's new British government hasn't yet formally set in motion the process of leaving the EU, and it remains unclear what future relationship it will seek with the bloc.
A Singapore aquarium has sent two male manatees to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe for what it says is the world's first repopulation program for the species.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore said the manatees, Junior and Kai, were chosen as they have reached sexual maturity and are best friends because of their similar age. Kai was born on Oct. 8, 2009, and Junior on Feb. 2, 2010.

The pair were sedated and set off for their 34-hour journey on Monday in crates lined with sponge. They will be sprayed with water during their trip to keep their skin moist.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore said they will be the first arrivals at the protected bay of Grand Cul-de-sac Marin, where the National Park of Guadeloupe is heading a repopulation project.

Listed as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, manatees have seen their numbers decline in the last century because of hunting, net entrapment and collisions with motorboats, Wildlife Reserves Singapore said.

The West Indian manatee species has been extinct in Guadeloupe's waters since the early 20th century due to hunting, it added. The program aims to release the future offspring from the 15 manatees in the project into the wild.
A Minnesota woman is positioned to become the first Somali-American state legislator after winning a key primary Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Ilhan Omar won the primary for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party, defeating Phyllis Kahn, who has served as state legislator for 40 years.

Omar is likely to win the November election in the largely liberal district.

"The fact that we made relentless campaigns and for Allah's sake, we finally made it," Omar told VOA's Somali service after her victory was announced Tuesday night. "We worked very hard to unite our district people and their votes."

Wiping away tears, Omar was greeted by Somali and non-Somali supporters as she walked into her victory party, and chants of "Ilhan" rang out.

Speaking to the crowd, Omar said, "Tonight we made history and it marks the beginning of the future of our district, a new era of representation. Tonight is about the power of you."

Afterward, she gave another victory speech in Somali.

Hafsa Muse Nuh, one of Omar's supporters said, "It is an amazing moment which I was expecting. The fact that she is a Muslim, a Somali, a refugee makes her victory historic."

Early years in Africa

Omar, 33, was born in Somalia and lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for four years after her family fled the civil war that devastated the Horn of Africa nation.

She ultimately moved to Cedar-Riverside, a largely Somali-American neighborhood in Minneapolis, where she has lived for nearly two decades and became a political activist.

In November, Omar will face Republican Abdimalik Askar in the race to represent District 60B of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

The Minneapolis area is home to the country's largest Somali-American community. In 2013, another member of the community, Abdi Warsame, won a seat on the Minneapolis City Council, becoming the highest elected Somali-American nationwide.
It is a familiar tale in Southern Africa: The revered liberation-movement-turned-ruling-party, led by struggle-heroes of decades past, is facing increasing criticism and challenges over enduring poverty, unemployment and alleged corruption.

In Zimbabwe, the venerable ZANU-PF, hailed for fighting British rule more than three decades ago, is the target of unprecedented protests. Demonstrations are led by war veterans who say 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe, the only leader independent Zimbabwe has ever had, is a dictator.

A similar tale resounds in Angola, where the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola has run the country since 1975. Government forces have cracked down on dissenters, rights groups say, and last week shot dead a teenage boy at a peaceful protest in the capital.

The Mozambique Liberation Front, FRELIMO, is still struggling to find peace with its opposition  more than two decades after the end of the civil war.

In South Africa, the African National Congress last week suffered an election victory that many onlookers framed as an embarrassing defeat. The ANC won the greatest number of seats in the local elections, but it lost an unprecedented amount of support to the opposition. The Democratic Alliance bested the ANC in several major metropolitan areas, which could portend further ANC losses in national polls in 2019.

The reason for the trend is simple, says Alex Vines, the head of the Africa program at London research institution Chatham House. Young voters are growing in number, and many do not remember the pain of colonialism and oppression, but they keenly feel the pain of unemployment and inequality.

"Most of these liberation movements have lost touch with people, Vines said. They have been unable to provide jobs and opportunities and spread wealth, and so inequality has grown and a number of party apparatchiks have gotten very rich."

That is the case in Zambia, its former acting president told VOA News on the eve of Thursday's vote. Guy Scott says the ruling Patriotic Front under President Edgar Lungu has been criticized for corruption and mismanagement and blamed for the nation's economic woes. Lungu now faces a major opposition challenge, and with it, the prospect of violence and allegations of rigging.

But analyst Victor Shale says upheaval at the polls is not necessarily a bad thing. Strong opposition can motivate the ruling party to work harder. While that may be painful for the powerful ruling parties, he says, it is ultimately good for democracy.
South Africa's president, speaking to mark the nation's Women's Day on Tuesday, avoided making any reference to an anti-rape protest against him on live television days earlier. Others did not.

On Saturday, four women stood in front of President Jacob Zuma and held up signs protesting his acquittal for rape 10 years ago, while he spoke at an announcement of election results.

The municipal elections were the worst-ever showing at the polls for South Africa's ruling party, which was hurt by multiple scandals around Zuma.

On Tuesday, his ex-wife and African Union Commission Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said other African leaders were calling her to ask if the country's situation was as bad as it looks.

If the leaders of South Africa are weak, the continent is weak,'' she said.

She said women must continue the struggle against sexual violence.

Saturday's protest infuriated some officials in the ruling African National Congress, who hesitated to stop it because it was being televised live. The women stood during the entire speech by Zuma, who appeared not to notice their signs.

On Tuesday, the ANC women's league leader, Bathabile Dlamini, said women should fight patriarchy'' but not in the way people saw Saturday.

But a surviving leader of a landmark women's protest 60 years ago against South Africa's restrictive pass laws had praise. Today you can stand in high offices like the [election commission] and demonstrate there. And that is a good thing,'' Sophia Williams-De Bruyn told local media.

Zuma on Tuesday instead focused on other issues underlying his party's stumble in the elections, such as high unemployment and the lack of services like water and electricity in some communities two decades after the ANC took power.

The government will not rest until decent basic services reach all our people,'' he said.
Sudanese authorities on Tuesday warned residents living near the banks of the Nile in the capital, Khartoum, to take extreme precautions in anticipation of possible flooding caused by heavy rainfall, after more than 70 people were killed in flooding elsewhere in Sudan last week.

Authorities said the water levels of the Blue Nile have exceeded those in 1988 when, after heavy rain, flooding inundated most of the Sudanese capital, killing scores of people and damaging property.

The warning was made by Ballah Abdul-Rahman, a senior official at the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity, who said water levels of the Blue Nile, which originates in the Ethiopian highlands, were rapidly rising on the Sudanese-Ethiopian border.

The Blue Nile flows downstream to Khartoum, where it meets the less voluminous White Nile before they continue together into Egypt and later the Mediterranean coast.

Interior Minister Ismat Abdul-Rahman said at least 76 people had been killed by late last week as a result of flooding and torrential rain, mostly in central and western Sudan. He said dozens more were likely to have been killed since, but gave no details.

The Sudanese officials said more heavy rainfall was forecast in the next few days.
Officials in Texas say a baby whose mother traveled to El Salvador while pregnant has died shortly after birth, in a case attributed to the Zika virus.

Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, announced Tuesday that the infant, who died a few weeks ago, had microcephaly, a medical condition linked to the Zika infection.

Test results Friday confirmed the mother's Zika infection.

Texas health officials say there have been no reported cases of Zika transmitted by mosquitoes in Texas.

This was the second Zika-related death in the United States. The first was an elderly man who died in Utah in June, while battling a Zika infection, as well as other health conditions. The man is believed to have been infected with the virus while traveling abroad, although health officials have not specified where.

In Florida, where Zika also is a concern, Governor Rick Scott says four new cases, suspected to have been transmitted by mosquitoes, have been reported in Miami. The four cases all are in an area of less than 2 square kilometers.

Scott said Tuesday that the number of locally transmitted cases is 21. He has called on Congress to return from summer recess to approve emergency funding to help Florida deal with the health crisis.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has echoed that call, saying Tuesday during a visit to Miami that Congress should return and either pass the legislation that was not decided on before it left for recess, or create a bipartisan compromise bill allocating funds to fight the disease.

In the Cayman Islands, national health officials say they have confirmed the first locally contracted case of Zika virus. The patient is a man who first reported Zika symptoms in late July. He had not traveled to any countries where Zika is known to be present.
An intelligence official says soldiers have pursued extremists who entered a hotel in Mali's capital and hung a black jihadi flag from the roof before escaping into the neighborhood.



Modibo Naman Traore, spokesman for Mali's intelligence services, said Tuesday that the extremists who went into the Royal Hotel near the airport were not armed.



An official with the United Nations mission in Mali and a soldier with the army said three extremists had been arrested after fleeing. The U.N. official said the three were sympathizers of Ansar Dine, an extremist group linked to al-Qaida's North African branch.



The official and soldier spoke on condition of anonymity because they do not have permission to discuss the operation.



Extremists stormed a luxury hotel in Mali's capital in November 2015, killing 20 people.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump attacked each other Wednesday over dueling controversies dogging both candidates: new Trump comments on gun control that even have shaken up some supporters, and the old Clinton email controversy that her backers wish would go away already.

A conservative group called Judicial Watch released a new batch of emails sent and received when Clinton was secretary of state. The messages were between Clinton aides at the State Department and the Clinton Foundation, a charity she started with her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Conservatives allege the emails prove contributors to the foundation had special access to the State Department -- something the Clinton campaign has always denied.

Speaking to an audience of coal miners in the eastern state of Virginia, Trump called the latest Clinton emails "pay for play," meaning you could buy influence with the world's leading diplomat.

"It's really really bad" and illegal, Trump said, before ripping into the media, whom he accused of failing to report the facts.

WATCH: Trump on Clinton "pay for play"

Trump also accused President Barack Obama of founding Islamic State and said Clinton was the group's "co-founder."

While Trump spoke to the miners, Clinton was talking to supporters in Iowa. She excoriated Trump for comments Tuesday that critics say was a call to gun rights supporters to assassinate Clinton and Supreme Court judges who want more gun control.

Clinton said Trump's comments "crossed the line."

"Words matter, my friends. And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences."

WATCH: Clinton says Trump comments cross the line

She tweeted that she is "humbled and moved" by the Republicans who are willing to stand up and say that Donald Trump does not represent their values.

The U.S. Secret Service, which is in charge of protecting the president and major candidates, says it is aware of Trump's comments. It is unclear what action it has taken, if any.

Trump denies any intent of violence behind his remarks. He said he clearly meant that those who want to protect the constitutional right to own a gun must unite and vote against Clinton.

As miners waved signs reading "Trump Digs Coal,", Trump promised to revive the waning U.S. coal industry and put miners back to work. He said mines are an important energy source that has been destroyed by government regulations against pollution from burning coal.

Clinton in Iowa highlighted what she said is the importance of clean renewable energy. She said such technology as solar and wind will create thousands of jobs and turn the U.S. into a 21st century "clean energy superpower."
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has escalated his criticism of President Barack Obama's policies in Iraq and Syria, calling Obama "the founder" of the Islamic State terror group.

Trump made the comment to a crowd of supporters during a campaign stop in Florida Wednesday night.



When asked about the comments Thursday morning on the cable news network CNBC, Trump reiterated his claim and then appeared to relate it to his previous opposition to the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton voted for the war when she was a U.S. senator. Obama, who was not in Congress at the time, publicly opposed the invasion.

WATCH: Trump on Obama, Clinton and IS

Trump has previously accused Democratic presidential nominee Clinton of backing policies that led to the terrorist group's creation. But he deepened his criticism Wednesday of the current U.S. administration, also saying of Islamic State militants, "in many respects, you know, they honor President Obama."

The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq is widely seen as a destabilizing war that precipitated the current crisis in Syria. Some Republicans have criticized Obama and Hillary Clinton for not being aggressive enough in attacking the Islamic State group as it was seizing territory in Iraq and Syria two years ago. But no top Republican has gone so far as to accuse Obama of founding the group.

Trump's controversial statements and blunt attacks on his political opponents have divided the Republican party, with some leading party members denouncing his candidacy and calling him unfit to lead.



Opinion polls have showed his campaign is in danger, with Trump trailing Clinton in several key states and his support eroding in some traditional Republican strongholds.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said officials from the foreign ministry and military will travel to Russia Wednesday to discuss potential solutions to the conflict in Syria.

The announcement comes just a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would work toward restoring full relations with Turkey, but cautioned that rebuilding trade ties will be time consuming.

"Ahead of us lies painstaking work to resuscitate trade and economic cooperation. This process has already started but it will take some time," Putin said Tuesday after meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Saint Petersburg.

Erdogan said the two countries will restore their yearly trade target of $100 billion and will speed up the resumption of charter flights.

The Turkish leader also said he is ready to build a natural gas pipeline with Russia and negotiate a deal to construct Turkey's first nuclear power plant.

Supporting opposite camps



Marc Pierini, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe and former EU ambassador to Turkey, told VOA there are no guarantees that Russia and Turkey can overcome their differences over the Syrian conflict. The two countries support opposing sides in the civil war.

Whether one day they can come to some sort of understanding on this, I doubt," he said. "It may take a little more than just a meeting. Maybe counter terrorism cooperation will resume, and it will be a first step. But I doubt you can see a long-term relationship if Turkey doesnt change its position on [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad.

Erdogan is turning to Russia after post-coup criticism from the West and in an effort to mend relations with Moscow after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter plane along the Syrian border last year.

"Your visit today, despite a very difficult situation regarding domestic politics, indicates that we all want to restart dialogue and restore relations between Russia and Turkey," Putin told Erdogan.

Alexander Baunov of the Carnegie Moscow Center said, It is significant for both because both of them have to bargain hard with the West. Putin is about sanctions and about normalizing the relations, about bringing them more [to] business as usual."

"Erdogan wants, of course, that after crushing the coup he is criticized too much by the Western politicians, journalists and media," Baunov added. "For him to bargain means to show that he can get closer to Russia and alienate himself from the West.

EU relations



Erodgan was livid after Western nations that condemned the coup attempt last month also criticized him for his massive crackdown in response to the putsch.

Cavusoglu denied that the Erdogan meeting with Putin was intended to send a message to Western leaders, whom the Turkish government has accused of not fully supporting Turkey after the failed coup attempt last month.

"Unfortunately the EU is making some serious mistakes, They have failed the test following the coup attempt," Cavusoglu said Wednesday in an interview with the state-run Anadolu agency. "Support for EU membership used to be around 50 percent of the population, I assume it is around 20 percent now."

Russia was quick to condemn the Turkish insurgents. More than 270 people died during the failed attempt by some elements of the military.

Erdogan has accused Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is exiled in the U.S., of orchestrating the coup. On Tuesday, Erdogan warned the U.S. that if it fails to extradite Gulen, it would cause great harm to relations between the countries.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters Tuesday in Washington, "This [extradition] is not a process that is influenced by emotion or political rhetoric. It's actually governed by a treaty."

Erdogan viewed the Western response to the crackdown as betrayal, says Moscow State Institute of International Affairs Victor Mizin.

So, what he decided, it's some kind of his version of 'pivot to the East,' promoting the relations with such countries like Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, says Mizin.

But the relationship with Russia is the most important tactically, and not just for Turkey.

Now it's very important [for Russia] to turn this country which was the spearhead of NATO against the Soviet Union in the past, and where so many intelligence assets or radars had been placed to monitor Russian military activity, to draw it back to Russia and to resume good relations, says Mizin.

Jet downing

The face-to-face talks in St. Petersburg are expected to focus on restoring economic ties that were severed after Turkeys F16 shot down Russias SU24, resulting in the deaths of one jet pilot and a rescue pilot killed during a recovery attempt.

The incident sparked finger pointing, Russian sanctions, and fears of a wider conflict between Russia and the NATO member. Moscow accused Ankara of supporting terrorism while Turkey accused Russia of violating its airspace and bombing civilian targets inside Syria.

But, a surprisingly fast rapprochement came in late June after Erdogan gave a long demanded apology, expressing regret to the families of the two pilots in a letter to Putin. More recently, he accused the pilots of the Turkish F16 of being involved in the coup. They were earlier arrested.

Political analysts say while Erdogans quick 180-degree turn was motivated by the economic damage caused by lost Russian trade, tensions with his Western allies in Europe and the United States have spurred the face-to-face meeting with Putin.

Not all common ground

Some minority calls inside Turkey for Ankara to seek a strategic partnership with Russia to replace ties with the United States and the European Union are unlikely to gain ground.

At the same time I think it would be unrealistic to think that Turkey could be banished or ousted from NATO as certain American experts, especially on the conservative side, would suggest because, as I said, strategically, Turkey is too important, says Mizin.



While progress in the talks is expected on economic issues, the conflict in Syria remains a sticking point.

VOA's Natasha Mozgovaya and VOA's Nike Ching contributed to this story.
In this electricity-starved rural part of Uganda, men ride bicycles several kilometers to the nearest market town simply to charge their phones.



That should change with the construction nearby of one of the largest solar plants in sub-Saharan Africa, where two-thirds of the population is without electricity and countries increasingly explore alternative sources of power.



Frustrated by the slow pace of rural electrification in this East African country of 36 million people, many Ugandans have been investing in their own solar panels to light their homes at night and keep small businesses running. But even the cheapest solar units can cost at least $100, a challenge when Uganda's per capita income is $703, according to U.N. figures.



Villagers near Soroti are watching with enthusiasm the construction of a solar photovoltaic plant in their neighborhood. In the blistering heat, workmen install tables into dry earth. Shiny solar panels will be fixed atop them across a 33-acre field.



When the plant is launched later this year it will have the capacity to generate 10 megawatts of power, which will be added to Uganda's national grid.



The solar plant is expected to supply electricity to 40,000 homes and businesses in the area, a big deal in a country that is still heavily dependent on hydroelectric power for its energy needs, said Philip Karumuna, an engineer managing the project. Hydroelectric plants depend on the flow of water, making them vulnerable to dry spells or droughts.



We have a lot of sunshine, but then we are not utilizing it, said Ambrose Kamukama, a maintenance engineer at the plant. By all means, the government should do more of this.



In Soroti, the sun shines almost daily, a key factor in choosing to locate the plant here. Surrounded by grasslands in which cattle graze and monkeys play, the town is located nearly 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the capital, Kampala. The town's small hotels and businesses need a constant supply of power to thrive, but they rarely get it.



When power fails, resident Stephen Okot just sits back and waits, often for hours, making it impossible to meet deadlines or win new customers for his business making metal doors and windows.



He hopes the new solar plant will end the power blackouts.



Soroti Hotel manager David Mugoda said the power cuts force him to run a gas-guzzling generator that eats into his profits, for instance when milk in the freezer goes bad.



Power doesn't go often, but when it goes you can curse your life, he said. When you really need (power), that is when it goes off.



The Soroti solar plant is financed under an arrangement called GET FiT, a renewable energy facility funded by the European Union and supported by the governments of Germany, Norway and the UK, according to Access Power, a Dubai-based firm that is jointly operating the plant with Eren RE of France.



The plant is hopefully only just the beginning for many more to come, Kristian Schmidt, head of the EU delegation to Uganda, said at the ground-breaking ceremony in March.



Energy experts say similar renewable energy projects will help diversify Africa's energy mix.

In 2014, a solar plant outside Rwanda's capital, Kigali, added 8.5 megawatts to that country's grid, boosting energy generation capacity by about 6 percent. That plant and the one under development in Uganda are the biggest solar plants in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa, according to Eren RE.



With better planning African governments can increase the continent's generation of renewable energy, said Dickens Kamugisha who runs the Uganda-based Africa Institute for Energy Governance.



We should not be praising the government for building big dams, he said, referring to Uganda's government, which has been spending heavily on new hydropower stations. Our solution to most of the poor people should be solar.
Ukraine and Russia were locked in a war of words Thursday over the Kremlins claim that Kyiv infiltrated trained saboteurs into Crimea tasked with targeting critical infrastructure  an alleged mission Russian President Vladimir Putin is now citing as the reason for his decision to pull out of scheduled peace talks in Normandy.



Ukrainian officials say the sabotage mission is pure fantasy, arguing the Kremlin is likely to use it as a pretext for a major escalation of the two-year-long conflict in east Ukraine, where Moscow-backed forces are occupying a large chunk of the Donbas region, including the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.



Moscow has so far failed to present the group of saboteurs it says were detained at the weekend near the city of Armyansk after the sabotage mission was thwarted.

Suspect identified



Russias Federal Security Service, or FSB, has identified one suspect by name  Yevhen Panov, a former Ukrainian soldier, whose family insist he went missing on August 6 while visiting a friends dacha in Zaporizhya oblast bordering Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia annexed in 2014.



Russian state TV has been running pictures from the FSB, showing backpacks full of explosives. A still photograph of a bruised and bloody Panov has also been broadcast.



Speaking to VOA, Panovs brother-in-law, Ihor Kotelianets, dismissed Russian claims that Panov is a trained saboteur or worked for Ukrainian intelligence. He says since leaving the army he has worked as a driver and electrical mechanic at the Zaporizhya Nuclear Power Plant, although he is a volunteer in a local self-defense force. He had recently set up in his hometown of Enerhodar a small non-profit to help Ukrainian army veterans.



He served in the 37th brigade for a year and left August 2015. He had the chance to extend his contract but wanted to start a family with his wife and they are renovating an apartment relatives gave them, he says.



He left home on Friday to spend the weekend at a friends dacha and I tried to reach him on Saturday night and sent him an SMS but he didnt respond, says Kotelianets.  By Sunday we were becoming alarmed because we hadnt heard anything from him.



A family friend, who asked not to be identified, also dismissed the idea that Panov was working for Ukrainian intelligence but said he wouldnt have been surprised if he had gone to Crimea for a private business deal.

Uptick in fighting



Since June there has been a serious uptick in fighting in the Donbas. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) accuse both sides of violating a cease-fire agreed to in February 2015 and known as Minsk 2. But the monitors say also they are being blocked by pro-Moscow separatists from moving freely in the conflict zone, are receiving mounting threats and harassment and are unable to move at night when most of the fighting flares.



Ukraine insists that its forces in the east are merely responding to attacks mounted by the so-called separatist forces, a mix of local recruits, Russian veterans and currently serving Russian servicemen. Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, a spokesman for Ukraine's presidential administration, told VOA that there have been more than a hundred attacks on Ukrainian forces this week in the Donbas many of which involved the use of heavy artillery.



OSCE monitors privately fear that the use of heavy artillery by Russian-backed forces risks a high probability of greater escalation in the fighting in the east. President Putins rhetoric has hardened also in the last 24 hours. The Kremlin claims an FSB officer and a Russian soldier were killed in Crimea as sabotage missions were thwarted.

Putin warning



On Wednesday, Putin warned he will not just pass over the deaths of the two Russians.



Fears have mounted in recent weeks that the so-called frozen conflict in the Donbas would heat up. Observers have greatly feared that Russias President Vladimir Putin would start a small regional war this August, says Anders Aslund, an analyst with the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. Russia has moved up its State Duma [parliament] elections to September 18. Although only Putins parties are allowed to win, he has a predilection for small and victorious wars to mobilize his people, Aslund adds.



Aslund says Putin has every reason to engineer an escalation. For the last two years, Russias economy has been in recession, giving Putin all the more reason to mobilize his compatriots around a small war. August is the best time for Moscows military action because Western decision-makers are on vacation, he says.



The parallels with the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war are striking. That conflict started with the Olympic games in Beijing. The United States president was a lame duck amid the presidential election campaign. Russia was pursuing a large-scale military exercise called Caucasus 2008 in the Northern Caucasus. The Kremlin blamed Georgia for an implausible attack, he says.



But Victor Mironenko, head of the Moscow-based Center Of Ukrainian Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Europe suspects Ukrainian intelligence was behind the incursions into Crimea. It looks as though the initiators of the Ukrainian campaign are entangled and got the {Ukrainian] President entangled," he told VOA.



He added in an email to VOAs Moscow bureau: It is obvious that it was an improvisation and now they do not know how to end itSooner or later, it'll become obvious to all and responsibility will have to be taken.

Russian military maneuvers



Russia has also been preparing military maneuvers in the Crimea as part of the highly publicized Caucasus 2016 Russian army exercises.



Some Ukrainian officials had until recently dismissed reports of large Russian military conveys on the peninsula as just part of those exercises but now in the light of the increased shelling in the Donbas and the terror accusations being leveled against the Ukraine by Moscow alarm is mounting.



Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko lashed out at Moscow saying in a statement: "Russian accusations that Ukraine has launched terror attacks in the occupied Crimea are equally cynical and insane as its claims that there are no Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. These fantasies pursue the only goal: a pretext for more military threats against Ukraine.



Putin told reporters Wednesday that Kyiv is playing a dangerous game by failing to resolve the crisis in the Donbas through talks. I think it's obvious that Kyivs current authorities are not seeking for ways to solve problems through negotiations, but have turned to terrorism, he said.



Ukraine military officials say that given the military movements in Crimea the Kremlin might be considering seizing the land route from Mariupol to Crimea.



In two weeks time Ukraine celebrates the 25th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russias U.N. envoy said Thursday the issue of Crimeas annexation will never be revisited.

"The reunification of Crimea with Russia was done two years ago after a referendum which was conducted in Crimea -- 93 percent of the population expressed their wish to rejoin Russia; this is what has happened, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters at the United Nations.

Russia has accused Ukraine of plotting attacks in the disputed peninsula. Churkin called the alleged plots a clear act of sabotage and terrorism.

The U.N. Security Council met Thursday in an emergency closed-door session at Ukraines request to discuss the tensions. Ukraine currently holds a seat on the council.

Ukraines envoy, Volodymyr Yelchenko, dismissed the Russian accusations and invited Moscow to present evidence. If their allegations on what happened - this so called terrorist attempt of Ukraine across the border with Crimea  if it happened in reality, where are the proofs? Statements, pictures, photos, videos, whatever. There are only words, he said.

He said Moscow has massed 40,000 troops in eastern Ukraine, in Crimea and along two countries' border.

This is not a coincidence, Yelchenko said. This number may reflect some very bad intentions, and this is very last thing we would like to happen.

NATO Concerned

Both diplomats said they hoped tensions would cool down, but at the same time they expressed doubt that the other side would facilitate that.

Earlier Thursday, a NATO official told VOA the alliance is closely monitoring "with concern, the heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine."

"We are reassured by Ukraines resolute condemnation of terrorism in all its shapes and forms," the NATO official said, noting that Kyiv was "devoted" to diplomacy in Crimea.

"Russias recent military activity in Crimea is not helpful for easing tensions. We call on Russia to work for calm and de-escalation," the official said. Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, a military move that has continued to be condemned by world leaders and fuel conflict between the two countries.
One day in 2004, Houng Phomma Chak and two friends ventured out to the countryside near their village in northeastern Laos in search of scrap metal to sell, to supplement their families' meager rice-farming incomes. They came across a piece of metal half-buried in the ground and set about digging it up.

The three friends recognized it as a piece of an old bomb casing, and assumed it was no longer dangerous. They were wrong.

Unknowingly, the father of five had set off a cluster bomb, known in Laos as a bombie. The shrapnel ripped through his body and those of his two friends. The friends were killed instantly; Houng was left blind in one eye and lost both his lower arms.

A decade later, the incident is still vivid for Houng as the day-to-day struggles he and his family face are a constant reminder. Family and friends came together to help with the hospital bills that Houng had no money to pay for. His wife now relies on the support of fellow villagers to help with the familys rice field and his eldest daughter spends much of her time caring for her disabled father.

Its very difficult for me. I need someone to help me to eat and drink water, and go to the bathroom, Houng said of his circumstances today.

When the accident happened, it was very difficult for my family to live. Nobody was earning money to support my children, the 52-year-old recalled.

Few support options for survivors

The Lao government estimates that there are about 15,000 people in the country who have been injured by unexploded ordnance, or UXO, and are in need of support, a legacy of years of secret U.S. bombing during the war against neighboring Vietnam.

Yet there are few support services available.

A lack of funding means most survivors do not get access to proper medical treatment. They lack ongoing disability services, like physical therapy, access to prosthetics, mental health support and livelihood training. In one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, families are left with the burden of caring for a parent or child while trying to sustain their own livelihoods.

Furthermore, most of the population lives in rural areas, adding to the challenges of getting the assistance they need.

There are still people that fall through the gaps that we dont hear about until many years after their accident, said Colette McInerney, the country director of World Education, among the largest of just a few victim assistance providers in the country.

The U.S.-based non-profit organization has the funding to support just 250 survivors per year.

For INGOs [international non-government organizations] and NPAs [non-profit associations], there really is a serious gap in funding to provide a comprehensive support to survivors no matter where they live. And for survivors themselves, the financial burden on a family once someone is injured or killed is quite significant, she said.

The government has a strategy in place that broadly takes into account the requirements across the UXO sector, but most of its energy is currently focused on the enormous task of UXO clearance, which in itself is largely dependent on foreign aid.

Many people have been injured by the bombs, but at this point, the funding is not enough to help them, said Kingphet Phimmavong, the provincial coordinator for the government-affiliated UXO Laos, the largest clearance organization in the country.

US expected to increase funding

Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs on Laos as part of a secret operation seeking to cut off North Vietnamese supply lines along the Ho Chi Minh trail.

Its estimated that close to a third of the 270 million" bombies" that were dropped did not detonate. Some 40 years after the war, the mountains and rice fields of Laos Xieng Khouang province remain riddled with the deadly ordnance, which were designed to explode into hundreds of pieces and rip through human flesh and bones.

President Barack Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos when he attends a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Vientiane next month. The U.S. Embassy in Laos confirmed that Obama would announce an increase in funding for the UXO sector, although the details have yet to be finalized.

According to the advocacy group Legacies of War, between 1995 and 2015, the U.S. contributed about $4.2 million annually to the UXO sector in Laos, most of which went toward clean up efforts. The U.S.-based organization says this compares to $13.6 million spent per day (in todays figures) on the bombing of Laos between 1964 and 1973.

"U.S. contributions to the UXO sector have increased many-fold over the past 10 years, reaching $19.5 million in 2016. Most of this increase has gone to clearance operations and an improved survey methodology which will improve the efficiency of the clearance work, said Titus Peachey, the groups chairman.

What is needed now is increased support for the estimated 15,000 survivors of UXO accidents, many of whom will need medical and rehabilitative services for the rest of their lives," he said via email.

Concern for the future

Houng spends many days now at relatives restaurant, sitting idly, while his daughter works to pay for her younger siblings education and also keep an eye on her father.

He says people know more about the risks of UXO today than they did in the past, but they remain unequipped to deal with those that fall victims to explosions.

People dont know how to help each other, he said. I dont know how to take care of myself, I just live like this.
The top commander for the coalition fighting Islamic State says the terror groups foreign fighter stronghold in Syria likely will be in complete control of the Syrian Democratic Forces in a week to weeks.

The pocket of enemy resistance shrinks on a daily basis in Manbij, U.S. Gen. Sean MacFarland told reporters at the Pentagon via teleconference from Baghdad. I dont give it very long before that operation is concluded.

MacFarland, who has led the coalition in its fight against Islamic State since last September, said the coalition is learning how to shape the fight for Raqqa, Islamic States self-proclaimed capital in Syria, based on the current fight for Manbij.

Manbij will inform us as to how we are going to fight in Raqqa, as Ramadi has informed how well fight up in Mosul, the general said Wednesday.

Captured by IS forces in 2014, Manbij has served as a key transit point for foreign fighters and the trafficking of stolen goods.

Military officials have stressed the importance of the city for months, with MacFarland noting that IS has a lot of foreign fighters there, and they havent cut and run.
Officials in Afghanistan and the United States military have dismissed concerns the capital of restive Helmand province or any other district there was on the verge of collapse to the Taliban.

The largest Afghan province has been the scene of fierce battles between the insurgents and Afghan troops in recent weeks.

Residents say the Taliban has made rapid advances and lately the fighting has been taking place in districts around the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, effectively besieging the city.

The conflict has also uprooted thousands of families in Helmand, according to the provincial government.

But Afghan and American military officials dismiss concerns the insurgent group is on the verge of capturing another urban center like they briefly seized control of northern Kunduz city last year.

We do not believe Lashkar Gah, or the province of Helmand, is about to fall. We remain confident that the Afghan forces are fighting effectively and that they will continue to secure Lashkar Gah, U.S. Army Col. Michael Lawhorn told VOA on Wednesday.

In the past two weeks, he said, the U.S. military has conducted approximately 25 airstrikes in support of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in Helmand.

Airstrikes

Local officials say that the airstrikes have killed scores of Taliban fighters and deterred their advances.

In recent days, the Taliban has repeatedly blocked the main road linking Lashkar Gah to Kandahar province in the south and have blown up bridges, hampering efforts to send reinforcements for Afghan forces battling the insurgents.

Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties on the opposition but it is difficult to verify fighting details through independent sources.

Our brave Afghan security forces will not allow terrorists and criminals to turn Helmand into their hideout, said Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi on Wednesday. He added that all security institutions are determined to spare no effort in securing Helmand.

The Afghan province, which borders Pakistan, producing opium and income from the illegal drug, is funding the Taliban insurgency. Afghan officials and insurgent sources credit Taliban advances in Helmand to a newly created commando-style Taliban unit of several hundred fighters.

The so-called Red Brigade unit uses night-vision technology and snipers to launch lethal attacks against Afghan forces, Afghan commanders and Taliban officials have said in recent days.

Taliban insurgents also launched coordinated attacks Wednesday in two districts in Kunduz and neighboring province of Baghlan, capturing key security outposts and bases, according to Afghan officials and insurgent spokespeople.
The United States is painting a bleak portrait of religious freedom around the world, particularly condemning some Islamic societies that have adopted laws that harshly penalize blasphemy and apostasy.



One quarter of all the countries in the world have some form of anti-blasphemy law, one out of 10 punishes people for apostasy, State Departments Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein told VOA Wednesday in an interview, so this is a serious problem because often this has death penalties that are attached in them or very severe punishments. And we see this in countries all across the globe.



Saperstein underscored that the very nature of all these laws punishes people for expressing their core beliefs, when those core beliefs turn out to be offensive to whoever has the political power in the country. No one should be punished for expressing their religious views if they do so in a peaceful manner.

The report said that "false accusations, often lodged in pursuit of personal vendettas or for the personal gain of the accuser, are not uncommon. Mob violence as a result of such accusations is disturbingly common."



"Around the world," the State Department said, "governments continued to tighten their regulatory grip on religious groups, and particularly on minority religious groups and religions which are viewed as not traditional to that specific country."





Countries singled out



The report singled out numerous countries, alleging that governments targeted people for a variety of offenses, including online articles or public statements that allegedly defamed the Prophet Mohammed or desecrated Islam's holy book, the Quran, in some way.



The report said that in Pakistan, 40 people remain on death row for blasphemy, many of them religious minorities.





It said Sudan detained 27 Muslims last November, all "adherents of a school of Islam that maintains that the Quran is the sole source of religious authority, and that rejects the sanctity of the hadiths  contrary to the governments official view of Islam."



The State Department said Mauritania imprisoned Mohammad Cheikh Ould Mohammad, better known as MKheytir, after he allegedly criticized the Prophet Mohammad and "implicitly blamed the countrys religious establishment for the plight of the countrys forgeron (blacksmith) caste, which historically has suffered discrimination." Protesters in the country called for the death of a human rights activist who defended him



The report said that last year two non-state actors, the Islamic State and Boko Haram, "continued to rank amongst the most egregious abusers of religious freedom in the world."



It said Islamic State jihadists have committed what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry believes to be "genocide against Yazidis, Christians, Shia, and other vulnerable groups in the territory it controlled." The report said it was "responsible for barbarous acts, including killings, torture, enslavement and trafficking, rape and other sexual abuse against religious and ethnic minorities and Sunnis in areas under its control."

Daesh kills Yazidis because they are Yazidi, Christians because they are Christian, Shia Muslim because they are Shia, said Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, using another name for Islamic State group, Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups, and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, other minorities.

Blinken emphasized theyve not only killed, theyve sought to erase the memory of those theyve killed, destroying centuries-old religious cultural sites. 

The State Department said Boko Haram in Africa "continued to launch indiscriminate, violent attacks targeting both Christians and Muslims who spoke out against or opposed their violent ideology."





It noted that "Boko Haram claimed responsibility for scores of attacks on churches and mosques, often killing worshipers during religious services or immediately afterward."



The report denounced Iran, where it said government officials executed 20 individuals "on charges of moharebeh, translatable as 'enmity towards god,' among them a number of Sunni Kurds." It said a number of other prisoners, including several Sunni preachers, are still being held while awaiting a government decision whether to implement their death sentences.



The State Department also disparaged religious freedom in China, saying that Beijing "ordered the demolition of several state-sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches and the removal of over 1,500 crosses as part of a government campaign targeting so-called 'illegal' structures."





Meanwhile, it said Russia "continued to grant privileges to the Russian Orthodox Church that it did not accord to others," limiting the activities of Muslims and other minority religious groups, such as Jehovahs Witnesses, Pentecostals and Scientologists.



The State Department said religious freedom is gradually improving in Vietnam and praised the European Union for appointing two officials to monitor anti-Semitism and combat anti-Muslim hatred. The report lauded Kenyan Muslims for shielding Christians when al-Shabab militants attacked a bus they were riding on.
The deadly protests that rocked Ethiopia in the past week stem from a diverse host of regional grievances but they reflect a shared sense of marginalization that may be bringing two of the country's largest ethnic groups together, analysts say, warning that there could be more unrest on the horizon.

Nearly 100 people were killed as security forces crushed the demonstrations over the weekend, according to opposition political parties and Amnesty International. Security forces opened fire on protesters, activists say.

The Ethiopian government blames the opposition in and outside the country for organizing what it calls "unauthorized protests by anti-peace forces." According to a statement by the government communications office, some protesters were carrying lethal weapons, including explosives. Opposition leaders deny the allegations, stating that the protesters were peaceful and unarmed.

The dispute in central Ethiopia dates back to November 2015. Demonstrators opposed a government plan to expand the municipal boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa, into the Oromia Region. Farmers in the region were particularly upset, worrying that it could mean an end to their livelihood. The protests claimed the lives of more than 400 people, according to Human Rights Watch. Video showed security forces beating unarmed protesters and using live ammunition.

The government put the capital expansion on hold, and protests quieted down  but the grievance did not go away.

In early July, another wave of protests began, this time farther north in the city of Gonder, in the Amhara Region.

The main complaint by people in Amhara is that they want three districts  Welkait, Telemt and Tsegede  to be reintegrated into the Amhara Regional State, said Alemante Gebreselassie, professor of law emeritus at the College of William & Mary in the eastern U.S. state of Virginia.

Currently, the three districts are under the Tigray Regional State. Members of a group known as the Welkait committee also identify as ethnic Amhara and want to be part of the Amhara Region administration.

Negussu Tilahun, spokesperson of the Amhara Region, said these administration issues are cross-regional and the Amhara Region alone can't find answers.

"The Amhara Region cannot take ownership in trying to answer these questions because it will not find answers and it is not constitutional," he said in an interview with VOA Amharic Service.

If questions raised go beyond regional administration, he added, people should try to find answers through the federal court system.

Decades-old dispute in Gonder

Last month in Gonder, members of the Welkait committee were arrested. Residents took to the streets demanding their release, resulting in clashes with police and destruction of property.

The Welkait committee is demanding the reversal of the 1991 decision to place Welkait in the Tigray Region, said committee leader Colonel Demeke Zewdu, in an interview with VOA Tigrigna Service prior to his arrest.

"The people have been opposing this in different forms until now," he said. Under the Tigray Region administration, the people didn't gain any benefits. Land has been taken away from them and they don't have socio-economic advantages. The society feels like it is regarded as second-class citizens."

Since the 15th century, the region known as Begemeder, which includes modern-day Gonder, had been autonomous and separate from the Tigray Region, said Gebreselassie.

Gebreselassie believes the move was an effort by Ethiopia's post-1991 leaders, who were from the minority Tigrayan ethnic group, to expand their homeland, an accusation echoed by protesters.

Oromia, Amhara solidarity

Decades of rivalry between the Oromo and Amhara may be giving way to solidarity, said Awol Allo, a fellow in human rights at the London School of Economics.

At rallies in the city of Bahir Dar, protesters were seen carrying signs that read "Stop Killing Oromo People" and "Free Bekele Gerba." Gerba is the deputy chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, an opposition party whose leaders are currently in prison.

Youth are key to this movement, Allo said. "[This is] a generation that would say it doesn't matter what force is used, I am determined to make my demands and to make my voice heard."

Ethiopia's Constitution states that regional borders can be redrawn.

The constitution gives the basic rights of people for self-administration and where they can identify themselves as a home," said Soleyana S. Gebremichael, an Ethiopian lawyer and human rights advocate. So the question of Welkait is directly related with that. People identify themselves as Amharas and they consider themselves as Amharas. They wanted to be administered by the region with their own language and promote their culture accordingly.

Government response could intensify tension

The government has defended its use of the military and police force and restricted access to the internet, in particular social media.

People have already learned how to go around that using proxies, using VPN. So the initial batch of videos came in using proxies and VPN. It seems to me that when authorities noticed that the information is still getting out thats when they moved to shut down the entire internet," said Mohammed Ademo, a journalist with Al Jazeera and the editor of Opride.com, a news website that focuses on Oromo issues.

Organizers continue to work the old-fashioned way, by word of mouth, said Gebremichael.

"The organizing had been done at the grass-roots level, so with or without the internet, she said. People already had the urgency of going out to protest and then presenting their question and petitioning the government. That's what we saw in the past weekend because the internet was down for 48 hours and the protests happened anyway."
Leaked reports published Wednesday are detailing more than 2,000 allegations of sexual assault, child abuse and attempted self-harm at Australian detention centers on the nearby island of Nauru.

More than half of the incident reports published by the Guardian Australia newspaper involve alleged assaults against children, who make up about 18 percent of the detainees held on Nauru. The reports reveal numerous incidents of sexual assaults and harassment of children, and stories of detainees harming themselves.

One of the leaked reports involves a child who had written in her school book that she was tired of the camp and wanted to die.

According to the newspaper, the reports cover a period between mid-2013 and October 2015.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said authorities would examine the material "to see if there are any complaints there or issues there that were not properly addressed." His government also said the reports were allegations.

Hundreds of asylum seekers are being held on Nauru or a second detention center on Papua New Guinea, where they were sent after being intercepted at sea by Australian naval vessels. The refugees are barred from resettling in Australia, even if they are granted refugee status.

Human rights groups have long called on Canberra to end the detention program and resettle the detainees in Australia or elsewhere, citing previous reports regarding conditions at the refugee camps; but, the government says it has halted the asylum seekers' attempts to reach Australia over dangerous seas.
The wife of a detained human rights lawyer in China has accused Beijing police of harassing her landlord and forcing him not to renew her lease.

Wang Qiaoling recently went to Tianjin, east of Beijing, to find out about the trial of her husband, Li Heping. He is one of several rights lawyers detained since July 2015. When she got home Tuesday, the owner of her building told her to move out.

The property owner was under the orders of local police, Wang Qiaoling told VOA on Wednesday.

"Pressed by police, the landlord is under lots of pressure, she said. I have talked to him before he told me he could not renew our lease, and I thought I would start looking, even though I know police would force us to move again. However, when rights lawyers were put on trial July 29, I was not allowed to leave home for five days. Now I have to move out tomorrow, it is hard to find the right apartment."

Chinese authorities have not commented on the allegations.

Wang said she has filed a "request for information" with the local police station, asking for an explanation as to why she was not allowed to leave home.

"I have to file the request. It is horrible that they detained me for 28 hours without any legal procedure, she said. Then they told me I had to go home. If I do not go home, they would carry me to a car and force me to go home. They then forbid me to leave the apartment."

Wang's husband, Li Heping, was arrested in July 2015 during the government crackdown against human rights lawyers who had taken up sensitive cases in which clients challenged the government.

Since the arrests, the lawyers have been deprived of legal counsel of their own choosing and have not been allowed to see their families.

China put four human rights defenders on trial last week, each of whom received a prison sentence of 3 years to 7  years for state subversion.

One of those sentenced was Zhou Shifeng, director of Beijing's Fengrui Law Firm.

Wang's husband works for the same firm. The court told Wang last week that her husband's case had been sent back for further investigation.
A Yemeni factory official and two medics say a Saudi-led airstrike killed 14 civilians working on an overnight shift in the capital, Sanaa.



They say the airstrikes, which continued into Tuesday, targeted Yemen's Shi'ite rebels but one of them hit a food factory, the al-Aqil compound.



The official and the medics spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retributions.



The heavy bombardment comes on the heels of failed U.N. peace talks in Kuwait between Yemen's internationally-recognized government and the country's Shi'ite rebels known as Houthis.



Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam says the Saudi-led coalition has also closed the airspace over Sanaa, preventing the rebel delegation's plane from reaching the capital.



Since the start of the two-year war, the Saudi-led coalition has been in control of the airspace over neighboring Yemen.
Violence hangs like an ominous cloud over national elections in Zambia, a copper-rich, landlocked southern African nation that has been recently battered by drought and economic woes.

Incumbent President Edgar Lungu of the ruling Patriotic Front party (PF) faces a serious challenge from opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema from the United Party for National Development (UPND) in Thursdays presidential vote. Lungu, who is widely considered a populist, narrowly beat Hichilema, a businessman, in a January 2015 snap election held after the sudden death of President Michael Sata.

This years election campaign has been marred with multiple clashes between supporters of the two main parties, prompting the head of the electoral commission to call the violence unprecedented. Unlike its southern African neighbors, Zambia has long been hailed as a bedrock of peace and democracy.

Risk of violence is very high

Many analysts say the presidential race is too close to call, but they agree on one grim prediction.

The risk of violence is very high, analyst Dimpho Motsamai told journalists at the Institute of Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa.



The political violence is coming from both sides; that is very important to highlight. It is coming both from the PF and the UPND in particular. It really speaks about a politics that is very unhealthy; the relationship between the opposition and the government, its just a very unhealthy political relationship, its very antagonistic, and anything that happens is dealt with in a very antagonistic fashion, Motsamai said.

Lungus predecessor, Guy Scott, was Satas vice-president and is no friend of Lungu. During Scotts short tenure as acting president after Satas death, he fired Lungu from his post as secretary-general of the ruling party. He recently endorsed Hichilema.

Scott was deemed ineligible to contest the election because the constitution requires that both parents of presidential candidates are Zambian by birth or descent. Scott, a Zambian citizen, is white and was born to British parents.

Do or die moment for Zambia

Scott struggled to pinpoint why a nation praised for peace, and which watched with horror its neighbors political strife, is now struggling. He said, it boils down to bad economics and poor leadership. In the past year, copper prices have fallen and food prices have risen amid a crippling drought, all tinder for a fire of discontent.



Why its gone so bad, its hard to say, I think, he told VOA News by phone from Lusaka. People were upset at Mr. Satas death, they were upset at the people running around with knives and guns, and they were unhappy with the economic downturn, of course, last year, which has still failed to right itself in Zambia and which has led to a lot of unemployment and has strengthened the elite at the cost of the poor. It has a vaguely Venezuelan flavor to it, in that respect.

Motsamai says the vote could be a do or die moment for Zambia. The tension is also heightened by new election rules that say the winner needs to gain more than 50 percent of the vote to win without a runoff.

A lot of hopes are hanging on the candidates to do the right thing once they are in office. But also, the presidential race is particularly a tight one, Motsamai said. UPND in the last election went quite far, they in fact said the elections were rigged. They are unlikely to concede defeat without a fight.
The Zambian police have sharply denied local media reports suggesting that some foreign nationals have been arrested for voting in Thursday's general election and referendum.

Rae Hamonga, spokesperson for the Zambian police, told VOA that overall, voting was peaceful in spite of a few isolated cases of violence. The police were primarily in charge of providing security for the electoral process, including the protection of voter materials.

"As far as our records show, there have been no reports of any foreigners being arrested for attempting to vote in Zambia, " Hamonga said.

Hamonga says officers deployed at all polling stations across the country were well trained to ensure that voters exercised their constitutional right without fear or intimidation from opposing party supporters.

"The director at the electoral commission has actually commended the Zambian police for the good job and the security that they provided for the whole electoral process," Hamonga said.

Civil society and religious groups had expressed concern about violence during the campaigns. Supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party and the main opposition  the United Party for National Development (UPND)  accused each other of carrying out violence and tearing down opposing campaign posters.

Members of the police force  often accused of favoring the PF party  say officers arrested those who engaged in violence, despite their political affiliation.

But skeptics say the real test for police will come as election results trickle in and supporters of the losing party reject the outcome of the votes, which they said could spark violence.

Hamonga says the police are ready.

"Those are prophets of doom, he said of predictions of upcoming upheaval. We are a country of laws, and if anybody has any grievances about the electoral process, there are laws that need to be followed. Violence is not one of them. Anybody who wants to advocate for violence, would be met head on by the Zambian police.
Lush tracts of bamboo spread across southeastern Chipinge district, where the tall plant is increasingly regarded as green gold by villagers. They are harvesting it commercially while helping preserve Zimbabwe's fast-dwindling forests.

Bamboo is native to Zimbabwe, according to Bio-Innovation Zimbabwe, a research organization specializing in underutilized plant species. The giant grass stays green all year round, and its woody, hollow stem grows again rapidly after it is cut down.

In countries like China, bamboo has long been an industrial crop, but it is only now gaining popularity among agricultural entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe who are promoting it as an alternative to traditional timber.

For villagers like Natalia Sithole, a 27-year-old mother of three from Mount Selinda in Chipinge, growing bamboo has proved a reliable safeguard against poverty.

Sithole, who started eking out a living from bamboo at the age of 17 after having her first child, sells the plant to people around the country who use it to make products, earning her about $120 weekly.

"My life has changed for the better thanks to bamboo, and I'm managing to support even my poor parents and siblings, besides my own children," Sithole said.

The Chipinge agricultural office said about 580 women in the district were growing bamboo commercially as of early this year.

Saving forests

Just as important to some Zimbabweans are the environmental benefits. The plant is proving a boon to the country's dwindling forests, where an estimated 330,000 trees are lost annually to deforestation, much of it for commercial reasons.

Environmental experts say the rate of forest loss would be far higher were it not for the bamboo in areas like Manicaland Province. Zimbabwe's environment ministry says around 85,000 trees are saved annually through the use of bamboo as an alternative.

"Bamboo can help rural communities become less vulnerable to poverty and climate change impacts when people include the grass in sustainable forestry and agro-forestry systems," said Louise Bragge, a bamboo consultant with Bio-Innovation Zimbabwe.

Bamboo thrives in wet areas like Mount Selinda, but agriculture experts say it can also tolerate harsher conditions.

"Bamboo is drought-resistant as it has roots that grow slightly deeper, enabling it to reach out to more water underground," said Regis Mhandu, a government agricultural extension officer.

In Mount Selinda, villagers use bamboo in place of timber for a range of wood products, from household furniture and cooking utensils to toothpicks and coffins.

Many local buyers of bamboo products, like Melford Dhliwayo, say they have fallen in love with items made from the grass, and are pleased they help reduce deforestation.

"Furniture made from bamboo is quite durable even for outdoor use, unlike wood, and this means forests now are at [less risk] of being destroyed," Dhliwayo said.

Bamboo is also a handy substitute for wood in housing construction.

According to the Mount Selinda Women's Bamboo Association, a six-member group set up in 2011, approximately 600 village huts have been erected here using bamboo poles instead of wood over the past several years.

Financial returns

Environmental activists anticipate bamboo will become popular across the country because of its economic incentives.

"While bamboo is helping in the fight against deforestation, its popularity is set to grow owing to the financial returns the grass offers to growers. So as people fend off deforestation, they also make money from it," said Patience Chiri, an independent environmental activist.

The bamboo harvested from one acre of land sells for $220, much less than timber which sells for $350 per acre, according to the Mount Selinda women's group. But bamboo matures more quickly.

Erinus Ngadziore, a bamboo producer in Chipinge, says it is far less labor-intensive to cultivate than replanting trees after they have been felled.

"The bamboo also grows faster than normal trees, reaching full growth in two to three months, meaning early returns for us," he added.

Some tobacco growers have started using bamboo to cure the golden leaf. According to statistics for 2015 from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, around 9 percent of Zimbabwe's 72,000 tobacco growers now use bamboo to cure their crop.

The shift appeals to tobacco farmers such as Munyaradzi Ngorima from Manicaland Province.

"The days of going all out in search of firewood to cure tobacco could soon be over," Ngorima said.
Ecuador says it's ready to set a date for Swedish prosecutors to question WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the South American country's embassy in London for four years.

Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish police over sexual offenses stemming from his visit to the country in 2010. He denies all the accusations against him made by two women.

Ecuador said in a statement Thursday that a date for the questioning in the embassy will be set in the coming weeks.

Ecuador says it stands by its August 2012 commitment to grant Assange asylum due to fears of political persecution.
Australia has blocked the potential multi-billion dollar sale of the country's biggest electricity network to two Chinese companies, citing national security reasons.

Treasurer Scott Morrison did not discuss specific concerns Thursday when he announced his decision to reject bids from China's State Grid Corp and Hong Kong-based Infrastructure Holdings, which were seeking to lease a 50.4 percent stake in Ausgrid for 99 years. The network provides power for the state of New South Wales and its capital, Sydney.

The sale would have earned the New South Wales government at least $7.6 billion. Morrison says the two companies have until next Thursday to appeal his decision.

Australia's recent decision to sell the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company sparked a strong backlash over the sale of vital infrastructure projects to foreign countries.
Russia and Turkey are taking unprecedented steps to directly coordinate actions in Syria after a rapprochement between their presidents and despite disagreeing over support for Damascus.

The level of cooperation in the five-year civil war was made possible after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reconciled face to face Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.

Putin announced that Russia would begin rolling back sanctions and restart important energy projects such as a stalled nuclear plant, which would be Turkey's first, and the Turkish Stream gas pipeline from southern Russia to the Black Sea.

Russian officials said trade with Turkey could be fully restored by the end of the year.

On the sticking point of Syria, Turkish media reports said a newly formed joint committee would meet for the first time Thursday in Russia. The committee consists of intelligence, military and diplomatic representatives from Russia and Turkey.

The Hurriyet Daily News reports the Turkish and Russian militaries also agreed to set up a direct military line to prevent any future incidents between the two sides in Syrian airspace.

Coordination, cooperation or compromise?

But while military communications are easily established, political analysts are questioning the extent of cooperation between the two sides that is possible in Syria.

Russias military is fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assads forces while Turkey is supplying rebel groups battling to remove Assad from power, a stated goal of Ankara and its Western allies.

I think until now they have no clear decision because it's clear that their interests are colliding in Syria, said Alexander Golts, a Moscow-based independent military analyst and visiting researcher at Uppsula University in Sweden.

In fact, Erdogan, Putin, the same day leaders met in St. Petersburg, Russian government sent to Duma (Russian parliament) the agreement which permits Russian armed forces to be in Syria as long as they want. So, it means that Russia will participate (in) this cruel civil war for a long period, Golts said.

And, now it's obvious that (the) Russian goal is support of Assad, which is totally unacceptable or was unacceptable for Erdogan," he added.

But the change in attitude by Erdogan toward Putin could signal an appetite for compromise on Syria and to demonstrate he has options amid tensions with his Western allies as well as back home in Turkey.

I think that Erdogan needs Russia more than Putin needs Turkey, and Erdogan has not reached the goals he had in mind when he spoiled the relations with Russia, said Ishat Saetov, director of the Modern Turkey Studies Center in Moscow. On one hand, he wanted to be closer to the West, to show that he is on their side.

"On the other hand, he did not expect that the deterioration of political relations with Russia would bring along economic sanctions in such a severe manner as Russia did: loss of more than 4 million tourists made quite a blow on the economy, Saetov said.

But the heart of the matter is not actually the economy, but its effect on the voters, he added. Much depends on the positions of voters, whose incomes are falling and then his legitimacy is fading."

Coup attempt

Russia supported Erdogan after a July coup attempt, in contrast to U.S. and European concerns about the massive crackdown that followed.

Turkey accuses Fethullah Gulen, a cleric exiled in the U.S., of orchestrating the failed putsch and wants him extradited, which Washington has refused to do without evidence.

Ankara is also upset with the European Union over payments to stem migrants and refugees, mainly from Syria, and granting visa free status to Turks.

Syria is one of the issues that Erdogan may trade upon, Saetov said. I think Erdogan is ready to concede in other issues, including Assad, and perhaps they'll find the right wording.

Despite the warming ties with Russia, Turkish officials maintain that Assad must eventually step down and say relations with Moscow will not take the place of its Western allies.

Turkey and Russian relations plummeted in November when Turkey shot down a Russian bomber jet along its border with Syria, accusing it of violating Turkish airspace. Russia denied crossing the border and called the act a planned provocation by supporters of terrorism.

Moscow retaliated with economic and diplomatic sanctions that lasted until late June when Erdogan apologized for the incident and Putin invited him for direct talks.
It continues to be difficult to gauge the effectiveness of the United Nations sanctions imposed on North Korea in March for conducting its fourth nuclear test and launching a long range rocket earlier this year.

While prices for essential goods in the North remain stable, there are reports that business is stagnating at the economic development zones set up to attract foreign investment.

Analyst Lim Eul-chul with Kyungnam Universitys Institute for Far East Studies told VOAs Korean Service that economic activity in two development zones near the Chinese border has deceased significantly in the last five months.

The Mubong Economic Development Zone and the Onsung Island Economic Development Zone established detailed development plans and China had planned to invest in these areas. However, since the international community imposed sanctions against North Korea, and especially after China participated in the sanctions, such movements have been stopped, said Lim.

The lack of international investment is, to some degree, the result of the U.N. sanctions that place increased financial restrictions on companies that do business with North Korea and U.S. sanctions that authorize the seizure of assets from international organizations and individuals involved with banned North Korean industries like mining and banking.

But Adam Cathcart, an East Asia expert at Britains Leeds University notes that even without sanctions, international companies are reluctant to invest in North Korea's economic development zones because they do not provide enough infrastructure.

China slowdown

Beijings enforcement of international sanctions is considered crucial because 90 percent of North Korean trade flows either to or through China.

In 2015, even before sanctions were imposed, North Korean exports fell 14.8 percent in large part due to the economic slowdown in China, according to the Bank of Korea in Seoul.

North Korea does not publish economic data, but in the last few months there have been reports that sanctions are having some impact.

Observers reported a reduction in vehicle traffic at the Sino/North Korean border, the suspension of currency transfers to North Korean banks, and increased inspections of North Korean vessels entering Chinese ports.

Stable prices

However there have also been reports that food and fuel prices in North Korea have not been affected by the new sanctions imposed this year.

The Reuters news agency and the Seoul-based Daily NK website, an organization staffed by defectors, gathered data to show the price of rice, corn, pork, petrol and diesel remained relatively stable over the last year.

The price of gasoline or petrol, they said, did initially increase 45 percent due to a fear of shortages under sanctions, but soon returned to normal.

Analysts credit the growth of semi-legal private markets under leader Kim Jong Un for keeping food and fuel supplies stable despite the sanctions.

North Korea analyst Andrei Lankov with Kookmin University in Seoul recently told Radio Free Asia that he is not sure if China is purposely evading enforcement of the U.N. measures, but he said, if sanctions implementation begins to threaten the survival of the Kim Jong Un regime, China will pull back.

North Korea has responded defiantly to the U.N. sanctions by test firing multiple short and medium range missiles that burn tons of fuel.

China has called on North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. But it also wants a stable North Korea to counterbalance the U.S., South Korean military alliance on the peninsula.

Lankov said the decision by Washington and Seoul to deploy the controversial THAAD missile defense system in South Korea will likely increase Beijings support for Pyongyang.
Turkey carried out airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq and raided pro-Kurdish political offices in Istanbul after deadly bombings blamed on the rebels hit southeastern Turkey.

State-run media said the airstrikes killed a number of militants in the Sinat-Haftanin region. Turkey often conducts similar airstrikes as part of its campaign against members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency.

Police in Istanbul detained 17 suspected militants during their raids early Thursday at multiple sites in the city, including offices of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party.

Wednesday's bombings included two that struck at about the same time. One was a roadside bomb in the town of Kiziltepe that killed three people, while the other was a car bomb that killed five people in a historic part of Diyarbakir. Both blasts were aimed at passing police vehicles, but ended up killing mainly civilians.

An earlier bombing, also blamed on the PKK, killed four soldiers and wounded nine others near the border with Iraq.

US offers condolences



U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter offered condolences to the victims of attacks in a statement expressing Washington's solidarity with Turkey in combating terrorist activity. Both countries consider the PKK a terrorist organization.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Turkish allies in strongly condemning these despicable attacks, which appear to have targeted Turkish security personnel," Carter said. "...The United States remains committed to cooperating closely with Turkey," both in the coalition of nations fighting against Islamic State extremists in the region and within the NATO alliance.

Since a cease-fire with the PKK broke down last year, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Human rights groups say hundreds of civilians also have died.
A Turkish admiral posted in the United States has disappeared and is reported to have sought asylum after being sought by Turkish authorities to return home and participate in legal proceedings following charges of military espionage.

Turkish Navy Rear Admiral Mustafa Ugurlu, who was working at NATO's Allied Command Transformation headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia is reported to have turned in his identification papers and disappeared on July 22.

Ugurlu was ordered home by Turkish authorities last month after an attempted coup July 15. A Turkish official told Reuters news agency two other officers stationed in the United States were called back to Turkey after the coup attempt, but neither of them was ordered into detention.

A U.S. Navy official told reporters more than 100 Turkish military personnel are in the United States - some at the NATO base and some taking part in exchanges at U.S. military institutions.

Ugurlu was among hundreds of Turkish military officers released from their duties July 22.

In addition to Ugurlu, Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said two colonels who had been based in Greece fled the country for Italy after being recalled due to the failed coup attempt. Cavusoglu told NTV, a private broadcaster in Turkey, that the two men, navy and land forces colonels, disappeared with their families on a ferry Saturday, August 6.

Cavusoglu said he had notified Italy of the men's disappearance and asked for their return to Turkey.

U.S. agencies such as the State Department, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Department of Homeland Security have not yet commented on Ugurlu's case. NATO has referred reporters to the Turkish government for information about Ugurlu.

In Turkey, Ugurlu was implicated along with a number of other navy officers in a 2011 conspiracy case based in Izmir. The detention order for Ugurlu, which should have forced his return to Turkey, was from that court.

Ugurlu's case could further strain ties between the United States and Turkey.

Ankara already has asked for the extradition of a Muslim cleric living in exile in the United States. It accuses cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is based in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, of the plot to take down President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The United States has replied that it must have evidence against the cleric, who is a former ally of the president, if it is to justify turning him over to Turkey.
A report giving a brief synopsis of each of the more than 100 detainees still being held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was released Wednesday by a critic of the Obama administration's plan to close the detention center.

The Pentagon gave the report to Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who posted it online Wednesday.

The information in the unclassified report details each of the 107 detainees being held in Guantanamo as of November 25, 2015. The detainees vary from former al-Qaida bomb makers and bodyguards to low-level militant cooks and medics.

Many of the detainees have been held without charge for more than 14 years. About 30 have been released since November and the prison currently holds 76 detainees. Of those, more than 30 have been cleared for transfer out of the prison.

Ayotte said the report highlights the detainees' past terrorist activity and their continuing extremist views, and is an indication of why they must remain in prison.

"Most of the detainees who remain at Guantanamo are the worst of the worst, as demonstrated by the fact that 93 percent of the detainees who remained there as of late last year had been assessed as a high risk for a return to terrorism," she said in a statement.

She has said closing the detention center is a security risk and has pushed the Pentagon to release more information on those being held at the naval base.

"By clearly detailing some of the disturbing terrorist activities and affiliations of detainees at Guantanamo, the report demonstrates why these terrorists should not be released -- they pose a serious risk to our national security," the New Hampshire senator said in an email statement.

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Valerie Henderson said Wednesday the information in the report has been publicly available for some time, for "several years," in some cases.

David Remes, a human-rights lawyer who represents several detainees, said dangerous men are not being released.

"Holding the men at all was a deep injustice and a lasting stain on the U.S. These men shouldn't have been in Guantanamo in the first place," Remes told The Associated Press. "It's one thing to prosecute detainees for attacks on the U.S. ... It is quite another thing - and contrary to the values the U.S. says it is committed to - to hold men for many years who are accused of no crime."

On his second day in office in January 2009, President Barack Obama issued an executive order directing the U.S. prison in Cuba to be closed. However, the Republican-led Congress has stymied his efforts to do so.

In addition to transferring some inmates to other countries, Obama would also like to send some of the inmates to the United States for incarceration, but Congress also has opposed that proposal.

The prison was opened in January 2002, four months after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington and shortly after the ensuing U.S. offensive began against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Guantanamo once held nearly 800 men, but then President George W. Bush transferred more than 500 of the detainees to other countries for prosecution or imprisonment. So far, Obama has transferred 162 detainees to other countries.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is an international multimedia broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of 125 million people.



The VOA Charter



To protect the integrity of VOA programming and define the organization's mission, the VOA Charter was drafted in 1960 and later signed into law on July 12, 1976, by President Gerald Ford.



It reads:



The long-range interests of the United States are served by communicating directly with the peoples of the world by radio. To be effective, the Voice of America must win the attention and respect of listeners. These principles will therefore govern Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts:



1. VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.



2. VOA will represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions.



3. VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies.

(Public Law 94-350)
More than half the men and women who have left the United States to join the conflict in Iraq and Syria may actually be battling against the Islamic State terror group instead of fighting for it.

That conclusion is based on a new report by the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), as well as on court records and information previously shared by intelligence and law enforcement officials.

"That pathway is fairly well-trodden. The scale of it surprised us a little bit," said ISD Policy and Research Manager Henry Tuck, who co-authored Shooting in the Right Direction: Anti-ISIS Foreign Fighters in Syria & Iraq. ISIS is an acronym for Islamic State.

The report looked at the nationalities and motivations of foreign fighters who traveled to the region through the end of 2015 specifically to fight IS or other known terror groups. It found 114 of these fighters were from the U.S.

That figure alone would represent a sizeable chunk  almost 46 percent  of the approximately 250 Americans who, according to U.S. law enforcement officials and the intelligence community, have sought to take part in the overall conflict.

But the percentage of American foreign fighters battling IS may be higher still  perhaps more than 50 percent  in large part because officials admit not all of the Americans who tried to go to Syria and Iraq actually made it.

In fact, statistics kept by the George Washington University Program on Extremism indicate as many as 47 would-be foreign fighters have been arrested in the U.S. and charged with IS-related offenses.

Authorities look the other way

While the U.S. has worked to cut down on the flow of foreign fighters to IS and other terror groups, travel to Iraq and Syria itself is not necessarily illegal, though the State Department advises against it.

"Private U.S. citizens are strongly discouraged from traveling to Syria to take part in the conflict," a State Department advisory warned earlier this year. "The U.S. government does not support this activity."

But the accounts of anti-IS foreign fighters included in the ISD report show few met with much, if any, resistance.

"We don't find too many stories of people getting stopped when they're leaving," said ISD's Tuck. "They might get taken aside and asked a few questions about where they're heading, what their plans are, but not too many people being turned away at the airport."

Some Americans fighting IS claim they have even been given verbal support from State Department officials in Iraq.

One such American, Matthew VanDyke, spoke with VOA via Skype in February 2015.

"This is really a full-time-plus job," VanDyke said at the time, describing his efforts to recruit U.S. combat veterans to offer specialized training to the Assyrian Christian fighters in northern Iraq. "It's going quite well."

State Department officials tell a different story.

"We do not endorse nonessential travel to Iraq by private U.S. citizens," one official told VOA when asked about VanDyke's claims.

Still, the ISD study found many anti-IS foreign fighters, whether from the U.S. or Europe, reported similar experiences.

"The advice will be, don't go, but it won't necessarily be explicitly illegal,'" Tuck said.

And while the anti-IS foreign fighters are not considered a threat to the homeland, there are reasons for U.S. officials to worry.

"We don't like any ad hoc foreign fighting," said Patrick Skinner, a former intelligence officer now with the Soufan Group, a New York organization that provides strategic security intelligence services to governments and multinational organizations.

"It's less the specific cause and more the general passion and armed militancy," he said. "The rising tide of extremism on all sides lifts all dangerous boats."

Who are they?

The report found a few primary routes to the conflict. One involved traveling through Turkey to Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, where many of the anti-IS foreign fighters joined up with local forces. Other anti-IS foreign fighters reported traveling to Iraq via Europe or the Gulf States.

Many of the anti-IS foreign fighters also appear to have had an additional advantage. More than 30 percent were military veterans, many of whom had taken part in Western operations in Iraq and described the region "as a kind of second home," the report found.

Many of them also expressed a desire to "finish the job."

"They believe it is their personal responsibility to ensure the region's security if the international community and their own governments are unable to do so," the report said.

Researchers also found some commonalities between the foreign fighters battling against the IS terror group and those who seek to join it.

"These fighters fighting against ISIS have very different overall motivations," Tuck said. "But I think some of the more personal, some of the more individual, factors are quite similar in some ways."

"It might be a lack of belonging, a lack of purpose. They don't feel like they're doing enough with their lives," he said.
The deadly protests that rocked Ethiopia in the past week stem from a diverse host of regional grievances but they reflect a shared sense of marginalization that may be bringing two of the country's largest ethnic groups together, analysts say, warning that there could be more unrest on the horizon.

Nearly 100 people were killed as security forces crushed the demonstrations over the weekend, according to opposition political parties and Amnesty International. Security forces opened fire on protesters, activists say.

The Ethiopian government blames the opposition in and outside the country for organizing what it calls "unauthorized protests by anti-peace forces." According to a statement by the government communications office, some protesters were carrying lethal weapons, including explosives. Opposition leaders deny the allegations, stating that the protesters were peaceful and unarmed.

The dispute in central Ethiopia dates back to November 2015. Demonstrators opposed a government plan to expand the municipal boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa, into the Oromia Region. Farmers in the region were particularly upset, worrying that it could mean an end to their livelihood. The protests claimed the lives of more than 400 people, according to Human Rights Watch. Video showed security forces beating unarmed protesters and using live ammunition.

The government put the capital expansion on hold, and protests quieted down  but the grievance did not go away.

In early July, another wave of protests began, this time farther north in the city of Gonder, in the Amhara region.

The main complaint by people in Amhara is that they want three districts  Welkait, Telemt and Tsegede  to be reintegrated into the Amhara Regional State, said Alemante Gebreselassie, professor of law emeritus at the College of William & Mary in the eastern U.S. state of Virginia.

Currently, the three districts are under the Tigray Regional State. Members of a group known as the Welkait committee also identify as ethnic Amhara and want to be part of the Amhara Region administration.

Negussu Tilahun, spokesperson of the Amhara Region, said these administration issues are cross-regional and the Amhara Region alone can't find answers.

"The Amhara Region cannot take ownership in trying to answer these questions because it will not find answers and it is not constitutional," he said in an interview with VOA Amharic Service.

If questions raised go beyond regional administration, he added, people should try to find answers through the federal court system.

Decades-old dispute in Gonder

Last month in Gonder, members of the Welkait committee were arrested. Residents took to the streets demanding their release, resulting in clashes with police and destruction of property.

The Welkait committee is demanding the reversal of the 1991 decision to place Welkait in the Tigray Region, said committee leader Colonel Demeke Zewdu, in an interview with VOA Tigrigna Service prior to his arrest.

"The people have been opposing this in different forms until now, he said. Under the Tigray Region administration, the people didn't gain any benefits. Land has been taken away from them and they don't have socio-economic advantages. The society feels like it is regarded as second-class citizens."

Since the 15th century, the region known as Begemeder, which includes modern-day Gonder, had been autonomous and separate from the Tigray Region, said Gebreselassie.

Gebreselassie believes the move was an effort by Ethiopia's post-1991 leaders, who were from the minority Tigrayan ethnic group, to expand their homeland, an accusation echoed by protesters.

Oromia, Amhara solidarity

Decades of rivalry between the Oromo and Amhara may be giving way to solidarity, said Awol Allo, a fellow in human rights at the London School of Economics.

At rallies in the city of Bahir Dar, protesters were seen carrying signs that read "Stop Killing Oromo People" and "Free Bekele Gerba." Gerba is the deputy chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, an opposition party whose leaders are currently in prison.

Youth are key to this movement, Allo said. "[This is] a generation that would say it doesn't matter what force is used, I am determined to make my demands and to make my voice heard."

Ethiopia's Constitution states that regional borders can be redrawn.

The constitution gives the basic rights of people for self-administration and where they can identify themselves as a home, said Soleyana S. Gebremichael, an Ethiopian lawyer and human rights advocate. So the question of Welkait is directly related with that. People identify themselves as Amharas and they consider themselves as Amharas. They wanted to be administered by the region with their own language and promote their culture accordingly.

Government response could identify tension

The government has defended its use of the military and police force and restricted access to the internet, in particular social media.

People have already learned how to go around that using proxies, using VPN. So the initial batch of videos came in using proxies and VPN. It seems to me that when authorities noticed that the information is still getting out thats when they moved to shut down the entire internet, said Mohammed Ademo, a journalist with Al Jazeera and the editor of Opride.com, a news website that focuses on Oromo issues.

Organizers continue to work the old-fashioned way, by word of mouth, said Gebremichael.

"The organizing had been done at the grass-roots level, so with or without the internet, she said. People already had the urgency of going out to protest and then presenting their question and petitioning the government. That's what we saw in the past weekend because the internet was down for 48 hours and the protests happened anyway."
Zimbabweans staged a protest outside a Harare court today to show their support for pro-democracy activist Linda Masarira, who was arrested a couple of weeks ago with several other people that are out of custody on bail, following crippling protests in Zimbabwe over the deteriorating social and economic situation in the country.

The Zimbabweans drawn from various organizations, who have been staging such protests at the Mbare magistrates courts where Masarira and 14 other prodemocracy activists are facing charges of engaging in public violence, vowed to continue such action until she is released.

The prodemocracy activists were arrested during the July 6th Zimbabwe shutdown campaign organized by Tajamuka Sesijikile Campaign and Pastor Evan Mawarire of #ThisFlag.

Following the activists arrest, Masarira has been denied bail several times as the state claims that she has an outstanding warrant of arrest. The court has refused an application for Masarira to be transferred to Mutare Remand Prison for the cancellation of the warrant, a move that would enable her to apply for bail.

No reasons have been given by the state for refusing to take her to Mutare Remand Prison.

Her attorney Kudzai Kadzere, who is also representing 14 other prodemocracy activists, told the court that he is disappointed by the failure of the state to provide a transcript of the court record of proceedings.

Speaking after today's remand hearing of the activists case, Kadzere told Studio 7 that without the transcript they cannot approach the High Court to challenge the continued incarceration of Masarira.

Harare magistrate, Stan Mambanje, who is presiding over the activists court case, today ordered the state to provide the defence with all the needed papers. He set August 25th as the trial date for the activists.

At the same time, protesters said they were hoping that Masarira would be released today. Her closest friend Mandowa Manezhu said the continued incarceration of Masarira is painful to all Zimbabweans, especially women human rights activists.

Harare youth chairman for the People's Democratic Party, Elvis Mugari, who was part of the crowd that gathered outside the Mbare magistrates courts, criticized the ruling party for trampling on the rights of citizens.

Mugari said his party will soon work with various organizations to stage a national protest over the incarceration of Masarira and general human rights violations in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabweans have been of late been protesting against the deteriorating social and economic situation in the country with some, including war veterans, blaming President Robert Mugabe for running down Zimbabwe.
VOA Africa is hosting a Facebook Live panel with young African entrepreneurs on innovative ventures to tackle social issues and achieve sustainable development.

We are taking questions and comments #askYALI for Mandela Washington Fellows who will participate on the panel on International Youth Day. This is an English language event, so please post your comments and questions in English.

#VOAYouthDay #YALI2016 @YALINetwork @WashFellowship
President Robert Mugabes government has not yet indicated how it will fix the ailing economy despite calls by Zimbabweans for it to address serious social and economic problems bedeviling the southern African nation.

The government has been moving around the world with a begging bowl looking for lines of credit to repay its ballooning external debt of about 9 billion dollars, to build a new building for legislators and embark on housing projects for Zanu PF activists.

Activists on the other hand, are demanding that President Robert Mugabe should step down for allegedly failing to run the country. The activists like Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign, #thisgown and Pastor Evan Mawarires #thisflag campaign want the ruling party to create jobs and a conducive environment for prosperity.

But is the ruling party reacting favorably to peoples demands. For perspective, Studio 7 reached Zanu PF lawmaker Joseph Tshuma and MDC-T legislator and the partys deputy spokesperson Thabitha Khumalo.

Tshuma said Zanu PF is doing all it can to address peoples concerns.

Zanu PF as the party that is ruling has always been committed to solving issues that are affecting the citizens of Zimbabwe. Like what I have said in other fora, for us to function we need everybody to embrace the resolute stand of turning around the economy through FDIs (foreign direct investments), through synchronized works and systems but then we have got people that will get out there and paint a totally bad picture of Zimbabwe.

I dont know how you then expect those investors that have been courted to come when they are told that Zimbabwe is not safe 

Reacting to Tshumas remarks, Khumalo said Tshuma appeared to be talking like a person who does not live in Zimbabwe.

I have a lot of respect for Tshuma but I dont know whether we are talking about the same country. You are in Zanu PF  Come 2013 elections in the manifesto you promised us 2.2 million jobs. As we speak now we have 2.2 million vendors.

 The issue of human rights violations that is where you are upping your game. You are busy fighting with students that are coming to you saying that they want their jobs, they qualified from universities and now they are vendors. And all what you do to them is to release teargas and button sticks on these kids.

You have vendors telling you that if you want us to stop vending create jobs then we will leave vending to go and work. What do you do? You release teargas and button sticks on these people and of late you have been releasing teargas even in people offices. I am a victim of teargas that was thrown into our party headquarters.

Protesters recently shut down Zimbabwe and in turn police descended on them, beat up some of the protesters and locked up others claiming that they were sponsored by the West to effect regime change in the country.
Chance with the wisdom. Photo: Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images

In just a few short years, Chance the Rapper has emerged as a voice of reason in both Chicago and the world of hip-hop. And in a new Billboard profile, Chance has once again used his public platform to spit more knowledge from beyond the booth. In short, he believes police brutality should be condemned and analyzed for exactly what it is: systemic violence against minorities. Theres a larger conversation we need to have about the role of police officers, their relationship to the people as enemy or executioner, when theyre not supposed to be either. He continues: Theres also not enough pressure on internal organizations that are supposed to police the police and on judges in the justice system who are supposed to make reasonable decisions.

As for Chicagos mayor Rahm Emanuel (whom Chances father used to work for), Chance says Emanuel failed his city in the wake of the police killing of Laquan McDonald. In a time of crisis he tried to be strategic, and he should have been more compassionate, says Chance, who previously referenced McDonalds death on his SNL debut, and again on that stage with Kanye West, and has called police brutality a form of genocide that nobody really gives a fuck about.
Photo: Mike Coppola/2015 Getty Images

While people speculate about the Will they? Wont they? Should they? of Anna Kendrick starring in an adaptation of the comic Squirrel Girl, Lumberjanes is an unlikely heroes-comic movie thats actually happening, and actually has a director attached. Emily Carmichael will take the reigns for the 20th Century Fox project, which the Wrap describes as the female version of The Goonies. And while that sounds charming, the official description of the story from Boom! Studios sounds way cooler, saying the story is more like, Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Gravity Falls and features five butt-kicking, rad teenage girls wailing on monsters and solving a mystery with the whole world at stake. The Lumberjanes comic, created by Shannon Walters, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen and Noelle Stevenson, debuted two years ago and has become a fan favorite, with the Wrap reporting that it has sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Its also a great way to course-correct for a studio that, as of this spring, had no female directors on its slate for projects through 2018. Wow, guys. Carmichael is having a good 2016 so far, as she signed on earlier this year to write and direct Powerhouse, a film thats being produced by Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow, and Simon Kinberg. Not bad for a feature-film debut.

An earlier version of this story referred to the comics characters as superheroes. They are not technically superheroes, despite their efforts to save the world.
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

When a man attempted to climb Trump Tower with suction cups in New York City on Wednesday, many took a moment to admire his defined calves, but Supernatural fans were more concerned that those calves belonged to actor Jared Padalecki. The two definitely share similar features (shaggy brown hair, are men), but it turns out that the man scaling a building was not Padalecki. He could, however, still be a big Gilmore Girls fan, or going for that Jordan Catalano look from My So-Called Life.

According to EW, several fans sent Padalecki messages asking if he was the man climbing the tower, and he took to his Facebook page to address the confusion. To clear things up, this is NOT me trying to scale the Trump Tower in NYC, he wrote. I am safe and sound in Vancouver filming #Supernatural. So please stop asking. Was this all just a big promotional stunt for the release of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life? Probably not, but a girl can dream. Read the Facebook post below:
Photo: Sony

Like an extraterrestrial strolling through Times Square, Jonah Hill says it might be time to forget about MIB 23, the 21 Jump StreetMen in Black crossover film hes had cooking. The potential film, which Hill had memorably described (by way of the Sony hack) as an idea thats clean and rad and powerful, isnt 100 percent dead, but Hill isnt feeling optimistic about its chances. According to the Toronto Sun, Hill said of the movie: I had the idea  But I doubt that movie will get made. MIB 23 got its title and possible director, James Bobin, earlier this year, but, according to Hill, things fell apart when it came to the Men in Black half of things. Its too complicated  Theyre trying to make all the deals, but its kind of impossible with all the Men in Black stuff, he said. He also alluded to conceptual problems for the film, explaining, The Jump Street films were so fun to make and the whole joke of them was they were making fun of remakes and sequels and reboots and then now its become a giant sequel, reboot. Its almost become what we were making fun of and its hard to maintain that joke when its so high stakes. Still, Hill hasnt given up all hopes of street jumpin anew, expressing a desire to work with co-star Channing Tatum and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller again. I love Channing and I love (directors) Phil Lord and Chris Miller and I love making those movies  theyre a lot of fun. So I hope it works out, he said. Hey, if its not to be, well always have the promise of that post-credits scene.


the national interest

This Is Not the Political Violence That Should Scare Us

This Is Not the Political Violence That Should Scare Us
Baylor University will host a yearlong display of the Nagasaki Cross  a 14.5-inch sculpture made from materials salvaged from a middle school damaged in the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing of the Japanese city by the United States during World War II.

The cross arrived last month and will be displayed at Moody Memorial Library starting Thursday. It then will be displayed at other campus buildings, including George W. Truett Theological Seminarys facilities, said Kathy Hillman, an associate professor and director of Baptist Collections and Library Advancement.

Ive had several people say they cant wait until its in the library so they can come and see it, Hillman said.

The 7-pound cross is a fruit of Baylors exchange program with Seinan Gakuin University, a Baptist university in Fukuoka, Japan. Since 1971, the universities have exchanged visiting students and professors. Seinan Gakuin, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, was founded as a missionary school.

Though the bombing was 71 years ago, the cross holds modern significance, vice provost for global engagement Jeffrey Hamilton said.

Being built from the fragments of one of the great human tragedies of our time, its a reminder of the need for international cooperation and cultural understanding so we can prevent future wars and the use of weapons of mass destruction, Hamilton said.

Members of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities that have exchange programs with Seinan Gakuin are sharing the cross.

The nuclear bomb, known as Fat Man, exploded about 1,500 feet above ground and 1,500 feet northeast of Chinsei Academy Middle School in Nagasaki, according to a Baylor press release. The explosion collapsed the schools fourth floor, turned the third floors north wall to rubble and completely burned the interior.

The school was put back into use in 1949, and officials invited Japanese artist Inagaki Yoshinori to a peace memorial at the site in 2011, when the school was being demolished. As Yoshinori considered the memorial, a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, leading to widespread destruction and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, according to the press release.

It was at the height of the March 11 disasters, the earthquakes and the nuclear reactor explosions, that I decided it was time for me as an artist to create a peace memorial  to leave for the next generation a tool for succession and hope, Yoshinori said at the time. And so I took from the demolition site some scraps of reinforcing rod so they would not disappear in burial but be recreated anew in the form of the Nagasaki Cross. 

Nagasaki is carved into the cross on the right horizontal section, and Hiroshima, the site of the first atomic bombing by the United States three days before Nagasaki, is carved on the left horizontal section.

Fukushima, the site of the 2011 power plant disaster, is carved on the vertical above the crosspiece, and the dates of the bombings and disaster are carved on the vertical below the crosspiece.

Students are very familiar with the Holocaust and sometimes less familiar with bombings that were part of World War II, Hamilton said. To see a physical remnant of destruction transformed into a symbol of peace and Gods truth is inspiring.
Xandra Xanthos, a 17-year-old, was arrested for identity theft Thursday morning after attempting to cover for a friend who stole Social Security cards from a Waco family earlier that day. Placed in juvenile detention for the weekend, this was not her first offense.

At first, I was arrested for skipping school. Then, when I got to jail, my friend had someone elses Social Security card. He gave them to me because I was supposed to get out earlier than him, but then I got caught with the cards and I got arrested for identify theft, Xanthos, who was played by 15-year-old Elizabeth Klausmeyer, said as she sat in an upstairs classroom with a bondsman guarding the door. Im a delinquent. They said I was hanging with the wrong crowd in my background, so I skipped school and got put in jail.

Klausmeyer, who was not actually arrested, and her story represented one example of how a mistake can change a persons life forever, especially when the person is already living in poverty. She was one of 156 students who learned about living in poverty during a real-world simulation Thursday at Reicher Catholic High School.

Its crazy. Even my mom wont bail me out because it costs too much, Klausmeyer said. Its like a real-world situation. People cant get out of jail if they dont have the money, so its not the best situation to be in. Its better to not do anything to get in trouble than to be here stuck.

The campus partnered with Catholic Charities of Central Texas, which was in charge of the event, to transform its building into a simulated city. They divided students into family groups and gave them role-playing scenarios to demonstrate the barriers that keep families in poverty.

During the day, students faced difficulties families around Waco experience daily, including losing a job, lacking a living wage, day care costs, high cost of living and more. The simulation even included the option to choose a life of crime as students were encouraged to use critical thinking skills to find solutions to difficult scenarios.

Usually the school sends its students out to serve in impoverished communities for a Service Day. This was the first time for the school to host the simulation, and possibly a first for a high school in its Catholic diocese, said Dirk Steffens, the schools campus ministries director.

Serving families

Its purpose was to allow students the chance to walk in someone elses shoes for a day with the ultimate realization they can help serve families in Waco today instead of waiting until after they graduate, Steffens said. Waco has a 30.9 percent poverty rate, the 15th highest rate in American cities with a population of more than 100,000, according to previous Tribune-Herald articles.

We were struggling with getting the students to understand what we mean by service, because our students have to do 20 hours of service every year, Steffens said. They didnt really understand what that meant and why, so we started looking at ways to educate kids on why we need to do service. This simulation was born out of that. Then, theyre going to take this experience and use it throughout the year to go to different organizations.

In the Catholic Church, its the Year of Mercy, and the schools theme for the year is Service in the Year of Mercy, based on the Good Samaritan story in the Bible, he said.

For two hours, between 10 a.m. and noon, the family groups went from location to location throughout the two-story school to solve everyday issues across a four-week time period. Every 30 minutes, a bell would ring to represent the end of a week, and the students would then have to face another problem. They would travel between the bank, the pawn shop, the food pantry, health clinic, employment office and other vendors looking for answers with fake money, transportation and paperwork  or lack thereof.

But by the time the activities were over, the students showed by raising their hands during an assembly that almost every family group had a parent or child sent to the simulated jail for committing some kind of offense. The crimes including anything from aggravated robbery, to identity theft, to possession of a controlled substance.

It was very quickly that students realized it was easier to commit crimes to get money than it was to stand in line at the welfare office, apply for unemployment or try to pawn something at a pawn shop, interim principal Mindy Taylor said. The police officers stepped in and got them under wraps, but there was a bit of a pillaging, I guess you could say. I think it was very eye-opening for students to see and have the notion of why some people do make decisions in that manner, why people do choose to rob someone walking down the street instead of making a living properly.

It didnt help that Taylor was also tasked with instigating illegal activities for the simulation, she said. When students set down their belongings, which were represented by paper cards, her job was to steal them without getting caught.

It was to teach them how to secure the things they owned, she said. They were given televisions and video games and cellphones, and they could go and pawn them or sell them to people. Then they had to make decisions on how to replace it or get the money they needed.

Taylor didnt instigate the days impromptu bank robbery, she said, adding it was an extreme example of how part of the simulation unfolded. At the beginning of the second week, 17-year-old Urban Ussar, whose real name is Eli Ferris, ran into the bank with friends, took the bankers cash and took off down the hall, wearing bandanas to cover their faces.

Ferris was playing the role of an unemployed young man whose father just lost his job because of substance abuse, and he needed to take care of his 75-year-old grandmother who required expensive medication.

Me and my accomplices, who I wont name, made a plan to rob the bank and we wouldve gotten away with it if people didnt turn on each other, Ferris, 15, said. Our family was going through hard times, and we hadnt eaten in a whole week. We were starving and we didnt have any money for it.

Yet, the example still shows how quickly desperation sets in and how social support systems can crumble at the poverty level, organizers said. Brad Boozer, a parent volunteer who played a police officer for the simulation, saw that desperation firsthand in real life when he was in fifth grade. Men in their early 20s robbed his family at gunpoint in his fathers rare coin store, Boozer said.

Still in prison today

Me, my mom, my sister and my best friend were tied up. They took my dad and locked him in the trunk of the car, and those two guys are probably still in prison today, Boozer said during the assembly after the simulation. One decision can take away the rest of your life if you want to rob somebody.

Go home and ask your parents how much it costs them to live. Whats their insurance? Whats their gas bill? Whats their rent? Youre going to look at that and go, Wow, it costs that much to live? Go home and ask your parents what it costs for your family to live a month, and itll really put it into perspective on where you are and how far a dollar will go.

After the simulation, the students were expected to have a retreat day Friday to dive more into the spiritual and biblical side of the simulation, Steffens said. Overall, Taylor deemed the program a success.

I think they have a better understanding of why people make the decisions they do and that not all people who make a bad decision are bad people, and theres a lot more that influences decisions in life than what theyre used to experiencing, Taylor said.

That was a big step for our students to realize. Its not always as easy-going as getting up and coming to school, going to practice after school and going home to a nice meal. It can happen overnight that someone is faced with the obstacle of not having food or their parent not being there to pick them up or take them home. That is a real thing our people face in our community every day.
Each year for the past four years, the local Christian nonprofit group Road to Damascus Inc. has co-hosted a back-to-school bash with a local church, but this year its CEO and founder, Mia Thomas, said her organization is taking a different approach to help at-risk youth prepare for the new school year.

Though Carver Park Baptist Church, where Thomas attends, is taking over the event from her nonprofit group, Thomas said she cant wait to surprise seven Waco Independent School District students with makeovers Friday.

I had a lot on my plate, so I decided to do something a little bit different because I still wanted to provide the services we normally provide to the kids in the community, Thomas said.

Four girls and three boys, in first through seventh grades, will receive about $1,500 total in clothes and school supplies to last a month; a lunch provided by Buffalo Wild Wings; free haircuts; and a limo ride to each stop throughout the day, Thomas said.

Almost all the students are from South Waco Elementary School, with the oldest expected to attend Cesar Chavez Middle School this year, Thomas said.

Its all for the kids, said Stephen Boyter, the owner of Legacy Limousines of Waco. You take some low-income kids and give them a reason to work hard, set a goal for them and help them become successful. Thats kind of my reasoning in doing it.

Legacy Limousines will be the students transportation for the day and often offers its services as donations, Boyter said, adding he cant wait to see the childrens smiles as they step into the long car for the first time.

The students, who come from single-parent households, were selected because of their academic performance. Each had a perfect attendance record and earned a spot on the A or A and B honor roll.

They also participate in the after-school and summer programs Road to Damascus hosts at the South Terrace Community Center in Waco, Thomas said. As of Wednesday morning, only the childrens parents knew about the surprise, Thomas said. This is the perfect way to reward the students for how hard they worked last year to get where they are now, she said.

Kids can be cruel growing up in school, Thomas said. Im sure youve probably had friends or somebody who may have been close to you that werent able to have what other kids have. When they look at that, kids pick. Its important we provide these things to kids because I like to see kids happy and for them to feel good about themselves. That helps with their self-esteem, with wanting to do better in school when they know they have that support and people behind them who love them and care about them.

The day will start at 9 a.m. at the South Terrace Community Center with haircuts until 11 a.m. About 11:30 a.m., everyone will pile into the limo for lunch, where the students will get a few more surprises, including movie tickets and skate passes, Thomas said.

The makeovers will be the first time local beautician Tashita Bibles has offered her services for free, beyond the occasional back-to-school special at her salon, she said. Bibles will be taking care of the hairstyles for the four girls, she said.

Im looking forward to the looks on their faces, the pampering, she said. Theres something about looking good that makes people feel good. Its just an honor to be a part of that to tell them job well done. 

At the end of the day, that job well done is what its all about, Thomas said. It takes a community coming together through kindness and providing the resources and opportunities needed for a child to better his or her future, Thomas said.

I believe that our purpose here on Earth is for us to be a blessing to others, Thomas said. To be able to see those kids when they get in that limo, its going to be awesome. Just to see their faces, its going to be an awesome experience to see, because Ive been there before and Ive had friends who werent able to get some of these same things these kids werent able to get.
Two Texas State Technical College students suffered stab wounds after an altercation in a campus residence hall late Wednesday morning, TSTC Provost Adam Hutchison said.

At about 10:30 a.m., witnesses reported hearing a loud altercation on the second floor of Lavaca Hall, off Second Street on the schools campus. The disturbance led to the stabbing with a small knife before both students were taken to an area hospital with injuries.

I heard screaming when I was laying in my bed, so I woke up and I look through the peep hole and I see (one student) knock on the door and I see (another student) answer the door, TSTC student Jimmy Fite said. (One student who knocked on the door) said, Why did you rip me off? This is a robbery, and the other kid said, No, this isnt a robbery. 

A fight broke out in the residence hallway before Fites neighboring resident shut his dorm room door, Fite said. The disturbance continued before the student reopened the door.

This time, he is holding a small, almost like a Swiss Army knife, Fite said. Then all of a sudden, all the cops are here.

Fite said he saw the student inside the dorm room stab the other student multiple times. The student who allegedly stabbed the other student also suffered a stab wound to his hand, witnesses said.

Hutchison confirmed two TSTC students were involved and injured in the reported stabbing. TSTC police are investigating the incident as both students were rushed to a local hospital.

About 3,000 students are on campus for summer courses, Hutchison said. He said the schools main priority is the safety of all students and guests on campus.

Police are still working the scene to make sure they collect all the evidence, but we have also contacted our counseling department to make sure we have people available in case anyone, employees or students, need someone to talk to, Hutchison said. As far as I understand it, this was an isolated incident and there are not any other threats at this point.

The campus remained open throughout Wednesday and classes and activities conditioned as scheduled. College officials credited TSTC police for their quick response and containment of the situation.

No information about the students involved was available by Wednesday evening. TSTC officials said the incident remains under investigation.
The hundreds of elected Republicans still backing Donald Trump, some enthusiastically, better start prepping for the interviews  the ones after the election. Weve got a bunch of questions and they owe us answers:

 You claimed Trump was better than Hillary Clinton. Considering his racist, misogynist and hateful comments; unsteady temperament; pathological lying; dearth of knowledge; constant rhetorical blunders; association with apologists for Vladimir Putin and affection for dictators, is that really true?

 Even if you thought Clinton was worse than Trump, why did you not do everything possible to support dissenting delegates at the Republican National Convention and/or support Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson or independent candidate Evan McMullin?

 If former Klansman David Duke had been nominated, would you have endorsed him? Why not?

 Did it ever occur to you that Trump was unfit for office? When did you first realize it? Why didnt you speak up?

 Had Trump won, would you now be very worried about his stability and knowledge? So you were just betting hed lose?

 If Trump had won, would you have had concerns about his ability to act as commander in chief in control of nuclear weapons?

 Are you now worried Clinton might use nukes in anger? If not, isnt it a relief she won?

 If you failed to appreciate the deep flaws in Trumps intellect, temperament and capabilities, what does that say about your judgment?

 What would you say to voters who think you were intellectually dishonest in excusing Trumps positions and rhetoric that if adopted by a Democrat would have been entirely unacceptable?

 Why did you never push Trump to release his tax returns as a condition of your support? Why did you not publicly insist that he do so?

 Trump did not care about traditional marriage and said women should be punished for having an abortion if it was illegal. Why is any GOP candidates position on social issues relevant if youd support someone like Trump?

 How can you chastise any Democrat for character flaws after backing Trump to the bitter end?

 Were you embarrassed to have tolerated Trumps egregious statements and minimized his flaws? Were you proud of your conduct in the campaign?

 Did you let your kids watch Trump on TV? If not, and you care about other peoples kids, how could you support him?

 How can you say you put country above party?

 If your main concern was preserving a GOP House majority, why couldnt you  like other Republicans  just decline to endorse anyone?

 Do you think you can work constructively with Hillary Clinton? Might she be an improvement over President Barack Obama?

 Do you think Trump and your support for Trump damaged the GOPs standing with women? Minorities? Young people?

 Do you think Jack Kemp would have endorsed Trump or spoken out against him? What about William F. Buckley Jr.?

 The GOP purged the John Birchers in the 1960s. What should the party do about the alt-right faction?

Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Washington Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective. Prior to her career in journalism, Rubin practiced labor law for two decades. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two sons.
by Diana Zimmerman

On June 17 at the Vancouver Hilton in Vancouver, the 2016 Science to Policy Summit sponsored by the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, scientists and policy makers talked about climate change and how it could affect the lower Columbia River.

Its not that it's changing, Jan Newton, the Senior Principal Oceanographer for the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory said. Things are always going to change. Its that the rate of change is rapid and to some extent, unprecedented. The rate of acidification is nearly 10 times faster than any period over the last 50 million years.

Catherine Corbett, the chief scientist and director for technical programs for the Estuary Partnership gave an overview of what she and her colleagues were concerned about when it came to the lower Columbia.

 impacts of sea level rise on the lower Columbia;

 loss of wetlands and habitat in the flood plain;

 more intense storms and increased wave energy;

 increased erosion;

 changing patterns in upwelling;

 ocean acidification and hypoxia entering the Columbia more frequently and further up with sea level rise;

 warming temperatures in the main stem which would increase droughts;

 possible shifts in what is considered native species, and

 changing precipitation patterns, with more falling as rain than as snow creating less snowpack.

According to Corbett there were three strategies to mitigate for the impacts of climate change.

 Try to predict what is going to be inundated and changed by changing water runs cause by flooding in order to protect future wetlands and infrastructure.

 Locate, restore and protect cold water refuges to help cold water acclimated species like salmon and steelhead.

 Discuss habitat and large fauna shifts.

According to Corbett, two long term monitoring stations are showing that the lower Columbia functions similarly to a lake.

The main stem has been warming for decades, Corbett said.

Its going to continue to warm up. When the water reaches 19 degrees Celsius it starts to stress some of the fish. Its been 19 degrees Celsius every August for many years and scientists are starting to see it reach those temperatures in July and into September. There is little we can do to change the main stem temps because the tributaries do little to influence it but we can locate, restore and protect cold water pockets.

According to Newton, they know climate change is happening because of the data time series.

Data informs knowledge, she said, knowledge informs power, especially in a changing environment.

Scientists have documented an increase of CO2 not only in the atmosphere, but in the ocean, according to Newton. Increased CO2 reduces the pH of the ocean, leading to acidification.

Newton is quick to point out that there is a difference between acidic and acidified.

Ocean acidification is a global scale event, she said, and its due to fossil fuel burning and cutting down photosynthesizers which cut CO2.

Are we increasing that rate at a rate where some of the species that we care about cant keep up? she asked. Thats the scary bit.

Oysters and other organisms like terrapods, a food source for salmon, rely on certain levels of pH to make their shells. They will be affected.

When you dont have as much carbonate dissolved in the sea water, Newton said, they have to expend more energy to get it. Its harder and they are littler with an increase in the chances of deformities.

Fewer shellfish will in turn affect water quality.

Higher CO2 will make harmful algal blooms more toxic. Theyll grow faster.

Not every species will be affected. Jellyfish and worms will still thrive. According to Newton, some species may be able to adapt.

The Columbia River Estuary is fed by the low pH, low aragonite saturation in state waters of the Columbia River, Newton said, but it is also influenced by the upwelled oceanic water that has low pH, low aragonite and low oxygen. Some people would call this a double whammy.

How will climate change influence this situation? she said. People are calling the blob a marine heat wave. As climate change occurs, we have heat waves and now they are becoming more common. The idea is that the marine heat waves will also become more common. And how far will oceanic intrusion penetrate with sea levels rising?

Lara Whitely Binder, the Senior Strategist for the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group spoke for a while about rain dominant systems and snow dominant systems and how they affect rivers.

She expects there to be an increase in temperature and precipitation with drier summers and wetter winters. Heat waves will be hotter and longer in duration. There will be heavy rain events with more flooding over longer durations and a significant loss in snow pack.

Snow dominant systems like the Columbia River will change to a rain dominant system. It will affect the timing of runoff and reduce the generating capacity in the summer for hydroelectric.

People talk a lot about the uncertainties around climate change, Binder said. I would gladly take the uncertainties of climate change over the uncertainties of human responses to climate change. Its easier to predict the climate system than it is to predict the human system.
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6 minutes ago

Elon Musk takes over Twitter but where will he go from here?

Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter after a protracted legal battle and months of uncertainty. The question now is what the billionaire Tesla CEO will actually do with the social media platform. Musk gave one indication of where he's headed in a tweet Friday, saying no decisions on content or reinstating of accounts will be made until a content moderation council is put in place.

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KAR Auction Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides used vehicle auctions and related vehicle remarketing services for the automotive industry in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The company operates through two segments, ADESA Auctions and AFC. The ADESA Auctions segment offers whole car auctions and related services to the vehicle remarketing industry through online auctions and auction facilities. It also provides value-added services, such as auction related, transportation, reconditioning, inspection, title and repossession administration and remarketing, vehicle research, and analytical services, as well as data as a service. This segment sells its products and services through vehicle manufacturers, fleet companies, rental car companies, finance companies, and others. As of December 31, 2021, this segment had a network of approximately 70 vehicle logistics center locations in North America. The AFC segment offers floorplan financing, a short-term inventory-secured financing to independent used vehicle dealers; and sells vehicle service contracts. The company provides wheel repair and hail catastrophe response services. It serves vehicle manufacturers, vehicle rental companies, financial institutions, commercial fleets and fleet management companies, and dealer customers. The company was formerly known as KAR Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to KAR Auction Services, Inc. in November 2009. KAR Auction Services, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.
Australia's biggest casino is heading for industrial strife for the first time in years, as hundreds of gaming and hospitality workers prepare to battle over weekend wages and descend on Crown Melbourne in protest.

On Friday night, Crown's games dealers, restaurant workers, security guards and hotel staff will take to the streets from 6pm and march on the Southbank complex amid deadlocked negotiations for a new pay deal.

Crown Casino dealer Matt Poynter will be among those marching. Credit:Penny Stephens

It will be the first public protest in 13 years by workers at Crown, the largest single-site employer in Victoria. In 2003, about 1000 workers walked off the job to stage a rowdy protest over pay and conditions, forcing about half of Crown's main gaming floor tables to shut.

Delegates for the 5500 Crown workers have been scrapping over the terms of a new wage deal since April, but recently knocked back a 2.75 per cent wage rise offer and are continuing to fight for better pay for late-night and "graveyard" overnight shifts on weekends.
A new coal mine planned for the NSW Southern Highlands would lose money on every tonne produced and clock up a net cost to the owner of more than half a billion dollars, two new reports say.

Hume Coal, owned by Korean steel giant POSCO, wants to develop an underground mine near Berrima, about 130km south-west of Sydney.

At its peak, the mine would produce about 3 million tonnes a year, with about 80 per cent of it the higher-valued coking coal used in steel making. Since the coal seam sits below an aquifer the operation will need to use techniques not used previously in Australia, and extract only about one-third of the available resource.

Tim Buckley, an analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, estimated total costs will reach $130 per tonne of coal over the proposed 19-year life of the mine, well above the $112 a tonne POSCO is likely to sell it for.
Police are investigating a pornography ring at a Melbourne private school which involved boys sharing explicit images of young naked girls.

A 16-year-old male student at St Michael's Grammar School is believed to have created a Dropbox folder which contained photos of several girls from the St Kilda school.

The folder was accessed by other male students, and is believed to have included nude photos of students in Years 10 and 11.

It follows a string of recent scandals at other private schools involving young male students circulating explicit and offensive content about girls on social media.
A Perth man has narrowly avoided injury after his Nissan Skyline was written off by a woman who ran a red light in Mount Hawthorn on Monday.

The accident, caught on dashcam and posted to DashCam Owners Australia on Wednesday, showed a white Nissan Skyline setting off from a set of traffic lights at an intersection on London Street.

Seconds later, the vehicle, driven by Connor Winchester, was hit in the rear passenger side by a bronze Ford Falcon that ran a red light without appearing to brake.

The Skyline did a 360-degree spin in the crash while the Falcon also sustained significant damage.
Washington: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Wednesday accused Republican opponent Donald Trump of inciting violence with his call for gun rights activists to stop her from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices.

Clinton's comments added to a growing outcry over Trump's remarks on Tuesday at a North Carolina rally, which some interpreted as a call for violence against his White House rival. His remarks also fuelled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track.

"Words matter, my friends," the former US secretary of state, who rarely engages in direct back-and-forths with her Republican rival, said at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. "And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences.

"Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line," she said, citing "his casual inciting of violence".
Patrick Norman Pat Chapman is a 34-year-old, Caucasian male who was last known to be in Piedmont which is near the area of Greenville, Missouri on May 10, 2020.

Pat had stayed the night with a friend and his wife at their home. In the early morning when the friend woke to go to work.

Pat was gone in his own Burgundy color 1995 Ford Escort. That is the last anyone was known to have seen him. The vehicle was later recovered on May 29, 2020 in Mill Spring, Missouri.
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Rain. Low near 60F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible..

Tonight

Rain. Low near 60F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
SALINAS, Calif.  Winn Ratliff endured some tense moments before he was presented his buckle as the bareback riding champion of the historic California Rodeo Salinas, which has been around since 1911.

Ratliff was third man out in the short go July 24 and grabbed the lead in the average race with 161.5 points on two head. He had placed seventh in the long go, but vaulted to the top of the aggregate with his ride for 82 points on Four Star Rodeos Big Star.

It was a nail-biter, Ratliff said. I was sitting by the bucking chutes after my ride, and people were telling me I might win, and I might not win. I didnt want to get my hopes up, because the other guys had good matchups, too.

His score held up for the win, and that was a big thrill for the 27-year-old cowboy from Leesville, La.

I couldnt believe that I actually won Salinas, he said. I was pretty tickled. Its really neat with all the history behind it. You hear stories about this rodeo  its like Cheyenne (Wyo.), a big outdoor rodeo. Salinas is one of the rodeos that every cowboy wants to check off his bucket list. The buckle is pretty prestigious  its beautiful.

Hed seen Big Star before, and watched Tim OConnell win a round in Fort Worth, Texas, on the horse earlier this year.

I knew I had a really good horse to ride, but I wasnt sure it was enough to win the short go with all the great horsepower they had here, Ratliff said. My horse performed, and I performed, and snuck out a win.

He spoke by phone just before going through airport security July 24, on his way to ride Monday night at the Spanish Fork (Utah) Fiesta Days Rodeo.

Ratliff is a three-time qualifier (2012, 2014-15) for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER, and is well on his way to reaching the Finals again this December in Las Vegas. He won $6,073 in Salinas, and is seventh in the July 25 WEATHER GUARD PRCA World Standings.

Still, he wanted to win a big rodeo.

I was telling my mom the other day that I needed a big win, he said. Im healthy and Im riding really good. Id been placing really good, but I hadnt won since Molalla (Ore.) on July 4. Im having a good year, but to win Salinas is really good for a guys confidence. Its really neat to get this win under my belt.

Ratliffs best finish was seventh in the world standings in 2014; he was ninth in 2012 and 15th last year.

I try to be persistent, and also be consistent, he said.

It was his first time to win Salinas, and one hell always remember.

The last couple of years Ive had to turn out at Salinas because I made the short round in Nampa (Idaho) the same weekend and had to make a choice, he said. This year it worked out so I could work both of them. Last year I ended up winning Nampa, and it worked out the opposite way this year.

After competing in Spanish Fork, Ratliff will fly home to Louisiana to see family  including grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, and, of course, his wife, Brittany and their daughter, Maryclaire, who turned 1 on May 18.

Hell attend the annual church revival camp meeting in Oak Grove, La.

Its been a tradition with the church since it was built over 100 years ago, and our family pitches in and helps host people who come from churches in other states, he said. I try to make it a priority to go, but didnt get to go last year.

This year, he can proudly show everyone his Salinas buckle.

Other winners at the $375,345 rodeo were all-around cowboy Josh Peek ($6,347 in tie-down roping and steer wrestling), steer wrestler Cody Kroul (20.1 seconds on three head), team ropers Erich Rogers and Cory Petska (47.4 seconds on five head), saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright (170 points on two head), tie-down roper Cooper Martin (30.0 seconds on three head), barrel racer Nellie Miller (64.82 seconds on four head) and bull rider Scottie Knapp (167.5 points on two head).
Stars and Stripes is reporting that a 2nd Infantry Division soldier, from Leesville, La., was found dead July 31 in her apartment north of Seoul, South Korea.

The newspaper reports that 26-year-old Sgt. Jacqueline M. Anderson's cause of death is under investigation.

According to the newspaper, Anderson was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 38th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Field Artillery Brigade.

Read the Aug. 1 report HERE.

The following is a news release the West Central News Center requested from the 2nd Infantry Division PAO, originally released Aug. 1:

CAMP CASEY, South Korea  Sgt. Jacqueline M. Anderson, a 2nd Infantry Division /ROK-US Combined Division Soldier stationed here, died in her residence in Dongducheon in the afternoon of July 31.

Anderson was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 38th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Field Artillery Brigade, and was stationed here with her husband, Sgt. Carl William Anderson, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 210th Field Artillery Brigade.

Next of Kin have been notified, and the cause of death is currently under investigation.

Update to release: Anderson's unit held a Memorial Ceremony, Aug. 9, on Camp Casey.
Search of Mayfield home snares alleged meth trafficker and two others
By Bill Hughes Aug. 10, 2016 | 06:34 PM | PADUCAH, KY









Voters will decide in a couple of months if alcohol sales should be allowed in both the city and county portions of one McCracken County precinct, or if part of it will stay dry.A vote has been scheduled for Tuesday, October 4 in the Cecil precinct, which extends from just west of Noble Park to Maxon Road between Cairo Road and Hinkleville Road.Lynn Dickey with the County Clerk's office said that a petition for the vote was filed with McCracken Fiscal Court by a real estate developer, and it was approved at their Monday meeting.St. Louis-based Sansone Group has plans to build a nearly 400,000 square foot $50 million development on county property just west of the Kentucky Oaks Mall area. They initially tried to get the city to annex the property so they could qualify for a tax increment finance grant. Another benefit of annexation was that businesses on the property could also sell alcohol, because the city is wet, but the county portion of the precinct is dry.Since the annexation didn't happen, Dickey said the October vote could make the entire precinct wet, solving the problem once and for all."This vote will finish getting the outlying area right beside the city annex - it will also get it wet, if they vote for it," Dickey said.Both city and county voters in the Cecil precinct will participate in the referendum.Dickey indicated there has been increased interested in a ballot initiative by local residents, too - not just by the developer.A special ballot by Hendron 3 voters kept that precinct dry in December, but a ballot initiative in the Williams precinct last September approved alcohol sales.A petition filed in 2013 from the Maxon precinct, just west of Cecil, wasn't approved for a referendum because it came up 5 names short of the minimum number of signatures.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 10, 2016 | BENTON, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 10, 2016 | 09:37 PM | BENTON, KY

Tiffany Carlson announced Wednesday that she will be running for the District 5 seat on the Marshall County School Board.



Carlson is a graduate of Marshall County High School, a parent to a current student there and a member of the bands booster club. She says that if elected, she will be a voice for students, parents and teachers and work to improve the countys education policies and improve academic outcomes.



Carlson is a board member for CASA by the Lakes for Marshall County, president of the Western Kentucky Paralegals, liaison for the Kentucky Paralegal Association and would bring years of management experience to the position. She is also a 2015 graduate of Emerge Kentuckys candidate training program.



Im excited to throw my hat into the ring for District 5s school board position and look forward to having the opportunity to serve the residents of Marshall County, Carlson said. I believe my background and experience will help me bring a fresh approach and new ideas to the board while continuing the excellence of the school system.



Carlson lives with her husband, Michael and son, Zachary.
By Paul Schaumburg, Graves County Schools Aug. 11, 2016 | 11:48 AM | MAYFIELD, KY

The Graves County School Board will ask the Kentucky Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision to allow the city of Mayfield to annex Graves County School District's elementary school, middle school and other buildings.

The court reversed the order of Graves County Circuit Judge Tim Stark directing that the matter be placed on the ballot for the general election. According to school board attorney Ed Massey, the opinion was not clear on the right of the residents to vote.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed the right of the school board to intervene in the suit, noting that the board has 100 percent ownership of the property the city government seeks to annex, Massey said. The Graves County Board of Education next will ask the Kentucky Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision,



If the decision is ratified, the school board will file a petition for discretionary review with the Kentucky Supreme Court.

The ruling handed down Aug. 5 was a 2-1 decision.



Massey explained that the dissenting judge stated, Under the majoritys decision, the only person(s) who can oppose annexations are registered voters who live in the areas affected by the annexation. Not only does this frustrate the legislative intent of the statute, I frankly find such a ruling to be unconstitutional.

The Graves County Board of Education believes the decision is an unconstitutional taking of property without due process, and that is the basis of the petition for discretionary review to the Kentucky Supreme Court, Massey said. As an owner of the property it makes neither legal nor logical sense that an owner could not object to an interference with their respective property rights.

Massey concluded, The school board further believes that taxation of the employees in the area sought to be annexed is tantamount to taxation without representation. As a result, the board unanimously has elected to defend their constitutional property interest and to protect the employees of the district from being taxed.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 11, 2016 | CALVERT CITY, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 11, 2016 | 01:04 PM | CALVERT CITY, KY

Kentucky State Police detectives are asking for the public's help in their investigation into the theft of more than $100,000 worth of equipment from a construction site in Marshall County.



Detectives say crews arrived at the site, located at the I-24/I-69 (Jackson Purchase Parkway) interchange, during the early morning hours of August 4, and found that several Trimble GPS receivers and control boxes had been taken sometime since the previous afternoon.



Detectives are asking that anyone who was traveling in the area during the late hours of August 3 and the early hours of August 4 who may have seen something suspicious contact Detective Cory Hamby at 270-856-3721. Travelers Insurance is offering a reward of up to $4000 for information related to this theft.




By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 11, 2016 | 09:09 AM | MARSHALL COUNTY, KY

An assault investigation in Marshall County led to the discovery of a meth lab.

According to the Marshall County Sheriff's Department, deputies investigated an assault between a father and son Wednesday at a home on Brewers Highway, which led to the arrest of Kenneth Gordon for 4th degree assault.

While at the scene, deputies found a working meth lab at the home. Detectives discovered several coffee filters with methamphetamine, plastic baggies used to manufacture meth, drain opener, a meth generator bottle, starting fluid, instant cold packs, lithium battery casings, tin foil and a glass meth pipe with meth residue.

Gordon was additionally charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending.

Gordon was lodged in the Marshall County Detention Center.
On the back of a summer of conjecture, Riyad Mahrez has now reportedly accepted that he will not be leaving Leicester City any time soon.

According to the Guardian, despite turning down a new 80,000-a-week contract offer, the Algerian has no qualms about staying put but has also made known his desire to try his hand at a club in the upper echelons, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona all said to be tailing the 2015/16 PFA Player of the Year.

However, following a series of talks between his representatives and his current employers, Mahrez has now come to accept that he will not be leaving the Foxes during the current transfer window as the reigning champs now dont have sufficient time to source and acquire a replacement.

Negotiations over a new contract will continue, however, with any agreement potentially resting on whether the 25-year-old would be allowed to leave if a suitable bid is received in future.

We guess thats sort of good news for Leicester fans ish.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You know the famous quote about Ginger Rogers: She had to do everything Fred Astaire did, backwards and in heels.

The observation comes regarding the female lead  Princess Fiona, played by Heather McGuigan  in Rainbow Stages August offering Shrek the Musical.

The story is familiar to anyone who saw the 2001 animated film Shrek, about a mean green ogre obliged to rescue a princess if it will mean hell be left alone by the refugee fairy-tale characters who have invaded his swampy domain.

ROBERT TINKER PHOTO Heather McGuigan as Princess Fiona.

Fiona is held hostage by a dragon, but she turns out to be a formidable fighting femme. As the story progresses, another quality emerges that explains her mysterious penchant for avoiding contact with others after the sun sets

Carson Nattrass plays the role of Shrek in full ogre, complete with elaborate latex facial appliances. Lets just say that while McGuigan must sing, dance and trade repartee with Shrek and his sidekick Donkey (Jeigh Madjus), she also has to perform in a get-up thats a little more complicated than the usual paint-and-powder applications.

McGuigan doesnt want to proffer any spoilers. But she allows the role requires her to apply makeup nearly as elaborate and applied in mid-show in a tighter time-frame.

Everything you expect to happen in terms of Fiona, it happens, McGuigan says. Its moments of magic that you just have to come and see.

When the show opened on Broadway in December 2008, a more cynical observer might have assumed the play was conceived as a musical cash cow to pull in fans of the movie. McGuigan was under no such delusion.

Jeanine Tesori wrote the music for this show, and the second her name was attached to this, I guarantee anybody in the theatre community would go, That woman knows how to write a song. (Tesori won a Tony Award in 2015 for her musical score to the Broadway hit Fun Home.)

McGuigan says the movie was, in fact, a natural fit for a stage musical.

The movie is very theatrical, she says. There was all this music and over-the-top characters and big travelling scenes and a big emotional journey  all of the things that make you want to come and see theatre, to be transported and uplifted and warmth and joy and love.

McGuigan is originally from Winnipeg, first appearing on the stage at her alma mater at St. Johns-Ravenscourt School before establishing her career in Toronto where, earlier this year, she played Princess Fiona in a Neptune Theatre production of Shrek.

It challenges you to find new moments, McGuigan says of playing the same role for two different companies in quick succession.

ROBERT TINKER PHOTO Carson Nattrass as Shrek

But its really quite enjoyable, and you already know your lines, so you can really just invest in playing with the other actors.

It helps, too, that McGuigan really relates to the character as no other.

I get to be the silly person that I have to hide in other shows, she says. I get to let out all the goofy stuff that I do in my kitchen.

I think this character is the closest Ive ever played to my own personality, flaws and all, she says. Its really fun and exciting and freeing to display.

Its all of my crazy on stage.

randall.king@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @FreepKing

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO  For 55 years, Giant Tiger has operated under the radar amid intense competition against rivals such as Walmart, but its setting its sights on becoming a household name.

The Ottawa-based retailer, with its trademark yellow branding, operates 220 stores and has a goal of opening 10 to 15 stores every year for the next three to five years.

The company also has plans to revamp the design of its locations and increase its product offerings in order to build a better shopping experience. Growing its e-commerce business has also been a top priority.

The Ottawa-based company operates the Giant Tiger stores in Eastern Canada. Winnipeg-based North West Company owns the master franchise rights to open and operate Giant Tiger stores in Western Canada and in some communities in northwestern Ontario.

North West president and CEO Edward Kennedy said the company is on the same page as its eastern Canadian counterparts when it comes to opening more stores. He said those 10 to 15 stores the company hopes to open each year will include three or four in Western Canada.

Theyre also on the same page when it comes to wanting to, wherever possible, expand the size of it stores to create room for more products  such things as more fresh meats and produce and seasonal hard-goods items such as childrens bikes, patio furniture and Christmas trees.

He noted when North West first began opening Giant Tiger stores, 13,000 to 15,000 square feet was considered the ideal store size. Now its 20,000 to 25,000 square feet.

North West has 32 Giant Tiger stores in Western Canada, including 14 in Manitoba. It also opened a store last month in Sioux Lookout, Ont. Kennedy said the company has been refreshing, and in some cases expanding, its Giant Tiger outlets for the last two years. About 23 have been done so far, and it hopes to have the rest completed by the end of next year.

He noted the Giant Tiger store at the corner of Donald Street and Ellice Avenue is one of its smallest outlets, but there is no room to expand it. So the company would like to find a bigger downtown location, although it would have to be one where the rents arent too high.

Selling everything from groceries to big-screen TVs, the national discount chain credits the key to its survival and more importantly, its success over the last half-century, to delivering value to shoppers in the know.

Giant Tiger is Canadas best-kept secret, said Thomas Haig, president and chief operating officer of the privately owned company.

As part of its expansion, the company says its looking for sites between 18,000 to 25,000 square feet in communities where theres demand for Giant Tiger  including areas where theres already a location.

Recent openings have included stores in Bathurst, N.B., Sudbury, Ont., and Wetaskiwin, Alta.

For the past few years, Giant Tiger has been working on transforming its sleepy image in order to stay relevant to customers who want one-stop shopping for household items and groceries.

One of the biggest priorities the company has is the task of reorganizing store layouts so customers can navigate faster and easier as opposed to rivals who operate warehouse-sized locations that force customers to walk around aimlessly.

(Our customers) are looking for a simplified shopping experience, said Karen Sterling, vice-president of marketing at Giant Tiger.

Their target customer continues to be women between 30 to 55 years old, with two kids, who are the CFO (chief financial officer) of their families and looking for value from their purchases.

Along with updating its store look, the company has also been increasing its e-commerce presence. It has about 6,000 products online, with the option of shipping some of them to home or a local store for pickup.

Retail analyst Sandy Silva, who is with market research firm NPD Group, said part of Giant Tigers success comes from customers who like the idea of supporting a Canadian business.

But where the company can really make its mark is how it proceeds with online shopping.

 The Canadian Press, with files from Murray McNeill
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There were many times over the last four years when one of the driving forces behind a new Wolseley-area co-op-housing project wondered if it would ever be built.

One of the biggest obstacles that had to be overcome, said Old Grace Housing Co-operative president Sandra Hardy, was the need to pre-sell 54 of the 60 suites in the co-ops proposed new housing complex on the former Old Grace Hospital site.

It was daunting Even a condo (project) doesnt need to sell that many, she noted.

Prairie Architects Inc. / WalTech Visualization Old Grace Housing Co-op complex rendering

But those doubts were a distant memory Thursday as Hardy and other co-op officials members celebrated the official sod-turning for the long-awaited $15.8-million project.

An elated Hardy told the more than 50 people who gathered to witness the event co-op members are expected to begin moving in in early 2018.

But for today, lets take a moment and savour how far weve come, she added to raucous applause.

The 60-unit, U-shaped housing complex will be built on Preston Avenue between Arlington and Evanson streets. As an intergenerational, mixed-income co-operative, it will fill a significant gap in the housing market. The suites will include a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, with half of them being subsidized units for low-income families who qualify for assistance under the provincial Affordable Housing Rental Program.

Hardy said the provincial government is providing a $70,000 subsidy for each of the subsidized suites, which reduced the cost for qualified buyers to between $16,000 and $28,000, depending on the size of the unit. The 30 non-subsidized units cost between $90,000 and $130,000.

Six of the suites will be fully accessible for people with mobility issues, as will the grounds, the parking area and the service and common areas. Two Peg City Car Co-op vehicles also will be available on-site, and members will have ample secure bicycle parking.

Prairie Architects Inc. / WalTech Visualization Old Grace Housing Co-op complex rendering

The complex will be both energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable. Not only is it a registered Manitoba Hydro PowerSmart project, Hardy said the co-op also hopes to become the first non-profit housing group in Winnipeg to obtain gold certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

She said the co-op members who have purchased suites include young families, seniors, empty nesters from the neighbourhood who are looking to downsize and people who require accessible housing.

She said the co-op had to pre-sell many of the units because it doesnt own the land and couldnt use that as equity. She said the province retained ownership of the land and leased it long-term to the co-op.

She told the crowd the project wouldnt have been possible without the help of the province and Assiniboine Credit Union, which provided the financing for the project. She also praised the support the co-op received from the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, the Wolseley Residents Association, local businesses and other not-for-profit organizations.

Wolseley Residents Association president Cynthia Neudoerffer said the co-op will be a welcome addition to the community.

Prairie Architects Inc. / WalTech Visualization Old Grace Housing Co-op complex rendering

Throughout the years co-op members have actively engaged with our organization and other neighbours to ensure that their vision aligns with that of the greater community, she said. We look forward to watching the construction over the coming months and welcoming new and old friends to the co-op and to Wolseley.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Not unlike every other legacy institution in society, education is being disrupted by digital technology.

If the fact Winnipeg-based Quipped Interactive Learning Tools is one of only 12 companies accepted to participate in a private conference for the worlds top education-technology founders in New York next week is any indication, it is at the vanguard of that process.

The weeklong VentureOut Edtech Expedition conference connects companies such as Quipped with leaders of the education and venture communities in New York, including founders and executives from top education companies, venture capitalists and other thought leaders in the education ecosystem in New York City.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Quipped Interactive Learning Tools co-founder and CEO Suzanne Braun in the companys downtown office. Her company is one of only 12 invited to take part in the weeklong gathering.

Suzanne Braun, co-founder and CEO of Quipped, knows it is a great opportunity to get her company out in front of some industry key players.

Its very exciting, she said.

The small Winnipeg startup has developed a sophisticated software application called Quio Learning Map, a student-assessment tool that goes beyond what students  and their parents  get from a letter grade.

It adheres to the school divisions curriculum and its learning goals, but the assessment is communicated in an e-portfolio that is interactive and individualized.

Braun and her team have spent a couple of years developing it and already have thousands of teachers and students using it on a trial basis. Not surprisingly for something like this that requires school divisions to do a major rethink, the sales cycle can be lengthy.

But we have great take-up, Braun said. British Columbia just released its new curriculum, including the way they do student assessments, and Quio fits like a glove. The interest has increased significantly with the new curriculum. Alberta in the midst of rewriting theirs, and its almost a mirror to what B.C. is doing.

Last year was the first year of trials after a couple of years of development. She is going to B.C. in three weeks to set up more users and hopes that after another year of trials the company will start booking sales at the start of the 2017 school year.

We are seeing a lot more momentum, she said.

The goal is to increase the user base and convert them to sales for years three and four.

The invitation to attend the VentureOut conference is some validation for the hard work Braun and her team have put in. Brian Frumberg, the founder of VentureOut, said they researched 20 countries with education-technology ecosystems and invited a number of pre-qualified companies to apply. He said there were 113 applications, and 12 were selected.

It costs the same as it would to attend TechCrunch Disrupt, but instead of being one of a thousand, youre one of 12, and you get to shake the hands of the speakers, Frumberg said.

Braun will get private meetings with venture capital investors, mentors and industry officials.

 instead of being one of a thousand, youre one of 12, and you get to shake the hands of the speakers VentureOut founder Brian Frumberg

Many other companies that have advanced to the stage Quipped is at would likely have gone through a couple of rounds of investment, but Quipped has been almost entirely self-financed.

Thats because its five shareholders are fully equipped with many of the resources it needs.

Braun is a co-founder of an 18-year-old integrated digital-marketing agency called Relish, which has done the coding and all the digital design for the Quio program.

And two of the Quipped partners are the owners of Portage and Main Press, an educational publisher of mostly Canadian resources for the K-12 market.

Catherine Gerbasi, the publisher and co-owner of Portage and Main, believes the timing is perfect for Quipped and for the partnership between Portage and Main Press and Relish.

With the advent of more technology in the schools, digitized learning, long-distance learning and new curricula that focus on big ideas and 21st-century competencies like critical thinking and problem-solving there are a number of different areas of education changing like every other industry, Gerbasi said.

It seemed like a perfect moment for our educational publishing company and Relish with its web and software capabilities to come together to create something unique.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpyoutube:https://youtu.be/nnaULhs_weA:wfpyoutube

OTTAWA  An early-morning tip from FBI investigators triggered a race against time as police scrambled to identify and locate a balaclava-wearing would-be suicide bomber they feared was on the verge of killing innocent Canadians.

Within three hours, they believed they had found their man: Aaron Driver, 24, a known terrorist sympathizer who was living in the southwestern Ontario town of Strathroy, under court-imposed conditions.

It was a race against time, RCMP deputy commissioner Mike Cabana told a news conference Thursday in Ottawa as he described in chilling detail the deadly events of the previous day.

RCMP / THE CANADIAN PRESS The aftermath of an explosion inside of a taxi that Aaron Driver entered after leaving a house in Strathroy, Ontario is seen in this handout photo. RCMP confronted the Driver as he fled the house into the back seat of a waiting taxi, where an improvised explosive device suddenly detonated, injuring the cab driver.

How quickly this was all established is actually testament to the level of collaboration that exists between law enforcement agencies and security agencies in Canada and the United States. Without that  the outcome would have been quite different.

The tip included a screen shot of a martyrdom video of Driver, and a warning that he was planning to detonate a homemade explosive device in an urban centre during morning or afternoon rush hour, Cabana said.

Based on the information, the attack was supposed to take place within the next 72 hours.

The warning was Canada-wide and made no mention of a specific city, said RCMP assistant commissioner Jennifer Strachan, who praised investigators for identifying Driver quickly enough to prevent him from carrying out the attack.

Several hours later, with police amassing outside Drivers house and the afternoon rush hour ramping up, a taxi unexpectedly arrived. Officers moved in when Driver, carrying a backpack, left the house and jumped into the back seat.

Scene containment was done, and the taxi  we had no knowledge it was coming and it got in there very quickly, Strachan said.

As the officers confronted the suspect, an improvised explosive device suddenly detonated, injuring the cabbie.

Driver was killed in the ensuing fracas, either by the explosion or police gunfire, Strachan said. Police photos of the inside of the cab show how the blast ripped apart the upholstery, shattered windows and scorched the interior.

If he had gotten out of that residence before we got there, she said, the scenario would have ended a lot differently.

In the video, aired during the news conference, a masked Driver addresses the camera directly, speaking Arabic before an English tirade against western enemies of Islam, including Canada and allies in Europe and the United States.

You still have Muslim blood on your hands, and for this we are thirsty for your blood, he says.

Police gather evidence outside of a house in Strathroy Ontario, Thursday, August 11, 2016. Terrorism suspect Aaron Driver was killed in a confrontation with police in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Dave Chidley

Theres a fire burning in the chest of every Muslim, and this fire can be cooled only by the spilling of your blood. Your war on Islam is not the kind of crime we allow ourselves to dismiss, to forgive or to forget, inshaAllah.

Cabana also said Thursday that the ongoing investigation has led police to a secondary location in the city of London, Ont., not far from where Driver had been living with his sister in the town of Strathroy.

Driver had been under a court order not to associate with any terrorist organizations, among other restrictions. But he was not under continuous surveillance, said Cabana.

In February, Drivers lawyer and the Crown agreed to a peace bond stating there are reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group.

The RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other police and security agencies were also involved in Wednesdays operation.

The federal Liberal government has committed upwards of $500 million towards various police, security and border control measures, as well as a counter-radicalization program ramping up this summer, said Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

Canada, obviously, is very anxious to maintain the open, inclusive and generous nature of our country, Goodale told a news conference in Regina.

In order to do that, we have to be among the best in the world at identifying those who are vulnerable to the insidious messages of radicalization; we have to find the means  to reach out to those who would be vulnerable, and to find the ways effectively to intervene with the right people at the right time with the right messages, to try to head off these tragedies before they occur.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his gratitude via Twitter: On behalf of Canadians, we thank the @rcmpgrcpolice for their work in Strathroy yesterday, Trudeau wrote. Your service ensures our safety each and every day.

In Strathroy, a neighbour of Drivers said he couldnt recall ever seeing the man around town. But he said Wednesdays incident  and the discovery that a terror suspect lived only a stones throw away  hit a little too close to home.

For me, having two kids and my wife and a possible terrorist  sympathizer down the street, its kind of  its a little crazy.

Video footage showing Aaron Driver is seen behind RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana (left) and Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Strachan during a press conference for what the RCMP are calling a terrorism incident, in Strathroy, Ontario yesterday, on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Last year, federal authorities were so suspicious Driver might have ties to a terrorist group that he bounced in and out of jails and courtrooms for months, all without any actual charges ever being laid  and he had no criminal record at the time.

In June 2015, Driver was first picked up in Winnipeg. Published reports at the time suggested Driver posted messages on social media that praised terrorist activities, including the attack on Parliament Hill in October 2014 by Michael Zehaf Bibeau.

Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University who studies radicalization and terrorism, maintained in 2015 that Driver posted for several months on social media about disliking Canada and about a desire to move overseas.

Mounties applied for a peace bond that could impose limits on Drivers activities, alleging in provincial court documents that investigators believed he might help with terrorist group activities.

When Driver was released later that month, he was ordered to comply with 18 different conditions, including wearing a GPS tracking device.

 With files from Paola Loriggio in Strathroy, Ont.

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This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Mohinder and Shammy Gandhi first got involved with Folkloramas India Pavilion back in the late 1980s, they made the trip from Steinbach to attend and volunteer, often hauling groceries with them so they could introduce delicious dishes such as chickpea curry, tandoori chicken, naan, samosa and gulab jaman to Folklorama-goers, many of whom had never tasted Indian cuisine. In those days, there were no Indian restaurants, Mohinder says.

The Gandhis relished the opportunity to share their culture with Canadians. And, 28 years later, they continue to do so, volunteering at the India Pavilion as well as working with the Indian Association of Manitoba, the organization that sponsors the pavilion. The volunteering is still going on, and it will continue until I die, laughs Mohinder.

They are also inspired by their fellow volunteers. Our volunteers dedication is insurmountable, Shammy says.

The India Pavilion is located at the Heather Curling Club (120 Youville St.), and runs during Week 2, until Aug. 13.

 FP: What do you enjoy about volunteering at the India Pavilion?

MG: We love doing it. Its a cultural display. Its a mirror of India. People dont have to travel all the way to India to enjoy it.

SG: We just love it. Its the culture, its the friendship. So many people from different cultures come, and we interact with them. Its a new whole outlook. It broadens our (perspectives).

 FP: How does your work with Folklorama keep you connected to your Indian roots?

MG: Its a display of Indian culture. When people visit, they have an experience of what Indias all about. People never knew about henna  through Folklorama and the Canadian mosaic, they came to know what henna is all about.

SG: We stay connected with our roots there, we bring them back here. We stay in touch  through arts, music and dance. Last year, we brought so many musicians for the 50th anniversary of the Indian Association of Manitoba, so there was connection in bringing them over.

MG: Many people have come back to the pavilion not once, twice but three times during the week.

 FP: Back to volunteering, what do you get out of the experience personally?

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Mohinder and Shammy Gandhi are volunteers with the India Pavilion at this years Folklorama.

MG: Its self-growth! We have gotten involved with the India Centre, too. Thats the joint effort between the University of Winnipeg and the Indian Association of Manitoba. And we like to come back to volunteering because its an in-our-blood kind of a thing, you know?

Its self-growth, its interaction with people  and I love talking. Being a teacher all my life, a university professor, I love talking. We have the Indian Magazine, too, that we hand out to people  and any questions they might have, we volunteer to explain it to them. Some of the food they arent familiar with, so we tell them. We just enjoy doing it.

SG: We look forward to these two weeks. We wait for so many months. And there are so many volunteers.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @JenZoratti
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/08/2016 (2270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpvideo:116292628:wfpvideo

A former Winnipeg man who was a known Islamic State sympathizer is dead following a police operation late Wednesday in the southern Ontario community of Strathroy.

Aaron Daniel Driver, 24, formerly of Charleswood, was living in Strathroy, 225 kilometres west of Toronto, after agreeing to a peace bond earlier this year that stopped him from communicating with Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

Driver was killed inside a Strathroy home and was suspected of plotting a suicide bomb attack in an unnamed major Canadian city. He was acting alone, media reported.

Aaron Driver

CTV News said a loud explosion and gunshots were reported by neighbours and the RCMP, a bomb squad and military special forces were involved in the operation.

Quoting an internal government memo obtained by CTV News, the suspect allegedly planned to use an IED (improvised explosive device) to carry out a suicide bombing mission in a public area. His alleged plan, according to the document, was to create mass casualties.

Officials feared that the plot couldve been carried out on Wednesday during rush hour in a busy location, CTV added.

Driver, who also went by the alias Harun Abdourahman, was released on a peace bond in February with 12 conditions  some expiring in August and others in December. He was not facing criminal charges, and no trial was scheduled.

The peace bond meant federal justice officials believed there were reasonable grounds Driver might aid a terrorist group or terrorist activity.

Provincial court Judge Ryan Rolston ordered Driver not to have a computer or cellphone until Aug. 31.

As well, Driver was not to be in the possession of a firearm or explosives until the end of the year, and was prohibited from being on social media sites or contacting IS.

He was also ordered to live at an address in Strathroy.

Federal Crown attorney Ian Mahon said the restrictions for computers were to end in August for Driver because thats when such things as a new school year were to begin.

Computers are a necessary tool, Mahon said in February.

Last year, police raided a home in Charleswood and arrested Driver, not charging him but alleging he had ties to terrorist activity.

Federal justice officials applied for a peace bond, but Driver said he would fight it in court.

After a few days in custody, Driver was let out on bail.

Driver agreed to a word change in the peace bond from will to may in the line: may participate in or contribute to, directly or indirectly, the activity of a terrorist group for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity.

Driver also agreed to post a $1,000 bond, to meet with an RCMP officer in London, Ont., every two weeks, not go on any social media website, including Twitter, Facebook or Kik, and not to contact or knowingly communicate with any member of ISIS, ISIL, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and Al Qaida in Iraq or any affiliated groups.

Mahon said at the time that when Drivers peace bond expires Dec. 1, hes done now unless there is a breach.

The peace bond, which Driver agreed to, is in place because he may participate in or contribute to, directly or indirectly, the activity of a terrorist group for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity.

Leonard Tailleur, Drivers lawyer, could not be reached Wednesday.

Driver had been wearing a GPS ankle band but it was removed in February.

The Mounties said Wednesday they received credible information of a potential terrorist threat earlier in the day.

They said a suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there was no danger to the public.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said he had spoken to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the events to confirm that public safety has been and continues to be properly protected.

The RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other police and security agencies were involved in the operations, he added.

Taking all relevant information into account, the national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at medium where it has stood since the fall of 2014, Goodale added.

The RCMP said Wednesday because the matter was still unfolding and the investigation remained underway, there would be no further comment.

The Mounties planned to hold a news conference Thursday to provide details.

In Strathroy, resident Irene Lee said late Wednesday police had been camped out near her parents convenience store since about 4:15 p.m.

At about that time, she said she was at her home close by when she heard a loud noise.

She said shortly afterward, a police officer came by to tell residents to stay inside their homes.

Lee said there were up to 25 marked and unmarked cruisers outside a home on Park Street, which is right behind her parents store.

Ottawa was abuzz with rumours for much of Wednesday after a memo was circulated among National Defence personnel warning of a terrorist threat.

 staff / The Canadian Press
Opinion

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This article was published 10/08/2016 (2270 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a fairly small announcement with a very impressive guest list.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne rushed to the idyllic shores of Lake of the Woods near Kenora on Wednesday to celebrate a partial restoration of federal funding for the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), a cluster of 58 lakes that has been used for decades to study the science of freshwater and connected ecosystems. In all, Ottawa will contribute a $850,000 annually over the next two years to support the ELAs ground-breaking research.

Why would two premiers travel to a rustic location to mark an announcement of fairly modest magnitude? The ELA has an interesting back story, one that reveals as much about politics as it does about freshwater lakes.

John Woods / The Canadian Press Premier Brian Pallister (at podium), along with (from left) Michael Gravelle, Ontario minister of northern development and nines, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, Cathy Cox, Manitoba minister of sustainable development, and Matthew McCandless, executive director of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, attend a funding announcement for the Experimental Lakes Area Wednesday.

The story of the ELA, in political terms at least, goes back to 2012, and a threat by the former Conservative federal government to close the facility.

Lauded by scientists for years, research at the ELA was credited with advances that helped lead to environmentally enlightened policies and laws all over the world. And it didnt cost all that much  about $2 million per year. In federal fiscal terms, that was roughly equal to the change that can be found between the sofa cushions in the finance ministers Ottawa office.

But despite all those factors, the Tories wanted nothing to do with the ELA. Scientists were laid off, a library connected to the Freshwater Institute was dismantled and researchers were told they could not discuss their research publicly. Scientists from around the world denounced the decision.

What did the Tories get for this act of blatant and aggressive austerity? The ELA continued, albeit in diminished form, when Ontario and Manitoba stepped up and provided the funds necessary for the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development to take over the entire operation.

Based on those results, some will argue the Tories were shrewd at interprovincial politics. By threatening to close the ELA, they were able to unload an annual expense on two provinces. But the true costs of the Harper governments decision on the ELA were not limited to government expenditures. There was a political price as well.

The ELA decision was portrayed by critics of the Conservative government  both partisan and non-partisan  as part of a war on science. It was mentioned in the same breath as cuts to Statistics Canada, the elimination of the long-form census, and the gag order the Tories put on scientists to prevent them from sharing their expertise with the public. Research stations in Canadas High Arctic were closed, and funding for scientific research  both within government and through NGOs  was cut.

Although these policies were popular with hardcore Tories, they tended to worry voters who had only a casual relationship with the Conservative party. And that created a mathematical problem for Harper.

To maintain his majority, Harper needed to convince a fair number of centrists and moderate fiscal conservatives with more liberal social views to support his vision for the country. Any policy or position that smelled like far right-wing ideology  like a so-called war on science  would spook those middle-of-the-road voters, draining away enough support to deny Harper another election win.

And thats in large part what happened. The Tories did not lose a lot of support in the 2015 election. But combined with a surge in support for the Liberals, just enough people abandoned the Harper Conservatives to return them to Opposition status.

The war on science, symbolized by decisions like the threat to close the ELA, was not the sole reason why Tory support eroded. But it was an important contributing factor, and as such falls into the same category as other pointless and self-destructive decisions made by Harper and his government over their last few years in power.

It should be noted that the Trudeau Liberals have not restored ELA funding to previous levels. In fact, the announcement on Wednesday calls for less than half of what the Tories were providing before the threat to close down the facility. Even with the new support, the ELA will continue to rely heavily on Ontario and Manitoba if it is to continue operating.

However, this gesture from the Liberal government  and a broader commitment to spend nearly $200 million on freshwater and ocean science across the country  is deliberately designed to convince voters that the Liberals are a science-friendly government. They are banking on the knowledge that there are likely far more voters in this country who like the idea of investment in science than those who would prefer to close the ELA.

It is often said in politics that the politicians who enjoy the longest careers are those who can identify the hills that are worth dying on, and the ones that are not worth climbing at any time. Throughout their span in government, the Tories showed a remarkable capacity for making small, risky decisions that eroded their support come election time.

It seems obvious now that very few Tories believed that threatening research on a clutch of lakes in northwestern Ontario would ever have much of an impact on their re-election chances. But it did. And the decision of Pallister and Wynne to travel all the way to Kenora to mark a modest funding announcement from Ottawa clearly demonstrates that they are not going to make the same mistake.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

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This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I was reminded this week of something Izzy Asper once suggested was the culture of the Canadian Prairie and hence the personality of its people.

It centred on our reputed generosity.

What prompted the memory of my conversation with the late billionaire and philanthropist is the generous reaction to two recent columns; one about a mysteriously missing headstone that was meant to mark the grave of a 93-year-old Winnipeg woman and a second column that prompted a couple of envelopes stuffed with $1,500 in cash.

GORDON SINCLAIR / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS $1500 in cash came in for Shae Yakichuk and her husband Tyler Yakichuk who were victims of a home invasion burglary on the May long weekend. The money was mailed to the Free Press by donors who requested anonymity.

The column about the headstone began for me with an email from one of the two surviving daughters of Nellie Yosyk, who died last February.

Both June Feakes and her sister, Brenda Winning Jensen, believed the headstone her mother had paid Youngs Memorials $795 for 21 years ago was supposed to be kept on the memorial companys West St. Paul property until their mother died. But Mark Young, who bought his fathers business 10 years ago, said he was trying to close shop at whats now known as Young and Yaremchuk Memorials and retire. And he didnt know the location of Nellie Yosyks headstone.

After the story was published in Tuesdays Free Press, Lorne Raber, who is retired as owner of a monument company, offered to contact someone he had particular respect for in the industry  Shelly Bohn of Larsens Memorials  and ask if she could help Nellies still grieving daughters find peace, if not the original stone. Which is how Shelly and her two brothers in the business, David and Dennis Bohn, came to offer the gift of a fully engraved replacement stone.

Shelly did not hesitate one second when I asked her, Raber later told me. Good people.

June Feakes hadnt expected that outcome.

Thats an amazing gesture, she said. There are wonderful people out there.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Everlasting Memorials in West St. Paul also offered to provide an engraved replacement stone for the family.

Nellies daughters were surprised and grateful for the offers.

Not as surprised as I was, though, when earlier this month I finally got around to collecting and opening my office mail and found two envelopes, each stuffed with $750. The money was meant for Shae and Tyler Yakichuk, married students who were the victims in May of a home invasion and burglary in South Osborne, where the thief drove off with much of what they owned, including their car, which mercifully was recovered.

Now, months later, I was delivering a strangers gift of $1,500 to a young woman who was almost speechless, but obviously grateful. Shae opened both envelopes and stared in shock at all that money, all that generosity.

Which brings me back to what the late Izzy Asper probably would have said. Izzy told me he believed our giving, helping nature comes from our history as a Prairie people who, when the West was first settled, had to be helpful and giving to each other.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Sisters June Feakes (left) and Brenda Winning Jensen will now have a monument to mark the site of their mother Nellie Yosyks grave thanks to caring readers.

Just to survive.

That culture of being good neighbours, he believed, has survived in a modern world.

I agree.

My own view, though, is our helping nature has been fostered by our geographic isolation, by generation after generous generation of families remaining rooted here. And by our relatively small population, which keeps the degrees of separation even smaller.

Does that make us distinct from most other places in Canada?

Statistics that show Manitobans give more per capita to charity than anywhere else in the country would suggest that. But were not about to boast because that wouldnt fit with another part of our reputed character and culture that Izzy, being Izzy, didnt mention.

Our humble Prairie nature.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Aaron Driver in a video warning western enemies of Islam that the only solution would be the spilling of your blood looks eerily like the Aaron Driver I was running beside, and trying to photograph, after his appearance in court earlier this year.

He may even have been wearing the same balaclava.

The video, released by RCMP Thursday, shows a balaclava-clad Driver staring straight into a camera. Its the same gaze I saw a few months ago.

In February, I was at Drivers quick court matter at Winnipegs Law Courts where a possible days-long hearing became a 10-minute rubber stamp by a provincial court judge of a peace-bond agreement between Driver and the federal Crown prosecutor.

Twelve conditions were agreed to, including not being in possession of explosives, living at an address in Strathroy, Ont., not being on social media and not contacting the Islamic State or any other terrorist groups.

Most of the conditions Driver agreed to were to expire Dec. 1, but another, not to be able to have a computer or cellphone, was to run out Aug. 31, because thats when a new school year would begin and Driver was expected to enrol in some type of post-secondary course in nearby London, Ont.

The Crown and police wanted the peace bond because, as they put in the document, they believed Driver may participate in or contribute to, directly or indirectly, the activity of a terrorist group for the purpose of enhancing the ability of a terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity.

We dont know whether Driver had been in contact with IS or any other terrorist group, but we do know  because of a video released by RCMP during a news conference in Ottawa Thursday  he obviously now had access to a computer and had used one to send out the video message.

Even more terrifying, we also know he had violated another condition: he had explosives.

Once I and other reporters spoke to the Crown, we tried to speak to Driver who was sitting on a bench on the main floor waiting to sign his peace bond. He declined the requests, but after about an hour for the paperwork to be processed, he started wandering through the Law Courts building.

It appeared Driver decided not to venture outside right away because of the throng of media ready to inundate him with questions.

After waiting, I finally went over to him, again trying to ask him a few questions, which he again declined. But then I told him it was up to him how long he wanted to stay inside the courthouse. But I said because media were camped outside both exits, they were going to get his photograph at some point.

Thats when he buttoned up his coat, put on a black balaclava and tuque, looked straight at me and then pushed through the doors to swiftly walk past the assembled media without a word.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files Aaron Driver, seen outside a Winnipeg courtroom in February, agreed to a peace bond preventing him from communicating with terrorists.

Thats when I ran alongside Driver, snapping a photo with my iPhone with Free Press photographer Mike Deal in the background, while Deal took a similar picture of Driver and myself behind. Only the area around Drivers eyes could be seen because of his balaclava  the same eyes caught in the video six months later.

I remember asking Deal, after we let Driver walk off, why anyone who is not a terrorist would make himself look like one as he walks away.

We now know the answer. Driver never did give up his terrorist tendencies, he just relocated them to an Ontario town.

We will likely never know what Driver was planning. Who knows how many lives were saved because RCMP and other law authorities were able to get to him before he could carry out whatever action he had planned.

What we do know is the blood Driver vowed to spill turned out to be his own.

And that the guy I was running beside down a Winnipeg street will no longer be able to hurt anybody.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Thirteen students from Cochrane-Fountain City Future Business Leaders of America were among 9,380 of Americas best and brightest students who traveled to Atlanta to connect with top future business leaders and showcase their talents at the National Leadership Conference June 28 through July 2.

Participants from across the U.S. and abroad attended this conference to enhance their business skills, expand their networks and participate in more than 65 business and business-related competitive events.

While at the conference, the C-FC chapter was recognized as earning the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit.

The following C-FC students competed at the conference:

Paige Allemann and Tiffani Skroch in introduction to business presentation

Kerrigan Lyga and Abby Husser in public service announcement

Sara Bjorge, Brianna Nisbit and Becca Adank in graphic design

Leah Hager, Alex Rothering and Carter Hund in computer technology

Brooke Allemann in parliamentary procedures concepts

Amara Livingston in business principals

Damian Jilk in financial literacy

As the Wisconsin Region IV Vice President, Paige Allemann, attended the Institute for Leaders and presented at the Wisconsin Executive Board Meeting.

In addition to the conference, the students had the opportunity to tour the World of Coke, CNN Studio, Centennial Park and Georgia Aquarium.
Test results compiled from The College Board Advanced Placement Program showed that students at Cotter High School taking AP U.S. History and AP Calculus AB scored much higher than the state average. Students taking AP Calculus BC and AP English Language and Composition scored at and above the state averages.

Collectively as a school, the mean score in four subjects is at or above the U.S. and global averages.

Scores are rated on a scale from one to five, with one being the highest score. In AP U.S. History, Cotter students scored .88 of a point higher than other students in Minnesota, and over one point higher than the country and the world. Eighty-nine percent of Cotter students who took the AP U.S. History exam also received a score of three and higher.

All of the of students who took the AP Calculus BC exam received a score of three and higher.

Depending on what college these students attend in the future, they may be able to use these scores for college credit.

Cotter also had 15 AP scholars, including one AP Scholar with Honor and one AP Scholar with Distinction.
Editor's note: This story is no longer being updated; visit winonadailynews.com for updated coverage on the flooding in Trempealeau and Buffalo counties.

Heavy rain from overnight storms caused widespread flooding across Buffalo and Trempealeau counties, washing out roads and inundating areas of some small towns with floodwaters, though no injuries were reported.

Buffalo County appeared to have suffered the brunt of the initial damage, with levels on area rivers and waterways in both Buffalo and Trempealeau counties continuing to rise, amid the threat of a new wave of storms.

Both counties are under a flood warning until 10:15 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. A warning is the most severe alert, meaning there's a strong likelihood a flash flood could occur. The latest forecasts calls for strong bands of storms that could bring between 1 and 4 inches of rain, which isn't as much as the previous storm but could continue to cause significant flooding and damage, given that the ground is already saturated.

Both counties were under a state of emergency Thursday, with several primary and secondary roads closed, some with sections washed out. Gov. Scott Walker's office said Thursday afternoon that it is closely monitoring flood developments across western Wisconsin.

Independence flooding, evacuations

On Thursday afternoon, emergency officials announced a voluntary evacuation in the town of Independence in Trempealeau County, with the zone along Hwy. 93 ranging from Cedar Street to Whitehall Road/Hwy. 121.

Thursday evening, much of Independence was still underwater. Bugle Lake brushed against the backs of houses, and the intersection of Osseo Road and Elm Street was still impassable with shin-high water. The rush had knocked over garbage cans and flower pots on its way into basements, its way up staircases.

Three brothers  Jason, Mark and Kevin Parrish  were left with hours of cleaning up to do.

Jason and Mark had moved into a house on Bugle Lake a few weeks ago, and had watched last night as the storm rolled in.

People who have been here for decades say its never flooded like this, said Mark, his other brother nodding.

We were told it wasnt in the floodplain, Kevin said.

It was lucky, they agree, there was no major damage. The water stopped after reaching the top step of their basement, and initial surveying by the Parrish brothers showed they only lost some dishes, some books and some old photos.

Their yard was still covered by two feet of water, filled with algae and floating firewood. Even that was not so bad, Mark said, because it was receding.

Kevin figured the yard would be nice and dry by the morning.

You try to have fun with something like this, because you know it could have been worse, Mark said. And when were done here, we plan to meet at the bowling alley and buy a few drinks.

Damage, road closures across region

In Buffalo County, the Red Cross was assisting at least six families displaced from homes in the Gilmanton and Mondovi areas.

In concern over safety of patients and staff, Gundersen Independence Clinic has been evacuated because of flooding, according to a Gundersen spokesperson. Brian Theiler, Gundersen Tri-County Hospitals and Clinics CEO, said Gundersen Independence patients are being seen at the Gundersen Whitehall Clinic.

Hwy. 93 in Trempealeau County between Arcadia and Independence is closed, though flooding there is receding, with officials monitoring and hoping to open the road, depending on what damage appears.

Travel is still not advised in Buffalo County on county and secondary roads that may have been washed out. State roads 37, 121 and 88, and County Roads U, X (bridge out), E, EE and N, and the OO Rail line were all impassable as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Buffalo County Emergency Management department. Hwys. 37, 25, 35, 95, and 10 are all open, according to the department.

Additionally, due to increasing amount of water traveling down the Buffalo River, Hwy. 37 from Alma to Hwy. 88 south of Mondovi is closed until further notice, according to the Buffalo County Highway Department.

Other main roads, including Hwy. 35, were clear Thursday, with traffic moving normally. In neighboring Eau Claire County, all affected roads had re-opened by 4:30 p.m., that county announced.

Gilmanton in Buffalo County was one of several areas reportedly hit hard, with several homes flooded. Cream, an unincorporated town in Buffalo County, also suffered significant damages.

The Buffalo County Emergency Management service is asking any residents with property damage to dial 211 and report the damage, and not call 911 unless they're reporting a true emergency. Residents dealing with flooding are asked to visit the Wisconsin Department of Health's website for flooding resources, or consult the Flood Toolkit guide, which is attached to this article.

State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout of Alma and other officials on Thursday urged all Buffalo and Trempealeau county residents to fully report all flood damage, because the final tallies will determine whether the county will be eligible for state and federal aid.

Buffalo County is advising all residents with private wells submerged by recent flood waters to not drink the water until the well is tested.

At Suncrest Gardens in Buffalo County, the popular rural pizza farm, owner Heather Secrist said the farm suffered some damages, including passing debris flowing into pasture fences. No animals were harmed, and buildings or fields affected, she said.

She said the farm remains open for business, but is asking patrons to stay safe and exercise extreme caution if traveling; the farm will only be minimally staffed Thursday because of the no travel advisory that remained in effect across Buffalo County.

A change of plans

The Huber family farm in the town of Tell suffered severe damage in the storm.

Marian Huber, who lives in the farmhouse, said a few inches of water filled the entire first floor.

Marian's family came by to help, scrubbing the floors and hauling antique furniture out to the muddy yard, so it would be out of the way.

"I saw the water coming up the cellar steps," Marian said. "I grabbed my Bible, my iPad and my pills  and I ran."

Thursday afternoon, the Hubers were still searching for damage, slogging through the dark farmhouse with flashlights.

Allison Huber, Marian's granddaughter, said it would be days before the old farmhouse, which has been in the Huber family for decades, would be cleaned up.

"We were supposed to have a family reunion here this weekend," she said. "Not anymore."

Additional storms on the way

Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in parts of Wabasha County, with parts of Buffalo County reporting between 5 and 7 inches. In Trempealeau County, the Arcadia area saw about 5.5 inches of rainfall. As of early Thursday afternoon, many parts of primary roads had been cleared, with water no longer cresting over several roads.

There was no flooding or damage reported in Winona County, where the storms brought a band of rain but not nearly as heavy as what was reported in the north and east, said Winona County's emergency management director, Mike Peterson. About 1.3 inches of rain fell in the city of Winona, with areas in the northern part of the county closer to Whitewater State Park seeing about 3 inches of rain.

Another round of storms is coming: The Service has predicted a severe band of thunderstorms developing later this afternoon and evening, and passing through the same area. More flash flooding is possible with the second round of storms, along with the potential for some to produce strong and damaging winds.

Todd Shea, Warning and Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in La Crosse, said there is uncertainty as to the extent and severity of the storms coming through later this evening and tonight.

He urges citizens to pay attention to the weather reports and to take any additional flash flood warnings seriously  stay on high ground if possible, because more rainfall could result in more flooding. Anyone near the river should keep their eyes on the weather.

Rivers will also be on the rise, with flooding expected into the weekend.
Angie and David Pierce, sibling co-owners of Pierces Markets, received a surprise visit from the Wisconsin Grocers Association on Thursday afternoon.

Association President and CEO Brandon Scholz arrived unannounced at the Pierces Baraboo store to present them with the groups 2016 Community Service Award.

Talk about being caught off guard, Angie Pierce said.

Its a great, great achievement for the company, David Pierce said.

The award recognizes the Pierces for their contributions to the communities where they live and operate their businesses.

Pierces Markets has donated to food pantries in each of the communities where its stores are located, totaling nearly $50,000. Its namesake foundation also has raised more than $62,000 for local nonprofit groups in Baraboo, Portage, Madison and Muscoda.

Pierces Markets also is involved with the Vernon Area Rehabilitation Services, an organization that runs programs to help people with varying abilities find jobs. Pierces in Baraboo often works with the programs, providing sustainable employment for its participants.

Scholz said the Grocers Association presents a number of awards at this time of year, but the Community Service Award is meant to recognize businesses that give back to the communities in which they operate.

We want to recognize people in our industry who share with their community and give back to their community, he said.

Scholz said the Pierces donations made them prime candidates for the award.

They do it without asking for any credit, Scholz said. They dont put up ads and say, we donated $50,000 to the food pantry, or, we gave $62,000 to nonprofit groups. They dont do that. They just want to give back.

This is the ninth year the Grocers Association has presented the award, and the Pierces are two of five other grocers in the state to receive it. Award winners are nominated by association members and chosen by the groups board of directors.

In addition to the Wisconsin Grocers Association, the Portage Chamber of Commerce also recognized Pierces by naming it 2016 Business of the Year.

The Pierce grocer tradition began in 1924 when William and Anna Pierce founded a small store on Walnut Street in Baraboo. Almost a century later, the business has expanded to three locations in West Baraboo, Muscoda and Portage.

David Pierce said he wishes his late father Don Pierce, a third generation owner of Pierces and former Baraboo mayor, could have seen them receive the award.

My father just passed a month ago, he said. I wish he could have been here to witness this. Im sure hes watching.
Two of Sauk County governments largest agencies are asking for nearly 2 percent budget increases next year.

If the budgets approved earlier this week by oversight committees stand, the countys Sheriffs Department and Human Services Department will include additional programming next year for vulnerable populations.

The largest expense increases for both departments were salary and benefits. The Sauk County Board has approved an automatic 1 percent raise for non-union employees in 2017, which is expected to impact 491 full-time positions and add about $567,000 to the countys tax levy.

Homeless program boosted

The Sauk County Human Services Board voted Monday night to request a 1.8 percent increase to the countys human services budget, which would bring its total use of county property taxes to $7.7 million.

The departments budget includes a nearly $300,000 increase in salary and fringe benefits due to the automatic raises.

Supervisor Peter Vedro of Baraboo offered an amendment to the departments budget request that would boost homeless assistance spending by $22,000 next year, bringing total funding for that purpose to $100,000. The committee voted to approve the amendment, with only one member, John Deitrich of Reedsburg, voting against it.

Deitrich said although he appreciated the spirit of the amendment, he would rather wait to see if the need for the funds is present next year, and then amend the budget at that time. He said the human services board also must consider that other agencies also may be asking for more from taxpayers next year.

It just seems like were putting the cart before the horse, Deitrich said.

Vedro suggested the oversight panel make its initial budget request without consideration for the total county budget. A decision to cut certain programs or expenses can be made later in the budget process, he said.

Sauk County Human Services Department Director Dan Brattset said $100,000 for homeless intervention funding was a reasonable request. He also said the county must do better with respect to the mental health treatment of jail inmates.

We have people in that jail who are suffering because of mental health issues, and we can do better, Brattset said.

The issue of inmates mental health was a major topic of discussion Tuesday during an oversight committee meeting to approve the sheriffs departments initial budget request.

Mental health spending

The sheriffs department budget request includes a 1.7 percent increase in its use of local tax dollars, bringing the departments total levy request to $12.1 million.

Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister said significant changes include a 2.7 percent increase to salaries for 2017, as well as an increase in the revenue budgeted from other agencies that rent jail beds for their inmates.

Meister said budgeting for more prisoner housing revenue will help pay for a $25,500 increase to the jails medical contract. That additional money will allow the jails medical contractor to provide up to 20 hours a week of mental health treatment.

The contractor has been providing anywhere between six and 10 hours of mental health treatment, Meister said. He included an increase to 20 hours because I just wanted to ramp up slowly, rather than ramp up to a full 40 hours.

Members of the Sauk County Boards Law Enforcement Committee suggested there may be a need for more than 20 treatment hours. They asked Meister to explore the possibility of cost sharing with another agency, such as the countys Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, if additional staff time is needed.

Supervisor Bill Wenzel of Prairie du Sac, who chairs the Law Enforcement Committee, said mental health treatment currently only is provided as a reaction to inmates that already have demonstrated problems. He said at a recent meeting, members of the countys Criminal Justice Coordinating Council expressed a desire to change that trend.

There was some hope that we could go from reactive to proactive (mental health treatment), Wenzel said.

Supervisor Tom Kriegl of Baraboo, a law enforcement committee member, offered an amendment to raise the projected $450,000 in prisoner rent to a level thats more in line with actual figures from recent years and so far this year. The department has taken in more than $700,000 in that category in each of the last two years.

Kriegl said underestimating the income source forces local taxpayers to contribute more than is required to the sheriffs budget each year, which results in the departments hefty end-of-year donations to the countys already-strong rainy day fund.

However, fellow law enforcement committee members sided with Meister, who said it was more appropriate to budget conservatively for prisoner rent, given the unpredictable state of the jail bed market. If renters were to disappear at some point in the future, the department could be left with a large budget deficit.

Ive been hearing every year now that (renters) might be going away next year, Kriegl said. It hasnt happened.

The department budget requests will be reviewed by administrative staff this month. If revisions are made, oversight committees will have the opportunity to grant final approval to the requests during meetings next month.

The Sauk County Boards Finance Committee then examines all department budgets during a three-day series of meetings in late September before it submits a final 2017 budget recommendation to the full board. The final budget is then considered by the full board in November.
The Baraboo School Board unanimously agreed Monday to place a $21.95 million referendum question on the Nov. 8 ballot to determine if local taxpayers will support renovations to Baraboo High School.

If passed, the referendum would fund various facilities improvements at the high school and cost local taxpayers an extra $0.45 per $1,000 of assessed property value after two years.

Theres a lot of pieces in motion here, and that $0.45 impact is for what were projecting it will look like in 2018, not 2017 taxes, said Baraboo Schools Director of Business Services Bob Avery.

Avery said expenses associated with administering the referendum already have been calculated into the projected tax levy and mill rate for the 2016-2017 school year, which is set to decrease from last year.

School leaders pointed to other nearby districts that have higher mill rates, even if the expenditures are approved. for example, taxpayers in the Mauston School District pay $11.60 per $1,000 of assessed property value, Sauk Prairies mill rate stands at $10.33, Portage at $9.98 and Reedsburg at $9.73.

The referendum question caps a year-long process conducted by the Modernized Community Campus focus group, made up of parents, teachers, business leaders and school board members who determined the districts facilities needs.

The group found that many areas in the high school were outdated and filled to capacity and needed to be renovated.

The group sent its recommendations to the board, and which then conducted a survey to see what additions the community might support.

School board member Sean McNevin said the district scaled back the initial referendum proposal of $35 million to $21.95 million due to the results of the survey. McNevin said the survey makes him confident in voter support.

The community already supports the referendum based on the results we got back, he said.

If passed, the referendum will fund classroom and facilities improvements at the high school, including the renovation and expansion of classrooms for technical education, family and consumer education, art and physical education.

It also would include the expansion of the schools cafeteria and commons area, as well as improvements to the library and student services area. Upgrades to the schools temperature control system and a modern fire sprinkler system are included as well.

McNevin said the referendum will benefit the entire community over time.

The big investment were making is in classroom space for classes like tech ed., he said. Then were producing kids who are not only college ready, but career ready.

Baraboo voters approved a $9.95 million referendum in 2014 that funded security and maintenance needs at each of the districts seven schools. The planned renovations to the high school would complete the second part of the districts facilities improvement plan.
After all of the deadly shootings around the nation and world, one restaurant owner in Portland, Maine, decided to take action herself.

On her Facebook page she posted that anyone who owned an assault rifle or supported an individuals rights to own an assault rifle could not enter either of her two restaurants. She stated the reason was because the only thing I want to teach is love.

Individuals such as Anne Verrill, the owner of the two restaurants, have a right to share opinions.

But if she is trying to teach love as she posted, discriminating against a particular group is not the way to do it.

Business owners sometimes seek to use their establishments as platforms; business owners from all over the country have tried to ban certain groups from entering their establishments.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who also happens to be Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trumps running mate, even signed a law last year that allowed businesses to turn away customers of different sexual orientation.

He later amended the law to protect those same customers  but not until after a lot of flak on the subject.

Verrills plan to ban customers who own AR-15s or support the right of citizens to own assault rifles is no better than Indiana businesses wanting to ban individuals based on their sexual orientation.

Instead of discriminating, businesses should use their storefronts and their websites and social media sites for the positive.

For instance, in support of local law enforcement Downtown Racine Corp. partnered with Downtown businesses Friday for what they called the Blue Light Project.

They placed blue luminary bags outside their stores for the First Friday event and placed signs in their windows stating, We Back the Badge.

As part of a newsletter, Downtown Racine Corp. stated: Every day, our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line for their family, friends and communities to ensure their safety  We invite you to join us in respecting and honoring those that serve, and remembering those that have lost their lives in the line of duty.

That is the kind of positive messages that businesses should be spreading.

That is how you teach love, not by turning away customers who dont agree with your views.
Change is inevitable, thus, the recorded history of Juneau County reveals this to be true. The week before Christmas in 1924, a public Ku Klux
Portage vehicle owners might soon help fund road repairs by paying an extra $15 in annual registration fees.

The Common Councils Finance/Administration Committee on Monday was very supportive of adopting a wheel tax in 2017 to spend on infrastructure replacement and sustainability, City Administrator Shawn Murphy said Wednesday.

The fees  $15 per vehicle  would be collected by the Department of Transportation, making the wheel tax relatively easy to implement: the DOT would send the fees to the municipality in the form of monthly payments as vehicle registrations become due and are renewed.

The city, with 10,456 vehicles registered in 2016, estimates that a $15 wheel tax would generate $155,000 a year.

More and more municipalities are utilizing this, Murphy said of the wheel tax, which, if approved later by the common council, would

be used only for transportation purposes. About 15 municipalities in Wisconsin have already enacted a wheel tax, according to Murphy (see chart).

The Finance Committee thinks additional funding for city streets, due largely to state transportation funding thats been either stagnant or cut over the past eight years, Murphy said. Alternative revenue sources for transportation, he added, are needed simply to keep up with road repairs.

We have limited ability to raise our own, other than through borrowed funding, Murphy said.

District 2 Alderman and Finance Committee member Mark Hahn said Wednesday its important residents know talk of a wheel tax is just that  talk  and that his decision will be weighed upon constituents who havent yet had a chance to learn about the wheel tax or how it would work.

I hope all citizens contact their alderperson and give their opinion on it, Hahn said.

The Finance Committee in June had looked into other ideas to fund transportation, such as an overall transportation utility or a street light utility and how such utilities would impact the budget and property owners, ultimately concluding Monday that the wheel tax was the most equitable and least onerous way to get additional revenue, Murphy said.

Suggestions for the wheel tax Monday were for $10 and $20, and committee members eventually split the difference to arrive at a preference for $15.

City estimates showed a $10 or $20 wheel tax would raise about $103,000 or $207,000, respectively.

Finance Committee support provides, for now, only a general direction for the wheel tax, Murphy said, as the idea will next be taken up by the Municipal Services and Utility Committee at its regular meeting in September. The Finance Committee is asking that panel for specific recommendations for how the money would be spent.

Fees could be used to fund taxi services, for example, or road resurfacing, curb and gutter replacement and pothole refilling, among other repairs and maintenance that is currently funded through the city budget or through borrowing.

Murphy said the city is cognizant of how the wheel tax would represent yet another fee on vehicle owners, though he cited his discussions with two other municipalities  Lodi and Prairie du Sac  and how implementation of the wheel tax there has gone fairly smoothly.

Lodi and Prairie du Sac adopted wheel taxes in the past year, first conducting public education initiatives either in the form of public meetings or mailings to explain to residents why they were doing it, the amount, and how it would be collected.

Portage, too, would hold public meetings should a wheel tax ultimately make it to the Common Council for possible approval.

There would certainly be an opportunity for public input and questions and answers, Murphy said.

Using a wheel tax to generate transportation funds has been an idea discussed off and on by city leaders for the past couple of years, the first such occurrence being when former Mayor Bill Tierney had brought the idea forward as a possible funding source for Portage Area Trails and Heritage System (PATHS), Murphy said.

The fees would apply to cars and light trucks with a gross weight rating of 8,000 pounds or less, Murphy said.

The cost of registering a car in Wisconsin is $75 a year, according to the DOT. The annual cost for trucks under 4,500 pounds is $75; for trucks under 6,000 pounds the cost is $84; and for trucks under 8,000 pounds the cost is $106.

Finance Committee chairman Dennis Nachreiner could not be reached for comment before deadline.

Seeking balance

Hahn said other options discussed for increasing revenue  adding $3 a month to a water bill, for example  would have affected every household in the same way no matter what their income is. Committee members prefer the wheel tax, in part, because the people paying the tax have at least demonstrated the ability to afford a car.

I realize families with three, four, five cars would be impacted more (by the wheel tax), Hahn said, adding his own family falls in that category. But you might say people who can afford four or five cars, maybe that extra money wont hurt them as much.

Finding true fairness, Hahn said, is often difficult if not impossible, but most residents would agree something needs to be done about the roads. With that in mind Hahn believes allocating wheel-tax funds to something specific, a bigger project citizens can see results from, would be the best way to go.

If we put (the funds) into small, little items, residents will wonder whats going on, Hahn said.

People would understand it better if they saw an outcome, to say, look, this is how the roads have gotten better.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 19 at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Portage, with the Rev. Gary Krahenbuhl presiding. Military honors provided by Portage Area Veterans Honor Guard will be held after the Mass at the church. Inurnment will be private. Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home (www.pmmfh.com) in Portage, with a Rosary held at 4:30 p.m. Visitation will also be held from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friday at the church.
Art Shrader and Russ Feingold won their democratic primary races in Sauk County.

The primary election was held Aug. 9. Winners will advance to the general election on Nov. 8.

Shrader was running against Tom Crofton for the 50th Assembly District seat, which is currently occupied by incumbent Ed Brooks, a Republican. Shrader received 990 votes in Sauk County versus Croftons 234 votes.

Brooks was uncontested for the republican race and won 543 votes.

At the full district level Shrader won 2,200 votes while Crofton received 934 votes. The 50th Assembly District reaches out to the Kingston, Lyndon Station, Richland Center, Greenwood and Clifton areas.

Feingold, who is running for U.S. Senate, received 3,848 votes in Sauk County. His opponent, Scott Harbach, received 283 votes.

Feingold will face incumbent republican Ron Johnson, who was uncontested in his race on Aug. 9. He received 1,628 votes in Sauk County.

At the state level Feingold won 303,282 votes to Harbachs 33,105 votes.

Voter turnout was 12 percent in Sauk County, according to the Sauk County Clerks Office. Thats lower than the state average, which was expected to be around 16 percent.

There were also numerous uncontested races across the county. Sauk County races included clerk and treasurer seats. Becky Evert received 1,504 votes for clerk; Elizabeth Geoghegan won 1,517 for treasurer.

Brent Bailey received 1,521 votes for Register of Deeds while Patrick Dederich earned 1,448 votes for Surveyor.

The Times-Press was unable to reach Shrader by deadline for comment.
UPDATE: August 15, 2016 (3 p.m.)

The Florida Department of Health in Bay County has lifted its health advisory against swimming in the canal near Redfish Circle and Grand Lagoon between Finisterre Drive and Weakfish Drive.

Health officials tell us the sampling of water taken came back satisfactory.

______________________________________________________

The City of Panama City Beach reports a release of approximately 25000 gallons of raw sewage from a manhole into a canal near the 1100 block of Redfish Circle in Bay Point. The canal empties into the north side of Grand Lagoon.

Sewage contamination of water can expose bathers to intestinal viruses, bacteria, and parasites.

The Florida Department of Health in Bay County advises against swimming in the canal and Grand Lagoon between Finisterre Drive and Weakfish Drive until further notice.

For more information, you may contact the Florida Department of Health in Bay County at (850) 872-4455.
W&M professor uses Google Cardboard to bring religious sites to classroom in 3D

New perspective: Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Mark McLaughlin will begin using Google Cardboard to bring important religious sites into the classroom in 3D. Photo by Marisa Spyker

New perspective: A Sikh temple in Amritsar, India, will be one of the sites students will be exploring in 3D through Google Cardboard. Photo by Asha Tyska McLaughlin Photo - of - Hide Caption

Before smartphones even existed, Mark McLaughlin, visiting assistant professor of religious studies at William & Mary, had a vision for bringing technology into the classroom. It all started while he was traveling through a remote region of Cappadocia, Turkey, in the early 90s, and came across a cave-like structure dating back to the 6th century.

It was a huge basilica carved out of stone, he said. The craftsmanship was incredible. No one had really written about it or investigated it before, so I spent several weeks documenting and photographing it  and yet, photos couldnt really do it justice. So back then I started contemplating better ways to be able to capture a space like this and share it with others.

Two decades later, McLaughlin, along with Mike Blum, W&M e-learning specialist and program manager, found his solution in a $15 piece of cardboard developed by Google. Aptly named Google Cardboard, the origami-like contraption is delivered flat and unfolds into a virtual reality headset that, when used with a smartphone, transports the viewer into a 3D photographic environment. McLaughlin is currently developing a curriculum that incorporates Google Cardboard and will likely introduce the technology in his class on sacred spaces in India in the spring.

Its as if youre standing in the middle of the space looking around, said McLaughlin. You have a sense of volume and how various aspects of the space are juxtaposed with others. It allows for a very dynamic immersion into the environment that could give rise to interesting questions or perspectives.

Google Cardboard will be the first tool that McLaughlin will use to offer an immersive experience in his classroom, though hes explored other options for better visualization of sites, including geospatial analysis and 3D scanning, for years. Most options he found were either too expensive or far too cumbersome to pull off.

Google Cardboard costs less than a textbook, so in terms of accessibility its perfect for students, he said.

While Cardboard is compatible with multiple smartphone apps, McLaughlin plans to use Google Street View to showcase religious sites such as temples, shrines and tombs around the world. The app allows the user to capture and upload a photo sphere (360-degree panoramic view) within minutes. The sphere can then be viewed in 3D with the Cardboard headset, and multiple people can view the same sphere at once.

This allows me as a teacher to bring all of the students into the space at the same time so we can explore it together, and I can lecture simultaneously, he said. In addition, the student has the freedom to explore the space on their own, which could lead to interesting and original research questions. In a sense, it puts them in the drivers seat as the primary investigator or explorer.

McLaughlin plans to capture as many rural sites as possible during his own travels through India and around the world, but another plus to Street View is that many photo spheres of religious sites and ruins  mostly those frequented by tourists  already exist. He is also in the process of seeking grant money that would allow him to train a team of W&M students to travel to India with him to capture spaces, gaining valuable field research experience.

Whats great is that youre plugged into a public domain, so anything people have already uploaded you can go in and see, he said. And then anything we publish and use in the classroom would be free for other professors to use in their classrooms as well.

McLaughlin hopes more scholars will contribute to the database of religious sites as they go about their research through 3D photos and, someday, 3D videos, which he said is the next frontier hes pursuing in Google Cardboard.

The benefit to 3D video is that you have the ability to move the viewer through the space in a way that you would want them to explore it, he said. It also opens up the possibility for recording important ritual activity. It will be interesting to see how important sound is as well. There are some really exciting and dynamic applications of this that I am looking forward to.




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Preferred site chosen for NuScale SMR

11 August 2016

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A preferred site has been identified for the construction of a small modular reactor (SMR) at the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL), near Idaho Falls.

The SMR plant envisioned by NuScale (Image: NuScale)

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) CEO Doug Hunter announced that the organization had identified its preferred site from four possible locations within INL's boundaries. Speaking at the Intermountain Energy Summit, he said the 35 acre (14 hectare) plot lies about six miles (10 km) southeast of the Lost River Rest Stop near the junction of US Highways 20 and 26.

The UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) was formally launched in 2015, bringing together UAMPS, NuScale, Energy NorthWest and Enercon Services in a project to build the first-of-a-kind of NuScale's reactor design. Earlier this year the US Department of Energy granted a permit to UAMPS allowing it to perform site selection and characterization activities within the INL site. Hunter said the preferred site would not interfere with any existing INL facilities or research.

The SMR design for the CFPP is being provided by NuScale Power of Portland, Oregon. Engineered with passive safety features, the 50 MWe NuScale Power Module could see up to 12 individual modules installed in a single facility. The first-of-a-kind commercial plant would include a reactor building, turbine building, used fuel storage area, administration and other buildings.

NuScale chief commercial officer Mike McGough told the conference the company is "nearly ready" to submit a reactor design certification application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The company has previously said that it plans to submit a construction and operating licence (COL) application referencing the design in late 2017 or early 2018.

Regional agency UAMPS - a political subdivision of the State of Utah that provides wholesale electricity to community-owned power systems in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming - established the CFPP to provide for additional mid-sized baseload electrical generating capacity to meet the expected future needs of its members. The move followed the formation of the Western Initiative for Nuclear (WIN) collaboration, set up by NuScale in 2013 to study the demonstration and deployment of a multi-module NuScale SMR plant in the mid-western USA by 2024.

Earlier this year NuScale confirmed it intends to participate in a UK government competition to identify the most suitable SMR design for possible future deployment.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Digging repository deeper may not make it safer, says Nagra

11 August 2016

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Additional documentation on the engineering feasibility of a deep repository has been submitted by Switzerland's national radioactive waste disposal cooperative Nagra. It claims there are no safety advantages to constructing a deeper repository than originally envisaged.

In January 2015, Nagra proposed that further investigations are carried out at the proposed siting regions of Zurich Nordost and Jura Ost in the third and final stage of Switzerland's plan for selecting sites for two repositories: one for low- and intermediate-level waste (LLW/ILW) and the other for high-level waste (HLW). It also said the four other regions under consideration in the second stage - Sudranden, Nordlich Lagern, Jura-Sudfuss and Wellenberg - will be placed in reserve.

The six sites were proposed in November 2011 during the first stage of the selection process. Nagra is required to propose at least two regions to host each of the repositories for further investigations in the third stage.

Last September, the Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI) requested that Nagra submit additional technical documentation related to the optimization of the repository depth in terms of safety. It was required to show whether construction at greater depth involves disadvantages in terms of safety and whether modifying the repository concept would be advantageous for such depths.

In February, two Swiss expert groups released separate reports supporting the repository siting proposals put forward by Nagra. However, they called for further investigations to be carried out in the Nordlich Lagern region. Nagra has already stated, "The geological siting region of Nordlich Lagern for a HLW repository has insufficient underground space in the preferred depth range and there is no possibility of realising the repository at the optimum (from an engineering viewpoint) depth."

Nagra has now provided ENSI with the requested information. It said it has "considered a range of concepts for disposal chambers and sealing sections at different depths". Nagra added, "Variants of potential repository and barrier concepts were also described and compared from the viewpoint of depth of construction." According to Nagra, this information is "particularly relevant with respect to the Nordlich Lagern siting region".

Nagra said the information it has now submitted to ENSI supports its earlier conclusion. "Unless it is necessary, a repository for high-level waste in the Opalinus Clay should be constructed no deeper than 700 metres and a repository for low-level waste no deeper than 600 metres," it said. Nagra is of the opinion that constructing the repositories deeper than this "would bring disadvantages with respect to safety". Building a repository at an optimum depth "allows extreme conditions during construction, operation and possible waste retrieval to be avoided and prevents the geological barrier from being unnecessarily compromised", Angra claims.

Nagra executive board member Piet Zuidema said, "Our analyses have shown that constructing a repository at great depth in the Opalinus Clay is highly challenging." He added, "It is important for safety that we should give priority to conditions that are straightforward in terms of construction."

ENSI is expected to complete a detailed review in early 2017 of the reports and analyses submitted by Nagra. Based on the result of these examinations, the Federal Council is expected to decide by the end of 2018 whether to agree with the location areas proposed by Nagra for consideration in the third stage.

ENSI noted, "Until this decision is made, all six potential siting areas basically remain in the selection process."

Nagra said, "It is impossible to predict today whether ENSI will share this view in its overall final assessment. In order to avoid further delays in the site selection process, Nagra will therefore carry out 3D seismic measurements in the Nordlich Lagern region from autumn 2016 and prepare applications for exploratory boreholes in the region."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Many developing countries are paying a large share of the out-of-pocket medical expenditure by the users of the country. In some countries, it is nearly 100% amount paid by them but the heavy medical bills create a burden on various households. Most of them belong to the low-income groups so the highest percentage bars them to take advantage of medical facilities.

Healthcare Systems in Developing Economies

In Syria, the Syrian International Coalition for Health is an organization of health professionals that are committed towards providing better medical facilities to the people of the country. Their focus is to provide qualitative and affordable healthcare facility to citizens as it is adversely affected by the crisis.

In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the government has started programs for strengthening the healthcare system by managing health resources in the country. The Ministry of Health is taking a step forward to maintain equality in providing healthcare facilities universally.

In Montenegro, the government has introduced new laws concerning the healthcare system according to which modern and efficient medical facilities are available to everyone. The medical staff of the country is also highly trained and there are many health schemes started by the hospitals for the patients under which they can be registered.

Provision of Healthcare Aid from Various Institutions

In Syria, a number of foreign countries, including Kuwait, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Germany, have come forward to support the country by providing basic healthcare facilities to the citizens in the crisis-affected area and an amount of nearly USD 1 billion will be spent on the healthcare of 17 million people.

In Saint Vincent and Grenadines, the pharmaceutical company is providing medical facilities and medicines to the people living in the Island Country. The Government spends nearly 10.18% of government budget on the people healthcare system in order to cover 100% population under public healthcare.

In Montenegro many modern clinics, such as those dedicated towards Dermatology, Infectious Disease, Neurology, and Gynecology, are due to be opened in the near future with the help of government funds to provide medical aid to the people. Many healthcare facilities are provided for elderly people through government funds, donations from private charity and that from foreign funds is nearly 57%.

The Role of Insurance Companies

In Syria, mostly the healthcare facilities are funded through foreign aid so no private insurance sector is currently functional as it is worst hit due to crisis. In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the government has started the National Health Insurance Plan that focuses on creation of additional income that can be diverted towards supporting the healthcare of the people in the Island nation. The Insurance scheme will help citizens to pay for the medical facilities, as it will support the low-income group people. In Montenegro, the Healthcare Insurance Fund relatively funds the medical service in the country by improving the payrolls. The total healthcare spending is almost 91% out of pocket by private insurance.

Inferences from the Data

The healthcare facilities though are adversely hit in Syria due to ongoing rage but in Saint Vincent and Grenadines and Montenegro, the citizens are getting an access to good healthcare system with the contribution from government and insurance companies.
Journey River Green was born last Thursday

Megan Fox and husband Brian Austin Green just welcomed Journey River Green this past Thursday. No major details have yet been released, but the baby boy is reportedly healthy. The couple already had two other sons  three-year-old Noah and two-year-old Bodhi.

The actress father had revealed the newborns gender earlier this year, saying: Megan is an amazing mom and I cant believe she is going to have three boys. Becoming a grandfather has been a wonderful experience and brought us all even closer together.

All I can say is they are together and they are happy. Ive met Brian a tonne of times now and he is a great guy  I am the grandfather of her two gorgeous boys and now she has another boy on the way. I couldnt be prouder of the woman my little girl has become.

The two were previously having personal problems, leading Fox to file for divorce last year, but a source claimed they are now totally back together.

An insider revealed: Theyre totally back together. Theyve been through a lot, but this makes more sense for the kids and the new baby  Megan is coming around but she hasnt called off the divorce just yet.

They recently moved to Malibu together and theyve been touring preschools. Theyre trying to get in as much special time as possible.

The actress hasnt let pregnancy stop her from nabbing some major films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the upcoming dramedy, Zeroville. Her husband, likewise, appeared in the 2014 psychological thriller Dont Blink.
Playing Pokemon Go at park (illustration)

By: Chan Yuan

A man was arrested on a charge of sexual assault after allegedly reaching under the skirt of a woman who was playing Pokemon Go in a park, according to police in Japan.

Aichi police said that they have arrested the 49-year-old man, who was not identified, after sitting down next to the 27-year-old woman and rubbing her thighs.

According to the police investigation, the incident unfolded on Monday around 4:30 a.m., at the Tsuruma Park.

Pokemon Go players have been flocking to the park after the water fountain was designated as an area where rare characters appear.

As the woman was sitting at the edge of a flower pot waiting for Pokemon to appear, the suspect sat down next to her and put his hand under her skirt.

He then touched her thighs.

The suspect then tried to flee from the scene, but the victim and her friend managed to tackle him and held him down until police arrived to arrest him.
Charee Stanley

By: Tanya Malhotra

(Scroll down for video) An airline based in Atlanta, Georgia, was slapped with a discrimination lawsuit after being accused of firing a Muslim flight attendant for refusing to serve alcohol to passengers, according to court documents filed in Michigan.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) recently filed the federal lawsuit against ExpressJet Airlines on behalf of the Muslim flight attendant for revoking a reasonable religious accommodation and wrongfully suspending her from her employment.

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan.

Based upon her sincerely-held religious belief that prohibits her from serving alcohol, Charee Stanley was directed by the company to work out an arrangement with the other flight attendants on duty to accommodate passenger requests for alcohol.

Stanley was ordered to accommodate other customer requests.

The accommodation did not pose any hardship on ExpressJet Airlines whatsoever, according to Stanley.

Nonetheless, ExpressJet Airlines revoked its religious accommodation and placed Stanley on administrative leave for 12 months, after which her employment may be administratively terminated.

Stanley believes that she was terminated after another flight attendant complained about her hijab, books in Arabic and refusal to serve alcohol.

aEmployers are obligated to provide reasonable accommodations of the religious beliefs of their employees,a said CAIR-MI Legal Director Lena Masri.

aExpressJet wrongfully revoked the religious accommodation it directed Stanley to follow, and retaliated against her for following it by wrongfully suspending her employment,a Masri added.

Stanley is seeking to get her job back, payments for economic, emotional and punitive damages, as well as compensation for attorneyas fees.
Tour guide (illustration)

By: Wayne Morin

Police launched an investigation after a tour guide abandoned a large group of tourists after drinking a lot of alcohol, according to police in Austria.

The incident unfolded at the Rax Mountain range on Saturday around 3:00 p.m., after 60 tourists of Hungary, went to explore the scenic area.

The tourists were forced to call for help after the tour guide, who was not identified, disappeared and they got lost. A team of twelve rescuers arrived at the scene and brought the 60 tourists down from the mountains.

The tourists told investigators that their tour guide was drinking alcohol from the time they began ascending the mountains.

Suddenly, the weather turned bad and a storm passed through the area. That is when the tourists realized that they were lost and their tour guide was not there.

When the tour guide was later found by police, he denied being drunk. He could not explain why he abandoned the tourists.

Police have not filed any charges because nobody was hurt.
Housing Improvement Work Begin in Offa

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Aug 11th, 2016

Council tenants properties across the Offa area are set to receive extensive improvement work over the next few months.

Wrexham Council have recently commenced housing improvement work in the Offa community ward, which includes the Electoral Wards of Brynyffynnon, Erddig, Hermitage & Offa.

The improvement work is part of the Councils extensive project to ensure all its homes achieve the Welsh Governments Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2020.

All properties in the County Borough (around 11,500 in total) are being offered new kitchens and bathrooms, if required to meet the standard. Other internal and external work such as electrical rewiring, central heating and roofing will also be carried out on properties leading up to 2020, if required.

An open day event for the kitchens and bathrooms programme was held recently at Hightown Community Resource Centre. Tenants were able to view examples of the units and fittings which will be installed in their properties over the next few months.

Staff from Wates (kitchen/bathrooms contractor), Symphony (kitchen designers), Vent-Axia (extractor fan company) and Wrexham Council were on hand to assist tenants with their design choices and answer queries.

Speaking about the open day, council tenant, Elaine Roberts said: Ive been very impressed with the quality of whats on offer. Ive been given a choice of designs and colours for the kitchen units so its not just one block design for every tenant. Were also getting new shower units and extractor fans.

I was a bit wary of having this work done at first because of the disruption the work will cause but the staff here have been very helpful so I think it will be worth it in the end.

The improvement works have also been welcomed by local councillors who cover the various electoral wards, with Cllr Phil Will stating: The quality of the designs on offer here is of a very high level. The kitchens and bathrooms, along with the other external and internal improvements being carried out is going to make a massive difference to tenants homes and its very positive news for Wrexham.

Wrexham Council will be investing 54m in housing improvement work in 2016/17. This includes a 7.5m Major Repairs Allowance grant which the Welsh Government awards to local authorities to support them achieving the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.

All properties in the County Borough will need to have achieved the standard by the Welsh Governments 2020 deadline.

The Council anticipates that the following work will be carried out across the County Borough over the next 12 months:

 2,500 properties offered new kitchens and bathrooms

 600 properties being offered new heating systems

 Around 900 properties being rewired

 Over 750 properties being reroofed

 187 properties having External Insulation fitted

Lead Member for Housing, Cllr Ian Roberts, commented, We are investing over 90m to bring our housing up to standard between 2015 and 2017. This is an extensive project which will bring a number of added benefits to the local community, such as apprenticeships, employment and spending on local business.

The project is currently well on track and its been great to see properties all over the County Borough benefitting from the improvement work.

More information on the improvement work being carried out to achieve the Welsh Housing Quality Standard, including a timetable of works can be found on the Councils website: www.wrexham.gov.uk/whqs
A US Department of Justice (DoJ) report released Wednesday revealed that the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) has engaged in widespread violations of constitutional rights. These include unjustified stops and searches; arrests without proper cause; racial profiling; use of excessive force; sexual discrimination; and retaliation against actions protected by the First Amendment.

The investigation, which covers thousands of police stops, arrests and court papers from 2010-2016, was requested by Baltimore city officials in the wake of widespread social unrest in the aftermath of the April 2015 police killing of Freddie Gray. The 25-year-old African-American man died after receiving a rough ride in the back of a police van that nearly severed his spine. The DoJ investigation purposely seeks to remain neutral on the circumstances surrounding the Freddie Gray case.

The mounting protests against police violence and limited rioting that occurred after Grays death prompted a two-pronged response. After suppressing demonstrators with militarized police and nearly 5,000 National Guard troops, state prosecutors announced they were seeking charges against six cops and Obamas Justice Department said it would investigate the police force.

In the end not a single police officer was held accountable. The cases against the remaining three officers not yet tried were unceremoniously dropped late last month, after state prosecutors failed to secure a single conviction in any of the previous trials.

There is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law, the DoJ document states, adding BPD has conducted virtually no analysis of its own data to ensure that its enforcement activities are non-discriminatory, and the Department misclassifies or otherwise fails to investigate specific complaints of racial bias, the report says. It adds, in some cases, BPD supervisors have ordered officers to specifically target African-Americans for stops and arrests.

The report finds that despite making up 63 percent of the citys population, African-Americans account for over 83 percent of all criminal charges and are regularly over-represented in arrest reports in comparison to their percentage of the population. The DoJ found that the percentage of people arrested in a five-year period on the petty and highly subjective charges of failure to obey or disorderly conduct was 91 and 84 percent African-American respectively. Even starker, African-Americans made up over 83 percent of the areas traffic stops, despite being less than 30 percent of the entire metropolitan regions total driving population.

The report found stop-and-frisks and other zero-tolerance policing practices had resulted in mass discrimination, with two poor neighborhoods, consisting of a total of 11,000 residents, receiving over 44 percent of all stop-and-searches in the city in a six-year period. Of this group, several hundred people had been stopped at least ten times by police, with seven people being patted down over 30 times.

During stops, BPD officers frequently pat-down or frisk individuals as a matter of course, without identifying necessary grounds to believe that the person is armed and dangerous, the report states, adding, even where an initial frisk is justified, we found that officers often violate the Constitution by exceeding the frisks permissible scope, by engaging in strip searches in public and other inappropriate actions. The report notes that out of nearly half of all stop-and-frisk incidents, only 3.7 percent resulted in any arrests.

When arrests were made, the report found officers conducted warrantless arrests without probable cause as well as making arrests for misdemeanor offenses, such as loitering and trespassing, without providing the constitutionally-required notice that the arrested person was engaged in unlawful activity. The DoJ found that over a five-year period, BPD officers made over 11,000 arrests that were subsequently thrown out at central booking for being groundless.

After reviewing all cases in which a police officer used deadly force in an encounter, as well as 800 other non-deadly incidents, investigators found BPD uses overly aggressive tactics that unnecessarily escalate encounters, increase tensions, and lead to unnecessary force. In addition, police officers are physically abusive to people already restrained and under officers control, or who are not even under arrest.

Prominent in such violent encounters are victims in mental health crises, for whom BPD provides less effective services by failing to account for these disabilities in officers law enforcement actions, leading to unnecessary and excessive force being used against them.

Significantly, the report notes that such practices are not only ingrained in the cops through training, but that the department itself fails to provide officers with sufficient policy guidance and training; fails to collect and analyze data regarding officers activities; and fails to hold officers accountable for misconduct.

News media reports and the authors of the investigation themselves seek to emphasize the instances of racial discrimination found in the report, with the New York Times leading the way, quoting Baltimore City Council member Brandon M. Scott, who sums up the reports findings as driving while black, walking while black When youre talking about zero tolerance, its breathing while black.

Local police departments certainly attract and encourage backward elements, including racists. The Democratic politicians, news media and identity politics organizations such as Black Lives Matter, however, blame police brutality solely on racism in order to cover up the real role of the police. The cops are not defenders of white society but are the armed protectors of the wealth and power of the ruling elites. The victims of police brutality include workers and poor people of all races, and the rampant police abuse in heavily African-American neighborhoods is a reflection of high rates of poverty and the criminalization of the poor.

Baltimores police department is one of the most racially-integrated police agencies in the US, with over half of the citys officers being of either African-American, Hispanic or Native American origin. The city is largely run by African-American Democrats who depend on the police to suppress a population that is increasingly hostile to social inequality, school closures, utility shutoffs and the reactionary measures imposed by the Democratic political establishment.

Then there is the first African-American president, who has handed out military grade weaponry to local police departments across the country. At the same time his Justice Department has routinely rejected calls for killer cops to be prosecuted under federal civil rights laws and invariably opposed every attempt to bring police violence cases before the Supreme Court.

In presenting the report alongside police and Justice Department officials, Baltimores Democratic mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake sought to present it as part of my aggressive work to reform the Police Department, and to improve police-community relations [that] predates the death of Freddie Gray."

In fact, while seeking to cover for the police more generally, the report itself comes dangerously close to revealing the real social factors which are the basis of the rampant police brutality exposed in the investigation. Providing policing services in many parts of Baltimore is particularly challenging, it states, where officers regularly confront complex social problems rooted in poverty, racial segregation and deficient educational, employment and housing opportunities.

On the causes of such conditions and those who are responsible for perpetuating them, the Department of Justice is tight-lipped.
The British Broadcasting Corporations (BBC) posture of impartiality is increasingly threadbare, as was made evident by the documentary, Brexit: Battle for Britain.

Broadcast August 8 on BBC Two, it purported to tell the inside story of how former Conservative Prime Minister David Camerons strategy for winning the June 23 referendum in favour of British membership of the European Union (EU) backfiredand Vote Leave won.

Instead, the programme was extremely superficial, giving the impression that it had been hurriedly stitched together. No consideration was made as to the social, economic and political factors behind the Brexit vote, despite describing the outcome as a political revolution that would reshape Britains place in the world.

The documentary consisted largely of interviews with middle- or lower-ranking individuals around the respective Leave and Remain campaignsincluding Craig Oliver (former Director of Communications for Cameron), Will Straw (Executive Director of the official pro-EU Stronger In), Nigel Farage (UK Independence PartyUKIP) and Labours Peter Mandelson, the chief architect, along with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, of New Labour.

Presented by the BBCs Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg, the documentary articulated the grievances of a significant section of the bourgeoisiethe majority of which backed Remainwho are bitter at the result. Giving voice to their frustration at Camerons decision to call for a referendumlargely to placate eurosceptics on his own backbenches and in UKIP, despite the lack of public clamourwas pro-EU Conservative MP Ken Clarke, who described it as the most reckless and irresponsible decision.

The result changed everything, Kuenssberg narrated, raising question marks over our politics and our economy. But how this had happened, in what way it had changed things and why so few in the establishment were prepared for a Leave vote was not seriously examined.

Besides several references to Cameron having been betrayed by his long-time allies, Conservative MPs Michael Gove and Boris Johnson, who headed the Leave camp, only two other explanations were advanced.

The Remain camp was criticised for focussing on the traditional assumption that the British public would vote with their wallets. Instead, the viewer was told, the dividing line was between immigration/identity on the one-hand and prosperity on the other. Leave told lying claims about mass immigration, and duped a significant section of the population, against their better interests, went the now familiar mantra.

It speaks volumes as to the self-satisfied social layer making such complaints that they consider opposition to the EUthe main instrument of the European bourgeoisie for enforcing austerity, privatisation and militarismas conflicting with peoples wallets. But there is a direct connection between this class outlook and the main focus of the documentary, which was to propagandise in favour of the efforts to remove Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader on the basis that he had sabotaged the Remain campaign.

Will Straw was interviewed, with no mention of the fact that he is the son of Labours Jack Straw, who was Foreign Secretary at the time of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and an unindicted war criminal. Straw junior lost out as a Labour candidate in the 2015 General Election but, no matter, as he still had a slot as Executive Director of the cross-party, pro-Remain campaign, Stronger In.

Straw is the founder of Left Foot Forward (a moderate Labour blog, hostile to Corbyn). He is also an Associate Director for Strategic Development at the Institute for Public Policy Researchonce dubbed Tony Blairs favourite think tankand a Fellow at the Democratic Party-aligned, Washington think tank, the Center for American Progress.

After asserting that the Remain camp wanted bold direction from one manCorbyn, the programme cut to Straw condemning the Labour leader. Corbyn had sought to distance himself from the cross-party pro-EU group, led by Cameron. It was really hard to work with Corbyn, Straw said, claiming that it took six months to get a meeting with him and that he didnt want to work with us. Corbyn was lukewarm on Europe, Straw asserts, blaming the Labour leader for the Leave vote.

Mandelson was even more explicit. He complained, It was very difficult to know what Jeremy Corbyns motives were. Did he just sort of get out of bed the wrong side every day and not feel [in a] very sort of friendly, happy mood and want to help us?

Or was there something deeperdid he simply not want to find himself on the same side as the Prime Minister and the government? Or perhaps he just deep down actually doesnt think we should remain in the European Union? Who knows?

The programme detailed the unravelling of support for the EU in Labours heartlands, especially in the north of England. In fact, 62 percent of Labour voters supported Remain. It was the overwhelming majority of Conservatives who defied their leader to support Leave. But this does not fit the political objectives behind the misnamed documentary.

Leave was able to hoover up support from Labour because of Corbyn, it is asserted. The Labour leader was especially criticised for refusing to engage in the anti-immigrant propaganda that featured on both sides of the official campaigns.

While polite circles had underplayed the issue of immigration for years, the referendum changed this, the programme declared. No mention was made of the fact that Farage and UKIP had been given prime billing for years to spew their anti-migrant propaganda, to such a degree that it is now official policy, with Gove and Johnson both arguing for greater migrant restrictions based on an Australian-style points system.

This led into a segment on how the crisis in Remain had cleared the decks for a strong and direct Labour message on the issue of immigration, but Corbyn failed to come through. The documentary segued into a TV interview in which Corbyn admits that he is not a huge fan of the EU and that he would rate it at around seven on a scale of one to ten. Mandelson complained that the Remain camp was greatly damaged by Corbyns stance. Not only was he most of the time absent from the battle, but he was holding back the efforts of Alan Johnson [official Labour Remain leader] and the Labour In campaign. I mean they felt undermined, at times they felt actually their efforts were being sabotaged by Jeremy Corbyn and the people around him.

This is not opinion or news, but raw propaganda. Virtually all the leading lights in this programme have form. Kuenssberg is the daughter of Scottish businessman, Professor Nick Kuenssberg, OBE, and his wife Sally Kuenssberg, CBE. Nick Kuenssberg is a major donor to the Labour Party and Lauras siblings are reportedly employed with the British Diplomatic Service.

In January, as Corbyn was forced into a cabinet reshuffle following the refusal of several of his ministers to support his opposition to intervention into Syria, Kuenssberg organised for Labours shadow foreign minister, Stephen Doughty, to resign live on air. Timed to coincide with Prime Ministers Question Time, it was conceived as a deliberate attempt to undermine Corbyn.

So blatant is Kuenssbergs hostility to Corbyn that the campaign group 38 Degrees organised a petition for her to be sacked from the BBC. It gathered more than 35,000 signatures before 38 Degrees withdrew it, citing complaints that it had led to misogynist and sexist abuse. According to Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, who signed the petition, he had read through every single one of the comments on the 38 Degrees site, when 26,000 people had signed the petition. Only one he read was sexist, and one other was totally unrepresentative.

Querying why the petition had been taken down, Murray found out that the allegations of sexism had first been made by the Guardianpropagandist in chief against Corbyn. Despite asking a 38 Degrees spokesperson to confirm how many of the comments were sexist and abusive, and if he had even seen the offending comments, Murray received no reply.

One of Kuenssbergs producers on the Brexit documentary is Adam Grimley. He was involved in the BBC Panorama documentary, Jeremy Corbyn: Labours Earthquake, during the run-up to last Septembers Labour leadership election, which Corbyns campaign described as a hatchet job.

An official complaint from Corbyns team said that the BBC had lied about Panoramas purpose, claiming the programme would deal with all four leadership contenders but instead concentrated only on Corbyn. It listed a number of factual inaccuracies on the programme, including the allegation that Corbyn had attended a conference in Cairo that advocated attacks on British and American troops. According to the Independent newspaper, Corbyns team sent a copy of his diary entry for that day proving that he was in Islington, his London constituency.

That documentary, aired almost one year ago, raised the first allegations from leading Blairites that a Corbyn victory could reignite the divisions of Labours past and bring back the thuggery and intimidation of the militant left.

To add to the stench of a politically motivated witch-hunt involving the supposedly liberal BBC and Guardian, consider this:

On June 26, three days after the shock Leave vote, Kuenssberg published an article on the BBC politics site, under the headline Corbyn office sabotaged EU Remain campaign. Referring to efforts by some of the most senior figures in the Labour Party responding to the Leave vote by trying to push out Corbyn, she suggested that as many as half of the shadow cabinet would resign by the end of the day.

This was because a document passed to the BBC suggested that Corbyns office were guilty of deliberate sabotage of the Remain campaign.

Some 60 shadow cabinet members were to resign over the next days in a bid to force Corbyn out of office.

Kuenssberg explicitly cited Seamus Milne, Corbyns director of strategy and communications, complaining that Milne had refused to involve Corbyn in anti-migrant discussions.

Others have made criticisms of Milne in a manner reminiscent of the US military-intelligence apparatus offensive against Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump. Numerous comments and blogs from Corbyns opponents condemn Milne as a Putin apologist, largely due to his previous support for Britains Stalinist Communist Party and his complaints at US/British aggression against Russia.

According to this account, Milne deliberately sabotaged a more effective intervention by the Labour Party because he is working in cohorts with President Vladimir Putin, who backed a Brexit as part of weakening the US/British special relationship. In May, the anti-EU, right-wing Mail on Sunday cited Labour sources as alleging that Milne had censored a Labour document on the EU referendum to remove all references to Russian aggression.

Just days later, EUObserver ran a comment by Sovereign Strategy consultant Benjamin Fox arguing, The Labour Remain campaign was under-resourced and repeatedly marginalised by Corbyns team, led by press secretary Seamus Milne, a former journalist noted for his sympathy towards Russian president Vladimir Putin. As a result, Labours campaign was tepid to the point of non-existence.
On Tuesday, the conservative legal group Judicial Watch released 296 pages of State Department records spanning Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. These records include 44 email exchanges that were deliberately withheld from the 55,000 pages of emails that Clinton gave the State Department for their investigation into her use of a private email server.

The newly released emails, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, implicate Clinton in incriminating conflict-of-interest deals, in which Clinton's aides worked to hire a Clinton Foundation associate and provided political connections for at least one of the Foundation's wealthy donors. Another email directly connects the finance giant and Clinton backer Morgan Stanley to her diplomatic maneuvers in China.

Upon being appointed secretary of state by Obama in 2009, Clinton sent a letter to State Department Designated Agency Ethics Official James H. Thessin that read in part, For the duration of my appointment as secretary if I am confirmed, I will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter involving specific parties in which The William J. Clinton Foundation (or the Clinton Global Initiative) is a party or represents a party.

The most recent email leak exposes this as a complete lie, as Clinton continually did the bidding of her Wall Street donors, while her office secured prestigious positions for those connected to the Clinton Foundation.

The most damning email exchange revealed Tuesday took place in February 2009, between Hillary Clinton and Stephen Roach, then chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia.

Shortly before Clinton began her first diplomatic tour in Asia, Roach sent her a copy of his upcoming testimony before Congress, requesting a meeting with her in person and saying, Best regards and good luck on this important and timely trip. Clinton then instructed one of her top aides, Huma Abedin, to set up a meeting between herself and Roach in Beijing, where Roach traveled on February 19 and 20.

In his statements before Congress, Roach condemned US efforts to criticize Chinese monetary policy or enact trade barriers, according to Judicial Watch.

Days later, evidently after meeting with Roach, Clinton pressured Beijing to continue its massive purchases of US Treasury notes, which by that time already exceeded $700 billion. As the World Socialist Web Site wrote at the time, On her first overseas trip since being tapped by President Barack Obama, [...] Clinton assumed the role of an official high-pressure bond saleswoman.

Over the course of her political career, Clinton has received over $550,000 from PACs affiliated with Morgan Stanley, as well as employees of the firm, making the firm her sixth biggest donor. In 2014, Morgan Stanley donated over $25 million to the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), a subsidiary of the Clinton Foundation.

The other significant email exchanges involve Doug Band, a Clinton Foundation official and longtime personal advisor to former President Bill Clinton, and Hillary Clintons former top aides at the State Department, Abedin and Cheryl Mills.

While still working for the State Department in 2012, Abedin received a special designation that enabled her to hold positions at the Clinton Foundation and at Teneo, a global advisory firm founded by Band in 2011 with assistance from the Clintons. During her time with Teneo, she earned upwards of $15,000 per month as a consultant.

On April 22, 2009, three months after Hillary Clinton was sworn in as secretary of state, Band received an email from a source whose name was redacted by the State Department. The email, titled A favor... reads, I really appreciated the opportunity to go on the Haiti trip; it was an eye-opening experience seeing both the depravity and the promise of that island. The rest of the email was entirely redacted.

Ten minutes later, Band forwarded the email to Abedin and Mills, writing, Important to take care of _____, to which Abedin immediately replied, We have all had him on our radar. Personnel has been sending him options.

The Clintons and the Clinton Foundation have a long history in Haiti. During his time as president, Bill Clinton imposed three years of devastating economic sanctions against the country, in an effort to destabilize the military junta. With the failure of this policy, Clinton sent Marines to Haiti to restore Jean-Bertrand Aristide to the presidency. During Aristide's term, Clinton demanded Haiti's adherence to brutal IMF austerity policies, while cracking down on Haitian migrants trying to flee the devastated country to the US.

In the immediate aftermath of the 2010 Haitian earthquake, which killed upwards of 300,000 people, Clinton was dispatched as a UN special envoy and co-chairman of the Interim Haiti Recovery Committee to oversee the international aid and investment efforts in the country. Under his watch, there has been a continual looting of the country, with investment designed to exploit the country's low-paid working class.

At the time that the email was sent, Band was a paid employee of the CGI, which he helped found in 2005. Clearly, the redacted associate of Band and the Clinton Foundation was sent to Haiti, and upon their return may have gotten a position within the Obama administration in a blatant conflict of interest. The State Department deleted details about the associate, including his name and the outcome of the job referral, when it turned over the emails to Judicial Watch.

Another incriminating email exchange released Tuesday was written on April 25, 2009, and is less heavily redacted. In this one, Band writes to Abedin and Mills, We need Gilbert chagoury to speak to the substance person re lebanon. As you know, he's key guy there and to us and is loved in lebanon. Very imp[ortant].

Abedin replied, Its jeff feltman. I'm sure he knows him. I'll talk to jeff, referring to Jeffrey Feltman, the American ambassador to Lebanon at the time. Band quickly responded, Better if you call him. Now preferable. This is very important. ____________ He's awake I'm sure.

Gilbert Chagoury is a billionaire Nigerian-Lebanese construction magnate and friend of former President Bill Clinton who was closely connected to the military dictatorship of Sani Abacha in Nigeria during the mid-1990s. Chagoury was convicted of money laundering in Switzerland in 2000 and paid a $66 million fine in a plea deal. In 2009, his company pledged $1 billion to the Clinton Global Initiative, and he has personally donated between $1 and $5 million, according to the Clinton Foundation's website.

Seeking to curry favor with the Clintons, a broad swath of the international corporate and financial elite, including 168 individuals and organizations that have each given more than $1 million, donate to the Clinton Foundation. Some of the most influential donors include defense contractors such as Boeing and Booz Allen Hamilton, finance giants Barclays and Goldman Sachs, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Foreign governments, in particular the reactionary Persian Gulf monarchies, are some of the largest and most frequent donors to the Clinton Foundation. Last year, these included Saudi Arabia ($10 to $25 million), Kuwait, ($5 to $10 million), Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates ($1 to $5 million).

These favors were handsomely returned. The State Department approved $165 billion worth of commercial arms sales to Clinton Foundation donors while Clinton was at the helm.

The most recent Clinton email leaksfollowing those that detailed her numerous war crimes committed as secretary of statereiterate Clinton's thoroughgoing corruption and her political role as a lackey for Wall Street and the Pentagon.

The Clinton Foundation, which has raised roughly $2 billion since its inception 19 years ago, has been the vehicle through which the Clintons have amassed a vast fortune of over $111 million, placing them in the wealthiest 0.1 percent of society. If elected president in November, Hillary Clinton will continue to protect the interests of her fellow multimillionaires and billionaires.
As part of the anti-Trump offensive of Republican former national security officials working in conjunction with the presidential campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton, former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden has been playing a particularly aggressive role.

The Clinton campaign and its media propagandists, first and foremost the New York Times, have enthusiastically embraced this architect of the Bush administrations CIA torture program and the mass spying on the American people exposed in 2013 by Edward Snowden. This in itself is an indisputable indicator of the right-wing, war-mongering character of a future Clinton administration.

On Wednesday, the Times published an op-ed piece by Hayden titled Classified Briefings and Candidates, which argued that giving a President Trump access to the secrets and conspiracies of the US intelligence agencies would be a high-risk proposition with potentially serious consequences for US imperialist enterprises around the world.

The column includes two extraordinary paragraphs. The first reflects the combination of arrogance and contempt with which the unelected deep state, of which the CIA is a part, looks upon those more ephemeral figures elected to high office by the voters. The second is a blunt account of Haydens first briefing in November 2008 of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

Here are the paragraphs:

The briefings themselves will be intense. The president-elect will be shown great deference personally, but his or her campaign positions could be treated more harshly. This is the chance for the intelligence professionals to set the record, as they see it, straight. I had my own experience. After Election Day in 2008, I was briefing Mr. Obama on CIA renditions when Joseph R. Biden Jr., the vice president-elect, interrupted to observe that the agency had conducted that programwhich entailed sending suspected terrorists to third countriessimply to rough them up. I rejected the contention and advised him that he needed to stop saying that. I havent heard him say it again.

In the latter paragraph, Hayden quite openly refers to the CIA program that included systematic torture at CIA black sites around the world. He makes no bones about the program or his role in it. He brags of having silenced the impudent Mr. Biden and put him in his place.

Among other things, this little tale demonstrates that Obama and Biden knew about the CIA program of abductions and torture from day one and kept their mouths shut, concealing the existence of this illegal and criminal program from the American people.

At the onset of his administration, Obama announced that he would not seek to prosecute Bush administration officials for criminal actions either abroad or at home. That may be the only promise he has kept.

There is a postscript. The Senate Intelligence Committee conducted an investigation of the CIA torture program and drafted a detailed and voluminous report documenting its sordid operation and its cover-up by CIA and Bush administration officials. The 6,000-page report was approved by the committee in December of 2012, but the CIA and the Obama administration blocked its release.

In March of 2014, Senator Dianne Feinstein, at the time the chair of the intelligence committee, made an extraordinary appearance in the well of the Senate chamber to denounce Obamas CIA director, John Brennan, for having hacked into the computers of intelligence committee investigators as part of his efforts to disrupt their work and block their report. This, she explained, was a violation of federal law and the constitutional separation of powers.

The White House sided with Brennan, who was never prosecuted or reprimanded, and finally, in December of 2014, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a 525-page declassified, redacted summary of its report. It is an official US government account of criminal activities at the highest levels of the state.

With the help of Feinstein and company, and a corrupt media, the report disappeared from the news and public view almost as soon as it was released.
Conservative Prime Minister Theresa Mays decision to delay signing a deal to build the first new UK nuclear plant in 20 years has major implications for geo-political relations internationally.

Under a proposed deal, which May delayed at less than 24 hours notice, French state owned-firm EDF was to build the 18 billion plant at Hinkley Point in England, with one-third of the cost to be provided by nuclear companies closely tied to the Chinese state.

The delay angered France and China, who both view their involvement in the Hinkley Point project as strategically important. Tens of thousands of jobs are at stake if the deal is scrapped.

On Monday, China responded with a prominent article by its ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming in the opinion pages of the Financial Times. Under the headline, Hinkley Point is a test of mutual trust between UK and China, Xiaoming warns, Right now, the China-UK relationship is at a crucial historical juncture I hope the UK will keep its door open to China and that the British government will continue to support Hinkley Pointand come to a decision as soon as possible so that the project can proceed smoothly.

Mays decision cuts across the policy adopted by her predecessor David Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne, who made economic ties with China, centring on Chinese investment in the UK, a central axis of economic policy.

Xiaoming revealed the extent of this investment to stress what is at stake in Hinkley Point. Britain takes pride in being a country that is open to foreign investors It is exactly because of such openness that China has become the UKs second-largest non-European trading partner. Britain is one of the key destinations for Chinese companies seeking to invest overseas. Over the past five years, such companies have invested more in the UK than in Germany, France and Italy combined. [Emphasis added]

The Financial Times endorsed Xiaomings intervention, editorialising that May should seize opportunities ahead of and during the G20 summit in China in September to reassure Chinese counterparts that the UKs new government values ties to China and Chinese business. After all the UKs pending exit from the EU makes a thriving commercial relationship with China indispensable.

The export of nuclear technology is central to Chinas global ambitions. Xiaoming stated that the China General Nuclear Power Corporation is the biggest nuclear power provider in China and the worlds biggest builder of nuclear reactors, involved in the construction of one-fifth of the nuclear generators worldwide.

China sees its role in the Hinkley project as a stepping stone, as laid out during last Octobers state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Britain, to constructing its own nuclear power station in the UK. The Financial Times noted, The real goal for Beijing in Britain is not so much Hinkley Point itself, but the opportunity to build and finance another nuclear power station of its own design at another of EDFs sites in Bradwell, Essex.

It cited an unnamed government minister who said, This is all about Bradwell. Im sure Theresa [May] would be happy to take 6bn off the Chinese for Hinkley but its not clear whether she is happy about the next stage.

China views nuclear power plant construction in Britain as central to its Silk Road Economic Belt or One Belt One Road (OBOR) strategy. By offering substantial investment in infrastructure and trade and economic benefits, Beijing is hoping to draw countries across Eurasia, the Middle East and Africa into its plans and thereby bypass US efforts to isolate China diplomatically, economically and militarily through its pivot to Asia.

The Hinkley deal was provisionally agreed during Xi Jinpings visit. It followed Camerons decision for Britain to become the first Western power to sign up to Chinas Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in March 2015. These moves antagonised Washington. Mays intervention was widely seen as her response to opposition from the US and leading figures in the intelligence services and military to deepening UK commercial ties with China.

In response to Xiaomings FT article, a UK government representative issued a statement Tuesday in an attempt to dampen growing tensions. [T]his decision is about a huge infrastructure project and its right that the new government carefully considers it. We cooperate with China on a broad range of areas from the global economy to international issues and we will continue to seek a strong relationship with China, it read.

The Cameron governments turn to China was accompanied by claims that investment from Beijing was critical to the economic growth and stability of the UK economy. Its Northern Powerhouse project of linking up Englands deindustrialised northern cities to facilitate the exploitation of a 15-million strong population by international corporations was centred on Chinese investment. Prior to Xi Jinpings visit, the then Chancellor George Osborne spoke in Chengdu, China and urged firms to bid for seven contracts worth 11.8 billion, covering the first phase of the proposed HS2 high speed train service between London and Birmingham. He invited bids for 24 billion of further investment in northern England.

May has signalled that Osbornes project will be shelved, in favour of a strategy to boost productivity nationwide.

The Hinkley project is expected to be hugely profitable for France in the long-term, with revenue and price guarantees for its projected 35-year lifespan. The Guardians Simon Jenkins complained, Hinkley Point is bad business. Cameron had effectively stuffed the pockets of its Chinese and French builders with gold, he said, in the worst deal in the history of procurement. May should put it out of its misery.

But the EDF board only agreed the deal just the day before May announced the delay. Only a small majority of the board of EDF, which is already in debt to the tune of tens of billions of Euros, voted in favour of the deal, in face of strenuous opposition from a number of EDF shareholders, allied with trade unions. This week it was revealed that the overall cost of financing the project could be as much as 2.7 billion more than the already planned 18 billion, which could push up EDFs share of the cost from 12 billion to 13.8 billion.

On Monday, the ruling Socialist Party of President Francois Hollande issued a statement warning that doubt over Hinkley was a grave danger to EDF and the French economy. It stated, The Socialist Party believes that a project that is so important that it could jeopardize the solidity and survival of the national energy company requires that all doubts and hesitations be cleared up before the project continues.

Mays decision is part of the continuing economic and political fallout from Junes Brexit vote. On taking office, following Camerons resignation, she stated she would be tough in demanding the optimum economic conditions for the UK following Brexit. The first fruit of this policy is essentially a demand that, as the Financial Times put it, EDF comes up with a much better offer.

The Labour Party responded by denouncing May, with Shadow Business Secretary Jon Trickett stating, During the referendum, one of the few firm proposals coming from the Brexit camp was that Britains economic prosperity outside of Europe could be secured by furthering our relations with China and other large, fast-growing economies in the east. The prime minister has put thatand 40bn of inward investmentin jeopardy by bungling negotiations over Hinkley Point.

Peter Mandelson, a key ally of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is playing a leading role in the attempts to remove Jeremy Corbyn as party leader, insisted Wednesday that May allow Hinkley Point to proceed. Mandelson, who holds the presidency of the Great Britain China Centre lobby group, told the BBC that in the aftermath of Brexit, We cant be too fussy about who we do trade with... despite the size of our market we are probably less relevant to China out of the European Union because we would be unable to influence that huge blocs future trade policies anymore and out of the EU we are probably more dependent on Chinas goodwill because we will need to replace trade lost in Europe.
Former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos traveled to Hong Kong on Monday to conduct informal negotiations with China on behalf of President Rodrigo Duterte with the goal of defusing tensions in the South China Sea and increasing trade ties between Manila and Beijing.

Duterte took office as president two weeks before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague handed down a sweeping ruling on July 12 declaring unlawful Chinas nine-dash-line historical claim to the South China Sea. Over the past month, Duterte has attempted to balance between Washington and Beijing, looking to increase trade ties with China, while assuring Washington during Secretary of State John Kerrys visit last week that he supported the basing of unlimited US forces in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

On July 14, two days after the PCA ruling, Duterte announced that he was appointing Ramos to serve as an informal negotiator on his behalf to conduct discussions with China. On July 23, Ramos confirmed to the press that he would accept the appointment. He declared that his function was to serve as an ice breaker between the two countries.

Duterte held a National Security Council meeting on July 27 in which, according to presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, he instructed Ramos not to take an adversarial or insistent position on the South China Sea. He cautioned him to take a very diplomatic route instead of confrontation.

Ramos staged a news conference in Manila on Monday prior to departing for Hong Kong. He told the press that he would not be raising the topic of the PCA ruling, stating That is not my mission.  My mission is to rekindle ties with China.

Ramos added that he would carry out this mission through informal talks with friends and assets. Ramos was accompanied in this mission by Rafael Alunan and Chito Sta. Romana.

Alunans presence on the mission highlights the contradictory nature of the Dutertes attempt to balance between Washingtons pivot to Asia and trade ties with China. The former secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government is a founder of the West Philippine Sea Coalition, an organization that over the past few years has staged repeated protests in front of the Chinese consulate denouncing Chinese imperialism in the South China Sea.

Sta. Romana is accompanying as an expert on China. A former leading member of the Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), he, along with two other leading members of the CPPEricson Baculinao and Jimmy Florcruzwas stranded in China in the early 1970s while on a party mission to meet with Mao Zedong. The three CPP leaders went on to become known as the gang of threeworking as Beijing bureau chiefs for ABC, NBC and CNN respectively.

Ramos announced that he will be meeting with Wu Shicun, the president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies think tank in Hainan. Wu played an instrumental role in authoring Chinas opposition to the PCA arbitration.

Ramos stated at a press conference in Hong Kong that one of his proposals for Beijing to help remove irritations in the relationship was to allow joint fishing by Filipino and Chinese fishermen within the common fishing grounds which the PCA ruled were part of the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency published an editorial on August 8 hailing Ramos visit, which it said, brings a whiff of hope that the two countries will return to bilateral negotiations over the issue  Ramos visit, which represents the first concrete step on the Philippine side to engage in bilateral talks with China on the South China Sea, could open a new chapter in settling disputes.

Ramos has been closely associated with those sections of the Philippine ruling class most heavily engaged in pursuing trade and investment with China. He was instrument in the constitutional coup that ousted President Joseph Estrada and installed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2001.

During her tenure as president, Arroyo oversaw the reorientation of Philippine economic and political ties increasingly towards Beijing. She signed the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) in 2005 which authorized joint exploration and exploitation of resources in the South China Sea by China, the Philippines and Vietnam.

On taking office in 2010, President Benigno Aquino led Manila to play the leading role in the region spearheading Washingtons pivot against China. He filed Manilas legal case in The Hague against Beijing and escalated tensions at every turn in the South China Sea. At the same time, and with full backing from Washington, he filed plunder and corruption charges against Arroyo over her business deals with China.

In 2012, Arroyo was placed under arrest on plunder charges which carry a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison. Duterte, as part of his creation of a supermajority of support in the legislature for his fascistic agenda of vigilante death squads and state murder, has brought Arroyo back into the political limelight.

On July 21, the Supreme Court pardoned Arroyo on plunder charges. She has been elected to Congress and has been appointed House Deputy Speaker. Other Arroyo administration figures have been incorporated into Dutertes cabinet or serve as part of his legislative coalition.

Arroyo announced to the press that she fully supported Dutertes agenda. She explicitly called for the restoration of the death penalty, something which her administration abolished in 2006.

Dutertes ties to Arroyo and his commissioning of Ramos to act as a negotiator with Beijing clearly reveal his desire to defuse tensions and increase trade ties with China. At the same time, he knows that he must maintain relations with Washington. The drive of US imperialism to war with China as a means of securing its global economic hegemony makes such a balancing act impossible.

The influential Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made Washingtons mounting displeasure with Duterte apparent in a statement published on August 5.

The Washington-based think tank wrote that the PCA ruling should have been a slam-dunk for Duterte. When the decision came down overwhelmingly in Manilas favor, the Duterte team should have been ready to mount a full-court press to push the international community to support the rulingthe only tool Manila had to bring pressure to bear on Beijing to comply.

Instead, Former president Fidel Ramos, who was named by Duterte as his special envoy for negotiations with China, has gone further and suggested the president set the court ruling aside to pursue an agreement.

In this context, the CSIS suggested that Washington would stop funding Dutertes death squads. For Washington, the extrajudicial killings could eventually become an impediment to closer ties with Manila. The US Congress so far has been quiet about the killings. But if they continue, it is possible that when Congress returns from its recess in early September, some leaders will raise questions about Washingtons sizable military and economic assistance to the Philippines.

The White House has no objections to martial law or extra-judicial murder. Kerry supplied Duterte with $32 million to fund his anti-drug campaign just two weeks ago. But, the CSIS statement makes clear, if Duterte does not toe Washingtons line against China, there could be drastic consequences.
The education revolution initiated by the previous federal Labor government has driven a sharp rise in the exploitation of poorly-paid and highly insecure casual teachers in Australian universities.

Under that government, supported by the Greens, market-style competition was imposed on the tertiary education sector. Combined with the slashing of funding by billions of dollars annually, continued by the current Liberal-National government, this has compelled universities to fight each other for student numbers, as well as to cut costs and increase class sizes and workloads.

Casual or sessional staff now do more than half the teaching and research in Australias public universities, up from 40 percent at the turn of the century. This is part of a wider process throughout the economy, where the rate of casualisation has risen to 23 percent, but universities and their staff and students have been among the most affected.

The trend has worsened since Labors education revolution began to be imposed in 2010. According to one survey, seven out of 10 new positions are now casual. In 2013 alone, the number of university casuals rose by 17.4 percent to the equivalent of 22,958 full-time staff.

Casual academics are employed on a semester-to-semester basis and paid only for the hours they teach. Often, because of enrolment fluctuations in the new marketplace, they are not told whether they will be employed, or how many hours they will be allocated, until the first week of a semester. In some cases, they are led to believe they will be engaged for a semester, only to be informed at the last minute that their services are not required.

According to Griffith Universitys Work and Careers in Australian Universities Survey, 60 percent of casual academics earn less than $499 a week and that is only during active teaching weeks. The semester breaks leave them financially vulnerable, often having to rely on other jobs, family, partners, pensions or welfare payments.

Despite arguments from universities and trade unions that academic staff value the flexibility of casual employment, research suggests that only 12 percent of the affected academics are casual by choice.

The deterioration began under the Hawke and Keating Labor governments from 1983 to 1996, which reintroduced student fees and cut funding per student, compelling universities to slash costs. The next Labor government then tied funding to student numbers. With universities now constantly under-cutting each other, casuals have increasingly been employed, both to cut budgets and cope with unpredictable enrolment totals.

This offensive has been facilitated and enforced by the university unions, notably the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), which covers most academics. While claiming to oppose casualisation in every enterprise agreement that it strikes with university managements, the NTEU has promoted short-term contracts to replace a small number of casuals, thus not reducing the overall insecurity of employment at all. The union has also encouraged the use of teaching only positions, creating a pool of over-worked and under-paid teachers, largely unable to secure promotions to better-paid posts.

Politically, the NTEU has sought to tie its members to the parties that launched the education revolutionLabor and the Greens, which propped up a minority Labor government from 2010 to 2013. During the campaign for the July 2 federal election, the NTEU condemned only the Liberal-National Coalition government, denouncing its plans to lift student fees. The union presented Labor as a defender of public education, thanking Labor leader Bill Shorten for consistently fighting against the Coalition governments dangerous agenda of fee deregulation. Labors 30-year record shows this to be an utter fraud.

The NTEU bureaucracy, like the rest of the trade union movement, supports the underlying pro-business restructuring that successive governments, Labor and Coalition alike, have pursued. The financial hardship faced by casuals stands in stark contrast to the profits being generated for the universities and the entire corporate elite, particularly by international students. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, total spending by international students in Australiaincluding course fees, accommodation, living expenses and recreationwas $19.2 billion in 2015, up from $17 billion the previous year. This makes education Australias third-largest foreign exchange earner, after coal and iron ore, and well ahead of tourism.

The WSWS interviewed Alex, whose area of expertise is cultural studies. An academic for 20 years, she has worked for five different institutions in 2016 on a part-time or contract basis, and this has been typical of her employment during the past 10 years.

For five years, Alex has worked for an online university. Over a 13-week program, Alex is paid for just five hours a week, at a demonstration rate of $55 per hour. Its impossible for me to do the work in the time given to me. I do it anyway, and dont get paid. In those five hours, I am meant to read and be familiar with the entire unit, respond to students on an ongoing basis, and moderate the unitdetermine grades and outcomes. In a unit that is about to start, I have spent 30 hours already in reading materials. Over the next 13 weeks, I expect to do another 15 hours.

I cant even begin to describe how insecure my employment is. They are getting me to do more and more work under the pretext of getting ready for the next semester. Then they hand the work to someone else. At several of the places I work, the contract for teaching is given out in the week before teaching, or sometimes in the first week of semester. In one case, classes were merged in week four, with the loss of teaching hours, despite a contract. The contract means nothing. I see this pattern everywhere, not just at private colleges but also at major institutions. Its getting worse

In one instance, I was writing a third of a unit. I was told where to take material from, and provided with links. Part of the other material was fully plagiarised. The remainder of the material didnt come through, and I was told to write the totality with a two-week time frame. I worked myself to death doing this, again writing material from scratch. This included detailed lesson plans. Then with two days notice, the unit was cancelled. I was told by a text message. I have not been paid for any of this work.

I work every week, including over Christmas and summer breaks. The weekends are not a break. Typically I work seven days a week. As work for one place is under way, work at another place is beginning. It never stops.

Some of these private colleges have now been taken over by the universities themselves and the conditions are even worse. One has gone from offering 13-week programs to six weeks, six times a year. The contact hours for the students have gone from 52 hours to 36 hours and the pay rate for staff has been cut. We were being paid $160 for a lecture, and $110 for a tutorial. Now its a flat $99.

I have no time for research. I dont even have time to properly research or read in my subject area. I am always exhausted and have constant health issues.

Alex spoke on the underlying processes. The concern for profits in education has impacts for the students. Content has been dumbed down. We are presenting Year 8 material as first-year university. We are surface teaching. I have been explicitly told to skim across material

Placing the current conditions in education as part of a broader decline, Alex said: Following World War II, [welfare] safety nets were introduced so that fascism couldn't happen again. Now those safety nets are being dismantled in all countries. It started with Chile under Pinochet with the Chicago school of economics. Then there was Thatcher and Reagan.

In Australia there has been the same neo-liberal aggressive agenda for more control, more profit. There has been a massive transfer of wealth of public wealth into private hands. Roads, health, educationeverything that was publically owned has been transferred to private hands.
If You Go

 What: Prearranged Dream Flights for Yakima veterans provided by Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The historic biplane will land at the Yakima Air Terminal  McAllister Field late this afternoon or early this evening.

 When: Flights begin each day at 9 a.m., and flights and related events continue until late afternoon or early evening. The pilot, Mike Sommars of Arizona, will make a public presentation about his historic biplane at 10 a.m. Saturday. There will also be a Marine color guard at 10 a.m. Sunday.

 Where: The McAllister Museum of Aviation, 2008 S. 16th Ave.

 Information: Call the McAllister Museum of Aviation at 509-457-4933.
PROSSER, Wash.  Prosser City Council members will vote Sept. 13 on an ordinance that will bring the citys sign code into compliance with a U
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After no agreement has been reached between the Finance and Health Ministries and the representatives of the Israel Medical Association (IMA), doctors at state hospitals launched a 24-hour strike on Thursday morning, working on a limited, emergency basis only.

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The district labor court, however, accepted a petition by the Hadassah Medical Center, ordering its doctors to return to regular operations by 10am.

In her decision to order the Hadassah doctors back to work, Judge Sarha Broiner Yashrzada stated that opposite of the right of doctors to strike "stands the clear plight of the sick, who have been waiting months for medical procedures that were scheduled for them today. The medical harm caused by delaying treatment, even if not an immediate threat to life, surely damages the health of the patients. There is no room for denying medical personnel their right to strike, but when we are dealing with this type of service, the court deems it important to bear in mind the plight of those affected."

Patients at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa stay in the hall as the rooms are filled to capacity (Photo: Elad Gershgoren)

The hospitals will work according to Shabbat protocols, wherein all nonessential treatments and surgeries will be postponed. The strike is expected to increase the workload in hospitals and thus extend already prolonged waiting periods. Patients who do not require urgent care are advised to postpone their visit, or alternatively go to an HMO clinic instead.

The strike, which started at 8am Thursday, will last until 8am Friday. Hospitals will then return to normal operations during the weekend and on Sunday, which is the fast of Tisha B'Av. A decision will then be made whether to resume the strike on Monday.

The sides will meet again at the beginning of next week to resume negotiations. The Israel Medical Association has said they were striking over the state of public medicine in Israel. The doctors are demanding a significant increase to their budget for the implementation of a program that would shorten waiting periods at public hospitals; additional interns to allow the doctors to rest during their shifts; and the scrapping of plans to discipline hospital administrators who exceed their set budget.

The deputy head of the IMA, Dr. Nimrod Rahamimov, explained that "the problem lies in the chronic under-funding of the health system. This isn't a battle for our pockets, but rather for the quality of public health."

Dr. Alex Levin added: "The Economic Arrangements Law hurts not just hospitals, but also community services. The health system is lacking doctors, especially in the periphery. Community medical services aren't striking today, but will join in the next steps."

Health Minister Yaakov Litzman said the strike was "redundant, without a real purpose. It will not benefit the public or the health system. The Ministry of Health has extensive contacts with the Ministry of Finance in order to strengthen public health by adding more beds, manpower, and additional resources (to hospitals). This is in addition to many other steps we have taken for the good of the sick, the doctors, and the public health system. The main concern of the doctorsrestrictions on department heads from private practicedoes not exist following its removal from the draft of the Economic Arrangements Law. It is difficult not to feel like other factors, which are not for the good of the public, have brought the decision to strike at all costs."

Earlier this week, IMA chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman explained that "the struggle is not about salary, but rather the development of the health system, the status of doctors, the shortening of lines and the advancement of medicine. The Economic Arrangements Law is cutting back health in the country. The health system is being starved."

According to Eidelman, "today, doctors can't provide treatment as they want. The situation is intolerable. Emergency rooms and departments are overcrowded. Patients who need surgery wait for months. Those with cancer are waiting weeks and months. In the emergency room, people wait for hours. There are no standards. The Treasury is continuing to strangle the health system."

However, two weeks ago when the IMA was threatening the labor dispute, the doctors offered different explanations. Specifically, doctors protested the plan of the Treasury and Ministry of Health to prohibit department heads from conducting procedures in the afternoon and evening at their private clinics.

"We're talking about offensive behavior that is unilateral and lacking good faith on the part of the government. The goal of the strike is to create dramatic changes in the working conditions, salaries, and statuses of doctors," Eidelman said at the time. "We are protesting the intention to prohibit the right of doctors to perform private work or practice. These rights have been in place for decades and have been enshrined in collective agreements and civil service regulations."

Officials in the Ministry of Health did not take kindly to the shift in position and responded angrily. "It would appear as if the IMA decided to strike then and there. Two weeks ago, they claimed it was due to department heads, now they claim it is to shorten lines and add jobs."

Talks between the sides to prevent the strike began late Tuesday night and for a moment, it seemed that an agreement had been reached. In a letter, Commissioner for Wages and Labor Agreements Yossi Cohen asked doctors to refrain from taking organized action and detailed the issues on which the government would be flexible with the IMA.

"As explained, we are not proceeding with a ban on private work for department and unit heads in the economic plan of 2017-2018," Cohen wrote. On the issue of adding jobs for interns, Cohen noted "the government stands behind its statement to add additional medical manpower to areas where there is dire need." According to Cohen, adding intern positions will happen by January 2017.

The Treasury even promised to give up the intention to discipline hospital administrators, "there is no change in the legal situation regarding disciplinary action." On the matter of shortening lines and adding additional resources, Cohen wrote "the Ministry of Health and the Treasury are promoting joint steps to strengthen the public system, including decreased waiting times. The issue is at the top of the government's priorities."

The IMA discussed Cohen's letter until the evening and ultimately decided to hold another discussion with the Treasury to clarify other issues and demand to see the amendments to the Economic Arrangements Law.
A racist classified ad posted by an employment agency on behalf of a fashion company has raised ire after including a discriminatory requirement: "We don't want Ethiopian women."

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The ad was removed, but Israelis of Ethiopian descent have demanded authorities take measures against the two companies.

The fashion company Expose, which is based at the Caesarea industrial park, hired the L.M. Employment Agency to find it a female worker for its clothes warehouse.

The offensive ad (Photo: Zohar Shahar)

In addition to standard details, like the description of the position, the number of shifts and the working hours, the ad included two additional requirements: For the employee to have her own car and for her to not be of Ethiopian descent.

Another problematic line in the ad noted the position does not allow for flexible hours for mothers.

Members of the Ethiopian community in Israel were outraged by what they said was "a public, shameless display of racism."

Only a week ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a report on racism in Israeli society, which included recommendations on how to combat racist behavior.

The Ministry of Justice's director general, Emi Palmor, who chaired the committee, said of the ad that "if these are indeed the facts, this is a blatant case of discrimination and racism, which excludes people from employment just because of the color of their skin. The cases presented in front of the committee for eradicating racism against Ethiopian immigrants taught me this is not the first such case and certainly not the only one."

The fashion company Expose (Photo: Zohar Shahar)

The L.M. Employment Agency said it immediately fired the employee who posted the ad, claiming she did so of her own volition.

"Our company employs workers from all sectors and communities. Unfortunately, a new employee acted of her own volition and posted an offensive ad. The post was removed by us within minutes and the employee was reprimanded, summoned for a hearing, and her work with us was terminated immediately. We apologize if anyone was offended," the employment agency said in a statement.

The CEO of the fashion company Expose, Amir Haberfeld, also distanced himself from the content of the ad and threatened to sue those responsible for it. According to Haberfeld, the company he heads abhors racism, and does employ Ethiopian immigrants.

"More than a third of our warehouse employees are of the Ethiopian community," Haberfeld said. "We're looking into the matter to make sure no one on our part has asked for such a requirement. We're a pluralistic company and believe every person has a place and deserves respect."

In response to many people who complained to the company on its Facebook page, Expose posted a letter sent by its lawyers to the employment agency. But not all visitors were impressed by it. "It's not likely this (requirement) came from the employment agency. Therefore this exposes your position, even if you didn't want this to be made public in writing," one person wrote.

Avi Yilaw, a social activist, said the authorities must intervene in the case. "When racist incidents repeatedly happen, actions that are taken merely for show are not enough to calm the outrage." He added that "the clear voice of law enforcement must be heard. Every employer must know the letter of the law and the price he might pay for his racism."
CAIRO -- US-backed forces in Libya have liberated "70 percent" of the city of Sirte, the Islamic State group's last bastion in the North African country, after seizing several strategic locations over the past 24 hours under the cover of US airstrikes, a Libyan official said Thursday.

Mokhtar Khalifa, the Sirte mayor, told The Associated Press that the city's southern and western sections are under control of the Libyan fighters loyal to the UN-brokered government in Tripoli, the country's capital.

"Sirte is 70 percent free, it will soon be completely free," he said.
MOSCOW - Russia plans to start naval exercises in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 15, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday, citing the Russian defence ministry.

Russian warships The Serpukhov and The Zelyony Dol, which are equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, will take part in the exercises, the defense ministry said.

The navy plans to test fire rockets during the drills, the agencies reported.
In a rare event, the Israeli government has admitted to the Supreme Court that it mistakenly expropriated more than 11 acres of private Palestinian land in Ofra, a Jewish settlement built on land Israel captured in 1967. At least nine homes have been built on this land, and Palestinian lawyers say the land must be returned to its owners.

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We are asking the Israeli government to destroy the houses of the settlers which were built on this land, to evacuate the land and to give it back to the Palestinians, Tawfiq Jabarin, a lawyer representing the Palestinian families who claim the land told The Media Line.

Ofra was started in 1975 and today an estimated 3,500 Israelis live there. About halfway between Ramallah and Nablus, it is in the heart of the West Bank. The piece of land under contention now was originally confiscated by Jordan for use as an army camp in 1966. When Israel captured the area, it declared it state land, in order to legalize the building of Ofra. But Israel went beyond the boundaries of the original Jordanian confiscation, causing the mistake the state has now admitted.





Construction in the settlement of Ofra (Photo: Amit Shabi)

In 2011, Palestinians petitioned the Supreme Court against Ofras new master zoning plan, saying they owned part of the land it includes. The state this week admitted that it had erroneously expropriated the 11 acres.

Residents say that as it was the governments mistake, its up to the government to fix it. In any case, the disputed land is right in the center of the community, which would make it impossible to leave.

Our expectation is for the government to get out of this problem and to authorize this area, Miri Ovadiah, a spokeswoman for the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, which includes Ofra, told The Media Line. If compensation needs to be granted, the government should do that too.

She said there are nine homes built on the piece of land in question, while lawyer Tawfiq Jabareen said aerial photos show 60 buildings on the land, including several public buildings like schools. Ovadiah says she does not believe that the Palestinian owners have proper documents to prove their ownership.

Israeli left-wing activist Dror Etkes, who has filed several of the petitions in the Amona case, says the state decision does not go far enough.

Construction in the settlement of Ofra (Photo: Amit Shabi)

About two-thirds of Ofra is built on private Palestinian property outside the original land confiscation for a military camp, Etkes told The Media Line. The only part they can legalize is the land from the Jordanian confiscation, which is about one-third of the land of Ofra.

The case in Ofra shows the complexity over land claims in the West Bank. Israel has not annexed the West Bank, but has been in control for almost 50 years. Today, an estimated 370,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with 200,000 in East Jerusalem. The Israeli government says that East Jerusalem, which it annexed in 1967, must remain the undivided sovereign capital of Israel. Palestinians say the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip, with its over 4 million Palestinians, along with East Jerusalem, must become the Palestinian state.

Also in Ofra is the outpost of Amona, which Jewish residents call a neighborhood. Built on a hill overlooking Ofra in 1995, and today with about 200 Israelis living there, the Supreme Court has ruled it was built on private Palestinian land, and is illegal according to Israeli law. The Israeli government continues to fight the courts eviction order and one attempt to evict the residents ended in violence.

Etkes says there is a precedent for dismantling settlements. In 2005, Israel decided to pull out of the Gaza Strip, and 9,000 Israelis were forced to leave their homes in Gaza. If the homes in Ofra are built on Palestinian land, he says, the government should demolish these homes as well and return the land to the original owners.

Article written by Linda Gradstein
MOSCOW - The Turkish government believes that the current Syrian leadership could potentially take part in talks aimed at resolving the Syria crisis, the RIA news agency quoted Umit Yardim, Turkey's ambassador to Russia, as saying on Thursday.

"We want the existing political leadership of the country to take part in the negotiation process," it cited Yardim as telling a news conference in Moscow.

Yardim also said Ankara was not opposed to the current Syrian leadership playing some kind of a role in a possible political transition, the TASS news agency reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a TV interview that a political transition in Syria with President Bashar Assad was not possible however.
There was a 112 percent increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Israel last month, while the overall number of visitors from China since the beginning of the year rose 53 percent compared to last year.

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According to the Tourism Ministry, some 6,400 Chinese tourists arrived in Israel in July 2016, compared to some 3,000 in July 2015. Since the beginning of the year, 38,832 Chinese visited the Holy Land, compared to some 25,000 between January and July 2015.

Chinese tourist relaxing in the Dead Sea (Photo: Shutterstock)

One of the reasons for the rise in tourists from China is the fact that Hainan Airlines starting offering flights to Israel . According to a report by the Israel Airports Authority, in July 2016 the company flew 5,575 passengers on its Tel Aviv-Beijing line, 660 more passengers than El Al, which was the only airline flying to China up until three months ago.

In light of the increase in the number of Chinese tourists coming to Israel, the Tourism and Interior Ministries decided to approve a request made by the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association to cancel the fee for tour groups.

The association complained about the fact that the 35-shekels-per-person fee, in addition to handling fees tour operators often need to pay to their representatives in Israel, serves as a significant bureaucratic and financial hurdle to organizing tour groups visiting the country.

The association said canceling the tour group fees would lead to an increase in tourists as it would help lower travel costs. According to the Tourism Ministry, a Chinese tourist pays $1,947 on average to visit Israel, a sum 21 percent higher than the average expense made by tourists from other countries.

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said that cancelling the tour group fees for Chinese tourists and granting them 10-year travel visas are two important steps among others made by his ministry to market Israel to the Chinese.

Learning about the Palmach in Chinese

Meanwhile, the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv decided to make itself more accessible to the tourists from China, becoming the first Defense Ministry museumand one of the first museums in Israelto translate its spectacular audiovisual presentation into Chinese and Mandarin.

The Palmach Museum, ranked by Trip Advisor as the best museum in Tel Aviv, inaugurated its Chinese feature this week as part of the Israeli government's effort to increase the number of tourists from China by providing them an experience in their own language.

Palmach museum video in Chinese (  ")

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The new presentation was met with much enthusiasm by a group of Chinese teenagers, who were the first to view it.

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The idea arose when the museum started welcoming more and more visitors from Asian countries thanks to the good reviews it received.

Their English, however, was not very good, leading the chairman of the Palmach Generation Association, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yeshayahu Gavish and the Defense Ministry's Museums Department to cooperating in making the museum and its archive materials accessible to Chinese speakers.

The materials were translated by the Espro Information Technologies company.
ZURICH - Switzerland's highest court has ordered Israel to pay Iran around $1.1 billion plus interest in a decades-old dispute over a secretive oil pipeline company predating the 1979 Islamic revolution which made the countries enemies.

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The Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected an appeal, citing lack of due process, against an arbitration ruling last year. The verdict, dated June 27, was available on the Lausanne court's website.

Photo: AP

It also awarded Iran 450,000 Swiss francs ($461,302) in court costs and lawyer fees.

It remains unclear whether Israel will pay up given legal restrictions in its Trading with the Enemy Act.

Lawyers for each side had been locked in arbitration over the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co (EAPC), a joint venture set up in 1968, when the two nations were friendly, to transport Iranian oil to the Mediterranean.

For a decade, the pipeline successfully carried oil from the Red Sea for export to Europe. But since the Islamic revolution that brought the ayatollahs to power, Iran has been demanding its share of revenues and assets that remained in Israel.

Ayatollah Ali Khameini (Photo: AFP)

Since the partnership collapsed, EAPC has grown into a complex of energy assets, now mostly handling oil from former Soviet states.

How much profit it has made or how much it is worth is unknown, largely because of gag orders restricting coverage of its activities.

But Tehran, setting aside its decades-old refusal to recognise Israel's right to exist, had determined to recoup its part of EAPC and pursued a complex arbitration case starting in 1994, first in France and then in Switzerland.

In that time, the company has become the largest distributor of oil in Israel, with ambitions to become a major hub for energy trading in the Mediterranean. Israel maintains tight controls over EAPC.

The company has its roots in the 1967 Middle East war, when Egypt blocked the Suez Canal, making it impossible for Iran to transport its oil by tanker to Europe. Under the EAPC deal, Iranian tankers would unload at the Red Sea port of Eilat and oil would flow 254 km (158 miles) northwest to Ashkelon.

The countries formed a straw company in Halifax, Canada called APC Holdings, the primary shareholder in EAPC. By December 1969, the pipeline was ready to handle 60 million tons of crude oil a year, though it never reached that level.

A decade later, Iran's Shah was ousted and the partners in EAPC became enemies overnight.

Lawyers for both countries have declined to comment.
VATICAN CITY- Pope Francis has had lunch with a group of Syrian refugees who were brought to Italy from the Greek island of Lesbos thanks to the pope's intercession.

The Vatican said Thursday that the pope brought toys and other gifts for the children, who gave him a selection of their drawings. Both the adults and children had the chance to speak with the pontiff "about the beginning of their lives in Italy," the Vatican said.

Francis brought the first group of 12 refugees back with him on the papal plane directly from his April trip to Lesbos, a hotspot in Europe's refugee crisis, saying it was in keeping with the message of humanity that he wanted to send. The refugees are receiving housing from a Catholic charity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a new video in English on Thursday evening to his official Facebook page in which he claims, "I, the Prime Minister of Israel, care more about Palestinians than their own leaders do."

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The prime minister does qualify that statement by first stating that it was "somethingthat some of you will not believe." He addresses the recent revelations that humanitarian aid organization employees were transferring funds to Hamas, "the terrorist organization that rules Gaza."

Netanyahu's address (: ")

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He says, "A few days ago, the world learned that Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules Gaza, stole millions of dollars from humanitarian organizations like World Vision and the United Nations."

Netanyahu is referring to two separate, yet related affairs. The first was that the international Christian non-profit organization World Vision's Gaza Strip director, Mohammed el-Halabi , confessed to siphoning about $7.2 million a year in humanitarian funds to Hamas over five years. This was reported by the Shin Bet.

The second revelation concerned the construction of a marina built by Hamas's military wing in the northern Gaza Strip that was financed with funds siphoned from the United Nations Development Agency (UNDP). According to an indictment filed against 38-year-old engineer Waheed Borsh from Jabalia (north of Gaza City), the Gazan funneled aid money from UNDP to the construction of the marina, which Hamas naval commandos intended to use for future operations and training.

Speaking before book-filled shelves and flanked by an Israeli flag and a photograph of himself with his wife and two sons, the head of government compared the actions of Israel towards the Palestinians favorably against those of Hamas. He speaks, inter alia, of the Jewish State's facilitating the entry of aid into the Strip and the terrorist organization's seizing thereof and of Israeli hospitals treating wounded Gazans that Hamas would prevent from receiving help.

Netanyahu proposes, "Imagine, just imagine, where we might all be if Palestinian leaders cared as much about helping their own people as they did about hurting our people. The Palestinian people deserve better."

He concludes dramatically, "The cynicism and cruelty of Hamas is hurting all of us. It's hurting peace."

In a response sent to AFP and reported by the same, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat wrote, "The hatred that Mr. Netanyahu has for the Palestinian people causes him to invent a parallel history."
ANKARA- Two Turkish military attaches working in Greece have fled the country for Italy after the failed military coup attempt, Turkey's foreign minister said Thursday, while reports said a naval officer based in the US has also gone missing.

Turkey has blamed the July 15 coup attempt on officers loyal to a US-based Muslim cleric who it says have infiltrated the military. The government has accused the preacher, Fethullah Gulen, of orchestrating the failed insurrection. Gulen has denied any knowledge or involvement in the coup that left more than 270 dead but Turkey wants him extradited to face trial.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, the foreign minister, told NTV television that a number of Turkish military attaches abroad supported the coup and some had even notified their embassies on the night of the failed coup that they were "in charge now."
Scores of reservists join Total Force effort

About 200 Air Force reservists from the 439th Airlift Wing are deployed to a pair of undisclosed locations here as well as in Baghdad. Capt. Kristin Montville and Tech Sgt. Jonathan Colwell are among these Airmen, whose home station is Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, and they make up two-thirds of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wings intelligence section.



Most of our time is spent doing analysis and creating products to send out to other units and to brief to our leadership, Montville said. We produce products that are used for decision-making and execution by the wing commander, OSI, AFCENT, and others.



Additional Westover Airmen who recently arrived in the area of responsibility comprise other career fields including aerial port, force support, staff judge advocate, civil engineering, chaplain, chaplain assistants, logistics readiness, security forces, maintenance, communications, and public affairs. The six-month deployments support Operation Inherent Resolve.



A lot of the active duty personnel I talk to say theyd never heard of Westover before they got here, Montville said. And they say, but you guys are everywhere!



Intelligence Airmen support the wing staff and force protection for the undisclosed locations airlift, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare flying missions.



The Total Force concept is a manning pillar in the expeditionary world. According to local personnel statistics, some 45 percent of the Airmen based with the 386th AEW Marauders are reservists or guardsmen. Most of the Air Force reservists are deployed through the summer and the end of the year, while a small number left New England in the spring and will return in the fall.



Master Sgt. Michelangelo Dotimas is a project management noncommissioned officer in charge with the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron. In our five-person shop, we have oversight on more than 30 construction projects on the base, he said. And junior enlisted Airmen, like Senior Airman Joel Torres, also from Westover, are already gaining valuable experience on the deployment. Hes in charge of a two-person geobase shop, where all the maps on base are produced.



Other Westover Airmen, like Senior Airman Tyler Lesniak, literally keep the mission moving. Hes a vehicle operator on his first deployment. Amid the intense desert heat, Lesniak ferries aircrews from the busy flight line to the main base. Were getting the job done, and doing what we need to do to support the mission, he said.



No matter what the demands of a deployment call for, these reservists are answering the call as theyve joined the Marauders in performing the expeditionary mission every day.








This Account has been suspended.
According to a report in The Australian, Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond believes the Australian property market is relatively healthy, outside of concerns around off-the-plan apartments.

I dont believe theres a housing bubble risk at all. Ive been saying that for 10 years since the GFC, Symond told The Australian.

I think theres going to be a temporary concern of oversupply of apartments in certain regions only, he said.

Symonds concerns echo recent warnings raised by the Reserve Bank of Australia about the health of the apartment market.

While construction in the apartment sector has been strong of late, Symond said much of the concern about oversupply stems from the decision of numerous Australian lenders cut off finance to foreign buyers.

You can talk to any developer of high-rise and they will tell you up to 50 per cent of presales are to Chinese sign-ups. The fact is thats stopping with a thud, Symond told The Australian.

While over-exposure to the apartment market and foreign buyers was sighted by lenders as the reason to shut their books, others also had concern about widespread mortgage fraud.

There could be some positives from the situation however, with Symond saying the drop off in foreign investors could lead to apartment projects being shelved, which will help to minimise concerns.

There wont be as many new developments happening and  some of those projects will take a hit on expected sales price by ambitious developments  The end result will be a more healthy housing market, he told The Australian.
Dobra, k. Szczecina 900 m2

40 miejsc parkingowych



Atut: Dodatkowe dochody z paczkomatow InPostu, a juz niedugo i z myjni samoobsugowej.



Tradycyjny zakup nieruchomosci, mozliwosc wykupienia uzytkowania wieczystego.
News

Miami, Florida - Eight Florida residents were charged in an indictment that was unsealed today for their alleged participation in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving prescription compounding pharmacies located in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area and in Miami.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Paul Wysopal of the FBIs Tampa Field Office and Special Agent in Charge George Piro of the FBIs Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Nicholas A. Borgesano Jr., 43, of New Port Richey, Florida; Bradley Sirkin, 54, of Boca Raton, Florida; Scott D. Piccininni, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Edwin Patrick Young, 48, of New Port Richey; Wayne M. Kreisberg, 39, of Parkland, Florida; Matthew N. Sterner, 47, of New Port Richey; Peter D. Williams, 55, of New Port Richey; and Joseph Degregorio, 71, of New Port Richey, were each charged in a 12-count indictment returned on Aug. 3, 2016, with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Borgesano, Sirkin, Piccininni, Kreisberg and Sterner were each also charged with three money laundering counts. Several defendants were arrested today and will have their initial appearances in federal courts in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.

According to the indictment, from approximately October 2012 through December 2015, the co-conspirators allegedly used A to Z Pharmacy Inc., located in New Port Richey, and several Miami-area pharmacies to cause the submission of false and fraudulent reimbursement claims for prescription compounded medications to private insurance companies, Medicare and Tricare. These reimbursement claims were allegedly based on prescriptions generated as a result of illegal kickbacks and bribes, prescriptions that were not based on legitimate provider/patient relationships and misuse of patient information. Additionally, the reimbursement claims allegedly represented that medications contained certain pharmaceutical ingredients when they did not. In addition to A to Z Pharmacy, the defendants used Medplus/New Life Pharmacy, Metropolitan Pharmacy, Havana Pharmacy, Jaimy Pharmacy and Prestige Pharmacy to submit the reimbursement claims, according to the indictment.

The pharmacies submitted approximately $633 million in claims for prescription compounded medications and received approximately $157 million in reimbursement based on the claims, the indictment alleges. The conspirators allegedly used shell companies to transfer and disburse the money and to conceal the conspirators activities in the fraud scheme.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and U.S. Attorneys Office of the Middle District of Florida. Senior Trial Attorney Christopher J. Hunter of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $10 billion. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Border News

Nogales, Arizona - Customs and Border Protection officers arrested three Mexican nationals involved in separate weekend attempts to smuggle more than $300,000 in methamphetamine and marijuana through the Port of Nogales.

The first incident occurred early Aug. 6 when officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing found nearly 58 pounds of meth, worth almost $173,000, concealed inside the back bumper of a Buick SUV driven by a 29-year-old resident of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

On Aug. 7, CBP officers working with a narcotics-detection canine at the DeConcini crossing located more than 32 pounds of meth, worth in excess of $96,000, within the cab and dashboard of a Chevy truck driven by a 34-year-old man from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico.

Earlier in another Chevy truck, officers and a canine at the Nogales West Mariposa crossing discovered more than 65 pounds of marijuana, worth almost $33,000, in the vehicles gas tank. Officers identified the driver as a 30-year-old woman from Santa Ana, Sonora, Mexico.

Officers seized the narcotics and vehicles, and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations.
Border News

Nogales, Arizona - Customs and Border Protection officers arrested two people Aug. 8 for their alleged involvement in separate smuggling attempts at the Port of Nogales.

Officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred a 33-year-old Tucson woman for further inspection when she entered the U.S. through a pedestrian lane. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs under her clothing, officers found more than a quarter of a pound of cocaine, worth nearly $3,000, hidden in a body cavity.

A few hours later at the Morley pedestrian crossing, officers referred an 18-year-old male Nogales, Arizona resident for further inspection and found more than a pound of heroin, worth a little more than $20,700, shaped as an insole within the subjects shoes.

CBP officers seized all drugs and turned both suspects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations.
Latest News

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Today in Buenos Aires, the United States and Argentina launched the U.S.-Argentina Digital Economy Working Group, during which the two countries announced that they will collaborate through the Global Connect Initiative (GCI) to bring 1.5 billion people who lack Internet access online by 2020. Argentinas designation as a GCI focus country comes as Argentina under the Administration of President Macri seeks to connect Argentinas underserved communities, create a modern regulatory environment, and encourage foreign investment.

The working group, led by Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda, U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State, and Argentine Minister of Communications Oscar Aguad, Clarisa Estol, Secretary for Investment Promotion of the Ministry and joined by Chairman Thomas Wheeler, Federal Communications Commission, Miguel De Godoy, President of the National Communications Agency of Argentina (ENACOM), and, was established to discuss the global digital economy and the future of telecommunications reform in Argentina.

The United States and Argentine officials discussed mechanisms for enhancing competition and creating incentives for increased investment in the communications sector. The Argentine delegation presented its plan to create a competitive telecommunications market and provide the necessary incentives for foreign investment in that market. The United States offered technical assistance and the delegations agreed to share best practices.

Cooperation is expected to include technical consultations between U.S. and Argentine government experts to jointly develop a Global Connect work plan for Argentina, cooperation outlined by the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States Federal Communications Commission and the National Communications Agency of Argentina (Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones, or ENACOM), the encouragement of participation of Argentine technical experts in United States Telecommunications Training Institute courses, and the encouragement of the multistakeholder consultative process already begun by the Macri Administration to include development banks, the private sector, and other multilateral and multistakeholder organizations in the promotion of increased connectivity in Argentina.
Latest News

Fort Worth, Texas - Following a weeklong trial, a federal jury on Friday convicted a Fort Worth woman of labor trafficking two women that she illegally brought into the U.S. from Mexico and forced them, with threat of serious harm and physical restraint, to work for her without pay.

This conviction was announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Specifically, the jury convicted Olga Sandra Murra, 64, aka Olga Sandra Capon-Meneses, on all four counts of an indictment charging federal felony offenses  two counts of forced labor and two counts of harboring an illegal alien. Each forced labor count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Each harboring count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Following the verdict, U.S. District Judge Reed C. OConnor remanded Murra into custody. Her sentencing is set for Nov. 28.

The government presented evidence at trial that from her birth in 1952 to 1997, Murra lived in Mexico. In 1997, Murra, her immediate family, and several other individuals she brought with her, including V.R., a woman in her 30s, moved to El Paso, Texas, and then later to Fort Worth. In 1998, Murra arranged for I.G., a woman in her 20s, to be transported into the U.S. Both V.R. and I.G. are Mexican citizens and both illegally entered and remained in the U.S.

From September 1997 to April 29, 2011, Murra kept one or both of the women at her various residences in El Paso and Fort Worth, and held their identification documents.

In both El Paso and Fort Worth, Murra operated a house-cleaning business. She directed both V.R. and I.G. to work for her business, and both cleaned three to four homes per day up to seven days per week. In addition, the women cleaned Murras residence and prepared meals for her. Murra, however, did not pay either woman for this work. In fact, Murra required the two women to give her all the money they earned cleaning houses.

Murra represented herself to the women as the voice of God on earth, and required them to listen to religious recordings of Murra reading Bible verses and discussing their meaning while they cleaned homes. She caused both women to believe they would go to hell if they did not obey her. Murra threatened at least one of the women that if she disobeyed her, she would contact immigration and the woman would be buried in a field with other illegal aliens. Murra also struck at least one of the women.

Murra also restricted the womens freedom within her house, requiring at times they ask for permission to go to the bathroom. Murra also prohibited them from talking to other individuals living at the residence. Generally, the women slept on the bedroom floor in the residence. But when she punished them, Murra required them to sleep in the garage, laundry room or backyard; she also restricted their food to bread and water.

In 2001, Murra provided I.G. with false identification documents and directed I.G. to work at McDonalds and Walmart, in addition to working for her house-cleaning business. I.G. worked for about one year at McDonalds in 2001 and at Walmart for about six months in 2003. Murra required I.G. to give all the checks she received to her, not allowing I.G. to keep any money she earned.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Allen-McCoy and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani are in charge of the prosecution.
Latest News

San Antonio, Texas - A former general manager at an orphanage in Malawi was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Departments Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Richard L. Durbin Jr. of the Western District of Texas.

Gerald Campbell, 66, of Odessa, Texas, pleaded guilty on May 18, 2016. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert A. Junell of the Western District of Texas presided over the sentencing and also ordered Campbell to serve a lifetime term of supervised release and to pay $40,000 in restitution.

According to admissions made in connection with his plea agreement, Campbell engaged in sexual acts with eight minors, all of whom were orphans living at the Victory Christian Childrens Home in Malawi between 1997 and 2009. Campbell admitted that he used his position as orphanage manager, with access to better accommodations and amenities, such as hot water, to lure the minor victims, one of whom was suffering from the effects of HIV, into his house and sexually abuse them. In addition, Campbell admitted that he knew that what he was doing was wrong and that he thought nobody would believe the minors if they reported the abuse. Furthermore, Campbell admitted that he sent money to some of the minors in an attempt to keep them from reporting the abuse to authorities.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safetys Criminal Investigations Division. Trial Attorneys Leslie Fisher and Austin M. Berry of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandi Young of the Western District of Texas prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
Latest News

Washington, DC - An identity document supplier pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit human smuggling for financial gain in relation to his role in trafficking the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodriguez-Velez of the District of Puerto Rico, Director Sarah R. Saldana of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Chief Postal Inspector Guy J. Cottrell of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Director Bill A. Miller of the U.S. State Departments Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

Isaias Beltre-Matos, 44, a Dominican national and legal permanent resident formerly of Providence, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Juan M. Perez-Gimenez of the District of Puerto Rico. On Aug. 6, 2015, Beltre-Matos was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Puerto Rico. To date, 14 individuals have been charged for their roles in the identity trafficking scheme, six defendants have pleaded guilty, Alejandro Tello Rojas and Francisco Matos-Beltre await trial and six individuals remain fugitives.

According to the admissions made in connection with todays plea, identity document runners located in the Savarona area of Caguas, Puerto Rico, obtained Puerto Rican identities and corresponding identity documents. Other conspirators, identified as identity document suppliers and brokers, were located in various cities throughout the United States and allegedly solicited customers for the sale of social security cards and corresponding Puerto Rico birth certificates for prices ranging from $700 to $2,500 per set, Beltre-Matos admitted. Beltre-Matos also admitted that the conspirators used text messages, money transfer services and U.S. mail to complete their illicit transactions.

In addition, Beltre-Matos admitted that he sold Puerto Rican identity documents to customers, who generally obtained the identity documents to assume the identity of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and to obtain additional identification documents, such as legitimate state drivers licenses. Some customers obtained the documents to commit financial fraud and attempted to obtain a U.S. passport, according to the plea agreement.

The Chicago offices of ICEs Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI led the investigation, dubbed Operation Island Express II, with assistance from the ICE-HSI San Juan Office and the DSS Resident Office in Puerto Rico. The ICE-HSI Assistant Attache office in the Dominican Republic and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center provided invaluable support with assistance from ICE, USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices around the country.

Trial Attorneys Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Divisions Organized Crime and Gang Section and Frank Rangoussis of the Criminal Divisions Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorneys Office of the District of Puerto Rico is providing assistance in this matter.
Latest News

Washington, DC - It says its organic, but just what does that mean? Thats a question a lot of consumers ask themselves when shopping for non-agricultural items like personal care products  and it will be the topic of discussion at an October 20, 2016, roundtable in Washington, DC.

The FTC and the U.S. Department of Agricultures Agricultural Marketing Service will co-host the roundtable. Consumer advocates, industry representatives, academics and others will discuss how consumers interpret organic claims for products and services that generally fall outside the scope of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Services National Organic Program. Also on the agenda is a recent FTC-USDA consumer perception study on organic claims.

The roundtable is open to the public and will take place at the FTCs Constitution Center conference facility, 400 7th Street, S.W., in Washington. Well post the agenda soon, but in the meantime, you can file a public comment online. Were especially interested in research about how consumers perceive claims like this and will keep the public record open until December 1, 2016.

Just to be clear, the topic on the table is consumer perception of organic claims for products that arent part of the National Organic Program. With that caveat in mind, be sure to mark your calendar for October 20th if that issue is of interest to your clients or customers.
Spanish News

Yuma, Arizona - On Thursday, August 25th, the Heritage Library will host Consejos Para Conseguir Empleo (Employment Tips) at 2:00 p.m. Topics include popular job search websites, how to fill out a job application online, and how to format a resume. There is no charge to attend; however, space is limited.

Please note, this program will be taught in Spanish.



The Heritage Library is located at 350 S Third Street. For more information, call Saul Robles at (928) 373-6486.
Spanish Health

Somerton, Arizona - On Tuesday, August 23rd, Alzheimer Grupo de Apoyo (Alzheimers Caregiver Support Group) will meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Somerton Library. Caring for someone with Alzheimer's can be challenging, but a support group can give you the reassurance you need. Connect with other caregivers and share tips, advice, and support.

There is no charge to attend.



Please note, this is a Spanish-language group.



The Somerton Library is located at 240 Canal Street in Somerton, AZ. For more information, call (928) 627-2149.
Villanova, Pa., August 4, 2016  The Villanova School of Business (VSB), The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business, and audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP have created a new learning approach for graduate business students by launching a masters program that emphasizes analytics in accounting.

Created to develop auditors suited for the big data age, the program will drive students to think critically and develop problem-solving and analytical skills. The program combines practical use of modern analytics technology and data sets with real-world experiences on KPMG teams auditing some of the worlds largest companies.

It is imperative for the nations top universities and companies to work together to properly prepare our students to become effective future business leaders, said Joyce E. A. Russell, PhD, the Helen and William OToole Dean of the Villanova School of Business. VSB is proud to be a part of this giant step forward in business education with KPMG and Fisher College of Business. Not only will this new program highlight the need for an academic focus on analytics in accounting, it will also provide these students with the real-world experience necessary to make an immediate impact.

Fifty students will enter the program in the fall of 2017 at either VSB or Fisher College of Business. The students will work between semesters as KPMG audit interns, and while at VSB or Fisher, KPMG will pay for their full tuition and reasonable costs for room and board. After graduation in the summer of 2018, the students will join KPMGs audit practice through an advanced entry program.

VSB Vice Dean Daniel Wright, PhD, said, This program is the first of its kind where a company directly funds students' master's degrees with a concentration in data analytics and accounting, providing them with a competitive edge to better support their career development. This program is a rarity in academic-industry cooperation that goes well beyond tuition reimbursement.

In todays digital age, the opportunities for careers in audit and accounting are growing and very competitive, said Michael Peters, PhD, VSB Chair, Accountancy & Information Systems and the Alvin A. Clay Professor of Accountancy. This partnership will give students additional opportunities and skills to help them stay ahead of the curve and become leaders in the profession.

About Villanova University School of Business

The Villanova School of Business (VSB) undergraduate program is ranked #1 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek and has been at the forefront of business education since it was founded in 1922. Serving over 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students, VSB is home to six Centers or Institutes of Excellence (the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, the Center for Business Analytics, the Center for Global Leadership, the Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights, the Center for Church Management & Business Ethics and the Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Institute) with each center and institute designed to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary research and teaching opportunities for business faculty. VSB is known for academic rigor; creativity and innovation; hands-on and service learning opportunities; a firm grounding in ethics; and an applied education that prepares students to become outstanding leaders and global citizens within the ever-changing, complex, and fast-paced world of business. For more, visit business.villanova.edu.
NASA  the United States Space agency  has just sent a mission to find out whether planets similar to the Earth exist in Outer Space. The mission, which is a telescope named Kepler, would try to find out whether there are planets having essentials like air, water, temperature etc to support life, like on Earth. <br><br> Ever since the subject of Science evolved, man has always based the existence of Aliens (species living on planets or other heavenly bodies other than Earth) on the pretext of that body having oxygen, water etc. If a planet lacks water, oxygen and favourable temperature, scientists believe existence of life there is impossible. Here is where I  a layman  disagree with them. <br><br> Why do scientists and most others on this planet believe that Aliens need the things we require, to survive? A species  whether more intelligent than us or not  may not need water to drink and oxygen to breathe. It may just survive with whatever liquid or form of gas available on that planet. Earth had water and oxygen before life came into being here. It is we who adapted ourselves to the conditions existing on Earth. Similarly, a species living on a faraway planet might have adapted itself to the conditions existing there. <br><br> Scientists say life evolved on its own on Earth. So, it could evolve in other places as well. How are we so sure that some extra-terrestrial species do not exist without conditions we consider fundamental when we dont yet even know the scope of our own universe? Our discovery of new planets, stars, comets etc go to a very large extent in proving our own limitations. The height is this that we are yet debating the number of planets in our own galaxy - the Milky Way, with poor Pluto being demoted or promoted to planet status depending on the intellectual and scientific debate on Earth! <br><br> Also, the existence of Aliens has been rejected despite numerous UFO sightings right here on Earth. People of varying nationalities and from different part of the world have reported seeing flying saucers, unconventional lights etc (Unidentified Flying Objects in technical terms). The sightings  reported over centuries  have even been captured in pictures or videos. <br><br> Even governments or its affiliated departments across the world, including in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, the erstwhile Soviet Union, etc have conducted investigations to establish the truth behind UFO sightings. While some of the reports have rejected the sightings as having anything to do with reality, the others have been inconclusive or not-so-forthright in their rejection. Independent or private studies, on the other hand, have called for thorough and continued scientific studies. <br><br> While one can continue to dub the sightings as mere imagination, adopting a more pro-active approach towards seeking an answer to the question as to whether Aliens exist, would prove to be more fruitful for the mankind. <br><br> As against common belief, according to me there is a greater probability of life existing in Space than not. The Universe is ever-expanding and Man has not even explored one percent of it. So to believe that life cannot exist without water, air or favourable temperature is absurd (at least I believe so). As they say, think logically... because commonsense is the sense that is scarce in todays age.
Tripoli: Pro-government forces battled Thursday to clear the Islamic State group from its main Libyan stronghold of Sirte, after dealing a major blow to the jihadists by seizing their headquarters.

IS fighters still control several areas of the Mediterranean city, whose capture in June last year sparked fears that the extremist group would use it as a springboard for attacks on Europe.

The fall of Sirte would be a huge setback to the jihadists` efforts to expand their self-proclaimed "caliphate" beyond Syria and Iraq where they have also suffered a string of losses.

Forces loyal to Libya`s UN-backed unity government made a significant breakthrough Wednesday in their nearly three-month-old offensive to retake the city, seizing a conference centre where IS had set up a base.

"The battle for Sirte has reached its final phase, after the successful offensive by our heroes," a spokesman for the forces, General Mohamad Ghassri, said Thursday in remarks carried by the LANA news agency.

The rapid advance comes after the United States launched air strikes on IS positions in the city for the first time on August 1.

IS took advantage of the chaos that followed the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011 to gain a foothold in the oil-rich North African country.

The forces loyal to the Government of National Accord on Wednesday also seized the University of Sirte campus just south of the Ouagadougou conference centre as well as the Ibn Sina Hospital to the north.

Libyan television broadcast images of flag-waving soldiers in recaptured areas including the Ouagadougou centre, flashing victory signs as they posed for photographs.

The pro-GNA forces said 16 of their fighters were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday in the fighting in Sirte, Kadhafi`s hometown which lies just across the Mediterranean from Italy.

It was unclear how many IS fighters were killed, but the centre said that at least 20 jihadists had died in fighting for the university campus.In total more than 300 pro-government fighters have been killed and 1,800 wounded in the operation for Sirte, according to medical sources in the city of Misrata, where the operation`s command centre in based.

They have faced determined resistance from the jihadists who have struck back with sniper fire, suicide attacks and car bombings.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that US commandos were working from a joint operations centre on the outskirts of Sirte, the first time they have directly supported Libyan forces in the anti-IS fight.

Quoting US officials speaking on condition of anonymity, the Post said the US forces were operating alongside British troops, helping to coordinate American air strikes and providing intelligence.

GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj told Italy`s Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Wednesday that his government had asked only for "air strikes which must be very precise and limited in time and geographical scope".

"We do not need foreign troops on Libyan soil," Sarraj said.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi faced criticism at home on Thursday for reportedly sending special forces to Libya to help the anti-IS fight without approval from parliament.

Renzi`s centre-left government has refused to confirm or deny reports that dozens of special forces have been deployed to help with demining and training pro-GNA forces.

France last month confirmed it had troops in Libya, saying three of the soldiers had been killed while on a mission there.

That prompted a demand from Sarraj for an explanation about the French presence, which the GNA described as a "violation" of the nation`s sovereignty.
District of Columbia: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State (IS) group.

Addressing supporters at a rally in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, the real estate tycoon said the jihadist group is "honoring President Obama."

"He is the founder of ISIS," Trump said, using a term for the IS group.

"He`s the founder of ISIS, okay?" he added. "He`s the founder! He founded ISIS."

The brash billionaire went on to criticise his Democratic rival for the White House.

"And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton," he said.

Trump has suffered what critics insist is a long string of missteps that have marred his campaign since he officially won the nomination last month.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hillary sternly warned Trump about his "casual inciting" of violence, saying he "crossed the line" after he caused a firestorm by suggesting that people who support gun rights could take action to stop her from appointing US Supreme Court justices if elected president.
Quito: Ecuador said on Wednesday it will let Swedish officials interview Julian Assange at its embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder has been sheltering since June 2012.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said a letter has been sent by the Ecuadorian government to set up a meeting with Swedish officials at Quito`s embassy in London.

The meeting is to take place "in the coming weeks," the statement said.

Prosecutors in Sweden want to interview Assange in connection a 2010 rape allegation against him.

The 45-year-old Australian sought refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London in June 2012 after exhausting all his legal options in Britain against extradition to Sweden.

Assange fears that if he were sent to Sweden to face trial, he could be extradited to the United States to be tried over WikiLeaks` publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents and face a long prison sentence or the death penalty.

Assange on Wednesday appealed a Stockholm district court`s decision to maintain a European arrest warrant against him over the rape allegation.

"We have appealed the decision to keep him remanded in custody in absentia," his attorney Tomas Olsson told AFP.

Assange`s lawyers have said that is why he refuses to travel to Sweden to be questioned by prosecutors.

A UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on February 5 ruled in a non-binding decision that Assange`s confinement in the Ecuadoran embassy amounted to arbitrary detention by Sweden and Britain.

Both Britain and Sweden have angrily disputed the UN group`s findings.
New York: A 20-year-old man from Virginia created an hours-long media spectacle when he climbed up 21 floors of the Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan using suction cups and straps allegedly to get a "personal" meeting with Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The man, whose identity was not revealed, was safely pulled in the building by the police personnel after nearly three-hours yesterday evening.

The stunt was witnessed by hundreds of passerby and live on television as the news and visuals of his escapade circulated widely on social media.

Police said the man's motive was to climb to the top of the tower and get a personal meeting with Trump, whose name is on the priciest real estate in Manhattan.

Trump was on his presidential campaign tour in Virginia. Security is tight around the tower, which is the site of Trump's campaign launch and is also his residence.

The Republican presidential candidate responded through Twitter saying, "Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber."

Personnel from the New York Police Department had to undertake elaborate safety measures as well as some extreme steps like breaking some windows in the Tower to pull the man inside the building.

They raised a ladder in an effort to stop him, but had to close it as he moved higher. Apart from breaking windows to reach him, police also placed inflated giant cushions below him in case he tumbled off the 58-story Trump headquarters.

The man was eventually pulled inside moments after he ascended to a tight spot near a large window removed by police.

Police later said the man had told them that he had posted a YouTube video on Tuesday titled "Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower)."

In the message a hooded man claimed he was an "independent researcher."

"Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it," the man said in the video.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention".

At the end of the entire episode, emergency responders brought the man out of the building on a stretcher and placed him in an ambulance. The man was then taken to a city hospital for mental evaluation.

Police said after being discharged from the hospital, he would be arrested and could be charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

The entire spectacle was watched by thousands online as passersby recorded videos of the climb and posted it on social media platforms.

Commander of NYPD emergency services Chief Vincent Giordano told reporters outside the Trump Tower that they were informed about the man at about 3:30 pm (local time) and thought they were responding to a case of a jumper.

Police personnel said they had warned him that the suction cups could cause the windows of the building to crack as he tried to continue the ascend.
California: The Sikh community in Union City, California is protesting against an unidentified man desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Incident took place yesterday when pages of the Granth Sahib were torn and thrown away by the miscreant.

"The incident took place last evening, when a notorious person torn the holy book into pieces. This has riled up the people of our community. We along with our community will take up this issue. And we expect that American authorities will find a solution to this and bring the culprits to the book. Moving on we also wish that police and local authorities lend us help in the matter," said American Gurudwar Committee coordinator, Pritpal Singh.

Subsequent to the incident, California mayor Eric Garcetti arrived at the protest site and assured the protestors of penal action against the miscreants who have attempted to hurt their religious sentiments.

According to reports. police have registered a complaint in the matter.
Beijing: China today voiced its resolute opposition to a call by UN human rights experts to release a Chinese jailed activist, describing it is "gross interference" in its domestic affairs and judicial sovereignty.

UN human rights experts expressed concern about Yang Maodong, a jailed rights activist whose health is reportedly "deteriorating" after a hunger strike, and urged Chinese authorities to release him, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"This is gross interference in China's domestic affairs and judicial sovereignty and China is resolutely opposed to it," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.

She said the comments from the UN human rights experts are irresponsible and based on false information, and called on them to do objective and fair work and have constructive dialogue with all countries.

"Yang's health condition is normal and his legitimate rights are guaranteed, based on information from relevant departments," Hua said.

Yang was sentenced to six years in prison by a court in southern China in November last during a crackdown on human rights advocates.
Beijing: China's new policy to permit two children, ending the one child policy this year is resulting in discrimination of women in job market as employers prefer male workers to avoid lengthy maternity leave, official media reported.

State-run People's Daily which highlighted the problem quoted Zhao, a lady PHD scholar from Communication University of China that she is visibly frustrated to find during her job hunt that employers prefer male applicants and sometimes even choose a male only with a bachelor's degree over her doctorate.

She said that in her job interviews questions always included about when she plans to marry and have a child, and even about whether she plans to have a second baby.

China this year will see 7.65 million students graduate from universities and colleges. This summer is also the first employment season after the universal two-child policy came into effect.

The two child policy is being implemented from January this year in a bid to deal with the growing demographic crisis resulting in steady depletion of the work force due to over three and half decades old one child policy.

As a result, female graduates are facing more severe competition and pressure in job hunting, the daily report.

Overt and covert gender discrimination floods recruitment notices.

Examples of more explicit discrimination include: "only male," "male preferred," "married mother preferred," "higher educational background for female candidates," "appearance and height required" and "obligations of no marriage and no reproduction in certain years," the report said.

However, even covert discrimination can be quite obvious, such as when employers inquire about female applicants' marital status and thoughts on family planning, or stress that the position requires frequent overtime and is therefore more suitable for men.

According to a 2014 survey conducted by the Women's Studies Institute of China (WSIC), 86.18 per cent of female graduates in Beijing, Hebei and Shandong say they have experienced gender discrimination while job hunting.

Marriage, childbearing and employment are all women's rights, and are protected by law, explained Ma Yan, a researcher with WSIC told the daily.

However, Ma said, childbearing does increase costs to employers. For instance, in the wake of the universal two-child policy, many local governments have extend mandated maternity from one month to three.

Guo Ruilin, who works in human resources at a private pharmaceutical company, complained, "Normally, maternity impacts a woman's work for a year or two, but the company still pays them a salary and offers social security. A second child will double the costs."?

A number of experts believe the government should get involved in reducing the stigma and discrimination wrought by the two-child policy.
Tokyo: Japan is searching for eight Chinese crew members who went missing when their fishing boat sank after colliding with a Greek cargo vessel near disputed East China Sea islands on Thursday, the Japanese coast guard said.

The coast guard, which dispatched a patrol boat and plane to the site after receiving a signal from the cargo ship, has rescued the six other members of the sunk vessel`s 14-strong crew, a coast guard spokeswoman told AFP.

"We `ve put priority on the search and rescue of the missing eight. We have not been able to determine the cause of the collision," she said.

China expressed its appreciation for the rescue efforts, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement.

The accident comes after Foreign minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijing`s envoy to Tokyo, following what Tokyo calls "intrusions" by Chinese ships near the disputed islands for five consecutive days.

"The situation surrounding the Japan-China relationship is markedly deteriorating," he told Cheng, according to the ministry`s statement on its website.

The two countries are locked in a long-running dispute over the uninhabited islets known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

The Japanese coast guard on Monday caught sight of 15 Chinese coast guard ships near the islands -- the highest number ever spotted in the area.

Some 230 Chinese fishing vessels and seven coast guard ships, including four apparently carrying weapons, sailed into waters close to the disputed island on Sunday.

Bilateral relations had improved over the past two years, but tensions over the islands have been a frequent irritant between the countries.
Islamabad: Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says the Afghan government is launching a mission to free the crew of a Pakistani helicopter that crashed inside Afghanistan while flying to Russia earlier this month.

The ministry's spokesman Nafees Zakaria said today that six Pakistanis and a Russian navigator were aboard when the copper went down on August 4. He said Kabul has informed Pakistan that the crew was alive and efforts are being made to rescue them through local tribal elders.

Zakaria did not say who captured the crew, but an Afghan governor has said the crew was detained by the Taliban in the area outside the government's control.

According to a Pakistani Taliban leader, the crew was being held by a Pakistani Taliban commander in Afghanistan's Logar province.
Islamabad: Pakistan's Parliament today adopted a controversial "draconian" legislation to deal with cyber crimes in the country amid criticism by opposition parties and groups working for protection of fundamental rights.

The National Assembly, or lower house, passed 'The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act' without any amendment to the draft passed by Senate last month.

Earlier, the Senate made 50 amendments which was passed by the National Assembly in April.

After both houses passed the same version, the bill would be signed by President Mamnoon Hussain to become a law and will be implemented in the country.

The law includes a total of 21 offences related to misuse of Internet. There are over a dozen crimes for which the new law prescribes jail terms. They include use of cyberspace for terrorism, hate speech, pornography, cheating for fraud and tampering information etc.

The law suggests 14 years jail for those using internet for committing terrorism and seven years for promoting violence through hate speech.

Major opposition parties including Pakistan People party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) condemned certain sections of the bill, which, according to them could curb the freedom of expression, the Express Tribune reported.

The PPP's Parliamentary Leader Naveed Qamar said it was a "draconian" law, which violates the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

"It is certain that the draft will not stand up to scrutiny of the court of law," he added.

MQM lawmaker Ali Raza Abidi also deplored certain sections of the bill, which, he said, are totally unacceptable. He also objected to eight of 51 amendments to the bill passed by the Senate.

"Youth will be the prime victim of the new law as it is not necessary that the public will have the knowhow about ethics and laws of social media," he said.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's lawmaker Ali Muhammad Khan feared that even if not by the current government, the law might be used against opponents by the future rulers.

"Our youth is getting politicised and it is for the good of country but passage of this bill will discourage them to take part in political activities or debate (on cyberspace)," he said.
Tinsukia: In the run up to Independence Day, militants today exploded an improvised explosive devise (IED) in Assam's Tinsukia district.

However, no one was injured in the incident, a senior police official said.

The IED exploded inside a drain along Philobari bypass road near Badalbheta Tea Estate in Doomdooma area at 7.30 AM, Superintendent of Police Mugdha Jyoti Mahanta told PTI.

The SP said he was on his way to the blast site and would be able to confirm the identity of the militants only after investigations.
Sydney: Racist graffiti and swastika symbols been scrawled along a main street in Australia`s iconic Bondi beach in New South Wales (NSW) state, reports said on Thursday.

Police found about 15 swastika symbols drawn on the footpath, bus stops, poles, benches and electrical boxes, the ABC reported.

Another piece of graffiti read, "not white, not right".

Eastern Suburbs Local Area Commander Superintendent Jason Box said police were taking the graffiti seriously.

"The NSW Police Force takes crimes that are motivated by hatred or prejudice very seriously and any such crimes will not be tolerated," ABC quoted Box as saying on Thursday.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff condemned the graffiti as a "hate crime", The Daily Telegraph reported.

"It is hurtful (to Jewish people) given the swastika represents Nazi Germany, at the same time it`s offensive to all Australians because Australia fought against Nazi Germany," Alhadeff said.

"This is an affront to all the citizens of Bondi, and there is no place for such bigotry in our country," The Daily Telegraph quoted the chief executive as saying.
New Delhi: At the end of his sojourn in the hills, a "fresh and energetic" Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be in the thick of action with ministers and officials prepared to brief him on crucial developments including the setback in the Delhi High Court.

An AAP functionary said that Kejriwal, who will return to the capital late tonight, will be briefed by senior party leaders and his Csabinet ministers on a host of issues that took place in his absence.

"Returning from 10-day Vipassna course. Feeling v fresh n energetic," Kejriwal tweeted earlier today. Soon after, he shared an article, critical of the Court order, written by AAP leader Ashish Khetan.

The Court order had come at a time when Kejriwal was attending a vipassana session at a meditation centre at Dharamkot in Himachal Pradesh, where he had no access to newspapers, telephone and social media.

The AAP chief used to start his day at 4.30 AM every day during the session.

The Chief Minister has so far not reacted to the verdict which stamped the primacy of Lt Governor in administration of Delhi. The government has already announced it would move Supreme Court against the order.

"The CM will be briefed by senior AAP leaders about several issues including the Court order either at his residence or the Delhi Secretariat," an official said.
New Delhi: A special court today sent Bahadur Ali alias 'Saifullah', a Pakistani national allegedly working for terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, to NIA custody till August 17 after the agency said it needed to decode the writings in a diary recovered from him.

According to court sources, Ali was produced before District Judge Amar Nath after expiry of his NIA remand and during an in-camera proceeding the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that the writings required to be decoded to unearth the larger conspiracy.

The court allowed the NIA's plea to quiz Ali and also handed over the diary, which was earlier sealed, to the probe agency.

The sources said that the agency told the court that the diary was needed to be decoded as it would help in unearthing plans made by 21-year-old Ali and his associates.

In a new twist to the ongoing turmoil in Kashmir, NIA had yesterday cited Ali's confessional video to claim that unrest in the Valley was being orchestrated by Pakistan-based LeT, claiming that the terror outfit had played a major role in fueling the unrest, triggered by the encounter killing of a militant leader.

The agency has claimed that since the summer this year, the banned outfit, with the "help of Pakistani forces deployed on the border", pushed heavily armed terrorists into India with the direction to mix with local people, create disturbance, and attack police and security forces.

NIA had earlier told the court that along with his associates, Ali had planned terror attacks to "destabilise the security and sovereignty" of India.

A fourth-class dropout, Ali, who hails from Jahama village of Raiwind in Lahore, was arrested from village Yahama in Mawar area of Qalamabad, Handwara, in North Kashmir on July 25. The army had recovered three AK-47 rifles, two pistols and Indian Rs 23,000 from his possession.

According to NIA, Ali was trained at a Lashkar camp in PoK, including in map reading and operating GPS devices.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had called Ali a "very good catch" and said his arrest will lead to many successes.
New Delhi: AAP MLA Sharad Chauhan, who was arrested in connection with a case of a party woman worker's alleged suicide, was today granted bail by a Delhi court which said no useful purpose would be served by keeping him in further custody.

Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan granted the relief to the Narela MLA after noting that his name was not stated by the deceased in her last statement.

"As per the probe agency, before the arrest of applicant (Chauhan), he has been thoroughly interrogated. No useful purpose will be served by keeping the applicant in further custody.

"In totality of facts and circumstances of the case, the applicant is entitled to bail and as such, it is ordered that the applicant is admitted to bail on furnishing of personal bond and surety bond in sum of Rs 30,000," the judge said.

In its order, the court noted that "in her statement (on July 19), deceased named accused Ramesh Bhardwaj, Amit Bhardwaj and Rajni Kant as the persons responsible for her death as they made her life hell by defaming her".

"It is noteworthy that the name of applicant is nowhere stated by the deceased in her last statement," it said.

Seeking bail for Chauhan, his lawyer Pradeep Rana argued that the politician was falsely implicated in the case and his name did not appear in the dying declaration made by the deceased.

The police, however, opposed Chauhan's plea contending that the MLA had played a "big role" in shielding his associates in a separate case of molestation which forced the victim to live under constant threat.

Chauhan was earlier denied bail by a magisterial court which had noted that the probe was at a nascent stage.

Chauhan, along with others, was arrested on July 30 and he is the 12th AAP MLA to be arrested.

His co-accused, including Ramesh Bhardwaj, Rajni and Delhi Police ASI Mukhtiyar Singh, are currently in judicial custody.
New Delhi: A key panel has recommended the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to reduce the upper-age limit of candidates aspiring to join the civil services.

The panel, headed by former education secretary BS Baswan, reportedly submitted its report to the UPSC on Tuesday.

The report will first be examined by the commission. A decision will be taken by the government in consultation with the UPSC that will give its views on the report, the Hindustan Times quoted a senior government official as saying.

The UPSC examination is conducted in three stages - preliminary, main, and interview -- to recruit officers to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS),

Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

Lakhs of candidates sit for the gruelling examination every year even though chances of clearing it is very less. Only the brightest of the brightest succeed.

Currently, the upper age limit for candidates from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes is relaxed by five years while those from other backward classes get a three-year relaxation. Disabled candidates get up to 10 years.

Several panels in the past have advocated a reduction in the upper-age limit but successive governments have raised it, from 26 in the 1960s to 28 in the 1980s and now, 32, according to the report.

The BS Baswan panel has reportedly recommended that the age limit be reduced in a phased manner spread over several years and not in one go.

The step was reportedly suggested keeping in mind the thousands of people who spend years preparing for the examination and whose careers might be jeopardized if they found themselves ineligible for the test in the middle of the process.
Ahmedabad: A very interesting story from Gujarat's Gandhinagar area has come to the fore.

There's a village named Jhulasan in Gandhinagar where a Muslim woman is worshipped as 'Devi Mata'.

The village had shot to fame when famous astronaut Sunita Williams along with her father had visited this village to offer prayers at 'Dola Mata Devi' temple. William's father Deepak Pandya hails from Jhulasan and had spent his initial 22 years in the same village.

Notably, the temple is 800 years old.

Speaking to BBC, BJP leader Mukesh Patel said that the ancestors told him that Dola Mata was a Muslim woman.

Divulging further details, Patel said, dacoits used to often come and rob the villagers. However, once while the looters were trying to run away with the loot, a Muslim woman from a neighbouring village challenged them and fearlessly fought with the gang. Though, she put up a brave front, Dola Mata couldn't sustain long against the armed dacoits and was killed.

Later the villagers built a Mandir at the same place where she died.

The BJP leader said that they offer prayers at the temple and the Devi protects them.

Interestingly, there is not a single Muslim family in the village.
Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday directed police to promptly register cases related to atrocities against Dalits.

"In case of any laxity on the part of police, the district Deputy Commissioner concerned should be immediately contacted. Such cases should be given top priority as these call for immediate action," he said.

Presiding over a meeting of state Vigilance and Monitoring Committee formed under Rule 16 of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rule, 1995, Khattar said the his government is sensitive towards Scheduled Castes' rights and committed to ensure their safety.

The Chief Minister also announced to increase assistance being given to members of the Scheduled Castes for defending cases against exploitation by landlords from Rs 5,500 to Rs 11,000, an official release said.

Minister of State for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Krishan Kumar Bedi said the government is ensuring effective implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

It was informed in the meeting that financial assistance under the SCs/STs Act is being provided to those who are victims of atrocities. So far, 74 persons have been provided financial assistance of Rs 60.84 lakh this year.
Jammu: Captured Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali has requested the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for councillor access to meet his family.

According to NIA sources, Ali's request has been forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs from where it will be sent to Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit.

During his interrogation by the agency, the captured terrorist has revealed that a proper recce was done of the route from which they would infiltrate, adding that videos were also taken of the path as part of preparation.

Stating that Ali is not a fidayeen terrorist, sources further stated that he has made earlier attempts to hurl grenades at public places in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir, but had failed to do so.

Ali, who was was initially recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and trained by the LeT to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and brew tension in the region, also confessed that the LeT has built its own network.

He also possessed 23,000 Indian rupees although some of it was fake.

The NIA yesterday disclosed that Ali has confessed to the involvement of LeT and Pakistan Army behind the unrest in Kashmir.

NIA chief Sanjeev Kumar said Ali during his interrogation confessed that he was directed to take advantage of the unrest in Kashmir Valley.

"We have collected all kinds of evidences. Bahadur Ali was directed to take advantage of the current situation in Kashmir," said Kumar.

"Bahadur Ali was recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, subsequently LeT radicalised him. Bahadur Ali underwent all three training process organised by the LeT," he added.

Ali was captured by the security forces earlier on July 26 during an encounter with the infiltrators, in which two of his accomplishes were killed.

Ali was the second Pakistani terrorist captured alive by Indian forces in the last two months in Kashmir.

Ali had later confessed that he was from Jahama village of Raiwind in Lahore, adding he had entered the Indian territory along with two other terrorists to exploit the unrest in Kashmir.

He was also trained for map reading and handling GPS devices.
New Delhi: The first batch of 25 crisis-hit Indian workers who had left for New Delhi from the King Abdulaziz International Airport arrived home on Thursday evening.

The development was confirmed by news agency ANI, which a tweeted a picture of the Indian workers after their arrival in Delhi.

First batch of Indian workers stranded in Saudi Arabia, arrive in Delhi, from Jeddah pic.twitter.com/iUJepl393L  ANI (@ANI_news) August 11, 2016

The workers, who were brought to the airport in a bus by the Indian consulate, were seen off by Consul General Noor Rahman Sheikh, and senior officials Anand Kumar and M. Fahmi.

The 25 are among the estimated 7,700 workers of the Saudi Oger construction company who hit the headlines when they were affected by financial crisis because of non-payment of salaries and dues, and had to be given food and shelter in some 20 camps.

Their crisis prompted the government to despatch Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh to this country.

The crisis also saw Saudi Arabian King Salman issuing a series of directives to address their problems, and earmarking Saudi Riyal 100 million ($26 million) to address the concerns of the workers and end their suffering.

King Salman also directed the Saudi passport department to facilitate exit visas and other procedures for the distressed workers.

Many of the workers, including Hindus, at the airport on Thursday morning were seen carrying the holy waters of Zamzam in bottles for friends and relatives back home. The Saudi Labour Ministry had announced free passage for workers who were willing to return home.

Though Indian consulate officials have assured the workers that they will pursue financial claims on their behalf, most appeared confused and apprehensive about what lay ahead -- including the onward journey to their states from New Delhi.

"It is saddening to leave Saudi Arabia as I made some money earlier; but now the chances are grim," said Ram Nivas, a plumber from Churu district in Rajasthan.

"Due to non-payment of wages, there was no meaning in continuing the job," said Nasir Raza of Gaya district in Bihar, who had returned to Saudi Arabia only recently after a vacation and is now leaving for good.

"I have full faith in both the governments of Saudi Arabia and India and I have authorised them to collect my pending arrears and send them to me in India," said Musharaf Ali, a driver hailing from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh who has been here for eight years.

"I had heart surgery and the huge expenses were borne by the now ill-fated company. I had enjoyed working there. Though there was the option to seek new employment, I prefer to return home," said Shakir Ahmed, a resident of Patna in Bihar.

"When I arrived three years ago I felt so happy to be part of such a large company, but the situation worsened and it is sad to return home. I love the country," said V. Ram Prasad of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The lists of workers who are being repatriated at their request are being prepared by Indian diplomats in coordination with Saudi Labour Ministry officials. Many Indian workers are opting to return home, according to sources.

With IANS inputs
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday will hold talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi who will arrive here on a three-day visit.

However, the Chinese state media has warned New Delhi of "unnecessary entanglement" in the South China Sea issue.

The two foreign ministers are expected to hold talks on important issues of bilateral, regional and multilateral interest.

"Wang Yi is arriving tomorrow and will be here for three days. He will be in Delhi during which he will meet the External Affairs Minister and he will also call on some other dignitaries, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

He will also be going to Goa which is the site of the BRICS Summit," he added. Swarup said the discussions between the two leaders will include all important issues of bilateral, regional and multilateral interest.

However, ahead of Yi`s visit to India, state-owned Chinese media has warned New Delhi to refrain from "unnecessary entanglement" in the South China Sea issue and instead focus on trade between the two countries.

An opinion piece in the Global Times hinted at trade imbalance between the two countries.

It said that India's focus on the South China Sea issue could risk unnecessary side effects to the ties between New Delhi and Beijing and potentially set up obstacles for Indian exporters hoping to increase their presence in China.
New Delhi: Replying to questions raised by the Opposition in Lok Sabha regarding Dalit atrocities in the country, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that his government is committed to helping the community but political blame-game will not help resolve the issue.

This issue must not be politicised, it is a challenge for all of us. But charge and counter charge won't help, Singh said during a debate in the lower house of the parliament.

Invoking the statements of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekanand and BR Ambedkar against the evil practice of casteism, the home minister said, after 70 years of Independence, we still require a discussion on attacks on Dalit.

He admitted there are atrocities against Dalits but the government alone can't solve the issue as casteism is deeply rooted in the society.

He said, What happened in Una is painful and condemnable but the state government has taken prompt and appropriate steps it deemed fit.

Allaying fears of alleged increase in Dalit atrocities in BJP ruled states in the country, Singh said, such incidents were reported from other states (non-BJP ruled states) as well. For instance, there were reports from Karnataka as well.

Stressing his government's commitment to helping the Dalit community, he said, We have run many programmes for the socio-economic development of Dalits. Such programmes were not present earlier.

If there had been socio-economic development in the past or during the reign of previous governments, such incident won't have happened.

We need to rise above castesism and the discrimination against Dalits must end, he added.

Anybody blaming the government for not doing enough to stop the atrocities against Dalits must back their claim with facts, Singh said.

He said his government will soon send out advisories to the states for strict action against crimes committed in the name of gau rakshaks (cow protection).

"Whether its Centre or state governments, I expect everyone to take stern action in case of atrocities against Dalits," he said.

"We can't make progress until the poor and downtrodden are empowered. And all political parties must cooperate.

He said the Dalit community has contributed richly not only in nation building but also for the development of the Indian culture as a whole.

Untouchability is a major social problem in the country and we need to fight this menace, he added.

The home minister also defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on Dalit atrocities, and asked the opposition what more should be done.

The Congress staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha during Singh's reply in the house on atrocities against Dalits.
New Delhi: BSP chief Mayawati today demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in Parliament on the issue of atrocities on Dalits.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged that the recent statements of the Prime Minister on dalits were an exercise in "damage control".

Ahead of UP elections and polls in some other states, there have been incidents like the Rohith Vemula episode, the Una attack on youths and other atrocities which have affected BJP's image with regard to dalits, Mayawati claimed.

"Our party wants that rather than expressing sympathy with dalits, the PM should focus on acting against those who commit atrocities against them," the BSP chief said.

She also demanded that Modi should speak on the issue in Parliament. "If he can speak on it outside, he can also say it in the House," she said.
Singapore: The number of Indian students going overseas for undergraduate and postgraduate studies is expected to increase by 50 percent over the next five years due to a manifold increase in their family incomes, a placement expert said here on Thursday.

"We see, conservatively, a 50 percent increase in Indian students going to the US and UK for undergrad and postgrad studies over the next five years. This is strongly supported by the growing disposal income of their families," said Rohan Pasari, co-founder and CEO of Cialfo, a Singapore-based education technology (edtech).

Ciaflo, co-founded by Kolkata-born Pasari and Singaporean Stanley Chia, has placed more than 90 percent of its students in top universities in the US and 30 top universities in the UK.

Pasari noted the Indian students' strong interests in acquiring international education and experiences for placing themselves in the top range of professionals, both in India and globally.

He pointed out the 100 percent growth seen in Chinese students that entered universities in the US to acquire international education during the early pick up of the Chinese economy.

"It is the same scenario for Indian students from now," Pasari said.

Caiflo, which is in the midst of A series fund raising, is linking up with Delhi-based educational institutions to help Indian students secure places in the US and UK universities, he said.

Caiflo's fund raising is supported by Koh Boon Hwee, former chairman of Singtel, DBS Bank and Singapore Airlines, as well as NRI investor Anand Govindaluri of Govin Capital.

"We are expecting a strong market support for the A series funding as our edtech start-up has a potential to tap into the massive pool of students from India, China and South East Asia," Pasari said.

"We will now reach more students, tapping into the multi-billion dollar a year opportunity of helping Asian students find their ideal university," he said, estimating the annual Asian student market value at USD 4 billion in the UK and US universities.

Investors estimate the market value of global students in the UK and the US at USD 80 billion a year.

Indian students accounted for 4.3 percent or 21,000 of the 493,570 international students in the UK in 2013-14, according to the British Council.

There were 132,888 Indian students out of the 627,306 Asian students in the US in 2014-15, according to the Institute of International Education.
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha is scheduled to take up a discussion on the matter of atrocities on Dalits on Thursday.

Earlier in the House, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and others had raised the issue and sought the chair`s intervention to allow early debate.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar has said that the government is never hesitant to discuss any issue including the anti-Dalit violence.

The most recent incident of violence was reported earlier on Monday, when two brothers, who were hired to skin a cow that had died of electrocution, were attacked by around 100 `gau rakshaks` or cow vigilantes, who arrived at the spot accusing them of stealing and killing the animal.

The brothers are presently undergoing treatment at a hospital with reports indicating that one of them is critical.

As per reports, the police have identified the attackers.

The incident came just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a hard-hitting message against attacks on Dalits and cow vigilantism.

Addressing a public meeting on his first visit to Telangana on August 7 after assuming office, the Prime Minister asked the people to beware of its `fake` protectors trying to divide society and the country and asked the states to severely punish them.

"I would like to tell all countrymen that they beware of these fake cow protectors," he said.

Prime Minister Modi asked the states to identify the people who want to destroy the social fabric and take stern action against them.
Ahmedabad: A 13-year-old Muslim girl in Gujarat`s Ahmedabad city has vowed to unfurl the national flag at Srinagar`s Lal Chowk on Independence Day.

When asked about her inspiration behind this, 13-year-old Tanzeem Merani told ANI that she has always been reading about the Pakistani and ISIS flags being hoisted in Kashmir, adding the people in the Valley are under so much pressure that they can`t even hoist their national flag.

"I have seen it many times on TV, in newspapers and have heard also that it is a part of India. It is India`s soil still, Pakistan and ISIS flags are hurled there. I have been hearing this for a long time. Then one day I asked my daddy that why is it so. He told me some negative points as well that this will happen if you go there. So, I told him it is not bad to do something for the country and we should not be afraid," she said.

"When our flag is disrespected then we sit at our homes and voice our opinion against such people. Why don`t we ever think to go there and hoist our flag if it is being disrespected there?" she said.Responding to a poser if she would be able to successfully complete her endeavor since she has not taken permission,

Responding to a poser if she would be able to successfully complete her endeavor since she has not taken permission, Tanzeem said that no permission is needed to enter one`s own country and threatened to go on a hunger strike if permission is denied to her.

"It is our Indian soil and we don`t need any permission to go there. And if the army will not let me go there then I`ll go on a hunger strike and will request them to let me go there," she said.

"I want to give the message of peace and harmony to all and I`m a proud Indian," Tanzeem added.

The girl`s father said that she always had such thoughts of doing something for the nation, adding she shared the same sentiments during veteran social activist Anna Hazare`s agitation.

When asked that he had not yet sought permission from the government, he said, "I`m unable to understand that do I have to seek permission to sit in my mother`s lap.Whom should I ask? We have not taken permission because I believe so. As far as terrorism is concerned, I am not afraid. Whatever will happen, god is with us."

The girl`s father, however, admitted the fact that it was not apt to hoist the national flag in Lal Chowk at this point of time.

"I know it`s not the right time to go there, but tell me till when should we wait. There is curfew on every 15th August and January 26 which comes once every year. If this will continue for years till when should we wait. Somewhere there needs to be a beginning and my daughter has made that beginning and we have supported her," he said.

Backing his daughter`s resolve, the father said that they want to spread the message of Hindu-Muslim unity and encourage the girls.

The chairman of Tanzeem`s school has written a letter to the Prime Minister`s Office (PMO) urging that the girl is provided permission to hoist the tri-colour besides ample security cover during her visit to Srinagar.

The girl is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the national capital tomorrow and put forth her concerns.
Islamabad: Pakistan Thursday blamed 'foreign elements' for the recent Quetta suicide bombing that killed 74 people, mostly lawyers, in the restive Balochistan province.

Claiming that India was fomenting instability in Pakistan, Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Nafees Zakaria said, "Indian intelligence agencies have remained involved in subversive activities in Pakistan especially in Balochistan and Karachi."

Zakaria said that Pakistan's stand on Indian hand in militancy had been "vindicated" by the confessional statement of Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadav, arrested earlier this year in Balochistan for allegedly running a network to carry out terrorism.

Zakaria also rejected the Indian allegations that Pakistan military aided infiltration attempts by militants along the LoC.

"We have a firm position on it and we will not allow our land to be used against any other country," he said.

He further said that Pakistan has made no distinction between terrorist groups and was targeting them through a sustained military effort.

The spokesperson also expressed concern on the "continuous human rights violations in Kashmir" and asked the international community to raise voice against it.

"We have condemned the Indian atrocities in Kashmir at the highest level and also asked the UN Human Rights Commission to send a fact finding mission to Kashmir," he said.

A suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital on Monday had killed at least 74 people, many of them senior lawyers, targetting the legal community in the troubled southwestern region.
New Delhi: Pakistani national and terrorist Bahadur Ali has disclosed that he is a part of a big group of terrorists who have been infiltrated into India by Lashkar-e-Toiba.

National Investigating Agency (NIA) sources on Thursday said that the Lashkar terrorist was not a fidayeen, but he had tried to hurl grenades in Handwara 2-3 times, but failed.

The NIA sources also claimed that when Ali was captured on 25 July, 2016, Rs 23,000 Indian currency and some amount of fake currency was recovered from him.

NIA on Wednesday had held a press conference and exposed Pakistan's connection with Bahadur Ali.

During interrogation Ali had revealed that a group of four terrorists are also moving in the area to execute an attack in village Monibal. Based on this input, security forces were deployed to prevent the attack. On the 26th July, at Monibal, four heavily armed terrorists were spotted and on being challenged, they started firing with AK-47 rifles. In the retaliatory firing, all the four terrorists were killed.

Since the onset of summer of 2016 LeT, with the help of Pakistan forces deployed on the border has been infiltrating heavily armed trained terrorists into India with the direction to mix with the local people and create disturbance and attack police and security forces.

Bahadur Ali was member of one of the groups who was directed to take advantage of the current situation in Kashmir and throw grenades by mixing into the crowd.

Bahadur Ali was constantly guided and directed by the LeT control centre Alpha-3 in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir, which is operated with support from Pakistani forces.

During communications with Bahadur Ali, Alpha-3 told that the LeT cadres had been successful in fuelling large scale agitation in Kashmir after EID subsequent to the death of Burhan Wani in Kashmir.
New Delhi: Samajwadi Party today forced three adjournments of Rajya Sabha in pre-noon session alleging discrimination by the Centre in releasing funds for Uttar Pradesh.

Slogan-shouting SP members trooped into the Well of the House demanding an assurance from the Centre that it would release the share of Uttar Pradesh shortly.

JD-U members too trooped into the Well charging Centre with not implementing the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) in flood-hit Bihar.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien first adjourned the house for 15 minutes and then till noon as uproarious schemes continued. The House was adjourned for the third time soon after it reasembled at noon.

Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) gave a notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business to discuss the alleged discrimination against Uttar Pradesh, while Sharad Yadav (JD-U) gave a similar notice to raise non-release of funds for Bihar.

Soon after listed papers were laid on the table, Yadav said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Chief Secretary have written several letters to the Union government seeking release of the state's share of funds.

Listing out schemes under which funds have not been released, he said Rs 1,425 crore for scholarship for 8 lakh SC/ST and OBC students had not been released, while Rs 4,742 crore compensation for hailstorm-hit areas was yet to come.

Out of Rs 2,780 crore sanctioned for UP from the Central Road Fund, only Rs 219 crore had been released so far, he alleged, adding that not even half of the money allocated under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana has been released, leading to stalling of projects.

Also, money under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, higher education as well as scholarship for minorities and other backwards too had not been released, he said.

"If the Centre does not give an assurance that the due funds will be released in 2-3 days, the House will not be allowed to function," he said.

While Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said similar discrimination was being meted out to Bihar, his party colleague Ali Anwar Ansari said 2,300 villages in 14 districts were under water but the crop insurance scheme was not being implemented there.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) raised a case of daring heist in a moving train when Rs 5 crore out of Rs 340 crore cash being sent to Reserve Bank of India from Salem in Tamil Naidu was stolen.

He asked how the cash transfer was being done without security and alleged complacency of RBI officials in the loot.

Soon after SP leader Yadav completed his submission, his party members trooped into the Well raising slogans against the government.

JD(U)'s Ansari after making his brief statement too joined them in the Well.

Kurien asked members to return to their seats and promised to allow them raise the issue so that the government could react.

But the members remained unrelenting. SP members also urged Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was present in the House, to join them in the Well saying he represents Uttar Pradesh in Rajya Sabha and should stand in solidarity.

As the din continued, Kurien adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.
New Delhi: In yet another setback to self-acclaimed godman Asaram Bapu, the Supreme Court on Thursday denied interim bail to him and directed the AIIMS to constitute a medical board to evaluate his health.

According to news agency ANI, the medical board has been asked to submit its report within 10 days to the apex court.

On Tuesday, the Rajasthan High Court had rejected the bail application of self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is facing rape charges.

This was the ninth regular bail application of Asaram that was rejected. An interim bail plea was rejected by the high court last month.

While rejecting the application, Justice Nirmal Jeet Kaur said since the trial of the case has reached its fag end, it was not appropriate to grant the bail. Prosecution counsel P C Solanki said the court also rejected the argument of defence that the trial of the case was taking long.

A teenage girl had accused Asaram of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur.

The girl belonging to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was a student at the ashram.

Following her complaint, Asaram was arrested by Jodhpur Police on August 31, 2013 and has been in jail since then.
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, undergoing treatment at a private hospital for the last nine days after after taking ill during a roadshow in Varanasi, is running fever and doctors have advised her to extend her stay by a few days.

Doctors at Sir Ganga Ram hospital, where she was admitted on August 3 with fever, dehydration and a shoulder injury, said 69-year-old Gandhi still has mild fever which delayed her discharge.

"Today morning, a team of doctors has examined Mrs Gandhi. They have advised her to remain in hospital on account of fever due to infection in the body. She is on antibiotics and is showing signs of improvement from the infection," said Dr DS Rana, Chairman of Board of Management of the hospital.

Gandhi was admitted under the care of Dr Arup Basu, Senior Consultant at Department of Pulmonology and Chest Medicine of the hospital.

She underwent a surgery on her left shoulder on August 3 and doctors said she almost recovered from the injury.

Gandhi was shifted to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital from the Army Research and Referral Hospital, where she was rushed soon after her arrival from Varanasi around midnight of August 2.

The Congress president had to cut short her roadshow in Varanasi after she was taken ill. She had fractured her left shoulder during the roadshow.
New Delhi: Afghanistan has sought more military supplies from India including attack helicopters as it stepped up its offensive last week against terror groups killing 300 Islamic State terrorists, the top US and NATO commander in the war-ravaged country said on Wednesday.

General John Nicholson, here on his second visit, said India has been making "enormously valuable" contribution in strengthening Afghan security forces and the US favours the military support.

India has already provided four Mi-25 helicopters to Afghanistan and US Commander said the country needs more military aircraft to deal with Taliban and various other terror outfits.

Welcoming India's contribution to restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan, Nicholson said terror outfits like the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are not only a threat to Afghanistan but to the region, including India, and the US was putting pressure on Pakistan to contain these groups. He said the Taliban also "enjoys sanctuaries" in Pakistan.

"We consistently encourage Pakistan to take action against terrorist groups that operate from its territory and close down their safe havens," he told journalists.

Nicholson, who heads the US operations in Afghanistan, met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar and discussed a range of issues including the situation in Afghanistan and terror threat to the region.

The US commander said Afghan forces, supported by the US, had launched a major offensive against Islamic State terror outfit two weeks back in which around 300 IS fighters were killed.

"In the course of the operation, they killed a number of top leaders of the organisation and up to 300 of their fighters. Obviously, it's difficult to get an exact count, but what this amounts to is about 25 percent of the organisation at least, and so this represents a severe setback for them. It reduced their territory," he said.

The US Commander said military training by India to thousands of Afghan security personnel has helped that country in significantly enhancing its military capability which is in tune with the objective of the NATO and the US.

"I know that they have requested more and would like more and I think there is an immediate need for more as these aircraft can immediately get into the fight," he said when asked whether Afghanistan was seeking more military helicopters from India apart from the four Mi 25 choppers.

He said Afghanistan was struggling to get spare parts for the Russian aircraft due to Western sanctions against Moscow and India can supply them.Nicholson said the US was trying to build a "counter-terrorism platform" focusing on containing all terror groups emanating from the region and ensure its peace and stability.

Asked whether he will have to make an immediate visit to Islamabad to balance his trip here, Nicholson said the Pakistan Army Chief knew about his trip here "he welcomes it".

Specifically asked about Pakistan's sincerity in coming down hard on terror outfits, he referred to American administration's inability recently to certify that Pakistanis have put adequate pressure on the Haqqani network.

Asked whether there was growing concerns in Pakistan about India's role in Afghanistan, he only said, "I think it is an accurate statement."
New Delhi: It's a shot in the arm for BJP!

In a major boost ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, 11 MLAs from different parties are likely to join BJP.

These 11 MLAs belong to different parties including SP, BSP and Congress, according to in CNN-News18.

Earlier, on Monday, Swami Prasad Maurya, an Other Backward Class (OBC) leader in Uttar Pradesh who had recently quit Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), had joined BJP.

The four-time MLA joined the saffron party in presence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah in New Delhi and claimed that if he received ample support from the party's leadership, then it would come to power in the state with a strong majority.

The assembly polls are due early next year.

Maurya, who was the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly before he left BSP in June, said he was impressed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's work to empower the weaker sections and lashed out at BSP chief Mayawati for turning her party into an "industrial house" and allegedly selling tickets.
New Delhi: AIADMK MP A. Navaneethakrishnan on Wednesday stole the show during a debate in the Rajya Sabha by presenting a beautiful rendition of a Tamil song picturized in the Valley from an old Tamilian movie.

Wednesday's debate in parliament was on the prevailing situation in Kashmir following the killing of militant Burhan Wani.

Though leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Karan Singh, who hail from the State, expressed concern, the AIADMK MP's speech and song stole the show.

The MP displayed his crooning skills in the Upper House with a rendition of yesteryear Tamil film song 'Kashmir Beautiful Kashmir' sung by T.M.

The song raised some chuckles in the House, especially from Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Hindu reported on Thursday.

When Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson P.J. Kurien was willing to allot more time so that he could sing the full song, Navaneethakrishnan passed the buck onto his party colleague Maithreyan, who was seen smiling.

The AIADMK touched upon many topics to establish the Tamil Nadu-Kashmir connect right from Tamil movies shot in Kashmir to Kashmiris visiting his state.

He even shared a 'secret'  that his mother, like many pregnant women in Tamil Nadu, took Kashmir saffron to "give birth to beautiful babies."

"My wife took it. My daughter-in-law took it, my granddaughter will also have it," the Hindu quoted him as saying.

"Kashmir to Kanyakumari, India is one. I too belong to Kashmir, Kashmir belongs to me," he roared amidst thumping applause, the report added.
Mumbai: In what can bring in more trouble for controversial Islamist preacher Zakir Naik, a Mumbai Police probe has found that Rs 60 crore was deposited into the bank account of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) chief in the last three years.

The huge amount of money was sent in three years from three different countries.

According to 'The Times of India' report, the money was transferred to five accounts belonging to Naik's family members.

While speaking to the newspaper, an official confirmed that the money belongs to Naik and not his foundation.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to press for Naik's extradition.after the Mumbai Police indicted the Islamist preacher for involvement in unlawful activities and possible terror links.

Last month it was reported that Naik's IRF had converted around 800 people to Islam by paying them a hefty sum from the donations made to the organisation from across the world.

Naik, 50, is at the centre of a storm with calls for imposing a ban on his TV for allegedly inflammatory speeches.

Zakir Naik and his sermons have come under the scanner post the Dhaka cafe terror attack, after it was revealed that two of the terrorists were inspired by him.

Naik, who is in Medina in Saudi Arabia, was supposed to return to India but has delayed his return amid probes by various agencies into his activities.
Srinagar: Curfew and protest shutdown on Thursday continued to paralyse life in Kashmir for the 34th consecutive day.

"Restrictions will continue in Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Anantnag towns today (Thursday)," a senior police official told IANS.

"Similar restrictions will remain in force in eight police station areas of Srinagar city, Sopore, Baramulla, Handwara, Trehgam, Kupwara, Badgam and Ganderbal towns".

Meanwhile, some private transport and pedestrian movement were seen at many places in Srinagar and other major towns of the Valley on Wednesday.

Police said the situation remained calm throughout the Valley and no major untoward incident occurred anywhere.

Despite marginal improvement in the law and order situation, educational institutions, shops, public transport and other businesses have remained suspenced in the Valley since the ongoing unrest began on July 9.

Separatists continued to remain under preventive detention although they have been issuing weekly protest calendars asking people not to resume normal activities.
Jammu: J&K BJP on Thursday said it was in favour of holding dialogue with all the stakeholders under the ambit of the Indian constitution.

Hitting out at the forces for fomenting trouble in the Kashmir valley, it demanded a probe into the role of the people within and outside the state in triggering violent unrest after Hizbul Mujahideen 'commander' Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8.

"Indian constitution is the only framework under which any dialogue can be initiated. Who ever wants to hold talks under its ambit, they are welcome," BJP state chief spokesman, Sunil Sethi told reporters here today.

He alleged that tweets by some people who wanted to take political advantage following the death of Wani created more trouble.

"There is a need to hold an enquiry and investigate their role in fomenting the unrest," Sethi said.

Alleging that prior to the killing of Wani attempts were being made to vitiate the atmosphere in Kashmir on several occasions, he said but Wani's killing proved a catalyst and forces inimical to peace took advantage of it.

"Situation was volatile and attempts were being made to vitiate the atmosphere on the issues of establishment of Sainik colony or separate colony for Kashmiri Pandits, but anti-national forces did not succeed. They, however, managed to vitiate the atmosphere over Wani's death," he said.

The BJP leader hailed the security forces for eliminating Wani, saying Wani who was a terrorist and had to be killed.

"Wani was recruiting more terrorists. He was dangerous and had to be killed. The security forces have done a wonderful job in eliminating him," he said.

On the issue of restoring peace in the Valley, Sethi said the ruling alliance partners in Jammu and Kashmir were on the same page to implement the Agenda of Alliance and both want to restore peace in the Kashmir valley at the earliest.

"We are hopeful that situation in Kashmir will improve very soon," he added.
Bengaluru: A portion of residence of National Security Guard (NSG) commando Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar, who was martyred in the Pathankot terror attack in January, was demolished in an anti-encroachment drive in Karnataka capital Bengaluru on Thursday.

The demolition drive by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been undertaken to get rid of the encroachment on storm water drains in the city.

Besides Kumar's home, 1100 more residences have been marked for the demolition drive.

Home owners are upset with S Siddaramaiah governments decision and have slammed it.

The areas where demolition drive is being carried out are Averi Sringeri Nagar, Kasavanahalli and Shivanahalli.

Niranjan`s brother Shashank asserted that it is definitely not a good thing and a shame to the country to see a national hero`s house being demolished."It is very hard for us to digest this because we have lost our brother in Pathankot attack and now we are seeing the house is being demolished. And it is not a good thing to see our national hero`s house being demolished. I would request to stop this demolition for good purpose because Niranjan has died for the country and if is going to happen this way then it is a shame for the country," Shashank told ANI here.

Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG's Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack as part of the combing operations that continued through the night.
Bengaluru: With Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) all set to demolish the illegal portion of martyred National Security Guard (NSG) commando Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar's residence here, politics has taken its course.

While Karnataka Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah justified BBMP's move to carry on the demolition drive, Bharatya Janata Party leader Jagdish Shettar differed with the CM's view saying, at least we should give respect to the family of (Lt Col Niranjan), who sacrificed his life during Pathankot terror attack.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parmeshwara said the state government could give an alternative site to the family to build another house.

Meanwhile, BBMP Assistant Commissioner A Alam was all praise for Niranjan's family, who supported the officials' move of razing the illegal structures.

Alam saluted the late NSG commando's parents for cooperating and agreeing to demolish the encroached portion of their residence.

Brother of Niranjan said the authorities should stop the demolition drive or give them or time. While making his appeal, he tried to strike an emotional chord by invoking his briother's scarifice. It is very hard for us to digest this because we have lost our brother in Pathankot attack and now we are seeing the house is being demolished, ANI quoted him.

"If we would have got any prior notice then we would have done something about it. It is a shame for the country. It is up to the government to look into the matter and move forward," he added.

The demolition drive by BBMP has been undertaken to get rid of the encroachment on storm water drains in the city.

Besides Kumar's home, 1100 more residences have been marked for the demolition drive.

Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG's Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack as part of the combing operations that continued through the night.
Kolkata: An IIT report has revealed the reasons which led to the collapse of a 100-metre section of an under-construction flyover in Kolkata, leaving at least 26 dead and around 89 injured.

The design of the Vivekananda Road flyover in Kolkata, which caved in on March 31, was faulty, said the report which was submitted on Wednesday.

The report also claims lack of quality check, inconsistency in construction material, faulty approval of the design, and improper project execution on the part of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority, reported The Times of India.

The West Bengal government had formed a committee to investigate the reasons which had led to the collapse, a week after the incident. The committee, headed by chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee and comprising former professors of IIT-Kharagpur, Anandapran Gupta and Swapan Majumdar, submitted its report yesterday.

The long-delayed 2.5-km Vivekananda flyover under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was expected to tackle congestion in Burrabazar area - the location of one of the largest wholesale markets in Asia - up to the Howrah station, the gateway to the city.

The project's foundation was laid in 2008 and work on the Rs.164-crore project began on February 24, 2009.

It was scheduled to be completed in 2012 but land acquisition issues delayed its completion. The implementing agency too ran into financial troubles.
Morena: A Dalit man in Madhya Pradesh`s Morena district cremated the body of his wife in front of his house, claiming he was not allowed to use the cremation ground by upper caste people.

The man, identified as Bablu, claimed the cremation ground has been encroached upon by "upper caste" people. However, the local administration says the land was illegally occupied by the Dalits.

The incident happened in Garhi village of Morena`s Ambah town on Tuesday. When Bablu arrived at the cremation ground with his wife Pooja`s body, he was told he cannot cremate the body as the land belongs to the so-called upper caste people.

Dalit villagers said they all face the same problem as the "upper castes" have started farming on the land meant for cremation.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (revenue) D.C. Sandhi on Thursday told IANS that there was a cremation ground for Dalits in the village, but it was being illegally occupied by a few people of the same community.

He denied that Bablu was stopped from using the cremation ground.

Sandhi said Bablu has been awarded financial assistance of Rs 10,000, and the authorities have begun the process to remove the encroachment from the cremation land.
Mumbai: The Mumbai Police, which recently busted a kidney trafficking racket operating from the city's reputed LH Hiranandani Hospital, has revealed how the racket operated and lured the poor villagers to sell their kidneys to recipients via a full-fledged network of agents.

The organ harvesting ring was busted by the Mumbai Police after it received a tip-off that poor villagers were being contacted by the hospital's agents to convince them to sell their kidneys to the wealthy recipients in lieu of big money.

Mumbai Deputy Police Commissioner Ashok Dudhe said that the police uncovered the racket at LH Hiranandani Hospital after a social activist alerted the Powai Police regarding an illegal transplant at the hospital on July 14.

The police reached the spot and stopped the surgery. It was found that the kidney recipient, Brijkishore Jaiswal, was not related to the donor, Shobha Thakur, who was posing as his wife. The police subsequently registered a case and arrested eight persons.

After primary investigation, the police came to know that the traffickers allegedly lured poor people from Gujarat into selling their kidneys for about 200,000 rupees and then re-sold their organs in the black market at a huge profit.

The investigation by the Powai Police also established that Bhijendra Bhisen, the main accused in the case, used agents to scout for donors and recipients, mostly from Gujarat.

The accused would then prepare forged documents showing the donor as a relative of the patient.

Nilesh Kamble, the assistant manager and transplant coordinator at Hiranandani Hospital, reportedly ensured that the documents were accepted by the hospital committee as genuine so that the surgery could take place without glitches.

The police then arrested eight accused people, including a man named Khwaja, a Mumbra resident, who allegedly procured forged documents, in connection with the case.

However, Dr Rajesh Kumar, attached with the Nephrology Department of Hiranandani hospital, said, The hospital has no role in the kidney racket. If doctors are arrested because some other party is submitting forged documents, it will hamper the organ transplant programme.

Meanwhile, the police has charged the chief executive, medical director and three other doctors of the LH Hiranandani Hospital with offences related to illegal organ transplants.

This is the second kidney trafficking racket found operating out of a top Indian hospital in recent months.

In June, police discovered a similar racket operating out of the reputable Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in the capital New Delhi. A shortage of organs for transplants fuels a black-market trade in body parts in India.

Commercial trade in organs is illegal in India and only relatives can act as donors. As per the law, transplant donations must be approved by a special transplant committee at each hospital.
Itanagar: Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, who allegedly committed suicide at his official residence, was cremated on Thursday at Hawai in Anjaw district with full state honours.

Several people gathered at the funeral ground to pay their last homage to him before he was cremated as per traditional Mishmi rituals.

The state government had declared state mourning for three days and holiday today as a mark of respect.

BJP and Congress legislators from the state and neighbouring Assam along with BJP state unit president Tapir Gao were present at the cremation.

General Administration department commissioner Hage Kojin and IGP Navin Payeng along with many senior government officials attended the last rites of Pul, official sources from the district said.

Assam PWD Minister Parimal Suklabaidya and the state's MLA Padma Hazarika were present as the emissaries of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Special prayers for him were offered at Theravada Buddhist Society here.

47-year-old Pul had allegedly committed suicide at the chief minister's official residence here, which he was yet to vacate, on Tuesday, weeks after he was ordered by the Supreme Court to step down on July 13. He had been chief minister for a brief period between February 19 to July 13.

The state government had announced a magisterial inquiry into the death.
Itanagar: Four booklets reportedly written by former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kalikho Pul, who allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday last, have been found in his room and handed over to police.

"We have not read the booklets so it cannot be assumed as suicide note. There was no diary found from the spot as has been reported earlier. Police have already registered a case and it is under investigation," Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Talo Potom, who conducted the inquest, told reporters here today.

The four 60-page booklets, titled 'Mere Vichaar' (My Thoughts), allegedly signed by Pul, were found in the room where Pul was found dead, the ADM said.

Potom said he had sealed the documents and handed it over to police.

"I was only ordered to conduct inquest by the District Magistrate under Section 176 of the CrPc," he said.

The ADM said four mobile handsets and one tablet were also found and handed over to police.

Principal Secretary (Home) Satya Gopal said that an inquiry would be carried out.

Gopal said the medical board constituted by the state government has not submitted the post-mortem report yet. "They are duty bound to submit the report once it is finalised," he said.
Chandigarh: The Punjab Police has arrested three people in connection with an attack on top RSS leader Brig. (Retd) Jagdish Gagneja.

Two pistols and cartridges have also been recovered from the arrested.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader, who was shot thrice in the abdomen from close range by two unidentified motorcycle riders in a busy area of Jalandhar city on Saturday evening, is currently recovering at the Hero DMC Heart Institute in Ludhiana.

The police had released CCTV footage of the two suspects earlier this week in Jalandhar. The footage showed the motorcycle-borne duo with their faces covered. It had also announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh and a job in Punjab police, depending on the nature of the information provided by anyone about the assailants.

The CCTV footage also indicated that the suspected assailants had trailed Gagneja, who retired from the Army as a Brigadier in 2003, for some time before firing at him near the Red Cross market in the busy Jyoti Chowk area in the heart of Jalandhar city, 155 km from here.

Punjab DGP Suresh Arora had formed a SIT, led by ADGP-cum-Director, Bureau of Investigation, IPS Sahota, to crack the case.

The Punjab RSS and the state BJP leadership have taken the attack on Gagneja very seriously.

(With Agency inputs)
New York: Birds exposed to stress such as road noise, pesticides and light pollution were twice as likely to be bitten by mosquitoes that transmit the West Nile virus, finds a study.

West Nile fever is a mosquito-borne infection by the virus with the same name.

The findings showed that an elevated concentration of corticosterone -- stress hormone raises the level of host attractiveness, potentially affecting the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases in a number of ways.

"Mosquitoes seem to be able to 'sniff out' the stress hormone and key in on individual birds," said lead researcher Lynn Martin, Associate Professor at University of South Florida (USF) in the US.

"For vector-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, the presence of corticosterone could influence pathogen spread through effects on contact rates with the mosquitoes that transmit it," added Stephanie Gervasi, post-doctoral student at Monell Chemical Senses Center -- a non-profit independent scientific institute in Philadelphia, US.

These stress hormones were also found to have other negative effects, including immunosuppression and increased susceptibility to infections in animals.

Further, birds who underwent corticosterone treatment showed an increase in tail flicks, head shakes and other defensive behaviours much more than the birds without the hormone treatment.

However, the mosquitoes managed to breach those defenses and feed more on stress hormone-treated birds," Martin said.

Mosquitoes use a variety of cues to locate a target, including carbon dioxide output, body size and temperature.

These signals coming from a bird could convey information about stress hormones making the birds more appealing targets for the insects, the researchers pointed out.

For the study, the team experimentally manipulated songbird stress hormones levels. Then they examined mosquito feeding preferences, feeding success and productivity as well as the defensive behaviours of birds trying to avoid being bitten.

The study also found that the mosquitoes that fed on birds with higher levels of stress hormones tended to lay different sized clutches of eggs at different rates than mosquitoes fed on control birds.

"Stress hormones altered the relationship between the timing of laying and clutch size in mosquitoes," explained Thomas Unnasch, Professor at USF, US.

These effects of bird stress on mosquito reproduction suggest that mosquito-feeding choice might also affect disease cycles in nature by changing the number of newborn mosquitoes that could be infected later by stressed birds, the authors noted.

The study also has implications for the transmission of other viruses such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and perhaps even Zika, said the paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Lucknow: UP minister Shivpal Yadav on Thursday stoked controversy when he alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in the state receive money from cow slaughter houses.

The BJP talks about protection of cow, but its men are indulged in the death of cows in slaughterhouses, as the party receives money from these slaughterhouses, ABP news quoted Yadav as saying.

The Samajwadi Party leader also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying: The PM has started talking about cow only after elections were around the corner. The PM talks more and acts less. He has forgotten about Varanasi.

Recently, Modi called for isolating and punishing fake "gau rakshaks" (cow protectors), saying they were destroying the country.

The Home Ministry has also issued an advisory to the states asking them to punish those taking the law into their hands in the name of protecting cattle.
Allahabad: The Uttar Pradesh government will on Thursday produce a status report on the investigation in the Bulandshahr gang-rape case after it failed to submit the report before the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DB Bhosale and Justice Yashwant Varma, which has taken suo motu cognizance of the sexual assault on a minor girl and her mother, had on August 08 directed that the status report be submitted on August 10.

However, when Advocate General Vijay Bahadur Singh made a request for more time to submit the status report, the court ordered that the same be produced "tomorrow, by 2 pm in a sealed cover".

The court has taken a grim view of the incident that took place on July 29, when a car carrying six members of a Noida family to Shahjahanpur in western UP was stopped by criminals on a highway in Bulandhshahr district and the 13-year-old girl and her mother were gang-raped in the fields nearby after being dragged out of the vehicle.

The incident evoked a huge outcry and the Samajwadi Party government in the state drew widespread criticism over the law and order situation in UP.

Besides seeking a status report, the court has sought to know from the state government whether it was "willing to hand over investigation of the case to the CBI" and "what steps the state would like to take to avoid such incidents in future".

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Two bombs exploded in the Thai seaside resort of Hua Hin on Thursday, killing one woman and injuring 19 people, Thai police said.

The explosions happened ahead of a public holiday on Friday to mark the birthday of Queen Sirikit. Hua Hin is a popular upscale Thai resort south of Bangkok and many people will have gone there for the holiday weekend.

The second bomb exploded near a bar at about 10:20 p.m. (1320 GMT), killing a Thai woman and injuring eight foreigners and one other Thai person, local deputy police chief Samer Yousamran said.

The injured are being treated at a local hospital, he said.

The first bomb went off about twenty minutes earlier about 50 metres (yards) away from the second bomb, he said. Nobody was injured in the first explosion.

Police are investigating and as yet do not know the motive or the identity of the bombers, he said.

In a separate incident earlier on Thursday, a bomb exploded at a market in the southern Trang province in Thailand, injuring six people, police said.

Police believe that explosion was related to a local dispute.

Thais voted less than a week ago in a referendum to adopt a military-backed constitution, the first test of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha at the ballot box since he seized power in a coup in May 2014.

Thailand`s 88 year-old King Bhumibol Adulayadej, the world`s longest reigning monarch, and his wife Sirikit are in hospital in Bangkok but have resided in recent years in Hua Hin at the Klai Kangwon Palace royal palace, which translates as "Far from Worries Palace".

King Bhumibol has received treatment for an infection over the past month in a Bangkok hospital, the Royal Household Bureau said on Aug. 1.
Vancouver: Canadian police killed a man on Wednesday, national television news channels reported, after the police said they had identified a suspect after receiving "credible information of a potential terrorist threat".

The suspect was killed during a police raid in a small Ontario town, CTV News and CBC News reported.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement they had identified a suspect in a national security threat and taken action to ensure the safety of the public. No further details were provided.

Intelligence sources told Reuters that the suspect was Aaron Driver, who was arrested last year for openly supporting the Islamic State militant group on social media. The sources declined to be identified because they did not have permission to speak to the media.

The sources said Driver, who also uses the alias Harun Abdurahman, lives in Strathroy, Ontario, a small community some 225 km (140 miles) southwest of Toronto.

Driver`s death was not yet officially confirmed and his lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

Reports on Twitter late on Wednesday said police had raided a home in Strathroy in relation to the RCMP threat incident. Reporters on the scene later tweeted that the coroner had arrived and a body bag had been loaded into an official vehicle.

The London Free Press newspaper, citing family members, reported that Driver was shot by police after he detonated a device, wounding himself and another person. There was no immediate confirmation of that report.

Driver had not been charged with a crime but in February he was placed on a peace bond, a court order that restricted his movements, required that he stay away from social media and computers and not have contact with Islamic State or similar groups.

He said in February he did not think Canadians should fear him and that people should not be persecuted for their political beliefs, according to CBC news.

Irene Lee, whose parents own a convenience store near Driver`s home, said police arrived on the quiet residential street shortly after 4 pm ET (2000 GMT) and quickly surrounded the house.

"I hear a bomb sound, like a `bang` - I was freaking out because this is a small and quiet town," she told Reuters. "All of a sudden the policemen were yelling, `everyone get into your houses`."

Lee said police were still outside and had told her they would likely be there all night.

Canada`s public safety minister Ralph Goodale said in a statement released late on Wednesday the public had been "properly protected" following a national security threat, and that he had briefed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

He said Canada`s National Terrorism Threat Level remained unchanged at "medium".

A spokeswoman at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada`s spy agency, declined to comment on the incident, referring all queries to the RCMP.

The RCMP said in its statement the investigation was still underway and it would not provide further comment. Media relations officers did not immediately return phone calls and emails.
Shanghai: A newly launched satellite will help China protect its maritime interests, the official China Daily newspaper reported on Thursday amid growing tensions over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

The "Gaofen 3" satellite that was launched on Wednesday has a radar system that captures images from space with a resolution down to 1 metre (3 feet) and can operate in all weathers, the State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defence told the newspaper.

"The satellite will play an important role in monitoring the marine environment, islands and reefs, and ships and oil rigs," the China Daily said, citing project leader Xu Fuxiang.

"Satellites like the Gaofen 3 will be very useful in safeguarding the country`s maritime rights and interests," he added, according to the newspaper.

In July, an international court in The Hague ruled against China`s claims in the resource-rich South China Sea in an action brought by the Philippines, a decision stridently rejected by Beijing.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which USD 5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

Vietnam, China, and Taiwan claim all of the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea, while the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim some of the area.

Reuters reported this week that Vietnam had discreetly fortified several of its islands in the South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers.

That followed satellite photos in July that showed China appeared to have built reinforced aircraft hangars on some of the disputed islands.
Washington: Hillary Clinton admonished rival Donald Trump on Thursday for claiming that she and Barack Obama were the founders of the Islamic State, saying anyone who would "sink so low" should never be president.

"No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS," Clinton tweeted.

"Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our Commander-in-Chief."

Trump again roiled the presidential campaign late Wednesday, telling a rally in Florida that Obama "is the founder of ISIS."

"And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton."

Republicans have long stated that the foreign policies of Obama and his then-secretary of state Clinton share blame in helping create conditions that allowed IS to grow in Iraq and Syria.

IS was founded in 2013, months after Clinton left the State Department. It was born out of the terror group Al-Qaeda in Iraq that grew in strength in 2006 following Republican president George W. Bush`s decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

The group flourished with Obama`s withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in late 2011. Republicans said Obama was slow to recognize the threat when he said in 2014 that the Islamic State was a "JV" -- junior varsity -- team even though they gained ground in Syria and Iraq.

"It goes without saying that this is a false claim from a presidential candidate with an aversion to the truth and an unprecedented lack of knowledge," Clinton senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

"This is another example of Donald Trump trash-talking the United States."

Sullivan warned that Trump was "echoing the talking points of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure."

The Democratic National Committee weighed in, saying Trump "should apologize for his outrageous, unhinged and patently false suggestions."

But on Thursday, Trump doubled down, telling homebuilders in Miami Beach, Florida that Obama and Clinton were "the founders of ISIS."

"ISIS will hand her the most valuable player award," he said of Clinton, 68.

Earlier Thursday, Trump stood firm when asked by CNBC whether it was appropriate to say a sitting US president founded a jihadist group determined to kill Americans.

"Is there something wrong with saying that?" Trump, 70, said. "Are people complaining that I said he was the founder of ISIS?"

"All I do is tell the truth. I`m a truth-teller."

With his poll numbers slipping after two nightmarish weeks, the billionaire real estate mogul also sought to minimize the personal cost of a potential defeat against Clinton.

"If at the end of 90 days I fall short... even though I`m supposed to have a lot of good ideas, it`s OK. I go back to a very good way of life," he told the network.

"It`s either going to work or I`m going to, you know, I`m going to have a very, very nice long vacation."

Last week, Trump prepared his followers for possible defeat, warning a rally that the November 8 election will be "rigged."
Beijing: Several provincial and local governments throughout China have subsidized Muslims' purchases of halal meat this year.

According to the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the policy has sparked controversy over whether the State should subsidize religious observance, the Global Times reported on Thursday.

Halal meat subsidies were first instituted in Wuhan, Hubei province in 2012 as meat prices rose, and several cities in China subsequently adopted this policy over the past four years.

The subsidies vary in value across different regions and range from 10 yuan ($1.50) to 20 yuan per month per person.

People from 10 ethnic minority groups that customarily consume halal food - including the Hui, Uyghur, Kazak, Uzbek and Tajik groups - are eligible to receive the subsidy, according to on the commission.

"Lanzhou has provided the subsidy since 2015 following other cities, and the policy will continue in the future," Kou Zhijun, the head of the economic department of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee in Lanzhou, Gansu province, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

A total of 9,501 Muslims living on minimum subsistence allowances in Lanzhou received the 20-yuan monthly per-person subsidy in the first half of 2016, said Kou.

He noted that the policy was enacted following a rise in the price of beef and mutton and serves as a complementary measure to relieve poverty, as many Muslims live in impoverished rural areas.

"We have not received any complaints from non-Muslims about the government taking only the interests of ethnic minorities into consideration," Kou added.

Although it is praiseworthy to subsidize people from ethnic minority groups who live below the poverty line, the subsidy should not be granted specifically to those following halal practices, Xi Wuyi, an expert on Marxism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"Giving subsidies to Muslims, instead of to ethnic minority groups, might strengthen their religious identity and also their separation from non-Muslims, which will hurt communication and integration between peoples of different ethnic groups," Xi added.

Over the past several years, China has been studying whether to draft a law to manage the authenticity of halal food.

The drafting of a law on halal food was not listed in China's legislative work plan for 2016 after proposed consideration of the legislation had met with mixed reactions from the public.
Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday said he cares more about the Palestinian people than their leaders do, in his first response to allegations of aid theft by Hamas.

"I, the prime minister of Israel, care more about Palestinians than their own leaders do," Netanyahu said in a video posted online, which provoked outrage from the Palestinians.

"Israel cares more about Palestinians than their own leaders do," he added.

The Israeli leader said his comments were in response to allegations that the militant Islamic Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, stole aid from a major charity and the United Nations.

An Israeli court on August 4 charged World Vision's Gaza head Mohammed al-Halabi with funding "terror," while a UN engineer was indicted Tuesday on allegations of working with Hamas's military wing.

"Hamas, the terrorist organisation that runs Gaza, stole millions of dollars from humanitarian organisations like World Vision and the United Nations," said Netanyahu.

"Innocent and impoverished Palestinians were denied vital aid supplied from nations around the world," he added.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said "the hate that Netanyahu has against the Palestinian people makes him invent a parallel history."

"Netanyahu is convinced that Palestinians should be thankful for living under an apartheid regime and in exile," he said in a statement to AFP.

Netanyahu, for his part, said Israel "treats wounded Palestinians in its hospitals" and compared with "Hamas, that prevents injured Palestinians from getting help."

The two accused humanitarian workers have yet to be tried, and Halabi's lawyer denies the charges.

World Vision, while taking the allegations seriously, has said it has seen no evidence presented by Israel and has poured scorn on numbers presented by the Israeli security services that said more than USD 7 million (6.2 million euro) a year was stolen.

It said in a statement the "cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past 10 years was approximately USD 22.5 million (20 million euro), which makes the alleged amount of up to USD 50 million (44 million euro) being diverted hard to reconcile."

A 2014 war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead, the majority of them civilians and including over 500 children, according to the United Nations.

Israel has maintained a tight blockade on Gaza for a decade, restricting access of many basic goods. Thirty-eight percent of Palestinians in Gaza are unemployed, according to the World Bank.
Jerusalem: An Arab man stabbed and wounded a Jewish man in Jerusalem on Thursday before fleeing, in what Israeli police said was a suspected "terrorist" attack.

"A Jewish man was stabbed with a sharp instrument -- a screwdriver -- and injured moderately," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement.

The attacker fled the scene and police were searching for him, Rosenfeld said, describing the fugitive as an "Arab terrorist".

He did not specify if the man was thought to be a Palestinian or an Arab Israeli.

Israeli paramedics said the incident took place at a Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Jerusalem has been at the heart of a wave of violence since last October in which 219 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have died, according to an AFP count.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

The number of attacks has declined in recent weeks.
Berlin: German citizens with dual nationality who fight for a terror group should be stripped of their German citizenship, the interior minister said Thursday, unveiling tougher measures after two attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.

"Germans who participate in fighting abroad for a terror militia and who have another citizenship should lose their German nationality," Thomas de Maiziere said.

Some 820 people have left Germany to fight alongside jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, according to estimates by Germany`s secret services.

With around one in three fighters having since returned to Germany, fears are running high of the threat they may pose on European soil.

But the proposal is controversial. Green lawmaker Volker Beck swiftly condemned it as "desperate activism".

De Maiziere himself also acknowledged that junior coalition partner the Social Democrats is likely to raise objections.

But he pointed to German legislation which already allows for citizens with dual nationalities and who fight for a foreign army to be stripped of their German citizenship.

"So if someone fights for terror militia that is similar to an armed force, and which calls itself an army, I don`t see why this should not be considered," he argued.

In the wake of the November 13 Paris attacks, France President Francois Hollande had proposed stripping convicted terrorists of their French nationality. But the suggestion had to be dropped after a fierce debate, as critics warned it would create stateless persons.Looking beyond the problem of homegrown jihadists, de Maiziere also introduced plans to tackle threats posed by foreigners to Germany, including speeding up the deportation process for those convicted.

Germany`s toughened stance comes after two attacks in July by migrants in the southern state of Bavaria -- an axe rampage on a train in Wuerzburg and a suicide bombing in Ansbach.

In Wuerzburg, the 17-year-old attacker was shot dead by police after injuring five people. In Ansbach 15 people were injured after a failed Syrian asylum seeker detonated an explosive device outside a music festival, killing himself.

The link to migrants has put intense pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel over liberal asylum policies that had brought 1.1 million refugees to Germany last year.

With two state elections in September -- at Merkel`s stronghold Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and in Berlin -- concern is growing among the political mainstream that populist party AfD could make record gains, ahead of general elections next year.

De Maiziere said the latest anti-terror measures should be adopted before the 2017 elections in the autumn.

On the policing front, staffing will be boosted with 4,600 new posts to be created over the next year. In addition, spending on security would be raised by two billion euros ($2.2 billion) by 2020.

A special division will be set up within federal police forces that would coordinate security efforts in terror situations, said de Maiziere.

In addition, a new unit would be formed to draw up strategies and design tools to combat cyber-crime and terrorism.
Washington: Members of the Kennedy family sternly rebuked Donald Trump on Thursday for joking about "the possibility of political assassination," joining the relatives of other slain or wounded US leaders in condemning recent rhetoric by the Republican presidential nominee.

Trump alarmed many in the political world and beyond on Tuesday when he suggested that "Second Amendment people" -- those who support gun rights -- could act against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton or the justices she would appoint to the US Supreme Court if she were president.

It was beyond the pale for the Kennedys, who wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that Trump's "dark and offensive rhetoric" should disqualify him from the presidency.

"Political violence is the greatest of all civic sins," wrote William Kennedy Smith and Jean Kennedy Smith, nephew and sister of Democratic president John F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and senator Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 as he campaigned for president.

"Today, almost 50 years later, words still matter," the Kennedys wrote.

"So it was with a real sense of sadness and revulsion that we listened to (Trump) as he referred to the options available to 'Second Amendment people,' a remark widely, and we believe correctly, interpreted as a thinly veiled reference or 'joke' about the possibility of political assassination."

The Kennedy column followed criticism by the daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who was slain two months before Robert Kennedy, and the daughter of Republican Ronald Reagan, who was wounded by a would-be assassin in 1981, 69 days into his presidency.

"As the daughter of a leader who was assassinated, I find Trump's comments distasteful, disturbing, dangerous," Bernice King posted on Twitter late Tuesday.

King's murder in April 1968 triggered a wave of social unrest that included riots in several US cities.

Reagan's daughter Patti Davis posted a scathing open letter to Trump on her Facebook page, saying that "your glib and horrifying comment about 'Second Amendment people' was heard around the world."

The remark was heard by "sane and decent people who shudder at your fondness for verbal violence," as well as by Trump supporters who angrily yell, "Lock her up" about Hillary Clinton.

"It was heard by the person sitting alone in a room, locked in his own dark fantasies, who sees unbridled violence as a way to make his mark in the world, and is just looking for ideas," Davis added.
Manila: Japan and the Philippines joined forces on Thursday to call on China to observe the rule of law in resolving maritime disputes after an international tribunal rejected Beijing`s claims to most of the South China Sea.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his counterpart Perfecto Yasay in the southern Philippine city of Davao where both pledged to work closely to boost maritime security while facing separate sea disputes with China.

"We have agreed that in the pursuit of the solution to the conflict in the maritime area, it is important to base ourselves on the rule of law and resort to peaceful means and not the use of force or coercion," Kishida said, referring to the UN-backed tribunal`s finding published in July.

"We invoke and urge China to make sure that maritime security and the rule of law must completely and uncompromisingly be respected," Yasay said in his statement.

Japan and China are locked in a long-running dispute over uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, while Manila and Beijing have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

Kishida on Tuesday called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijing`s envoy to Tokyo, following what Japan calls "intrusions" by Chinese ships near the disputed islands for five consecutive days.

Tensions over the disputes have mounted since the tribunal`s decision, with China angrily rejecting it and announcing penalties for "illegal" fishing in its waters including the disputed areas.

"We have the same experience in the East China Sea and the South China Sea with respect to certain actions that use force, intimidation, provocation in order to assert one`s claim over a particular territory," said Yasay.

Kishida said Japan, while not a claimant in the South China Sea, would continue to cooperate closely with "relevant countries" for the peaceful resolution of maritime rows.

He pledged continued Japanese aid for the Philippines to boost its maritime security capabilities.

Several patrol vessels earlier pledged by Tokyo to President Rodrigo Duterte`s predecessor Benigno Aquino are to begin arriving in Manila by month`s end, Kishida added.

With a severely under-equipped military, the Philippines has been seeking to strengthen ties with allies like Japan, the United States and Australia, which have called on China to comply with the ruling.

China has conducted massive reclamation in the South China Sea, with a US-based think tank releasing images this week showing what appears to be Beijing building military aircraft hangars on disputed reefs.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the sea, through which over $5 trillion in annual trade passes.
Moscow: Russia and Ukraine stepped up security around Crimea on Thursday as tensions soared over accusations by Moscow that Kiev had attempted armed incursions into the disputed peninsula.

Russia`s FSB security service said on Wednesday it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea this week by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back armed assaults, but Kiev fiercely denied the claims.

The allegations ratcheted up the heat in a feud sparked by Moscow`s 2014 seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine and raised fears of possible wider conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with security chiefs to discuss "additional measures for ensuring security for citizens and essential infrastructure in Crimea," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"Scenarios were carefully considered for anti-terrorist security measures at the land border, in the waters and in the airspace of Crimea," it said.

Ukraine`s pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko also met his own top brass and ordered forces along the frontier with Crimea and across the conflict-wracked east onto "high-alert level".

The FSB said one of its officers was killed in armed clashes while arresting "terrorists" on the night of August 6-7, while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with "sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian military on August 8.

An irate Putin accused Kiev of "practising terror" and warned that the deaths of the two Russian officers would have consequences.

"We obviously will not let such things slide by," Putin said. "This is a very dangerous game."

Poroshenko hit back that Moscow`s claims were "senseless and cynical" and said the "fantasies are only another pretext for the next military threats toward Ukraine."

Two residents living on the Russian-controlled side of the Crimea-Ukraine frontier told AFP there has been an unexplained build-up of Russian military hardware in the area over the past few weeks.

Russia is holding nationwide legislative elections next month -- including in Crimea -- and the FSB said the alleged raids could be aimed at destabilising the situation ahead of the vote. A senior Ukrainian security official told AFP that Moscow`s claims were a "crude Russian provocation" and that Kiev was "getting ready for anything," including an invasion.

Ukraine`s UN Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko said Wednesday that Kiev would ask the Security Council to hold an urgent meeting if tensions continue to rise.

Russia says it has detained several Ukrainian and Russian citizens over the incident, including an alleged Ukrainian military intelligence officer named Yevgen Panov. Kiev has called Panov a "hostage".

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter dispute since the Kremlin seized Crimea in March 2014 after Ukraine`s Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

The crisis sent ties between Moscow and the West plunging to their lowest point since the Cold War and led to tough economic sanctions by the EU and US against Russia.

The latest war of words represents the most serious increase in tensions in months as a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine -- that Kiev and the West blame on Moscow -- drags on despite a stalled peace deal.

More than 9,500 people have been killed since the pro-Russian insurgency erupted in April 2014.

Putin said a mooted meeting with Poroshenko and mediators German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande at next month`s G20 summit in China was now "senseless".

Independent Russian daily Vedomosti wrote in an op-ed entitled "A new old enemy" that Moscow has tended to ramp up tensions ahead of negotiations over Ukraine.

"The main political question now is what is the future of the Minsk process," the paper wrote, referring to the peace deal hammered out in the Belarussian capital in February 2015.

"Will Russia bring an end to it or demand new concessions?"
Istanbul: Turkey on Thursday called on Russia to carry out joint operations against Islamic State (IS) in Syria, after crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at ending a diplomatic crisis.

The comments by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came as a Turkish delegation was in Russia for talks aimed at coordinating actions on Syria and other bilateral issues.

"We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh (IS) operations together," Cavusoglu said in a live interview with the private NTV television, adding that the proposal was still "on the table".

Cavusoglu urged Russia to fight against the "common enemy" of IS jihadists in Syria.

"Let us come together to concentrate our efforts on Daesh," he said using an Arabic name for the IS group.

"Let`s fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible," the minister said, warning that if unchecked the group continue to expand and spread into other countries.

Erdogan visited Russia`s second city of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday -- his first trip abroad since the July 15 coup attempt.

It was also his first direct meeting with Putin since the shooting-down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish air forces on the Syrian border in November that caused unprecedented damage to relations.

NATO member Turkey was long criticised by its Western partners for not playing a full role in the fight against IS but upped its involvement last year by offering US forces use of its Incirlik air base for raids against the group.

Turkey has also carried out air and artillery strikes of its own against IS, although it is believed to have halted the air strikes in the wake of the Russian plane incident. Artillery fire directed at IS has continued, however.

Cavusoglu said however Turkish jets would now actively join in anti-IS air raids in Syria in the future, without specifying when.

"If we fail to eradicate the terrorist organisation (IS) from head down it will attack all the cells just like an epidemic," he said.The three-person Turkish delegation in Moscow, made up of representatives from the military, intelligence and foreign service, is tasked with implementing decisions made at Tuesday`s summit including coordination on Syria, Cavusoglu said.

"I believe the mechanism will contribute to this process," he added.

Russia`s Kommersant newspaper reported that Putin and Erdogan concluded an agreement on preventing incidents in Turkish and Syrian airspace as well as "proposals on establishing control over the Turkish-Syrian border".

Cavusoglu said Turkish-Russian cooperation would help prevent incidents like the plane crisis in the future.

"Many countries are engaged in Syria actively. There could be mistakes," he said.

"In order to prevent that, we need to put into practice the solidarity and cooperation (mechanism) between us including sharing of real time intelligence."

Cavusoglu also said real time communication was also needed between the two countries` presidents and military officials, suggesting that a hotline should be established.

Turkey and Russia still disagree on how to resolve the Syrian conflict, with Moscow carrying out a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad, and Ankara seeing his exit as a key to any solution.

Cavusoglu on Thursday said the Assad regime -- which Turkey says is to blame for the killing of hundreds of thousands of people -- should not rule the country.

"But we cannot leave aside all our dialogue with Russia just because we think differently on Assad," he said, while ruling out any transition in Syria involving the Syrian leader.
District of Columbia: US military leaders painted an overly optimistic picture of American efforts to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, a damning government report released Thursday found.

The interim report stems from a congressional task force investigating whistleblower allegations that intel bosses cherry-picked information that soft-pedaled the risk of IS while overstating US efforts to train local forces to fight the jihadists.

"From the middle of 2014 to the middle of 2015, the United States Central Command`s (CENTCOM`s) most senior intelligence leaders manipulated the command`s intelligence products to downplay the threat from ISIS in Iraq," Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo said in a statement, using an IS acronym.

"The result - consumers of those intelligence products were provided a consistently `rosy` view of US operational success against ISIS," he added, noting this "may well" have put US troops at risk.

Task force investigators surveyed dozens of CENTCOM analysts, with many viewing the leadership environment at the time as toxic.

"Forty percent of analysts respond(ed) that they had experienced an attempt to distort or suppress intelligence in the past year," the report states.

Additionally, CENTCOM disseminated press releases and gave public statements that were "significantly more positive" than reality, investigators found.

Further, senior CENTCOM leaders "violated regulations, tradecraft standards, and professional ethics" by modifying intelligence to present overly positive assessments of initial US efforts to train Iraqi security forces to fight IS.

The Pentagon`s inspector general is currently running an internal investigation into the matter so officials could not comment directly on Thursday`s report.

"The intelligence community routinely provides a wide range of assessments based on multifaceted data related to the current security environment," Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Commander Patrick Evans said.

"These assessments and the expert analysts who develop them are absolutely vital to our efforts, particularly given the incredibly complex nature of the multi-front fights that are ongoing now in Iraq and Syria.

"Experts sometimes disagree on the interpretation of complex data, and the intelligence community and Department of Defense welcome healthy dialogue on these vital national security topics."

Congressman Brad Wenstrup said it remained unclear why the intel had been skewed.

"We still do not fully understand the reasons and motivations behind this practice, and how often the excluded analyses were proven ultimately to be correct," he said.

CENTCOM officials must be held to account if they pressured analysts to distort or suppress information in the anti-IS fight, said Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"A successful strategy to defeat the scourge of radical Islamist terrorism must be based on facts -- not rosy assessments manipulated to support a political narrative," she said in a statement.

CENTCOM is responsible for military operations across the Middle East and Afghanistan.
LusakaZambians went to the polls Thursday to choose a new president after a campaign marred by "unprecedented" violence that has threatened the country`s relative stability and raised fears of further clashes.

Radio stations appealed for voters to remain peaceful as they cast their ballots for the national assembly and local councillors, as well as the presidency.

Just 18 months after President Edgar Lungu narrowly won office in a snap election, he and his main rival Hakainde Hichilema face off again in a field of nine candidates.

Only 27,757 votes separated the two candidates in the 2015 ballot.

At least three people were killed during the campaign, with regular clashes erupting between supporters of Lungu`s Patriotic Front (PF) and Hichilema`s United Party for National Development (UPND).

Ahead of the vote, the election commission issued an emergency statement describing the unrest as "unprecedented" and warning it had "marred Zambia`s historic record of peaceful elections".

Last month, campaigning was halted in the capital Lusaka for 10 days to reduce the violence, though skirmishes continued until polling day, including fighting in the streets and vehicles overturned close to Hichilema`s final rally on Wednesday in Lusaka.

But as voters continued to line up Thursday afternoon, no violent incidents had been reported.

"The violence has been bad, but I hope there will be peace whatever the result," Phiri Vekani told AFP.

An unemployed UPND supporter, he believed Hichilema would bring much needed jobs.

"He is a businessman and business is the way forward. I want to work in a big company and he can bring that here."

Katherine Mutya, 38, spent three hours in line waiting to cast her vote.

"For me I think life is getting better," she said.

"We need to get more electricity and water, but it is happening slowly."

Constitutional changes mean that the winner must now secure more than 50 percent of the vote, meaning a second round run-off could be held within weeks, raising the spectre of further hostilities.

"The PF government of President Lungu is starting to panic as the UPND campaign gains sustained momentum," said Robert Besseling, of EXX Africa consultancy.

"The probability of a contested election result is growing, which would undermine the credibility of the vote and trigger more widespread partisan violence."Zambia, in contrast to neighbours like Angola and Zimbabwe, has escaped war and serious upheaval since independence from Britain in 1964.

It last held a peaceful transfer of power to an opposition party in 2011 when Michael Sata took office.

Sata died of an undisclosed illness in 2014 and the 2015 election gave Lungu, 59, the right to finish Sata`s term.

At his final rally, Lungu mocked Hichilema for being a wealthy businessman who is making his fifth bid for power.
37 minutes ago

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Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter after a protracted legal battle and months of uncertainty. The question now is what the billionaire Tesla CEO will actually do with the social media platform. Musk gave one indication of where he's headed in a tweet Friday, saying no decisions on content or reinstating of accounts will be made until a content moderation council is put in place.

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The domestic servants, who reportedly worked at Sasikala's house in Tamil Nadu, had filed a police complaint alleging that they were tortured by Sasikala and her family.

By India Today Web Desk: The Delhi High Court today gave interim relief from arrest to expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa and two others in connection with a harassment case filed by the Tamil Nadu leader's maid. Sasikala's maid had filed a sexual harassment complaint against her and the leader's family.

The high court had yesterday restrained the Tamil Nadu government from taking any "coercive action" the Rajya Sabha MP, her husband and their son.

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The domestic servants, who reportedly worked at Sasikala's house in Tamil Nadu, had filed a police complaint alleging that they were tortured by them.

Earlier, the high court had directed the police to escort Sasikala to Parliament so that she can discharge her duty safely.

EXPELLED FOR SLAPPING DMK MP

Sasikala, who reportedly slapped DMK MP Trichy Siva at Delhi airport recently, was expelled from AIADMK on August 1 by party chief J Jayalalithaa on grounds of violating party principles and ethics and bringing disrepute to the party.

Sasikala had broken down in the Rajya Sabha just minutes before Jayalalithaa announced her ouster, and had said she was facing a "life theat" and that she was being forced to resign.

Also Read:

FIR filed against expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa

AIADMK sacks Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Pushpa for slapping DMK leader

--- ENDS ---
Editors Note: Building on our agriculture technology trends research, last week we released our latest report, the Mid-Year 2016 AgTech Investing Report. You can find all of AgFunders research here.

Investment into agriculture technology startups fell 20% year-over-year in the first half of 2016, as 307 funding deals collected $1.75 billion.

There were two main reasons for the decline:

It coincided with a 14% year-over-year decline in the amount of investment recorded across the global venture capital markets, according to the Venture Pulse report . This first half pullback continues the trend for falling investment figures that started in the fourth quarter of 2015. The Venture Pulse report blamed the pullback on a wait-and-see approach among venture capitalists due to various market uncertainties including Brexit, the November presidential election in the US, a slowdown of the Chinese economy, and a potential interest rate hike in the US. We believe that problematic valuations and down rounds have also made VCs skittish on the global stage. The creation of a record-breaking number of unicorns in 2015  companies valued over $1 billion  is also causing caution, according to the report. In agtech specifically, there is also a wait-and-see approach from venture capitalists, but for a different reason. Some firms have made their first few investments and are keen to see how they will play out before investing further. The hype surrounding some agtech subsectors has also died down. In Food E-Commerce, the growing number of failures, closures and consolidations have pushed many investors to pullback from the sector which in our view was very overheated in 2015. Investors also pulled back from ag-focused Drones startups, as farmers have questioned their efficacy and efficiency on the farm in their current form.

While investment funding figures were down, there were pockets of growth in some subsectors, such as Soil & Crop Technology, where investment grew 290% year-over-year, and Biomaterials & Biochemicals, where startups raised 32% more than during the whole of 2015. Precision agriculture continued to capture investor attention raising $333 million, slightly more than half the 2015 total. By comparison, we saw a noticeable pullback in funding to Food E-Commerce and Drones startups

The first half of 2016 also saw 7% more deals closed than in H1-2015 (285) and 25% more than in H2-2015 (245), compared to a 13% fall in the number of venture capital deals globally. The number of investors placing bets in the sector also climbed 52% year-over-year to 425. Together, these data highlight the growing number of entrepreneurs and investors that are engaging with the sector, coming to it from a range of different industries to capitalize on the attractive fundamentals of the agriculture sector.

Its also worth noting that if we exclude Netafims $500 million in debt financing as an outlier from the H1-2015 data, we would have actually seen single-digit dollar growth during the period.

We noticed some maturing in the sector too, as Series B deals raised more funding across more deals compared to 2015 levels, while seed stage deals still dominated activity. The geographical diversity of the sector also grew, with startups from 39 countries contributing to the final figures. The US captured 53% of all deals in H1-2016, down from 58% in 2015, and some new or rare countries in the sector included Costa Rica, Portugal, Finland, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Indonesia, and Ecuador.

Find more in-depth reporting on H1-2016s agriculture technology trends in the report by downloading it here. Below are some of our high-level takeaways.

Agriculture technology trends towards investor diversity

Not only did the number of deals increase on 2015 levels, but 425 different investors participated in the market during the first half of 2015. Thats over half the number that contributed to funding during the whole of 2015 (672).

New investors participated at various stages of funding. We noticed a particular uptick in seed stage investment, which represented 52% of deals and raised $104 million. This was just $26 million less than seed stage deals raised during the whole of 2015. This earlier stage activity could largely reflect the increase in new accelerators and other startup resources focused on the sector that are spurring entrepreneurial activity and giving entrepreneurs the startup funding and support they need to bring new technologies to light. We tracked 12 new accelerator programs launched during the first half, and included a new slide on these. This growth in the number of accelerators serving the sector was one of the most noticeable agriculture technology trends

Generalist accelerators also paid increasing attention to the sector, particularly SOSV, which invested in 26 startups that took part in its biotech-focused IndieBio and Food-X programs.

A growing number of corporate venture firms drove investor numbers too, particularly those in the food industry and other tech sectors. Accel Foods made three bets with Exo Protein Bars, Cornershop, and Ninjacart; Campbell Soups Acre Venture Partners, which closed in March, invested in Back-to-the-Roots, General Mills invested in alternative protein company Kite Hill, McCain Foods invested in ag imagery analysis company Resson, Yamaha Motor Ventures invested in PrecisionHawk, and Robert Boschs venture arm invested in The Yield and CropX. These new investors will play an important role particularly at the later stages of investment.

In this report, we added a new section tracking all the food and ag-focused funds that had opened or closed during the half. Those that closed include Anterra Capitals $125 million growth stage fund, Avrios $110 million Fund II, and New Crop Capitals $25 million plant-based technology fund. We also detail four more that have started fundraising this year, collectively targeting over $320 million.

Biological inputs and genetic technologies experienced the most growth

Soil & Crop Technology startups, which encompasses fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, soil supplements and more produced using chemical, biological and genetic processes, had a good H1, raising $164 million in funding across 21 deals in H1-2016. This was just $9 million less than the subsector raised during the whole of 2015 ($173m).

Some of the periods largest and most exciting deals were for biological input technologies, particularly those created through research of the plant microbiome. Indigo, which recently came out with a seed coating product to help mitigate the impact of drought, raised $56 million in Series B funding during the first half from incubator-VC Flagship Ventures (a deal that was followed by a whopping $100 million Series C in July) and PivotBio raised $16 million in a secretive Series A round.

Other types of biological products also raised significant funding such as BiOWiSH Technologies $5 million Series B, Cool Planets late stage $9 million round, Inocucor Technologies $6 million Series A, and Terrameras $10 million Series A.

Gene-editing is another trend in the Soil & Crop Technology segment thats gathering attention. While nothing new, the advent of CRISPR Cas-9 has pushed gene-editing technologies into the limelight, and theyre starting to raise a lot of funding for medical and agricultural purposes. Caribou Biosciences, which was founded by Jennifer Doudna, one of the inventors of CRISPR Cas-9, raised $30 million in Series B funding from two agtech-focused VCs  Pontifax AgTech and Rabobanks Anterra Capital  as well as some other generalist VCs.

Funding for precision agriculture startups shifted from drones to software and sensors

In keeping with past agriculture technology trends, investment in precision agriculture startup kept up in the first half of 2016. Startups in this segment raised $333 million during the first half of 2016 across 58 with 99 different investors. This was nearly exactly half what was raised across the whole of 2015 ($661m).

The makeup of this segment, which we draw from the larger Drones & Robotics, Decision Support Tech, Irrigation & Water, and Smart Equipment & Hardware categories shifted during the first half, however.

Drones, in particular, represented a smaller portion of the precision ag segment versus 2015 taking 34% of precision ag funding versus 49% in 2015, making way for more software startups, which raised $92 million across 19 deals taking 28% of the pie versus 11% during 2015.

In our 2015 report, we reported on some of the concerns farmers had around the efficacy of drones for their operations, and it looks like some investors have taken those concerns on board and are waiting for them to play out. Having said that, there was still a larger number of deals during the first half of 2016 (26) than the first (25) and the second half of 2015 (16). This reflects the new wave of entrepreneurs and technologies entering the space. Many of those in these early stages are aiming to solve some of the issues mentioned above, such as SlantRange, which raised $2.7 million in seed funding for its drone sensor technology that is vehicle-agnostic and aims to reduce processing time and increase accuracy.

The largest software deal was Farmers Edge, the Canadian startup which raised $44 million across two funding rounds during the half at Series C stage. FarmLink came next with a $24.6 million funding round.

A growing emphasis on the need for high-quality data saw successful funding rounds for sensor startups like aquaculture-focused business The Yield, and ground- level weather data startup Understory, and pest detection startup SemiosBio Technologies.

Agtech startups are starting to mature

A greater number of agtech startups matured during the first half of 2016, with 29 deals raising $449 million. This was a 50% increase in funding dollars at Series B on H1-2015 and a 60% year-over-year increase by the number of deals. It also saw startups at Series B stage raise more than at Series A, a shift from 2015. The total Series B funding dollars were slightly inflated by Thrive Markets $111 million round, but even when you exclude that deal, overall Series B investment was still up; there were other weighty deals during the half such as microbial seed coating company Indigos $56 million raise and Modern Meadows $40 million deal.

Series C funding was more muted, and companies at that stage raised 18% less than the same period last year, which could be down to offputting high valuations at some startups.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2016, we expect full year investment levels will come in lower than 2015, as continued caution (and perhaps discipline) is exercised in some of the subsectors that were growth drivers in 2015.

To read more about agriculture technology trends from the first half of 2016, access the full report here. If you have questions or want to use our research, please get in touch at media@agfundernews.com.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian journalist community presented demands which need to be implemented in the upcoming two months. The protest aimed at saying no to violence, to condemn the attacks against journalists, to demand the immediate punishment of those who have impeded the journalists works, reports Armenpress.

The protest has been initiated by chief-in-editors and heads of a number of journals, websites, TV Channels. The Armenian MPs, employees of the press service of the Armenian Police, as well as the representatives of organizations dealing with the protection of rights joined the protest.

MP Samvel Farmanyan said every incident of impeding journalists works is unacceptable and contradicts to the Armenian Constitution, laws, the international obligations set by Armenia. He said it also contradicts to freedom of speech and media. I share the initiators call over the incident and the corresponding bodies must reveal the details of the case based on the comprehensive and complete investigation and the violence perpetrators must bear the responsibility. This will be the best solution for this issue, Samvel Farmanyan said.

He partially agrees with the statement that non-complete investigation of violence against journalists committed on July 23, 2015 in Baghramyan Avenue led to incidents in Khorenatsi Street and Sari Tagh. As a National Assembly MP I am ready to express my opinion, to raise my voice and to join people thinking like me in order to make political conclusions from what happened, and if the issue concerns the case of violence, those must be examined and the perpetrators must bear the responsibility, he said.

Head of the Public Relations and Media Department of the Police Ashot Aharonyan said every case of violence is condemnable, especially when the targets are the media representatives. In this case the public interest is being more damaged, since peoples right to be informed is being endangered. The Police is one of the structures for which such cases are not beneficial, since the provision of public order is the Polices function, and if such cases happen and are not revealed, the Polices reputation is being endangered, he said.

The journalists community demands the punishment of violence perpetrators against the journalists, they must be arrested. They demand to cease the negative propaganda at state level against the journalists. They will fight for the protection of their professional rights. And they are ready to take all journalistic, up until extremist measures to reach their goal.














Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington said she would leave the company to focus on running her new venture, health and wellness startup Thrive Global.

By Reuters: Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington said on Thursday she would leave the company to focus on running her new venture, health and wellness startup Thrive Global.

"I thought HuffPost would be my last act. But I've decided to step down as HuffPost's editor-in-chief to run my new venture, Thrive Global," she tweeted.

Thrive Global, which will offer services to companies to improve the well-being of their employees, recently closed a Series A funding round ahead of a launch in the fall.

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The Huffington Post is now owned by Verizon Communications Inc, and her departure comes several weeks after Verizon said it was buying the media properties of Yahoo Inc. for about $4.8 billion.

The site is known for its celebrity and newsmaker blogs and for cobbling together articles using information from different newspapers and other sources. In 2012, the site won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting on its series of stories about wounded veterans.

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STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire agreement along the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact overnight August 10-11 25 times.

Azerbaijani forces fired 400 shots from various caliber small arms at positions of Nagorno Karabakh.

The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh told ARMENPRESS the Defense Army mainly maintained the ceasefire regime and took countermeasures only in case of strict necessity.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The Sargsyan-Putin once again reaffirmed that Armenian-Russian allied relations are in the stage of advancement, in economic, political, humanitarian and military terms, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov told ARMENPRESS, commenting on the August 10 Sargsyan-Putin meeting in Moscow.

Both the Russian and Armenian sides noted that there arent unsolvable issues in the Armenian-Russian relations, and these issues are settled on the highest level. This dispels those concerns as if Russia doesnt implement its commitments to Armenia in terms of selling armaments. Russian President Vladimir Putin talked about this, noting that Russia has implemented and is implementing its commitments. Meaning Russia is developing relations in both CSTO and in bilateral relations, Sharmazanov said.

The two Presidents underscored Armenias membership to the EEU has been effective, since the exports have grown by 90 percent, the GDP by 10 percent, and the trade-revenue between the two countries by 20-25 percent.

Touching upon the NKR conflict settlement issues, Sharmazanov noted both the Russian and the Armenian sides want exclusively peaceful settlement.

The President of Armenia sent two clear signals from Moscow. The first, Azerbaijan distorts the essence of the issue and the reasons should be eliminated instead of speaking about the consequences. The people of Nagorno Karabakh must fully exercise their self-determination right. Meaning the President sent a very clear signal to Baku and the international community that Karabakh cannot return to Azerbaijans rule. The second  the President noted Armenia is committed to its obligations and is willing, unlike Azerbaijan, to realize the commitments of St. Petersburg and Vienna. This was also a response to Aliyevs unconstructive actions, since it was right after St. Petersburg and Vienna when Aliyev suddenly forgot that the two countries must implements mechanisms of trust and ceasefire violation investigations, expand the authorities of OSCE representatives and prepare the public for the peaceful solution of the issue. The President once again clearly noted that the number one issue is Nagorno Karabakhs status: the Nagorno Karabakhs peoples right of self determination must be acknowledged, Sharmazanov said.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has prevented the activity of the international Internet community cells promoting the ideas and raising funds for the Islamic State terrorist group, TASS reported.

"The Federal Security Service in cooperation with the Russian Interior Ministry has identified and thwarted the activity of cells of the international online community "Rohnamo ba sui davlati Islomi" (translated as A Guide to Islamic State from Tajik) in the Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions set up to promote terrorist ideology and recruiting gunmen to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," the FSB Public Relations Center has told TASS.

"The FSBs investigative department has opened criminal cases against the cells leader and three of its members over organization of activities of a terrorist organization and involvement in it," the FSB said.



The FSB said it has carried out 27 searches among members of cells of an Internet community spreading ideas of the Islamic State terrorist group and collecting funds for it.

The searches in the homes of members of the Rohnamo community were conducted on Wednesday in the Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions in Russias Urals, the FSB said.

"Computers, mobile phones containing propaganda video materials of terrorists, extremist literature, bank cards and also weapons including three guns, four grenades, some 500 grams of plastic-based explosives, five TNT blocks with the weight of 1 kg and electric detonators were seized," it said.



The Rohnamo cell comprises more than 100,000 members from among immigrants from Central Asia in Russia and abroad, primarily in CIS member-countries, the FSB explained. It is coordinated by dozens of terrorist middlemen located in Russia, the Middle East and North Africa (above all, in Syria, Iraq and Egypt) using Internet software to encrypt and anonymize the transferred data to carry out various clandestine plots."
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday gave the U.S. an ultimatum following Ankara's repeated requests for the extradition of US-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, accused of orchestrating the July 15 defeated coup, Anadolu reported.

"Sooner or later the U.S will make a choice. Either Turkey or FETO," Erdogan said.

"Either the coup-plotting terrorist FETO or the democratic country Turkey. It has to make this choice," he said, referring to the Gulen-led Organization that Ankara says mounted the bloody coup attempt through rogue elements within the military.

The president's remarks came as he addressed a mass crowd in front of the Presidential Palace in the capital  one location attacked on the night of the coup attempt.

The gathering in Ankara was the last night of daily pro-democracy rallies which has been held since July 15, Erdogan announced.

The daily gatherings, which have attracted hundreds of thousands wishing to show their opposition to the foiled July 15 coup, culminated Sunday in a rally in Istanbul that 5 million people are thought to have attended, according to local officials.

Erdogan warned citizens, however, to stay constantly vigilant as "betrayal can come from anywhere and anyone.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Turkey cannot be a Minsk Group co-chair, because Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh are against this, Karen Bekaryan, lawmaker and European Integration NGO President told reporters.

According to him, Turkey  being a Minsk Group member, has numerously raised the issue of being more actively involved in talks, but this doesnt mean it can. Turkey is a Minsk Group member. Would it want to be a co-chairing country? Very much. Can it? Of course not, because two sides of the conflict, including Nagorno Karabakh, will never agree, he said.

Touching upon the August 10 Sargsyan-Putin meeting, Bekaryan said Russias response to the NKR issue is in the context which it numerously stated after the escalation of April.

In particular, it is said to do everything possible to avoid new escalation, to avoid life threatening situations, boost political process and attempt to achieve such sketch of solutions, where there wont be winners or losers, Bekaryan said.

To a reporters question whether or not Armenia has reasons to be concerned regarding the negotiations process, Bekaryan answered : We are in a state of neither war, nor peace, any minute we know that war might re-start, we shouldnt lose realism. The talks process is a swing, it goes this way then the other way all the time. You have reasons to be concerned when you havent put the results on paper, havent received the support of your public, havent ensured the realization and confirmation with the entire process.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Nearly 7,000 heavy armored terrorists have taken positions southeast of the key Syrian city of Aleppo, the Russian Defense Ministry says. The build-up comes as Moscow brokers a three-hour daily truce for the embattled city, RT reported.

The most alarming situation has unfolded in the southwest outskirts of Aleppo, Lieutenant General Sergey Rudskoy, chief of the main operations department of the Russian General Staff, told reporters on Wednesday.

Terrorists amassed to a unit of some 7,000 fighters, armed with tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery and trucks with weapons mounted on them, Rudskoy said. The groups of terrorists are getting reinforcements from neighboring territories. "Militants are pulling their troops from the controlled areas in the provinces of Idlib, Homs and Hama, Rudskoy said.

On Wednesday, terrorists shelled residential areas in Aleppos southwestern neighborhood of Hamdania, Syrian news agency SANA reports. According to the outlet, 13 civilians died with a number of people injured. Government forces have been engaged in fierce fighting with the terrorists in the area in the past four days.

Since Sunday nearly 1,000 militants were killed and over 2,000 injured, the Russian General Staff told media. The operation was backed by the Russian Air force, targeting the positions of insurgents and their supply routes around Aleppo.

Some of the terrorist groups tried to flee using a safe corridor, Rudskoy added. In the end of July special humanitarian routes for civilians around Aleppo were established by the Russian Reconciliation Center and Syrian forces.

Those civilians remaining are facing a dire humanitarian situation. To facilitate the escape of civilians, Moscow on Wednesday proposed daily three-hour ceasefires for humanitarian corridors in the city. According to Rudskoy, it is due to take effect starting August 11 from 10 am to 1 pm local time.

Earlier, the move was welcomed by the United Nations aid chief Stephen O'Brien. "At all times I will look at any kind of suggestion which enables humanitarian aid to be delivered," he said, calling for a larger 48-hour ceasefire. According to Rudskoy this option as well as the possibility of joint humanitarian convoys for Aleppo is being discussed with the UN.

During the latest press briefing, US State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau also voiced her backing of any pause in the fighting for aid to reach Aleppo.

Since the establishing of humanitarian corridors on July 28, some 50 tons of food, basic necessities, medicine as well as 93 tons of water were supplied to Aleppo, Rudskoy stated on Wednesday.

The aid mission however got into the crosshairs of armed militants operating near Aleppo province. On August 1 a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter was downed while coming back from a humanitarian aid mission to Aleppo. The incident happened as the chopper was flying over the neighboring Idlib province. Three crew members and two officers onboard died.

Following the incident, Sergey Rudskoy said that terrorists from Al-Nusra Front but also forces seen as moderate opposition by Washington are operating in the area.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The Government decided to cancel the necessity of work permit for foreigners until 2018.

Artem Asatryan, minister of labor and social affairs, said the number of foreign workers in Armenia isnt so high to create difficulties for the national labor market.

He said the work permit necessity will be cancelled until January 1, 2018.

Currently 5179 foreigners are employed in Armenia, who are mainly specially qualified professionals. The majority of them are ethnic Armenians.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is willing to realize the agreements reached at the Vienna (May 16) and St. Petersburg (June 20) meetings. This was stated by President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 10 in Moscow.

After todays Cabinet meeting, reporters asked Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ashot Hovakimyan to touch upon the issue.

It was about those agreements which were reached during the meetings in Vienna and St. Petersburg. The President stated very clearly that it was about the maintenance of the ceasefire agreements of 1994,1995, introduction of investigative mechanisms for ceasefire violations and expansion of the team of OSCE representative of the chairman in office. The President noted this clearly in his speech, Hovakimyan said.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The Syrian Army on August 11 continued heavy military operations against terrorist groups across the country, mainly in Aleppo, inflicting heavy losses upon them in personnel and equipment, reports SANA.

Units of the army and armed forces in cooperation with the allied forces on Thursday continued to advance in the southern countryside of Aleppo central province, establishing control on a number of positions in the area surrounding the military academies and 1070 Apartments Project.

Earlier, the source stressed that units of the army working to the south of Aleppo, in cooperation with the allied forces, foiled a wide attack by the armed terrorist groups on Wednesday evening from different directions.

The source indicated that heavy losses were inflicted upon terrorists in personnel as a number of their armored and machinegun-equipped vehicles were destroyed.

Meanwhile, the terrorist organizations acknowledged on their social media pages that the military commander of the so-called Jaish al-Mujahidin terrorist Yusuf Zoua was killed.

An army unit destroyed three oil tanks for ISIS terrorists in the area of al-Rashida wells in the eastern countryside of Sweida province, killing all members of the terrorist group.

Four more oil tanks for ISIS were destroyed east of Tal Shaaf and a number of ISIS terrorists were killed east of Barek village in Sweida eastern countryside.

Other army units destroyed three vehicles equipped with machine guns for ISIS in Khirbet Saad and killed several terrorists in Tal Saad and al-Qassar village in the northeastern countryside of Sweida.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs that on August 11 the USD exchange rate was 476.25 AMD which remained unchanged compared to the previous day.

Armenpress reports that the Euro decreased by 4.00 drams forming 530.78 drams. British pound dropped by 1.24 drams forming 617.74 drams, Russian ruble increased by 0.01 drams reaching to 7.36 drams on August 11.

The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for silver per gram is 311.37 AMD, gold-20,635.7 AMD, and platinum-18,098.54 AMD.
By PTI: Jaisalmer, Aug 11 (PTI) Border Security Force has beefed up security along the border areas in Rajasthan under Operation Alert ahead of Independence Day, officials said today.

The security exercise, which began yesterday, will continue till August 19, DIG, BSF, Ravi Gandhi said.

Under the operation, security arrangements have been beefed up along the border areas to check infiltration bid from across the border, he said.

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BSF personnel will be deployed along the border round-the-clock and will undertake fence repairing work. PTI CORR SDA APK DIP DV DIP

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GYUMRI, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Armenia StartUp Cup business model competition will be held aimed at promoting the activity of entrepreneurs, creating new jobs, as well as informing on the existing resources for creating new start-up ventures in Armenia.

Armenia StartUp Cup 2016 is a business model cup, which is open to every business idea. In 2016 it is being held in Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, Dilijan and Stepanakert. The proposed model must be a unique idea which will present the business activity from the very start of the creation up to the 5th year of the activity.

For those who are interested in this competition and further details, Open Doors have been organized in Gyumris Information Technology Center on August 11. The project has been initiated by the IAB International Academy of Business in partnership with the Enterprise Incubator Foundation, the Technology Centers of Gyumri and Vanadzor, the Dilijan Community Center and the Union of Young Businessmen of Armenia.

Project Manager Sergey Gasparyan told Armenpress Armenia StartUp Cup is being held in Armenia since 2012, the world Armenia StartUp Cup was held in Yerevan for the first time in 2014, and starting from 2015 the Cup is being organized by the IAB International Academy of Business.

This year the project is also being held in the provinces of Armenia. Now the project will be held in Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, Dilijan, we want to organize it in Stepanakert as well since there are also young people in provinces who have ideas and want to make their ideas reality, to run their own business and reach greater success, Sergey Gasparyan said.

He said a lot of people are interested in this project. Only in Gyumri 20 people were registered to attend the event, but more than 40 people have attended. A lot of people are interested in this project, of course, not all work on the business ideas, but I hope the youth will start thinking about it, he said.

The ideas for participating in the competition can be from different spheres starting from agriculture to information technologies.

The application deadline is August 15, 2016. The competition will be comprised of several stages. The best participant will have an opportunity to participate in the world StartUp Cup.
The $130-billion merger of US agri-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont would create the world's biggest chemical and materials group

The EU on Thursday launched an investigation into the merger of US agri-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont to see if one of the world's largest tie-ups will reduce competition and harm customers.

"The livelihood of farmers depends on access to seeds and crop protection at competitive prices. We need to make sure that the proposed merger does not lead to higher prices or less innovation for these products," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Dow Chemical and DuPont, two of the oldest US companies, announced the tie-up in December to create the world's biggest chemical and materials group valued at $130 billion.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union, said it had opened the "in-depth probe" to determine if the deal was in line with the bloc's merger regulations.

"The Commission will investigate further whether the deal may reduce competition in areas such as crop protection, seeds and certain petrochemicals," the statement said.

"The transaction would take place in industries that are already globally concentrated."

Given the global reach of the new entity, the Commission said it was "cooperating closely" with other countries, notably the United States, Brazil and Canada in assessing the impact.

It said the two companies submitted remedies last month but these were "insufficient" to allay its concerns and so it decided to launch the probe which will last 90 days to December 20.

Dow Chemical and DuPont said that they had expected the investigation and were working closely with regulators.

"The companies continue to believe the merger is procompetitive and good for customers and consumers," they said in a joint statement.

"Dow and DuPont will continue to work constructively with the Commission to address their concerns and to obtain clearance for the merger, which we are confident will be achieved."

Vestager has not been shy to take on major US companies, pushing through a series of anti-competition probes of such icons as Apple, Google and Amazon.

Some US critics say she unfairly targets American companies but Vestager insists she is simply applying European Union competition rules.


You may have heard about Nauru on a recent This American Life episode: the tiny Pacific island that was stripped of all vegetation and made virtually uninhabitable by phosphate mining, then turned into an international pariah by its desperate practice of selling citizenship to crooks, now an offshore detention centre for people seeking asylum in Australia, where cruelty and abuse are legendary.

Australia's practice of imprisoning asylum seekers in Nauru has long been the subject of criticism by human rights activists, who pointed to whistleblower accounts of rampant abuse, especially directed against the children on the island, often perpetrated by teachers, guards, health workers, and caseworkers paid by the Australian government to run the camp.





Now, a trove of 2,000 leaked reports from Nauru has been published by the Guardian, and the abuse these documents reveal is far worse than even the most repellent whistleblower accounts published to date. They are filled with the tales of children  many girls under 10 years old  who have been raped and sexually assaulted with impunity, while officials took no notice or, worse, told survivors and their parents that this was the way of things and it wouldn't be any better in Australia where rape "is very common and people don't get punished" (this quote from a "cultural adviser" for Wilson Security, the security contractor for Nauru's concentration camp).

The reports are not proven facts  they are reports. But most have never been investigated by the very people who are charged with verifying the facts in reports like this  and those people are often the same people accused of committing the worst abuses.

Also in the leaks are many, many reports of self-harm and suicide attempts, including self-harm inflicted by minors. The children imprisoned on Nauru are especially traumatised. The living conditions are beyond squalorous: the people on Nauru live among vermin, with inadequate health care and lack of access to basic medical supplies, such as urinary incontinence pads.

Both Australia's and Nauru's governments have banned journalists from the island, insisting that they would be able to regulate themselves better without outside scrutiny.

Nauru is a stain on the national conscience of Australia, a country struggling to come to grips with its genocidal past, which commits many of the same sins even as it promises "never again."



The reports range from a guard allegedly grabbing a boy and threatening to kill him once he is living in the community to guards allegedly slapping children in the face. In September 2014 a teacher reported that a young classroom helper had requested a four-minute shower instead of a two-minute shower. "Her request has been accepted on condition of sexual favours. It is a male security person. She did not state if this has or hasn't occurred. The security officer wants to view a boy or girl having a shower." Some reports contain distressing examples of behaviour by traumatised children. According to a report from September 2014, a girl had sewn her lips together. A guard saw her and began laughing at her. In July that year a child under the age of 10 undressed and invited a group of adults to insert their fingers into her vagina; in February 2015 a young girl gestured to her vagina and said a male asylum seeker "cut her from under". In the files there are seven reports of sexual assault of children, 59 reports of assault on children, 30 of self-harm involving children and 159 of threatened self-harm involving children. The reports show extraordinary acts of desperation. One pregnant woman, after being told she would need to give birth on Nauru in October 2015, was agitated and in tears. "I give my baby to Australia to look after," she pleaded with a caseworker, adding: "I don't want to have my baby in PNG, the [Nauru hospital] or have it in this dirty environment."

The Nauru files: cache of 2,000 leaked reports reveal scale of abuse of children in Australian offshore detention

[Paul Farrell, Nick Evershed and Helen Davidson/The Guardian]
Last week, freaky photos appeared online of a strange person dressed in a filthy clown costume and carrying black balloons wandering the night streets of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Turns out, "Gags the Clown," as the character was known, turned out to be a hoax by indie filmmaker Adam Krause. He hoped the online freak-out would help market a new short horror film that he plans to complete in the next few months. It worked. From the Green Bay Press-Gazette:



Krause and his film crew had wanted to keep Gags' secret for a little longer and include four more Gags sightings in Green Bay to promote the film. However, according to Krause's post, some actors who did not get parts in the film "felt it was their civic duty to inform the media of what was really going on."



"Green Bay's creepy clown was marketing ploy"












A model who wears a bikini in a video promoting a northern Ontario mining project says it has received exactly the sort of attention she was seeking, but many in the mining industry are condemning the tactic.

Theresa Longo produces a series called "Mining Minutes" for KWG Resources' YouTube channel. A recent video features Longo and another woman, identified only as Ashley, wearing bikini tops and cut-off shorts and sharing facts about the Ring of Fire mineral deposit.

"Believe it or not, we actually were sitting around in our bikinis and then we decided let's put on some shorts and we'll present this in a way that is fun and lighthearted," Longo said in an interview with CBC News.

Longo said she is a shareholder in KWG and produces the videos as a "personal pilot project under the wing of KWG."

Company president Frank Smenk responded to criticism of the video by telling CBC News that "sex sells," but Longo said she didn't approach the video that way.

"Although we knew we looked great, we didn't think that it would trigger the kind of response it has, which is great," she said. "It's a lot of exposure for the series."

But it's the wrong kind of exposure for an industry that has struggled to attract women to work and invest in the sector, according to many insiders.

"I found the video to be absurd and inappropriate," said Jessica Draker, the director of communications with the Mining Association of Canada. "We hope that this sort of behaviour does not undermine the industry's efforts to attract women to the exciting careers that mining offers."

The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada issued a statement saying: "KWG is not currently a member of our association, and we find the video tasteless and unreflective of the complexities of mineral exploration in the Ring of Fire, and of the important role women play in mineral exploration."

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'Reeks of exploitation'

The Canadian Mining Journal wrote an editorial asking, rhetorically, "Can sex sell junior mines?"

Writer Marilyn Scales said Longo is "misguided" and the video "reeks of exploitation" in an industry that has worked hard to counter claims of sexism.

Scales, who has covered the industry for more than 40 years, remembers situations such as being told that if she wanted to go underground with a shaft-sinking crew she would have to shower with them afterward.

Sexism "was out there and it was bad, and to counter this we have to be consistent in the message [to women]: we want you for your abilities, not your looks," she said.

The video, and the media attention it is garnering is a "distraction" from the real issues in the northern Ontario mining development that was once touted as the economic equivalent of the oilsands, but is now faltering.

"The Ring of Fire is one of the most important projects seen in decades and to speak so trivially of it and treat it almost comically is quite disappointing," said Melanie Paradis, a senior consultant with Earnscliffe Strategy Group who has worked with the mining industry for more than a decade.

Paradis said she felt compelled to speak out, but worries about the attention the discussion is giving to the video.

"Instead of talking about bikinis and barbecues and videos and their appropriateness, we could be focusing our efforts on finding innovative solutions to infrastructure challenges to generating business opportunities with northern communities and Aboriginal peoples," she said.
[Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is in Africa this week touring UN missions to decide where Canadian peacekeepers will land. AFP]



Its only been a few years ago since headlines decried Canada had abandoned its peacekeeper role, as Canadian troops battled the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Afghan mission long over, the Liberal government has promised a return to that lofty role, and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is in Africa this week, touring United Nations missions for the right place for Canadian peacekeepers to land.

But peacekeeping is not what it used to be, says George Petrolekas, a research fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.

Peacekeeping that once existed, that truly formed the mythology of peacekeeping in the Canadian mind, really no longer exists, he tells Yahoo Canada News.

Conflicts today are, by and large, internal.

In essence, theyre civil wars, Petrolekas says.

Theres no clear boundaries to be fighting over. Whom are you protecting and what kind of peace are you imposing in wars that are driven by, not boundaries, per se, but sectarian violence, ethnic violence, tribal violence, religious violence. Its a much more difficult thing and not as benign as peacekeeping missions once were.

It is the complexity of modern-day peacekeeping that spurs caution, he says.

Its going in eyes wide open and equipping your people to be able to succeed, Petrolekas says.

On National Peacekeepers Day on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated that his government will increase its support to UN peace operations.

Canada has a long and proud history of peacekeeping, Trudeau said in a statement.

That renewed support will include: providing more personnel and training to UN peace support missions; increasing our conflict prevention, mediation, and peacebuilding efforts; advancing the roles of women and youth in the promotion of peace and security; and supporting UN reform efforts to make peace support initiatives more effective.

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In addition to the complex conflicts, Canadian forces will have to contend with fellow peacekeepers.

Sexual assault allegations have been brought against UN peacekeepers on at least 10 missions, the worst of them in the Central African Republic.

Who are your other partners going to be? Are you going to be operating in an area where their actions could taint Canadian troops? Petrolekas asks.

If the rules of engagement for Canadian troops are not clear then you risk them becoming, not accomplices to war crimes that they see going on around them, but helpless to do anything about it.

Retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie, the former chief of staff for the UN forces in Yugoslavia in 1992 and a veteran commander of myriad peacekeeping missions, reiterated that warning in an op-ed this week in the Globe and Mail.

In it MacKenzie, who was not available for an interview, described a broken model for UN peacekeeping, which has turned missions into for-profit ventures for some countries.

This misguided emphasis on peacekeeping, especially given the UNs battered reputation in this area due to a series of self-acknowledged peacekeeping disasters in the 1990s, is ill-founded, he wrote.

MacKenzie urged the federal government to look instead at increasing support to other, more successful UN efforts, such as UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the UN refugee commission or others.

Whether part of a UN force or others, Canada has always tried to contribute to a more stable world, Petrolekas says.

For the UN, Canadas participation sends a signal, he says.

Were generally observed or seen to be a neutral nation  were not a superpower. Theres not great Canadian geo-strategic interests at play, so were not going after somebodys oil or natural resources. There arent underlying worries, if you will, when Canada gets involved, he says.

Other nations also look at the Canadian example and then can say, well, if the Canadians are there it may be worthwhile doing. So, it potentially opens up other nations to contribute.

Sajjan left Aug. 9 for an eight-day tour of UN missions in Africa.


The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation tipped off the RCMP about a person who was potentially planning a terrorist attack in Canada, says Reuters, which led the RCMP to a small Ontario town where they ended up killing a known ISIS sympathizer.

After receiving the tip Wednesday morning, police responded to what they called "a potential terrorist threat" in the small southern Ontario town of Strathroy.

Aaron Driver, 24, who had been under a peace bond for openly supporting ISIS on social media was killed by police.

RCMP told the man's family that Driver was shot after he detonated a device that wounded himself and one other person. The identity of the other person isn't clear.

Police told Driver's family they had to shoot him because he had another device and planned to detonate it. A senior police official told The Canadian Press on Wednesday that the man allegedly planned to use a bomb to carry out a suicide attack in a public area.

The FBI had learned that a man had indicated he planned to carry out a rush-hour attack in a major Canadian city, says Reuters.

"The RCMP received credible information of a potential terrorist threat," an RCMP statement said earlier Wednesday. "A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety."

One source said the FBI did not know the identity of the man and sent a wide notice across Canada about the potential threat.

A second source said the RCMP then realized it was Driver and deployed to the home in Strathroy where he had been living. The sources Reuters spoke to declined to be identified as they did not have permission to speak to media.

There were no details provided of what kind of attack Driver, who also used the alias Harun Abdurahman, had allegedly been planning.

Transit, airport officials warned

RCMP warned transit officials in Toronto Wednesday morning about a credible threat, but were not given specific details.

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CBC News also learned the increased police presence at Union Station on Wednesday evening was directly related to the "credible threat" that the RCMP told transit officials about.

"As a precaution, we issued a 'see something, say something' vigilance notice to all TTC staff, as we do after incidents that occur around the world or if advised of threats closer to home," said Brad Ross, executive director of the Toronto Transit Commission.

The RCMP also warned Toronto airport officials.

Siobhan Desroches from the Greater Toronto Airport Authority told CBC News that after learning of the threat, they "worked with partners responsible for airport security to enhance our security posture."

Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said Thursday morning that there is "nothing at this point to indicate Toronto was targeted," and added that it's an RCMP matter.

Neighbour called police Monday

Maria Pereira, who lives next door to the home where police shot and killed Driver, said she had been sitting on her porch Monday afternoon and heard what sounded like firecrackers coming from her neighbour's yard.

She called police.

"It was louder than fireworks and that's what started to worry me. And my dog goes nuts  he doesn't like fireworks. And I was just mad at that point because there was no reason to be setting off fireworks in the middle of the day."

She said she had to leave before the police arrived, but that she saw them coming down the street as she left her house that day.

Pereira said she didn't know Driver. She said a man and woman, three young teenagers and a young boy moved into the house about a year ago. Driver didn't appear to live in the home on a regular basis, but would come and go, she said.

She added that she wasn't sure how Driver was related to the family.

"He wouldn't go in the house, he'd go in the back. I thought someone was living in the back shed because I could hear TV at some points and rustling, and my dog would go nuts at the back shed.

"I just thought it was strange how he would come over there and not even go into the house. He would just hang out in the backyard most of the time."

ISIS supporter on peace bond

Driver agreed to the conditions of a peace bond when he appeared in a Winnipeg court earlier this year after his arrest in June 2015.

By agreeing to the peace bond, Driver was "consenting or acknowledging that there are reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute  directly or indirectly  in the activity of a terrorist group."

- LISTEN: Aaron driver talks about his beliefs

He first caught the attention of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in October 2014 when he was tweeting support for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria under the alias Harun Abdurahman. He had also said Michael Zehaf-Bibeau's attack on Parliament Hill in October of that year was justified.

Driver's former lawyer, Leonard Tailleur, told CBC News there was no evidence Driver was directly affiliated with ISIS or any other organization.

"It's shocking. Absolutely shocking, actually," Tailleur, who handled Driver's peace bond process, said of Driver's death and the circumstances surrounding it. "He was generally looked to be low risk as long as there's certain things that had been dealt with."

Among the conditions of the peace bond was that he live at a specified address in Strathroy and notify a specified RCMP sergeant of any changes in address.

Driver was also not allowed to associate with any terrorist organization, including ISIS. He was prohibited from using a computer or cellphone  rules that were to be in place until the end of August.

Driver was most likely under regular police surveillance, Tailleur said.

"If he was doing his thing, it was kind of ridiculous because I'm certain he was going to be under scrutiny beyond his peace bond," Tailleur said. "Police would always monitor his whereabouts ... They'd make him a priority."

Terror threat not lifted

Ralph Goodale, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, said in a statement Wednesday evening he had made Prime Minister Justin Trudeau aware of the situation.

"The RCMP received credible information regarding a potential terrorist threat and took action to ensure public safety," said the statement.

Taking all relevant information into account, the national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at "medium," where it has stood since the fall of 2014, Goodale added.

The RCMP is holding a news conference in Ottawa at 1 p.m. Thursday to provide more details.

Residents told to stay inside

During the incident in Strathroy, a community of about 20,000 people that is 40 kilometres west of London, homes on either side of the suspect's house were evacuated Wednesday night and other neighbours were told to stay inside.

Mark and Julie Lagerwerf have been living in the area for 20 years. They had just returned from grocery shopping when they found their street blocked by police cruisers. Officers told them to go inside their home and stay there.

"It's surreal. I don't know how else to describe it. Shocking," Mark Lagerwerf said. "Like a Bond movie or a Bourne movie, stuff you'd see in Hollywood."

Another resident, Irene Lee, said late Wednesday that police had been camped out near her parents' convenience store since about 4:15 p.m. ET.

At about that time, she said, she was at her home close by when she heard a loud noise. She said that shortly afterward, a police officer came by to tell residents to stay inside their homes.

Lee said there were up to 25 marked and unmarked cruisers outside a home on Park Street, which is right behind her parents' store.

Correction : A previous version of this story said a threat was directed at downtown Union Station. In fact, Toronto transit officials have only said they were informed of a credible threat on Wednesday, but did not have specific details.(Aug 11, 2016 10:06 AM)
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Accusing telecom regulator of adopting "unfair" policies to favour new entrants including Reliance Jio, industry body COAI has approached the Prime Ministers Office on what they termed as Trais discrimination against existing operators.

The move comes at a time when allegations are flowing thick and fast between cellular operators and RJio, with COAI terming the latters testing of network as bypass of regulations, and the Mukesh Ambani firm returning fire saying the charge is a bid to block its full rollout.

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In a letter sent today to Nripendra Misra, Principal Secretary of PMO, the cellular association expressed "deep concern" over the discussion papers issued by sector regulator Trai, and said that alongwith the recent decisions, it pointed to a "pattern of discrimination against the existing mobile operators".

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has also sought a meeting with Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, and is slated to meet Secretary, Department of Telecom (DoT), JS Deepak tomorrow on the issue.

"In our meeting with Telecom Secretary, we will highlight the issue that we see Trais opinion tilting the playing field. DoT as a licensor is responsible for ensuring level playing field...," Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Rajan S Mathews told PTI.

"In this context, we will also be taking up our concerns related to RJio," he said.

In its letter to the PMO, COAI said: "It seems that some of the papers (by Trai) have been crafted at times to serve the interests of some new entrants in the sector, with complete disregard for the massive investments made by the existing operators."

COAI further said the inconsistent policy framework will hurt investor sentiments, also impacting roll out of networks, and sought PMOs intervention to resolve the issues.

Flagging issues like mobile termination charge, charges for termination of internet telephony calls and the recent proposal by Trai to tighten the call drop norms, COAI said the decisions and papers brought out recently were "regressive" in nature.

The regulatory decisions "bodes ill for investments, industry growth and customer service, and upsets the well established level playing field paradigm", it said.

The cellular operators body has been up in arms over Trais paper on call connect charges and has questioned the regulators urgency in initiating the process of interconnect review, claiming that it "favours new entrants".

COAI, which has members including Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone, on August 8 wrote to the DoT demanding that RJio immediately stop all connections provided to 1.5 million users because it had allegedly bypassed regulations by offering full-fledged services under the guise of test connections.

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RJio hit back saying COAI charges were "malicious, unfounded, ill-informed, and frivolous and are contrary to actual facts" and was "promoting the vested interests of the incumbent dominant operators". PTI MBI SA BJ SA

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VALLETTA, Malta, Aug. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Malta will once again play host to the annual yachting event, The Rolex Middle Sea Race, which will take place from Sunday Oct. 22 until Saturday, October 29, 2016. This is one of the most widely anticipated competitions for both sailing crews and yachting fans, which in 2015 attracted over 120 boats, representing more than 24 countries. The Grand Harbor of Valletta, Malta's capital, provides a spectacular setting for this classic race.



The Royal Malta Yacht Club is well into its preparations for the 37th Edition of the event. The entries being received for the 608 nautical mile race represent a good mix of familiar names and new ones signing up for first time. What is truly unique for a race of this length is that it starts and finishes in the same place, Valletta's historic Grand Harbor.

Valletta offers the visitors a perfect mix of fascinating history and vibrant fun. Valletta, built by the proud Knights of St. John, is one of the UNESCO sights and the European Capital of Culture for 2018. It was in fact one of the earliest sites that got listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its old world splendor and magnificent Baroque architectures. Valletta's Grand Harbor is probably the island's greatest geographic asset, and a cardinal determinant of Malta's history.

About Malta:



The sunny islands of Malta, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, are home to a most remarkable concentration of intact built heritage, including the highest density of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in any nation-state anywhere. Valletta built by the proud Knights of St. John is one of the UNESCO sights and the European Capital of Culture for 2018. Malta's patrimony in stone ranges from the oldest free-standing stone architecture in the world, to one of the British Empire's most formidable defensive systems, and includes a rich mix of domestic, religious and military architecture from the ancient, medieval and early modern periods. With superbly sunny weather, attractive beaches, a thriving nightlife and 7,000 years of intriguing history, there is a great deal to see and do.

A photo accompanying this release is available at:

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=41069
QUESTA, N.M., Aug. 11, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eight years ago, while the small village of Questa, NM (just north of Taos) slept, the town's church collapsed, due to old age and years of neglect. The sound of the San Antonio del Rio Colorado's demise reverberated throughout the village. The majestic towers were broken into bits, as were the hearts of the villagers.

Churches in New Mexico are the heart and soul of a community. So when the archdiocese recommended the church be torn down, the community decided to take matters into their own hands  literally.

The villagers had virtually no funding. But what they had instead was their willingness to work hard and centuries of traditional building techniques that were passed on from their ancestors. They committed to rebuild the church themselves within six years  so the archdiocese acquiesced.

With 100 percent volunteer labor and private donations, the village members, families and friends, set out to rebuild the church  brick by brick, committed to rebuilding and restoring the history of the village.

"This project is even more special because we rebuilt this church the same way it was originally builtas a group of faithful community members working together and making decisions together to have a beautiful place to worship," said Malaquias Rael, former Mayor of Questa and Spokesperson for the restoration committee.

As if that wasn't enough, in the midst of rebuilding the church, the Village faced a severe economic blow, when their nearly 100-year-old molybdenum minethe major employer for most of the localsclosed in 2014.

Even in the face of disaster and economic turmoil, the Village stood together, fueled by their faith, and proved their persistence on the project at hand. Resulting from these efforts, the church is restored, modernized and safer than ever before, and those in Questa see this rebuilding of the church as a revitalization of their community and a rebirth of potential for visitors. August 14, 2016  one year ahead of schedule  the project is complete, and the church will be rededicated back to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

"The restoration of the church has by far been the most positive thing that has happened in Questa in a long time," said Robert Ortega, President of the San Antonio del Rio Colorado Historical Preservation Group. "This is something that the whole community can cheer about and couldn't have been accomplished without the help of all the volunteers who made it all possible. The restored church is the heart of our community and the legacy of our ancestors."

A project of this scope required intense dedication with volunteer crews meeting Monday through Thursday for half workdays and each Saturday for a full workdaywith the total reaching over 40,000 hours of volunteer labor, according to Project Manager Mark Sideris. Of the nature of the volunteers, Sideris added "Questa has proven to have more spirit and more faith than a community ten times its size, and together we have preserved both the traditional appearance and the legacy of the church."

Crews worked tirelessly, using any available resources to remove and rebuild the east and west adobe walls and strengthen the structure, all while keeping true to the church's legacy and restoring vital historical pieces like the traditional choir loft and cathedral windows. Bringing the volunteer efforts full circle, local artists have contributed their talents to provide the church with stained glass windows, intricate hand-carved doors and more.

"This has been a genuine, heartfelt effort by all in the community," said Former Questa Mayor, Esther Garcia. "We have seen faith displayed, and together, we have breathed new life into this incredible piece of history."

"Standing together to preserve our historic church, Questa has shown its resilience and tenacity," added Mayor Mark Gallegos. "This project has brought our community together, and I'm proud of the work and volunteerism that has been exhibited here."

The celebration of rededication will take place at noon at the San Antonio Church, located at 10 Church Plaza. Following the celebration, the names and hours worked of each volunteer, as well as the rosaries of the prayer team who met daily during construction, will be placed into a time capsule to be opened on the 100th anniversary of the church's rededication.

Photos accompanying this release are available at:

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=41098

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=41099
When lunch was served to students of the Government Higher Primary School in Kysankere village in Kudligi taluk (Ballari district), a dead lizard was found in one of the dishes.

By Mail Today: As many as 68 children of a government school in Ballari district of Karnataka fell sick after consuming food cooked under the mid-day meal scheme on Wednesday. The children are undergoing treatment at various government hospitals in the district.

DEAD LIZARD FOUND IN MEAL

On Wednesday, when lunch was served to students of the Government Higher Primary School in Kysankere village in Kudligi taluk (Ballari district), a dead lizard was found in one of the dishes. Immediately, the staff instructed the students to abandon the food. By then, nearly 70 students complained of uneasiness, stomach ache and nausea.

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PROBE ORDERED

The staff rushed the students to nearby hospitals and a few of them were discharged the same evening. A few students are still under observation for food poisoning. The government has ordered a probe into the incident.

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Couples may be allowed to seek police protection from the registrar where marriage is to be performed under the Special Marriage Act.

By PTI: Concerned over honour killings, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has suggested to the central and states governments to include a declaration by the couple who intend to have a court marriage if they apprehend a threat to their life and liberty.

Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu also suggested that couples may be allowed to seek police protection from the registrar where marriage is to be performed under the Special Marriage Act.

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He said such requests should be sent to be Station House Officer who can inquire into the matter and if, prima facie, the SHO finds the threat to be real, take adequate measures to offer protection to the couple.

However, the Commission also directed SDMs or marriage officers to ensure that the 30-day notice of the marriage under Special Marriage Act should be widely circulated which mandatory under Section 4(1)(d) of the RTI Act to facilitate the interested persons (including parents or guardians) to know and raise objections, if any, to safeguard the interests of the partners to the proposed marriage.

SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT

Under the Special Marriage Act, marriage can be solemnised after a copy of the notice in this regard is pasted on the office notice board by the SDM.

"Any person may within 30 days of issue of notice, can file objection to the intended marriages. In such a case, the SDM shall not solemnise the marriage until he has decided the objection, within 30 days of its receipt," the Information Commissioner noted.

He said if the SDM refuses to solemnise the marriage, any of the parties may file an appeal within 30 days to the District Court. If no one filed an objection, the SDM solemnises the marriage after 30 days of the notice.

"Generally notice is an essential aspect of procedure for marriage under this Act. Under law, registration serves both the purposes--as a notice to the society in general about proposed marriage and then as a proof of marriage--without necessitating parties to procure evidence of ceremonies of marriage to prove it in court of law," he said.

WHEN IS THE NOTICE REQUIRED



He said generally notice is required to prevent marriage between persons within degrees of prohibited relationship, bigamous marriages, i.e., while a spouse is living without obtaining valid divorce, marriages without valid consent (not having age of giving valid consent), with person of insanity, or persons not attaining prescribed marriageable age etc.

"However, there is a negative angle to this. Violent social consequences of intercaste and inter religious love marriages cannot be ignored. The khap panchayats and their mandates coupled with honour killings are shocking developments emanating from the exercise of freedom of choice of life partner," Acharyulu said.

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Justifying his recommendation to include the threat of life to couples, the Information Commissioner said if right of parents to (information) have notice of marriage of their children is honoured, it might result in deprivation of their life or liberty, in gross violation of Article 21.

"The 1954 law does not have any provision to save the fianc es from different castes or religions against will of their parents. The 'notice' meant for good cannot be fatal for groom or bride," he said.

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A 16-year-old from Gurgaon was held captive at a Kalkaji flat from August 6-7 and some of the co-accused also made video clips of the act.

By Ajay Kumar: A 16-year-old girl from Gurugram's Badshahpur locality was allegedly gang-raped by two people in Delhi for a couple of days, the police said on Wednesday.

The victim is a student of class 10 in a government school. She was held captive in a flat in Kalkaji from August 6-7 and some of the co-accused also made video clips of the gruesome act.

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Confirming this, the SHO of Badshahpur, Parveen Malik, told Mail Today that one of the accused, identified as Karan Singh of Palra village, was known to the victim and that's why she trusted him and agreed to go with him. As per the complaint on August 8, the accused had taken her on his bike to Gurugram bus-stand first and then lured her to visit Kalkaji temple.

WHAT HAPPENED

The accused then taken took her to a flat in the locality where he was joined by three of his friends.

They also threatened her of dire consequences if she disclosed the ordeal to anyone.

"The victim has levelled a complaint of gang-rape against Karan Singh and Sanjay Kumar of Dhani Shkohpur. Two other accused, Mahesh and Kala, also residents of Palra village, allegedly filmed the act when she was being raped," Malik said.

The victim was released after two days of captivity. She reached home in Gurugram on August 8.

She initially accused Mahesh of raping her but later changed her statement before a magistrate where she accused Karan and Sanjay of gang-rape and Mahesh and Kala of shooting the video on their mobile phones with the intension of blackmail.

"We have conducted medical examination of the victim which confirms rape. A case was lodged against all four accused under Sections 363 (abduction), 365 (abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully confining a person), 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code and other sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Also read:

Delhi woman gangraped in Gurgaon while returning from party, one held



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Former Bigg Boss contestant Sofia Hayat, who has recently turned a 'nun', says that souls do not have a gender.

By India Today Web Desk: Former Bigg Boss contestant and controversial model Sofia Hayat has been in news for her spiritual makeover. She now calls herself Gaia Mother Sofia, and shares her new outlook on society, people and well... inner beauty on her Instagram page. She's also receiving a lot of criticism from the people who know her and the people who do not know her, who feel she's doing this for publicity.

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Unperturbed by the criticism that's coming her way, Sofia has again said something which might result in a fresh round of controversy. "Homosexuality is a lie...it does not exist," she captioned her recent video.

Also read: Spiritual makeover! Bigg Boss 7 contestant Sofia Hayat is now Mother Sofia

And this is what she said in the video: "I am going to talk about why homosexuality doesn't exist. Our body is a vessel that carries our soul to different dimensions, different planets. Our souls do not have gender, we are neither masculine nor feminine. Our souls are pure love and from divine source. Every human being is born with masculine and feminine energy."

Also read: Sofia Hayat dispenses fresh gyan; gets compared to Rakhi Sawant

A couple of months back, Sofia shocked everyone with her sudden spiritual transformation. Sofia's new life is all about wearing no make up, being a vegetarian and dressing up like a nun. She has also got an 'Om' tattoo done on her forehead apart from other religious tattoos.

She had also held a press conference regarding her transformation and displayed her removed silicon implants.

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While Irom Sharmila ended her 16-year fast on Tuesday, dissent grew in Imphal. Sharmila did not want to stay in her home and she has nowhere to go.

Irom Sharmila's decision has not gone too well with the people of Manipur.Photo: Chitrabhanu

By Indrajit Kundu: The burden of being Manipur's Iron Lady weighs heavy on Irom Sharmila's frail shoulders.

"I don't want to be seen as some Goddess. They want me to be a statue without a voice. It hurts," she said after breaking her fast on Tuesday.

DISSENT GROWS OVER SHARMILA'S DECISION

But moments after her historic move, murmurs of dissent grew louder on the streets of Imphal.

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Sharmila knew it would be an unpopular decision and the backlash was instant. "If she marries or becomes a politician, it's her personal decision. But we are really hurt today," says Reenu Takhellambam, who lost her husband in police firing nearly a decade ago.

Even though she ended her hunger strike, Sharmila continues her vow to not meet her mother till she achieves her goal - to get AFSPA repealed from Manipur. "I miss her a lot," she says.

NO HOME FOR IRON LADY

But despite being released on bail, she does not want to stay at her home. Soon after she concluded her press conference outside the JNIMS hospital special ward on Tuesday, she was whisked away by Manipur police commandos.

She was first taken to the residence of Dr Thiyam Suresh, the former state health director who is known to be close to Sharmila.

But locals protested against her and did not allow her to see the doctor. Dejected, the 44-year-old went to the local ISKCON temple, escorted by security personnel.

Later, she was taken to the Imphal City police station for security reasons before being eventually brought back to the hospital where she had spent the last 16 years. So, despite walking free Irom Sharmila has nowhere to go, disowned by her own people.

Also Read:

Exclusive: Shunned by supporters, Irom Sharmila says India may understand me, Manipuris do not

Iron Lady Irom Sharmila ends 16-year fast for power politics

All you need to know about Irom Sharmila





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The Manipur branch of the Red Cross Society has decided to give Irom Sharmila temporary shelter till the time she finds a lasting place to live in Imphal.

By Indo-Asian News Service: The Indian Red Cross Society will provide shelter to Irom Sharmila, who is being shunned by many in Manipur after she ended her 16-year-long fast against a draconian legislation.

The Manipur branch of the Red Cross Society has decided to give her temporary shelter till the time Sharmila finds a lasting place to live in Imphal.

After friends and many supporters came out openly against her decision to end the fast, Sharmila said: "I do not plan to go home and meet my mother and others before my mission is successful."

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The public animosity to a woman who for years was considered an icon and earned the sobriquet "Iron Lady" has stunned many.

Police have brought her back to the J.N. Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal where she had been warded for 16 long years when she fasted against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

During the hunger strike, she took no food or water and was nasal fed.

GOVERNMENT LOOKING AFTER SHARMILA

Although she is no longer in judicial custody, the government is "looking after her", an official said.

L. Ranbir, the hospital's medical superintendent, clears reporters and supporters who want to meet her. Those who he feels are opposed to her are not allowed to meet Sharmila.

Sharmila's dejection over the way many are treating her has affected her. A hospital source said she often breaks down while talking to visitors.

She says people have not understood her and perhaps want her as a "martyr".

YET TO RESUME TAKING SOLID FOOD

Hospital sources told IANS that she was yet to resume taking normal solid food on medical grounds.

But she has started consuming gruel rice, beverages mixed with Horlicks and milk.

And she "is mentally and physically fine and there is no sign of fatigue and disorientation", a doctor said.

Also Read:

Exclusive: There will be no real freedom unless my target is achieved, says Irom Sharmila

Exclusive: Shunned by supporters, Irom Sharmila says India may understand me, Manipuris do not

Iron Lady Irom Sharmila ends 16-year fast for power politics All you need to know about Irom Sharmila

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AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa in her letter reiterated that the issue of apprehension of four fishermen and release of their boats must be taken up at the highest diplomatic level.

By Pramod Madhav: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the apprehension of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy, on August 9, 2016.



AIADMK chief in her letter reiterated that the issue of apprehension of four Tamil fishermen and release of their boats must be taken up at the highest diplomatic level.

"I request your personal intervention to secure the release of the 4 fishermen and 103 fishing boats currently in Sri Lankan custody at the earliest," the letter said.

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UNEQUIVOCAL AND UNAMBIGUOUS MESSAGE

Jayalalithaa further asserted that such acts by Sri Lankan Navy has created anxiety and unrest among Tamil fishermen.

"A firm, clear, unequivocal and unambiguous message should be sent out by the Government of India to the Sri Lankan side to ensure that these apprehensions are stopped and the livelihood of the poor and innocent fishermen from Tamil Nadu who are engaged in fishing in their traditional waters is protected", said the Chief Minister.

The 68-year-old Tamil Nadu CM also suggested that retrieving Katchatheevu alone can restore and resolve the situation.

"I once again reiterate that retrieving the Katchatheevu islet and abrogation of the 1974 and 1976 agreements alone can restore the traditional fishing grounds of the Palk Bay to the Tamil Nadu fishermen," the letter said.

Four fishermen who set sail from Pudukkotai were apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy on 8th August.

ALSO READ:

PM, Putin and Jayalalithaa dedicate first 1,000 MW unit of Kudankulam N-power plant to nation

4 trawlers with 39 fishermen go missing in Bay of Bengal after heavy rain



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By Hardeep Dugal: Looking pristine in a white saree, national award winning actress Kangana Ranaut made a poised comeback to the social scene today. For somebody who had been mired in an ugly controversy with her alleged ex flame Hrithik Roshan, today was the perfect platform to reappear after months in the cocoon. Kangana Ranaut unveiled a short film to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan at Welingkar College in Mumbai.

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The video directed by Parineeta director Pradeep Sarkar is a little under three minutes & sees Kangana play the role of Goddess Laxmi. Isha Kopikkar, Ravi Kisan and Omkar Kapoor of Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 fame too feature in the video. The film has a simple message. Keep clean and see Laxmi residing in your house. Keep dirty and Laxmi will run away. Infact the film is being promoted as #DontLetHerGo.

When asked why Kangana decided to be the face of this campaign, the powerful performer did not shy away from admitting that she hated taking a bath when young. She narrated the tale of how no opportunity came to her door largely because of her unhygienic ways adding that it was only when she started keeping herself and her surroundings neat did a gamut of chances come her way.

Kangana lauded PM Modi's direct attack on something as basic as cleanliness and even admitted that she had faced embarrassing questions abroad regarding India's tidiness. The actress mentioned that she had not littered for as long as 12 years and pushed everyone present to adopt a similar lifestyle.



ALSO READ: Vishal, Saif, Shahid and Kangana makes an efficient team, says Rangoon producer Sajid Nadiadwala

Minutes later, the Queen of Bollywood was asked if her industry needed some cleansing as well. The graceful actress who is known to speak her mind smiled and confessed that Bollywood did have its share of some nice people and some not very nice people, not adding a single word more.



Kangana who won her third national award for playing a national athlete Datto in last year's blockbuster Tanu Weds Manu Returns was unaware of author Shobha De's controversial tweet on Team India & Rio Olympics. When told about the same by India Today, she said, 'It is a very disturbing thing to say to people who are representing us.

It can be one's personal opinion but being such a credible author and such a powerful woman who people look up to, for someone like that to display such a disheartening and sort of despair over country's spirit is not good news for sure. I hope our athletes don't get disheartened. We will do our best.'



And with that it was a wrap. The mike came down and the lights faded, but the actor's grace & frank opinion illuminated the auditorium. The woman who took centre stage on Wednesday was nowhere close to the neurotic character she played in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Fashion'.Kangana seems to be back in action after a much needed rejuvenation. Much like the tattoo of a phoenix on the back of her neck, the quintessential heroine too seems to have emerged from her ashes. Something that most of us had been eagerly awaiting.



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Nearly 40 additional companies of central security agencies will be deployed in Jammu and Kashmir with the end of the Amarnath Yatra on August 18 to keep a tab on protests.

Senior police and security agency officers are banking on next few days and say Kashmir would return to normalcy by the end of month.

By Naseer Ganai: Security personnel keeping watch over the Amarnath Yatra route in J&K will spill into the Valley when the pilgrimage ends on August 18 in a bid to tamp down violent protests that erupted last month after the killing of a Hizbul Mujahideen commander.

Curfew-defying demonstrators have clashed with government forces leading to dozens of civilian casualties since the death of 22-year-old Burhan Wani, who had a large social media following and was credited with reviving militancy in Kashmir.

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THINGS UNDER CONTROL, MORE SECURITY TO BE DEPLOYED

"Things are quieting now and we are more in control. Number of protests has reduced and I am confident that after August 15 situation will return to normalcy," said Atul Karwal, IGP of CRPF in Srinagar.

He said 40 additional companies of central security agencies would be deployed in the state after consulting the local police.

The IGP confirmed that 20 more companies of the CRPF on duty with the Amarnath Yatra will fan out in Kashmir after August 18. The J&K police's armed forces battalions on the pilgrimage route would also redeployed. The 45-day long trip to the holy cave located 3,888 metres above sea level began on July 2 and is going on peacefully.

"It is neither required nor desired to deploy security forces in villages and everywhere in Kashmir. We will only deploy them at critical points to plug the holes," Karwal said. The government has urged security personnel to act with restraint in the Valley while trying to control protesters who often block streets and throw stones, even as some observers have accused the troops of using excessive force.

DOCTORS SAY PATIENTS WITH PELLET INJURIES INCREASED

Doctors at the state-owned SMHS Hospital in Srinagar say they have received several patients since Saturday who have been hit by pellets fired by the forces.

"The flow of pellet injuries has never stopped and that is the problem," said a senior doctor.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had cautioned security personnel to minimise the weapons' use because of serious eye injuries to protesters, some of whom have been blinded. He hit out at Pakistan on Wednesday for fuelling the violence in the Valley, while adding that an all-party meet will be held on the Kashmir issue on August 12, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

KASHMIR IS INSEPARABLE: RAJNATH SINGH

"Kashmir is an inseparable part of India. No power on earth can separate it from India," he told Parliament.

Read: Rajnath Singh: No power in the world can take Kashmir away from us

The IGP said the situation is expected to remain peaceful during Independence Day, but advised people to ignore strike calls from separatists. He said security forces have taken control of the highways and vehicles were plying even during the day. However, the army convoys are only moving in the night.

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For the first few days following massive public protests in July, the military vehicles were completely halted on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, Kupwara-Srinagar highway and Bandipora-Srinagar road.

ARMY FACE SEVERAL PROBLEMS

"We move during the day but our movement is very limited. We prefer to move these days at night," an army official said. Kashmir police chief Javaid Mujtaba Gillani says the situation has improved considerably and incidents of violence have come down.

"We face problems on Fridays as people come out in large numbers after separatists ask people to protest. But we are going to take all precautions," he said. State police have arrested more than a thousand protesters over the past three weeks in an attempt to end the unrest.

"Although restrictions under section 144 of CrPC (that prohibits unlawful assembly) remained in force in the Valley, curfew was imposed in some parts of Srinagar and Anantnag town only," a police spokesperson said.

Gillani said they would consider deploying up more paramilitary forces only after studying the ground situation.

Police sources said the fresh companies will be placed in areas that have seen fierce battles between stonethrowing protesters and security personnel. They said most of the government forces in these areas are tired and need replacements.

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Also Read:

Nawaz Sharif provokes again, says Kashmir not India's internal matter

Mehbooba Mufti requests Haj pilgrims to pray for peace in Kashmir



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By PTI: Mumbai/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 10 (PTI) A 35-year-old Romanian national, allegedly involved in the hi-tech ATM robbery in Kerala where people lost about Rs 2.5 lakh, has been arrested from Navi Mumbai, a police official said today.

Gabrial Mariam was nabbed from a hotel in Vashi by a team of Kerala Police late last night, with the help of Mumbai Crime Branch, senior Inspector of Vashi Police Station Ajay Kumar Landge told PTI.

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Mariam was today produced before a Navi Mumbai court which sent him in transit remand, he added.

After the robbery to light, a case was registered under IPC Section 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc) and under relevant sections of IT Act at Museum Police Station of Thiruvananthapuram.

The arrest came after Kerala Police yesterday zeroed in on three foreign nationals suspected to be the key players behind the ATM robbery, and decided to seek Interpols help to track them.

The trio, found installing an electronic device inside an ATM kiosk of a public sector bank at Vellayambalam here, had been caught in the CCTV installed there.

According to police, the three foreign nationals were from Romania and had come to India on June 25 and reached Kerala on July 8.The three had come on tourist visas and taken rooms in a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram for two days.

Kerala Police seized from the hotel two scooters and three helmets, suspected to have been used by the trio.

Kerala Police shared their photos and other available details with their counterparts in other states which led to the arrest of one among them, police said.

So far, more than 20 people had lodged complaints, saying money was withdrawn from their accounts in fraudulent way. As per the preliminary assessment, about Rs 2.5 lakh had been lost, police said.

It is suspected that the electronic device at the ATM counter enabled the fraudsters to collect the secret pin code and card details.

Many of the customers who were duped came to know about the fraud after they received a text message on Monday, informing that money was withdrawn from their accounts. PTI AVI LGK UD VS RSY SMJ

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When Verizon (VZ) decided to pay $4.4 billion in May 2015 to acquire AOL, it begged the question what CEO Lowell McAdam planned to do with The Huffington Post and its mercurial founder and always-on leader, Arianna Huffington.

Verizon, of course, purchased AOL for its powerhouse advertising technology and the potential of integrating those operations with its wireless business, the country's largest, and most recently with the acquisition of Yahoo!'s (YHOO) core operations for $4.8 billion. Huffington Post and AOL's other websites such as Engadget were nice additions but were never going to be McAdam's focus.

In this context, Huffington's departure from the website she created, announced Thursday, isn't a surprise. Known widely for being a strong-willed if unpredictable editor-in-chief, Huffington was never going to blend easily into Verizon's top-down, button-up corporate culture despite the company's clear interest in owning more media content.

But Huffington's exit from the website she created 11 years ago doesn't minimize the impact she had on journalism, political discourse and the nearly dated act of blogging. Websites such as Twitter (TWTR) and LinkedIn (LNKD) and Tumblr, which Verizon now owns, wouldn't be the same if not for Huffington headlining her web site.

"Arianna took a niche medium and made it into a mass medium," said Jeff Jarvis, a professor at the the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and author of his own blog, BuzzMachine. "She brought blogs to scale; she saw the opportunity to create a space for people to talk, and often with a wide diversity of viewpoints. Arianna's impact is indeed huge."

The Huffington Post began operating in 2005 just months after George W. Bush was inaugurated for a second presidential term and opposition to the Iraq War was expanding. A one-time conservative pundit and wife of a former Republican congressman, she ran unsuccessfully for governor of California in 2003, turning that campaign into Ariannaonline.com.

But the focus of The Huffington Post was to appeal to a mass audience and the nascent digital advertising business. Together with Kenneth Lerer, the media investor and current chairman of Buzzfeed as well as that site's co-founder, Jonah Peretti, Huffington built a platform that gave bloggers national exposure and advertisers an early means of connecting online.

It also broke new ground by embracing a personalized brand, a stark contrast to the tradition of reporters working under the banner of a broad news service.

"She was the site's public and personal face, and while that seemed odd at the time, it certainly doesn't anymore," Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at The Poynter Institute, said in a phone interview. "Huffington Post also understood that you had to really scale, and to do that you had to offer content that spoke to a very large audience."

Mirroring the country's increasingly polarized political discourse, The Huffington Post took a liberal point of view in contrast to the right-wing Drudge Report, which was a dominant and popular destination at the time among supporters of George W. Bush. The site paved the way for Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo and Andrew Breitbart's Breitbart.com, among others.

Huffington also embraced the celebrity writer and the life of celebrities, giving famous people a chance to pontificate -- essentially Twitter before the tweets.

Huffington sold the site to Tim Armstrong's Aol in 2011 for $300 million in cash and $15 million in stock affording her and the site's early investors a handsome payout. Soon afterward, the site spent heavily on video, eager to staunch declining readership and mindful that advertisers wanted more compelling digital content to sell their goods and services.

In recent years, Huffington, 66, pulled back on engaging in political issues, writing almost exclusively on wellness topics such as sleep. That could have been the result of having Barack Obama as president rather than George W. Bush, or simply a change in personal priorities. Huffington said on Thursday that she's leaving the website to concentrate on her latest venture, Thrive Global, a business focused on the well-being of the consumer and the corporate employee.

The Huffington Post is also not what it used to be, having moved from a decidedly political site to one seeking to attract a broad audience. Its focus was forced to change with its business model.

"It was a political site with an intensely loyal and engaged audience around politics," Jarvis said. "When it showed it could get to a scale that could attract large-scale advertisers, it needed to expand into other areas like entertainment and health. Those were opportunities at the time but now probably hurts."

Indeed, Huffington Post's profile and reach aren't what they used to be, largely because blogging has been eclipsed by Facebook (FB) and Snapchat and Twitter, among many other online mediums. Internet traffic no longer goes through a home page but instead through aggregator sites hosted by much larger media companies. Verizon, of course, would like to be one of them and by extension grab a larger share of the digital advertising market from Alphabet's Google (GOOG) and once again, Facebook.

EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE: Facebook and Twitter are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust portfolio. Want to be alerted before he buys or sells the stocks? Learn more now.

"Arianna and the site are survivors because they were there early and they do have an established brand name," Edmonds said. "But the business has changed, and publishing online has changed with it."

For Huffington, Verizon's acquisition of the site she built marks another point in journalism's evolution and a chance for her to move on.
A Dutch court on Thursday barred KLM airline ground staff from going on strike until early September in a bid to spare travellers fresh summer travel misery. "According to the judge, there is a lot of traffic at Schiphol (airport) with the summer holidays," the court in Haarlem said in a statement. Therefore the Dutch "Trade Union Federation (FNV) cannot organise any work stoppage until September 4 inclusive." KLM went to court after the FNV gave notice of pending strike action by some of the airline's 14,500 ground handlers, who are demanding a wage rise. But the court ruled that "combined with a current terror threat at the airport, it believes restrictions on the right to collective action are urgently needed." Schiphol airport, just outside Amsterdam, is one of Europe's busiest travel hubs. A security alert has been in place since late July following an unspecified threat. KLM said it was satisfied with the court's ruling. In another move however, KLM pilots have warned the airline they will go to court if a cut in pensions is not taken off the negotiating table by Friday. Although strikes in The Netherlands are rare, Thursday's ruling came as pilots from the British budget airline easyJet held another in a series of lightening actions at Schiphol. The five-hour early morning stoppage by the easyJet pilots was the third since early June. The pilots are calling for no loss of pay during sick leave, more rest between flights and better pensions, their union the VNV said. The union said it was still ready to negotiate with easyJet "but management did not leave us with much choice," said VNV president Steven Verhagen. And he warned more strikes would follow. EasyJet said it had to cancel some flights on Thursday out of Amsterdam, adding it was disappointed by the action as "our latest offer represents a significant improvement compared to earlier proposals."
In this era of technological revolution, technology and the Internet of Things have permeated every aspect of human life, including shopping. In fact, e-commerce is expected to see explosive growth.

Based on a 2015 survey by eMarketer, global e-commerce sales are expected to grow an estimated 21% a year from 2016 to 2019, with Asia-Pacific leading the pack. Closer to home, a joint study by Google and Temasek Holdings released in May forecasts that e-commerce in Southeast Asia could see a 16-fold increase from US$5.5 billion ($7.5 billion) in 2015 to US$88 billion in 2025. The study also predicts that Singapores e-commerce market could grow from US$1 billion to US$5.4 billion over the same period  larger than the city states casino industry in 2015, which was valued at about US$4 billion.

This staggering growth of e-commerce will unquestionably change the dynamics of the retail scene. Brands embracing online and offline stores are jumping on the bandwagon of omnichannel marketing and distribution in response to changing consumer preferences. This is driving an evolution in logistics solutions, as the requirements for business-to-customer operations are fundamentally different from those of traditional business- to-business trade.

Evolution of the retail experience

For example, while the traditional B2B trade usually involves pallet storage and retrieval, the warehousing operations for e-commerce entail itemised storage, picking, sorting and packing. To drive operational efficiency and raise productivity  particularly where a diversified customer base/trade mix is involved  automation helps to reduce returns and fault losses often associated with the manual system. Thus, logistics facilities catering for e-commerce are typically fitted with advanced building specifications and infrastructure that requires large floor areas.

Another distinction between logistics solutions for traditional B2B trade and e-commerce is the delivery pattern. While the former involves large truckload delivery from the warehouse to a single or a few destinations such as a retailers store, the latter entails parcel delivery to multiple destinations such as stores, individual consumers and click-and-collect points. To reduce delivery time, smaller-capacity vehicles such as vans and motorcycles are often utilised. Thus, there is a need to provide ample parking facilities, given the large fleet of such vehicles needed to cope with the sheer volume of e-commerce orders.

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Equally important, logistics facilities for e-commerce need to provide flexibility for expansion and contraction of space requirements to cater for the high volatility in the volume of orders, as e-commerce is highly exposed to seasonal effects.

Consequently, warehouses have evolved into mega distribution hubs and e-fulfilment centres, housing the e-commerce processes of picking, sorting, packing and, increasingly, parcel returns. In e-commerce strongholds such as the US and the UK, big is the way to go, with these fulfilment centres typically measuring in excess of one million sq ft. Examples include Skechers 1.8 million sq ft distribution centre in Moreno Valley, California, and John Lewis 1.3 million sq ft cross-dock distribution centre in Magna Park, Milton Keynes. In Asia, Hong Kong boasts the 2.4 million sq ft Goodman Interlink in Tsing Yi.

In land-scarce Singapore, how has the logistics landscape kept pace with e-commerce?

Over the last two decades, the stock of logistics warehousing space more than tripled from 24.4 million sq ft in 1988 to 97.6 million sq ft in 1Q2016. While this is quite a feat, given our state of land scarcity, half of the total stock today was built before the 2000s, with less than a quarter built in the last five years. This raises the question of whether the technological specifications of these older facilities are able to serve newage businesses.

To close this gap, a number of players have turned to new-builds. LF Logistics recently opened its largest distribution centre in Southeast Asia. The one million sq ft, nine-storey facility is equipped with advanced technologies in product handling and hosts Nikes global e-commerce distribution centre for the Asian market. DHLs newly completed 0.97 million sq ft Advanced Regional Centre includes a specialised automation system with robotic shuttles to pick and store products from 72,000 locations spread over 26 levels. Separately, Singapore Posts 0.55 million sq ft, three-storey regional e-commerce hub, scheduled to be operational in 2H2016, will be fitted with sorting automation and warehousing equipment.

The shift in consumer expectation from reliable to speedy next-day delivery has also led to the emergence of small logistics start-ups such as Ninja Van and Maxcellents, which tap technology to improve last-mile deliveries. Technology-driven logistics minimises distribution inefficiencies through the consolidation of orders, maximising loading and unloading processes, as well as optimised delivery routes. In some cases, the use of these logistics systems allows crowdsourcing of deliveries among vehicle fleets of multiple companies. The idle vehicle capacity of some companies during non-peak periods is optimised by taking on delivery jobs for other companies, and vice versa.

Additionally, to overcome the rising trend in failed delivery attempts arising from changing demographic patterns as well as inefficiencies in delivery processes, parcel lockers have been rolled out under SingPost, Ta- Q-Bin (in collaboration with 7-Eleven) and Bumbox at various residential estates and convenience stores to allow the pickup and drop-off of parcels. Ninja Van has also recently partnered a myriad of local retail shops to allow parcel collection from stores most convenient for consumers. In fact, a federated locker system serving residential areas was announced by the government in April to improve last-mile deliveries. According to Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore will probably be the first in the world to provide such a nationwide common parcel locker system.

While Singapore has made progress in catering for the logistics needs of e-commerce, more can be done and more quickly, too, if it is to tap the burgeoning e-commerce market in the region. Moreover, a well-developed e-commerce logistics ecosystem is essential to propel Singapores growth of e-commerce.

Tay Huey Ying is head of research and June Yang is assistant manager, research and consultancy at JLL Singapore

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Entrepreneurs and small business owners may like to believe they can handle just about anything. But there are issues  a leaky roof, a cracked sidewalk in front of your store or a bad head gasket on the company vehicle  that may test this belief.

While you might have the skills to handle some of these jobs, they will still draw your focus away from the all-important task of managing your business. As a result, its good to have some real service professionals on standby.

So here are 10 service professionals your small business should keep on speed dial.

Welcome to the Service Professionals Hotline

Please dial 

1 for a Roofer

A leaking or failing roof on your business can lead to a lot of very expensive problems. Once a leak starts, so does property damage. And the longer the roof issue is left unaddressed, the more serious the damage becomes. Its not only a threat to your buildings integrity  a leaky roof can quickly lead to ceiling and wall damage or electrical problems  but also to your companys valuable merchandise or materials.

Sure, they may be expensive, but your time is far too valuable to find yourself on top of your building trying to do things yourself. Call a roofer instead.

2 for a Plumber

If youve ever tried to handle a plumbing project at home and it turned into a weekend nightmare that ended with you showering somewhere else, you already know the importance of keeping the name and number of a good plumber handy.

Again, anything involving water problems should prompt a quick call to a service pro. This is not an issue you want to leave unaddressed for long. Your business and assets may be at risk.

3 for an Electrician

Focusing on the many ins and outs involved in managing and growing your business probably hasnt afforded you the time to stay up on current building codes. This is one area that a reputable electrician can help. If you need anything wired or re-wired or need repairs or changes made to an electrical outlet or a switch, this is probably not the time for a DIY approach. Contact a professional instead.

4 for a General Handyman

A plumber is the right person to call when you have a leak. And an electrician is the best choice when your wiring needs to be replaced. But neither will be much of a help when you need a new front door hung or a window casing cut into a wall.

A general handyman or contractor will get these jobs done and save you time and the frustration of trying to handle it yourself.

5 for an Auto Mechanic

When you hear a loud and disturbing sound comping from the engine every time you take out the company vehicle or worse yet it leaves you stranded on the side of the side of the road, its time to call a mechanic. But which mechanic will depend upon the experiences you and your company have had in the past. Call on someone you or your company has trusted to do this work before  with good results.

Always get estimates  and do your homework to make sure youre not getting ripped off. Only pay for work thats needed, of course.

If your vehicle goes down, it could bring your business to a halt, so make sure the garage you have on speed dial can get your work done on the double!

6 for an IT Technician

If this isnt an in-house position, theres likely an independent army of IT pros in close proximity to your small business.

When youre looking for someone to handle this work, do some research before problems pop up with your companys technology.

Contact a few IT pros and have them get familiar with how your company operates and the equipment you use. This will save time in the future  when a problem actually does occur  because the person you pick will already be familiar with your companys set-up.

7 for an Internet Provider

For more and more businesses today, the internet is an absolute necessity for survival. So when he internet goes down, contact your provider immediately to determine whether the problem is widespread or confined to your connection  or for that matter whether the trouble might be in your internal system.

Getting in touch with your provider will tell you whether the problem is with the IP or might be resulting from a problem with the modem for your WiFi network  or even some problem with your computer itself.

Have a MiFi or other hotspot you can use until internet service is restored. And if internet problems persist, investigate whether other internet providers are available in your area. Even if costs are higher, it may be worth the added expense for more consistent service.

8 for a Lawyer

If theres one area where you definitely cant afford to go it alone, its probably in a courtroom.

Its likely you already have your companys attorney on speed dial. But given the twists and turns your business may take, it might also be a good idea to have contact with legal professionals in a variety of specialties both civil and criminal, should the need arise.

9 for a Doctor

It may also be a good idea to have a company physician who is on speed dial especially if you have numerous employees working at your place of business.

For example, you may have a doctor you recommend for work related injuries. Depending which state your business is located in, your employees may or may not need to go to the doctor you recommend but you may need to have a physician available all the same.

Depending on the kind of business you run, you may also consider hiring an occupational health physician to help mitigate health risks in the workplace.

* * *

This speed dial list shows that some of the most important people to your small business and its success arent seen on a daily, weekly, or even a monthly basis. Youll likely only call on these people when you need them but without reliable and trustworthy service pros, it could spell disaster for your company.
By India Today Web Desk: A final year student, Vimal Govind Manikandan, of MES College of Engineering has built a low cost wearable robot.

It was the numerous English fiction movies Vimal watched that inspired him to design an exoskeleton. The model is a first generation motion mechanical exoskeleton which is powered. He says he can develop a bigger version of this as well.

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Talking about the limitation of the wearable robot Abhijitha Jikumar, user of the exoskeleton, said that he cannot run or walk fast while wearing it.

According to Vimal, the future of this exoskeleton is in the field of defense, weightlifting and material handling.

American Society of Research (ASR) had organised a conference in Singapore on Mechanics and Manufacturing (ICMM 2016) and Vimal presented his robot there. Out of the 13 countries that presented, Vimal's paper was selected as the best and will be published in the International Journal of Mechanical and Robotics Research.



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The human gut is a complex and amazing system, and the more we learn about it, the more amazed we are. It turns out
LMS

Facebook-Built Platform Expands to 100 More Schools

Summit Public Schools, a network of charter schools based in the San Francisco Bay area, announced this week that more than 100 new schools across the country have joined its personalized learning program for the 2016-17 school year. The Summit Basecamp program  initiated by Summit Public Schools and supported by Facebook  now includes more than 1,100 teachers and 20,000 students across 27 states and the District of Columbia.

More than 1,500 teachers and school leaders participated in Summit Basecamp training this summer, representing 80 districts and charter management organizations, according to a Facebook post by Summit Public Schools CEO Diane Tavenner.

Summit Basecamp is a free program that helps public schools bring personalized learning, usually computer-based, into their classrooms. Students are encouraged to drive their own education by determining for themselves how they learn best, setting goals and developing habits of success, according to Summit Basecamps website. The Summit Personalized Learning Platform is an online tool that helps students set and track goals, learn content at their own pace, complete projects and reflect on their experiences. It was developed in classrooms by teachers, the Summit website states.

The platform contains curricula for English, math, science, social studies and Spanish for grades 6-12. The project-based curricula includes nearly 200 deeper learning projects and more than 700 Playlists, or libraries of learning content and assessments.

In 2013, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited a Summit Public School and said he liked what he saw, the Summit Basecamp site states. Since 2014, Facebook engineers have been working with Summit educators to make the platform an effective, free tool.

Summit is also making the platform available to individual teachers to meet demand and provide another pathway into the Basecamp community, Summit CEO Tavenner announced on a Facebook post this week.

Its an honor to be a small part of a movement that puts students first and recognizes teachers talents, Tavenner wrote in her post.

Summit Basecamp is used at all eight of Summit Public Schools in the Bay Area, as well as its three campuses in Washington state. Summit schools are public and tuition-free.

To learn more about Summit Basecamp, visit the programs website.
(Adds comment from spokeswoman, context)

By Liz Hampton

HOUSTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - British oil company BP Plc has loaded a cargo of Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude for export, according to two trade sources and Reuters Trade Flows data, the latest indication that exports of Alaskan crude are becoming less rare.

The crude loaded on the Cascade Spirit, a Bahamas-flagged Suezmax tanker. While its destination was not immediately clear, the vessel is currently moving in the North Pacific Ocean towards Asia, according to Reuters Vessel Tracking data.

A spokeswoman for BP declined to comment on the cargo.

In July, BP confirmed it had chartered the Tianlong Spirit, another Bahamas-flagged Suezmax ship, for the export of Alaskan North Slope crude.

ANS is almost exclusively transported to refineries on the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . West Coast using U.S. flagged vessels owned by BP, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP - news) and Exxon Mobil (Swiss: XOM.SW - news) that comply with domestic maritime laws.

The flurry of ANS exports this year, which include a small shipment to Nicaragua and two vessels to Asia, underscores a shift underway in global trade flows, as producers of Alaskan North Slope crude eye new markets for their oil.

ANS had been excluded from the decades-long ban on exporting U.S. crude, which was lifted in December 2015. (Reporting by Liz Hampton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Bernard Orr)
* Profit improvement better than analysts expected

* Emerging market restructuring brought forward

* Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) up 5.5 pct, top gainer in FTSE 100 (Adds CEO comments, shares)

By Martinne Geller

LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Soft drink bottler Coca-Cola HBC forecast modest sales volume growth for the full year after a roughly flat first half, citing slowing declines in Russia and continued growth in Nigeria, helping to lift its shares more than 5 percent.

The company, which bottles Coca-Cola drinks in 28 countries, also reported a bigger-than-expected improvement in earnings, helped by cost-cutting and lower commodity costs.

Its shares were the top gainer on London's FTSE 100 index , up 5.5 percent at 0810 GMT.

Comparable earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 4.8 percent to 229.6 million euros in the six months to July 1, topping consensus estimates of around 220 million, according to analysts. Its EBIT margin was 7.5 percent, up from 7 percent a year ago.

Sales revenue fell 3.4 percent to 3.04 billion euros ($3.4 billion), but rose 2.4 percent excluding currency fluctuations. It rose 3 percent excluding the impact of one less selling day, which will be given back in the second half of the year.

The company cited price increases, selling more higher-priced drinks, and volume growth in markets including Nigeria and Romania.

Overall volume though was up 0.1 percent.

Despite tough comparisons with a strong year-earlier period, the company said volumes "held up well" in July, making it confident of "volume growth for the year as a whole".

"We do forecast an improvement (in the back half)," Chief (Taiwan OTC: 3345.TWO - news) Executive Dimitris Lois told reporters. "This improvement reflects one more selling day and additional initiatives we have focusing on very strong marketing calendars."

The company is also bringing forward some restructuring initiatives from 2017 into 2016, primarily in emerging markets like Russia and Nigeria. It now plans to spend 48 million euros this year, instead of 35 million euros, so it can more quickly benefit from the resulting operational efficiencies.

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It said volumes in emerging markets should improve as declines in Russia slow and Nigeria grows, despite the recent depreciation of the Nigerian currency.

After a slowdown in the second quarter, resulting from the devaluation, Lois said conditions in the country should normalise, and he reaffirmed his forecast for Nigerian sales to rise at a mid- to high-single-digit rate this year.

In June, the company said its medium-term forecast called for average annual revenue growth of 4 to 5 percent through 2020, with operating expenses dropping to 26 to 27 percent of revenue and an EBIT margin rising to 11 percent. ($1 = 0.8957 euros) (Reporting by Martinne Geller in London; editing by Susan Thomas)
(Updates status of fire, no impact to refinery operations, updates diesel prices, adds additional details)

By Liz Hampton and Erwin Seba

HOUSTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - A fire at Motiva Enterprises LLC's refinery in Louisiana on Thursday around midday forced workers to evacuate, local officials said, causing a key distillation unit to shut and boosting prices of oil products.

Motiva's 235,000 barrel-per-day Convent, Louisiana, plant was evacuated on Thursday after a fire broke out, according to St. James Parish Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. By Thursday afternoon, the fire was still burning, although it was now under control, he said.

Company officials, speaking at a press briefing, said they were investigating the cause of the fire and that it was being contained.

Two sources familiar with the refinery said the blaze started in the 45,000 bpd heavy oil hydrocracker unit, also known as the H-Oil Unit. All other units at the refinery are still running, according to company officials.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) is unclear what caused the fire or how long it would take to repair any damage. If the fire damaged the reactors, that could take months to fix, a third source said.

Motiva spokeswoman Angela Goodwin said refinery firefighters were battling the blaze with assistance from nearby community fire departments. She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) later said that air monitoring confirms "there is no impact to the community."

A spokeswoman for the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . Chemical Safety Board said the agency is following up on the incident.

Highways and roads near the refinery were shut for a time on Thursday, St. James Parish officials said, but have now reopened.

U.S. oil product futures prices rallied, with ultra-low sulphur diesel futures gaining 4.8 percent on the day. Gasoline futures rose 4.4 percent on the day. The diesel crack spread (1HOc1-CLc1), a measure of refiner margins, also rose, gaining more than 7 percent.

Mars Sour (WTC-WTM), the U.S. Gulf Coast medium sour benchmark delivered into Louisiana, fell by roughly 25 cents to 35 cents per barrel following news of the fire as traders weighed a potential cut to crude demand.

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In addition to halting production of diesel from the refinery, the fire further disrupts an already delayed project by Motiva to combine the Convent refinery with the Motiva refinery in Norco, Louisiana, located 50 miles (80 km) away. That plan had been pushed back nine months for completion before the blaze.

The H-Oil Unit was scheduled to be revamped to diversify the feeds it could process by February 2017. That was to take place ahead of plans to idle the refinery's 92,000 bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit around June 2017, along with plans to build a pipeline between the two refineries.

Motiva is scheduled to divide its three refineries - which have a total daily refining capacity of more than 1 million barrels of crude - between co-owners Royal Dutch Shell Plc (Xetra: A0ET6Q - news) and Saudi Aramco as early as October.

Saudi Aramco will keep the nation's largest refinery, the 603,000 bpd plant in Port Arthur, Texas, while Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) would control this plant. How the fire will affect those talks was unknown on Thursday. A call to Shell was not immediately returned.

A hydrocracker distills heavier oil into distillates, such as diesel and gasoline. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in New York and Liz Hampton and Erwin Seba in Houston; additional reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault; Writing by Catherine Ngai; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alan Crosby)
By PTI: Colombo, Aug 11 (PTI) Sri Lankas Parliament today unanimously approved a bill to set up an office to help find some 65,000 people reported missing during the countrys armed conflicts, including a brutal civil war with the LTTE, and clarify the circumstances under which they disappeared.

The draft bill to establish an Office on Missing Persons (OMP) was passed with amendments in Parliament without a vote.

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The bill was adopted despite objections raised by the joint opposition which alleged that the bill will betray the military.

Mangala Samaraweera, the foreign minister, was continuously disturbed by the opposition members who had forced the suspension of sittings when the bill was taken up for debate.

They claimed that the government was betraying the security forces through the legislation on the Office of Missing Persons.

"This legislation will be very important for all communities to look to the future as citizens of Sri Lanka," Samaraweera said.

The Marxist JVP parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake who spoke in support of the bill said the new office would be important for his party.

"We know that mere action of setting up this office would redress the affected. But we want to know the truth before delivering justice," Ratnayake said.

The government said the bill was needed to facilitate access to services and benefits offered by the State to the families of the missingpersons in the absence of a Death Certificate, a mechanism to issue a Certificate of Absence hasbeen approved by cabinet and the relevant legislation is due to be approved by the Parliament laterthis month.

The government had earlier said there have been strong requests for providing true information on disappeared or missing persons to their relatives to know their actual fate.

"It will enable such families to reunited, closure with regard to such disappearance, or granted with reparations and other relief and support," officials said.

A proposal made by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to establish a independent institution as office on missing persons by a Parliament act, was approved recently by the cabinet.

The Office on Missing Persons will help search for and trace missing persons and submit recommendations to authorities to take measures on missing persons, protect the rights of missing persons and their relatives, identify channels that missing persons and their relatives can obtain reliefs and inform them the same.

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Sri Lanka has one of the largest case-loads of missing persons in the world.

In fact, since 1994 alone, the government commissions have received over 65,000 complaints of missing persons. These include people who went missing during the governments nearly three-decade-long war with Tamil separatists and a Marxist uprising. PTI CORR UZM AKJ UZM

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LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group (Other OTC: LLOBF - news) said on Wednesday its Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio had not breached company policy after a British newspaper accused him of running up a big hotel bill while on a business trip to Singapore.

Britain's biggest selling newspaper, The Sun, carried a front-page story on Tuesday accusing the married chief executive of the taxpayer-supported bank of running up the bill while spending time with another woman.

The bank said the chief executive paid his own personal expenses while he was in the city-state for a conference two months ago.

Lloyds Chairman Norman Blackwell looked into the issue after the newspaper reported that Horta-Osorio had spent 450 pounds ($580) on room service and items from the mini-bar, and 550 pounds on visits to the hotel spa, a source at the bank said.

"In this case there is no breach of our policy and the personal expenses are paid for by Antonio," the bank said in a statement.

"We do not comment on personal matters," it added.

The allegations come at a sensitive time for Lloyds as it announced two weeks ago it is cutting a further 3,000 staff and prepares to close 200 branches by the end of next year.

Horta-Osorio, who is Portuguese, has run Lloyds for the past five years and is highly regarded for turning around the lender after it struggled following the financial crisis. ($1 = 0.7646 pounds) (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Keith Weir)
Zalando SE / Key word(s): Quarter Results/Half Year Results





ZALANDO POSTS STRONG, PROFITABLE GROWTH IN FIRST HALF - Q2 revenues at EUR 916 million, adjusted EBIT margin of 8.8% - H1 2016 revenues at EUR 1,713 million, adjusted EBIT margin of 5.9% - Continued investments into Zalando's customer proposition around convenience, assortment, brand and mobile BERLIN, AUGUST 11, 2016 // Zalando, Europe's leading online platform for fashion, reported an outstanding first half of 2016 with strong growth and profitability, increasing its full-year adjusted EBIT margin guidance to 4.0-5.5%. Investments in Zalando's customer proposition fueled the company's growth, while the company continued to execute on its multi-year platform strategy. Strong operating leverage of the business compensated for these significant investments, and was the key driver behind the company's profitability in the first half of 2016. Combined with strong working capital management, this resulted in positive free cash flow of EUR 50 million. "We are very proud of our first half results: They reflect strong customer momentum with strong growth at scale. Despite ongoing investments into our long-term growth strategy, our business showed increased strength and profitability," said Rubin Ritter, member of the Management Board. Zalando continues to improve the customer experience in its markets by extending its fulfillment capabilities. Construction of the logistics hub in Lahr is on track, and test operations have already commenced. The company's first international satellite warehouse in Stradella, Italy, which started operations in early 2016, already fulfills 60% of Italian orders.



Zalando further increased the attractiveness of its assortment by signing popular brands, including Fenty by Rihanna, Club Monaco, Ivyrevel, and Kate Spade. The company has also made further progress on its brand visibility and reach. Zalando ran a successful joint campaign with Ivy Park in Q2 2016, and will continue its collaborations with high-profile brands. At the trend show Bread&Butter by Zalando in September, Italian luxury label Marni will give a preview of its footwear collaboration created exclusively for Zalando, and Tommy Hilfiger's 'Tommy X Gigi' collaborative collection with Gigi Hadid will also debut at the event.



Zalando's ongoing push towards mobile has led to a doubling of app downloads in the past 12 months, supporting a 90% growth in app orders year-on-year. The number of active customers grew to a record 18.8 million by the end of the second quarter, with average orders per active customer reaching an all-time high of 3.3 orders per annum. Investments into a strong and capable team supported Zalando's success. Employee numbers increased from 9,079 to 10,639 since June 30, 2015. By the end of Q2, the tech team counted 1,340 employees across seven locations with application numbers peaking at 2,200 per month. Zalando's development was further supported by targeted acquisitions, such as Tradebyte Software GmbH and Amaze to expand the offering for its partners and improve its marketing capabilities. Based on the strong first half performance, Zalando reiterates its full year guidance of strong revenue growth at the upper end of its 20-25% growth corridor and increases full-year adjusted EBIT margin guidance to 4.0-5.5%. The company continues to aim for roughly neutral working capital at year-end, and about EUR 200 million in capital expenditure in 2016, excluding M&A.



Zalando's half-year report is available online; details can also be found in the investor earnings call presentation. Zalando will report figures for the third quarter on November 10, 2016, and publish a trading update prior to that. The publication date of the trading update will be announced on the Zalando Investor Relations website ahead of time. Zalando group - Revenue and adjusted EBIT (EUR million) Q2 2016 Q2 2015 HY 2016 HY 2015 FY 2015 Group revenues 916.4 733.0 1,712.6 1,376.6 2,958.2 % growth 25.0% 34.1% 24.4% 31.5% 33.6% DACH1 471.4 411.0 877.3 758.1 1,580.1 % growth 14.7% 32.5% 15.7% 27.6% 28.0% Rest of Europe2 383.2 285.3 717.7 550.3 1,211.6 % growth 34.3% 38.5% 30.4% 37.8% 40.5% Other3 61.8 36.6 117.6 68.1 166.5 % growth 68.9% 21.9% 72.6% 27.2% 41.8% Adjusted group EBIT4 80.9 30.2 101.2 59.2 107.5 Adjusted group EBIT margin 8.8% 4.1% 5.9% 4.3% 3.6% DACH1 4 65.7 14.4 105.0 46.8 101.9 Adjusted EBIT margin 13.9% 3.5% 12.0% 6.2% 6.4% Rest of Europe2 4 15.9 11.3 (1.1) 6.6 (3.3) Adjusted EBIT margin 4.1% 4.0% (0.1%) 1.2% (0.3%) Other3 4 (0.6) 4.4 (2.7) 5.8 8.9 Adjusted EBIT margin (1.0%) 12.0% (2.3%) 8.5% 5.3% 1. DACH segment is comprised of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 2. Rest of Europe segment includes all other countries in which Zalando presently operates. 3. The segment Other mainly includes Zalando Lounge, as well as three outlet stores in Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne. 4. Adjusted to exclude equity-settled stock based compensation costs.

Zalando group - Key performance indicators Q2 2016 Q2 2015 HY 2016 HY 2015 FY 2015 Site visits (m)5 480.2 411.8 959.7 804.6 1,656.4 Mobile visit share (% of site visits)6 64.7% 56.6% 63.5% 54.7% 57.1% Active customers (m)7 18.8 16.4 18.8 16.4 17.9 Number of orders (m)8 17.5 14.0 33.2 26.0 55.3 Average order per active customer 3.3 2.9 3.3 2.9 3.1 Average basket size (EUR)9 66.2 67.4 66.4 67.7 67.8 App downloads (m) 22 11 22 11 16 Headcount 10,639 9,079 10,639 9,079 9,987 5. Site visits defined as the number of series of page requests from the same uniquely identified client at Zalando, including website, m.site and apps in the measurement period. A visit is considered ended when no requests have been recorded in more than 30 minutes. 6. Mobile is defined as tablets, mobile sites and apps. 7. Active customers defined as the number of customers placing at least one order in the last twelve months in the measurement period irrespective of cancellations or returns. 8. Number of orders defined as the number of customer orders placed in the measurement period irrespective of cancellations or returns. An order is counted on the day the customer places the order. Orders placed and orders delivered may differ due to orders that are in transit at the end of the measurement period or have been cancelled. 9. Average basket size defined as the transactional revenue (incl. VAT and transactional volume of Partner Program) after cancellations or returns divided by the number of orders. NOTES TO EDITORS ABOUT ZALANDO

Zalando (https://corporate.zalando.com) is Europe's leading online fashion platform for women, men and children. We offer our customers a one-stop, convenient shopping experience with an extensive selection of fashion articles including shoes, apparel and accessories, with free delivery and returns. Our assortment of over 1,500 international brands ranges from popular global brands, fast fashion and local brands, and is complemented by our private label products. Our localized offering addresses the distinct preferences of our customers in each of the 15 European markets we serve: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland and the United Kingdom. Our logistics network with three centrally located fulfillment centers in Germany allows us to efficiently serve our customers throughout Europe. We believe that our integration of fashion, operations and online technology give us the capability to deliver a compelling value proposition to both our customers and fashion brand partners. Zalando's shops attract over 160 million visits per month. In the second quarter of 2016, around 65 per cent of traffic came from mobile devices, resulting in 18.8 million active customers by the end of the quarter. CONTACT ZALANDO

Boris Radke ( Corporate Communications

boris.radke@zalando.de

+49 30 20968 1038

2016-08-11 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de


A miraculous video has captured the moment when a statue of Jesus opens its eyes - and stares directly at the camera in a Mexican church.

The video - captured in Mexicos Chapel of Saltillo - has become a viral sensation, with some users hailing it as a miracle after it was viewed two million times on YouTube.

Others, however, are less convinced, despite paranormal experts claiming that investigators have examined the footage and pronounced it real.

Thats so clearly a CGI effect that its hilarious, one user comments.

What a coincidence that there was someone there to record it, another user says.

Hoax debunking site Snopes says that various signs in the video point to it having been digitally edited - and being a fake.

Snopes says, The best clue to the fact that the video was doctored is the fact that alterations in other areas of the image occur at precisely the same moments the eyes open and close. For example, here, in sequence, are three frames showing the statues eyes wide open, in the process of closing, and completely closed. Observe the changes in the shadows around the eyes and - not to be indelicate, but this is a giveaway - the change in the shape of Jesus right nipple.
We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain.
Ares Management is reportedly seeking to raise more than $45bn for its latest batch of funds.
On August 3, the swollen Savitri river washed away the 100-year-old bridge at Mahad, about 170 km south of Mumbai, taking with it the two buses and at least one SUV.

The swollen Savitri river washed away the 100-year-old bridge at Mahad.

By India Today Web Desk: Indian Navy divers have located the wreckage of the two buses submerged in water after a British-era bridge collapsed in Maharashtra's Mahad region in Raigad district last week, killing 26 people.

Defence PRO told news agency ANI that the wreckage seem to be the parts of buses and were found fully submerged in about 4-6 metres of water and located around 170-200 meters from the collapsed bridge.

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"After a long search for the last eight days, the Naval teams have located two bus wreckage submerged in the water at Mahad," the Defence PRO said.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED



On August 3, the swollen Savitri river washed away the 100-year-old bridge at Mahad, about 170 km south of Mumbai, taking with it the two buses and at least one SUV.

The river, which turned into a torrent due to heavy downpour in its catchment area in Mahabaleshwar, weakened the foundations of the bridge, which ultimately gave way.

The ill-fated British-era bridge was to be dismantled in December this year as part of Mumbai-Goa Highway expansion project, the government said on Wednesday.

ALSO READ | After Mahad, spotlight on ageing bridges in Mumbai





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State medical education minister Girish Mahajan has prepared a proposal to provide better medical facilities to government-run hospitals and for this he proposed that the cash-rich temples in the region should contribute 50 per cent of their income.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: If a proposal of the Maharashtra government is implemented, a substantial money from cash-rich temples of the state could be diverted to run government hospitals.

State medical education minister Girish Mahajan has prepared a proposal to provide better medical facilities to government-run hospitals and for this he proposed that the cash-rich temples in the region should contribute 50 per cent of their income.

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Mahajan, who took the charge of medical education minister in the recent Cabinet reshuffle, has already forwarded his proposal to CM Devendra Fadnavis.

"We want poor people to get good medical facilities. They should get benefitted from money coming to these temples in form of donations," Mahajan said, adding, " Few may say that why only temples? Therefore, I will appeal to all religious institutions that they should contribute in it and help poor people to get better medical facilities."

Mahajan has suggested that the trusts of Siddhivinayak in Prabhadevi, Tuljapur in Osmanabad, Mahalaxmi in Kolhapur and Shirdi's Sai Baba temple should pay a monthly sum to government hospitals across the state.

"Soon meeting of these stakeholders will be called which will be lead my Maha CM. In which we'll take inputs from these temples and other religious institutions and then make a final draft" said Mahajan.

TEMPLE TRUSTS REACT

While the idea has been welcomed by the people, temple trusts are not happy as they say that they are already into many charity work and the government's move may affect their budget.

"As a government trust, half of the income earned by the Siddhivinayak temple is spent on healthcare, education and other social causes", said Narendra Rane, chairman of the temple's trust.

"It is very thoughtful of the medical education minister to suggest that all trusts should give 50 per cent of their income to government hospitals. But I feel the money should be utilised for other causes too," said Rane.

"So far this year, we have contributed Rs 40 crore to the state government's scheme for a drought-free Maharashtra. Every year, we keep a provision to spend up to Rs 12 crore for people suffering from various health issues," he added.

Bajirao Shinde, executive officer of Saibaba Sansthan Trust, said "If government comes up with such proposal, being the CEO I will put it up in front of the managing commitee which will take a call on this."

TEMPLES CONTRIBUTING FOR DROUGHT-HIT MARATHWADA

The temple in Shirdi is one of the richest shrines in the country with an annual income of nearly Rs 200 crore.

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The Prabhadevi temple receives nearly Rs 75 crore - in the form of money, gold, silver and interest from investments - every year.

Shirdi Sai Baba temple and Siddhivinayak Trust Mumbai have contributed to state goverment's flagship 5-year scheme called Kalyug Shivar project to provide permanent source of water to villages in drought-hit Marathwada.

Now, you can offer shares, stocks of firms to Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple



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By India Today Web Desk: Malayalam filmmaker Sasi Shankar passed away on Wednesday (August 10) in Kochi. He was 58 and is survived by his wife Beena Shankar daughter Meenakshi Shankar and son Vishnu Sasi Shankar.

According to reports, Sasi Shankar, a diabetic, succumbed when his wife found him in an unconscious state. He was rushed to a private hospital in Kolenchery, where he was declared dead on arrival.



ALSO READ: Veteran writer-producer Panchu Arunachalam breathes his last



ALSO READ: Veteran actor Jyothi Lakshmi passes away

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Reportedly, Sasi Shankar was planning on his new project when this unfortunate incident happened. Sasi Shankar's brother-in-law Sreekumar was quoted by The Times Of India as saying, "He returned from Kozhikode on Monday and had held talks with his associates regarding the new venture on Tuesday. He had been suffering from ailments related to diabetes,"

"Sasi was at his home at Pancode near Puthenkurish. At around 9.30am on Wednesday morning he suddenly collapsed. Though we took him to the hospital he died before reaching there," he said.

Sasi Shankar, who is known for his films based on social issues, received a National Award for Best Film On Other Social Issues in 1993 for his Narayam. Sasi Shankar remade the film Kunjikkoonan starring Dileep Kumar in Tamil as Perazhagan with actor Suriya after the Malayalam version was a blockbuster hit.



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Modified On Aug 12, 2016 04:02 PM By Raunak for Maruti Ignis

The production version of the Ignis will make its European debut at the Paris Motor Show and is also expected to launch in India in the coming months!

Suzuki has revealed its 2016 Paris Motor Show aka Paris Mondial de lAutomobile line-up. The highlight will be the European debut of the production version of Suzukis new compact crossover  the Ignis. The rest of the cars on display will be the Vitara, the Jimny, the Baleno, the SX4 S-Cross facelift and the Cervo (classic model from 1977, also known as the SC100 in Europe).

The automaker also showcased the Ignis concept at the 2016 Indian Auto Expo, alongside the Baleno RS. Maruti Suzuki had said that it will launch the Ignis in India around the upcoming festive season, but might see some delays and is likely to be launched early next year (heres why). Speaking of its European launch, Suzuki has revealed that the Ignis will go on sale in Europe in January 2017. There is a fair chance that the Ignis will be exported to Europe from India, just like the Baleno. And if not Europe, then other countries.

The S-Cross facelift (known as the SX4 S-Cross in Europe), which made its debut a few days ago, will also be displayed at the Paris Motor Show. The automaker has completely redesigned the front fascia of the crossover and it now comes with two new Boosterjet turbo petrol engines  the 1.0-litre and the 1.4-litre  that are replacing the old, naturally aspirated 1.6-litre unit.

The 2016 Paris Mondial de lAutomobile will be open to the press on September 29 and 30. For the general public, it will open from October 1 to 16.
The Dodd-Frank Act and its regulations are not to blame for the decline in the number of community banks, according to a report released Wednesday from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, but NAFCUs Carrie Hunt said common sense dictates otherwise.

While the report makes no mention of credit unions, Hunt, NAFCUs executive vice president of government affairs and general counsel, said a substantial number of the credit unions that closed or merged did so due to overwhelming compliance costs related to stifling regulatory burden.

Without exemptions from rules designed to rein in bad actors, credit unions are being forced to comply with regulations that only the largest banks can afford, she added. In fact, many big banks view these regulations as a competitive advantage.

NAFCU and its members have testified on the damaging impact of Dodd Frank on credit unions numerous times before Congress. Excerpts of the testimony were referenced yesterday in a House Financial Services Committee Republican blog post in response to the report.
A video showing President Obama's daughter Malia smoking pot at a music festival has gone viral, prompting a rush of support for the first daughter.

By India Today Web Desk: Viral video shows President Obama's daughter Malia smoking pot, internet rushes to her rescue

The internet is in a meltdown mode over a video that shows 18-year-old Malia Obama apparently smoking a joint at the popular music festival Lollapalooza held in Chicago last month.

The first daughter is allegedly seen smoking pot in the background of a selfie-video shot by another girl. The 9-second clip was first posted by Radar Online. Multiple duplicates of the same video can now be found on the internet.

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Radar Online claimed that Obama was smoking pot, according to an eyewitness. Following the report, many social media users have spoken in Obama's support.

Malia Obama was caught smoking weed. If she's not careful she might end up winning 21 Olympic gold medals or becoming president of the USA. CHRlS ROCK (@chrisrockyoz) August 10, 2016

As George Orwell warned, the people have become little spies and snitches. Malia Obama hit a joint at a concert. Big freaking deal.Mark Dice (@MarkDice) August 10, 2016

White people mad that Malia Obama is smoking weed when they kids be at college parties snorting lines of Xanax pic.twitter.com/VHO7jqHaU3chickfiltay (@tcaxo_) August 10, 2016

Yall appalled Malia Obama was at a concert smoking as if George Bush daughters weren't doing coke & getting arrested. GTFOH ?? I hate yalld.tall? (@DTALLMUSIC) August 10, 2016

You know, I'm a republican who despises Obama but I couldn't care less what Malia Obama does.

I hope she DID inhale. Enjoy your youth, honeyHenry (@hmaxwellpitts) August 10, 2016

Breaking: According to my sources Malia Obama is a teenager. More as this develops.David D. (@DavidDTSS) August 10, 2016

All of these people judging Malia Obama for smoking weed like they never did anything illegal at 18 pic.twitter.com/wtIDN3AE7fpaul (@pabl_ohhh) August 10, 2016

Get off Malia Obama. She been stuck in that house for 8 years. Let that girl live a little. She ain't hurt nobody.Khaleed (@damnkhaleed) August 10, 2016

Let Malia Obama LIVEAlexis Isabel (@lexi4prez) August 10, 2016

It's so sad the media is trying to drag Malia Obama down for being a normal modern day teenager smhnewport (@asiancrackbaby) August 10, 2016

To every parent who's bothered by Malia Obama having fun at Lolla last weekend- have you checked your kid's snapchat lately?Big Wave Dave (@MorelandPrint) August 10, 2016

Malia Obama is smoking weed and going to Harvard. Y'all smoking weed and can't even pass your global history regents. Leave that girl alone??J$ (@J_Marshall25) August 10, 2016

Malia Obama was caught smoking weed. In other news, the Trump sons are busy shooting their way into animal extinction(((Michael))) (@Home_Halfway) August 10, 2016

A few netizens were also critical of Malia Obama's friends for releasing the video.

It's really not a big deal for Malia Obama to be smoking weed but her friends are TRASH for posting a video that shows her doing itArnesa. (@arrrnesa_xx) August 10, 2016

Malia Obama got taped by her friends smoking weed at #Lollapalooza, just terrible. My advice to her is, to get herself some better friends.NUFF$AID (@nuffsaidNY) August 10, 2016

Obama's Lollapalooza trip sparked controversy last month too after she skipped the Democratic National Convention to attend the music festival. Viral videos from the event showed her twerking and dancing during concerts at the festival.

US President Barack Obama has, in his memoir, written about smoking pot and using "a little blow" in high school and college. He even joked about it at this year's White House Correspondent's Dinner, saying "the last time I was that high, I was trying to decide my major."

Obama on his approval ratings: "The last time I was this high, I was trying to decide on my major" #WHCD https://t.co/cU4YnxkHkvCNN (@CNN) May 1, 2016

Besides, Illinois - the state of in which Malia was allegedly pictured smoking - has only recently decriminalised consumption of marijuana.

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The relative position of all low, medium and high-income earners has improved. Finns, in general, have therefore improved their position in the global distribution of income, he writes in a blog published on the website of the financial services provider .

Finns across all income deciles improved their relative position in the global distribution of income in 19882008, estimates Olli Karkkainen, a private economist at Nordea.

Yet, he predicts, discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of globalisation will remain a feature of the political debate in Finland.

In the United States, for example, studies have shown that the polarisation of politics is notable especially in areas affected by imports from China. Polarisation away from the political centre has taken place both in the left and right end of the spectrum. It seems that a new division between the advocates and opponents of globalisation has emerged, says Karkkainen.

Many feel that they have not been able to enjoy the fruits of globalisation.

The topic of income distribution was recently discussed also by Matti Viren, a professor of economics at the University of Turku.

Viren writes in his blog that an examination of changes in the distribution of income over the past couple of decades indicates that the single most important factor affecting the changes is education. The well-educated are doing well and the poorly-educated are doing increasingly worse, he recapitulates.

He argues that the biggest income differences stem from the student selection process  from decisions on who are admitted to higher education institutions and who are not.

A select few are currently offered free education and clearly higher-than-average  and constantly rising  wages, while those are paid for by people without a higher education background. To me at least this feels like an extremely counter-intuitive equality policy; I reckon we should take money from those who enjoy benefits, not from those who get nothing, he writes.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Mikko Stig  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
August 9, 2016 - A massive hydroelectric dam now under construction in the Canadian province of British Columbia violates Canadas commitments to uphold the human rights of Indigenous peoples, says a new brief by Amnesty International.

The release of the brief on the International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples marks the beginning of a global campaign by Amnesty International to halt the construction of Site C dam, which will deprive Indigenous peoples in the Peace River Valley region of access to lands and waters vital to their cultures and livelihoods.Construction of the Site C dam illustrates the persistent gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to the rights of Indigenous peoples through the Americas, said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.Rights protected under an historic treaty, the Canadian Constitution and international human rights standards have been pushed aside in the name of a development project that has no clear purpose or rationale and that does not have the consent of the Indigenous nations that will suffer the consequences of its construction.The Site C dam would flood more than 100 km of the Peace River and its tributaries. This land is part of the traditional territories of numerous Indigenous peoples in the region.Canadian government officials have openly acknowledged that the decision-making process leading to the approval of construction never considered whether building the dam was compatible with its legal obligations toward Indigenous peoples. Construction has gone ahead despite the fact that the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations are currently challenging the Site C dam in court.The construction of the Site C dam is particularly concerning because widespread oil and gas development, and other resource extraction activities in the region already greatly reduced the lands still available for Indigenous peoples to conduct ceremonies, harvest food for their families or teach their children about their cultures and traditions.Its not enough for governments to say that they respect the rights of Indigenous peoples, they must act to consistently uphold these rights. Anything else is a continuation of the same patterns of racism and discrimination that have led to centuries of impoverishment and dispossession for Indigenous peoples throughout the globe, said Guevara-Rosas.Chief Roland Willson of the West Moberly First Nations told Amnesty International: Weve never said no to the production of energy. Weve said, lets protect the valley. Its the last piece of our backyard thats relatively untouched.Chief Lynette Tsakoza of the Prophet River First Nation said: It is not too late to change course. The damage to the Peace River is not yet irreversible. Stopping Site C is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate to all Canadians that the government takes reconciliation seriously.More than 46,000 people have already signed a petition against the dam hosted by Amnesty International in Canada. Amnesty is now encouraging its members worldwide to write to Canadian government officials to urge an immediate halt to construction of the dam so that the human rights of Indigenous peoples can be protected.Read More: http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/americas/canada
Shalom Kiwi blogs:

The news broke yesterday that the director of the Gaza branch of World Vision, Mohammed El-Halabi, was arrested by the Israeli internal secret service for allegedly diverting tens of millions of dollars of World Vision funds to the terrorist arm of Hamas.

It is reported that during the investigation El-Halabi admitted that he had been a member of Hamas since his youth, had undergone military training and had been commissioned by Hamas to infiltrate World Vision. He also reportedly admitted that his father, Halil El-Halabi, who had served as head of UNWRAs educational institutions in the Gaza Strip for years, was a member of Hamas and used his position as a UN employee to help the terrorist organization.

El-Halabi allegedly employed a sophisticated and systematic apparatus for transferring 60% of World Visions annual budget for Gaza to Hamas  approximately US$7.2 million per year. This included establishing and promoting fictitious humanitarian projects and fake agricultural associations which acted as cover for the transfer of monies to Hamas. It is alleged the funds diverted to Hamas were utilised to finance the digging of terror tunnels, the building of military bases and the purchase of weapons. Some of the money also went to pay the salaries of Hamas terrorists and, in some cases, senior Hamas terrorists took large sums of money for their own personal use. El-Halabi is also charged with regularly transferring equipment that he ordered on behalf of World Vision, supposedly for agricultural aid, to Hamas for construction of military outposts and to dig terror tunnels.

In light of the arrest, Australia announced it was suspending funding to World Vision until the investigation was complete.
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Prospective admission seekers into Nigerian universities are at a loss over the procedure for gaining admission into the universities following the abolition of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Many students had prepared for the UTME prior to the hard stance of the Education Minister, Mallam Adamau Adamu, who insisted that the universities screening exams should be abolished and remained banned.

Banning Post UTME in Universities

In a combined policy meeting on admissions to universities, polytechnics and other higher institutions in Nigeria, Adamu said since the federal government and the Nigerian public have confidence in the examinations conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, there was no need for other examinations to be conducted by universities after the JAMB exams.

According to him, As far as I am concerned, the nation has confidence in what JAMB is doing, the universities should not be holding another examination and if the universities have any complaints against JAMB, let them bring it and then we address it. But if JAMB is qualified enough to conduct tests and they have conducted test, then there will be no need to conduct another test for students to gain admission.

Malam Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education

The ministry expects that all candidates given admission must be from JAMB. But JAMB must stop issuing admission letters. JAMB should get in touch with the institutions before offering admission to students. The closing date is November 30th and no university should exceed its admission capacity and any tertiary institution that doesnt follow the rule, the ministry would start sanctioning them.

While the statement by the education minister may be seen as informal, the ministry as a follow up, made a press release banning all higher institutions from conducting any further examination besides the exam conducted by JAMB for the purposes of admission, warning that any institution found culpable would face necessary sanctions.

The statement was issued on behalf of the minister by the ministrys deputy director of press and public relations, Mr. Ben Goong. The ban, in the release, was with immediate effect and directed all institutions to comply without raising eye brows.

READ ALSO: Paul Pogbas journey to becoming the most expensive footballer in the world

The ban is with immediate effect, and under no circumstance should any institution violate the directive. The responsibility for admission into public tertiary institutions lies solely with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and under no circumstance whatsoever, should anybody or institution take over that responsibility by proxy.

For the avoidance of doubt, any educational institution after secondary education is regarded as a tertiary institution. Therefore, all tertiary institutions, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, Universities or by whatever name it is called after secondary education, must be subjected to admission through the JAMB, the official statement finally read.

Graduating students

By this directive, all higher institutions are only expected to screen the certificates of the prospective students and ascertain qualifications for admission into the higher institutions.

The ministry further warned that the screening should be done at no financial cost to the parents and should be done upon resumption to avoid unnecessary travels which could be hazardous. Adamu was quoted as saying that since the inception of the post UTME, the universities have not been able to prove that they have gotten better students than the ones deemed fit by JAMB.

He explained that students admitted through post UTME are still being expelled on a yearly basis for poor academic performance, hence the universities have failed to convince the ministry on why it should not ban the screening examination into the higher institutions.

He said any institution which had advertised for the conduct of post UTME should drop the idea and anyone that had conducted the examination should consider it annulled and refund money collected from students with immediate effect.

Initial rejection of post UTME

A former Vice-Chancellor of Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Professor Fidelis Ogah, was quoted as saying that he had refused to bow to pressure to conduct Post-UTME tests because most institutions have turned it to a goldmine where they rake in money from prospective students.

Ogah alleged that most Nigerian universities that conduct Post-UTME do so primarily to wring money from rich parents, whose children could not be admitted using JAMB results. Ogah stated that he ignored pressure to conduct the test, pointing out that if he lacked confidence in the credibility of JAMB, he would lack confidence in a post-UME examination as well.

Students in a jamb examination centre

Similarly, during the 33rd and 34th convocation ceremony of the University of Benin, late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, through the then Director of Tertiary Education in the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Emmanuel Okon, remarked that the post UTME might be cancelled if complaints against its conduct by students, parents, and guardians persisted.

Besides the university VC and the late president, the former JAMB Registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, also lamented that universities have turned the screening test into a money-making venture. The House of Representatives Committee on Education in their oversight function, visited most of the institutions and discovered that universities had turned the screening of students seeking admission into a business centre.

While the accusations leveled against the universities cannot be thrown into the trash can, the admission process may have challenges which may be counter-productive to the expectation of Adamu, the education minister.

Certainly, complications are bound to rise as students begin seeking admissions into the universities following the fact that the admission is now open to all who beat the cut off mark without going through the rigour of writing another test.

History, establishment and success story of JAMB

However, prior to the establishment of JAMB in 1978 through a decree promulgated by the then military head of state, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, universities were conducting independent examinations for admission of prospective students.

The system then had serious limitations and was inefficient. The committee of Vice-Chancellors was concerned about the problem. Consequently, the government set up a National Committee on University Entrance Examination under the Chairmanship of Mr. M. S. Angulu and that committee recommended setting up JAMB.

And from 1979 when the decree took effect, it transferred the responsibility to conduct admission examinations into JAMB. From then till 2005/2006, when the universities started the post JAMB examinations, the board has been responsible for admission examinations into the universities and the results from JAMB had been accepted by all stakeholders.

READ ALSO: Unveiled: Life of the only female welder in Delta state (pictures)

Entrance to the university of Lagos

Over the years, JAMB has been effectively conducting the examination without hitches. For over 26 years beginning from 1979 when the board was established, JAMB had conducted the admission examinations without hitches, until the universities felt the board had failed in the conduct of the examinations and decided to establish a new method of conducting screening examination for prospective students, a development which came into effect during the 2005/2006 academic year.

Introduction of post UTME into Universities

The introduction of the post UTME by the universities angered many parents while some described it as a way of checking the failure of JAMB in its responsibility to the universities. However, some stakeholders were of the view that the new admission policy of the universities was a ploy to make money from prospective students.

While the university management, led by the University of Lagos, defended their action, stakeholders and parents fought against the move but the university authorities seemed stronger than members of the public and so the decision became a norm. And this has been till the new minister made the pronouncement and banned the practice on June 2, 2016. As it is now, no university authority has power to conduct any examination for prospective students.

The challenge and dilemma of 2016 university admission seekers

According to the former JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, a total of 1,589,175 candidates applied for the 2016 JAMB examination while the cut off mark for admission was pegged at 180, although some universities, especially federal universities, increased theirs to 200. But the issue currently on ground is the criteria for the selection of students for admission.

University of Benin

Although merit, catchment area and educationally disadvantaged have been seen set as criteria for the selection, it may never work in a Nigerian setting. While Legit.ng could not verify how many students scored above the 180 cut off mark, there is the possibility that there will serious scheming to gain admission into the universities, the end product may be admission of students with influential parents.

This is so because the admission system is open to all as many as passed the cut off mark to gain admission undermining the level of intelligence. Also, based on the quota given to the universities, the admission has ultimately become competitive and the most connected and highly placed will be the successful ones to secure the admission.

While Nigerians watch the proceedings at the universities, one is yet to know whether the decision of Adamu will stand or it may be reversed to the former stance of the university authorities.

Source: Legit.ng
Whoever says money is not good must be a joker. Just take a look at those who have and those who dont and youll see the difference. If you think money is evil, think again.

Do you want to know what God thinks of money? Just take a look at men of God who have been blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

They are prosperous, some have private jets, they can travel to any part of the world, can afford the luxuries of life, and you say money is evil?

Some of these men of God have been strongly criticized for their material acquisition and 'living the life' while half of their congregation are jobless, homeless, sick and hungry.

When you see some Nigerian pastors, you can't help but envy them. They come out smelling sweet, wearing top-notch designer wear, driving state-of-the-art cars and living like a king.

Gone are the days when church rats were poor. These days pastors most pastors are all shades of prosperous which is why a lot of people are going into the church business, if only to enjoy the luxury being enjoyed by pastors.

When you see some Nigerian pastors, you'll testify that God is good indeed.

Legit.ng brings you 10 Nigerian pastors that are proof that God takes care of his own.

1. Bishop David Oyedepo: He is the founder and General overseer of the Living Faith Church World Wide, also known as Winners Chapel, which has network of churches located in over 300 cities and towns, in all the states of Nigeria, as well as, in over 63 cities in 32 African nations. Oyedepo stinks of prosperity which makes him one of the richest pastors in the world. Cars, private jet, designer wears, he has it all. So many other men of God aspire to be like him.

2. Pastor E.A. Adeboye: He is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. He is one of those meek and gentle pastor that speak softly. He delivers his message in soft tone, knowing its not shouting that moves God. He is said to have a net worth of over N48miliion. He is on the list of top 5 richest pastors in Nigeria. This man of God is already enjoying his reward here on earth.

3. Pastor T.B. Joshua: This man of God is known worldwide, if not for anything, for his miracles and prophecies. He is the leader and founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). Forbes estimated the pastors wealth to be within $10 million to $15 million as he was named the third-richest pastor in Nigeria, though his church denied the claim. Reports surfaced in 2015 that he secretly purchased a nearly brand-new N60million Gulfstream G550 aircraft.

4. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome: Popularly known as Pastor Chris, he is the founding president of Believers LoveWorld Incorporated also known as Christ Embassy. This man of God has class, he has taste and he is handsome. Most of his pastors try to be like him. They dress like him and try to talk and preach the way does. His net worth is estimated at $50 million which came from his work as a pastor as well as from the three TV channels that he runs. He received a welcome fit for kings at the Heathrow airport in London when he arrived in his private jet for a program in the London arm of Christ Embassy.

5. Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo: His church, Commonwealth of Zion Assembly popularly known by the acronym, COZA is one of the most glamorous churches in Nigeria. This man of God is blessed with good looks and has an Commonwealth of Zion Assembly popularly known by the acronym, COZA is one of the most glamorous churches in Nigeria. This pastor is enjoying the goodness of God. He was gifted with a Targa 911 4S Porsche luxury car by his church members in December last year. He celebrated his birthday at the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai and all-white party aboard an executive yatch. Talk about enjoying heaven on earth.

READ ALSO: Lovely throwback PHOTOS of your favourite Nigerian pastors

6. Pastor Chris Okotie: He is the founder and pastor of the Household of God Church International Ministries, one of Nigerias most flamboyant congregations, which predominantly consists of Nollywood celebrities, musicians, and society people. He is a very wealthy man and is on the list of top five richest pastors in Nigeria. This pastor owns choice properties in the United State of America worth millions of dollars and his fleet of cars is to die for. His cars are estimated to be over N400m.

7. Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor: He is the founder and senior pastor of Word of Life Bible Church. He was the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) which gave him so much influence across Nigeria including presidential honors. He one of those pastors who own a private jet which he claims was presented to him by members of his church. Many know him for his luxurious lifestyle, expensive clothing, jewelries, quality cars and houses.

8. Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo: He is the senior pastor of the Kingsway International Christian Centre which is reportedly the largest Pentecostal church in the United Kingdom. In 2009 the church made close to $10 million in profits and reported assets of $40 million. Most of his investments are located outside the country. Majority of his wealth is said to be from various business interests which includes a media company and sales from his Christian literature books and documentaries.

9. Paul Adefarasin: Though, he is not on the list of richest pastors in Nigeria, his church, House on the Rock, is one of the high profile churches in Lekki, Lagos. His church is said to be worth about N50 billion, with a cathedral worth close to N5 billion. Members of his curch reportedly got him a brand new Mercedes Benz G Wagon that costs about N40m, as a gift for his birthday.

10. Bishop Mike Okonkwo: He is the presiding bishop of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) with over 180 branches in Nigeria and ten countries across the globe. He is reportedly one of the pastors who own a private jet and has several investments in the real estate.

11. Lazarus Mouka: is the founder of the Lords Chosen Charismatic Church. His ministry is said to be worth over N10 billion. Report has it that he owns several publishing companies, primary and secondary schools, real estates etc. He has a N2 billion estate and cathedral in Abuja and an estimated revenue of over N2.5 billion annually from special donations, offerings and tithes from his numerous followers. He is reported to have choice houses in London, USA, South Africa and millions in foreign banks. He also has an ultra-modern hospital which is for the ministry.

All these impressive assets and fat bank accounts are enough to make anyone want to venture into the church business.

Is it wrong for a pastor to have so much wealth?

Source: Legit.ng
By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Aug 11 (PTI) Nepals new government today decided to send special envoys to India and China in the near future in a fresh bid to reach out to its two big neighbours.

The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prachanda took a decision to send two Deputy Prime Ministers (DPMs), Bimalendra Nidhi to India and Krishna Bahadur Mahara to China, as the Prime Ministers special emissaries, according to Cabinet sources.

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However, the date of their visits is yet to be fixed.

The decision is taken as the new governments move to build cordial relations with both the neighbouring countries through high-profile visits.

The DPM duo would meet political leaders and government officials in New Delhi and Beijing. PTI SBP SAI AKJ SAI

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Arrested Pakistani LeT operative Bahadur Ali and fellow terrorists were in touch with the help of I-com radio sets (inset)

By Abhishek Bhalla : Terrorists from Pakistan waging jihad against India may not be well-educated but are highly trained in using hi-tech gadgets, suggesting the support of military experts, investigators who grilled alleged LeT operative Bahadur Ali said.

Ali, 21, who was arrested on July 25 in Kupwara district of Kashmir, revealed during his interrogation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths how after infiltrating into India he communicated with his handlers in Pakistan using Japanese-manufactured ICOM wireless sets that needs some degree of technical knowledge.

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HI-TECH TERRORISTS

The agency has contacted the Japanese company to establish the distributing channels of these wireless sets. Ali also used an Android mobile that could have been used for sending text messages without a SIM card through a mobile app. Officials said such wireless sets are not available easily and its handling requires some expertise.

"The engineering modification done on ICOM RT sets to cover whole range of frequency requires high degree of precision engineering in electronics. Providing the terrorists with specific grid references for the route to be followed and use of GPS, compass and topographical sheets during movement also establishes that these LeT terrorists were trained and mentored by military experts," the NIA said.

Ali was launched along with two others from Mandakuli in Pakistan occupied Kashmir on June 12. While Ali was arrested, the whereabouts of two others are not known. "They were given directions not to store any data on the GPS device that could leave behind a trail. The information regarding the movements was deleted," Sanjeev Singh, Inspector General, NIA said.

Singh added that though Ali is not well-qualified and is a Class 8th passout, he is well-trained and has acquired a certain degree of expertise in handling high-tech gadgets.

BAHADUR ALI GUIDED CONSTANTLY BY ALPHA-3

The agency made public Ali's disclosure in Punjabi, during a press briefing on Wednesday, a day after India issued a demarche to Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit. Ali's disclosures have once again exposed the role of LeT along with Pakistani agencies in sending men to India to carry out terror strikes.

The practice of putting the videos of disclosures of terrorists is not a common one with Indian agencies. This happened a day after the blast in Quetta, Pakistan, that killed over 70 people. Even though ISIS and Taliban claimed responsibility, there was propaganda in Pakistan blaming Indian intelligence R&AW for the terror strike.

NIA said Bahadur Ali was constantly guided and directed by the LeT control centre Alpha-3, which was available on a prefixed frequency on ICOM handsets, being carried by the terrorists. "As per Bahadur Ali and other available evidence, control centre Alpha-3 is a fixed communication centre, established at a high-altitude peak in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, which is operated with support from Pakistani forces," NIA said in a statement. Investigators said once the terrorists are inside the Indian territory, handlers from the control centre guide and control their operations.

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"Whenever required, Alpha-3 arranges tactical and material support through previously identified contacts."

PAKISTAN FUELED KASHMIR UNREST

The NIA also claimed that Ali got instructions to fuel unrest during the ongoing turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir as LeT handlers in Pakistan instructed him to hurl grenades on forces during mob protests. Following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani, stone pelting protesters have clashed with forces leaving several injured on both the sides.

NIA claimed since the summer this year, the LeT, with the help of Pakistani forces deployed on the border, pushed heavilyarmed terrorists into India with the direction to mix with the local people, create disturbance, and attack police and security forces.

"Further investigation is continuing on the disclosure of Bahadur Ali regarding his role in the present unrest in Kashmir," NIA Inspector General Sanjeev Singh said.

Also Read:

NIA releases video confession by LeT's Bahadur Ali, terrorist admits he was guided by Pakistan forces



Another Kasab? Arrested terrorist Bahadur Ali confesses he is from Pakistan



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- A Nigerian man from Delta state, Omeleze Fred was nabbed by India police for defrauding his 'lover'

- Omeleze had around 500,000 mobile phone numbers and 100,000 emails of Indians on his laptop

- He duped his last victim of around N7.4million naira and also falsified his visa in order to remain in the country

Fraudster in India, Omeleze Fred

Police in India has arrested a Nigerian man for defrauding his Indian lover by impersonating an American citizen.

According to reports in Times of India, the Cyber Crimes Police station, Cyberabad East has arrested one Omeleze Fred of Delta state for cheating a woman by falsely claiming to be an American national falsely and promising to settle with her.

READ ALSO: No mercy: For doing this, court sends APC chieftain to jail

Fred had caught the lady victim who was not named by introducing himself as one Benson, an American national serving in Afghanistan and after several conversations, he told her that he wanted to come to India and settle with her by investing his savings, which he told was about five million US dollars.

The victim later received a call from a lady who introduced herself as a manager in the customs department of the airport in New Delhi and said that Mr. Benson was apprehended by the customs department for bringing US Dollars and gold and diamond jewellery. Fred (still posing as Benson) also called and informed her that if she pays the taxes as told, the customs officer would release his money and jewellery which they would spend in their future life.

Believing him, the victim transferred N7.4million (Rs.2.5 lakh) in the bank accounts provided by the accused. Later she realized that she had been duped and reported to the police which swung into action.

Omeleze was brought to Hyderabad and was remanded to judicial custody on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: Fast all in one -- UC Browser

Police said Omeleze lived in Mehrauli, New Delhi and preliminary investigation showed that he arrived in India in 2012 and was staying in different localities in New Delhi. After his original visit visa expired two months after arriving in India, he prepared a fake Indian visa sticker and pasted it on his passport to rent a house.

Omeleze, who was reportedly arrested with a whopping 500,000 (5 lakh) mobile numbers and 100,000 (one lakh) email IDs of Indians found on his laptop, created several Facebook profiles by putting photos of smart looking Americans and used it to chat with Indian women online after searching for their profiles.

Meanwhile, just some days back, two Nigerian men were arrested by police in India for reportedly dealing in drug trade.

According to report in Indias Mail Today, the duo of 23-year-old Kenneth Jideo and 27-year-old Obuneme Victor were arrested by police in Bengaluru for selling cocaine to college students.

Source: Legit.ng
Director Aanand L Rai has rubbished rumours that Parineeti Chopra has been cast opposite Shah Rukh Khan in his next film.

By India Today Web Desk: Aanand L Rai has rubbished rumours that he has cast actor Parineeti Chopra in his next film starring superstar Shah Rukh Khan. He says he is yet to zero in on a leading lady.

WATCH: Parineeti Chopra sizzles in Jaaneman Aah from Dishoom

ALSO READ: Parineeti Chopra to replace Sonakshi Sinha in Dabangg 3?

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When Rai was asked if he has finalised Parineeti for the film, he told IANS, "No, all these speculations are happening because of me... Because I am not touching the finishing line and coming up with the cast."

"These speculations are happening because of my laziness, but yes, I will take a couple of weeks to take a call. I'm in talks with a few actors, but none of them has been finalised yet."

Asked if he has even approached Parineeti, he said, "No, I haven't. Give me two weeks and I will be able to talk about it in a better way."

Rai, who has made Raanjhanaa earlier, also said it is going to be a very tough film for him.

"It's a tough film for a person like me because this film will have everything, but technically it's challenging for me. The visual effects work for this film is something which will be very challenging for me as a director," Rai said.

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17-year-old Varun, a class 12th student of DAV school left for Srinagar today evening to hoist the tricolor at the Lal Chowk on August 15.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Patna boy Varun Kumar Singh has set out for Srinagar to hoist the tricolor at the Lal Chowk on August 15, the Independence Day. 17-year-old Varun, a class 12th student of DAV school left for Srinagar today evening with the tricolor in his hand.

His cousin brother has also joined him in his cause. Varun left for Delhi via Sampoorn Kranti Express without a confirmed ticket in hand. Varun is determined that despite the volatile situation in the state, he would be able to achieve his mission on the Independence Day.

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Before departing for Delhi, an agitated Varun said that he took the decision of flagging the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar after he witnessing the turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir for last one month.

"I am going to Lal Chowk in Srinagar to hoist national flag. Kashmir is part of India and I have all right to hoist the flag there", said Varun Kumar.

Varun was also upset with the manner pro-Pakistani slogans were shouted on the streets of Patna last month and also a Pakistani flag unfurled in Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's home district, Nalanda.

"I am disturbed by what is going on in Kashmir. Also in Patna, pro-Pakistan slogans were chanted and a Pakistani flag was hoisted in Nalanda. All these have angered me", said the Patna boy.

Varun knows that the Srinagar is under curfew for more than a month now post violence that erupted after the killing of alleged terrorist Burhan Wani but maintained that he would attain success in his mission.

"Despite curfew I will hoist the national tricolor on 15th August", Varun said.

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Malayalam actor Jayasurya appealed for better roads in the state to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, through a video he uploaded on Faceboook. CM has responded to the actor in a Facebook post assuring betterment of roads.

By India Today Web Desk: On August 9, Malayalam actor Jayasurya posted a video on his Facebook page. The video addressed to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has, by now, garnered over 1.1 million views and has been shared over 35,000 times.

In the video, the actor talks about the issue of potholes on roads and how the unmaintained roads claim lives of the common, tax-paying, citizens. He says he was compelled to reach out to the CM through such a Facebook video since he saw a youngster falling off his bike and getting injured due to a pothole. He appeals to the CM to fix the roads in the state and says it is a basic necessity.

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Here's Jayasurya's video message to the Kerala CM (of course, for those who understand):







Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, despite being a hardcore communist, is a leader who has moved ahead with time. He is active on social media networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Vijayan responded to Jayasurya's plea in a long Facebook post listing all the actions he has taken so far to fix the issue and talking about how roads will be maintained.

In the Facebook post he made only an hour ago, CM Vijayan said, "The pathetic state of roads in the state is a reality. Roads turn into huge potholes within a year from its construction."

He continued saying, "The LDF had already put forward its stand on the matter, even before coming into power. This government considers this matter a priority and will ensure well-maintained roads."

"Time-bound repair activities of the roads that have been destroyed due to the rain have already been decided," he said. CM in his long post, also said, "the standard of the roads can be risen with cooperation from the public" and that, "the time taken for officials to act upon the complaints they recieve should be minimal".

CM lauded Jayasurya for taking out time amid promoting his upcoming movie Pretham and urged actors and producers like him to use the CSR fund of their registered companies towards betterment of the infrastructure in the state.

Here are screenshots of CM's Facebook post (again, for those who can read Malayalam):



Jayasurya, in a new post, thanked Vijayan for listening to the voice of the people and shared the screenshots of CM's reply.





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Even when hes sitting in front of a box of Mrs. Winners fried chicken and biscuits, John Buttolph still looks like an attorney. The 63-year-old, who has no food or restaurant experience, stepped away from his 35-year career as a lawyer to focus on resurrecting the disappearing fried chicken chain in the Southeast.

Founded in 1979, Mrs. Winners was once a staple in the quick-service restaurant fried chicken and biscuits market, known for authentic Southern fried chicken, made-from-scratch biscuits and hot-frosted cinnamon swirls. But after some financial mismanagement, the beloved southeastern chain went bankrupt and shuttered all of its company-owned stores in 2010. The footprint went from 184 locations to just 12.

Since then, not a week has gone by without some sort of public plea to bring back Mrs. Winners to the people.

Thats where Buttolph, who had been hired as general counsel for the chain in 2009, comes in.

After spending a couple years working with the management of the company, working with the landlords on the rented stores, the vendors, and customers it was apparent to me that there was a tremendous affection for this brand and people just didnt understand why all the stores were closing, he says.

Several years following the bankruptcy, Buttolph had the opportunity to acquire the intellectual property associated with Mrs. Winners.

There were no stores left, no equipment, just a trademarked name, Buttolph says. That was really it. The former owners of the company werent involved in the trademark.

In 2012, Buttolph made the move to acquire the trademark and set up franchising opportunities. He says that he had to clean house a little bit first  there were some individuals operating Mrs. Winners that werent affiliated with corporate, but he offered them ways to stay involved in the company. He has is also recruiting new franchisees, with the goal of having 100 new restaurants open within the next five years.

And people are committed to helping bring the brand back.

In Memphis, Mrs. Winners social media director, Rachel Pedersen, noticed residents begging for the chain to return to the city. Pederson enlisted the help of her husband and father to invest a majority of the funds necessary to open the restaurant  but then the community helped raise around $30,000 in additional funds via a crowdfunding campaign.

Then in Atlanta, there are already six new restaurants being raised from the ashes of Mrs. Winners. The first debuted in several months ago and the demand was through the roof. The drive-thru line was so long that patrol cars needed to direct traffic, people waited for two hours to the taste of the Southern fried chicken, and the enthusiasm hasnt let up since.

Chris Murray is an Atlanta franchisee for Mrs. Winners. His location opened up about three months ago, but he has been a fan of their food for a long time.

Oh yeah  Mrs. Winners was one of the biggest things in Atlanta, Murray says. Theyre country fried steak? Real big.

In the time he has been open, Murray says that his location has turned into something of a celebrity hotspot  garnering visits from Georgia Congressman John Lewis, Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard, and reps from the Tyler Perry studios.

Weve gotten a lot of support from the community, Murray says. To be honest, they show a lot of love and appreciation for it.

And thats exactly the reason that a Buttolph quit his job to resurrect a chicken chain  the deep-fried local lovin. Ultimately, hed like to see Mrs. Winners expand into northeastern cities like Chicago and Detroit, but in the meantime, the revival of Mrs Winners Fried Chicken and Biscuits is off to a delicious start.
The blast happened at a power plant in Dangyang, in the central province of Hubei, today afternoon.

The blast happened at a power plant in Dangyang

By India Today Web Desk: An explosion at a plant in central China has killed at least 21 people and injured five, state media reported today.

The blast happened at a power plant in Dangyang, in the central province of Hubei, on Thursday afternoon, state television said.

Deadly accidents at industrial plants in China are relatively common, and repeatedly raise questions about the country's safety standards.

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China vowed to improve industrial standards after chemical blasts in its port city of Tianjin last August killed 165 people.

A picture from the scene in Dangyang, east-central China, shows firefighters battling large flames at the chemical plant.

People's Daily China report that the incident unfolded after a high pressure steam tube broke.

However this has not yet been confirmed by authorities.

The tragedy is reminiscent of a similar incident last year, when there was another chemical plant explosion in the Zhejiang province.

#Update: At least 21 killed, 5 wounded, 3 of whom in serious condition after #blast of chemical plant in Dangyang pic.twitter.com/XqmcMw9XXAPeople's Daily,China (@PDChina) August 11, 2016

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Update  3rd Sep 2016

The news went viral last month, about a Navi Mumbai dealer of Kawasaki India had taken money from at least 11 customers, and had failed to deliver them the said bikes for more than 3 months. At that time, it was revealed that the proprietor of the said dealership (SNK Palm Beach), Satyen Karandikar, had said that either the customers will be given the bikes, or a full refund with interest will be returned back to the customers.

Now, Kawasaki India has posted a public notice across all major newspapers in the city stating that they are no longer associated with SNK Palm Beach, and that it is not a Kawasaki India dealer anymore. Those customers who continue to deal with them, are doing it at their own risk, added the statement.

Original story  11th Aug 2016

Reminders, telephone calls, emails and repeated follow-ups with Kawasaki dealership at SNK, Palm Beach, Navi Mumbai has yielded no results for Neil Shah and many others.

When Neil Shah booked a Kawasaki Z800 motorcycle with the exclusive Kawasaki dealership SNK Bajaj, Palm Beach at Navi Mumbai little did he realize that he will be taken for a ride. It has been well over 90 days that Neil has been running from pillar to post to get delivery of his bike but all to no avail.

A Kawasaki Z800 was booked by Neil on 9th May 2016 at the Kawasaki dealership and while over 90 days have passed, there is no mention of the due date of delivery. Neil is not the only such customer in such a predicament as there are 10 other buyers who have been complaining of the same issue.

While Neil has booked the Z800, there are some who have booked bigger Kawasaki bikes, some costing as much as INR 15 lakhs. Neil has sent numerous reminders to the company but from that quarter too he has not received any satisfactory replies and nor has the company taken any action against its authorized dealer for delayed delivery. Kawasakis response clearly stated that they have not received money from their dealership and has hence delayed delivery. The dealer is not ready to return the money as well.

This ongoing battle between Kawasaki, their authorized dealership and a host of displeased customers could only end when the buyers take legal recourse into the issue. Some buyers have already started payment of EMIs while others have had to part with their hard earned money.

We are awaiting Kawasaki Indias reply on the same. The post will be updated once they send a statement.

Screenshots of letters via Team-Bhp

UPDATE  Kawasaki India delivers motorcycles to those who were conned by SNK Palm Beach dealer
The V-Class Marco Polo in India comes in two variants: Horizon (Rs.1.38 crore) and Marco Polo (Rs.1.46 crores).

Mercedes-Benz has launched the V-Class Marco Polo in India at Auto Expo 2020 at a starting price of Rs 1.38 crore ex-sh for the entry-level Marco Polo Horizon variant. The higher (just) Marco Polo costs Rs 1.46 crore ex-sh. The V-Class Marco Polo is a camper van, designed for a set of elite customers who prefer a lavish lifestyle on the road. It is suitable for long journeys and is comfortable and practical in terms of its interior make-up.

The V-Class Marco Polo measures 5,140 mm in length, 1,928mm in width, 1,901mm in height and has a 3,200 mm wheelbase. It is comfortable for up to 4 persons and boasts of the highest quality material with interiors done up in a light colour scheme. Sleeping and seating arrangements are best suited for outdoor camping which, along with its powerful engine line-up with 9G-TRONIC suspension and the best in safety equipment, makes the V-Class Marco Polo suitable for long journeys.

The V-Class Marco Polo gets sleeping arrangements for up to 4 persons in a two-seat bench setup with electro-pneumatic backrests. The 2 seater bench gets bench extensions measuring 2.031.13 meters and comes with seat bolsters and a drawer. The seating configuration can be extended up to 6 seats as an option. There are blinds for the windows and curtain for the rear windshield.

The V-Class Marco Polo also comes with its own kitchenette with hob and twin gas burners, a sink, refrigerator of 40-litre capacity and a folding table along with cupboards, drawers and a storage box on the roof. It also comprises of freshwater and wastewater tanks of 38 litres and 40 litres, respectively. Electricity is supplied via 230V and USB sockets. Seating for both driver and front passenger is comfortable with swivel function and are ergonomically built. There is also an extendable awning, along with a camping table with two chairs.

In terms of safety, the V-Class Marco Polo gets driver and front passenger airbags, attention assist, 360-degree reversible camera, LED intelligent lighting system along with Agility Control features with Mercedes Me-Connect Services.

V-Class Marco Polo and Marco Polo Horizon get their power via a BS6 2.0-litre diesel engine offering 163 PS power at 4,200 rpm and 380 Nm torque at 1,400-2,400 rpm mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission. This is the same engine that currently powers the Mercedes Benz V-Class offered in Expression, Exclusive and Elite trims.

Opened for bookings, Mercedes Benz India will also offer a large amount of customizable options on the V-Class Marco Polo which is perfectly suited as a vanity van for actors.
After their college got over, two girls took a rickshaw to head back home. While boarding the rickshaw, one of the girls noticed a man on motorcycle, staring at them. Not deciding to react, the girls boarded the rickshaw and started their journey.

Within a few minutes, they see the same man, this time he is riding his motorcycle (a black coloured Yamaha RX100). But this time, the rider was not only staring at the girls in rickshaw, but was also jerking off at the same time, in broad daylight!

Both girls panicked. But, thanks to the quick thinking of one of the girls, they manage to click the mans shameless act on their phone. Soon they circulated the image among their friends. One of their friend, Zeeba tweeted the image to Mumbai police.

@MumbaiPolice this man started masturbating looking at my friends! This has happened today! Please take action! pic.twitter.com/OBZ9DoBhTL  Zeeba (@ZChashteh) July 12, 2016

Mumbai Police responded swiftly to the tweet. Within one hour, she got a phone call from the respective Police department asking for more details of the rider. Luckily, the girls in rickshaw had noted down the bikes registration number plate. In less than 3 hours, Mumbai Police arrested the rider, who is a 35 year old Bandra resident known as Rais Likayat Qureshi. He is single, and stays with his parents.

Looking at the girls, the accused flashed his private parts and began masturbating on the moving bike. The teenage girls were horrified, but did the smartest thing by clicking his photographs and catching him in the act, said an officer from Khar police station.

The photograph leaves no doubt as to what Qureshi was doing. Cops have booked him under Section 354 (outraging womans modesty). He was presented at Bandra Metropolitan magistrate court, after which he was sent to judicial custody till July 26.

via mid-day
Tata Altroz EV has made its debut at Geneva International Motor Show 2019 today. The grand unveil saw Ratan Tata take centrestage. Two variants are on offer, one as a production ready car with petrol / diesel engine. And second, as an EV, which is a concept. Tata Altroz electric vehicle will be a first in premium hatchback segment in India. There is no official word out on the launch timeline, but rumours suggest Tata could launch the Altroz electric later next year. In 2019, they will launch the petrol and diesel version of the Altroz.

New Tata Altroz EV is seen in an electric blue exterior paint finish, the same shade was used in a lot of teasers in the past few days. In the front you have LED headlamps, which sit below the grille. The grille is finished in metallic paint, and seems to have an LED running across the width of the car. Alloys are machine cut dual tone 16 inch, Interiors are done in white. Expect the car to have a real world driving range of 150 to 200 kms.

Altroz is the first Tata car to be based on new ALFA (Agile Light Flexible Advanced) Architecture. ALFA is a highly flexible platform and it is set to spawn a range of urban vehicles. ALFA Arc is scalable and it can be tweaked to accommodate multiple body styles such as compact SUV, coupe, hatchback, etc. It also supports multiple powertrains including hybrid and electric. ALFA optimizes cabin space and theres plenty of room in the boot as well.

This means, that apart from full electric, Tata could also launch Altroz as a hybrid option in the future. Hybrid Altroz could help allay fears that people usually have about getting stranded when the battery runs out of their fully electric vehicle. It would be a good option till the time proper EV infrastructure is developed in the country. Govt of India has just announced phase 2 of FAME scheme, which will give subsidy of Rs 10,000 crores to EV buyers in India. Electric and hybrid car buyers can get subsidy of up to Rs 2.5 lakhs. This scheme will definitely help push EV and hybrid car sales in India.

Just like Harrier, Tata Altroz has utilized IMPACT 2.0 design. Altroz has a sporty, aerodynamic profile with key features such as sweptback projector headlamps with dual function LED DRLs (also work as turn indicators), chrome lip / Humanity Line, rising window line and sculpted shoulders. Rear door handles on Altroz are positioned on the C-Pillar. At the rear, Altroz has protruding LED tail lamps, stylish tailgate and chrome finisher.

Interiors are in line with its exterior body language. Altroz EV has sporty interiors. There is adequate space on the inside and various high-end features such as a large touchscreen infotainment system. A semi-digital instrument cluster and T-shaped central console. It will also have electric parking brake. It also gets Jaguar Land Rover style gear knob.

At the Geneva Show today, Tata also revealed Altroz with petrol and diesel engine option, Buzzard SUV based on Harrier and H2X Hornbill mini SUV to sit below Nexon at the same show.More details will be revealed later today, when Altroz and Altroz EV officially debuts along with H7X and Hornbill.
Toyota is in the process of deriving crossover variants of its popular hatchbacks and sedans to keep up with global trend

The auto giant recently premiered that Yaris Cross which which will share its platform and components with its hatchback sibling. The company is also reported to be working on a slightly larger crossover based on the new Corolla.

It was recently discovered that the trademark Corolla Cross was filed in Australia two years ago. A heavily disguised prototype was seen testing in Thailand a few days ago, indicating that the Toyota Corolla Cross is in advanced stages of development.

Also Read  2020 Toyota Corolla Gets 5 Star Safety Rating

It seems that the test mule is donning RAV4 body panels as a decoy. If the Yaris Cross is anything to go by, the Corolla Cross can be expected to feature a fresh styling. While the interior too is expected to feature fresh styling, we expect the crossover to share a significant number of components with the existing Corolla.

The powertrain lineup is expected to comprise 1.8-liter and 2.0-liter petrol hybrid systems which are employed by a range of Toyota products across the world. Toyota is also likely to introduce an all-electric powertrain. The SUV will be based on the modular TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture). One can expect the upcoming Toyota to be equipped with comprehensive suite of advanced driver assistance systems.

With customer preference turning towards crossovers steadily, it is imperative for automakers to configure their product lineups accordingly. The Corolla may be the best selling car in the history but if it doesnt adopt the crossover avatar, the nameplate may slowly fade away into oblivion.

In global markets, it will be positioned between the C-HR and RAV4. South East Asia, Australia, North America and Europe are expected to be the primary target markets. It is too early to say if Toyota Kirloskar Motor will launch the Corolla Cross in India but if it does, the vehicle would be positioned to take on the likes of MG Hector Plus, Jeep Compass, Tata Gravitas, etc.

Also Read  Toyota Corolla Discontinued in India

The Toyota Corolla Cross is expected to be ready for its international debut in late 2021 or early 2022. Given that it will be a Corolla, one can expect it to emerge as an important volume spinner for the brand. Rivals like Hyundai and Honda may adopt a similar strategy and migrate their existing hatchback and sedan nameplates (like Elantra, Accord, etc) to crossover platforms.
Scott Atran has done some really interesting research on why ordinary people become terrorists.

Academics who study warfare and terrorism typically dont conduct research just kilometers from the front lines of battle. But taking the laboratory to the fight is crucial for figuring out what impels people to make the ultimate sacrifice to, for example, impose Islamic law on others, says Atran, who is affiliated with the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris.

Atrans war zone research over the last few years, and interviews during the last decade with members of various groups engaged in militant jihad (or holy war in the name of Islamic law), give him a gritty perspective on this issue. He rejects popular assumptions that people frequently join up, fight and die for terrorist groups due to mental problems, poverty, brainwashing or savvy recruitment efforts by jihadist organizations.

Instead, he argues, young people adrift in a globalized world find their own way to ISIS, looking to don a social identity that gives their lives significance. Groups of dissatisfied young adult friends around the world  often with little knowledge of Islam but yearning for lives of profound meaning and glory  typically choose to become volunteers in the Islamic State army in Syria and Iraq, Atran contends. Many of these individuals connect via the internet and social media to form a global community of alienated youth seeking heroic sacrifice, he proposes.

Preliminary experimental evidence suggests that not only global terrorism, but also festering state and ethnic conflicts, revolutions and even human rights movementsthink of the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1960sdepend on what Atran refers to as devoted actors. These individuals, he argues, will sacrifice themselves, their families and anyone or anything else when a volatile mix of conditions are in play. First, devoted actors adopt values they regard as sacred and nonnegotiable, to be defended at all costs. Then, when they join a like-minded group of nonkin that feels like a family  a band of brothers  a collective sense of invincibility and special destiny overwhelms feelings of individuality. As members of a tightly bound group that perceives its sacred values under attack, devoted actors will kill and die for each other.
An archaeological expedition from the University of Gothenburg has discovered one of the richest graves from the Late Bronze Age ever found on the island of Cyprus. The grave and its offering pit, located adjacent the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, contained many fantastic gold objects such as a diadem, pearls, earrings and Egyptian scarabs, as well as more than 100 richly ornamented ceramic vessels. The objects, which originate from several adjacent cultures, confirm the central role of Cyprus in long-distance trade.

Hala Sultan Tekke, a Bronze Age city from 16001150 BC that covered an area of up to 50 hectares, had far-reaching trade connections that included Sweden. Peter Fischer, professor of Cypriote archaeology at the University of Gothenburg, has led the excavations performed by the Swedish Cyprus expedition for seven seasons since 2010.

The excavations in May and June this year were the most successful to date. We discovered an older city quarter from around 1250 BC and outside the city we found an incredibly rich grave, one of the richest in Cyprus from this period, and an offering pit next to it. The fact that we have discovered a burial site from the Late Bronze Age is quite sensational, since those who died around this time were usually buried within the settlement, says Fischer.

The area where the grave was found is exposed to erosion caused by farming. Prior to the excavation, a so-called geophysical survey was performed using radar equipment able to identify what is in the ground down to a depth of two metres. The surveying revealed almost 100 underground pits, some of which turned out to be wells, some offering pits and  as this year  a grave.

Wells are usually one metre in diameter, but this structure was 4 x 3 metres. The grave seems to be a family tomb for eight children ages 510 years and nine adults, of whom the oldest was about 40 years old. The life expectancy was much shorter back then than it is today, says Fischer.

The archaeologists found over 100 ceramic vessels and several gold finds, including a diadem, beads, earrings and Egyptian scarabs, in the grave and the offering pit. The finds also include gemstones and five cylinder seals, some produced locally and some from Syria and Mesopotamia, as well as a bronze dagger.

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The archaeologists assign the greatest importance to the more than 140 complete ceramic vessels, most of which were decorated with spectacular illustrations of for example people sitting in a chariot drawn by two horses and a woman wearing a beautiful dress. There were also vases decorated with religious symbols and animal illustrations of for example fish. Many of the vessels were imported mainly from Greece and Crete but also from Anatolia, or the equivalence of present-day Turkey.

The pottery carries a lot of archaeological information. There were for example high-class Mycenaean imports, meaning pottery from Greece, dated to 15001300 BC. The motif of the woman, possibly a goddess, is Minoan, which means it is from Crete, but the vase was manufactured in Greece. Back in those days, Crete was becoming a Greek colony, says Fischer.

According to Fischer, the painting of the womans dress is highly advanced and shows how wealthy women dressed around this time. The motif can also be found on frescos for example in the Palace of Knossos in Heraklion, Crete. Other finds are from Egypt. Two of the stone scarabs are gold-mounted and one features hieroglyphs spelling men-kheper-re next to an illustration of a pharaoh. This has given the archaeologists a unique opportunity to tie the roughly 3 500-year-old find to a historic person. The inscription refers to Egypts most powerful pharaoh Thutmose III (14791425 BC), during whose reign Egypt peaked in size and influence as he conquered both Syria and parts of Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq.

We also found evidence in the city of large-scale manufacturing and purple-dying of textiles. These products were used in the trade with the high cultures in Egypt, Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Crete and Greece, which explains the rich imported finds.

What is most interesting about the finds is the dating: they are from 1500/1400 BC, but the researchers have still only found the burial site but not the city from this period.

It must have been a rich city judging from the grave we found this year. But it is most likely located closer to the burial site in an area that still has not been explored, says Fischer.

This years excavation period is over and until next years on-site work begins, the researchers have some intense processing of finds to look forward to.

In spring 2017 well continue our uncovering of parts of the city and the burial site. As the integrity of both areas is threatened by agricultural activities, there is a need for quick action to secure our shared cultural heritage before it is destroyed forever, says Fischer
By Maha Siddiqui: In a bid to reduce infant mortality and boost immunity in babies, the government is encouraging women to breastfeed for six months. Another big step was taken in this direction today with the Rajya Sabha passing the Maternity Benefit Bill that will allow women to avail 26 weeks of maternity leave. This is more than double of what women in India could currently avail. This will be mandatory for all organisations, both governement and private, with over 10 women employees and for the first two children only.



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WHAT IS THE BILL ALL ABOUT



The Women and Child Development Ministry provided inputs to the Labour and Employment Ministry that crafted the bill. WCD minister Maneka Gandhi said, "According to a UNICEF report, if a mother breastfeeds for 7 months then many diseases in infants can be prevented. So we have proposed six and a half months." Maneka Gandhi was earlier pushing for 32 weeks (8 months) but it was settled at 26 weeks as the 44th, 45th and 46th Indian Labour Conference had recommended enhancement of maternity benefits to 24 weeks.



Many sceptics were worried that the move could have a negative fallout on the employability of women with the private sector shying away from hiring women employees but Maneka Gandhi smiled and told mediapersons, "I don't think this will deter companies from hiring women. No one can multitask like women." She also made a passionate appeal in the House for the bill saying, "Most people presume it is a holiday. Let me tell you it can be as stressful as it gets."

OPTION FOR CRECHE



The bill will also make it mandatory for organisations with over 50 women employees to have a creche. 12 weeks of maternity leave can be availed in cases of surrogacy (commissioning mother) and adoption. BSP's SC Mishra said that a thought should be given to allowing longer leave to a woman who bears the child in surrogacy too. DMK's Kanimozhi and TMC's Derek O'Brien also pushed for the same. The government was asked to examine this aspect. Labour minister Bandaru said the decision will impact 1.8 million working women in the country. The bill received all round support from the Upper House and was passed by consensus.

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A study published by The BMJ provides more details of an association between Zika virus infection in the womb and a condition known as arthrogryposis, which causes joint deformities at birth, particularly in the arms and legs.

Microcephaly (a rare birth defect where a baby is born with an abnormally small head) and other severe fetal brain defects are the main features of congenital Zika virus syndrome. However, little is still known about other potential health problems that Zika virus infection during pregnancy may cause.

Until recently there were no reports of an association between congenital viral infection and arthrogryposis. After the outbreak of microcephaly in Brazil associated with Zika virus, two reports suggested an association, but they did not describe the deformities in detail.

So a research team based in Recife, the Brazilian city at the centre of the Zika epidemic, decided to investigate the possible causes of the joint deformities.

They studied detailed brain and joint images of seven children with arthrogryposis and a diagnosis of congenital infection, presumably caused by Zika virus. All children tested negative for the five other main infectious causes of microcephaly -- toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, rubella, syphilis, and HIV.

All children showed signs of brain calcification, a condition in which calcium builds up in the brain. The theory is that the Zika virus destroys brain cells, and forms lesions similar to "scars" on which calcium is deposited.

All the children underwent high definition scanning of the joints and surrounding tissues, but there was no evidence of joint abnormalities.

This led the researchers to say that the arthrogryposis "did not result from abnormalities of the joints themselves, but was likely to be of neurogenic origin" -- a process involving motor neurones (cells that control the contraction or relaxation of muscles) -- leading to fixed postures in the womb and consequently deformities.

They point out that further research is needed with a larger number of cases to study the neurological abnormalities behind arthrogryposis, but suggest that children should receive orthopaedic follow-up ... "because they could develop musculoskeletal deformities secondary to neurological impairment."

Based on these observations, the researchers conclude that "congenital Zika syndrome should be added to the differential diagnosis of congenital infections and arthrogryposis."

Because this is an observational study, no firm conclusions can be drawn about the effect of the Zika virus on arthrogryposis. Nevertheless, the authors suggest that this condition might be related to the way motor neurons carry signals to the unborn baby's muscles, or to problems with arteries and veins (vascular disorders).
A research team, led by Emeritus Professor Kazuhiro Nakaya of Japan's Hokkaido University, analyzed world-first footage captured by public broadcaster NHK in which two goblin sharks separately captured prey on a total of five occasions. The research has unraveled a century-old mystery surrounding how the deep-sea shark utilizes its protruding jaws, among other factors, to feed itself.

The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) was first discovered in deep waters off Japan in 1898.

The biting process, named "slingshot feeding" by the researchers, involved the projection of the jaws at speeds of up to 3.1 meters per second -- the fastest speed recorded for a fish -- over distances comparable to 8.6-9.4 percent of the total length of the shark's body, far outranking the jaw protrusion of other kinds of shark. The researchers also newly discovered that the sharks opened and closed their mouths again during jaw-retraction, for unknown reasons.

The researchers concluded that the shark, which has a slow swimming speed, has evolved to adapt to deep-sea environments where food is scarce, possibly compensating for its slow swimming speed.

Known as Mitsukuri sharks in Japan, goblin sharks are so called in Western nations due to their somewhat alarming appearance: a pinkish body lacking proper pigment, exposed teeth and protruding jaws. Until now, few details were known about the species. The new findings on once shallow-water-dwelling sharks are likely to have a strong impact on future studies relating to how fish adapt to deep-sea environments.
University of Helsinki researchers have previously demonstrated that a point mutation in a gene of serotonin 2B receptor can render the carrier prone to impulsive behaviour, particularly when drunk. Now the research group has established that the same mutation may shield its bearers from obesity and insulin resistance, both of which are associated with type 2 diabetes.

Published in a recent issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the study focused on the insulin sensitivity, beta cell activity and BMI of 98 Finnish men between the ages of 25 and 30, all of whom had been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. The results indicate that carriers of a point mutation in a gene of serotonin 2B receptor had a lower BMI and higher insulin sensitivity than persons without the mutation. Normally, men with low testosterone levels are more susceptible to metabolic disorders, but among carriers of the point mutation, this tendency was reversed -- lower levels of testosterone increased insulin sensitivity.

The results also suggest that men in their thirties with antisocial personalities may constitute a risk group for insulin resistance, and consequently type 2 diabetes later in life.

"It is fascinating to think that this receptor mutation which has been passed through the chain of evolution would impact both the brain as impulsive behaviour and energy metabolism," says psychiatrist, Dr Roope Tikkanen from the University of Helsinki, who led the study.

"We could speculate that the compound effect the mutation and testosterone have on energy metabolism may have been beneficial in the cool, nutrition-poor environment after the Ice Age, particularly for men with a high physiological level of testosterone -- they would have survived with a lower calorie intake.

Simultaneously, the aggression associated with high levels of testosterone may have helped them compete for food."

In our modern society with ample food, the carriers of the mutation who have normal or low levels of testosterone may be better protected from metabolic illnesses relating to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes.

"One would assume that the effect would be particularly pronounced in women, who naturally have lower levels of testosterone than men," Tikkanen points out.

Over 100,000 Finns and more than 1,000 Finnish infants born every year are carriers of the point mutation in the serotonin 2B receptor. The intention is to study the national health implications of the results from the extensive FINRISKI research material through cooperation between Finnish, Swedish and American researchers.

"Our results will further highlight the importance of Finnish diabetes research," Tikkanen states.
Many believe that enormous quantities of gold lie buried somewhere in the Philippines. According to a popular account, Japanese soldiers used the Philippines as a base to hide treasures they had plundered from regions under their control during World War II. At the close of the war, the treasure was left behind in several hiding places.

To this day, illegal treasure-hunters continue to damage important archaeological sites across the Philippines in the hopes of striking rich. Conspiracies abound, including allegations that high-level politicians have claimed treasure for themselves and kept the discovery quiet.

But the famous World War II treasure probably never existed, argues Piers Kelly, a linguistic anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany. In a paper published recently in The Journal of Folklore Research, Kelly claimed that the popular tale is simply a continuation of a long local tradition of folklore, which has its origins long before the war.

Treasure myths thrive in periods of crisis

"Since at least the nineteenth century Filipino story-tellers have shared tales of hidden valuables such as gold, church bells, silver coins and fine tableware," Kelly explains. "By tracing variations of this story, we were able to show that their popularity coincides with periods of war and crisis. The promise of future wealth may have served to boost local morale."

These legends are also used to make sense of extreme resource inequality. When a neighbour is unaccountably rich, Kelly argues, it is easier to imagine that they discovered treasure than it is to confront uncomfortable economic injustices.

In the present era of globalisation, lost treasure stories in the Philippines are also exchanged as a way of challenging a cultural 'inferiority complex' and of restoring a sense of national pride. The imagined gold plays the role of a future 'golden age' in which the Philippines overcomes its colonial past and is restored to greatness.
Reducing outdoor concentrations of two air pollutants, ozone (O 3 ) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), to levels below those set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would likely save thousands of lives each year, result in far fewer serious illnesses and dramatically reduce missed days of school and work, according to a new analysis conducted by the American Thoracic Society and the Marron Institute of Urban Management at New York University.

In "Estimated Excess Morbidity and Mortality Caused by Air Pollution above ATS Recommended Standards, 2011-2013," published online in the August edition of Annals of the American Thoracic Society, researchers report on the annual health benefits of meeting more protective standards recommended by the ATS for O 3 and PM2.5.

They found that meeting a 0.060 parts per million (ppm) 8-hour standard for O 3 rather than the EPA's 0.070 ppm standard, and an 11 micrograms per cubic meter (g/m3) annual standard for PM2.5, rather than the EPA's 12 g/m3 standard, would each year:

Save 9,320 lives;

Reduce serious health events (morbidities), such as heart attacks, hospital admissions and emergency room visits, by 21,400; and

Decrease "adverse impact days," during which people may not be able to work, go to school or otherwise be physically active because of severe breathing problems, by 19,300,000 days.

"While there is information available about counties in the United States that exceed EPA air pollution standards, there has not been a similar source of information about how that air pollution actually affects the health of people living in those areas," said lead study author Kevin Cromar, PhD, director of the Air Quality Program at the Marron Institute of Urban Management and assistant professor of population health and environmental medicine at the NYU School of Medicine.

The ATS recommended standards for O 3 and PM2.5 are based on scores of national and international epidemiological, animal and human exposure studies.

The EPA sets standards for six principal air pollutants to meet its obligation under the Clean Air Act to protect the health of the American public, including vulnerable populations, by an adequate margin of safety. In addition to ozone and particulate matter, the other pollutants are lead, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

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Dr. Cromar said that most studies have looked at only one air pollutant. By including the two most important air pollutants in the analysis, the new study "gives policy makers and local air quality managers a much better picture of what is going on." Overall, the study found that the more protective O 3 standard accounted for about 75 percent of the estimated health benefits due to a greater number of metropolitan areas with O 3 concentrations above the ATS recommendations.

The researchers used the same software that the EPA uses to conduct regulatory cost-benefit analysis to estimate the health benefits of more protective standards for O 3 and PM2.5. Data inputted into the program came from census tract information, 19 large national or multi-city studies that assessed the health impacts of the two pollutants, and a network of air monitors that the EPA relies upon to determine if states and counties are meeting air quality.

The authors emphasized that their findings do not specifically address an individual's health risk or the personal benefits of cleaner air, but rather assess population level health impacts. Metropolitan areas with the large populations and elevated concentrations of one or both air pollutants, they wrote, would realize the biggest improvements in public health by meeting the more protective standards.

The ten metropolitan areas that would benefit the most from more protective O 3 and PM2.5 standards are:

Los Angeles (Long Beach-Glendale), CA: 1,341 lives saved, 3,255 fewer morbidities and 2,892,029 fewer impacted days

Riverside (San Bernardino-Ontario), CA: 808 lives saved, 1,416 fewer morbidities and 1,321,762 fewer impacted days

New York City (Jersey City-White Plains), NY-NJ: 282 lives saved, 977 fewer morbidities and 818,666 fewer impacted days

Phoenix (Mesa-Scottsdale), AZ: 283 lives saved, 598 fewer morbidities and 636,730 fewer impacted days

Pittsburgh, PA: 285 lives saved, 533 fewer morbidities and 281,858 fewer impacted days

Fresno, CA: 260 lives saved, 672 fewer morbidities and 390,551 fewer impacted days

Bakersfield, CA: 241 lives saved, 333 fewer morbidities and 220,722 fewer impacted days

Houston: (The Woodlands-Sugar Land), TX: 229 lives saved, 661 fewer morbidities and 636, 211 fewer impacted days

Cleveland (Elyria), OH: 196 lives saved, 487 fewer morbidities and 231,859 fewer impacted days

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN: 173 lives saved, 298 fewer morbidities and 192,989 fewer impacted days

The ATS and Marron Institute expect to update the report annually. The report and an online tool with searchable information can be found at http://www.healthoftheair.org/. The online tool includes information about whether a metropolitan area meets EPA and ATS-recommended standards for each of the two pollutants and estimates the health benefits, for each pollutant, of meeting ATS recommended standards.

"As an organization of health care providers and researchers, we know firsthand the toll air pollution takes on people's health, particularly the young and elderly," said ATS President David Gozal, MD, MBA, Herbert T. Abelson professor of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago. "This report begins to quantify that toll and provides information that, we believe, should inform the setting of national air pollution standards."

He added, "Equally important, state and local policy makers can use the online tool to better understand the nature of their air pollution problem so they can consider the best solutions for addressing their particular problem and improving the public's health."
Methods of collective intelligence can result in considerably more accurate medical diagnoses, but only under certain conditions. A study headed by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development has shed new light on how medical diagnostics can be boosted by obtaining several independent judgements. The researchers also found that the group composition is decisive for the quality of the diagnosis.

Four eyes are better than two -- this rule has long been valid when it comes to making serious medical diagnoses. But when is it actually better to seek several opinions and how many should be sought? These are the questions that researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries have been looking into.

"We have been investigating how social systems in nature -- such as fish swarms -- process information and how this can be used to improve human decision-making processes," Max Wolf from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries explains the method.

In a follow-up study, the researchers have now examined how the diagnostic accuracy of individual doctors affects the collective diagnostic outcome. "Collective intelligence is a promising approach to making better decisions. We were interested in which conditions have to be met for the group's decision to be better than that of the best individual in the group," says Ralf Kurvers, lead author of the study and researcher in the Center for Adaptive Rationality at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.

Similar individual abilities within a group are key

The study shows that the diagnostic accuracy of the doctors whose diagnoses are combined has to be similar. Only then can the collective outperform the best individual in the group. If, in contrast, doctors' levels of accuracy differ too much, combining their decisions leads to worse diagnostic outcomes. This effect holds across different group sizes and different performance levels of the best group member. "It is not the case that groups always make the best decisions. If individual abilities differ too much within the group, it makes more sense to rely on the best diagnostician in the group," says Ralf Kurvers.

For their study, the researchers used two large datasets available from previous studies on breast and skin cancer diagnostics. They were thus able to draw on more than 20,000 diagnoses made by more than 140 doctors to determine individual diagnostic accuracy. They used this information to identify the conditions under which diagnoses made using collective intelligence rules are more accurate than the diagnoses of the best individual. Specifically, they applied the choose-the-most-confident rule and the majority rule. The choose-the-most-confident rule adopts the diagnosis of the doctor who has the highest confidence in his/her diagnosis; the majority rule takes the diagnosis given by the most doctors.

"Our findings represent another major step in understanding how collective intelligence emerges," says co-author Max Wolf, who investigates collective intelligence in natural settings at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries. The new findings underline how important the diagnostic accuracy of individual doctors is for the overall outcome. Diagnostic accuracy should therefore be a key criterion for assembling groups in medical diagnostics -- for example, in the context of independent double reading of mammograms. In future work, the researchers plan to find out what information is needed to gauge a doctor's diagnostic accuracy as quickly as possible.
In a study spanning molecular genetics, stem cells and the sciences of both brain and behavior, researchers at University of California San Diego, with colleagues at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies and elsewhere, have created a neurodevelopmental model of a rare genetic disorder that may provide new insights into the underlying neurobiology of the human social brain.

The findings are published in the August 10 online edition of Nature.

Scientists investigated Williams syndrome or WS, a rare genetic condition caused by deletion of one copy of 25 contiguous genes on chromosome 7, out of an estimated 30,000 genes in the brain. WS affects one in 10,000 people worldwide, and an estimated 20,000 Americans. The condition occurs equally in both genders and across cultures.

WS results in a host of medical problems as well as a specific heart defect. Persons with the deletion typically display a distinctive face with a small, upturned nose, wide mouth, full lips and small chin and may also have dental and orthopedic problems. Neurologically, they have developmental delays, with severe spatial deficits, yet relative strengths in language use and face processing.

"An interesting aspect is the typical hyper-social predisposition," said study co-author Ursula Bellugi, EdD, director of the cognitive neuroscience lab at Salk and an adjunct professor at UC San Diego who has studied WS for years. "Persons with the WS deletion tend to be overly friendly, overly trusting, drawn to strangers, yet anxious."

But Bellugi said it has not been clear how genetics links to the behavioral aspects of WS. "A human model for the disease could fill in the scientific gaps and would help to understand the mechanisms behind the disorder. WS is an elegant model for being able to go across levels," she said.

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Co-senior study author Alysson Muotri, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, became intrigued by WS because the condition is so different from his usual research focus on autism, which is characterized by lower sociability and language skills.

"I was fascinated on how a genetic defect, a tiny deletion in one of our chromosomes, could make us friendlier, more empathetic and more able to embrace our differences," Muotri said.

In recent years, Muotri and colleagues have created in vitro cellular models of autism using reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from discarded baby teeth of children with autism, work dubbed the "tooth fairy project." They did so again here.

The team began with dental pulp cells extracted from teeth donated by young children with WS. The cells were reprogrammed to become neural progenitor cells able to form functional neuronal networks resembling the developing cortex of the human brain in a dish.

"We discovered that WS neural progenitor cells failed to proliferate due to high levels of cell death," said Muotri. "And as a consequence of the lower replication of progenitor cells, WS brains have reduced cortex surface area." The observation was validated using magnetic resonance imaging of live study participants by Eric Halgren, PhD, professor in the Department of Neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues.

Cultured WS neurons have a distinct morphology. They are more arborized (treelike, with many dendritic branches) than neurons derived from typically developing individuals. "At the functional level, they make more synapses or connections to other neurons than what you would expect," said Muotri. "That might underlie the WS super-social aspect and their gregarious human brain, giving insights into autism and other disorders that affect the social brain."

The neuronal morphology was confirmed using a rare collection of WS postmortem brain tissue by Katerina Semendeferi, PhD, co-senior author and professor at UC San Diego Department of Anthropology. "One striking observation was that these cortical neurons in WS individuals are more complex than controls (typically developing children of same age). The morphological alterations that presumably appeared during WS gestation are kept postnatally."

Muotri noted that the research represents one of the first efforts to use iPSCs and brain in-a-dish technology to generate novel insights about a disease process and not simply replicate data from other models.

But beyond that, he believes studying WS may help explain what makes humans social beings -- a key development in the evolution of humanity. "It was our social power that made us a collaborative species," said Muotri, "capable of dramatic transformation of our environment by creating poetry, music and technology."
With Zika sparking anxiety at the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil, and now being transmitted in Florida through contact with mosquitoes, accurately mapping the distribution of the virus is increasingly urgent.

Accounting for a host of often-overlooked drivers of transmission, a team of University of Kansas researchers has mapped Zika risk around the world with unprecedented resolution while considering more factors than previous models.

The mapping effort uses ecological niche modeling, a technique used to predict distributions of species, to show the virus' powerful ability to spread in South and Central America.

This study is the first to evaluate the risk of Zika virus transmission in Europe, which appears relatively low.

Research suggests parts of the southern U.S., including parts of Florida, Texas and Louisiana, are vulnerable to transmission of the virus.

"It's the first detailed map that weighs different drivers of transmission," said Abdallah Samy, who headed the research at the KU Biodiversity Institute. "We assessed different combinations of variables to see what are the major drivers -- such as climate, or socioeconomics or people's ability to access certain areas -- and in the final map we merge all the variables."

The resulting map predicts the likelihood of Zika exposure in the coming years by segmenting Earth's landmasses into squares of 5-by-5 kilometers each and crunching the numbers for each of them.

Multiple factors influence risk assessment because the virus can spread through contact with mosquitoes in the genus Aedes, person-to-person via sexual contact, through blood transfusions and mother-to-child during pregnancy. The study focused on mosquito-driven transmission.

"For each area, we asked, 'Is it mosquito exposure, climate or socioeconomic variables like accessibility for people to travel from areas where Zika is endemic and spread the virus upon their return?'" said Samy, who earned a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology at KU in May.

The findings recently were posted to the Zika Fast Track site and published in Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, an international journal of biological and biomedical research based in Brazil, where the current outbreak has been centered since 2015.

"This map can be used by public health officials and international organizations that combat disease," Samy said. "It's also intended for the public. If you're going to travel to a specific area in Brazil, and you know it's a risk area for Zika, you should consider how to reduce the chances of transmission with clothing or insect repellant."

Samy's co-authors were KU's A. Townsend Peterson, Stephanie Thomas of the University of Bayreuth in Germany, Ahmed Abd El Wahed of Georg-August University in Germany and Kevin Cohoon (a KU graduate) of the Mayo Clinic.

Samy said the course of the outbreak thus far is similar to what his team's map predicts with a high degree of specificity.

"We have multiple dimensions in our models, and in addition we use accurate algorithms to account for bias," he said. "So far, the pattern of spread of cases mostly conform with our model."
Good genes can give a young child a head start when it comes to learning to read, but it's not enough to overcome the effects of a poorly rated school.

Those are the findings of Florida State University researchers who looked at whether schools or genetics play a greater role in influencing a child's ability to read. The research is outlined in a new study published in the journal Developmental Science.

The study indicates that while attending a top or "A" school will help a child's natural intellectual abilities flourish, that same child might falter if he or she attended a school with a lower ranking.

"The letter grade a school receives has such power -- from the funding the school will receive to the autonomy it is allowed to the home prices around the school and real estate purchases," said Assistant Professor of Psychology Sara Hart. "We wanted to see if school grades actually mattered to children's reading achievement."

Hart, who is also a part of the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR), and FSU doctoral student Rasheda Haughbrook, the lead author on the new study, wanted to see how students do in different learning environments and whether that critical school ranking reflected a child's reading performance.

They found that genetic factors had a greater influence on pre-reading skills for students who attended "A" schools than on those children who attended lesser ranked schools. In lower ranked schools, environmental factors appeared to be more varied, leading to inconsistency in pre-reading skills among students.

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States' ranking systems can vary to some degrees, but many school scores are reflected with an "A" through "F" score. These rankings play a significant role in the country's current educational framework, but there has been little information on whether these school grades influence how individual children learn to read.

"Often, it seems that the way these grades are measured is based on arbitrary cutoffs and calculations," Haughbrook said. "We wanted to know if school grades really made a difference for student performance."

To do this research, Hart and Haughbrook focused on a very special segment of the population -- twins.

They examined 1,313 sets of twins in kindergarten through third grade who were given five reading assessment tests, including knowing letters of the alphabet, recognizing and producing the first letter of a word, segmenting a word into groups of syllables, fluidly reading text and correctly reading syllables of made-up words.

Of the group, 34 percent of the twins were identical and 66 percent were fraternal. They were spread out among schools with "A" through "F" rankings.

Because twins typically share both genetics and environments, the researchers compared identical and fraternal twins to better understand the influence of genes, shared environments -- such as the school or home -- and non-shared environments -- such as different classrooms or friends.

They determined that if identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins in how they learn to read, it is likely genetic influences have the greatest impact. If fraternal twins and identical twins are more similar, it is likely their shared environments are the biggest influencer. On the flip side, if identical twins differ in a given area -- such as their reading abilities -- it suggests that the non-shared environment is the deciding factor in reading development.

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Haughbrook and Hart's coauthors are FCRR Associate Director and Professor of Psychology Christopher Schatschneider and FSU Professor of Psychology Jeanette Taylor.
New findings using data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) show that gullies on modern Mars are most likely not being formed by flowing liquid water. This new evidence will allow researchers to further narrow theories as to the mechanisms behind the formation of gullies on Mars, and help reveal more details about Mars' recent geologic processes.

Scientists have used the term "gully" for features on Mars that share three characteristics in their shape: an alcove at the top, a channel, and an apron of deposited material at the bottom. Gullies are distinct from another type of feature on Martian slopes, streaks called "recurring slope lineae" or RSL, which are distinguished by seasonal darkening and fading, rather than characteristics of how the ground is shaped. Water in the form of hydrated salt has been identified at RSL sites. The new study focuses on gullies and their formation process by adding composition information to previously acquired imaging.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, examined high-resolution compositional data from more than 100 gully sites throughout Mars. These data, collected by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) onboard MRO, were then correlated with images from the spacecraft's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), as well as from the MRO Context Camera (CTX).

The findings showed no mineralogical evidence for abundant liquid water or its by-products, thus pointing to mechanisms -- such as the freeze and thaw of carbon dioxide frost -- other than the flow of water as being the major driver of recent gully evolution.

The findings were published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Gullies are a widespread and common feature on the Martian surface, mostly occurring between 30 and 50 degrees latitude in both the northern and southern hemispheres, generally on slopes that face toward the poles. On Earth, similar gullies are formed by flowing liquid water; however, under current conditions, liquid water is transient on the surface of Mars, and may occur only as small amounts of brine even at RSL streaks. The lack of sufficient water to carve gullies has resulted in a variety of theories for the gullies' creation, including different mechanisms involving evaporation of water and carbon dioxide frost.

"The HiRISE team and others had shown there was seasonal activity in gullies -- primarily in the southern hemisphere -- over the past couple of years, and carbon dioxide frost is the main mechanism they suspected of causing it. However, other researchers favored liquid water as the main mechanism," said Jorge Nunez of APL, the lead author of the paper. "What HiRISE and other imagers were not able to determine on their own was the composition of the material in gullies, because they are optical cameras. To bring another important piece in to help solve the puzzle, we used CRISM, an imaging spectrometer, to look at what kinds of minerals were present in the gullies and see if they could shed light on the main mechanism responsible."

Nunez and the other authors took advantage of a new CRISM data product developed by the CRISM team called Map-projected Targeted Reduced Data Records (MTRDR), which allowed them to more easily perform their analyses and then correlate the findings with HiRISE imagery.

"On Earth and on Mars, we know that the presence of phyllosilicates -- clays -- or other hydrated minerals indicates formation in liquid water," Nunez said. "In our study, we found no evidence for clays or other hydrated minerals in most of the gullies we studied, and when we did see them, they were erosional debris from ancient rocks, exposed and transported downslope, rather than altered in more recent flowing water. These gullies are carving into the terrain and exposing clays that likely formed billions of years ago when liquid water was more stable on the Martian surface."

The lack of hydrated minerals such as clays, carbonates, sulfates or salts in the gully channels and aprons strongly suggests that another mechanism besides liquid water is responsible for the formation of Martian gullies. Other researchers have created computer models that show how sublimation of seasonal carbon dioxide frost can create gullies similar to those observed by MRO, and how their shape can mimic the types of gullies that liquid water would create. Nunez said that this new research suggests those models may be correct.

"Our findings don't rule out the possibility that liquid water may contribute to the formation to some gully systems, since liquid water may be responsible for RSL, which are completely distinct from gullies. But we did not find any mineralogical evidence of deposition or alteration where liquid water was the primary mechanism," Nunez said. "What we've found helps us get a better picture of how these interesting features on the surface of Mars can form and change, and that in turn gives us better insights into the recent geologic history of the planet."
Meet the 25-year-old Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor who is now the Duke of Westminster.

By India Today Web Desk: By inheriting his father's 9 billion GBP estate, 25-year-old Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor has just become the new Duke of Westminster.

According to The Independent UK, the young lad who also happens to be Prince George's youngest godfather is now Britain's youngest billionaire.

The development is the result of his father, Gerald Grosvenor's recent and sudden demise. With a fortune worth approximately 9 billion GBP, Gerald was reportedly Britain's third and world's 68th richest man.

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Also Read: Prince George's cutest pictures on his 3rd birthday



The deceased Duke who passed away at the age of 64 was believed to be very close to Britain's Royal Family--which explains his wife Natalia Grosvenor being the godmother to Prince William.



Confirming the news of the Gerald's demise, Hello Magazine quotes a spokesperson as saying, "His family are all aware and they ask for privacy and understanding at this very difficult time."













--- ENDS ---
Mayo Clinic has launched a new type of blood test that will be used to predict adverse cardiovascular events in patients with progressing coronary artery disease (CAD). The test measures blood concentrations of plasma ceramides, a class of lipids that are highly linked to cardiovascular disease processes. Researchers say this test is especially useful for patients with CAD when it does not improve with treatment or for young patients with premature CAD.

The new test will help clinicians identify at-risk individuals and is available to Mayo Clinic patients and health care providers worldwide through Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML). MML is the reference laboratory of Mayo Clinic, offering advanced laboratory testing and pathology services to more than 5,000 health care organizations in more than 60 countries. MML collaborated on the test with Zora Biosciences Oy, a diagnostics discovery company based in Finland that specializes in cardiovascular disease.

"Through our strong collaboration with Zora Biosciences, we hope our new test will improve the evaluation of individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease," says Jeff Meeusen, Ph.D., a clinical chemist and co director of Cardiovascular Laboratory Medicine at Mayo Clinic. "This test is for patients with highly specialized cases, for example, patients with progressing coronary artery disease -- despite treatment and control of their risk factors, or for younger individuals with premature CAD."

The test also might be used to determine if treatment is necessary in individuals at intermediate risk via the risk calculator from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

"Plasma ceramides are promising biomarkers for the prediction of adverse CV events in either primary and/or secondary prevention. The studies to date suggest that the signals observed presage events within the next five-year period," says Allan Jaffe, M.D., cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and chair of the Division of Clinical Core Laboratory Services, with joint appointments in the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. "Risk conferred by plasma ceramides appears to be independent of other established and novel biomarkers, and there are preliminary indications that high ceramide concentrations can be modified by common lipid-lowering therapies."

About the Plasma Ceramides Test (Test ID: CERAM)

The test for plasma ceramides is to be used in conjunction with clinical evaluation and patient risk assessment as an aid in predicting risk of imminent adverse cardiovascular events. Risks conferred by ceramides are independent of traditional biomarkers including age, sex, smoking status, and history of CAD. In a study published in 2016 in European Heart Journal, plasma ceramides were found to predict the likelihood of an adverse cardiovascular event within one year in CAD patients. In patients with suspected CAD and/or chronic heart failure, the test can predict the likelihood of an event within three to five years, based on studies published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology and the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Cancer researchers have applied a comprehensive set of analytical tools to lethal cases of metastatic prostate cancer, yielding a detailed map of the complex networks of interactions among genes and proteins that enable prostate cancer cells to proliferate and evade treatment. The team also developed a computational approach for analyzing patient-specific data to help doctors choose the most effective drugs for individual patients.

The study, published August 4 in Cell, was a collaborative effort involving research teams at UC Santa Cruz and UCLA. They began with clinical tissue samples obtained at autopsy from patients with lethal metastatic prostate cancer, then performed a range of sophisticated analyses to characterize the cancer cells from each patient in unprecedented detail. A novel computational analysis of the resulting datasets produced personalized diagrams of signaling pathways in the cancer cells of each patient, the details of which suggest potential targets for therapy.

"It's like having a blueprint for each tumor. This is our dream for personalized cancer therapy, so we're not just guessing any more about which drugs will work but can choose drug targets based on what's driving that patient's cancer," said Josh Stuart, the Baskin professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, director of cancer and stem cell genomics at the UCSC Genomics Institute, and a senior corresponding author of the paper.

"Therapies for metastatic prostate cancer are urgently needed," said Dr. Owen Witte, founding director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA, university professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and a senior author of the paper. "This type of interdisciplinary research is critical as we seek to pinpoint the cellular changes occurring in aggressive prostate cancer and cross new boundaries in understanding the disease."

Personalized treatment

Cancer genomics promises to enable personalized cancer treatment by revealing the genetic mutations driving an individual patient's tumor cells. But interpreting the genomic data remains a challenge. The effects of mutations and other genetic changes in cancer cells play out in the complex networks of molecular interactions or "signaling pathways" involved in cell growth, proliferation, and other hallmarks of cancer biology. By mapping the key pathways active in prostate cancer cells, the researchers were able to identify the "master switches" in those pathways that could be targeted with drugs to disrupt the disease.

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A key step in many signaling pathways is "phosphorylation," the activation or deactivation of a protein by adding a phosphate group at certain sites on the protein. The enzymes that phosphorylate proteins are called kinases, and many new cancer drugs are kinase inhibitors. A major component of the study was a comprehensive analysis of the "phosphoproteome" of prostate cancer tumors and cells, revealing changes in the phosphorylation states of cellular proteins.

Justin Drake, a postdoctoral researcher in Witte's lab at UCLA (now an assistant professor at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey), led the phosphoproteomics work, producing a new encyclopedia of protein phosphorylation in prostate cancer cells and tissues. Evan Paull, a graduate student in Stuart's lab at UC Santa Cruz (now at Columbia University), led the computational analyses, which involved integrating the phosphoproteomic data with genomic and gene expression datasets to provide a unified view of the activated signaling pathways in late stage prostate cancer. Drake and Paull are co-first authors of the paper.

"Having the phosphoproteomics data in addition to the traditional genomics and transcriptomics enabled us to get a more comprehensive view of aberrant signaling in this disease," Paull said. "We developed a method to integrate these multiple large datasets to understand what's driving the disease in individual patients."

Anti-androgen therapy

Prostate cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. The main treatment for advanced cases is androgen deprivation, because the male sex hormones (androgens, including testosterone) stimulate prostate cancer growth. Anti-androgen therapies target either androgen synthesis or the androgen receptor. Eventually, however, most cases of metastatic prostate cancer become resistant to these therapies.

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The new study revealed some of the mechanisms behind the resistance to anti-androgen therapies. According to Stuart, in many cases a mutation results in changes to the androgen receptor protein. In other cases, alternative kinase signaling pathways allow the cancer cells to keep growing even though androgen-receptor signaling is blocked.

Individual profiles based on the analysis of each patient's tumor cells revealed clinically relevant information that could be used to prioritize the drugs most likely to be effective in these cases. The tool used to generate these individual profiles goes by the acronym pCHIPS, and the researchers created an online pCHIPS resource that allows users to make patient-specific network predictions based on their own data and visualize the results using the pCHIPS methodology.

Applying these methods to prostate cancer cell lines, the researchers found that accurate predictions of drug sensitivity could be achieved using either genomics data or phosphoproteomics data alone. That's important because the comprehensive set of analyses performed on clinical samples in this study is unlikely to be available to most patients. Clinical use of genomics, however, is growing.

Stuart explained that the integrated datasets from multiple analyses enabled the researchers to build a generic model of the signaling networks involved in metastatic prostate cancer. The pCHIPS tool uses that generic model and refines it based on patient-specific data, such as the genetic mutations in a patient's cancer cells.

"For now it's a research tool, but the hope is to have a strategy like this to use in the clinic," Stuart said. "These mutations in the genome create a lot of havoc in the cell, and trying to interpret the genomic information can be overwhelming. You need the computer to help you make sense of it and find the Achilles heel in the network that you can hit with a drug."
In a global study of myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness and fatigue, researchers found that surgical removal of an organ called the thymus reduced patients' weakness, and their need for immunosuppressive drugs. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"Our results support the idea that thymectomy is a valid treatment option for a major form of myasthenia gravis," said Gil Wolfe, M.D., Professor and Irvin and Rosemary Smith Chair of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, New York, and a leader of the study.

The Thymectomy Trial in Non-Thymomatous Myasthenia Gravis Patients Receiving Prednisone (MGTX) was a randomized, controlled study conducted on 126 patients aged 18-65 between 2006 and 2012. The researchers compared the combination of surgery and immunosuppression with the drug prednisone with prednisone treatment alone. They performed extended transternal thymectomies on 57 patients. This major surgical procedure aims to remove most of the thymus, which requires opening of a patient's chest.

On average the researchers found that the combination of surgery and prednisone treatment reduced overall muscle weakness more than prednisone treatment alone. After 36 months of prednisone treatment, both groups of patients had better QMG scores, a measure of muscle strength. Scores for the patients who had thymectomies and prednisone were 2.84 points better than patients who were on prednisone alone.

The researchers also found that patients who had surgery required lower daily doses of prednisone than the patients receiving prednisone alone, 44 mg versus 60 mg, respectively. They had less need for additional immunosuppressant drugs as well. Finally, surgery reduced the occurrence of adverse events from 93 for patients taking prednisone alone to 48 for ones who had surgery and prednisone, primarily reflected in a reduction in hospitalizations.

"This is a study that the myasthenia gravis community has needed for a long time," said Robin Conwit, M.D., program director, at NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). "We hope it becomes a model for rigorously testing other treatment options."

Affecting 36,000 to 60,000 patients in the United States, myasthenia gravis describes a group of chronic autoimmune neuromuscular diseases which causes varying degrees of muscle weakness and fatigue. The disorders may affect eye and eyelid movements, facial expressions, chewing, talking, swallowing, breathing, and neck and limb movements. About 80 percent of patients have elevated levels of antibodies against acetylcholine receptors, proteins on the muscle used to detect signals sent from nerve endings in the form the chemical acetylcholine.

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Often patients are initially treated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, drugs that elevate acetylcholine levels. If that does not resolve the weakness then patients are treated with immunosuppressive drugs, including corticosteroids. Because chronic corticosteroid treatment can cause side effects, doctors carefully monitor patients and prescribe the lowest effective doses.

Over the last 50 years, many studies suggested that the thymus, an organ in the chest involved with immune cell development during childhood, regulates production of antibodies to the acetylcholine receptor and that removing the thymus reduced symptoms. Acetylcholine receptors found in the thymus may trigger the immune system to generate antibodies that circulate through the blood stream and block the receptors in the patients' muscles. Moreover about 30 percent of people who have a thymoma, a thymus tumor, also suffer from myasthenia gravis and removal of the tumor alleviates the myasthenic symptoms.

Patients were selected for the study if they had the disease for fewer than five years, elevated levels of acetylcholine receptor antibodies and no thymomas. Neurologists and thoracic surgeons worked together at 67 centers in 18 countries. Other leaders included the late John Newsom-Davis, M.D., Oxford University, U.K.; Henry J. Kaminski, M.D., George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences; Alfred Jaretzki III, M.D., and Joshua R. Sonett, M.D., Columbia University Medical Center, New York City.

"We greatly appreciate the gamble patients took when they agreed to be subjects and are grateful for the help they provided in answering this 50 year old question," said Gary R. Cutter, M.S., Ph.D., Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health and a leader of the trial.

The researchers noted surgery can be expensive and not without risks. An examination of hospital records provided by the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research showed that in 2013, hospitals charged an average of $86,000 per extended transternal thymectomies, not including doctors' fees.

"Our results suggest surgery is a legitimate option for patients to consider," said Dr. Wolfe. "We hope that it will help doctors and patients weigh the costs and benefits of how best to reduce the disability that may impact myasthenia gravis patients on a daily basis as they go about their lives."
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted by Congress in 1973 to protect species threatened with extinction. To receive protection, a species must first be listed as endangered or threatened in a process that is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A two-year timeline for the multi-stage process, which starts with submission of a petition and ends with a final rule in the Federal Register, was established in 1982 by a Congressional amendment to the ESA. Now, a new study from the University of Missouri found that many species are encountering much longer wait times before receiving the endangered designation. Scientists studying the ESA believe that delays could lead to less global biodiversity.

"While the law lays out a process time of 2 years for a species to be listed, what we found is that, in practice, it takes, on average, 12.1 years," said Emily Puckett, who recently received her doctorate in the Division of Biological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science. "Some species moved through the process in 6 months but some species, including many flowering plants, took 38 years to be listed -- almost the entire history of the ESA."

Findings are based on an analysis of 1,338 species listed for protection under the ESA between January 1974 and October 2014. Researchers analyzed the amount of time it took each listed species to move through the listing process. Researchers also analyzed whether a species grouping influenced how quickly or slowly it moved through the process. They found that vertebrates, including reptiles, fish, birds, amphibians and mammals had a significantly shorter wait time than did invertebrates and flowering plants. According to the authors, the finding suggests a bias in the listing process that contradicts the policies of the ESA.

"While the Service can account for species groups in its prioritization system, it's not supposed to be mammals versus insects versus ferns but, rather, how unique is this species within all of the ecological system," Puckett said. "However, our findings suggest some bias that skews the process toward vertebrates."

The delays in listing have real world consequences for endangered species. In the study, the authors cite previous studies that document species that went extinct due to a delay in the process. Likewise, a species that gets listed quickly and has a conservation plan put in place to protect it may have a chance to even bounce back. For example, the island night lizard was listed in 1.19 years, whereas the prairie fringed orchid took 14.7 years to be listed. The lizard has since recovered and been removed from endangered status; the orchid is still considered threatened.

"The whole point of putting species on the list is they already have been identified as threatened or endangered with extinction," Puckett said. "Without being on the list, we run the risk that these populations will go locally or globally extinct and there will be nothing to save."

The study, "Taxa, petitioning agency, and lawsuits affect time spent awaiting listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act," appears in the early online edition of the journal Biological Conservation. The study was supported in part by a University of Missouri Life Sciences Fellowship and by The Institute for Bird Populations. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.
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Dodo Shows Dodo Heroes Woman Devotes Her Life To The Stray Dogs Of Bali

Cats are territorial animals for whom first impressions make a big difference. And obviously Larry and Palmerston's relationship started off on the wrong paw. "The first impression a new cat makes when he or she meets a resident cat is critical," Adi Hovav, senior feline behavior counselor at the ASPCA Adoption Center, told The Dodo. "If two cats display aggression during their first meeting, this may set the mood for their future relationship." We asked the experts how to introduce multiple cats so that they don't end up hating each other. Here's what they said.

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Check in with the vet. Before introducing cats, make sure they are healthy. "Many cats come home with upper respiratory infections when adopted and should be separated in a bathroom for a few days as to not get other cats in the household sick as well," Dr. Robert Proietto, a veterinarian in New York City, told The Dodo. "It is also important to get a vet to examine the cats and to know that your new cat is FELV [feline leukemia virus] and FIV [feline immunodeficiency virus] negative before introduction." Keep cats separated at first. It is always a good idea to keep cats separated when introducing them to each other, Hovav said. If your living space is small, putting even a bathroom door in between them could prevent cat fights in the future. "During this period, the cats often smell each other underneath the door and this starts a slow acclimation process," Proietto said.

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Look for signs of stress. You've let your cats sniff each other through the crack at the bottom of the door. But you want to be able to go to the bathroom - not play bodyguard. That's understandable. The good news is that if cats aren't showing signs of stress, they can try out some face time.

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"Two cats are ready to be introduced as long as neither is showing any signs of stress or exhibiting any aggressive behavior, like hissing, growling or swatting," Hovav said. "Signs of stress include poor appetite, inappropriate urination or defecation or excessive hiding." As long as neither cat is exhibiting any of these behaviors, they can be introduced through a slightly cracked door. If that goes well, they may be ready to meet without a barrier between them. Give cats space. If one cat becomes aggressive, do not try to calm or soothe them, Hovav advised. "Give them some space and keep them separated from the other cat."

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Be patient. It varies how long your cat might need in order to get acclimated to another feline. But once they spend one continuous day around each other, they're probably OK to be left alone together. "Cats may need more or less time before they can be left alone together - much depends on the individual cats and the environment," Hovav said. But one thing you absolutely should NOT do is force the issue - then you might have a Larry-Palmerston situation on your hands. "Never force two cats to interact," Hovav said. "Introducing two cats takes patience. Do not punish a cat for reacting negatively to another cat."

The cats in my house, frankly, had a less-than-perfect introduction when my boyfriend and I moved in together. The frenzy of the move resulted in the cats being let loose almost immediately. But we watched them closely. Brioche hid for a bit, while Fyodor sniffed around the new territory. And when we saw Fyodor ecstatically rolling around in Brioche's cat bed and purring, we knew it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Brioche (left) and Fyodor | Sarah V. Schweig
Five very lucky birds just got back where they belong after surviving a nasty oil spill. Two weeks ago, 200,000 to 250,000 liters of oil burst forth from a pipeline in Maidstone, Canada, and seeped into the northern region of the Saskatchewan River. Not only were drinking water and land contaminated as a result, but wild animals in the path of the spill suddenly found themselves bogged down by the thick, black muck.

Dodo Shows Soulmates Growling Little Kitten Becomes Her Mom's Best Friend

While oil on an animal is generally bad news, it presents a particular challenge for birds who unfortunately get their feathers coated.

Chris Battaglia, response director of Focus Wildlife, told Global News that it's a misconception that the actual oil kills birds in such incidents. "It disrupts the organization of their feathers," he said.

"Feathers are naturally water repellent ... When oil gets in, it's like getting gum in Velcro, you can't put it back together so water is able to penetrate through," he continued, adding affected birds typically develop hypothermia and eventually die when left untreated.

All of the animals rescued from the Husky spill, including Ed - who got a much-needed bath after being practically dyed black - have since been moved from their initial location at Lend a Paw and are now housed at Focus Wildlife, where they'll continue to be cared for until they're ready for release.

On August 6, three clean geese and two ducks were the among the first rescues to return to the wild. They were released into Rush Lake, in Saskatchewan, Canada, chosen for its location away from the spill, and its healthy population of birds for the rescues to mingle with.

"Experiencing the process and seeing the transformation of these beautiful creatures is the same struggle and reward that all of us involved in the world of rescue see on a daily basis," Lend a Paw wrote in the update. "Whether it's a mangy, starving dog, an orphaned squirrel or an oiled bird they all need and deserve human understanding and compassion."
India's Manoj Kumar outpunched his Lithuanian rival and London 2012 bronze medallist Evaldas Petrauskas in the preliminary bout on Thursday.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Indian boxer Manoj Kumar stunned Evaldas Petrauskas of Lithuania by a split decision in the Round of 32 of the men's Light Welterweight (64kg) category at the Riocentrio Pavilion here. (RIO 2016 FULL COVERAGE)

Up against the bronze medallist of the 2012 London Olympics, Manoj dominated all three rounds to carve out a 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 verdict and advance to the pre-quarterfinals here on Wednesday. (India @ Olympics Live)

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Both boxers were aggressive right from the start. Despite being much shorter than Manoj, Petrauskas ultra aggressive style and his raw power did cause some problems for the Haryana pugilist.

Manoj utilsed his superior height to good effect, keeping his opponent at distance with sharp jabs and repeatedly penetrated Petrauskas' defence with his excellent combinations.

Manoj's excellent defence and counter-punching style coupled with his superior meant that the Lithuanian was finding it difficult to penetrate his defence and was forced to resort mainly to punches to the body.

Petrauskas's attempts to beat Manoj's defence by repeated rushing him and hoping to land with his jabs were met with effective counter-attacks by the Indian.

Petrauskas, however, did manage to hurt Manoj in the closing stages of the first round as he landed with a strong right that caught him off-balance. After the first round, the judges ruled10-9, 10-9, 9-10 in favour of the Indian.

The second round followed a similar script with Manoj peppering his opponent repeated with sharp jabs and dominating the proceedings which saw all three judges awarding the round to him.

The Lithuanian came out swing in the third and final round while Manoj became a little defensive in order to preserve his lead. Petrauskas did much better to take the with identical 10-9 decisions all three judges, but it did not prove to be enough.

The Indian will next meet Fazluddin Gaiznazarov of Uzbekistan in the Round of 16 on August 14. Gaiznazarov had outclassed Malonga Dzalamou of Congo by RSC (Referee Stopped Contest).



--- ENDS ---
Unifor national president Jerry Dias says both Ford of Canada and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles seem more willing to commit to future investment in Canada than rival General Motors of Canada.

Though we have similar challenges with both Ford and Fiat Chrysler, they understand investment decisions are going to be part of 2016 negotiations, Dias said at a news conference Thursday, after union officials met with both Ford and Fiat Chrysler, just one day after initial meetings with GM on Wednesday.

Dias repeatedly noted that the Big Three automakers were willing to commit billions in investment at U.S. plants during contract talks with the United Auto Workers last year. We are expecting nothing less in Canada, he said.

The union has made promises of future investment in Canada the hallmark of this years bargaining campaign, which it says will ensure job security  vowing they will not leave the negotiating table if they dont get such a commitment.

Priorities include getting a new product line at GMs Oshawa assembly plant, at Fords engine plant in Windsor and upgrades at Fiat Chryslers assembly plant in Brampton.

Without more investment, Dias has said it would mean the death of the Canadian auto industry  although GM has said it will not talk about future investments until after a labour contract is signed.

GM will change their position during this set of negotiations, the only question is when, Dias said. We are determined we are going to find long-term solutions for our Oshawa operations.

Unifor represents about 23,000 workers at the three car companies in Canada.

Fords chief negotiator, Steve Majer, told reporters that investment in the Windsor engine plant is the key issue in this years talks, saying the company wants to find a made-in-Canada solution that strikes a balance between a competitive agreement and meeting the needs of our employees.

He noted that the company has made a $1-billion investment at the Oakville assembly plant, where four cross-over vehicles, including the Ford Flex and Ford Edge, are built. More than 2,000 employees have been added at that plant.

The challenge is that Canada is a high-cost country to produce cars, compared to other jurisdictions like Mexico, so we need to find ways to make sure that we are the best in terms of manufacturing metrics, including productivity, Majer said.

Fiat Chryslers lead negotiator, James Dyckman, spoke only briefly to reporters, emphasizing that the company has always had a good relationship with Unifor and the start of discussions were good.

He acknowledged that winning commitments for the Brampton assembly plant, where the Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger and Chrysler 300 are built, was a top union priority.

It was a ceremonial opening day. We havent gotten into the details, Dyckman said, adding that the company has made a significant investment in Windsor, where the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica are assembled.

Union officials will continue to meet with negotiators at all three companies in the coming weeks. It will name a target company on the Tuesday after Labour Day. That is the company where it believes it can reach the best deal, which will then become the pattern in separate talks with the other two automakers.

There is no question the decision on the target will be the company that has the longest-term strategic vision for Canada, Dias said.

The current four-year contract with all three companies expires at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 19.

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Like son, like father: Following up on his boys remarkable music-world success, Dennis Graham, Drakes dad, is set to release his debut single.

Kinda Crazy, a smooth R&B number by the 60-something Graham, was previewed Wednesday on TMZ.

Drake, of course, is famously grateful to his mother, to whom he shouts out regularly: During his shows, during Raptors games, on Instagram or wherever else. Hes just as famously raised by her: the Drake legend revolves largely around his being brought up by his mother as a single parent.

Aside from some mentions in his songs, Drakes dad has largely been the stuff of pop cultural mystery, though he recently became the subject of a song by Hamilton band The Arkells, and papa even cameos in the video.

We were rolling down Beale Street, in the Tennessee summer heat. And there we met Drakes dad, they sing. Here art mirrors life: Graham, a professional musician himself who played drums with Jerry Lee Lewis, chose to pursue his music in Memphis instead of staying in Toronto, and he left his wife and then 5-year-old son Aubrey behind.

Its created a significant rift between them as Drake grew up fatherless here, while Dennis fell on hard times, even landing for a time in prison.

But the two have reconciled in recent years, with Drake sharing in the realization of his fathers dream. Though he didnt play any parts on the record, it seems likely he helped to move it along: Denniss producer, Jamie Iovine, is the son of music mogul Jimmy Iovine, who helped spur Drakes own rise to fame.

On Instagram, Dennis thanked a whole crew of people for making his dream a reality, though his famous son wasnt among them. Aubrey appears elsewhere in his feed, though, a sign, perhaps, of mended fences, and a relationship thats finally personal, not professional.

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OTTAWA  Before proceeding with its pot-legalization agenda next spring, the Liberal government is promising to tackle the issue of drug-impaired driving, which bureaucrats say could spike considerably if marijuana becomes legal.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was warned by officials in January of the risks, a classified briefing document obtained by The Canadian Press shows.

The legalization of marijuana could lead to a significant increase in drug-impaired driving cases, the memorandum reads.

Bureaucrats say there is limited data as only two jurisdictions in the United States have legalized marijuana: Colorado and Washington.

For example, in Colorado, in the year following marijuana legalization, there was a 32 per cent increase in marijuana-related traffic deaths, the memo reads.

Liberal MP Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief and now parliamentary secretary to Wilson-Raybould, says the issue is already a serious problem in Canada and that legalization could lead to more cases.

Thats why its so important to do the work upfront to educate Canadians and to provide law enforcement and the justice system with the tools they need to control that illegal behaviour on our roadways, said the Toronto MP, who is the Liberals point man on marijuana legalization.

We recognize its urgency.

The Liberal government has promised to table a bill on legislating cannabis in the spring of 2017  a timetable deemed far too ambitious by the Opposition, which would rather see the government slow down the process rather than expose Canadians to risks.

Conservative public safety critic Alain Rayes said the danger is real and accused the Liberals of venturing too far, too fast.

New Democrat Alexandre Boulerice said if the road safety issue is not addressed specifically, it would be a major obstacle to his partys support of any future bill.

Some groups, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), have called for Criminal Code amendments.

Marie-Claude Morin of MADD said the organization wants cannabis to be subject to the same laws that currently apply to driving under the influence of alcohol, but to have the two impaired-driving offences appear distinct in the code.

That could result in the addition to the Criminal Code of a legal limit of active tetrahydrocannabinol in the body.

In Washington and Colorado, the legal limit is five nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood. In Nevada and Ohio, the legal limit is lower  two nanograms per millilitre. Other states have opted for zero tolerance.

There will be the discussion about whats safe, Blair said. And that discussion will range from a total prohibition  so no use of drugs in driving  to determining a safe level.

Blair said any such changes to the Criminal Code could come before tabling legislation in 2017.

In 2013, 97 per cent of accidents in Canada relating to impaired driving were alcohol related. The other three per cent were linked to drug consumption.

The briefing document to Wilson-Raybould suggests the drug-impaired numbers are under-reported because its more difficult for police to detect.

Blair, a police office for 40 years, agreed.

Its very difficult to identify and to prove a level of impairment by marijuana, Blair said. We have good tools for alcohol. We do not currently have good tools for cannabis.

In Quebec, provincial police say they are satisfied with the current system  a patrol officer arrests someone who is believed to be intoxicated and another officer, trained in drug recognition, does a more extensive test.

Daniel Thibaudeau, a Quebec police spokesman, said between 2011 and 2014, 781 arrests were made for drug-impaired driving involving all types of substances.

MADD believes Canada should follow an example set in Australia and certain European Union countries, where police use roadside oral fluid drug-screening tests to detect the presence of THC.

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MIRAMICHI, N.B.  The son of Parliament Hill shooting hero Kevin Vickers is being commended for his part in saving a womans life  again.

Const. Andrew Vickers of Miramichi police responded Tuesday morning to the citys Centennial Bridge, where a 19-year-old woman had climbed onto the outside girder and appeared to be getting ready to jump.

Deputy police chief Brian Cummings said on Thursday the woman was about 15 feet above the roadway on one of the steel girders of the bridge hanging out over the water, which was perhaps about 100 feet below.

When Vickers arrived, he climbed out after her, Sgt. Dana Hicks said.

Vickers got out onto the girder with the young lady to prevent her from falling or jumping off, at considerable risk to himself, Hicks said in a release.

A passing motorist saw what was happening, stopped his vehicle and climbed out to secure Vickers ankles until Const. Bradley Gallant arrived, Hicks said.

The second officer was a trained hostage negotiator, just as it happened, and he was able to engage in conversation with the female, and after about 10 minutes, Im sure what seemed like an eternity, they were able to talk her back in, said Cummings.

My understand is shes getting some treatment and thats a good thing.

Kevin Vickers, who famously shot gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau in 2014 while Parliaments sergeant-at-arms, commended his son on Twitter, saying that he was doing Gods work, and that he was proud of him. The elder Vickers is now Canadas ambassador to Ireland.

Cummings said the officers told him its just another day on the job. In fact, it wasnt the first time Andrew Vickers helped save a womans life.

Vickers jumped into the frigid Miramichi river in October 2011 to rescue a woman after a car crash.

According to a description of that rescue from St. John Ambulance New Brunswick, which gave Vickers and two other people life-saving awards, Vickers saw the woman struggling in the river.

With a rope tied to his waist, Const. Vickers swam to the woman with great difficulty, as the water was causing him to be hypothermic. Having reached the woman, Const. Vickers worked to tow her to shore even though he was feeling the extreme effects of the cold water. Somehow the rope became unattached, St. John Ambulance said in a Facebook post.

At this point, off duty volunteer firefighter Stephen Gammon ran into the water with the rope now attached to him and secured by Sgt. Leslie Saunders. Stephen took hold of Const. Vickers and the woman and swam them to shore with the assistance of Sgt. Saunders and the rope.

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Aaron Driver planned to commit a terror attack within 72 hours when he was killed in a confrontation with police in the southwestern Ontario community of Strathroy, police said today.

Obviously it was a race against time, RCMP Deputy-Commander Mike Cabana told a news conference in Ottawa today, noting that things could have been a lot worse if police hadnt located and stopped Driver.

The RCMP showed a video at the news conference in which a masked man they identified as Driver, 24, warns, O Canada, you received many warnings You were told many times what would happen.

?You will pay for everything you brought against us,? says a masked man in the video. The RCMP have identified the man as Aaron Driver.

The man continues: You saw bodies of the filthy French lying in the streets. You still have much to pay for.

For this we thirst for your blood, he said. You will pay for everything you brought against us.

The RCMP says Driver planned to attack a major urban centre during the morning or afternoon rush hour this week, but added they were not sure which community he planned to hit.

Mr. Driver was looking for a location that was highly populated, said RCMP Acting-Commander Jennifer Strachan.

Information on Driver was passed on by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation early Wednesday morning, Cabana said, and we were relatively quickly able to identify and locate him.

Hours later, Driver was killed in a confrontation with police in a taxi cab in Strathroy.

It wasnt clear where the cab was heading, Strachan said.

But a dispatcher for Strathroy cab company, Leos Taxi, confirmed Driver called yesterday around 4:30 p.m., asking to be driven to Citi Plaza, a London mall.

Police had arrived at a Strathroy house when Driver darted out and got into a cab, carrying a knapsack, Strachan said.

The taxi  we had no knowledge it was coming and he got in there very quickly, Strachan said.

The dispatcher, Brandon Carreiro, said Driver was a frequent customer, taking cabs to the auto parts plant he worked at in Strathroy.

He was actually really polite and friendly, Carreiro told the Star Thursday. Its just crazy that he did that because  he didn't seem like he would do that. He was very friendly and grateful of the service provided.

Carreiro said he was told RCMP had fired at the cab while Driver was in it, but that the grey cab hadnt been returned yet, so he did not know what condition it was in. He couldnt confirm whether a bomb was detonated inside the car.

Carreiro said the cab driver is OK except for some back pain.

Its just shocking, he added.

Driver was arrested in Winnipeg under suspicion of terrorist connections and placed under a peace bond last year.

He was under a court order not to associate with any terrorist organization, including Daesh, an Islamist terrorist group also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Citi Plaza did not immediately return the Stars calls. A VIA Rail train station is of walking distance to it.

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RCMP seek terrorism-related peace bond for Winnipeg man

Speaking with the Star in Toronto, Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said the regional transit organization was alerted early Wednesday morning about a security threat on a large urban transportation centre in Canada.

Union Station is the largest transportation centre in Canada, Aikins said, but she said the threat was not linked directly to Union.

We raised our level of vigilance and worked closely with national, provincial and local security and police services. Our first priority is always the safety of our customers and employees, Aikins said.

The Toronto Transit Commission was advised that there was an investigation underway as to a possible threat, before noon Wednesday, TTC spokesman Brad Ross said.

Ross said the TTC issued a see something, say something notice to its workers, but said the warning did not include any specifics about which stations might have been affected and what the threat was about. That was the extent of our involvement, Ross said.

Siobhan Desroches, spokeswoman from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, confirmed the organization received a call Wednesday about a non-specific threat to the airports authority.

We were made aware of a non-specific threat yesterday and as a result of that we did work with our partners that are responsible for airport security to enhance our security posture, she said.

In terms of specific actions taken, Desroches said for security reasons the GTAA isnt able to disclose what precautions were taken, but the airports are still being monitored closely.

Mark Pugash, spokesman for the Toronto Police, said the force took extra security measures since Wednesday when they were alerted about a possible threat, along with the TTC and Metrolinx. Pugash wouldnt disclose what time of day police received the tip or whether they are still working in a heightened capacity Thursday.

Theres nothing to indicate that Toronto was under threat, but we will always err on the side of caution when it comes to public safety, Pugash said.

Pugash would not confirm where officers were deployed for security reasons, though a media report signaled a heightened police presence around Union Station.

We had a heightened profile throughout the downtown and that was out of an abundance of caution, he said.

Under the online alias Harun Abdurahman, Driver had previously called the Parliament Hill attack justified as retaliation for violence against Daesh.

After Drivers arrest in Winnipeg last summer, he was released on a peace bond, court documents show. He agreed to follow a list of conditions: he was made to wear an electronic monitoring device and wasnt allowed to use a computer. He also had to remain in the city and not move away without court permission, surrender his passport and any firearms or prohibited weapons, observe a 9 p.m. curfew, let the RCMP check his phone upon request and participate in religious counseling.

Driver was allowed to move to Strathroy, where he lived on Park St. for the past several months. Court documents show the conditions of his peace bond also applied in Ontario.

The peace bonds requirements about cellphone and computer usage were set to expire August 31, while all the other requirements stayed in place. Drivers peace bond was valid for 10 months and was set to expire Dec 1.

Police and government officials have been tight-lipped about the violent events that unfolded in the small town near London, Ont., but the Canadian Press reported that Driver was killed after speaking with a source close to the situation on condition of anonymity.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said he spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday night to confirm that public safety has been and continues to be properly protected.

He said the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other police and security agencies were involved in the operation. These agencies conducted themselves effectively in the circumstances that developed today.

Goodale added that the national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at medium, which hasnt changed since the fall of 2014 when a gunman stormed Parliament Hill and a Taking all relevant information into account, the national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at medium where it has stood since the fall of 2014, Goodale added.

The RCMP said because the matter was still unfolding and the investigation remained underway, there would be no further comment.

Winnipeg-based lawyer Leonard Tailleur, who had handled Drivers peace bond, said he was shocked to hear what had happened.

Saddened to hear that it had to end this way for him, Tailleur said in an email to The Canadian Press.

Tailleur had not been in contact with Driver since February when the matter had been resolved to the satisfaction of the Department of Justice, the RCMP and myself.

In Strathroy, resident Irene Lee said late Wednesday that about 25 marked and unmarked police had been camped outside the Park St. home where Driver lived since about 4:15 p.m.

At about that time, she said she was at her nearby home when she heard a loud noise. A police officer came by shortly afterward to tell residents to stay inside their homes, she said.

Park St. was closed off and silent Thursday afternoon, as the investigation continued away from the public eye.

Mark Demuynck, who lives on Southfield Dr., a few steps away from Park St. went outside when he saw police drive into his street.

Everyone was descending on it. It was like a fireworks display, he told the Star.

His first thought was a drug bust was happening, but that changed when he saw a sniper perched in the grass. He went home, and then heard popping sounds. He emailed a friend who lives close to the unit police were congregating at, and was told no one was allowed in or out of the area. He then saw police deploy a robot.

I just got the heck out of there, he said.

The neighbourhood is always quiet, Demunyck said, and residents are shocked at what has happened. No one he knows knew Driver or who he was staying with.

With files from Jessica Botelho-Urbanski, Oliver Sachgau, Verity Stevenson, Allan Woods and The Canadian Press

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OTTAWACanadas top judge says the Liberal government could look to the shortlists of judges vetted under the former Conservative government to address a long-standing problem with judicial vacancies.

In an exclusive interview with the Star, Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin linked the number of empty seats on federally appointed court benches across the country  44 at the moment  to unacceptable trial delays, especially in the criminal courts.

McLachlin said she has no argument with the Liberal governments effort to overhaul judicial appointment processes across the country, but said I hope we can find a way to bridge the gap while were perfecting the processes  but thats in the governments hands, properly, under our Constitution.

Asked what options might bridge that gap, McLachlin emphasized its not for me to tell the government how to appoint judges. Thats not my business. But there are names, I understand, that are in the system from the previous (judicial advisory) committees.

She said it is the current governments prerogative to appoint in accordance with their processes but added there is a pressing need for vacancies be filled in a prompt manner.

McLachlin made clear there is a lot at stake for the justice system, saying the vacancies are a huge difficulty. Its more than a challenge. It makes it very, very difficult to comply with the constitutional requirement that people be tried within a reasonable time, she said in an interview at her office west of Parliament Hill.

McLachlin pointed to the Supreme Courts July ruling in a case called R. vs. Jordan, a split 5-4 decision in which she dissented.

In the interview, she said the court addressed the lamentable delays in criminal trials. She said the decision was clear that we have to have strict compliance with the constitutional right of people to be tried within a reasonable time, adding that this is going to be a challenge for the justice system in the years to come.

The majority ruling warned past approaches to how the courts considered delays  based in part on the high courts own rulings on issues of procedural fairness  have created a culture of delay and complacency.

It set out a new framework that set limits on how long the justice system should reasonably take from the laying of a criminal charge to the actual or anticipated end of a trial. Otherwise criminal charges may be stayed under an accused persons charter guarantee of a trial within a reasonable time. Only under exceptional circumstances should trials be prolonged, it ruled. At most, the Supreme Court said provincial court cases should take 18 months, and for cases in superior trial courts (including those heard in provincial court after a preliminary inquiry) the outside limit is 30 months. Delay caused by or waived by the defence doesnt count. But the Supreme Court says trial delays beyond these times will be presumed to be unreasonable unless there are exceptional reasons that were unforeseen and couldnt be prevented or remedied by Crown action.

I can tell you because I talk to the chief justices who are trying to get the cases tried within reasonable time that they need more judges, said McLachlin, who chairs the Canadian Judicial Council of chief trial and appellate judges.

McLachlin said she first started expressing concern about empty seats on Canadas courts in 2006 when I think there were 35 vacancies and I said that was unacceptable at the time, and today there are  how many?  41?

In fact, the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs said as of Aug. 1 there are 44 vacancies on the federally appointed benches across Canada. The Conservative government was often accused of dragging its feet to replace judges. But since its election last October, the federal Liberal government has moved very slowly to fill gaps.

Joanne Ghiz, spokesperson for Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, said the minster was unavailable for an interview but in an email she pointed to 15 judicial appointments made in June.

Only eight of those appointments were new judges; seven of them were sitting judges who shifted from one bench to another.

Ghiz said the government moved to fill urgent judicial vacancies by drawing on existing lists of recommended candidates but is still considering ways to significantly reform the judicial appointments process.

She offered no indication of when the vacancies would be filled. Ghiz said significant reforms will take time, and require appropriate consultations, including with the judiciary, the legal community and the general public.

McLachlin said while she respects the desire of the new government to revise appointment procedures, We have Canadians who have a constitutional right to a trial within a reasonable time and we dont have enough judges in place in some parts of the country to deliver that. So my hope is that we can have both things, that its not either a new, revised or better process or denying Canadians their constitutional rights.

The Liberal governments overhaul of all federal order-in-council appointments includes judicial appointments not only at the trial and appellate level in provincial courts, but at the very top.

It unveiled a new process to pick a new judge for the Supreme Court of Canada week to fill a vacancy it has known about since March. Thats when Justice Thomas Cromwell, of Nova Scotia, announced he would retire at the end of August. A new advisory board charged with coming up with a shortlist has until Sept. 24 to deliver candidate names to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The high courts fall session starts in October.

Ideally, the (Supreme) court should have all nine people and the court functions best when it has nine people, McLachlin said, adding it has operated at less than the full nine-member bench before.

But in those cases, appeals involving legal issues of national interest and scope are heard with seven instead of nine judges. Some judges may not be able to participate in all the cases theyd like to, she said. I have a rule that if you really want to sit on it you can, but if we sit eight and we divide evenly, then there are other problems.

A couple of times the court has ordered a rehearing of an appeal or when a new judge is appointed he or she participates after the fact via video with the consent of the parties.

There are ways of working around it. The bottom line is that its very important to have nine judges in place. Im sure the government appreciates this and that they are committed to making an appointment at the very earliest possible time.

Trudeaus government has tossed aside a convention that would see Cromwells replacement chosen from Atlantic Canada, and invited applicants from across the country, while introducing a requirement that top court applicants be functionally bilingual. That requirement has irked judges and the legal community in Newfoundland and Labrador, which had been expecting the provinces turn had come for a Supreme Court appointment. At least seven senior judges in that province have French-language training with varying degrees of proficiency, contrary to reports that none speak French.

On Wednesday, the Canadian Bar Association, which represents 36,000 lawyers, judges, law teachers and students, released a letter it wrote to Trudeau calling on the government to change its mind.

It said the Atlantic Canada vacancy on the high court should be filled by a meritorious candidate from that region and future vacancies should respect the custom of allotting seats on the high court on a regional basis.

By law, three of the Supreme Courts nine seats are reserved for Quebec, and by tradition, the federal government appoints three judges from Ontario, two from the West, and one from Atlantic Canada.

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To fix the very awkward rift between the plaintiffs and their own lawyers in the Huronia institution lawsuit, a Superior Court judge came up with a creative solution Wednesday  hire another lawyer.

The ruling from Justice Paul Perell pertained to a prolonged disagreement over how nearly $5 million of settlement money  part of the $35-million Huronia agreement reached in the fall of 2013  will be distributed in the coming months. Perell ruled that another lawyer be hired to help the plaintiffs negotiate the rollout of this money with the Crown and the counsel that spearheaded the historic class action lawsuit.

I think it provides them with a voice, and it deals with your conflict problem, and it allows this process to move forward, Perell said during a hearing in an Osgoode Hall courtroom Wednesday morning.

The Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia was an institution for people with developmental disabilities, part of a network of such facilities that operated for more than a century. People who lived at Huronia and other institutions have long insisted that abuse and neglect were rampant.

Three years ago, days before a class action lawsuit for hundreds of Huronia residents went to trial, the government reached a settlement with the survivors lawyers: Kirk Baert and Jody Brown from the Koskie Minsky law firm. The agreement was worth $35 million and individual claimants were to receive up to $42,000 each for the abuses they suffered at Huronia.

After the individual payments were doled out in the Huronia case, the agreement stipulated that up to $5 million of the settlement money  officially called Schedule D funds  would be used to finance program to educate the public about Huronia and to fund organizations that help people with developmental disabilities.

Marilyn Dolmage and her husband Jim helped start the class action lawsuit with former Huronia residents Marie Slark and Patricia Seth. Seth and Slark were appointed as the plaintiffs to represent all survivors in the case, while Dolmage and her husband were named litigation guardians to help them with the legal process.

The group has had concerns about how the Koskie Minsky lawyers have handled the suit since the settlement was reached in 2013, Dolmage said Wednesday. Speaking on behalf of the plaintiffs, Dolmage claimed in court Wednesday that the Koskie Minsky lawyers werent listening to their concerns that the Schedule D funds would be channeled to programs and organizations that dont directly benefit former residents of Huronia.

My opinion was that the Schedule D money belonged to survivors, Seth told the Star after Wednesdays hearing. It was important to us. Our power was taken away by our own lawyers.

Baert, one of the class members lawyers, said in court that it was his duty to represent the entire class of survivors, and it was in the interest of the survivors as a whole for the judge to break this impasse and order the beginning of the process where various groups can apply for some of the Schedule D funding.

We cant let the money simply sit there and not be given out, Baert said. Weve had to come to you to ask that you break this logjam.

Justice Perell agreed that the process for distribution should start, but ordered that a new lawyer be hired  with payment coming out of the Schedule D funds  to represent the plaintiffs in the negotiations over which groups should get the money.

Dolmage and the plaintiffs said they were happy with the result. We dont just have a voice (now), weve got help, Dolmage said outside the courtroom.

Once Koskie Minsky sends out notices to a list of interested groups, there will be a four-month window to solicit applications for the money, Dolmage said.

The law firm earned more than $8 million from the settlement fund for their work on the case.

The case precipitated a slew of class action settlements that Koskie Minsky handled for survivors of other institutions in Ontario. In April, the government agreed to a $35.9 million agreement for former residents of 12 more institutions that was modeled on the Huronia settlement.

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Shanmuga Paul and Baskaran Nadarajah, Tamils who came to Canada as boat people 30 years ago, are expecting memories to come flooding back Thursday when theyre reunited with the ship that helped rescue them off the south shore of Newfoundland.

The two men are among the 155 Tamils who made headlines across the country when they arrived on Aug. 11, 1986, in two crammed lifeboats. Theyd made a perilous two-week journey across the Atlantic from Germany with just the clothes on their backs.

To mark that journey and their arrival, the Canadian Tamil Congress, a non-profit organization based in Toronto, has organized a reunion this week for four of the boat people and their families.

Not only will Paul and Nadarajah, both 52, be on hand for a ceremonial boarding of the Leonard J. Cowley, the Canadian Coast Guard vessel that brought them to shore that day, but theyll also be reunited with the fisherman, Gus Dalton, 85, who with his crew spotted the 155 boat people from St. Shotts, N.L. He radioed three other boats to assist.

Gus Dalton changed my life, Nadarajah said in a telephone interview from St. Johns, where he arrived Wednesday to mark the reunion.

Cyrus Sundar Singh, a filmmaker in Toronto, is recording the reunion for a documentary hes making on the story of the 155 Tamil boat people.

I love Canada and Im happy to be living here, said Nadarajah, who works as a supervisor at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and owns a home in Brampton, where he lives with his wife and four children, aged 21, 20, 12 and 7.

In a telephone interview, Dalton, who has health problems and difficulty speaking, said hes proud to have helped the boat people that day.

He says he can still picture in his mind the two rickety lifeboats the Tamils showed up in.

I did everything I could for them, as fast as I could, he said.

That included pulling the victims out of their two boats and onto his and the other rescue fishing boats. The coast guard ships later arrived to take the Tamils aboard. They were rescued drifting off the Avalon Peninsula.

When the boat people arrived there was controversy, with some Canadians alleging the Tamils were committing fraud and jumping the immigration line. There were calls for them to be deported. But then prime minister Brian Mulroney stated that Canada is not in the business of turning away refugees.

Nadarajah and Paul were only 21 when they fled war-torn Sri Lanka and headed, separately, to Germany, where as refugees they couldnt work and were limited in where they could go within the country.

So they headed for Canada, a country theyd heard treated refugees better.

Paul, a restaurant manager in Toronto who is married with two children, aged 21 and 17, remembers his journey began after he paid the equivalent of $5,000 to an agent in Germany hed heard about through a friend.

The agent was a human trafficker.

During the first leg of the trip, Paul, Nadarajah and the other boat people were holed up in the bottom of a cargo ship for about 13 days. They were later dumped in the two lifeboats and left to their own devices on the ocean for about three days.

There were women, men and some children in the boats and we were scared, Paul recalled.

There was no food for about two days.

Upon arriving in Canada, Paul never depended on a welfare cheque from the government. Two days after landing here, he secured a job at a garment factory, and has always worked since.

When he first settled in Canada, Nadarajah found ways to save money toward a down payment on his home, including sharing a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Toronto for almost a year with seven friends.

We slept on the floor, he said, chuckling.

In 1989, Nadarajah bought his house.

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BALTIMOREWith startling statistics, a federal investigation of the Baltimore Police Department documents in 164 single-spaced pages what black residents have been saying for years: They are routinely singled out, roughed up or otherwise mistreated by officers, often for no reason.

The 15-month U.S. Justice Department probe was prompted by the death of Freddie Gray, the black man whose fatal neck injury in the back of a police van touched off the worst riots in Baltimore in decades. To many people, the blistering report issued Wednesday was familiar reading.

Danny Marrow, a retired food service worker, said that over the years, he has been stopped repeatedly by police for no good reason.

It started when I was 8 years old and theyd say, with no probable cause, Hey, come here. Where are you going? he said. No cause, just the colour of my skin.

Bullies in the workplace, he said. They dont want you to get angry or challenge their authority, so theyll use force, theyll put the handcuffs on too tight. And, if you run, theyre going to beat you up when they catch you.

The Justice Department looked at hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, including internal affairs files and data on stops, searches and arrests.

It found that one black man was stopped 30 times in less than four years and never charged. Of 410 people stopped at least 10 times from 2010 to 2015, 95 per cent were black. During that time, no one of any other race was stopped more than 12 times.

With the release of the report, the city agreed to negotiate with the Justice Department a set of police reforms over the next few months to fend off a government lawsuit. The reforms will be enforceable by the courts.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Kevin Davis acknowledged the long-standing problems and said they had started improvements even before the report was completed. They promised it will serve as a blueprint for sweeping changes.

Fighting crime and having a better, more respectful relationship with the community are not mutually exclusive endeavours. We dont have to choose one or the other. Were choosing both. Its 2016, said Davis, who was appointed after the riots in April 2015.

Six officers, three white and three black, were charged in Grays arrest and death. The case collapsed without a single conviction, though it did expose a lack of training within the department.

Calvin Void, 45, said Wednesday that he was once tackled by a police officer who was convinced he had just participated in a drug deal. But when the officer checked his pockets, he found no cash or drugs. Still, Void was arrested.

He smacked me in the head with his walkie-talkie, Void said, motioning to a patch of discoloured skin on his scalp. And he said if I reported him I couldnt come around here anymore because hed jump out and whip my ass. It made me frightened.

Anthony Williams, a 27-year-old father raising young children in Sandtown-Winchester, the neighbourhood where Gray was arrested, said he was once with his kids and saw officers chasing a teenager for smoking marijuana.

There was five of them. They jumped on him. I had to tell my kids they were just playing, he said.

The government report represented a damning indictment of how the citys police officers carry out the most fundamental practices, including traffic stops and searches.

It found that officers make a large number of stops  mostly in poor, black neighbourhoods  with dubious justification and unlawfully arrest citizens when officers did not like what those individuals said.

These violations have deeply eroded the relationship between the police and community it serves, Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Departments civil rights division, said at a news conference alongside the mayor and police commissioner.

The Justice Department has undertaken similar investigations of the police in Chicago; Cleveland; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Ferguson, Mo., among other cities.

Federal investigators interviewed Baltimore residents, police officers, prosecutors, public defenders and elected officials, rode along with police on duty and reviewed documents and complaints.

Nearly everyone who spoke to us ... agreed the Baltimore Police Department needs sustainable reform, Gupta said.

Among other findings: Blacks account for 63 per cent of the citys population and roughly 84 per cent of all police stops.

From 2010 to 2015, officers stopped 34 black residents 20 times, and seven black people 30 times or more.

In addition to pat-downs, Baltimore officers perform unconstitutional public strip searches, even of people not under arrest, the report said. It said officers routinely use unreasonable force, including against juveniles and people who arent dangerous.

The direction often came from the top: In one instance, a supervisor told a subordinate to make something up after the officer protested an order to stop and question a group of young black men for no reason.

Baltimore police are trained in aggressive tactics that foster an us vs. them mentality toward the community, the report said.

Eugene ODonnell, a former New York City police officer and a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the report failed to take into account the complicated realities of being a police officer in Baltimore.

They have huge unresolved problems, huge festering problems, ODonnell said. And the Justice Department has nothing to say about that at all.

He said the Justice Department criticized officers for making unlawful stops, when its absolutely impossible to articulate what is and what is not a lawful stop. Its a minefield.

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MARSEILLES, FRANCEFires whipped by high winds ravaged swaths of southern France and Portugal on Wednesday, killing at least four people, burning scores of homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands, including tourists.

In France, multiple fires formed a column marching toward the Mediterranean port city of Marseille. Hundreds of miles away, a fire swept overnight into Funchal, the capital of Portugals Madeira Islands, killing three elderly people and leaving more than 300 with minor burns and smoke inhalation. A forest watchman was killed on the mainland during the night when one of more than 100 blazes engulfed the caravan he was sleeping in 150 kilometres north of Lisbon.

Two people were reported injured, one seriously, as the fire in southern France moved toward Marseille, firefighters said, and 20 to 25 homes were burned. At least 2,700 hectares of land were devastated. Four firefighters were injured, three seriously, battling a separate blaze in the nearby Herault region  brought under control like a fire in an industrial area outside Marseille that stocks oil and petrochemicals.

The Marseille airport rerouted incoming flights to make way for firefighting aircraft, while officials in Marseille, Frances second-largest city, were bracing for flames that risked lapping at its doors, and the airport warned flights risk delays or cancellations Thursday.

Thick layers of ochre-coloured smoke dimmed the afternoon skies of sun-drenched Marseille, while black plumes rose above Vitrolles and Pennes-Mirabeau.

It was a scene really like the end of the world, Caroline Vidal, a Vitrolles resident told iTele TV, describing the scene as she fled her home to her grandmothers house and saw people running on the highway to escape.

Assistant Prefect Yves Rousset, asked at a pre-dawn meeting with reporters in Marseille, whether the fire might reach Frances second-largest city overnight, said, We can never say there will be no risk, but were doing everything so it doesnt. Firefighting aircraft were restarting duty at daybreak, while the battle continued on the ground.

Firefighters in both countries battled multiple blazes fanned by high winds and fed by brush in a hot, dry summer, considered fire season. A full 186 wildfires were counted Wednesday on Portugals mainland.

But the blazes were exceptionally powerful in both countries, roaring through Madeira and southern France at the height of the tourist season  a mainstay of the economy of Madeira islands, off northwest Africa.

Portugals National Civil Protection Service reported 14 major wildfires burning out of control in mainland Portugal where almost 4,500 firefighters were in action in a massive operation, supported by 28 water-dumping aircraft and 1,300 vehicles. Desperate, the government requested help from other European Union countries.

The Madeira fire forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 residents and tourists in the islands. Residents described chaotic nighttime scenes, with people fleeing the flames by car at high speed on the wrong side of the road.

Miguel Albuquerque, head of Madeiras regional government, told reporters the three local victims died in their burned homes early Wednesday as the wildfire hit the coastal city in the dark. He said two other people were seriously hurt and one person went missing. At least 37 houses and a five-star hotel had burned down.

In southern France, more than 1,000 people were evacuated in several towns, notably Vitrolles, about 25 kilometres north of Marseille where some homes were burned down, and in nearby Pennes-Mirabeau.

The fire is progressing. Its progressing fast, Deputy Marseille Mayor Julien Ruas said on BFM-TV. He said firewalls had been set up on the corridor leading toward the city, but if the fire passed those it will move toward the northern neighbourhoods of Marseille.

The fire is extremely powerful, fast, explosive, and continues burning everything in its path, firefighters said in a statement from a temporary headquarters set up in Vitrolles.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, visiting firemen in several locations, said 1,800 firefighters were mobilized to fight the blazes. Some 400 police officers were helping towns secure homes and firefighting aircraft, from Canadairs to Trackers, were mobilized.

The origins of the French fires, which started in Rognac, north of Vitrolles, were unknown.

The Madeira blaze broke out Monday and firefighters said the islands steep hills and dense woodland made it hard to reach the flames. Albuquerque, the regional government chief, said officials suspect that fire was started deliberately and police have made two arrests.

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By Rohit Kumar Singh: Union Minister and RJD Vice President Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has hit out at his own Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar over the manner in which prohibition has been imposed in the state. Singh attacked Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for the stringent amendments incorporated into the prohibition law which makes it draconian in nature, he alleged.

Last week, the Bihar government passed the new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill, 2016, with stringent provisions raising serious questions over the possible misuse of the law. Speaking to the press, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said that rather than bringing in a stricter law, it would have been better had a public referendum taken place to gauge the mood of the people of the state on prohibition. He said that people's participation would have been a better option to enforce the law rather than bringing draconian laws.

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"LAW DRACONIAN IN NATURE"

"I think the law that been brought, is a very strong law and draconian in nature. It would have been better to conduct a referendum of this issue in Bihar. I am of the view that the prohibition law should be reviewed by the government", said the former Union Minister.

Over the action taken by the Bihar government of suspending 11 SHOs in the state for failing to enforce prohibition law in their area, Raghuvansh said that this kind of action against police officers was uncalled for.

RAGHUVANSH PRASAD TARGETS NITISH GOVT

Singh also lambasted the Nitish government for imposing collective fines on at least 7 Bihar villages where the prohibition laws have been repeatedly flouted ever since complete prohibition was imposed in the state in April this year. It may be noted that in the new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, there is a provision of mass fines on villages or locality found to be violating prohibition law again and again. The state government has imposed collective fines on three villages in Bhagalpur, one in Nawada, Sheikhpura and Patna each. Raising these contentious issue pertaining to new prohibition law, Raghuvansh demanded review of the law.

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PARISA British national driving a small truck with 18 migrants inside, five of them children, has been arrested near the northern French port city of Dunkirk.

Police said on Thursday the man was arrested for suspected smuggling.

The truck, bearing British licence plates, carried Syrian and Iraqi migrants. It was intercepted near a refugee camp in Grande-Synthe outside Dunkirk.

The camp was set up by Doctors Without Borders this year to replace a makeshift camp nearby that was a haven for smugglers.

A police official says 36 suspected smugglers have been arrested in the Dunkirk region since the beginning of the year.

Like migrants in nearby Calais, those in Dunkirk travel to northern France in a bid to get into Britain.

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A Toronto legal aid group is calling on the American securities regulator to investigate a Canadian mining company for failing to disclose a secret lawsuit aimed at preventing a referendum on its silver mine.

Even though the 2011 suit was rejected by the Constitutional Court of Guatemala  permitting a vote that overwhelmingly rejected the mine  local human rights groups say the mines parent company, Vancouver-based Tahoe Resources, failed in its legal obligation to disclose the lawsuit to investors.

Publicly traded companies have an obligation under securities legislation to disclose truthfully on matters that may affect their operations. Here we have a case where they are hiding significant opposition, said Shin Imai, a York University law professor who prepared the report on behalf of two Guatemalan rights groups.

Since Tahoes stock trades in both Toronto and New York, Imai, who sits on the board of Yorks Justice and Corporate Accountability Project, chose to file the complaint at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission because he said it has more rigorous standards. Imai hopes the report will draw investors attention to Tahoes practices, and may lead some to follow the Norwegian Government Pension Funds decision to divest from the stock.

The report alleges the lawsuit was one of four filed at Guatemalas highest court by Tahoe and its supporters and calls into question the companys commitment to securing local indigenous support for the mine  a standard that is becoming the norm at resource development projects on indigenous territory in Canada and abroad.

The lawsuits show the extent to which Tahoe and its allies feared the results of the votes and the extent to which they would thwart democratic rights to vote, the report states.

Tahoe Vice President Edie Hofmeister says the company stands by its record of disclosing litigation and contests the legitimacy of the referendums, which she says do not reflect the true will of the communities.

The plebiscites  that some of the communities were holding were in direct violation of the law, she said, pointing to what she called undue influence from outside organizations and non-residents, slanted ballot questions and ineligible voters.

Some years ago, there were (lawsuits) by some of the chambers of industry in Guatemala that we joined because of those unfairness issues, Hofmeister said.

More than 27,000 people voted against the mine in four municipalities, according to results seen by the Star. In separate votes held between 2011 and 2015, they rejected the mine by over 98 per cent, a result which is nevertheless non-binding.

Hofmeister says these lopsided totals call into question the soundness of the polls.

These are the people most directly affected by the mine and their decision isnt being respected, said Becky Kaump, who works with the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, one of the groups that submitted the report to the SEC.

Should the SEC find Tahoe didnt meet its disclosure requirements, it could fine individual corporate officers found to be personally liable.

Cases like Tahoes mine project illustrate the tension between Canadian mining companies desire to expand, in Canada and abroad, and the right of local indigenous people to grant or withhold their free, prior and informed consent.

The term, enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has been adopted into policy statements ranging from the International Labour Organizations Convention on Indigenous Peoples to the private sectors Equator Principles to individual companies Corporate Social Responsibility policies. It remains unclear, however, exactly what companies must do to obtain consent for their projects, and what locals can do to reject them.

It comes down to this: who gets to determine what is a legitimate community consultation? Is it the communities? The municipalities? The courts? Or these companies that have obvious vested interests that their projects go forward? said Lisa Rankin a co-coordinator of Breaking the Silence, a solidarity group that has been working in the area around Tahoes mine since 2011.

Located an hour and a half outside of Guatemala City, Tahoes Escobal mine isnt located on indigenous land and the local municipality didnt hold a referendum. However, the Xinca people who voted to reject the mine live just a few kilometres away and stand in the path of the mines expansion.

The mine faced opposition years before it began operating in 2014. At protests in April 2013, private security guards fired rubber bullets into the crowd, injuring at least six people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The mines director of security has been criminally charged for allegedly ordering his guards to open fire.

Shortly afterward, then-President of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, declared a state of emergency and deployed 8,500 police officers to the area around the mine. Twenty six protesters were arrested for unlawful assembly, but the charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.

The violence at Escobal mine was singled out by Amnesty International as an example of how foreign companies need to do more to ensure respect for Human Rights.

The use of force by Minera San Rafael private security providers using rubber bullets against protesters in April 2013 was inconsistent with these principles, the organization stated in a report on mining in Guatemala.

Before the violence broke out, opposition to the mine was peaceful and organized. Five local municipalities held plebiscites  a right enshrined in Guatemalan law  and a majority of voters rejected the mine. While international observers focused on the protests, Imai discovered four lawsuits filed with the Constitutional Court of Guatemala between 2011 and 2015, seeking to invalidate the results.

One of the lawsuits was filed by Tahoes subsidiary, Minera San Rafael, two by the Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce and one by lawyers who support the mining industry, Imai said.

Tahoe is supposed to disclose litigation that they themselves bring as well as any (other lawsuits) that affect their property or operations, he said.

All four suits were dismissed by Guatemalas highest court, which ruled in one case that it is clear that plebiscites are important mechanisms for guaranteeing fundamental rights and a clear expression of democracy, according to a translation included in the report.

Tahoe VP Hofmeister says opposition to the mine has subsided.

Since we went into production, the civil unrest there has completely died down. We have not lost one day due to blockage, she said.

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund  one of the worlds largest  decided in January 2015 to divest from Tahoe, after an investigation into allegations of human rights abuses.

There is an unacceptable risk of Tahoe Resources contributing to serious human rights violations, according to the results of an investigation carried out by the Norwegian Council on Ethics.

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ISIS is honouring President Obama. Hes the founder of ISIS. He founded ISIS. I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.

 Donald Trump, remarks at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Aug. 10, 2016

Rather than yet another fact check of yet another bizarre claim by Donald Trump, we decided to take another approach. We had previously fact-checked former Florida governor Jeb Bush when he wrongly asserted that Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, did not exist when his brother, George W. Bush, was president. So it did not seem worth plowing over the same ground.

But the Washington Post has an inside expert on the rise of Daesh  our colleague Joby Warrick. His bestselling book, Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. So heres an interview with Joby, conducted by telephone, about Trumps statement.

Is Obama the founder of ISIS?

Absolutely not. Its like saying that Ronald Reagan is the founder of al-Qaida because the arms he sent to the mujahideen in Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion led to the creation of al-Qaida. Its a ludicrous claim.

So who founded ISIS?

It was started by a Jordanian terrorist named Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. It did not initially start out calling itself ISIS; it was called al-Qaida in Iraq.

So what did Obama have to do with the rise of ISIS?

That goes back to my earlier point. ISIS arose in response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Zarqawi moved into Iraq in advance of the invasion in anticipation of leading a Sunni insurgency. Thats really the origin of ISIS from a U.S. policy standpoint. [Note: Trump supported the invasion of Iraq.]

But why did ISIS suddenly seem to grow rapidly during the Obama administration?

The civil war in Syria breathed new life into what had become a moribund organization. The conflict in Syria created a perfect vacuum in terms of governance, and so the civil war became an opportunity for the restoration of the organization. You could fault the White House for not intervening into the Syrian conflict. But there are all kinds of questions about whether any actions taken by the United States would make a difference. Also, given Russian opposition at the United Nations, its pretty unlikely the United States could have gotten international backing for an intervention.

Some people have also criticized Obama for pulling troops out of Iraq.

There are two different issues. ISIS rebounded within the space created in the Syrian conflict. ISIS then saw opportunity to rebound in Iraq. One factor was the withdrawal of U.S. troops. But there was also rampant mismanagement by the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which greatly degraded the Iraqi military and exacerbated tensions between Sunnis and Shiites.

Trump also claims Hillary Clinton was a co-founder of ISIS. Does that make sense?

No. Within the administration, Clinton was one of the loudest forces for keeping a residual force in Iraq and for intervening in Syria, such as arming the rebels. So the criticism especially does not apply to her, since she advocated a more hawkish policy than was undertaken by Obama.

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LONDONEcuador said Thursday its ready to set a date for Swedish prosecutors to question Julian Assange inside its London embassy  a potential breakthrough in the years-long international impasse over the WikiLeaks founder.

Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish police over a rape allegation stemming from his visit to the country in 2010. He has not been charged and denies the rape claim and other allegations made against him by two women. In June 2012, he sought shelter in Ecuadors embassy in the British capital and has been holed up there ever since.

Ecuador announced last year that it had agreed to a Swedish proposal to interview Assange at the embassy, but no interview has taken place.

Ecuadors Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a date for the questioning in the embassy would be set in the coming weeks.

Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Karin Rosander said Sweden handed over a formal request to interview Assange in January, and a reminder in June, and received Ecuadors reply on Tuesday.

It means that a questioning can make the case go forward, Rosander told The Associated Press. This is decisive to be able to take a decision whether to formally charge him or not.

Rosander said the Swedish prosecutor is on vacation and no date has been set for the trip to London.

Assanges defence team said in a statement that it welcomed the steps to take the WikiLeaks founders statement, which it said comes after six years of complete inaction on the part of the Swedish prosecutor.

Sweden wants to question Assange about a rape claim, one of several allegations made against him by two women he met in 2010. Last year Swedish prosecutors dropped investigations into claims of sexual molestation and unlawful coercion because their five-year statues of limitations were expiring.

Assange, 45, fears that if he is extradited to Sweden he will be sent to the United States to be prosecuted for WikiLeaks publication of secret documents, including reams of U.S. diplomatic cables.

Chelsea Manning, an American soldier who passed secret military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks, is serving a 35-year sentence in a military prison.

Assange faces arrest by British police if he leaves the building and, with the exception of occasional trips to the embassy balcony, has not been outside for years.

In February, a United Nations panel said Assanges stay at the embassy constituted arbitrary detention and he should be freed. The British and Swedish governments have rejected the non-binding findings of the UNs Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

In its statement, Ecuador said it stands by its 2012 commitment to grant Assange asylum due to fears of political persecution.

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Supporters of the Palestinian cause denounced Google online this week for removing the word Palestine from Google Maps, but there was just one problem: The company said the word had never been there in the first place.

Even by the boom-and-bust standards of anger on social media, this tale spread quickly, spurred by statements of outrage from Palestinian advocacy groups, news stories and viral videos that included no comment from Google.

An online petition from March condemning Google (and insinuating its two Jewish founders removed the word Palestine because of their alleged ties to Israel) had collected more than 280,000 signatures by Wednesday, more than 180,000 of those since the day before. Angry tweets were sent and there were calls to boycott the company.

A hashtag, #PalestineIsHere, was born. But as far as Google Maps is concerned, it actually had not been.

There has never been a Palestine label on Google Maps, however we discovered a bug that removed the labels for West Bank and Gaza Strip, the company said in a statement. Were working quickly to bring these labels back to the area. It is unclear if that bug played a role in spurring the online outrage.

Elizabeth Davidoff, a spokeswoman, said in an email that the company had also never used the label Palestinian territories on its maps. The bug affecting the words Gaza Strip and West Bank persisted on Thursday, but when Google Maps functions properly both areas are labelled and separated from Israel by a dotted line to signify that their borders are not internationally recognized.

The word Palestine was recently removed from the local home page of the companys search engine, but the reason was esthetic, not political, Davidoff said. It was taken down to make space for an Olympics-themed Google doodle, a design that sometimes greets users, as were country-specific tag lines for every country in the world.

Theres no Google-wide effort to remove Palestine or anything like that, Davidoff said in an email. She said a GIF circulating online (and shared by the activist group Jewish Voice for Peace) that claimed to show a before-and-after image that proved the alleged deletion was fake.

So, how did this happen?

Part of it is a by-now familiar dynamic on social media. People are inclined to believe claims that reinforce their pre-existing beliefs, especially if they produce an emotional response.

Kate Klonick, a resident fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School, said the cycle of outrage on social media is reactive, its emotional, its not particularly thoughtful, but it is satisfying in a lot of ways for people.

And few issues are more emotionally fraught than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of the most intractable and heated disputes in international affairs. The anger of Googles critics was unlikely to be soothed by the facts of this case, Klonick said.

If you were upset that you thought Google removed Palestine, it does not ameliorate your anger at all to find out they never had Palestine there to begin with, she said.

Naomi Dann, a spokeswoman for Jewish Voice for Peace, said the claims about Google Maps gained traction in recent days in part because a journalist group, the Forum of Palestinian Journalists, criticized the company in a statement. (Dann also said the GIF her organization posted to Twitter was created by one of her colleagues.)

In the statement, the forum said it believed what the Google search engine has done is part of an Israeli plan to propose the entrenchment of Israel as the name of a state for generations to come and the abolition of Palestine once and for all, and its erasure from any map.

Emad Zakaria, who wrote the statement, said he heard the claim that Google removed the word Palestine from the website of a Palestinian organization in Lebanon whose name he could not remember.

Anyone looking for Palestine on Google will not be able to find it, he said.

Still, the initial source of the outrage remains a mystery.

The claims about Google had extra emotional weight because they involved a visual representation of Israel and Palestine, Dann said. Maps have always been political, and the ways that borders are demarcated on them is always political, she said.

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MOSCOWUkraine put its troops on combat alert Thursday along the countrys de-facto borders with Crimea and separatist rebels in the east amid an escalating war of words with Russia over Crimea.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending several groups of saboteurs to carry out attacks in Crimea and said that two Russians died while fending off their incursions. Ukraine has denied the claim.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, and a conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces flared up in eastern Ukraine weeks later. The conflict in the east has killed more than 9,500 people and is still raging.

Russias domestic security agency, known by its Russian acronym FSB, said in Wednesdays statement that one of its officers was killed in a gun battle with a group of saboteurs from Ukraine over the weekend. It said the intruders carried an arsenal of bombs, ammunition and mines.

The agency also said that two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armour. One Russian army soldier died in that clash, the FSB said.

Poroshenko rejected the claims as fantasy and a provocation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he described as Ukraines stupid and criminal action and called a session of his Security Council Thursday to discuss boosting security in Crimea.

He also said Wednesday that it makes no sense to discuss the implementation of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine with leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany at the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in China next month as had been planned earlier.

The Russian Foreign Ministry followed up Thursday by warning that if Poroshenko had been involved in criminal decisions to stage armed provocations in Crimea, he could claim the role of the grave digger of the Minsk process.

And if he had been unaware of these decisions, its even worse, it said.

Poroshenko, in his turn, ordered Ukrainian troops to go on combat alert not only on the de-facto border with Crimea but also along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, where the warring sides have continued to routinely exchange fire despite a 2015 truce.

He also ordered Ukrainian diplomats to organize his conversations with the U.S. and European leaders and Putin.

The strong language used by Putin and other Russian officials, particularly Putins refusal to discuss the implementation of the peace accord with Poroshenko, has raised fears of a possible escalation of hostilities.

While local media and social media users have largely corroborated reports of a shootout at the Crimean border, independent accounts of the second border incident reported by the FSB were missing.

A pretense of an anti-terrorism operation staged by Russia is more plausible than an actual Ukrainian attack on Crimea, commentator Oleg Kashin wrote Thursday on Slon.ru. Russia deliberately pushes for an escalation and ignores the opportunities it has to preserve the status quo.

As soon as Russia forced the last Ukrainian troops based in Crimea to leave in 2014, Moscow set up fortified border crossings and sent new weapons to the peninsula  from cutting-edge fighter jets to the newest missile systems.

Despite the military buildup, hardly any disturbances or cross-border shootings have been reported in Crimea since the annexation.

The 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine signed in Minsk has helped reduce fighting in eastern Ukraine, but peaceful settlement has floundered. The deal obliged Ukraine to grant broad autonomy to the rebel regions before it can fully regain control of the border with Russia, but those provisions havent been implemented.

Independent Moscow-based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said that if the Kremlin wanted to make gains or solidify its positions in Ukraine, now would be a good moment because the worlds attention is elsewhere.

The temptation is high to try and use this occasion to solve the Ukrainian problem once and for all, he said. While America is right now not very operational because its in a midst of a divisive election campaign, Europe is also divided  on Brexit, on refugees, on sanctions against Russia.

Putin menacingly referred to the Ukrainian leadership as the people who seized power. Moscow refused to recognize Ukraines interim authorities after Ukraines pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych, was driven from power by massive protests, but later recognized Poroshenko.

The main issue is what is going to happen to the Minsk talks  whether Russia will stop them or start asking for more concessions, respected daily Vedomosti said in an editorial Thursday. In his rhetoric, Putin has returned to 2014, when he did not consider the Ukrainian government legitimate.

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MIAMIDonald Trump repeatedly accused U.S. President Barack Obama of founding Daesh Thursday, refusing to take back a patently false allegation, despite the urging of some of his allies to do so.

A day after lobbing the attack against the president during a rowdy rally, Trump pressed ahead during a round of interviews. He brushed off conservative radio commentator Hugh Hewitts attempt to reframe Trumps observation as one that said Obamas foreign policy created the conditions in Iraq and Syria that allowed Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, to thrive.

No, I meant hes the founder of ISIS (Daesh). I do, Trump said, referring to the extremist group that has wreaked havoc from the Middle East to European cities and has inspired extremists in Canada and the U.S.

Hewitt asked Trump if he would acknowledge that Obama hates Daesh, noting that the president is trying to kill them. Over the past two years Obama has organized a broad coalition of countries and launched more than 10,000 U.S. airstrikes to defeat Daesh.

I dont care, Trump replied. He was the founder. The way he got out of Iraq  that was the founding of ISIS (Daesh), OK?

In a later speech to homebuilders in Miami on Thursday, he said Clinton would be given the most valuable player award by Daesh. Her only competition is Barack Obama, he said. He later added of Clinton, Oh boy, is ISIS (Daesh) hoping for her.

Clintons campaign accused Trump of trash-talking the U.S. while failing to present any serious counterterrorism plans of his own. Jake Sullivan, Clintons top policy aide, called Trumps accusation a false claim and drew a connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Once again, hes echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, Sullivan said.

In the interview with Hewitt, Trump did acknowledge the root of his argument was that if Obama had done things property, Daesh wouldnt have grown in power. But he then added, Therefore, he was the founder if ISIS (Daesh).

Trump had previously said Clinton founded the militant group, but shifted the blame to Obama on Wednesday during a rally in Florida.

In many respects, you know, they honour President Obama, Trump said Wednesday during a raucous campaign rally outside Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He is the founder, he said, repeating the allegation three more times for emphasis.

Trump also pointedly referred to the president by his full legal name: Barack Hussein Obama. The accusation  and his use of the presidents middle name, Hussein  echoed previous instances where hes questioned Obamas religious faith and loyalties to the country.

In June, when a shooter who claimed allegiance to Daesh killed 49 people in an Orlando, Fla., nightclub, Trump seemed to suggest Obama was sympathetic to the group when he said Obama doesnt get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands.

In the past, Trump has also falsely suggested Obama is a Muslim or was born in Kenya, where Obamas father was from. The president, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

As he works to keep his campaign message on track, Trump in recent days has sometimes tried to clarify controversial statements by arguing he was being misinterpreted. But given the opportunity Thursday morning by Hewitt and others to take back the claim that Obama founded the terror group, Trump did the opposite.

He was the founder, absolutely the founder, Trump said on CNBC. In fact he gets the  in sports, they have awards. He gets the most valuable player award.

Trump has long blamed Obama and his former secretary of state  Clinton  for their Mideast policy. Republicans believe that the U.S. decision to leave Iraq in 2011 created a power vacuum that allowed Al Qaeda in Iraq, a subsidiary of the larger terror group Al Qaeda, to morph into the 30,000-strong Daesh group that in 2014 seized a third of Syria and Iraq.

The U.S. has led a coalition of a dozen Western and Arab countries in a sustained airstrike campaign  backed by Iraqi ground forces  that have cut the group in half and cost it 45 per cent of its territory. Yet, the group still inspires or backs terror attacks around the world.

The White House declined to comment on Trumps accusation.

Daesh began as Iraqs local affiliate of Al Qaeda, the group that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. But the group carried out massive attacks against Iraqs Shiite Muslim majority, fuelling tensions with Al Qaedas central leadership, which blames its grievances on the West. The local groups then-leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, was killed in 2006 in a U.S. airstrike but is still seen as Daeshs founder.

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How it works

Chris Sheldrick, co-founder of what3words, got frustrated trying to get bands and their equipment to the right entrances of venues, so he came up with a simple system: combining three random words to refer, precisely, to any 3x3-metre square in the world  all 57 trillion of them. For example, the Toronto Star office at 1 Yonge Street has a few hundred names. If you want to meet at the Yonge Street entrance, its voting.educated.stew. The Queens Quay entrance, by comparison, is tutored.boots.powers. In between, there are dozens of other 3x3 squares with different names.

Three little words

The system is available in nine languages, but all are based on the same algorithm, says Giles Rhys Jones, chief marketing officer for what3words. The system is non-hierarchical, so that similar phrases dont appear in close proximity. So, for example, admire.motivate.opinion is not right beside admire.motivate.oscar.

With a hierarchical system, says Jones, if you make a slight mistake and hear it wrong then you end up in the vicinity, just the wrong place.

With what3words, a slight mistake could take you to a forest in Albania. As long as you know your meeting isnt in Albania, the mistake will be obvious.

The algorithm decides

The non-hierarchical nature and randomness of the words also means that landmarks dont get special treatment. The Eiffel Tower, for instance, is at prices.slippery.traps, while the White House is at sulk.held.raves. Jones says its tempting to change the names of well-known locations, but that would go against the spirit of the system.

If you start creating hierarchy or you treat places in a particular way . . . it becomes a very different system. This way, says Jones, The algorithm just makes the decision.

Like a horoscope

That hasnt stopped people from reading significance into the names of certain locations. Three words are just vague enough that all sorts of meaning can be attributed to them (admire.motivate.opinon, which lands somewhere around the middle of the Toronto Star building, could be the creation of an ad writer promoting the newspaper).

There is a beauty in the words and a poetry in the words that I think people respond to on an emotional level, says Jones. Its almost like a horoscope.

Addresses for hydrants

The system is picking up worldwide attention. Denver now uses it to give all their fire hydrants specific addresses, while Mongolia is now switching over all their addresses to the system. The UN has used it in crisis situations, with an app that tags photos of flooding, damaged buildings or other dangers with their three-word addresses.

We want to become a globally recognized standard for reporting location. It might be that you have a traditional street address, but because of the way your street runs or (where) the entrance to your house is . . . you might include a three-word address.

You can find your three-word address by typing in your regular street address here.

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) were falling 9.85% to $24.63 in pre-market trading on Thursday as federal prosecutors are probing whether the company defrauded investors by hiding its relationship to a mail-order pharmacy, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

"Valeant has been cooperating and continues to cooperate with the ongoing Southern District of New York investigation," a company spokeswoman told the newspaper late yesterday.

Lawyers in the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan are pursuing the theory that Valeant and closely tied mail-order pharmacy Philidor Rx Services reportedly defrauded insurers by covering their close relationship.

The investigation is expected to be the most serious the company faces and could lead to criminal charges against former Philidor executives and Valeant as a company, a source told the Journal.

TheStreet's Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager of the Action Alerts Plus charitable trust, commented on the report in an article this morning: "What does it mean for Valeant? Well, for the stock, of course, it will be hammered."

"But for the company? It's not clear there will be any specific damages, because the record of the government in going after these kinds of scandals is not as heavy-handed as some might think," Cramer added.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings Team has a "Sell" rating with a score of D on the stock.

The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.

Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: VRX
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Alphabet's (GOOGL) venture capital unit, Google Venture's, founder Bill Maris has told the company he will be leaving, CNBC's John Fort reported on Thursday's "Squawk Alley." Maris was responsible for overseeing critical investments such as Nest, Uber and coffeemaker Blue Bottle.

Maris' departure is the most recent in a string of exits from the company. Nest CEO Tony Fadell left in June, and chief technology officer and former head of Google's self-driving car initiative Chirs Urmson left the company as well.

"I'm not sure this strikes me as a big deal. Not because Bill Maris isn't a good guy, but we've had spades of executives of Google leave before. Marissa Meyer for example and yet the company has continued to do quite well," Fort said.

Moreover, Fort believes that in some cases executives, such as Maris, acquire a large sum of wealthy from working with a company such as Alphabet and then say to themselves it may be time to move on to something new.

(Alphabet is a part of Jim Cramer's charitable trust Action Alerts PLUS. See all of Cramer's holdings with a free trial.)

Separately, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author. TheStreet Ratings has this to say about the recommendation:

We rate ALPHABET INC as a Buy with a ratings score of A. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance and reasonable valuation levels. Although no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook.



You can view the full analysis from the report here: GOOGL
The Russia-Ukraine relationship has taken another dip, with Russia accusing Ukraine of terror tactics and reporting two casualties in fending off this alleged attack.

By AP: Russia's main domestic security agency said Wednesday that one of its agents and an army soldier were killed while fending off what it described as a series of attempted terror attacks by Ukrainian "saboteurs" in Crimea, a claim Ukrainian officials denied.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin condemned what he described as a "stupid criminal action" by the Ukrainian authorities and vowed to take additional steps to ensure security of Crimea. He also strongly urged the West to warn Kiev against "resorting to terror instead of searching for a peaceful settlement."

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko rejected the Russian claims as "fantasy" and "provocation," saying in a statement that his government would use only political and diplomatic means to restore its sovereignty over Crimea.

Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum. The ensuing conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 9,500, and fighting there between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists has continued despite a 2015 cease-fire.

RUSSIA'S STATEMENT

The Federal Security Service, known under its Russian acronym FSB, said in Wednesday's statement that its officer was killed over the weekend near Armyansk within a few kilometers (miles) of the de-facto border between Crimea and Ukraine when FSB officers engaged in a gun battle with a group of "saboteurs" from Ukraine. The FSB said the intruders carried an arsenal of bombs, ammunition and mines.

The agency said two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armor. It said one Russian army soldier died in that clash.

The FSB said it also busted what it called a network of agents of Ukrainian military intelligence in Crimea, and detained several people, including a Ukrainian citizen identified as Yevgeniy Panov, whom it described as a Ukrainian military intelligence officer. The agency claimed that the Ukrainian intelligence operation had sought to destabilize the situation in Crimea ahead of Russia's parliamentary elections set for next month.

Putin, speaking at a news conference in Moscow, accused the Ukrainian leadership of engaging in "terror" instead of discussing peace settlement in eastern Ukraine. Because of that, he said, it makes no sense to discuss the Ukrainian peace settlement with leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany at the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in China next month as earlier planned.

UKRAINE'S COUNTER

Poroshenko countered in his statement that "we would never ever use terror to de-occupy Crimea."

The Ukrainian government said over the weekend that Russia briefly closed its border crossings with mainland Ukraine, and social media users earlier this week posted photos and videos of dozens of armored vehicles on Crimean highways heading toward the de-facto border.

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US STANCE

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau, referred questions about the incident to Ukrainian officials while reaffirming the U.S. stance on Crimea.

"We don't want to be distracted from the real issue here, which is not only Russia's occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea, but their continued aggression in eastern Ukraine," she said. "Crimea is and will always be part of Ukraine. We condemn and call for an immediate end to the Russian occupation of Crimea."

Regarding the talks about the conflict in the east, she added that "we always think that dialogue is a process that should be explored."

UN ADDRESS

At the United Nations in New York, Ukraine's Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko said his country would consider convening the Security Council - despite Russia's veto power there - depending on how the situation develops.

He read a statement from Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin urging "the international community to take all possible political and diplomatic steps to exert influence on the Kremlin in order to prevent a new round of aggression against the Ukraine.

Yelchenko also pointed out a disturbing similarity to the situation eight years ago, at the beginning of the Olympics and on the eve of U.S. presidential elections, when "Russia began its aggressions against Georgia."

--- ENDS ---

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Richard Holland, the Nebraska advertising executive who helped link up one of the great partnerships in business history  between Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett and his deputy, Charles Munger  died Aug. 9 at his home in Omaha. He was 95.

His death was announced in a news release from Omaha Performing Arts, one of the many local groups he supported. The cause was not disclosed.

As one of Buffetts earliest investors, Mr. Holland reaped gains that made him and his wife, Mary, among Omahas wealthiest people and most generous philanthropists. Although their net worth wasnt public, their private charitable foundation reported assets of $158.8 million in 2014.

Mr. Hollands precise role in introducing Buffett and Munger in 1959 was a matter of some dispute. According to Buffett biographers Roger Lowenstein and Alice Schroeder, Buffett and Munger first met at a lunch in a private room at the Omaha Club that was arranged by mutual acquaintances Neal Davis and his brother-in-law, Lee Seeman.

The next night, they were reunited at Dick Hollands, a mutual friends, and talked a blue streak, Lowenstein wrote in Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, published in 1995.

But Mr. Holland, in a self-published 2011 memoir, said he believed that the meeting at his house was the first, not the second, between Buffett and Munger.

He wrote that he had invited Munger, a friend from childhood who was in town visiting his mother, to join him, Buffett and some others for dinner.

When I introduced Charlie and Warren, Im certain they met as strangers, Mr. Holland wrote, according to a 1998 article in the Omaha World-Herald. He recalled Buffett and Munger spending the evening talking intensely.

Thats why I always thought that I introduced them, Mr. Holland wrote. They sure as hell acted like people whod never known each other. But some people in Omaha, of course, have other memories. Im not going to argue. . . . They were two great people who were going to make a difference in the world.

Carol Loomis, a Fortune magazine writer and Buffett friend who edited his annual letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, wrote in Tap Dancing to Work, her 2012 collection of articles on Buffett:

The matchup of Warren Buffett and Charles Munger is regarded as so perfect  so impossible to imagine not happening  that two different Omahans claim they made the introduction.

This argument, she added, will not be settled here.

Richard Dean Holland was born in Omaha on July 2, 1921. His father owned an advertising agency.

After serving in the Armys Chemical Corps during World War II, Mr. Holland studied art at what is now the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He graduated in 1948 and went to work at his fathers firm. He helped establish the Omaha-based advertising agency Holland, Dreves, Reilly before retiring in 1985.

Mr. Holland met Buffett in the late 1950s and, against the advice of members of his family, invested with him in 1961, according to published accounts.

I convinced my wife, who had a little money, to put some with Warren, Mr. Holland told Eric Weiner for the book What Goes Up. I think about that a lot because if Id failed at that and given her bad advice, I wouldve been in trouble. . . . Over the years, we gradually put in more because he just kept doing better and better.

With his wife, the former Mary McArthur, who died in 2006, Mr. Holland became a leading patron of cultural institutions in Omaha. The Holland Performing Arts Center opened in 2005. The Holland Computing Center, housing one of the worlds most powerful supercomputers, opened in 2007 on the UN-O campus.

A self-described liberal Democrat in the reddest red state in the union, Mr. Holland also focused on giving to programs that alleviate poverty and help children.

Survivors include three daughters, five grandchildren and a great-grandchild. A son died in a car accident at age 20.

Speaking of his wealth in 2013, Mr. Holland said: Im trying to get rid of it. I always tell people I gave up on the idea of buying a chateau in the South of France long ago. That sort of thing doesnt appeal to me.

 Bloomberg News
Imagine sitting across from your first love, whom you havent seen for 16 years. Hes more handsome than you thought he would be. Hes strong, healthy and charming. Theres just one problem. Hes in prison, serving a life sentence without parole for murdering two people.

Riverine: A Memoir from Anywhere but Here" by Angela Palm (Graywolf)

This is where Angela Palm found herself some years ago, face to face with the man she once dreamed shed spend the rest of her life with. In her affecting memoir Riverine, winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, Palm searches through her past to understand how it was possible for the lives of two people sprung from the same place to diverge in such different directions.

Growing up in rural Indiana on an old riverbed, Palm fell for Corey, a troubled but charismatic neighbor whose bedroom window faced hers. They became fast friends, playing truth-or-dare and tag, having serious conversations while sitting on top of Palms swing set.

Were not much different, she says to Corey, who landed in prison at 19. None of us. People are mostly water and thoughts.

[Review: Boy Erased: A ministers son trapped between religion and his sexual identity]

Corey struggled through adolescence. Gradually, his troubles grew from minor infractions such as marijuana possession to the stabbing of two neighbors. After killing them, he lit their car on fire in a cornfield. Palms reaction is disbelief. I had no answers and no guesses. But she wonders whether its a result of his makeshift upbringing as the fifth of five children, one dead too young, to guide him. It isnt until she visits him in prison years later that she gets some answers: Corey was on drugs, including heroin, and was homeless, sometimes even sleeping at his dead sisters grave. He was trying to recover, and he needed money.

Palm is no stranger to criminals. Her Uncle Pat served time for shooting his former boss in the stomach. After he is released from prison, its immediately apparent hes mentally ill. In a particularly disturbing scene, he drives his niece to a Papa Johns restaurant to pick up a pizza, and he casually tells her that he was planning on killing her entire family but didnt.

Violence clips the corners of my past, and language sets me free, Palm writes early in the book.

The author, Angela Palm (Greg Perez Studio)

As a child, Palm would pretend she was the fictional characters she read about, such as Roald Dahls Matilda, a girl who could outwit her parents. But as she grew older, she had to confront the realities of life. Writing is seeing. There is an obligation to complete the half-written letters, assemble the tales, stitch together the truths. Of that, I am certain, she writes.

Writers tend to search for meaning in their origin stories, and Palm is fixated not just on her physical geography but also her internal map.

The need to look at other landscapes for clues about what already lies within us is real, Palm writes. It is a variation on distance, that thing you need to put between yourself and a problem in order to see it clearly.

The juxtaposition of Palms fascination with landscapes and her coming of age as an author works nicely. Both strands of the story cross-pollinate. Now married with two kids, she lives in Vermont with her husband, a pilot.

My best self has grown here in Vermont, Palm writes. Only it is a wild self, one that knows it was never meant to root down into any ground. One that values freedom above all else.

She remains free, but part of her will always belong to Corey. The two maintain a close relationship, exchanging emails and holding on to a relationship that was planted years ago. Palms husband understands but has asked her whether shed leave him if Corey were released. Her response is that theres no point in talking about something that cant happen, yet it was a relief to know that he was open to any answer I might give.

Palm emerges from these pages as someone who holds on firmly to the first boy she ever fell in love with, someone who forges a new life for herself while never forgetting where she comes from. Theres a flickering beauty to her stubbornness, like the reflection of late afternoon sunlight in a river. Corey committed an awful crime  but underneath his surface, theres still the boy she peered at through her window all those years ago. Reading this tale, we can all remember lost loves and ponder the might-have-beens.

Michele Filgate is a freelance writer and contributing editor at Literary Hub and VP/Awards for the National Book Critics Circle. She lives in Brooklyn.


Sam and Rob Fatzinger, second and third from right, of Bowie, Md., have 13 children, including, from left, Barbara, Robert, Kolbe, Alex, Mary, Cecelia and Dominic. (April Greer/For The Washington Post)

Sam Fatzinger prowls the aisles of an Aldi grocery store with an engineers precision. Workers greet her, mostly by name.

She puts several trays of chicken into a huge cart. Then its on to fresh blueberries for $1.79 a pint, in February. And she recalls the time the no-frills store had a sale on potatoes: 10 pounds for 99 cents. She bought 60 pounds. Her husband loves them.

To get these best buys, its just watching and waiting and knowing, Sam says.Every cent counts.

At the cashier, her groceries fill every inch of the conveyor belt. My silent guess: $250 in all. The bill: $127, half of my estimate.

Very impressive. But not as impressive as this:

Rob and Sam Fatzinger, lifelong residents of Bowie, Md., lead a single-income family in one of the countrys most expensive regions. Robs income never topped $50,000 until he was 40; hes now 51 and earns just north of $100,000 as a software tester.

They have 13 children. Which means they require things like a seven-bedroom house and a 15-passenger van. Four children have graduated from college, three are undergrads and six are on the runway.

Yet they paid off their mortgage early four years ago. They have no debt  never have, besides mortgages. And Rob is on track to retire by 62.

This family gets the gold medal for being frugal. This family is the Einstein of economical.

These days, frugality is not about clipping coupons. Its about rethinking your finances, and maybe your life.

Robs philosophy: Spend money on what makes you truly happy and on what you enjoy. ... The thing that people need to understand is that we dont feel deprived or poor. ... We pick and choose carefully.

The Fatzingers are getting it done.

Could you?



A Fatzinger family portrait with, from left, Caleb, Kolbe, Alex, Mary, Joey, Cecilia, Barbara, Dominic, Lizzie, Robert, Rob, Eric, Sam and Ray. Not pictured: Joshua. (April Greer/For The Washington Post)

Frugality is hardly new. In 1789, George Washington wrote to Marquis de Lafayette, the French military officer who fought for the American Revolution: Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry and frugality are necessary to make us a great and happy people. And we were a frugal people well into the 20th century. Then came the era of instant credit, rampant consumerism and record personal bankruptcies.

Recently, frugality has gotten a boost thanks to hundreds of personal-finance bloggers, and no thanks at all to the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Many focus on FIRE, an acronym for financial independence/retire early.

Aspirants often strive to save at least 25 percent of their take-home pay over the years, or even twice that  or more  to feel financially secure or to pursue a new career. Others yearn to quit their jobs for the long haul, even in their 30s.

One leading blogger grew up on food stamps. Others learned about money from their parents, for good or ill. The best are innovative, funny and surprisingly philosophical as they chart a course for change and places unknown.

Theyre about ideas and possibilities, not suffering. And millions are listening. Until a couple of years ago, Rob Fatzinger had a blog called Sardonic Catholic Dad, focusing on family, faith and frugality. Two of his hits: College on the Cheap  How the Sardonic Family Does It and How to Retire Early With 13 Kids, which he wrote as a guest post on the FIRE site Mad Fientist.

Frugalism is often about math, determinationand thinking a bit differently. A few key principles: How much you save, as a percentage of your paycheck, will foretell when youll be able to build your own business or retire. Small financial changes can make a big impact. And its not really about your income; its about your savings, says Pete Adeney, a lapsed engineer from outside Boulder, Colo., who created the popular Mr. Money Mustache blog.

And then theres the miracle of compounding interest, the gift that keeps giving as your investments interest spawns its own interest, time and again.



Dinnertime can be hectic for the Fatzingers, although they've learned shortcuts to speed the process through sharing and passing silverware. (April Greer/For The Washington Post)

The Fatzingers would never claim to be financial magicians. But to outsiders, it might look that way.

After marrying 27 years ago, Sam and Rob started a small Christian bookstore in Crofton, Md., and soon had a daughter. Rob said the couple never earned more than $36,000 a year in the business. Still, they saved 10 to 15 percent of their earnings. By the time they shuttered the store in 2000, they had seven kids.

About 10 years ago, Rob got the job testing software. Earnings of $40,000 gave way to $60,000 and are now about $110,000, counting a few thousand from mowing neighbors lawns and other tasks.

Back in 2000, they bought a five-bedroom house out of foreclosure and later added three bedrooms. Nine children, including the youngest, who is 4, live there now.

The good news: The home cost $150,000. The Fatzingers paid down $50,000, saving interest on the 15-year mortgage.

The bad news: Sam said their priest, visiting to bless the new home, walked in and said: Should I do an exorcism on this house?  The place was in serious disrepair.

Relatives gutted it and made it livable, Sam said. Youth groups were over here, ripping up carpet, taking down walls. Someone gave them a wood stove. A relative gifted them a used couch. Later, another couch was left on a curb for anyone to take. Score.

Years later, they enlarged the kitchen, using two zero-percent finance offers good for 12 months. Eleven months later, they paid off the loan, without paying any interest. The project cost $28,000, with family members doing much of the demolition, painting and decorating.

Now they have two refrigerators, two stoves, two dishwashers and a welcoming, comfortable home. (Even the clothes washer is a champ. Sam estimates that the family cleans 42 loads a week, but never on Sundays. The only children who dont do the wash are the 4- and 6-year-olds.)

Since the mortgage was paid off in 2012, Rob and Sam have turbo-charged their savings rate, now investing about $3,000 a month. Even so, they dont go without. Sam has a $10 monthly gym membership, and Rob and Sam go out for lunch on the 20th of each month, maybe at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews in Bowie, marking the day of the month they got married.

Occasionally, Sam and Rob are annoyed by strangers at the grocery store. People still say, Oh my God, you have so many kids! said Sam, a devout Catholic, as is Rob. I have this Dont mess with me reaction. Im not your typical, quiet, passive woman.

Rob, 51, is soft-spoken, a work-from-home dad and a former American Idol fan. A few years back, he finished a 50-mile trail run  and kept going to 54.

Sam, who is 48, home-schools the children through high school and is certified to do so. The kids also get outside tutoring. Her nonacademic lessons extend to the rules and responsibility of money.

My kids all get jobs as soon as theyre old enough, she says, and they learn to discern between needs and wants. They pay for their cellphones, they pay for college, they pay for their own gas. Allowances? Nope.

Daughter Barbara, 20, a rising senior at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, started babysitting at 11. She got her first real job at Ritas Italian Ice. Babysitting, she noted, paid way more than Ritas.

When she was 15, Barbara bought a 1994 Ford Escort with 30,000 miles for $2,600 from her savings. It sat in the driveway until I got my drivers permit, she said. Five years later, I still drive it.

The family shops at sales or secondhand stores and checks out the Freecycle Network, a site for giving away belongings.

Friends and strangers also chip in. We always have someone dropping off a bike, Sam said. We would get things and not even know where they came from.

Someone stuck an anonymous $500 gift card on the Fatzingers front door. And a pair of size 3 white shoes for church wound up on the doorstep for a young daughter who could use them.

Bowie just does that, Sam said. A friend from church gave them a used car, and Sams sister gave her a used red Chevrolet Suburban. And later, an older white Suburban.

Fine. Except this is America. Surely the kids are seething cauldrons of Nike-deprived resentment.

Or maybe not. I always had a ton of clothes, Barbara said. I would go with Grandma and buy any cute clothes I wanted.

Older brother Caleb: I can see how some people would think ... we might have been deprived. It was never like that. He played soccer at a small Christian school, was a counselor at a summer camp and swam at a community pool. The kids had cable TV and high-speed Internet. In community college, Caleb said, he knew I didnt have what some other kids had, but it was never out of control.

As for the givers: Sams sister, Joan Salvagno, who is 11 years older than Sam in a family of nine, said her sisters family needed the car more than we did. ... You dont really think of them as gifts. ... Weve gotten more than weve given.



The children head down the driveway for a family bike ride. (April Greer/For The Washington Post)

These days, even the childless can be terrified of college costs, so just imagine having 13 kids. But the Fatzingers have a strategy, and its working. The plan: Start in community college, dont expect a handout from Mom and Dad, and graduate debt-free.

So far, Alexandria, the oldest at 26, graduated at 21 with a masters degree in social work. Joshua, 25, graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in kinesiology and became a missionary.

Caleb, 23, is in the last year of a doctoral program in physical therapy at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. And Lizzie, 21, graduated in May from the University of Maryland with a math major, while also cleaning houses and tutoring. All four graduated from college debt-free.

All five oldest Fatzingers have gone first to Anne Arundel Community College.

In Barbaras first semester, her tuition, textbooks and gas money were covered by scholarships and other aid. In her second semester, she spent probably $500 in tuition. The next year, she paid $700 to $1,000 per semester. After two years, she had paid about $2,500 at most. It came from savings and her job in a child-care center at a gym.

In September, Barbara started at UMBC, a public university with higher expenses. Her first year there cost about $15,000, after receiving a $5,800 scholarship based on grades and financial need. Money was tight. Again, she paid with her savings, which included money from a grandparent, who gives each child a one-time gift of $5,000 for college. Barbara used some of the gift money to stay in school, but shes saving most of it.

She will soon begin her senior year at UMBC. She has a $7,500 stipend for tuition and five small scholarships that will fill the holes. In return for the stipend, shell work for a state child-welfare program.

Barbara has decided to live at home this year, which means shell be commuting and wont be spending at all, she said in a text message. And I WILL graduate debt-free.

Next year, shell follow in oldest sister Alexs footsteps, pursuing her masters degree in social work at another school, which could take one or two years. A Maryland program will pay most of her tuition, and in exchange, shell work for a child-welfare agency for two or three years after she graduates.

In total, roughly speaking, Barbara has paid about $17,500 out of pocket for tuition, books, supplies and fees for four years of college.

The Washington Post's Jonnelle Marte gives helpful tips to avoid frequent mistakes made by people while preparing for retirement. (Ashleigh Joplin,Jonnelle Marte/The Washington Post)

I asked if she had paid for all her expenses in her first year at UMBC. The $15,000, she said, was all of my money that Ive been saving since I was 8 years old!

But even the Fatzingers cant outrun the college-cost steamroller.

Caleb was fine in community college, where he paid essentially nothing, in part because of his good grades and aid. And he graduated debt-free at Towson University, a public state school, where he worked in the admissions office.

But when he began the doctoral program in physical therapy two years ago, he had to take out a loan. With aid more scarce in grad school, he said hell end up owing almost $90,000.

I think about it a good amount, said Caleb, who started working as a physical therapy technician at 18. I try not to worry too much. He hopes to pay off the loan in 10 years.

He has one more year to go. He works at the school gym some days at 5:30 a.m. and slips into class at 9:30. I think Ive done the best I can, he says.



Barbara goofs off with Cecilia and Mary. The Fatzingers have a seven-bedroom house. (April Greer/For The Washington Post)

The Fatzingers recent challenge: Joshua, the oldest son, is getting married in November  in Arizona. Could they all get there?

There was considerable concern. With 13 kids, the need to be frugal never takes a vacation.

At the end, they got three plane tickets for free, using air miles. Then they bit the bullet and bought 10. Theyll all be at the wedding.

My advice: Never bet against the Fatzingers.

Erica Johnston, an editor at The Post, never knew she came from a small family of nine until she met the Fatzingers.

E-mail us at wpmagazine@washpost.com.

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J an. 20, 2017, the inaugural address of Donald John Trump Sr.:

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Comrade Putin and my fellow white Americans:

We have many challenges ahead of us, beginning with the stock market, which as you know cratered the day after the election because, finally, the country woke up to how stupid President Obama is, and got scared. Now we have to dig ourselves out of what I will officially proclaim the Great Kenyan Recession, but dont worry, Ive got it under control. Ive already put a team of Jews on it. And they are the BEST Jews, believe me, the ones with yarmulkes and those noses. What Im saying is, Ive only been president for seven minutes and the country is already getting great again.

Okay, lessee. I dont really have prepared remarks here. Im the first president since Millard Fillmore who doesnt use a teleprompter, trust me. The point is, I want to congratulate you for electing me, which was very smart of you. Give yourselves a big hand.

Speaking of big hands, look at these babies. [Holds them up.] Theyll be big enough to do a lot of signing of executive orders, such as the first one that Im going to sign just as soon as I get to my new home, which, by the way, is smaller than Im used to. Im used to homes where each bathroom has its own bathroom. With a bidet. I love bidets, let me tell you. Its the next best thing to having your own personal butt kisser. Which I also have, by the way. And I pay him very, very well and hes crazy about me.

(Illustration by Eric Shansby)

Where was I? Oh, my proclamations. The first ones gonna be a doozy. The Statue of Liberty? Were gonna give her bigger boobs.

Next, I am going to pardon Bernard Madoff. Hes not a bad guy, he just likes to play with debt, like I do. The point is, hes a financial whiz, and my team of Jews needs him, and whats good for the Jews is good for America. America first.

Oh, by the way, I have a personal message for you from Melania: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

Next, Im gonna build the wall to keep out the Mexican rapists and drug dealers, and China is gonna pay for it.

I know I said Mexico would, but it turns out theyve been whiners about that. Theyre all a bunch of bellyachers, which makes sense when you think about it, because of the crap they eat down there. Its why every time we go to Mexico we get diarrhea! So the hell with them. Im negotiating with China for the wall. The Chinese are crafty little folks  think about Pearl Harbor  but they know a good deal when they see it. All they want in return is a little computer access. Deal. Me and their president, Xi Ping-Pong, or whatever his name is, get along great. Hes a strong leader. I like how he shoots people in the head.

As you know, I have wasted no time assembling a Cabinet, and I particularly look forward to the confirmation hearings for secretaries Ventura, Busey, Nugent, Arpaio, Baio and Maio. By the way, attorney general nominee Chris Maio used to be Chris Christie, but hes changing his name because I told him to. I like how it sounds with the two others, like Huey, Dewey and Louie! And Im sorry surgeon general nominee Sheen couldnt be here on account of his liver transplant.

Finally, we are going to repeal climate change. Executive order. Its not happening, people, and thats it.

Im tired of all the quote-unquote scientists like Stephen Hawking who say [hunches down and imitates spastic movements] the Earth, uh, uh, uh, is dyinnnng. ...

Okay, were done here. Interested parties should call my office to bid on these now historic cufflinks. Oh, and my underpants.
In the June 26 column, I asked readers to share views on the Labor Departments new overtime rule, which will make most workers earning less than $47,476 a year eligible for overtime pay, regardless of job duties, starting Dec. 1. One particularly vocal group: nonprofit managers.

Our staff is dedicated to our mission. ... Most of our salaried staff earn below the new threshold, and most work in excess of 40 hours for 10 to 12 weeks of the year. We cannot pay more.

Do I make my workers all non-exempt and face decreased morale, passion and productivity? Do I reduce my workforce, putting two to three people out of work? Do I decrease our generous health benefits?

I suspect workers will end up receiving bigger checks during peak periods and much smaller checks during slow periods. I cant imagine anyone will like that.

Karla: The income threshold for overtime pay was long overdue for an adjustment  but having to catch up all at once is hitting employers, especially nonprofit groups, hard. How can cash-strapped employers comply with the law, retain flexibility for workers and stay solvent?

One overtime payment option worth investigating is the fluctuating workweek method, says David James, an employment lawyer with Minnesota firm Nilan Johnson Lewis. Its an imperfect solution to an imperfect rule, but it may help ease the pain of playing catch-up.

Heres how it works: The employer guarantees the employee a regular salary every week, even when the employee works less than 40 hours. When the employee exceeds 40 hours, the employer pays an overtime premium  but instead of time-and-a-half, the overtime premium is only half the employees hourly rate.

James puts it in dollar terms: A worker is paid a salary of $500 per week. In a week when the salaried worker puts in 45 hours, the workers hourly rate is $11.11 per hour. Half that hourly rate is $5.56 per hour, which means $27.80 for the five hours of overtime.

Pros: The fluctuating workweek method costs the employer one-third of what straight overtime would cost, and it allows employees more predictable paychecks and continued flexibility.

Cons: Calculating the variable overtime rates places a significant burden on payroll and accounting staff, says employment attorney Declan Leonard of Berenzweig Leonard. And, James says, figuring out a base salary acceptable to both parties can be tricky.

Finally, employees under this method must have noticeable and consistent variations in weekly hours, says Leonard  both above and below 40 hours. And employers must ensure, preferably in writing, that employees fully understand the new compensation structure. I realize it sounds self-serving, he says, but in this case, employers really do need to work with counsel when considering the fluctuating workweek method.

Ask Karla Miller about your work dramas and traumas by emailing wpmagazine@washpost.com. Read more @Work Advicecolumns.

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Airline computer outages are just plain bad news, here's what you need to know. (Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post)

Airline computer outages are just plain bad news, here's what you need to know. (Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post)

Catastrophic computer outages that paralyze an entire airline are few and far between. Except this summer.

Last month, Southwest Airlines canceled 2,300 flights after a router in one of its data centers failed, delaying hundreds of thousands of passengers. And last week, Delta Air Lines suffered a massive computer failure, which triggered the cancellation of 451 flights in a single morning.

A rare look behind the curtain at Southwests meltdown offers several important customer-service lessons for passengers who experience similar delays in the future. And in an industry that depends on finicky information systems, these incidents are bound to repeat themselves. Theyve left customers wondering how to avoid getting stuck in another IT collapse, and what, if anything, an airline can do to make up for such an event.

Jack Russell, who was scheduled to fly from St. Louis to Las Vegas last month, had a front-row seat for Southwests IT issues, which an employee euphemistically blamed on a software problem. The airlines proposed fix: Fly him to Vegas four days later.

[Deltas massive computer outage is part of a much bigger problem]

Southwest Airlines passengers stand in line at Houstons Hobby Airport on July 21 as Southwest Airlines struggled to recover from a massive computer outage. (Brett Coomer/AP)

As the executive vice president of a software company in St. Louis, Russell knows a thing or two about computers that go on the blink. But hes less understanding about Southwests IT implosion, which he says left him with little choice but to pay an extra $1,800 to reach his destination.

I spent twice as much money as I thought I would to get to Las Vegas, Russell says. If my customers had an outage created by my company and I said, Sorry, it was a freak occurrence, they would be waiting at my doorstep with their lawyer.

The Southwest systems problem suggests how fragile even the best-run airlines can be. It started in the early afternoon of July 20, when one of its small Cisco routers, out of about 2,000 such pieces of hardware that direct the airlines network traffic, failed.

This router broke in an unusual way. Instead of registering the error, which would have allowed network administrators in Southwests Dallas data center to take it offline immediately and replace it with a working router, it behaved as if it was still operating normally. Only, it wasnt directing any traffic.

Although network administrators spotted the error within half an hour, enough traffic had backed up that critical systems needed to be rebooted  a process that took a full 12 hours and affected critical functions, including the airlines website, its smartphone app and several internal systems used by Southwest employees to handle reservations. It was as if someone had turned off the lights for half a day.

When the systems flickered back to life, the problems continued. The airline still didnt have enough information to restart all flights. Because its systems had been down for so long, it couldnt be sure whether some of its crews had taken enough rest, as required by the Federal Aviation Administration. That forced Southwest to cancel more flights on June 21 and 22.

Brandwatch, a social-tracking service, charted a corresponding tsunami of anger on Southwests social media channels. The airline drew 36,905 mentions in a single day on July 21, an almost 20-fold increase from normal levels.

The spike in incoming volume that this received was incredible, says Joshua March, the chief executive of Conversocial, which offers customer-service software to travel companies. But the really significant piece in this instance was the inability to effectively scale the response.

[Delta fliers grounded by outage want to know: Dont you people have backups?]

Southwest had no script for handling an event of this magnitude.

It was really rough, says Robert Jordan, the airlines executive vice president and chief commercial officer, who describes the IT catastrophe as a thousand-year flood. The airline sent 50-percent-off vouchers to passengers affected by the outage, and in some cases paid for them to fly to their destinations on other airlines. All told, he says Southwest spent tens of millions of dollars trying to make amends.

We know we messed up, he adds. We know we have to work really hard to regain our passengers trust.

Southwest is still cleaning up. Russells delayed flight to Las Vegas is among the thousands of cases still being processed. Under most circumstances, a full refund for a replacement flight would be a tall order, but these are not normal circumstances.

IT disasters of this scale are unusual. Back in 2012, United Airlines experienced several days of delayed flights and sluggish customer service as it struggled to integrate the IT systems of United and Continental Airlines. Last July, United also suffered an outage that made it cancel hundreds of flights after a network router stopped working.

Asked if passengers could have done anything to get to their destinations faster during such a systems collapse, Jordan paused. So many things went wrong during the event that the normal tricks didnt work. You couldnt fall back on calling the airline because even the call-center employees didnt have access to their IT systems.

There just isnt a good answer, he says.

Thats the consensus of the customer service experts, too.

[Southwest flights delayed nationwide due to technical glitch]

Elaine Allison, a former flight attendant and on-board service manager who now offers training courses in customer service, says passengers are powerless to negotiate their way around a total systems failure. She happened to be in Las Vegas during the week of Southwests outage, but was lucky enough to be flying on another airline.

Pack at least one day of clothing and small amenities, plus all medications, in a carry-on, in the event luggage is checked and immediately not retrievable, she says. Russell handled the situation correctly by re-booking his flight on another airline, she says. Southwest must refund a ticket when it cancels a flight.

The trick, says customer service expert Teri Yanovitch, is to look forward and not back. Southwest needs to figure out how to say its sorry without losing its shirt, and customers need a game plan should they get caught in a future systems failure.

Southwest needs to explain the situation and how Southwest will prevent it from happening again, she says. As a customer, the best you can do when all critical IT systems are down is to keep calm, dont take it out on the employee  it is not their fault  and consider your options for alternate transportation based on the situation.

Research suggests that Southwest can make a full recovery, Yanovitch says. When a recovery is handled correctly, 96 percent of the customers will return. And when its not? In 2012, when United Airlines suffered its first meltdown, it was the worlds largest airline. Today, its No. 3.

Elliott is a consumer advocate, journalist and co-founder of the advocacy group Travelers United. Email him at chris@elliott.org.

Read more from Travel:

Frequent-flier programs could face tighter regulation  if customers speak up

That saucy, borderline NSFW email? Its from your airline.

Read past Navigator columns here
Replying to a discussion under Rule 193 in the Lower House on atrocities against Dalits in the country, Rajnath Singh said the government will not tolerate any atrocities against the Dalits.

By India Today Web Desk: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said in the Lok Sabha that the strictest possible action will be taken against those who will commit atrocities against the Dalits.

Replying to a discussion under Rule 193 in the Lower House on atrocities against Dalits in the country, Singh said the government will not tolerate any atrocities against the Dalits.

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The Home Minister also said the government has taken a number of measures to ensure empowerment of the weaker sections of the society, including the Dalits. He said the Modi government's Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was one such step in that direction. Now, the Dalits can freely visit the banks and open their account.

He also said strictest possible action will be taken against the culprits of atrocities against the Dalits.

READ: India Today Expose: Why Dalit persecution is rampant in Gandhi's Gujarat



SCs, STs LIVING IN 'DEEP SENSE OF FEAR'

Earlier, the opposition members took the government to task over its "failure" to check rising cases of atrocities against Dalits, with some members seeking a ban on 'right-wing' cow vigilante outfits saying the SCs and STs were living in "deep sense of fear".

The discussion was held in the background of the brutal flogging of four Dalits publicly in Una, Gujarat, on July 11 for skinning a dead cow. The incident gave rise to a massive outrage after a video clip of the flogging went viral. The Dalits across Gujarat launched an aggressive agitation with some of them even attempting suicide.

VIJAY RUPANI TAKES OVER AS GUJARAT CM

The incident forced change of guard in Gujarat and Anandiben Patel resigned paving way for Vijay Rupani to take over the reins of the state.

Meanwhile, participating in a debate on attacks on Dalits, the members focused on the poor conditions of these downtrodden sections across the country, with KH Muniyappa (Congress) alleging that in Gujarat, the attacks on them have a reached "a level never seen in history".

Initiating a debate on the issue, PK Biju (CPM) spoke about the overall poor conditions of Dalits and cited figures to argue that they were denied equal rights despite the Constitution promising all citizens same rights.

Every day, three Dalit women are raped and every 18 minutes a crime against Dalits occur, he said, adding that over 37.8 percent of students from the community sit separately in government schools while over 24.5 percent of them are not allowed to enter police stations.

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Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement against cow vigilante groups, Biju demanded action against these outfits and not remain confined to words alone.

READ: Now, Dalits assaulted for cow skinning in Andhra; 2 arrested, 5 absconding



"If you have got such a feedback (about attacks on Dalits by the cow protection groups), then why should you not stop such atrocities? We would like him to take strong measures," the CPM member said.

Observing that he had visited Una in Gujarat where some Dalits were flogged for skinning a cow, he said "ban it (cow vigilantes) throughout the country" and also sought measures to fill up vacancies of posts reserved for Dalits.

Muniyappa said "Dalits are living in the grip of deep sense of fear and insecurity. They had faith in Congress to protect them but have no faith in BJP. ... There was no protection needed for SCs and STs earlier. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was there, such incidents never happened."

He said quality education will bring SCs and STs to the mainstream and asked the government to open Navodaya Schools for them.

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READ: PM Modi slams gau rakshaks, says anti-social elements hiding behind the mask

Muniyappa also raked up Union Minister VK Singh's alleged dog analogy in a case involving Dalits and questioned why he was still in the government.

Referring to cases of atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat, he said over 14,500 such cases have occurred there so far since Modi had taken over as the Chief Minister and added that the conviction rate was only 3-5 percent.

"This never happened in history," he said.

Also Read:

Stop shedding crocodile tears for Dalits and act: Congress to PM Modi

PM to cow vigilantes: Attack me if you dare, leave Dalits alone

Cows give us milk, not votes: Lalu on PM's belated condemnation of cow vigilantes

Legal action must be taken against cow vigilantes: RSS General Secretary



--- ENDS ---


Mist hangs over the lowland rain forest at Danum Valley Conservation Area in Sabah, Malaysia. (Steve Bloom Images/Alamy Stock Photo)

When I first began dating a birder, I noticed a trend. Many, it turned out, only dated and married each other. After a while, this case of sexual selection began to make sense to me, as most birders require travel companions with an incredible amount of patience for staring into the tree canopy. I have never been a birder, and I eventually came to grips with the fact that most outdoor activities  hiking, for example  would forever take second place to avian pursuits. For the arrangement to work, it became clear that traveling together would necessitate breaks between periods of birding. One of these breaks, Jessie and I discovered this summer, was jumping into the ocean with some scuba gear.

Tropical birding and scuba diving both entail observation of colorful animals in the worlds most biodiverse ecosystems: the tropical rain forest on land, the coral reef in the sea. The means of observation, however, could not be more different.

The former requires hiking for hours in saunalike heat for brief glimpses of rare species. The latter, on the other hand, stresses weightlessness  neutral buoyancy  in warm, comfortable water, with schools of fish swimming all around you. There are required breaks to avoid decompression sickness, and the less effort (and therefore oxygen) you use, the better recreational diver you are said to be. Tropical birding provides a stark contrast again here: The better tropical birder you are, the more willing (and sometimes even excited) you should be by the prospect of enduring physical misery, subjecting yourself to periods of heat, humiliation and exhaustion in pursuit of an elusive sighting. They are different kinds of searches, with different kinds of payoffs.

A few tropical hot spots in the world provide this kind of marine and terrestrial combination. Since we live in Beijing, Southeast Asia was the obvious option. The Indonesian archipelago, in particular, is a paradise for such travel, and we eventually settled on Sabah, a province in the Malaysian half of Borneo known for its national parks both on land and in the water.

The Danum Valley, one of Borneos most famous lowland rain forests, lies just a five-to-six-hour drive from Semporna, a fishing town and dive mecca in the Coral Triangle that features many coral reefs, most notably the one at Sipadan Island. On the west coast of Sabah lies another pair of marine and terrestrial animal havens: Kota Kinabalu and Kinabalu Park, home to one of Southeast Asias highest peaks and a wide variety of endemic animal species. The Kinabatangan River winds in between the two coasts, which planes can traverse in an hour. Given a few weeks, its possible to visit each site and obtain basic dive certification with some of the most affordable prices in the world. Travelers must only decide which world to visit first the jungle or the ocean?

We chose the ocean, enrolling in a standard three-day course with Scuba Junkie, one of the larger outfits in Borneo. Our instructor, Rachel, was patient and enthusiastic, and was unexpectedly joined by juvenile yellow trevally fish, each about the length of a lemon, on a few training dives. While the three-day course can be tiring at times  clearing masks of water, swimming blindly or managing air failure training dives off Mabul Island provide glimpses of whats to come. On one simple training dive, we swam by a green sea turtle on top of a wreck, a group of juvenile spotted eagle rays and a crocodile fish, all while the trevally continued to swim beneath Rachel.





Diving around Mabul was rather like trying chocolate for the first time  in Belgium. The Coral Triangle, an area of tropical seas surrounding Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, is one of the most biodiverse marine areas on the planet. With more than 600 species of coral and 2,000 species of reef fish alone, diving felt like floating through a living jewelry shop. The most tasking part of the experience came during coffee and tea breaks, when I struggled to identify all that we had seen.

Jessie took to the exercise quickly, transforming her bird-watchers eye to a divers. In just two days of underwater training and two days of full diving, our list continued to grow, from sea turtles to frogfish and all sizes in between. And that was without ever making it to the permit-limited Sipadan, a 2,000-foot coral tower in open sea where hammerheads and barracudas school and where whale sharks are not an uncommon sight. At some point, I gave up trying to identify the fish and just floated with the current.

We returned to land by flying to Kota Kinabalu, gazing at the land below, overwhelmed by palm-oil plantations. Featured in documentaries such as the BBCs Planet Earth, Borneo is famous for its rain forests and coral reefs, but its national parks are more akin to islands floating in a sea of monoculture that dominates the landscape and much of the Malaysian economy. A picture of the oil palm graces the Malaysian 50 ringgit bill.

Driving from Kota Kinabalu to Kinabalu Park took less than two hours, and we arrived in mist to the only cold weather we experienced in Borneo. The skies eventually cleared, revealing the high- elevation rock faces of Mount Kinabalu, shooting up from the jungle. The next few days were spent catching glimpses of birds endemic to the mountains as well as a spectacular blood-red sunset. Of Borneos 52 endemic bird species, 37 are found only in the islands mountain areas. I spotted my first on the ground: a family of red-breasted hill partridges foraging in the dirt, extending my laymans streak of sighting jungle fowl. While I traversed the wide range of trails at Kinabalu, Jessie moved slowly, catching birds in her binocular lenses.



A whiskered treeswift perches on the Danum Valley Field Center suspension bridge following an afternoon storm. (Jessie Williamson/For The Washington Post)

A golden damselfish near Mabul Island off the coast of Sabah, Malaysia. (Christian Loader/For The Washington Post)

We returned to the lowlands after a few days, flying to Sandakan and then journeying on to the Kinabatangan River, home to monkeys, elephants and crocodiles. There had been reports of a herd of rare Bornean pygmy elephants, of which there are only about 200 left in the area, moving upriver. On our first day, we got lucky: a group of five emerged from the forest, bathing and roughhousing in the water. The next day, 27 elephants emerged, chomping down on elephant grass at the waters edge. As we sped down the river, leaf monkeys, hornbills, serpent eagles and troupes of proboscis monkeys lounged in trees by the riverside, their long noses visible from the boat. In late afternoon, thunderstorms pounded the water and relieved the afternoon heat. Dusk emerged into crisp skies, and the river canopy lit up in deep, spotlighted green. Our first night walk revealed a variety of insects; on our second, a Western tarsier  an ancient, miniature primate about the size of a clenched fist  fled our headlamps, hopping between tree trunks near the forest floor.



A Borneo pygmy elephant at the banks of the Kinabatangan River. These rare elephants are endangered, due to habitat destruction and forest fragmentation. (Jessie Williamson/For The Washington Post)

On our way into Danum Valley, our final stop, we shared a van with two Spaniards, Carla and Alex. It was a fortuitous meeting: Like me, Carla was a fair-weather birder accompanying an avian fanatic. When heat and humidity outweighed our dedication for spotting wildlife, Carla and I retreated to reading on the lodge deck while Alex and Jessie pushed on.

This went on for days, with Alex and Jessie spotting a wide range of birds while Carla and I tagged along intermittently. Dinner on the field station patio  a comfy assortment of lounge chairs and tables  quickly became an exercise in comparing notes with other guests. Two Texans, Amy and Jay Packer, joined the four of us at dinner each night to discuss the days sightings. Over the next few days, birding around the lodge became a team effort among Amy, Jay, Jessie, and Alex. When a helmeted hornbill was spotted in the fig tree near the lodge, birders fetched deck loungers with the enthusiasm of kindergartners who had glimpsed an ice cream truck.

On the other hand, non-sightings drew despair. Bird watchers and animal seekers tend to have a few dream species; for Alex, that meant orangutans and Borneos endemic pittas  small, elegant, colorful birds that scavenge for insects and leeches on the forest floor. The pittas proved elusive, and Alex grew dark at times. I hate the pitta, he muttered at dinner one night, with the air of a spurned lover. At one point, he compared Danums birding to the Vietnam War: In the hot, dark jungle, he could hear the birds everywhere  but though they could see him, he couldnt see them. When the Texans lent me an extra pair of binoculars, Jay told me that after he and Amy were married, the gift of binoculars had converted her to bird watching. Alex told me to exercise caution. Birding is a vice, he warned. I held the lenses with trepidation.

With binoculars in hand, I joined Alex and Jessie more often, and our persistence in searching for an orangutan eventually paid off. At the end of a long day, a ways up the access road, we glimpsed a figure clambering up the trunk of a tree in the distance, scratching its belly. When it reached the top of the canopy, a loud cacophony of crashing limbs commenced as it constructed a nest for the night. Eventually, the crashing stopped. It lay down, carefree, and scratched its arms. Alex danced a jig of happiness, and we watched until the light grew dim.



A green turtle swims over the reef near Mabul Island, off the coast of Sabah, Malaysia. (Christian Loader/For The Washington Post)

A look at the varieties of life on and around the island of Borneo

Selected marine sightings:

Green and hawksbill turtles; false clown anemonefish; angelfish; masked butterflyfish; chocolate chip and blue sea stars; moorish idol; giant moray, black-finned snake, white-eyed moray, honeycomb moray and yellow margin moray eels; triggerfish; pipefish; boxfish; pufferfish; bumphead parrotfish; giant grouper; raggy and devil scorpionfish; broadclub cuttlefish; and giant and painted frogfish.

Selected bird sightings:

Temmincks sunbird; chestnut-hooded and Sunda laughingthrush; golden-naped, gold-whiskered and blue-eared barbets; Bornean flowerpecker; Bornean whistling and everetts thrush; pygmy blue-flycatcher; Bornean forktail; pale-faced bulbul; fruithunter; whiteheads and black-and-red broadbills; whiskered treeswift; purple-throated sunbird; spectacled spiderhunter; blue-crowned hanging parrot; Blyth's hawk-eagle; Bornean falconet; crested fireback; Bornean bristlehead; oriental pied and Asian black hornbills; thick-billed green, large green, rock and green imperial pigeons; greater racket-tailed, bronzed, hair-crested and ashy drongos; and asian fairy-bluebird; zebra, spotted, emerald and little cuckoo doves.

Ford is a writer based in Beijing.

More from Travel:

Wing tips: Bird-watching adventures high in the Andes Mountains

Hiking the Great Wall of China, the wild and free way

How to avoid the worst seat on the plane this summer
Southwest Airlines has a sale on flights from the Washington area to dozens of domestic destinations, plus San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Skip O'Rourke/AP)

This weeks best travel bargains around the globe.

Land

In honor of a recent $20 million renovation, Park South Hotel in Midtown Manhattan is offering the goodies-filled Explore Parks Package through Sept. 5. The deal starts at $873  a savings of 10 percent  and includes two nights in a superior queen room; brunch picnic basket; round-trip car service to Madison Square Park, Central Park or Bryant Park; $100 food and beverage credit for the hotels restaurants, Covina or Covina Cafe; two cocktails at Roof at Park South; and taxes. Info: 800-315-4642, parksouthhotel.com.

Entre Cielos Wine Hotel + Spa, in Mendoza, Argentina, is offering a 40 percent rate reduction, plus a free amenity. A classic room starts at $288 a night, plus 21 percent tax  down from $480. Guests can choose between the Classic Circuit treatment with a foam massage at the spa and hammam; a bottle of sparkling wine per day; or a room upgrade. Minimum two-night stay required. Travel Oct. 1 through Dec. 7. Info: entrecielos.com.

The Landings Resort and Spa St. Lucia, a luxury hotel in the Caribbean, is offering a 50 percent rate reduction. The deal also includes a free guided hike to Monde du Cap and a guide to Pigeon Island National Park. Stay at least five nights and receive free airport transfers; week-long stays earn a $100 resort credit. A one-bedroom marina-view suite starts at $445 a night, plus $89 tax; regular price is from $889. Book by Sept. 30; travel through Dec. 16. Info: 866-252-0689, landingsstlucia.com .

Sea

Princess Cruises has a sale on select cruises from fall through spring 2017, with rates starting at $499. The deal applies to itineraries in the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, South America, Southeast Asia, Australia and more. For example, the six-day Western Caribbean cruise departing Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 11 starts at $499 per person double for an interior cabin, plus $110 in taxes. The third and fourth passengers sharing a cabin pay $199, plus tax. The total for a family of four: $1,836. Book by Sept. 13. Info: 844-212-1307, princess.com.

Book a Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Cruises Equinox ship and receive a quartet of perks, plus a stateroom upgrade. Freebies include a premium beverage package (normally $65 a day), unlimited Internet, prepaid gratuities (from $13.50 per day) and a $150 shipboard credit per person. In addition, reserve an ocean-view cabin or higher by Aug. 31 and receive a free upgrade on select sailings. Deal applies to cruises of four nights or longer departing April 24 to Nov. 6, 2017. For example, the 10-night Southern Caribbean cruise departing Miami on Oct. 6 starts at $1,599 per person double for an ocean-view cabin, with a gratis bump up to a veranda cabin. About $120 in taxes are additional. Info: 800-647-2251, celebritycruises.com.

Air

Southwest has a sale to dozens of destinations from all three Washington-area airports. For example, fly from Reagan National to Atlanta from $118 round trip, including taxes. Fare from BWI Marshall to San Juan, Puerto Rico, starts at $238. Book by Aug. 18; a 14-day advance purchase is required. For domestic locales, travel Aug. 23 to Feb. 15; for San Juan, Sept. 7 to Dec. 8 and Jan. 17 to March 2. Additional travel restrictions apply. Other airlines are matching on certain routes. Info: southwest.com.

Package

Save $400 on Friendly Planet Travels new Downton Abbey Christmas Ball tour. The six-day package starts at $2,399 per person double and includes round-trip air from Washington Dulles to London; airport transfers; daily breakfast; four nights in a first-class hotel; Christmas ball and tour of Highclere Castle, where the show was filmed; three-course dinner with wine; half-day vintage bus tour of London with champagne tea; and taxes. Book by Sept. 27; depart Dec. 14. Use promo code DCDOWNTON. Info: 888-249-9894, friendlyplanet.com.

 Andrea Sachs

Submit travel deals to whatsthedeal@washpost.com. Prices were verified at press time Thursday, but deals sell out and availability is not guaranteed. Some restrictions may apply.
When a baby's wailing interrupted his rally in Ashburn, Va., Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump first joked that he likes crying babies, then recanted, saying, "You can get the baby out of here." (The Washington Post)

When a baby's wailing interrupted his rally in Ashburn, Va., Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump first joked that he likes crying babies, then recanted, saying, "You can get the baby out of here." (The Washington Post)

The cries came as Donald Trump spoke about Chinas economy before a crowd in Ashburn, Va.

A baby was interrupting the Republican presidential nominee. Trump immediately pivoted from currency devaluation to declare, Dont worry about that baby. I love babies! I hear that baby crying, I like it, he said. The moms running around, like . . . Dont worry about it, you know? Its young and beautiful and healthy, and thats what we want.

Trump continued talking, but more cries came minutes later. In a low voice, Trump said, Actually, I was only kidding. You can get the baby out of here. Thats all right, dont worry. I think she really believed me, that I love having a baby crying while Im speaking!

Wait, did Donald Trump just kick a baby out of a rally? He did say he was only kidding about being pro-crying-baby, so is he now serious about being anti-baby?

The episode spawned days of headlines proclaiming that Trump had ejected a baby. Except he hadnt. It appears to have been an actual joke. And at the event, people were laughing when he said the baby should leave. Trump characterized the odd episode as the dishonest media lying about what he jokingly said.

Donald Trump made a controversial comment about rival Hillary Clinton during a rally in Wilmington, N.C., August 9. Trump told the audience, If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, adding: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. (The Washington Post)

It feels like a recurring feature of this campaign season: We simply cant tell when the candidate is joking. At times its reminiscent of alt-comedy, when the punch line isnt so obvious. And this uncertainty can allow Trump surrogates and supporters to portray a shocking statement, after the fact, as Trump just joking.

On Tuesday, Trump said that if Hillary Clinton gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although, the Second Amendment people, maybe there is.

Many interpreted the remark as Trump hinting that Clintons assassination was an option. Trumps campaign insisted he wasnt referring to assassination at all, but rather the voting power of gun-rights activists.

But there was another interpretation: Some reporters and Trump supporters said it was a joke. Tuesday night, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the remarks sounded like a joke gone bad.

Such a joke, of course, isnt necessarily an appropriate one. The cover of the New York Daily News proclaimed: This isnt a joke anymore.

Telling a joke effectively, so that people know its a joke and laugh, involves several comedic principles. Chief among them: context.

One thing that usually is present in most comedy is that you know its comedy, says stand-up comedian Myq Kaplan. There are certainly some anti-comedy and meta-comedy instances where thats not the case, and like with pranks, where part of the goal sometimes is to deceive people. But even with a traditional setup and punch line, the whole context in which its contained is a comedy show, where people are expecting to hear jokes  unlike at a political rally.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump discussed the crying baby from a previous rally while campaigning in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 5. (The Washington Post)

Tone and cadence amplify and can make or break a joke. Trumps quips can come in the middle of his stump speeches or policy proposals, when its harder to detect the intended humor, especially since he uses sarcasm so often. For instance, he noted the aircraft flying above a June rally in New Hampshire and joked, That could be a Mexican plane up there  theyre getting ready to attack, spoofing his own negative rhetoric about Mexicans.

Comedian Judy Gold (who, like Kaplan, is not a Trump fan), has a simpler explanation for why the jokes dont always work: Theyre not funny, she says. If you have to explain them, its not funny.

Is it the audiences responsibility to know whether a statement is a joke or not? Gold says no: Its always on the comedian.

The crowd came to the comedy club for one goal, to laugh, and its your job to make people laugh, she says. Although there are rare instances in which its the audiences fault, Gold says its generally like blaming your car for needing an oil change.

Kaplan put it this way: Its mostly the job of the comedian to make a joke thats at least recognizable as a joke.

Other politicians will deliver laugh lines within stump speeches that are more clearly jokes. Theyre self-deprecating, Gold says. When you think youre the greatest thing that walked the face of the earth, youre not funny.

Persona and character are a big part of comedy. Some comics will establish a sweet demeanor, such as Sarah Silverman, only to shock audiences with a subversive, carefully crafted, outrageous statement.

But its difficult to achieve such a contrast with Trump, who has blown through political conventions by gaining popularity while making statements that would have been deemed campaign-ending in previous years. Mitt Romneys 2012 loss was in part attributed to his 47 percent remark that condescended to poorer Americans. When Trump announced his campaign, he unapologetically said Mexico was sending rapists across the border. Thats a high bar for shock in politics.

Its gotten to the point where a fake transcript depicting Trump referencing a weapon from Dragon Ball Z, the Japanese anime television series, can fool people. Or when a Trump campaign spokeswomans televised statement about the Second Amendment line is questioned by reporters asking, Is this real?

Much of Trumps appeal among supporters is the perception that hes willing to be politically incorrect and not worry about offending others.

But if you take on emotionally charged topics that have a higher potential to hurt feelings, it takes more work to make sure what youre saying is interpreted the right way, Kaplan says. Certainly comedians and presidential candidates are and should be held to different standards. A comedian say can say all kinds of things, and if theyre skilled in presenting things  Ive heard the most horrendous things and laughed at them. But theyre not running to be the people in charge of everything.

Its not that such material is off-limits, Gold says, citing her own jokes about the Holocaust. The stakes are higher  the joke has to be even better.

Many comics will poke fun at themselves or punch up by making the powerful the butt of the joke. But thats tough to do if your image is premised on you being amazing at everything you do. You can end up punching down.

Take the November incident in which Trump mocked a New York Times reporter who has a disability. Trump faced immediate pushback, and video of the incident was used by a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC to portray the Republican candidate as a bully. Trump, who later insisted he wasnt imitating the reporter at all, said at the time he didnt remember the man despite having one of the all-time great memories. The candidate also said in a statement that the Times has become more and more irrelevant and rapidly becoming a total joke  sad!

Sad? Wait  is he being sarcastic?
Donald Trump made a controversial comment about rival Hillary Clinton during a rally in Wilmington, N.C., August 9. Trump told the audience, If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, adding: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. (The Washington Post)

Donald Trump made a controversial comment about rival Hillary Clinton during a rally in Wilmington, N.C., August 9. Trump told the audience, If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, adding: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. (The Washington Post)

Are you suffering from vacation envy?

I am. Theres the friend posting her photos from a cute French villa in Provence. The neighbors sailing on a lake in Switzerland. The teacher hiking high above Cape Town, South Africa. The former boss hanging out in Greece and Cuba with her students.

But guess what? Turns out they arent having as much fun as we thought. And its thanks to one man  Donald Trump.

Yep, this summer, an overseas vacation has become a relentless apology tour, and just about every American with a passport is being interrogated by the rest of the world about our bizarre Republican presidential candidate.

Two weeks abroad and I lost count of how many baffled Europeans asked us to explain Donald Trump, tweeted Sherry Stern, a California magazine editor who found herself Trumpsplaining in London; Cambridge, England; and Budapest.

What do everyday people around the world think of the U.S. presidential election and the Democratic and Republican frontrunners? We wanted to know, so seven reporters from Washington Post foreign bureaus asked a random selection of people on the street what they thought of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

Add another thing to the list of things Trump has stained.

[The Trump Effect is contaminating our kids  and could resonate for years]

I sympathized with Frank Rizzo, a now-retired theater writer for the Hartford Courant, who was bracing himself for a trip to Germany.

Im going to Berlin this month, he tweeted, and, following the twitters of Trump will no doubt have to explain American Fascism to Germans. Oy.

Daunelle Wulstein, a childhood friend of mine from California who makes frequent trips to France for business and pleasure, said the Trumpsplaining is especially intense this year because so many French admire President Obama.

Obama helped gain our reputation back on the global stage, Wulstein said. The Donald, by comparison, isnt sure about NATO and keeps expressing his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Not good.

Heading across the Pacific instead of the Atlantic doesnt help.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

The worst part about being abroad for 4 weeks is having to explain to people that most Americans are not like Trump. Its embarrassing, tweeted Californian Tom Pawlicki as he was returning from Hong Kong.

A Washington neighbor of mine who recently traveled to India, Vietnam and Cambodia said she was questioned about our election everywhere she went.

People abroad seem afraid for themselves if Trump is elected, she said. In Cambodia or Vietnam we got a lot of questions about our love of guns. We met not a single person who thought Trump would be a good candidate.

Even our neighbors up north  the ones who seem just like us except for guns, poutine and good manners  are baffled by the meteoric rise of the real estate magnate and reality TV star.

On vacation with Canadian friends, reported Travis Bonnette-Kim, a United Methodist pastor from Massachusetts, on Twitter. Trying to explain Americas obsession with Trump is hard. Mainly because I dont understand it either!

Of all those staycation summers  when no amount of over-chlorinated, local pool water will cool a jealous burn over the parade of exotic vacation pics were seeing on Facebook  this one may not be so bad.

I already fulfilled my Trumpsplaining duties this year on a family trip to Mexico.

How are you going to come back for vacation if that Trump man builds his wall? asked one of the charming hotel employees we met in Yucatan, who taught us to say good morning (Maalob kiin) and thank you (Niboolal) in his native Mayan.

[This darkness is called Trump. At a faux wake, Republicans mourn their party.]

Merrit Drucker was so mortified by the way Trump has talked about Mexico, he didnt even leave the United States to launch an apology tour.

He lives in the nations capital, so he wrote a letter to Mexicos ambassador to the United States and had it notarized, trying to make it part of an official record to the Mexican people.

I wish to extend an apology to you, your family, and the Mexican people for the unkind and inaccurate statements about the Mexican people, made recently by Mr. Donald Trump, a Republican candidate for the President of the United States. These were unwarranted, gratuitously insulting, and not the hallmark of a Statesman, wrote Drucker, 65, who once worked as a D.C. economic development official.

I checked with the embassies from other countries (long list) that Trump has insulted. None said theyve received similar letters of apology from the U.S. citizenry. But folks in the diplomatic corps said they are often greeted by Im so sorry from Americans they meet.

And theyre all working double-overtime, of course, trying to Trumpsplain for all their folks back home.

But come on, world. We know that plenty of yall totally get whats going on.

Back in Europe, my high school friend said that on many evenings, after a few more beverages are consumed, a reluctant European empathy unveils itself.

Everyone Ive spoken to also mentioned the same things happening in their countries. The rise of Marine Le Pen and the Front National in France, the anger against Angela Merkel in Germany, Wulstein said.

When Wulstein and her family left France for Italy this week, the burning of some immigrant camps there underscored the continents struggle with immigration and the simmering nationalism fueling some of our political rhetoric stateside:

In fact, last night, while having yet another appero with our Italian hosts, [the] father quipped: Well, its your turn now. We had [former Italian prime minister Silvio] Berlusconi, and you have Trump. But its much worse with Trump because America is much more important in the world. 

And then theres Brexit, the British vote to exit the European Union.

Our friends who are taking in the London theater scene reported that the usual English criticism of America is quite tempered now.

Its different this time because they [messed] up with Brexit and cant shake their heads at horrible U.S. politics, she said. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who championed Brexit, is a huge embarrassment, especially for those who first elected him in the city of London.

In other words, Londoners acting appalled about Trump would be a little like people living in glass houses throwing stones, right?

Glass skyscraper right now, my London friend added.

A weekend at Ocean City isnt looking so bad now, is it?

Twitter: @petulad
Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in 2014. (Alain Grosclaude/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

Melinda Gates said she and her husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, learned an important lesson from the fierce pushback against the Common Core State Standards in recent years. Not that they made the wrong bet when they poured hundreds of millions of dollars into supporting the education standards, but that such a massive initiative will not be successful unless teachers and parents believe in it.

Community buy-in is huge, Melinda Gates said in an interview here on Wednesday, adding that cultivating such support for big cultural shifts in education takes time. It means that in some ways, you have to go more slowly.

That does not mean the foundation has any plans to back off the Common Core or its other priorities, including its long-held belief that improving teacher quality is the key to transforming public education. I would say stay the course. Were not even close to finished, Gates said.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has helped shape the nations education policies during the past decade with philanthropic donations that have supported digital learning and charter schools and helped accelerate shifts not only to the new, common academic standards, but to new teacher evaluations that incorporate student test scores.

Melinda Gates accompanied President Obama on a visit to classrooms at TechBoston Academy in Boston in 2011. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)

[How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common Core revolution]

The Obama administration shared and promoted many of the foundations priorities, arguing that they were necessary to push the nations schools forward and close yawning achievement gaps. Now that a new federal education law has returned authority over public education to the states, the foundation is following suit, seeking to become involved in the debates about the direction of public schools that are heating up in state capitals across the country.

Speaking here at a meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Melinda Gates told lawmakers on Wednesday that the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, gives them a chance to grapple with whether we are doing everything in our power to ensure that students are truly graduating ready to go on to meaningful work or to college.

I want the foundation to be the neutral broker thats able to bring up the real data of what is working and whats not working, Gates said in an interview afterward.

She went on to say that the foundation would continue to pursue its priorities.

I think we know what the big elements are in education reform. Its how do you support the things that you know work and how do you get the whole system aligned behind it, Gates said. Im not telling you its going to be easy. There are now 50 states that have to do it, and there isnt this federal carrot or the stick, the push or pull, to help them along.

The agenda she described is not one that everyone considers neutral. It includes supporting the Common Core standards and developing lesson-planning materials to help teachers teach to those standards; promoting personalized learning, or digital programs meant to target students individual needs; and, above all, improving the quality of teachers in the nations classrooms, from boosting teacher preparation to rethinking on-the-job professional development.

Gates was an early and important supporter of the notion that teachers should be judged in part according to student test scores, an idea that many states enshrined in policy to win No Child Left Behind waivers from the Obama administration or to compete for federal Race to the Top grants. It is an approach that has been met with much resistance and criticism from teachers. The foundation has since publicly acknowledged pitfalls in overemphasizing test scores and argues that while test scores should play a role in teacher evaluations, those evaluations must also give teachers the feedback they need to improve through classroom observations, student surveys or other subjective methods.

Gates said the foundations main message on teacher evaluation is that state lawmakers must include teachers as they create or refine evaluation systems.

Thats the biggest lesson learned in this, she said. States need to listen to their teachers when theyre designing a teacher evaluation system, and they dont all have to look alike.

[Bill Gates: A fairer way to evaluate teachers]

Gates said the foundation also will work to persuade states to invest in databases that gather information about students, tracking their backgrounds, experiences and performance from preschool to college and career. Such longitudinal databases have fierce advocates  who say they can provide a powerful source of information about what works in education and what does not  and fierce critics, many of whom are parents who say that the compilation of so much information about children represents an unacceptable risk to privacy.

Two years ago, parental privacy concerns helped torpedo an ambitious Gates-funded student-data collection project called inBloom. But Gates does not seem fazed by the strong reactions that her foundations work can provoke.

Last week, the Movement for Black Lives  a coalition of dozens of black-led organizations, including the Black Lives Matter Network  released a policy platform that decried the Gates Foundation as part of a systematic attack on public schools that strips Black people of the right to self-determine the kind of education their children receive. It called for an effort to invest in, not close, struggling schools serving black children, and it accused education policymakers of listening to unelected philanthropists instead of students, teachers and parents.

Gates said the platform is pointing out something really important. The system isnt working for kids of color. Just 12 percent of black high school graduates are really ready for college-level work, compared with 40 percent of all students, she said, citing data from ACT.

Id be mad if I were them. Id totally be mad, she said. Theyre making a very valid point.

She acknowledged that the nations academic progress as measured by national standardized tests has been slow, but she said she sees points of light in the relatively rapid progress of Tennessee, Kentucky and D.C.  places that have adopted reforms the foundation favors.

She also pointed to Summit Public Schools and KIPP, both charter school networks, as places where disadvantaged children are excelling. To those who question the foundations approach, Gates said, If youre willing to try some of these things, lets stick to it and see if we can get them to work in your community.
Montgomery County schools expect another year of surging enrollment. Planners forecast it will be the eighth year in a row to bring an increase of more than 2,000 students. (J. Lawler Duggan/For The Washington Post)

With the new school year just weeks away, Marylands largest school system has projected that its enrollment will continue to surge, rising to a record level of more than 159,000 students.

School officials in Montgomery County said the growth continues an eight-year trend of enrollment increases of more than 2,000 students a year. The county, with more than 200 schools, is among the states fastest-growing.

Maryland officials said Wednesday that they also expect statewide enrollment to tick up for the coming school year. No official projections were available.

Enrollment in Marylands public schools hit a record high of nearly 880,000 students in 2015-2016, a trend driven by growth in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. School systems that recorded enrollment spikes last year included Montgomery, Prince Georges, Howard, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, according to state data.

Its been a pretty solid jump over the last seven or eight years, said Bill Reinhard, spokesman for the Maryland State Department of Education. Maryland schools have gained more than 30,000 students since 2009.

[Record year for public school enrollment in Maryland]

In Montgomery, the number of additional students has been especially large  with 2,569 projected for the coming school year. Last year, 156,447 students attended classes in Montgomery.

School board President Michael A. Durso said the growth has become a yearly reality and does not look as though its about to slow.

Its been with us for long enough that I think we have systems in place to make the necessary adjustments, he said. But it is an ongoing challenge, primarily with classroom space. Most parts of the county are feeling the effects of this, and will continue to.

Joel Gallihue, director of long-range planning for Montgomery schools, said birthrate trends and a continuing influx of families are spurring the growth. Perhaps the biggest factor, he said, is turnover in existing neighborhoods, where families with young children are moving into homes previously occupied by residents with grown children.

Its a little surprising when you see most of the enrollment growth is from existing homes, he said.

Gallihue, who started in his position July 1, noted that Montgomerys districtwide enrollment projections have tended to be very close to the actual enrollment, with about 99.8 to 99.9 percent accuracy during the past four school years.

To accommodate additional students, Montgomery has typically relied on classroom additions or other new construction as well as portable classroom trailers. In some schools, computer labs have been converted back into classrooms, as students increasingly use Chromebook laptops at their desks, Gallihue said.

This year, Montgomery is opening a middle school  Hallie Wells  in the Clarksburg area. It has also added capacity with additions at Julius West Middle School and Wood Acres Elementary.

But enrollment has long outpaced funding for new construction, many point out.

I think we have to catch up and keep up, and it doesnt seem were doing either one very well, said school board member Patricia ONeill (3rd District), who noted it takes four years from planning to completion of a school addition, if there is money enough to do it.

ONeill and others say the county has not received its fair share of state-provided school construction funding. But she also said that almost every school system in Maryland needs additional construction money. Our share needs to be bigger, but also the pot needs to be bigger, she said.

Frances Frost, past president of Montgomerys countywide council of parent-teacher associations, said the rising enrollment numbers add to concerns about funding and facilities. Are we going to have enough resources to continue to educate our growing population? she asked.

The expected increase in Montgomery comes as neighboring Prince Georges County also forecast a jump in enrollment for the coming school year  to 130,987, up by 2,051 students, a school district spokeswoman said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogans decision to withhold money from local governments to help them pay for teachers pensions could have a negative impact on the jurisdictions bond ratings, Moodys credit rating service said Thursday.

An official for the company said the decision does not automatically spell trouble for Baltimore and the 21 counties that were expecting the money to cover pension costs. But Moodys issued a negative alert in a report released Thursday to indicate that Hogans move could be problematic.

Were not saying the rating would change even if the funds are not restored, just that it would be a negative because these counties would have to come up with the funds themselves, said David Jacobson, a spokesman for Moodys.

State budget officials announced last week that the governor planned to save, rather than spend, $80 million that the General Assembly set aside to be used on various programs that lawmakers outlined. The fenced off money includes $19 million for the pension contributions, of which Montgomery, Howard and Baltimore counties were set to receive $10.9 million.

[Hogan keeps most of legislatures fenced off money for rainy-day fund]

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said Thursday that he had not reviewed Moodys report but that he could not see how a loss of the funding would harm the countys bond rating.

Our bonds are tied to a number of factors, Leggett said. While we do take into consideration any level of support we get from the state, [the pension funding] should not threaten our bonds.

Del. Benjamin S. Barnes (D-Prince Georges), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said counties should take Moodys negative alert seriously.

The larger issue is why is he refusing to release the funds? Barnes said. Does he not want to keep the commitment to teachers pensions?

Hogan, when asked about the money during a visit to Frederick on Wednesday, called state lawmakers action to fence off the money a terrible decision.

They put good things and bad things in there and said you have to either support all of them or none of them, and we chose none of them, Hogan said. They took actions that were irresponsible, and now they are trying to point the finger at me.

The negative alert on the credit outlook report is the latest fallout from last weeks announcement.

Hogan has been sparring with teachers union officials over his decision.

After someone posted on the governors Facebook page questioning the decision and criticizing him for withholding the money, Hogan responded by saying that he has spent record amounts on education and that the poster should not believe this phony cut propaganda from the union thugs.

[Hogan calls teachers union officials thugs on Facebook]

Teachers blasted Hogan on social media, accusing him of calling them thugs. But Hogan said the word was directed at state teachers union officials, and on Wednesday when asked about the exchange on Facebook, the governor did not back away from what he wrote.

I have never made a disparaging reference to any teacher; I have never said anything bad about any union member, he said. I was referring to sleazy, paid political operatives who were putting out blatantly false information to mislead and confuse the public, and I find their behavior reprehensible.
A man who was shot and critically wounded last Fridayin Northwest Washington has died, D.C. police said.

The victims name has not been released pending notification of relatives. Police said he died at an area hospital on Wednesday, five days after he was wounded in the 5100 block of Georgia Avenue NW in the Sixteenth Street Heights neighborhood. The shooting occurred about 6:40 p.m.

Police on Wednesday released surveillance video showing a gray or white Hyundai four-door sedan and two people being sought for questioning. Authorities did not cite a possible motive.

[D.C. police post surveillance video of car, people wanted in killing]

The shooting was one of several in recent weeks along the Georgia Avenue corridor, including one Monday night behind a recreation center in the 5700 block of Georgia Avenue NW in which a 45-year-old man was killed. Police have not said if any of the shootings were related.

The death in the Aug. 5 shooting brings to 14 the number of people killed in the District since July 30. Before that, the District went 14 days without a homicide. There have now been 81 people killed in the District this year, down 10 percent from the 90 people killed at this time last year.
1 of 28 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene after a massive explosion and fire leveled an apartment complex in Md. View Photos At least 6 were killed after a blast destroyed an apartment complex in Silver Spring. Caption At least 6 were killed after a blast destroyed an apartment complex in Silver Spring. Aug. 16, 2016 The search continues for a seventh missing person at the scene of the explosion of an apartment building in Silver Spring, Md. Bill OLeary/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Authorities suspect that a natural gas leak caused a massive explosion and fire at a Silver Spring, Md., apartment complex late Wednesday night that left two people dead, 34 injured and about 100 displaced.

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett said the working proposition is that natural gas was involved in nearly leveling a building, but it took until early Thursday evening for investigators to stabilize the rubble enough to recover and remove the two bodies.

Several residents are still unaccounted for, officials said, and the two victims had not been identified.

Many who survived lost everything. After being treated for burns and cuts, Armindo Benitez returned first from the hospital to salvage what he could.

But it was all gone, he said. I have no ID. I cant get money out of the bank, and my car is blocked in.

People displaced from a fire that killed two people and injured 31 at an apartment complex in Silver Spring, Md., find shelter and assistance from their neighbors. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)

The power of the blast was felt almost two miles away at a fire station. County Council member Tom Hucker, who lives near the Flower Branch Apartments on Arliss Street, heard what sounded like a sonic boom and raced to the complex.

He saw blue flames, which typically indicate gas molecules are present. Im not a chemist, but we all know what gas flames look like, he said.

Residents also suspected gas. One said a neighbor had smelled and heard the hiss of gas seconds before the explosion as he was taking out the trash.

Officials from Washington Gas declined to answer questions, saying the company was supporting the investigation.

The type of information you are seeking will be addressed in the investigation, spokesman Jim Monroe said. We will update you at the appropriate time.

Many residents of the working-class and primarily Spanish-speaking complex were left wondering whether the explosion could have been prevented. The affected addresses were at 8701, 8703 and 8705 Arliss St.

Officials said that on the night of July 25, firefighters were called to investigate the smell of gas at 8701. Logs show that personnel could not verify the smell and left the scene. Leggett said authorities are looking into that call.





Tenants had complained in recent years about poor maintenance of the apartments and had filed complaints with the county. Renato Mendoza, an organizer with CASA de Maryland, which helped file the reports, said the issues were primarily with rodents and other pests.

The apartments are old and they require extra maintenance, he said, but he added that the landlord, Kay Apartment Communities, was notorious for not providing the most adequate maintenance.

A woman who answered the phone at the company said executives had no immediate comment.

The blast, just before midnight, shot doors, clothes and shards of glass hundreds of feet away.

As flames engulfed the building, residents dropped their children out windows, then jumped.

Everybody was getting out of the building as rapidly as possible, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.

Clara Mazumber said she woke up to a loud boom, looked out her bedroom window and saw flames. The 39-year-old yelled to her two sons, ages 18 and 10, to get out of the apartment.

[Video: Destruction in Silver Spring]

On Thursday morning, she stood outside a temporary shelter at a recreation center with all she had left: a wool jacket, her nightgown, pink flip-flops and her large white purse.

It was so scary, Mazumber said.

More than 100 fire and rescue personnel faced a chaotic scene when they arrived. A collapsed building was in the middle of two apartment wings. Residents were trapped inside all three sections and had to be helped out. Three firefighters were treated for injuries, including heat exhaustion.

As the sun rose Thursday, a horrific picture emerged. Large sections of the brick apartment building were demolished. Other portions were charred down to the wood frame. The grassy courtyard was covered in glass. Neighbors stood watching the building smolder.

Federal and state authorities are assisting in the investigation. Montgomery County Battalion Chief Steve Mann said it could be weeks before they determine what caused the fire.

This was a very large fire with a well advanced and significant explosion, unlike anything we would expect to find in this type of fire, Mann said.

Mann said cadaver dogs with video equipment located the two bodies Thursday morning.

Dozens of people were injured and taken to hospitals. The injuries ranged from minor to serious, authorities said. Some had respiratory problems from smoke, and others had burns and fractures from jumping out of windows.

It was unclear Thursday evening how many remained hospitalized and in what conditions.

Gustavo Zuniga and his wife were ready to fall asleep when they heard a boom before the floor beneath their bed opened. They fell two stories, bouncing against the cushion and the rest of their bedroom furniture that dropped with them.

It was like something out of a movie, the 42-year-old said.

I thank God. He helped us out, Zuniga said as he pressed the crucifix dangling on his neck between his fingers. His wife rescued Zuniga after the fall knocked him unconscious, clawing through debris to reach him.

They were taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where Zuniga was treated for second-degree burns on his feet and received stitches to his head. As rescuers held a press conference Thursday, Zuniga stood nearby wearing yellow hospital socks over bandaged feet.

For those lucky enough to avoid injuries, the aftermath was no less devastating.

Helder Lopez was watching television with his family when the explosion occurred. Lopez lives in a second-floor apartment with six other family members, including his wife and infant son.

He said he lost his car keys, wallet and sensitive documents in the tragedy. The entire family lost clothes. Sitting on a concrete surface outside a temporary shelter, Lopez pondered what to do next but couldnt find a solution.

I dont know what were going to do, he said.

Officials from Montgomery County and the American Red Cross set up the shelter at the Long Branch Recreation Center, a few blocks from the apartment complex.

Paul Carden, regional disaster officer for the Red Cross, said the organization had cots in the gymnasium and was preparing to help people find more permanent shelter. The Red Cross is expected to be on the scene for several days.

The number of households impacted is significant, Carden said. And the impact is more emotional because it was an explosion. I was at the scene, and theres someones shoe here, someones sock there and someones papers over there.

Chuck Crisostomo, operations chief of Montgomery County Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said many families have gone back to the apartments to see whether they can recover belongings, though Crisostomo said up to 24 units have been destroyed.

When I ask them their address and I hear the address that is completely demolished, I have to break the news to them that [they] may not have any belongings to salvage whatsoever, Crisostomo said.

The community, located in Long Branch, was already facing stress. The area is at the center of an ongoing debate over gentrification. Its on the Purple Line route  two stops are planned there  and there is concern about the largely immigrant, low-income population being forced out.

Now, an explosion has upended hundreds of lives.

Community and faith-based groups were camping out at the Long Branch Community Center, where displaced families were getting assistance. Teachers at nearby elementary schools are trying to collect food, water, school supplies and other necessities to donate to the families.

CASA, an immigrant advocacy group that works with tenants in Silver Spring, is providing interpretation services to the affected families, which include immigrants from Central America and Africa. The group is also coordinating with other agencies to collect donations.

These families have lost everything they had, said Rommel Sandino, who is coordinating the aid effort with CASA. Dozens of families, including many mothers with children, are seeking help, he said.

They are devastated, Sandino said. They have lost everything they had built in this country.

Alice Crites, Luz Lazo, Fenit Nirappil and LaVendrick Smith contributed to this report.
Claudia Loayes hugs her daughter, Wendy, outside the Long Branch community center in Silver Spring, Md. (Arelis R. Hernandez /The Washington Post)

As Claudia Loayes fled the blazing apartment building Wednesday night, the stairwell began to collapse beneath her. Bricks tumbled down. And she could hear a neighbor screaming in Spanish, Mi hijo, auxilio, mi hijo!  My son, help me, my son!

Walls were crumbling. Windows blew out. Amid the heavy smoke, it was hard for residents to find their way. People climbed down from balconies and passed down children to safety. One resident banged on doors as she escaped, yelling, Fuego! Fuego!  Fire! Fire!

Some thought a plane had crashed into the building at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring, Md., or that an earthquake had struck. It was neither.

An explosion now suspected to have been caused by a gas leak, and a resulting massive fire, killed two people and injured 34 in a building in the complex at Arliss Street and Piney Branch Road shortly before midnight Wednesday.

Residents, many of them immigrants from Central America, told stories of narrow escapes from the inferno and recounted harrowing moments Thursday as the gutted building dripped with water from fire hoses.

1 of 28 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene after a massive explosion and fire leveled an apartment complex in Md. View Photos At least six were killed after a blast destroyed an apartment complex in Silver Spring. Caption At least 6 were killed after a blast destroyed an apartment complex in Silver Spring. Aug. 16, 2016 The search continues for a seventh missing person at the scene of the explosion of an apartment building in Silver Spring, Md. Bill OLeary/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Resident Clara Mazumber said she was awakened by a loud boom, looked out her bedroom window and saw flames. She yelled to her two sons, ages 18 and 10, to get out.

I yelled, Run! Run!  Mazumber, 39, said.

As she fled the building, she frantically pounded on her neighbors doors warning of the fire: Fuego! Fuego!

Loayes said she was sleeping when the explosion rocked her apartment on the second floor.

Her husband ran to the front door to see what was happening. When he saw smoke in the stairwell, he quickly woke Claudia, their daughter, Wendy, and another girl they were caring for.

As they hurried down the stairwell, it started to give way, Loayes said, and heavy smoke made it impossible to see anything clearly.

[Massive blast levels Silver Spring apartment buildings]

A three-alarm apartment complex explosion and fire in Silver Spring, Md., erupted in the early hours of Aug. 11. More than 30 people are injured and some occupants are unaccounted for. (Jenny Starrs,Clarence Williams,Deirdra O'Regan/The Washington Post)

Loayess husband, Aroldo Diaz, was the last one out. He panicked when their living-room wall collapsed because he wasnt sure whether his 11-year-old daughter had gotten out. He ran out seconds before the entire second floor collapsed.

They were all screaming, Loayes, a hotel housekeeper, said in Spanish. I could hear our neighbor calling out, Mi hijo, auxilio, mi hijo! 

Loayes trembled as she recalled the screams, and her bottom lip quivered: I wish there was something I couldve done to help her.

She stared at the building for several hours Thursday until family members showed up with water, soup and a pair of flip-flops for Loayes, who had run out of her home barefoot.

We lost everything, Loayes said as she spoke on the phone to a church member who had called to check on her. But thanks be to God, we didnt lose our lives.

How close they came was starkly apparent in the morning light.

All that was left of address 8701 was its skeleton, where about eight apartments had been wrecked.

Water from the fire hoses used to battle the blaze dripped between charred floorboards of the building, moving from floor to floor as steam rose into the air.

In one third-floor apartment, bicycles that had been parked on the balcony were blackened by soot, and the tires had melted.

Beneath the blown-out windows, a pile of bricks settled about 40 feet from where they had once been part of the third-floor exterior. The landscaping, the sidewalk and the doorsteps of apartments across the way were covered in shards of glass.

The adjacent address, 8703, was also badly damaged on the side closest to 8701. Blinds for a sliding-glass door had melted and dangled from the metal valance.

Bystanders could peer through the apartments to see rooms blackened and blistered by fire and heat.

Isaac Puac lived one floor above Diaz and Loayes. He said he arrived in the apartment he shared with another family about 10 minutes before the explosion.

Puac, 42, had bought a few things from the grocery store, played with his phone and gone into the bathroom.

Then, the whole building shook.

I thought it was an earthquake or a plane had crashed into the building, Puac said. For a second, I thought maybe a car had driven into the place, but there are no flying cars.

He said he pushed out of the bathroom and saw that all of the windows in his apartment had shattered, including the glass doors leading to the balcony.

Puac quickly broke down roommate Armindo Benitezs door.

If he had come five minutes later, we would all have been dead, Benitez said.

Puac helped grab Benitezs two young children and they followed their family escape plan to the balcony. It was nearly gone when they started climbing down.

Benitez passed his son and daughter down to Puac while his wife, Reyna Cecilia Benitez, waited to climb down. But when windows started popping and shattering, she had to jump.

I had no choice, she said Thursday, tears filling her eyes.

Puac, who is from Guatemala and recently moved to Flower Branch, said he could not believe the damage.

He recalled the scene as he sat with Loayes and Diaz in the parking lot of the Long Branch Community Center, where a shelter had been set up.

Friends brought them bowls of soup, a canteen of coffee and a jug of iced tea. Loayes kept thinking about her neighbor, the woman who was screaming for her son.

She had escaped, but once outside, refused to go to the hospital until she found her son. Finally, Loayes said, someone persuaded her to leave.

Hours later, as the group ate and talked, a man approached them asking for help. His 9-year-old son was missing.

Do you know where I can find help? Tono Lopez asked. Im looking for my boy and no one can tell me anything.

Puac knew immediately who he was talking about, as did Loayes. They had heard the mothers screams.

They told Lopez that he needed to go inside the community center. Before he did, he asked a few questions.

Did you see him, did you see David? Lopez asked, leaning forward. Puac replied: There were lots of screams when the second floor collapsed.

Puac relayed what the childs mother had told neighbors: She and their boy were in bed when the explosion happened. She had grabbed him by the hand. But she lost him. Then the floor fell.

Lopez pressed his eyes with his fingers and looked down at the ground. It was the same story he had heard from his estranged wife over the phone. She was at the hospital. Lopez turned toward the community center.

Loayes, meanwhile, could not look the man in the eye as she thought about the boy. The child lived next to their apartment and had often yelled Hola! from their adjacent balconies.

He is a playful kid, Loayes said. I hope they find him.
Subramanian Swamy pointed out that the UPA government had set up the Goods and Services Tax Network - GSTN to manage and control the tax collection and accounting of the GST.

By Javed M. Ansari : Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to review the UPA government's decision to outsource data management and computation of tax share to a private entity.

In his letter to the PM, Swamy said that this was a swift and secret move on the part of the previous government to hand over this sensitive task to a private entity. He pointed out that the UPA government had set up the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) to manage and control the tax collection and accounting of the GST.

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"The Centre and the state governments have only 49 per cent stake in the GSTN. If GSTN is a non-profit organisation, then why should private profit-making entities have any stake, that too a majority one," the MP asked.

Neither the home minister was consulted nor his permission sought before handing over such sensitive task to the private entity, he added.

Swamy's stance on the GSTN was evident by his silence during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, thought he did privately object to the bill. Bound by the party whip, he did vote in favour of the amendment bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Questioning the rationale for handing over data management and computation of tax collection, Swamy pointed out that the most significant player in the tax collection efforts are the central and state governments, and others issues like adjusting the percentage of GST for various states is "merely a matter of programming which could bear done by the government through its department of Electronics" .

Although Swamy's objection is apparently to the previous government's decision, however, the situation once again puts him at odds with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The finance minister had earlier defended the UPA government in the course of his speech on the GST Bill in the Lok Sabha, in response to similar objections raised by TMC MP Saugata Roy.

WATCH: Subramanian Swamy raises objection to GST, writes to PM Modi



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A man was fatally stabbed Wednesday night inside a home in Georgetown, according to D.C. police, who said they had taken the mans son into custody.

Police were called shortly before 7 p.m. to a home in the 1600 block of 33rd Street NW, one block from Wisconsin Avenue.

Police Cmdr. Melvin Gresham said officers responded to a report of an aggravated assault. After they arrived, police said, they talked to the mans son, who had called 911 and reported a domestic incident.

Gresham said the officers found a man dead from apparent stab wounds.

Police did not immediately release the slain mans name.

The tree-lined, one-way street was blocked for hours by police. Nearby, joggers and parents with strollers walked through the heart of Georgetowns residential neighborhood.

Another man was fatally stabbed Wednesday afternoon near Childrens National Medical Center, just a few hours before the stabbing in Georgetown was reported. In that case, an adult son of the victim was also a suspect, police said. The victim was identified by police as Otis Byrd, 44, of Greenbelt. His sons name has not been released.

The earlier stabbing occurred about 3:10 p.m. in the 100 block of Michigan Avenue NW. Otis Byrd was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Byrds son was still at large late Wednesday evening.
Harrison Spencer had trekked to the worlds poorest and most desperate corners, from Zambia to Papua New Guinea, working to eradicate malaria and other parasitic diseases. He later served as dean at prestigious medical institutions in London and New Orleans.

For the past 16 years, the doctor headed an organization of more than 100 public health schools and programs, giving what had been a small, disparate group a singular voice to advocate for health care as a fundamental right.

On Wednesday evening, Spencer, 71, was found dead from multiple stab wounds in the Georgetown townhouse he shared with his family in the 1600 block of 33rd Street NW. D.C. police said his son Peter Michel Spencer, 32, had called 911 about 6:30 p.m.

An arrest affidavit filed in court says the younger Spencer told the operator, I just stabbed to death my father. . . . I heard voices that I should kill him and I killed him. The affidavit says that he told the operator he had stabbed his father 15 times and that when he was asked to check on his father, he said: I dont want to help him. I want him to die.

Police said that the younger Spencer met officers at the front door with blood on his clothes and that he told them he had used a kitchen knife, which he had washed and returned to a holder. Authorities charged him with second-degree murder while armed. A D.C. Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered Spencer detained until a preliminary hearing Aug. 29. His attorney, David Maxted, declined to comment.

Harrison C. Spencer (Lisa Novitsky /Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health)

Harrison Spencers death reverberated across the medical community and through some top medical schools, from Baltimore to Berkeley to London. He was mourned by former colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and those at the group he most recently led, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.

He was completely dedicated and passionate about public health and all the good that it does for society, Gary E. Raskob, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, said of Spencer. He was a tremendous leader with a great intellect and a commitment to improving the lives of others.

Although volumes of material showcase Spencers work battling diseases, running universities and delivering speeches, little could be learned about his private life on a shaded street one block off Georgetowns bustling epicenter, Wisconsin Avenue NW. His wife, Christine, and another adult son did not return calls for comment Thursday.

D.C. police said Spencer was the second father believed killed by a son on the same day. About 3:10 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said, Otis Byrd, 44, was stabbed in the chest, arm and hand on a sidewalk outside Childrens National Medical Center in the 100 block of Michigan Avenue NW.

Police arrested Brandon Byrd, 20, of Northeast and charged him with second-degree murder. He was ordered detained until a preliminary hearing Aug. 26.

The elder Byrd, who lived in Greenbelt, Md., worked as a supervisor and driver for a shuttle bus company that transported people between buildings on the hospital campus, parking lots and a Metro station. All I can say is that he was an outstanding employee, said Martin Janis, the head of Atlantic Services Group. He was beloved by everybody. Its that simple.

It was not clear whether Otis Byrd was working when he was attacked. A police report said he met up with his son near a parking garage ramp and asked, How are you doing, son? According to the arrest affidavit, the son took out a steak knife and stabbed him. Police said in the affidavit that the suspect had threatened to kill his father in the past. Relatives could not be reached Thursday.

The deaths of Byrd and Spencer bring to 14 the number of people killed in the District since July 30. The city has had 81 homicide victims this year, down from the 90 recorded at the same time last year.

Spencer graduated from Haverford College in 1965 and received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore in 1969. At the time of his death, he was an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Spencers resume is thick with lists of published works studying diseases and their effects, and indicates extensive travel that took him, and often his family, to trouble spots worldwide. He was a senior medical officer with the World Health Organization and the chief of parasitic diseases for the Centers for Disease Control. He worked in or oversaw staff in Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Peru, the Solomon Islands and Togo.

He later served as dean at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and then at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He was planning to return to the United States with his family in 2000 when Alfred Sommer, then dean of the Hopkins Bloomberg school, persuaded him over half-pints of beer at a London pub to become the first full-time president of the Association of Schools of Public Health.

Sommer said Spencer used his quiet demeanor, mixed with self-deprecating humor, to bring together what was then a group of 18 deans who did not like each other. He got them to get along. He would point out [that] their differences were really minuscule and that together they could be powerful.

Raskob, who chairs the organization, said Spencer always knew the appropriate and right things to say at the right moment. He cared deeply about everybody.

Spencer enlarged the organization by adding more than 100 schools and public health programs, lobbying Congress for money to fight and prevent disease, and lecturing nationwide.

At a conference in 2014 at the University of California at Davis, Spencer told students considering careers in public health, I have been doing this a long time and never once have I regretted my career choice. In his speech, posted on YouTube, he told the students that the public health field is about equity and justice. Its not just health for some, its health for all.

Jennifer Jenkins and Clarence Williams contributed to this report.
Police said they arrested a third man Tuesday in connection with a June shooting in Prince William County.

On June 4 about 9:15 p.m., police responded to the 14900 block of Potomac Heights Place after receiving reports of a shooting. There, they found 24-year-old Najee Alexander Mason, of Woodbridge, suffering from a single gunshot wound. Mason died shortly thereafter.

[Two men arrested in Woodbridge killing]

Later in June, police arrested Abdisalam Ali Roble, the victims roommate, and Ricardo Stephen Tompkins in the shooting, which police said was the result of a dispute. Roble was charged with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, while Tompkins was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.

Tracking D.C.-area homicides Mapping homicides in the District and the surrounding suburbs since 2000.



On Tuesday, police arrested a third man in Masons shooting, 27-year old Antonio Jones Gadson, of Southwest Washington, Prince William County police said in a statement Thursday. Mason was arrested in Alexandria and charged with second-degree murder, the statement said.
Police said they arrested a Woodbridge man Wednesday for sexual assault.

On Aug. 1 at about 4 p.m., a woman was in an auto parts store at 6960 Braddock Road when Oscar David Ordonez, 48, of Woodbridge, offered her a ride to a different auto parts store so that she could obtain the correct part for her vehicle, Fairfax County police said in a statement.

The woman agreed and Ordonez drove her to 7448 Little River Turnpike, where she made her purchase, after which he told her he needed to pick up some co-workers and drove to the Brookside Motel at 6001 Richmond Highway in Alexandria, the statement said.

Ordonez offered the woman employment with a cleaning service and explained that she needed to complete a medical exam to secure the job, according to the statement. The woman agreed, and Ordonez escorted her to a room at the motel, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her, the statement said.

After speaking to a friend, the victim contacted police to file a report, and Ordonez was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for rape, police said.

Authorities believe there are other victims, and ask anyone with information or who experienced a similar incident with Ordonez to contact Detective T. Horton at 703-246-7800.
THE DISTRICT

Police identify woman killed in crash

A woman who was killed when her car slammed into the back of a Metrobus in Southeast Washington has been identified as a Bowie, Md., resident, D.C. police said Thursday.

Debra Finley, 57, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 2700 block of Naylor Road SE.

Police said Finley was driving a 2010 Nissan Altima north on Naylor Road when she collided with the rear of a bus that had paused at a stop at Naylor Road and Alabama Avenue.

Passengers in the car were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital. Authorities said there were 17 people on the bus at the time of the accident. Four, including the driver, suffered minor injuries, police said.

 Peter Hermann

MARYLAND

Pr. Georges shooting victim identied

Prince Georges County police have identified the man slain in Clinton on Wednesday afternoon as Reginald Lewis, 24.

Lewis was found in the roadway near Butterfield Drive and Chris Mar Avenue about 12:30 p.m. suffering from gunshot wounds, police said.

Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene. Police are still investigating a motive and suspect in the case.

 Lynh Bui

VIRGINIA

Metro contractor is

charged in sex assault

A MetroAccess driver was arrested Wednesday in the alleged sexual assault of a 51-year-old woman, becoming the second contractor for Metros paratransit service to face the charge this week.

Fairfax County police arrested Jose G. Pino Estrada, 35, of Alexandria in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a passenger in June. Police say Pino Estrada sexually assaulted the woman at her Falls Church apartment a day after driving her to work.

Police said the victim was able to push Pino Estrada away and he eventually left. The woman reported the incident to police June 30. Pino Estrada turned himself in Wednesday, police said.

Pino Estrada worked for Diamond Transportation, one of three contractors that provide drivers for Metros paratransit service. He was hired by Diamond Transportation in March 2015, according to a Metro spokeswoman, who said his employment has been terminated.

On Tuesday, Prince Georges County police arrested Derrick Lamont Bowen, 44, of Southeast Washington in connection with an alleged sexual assault aboard a MetroAccess vehicle. Police said the victim was a woman with an intellectual disability.

Bowen, whose employment was terminated, was employed by MetroAccess contractor Transdev.

 Faiz Siddiqui

Third man arrested

in June slaying

Police said they arrested a third man Tuesday in a June shooting in Prince William County.

On June 4 about 9:15 p.m., police went to the 14900 block of Potomac Heights Place after receiving a report of a shooting. They found 24-year-old Najee Alexander Mason of Woodbridge suffering from a single gunshot wound. Mason died shortly afterward.

Later in June, police arrested Abdisalam Ali Roble, the victims roommate, and Ricardo Stephen Tompkins in the shooting, which police said was the result of a dispute. Roble was charged with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, while Tompkins was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.

On Tuesday, police arrested a third man in Masons shooting, 27-year-old Antonio Jones Gadson of Southwest Washington, according to Prince William County police. Mason was arrested in Alexandria and charged with second-degree murder, the statement said.

 Justin Wm. Moyer
By India Today Web Desk: Sunny Leone is tired of sexy roles! She wants an image makeover. If a recent report by a web portal is to be believed, the pornstar-turned-Bollywood actor has decided to not involve herself in promoting her upcoming film Beiimaan Love because she feels that the movie has not projected her in the 'right manner'.

In a report in SpotboyE.com, a source close to the actor told the website, "Sunny was really happy when she signed the film. But once she saw the final product, she felt that it is way too sexy and bold. This is not the kind of image that she wishes to promote anymore. The actress is not keen on promoting her film and is not fixing up interviews for the same."

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In Beiimaan Love, directed by Rajeev Chaudhari, Sunny plays a bold and fearless business tycoon. When her love interest Rajneesh Duggal betrays her in love, she turns nasty and vengeful, in order to carve her path towards fame and success.

The film is an erotic thriller and also stars Sunny's real-life husband Daniel Weber and actor Rajiv Verma in prominent roles. The music has been composed by Ankit Tiwari, Sanjeev Darshan, Amjad-Nadeem, Raghav Sacha and Asad-Asees.

Watch the trailer of Beiimaan Love:



eiimaan Love is scheduled to release in theatres on September 2 this year.

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UKRAINE

Troops on alert as feud with Russia intensifies

Ukraine put its troops on combat alert Thursday along the countrys de facto borders with Crimea and separatist areas in the east amid an escalating war of words with Russia over Crimea.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending saboteurs to carry out attacks in Crimea and said two Russians died while fending off their incursions. Poroshenko rejected the claims as fantasy and a provocation.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, and a conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces flared up in eastern Ukraine weeks later. The deadly conflict is still raging.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called a session of his Security Council on Thursday to discuss boosting security in Crimea.

He also said Wednesday that it made no sense to discuss the implementation of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine with leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany next month, as had been planned.

 Associated Press

SYRIA

At least 20 killed in airstrikes on Raqqa

Syrian activists said airstrikes targeting the Islamic States de facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday killed at least 20 civilians, as neighboring Turkey called for more cooperation with Russia against the militant group.

The offer by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu followed a meeting between the Russian and Turkish leaders in which they agreed to mend ties.

Cavusoglu also said that his country will resume airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, months after they were suspended amid a major row with Moscow after Turkish jets downed a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.

The local activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, meanwhile, said the airstrikes on Raqqa killed at least 20 civilians and cut the citys water supply. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 24 civilians were killed, along with six others whose affiliation or identities could not be confirmed.

Both groups said the strikes were launched by Russian jets, though it was not clear how they made that determination.

Meanwhile, there was no letup in the embattled northern city of Aleppo, where a chlorine gas attack was reported.

A rescue worker and opposition activists said Thursday that a government airstrike on an opposition-held district killed at least two people in what was alleged to have been a chlorine gas attack. At least four barrel bombs were dropped Wednesday on the Zabadieh neighborhood, one of which purportedly released the gas.

 Associated Press

ZAMBIA

Voters cast ballots in tight presidential race

Zambians formed long lines at polling stations Thursday in a tight election race for president and parliament marred by violence between rival factions.

There were no reports of unrest during voting in a country whose peaceful transitions of power in the past have been held up as a democratic model in Africa. However, officials were anticipating tension after polls closed Thursday evening and after the final announcement of results. A winner must get more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff election.

President Edgar Lungu of the ruling Patriotic Front party faced Hakainde Hichilema of the opposition United Party for National Development.

Allegations of election irregularities dogged the race. Campaigning was suspended for 10 days last month in Lusaka, the capital, after a Hichilema supporter was fatally shot.

 Associated Press

China power plant blast kills 21: A high-pressure steam pipe exploded at a power station in central China, killing 21 people and injuring five, state media reported. The blast occurred in the city of Dangyang in Hubei province. China continues to suffer from industrial accidents despite a government drive to upgrade safety in factories, power plants and mines.

Saudi Arabia tries 14 over Mecca crane collapse: Fourteen people have gone on trial in Saudi Arabia over a crane collapse in Mecca that killed at least 111 pilgrims and injured hundreds just days before the start of the hajj pilgrimage last year, local media reported. State-linked media said six Saudis were among those on trial. All appeared to be employees of the Saudi Binladin Group, the construction giant operating the crane.

 From news services
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) seem to have a rather unusual perspective on how to protect free speech. In their Aug. 10 op-ed, Big Oils master class in rigging the system, they congratulated the Massachusetts and New York attorneys general and eight activist groups for refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by House Republicans. The senators accused Republican lawmakers of attempting to silence groups petitioning the government to address potential wrongdoing. Ironic, given how this all started.

In an unprecedented attempt to intimidate and silence those not in agreement with their stance on climate change, these Democratic state attorneys general issued subpoenas to ExxonMobil and a group of organizations for internal communications going back decades. Make no mistake: This was an effort to demonize opposing views, which is an abuse of power and wholly inappropriate.

Apparently only those with whom Ms. Warren and Mr. Whitehouse agree deserve the full protections provided by the First Amendment.

Chet Thompson, Washington

The writer is president of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.
On a crackly Skype line from Ankara, Turkey, the story I heard was both new and strangely familiar. I was speaking to an academic, a man with a belief in freedom and free markets, and he was telling me about the arrests, detentions and firings of his colleagues. Sahin Alpay, a 72-year-old liberal journalist with wide European contacts. Orhan Kemal Cengiz, a human rights activist and journalist. Ihsan Dagi, a professor of international relations and theorist of democracy. Lale Kemal, a journalist who writes about the military and security. And there were others.

None of them, he told me, had supported the failed coup in July. None of them were Gulenists, followers of the reclusive Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania resident whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames for the coup attempt. Some of them had written in the past for a newspaper, now shut down, that Gulen supporters had owned; others had not. What linked them was something different: All of them were democrats or liberals, in Turkish terms  a category of people whom the Turkish president finds threatening. Liberals have questioned his attacks on the media and judiciary. Liberals have investigated him for corruption. Liberals want to reduce the power of the state that he directs.

The identification and elimination of whole classes of enemies is an old totalitarian practice; so is the arrest of people not for what they have done, but for who they are. Its not a sign of strength. On the contrary, its what dictators do when they are afraid or paranoid, when they feel isolated, when they worry that the sycophants around them might be secretly plotting their overthrow. They use violence because they fear that they are losing support.

Dictators who fear their enemies also look for allies. But they dont want allies who will criticize what they are doing, either out loud or by example. And so, in the wake of the failed coup and the successful crackdown, Erdogan naturally sought out the company of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. In St. Petersburg this week, the settings at a luncheon for the two men included porcelain plates decorated with their portraits.

At least until now, Putins model of suppression has differed from Erdogans strategy. Instead of mass arrests, he has used targeted violence. To intimidate journalists, he ensures that one is occasionally murdered; to scare oligarchs, he locked up one of them for a decade. He controls the economy through a system of cronyism and kickbacks on a breathtaking scale.

But like Erdogan, Putin needs company. Both men share a paranoid fear of the enemies they cant see. Both men know that a large portion of their population dislikes them. Both men know that the academics and intellectuals arrested in Ankara or under siege in Moscow will always oppose them, even if they are forcibly silenced. Both men know that the biggest threats to their personal power are the ideas and causes that those people represent: not merely democracy but also rule of law, judicial independence, media freedom, human rights.

Both were also nearly at war with one another just a few months ago. In November, the Turks shot down a Russian jet that had entered their airspace; the two countries are on diametrically opposite sides of the Syrian conflict. Many NATO leaders feared Turkey, a NATO member for decades, would drag them into an open war.

Geostrategic, military and even historical calculations should make Turkey and Russia antagonists. But their meeting illustrates something that many Western politicians and realist thinkers find difficult to understand: that ideas and ideology sooner or later trump interests. If Turkey were still a democracy, Erdogan would be looking to his Western allies to help him push back against Russia. But contact with the West also means contact with Western ideas. Dependence on the West means dependence on states that believe in the legal norms which Erdogan wants to repress, states that might support the people Erdogan wants to lock up.

We can tell ourselves all we want that, in this cynical world, the United States and Europe should pursue realpolitik goals and financial interests. We can argue that the nature of the regimes we support shouldnt matter, that cold-eyed calculation should determine our foreign policy. But when it really matters, dictators choose other dictators over everything else. Democrats should take note.

Read more from Anne Applebaums archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
ONE OF the enduring rules of autocracy is that a strongman must not admit something is amiss inside the kingdom. Instead, troubles come from enemies outside. This is often used to distract people from genuine woes at home, and while hardly new, it has been embraced with fresh enthusiasm by the latest generation of political strongmen. It betrays a paranoia and insecurity among those who boast of power and control.

In Turkey over the past few weeks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reacted to the failed July 15 coup attempt by looking for enemies abroad. He has pinned the revolt on his one-time ally, the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania and denies being behind it. Mr. Erdogan has also blamed the CIA and the U.S. government, which deny any role. Nonetheless, Mr. Erdogan has arrested hundreds of journalists, thousands of military officers and others in a massive crackdown that goes well beyond the coup plotters and seems certain to further cement his hold over Turkeys future.

Inspired by Mr. Erdogan, the Turkish media have intensified a hunt for coup plotters. The latest spate of news articles ludicrously pointed the finger at Henri Barkey, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Mr. Barkey had organized a small conference at an island near Istanbul on the theme of Iran and the region. The conference invitations went out in the spring, long before the coup attempt, and it brought Turkish and other scholars together at a hotel just as the revolt unfolded. Recently, the Turkish media published wild stories claiming that this meeting was somehow a clandestine command center for the coup attempt. The newspaper Yeni Safak declared that Mr. Barkey was the second top American figure who orchestrated the coup attempt in Turkey. The other was former commander of the NATO force in Afghanistan, Gen. John F. Campbell, the paper proclaimed.

These charges are wrong, and ridiculous. They represent a dangerous scapegoating, a practice also favored by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Mr. Erdogan met this week. In February, Mr. Putin, who on Wednesday seemed to be fomenting more trouble in Ukraine, told his security services that foes abroad are getting prepared to disrupt the parliamentary elections next month and any attempts must be upset. Mr. Putin still holds to the fallacy that Hillary Clinton, while secretary of state, sparked the mass street protests against him in 2011 and 2012, conveniently overlooking the fraudulent attempt to steal that election by his party.

In China recently, the human rights lawyer Wang Yu was seen, after being in detention for a year, answering questions in a videotaped confession. She claims to have been led astray by foreigners whose aim was to attack and smear China. I wont be used by these people again, she says in the video, which was probably scripted by the authorities.

No doubt, more foreign enemies will appear as democracy continues to retreat around the world. There is only one remedy  to call out illiberal strongmen on their fictions and, wherever possible, counter them with the truth.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has assured the grieving mother of Hamid Ansari all support after India Today highlighted her struggle to bring back her son lodged in a Pakistan jail.

By Smita Sharma, Maha Siddiqui: Ma kei pairon mey jannat hoti hai. Yeh baat Nawaz ko samjahni chahiye kyonki woh apni maa say pyaar kartey hain (Heaven rests at the feet of a mother. Nawaz Sharif should understand this because he loves his mother).

An emotional Fauzia Ansari appealed to Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday while stepping out of Parliament. She had come to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who had assured the grieving mother all support after India Today highlighted her struggle to bring back her son Hamid from Pakistan.

Delhi: Family of Hamid Ansari, Indian prisoner in Pakistan jail, met EAM Sushma Swaraj, today in Parliament. pic.twitter.com/pecKp1kcI9 ANI (@ANI_news) August 11, 2016

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READ: Indian family appeals to government to bring back son lodged in Pakistan jail



On Thursday Sushma Swaraj -the minister known for her humanitarian outreach- met Fauzia and Nehal Ansari, the parents of Hamid, for nearly twenty minutes in her office in Parliament.

"Sushma Swaraj is doing all she can to get Hamid back. I appeal to Nawaz Sharif to rise above politics and look at this matter only from a humanitarian viewpoint," appealed Fauzia stepping out of the meeting.

Hamid Ansari, a young software engineer from Mumbai, has been lodged in a Peshawar jail since November 2012 for having crossed over into Pakistan without legal documents. Hamid wanted to rush to the rescue of the woman he had met on Facebook and fallen in love with and was to be married off forcefully by her family. But Hamid instead of finding love in the tribal land, landed in prison. He has already served a year more than his prison term of three years with no clarity yet on when and if he will be released.

High Commission officials in Islamabad were informed of an Indian citizen Hamid Ansari's arrest by Pakistan authorities only in 2104. While the family who had no clue about their younger son for four torturous years, learnt that he was lodged in a Peshawar jail only on January 13 this year. According to official sources, the matter has been taken up with Pakistan authorities atleast 40 times with the Pak MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) officials in the last two years.

READ: Hamid's parents want PM Modi to rescue their son from Pak jail



Sources said the Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale remains personally committed to the case and has been asked by Sushma Swaraj to actively pursue it. After news of attacks on Hamid Ansari by jail inmates were reported by the Pakistani media, the Indian envoy also took up the matter personally with the Pakistan Foreign Secretary.

"On August 5, we have again strongly taken up the matter of security of Hamid Ansari while he is in the custody of Pakistani authorities. This was done specifically in the light of reports that he was attacked again in prison in which he is lodged. We have reminded the Government of Pakistan of its responsibility to ensure his security," informed Vikas Swarup, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs.

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Hamid's father Nehal a former banker who sought voluntary retirement to fight for his son, has appealed to the Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to provide short visas so that the parents can go and physically ascertain that Hamid is their son. They have not heard his voice in four years.

Rajya Sabha MP and Senior Advocate, Majid Memon who accompanied Hamid's parents to Parliament says, 'Legally, the detention of Hamid post three years of his term that he has already served is untenable. Pakistan should have ideally deported him."

Despite a mutual agreement on prisoners, no consular access has been granted to Indian High Commission officials yet to meet Hamid. And reports suggest his inmates and even the jail warden assaulted him for being an Indian as they abused India for the Kashmir unrest. His security remains a high concern given the tense relations between India and Pakistan.

As the elderly couple fly back to Mumbai on Friday, Fauzia only hopes that sooner than later their pleas and the Indian government's assurances will bear fruit and that their son who turns 31 September 16, will come back home safe and sound.

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Fauzia says, "I have lost my money, my savings, my everything. But I have not lost hope."

ALSO READ:

Mumbai resident attacked thrice in Pakistan jail, Sushma Swaraj asks Indian envoy to help

Indian man arrested with fake IDs attacked twice in Pakistan jail





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Paul Ryans empty chastisements of Donald Trumps failures of leadership remind me of my own periodic bouts of highly ineffectual parenting. With every morally reprehensible, politically dangerous and socially damaging attack Trump makes on decency, constitutionalism and individual people, Ryan produces yet another talk bubble of coddling enablement. Ryan is about to write himself into history as one of those who were asleep at the switch at a pivotal moment of American political decline.

On Trumps comments about how supporters of the Second Amendment should respond to Hillary Clinton, he said: It sounds like just a joke gone bad. I hope he clears it up very quickly. You should never joke about something like that. 

On Trumps attacks on the parents of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed serving in Iraq: Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military, and made the ultimate sacrifice. Captain Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice  and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan  should always be honored. Period.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

On Trumps attacks on Judge Gonzalo Curiel: I disavow these [comments]. I regret those comments that he made. . . . Claiming a person cant do their job because of their race is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment. I think that should be absolutely disavowed. Its absolutely unacceptable. . . . The way I look at this is if you say something thats wrong, I think the mature and responsible thing is to acknowledge it was wrong.

But, of course, Trump didnt acknowledge that his comments on Curiel were wrong. There have been no consequences from Ryan for crossing Ryans bright line on how those who have died for the country should be treated. Trump has not cleared up his comment about the Second Amendment, because few of his comments can ever really be cleared up, dependent as they are on trademark Trumpian innuendo and vagueness. Trump dwells in the realm of the suggestive to land his hits while also maintaining plausible deniability. The comment-that-can-never-really-be-cleared-up is his basic working method.

So now, every time I hear Ryan on another Trump misdeed, I hear my bad-day self talking to my kids.

What? Youve hit your sister again? You know youre not supposed to do that. Do that again and you wont get any bedtime stories! Seriously!

Another fib? Really, havent I told you thats no good? No more of that, sweetie, or this time there really will be consequences!

Ryan can yammer on all he wants. At this point, its utterly meaningless and only counts as one more voice in a chorus of Trump enablement.

And what precisely is Ryan enabling? Not merely Trump but also a further and especially steep descent of American political culture into a nihilism corrosive enough to imperil the foundations of democracy and constitutional politics.

After a bad week for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, some in the Republican Party are reaching new levels of panic. Here's why picking a new nominee might not be the answer. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Ryan has accepted marriage to Trumps immoral, unconstitutional commitments for the sake of the potential acquisition of power that will permit him to pursue his agenda. This is the act of the proverbial foolish man who built his house on the sand. Constitutionalism and democracy are both nothing more than crystallized, concretized, institutionalized versions of common decency and fairness. If you have been given the opportunity of political leadership but undermine the foundations of democracy and constitutionalism in the process of trying to wield their powers, you will go down in history not as a statesman but as a self-serving, self-deceiving sycophant.

Put aside Trumps original supporters from the birther movement, the alt-right movement and the white nationalist movement. Over the past year, he has clearly won a great deal more support among ordinary, decent Americans. During this time, Trump has been leading his supporters to new understandings of what political leadership consists of. Those new understandings  with their abandonment of long-standing moral guardrails, to borrow a phrase from David Frum  are a long-term danger to our country. They can be countered only by other leaders who repudiate them and seek to rebuild the standards of decency and moral seriousness on which democracy rests.

Those repudiations cant be so many empty words, blowing away with the winds, scarcely keeping up with each new infraction from the child. Only leaders who with their actions set an alternative course are likely to find themselves in the winning column in historys review of 2016.

There is only one action through which Ryan can achieve this. He needs to repudiate Trump. He needs to figure out how to lead at least his own people away from the dismal place weve reached. If he cant stomach Clinton, there is always Gary Johnson.
William Kennedy Smith and Jean Kennedy Smith are the nephew and sister of President John. F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated on June 6, 1968.

On April 4, 1968, the day the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed, Robert Kennedy was campaigning for the presidency in Indianapolis. Bobby conveyed the news of Kings death to a shattered, mostly black audience. He took pains to remind those whose first instinct may have been toward violence that President John F. Kennedy had also been shot and killed. Bobby went on, What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

That speech has crystallized into the single most enduring portrait of Bobbys candidacy. Because it was extemporaneous, it conveyed directly, and with raw emotion, his own vulnerability, his aspirations for his country and a deep compassion for the suffering of others. Bobby concluded his remarks that night by urging those listening to return home and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Those words mattered. While there were riots in cities across the nation that night, Indianapolis did not burn.

Donald Trump made a controversial comment about rival Hillary Clinton during a rally in Wilmington, N.C., August 9. Trump told the audience, If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, adding: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. (The Washington Post)

Today, almost 50 years later, words still matter. They shape who we are as a people and who we wish to be as a nation. In the white-hot cauldron of a presidential campaign, it is still the words delivered extemporaneously, off the cuff, in the raw pressure of the moment that matter most. They say most directly what is in a candidates heart. So it was with a real sense of sadness and revulsion that we listened to Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, as he referred to the options available to Second Amendment people, a remark widely, and we believe correctly, interpreted as a thinly veiled reference or joke about the possibility of political assassination.

Political violence is a terrible inherent risk to any free society. Dictators and strongmen like Vladimir Putin have an answer. They are surrounded and shielded by force at all times. They do not brook dissent. In democracies, we expect our leaders to be accessible and, by and large, they want to be. Inevitably, that makes them vulnerable and the loss of a leader at a crucial time impacts family, country and even the world, for generations. Anyone who loves politics, the open competition of ideas and public participation in a free society, knows that political violence is the greatest of all civic sins. It is not to be encouraged. It is not funny. It is not a joke.

By now, we have heard enough dark and offensive rhetoric from Trump to know that it reflects something fundamentally troubled, and troubling, about his candidacy. Trumps remarks frequently, if not inevitably, spark outrage, which is followed by a clarification that, in lieu of an apology, seeks to attribute the dark undertones of his words to the listeners twisted psyche. This fools no one. Whether you like what he is saying or, like a growing segment of the electorate, you reject it, it is easy to grasp Trumps meaning from his words. But what to make of a candidate who directly appeals to violence, smears his opponents and publicly bullies a Gold Star family, a decorated prisoner of war and a reporter with a disability, among others? To borrow the words of Army Counsel Joseph Welch, directed at another dangerous demagogue: Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?

The truth remains that words do matter, especially when it comes to presidential candidates. On that basis alone, Donald Trump is not qualified to be president of the United States.
IN THE Justice Departments damning, astonishing report on the ingrained, systemic racism in Baltimores police department, one tidbit captures the larger picture. It describes an email by a city police supervisor containing a template for officers making trespassing arrests, with blanks to be filled in for date, location, suspects name and address  yet, oddly, no prompt for race or gender. Instead, the words black male were automatically included.

That must have been a convenience for Baltimore patrol officers, who, as the report details, have routinely used minor charges to harass, detain and arrest African Americans for the offenses of walking down the sidewalk, gathering on a corner and speaking to police the wrong way.

If that assertion prompts a raised eyebrow, consider this: In the five-year period ending last summer, blacks  who comprise 63 percent of Baltimores population  accounted for roughly 90 percent of suspects charged with trespassing, failing to obey an officers orders or impeding an officer. Eighty-four percent of those charged with disorderly conduct were black. And in a disproportionate number of those relatively trivial cases, where the arrests depended on an officers discretion, the charges were ultimately dropped.

What is clear in the report is that as a matter of culture and practice, Baltimore has long had two enforcement regimes: one for African Americans, which is often unlawful and unconstitutional, and another for everyone else. This explains why Freddie Gray was arrested in April 2015, and why he ran when a patrol car came into view.

In a news conference unveiling the report Wednesday, Vanita Gupta, who leads the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) and Police Commissioner Kevin Davis spoke about the cooperation they have undertaken and expect as they negotiate a court-enforceable decree imposing sweeping reforms on Baltimores police. At the same time, they noted that the reforms will be slow and difficult  an epic understatement.

The problem is not a few bad apples, as Mr. Davis suggested in saying the abuses were carried out by a relatively small number of police officers. To the contrary: The problems are cultural, institutional and legal. Real change will encounter massive resistance, especially from the union representing police, which beat back legislation in Annapolis this year that would have required disciplinary trial boards in cases of serious police misconduct to include civilians, not just officers. Instead, lawmakers, quailing at the unions opposition, decided only that civilians may be included on the boards  which, in practice, is unlikely to happen.

The fact that trial boards are required before police face serious discipline arises from state legislation, the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights, which provides officers accused of wrongdoing with a matrix of protections  and impediments to discipline  unavailable to other public employees (except prison guards) or to police in most other states.

Mr. Davis, who took office after Grays death, has pushed some reforms, including a more rigorous use-of-force policy. Yet his recent ruling that officers under investigation could view police footage of the incident in question before being questioned  a privilege unavailable to other subjects of investigations  cast doubt on whether he and other community leaders have the spine to effect a culture shift that includes real accountability.
The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November.

The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November.

If Donald Trump doesnt carry Pennsylvania, his chances of becoming president reach the vanishing point. For now, hes in deep trouble in a place that, demographically, ought to be a Trumpian promised land.

A poll released Tuesday, by NBC News, the Wall Street Journal and Marist, found Hillary Clinton leading by 11 points in Pennsylvania in a two-way race with Trump, and by 9 when Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Partys Jill Stein are added to the mix. Key to Clintons leads in all the recent surveys: the aversion of women to Trump.

Its not hard to run into such voters, even among Republicans in York County, a GOP redoubt that gave Mitt Romney 60 percent of its votes in 2012 and John McCain 56 percent four years earlier, even as both were losing statewide.

Susan Byrnes, a York County commissioner and a moderate Republican who supported John Kasich in the Pennsylvania primary, said her work with veterans over the years explains her horror over Trumps comments about the Khan family and his casual treatment of the matter of earning a Purple Heart.

Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son was killed while serving in Iraq, stood before the Democratic convention on Thursday, July 28 and blasted Donald Trump's rhetoric on Muslims and immigrants. Here's what happened next. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

The way he interacted with the parents of a Muslim soldier and the way he talked about the Purple Heart  it almost made my heart stop, she said in a telephone interview from a county commissioners gathering in the Poconos. I cant vote for someone like that.

Kristen Fraser is a lawyer and businesswoman who wrote in Paul Ryans name in the primary and is exactly the sort of voter the Republican Party needs to cherish. She cant vote for Clinton, she said, but added: My social views are very liberal. I cant bring myself to vote for Trump.

Both Byrnes and Fraser spoke to me before Trumps Second Amendment comments on Tuesday that hinted at violence against Clinton.

Fraser was part of a group that gathered to talk about the campaign at the Left Bank, a popular eatery here, brought together for me by Allison Roth-Cooper and Patrick DeLany, top editors of the York Dispatch.

In the course of the discussion, Roth-Cooper made a point often lost in a campaign discourse focused on the spectacular and the ideological. This area is a little bit Southern in its attitude toward manners and decorum, she said. Common decency is a core part of who people are. She doesnt say so directly, but her point is clear: Trump may simply be too rude and coarse for many who are conservative in their politics but traditional in their view of how leaders should behave.

If any recently Democratic state should be hospitable to Trump, Pennsylvania is it with the fifth-oldest population in the country (Trump is strongest with older voters) and an electorate in which white voters form a slightly larger share than the national average. The Keystone State has hemorrhaged jobs overseas for decades and has been skeptical of free trade going back to the 1840s. And there has been palpable discontent with Democrats here for some time: Romney cut Barack Obamas 2008 statewide margin of 620,478 to 309,840 in 2012.

No one at the Left Bank gathering doubted that Trump would carry York County, and Carla Christopher, a community organizer who supported Bernie Sanders, said there was continued discontent with Clinton among progressives even as blue-collar voters are fresh and raw in their anger over economic changes that have left them worse off than their parents and grandparents.

The Clinton campaign is acting as if it does not believe she has the big lead here that public polls suggest. It has pulled its ads from Virginia and Colorado, where she is well ahead, but not from Pennsylvania.

State Rep. Stanley Saylor, a Republican legislator for 24 years (he supported Marco Rubio in the primaries) is skeptical of the statewide polls. He believes Trump will run ahead of Romney by winning over blue-collar Democrats and union members who like the fact that hes not giving them the same spiel that politicians give to them every time and that hes not politically correct. When it comes to yard signs, he notes, there are far more for Trump (and Sanders) than for Clinton.

Saylor may yet be proved right. But Trumps problem is with the quiet manners and decorum voters who are still making up their minds. What his supporters relish as straight-talking can look reckless and dangerous to those not yet in the fold. Day by day, hes making it no easier for them to come his way.

Read more from E.J. Dionnes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
I certainly do not disagree with Bernice Kings three words for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, distasteful, disturbing, dangerous, which were included in the Aug. 10 front-page article Trump decried for gun remark. He is the only American presidential candidate known to have suggested in public, even as a joke, the assassination of his successful opponent should her appointments not satisfy his followers desire to bear whatever arms they choose on whatever terms they desire.

My very political, very liberal uncle Phil persuaded me in 1974 to support President Gerald Fords pardon of former president Richard Nixon because to try Nixon for his crimes would put this country among the banana republics of our hemisphere. Now Mr. Trump comes to do that or worse, to reduce our politics to barbarism and perhaps our world to ashes. So, 156 years from the best Republican to the worst.

Ira Morton Goldberg, Silver Spring

There is apparently no limit to the reckless, unconscionable statements Donald Trump will make to incite his supporters. Sadly (and inexplicably) there also appears to be nothing he can say that his supporters will not defend.

The Second Amendment gives people the right to keep and bear arms, plain and simple. Mr. Trump preaching about the dangers of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton nominating Supreme Court justices, and then citing the Second Amendment as the means his supporters could use to stop her, leaves no room for the ridiculous interpretations that followed. There simply is no connection between Mr. Trumps comment and former New York mayor Rudy Giulianis assertion that Mr. Trump meant people have the power to vote against Ms. Clinton. No matter how angry Mr. Trumps supporters are at the status quo, surely there has to be a point at which informed, decent people decry this candidates hateful, dangerous rhetoric. It would be laughable that Mr. Trump has gotten this far in the electoral process if it werent so shameful.

Laurette Salewski, Olney

Donald Trump is playing a reckless and incendiary game of chicken with our investigatory and national security apparatus. First, he jokingly encouraged Russian interference in our elections and now he has jokingly suggested to his followers that someone should assassinate a presidential candidate.

This is not merely bad taste. Mr. Trump is baiting federal investigators and daring them to go after him. If he were investigated, he would scream that the government was interfering in the election. He knows he cannot win, but will continue to escalate to provoke a reaction from the establishment in order to claim he is a victim of tyranny.

For the good of this nation, every senior Republican leader should clearly state that suggesting assassination of a candidate is unacceptable from anyone, even if said obliquely or in a joking manner. Public repudiation is the only responsible course.

Gwendolyn Reece, Washington

While this election has devolved into a Stop Trump imperative, we have lost sight of the critical social, economic, political and cultural issues that the next president must address. Should we as people of conscience who make up a nation of conscience continue to defer and push aside the economic chasm that impoverishes millions, disparately impacts people of color, condemns them to live in urban areas ruled by criminal gangs and produces the largest population of incarcerated people in the world? Could people of conscience sweep local and global environmental depredations under the rug for future generations to endure? Could we sit back while our once-thriving health-care system falters and falls behind other developed nations?

The Affordable Care Act represents only the first step in addressing whats become for most patients a struggle to obtain accurate diagnoses and appropriate care.

The list of such pressing matters is long and, for the public, answers seem in short supply or nonexistent. Add the likely prospect of our money-driven political system maintaining intractable gridlock.

Only men and women of conscience can build a national discourse that can begin the healing process. We can fact-check prevarication from our politicians till the cows come home, but we need a president who understands, prioritizes and demonstrates a commitment to conscience. Arnold Toynbee wrote that it takes relationships to build any social system. If those relationships do not go beyond transaction, they dry to dust. Conscience is the nourishing force that feeds bonds of trust that yield hope for the future.

Robert E. Honig, Potomac
Because I am a doctor, my friend Sophia told me the following story. I go to a walk-in clinic with neck pain and a low-grade fever. I never go to the doctor. I know something is seriously off. Would you test me for strep? I ask. Youre overreacting. You just have a cold, this young doctor says. Would he have liked to hear me make a bigger deal about how badly I felt? I almost had to beg for a strep test. When it comes back positive, Im so angry, I can barely speak to him. He was incompetent. Or trying to save money. Or maybe he was just lazy. He was certainly unkind.

Her doctor, apparently, was a lousy diagnostician. But more than that, she was put off by his attitude. What stuck in my mind weeks later was her choice of the word unkind.

Its reasonable to expect a doctor to be kind at every visit. Kindness may be less important to us when the visit is urgent, when we are in terrible pain and barely listening as we wait for relief, when the problem is diagnosed and fixed quickly. But generally, most of us assume that it matters. In ancient Greece, medical texts advised physicians to be solicitous in your approach to the patient, not with head thrown back [in arrogance] or hesitantly with lowered glance, but with head inclined slightly as the art demands. Today, medical schools teach and evaluate kindness at patients bedsides and through role-playing. As Leslie Jamison, who acted as a patient, writes in The Empathy Exams, Checklist item 31 is generally acknowledged as the most important category: Voiced empathy for my situation/problem. 

Yet doctors and patients alike have lamented that fully booked appointment schedules, the laptops intrusion during history-taking, billing pressures and edicts from insurance companies are squeezing kindness out of the exam room. So what exactly do we lose when we lose kindness? It may improve doctor-patient relations and patient satisfaction, but does kindness matter for patient outcomes? Can it lower the risk of hospitalization or death? Can kindness save lives?

It seems obvious: When doctors are kind, patients do better. But when the hard-nosed and unsentimental scientist demands proof, persuasive evidence is hard to find.

One approach to studying this subject has been to try to correlate doctors scores on empathy scales with patient outcomes. Empathy (historically first addressed in terms of an observers feelings before a work of art) has been defined in the medical context as an uncritical understanding of the patients experiences, emotions and feelings that is communicated to the patient. Empathy is as close as medical researchers have come to suggesting the notion of kindness, which is less well defined (although certainly understood by patients). Empathy scales ask a doctors level of agreement with a series of statements such as: My patients feel better when I understand their feelings. An empathy scale cant capture the texture of an actual patient interaction, with its shifting tones and positive talk, its nonverbal cues of eye contact and gesture and body language, but self-reports by doctors can give a broad sense of their attitudes toward patients.

Using such scales, researchers have categorized doctors empathy as high, moderate or low, and studied patient outcomes that may be affected by empathy. In the few published studies, patients of physicians with high empathy were more likely to have greater control of their diabetes than were patients of physicians with low empathy, the suggestion being that physician empathy is associated with improved patient outcome.

But these findings dont necessarily demonstrate cause and effect. It may be that doctors, through their empathic treatment, cause their patients to better manage their diabetes, or it may be that patients who do better managing their diabetes cause their doctors to think of themselves as more understanding, more involved, more empathetic.

I recently saw a man who came to see me again and again with dangerously high blood sugars. He seemed unable to bring his diabetes under control, on some days overeating, on others skipping an insulin dose. I was frustrated with him, impatient and terse, blaming him for intransigence and not interested in investigating its many possible causes. Each time he returned unable to meet my eye, knowing he had disappointed me; I dreaded seeing his name on the days schedule; his persistently lousy outcomes affected my mood and made me dour with other patients. When his self-care mysteriously improved (his sister had come to live with him), he was happier, and I, too, was pleased. I would have rated my empathy (which I might have imagined was a stable quotient) quite differently depending on whether it was the week before or after his sister moved in.

Skeptics would say this reverse causality is the same misinterpretation economic researchers make when they are out to demonstrate the value and worth of kindness in the business world. Seeking the kindest leaders, researchers may convince themselves that when employees are treated better, the company is more successful. The opposite conclusion  successful companies permit everyone to be a little softer, a little more generous  is equally likely but does not support the kind leader hypothesis. Everyone wants to find that kindness helps, but its difficult to prove.

An alternative approach would be to ask patients to rate their clinicians empathy. In the single published example of this kind of study, patients with symptoms of a common cold were seen by a provider theyd never met before. Immediately after the visit, they answered 10 questions that assessed the aspects of the encounter related to what the researchers termed empathy. Did the doctor make them feel at ease? Allow them to tell their story? Take an interest in them as a whole person? Fully understand their concerns? Show care and compassion? For the 14 days following, patients recorded whether they still believed they had cold symptoms.

Patients who gave their doctors perfect empathy scores had shorter colds  by nearly a full day  and a greater activation of one key protein of the immune system than patients who rated their doctors as less than perfect. Each of the six clinicians in the study saw a comparable proportion of patients reporting perfect empathy scores, precluding the possibility that these results were driven by one clinician being naturally more empathic than all the others. But whereas one might have predicted a relationship between empathy and recovery across the full range of scores, among the three-quarters of patients who gave their clinicians less-than-perfect scores, a better rating did not predict quicker cold improvement. Its unclear what the lack of a linear response to empathy tells us, but perhaps the perception of empathy is an on-off phenomenon, such that a patient either feels completely connected to her doctor (a perfect score) or she doesnt.

The contrarian could raise further objections. The researchers didnt take into account an assortment of other variables that contribute to medical outcomes, such as physician competence (were symptom-relieving medications prescribed?), patient adherence to recommendations, social support or concurrent medical conditions. They assigned patients to new doctors, when prior relationships with providers who knew them well may have influenced the positive effects of empathy. Maybe the empathy scale was faulty; it included questions about whether the doctor explained things clearly and helped create a plan of action, which may not be components of empathy.

It would be best to do a randomized trial, our gold standard for scientific evidence, to demonstrate that the kinder the doctor, the more successful the patient. But few patients would agree to participate in a study where they might be assigned to unkind doctors.

A slightly less ethically fraught study might select a group of doctors, measure the outcomes of some of their patients (researchers could choose a relatively homogeneous group, perhaps those with medication-treated diabetes) over a period of time, then train the doctors to be more empathic and measure the outcomes of a second cohort of their diabetic patients going forward (while also measuring the maintenance of the doctors empathy training effect) to see if these patients do better than the group from before the training. We would predict that those doctors who raised and maintained their empathic behavior scores would have better results than doctors who never improved or let their empathy skills lag.

This would be a tough, long and expensive study to perform. And even if the results indicated that empathy improved the outcomes of people with diabetes or asthma, wed still be at a loss to explain the mechanisms whereby kindness works. Does better, more empathic listening lead to better physician communication, which in turn leads to better patient understanding, which translates to greater adherence to medications or other medical recommendations? Does empathy inspire optimism or positivity in the patient? Does having someone on your side serve as an antidepressant, and does defusing anxiety simmer down the sympathetic nervous system and lower cortisol? Is trust an immune activator?

Given the limits of the evidence, the kindness skeptic could argue that a common cold is a self-limited condition and that this single study hasnt demonstrated the effect of empathy (or kindness) on more serious, chronic concerns. We wouldnt know if a doctors empathy leads to greater likelihood of cancer remission or fewer flares of lupus or faster healing of wounds.

There are older studies of people with mental-health problems suggesting that the variability in patient depression outcomes  whether the treatment is pharmacology or psychotherapy  depends on the psychiatrist. Psychiatrist Paul Crits-Christoph and statistician Robert Gallop propose that poor rapport (another way of saying unkindness?) leads to ineffective care. Put another way, there is the implication that the clinician is not only a provider of treatment but also a means of treatment. These studies, however, dont explicitly measure patient perceptions and therefore move us only a short way toward demonstrating that kindness matters.

At the moment, the best answer to the kindness contrarian is: Even if the evidence in favor of the therapeutic benefits of empathy is weak, there is no evidence that refutes the idea that empathy improves care. And too many patients have stories of how unkindness or the sheer obliviousness of doctors can be devastating and indelible.

Kindness carries with it a commitment to a certain way of thinking and being rather than to a particular pre-defined endpoint. By showing that they are open to patients experiences, doctors are helping them feel better, or at least feel at ease during office visits. Many long-standing medical recommendations (an annual physical examination, a total-body skin cancer check) are being reevaluated, and the makers of guidelines often determine that there is not enough evidence to recommend. Such old-fashioned medical interventions, absolutists suggest, could lead to over-diagnosis or over-treatment. But kindness at every visit is never too much to ask. Sophia was right: There is no burden added to the work of doctors if we expect them to be kind. Sometimes doctors dont need to wait for evidence to do what is right.

mdstein@bu.edu

Read more from Outlook:

When medical care is delivered in 15-minute doses, theres not much time for caring

Nurses make fun of their dying patients. Thats okay.

Our unrealistic view of death, through a doctors eyes

How voters personal suffering overtook reason  and brought us Donald Trump

and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.
A health official administers a polio vaccine to a child in Kawo Kano, Nigeria, Sunday, April. 13, 2014. Nigeria is one of three countries in the world where the wild polio virus remains endemic. (Sunday Alamba/AP)

| From staff reports and news services

Nigeria has reported its first two cases of polio in more than two years, in an area newly liberated from Islamist extremists who had attacked polio vaccinators in the past, the government and the World Health Organization said Thursday.

Nigerias removal from the WHOs list of polio-endemic countries in October had meant the entire African continent was free of the crippling disease.

Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman for the WHO, said in an email that finding children paralyzed by polio shows that surveillance is working, even in areas of the country affected by insecurity, but it is a sobering reminder that countries need to remain vigilant and immunize children until the virus is completely eradicated worldwide.

Two children have been paralyzed by polio in Nigerias northeastern Borno state in two local government areas that had been cut off by Boko Harams Islamist militants, Health Minister Isaac Adewole said in a statement Thursday night.

Adewole ordered the deployment of a national emergency response team. The WHO said it was working with the government to urgently use large-scale immunizations and other measures to prevent more children from being infected.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement Thursday saying that this is not the first time that polio eradication efforts have experienced a setback. It is a reminder that we must redouble efforts to strengthen surveillance and immunization activities. We remain 100 percent committed to eradicating polio.

It was unclear how accessible the two areas in Nigeria are. The United Nations last month suspended aid to newly liberated but still dangerous areas of Borno after Boko Haram ambushed a humanitarian convoy, wounding three civilians, including a UNICEF worker. The suspension came even as aid groups declared that half a million people are starving in those areas and children are dying daily of starvation.

Because of the Islamist uprising in the countrys northeast, health workers have been testing sewage and stool samples of refugees from areas too dangerous to access.

Nigerias fight against polio has been dramatic. Two decades ago, it was recording 1,000 polio cases a year, the highest in the world.

The Islamist extremists opposed the anti-polio campaign. Boko Haram gunmen killed nine female vaccinators in northern Kano state in February 2013, but the vaccinations continued.
Hillary Clinton speaks in New York while her husband, former president Bill Clinton, applauds.

Nov. 9, 2016 Hillary Clinton speaks in New York while her husband, former president Bill Clinton, applauds. Melina Mara/The Washington Post

Newly released State Department emails shed additional light on the relationships Hillary Clinton and her top aides maintained with her familys foundation during the years she served as secretary of state.

The emails, obtained by the conservative group Judicial Watch as part of a public-records lawsuit, included one in which a longtime aide to Bill Clinton sought a State Department meeting on behalf of a major foundation donor.

The aide, Doug Band, who played a role in expanding the foundations reach, wrote to Hillary Clintons State Department staff requesting a meeting for a wealthy Nigerian businessman of Lebanese descent who has given the Clinton Foundation $1 million to $5 million in donations, according to disclosure reports.

We need Gilbert Chagoury to speak to the substance person re Lebanon, Band wrote in the email addressed to Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, two of Clintons closest aides at State. As you know hes a key guy there and to us and is loved in Lebanon. Very imp.

Abedin responded with the name of the recent U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman, who was serving as acting assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs. She added: Ill talk to Jeff.

At the NABJ-NAHJ conference on Aug. 5 in Washington, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reiterated her stance that she didn't send or receive classified emails while serving as secretary of state. (Reuters)

As it turned out, Feltman said he never connected with the billionaire. Gilbert Chagoury never contacted me, he said in response to a question Wednesday from The Washington Post. I have never met nor spoken to him. No one ever told me he was seeking me out.

The exchange sparked an immediate response from Clintons critics, who say that the Chagoury email along with other State Department correspondence released over the past year as part of various inquiries and lawsuits suggest a pattern in which donors to Clinton causes seem to have received special access to Clintons State Department.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pointed Wednesday to the document release, saying the emails reveal Clintons pay to play approach to governance.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said the documents explain why Clinton and her aides have been reluctant to release official communications.

They show the Clinton Foundation, Clinton donors and operatives worked with Hillary Clinton in potential violation of the law, he said.

Officials from the Clinton campaign and the foundation portray the email communications as innocuous, in some cases even helpful to U.S. foreign policy goals.

Chagoury, who is of Lebanese descent, was simply seeking to share his insights on the upcoming Lebanese election with the right person at the Department of State for whom this information might be helpful, a campaign official said in an emailed statement. In seeking to provide information, he was not seeking action by the Department.

Clinton campaign spokesman Josh Schwerin called Judicial Watch a right-wing organization that has been attacking the Clintons since the 1990s and added that Hillary Clinton never took action as secretary of state because of donations to the Clinton Foundation.

Questions about the relationship between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department have persisted for years. Republicans, citing her use of private email servers and her deletion of tens of thousands of emails she deemed personal, have accused Clinton of trying to conceal the potentially embarrassing connections.

A 2011 exchange, released by the State Department this year, showed that Ukrainian steel magnate Victor Pinchuk, who has pledged more than $10 million to the Clinton Foundation in recent years, met that year with a top State Department official. Pinchuk spoke on behalf of Ukraines president to try to soothe tensions with Washington over that countrys human rights record and its growing closeness with Russian President Vladimir Putin, emails showed.

Clintons email headaches are likely to continue through the campaign as lawsuits and federal investigations continue to bring more sensitive communications to the surface.

For example, the State Department confirmed this week that it recently received thousands of additional documents, including emails, that had been requested from the recently concluded FBI investigation of whether Clintons use of private email servers violated national security standards.

Clinton had said previously that she turned over all documents related to official State Department business from her private account. However, subsequent inquiries by the FBI and Judicial Watch turned up additional official communications that apparently were not turned over previously.

The communications released this week by Judicial Watch include an April 22 email from Band to Abedin, Mills and another aide with the subject line: A favor. . . 

Important to take care of [name redacted], the email said.

Abedin, who had overlapping roles with the State Department, the foundation and a consulting firm led by Band, responded quickly: We have all had him on our radar. Personnel has been sending him options.

A campaign official said it was a young person who was neither a donor nor a foundation employee. The individual, according to one person familiar with the situation, had been a volunteer in Haiti, where the Clinton Foundation had been active.

Carol Morello and Anu Narayanswamy contributed to this report.
By PTI: New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) Thermax today said it plans to made an additional investment of up to Rs 6 crore in First Energy Pvt Ltd (FE), alternative energy solutions company.

"The board at its meeting held on August 10, 2016, has approved to make an additional investment in First Energy Private Limited (FE), the alternative energy solutions company in which the company has acquired 33 per cent stake in July 2015," Thermax Ltd said in a filing to BSE.

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"It is proposed to make an additional investment of up to Rs 6 crore in FE. The said investment is expected to be completed during the financial year 2016-17," the filing said.

First Energys brand Oorja, a combination of a micro- gasification stove and biomass-based pellet fuel, is adopted by several customers as a substitute to fossil fuels such as LPG and diesel, the company had earlier said. PTI SID ABK

--- ENDS ---


Trump supporters wave as he leaves a rally in Sunrise, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Republican Donald Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, were scheduled to hold rallies at the exact same time on Wednesday, starting at 7 p.m.

Trump picked a cavernous arena in Sunrise, Fla., that can hold as many as 20,000; Pence opted for a popular wedding venue in rural, eastern Ohio  a small auditorium in a civic center.

If Trumps goal is to rile up his most ardent supporters, then Pences is to smooth over Trumps rough edges  and offer appeal to a broader slice of the electorate. So howd they do on Wednesday? Just how different were they? Follow along in this diary of a night of dueling rallies.

3:51 p.m. After a brief downpour in Sunrise, Fla., the rain recedes and a soggy crowd outside the BB&T Center becomes animated and chants: USA, USA, USA! A middle-aged woman, plump and wearing a red cotton blouse, pumps her fist up and down into the air with the crowd.

4:00 p.m. Doors are scheduled to open in both locations. In Sunrise, the crowd begins  in vain  to chant, Open the doors! Open the doors!

4:19 p.m. The street vendors in Sunrise returned after escaping the rain. One couple stands behind a table just outside the main entrance to the arena selling Donald Trump masks for $20. A woman models the mask while a man waits to make a sale.

4:42 p.m. By this point, only a few dozen people have gathered for Pences rally in Ohio and new arrivals have to wait just seconds to get through the security line. Once inside, most plop down on the carpeted floor to wait, serenaded by selections from Trumps personal playlist. While Trump usually blasts his music deafeningly loud, here it is broadcast so softly that its often difficult to identify the songs.

Outside, vendors sell T-shirts, coffee mugs, beach balls, flags and buttons featuring Trump's name, with occasional mentions of Pence. One vendor carries two varieties of Trump bobblehead  one wearing a hat with both thumbs up, the other not wearing a hat with just one thumb up. He shakes his head when asked if he sells a Pence bobblehead.

5:11 p.m. In Ohio, Amanda Allen, wearing heels and lipstick, realizes that she and her husband overdressed for this Pence rally. Allen, a 32-year-old stay-at-home mom with two boys, says former House speaker Newt Gingrich was her top veep draft pick, but she likes Pence. What does she know about him? Not much  just that hes the governor for Indiana. Thats all I know, she says.

5:17 p.m. In Florida, Diane Kushner, who is wearing a pink Women for Trump shirt, says she decided to support Trump when he first announced his candidacy, more than a year ago. When asked about Pence, she was polite, if less enthusiastic.

Hes not the point, she said, smiling. Im for Trump. Whatever is going to help Trump win, were all in for Trump. Pence is fine.

6:11 p.m. Thomas D. Orr, the mayor of Cambridge, tells the crowd that Pence has landed and will arrive soon. Is this fun or what? he said. Woooooooo! One more USA, lets do a little bit of that: USA! USA! USA! I love that one! USA! USA! The crowd briefly joins the forced chant, then politely claps.

6:20 p.m. In Ohio, Cindy Trubisky, a 62-year-old who lives outside of Cambridge, looks around at the crowd of about 600 and concludes that its not quite as large or as rowdy as she expected: I would really like to go to a Trump rally. This is nice but this is more like a Hillary rally.

6:40 p.m. At the Trump rally, the emotions start to tick up. Republican National Committee co-chair Sharon Day is far less muted in her attacks on the former secretary of state and former president Bill Clinton: Bill Clintons walk down memory lane at the convention conveniently left out his sexual abuse of a 22-year-old intern in his oval office, she says. And it also left out Hillary Clintons personal and vicious attacks on the numerous women who were sexually harassed and abused by her husband.

MONICA! MONICAAAAA! a man shouts at the stage.

6:50 p.m. Diamond and Silk, a well-known opening act for Trump, take the stage at the Trump rally, unfazed by roaring applause. The crowd  which seemed relatively small at first but has quickly expanded  is piling into the arena.

To my black brothers and sisters, we can not allow her to fool us and lure us in with a bottle of hot sauce, running around doing the nay nay  and shes not even concerned about your next payday, Diamond says to huge cheers and laughs.

6:54 p.m. Suddenly, the music at Pences rally changes. Its a little bit louder and a lot more country, with Kid Rock belting out: I was born free I was born free, born free.

6:57 p.m. Pences crowd starts to chant USA! USA! USA! USA! After a few rounds, they give up.

7:01 p.m. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) asks the crowd: Are you ready? When the response is a bit lackluster, he tries again: Let me ask you that again: Are you ready? He then introduces Pence, who  right on schedule  comes bounding onto stage, the lights reflecting off his thick white hair. Theres an awkward lag between the music and applause ending and Pence beginning to speak.

Hello, Ohio! Pence says to applause and a couple of whistles. I am so grateful to be with you today. Several people snap photos and video. A dad puts his young daughter on his shoulders so she can better see the vice presidential nominee.

7:04 p.m. Diamond is still warming up the audience at the Trump rally: When I say all aboard, I need you all to say, choo choo. All aboard!? Diamond shouts to the audience.

Choo, choo! the crowd echoes.

7:05 p.m. A musical cellphone goes off at Pences rally, and everyone looks around to see where the sound is coming from.

7:05 p.m. An announcement plays over the loudspeaker in Florida: If a protester starts demonstrating in the area around you, please do not touch or harm the protester. This is a peaceful rally. In order to notify the law enforcement officers of the location of the protester, please hold a rally sign over your head and start chanting, Trump! Trump! Trump! 

People start chanting along.

7:06 p.m. Near the back of the arena in Sunrise, a group of eight college-aged men in tank tops and shorts start shouting Crooked Hillary! as they look for seats. They continue yelling boisterously as they make their way past rows of seated rally-goers. Nobody pays them much attention.

7:08 p.m. After praising Trump for speaking his heart and not tip-toeing around those thousands of rules, Pence  often looking down at notes as he speaks  accuses reporters of latching onto things Trump has said instead of digging into Clintons record. The crowd cheers. A baby cries.

You know what theyre not talking about? Pence said, as a woman guessed: Hillary? Theyre not talking about anything having to do with Hillary Clinton.

The crowd starts to loudly chant: Lock her up! Lock her up! While Trump will often smirk and listen to this chant, Pence cuts it off to tell the crowd about the father of the Orlando shooter attending Clintons rally in Orlando. Chatter breaks out in the crowd. A woman shouts: Murderer!

7:11 p.m. In Ohio, the baby resumes crying.

7:15 p.m. Pence praises Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), calling him a great governor  far from how Trump usually describes him. The crowd boos.

7:15 p.m. In Florida, the audience tries to start a wave around the arena. Those efforts stop when a Trump video begins playing on an oversized screen hanging over the center of the arena. We have to give [law enforcement] more authority and we have to give them more respect, Trump says. We have to respect our police.

7:18 p.m. As Pence attacks the Obama administration for giving Iran $400 million in January, one guy in the audience boos and a female voice shouts: Lock him up! Lock him up! Another cellphone goes off.

7:25 p.m. Pence emotionally talks about his friendship with his late grandfather.

7:25 p.m. In Florida, Elton Johns Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding plays in its entirety as voters get restless.

7:32 p.m. After a series of unifying rallying cries, Pence wraps up his remarks.

We have but one choice, and Im here to tell you, Ohio, that man is ready, this movement is ready, this nation is ready  lets go make Donald Trump the 45th president of the United States of America! Pence said, before bounding off the stage to shake hands, give autographs and pose for photos.

Brooks and Dunns Only in America begins to play.

7:37 p.m. Austin Netting, a 20-year-old college student, shows off a photo that he just took with the governor. Pence also signed the underside of the brim of his red Make America Great Again hat. Trump had signed the top after a rally in St. Clairsville in June. What does he think of Pence?

Dont know much about him yet but obviously Mr. Trump does, Netting said. I think Mr. Pence is a good guy. Hes a Christian. Im a Christian myself.

7:39 p.m. As Pence disappears backstage, his crowd quickly disperses.

7:59 p.m. Pences motorcade leaves the civic center parking lot. A man walking to his car points to the line of black SUVs and tells his wife: There he goes.

8:04 p.m. A flock of photographers in Florida gets in position for Trumps entrance. The crowd, cajoled by sudden and dramatic music, starts cheering and shouting, Trump, Trump, Trump!

8:18 p.m. Sensing some movement, everyone pulls out their cellphones to document the moment with pictures and selfies. A small boy in the back of the arena screams indiscriminately: Truuuuuuuuuump!

8:20 p.m. But first, another opening act: former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

Im a lot more afraid of a Hillary Clinton presidency than I am of getting a mosquito bite in South Florida, Huckabee said, making a joke about the Zika virus one day after it claimed its first victim in the United States.

8:26 p.m.Trump takes the stage, nearly 90 minutes late. Wow, what a crowd. What a crowd! Trump bellows after a long walk toward the lectern. Look at this! August, hot, tremendously bad weather today. You had a vicious storm and look at this place. Thank you very much.

8:30 p.m. The crowd erupts in chants of Lock her up! for the first time since Trump took the stage, but the fourth time of the evening.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump accused President Obama of being the "founder" of the Islamic State militant group. Speaking at a rally August 10, Trump also said Hillary Clinton was the group's "co-founder." ( Reuters)

8:36 p.m. Trump takes aim at President Obama, accusing him of being the founder of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS: In fact, in many respects, you know they honor President Obama. ISIS is honoring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS, okay? Hes the founder! He founded ISIS! And I would say the co-founder would be Crooked Hillary Clinton.

8:45 p.m. Shortly after Trump takes the stage, protesters and supporters clash  at times violently  several times in a matter of minutes. At one point, protesters and supporters become locked in a tug of war over a fabric sign. A minute later, a protester is pushed out by security.

8:46 p.m. A heavyset man involved in getting the protesters out of the venue bursts back into the arena after the protesters are gone. He throws his hands triumphantly into the air. The arena bursts into applause.

8:48 p.m. Just a few moments later, more protesters disrupt the rally and are escorted out as well. It is the fourth interruption of the rally.

9:06 p.m. Trump jokes that the supporters seated behind him will be on television and are going to be famous. He transitions to criticizing the Clinton campaign over Seddique Mateen, whose son was identified as the man who committed the Orlando nightclub massacre in June, attending one of her rallies.

When you get those seats, you sort of know the campaign. So when she said, Well, we didnt know . . .  They knew! But how did you like that picture? Trump said.

9:07 p.m. On social media, critics are pointing out that the audience includes disgraced former congressman Mark Foley, who resigned his seat in 2006 amid allegations of sexual harassment by at least one underage male congressional page. He is sitting directly behind Trump.

9:23 p.m. Trump blasts Clinton for criticizing his temperament: I dont like Hillarys temperament. Because her temperament is the temperament of a loser. My temperaments gonna win, folks, Trump said.

9:24 p.m. People start filing out of the arena as Trump begins to wrap up. You Cant Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones begins to play as Trump hits the rope line. Supporters rush toward the barricade to get a picture.

Johnson reported from Cambridge, Ohio. DelReal reported from Sunrise, Fla.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told conservative pastors in Florida, Aug. 11, that if he's elected, they will "have great power." Trump pledged to take on a law that bars tax-exempt organizations from getting involved in political campaigns. (The Washington Post)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told conservative pastors in Florida, Aug. 11, that if he's elected, they will "have great power." Trump pledged to take on a law that bars tax-exempt organizations from getting involved in political campaigns. (The Washington Post)

Donald Trump urged evangelical Christians to rally behind him in a speech here Thursday, seeking to ease their concerns about the Republican presidential nominee and proclaiming that sending him to the White House is crucial for the future of their movement.

Trump tried to draw a direct distinction between himself and Mitt Romney, the partys 2012 nominee, who would have become the nations first Mormon president. Echoing some post-2012 analysis suggesting that Romneys religion led some evangelicals to stay home, Trump said religion didnt get out and vote for the former governor, whatever the reason.

Throughout the day, Trump also intensified his attacks against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and President Obama, repeatedly casting them as co-founders of the Islamic State terrorist group as a result of their Middle East policies.

Adding to party leaders worries, Trump signaled in a television interview that he does not intend to change the way he campaigns, despite fears that his proclivity for picking distracting fights could cost him the election.

Here in Orlando, he spoke to leaders of evangelical Christian groups, some of whom have privately expressed skepticism about Mormons. Trump stressed his difficulties in the countrys only majority-Mormon state  making an apparent play for support by noting that he has a tremendous problem in Utah.

These 10 states are in play in the 2016 election. Here is where they're polling as of August and how much weight they'll have in November. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

The New York real-estate developer told the audience, a gathering of influential pastors hosted by the American Renewal Project, that they have a chance to do something that will be earth-shaking this fall. But they must ensure strong turnout at the polls, he said.

Youve got to get your people out to vote, he said.

Trump called Utah a different place and asked whether anyone in the crowd was from the state.

I didnt think so, he said. Some laughed.

Trailing in the polls, Trump can ill-afford to lose support among Christian conservatives nationwide. He must find a way to prevent Utah from slipping away as he faces a daunting electoral map with little margin for error.

Were having a problem, Trump repeated. He added that he has been given a false narrative.

Recent polls have shown Clinton within striking distance of Trump in Utah. Trumps brash style appears to have turned off much of the states large Mormon population, as it did during the GOP primary campaign. Trump lost badly to Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) in Utahs Republican caucuses.

1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

The last time a Democratic presidential candidate won Utah was the landslide election of 1964, when President Lyndon B. Johnson easily defeated Republican Barry Goldwater.

With a subdued tone and a suggestion that a winning presidential campaign could get him into heaven, Trump spoke for 40 minutes Thursday afternoon to the crowd of 700 pastors and their spouses. He drew a standing ovation and occasional shouts of amen as he promised to restore the vigor of church life.

Trump was squarely in businessman mode, staying away from theology and divisive social issues during his address, instead suggesting that the church had lost its leverage and its popularity because of government interference.

He offered a simple formula to bring back the power of religion: repealing a federal rule that limits churches and other tax-exempt organizations from participating in electoral politics.

Youve lost your voice, Trump told the audience of church leaders. Were going to get it back. He then dove into the history of an amendment introduced in the 1950s by then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Tex.) that limited electoral activity by tax-exempt groups.

His message resonated with this particular group of clerics, who gathered in Orlando to receive training in encouraging political activity by conservative church members.

Trump proudly announced that he scrapped plans to deliver a scripted ho-hum speech in favor of giving a more casual talk.

Did you notice I took the teleprompters down? he asked.

Trump credited evangelicals during his convention speech last month for their role in his campaign, saying, The support they have given me, and Im not sure I totally deserve it, has been so amazing.

Still, evangelical Christian leaders have been split over the Republican nominee, in part because of concern about his coarse comments about women, immigration and other topics. Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has called Trumps campaign reality television moral sewage.

At times in his Thursday speech, Trump diverted to other issues, including foreign policy. He repeated his claim, leveled throughout the day, that Obama and Clinton are responsible for the rise of the Islamic State.

Last night, you said the president was the founder of ISIS. I know what you meant. You meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt told Trump during a morning interview, using an acronym for the terrorist group.

Trump responded: No, I meant hes the founder of ISIS. I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton.

What is now known as the Islamic State was founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and was active in Iraq by 2003, when then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell cited him in a speech to the United Nations.

It goes without saying that this is a false claim, Clinton adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement responding to Trump.

In an interview with CNBC, Trump called himself a truth-teller and sounded content to keep campaigning as he has, embracing new feuds each week that many Republicans think distract from Clintons unpopularity.

If at the end of 90 days, Ive fallen short . . . even though Im supposed to be the smart one and even though Im supposed to have a lot of good ideas, its okay. I go back to a very good way of life, he said.

Trumps performance in Orlando was hailed by several of the pastors and by David Lane, the founder of the American Renewal organization. Lane is planning an $18 million effort to mobilize evangelical voters in battleground states to support Trump and the rest of the GOP ticket.

Turnout is everything, and Donald Trump understands that, said Lane, who spoke briefly with the candidate before his speech and agreed to help him win evangelical voters, a constituency considered vital to Republican success.

Lane complimented Trump on his practical approach, which at times drew on his experience with the vocabulary of business.

This was not Donald Trumps natural constituency, Lane said, but he impressed the audience with his discussion of the decline of churches and the need to leverage opportunities such as an election.

Trump was introduced by an adored figure at such meetings, Mike Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and a pastor himself who alluded to the religious liberty theme that ignites the interest of conservative pastors.

Huckabee said that Trump must win in November because it is the most important election of our lifetime. It is about protecting the last castle on Earth where freedom lives.

When Trump took the stage, he echoed that sentiment.

Once I get in, I will do my thing that I do very well. And I figure it is probably, maybe the only way Im going to get to heaven. So I better do a good job.

Sullivan reported from Washington.
President Barack Obama and Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul walk on the first green during a round of golf at Farm Neck Golf Course in Oak Bluffs, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard, Sunday. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

So much of President Obamas personal life is shrouded in mystery.

Who was on the guest list to his star-studded 55th birthday party last week at the White House? The administration is not naming names.

Nearly two full presidential terms had passed and more than 300 golf rounds had been played before Obama on Sunday finally divulged his handicap (an honest 13). The secrecy surrounding his golf game is so extreme that White House aides have been known to drape tablecloths over clubhouse windows to prevent reporters from catching a glimpse of him hacking his way down the fairway.

But on Thursday, the White House did offer an insight into Obamas interior life, a small dispatch from his summer vacation this week in idyllic and exclusive Marthas Vineyard. For the second year in a row, the president offered up a list of 40 songs  20 for the daytime and 20 for night  that he is listening to this summer.

This sort of sharing has become a regular part of the Obama White House. The president has made no secret of his favorite television shows, which tend to run toward the edgy drama (Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones) and sophisticated soap (the Downton Abbey cast dropped by the White House in 2015 for a visit).

U.S. President Barack Obama orders lunch at Nancy's restaurant at Oak Bluffs at Martha's Vineyard in 2013. (Larry Downing/Reuters)

Bill Clinton often spoke of his fondness for mystery novels. Obamas tastes, based on seven years of vacation reading lists, fall solidly into the category of high-brow literary fiction and nonfiction.

White House officials say the lists reflect Obamas passions and curiosities. In a digitally dominated era that tends to diminish, isolate, caricature and deflate, they are intended to provide a fuller picture of a young president who has grown and matured on the job.

How do you reach people worn down by cynicism, boredom and disinterest? said a senior administration official who was granted anonymity to speak frankly. Thats really what we are up against.

Taken together, the lists  especially the summer Spotify playlists  add up to an ever-evolving urban, coastal, hip and taste-making Obama lifestyle brand. They have helped turn the president into an arbiter of culture and cool, even as they have cemented his reputation as a blue-state elitist.

As recently as his last State of the Union address, Obama confessed that one of the few regrets of his presidency was that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.

In this era of deepening political polarization, Obama could try to use his fluency with pop culture to reach out to those more conservative parts of America where he is viewed with suspicion or even hostility. But his most recent playlist follows a pattern set by previous forays: There is no pandering.

Over the three playlists, spanning some 94 songs, Obama has yet to pick up a single country music song.

Fans of the president will be charmed by his selection of artists such as jazz legend Nina Simone and more obscure artists including Floetry, Caetano Veloso, Acid Rain and Gin Wigmore.

Those predisposed against him are likely to recall Republican operative Karl Roves description of Obama circa 2008: Hes the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette, that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.

The presidents use of pop culture reflects a broader sorting of Americans into political parties that are far more oriented around ideology, values and culture, said political scientists. As a result, it has become much harder for any politician to woo skeptics across the growing divide. Obamas approval rating has been remarkably stable, said John Sides, a professor of political science at George Washington University. Some of that reflects an absence of big wars, recessions or scandals. But is it is also indicative of our politics.

Early in his second term, Obama tried to win over red-state, pro-gun skeptics by releasing pictures of him firing a shotgun at Camp David. These days he jokes about shooting more than he actually does it.

Thats pretty impressive, Obama said last month learning about the accuracy of a .54-caliber gun mounted on the Navy ship he was touring in Spain. Thats better than I do at skeet shooting.

A much discussed Whiskey Summit designed to forge ties with Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) never happened.

Indeed, Obamas most recent music list suggests that when it comes to matters of culture and taste, he no longer much cares whom he offends.

Late in Obamas first term, the president and first lady were criticized for inviting Common to an evening of poetry at the White House. Conservatives insisted that the rappers antiwar Burn a Bush lyric, aimed at Obamas predecessor in the White House, made him unworthy of a White House visit.

The White House press secretary felt obliged to note that Commons White House invitation was not an endorsement of his lyrics as much as his work with children.

This year, Commons Forever Begins made the list.

White House officials said that the presidents forays into pop culture are often designed to reach a particular group of Americans. You have to be very demographically strategic, said the White House official. People retreat into their little encampments, and so you have to visit all of them.

Sometimes a presidential appearance in a new venue is designed to reframe an issue. On a global warming-themed trip to Alaska last year, Obama dropped in on the survivalist Bear Gryllss television show. The goal was to encourage people to view climate change as a threat to the countrys natural splendor rather than just a political or economic issue, White House officials said.

The presidents pop culture appearances, though, rarely break with his broader brand. Obama could have chosen a hunting or fishing program that would appeal more to white, working-class Americans, said Charles Murray, a political scientist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute and author of Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960-2000.

Bear Grylls is the elite end of that genre, he said. He suggested that if Obama really wanted to appeal to white, working-class America, he should attend a NASCAR race or allow himself to be photographed drinking Coors Lite out of can.

Ultimately, Obamas choices in his solitary pursuits of reading and listening may have far more to do with personal taste than politics. Last summer, after he picked Low Cut Connies Boozophilia for his summer playlist, the obscure band took to Facebook to express their befuddlement.

We are speechless and honored and humbled and ecstatic and confused, they wrote.

So what message was Obama really trying to send when he plucked the Philadelphia-based rock band out of obscurity?

James Miller, a former rock critic for Newsweek and a professor of political science at the New School offered one answer.

It seemed to me like the playlist of a real person, he said.
Just three days after gunmen kidnapped two foreign professors near the American University of Afghanistan, one American and one Australian, the prestigious institution reopened its carefully guarded campus here this week, and officials vowed not to let the unsolved crime disrupt its mission to prepare some of the war-torn nations brightest young people for professional careers.

AUAF is a lasting legacy of the U.S. in Afghanistan, and we will not be deterred, its American president, Mark English, said in an email, using the universitys acronym. We are devastated by the news and we will remain vigilant to insure the safety and security of all personnel and students, he said in a separate press statement.

But the abduction of the two men, who were seized at gunpoint and dragged from their SUV near the high-walled urban campus Sunday evening, has created concerns that it may be harder for the elite institution to keep attracting foreign faculty members. It has also added to the sense of vulnerability on campuses across the Afghan capital, where thousands of students study at the University of Kabul and a network of smaller private and public colleges.

[One American, one Australian kidnapped at gunpoint at American university in Kabul]

Afghan police and other security officials said they are working to locate and recover the missing professors, who have not been publicly identified, but there has been no reported indication of who took them or why. Kidnappings of foreign visitors and wealthy Afghans have become frequent in the past several years, both by criminal gangs and by Taliban insurgents.

We are all worried about security. I stay in my dorm during holidays because I am afraid the Taliban will kidnap me on the highway if I go home to my village, said Mohammed Amir, 22, a senior from Ghazni province who is studying language and literature at Kabul University.

Everything is so unpredictable now, said Mursal Zohair, 19, who is studying software engineering on a U.S. scholarship abroad but often comes home to visit friends at local colleges. You worry that someone will come and throw acid in girls faces. Taliban militants have periodically targeted young women to deter them from studying, though mostly in rural provinces.

The American University campus is highly guarded and is not open or visible to the public behind high walls. Students there said they feel safe within the confines of the large compound, which is beside a major boulevard near the national parliament.

The nonprofit, coed university, which opened in 2006, has about 1,300 students. It offers a full undergraduate curriculum, some graduate programs and courses in English-language proficiency. It has introduced a modern, Western-style model of higher education to the country, with competitive entry requirements and all courses taught in English. Tuition fees are high by Afghan standards, at about $190 per course credit, but many high-performing students receive scholarships.

The university provides good security for us, and we feel safe inside. We are also part of Afghan society, so we are familiar with the situation here, but we worry we may start losing our professors, that the foreign ones wont want to come back, said Sarah Mojda, 22, who is studying business administration.

Despite being reopened Wednesday, the campus looked almost deserted from the outside. From time to time, small clusters of students hurried up to narrow red steel gates, showed their ID cards through a small grill, and were allowed to slip through an opening that quickly closed again. Journalists have not been given permission to visit since the abductions, and no university officials have given interviews.

Daoud Jalal, 20, a political science major from Ghazni, said he was worried that new foreign faculty members might decide it was not worth the risk. Those already here, he said, feel comfortable with the environment, but a new group is due to arrive soon after a summer break. Now we may have a difficult time convincing them that Afghan culture is welcoming, he said.

[Blast kills at least 80 during peaceful protest in Kabul]

Kabul has long been targeted by Taliban insurgents, who periodically stage suicide bombings outside government and foreign facilities and assault vehicles used by security forces. Recently, Islamic State militants have added to the quotient of violence, and two bombings in the past three weeks have set the city on edge.

On July 23, a massive suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State loyalists killed 80 people who were holding a peaceful demonstration in a public square. On Aug. 1, a powerful truck bomb detonated outside a foreign guest house in the dead of night. The attack killed a policeman and sent shock waves through the sleeping capital. Many frightened children never went back to sleep.

The collapse of the foreign-backed war economy and soaring unemployment have also triggered a wave of street crime, especially armed robberies and kidnappings by organized criminal gangs, who demand ransom or sometimes sell their captives to the Taliban. Most victims are wealthy Afghans, such as money traders or importers, and the crimes are not widely publicized.

Abductions of foreigners are also becoming more common in the heavily policed capital, and they have a much more negative impact on Afghanistans image among foreign investors and donors. An Indian aid worker with the Aga Khan Foundation, Judith dSouza, 40, was kidnapped on a Kabul street on June 10 and is still missing.

Ahmad Muzzafari, an Afghan academic who teaches courses part time at the American University, said that even in a capital that has known violence through decades of war and years of insurgency, the growing phenomenon of kidnapping for money, as well as carjacking at gunpoint, has created a new sense of vulnerability among the population.

Everyone is talking about the kidnappings. It is happening everywhere, and it is getting worse as the number of jobless people keeps going up, he said. I am not a rich man, and I drive a 2006 car, but even that is enough to risk being abducted or killed for.

At Kabul University, a large and busy campus in a residential area, hundreds of students stroll on the surrounding sidewalks and police officers keep a low-key presence at the entrances. This week, most students had not heard about the kidnappings at the American University and said they were more worried about attacks and bombings by the Taliban.

But several faculty members there were keenly aware of the recent abductions and said they were keeping a careful eye out. Najib Mahmoud, a lecturer in political science, said he grew up in Kabul during the civil war of the early 1990s, when rival militia factions rocketed neighborhoods every night. Back then I used to fear a rocket would kill me, he said. Now I fear someone following me in the shadows.

Read more

Scores of attorneys among the dead in suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan

The bomb that killed 80 Hazaras in Kabul also upended their nonviolent reform effort

Taliban ambushes tourist convoy in west, takes helicopter crew hostage in east

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere visits a federal police facility in the northern city of Bremen on Wednesday. (Fabian Bimmer/Reuters)

Following a spate of terrorist attacks in Germany and neighboring nations, Germanys interior minister proposed new security measures Thursday, including fast-track deportations and a bid to strip citizenship from German nationals who fight for the Islamic State.

The push amounts to the most direct response in Germany to the string of terrorist attacks, which included two by asylum seekers who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. It also underscores a shift toward more aggressive security steps in a nation often resistant to heavy-handed state tactics following the Cold War and the Nazi era.

Meanwhile, Germany joins other European nations such as France and Belgium in efforts to retool policing and counterterrorism powers amid rising threats from militants.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, Germanys top security official, vowed to boost cybersecurity, increase security personnel and provide police with better equipment.

German nationals who have fought in Syria or Iraq for the Islamic State, he said, would lose their citizenship under the proposals, some of which would ultimately need approval in Parliament after further discussions among party officials in Chancellor Angela Merkels governing coalition.

1 of 51 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Reaction continues after a gunman opened fire at a Munich shopping area View Photos At least nine people were killed and 16 others injured Friday in a shooting rampage at a busy shopping area in Munich. Caption At least nine people were killed and 16 others injured Friday in a shooting rampage at a busy shopping area in Munich. July 24, 2016 A memorial of candles and flowers is seen in front of the Olympia shopping center in Munich, where an 18-year-old German-Iranian student went on a shooting rampage on Friday. Europe reacted in shock to the third attack on the continent in just over a week. Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

Earlier this year, France backed off a similar citizenship-stripping proposal after complaints from rights groups and others.

Meanwhile, rejected asylum seekers in Germany who deliberately delay or resist deportation would face sharply reduced benefits and immediate attempts to eject them from Germany, according to the proposals.

It can't be the case that by acting brash and impertinent, a persons stay in Germany can be prolonged, de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin.

Yet de Maiziere rejected two measures seeking a ban on full Muslim face coverings for women, such as burqas, as well as the abolition of dual citizenship. Both ideas were floated by officials from Merkels Christian Democratic Union and its sister party, the Christian Social Union.

You cant ban everything youre against, he said. And Im against wearing a burqa.

De Maiziere must now engage in a round of negotiations with coalition partners in a bid to form a consensus around the new measures, which were largely aimed at Islamist factions. At least some of the proposals face potential opposition.

[Merkel: Germany at war with Islamic State]

1 of 8 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Photos from the aftermath of attack by ax-wielding teen on a train in Germany View Photos A 17-year-old Afghan refugee injured at least four people before being killed by police, authorities said. Caption A 17-year-old Afghan refugee injured at least four people before being killed by police, authorities said. July 18, 2016 Police officers stand by the regional train on which a teenager wielding an ax attacked passengers in Wurzburg, Germany. Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/European Pressphoto Agency Wait 1 second to continue.

One measure coming under fire is an effort to find ways to allow doctors, constrained by confidentiality laws, to report potentially dangerous patients to authorities.

A confidential psychological report on a 27-year-old asylum seeker, Mohammad Daleel  who detonated a suicide bomb outside a music festival in the southern German town of Ansbach last month  described him as capable of staging a spectacular suicide, according to the Bild tabloid. Yet patient-confidentiality laws may have influenced the amount of information passed on to authorities.

De Maiziere, however, announced a plan to find a way around those laws so doctors could more easily inform authorities about patients planning to commit crimes.

The head of the German Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, has rejected any move to soften doctor-patient confidentiality. But de Maiziere said he would try to engage in a dialogue with doctors to find a compromise.

Interior ministers in German states are set to release their own set of proposals later this month, with a leaked draft suggesting they would call for a ban on burqas similar to the ones already in effect in France and Belgium.

But such measures are likely to face stiff resistance, said Jurgen Falter, a political scientist at Mainz University.

Leading members of another coalition partner in Merkels government, the Social Democrats, have already spoken out against them. Falter said such calls are more about politicking ahead of next years elections.

It shows that the election campaigns have already begun, Falter said.

Read more

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Travelling during the long weekends is a rising trend among Indians and this is how they are doing it.

By Adila Matra: So the long weekend is around the corner and all the special travel deals for the weekend getaway are just full! Many of us are planning local getaways while there are others who have international vacations on their mind. Says Manmeet Ahluwalia, Marketing Head, Expedia in India, "Indians love utilising long weekends for short breaks and the trend has been catching up with young couples and working singles. Earlier the bookings for extended weekends used to close by one or two weeks prior to the holiday season, but in the past few years we have seen a shift of the rooms getting sold out at a minimum of a month or two in advance as people have started to plan ahead of these weekends." The rise in number of bookings and queries, Ahluwalia reminds, has increased by 37 per cent to 40 per cent as the extended weekend approach. This August, there are long weekends with festivities like Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan taking place in the same week. "Expedia is offering up to 50 per cent off on the long weekend for hotels in Goa, Rajasthan and Kerala and internationally to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Dubai and Vietnam. We have seen a 33-37 per cent surge in travel booking and seen a growth of over 45 per cent this year in experiential travellers as Indians are shunning the usual celebrations to venture out on these weekends."

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Also read: 5 ways to crack the best last-minute travel deal for the Independence Day long weekend



Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India, says, "With the frantic and fast-paced city life leaving hardly any time for relaxation, the long weekend is a great opportunity to escape somewhere nearby. Our research of booking rates on TripAdvisor across various categories of accommodations in popular destinations ensures that travellers are able to plan and book their perfect trip within their budget, with suggestions of what attractions to see for free as well," says Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India.

Rohit Khetrapal, Co-Founder, FindMyStay, says, "In the past three days, about 20 per cent of the bookings are coming for long weekend short-stay in business cities as the rates are low for luxury hotels. A lot of customers are extending their business trips to vacations because of excellent deals hotels are offering in business cities like Jaipur and Agra."

Destinations to spend your long weekend



Jaipur: Located 260 km from New Delhi, Jaipur forms a part of the Golden Triangle tourist circuit along with Agra (240 km). Staying in a one-two star hotel here this weekend will cost you `1,849. An upscale hotel like Fortune Select Metropolitan hotel costs around Rs 2,600 on FindMyStay.

Shimla: The summer capital of British India, Shimla is 342 km from Delhi and can be reached by bus, train or car. Average nightly rates here, according to TripAdvisor, is Rs 6,827 in a one-two star hotel.

Udaipur: A small city in Rajasthan, Udaipur was formerly the capital of the Rajput kingdom of Mewar. You can stay in a three star hotel for Rs 3,361 this weekend.

Mussoorie: Located 290 km north from New Delhi, this hill station is situated in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayan range. Commanding snow ranges to the north-east, and glittering views of the Doon Valley and Shiwalik ranges in the south, the town is a fairyland for tourists. According to FindMyStay, a four star hotel will cost you Rs 4,500 per night this weekend.



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Tens of thousands of refugees from South Sudan flooded into Kenya, Uganda and Sudan last week, amid an eruption of civil strife in the South Sudanese capital at Juba.

Nearly 60,000 South Sudanese are reported to have crossed into neighboring countries in August alone. Kenya reported the arrival of around 1,000, while 7,000 crossed into Sudan and 52,000 traversed to Uganda, bringing the total number of South Sudanese currently displaced into neighboring countries to 900,000. More than 85 percent of the number of refugees entering Uganda are women and children, with many children having lost one or both parents to the violence.

The clashes in the streets of Juba last week represent the latest outburst in a factional conflict between the South Sudanese government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and former Vice President Riek Machar that has increasingly destabilized the country since Machar led a failed coup attempt in December 2013. The clashes have already been seized upon by the American and German governments as a pretext for new deployments of ground and air forces to South Sudan, including the dispatch of dozens of US Marines. Since July, flareups of the Mayardit-Machar conflict have been accompanied by growing reports of armed militants carrying out acts of mass violence, including scores of rapes, killings, and looting of villages.

South Sudan is increasingly becoming a leading contributor to the world-historic refugee crisis gripping world society. The explosion of the world refugee total, now estimated at over 60 million by the Global Peace Index, has sent entire peoples streaming across national borders, in a desperate effort to escape the destruction of their societies at the hands of the American military and its alles.

Violence and instability has racked the country of South Sudan since its formation and independence in 2011. The countrys formation, through secession from the Khartoum government in the north, was brought together under the close direction of Washington and Britain, in an effort to install a puppet government in Juba by manipulating the decades-long civil war between the north and southa war that culminated in the Darfur genocideto force Khartoum to accept a 2005 peace agreement that included an initial framework for separating off South Sudan as an independent state.

Washington fueled and stoked the civil war, cultivating allies among the southern elites, as a means of gaining control over the oil resources in the country, mostly located in the south. The US supported the south economically and militarily, including shipments of arms in order to neutralize Khartoum and counter Chinese influence.

The government of Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum has been the subject of long-standing geopolitical tensions in the Horn of Africa, running afoul of the Western powers as his government turned toward a partnership with China, whose growing influence in Africa is driving Washington to step up its military and strategic interventions across the continent.

China is currently the leading recipient of Sudans oil. The Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) is the major oil investor in Sudan, and agreed to a major expansion of north Sudans largest oil refinery last October. The CNPC relies on the Greater Nile Oil Pipeline, which traverses through Sudan to the Red Sea coast, to export its oil to the world market.

The growth of Chinese interests in the Horn of Africa, abutting the sea lanes for shipment of the worlds largest petroleum reserves through the Gulf of Aden from the Middle East, is turning the region into an area of great strategic importance to Washington.

Last week the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) convened an emergency summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in response to the sharpening of the crisis of the US-backed regime in Juba. A delegation from South Sudan attended, as did the presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti.

IGAD, an eight-country trade bloc in Eastern Africa, was created under the auspices of the African Union in 1996, essentially as an instrument for enhancing the grip of US and European capital over the region.

The nature of IGAD and its aims are clear enough from its founding mission documents, which commit the membership to harmonize policies with regard to trade, customs, transport, communications, agriculture, and natural resources, promote free movement of goods, services, and people within the region, and create an enabling environment for foreign, cross-border and domestic trade and investment. The United States and the World Bank are among the leading international partners acknowledged by IGADs constitution.

The explicit purpose of the gathering in Addis Ababa was to hammer out an agreement to deploy a Force Intervention Brigade to South Sudan, patterned after a similar brigade that was deployed to Congo in 2013, in operations to crush the M23 rebels. A military brigade organized under these auspices has a mandate that is much more aggressive than the current UN peacekeeping mission (UNMISS) currently deployed to South Sudan. UNMISS mandate is to protect civilians but is forbidden to carry out offensive operations. The Force Intervention Brigade will have a mandate to engage in such targeted offensive operations, much like an invading military force.

The deployment of such a force will most certainly lead to far greater bloodshed. The brigade has the backing of Washington and the eight-country trade bloc, but is vehemently contested publicly by President Salva Kiir Mayardit, although he has been effectively forced to agree to its deployment by US pressure.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power urged the UN security council to back the special intervention brigade, saying: The United States believes the regions proposal offers a basis to re-establish a secure environment in Juba, which is critical for the parties to make progress on implementing the peace agreement.

The New York Times, the voice of the foreign policy establishment in the United States, expressed agreement for the more brutal policy in South Sudan in an editorial on August 9 titled, Time to get serious with South Sudan. The Times lent support to the bloody operational mandate, appealing to the false pretext of humanitarianism with its usual hypocrisy-soaked moralizing over the horrific violence brought about by the conflict.

In an expression aimed at the recalcitrance of the government in Juba to support the brigade, the Times  editors brandished previous ultimatums by Washington to impose an arms embargo against Juba if the terms of the deployment of the brigade are not met.

In a clear signal that support among the US elite may shift in favor of the Machar faction, and that powerful factions in Washington soon turn to a different puppet to carry out their neo-colonial enterprises in South Sudan, the Times went on to parrot growing accusations by Western leaders that the government of Salva Kiir Mayadit is responsible for a large part of the current bloodshed.

The turmoil in South Sudan is only one part of the mosaic of destruction Washington has created across the continent and the Middle East as it strives to utilize its military as a means of reversing its declining global economic position. In this, American imperialism relies on the eager collaboration of sections of the national elites, who are being whipped up into ever more violent fratricidal conflicts, as they seek to cement their own strategic ties to Washington and push aside their rivals. Like all other such national independence movements of the present day, the secession of South Sudan, far from securing any form of independence or autonomy for its inhabitants, has served as the basis for ever greater imperialist penetration of the country.
Reuters revealed yesterday that Vietnam has in recent months secretly fortified several of its islands in the Spratly group in the South China Sea with mobile long-range rocket launchers. While the launchers are reportedly yet to be armed, it would take only days to make them operational with rockets capable of striking Chinese-held islets.

Hanois move is certain to further accelerate the arms race that is already underway and to heighten the risk that an incident or provocation could lead to military conflict. That danger has escalated in the wake of the ruling last month by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in favour of a US-backed case brought by the Philippines to challenge Chinas territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The Reuters report based on multiple diplomatic and military sources stated that Vietnam has shipped the launchers to five of its Spratly islands and carefully hidden them from aerial surveillance. The launchers are believed to be part of Vietnams EXTRA rocket artillery system purchased recently from Israel.

According to Reuters, the EXTRA system uses targeting drones, is highly accurate up to 150 kilometres and can deliver a 150 kilogram warhead that can hit ships and land targets. Chinese installations on Subi, Fiery Cross and Mischief Reef would be well within the range of Vietnamese rockets.

Siemon Wezeman, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Institute, told the news agency: When Vietnam acquired the EXTRA system, it was always thought that it would be deployed on the Spratlys it is the perfect weapon for that.

Vietnam has denied the report but at the same time justified such measures. It is within our legitimate right to self-defence to move any of our weapons to any area at any time within our sovereign territory, Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant-General Nyugen Chi Vinh told Reuters.

Washingtons response has been very muted. US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau acknowledged that Washington was aware of the reports, adding pro-forma that the US calls on all South China Sea claimants to avoid actions that build tensions and intensify efforts that find peaceful, diplomatic solutions to disputes.

Such remarks are utterly cynical. The Obama administration with its confrontational pivot to Asia against China bears central responsibility for transforming the South China Sea into a dangerous international flashpoint. Having declared in 2010 that it has a national interest in the South China Sea, Washington has actively encouraged the Philippines and Vietnam to more aggressive press their claims against China.

Obama conducted a three-day official visit to Vietnam in May during which he announced the full lifting of a four-decade-old arms embargo which was described in the media as a decisive step towards the normalisation of relations between the two countries. Hanoi undoubtedly informed Washington in advance of its decision to deploy the rocket launchers.

The US reaction to the Vietnamese rocket launchers is in marked contrast to its response to every step taken by China that can be construed as militarisation. The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the think tank that has been central to Obamas pivot to Asia, has just released satellite photographs of what it claims are reinforced hangars for military aircraft on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs built since The Hague ruling.

While the CSIS acknowledged that apart from a brief visit by a military transport earlier this year, there is no evidence that Beijing has deployed military aircraft to these outposts. That has not stopped the CSIS from doctoring its photographs to show the outlines of various Chinese warplanes parked in the hangars, or from declaring that their deployment was now likely.

The release of the photographs on Monday coincided with a visit to China by the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Scott Swift, who took the opportunity to again publicly criticise Beijing for destabilising the South China Sea.

Speaking on Tuesday, Swift referred to the hangars, saying: What doesnt reduce tensions are these reports of this continued militarisation of the islands, if that is indeed the case. He acknowledged that it was not clear if the hangars would be used for military aircraft, but added: That increases the angst and the uncertaintythat lack of transparencythat is generally destabilising.

Washington and its allies have repeatedly called for greater transparency on the part of Chinaa standard that is not applied to increased US activities in the South China Sea and neighbouring countries. The US has not only boosted its naval presence but also secured and begun to implement a new military basing agreement with the Philippines as well as strengthening military ties with Vietnam and other South East Asian countries.

Swift also criticised the announcement by China and Russia to hold joint naval exercises next month in the South China Sea, declaring that the choice of location was not conducive to increasing the stability within the region. Over the past year, the US Navy has been involved in multiple joint war games in or near the South China Sea.

The Pentagon has also carried out three provocative freedom of navigation operations by sending a destroyer within the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit surrounding Chinese-controlled islets in the South China Sea. Swift foreshadowed further naval provocations in the wake of The Hague decision, saying that he was confident that US warships could continue to sail close to Chinas islands.

Swift warned Beijing again against declaring an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea which he declared would be very destabilising from a military perspective. When China announced an ADIZ over the East China Sea in November 2013, the US immediately dispatched B-52 bombers into the area to make clear that the US had no intention of abiding by Chinas declaration.

The Pentagons determination to maintain its military presence in waters and in the skies immediately adjacent to the Chinese mainland is just part of the US military build-up taking place throughout the Asia-Pacific in preparation for a potential war with China. Its AirSea Battle strategy envisages a massive aerial and missile attack on Chinese military and civilian facilities, supplemented by a naval blockade of the mainland, to cripple the Chinese economy.

Swift made his comments will visiting the northern Chinese port of Qingdao, supposedly as part of US efforts to build trust and understanding between the navies of the two countries. It coincided with a visit by a US guided-missile destroyer, USS Benfold, to the same portthe first such visit by an American warship since The Hague ruling.

Swifts remarks simply underscore the fact that Washington has no intention of building better military relations and intends to intensify its confrontation with Beijing in the wake of legal decision through every means. The US aims at nothing less than the subordination of China to American economic and strategic interests, even if that risks a disastrous war.
In a clear signal of American imperialisms unrelenting commitment to the Saudi monarchy and its ongoing war against Yemen, the United States State Department approved the sale of one hundred and fifty Abrams main battle tanks to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

The tanks, designed for large-scale ground warfare, are part of a larger package of American weaponry, valued at $1.15 billion, that includes a bevy of additional military hardware.

The US-Saudi deal, which also includes $155 million worth of Gatling guns and $200 million worth of training to the Saudi military, is geared to strengthen the US-Saudi alliance and deepen Washingtons already intimate military partnership with the regime.

The deal is designed, according to the State Department, to contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic regional partner which has been and continues to be a leading contributor of political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.

The sale includes various forms of military aid by American personnel and contractors for the Saudi military, including equipment maintenance, training and logistical support, which are intended to increase the Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF) interoperability with U.S. forces and conveys U.S. commitment to Saudi Arabias security and armed forces modernization, the top US diplomatic agency said.

The further lavishing by Washington of instruments of death and destruction upon the government in Riyadh, which already purchases advanced weaponry, almost entirely from American suppliers, at a rate of some $20 billion annually, highlights the central role of American imperialism in organizing and facilitating the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

The murderous war against Yemen has been enabled, from the start, by comprehensive support from Washington, which, from the very beginning of the war last March, has deployed US military advisors and intelligence officers to coordinate the air war with Saudi counterparts, while working from a joint planning cell in the Saudi capital.

The contents of the latest sale, above all its inclusion of the fleet of tanks originally designed for massive land battles against the militaries of the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc during the Cold War, strongly suggest that the monarchy has secured support from its American patrons for a major expansion of its ground operations.

Sixteen months of war in Yemen have already made clear the savage purposes to which the equipment included in the latest weapons deal will be put. The Saudi-led war against Yemen, launched in March of 2015 in response to the seizure of the capital at Sanaa by Houthi Shiite militias, has killed at least 6,500 civilians, destroyed most of Yemens social infrastructure, turned 2.5 million into internal refugees, and pushed more than 80 percent of the Yemeni population to the brink of starvation.

The Saudi war coalition has regularly and indiscriminately attacked civilian areas, including dense residential neighborhoods and markets, and has employed illegal cluster bombs against villages in northern areas, where the Houthi insurgency is based.

Yemeni society, already impoverished by decades of imperialist-backed civil war and dictatorship, has been completely shattered since the launching of Operation Decisive Storm last April, as Saudi forces have pummeled the poorest country in the Arab world with untold quantities of advanced military hardware, ruthlessly destroying the countrys social infrastructure, including some 250 medical centers, 800 schools and hundreds of electricity plants and fuel storehouses.

Amid the chaos produced by the war, Islamist militias, including Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), succeeded in overrunning much of southern Yemen, all while enjoying near complete immunity from Saudi air strikes.

The port city of Mukallah, a main port city and transit hub for resource flows traversing the southern coastline of the Arabian peninsula, was left fully at the mercy of AQAP, touted by American media as the most dangerous terror group in the world, for nearly a year after the war began, even as the US provided target selection and aerial refueling for the Saudi coalitions relentless bombardment of civilian targets throughout the rest of the country.

It is already clear that the breakdown of peace talks between the Saudi-backed government-in-exile of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Houthi government, announced over the weekend by a sharp escalation of Saudi airstrikes and on Tuesday by the resumption of direct Saudi attacks against Sanaa, will mark the resumption of Riyadhs murderous assault against Yemens civilian population and working class.

On Sunday, Saudi war planes bombed civilian targets in Yemen, including the Al Mawdeed market in Nehm district and residential areas in the northern Sadaa province, killing at least 18. Saudi bombing runs on Tuesday killed at least 21, including 10 workers at a potato chip factory in Sanaas al-Nahda district.

Responsibility for the ever-growing civilian death toll in Yemen lies squarely at the feet of the masters of imperialist war in Washington. While wary, amid the catastrophic debacles produced by its wars in Syria and Iraq, of launching a full military intervention in yet another Middle Eastern quagmire, the American ruling class has effectively sponsored and outsourced the Yemen war, from its planning stages up to the present.

The Pentagon has relied on the Saudis and their Gulf allies to provide the bulk of the frontline forces, while backing their combat-support functions to the hilt. In May, the US announced the deployment of small teams of Special Forces in support of Saudi and UAE operations around Mukallah, officially reengaging the covert war waged by US commandos inside Yemen continuously during the decade following the September 11th attacks.

The vast bloodshed and suffering imposed upon Yemen by Washington and its regional allies has been carried out with the aim of reimposing the government of President Hadi, a neocolonial stooge elected in February 2012 in a democratic transition process, in which Hadi was the only candidate on the ballot.

Hadi, who was forced to flee the capital after central government compounds in Sanaa were captured by Houthi fighters in January 2015, was anointed to become president by the US- and Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), after the 2011 mass struggles in Egypt and Tunisia triggered a protest movement in Yemen that threatened to completely destabilize the US-backed state apparatus controlled by longtime dictator and American puppet Ali Abdullah Saleh.

With Salehs credibility shattered, Washington and Riyadh sought to promote Hadi as a means to preserve the core network of the regime and maintain their grip over the military and security services. They have responded to Hadis humiliating ouster with a military policy that can only be characterized as sociocide, the destruction of an entire society.
A Florida woman was fatally shot by a police officer during an exercise as part of a citizens police academy on Tuesday, in an incident police called a "horrible accident."



Mary Knowlton, a 73-year-old librarian, died after being "struck with a live round" while participating in a "shoot-don't, shoot" role-playing exercise with Punta Gorda officers, police said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.



She died later at Lee Memorial Hospital.



The name of the officer who killed her has not been released.



"I am devastated for everyone involved in this unimaginable event. If you pray, please pray for Mary's family, and for the officers who were involved," Chief Tom Lewis said in a statement. "Everyone involved in this accident is in a state of overwhelming shock and grief."



About 35 citizens participated in the eight-session course, a series of free, interactive classes designed to give residents an up-close look at city government, according to the department's website.



Knowlton was randomly selected to take part in the scenario, in which participants made "decisions on using simulated lethal force in a live role play," police said in the statement.





Mother of Two Fatally Shot After Hours Long Standoff With Baltimore Police



A photographer for the Charlotte Sun witnessed the incident while covering the event for the newspaper, according to a post on the Sun's Facebook page.



Knowlton was playing the victim in the scenario and the officer, who portrayed a "bad guy," fired several shots at the woman, the post stated.



The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident, Lewis said in a news conference late Tuesday.









The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation, Lewis added.



In a Facebook post, a woman who called Knowlton her aunt, described Knowlton as a "devoted Wife and Mother."



"How I loved her so much she will be forever missed by all," the post stated. My heart just breaksa"
Captain America has returned home to Brooklyn.

Marvel unveiled its 13-ft, bronze statue of the superhero in Prospect Park on Wednesday in honor of Cap's 75th anniversary.

For those not familiar with the deep backstory of Captain America, Steve Rogers is originally from New York City and the Brooklyn borough. In the Marvel Studios films, Captain America (Chris Evans) has made a number of references to his ties to the borough. "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn," he says in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and there's an endearing moment in this summer's Captain America: Civil War in which he bonds with Spider-Man (Tom Holland) over both of them being kids from New York.

LIVE on #Periscope: Live from the #CaptainAmerica ceremony at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY! #Cap75 https://t.co/oSBOwwgAhc

- Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) August 10, 2016

But according to the New York Post, some Brooklyn residents aren't happy about the statue. One resident quoted by The Post argued that it was harming the "serenity, calmness and beauty of the park." The paper also reported that green activists complained that the park was supposed to be a "non-commercial" zone - taking issue with a corporation like Marvel having a presence there.

Those upset won't have to be worried for long. It will be moved in two weeks to the plaza outside Barclays Center. The statue will stay there till late September before migrating outside to a new Bed Bath & Beyond in Sunset Park at some point in late October.

Check out a stream of the ceremony above, and follow Heat Vision on Facebook and Twitter for all things Marvel.
Its getting close to that magical time of the year for horror fans  those glorious few weeks leading up to Halloween when a spate of scary films hit theaters. Hollywood has a solid lineup in store this year, with a new Blair Witch movie and that mysterious, freaky-deaky-looking Morgan on the way.

But the horror film that might make the most noise this fall comes imported from unexpected terrain: That would be Iran, the setting for Under the Shadow, writer-director Babak Anvaris buzzed-about fright-fest. Watch the exclusive trailer above.

Filmed in Jordan, Under the Shadow takes place in 1988 as the Iran-Iraq War ravages Tehran. Its there Shideh (Narges Rashidi) and her young daughter, Dorsa (Avin Manshadi), are haunted by an evil force after family patriarch (Bobby Naderi), a doctor, is dispatched to the frontlines.

Under the Shadow received rave reviews after premiering at Januarys Sundance Film Festival  and then again at Marchs South by Southwest. The beauty of the films trailer is that it captures the spirit (pun intended) of the films spooky vibe without actually revealing too much. Hollywood horror flicks  which often spoil their best scares in the previews  could take a lesson.

Under the Shadow will screen at Sundances NextFest in Los Angeles on Aug. 14 before opening in theaters on Oct. 7.
Fast enough was supposed to be 193 mph: That was the top-speed forecast offered when the 2017 BMW Alpina B7 xDrive was launched at the 2016 Geneva auto show. That impressive number has since been revised. During testing on the 7.8-mile circular track in Nardo, Italy, the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires worked so well that Alpina decided to raise the terminal velocity to a robust 205 mph. That puts the top-of-the-line Alpina-tuned Bimmer comfortably ahead of the competition from Mercedes-AMG, Bentley, and Porsche.

Starting at $137,995, the Alpina B7 stands at the top of the 7-series lineup, at least until BMWs own M760i appears. But the Alpina offers a distinctly different character: The M760i will be powered by an updated version of BMW's twin-turbocharged V-12, while the B7 employs a twin-turbo V-8, based on the 750i's 4.4-liter N63 eight-cylinder. Alpinas designation for its version of the engine, confusingly, is M3; the cars name contains the suffix Biturbo in other markets. Alpinaclosely allied with Munich but still independentmakes extensive modifications that include upgraded turbochargers, its own intake and intercooler setup, special Mahle pistons, an Alpina dual-mode exhaust, and up to 20 psi of boost, lifting maximum output from 445 to 600 horsepower. Peak torque is rated at 590 lb-ft and available on a plateau that stretches from 3000 to 5000 rpm. Funny coincidence there: The M760i also will be rated at 600 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, but it will come with a 155-mph governor (optionally increased to 190 mph, just enough to top the Mercedes-AMG S63s 186-mph governor). Alpina says the B7 accelerates to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, which may be as conservative as the original top-speed forecast; a 2013 Alpina B7 we tested with a mere 560 horsepower ran to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, and we expect the new model to be about 200 pounds lighter.

In the B7, torque is channeled to all four wheels via the well-proven ZF 8HP eight-speed automatic, albeit reprogrammed for quicker shifting. The BMW xDrive system has been adjusted to deliver a decidedly more rear-biased torque distribution, fitting the dynamic character of this luxury performance sedan. This car is not just about straight-line performanceits also about agility and superior cornering. All-wheel steering is included, tuned more aggressively than in the regular 7-series, and the ride height has been lowered, paying dividends in the looks department. The result of these enhancements, and of this fantastic power, is an almost surreal driving experience. The twin-turbocharged V-8 reacts instantly, and its pull is relentlesseven as the car nears 200 mph.

Aerodynamic drag builds exponentially with speed, so it takes some time to stack the final dozen mph onto the speedometer. Traffic prevented us from verifying the B7's 205-mph terminal velocity when we drove it on its German home turf. However, we managed to touch an indicated 198 mph on a relatively short stretch of unrestricted Bundesstrae. It is nearly impossible for other drivers to correctly judge the speed of an approaching B7. Extreme caution is advised, and it is good that this two-ton-plus luxobarge is fitted with extremely large brakes that exhibited not a hint of fade during our drive.

Few other large sedans can go this fast or accelerate to such high speeds so quickly. The high-speed stability is virtually unmatched, thanks to the B7's long wheelbase and that all-wheel steering system, which turns the rear wheels in the same direction as the front wheels at higher velocities. As such, directional changes at this speed lose their fear factor. The deeper front fascia and the long rear spoiler, designed specifically for the B7, are said to significantly reduce lift, and the car indeed felt planted at all speeds.

Even though the B7 remains very much an upper-luxury sedan, it delivers a noticeably more sporty driving experience than does the 750i. And thats true even if you don't exceed legal limits. The Alpinas exhaust has a far more pronounced growl than the 750is. The power steering is nicely weighted; on winding country roads, the B7 seems to shrink to the size of a 5-series. The car shoots out of corners briskly, lets the driver play with a bit of power oversteer, andif you dare stay on the gas pedalhurls you toward the horizon with warp-like thrust.

There is plenty on which the eyes can feast, too. Inside, Alpina has enhanced the 7-series cockpit with a number of exclusive accents. The steering wheel is graced by an Alpina logo, and the gears are selected via buttons placed on the back of the steering wheel: Alpina's "Switch-Tronic" is a company exclusive, and we found it works at least as well as the usual paddles (which are available by special request) to keep your hands on the wheel. Alternatively, you can pull back on the console-mounted shifter to upshift and push it forward to downshift, just as in a race car.

One of the most prominent changes to the B7, and an Alpina first, is an instrument cluster with a specific Alpina look. Facilitated by its digital nature, the cluster changes with the driving modes. In Comfort mode, the gauges are entirely blue; the Sport modes add digital speed and selected gear information. Only the Eco Pro modeyes, it's still thereretains the original BMW design. Choosing Eco Pro feels counterintuitive in such an extremely fast vehicle, even though the European fuel-economy figures22.6 mpg in the ludicrously optimistic combined driving cyclesuggest superior efficiency. Push hard and its easy to consume fuel at twice that rate.

An obligatory stop at a gas station gave us time to admire the B7's exterior. Beyond the 750i, the B7 is fitted with 20-inch Alpina Classic wheels (21-inch pieces will be available), functional front and rear spoilers, and an impressive four-tip stainless-steel exhaust system. Only the Alpina offers the special colors Alpina Blue and Alpina Green II, as well as the set of silver or gold trim appliques that have distinguished Alpina models for almost 50 years.

In the B7s German home market, many Alpina customers skip the decals and the rest of the badging, presenting their Alpinas as nothing more exceptional than a regular BMW. The lowered stance and wheels give it away, of course, but at 205 mph it will pass by so quickly that few will ever know what the heck it was, with or without its identifiers.

Specifications >

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan



BASE PRICE: $137,995



ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection



Displacement: 268 cu in, 4395 cc

Power: 600 hp @ 6250 rpm

Torque: 590 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm



TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode



DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: 126.4 in

Length: 206.7 in

Width: 74.9 in Height: 58.7 in

Passenger volume: 115 cu ft

Cargo volume: 18 cu ft

Curb weight (C/D est): 4800 lb



PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):

Zero to 60 mph: 3.5 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 8.8 sec

Standing -mile: 11.9 sec

Top speed: 205 mph



FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):

EPA city/highway: 15/24 mpg




This week, Mazda introduced its 2017 Mazda6 midsize sedan that gets a mild refresh and a new exterior colorMachine Gray Metallic. Most of the changes relate to driving dynamics, though the new 2017 version of the Mazda 6 has more premium interior features and advanced safety systems than the 2016 model. The sporty midsize sedan had its last major update in 2015.



Mazda engineers state that the refreshed Mazda 6 is the automakers first model in North America to apply G-Vectoring Control (GVC), which engineers describe as integrated control of the engine, transmission, chassis, and body. Its the kind of engineering that Mazda says gives drivers the sense of horse and rider as one. This translates to more responsive steering, and finer-tuned control for drivers who like to feel the road, Mazda says.





2017 Mazda 6 photo

Under the cars sheetmetal, Mazda also adds more advanced safety features. A new camera detects pedestrians as well as cars or large objects. Collision warning and intelligent or automatic emergency braking are also included in the available Mazda i-Activesense group of driver-assistance features.



Inside the 2017 Mazda 6 there is a new steering wheel that was first used on the 2016 CX-9 crossover SUV and now includes a heating control function. The monochrome information display has been updated with a full-color 4.6-in.TFT screen. A head-up display is adjustable and now features a full-color readout.



A quiet cabin was a focus for 2017, Mazda says. Noise levels are reduced in the new Mazda sedan, with thicker front-door glass and improved seals and weather stripping, plus the automaker says it has added more noise-baffling material in the cars headliner.



Whats also nice is that Mazda is introducing for 2017 a new Mazda 6 Grand Touring Premium trim level that offers a choice of interiorsblack or almond nappa leather seats piped and stitched in titanium gray with bright metallic finished trim throughout the cabin. A black headliner, heated steering wheel, and heated rear outboard seats are also included as are available safety systems including regenerative braking.



The 2017 Mazda 6 arrives in dealer showrooms in September, at which time pricing will be revealed.



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Mazda introduced its 2017 Mazda6 midsize sedan that gets a mild refresh and a new exterior color. Most of the changes relate to driving dynamics, though the new 2017 version of the Mazda 6 has more premium interior features and advanced safety systems than the 2016 model.

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A man climbed the Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan for over two hours using suction cups. He was finally stopped and pulled inside the tower by the police.

Officers from the NYPD embrace a man to stop him from climbing the outside of Trump Tower; Photo: Reuters

By Reuters: A man scaled the Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday for more than two hours using what looked like suction cups and a climbing harness.

He was pulled inside through a window by police who had tried to coax him into the building throughout the escapade.

The 58-story tower on Fifth Avenue is headquarters for the election campaign of Donald Trump, the US Republican presidential nominee.



HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED: As the man, who wore a backpack, climbed the tower's glass exterior police removed large window panels above him and several officers, some wearing helmets, stood at the windows. The climber shifted his route several times in what appeared to be an attempt to get around the police. Police had closed several streets near the building in one of the city's busiest areas. They also put an inflatable landing pad on East 56th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues. The New York City Police Department said on Twitter that its special operations division and emergency crews had been sent to the building. Reports of the climber first surfaced on Twitter and social media around 4 pm (2000 GMT). Since then, police have appeared to try to coax him inside, first by throwing a rope in his direction and then by opening a large grate directly above him. In a video that was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, a man discusses climbing the tower in a message addressed to Trump. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt and long hair was over his eyes. He referred to himself as an "independent researcher" seeking a private meeting with Trump to discuss an unspecified matter. "The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," he said in the video and then encouraged people to vote for Trump.

Photo: AP

Photo: AP

Photo: AP

Crowd looking at the man. Photo: AP

Photo: AP

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Also read:

Donald Trump leaves everyone 'open-mouthed', hints at Hillary Clinton's assassination by gun-rights supporters

Did Donald Trump marry an 'illegal' immigrant? Melania Trump in the midst of an immigration row

How Donald Trump made 100 women strip and pose naked

How the world sees America: Arrogant, overweight, powerful and free









--- ENDS ---


After a tumultuous start to 2016 and a lackluster first quarter, things are finally looking up as we approach the end of the second-quarter earnings cycle. A large chunk of companies fared better than expectations, giving investors enough to cheer for.



The healthcare sector witnessed a particularly rough time in the first half of 2016, braving a challenging business environment fraught with headwinds like unfavorable currency movements and biosimilars. This lead to the issuance of bleak outlook for 2016 by most of the companies in the sector. Nevertheless, in the second quarter, results have managed to outpace expectations so far, which will let investors heave a sigh of relief at last.



Bigwigs like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Novartis AG (NVS) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT) were able to beat expectations comfortably. In the biotech space, major players like Biogen Inc. (BIIB) topped both earnings and revenues expectations, while Gilead Sciences (GILD) beat on earnings. Amgen (AMGN) and AbbVie, Inc. (ABBV) also managed to surpass both earnings and sales expectations, and both have lifted their outlooks.



M&A and licensing deals should continue to take the center stage. In Jan 2016, Abbott Labs inked a definitive agreement to buy Alere Inc. (ALR) for $5.8 billion. Later in April, the company again entered into a definitive agreement to acquire St. Jude Medical (STJ). Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) acquired Anacor in Jun 2016, following its completion of the Sep 2015 Hospira takeover. In the biotech space, Shire plc (SHPG) acquired Baxalta to further strengthen its rare disease portfolio. Swiss major Novartis is reportedly eyeing to buy AstraZeneca (AZN), as per Reuters.



Going ahead, new product approvals, along with the label expansion of existing drugs and regular pipeline updates related to key drugs, should keep investor attention glued to the sector.



Although the Q2 earnings cycle has almost ended, it is not too late to enter the promising healthcare sector given the strong fundamentals, healthy pipelines and the drive to find innovative treatments for rare diseases. Here, we will help you to identify a few companies in the healthcare sector that have the potential to beat earnings in their upcoming releases. These stocks are well positioned in todays market environment, and could see considerable upside due to the aforementioned trends. An earnings beat should help these stocks gain investor confidence and show a favorable price movement.



How to Pick?



Given a large number of industry participants, pinpointing stocks that have the potential to beat estimates could appear to be quite daunting. But our proprietary methodology makes it fairly simple. One way to narrow down the list of choices this earnings season is by looking at stocks that have the combination of a favorable Zacks Rank  Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold)  and a positive Earnings ESP.



The Earnings ESP is our proprietary methodology for identifying stocks that have high chances of surprising in their next earnings announcement. It shows the percentage difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate.



Our research shows that for stocks with this combination, the chance of a positive earnings surprise is as high as 70%.



Below we list a few stocks that are expected to conclude the earnings season with a positive surprise:



Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. (AST) currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +42.11%. This biotechnology company is presently developing proprietary cell therapy programs that are based on its immunotherapy and pluripotent stem cell platform technologies. Immunotherapy is a key area of focus in the medical sector and Asterias pipeline looks interesting at this juncture. The companys pipeline candidates include AST-OPC1 (oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, currently in a phase I/IIa dose escalation clinical study for spinal cord injury). Another candidate, AST-VAC1 (antigen-presenting autologous dendritic cells), showed positive results for a phase II study in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The third candidate, AST-VAC2 (antigen-presenting allogeneic dendritic cells), represents a second-generation, allogeneic immunotherapy (phase I/II clinical trial of AST-VAC2 in non-small cell lung cancer slated to start in 2017). We expect investor focus on pipeline updates when the company releases second-quarter results on Aug 15.



Bio Blast Pharma Ltd. (ORPN) is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the identification, licensing, acquisition, development and commercialization of drugs for rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases. Such diseases generally have few or no treatments available, thereby underscoring the need for new ones. The company has developed and in-licensed potential treatments for a range of diseases. At present, the company has several drug candidates in clinical or preclinical development targeting neuromuscular/central nervous system (CNS) and mitochondrial diseases. Bio Blast is expected to release second-quarter results on Aug 19. With an impressive track record, a Zacks rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +22.22%, we are hopeful of an earnings beat this quarter.



Evoke Pharma, Inc. (EVOK) currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has an Earnings ESP of +4.65%. This specialty pharmaceutical company focuses on treatments for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. The company is currently developing EVK-001, a metoclopramide nasal spray, for the relief of symptoms associated with acute and recurrent gastroparesis in women with diabetes mellitus. The spray formulation is designed to provide systemic delivery of metoclopramide through nasal administration. The companys track record is mixed, having beaten estimates in three of the four quarters and missing the same once. Nevertheless, a favorable Zacks Rank and a positive ESP makes us positive about an earnings beat this quarter. Evoke is scheduled to release second-quarter results on Aug 15.



Bottom Line



Although obstacles remain in the form of biosimilars and currency headwinds, investors would do well to keep an eye on these potential outperformers given their solid Zacks Rank and positive Zacks Earnings ESP.



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Jahrah, who only has a first name as customary in Indonesia, went out to collect rubber on Sunday morning in the forest in Jambi Province on Sumatra Island, Indonesia. The search parties only found success a day later, on Monday, when they discovered a 22-foot-long (6.7-meters-long) python with a bulging stomach resting in the woods. Her family then reported her missing to the local authorities, and a search has been carried out since then, Anto, the local villages chief, said.
Ever dreamed of trekking through the mountains with nomads in Morocco or taking an expedition cruise to Antarctica? Maybe, you're itching to track gorillas and golden monkeys in Rwanda and Uganda. If you want to push your limits this year, there's no better time to challenge yourself on an exhilarating adventure. Virtuoso, a network of luxury travel advisers, recently cited comfort zone-busting trips as a top trend in its 2016 Virtuoso Luxe Report. Adventure travel remains popular, but boundary-pushing vacations are the new trend. Even better, many adventure trips require no special skills or fitness levels. Without further ado, here are six exciting adventure vacations to take in 2016.

[See: Best Trips for Adventure Junkies.]

Embark on a Small-Group Tour to the Galapagos

Want to explore the Galapagos Islands? The isolated archipelago is on many travel bucket lists, but instead of seeing the islands as part of a large group tour, join just over a dozen other travelers aboard a tall sailing ship with adventure travel outfitter Wilderness Travel. With Wilderness Travel, you can immerse yourself in the culture, history and, of course, the wildlife of the islands, on a memorable journey. Wilderness Travel offers a 10-day small ship adventure with opportunities for kayaking, short island hikes and snorkeling. During your visit, look out for red-footed boobies that make their nests on Genovesa Island as well as sea lions that splash and play just off the island coasts. And don't forget to keep you eyes peels for giant tortoises in the wild, on the beaches or at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Get Off-the-Grid with a Nomadic Family in Morocco

For a life-altering experience, trek Morocco's Atlas Mountains with a nomadic family. During your trip, you can sleep in a campsite and wake early to take part in daily chores, such as herding farm animals and baking bread and engage with locals in off-the-beaten-path spots. Immersive expedition trips offered by reputable outfitter Intrepid Travel trade tour buses and four-star hotels for rustic tents and include traveling four to five hours on foot each day with real-life nomads. For many, fleeing the creature comforts of home, such as air-conditioned bus transfers and beds outfitted with high-thread count linens, offers an easy way to break out of personal comfort zones. The Expedition Morocco adventure starts and ends in bustling Marrakech, Morocco, but before or after their trip, travelers can trek across 4,000-year-old routes in southeast Morocco, free from cell phones and television screens.

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Enjoy a Private Homestay in Cuba

Cuba may now be open to U.S. travelers, but its lack of infrastructure for tourism (e.g., few hotels, limited ground transportation) challenges travelers to escape their everyday routine and embrace enriching cultural experiences. And now the perfect time to book a trip to Cuba before it is overrun with souvenir shops and fast food restaurants. Retailer Beekman 1802 is offering a weeklong trip to Cuba where travelers can stay in bed-and-breakfasts. On the trip, travelers can enjoy traditional Cuban dinners, explore Havana and even take part in cooking and mojito-making classes. The trip also includes a "Give Back Day," where travelers engage in a day of community service.

[See: Best Adventure Vacations in the USA.]

Set Foot on Antarctica

Antarctica is more accessible than ever, even if it takes a few days to get there by boat from the southernmost tip of Argentina. But really, the journey is the adventure, so those eager to visit a largely untouched continent will want to book their spot on the expedition cruise ship, Zodiac, with operator Peregrine Adventures. The company's 11-day adventure facilitates once-in-a-lifetime experiences and wildlife sightings on a continent that many thrill-seekers will never get the chance to explore. Visit penguin rookeries, search for humpback whales and leopard seals and even cold-weather seabirds. And before you leave, do a cannonball into Antarctic waters (the polar plunge is a must) and try your hand at ice camping.

Track Endangered Gorillas in Their Natural Habitats in Africa

Considering an eco-friendly and conservation-focused trip? Volcanoes Safaris, an outfitter that offers gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda and Uganda, is leading the charge in eco-tourism. Offering four- to 12-day expeditions, the company offers safari lodging on the edge of gorilla forests, enabling guests to get their hearts racing as they track endangered mountain gorillas. You can watch gorillas in their natural habitats, many times on the property of the safari lodges while keeping eyes peeled for gorilla families. Aside from looking out for gorillas, you can track chimpanzees or golden monkeys, and learn about the areas local communities with visits to hospitals and orphanages.

[See: 6 Family-Friendly Adventure Trips You Can Afford.]

Explore the Ancient Ruins of the Middle East

For many, travel to the Middle East is an exhilarating and eye-opening experience. There are a variety of ways to safely explore ancient ruins, visit UNESCO World Heritage sites and camp in the desert. Tour operator Spice Road Travel offers guided day and weeklong tours in Jordan, as well as a limited number of day trips in Oman. And if the lost city of Petra has been on your list ever since watching the 1989 classic film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," explore Petra, as well as Little Petra and the Spice and Silk roads that lead away from the area. Take a camel ride, set off in a hot air balloon ride or enjoy a leisurely meal along the desert sand in this under-the-radar area.

Erin Gifford is a Washington, D.C.-based travel writer and founder of Kidventurous, an award-winning family travel resource. Her writing can also be found on TravelChannel.com, TravelAge West, FoxNews.com and Fodors.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @Kidventurous, connect with her onFacebook or get the latest tips and tricks for traveling families at Kidventurous.com.
Last week authorities in Italy announced that they would start fining beachgoers for prematurely snagging spots on the sand. Getting a prime location to set up your beach chair and towels can be a competitive sport on busy beaches. But its gotten so bad in parts of Italy that visitors are setting up umbrellas early in the morning, or even the night before to claim a spot.

To crack down on the phenomenon, officials launched operation Safe Sea which consists of confiscating beach gear left out overnight. According to La Repubblica, last weekend the coast guard seized 37 deck chairs and 30 umbrellas in the city of Livorno. In Ascea, 70 umbrellas and 50 deck chairs were taken into custody. As punishment, rule breakers are fined 200 euros ($222 USD) to get their stuff back.

In addition to new languages and foreign currency, travelers might want to brush up on local laws when traveling abroad. Here are some basic activities youll get fined for in other countries.

Wearing a bikini in Majorca

Majorca (also known as Mallorca) is a beautiful island off the coast of Spain and a popular destination for tourists looking to relax on the beach. A law reminds visitors not to get too comfortable, though. Men and women caught wearing bathing suits on the streets and away from a pool or beach will be fined 600 euros ($671 USD). The law, implemented in 2014, allegedly stemmed from restaurants, bars, and shop owners who were annoyed by serving underdressed patrons. So if youre headed to Majorca, make sure you have a cover-up or be prepared to pay.

Showing too much skin in Dubrovnik

Taking a cue from Majorca, Dubrovnik, in southern Croatia, has also started to fine tourists who wear their bikinis and swim trunks outside the beach. Dubrovnik features medieval architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In an interview with Agency EFE, vice mayor Zeljko Raguz said the areas historical significance deserves respect. The old center is a form of museum, in such a way that it is unacceptable for tourists to walk on the Stradun [the main street in Dubrovnik] dressed incorrectly, he said. Visitors who dont abide by the dress code will be fined 500-100 kuna ($75-$100 USD).

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Insulting Zimbabwes leader

Americans shouldnt take their freedom of speech for granted when traveling to other countries. In Zimbabwe, police regularly arrest and fine people for insulting the countrys president, Robert Mugabe. In 2012, a Swiss tourist was fined $200 for dissing Mugabe during a border crossing. Other countries, like Turkey and Brazil, also have strict laws about insulting leadership. So when youre traveling, its probably a good idea to keep public insults to yourselfat least until you get home.

Driving in Rome

Did you know that visitors need a special permit to drive on certain streets in Italy? The country has areas called Limited Traffic Zones or Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL) in Italian. The areas are marked with a sign sporting a red circle, and are typically located around historical centers as a way to reduce congestion. It gets confusing because locals can drive in these areas, so if youre following traffic, you can easily miss the sign. To make things even more confusing, each city in Italy has its own rules concerning ZTLs, and fines vary, but you can expect to pay between 50 and 100 euros ($55-$111) if you approach one of the zones. And you cant skip out on the bill: these areas are monitored by cameras so tickets are issued automatically and often show up on your rental car bill.

Kissing in the United Arab Emirates

While glamorous trips to Abu Dhabi and Dubai have become popular, the UAE it is still a predominately Muslim country with conservative rules.

The most obvious thing a tourist can get fined for is public signs of affection. This means no kissing, holding hands or hugging where others can see you. If caught in a compromising situation, a fine might be the least of your problems. One couple was sentenced to 12 months in jail for kissing on the beach in 2013.

Travelers often like to relax with a drink during vacation, but it is illegal for Muslims to consume alcohol, and you wont find it around the UAE. Tourists are permitted to drink alcohol in certain places, like their hotel; but if youre caught drinking in public, be prepared to pay a fine up to 1,000 UAE dirham ($272).

For the record, visitors can also get fined for taking photos of government buildings and military installations, taking photos of women or people without their permission, and publicly eating or drinking during Ramadan.

Brittany Jones-Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Finance.

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You already know that a good LinkedIn profile can be an essential tool to showcase your work experience and skills, but an increasing number of mobile apps could complement the professional networking site and help you find a job, a mentor or networking opportunities in your field.

For job hunters, the application process has changed so rapidly in recent years that the paperwork used for generations may soon be finding its way to a museum. Recent research shows that an increasing number of us prefer to browse and apply to job listings on our smartphones, with Pew Research reporting that just over half of American millennials use a smartphone as part of their job search.

In many cases, the mobile job hunt and networking experience is now focused on using your profile and location data to match with potential connections. Just as GPS-based dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble rely on location-based matching technology, apps are now using that technology for job searches, allowing employers and candidates to connect in a quicker, more casual way than ever before. Bumble has even announced that it will add a job-matching and professional networking feature to its dating app.

The eight apps below could give you a job-hunting and career-building edge.

Related: How Networking Pays: Not Just a Job, but More Money, Too

For Job Seekers

Jobr

(available on Apple App Store and Google Play)

Founded two years ago, Jobr was one of the first apps that used Tinder-like swiping to let job hunters express interest in a position. You can set up a profile, fill out an online resume and see if you match with employers. The app, which was acquired by jobs listing site Monster Worldwide in June, features listings that span a range of professional fields. If you know of someone who would be a good fit for a job, you can refer other members to job postings. Employers are able to view your name and profile once you apply. Job-seekers are also able to chat directly with Jobr staff to get advice through its Career Concierge feature. The company claims that since the app was founded two years ago, job seekers have swiped over 100 million times, though it doesnt say how many jobs it has filled.

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Switch

(available on the Apple App Store and Google Play)

Switch was created for people with jobs who are looking for their next opportunity in mind, says CEO Yarden Tadmor, who founded the company in 2014. Like Jobr, once youve filled out a profile, the apps algorithms send you job recommendations based on the details provided. If you express interest in a job and an employer wants to talk to you, the app lets you open up a conversation through email or chat. A potential employer wont know who you are unless there is a match, and the app automatically blocks your current employer from viewing your profile. The apps target markets are currently New York City and San Francisco, and the jobs posted lean toward the tech sector. Recruiters include NBC Universal, ebay, Crowdtap and Apester. The most popular postings include ads for software developers, product and user experience managers, visual and graphic designers, marketers and sales/account managers.

Related: The 6 Fastest-Growing Jobs That Dont Require a College Degree

Indeed

(available on the Apple App Store and Google Play)

Indeed.com has long been one of the worlds busiest job sites, with 16 million jobs posted and 70 million resumes uploaded. Its app allows users to take advantage of millions of listings from online job boards and company websites. It has a GPS-based capability to find jobs near you, search capability by job title, company and location, and seekers can find full-time, part-time, contract, freelance and internship job postings. Users are able to apply to jobs with one click, and job seekers have access to company reviews and salary information. Indeed has also been active in trying to get more offline local job postings on its site through its Job Spotter app launched last month. Job Spotter users can take pictures of local help wanted ads and upload them to the app.

Ziprecruiter

(available on the Apple App Store and Google Play)

Many high-profile companies, including PayPal, AT&T, Target, Pandora, Wells Fargo, Ford and Volkswagen, use this app. Like other job listing services, Ziprecruiter allows users to search jobs based on location and keywords, and provides users with curated job suggestions. Users can also decide to opt into a resume database for employers proactively seeking candidates. Job seekers can apply to jobs with a click, and Ziprecruiter provides updates on application progress, including when the employer views the resume. High-skilled jobs including nursing and IT are well represented.

Related: The Job Market Is On Fire, but Can It Stay This Hot?

Snagajob

(available on Apple App Store and Google Play)

Snagajob lets users apply for hourly jobs across the country with large companies such as Taco Bell, Papa Johns, Time Warner Cable and Macys. The website has been around since 2000, but the app has caught on as a way for service-industry employers to quickly recruit workers.

Glassdoor

(available on Apple App Store and Google Play)

Glassdoor has long been a go-to site for researching prospective employers by reading employee-generated company reviews, salary and benefits information and interview questions. Its where to find the scoop on what its like to work at a company, explains spokesman Scott Dobroski. The app combines this research function with job postings, along with the ability to apply with one click. Dobrowski recommends reading as many reviews as possible to get a balanced perspective on an employer. Glassdoor works with over 4,000 recruiters, 39 percent of which are Fortune 500 companies.

Related: Fast Food Is Booming and Teens Are Getting the Jobs

For Networking

Shapr

(available on the Apple App Store and Google Play)

While Jobr and Switch offer you a tailored job search based on your profile, Shapr uses your profile information to suggest professional contacts. If theres a mutual match, the app notifies you and you can chat within the app and set up an in-person meeting. And using Shapr doesnt have to be a chore. Were taking an approach that emphasizes checking in each day for just a few minutes and swiping through a few profiles, rather than spending hours browsing endless lists at one point and then never coming back, reads the apps FAQ.

Related: The Ugly Truth Behind Last Weeks Big Jobs Numbers

Lets Lunch

(available on the Apple App Store)

The app uses your profile and your calendar availability to suggest contacts or mentors who are nearby and have similar professional interests. It also has the capability to set up last-minute meetings. And dont worry about etiquette questions: Each person pays for his or her own lunch. The service is currently available in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and New York, as well as in the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy and New Zealand. Since the app was launched five years ago, founder Syed Shuttari says, it has signed on 100,000 users who have set up over 90,000 lunches.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Southeast Asian nations agreed to a roadmap on Thursday to combat acrid haze from Indonesian fires that cloaks vast swathes of the region every year, but the move was greeted by activists with scepticism.

Further doubts were raised about the agreement with the Indonesian environment minister skipping the one-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur attended by environment ministers from the the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member regional bloc.

Malaysia's environment minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said to AFP that under the roadmap ASEAN members would need to take "measures and action" to fight forest fires and prevent the use of fire to clear jungles.

"But one of the challenges is that small land owners in Indonesia are allowed to use fire to clear land and so, Indonesian authorities have to negotiate with them to stop the practise," he added.

The ambitious roadmap ultimately aims to achieve a haze-free ASEAN by 2020. However, details of the roadmap remain scant and activists were doubtful the summit will result in progress.

"Indonesia, as usual is not willing to cooperate," said prominent Malaysian environmental activist Gurmit Singh, referring to the absence of the Indonesian minister.

"The haze issue in Indonesia is fuelled by corruption amid lack of enforcement against the culprits. As usual, nothing tangible comes out of ASEAN meetings."

An Indonesian official who attended the summit said the Indonesian environment minister could not attend due to an important domestic political meeting.

The ministry in Jakarta declined comment to AFP.

Last year's haze outbreak was among the worst in memory, shrouding Malaysia, Singapore, and parts of Thailand in acrid smoke as an El Nino weather phenomenon created tinder-dry conditions.

The blazes and resulting smog forced school closures and flight cancellations in the region, with thousands falling ill with respiratory problems as pollution levels hit hazardous levels.

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"Looking at the Indonesian ministers absence, it gives a clear signal that things are not going smoothly," said Andrew Sebastian, CEO and co-founder of Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia.

"Indonesian forest fires are the biggest problem. We need to take clear and decisive action," he added.

Indonesian forest fires are an annual dry-season problem, started illegally to quickly and cheaply clear land for cultivation -- particularly for palm oil and pulpwood.
Corey Ferengul Undertone

Corey Ferengul, the CEO of New York City-based ad tech firm Undertone, has left the company eight months after it was acquired by publicly-listed Israeli marketing software company Perion for $180 million.

The news was revealed during Perion's second quarter earnings call (full transcript here).

Perion CEO Josef Mandelbaum explained on the call that the company has been moving to centralize Undertone's corporate functions  including HR, finance, legal, and parts of R&D  a process that resulted in Ferengul's departure.

The day-to-day management of Undertone  which focuses on the creative, media, and tech for big-spending advertisers to pay for video and other interactive ads across screens  now rests with its existing senior management team.

Mandelbaum added: "I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Corey for those years of service and wish him well in his future endeavors. We believe we are strategically well positioned and have the team and solutions to achieve more robust growth and I'll be pushing that forward in the coming quarters. To drive accelerated growth, we are focusing on three main areas: leveraging our internal assets for the benefit of our customers; expanding our existing partnerships and creating new ones; and enhancing our unique programmatic capabilities."

Ferengul joined Undertone in 2013 and became CEO in 2014. Previously he was EVP of product management and strategy at Rovi.

Business Insider understands he is now assessing other opportunities, although he does not yet have a job to go to.

Both Perion and Ferengul declined to comment further.

Perion reported a 61% year-on-year lift in revenue to $78 million in the three months to June 30. Net income fell 93% to $585,000 in the period.

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Party workers are being asked to go on a door-to-door campaign and now the party leaders will listen to the public grievances on roads.

By Siraj Qureshi: With the 2017 UP Assembly elections coming close, the Congress has begun working on its new electoral policy. Party workers are being asked to go on a door-to-door campaign and now the party leaders will listen to the public grievances on roads.

Talking to India Today, UP Congress president and MP Raj Babbar said that the Congress leaders and workers will have to say goodbye to their relaxed state of mind and gear up for extensive campaigning all over the state. The party high command has given clear guidelines in this direction and inactive leaders will be shown the door, with only those leaders moving ahead with the party who are active in the current campaign.

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He said it is the new electoral policy that the Congress should have a reach from cities to villages to the smallest of settlements in the state and each party workers should be seen engaged in solving the grievances of the people.

Reacting to PM Narendra Modi's remarks on cow slaughter, Babbar said, "With the UP Assembly electiond inching closer, we are seeing a new transformation in Modi who is alienating even the Hindu outfits on cow slaughter when he used to be on the forefront of a party that fanned the issue to such an extent that it cost Mohammad Akhlaq his life."

Babbar said, "Modi may have pointed out the anti-social elements who are active in the name of Hindu outfits, but didn't say who will take actiona against them. Such anti-social elements are not just in small Hindu outfits, but even in the BJP and are fully active at present."

He challenged other parties to come close to the Congress's tally in the upcoming Assembly elections and said that the people now know the reality of all the other political parties in the state and are ready to embrace the rock-steady rule offered by the Congress.



He said, "People have now realised that Modi is merely a dream-merchant and none of his promises ever materialise in the real world. The massive support received by the Congress in its Varanasi rally is a proof of that." He said Agra had a minister in the Union cabinet for almost two years but the minister, who had an HRD portfolio could not even improve the state of Agra's university, whereas he (Babbar) had countless accomplishments to talk about during his tenure as an opposition MP from Agra, including the shifting of North-Central Railway Division to Agra, from Jhansi and bringing LNG pipelines of GAIL to Agra and Firozabad.

Read more: Congress will return to power in 2017 in UP, says Raj Babbar

--- ENDS ---
nBev utilizing own DSD network and account relationships to facilitate distribution expansion

First ambient distribution of a Kombucha brand, leveraging Bucha's proprietary production process facilitating ambient shipping without product degradation of live probiotics

DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2016 / New Age Beverages Corporation (NBEV) the Colorado-based owner of the XingTea, XingEnergy, Aspen Pure, and the Bucha Live Kombucha brands today announced that it has expanded its Bucha Live Kombucha brand through the New Age Beverage distribution system in Colorado and gained more than 200 new points of distribution in the first 30 days since the combination was announced on June 30th.

New Age Beverages Corporation was formed on June 30th, 2016 when Bucha, Inc. acquired the assets and XingTea, AspenPure, and New Age Beverages LLC. One of the major planned benefits of the acquisition was a range of cost and revenue synergies totaling more than $7.5 million. In cost synergies the group is targeting cost of goods sold, shipping, operating expense and other savings. In revenue synergies, the Company is looking to leverage its existing customer relationships, and utilize existing distribution relationships with its own DSD operations and its network of DSD providers across the United States.

nBev has now gained more than 200 outlets in just Colorado alone in the past few weeks, including multiple locations in the Denver Airport, including major outlets like the Vertical Mile and Jamba Juice. The group has also begun penetration of the convenience and gas channel including outlets such as Shell, Conoco, Amoco and others, and has penetrated alternative channels including Hilton Hotels and major outlets including Castle Rock and Littleton Hospitals.

Josh Hillegass, Vice President of the New Age Beverage Operations in Colorado commented, "Talking about synergies and delivering them are two different things. There is a big difference between plans and execution, and I am very pleased that our team is executing. We service more than 4,500 outlets in the Colorado market alone, are just getting started, and the responsiveness from customers and sell through on Bucha has been excellent. It is great to have a new brand in our portfolio, that we own, that consumers love, and provide excellent margins for both retailers and distributors."

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About New Age Beverage Corporation

New Age Beverage Corporation is a Colorado-based, healthy functional beverage company originally founded in 2003 and re-created via the combination of XingTea, Aspen Pure Artesian Water, Bucha Live Kombucha, and New Age Beverages in June 2016. The Company trades under the newly issued symbol NBEV (formerly ABRW) on the OTC exchange. The Company competes in the fast growing healthy functional beverage segments including Ready to Drink (RTD) Tea, Kombucha, Energy Drinks and Functional Waters with the Brands XingTea, Bucha Live Kombucha, XingEnergy, and Aspen Pure. The brands are sold in 46 states within the US and in more than 10 countries internationally across all channels via direct and store door distribution systems. The company operates the websites www.mybucha.com, www.xingtea.com, www.aspenpure.com.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are any statement reflecting management's current expectations regarding future results of operations, economic performance, financial condition and achievements of the Company including statements regarding New Age Beverage's expectation to see continued growth. The forward-looking statements are based on the assumption that operating performance and results will continue in line with historical results. Management believes these assumptions to be reasonable but there is no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. New Age Beverage Corporation competes in a rapidly growing and transforming industry, and other factors disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission might affect the Company's operations. Unless required by applicable law, nBEV undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

For investor inquiries about New Age Beverage Corporation please contact:

Chuck Ence

cence@newagebev.us

Websites:

www.mybucha.com

www.xingtea.com

www.aspenpure.com

SOURCE: New Age Beverage Corporation
Alan Walker, an 18-year-old British-Norwegian EDM producer, continues his reign at the top of the Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists weekly chart (dated Aug. 20) with "Sing Me to Sleep," on the strength of a new remix of the song by Hot 100 Fest performer Marshmello. The song's staying power has been immense, remaining at the top spot for its second straight week and eighth overall -- extending its record for the longest run at No. 1 in the two-year history of the chart.

After debuting at No. 1 on the chart dated June 18 and retaining that spot for six weeks, the song spent two weeks at No. 2 before returning to the top spot the previous week (Aug. 13).

Marshmello Makes a Dark Lullaby of Alan Walker's 'Sing Me to Sleep': Exclusive

Additionally, the song peaked at No. 18 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated July 2) and at No. 10 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart (dated June 25). Another single, "Faded," topped the EDM charts in multiple European countries, and reached No. 7 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs earlier this summer while becoming Walker's first Hot 100 entry, debuting at No. 91 on the April 30-dated chart and peaking at No. 80 (chart dated June 11).

As perhaps a sort-of victory lap, Walker released the music video for "Sing Me to Sleep (Marshmello Remix)" on Aug. 8.

Walker, who began producing music at age 14, signed with Sony Music last year.
11 Aug - It was revealed that love team Alden Richards and Mainde Mendoza are not only in Morocco for a fashion shoot, but also to film a documentary with famed producer, Michael Carandang.



As reported on GMA Network, the news was revealed by Carandang himself, who posted a photo of Mendoza at the airport, saying, "The eagle has landed. Met [Maine Mendoza] for the first time and now I understand why millions of fans love her."



"Looking forward to directing a documentary for her and Alden. Watch it on [TV100PH] app!" he added.



TV100PH is a premiere channel free streaming app that offers a selection of fashion, home, travel and lifestyle television shows produced by One Mega Group, which also publishes Mega Magazine  the same magazine that organises the fashion shoot in Morocco the onscreen partners are currently involved in.



Although no information was given as to what the documentary would be about, it is speculated that it will revolve around the fashion shoot itself.



Mega Magazine has also shared several photos of Richards and Mendoza in Casablanca, as well as various interesting architectures around the location. They also revealed that the two stars will be shooting in two different cities.



(Photo source: instagram.com/aldenrichards02)
* Alibaba's Tsai says no update on SEC probe

* Revenue up 59 pct y-y, fastest growth since before IPO

* Mobile monetisation higher than non-mobile for first time (Adds Breakingviews link)

By Rishika Sadam and Paul Carsten

BENGALURU/BEIJING, Aug 11 (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd posted its best revenue growth since before the e-commerce titan's listing in late 2014, lifting its shares to their highest level in a year.

But Alibaba was silent on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into its accounting practices, which have long been the subject of criticism.

In the three months to June 30, Alibaba also made more money from mobile shopping than from PCs for the first time, helping to send its shares up by more than 5 percent to $92.10 in New York, its highest level in more than a year.

"We never had any doubt that we would be able to deliver increasing monetisation of our users," Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai told a post-earnings conference call.

"This is a decoupling of revenue from GMV (gross merchandise volume)," he said, referring to a measure of the total value of goods transacted on Alibaba's online shopping platforms.

Despite GMV growth remaining low compared to previous years, rising 24 percent to 837 billion yuan, Alibaba is squeezing more money out of its e-commerce business, chiefly from advertising.

That translated to quarterly revenues of 32.15 billion yuan ($4.84 billion), a 59 percent leap from the previous year and the highest growth rate since late 2013.

Analysts had on average had expected revenue of 30.17 billion yuan, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu said the ratio of money Alibaba made from e-commerce transactions was higher for mobile users than non-mobile users for the first time, something investors had expressed scepticism about before its IPO.

Net income attributable to shareholders fell to 7.14 billion yuan, or 2.94 yuan per share, from 30.82 billion yuan, or 11.92 yuan per share, in the year-earlier quarter, when Alibaba deconsolidated its film business.

Story continues

However, China's flagging economic growth could threaten Alibaba, said Wedbush Securities' Gil Luria.

"If there is a slowdown in the Chinese economy. ... I don't believe Alibaba is going to escape that," Luria said.

BRANCHING OUT

While China e-commerce was strong for Alibaba in its first quarter, the company is also investing in other businesses including cloud computing arm Aliyun, driverless vehicles and online shopping in Southeast Asia. It hopes these can become an eventual source of growth as Alibaba faces the prospect of a saturated online retail market in China.

Although some are showing promise - Aliyun sales rose 156 percent, though only contributed 4 percent of total revenue - most are still loss-making.

Tsai also took aim at those who had criticised Alibaba for its opaque accounting practices, noting that the company had started to report its revenues by business segments and provide more detail about its earnings.

"We have worked hard to make it easy to understand Alibaba," he said. "We have provided you with more detailed info about our company so that you can better analyse our business."

However, Alibaba said in June it would in the future only release GMV figures, a measure it had previously strongly emphasized, on an annual basis.

This followed the disclosure that the SEC was probing Alibaba's accounting practices, related party transactions and data from its annual Singles' Day shopping festival, which produces figures the firm touts as a yardstick for its scale and success.

Asked about the investigation on Bloomberg Television, Tsai said there were no updates.

($1 = 6.6390 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Editing by Ted Kerr and Alexander Smith)
By Rishika Sadam and Paul Carsten

BENGALURU/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) posted its best revenue growth since before the e-commerce titan's listing in late 2014, lifting its shares to their highest level in a year.

But Alibaba was silent on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into its accounting practices, which have long been the subject of criticism.

In the three months to June 30, Alibaba also made more money from mobile shopping than from PCs for the first time, helping to send its shares up by more than 5 percent to $92.10 in New York, its highest level in more than a year.

"We never had any doubt that we would be able to deliver increasing monetization of our users," Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai told a post-earnings conference call.

"This is a decoupling of revenue from GMV (gross merchandise volume)," he said, referring to a measure of the total value of goods transacted on Alibaba's online shopping platforms.

Despite GMV growth remaining low compared to previous years, rising 24 percent to 837 billion yuan, Alibaba is squeezing more money out of its e-commerce business, chiefly from advertising.

That translated to quarterly revenues of 32.15 billion yuan ($4.84 billion), a 59 percent leap from the previous year and the highest growth rate since late 2013.

Analysts had on average had expected revenue of 30.17 billion yuan, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu said the ratio of money Alibaba made from e-commerce transactions was higher for mobile users than non-mobile users for the first time, something investors had expressed scepticism about before its IPO.

Net income attributable to shareholders fell to 7.14 billion yuan, or 2.94 yuan per share, from 30.82 billion yuan, or 11.92 yuan per share, in the year-earlier quarter, when Alibaba deconsolidated its film business.

However, China's flagging economic growth could threaten Alibaba, said Wedbush Securities' Gil Luria.

Story continues

"If there is a slowdown in the Chinese economy. ... I don't believe Alibaba is going to escape that," Luria said.

BRANCHING OUT

While China e-commerce was strong for Alibaba in its first quarter, the company is also investing in other businesses including cloud computing arm Aliyun, driverless vehicles and online shopping in Southeast Asia. It hopes these can become an eventual source of growth as Alibaba faces the prospect of a saturated online retail market in China.

Although some are showing promise - Aliyun sales rose 156 percent, though only contributed 4 percent of total revenue - most are still loss-making.

Tsai also took aim at those who had criticized Alibaba for its opaque accounting practices, noting that the company had started to report its revenues by business segments and provide more detail about its earnings.

"We have worked hard to make it easy to understand Alibaba," he said. "We have provided you with more detailed info about our company so that you can better analyze our business."

However, Alibaba said in June it would in the future only release GMV figures, a measure it had previously strongly emphasized, on an annual basis.

This followed the disclosure that the SEC was probing Alibaba's accounting practices, related party transactions and data from its annual Singles' Day shopping festival, which produces figures the firm touts as a yardstick for its scale and success.

Asked about the investigation on Bloomberg Television, Tsai said there were no updates.

(Editing by Ted Kerr and Alexander Smith)
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f17371%2f7d17fdc64c354e0caca9da9d76ff7b28

You'll never guess what this guy wrote as his thesis headline.

In an effort to make his project more interesting, University of Oslo student Ola modeled his thesis title after some of the clickbaitiest clickbait he's seen on the internet.

SEE ALSO: Mom finds the perfect way to ensure her internet-obsessed kids do their chores

Image: procrastination-day/reddit

"The university told me to make my thesis title as compelling as possible. So I did," Ola captioned the image of his cover page. The title and subtitle read:

Hopefully Ola got a good grade on his thesis  or at least a lot of clicks.

BONUS: It's a french fry party!
Another reader with another amazing view adds another state to the series:

I see on your site that you dont have a photo taken in Nevada. This is Pyramid Lake, about 30 miles north of Reno. The lake is out in the middle of the desert. I took the photo from a 1955 Cessna 180. (Sorry about the reflections in the window.)

Coincidentally Im headed out to that part of the Nevada desert in less than a month, to attend Burning Man for the first time. If you happen to have a good aerial photo above Black Rock City, please send it our way.

Another funny coincidence: The two photos of Pyramid Lake available in the Atlantic archives are this one from 1867 and the one below, which was taken by an Atlantic reader and posted by the friend Im going to Burning Man with, in a blog post about the spirituality of shrooms.

Heres a bit more about the lake:

Pyramid Lake is fed by the Truckee River, which is mostly the outflow from Lake Tahoe. The Truckee River enters Pyramid Lake at its southern end. Pyramid Lake has no outlet, with water leaving only by evaporation, or sub-surface seepage (an endorheic lake). The lake has about 10% of the area of the Great Salt Lake, but it has about 25% more volume. The salinity is approximately 1/6 that of sea water.  Pyramid Lake was used as a stand-in for the Sea of Galilee in the 1965 biblical film, The Greatest Story Ever Told. Also, in 1961, part of The Misfits was filmed nearby.

If youre one of the misfits whos attended Burning Man and have any good anecdotes or advice to share, please drop me a note.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
The victim told police the children cursed him and fired, then later returned and did it again.

By AP: A Florida woman is facing charges after police say she allowed her three sons to shoot BBs at a homeless man.

News outlets report 36-year-old Amina El-Zayat of DeLand was arrested Sunday on aggravated battery, contributing to the delinquency of minors and child neglect charges.

A DeLand police report says El-Zayat was driving when her children shot BBs from two airsoft rifles at the man who was picking through garbage at a gas station.

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Also read: On 50th anniversary of America's deadliest mass shooting, Texas allows guns on campus



The victim told police the children cursed him and fired, then later returned and did it again.

Police found the airsoft rifles and BB pellets in El-Zayat's vehicle. She told police she's been having trouble with transients rummaging through the trash at a nearby car wash her family owns. It's unclear if she has an attorney.

Also read: Three-year-old practicing gun-attack lockdown drill at home reveals sad reality of America



--- ENDS ---
Amy Schumer says she too has endured hate speech from Twitter users, much like what Leslie Jones spoke out against last month.

On an episode of Inside Amy Schumer last season, the show had a satirical sketch that introduced a new Twitter shortcut that would be a button called "I'm going to rape and kill you button." Schumer tells the Los Angeles Times that the idea came in reaction to all the social media trolls on the web.

WATCH: Chrissy Teigen Implores Twitter to Help Leslie Jones After She's Brought to Tears Over Racist Tweets

The Trainwreck star admits that negative comments used to affect her, but she's grown some thick skin over the years. "In terms of the Internet, I feel pretty strong. I haven't read a comment for a long time that has made me wince in any way. It's more real-life stuff," she says. "But I remember how it feels. It feels like your new reality, like your biggest fear has come true. And then once they've come true, you have nothing to be scared of."

Schumer says she sympathizes with Jones, who was bombarded with racist, vile tweets upon starring in the summer blockbuster, Ghostbusters. "I feel like I'm in a personal hell. I didn't do anything to deserve this," Jones tweeted after retweeting some of the horrid messages aimed at her. "It's just too much. It shouldn't be like this. So hurt right now."

WATCH: Leslie Jones Defends Her Ghostbusters Character After Racial Controversy Arises Over New Trailer

"Leslie is a friend and we talked about it. It was just so much hate at once. And you feel like it's never-ending and it is the truth," Schumer says. "She was not used to it. I've had 10 years of people sending a lot of vitriol and it's been spread out. For her, it hit like a ton of bricks. I told her, 'You're going to come back and be like, ' you.' And it's going to make you stronger.'"

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The 35-year-old star commends her friend for helping make a change on social media. "It took Leslie Jones to get [Twitter] to realize that people are banding together in a violent and dangerous way," Schumer explains. "And, you know, we can uphold our First Amendment and still protect people in a way that isn't careless. I was really happy to see that."

EXCLUSIVE: Dan Aykroyd Says the Original Ghostbusters Cast 'Respect the Talent' of the All-Female Revival Stars

While Jones jetted off to cover the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Schumer is busy promoting her new book, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo. She also spoke to The New York Times about her favorite reads, but was not too keen on the wildly popular erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey.

"I only made it three pages in. That feels mean to write, but I truly felt so alone," Schumer admits. "Everyone loved that book, and I couldn't wait to get on the ride with them, but it was unreadable to me. I loved the movie, though, and have watched it several times."

EXCLUSIVE: Amy Schumer Spills Details on Her Humorous, Yet 'Heavy' Memoir

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Los Angeles (AFP) - Filmmaker Roma Downey accepted a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame Thursday, declaring it a great day for the Irish and thanking America for the opportunities it offered immigrants like her.

The devoutly religious actress-turned- producer, best known for her long-running role as Monica the angel on CBS's "Touched by an Angel," was dedicated a spot on the famous thoroughfare next to husband Mark Burnett's star.

"This is a great day, a great day for the Irish. Twenty-five years ago I came to America from Ireland looking for a dream. I came with a heart full of hope. The American dream meant to me freedom and opportunity," she said.

"And like many immigrants before me this great country has offered me the opportunity to make my dreams come true."

The 56-year-old is preparing for the release next week of period epic "Ben-Hur," which she and Burnett are executive producing. Cast members including Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell and Rodrigo Santoro turned up to support her.

"This is an important film, and I hope that you'll all go and see it. Because not only is it a great action adventure movie, it is a film that holds deep in its heart a message of peace, justice, reconciliation and forgiveness," she said.

"And if there was ever a time more in our world that we needed this message, it's now, more than ever."

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Downey has picked up multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for "Touched by an Angel," which ran from 1994-2003 and co-starred her husband, also 56.

She first became known to American audiences for her portrayal of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 1991 NBC miniseries "A Woman Named Jackie."

A devout Catholic with a master's degree in spiritual psychology, she received a producing Emmy in 2013 for outstanding miniseries or movie for History's "The Bible," in which she also portrayed Jesus' mother Mary.

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Downey's other producing credits include the miniseries "A.D. The Bible Continues" and "The Dovekeepers."

She is president of LightWorkers Media, the faith and family division of MGM.

In a speech peppered with references to her faith, she recalled starting out as a coat check girl in a plush restaurant on the Upper West Side of New York.

It was there that she met her first celebrity, entertainer and television host Regis Philbin, who gave her a $20 tip.

Years later, and by then pulling in up to 20 million viewers a week on "Touched by an Angel," Downey embarrassed the star by bringing up the encounter on "The Regis Philbin Show."

"Only in America could that happen, that one year you're checking coats and the next minute you're starring on television," she said as she accepted her star.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2016 / Stans Energy Corp. ("Stans" or the "Company") announces that an appeal has been filed in the matter of Belokon et. al v. the Kyrgyz Republic (the "Republic"), of which Stans was a joint applicant.

As announced on July 12, 2016, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice had ruled that Centerra Gold (TSX:CG) shares (the "Shares") are the property of Kyrgyzaltyn JSC ("Kyrgyzaltyn") not the Republic.

At issue was whether the Republic was in fact the beneficial owner of the Shares through Kyrgyzaltyn, the mining company 100% owned by the Republic. The shares are currently being pursued as security in multiple cases of damages awarded by various International Arbitration Tribunals against the Republic.

Stans is not proceeding as an appellant in this appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Instead, Stans is focusing on its upcoming UNCITRAL proceedings, which will next be held on September 23, 2016 in Paris, France.

Stans will reassess the situation, once the Ontario Court of Appeal issues a ruling. No date has been set for this appeal hearing.

About Stans Energy

Stans Energy Corp. is a resource development company focused on advancing rare earth and specialty metals properties focusing on areas of Central Asia and Russia. Stans acquired, among other things, the right to mine the past producing rare earth mine, Kutessay II, in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2009 and the right to mine Beryllium at Kalesay. Steps subsequently taken by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic wrongfully to deprive the Company of those mining rights have required Stans to take the actions described above to protect the Company's rights and recover damages caused by the Republic's wrongful actions.

We seek safe harbour.

Contact Details

Rodney Irwin

Interim President & CEO

rodney@stansenergy.com

647-426-1865

David Vinokurov

VP Corporate Development

david@stansenergy.com

647-426-1865

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This document includes forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, use of proceeds from the Offering, the completion of the Offering, the continued advancement of the company's general business development, research development and the company's development of mineral exploration projects. When used in this press release , the words will, shall, "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intent", "may", "project", "plan", "should" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Although Stans Energy Corp. believes that their expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include the potential that fluctuations in the marketplace for the sale of minerals, the inability to implement corporate strategies, the ability to obtain financing and other risks disclosed in our filings made with Canadian Securities Regulators.
bering land bridge national park

Remember back in high school when you learned all those human-history basics, like the fact that we share a common ancestor with the African ape or that the first Americans reached the continent by way of a grassy strip of terrain called the Bering land bridge that emerged as the ice retreated between Russia and Alaska?

Turns out that last bit might be wrong.

According to a new study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the first people to reach the Americas most likely never even saw this route.

Instead, they took an alternative, more westward path along the Pacific coastline across lands that are now underwater.

"It definitely challenges what most people learned in high school," Mikkel Winther Pedersen, the paper's lead author and an anthropologist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, told Business Insider.

For centuries, people have considered the Bering land bridge to be the main highway that the earliest human travelers used to get to the Americas. Back in the 16th century, Spanish explorer Jose de Acosta posited that those early hikers made their way south while tracking massive herds of animals like deer and elk, whose meaty flesh would sustain them on their treacherous journey.

Here's a GIF showing how the area called Beringia emerged and disappeared over thousands of years:

The gist of this theory has remained pretty widely accepted among archaeologists, though certain parts of it  like what types of animals and plants lived in the region at the time  are still hotly debated.

One recent study, for example, suggested that while the first Americans did indeed travel throughout and even settle in Beringia, they certainly weren't eating any large game, since the landscape would have supported only small animals and perhaps elk. Still, Beringians would have had all the resources they needed to survive there, the authors of that paper argued two years ago in a post for The Conversation.

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The new study challenges that assumption, finding instead that the area simply didn't have the resources to support thousands of hungry humans  at least not until thousands of years later.

willerslev_first_americans_paper_3 skitched (1)

But there's strong evidence that humans were present in the Americas long before then. In May, a team of archaeologists uncovered a set of 14,550-year-old stone tools and butchered mastodon bones at the bottom of a Florida river  firmly placing the first Americans in those lands 1,000 earlier than scientists once thought.

So the question for the new study's researchers was this: How did these mastodon-hunting Americans get there? Did they somehow manage to eke out a route along the barren terrain of the Bering land bridge? Or did they use another route  perhaps the other ice-free pathway along what's now part of the submerged Pacific coastline?

To find out, the researchers dug ancient ice cores out of lakes in the region where ice once retreated and filled in with water, essentially forming frozen time capsules. It's a new and developing field of research called environmental DNA, or eDNA for short, that involves carefully inspecting all the genetic material hidden inside a sample of soil, sediment, or water.

"It was kind of like time travel," Pedersen said.

Trapped deep inside each ice core, the researchers found layers of sediment, each of which represented a distinct era in ecological time. They used the cores to get a glimpse of what the area looked like from roughly 15,000 years ago  when the ice retreated and the lakes began to fill with liquid water  up until about 12,600 years ago, when animals and plants began to establish themselves there.

"Putting this together we could suddenly see that, well, humans couldn't have used this corridor until 12,600," Pedersen said, "because they couldn't have walked along a thousand-kilometer stretch of land without having something to sustain them."

The finding could change history, Florida State University archaeologist Jessi Halligan, and one of the authors of the study that uncovered the butchered mastodon bones in Florida but who was not involved with this paper, told Business Insider.

"This is a really big and important study," said Halligan. "It shows these first Americans couldnt have taken this corridor  it simply wasn't viable at the time."

NOW WATCH: One of the most groundbreaking archaeological discoveries of the year was almost turned into a necklace





More From Business Insider


Arianna Huffington announced today that shes leaving her news and lifestyle focused website, The Huffington Post, to focus on a soon-to-launch health, wellness and productivity platform Thrive Global.

When I decided to create Thrive Global, I thought it would be possible to build a startup and continue as editor-in- chief of the Huffington Post, she said in a release. Today, its clear that was an illusion. As Thrive Global moved from an idea to a reality, with investors, staff, and offices, it became clear to me that I simply couldnt do justice to both companies.

She adds HuffPo exceeded my wildest expectations and she will always be here to help in every way possible as it continues to reach new heights.

AOL chief Tim Armstrong calls Huffington a visionary who built The Huffington Post into a truly transformative news platform. Hes confident that our strong editorial leadership team will maintain the exacting standards and high quality journalism of our Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom We remain committed to our mission of making The Huffington Post the most influential and innovative news company in the world.

In addition, Armstrong says he plans to partner with Huffington at Thrive Global.

In June 2015, Huffington signed a four-year contract to stay as chair, president, and editor-in-chief of the site she co-founded 11 years ago, defying then-speculation she would exit in the wake of Verizon buying The Huffington Post owner, AOL.

AOL bought the Greek-born Huffingtons namesake site in 2011 for $315M with Verizon acquiring AOL for $4.4B last year.

Last month Verizon further expanded its media holdings with an agreement to pay $4.8B for Yahoo.

Some industry watchers wondered whether Huffington would decide that her new age sensibilities  HuffPo has a nap room  would be out of place at a more conventional telecom giant.

Thrive Global says it just closed its Series A funding round, led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures. That reunites Huffington with HuffPo co-founder Ken Lerer and Erc Hippeau who was CEO when she sold to AOL.

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Other backers represent a whos who of the investment community including Blue Pool Capital, Greycroft Partners, Shari Redstones Advancit Capital, Zoe Baird, Nicholas Berggruen, Joanna Coles, Ray Dalio, Sean Parker, and NBA star Andre Iguodala.

Thrive Global says it will launch after the election and team with people who will develop strategies for improving and enhancing brain health and optimizing brain performance..

Psychologist Adam Grant says the firm wants to help employees go from burnt out to fired up.

Redstone says that in a connected world it is a continual challenge to achieve a sense of peace, balance and well-being in our personal and professional lives. Also challenging her sense of peace and balance are several bitter court battles in which shes trying to oust Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman from the media empire built by her father, Sumner Redstone.

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Arianna Huffington is leaving The Huffington Post, the digital media outlet she co-founded 11 years ago.

Huffington, who currently serves as editor-in-chief of HuffPost, plans to step down in the coming weeks to focus on her soon-to-launch health and wellness startup Thrive Global.

"It's important to know when one door closes and another opens and I felt that moment had arrived," Huffington, 66, told The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news on Thursday.

Huffington herself confirmed the news in a series of tweets posted shortly thereafter.

"I thought HuffPost would be my last act. But I've decided to step down as HuffPost's editor-in-chief to run my new venture, Thrive Global," she wrote. "To everyone at HuffPost: it's you who make HuffPost what it is. I'm filled with gratitude to all the colleagues and friends I've made here."

After sharing a press release about Thrive, which also includes her news about leaving HuffPost, Huffington said of her new company, "Thrive Global's mission is to change the way we work & live by ending the collective delusion that burnout is a necessary price for success."

Read more: Arianna Huffington Signs Four-Year Deal to Remain at Huff Post

Huffington signed a new deal in June 2015 to remain at HuffPost, part of Verizon-owned AOL, as president and editor-in-chief through 2019, but, The Journal noted, she said her contract allowed her to launch Thrive while continuing her role at the site. When she secured Thrive's Series A funding late last week, a move that also was announced on Thursday, she realized she couldn't do both and that the startup needed her "full attention," Huffington told The Journal.

Huffington has published a number of books about health and sleep issues, including Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder and The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time. Over the past year, she has spoken frequently about the dangers of getting too little sleep.

Story continues

In the Thrive press release, Huffington elaborated on how she realized she couldn't build her new company and continue as HuffPost editor-in-chief and that doing so would "have involved working around the clock, which would be a betrayal of the very principles of Thrive I've been writing and speaking about."

"Since publishing Thrive and then The Sleep Revolution, I've dreamt of taking the next big step to help transform the way we work and live. When I decided to create Thrive Global, I thought it would be possible to build a startup and continue as editor-in-chief of HuffPost. Today, it's clear that was an illusion. As Thrive Global moved from an idea to a reality, with investors, staff and offices, it became clear to me that I simply couldn't do justice to both companies," Huffington added in a statement. "Change is desperately needed if another generation is to avoid the burnout that too often comes with success today. That's why I'm filled with excitement at the prospect of devoting the rest of my life to accelerating the culture shift away from merely surviving and succeeding to thriving. ... To truly thrive means knowing when the time has come to close one chapter and start the next, and for me that time has arrived."

She continued: "I step down as editor-in-chief filled with gratitude for our amazing HuffPost team and for what we've build together, and for [AOL CEO] Tim Armstrong, who had the vision to buy HuffPost five years ago and to support from day one our global expansion. The journey of the last 11 years has exceeded my wildest expectations. I'm proud of all we've accomplished and very confident about HP's future with the strongest leadership team we've ever had and the full support of AOL and Verizon. And of course, HuffPost will always be part of me, and I'll always be here to help in every way possible as it continues to reach new heights."

Read more: Arianna Huffington Joins Uber's Board

Armstrong, in a separate statement, praised Huffington and declared that AOL and Verizon remain committed to the digital media outlet she co-founded.

"Arianna is a visionary who built The Huffington Post into a truly transformative news platform," he said. "Today, The Huffington Post is a firmly established and celebrated news source and AOL and Verizon are committed to continuing its growth and the groundbreaking work Arianna pioneered. We are confident that our strong editorial leadership team will maintain the exacting standards and high-quality journalism of our Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. The Huffington Post draws more than 178 million people worldwide on a daily basis and continues to distinguish itself with groundbreaking reporting and analysis. We remain committed to our mission of making The Huffington Post the most influential and innovative news company in the world. We are looking forward to partnering with Arianna on Thrive Global and are grateful for what she's done in creating such an iconic brand."

Thrive, which will launch after the election in November, features support from some of the same people who worked with Huffington on HuffPost. The Series A funding round was led by Lerer Hippeau Ventures.

"Kenny Lerer was my HuffPost co-founder, Eric Hippeau HuffPost's CEO at the time of the acquisition by AOL and Fred Harman, who's joining our board, our largest HuffPost investor," Huffington stated in her Thrive press release. "It's really exciting to have the HuffPost band back together and I love the fact that Thrive Global will be headquartered in the same offices where HuffPost was born in SoHo."

Read more: Huffington Post Names AOL, Spotify Veteran as New CEO

Other Thrive investors include Advancit Capital, which was co-founded by Shari Redstone, Huffington's fellow media mogul Joanna Coles, hedge funder Ray Dalio, Greycroft Partners, Sean Parker and numerous other companies and individuals.

Thrive plans to work to improve corporate and consumer well-being and productivity by reducing stress and burnout through trainings, seminars, e-courses, coaching and ongoing support based on the latest scientific findings from experts in neuroscience, psychology, productivity, sports and sleep.

Huffington, a native of Greece, co-founded HuffPost in 2005 with Lerer, Jonah Peretti and Andrew Breitbart. AOL bought Huffington Post in 2011. Verizon, in turn, bought AOL for $4.4 billion in 2015.

Read Huffington's early-morning tweets about her move below.

I thought HuffPost would be my last act. But I've decided to step down as HuffPost's editor-in-chief to run my new venture, Thrive Global.

- Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) August 11, 2016

To everyone at HuffPost: it's you who make HuffPost what it is. I'm filled with gratitude to all the colleagues and friends I've made here.

- Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) August 11, 2016

Thrive Global's mission is to change the way we work & live by ending the collective delusion that burnout is a necessary price for success.

- Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) August 11, 2016
A petition to legalize marijuana in Arizona will officially be placed on the states ballot in November.

The Arizona Secretary of State on Thursday certified a petition to legalize the drug, which was started by the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign, Fox 10 Phoenix reports.

If passed, Proposition 205 would allow people 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and consume it in private. Among other things, it also would allow adults to grow up to six marijuana plants within their residences and establish a department to oversee marijuana production and sales.

Retail marijuana sales would also be taxed 15%, according to the initiative. Additional marijuana tax revenue would be allocated to schools and education programs, including programs about the potential harms of alcohol, marijuana and other substances.

The initiative was submitted in June, and the campaign said it was told Wednesday that the measure had more than enough signatures to make it on the ballot, CBS reports.

[Fox 10 Phoenix]
One is bound to compare Arvind Kejriwal's sabbatical with that of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. The Nehru-Gandhi scion had also left for a 56-day leave to an undisclosed destination in 2015.

By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced his return from the 10-day Vipassana course in Dharamsala. In a tweet, he said, "Returning back from 10 day Vipassna course. Feeling v fresh n energetic (sic)".



Returning back from 10 day Vipassna course. Feeling v fresh n energetic Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 11, 2016



During his sabbatical, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government received a severe jolt when the Delhi High Court ruled that the national capital was a Union Territory and that the Lieutenant-General (L-G) was its administrative head.

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READ: Najeeb Jung vindicated, says Delhi govt needs to read the Constitution



Now, all eyes will be on how Kejriwal reacts to the court order. The AAP has already said it will move the Supreme Court against the high court's order.

It would also be a matter of keen observation whether Kejriwal will renounce his confrontationist attitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung and the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre or if his diatribe against them will become shriller as he returns feeling "fresh and energetic".

One is bound to compare Kejriwal's sabbatical with that of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. The Nehru-Gandhi scion had also left for a 56-day leave to an undisclosed destination in 2015.

READ: Jung with Jung: 4 reasons why Kejriwal will move Supreme Court over tussle with L-G

Rahul initially appeared to have returned with a new vigour. He was less shrill but more humorous and sarcastic. His speeches had punch. His "suit boot ki sarkar" jibe at Modi immediately after his return has become an iconic catchphrase and so has the "fair and lovely" comment, made in the context of black money.

However, with the passage of time, the Congress vice-president has lost steam and his speeches have become hackneyed. Except for Bihar, he also could not help save the Congress from defeat in all the Assembly elections which took place after his return. Does he need another sabbatical to inject some energy and freshness in his political approach?

The question is: Will Kejriwal too meet Rahul's fate?

Twitter, of course, reacted to Kejriwal's announcement in typical ruthless yet humourous fashion. Sample these tweets where the Delhi CM gets trolled:



Returning back from 10 day Vipassna course. Feeling v fresh n energetic Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 11, 2016

.@ArvindKejriwal After Doing Meditations, Now Back to Moditations !! Babu Bhaiya (@Shahrcasm) August 11, 2016

.@ArvindKejriwal welcome back. Aap nahi thhe toh Acche din almost aa gaye ?? Amit A (@Amit_smiling) August 11, 2016

.@ArvindKejriwal Even the Vipasana instructors are feeling the same upon your return :-) The-Lying-Lama ?? (@KyaUkhaadLega) August 11, 2016

The returning back of @ArvindKejriwal had some landing problems. pic.twitter.com/0FKWaKNojP Arnold's Soundness (@brakoo) August 11, 2016

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Also Read:

Why even an AAP victory in Punjab may not satisfy Arvind Kejriwal

Why Arvind Kejriwal thinks PM Modi will never make this man India's vice-president



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By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Thursday accused asylum seekers held in Pacific detention camps of falsely reporting sexual assault in order to get sent to Australia, a day after a newspaper published leaked documents detailing abuse at the Nauru immigration centre. More than 2,000 incidents, including sexual abuse, assault and attempted self-harm, were reported over two years at the Australian-funded Nauru detention centre, more than half involving children, Guardian Australia reported. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton on Thursday said asylum seekers were lying about sexual abuse and repeated comments he made earlier this year that refugee advocates were encouraging detainees to self-harm and set themselves on fire. "I have been made aware of some incidents that have reported false allegations of sexual assault, because in the end, people have paid money to people smugglers and they want to come to our country," Dutton said in an interview on Australian radio. "Some people have even gone to the extent of self-harming and people have self-immolated in an effort to get to Australia. Certainly some have made false allegations." Under its hardline immigration policy, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach Australia by boat are sent for processing to Australian-funded camps on Nauru, which holds about 500 people, and on Manus island in Papua New Guinea. They are told they will never be settled in Australia. The harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse at the camps have drawn wide criticism at home and abroad. Australia, however, has vowed there will be no change to the policy, which has been pursued by successive governments. Australia says the policy is needed to stop asylum seekers dying at sea on the dangerous boat journey from Indonesia to Australia. Hundreds of people died attempting the trip in the years before the policy was put in place. Refugee advocates said the leaked reports show the urgent need to end Australia's offshore detention policy and that asylum seekers must be given medical and psychological support. Hayley Ballinger, a child protection worker at the Nauru detention centre from 2014-15, said that it was an "absolute insult" to suggest that refugees had lied about abuse that has now been widely documented. "All of the statements speak for themselves. Certainly the clients I saw there suffered and they really suffered. And this stuff really, really did happen. We witnessed it first-hand," Ballinger told Reuters. (Reporting by Matt Siegel; Editing by Michael Perry)
Australia will not allow the electricity network in its most populous state to be sold to Chinese and Hong Kong bidders, Treasurer Scott Morrison said Thursday, citing national security concerns.

The decision came just months after the government introduced tougher rules for the sale of major Australian state-owned infrastructure to private foreign investors after concerns about a 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin to China's Landbridge Group.

Canberra also recently knocked back the sale of the country's biggest private landowner, cattle firm S. Kidman and Co., to a Chinese-led consortium, citing national interest.

China's State Grid Corp and Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings had bid for the 99-year lease of the nation's largest electricity network, Ausgrid, with the sale expected to raise more than Aus$10 billion (US$7.7 billion) for the New South Wales state government according to some estimates.

But Morrison said he told the bidders their proposals to secure a 50.4 percent stake in Ausgrid, which supplies power to more than 1.6 million homes and businesses, were "contrary to the national interest".

"Ausgrid's footprint includes critical power and communication services that Ausgrid provides," Morrison told reporters in Brisbane.

"The national security concerns are not country-specific and relate to the transaction structure and the nature of the assets.

"At this stage, the government has not identified mitigations that would appropriately address these concerns."

South Australia state's power grid is 51 percent owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings and Power Assets Holdings.

State Grid Corp also has investments in energy infrastructure in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.

But Morrison said there were national security concerns about NSW's power assets, without giving details about what the concerns were.

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Despite Canberra's decision, the Treasurer added that his government continued to welcome foreign investment, saying some Aus$160 billion in sales were approved in 2013-14.

"We will continue to actively engage with the rest of the world, because foreign investment capital is important to Australian jobs," he said.

The two bidders have one week to appeal.
Just one day after the Guardian leaked some 2,000 documents describing rampant child abuse and poor living conditions at the controversial detention center on the island of Nauru, Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton had an easy explanation for the accusations: theyre made up.

Some people have even gone to the extent of self-harming and people have self-immolated in an effort to get to Australia, and certainly some have made false allegations in an attempt to get to Australia, he told Australian 2GB radio on Thursday. He also said that the Guardian report, which reveals large-scale abuse and lack of oversight, has been reported on before.

His radio appearance was the first since Wednesdays leak, which put pressure on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls government to address the privately run detention center on the tiny island on Micronesia, just northeast of Australia, which human rights advocates have repeatedly called to be closed.

Every asylum-seeker who seeks refuge in Australia is detained and held off-shore, either on Nauru or on Papua New Guinea, while their claims are processed. The Guardian created a database of the leaked reports, which were written by staff members on Nauru and in some cases include physical descriptions of childrens wounds. Other incidents highlighted in the report include asylum-seekers attempting self-harm, and children reporting to detention center staff that they are traumatized from the experiences that landed them on Nauru to begin with, which usually included cross-ocean treks.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Australian Immigration Department pointed to the newspapers leaked testimonies as evidence that the reporting system in place is working, and that some of the claims should be brushed to the side.

Many of the incident reports reflect unconfirmed allegations or uncorroborated statements and claims  they are not statements of proven fact, the statement said. The Australian government continues to support the Nauruan government to provide for the health, welfare and safety of all transferees and refugees in Nauru.

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Humanitarian advocates disagree. Both UNICEF and the U.N.s top human rights agency, UNHCR, have called for all refugees to be removed from the offshore detention centers. And on Wednesday, Gillian Triggs, president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, called for an Australian royal commission to investigate the allegations if there are matters in which Australia is internationally responsible.

Still, Dutton insisted Thursday that the allegations reported to staff professionals on the island need to be taken with a grain of salt.

I wont tolerate any sexual abuse whatsoever, he said. But I have been made aware of some incidents that have been reported, false allegations of sexual assault, because in the end people have paid money to people smugglers and they want to come to our country.

Photo credit: Luis Ascui/Getty Images
The Hindi-dubbed version of Deepika Padukone's xXx Return of Xander Cage will see Sharad Kelkar lending his voice to Vin Diesel.

By India Today Web Desk: xXx Return of Xander Cage has been in the news ever since Deepika Padukone's name got attached to it. The film, starring Vin Diesel in the lead role, is Deepika's first Hollywood film.

WATCH: Deepika Padukone in Vin Diesel's arms in xXx new video

WATCH: Deepika Padukone, Vin Diesel in the trailer of xXx Return of Xander Cage

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For the Hindi version of xXx Return of Xander Cage, TV actor Sharad Kelkar is lending his voice to Vin Diesel.

Not many would know that the popular television actor is also an established dubbing artist.

If reports are to be believed, the 39-year-old actor, known for a rich baritone, was recently seen putting in extra efforts to match the texture of Vin Diesel's voice.

"I have dubbed for Vin for the first time. He has a gruff and slightly rough voice. Since my voice is clear and deep, I had to put in a lot of effort to emulate his voice. Also, he doesn't move his lips much, so creating the correct tone wasn't easy. I tapped into the mood of his character and enacted the scenes in the dubbing studio. This is what I call 'method dubbing," Sharad told Bollywood Life.

xXx Return of Xander Cage is not the only such project for Sharad, he has also lent his voice to characters in the Hindi-dubbed versions of films like Guardians Of The Galaxy, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes and X-Men: Apocalypse and several others. He had also dubbed for SS Rajamouli's Baahubali last year.

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Photo: Yahoo Singapore



The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) on Thursday (11 August) issued a code of animal welfare for the pet industry.

The code consists of minimum standards that pet businesses are expected to comply with, and best practices that pet businesses are encouraged to adopt, AVA said in a statement. It applies to all businesses that offer pets or goods and services for pets.

AVA said that while failure to meet a minimum standard in the code is not an offence, it can be used to support prosecution in animal welfare cases. Pet businesses will be given a grace period from 1 October 2016 to 31 March 2017 during which the code will not be used as supporting evidence in such cases.

The Code of Animal Welfare (for the Pet Industry) is a reflection of what the society at large desires and expects on the standard of animal welfare among pet businesses in Singapore. With the Code, pet businesses now have an official guideline on their responsibilities to the animals under their charge, Tan Poh Hong, AVA CEO, said.

AVA will be conducting a series of briefing to help the pet industry understand the code.


From Cosmopolitan

It's not her first time at this rodeo - Bachelor stalwart Ashley Iaconetti is back in Paradise this season (not just yet, admittedly, but she's on her way) and back recapping the show also. Read on for her first-hand take on all the messiness this season has to offer. Because it's going to get messy...

After threatening to murder contestants' families and the Paradise staff, Chad is sent home. He eats more protein and continues to drink himself into oblivion as the "sad-mobile" takes him away - back to the Vidanta hotel, which is about an hour away from Playa Escondida. About 50 percent of our dates take place at the Vidanta, a place we all love because we have unlimited room service. When I mean unlimited, I mean, I can order a bottle of Dom Perignon and not pay for it.

As it turns out, this week's first new arrival had planned to try and date Chad too! Leah Block, from Ben's season, walks into Paradise - and you'd think she was Kylie Jenner based on the speculation going around about her lip size. I didn't appreciate all the Juvederm-shaming because so many of us have it on the show! If you're going to put Leah down because you don't like her, discuss her personality traits, not her face. Leah is undeniably beautiful, and a nice girl with a strong personality that's not for everyone. She made a mistake on Ben's season trying to throw Lauren Bushnell under the bus that one time, yes, but she's not at all this villain she's being portrayed as.

Without Chad in the mix, Leah chooses to ask Nick out. They show very little of their date at a Mexican festival, but we do see Leah making the first move as they take a stroll along the beach, and they're kissing pretty passionately in the surf. I think they had an enjoyable time together, but let's be real, neither one of them thought, This is it! Even though Leah said she was smitten

When they arrive back at Playa Escondida, Nick gets a date card! Would you look at that!? This was almost certainly planned by the producers, who knew that Nick would take Amanda, who would definitely be getting Josh's date card the next day when he arrived, and then look, it's a love triangle. (Poor Leah is collateral damage, basically.) And what great TV would it be if Josh "stole" Nick's girl again?!

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Now, why would the producers think Josh would take out Amanda? Because Josh loves a sweet, blonde, family-oriented girl. Plus, I may have put a good word in for her. I thought those two would make a lot of sense. More on Josh and Amanda later

Nick and Amanda seem comfortable with each other, and appear to have a good amount of chemistry too. However, I do think that when Amanda voices over, "This is probably the best first date I've ever been on," she's referring to her date with Josh. Listen carefully to the voiceovers, that's all I'll say here...

Nick, meanwhile, is upfront with Leah and explains he'd rather pursue things with Amanda than with her. This news comes as a surprise to Leah, who proceeds to flirt with every other guy there to secure a rose. Does it work? Nope. Grant gives his rose to Lace, Nick to Amanda, Evan to Carly, Jared to Emily (meaning Haley is safe too), Vinny to Izzy, and Damn Daniel (the wildcard rose) to Sarah. Leah and Jubilee are sent home, the latter even after her date with Jared last week.

Cut to the next morning and yes, Josh Murray enters Paradise with Prince Charming music playing in the background. And yes, he gives Amanda his date card. Let's be clear here, Josh choosing Amanda to go on the date with him had nothing to do with any beef with Nick. The two guys went into Paradise cordial.

Plenty of Nick and Josh drama will happen this season though. I stay out of it as best as possible and will continue to do so with my recaps [Editor's note: I'll try to score the juicy deets anyway.]. I think Josh is sparkling, and holy damn, is that man otherworldly good-looking. Nick and I are really close also, though - he's like a big brother to me. And Andi Dorfman? I'm friends with her too, so as far as the fight over her tell-all book goes, I'll just say to interpret it as you like.

Anyway, so Amanda and Josh come back from their boat date smitten with each other. Within five minutes of walking into Paradise, I was warned about their high PDA levels. They are attached at the mouth. Everyone looks on, including Nick, who has seemingly "lost" another girl to Josh. Believe me, despite what they try to make it look like, Nick is doing just fine, but he's probably wondering where his rose will be coming from.

Let's take a quick look as to where the other relationships, and roses, are standing: Grant and Lace are just doing their (sexy) thing, while Jared and Emily's relationship is making me nostalgic. They're getting close, but he won't go in for the kiss (OK, he does in the end, but Jared likes to take his time.) This is a deja vu moment for me, especially when we see Emily joking in a confessional about his feelings, or lack thereof, for her. That's the way to handle it, Emily! Laugh-crying never fails.

Emily also ends up on a date with some guy named Brandon, who walks into Paradise and acts like he's never met Chris Harrison before. Nobody seems to know who Brandon is either, but he is technically a Bachelorette alum. He chooses to take Haley because he's "much more drawn to her" than Emily, so of course the twins play a switcheroo and he doesn't even notice. The bottom line here is Brandon was brought on the show because he is so unbelievably boring that it's actually entertaining.

There's that bout of kissy-kissy flirtation between Sarah and Vinny, but for the most part, Vinny and Izzy were solid from the get-go. Sarah's friendship with Daniel does seem to be evolving into something a little more romantic - although like I said last week, Daniel is our resident "alien" and I can never really tell what's going on with him - but then Christian from JoJo's season walks into Paradise and almost immediately asks Sarah out. Christian seems to really like her and Sarah likes feeling adored, but she thinks she's having more fun with Daniel. I think he may be fighting for a rose, but hey, we all have those weeks

And then there's Carly and Evan, who were my favorite part of this week's episode. Carly finds Evan endearing as a friend but isn't feeling a thing beyond that. The night prior to their date, they'd shared a kiss that had Carly cringing and Evan daydreaming.

And their date was a nightmare for Carly too - they have to eat a habanero pepper and then kiss, trying to break the record for the world's literal hottest kiss. Carly is celiac and also lactose intolerant! She was so sick after eating, and she knew she would be the second the challenge was presented. Evan, of course, just thinks it's hot however you slice it.

I know that, in watching this episode back, Carly feels awful about the things she said about a good friend. She felt like she couldn't lead Evan on anymore and told him there wasn't anything romantic between them. He seems to handle this well, until he gets alone and lets the waterworks go. I feel this so hard. The show wraps, though, with a once-defeated Evan manifesting so much confidence and planning to make a move on Amanda, who is very much taken. He's planning an at-home one-on-one for her , and it's a "to be continued" situation but I think we know how it's going to end.

Follow Ashley on Instagram and Twitter.
From ELLE

The American Bar Association ruled this week that it is "professional misconduct" to use speech that harasses or discriminates in the practice of law, which means that women who have been dismissed as "honeys" or "darlings" for decades can at last expect some relief.

The new rule draws on a mandate already on the books in almost two dozen states that bars such remarks in court. Until now, however, no national prohibition has existed to ban the practice. And while some critics have suggested that the breadth of the new rule could hamper free speech in court, when the American Bar Association voted on Monday to pass it, no one spoke up to oppose it.

The rule defines discrimination as "harmful verbal or physical conduct that manifest bias or prejudice towards others" and harassment as behavior that "includes sexual harassment and derogatory or demeaning verbal or physical conduct."

It sounds obvious, like it barely needs to be spelled out. But when the New York Times decided to poll women attorneys on Facebook about treatment in the courtroom, women asserted that the use of harassment as a tactic of intimidation is all too common.

Photo credit: Facebook/New York Times

State bar associations will still determine on their own what penalties (if any) violators of the ban will face, but the mere existence of the new rule is a step in a better direction.

Equality-so much sweeter than "honey."
By Catherine Bennett

MADRID, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Authorities in Barcelona have stepped up a crackdown on homes illegally rented out to tourists via homesharing websites such as Airbnb, ordering hundreds to be removed from listings and hitting firms with a fine, while threatening more in the future.

Barcelona is not the only European city to take a swipe at Airbnb, which has rapidly expanded across the globe and often come into conflict with local rules. This year, Paris conducted raids on illegally sub-letted apartments and Berlin imposed a ban on owners renting out entire properties.

Barcelona's town hall said on Wednesday it would fine both Airbnb and fellow online rental firm, Homeaway, 60,000 euros ($66,918) each. If the companies continue to refuse to regulate their own users, the fine would jump to 600,000 euros each, a source from the town hall said.

Airbnb said in a statement it would appeal any fine issued.

Barcelona's leftist mayor Ada Colau, who took over last June and froze the granting of new tourist licences for homes and hotels, has launched a plan to stop people from letting out their homes without a licence via homesharing websites.

On Wednesday, her town hall ordered 256 apartments to be taken down from such platforms and said it was investigating over 400 other potential offenders.

She has blamed the sharp rise in Airbnb's popularity for greater tension among residents who fear an increase in 'binge tourism' and have protested against rowdy visitors. The number of people using Airbnb in Barcelona has tripled to 900,000 in the three years prior to 2015, its own data shows.

The new plan will see the creation of a multi-lingual website that invites people to identify and denounce unlicensed tourist accommodation, and a free-to-call telephone number allowing locals to expose neighbours that break the rules.

In the last month, 375 complaints had been made on the website, the town hall source said.

Owners that wish to rent out property to tourists must apply for a licence and display it on any online advertisement. A team of 20 inspectors set up by the town hall is tasked with rooting out those who fail to jump through the legal hoops.

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The measures come during a record year for tourism in both the Catalan capital and Spain as a whole, with the number of passengers coming through Barcelona's El Prat airport up 13 percent in June against last year, according to Spanish airport operator AENA.

The European Commission published guidance on the sharing economy for member states in June, saying that new business models can boost jobs and growth in the European Union, if encouraged and developed responsibly.

($1 = 0.8966 euros) (Reporting by Catherine Bennett; Editing by Angus Berwick and David Evans)
Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are well-known for fearlessly taking on compelling, if potentially controversial, projects, including The Bible, their 2013 landmark docudrama. Next up is their reboot of the 1959 multiple Oscar-winning epic, Ben-Hur, helmed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston. Downey and Burnett serve as executive producers on the new Ben-Hur, which bows in theaters Aug. 19.

Keith R. Clarke and John Ridley penned the screenplay for the MGM and Paramount Studios film, directed by Russian-Kazakh helmer Timur Bekmambetov.

In Wylers version, which won 11 Oscars, Judah Ben-Hur (Heston) is a wealthy Jewish merchant living in Jerusalem at the turn of the 1st century. He is betrayed by his childhood friend, Messala, now a Roman nobleman. Ben-Hur is tossed into prison and, ultimately, seeks revenge.

There are stunning sequences with chariots.

The updated Ben-Hur will provide plenty of new surprises, says Bekmambetov.

This is a completely different movie, based on a different script, with a different idea at its core, he says. Bekmambetovs Ben-Hur centers on a prince falsely accused of treason, who regains his freedom and returns for revenge. Both storywise and tonally, Bekmambetov says, the film hews close to Lew Wallaces original novel (upon which both films are based), but also sends a new message.

The world has changed a lot and the revenge theme that was used in the 1959 film feels even more visceral in todays world, Bekmambetov says. Our film emphasizes instead the importance of forgiveness.

The director credits Downey with helping him deal with the sort of on-set challenges that typically pop up during the filming of any movie, including maintaining the films core emotional thrust.

Shes not only a professional producer, but also a good-hearted person, he says. Roma has the unique gift of hearing other people and making sure they hear her. That was one of the reasons we managed to maintain the emotional centerpiece of the movie. All the decisions she made were both emotional and well-balanced. Her sincerity inspired me and gave me the confidence that we were on the right track.

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Jack Huston, who stars as the Jewish prince and merchant Judah Ben-Hur, calls Downey one of the most kind, generous and giving human beings.

I think coming from being an actress herself, she understands the process so well, he says of Downeys directing style. Shes very focused and intelligent. Shes very story-driven, and really wanted to help us get the most out of these characters. Its always nice to have someone on set who exudes warmth and light and is so approachable, and ready to help. She has a brilliant mind and is instrumental in developing a character.

Stepping into a lead role made famous by Heston, who won the Academy Award for best actor for his performance, was daunting, says Huston, but Downey and Burnett offered ample support.

We built a strong, unique character, one I had such fun and enjoyment working on and bringing to life, Huston says. Judah is one of the great characters that an actor could get to play. I felt very honored.

Related stories

Roma Downey: Philanthropic Work 'Gives Meaning to Celebrity For Me'

A Look Back at Roma Downey's Famed 'Touched by an Angel' Role

Roma Downey Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
CWC_HHHced

WWE Network

Previously on the WWE Cruiserweight Classic: The opening round came to a close with four more matches. Rich Swann continued to capture the hearts and minds of Full Sail, and Noam Dar advanced despite struggling to find his identity in the ring. Jack Gallagher became an overnight star with his technical prowess, and Johnny Gargano defeated his tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa in an emotional, hard-hitting contest. On to the round of 16!

As always, make sure youre keeping up with us on social media! Whether on Facebook or Twitter, well keep you up to speed with the CWC and plenty more.

And now, the Best and Worst of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, Week 5.



CWC_graves2

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Minor Worst: Getting Spoiled

Not in the spoiler alert sense, mind you  although that can be a pain when so much of this is taped in advance. I was saying that we, as an audience, have been spoiled rotten so far. The first four weeks of the tournament gave us so much damn good wrestling that going from four matches per episode to two feels strange. Granted, theyre now doing more with less. All the fat has been trimmed, and were now left with 16 global cruiserweight stars.

Were only getting marquee matchups from here on out, dont get me wrong. I just get a little bit of sticker shock when I see the Matches Per Episode decrease, even though the total of actual Wrestling Minutes probably remains unchanged. Its hardly worth mentioning, but I think it might have been nice to have some of the first-round losers come back for exhibition matches. Let me see Alejandro Saez vs. Buddy Murphy or something, you know?

Also, lets go ahead and throw a Worst to Corey Graves for having a closet full of reasonable suits and electing instead to go for the Warped Tour Magnum P.I. look.

Best: 1999 Called, They Want This Match Back

In between namedropping Desiigner in the most Caucasian way possible and referring to Mexico as a state, Mauro Ranallo calls to mind Tajiris well-received rivalry with Super Crazy in ECW. Its more or less a layup to compare Gran Metalik to Super Crazy now  they have similar physiques, theyve both toured Japan, and now theyve both fought Tajiri. Although as long as WWE doesnt make Metalik ride to the ring on a lawnmower, hell always have the upper hand. Never forget.

Story continues

Predictably enough, this match was great. Every year, just after Wrestle Kingdom, New Japan Pro Wrestling will do a crossover tour with Mexicos CMLL promotion called Fantastica Mania, and this looked like something youd see on one of those shows. Youd never really guess that youd want to see Stuka, Jr. take on YOSHI-HASHI until youre actually watching it, you know? Thats one of the major selling points of the CWC: Unprecedented clashes of style that seem strange at first. But once you sit back and let wrestling take the wheel like the universal language it is, it all comes together.

Tajiri continues to impress. Hes still doing his best Yuji Nagata impression and being a grumpy old-timer who doesnt take kindly to the triviality of youth. There was a point where he completely no-sold a chop from Metalik, and I basically reacted like Abraham Lincoln from that Whitest Kids U Know sketch. But in the end, Metalik stuck to his guns and got the win. I think this was absolutely the right move. Hes the most well-rounded luchador in the tournament, and its not like Tajiri was the final representative of Japanese strong style left. Speaking of which 



Best: Two MOTY Candidates In Two Weeks

If we start getting main events like this on a regular basis, you can go ahead and make the CWC one match per week for all I care. Hooooooooly crap.

Last weeks Gargano/Ciampa match was a complete story unto itself. It was the story of the truest form of friendship in wrestling (and perhaps in life), the kind where you dont hold back and give everything youve got. You know they can take it, and anything less than your best would be an insult. But Cedric Alexander versus Kota Ibushi was a different narrative altogether. Its the story of walking into the lions den with a smile and a game plan. Fear becomes irrelevant, because you know you can hang. And in case you think thats only a wrestling thing, I know a recent Olympic gold medalist who would beg to differ.

Lets talk about the one moment that turned this match from great to awesome. Alexander has been emptying the clip into Ibushi for a while, and finally drills him with a brainbuster. Its only good for a two-count, but thats when Alexander pulls out one of those wonderful Now You Die moments and kicks Ibushi in the face the instant he kicks out. It works not only because its vicious, but because its logical. I just had that guy dead to rights, I should probably concuss him again to make sure hes really done. Its the difference between yelling Stay down at your opponent and actually doing something to make him stay down. Cedric Alexander is a man of actions, not words.

Even after Alexanders Herculean efforts, Ibushi gets the win because he is Not of This Earth. Again, its the right call. His reputation precedes him, and its nearly a forgone conclusion that hell at least go to the finals. Regardless, this was a match where it felt like both men should win. And you know, thats kind of what happened.

Best: The Post-Credits Scene

Triple H, Executive Vice President of Talent. Im here to talk to you about the NXT Initiative.
By Richard Leong and Ross Kerber

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - Legg Mason Inc's Bill Miller, whose mutual fund beat the S&P 500 handily for 15 consecutive years at the turn of the century, is riding off into the sunset after his recent lagging returns left a trail of disappointed investors.

Miller, one of the last household names in the U.S. mutual funds industry, is departing Baltimore-based Legg Mason after 35 years, the company said on Thursday. He won high regard for picking "value" stocks and making big bets on them with the Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust fund, which he left in 2011 and is now the ClearBridge Value Trust fund.

In its heyday, the fund beat the S&P 500 every year from 1991 to 2005.

A spokeswoman for Miller, 66, said he was traveling and not immediately available to comment.

At the $1.3 billion Legg Mason Opportunity Trust, Miller's stock picking clearly had not been working, prompting investors to pull their money.

This year, investors have made net withdrawals of $112 million from the fund and $779 million over the past five years, according to Lipper Inc, a unit of Thomson Reuters.

The fund's 1-year return of -18.06 percent lags 98 percent of its peers and trails the 5.73 percent advance of the S&P 500 Index during that time, according to Morningstar.

Loren Fox, director of research at Ignites Research, which follows the fund industry, said Millers departure is mainly symbolic, given that he oversaw a relatively small amount of assets under management at Legg Mason in recent years.

While a star manager can create a marketable face for a firm, it can carry risks if that star underperforms or runs into other troubles, Fox said.

Miller showed flashes of his old self in 2012 and 2013, when his fund returned 40.68 percent and 68.03 percent, respectively. He outperformed 99 percent of his peers during those two years, according to Morningstar Inc.

But his departure, as Wells Fargo equity analyst Christopher Harris put it, "has no consequential bearing on (Legg Mason's) financials, given the relatively small amount of assets Miller now manages."

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The Legg Mason Opportunity fund generated $18 million in management fees in 2015. By contrast, the Legg Mason Value Trust fund generated $121 million in fees in 2006, U.S. regulatory filings show.

Legg Mason shares are down 29 percent over the past 12 months, compared with the S&P 500's 5 percent return.

Miller had been the public face of Legg Mason for years and his performance troubles handicapped the firms recovery from the financial crisis.

Legg Mason's record eventually drew the attention of activist hedge fund investor Nelson Peltz, who became a board member in 2009 and oversaw the replacement of the firms CEO in 2012. Peltz has since left the board and his firm, Trian Partners, sold most of its Legg Mason shares earlier this year.

The exodus from Miller's fund underscores a larger problem for active managers everywhere as they lose a flood of money to passively managed index funds. Since the end of 2008, Vanguard Group, the industry's king of index funds, has pulled in nearly $1 trillion in net deposits.

Miller left the Value Trust fund in 2011 after the fund's downturn during the recession.

"I am thankful to Legg Mason for our 35-year relationship and to the many great people I've worked with along the way," Miller said in a statement.

With Miller's departure, Legg Mason said, Miller acquired Legg Mason's stake in LMM LLC, which provides investment management services to Legg Mason Opportunities Trust, Miller Income Opportunities Trust and related strategies.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close at the end of the year, Legg Mason said.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Additional reporting by Ross Kerber and Tim McLaughlin in Boston.; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Dan Grebler)
From Dr. Oz The Good Life

Remember climbing trees as a kid? That rush of power you got when you were miles above everyone - and then the sudden evaporation of said power when you came back down to Earth and Mom scolded you for getting sap all over your clothes, hands, and hair? Yeah, we do, too.

During those delightful sap-removal sessions with Mom, you probably never thought to yourself 'Gee, I really wish I could drink this stuff,' but it just so happens that's the latest trendy thing to do. (Don't tell Mom.)

Yes, coconut and aloe waters are slowly being pushed aside as tree waters become more and more popular in the Western health food world. They're being hailed as the detoxifiers to end all detoxes, but we had our doubts. Collected directly from a tree tap just like your favorite syrups, what people are drinking is essentially straight-up sap.

There are many varieties, but here's the rundown on three popular types that are probably already available at your local grocery store.

Birch Water

Just as the name suggests, birch water is tapped directly from birch trees, and even though many health and fitness enthusiasts are just starting to sing its praises, it's far from innovative in other parts of the world. People have been drinking "birch juice" as far back as 921 in Russia, and it has long been consumed in various Asian and European countries as a traditional remedy for everything from hypertension and kidney problems to gout and scurvy.

Slightly sweeter than regular water, some people say they hardly taste the difference between birch water and plain ol' H2O. Usually best when it's enjoyed cold, birch water has become especially popular thanks to its low sugar content, which is much lower than many other tree waters, and, notably, coconut water. The sap contains xylitol, a natural sugar alternative that is often added to products like gum and might help prevent dental cavities. (But it's toxic to dogs, so keep your sap away from Fido!)

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Maple Water

Contrary to popular belief, you can't pump maple syrup straight out of the tree and onto a pile of pancakes. When maple trees are first tapped, the fluid that comes out is 89 percent water and 2 percent sucrose and needs to undergo a long process to turn it into the sugary breakfast staple.

Maple water, which is what's available before it's condensed into syrup, is still sweet and has a maple syrup-y aftertaste, but it still contains less sugar than coconut water.

Maple water might have some antioxidant benefits, as well as thyroid- and bone-boosting manganese, but there's still not enough research to really tell if it's worth drinking, according to TIME.

Bamboo Water

Bamboo isn't just for pandas anymore. Like birch and maple waters, bamboo water is tapped straight from the trees, but its taste is definitely different. Sibberi, a brand known for its tree waters, says it's not as sweet and has "hints of green tea and a smoky aftertaste." And it's the most water-like, too.

As for the benefits, Jun Panee, PhD, a researcher at the University of Hawaii, told TIME that it doesn't differ much from any other fruit or vegetable water.

"For most plant extracts, the antioxidant level is high, mainly from polyphenols and flavonoids," Panee said. "It's pretty much true to all fruits, vegetables, and plants."

The Final Word: Should You Try Tree Water?

When it comes down to it, these trendy waters - coconut water included - all have one major problem: They'll never be actual water. Nothing beats regular H2O, no matter how fancy the bottle looks.

"Unlike water, which has zero calories and no sugar and hydrates just as efficiently, these designer waters can add up quickly," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, owner of BTD Nutrition Consultants, LLC, and author of Read it Before You Eat It. "It's best to rely on no-frills bottled or tap water for hydration and enjoy your other nutrients through food, like potassium from baked potatoes or fruit, and zinc and magnesium from nuts."

Still convinced you can't get on the plain water bandwagon? Give water that's infused with the flavors of fruits, veggies, and/or herbs a try: Here are nine simple yet delicious infused water recipes to get you started.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Two bombs exploded in the Thai seaside resort of Hua Hin on Thursday, killing one woman and injuring 10 people, Thai police said. The explosions happened ahead of a public holiday on Friday to mark the birthday of Queen Sirikit. Hua Hin is a popular upscale Thai resort south of Bangkok and many people will have gone there for the holiday weekend. The second bomb exploded near a bar at about 10:20 p.m. (1320 GMT), killing a Thai woman and injuring eight foreigners and one other Thai person, local deputy police chief Samer Yousamran said. The injured are being treated at a local hospital, he said. The first bomb went off about twenty minutes earlier about 50 meters (yards) away from the second bomb, he said. Nobody was injured in the first explosion. Police are investigating and as yet do not know the motive or the identity of the bombers, he said. In a separate incident earlier on Thursday, a bomb exploded at a market in the southern Trang province in Thailand, injuring six people, police said. Police believe that explosion was related to a local dispute. Thais voted less than a week ago in a referendum to adopt a military-backed constitution, the first test of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha at the ballot box since he seized power in a coup in May 2014. Thailand's 88 year-old King Bhumibol Adulayadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, and his wife Sirikit are in hospital in Bangkok but have resided in recent years in Hua Hin at the Klai Kangwon Palace royal palace, which translates as "Far from Worries Palace". King Bhumibol has received treatment for an infection over the past month in a Bangkok hospital, the Royal Household Bureau said on Aug. 1. (Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Writing by Simon Webb; Editing by Louise Ireland)
The tastemakers at "Bon Appetit" magazine have proclaimed Washington DC America's restaurant city of 2016, for the new wave of "fearless" neighborhood eateries popping up throughout the nation's capital.

While the city's stalwart chefs, including Jose Andres, Michel Richard and the late Jean-Louis Palladin, have long served the country's most powerful decision-makers, it's less for the old guard and more for the emergence of more casual neighborhood joints that editors chose Washington.

"Yes, D.C. has long been a city that could out power-lunch any place in the country, and great meals could be had at many of the big-box restaurants in the center of town," writes editor Andrew Knowlton.

"But now D.C. has more than that: It finally has a ton of great neighborhood restaurants."

The burgeoning dining scene also seems to have injected a new energy and excitement among locals, he continues, creating a food-savvy clientele.

Leading the charge? Fearless chefs and restaurateurs who are challenging diners with new and inventive flavors, rather than responding to consensus polls of what customers want.

"All I can tell you is that there's an energy and excitement surrounding all the new places that is palpable. D.C. is bubbling with momentum."

Editors single out The Dabney, a farmhouse-style eatery where 99 percent of the menu is cooked over an open flame, and Bad Saint which serves up bold Filipino fare.

Visitors and locals alike may also want to put Tail Up Goat on their itinerary, which serves Knowlton's favorite pasta of the year, goat lasagna.

In addition to proclaiming DC the restaurant city of the year, editors also released their picks for everything from the country's best sandwich, pizza and taco ahead of the big announcement next week, when they reveal the final top 10 list of America's best new restaurants.

Here are some of the highlights:

Sandwich of the year: The classic lox sandwich at Philly Style Bagels, Philadelphia

Pizzeria of the Year: Pizza Jerk, Portland Oregon

Dessert of the Year: Molasses-bourbon doughnut, Hole Doughnuts, Asheville

Bar of the Year: Bar Goto, New York

Bakery of the Year: Arsicault, San Francisco

Taco of the year: Taco de Trompo, Trompo, Dallas

Best burger: Bateau, Seattle

The magazine's Hot 10: America's Best New Restaurants list will be released on August 16.
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Top Brazilian athletes Rafaela Silva and Joanna Maranhao have hit back at racist and sexist insults that have caused Olympic heartbreak and tears.

Rio gold medal judoka Silva, who was called a "monkey" after crashing out of the London Games four years ago, and swimmer Joanna Maranhao, who has had rape threats in recent days, say they will use the hatred to fuel change.

"This medal is (a response) for all those who said I should be in a cage," said a tearful Silva, who was targeted after being disqualified at the 2012 London Games, but came back in Rio with a stunning win in the 57kg category.

"This can be an example for children from (poor) communities," she said.

Silva was called a "monkey" after her London setback, but she says the racism against favela slum residents goes far deeper.

"If you are black, people in the street look at you with suspicion. If you go by someone they move their wallet away," the new Olympic champion said.

About half of the 204 million people in Brazil identify as black or mixed race. Non-whites are overwhelmingly represented among the poor and less educated, as well as in the death toll from crime and killings by police.

At its most visible, the racial divide also runs in the Olympic stadiums where whites -- although many of these are foreign tourists -- dominate in the stands and personnel like cleaners and security guards are often black or mixed race.

- Fighting beyond the arena -

The government has distributed pamphlets titled "Olympics without racism" in stadiums and the government tsar on racial equality told a press conference Wednesday that "we need to fight" for change.

"I want to see black legislators, senators, governors, doctors, engineers, judges, state ministers," said the official, Luislinda Valois, who became Brazil's first black judge.

Silva hopes her star profile can aid in that struggle.

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Back at her low point after London, she almost gave up judo, her father said, and "it wasn't the loss that affected her -- it was the racism.

"It was the racist comments that people posted which hurt her," he said. "She was afraid to look at her computer in case she'd see even worse things written about her."

Now Silva is answering her critics the way she knows best, by showing she is a winner.

"The monkey came out of the cage in London and became champion in Rio de Janeiro," she said Wednesday at the press conference on racial equality.

"Now you have a black who isn't assaulting someone but bringing joy to the Brazilian people. I want to show that we have good things, not just bad, and that's why I'm here," she said.

- Insults -

Maranhao, who is not black, but comes from the heavily black northeast of Brazil, was crudely pilloried Tuesday after losing in the 200 meter butterfly and exiting the Olympics.

"It shouldn't be possible for people to say that they'll rape you or that you should die," she said, crying after her defeat.

"Brazil is a macho country, a racist country, a homophobic country, a xenophobic country. I am not generalizing because there are people like that, I'm afraid," she said.

Maranhao said she would file lawsuits against those who insulted her. She hopes to use any money from damages to fund a group working against pedophilia, Infancia Libre.

Addressing those who "came here to denigrate, offend, and insult," Maranhao said: "Thank you very much!... Your hatred will be used for a good cause."
London (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has chosen to spend her summer holidays in Switzerland -- a country held up by some Brexit advocates as a model for Britain's future relationship with the European Union.

"The prime minister will be taking a holiday in Switzerland and will be returning to the UK on August 24," her office said in a statement on Thursday.

May has a busy calendar when she gets back with the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China on September 4-5 where she is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

There she is also expected to discuss the future of the Hinkley Point nuclear power station project, which is led by French energy giant EDF but includes a third participation by Chinese business CGN.

Britain's parliament also resumes on September 5 with a debate on an online petition calling for a second referendum.

But before tackling the tough autumn agenda, May will escape to a country that she previously praised as a place where one could get some peace and quiet.

The prime minister's chosen destination -- a non-EU country in the geographical heart of Europe -- has not been lost on British media.

The Guardian said she would be flying to "neutral ground".

"The neutral symbolism may appeal to May for her first summer break since the EU referendum, though the strenuous walks and Alpine scenery are likely to be the main pull for the prime minister, a keen hiker," the newspaper wrote.

May in 2007 told The Telegraph she first visited Switzerland 25 years earlier and found it "a wonderful summer destination" for walking.

The newspaper on Thursday noted May would be the first British prime minister to holiday in Switzerland since Margaret Thatcher.

"Mrs May and the late Baroness Thatcher's choice of holiday destination is in stark contrast to that of former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair, who preferred warmer climates," the newspaper wrote.

Cameron was photographed last week holidaying in Corsica, after resigning in June following the EU referendum.
HONG KONG (Reuters) - The British banker accused of murdering of two women, one found in a suitcase on the balcony of his luxury Hong Kong apartment and the other inside with neck and buttock wounds, attended a pre-trial hearing on Thursday ahead of his October trial. Rurik Jutting, 31, who has yet to enter a formal plea over the murders of two Indonesian women in 2014, looked dramatically different to earlier court appearances, mainly due to substantial weight loss and being clean shaven. Dressed in a button down shirt and black trousers and accompanied by four police officers, the former Bank of America Corp employee's court appearance was his first public appearance since last October after he was charged. No details from the hearing can be reported until a verdict has been reached. Jutting's trial is expected to start in late October. The grisly murders shocked the financial city of Hong Kong, a city with a low homicide rate. Local media have described the two victims as prostitutes from Indonesia. Bank of America has previously said Jutting was an employee but it has not said why he left or given any timeframe. A Linkedin account under Jutting's name said he had worked in structured equity finance and trading at Bank of America in Hong Kong since July 2013. Before that, he had worked in the same department but in London. The profile also said Jutting had worked in structured capital markets at Barclays between June 2008 and July 2010 and had studied at Cambridge University. According to people who were at Cambridge at the same time, Jutting attended Peterhouse, the oldest college, and was president of the Cambridge University History society. He was also a cross-country runner and a rower. Prior to Cambridge he went to Winchester College, one of Britain's oldest private schools. (Reporting by Farah Master and Tris Pan; Editing by James Pomfret and Michael Perry)
Hong Kong (AFP) - A British banker accused of murdering two Indonesian women who were found mutilated in his upscale Hong Kong apartment appeared at the High Court Thursday, ahead of his October trial.

Rurik Jutting, a 31-year-old former Bank of America Merrill Lynch employee, listened attentively at the pre-trial hearing, which was closed to the public.

No details of the hearing, which organised aspects of the trial, can be reported at this stage due to restrictions imposed by the court.

Jutting has previously indicated he would plead not guilty to two charges of murder.

Dressed in a light blue shirt and wearing black-rimmed glasses, Jutting -- visibly thinner than at previous appearances -- remained impassive throughout, surrounded by four security guards.

Jutting would face life in prison if convicted on the murder charges.

Seneng Mujiasih and Sumarti Ningsih, both in their 20s, were found dead in Jutting's flat in the early hours of November 1 after he called police to the scene.

Mujiasih was found in the living room, naked and with knife wounds to her legs and buttocks, while the decaying body of Ningsih was found hours later in a suitcase on the balcony.

The killings shocked the city of seven million -- typically regarded as safe and known for its glitzy skyscrapers -- and shone a spotlight on the seedy underbelly of the financial hub.

Police have said cocaine and sex toys were found in Jutting's apartment, which was just a few streets away from Hong Kong's red-light district, where he was reportedly a regular.

Jutting was deemed fit to stand trial in November following psychiatric tests.
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has written to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri calling for restrictions on oil exploration in the Falklands Islands to be lifted and for more flights to the British-run islands, her office said on Thursday. Argentina claims sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands it calls Las Malvinas, and relations between Buenos Aires and London have been strained for decades over the issue, culminating in a war in 1982 which Britain won. May, who became prime minister in July, called for "more productive" relations between the two countries in her letter to the pro-business Macri, who took office in December as Argentina's first non-Peronist president in more than a decade. "Since the election of President Macri, we have been working toward improved relations with Argentina because we think that is in the interests of both our countries and the Falkland Islanders too," May's Downing Street office said in a statement. In her letter, May said she hoped that where the two countries had differences, "these can be acknowledged in an atmosphere of mutual respect". She called for progress toward new flights between the islands, which are located about 435 miles off the coast of Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina, and third countries in the region. As things stand, a Chilean airline flies from Santiago to the Falklands every Saturday via the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas, according to the Falklands Tourist Board. Once a month, the flight also stops in Rio Gallegos, Argentina, in both directions. May also called for the removal of "restrictive hydrocarbons measures", a reference to various attempts by Argentine authorities to restrict oil and gas exploration in the waters around the islands. Tensions flared in June last year, under Macri's predecessor Cristina Fernandez, when an Argentine federal judge ordered the seizure of millions of dollars' worth of assets owned by drillers operating in the Falklands area. The Argentine measures have not halted oil exploration, although efforts have been scaled down in recent times due to low oil prices on international markets. The Falklands are inhabited by about 3,000 people, the overwhelming majority of whom say they wish the islands to remain a British overseas territory. Argentina has rejected that argument, accusing Britain of deliberately settling people there over a long period of history to bolster an illegitimate sovereignty claim. (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison)
By Abhirup Roy and Rafael Nam

MUMBAI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Proposals by India's main capital markets regulator to tighten rules on algorithmic trading could help boost confidence in markets and won't hurt the country's second biggest bourse, the head of Indian exchange operator BSE Ltd told Reuters.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) last week unveiled a discussion paper on various limits on algo traders, including reduced speed limits at which trades are executed, due to concerns about fair access to markets.

"Well-designed forward looking regulations create better trust," Ashishkumar Chauhan, chief executive of BSE, Asia's oldest exchange, said in an interview with Reuters late on Wednesday.

"We are not worried about undue impact on our business," he said, adding that he expects the new rules could actually boost, rather than decrease trading volumes.

Algorithmic trading has become a major source of income for both the BSE and its larger rival the National Stock Exchange Ltd. The new rules could come into force as both exchanges look to go public.

The BSE is soon expected to file a listing application that bankers estimate could value the exchange at about $750 million to $1 billion.

About 90 percent to 95 percent of the BSE's order flow is currently being generated by algo trading, and some 40 percent to 50 percent of executed trades also being driven by such systems.

Algo traders have warned that the SEBI proposals, which are not yet final, are too restrictive and could force trading into overseas markets.

Indian markets have rallied in recent months on expectations of a recovery in earnings as the government has made progress in advancing some reforms, including recently passing a landmark goods and services tax.

($1 = 66.8800 Indian rupees) (Additional reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Euan Rocha)
By Allison Lampert and Matt Scuffham MONTREAL/TORONTO (Reuters) - The Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec on Thursday said it would take control of a major cement project in Quebec hit by massive cost overruns, and agreed to a new C$250 million ($192.56 million) round of financing to complete it. Caisse, already an investor in the project, said it would invest an additional C$125 million with funds managed by BlackRock Alternative Investors which is also investing C$125 million. Quebec's public pension fund said the new funds would be sufficient to complete the project. A spokesman for the Caisse said the McInnis Cement project faced between C$400 and $450 million in cost overruns and that it had insisted on a "change of control and a change in management" for the C$1.1 billion cement project in Quebec's Gaspe peninsula. The change will give the Caisse a controlling stake in Beaudier Ciment, the controlling shareholder of McInnis, the spokesman said. Beaudier, the private investment arm of the founding family of Canadian plane and trainmaker Bombardier Inc , will now hold a minority stake in Beaudier Ciment. Laurent Beaudoin, a former Chief Executive of Bombardier Inc and family member, will remain chairman of the McInnis board. The Caisse, however, now controls seven out of the 11 seats. Caisse re-affirmed the potential profitability of the project and repeated a change to the executive team that was announced last week. Last week, McInnis announced in a statement that Chief Executive Christian Gagnon had left the company and it had started an international search for his replacement. The project was launched in 2014 with the target of producing up to 2.5 million tonnes of cement a year. It was backed by the Quebec government which contributed C$350 million in investment and loans. Beaudier contributed C$150 million to the project, local media reported at the time. (Refiles to correct in paragraph 7 to show that changes to executive team were announced last week, not that the changes were announced on Thursday.) (Reporting by Allison Lampert and Matt Scuffham; Editing by Diane Craft)
Ottawa (AFP) - Canadian police said they thwarted a "potential terrorist threat" after shooting dead an alleged Islamic State sympathizer said to have been armed with an explosive device.

Media reports said 24-year-old Aaron Driver was shot to death Wednesday night during a police raid on a home in Strathroy, Ontario, 220 kilometers (135 miles) southwest of Toronto, where he lived with his sister.

Driver's father confirmed that his son had been shot and killed, telling the National Post "the police did what they had to do. He would not surrender. I'm sure they gave him ample chances."

"As sad and shocked as I am, it doesnt surprise me that it has come to this. Aaron was a good kid who went down a dark path and couldnt find the light again," the father, who was not named, was quoted as saying.

A relative told Canadian public broadcaster CBC that police informed the family that he was shot dead after detonating an explosive device, injuring himself and one other person.

They said they had to shoot Driver because he had a second device which he was planning to detonate, according to the CBC.

The other injured person was reported to be a taxi driver, but it was unclear what his connection was to the suspect.

Broadcaster CTV, citing internal government documents, said the suspect allegedly had been planning to set off an explosive device in a packed public space in a major city.

"Earlier today, the RCMP received credible information of a potential terrorist threat. A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement.

Hours earlier, authorities had alerted Toronto's transit system of a "credible terrorist threat," Brad Ross, a spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission, told CTV Thursday.

Police have beefed up their presence on the network of subways, bus lines and street cars in Canada's largest city, used by 1.8 million people a day.

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Canadian authorities had issued a public warning late Wednesday of a "potential terrorist threat," and said a suspect had been arrested but provided no details.

- 'A lone wolf' -

Driver was described in media reports as a Muslim convert with a troubled childhood who became radicalized on the internet.

"It was like he turned out the lights and put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door," his father told CBC in interviews last year with his son.

"When he was living at home, he was very secretive; a lone wolf. He didn't bring friends over, never talked about where he was going and what he was doing," the father said.

Driver came to the attention of Canadian authorities in 2014 after posting tweets in support of the Islamic State group and justifying a Muslim convert's killing of a sentry at Canada's national war memorial during an October 2014 attack that spilled into the nearby parliament building.

"If a country goes to war with another country or another people or another community, I think that they have to be prepared for things like" the Ottawa attack, he told the CBC in last year's interview.

"And when it does happen they shouldn't -- they shouldn't act surprised. They had it coming to them; they deserved it."

He was arrested in June 2015 and released under court supervision.

He was ordered to undergo counseling from a religious leader, wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and stay off the internet. Those restrictions were gradually loosened and were scheduled to expire this month.

According to the order, a peace bond which was signed in February, there were "reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group," the Canadian Press news agency said.

- Unfolding probe -

The RCMP said an investigation was under way as the matter "continues to unfold." No other details from officials were immediately available. A press conference was due later Thursday.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Canada's terrorism threat level remains at "medium," a ranking which it has maintained since October 2014 after lone wolf attacks by suspected jihadists in Quebec and Ottawa.

In the first attack, on October 20, 2014, a 25-year-old Muslim convert ran down two soldiers in a parking lot in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Montreal, before being shot dead by police. One of the soldiers later died.

Two days later, another Muslim convert, aged 32, killed a ceremonial guard then tried to storm Canada's parliament before being shot dead by security guards only meters (yards) from a room where the prime minister and his caucus were meeting.

The Conservative government responded by passing a bill that gives the RCMP and Canada's spy agency sweeping powers to thwart terror plots and prevent Canadian youth from flying overseas to join IS militants in Syria.

Canada joined the US-led coalition against IS in September 2014.

After unseating the Tories in an election last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scaled back Canada's participation in the coalition, ordering the withdrawal of Canadian fighter jets but increasing the number of military trainers in Iraq.
(Removes incorrect day of week in second paragraph)

* Investment gains slow to 1.5 pct in latest quarter

* Fund achieved 3.7 percent gain in last fiscal year

* CEO says Brexit uncertainty to be protracted

By Matt Scuffham

TORONTO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board warned on Thursday of more uncertainty following Britain's decision to leave the European Union after the vote curbed gains in its investments during the last quarter.

The CPPIB, which manages Canada's national pension fund, reported gross investment returns of 1.5 percent for the first quarter ended on June 30, a slowdown from the 3.7 percent gain it achieved in the fiscal year to March 31.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Machin, who is British, said global investors had experienced ongoing volatility during the quarter, generating mixed results across major equity markets.

In an interview, he said there had been "very extreme volatility" immediately after the June 23 "Brexit" vote, followed by a rebound that was only partially reflected in first-quarter results.

Machin said the decision would lead to "protracted" uncertainty as Britain negotiates its exit from the EU.

"We're obviously watching the rest of Europe as well," he said. "I think it's unlikely we're going to see a sudden end to very difficult macroeconomic management of economies by central banks and governments."

Machin, a former medical doctor and Goldman Sachs veteran who joined CPPIB four years ago to oversee its international investment activities, became CEO in June. He replaced Mark Wiseman, who stepped down ahead of taking a senior position with BlackRock Inc, the world's largest asset manager.

The CPPIB, which invests on behalf of 19 million Canadians, has diversified internationally and into alternative asset classes such as infrastructure and real estate to offset the impact of record low yields on government bonds and volatile equity markets. Machin said that strategy would continue.

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"We have 25 different investment groups which are all out looking for opportunities," he said, "and their job is to find those dislocations that are thrown up and take advantage of them."

The fund ended the quarter with net assets of C$287.3 billion, compared with C$278.9 billion three months earlier.

Machin said the increase stemmed primarily from a positive performance from fixed income investments, gains from equity investments in Canada and the United States, and the performance of its private investments.

About a third of the fund's investments remain in public equity markets.

(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Von Ahn)
By Julie Gordon VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian police killed a man on Wednesday, national television news channels reported, after the police said they had identified a suspect after receiving "credible information of a potential terrorist threat". The suspect was killed during a police raid in a small Ontario town, CTV News and CBC News reported. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement they had identified a suspect in a national security threat and taken action to ensure the safety of the public. No further details were provided. Intelligence sources told Reuters that the suspect was Aaron Driver, who was arrested last year for openly supporting the Islamic State militant group on social media. The sources declined to be identified because they did not have permission to speak to the media. The sources said Driver, who also uses the alias Harun Abdurahman, lives in Strathroy, Ontario, a small community some 225 km (140 miles) southwest of Toronto. Driver's death was not yet officially confirmed and his lawyer was not immediately available for comment. Reports on Twitter late on Wednesday said police had raided a home in Strathroy in relation to the RCMP threat incident. Reporters on the scene later tweeted that the coroner had arrived and a body bag had been loaded into an official vehicle. The London Free Press newspaper, citing family members, reported that Driver was shot by police after he detonated a device, wounding himself and another person. There was no immediate confirmation of that report. Driver had not been charged with a crime but in February he was placed on a peace bond, a court order that restricted his movements, required that he stay away from social media and computers and not have contact with Islamic State or similar groups. He said in February he did not think Canadians should fear him and that people should not be persecuted for their political beliefs, according to CBC news. Irene Lee, whose parents own a convenience store near Driver's home, said police arrived on the quiet residential street shortly after 4 pm ET (2000 GMT) and quickly surrounded the house. "I hear a bomb sound, like a 'bang' - I was freaking out because this is a small and quiet town," she told Reuters. "All of a sudden the policemen were yelling, 'everyone get into your houses'." Lee said police were still outside and had told her they would likely be there all night. Canada's public safety minister Ralph Goodale said in a statement released late on Wednesday the public had been "properly protected" following a national security threat, and that he had briefed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He said Canada's National Terrorism Threat Level remained unchanged at "medium". A spokeswoman at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada's spy agency, declined to comment on the incident, referring all queries to the RCMP. The RCMP said in its statement the investigation was still underway and it would not provide further comment. Media relations officers did not immediately return phone calls and emails. (Reporting by Julie Gordon; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Leslie Adler and Paul Tait)
Ottawa (AFP) - A Canadian man who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video was shot dead in a taxi after setting off an explosive device, police acting to thwart an imminent attack said Thursday.

Aaron Driver, 24, was killed on Wednesday after Canadian authorities received a tip from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who had intercepted the video, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told a press conference.

"This disturbing event serves to remind us that Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism," Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said.

"Unwavering vigilance is always required," he said.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana said they received information from the FBI early Wednesday, including "a martyr video that had been prepared by an individual who at that time was unknown to us but who was clearly in the final stages of preparing an attack using homemade bombs."

Based on the information received, police believed an attack was possible "within the following 72 hours" in an "urban center," Cabana said.

Police and counterterrorism experts identified the man in the video, wearing black clothes and a balaclava, as Driver within three hours.

Meanwhile, an alert about a "credible terrorist threat" was issued nationwide.

Notably, security was beefed up along Toronto's network of subways, bus lines and street cars used by 1.8 million people a day.

But officials said they never determined Driver's intended target.

- Just in time -

At about 4:30 pm local time (2030 GMT) Wednesday, the RCMP intercepted Driver in Strathroy, Ontario, about 220 kilometers (135 miles) southwest of Toronto, outside the home where he lived with his sister.

He had just gotten into the back seat of a taxi.

When police approached, Driver detonated an explosive device in the back seat of the cab, causing minor injuries to the driver, before he was shot dead by officers, authorities said.

Story continues

"If he had gotten out of that residence before we got there the scenario would have ended differently, I'm confident of that," RCMP commander Jennifer Strachan said.

There could have been "significantly greater loss of life," had Driver set off a blast in an airport terminal, mall or transit hub, she said.

Police said they do not believe Driver had any accomplices, but revealed that he had been in "fairly constant contact" with several jihadists around the world.

They included two members of the Islamic State group, a British youth arrested for his involvement in a terror plot targeting Australia, and Elton Simpson -- one of two Americans who launched an attack on a Texas exhibition of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed last year.

Goodale said he spoke by telephone with his US and British counterparts, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Home Secretary Amber Rudd, respectively, about the foiled terror plot.

He also announced that Ottawa would create a counter-radicalization office, and later this month start public consulations on proposed security reforms.

"Yesterday's events underscore the need for Canada to become a world leader in counter-radicalization," he said.

- Released on bail -

Driver first came to the attention of authorities in late 2014 after police received complaints of extremist posts on social media.

In interviews with Canadian media, he appeared to support two separate lone wolf attacks by suspected jihadists in October 2014 in rural Quebec and Ottawa. Two soldiers died in those attacks.

He also expressed a desire to travel abroad to join the Islamic State group.

Police also discovered that he received a Twitter message from Simpson.

He was arrested in June 2015 but released a month later. He was ordered to undergo counseling from a religious leader, wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and stay off the internet, but was not surveilled, police said.

Those restrictions were gradually loosened and were scheduled to expire this month.

In the video released by the RCMP, Driver said he would retaliate for Canada's participation in the US-led coalition war against the Islamic State group.

"You have a heavy debt which has to be paid and you have Muslim blood on your hands, and for this we will have your blood," he said.
Correction appended, Aug. 11

Aaron Driver, the terrorism suspect killed by Canadian police Wednesday night, had planned to detonate explosives in an urban center during rush hour within 72 hours, police said.

The FBI alerted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that a suspect pledged allegiance to ISIS over video and was preparing for an immediate attack in Canada, police said according to the BBC. Authorities identified the suspect as Driver, 24, who had already been under a court order restricting his movements and was being monitored by police after he was arrested for backing ISIS online last year.

Obviously it was a race against time, said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana at a news conference Thursday.

According to Cabana, they quickly found Driver in a taxi in Strathroy, Ontario, when he detonated an explosive device in the back of the cab and injured both himself and the taxi driver. He was about to detonate a second when police officers shot and killed him.

In the video the FBI gave police, Driver wore a mask and expressed his plans to carry out an attack. You will pay for everything you brought against us, he said.

[BBC]

Correction: The original version of this story misidentified the terrorism suspect killed by Canadian police. He was Aaron Driver.
Thanks to a robust property development business.

Despite a booming revenue at $1.1b, property developer City Development Ltd. (CDL) has claimed a resilient net profit of $133.8m for 2Q16, only a meager increase from its $133.5m earnings the same period last year.

It was the property development business segment that contributed the the highest to pre-tax profits, forming 51.6% of the pre-tax profits for the second quarter.

"In particular, the recognition of profit from Lush Acres EC boosted the pre-tax profits of the property development business segment for Q2 2016," CDL said in a statement.

However, the increases in the group's revenue were offset by lower contributions from Millennium & Copthorne Hotels in New York and Singapore due to a weaker performance.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) in New York dropped 15.8% while that of Singapore went down by 10.2%.

More so, cost of sales and servicing swelled 59% year-on-year to $652.3m from $415.8m in 2015.





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Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Boxer Arthur Biyarslanov escaped the death and terror of war in Chechnya to represent his adopted homeland of Canada at the Rio Olympics on Thursday, a fairytale end to a traumatic journey.

The 21-year-old southpaw, nicknamed "The Chechen Wolf", had to dig deep on the way to a unanimous points victory over Jordan's Obada Alkasbeh in his light welterweight Games debut.

He was left bruised and battered, and sustained a nasty wound to his right eye, and told AFP that he drew on the memories of his war-scarred childhood to drag him to an emotional victory that was unthinkable as a boy growing up amid destruction and fear.

"It's a great feeling, I always wanted to come to the Olympics after the London 2012 Games and finally I'm here and I want to give it my all and try to win the gold medal, it is one fight at a time," he said, nursing one of the cuts that he had suffered.

Biyarslanov has spent about half his life in Canada, but his story begins a world away, back in the tumultuous 1990s in post-Soviet Union Russia.

He was born in the city of Makhachkala, near Chechnya, the unstable North Caucasus region which fought two brutal separatist wars with Moscow in the 1990s.

He was just four when his family fled the war-torn area for their lives and made a desperate dash for nearby Azerbaijan, but they very nearly never made it.

Biyarslanov has described in the past how his mother gave money and her children's documents to Chechen soldiers in case she was unable to keep up.

The soldiers scooped him up and ran, as Russian bombs and gunfire pounded the area around them.

They asked him what his name was, and -- on the advice of his father, who always said the young Arthur should be like a wolf -- he told them just that: "My name is Chechen Wolf."

The name stuck to this day.

The family immigrated to Canada when he was nine and Biyarslanov, who lost his father at a young age, grew up in a rough area of Toronto with his mother and brothers, getting into fights and needing somewhere to channel his aggression.

Story continues

He found boxing at age 12 on the encouragement of his older brother -- and hated it at first because he kept losing.

"I always think of what I have been through," an exhausted Biyarslanov told AFP in the immediate aftermath of his victory.

"It makes me fight harder and stronger and going into the ring I always think about my past and what I have been through.

"That just gives me an urgency and makes me fight harder."
Markets rose to their highest level in two months before undergoing a correction over the two previous trading sessions this week. The benchmark index gained on Monday after coal stocks surged and property companies racked up gains following excitement over a major developer buying up a rivals shares. The Shanghai Composite Index increased on Tuesday, closing at its highest level since the end of Jul 26.

The benchmark index declined on Wednesday primarily due to losses taken by property companies as investors indulged in profit taking after a six day stretch of gains. The Shanghai Composite moved lower on Thursday due to a significant correction and grievous losses incurred by small cap stocks which outweighed gains made by financial stocks.

JD.com JD reported loss of 3 cents a share in the second quarter of 2016, better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 7 cents per share. SINA Corp. SINA reported second-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings of 6 cents per share, which was way better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 1 cent and loss of 19 cents reported in the year-ago quarter.

Last Weeks Developments

Last Friday, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.2% and closed the week nearly unchanged following concerns over the health of the economy and firm steps taken by regulators to reduce market risk. These developments reduced trading volumes as investors stayed away from the bourses. Additionally, the appetite for risk taking declined following signs of an economic revival and doubt about how much additional stimulus would be forthcoming.

The CSI 300 gained 0.1% while the small cap heavy ChiNext declined by 1%. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index advanced 1.4%, boosting weekly gains to 1.9%. This was its highest point in three months. Investors in Hong Kong were encouraged by speculation that the central bank would undertake fresh stimulus measures.

Markets and the Economy This Week

The benchmark index gained 0.9% on Monday after coal stocks surged and property companies racked up gains following excitement over a major developer buying up a rivals shares. These positives negated the effect of disappointing trade data. Both exports and imports declined to a larger extent than expected last month, indicating weakness in global demand remained.

Story continues

Coal mining companies gained following reports that the borrowings made by some of them will be converted into medium and long term special loans. This is part of the efforts being made by the government to boost the embattled coal sector.

The Hang Seng added 1.6%, rising to its highest level in seven months. Gains were led by real estate stocks and producers of building materials following impressive U.S. jobs data which indicated that the largest economy in the world showing improvement.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7% on Tuesday, closing at its highest level since the end of Jul 26. Stocks advanced to its highest level in two weeks, with consumer and industrial stocks leading gains, following signs that the U.S. economy may be attaining some degree of stability. The Hang Seng fell from the highest level that it had hit in eight months.

Chinas PPI declined in July, falling 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. The metric declined by the lowest extent in nearly two years. Meanwhile, sales of passenger vehicles increased by the highest degree in nearly one and a half years. Consumer staples and industrial stocks were the highest gains on Chinas exchanges. Sub indexes for these stocks gained by a minimum of 11%.

The benchmark index declined by 0.2% on Wednesday primarily due to losses taken by property companies as investors indulged in profit taking after a six day stretch of gains. However, financial stocks took losses after regulators began a country wide examination of the health of the banking sector, according to reports. These events negated the impact of gains from materials and natural resources stocks.

The CSI 300 also declined, by 0.4%. Stocks in Hong Kong moved higher, with casinos based in Macau leading gains. The Hang Seng increased by only 0.1% after gaining as much as 0.7% at one point. However, the Bull Run seemed to be in no hurry of petering out. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index advanced 0.2%.

The Shanghai Composite moved 0.5% lower on Thursday due to a significant correction and grievous losses incurred by small cap stocks which outweighed gains made by financial stocks. The CSI 300 declined 0.3%. Stocks had gained earlier in the day following investor enthusiasm over purchases of stocks in a major Chinese life insurance company.

In contrast, the Hang Seng increased by nearly 0.9% following speculation that the commencement data for the trading link with the Shenzhen may soon be revealed. As a result, brokerage stocks gained significantly. However, investors from the mainland were unmoved by these speculations and the Shenzhen Composite Index losing 1.3% with small cap stocks losing heavily.

Stocks in the News

JD.com reported loss of 3 cents a share in the second quarter of 2016, better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 7 cents per share. Revenues of $9,816 million also exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9,810 million. Additionally, revenues were 42% higher than the figure posted in the year-ago period.

Revenues from services and others, registered a 67% year-over-year increase. Gross merchandise value (GMV) rose 47% to $24.1 billion from core GMV registered in the same period last year. Annual active customer accounts increased to 188.1 million for the 12 months ended on June 30, 2016, 65% higher than the year ago figure.

SINA Corp. reported second-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings of 6 cents per share, which was way better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 1 cent and loss of 19 cents reported in the year-ago quarter. Net revenues of $244 million also topped the consensus mark of $230.4 million while growing 14.2% year over year.

Following the strong results, shares were up nearly 4.9% in the after-hours trading session on Aug 8. SINA also upgraded its revenue outlook for the year. The company expects 2016 revenues to be in the range of $950 million to $1 billion as against the earlier projected range of $850 million to $950 million.

Daqo New Energy Corp. DQ reported second-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings of $2.04 per share, which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.26 per share. Net revenues of $71 million also topped the consensus mark of $63 million while growing 23.1% year over year.

Production volume of polysilicon came in at 3,570 MT, increasing from the 3,405 MT produced in the last quarter. External sales volume of polysilicon came in at 2,931 MT rising from the 2,905 MT in the first quarter. Average total production cost of polysilicon was $9.43/kg for the quarter, falling from the $9.43/kg during the first quarter of 2016.

Sohu.com Inc. SOHU reported adjusted loss of $1.64 a share in the second quarter of 2016, which compared unfavorably with the prior-year quarter loss of 70 cents per share. Even revenues in the quarter were down 15% to $420 million primarily due to lower revenues from online gaming.

For the third quarter of 2016, Sohu expects revenues in a range of $400 million$430 million.

Management estimates brand advertising revenues in a range of $110 million to $120 million, representing 21% to 27% year-over-year decline. The company expects to generate about $47 million to $50 million revenues from Sohu Media Portal and $32-$36 million from Sohu Video.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. YGE or Yingli Solar, expects to maintain a positive momentum into the second quarter, as revealed in its preliminary financial results. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results on Aug 23, before the opening bell.

In its preliminary financial results, Yingli Solar revealed that its shipments in the second quarter will surpass expectations. Photovoltaic (PV) module shipments are now expected in the range of 630 megawatts (MW) to 660 MW, higher than its earlier forecast of 580620 MW. The figure also indicates an increase from total PV module shipment of 508.1 MW in the first quarter.

Performance of Most Actively Traded US-listed Chinese Stocks

The table given below shows the price movements of 10 Chinese companies with the highest three-month average trading volume on U.S. exchanges. Price movements over the last five days and during the last six months have been included.

Ticker Last 5 Days Performance 6-Month Performance JD +7.9% +0.7% BABA +5.1% +41.4% VIPS +4.2% +27.4% CTRP +7.8% +23.5% TSL +1.1% +21% WB +31.1% +238.6% YY +16% -10.1% BIDU +1.8% +15.2% VNET +7.5% -37.2% SFUN +2.3% -0.4%

Next Weeks Outlook:

Stocks have just ended an encouraging run of gains and markets are currently in correction mode. Investors have received a boost from positive economic signals from the U.S. which indicate that the worlds largest economy is in better health. However, investors remain concerned about the state of Chinas economy.

This is why the series of economic reports scheduled for release over the next few days is crucial. Data to be released on Friday itself will provide valuable insight on new loans, FDI, fixed asset investment, retail sales and industrial production. If most of these reports are positive in nature, markets could return to their winning ways over next week.

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Christie Brinkley is setting the record straight on her split from John Mellencamp.



Though Mellencamp, 64, and Brinkley, 62, exclusively announced their breakup to PEOPLE on Tuesday, citing "the mileage between their homes and their heavy career demands" as the reasoning for their inability to "maintain the relationship," a report alleged on Thursday that the 64-year-old musician's "hell-bent political opinions and redneck ways" as the reason for the split.



Brinkley took to Instagram on Thursday to deny that she broke it off due to differing political viewpoints.



Brinkley began, "While much has been written over the years about me that I simply allow to roll off my back ... I do stand up for my friends when things seem unfair and this is the case here ...."











"On the heels of a mutual statement made due to pressure from media outlets regarding the status of our relationship, John Mellencamp and I which clearly explained that distance and work were all that stood in the way of our relationship ... comes this convoluted article," the mother of three continued.



"[It] cherry picks lyrics from a Mellencamp song, 'Peaceful World,' (which was written right before we went to war w Iraq ) ... and another more obscure song, 'The West End,' which is about Seymour, Indiana, and how big box stores have ruined the small towns," the caption reads. "And somehow [journalist] Richard Johnson extrapolates from these old lyrics that John is against progressive Democratic politics and somehow sounds like a [Donald] Trump fan and that 'hell-bent political opinions and redneck ways' were the reasons we parted."



Brinkley then shared that the pair, in fact, both support Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton: "John and I are actually both patriotic Americans who do our fair share of working to bring Americans together John primarily thru his work with Farm Aid and thru his music, which by the way he just gave Hilary Clinton his song for her campaign 'Our Country' .... We both believe that we stand a better chance of overcoming the problems America faces when Americans of every race religion ethnicity, gender, black lives, blue lives, come together in mutual respect and love and that's why we are both voting for Hillary."



The supermodel again confirmed that the reasoning for the breakup was due to the mileage in between the duo: "As to the problem JOHN and I faced it's just Mileage. Pure and simple. Not that exciting or salacious, sorry."



She added, "P.S. John has more friends and invitations to sit at fancy tables in the Hamptons than I do. And in that setting he's very funny and charming."
By Amanda Becker and James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Wednesday accused Republican opponent Donald Trump of inciting violence with his call for gun rights activists to stop her from nominating liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices. Clinton's comments added to a growing outcry over Trump's remarks on Tuesday at a North Carolina rally, which some interpreted as a call for violence against his White House rival. His remarks also fueled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track. "Words matter, my friends," the former U.S. secretary of state, who rarely engages in direct back-and-forths with her Republican rival, said at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. "And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences." "Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line," she said, citing "his casual inciting of violence." Trump insisted in an interview with Fox News that his remarks were a call for political, not physical, action. There is tremendous political power to save the Second Amendment, tremendous," the New York businessman said. "And you look at the power they have in terms of votes and thats what I was referring to, obviously thats what I was referring to, and everybody knows it." The U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms. "I cant think of anything remotely comparable to it. No one tells a joke about the opponent getting shot. Ive never heard it," said Bob Shrum, a top aide for Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000 and John Kerry's in 2004. REPUBLICANS SHAKEN High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters appeared shaken on Wednesday after a string of Trump misfires, struggling with how to best reject his divisive candidacy. Some pledged to withhold their endorsement and others backed Clinton. Some, including MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, called for party leaders to replace Trump on the ticket. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken Aug. 5-8 - before Trump's latest controversy - showed that nearly one-fifth of 396 registered Republicans said they want Trump to drop out of the race and another 10 percent said they "don't know" whether the Republican nominee should or not. Clinton's campaign, seeing an opening, has moved to bring disenchanted Republicans into the fold by announcing an official intraparty outreach effort on behalf of the Democratic nominee. Clinton's campaign now has a website for Republicans and political independents to sign up to pledge their support, listing 50 prominent Republicans and independents who have endorsed her. On Monday, 50 Republican national security officials signed an open letter questioning Trump's temperament, calling him reckless and unqualified to be president. Other top Republicans, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine this week, have disavowed Trump but said they cannot back Clinton. James Rohrscheib, 74, a registered Republican and retired U.S. Navy officer from Washington state, told Reuters the reality is the Nov. 8 election will be a "tough one." "Im in a quandary as to who I am going to vote for," Rohrscheib said. Trump has dismissed the defections and criticism as an unsurprising reaction of the so-called Washington elite to his drive to change the status quo. One group that appears unswayed is Trump's donors. Reuters interviewed nine major Trump donors on Wednesday, and not one said his Second Amendment comment had given them pause. Trump Texas fundraising co-chair Gaylord Hughey called the interpretation of his remark as condoning violence "ridiculous" and "ludicrous." "Its just another issue the press has really twisted to make headlines," Hughey said. But Mike Smith, a Republican voter and Reuters/Ipsos poll respondent, said the support Trump is still receiving from Republicans "almost seems obligatory rather than voluntary." "Im almost at the point where I think Im going to vote for Hillary. I don't like her," said Smith, a 74-year-old retiree who lives in Clearwater, Florida. "But Mr. Trump is making me very nervous." RESET ABANDONED Republican strategist and Trump supporter Ford OConnell said Trump has "dug himself a deep hole" with voters and to win the election he will need to "make it a referendum on Hillary Clinton and the 'rigged system.'" Trump sought to do just that by using an economic policy speech in Detroit on Monday to correct a series of missteps that included a prolonged clash with the parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier. But his remarks Tuesday undermined that effort. "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," Trump said at the rally in North Carolina. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know," he continued. A federal official familiar with the matter denied a media report that the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates threats against presidents and candidates, had formally spoken with the Trump campaign about his remark. Trump's comment and the resulting backlash occurred as Reuters/Ipsos polling showed some 44 percent of 1,162 registered voters believe Trump should exit the race, and that as of Tuesday, Clinton led Trump by more than 7 percentage points, up from a 3-point lead late last week. Strategists and Trump detractors agreed that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove Trump from the Republican ticket. "Its wishful thinking to believe the Republicans are going to replace its nominee after the convention. People are grasping at straws," Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with Trump, told Reuters. A more likely scenario would be a replay of the 1996 presidential race, when the Republican Party essentially deserted nominee Bob Dole, who was badly trailing President Bill Clinton, to focus on congressional races. (Additional reporting by Alana Wise, Emily Flitter, Ginger Gibson, Susan Heavy, Doina Chiacu, Grant Smith, Eric Beech and Jonathan Allen; Writing by Amanda Becker; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton's campaign fired back at Donald Trump on Thursday for "trash-talking the United States" after the Republican nominee repeatedly labeled President Barack Obama as the "founder" of the terrorist group ISIS.

"This is another example of Donald Trump trash-talking the United States," Clinton campaign senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. "It goes without saying that this is a false claim from a presidential candidate with an aversion to the truth and an unprecedented lack of knowledge."

"What's remarkable about Trump's comments is that once again, he's echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure," he continued.

During a Wednesday night rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Trump repeatedly called Obama the "founder of ISIS," a claim he reiterated multiple times Thursday morning.

"In many respects ... ISIS is honoring President Obama  he is the founder of ISIS," Trump said of the international terrorist organization.

He later called Clinton the "co-founder."

Speaking with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, Trump doubled down on his comments as Hewitt took on the job of attempting to clarify.

"Last night you said the president was the founder of ISIS," Hewitt said. "I know what you meant. You meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace."

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS," Trump replied. "I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton."

NOW WATCH: Watch Hillary's brutal attack ad showing children watching Trump's controversial statements





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By Amanda Becker and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will release her 2015 tax returns and her running mate, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, will release the last 10 years of their tax returns within days, according to a source close to Clinton. The returns will show Clinton paid an effective tax rate of 35 percent and gave about 10 percent to charity, CNBC reported. The release comes as Republican Donald Trump is facing criticism for not releasing his tax returns - a political practice that is not required by law but has been done by every White House nominee since 1973. "He refuses to do what every other presidential candidate in decades has done and release his tax returns," Clinton said on Thursday in an economic speech in Michigan. Clinton's campaign has already released tax returns going back to 2007. In addition, tax returns are publicly available for the eight years her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was in the White House. Prior years were released by his campaign. Tax returns filed by the Clintons have been made public, in some form, for every year back to 1977. Trump, a New York businessman, has refused to release his tax returns, saying they are under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. He has said he is unlikely to do so before the Nov. 8 presidential election. Critics, including 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, have blasted Trump for failing to disclose his tax rate and raised questions about what his returns say about his net worth and various business ties, particularly in Russia. Asked in a television interview in May what tax rate he pays, Trump replied "It's none of your business." The IRS has said Trump can release his tax returns even while under audit. Besides showing sources and amounts of income, tax returns show what percentage tax rate a person ultimately pays, as well as how much they claimed in deductions and the amounts given to charities. Earlier this month, at a Clinton rally in Omaha, Nebraska, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate is based there, challenged Trump to make his returns public. "I'm under audit, too, and I would be delighted to meet him anyplace, anytime, before the election," Buffett said. "I'll bring my tax return, he can bring his tax return ... and let people ask us questions." Trump has declined to do so. (Editing by Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis)
By Jonathan Allen WARREN, Mich. (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday said rival Donald Trump had no real plans to help middle-class families, arguing that his agenda of tax cuts and tough trade talk would throw the economy into recession. "He's offered no credible plans to address what working families are up against today," Clinton said in Warren, Michigan, shortly after touring Futuramic, a hangar-like, high-tech factory that makes parts for the aerospace industry. Clinton said Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, would scrap regulations meant to hold corporations accountable, cut taxes on "millionaires and Wall Street money managers," and eliminate the estate tax, an inheritance tax that generally hits the wealthy. Clinton offered no new proposals of her own but sought to cast doubt on the image Trump promotes of himself as the voice for working people. The New York businessman is counting on his appeal to blue-collar voters with concerns about global trade to boost his chances in key states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio. Clinton on Thursday ran through many of the policies she has outlined over the last year to contrast herself with Trump, who has given far fewer details about his plans, as the presidential campaign heads toward the Nov. 8 election. Trump delivered an economic speech in Detroit on Monday. He publicly named his economic advisers last week, which Clinton mocked as "six guys named Steve." On Thursday, he released a list of nine additions to the council, eight of whom were women. New members included roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks, investor Carla Sands and hedge funder Anthony Scaramucci.Workers' anxiety over trade deals has become a central theme in the 2016 election, and Clinton rejected the portrait Trump has painted that she only pretends not to favor the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a deal she praised when she was secretary of state from 2009-2013 but has more recently opposed. Clinton also says she would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by former President Bill Clinton, her husband. Trump routinely disparages the agreement as bad for American jobs. "It's true that too often past trade deals have been sold to the American people with rosy scenarios that didn't pan out, Clinton told the crowd of factory workers. "The answer is not to rant and rave, or cut ourselves off from the world. "The answer is to finally make trade work for us, not against us," she said. "So my message to every worker in Michigan and across America is this: I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership." (Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson and Amanda Becker in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Washington (AFP) - Hillary Clinton admonished Donald Trump for claiming she and President Barack Obama were the founders of the Islamic State group, as the White House rivals also clashed on plans to improve the US economy.

"No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS," Clinton tweeted as she accused her 2016 election rival of a "smear" against the president.

"Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our commander-in-chief."

The Republican nominee roiled the campaign late Wednesday by telling a rally in Florida that Obama "is the founder of ISIS."

"And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton," he added.

A furious Democratic National Committee on Thursday called on the real estate mogul to "apologize for his outrageous, unhinged and patently false suggestions."

Instead, amid a flare of renewed controversy less than three months before the November 8 election, Trump doubled down, repeating to homebuilders in Miami Beach, Florida that Obama and Clinton founded the violent extremist group.

"ISIS will hand her the most valuable player award," he said of Clinton, 68.

He made the claim again at a rally Thursday night in Kissimmee, Florida.

Clinton's campaign issued a stern statement saying Trump has "an aversion to the truth."

"This is another example of Donald Trump trash-talking the United States," Clinton senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan said in the statement.

Trump was "echoing the talking points of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure," he added.

While Trump's remarks landed him in fresh controversy, they did manage to push another deeply divisive row -- his remarks that could be interpreted as advocating gun violence against Clinton -- out of the headlines.

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Trump has struggled to right his campaign following two weeks of stumbles, sliding poll numbers and rejection by a series of fellow Republicans.

He eyed a reset Monday by rolling out his economic policies. But then dozens of respected Republican national security experts announced their opposition to a Trump presidency.

The following day, Trump caused alarm when he suggested "Second Amendment people" -- Americans who support gun rights -- could act against Clinton.

- 'Truth-teller' -

Republicans have long stated that the foreign policies of Obama and his then-secretary of state Clinton share blame in helping create conditions that allowed the IS group to grow in Iraq and Syria.

The jihadist organization was founded in 2013, months after Clinton left the State Department. It was born out of the extremist group Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which grew in strength in 2006 following Republican president George W. Bush's decision to invade the country in 2003.

The group flourished with Obama's withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in late 2011.

Republicans said Obama was slow to recognize the threat when he said in 2014 that the Islamic State group was a "JV" -- junior varsity -- team even though it was gaining ground in Syria and Iraq.

Trump stood firm when asked by CNBC whether it was appropriate to say a sitting US president founded a jihadist group determined to kill Americans.

"Is there something wrong with saying that?" Trump, 70, said. "Are people complaining that I said he was the founder of ISIS?"

"All I do is tell the truth. I'm a truth-teller."

Trump endured a barrage of recent criticism, particularly over the Second Amendment remarks, which Clinton said had "crossed the line."

Family members of Democratic president John F. Kennedy, shot to death in 1963, expressed revulsion over Trump for voicing "the possibility of political assassination."

Relatives of Republican president Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded in 1981, and slain civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr also condemned Trump for his gun remarks.

- Economy -

Clinton meanwhile turned toward the economy, telling supporters in Michigan she will defend US interests against China and reject the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement if she is president.

She also attacked Trump for his economic positions, saying he was peddling a "myth" that "he will stick it to the rich and powerful."

"Don't believe it," she said.

"He would give trillions in tax cuts to big corporations, millionaires and Wall Street money managers," she added.

Trump hit back, arguing in Miami Beach that Clinton will raise taxes dramatically.

"I'm going to cut taxes big league," he said.

His campaign also predicted Clinton, who supported TPP during the negotiation process, would ultimately approve the pact.
Puerto Ordaz (Venezuela) (AFP) - Venezuela and Colombia agree to reopen pedestrian border crossings between their countries, a year after Venezuela closed the frontier in a dispute over security and smuggling.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he and his Venezuelan counterpart agreed to open five pedestrian crossings for 15 hours a day from Saturday.

"What we are going to do is open the border gradually," Santos told reporters after talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"It will be a temporary opening schedule while we learn and adapt to the decisions so that each step we take will be accurate and positive."

Maduro said he hoped the reopening would lead to a "new frontier of peace" and "a new beginning for economic and trade relations."

Santos said they would continue discussions about opening up the border to cargo vehicles.

He added that they were discussing the possibility of setting up Venezuelan gas stations on the Colombian side where Venezuela could sell its petrol.

At the talks in the eastern Venezuelan town of Puerto Ordaz, the leaders said they reviewed reports by their advisers on cross-border smuggling and security.

Security was the top issue at the border, Santos said. The two countries this week set up a joint initiative to fight organized crime.

"This is very important because it is going to make it possible for the rest of the border to operate peacefully," he said.

- Cross-border supplies -

Santos said the two countries also agreed to exchange customs information to fight petrol smuggling -- one reason Maduro cited for closing the border.

Maduro sealed off his country's 2,200-kilometer (1,400-mile) western border on August 19 last year after an attack on a Venezuelan army patrol which wounded three people.

He said at the time that right-wing paramilitaries from Colombia were to blame.

The leftist leader has briefly reopened the border in recent weeks to allow Venezuelans to stock up on food, medicine and other basic supplies.

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Tens of thousands of Venezuelans streamed into the Colombian city of Cucuta last month, taking advantage of the temporary reopening.

Venezuela is facing severe shortages in an economic crisis fueled by the global crash in the price of oil, its main export.

Maduro's opponents also accuse him of mishandling the state-led economy. They are trying to call a referendum on removing him from office.

The United Nations said Venezuela deported hundreds of Colombians last year after the border was closed and that thousands more fled back to Colombia for fear of being expelled.

The UN Interamerican Commission on Human Rights said the situation caused a humanitarian crisis and that deported Colombians' rights were violated.

Caracas denied the allegation.
By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - A man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado last year who was ruled incompetent to stand trial remains mentally unfit, according to a report from a mental hospital, a court official said on Thursday.

At a brief hearing in El Paso County District Court, the judge presiding over the murder case read from the report that said Robert Lewis Dear, 58, has not been restored to competency, said Rob McCallum, spokesman for the Colorado Judicial Branch.The report cited by El Paso County District Court Judge Gilbert Martinez from the state hospital where Dear is being held means that criminal proceedings against him remain on hold.

Dear has been charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and assault stemming from the November 2015 shooting rampage at the clinic in Colorado Springs that also left nine others wounded.

In previous courtroom outbursts, Dear declared his guilt and proclaimed himself a warrior for the babies, prompting Martinez to order a competency evaluation.

In a May hearing on the issue, two psychologists who evaluated Dear testified that the South Carolina native suffers from a psychotic delusional disorder that renders him incapable of assisting in his defense.

Martinez ruled that while Dear had a factual understanding of the case, he was incapable of meaningfully helping his lawyers, and ordered him to undergo treatment in an attempt to restore him to competency.

Under Colorado law, the state hospital must report to the judge every 90 days on an incompetent defendants progress. Thursdays hearing was the first review of Dears mental state.

Dear did not attend the hearing, but is to be in court for a second review in November, when two defense motions will also be argued. Defense lawyers are asking Martinez to bar Dear from having any contact with the news media.

While acknowledging that Dear has reached out to various news outlets, defense lawyers said in a written filing that news reports could undermine his right to a fair trial.

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Some contacts were unfortunately initiated by members of the news media, who appear determined to exploit this mentally ill man and cause those impacted by this tragedy more grief for the sake of generating headlines, the defense motion said.

The other motion asks that the defense be given 30 days' notice if psychiatrists decide to involuntarily medicate Dear, who indicated that he would not willingly ingest psychotropic medication.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Dan Grebler)
If there was any doubt that Republicans were jumping off the Trump train, it ended Thursday on the sun-drenched Iowa State Fairgrounds when conservative Rep. Steve King began looking past the November election and acknowledging that he could work with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton if she is elected the next president.

If its Hillary, we dont agree on very much, so youll probably see me become a vocal member of Congress if you should elect me back to Washington after November, he said during a Des Moines Register Political Soapbox speech. But I also know that Ive sat across the table with Hillary Clinton, eye-to-eye, and when youre working outside of staff and outside the press, she is somebody I can work with.

Related: What Would Trump Have to Say that Would Finally End His Run for President?

King, a politically incendiary Iowa Tea Party Republican, is one of the most conservative members of Congress. He actually rivals Trump in his disdain for illegal immigrants and any whiff of immigration reform that goes beyond building a wall and deporting millions of illegal immigrants from this country.

It was King who infamously quipped in 2013 that for every child of illegal immigrants whos a valedictorian, theres another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds and theyve got calves the size of cantaloupes because theyre hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.

Ross Baker, a Rutgers University political scientist, described Kings comments as truly astonishing in light of his extreme conservative views and long-standing contempt for Clinton. If any member of Congress is a solid Trump guy, its him, Baker said today. For him to say that is virtually like running up the white flag.

The seven-term Republican lawmaker endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2016 Iowa GOP caucuses, and in the process incurred the wrath of Iowas powerful gasohol industry because of Cruzs opposition to federal gasohol subsidies.

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King has long denounced Clinton as a liar who misled the public and Congress on her mishandling of emails while she was secretary of state and her role in the run up to and aftermath of the September 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans. He also strongly opposes her call for creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

Related: Trump: Second Amendment People Could Do Something About Clintons SCOTUS Picks

But that was all before the Trump campaign began to implode this summer in the wake of the New York billionaires attack on the family of a fallen military hero, his seeming approval of Russia hacking the Democratic party email and, most recently, his thinly veiled suggestion that Second Amendment gun rights advocates somehow stop Clinton from being elected President to prevent her from appointing liberals to the Supreme Court. Clinton emerged from the Democratic National Convention in late July with a sizable nine to 10 percentage point bump over Trump in the national polls.

Now dozens of Republican lawmakers, policy experts and media pundits have broken with Trump and signaled they would support a third party candidate or maybe even Clinton. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine on Wednesday became the seventh Republican senator to formally break with Trump. And while King devoted most of his speech today to praising Trump and his GOP vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, King raised a lot of eyebrows with his praise of Clinton as someone he could work with.

Kings softening of his anti-Clinton rhetoric comes as a new Wall Street Journal/NBC/Marist poll out this week shows Clinton leading Trump in Iowa by four percentage points, 41 percent to 37 percent.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
New details about the cop who accidentally killed a 73-year-old librarian during a police safety demonstration in Florida have emerged.

Read: Woman, 73, Accidentally Shot Dead By Police Officer During Gun Demonstration

The police officer has been identified as Lee Coel. Three years ago, when he was a rookie with the Miramar Police Department, he was accused of using excessive force on two separate occasions and was put on administrative leave.

The department said he violated its policies and he resigned, the Miami Herald reported. He left the department after 14 months on the job.

Coel later joined the Punta Gorda Police Department.

Dash cam video from October 2015 shows him pulling over a cyclist for not having a light. During the routine pullover, Coel's police dog bit the cyclist, Richard Schumacher, when the officer claimed he didn't follow orders, including a failure to stop.

Schumacher pleaded guilty to resisting arrest without violence and driving under the influence while a third charge of fleeing and eluding was dismissed. An internal police investigation cleared Coel of wrongdoing in the incident.

Schumacher's lawyer Scott Weinberg told Inside Edition: "He is the type of officer who should not be on the police force. He acts like he is in a war zone all the time. For a minute and 47 seconds, that officer almost let that dog kill my client. This man is dangerous and he is going to kill somebody and unfortunately, he did."

But Schumacher plans to sue the police officer and the Punta Gorda Police Department.

Now, Coel has been placed on administrative leave following Tuesdays accidental shooting of beloved librarian Mary Knowlton.

Read: College Athlete, 20, Shot Dead While Playing Pokemon Go at San Francisco Tourist Hot Spot

Steve Knowlton, the victim's heartbroken son, is now trying to come to terms with his loss.

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"Obviously there is a difference between bullets and blanks, but why was there even a gun pointed at my mom?" he said.

Incredibly, he says he has forgiven the officer who shot his mom.

"If we are not willing to forgive, I guess we cannot expect to be forgiven," he said.

Watch: 'Black Lives Matter' Chant Erupts as 9 Moms Who Lost Children to Police and Gun Violence Speak at DNC

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The business community has long complained that the 35 percent top corporate tax is the highest in the world and has placed them at a distinct competitive disadvantage.

Yet many entrepreneurs have sharply reduced their tax obligation over the past decade or two by changing their corporate structure to pass-through entities that enable them to pay a much lower tax rate under the federal personal income tax code.

Related: Corporate Pass-Throughs Have Cost the Treasury $100 Billion

This little known but highly significant shift towards pass throughs, such as sole proprietorships, Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), partnerships, and S-corporations, has profoundly diminished the flow of tax revenue into the Treasurys coffers. The surge in pass-throughs cost the Treasury at least $100 billion in foregone revenue between the 1980s and 2011, according to government figures, and experts say that the price tag will grow substantially in the future.

Moreover, the Treasury Department and the National Bureau of Economic Research warned in a paper presented last year that partnerships and other pass-throughs have widened the income gap in the country, as the Fiscal Times reported.

Pass-Through Income

Pass-throughs allow for generous tax breaks to and deductions. This has enabled the wealthiest Americans to nearly double their share of overall income between 1980 and 2013, the study asserts.

So it is notable that Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman and Republican presidential nominee, has proposed to reduce taxes on pass-through income even more as part of a retooled economic plan he unveiled in Detroit earlier this week.

Related: Smart Tax Reform Has to Account for This Massive Change

Trumps proposal, if enacted by Congress, would set the tax rate on pass-through income at a maximum of 15 percent, compared with the nearly 40 percent personal income tax rate that wealthy businesses must pay today. At the same time, he would lower the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent.

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After deductions, the average income tax rate on U.S. pass-through businesses in recent years was just 19 percent, according to the Treasury, much lower than the average rate for traditional C corporations, even after deductions are claimed. A study by the Center for American Progress released this week found that 70 percent of pass-through income goes to the financial industry and profitable holding companies.

While other Republican presidential candidates over the years have proposed lowering the top personal income tax rate in order to effectively lower the top pass through rates, Trump is the first to target businesses large and small for major pass-through tax relief.

Whats more, Trumps own real estate and resort businesses interests would benefit substantially, as The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The real estate mogul listed on his 2015 presidential financial disclosure form holdings of more than 200 LLCs (limited liability corporations), which are a form of pass throughs.

Related: How Tax Reform Could Help Save U.S. Infrastructure

The National Federation of Independent Business, an advocacy group for small businesses, has praised Trumps plan as a way to encourage more small business investments and job creation. Mr. Trumps plan would eliminate the disparity between the way large corporations and small businesses are treated under the code and all businesses would be taxed at a substantially lower rate, the group stated. Those reforms would encourage more small business investment, job creation, and economic growth.

However, critics caution that the proposal could provide new incentives for tax evasion or gaming the tax code by wealthy Americans and businesses and a further diminution of tax revenue that could put added pressure on the deficit.

The IRS would have to be extremely careful in setting the rules to prevent any sort of gaming of wage or business income, Scott Hodge, president of the non-partisan Tax Foundation, said in an interview today.

Related: Can Trump Sell Himself as Savior of the Economy?

Today, there are an estimated 25 million to 30 million sole proprietorships established by lower income business people and entrepreneurs, and about seven million S-Corps and Limited Liability Corporations created by high-income doctors, lawyers, consultants, manufacturers, and others.

Hodge said that currently, the Internal Revenue Service has a reasonableness test for S-Corps designed to prevent wealthy business people and others from reporting only a small portion of their income as taxable wages and taking the rest as dividend payouts.

Congress writing the rules and the IRS implementing them would have to establish some very strict guidelines to prevent that sort of gaming, Hodge said. It is a very expensive and very large tax cut in the individual tax code, especially for high-income people.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Crews battling a fierce wildfire that has already destroyed two structures and blackened more than 7,000 acres in central California gained a measure of control over the flames on Thursday but said more than 50 homes were still in danger. Authorities shifted resources to battle the so-called Mineral Fire, which broke out on Tuesday afternoon near the town of Coalinga, after largely containing two other destructive blazes burning elsewhere in the state. "It's just always going to be a high threat because we don't know about changing fire conditions," said Mike Yuen, public information officer for the Mineral Fire. "We're still entering the hottest part of the day but firefighters have actually made great progress out there over the last 24 hours." Yuen said crews had cut containment lines around 15 percent of the fire's perimeter as of Thursday afternoon and hoped to extend those buffers throughout the day, depending on the weather. He said 51 homes remained threatened by the fire, evacuation orders remained in place for residents in the path of the flames and the Red Cross had set up a shelter at a community college. The Mineral Fire is one of nearly 30 major wildfires burning across the U.S. West, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, five of them in California. The wildfire season has reached its traditional peak, intensified by prolonged drought and extreme summer heat across the state. In the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, the so-called Pilot Fire, which erupted on Sunday, was 70 percent contained after charring nearly 8,000 acres of dry chaparral, grass and timber. Three school districts that closed their campuses because of dangerous conditions and heavy smoke had reopened them and some evacuation orders had been lifted. Near Big Sur along California's scenic coastline, the so-called Soberanes Fire was 55 percent contained on Thursday after burning through nearly 70,000 acres and destroying 57 homes, as well as 11 outbuildings. A bulldozer operator died on July 26 when his tractor rolled over as he helped property owners battle the flames, the sixth wildfire fatality in California this year. Authorities have traced origins of the Soberanes Fire to an illegal campfire left unattended in a state park about a mile from Highway 1 along the coast. No arrests have been made so far. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
Warsaw (AFP) - Poland's Constitutional Court struck down more government reforms Thursday aimed at clipping its wings in a deepening constitutional crisis that has set Warsaw on a collision course with the EU.

Chief Justice Andrzej Rzeplinski said the court found many sections of the July 22 law, adopted by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government, "non-compliant with the Polish Constitution".

Pro-democracy protesters gathered outside the court building in central Warsaw to support its judges in their ruling but their numbers were much fewer than previous rallies.

On the eve of the judgement, powerful PiS party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said the government would not recognise it, accusing the court of acting unconstitutionally and playing politics.

Kaczynski has in the past accused the body of wanting to block PiS legislation and so siding with the liberal Civic Platform opposition, the government's arch-rivals.

He dismissed the new ruling as merely "private in character" and without legality, signalling the top court's further paralysis.

In recent months, the PiS's changes to the court have triggered mass street protests by tens of thousands of Poles worried about democracy and the rule of law in the ex-communist EU and NATO state.

- Fresh legislation in pipeline -

Kaczynski said a special PiS-dominated parliamentary committee would soon table fresh draft legislation on the court, without providing details.

The PiS government previously refused to promulgate a series of judgements by the Constitutional Court, including one from March 9 that would strike down other legislative changes to the body.

Insisting the PiS moves undermine the rule of law and democracy, the European Commission has given Warsaw until the end of October to reverse the changes or face sanctions.

The Commission's July move is the second step in an unprecedented procedure which could eventually see Warsaw's voting rights suspended in the Council of Ministers, the EU's highest decision-making body.

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Among the demands by the commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation EU, are for the Constitutional Court rulings to be published and implemented.

Kaczynski has lashed out at the EU disciplinary process, accusing the European Commission of acting illegally.

After scoring a strong majority in elections late last year, the populist-oriented PiS immediately pushed through legislation which critics say paralysed the Constitutional Court.

It has also ramped up state control over public broadcasters, further straining relations with the EU which demands that all member states meet the same rule of law and democratic norms.

The United States has voiced concern over the changes, with President Barack Obama taking up the issue with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda during a June visit to Warsaw.
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Water polo players complained chlorine was stinging their eyes after a second Olympic pool turned green and officials pumped in chemicals to fix the problem.

Tony Azvedo said he could hardly open his eyes for the last quarter of America's match with France as organisers rushed to turn the water back to blue.

After the diving pool suddenly turned from blue to green because the cleaning system ran out of chemicals, the water polo pool followed suit.

"What's ridiculous is not the green water. I've played in plenty of pools with green water. The problem is they put way too much chlorine in. I could barely open my eyes for the final quarter," Azvedo said on Wednesday.

"Who cares about the green water? The water could be any colour, it doesn't matter. What matters is that it's safe for us. This is the Olympic Games and they are putting so much chlorine in the water that people can't see. You can't have that."

Organisers stressed there was "absolutely no risk" to athletes and said the water should return to water on Thursday as the chemical treatment continues.

"As a matter of fact, we could have improved the water much faster using chemicals and we're not doing so in order to respect the fact that we cannot have any risk whatsoever to the health of the athletes," said spokesman Mario Andrada.

Hungary's Gergo Zalanki was another player who complained about the water on Wednesday.

"My eyes hurt from the water, it's not good. It feels like they added more chlorine to the water but I'm not sure," he said.

"I'm used to it because we have a lot of water like this in Hungary, but I think there might be something else wrong too."
The website of the organization that oversees competitive swimming in Australian has come under cyber attack, allegedly in connection with an Australian swimmer calling a Chinese competitor at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics a drug cheat, according to a report.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that the site remains operational despite a denial of service (DoS) attack where the site is overwhelmed by requests and stops functioning. The sites operators are using software to ensure that incoming requests are legitimate, according to the report.

Australian swimmer Mack Horton accused his Chinese competitor Sun Yang of cheating with drugs earlier this month in advance of their competition in the 400-meter freestyle race. Sun had failed a drug test and remained ineligible for competition three months after taking medicine for a well-documented heart condition that had only recently been added to the banned substances list.

Horton finished first and Sun second in the 400-meter freestyle. Since then, Horton has faced intense criticism on social media as well as condemnation from Chinese swimming officials.
DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2016 / I am often asked by people who are unfamiliar with the criminal justice system if they can "just go talk to the judge," hoping that the judge will dismiss their case or help them with it in some way, says Dallas criminal attorney John Helms. Whether your case is in state or federal court, the answer is, "No." Even lawyers cannot talk to the judge about anything substantive about a case without the prosecutor present.

Judges have to be fair and impartial, so they are not allowed to have private discussions about the merits of a case with only one side. This is called an "ex parte" communication. "Ex parte" is a Latin phrase that means "from, by, or for a party." The rule against these private discussions also means that the prosecutor cannot talk to the judge privately about the merits of a case without the criminal defense lawyer present.

There are some situations in which a judge may communicate with only one side, but they have to do with purely administrative issues. These include, for example, scheduling things on the court's docket.

If a judge has a private discussion about the merits of the case with only one side present, this can be the basis to ask that the judge be removed from the case. This is very, very rare, though, and the fact that you may see a prosecutor walking out of a judge's chambers does not mean that they have been discussing the merits of the case. Unless you are sure (way more than a suspicion or guess) that the judge was discussing the merits of the case, it can be very risky to seek to remove a judge based on an improper communication. You are likely to be wrong, the judge is likely to stay on the case, and you are now stuck with a judge whose integrity you have publicly challenged. I have represented a party on appeal whose criminal defense lawyer tried to get a judge removed for this, and it backfired in a big way.

If you can't just go talk to the judge, can your lawyer talk to the judge and ask that your case be dismissed? Again, the answer is "No." In order for your case to be dismissed by a judge before trial, your criminal defense attorney must first file a written motion asking the judge to dismiss the case. The motion must set out why the law says the case must be dismissed. The fact that you disagree with the accusations against you is not a reason to dismiss the case. That is why we have juries. A jury decides what the facts are and whether you are guilty or not guilty.

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There are some situations in which a judge can dismiss a case before trial, but they are generally legal reasons, like the fact that the statute of limitations has run out, or that the evidence against you was obtained by an illegal search, or that the indictment is not sufficient to charge you with a crime. These are issues that a lawyer should raise by a written motion. The Government then gets a chance to respond, and the court may allow oral argument in open court on the issues.

Can I just go talk to the prosecutor and ask him or her to dismiss my case? The answer is that there is no legal rule that prevents this, but as a practical matter, you are much better off if a criminal defense attorney does this for you - especially a lawyer the prosecutor respects. Prosecutors tend to be very skeptical of criminal defendants, because it is so common for criminal defendants to say they are not guilty even though they are. Prosecutors are not required to believe anything you say, and they generally won't, unless you have documents or photographs to back up everything you say.

An experienced criminal defense lawyer, on the other hand, especially one who has been a prosecutor, understands the kinds of arguments and evidence that are persuasive to a skeptical prosecutor. I have had a lot of success bringing prosecutors information and evidence that they recognize as convincing. There is a down side, though, to laying out your defense. If the prosecutor is not convinced, and they are often hard to convince, then you have just lost a valuable edge at trial - the element of surprise. By laying out facts or evidence that a prosecutor does not know, you may just be telling the prosecutor what they need to do to counter your defense at trial. The bottom line is that it takes experience and good judgment to know when it is best to lay your cards on the table and when it is better to keep them close to the vest for trial.

If you have been charged with any crime, including drug possession, fraud, assault, theft or a federal drug crimes, call Dallas criminal attorney John Helms at 214-666-8010 or visit his website.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/102874298661508534943/+JohnHelmsLawFirmDallas

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From Esquire

Dan Rather has seen a few things. He covered everything from the JFK assassination, to Vietnam, to Watergate, to 9/11 for CBS News, but if this recent Facebook post is anything to go on, he views Donald Trump's 2nd Amendment comments as unprecedented-and exceptionally dangerous. Rather has joined the growing chorus of voices saying that Trump's statement about how "2nd Amendment people" could stop Hillary Clinton was no ordinary gaffe or offensive Trumpian remark, and should be treated as a line crossed.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related Story" customtitles="The Moment Trump Finally Crossed the Line" customimages="" content="article.47492"]

In the post, Rather shed the veneer of "objectivity," and seemed to encourage other journalists to do the same. The subtext seemed to be that in this extraordinary year, paying due respect to "both sides" of our rapidly degenerating political discourse is actually a destructive exercise.

The whole statement is chock full of urgency and perspective, and it's worth your time. History is, indeed, watching:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday denied requests to loosen the classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no medical use. The Department of Health and Human Services "concluded that marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use in the United States, and lacks an acceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision," the DEA said in a letter on the issue. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey; Editing by Alden Bentley)
medical marijuana

The US Drug Enforcement Administration announced on Thursday morning that it won't change the federal legal status of marijuana.

Marijuana is classified federally as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), meaning that it has no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. It's the same classification as heroin.

But while the DEA didn't reschedule marijuana, it did announce a plan to increase the supply of marijuana available for medical research. More research material could mean that current marijuana-based drugs under development could be approved faster.

And if the US Food and Drug Administration approves a marijuana-based drug, then the DEA will be forced to reevaluate the plant's classification.

The DEA's announcement came in response to two widely circulated petitions that requested the reclassification of marijuana to Schedule II, or to be removed from the CSA altogether.

Schedule II drugs are defined as those with a high potential for abuse, but also with accepted medical purposes. Schedule II drugs can be obtained through prescriptions.

Currently, marijuana's legality is determined on a state-by-state basis. In some states, like Colorado, marijuana is able to be bought and consumed recreationally, while in others it's available medically or illegal.

In a letter addressed to the petitioners, DEA acting administrator Chuck Rosenberg said that there wasn't enough evidence to reclassify marijuana.

"Using established scientific standards that are consistent with that same FDA drug approval process and based on the FDA's scientific and medical evaluation... marijuana will remain a Schedule I substance," Rosenberg wrote.

The DEA took a shot at the marijuana industry in Colorado last week, likening grow houses in residential neighborhoods to the "meth houses" of the 1990s.

cannabis marijuana weed

Story continues

The DEA's announcement left many within the marijuana community upset.

"It's really sad that DEA has chosen to continue decades of ignoring the voices of patients who benefit from medical marijuana," Tom Angell, chairman of advocacy group Marijuana Majority, wrote to Business Insider in an email. "President Obama always said he would let science  and not ideology  dictate policy, but in this case his administration is upholding a failed drug war approach instead of looking at real, existing evidence that marijuana has medical value."

"It's extremely disappointing and shows how out of touch federal officials are with reality," Chris Walsh, the editorial director of Marijuana Business Daily, told Business Insider in an email.

Walsh added that more than a million patients use medical marijuana to "ease their pain" from cancer, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, PTSD, and "dozens of other ailments."

"Yet marijuana remains listed alongside heroin and LSD as one of the most dangerous drugs in the country. It just doesn't make sense," Walsh said.

"Allowing the DEA to set our national policy on cannabis flies in the face of the very rational, science-based approach that the Obama administration has been promising for eight years, and yet again has failed to deliver," David Bienenstock, of High Times, told Business Insider in an email.

cannabis weed marijuana

A small 'positive step'

Despite the criticism, the DEA's decision doesn't flat-out reject the notion that marijuana and marijuana-based compounds can be effective medicines.

There are a number of companies and institutions working on getting marijuana-based drugs approved by the FDA. If the FDA approves any Schedule I drug, then the DEA must reschedule the drug within 90 days.

The language in the letter by Rosenberg, the DEA administrator, specifically leaves this path open:

"The DEA and FDA continue to believe that scientifically valid and well-controlled clinical trials conducted under investigational new drug applications are the proper way to research all potential new medicines, including marijuana ... We believe that the drug approval process is the proper way to assess whether a product derived from marijuana or its constituent parts is safe and effective for medical use."

The DEA, while not rescheduling the drug, is essentially turning the issue over to the FDA. If a company can get a marijuana-based drug approved by the FDA, then it's likely that the DEA will change marijuana's classification.

Some observers, however, say that marijuana's status as a Schedule I drug stifles research. Right now, the only supply of marijuana available for research comes from one lab at the University of Mississippi under a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

With only one lab providing marijuana, researchers, and even The Brookings Institution, have complained that it's difficult to obtain quality research samples.

"A big part of the government's reasoning is that marijuana 'has no currently accepted medical use,' which is ridiculous because the government has essentially banned the research needed to prove that cannabis does in fact have medical benefits," Walsh, of Marijuana Business Daily, said.

In the announcement on Thursday, the DEA said that in order to "facilitate research" about marijuana and its chemical constituents, it's increasing the number of entities registered under the CSA to grow marijuana to supply researchers across the country, busting the monopoly that the University of Mississippi has on growing marijuana for research.

In other words, the DEA wants to sharply increase the supply of marijuana available for medical research.

cannabis weed marijuana

Opening up more sites for growing marijuana for medical research could result in getting a marijuana-based drug approved by the FDA sooner, which would force the DEA to reclassify or even move marijuana off the CSA. As well, it will provide researchers with more reliable, and diverse, samples.

"We appreciate the positive step  however small  of opening up a few additional avenues for medical marijuana research," Aaron Smith, the executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association said in a statement. "But patients deserve more, and Congress should help them by removing marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act, allowing state programs and medical research to move forward without interference."

Bienenstock, of High Times, said that while he "applauds" the decision to end the NIDA's monopoly on growing and supplying marijuana for research purposes, "it's a sickening shame that so many patients seeking healing and relief through herbal cannabis will have to remain in the shadows of prohibition while we wait for the federal government to catch up to both science and the will of the people."

Earl Blumenauer, a democratic congressman from Oregon, said in a statement that while he welcomes "lessening barriers to medical marijuana research," the decision "doesn't go far enough."

"It's further evidence that the DEA doesnt get it," Blumenauer said. "Keeping marijuana at Schedule I continues an outdated, failed approachleaving patients and marijuana businesses trapped between state and federal laws. This decision does not address other key concerns like the need for banking services and tax equity for small businesses, operating legally in half the states. Its not right or fair."

Others within the marijuana space are more skeptical that rescheduling marijuana is a positive step in the first place, as that would open the door for major pharmaceutical companies to dive into the industry.

"Rescheduling marijuana is a double edged sword," Seibo Shen, CEO of VapeXhale, a vaporizer and health company, told Business Insider in an email. "While moving it to Schedule II would have been one step forward, it would put the industry completely in the hands of big pharma companies."

NOW WATCH: The science behind what goes on in your brain when you get hungry after smoking marijuana





More From Business Insider


Insurance Back KPMG: Significant growth expected on the political risk and crisis management insurance segment

"According to the Global Terrorism Index, the total costs of global terrorism reached USD 52.9 billion in 2014 which is the highest level so far and is an almost 350% increase from 2010," states a report issued by KPMG in July 2016, "Political risk and crisis management insurance".



The above figure does not include business interruption costs which are likely to be very high, as highlited by the report. In this context, the estimated total size of the specialty Political Risk and Crisis Management insurance market was around USD 8.1 billion in 2015, of which about USD 1.3 billion for the terrorism and war on land risks, while the cyber risks segment amounted to about USD 2.8 billion.



In KPMG's view, the terrorism risk insurance line is expected to see a 4% annual growth rate between 2015 and 2018, while the "war on land" might see a CAGR of about 6%. The highest growth in the Political Risk and Crisis Management insurance market is to be expected for the cyber security lines, which may witness an average annual business increase of about 20%.



"We are seeing a clear trend for terrorism risk to evolve from mostly property damage related to events similar to the recent Paris attack where asset damage was limited whilst the estimated cost of business interruption according to various economists might reach USD 12 billion. This changing nature of terrorism and the overall perception of increased political volatility, driven by the recent conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, will fuel significant increase in demand over the next three years," states the report with regard to the political violence risks, including terrorism and war on land.



Especially as terrorism risk shifts away from large explosions towards "lone-wolf" shooter attacks, the demand for insurance is expected to change from property damage insurance to business interruption cover, says the report, citing the example of Air France-KLM, which recently announced that the Paris attacks led to a USD 52 million drop in revenue. Such a change may result in a growing demand from businesses that were usually not interested in the standard property damage cover, opening up whole new potential revenue streams. The growing terrorism threat is also evolving into new digital channels - it is sometimes impossible to determine whether a cyberattack has been organised by a terrorist group or because of different motives, creating a need for more advanced cyber security product wordings and specialty cyber terrorism products.



"The winners in the future Political Risk and Crisis Management insurance market will be brokers and carriers that manage to develop deep understanding of emerging risks with strong data & analytics capabilities and offer innovative propositions that span across all key segments," concludes the report, stressing out that "this will allow them to charge premium rates for value add services rather than earning ever diminishing returns for standard insurance cover."





Author: Daniela GHETU on 11.08.2016





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We issued an updated research report on Williams Companies Inc. WMB on Aug 10, 2016. The companys large-scale value-creating projects position it for strong returns even in a low commodity price environment. The positives led the company to report decent second-quarter 2016 earnings. However, Williams Companies high debt level has been a concern.



This is reflected in Williams Companies current Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which implies that the stock will perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.



Williams Companies midstream assets, which are less sensitive to commodity prices, help it to maintain a steady stream of revenue and cash flow even if natural gas prices stay low.



Moreover, the company has been able to counter the challenging macro environment and improve its economics on the back of certain strategic initiatives. These include cost reduction, the exercise of capital discipline, efficiency gains and consistent execution. These are likely to have backed the companys adjusted earnings from continuing operations of 19 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Moreover, the bottom line improved from the prior-year figure of 15 cents per share.



We appreciate the companys recently announced decision to divest its Canadian businesses. Williams Companies and Williams Partners WPZ have decided to divest their Canadian businesses to Inter Pipeline Ltd for a total consideration of $1.03 billion. We believe that the agreement will help the players to finance a considerable part of their growth projects like expanding the far-reaching pipeline networks. The proceeds will also be utilized to lower debts under credit facilities.

The high debt level is a matter of concern for Williams Companies, which is vulnerable to an extended drop in commodity prices. As of Jun 30, 2016, the company had long-term debt of $24,394 million, which represents a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 84%.



On top of that, the termination of the Energy Transfer Equity LP ETE merger deal  against which Williams has appealed  is a major dampener for the company and is likely to substantially affect its shareholders. Most importantly, the deal cancellation compelled Williams Companies to slash its quarterly dividend by almost 69%.



Stock to Consider



A better-ranked player in the energy sector is North Atlantic Drilling Limited NADL. The company carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).



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Giving new meaning to the concept of trick-or-treat, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Andre Bouchard today set aside the week of October 31 for a trial to decide whether Sumner Redstones National Amusements (NAI) can replace five Viacom directors  including CEO Philippe Dauman.

The theater chain owns 80% of Viacoms voting stock, giving it the right to pick directors.

But Viacoms Lead Independent Director Frederic Salerno contends that Redstone is not competent to manage his affairs and is being manipulated by his daughter, Shari, whos Viacoms Vice Chair.

The Redstones reject the charges, saying that Sumner is still capable of running his media empire.

Todays order does not resolve a key question: whether an independent doctor will examine Redstone to determine his competence.

Viacom has until tomorrow to renew its motion for the court to order one. The Redstones would have until August 19 to respond, with a reply brief due August 23.

Meanwhile, Redstone has until tomorrow to provide Viacom with a list of the medical professionals he has consulted since the beginning of 2014. By Monday he must ask those doctors to produce records on their examinations and turn them over promptly upon receipt.

Bouchard says the 2014 date is reasonable since Salerno says that there is reason to believe Mr. Redstone may have been hospitalized or undergone brain scans in 2014.

Most of the documents must be delivered by September 2. Depositions must wrap up by October 5.

The lawyers must make a good faith effort to coordinate discovery efforts with a separate case in Massachusetts where Dauman is seeking to keep his positions on Redstones family trust and the NAI board.

And if theres a medical exam, then it shall be coordinated with the Massachusetts case and possibly one in California where a judge has been asked to validate Redstones ability to run his affairs.

Story continues

The Massachusetts Probate and Family Court plans to hear Daumans case against Redstone beginning October 3. The parties plan to meet tomorrow to discuss scheduling, discovery and whether they need any hearings before the trial begins.

Related stories

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Massachusetts Judge Sets Dates For Dauman Vs. Redstone Trial

National Amusements Says Viacom Plans Don't Change "Adverse Trends"
Delta Jets Atlanta airport

Over the past decade, six of America's largest international airlines have been cut down to just three.

First Delta and Northwest merged in 2008. United and Continental got together in 2010, while US Airways and American completed their union last year.

As a result, the nation's three remaining legacy carriers have become pretty much the same, Scott McCartney wrote in The Wall Street Journal.

In many respects, McCartney is spot on. When one of the big three implements a fee or a change in their service, the other two are quick to follow suit.

For instance, in early 2015, Delta changed its frequent-flyer program from a mileage-based system to one based on revenue. This means that instead of awarding passengers based on the number of miles flown, the new system would calculate frequent-flyer miles based on the amount of money spent.

Soon after, United changed its program to essentially mirror Delta's system. And as soon as American worked out the kinks of integrating US Airways into its operation, it too switched over to the revenue-based system.

"The big three airlines have dissolved into one big homogeneous blob," industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel-industry survey and consulting firm, told McCartney. "In the 1980s and 1990s people said airlines were all alike. They were less all alike then than they are now."

This sameness is simply a function of the market. The airline industry is a highly capital-intensive business that's incredibly sensitive to business cycles, currency fluctuations, the general global economic climate, and geopolitics. Although the three US mega-carriers are the most profitable airlines in the world right now, none of the three are that many years removed from financial ruin.

Since the great recession at the end of the last decade, these airlines have turned the ability to determine what the consumers need and what the consumer can do without from an art into a precise science.

Story continues

united airlines

The reality is that the quality of the product offering is determined by competition. For a business that requires so much financial investment, any drastic improvement in quality generally correlates with the need for a large cash injection. If the airline doesn't want to eat into its margins, it will have to raise prices.

This drives away value-conscious economy travelers  which is essentially the whole back of the plane  and is what airlines depend on to cover its costs. Conversely, none of the big three can afford to fall behind in the quality of its premium cabins. None of them want to risk losing the lucrative first- and business-class flyers who help bolster their profits.

So for better or for worse, US flyers are destined for more of this sameness.

NOW WATCH: This one room in Atlanta acts as a mission control for all of Delta's planes





More From Business Insider


* Q2 adj E.BITDA 5.46 bln vs 5.45 bln avg in Reuters poll

* T-Mobile US almost half of Q2 sales, 39 pct of core profit

* Confirms 2016 outlook for adj. EBITDA of 21 bln euros (Adds detail, background)

By Harro Ten Wolde

FRANKFURT, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom said on Thursday second-quarter core profit rose 8.6 percent as its U.S. operations compensated for heavy network upgrade investments in Germany.

The company said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding special items, rose to 5.46 billion euros ($6.10 billion), just above the average estimate of 5.45 billion euros in a Reuters poll.

Deutsche Telekom's U.S. unit was the main growth driver. It generated almost half of its second-quarter sales and almost 40 percent of core profit.

Last month T-Mobile US Inc, in which Deutsche Telekom holds a majority stake, reported quarterly results that beat estimates. It also raised its full-year subscriber growth forecast, as the posted customer gains surpassed expectations.

Under Chief Executive John Legere the No.3 U.S. wireless carrier has rolled out offers including free data for its users who play the popular smartphone game "Pokemon Go," its free video streaming service "BingeOn" and "T-Mobile Tuesdays" weekly perks, such as free food and movie tickets, to attract users.

Such efforts helped T-Mobile add 1.88 million customers in the second quarter. T-Mobile shares are at a nine-year high, giving the company a market capitalisation of almost $40 billion.

Deutsche Telekom is trying to copy the strategy in European markets where it is not a leading operator.

In its home market Germany, Deutsche Telekom is facing competition from Vodafone. Its German mobile service revenues were down 0.8 percent at 1.7 billion euros.

Investments rose 3.5 percent to 2.6 billion euros during the quarter.

Deutsche Telekom confirmed its 2016 outlook for adjusted EBITDA to rise to around 21 billion euros and free cash flow of around 4.9 billion euros.

($1 = 0.8953 euros) (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Joseph Nasr)
By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) - Cheng Wei, 34, was once assistant to the head of a foot massage firm. Last week, his company Didi Chuxing bagged Uber's China business in a deal valuing his ride-hailing start-up at $35 billion - a second success in as many years in a gruelling battle with a rival. Investors and Didi staff say Cheng has a cool head, a keen strategic eye and a lack of ego - all pivotal in taking on and beating Uber in a two-year, multi-billion-dollar scrap for China's competitive ride-hailing market. But his leadership style is also cut-throat and tinged with nationalism, say some of those who know him. He often references China's history and military in his speeches. He will be closely watched now as he looks to turn his vast, money-losing ride-hailing company into a meaningful business. Chinese media have reported that Didi users and drivers fear the company's virtual monopoly will mean pricier rides and lower wages. "He's probably one of the fastest growing CEOs I've seen. If not the best then definitely one of the top three, and I back a lot of people," said Hans Tung, managing partner at GGV Capital, which has funded Beijing-based Didi. Cheng, who favours rectangle-framed glasses and polo shirts, also has an astute eye for talent - such as hiring foreign-educated rainmaker and ex-Goldman Sachs banker Jean Liu - and managed Didi's relationship with major investors Alibaba and Tencent, who are bitter internet rivals, say those who have worked with him. "From the outside, you'd say this guy is really lucky, but on the flip side, he knows who the right people to know are and who to have good relationships with, and how to get them to work with him," said a person who has worked with and advised Cheng for years. "It's a very unique personality trait." OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT Cheng was born in 1983 in a small town in the southeastern province of Jiangxi. When the time came to sit China's demanding university entrance exams, he was ill but did enough to get into Beijing University of Chemical Technology, said Allen Zhu, managing director of GSR Ventures and an early investor in Didi. A graduate in Administration, Cheng took a job at a healthcare company, but found it wasn't quite what he had expected. "He was an assistant to a chairman at a foot massage company," said Zhu. "He thought it wasn't interesting, and after about a year he applied to join Alibaba as a sales person." In six years, Cheng rose to being a sales manager for the north of China, before moving to the e-commerce group's online payment arm, Alipay, where he was deputy general manager. In 2012, he founded Beijing Orange Technology Co and launched Didi Dache - meaning "Beep Beep Call a Taxi" - the initial incarnation of his ride-hailing service. The following year, Didi had its first run-in with Uber, but as a potential suitor rather than a rival. Uber co-founder and chairman Garrett Camp was in China at the time Didi was having a second round of fundraising, recalled GGV's Tung, who was then at Qiming Venture Partners and introduced the two parties. "I encouraged Uber to invest in Didi because China's not an easy market to crack, but it was too early for Uber," he said. Instead, Tencent funded Didi in mid-2013, helping spark a grinding war against Alibaba-backed rival Kuaidi Dache. Both threw hundreds of millions of dollars into subsidising rides for passengers and giving drivers bonuses to gain market share. Early last year, that war ended with a merger of the two companies into Didi Kuaidi, which later became Didi Chuxing. "It's tough competition," said the adviser to Cheng of the ride-hailing sector. "But that's one of the extraordinary things about him; when it's time to do a deal, he's very practical." MACHO, PATRIOTIC The reprieve, though, was short-lived. Uber rapidly gained traction in China after its local unit received a cash injection in late 2014 from Baidu Inc, the third of China's three internet heavyweights. Eventually, Didi won out after it also gained backing from Apple Inc. For Cheng, who will sit on Uber's board, winning was about more than his company seeing off a rival. "He kept saying that Chinese internet companies on Chinese soil have not lost to a foreign company, and Didi won't be the first to do so," said a former employee who didn't want to be named for fear of jeopardising business relationships. Cheng pepped up employees with patriotic songs, such as Tu Honggang's "Jingzhong Baoguo", about someone protecting China during a time of war. GGV's Tung says Cheng is "jianghu', which translates as having a 'wild toughness' or someone who has a 'rule of the jungle' mentality. "That passion is very macho in a Chinese sense. People will think: 'This is a guy I can stick with because he's going to take care of us and lead, and we'll kick ass and make history'," he said. "It's not about algorithms and data and the best model. It's a lot more human touch." (Reporting by Paul Carsten and Beijing Newsroom, and Elzio Barreto in Hong Kong; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
Insurance Back Manuela ZWEIMUELLER, keynote speaker at the 2016 edition of the Croatian Insurance Days

This year's keynote speaker at the Croatian Insurance Days conference will be Dr. Manuela ZWEIMUELLER, Head of Department Regulations within EIOPA, the European supervisory authority for the insurance and professional pension insurance. The event will take place in Opatija, Croatia, on 9- 11 November, with XPRIMM Publications as Media Partner.



The Conference "Croatian Insurance Days" is the traditional insurance business Conference in the Republic of Croatia and has been regularly organised since 2003. By the number of its participants, the quality of the programme and its media presence, the "Croatian Insurance Days" are the central meeting spot and the largest annual insurance gathering in Croatia. The primary aim of the Conference is to present topics and problems that bother the Croatian insurance market to the insurance public, showing the current situation and comparing it to targeted standards.



Participants of the Conference are representatives of the insurance industry in Croatia and from abroad, as well as everybody involved or interested in insurance business (representatives of relevant national and European bodies, business partners, scientists and the like). Last year's Conference, which also took place in Opatija, assembled over 400 participants, including senior executives of all insurance companies in Croatia.



***



Dr. Manuela ZWEIMUELLER assumed her new position as Head of Department Regulations in September 2013.



In this function, she is a member of EIOPA's Senior Management and reports directly to the Executive Director. She is responsible for EIOPA's regulatory and policy tasks in the fields of insurance, pensions, consumer protection and financial innovation, related impact assessments and peer reviews, external relations, trainings & events as well as for cross-sectoral topics dealt with by the ESA's Joint Committee.



Before, Ms Zweimueller coordinated the External Relations Team at EIOPA for two years.



Prior to EIOPA, Ms Zweimueller was a member of Senior Management at Munich RE. In her last task until July 2011 she led the implementation of Solvency II at ERGO International and set up a Risk Management Hub in London for Munich RE. From 2008 to 2010, she was the Managing Director of Munich RE's branch office in France. In 2007, Manuela Zweimueller chaired the Emerging Risks Initiative of the CRO Forum. A year before, she was promoted Head of Department Risk Identification and Control. Ms Zweimueller has extensive work experience in the (re)insurance business and particularly in risk management, and served in several positions at Munich RE and Allianz, also in Paris, London and Sydney.



In 2013, she was nominated to the Financial News "FN100 Women in Finance" list, depicting the most influential female executives working in European financial markets. Ms Zweimueller holds a PhD in biochemistry and a Certificate in Economics for Scientists by the University of Hagen (Germany).



More information will be soon available on the Croatian Insurance Association's website, www.huo.hr





Author: Daniela GHETU on 11.08.2016





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11 Aug - Kapuso star Dingdong Dantes will soon begin filming his new series, as reported on PEP News.



The actor, who spoke to the media at the Ironman 70.3 event recently, stated that he is excited with the project, since he will get to work with various talented stars, including this year's Cannes' Best Actress, Jaclyn Jose.



"It is an honour to be working with a very talented person like Jaclyn Jose. We have a lot of internationally acclaimed stars in the series. I admire the work they do and I'm looking forward to working with them all," he enthused.



Though Dantes declined to explain more about the project except that it will an action-drama-comedy series, he revealed that he will also be reunited with director Dominic Zapata, whom he worked with in the 2012 series, "My Beloved", as well his former "StarStruck" co-host, Megan Young.



In addition to Jaclyn Jose and Megan Young, the new drama will also star Andrea Torres and Sid Lucero, the latter who recently won Best Actor at the 19th Los Angeles Comedy Festival.



(Photo source: pep.ph)
Disney Channel has ordered a second season of Elena of Avalor, the animated series that premiered last month. A spinoff from Sofia the First, it tells the story of Avalors princess Elena, a brave and adventurous teenager who has saved her kingdom from an evil sorceress and now must learn to rule as crown princess until she is old enough to be queen.

Created and exec produced by Craig Gerber (Sofia the First), the series  which bowed July 22 on Disney Channel and Disney Junior  is inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore. Set in an unspecified time period, it follows Elenas (Aimee Carrero) journey to understand that her new role requires thoughtfulness, resilience and compassion, the traits of all truly great leaders.

The Elena of Avalor premiere was the No. 1 series telecast among all kid-targeted TV networks in (Live+7), in total viewers (4.5 million), kids 2-11 (2.4 million/6.1 rating) and adults 18-49 (1.2 million/1.0 rating). It also stars Jenna Ortega, Chris Parnell, Yvette Nicole Brown, Carlos Alazraqui, Emiliano Diez, Julia Vera, Christian Lanz, Jillian Rose Reed, Joseph Haro, Jorge Diaz, Keith Ferguson and Joe Nunez.

Its just a few weeks into the launch of Elena of Avalor, and we are already seeing what an impact and connection she is making with kids and families, said Nancy Kanter, EVP and General Manager of Disney Junior Worldwide. Were eager to make sure that we will have many new stories of bravery, adventure and leadership for our audience to enjoy and are delighted to begin production on our second season and continue to find ways for her story to be heard both on and off screen.

Each episode of Elena of Avalor features original songs in an array of Latin musical styles including mariachi, Latin pop, salsa, banda and Chilean hip-hop.

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Disney Channel Orders Boy With Talking Hand Comedy Pilot 'Right Hand Guy'
Disneyland is making some major changers that will make getting to the park *so* much easier

Disneyland is making some major changers that will make getting to the park *so* much easier

If youve ever visited Disneyland, you know that its the happiest place on earth, but getting there can be quite a battle. The original Disney park is located right in the middle of Anaheim, California, and theres a TON OF STUFF surrounding it, from hotels, to restaurants, to offices, businesses, and of course, highways. How else are you going to get to Disneyland if you dont hop in the car and drive down the 5 freeway?

More than likely, on your quest for rides and Dole Whips, youve gotten stuck in some horrible traffic. Weve all been there, and Disney knows sitting in traffic for even ten minutes can really dilute the magic. In an effort to make getting in and out of Disneyland a little bit easier, Disney has just unveiled a new plan to create not only a parking structure, but also a magnificent pedestrian walkway, taking you right from your car to the esplanade between the two parks.

Disney Restructuring To Bring Layoffs

Why is Disneyland redoing their entire parking and transportation system NOW? Why, Star Wars Land, of course. They KNOW guests are going to come out in droves to visit, and ahead of the massive crowds heading to the park, Disneys getting ready.

According to The O.C. Register, across the street from the main entrance to the two parks, Disney is going to build a 7-story parking structure, enough to hold 6,800 cars. Theyre then going to build an elevated walkway bridge from this parking structure that will bring you over the the busy Harbor Blvd.

disneyland

This new parking structure/bridge area will also include Disneys security checkpoints, so you wont need go through them when you get closer to the park. It sounds like its going to make getting in and out of Disneyland so much easier. The other parking structure, Mickey and Friends, will still be used, of course. This new parking location is like, ~bonus parking~.

And whats this one going to be called? Right now its known as the Eastern Gateway Project but MIGHT IT END UP BEING STAR WARS THEMED? Construction is expected to begin ~soon~ with this new completely in late 2018, and know what else opens in late 2018? STAR WARS LAND!!

The post Disneyland is making some major changers that will make getting to the park *so* much easier appeared first on HelloGiggles.
As Macys (NYSE:M) prepares to close 100 of its department stores beginning in 2017, how can your brick-and-mortar small business compete in todays increasingly digital economy? (As if slow economic growth and potential rising wages werent enough to keep you awake at night?)

Here are four tips that can help you keep the doors open on Main Street in 2016.

Know Your Customer

Birchbox, Inc.a company best known for delivering sample-sized beauty products to customers each month via online subscriptionsopened its flagship store in New York City in 2014.

The company says the 4,500-square-feet of space in NYCs SoHo neighborhood has given it a unique opportunity to connect with customers and leverage the Birchbox brand.

We truly felt we could provide a beauty experience that was additive, something really different, easy, fun, and intimate, said Jenna Hilzenrath, director of public relations at Birchbox. The subscribers who shop in-store have a three-time higher lifetime value with Birchbox.

One way the company has connected with customers is by organizing its merchandise into product type, instead of brand. This unusual tactic for a beauty retailer appeals to what Hilzenrath called the classic Birchbox customer.

She has typically been underserved by the beauty industry, Hilzenrath said. She wants to look her best, but just wants it to be made easy. So when she comes in looking for mascara she goes straight to the mascara section.

Offer Exclusive In-Store Experiences

The Birchbox store also introduced a Build Your Own Box service, which allows shoppers to choose all of the products he or she wants in his or her box, as opposed to being able to pick just one product online.

Hilzenrath said they launched the BYOB experience to encourage customers to stop by the store and make sure they get the products they want. She said customers frequently end up browsing and buying full-sized productsa win for the company, which is best known for it's subscriptions.

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The company also rents out a space for birthday and bachelorette parties, and private class-oriented parties.

Beauty parties have really taken off, said Allison Nye, Birchboxs store manager. We do about two to three per week and they are completely customized based on the group size and type of event.

Cater to the Social Media Savvy

Many small retailers are offering twists on customer favorites and bringing unusual concepts to lifelike rolled ice cream and frose. Thats because, they are betting the goal of Millennials everywhere (whether theyll admit it or not) is to impress their Instagram followers.

10 Belowa Manhattan ice cream shop located in the heart of China Townwas the first to introduce rolled ice cream to America.

The Thai dessert has taken social media by storm. Its made by pouring liquid ice cream onto a metal plate cooled to -20C. As it freezes a metal scraper is used to roll the ice cream into scroll shapes.

The aesthetic appeal of this trendy treat has customers racing to wait in hour-long lines just to capture the perfect Snapchat story, and satisfy both their sweet tooth and craving for a unique in-store experience.

Food (And Drinks) Are Your Friend

Its no secret that the foodie population is hungry and growing. Small businesses across the country are wise to combine retailing and food offerings to woo shoppers and extend the stay of customers.

Miansai, a Manhattan store which sells gender neutral jewelry, is serving Kombucha on tap while customers browse their signature leather bracelets.

Others, like Ariel Mulkandov, owner of Rockville Barber Shop, have started offering alcohol. The barber said hes poured $10,000 into making his shop more than just a business.

Its a place for men to get away from all of their problems, Mulkandov said. We have a minibar with beer, scotch, vodka, sparkling water for the kids, massage chairs, and customers have a choice to get a hot towel for their headswhich we always recommend.

Mulkanov, who took over the barber shop two months ago, said the incentives seem to be working.

I do see more people coming and getting to know us, he said. The old customers all like it and say its a lot nicer.

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From Cosmopolitan

In June 2010, less than six months before the midterm elections, Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle suggested in a radio interview that if the November results didn't turn out the way conservatives wanted, well, there were always "Second Amendment remedies" that could take care of her opponent, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid. "I'm hoping that we're not getting to Second Amendment remedies," the Tea Party candidate told her host. "I hope the vote will be the cure for the Harry Reid problems."

The voters spoke. Despite the Tea Party wave that flipped the Senate, Angle was ruled too extreme and lost the race, and Reid kept his seat.

Angle wasn't the only one using gun rhetoric on the trail that year. Sarah Palin, still fresh from her new stardom as the running mate on Sen. John McCain's failed 2008 presidential ticket, released a map in March 2010 listing key districts to "target" in Congress. Each district was marked by crosshairs, and the text read "Don't Retreat - Instead RELOAD." One of those 20 districts was that of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Just two months after she won her reelection, 22-year-old Jared Loughner opened fire at a constituent event Giffords was hosting at a local supermarket. As a result of his use of "Second Amendment remedies," 18 people were shot, six fatally.

Violent rhetoric on the campaign trail has become a sadly commonplace part of the political cycle, even after the assassination attempt. In 2012, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill was considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic candidates up for reelection. One of the many Republicans vying for the party nomination to be her opponent was Tea Party activist Scott Boston, who dubbed Sen. McCaskill "Claire Bear." At one rally, Boston told his supporters, "We have to kill the Claire Bear, ladies and gentlemen. She walks around like she's some sort of Rainbow Brite Care Bear or something, but really she's an evil monster." Boston lost the nomination to Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin, but security around Sen. McCaskill greatly increased for the rest of the election as a precaution.

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In a presidential election where one person was already investigated for attempting to file a fake obituary notice on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and where Republicans have said everything from "[Clinton] should be put in the firing line and shot for treason" to "[She] should be tried for treason, murder, and crimes against the US Constitution ... then hung on the Mall in Washington, D.C.," it seems impossible to think that things could get much more incendiary. Of course, until now, the most blatant violent rhetoric hadn't been coming from the Republican presidential candidate himself.

Speaking at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Tuesday, the GOP nominee reminded supporters that Clinton is in favor of gun control, which Republicans and the National Rifle Association interpret as wanting to "ban" the constitutional right to bear arms. "Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment," Trump said. "By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know. But I'll tell you what, that will be a horrible day."

Trump's campaign has argued that he was actually referring to the ability of gun proponents to mobilize and vote. The faces of those who attended the rally, however, imply that his audience heard what many claim was his real message: Gun owners should apply some "Second Amendment remedies" of their own.

House speaker Paul Ryan said the remarks sounded like a "joke gone bad," and although Trump didn't claim this particular comment was a joke, he has a habit of turning to the "just kidding" defense whenever he gets in hot water over any comments he makes. He was "just joking" when he threw a mother and her crying child out of a rally, or when he told Russia to hack Clinton's emails, or when he says pretty much anything rude or misogynistic about a woman, or even when he said he could go out and shoot someone and still not lose any of his supporters.

Whether it was a "joke gone bad" as Ryan argues, or he was being inarticulate and the media misconstrued him, as California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter claims, it's impossible to ignore Trump's repeated pattern of using the power of suggestion in order to maintain deniability. It's not so different from the way he employs the phrase "many people are saying" - he's not saying, of course, but he's just putting it out there that some people are, make of it what you will.

Regardless of whether or not he was intentionally calling for direct violence against Clinton or others with his Second Amendment comments, the fact remains that movement leaders have a grave responsibility for the words they say and the actions that those words may trigger. It's a lesson that is repeated over and over again, such as when Robert Dear was arrested after a fatal shootout at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado, telling investigators "No more baby parts," or when a young man killed nine at a black church because he said he wanted to start a race war. As law professor David Cohen explains inRolling Stone, Trump is just the latest to engage in "stochastic terrorism," using language to incite random actors to engage in violence. "Predicting any one particular individual following his call to use violence against Clinton or her judges is statistically impossible," Cohen wrote. "But we can predict that there could be a presently unknown lone wolf who hears his call and takes action in the future. Stated differently: Trump puts out the dog whistle knowing that some dog will hear it, even though he doesn't know which dog."

No one understands that better than former Congresswoman Giffords, who condemned the nominee Tuesday evening. "Donald Trump might astound Americans on a routine basis, but we must draw a bright red line between political speech and suggestions of violence," Giffords said in a statement, according to The Hill. "Responsible, stable individuals won't take Trump's rhetoric to its literal end, but his words may provide a magnet for those seeking infamy. They may provide inspiration or permission for those bent on bloodshed."

With a mob who regularly chants "lock her up" at his campaign events, where violence against protesters has become a common theme, and where Trump himself is often heard to taunt his opponents as they are escorted out, Trump is completely aware of the tinderbox he is playing with every time he addresses his supporters. Conservative websites are already claiming that Trump supporters are being violently attacked physically in the streets, and pundits like Rush Limbaugh have been telling their listeners to expect "levels of violence that we have not seen" depending on the outcome of the race in November.

But if Trump continues his campaign of dog whistles and coyly veiled threats, it's likely violence may occur long before November. And with the presidential contender currently bragging that this latest controversy is actually "a good thing for me," chances are his violent rhetoric is just beginning.

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Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt sparred with Donald Trump on his radio program Thursday morning, pressing the Republican presidential nominee on his claim that President Barack Obama was "the founder of ISIS."

"Last night you said the president was the founder of ISIS," Hewitt said. "I know what you meant. You meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace."

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS," Trump replied. "I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton."

Hewitt pressed Trump, explaining that Obama has not been "sympathetic" to the terrorist organization, "hates them," and is "trying to kill them."

"I don't care," Trump said. "He was the founder. His  the way he got out of Iraq was that  that was the founding of ISIS, OK?"

The New York businessman added again that he would characterize Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, as the "cofounder." He had previously referred to her as the founder of the group.

"Let me ask you, do you like that?" Trump asked Hewitt.

Hewitt, not amused, replied: "I don't."

"I think I would say they created, they lost the peace. They created the Libyan vacuum, they created the vacuum into which ISIS came, but they didn't create ISIS," the radio host said. "That's what I would say."

"Well, I disagree," Trump said.

The Republican presidential nominee, mirroring Hewitt's argument, contended that Obama's policies allowed ISIS to form.

"Therefore, he was the founder of ISIS," Trump said.

An exasperated Hewitt responded by saying he'd "just use different language to communicate" the message.

The transcript was circuited online by Clinton allies. Jesse Lehrich, Clinton's foreign-policy spokesperson, called the exchange "remarkable."

Listen to the exchange:





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Trump Fort Lauderdale

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, called President Barack Obama the "founder of ISIS" at a campaign rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday.

While attempting to make a point about US foreign policy related to the fight against the terrorist organization also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh, Trump asserted that the group "honors" Obama.

"In many respects ... ISIS is honoring President Obama  he is the founder of ISIS," Trump said.

The real-estate mogul repeated the line several times amid some applause.

"I would say the cofounder would be crooked Hillary Clinton," Trump quipped. That represents a demotion of sorts for Clinton. Trump last week said his Democratic presidential rival was "the founder of ISIS" and quipped that she "should get an award" for it.

The Trump campaign has routinely floated conspiracies suggesting the Obama administration sympathizes with ISIS.

You can watch the video from Wednesday's rally below

US-backed forces have been in a multiyear fight against ISIS. Drones and fighter jets have carried out airstrikes on territory held by the militants since 2014.

The fight took a turn Wednesday when US-backed Libyan forces seized ISIS' headquarters in the Libyan city of Sirte.





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Donald Trump

Donald Trump expressed doubts on Thursday about a state that has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1968.

During an address to a group of religious leaders in Orlando, Florida, Trump said that his campaign is facing "a tremendous problem" in Utah.

"You've got to get your people out to vote, and especially in those states where we're represented," Trump said, referring to large segments of more religious voters.

We're "having a tremendous problem in Utah. Utah's a different place and, I don't know, is anybody here from Utah? ... I didn't think so. We're having a problem," he said.

In addition to voting Republican in each of the past 12 presidential elections, the Beehive State cast nearly 73% of its ballots for GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012. But Utah's Mormon-heavy population has exhibited an aversion to Trump's candidacy, and polls suggest that the state's six electoral votes could be in play.

A recent Hinckley Institute/Salt Lake Tribune poll showed that Clinton held a 1-point lead over Trump in the state, at 36% to 35%.

Clinton, seeing opportunity in Utah, recently authored an op-ed in the Deseret News: "What I have in Common with Utah leaders  religious freedom and the Constitution."

NOW WATCH: The Trump Tower climber has been charged  watch the eerie video he released before the stunt





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Donald Trump doubled down on recent remarks calling President Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the founders of the Islamic State in an interview with a conservative radio host.

During a segment on The Hugh Hewitt Show, the Republican nominee again linked the two to the terrorist group that has seized parts of Syria, Iraq and Libya, despite skeptical questions from Hewitt, who has sparred with Trump in the past.

Hewitt: Ive got two more questions. Last night, you said the President was the founder of ISIS. I know what you meant. You meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace. Trump: No, I meant hes the founder of ISIS. I do. He was the most valuable player. I give him the most valuable player award. I give her, too, by the way, Hillary Clinton. Hewitt: But hes not sympathetic to them. He hates them. Hes trying to kill them. Trump: I dont care. He was the founder. His, the way he got out of Iraq was that that was the founding of ISIS, okay?

Trumps remarks at a Wednesday rally were not the first time that Trump has called Clinton or Trump the founders of ISIS. In January, he said Hillary Clinton created ISIS with Obama. After the Orlando nightclub shooting, he was criticized for suggesting Obama supports ISIS. Last week at another Florida event, Trump called Clinton the founder of ISIS.

Read More: President Obama Is Not the Founder of ISIS. Heres Who Really Started It

During a Thursday morning speech, Trump again repeated his comments, saying, ISIS will hand (Clinton) the Most Valuable Player award.

Clinton responded on Twitter Thursday.
From LennyLetter

In 1998 the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Jean-Paul Akayesu guilty of nine counts of genocide and crimes against humanity. Akayesu, the mayor of Taba, a town outside of Kigali, Rwanda, had ordered the rape and murder of thousands of Tutsi men and women in 1994. His conviction was due to the hard work of a prosecutorial coalition and the courage of witnesses who risked everything to testify against him. The witnesses were so vulnerable that many were given code names and testified behind a curtain for fear of being identified.

Michele Mitchell's new film The Uncondemned traces the events of the trial and introduces the world to JJ, OO, and NN, three female survivors who appeared in court to tell horrific stories of rape, torture, and murder. It's a strong rebuttal to the dominant narrative of rape as a crime of passion, something the perpetrators cannot control, when it is actually a crime committed as an act of control. The Uncondemned is also a legal thriller of sorts, following the lawyers and investigators as they build the case against Akayesu.

While making the film, Mitchell went through her own form of PTSD, then lost her co-director, Nick Louvel, in a car accident, but she remained committed to getting the story out. The film is a testament to change, the courage that it takes to fight for it, and the enduring spirit of the women who embody that strength.

Padmini Parthasarathy: How would you describe the film to someone who hasn't seen it?

Michele Mitchell: It's about a group of lawyers and activists from around the world who came together in 1997 to prosecute rape as a crime of war for the first time in history. We were fortunate enough to not only speak with the prosecutorial team, but we also spoke with some of the previously anonymous witnesses, who came forward for the first time in the film.

PP: Can you explain why this case is so important?

MM: It was the first genocide conviction in history. It was also the first time that rape was prosecuted not only as a crime against humanity, but also as a crime of genocide. The definition of genocide is to destroy, in whole or in part. The decision in this case argues that you do not have to die to be destroyed, that rape is a form of destruction that can be used as a tool for genocide. This set a precedent for all the trials that came after this one.

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Also, the ruling doesn't specify gender, and that's really important. It's not just about what's been done to women, which is another precedent. Rape isn't something that only happens to women in war. We know it happens to children, we know it happens to babies as young as two months old. It happens to everybody, including men. The fact is we don't have very accurate numbers for how many victims are men. If there's a reluctance for woman to come forward and talk about it, a fear of shame and humiliation  I don't want to say one is greater than the other, but it is extremely difficult for men to come forward. So the gender-neutral decision means that prosecutions can go forward with this understanding, a truthful representation of what really happens.

PP: The women who testified against Jean-Paul Akayesu were faceless before this movie. They literally testified behind a curtain. What was it like to meet them? How did it happen?

MM: No one had seen them until now. The journalists at the trial never saw them. They had code names. For some people, when they see them in the film, it is almost like they are seeing a celebrity for the first time.

I met them through Godelieve Mukasarasi, the director of Sevota, an organization that works with widows and orphans in the communities impacted by the Rwandan genocide. I invited them to have lunch with me at the Hotel des Milles Collines, which was the basis for the film Hotel Rwanda. It was the most nervous I've ever been to meet somebody, because they changed history. How many people do you meet who have done that? What they did was so brave. To play that role in history, it's daunting. It's very intimidating. But they could not have been nicer and more fun.

PP: Has there been any blowback or negative attention for them from coming out in the movie?

MM: The fact that this is a case that happened so long ago is helpful. There was blowback when they initially testified, but there was blowback against anybody who testified. It was a very unstable security situation in Rwanda at that time.

PP: What led you to make the film?

MM: In 2012 the GOP candidate for the US Senate in Missouri, Todd Akin, said that women can't get pregnant from "legitimate rape" because we have a way to shut down our bodies and prevent it. I was furious, and shouted a few expletives in my car, because I was driving at the time. I decided: "That's it. I'm going to do a story that puts rape so firmly in the realm of where it belongs - an act of power, torture, humiliation - that it will be impossible to ever say anything like that again."

This meant, then, doing a story about rape in conflict, where there is absolutely no ambiguity about it: it is an act of deadly intent. But I also wanted to tell a story about what can be done to stop this crime, which is what led me to the Akayesu case.

PP: I actually wanted to pivot the conversation a little bit and ask you about how you've coped with dealing with this sort of reporting, I would imagine it's very traumatic.

MM: When you cover trauma, what you're not told is that you will end up absorbing some of that trauma. In June of 2014, I absolutely just had a breakdown. It was pretty clear. I remember thinking something I wanted to say, but what came out of my mouth was totally different. I had already been having panic attacks, but I didn't know what they were. Luckily, there are programs set up for journalists here in New York. I went to one, and they said, "You have post-traumatic stress disorder." I'm like, "I don't have post-traumatic stress disorder, I wasn't in an active war zone." Of course, it took about a year to unwind all that, and then as I unwound, I will never forget it, it was September of 2015, I told my therapist, "I think I'm pretty good now." He said, "Yeah, I think you're pretty good, too." Then, about two weeks later, Nick died. I went from working with a collaborator to trying to figure out,Well, how am I going to finish this? I'd been working so hard, and I was already so tired. I felt like Sisyphus, you know, you get the rock up a little bit, and then it rolls back down.

PP: How did you keep going?

MM: The stakes were high. We were always going to push forward, like "Go big or go home," but it became a mission because now it wasn't just carrying the souls of the women. This was Nick Louvel's last film; it was the last thing with his name on it. We wanted it to go as far as possible, be seen by as many people as possible, and I thought,Hey, if I thought failure was an option before, it's really not an option. You're going to have to be under a rock come this fall not to know about this movie.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

Padmini Parthasarathy is based in New Orleans, where she writes about feminism and social justice. Her writing has appeared in The Times of India, the Huffington Post, and Vitamin W.
From left, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump (at rally), Rob Portman, Patrick Toomey, Ron Johnson, Kelly Ayotte, Mark Kirk. (Photo illustration, Yahoo News; photos: Lynne Sladky/AP, Evan Vucci/AP, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (2), Scott Bauer/AP, Jim Cole/AP, Gary Cameron/Reuters)

Down Ticket is Yahoo News complete guide to the most fascinating House, Senate and governors races of 2016. Coming to you every Tuesday and Thursday until Nov. 8. What you need to know today.

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The worst of both worlds: These Republicans refuse to embrace or reject Trump  and voters are starting to punish them for it

Call it the Trump Tightrope.

Republicans who are not running for office this year have the luxury of rejecting their partys controversial nominee outright. Thats what Maine Sen. Susan Collins did Monday when she wrote in the Washington Post that Trump lacks the temperament, self-discipline and judgment required to be president. Its also what those 50 Republican national security officials did when they announced that none of us will vote for Donald Trump.

But if youre a Republican whos actually trying to get elected in November  especially in a true tossup contest  then your relationship with Trump is probably more  complicated. Endorse him unequivocally and your Democratic opponent will make you own every radioactive thing he says; break with him publicly and his passionate, plentiful supporters will call you a RINO and threaten to punish you on Election Day.

Faced with such unpalatable options, nearly all of this cycles most vulnerable Republican Senate candidates have tried to split the difference. First theyve announced that they intend to vote for/support the partys nominee  or something similarly tepid and legalistic  and then theyve chided or avoided Trump whenever it serves their purposes.

In theory, this approach makes sense; it denies the press a damaging narrative (GOP Senate Candidate Dumps Trump!) while still keeping the Donald at arms length.

Theres only one problem: the tightrope strategy doesnt actually seem to be working. The more scandalous stuff Trump says, the more his swing-state poll numbers fall  and the more his numbers fall, the thinner the Trump Tightrope gets. Trump fans dont trust you. Democrats tie you to him no matter what you say. And eventually, you start to lose your balance.

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No one has plummeted to his or her political death yet, but right now, incumbent New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte is looking like the wobbliest of the bunch.

After Trump dispatched his last two Republican rivals in early May, Ayottes communications director sent out the following statement: As shes said from the beginning, Kelly plans to support the nominee. As a candidate herself, she hasnt and isnt planning to endorse anyone this cycle. Doesnt get much more tightropey than that.

At the time, Ayotte was leading her Democratic opponent, Gov. Maggie Hassan, by an average of 3.5 percentage points in the polls. Some New Hampshire surveys showed Trump within striking distance of Clinton.

Since then, however, Trump has made misstep after misstep: attacking a Mexican-American judge, sparring with the parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier, wondering aloud whether Second Amendment people might stop Clinton from becoming president. His standing in New Hampshire seems to be tanking as a result. In May, the WBUR/MassINC poll showed him virtually tied with Clinton. Now it gives Hillary a staggering 17-point lead.

Ayotte hasnt exactly shied away from criticizing Trump, and Trump himself has taken notice. But she is still supporting him. Ive said that Im going to be voting for our nominee is how she put it earlier this week.

Unfortunately for Ayotte, New Hampshirites appear to be turning against her (just like theyre turning against Trump). Four of the last six Granite State surveys have given Hassan the edge, and the most recent  the only one released after both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions  shows Ayotte trailing the governor by a perilous 10 percentage points.

Incumbent Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey is in a similar bind. Hes never been a big Trump guy. He initially backed Marco Rubio. He voted for Ted Cruz in his states April primary. He called Trumps comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel deeply offensive and said that treating a Gold Star family with anything other than gratitude and honor is inappropriate. He hasnt attended any of Trumps four Keystone State events. He even characterized Trumps campaign as highly problematic.

But Toomey has also said that as a Republican elected official, I am inclined to support the nominee of my party, and he hasnt ruled out endorsing Trump at some later date. So as Trump has lost ground in Pennsylvania  Clintons average lead has grown from 0.5 percentage points on June 22 to 9.2 percentage points today  so has Toomey.

Before mid-July, Toomey was outpacing his Democratic rival, Katie McGinty, by 6.7 points on average. But McGinty  who delights in linking Toomey to Trump at every turn  has come out on top in six of the seven polls released since then, with an average lead of 2.6 percentage points. Cash infusions from the Koch brothers have helped keep the race close, but for Toomey, the trend lines arent encouraging.

There are some signs that Trump isnt an impossible problem for these tossup GOP Senate candidates to solve. It may be that the more you cozy up to him, the worse you do. Since May, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman has made his distaste for Trump exceedingly clear, even as he continues to (technically) support the Republican nominee  and during that time hes actually pulled ahead of former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. (His campaign is also reaching out to voters at Clinton rallies.) On the flip side, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson was the only tightrope-walking Senate candidate to speak at Trumps convention in Cleveland last month; he told USA Today that he is going to do everything I can to help [Trump] win. Now the polling in Wisconsin shows Trump trailing Clinton by 15 percentage points  triple last months margin  and Johnson losing to former Sen. Russ Feingold by 11.

On the other hand, disavowing Trump isnt necessarily a silver bullet. In Illinois  a bluer state than New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio or Wisconsin  incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk leaped off the Trump tightrope last month when he rescinded his initial endorsement of the GOP nominee and declared that Trump was too bigoted and racist to be president. At an event Wednesday in Chicago, Kirk broke with his party  and, more pointedly, its Wall Builder in Chief  to push for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. But the only public poll released this month shows Kirks Democratic rival, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, ahead by 7 percentage points.

In the midst of all of this bad news, Floridas marquee Senate battle between Marco Rubio and Patrick Murphy might seem like a bright spot for the GOP. After all, Rubio seems to have built a fairly solid lead in the polls since pulling a 180 and jumping into the race in late June  and hes a Trump tightroper too.

But examined more closely, Rubios relative success is probably more discouraging than encouraging for the GOP. If you recall, Rubio spent the better part of a year trying to stop Trump from becoming president. He has more wiggle room than pretty much any other Republican because voters already know how he really feels about the nominee.

None of Rubios fellow tightrope walkers, however, will get the same sort of space to maneuver. Instead, theyll continue to totter for the next 88 days. The hope for the GOP is that they dont fall off.

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Ad Watch: Even John McCain is getting the Trump treatment

In Arizona, incumbent Sen. John McCain still needs to win his Aug. 30 primary before officially squaring off against Democratic challenger Ann Kirkpatrick. But that hasnt stopped the two candidates from battering each other with negative general-election ads.

The latest volley is from Kirkpatrick, who currently represents Arizonas First Congressional District in the House. In Trumped, Kirkpatrick attacks McCain for saying he will support the nominee more than 50 times  even though Trump has repeatedly disparaged McCains military service and intelligence. The point, Kirkpatrick argues, is that McCain has changed  that hes no longer the principled maverick who ran for president in 2000 and 2008.

Who knows if this message will work. Unlike Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire or Pennsylvania, the Arizona Senate contest isnt considered a tossup; McCain is a legend in the state, and every analyst insists that the race leans his way. Even in Kirkpatricks ad, the senators disgust with Trump is palpable; he looks and sounds a bit like a hostage being forced to repeat the phrase I support the nominee.

But perhaps thats the point. The more Trump insults McCain  and the more Trump shoots off his mouth about stuff like Second Amendment people, which the Kirkpatrick camp quickly worked into its ad  the more McCains continued and repeated support for the nominee will serve to undermine his brand.

The latest polling shows Trump leading Clinton in Arizona by the slimmest of margins. And the most recent Arizona Senate survey actually put Kirkpatrick ahead. Going forward, McCain needs to be careful. It looks as if he may be walking the Trump Tightrope too.

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Who won this weeks primaries  and what it means for November

(Photos: angiecraig.com, Elizabeth Nida Obert/Rochester Post-Bulletin via AP, NelsonforWisconsin.com, MikeforWI via Twitter, David Gram/AP, Kristopher Radder/Brattleboro Reformer via AP, AP)

By Chris Wilson

Minnesotas Second Congressional District: The retirement of Republican congressman John Kline has put a seat thats been under GOP control for 16 years into play for the Democrats. St. Jude Medical executive Angie Craig won the Democratic nomination running unopposed and if elected would be the first openly gay Minnesotan to represent the state in Congress. Things were far more interesting on the Republican side, where talk radio host Jason Lewis emerged from a four-way field with 48 percent of the vote.

Lewis  who won the endorsement of the state party back in May  has a long history of controversial statements:

Referred to victims of Hurricane Katrina as a bunch of whiners.

Stated that the white population in America was committing political suicide by not reproducing at higher rates and that the median income for blacks in America would make them rich in most African nations, not most  all.

Compared same-sex marriage to owning slaves. The quote from an audio book: In fact, if you really want to be quite frank about it, how does somebody else owning a slave affect me? It doesnt. If I dont think it is right, I wont own one, and people always say, Well, if you dont want to marry somebody of the same sex, you dont have to, but why tell somebody else they cant. Uh, you know if you dont want to own a slave, dont. But dont tell other people they cant.

Said that young women are ignorant and only care about getting me to pay for her pills, abortion, gay marriage and The View.

In the aftermath of Lewis win, the Cook Political report has flipped this race from Toss-up to Lean Dem. In 2012, President Obama won the district by just over 200 votes.

Wisconsins Eighth Congressional District: Another retiring Republican congressman  Rep. Reid Ribble, who first won the seat in 2010  will likely mean another tight race for a GOP seat. Former Marine captain and Scott Walker campaign adviser Mike Gallagher won the Republican nomination with over 70 percent of the vote and is set to go against Democrat Thomas Nelson, the Outagamie County executive and former state assemblyman. The district has a slight Republican lean but has had volatile results, with two Republicans and two Democrats alternating control of the seat since 1996. The district went twice for President George W. Bush, then flipped to President Obama in 2008 before going for Mitt Romney in 2012.

Vermont governor: Two early favorites pegged as potential upset candidates going into Tuesday emerged with comfortable wins in the race to elect a replacement for Democrat Peter Shumlin, the incumbent retiring after three terms. On the Democratic side, former state Rep. and Transportation Secretary Sue Minter prevailed over Google executive Matt Dunne, 51 percent to 38. Shell be facing current Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, who defeated former Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman by 22 points despite a late deluge of negative ads. Scott, who was technically serving as acting governor Tuesday night due to a Shumlin vacation, won his current position with 62 percent of the vote in 2014. Both Dunne and Lisman have said they will support their former primary rivals in the November race. Interesting factor in the Green Mountain State, where former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee is also running as a third-party candidate: If no one gets 50 percent of the ballot in the general, the state House of Representatives  which is largely Democratic  gets to decide.

Minnesota District 60B: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party state Rep. Phyllis Kahn, who has served in the Legislature since 1973, lost her seat in a competitive three-way primary to Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American community organizer. Omar was born in Somalia but immigrated to the U.S. after a four-year stay in a Kenyan refugee camp, settling in Minneapolis 20 years ago. She is a heavy favorite to win the left-leaning district in November and become the first Somali-American legislator in the country.

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The best of the rest

.@DWStweets has had the summer from hell but she's likely to hang on in her Florida primary. My story: https://t.co/gNyZHFzKJ0  Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) August 11, 2016

Is split-ticket voting making a comeback? With Donald Trump on the ballot, some Republicans hope so. https://t.co/X9ZH24Bdrm  Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 11, 2016

Friends become foes in tense Democratic primary for Miami congressional district https://t.co/AEEPcxQ6G9  SANDALIO CARMONA (@SANDALIOCARMONA) August 11, 2016

Liz Cheney is about to do what she couldn't in 2014: return to Washington. https://t.co/Mt2DFUcNFF via @rollcall #WYAL  Simone Pathe (@sfpathe) August 11, 2016

Fla: Rubio 48  Murphy 45 Ohio: Portman 49  Strickand 40 Pa: McGinty 47  Toomey 44https://t.co/YYqsxrC7ij  Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) August 11, 2016

Senate Majority PAC plowing nearly $1M in new ad buy going after @PatToomey on guns #pasen https://t.co/yip5rxMnMV  Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) August 11, 2016

In Minnesota, @RepBecerra

tells me when it comes to winning back House seats, "the sky's the limit." https://t.co/8HSxxiLFvw  Michelle Hackman (@MHackman) August 10, 2016

There's been less coverage of Khizr and Gazala Kahn this week, but here's a new story that's emblematic: the https://t.co/bgTthWKTfY  Philip Turner (@philipsturner) August 11, 2016

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Countdown

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Around 30 people were hurt and five to seven people left unaccounted for following an explosion at an apartment on Piney Branch Road in Silver Spring, Maryland, overnight between August 10 and 11. The fire was reported just before midnight and destroyed two four-level apartment buildings, according to Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein.

Three firefighters were injured due to heat exhaustion and 90 people displaced. Credit: Twitter/Tom Hucker
The Q2 earnings season is almost over with as many as 92.1% S&P 500 members having reported results as of Aug 10. What does the Q2 earnings season scorecard look like so far? Both earnings and revenue growth was negative with the quarter on track to be the fifth in a row to record an earnings decline for the S&P 500 index.

Of the 454 S&P 500 members that have declared quarterly numbers as of Aug 10, an impressive 71.1% were able to top earnings estimates while 52.9% surpassed top-line expectations.

Notably, the Technology and Medical sectors recorded the highest proportion of positive surprises. In fact, results of the Medical sector have been particularly strong so far.

Our Q2 scorecard for the Medical sector shows that 96.2% have reported results with a blended beat of 74% (the percentage of companies that have beaten both earnings and revenue estimates), with the sector registering 5% earnings growth on 9.2% higher revenues.

Note that per our Earnings Trends report, Medical is one of the nine sectors expected to record positive earnings growth (4.7%) this quarter.

While the majority of pharma and biotech companies have already released quarterly results, quite a few companies in the sector are yet to declare the same. Lets see whats in store for these three drug stocks.

Can these Drug Stocks Surprise?

Headquartered in Oakville, Canada, Concordia International Corp. CXRX is a pharmaceutical company focused on legacy pharmaceutical products and orphan drugs. The company markets orphan drugs through its Orphan Drug Division, consisting of Photofrin for the treatment of certain rare forms of cancer, which is currently being evaluated for additional indications.

CONCORDIA INTL Price and EPS Surprise

CONCORDIA INTL Price and EPS Surprise | CONCORDIA INTL Quote

Concordia has missed earnings expectations in each of the past four quarters, with an average negative earnings surprise of 8.56%. Given its track record, will the stock disappoint again? Concordia currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Though the stocks Zacks Rank #3 increases the predictive power of the ESP, its 0.00% Earnings ESP makes a surprise prediction difficult this quarter. The company is scheduled to release Q2 results on Aug 12.



Abeona Therapeutics Inc. ABEO is a development-stage company focused on the development of gene therapy and plasma-based treatments for severe and life-threatening rare genetic diseases. This Dallas, TX-based companys performance has been far from encouraging, having missed estimates consistently. Overall, the company has clocked an average negative surprise of 62.43%. Its Zacks Rank #3, when combined with a 0.00% ESP, makes surprise prediction difficult for this quarter.

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Abeona is expected to report Q2 results on Aug 12.

ABEONA THERAPTC Price and EPS Surprise

ABEONA THERAPTC Price and EPS Surprise | ABEONA THERAPTC Quote

Based in Cambridge, MA, Proteostasis Therapeutics, Inc. PTI is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapeutics targeting diseases caused by an imbalance in the proteostasis network with an initial therapeutic focus on cystic fibrosis. Proteostasis started trading from Feb 2016. Last quarter, the company posted a negative surprise of 85.11%. Proteostasis Zacks Rank #3, when combined with an ESP of 0.00%, makes surprise prediction difficult for this quarter. It is expected to release Q2 results on Aug 12.

PROTEOSTASIS Price and EPS Surprise

PROTEOSTASIS Price and EPS Surprise | PROTEOSTASIS Quote

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The Hague (AFP) - A Dutch court on Thursday barred KLM airline ground staff from going on strike until early September in a bid to spare travellers fresh summer travel misery.

"According to the judge, there is a lot of traffic at Schiphol (airport) with the summer holidays," the court in Haarlem said in a statement.

Therefore the Dutch "Trade Union Federation (FNV) cannot organise any work stoppage until September 4 inclusive."

KLM went to court after the FNV gave notice of pending strike action by some of the airline's 14,500 ground handlers, who are demanding a wage rise.

But the court ruled that "combined with a current terror threat at the airport, it believes restrictions on the right to collective action are urgently needed."

Schiphol airport, just outside Amsterdam, is one of Europe's busiest travel hubs. A security alert has been in place since late July following an unspecified threat.

KLM said it was satisfied with the court's ruling.

In another move however, KLM pilots have warned the airline they will go to court if a cut in pensions is not taken off the negotiating table by Friday.

Although strikes in The Netherlands are rare, Thursday's ruling came as pilots from the British budget airline easyJet held another in a series of lightening actions at Schiphol.

The five-hour early morning stoppage by the easyJet pilots was the third since early June.

The pilots are calling for no loss of pay during sick leave, more rest between flights and better pensions, their union the VNV said.

The union said it was still ready to negotiate with easyJet "but management did not leave us with much choice," said VNV president Steven Verhagen.

And he warned more strikes would follow.

EasyJet said it had to cancel some flights on Thursday out of Amsterdam, adding it was disappointed by the action as "our latest offer represents a significant improvement compared to earlier proposals."
By Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch authorities are investigating death threats against a Palestinian rights activist in The Hague targeted because she has made submissions to the International Criminal Court's inquiry into the 2014 Gaza conflict. Nada Kiswanson, a legal researcher at Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, said the threats began early this year and have continued on a regular basis since. "My channels of communication have been totally compromised," Kiswanson told Reuters, adding that she had received death threats by e-mail, via family members and in the form of flower deliveries to her home with accompanying messages. When she purchased an anonymous pre-paid mobile phone number, she received a threat on it a day later. Messages had come in Dutch, English and "broken Arabic", she said. The Jordanian-Swedish citizen had also been called on a family member's pre-paid Jordanian number while staying in the country, while a relative in Sweden had been called and told that Kiswanson would be "eliminated". Human rights organization Amnesty International said it was forced to temporarily close its office in The Hague for security reasons after an employee's personal e-mail was hacked and used to send Kiswanson a death threat. Since the start of 2015, the ICC has been conducting a preliminary examination of possible crimes committed by both sides in the Gaza conflict, in which more than 2,000 died. Israel, which rejects the court's authority, put its dead at 67 soldiers and six civilians. Dutch authorities confirmed they were investigating threats against Kiswanson, first reported publicly by newspaper NRC Handelsblad, and that they had put in place measures to protect her. Although the war crimes court's cases are always highly contentious, rights workers have never before been threatened in the Netherlands. The court's handful of prosecutors and investigators are heavily reliant on the work of human rights organizations and volunteers to provide background information on the war crimes and crimes against humanity it investigates around the world. Actual investigations must be carried out by prosecution staff. Court officials have not yet been able to send a mission to Gaza. Kiswanson submitted information to prosecutors that was collected by Al-Haq at the time of the conflict. Activists and witnesses linked to ICC cases have been threatened in the past. Judges at the court have said threats against witnesses contributed to the collapse of the crimes against humanity case against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta last year. (Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Toby Chopra)
The protesters were confronted by regime police officers who tried to disperse them claiming that the rally was illegal.

According to the ILNA report, the protesters went in the Parliaments entrance for visitors which caused severe crowding and broke the gate on the visitors entrance.

The preschool teachers, who have protested outside the parliament on several other occasions, wanted the review process of the employment status of contract teachers to be completed before the start of the new school year in September.

Students and graduates of The Petroleum University of Technology rallied in front of the oil ministry in Tehran to protest the Iranian Regimes broken promises when recruiting students. They wanted a joint meeting between their representatives and policy making agents.
By Ehab Farouk and Ola Noureldin CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's EFG Hermes, the country's largest investment bank, posted a second quarter net loss of 67.55 million Egyptian pounds ($7.6 million) due to extraordinary tax charges linked to its sale of shares in Credit Libanais. EFG Hermes completed the sale of a 44.3 percent stake worth $310 million in the Lebanese bank in June. It sold to Arab and Lebanese investors at $33 per share and has said it would sell its remaining 19.5 percent stake next year. The second quarter loss was attributed by the bank to taxes incurred through the sale and compares to a net profit of 177.49 million pounds during the same period last year. "The taxes represent 118 million pounds from the 525 million pound sale," Hanzada Nessim, head of investor relations, said. The bank said in a statement that the earnings reflected a "one-off tax expense" from the quarter, but not "the EGP 525 million gain" from the sale. However, Nessim told Reuters that the bank expects to distribute profits from the sale by the end of the year. "The governing council said yesterday that it will hold another meeting to propose methods of distribution, one of which will be cash distribution," she said. Revenues meanwhile jumped 10 percent year-on-year to 288 million Egyptian pounds on the back of a 14 percent rise in fees and commissions, which totalled 271 million Egyptian pounds. EFG Hermes bought the Credit Libanais stake in 2010 for $542 million, saying at the time that the deal would aid expansion into Lebanon and the Levant and help broaden its product range. But the civil war in Syria has hit Lebanese banks hard, prompting EFG Hermes to sell and resulting in the full separation of Credit Libanais from EFG Hermes financials, the bank said on Thursday. EFG Hermes reported that net losses in the first six months of the year amounted to 131.21 million Egyptian pounds. ($1 = 8.8799 Egyptian pounds) (Writing by Lila Hassan and Ola Noureldin; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Electronic duo Holiday Mountain took inspiration from actor Shia LaBeouf's fearless, "be yourself" attitude for their sophomore album SHIA, which is premiering exclusively on Billboard before its official release Friday.

The duo -- comprised of songwriter and keyboardist Laura Patino and drummer and producer Zander Kagle, who met in college -- takes influence from hip-hop, reggae and cumbia.

Have Ibiza's Glory Days as a Dance Music Mecca Come to an End?

"Recording SHIA was a crazy amount of fun from start to finish. Our intention was to make something that symbolized the end of compromise and the end of fearing what others will think or do when you become exactly who you want to be," the band told Billboard. "SHIA is about self-realization with a f@*k everything else attitude. For me, Shia LaBeouf's motivational speech is the perfect example of this 'just do it!' feeling. I grew up watching him in Even Stevens on Disney basically every afternoon, so he's been in my life in some way for quite a while. I never would have assumed he'd take such an artistic path and I think it's really inspiring and unique so we named the album after him."

The album clearly takes on hip-hop influences with tracks like "Bump That Bass" -- a Holiday Mountain favorite -- "Close 2 U" and "Ne1." The duo created a reggae-electronic fusion with "More" and "Fantasy," and collaborated with Mexican Institute of Sound to create the Latin electronic track "Como Te Llamas."

The 35 Best Disco Songs Ever

"We recorded the album at Austin Signal every day for a month. It was a special moment in time that involved a lot of writing, as well as watching weird YouTube videos, trying to skateboard while listening to Fetty Wap's 'Trap Queen', hot summer days and nights filled with phat beats, and champagne and delivery Thai food. I hope this same liberating feeling will be passed on to each listener."

SHIA goes beyond the typical electronic album, by combining different genres into one cohesive sound.

Listen to exclusive premiere of SHIA below, and find the album for purchase on Friday.
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Three elite police officers protecting Rio's Olympic Games came under fire when they made a wrong turn and entered a slum run by drug gangs, authorities said.

"They were three officers with the National Force who accidently went into the Vila do Joao community. Their car was hit by drug traffickers' (gunfire)," a police officer told AFP on condition that he not be named.

The incident took place in one of the sprawling slums known as favelas in the Complexo da Mare area, near the city's international airport.

"One of the police was shot in the head and underwent surgery and is now under observation. Another officer was shot but not seriously hurt," a Justice Ministry statement said.

"This was a regrettable and cowardly attack," Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said in Rio.

"We are working on identifying the suspects. Two already have been identified," he said.

The officers were part of the 5,000-strong federal reinforcements sent in to help police South America's first Olympics, which kicked off last Friday.

Brazilian authorities have deployed an unprecedented 85,000 soldiers and police to protect the event.

Police, which fall under military control in Brazil, are engaged in often brutal operations against drug traffickers who control swaths of Rio's favelas. Shootings are an everyday occurrence.
The diversity of shows represented in the lead drama actress Emmy race  from the sudsy antics of Empire to the clone club fantasy of Orphan Black  underscores how the field is wide open this year. Viola Davis made history last year as the first African-American to prevail in the category for her tour de force debut in ABCs How to Get Away With Murder. This time around, Murder doesnt have the same momentum going into final judging. Emmy watchers think 2016 could be the year for House of Cards pillar Robin Wright, who has nabbed four consecutive noms but has yet to win.

The Odds

Viola Davis is still the favorite. Although there was less chatter about the bravado of Murder anti-heroine Annalise Keating in season two, Davis still can assemble a hell of a clip reel of Keating delivering razor-sharp observations about the human condition in stentorian tones. Robin Wright, on the other hand, virtually took over House of Cards in its fourth season as first lady-turned-veep Claire Underwoods conniving antics became that much more central to her husbands survival as commander-in-chief. The underdog to watch in this race is two-time past winner Claire Danes, who had a crazy-good fifth season on Homeland.

The Case for Davis

That voice, those eyes, that command of the stage. Davis brings all of her well-honed skill and confidence to playing a character she dearly loves. Legal scholar Keating is brilliant, temperamental, sexy, angry, and vulnerable. Shes anything but the second- and third-banana parts that Davis was relegated to for so many years. And the character only grew more complex in the shows second season. Auds met Keatings ex-girlfriend (Famke Janssen) and discovered the tragic backstory behind the loss of her unborn child. With Davis at the wheel, Murder transcends even its weakest material to keep us coming back for more.

The Case for Wright

House of Cards very own Lady Macbeth is due for her moment in the spotlight. Wrights Claire Underwood maneuvered so much throughout season four that she left her conniving husband, Frank, in the lurch  until she decided to rejoin his cause for the sake of  what else  winning.

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She negotiated with extremists, she joined her husband on the ticket as VP, and she took time to help her mother die with dignity in a move that conveniently also boosted her own fortunes. Wrights steely resolve has grounded Claires outrageous antics for four seasons. Nobody would demand a recount if voters gave her the gold.

The Competition

Claire Danes (Homeland)

The former champ achieved the seemingly impossible by bringing new layers to Carrie Mathisons trademark intensity in a strong season for the Showtime drama.

Taraji P. Henson (Empire)

She won the Golden Globe in January, and Cookie Lyon lived even larger in season two of the Fox smash.

Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)

After two seasons of snubs, Maslany broke into Emmy contention last year, and the woman of 1,000 faces took the BBC America drama to new heights of popularity in its fourth season.

Keri Russell

(The Americans)

The stony exterior of Elizabeth Jennings cracked in season four to reveal a woman of wildly conflicting allegiances and impulses regarding her family, landing Russell her first nom.

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Jean Smart Remembers Her Emmy-Winning 'Frasier' Guest Role
A thrilling opening day of the final Test saw England recover from the brink to post a competitive total and put Pakistan on the back foot in the first innings. Heres what we learned

MAN OF THE DAY  MOEEN ALI

Perhaps Moeen Alis finest Test hundred. His maiden one at Headingley, batted the entire day in an attempt to save the Test against Sri Lanka, was valiant. But this  coming in at 110 for five and steering the team to 328  was exactly the sort of middle order innings England have been craving from those currently in possession of those spots. After his first ball, he was dazed: Wahab Riaz summoning something devilish to pin him right on the badge of his helmet. He dusted himself off and went on. A partnership with Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes pushed England to 282 before the tail hung around long enough for Moeen to smash Yasir Shah over midwicket for six  the last of his 15 boundaries  to bring up his third Test hundred.

FIVE FOR THREE

Another middle order failure and one so disastrous that it looked like England might not recover from it. Alastair Cook, possessed by the spirt of Virender Sehwag mixed with Ayrton Senna, took on all comers and fell trying to pull a ball that was not short enough. Riaz then bowled at the speed of light to tempt Root into a back foot drive behind (again) and then produced a snorter to James Vince, who found away to nick the un-nick-able. Moeens knock and the need for an extra spinner in the subcontinent this winter (likely to be Adil Rashid) mean England dont have to address this problem just yet but it will weigh heavy of Trevor Bayliss mind.

RIAZ RETURNS

On the ground where he took his first and only five-for  on debut, no less  Wahab Riaz was recalled for Rahat Ali, as Pakistan went for fear over control. And, at first, it looked to have paid off. Riazs opening blitz and subsequent spells up until the middle of the afternoon session had helped gut England, to leave them reeling on 110 for five. But he could not quite maintain the bluster or the puff to blow England completely down. He returned for a spell at the Pavilion End that was ended after two overs reaped 29 runs for England, as Chris Woakes hit him for four fours in an over. He also had to watch on as Sohail Khan pilfered the last four scalps to give him back-to-back five-wicket hauls. Riaz still has just the one.

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CATCH CONTROVERSY

When Alex Hales worked a ball from Mohammad Amir to Yasir Shah at square leg, who dove and seemed, at the ground, to take a brilliant catch, Hales shook his head. When the catch was sent to the video umpire  the soft signal given on the field was out  he stood unperturbed with Alastair Cook in the middle of the pitch, removed his helmet and gloves and waited for what he thought would be a reprieve. Only two angles were available and neither were of good enough quality to overrule the decision. The fielders word had to be taken and Hales, much to his displeasure, was given his marching orders. Not long after stumps had been drawn, he took to Twitter to share his thoughts. I think we have our narrative for the rest of this Test

WHAT NEXT

The wicket of Sami Aslam was the bonus that ensured this really was Englands day, it the turnaround with the bat didnt quite suss it. Pitch is good and cloud cover today played a part in the orthodox swing that Mohammad Amir used to well. England will have to bowl well tomorrow: Pakistan could graze.
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief urged Ethiopia on Wednesday to allow international observers into restive regions where residents and opposition officials say 90 protesters were shot dead by security forces at the weekend. In his first comments on the incident, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that allegations of excessive use of force across the Oromiya and Amhara regions must be investigated and that his office was in discussions with Ethiopian authorities. Since January, when he said the killings of protesters first began, his office had "not seen seen any genuine attempt at investigation and accountability". "The use of live ammunition against protesters in Oromiya and Amhara, the towns there of course would be a very serious concern for us," Zeid told Reuters in an interview in Geneva. Unrest flared in Oromiya for several months until early this year over plans to allocate farmland surrounding the regional capital for development. Authorities in the Horn of Africa state scrapped the scheme in January, but protests flared again over the continued detention of opposition demonstrators. At the weekend, protesters chanted anti-government slogans and waved dissident flags. Some demanded the release of jailed opposition politicians. Information on the reported killings has been difficult to obtain, Zeid said. "So I do urge the government to allow access for international observers into the Amhara and Oromiya regions so that we can establish what has happened and that the security forces, if it is the case that they have been using excessive force, that they do not do so and promptly investigate of course these allegations." Zeid said that any detainee who had been peacefully protesting should be released promptly. The state-run Ethiopian News Agency said on Monday that "illegal protests" by "anti-peace forces" had been brought under control. It did not mention casualties. As in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which Zeid visited last month, it is vital that security forces employ non-lethal means during peaceful protests, he said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Sally Hayden LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Mass street protests that saw dozens of people shot by Ethiopian security forces over the weekend could spill into civil war if the government fails to reform land use policies, a veteran Ethiopian opposition politician has warned. Merera Gudina, leader of the Oromo People's Congress, said the East African country was at a "crossroads". "People are demanding their rights," he said. "People are fed up with what the regime has been doing for a quarter of a century. They're protesting against land grabs, reparations, stolen elections, the rising cost of living, many things. "If the government continue to repress while the people are demanding their rights in the millions that (civil war) is one of the likely scenarios," Gudina said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Washington DC. More than 90 people were shot dead by security forces in protests across Ethiopia's central-western Oromiya and northern Amhara regions at the weekend, according to opposition officials and residents. Gudina said thousands of people were arrested in Addis Ababa, after the government used "massive and excessive force" to shut down demonstrations that had spread there. Other activists estimated that 3,000 protesters had been detained. "There have been no attempts at negotiation from the government, no engagement with the opposition or the people. So far, their only response is bullets," Gudina said. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein urged Ethiopia on Wednesday to allow international observers into Oromiya and Amhara. He also said allegations of excessive use of force across the two restive regions must be investigated and that his office was in discussions with Ethiopian authorities. POLL IGNITES FIRST FLAMES Protests began in November in the town of Ginchi in Oromiya over a government plan to allocate farmland to Addis Ababa for development, potentially displacing large numbers of Oromo farmers, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. The plan was scrapped but protests flared again over the continued detention of opposition demonstrators. On May 24 the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government had won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, which critics and the opposition said were rigged. Human Rights Watch estimated that 400 demonstrators were killed by security forces between November and June. Several prominent figures were arrested during that period, including the Oromo activist Bekele Gerba, who was taken from his home in December. The protests have spread to other areas and people were now organizing and co-operating across ethnic lines," Gudina said. "That is what we have been waiting for," he said. "The regime could not contain the protests to only one region: all along, we have been expecting that others have their own issues." Government officials did not respond to requests for comment. The state-owned Ethiopian News Agency reported that "illegal protests" by "anti-peace forces" had been brought under control. It did not mention casualties. Gudina, who was part of the student movement involved in overthrowing Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and subsequently spent seven years in prison under the communist Derg government, said he has no power to stop the demonstrations. "How on earth do you tell people not to demand their rights? The only advice I give is to make their protests as much as possible peacefully and legally." He said land policies needed to be reformed to ensure that land acquisition was fair, transparent and properly managed. "When land is taken for real development, there needs to be proper compensation, [an] alternative livelihood should be arranged for the farmers," he said. Many farmers who have been moved from their land already are now living in poverty, with some women forced to turn to prostitution, Gudina said. In a statement released on Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa said it was "deeply concerned with the extensive violence that occurred during protests across Ethiopia" at the weekend. It said it had noted that protesters and security officials had been killed but that confirmed numbers were not available. Gudina also criticized foreign investors in Ethiopia. "Investing when such governments are at war with their people is not helping. There's no guarantee, no security for their investment until the politics is getting better and the country is stabilized," he said. "They know that the country is going in a bad direction." (Reporting by Sally Hayden, Editing by Paola Totaro and Jo Griffin. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
On Wednesday, in the Netherlands, Dutch-Iranians and Resistance supporters staged a three-day hunger strike and sit-in in front of The Hague, asking that the Dutch government end relations with Iran until executions are stopped.

This past Monday, in central Brussels, the Association of pro-democracy Iranian Youth and Students in Belgium held a rally to protest last weeks mass execution, and in remembrance of the 1988 massacre, when over 30,000 political prisoners were killed.

Over this last weekend, Anglo-Iranian supporters of the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) held a three-day sit-in and hunger strike in front of Downing Street. They urged new Prime Minister ,Theresa May, and her government to condition relation with Iran on an improvement to human rights.

Last Saturday in Berlin, supporters of the PMOI (MEK) gathered in Brandenburg place in an effort to urge the international community and the United Nations to publicly speak out against the executions and prosecute those responsible for what Amnesty International calls crimes against humanity.

Protesters gathered in Denmark last Saturday to raise awareness of the atrocities in Iran, and to call for justice from the International Criminal Court for the 1988 massacre which, on the orders of Khomeini, killed 30,000 people, mainly PMOI (MEK) activists.

Canadian supporters of the Iranian resistance gathered last Saturday, before the federal Parliaments in Ottawa and Toronto, to protest the executions in Iran and to remember the victims of the 1988 massacre.

Last Friday, Swiss supporters of the PMOI held a rally opposite the UNs Geneva headquarters, asking that the Iranian regimes officials be held to account for crimes against humanity in the 1988 massacre and the ongoing atrocities. They staged a mock execution, and plan to protest again this coming Friday, August 12.

Additional rallies will be held in Hamburg, Berlin and Stockholm on Thursday, August 11. These protests will include a three-day hunger strike to condemn the executions in Iran, and requests that their governments support the prosecution of those responsible for 1988 the massacre.
Brussels (AFP) - The EU on Thursday launched an investigation into the merger of US agri-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont to see if one of the world's largest tie-ups will reduce competition and harm customers.

"The livelihood of farmers depends on access to seeds and crop protection at competitive prices. We need to make sure that the proposed merger does not lead to higher prices or less innovation for these products," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Dow Chemical and DuPont, two of the oldest US companies, announced the tie-up in December to create the world's biggest chemical and materials group valued at $130 billion.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union, said it had opened the "in-depth probe" to determine if the deal was in line with the bloc's merger regulations.

"The Commission will investigate further whether the deal may reduce competition in areas such as crop protection, seeds and certain petrochemicals," the statement said.

"The transaction would take place in industries that are already globally concentrated."

Given the global reach of the new entity, the Commission said it was "cooperating closely" with other countries, notably the United States, Brazil and Canada in assessing the impact.

It said the two companies submitted remedies last month but these were "insufficient" to allay its concerns and so it decided to launch the probe which will last 90 days to December 20.

Dow Chemical and DuPont said that they had expected the investigation and were working closely with regulators.

"The companies continue to believe the merger is procompetitive and good for customers and consumers," they said in a joint statement.

"Dow and DuPont will continue to work constructively with the Commission to address their concerns and to obtain clearance for the merger, which we are confident will be achieved."

Vestager has not been shy to take on major US companies, pushing through a series of anti-competition probes of such icons as Apple, Google and Amazon.

Some US critics say she unfairly targets American companies but Vestager insists she is simply applying European Union competition rules.
Donald Trump may get a taste of his own medicine after a rally Friday in Florida.

The GOP presidential pick was mocking Hillary Clinton for an episode earlier in the week when the father of Omar Mateen, the Orlando nightclub shooter, sat behind her at a rally.

Read: Orlando Shooter's Father Seen Grinning Behind Hillary Clinton at Florida Rally

The people behind me they're all on television. They're gonna be famous, Trump declared. Wasn't it terrible when the father of the animal who killed so many people in Orlando was sitting right behind Hillary with a big smile on his face?

Trump might have wanted to look closer at the folks facing the cameras. There was disgraced former congressman Mark Foley, sitting right behind him.

The Florida congressman resigned in 2006 after he was caught sending lewd messages to male teenage congressional pages.

In one of the exchanges, Foley asked a teenage boy what he was wearing. When the page responded, Foley replied: Love to slip them off of you!

The ex-congressman is now 61 and works as a real estate agent in Palm Beach. He was at the rally with his 26-year-old boyfriend.

"Ive been a friend of Mr. Trump's since 1987, Foley told The Florida Sun Sentinel. "Hes a different breed of leader."

Read: Who is the Man Who Climbed Trump's Fifth Avenue Tower?

At the same rally, Trump upped his attacks on President Obama. He repeatedly called the Commander-In-Chief "the founder of ISIS."

In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama. He's the founder of ISIS. He's the founder of ISIS. He's the founder. He founded ISIS, Trump said. I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton."

Watch: Christie Brinkley Slams Trump Supporters: 'You're Complicit in His Racism'

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By John Tilak and Barbara Lewis

TORONTO/LONDON (Reuters) - Glencore has shelved plans to sell a copper mine in Chile that was expected to fetch about $500 million, after failing to achieve a high enough price, according to people familiar with the situation.

Along with other big mining companies, Glencore has been seeking to offload a range of assets to reduce debt following a commodities price crash, but a rally on raw materials markets and in the value of share prices of mining companies this year has taken away the need for urgent sales at any price.

Glencore began a process to sell its Lomas Bayas copper mine in Chile late last year, when anxiety about the health of some mining firms balance sheets was high.

A deal could not be reached partly because Glencore did not get the price it was looking for, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Further, Glencore feels it is in a stronger footing and is not compelled to make a sale at any cost, the sources said.

While it is always still possible that Glencore changes its mind or a potential buyer makes a much better offer, the company has decided to keep the asset for now, the sources said.

The Swiss-based mining and trading firm, which reports results later this month, declined to comment.

Glencore's official position has not changed since a presentation in Miami in May when it said it expected to complete asset sales in the second quarter. It said they would include a mixture of Lomas Bayas and Cobar copper assets, additional monetization of precious metals and G Rail infrastructure in Australia.

Glencore has also said it would only sell assets at the right price.

"Glencore definitely has some pressure off them. That gives them more time and more negotiation power," said David Neuhauser, managing director at U.S. hedge fund Livermore Partners, a Glencore shareholder.

"We just want the capital structure to come in line so it's sustainable and it can withstand any shocks to the system," he said.

Story continues

Situated in the Atacama desert, Lomas Bayas is an open pit copper mine in Chile that produces about 75,000 tonnes of copper cathode a year.

Some analysts have valued the mine at about $500 million.

Interest in the Lomas Bayas mine came from Magris Resources Inc, a private equity firm run by former Barrick Gold Corp CEO Aaron Regent, as well as other PE firms and mining companies, the sources said.

Glencore conducted a process that involved three rounds of bids, receiving multiple offers for each round, one of the sources said.

The price of copper has been largely stagnant since the start of the year and analysts are largely bearish because of a supply overhang.

On Thursday, Glencore revised up its guidance for full-year copper production following strong performance across several assets.

Glencore shares have more than doubled since the start of the year, echoing strong gains across the mining sector.

(Reporting by John Tilak in Toronto, Barbara Lewis in London and Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc will be seeing a lot of each other this fall.

The former Friends co-stars are currently filming their respective shows on just steps away from each other on the CBS Radford lot in Studio City, California, and the pals spoke to ET about working in close proximity to each other. In fact, they've bumped into each other several times already!

RELATED: Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc Have 'Friends' Reunion at London Play

"I've already seen Matty," Perry, star of The Odd Couple, told ET's Cameron Mathison at the CBS all-star Television Critics Association party on Wednesday. "I've already bumped into him twice!"

LeBlanc also recalled seeing his old friend on the lot, where he films his new CBS sitcom Man With a Plan -- just steps away from where Perry, 46, shoots Odd Couple.

"That's great to see him there and it's funny to see him on a lot and not run lines with him," LeBlanc, 49, told ET. "It's just strange for me."

"It's like, 'What scene are you -- why are you out here? Oh no, no, no, you're on a different show now!' That was 20 years ago, nevermind!" he added.

RELATED: 'Friends' Cast Reunites for James Burrows Special: Could They Be Any More Adorable?

At the panel for Man With a Plan on Wednesday afternoon, LeBlanc spoke of his friendship with Perry, with whom he starred on Friends for more than a decade.

"I can not see him for five years and then put me in a room with him and it'd be like I saw him yesterday," LeBlanc recalled. "We still [have a] short hand with one another. It's amazing. Ten years in a building with no windows with the door locked, we got to know each other pretty well."

Man With a Plan premieres Oct. 24 and The Odd Couple returns Oct. 17 on CBS.

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By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress approved $750 million in aid last December to help El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras combat the violence and poverty that are driving migrants toward the U.S. border, but the money has yet to reach the struggling countries. In a departure from previous aid packages, the State Department first had to certify that the three nations had taken steps to reduce migration and human trafficking, bolster human rights and improve their justice systems. Eight months after President Barack Obama signed a spending bill that included the funds, congressional aides told Reuters they were still waiting for the State Department certifications needed to release the money, which was budgeted for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. State has not provided its paperwork and Central American governments have not taken the required actions, congressional aides said. Lawmakers have been particularly unhappy about Honduras because of the murder of a prominent environmental activist there. "The fiscal year 2016 funds have not been obligated because the State Department has not yet submitted a detailed plan as required by law, spelling out how, where and by whom the funds will be used, what their objectives are and how they will measure progress," said Tim Rieser, a foreign policy aide to Senator Patrick Leahy, the top Democrat on the Senate subcommittee that oversees foreign aid. The delay highlights the longstanding tension between Washington's desire to promote human rights and the government's responsibility to protect U.S. security, economic and other interests. In this case, American lawmakers are reluctant to send hundreds of millions of dollars to countries where human rights abuses remain common, despite the flood of migrants toward the U.S. border. They want to avoid a repeat of past aid programs, in which large amounts of money sent south yielded few results. "The results have been very disappointing. Programs were poorly conceived, the Central American governments did not do their part, and money was wasted," Rieser said. From October 2015 through January 2016, U.S. border patrols stopped some 45,000 Central Americans in the U.S. southwest, more than double the number during the same period a year earlier. Nearly half were unaccompanied children. None of the countries has yet to meet all the conditions, congressional aides said, although Guatemala is further along. Honduras faces harsh criticism about human rights from lawmakers, due in part to the killing of internationally acclaimed environmentalist Berta Caceres in March. Dozens of lawmakers have demanded an independent international investigation into her death, and Honduran authorities have arrested five suspects, including an Army officer and an employee of a company running a dam project she opposed. A spokesman said the State Department was working to obtain congressional approval for the fiscal 2016 funds. In the meantime, he said, the department and U.S. Agency for International Development are using money from prior years to support the U.S. "Strategy for Engagement in Central America."Guatemalan officials told Reuters they expected their funds to begin arriving between October and November. In Tegucigalpa, a foreign ministry official who requested anonymity said Honduras has made progress fighting corruption and combating smuggling and hoped the funds would start being released later this year or early in 2017. In San Salvador, a foreign ministry official said the government was awaiting word on the disbursement, also saying the government had made progress. Separately, the Obama administration late last month announced the expansion of a program to let people fleeing violence in the three countries enter the United States as refugees, and said Costa Rica agreed to shelter some of them temporarily. (Additional reporting by Enrique Pretel in San Jose, Nelson Renteria in San Salvador and Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa; editing by John Walcott and David Gregorio)
By Natalie Grover (Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday denied requests to stop classifying marijuana as a dangerous drug with no medical use, leaving users and businesses in limbo after many states have legalized it for medical or recreational purposes. But the DEA did relax certain restrictions on growing marijuana for research purposes. For decades, marijuana has been listed as a "Schedule I" drug, placing it on par with heroin and LSD. Following are responses from cannabis industry executives. COMMENTARY: STU TITUS, CEO of MEDICAL MARIJUANA INC , a California maker of hemp oil "It's unfortunate that we're not going to be able to further legitimize the industry, as I'm sure this will have a negative impact on the ability of these businesses to bank on cannabis industry cash." GEORGE ANASTASSOV, CEO of AXIM BIOTECHNOLOGIES INC , a Manhattan company developing a cannabis-based chewing gum for multiple sclerosis "This DEA announcement affects the industry very positively. It will weed out the snake oil salesmen from the market. The companies which provide sufficient evidence for efficiency, that is sufficient for drug registration, will be able to move forward in the market and succeed." JONATHAN TEETERS, director of government affairs for Tradiv, an online wholesale marketplace that connects cannabis cultivators with dispensaries "Rescheduling could be a Trojan Horse that keeps cannabis in a controlled substance status. This could potentially undermine local efforts to shape medical and recreational regulatory landscapes. This type of move by the federal government ... could make it more difficult to bring cannabis to market." "Removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act may be a much better approach for all parties concerned." TROY DAYTON, CEO of ARCVIEW GROUP, which links investors to cannabis businesses "They have their head in the sand. Voters, countless studies, major doctor groups, and millions of patients overwhelmingly recognize the medical applications of cannabis." "This market is still poised to grow at a 32 percent compound annual growth rate over the coming years because voters understand that cannabis is clearly a medicine that doctors and patients should be able to have as a treatment option." JOHN KAGIA, executive vice president of industry analytics at cannabis-focused data firm New Frontier "The industry has seen continued growth despite the federal position that cannabis is a Schedule I substance, so we don't think this is constructively going to impact the continued evolution of the cannabis industry." (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
(Reuters) - The ongoing Atlantic hurricane season this year is expected to be the strongest since 2012 due in part to the expected end of the El Nino weather phenomenon, a U.S. government meteorological agency forecast on Thursday. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also said it expects more storms forming in the Atlantic than in recent years due to weaker vertical wind shear, less powerful trade winds over the central tropical Atlantic and a stronger West African monsoon. NOAA said it expected a 70-percent chance of 12 to 17 named storms in the 2016 hurricane season, of which five to eight would become hurricanes, including two to four major ones. The latest forecast was above that in May, when NOAA predicted a 70 percent chance of 10 to 16 named storms, four to eight hurricanes and one to four major hurricanes for the current season compared with seasonal averages of 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. The 2015 hurricane season was quieter, with 11 named storms, including four hurricanes, of which two were major, according to federal data. In part, this was believed to be due to El Nino, a weather phenomenon that arises from the warming of the water in the central Pacific Ocean, which meteorologists have linked to weak hurricane seasons in the Atlantic. The current El Nino, which starteid early in 2015, was the strongest since 1997. In June, the U.S. government's Climate Prediction Center, an agency of the National Weather Service, said El Nino conditions had largely disappeared. The Atlantic hurricane season starts on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. The 2016 season has so far seen five named storms, with one of them, Earl, gaining hurricane strength over the Caribbean. The U.S. government's National Hurricane Center names storms when their speed hits at least 39 miles (62.8 km)per hour. It upgrades them to hurricanes at the 74 mph (119.1 kph) threshold, and they are considered major once they reach at least 111 mph (178.6 kph). Hurricanes do not pack the same punch for the U.S. natural gas market as a decade ago because the bulk of the nation's production has moved from the storm-prone Gulf of Mexico to shale fields located far from the coast, such as the Marcellus formation in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. U.S. gas futures hit record highs of around $15 per million British thermal units in 2005 in the months after hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed into the Gulf Coast. At that time, more than 20 percent of U.S. dry gas output came from the federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. (Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru and Scott DiSavino in New York Editing by W Simon)
Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas. The following are some questions and answers about the virus and current outbreak: How do people become infected? Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found. How do you treat Zika? There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the World Health Organization (WHO) had said early in 2016 that it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials of potential preventative shots. A vaccine is not expected to be ready for widespread use for at least two or three years. U.S. government researchers said they started their first clinical trial of a Zika vaccine. How dangerous is it? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years. According to the World Health Organization, there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly in babies, a condition defined by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems. In addition, the agency said it could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis. Conclusive proof of the damage caused by Zika may take months or years. Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at more than 1,700 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation had declined to 3,257. Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2. Current research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk is associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy, but health officials have warned an impact could be seen in later weeks. Recent studies have shown evidence of Zika in amniotic fluid, placenta and fetal brain tissue. What are the symptoms of Zika infection? People infected with Zika may have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito. How can Zika be contained? Efforts to control the spread of the virus focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and taking precautions against mosquito bites such as using insect repellent and mosquito nets. U.S. and international health officials have advised pregnant women to avoid travel to Latin American and Caribbean countries where they may be exposed to Zika. How widespread is the outbreak? Active Zika outbreaks have been reported in at least 54 countries or territories, most of them in the Americas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Brazil has been the country most affected. (http://1.usa.gov/1ovAJyh) Africa (1): Cape Verde Americas (45): Anguilla, Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saba, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelmy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Eustatius, St. Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Cacos, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela. Oceania/Pacific Islands (8): American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga. What is the history of the Zika virus? The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and the Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the WHO. Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact? The World Health Organization (WHO) said sexual transmission is "relatively common" and has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks of Zika virus. It also advised women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant. The U.S. CDC is investigating about a dozen cases of possible sexual transmission. Those cases involved possible transmission of the virus from men to their sex partners. But the CDC issued updated recommendations for preventing and testing for Zika infection on July 25, warning that the virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected female partner. A reported case of female-to-male sexual transmission in New York City, and limited human and non-human primate data indicating that Zika virus RNA can be detected in vaginal secretions, led to the new warning, the agency said. CDC's expanded warnings on sexual exposure to Zika now caution against sex without a condom or other barrier method of protection with any person, male or female, who has traveled to or lives in an area with Zika, including female to female transmission with a pregnant partner. British health officials reported Zika was found in a man's semen two months after he was infected, suggesting the virus may linger in semen long after infection symptoms fade. The PAHO said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence Zika can be transmitted to babies through breast milk. The WHO has identified Zika cases in Argentina, Chile, France, Italy and New Zealand as likely caused by sexual transmission. What other complications are associated with Zika? Zika has also been associated with other neurological disorders, including serious brain and spinal cord infections. The long-term health consequences of Zika infection are unclear. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue. (Compiled by the Americas Desk)
Following closely on the heels of the last weeks mass execution of at least two dozen Sunni dissidents in Gohardasht prison, including prominent prisoner of conscience Shahram Ahmadi, displays a continued reign of terror by the Iranian regime, to systematically target political dissidents and ethnic minorities.

That the executions occurred on the anniversary of the massacre in 1988 of 30,000 political prisoners, based on a fatwa (religious decree) by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, and that a vast majority affiliated with Irans main opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), seems to point out an attempt to intimidate dissidents by the current regime.

Reports indicate that some 36 Sunni prisoners were transferred to await execution, and that at least 21 prisoners were executed on Tuesday. The final count may be as high as 29. In an added twist of cruelty, relatives were told to come to the prison to say their final goodbyes, but upon arrival were instead directed to a morgue to collect the bodies of the victims.

Sunni prisoners in Gohardasht have reportedly gone on hunger strike to protest the executions.

Prisoner of concience, Ahmadi, was an ethnic Kurd and Sunni activist in Iran, who was arrested in 2009, and spent a reported 33 months in solitary confinement. He maintained his innocence, denying all charges against him. In one of his last interviews, he discussed this, They executed my brother, I have nothing left to lose, the truth is that I am innocent, and I do not want people to not know that I am innocent before I am executed. Amnesty International said that Ahmadi spent nearly three years in pretrial detention without access to counsel or communication with his family. He was tortured and forced to confess his crimes. His trial lasted 5 minutes, after which he was sentenced to death for enmity against God (moharebeh).

Shahrams younger brother, Bahram was arrested in 2009 and was part of a larger group of nine Sunni Kurdish men, who were sentenced to death for enmity against God. He was executed in 2012. Iran is one of the few countries in the world that still executes juvenile offenders.

Kurds continue to face discrimination. A 2012 report by Minority Rights Group International, states that Kurdish properties are confiscated at a higher rate than those of other ethnic groups. The regime has long targeted ethnic and religious minorities, particularly those who have fought against them, such as the Kurds, who also happen to be Sunni Muslims.

Human rights organizations maintain that some 2,600 ordinary Iranians and dissidents have been executed, many in public, during the term of the moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, and that in 2015 Iran led the world in per capita executions.

The Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi strongly condemned the mass executions as a crime against humanity and urged the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to end their silence and bring the record of the Iranian regimes crimes before the International Criminal Court.

Mrs. Rajavi reiterated, Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the regime, as well as direct perpetrators of these crimes, must be brought to justice.
(Getty Images)

Bryan Clausons family said five people were able to benefit from Clausons organs following the drivers death Sunday evening.

Clauson, 27, died a day after he was injured in a sprint car crash in Belleview, Kansas. Clausons car flipped multiple times and was struck while it was upside down on the ground. Clauson was airlifted to a hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska, after the crash.

His family revealed it found out about his registration as an organ donor while waiting at the hospital.

One of the gifts that Bryan gave us while we sat next to him praying for some good news, was the moment we found out that he was an organ donor. It shouldnt have surprised us. All of us have felt Bryans generosity throughout his life. The gift of life is the most amazing gesture and Bryan will live on not only through us and all the people he touched along the way, but from the lucky individuals that will benefit from Bryan making a decision to be a donor. It was not lost on our family as we sat huddled around him, holding his hands, comforting him and each other, saying our last goodbye that five families were also sitting in a hospital room somewhere, comforting their loved one and each other while praying for a miracle that Bryan ultimately delivered for them. We are so proud of our Bryan for making this decision. The Nebraska Organ Recovery team made the entire process very comforting. Their compassion, love, and respect when treating Bryan did not go unnoticed. We want to acknowledge every member of the Nebraska Organ Recovery team. Thank you for loving our Bryan.

Clauson competed in the Xfinity Series in 2007 and 2008 and made three Indianapolis 500 starts, including racing in the previous two 500s.

Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., a friend of Clausons, will drive Clausons car as a tribute to lead the field as the honorary pace car before Thursday nights Knoxville Nationals sprint car races. Clauson was scheduled to compete at Knoxville.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
By Colleen Jenkins

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - A lawyer for the family of a man shot and killed in North Carolina called his accused killer "George Zimmerman 2.0" as the dead man's mother pleaded on Thursday for an end to gun violence in the United States.

Chad Copley, who is white, is accused of firing a shotgun from inside his garage into a crowd of people in front of a nearby home on Sunday and killing 20-year-old Kouren Thomas, who was black. Raleigh police arrested Copley, 39, on a murder charge.

An unidentified man called 911 early on Sunday, saying he was on the "neighborhood watch" and heading outside to deal with "hoodlums" who had guns and were racing on his street.

"I am locked and loaded," the caller said, according to a recording provided by the Raleigh Police Department. "Im going outside to secure my neighborhood."

Justin Bamberg, a lawyer hired by the Thomas family, identified the caller as Copley and said his claims were reminiscent of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012.

Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer and maintained he killed the unarmed Martin in self-defense. He was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, which sparked civil rights protests and intense scrutiny of Florida's "stand your ground" law.

Bamberg said Kouren Thomas was unarmed and that there was no evidence of guns at a house party he had been attending.

"There was no altercation," said Bamberg, who also represents the families of shooting victims Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina. "Mr. Copley never left his house. He was never in danger of imminent harm."

Lawyer Raymond Tarlton, who is representing Copley, issued a statement cautioning against a rush to judgment before all the facts of the case were known.

Simone Thomas defended her son and said, "He wasnt dressed when he left with sagging pants or a do-rag or anything that people call hoodlum.

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"There was nothing 'hood' about him," she said. "He was a good kid and I dont have him no more."

She said she now fears for the safety of her two surviving sons.

"I just want all of this to end. All of the killing. Black kids, white kids, adults," she said, sobbing as she spoke to reporters.

"Im just tired," she said. "Everyone should be tired."

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins)
The family of Karina Vetrano, the 30-year-old jogger who was found murdered last week, has raised more than $130,000 in hopes of obtaining information about her killer.

The funds were raised through a GoFundMe page set up by her family and five members of the Howard Beach community where Vetrano lived. The page said the money it raises will supplement the $20,000 currently being offered by the New York Police Department for information about the murder.

We need your help in bringing this vicious animal to face the most sever punishment allowable by law, the GoFundMe page said. Every dollar from you will help to bring her family and our community one step closer to the only thing that can help now and that is an arrest and conviction.

Vetrano was found dead on Aug. 2 about 15 feet from a jogging trail in Gateway National Park in Queens, New York, after her father called police because the 30-year-old didnt return from her run, police said. New York Police Chief Robert Boyce said evidence suggests Vetrano was sexually assaulted and strangled to death, according to PEOPLE.

Donations have poured in, and within less than 24 hours, the GoFundMe has raised $134,152 of a $200,000 goal.

It is magical that we have raised this much money in less than 24 hrs, an update on the GoFundMe page said.
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Fiji made sure of a first ever Olympic medal when they comfortably beat Japan to set up a rugby sevens final against Britain on Thursday.

Japan, who'd never previously made it to a semi-finals on the 10-leg Sevens World Series, will play South Africa in the bronze medal match.

Fiji's star man Semi Kunatani said the Olympic tournament was like playing "six finals in a row".

"We're just focusing on the next game. I'm really excited to play in the final," he said.

Pacific nation Fiji had never previously won a medal of any colour but hopes are high that the reigning Sevens World Series champions can strike gold in rugby's Olympic return.

Japan's Brave Blossoms, who pulled off the shock of the men's tournament by beating New Zealand in their opening pool match, had no answer for Fiji's slick off-loading game at a sun-kissed Deodoro Stadium.

Kunatani's delightful back-of-the-hand pass sent Vatemo Ravouvou in for the first of the islanders' tries.

Kunatani was then yellow-carded for a late shoulder charge, gifting Japan a numerical advantage that they quickly capitalised on, Teruya Goto skinning the covering defence down the left flank for a great try.

Toulon's bullocking winger Josua Tuisova restored Fiji's lead, skipping through two lame tackles for a try in the corner that made it 10-5 at half-time.

Kunatani crossed for a crucial try early in the second period after some magical one-handed passing between Jasa Veremalua and Leone Nakarawa, made all the more remarkable by the fact the smallest of that trio, the try-scorer, measures a hulking 1.92m (6ft 4in) and weights 98kg (216lbs).

With four minutes to play Japan's New Zealand-born playmaker Lomano Lemeki was sin-binned for a high tackle, and from the resulting penalty Jerry Tuwai was played in from a full 80 metres out as Fiji turned the screw and brought Japan's unlikely bid for sevens gold to an end.

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"Physically I think we did all right. It's just those long limbs -- they can off-load from anywhere. That's what killed us," said Lemeki.

"Bronze is the next goal."

The other semi-final saw a lot more ball in contact as second seeds South Africa took on a combined British team featuring eight English, two Scots and two Welsh in their squad.

South African skipper Kyle Brown was the only name on the scoresheet in the first half as the Blitzboks harried the British.

Dan Norton's step and acceleration had the scores level, Tom Mitchell converting for a narrow lead.

The defining moment of the match came when Marcus Watson pulled off a great covering tackle as South African Cheslin Kolbe seemed set for a try.

And there was drama to come, Norton's clearance kick to touch deemed to have come before the final hooter.

South Africa won the line-out but a turnover in midfield ensured Britain went through to the final.
Two people were confirmed dead after a massive apartment fire in Silver Spring, Maryland, Montgomery County Assistant Police Chief Russ Hamill said in a news conference on Thursday, the Associated Press reports.

The fire injured dozens of people and forced nearly 100 residents from their homes, authorities said Thursday.

Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly before midnight on Wednesday and saw people on upper floors of buildings who needed assistance escaping. About 30 people, including three firefighters, were taken to local hospitals with injuries Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said at a briefing Thursday morning.

More than 125 firefighters were on the scene, and earlier Thursday, the team was still looking for five to seven people who were not accounted for, spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia told TIME.

Some neighbors and residents said they heard an explosion, Garcia said, but authorities have not been able to confirm the sequence of events.

At the briefing early Thursday, Goldstein said all units in the apartment building have natural gas furnaces and stoves, the Associated Press reported. It took about an hour and 45 minutes to put out the fire, Goldstein said.

As authorities continue to search for the missing people and determine the cause of the blaze, the fire department said it expects this to be an extended operation and the area around the complex should be avoided for most of the day.
In the summer of 1988, the Iranian regime summarily and extra-judicially executed 30,000 political prisoners held in jails across Iran. This massacre was carried out on the basis of a fatwa by Khomeini. The Iranian regime has never acknowledged these executions or provided any information as to how many prisoners were killed, declares the NCRI.

Until now, when on the recording, Khomeinis former heir-apparent, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Montazeri, addresses a meeting with the death committee: Hossein-Ali Nayeri, the regimes sharia judge; Morteza Eshraqi, the regimes prosecutor; Ebrahim Raeesi, deputy prosecutor; and Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, representative of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).

He can be heard telling the committee members: The greatest crime committed during the reign of the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed by you. Your (names) will in the future be etched in the annals of history as criminals. He also added, Executing these people while there have been no new activities (by the prisoners) means that  the entire judicial system has been at fault.

Montazeri reveals that the massacre had been planned for a long time. He says, (The ministry of) Intelligence wanted to do it (the massacre) and had made investments. And, Ahmad (Khomeinis son) had been personally saying for three or four years (prior to the massacre) that the MEK (Mujahedin-e Khalq) must all be executed, even if they read their newspapers, publications and statements. He adds, The MEK are not simply individuals. They represent an ideology and a school of thought. They represent a line of logic. One must respond to the wrong logic by presenting the right logic. One cannot resolve this through killing; killing will only propagate and spread it.

Montazeri rebukes the then-judiciary minister Moussavi Ardebilis defense of the massacre on the recording. Apparently, both Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, then-Speaker of the Majlis (Parliament), and Ali Khamenei, then-President, also defended the massacre.

the people are now revolted by the Velayat-e Faqih, Montazeri says of the brutality of the massacre.

Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), reacted to the publication of the shocking audio recording by saying, It is imperative to put the clerical regimes leaders on trial for committing crimes against humanity.

The NCRI calls out those members of the death committee, still active in Irans government. Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi is currently the Justice Minister in Hassan Rouhanis cabinet, and Hossein-Ali Nayeri is the current head of the Supreme Disciplinary Court for Judges. Ebrahim Raeesi was the clerical regimes prosecutor up until several months ago and has recently been appointed by Khamenei as the head of the Astan Qods-e Razavi Foundation, which is one of the most important political and economic powerhouses in the clerical regime. It appropriates public funds in order to financially support some of the regimes acts of suppression and export of terrorism, including funds spent for the war in Syria.

Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who pled of moderation and mercy, was subsequently dismissed as the heir by then-supreme leader Khomeini.

Montazeris remarks provide indisputable evidence for putting those responsible for the massacre of 1988, the clerical regimes leaders, on trial for committing crimes against humanity. The Iranian Resistance calls the international communitys attention, specifically that of the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council, to the imperative of referring this case to a responsible international tribunal., says the NCRI, and adds, The Iranian Resistance stresses that remaining indifferent in the face of the greatest massacre of political prisoners since World War Two, and in view of clear evidence and documents, would be tantamount to a blatant violation of recognized values of human rights, peace and democracy, upon which the United Nations has been built.
(MARSEILLES, France)  Fires whipped by high winds ravaged swaths of southern France and Portugal on Wednesday, killing at least four people, burning scores of homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands, including tourists.

In France, multiple fires formed a column marching toward the Mediterranean port city of Marseille. Hundreds of miles away, a fire swept overnight into Funchal, the capital of Portugals Madeira Islands, killing three elderly people and leaving more than 300 with minor burns and smoke inhalation. A forest watchman was killed on the mainland during the night when one of more than 100 blazes engulfed the caravan he was sleeping in 150 kilometers (95 miles) north of Lisbon.

Two people were reported injured, one seriously, as the fire in southern France moved toward Marseille, firefighters said, and 20 to 25 homes were burned. At least 2,700 hectares (6,670 acres) of land were devastated. Four firefighters were injured, three seriously, battling a separate blaze in the nearby Herault region  brought under control like a fire in an industrial area outside Marseille that stocks oil and petrochemicals.

The Marseille airport rerouted incoming flights to make way for firefighting aircraft, while officials in Marseille, Frances second largest city, were bracing for flames that risked lapping at its doors.

Thick layers of ochre-colored smoke dimmed the afternoon skies of sun-drenched Marseille, while black plumes rose above Vitrolles and Pennes-Mirabeau.

Firefighters in both countries battled multiple blazes fanned by high winds and fed by brush in a hot, dry summer, considered fire season in both countries. A full 186 wildfires were counted Wednesday on Portugals mainland.

But the blazes were exceptionally powerful in both countries, roaring through Madeira and southern France at the height of the tourist season  a mainstay of the economy of Madeira islands, off northwest Africa.

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Portugals National Civil Protection Service reported 14 major wildfires burning out of control in mainland Portugal where almost 4,500 firefighters were in action in a massive operation, supported by 28 water-dumping aircraft and 1,300 vehicles. Desperate, the government requested help from other European Union countries.

The Madeira fire forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 residents and tourists in the islands. Residents described chaotic nighttime scenes, with people fleeing the flames by car at high speed on the wrong side of the road.

Miguel Albuquerque, head of Madeiras regional government, told reporters the three local victims died in their burned homes early Wednesday as the wildfire hit the coastal city in the dark. He said two other people were seriously hurt and one person went missing. At least 37 houses and a five-star hotel had burned down.

In southern France, more than 1,000 people were evacuated in several towns, notably Vitrolles, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of Marseille where some homes were burned down, and in nearby Pennes-Mirabeau.

The fire is progressing. Its progressing fast, Deputy Marseille Mayor Julien Ruas said on BFM-TV. He said firewalls had been set up on the corridor leading toward the city, but if the fire passed those it will move toward the northern neighborhoods of Marseille.

The fire is extremely powerful, fast, explosive, and continues burning everything in its path, firefighters said in a statement from a temporary headquarters set up in Vitrolles.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, visiting firemen in several locations, said 1,800 firefighters were mobilized to fight the blazes. Some 400 police officers were helping towns secure homes and firefighting aircraft, from Canadairs to Trackers, were mobilized.

The origins of the French fires, which started in Rognac, north of Vitrolles, were unknown.

The Madeira blaze broke out Monday and firefighters said the islands steep hills and dense woodland made it hard to reach the flames. Albuquerque, the regional government chief, said officials suspect that fire was started deliberately and police have made two arrests.

Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal; Ganley reported from Paris.
What do Benjamin Wade, Willie P. Mangum and John Nance Garner all have in common? If not for a last-second decision, or a twist of fate, they might have become Acting President of the United States, in an era before the 25th Amendment was ratified.

This week is the anniversary of Vice President Gerald Fords ascension to the presidency in 1974 after Richard Nixons resignation. But without the 25th Amendment, it would have been Carl Albert, and not Ford, in the White House.

From left to right: Mangum, Foster, Wade, Ferry, Garner

From left to right: Mangum, Foster, Wade, Ferry, Garner

To paraphrase a term President Ford used when he pardoned Nixon, the 25th Amendments ratification in 1967 ended our long national nightmare about the rules of presidential succession.

Until then, the list of possible U.S. presidents included names like Thomas Ferry and Lafayette Foster, since the office of the Vice President had been vacant more than a dozen times, leaving those men just a heartbeat away from the White House.

The 25th Amendment allows a President to appoint a Vice President in the case of a vacancy, with the approval of Congress. The idea gained momentum after President John F. Kennedys death in 1963, when Lyndon Johnson served out the remainder of Kennedys term without his own Vice President.

The 25th Amendment also clears up any questions about the Vice Presidents ability to succeed a President who dies in office, resigns, or is removed from office. It also provides guidelines for how the President, Vice President, Congress and the cabinet can deal with situations when a President is temporarily or permanently unable to discharge his or her duties.

Until 1967, the succession rules were based on a loosely defined Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution; a precedent set by President (or Acting President, as his opponents believed) John Tyler in 1841; and presidential succession acts passed by Congress that named the next-in-line to the White House after the President and Vice President.

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The office of Vice President has been vacant 18 times because of the deaths of eight Presidents and seven Vice Presidents in office, two vice presidential resignations, and one presidential resignation. So in several hypothetical cases, someone other than the Vice President might have assumed the duties of the President if an assassination attempt, an accident, or a constitutional problem led to a presidential vacancy.

Willie P. Mangum. If Mangums name doesnt seem familiar, thats because he was the Senate president pro tempore in 1844. Between 1792 and 1886, the president pro tempore was second-in-line to the White House, after the Vice President.

After the passing of President William Henry Harrison in 1841, Tyler assumed the presidency by boldly declaring he was entitled to the full power and title of President. Although Tyler had been Harrisons Vice President, the issue of succession wasnt clearly spelled out in the Constitution.

But Tyler himself was nearly killed in a shipboard explosion in 1844. President Tyler was stopped by a dignitary on his way up to a deck to witness a naval gun display on the USS Princeton. The gun exploded, killing the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Navy instead.

Lafayette S. Foster.Foster was the Senate president pro tempore in 1865 when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Part of the plot to kill Lincoln included an assassination attempt on Vice President Andrew Johnson.

John Wilkes Booth had convinced George Atzerodt to kill Johnson at a hotel where the Vice President was staying. Atzerodt camped out in a room above Johnsons room, but he decided on that fateful night to abandon the attempt, and he went out drinking instead.

Atzerodt was executed in July 1865 for his role in the conspiracy. Had he killed the unsuspecting Johnson, Foster would have been Acting President, until an election could be held to choose a new President in December 1865.

Benjamin Wade.It was Wade who had replaced Foster as Senate president pro tempore by 1868 when President Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House and put on trial in the Senate.

One of the theories about how Johnson escaped a guilty verdict by one vote in the Senate was that there was a contingent of Senators who didnt want Wade, a Radical Republican, as Acting President.

Said one newspaper at the time, Andrew Johnson is innocent because Ben Wade is guilty of being his successor.

Thomas W. Ferry.Ferrys brush with the presidency was more of a theoretical one, but all too real under the election laws of 1876.

In that contentious presidential election, the Democratic candidate, Samuel Tilden, won the popular vote against Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, but the electoral vote was in dispute.

Different sets of electors were submitted by three states that would decide the election. Since there wasnt a constitutional fix for the problem, Congress appointed a 15-person commission, including five Supreme Court Justices, to settle the disputed race. The commission ruled in favor of Hayes just two days before the inauguration. The votes were approved in Congress at 4:10 a.m. on March 2.

Ferry was the Senate president pro tempore at the time and would have been the Acting President if the Electoral College vote wasnt certified on March 4, 1877. In fact, Ferry may have believed he was President for one day, since he was unaware that Hayes took the presidential oath in private on March 4, aSunday.

John Nance Garner.Garner almost became President under the terms of a constitutional amendment ratified just weeks before an assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.

The 20th Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1933, and it made provisions for the Vice President-electin this case, Garnerto assume the presidency if the President-elect died before taking the oath of office.

On February 13, 1933, just 23 days after the amendment went into force, assassin Giuseppe Zangara opened fire on a car in Miami that contained President-elect Roosevelt. He missed Roosevelt but fatally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.

Garner was a conservative Southern Democrat who wound up opposing Roosevelts New Deal programs. He also would have sought to replace Roosevelt as President in 1940 if FDR hadnt decided to run for a third term. Garner was ultimately replaced on the ticket by Henry Wallace.

More Constitution Daily History Stories

On this day, Gerald Ford becomes president in a constitutional first

10 essential facts about Alexander Hamilton

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A judge has banned a man in Sebastian, Florida, from ordering pizza delivery, TC Palm reports.

For three weeks in June, Randy Riddle used five different phone numbers to call multiple pizza delivery restaurants in Sebastian and nearby cities, TC Palm reported. He ordered food, refused to pay for his orders, sent deliveries to fake or abandoned addresses and called to tell businesses their food was gross.

The businesses claim to have lost at least $667 on food that Riddle did not pay for, according to the newspaper. Riddles ban from ordering delivery was a condition of his bail.

Defendant shall refrain from calling any pizza establishment and/or making any harassing calls or his bond shall be revoked, his warrant affidavit said.

Riddle was arrested Aug. 1 and charged with making harassing phone calls and petty theft, according to the Indian River County Sheriffs Office.

[TC Palm]
By Laila Kearney

(Reuters) - A Florida police officer who mistakenly killed a 73-year-old woman during a role-play exercise this week has been the subject of excessive force complaints in the past, according to a police official and media reports.

Punta Gorda Police Officer Lee Coel is on administrative leave after firing a live round that struck and killed Mary Knowlton on Tuesday night at an event hosted by the police department for about 35 members of the community.

The role-play exercise has been part of an educational event hosted by the department for the past two years, Police Chief Tom Lewis told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.

"Obviously in this circumstance, something went terribly wrong," Lewis said.

Punta Gorda police have released few details about what led to Knowlton being shot by a live round, and Lewis declined to answer questions at the news conference.

He acknowledged reports that Coel, a K-9 police officer, had been accused of allowing his police dog to attack a man while on patrol in October last year.

"This officer was involved in a K-9 apprehension incident," Lewis said. "Currently that incident is in civil litigation."

Lawyer Scott Weinberg said Coel intended to cite his client, Richard Shumacher, for riding a bike at night without a headlight or taillight when the attack occurred.

Weinberg, who has filed a notice of intent to sue the city and the police department, released a police dash-cam video of the incident earlier this year. In it, Coel can be seen holding Shumacher down while the dog mauled him.

"The bottom line is that when I released this video two months ago, I had warned everybody that this man was going to kill somebody," Weinberg said in a phone interview. "I told the chief to his face that this man was dangerous."

Coel also was accused of excessive force in April 2013 while working as a police officer for Miramar, Florida police, court records show.

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That incident and another case led investigators to determined Coel had violated department policies, and he was forced to resign, the Miami Herald reported.

It was not clear if Coel has been disciplined for violating rules in the incident involving his police dog in Punta Gorda, where he was hired for the city's force in March 2014.

(Additional reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and James Dalgleish)
[Photo: NOW TV]

Sick of sweating it out on the Central Line? Its time to whip off your work outfit and get your every crevice some vitamin D - a nudist roof terrace is coming to the capital.

NOW TV is opening a nude sunbathing spot overlooking Parliament Square, complete with open-air bar, sun-bathing areas and a trampoline. Nice.

The company is celebrating its new contract-free package by freeing us all from our clothes and theyve also done some research into the apparently free and easy ways of the ever-scrutinised millennial.

According to NOW TVs study, under-30s have worked for 15% more employers than their parents, moved house 16% more times, holidayed to 55% more countries and lived in 28% more- and have had 89% more sexual partners.



[Photo: NOW TV]

Unsurprisingly, 44% more of us are unmarried by 30 than our parents were at an equivalent age.

The terrace is likely to open for further dates during the summer and to register your interest you just need to contact comboterrace@taylorherring.com with your name, age and email address.

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Sundar Pichai

While much of the industry is bullish on Google's chances to snatch a big chunk of the growing cloud computing market away from Amazon, especially under cloud boss Diane Greene, one long-time tech exec doesn't think so: the guy that helped EMC buy Greene's first company, VMware.

Mark Lewis was once EMC's CTO and chief strategy officer responsible for acquisitions. He led EMC's 2007 purchase of VMware. He left that role in 2012 to found a storage software startup, Formation Data Systems. He's also an advisor at private equity investment firm Silver Lake.

He tells Business Insider that Amazon owns the cloud computing market so thoroughly, and is so far ahead in market share and features, that it's "game over" for other contenders, much the same way that Google owns the internet search ad market today.

For example, a survey done by Pacific Crest last fall of about 300 IT managers showed 60% of them using cloud services, primarily Amazon, but also Salesforce, Microsoft Azure. And most of them predicted they would stay with Amazon three years from now.

Market research also shows Amazon finished 2015 with 31% of the cloud infrastructure market, compared to Microsoft Azure's 9% and Google's 4%. And Amazon Web Services is still growing rapidly. AWS reported 31% year-over-year revenue growth last quarter.

Game over?

"Amazon won this round. It's game over," Lewis tells us.

Formation Data Systems Mark Lewis

He says the time to have beaten Amazon was years ago, when the industry was still in denial as to how successful AWS could become.

These days Amazon's cloud boss Werner Vogels likes to tout, "If you look at other cloud providers in the market, there's quite a few of them still sort of in the phase where AWS was five, six years ago  in 2010  at the moment we were still much more focused on the infrastructure side of things than the sort of rich collection of services."

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Lewis agrees with Vogels. "Amazon can release new code into its stack in 11 seconds," Lewis says, describing how fast Amazon can roll out a new feature, or tweak performance.

"Google is entering the market a decade late with me-too features. It's like Microsoft going after the phone market. They didn't have a chance and I don't think it will work for Google either," he says.

Or early days?

Google's Diane Greene would counter this by saying that its early days for cloud computing with many enterprises planning on increasing their spending on cloud, and a lot of them wanting to use multiple vendors. Google believes its cloud business could be bigger than its ad business by 2020. Google currently makes the majority of its $75 billion in annual revenue from ads.

Google Diane Greene

While Greene would not share the cloud units growth numbers, during a recent interview with Business Insider, she told us that growth is really good and were doing great stuff with some really big customers."

Lewis does think that eventually, some company will come along and challenge Amazon, but it will be with completely new technology, new innovation, Lewis says.

That's what's happening to his industry, computer storage. An ecommerce site that started as a bookseller, Amazon, came out of the blue to offer cloud computing and today the storage industry is shrinking as more companies choose to rent storage on the cloud, largely from Amazon, instead of buying it from traditional vendors.

"Someone is going to take down Amazon but it will be some new company I don't know the name of yet, nor do you. But it won't be one of the old guys, anymore than Myspace will kill Facebook," Lewis tells us.

Google could not be immediately reached for comment.

NOW WATCH: Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet





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Mandated by Congress, the annual report is the first since the U.S. and five other world powers signed the nuclear agreement with Iran in July 2015, that was supposed to curtail nuclear ambitions in return for ending sanctions. The full report, including classified details, was submitted May 31 to congressional defense committees.

The findings parallel Michael Eisenstadts recent report to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He found that Irans cyber operations have evolved from a low-tech means of lashing out at its enemies to a pillar of its national security concept. He continued, by saying that Iran has been testing to see what kind of activities it can get away with without jeopardizing sanctions relief and foreign investment.

However, belief in the agreement is strong in Washington, It has now been well over a year since the agreement with Iran to stop its nuclear program was signed, President Barack Obama said at a news conference last week. And by all accounts, it has worked exactly the way we said it was going to work.

No assessment of Irans compliance with the nuclear agreement was offered by the Defense Departments executive summary. Instead, it said that President Hassan Rouhani seeks to avoid antagonizing the U.S. while Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei harbors a longstanding, deep skepticism of U.S. intentions.

The report also reiterated points from last years review, saying that, Iran continues to seek to control strategic avenues of approach, including the narrow Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, and is pressing ahead with covert activities. Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps is still trying to improve its ability to support and carry out terrorist attacks that advance its interests.
Cannes (France) (AFP) - The mayor of Cannes has banned the wearing of burqinis -- full-body swimsuits -- on the beaches of the French Riviera resort famous for its annual film festival, officials said Thursday.

Mayor David Lisnard signed off on the ruling that "access to beaches and for swimming is banned to anyone who does not have (bathing apparel) which respects good customs and secularism," which is a founding principle of the French republic.

"Beachwear which ostentatiously diplays religious affiliation, when France and places of worship are currently the target of terrorist attacks, is liable to create risks of disrupting public order (crowds, scuffles etc) which it is necessary to prevent," it says.

Thierry Migoule, head of municipal services for the town, sought to clarify the ruling's intent.

"We are not talking about banning the wearing of religious symbols on the beach ... but ostentatious clothing which refers to an allegiance to terrorist movements which are at war with us," he said.

On July 14 the nearby Riviera city of Nice was the target of an attack claimed by the so-called Islamic State group which killed 85 people, when a truck ploughed into seafront crowds celebrating the French national holiday.

On July 26 a priest was killed in his church in northwestern France by two attackers who had proclaimed their allegiance to Islamic State.

Islamic dress is a hot-button issue in France, where the full-face veil is banned in public places. But there is no ban on wearing religious symbols or clothing.

Migoule said that no burqini had been seen on any beach in Cannes since the ruling was signed into force on July 28 by Lisnard, a member of the centre-right Les Republicains party.

Earlier this week a waterpark in nearby Marseille cancelled plans to host a private event for Muslim women wearing burqinis after they sparked outrage, including from politicians on both the right and left.
By Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index rose on Thursday to post its sixth straight day of gains, with the market lifted to a 14-month high by energy companies and Coca Cola HBC (CCH.L).

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) closed up 0.7 percent to 6,914.71 points, its highest level since June 2015.

Drinks bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) was the best-performing FTSE 100 stock, up 7 percent after reporting higher interim profits.

Shares in oil majors BP (BP.L) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSb.L) also climbed as oil prices edged higher. [O/R]

"There's been a big turnaround in oil which has helped the likes of BP and the FTSE in general," said Central Markets' trading analyst Joseph Neighbour.

However, Anglo-South African financial services firm Old Mutual fell 3.8 percent after posting a 9 percent fall in first-half operating profit.

Housebuilders also fell after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said British housing market activity ebbed in the month following the country's shock 'Brexit' vote to leave the European Union.

Shares in housebuilders Berkeley Group (BKGH.L), Taylor Wimpey (TW.L) and Barratt Developments (BDEV.L) all lost ground.

The FTSE 100 is up around 11 percent so far in 2016.

Record low interest rates set by the Bank of England have helped the UK stock market recover from a slump in the immediate aftermath of June's Brexit vote, although the value of UK shares in U.S. dollar terms has been impacted by a fall in sterling.

Gerren O'Neill, senior trader at Thames Capital Markets, expected the FTSE to settle back a bit from its current highs, but Central Markets' Neighbour backed sticking with the market, while being prepared to trim back positions for a profit.

(Reporting by Kit Rees; Editing by Keith Weir)
(Adds comment from lawyer for plaintiffs, paragraph 8)

By Jonathan Stempel

Aug 11 (Reuters) - A federal judge has ruled that General Mills Inc must face a lawsuit claiming it tricked consumers by marketing Cheerios Protein as a high-protein alternative to regular Cheerios, when the main difference was that it contained 17 times more sugar per serving.

In a decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson in San Francisco said consumers may pursue a claim that General Mills violated the federal Nutrition Labeling and Education Act since it "misbranded" Cheerios Protein, which is sold in Oats & Honey and Cinnamon Almond flavors.

Though "skeptical" it would succeed, Henderson also refused to dismiss the plaintiffs' claim that reasonable consumers would likely be deceived by packaging for the cereal, noting that text mentioning its sugar content and being "sweetened" appeared in small print on the boxes.

Mike Siemienas, a General Mills spokesman, said the Minneapolis-based company does not discuss pending litigation.

Though Cheerios Protein has 7 grams of protein per serving versus 3 grams for regular Cheerios, the plaintiffs said the real difference was negligible because the serving size of Cheerios Protein, and the calorie content per serving, was twice as big.

The plaintiffs also called the Cheerios Protein name misleading because it said nothing about the 16 or 17 grams of sugar in a serving, versus a single gram in regular Cheerios.

A Washington-based nonprofit group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, filed the lawsuit last November on behalf of consumers in California and New York.

"We know that consumers are deceived to their detriment by this product," CSPI litigation director Maia Kats said in an email, "and look forward to the opportunity now to prove so in court."

The case is Coe et al v. General Mills Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 15-05112.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Richard Chang)
Brazilian steel producer Gerdau S.A. GGB reported disappointing results for second-quarter 2016. The companys adjusted net income plunged nearly 30.3% year over year to R$184.3 million (US$52.7 million). The fall was triggered primarily by lower revenue generation, weak results of subsidiaries and higher financial expenses.



Talking about Gerdaus top-line results, net sales declined 4.7% year over year to R$10,248.8 million (US$2,928.2 million).



Crude steel production in the quarter declined 2.9% year over year to 4.304 million tons, while shipments inched down 0.7% to 4.240 million tons.



Segmental Details



A brief discussion on Gerdaus segmental result is provided below.



Revenues sourced from the Brazil BD (business division) accounted for 27.8% of net sales, down 6.6% year over year, while that from North America BD represented roughly 40.5% of net sales, down 1% year over year. The South America BD revenues constituted 12.2% of net sales, down 2.7% year over year. Revenues from Special Steel BD decreased 13%, comprising 19.5% of net sales.



Margins



In the quarter, Gerdaus margins suffered weakness, with cost of sales representing 89.4% of net sales compared with 89% in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was down 40 basis points (bps) to 10.6%.



Selling expenses, as a percentage of revenues, were 1.7%, while general and administrative expenses were 3.9%. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were R$1,201 million (US$343.1 million), up 0.8% year over year. EBITDA margin came in at 11.7% compared with 11.1% in the year-ago quarter.



Balance Sheet & Cash Flow



Exiting second-quarter 2016, Gerdaus cash and cash equivalents decreased 19.5% sequentially to R$3,809.4 million (US$1,179.4 million). Long-term debt was R$18,496.9 million (US$5,726.6 million), down from R$20,992.6 million (US$5,847.5 million) at the end of the previous quarter.



In addition, Gerdaus net cash generation from operating activities decreased 33.8% year over year to R$1,472.8 million in the first half of 2016. Capital spent on purchase of property, plant and equipment totaled R$811.5 million, down 35.6% year over year.



Outlook: For 2016, Gerdau expects capital expenditure to be R$1.5 billion, down 35% year over year.

Story continues

GERDAU SA ADR Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

GERDAU SA ADR Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | GERDAU SA ADR Quote

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider



Gerdau, with a market capitalization of $4.6 billion, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other stocks worth considering in the industry include ArcelorMittal MT, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. SCHN and ThyssenKrupp AG TYEKF. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).



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By Joseph Nasr and Andrea Shalal BERLIN, UEDEM, Germany (Reuters) - Germany's Defence Minister said on Thursday the country lay in the "crosshairs of terrorism" and pressed plans for the military to train more closely with police in preparing for potential large-scale militant attacks. Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at an operations center in the town of Uedem near the Dutch border, said military and police already worked together on disaster response and to defend against 9/11-style attacks and chemical and biological threats; but it was critical to meet changing circumstances. "The debate about using the military domestically is important simply because we are now pragmatically preparing for situations that we could not imagine before the attacks in Paris and Brussels," von der Leyen told reporters. "We all know that Germany has long been in the crosshairs of terrorism ... We have to be prepared." Islamist militants killed 130 people in simultaneous attacks in Paris last November. In March, attackers killed 32 in attacks on Brussels airport and a metro station. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, speaking in Berlin, said Germany must spend considerably more on its police and security forces, create a special unit to counter cyber crime and terrorism, and clamp down on foreigners convicted of crimes. SUCCESSOR TO MERKEL? De Maiziere rejected calls by interior ministers in some of Germany's 16 states to abolish rules allowing the children of foreigners born in Germany to have dual citizenship. He said he would not seek to ban head-to-toe burqas worn by Muslim women as demanded by some fellow conservative politicians. Germany is debating security measures including domestic use of military forces after a spate of attacks on civilians, two claimed by the Islamic State group, and a mass shooting in Munich initially seen as a possible terrorist attack. It was later found to be the work of an 18-year-old deranged gunman. The use of the military at home is a sensitive matter. Von der Leyen triggered questions when she put a unit of 100 military police on alert for possible deployment during the Munich shooting. Germanys postwar constitution, intended to protect democracy after the Nazi era, forbids the army from deploying at home, except for defense against invasion or in case of natural disasters or extreme emergencies. Von der Leyen and de Maiziere are seen as most likely successors to Chancellor Angela Merkel. De Maiziere was the last defense minister but demoted by Merkel to Interior Minister. He has however won widespread praise for his steady handling of recent attacks. Von der Leyen said German police would retain responsibility for responding to any such attacks. But she said she would meet at the end of the month with de Maiziere and state interior ministers to discuss joint training of police and military. Von der Leyen said the military could help police forces strained by attacks that hit several different areas at once, instead of requesting reinforcements from France, Austria or other countries. "In such extraordinary situations, the military would then legally be in charge, under the leadership of the police," she said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; editing by Ralph Boulton)
Berlin (AFP) - Heavily-armed soldiers have been a common sight in Paris after France was hit by deadly attacks, but in neighbouring Germany, talk about troops patrolling at home for the first time since World War II has sparked an emotional debate.

For many, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen set alarm bells ringing when she ordered soldiers on standby as an 18-year-old went on a gun rampage in a shopping mall in Munich in July.

The troops did not end up hitting the streets, for the attacker committed suicide following the shooting, in which nine people were killed.

But after a string of attacks in the same week -- including two claimed by the Islamic State group -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a nine-point plan to bolster security, including training the military to respond to major terror assaults.

"It is now time to carry out exercises on major terror situations... which can involve the armed forces under the leadership of police," said Merkel.

Von der Leyen did not miss her cue and her ministry promptly confirmed the army and police were preparing for joint exercises.

But the possibility that the army may patrol at home for the first time in seven decades set off an outcry in the country haunted by its Nazi past, exposing a deep rift within the coalition.

Under the Nazi regime, the murky lines between the military and police in part enabled the regime to persecute Jews, Roma, leftwingers, gays and other declared enemies of the state.

Germany's post-war constitution has since drawn clear lines between the country's internal and external security forces.

It prohibits the Bundeswehr, as the federal armed forces are known, from deploying domestically, save for a few exceptions.

These include helping humanitarian relief in cases of natural disasters or emergencies, or in the event of a threat against "the free democratic order of the federal state".

- 'Nobody tells me why' -

The debate over the domestic role of the army has resurfaced several times, most recently in the wake of the November 13 Paris attacks targeting a concert hall and cafes that left 130 dead.

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Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, himself a former interior minister, said troops should be used to bolster police forces should Germany be struck by a major terror assault.

Yet there is deep scepticism among the population.

A poll by Die Zeit weekly found that 66 percent of the population did not think that deploying the army in Germany was a good idea.

Junior coalition partner the Social Democrats were quick to lead the criticism, with their party chief Sigmar Gabriel batting off suggestions of a deployment and arguing instead that police should be given more support.

The police force itself also did not appear to welcome the help, with the chairman of the police union GdP, Oliver Malchow, saying that "the armed forces are completely unable to offer the help that we need."

"We need investigators, we need policemen who are trained constitutionally," he said.

But proponents seized on the July attacks to argue that it was better to be prepared.

Klaus Bouillon, interior minister in the western state of Saarland, warned that it would be "paradoxical and absurd, if the police were strained to the limit in an exceptional emergency while the army had to watch helplessly from the sidelines."

Christian Moelling, an expert on security and defence at the German Marshall Fund think tank, said the issue invited political posturing, with the two sides reverting to entrenched positions.

"I can't tell you if I'm for or against it because nobody tells me why -- why should the armed forces be used?" he said.

"An honest debate is needed, that is, what is happening on the ground and how can armed forces support with their capabilities the police forces," stressed Moelling.

He added that Germany has been "very lucky for the past years."

"We know that it is a target of terrorism, and we have been able to prevent almost every attack so far".
Donald Trump, right, is introduced by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at a campaign rally at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani clashed with CNN host Chris Cuomo on Thursday during a heated half-hour conversation about the allegedly biased coverage of the presidential election.

Giuliani, a staunch Donald Trump supporter, accused the media of mischaracterizing the Republican presidential candidates words and blowing them out of proportion while downplaying actual corruption at the hands of his general election competition, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

During an intense interview on CNNs New Day Thursday morning, Giuliani brought up the 296 pages of Clinton emails obtained by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch through a public-records lawsuit. The New York Times reported that 44 of the emails had not previously been turned over to the State Department. The latest emails from her tenure as secretary of state have raised concerns about the Clinton Foundations influence at the State Department.

Yesterday we get emails that demonstrate what Ive been saying for four months: that the Clinton Foundation is a fraud; the Clinton Foundation to me is a racketeering enterprise and the State Department was a pay-for-play organization, Giuliani said.

The GOP ex-mayor claimed that the media was not giving the Clinton email story the coverage it deserves. Cuomo pushed back, arguing that Clintons emails were widely covered and that Trump also deserved scrutiny for his more incendiary comments.

The 44 emails that came out, Cuomo said, we have covered here just as much as anything else. Were covering it.

The two New Yorkers continued to butt heads throughout the lengthy interview, but their tone was respectful despite their wildly different interpretation of current events.

Rudy has known me a long time and knows I am coming from a good place when I test him https://t.co/LPxgAysszM  Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) August 11, 2016

At one point, Giuliani said the bias in the medias coverage of Trump was so clear that he could not help Cuomo if the CNN host couldnt see it as well.

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Nobody brought up Hillarys comments about Bobby Kennedy, Giuliani said. This was a reference to May 2008, when Obama all but clinched the Democratic nomination and Clinton was feeling pressure to suspend her campaign. She ignited a firestorm by referencing Kennedys assassination during the 68 Democratic primary. Clinton later apologized.

What are you talking about? Its all over the place, Cuomo countered.

No, it isnt all over the place! Not three days, front page of the newspapers. The front page of the Times yesterday didnt have the pay-for-play scandal. The front page of the New York Times had three stories on Donald Trump, all negative, and nothing about pay-for-play, Giuliani said.

Cuomo pressed Giuliani on Trump claiming that Obama founded ISIS and that the terrorist group honors him. Giuliani said Trumps statement was legitimate political commentary.

It is true in the sense that before Obama, ISIS was an almost unknown small little organization. He even called it the JV [team]  totally wrong. And heres why it happened. Because he withdrew the troops from Iraq, Giuliani said. General Petraeus had secured the eastern part of Iraq. It wasnt in turmoil. It wasnt in revolution. It wasnt breeding terror.

Cuomo pointed out that Trump didnt offer that sort of nuance.

Thats a legitimate argument to make, he told Giuliani. But he doesnt make that argument. He says, The guys a founder.

Well, thats what he means by that! Giuliani said.

Cuomo then pointed to another Trump firestorm: the moguls claim that Second Amendment people might be able to do something to stop Clinton from abolishing gun rights. Many people interpreted this as a joke about her potential assassination.

It wasnt a joke, Giuliani said.

Youre not saying that he had serious intentions about encouraging Second Amendment people to do something bad? Cuomo said.

Of course not, Giuliani continued. No more than Hillary Clinton had eight years ago when she said she was going to stay in the race because remember, Kennedy was assassinated.

Related video:
A 45-minute helicopter tour of Singapore from Seletar Airport. A 45-minute helicopter tour of Singapore from Seletar Airport.

Russian diamond company World of Diamonds and restaurant Ce La Vi Singapore is hoping to host the worlds most expensive dining experience at a hefty price of S$2.7 million, which includes an 18-course dinner, luxurious rides and a special fireworks display to end the night.

During a media preview on Wednesday evening (10 August), representatives from both companies gave a sneak peek of their proposed dining experience, which would also include a 2.08 carat diamond ring named after Hollywood actress Jane Seymour, diamond encrusted chopsticks, and armchairs personally designed by local interior design company  The Plush.

Heres the full list of items on the menu

1. New Zealand langoustine with black sesame cornet

2. Fresh belon oyster

3. Almas Caviar

4. Blue fin otoro sashimi

5. Jamon Iberico

6. Gewurztraminer-poached foie gras

7. Veal liver

8. Lamb sweetbread

9. Bresse poulet consomme

10. Line-caught sea bass

11. Air-flown Alaska wild salmon

12. Verjus sorbet

13. Slow-cooked pigeon

14. Glenvale pork loin

15. Pan-roasted Graham Morrison lamb tenderloin

16. Apple-wood grilled Mishima sirloin

17. Whipped brie de meaux

Organisers say they have received more than one enquiry  mainly from the US and Europe  but no confirmations have yet been made.

Till then, the S$2.7 million dining experience remains on the menu. No validity period has been set.

If it does happen, heres a look at what would go into the worlds most expensive dining experience.
Netflixs new show The Get Down may be all about New York in the 1970s, but getting it ready to stream for all of its 83 million subscribers around the world involved a whole lot of 21st century technology. The company detailed some of that work in a post on its tech blog Thursday. Netflix regularly uses these types of posts as a way to attract new talent, which is why theyre full of highly technical buzzwords that mean little if anything to most of us mere mortals.

Thats a shame.

A closer look at Netflixs streaming technology not only reveals how obsessed with details the streaming service has become, but also how this has helped it to become as successful as it is today. With that in mind, lets take a closer look at what actually happens in the days and hours before you start to binge-watch The Get Down.

At the center of Netflixs streaming efforts is the companys own content delivery network, dubbed Open Connect. Netflix has spent years placing thousands of its own, custom-build caching servers in data centers of major internet services providers and internet exchanges around the world. That way, consumers in Rio wont stream The Get Down from servers in the U.S., but from a copy hosted on a local server.

One of Netflixs Open Connect caching servers.Janko Roettgers / Variety

These kinds of caching severs are nothing new. Commercial content delivery networks (CDNs) have been using them for years. However, traditionally, CDNs decide what to cache based on whats popular. A file gets streamed a lot in a certain region? Lets make sure we have a local copy there.

Netflix on the other hand tries to anticipate what its customers will watch in the future, and cache proactively. That way, when a show like The Get Down launches, copies are already in place, and consumers wont have to deal with buffering. Netflix uses special algorithms to determine what will be popular where, similar to how it recommends new titles to watch to its members.

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Netflix also knows when consumers are most and least likely to binge. The company uses this information to figure out during which times of the day those caching servers have the least amount of work to do, and then uses this window to fill them up with new content to avoid slow-downs. The Get Down will most likely arrive on Netflixs caching servers in the early morning, when everyone is still fast asleep.

But the companys attention to detail doesnt stop there. Instead of sending these updates directly to each caching server, it has developed a complex distribution technology that works a little bit like a peer-to-peer file sharing network, minus the copyright violations.

Open Connect caching servers can get their copy of The Get Down either from another caching server that may reside in the same network or serving the same region, from a cache further away, or directly from servers Netflix is renting from Amazons cloud service. The goal is always to minimize long-distance network traffic, and distribute files as fast as possible during that short window of time when Netflixs subscribers are getting their beauty rest.

In other words: Netflixs servers are insomniacs, thanks to algorithms that make sure that come Friday, youll be able to stream The Get Down as soon as you get up.

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Rio Olympics Drives Netflix U.S. Viewing Down 10% Over Opening Weekend (Study)
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Lukas Krpalek claimed the Czech Republic's first ever Olympic judo medal by winning gold in the under-100kg division in Rio on Thursday.

Czechoslovakia won a bronze medal in the 1980 Games in Moscow boycotted by many Western nations, but this was the Czechs' first judo medal since separating from Slovakia.

"It's amazing that I'm the first Czech athlete to win a medal in judo, and on top of that it's gold," said Krpalek.

"It's a huge thing for the Czech Republic and also for our sport. It's a very important success."

Krpalek threw Elmar Gasimov of Azerbaijan for the maximum ippon in the final with an inner reap technique before the two shared a sporting hug and soaked up the fans' acclaim in the Carioca 2 arena.

"We've known each other since the juniors and we're good friends," said Krpalek.

"We're rivals on the mat but in normal life we're friends."

The winning throw was a rare moment of classical judo in a bout otherwise defined by the fighters' distinctly wrestling styles.

Krpalek, the 2014 world champion, had been the more enterprising of the pair and shocked Gasimov with a surprise attempt at a rear directional throw.

The Czech had earlier ousted the reigning world champion Ryunosuke Haga of Japan.

Cyrille Maret of France slammed Germany's Karl-Richard Frey into the mat for ippon to win bronze while Haga submitted Ukraine's Artem Bloshenko with a triangle choke to claim the other bronze medal.
By Heather Somerville and Shalini Nagarajan

(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc venture capital arm GV said Bill Maris, a leading voice in the venture industry, is leaving the investment firm he founded and ran as chief executive for close to eight years.

GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, said Friday that Maris would be replaced by managing partner David Krane.

"Bill Maris has decided to step down to take a break with his family and tackle something new," GV said in a statement.

Krane has been at Google for nearly 17 years, starting as the company's first communications director.

GV, founded in 2009, pioneered a new style of corporate venture capital, making big bets on bleeding-edge technology such as commercial drones and 3D printing, and new business models such as ride-services company Uber and genetics testing firm 23andMe.

Unlike many corporate venture arms, GV rarely invests in a startup that is acquired by its corporate affiliate. Just six of GV's 320 or so investments have been acquired by Google, a spokeswoman said.

It has roughly $1.4 billion under management, with many companies now worth several billions of dollars. Its investment in online retailer Jet.com paid off this week when Wal-Mart announced it would acquire the company for about $3 billion. It has also had its share of failures, such as messaging app Secret's demise last year.

But GV has slowed its pace of investments dramatically over the last year and a half. The firm made just 34 investments in 2015 compared to 63 in 2014, a 46 percent drop, according to venture capital database CB Insights.

Maris had been vocal in encouraging richly valued startups to go public rather than continuing to exploit the booming private markets, and depriving employees and early investors the chance to cash out their shares.

Alphabet has added other investment vehicles since GV. Google Capital, a growth-stage investment fund, launched in 2014, and Google began making investments from its balance sheet over the last couple of years.

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However, GV's pace of investments still outpaced the others, according to CB Insights.

Maris's exit is the latest in a string of high-profile departures from Alphabet. Chris Urmson, chief technical officer for its self-driving car project, left last week, while Anthony Levandowski, product manager for the program, left earlier this year to co-found a startup.

Tony Fadell, a well-known Silicon Valley executive who was once expected to play a central role in Alphabet's hardware efforts, stepped down as chief executive of its Nest unit in June.

(Reporting by Heather Somerville in San Francisco and Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru.; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)
san francisco altschool 4395 skitch

Schools today look almost nothing like they did 50 years ago.

Kids aren't riffling through card catalogs or prying open dusty encyclopedias in the library  they're browsing online databases and deftly rooting through Wikipedia on personal laptops.

According to Jonathan Rochelle, head of product management for Google Apps for Education, the next 50 years might see even crazier advances.

Collaboration will be king

By 2066, Rochelle says, schools are poised to become highly collaborative spaces, thanks to the advent of virtual and augmented reality. Instead of needing to meet in the same physical space, kids could work on long-term projects remotely and interact through online platforms.

Rochelle has a unique perspective on the value of teamwork: In 2006, he co-founded the Google Docs suite. He's since worked on subsequent Drive products, many of which Google has brought to schools in the form of Google Classroom, a cloud-based platform that integrates Google Apps to expedite scheduling and note-sharing.

Rochelle believes schools of the future will embrace collaboration as a top priority as the Internet continues to bleed into people's daily lives.

"We should never underestimate the importance of social interaction and co-working," he tells Business Insider. "So as much as schools want to get the value of calculus or coding into kids' heads, let's not forget to teach how to interact with each other."

Machines learn, kids learn

For kids to work together in the best way possible, schools have to group them in the best possible way.

That's where Rochelle sees machine learning entering the picture. Educators will be able to give students online tests that are smart enough to group kids by interest and skill level, rather than the current system of grouping them by age.

That kind of intuitive machine learning could also help put kids on the right career path. Rochelle points to those often-mocked career placement tests that high school freshmen and sophomores take  the one that might've told you that you should either become a plumber or a heart surgeon.

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In the future, he says, there will be legitimate tools that can help guide students towards particular subjects. Those who don't like math but show a strong capacity for reading and language may be told they don't need to take calculus, for example, while another student whose scores favor math can focus on that.

Sophisticated data like this will create the perfect conditions for the kind of collaboration that is essential to effective learning, Rochelle says.

robot

The tech revolution needs teachers to lead it

But Rochelle knows technology can't transform education on its own  it takes a smart application of cutting-edge products to help kids learn. As the world gets more technologically advanced, it's partly up to teachers to make sure kids feel comfortable using the latest products effectively.

Those are the skills that will give them the greatest leg up as citizens, Rochelle says.

"Imagine if we could teach kids all the tools that are at their disposal," he says, "and let them take the next step to stand on the shoulders of giants."

NOW WATCH: Google is using these seven-person tricycles for team-building





More From Business Insider


RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- After fulfilling her goal of medaling in five straight Olympics, Britain's most decorated female athlete isn't quite sure what comes next.

But don't be surprised if Katherine Grainger's next endeavor involves studying serial killers and other brutal criminals.

''It's quite a dark subject matter,'' the 40-year-old Scottish rower told The Associated Press on Thursday after winning silver in the women's sculls with Victoria Thornley. ''It's looking at the human experience quite at the limit. You look at very extreme personalities and extreme behavior.''

Over the past two decades Grainger has managed to combine advanced academic studies with a career in competitive rowing. Before Rio de Janeiro, she had won silver medals in Sydney, Athens and Beijing and gold in London. No other British woman has five Olympic medals.

Grainger has a law degree from the University of Edinburgh and took a timeout from rowing after the 2012 Olympics to finish her Ph.D. at King's College in London.

''I was studying the concept of life meaning life as a sentence. That looks at the worst of the worst criminals in the view of the law,'' she said.

Once that was out of the way she returned to rowing, but just barely made the British team for Rio. Grainger said she hasn't decided on her future yet but doubts she'll be back for a sixth Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

''I'd be very surprised if it goes beyond this point,'' Grainger said. ''I'm happy, I'm content, I'm thrilled, and I can walk away into the sunset and let other people have this dream.''

She and Thornley, who is 12 years younger, were in gold-medal position until the final stretch of Thursday's race. They were beaten by Magdalena Fularczyk-Kozlowska and Natalia Madaj of Poland.

''We just ran out a little bit right at the end there. But I'm so proud. I would far rather we do that and not quite make it than never put ourselves in that position,'' Grainger said. ''I really, really did not want to leave my fifth Olympic Games without a fifth Olympic medal.''

In other rowing races, New Zealand's Eric Murray and Hamish Bond successfully defended their Olympic gold in the men's pair, drifting away from the other crews after the first 500 meters. The Kiwis remain undefeated in the event, with 69 wins since 2009.

Brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic overtook a Lithuanian crew in the final stretch to win Croatia's first ever rowing gold medal. German crews won both the women's and men's quadruple sculls, while Switzerland won the gold in the lightweight men's four.
A walk in the park for this Florida family turned deadly when an alligator appeared and turned their pup into lunch.

Read: Another Boy Photographed Playing in the Same Spot at Lane Graves 30 Minutes Prior to Alligator Attack

Sue Fortenbery from St. Petersburg told InsideEdition.com that she and her 18-year-old grandson, Kevin, were taking a walk at Joe's Creek Greenwood Park when suddenly, their dog Bolt took off after a rabbit.

The Jack Russell Terrier followed the rabbit under a hole in the fence, where Fortenbery said, "a gator was laying on the bank waiting for him."

Then Fortenbery said she heard two screams--one from her grandson, followed closely by a scream from her dog.

Moments later, little Bolt was dead.

"I knew there was a gator out there, but I didn't know it came to the bank like that," the devastated grandmother said. "What a way to find out, huh?"

Even though Fortenbery said she has been frequenting the park several times a week for the past year, "I just don't think it's safe anymore," she said.

She reported the incident to the park ranger, who said the only thing they would be able to do is to keep an eye out for future incidents.

"That's the stupidest thing I've heard in my life," she said.

Read: Cop Who Left Police Dog in Hot Patrol Car Also Investigated in Fatal Shooting of Previous K9 Partner

Fortenbery is now pleading with the park to fix holes at the bottom of the fence, and remove the alligator.

"There are people out there walking dogs, pushing strollers with little kids," she said.

InsideEdition.com reached out to Pinellas County park rangers and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, but initial calls were not returned.

"I am thankful Kevin didn't go in the water," Fortenbery said, "or he wouldn't be here either."

Watch: Hear The 911 Call After Alligator Attacks Swimmer: 'It Completely Bit Her Arm Off!'

Story continues

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Green Day has a history of with fiery lead singles. "American Idiot," "Know Your Enemy" and "Oh Love" have all kicked off album cycles in no-nonsense fashion, but none's gone harder than their latest. The veteran punk band unveiled plans for its 12th studio album, Revolution Radio, on Thursday (Aug. 11), along with the lyric video for its first single, "Bang Bang," which was inspired by the deadly mass shootings that have plagued America recently.

Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong broke down the new song in an interview with Rolling Stone:

"It's about the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media," he told the magazine. "There's this sort of rage happening, but it's also now being filmed and we all have ourselves under surveillance. To me, that is so twisted. To get into the brain of someone like that was freaky. It freaked me out. After I wrote it, all I wanted to do was get that out of my brain because it just freaked me out."

Revolution Radio was recorded at Green Day's own studio in Oakland and produced by the band -- the first time they've skirted an outside producer since 2000's Warning. It follows on their trio of 2012 albums, Uno! Dos! Tre!, and is their first new music since Armstrong entered rehab for prescription-pill addiction.

Does Blink-182's Hit Album Signal a Pop-Punk Boom? Andy Greenwald Guests on Alt In Our Stars Podcast

Revolution Radio hits stores Oct. 7. Coming after Blink-182's highly successful 2016 album California, a strong showing could signal much more talk of pop-punk's revitalized mainstream success.

Below, find the new album's cover art.

The lyric video for "Bang Bang" link is here @greenday Go to www.greenday.com & Pre-Order the new Green Day album 'Revolution Radio' and get the song instantly right now

A photo posted by Green Day Official (@greenday) on Aug 11, 2016 at 7:14am PDT
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f175136%2fef0c36eac0cb4c9180616abf15b2c518

The Greenland shark, a massive creature that thrives in sub-Arctic waters, may be the oldest animal in the world, a new study finds.

Researchers estimated that the sharks have an average lifespan of at least 272 years. Thats roughly six decades older than the previous contender for longest-living vertebrate: the bowhead whale.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, sheds new light on the little-known Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), which is rarely observed in its natural environment.

SEE ALSO: Watch this oddly serene drone footage of basking sharks in Scotland

The sharks prefer chilly waters, between 30 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and can swim down to 7,200 feet below the surface. They also clock in at around 2,220 pounds.

via GIPHY

Its remained a mystery for a long time how old these sharks could get, Julius Nielsen, the studys lead author and a doctoral fellow in marine biology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, told Mashable.

I consider that we have found the oldest animal in the world, he said, adding that the exact lifespan of Greenland sharks remains uncertain.

Nielsen and researchers from Denmark, Norway, Greenland, the U.K. and U.S. studied 28 female Greenland sharks that were accidentally caught as by-catch in commercial fishing operations.

The team determined that the biggest shark  stretching over 16-feet-long  was likely between 272-years-old and 512-years-old, with a 95 percent probability for that age range. Within that range, the most probable age was nearly 400-years-old.

A video still of a Greenland shark. Parasitic worms often feed off the sharks' eyes, rendering them blind.

Image: Julius Nielsen

The oldest known bowhead whale, by comparison, was 211-years-old.

If you only focus on the sharks single-year age, its not a certain result, Nielsen said. But we are quite confident that the age range for the largest shark is a good estimate.

The marine biologist explained that conventional methods for determining the ages of fish dont apply to Greenland sharks, which makes it harder to know with certainty just how old these creatures are.

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In many fish, body tissue calcifies and shows growth layers  like rings on a tree trunk  that scientists can count. But Greenland sharks dont have hard calcified tissue or show growth layers in their eyelids.

Image: Julius nielsen

So Nielsens research team studied the sharks eye lenses using carbon dating techniques. Based on their assumptions about how carbon behaved in the atmosphere during the last 500 years, they arrived at their estimated age range.

This is the best estimate that can be produced at the moment, Nielsen said. I hope these age ranges can be improved and narrowed down.

But Simon Thorrold, a biologist who was not involved in the Science study, argued that carbon dating alone could not effectively determine the Greenland sharks approximate age range.

They need to make a few assumptions about the biology of the Greenland shark that we dont actually know, Thorrold, who directs the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutions Ocean Life Institute in Massachusetts, told Mashable.

I do not have much confidence in the data or their conclusions, he added.

via GIPHY

Still, Thorrold didnt dispute that Greenland sharks are extremely old animals. And he said their long lifespans  regardless of the exact age  make it all the more crucial to protect them from commercial fishing operations and other human-related pressures on their habitats.

Female Greenland sharks likely give birth every couple of years to only a handful of pups, much like whales.

A fish like cod, by contrast, reproduces much more frequently and in higher numbers.

That means cod populations can, at least theoretically, recover more quickly from threats like fishing or pollution, but Greenland sharks are much slower to bounce back, raising the risk that they could one day vanish from the ocean, Thorrold said.

Even cod populations in some areas, like the waters off New England, have failed to rebound despite fishing restrictions. This may not bode well for the Greenland shark.

It doesnt matter whether they get to 100 or 400-years-old, the point is the same, he said. We have to be careful and think about managing or conserving this species in the way we do whales.
trump dc

When the new Trump International Hotel opens in Washington, DC's historic Old Post Office Pavilion on September 12, no lavish detail will be spared.

According to Travel Weekly, the hotel will have a glassy nine-story atrium, dubbed "The Cortile," with a bar called OPO Bar & Lounge where guests can watch daily champagne saberings.

Also on offer in the atrium: ounce-size samplings of rare wines served on a silver spoon.

Though we're not sure what benefits a silver spoon would bring to the taste of a fine wine, it's sure to add a touch of elegance to an already swanky spot. Guests at the lobby bar can also order wines from the Trump Winery in Charlottesville, as well as other drinks.

"Beers are popular in Washington, and we will have local beers as well interesting ones like Belgium Trappist beer served in a goblet you can take home," food and beverage director Daniel Mahdavian told Travel Weekly.

As for food, the menu will include a breakfast service with baked goods, as well as an afternoon tea service.

The hotel will also have its own BLT Prime steakhouse.

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harry reid

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he's not concerned that his emails may be compromised in a widespread hack of over a hundred Democratic party officials and high-profile organizations.

The outgoing Nevada senator joked on a call with reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin  whose intelligence service is widely suspected to be behind the hack  would not be interested in his emails.

"I'm not worried at all. My emails are so boring, no one, even Putin wouldn't want to read those. There's nothing there," Reid said.

The top ranking senate Democrat quickly pivoted, criticizing Donald Trump for his repeated praise of Putin's leadership style.

"[Trump] is an enabler of Putin, former head of the KGB, and of course is leading all these hacks," Reid said. "It should be a message to America that you can't hold hands with Putin."

The New York Times reported on Thursday that the FBI was widening its investigation into a previous hack of the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to include hundreds of notable Democratic lawmakers and organizations. Intelligence officials suspect that the break-in was perpetrated by hackers with ties to the Russian government.

For his part, Trump wasn't phased by the hack.

In a press conference last month, the Republican presidential nominee joked that he hoped Russian hackers would find thousands of personal emails that Hillary Clinton deleted while serving as secretary of state.

"Russia, if youre listening, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said at a press conference.. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."

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London (AFP) - A top British social worker was appointed on Thursday to head up a sweeping inquiry into child sex abuse going back decades that has been hampered by delays and setbacks, angering victims and campaigners.

Former chair Lowell Goddard resigned last week -- two years after the inquiry was set up -- saying its "legacy of failure" had weighed upon her role.

Her replacement Alexis Jay led an inquiry in 2014 that revealed at least 1,400 children were exploited in Rotherham, a town in northern England.

"She has a strong track record in uncovering the truth and I have no doubt she will run this independent inquiry with vigour, compassion and courage," interior minister Amber Rudd said.

Jay said she would "fearlessly examine institutional failures past and present" and make recommendations to improve child protection nationwide.

Jay worked for more than 30 years in local government social services and is a visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

Goddard, a judge, was the third chair to quit since the inquiry was set up.

She had faced criticism for spending more than 70 days abroad or on holiday since taking up the position in April 2015.

The inquiry has so far launched 13 investigations into claims against politicians and within public institutions.

It was established in the wake of press revelations, confirmed by ministers, that files relating to 114 claims of sexual abuse against children between 1979 and 1999 had disappeared.

Goddard replaced lawyer Fiona Woolf, who resigned in October 2014 following complaints from victims' groups related to her establishment ties.

The first chair of the inquiry, Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, stood down just a week into the job after questions were raised about how her brother handled abuse allegations in the 1980s while attorney general.
From Seventeen

Gabby Douglas has earned America three Olympic gold medals (the all-around and a team medal in 2012 and the team medal in 2016, with possibly more to come), but that's not enough for some people. After a photo of her surfaced from the Olympic Games yesterday with her hands by her sides during the Pledge of Allegiance, some people called her out for her lack of patriotic etiquette.

Photo credit: Getty

Annoyed with Gabby Douglass. She's the only one without her hand over her heart during the national anthem #unpatriotic #RioOlympics2016 - Kelli Elise (@KelliElisee) August 10, 2016

What is up with Gabby? She was the only American gymnast to not put her hand over her heart during the anthem last night. - Libby Pritchett (@pritchetts7074) August 10, 2016

Not everyone was offended by Gabby's move though.

Gabby, whose father Timothy is an Air Force staff sergeant who has served in Afghanistan, responded in a note on Twitter studded with flag emojis.

"In response to a few tweets I saw tonight, I always stand at attention out of respect for our country whenever the national anthem is played," she wrote. "I never meant any disrespect and apologize if I offended anyone. I'm so overwhelmed at what our team accomplished today and overjoyed that we were able to bring home another gold for our country."

Congrats, Team USA.
mark cuban chris sacca shark tank

Salesforce is bringing a "Shark Tank" style pitching event involving billionaire investors Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca to this year's Dreamforce, its huge blockbuster annual conference held in downtown San Francisco.

The event, called "Dreampitch," will give three lucky startups a chance to pitch in front of Cuban and Sacca. The judges will only decide who gets how much, as Salesforce's own VC arm, Salesforce Ventures, will be the one making the actual investment that can go up to $150,000 in total.

Salesforce is also providing all travel accommodations and a separate booth at Dreamforce, as well as a VIP membership to its exclusive startup program, Salesforce for Startups, to the three Dreampitch finalists. One winner will also get to join Salesforce's new startup incubator early next year.

"As an early-stage startup, every opportunity to showcase your company to potential customers, partners and investors is invaluable. And the chance to pitch to legendary investors Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca is a great way to increase brand recognition and receive valuable feedback," Julia Barrett, Salesforce for Startups' Global Program Director, told us in an email.

But not every startup is qualified to apply. You need to fit the following criteria:

Some parts of your product must be built on top of Salesforce's own platform technology, like Lightning, Force.com, or Heroku

You must be US based and authorized to work here

You must have less than $2 million in total funding

You have to have over $100,000 in annual gross revenue run rate (most recent quarter gross revenue times four)

Must be an independent legal entity (LLC, S corp or C corp)

None of your members have been employed by Salesforce, its affiliated companies, RECESS, or the affiliated companies of any judges within the past five (5) years

You comply with the Official Rules.

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Salesforce of course isn't doing this just for fun. Dreampitch will help expand Salesforce Ventures' portfolio, who has quickly become one of the most active corporate VC arms over the past couple years. But more importantly, it will encourage more startups to use Salesforce's App Cloud, which generated $325.9 million in revenue last quarter  up 45% year-over-year, by far the highest growth rate among Salesforce's four largest product categories.

Learn more about Dreampitch here>>

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Hillary Clinton gives a speech on the economy after touring Futuramic Tool & Engineering in Warren, Mich., Thursday. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

Surrogates and allies of Hillary Clintons presidential campaign were given talking points on Thursday to defend against criticism based on newly released emails from Clintons tenure as secretary of state.

Some of the emails led Clintons critics, including GOP rival Donald Trump, to question the relationship between her familys charitable foundation and the State Department. In its daily Thursday at a Glance bulletin for surrogates and allies, the Clinton campaign provided suggested answers for questions about whether the new emails suggest pay-to-play between the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clintons State Department.

To claim these emails are nefarious in some way just doesnt hold up. The stakes in this election are higher than ever before, lets stop with the distractions and get back to the issues that voters care about, the campaign said in its talking points, obtained by Yahoo News.

The emails were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the conservative group Judicial Watch. In its talking points, the Clinton campaign repeatedly urged surrogates and allies to focus on Judicial Watchs political leanings.

Lets put this into context, Judicial Watch is a right wing partisan group that has been going after Hillary Clinton for many years to damage her politically. So this is more of the same, the campaign said.

Judicial Watch sued the State Department for emails from Clintons longtime aide Huma Abedin. In particular, two of the emails that were released by Judicial Watch on Tuesday have made headlines this week.

In an April 2009 message, top Clinton Foundation official Doug Band asked Abedin and other Clinton aides to help an unnamed person get a job at the State Department. The persons name was redacted, but Band said it was important to take care of him or her. In its talking points, the campaign twice directed surrogates and allies to stress that Band was seeking employment for a low level staffer. The talking points characterized the exchange as a routine referral for a job opening for a young advance staffer  NOT a donor or Clinton Foundation official.

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The recommendation was for one of the Secretarys former staffers who was not employed by the Foundation, the campaign said.

The second controversial email obtained by Judicial Watch was also sent by Band in April 2009. In that message, Band asked Abedin and another Clinton aide to connect Gilbert Chagoury  a Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor  with State Department officials. Band wrote that Chagoury needed to speak to the substance person about Lebanon and suggested that the billionaire is a key guy in that country. Band was directed to Jeff Feltman, who was the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.

A spokesman for Chagoury told the New York Times that the businessman was simply passing along his observations and insights about the dire political situation in Lebanon at the time. Chagourys spokesman also said no conversation between the billionaire and State Department officials ever ended up taking place.

In its talking points, the campaign suggested Clintons surrogates and allies should note Chagoury wanted to pass information along and that the conversation apparently didnt occur.

The facts are that Judicial Watch is trying to gin up two emails. In one, we simply have someone who wants to GIVE and NOT receive information to the State Department to ensure that a career official has relevant information that could have been useful in effectively carrying out US policy. I understand that call never happened by the way, the campaigns talking points said.

Hillary Clinton is welcomed to the stage after touring Futuramic Tool & Engineering, in Warren, Mich. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

The Clinton familys foundation has previously weathered criticism for accepting donations from foreign governments. Trump has attacked Clinton because of the foundations donations from Saudi Arabia. At a rally on Wednesday, Trump said the emails released by Judicial Watch showed potentially illegal pay for play.

Clinton has also faced scrutiny and an FBI probe for her use of a private email server for official communications during her time as secretary of state. Though the FBI declined to charge Clinton or her team, her campaigns talking points addressed whether the public should still be concerned about the email investigation and whether the public can trust the Democratic nominee.

The campaign suggested noting the people who know her best  and the people who best know the job  trust Hillary to get the job done. Specifically, the campaign pointed to Clintons support from her husband, former President Bill Clinton, former CIA Director Michael Morell, and President Obama.

Hillary knows that trust is something that cant be earned overnight  and she will keep working to earn the trust of voters and ensure them that no one will fight harder for them than her, the campaign said.
Dem presidential nominee Hilllary Clinton will visit Jimmy Kimmels ABC late night show on Monday, August 22.

Not coincidentally, it coincides with a two-day fundraising sweep of Hollywood, where Kimmels show is based.

Clinton last visited Jimmy Kimmel Live in March, before she became the official Dem nominee [Watch below]. During that memorable visit  her second of the election cycle to JKL  Kimmel told her, I am going to be your secret weapon, because Im going to help you win this election, no problem. The late-night host offered to help man-splain campaign speech-giving to the political veteran, then asked if she understood the expression.

Yeah, thats when a man explains something to a woman in a patronizing way, Clinton responded. Actually, its when a man explains something to a woman in a condescending way. But you were close, he joked.

After criticizing her outfit, Kimmel put her in front of a dais, and directed her to begin giving one of her stump speeches, but quickly interrupted. Youre shouting, youre too loud. You dont have to shout like that, it hurts my ear. It comes off as little shrill for men. Thats all I mean, youre making a speech, not an arrest. So just tone it down and try it again.

Kimmel continued to scold Clinton, Clinton continued to look uncomfortable, and we continued to wonder which of her campaign staffers had signed off on having her participate in the sketch.

Later, he told her to try again, and be careful with the face.

Its like nothing I ever do is right, Clinton faux-complained.

Exactly. Youre not doing it right. I cant quite put my finger on it. But something is. youre not umm

A man? Clinton asked.

Here is a clip from that visit:

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Taking on a more activist role in response to the growing death toll in eastern Aleppo, the United States Holocaust Museum is using a new video filmed inside the besieged city to bolster its calls for the international community to take immediate steps to protect civilians from mass atrocities there.

Though the museum, a federally-funded organization, generally avoids taking policy positions, the video features distressed Syrians and a Syrian-American aid worker calling for the creation of a no-fly zone or humanitarian corridor, proposals that President Barack Obama has rejected for years.

This is a turning point, Cameron Hudson, a director at the museum, told Foreign Policy. If the town is destroyed, it could double the death count in the conflict, and be a harbinger of an even worse calamity to come.

The video titled #SaveSyria documents recent atrocities faced by Syrians in Aleppo, which is under intense bombardment by Damascus after a surprise advance by rebels last weekend.

The central characters are Syrian-American doctors who narrate their struggles to save the grievously wounded. The film also contains harrowing scenes from the frontlines there, including a massive barrel bomb explosion and footage showing a child who was killed by flying shrapnel.

What can the international community do? Dr. Mohammed Sahloul, the former president of the Syrian American Medical Society, said during an on camera interview in the film. No fly-zones or safe zones, and also maintaining access to areas under siege.

The United Nations is currently calling for a ceasefire in Aleppo to provide humanitarian aid to the more than two million civilians without water or electricity after airstrikes pulverized the civilian infrastructure. The U.N. estimates that 250,000 to 270,000 people are trapped in rebel-held east Aleppo due to the closing of a key access route.

On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced a new ceasefire plan for the divided Syrian city involving a daily three-hour cessation of hostilities to allow humanitarian convoys to enter the war-ravaged commercial center. Such plans have been viewed with skepticism among the rebels, who believe Damascus uses the pauses to resupply troops.

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Calls for a no-fly zone, which would require U.S. pilots to patrol Syrian skies and potentially destroy Syrian air defenses and shoot down Russian planes, have been rejected by the Obama administration due to concerns about escalating the U.S. role in the conflict and an array of logistical and diplomatic considerations.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has supported a no-fly zone, but said she would do so after gaining Russian support for the operation. When asked about a no fly zone, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he prefers a safe zone that could harbor displaced people without forcing them to migrate to other countries. He has also said he would like to work with Russian President Vladimir Putin to defeat the Islamic State in Syria.

The world is facing another Srebrenica moment, said Hudson. There can be no greater priority right now than guaranteeing humanitarian access, protecting civilian populations and preventing a massive, imminent loss of life.
HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters) - CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd , held by Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, on Thursday said net profit rose 3 percent in the first half of the year, as strength in infrastructure, retail and telecoms offset reduced profitability at unit Husky Energy Inc.

January-June profit reached HK$14.92 billion ($1.92 billion), in line with the HK$14.7 billion average of four estimates from analysts polled by Reuters. Total revenue fell 8 percent to HK$180.51 billion.

CK Hutchison has significant investments in Britain and the European Union (EU). In June, after Britain voted to leave the EU, the conglomerate said it was confident its British business would continue to thrive.

Last month, CK Hutchison-owned Husky Energy Inc booked a second-quarter loss that was narrower than analysts had expected, while sister company Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd said first-half profit rose 5 percent.

($1 = 7.7556 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Donny Kwok)
Reykjavik (AFP) - Iceland will hold early parliamentary elections in October, the government said Thursday, in a move triggered by the so-called Panama Papers scandal that forced the prime minister to resign.

The Panama Papers trove of leaked documents revealing the vast extent of global tax evasion implicated several senior Icelandic politicians, prompting major protests in the tiny island nation.

Although then-prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned after the leak in April, becoming the first major figure to fall from grace over the scandal, his government has remained in place.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson asked the leaders of the parties represented in parliament to agree on a date -- six months ahead of the scheduled parliamentary vote.

"We intend to hold the election on October 29," he told public television channel RUV. "Judging by how matters progressed in parliament this spring and summer, we expect that that will happen."

While Iceland has rarely seen the level of political outrage that saw people mass in the streets of the North Atlantic island for days in April, analysts say it's difficult to tell which side has a higher chance of winning this time.

Conservative voters remain loyal to the ruling centre-right's coalition partner, the Independence Party, recent opinion polls show.

In the opposition, the Pirate Party, founded in 2012, will be campaigning on a radical ticket for more transparency, institutional reform and a clampdown on corruption.

In a presidential election in June, political newcomer Gudni Johannesson won after riding a wave of anti-establishment sentiment.
Indonesia said Thursday there was "no room" for the gay community in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, as activists blasted officials for an unprecedented series of LGBT attacks.

A wave of angry rhetoric directed at homosexuals earlier this year -- including a call to ban them from university campuses -- was the first time senior officials had publicly attacked the Southeast Asian nation's gay community, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.

Indonesia's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens have long been targeted by vigilante Islamist groups.

But the community experienced an "immediate deterioration" in their rights following a sustained assault by ministers, religious hardliners and influential Islamic organisations over a two-month period, HRW said.

In response, the government said protecting LGBT rights was not a priority.

"Rights of citizens like going to school and getting an ID card are protected, but there is no room in Indonesia for the proliferation of the LGBT movement," presidential spokesman Johan Budi told AFP.

Some of the most high-profile figures making anti-gay statements during the backlash -- which activists believe may have been triggered by media coverage of the US decision to legalise same-sex marriage -- were government ministers.

The higher education minister called for a ban on LGBT organisations on university campuses, while the defence minister likened homosexual rights groups to a "type of modern warfare".

In their report, HRW said that "what began as public condemnation quickly grew into calls for criminalisation and 'cures', laying bare the depth and breadth of officials individual prejudices".

The spike in anti-LGBT vitriol, predominantly during January and February this year, has intensified violence against sexual minorities throughout Indonesia, the report said.

Indonesia's largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama, in February described gay lifestyles as perverted and a desecration of human dignity. In Aceh, the only Indonesian province that applies Islamic law, the local government urged business owners to refuse to hire gay citizens.

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In interviews with activist groups, HRW reported gay rights organisations shut their offices and even hid staff as threats mounted against them.

In Yogyakarta an Islamist group forced the closure of a transgender Islamic boarding school, while a peaceful rally in the same Central Javan city in support of Indonesia's LGBT community was shut down.

"The impact of anti-LGBT rhetoric from government officials is enormous for us as individuals. For those of us who have worked so hard and risked so much to come out, it is a major step backward, a lesbian activist in eastern Indonesia told HRW.

Islamic activists have also filed a judicial review at the Constitutional Court aimed at making gay sex a crime. The court is currently holding hearings into the case.
When Donald Trump mucks things up, the first person to let him know is usually Republican Party boss Reince Priebus. Almost every day, Trump picks up his cell phone to find Priebus on the line, urging him to quash some feud or clarify an incendiary remark.

The Wisconsin lawyer has been a dutiful sherpa to the Manhattan developer, guiding him through the dizzying altitude of the presidential race and lobbying the GOP to unite behind a figure who threatens its future.

But every bond has its breaking point. For this partnership, the moment nearly arrived in early August. Priebus was on vacation when he learned that Trump had declined to endorse Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House and a close friend. The chairman had a frank message for the nominee, according to two Republican officials briefed on the call. Priebus told Trump that internal GOP polling suggested he was on track to lose the election. And if Trump didnt turn around his campaign over the coming weeks, the Republican National Committee would consider redirecting party resources and machinery to House and Senate races.

Trump denies the exchange ever took place. Reince Priebus is a terrific guy, Trump told TIME. He never said that. Priebus could not be reached for comment. But whatever the exact words spoken on the phone, there is no doubt that the possibility Republicans will all but abandon Trump now haunts his struggling campaign.

Since his convention in Cleveland, Trump has done almost nothing right by traditional standards. He has picked fights with senior Republicans and Gold Star parents, invited Russian spies to meddle in U.S. democracy, appeared to joke about gun enthusiasts prematurely removing a U.S. President from office. Hes shuffled campaign messages like playing cards and left GOP elders fretting that he lacks the judgment to be Commander in Chief. During a dismal two-week stretch, he surrendered a narrow lead over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and now trails by an average of 8 points in recent nationwide polls.

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Trump has overcome rough patches before. But with fewer than 90 days until Nov. 8, he now faces a reckoning. There are daunting demographics to surmount. Allies complain of massive staff shortages in battleground states. And voters are skeptical of a billionaire reality star who seems to study the rules of campaigning only so he can break them.

Then there are the challenges entirely of Trumps own making. More than three months after he effectively clinched the Republican nomination, he has yet to settle on a strategy to match the demands of a broader electorate. In an interview with TIME on Aug. 9, the improvisational candidate sounded torn between conflicting pieces of advice, unsure of how much to hold back and when to let loose. I am now listening to people that are telling me to be easier, nicer, be softer. And you know, thats O.K., and Im doing that, he says. Personally, I dont know if thats what the country wants.

Polls show that Trump has failed to grasp one of the essential truths about this extraordinary contest: in a race between the two most unpopular major-party nominees in modern history, its in each campaigns interest to train the spotlight on the other. Clinton wants the race to be about Trump. Which is what the publicity-addled Republican wants too. And why not? It worked for him in the Republican primaries. I got 14 million votes and won most of the states, he boasts. Im liking the way I ran in the primaries better.

But the general election will likely be decided by groups of voters who are rarely among the cheering throngs at his rallies. This is a fact that Trump is only now starting to confront. I dont know why were not leading by a lot, he admitted to a crowd of thousands in Jacksonville, Fla., on Aug. 3. One reason is that hes getting crushed by minority voting blocs that Republican strategists have suggested courting, such as blacks, Hispanics and young women.

Ask him about these struggles and the braggadocio fades to fatalism. All I can do is tell the truth, he says. If that does it, thats great. And if that doesnt do it, thats fine too. Even the best salesman must bow to the realities of the marketplace.

The trouble started before Trump even left Cleveland. Twelve hours after accepting his partys nomination, he arrived in a half-empty hotel ballroom for a victory lap. It was a chance to thank supporters and bask in the previous nights afterglow. Frees All Right Now echoed through the speakers. And then, as Priebus team watched live from their hotel a few blocks away, everything went wrong.

Two evenings before, Trump had crushed the last vestiges of Republican opposition, orchestrating an outburst of boos as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas delivered the ultimate snub: refusing to endorse his onetime rival. But for Trump, that victory wasnt enough. Rather than mend fences, he told fans he didnt want the GOP runner-ups endorsement and might bankroll a super PAC to kill Cruzs career. Apropos of nothing, he revived a dormant controversy involving an unflattering picture of the Texans wife, boudoir shots of Trumps and a tiny super PAC that no longer exists. He once again linked Cruzs father to the Kennedy assassination, a false conspiracy fed by a 50-year-old photo published in a supermarket tabloid. For good measure, Trump fired a parting shot at Ohio Governor John Kasich, another vanquished rival whose political machine could provide a boost in a critical swing state.

The riot of recrimination was a vivid reminder that some of Trumps worst traits as a candidatepaper-thin skin, an absence of discipline, a bottomless capacity to nurse grudgesare not going away. Republicans waiting for the long-promised presidential pivot seemed like characters in a Beckett play, trapped in Trumps theater of the absurd.

As Democrats hurled criticism during their convention, Trump tried to compete with press conferences. But his counterprogramming verged on the bizarre. In a striking breach of protocol, he urged Russia on July 27 to hack Clintons emails. Russia, if youre listening, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, Trump said, essentially urging a geopolitical adversary to commit espionage against his opponent. Establishment-minded Republicans phoned one another. Was this really happening?

The next night, a Virginia lawyer named Khizr Khan stepped to the microphone in Philadelphia. The Pakistani emigre turned American citizen spoke of his son Humayun, a U.S. Army captain killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004. If it was up to Donald Trump, he thundered, his son never would have been in America. Brandishing a pocket-size copy of the Constitution, he addressed Trump directly: You have sacrificed nothing and no one.

The return volley was predictable. Trump seemed to question whether Khans wife Ghazala, who had stood silently alongside her husband, was barred from speaking because of her religion. Its Queens, one Republican operative mused, invoking Trumps birthplace. If they hit you, you hit back. A stirring moment became a multiday feud. And Trump lost. More than 70% of respondents in a Washington Post/ABC News poll said they disapproved of his handling of the dispute, including 59% of Republicans. The emergence of the Muslim parents, blistering Trumps policies through the scrim of their own patriotism, was more than karmic irony. It was strategic success. A hook had been dangled by the Clinton campaign that he could not help but bite.

Trump goes with his gut, and when his instincts betray him, no one can rein him in. No one puts words in his mouth, and nobody decides what he says other than him, says longtime adviser Roger Stone. Politics is nine-tenths discipline.

For party officials, the Trump campaign has become like the sign inside factories: X days without an accident, with the tally regularly resetting to zero. I think what he wants to do and what he does do are two different things, says another senior GOP official.

And so more missteps followed. The campaign announced a 13-member economic advisory council with zero women and just three trained economists. The self-styled law-and-order candidate attacked fire marshals for turning away supporters when his venues hit capacity. At a rally, he described watching a U.S. plane deliver $400 million in cash to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages. Trumps own campaign acknowledged that he was wrong; it was footage of the prisoners being freed in Geneva. The candidate repeated the canard anyway, goaded by an audience that bought the story.

When a chorus of criticism rained down from Republicans, Trump lashed back. He slammed Senators John McCain of Arizona, the partys 2008 nominee, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire. Both are incumbents locked in tight re-election races. He trolled Ryan a week before the House Speakers contentious primary, withholding an endorsement in nearly the same language Ryan had once deployed against him. Im not quite there yet, Trump said coyly.

For Republicans loyal to the party but scornful of their nominee, the Trump campaign was increasingly becoming a moral conundrum. As if to goad them, Trump even began to call the integrity of the American democratic process into question. Im afraid the election is going to be rigged, he said in Ohio. I have to be honest.

On Aug. 9 in North Carolina, he appeared to go even further. In an errant aside, he said the only remedy to a more liberal Supreme Court under a President Clinton would be Second Amendment supporters. If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks, Trump said, before shifting his tone. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. Critics pounced, saying those words could spur a fanatic to endanger Clintons life. The Secret Service, which investigates threats against its protectees, said it was aware of the remark. Trump responded by arguing that he was simply encouraging activists to exercise their political power at the polls and blamed the press for misinterpreting his words. Ryan, the highest-ranking elected Republican, said it sounded likea joke gone bad.

At Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn, aides still nursing scars from skirmishes with Bernie Sanders marveled at their good fortune. As in all campaigns, researchers watch every public event, read every interview, archive every tweet. On other campaigns, we would have to scrounge for crumbs, says a senior Clinton adviser. Here, its a fire hose. He can set himself on fire at breakfast, kill a nun at lunch and waterboard a puppy in the afternoon. And that doesnt even get us to prime time.

Republicans began to openly wonder whether Trump could be trusted with the nations nuclear arsenal. Sensing an opportunity to pounce, Barack Obama declared Trump woefully unprepared for the presidency during an East Room press conference. Hank Paulson, a former Bush Treasury Secretary, said Trump had led a populist hijacking of one of the United States great political parties. Fifty Republicans with deep experience in national security signed a letter opposing him. A steady stream of Republican operatives and members of Congress, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine, announced that they could not vote for Trump either.

This was a terrible week, and it kept going from bad to worse, says veteran Republican consultant Scott Reed, who ran Bob Doles 1996 campaign. Hes got to stop picking fights and settling scores.

With their candidate mired in self-sabotage, Republicans could only watch and wince. I dont think weve seen anything like this since George Wallace, said retail mogul Art Pope. Sitting at a lakeside hotel in the Colorado Rockies on July 31, the conservative megadonor wondered how his party had wound up cowering in fear of the latest tweet from a former reality star. My concern is Donald Trump will depress the Republican vote and hurt down-ballot candidates, said Pope, a close ally of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. Were going to lose races because of him. I just hope its not all lost.

Republicans groan that the difficult task of keeping their Senate majority gets tougher with each outre remark. Which is why the RNC is considering shifting some cash and staff away from the presidential race and toward down-ballot contests. That plan is already in motion among powerful outside groups that typically spend hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of the party nominee. Theres going to have to be some resource reallocation, says a senior Republican official familiar with internal party deliberations. A second senior party official routinely instructs Senate campaign managers to distance their candidates from Trump. Dont worry about the appearances, the official said on a recent conference call. Worry about winning.

That explains why Republicans running for office this year dont meet Trumps plane at airports or introduce him at rallies. In some places, the avoidance strategy seems to be working. Senator Pat Toomey is in a statistical tie in his re-election bid in Pennsylvania, a state where Trump trails by about 10 points. In the key swing state of Florida, Senator Marco Rubio is running ahead in his re-election bid even as Trump narrowly trails Clinton. But in New Hampshire, Trumps troubles may be dragging down Ayotte, who plummeted from a virtual tie to 10 points down in a recent poll.

On calls with Senate campaign donors, Trump often comes up, as moneymen probe for details on coordination with the top of the ticket. What Trump campaign? one swing-state Senate campaign manager snapped at a volunteer recently. We have more offices than they do.

Internal and public polling suggests that the party will see record numbers of split-ticket voters who shun Trump but remain open to supporting vulnerable congressional candidates. Traditionally, these voters would be among the last targets for the partys get-out-the-vote effort. But that might change if Trumps poll numbers remain moribund. Thats why Priebus told the nominee that the RNC would soon decide which voters to prioritize. Trump, who is helping the party collect cash, is mystified by this account. Why would they state that when Im raising millions of dollars for them? he asked TIME.

Like the rest of the party, Trumps staff has been flummoxed by his political naivete. They describe a candidate who doesnt understand the basics of modern campaigns, from why you knock on doors to how to read a poll to why he should be dialing for dollars more aggressively. His headquarters has enough palace intrigue and warring fiefs to rival the fictional badlands of Westeros. Youre always afraid of getting fired, says one staffer, but its his fault, not ours.

These staff members are still cashing checks but have begun to lose faith that their boss can or should win the top prize in American politics. Most highly regarded Republican operatives have stayed away from the campaign, wary of being blackballed for future gigs. If someone applied for a job and brought in a resume that had Trump 2016 on it, says a GOP fundraising consultant, I wouldnt give them an interview.

But if many republicans are urging a more measured approach, still others preach confrontation as the surest path to victory. In early August, Trump traveled with Priebus to the tony island of Nantucket, off the Massachusetts coast. At an $800,000 fundraiser, he hobnobbed inside a steamy home filled with donors who wrote checks of $50,000 or more. Over and over, they pressed Trump to take the gloves off and attack Clinton as well as Republicans who wont fall in line. His response, related by an attendee: Reince tells me not to.

Trump still has reasons to be bullish. For starters, roughly two-thirds of poll respondents dont believe his opponent is honest or trustworthy. Theres no predicting what outside forces could intrude: another batch of leaked emails, a terrorist attack, a blow to the economy. Trumps team frames the election as a choice between continuity and change, and changeeven Trumps radical varietyusually wins out. Conservative critics are finding ways to justify their vote for him. Some cite the stakes. Forty years of Supreme Court Justices are going to be determined this November, says Senator Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican who has not formally endorsed Trump. Trump himself appreciates the power of that argument. You have no choice, he told doubters at his Cleveland press conference. Youve got to go for Trump. Supreme Court.

If his position is precarious, even his fiercest critics believe its too early to write him off. There are signs Trump is trying to change. During an economic speech in Detroit, he ignored more than a dozen protesters and delivered a game impersonation of a conventional Republican. He is teeing up his first televised ad campaign of the general election in the coming weeks. Theyve spent $240 million on ads, Trump says, dramatically overstating the advertising spending on behalf of Clinton. Ive spent nothing. Zero. Purposely. He didnt think he needed to. Polls disagree.

History suggests that 8-point leads in August can melt like ice cream in the heat. Al Gore was down by that margin in August 2000 and came back to win the popular vote. In 1988, George H.W. Bush rebounded from a similar deficit to win the White House. Over the coming weeks, Clintons convention bounce may dissipate.

The debates in the fall will provide Trump an opportunity to change his public perception. Trump told TIME he would absolutely debate Clinton three times as scheduled but, ever the wily foe, suggested that he might try to renegotiate the terms. Clintons unforced errors and defensive crouch have only magnified voters distrust. But most seasoned Republicans are far from optimistic about Trumps chances. Its hard to say Ive given up hope, says a party official. But I have yet to see evidence of anything else.

Trump has made a sport of defying prediction, party orthodoxy and political gravity. He thinks hes on to something he alone can see, and if he is right, it wouldnt be the first time. For a candidate who has staked his campaign on a pessimistic vision of the nation, he still manages to summon a sense of optimism despite the darkening polls. I actually think were doing better, Trump says. I may be wrong, but I think were doing much better than anybody understands.



This appears in the August 22, 2016 issue of TIME.
By Ulf Laessing NIMBO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Muslim herdsmen fleeing Boko Haram jihadists and fast-spreading desertification in the north of Nigeria are clashing with Christian farmers in the south, adding a dangerous new dimension to the sectarian tensions and militancy plaguing the country. Thousands of people from Muslim Fulani tribes have moved southwards this year, leading to a series of clashes over land that have killed more than 350 people, most of them Christian crop farmers, according to residents and rights activists. The fighting threatens to fracture the country further by bolstering support for a Christian secessionist movement in the southeast, which has been lingering for decades but gained fresh momentum late last year when resentment over poverty and the arrest of one of its leaders spilled over into street protests. The conflict is also exposing a growing problem that has attracted less international attention than Boko Haram and the militants threatening oil production in the Niger Delta region. Fertile land is becoming scarcer across Africa's most populous nation, and conflict over this dwindling resource is likely to intensify. The population of poverty-stricken Nigeria is expected to more than double to almost 400 million by 2050, according to the United Nations. There are no signs that the secessionists will take up arms against the government like in the 1967-70 civil war that killed one million people. But the clashes and growing resentment at the arrival of Muslim herdsmen come at a time when many people in the southeast are complaining about widespread poverty. In one of the deadliest clashes, about 50 people were killed in April when Fulanis attacked the village of Nimbo in southeastern Nigeria, according to residents, rights groups and lawmakers who visited Nimbo after the violence. They said the attackers opened fire on villagers and torched a house where a priest and his family were sleeping, with the family only surviving by jumping out of a window. "The Fulanis ... came in the town and shot at any man they saw and killed him," said Joseph Obeta, another priest in Nimbo, which is now almost deserted after hundreds of villagers fled during or after the attack. Obeta said if there was an independent state in the southeast of Nigeria, it would be easier to prevent such violence. "It would make a difference if the southeast were on its own." He was echoing the sentiment of campaigners lobbying for an independent state. They say they want to stop the Muslim north from dominating the Christian south of the West African country, which is split fairly evenly between Muslims and Christians. They say the influx of herdsmen from the north is part of a plan by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani Muslim, to turn Nigeria into an Islamic nation - an allegation vehemently denied by the government and Buhari. CRISES Fulani leaders say their communities have no choice but to migrate southwards. The precise numbers involved are unclear, but thousands first moved to central Nigeria to seek new pastures and escape the violence and insecurity of the Boko Haram insurgency. Growing desertification - where fertile land turns into desert for reasons including over-exploitation and drought - has forced many further south this year, to more than 1,000 km from their homeland. The Fulani leaders say they are clamping down on members who commit crimes but added that they often were themselves victims of kidnapping, attacks or cattle rustling at the hands of residents of southern farming communities. "When they suffer maltreatment (in southern areas they migrate to), they do not usually speak up or report to police until when it becomes unbearable, then they will react," said Alhaji Gidado, head of the Fulani cattle breeder association in the southeast. Buhari said last week that he had ordered security forces to "deal decisively" with violence between herdsmen and farmers. But he faces a host of other crises. His security forces are battling the Boko Haram in the northeast - the president's priority since taking office last year after making an election promise to defeat the jihadists. Seven years into Boko Haram's insurgency that spread from Nigeria into Chad, Niger and Cameroon, regional armies have retaken most of the territory that had been seized by the group, though it still stages suicide bombings. The countries are in a final push to defeat the hardline Sunni Muslim group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, but lingering divisions in their joint task force are complicating that mission. Buhari has also promised to crush militants that have carried out pipeline bombings in the southern Delta region and are threatening to trigger a wider conflict that could cripple oil production in a country facing a growing economic crisis. On the problems created by Fulanis migrating south, residents and rights activists said Buhari's previous pledges to tackle the clashes between the herdsmen and crop farmers had not been backed up by any significant security action. Human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe, invited by the U.S. House of Representatives to give testimony in May about Boko Haram and other crises facing Nigeria, said the Fulanis had been operating in "plain sight" to stage attacks that were more brutal than the jihadist group. VIGILANTES Police have said they had increased patrols in farming areas that have been affected by violence but local youth have nevertheless taken up arms against Fulanis since the Nimbo attack. "The Fulani people have been robbing, raping women," said 28-year old Anthony Okafor, searching cars at a vigilante checkpoint outside Nimbo. "That's why we are here." Some residents said the youth, with their outdated rifles borrowed from farmers, would be no match for the Fulanis, who they said had assault weapons. Officials worry poverty levels are rising in rural areas, where there are few job opportunities outside agriculture, as many scared farmers have abandoned their fields. Stanley Okeke, head of the government council in Agwu, said production of cassava, a staple crop, had fallen significantly in parts of Enugu state, to which Nimbo and Agwu belong. James Onyimba, leader of a community comprising six villages in Enugu, said many farmers were now sitting idle at home. "Farming is our main job. We don't have any factories," he added. "The problem of unemployment is getting worse." (This version of the story has been refiled to correct reference to southeastern area) (Editing by Pravin Char)
Wednesday, the rabbi's congregants revolted

Dear Rabbi Solomon:

My recent emails concerning your activities, including planning a trip to Yasser Arafats tomb, have started a conversation that I hope will produce good results for the community.

As a Rabbi in Raleigh, you are in a position of great influence to both the local Jewish community and our non-Jewish neighbors. After the responses I have received, I know that I am one of many people in the community that have concerns about your activities that unfairly criticize the state of Israel.

You ask the Jewish National Fund to adhere to the Moses Standard of transparency. You write, If Moses could ensure that all his financial records were fully transparent, then we should expect nothing less from a Jewish organization like the JNF which has held our peoples sacred trust for over 100 years. Why should the JNF be afraid to share where our money goes after it leaves the little blue box? (Documents, page 59)

Can we hold you to the same standard and ask for your response to the following questions?

What purpose does your visit of Arafats tomb serve? What is Arafats legacy? Why cant you find time in a 10 day trip to visit Yad Vashem or Har Herzl in Jerusalem when you plan on going to the Mahmoud Darwish Museum? (Documents, page 16) A bonus question, who is Mahmoud Darwish and why does he have a museum that you want to visit?



In a related question on your itinerary, you write Ascend the Temple Mount for a tour of the precinct and have a question and answer session with a local Muslim imam. I see no mention of the Western Wall (Kotel), the holiest site in the world for Jews. Do you plan to let your trip participants pray at the Western Wall and possibly meet a local rabbi? If not, why not?



How do you answer your own question to the JNF, Will my money strengthen Israels democracy and civil society? Will it move us closer to peace?



Are you aware of the relationship between your tour operator, Mejdi, and its links to pro-Hamas support groups such as Holy Land Trust? Reverend Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, currently with Mejdi Tours, was a senior member of the World Vision NGO. World Vision was just accused of funneling millions of dollars to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Coincidence? (page 57)



My good friend Ronit Bart lives next to the border of Gaza. (see video) Over the last 12 years their community has had to live with daily rocket attacks and terror tunnels from terrorists that are trying to hurt her and her family. What can the State of Israel do to these terrorists so there will be peace? How have your actions helped with this effort? As someone who has lived in the Raleigh community for 32 years, I would like nothing more than a cohesive Jewish community that works together to guarantee a safe Israel and a good future for our children and grandchildren in Israel, in the United States and ideally, everywhere in the world.

I ask the community to review the information I have assembled and come to their own conclusions. I also ask that the community forward this email to friends and family who share my concern. I updated the file with an article from The Washington Post (page 57) and your request to the Jewish National Fund (page 59). In addition, the previous two emails are included at the end.

Rabbi Solomon, I look forward to hearing from you directly and sharing your responses. I can be reached at raleighjew@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Steven Rosenberg

Dear Friends,



Please forgive the group email.



I am forwarding to you an email that I sent to the BMS Board and to Rabbi Solomon. I want you to be aware of my decision to suspend my affiliation with Beth Meyer. I regret that this decision will probably affect how often we see each other, but it need not mean that we'll stop being involved in each other's lives.



I love each of you.





R



---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: RB

Date: Wed, Aug 10, 2016 at 12:21 AM

Subject: Suspension of Affiliation with Beth Meyer Synagogue

To: Eric Lamb

Cc: Rabbi Eric Solomon





Dear Members of the Board of Trustees:



With deep sadness, I am notifying the BMS Board of Trustees of my decision to suspend my affiliation with Beth Meyer Synagogue. I hope that this decision will not be construed as an attack leveled against the Board or any of Beth Meyer's rabbis because I am truly grateful for the spiritual, educational, and social experiences that were the consequence of membership in a thriving congregation led by insightful, empathetic, energetic rabbis; gifted and giving lay leaders, and an effective governing board.

So whence comes my decision to give up -- at this time -- my BMS membership?

Although I respect and admire Rabbi Solomon and although, until recently, I have not been troubled by the gulf between some of his viewpoints and mine, Rabbi Solomon's decision to encourage Jews to sign up for a trip that includes a visit to Yasser Arafat's grave altered my view of our differences.

Responding to problematic situations, I typically engage in on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand inner dialogues and exchanges. There are, however, times when I realize that, for me, there is only one hand. My feelings about any Jew's visit to Arafat's grave are such that I can say, without hesitation, "I object to this choice, and there is no other hand."



Some connections survive upsetting circumstances; and without being a member, I still expect to feel connected to the Beth Meyer congregation.



With hopes for peace and understanding,

RB

Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, which represents 1,800 North American rabbis and their constituents, and Breaking the Silence, IDF veterans who speak out about their service in the West Bank and Gaza and advocate against Israels occupation of the West Bank, are sponsoring Go and See trips for Jewish groups as part of their Israel itineraries.

The aim is to empower more American Jews to meet both Palestinians and IDF veterans who have served in the territories, to listen deeply to their narratives, and to bring these perspectives into working toward a better future for Israelis and Palestinians, according to a news release Wednesday.

Breaking the Silence has often come under fire in Israel from the political right and center for testimonies, some published anonymously, that accuse the Israeli military of excessive force and corruption.

Truah will facilitate the groups during and after the program with the aim of engaging participants in Jewish learning related to the issues, according to the release. Breaking the Silence staff will share their perspectives on how the occupation affects Israelis and Palestinians.

Of the thousands of American Jews who travel to Israel each year, only a tiny number visit Palestinian areas of the West Bank or hear from Palestinians, said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of Truah.

Go and See will help those who take part to see the effects of the ongoing occupation and understanding that it is damaging the lives and souls of both Palestinians and Israelis, said Yuli Novak, executive director of Breaking the Silence.

The groups have already partnered on a trip to Hebron.

Two weeks ago, I reported on a synagogue rabbi named Eric Solomon in Raleigh, North Carolina, who is leading a tour to Israel that will feature 'tour guides' from Breaking the Silence , the vehemently anti-Israel European-funded NGO that attempts to induce IDF soldiers to lie There have been a few developments....On Tuesday, Susie Dym published a letter from one of Rabbi Solomon's congregants on her Arutz Sheva blog.Through all of this, Steven is now a friend of a friend of a friend (someone I know who is from that area introduced me to someone on Facebook who knows him).On Wednesday, Steven sent someone in New York, who has me on his mailing list, an email that he describes as "the most incredible letter of support yet!!"And indeed it may well be. The writer of the letter below is RB, who "was born & raised in Raleigh. In fact, Beth Meyer Synagogue [Rabbi Solomon's synagogue] is named after her grandfather, Meyer Dworsky!" (I have redacted all email addresses from this email, but I have them all).In the meantime, JTA, the voice of knee-jerk American 'Jewish' liberalism, reports that Truah, the organization to which Rabbi Solomon belongs, is making a habit of tours to Judea and Samaria led by Breaking the Silence It is time - indeed it is long past time - for the Jewish community abroad to stop beating their breasts with guilt over the fact that we cannot reach a denouement with the 'Palestinians,' to awaken to the reality that we face here in Israel every day, and to take action to ensure the survival of the State of Israel rather than joining our enemies. Truah and its ilk will not ensure Jewish survival. We must take responsibility for doing so.As to Rabbi Solomon, here's hoping that more of his congregants see the light.

Labels: Breaking the Silence, European anti-Semitism, Hillel, NGO's, self-hating Jews, Truah
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2016 / INTELLIGENT CONTENT ENTERPRISES INC. (OTCQB "ICEIF") ("ICE" or the "Corporation"), is pleased to announce that it has opened its 1st global innovation Center of Excellence ("ICE COE"), located in Toronto, Canada, to enhance its development and growth of global online media, technologies and support for its proprietary technology platforms, marketing programs and client services. As a key part of the ICE COE mandate, ICE has begun to work with The University of Toronto a top 25 globally ranked university to support ICE's efforts to in the fields of computer science, linguistic programming, social media, web services, marketing, communications and business. ICE will look to continue to expand its reach to other institutions as the program grows.

Starting with its first Center of Excellence, ICE will provide accelerated digital solutions to the marketplace by partnering bright, young minds with seasoned leadership to explore, create and commercialize new and exciting innovations that will potentially increase the value proposition for online audiences as they explore web and mobile media, advertising and shopping services, locally and globally, and instantly available in over 50 languages through www.digiwidgy.com.

As the ICE Center of Excellence expands, it will begin to increase its scope and reach to include potentially other physical locations as well as remote participation by enterprising individuals, groups and partners around the globe.

"Today's generation are the new creators, inventors and global strategists as they have an ability to accelerate their experiences to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving online world," said James Cassina, President and CEO of ICE. "By combining the power of these exceptional young people with the wisdom and experience of some of our key leadership groups, ICE believes that we can create new and innovative solutions that will power the future of globalized content, media, advertising and engagement, where consumption and commerce are ubiquitous."

On July 26, 2016, ICE and its proposed license and acquisition partner, Catch Star Studios announced the commercial launch of its interactive video platform, Clix.Video (www.clix.video), which enables digital and mobile viewers to instantly connect to web and mobile sites by clicking on custom interactive tags within digital videos. Clix.Video allows viewers to make social media connections, view extra and exclusive content as well as make online and mobile purchases. All user interactions are made directly via the HTML5 video broadcast, providing a richer, deeper consumer experience related to the video content.

With US digital video advertising on pace to nearly double from its present expected 2016 value of $9.59 Billion to $14.77 Billion by 2019, according to an eMarketer report in February this year, enabling video to have a more robust and direct engagement between users and creators is a key area of focus for Clix.Video. Recently Facebook announced Facebook Live, allowing users to engage with each other in live video, reinforcing the value of video engagement. Apps and programs like Facebook Live, Skype, Snapchat, and FaceTime by Apple all create potentially innovative opportunities for brands to engage with users in on-demand settings. Clix.Video is currently exploring, in addition to its recorded video applications, live overlay technologies to support these platforms. The ICE COE will also work with Clix.Video to explore interactive 360 video as it relates to user interaction and commercial opportunities.

Additionally, the ICE COE teams will focus on how content, language and marketing relate in localized geographic regions, allowing advertisers to provide uses with targeted, multi-lingual offerings based on individual and group demographics, particular to a user's language, not just where they are, creating a more robust value chain between brands and constituents.

For more information, please visit www.intelligentcontententerprises.com.

About Intelligent Content Enterprises Inc.

Intelligent Content Enterprises Inc. (ICE) is an emerging Media and Internet company that focuses on the experience of the user, creating brands, products and destinations globally, regionally and by language that are value driven proving an informative, entertaining and engaging look at content.

ICE's 4 pillar strategy is to drive revenue through technologies, platforms and services that deliver Content, Social and Digital Media, eCommerce and Advertising.

ICE's first acquisition, Digital Widget Factory provides the baseline infrastructure and technology platform enabling content and media to be disseminated globally, efficiently and effectively, creating economies of scale for distribution in over 50 languages, allowing users to create and participate in the content process and consumption.

Intelligent Content Enterprises is a publicly traded company on the OTC QB Markets under the symbol "ICEIF"

For further information, please contact:

Intelligent Content Enterprises Inc.

Investor Relations: investorrelations@intelligentcontententerprises.com

Certain information regarding the Corporation in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements or future oriented financial information under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking information includes, without limitation, successful completion of the proposed transaction, projections or estimates made by us and our management in connection with our business operations or the business operations of CSS. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the forecasts and projections contained in the forward-looking information contained in this press release, which assumptions are based on management analysis of historical trends, experience, current conditions and expected future developments pertaining to the Company and the industry in which it operates as well as certain assumptions as specifically outlined in the release above. Forward-looking information is based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of risks, which could cause actual results to vary and in some instances to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company and described in the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of performance and is subject to a number of risks or uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive. Forward-looking information is based on the estimates and opinions of the Company's management at the time the information is released and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as expressly required by applicable securities law

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) the company's financing plans; (ii) trends affecting the company's financial condition or results of operations; (iii) the company's growth strategy and operating strategy; and (iv) the declaration and payment of dividends. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "intend" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our management's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's ability to control, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including the risk disclosed in the Company's Form 6-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: Intelligent Content Enterprises Inc.


"Interchange" will be screened at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.





11 Aug  Dain Said's "Interchange" has achieved yet another international milestone. The movie is set to be screened next at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).



The co-production between Malaysia and Indonesia is the only other Asian movie that made it onto the lineup under the film festival's Vanguard section.



According to the festival's official website, "This year's Vanguard programme features dark and edgy films that twist genre and art house conventions together in a new way."



Other movies also in the Vanguard section include USA's "The Bad Batch", France-Greece's "Blind Sun", UK-France-Belgium's "Message From The King" starring Chadwick Boseman, Taiwan's "Godspeed" by Chung Mong-Hong and more.



This year's TIFF will run from 8 to 18 September.



The festival will open with "Free Fire", the gangster thriller directed by Ben Wheatley and starring the likes of Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy and Armie Hammer.



Also showing at the festival is Leonardo Dicaprio's documentary on climate change, "Turning Point".



"Interchange", starring Malaysia's Shaheizy Sam and Iedil Putra alongside Indonesian stars Nicholas Saputra and Prisia Nasutio, first made its world premiere at the 69th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.



It is slated for release in Malaysia on 1 December 2016.
The second quarter earnings reporting cycle is drawing to a close. We have results from 454 S&P 500 companies (or 92.1% of the indexs total market capitalization) as of Aug 10. The numbers are bleak with total earnings down 3.7% from the same period last year on 0.7% lower revenues.

It is now clear that Q2 is headed to be the fifth consecutive quarter of earnings decline. Notably, the rate of decline has slowed down slightly from the previous quarter.

The technology sector has performed better-than-expected with giants like Facebook FB and Alphabet GOOGL beating expectations and registering strong growth on a year-over-year basis. We have earnings from over 88.4% of the sectors total market cap in the index. Total earnings of these tech companies are down 1.2% from the same period last year in spite of 2.5% higher revenues.

Overall, tech sector earnings are expected to be down 0.2% in spite of 2.7% higher revenues, compared with the sectors 4.5% earnings decline irrespective of 0.4% higher revenues in the last reported earnings cycle.

Going ahead, we will have results from Amaya, Inc. AYA on Aug 12 while Bridgeline Digital, Inc. BLIN, Asure Software, Inc. ASUR and Live Ventures Incorporated LIVE will report on Aug 15.

Canada based Amaya, Inc offers technology-based products and services in the gaming industry. The company's gaming solution includes online casino gaming systems, Ongame poker software and network solutions, Game Office player management software platform, Mosino hospitality platform; land-based gaming solutions and lottery solutions.

Amaya carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 stands at 36 cents. Last quarter, the company posted a positive earnings surprise of 19.44%. Amaya has an average four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 14.20%.

AMAYA INC Price and EPS Surprise

AMAYA INC Price and EPS Surprise | AMAYA INC Quote

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Headquartered in Burlington, MA, Bridgeline Digital, Inc. is a digital engagement company. Bridgelines iAPPS platform integrates web content management, e-commerce, e-marketing, social media management and web analytics.

Bridgeline Digital carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter of fiscal 2016 stands at a loss of 11 cents. Last quarter, the companys earnings came in line with estimates. Bridgeline Digital has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the four preceding quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 30.54%.

BRIDGELINE DGTL Price and EPS Surprise

BRIDGELINE DGTL Price and EPS Surprise | BRIDGELINE DGTL Quote

Asure Software Inc., formerly Forgent Networks, Inc, is a provider of web-based workforce management solutions that enables organizations to manage their office environment, as well as human resource and payroll processes.

Asure Software carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 stands at a loss of 2 cents. Last quarter, the company posted a negative earnings surprise of 650.0%. Asure Software has missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the four preceding quarters with an average negative earnings surprise of 374.17%.

ASURE SOFTWARE Price and EPS Surprise

ASURE SOFTWARE Price and EPS Surprise | ASURE SOFTWARE Quote

Based in Las Vegas, NV, Live Ventures Incorporated provides marketing solutions. The company operates a deal engine, a service that connects merchants and consumers via an innovative platform using geo-location, enabling businesses to communicate in real-time and makes instant offers to nearby consumers.

Over the past one month, its shares have surged over 20%. However, the company is a relatively small player in the market, which makes it difficult to speculate about the forthcoming results. The company will report its third quarter fiscal 2016 results. Live Ventures carries a Zacks Rank #3.

LIVE VENTURES Price and EPS Surprise

LIVE VENTURES Price and EPS Surprise | LIVE VENTURES Quote

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DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2016 / ENSERVCO Corporation (NYSE MKT: ENSV) will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss the results of the second quarter 2016, to be held Friday, August 12, 2016 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

To participate in this event, dial 877-407-8031 domestically, or 201-689-8031 internationally, approximately 5 to 10 minutes before the beginning of the call. Additionally, you can listen to the event online at www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=175217 as well as via the ENSERVCO website (www.enservco.com).

If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the event archive will be available at www.investorcalendar.com or www.enservco.com.

You may access the teleconference replay by dialing 877-660-6853 domestically or 201-612-7415 internationally, referencing conference ID # 13642463. The replay will be available beginning approximately 2 hours after the completion of the live event, ending at midnight Eastern on August 19, 2016.

About ENSERVCO

Through its various operating subsidiaries, ENSERVCO provides a wide range of oilfield services, including hot oiling, acidizing, frac water heating, water transfer, bacteria and scaling treatment, water hauling and oilfield support equipment rental. The Company has a broad geographic footprint covering seven major domestic oil and gas fields and serves customers in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Wyoming and West Virginia. Additional information is available at www.enservco.com

SOURCE: Investor Calendar
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's offensive to dislodge Islamic State from its de facto capital Mosul is on track despite a spat between two senior politicians over alleged corruption in the military, the U.S. envoy to the coalition fighting the militant group said. Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi and parliament speaker Salim al-Jabouri last week exchanged accusations of bribery over defense contracts, leading to judicial investigations and sparking concerns that the offensive could be delayed. The two men are high-profile Sunni Muslim allies of Shi'ite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is spearheading the efforts to root out the Sunni jihadist group. Asked about how the spat had affected the Mosul campaign, Brett McGurk told a news conference in Baghdad: "We've seen no impact in terms of the overall timeline." The U.S. is leading the coalition providing air and ground support to the Iraqi army in the war on Islamic State, whose forces swept through northern and western provinces inhabited mostly by Iraq's Sunni minority two years ago. The army and the elite units that will lead the offensive are gradually taking up positions outside the city, from whose Grand Mosque in 2014 IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate spanning parts of Iraq and Syria. Mosul is the largest urban center under the militants' control, with a pre-war population of nearly 2 million. Its fall would mark their effective defeat in Iraq, according to Abadi, who has said he aims to retake the city this year. "The conditions are now being set for the liberation of Mosul," said McGurk, adding the coalition was focused on both the military and humanitarian dimensions of the campaign. Once the fighting intensifies around Mosul, up to one million people could be driven from their homes in northern Iraq, posing "a massive humanitarian problem", the International Committee of the Red Cross said last month. More than 3.4 million people have already been forced by conflict to leave their homes across Iraq, taking refuge in areas under control of the government or in the self-ruled Kurdish region. Mosul, a mostly Sunni city, should be run by its own people when the militants are dislodged. "The philosophy here, and it's the government of Iraq's philosophy, is decentralization," McGurk said. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; editing by John Stonestreet)
Baghdad (AFP) - Kurdish authorities said their troops conducted a joint raid with US forces Thursday, killing a jihadist financier near a western Iraqi town that is far from where they usually operate.

"A joint operation was conducted by our Directorate General of Counter Terrorism and US Special Forces in the vicinity of Al-Qaim near the Iraqi-Syrian border," the Kurdish Regional Security Council said in a statement.

It said the raid killed Sami Jassem Mohammed al-Juburi, a man sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for supervising operations to fund the Islamic State group, including via the sale of oil and gas.

The statement did not specify the exact location of the operation.

The US-led anti-IS coalition confirmed its forces had taken part in a joint raid in Iraq on Thursday.

"Coalition forces conducted a combined operation in Iraq, Aug. 11, against an (IS) associated target," the coalition said in a statement emailed to AFP.

"We are assessing the results of the operation," the statement said, adding that "the mission was effectively coordinated with the government of Iraq and conducted in partnership with Iraqi security forces."

Al-Qaim is located more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the closest Kurdish lines, and a raid involving Kurdish forces in the area has the potential to anger Iraq's federal government.

Baghdad is at odds with the country's autonomous Kurdish region over long-running disputes about resources and territory.

US special forces also conducted a joint raid with Kurdish troops against IS in Iraq's Kirkuk province last year -- an operation in which an American soldier was killed.

That raid was also politically sensitive, as it involved Kurdish forces affiliated with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party operating in Kirkuk, where the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a party that has its own troops, holds power.

The US-led coalition is carrying out air strikes targeting IS, which overran large areas of Iraq in 2014, and also providing advise and other assistance to forces battling the jihadists.

US President Barack Obama repeatedly pledged there would be no "boots on the ground" to combat IS, but has sent American special forces to target the jihadists, who have so far killed three members of the US military.
Baghdad (AFP) - Feuding Iraqi politicians should unite as a crucial operation to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group draws near, a top US envoy said Thursday.

The latest turmoil in Baghdad saw a bitter row break out between Iraq's defence minister and parliament speaker, who are also the country's most prominent Sunni politicians.

The White House's special envoy to the coalition battling IS, Brett McGurk, said he had so far seen no impact on the campaign but called for greater cohesion ahead of Mosul.

"I will say when it comes to Mosul it'll be really important for Iraqi leaders to stay focused and be pulling together to get this right," he told reporters in Baghdad.

"It's not just a military campaign, which we're confident will go well, it's also the humanitarian element to make sure that IDPs (internally displaced persons) are taken care of and then the stabilisation to make sure that the ground is laid to return the people to their homes," he said.

Earlier this month, Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi accused speaker Salim al-Juburi of corruption, the row escalating in a travel ban on the head of the legislative house.

The judiciary since dropped the case against him after an expeditious hearing but the feud does not bode well for efforts to unite Sunni leaders in the run-up to an operation on Mosul.

Mosul, the country's second city, has been the main jihadist hub in Iraq since the Islamic State group seized it and proclaimed its "caliphate" more than two years ago.

The number of different players involved in the northern region and the scope of the likely population displacement will make an assault on Mosul Iraq's most challenging operation since it started fighting back against IS.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed Iraq would be rid of IS by the end of the 2016 but McGurk refrained from giving a specific timeframe.

"The liberation of Mosul is coming, we are now approaching the final phase of the planning and the liberation is coming, and it's about time," the US envoy said.
Rome (AFP) - The Italian coastguard on Thursday raised the security level across the Mediterranean nation's ports, a spokesman told AFP.

On a scale of one to three, the security level was raised to two, meaning that the percentage of passengers and vehicles checked at the ports will increase.

Ferries departing from Italian ports will likely be especially affected, as will boarding areas, which will come under increased surveillance.

According to the Italian press, the increase comes ahead of the peak of the summer season this weekend.

Local media reports also said the surge in fighting in Libya across the Mediterranean may have raised the threat level in Italy.

Libyan pro-government forces on Thursday battled to clear the Islamic State group from its stronghold of Sirte, after dealing a major blow to the jihadists by seizing their headquarters.

The Italian government refused on Thursday to confirm reports alleging that special forces from the country had been deployed in Libya.
[August 10, 2016] North America Aviation & Maritime Intelligent Transportation Systems Market (2016 - 2022)

NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) is an integration of communication system and information technologies, designed primarily for improving safety, security and efficiency in transportation network. It is an advanced system form of system that would eventually gain over traditional form of transportation systems.



The market size of North America Aviation & Maritime Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) market was estimated to be USD 5,557.1 Million in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.6% during the forecast period (2016  2022).



Airports today have increasingly complex operations. Therefore airports need excellence across verticals, with diverse set of capabilities and the management of many di?erent stakeholders. Airports have distinctive roles to fulfil with challenges to drive efficiency, service quality, and ultimately passenger growth. There are increasing service expectations from both passengers and airlines; regulator-imposed challenges on aeronautical charges; and the need to ful?ll a national, regional, or municipal development role.

Managing investment and choosing right avenues to invest will be critical to meet the challenges prevailing. Airports have differentiated capabilities, giving it a unique and sustainable edged over other markets and therefore, requiring substantial investment. Differentiating vital elements that make a difference to airlines and passengers from that of that does not make an impact is vital for the success of the airport.



Aviation segment dominated the North America Aviation  Maritime ITS market in 2015. The segment generated revenue of USD 3,382.6 Million in 2015, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.0% during the forecast period. Maritime is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% during the forecast period.







The North America Aviation Intelligent Transport Sytems (ITS) Market has been analysed with an in-depth probe into the different Systems market and application areas. As the system market, the report provided insights for Information Display, Tracking & Monitoring, Communication, Kiosks, Smart Gate Self-Service Baggage market. As the application market, the report focuses on Security & Surveillance, Shuttle Bus Tracking, Traveler Information, Smart Ticketing, Aircraft Management, Emergency Notification applications of Aviation Intelligent Transport Systems.



The North America Maritime Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Market section covers different System market including Automatic Identification & Vessel Traffic Management, Long-Range Identification & Tracking System, Maritime Navigation & Information Service market. As the application market, the report focuses on Freight Arrival & Transit, Real-Time Weather Information, Scheduling of Container Movement, Emergency Notification applications of Maritime Intelligent Transport Systems Market.

Based on the country, North America Aviation & Maritime Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) market is segmented into US, Canada , Mexico and Rest of North America . United States remained the dominant region in 2015. Canada would witness highest CAGR during the forecast period (2016-2022).





Key companies profiled in the report include Siemens AG, Cisco Systems, Inc., ZTE Corporation, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Intel Corporation, Oracle Corporation and Computer Science Corporation.





Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04035582-summary/view-report.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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It's been almost a month since the deadly terror attack in Nice, France, and Jamie Dornan still can't get the tragedy out of his head.

The 34-year-old actor, who was filming Fifty Shades Darker in Nice when a truck plowed through a crowd of people celebrating Bastille Day, recently opened up about the experience of continuing to film the movie after the attack.

WATCH: Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan Make Out on Paris Balcony for 'Fifty Shades' Scene, Wraps Filming

"It was, as you can imagine, a bloody awful situation," Dornan told ComingSoon.net. "You'd be affected by it wherever you were in the world."

In fact, Dornan and his family -- the actor shares two young daughters with wife Amelia Turner -- were actually closer to the tragedy than many others working on the film. "Most of the cast and crew were actually staying in Monaco, so there's a little bit of distance there, but my family and I wanted a little bit more space so we were actually staying in Nice," he shared.

"The first thing everyone has to work out was is everybody safe, is the whole crew and cast safe," he explained of the production's protocol after the attack. "Then you have the strange thing of the next day still trying to make this movie that's costing millions of dollars to put together. There's this contractual obligation to work the next day, which is a very strange environment to work in."

"It felt very frivolous and wrong to be making something as silly as a f**king movie the day after something like that happened," he added.

WATCH: Dakota Johnson Is 'Over' Her Racy 'Fifty Shades' Scenes: 'I've Been Simulating Sex for Seven Hours Straight'

It was definitely a scary time for the Fifty Shades cast and crew, who wrapped production on the film just days after having to make sure members of their team were alright following the attack that left more than 85 dead and over 200 injured.

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"Production has confirmed that everyone working on location in the south of France is okay," producer Dana Brunetti announced on Facebook at the time. "Everyone has been accounted for and is safe and sound. Thanks for everyone's messages and concerns. Another sad day for France and the world."

WATCH: Dakota Johnson and Shirtless Jamie Dornan Ride Jet-Skis, Continue to Heat Up the 'Fifty Shades' Set: See the Pics

See more on how the Nice attacks have affected the Fifty Shades crew in the video below.

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Jean Smart has been a small-screen fixture since the early 80s, but it wasnt until a 2000 guest role on Frasier that Smart took home an Emmy. Shes been nominated seven times since (and turned two of those noms into wins) including this year for a standout role as crime family matriarch Floyd Gerhardt on FXs limited series Fargo. Although the Fargo cast changes every season, Smart will soon reunite with showrunner Noah Hawley and co-star Rachel Keller on the upcoming FX series Legion, set in the Marvel X-Men universe.

Your first Emmy was for a guest role, what do you remember about the win?

They had the guest actor category at the Creative Arts Emmys before the Primetime Emmy broadcast. I was in New York doing a Broadway play with Nathan Lane. Jerry Zaks, the director, very kindly let my understudy go on for a couple of performances so I could fly out. And then I got to be a presenter on the Primetime Emmys. I got it all, it was fun.

Was it your first time presenting at the Emmys?

Yes. I remember one of the first people I made eye contact with when I walked out was James Gandolfini. I wanted to meet him, but I didnt get a chance. I was nervous because I stepped on the hem of my dress backstage and some wonderful crew guy grabbed some gaffers tape and taped me up. I was walking out there very gingerly thinking any moment I would do a faceplant on national television. I made some joke that I felt like I was walking like John Wayne. I think thats when I saw James Gandolfini, laughing his head off.

Frasier had a lot of luck at the Emmys. Did you think you might win?

I had loved that role on Frasier so much, particularly that first episode. Its nice to get nominated and win for something you were particularly proud of. At the time I was a little bit snobby about doing guest parts. Based on what I dont know. It wasnt something I was seeking. But my agent said, You have to read this. I thought it was hilarious and the show was brilliant so I didnt even hesitate. I remember when we did the table read with the rest of the cast we could hardly get through it we were laughing so hard.

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And then they brought your character back, but changed her name.

Apparently Mark Reisman, who wrote that episode, had written it about a gal he went to school with. Hed even told her, and she was flattered hed written her into the show, until she saw the episode. And then I guess she didnt think it was so funny. So they changed the name when [the character] came back and no one talked about it.

You were nominated the year 24 won for drama series  how does that compare to winning an acting prize?

That was great. That show was another one of my favorite things Ive ever done. That was a big thrill. I wouldve loved to have won as well. I was glad the show got recognized, because it really was an incredible season. I kept thinking, How can they bring [Martha] back? Give her a straitjacket and shaved head, rambling on in Russian!

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In the superb Western-flavored crime saga Hell or High Water, Jeff Bridges plays a Texas Ranger hot on the trail of Chris Pines bank robber. In anticipation of the films release this Friday, Bridges and Pine sat down with CBS This Morning to talk about not only their big-screen collaboration, but also their shared love of music and everyones favorite Bridges movie, The Big Lebowski.

Bridges and Pine met up in Los Angeles for a relaxed movie-theater chat about Hell or High Water, a project that was attractive to both of them because of its moral ambiguity, especially with regards to Pines crook, whos driven on a stick-up spree with his bad-seed brother (Ben Foster) because of financial hardship. Soon, however, theyre segueing into a conversation about their similar upbringings in and around show business: Bridges, courtesy of his legendary father Lloyd and Pine, thanks to his own actor dad Robert (who, among many other credits, co-starred on TVs CHiPs).

Unsurprisingly, when asked by Pine about the role that had the greatest impact on his life, Bridges immediately answers that it was The Dude, his white Russian-drinking, bathrobe-wearing slacker from Joel and Ethan Coens 1998 gem The Big Lebowski. After graciously accepting Pines compliment that hes actually as cool in real life as the iconic character, Bridges admits that every one of his performances ums and uhs were scripted by the Coens, and that even now, he finds himself unable to resist watching it when he finds it playing on TV.

Summing up Lebowski, he says, It is soooo good. It gets better every time I see it. I mean, its so wild!

To hear their entire chat  which also touches upon their efforts to avoid typecasting, as well as their profound fondness for playing music  check out CBS This Mornings video above. Hell or High Water premieres in theaters Aug. 12.
From Esquire

Brian Mosteller and Joe Mahshie met online over July 4th weekend in 2014. They spent a month communicating solely through email and texts, then met up on a Saturday in New York City for lunch and an off-broadway show. The couple was in D.C. last summer when the Supreme Court issued its pivotal ruling on same sex marriage. Together, the two longtime White House staffers stood on the front porch of the rainbow-lit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue mansion for hours. Over Thanksgiving weekend, Joe proposed.

Last Monday in his D.C. home, Vice President Joe Biden married Brian (above left), 40, special assistant to President Obama and director of Oval Office operations, and Joe, 30, trip coordinator for First Lady Michelle Obama. It was an historical moment at the end of eight years of historic White House moments.

Biden, who reminded them to include "kiss the groom" language in the ceremony, who graciously hosted their guests, who obtained a special temporary certification from the District of Columbia in order to officiate, presided over the small ceremony in his living room at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. He is the first vice president to officiate a same-sex marriage, and has long been a vocal advocate for marriage equality. It was Biden, after all, who announced his support for gay marriage ahead of the 2012 election, effectively placing pressure on President Obama to do the same.

Photo credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Despite the tense campaign rhetoric in a darkly electric election cycle, those few hours in the Vice President's house were joyful. Brian and Joe spoke to Esquire via email about their wedding.

ESQ: How did it come to be that Vice President Joe Biden officiated your wedding?

Brian: From the day I met then-Senator Biden in 2008, I quickly developed a tremendous respect for the man, the father, and the husband he is known to be and, behind the scenes, so truly is. Over the years, the Vice President continued to be a consistently positive presence in the stressful environs of the White House and I get to see him almost every day. When Joe moved to Washington, D.C. in 2015, one of my first and most meaningful introductions made at work was to the Vice President.

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Later, after Joe proposed, we knew we wanted a modest and personal ceremony. It didn't have to be lengthy or extravagant-just sentimental to us-so when a good friend suggested the Vice President, we chuckled and raised our eyebrows with interest at the same time. Shortly thereafter, I asked the Vice President's personal aide, in passing, if he might be interested. Within a day, he had heard of the idea and loved it. Of course, we needed to ensure that he could obtain the certification and that, in the midst of helping to run the country, he had time. Ultimately, it was the Vice President's own generosity and persistence that led it to fruition.

What about the ceremony sticks in your memory the most?

Brian: Standing in front of my family with the man whom I love-a moment in a setting I never thought possible.

Joe: Everyone in the room-parents, friends, staff, and the Vice President of the United States-were so caring and welcoming.

Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house. Couldn't be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys. pic.twitter.com/0om1PT7bKh - Vice President Biden (@VP) August 1, 2016

How did last year's SCOTUS ruling on same sex marriage affect your plans?

Brian: I don't think we would have been married. I personally didn't want to marry until it was nationally recognized. Marriage represents such an indissoluble commitment, and I didn't feel appropriate to enter into a partnership if it weren't permanent no matter where we went or lived.

It's a very charged political climate right now, what with the conventions and upcoming election. How did that affect your wedding day?

Brian: The political environment, zealous partisanship, and working in the White House teaches you that there are undulations in and out of the election season. Having witnessed so many ups and downs over the years, I know there are certain things that transcend the news cycle. Like equality, kindness, and love. So, no, our nuptials were immune to what's going on there.

Have you had a second to relax or honeymoon since?

Brian: No. We were actually at the White House by 7:45 a.m. the next morning. We had the Official Visit and State Dinner for the Prime Minister of Singapore, and it was the usual 15-hour day!

Joe: As we all know, the First Lady doesn't stop moving. I had a briefing with her less than 24 hours later. Perhaps there will be a week at the end of January 2017 when we can relax before the next chapter in our life.

Did it feel like a political statement to have your wedding in the Bidens' home, officiated by the Vice President?

Brian: I'm sure many could interpret such a ceremony as a political statement, but sharing love with the blessing of great leaders and in the presence of family is a place into which I would never allow politics to enter.

Joe: No! What made our wedding day so special was how "normal" it felt. Midway through the ceremony in the living room, the Vice President had to hush some commotion upstairs. We weren't in a caucus chamber, we were in a home. Exactly the kind of home we hope to build.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related Story" customtitles="Esquire's One Year Out" customimages="" content="article.44938"]
Austin James Wilkerson

A judge spared 22-year-old Austin Wilkerson a prison sentence on Wednesday after he was convicted of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman prosecutors described as "helpless."

Although the conviction typically carries a sentence of four to 12 years in prison with the option of more time, District Judge Patrick Butler instead sentenced Wilkerson to two years in jail a program that allows him to leave during the day for work or school. He will also be on probation for 20 years to life.

Full transcripts of Butler's sentencing decision in Wilkerson's case have not yet been made public, but portions of his comments, as reported by the Daily Camera's Mitchell Byars, indicate that Butler felt concerned about some of Wilkerson's actions in court.

"I do have some great concerns over, as I would describe it as, ways he tried to play the system," Butler said in court, according to the Daily Camera.

But those concerns didn't seem to be enough to sway his sentencing. Instead of sending Wilkerson to prison, Butler focused on the length and severity of his probation.

"If I or any other judge sees you on a probation violation, I have almost no doubt you are going to prison," Butler said, according to the Daily Camera. "So if you think in any way you are getting off lightly, you are not. Twenty years to life is a long time for somebody to mess up, and I hope you don't in any way take any of that lightly."

Brock Turner mugshot

Prosecuters argued that Wilkerson should serve time in prison for his crime. "This defendant raped a helpless young woman ... tried to cover up his crime, and then repeatedly lied about what he did  including under oath," prosecutors wrote.

Despite the typical minimum punishment, a presentence report from the probation office recommended that Wilkerson not serve any time in prison. Speaking to the courtroom during sentencing, Butler explained his decision not to serve Wilkerson prison time.

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"I've struggled, to be quite frank, with the idea of, 'Do I put him in prison?'" Butler said, according to the Daily Camera.

"I don't know that there is any great result for anybody ... Mr. Wilkerson deserves to be punished, but I think we all need to find out whether he truly can or cannot be rehabilitated."

Those statements echo a similar rationale used by a judge in the high-profile case of sexual assault at Stanford University.

Judge Aaron Persky sentenced former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to just six months in jail after he was found guilty of felony sexual assault for a January 2015 attack on an unconscious woman. He was facing up to 14 years in prison.

At the sentencing decision, Persky said:

"In my decision to grant probation, the question that I have to ask myself ... Is state prison for this defendant an antidote to that poison? Is incarceration in state prison the right answer for the poisoning of [Jane's] life? And trying to balance the factors in the Rules of Court, I conclude that it is not and that justice would best be served, ultimately, with a grant of probation."

Turner's sentence was decried as a "slap on the wrist," and Persky faced swift backlash and claims of bias.

While the cases have already drawn comparisons, some notable differences exist. For example, Turner was caught in the act of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a garbage bin outside of a fraternity house at Stanford.

When Turner tried to run, two graduate students pinned him down until the police arrived. Still, Turner never admitted that he assaulted the woman.

After his conviction, however, Wilkerson apologized to the court and the victim.

"I sexually assaulted [the victim]," Wilkerson said in court, according to the Daily Camera. "No words I can say could ever take away the pain and fear that I have caused. Nothing I say can make it better, but I am so sorry."

Wilkerson assaulted the woman during a party in March 2014, where prosecutors claim that Wilkerson pretended earlier to help her.

"He made certain his roommate saw him checking her pulse and temperature, and giving her water," prosecutors on the case wrote, according to The Guardian.

Although Wilkerson initially made comments to friends indicating that he sexually assaulted the woman, he later walked those statements back and called their contact consensual.

Later, Wilkerson again admitted he "digitally and orally penetrated" the woman even though he "wasn't getting much of a response from her."





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Julianna Pena took a shot at former UFC womens bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. (Getty Images)

Julianna Pena is tired of playing nice when it comes to getting what she deserves: a UFC womens bantamweight title shot against Amanda Nunes.

The undefeated fighter appears to be next in line for a title shot after impressively dispatching Cat Zingano at UFC 200. However, the presence of Ronda Rousey has cast a shadow over the division as Dana White promised Rousey a title shot whenever she decided to return to the cage. Rousey hasnt been in action since last November, when she was knocked out by Holly Holm. There have been rumors that Rousey could return by the end of the year but nothing has been substantiated to date.

That would place a huge roadblock in Penas path to winning the world title. And it is something that seems to annoy her a little bit more as each day passes and her next fight hasnt been announced. They can delay me but they cant deny me, Pena told TMZ. No one deserves this title shot more than me.

Nunes has also been quite vocal at wanting a crack at Rousey more than defending her title against Pena. And that notion seems to get underneath the skin of the Venezuelan Vixen.

She knows she needs to fight me and all these girls know they need to fight me, Pena said while accusing Nunes of wanting to wait for the money fight against Rousey. I want my belt and Im not going to stop until I get it.

As for her thoughts on the former champion and when shell come back, Pena says that she heard that Rousey would make a return to the cage before the end of 2016. However, she questioned the validity in what shes heard and said that shell believe it when she sees it before launching into some unflattering comments about Rousey.

Shes like the emperor in no clothes [and] shes broken a little bit, Pena said when asked what to expect of Rousey when she returns. I just think that nobody cares about Ronda Rousey and her fat arms anymore.

Shots fired.
We just noticed something ~interesting~ about Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston, and Calvin Harris on Instagram

We just noticed something ~interesting~ about Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston, and Calvin Harris on Instagram

Tom Hiddleston has had an Instagram for over 24 hours now, and we need to talk about it.

No, we dont need to talk about the fact that his first picture was perfect (Loki, rock on), or even the fact that for the last 24 hours, his Avengers co-star, Robert Downey Jr., has been gently mocking him on the social media site, and its great.

We need to talk about the fact that its been 24 hours and Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston are not following each other.

Yeah, sure, its only been 24 hours, and maybe neither one of them is as addicted to Instagram as we are. Maybe Tom is still just finding his footing with the social media app, and doesnt know how to make an Instagram Story, let alone actually follow anyone right now. Its a learning curve.

But social media pro, Taylor, should certainly know how to follow someone. She follows lots of peoplelike her ex, Calvin Harris.

instagram

Yes. Remember that one time they broke up and then a few weeks later both went through and PURGED their social media accounts of everything related to their once-beautiful relationship? It was a strange, confusing time for everyone. Since then, the dust seems to have settled, and while there certainly has been some #drama, nothing has boiled over recently. Both have continued on living their lives.

Calvin unfollowed Taylor (because yes, I looked through all 301 of his followers), but surprisingly enough, Taylor has not unfollowed Calvin on Instagram. She still follows him on Twitter, too.

calvin twitter

Calvin follows her nowhere, and thats understandable. This also brings us back to Toms Instagram, and he hasnt followed anyone yet.

tom ig

So right now were living in a world where Taylor Swift follows her ex, but not her current BF. At least both Taylor and Tom follow each other on Twitter, and have been for a while (also Tom follows The Muppets, so #themoreyouknow

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)

FotorCreated

Going to keep coming back to the fact that its only been 24 hours, and both of these fine human beings are probably busy doing other things, like filming Thor and ~possibly~ gearing up to release another album.

but its just odd that neither one is following the other. Its kinda an unwritten rule that youve gotta follow your significant other everywhere, right? RIGHT? Especially if theyre brand new to the platform. You want to be super supportive when your bae takes their first steps into social media.

SO WHAT IS THE HOLD UP, HIDDLESWIFT?

The post We just noticed something ~interesting~ about Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston, and Calvin Harris on Instagram appeared first on HelloGiggles.
[August 10, 2016] Fitch Downgrades Lawrence & Memorial Hospital (CT) Revs to 'A-'; Outlook Revised to Negative

Fitch Ratings has downgraded to 'A-' from 'A' the rating on $47.9 million State of Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority revenue bonds, series F (2011) issued on behalf of Lawrence & Memorial Hospital (LMH). The Rating Outlook is revised to Negative from Stable. LMH also has outstanding approximately $58 million in other long-term debt and leases, which are not rated by Fitch. SECURITY The bonds are secured by a pledge of gross revenues and a mortgage. Fitch reports on the results of the consolidated Lawrence+Memorial Corporation (LMC), as defined in the Credit Profile section of the press release. KEY RATING DRIVERS CONTINUED OPERATING LOSSES: The downgrade to 'A-' is driven by continued trend of weakening profitability stemming from softer volumes, shift to outpatient utilization, less favorable reimbursement and the escalating Connecticut provider tax burden. The revision of the Outlook to Negative is based on Fitch's expectation that despite management's significant efforts at reversing the losses, a return to positive margin will only be achieved once the benefits from the anticipated joining of the Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS; 'AA-', Stable Outlook) will be realized, which could take some time. Operating margin was a negative 4.1% in fiscal 2014 and 2.2% in fiscal 2015 (fiscal year-end [FYE] Sept. 30) and losses continued through the nine months ended June 30, 2016 with negative operating margin of 4.2%. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FROM JOINING YNHHS: LMC and YNHHS entered into an affiliation in July 2015 and the transaction has received FTC (News - Alert) approval, but the Certificate of Need (CON) for the corporate member substitution has met regulatory delays at the state level. LMC and YNHHS already cooperate clinically in several areas, but the full integration with YNHHS would bring significant positive financial benefits to LMC, estimated at $9 million-$15 million annually, returning LMC to positive operating territory. Additionally, YNHHS has committed to directly contribute approximately $85 million to LMC. ADEQUATE LIQUIDITY: Despite the operational challenges, liquidity metrics have remained largely sound and the balance sheet provides the organization with a sufficient cushion to weather the delay in implementation of the full integration with YNHHS. Cash to debt of 167.6% and cushion ratio of 19.8x at June 30, 2016 are consistent with Fitch's respective 'A' medians of 144% and 18.5x, but days cash on hand (DCOH) of 147.4 lags the median of 205.3 days. MANAGEABLE DEBT BURDEN: LMC's debt burden remains light for the rating category, as evidenced by maximum annual debt service (MADS) at 1.9% of revenue in 2015, which compares favorably against the median of 3.6%. However, weak cash flows resulted in MADS coverage by EBITDA declining to 1.8x through the interim period from 3.8x in fiscal 2015. SOLID MARKET POSITION: LMC has a dominant market share of approximately 67% in the combined primary service area (PSA) of the two LMC hospitals. The ability to use YNHHS in physician recruitment and the planned investment in clinical programs, once the full affiliation is realized, should further secure market share. RATING SENSITIVITIES RETURN TO IMPROVED PROFITABILITY: The 'A-' rating is contingent upon Lawrence+Memorial Corporation executing the full YNHHS affiliation which is expected to generate improved financial performance through efficiencies and benefits of scale. The return to Stable Outlook would require Lawrence+Memorial Corporation to demonstrate the traction of the Yale New Haven Health System relationship, leading to material improvement in operating performance. CREDIT PROFILE Lawrence+Memorial Corporation operates Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, consisting of Lawrence & Memorial Hospital (LMH) in New London, Connecticut with 198 staffed beds, and Westerly Hospital in Washington County (Westerly), Rhode Island with 40 staffed beds, as well as a number of other subsidiaries, including the L&M Physician Association (LMPA). The obligated group includes LMH and the LMC Parent only. For fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2015, LMC had total revenues of $460 million. BENEFITS OF JOINING YNHHS LMC and YNHHS igned an affiliation agreement in July 2015 and the full merger would take the form of a member substitution, whereby YNHHS would become the sole corporate member of the LMC, but LMC would not be a member of the YNHHS obligated group, similar to the status of Greenwich Hospital ('AA-', Stable Outlook) in YNHHS. The merger with YNHHS is expected to bring significant benefits to LMC, estimated at $300 million over the next five years. Of this amount, approximately $85 million represents a direct commitment from YNHHS with half contributed fairly quickly once the formal corporate reorganization is completed for various initiatives, including population health management, rebranding, IT investment and physician recruitment focused on several specialty areas, in addition to primary care. The balance of the $300 million benefit will be realized from further clinical investments and from LMC operations and efficiencies and synergies and gained scale from being part of the large, fully integrated YNHHS, with revenues of $3.5 billion.



CONTINUED WEAK PROFITABILITY LMC continues to be affected negatively by soft volumes, shift to observation patients and to outpatient utilization, and lower state and federal reimbursement rates. A significant contributor to the lower profitability is the escalating provider tax in Connecticut; the net impact of the provider tax offset by supplemental payments increased from a negative $3.9 million in 2014 to negative $9.1 million in 2015 and is expected to be as high as $13 million in this fiscal year, even after the recent reinstating of some of the supplemental payments.

Operating losses were $18.7 million in fiscal 2014 and $10.3 million in 2015, equal to negative operating margins of 4.1% and 2.2%, and operating loss through the nine months ended June 30, 2016 was reported at $14 million, a 4.2% negative operating margin. Management expects to end the 2016 fiscal year with an operating loss of $22.3 million, with the most significant variances from the $8.7 million budgeted loss stemming from the LMPA medical group and Westerly hospital. A number of initiatives from an earlier consulting engagement have already been operationalized, with over $36 million of expenses taken out. Based on initiatives continuing to be implemented currently and additional expense management likely to be realized, the 2017 budget would be close to $10 million-$13 million loss. Management has been successful in negotiating a new union contract in the spring of 2016, ahead of the expiration of the prior contract. Any relief in the state provider tax would further help improve profitability. ADEQUATE LIQUDITY AND LOW DEBT BURDEN LMC's liquidity in relation to its debt remains solid for the rating category, with cash of $175.4 million at June 30, 2016 equal 167.6% of debt and cushion ratio of 19.8x at June 30, 2016, both above Fitch's category medians. Overall, Fitch considers LMC's liquidity position as a partial mitigant against its compressed profitability, providing a temporary cushion until such time as LMC can see the benefits of the integration into YNHHS. LMC's debt burden is light with MADS equal to 2% of revenues through the nine-month interim period. MADS coverage by EBITDA of 1.8x and by operating EBITDA of 1.5x were both weak against Fitch's 'A' medians at 4.2x and 3.5x, respectively, somewhat offset by a relatively conservative debt structure with 80% of debt in fixed rate mode. DISCLOSURE LMH covenants to provide quarterly and annual financial disclosure to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA system. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. Applicable Criteria Revenue-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 16 Jun 2014) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=750012 U.S. Nonprofit Hospitals and Health Systems Rating Criteria (pub. 09 Jun 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=866807 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1010219 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1010219 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160810006178/en/

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From Cosmopolitan

Just days before his honeymoon, newlywed Faizan Patel was down on his luck. It seems his wife, Sana, had lost her passport, meaning she wouldn't be able to travel with him on their honeymoon to Italy.

Photo credit: Twitter/@faizanpatel

I guess because honeymoons are generally nonrefundable, his plan was to just go on ahead to Italy without her.

Photo credit: Twitter/@faizanpatel

But this enterprising gentleman had a plan! If he couldn't bring his actual wife on vacation, he would bring the next best thing - just a picture of her face.

Photo credit: Twitter/@faizanpatel

Remember how we all used to mail Flat Stanleys to each other as kids? That's kind of what this reminds me of, except instead of a paper version of a book character, it's a paper version of his new bride.

Luckily for Patel, his tweet about Sana's missing passport trickled all the way up to Sushma Swaraj - India's minister of external affairs - and she personally saw that Patel's wife received a passport, ASAP.

Photo credit: Twitter/@SushmaSwaraj

And now the latest info is that Sana has received a new passport, had an appointment with the VFS office to get a visa, and will be joining Patel on their honeymoon very soon.

Off to Florence. Sana applied for her visa application today at the VFS. Hoping she gets her visa from the embassy. pic.twitter.com/f1SmtoLPjW - Faizan Patel (@faizanpatel) August 10, 2016

Only one question remains: What will he do with the paper cutout?

Follow Hannah on Twitter.
Zendaya is schooling K.C. Undercover fans with a special episode set in the 1970s.

The installment, titled The Legend of Bad, Bad Cleo Brown, airs Sunday on Disney Channel and kicks off with K.C. and Ernies grandmother teaching them about Cleo Brown, the first African-American female spy in the Organization where they work.

Although the tale is fictional, with Zendaya pulling double duty as Cleo, historical tidbits about Shirley Chisholm, a black politician and cultural pioneer, are also included. In 1972, Chisholm was the first woman to run for president as a Democratic candidate.

Also Read: Zendaya Rips Twitter Troll for Rape Joke: 'You Should Be Ashamed of Yourself'

The Cleo Brown episode is really important to me not only because it is empowering but its also very educational, Zendaya, 19, told The Wrap. She is also a co-producer on the show. Our young viewers will open their eyes and get a different perspective because its a little bit deeper than any episode weve done or that weve ever seen on the channel. Its good for families and they will enjoy the deep content as well.

Raynelle Swilling (The Cleveland Show), who co-wrote the episode with Teri Schaffer, is also proud of the installments message, which taps into Zendayas real-life social awareness and activism. Nzingha Stewart (UnReal and The Fosters) is directing.

Also Read: Hollywood Reacts to Alton Sterling Police Shooting: 'Don't Rationalize Murder'

I just kept hearing and seeing all of these powerful, positive, self-confident things come out of Zendayas mouth, heart and finger tips (on Twitter), Swilling said. So I wanted to pitch an episode that reflected that. More often than not, we take our history for granted. We forget that someone had to make sacrifices to pave the path for us to be here today.

K.C. Undercover airs Sunday Aug. 14 at 8 p.m. ET on Disney Channel.

Related stories from TheWrap:

Disney Channel's 'Adventures in Babysitting' Is Top Cable TV Movie of 2016

Disney Channel's 'Descendants' Sequel Adds China Anne McClain as Ursula's Daughter

'High School Musical 4' in the Works at Disney Channel
A-list actress Kangana Ranaut is now the face of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. She features in a new ad along with a host of other actors, and supported by the recognisable voice of Amitabh Bachchan.

The ad is sweet and implores the Indian public to refrain from littering in public places. Watch it here:

We only have one question  If cleanliness is important, so is road safety. Why didnt she wear a helmet?

**********************************************

At the launch of the public interest spot, Kanagana said that growing up she was a slob who hated taking a shower, but reading up about energies changed her lifestyle, which can be seen with her promoting cleanliness by playing Goddess Laxmi in a cleanliness campaign.

Growing up I was a slob, very lazy and I hated having shower. I was a really dirty person. My parents were fed up, nothing good ever happened. I never made friends, no opportunities came my way. Then I read a lot about elements, compositions and energies and I learnt energies are of three types, Sattva, Tamas and Rajas.

The most superior type is Sattva and that is all about cleanliness, truth and anything beautiful, artistic, so it starts with a beautiful environment. And that is what Laxmi is about. Laxmi is an energy which you can attract only if you have Sattvik energy. And ever since I used these things in my life my life changed. So now I love to have shower, love to keep my environment clean and I make sure I never litter, Kangana said.

She was present at the unveiling of a campaign for Swachh Bharat initiative titled Dont Let Her Go at Welingkar Institute here. The campaign features an ad directed by Pradeep Sarkar which sees actors Omkar Kapoor, Ravi Kishan, Isha Koppikar littering and then seeing the picture of Goddess Laxmi near them disappearing.

Then Goddess Laxmi, played by Kangana, is also seen going away and Amitabh Bachchans voiceover warns of Laxmi disappearing in real life if people litter.

Kangana said that Sarkar had asked her if she knew to ride a bike and when she said no, he told her that they would make her sit behind the rider. But Kangana then asked why a bike and not a Ferrari, he said that she was supposed to see where all garbage was littered by people.

About the concept Kangana said, Initially I thought it was a different thought. The environment in which I have grown up, be it Goddess Laxmi or Goddess Durga, we have always worshiped it a lot. So taking up her role was a different and uncomfortable kind of concept. But being an artist, it is the costume of a character on which we all have worked hard on.

Kangana will next be seen in the film Rangoon. (IANS)
Washington (AFP) - Members of the Kennedy family sternly rebuked Donald Trump on Thursday for joking about "the possibility of political assassination," joining the relatives of other slain or wounded US leaders in condemning recent rhetoric by the Republican presidential nominee.

Trump alarmed many in the political world and beyond on Tuesday when he suggested that "Second Amendment people" -- those who support gun rights -- could act against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton or the justices she would appoint to the US Supreme Court if she were president.

It was beyond the pale for the Kennedys, who wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that Trump's "dark and offensive rhetoric" should disqualify him from the presidency.

"Political violence is the greatest of all civic sins," wrote William Kennedy Smith and Jean Kennedy Smith, nephew and sister of Democratic president John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and senator Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 as he campaigned for president.

"Today, almost 50 years later, words still matter," the Kennedys wrote.

"So it was with a real sense of sadness and revulsion that we listened to (Trump) as he referred to the options available to 'Second Amendment people,' a remark widely, and we believe correctly, interpreted as a thinly veiled reference or 'joke' about the possibility of political assassination."

The Kennedy column followed criticism by the daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who was slain two months before Robert Kennedy, and the daughter of Republican Ronald Reagan, who was wounded by a would-be assassin in 1981, 69 days into his presidency.

"As the daughter of a leader who was assassinated, I find Trump's comments distasteful, disturbing, dangerous," Bernice King posted on Twitter late Tuesday.

King's murder in April 1968 triggered a wave of social unrest that included riots in several US cities.

Story continues

Reagan's daughter Patti Davis posted a scathing open letter to Trump on her Facebook page, saying that "your glib and horrifying comment about 'Second Amendment people' was heard around the world."

The remark was heard by "sane and decent people who shudder at your fondness for verbal violence," as well as by Trump supporters who angrily yell, "Lock her up" about Hillary Clinton.

"It was heard by the person sitting alone in a room, locked in his own dark fantasies, who sees unbridled violence as a way to make his mark in the world, and is just looking for ideas," Davis added.
We issued an updated research report on The Kraft Heinz Company KHC on Aug 10, 2016.

On Aug 4, Kraft Heinz reported mixed second-quarter 2016 results.

KRAFT HEINZ CO Price

KRAFT HEINZ CO Price | KRAFT HEINZ CO Quote

The packaged food company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings but missed the same for sales. Adjusted earnings per share of 85 cents surged 39.3% year over year as cost savings mitigated weak sales trends and a higher tax rate. Organic sales declined 0.5% in the quarter due to lower volume/mix. Volume/mix declined 2.1% in the quarter in comparison to a 0.8% rise in the previous quarter as improvement in the Rest of World was neutralized primarily by declines in the U.S. and Canada. Europe volumes were almost flat in the quarter.

Kraft Heinz is seeing top-line weakness over the past several quarters. Soft spending by U.S. shoppers along with rapid changes in consumer preferences and behaviour are hurting the companys categories.

Kraft Heinz categories have been sluggish due to soft global retail and consumer demand. Consumption trends in a number of the companys key categories like ready-to-drink beverages, frozen meals and salad dressings remain challenged.

Though organic sales improved slightly in first-half 2016, management noted that consumption trends in a number of categories remained weak in an increasingly competitive retail environment. Organic sales declined in two of the biggest segments in first-half 2016  0.9% in the U.S. and 3% in the Europe segment. Management warned that consumer trends are likely to remain challenged in both North America and Europe in the second half of the year.

Though the companys sales have been relatively soft, cost savings have led to better margins, mainly in the developed markets of the U.S. and Europe. While organic sales rose only 0.3% in first-half 2016, adjusted EBITDA rose over 25% on a constant currency basis.

This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company has implemented many cost-saving initiatives including the integration of Kraft Foods and Heinz. The company plans to save $1.5 billion in annual costs by the end of 2017, mainly through work-force reductions, factory closures and consolidations. The company generated about $535 million of cost savings in first-half 2016.

Story continues

Other productivity improvement initiatives include programs such as zero-based budgeting; modernization and capability building within the manufacturing footprint along with building a performance driven culture in the company.

A portion of its savings is being re-invested in the business for innovation, brand building and marketing to stimulate top-line growth. The company is also working for whitespace expansion of Kraft and Heinz brands in both food services as well as international channels.

With growing consumer demand for organic and more nutritional food, Kraft Heinz launched organic Capri-Sun juices and Mac & Cheese dinner (under its Cracker Barrel brand) without artificial ingredients in 2016. It also renovated the Kool-Aid Jammers product with fewer calories and no preservatives and added a new line of Classico Riserva branded premium pasta sauces made with no artificial ingredients or added sugar. Further, frozen meals with enhanced nutrition is in the pipeline for launch this year.

Moreover, in 2016, the company will continue to focus on shifting advertising spend from non-working (like production costs, advertising agency costs) to working media (digital, print advertisements) and eliminate inefficient trade promotion spending. In fact, management has plans in place to boost overall marketing spending in markets like the U.S. and Europe in 2016.

These product innovation efforts and improved marketing spend can lead to better sales trends, going forward.

Stocks to Consider

Other well-ranked food stocks are Omega Protein Corporation OME, Ingredion Incorporated INGR and Treehouse Foods, Inc. THS. While Omega Protein and Ingredion Incorporated sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Treehouse Foods holds a Zacks Rank #2.

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 >>



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



OMEGA PROTEIN (OME): Free Stock Analysis Report



TREEHOUSE FOODS (THS): Free Stock Analysis Report



INGREDION INC (INGR): Free Stock Analysis Report



KRAFT HEINZ CO (KHC): Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
For their fourth animated feature, the stop-motion geniuses at the production company Laika are trading Coralines creepy Other World and ParaNormans paranormal activity for the high stakes, high-seas adventure of Kubo and the Two Strings. The tale of a boy warrior (voiced by Art Parkinson) making his way across ancient Japan in search of his samurai fathers lost suit of armor, Kubo once again puts the studios remarkable craftsmanship on display.

In this exclusive clip from the film (watch it above), Kubo and his traveling companion Monkey (Charlize Theron) are sailing through a storm-tossed sea when the child decides to rescue someone who has fallen overboard. Diving into the deep, murky water, he comes face-to-face with glowing armor  perhaps the very suit hes been searching for. And hes going to need it, because keeping a careful eye on that outfit isa giant eye!

The imagery in this sequence is all the more striking when you remember that Laika makes its movies using handcrafted puppets and sets, rather than computer-generated imagery. That level of artistry has won the studio a passionate following among fans who are thrilled to watch this particular animation style continue to evolve from the days of Gumby and even the early Wallace & Gromit shorts. For some younger viewers, Kubo and the Two Strings wont just introduce them to a new hero  it will also be a gateway to the realm of stop-motion animation.

Kubo, which also features the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara, and Ralph Fiennes, hits theaters on Aug. 19.

Watch an interview with Kubo voice stars McConaughey and Theron:
[August 11, 2016] Cradlepoint Saves Ewing Police Department Critical Time in Managing its In-Vehicle Network

Cradlepoint, the global leader in cloud-based network solutions for connecting people, places, and things over wired and wireless broadband, announced today that the Ewing Police Department is leveraging Cradlepoint's software-defined LTE (News - Alert) solutions to provide vital in-vehicle connectivity for its officers in the field while saving IT staff and officers dozens of hours each month in network management time. With the Cradlepoint NetCloudTM platform, officers can now access mission-critical police applications from their vehicles from any location, allowing them to stay connected to the information needed to protect the community. Many police and other transportation departments face the same challenges when it comes to supporting in-vehicle networks. With traditional approaches, software updates and network changes require each vehicle to be brought in for maintenance, causing massive downtime and lost hours that could be spent serving the public. Moreover, without a reliable, secure remote network connection, officers can spend a lot of time commuting back and forth to headquarters to submit critical information and reports. Cradlepoint empowers the Ewing Police Department to create a secure end-to-end private network in the cloud over wired and wireless broadband Internet leveraging Cradlepoint's Enterprise Cloud Manager (ECM) and NetCloud Engine. The solutions enable the police department to streamline network and flee management with the ability to efficiently configure, monitor, and manage all of its devices from one central location. Officers have instant, resilient, and secure network connectivity while accessing critical online systems no matter where they are.



"We are exceedingly happy with the Cradlepoint Technology," said Robert Green, Director of Technology, Ewing Police Department. "It works seamlessly and Cradlepoint showed us that we could manage everything remotely. The officers don't have to do anything to get it to work. It is always there and always on." "Cradlepoint provides customers with solutions that not only meet their needs, but address the issues of future scalability and connectivity needs. More and more police departments, like Ewing, are realizing the benefits that cloud-based, software-defined LTE technology provides when it comes to secure and reliable in-vehicle networking," said Ian Pennell, CMO, Cradlepoint. "We are committed to creating software-defined solutions that can meet the customer's expectations while making their network management simpler and more efficient."

To learn more about the Ewing Police Department is leveraging LTE, you can download the case study here: https://cradlepoint.com/success_stories/ewing-pd. About Cradlepoint Cradlepoint is the global leader in cloud-based network solutions for connecting people, places, and things over wired and wireless broadband. Cradlepoint NetCloud is a software and services platform that extends the company's 4G LTE-enabled multi-function routers and ruggedized M2M/IoT gateways with cloud-based management and software-defined network services. With Cradlepoint, customers can leverage the speed and economics of wired and wireless Internet broadband for branch, failover, mobile, and IoT networks while maintaining end-to-end visibility, security, and control. Over 15,000 enterprise and government organizations around the world-including 75 percent of the world's top retailers, 50 percent of the Fortune 100, and 25 of the largest U.S. cities-rely on Cradlepoint to keep critical sites, workforces, vehicles, and devices always connected and protected. Major service providers use Cradlepoint network solutions as the foundation for innovative managed service offerings. Founded in 2006, Cradlepoint is a privately held company headquartered in Boise, Idaho, with development centers in Silicon Valley and Kelowna, Canada, and offices in the UK, Australia, and Japan. Learn more at cradlepoint.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @cradlepoint. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005245/en/

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aleppo

Aleppo, which has been beset by constant violence since 2012, and the site of unspeakable suffering from air strikes, ground fighting, and even chemical weapons attacks, has become a humanitarian nightmare.

A shortage of well-supplied hospitals has resulted in countless deaths that might have been prevented had the mortally wounded been able to seek medical treatment  a shortage of doctors, many of whom have either been killed or fled Aleppo since the fighting erupted, has made the situation even more dire.

"We are 15 of the last doctors serving the remaining 300,000 citizens of eastern Aleppo," a group of doctors claiming to be among the last in the city wrote in a letter to US president Barack Obama on Thursday.

"Whether we live or die seems to be dependent on the ebbs and flows of the battlefield," they added. "Despite the horror, we choose to be here. We took a pledge to help those in need."

Allegations of war crimes by pro-government forces have been flying around for over a year, but the situation on the ground precludes a thorough investigation of human rights violations. The situation has rapidly deteriorated over the past month, as a government-imposed siege prevented food and medical supplies from entering the rebel-held east.

"We do not need tears or sympathy or even prayers," the letter read. "We need action."

Aleppo

The nearly monthlong government siege of Syria's largest city is now on the verge of collapse, after a week of heavy fighting in northern and eastern Aleppo led to the defeat of pro-regime forces by a coalition of Syrian opposition groups.

The siege has not been completely broken, and the situation remains unstable, said Syrian journalist Hadi Alabdallah, who was in Aleppo while the battle unfolded.

Fights are still erupting sporadically across the city, he said, and airstrikes continue to puncture any aura of calm.

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Both the regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad  and its close ally, Russia  have offered to impose a temporary ceasefire on the city long enough to evacuate civilians. But the doctors, in their letter, characterized the proposals as "thinly-veiled threats" to essentially "flee now or face annihilation."

The note contains horrific details about doctors with limited resources who must regularly decide who is worth saving, based on the extent of their injuries.

aleppo

Its harshest rebukes, however, are pointed towards the Obama administration's perceived inaction in attempting to end the violence.

"We have seen no effort on behalf of the United States to lift the siege or even use its influence to push the parties to protect civilians," the letter read.

"The burden of responsibility for the crimes of the Syrian government and its Russian ally must...be shared by those, including the United States, who allow them to continue."

The White House told CNN that they had seen the letter, and condemned the "indiscriminate bombing of medical facilities by the Assad regime in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria." The statement made no mention of Russia, whom they hope to pressure, along with the UN, into allowing humanitarian aid to flow into Aleppo.

"These attacks are appalling and must cease," the White House official said. "We commend the bravery of medical professionals across Syria who are working every day in perilous circumstances with minimal supplies to save lives."

Read the full letter here.

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Moscow (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his British counterpart Boris Johnson on Thursday pledged to improve battered ties between the two nations in their first phone talks, Moscow said.

During the call initiated by London, Russia's veteran top diplomat Lavrov congratulated gaffe-prone Johnson on his surprise appointment as Britain's foreign minister last month.

"Both sides expressed hope for the normalisation of Russian-British ties," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The intent to increase political dialogue was underlined despite the remaining problems in bilateral relations, in order to realise their considerable potential in areas such as the economy, humanitarian ties and foreign policy cooperation," the statement said, adding that the two also discussed the conflict in Syria.

The talks came after new British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first phone call with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, pledging to hold a meeting in the near future in a bid to improve ties.

British relations with Russia have soured in recent years, notably over efforts to prosecute the case of Kremlin critic and former spy Alexander Litvinenko, who was murdered by radiation poisoning in London in 2006.

Britain has also been one of the most fervent supporters of Western sanctions against Moscow over Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis.

May's appointment of Johnson -- a leading campaigner for the UK to leave the European Union -- raised eyebrows around the world given the colourful politician's history of ill-considered comments about international leaders.

Johnson has described Putin as a "ruthless and manipulative tyrant" who looks like fictional Harry Potter character Dobby the House Elf, but has called for greater cooperation with the Russian strongman in the battle against the Islamic State group in Syria.
Lawsuit Filed  Skully Founders Accused of Spending Company Cash on Personal Matters

Skully Systems founders Marcus and Mitch Weller are being sued by their former executive assistant and bookkeeper, Isabelle Faithhaur. The lawsuit claims the Wellers used company funds for their personal expenses and extracurricular interests.

The lawsuit is seeking damages for a total of 12 filed complaints, including Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage.

READ MORE: Founders of SKULLY AR-1 Helmet Depart Company| RideApart

The company first came under fire when they missed their expected delivery date of the AR-1 helmet by more than two years. In mid-July of this year, the Wellers were ousted by Skully investors due to various disagreements about the future of the company.

Shortly after the brothers departure, there were reports of the company closing its doors for good. At that time it was hearsay, since the website was functioning and listing the helmets as simply sold out. The hearsay became official last week, when Skully filed filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

This new lawsuit, filed by a former employee, appears to offer some insight as to why the potentially successful motorcycle helmet company tanked.

READ MORE: From Bad to Worse: SKULLY Systems Goes Under | RideApart

Buzzfeed was the first to report that lawsuit, on August 6, with the article providing a copy of the lawsuit that was filed at the Superior Court of California. In this document, it states: The Wellers intermingled personal funds with corporate funds and used the corporation as a tool to pay their personal expenses. Plaintiff is further informed and believes and thereon alleges that the various corporations were never fully organized or perfected, and they are undercapitalized and/or a mere 'shell.'"

According to the lawsuit, the Weller brothers spent money on a number of personal items including restaurant meals, mobile devices, exotic trips, car rentals, rent for an apartment in San Francisco, four motorcycles as well as insurance for the bikes, two Dodge Vipers (the second allegedly purchased after the first one was wrecked), limos, strippers, and furniture for the apartments in San Francisco. The lawsuit also alleges an $80,000 payout to a former co-founder.

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When Skully hired a new bookkeeper around July 2015, Faithhaur reportedly disclosed the Wellers' spending practices. When they found out that she had done this, the lawsuit says, she was demoted to office assistant.

When Skully later hired a vice president of finance, Faithhaur was reportedly pressed to provide more information about the Wellers' spending. As the lawsuit explains: Plaintiff was being asked more questions about personal expenses of Marcus Weller and Mitchell Weller, paid for by SKULL Y. The Wellers were notified of the answers that Plaintiff provided to the Vice President, and others, in response to their skeptical inquiries into the bookkeeping entries made by the Wellers.

Things between Faithhaur and the Wellers soured considerably, according to the lawsuit, reaching a peak late last year when she took off time to take her autistic son to doctors appointments: In November of 2015, plaintiff's son was diagnosed with Autism. Plaintiff began bringing her son to work on Fridays, with approval of Mitchell Weller and Marcus Weller. When Marcus Weller brought his puppy to work one Friday, he told plaintiff to put her 'dog on a leash...' Marcus Weller made other comments about Plaintiff's son being 'sick.' Marcus Weller was unhappy about Plaintiff taking time off to go to doctor appointment for her autistic son.

Faithhaur's lawsuit says she was terminated upon returning from an approved trip she took the Disneyland in December 2015. The Wellers offered a severance in the form of hush money, according to the lawsuit, meaning Faithhaur couldnt discuss the brothers' questionable spending habits. She reportedly declined the package.

According to the lawsuit, when she found a new job, the Weller brothers called her employer and told them that Faithhaur was untrustworthy and dishonest."

"They told the new employer that Plaintiff had been terminated for disclosing confidential financial information [and] could not handle confidential information," claims the lawsuit. "She immediately lost her position at her new place of employment."

Before filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Skully was reportedly scrambling to find funding due to running out of cash quickly. This lawsuit definitely paints of picture of poor business management and shady business transactions. If Faithhaur's allegations are proven true, it seems clear that Skully's demise was exacerbated by what the Weller brothers did with money that should have gone to manufacturing the AR-1.

Whats next? Not much for now.

Unfortunately, those who initially invested in an AR-1 helmet on Indiegogo will not be refunded. However, a letter on the Indiegogo web page states that those who invested funds for a Skully helmet will receive a notice from the bankruptcy court in regards to how to file a claim.

RideApart will keep you updated with any developments on this lawsuit, and any others that may pop up sooner rather than later.

Follow RideApart on Facebook and Twitter, along with @RideApart on Instagram.
From Woman's Day

"Calm down, honey."

It's a sentiment you'd expect coming from Humphrey Bogart in a film from the '40s, not a U.S. courtroom in 2016. But in January, a federal judge in California fined lawyer Peter Bertling $250 after he told opposing counsel Lori Rifkin, who had asked him to stop interrupting her, "Don't raise your voice at me. It's not becoming of a woman."

The judge said Bertling's comments "endorsed the stereotype that women are subject to a different standard of behavior than their fellow attorneys." Rifkin told the New York Times she was "well accustomed" to such remarks.

She's not alone: Earlier this year, the 5,200 women who make up the National Association of Women Lawyers petitioned to amend the American Bar Association (ABA)'s professional code of conduct to prohibit lawyers from using harassing and discriminatory language while practicing law. The women said they are routinely undermined during trials with demeaning terms like "honey" and "darling," according to Quartz.

On Monday, the ABA voted in favor of the amendment. Now, lawyers can be fined for calling women darling, honey, sweetheart, and other sexist terms.

Similar rules already existed in 23 states and Washington, D.C., but this ban establishes a nationwide standard that will apply to all 400,000 members of the bar. Penalties, which could range from fines to suspension from practice, depending on the offense, will be determined by state bar associations.

"A sexist remark is not just a professional discourtesy, although that in itself is regrettable and all too common," said Paul S. Gerwal, the judge in Lori Rifkin's case."The bigger issue is that comments like Bertling's reflect and reinforce the male-dominated attitude of our profession."

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[August 11, 2016] E8 Storage Vaults to the Top with "Best of Show" Award for Most Innovative Flash Memory Technology

SANTA CLARA, California, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Flash Memory Summit (Booth 113) - After officially launching just days ago, E8 Storage captured the top prize at the 2016 Flash Memory Summit, winning the "Best of Show" award for the Most Innovative Flash Memory Technology. This category specifically confers awards on innovations that will change the way flash memory works and is used in products. The winning technology from E8 Storage is the company's revolutionary E8-D24 - the industry's first centralized NVMe rack scale flash solution for enterprise storage. "Flash Memory technology is currently experiencing a progression of innovation that has raised the bar for all-flash storage arrays to deliver higher capacity and performance in ways that were previously impossible," said Jay Kramer, Chairman of the Awards Program and President of Network Storage Advisors Inc. "We are proud to select E8 Storage for the Best of Show Technology Innovation Award as it enables the potential to deliver unprecedented performance (10M IOPS) and latency on par ith local NVMe (100us/50us of read/write) coupled with enterprise class storage management and non-disruptive hardware and software upgrade support."



"We are extremely proud to accept this prestigious award, and I applaud the entire E8 Storage team for the hard work and dedication it has taken to make this ground-breaking technology a reality," said Zivan Ori, CEO and Co-founder, E8 Storage. "This award validates what we set out to achieve from the beginning - to give the market a truly innovative storage solution unlike anything else in the industry, delivering exceptional performance along with tier-1 availability and low-cost." E8 Storage will be presenting at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2016 in San Francisco, Booth #561. Come listen to our Tech chat session at IDF SF 2016, Moscone Convention Center West, on Tuesday August 16 at 1:00 pm PST.

About E8 Storage Privately-held E8 Storage provides the next generation of flash storage with a rack scale architecture for the enterprise and software-defined cloud, delivering 10 times the performance for half the cost of existing storage products, while using only off-the-shelf hardware. The company was founded in 2014 by storage industry veterans from IBM-XIV, Zivan Ori and Alex Friedman, who serve as CEO and VP R&D respectively. The company is venture-funded by Accel Partners, Magma Venture Capital and Vertex Israel, with R&D operations in Tel Aviv, Israel, and sales and marketing in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information, please visit www.e8storage.com; follow us on Twitter at @E8Storage. Press Contacts: Maya Lustig, E8 Storage

[email protected] mailto:[email protected]

+972-54-6778100 Michelle Allard McMahon/Candice Perodeau

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+1-508-475-0025 Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397427 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/e8-storage-vaults-to-the-top-with-best-of-show-award-for-most-innovative-flash-memory-technology-300312343.html SOURCE E8 Storage

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By Alan Baldwin RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Freestyle queen Katie Ledecky won her third gold medal of the Rio Olympics by anchoring the U.S. women to victory in the 4x200 metres freestyle relay on Wednesday while struggling Missy Franklin opened her account without being in the water for the final. Australia, who led until Ledecky dived in and turned the race around, took silver and Canada the bronze. The U.S. were the defending champions but only veteran Allison Schmitt, who swam the leadoff leg in Rio, was in the race lineup from that London 2012 golden quartet that also beat Australia into second place. Leah Smith and Maya DiRado swam second and third respectively before Ledecky, who won the 400 freestyle on Sunday and 200 free on Tuesday, brought home the gold with a typically powerful swim from behind. Franklin, who won four golds in London four years ago but suffered a dramatic loss of form at the U.S. trials, swam in the heats and collected a gold for doing so despite being dropped for the final. So too did Melanie Margalis and Cierra Runge. "It's such a great honour to be a part of a USA relay team," said Ledecky, still only 19 but the outstanding female swimmer on the U.S. team. "I think I was prepared for any circumstance, whether we were ahead or behind. I just knew that these three girls were going to put me in a good position to finish it out and I knew I could do it," she added. "It's so easy to get up and swim fast when you're swimming for three other people." China led at the start before Australia, with Emma McKeon swimming the second leg, handed over in the lead to Bronte Barratt. With DiRado closing in on Barratt but still behind, Ledecky had work to do and she went about it with a vengeance to take the lead with just over 100 metres to go and then powering home in seven minutes, 43.03 seconds. Tamsin Cook touched out for Australia in 7:44.87 and Canada's anchor Penny Oleksiak finished close behind in 7:45.39 with China fourth. DiRado's gold completed her set, having already earned a silver and bronze in the two women's individual medleys. "I was so excited to get the call up today to be on this relay," said DiRado. "It was a dream to be on a U.S. relay and to win gold. I'm just so happy I didn't mess it up and I gave Katie a chance. "We've got the rainbow now," she added. "It feels really good." The race may have been Schmitt's last swim but she was not ready to confirm anything. "I am grateful for where I am right now, to be able to stand up there and hear our national anthem is something I am definitely soaking in," she said. "I think my emotions are so high right now that I just want to soak that in and figure out the rest later." (Additional reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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By Richard Leong and Ross Kerber

NEW YORK/BOSTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Legg Mason Inc's Bill Miller, whose mutual fund beat the S&P 500 handily for 15 consecutive years at the turn of the century, is riding off into the sunset after his recent lagging returns left a trail of disappointed investors.

Miller, one of the last household names in the U.S. mutual funds industry, is departing Baltimore-based Legg Mason after 35 years, the company said on Thursday. He won high regard for picking "value" stocks and making big bets on them with the Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust fund, which he left in 2011 and is now the ClearBridge Value Trust fund.

In its heyday, the fund beat the S&P 500 every year from 1991 to 2005.

A spokeswoman for Miller, 66, said he was traveling and not immediately available to comment.

At the $1.3 billion Legg Mason Opportunity Trust, Miller's stock picking clearly had not been working, prompting investors to pull their money.

This year, investors have made net withdrawals of $112 million from the fund and $779 million over the past five years, according to Lipper Inc, a unit of Thomson Reuters.

The fund's 1-year return of -18.06 percent lags 98 percent of its peers and trails the 5.73 percent advance of the S&P 500 Index during that time, according to Morningstar.

Loren Fox, director of research at Ignites Research, which follows the fund industry, said Miller's departure is mainly symbolic, given that he oversaw a relatively small amount of assets under management at Legg Mason in recent years.

"While a star manager can create a marketable face for a firm, it can carry risks if that star underperforms" or runs into other troubles, Fox said.

Miller showed flashes of his old self in 2012 and 2013, when his fund returned 40.68 percent and 68.03 percent, respectively. He outperformed 99 percent of his peers during those two years, according to Morningstar Inc.

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But his departure, as Wells Fargo equity analyst Christopher Harris put it, "has no consequential bearing on (Legg Mason's) financials, given the relatively small amount of assets Miller now manages."

The Legg Mason Opportunity fund generated $18 million in management fees in 2015. By contrast, the Legg Mason Value Trust fund generated $121 million in fees in 2006, U.S. regulatory filings show.

Legg Mason shares are down 29 percent over the past 12 months, compared with the S&P 500's 5 percent return.

Miller had been the public face of Legg Mason for years and his performance troubles handicapped the firm's recovery from the financial crisis.

Legg Mason's record eventually drew the attention of activist hedge fund investor Nelson Peltz, who became a board member in 2009 and oversaw the replacement of the firm's CEO in 2012. Peltz has since left the board and his firm, Trian Partners, sold most of its Legg Mason shares earlier this year.

The exodus from Miller's fund underscores a larger problem for active managers everywhere as they lose a flood of money to passively managed index funds. Since the end of 2008, Vanguard Group, the industry's king of index funds, has pulled in nearly $1 trillion in net deposits.

Miller left the Value Trust fund in 2011 after the fund's downturn during the recession.

"I am thankful to Legg Mason for our 35-year relationship and to the many great people I've worked with along the way," Miller said in a statement.

With Miller's departure, Legg Mason said, Miller acquired Legg Mason's stake in LMM LLC, which provides investment management services to Legg Mason Opportunities Trust, Miller Income Opportunities Trust and related strategies.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close at the end of the year, Legg Mason said.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Additional reporting by Ross Kerber and Tim McLaughlin in Boston.; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Dan Grebler)
Agustine and her activist colleagues at Indonesias Ardhanari Foundation, which campaigns for LGBT rights, have become very cautious recently. They used to go in and out their office in Jakarta without attracting much attention from their neighbors. But now people are paying attention, Agustine tells TIME. Sometimes asking why some of our staff members [look like] tomboys.

But it isnt just the stares and pointed questions that are making LGBT activists, sexual and gender minorities nervous in Indonesia. For months, there has been a swelling tide of anti-LGBT sentiment in the country, which has the worlds biggest Muslim population and prides itself for its tolerant brand of Islam.

On Thursday, Human Rights Watch published a 56-page report, These Political Games Ruin Our Lives: Indonesias LGBT Community Under Threat, documenting the alarming rise in anti-LGBT rhetoric in the country.

The rights of Indonesian sexual and gender minorities have come under unprecedented attack in 2016, the report says. Across the country prior to January 2016, many Indonesian sexual and gender minorities lived with a mix of tolerance and prejudice  But in early 2016, [a] combination of government officials, militant Islamists, and mass religious groups stoking anti-LGBT intolerance led to immediate deterioration of the human rights of LGBT individuals. What began as public condemnation quickly grew into calls for criminalization and cures, laying bare the depth and breadth of officials individual prejudices.

Read more: Indonesia Is Asking Facebook and WhatsApp to Block Gay Emojis

It all started on Jan. 24, when Republika, a conservative-Islamic-leaning newspaper, splashed a headline LGBT a Serious Threat on its front page. On the same day, Higher Education Minister Muhammad Natsir denounced a little-known group that gives counseling and information about gender and sexuality to students at the University of Indonesia for not being in accordance with the values and morals of Indonesia.

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In the following weeks, other politicians and government officials followed the suit, making homophobic statements and opening a floodgate of hostility towards the LGBT community: from objections over gay emojis to the countrys association of psychiatrists labelling being gay, bisexual and transgender as mental disorders. Then, Defend the Nation, a paramilitary training program that claims some 1.8 million participants, declared homosexuality as one of the nations enemies, along with communism and illegal drugs.

A transgender Islamic boarding school in the city of Yogyakarta, which had been featured in international publications, including TIME and the New York Times, was forced to close down in February, following intimidation from hard-line Muslims.

Religious hard-liners also paid a visit to Agustines Ardhanari Foundation. They told us to stop campaigning for LGBT rights  that made us afraid, she says. We cant work openly now.

Read more: Islamist Intolerance Poses a Growing Threat to Indonesias Minorities

In early August, the Indonesian Survey Institute and the Wahid Foundation released a poll that showed LGBT people were the most disliked by Muslims in the country, followed by communists (the nations longtime bogey man) and Jews. Its strange because usually it is the communists and the Jewish people who claim the top two spots as the most disliked groups by Muslims, researcher Aryo Ardi Nugroho of the moderate Islamic think-tank Wahid Foundation told the Jakarta Post.

The latest attacks include parliamentary and judicial efforts to persecute sexual and gender minorities. Indonesian lawmakers are pushing an anti-LGBT draft law, saying it is necessary to protect society from what they term LGBT propaganda. An Islamic pro-family group called the Family Love Alliance has submitted a judicial review to the Constitutional Court, asking the justices to revise the penal code and criminalize gay sex. (Unlike its neighboring countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong  all three of them former British colonies  Indonesia has never had law that penalizes homosexual acts. The exception is Aceh, which implements Sharia.)

The campaign of hate is apparently not over yet, said Kyle Knight, LGBT-rights researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report, in a statement to media.

Lies Marcoes, an anthropologist and Muslim feminist, says sexual minorities and homosexual acts have long existed throughout the archipelago. The problem, I believe, is not cultural, but how LGBT has become a political commodity to discriminate, she tells TIME, adding that since the reform [era], the public space has become more conservative.

Read more: Inside Indonesias Islamic Boarding School for Transgender People

In mid-December, just weeks before the onslaught of anti-LGBT attacks began, Indonesian President Joko Widodo invited a group of comedians for dinner at the presidential palace. One of the stars that evening was Dorce Gamalama, a transgender woman whose jokes never failed to make Jokowi, as the President is widely known, burst into laughter. Yet, Jokowi himself has been silent about the LGBT controversy in the country.

At a time when LGBT Indonesians needed protection and public support, Jokowis government has cowered in the face of militant Islamists, Knight said.

The efforts to criminalize LGBT people through legal means are getting stronger, Agustine says, its based only on hatred.
LIMA  Belgian filmmaking brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are developing a drama about the rise of terrorism in Europe. We are writing the script now, and hope to shoot it in Belgium by the fall of next year, said Luc Dardenne, to whom the 20th Lima Film Festival is paying tribute. The still untitled project dovetails with the filmmaking duos penchant for stories about the working class and marginalized fringes of society.

As part of their tribute, Lima is screening a selection of the brothers most iconic pics, including their Cannes Palme dOr winners Rosetta and LEnfant as well as La Promesse and Cannes 2011 Grand Prix winner The Kid with a Bike.

Im very honored to be here to receive this homage, said Dardenne, who is visiting Lima for the first time.

Meanwhile, the brothers are co-producing $1.1 million dramedy Drole de Pere (roughly translated to Funny Dad) with Amelie Vanelbd at the helm, her second pic. Frances Pascal Caucheteux of Why Not Prods. is co-producing. Principal photography is expected to wrap by Aug. 13, said Dardenne, who added that Martin Scorcese holds the U.S. distribution rights to the pic. Dramedy revolves around a man who discovers the joys and challenges of paternity when he finds out he has a daughter.

The Dardennes are also co-producing Carnivore a dramedy about two sisters that Belgian actor-scribe Jeremie Renier, who starred in LEnfant and Kid with a Bike, and his brother, thesp Yannick Renier (Love Songs, Welcome) are co-directing and producing. Pic is currently in production.

We have been making documentaries for the past 30 years and fiction features for the past 15, said Dardenne who praises Marion Cotillard for her work ethic. She worked very hard to prepare for her role in Two Days, One Night, said Dardenne.

Cotillard received a Best Actress Academy Award nom for her role as a factory worker who has one weekend to convince her fellow workers to reject a bonus so that she wont be made redundant. Two Days, One Night competed for the Palme dOr in 2014, and won three major Magritte awards from Belgiums film academy, and represented the country at the 87th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language film.

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We issued an updated research report on LinkedIn Corporation LNKD on Aug 10.

LinkedIn, a leader in the emerging online professional networking segment, is enjoying increasing popularity and steady growth worldwide. The company recently disclosed better-than-expected results for the second quarter of 2016, wherein both the top and the bottom line witnessed strong year-over-year improvement.

Moreover, the company registered an 18% surge in the cumulative member count. We are also encouraged by top-line growth in the range of 3050% recorded over the past few quarters by this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company.

However, LinkedIn has neither updated its outlook for 2016 nor did it hold a conference call for the quarter, due to its pending merger with Microsoft Corp. MSFT. Notably, the two companies entered into a merger agreement on Jun 11, under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for a total cash consideration of approximately $26.2 billion.

LinkedIns traction in the mobile segment has been particularly impressive owing primarily to the launch of its applications for Apples AAPL iPhones and Android-based smartphones. Synergies from its acquisitions  Lynda.com, Newsle and Bizo  are expected to garner additional bottom-line accretion through targeted marketing strategies over the long term, apart from enhancing user experience.

We believe that LinkedIns initiatives to boost advertising revenues through product launches and partnership programs are commendable. Meanwhile, advertisers are also taking note of the companys growing user base, in our view.

Further, LinkedIns investments in strategic products are essential as its peers like Facebook FB and Twitter have already started looking for opportunities to expand in the professional networking space.

On the flip side, continued investments in new and improved products and services might dent LinkedIns profits in the short term, even though over the long run, these investments will drive member growth and user engagement.

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ELKO, NV / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2016 / Lithium Corporation (LTUM) "the Company" is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Tamarind Investments Inc., wherein Tamarind agrees to provide advice, and render assistance to the Company with respect to public relations, transaction structuring, and ongoing introductions to investors for the next year.

Tamarind is based in Kowloon, Hong Kong and focuses primarily on the Pacific Rim countries. The terms of the agreement, provide for Tamarind to receive payment for their services in 3 tranches for a total of 1 million shares over the next six months. These shares are restricted with the restriction on the first tranche of 334,000 shares anticipated to be removed in early October.

For further information with regard to Lithium Corporation, please contact Tom Lewis or Brian Goss at (775) 410-2206 or via email at info@lithiumcorporation.com

About Lithium Corporation

Lithium Corporation is an exploration company based in Nevada devoted to the exploration for energy storage related resources throughout North America, looking to capitalize on opportunities within the ever expanding next generation battery markets. The Company maintains a strategic alliance with Altura Mining, an ASX listed natural resource development company that is currently developing its 100% owned world-class Pilgangoora lithium pegmatite property in Western Australia.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This current report contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of minerals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: Lithium Corporation
By Sinead Cruise and Andrew MacAskill

LONDON (Reuters) - Top investors in Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) are concerned that chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio might leave the bank sooner than anticipated following press scrutiny of his private life and want its board to start looking for his successor.

After a stellar 2015, which saw Lloyds swing back to profit, restore dividends and millions of British government shares sold to private owners, 2016 has been less auspicious for the Portuguese banker, who took the top job five years ago.

Britain's vote to leave the European Union in June and the Bank of England base rate cut that followed has put Lloyds' ambitious profit and dividend targets under strain, and cast fresh doubts about when the government might be able to recoup the last of the taxpayer cash used in its 2008 bailout.

Then on Wednesday, Lloyds was forced to defend Horta-Osorio's expenses after The Sun newspaper, published by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSA.O), carried a front-page story alleging the married chief executive ran up a 3,826 pound ($4,962) hotel bill while spending time with another woman.

The intense scrutiny of his private life has led some investors to fear Horta-Osorio could quit before the task of restructuring Britain's biggest mortgage lender is complete.

"It is definitely something the board should be thinking hard about," one of the bank's top 20 shareholders said, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

"It's a concern allied to the fact that the job for next couple of years is going to be harder than he thought now."

Lloyds said its chairman Norman Blackwell had reviewed the allegations and was satisfied Horta-Osorio had paid his own personal expenses while attending a Singapore conference.

"Antonio has the full confidence and backing of the Board in his role as Chief Executive, and he remains committed to the bank and delivering on its strategic ambitions," a spokeswoman said in a statement on Thursday. Horta-Osorio was unavailable for comment, the spokeswoman said.

Story continues

The tabloid story follows disappointing corporate headlines for Lloyds after it announced a further 3,000 cuts from its 75,000-strong workforce and plans to close 200 branches by the end of next year. It is already part-way through culling 9,000 jobs and has closed nearly 100 branches so far in 2016.

Its shares have tumbled by almost 25 percent this year and it now faces millions of pounds of unexpected compensation payouts linked to its role in Britain's payment protection insurance scandal after a claims deadline extension.

Lloyds said last month that Britain's financial watchdog was also investigating how it treated customers who had difficulty repaying mortgages.

BENCH PRESSED

Lloyds was quick to reassure staff that Horta-Osorio hadn't broken any rules and was committed to the bank, an internal memo distributed on Wednesday said.

"To have people dig into your private life like that has been a source of enormous embarrassment," a second shareholder said, adding "whether that is enough to drive him out, I don't know. One would hope that he would get on with the job".

A senior source at the bank told Reuters that succession planning for all senior Lloyds executives was a regular board agenda item and has been handled diligently for some time.

However, shareholders remain concerned about the bench-strength of the Lloyds executive team and several who spoke to Reuters called on the board to review its options without delay.

"There's not been an obvious internal successor since Alison Brittain left to run Whitbread," one of the shareholders said.

And investment managers who have met with senior Lloyds staff in recent weeks say they have seen a slump in morale since the Brexit vote, which forced the government to postpone selling its remaining Lloyds shares.

"I got the impression that people were feeling pretty good about things pre the referendum, seeing the prospect of getting the government stake cleared, but that was derailed," a source at another of the bank's 20 largest investors said.

Market, regulatory and compliance pressures have compounded share price woes and a poor public image of bankers since the financial crisis, making it tough to find bank CEO applicants.

"I don't see being the CEO of a UK focused bank - or any bank for that matter - as that attractive at the moment."

(Editing by Alexander Smith)
ADDING MULTIMEDIA Bynder Puts Branding Automation on the Map with $22.3 Million (20M) in Series A Funding

Bynder, the branding automation company, today announces $22.3m (20m) in Series A funding from Insight Venture Partners, a New York-based venture capital and private equity firm.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160810006237/en/

Bynder CEO Chris Hall (News - Alert) celebrates with team following the company's Series A funding $22.3m (20m) from Insight Venture Partners. The funding is a milestone for the 'branding automation' category as marketers seek a solution to deliver brand consistency across all channels and international markets at the touch of a button. | www.bynder.com | @getbynder (Photo: Business Wire)

The funding is a milestone for the 'branding automation' category as marketers seek a solution to deliver brand consistency across all channels and international markets at the touch of a button. The capital will be used to continue international growth and to support further product development enabling brands globally to easily create, find and use digital content. Jeff Horing, Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners will join the company's Board of Directors.

Global brands are experiencing exponential demand for more content across increasingly automated channels in order to meet business goals. Research shows that 50% of marketers have more digital content than they can effectively manage at the moment, and over half (53%) spend more time on the operational details of managing content, rather than aligning their daily tactics to business strategy.







Bynder develops marketing software that empowers marketers to easily create, find and use their content. Through an intuitive, customized online portal, marketing departments and their agencies are able to collaborate from any location, anytime in order to create, design, share and approve collateral, as well as reshape graphics and videos. In addition, Bynder's solution is a trusted and secure host for intellectual property.

Chris Hall, Founder and CEO of Bynder comments, "What Salesforce did for sales tech, Bynder can do for brands. The cloud is allowing marketers to work faster and smarter, freeing up time for creative and strategic initiatives instead of repetitive administrative tasks. Branding automation lets marketers respond to real-time issues because there is a foundation for brand materials, which is accessible and consistent across the business. This new category of Mar-Tech will be a game changer for any brand."

With headquarters in Amsterdam, the platform services over 150,000 users across more than 350 brands around the globe including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Logitech (News - Alert) and AkzoNobel. Recently, the company has seen increased innovation in product development and has doubled its headcount for its research and development and customer success teams. Overall staff levels have increased from 1 to 200 in just three years. In June, Bynder announced its newest office in Dubai to support continued growth within the Middle East and its growing customer base in the region.

Hall adds, "Starting out as a small European business, we had to concentrate on the fundamentals: developing a great product; looking after our people; and running a tight ship. There's a shifting tide in investment towards rewarding closely managed businesses and there's no doubt that's been our focus from the outset. We can now use this investment to accelerate profitable growth."

"Bynder is a clear innovator in the branding automation market," said Jeff Horing, Managing Director, Insight Venture Partners. "We share their vision for comprehensive brand management technology that enables teams to seamlessly communicate as they create content. We are pleased to partner with Bynder's executive leadership team in this new phase of growth."

About Bynder

Bynder is award-winning marketing software that allows brands to easily create, find and use content, such as documents, graphics and videos. More than 150,000 brand managers, marketers and creatives use Bynder's brand portals every day to collaborate globally, produce, review and approve new marketing collateral, and circulate company content at the click of a button. Brands using Bynder go to market faster and achieve end-to-end brand consistency across all channels and regions, with simplified collaboration across the organization.

Bynder delivers the most advanced branding automation solution, empowering over 350 companies globally including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Logitech, and Puma.

Founded in 2013 by CEO Chris Hall, Bynder is established globally with headquarters in Amsterdam and offices across the Netherlands, UK, US, Spain and UAE.

About Insight Venture Partners

Insight Venture Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight has raised more than $13 billion and invested in more than 250 companies worldwide. Our mission is to find, fund and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on growth expertise to foster long-term success. For more information on Insight and all of its investments, visit http://www.insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert): @insightpartners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160810006237/en/
Two middle-class French girls fall prey to ISIL recruiters in Marie-Castille Mention-Schaars oh-so-earnest hot-button drama Heaven Will Wait. Designed as a warning to parents (do you know what your girls are up to?!), the film is armor-plated against criticism because negative evaluations could so easily be accused of suggesting that such things dont happen, when in truth the problem isnt the theme but its facile treatment. Including staged group-therapy meetings with real-life counselor Dounia Bouzar is meant to add to the authenticity, yet the ripped from the headlines sensationalizing combined with a dull genericism (not to mention unconvincing attempts at countering Islamophobia) mean Heaven Will Wait never rises above a TV issue-of-the-week broadcast. Still, the film will likely do decent European business given its topicality.

Audiences who can recall all those late-1970s, early-80s small screen dramas about young people drawn into cults will recognize the same tropes, here in spades, from the characterization of initially perfect teens turned into drones, to the heroic deprogrammers refusing to lose hope. Just as with her previous film, Once in a Lifetime, director and co-writer Mention-Schaar aims to recreate real events, yet telescoping characters means none of them feel remotely true, and the bland artificiality dressed up as authenticity will likely be sniggered at by the high school crowd.

Two cases are told in tandem, though the first is related in linear fashion while the second cuts unsatisfactorily between present, past, and future. At the start, Sonia Bouzaria (Noemie Merlant) is pulled from her bedroom by cops in protective gear, as parents Catherine (Sandrine Bonnaire) and Samir (Zinedine Soualem) look on in terrified bewilderment. They learn that their daughter was about to leave for Syria to join ISIL. Sentenced to a sort of in-house probation and forbidden to use the internet or phone, Sonia wildly tells her parents shes doing it to ensure the whole family will be together in Paradise.

In contrast to Sonias shifts from sullen to half-crazed and back, another teen, Melanie Thenot (Naomi Amarger), is the perfect daughter. She plays cello, she visits her granny, shes a social activist in school. Thats how it starts (parents, beware of your childs social activism!): She begins a texting relationship with a guy who uses the name Freedom Lover. In truth, hes an ISIL recruiter, getting her to watch videos about Palestinians, urging her to be modest, and making himself, all via text, her indispensable advisor and promised husband.

While Melanie is getting sucked in and Sonia is freaking out because shes trapped at home and cant get to Syria, an adult woman, Sylvie (Clotilde Courau), cuts her hair short and wanders about in a daze. Slowly it becomes clear that Sylvie is Melanies mom, and Melanie is awol. Along with other middle class parents of children whove unexpectedly decamped to ISIL, Sylvie attends group therapy with Bouzar, whos trying to help families understand what happened to their kids, and to deprogram those like Melanie, saved before boarding the plane.

Unsurprisingly, Bouzar is the only figure here who seems genuine. Sonia is angry, occasionally frightened, but has no depth, and Melanies leap from goody-goody to niqab-wearing fanatic doesnt feel remotely believable. No one can deny that ISIL is doing a terrifyingly good job at recruiting vulnerable European teens, but Heaven Will Wait simplifies and compresses so it all feels merely melodramatic. In addition, Mention-Schaar tosses in a few generically positive words from Bouzar about Islam, yet then includes an unequivocally Islamophobic scene with Melanie racing home to pray as the soundtrack fills with a muezzins chant accompanied by a thunderstorm.

Scenes like that rub shoulders with a shot of Sonia, liberated from her ISIL urges, breathing in the air of freedom as she leans her head out a car window (the hackneyed image incongruously also turns up on the poster). Performances are sincere but leave no lasting impression apart from Merlants fuming, while the visuals are standard.

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When Touched by an Angel premiered in 1994, critics were less than impressed with the heavenly CBS drama.

Despite the dismissive reviews, this sweet saga with fetching Irish lass Roma Downey as the novice angel, saucy Della Reese as the elder angel, and Bradley Cooper look-alike John Dye as the Angel of Death would charm viewers for nine seasons, scoring as a top-10 series for four years. At its height, Touched by an Angel reached more than 21 million total viewers a week and remained popular through syndication and DVD releases.

The series got off to a rocky start in the ratings, and a second season was far from a sure thing. Second chances were a big theme in this series, and the show made the most of its own when CBS took a leap of faith after a massive viewer campaign, in which devoted fans swarmed the network with impassioned letters praising the show, and renewed it for a second season.

While most remember doves, floppy hats, and Monica (Downey) as a sort of Mary Poppins/Maria von Trapp of Angels who took off her shoes at the drop of a parable, the hope-filled series inspired viewers with tales that warmed like moms chicken soup.

Faith doesnt get you around trouble, it gets you through it, Monica says in The Big Bang episode.

Spirited Statistics Touched by an Angel had a loyal following of fans, inspiring audiences and enchanting critics. $21m Number of viewers who tuned it to watch the seriesTouched by an Angel at the height of its popularity. 9 Numbert of seasons Touched by an Angel ran on CBS. 221 Total number of episodes of Touched by an Angel, which ran from 1994-2003. 1996 The year the Touched by an Angel spin-off, Promised Land, debuted on CBS. Series ran for three seasons.

Showrunner Martha Williamson offered up a sweet confection, but that didnt stop her from tackling some major issues such as slavery in the Sudan, school children killed in an explosion and a womans place in the church.

Story continues

Monica couldnt carry a tune, but she always sang the praises of Gods promise. She even performed a few miracles and appeared as her celestial self, including soaring over a troubled congregation in her angelic form while the choir sang the full Hallelujah Chorus.

Viewers were charmed by the weekly cases where the angels often learned lessons as well as those they helped. Some of the more interesting guest stars included Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, and even Mohammad Ali.

Faith-based programming had some success on TV, including Michael Landons NBC drama Highway to Heaven in 1984-89 and later the WBs 7th Heaven, which ran for 11 seasons. Recently, theres a been a bit of a Bible boom that included Hollywoods highest-profile Christians, Downey and her husband,

Survivor creator Mark Burnett, creating the highly rated series The Bible, and less success-ful A.D.

Yet Touched by an Angel endures in the public consciousness like none of the others.

The iconic Touched by an Angel might have played heavily on the heartstrings, but there was always some grit that gave the series an enduring quality that still holds up.

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Lusaka (AFP) - The front-runners in Zambia's presidential election on Thursday are incumbent Edgar Lungu and rags-to-riches businessman Hakainde Hichilema -- two adversaries who battled it out only last year.

Lungu won that election by fewer than 28,000 votes, securing the right to complete the final months of the term of his predecessor who died in office.

- Edgar Lungu -

Lungu, 59, is a trained lawyer who emerged as the unlikely victor of a bruising struggle to lead the Patriotic Front (PF) party after the death of president Michael Sata in 2014.

Previously a low-profile defence and justice minister, he has used his short time in power to present himself as the rightful heir to Sata, who enjoyed widespread popularity.

Demonstrating his tough streak, Lungu has given angry campaign speeches, vowing to "sacrifice democracy for peace" to preserve Zambia's relative stability.

But he has taken over at a tricky time for the Zambian economy, as the price of copper -- the country's key export -- has fallen sharply, and he faces a difficult election.

Lungu was born in 1956 in Chadiza in eastern Zambia and is from the minority Nsenga ethnic group, often describing himself as a non-tribal Zambian from an ordinary background.

He graduated with a law degree from the University of Zambia in 1981 and also underwent training as a military officer.

Lungu cut his political teeth at the United Party for National Development (UPND), but in 2001 he quit to form the PF with Sata.

After the PF first came to power in 2011, he rose to be home affairs minister.

On social issues he revealed a conservative side after the arrest of two Zambian gay men in 2013.

"Those advocating gay rights should go to hell," he said. "That issue is foreign to this country."

After two previous presidents died in office, his health has been in focus.

He suffers from recurring achalasia, a condition caused by narrowing of the oesophagus, and was flown to South Africa for treatment last year after collapsing in public.

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He is married, with six children, and is now a grandfather.

- Hakainde Hichilema -

Hakainde Hichilema, 54, who represents the United Party for National Development (UPND), is a self-made entrepreneur making his fifth attempt at the Zambian presidency.

Known as "HH", he alleged that the 2015 election was stolen from him by fraud, although he appealed to his supporters to stay peaceful.

Now he expects to succeed at last, despite accusing the authorities of undermining his campaign by banning rallies and allowing violent attacks on his activists.

An articulate speaker, Hichilema has drawn large crowds to his rallies, run a slick social media campaign and worked hard to shed his image as an elitist lacking the common touch.

He was born to a poor family in the southern district of Monze, but says his "grit and determination" at school won him a priceless scholarship to the University of Zambia where he graduated in 1986 in economics and business administration.

He then took at MBA degree at the University of Birmingham in Britain.

He started off small, buying and selling houses, eventually becoming one of the country's richest businessmen with major interests in finance, ranching, property, healthcare and tourism.

At the age of 32, he was Zambia CEO of Coopers and Lybrand consultancy accountants, and he has sat on the boards of several large Zambian corporations.

Hichilema has promised to build a business-friendly Zambia and attract investment, while at the same time pledging to alleviate hardship among the country's millions of poor.

On his campaign website he describes himself as a "Christian and a philanthropist" who funds clinics, schools, boreholes and dam building.

His campaign slogan has been "HH will fix it", although many of his posters in Lusaka have been vandalised.

He is married and has a daughter and two sons.
(Corrects third paragraph to show Patriarch Partners stepped down as collateral manager. An earlier version said Patriarch was removed)

By Tom Hals

DOVER, Del., Aug 10 (Reuters) - Embattled investor Lynn Tilton defended herself in a Delaware court on Wednesday against allegations that she had not disclosed the complex holdings of $2.5 billion distressed debt funds that she lost control of this year.

The flamboyant Tilton testified for five hours about complex loan vehicles known as the Zohar funds that she created more than a decade ago. The funds have financed her investments in ailing companies such as Dura Automotive Systems, earning her the title of "Diva of Distressed."

However, after one of the three Zohar funds defaulted, Tilton's Patriarch Partners investment firm stepped down as the collateral manager and was replaced by restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal in March.

In April, A&M sued Patriarch to get access to documents on the Zohar collateral.

Tilton testified in Delaware's Court of Chancery that A&M had all the documents it needed.

She said some Zohar holdings included the equity of borrowers, and those borrowers were also companies in the Patriarch Partners portfolio. Tilton said the Zohar funds did not have to provide stockholding details to A&M, because she retained control over the equity.

Tilton declined to comment after the close of the two-day trial.

A lawyer for A&M said he looked forward to a ruling granting access to the Zohar documents.

"This trial demonstrates that Ms. Tilton has been playing a shell game with valuable assets," said Michael Carlinsky of the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan law firm.

A&M's Bryan Marsal, testifying by video link from Paris, said "there was a complete lack of transparency" by Patriarch and that the firm "had a history of not living up to what it promised."

Tilton said things soured with Marsal after he questioned her resolve.

"He told me to toughen up," she testified. "He told me I was all drama, drama, drama."

Story continues

Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights said the dispute stemmed from a lack of trust. "It is a bit perplexing to me that two parties that on the surface appear to have almost entirely identical interests are not able to sit in a room and just figure out an exchange of information."

He said he would hear closing arguments in September.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has brought a fraud suit against Tilton and Patriarch and accused them of hiding the poor performance of assets underlying the Zohar funds and allegedly collected nearly $200 million in improper fees.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by David Gregorio)
[August 11, 2016] NoviFlow Announces Release of NoviWare 400 With Support for OpenFlow 1.5

NoviFlow Inc., a leading provider of high-performance OpenFlow-based switching solutions, today announced the launch of its NoviWare 400 switching software. This is the newest release in NoviFlow's industry leading high-performance OpenFlow 1.3/1.4/1.5 switching software for use in switches, WAN IP/MPLS routers, network appliances and other high-performance forwarding planes. The software is deployed around the world in NoviFlow's NoviSwitch products and is also offered via software license to OEM and ODM switching platform suppliers. NoviWare 400 consists of all the software necessary for a pure-play OpenFlow switch, and currently supports Mellanox NP-4 and NP-5 network processors and Intel (News - Alert) or PowerPC host CPUs. According to Dominique Jodoin, president and CEO of NoviFlow: "Whether deployed in NoviFlow's NoviSwitch products, or integrated as part of our OEM customers' own offering, NoviWare is providing a real high-performance software solution for OpenFlow enabled switches, routers and other network appliances. We are pleased that our network processor-based switches and software are becoming key elements in the deployment of scalable, robust, and high-demand SDN, cloud, and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) solutions." NoviWare 400 provides the industry's broadest support of the OpenFlow 1.3 and 1.4 specifications, including all actions, instructions and match fields. It has also been extended to support key OpenFlow 1.5 features such as the highly anticipated Copy-Fields action, as well as other new features that significantly boost the performance of OpenFlow based applications, such as a hashing function on user-defined ordered lists, MPLS payload matching and broader encapsulation/decapsulation support for layer 2 tunneling protocols.



In order to offer the Copy-Fields action to existing customers who do not have the option of using OpenFlow 1.5, NoviFlow has implemented the Copy-Field action on as an OpenFlow Experimenter action to offer SDN applications this functionality with OpenFlow 1.3, 1.4 AND 1.5 controllers. Key features of NoviWare 400 include:

Implements all required and optional OpenFlow 1.3/1.4 match fields (41 of 41) and instructions (6 of 6) as well as 59 out of 60 actions and basic support of OF 1.5 (Copy-Fields action)

required and optional OpenFlow 1.3/1.4 match fields (41 of 41) and instructions (6 of 6) as well as 59 out of 60 actions and basic support of OF 1.5 (Copy-Fields action) Linux-based NoviWare host CPU software for PowerPC or Intel i7

Multiple OpenFlow Controllers and Controller role-changes

Support for OpenFlow pipeline processing with up to 120 flow tables, with up to 1 million wildcard match flow table entries in TCAM and up to 15 million exact match flow entries in DRAM

OpenFlow queues and meters for implementation of QoS mechanisms

Extensive O&M features optimized for large scale deployment of OpenFlow switches in carrier, cloud and enterprise networks

OpenFlow Experimenter-based extensions: - L2-L7 matching, packet processing and flow management

- Experimenter action for Hash on user-defined ordered list of OpenFlow fields. Can be used to load balance in Select Group (all products) and in LAG (2000 Series only) or in the copy-field action

- Copy-Field action based on OF1.5 also supported on OF1.3 to 1.5 through OpenFlow Experimenter action

- Experimenter MPLS payload matching

- L2 GRE/GTP/VxLAN/MPLS tunneling protocol encapsulation/decapsulation

- BFD Link Monitoring Says Jodoin: "NoviWare 400 provides a smooth path to using OpenFlow 1.5 capabilities without requiring that existing solutions be upgraded to OpenFlow 1.5 Controllers. It continues NoviFlow's proven track record of delivering the most advanced OpenFlow capabilities available in the market while protecting existing OpenFlow investments, and is being deployed with confidence in commercial networks around the world." NoviWare 400 is shipping now. NoviFlow will demonstrate its advanced OpenFlow solutions at its booth at the SDN World Congress in the Hague, Netherlands, October 10th to 14th, 2016. For more information on NoviFlow high-performance OpenFlow 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 switching products visit: http://noviflow.com/products/our-products/ ABOUT NOVIFLOW

NoviFlow Inc. provides high-performance OpenFlow-based switching solutions to network carriers, data center operators and enterprises seeking greater control and flexibility over their networks. NoviFlow has offices in Montreal, Sunnyvale and Seattle. For more information, visit www.noviflow.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @NoviFlowInc. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005701/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Macau billionaire accused of bribing a former United Nations General Assembly president on Thursday accused the U.S. government of prosecuting him for geopolitical reasons to slow China's influence over developing nations. In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for real estate developer Ng Lap Seng said the case appeared intended to silence his advocacy for a conference center in Macau, which would have given developing nations a permanent meeting venue in China. Ng and his assistant, Jeff Yin, were charged last year for engaging in a bribery scheme with former U.N. General Assembly President John Ashe. Prosecutors said Ng gave Ashe more than $500,000 in bribes so the diplomat, among other things, would seek U.N. support for the conference center, which Ng's company, Sun Kian Ip Group, would develop. Classified documents and the authorities' focus on whether an associate of Ng was a Chinese agent demonstrated the U.S. government's motives in charging him, Ng's lawyers wrote. "All these circumstances strongly suggest that the prosecution of Mr. Ng is not, and never was, about policing the integrity of U.N. operations," they wrote. Ashe, a former U.N. ambassador from Antigua and Barbuda who served as General Assembly president from 2013 to 2014, died in June while awaiting trial. Ng, who before his arrest sat on the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an adviser to the government, is scheduled to face trial in January. "The U.S. geopolitical interest in slowing the progress of Chinese influence over developing nations has been achieved," Ng's lawyers wrote. A Spokesman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, whose office is prosecuting the case, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The motion sought documents that Ng's lawyers said prosecutors had refused to hand over. It was accompanied by a transcript of an Federal Bureau of Investigation interview with Ng conducted after his September 2015 arrest on earlier charges. His lawyers said the FBI's questions focused less on bribery and more on identifying an individual whom Ng called his partner and determining whether Ng knew whether that person was a Chinese agent. Ng, who was previously connected to a 1990s campaign finance scandal during President Bill Clinton's administration, in the interview also discussed having met Clinton, along with members of Congress and President Barack Obama. "A friend said, 'You want to speak to U.S. President?'" Ng said through an interpreter. "I said, 'Yeah, of course, first black President.'" (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool)
Macys is planning on closing a ton of their stores, and this makes us feel sad

Macys is planning on closing a ton of their stores, and this makes us feel sad

Uh oh. Its time to say goodbye to one of the most major stores in the country, or, well, some of them. Macys recently announced plans to shut down a ton of storesabout 100, in order to switch gears a bit. Its actually so sad considering what a role the department store plays in our lives, from the Thanksgiving parade to that fun and funky time they dumped Trumps clothing collection (yeah, that really happened).

According to The Wall Street Journal, the shutdown results from suffering stocks (the stock is down 42% in the last year), declines in sales, and a desire to get more competitive.

We operate in a fast-changing world, said Macys Chief Executive Terry Lundgren explained. This involves doing things differently and making tough decisions.

It seems to have a lot to do with maintaining ground with competitors, and making sure they reverse the struggles theyre seeing in terms of sales. Considering that so many of us now solely shop online, its not surprising that actual, real-life stores are suffering.

Macys finance chief Karen Hoguet explained, By closing weaker stores and monetizing some of our real estate where the redevelopment opportunities are significant, we will grow faster and we will produce higher return on invested capital.

Its sad, and scary for all those employees. Still, weve grown used to seeing stores shutting down left and right, from Borders to the flagship of Toys R Us to the original American Apparel. Gap made a similar move last year when they cut a huge number of stores totaling close to 200. On the bright side, at least were not losing Macys completely. And, hey, nothing could be worse than when we thought Trader Joes was disappearing from our lives.

The post Macys is planning on closing a ton of their stores, and this makes us feel sad appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Macy's july 11

Macy's wants to fix a problem.

Macy's CFO Karen Hoguet said (via Sarah Halzack) that "this country is over stored, giving evolving customer shopping habits."

Further, Macy's is cutting about 100 stores.

Macy's has 728 stores, 675 of which are full line stores.

Hoguet said on the call that this was in order to "bring the shopping experience to a consistently higher level and concentrate Macy's stores and locations with better potential."

In other words: Macy's would rather have fewer, but better, stores.

After all, a recent visit to the Herald Square location revealed even the flagship is a mess.

Closing stores "is a big step and not one that we take lightly," Hoguet said on an earnings call on Thursday morning. "We believe that it's critical to re position the company or the future but that still doesn't make it easy."

The company is already looking into selling its San Francisco men's store in Union Square.

"This store would be redeveloped for alternative use and our men's business would be recombined into our main Union Square store."

She said that company is looking into opportunities in other flagship stores, like Herald Square, downtown Minneapolis and the upper floors of the State Street store in Chicago.

Hoguet said that Macy's needed "to reinvent our company," and that the retail sector "every 5-7 years also needs to be reinvented" as a ways to respond to what customers want.

It is unclear if closing stores will salvage the business.

"Closing stores is all well and good, but alone it is not sufficient to save Macys. As such, we are encouraged by the fact that Macys sees this move as part of a wider program to reinvent itself and will direct the savings from shuttered stores into its remaining locations," Neil Saunders, CEO of consulting firm Conlumino wrote in a note to clients. "Execution will be critical: Macys simply cannot afford to get this wrong or to skimp on its reinvention."

Story continues

"Retail is changing, there's no doubt about it," Hoguet said on the call.

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[August 11, 2016] SDI Awarded Security Upgrade Project at Charleston's Monrovia Industrial Property

CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SDI (SDI Presence LLC), the mission-critical IT systems integrator, has been selected to install the security technology environment for the Raven Cliff Company's Pacific Box and Crate project, to enhance the property's access control, video management systems and intrusion detection systems during its redevelopment. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397470 The 9.3 acre property, which backs up to U.S. Interstate 26, includes an 80,000-square-foot warehouse that once housed Geer Drug Co. and, more recently, Dixie Box and Crating as well as two new 20,000 square-foot buildings currently under construction. The redeveloped warehouse and new standalone buildings will include both office and restaurant space. SDI will implement new security technology throughout the property, includig installing an access control system, cameras, and alarm panels. "This is another opportunity for us here at SDI to show our strength in deploying seamless and user-friendly security platforms for our customers," states Todd Smith, VP of Eastern Region Operations. "We appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate why SDI is one of the most trusted security implementers in the industry."



SDI's Charleston office is home to the firm's Center of Excellence for integrated security technology, offering a hybrid security and IT skill set that significantly reduces risks and optimizes performance when integrating security technology into enterprise environments. Charleston's team includes an in-house team of security systems engineers, infrastructure technicians and a field services team that is highly-certified in leading video, access control, alarm security products. SDI's Charleston technical team provides turnkey security technology services for several regional airports, universities, as well as one of the nation's largest commercial banks. Related Links

SDI Charleston: Security Center of Excellence SDI LinkedIn This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sdi-awarded-security-upgrade-project-at-charlestons-monrovia-industrial-property-300312434.html SOURCE SDI Presence LLC

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Macy's (NYSE:M) reported Thursday fiscal second-quarter sales and earnings that topped analysts' expectations, as shoppers responded to the department store's steep discounts. Yet with sales still on the decline, the retailer said it will shutter 100 locations to focus on its best-performing stores.

The company's shares shot more than 16 percent higher in early trading.

"Whenever there's been a setback in our company, we've been first in the industry to take a very aggressive stance at moving us forward," CEO Terry Lundgren told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "That's just part of it. By closing 100 stores we're getting out in front of this."

Macy's reported earnings, excluding charges, of 54 cents per share, on revenue of $5.87 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of 45 cents a share on $5.75 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

In the prior-year period, the department store reported earnings per share of 64 cents, on an adjusted basis, on revenue of $6.10 billion.

Macy's reiterated its full-year guidance, which calls for earnings per share of $3.15 to $3.40, and same-store sales to fall between 3 percent and 4 percent. It expects better performance in the fourth quarter, thanks to easier comparisons.

During the fiscal second quarter, Macy's comparable sales fell 2 percent, aided by the closing of 41 underperforming stores. Retail Metrics had been forecasting a 4.4 percent decline in comparable sales.



"A number of factors worked in our favor in the second quarter, including a normalized weather pattern, which contributed to a sales lift in our apparel business in particular," Lundgren said. "We also saw a smaller decrease in tourist spending during prime summer travel months, supported by strengthened promotional events designed to increase customer traffic and conversion."



Sales on international credit cards slipped 12 percent during the quarter, compared with a 20 percent drop in the prior three-month period. Tourism accounts for roughly 5 percent of Macy's annual sales.

Story continues

Revenue from the struggling apparel category likewise improved during the quarter, a trend the company attributed to better merchandise and more favorable weather. They were just shy of turning positive. Better-than-expected sales during the quarter likewise helped the company clear through excess inventories while preserving more gross margin than management originally expected.

Lundgren said he's confident about consumers' ability to spend moving forward, pointing to growth in auto sales and home improvement.

"This is good news," he told CNBC. "They don't need another car. They don't need to fix their home anymore... So it's my turn. It's our turn."

Most of the 100 stores the company plans to close will be shuttered in early 2017, with the remainder shutting down as leases and other obligations expire or are waived. The locations of these stores will be released at a later date.

Nearly all the stores are cash-flow positive, but "their volume and profitability in most cases have been declining steadily in recent years," said Macy's President Jeff Gennette, who will assume the CEO role from Lundgren in 2017. In some cases, the stores are not performing worse than the overall fleet, but their potential value from redevelopment exceeds their value as a retail store.

Macy's will also close a few stores where there is another location nearby. After these stores close, the retailer will retain a physical footprint in 49 of the top 50 U.S. markets based on population. The company will use the savings from its store closings to focus on its "highest-potential locations," and invest "more aggressively in digital and mobile," Gennette said.

Macy's estimates the annual sales volume it would lose from these 100 stores combined is roughly $1 billion after factoring the revenue it expects to retain due to nearby stores and the web. The reduction in EBITDA is expected to be offset by expense savings beyond those associated with the store closings. The company will outline those savings in the future.

The company will incur charges of $249 million in the second quarter. These charges include a preliminary estimate of upcoming store closings this year and beyond. As further decisions are made, Macy's will update this amount.



Employees impacted by the store closings may be offered positions in nearby stores. Eligible employees who are laid off will be offered severance benefits.



"Although this is partly a reaction to being in a tough competitive position within the landscape, they are being more offensive than most, and this is the right move," Citi analyst Paul Lejuez said. "It is not only good for Macy's but also for the industry."



The retailer will meanwhile continue looking for ways to monetize its store fleet, including exploring opportunities its New York City, downtown Minneapolis and downtown Chicago flagships. It is in negotiations to sell its Union Square men's store in San Francisco for redevelopment. Macy's is also in early talks about potential joint ventures and other strategic alliances with several potential partners.

Macy's operates 728 stores, including 675 of its traditional full-price locations. It has shuttered roughly 90 Macy's stores over the past six years, and opened 13 new locations. It opened six off-price Macy's Backstage stores in 2015 and is also expanding the footprint for its Bluemercury beauty chain.

The company lowered its full-year forecast in May, after reporting its steepest quarterly same-store sales decline since the recession . At that time, the company warned that sluggish sales in warm-weather clothing would weigh on its sales and margins in the second quarter, as it would be forced into additional discounting.

The bar also came down at that time for its full-year comparable sales. Its previous estimates called for a 1 percent drop in same-store sales, and earnings of between $3.80 and $3.90 a share.

The company announced in June that Lundgren would step down from his role in 2017 , and be succeeded by Gennette.





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* Malaysia palm producers could look for new markets in Africa

* Would be expanding presence in world's No.3 mkt for palm oil

* Indonesia has increased dominance of major palm markets in Asia

By Emily Chow

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil producers could be forced to find new customers in places like Africa as rival exporter Indonesia increases its dominance of major markets such as China and India due to cheaper prices and a more-favourable tax system.

Malaysia has long-trailed Indonesia as the world's No.2 producer and exporter of the edible oil, used in everything from chocolate to soap, mainly because of lower land and labour costs in its larger Southeast Asian neighbor.

But the introduction of more competitive levies on palm exports from Indonesia in July last year has further entrenched that country's dominance of export markets, according to analysts and industry officials.

"In the long run, we have to work very hard to secure other markets which Indonesia is not competing with us in. Indonesia will go to the big markets like China, Pakistan and Bangladesh," Mohammad Jaaffar Ahmad, the head of the Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia, told Reuters earlier this week.

"If you are no longer competitive you have to look for other small market outlets like countries in Africa. Demand is still there but the market is more difficult and risky."

Africa is the third largest consumer market for palm oil after Southeast Asia and South Asia. It accounted for about 13 percent of Malaysian shipments last year, with Benin, Nigeria and Tanzania as key export countries.

"(Indonesia is) a much bigger player, it is a volumes game in this picture," said David Ng, derivatives specialist at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian palm exports totalled 17.5 million tonnes in 2015, 9 million tonnes less than Indonesia's.

"Pakistan and Bangladesh are emerging quite substantially in palm oil demand and they are price-sensitive, so they will start shifting to Indonesia along with China and India," Ng added.

Story continues

Indonesian refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) crude palm olein has this year been selling at a discount of around $10 to $20 to average Malaysian prices, traders said. Olein is the fluid part of palm oil.

Chinese imports of Malaysian palm fell 14.6 percent in 2015 from the year before to 2.4 million tonnes, while its purchases from Indonesia jumped 40 percent to 3.4 million tonnes.

Palm production is a key part of Malaysia's economy, accounting for nearly 6 percent of its total exports last year. ($1 = 3.9880 ringgit)

(Reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Joseph Radford)
The best film prize at the upcoming Malaysia Film Festival will after all be open to all Malaysian-made films whatever their languages.

The Communications and Multimedia minister Salleh Said Keruak stepped in on Wednesday to reverse a recent decision that sparked a row within the film industry, splitting it partly along racial lines.

Following the Wednesday ruling, the best film, best director and best screenplay prizes will no longer only be linguistically defined. However, the ministry has asked the Malaysia National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) to create a new category for best film in the national language. FINAS said that it will hold a board meeting to enact Keruaks changes.

The row erupted when the 28-year old festival and awards, set for Sept. 1-3, introduced new rules that made the three top categories only open to films made in Bahasa Malaysia. Malaysia has a mixed race population and increasing numbers of film makers are working in Chinese and Tamil. According to the now debunked rule change, films shot in these languages could only compete for a best film non-Bahasa Malaysia prize.

The row sparked charges of protectionism for poor quality films and accusations of self interest as members of the producers guild were among the festivals selectors and had backed the recent change.

Segregation only lowers the bar for Malaysias already mediocre/non progressing film industry. Competition is needed to spur growth and keeps everyone on their toes, director Hafiz Ibrahim, told local media. The row also pitched the producers and directors guilds on one side and the screenwriters guild in the opposite camp.

One newspaper, The Malay Mail, suggested that some of the festivals co-organizers may now pull out, leaving the 2017 edition to be solely organized by FINAS.

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Soon after an Ohio man shot and killed his girlfriend Sunday, police tell PEOPLE he took her phone to post on her Facebook page:



"Never play games with someone emotions or cheat on them when they give you their all," 42-year-old Leonzo Bufford wrote on Keisha Betton's page, under her name and mostly in all-caps, police say.



"I'm done being lied to, that's why it happen," he wrote, they say.



And, in all-caps: "Please respect their love and devotion , someone will end up hurt or worse dead."



Bufford killed Betton, his 40-year-old girlfriend of two years, during a fight Sunday night  the first in three shootings that ended when Bufford took his own life as authorities began closing in, Elyria Police Department spokesman Capt. Chris Costantino tells PEOPLE. Fleeing from the scene of Betton's death, Bufford then attacked his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend, before being caught in Cleveland, where he killed himself, police say.



It all started with an argument over dinner.



"Apparently, [Bufford] felt that the victim was seeing someone else," Capt. Costantino says. "They had gone out to dinner Sunday night with his sitter and mother, and it seems the victim was on her phone throughout the meal, texting to someone. He was annoyed by this and confronted her when they eventually got home."



The couple argued for several minutes before Bufford walked to his car to retrieve a handgun, Costantino says. When he returned, he shot Betton several times in the torso, as her teenage daughters  ages 15 and 17  watched in horror.



Costantino says Bufford then grabbed Betton's phone and fled the scene, prompting an all-points bulletin for his vehicle.



 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.



As Bufford posted to Betton's page, under her name, one of Betton's friends commented back, suggesting Bufford kill himself, Costantino says. He replied, "I will." In another post on Betton's profile picture, Bufford wrote, "I'm done being lied to, that's why it happen," Costantino says.



Soon after finding Betton's lifeless body, detectives tried calling Bufford's cell phone, Costantino says. He answered.



"We asked him what was going on, and he said, 'I found out she was cheating on me and I shot her,' " Costantino says. "We asked him where he was headed, and he told us he was leaving the state."



But Bufford did not end up crossing state lines. Instead, he drove to South Euclid, where he shot his ex-girlfriend, Sophia Latimer, 50, and her new boyfriend, Darnell Strowder, 58, multiple times.



"He set a fire outside this house where his ex-girlfriend lives, to lure her out," Costantino tells PEOPLE. "Once they emerged from the home, he started shooting them."



Both Latimer and Strowder are expected to make full recoveries, Costantino says.



Police eventually caught up with Bufford's car in a parking lot in Cleveland, Costantino says. As officers approached the vehicle, they could see Bufford raise his gun to his temple before firing off a single shot.



His relatives told police they find his crime spree "very much out of character," Costantino says: "In talking to his family, who are nice people, we learned he was apparently a very passive individual. His mother and sister said this was very much out of character for him and that he turned away from physical altercations."



Costantino tells PEOPLE he's worried about the lasting effects Sunday's violence will have on Betton's daughters.



"These poor girls witnessed it, and one was about to jump out a second-story window to get away from Bufford," he says. "These girls will never be the same."
By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man who scaled Trump Tower in New York on Wednesday in a failed effort to meet the building's famous namesake will instead have a different sort of appointment: an arraignment in criminal court. Stephen Rogata, 19, was formally charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespass, New York City police said on Thursday, a day after he used suction cups to ascend the 68-story glass building in midtown Manhattan. The campaign headquarters for Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, are inside the tower, along with the penthouse condominium he calls home. Wearing a backpack, shorts and climbing equipment, Rogata spent two hours steadily moving up the glass facade as the New York Police Department's special operations division made repeated attempts to coax him into the building. The stunt drew hundreds of onlookers onto the sidewalks below and countless more to computer screens, where they watched as officers finally grabbed him and pulled him through a 21st-story window after removing the glass panel. In a video uploaded to YouTube a day earlier, Rogata, who lives in Great Falls, Virginia, addressed Trump, saying he was an "independent researcher" who needed a private audience with the billionaire to discuss an unspecified important matter. "The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," he said, before encouraging people to vote for Trump. Rogata was taken to a hospital for evaluation, police said. It was not clear when he would be arraigned. It was not known whether Rogata had a defense lawyer. "Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber," Trump tweeted on Wednesday night. (Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
By Gina Cherelus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 20-year-old Donald Trump supporter who scaled the Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday for three hours using suction cups and a climbing harness was pulled inside through a window by police who had tried to coax him into the building throughout the escapade.

The man reached the 21st story of the 58-story tower on Fifth Avenue which is headquarters for the election campaign of Donald Trump, the U.S. Republican presidential nominee.

As the climber from Virginia who wore a backpack scaled the tower's glass exterior, police removed large window panels above him and several officers, some wearing helmets, stood at the windows. The climber shifted his route several times in what appeared to be an attempt to get around the police.

At a news conference later the New York Police Department said the unidentified man did not express a desire to harm anyone and said his mission was to get a meeting with Trump.

The man was undergoing psychiatric evaluation and would be arrested, police said.

Police had earlier closed several streets near the building in one of the city's busiest areas and put an inflatable landing pad on East 56th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues.

The New York City Police Department said on Twitter that its special operations division and emergency crews had been sent to the building.

Reports of the climber first surfaced on Twitter and social media around 4 p.m. (2000 GMT). The police then tried to coax him inside, first by throwing a rope in his direction and then by opening a large grate directly above him.

In a video that was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, the man discussed climbing the tower in a message addressed to Trump. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt and long hair was over his eyes. He referred to himself as an "independent researcher" seeking a private audience with Trump to discuss an unspecified important matter.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," he said in the video and then encouraged people to vote for Trump.

(Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
Police are searching for an 18-year-old who allegedly busted his girlfriend out of a locked mental ward by threatening to kill two nurses.

Elliott Ravert brandished a handgun as he ordered staff to unlock the door at Philhaven Hospitals psychiatric facility on Tuesday night, Cornwall Borough Police in Pennsylvania said.

Read: Amputee Veterans Reveal Why They Showed Off Their Battle Scars In Latest Nude Photo Shoot

He fled with Alicia Buzzard, 21, who was being treated for bipolar disorder as well as several other psychological ailments, her family said.

Ravert and Buzzard had been friends for about three months, but the young womans parents had ordered Ravert to stay away after their relationship became sexual, Buzzards sister, Tiffany, told Lancaster Online.

They were starting to get physical and trying to have babies, Tiffany said. She stopped taking her medicine and threatened to kill herself."

Alicia had been at the facility for less than two weeks, her family said.

Police obtained an arrest warrant for Ravert on charges of robbery, aggravated assault and terroristic threats.

Buzzards mom, Jacqui Shay, said Alicia has the mind of a 12-year-old. She can be psychotic. She goes manic. I think shes probably a little scared. She doesnt like guns. She never wanted to shoot guns.

Read: John Kasich Didn't Speak To Younger Brother With Mental Illness For 19 Years

Police said they didnt know if Buzzard willingly left with Ravert.

Ravert drives a 2004 Chevy Avalanche and may have switched his Pennsylvania tags for Texas license plates, police said.

Authorities said they had no idea where he may have headed.

Watch: Alligator Bites Off Man's Arm After Mental Breakdown Near Lake, Cops Say

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A man leaped, pleaded and ran across the tarmac at Madrids Barajas Airport to catch his Ryanair flight to Gran Canaria on Saturday.

After missing his boarding time, the man found an open air bridge and jumped out. He landed the almost-10-foot drop with two bags in his hands and then tried to hitch a ride with a passing cart. When that didnt work, he resorted to running.

Airport workers captured the mans desperate, Mission Impossible-style scene almost in its entirety and uploaded the video to Facebook.

Right before the clip ends, the man is stopped by airport staff. But in a surprise plot twist, they directed him to his plane where he was miraculously allowed to board.

The passenger had a boarding card and went through security but he seemingly got waylaid in the terminal and the gate was closed before he reached it, a spokesperson at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport told The Local Spain.

When the man went onto the air bridge, he had pushed open the fire escape which sounded an alarm and alerted the Civil Guard. But thanks to his fast footwork, he was already on the plane by the time police arrived.

Authorities in Gran Canaria identified the passenger when he landed and determined that he was a foreigner. They sent his passport information back to Madrid but released him to enjoy his time on the island.

He's not quite home-free yet, though: Madrid police denounced the man's actions, and said that the matter would be settled in court where he could receive up to a 225,000 fine.

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f35b

The Marine Corps' variant of the F-35 Lightning II is almost ready for its combat debut.

"We're going to start to see that airplane deploy here overseas after the first of the year," Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, said on Tuesday.

The "jack-of-all-trades" aircraft was designed to replace the Corps' Harrier, Hornet, and Prowler aircraft but has had significant snags.

Lockheed Martin's F-35 is America's priciest weapons system, and its development has become one of the most challenged programs in the history of the Department of Defense.

f35

Since its inception, in 2001, the F-35 has experienced setbacks that include faulty ejection seats, software delays, helmet display issues, and an inability to dogfight.

"We thought we were going to get that airplane a little bit earlier, but we didn't, but now we stood up our second squadron," Neller said during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Similarly, on July 29, when asked if the F-35B could fly combat missions to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the US Marine Corps' head of aviation said, "We're ready to do that."

Noting that the decision to deploy the fifth-generation jet into combat would come from higher command, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation for the Marine Corps, said that the F-35B is "ready to go right now."

aei amanda f35

"We got a jewel in our hands, and we've just started to exploit that capability, and we're very excited about it," Davis said during a discussion at the American Enterprise Institute on the readiness and future trajectory of Marine aviation.

Davis, who has flown copilot in every type of model series of tilt-rotor, rotary-winged, and tanker aircraft in the Marine inventory, said that the F-35 is an airplane he's excited about.

Story continues

"The bottom line is everybody who flies a pointy-nose airplane in the Marine Corps wants to fly this jet," Davis said.

Last summer, then Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford declared initial operational capability for 10 F-35B jets  the first of the sister-service branches.

"There were a lot of people out here in the press that said, 'Hey, the Marines are just going to declare IOC because it would be politically untenable not to do that,'" Davis said.

"IOC in the Marine Corps means we will deploy that airplane in combat. That's not a decision I was gonna take lightly, nor Gen. Dunford," he said.

f35

Ahead of IOC, Davis said that the Marine Corps "stacked the deck with the F-35 early on" by assigning Top Gun school graduates and weapons-tactics instructors to test the plane.

"The guys that flew that airplane and maintained that airplane were very, very, hard graders," he said.

Davis added that the jet proved to be "phenomenally successful" during testing: "It does best when it's out front, doing the killing."

The Marine Corps' first F-35B squadron is scheduled to go to sea in spring 2018.

f35a

Meanwhile, the Air Force, which has been the most bullish on the F-35's combat capabilities, declared its variant ready for combat last week.

Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, the F-35 program's executive officer, said that the Air Force's decision to declare the F-35A's IOC "sends a simple and powerful message to America's friends and foes alike: The F-35 can do its mission."

"The roads leading to IOC for both services were not easy, and these accomplishments are tangible testaments to the positive change happening in the F-35 program," Bogdan said.

As the Air Force is buying nearly 70% of the fifth-generation jets being made domestically  1,763 of 2,443 aircraft  the Air Force sets the economies of scale for the tri-service fighter, with each plane costing a cool $100 million.

Lockheed Martin, considered a bellwether for the US defense sector, is expected to generate nearly a fifth of its $50 billion in 2016 sales solely from the F-35 program.

Currently the US Navy variant, the F-35C, is scheduled to reach IOC by February 2019.

NOW WATCH: America's $400 billion warplane has some major flaws





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Itongadol.-Fortunately, 3D movie glasses may soon become obsolete.

A team from MITs Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and Israels Weizmann Institute of Science have demonstrated a display that lets audiences watch 3D films in a movie theater without the need for glasses.

Dubbed Cinema 3D, the prototype enables viewers to watch a 3D movie from any seat in a theater with no glasses required. The complex arrangement of lenses and mirrors creates a set number of parallax barriers (similar to Venetian blinds) which show a slightly different set of pixels to each of the viewers eyes to simulate depth, and can address every viewing angle in the theater based on seat locations.

Existing approaches to glasses-free 3D require screens whose resolution requirements are so enormous that they are completely impractical, MIT professor Wojciech Matusik, one of the co-authors on a related paper whose first author is Weizmann PhD Netalee Efrat, said in a statement. This is the first technical approach that allows for glasses-free 3D viewing on a large scale.

Not quite ready for cinemas

Cinema 3D isnt particularly practical at the moment. The teams prototype requires 50 sets of mirrors and lenses, and yet is just barely larger than a pad of paper. But, in theory, the technology could work in any context in which 3D visuals would be shown to multiple people at the same time, such as billboards or storefront advertisements. According to Matusik, the team hopes to build a larger version of the display and to further refine the optics to continue to improve the image resolution.

Other glasses-free 3D options

Glasses-free 3D already exists, but not in a way that scales to movie theaters. Traditional methods for TV sets use a parallax barrier, a series of slits in front of the screen that allows each eye to see a different set of pixels, creating a simulated sense of depth. But because parallax barriers have to be at a consistent distance from the viewer, this approach isnt practical for larger spaces like theaters that have viewers at different angles and distances.

Other methods involve developing completely new physical projectors that cover the entire angular range of the audience. However, this often comes at the cost of image-resolution.

The key insight with Cinema 3D is that people in movie theaters move their heads only over a very small range of angles, limited by the width of their seat. Thus, it is enough to display images to a narrow range of angles and replicate that to all seats in the theater. The team demonstrated that their approach allows viewers from different parts of an auditorium to see images of consistently high resolution.

With a 3D TV, you have to account for people moving around to watch from different angles, which means that you have to divide up a limited number of pixels to be projected so that the viewer sees the image from wherever they are, Gordon Wetzstein, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University, who was not involved in the research, said in an interview. The authors of Cinema 3D cleverly exploited the fact that theaters have a unique set-up in which every person sits in a more or less fixed position the whole time.

Among the papers co-authors are MIT research technician Mike Foshey; former CSAIL postdoc Piotr Didyk; and two Weizmann researchers that include Efrat and professor Anat Levin. Efrat will present the paper at this weeks SIGGRAPH computer-graphics conference in Anaheim, California. The teams work was funded by the Israel Science Foundation and the European Research Council.

Hopefully optimistic



While the researchers caution that the system isnt currently market-ready, they are optimistic that future versions could push the technology to a place where theaters would be able to offer glasses-free alternatives for 3D movies. It remains to be seen whether the approach is financially feasible enough to scale up to a full-blown theater, said Matusik. But we are optimistic that this is an important next step in developing glasses-free 3D for large spaces like movie theaters and auditoriums.
Medal count | Olympic schedule | Olympic news

For four years, McKayla Maroneys infamous unimpressed face reigned supreme as the worlds greatest Olympic meme.

A year ago today A photo posted by McKayla Maroney (@mckaylamaroney) on Aug 5, 2013 at 5:33pm PDT

Well on Monday, a new challenger to Maroneys throne emerged. Michael Phelps determined face while trying to ignore the elaborate pre-race antics of his South African rival took the internet by storm, with some going so far as to say it topped Maroneys.

So, how does the Maroney feel about relinquishing her title?

The Fierce Five member is definitely impressed with Phelps and more than willing to pass on the Olympic-meme torch.

[Related: As Final Fives popularity soars, Americas male gymnasts compete in obscurity]

Somebody tweeted like, McKayla looks like somebody took your spot  and I looked at his pictures and was like, YES! Go Michael, take it away please!, Maroney told TMZ Wednesday, adding that she never asked for this life.

McKayla Maroney is definitely impressed with the latest Olympic meme. (Getty)

Maroney, who has retired from gymnastics and is now focusing on her music career, also admitted that Phelps viral moment has helped her see the humor in her own.

Theyre amazing, she said. I now know why people thought it was so funny.
A California appeals court has affirmed a judgment that allows Mel Gibson to withhold settlement payments to ex-wife Oksana Grigorieva over a breach of confidentiality.

The case began in 2010 when Gibson looked to establish that he was really the father of the couple's daughter. Grigorieva filed a separate lawsuit alleging that the actor had committed battery and defamation. Two years later, the couple settled with each other. She got $20,000 per month for child support and a home. He got to be declared the father of the girl. Additionally, to resolve the battery and defamation claims, Gibson was obligated to pay Grigorieva $750,000 in three installments.

After Grigorieva got the first $250,000 payment, she went on Howard Stern's show. On May 21, 2013, she thanked the radio host for his support.

"I want to thank you for saying that, because I will support you to the end," Stern responded. "I don't care what the circumstances are. You do not treat a woman that way, especially the mother of your child."

After a further exchange, Grigorieva told Stern, "You know what? You have to embrace your experience and even - it doesn't matter how painful it might be at the time, and that darker experience, learn from it."

Grigorieva also said that she planned to work with a domestic violence charity.

As a result of this interview, Gibson filed a request for an order to discharge his obligations to pay future installments under the parties' settlement agreements. Grigorieva's attorneys argued that statements referred only to "unspecified domestic abuse" and that Gibson couldn't establish a breach based on inference. The California appeals court rejects this.

"While it is true that the confidentiality clause did not require [Grigorieva] to police what other people might say about her past relationship with [Gibson], it expressly restricted her capacity to make statements 'related to' her domestic violence claims against him," states the appellate court's opinion. "Construing the 'related to' language according to its popular meaning and in the context of the larger instrument's purpose, it is reasonable to infer that the parties intended the confidentiality clause to encompass not only express statements about [Grigorieva's] domestic violence claims against [Gibson], but also implicit assertions about those claims made through reference to what others might say. Thus, even accepting [Grigorieva's] premise that she was not required to control what others would say, nor prohibited from speaking about domestic violence generally, it still follows from the language of the confidentiality clause that she could not insinuate [Gibson] committed domestic violence on her by piggybacking on Stern's comments about what she had 'been through with [Gibson].'"

The appeals court also rejects Grigorieva's argument that the $750,000 payment was a child support obligation that couldn't be relieved without a finding concerning the daughter's best interest. The appeals court additionally upholds a $13,500 sanctions order against Grigorieva for not cooperating with Gibson's request that she authenticate a transcript of what she said on Stern's show.
Mel Gibson no longer owes ex Oksana Grigorieva $500,000 worth of settlement money after she spoke out about the director's alleged domestic abuse.



The California Court of Appeals ruled that Grigorieva is no longer owed the remaining half-million dollars of the $750,000 settlement with Gibson, 60, because she broke the terms of agreement when she talked about the case on The Howard Stern Show in 2013, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.



The deal, which was part of a 2011 custody agreement over the pair's daughter, reportedly stated that Grigorieva would forfeit her right to the remaining settlement money if she publicly discussed the allegations.



The sum was supposed to be paid out in three installments and Gibson had already paid her $250,000, but is no longer obligated to pay the outstanding balance.







The actor had originally agreed to pay $15 million on the condition that Grigorieva agreed not to release secretly recorded audio tapes of a conversation between the two, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. But after she released the tapes  in which Gibson can be heard using threatening language  the amount was reduced.



The new ruling means she only got 1/60 of what she could have received from Gibson.





RELATED VIDEO: Mel Gibson's Changing Looks



Gibson was sentenced to three years' probation, counseling and community service in 2011 after pleading no contest to one misdemeanor count of domestic violence allegedly committed against Grigorieva in 2010.



Grigorieva alleged Gibson punched her in the head and face more than once at the actor's Malibu home. He admitted to slapping her in order to restrain her from allegedly "shaking [their baby] Lucia back and forth," Gibson said in a sworn declaration at the time.
Sydney (AFP) - The future of Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne has been thrown into doubt after she lashed out amid reports she had been told to retire by the owners of the horse on which she won the race.

The 30-year-old -- the first woman to win Australia's 155-year-old Melbourne Cup -- has been in a race to regain her fitness after undergoing surgery following a fall from a horse during a race in May.

Payne, who has ridden the Cup-winning horse Prince Of Penzance in most of its starts, was reportedly told she had been dumped as the horse's jockey at the Caulfield Cup in Melbourne on August 27.

The decision raises questions about whether Payne might be left out of the Melbourne Cup on November 1.

In a tweet on Wednesday that she later deleted, Payne wrote, "I'm done."

"Why work your arse off for people who don't appreciate what you do and write you off anyway #moretolife."

Prince Of Penzance's owners added that they wanted Payne to retire.

"We know she's had negative medical opinion and she seems determined to ride on, however we think she should retire," Prince Of Penzance's managing owner John Richards told Melbourne's Herald Sun.

"She's had medical advice not to ride again, which she's chosen to ignore. Her friends and family have also told her not to ride.

"We've taken these things into account. We've always had the best interests of Michelle at heart.

"We wish she would rest on her laurels. There's nothing more for her to gain by riding on."

Payne comes from a family steeped in racing. She has suffered a range of injuries including falling head-first from a horse when she was just 18, fracturing her skull and bruising her brain.
"Dad, we need to have a chat. Are you feeling okay? Do you have a minute? Please sit down. Because this isnt going to be easy. No, I am not pregnant. No, what is going on is is I am really, really worried about my father. About you.

"Dad, I owe everything to you. Youve built an empire, a brand and a business for the ages. You have taken care of me, inspired me and, through your example, have made me who I am: a self-confident, honest-to-a-flaw, woman.

"But Dad, I am deeply worried. You havent been yourself lately. The father I know is not a hater, not someone who encourages violence. Dad, you used to be A LIBERAL. You raised me as a liberal! The Clintons were your friendsChelsea is one of my best friends! And now youre joking that Hillary should be assassinated? Really?

"Dad, I hate to say this, but youre making me scared, youre making my friends scared, and youre scaring the whole country.

"Dad Dad, sit down! Theyll wait. I am not finished. Dont get angry. Try to listen.

"Yes, I know they love it, the crowd goes wild. But not for YOU. They dont love YOU. They love the show that you put on. But people who hunger for red meat will turn on you in a minute. No, they dont love you. I love you. I will always love you. And I see you hurting yourselfand youre hurting ME, Dad.

"Dont get upset! Youre still the handsomest billionaire I know. I will always love you. Melania will always love you. Vladimir will always love you OK, maybe that wasnt funny. But you get my point. This running for president thing is destroying the dad I have known and loved. And honestly, you and I both know you didnt really want this job to begin with! You just wanted to make a point. OK, well, POINT MADE! You did it! Now, lets stop and get some help.

"I am asking you, right now, to give it up. To leave the race. Let that nice man from Indiana run things. Your place in history is secure. You need to withdraw. Move on, for your sake, for the countrys sake, for my sake.

"The man who raised me was the man who, for no charge, built a huge ice rink in Central Park for all the people to use! You struck deals with some of the biggest assholes on the planet in finance and politics and yet remained friends, mostly. You built a family that loves you. I want that dad back! And I worry that, if you dont stop now, neither you nor the country will ever recover.

"There, there, Dad, its okay, let it out. Let it out, because I know beneath that gruff, tough, handsome exterior is a little boy who just never got enough love. And that little boy needs some time to find himself again.

"Lets you and I walk out there right now. The cameras are all set up and waiting. You can make up whatever excuse you want. You can blame whomever you want. Youre good at that! I just know this cant go on, and you know it, too.

"Take my hand, lets end this. And by tomorrow you and I will be sipping martinis on our yacht in the Hamptons with Chelsea and the friends we still have left. I love you, Dad. Lets do this. Thats right, take my hand, here we go"
SELLER: Mike Medavoy

LOCATION: Beverly Hills, CA

PRICE: $11.95 million

SIZE: 8,829 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Although more likely a simple case of overly optimistic original pricing rather than incontrovertible evidence of the much-yammered about slump in the high-end real estate market, Mike Medavoy has slashed the asking price of his Beverly Hills home by a whopping $1 million dollars in one fell swoop from $12.95 million to $11.95 million. The radically reduced price still profitably well above the $8.2 million the veteran super-producer paid for the gambrel-roofed mansion in June 2013 but a far cry from the in-hindsight woefully rose-tinted $14.995 million price tag the property was saddled with when it first came up for sale more than 1.5 years ago.

The 8,829-square-foot residence, described in listing details as a Hamptons Traditional, sits at the precipitous edge of a deep ravine on 1.86 acres along a gated and celebrity lined street where a few of the other homes are owned by Demi Moore, Jon Voight, Frank Mancuso, Jr., and Channing Tatum. The two-story entry, with classically elegant black and white marble checkerboard floor, opens to a navy blue walled media room, sunny library with fireplace, and formal dining room with bay window and another fireplace. The step-down formal living room, with hardwood floors and another fireplace, adjoins the family room that has yet another fireplace plus a wet bar and is open to the spacious and expensively outfitted marble-countered kitchen. There are four en suite guest/family bedrooms, one staff bedroom, and a master retreat with French door flanked fireplace, private balcony with open views, and sky-lit bathroom with twin vanities, jetted tub, and two-person shower. A detached, two-story structure positioned across the circular drive from the front of the main house provides garaging for three cars  another garage attached to the house will hold two more vehicles  along with additional living space upstairs suitable for a home office, gym or guesthouse. The living room, family room and window-lined breakfast nook all open through French doors to the private, tree and shrubbery surrounded backyard that features flagstone terraces, built-in grilling station and bar, swimming pool with inset spa, and a small bit of well-watered lawn that gives way to panoramic canyon, mountain and sky views over the neighboring mansion that belongs to West Hollywood restaurateur and reality television star Lisa Vanderpump of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Mister Medavoy, who has half of a dozen projects in various stages of production, and his globe-trotting wife, Irena, are property gossip column regulars who, over the last six or seven years, have bought and sold a handful of multi-million dollar homes in some of Los Angeless most expensive zip codes. In the fall of 2009, after they first attempted to sell it with a wildly sanguine $23.5 million asking price, they unloaded a 10,729-square-foot mansion in the illustrious Beverly Park enclave for $12.5 million to Mexican magnate Isaac Oberfeld. The couple followed up that sale with the $5.85 million purchase of an approximately 6,200-square-foot spread in the Trousdale Estates area of Beverly Hills they flipped less than a year later, in June 2010, for $7.5 million. They next paid, in September 2010, $6 million a 9,020-square-foot mock-Med mansion in the guard-gated Mulholland Estates community that they sold just six months later for $6,999,999 million to Charlie Sheen who, in turn, unloaded the house at a significant loss in late 2015 for $6.6 million. And, finally, in the spring of 2011 the peripatetic pair paid $6 million for 5,437-square-foot house on a sloping lot overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club that this property gossip then described as a faux-Tuscan Renaissance Revival style villa due to a lack of more discernible or specific vernacular and that was sold for $7.8 million in 2013, just before they bought they house they now have for sale.

Listing photos: Hilton & Hyland

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(Adds pipeline attack)

ONITSHA, Nigeria, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Militants blew up another crude pipeline in Nigeria's Niger Delta, a youth and protest leader said on Thursday.

Protesters also continued to block the entrance to a Chevron oil depot in the restive southern region for a third day.

On Wednesday, a previously unknown group called Delta Greenland Justice Mandate said it had attacked a crude pipeline belonging to state oil firm NNPC and local firm Shoreline Natural Resources in Urhobo in Delta state.

"It is true but I don't have details yet," said Collins Edema, a youth leader. He said the pipeline was on fire, but Reuters was unable to confirm this and it was not immediately possible to get more details.

He also said protesters, mostly unemployed youths, were continuing a demonstration started on Tuesday at the gate of a Chevron oil depot to demand jobs and housing, claiming the facility had destroyed their settlement.

"Our protest is going on peacefully today on Thursday. Our community workers inside the tank farm have joined the protest as we speak," Edema said.

"Nobody is going in and out of the facility since we've started but Chevron has airlifted their senior staff from there," he said, a claim Reuters could not verify.

Chevron confirmed a protest had taken place but did not say whether oil production had been affected.

Edema said the protesters might shut down Chevron's crude flow in Abiteye, Jones Creek and other operations in the area if the company does not agree to their demands.

Communities in Nigeria's southern swampland often complain about oil pollution and houses being moved to make way for drilling. They also say they live in poverty despite sitting on much of Nigeria's oil wealth.

The Niger Delta region has been hit by a wave of militant attacks on oil and gas pipelines, reducing Nigeria's crude output by 700,000 barrels a day, according to state oil company NNPC.

The militants, which are splintered in many groups, say they want a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth - which accounts for around 70 percent of national income - to be passed on to communities in the impoverished region and for areas blighted by oil spills to be cleaned up.

(Reporting by Anamesere Igboeroteonwu; Writing by Ulf Laessing, editing by William Hardy; Editing by William Hardy)
(OXFORD, Miss.) A Mississippi woman who once sought to disguise a planned journey to join ISIS as her honeymoon was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday to 12 years in prison on a terrorism charge.

Vicksburg native Jaelyn Young broke down in heavy sobs during her sentencing by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock. Young pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Young had faced up to 20 years in prison.

Her parents pleaded for leniency at Thursdays hearing. Young, amid sobs, said she was ashamed of her actions.

Her fiance, Muhammad Dakhlalla, pleaded guilty March 11 to a similar charge and is set to be sentenced Aug. 24. Prosecutors have said Young, who converted to Islam while studying at Mississippi State University, had prodded Dakhlalla into the plan.

The two were arrested in 2015 before boarding a flight from Columbus, Mississippi, with tickets for Istanbul, Turkey.

I found the contacts, made arrangements, planned the departure, Young had written in a farewell letter to her family. I am guilty of what you soon will find out.

Young and Dakhlalla were among a number of people arrested around the country for ISIS sympathies. Like many, authorities said, they had developed views supporting ISIS in part by watching online videos and were arrested after social media posts attracted the attention of the FBI.

The daughter of a school administrator and a police officer who served in the Navy reserve, Young is a former honor student, cheerleader and homecoming maid at Vicksburgs Warren Central High School.

The two were arrested in August 2015 before they could board the flight from Mississippi with tickets for Istanbul purchased using her mothers credit card without permission, according to court records. Authorities said the couple had contacted undercover federal agents in May, seeking online help in traveling to Syria. Both remained jailed in Oxford since their arrests.

Story continues

Court papers say Young announced her conversion in March 2015 and began wearing a burqa, a garment worn by some Muslim women to cover their face and body. After her conversion, Young distanced herself from family and friends and felt spending time with non-Muslims would be a bad influence, prosecutors wrote.

A court statement said Young increasingly complained about the treatment of Muslims in the United States and United Kingdom. Prosecutors said that, after watching videos included pro-ISIS messages from a British Muslim preacher who faces criminal charges of supporting the group  she began to view the fighters as liberators.

Young continually asked Dakhlalla when they were going to join (ISIS) and began to express hatred for the U.S. government and to express support for the implementation of Sharia law in the United States, prosecutors wrote.

By May 2015, she had begun seeking advice online on how to travel to Syria, eventually making contact with undercover FBI employees, according to prosecutors.

Young told the undercover FBI employees that she and Dakhlalla would like to be medics treating the wounded. Dakhlalla, in online contacts, said he was good with computers and media and wanted to contribute to the ISIS struggle. Court papers say Dakhlalla said online that he wanted to become a fighter and learn what it really means to have that heart in battle.

At one point, Young said she planned to camouflage the couples journey as a honeymoon, but later dropped that idea.
(ADVISORY- Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon - see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)

* STOXX Europe 600 flat

* Henkel, KBC among top gainers after results

* But K+S falls on profit warning

* Energy stocks under pressure from falls in oil

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - European shares were mixed on Thursday as investors digested a welter of earnings reports, with German firms Henkel at a record high after lifting its outlook and K+S weighed down by a profit slump.

Germany's Henkel rose 3.9 percent to a record high after results that beat expectations in which the consumer group lifted its guidance for its core profit margin.

It was the top riser on Germany's DAX, which rose 0.2 percent to outperform major European peers.

Also in Germany, shares of SAP and Adidas climbed to record highs.

But German potash and salt miner K+S fell 5.5 percent after it said it expected its operating profit to more than halve in 2016.

Thyssenkrupp also dropped 1.5 percent after its third quarter sales missed expectations.

Outside of Germany, the top faller was Old Mutual, down 6 percent after it posted a profit drop of 9 percent, which was a worse performance than had been expected.

"Adjusted operating profit came in well behind our and consensus' estimates, driven by significantly weaker UK Wealth Management earnings than expected," analyst at UBS said in a note.

Old Mutual was the biggest faller on the STOXX 600, which was flat at at 343.85 points by 0811 GMT.

Commodity stocks in the mining and oil sectors were the biggest fallers. Brent crude fell overnight, pegging back Wall Street and Asian shares, after data showed an unexpected build in U.S. crude supplies.

"With US stockpiles growing unexpectedly yesterday and reports that OPEC production has risen, many investors will expect further declines into the end of the week," said Augustin Eden, research analyst at Accendo Markets.

Story continues

The FTSE 100 underperformed, down 0.5 percent, as it was hindered by some stocks trading without entitlement to their latest dividend payouts, trimming 37 points off the index.

Among risers, hearing aid and headset maker GN Store Nord surged 7 percent, the top STOXX 600 gainer, after it posted strong second quarter growth.

Belgian financial group KBC rose 5 percent, after reporting a year-on-year rise in net profit in the second quarter as loan and deposit volumes grew in most of its core markets and it kept costs low.

With 80 percent of companies having reported results on the STOXX 600, 60 percent have beaten or met expectations.

(Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
This model was detained at an airport for being transgender

This model was detained at an airport for being transgender

In disappointing news of the day, a Canadian model named Gigi Gorgeous was detained at a Dubai airport. The reason? Shes trans.

Gorgeous described the harrowing experience on an Instagram post.

After being detained and held at the Dubai airport for over 5 hours, this was the moment my baby came to rescue me. Yesterday was one of the scariest moments of my entire life and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. How you can be denied entry somewhere just because of who you are is seriously disgusting and also very scary. This further proves the need for CHANGE. I am now on my way to somewhere much more accepting. Safe and sound and happy. I love you guys A photo posted by GIGI GORGEOUS (@gigigorgeous) on Aug 9, 2016 at 9:28pm PDT

After being detained and held at the Dubai airport for over 5 hours, this was the moment my baby came to rescue me, she wrote. Yesterday was one of the scariest moments of my entire life and I wouldnt wish it upon anyone. How you can be denied entry somewhere just because of who you are is seriously disgusting and also very scary. This further proves the need for CHANGE. I am now on my way to somewhere much more accepting. Safe and sound and happy. I love you guys.

According to TMZ (via People), the immigration officer said to Gigi, I was told you are transgender. You cannot come into the country. The 24-year-old model, who has worked with Too Faced Cosmetics and collaborated with Miley Cyrus on her #InstaPride campaign, says that her passport has been updated to reflect her transition, although Dubai airport police said otherwise. TMZ also reports that the imitation of women by men is illegal in Dubai.

Happy 4th everyone be safe #freedom A photo posted by GIGI GORGEOUS (@gigigorgeous) on Jul 4, 2016 at 5:11pm PDT

Gigi has been a YouTube vlogger and Internet personality since 2008, before her transition and when she had gone by the name Gregory Gorgeous. A documentary about her transition is scheduled to debut on YouTube Red.

Unfortunately, this kind of injustice has happened to transgender travelers at airports before, including ones in the United States.

Last year, the story of trans woman Shadi Petosky went viral after she was detained by the security at Orlando International Airport. And just last month, Mia Tu Mutch Satya, a DNC delegate, was reportedly stopped by TSA workers at Reagan International Airport in Washington D.C. after a body scanner showed a groin anomaly.

This kind of harassment and non-consensual groping is so widespread that when I posted it to Facebook a lot of the comments were How is this any different than what happens to me when I go to the airport? And its not, Satya told the Daily News. The agency has proven itself unwilling to listen to the trans community.

While were glad that Gigi and these women ended up being safe after these incidents, we hope that this awful, discriminatory behavior will someday not be an issue for transgender people who just want to travel.

The post This model was detained at an airport for being transgender appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Photographer Leilani Rogers founded the Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project in 2013 to normalize the act of women nursing in public, after experiencing her own discomfort with it.



"As a new mom, I feared judgment or discrimination for breastfeeding in public, so I'd hide in restrooms or cars, or just never leave the house because it was too stressful for me," Rogers, 41, tells PEOPLE. "Little did I know this was a common issue for many other moms, too."



Rogers felt she would be judged for "exposing" herself.



"With an excessive amount of focus on the sexual function of the female body, we don't consider breastfeeding as a physiological need when we round the corner at the grocery store and find a breastfeeding woman standing right there," she says. "We rush to judgment."







The Texas-based mom-of-four decided to use photography to help alleviate some of the stigma surrounding public breastfeeding.





Mom Who Feared She'd Be Judged for 'Exposing' Herself Creates Photo Project to Support Breastfeeding Moms| Feminism, Breastfeeding, Bodywatch

Mom Who Feared She'd Be Judged for 'Exposing' Herself Creates Photo Project to Support Breastfeeding Moms| Feminism, Breastfeeding, Bodywatch

"The more you see something, the more normal it becomes," she says. "Had I seen more of it years ago, I might have felt more comfortable with it myself."





RELATED VIDEO: Nursing or Not? Moms Talk About the Pressure to Breastfeed

Rogers recruited 70 photographers from around the world to join her in documenting the act of public breastfeeding.



"PBAP shares public breastfeeding images to bring both awareness to the issue of judgment and discrimination many nursing moms face, and increase tolerance and acceptance for nursing in public," she says.





Mom Who Feared She'd Be Judged for 'Exposing' Herself Creates Photo Project to Support Breastfeeding Moms| Feminism, Breastfeeding, Bodywatch

Mom Who Feared She'd Be Judged for 'Exposing' Herself Creates Photo Project to Support Breastfeeding Moms| Feminism, Breastfeeding, Bodywatch

Rogers hopes the project will have an impact on the way breastfeeding is perceived.



"I hope people will begin to separate breastfeeding from exposing oneself," she says. "They are not the same thing."



"I also hope that by illustrating the multiple ways a mother may choose to feed in public  covered, uncovered, by bottle, by breast  we begin to bridge a division amongst moms who place themselves in opposing camps," she continues. "Moms should support moms regardless of how they choose to mother."
Not many companies can claim a substantial edge to Apple (AAPL) in the digital consumer products realm -- except, perhaps, for Fitbit (FIT), which got into the wearable tech game in 2007, well before anyone. And while the Apple Watch foundered on the sidelines, Fitbit's pantheon of products -- which track data including steps walked, sleep quality and heart rate -- helped the company go public in June 2015.

And then 2016 came -- and this one-time stock to watch saw its watch stop.

So far this year, FIT has tumbled 48 percent, and is down more than two thirds from its peak just a year ago. With its stock trading in a trough at less than $16 per share, Fitbit now must ask itself what, if anything, it can do to live up to its product named the Surge.

[See: Car Companies and the Race to Profits.]

Fitbit marks a textbook case of a company at the crossroads -- the kind that, despite its technical innovation and marketplace domination, fails to convert those bona fides into boisterous profits. It's a moment of truth many businesses face, and how they regroup and react speaks volumes about their long-term prospects.

"The challenge of pivoting is not unique to Fitbit," says marketer Randal C. Moss, co-author of "IGNITE: Setting Your Organization's Culture on Fire With Innovation."

When companies hit that defining moment, "they have to radically change quickly, they have to pivot," Moss says. "They must look at their assets, core value and then reimagine the business model. Sometimes pivots work -- like CVS (CVS) reimagining itself and moving from a drug store to a health store. And sometimes pivots fail, such as Netflix (NFLX) launching Quickster."

One example of a company running up against consumer fatigue is Whole Foods Market (WFM). Trading at $30 per share, WFM stock is down almost 50 percent from February 2015, a scenario where shareholders would gladly trade places with shoppers. This is, after all, the organic supermarket chain often derided as "Whole Paycheck."

Story continues

And in turn, Whole Foods has been hurt -- badly -- by competition from outlets selling similar items with much lower prices, from Trader Joe's to Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST). Even decidedly non-tony places such as Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) have gotten into the organic act.

Whole Foods' challenge is to reinvent itself after inventing its market niche, says Keith Daniels, partner and restructuring advisory expert with Carl Marks Advisors, headquartered in New York.

"Whole Foods at one time pioneered and then dominated the organic industry and now is experiencing headwinds as organic has gone mainstream," Daniels says. But after growing at an average of 8 percent annually just a few years ago, "Whole Foods is now seeing decreases in same store sales."

The slump isn't just about prices, either. Trader Joe's, for example has won over many millennials with its kitschy, nautical atmosphere and chatty, helpful staff.

As a response, "Whole Foods is now rolling out their '365 by Whole Foods' concept, which is targeted at the more value-conscious consumer," Daniels says. It's not just smaller, "but also more of an experience rather than just a place to buy groceries."

Whole Foods is taking a risk by borrowing, to an extent, from the Trader Joe's playbook rather than creating something new to grab shoppers by the lapels. But for many companies trying to skate past the crisis marker, getting on stable footing takes precedence over market (or supermarket) disruption.

[See: 7 Global Goats That Could Bring Market Mayhem.]

A critical way to get that process started, experts contend, is not so much for companies to look at the competition outside, but the leadership inside.

"Good management understands what caused the crises, identifies the best way forward and focuses on executing the turnaround plan," says Andrew Lobo, vice president of talent strategy at Talent Growth Advisors.

"This is Twitter's (TWTR) issue," Lobo says. "Management cannot figure out real growth options or ways to monetize its platform." Result: Twitter has frittered away a third of its share price over the last 12 months; it now trades just above $18 per share.

Yet the companies confronted by a fork in the road in 2016 aren't unique: In fact, it's potentially going to happen to every public company at some point at least once -- or more. See: A struggling Apple inviting Steve Jobs back onto its board in 1997, and struggling to recover its mojo as an innovator after Jobs' passing in 2011.

"These crises are predictable," says Chris Zook, co-head of global strategy at Bain & Co. and author of "The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth."

Citing Bain research, "85 percent of the reasons for failure -- for hitting the skids -- are traceable to deep internal root causes, not external phenomena like a saturated market, a competitor with a capability that cannot be matched, or economic market slowdown. We found this over and over in the research we did."

The No. 1 cause for a crisis, Zook says, is stall out. Looking at a 15-year period, "we find that about two-thirds of established companies will stall out totally in revenues and profits -- as have companies like Ericsson (ERIC), or Sony (SNE), or Fiat-Chrysler (FCAU), or Sears (SHLD) or even younger companies like Yahoo (YHOO) and Twitter. "

Here's the unfortunate news for shareholders and management: Only about one in eight of those companies will regain their prior momentum.

"Stall out happens when organizations become complex and lose touch with what made them special in the first place," Zook says. "Or, they begin to defend the status quo as opposed to constantly pushing out the boundaries as a young insurgent, founder-led company typically does when the company is at its best."

That's true today at Apple, where in 1983 Jobs infamously said at a company retreat, "It's better to be a pirate than join the Navy." Soon after that remark, a homemade pirate flag was hoisted over Apple's headquarters -- and stayed there for more than a year.

[Read: Is It Time to Change the Dow?]

In April, Apple flew a replica pirate flag as a tribute to Jobs' swashbuckling spirit. But for a company that hasn't spawned an exciting new product for some time, it seems more a token gesture of a well-heeled shipping magnate.





More From US News & World Report


Not many companies can claim a substantial edge to Apple (ticker: AAPL) in the digital consumer products realm -- except, perhaps, for Fitbit (FIT), which got into the wearable tech game in 2007, well before anyone. And while the Apple Watch foundered on the sidelines, Fitbit's pantheon of products -- which track data including steps walked, sleep quality and heart rate -- helped the company go public in June 2015.

And then 2016 came -- and this one-time stock to watch saw its watch stop.

So far this year, FIT has tumbled 48 percent, and is down more than two thirds from its peak just a year ago. With its stock trading in a trough at less than $16 per share, Fitbit now must ask itself what, if anything, it can do to live up to its product named the Surge.

[See: Car Companies and the Race to Profits.]

Fitbit marks a textbook case of a company at the crossroads -- the kind that, despite its technical innovation and marketplace domination, fails to convert those bona fides into boisterous profits. It's a moment of truth many businesses face, and how they regroup and react speaks volumes about their long-term prospects.

"The challenge of pivoting is not unique to Fitbit," says marketer Randal C. Moss, co-author of "IGNITE: Setting Your Organization's Culture on Fire With Innovation."

When companies hit that defining moment, "they have to radically change quickly, they have to pivot," Moss says. "They must look at their assets, core value and then reimagine the business model. Sometimes pivots work -- like CVS (CVS) reimagining itself and moving from a drug store to a health store. And sometimes pivots fail, such as Netflix (NFLX) launching Quickster."

One example of a company running up against consumer fatigue is Whole Foods Market (WFM). Trading at $30 per share, WFM stock is down almost 50 percent from February 2015, a scenario where shareholders would gladly trade places with shoppers. This is, after all, the organic supermarket chain often derided as "Whole Paycheck."

Story continues

And in turn, Whole Foods has been hurt -- badly -- by competition from outlets selling similar items with much lower prices, from Trader Joe's to Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST). Even decidedly non-tony places such as Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) have gotten into the organic act.

Whole Foods' challenge is to reinvent itself after inventing its market niche, says Keith Daniels, partner and restructuring advisory expert with Carl Marks Advisors, headquartered in New York.

"Whole Foods at one time pioneered and then dominated the organic industry and now is experiencing headwinds as organic has gone mainstream," Daniels says. But after growing at an average of 8 percent annually just a few years ago, "Whole Foods is now seeing decreases in same store sales."

The slump isn't just about prices, either. Trader Joe's, for example has won over many millennials with its kitschy, nautical atmosphere and chatty, helpful staff.

As a response, "Whole Foods is now rolling out their '365 by Whole Foods' concept, which is targeted at the more value-conscious consumer," Daniels says. It's not just smaller, "but also more of an experience rather than just a place to buy groceries."

Whole Foods is taking a risk by borrowing, to an extent, from the Trader Joe's playbook rather than creating something new to grab shoppers by the lapels. But for many companies trying to skate past the crisis marker, getting on stable footing takes precedence over market (or supermarket) disruption.

[See: 7 Global Goats That Could Bring Market Mayhem.]

A critical way to get that process started, experts contend, is not so much for companies to look at the competition outside, but the leadership inside.

"Good management understands what caused the crises, identifies the best way forward and focuses on executing the turnaround plan," says Andrew Lobo, vice president of talent strategy at Talent Growth Advisors.

"This is Twitter's (TWTR) issue," Lobo says. "Management cannot figure out real growth options or ways to monetize its platform." Result: Twitter has frittered away a third of its share price over the last 12 months; it now trades just above $18 per share.

Yet the companies confronted by a fork in the road in 2016 aren't unique: In fact, it's potentially going to happen to every public company at some point at least once -- or more. See: A struggling Apple inviting Steve Jobs back onto its board in 1997, and struggling to recover its mojo as an innovator after Jobs' passing in 2011.

"These crises are predictable," says Chris Zook, co-head of global strategy at Bain & Co. and author of "The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth."

Citing Bain research, "85 percent of the reasons for failure -- for hitting the skids -- are traceable to deep internal root causes, not external phenomena like a saturated market, a competitor with a capability that cannot be matched, or economic market slowdown. We found this over and over in the research we did."

The No. 1 cause for a crisis, Zook says, is stall out. Looking at a 15-year period, "we find that about two-thirds of established companies will stall out totally in revenues and profits -- as have companies like Ericsson (ERIC), or Sony (SNE), or Fiat-Chrysler (FCAU), or Sears (SHLD) or even younger companies like Yahoo (YHOO) and Twitter. "

Here's the unfortunate news for shareholders and management: Only about one in eight of those companies will regain their prior momentum.

"Stall out happens when organizations become complex and lose touch with what made them special in the first place," Zook says. "Or, they begin to defend the status quo as opposed to constantly pushing out the boundaries as a young insurgent, founder-led company typically does when the company is at its best."

That's true today at Apple, where in 1983 Jobs infamously said at a company retreat, "It's better to be a pirate than join the Navy." Soon after that remark, a homemade pirate flag was hoisted over Apple's headquarters -- and stayed there for more than a year.

[Read: Is It Time to Change the Dow?]

In April, Apple flew a replica pirate flag as a tribute to Jobs' swashbuckling spirit. But for a company that hasn't spawned an exciting new product for some time, it seems more a token gesture of a well-heeled shipping magnate.

A former longtime staff writer, editor and columnist at the Chicago Tribune, Lou Carlozo writes about investment for U.S. News & World Report, and personal finance for Money Under 30 and GOBankingRates. He is based in Chicago. Connect with him at linkedin.com/in/loucarlozo.
Across the U.S., there's been an uptick in the percentage of teens who are having episodes of depression, a new report finds.

From 2013 to 2014, about one in nine teens in the United States had a major depressive episode, up from about one in 10 teens from 2012 to 2013, the researchers found. Psychologists define a major depressive episode as having symptoms of major depressive disorder  such as depressed mood or feelings of emptiness, hopelessness or irritability  that last for two weeks or more.

In the report, the researchers looked at data from the government's National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, in which adolescents ages 12 to 17 were asked about their drug use and mental health. The researchers focused on questions about symptoms the teens may have experienced in the past year that would signal an individual had experienced a major depressive episode. [8 Tips for Parents of Teens with Depression]

Overall, the national percentage of teens who had major depressive episodes in the 2013-2014 report was 11 percent, up from 9.9 percent in the 2012-2013 report, the researchers found.

It's unclear if these findings mean that rates will continue to go up, said Myrna Weissman, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York. To figure that out, you'd have to look at trends over a longer time, she said.

However, the findings are in line with what experts would expect: Depression is very common among adolescents, Weissman told Live Science.

The teens included in the study were right in the age range at which you'd expect symptoms of depression to first emerge, Weissman said.

Ardesheer Talati, an assistant professor of clinical neurobiology in psychiatry at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute, agreed that one year isn't long enough to determine if rates are truly rising or if the reported increase is more of a blip.

However, three factors may explain the slight increase, Talati told Live Science.

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First, increased awareness of mental illness could lead to more teens going to the doctor to be evaluated for depression. Or, in cases of younger adolescents, parents may pick up on changes in their kids' behavior, and bring them to the doctor, he said.

Second, there's a lot more pressure on teens than there was in the past, Talati said. These stressors  social, family and academic  may increase depression in teens, he said.

Finally, the way that depression is diagnosed has changed over time and has become more broad, Talati said. This means that more people will be diagnosed, he said.

Different rates in different states

The report also broke down the rates of major depressive episodes in teens in each state. While the national average was 11 percent, rates ranged from a low of 8.7 percent in Washington, D.C., to a high of 14.6 percent in Oregon, the researchers found.

In addition, out of the 10 states with the highest rates, four were found in the West (Oregon, Arizona, Utah and Washington), according to the report. Of the 10 states with the lowest rates, four were found in the South (Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Washington, D.C.).

Thirteen states had statistically significant increases in their rates; in the remaining states, the percentage of teens with a major depressive episode stayed the same between the two time points. [Infographic: Teens in 13 States Showed Increases in Major Depressive Episodes]

A number of factors may contribute to the differences in the rates of major depressive episodes across states.

For example, depression is more common in females than males, said Weissman, who is also the chief of the division of epidemiology at New York State Psychiatric Institute. So if you have more females in one state, that'll do it, she said. [7 Ways Depression Differs in Men and Women]

Health care also plays a role, Weissman said. In states with fewer health care services, such as states with more rural areas, it can be much harder for people to get health care, she said. This means that a higher percentage of people who had a major depressive episode may experience another episode, later on.

Religion and economic status should also be considered, Weissman said. Some religious groups may not look favorably upon mental health care, she said. And in states where the economy is struggling, rates of depression can be higher if people are unable to find jobs, she said. Though the report looked at teens, this issue can affect older teens who do not plan to go to college and who want to find work, Weissman added.

Episodes versus disorders

In the report, the researchers focused on instances called major depressive episodes.

These episodes are a core feature of what doctors call major depressive disorder, Talati said. But a single episode does not indicate how the disorder will progress for a particular person. For example, for some adolescents a depressive episode might represent a lone event, triggered perhaps by a specific life stress; for others, it may reflect the beginning of a longer course of illness with more frequent or impairing episodes, he said. [10 Facts Every Parent Should Know About Their Teen's Brain]

Indeed, it's not clear from the new report if these major depressive episodes in teens are first-time occurrences, or re-occurrences, Weissman added.

Still, the rates that reach over 10 percent are problematic, said Talati, who is also an investigator at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology. Depression as a teenager can have an impact on the rest of a person's life, as well as that of their families, if it's not addressed, he said.

Depression in teens

Having a major depressive episode as a teen can increase a person's risk of having additional episodes later in life, Weissman said.

Moreover, part of being a teen is learning independence and autonomy, said Dr. Leslie Miller, an assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. If a teen is feeling bad due to depression, he or she may miss out on important milestones, she said.

Depression can also affect how teens perform in school and in social settings, Miller said. Failing a semester due to depression can change a person's trajectory in life, she added.

Weissman agreed. "Depression in adolescence can really affect one's life," she said. A teen may drop out of school, get involved with people that he or she shouldn't, or find it difficult to get a job, she said. "It's not a fruitful illness for flourishing," she added.

What to look for

It can be difficult for parents to distinguish between depression and run-of-the-mill teenage moodiness.

But there are signs that parents can look out for in their teens, including changes in sleep or appetite, loss of interest in activities the teens normally enjoy, social isolation, and increasing irritability, Miller told Live Science. [10 Scientific Tips for Raising Happy Kids]

But concerned parents don't have to find a specialist right away, Miller said. A pediatrician is a good person to ask first about possibly seeking more specialized mental health care; he or she can advise parents as to whether it would be helpful to see a mental health specialist, she said. Parents who are more familiar with depression, or have personal experience with it, may go straight to the specialist, she added.

Miller added that increasing awareness of mental illness, including depression, can help teens recognize symptoms as well. If a teen knows the symptoms of depression, he or she may be able to recognize feeling off, or not enjoying activities anymore, she said.

Overall, recognizing symptoms is a good thing.

There are a lot of ways to treat depression, Talati said. Aside from medications, there are a range of different psychotherapy options that have been shown to work, he said.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Wealthy travelers with money to spend are increasingly expressing interest in Africa for this winter's holiday season, with travel to the continent showing the highest year-over-year growth.

According to a new report from international luxury travel network Virtuoso, Africa is the only continent to post a sales increase this winter among elite, affluent holidaymakers, with sales up 28 percent over last year.

Travel to Kenya, for instance, is poised to spike 59 percent compared to last year, making it the fastest-growing destination.

Likewise, travel to South Africa has increased 28 percent, and bookings to Tanzania have risen 27 percent.

Virtuoso credits the rising interest in safari expeditions for the spike in travel bookings this winter, as they hold particular appeal for multi-generational family trips.

Meanwhile, the top three most popular holiday destinations this winter are perennial favorites across Europe -- Italy, followed by France and the UK.

And this holiday season, lower average daily rates at hotels across Europe are likely to attract not just the traveling elite, but also budget-conscious holidaymakers keen on scoring a deal.

Average daily hotel rates in Paris, for instance, are down 2 percent; rates in Rome are down 6 percent, London 7 percent, and Barcelona 15 percent when compared to summer rates.

Figures reflect future travel between September and December 2016.

Virtuoso is an international network specializing in luxury travel and is comprised of 390 agency members, and 11,400 travel advisors in 40 countries around the world.

Here are the top 10 most popular fall and winter travel destinations among wealthy travelers:

1. Italy

2. France

3. United Kingdom

4. South Africa

5. Spain

6. Mexico

7. China

8. Australia

9. New Zealand

10. Israel

Countries that have seen the largest percentage growth year-over-year:

1. Kenya

2. Iceland

3. Saint Martin

4. China

5. Ecuador

6. Japan

7. South Africa

8. Tanzania

9. Croatia

10. Jamaica
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 11, 2016 / MRI Interventions, Inc. (OTCQB:MRICD) invites investors and analysts to participate in management's broadcast review of the Company's 2016 second quarter and six-month results.

The conference call is scheduled to be broadcast live over the internet on Monday, August 15, 2016 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (1:30 p.m. Pacific Time) and may be accessed by visiting the Company's website at www.mriinterventions.com, selecting "Investors" / "News" / "IR Calendar." The conference call may also be accessed at http://mriinterventions.equisolvewebcast.com/q2-2016.

Investors and analysts who would like to participate in the conference call may do so via telephone at (877) 407-9034, or at (201) 493-6737 if calling from outside the U.S. or Canada.

For those who cannot access the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the completion of the call until August 22, 2016 by calling (877) 660-6853, or (201) 612-7415 if calling from outside the U.S. or Canada, and then entering conference I.D. number 413671.

About MRI Interventions, Inc.:

Building on the imaging power of MRI, MRI Interventions is creating innovative platforms for performing the next generation of minimally invasive surgical procedures in the brain. The ClearPoint System, which has received 510(k) clearance and is CE marked, utilizes a hospital's existing diagnostic or intraoperative MRI suite to enable a range of minimally invasive procedures in the brain. For more information, please visit www.mriinterventions.com.

Statements herein concerning the Company's plans, growth and strategies may include 'forward-looking statements' within the context of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding the Company's future events, developments and future performance, as well as management's expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of these laws. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those suggested as a result of various factors. Particular uncertainties and risks include those relating to: estimates regarding the sufficiency of the Companys cash resources; the Company's ability to obtain additional financing; future revenues from sales of the Company's ClearPoint System products; and the Company's ability to market, commercialize and achieve broader market acceptance for the Company's ClearPoint System products. More detailed information on these and additional factors that could affect the Company's actual results are described in the "Risk Factors" sections of the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Contact:

Harold A. Hurwitz, Chief Financial Officer

(949) 900-6833

SOURCE: MRI Interventions, Inc.
(Recasts first paragraph, adds details on stocks, adds quote)

Aug 11 (Reuters) - U.S. index provider MSCI announced on Thursday that the only change to its All Country World Index will be to add Liberty Broadband C to and remove Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc, both U.S. stocks.

The company also announced it will move Lending Club Corp from its MSCI Prime Market 750 Index to its U.S. Small Cap 1750 index and add Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc in Lending Club's place.

It will add one security, visual computing technology firm Nvidia Corp, to its U.S. equities index.

The company will make no changes to its Emerging Markets index.

However, MSCI announced the Bulgaria Index will be excluded from the MSCI Frontier Emerging Markets Index as it will be reclassified to Standalone Market status coinciding with the August 2016 Quarterly Index Review.

The largest addition to the MSCI China A Indexes are China Nuclear Energy, Shandong Linlong Tyre Co Ltd, and Meinian Onehealth Healthcare Holdings Co Ltd.

The index also added Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology Co Ltd, Jiangsu Akcome Science & Technology Co Ltd , Lianyungang Ideal Group Co Ltd, Tianguang Fire-Fighting, and Tonghua Golden-Horse Pharmaceutical Industry Co Ltd.

It will remove Dalian Dafu Holdings Co Ltd, Heilongjiang Interchina Water Treatment Co Ltd, Luxi Chemical Group Co Ltd, Shanghai Yimin Commerce Group Co Ltd and Tianjin Jinbin Development Co Ltd .

The changes were part of quarterly adjustments MSCI makes to its indexes, which it says are tracked by $9.5 trillion in assets.

"Investors tend to view indexed ETFs as purely assets they can buy and ignore, and these changes are a reminder that investors need to regularly look inside their ETFs because the stocks and country weightings can change as the index providers refresh those indices," said Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF & Mutual fund research at S&P Global Market Intelligence

The index fund updates will be implemented at market close on Aug. 31.

For a full list of updates to MSCI's indexes visit https://www.msci.com/index-review. (Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Vice President Joe Biden is celebrated online as a quirky and avuncular presence in the Obama White House, but in 1987 he was a tightly-wound and sometimes testy U.S. Senator running for President of the United States. Biden's temper flared at a Claremont house party when a local teacher asked him a seemingly innocuous question about law school. Biden's response - in conjunction with a later controversy over allegedly plagiarizing a speech - ultimately forced him to withdraw from the race. In this edition of Primary Vault, we sit down with the man who asked that fateful question, who says it was all a big misunderstanding.
Geneva (AFP) - The Nigerian government has reported two new polio cases in the first re-emergence of the disease since 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.

Two children in the northeast state of Borno had been paralysed by the disease, the Geneva-based group said in a statement.

The new cases represent a major setback for Nigeria, which had just celebrated two years without polio last month and was on track to be certified free of the virus in July 2017.

"The overriding priority now is to rapidly immunise all children around the affected area," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said.

That has been difficult to do in Borno, a region ravaged by Boko Haram insurgents in their quest to create a fundamentalist Islamist state.

The state is also facing a food crisis with UNICEF warning in July that some 50,000 Nigerian children risk starving to death.

"The confirmation of a wild poliovirus outbreak in northeast Nigeria underlines the emergency facing children in conflict-affected Borno state, where children are already facing dangerously high levels of malnutrition," Doune Porter, UNICEF Nigeria communications officer, said in a statement sent to AFP.

Nigeria had struggled to contain the virus after some northern states imposed a ban on vaccinations in 2003 with parents fearing that the vaccine wasn't safe.

But the government has been working to eradicate the disease, with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari pledging to work with international partners "to ensure that this disease is wiped off the face of the earth for good".

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects young children and can result in permanent paralysis, according to WHO. There is no cure and it can be only prevented through immunisation.
Warri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Nigerian villagers staged a third day of protests Thursday outside a Chevron facility to seek better jobs, as soldiers were called in to patrol the area, a community leader said Thursday.

Protesters from Ugborodo village hunkered down outside a Chevron oil depot in the mineral-rich swamplands of Delta State where communities live in poverty despite the region's massive oil wealth.

The Nigerian government is struggling to contain growing anger in the riverlands that has since the start of this year seen a series of bomb attacks on oil infrastructure by militants fighting for more political autonomy and a bigger cut of crude revenues.

"The protest is fully on course," Collins Edema, president of the National Association of Itsekiri Graduates told AFP.

"We have brought a DJ and traditional drums to make it more of a carnival event despite the fact that they are trying to use the military to terrorise us."

Edema said that so far there have been no clashes between soldiers and protesters, who are camped outside the Chevron tank farm protected by a 10-foot (three-metre) concrete wall laced with barbed wire.

Yesterday, the protesters said Chevron workers were evacuated from the facility in planes and helicopters.

Ugborodo, a fishing village in the country's south, can only be accessed from air or by an hour-long boat ride through the mangrove creeks from the oil hub city of Warri. It is close to the Chevron facility.

"We continue to engage with the protesters and other key community leaders and stakeholders, including the Delta State Government, and hope for a resolution of the situation shortly," Texas-based Chevron spokeswoman Isabel Ordonez said in a statement.

Ugborodo villagers have a history of staging protests against Chevron. Their complaints -- focussing on jobs, community development and pollution -- have stayed the same over the years.
How long can No Tomorrow last?

Although the forthcoming CW hourlong comedy has yet to premiere, that was one of the first questions asked of the executive producers Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.

After all, the series centers on a risk-averse, straight-laced woman, Evie (Tori Anderson) who falls for a freewheeling man named Xavier (Joshua Sasse) who lives life to the fullest believing that the apocalypse is coming in roughly eight months because of a global warming-induced asteroid. Together, they set out on a quest to fulfill their individual bucket lists.

"We have a plan for what happens after May 22, absolutely," executive producer Corinne Brinkerhoff said. "Its just a function of when we want to reach that day within our show."

Brinkerhoff promised there will be "payoff" for what the clock is ticking down to. But while the original Brazilian format had a small running clock on screen, the writers haven't "necessarily landed on" just how time will be addressed on the show. "We don't necessarily want to put too fine a point on exactly where we are," Brinkerhoff said. "The idea is to stay in the moment, live in the moment. And that carries through regardless of whether we're at eight months or seven months or six months."

The executive producers were also coy about whether the series will even reach that fateful day during its first season. "We want to keep that under lock and key," executive producer Maggie Friedman said with a laugh.

Despite what Xavier believes, it's not necessarily a question of when the apocalypse will happen but if. Although Sasse explained that Xavier believes the eventual end of the world to be a "mathematical truth," Evie remains skeptical despite her obvious feelings for him.

"Is this guy crazy? Is he right? Is he both crazy and right? We're going to have a lot of fun teasing the audience and keeping them guessing as to his level of sanity," Friedman said. "But he might be the sanest one of all because he obviously knows the secret of life, which is that you do have to seize the moment."

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Added Anderson: "It might be something she struggles with and grapples [with], but I think at the end of the day, he's so intriguing and captivating that she's drawn to him no matter what. You can't help who you fall in love with."

The idea of the world ending takes a backseat to this budding romance between the two. It's a way of life. It's a philosophy that she derives enjoyment from, so whether the math is all going to check out with every scientist sort of becomes secondary," Brinkerhoof said.

As one might glean from the description of the series and the network on which it airs - The CW - No Tomorrow is not a doom-and-gloom series like many other apocalyptic projects.

"There's certainly plenty of apocalyptical doom kind of shows, and we wanted an apocalyptical joy kind of show. As paradoxical as that might sound, I think that there's something that we all fundamentally understand and relate to about thinking, 'What if it's true and what if his math all really checks out?'" Brinkerhoff said. "What are we all needing to better seize the day and stay in the moment?"

No Tomorrow premieres Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. on The CW.
From Cosmopolitan

A notorious rapist who muffled victim's screams with a pillowcase was back in a state mental hospital Tuesday, two years after he was released over the protests of prosecutors and women who feared he would attack again.

Christopher Hubbart, 65, is not accused of a new crime but was picked up by the Department of State Hospitals, said District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who is under a gag order and could not discuss further details.

"The good news is tonight ... he's back in a state hospital," Lacey told KFI-AM . "That's probably the safest place."

Hubbart violated terms of his release and the company supervising his program returned him to Coalinga State Hospital, Santa Clara County Superior Court spokesman Joseph Macaluso.

Macaluso didn't provide details.

Lacey had fought Hubbart's release and angry residents of the Antelope Valley, where he was relocated about 40 miles north of Los Angeles, had demonstrated regularly outside his remote house where he lived under 24-hour guard and strict conditions.

Women shouted through bullhorns that he didn't belong there and should be locked up. Some burned effigies and carried signs saying "burn in hell."

A woman who spent 18 months protesting his release and traveled 350 miles to implore the Santa Clara County judge to keep him out of her community said she was ecstatic to hear he was gone.

"I feel like I won the lottery," Cheryl Holbrook said. "We're praying real hard that they keep him locked up. He's exactly where he needs to be."

Hubbart, dubbed the "pillowcase rapist," has acknowledged raping at least 40 women, several following stints behind bars. He has been in and out of prisons and state psychiatric hospitals since his first rape conviction in 1972.

After reoffending and serving more time, Hubbart was declared a sexually violent predator in 2000 and committed to a state-run psychiatric hospital.

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A Northern California judge in 2013 ordered Hubbart released after doctors said he had completed treatment and was fit to live in the community. The judge ordered that he live in Southern California near where he grew up, though his notoriety made it difficult to find housing.

When he was released in 2014, he moved into a small house in the desert on the outskirts of Palmdale.

Hubbart had to comply with conditions that included wearing a monitoring device around his ankle, attending therapy, and undergoing lie detector tests and random searches of his home. He was also ordered not to view movies or online material that would arouse him.

Prosecutors tried to have him returned to custody last year after the batteries in his ankle monitor twice ran too low. A judge denied the request.

Lacey said she wasn't told why he was picked up but expects to find out at a court hearing in 15 days in Santa Clara County.

An email sent to Hubbart's defense lawyer for comment was not returned.

Associated Writer Paul Elias in San Francisco contributed to this report.
From Town & Country

About five years ago in Paris, as I sat in the office of a large French bank and prepared to talk to a conseiller about opening a checking account, I thought for a moment that I had strayed into the 19th century. It wasn't the decor; although the branch was located on a grand boulevard, it had been redone-recently, by the looks of it- in one of those chipper color schemes favored by sober institutions that are eager to appear "friendly": banks, dentist's offices, pediatric waiting rooms.

Rather, it was an item on one of the forms I was asked to fill out that made me feel as if I'd been parachuted into a novel by Balzac. To open an account, I read, I would have to provide a "personal reference from my banker." The serious young woman who was to be my counselor, who had been helpfully translating the various forms and documents for me, looked up, startled, when I burst out laughing.

For most people money, like sex, is deeply private, and possibly a little bit dirty.

"My banker?" I'm a middle-class person, and in the 20 years that I'd had an account at a local branch of a giant U.S. bank, I think I'd spoken with an actual "banker" twice: once when I opened my accounts and once when I rented a safe deposit box. For two decades the tellers I saw every week had been as blithely indifferent to me as executioners to their victims, fanning out 20s like magicians with a deck of cards when I cashed a check, smoothly scooping up piles of deposit slips and checks like winners in a game of poker. That, of course, was before online banking and banking apps. Since then my anonymity has been perfected. For all they know, I don't even exist.

Which is just how millions of customers like it. For most people money, like sex, is deeply private, and possibly a little bit dirty. (Dirtier maybe. Nowadays we're happy to talk endlessly, publicly, about sex and our bodies but never about our net worth. A writer friend of mine who grew up rich once observed that most of the well-heeled women she knew would rather talk about having sex with their fathers than discuss how much their fathers earned.) Like that other unmentionable, death, money has, over the past generation, been increasingly sanitized and technologized,abstracted from the complex and often messy realities of interpersonal relationships. Today we die not at home but in hospitals, connected to machines; we bank not in person but in the ether,connected to our smartphones.

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And yet you have to wonder whether, beneath the strenuous preference for digital cleanliness, we don't still feel an atavistic twinge for human connection. Indeed, after my shocked guffaw,something else, something like nostalgia, flooded me in response to the solemn Parisienne's request for a reference from my banker. Like "letter of credit" and "gentlemen's agreement," the words were something out of an old novel, a whisper from the past evoking an era in which business was transacted on the basis of a handshake and credit was extended because you knew someone-or at least had attended the same school or belonged to the same club.

It can be easy to forget, in this day of robotic phone operators, secret log-in handles, and ever-metastasizing password requirements, that for millennia the human connection, often based on ancient and elaborate systems of aristocratic, military, or scholarly acquaintance and reciprocity, was the only one that mattered. In an age before ID cards and background checks, the presumption that people of the same caste or profession were "safe" made travel and commerce possible. According to the protocols evident in Homer's Odyssey, a stranger who appears out of nowhere on your doorstep had to be welcomed, fed, bathed, and offered a bed for the night before you could even dream of asking him who he was. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, net- works of personal connections (and connections of connections) among scholars ensured that academics-and ideas-could travel safely from country to country across Europe.

To this day, all you need to get access to the Vatican Library, founded in 1475 by a broad-minded pope, is a letter of recommendation from a scholar known to the administration.

The common element of these traditions and transactions was, of course, trust-one of the human elements that have been disappearing from most of our daily transactions. Today, when the word trust comes up in everyday conversation, it's likely to be your computer asking if you want to access a certain website. Can you blame me for feeling a little wistful about the idea of having a living, warm-blooded banker to talk to?

Our conflictedness about how to find the right balance between the digital and the human-between the cool, anonymous efficiency of online transactions, on the one hand, and the primal pleasure of gushing to the mortgage broker about how you're going to renovate the house you're buying, on the other-makes us particularly sensitive to flaws on either side. But as scary as news of a failure in your bank's online security system can be, there's something even more terrifying about human failures; unlike network breaches, these strike at our primal need to trust. This surely accounts for the powerful fascination exerted on us today by stories about fraud- which is to say, the abuse of trust.

Can you blame me for feeling a little wistful about the idea of having a living, warm-blooded banker to talk to?

When Andrew Caspersen, the Groton- and Princeton-educated scion of a wealthy Wall Street family (pictured top), was arrested earlier this year on charges that he'd been engaging in a $95 million fraud, the element of the story that commentators obsessively returned to was that Caspersen had duped his mother, brothers, and a Princeton classmate into investing in his scheme. Nearly a decade ago, as the Bernie Madoff scandal unfolded, it became clear that the financier was able to keep his Ponzi scheme running because he cannily preyed on fellow Jews, many of whom assumed, to their great loss, that because he was "one of them" he could be trusted.

Indeed, at the time of the Madoff scandal, a Newsweek writer found it "incredible that he could have sucked in so many rich, sophisticated people. No verification of the accounting was ever made, and no one questioned the investment strategy and resources of the Madoff firm." But this is to underestimate the power of those atavistic, clannish instincts that make us want to think we can trust family and friends-fellow tribesmen, in other words. The abuse of such trust is known as "affinity fraud," and whether the affinity is among Main Line WASPs or members of Temple Emanu-El, the principle remains the same: In the presence of a powerful personality who seems to be one of us, we see what we want to see, believe what we want to believe, trust whom we assume we can trust.

No one knows this better than novelists. Financial fraud has long been a seemingly inexhaustible subject in European fiction. This was particularly true in the 19th century, the period that witnessed the rise of the middle class-the first time large numbers of "ordinary" people had the kind of liquidity that made them alluring targets for dishonest financiers. Fraud, bankruptcy, and market manipulation are, for instance, recurring themes in Balzac's Comedie Humaine novels, begun in 1830. (One character, who realizes a huge windfall based on early news of the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo, was modeled on one of the Rothschilds.)

In the presence of a powerful personality who seems to be one of us, we see what we want to see, believe what we want to believe, trust whom we assume we can trust.

William Makepeace Thackeray, best known as the author of Vanity Fair (1848), had an ax to grind with dishonest moneymen: He lost most of a fortune he had inherited as a child as the result of the failure of an Indian bank, and from his earliest novels on he gleefully skewered fraudulent financiers. Vanity Fair's low-born social climber heroine, Becky Sharp, specializes in affinity fraud, swindling everyone from a trusting landlord to her best friend's brother, through whom she perpetrates an insurance scam. Alexandre Dumas's Black Tulip (1850) takes as its subject the infamous speculation in tulips in late 17th- century Holland; in Emile Zola's Money (part of a 20-volume series devoted to ridiculing the greed rampant in France's Second Empire), the mastermind of a vast investment fraud buys up newspapers to control the buzz surrounding the bank shares he wants to promote. (His prudent sister is pressured into investing in the scheme, against her better judgment.)

And in the most famous, and prescient, of all financial scam novels, Anthony Trollope's aptly titled The Way We Live Now (1875), a fabulously wealthy European banker of unknown origins called Augustus Melmotte moves to London, where he sets in motion a complicated scheme involving a railway in the Americas. Despite the never quite clear nature of the investment and their distaste for his manners (and birth), the English succumb to the allure of a character they assume has the know- how of the Rothschilds, and they clamor to put their money into the plan, which, like all Ponzi schemes, eventually collapses, leading to Melmotte's suicide.

Those investors' contemporary real-life counterparts are many. In the 1980s there was the Czech-born British financier Robert Maxwell, whose Ponzi scheme had him raiding pension funds and who, like Melmotte, ended up killing himself. In the 1990s there was Dana Giacchetto, the "stockbroker to the stars," who in 2000 was convicted of bilking a number of the Hollywood A-listers with whom he had palled around, such as Cameron Diaz, Ben Affleck, and Leonardo DiCaprio, out of millions. (He was found dead after a night out partying this past June, at the age of 53.) And then there was Madoff himself, whom potential investors were so desperate to meet that they joined country clubs where it was rumored he was a member.

What makes these scams possible is, in the end, our yearning for "affinity." What all these real and fictional swindlers have in common is the ability to exploit our greed by exploiting some- thing that may run even deeper: our desire to connect to other people. Sometimes the affinity is assumed. (They went, or claimed they went, to the same college or know the same people, and so we assume they're like us. Patricia Highsmith's Mr. Ripley worked that way.) Often the con men are expert storytellers, weaving an illusion of affinity and trust out of half-truths and outright lies.

At the time of the initial charges against the unprepossessing Giacchetto-who, even with his basset hound face and round spectacles, had convinced his clients that he was one of them-Creative Artists Agency agent Bob Bookman pointed out the particular susceptibility of movie stars to this kind of creative schemer. "This is a business where people make a lot of money not because of business skills but because of creative skills," Bookman told a journalist. Creative, indeed. Small wonder such characters have also long been catnip to great authors; making people believe in your stories is, after all, precisely what novelists-and actors-do.

How we react to these stories of fraud, whether in the news or between the covers of a novel, says much about who we are. In the end, whether you prefer the impersonality of digital platforms to the gratifying, if occasionally more perilous, opportunity to put your trust in another Homo sapiens depends on your view of human nature. The trusting and the clubbable will always be more comfortable placing their faith-and money-in the hands of people they know (or feel they should know), even though they're well aware that human connections can short-circuit.

Mutatis mutandis, the choice is one that people have been making, with ever-varying results, from the days of Homer, whose heroes blithely bathed in the tubs of total strangers, confident that they'd enjoy a good night's sleep, to 1875, when Zola penned his savage indictment of deceitful bankers, to the present, with its Caspersens and Maxwells and Madoffs. As my conseiller might say, plus ca change...
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis risks seeing some of its medicines banned in South Korea after company executives were charged with offering illegal discounts to doctors, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

According to the British business daily, South Korean prosecutors have asked the government to suspend the operations of Novartis Korea after six executives at the unit, including its president, were indicted for allegedly handing out $2.4-million (2.1-million euros) in illegal rebates from 2011 to 2016, in a move that could see the sale of implicated medicines banned for up to six months.

Novartis told AFP in an email that it would "take time to review the details of the indictment thoroughly and consider our next steps."

"We have acknowledged and regret that certain associates in (South) Korea conducted small medical meetings and other scientific related activities through trade journals, in violation of our policies," it said.

"We have also acknowledged that some associates supported travel to overseas congresses for some healthcare practitioners in a way that did not fully comply with (industry) self-regulation standards," it added.

But Novartis said it rejected the accusation that company's leadership in South Korea had sanctioned such violations.

"Novartis does not tolerate misconduct and we are already implementing a remediation plan in Korea based on the findings from our own investigation," it said.

It stressed that it was "too early for us to comment on potential outcomes of this case."
By John Miller ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis employees in South Korea gave kickbacks to doctors including paying for their travel abroad, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday as it faces scrutiny over illegal practices to boost sales. The Basel-based company confirmed media reports that six current or former employees had been indicted by the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office. It declined to comment on whether this might trigger a sales ban in the country, as reported by the Financial Times. Novartis said some of its Korean staff had held meetings with doctors that violated its policies and were "inconsistent with our culture and the expectations society has for us". "Some associates supported travel to overseas congresses for some healthcare practitioners in a way that did not fully comply with self-regulation standards," it added in a statement. Despite acknowledging wrongdoing, Novartis said it rejected "the implication that the alleged conduct was sanctioned by the most senior management of Novartis Korea". The Yonhap news agency reported on the indictment on Thursday, citing industry sources that indicated a total of 23 people, including publishers of medical publications and doctors, had been indicted. Seoul prosecutors could not be reached by Reuters for comment after office hours. Novartis has faced numerous probes across the globe where authorities or whistleblowers accuse it of bribing doctors to boost sales of pharmaceuticals products. Its offices in South Korea were visited by local authorities in February in relation to suspected bribery. In March, it agreed to pay more than $25 million to the U.S. government to settle civil charges that it bribed healthcare professionals in China. Last year, it paid $390 million to settle U.S. charges that it paid specialty pharmacies illegal kickbacks. Novartis is fighting a separate U.S. Justice Department prosecution that alleges it long lavished speaking fees and "opulent" meals, including a nearly $10,000 dinner for three, to get doctors to prescribe its drugs. [http://reut.rs/1VHLpYz] In April, Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation into bribery allegations, although Novartis said accusations were unfounded. Chief Executive Officer Joe Jimenez said this year that legal scrutiny over kickbacks largely relates to "legacy issues" stemming from what he called Novartis's historic "results-oriented" culture. Jimenez said he has since implemented measures to halt inappropriate behavior. On Thursday, Novartis said it launched its own internal investigation immediately after being alerted to the Korean shortcomings. It has begun remediation measures and will discipline employees who broke rules, the company said. "Novartis does not tolerate misconduct," it said. "We will continue to invest significant efforts to fully embed a culture of compliance throughout our Korean organization." (Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Ben Hirschler and Adrian Croft)
New York (AFP) - A man spent three hours scaling Trump Tower, the New York home and headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president, before police captured him through an open window.

Live television footage showed uniformed New York police officers reaching out and grabbing the young man with curly auburn hair -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- some three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups.

The 20-year-old Virginia man wanted to meet Trump, police said, without providing his name.

He had been edging his way up the side of the building gingerly -- sometimes with his feet dangling precariously as he gripped the suction cups -- on a hot and steamy afternoon.

New York billionaire Donald Trump was outside the city on Wednesday, holding a rally in Virginia with another event planned later in Florida.

Police who received an emergency call around 3:30 pm (1930 GMT) initially believed they were dealing with someone who wanted to jump from the building.

"We were able to break a window and establish some type of dialogue and we then secured three jumper air bags and numerous amounts of equipment for a high-angle rescue job," Manhattan South police commander William Morris told reporters after the incident.

A crowd of mesmerized onlookers watched the climber along with reporters and police, who cordoned off the block between Fifth and Madison Avenues.

The climber wanted a face-to-face meeting with Trump, as explained in an anonymous YouTube video, Morris said.

"At no time did he express that he wanted to hurt anybody," he added. "His sole intention was to meet with Mr Trump."

In the video, titled "Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower)," a young man dressed in a black hoodie with his face partially obscured exhorted Americans to vote for the Republican in November.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," the man said, addressing the White House candidate and identifying himself as "an independent researcher."

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"As for anyone else who's watching, please help make this video go viral so that it gets to Mr Trump and be sure to get out and vote for Mr Trump in the 2016 election," he added.

- Earlier evasion -

There was no immediate confirmation about the video's authenticity.

Police removed two windows from the 21st floor and it was there that officers grabbed him around 6:35 pm (2235 GMT).

The climber had started his ascent from a terrace area on the fifth floor and managed to initially evade police by climbing around an opened window and washer scaffold.

Police took him to a hospital for a psychological evaluation, after which he would be arrested, Morris said.

"We're working with the Manhattan District Attorney's office to determine the appropriate charges," he said.

Trump lives in a marble triplex at the top of the 68-story building, which is also the headquarters of his Trump Organization and election campaign.

The Republican nominee unleashed a firestorm on Tuesday when he suggested that "Second Amendment people" -- those who support gun rights -- could take action to stop Hillary Clinton from appointing US Supreme Court justices as president.

Since he launched his controversial, media-saturated bid for the White House, the tower on New York's prestigious Fifth Avenue has become a magnet for tourists.

Members of the public are free to roam inside the atrium until 10 pm most days as part of an agreement that allowed Trump to build 20 stories higher.
From Popular Mechanics

Drivers cited because of speed cameras want a southwest Ohio village to pay back more than $3 million in collected fines after a judge found the unmanned cameras unconstitutional.

New Miami issued nearly 45,000 citations through 15 months of using the cameras between 2012 and 2014.

The village collected about $1.8 million from the fines, and the traffic company that ran the program was paid $1.2 million, or 40 percent of the total collected.

The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports the motorists' attorneys are asking a judge to have the village pay the total, not just the portion of the fines it kept.

The village's attorney says the judge shouldn't hold the village responsible for money it didn't receive. He says they're taking the case back to the state Supreme Court.

The village currently uses manned speed cameras. A judge has already ruled that money collected from those cameras won't be garnished to pay ordered costs.

From: WLWT

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Wall Street is off to a positive start. All three major averages (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) were solidly in the green in early trading after better than expected quarterly results from Macys, Kohls and Alibaba.

Oil prices (CL=F) remain in focus following a build in US inventories and record Saudi Arabian production. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) trimmed its forecast for oil demand next year citing economic uncertainty.

Meanwhile, initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 266,000 for the week ended Aug. 6, according to the Labor Department.

Retail results

Macys (M) share were up sharply in early trading. The department store chain came in with earnings and revenue that topped analysts estimates. But revenue fell nearly 4% from a year ago and the company plans to close 100 stores and increase its investment in its online operations.

Kohls (KSS) shares rose after the retailer reported better than expected earnings and revenue for the second quarter, as hot weather helped traffic to its stores and the retailer kept a tight lid on inventory. However, the company cut its earnings outlook for the year as same-store sales fell more than expected.

Alibaba (BABA) shares traded near a fresh 52-week high in early trading. The Chinese e-commerce giant posted a beat on both its top and bottom lines for the second quarter with revenue up a whopping 59% thanks to strong mobile growth and as the company continued to add new users. Yahoo Finances parent company Yahoo (YHOO) owns a stake in Alibaba.

Shake Shack (SHAK) shares fell after the burger chain delivered disappointing same-store sales growth for the second quarter. However, earnings per share beat by a penny and revenue also topped estimates, jumping 37% from a year ago.

Under criminal investigation



Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) shares were down sharply following a Wall Street Journal report that the company is under investigation by federal prosecutors. Feds are looking into whether Valeant hid from insurers its close relationship with mail order pharmacy Philidor to help sell more drugs. The company says they are fully cooperating with investigators on the case.

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Stepping down



Another prominent figure of Googles Alphabet (GOOGL) is stepping down. Bill Maris, the founder of Alphabets venture capital arm, is leaving the company. Maris didnt explain why he is leaving. His replacement, starting tomorrow, is Googles David Krane. Krane is credited with helping Google g form a small startup to a multi-billion dollar enterprise.

Hillary Clintons plan

Its Clintons turn to deliver details of her economic plan in Michigan. Clinton will deliver her message at a manufacturing plant later this afternoon. Clintons campaign said her plan would help improve Michigans infrastructure, reduce taxes for small businesses and create jobs in the manufacturing communities. The campaign thinks 321,000 jobs can be created in the state.
With cases of police brutality frequently making headlines across the nation, Oklahoma City rapper Jabee has put his wisdom to wax on the politically charged track "Monument" featuring Public Enemy's Chuck D.

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Courtesy Photo

"Is it us or is it them?/ Are we together in the end?/ Do we kill the ones that kill so they never kill again?," he spits on the Hannibal King-produced track, which will appear on Jabee's forthcoming album, Black Future. "If it's war, if it's peace, if it's dying in the streets/ If we denying we dying but dying tryin' to get free."

"What you gotta do is get everybody ready for Black Future. You know what to do you know what to say," adds Chuck D in the intro. "I know you can spit and I know you can bring everybody together."

Chuck D Talks CNN, His Perception of Cops & His VP Pick for Hillary Clinton

The Emmy-winning rhymer (he won the award in 2014 for promoting the Science Museum Oklahoma with the song "What If?") says of teaming with the Public Enemy MC, "Chuck D heard some of my music and tweeted that my music had the potential to change the world. It started from there and we just stay in touch now."

As for Black Future, he teases, "You can expect your heart and mind to be different after hearing Black Future. It's for all of us."

Black Future hits iTunes on Friday, Aug. 12. Listen to "Monument" below.
Apparently being one of the few people in the world to make it to the Olympics isn't enough to save two Rio athletes from getting body shamed.



Mexican gymnast Alexa Moreno, who, according to her athlete page is a petite 4'10" and 99 lbs., started getting body shamed by Twitter users after she competed in the women's individual all-around qualification.





Olympic Athletes Are Getting Body Shamed on Social Media  A Former Olympian Speaks Out| Summer Olympics 2016, Body shaming, Fitness, Bodywatch

The tweets, many of which have since been deleted, compared her shape to a picture of a pig. One tweet that's still up jokes that Moreno only got into Rio because Mexico needed to fill an athlete quota.





Alexa Moreno, otro ejemplo de pseudo "Atletas" que no debe de mandar la CONADE solo por llenar la cuota. a Pirru (@Javo__O) August 8, 2016









Soon after though, the hate shifted and Twitter users came out in full support of Moreno.



"I'd love to see anyone body-shaming Alexa Moreno do that badass floor routine she pulled off," wrote one. "She's a tremendous athlete and cute as can be."





You are talented, beautiful and I wish I had those strong legs!! You have a great future ahead #AlexaMoreno pic.twitter.com/2rcPFOxHcS a Spicy Latina Mom (@spicylatinamom) August 10, 2016





Former Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard, an ambassador for MISSION, tells PEOPLE that preconceived ideas of what an athlete's body should look like doesn't mean they're not a standout in their sport.



"A six pack does not make you mentally tough to defeat your competitor. Ripped biceps doesn't mean you are better. Putting in the work and having the drive in your heart is what makes people stand out," Beard says. "A body is just a shell but how you move it is what puts you above everyone else."



And Moreno wasn't the only Olympian feeling the hateful wrath of Twitter users. Ethiopian swimmer Nobel Kiros Habte gained fans for his underdog status after he finished last, far behind the other swimmers, in his 100-meter freestyle heat Tuesday. But along with fans, he gained plenty of critics  including media outlets  who called him "chubby" and nicknamed him "Nobel the Whale."





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According to sport journalist Konjit Teshome, Robel Kiros Habte aka the Whale is the son of Ethiopian swimming federation president. a Am Sirak (@Jeberara1) August 9, 2016





But Habte, 24, brushed off their comments and his last place finish, telling Reuters that he was just thrilled to be there.



"I am so happy because it is my first competition in the Olympics," Habte says. "I wanted to do something different for my country, that's why I chose swimming. Everybody, every day you wake up in Ethiopia, you run. Not swimming. But I didn't want to run, I wanted to be a swimmer."



"It didn't matter where I finished."





RELATED VIDEO: Road to Rio: How Did Team USA Train for the Olympics?

Beard adds that part of the joy of the Olympics is celebrating athletes of every body type, from judo wrestlers to badminton players.



"I love seeing athletes come in all shapes and sizes! I think that's what's amazing about being an athlete," she says.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Thousands of vitriolic comments left on Australian swimmer Mack Horton's Instagram account have been deleted by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). Netizens, many of them Chinese, bombarded Horton's social media accounts after he called Chinese swimming rival Sun Yang a "drug cheat" before they competed in Saturday's men's 400 metres freestyle final, demanding that he apologise. By Wednesday, all comments - which numbered at least 200,000 on one photo post alone - had disappeared from Horton's page. "My staff are instructed to remove any comments that are offensive and in breach of the AOC's Social Media Guidelines. Comments must not be disrespectful, threatening or in poor taste," AOC's director of media & communications, Mike Tancred, told Reuters in an e-mail. Instagram told Reuters it could not comment on specific user accounts. It has recently introduced new tools giving users more control over comments on their pages. Censorship is common in China, whose users are prohibited from visiting certain websites by the government and often see controversial remarks on social media sites being deleted. Facebook and Instagram are banned in China, meaning that mainland users have to access the sites by jumping the "Great Firewall" using a virtual private network. That does not mean that users have stopped trying - screenshots of the message "mackhorton has turned off comments for this post" were posted on China's social media sites. The spat between Horton and Sun is turning into a battle of national media commentators and underlines how the issue of doping has become a defining issue for these Olympics. Chinese state media reacted to Horton's remarks by calling Australia "uncivilised" and "Britain's offshore prison", while the Australian delegation said they would support Horton's right to speak freely on the issue. Sun, who finished second to Horton in the 400 freestyle, was revealed two years ago to have secretly served a three-month suspension for using a banned stimulant. He said at the time the stimulant was in medication to treat a heart issue and did not enhance his performance. (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
By Amy Tennery RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Spain's Maialen Chourraut seized gold in the women's K-1 on Thursday, closing out the Olympic canoe slalom events with a flourish. Chourraut, who finished ahead of New Zealand's Luuka Jones and top-ranked Jessica Fox of Australia, called her winning performance a "reward" for her family and "all the nerves and emotion they have felt." "I have been working every day, taking it step-by-step in order to get to this point and to this place of winning the Olympic gold medal," Chourraut said. Her gold medal moment was still hazy in her mind when she addressed reporters at a post-race press conference. "I would need to see the videotape because I really don't remember," Chourraut said, when asked of her recollection of her victory. Fox, who had appeared a strong gold medal contender, said she was happy to win a medal and vowed to continue improving ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Games. "Today was a fantastic day, amazing racing by the women," Fox said. "It just makes me want to keep working harder." Fox won a silver medal in the K-1 at the 2012 London Olympics. Jones provided one of the surprise turns of the day, taking silver with a gutsy performance that brought New Zealand its first medal in the sport. Jones said she hopes her medal will help encourage the development of the sport back home. "It's huge," Jones said, noting that canoe slalom is not one of New Zealand's "key sports." "Hopefully [it's] going to be a gamechanger." (Reporting By Amy Tennery, editing by Neil Robinson)
Who else is already anticipating tearing up when, fingers crossed, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte stand together on the medal podium after Thursday nights 200 IM final?

With both expected to retire after Rio, and the 200 IM being the last race in Lochtes program, its the final time the two will race on such a big stage. (Theyll totally meet in secret, Rocky and Apollo style, right?) They both acknowledged in their joint interview after their semi that theyve pushed each other for years. And weve seen how much Phelps values motivation: If hes willing to hug it out with rival Chad le Clos, imagine the embrace hell share with a man he rooms with in the Olympic Village.

Itll be a showdown to remember. Ding ding.

Medals were decided Wednesday night, including the womens 4x200m freestyle relay. The U.S. team was so relaxed, they were taking selfies in the ready room. Maya DiRado, a late edition to the lineup, yawned in fact. Thats what you get when you make swimmers compete at midnight. Anchor Katie Ledecky sealed the deal for the ladies. Shes back in the pool tomorrow for the heats of her signature event, the 800m free.

Related: Katie Ledecky wills U.S. to 4200-meter freestyle relay gold with clutch anchor leg

Nathan Adrian was unable to defend his 100m free gold from London, but earned a respectable bronze. Hes still got the best smile in swimming. Not the title he was hoping for, but just saying.

American Josh Prenot took home silver in the mens 200m breaststroke, behind the first-ever swimmer from Kazakhstan to earn an Olympic medal, Dmitriy Balandin. That took commentators Rowdy Gaines and Dan Hicks by surprise.

As for the rest of NBCs primetime coverage, mens gymnastics once again got stiffed. Condensing the all-around competition from earlier in the day, the network did show us the dramatic conclusion that found Ukraines Oleg Verniaiev missing out on gold  and the chance to beat the greatest of all time, Japans Kohei Uchimura  because he took a hop on his high bar dismount. But because we stayed up late to watch Kohei soar

????King Kohei For the 1st time since 1972, the reigning Olympic all-around champ has repeated https://t.co/RX5xqSqhwv https://t.co/IgkuM7B8QT  NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 11, 2016

Lets all just tell our bosses were visualizing when we do this in the office tomorrow.

What do you do before the biggest moment of your life? Take a nap and block it all out! #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/oTlqbA2N2m  NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 11, 2016

Related: Controversy arises after Phelps of gymnastics wins mens all-around gold

We got to see a nice package on American cyclist Kristin Armstrong, who grabbed her third consecutive gold in the individual time trial earlier in the day  despite having to deal with a nosebleed. Ryan Seacrest brought her a birthday cake  she turns 43 on Aug. 11  before she did his late night show.

Related: American cyclist Kristin Armstrong wins gold, Barry Bonds pretty pumped

Also: Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross kept Kerris zero-Olympics-losses streak alive by defeating a Swiss duo in three sets.

Related: Kerri Walsh Jennings loses second set in Olympic career as USA tops Swiss

We look forward to Walsh Jennings meeting her biggest fan, Leslie Jones, who was on a flight to Rio Thursday. Look for her to make her debut as an NBC contributor on Friday.
By Pritha Sarkar RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The man dubbed as the "Michael Phelps of gymnastics" proved that when it comes to showcasing skills across six apparatus there is no equal to Kohei Uchimura. While other gymnasts have won more medals and more golds, most notably Belarus' Vitaly Scherbo -- who bagged a record six golds at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics -- no one has dominated the sport or maintained their levels of excellence for as long as the Japanese. The 27-year-old has now scooped every Olympic and world all-around title since taking silver at the 2008 Beijing Games, a streak of eight successive global golds unmatched in gymnastics history. "To keep it going for that long is just crazy," summed up Britain's Max Whitlock, who picked up bronze behind Uchimura and Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev. "To stay at a level and at the top for that many years is a hard job. I feel very honoured to stand on the podium with him." In a gruelling sport that seems to leave champions on the scrapheap faster than it takes Phelps use his giant wingspan to swim a 200m butterfly race, Uchimura's gymnastics lifespan defies logic. The bad news for all his rivals is that he is still not done. With Tokyo hosting the next Olympics, the all-conquering gymnast wants to keep going. But what Wednesday did prove is that the chasing pack are now breathing down his neck as the margin of his victory over Verniaiev -- a tiny 0.099 of a point -- was too close for comfort and the narrowest of his eight all around victories. It was no wonder Uchimura's mother Shuko could not handle all the tension and missed his moment of triumph as she fainted while watching from the stands of the Rio Olympic Arena. "At one point, I felt I had lost," admitted the soft-spoken Uchimura, who has been immortalised in comic strips in his homeland and has an army of screaming teenybopper fans around the world. Unfortunately for Verniaiev, all it took was one teeny-weeny little bobble on his dismount from the horizontal bar to lose to the man he called "the Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt of gymnastics". "Competing with a guy who has not given up his title since 2009 is amazing. I'm quite happy I managed to make Kohei very, very nervous. He is a legend." said Verniaiev. While touched by the high praise, Uchimura dismissed the comparison to his hero Bolt. "I really hope gymnastics will be as famous as swimming by Phelps and running by Usain Bolt. But I am not in the same league as them," added Uchimura, who owns 26 world and Olympic medals, including 13 golds. (Reporting by Pritha Sarkar Editing by Alison Williams)
By Joshua Schneyer RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ukranian Oleg Verniaiev nearly dethroned the man he calls "the king of gymnastics" on Wednesday, coming within a razor's edge of denying Japan's Kohei Uchimura a second straight Olympic gold medal in men's all around gymnastics. Though Uchimura's high bar routine sealed victory, the final scoreboard showed him beating Verniaiev by just 0.099 points. That was the narrowest margin of victory for the 27-year-old Japanese gymnast since he began dominating the all-around event in 2009, when he won the first of his record six successive world titles. Verniaiev's failure to win gold may even have come down to a small hop on his dismount from the high bar, where he was competing last. In a tense moment as Verniaiev waited for his score, he thought he might have edged out his Japanese rival. "I hoped, and I can't say I didn't think about it," he told reporters. "But it didn't go that way." Ultimately, Uchimura deserved the gold, the 22-year-old Ukranian said. "I have come as close as possible to him, as nobody has before," he said. "He's the Michael Phelps of gymnastics." Uchimura's victory marked the first time in 44 years a gymnast had won all around gold at two consecutive Games, though he said he expected a new crop of younger gymnasts, led by Verniaiev, to surpass him soon. "I really have no confidence that I will be able to beat Oleg (in the future)," Uchimura said. Verniaiev, the European champion in the all around event and the 2014 world champion on the parallel bars, said he was flattered by the comment. "I'm quite happy that I managed to make Kohei very nervous," he said. "We'll be preparing for next time." Verniaiev trailed in sixth after his opening performance on Wednesday, in the floor exercise. By the time he finished on the rings, the third of six rotations, he was top of the pile. Ahead of the final apparatus, the high bar, he held a lead of 0.901. But Uchimura enticed the crowd and the judges with a high risk-high reward program that included four release-and-catch moves. That left no room for even the slightest of wobbles when Verniaiev's turn came. He chose a routine with less 'wow factor'. He had not trained for a more difficult routine. "I felt it was too risky to try one," said Verniaiev. (Editing by Peter Rutherford; )
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic secured a gold medal in the men's double sculls final in the Olympic rowing regatta on Thursday, in a tough duel that saw them battling Lithuania's boat neck-and-neck for much of the race. After taking an early lead and holding Lithuania's Mindaugas Griskonis and Saulius Ritter to the second-place spot through the 1000-meter mark, Croatia slipped back into second place in the third-quarter. Lithuanian fans in the stands at Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon cheered wildly as the two boats battled for gold through the final half of the race. Ultimately, Croatia won in a time of 6:50.28, Lithuania claimed silver in 6:51.39 and Norway took bronze. (Reporting by Angus MacSwan and Amy Tennery, editing by Susanna Twidale)
By Mark Trevelyan RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Russia's Yulia Efimova booked her place on Wednesday in the final of the women's 200 metres breaststroke but her nemesis Lilly King of the United States failed to make it past the semi-finals. Australia's Taylor McKeown was the fastest qualifier for Thursday's final, followed by Japan's Rie Kaneto and Britain's Molly Renshaw, with Efimova sixth and King 12th. Only the top eight make the final. With two past doping suspensions, Efimova, bronze medallist in the event in London 2012, was initially excluded from the Rio Games but succeeded in a last-minute appeal last week to be allowed to compete. Comments by King describing her rival as a drug cheat set up a tense clash in Monday's 100 breaststroke final, in which the American defeated the Russian. The two swam in separate semi-finals on Wednesday. King's forthright comments earlier in the week gave an even sharper edge to traditional U.S.-Russian rivalry. Russian swimming chief Vladimir Salnikov told Reuters on Tuesday the atmosphere surrounding his team reminded him of the Cold War. King, 19, told reporters earlier on Wednesday that she had no regrets for what she said. "My parents raised me to say what I wanted to say even if it wasn't what people wanted to hear necessarily, so it's always been like how I am," she said. "And I'm going to stick with my guns." (Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
* Ledecky completes golden hat-trick * Champions U.S. win 4x200 relay, Australia second again * Canada take the bronze (Adds quotes, Franklin gets a gold) By Alan Baldwin RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Freestyle queen Katie Ledecky won her third gold medal of the Rio Olympics by anchoring the U.S. women to victory in the 4x200 metres freestyle relay on Wednesday while struggling Missy Franklin opened her account without being in the water for the final. Australia, who led until Ledecky dived in and turned the race around, took silver and Canada the bronze. The U.S. were the defending champions but only veteran Allison Schmitt, who swam the leadoff leg in Rio, was in the race lineup from that London 2012 golden quartet that also beat Australia into second place. Leah Smith and Maya DiRado swam second and third respectively before Ledecky, who won the 400 freestyle on Sunday and 200 free on Tuesday, brought home the gold with a typically powerful swim from behind. Franklin, who won four golds in London four years ago but suffered a dramatic loss of form at the U.S. trials, swam in the heats and collected a gold for doing so despite being dropped for the final. So too did Melanie Margalis and Cierra Runge. "It's such a great honour to be a part of a USA relay team," said Ledecky, still only 19 but the outstanding female swimmer on the U.S. team. "I think I was prepared for any circumstance, whether we were ahead or behind. I just knew that these three girls were going to put me in a good position to finish it out and I knew I could do it," she added. "It's so easy to get up and swim fast when you're swimming for three other people." China led at the start before Australia, with Emma McKeon swimming the second leg, handed over in the lead to Bronte Barratt. With DiRado closing in on Barratt but still behind, Ledecky had work to do and she went about it with a vengeance to take the lead with just over 100 metres to go and then powering home in seven minutes, 43.03 seconds. Tamsin Cook touched out for Australia in 7:44.87 and Canada's anchor Penny Oleksiak finished close behind in 7:45.39 with China fourth. DiRado's gold completed her set, having already earned a silver and bronze in the two women's individual medleys. "I was so excited to get the call up today to be on this relay," said DiRado. "It was a dream to be on a U.S. relay and to win gold. I'm just so happy I didn't mess it up and I gave Katie a chance. "We've got the rainbow now," she added. "It feels really good." The race may have been Schmitt's last swim but she was not ready to confirm anything. "I am grateful for where I am right now, to be able to stand up there and hear our national anthem is something I am definitely soaking in," she said. "I think my emotions are so high right now that I just want to soak that in and figure out the rest later." (Additional reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by Greg Stutchbury)
(Adds detail on competition, background on medal winners) By Brian Oliver RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan, who lost five Olympic titles from 2008 and 2012 through retrospective doping positives, won their first gold of the 2016 Games when Nijat Rahimov broke the clean and jerk world record in the men's 77kg category. Rahimov, who served a two-year doping ban after testing positive at the 2013 Universiade, when he competed for his native Azerbaijan, was 12kg behind when the favourite Lu Xiaojun of China finished his lifts. Rahimov had to lift 214kg to win, 4kg more than Lu's clean and jerk world record, which he set three years ago. When Rahimov made the lift the Kazakhstan national coach, Aleksey Ni, ran on to the platform to hoist his hero off the ground. Ni then fell on to his back and kicked at the air. During Ni's reign as head coach Kazakhstan has amassed the worst doping record in world weightlifting, with 32 positives since the 2008 Olympics. Their four champions at the 2012 Games and their one from 2008 have all tested positive retrospectively. On the basis of that record Rahimov was asked, "What would you say to Olympic fans who doubt the validity of your medal?" His reply was, "I am not aware of the problem so that is what I would tell them." Lu, who had broken his own snatch world record with a lift of 177kg, said of Rahimov: "I met a stronger competitor. I admire him." Both men finished on 379kg, Rahimov winning by virtue of his lighter bodyweight. The bronze medallist, Egypt's Ihab Mohamed, said, "There are Egyptian athletes waiting to be promoted into medal positions because of the doping (at 2008 and 2012 Games). I hope this was a 100 percent clean competition." Ihab, from Al-Fayoum, is one of six brothers, all weightlifters. He is the only one competing at this level and he is assured of a hero's welcome after the Games, he said, because he is the first Egyptian to win a medal in men's weightlifting since 1948. Earlier in the day, Sara Ahmed had finished third in the women's 69kg, becoming the first Egyptian woman to stand on the Olympic podium in any sport. "Egyptian weightlifting is born again," said Ihab. "In Tokyo 2020, Egypt's position in world weightlifting will be different." Lu wore a pair of specially made gold shoes in the expectation of retaining his Olympic title. After he made his sixth and final lift he clearly thought he had done enough to win, as he stripped off his top and screamed in triumph. But Rahimov had the final say. (Editing by Bill Rigby)
One of your favorite online Korean beauty retailers is planning on opening actual stores

One of your favorite online Korean beauty retailers is planning on opening actual stores

K-beauty lovers, prepare to freak the eff out, because this incredible Korean beauty brand is going to open IRL stores. Founded in Seoul but now reaching all the way around the U.S., Memebox is a *major* beauty brand in the world right now, and they just announced their plans to open actual stores. We havent been this ~jazzed~ in what feels like ages. Or, well, since Taylor Swift proved its 100% okay to wear overalls no matter your age.

With its headquarters in San Francisco, Memebox is planning what is essentially to dominate the beauty world in the *best* way. According to Forbes, the killer beauty brand raised a HUGE amount of money ($66 million to be exact) and plans to use the money to take its 1,200 Korean brands from the ~net~ to our shopping malls. It just rocks so much because Memebox is truly super innovative, and so unique.

A photo posted by MEMEBOX USA (me-me-box) (@memebox_usa) on Jul 23, 2016 at 5:44pm PDT

The Memebox website reads, As a one-of-a-kind company where beauty meets tech, Memebox is the fastest growing beauty brand in the world. Weve collaborated with your favorite YouTube celebs and beauty gurus to create products that you love, and our digital-first approach brings you the best web and mobile app shopping experiences around, it reads. Were changing the face of the beauty industry, one smile at a time.

A video posted by MEMEBOX USA (me-me-box) (@memebox_usa) on Aug 9, 2016 at 8:37pm PDT

We are *pumped* and we hope you are too. Get ready to load up a real life shopping cart with a whole lot of killer Korean beauty products, because we can never have too much K-beauty.

The post One of your favorite online Korean beauty retailers is planning on opening actual stores appeared first on HelloGiggles.
LIMA  Colombian helmer Felipe Guerreros feature debut Oscuro Animal is slated to bow in Argentina and Colombia in the fall. It has already debuted in Mexico where it won a raft of awards at the 2016 Guadalajara Intl Film Fest, including Best Ibero-American Film, director and actress for all three actresses in the near dialogue-free triptych.

Guerreros production-distribution company Mutokino Films will release his pic on an alternative film circuit in Colombia while Obra Cine handles theatrical distribution in Argentina.

Co-produced by Argentinas Gema Juarez Allen of Gema Films, Guerreros Mutokino along with producers from Holland (Viking), Germany (Sutor) and Greece (Boo), Oscuro Animal will vie for the big prize at the 20th Lima Film Festivals official competition. Juarez Allen is a juror on the festivals documentary section; one of its actresses, Marleyda Soto, is in Lima to rep the drama.

An editor by profession with some notable Latin American pics to his credit, this is Guerreros first fiction feature, after having tried his hand at documentaries with Paraiso and Corta. Both are devoid of talking heads and like Oscuro Animal shirk dialogue.

The lack of dialogue is an important metaphor for the silence of the victims, said Guerrero. Based on true stories about the massacre of villagers in Colombia, Oscuro Animal dwells on three women who flee to the capital of Bogota to escape the jungle warfare and mens violence.

Gema Films and Mutokino are handling international sales, with Denmark and Benelux territories already sold, said Guerrero.

Oscuro Animal is Guerreros first fiction feature, while its the second fiction feature for producer Juarez Allen who has a string of documentary credits to her name. It was a demanding shoot in remote areas but it went quite smoothly; we put the financing together quite quickly, said Juarez Allen.

Juarez Allen is currently developing live action kid- targeted documentary Kro-Goo-Phant with Victor Kossakovsky, whose fiction feature Vivan las Antipodas  which opened Venice in 2011  was a Gema Films co-production.

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A co-production with Norways Sant Usant, Kro-Goo-Phant (as in crocodile, kangaroo and elephant) will shoot in India, Norway and Argentina, said Juarez Allen, who next partners on La Cama the fiction feature debut of Monica Lairana, which starts shooting in Argentina in October. Budgeted at $500,000, La Cama (The Bed) pivots on the last weekend together of a 65-year old couple about to divorce.

Gema Films is also co-producing Panamanian Abner Benaims next fiction feature, Plaza Catedral which centers on a recently divorced man grieving for his late son who finds new meaning in life after an encounter with an injured street child.

I see him like a character in a Polanski or Heneke film, but in a tropical setting, said Benaim who describes it as a drama with some thriller elements.

Production of Plaza Catedral, which snagged the VFF Highlight Pitch award at Berlins co-production mart, has been shifted to next year because additional funding from Panama was delayed due to the freezing of the national film fund by its new government.

Meanwhile, Gema Films is boarding two other features, details to be disclosed at a later date, and is in post on two docus: Soldado by Argentine Manuel Abramovich, who made the multi-award winning short, La Reina, and Veteranos by Lola Arias, Argentinas most prominent playwright, which features veterans from both sides of the Falklands war and bows in Argentina on April 2, the 35th anniversary of the devastating South Atlantic islands dispute between the U.K. and Argentina.

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Indonesias financial intelligence agency has warned security ministers and officials that a large portion of the money used by terrorist groups in Indonesia originates from overseas.

The Jakarta Post reports that officials from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) told an international counterterrorism meeting in Bali earlier this week that over $763,000 was transferred from foreign countries to fund terrorism in Indonesia between 2014 and 2015.

They had many ways of sending the funds, for example, through our migrant workers in Malaysia, Singapore and Middle Eastern countries, said PPATK deputy chairman Agus Santoso on Tuesday, according to the Post. The money can be directed to Indonesia through various countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and many more.

Bloomberg meanwhile reports that a regional risk assessment jointly prepared by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries in the region also concluded that groups like ISIS are increasingly channeling funds into Southeast Asia to finance terrorism.

Given only small sums are required to stage a deadly attack, even modest amounts of funding from foreign terrorist groups pose a significant risk to the regions security, the assessment said, according to Bloomberg. The cross-border movement of cash is the highest-risk method of moving terrorism funds across the region.

Security ministers from more than 20 countries, including Indonesia, Australia, the U.S., the U.K., India and China attended the counterrorism meeting in Bali this week.

There are widespread fears that militant groups such as ISIS are expanding in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia and the southern Philippines. The group has even launched a publication to recruit Southeast Asian fighters.

[Jakarta Post, Bloomberg]
On Thursday, shares of pharmaceutical company Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc. VRX are crashing, down almost 10% in late-morning trading following reports that the company is under a criminal investigation.

According to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Valeants relationship with a specialty pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services, that helped improve its drug sales, and whether or not it hid this relationship from insurers.

Lawyers at the U.S. Attorneys Manhattan-based office are figuring out if Valeants ties with Philidor resulted in defrauding insurers.

We have been fully cooperating with the authorities throughout the investigation, and we are in frequent contact and continue to cooperate with the U.S. Attorneys Office, Valeant said in a statement. Valeant takes these matters seriously and intends to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct.

It was just last year that Valeant came under scrutiny over issues including its business practices, in particular with Philidor. The company cut ties with the pharmacy last October after reports surfaced that Philidor had allegedly used tactics to gain more insurance reimbursements for Valeant drugs.

Valeant has already admitted that about $58 million of incorrectly marked sales were tied to Philidor. Joseph Papa, the drug makers new CEO, has made efforts to put these issues behind Valeantlike hiking its drug prices and using Philidor to distribute these newly expensive medicinesand to gain back shareholder trust.

Investors, too, were hoping the worst was behind Valeant. The company reported solid second quarter results on August 9. Despite a loss in profit, the company reaffirmed positive full-year guidance, sending its stock soaring over 18%.

VRX stock has declined more than 90% over the past 12 months due to multiple SEC and Congressional probes into its price hikes. This current investigation into its business practices is not likely to have a positive impact on Valeant shares, and it may be a wise decision to sell before its stock falls even further.

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VALEANT PHARMA Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

VALEANT PHARMA Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | VALEANT PHARMA Quote

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(Reuters) - Paraplegic patients recovered partial control and feeling in their limbs after training to use a variety of brain-machine interface technologies, according to new research published on Thursday in the journal "Scientific Reports." The researchers followed eight patients paralyzed by spinal cord injuries as they adapted to the use of the technologies, which convert brain activity into electric signals that power devices such as exoskeletons and robotic arms. Between January and December 2014, the patients used virtual reality scenarios and simulated tactile feedback exercises to train their minds. "To our big surprise, what we noticed is that long-term training with brain-machine interfaces triggers a partial neurological recovery," said Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, a professor of neuroscience and biomedical engineering at Duke University, according to a statement from Duke. "What we didn't expect and what we observed is that some of these patients regained voluntary control of muscles in the legs below the level of the lesion and regained sensitivity below the level of the spinal cord injury," Nicolelis said. The researchers believe that the training in effect rewired the circuitry in the brain, giving it new ways to communicate with parts of the injured body. "We may actually have triggered a plastic reorganization in the cortex by re-inserting a representation of lower limbs and locomotion in the cortex," Nicolelis said. "These patients may have been able to transmit some of this information from the cortex through the spinal cord, through these very few nerves that may have survived the original trauma. Its almost like we turned them on again," Nicolelis said. "It is very encouraging," Dr. Ron Frostig, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at the University of California, Irvine, said in an interview. "It shows that not only can we train them to use their thinking to activate something to help them like a robotic arm, but now we can improve their situation even further." (Reporting by Ben Gruber, editing by Larry King)
PARIS (Reuters) - France on Thursday condemned the Israeli army's demolition of French-funded buildings in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, saying it was a violation of international law. The demolition of agricultural installations in Nebi Samuel last week, was the third time this year that buildings funded by French humanitarian aid had been demolished or confiscated by Israeli authorities, a foreign ministry spokesman said. Among them, in February, was a school. "We urge Israeli authorities to stop these operations, that are in contravention of international law," the spokesman said. Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), an arm of the military that deals with Palestinian civilian issues, said demolition orders were issued because the structures were built without Israeli permission. "No request for building permits of the illegal structures had been received by their owners. They were invited to a committee to give them a chance to rectify the situation and gain permission but they failed to appear," COGAT said in answer to a Reuters query. U.S. efforts to broker an accord between Israel and the Palestinians have been stalled for two years. France hosted a conference last month with the aim of breaking the impasse. (Reporting by Michel Rose, additional reporting by Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Editing by Ralph Boulton)
paul mccartney yoko ono

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Paul McCartney opens up about his final years with The Beatles and discusses how the band felt "threatened" in the presence of Yoko Ono, John Lennon's wife.

"We were kind of threatened [then]," McCartney said. "She was sitting on the amps while we were recording. Most bands couldn't handle that. We handled it, but not amazingly well, because we were so tight."

Ono has long faced the ire of Beatles fans, many of whom allege that she broke up the group.

"We weren't sexist," McCartney continued, "but girls didn't come to the studio  they tended to leave us to it."

Today, McCartney's relationship with Ono is on solid ground  "It's like we're mates," he said  but back in the late '60s, he had to learn to accept her.

"My big awakening was, if John loves this woman, that's gotta be right," McCartney said. "I realized any resistance was something I had to overcome. It was a little hard at first. Gradually, we did."

Previously, in an interview with Al Jazeera, McCartney explained that Ono "certainly didn't break up the group."

"I think she attracted John so much to another way of life that he then went on to, very successfully, add a sort of second part to his career, writing things like 'Imagine' and 'Give Peace a Chance,'" McCartney told the outlet in 2012. "I don't think he would have done that without Yoko."

NOW WATCH: Paul McCartney and Rihanna just released a music video featuring Kanye  and it's actually pretty awesome





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New York (AFP) - Paul McCartney has kept a packed touring schedule in recent years but the 74-year-old Beatles legend says he may need to slow down soon.

Asked by Rolling Stone magazine if he could imagine touring in the same way at 80, McCartney replied: "Unimaginable -- and unseemly."

But McCartney added that, when he was 17, he thought a 24-year-old at fellow Beatle John Lennon's art school was old.

"People say age is a number. It's a big number the older you get," he said in the interview published Wednesday.

"But if it doesn't interfere, I'm not bothered. You can ignore it. That's what I do," he said.

McCartney recently said he was drinking heavily and almost quit music after The Beatles split in 1970.

But he has embraced touring with renewed vigor in recent years, playing with only occasional months-long breaks since 2009. He remains one of the world's biggest concert draws.

McCartney's latest global tour culminates in October at California's Desert Trip, a one-off mega-show that will also feature The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, The Who, Neil Young and Roger Waters.
Imgorthand

Its well known that homes in good school districts sell for a premiumand are a good investment for buyers with or without children. But just how much can you expect to top up that listing price or bid? And what are the top school districts where people are rushing to buy homesregardless of the cost?

The economic research team at realtor.com took up the challenge and dived into the data. The team compared homes in school districts rated 9 or 10, the highest score, by GreatSchools.org with homes in nearby districts rated 6 or less.

Its common knowledge that buyers are often willing to pay a premium for a home in a strong school district, says Javier Vivas, research analyst for realtor.com. Our analysis quantifies just how good it is to be a seller in these areas.

It turns out, homes in the higher-rated public school districts are, on average, 49% more expensiveat $400,000than the national median of $269,000, and 77% more expensive than schools located in lower-ranked districts in their own area, with a median of $225,000.

Plus, homes in higher-rated school districts sell an average of eight days faster than homes in below-average school districts, and four days faster than the national average.

People are more interested in homes in good school districts, tootheyre viewed 26% more, on average, than the average home on realtor.com, and 42% more than homes in areas with below-average schools.

Lets check out the schools where youll shell out the most extra (or profit the most) for a quality public school education.

Top 10 school districts with the highest premium

1. Beverly Hills Unified School District, Los Angeles County, CA

Sixteen years after the hit teen show Beverly Hills 90210 went off the air, the coveted ZIP code still has cachet. Homes in the top-rated Beverly Hills Unified School District (GreatSchools rating: 9) sell for an average 689% more (thats $3.8 million) than other homes in Los Angeles County (a far more reasonable $550,000). BHUSD homes beat out those in nearby Santa MonicaMalibu Unified School District, which is rated 9 and has a median list price of $2.5 million, and more recently hip Culver City Unified School District, with a rating of 8 and a median list price of $975,000.

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Beverly Hills High School, home of the BHHS Normans Michael Tran/FilmMagic

2. Highland Park Independent School District, Dallas County, TX

Homes in the Dallas-area Highland Park Independent School District (rated 10) carry an average 632% premium, at $1.8 million, over the median-price home in Dallas County (a mere $277,000). Buyers would get a relative bargain in the neighboring Coppell Independent School District, which has a rating of 9 and a median home price of $470,000.

3. Kenilworth School District No. 38, Cook County, IL

The Chicago areas Kenilworth School District No. 38 ranked third in the nation with a home price premium of 606% compared with greater Cook County. Homes in the district alongside Lake Michigan (rating: 10) go for a median list price of $1.6 million. But just a bit southwest, Wilmette Public Schools District 39 has a rating of 10 and homes that go for $780,000.

Rounding out the top 10 school districts with the highest price premiums are:

4. Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Hamilton County, OH

5. Winnetka School District 36, Cook County, IL

6. Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Los Angeles County, CA

7. Scarsdale Union Free School District, Westchester County, NY

8. Saddle River School District, Bergen County, NJ

9. San Marino Unified School District, Los Angeles County, CA

10. Mariemont City School District, Hamilton County, OH



But buyers arent necessarily rushing to pay the highest price possible for good schools. So we also looked at school districts with the highest demand from home buyers. How can we tell? By looking at listing views for that market on realtor.com, compared with the surrounding county.

While highly ranked school districts in these markets have pushed home prices higher than their surrounding areas, the majority of these high-demand markets are relatively affordable when compared to the national median, which is a big factor contributing to their popularity, Vivas says.

And its definitely a less glitzy list than the one above. The winner: Rocky River City School District in Cuyahoga, OH, rated 10, where listings within district boundaries receive 2.8 times more views than other areas in the county. Cuyahoga County schools are pretty popular, it seems, because Strongsville City School District also makes this list at No. 7.

Top 10 in-demand school districts

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Acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almovodar said he found a new challenge in his latest film Julieta, mining a quieter drama for his 20th feature film as he reflected on his decades-long career. "Julieta" is an adaptation of several Alice Munro stories about a single mother drifting into depression as she searches for her missing daughter and discovers much about her traumatic past is not what it seems. The film stars Emma Suarez as the older Julieta and Adriana Ugarte as the younger iteration of the character. Almovodar, 66, known for complex dramas such as "Hable con Ella" ("Talk to Her"), "Todo sobre mi madre" ("All About My Mother") and "Volver," said Julieta presented a new challenge for him. "I used to make a lot of melodramas, I mean dramas with a lot of sense of humor, music and strange situations. But in this case...there is so much pain in this story that I wanted to - just to make it more softer way that I could. So I mean this sobriety, it was something new for me and it's related more with a dark drama than with melodrama," the Oscar-winning director told Reuters at the films UK premiere on Wednesday. Debuting his 20th film, Almovodar looked back on his own career, saying he dreamed to be a director since childhood. When asked about his contribution to Spanish cinema, Almodovar said his country's diverse culture was at the heart of his work, and discussed the changing portrayals of his female characters through the years. "In the Eighties I was starting doing everything, and also the country was starting in a new period - it was the moment when the Spanish democracy birth again. So the character that I wrote, I mean the female characters that I wrote at the moment, they were very different from now because of the decade. It was a decade full of passion, full of freedom and it was a big explosion, it was a unique moment in the history of my country," he said. The film opens in cinemas across the UK on August 26 and hits the United States on December 21.
The U.S. military is massive. Despite recent cuts, it includes some 1.3 million active-duty personnel and another 800,000 reservists across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. The Defense Department also has a massive real estate portfolio that includes more than 562,000 buildings and structures on 523 bases, posts and centers. The Pentagon in April estimated that by 2019 nearly a third of all Army and Air Force infrastructure will be unnecessary surplus, according to Reuters. And some policy experts and analysts insist the government could likely save an additional $2 billion a year or more by pruning the Pentagons far-flung real estate holdings.



But if the past is prelude, congressional leaders and defense hawks will once again block any attempt at a fresh round of base closures. Part of the reason for that is obvious: Military bases are an economic engine in many regions of the country, including California, Florida, New York, Texas, Virginia and South Carolina. They provide enormous numbers of jobs for military personnel and civilians alike. And no member of Congress would want to see any base in his or her state shuttered.

Related: Half a Trillion for the Pentagon? Why Defense Spending Is Only Going Higher

Those bases have become indispensable sources of commercial activity to hundreds of thousands of Americans. By attempting to close any one of them, the Defense Department would be literally tearing at the economic and social fabric of a community. As Georgetown University law professor Rosa Brooks writes in her new book, How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything, the distinction between the Pentagons responsibilities as a fighting machine and its ancillary role as the worlds largest commercial landlord has become dangerously blurred over time.

Military installations have become indispensable massive one-stop shopping outfits for their communities and regions  akin to a Super Walmart with everything under one roof  as well as facilities for training and deploying troops, Brooks wrote in a Foreign Policy Magazine column, adapted from her book.

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The Pentagon complex is the central nervous system of the world-wide U.S. military system. Considered the ultimate embodiment of this extraordinary duality of purpose, 23,000 military and civilian employees and 3,000 other support staff work in the building.

Related: Congress to Pentagon: Dont Even Think About Closing Military Bases

Brooks, a former Defense Department employee, recalls taking her mother on a tour of the Pentagon early in the Obama administration. As they went through the entrance and began passing the Pentagons florist shop, banks, nail salon and food court, her mother turned to her and said, So the heart of American military power is a shopping mall?

Indeed, the Pentagons 17.5 miles of corridors had sprouted dozens of shops and restaurants catering to the employees and visitors. And, over time, the U.S. military has itself come to offer a similar one-stop shopping experience to the nations top policy makers, she wrote.

At the Pentagon, you can buy a pair of new running shoes or order the Navy to search for Somali pirates. ... You can buy yourself a new cell phone or task the National Security Agency with monitoring a terrorist suspects text messages. You can purchase a small chocolate fighter jet or order up drone strikes in Yemen.

Related: BRAC Is Back  but Will Congress Actually Close More Military Bases?

For the sake of argument, one might point out that the Defense Department had little choice but to create this military/commercial amalgam. The Pentagon is remotely situated in suburban Virginia, not far from the U.S. Capitol, and thousands of employees working there day and night need ready access to food courts, banks, department stores and, yes, even manicurists.

From Brooks standpoint, however, the militarys transformation into a massive one-stop shopping center is an ominous development. Thats because, as she puts it, Its at once the product and the driver of seismic change in how we think about war, with consequent challenges both to our laws and to the military itself.

By her lights, the defense establishment is now locked in a vicious cycle in which it redefined the meaning of war by asking the military to assume an ever-expanding range of nontraditional tasks.

In the most mundane of terms, this could mean providing Walmart-style one-stop shopping for members of the military and their families on military bases or at the Pentagon. But the real threat, she said, is that the military is being forced to assume greater responsibility for new global challenges, such as mounting threats from non-state terrorist networks, cyber terrorism and the destabilizing impact of worldwide poverty, genocide and political repression.

Related: The Battle Is On to Save Military Bases from Closure

Many of these challenges were once the purview of the State Department or U.S. international agencies, but now have been assumed by the military. And because their principal job is waging war, not engaging in diplomacy or nation building, military leaders of today cant help but view every new threat or challenge through the lens of war, Brooks argues.

Viewing more and more threats as war brings more and more spheres of human activity into the ambit of the law of war, with its greater tolerance of secrecy, violence and coercion  and its reduced protections for basic rights, she wrote.

Like Walmart, todays military can marshal vast resources and exploit economies of scale in ways impossible for small mom-and-pop operations, she added. And like Walmart, the tempting one-stop-shopping convenience it offers has a devastating effect on smaller, more traditional enterprises  in this case, the State Department and other U.S. civilian foreign-policy agencies, which are steadily shrinking into irrelevance in our ever-more militarized world.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Here's what to expect from US weather for the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks overnight tonight (Aug. 11-12).

If you're hoping to get a good view tonight, the best weather prospects favor the western U.S., most notably anywhere west of a line extending from roughly International Falls, Minnesota, southwest to El Paso, Texas. Skies are expected to be partly cloudy to clear during the late-night hours of Thursday night into Friday, thanks chiefly to a zone of high pressure spread out over the central Rockies. This promises a good view of this year's Perseid performance in that region.

The exception will be near and along the northern and central California coast, where low clouds and fog  the marine layer  will move in from the Pacific and spoil the view, but anyone taking a short drive inland should find clearer skies. [Perseid Meteor Shower 2016: When, Where & How to See It]

Meanwhile, in a zone stretching from the upper Great Lakes down through Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and through the Texas-Oklahoma panhandle, the weather will be problematic. Two low-pressure systems  one centered near Duluth, Minnesota, and the other near Omaha, Nebraska  and an associated frontal line stretched across the central and southern plains will team up to bring extensive cloud cover as well widespread showers and scattered thunderstorms.

Across Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, some of the storms could be strong to severe, possibly delivering excessive amounts of rain. Put simply, the only meteors to be seen in this viewing zone will be those of the "hydro" variety.

As for the rest of the central and eastern U.S., the weather will be dominated by a large "Bermuda High," a high-pressure weather pattern off the middle-Atlantic coast, producing a large area of hazy, hot and oppressively humid weather. Generally speaking, skies should be no worse than partly cloudy for Perseid viewing, but local weather disturbances interacting with such a humid air mass can produce clouds, showers and thunderstorms. One such disturbance is expected to adversely affect the weather near the central Gulf Coast, perhaps causing showers or heavy rain for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

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Minor weather disturbances over parts of the Ohio Valley, heading east to the New York City area, could generate unwelcome cloud cover late Thursday night. A nearly stationary weather front draped across southern parts of Ontario and Quebec, and stretching east to northern Maine, might also throw a few unwanted clouds between the Perseids and skywatchers.

Another factor that makes the Perseids popular is that the temperatures are generally comfortable: 50s and 60s Fahrenheit (10 to 20 degrees Celsius) across most of the western states (except 40s F, or4 to 10 degrees C, over the high elevations of the Rockies) and balmy 70s F (20 to 26 degrees C) over much of the eastern U.S., as well as the desert Southwest and Southern California.

You can get the latest forecast for your local area here, where you'll find links to all of the National Weather Service Forecast Offices around the country. Just locate the region that you are in for the office that serves your area.

Observing tips

Generally, it is thought that showers like the Perseids are the debris of comets, while larger meteors that make it to Earth as meteorites are made of the same stuff as asteroids  possibly fragmented planet material. The Perseids appear white or yellowish in the sky, numerous and bright, with some fireballs and glowing trains.

At the shower's peak tonight, these meteors appear to diverge from a small area in the northern part of the constellation Perseus (hence the name, "Perseid"). This is so far north that it's above the horizon for most of the country when darkness falls. Hence, you might sight a Perseid or two during the evening hours. But only after midnight, when the radiant is high in the northeast sky and observers have been turned by the Earth onto the planet's forward-moving side, do the numbers really begin to increase to the one-per-minute rate (or more) that makes this shower so exciting. [Perseid Meteor Shower Explained - Most Active of the Year! (Video)]

In the eastern U.S., observers should pay close attention for a possible brief surge of meteor activity around 1 a.m. EDT; Earth will be interacting with a localized "clump" of dusty debris shed during the 11th century by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the progenitor of the Perseid meteoroids.

I have always found that it helps to have had a late-afternoon nap and a shower, and to wear fresh clothing before going out to watch a meteor shower. Expect the temperature to be below what your local forecast suggests. When you sit quite still, close to the rapidly cooling ground, and the air is damp, you can become very chilled. Long lawn chairs, heavy blankets, sleeping bags, ground cloths, auto cushions and pillows are essential equipment. Some food or drink will also help keep you comfortable.

Good luck and enjoy the show!

Editor's note: If you catch an awesome photo of the Perseid meteor shower that you'd like to share with Space.com and our news partners for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Copyright 2016 SPACE.com, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MSNBC host Joy Reid, cultural critic Toure and HipHopDX editor-in-chief Justin Hunte discuss what makes Kanye West the biggest musical disrupter of the 21st century. Was it the real-time, flaws-and-all rollout of The Life of Pablo? Is it his Trump-like tendencies? Or Yeezy's public obsession with a certain blonde pop superstar?

Toure Why is Kanye so disruptive? My initial answer is Kanye believes in himself. Immensely. This began when he was a child: His mother once told me she worshipped the ground he walked on. I met her circa his first album [2004's The College Dropout] when, to me, he seemed massively entitled, a level of entitlement I had never seen in a black kid -- I had only seen it in white boys who had grown up with money. You think Kanye loves Kanye? Dr. West loved him more. Kanye is not powered by external validation; he validates himself. I saw the same thing in Prince.

Joy Reid I agree Kanye's disruptiveness stems from an overwhelming self-belief. He takes hip-hop swagger and braggadocio to another level, basing it on his self-declared superior artistic sensibility. Kanye really believes he is The Picasso of Hip-Hop. He's a classic narcissist. In some ways, he's a lot like Donald Trump: lashing out at those he doesn't think give him his due, craving more and more attention and respect, and fancying himself a great, great man -- if only the rest of the world would recognize it.

That said, Kanye has had some truly brilliant moments. He has flashes of genius interspersed with the erratic madness. His statement about President Bush in 2004, after Hurricane Katrina, was a defining moment for hip-hop and pop culture, which had been scandalously silent throughout Bush's rise, including on the Iraq War. The activist tradition had really died in hip-hop, and Kanye revived it.

Toure There is definitely a connection between Kanye and Trump: extremely egotistical, intensely attention-seeking, massively influential, era-defining men. But part of why many of us revile Trump is that he's a con man who's lying to Americans about what he can, and will do, for them. Kanye's core relationship with us is as a musician -- the rest is secondary -- and his music remains extraordinary.

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Justin Bieber Asks 'Taylor Swift What Up' in Pic With Kanye West

Justin Hunte I'm an unabashed fan. His 2004 entrance represented a black American perspective absent from commercial rap back then: Here's a middle-class black man rapping about working at The GAP while wearing blazers with jeans, Zack Morris-style, in an era littered with oversized white Ts and violent lyrics. The College Dropout was 60 degrees left of center and somehow the most relatable mass-marketed rap release that year.

But the first time I truly took notice was during his 2005 plea for Americans to be less homophobic: "Everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people," Kanye said during MTV's All Eyes On: Kanye West. "Not just hip-hop, but America... I want to just, to come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it.' " Here's one of the hottest new artists in America, one of rap's biggest stylistic outliers -- the only rapper wearing culturally questionable attire -- skinny jeans -- and he's on TV telling hip-hop to be less homophobic. Fighting for LGBTQ rights was one of the riskiest causes an MC could champion in 2005 and he did so openly, two weeks before [second album] Late Registration was released -- sales, cash or reputation be damned.

Toure Amen to all that. Throughout Caitlyn Jenner's introduction to America, Kanye was a voice of acceptance. He's all about being exactly who you are: Don't compromise on your vision of yourself.

As for The Life of Pablo, one of the most disruptive things he did was to tweak the music after it was released -- which in a world of streaming, almost any artist could do. People loved that idea, but did it make the music better? In every case, for me, Kanye's post-release tweaks made the songs worse. Especially "Fade": The tweaks made me dislike the song. But Kanye is about constant experimentation -- and if some of his experiments fail, that's part of the whole Kanye thing.

Kanye West Goes on Apple/Tidal Rant: 'This Tidal Apple Beef is F---ing Up the Music Game'

Hunte Pablo is sonically magnanimous: Kanye goes full Phil Jackson, guiding his gaggle of players to heights many hadn't seen individually. Not only does "Highlights" open with the year's most hilarious eight bars -- "Sometimes I'm wishing that my dick had GoPro" is the visual that won't go away -- but teaming Young Thug with El DeBarge may be the most masterful outside-the-obvious collaboration of his career. Chance the Rapper and Kirk Franklin on "Ultralight Beam" -- simply amazing. Still, West's latest is super low on replay value for me. The melodies and moods and tones are brilliant and wide-ranging, but the conversation feels more narrow than what's typical from Kanye. I loved Pablo when it dropped. But last week I ran out of space on my iPhone, so Pablo had to go -- and it wasn't a difficult choice.

Toure It's insane that you deleted a Kanye album from your iPhone. The man's out here making art and you're talking about phone space?

Hunte (Imitates Kanye shrugging.)

Toure You can't Kanye shrug a diss of Kanye.

Reid You all are a hot mess! The collaborations on The Life of Pablo are smart and well-executed -- love Kirk Franklin & The Family and Chance on "Ultralight Beam" and "Father Stretch My Hands, Part 1" with Kid Cudi. Overall, not his greatest album -- I give that to [2010's] My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy -- but certainly not worth deleting for space.

Why Does Kanye West Want to Squash the Tidal-Apple 'Beef'?

Toure The recent Taylor Swift flap over "Famous" is really interesting. At one point it was clear one of them was lying, and I bet many white people reflexively believed Taylor. But Kanye was telling the truth and that was established by the video his wife released.

Hunte I agree that Kanye is winning against "America's sweetheart," but it is suspect that the video did not include Swift agreeing to being referred to as a "bitch."

Toure I'm suspicious of locating too much of this around him using the word "bitch." The really heavy thing is him talking about hypothetical sex with her.

Hunte "I made that bitch famous" is the call-and-response part of the song: Millions of people are calling Taylor Swift "that bitch" in cars, clubs and stadiums worldwide. That means something.

Kanye West Carpool Karaoke Is Coming, James Corden Promises

Reid I'm pretty anti-Cult of Swift -- I find the phenomenon behind her boring as hell -- but it says something that all these years later, Kanye just can't leave her alone. But this whole collection feels like Kanye on the couch: He knows his faults, examines his flaws and asks God -- and his mother's spirit -- for guidance, but when he gets up off the divan, he's still Narcissus, staring into the lake. Would love to see what would happen if Kanye applied his genius to writing about something other than himself.

Toure I don't know if I want Kanye talking about something other than Kanye. He's a selfie artist in the selfie generation -- and his narcissism fits with the era and with his persona. I think Kanye, like Trump, is radically authentic, both saying whatever they really think without any strategy behind it. But this is Kanye's medium: Hip-hop is so often about rhyming about yourself and your world -- and Kanye's world is unique. No one else is in his lane, moving from Jay Z and Beyonce to Nicolas Ghesquiere and Marc Jacobs to Elon Musk to Takashi Murakami to Kim Kardashian to Caitlyn. Even "I Love Kanye" is so great because he's not talking about Kanye, but "Kanye," the meta-image of himself.

Reid "A selfie artist for a selfie generation." No truer words.

This article originally appeared in the Aug. 20 issue of Billboard.
After Tuma Basa, global programming head of hip-hop at Spotify, featured Lil Uzi Vert prominently on Rap Caviar -- the service's second-most-subscribed playlist, with more than 4 million followers -- the rising Philadelphia rapper's music soon jumped from an average of 442,000 Spotify streams per day to more than 1 million.

Spotify Unveils New Animated Video Series on Politics Behind Musical Movements

As competition between streaming services intensifies, Spotify -- the industry leader with 35 million-plus paid subscribers to Apple Music's 15 million -- has become instrumental in breaking new artists like Vert through its expert playlists. Since joining the company in April 2015, Basa has built Rap Caviar into the type of hitmaking platform once exclusively the domain of powerhouse radio stations, in the process growing its base by more than 3 million followers in a year.

"When you go on Rap Caviar, you trust it -- almost like Walter Cronkite on the evening news," says Basa, who previously served as vp music programming at Revolt TV and director of music programming initiatives at MTV. In February, Basa added Desiigner's "Panda" to two playlists before the Brooklyn artist signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music. "There was a little buzz here in New York. I was like, 'Wow, what's this?' " remembers Basa. In April, "Panda" made an astronomic climb to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Today, the track has 348 million listens on Spotify.

Spotify Puts Friday Releases on Your Radar With New Discovery Tool

To Basa, creating a destination of soon-to-be hits is more than just dragging and dropping songs. "[Music curation] is not generally recognized as a full-fledged art form," he says. "Spotify realizes it will be one day."

This article originally appeared in the Aug. 20 issue of Billboard.
Los Angeles (AFP) - A judge on Thursday upheld a ruling that Planned Parenthood shooter Robert Dear was unfit to stand trial and would remain in a psychiatric ward, a prosecution spokesman told AFP.

Dear faces 179 felony counts -- including eight charges of first-degree murder -- for the ambush last November at the Colorado Springs family planning and women's health clinic.

The 58-year-old is accused of opening fire outside the clinic before storming the building for a five-hour siege which saw three people killed and nine others sustain gunshot wounds.

Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge Gilbert Martinez found in May that Dear was not mentally capable, accepting psychological reports that he had suffered for decades from a delusional disorder, believing federal agents are out to get him.

Dear, who was not in court, is next scheduled to appear on November 17 for a hearing which will again review his mental state, said Lee Richards, a spokesman for the prosecution.

The stoutly-built, bearded Dear reportedly told investigators he attacked the clinic because family planning centers "sell pieces of babies."

He loudly declared his guilt during a hearing in December, announcing he was "a warrior for babies."

Critics, many of whom seek to outlaw abortion in the United States, have falsely accused Planned Parenthood of selling fetal organs and body parts for profit, and encouraging women to have abortions in order to expand such operations.

Dear, who has tried to sack his appointed lawyer, accusing the advocate of wanting to drug him, faces a minimum of life imprisonment and possible execution if convicted.
London (AFP) - Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted on Thursday that he is "very disappointed" by head of recruitment Paul Mitchell's decision to leave the club.

Mitchell, 34, followed Pochettino to White Hart Lane from Southampton two years ago and helped to shape the team that threatened to pip Leicester City to the Premier League title last season.

His departure is now being negotiated, amid reports he has been frustrated by Spurs' lack of transfer activity, and Pochettino said he will be sad to see him go.

"I feel very disappointed with his decision. It's his personal choice," Pochettino told a press conference, ahead of his side's Premier League opener at Everton on Saturday.

"You know that we have a relationship from Southampton. I'm very disappointed, but when someone takes a decision and it's personal, what can I do?

"He's still working with us and we still need to finish the three weeks working together and do the best business for the club."

Tottenham have signed Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama from Southampton and Dutch striker Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar during the close season.

Wanyama is due to start at Everton in place of the suspended Moussa Dembele, while Belgian centre-back Jan Vertoghen is fit after damaging ankle ligaments at Euro 2016.
New York (AFP) - The US teenager who used suction cups to scale Trump Tower, the New York home and headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president, has been charged, police said Thursday.

Stephen Rogata, 19, from Great Falls in Virginia, was captured and dragged through a window on the 21st floor of the 68-story skyscraper around three hours after he embarked on his dare-devil stunt Wednesday.

New York police said Thursday that he had been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.

Real estate tycoon Donald Trump, whom police said Rogata wanted to meet, was out of town at the time on the campaign trail.

In a tweet late Wednesday, the Republican nominee praised the "great job" done by police in "protecting the people and saving the climber".

Rogata's climb, on a hot and humid afternoon, was captured live on television and mesmerized onlookers who gathered below, where police deployed airbags in case he fell.

The teenager was initially taken by paramedics to Bellevue Hospital to be checked over by medics. Television footage showed him being wheeled out of Trump Tower on a stretcher Wednesday evening.

In an anonymous YouTube video, titled "Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower)," a young man dressed in a black hoodie with his face partially obscured exhorted Americans to vote for the Republican in November.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," the man said.

"Please help make this video go viral so that it gets to Mr Trump and be sure to get out and vote for Mr Trump in the 2016 election," he added.
In a disappointing setback for the global effort to eradicate polio, two children have been paralyzed by the virus in Nigeria, which had gone two years without reporting a case.

Prior to Thursdays announcement by the World Health Organization, it had been thought that polioviruses were only circulating in two countries in the world, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We are deeply saddened by the news that two Nigerian children have been paralyzed by polio, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHOs regional director for Africa, said in a statement.

The overriding priority now is to rapidly immunize all children around the affected area and ensure that no other children succumb to this terrible disease.

The cases were found in Borno, a state in northeastern Nigeria that borders Chad. The Islamic extremist group Boko Haram is active in Borno.

Analysis of the genetic sequences of viruses recovered from the children shows that they are most closely related to polioviruses that were circulating in Borno in 2011. That means transmission in Nigeria  or surrounding countries  never fully stopped, but was not detected by surveillance efforts.

Its a blow, Sona Bari, a spokeswoman for the WHOs polio program, told STAT.

Its the first time in history that a country has stopped transmission and then found indigenous virus again.

Only a small fraction of polio infections lead to paralysis, which means viruses can circulate without being easily detected. Its estimated that for every one case of paralytic polio, there are 200 silent infections.

As has so often been the case with the polio eradication effort, the setback comes at a time when prospects for eradication were looking extremely promising.

In 2015 Nigeria was dropped from the list of polio-endemic countries, having seemingly stopped transmission of the virus for a year. That milestone meant only two countries  Afghanistan and Pakistan  were endemic polio areas.

To date this year those two countries have reported only 19 cases, the lowest global tally ever. Optimism has been high that transmission in those remaining countries might be arrested in 2017.

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With good execution in Pakistan-Afghanistan, which we think were getting, with a bit of luck, the last wild-type case will be some time in 2017, and then we start a three-year clock for eradication, philanthropist Bill Gates told STAT in an interview earlier this summer.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The others are the WHO, UNICEF, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the service club Rotary International.

But even before the Nigerian cases came to light, Gates knew to hedge his bets.

But boy, polio is a hard disease. It has characteristics that make it way harder to eradicate than smallpox, he said in the interview with STAT.

Smallpox is the only human disease that has ever been eradicated.

In a statement Thursday, the Gates Foundation said it was deeply concerned by the news, but not discouraged.

The fight to end polio continues, often under some of the worlds most difficult and dangerous circumstances, and we will not give up until every last child is protected.
By Wiktor Szary WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's constitutional court on Thursday ruled against a set of government reforms aimed at changing how the court works, deepening a months-long constitutional crisis with a verdict the ruling conservatives said they would not implement. The standoff over the reforms and a series of new appointments to the court has hurt investor confidence in eastern Europe's largest economy. The EU told the government last month that it had three months to resolve the crisis or face possible sanctions such as a suspension of its voting rights and freezing of its EU funds. Since winning an outright parliamentary majority last year, the Law and Justice (PiS) party has repeatedly tried to change the court's operational rules, including changing the order in which cases are heard. It has also scrapped the previous parliament's nominations for judges and put forward its own candidates. Critics say the reforms and nominations are aimed at stacking the court, called the Constitutional Tribunal, with PiS supporters and stifling its ability to challenge new legislation as it comes up. The European Union has launched an unprecedented rule of law procedure against Warsaw and in July threatened sanctions, a decision Poland described as "premature". Warsaw's closest ally, the United States, has repeatedly expressed concern over the crisis. President Barack Obama, who visited Poland for a NATO summit last month, called on the government to do more to break the impasse. Rejecting key provisions of PiS' latest reforms, Judge Andrzej Wrobel said on Thursday that the tribunal was a guarantor of democratic checks and balances. "Any regulations affecting it must not lead to a situation where the court loses its ability to act," he said. The ruling party rejected the verdict before it was even announced, saying that in order for the court's rulings to be binding it must first follow the new regulations. The judges, however, said they could not rule on a law based on that law itself. PiS' leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski has accused the court of trying to deliberately block the government's reform agenda. The opposition says that if the Tribunal observes the new rules, it would be forced to admit to the bench three PiS-backed judges whose appointments it has already ruled illegal. This would also make it impossible to admit three judges appointed by the previous parliament but whom President Andrzej Duda, a close PiS ally, has refused to swear in. The Council of Europe, a rights body whose opinions are non-binding but carry weight with the EU's executive, has recommended that the three judges chosen by the previous parliament be admitted to the bench. It is not immediately clear how the standoff between the government and the court can be resolved by the Brussels-set deadline of October. If the government upholds Kaczynski's words, Thursday's ruling will join a list of 22 court verdicts that the government refuses to recognize. Experts say this could lead to a split in Poland's legal system, as some state institutions including lower courts say they recognize the court's verdicts against the government's will. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Barack Obama

Support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership  the landmark trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim nations  is growing in the US as it's been lambasted by Republican nominee Donald Trump and disavowed by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, a new poll showed.

The poll, released Thursday by Morning Consult, found that 35% of those surveyed support the deal, compared with just 26% when the firm last polled Americans on the deal in March.

Opposition has shrunk over that time span from 29% to 22%. In the Thursday poll, 43% replied that they either still don't know enough about the deal or held no opinion on it, down from 45% in the March survey.

Opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been key to Trump's campaign, as he's previously called the deal the a "rape of our country."

"A continuing rape of our country," he said during a July rally. "That's what it is, too. It's a harsh word. It's a rape of our country."

Clinton, who supported the deal while she served as secretary of state, reversed her position on it during the primary season, saying there still needs to be work done on it after both Trump and her top challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, roiled the agreement along the campaign trail. During the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last month, pro-Sanders supporters waved "No TPP" signs and chanted down various speakers by shouting "No TPP."

But President Barack Obama, who's administration has championed the agreement, has not wavered in his support as the deal has become toxic along the trail.

The agreement still needs to be ratified by Congress, which some say could happen during the lame-duck session of Congress following the November election.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who's been a staunch supporter of the agreement in the past, recently said it had to be renegotiated while meeting with Wisconsin manufacturing workers on Monday.

"I don't think there's a high likelihood (of the TPP's passage) right now because ... we don't have the votes to pass it because people like me have problems with some significant provisions of it that we believe need to get fixed," Ryan said. "But here's the point: we do need trade agreements. I know a lot of people say just get rid of trade agreements, don't do trade agreements, and that's terrible. That's a problem for us."

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also expressed support for the deal in the past, but he's recently said the deal might not come up for a vote until the next president takes office.

GOP Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, a frequently fierce critic of Trump and proponent of the TPP, told Business Insider in a late-June interview that trade agreements are some of the most difficult things to sell during a campaign. But, he added, the deal must get passed.

"It's more difficult to identify on the net, companies that have benefited from exports, cheaper goods," he said. "Not just cheaper goods but cheaper inputs. So [it] takes a lot longer than a 30-second sound bite. It's incumbent on us who have six-year terms to be talking about this."

He said Congress needed to "suck up" and ratify TPP because "it has to be done."

"I do still think there are enough people that realize we've got to do it," he said.

Morning Consult surveyed 1,998 registered voters and the poll's margin of error was 2 points.

NOW WATCH: 'I don't even really know where to start on answering this question': Watch President Obama respond to Trump's claim that the election will be rigged





More From Business Insider


VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Thursday hosted 21 Syrian refugees for lunch at his residence, where children gave him their drawings of war and their dramatic escapes by sea. The pope appeared particularly moved by one drawing by a boy depicting a child first swimming in a sea of blood and then swimming in a blue-coloured sea, video released by the Vatican showed. Another drawing showed a tank and stick figures shooting at each other while one more depicted two children running away from danger hand-in-hand. The lunch was attended by families of Syrian refugees, most of them Muslims. The Vatican is paying for their upkeep as they start a new life in Rome under the auspices of the Sant' Egidio Community, a Rome-based Catholic charity and peace group. A dozen flew out of Lesbos on the pope's plane when he visited a refugee camp on the Greek island in April. The others arrived in Rome later. The lunch took place at the Santa Marta residence, a guest house inside the Vatican where the pope has chosen to live instead of the spacious papal apartments used by his predecessors in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
PPG Industries PPG has opened a new distribution center in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. The roughly 32,400-square-foot center will cater to the companys PPG-Comex business, helping maintain over 200 jobs in the region.

The center has been opened with the intention to improve the distribution and commercialization of the Comex brand along with PPG Industries other products in the Pacific region. It can house about 3.5 million liters of paints and coatings. The location of the center will reduce shipping time in the region from five days to one day or less. It is also expected to help grow the loyalty of the Comex brand in the area.

The Pacific region is an important part of PPG Industries paint and coatings market. The company intends to open 30 additional retail stores there in 2016. The center will support the opening of these stores as well as help increase the companys retail Mexican customers.

Currently, the Comex brand of PPG Industries, representing its architectural coatings business in Mexico and Central America, has 4,000 stores. The company expects to open more than 170 stores in 2016.

PPG INDS INC Price

PPG INDS INC Price | PPG INDS INC Quote

PPG Industries shares closed around 0.2% lower at $104.10 on Aug 4.

In second-quarter 2016, PPG Industries adjusted earnings of $1.85 per share went up 10.8% year over year. Sales in the quarter were fairly consistent with the prior-year quarter, at $4,064 million. While earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, sales trailed the same. The bottom line was primarily boosted by the successful commercialization of innovative new products, strong business and cost management as well as earnings-accretive cash deployment.

Performance Coatings segment sales in the second quarter fell 3% year over year to $2.34 billion due to lower global architectural coatings volumes. However, earnings in the segment increased 4% year over year to $428 million on cost management, restructuring and acquisition-related benefits. Local currency architectural coatings sales growth in Mexico was more than double the countrys GDP growth rate in the quarter. The growth was primarily due to better market penetration and consistent increase in store count. Architectural coatings sales volume also improved in Central America due to the companys successful establishment of its presence in the region.

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PPG Industries currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the chemical space include Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. SHECY, Stepan Company SCL and Innospec Inc. IOSP, all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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Will West Hams move to the Olympic Stadium coincide with a rise into the upper echelons of the Premier League? (Getty)

With the 2016-17 Premier League season kicking off this weekend, FC Yahoo is rolling out previews for all 20 teams. Well be working our way up from the bottom of our predicted table, all the way to the champions.

Last season: Slaven Bilics first year in charge at West Ham was a rousing success. The Hammers staged a legitimate battle for the final Champions League place, and if not for losses to Swansea and Stoke, might have stolen it. They settled for 7th place and the Europa League.

Whats changed: West Hams 112-year inhabitancy of Upton Park has come to an end. A 3-2 win over Manchester United in May was the clubs last game at the storied ground. The Hammers moved to the Olympic Stadium, which was built for the 2012 Summer Games in London and subsequently renovated.

West Ham has also been busy fortifying its squad. Bilic has added three talented wingers  one, Andre Ayew, for a club-record fee, and two, Gokhan Tore and Sofiane Feghouli, for virtually nothing  and a left back, Arthur Masuaku from Olympiakos. Hes also brough young Argentinean striker Jonathan Calleri in on loan. His most astute piece of business, however, might be snapping up defensive midfielder/center back Havard Noirdtveit on a free from Borussia Monchengladbach.

The only notable permanent departure is utility defender James Tomkins, though the loan spells of Emmanuel Emenike, Alex Song and Victor Moses have all expired.

FC YAHOO TAKE

Alex Baker: In Bilic, West Ham has one of the most astute managers in the league and the move to the Olympic Stadium will see the Hammers up the ante in terms of revenue. The signings of Ayew and Feghouli bode well, and more importantly, the club has managed to keep hold of Payet. West Ham has indicated it wants to move into the territory Tottenham inhabits  in and around the European places  and this season the East London outfit looks well-poised to do so.

Shahan Ahmed: Payet is an incredible talent, and West Ham did the bulk of its business early, signing highly rated players like Nordtveit and Feghouli. However, the move to a new stadium promises an adjustment period, and Olympic Stadiums tend to disconnect fans from the action on the pitch. For the Hammers to finish in the European spots again, ultimately, Payet will need to repeat his brilliance of a season ago. Also, West Ham would need to hold off sides like Liverpool and Chelsea, both of which finished behind the Hammers and thus will not be distracted by European play. West Ham may not be worse than a season ago, but the Premier League has most certainly improved around it.

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Bookmakers say: Point total over/under: 54.5 | Title odds: 80/1 | Relegation odds: 33/1

FC YAHOO PREDICTIONS

Shahan Ahmed: 7 | Ryan Bailey: 7 | Alex Baker: 7 | Henry Bushnell: 7 | Joey Gulino: 8 | Joe Lago: 7 | Leander Schaerlaeckens: 8 | Average: 7.3 (7th)

More Previews

Arsenal | Bournemouth | Burnley | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Hull City | Leicester City | Liverpool | Manchester City | Manchester United | Middlesbrough | Southampton | Stoke City | Sunderland | Swansea City | Tottenham | Watford | West Brom | West Ham
Aug 11 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- The world's biggest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, said it had resolved a harassment claim filed against it by an employee who recently left the firm. http://nyti.ms/2b7LEeE

- South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday it will acquire U.S.-based luxury appliances maker Dacor Inc, seeking to boost high-end product sales. http://nyti.ms/2b7MHv8

- Bill Maris is stepping down as chief executive of GV, the venture finance arm of Google's parent company Alphabet Inc , according to a person who asked for anonymity because the details were private. http://nyti.ms/2b7MIyY

- A federal appeals court said on Wednesday the U.S. Federal Communications Commission could not block two states from setting limits on municipal broadband expansion, a decision seen as a win for private-sector providers of broadband internet and a setback for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. http://nyti.ms/2b7Mc4d (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru)
Pretty Little Liars star Ian Harding wants the show to have a brutal ending

Pretty Little Liars star Ian Harding wants the show to have a brutal ending

All good things must come to an end and Pretty Little Liars is no exception. Its been said by series creator Marlene King that there may be no more of this popular show after Season 7. In turn, this has led the shows cast to predict how the series will come to a close.

Ian Harding (who plays the debonair Ezra Fitz) recently threw his own finale idea out there and its quite intense.

pretty little liars 2

Maybe something horrible happens and we dont know what happens to the girls, like they all drive off a cliff. And then the camera pans out and Im laughing maniacally, Harding told The Hollywood Reporter. I think it would be fun if we found out Ezra was behind it the whole time. (Its safe to say that Ian isnt one to shy away from an antagonistic character.)

Then again, Harding also has a Plan B, which involves a Season 8: We could also just turn around and surprise everyone  Everyone is mourning the loss of the show and then boom, next June, season eight  were all mid-40s or something. Ian especially feels this way because it hasnt been confirmed that the show will officially be ending after Season 7.

[N]o one has come to me and said, Ian, youre totally done, the actor explained. [But] Im planning ahead accordingly just in case.

pretty little liars 3

Oh  and Ian also has a Plan C (because why not be prepared?). He told The Hollywood Reporter that it would be cool if the entire series was all just a dream. At the end, theyd demonstrate this by showing himself and co-star Lucy Hale (who plays Aria Montgomery) wearing prosthetic makeup a la the end of Harry Potter so we look really old with kids and all that. Okay, we see where hes going with this and its definitely interesting.

Either way, it will be fun to see if any of Ians predictions come true in the (possibly not-so-distant) future.

The post Pretty Little Liars star Ian Harding wants the show to have a brutal ending appeared first on HelloGiggles.
YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Protesters blocked the entrance to a Chevron oil facility in Nigeria's restive Niger Delta on Wednesday, demanding jobs and housing, a protest leader said. "Chevron has not fulfilled many of its promises," said Collins Edema, a youth and protest leader in the Ugborodo Itsekiri community in Delta state, home to Chevron's Escravos oil depot. Edema said the facility had been blocked and that more than 300 people, mostly local unemployed youths, had joined the protest, but Reuters could not confirm that figure. He said the U.S. oil major had previously promised to create jobs for young people from the impoverished area and also provide new accommodation after housing next to the depot had been "destroyed" due to Chevron's activities. He gave no further details. Communities in Nigeria's southern swampland often complain about oil pollution and houses being moved so oil drilling can take place. "Our protest will continue until Chevron listens to our demands. We at Ugborodo are urging other Itsekiri communities to follow suit and shut down Chevron activities in our communities," Edema said. Chevron confirmed a protest had taken place but did not say whether oil production had been affected. "Some members of the Ugborodo community gathered at one of the gates of our Escravos facility," the U.S. company said in a statement. "We continue to engage with the protesters and other key community leaders and stakeholders, including the Delta State Government, and hope for a resolution of the situation shortly." The Niger Delta region has been hit by a wave of militant attacks on oil and gas pipelines, reducing the country's crude output by 700,000 barrels a day, according to state oil company NNPC. The militants say they want a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth - which accounts for around 70 percent of national income - to be passed on to communities in the impoverished region and for areas blighted by oil spills to be cleaned up. (Reporting by Tife Owolabi, Anamesere Igboeroteonwu, Libby George and Ulf Laessing; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Susan Fenton)
R.E.M.'s Mike Mills will release his first classical composition, Concerto for Violin, Rock Band and String Orchestra, October 14th via Orange Mountain Music.

Related

R.E.M. Have 'Lot of Stuff in the Vaults'

The bassist says the band has "a fair amount of (music) that's never been released"

Mills composed and performed the piece with acclaimed violinist, and childhood friend, Robert McDuffie. The recording also boasts students from Mercer University's McDuffie Center for Strings Ensemble conducted by Ward Stare.



"It is a pleasure and an honor to have composed and to perform this amazing project alongside my old friend Bobby, whose imagination and encouragement got the whole thing off the ground in the first place," Mills said in a statement. McDuffie added, "It's a work that goes straight to your heart, and by the end you'll want to dance and move to the South."

Mills and McDuffie premiered Concerto in June with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and later performed the piece in Rome. Today, August 11th, they'll perform at the Aspen Music Festival, and this fall they'll embark on a U.S. tour with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra. The trek begins October 20th in Miami, with a complete list of dates below.

The live performance features Mills on bass and keyboard leading a four-piece rock band that also includes two electric guitars and a drummer. McDuffie will play violin alongside the 15-string orchestra.





Mike Mills and Robert McDuffie Tour Dates

October 20  Miami, FL @ Knight Concert Hall

October 21  St. Petersburg, FL @ Mahaffey Theater

October 24  Athens, GA @ Hodgson Hall

October 25  Newberry, SC @ Newberry Opera House

October 27  Macon, GA @ Macon City Auditorium

October 28  Atlanta, GA @ Emerson Concert Hall at Emory Univ.

October 29  Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall

October 30  Chapel Hill, NC @ Memorial Auditorium

November 1  Newport News, VA @ Ferguson Center for the Arts

November 3  North Bethesda, MD @ Music Center at Strathmore

November 4  Pittsburgh, PA @ Byham Theater

November 5  Carmel, IN @ Palladium Center for the Arts

November 6  Detroit, MI @ Music Hall

November 7  Chicago, IL @ Harris Theatre

Related Content:
Donald Trump has had a difficult stretch, starting with convention drama in Cleveland and continuing through two rough weeks of damaging controversies. TIME interviewed him on Aug. 9, just hours before he seemed to suggest the only remedy to a Hillary Clinton-nominated Supreme Court was for Second Amendment supporters to take action. What follows is a transcript that has been edited for clarity and length.

TIME: Its been a difficult stretch for your campaign over the last two weeks. Whats going on in the polls?

Trump: Well, I think were doing well. We have tremendous crowds. We have the same level of enthusiasm that weve had, if not more. Some of the polls are down a little bit. We have some polls that are not down very much. But I think were moving along. I think were doing fine.

TIME: You had a couple of conversations with Reince Priebus last week. He was pretty direct with you about the state of the campaign, saying that you were running behind some key Senate races. It was reported to us that he issued what amounted to an ultimatum that they would potentially support Senate candidates over your campaign if the numbers didnt reverse themselves by September. Could you shed a little bit of light on this?

Trump: He never said that. We never had a conversation about that. We are, we do very well together. We never had that conversation. Doesnt exist. And by the way, Reince Priebus is a terrific guy. He never said that. It was never stated. Why would they state that when Im raising millions of dollars for them?

TIME: Going back to the polls, some showed you down six, seven, eight points nationally and in swing states by a similar margin. You won the primary, but the general election is obviously a very different electorate. What do you have to do differently?

Trump: Well, Im running it differently than I did the primaries. I am listening to so-called experts to ease up the rhetoric, and so far, Im liking the way I ran in the primaries better. I got more votes than anybody in the history of the primaries, I got 14 million votes and won most of the states. But Im now listening to people that are telling me to be easier, to be nicer, be softer. Thats OK, and Im doing that. Personally, I dont know if thats what the country wants. When were having heads chopped off in the Middle East, when things are happening that have never happened before in terms of the atrocities, in terms of giving $400 million in cash and all other things, I think maybe they want tougher rhetoric. They would like me to be a little bit different than I was in the primaries. And in the primaries, I broke the all-time record for votes.

Story continues

TIME: So do you intend to revert?

Trump: Im not agreeing or disagreeing with anybody. I think I may do better the other way. They would like to see it be a little bit different, a little more modified. I dont like to modify. But thats what Ive done. Well see where it takes me.

TIME: Youve said that you intend to win black and Latino voters in the general election, but some of the surveys right now have you at less than 3% with African-American voters, about 20% with some Latino voters. How do you intend between now and Election Day to turn it around?

Trump: All I can do is tell the truth. Thats all I can do. And well see what happens. All I can do is be honest and tell the truth. Im looking to tell it like it is. Im going to bring jobs back. Well stop the illegal immigration. And all I want to do is be honest and be truthful. If that does it, thats great. And if that doesnt do it, thats fine too.

TIME: Let me ask you about the debates. Secretary Clinton has just accepted an invitation to all three presidential debates scheduled by the commission. Can you also commit now to attending all three debates under the conditions negotiated by the commission?

Trump: Well, I havent seen the conditions, Ill be seeing the conditions this afternoon or tomorrow, so Ill let you know then. But I want a debate very badly.

TIME: Is there anyone that would be unacceptable to you as a moderator?

Trump: Well, I dont know. Who would be the moderators?

TIME: They havent announced those yet.

Trump: Ill have to see who the moderators are. I would say that certain moderators would be unacceptable, absolutely. By the way, I will absolutely do three debates. I did very well in the debates on the primaries. So I look forward to the debates. I will demand fair moderators. I think the moderator has to be impartial and theres some people that arent.

TIME: You mentioned you want to see the conditions. Youve talked a lot about how you want to negotiate better deals. Is that something that you would like to reopen?

Trump: Well, I did it once before. I re-negotiated the debates in the primaries, remember? They were making a fortune on them and they had us in for three and a half hours and I said thats ridiculous. I said, you know, thats unacceptable. And they changed the whole format of the debate. Im sure theyll be open to any suggestions I have, because I think theyll be very fair suggestions.

TIME: Just to follow on your speech in Detroit yesterday. You talked a lot about revitalization the manufacturing sector. Would you back a policy that requires U.S. companies or U.S. allies to buy American-made products?

Trump: I dont think we have to do that. I think we can do it in such a way that theyll want to buy American-made products. And thats a good thing. Thats a better thing. You want to have a free market, and I believe in free market, but you want to have strength. And what were doing now is were being destroyed on foreign trade. And then at the same time, we lose a little less than $800 billion on trade. And we do things for other countries and they dont buy from us. But no, the answer is I like free markets. I want to make it so that people willingly want to buy from us.

TIME: Another follow-up on the speech yesterday. How would you address criticism of the plan that it would benefit disproportionately those at the higher incomes rather than the middle class?

Trump: No, it benefits corporations, and the middle class gets benefited, big league. But no, it doesnt, because we have a 12% tax rate. The middle class gets benefited very substantially. But the big beneficiaries are the jobs and whats happening with business. This is very good

TIME: I wanted to ask about Russia. If Putin continues his provocations, should the U.S. provide lethal assistance to the Ukrainians?

Trump: First of all, I answered the question perfectly previously but only about 70% of the media covered it that way. When Obama is talking about Russia, and when hes talking about the Ukraine, it was under Obama, and his so-called tough stance, that Crimea went to the Ukraine. This wasnt under Trump. And so when I answered that question I said theyve already got Crimea. But it was under Obama that Crimea was taken. And you know, so then he talks about me with Russia. Well, I dont think that would have happened if I were in his position.

TIME: So how would you 

Trump: And of course, as you know, he reset the relationship with Russia. But it was under Obamas reign, under Obamas presidency, that Crimea went to Russia. And you know hes talking about toughness and hes talking about all of these different things, but you know, the Ukraine is having a lot of problems. But one of the problems is Crimea goes over to Russia during Obamas reign. So when Obama criticizes various policy of, lets say, of Trump, all I said was that was taken during Obamas time.

TIME: You talk about the strategists and the wise people counseling you. Are you still having fun? You seem to want to return to the way things used to be during the primary.

Trump: I am having a good time. Again, you see the difference. Lets say between yesterday and go back into the rallies. I would say that I like the previous better. I can always revert to that if I want. It was more of an attacking style, which perhaps is a more natural style for me. Theres always a chance that I will do that and can go back to that.

TIME: Given that you had success with that attacking style and you enjoy it more, why did you decide to make the switch?

Trump: I listen to people, despite what people say. Im not sure if I agree with them. Ill let you know in a couple of weeks.

TIME: Do you feel you got yourself off-message in the last two weeks? Did you get yourself back on message yesterday?

Trump: I was hit hard during the Democrat convention. I think we had very successful Republican convention, frankly. But the one that goes last has a big advantage because its the last. All they did was negative, negative, negative. So, you know that could have had an impact.

Now Im going to North Carolina. Its a packed house. There are people waiting outside. Nobody has that. When Hillary goes out, I look at her so-called rallies, she gets 250 people and theres empty seats all over the place. I may be wrong, but I think were doing much better than anybody understands. And I said that after Wisconsin, when everyone said, well, thats the end of Trump, it looks like he lost. And I said to you, I dont feel it. So, weve had this conversation before and I actually feel more strongly now than I did then. Well see. Were five points behind, or six points behind. Thats not a lot.

TIME: Do you think the polls are getting your support wrong?

Trump: I think so. Some people get good crowds the last week of the campaign. I had about 18,000 people in Jacksonville, Florida, three days ago. And 4,000 or 5,000 walked away; they couldnt get in. In Daytona we had thousands of people. So, yeah, I think theres something out there. And I think the Clinton campaign understands that. Theyve spent $240 million on ads. Ive spent nothing. Zero. Purposely. Weve also raised a lot of money. We started in June and we did $51 million and people fell off their seat. And $27 [million] of it was small contributions, $61 dollars. No Republicans ever gotten that. And they said, that must be a blip, that wont happen, and that was a blip. Except for one problem: in the next month we did $82 million, much of it in small donations. So Im putting up millions of dollars and were also raising millions of dollars for the RNC.

TIME: You mentioned not running television ads. When does that change?

Trump: I would say itll change over the next couple of weeks. Ive got a lot of cash.

TIME: Any particular states?

Trump: Well pinpoint a little bit. But, mostly its general. Mostly common sense, frankly.
The federal government declared Thursday that marijuana, for nearly a half-century lumped in with heroin, LSD and Ecstasy as the most deadly and useless illicit drugs, will remain on that list. At the same time, it eased rules that have limited the use of cannabis in medical research.

The federal governments opposition to removing marijuana from its so-called Schedule I on the Controlled Substances Act comes as half the nations 50 states now allow the use of marijuana in some form, contrary to federal law.

The federal government reconfirmed Thursday that it believes there is insufficient evidence to show that marijuanas known risks outweigh any specific benefits its use might offer. The Drug Enforcement Administration concluded that weed has no currently accepted medical use because its chemistry is not known and reproducible; there are no adequate safety studies; there are no adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy; the drug is not accepted by qualified experts; and the scientific evidence is not widely available.

But the DEA did open the door to more research into marijuanas medical utility by making it easier for research institutions to grow it. Currently, there is only a single facility in Mississippi that provides a limited amount of marijuana for research, crimping efforts to see if it can help alleviate pain and conditions including cancer, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. This change, the DEA said, should provide researchers with a more varied and robust supply of marijuana.

Advocates were disappointed. The DEAs refusal to remove marijuana from Schedule I is, quite frankly, mind-boggling, Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Mason Tvert said in a statement. Not everyone agrees marijuana should be legal, but few will deny that it is less harmful than alcohol and many prescription drugs.

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Not everyone was disappointed. Wealthy investors and fierce user-advocates have orchestrated a political campaign to medicalize, legalize and normalize an intoxicating, psychoactive, addictive drug, Bertha Madras, a Harvard psychiatric biologist who fought drug abuse in President George W. Bushs White House, told TIME recently. Believers of its harmless and curative powers have driven state approval for its use as a medicine, in the absence of unbiased scientific evidence or adherence to rigorous drug approval processes.

Marijuana has been used through history far longer than its use has been barred in the U.S. Its mind-altering qualities led to its use as medicine in ancient China, and in fact, it could legally be prescribed by U.S. doctors until 1942, when the Federal Bureau of Narcotics persuaded the nonprofit U.S. Pharmacopeia to remove it from its list of drugs deemed effective. Prior to that, more than 20 marijuana-based prescription medicines were sold in the U.S. early in the 20th century; between 1937 and 1942 the federal government levied a tax of $1 an ounce on marijuana.

President Nixon viewed marijuana as part of a plot, along with homosexuals and immorality in general, against America. Thats why the Communists and the left-wingers are pushing the stuff, he said in a 1971 Oval Office meeting with top advisers John Erlichman and H.R. Bob Haldeman. Theyre trying to destroy us.

After Nixons attorney general, John Mitchell, declared marijuana a Schedule I substance in 1972, some in the government disagreed. Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man, Francis Young, a Drug Enforcement Administration administrative law judge, wrote in 1988. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.

The American Medical Association urged the DEA to reconsider the Schedule listing in 2009. A 2014 doctors survey found 56% of them backed the legal use of marijuana for medical purposes, with 82% of cancer doctors supporting the move. But that Schedule I designation has kept marijuana out of bounds when it came to federal research into its possible use for treatments of cancer, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder.

While its nearly impossible to kill yourself with a marijuana overdose (although it is believed to increase the risk of suicide), prescription-opioid overdoses killed 14,000 in the U.S. in 2014. A recent study found that opioid deaths fell an average of 25% in states after medical marijuana use had been legalized. But nothing compares to alcohol, which killed an estimated 88,000 people in the U.S. annually from 2006 to 2010.

At least five U.S. Presidents are believed to have used marijuana, before or during their presidencies, stretching from George Washington to Barack Obama. (The others are James Madison, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton.) JFK used marijuana to ease severe back pain. On the evening of July 16, 1962, he reportedly smoked three joints, and was offered a fourth. No more, Kennedy said, according to Washington Post executive Jim Truitt, who said he was there. Suppose the Russians did something now.
Reese Witherspoon wishes she was in Rio! While on vacation with her pals in Italy and Croatia, the actress tried her best Olympic dive.

WATCH: Reese Witherspoon Adorably Celebrates Sunday Funday With Son Tennessee

"I'm no @kledecky, but I tried!" she captioned an Instagram video, referencing Team USA's gold medalist Katie Ledecky. "@teamusa #Rio2016 #SummerAdventures #GirlsTrip2016."

In the clip, Witherspoon, 40, grins at the camera while wearing a snakeskin halter one-piece swimsuit before diving in the water.

The Oscar winner is currently enjoying some downtime with pals. The group of ladies first traveled to Venice, Italy, where they sipped local Spritz cocktails, visited the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, and sped through town on a boat.

MORE: Reese Witherspoon Opens Up About Religion and the Afterlife: 'I Think You Get an Angel and Wings and a Halo'

They then headed to Croatia where Witherspoon showed off her adorable pink pedicure on a dock and went for a fun group boat ride.

The mother of three is enjoying some kid-free time, but that doesn't mean she doesn't adore goofing off with her kids. Watch the clip below to see Witherspoon pal around with her 3-year-old son, Tennessee.

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Aug 11 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiner CVR Energy Inc, backed by activist investor Carl Icahn, is preparing to make an offer to buy smaller peer Delek US Holdings Inc, the New York Post reported, citing a source close to the situation.

Icahn, who had an 82 percent stake in CVR as of April 19, is speculated to be building a personal stake in Delek, the Post said on Thursday. (http://nyp.st/2bkUCGY)

Icahn might also be preparing to take full ownership of CVR, the report said.

Delek's shares rose 12.7 percent to $16.78 in extended trading, while CVR's were up about 9.8 percent at $15.07. Delek had a market capitalization of about $921 million as of Thursday's close, while CVR's equity value was $1.19 billion.

Brentwood, Tennessee-based Delek took a 48 percent stake in oil refiner Alon USA Energy in May 2015 and was reportedly looking to buy more shares of the company.

It was not clear whether a potential deal between Delek and CVR would have any impact on Delek's plans for Alon USA.

CVR declined to comment. Delek and Alon USA were not immediately available for comment.

Most U.S. refiners have said they expect to process less crude in the second half of the year as margins shrink due to a gasoline glut.

Delek's shares have fallen nearly 40 percent this year through Thursday's close, while CVR stock had tumbled about 65 percent.

Delek operates 155,000 barrels per day (bpd) in combined production capacity at refineries in Tyler, Texas and El Dorado, Arkansas.

Sugar Land, Texas-based CVR specializes in petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing. Its capacity for refining crude oil and feedstocks totaled 210,488 bpd in the second quarter.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
There is no question that Helen Bentley was the mother of the Maryland Republican Party and a fierce party loyalist until her death last week at the age of 92. As an advocate for maritime, defense and fair trade, she was the first woman appointed by President Richard Nixon to head a regulatory agency as chair of the Federal Maritime Commission. The long-time journalist started her career covering the Port of Baltimore and labor issues for The Baltimore Sun in 1945. She was in a unique position and she took full advantage of the opportunity which resulted in the port bearing her name today.
When the time comes for the GOP to sift through the ashes and rebuild in a post-Trump era, things could get very ugly. There will be a reckoning, and unless something is done to prevent it, recrimination and internecine political bloodshed could spiral out of control.

But in the interest of having the Grand Old Party up and functioning again as part of the US democratic system, maybe Republicans of good will could come together and devise a peaceful solution.

Related: 18 Campaign Controversies that Didnt Trip Up Trump

Perhaps, when the remnants of the GOP sit down together to try to hammer out a way forward, deference should be shown to the party leaders who demonstrated good judgment about Donald J. Trump from the beginning.

And maybe a little less deference is due to the elected officials who abandoned the former reality television star only when his string of outrages grew so long that there was no longer any real honor in doing so.

Presented for consideration, here is a post-Trump taxonomy of the Republican Party that could be used to divide up authority over the GOPs future direction in a post-Trump world. To determine eligibility, members of the party must provide documentary proof of the date at which they publicly repudiated the billionaire.

Republicans

You wrote Donald Trump off as unfit for the presidency long before he descended the golden escalator to announce his candidacy. You retain the label Republican with no qualifying addition. 1 Full vote on the future direction of the GOP

Related: What Would Trump Have to Say that Would Finally End His Run for President?

Rio Grande Republicans

You didnt denounce Trump before his run. Heck, maybe it never occurred to you that you might have to. But it didnt take long -- the minute the billionaire businessman started accusing Mexicans coming across the US border of being rapists, you said to yourself, This guy cant possibly be president. 1 Full vote

John McCain Republicans

You denounced Trump early, but not immediately. You get docked a few percentage points for waiting until Trump insulted Sen. John McCains heroic struggles in a Vietnam prison to decide that you just couldnt associate yourself with this person. (Inexplicably, John McCain doesnt qualify for this label.) 0.85 vote

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Megyn Kelly Republicans

Insulting Mexicans and war heroes was bad, but it took Donald Trump making a joke about a female debate moderators menstrual cycle for you to jump off the Trump Train. At least it was still more than a year before the election. 0.75 vote

9/11 Republicans

What finally did it for you was Trumps repeated insistence, in the face of ridicule and eye-rolling from people in a position to know the truth, that he saw on TV thousands and thousands of Muslims in Jersey City, NJ cheering the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. 0.65 vote

Related: As Trump Drops in the Polls, the List of GOP Defectors Grows

ADA Republicans

For whatever reason -- maybe just the sheer volume of collected outrages --Trumps public mocking of a New York Times reporters physical disability was where you drew the line. 0.50 vote

Geneva Convention Republicans

Everything else was bad, but it wasnt until Trump took the stage at a presidential debate and promised to compel US troops to commit war crimes in the battle against ISIS that you finally came out and said, You know what, maybe giving this guy the power to launch nuclear weapons is a bad idea. 0.40 vote

First Amendment Republicans

You waited and you waited. Maybe you really believed Trump would change. That he would morph into a statesman -- or at least a normal politician. Then he proposed banning people from the United States based on their religion. Finally, youd had enough. 0.30 vote

Hands Republicans

Donald Trump bragged about the size of his junk on national television. During a presidential debate. Did you have to explain it to your kids? Is that what finally pushed you over the edge? Fine, keep your 0.25 vote

Related: Would Trump Really Be the Most Reckless US President?

NATO Republicans

You woke up one morning and read that not only does Donald Trump want to turn the US military into a protection racket, he also doesnt much care about maintaining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization -- the most successful anti-war alliance of the modern era. Basic self-preservation instincts allow you to keep 0.20 vote

Oswald Republicans

Donald Trump read in a supermarket tabloid that Texas Sen. Ted Cruzs father was buddies with Lee Harvey Oswald, and might have been involved in the Kennedy assassination. Then he repeated it. Out loud. Wow, you said. Thats legitimately crazy. 0.15 vote

Curiel Republicans

At this point, you had probably figured the jig was up and were just looking for an excuse. Trumps claim that a federal judge born in INDIANA was biased against him because of his Mexican heritage probably wasnt worse than any number of things hed said in the past. But hey, any port in a storm. This is when you bailed. Take your 0.10 vote and consider yourself lucky to have it.

Putin Republicans

You earned your name by tolerating Trumps egregious flirtation with the Russian strongman throughout his campaign, up to the point at which he invited Kremlin-backed computer hackers to get involved in searching for HIllary Clintons email. For whatever reason, that was your bridge too far. 0.075 vote

Related: Trump -- Second Amendment People Could Do Something About Clintons SCOTUS Picks

Khan Republicans

Seriously? Seriously!?! It took Trump attacking the family of a dead US soldier -- for nearly a week! -- for you to turn on him? 0.05 vote and hang your head when you cast it.

2nd Amendment people Republicans

You waited for Trump to make a veiled reference to political assassination and/or armed rebellion before you finally backed out. Too late. You get no credit and you get 0.0 vote.

Vichy Republicans

Youre a dead-ender. You were out there on the talk shows defending the assassination comment. You get a full vote, but the catch is, its negative. Because even though youll deny it, youre basically the reason Hillary Clinton -- the least popular person to ever get a major party presidential nomination EXCEPT Trump -- is going to win. Youre a de facto Democrat. From now on, anything you suggest, the Party does the opposite. -1.0 vote.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
By Ginger Gibson and Steve Holland WASHINGTON/MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump called U.S. President Barack Obama and Democrat Hillary Clinton the "co-founders" of Islamic State, ratcheting up his assertion that they are responsible for the rise of the militant group and sparking renewed criticism of his leadership ability. Clinton's White House campaign on Thursday called the remarks a "false claim," in her latest response to a series of attacks by Trump in which he has sought to portray America as less safe, blame Democrats and depict himself as the only one who can restore security. Democrats, in turn, have used Trump's often hyperbolic statements ahead of the Nov. 8 election to argue he is unfit to be president and lacks the temperament to be trusted with matters of national security. "This is another example of Donald Trump trash-talking the United States," senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. "What's remarkable about Trump's comments is that once again, he's echoing the talking points of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure," Sullivan said. For Republicans uncertain about whether Trump has the discipline to stick to an attack against Clinton, the latest comments were concerning. Many see the New York real estate mogul as spending too much time fighting within his own party and have called on him to refocus his campaign message on Clinton. "ISIS is a solid GOP message to show contrast with Hillary Clinton and the failures of the Obama-Clinton administration," said Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist who remains undecided about the nominee, using acronyms for Islamic State and the Republican Party. But, she added, "Trump should have simply said that the Obama administration's decision to pull all troops out of Iraq, with no stay-behind agreement, created a vacuum and allowed ISIS to metastasize. It's absurd for him to say that Obama and Clinton are founders of ISIS - and he can't blame the media for this." A group of about 70 Republicans, including five former members of Congress, called on the Republican National Committee to stop helping Trump in the wake of his recent remarks and instead focus on getting members of Congress re-elected. "Trumps divisive and dangerous actions are not only a threat to our other candidates, but to our party and the nation," the letter stated. Some Republicans see a small silver lining in Trump talking more about Clinton. "It is helpful  at least to the rest of the ticket  that he is focusing a little more on Clinton than on other Republicans, whether defeated primary opponents or other elected officials who are on the ballot, for a change," said former New Hampshire Republican Chairman Fergus Cullen, who is not supporting Trump. "But tomorrow, or later today, he could blame (Republican Senator) Jeff Flake for A-Rods retirement," Cullen said, referring to Yankees player Alexander Rodriguez's decision to leave professional baseball. "I have zero confidence in Trumps ability to stay on one message or to drive one message for any length of time longer than about 10 seconds." CRITICISM OF IRAQ WAR Trump has previously criticized Clinton for supporting the Iraq War in 2003 while she was a U.S. senator. Trump frequently says, in contrasting himself with Clinton, that he opposed the war - but in interviews before the invasion he did voice support. Now, Trump is arguing that in trying to end the war and withdrawing U.S. troops in 2011, Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time, and Obama created Islamic State. Republicans frequently trace the birth of Islamic State to the Obama administrations decision to withdraw the last U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. But many analysts argue its roots lie in the decision of George W. Bushs Republican administration to invade Iraq in 2003 without a plan to fill the vacuum created by Saddam Husseins ouster. It was Bushs administration, not Obamas, that negotiated the 2009 agreement that called for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011. Clinton posted on social media website Twitter that Trump's comments are disqualifying. "Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our commander-in-chief," she wrote. The White House declined to comment on Trump's claim. Appearing in Miami Beach, Florida, on Thursday morning, Trump repeated his attack for the third time, saying the U.S. government "has unleashed ISIS." "In fact, I think well give Hillary Clinton ... most valuable player," Trump said. "ISIS will hand her the most valuable player award. Her only competition is President Barack Obama." Trump first made the assertion in a speech on Wednesday night in Florida, saying, "I call them co-founders" of Islamic State. In an interview on Thursday morning, Trump defended the remarks. "Is there something wrong with saying that?" Trump told CNBC. "Why - are people complaining that I said he was the founder of ISIS? All I do is tell the truth, I'm a truth teller." Trump was also asked by radio host Hugh Hewitt if he "meant that (Obama) created the vacuum, he lost the peace." "No," Trump responded. "I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do." The Democratic National Committee lambasted Trump's remarks. "Donald Trump should apologize for his outrageous, unhinged and patently false suggestions on the founding of ISIS," the DNC said in a statement. "This is yet another out of control statement by a candidate who is unraveling before our very eyes." Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani defended Trump on CNN, saying his remarks were legitimate political commentary. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey and Ginger Gibson in Washington. Steve Holland in Miami Beach, Florida.; Additional reporting by Amanda Becker, Susan Cornwell and Emily Stephenson.; Editing by Frances Kerry, Jonathan Oatis and Steve Orlofsky)
By Ronnie Cohen (Reuters Health) - Nearly one-third of U.S. hospitals fail to offer interpreters to patients who speak limited English, although federal law requires it, a new study shows. People have a right to hear a cancer diagnosis in a language they understand, not through hand gestures, lead author Melody Schiaffino said in a telephone interview. One in 10 adults in the U.S. struggle to communicate in English, census data show. When hospitals dont make interpreters available, much can be lost in translation, said Schiaffino, who is an epidemiologist at San Diego State Universitys Graduate School of Public Health in California. She was surprised to find that one-fourth of hospitals in areas with a high or moderate need for language services didnt offer them. The same was true for more than one-third of hospitals in low-need areas, her team reported in Health Affairs. Using census data from 2009 to 2013, the researchers calculated regional needs for translation services. Then, they examined the availability of these services at 4,514 U.S. hospitals as reported in the American Hospital Associations 2013 annual hospital survey. The data revealed holes in language-service coverage in multiple regions, such as in central Tennessee around Nashville and central Nebraska around Lexington. Other regions, like the New York-New Jersey area and Floridas Tampa-St. Petersburg area, had uneven results, with some hospitals offering services and others not, the study found. Private, not-for-profit hospitals were far more likely to offer translation services than private for-profit and government hospitals, the study found. Dr. Alicia Fernandez of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, who studies language barriers in healthcare but wasnt involved in Schiaffinos research, said the new study raises more questions than it answers. It remains unclear if the hospitals that reported not offering language services failed to provide them in any capacity anywhere in the hospital, or if, for example, some of their healthcare professionals might have been bilingual, Fernandez said in a telephone interview. This would be a big, big problem if theyre really not offering any services, Fernandez said. We cant tell the extent of the problem. She and Schiaffino both called for more research to further identify gaps in hospital language services. Prior studies have shown that patients in the U.S. with limited English proficiency are more likely to remain hospitalized longer, to be misdiagnosed and to be subjected to medical errors. The use of professional interpreters reduces the disparities and improves clinical outcomes, Fernandez reported in a 2014 study (http://bit.ly/2aOSrM7). You can imagine how difficult it is to get a cancer diagnosis when youre not really understanding. When family members act as interpreters, they make many mistakes and they carry the anxiety of making a mistake, Fernandez said. The 1964 Civil Rights Act requires hospitals receiving federal funds - and that includes all hospitals - to provide language services to patients with limited English proficiency. Services could mean telephone translators, bilingual staff, professional on-site translators or video translators, Fernandez said. Because commercial vendors provide telephone translators to hospitals, the service could be made available in any hospital at any time, she said. The law is really clear here, she said. Theres no excuse. Fernandez said she was especially troubled that the study found holes in translation services at hospitals in areas with new and expanding immigrant communities, like New Orleans, as well as in areas with long-established immigrant communities, like parts of Southern California. Language barriers complicate doctor-patient communication, making healthcare not only inequitable but more expensive and dangerous, Schiaffino said. If you dont know how to speak the language, you dont know how to ask where it hurts, she said. As a bilingual employee of a medical clinic, Schiaffino said she saw how a medical bill for an unnecessary ultrasound devastated a family. These are the things we take for granted through language, and we shouldnt, she said. At the end of the day, its a federal mandate. Its a great policy. Hospital administrators may think of immigrants as lacking health insurance, but many immigrants are insured. They have their papers, and they have insurance, she said. Its a great opportunity for hospitals. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2akJOYP Health Affairs, online August 1, 2016.
Rick Springfield is about to give the devil his (or her) due -- both in music and on TV.

The rocker and actor has signed on to play Lucifer in the next season of the CW's Supernatural, and he's looking forward to "playing against type."

"I play this rock guy who gets possessed by Lucifer, because Lucifer has just escaped from wherever they put him last season," Springfield -- whose recent small-screen gigs include some eccentric characters on Californication and True Detective -- tells Billboard. "He's always looking for a human host to do this bad stuff to the world, and I happen to be that human host. It's really fun, well-written. And the effects are insane; the other day I spent two hours in the makeup chair getting ready for this one scene. It's really incredible stuff."

Rick Springfield Returns With New Song 'Let Me In' From Upcoming Album 'Rocket Science': Exclusive Song Premiere

Springfield has no qualms about being part of another successful TV series. "I'd heard of the show, but I never realized how big it was," he says. "I mean, it's been on for 12 years, and it's worldwide. It's got a giant fanbase. Where have I been?"

The Lucifer role, meanwhile, goes hand-in-hand with what Springfield has planned next: a blues album to follow up his latest studio set, Rocket Science, which came out earlier this year. "I love slide guitar, and most people don't know it because I don't really play it onstage," Springfield says. "I play [Hambone Willie Newbern's] 'Rollin' and Tumblin'' in my solo show, and I always get guys saying, 'You should do a blues album.' And I was thinking about writing something as opposed to just doing copies of blues songs that everybody's done. I'm all for expanding people's views, y'know?"

Along with all that, Springfield is also celebrating the 35th anniversary of his breakthrough Working Class Dog album, a Grammy Award winner (for the single "Jessie's Girl") that gave him his first top 10 and platinum album in the U.S. Springfield himself professes to not be particularly sentimental, but he doesn't in any way discount that album's impact and importance on his career.

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Rick Springfield on Acting Opposite Meryl Streep in 'Ricki and the Flash' and Why He's a 'Late Bloomer'

"It's a great record -- but, I mean, I've listened to a lot of great records that didn't break careers, so it's a gift too. I have great affection for it," Springfield says. "It was a blast to record. We'd go into the studio when Tom Petty was done and we'd record from 3 in the morning until 7, when the next band came in, and make sh-- up on the fly. I didn't think anything would happen with it, so it was a big surprise all around. The first one that becomes a hit is always, 'Oh my God, how did that happen?!'"

And, Springfield adds, "My dog is on the cover, which doesn't hurt either."
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Organisers insisted the Rio Olympics were safe on Thursday despite a second bullet being fired into the equestrian venue and a brutal military police shooting not far from the Maracana stadium.

Games spokesman Mario Andrada said safety was guaranteed, even after a bullet landed near the equestrian venue's stables -- the second gun scare at the site in five days.

It follows an attack on a media bus which one eyewitness believes was a shooting. On Wednesday, two military police were gunned down in a favela near the Maracana.

Andrada said the first bullet to hit the equestrian venue, which ripped through the media centre on Saturday, was fired by somebody trying to knock out a drone, and the second came during a police operation to arrest the shooter.

"During this operation, shots were fired against the police and security forces understand that one of the bullets ended up very, very close to the stables," Andrada said.

He said regional army commander General Luiz Ramos had visited the venue and "gave his word that people working there, athletes and also the horses and everybody, the volunteers, are safe".

"This is our highest priority in terms of security and we have all reasons to believe that the efforts made by the army are enough and the security they are providing there is guaranteed," Andrada added.

On Thursday, two police were shot -- including one in the head -- when they mistakenly went into the Vila do Joao favela, reportedly after following a route set by their GPS map.

And on Wednesday, three passengers suffered minor injuries when a media bus was hit in an attack which Games organisers blame on stone-throwing youths.

Lee Michaelson, a journalist and lawyer with a military background, who was on the bus, says she heard gunshots and believes the damage caused was inconsistent with stone-throwing.
PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - A 9 percent rise in passenger traffic helped Air Mauritius swing back into profit in the latest quarter, having made a loss in the same period last year, the airline said on Thursday. The Indian Ocean island's national airline posted a pretax profit of 2.1 million euros ($2.34 million) in the three months ended June 30, the best quarterly performance in the last 10 years and comparing with a loss of 9.8 million euros a year ago. Air Mauritius carried 343,473 passengers in the quarter, up 9 percent on a year ago, helping generate earnings per share of 0.02 euros compared with a loss of 0.09 euros last time. However, the airline said its average fare yield dropped 5.6 percent due to tough competition. Revenue increased by only 2.7 percent to 109.4 million euros. The company said it is taking various steps to boost traffic on its network and looking for ways to cut costs. In spite of the challenging environment and fiercer competition in our major markets, the company is committed to further improve its financial performance for this year, it said. The results were released after markets closed. During the session when shares in Air Mauritius traded up 1.1 percent at 13.15 Mauritius rupees ($0.37). ($1 = 0.8969 euros, 35.1500 Mauritius rupees) (Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; Editing by Edmund Blair, Greg Mahlich)
Roger Jay Pietschmann, a long-time boom operator, sound recordist and mixer for the motion picture industry, has died. He was 71.

He died at his Los Angeles home on July 26, according to an official statement, after a six-year battle with multiple symptom atrophy.

Pietschmann was the third generation of his family employed in the motion picture industry. His career began with Martin Scorseses acclaimed Taxi Driver in 1976. He then went on to rack up credits on numerous feature films including Batman Returns, Honey, I Blew up the Kid, Pee-Wees Big Adventure and Twilight Zone: The Movie.

Television productions such as Nature, 60 Minutes, American Masters, Family Law, The Division, Airline, Dirt, Sleeper Cell and Dexter helped to round out his 37 credits.

In 2006, he received an Emmy nomination for outstanding single-camera sound mixing for a miniseries or a movie for Sleeper Cell, and was nominated for the Cinema Audio Societys outstanding achievement in sound mixing for the same film and Dexter.

Roger Pietschmanns father, Richard J. Pietschmann Jr., is credited with helping create the milestone multi-track stereophonic sound system for Cinerama and was recordist and mixer for four of those landmark widescreen movies including This is Cinerama. His grandfather, Richard J. Pietschmann Sr., was employed in set lighting during the early days of the motion picture industry on both coasts.

Roger Pietschmann graduated from University High School in Los Angeles and attended Santa Monica Community College and the University of California at Long Beach.

He is survived by his wife Andrea, daughter Devin and brother Richard J. Pietschmann the third.

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When much is given, much is expected. That has been Roma Downeys guiding principle in her approach to charitable and philanthropic endeavors.

Downey has been an ambassador for the Virginia-based nonprofit Operation Smile for 20 years. The groups focus is providing medical help for children suffering from cleft lips and palates, particularly in impoverished countries where routine surgeries can correct the facial deformities that are out of reach for many familes.

Downey became aware of Operation Smile when the groups work figured in an episode of Touched by an Angel. She got friendly with Bill and Kathy Magee, a plastic surgeon and nurse, respectively, who founded the organization in 1982.

Downey filmed an infomercial-style promotional video for Operation Smile years ago. Shes surprised at how often she still finds it running at all hours of the day.

If you cant sleep one night and youre channel surfing you might come across me in the jungle, she jokes. But in all seriousness, she is proud to be associated with an organization that has improved the lives of thousands of children. Ive seen many little miracles occur and many lives changed, she says. Its a privilege to lend a voice to what they do.

Her work with Operation Smile was important in helping Downey come to grips with the reality of being a celebrity after Touched by an Angel made her a household name and face.

Happy Faces Operation Smiles Stats 3k Over 3,000 health professionals volunteered for Operation Smile in 2015. 15k Number of cleft palate surgeries provided by Operation Smile in 2015. $204 Cost of cleft palate surgery

The idea of celebrity is such a silly thing, she says. But if we can help get a lot of recognition and inform people that there is this need to be met  that gives meaning to celebrity for me.

More recently, a major focus for Downey and Burnett has been the horrendous attacks on Christians in war-ravaged areas of the Middle East. ISIS and other terror groups have targeted Christian communities that have been part of the landscape in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and other countries for centuries.

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The pairs Cradle Fund, administered with the Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Global Engagement, raises funds to help return Christians and other persecuted people to their homes in the Middle East. In late 2014, Burnett and Downey launched a drive to raise $25 million, seeding the effort with a $1 million donation.

To Downey, persecution based on faith of any kind is an evil that cant be ignored.

Its happening on our watch, she says. They are in complete crisis over there. We feel the need to try to wake people up.

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A Look Back at Roma Downey's Famed 'Touched by an Angel' Role

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Growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1970s, Roma Downey was deeply influenced by its rich tradition of celebrated storytellers and artists.

[Derry] was home to the playwright Brian Friel and the Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, both of whom were icons in our community, Downey says. I grew up in a home where there was a great love for books and poetry, and I have a tremendous fondness for William Butler Yeats.

As war raged on in Northern Ireland, Downey also turned to American artists for comfort and a sense of emotional escape amidst the political turmoil.

I would listen repeatedly to Simon & Garfunkels Greatest Hits album, she says. I would listen to a song called America. It held up for me an ideal, a place you could come without a class system. America felt like the land of opportunity. Everything I learned about America I learned from the poetry of Paul Simon.

Years later, after earning degrees from the UKs Brighton College of Art and studying theater at Drama Studio London I experienced quite a bit of racism as an Irish girl living in England, she recalls  Downey landed in New York City to become a Broadway actress, finally experiencing the country romanticized in song by Simon & Garfunkel.

America felt like the land of opportunity. Everything I learned about America I learned from the poetry of Paul Simon.

When I first moved to New York and realized that at the grocery store when people asked me where I was from I could say Im Irish, I thought Id died and gone to heaven, says Downey. The very things that seemed to be reasons for people judging me [in England] were celebrated in New York. Im deeply grateful to this country and the opportunities Ive had here.

But, as Downey says, You can take the girl out of the country, but you cant take the country out of the girl. The now Los Angeles-based producer exudes enormous pride for her Irish roots and heritage, returning for visits annually and focusing her efforts on several Ireland-related philanthropic endeavors.

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In 2015, Downey donated $1 million to the Irish Arts Center in New York, and in April she received the inaugural Irish Diaspora Award from the Irish Film & Television Academy in Dublin.

It was special to be honored in my homeland for both having success in the industry and having been a good ambassador for our country, Downey says. I have been very outspoken on Ireland. I grew up during the Troubles, with Protestants living on one side of the river and Catholics living on

the other, and I have tried to be a bridge builder. Today, there is no longer this division. The people of Northern Ireland have been through so much hurt, and now this is a time of healing and its a beautiful thing to see.

Ultimately, emigrating from Northern Ireland to the United States has provided Downey with a perspective on change that has informed and enhanced her life ever since  both professionally and personally.

I look at my life in Ireland to England, England to New York, New York to L.A., she says. I knew very few people in every place that I moved. It required courage. Courage is not the absence of fear. Its having the fear but still doing it. Im continuing to do that. Its been quite a journey.

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Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f174699%2fskynews

LONDON  Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay has been accused of falsifying the circumstances of a report on underground arms sales in Romania.

Sky News conducted an investigation into the sale of military grade weapons by Eastern European mafia gangs, who purportedly will supply to anyone with adequate funds. Ramsay and a team of Sky associates allegedly negotiated a rendezvous with a gang in a remote location near the Ukrainian border, a meeting which they captured on camera. The segment highlights the security risks in light of the string of recent terror attacks across Europe.

SEE ALSO: Why some people choose to take on their Twitter trolls

In response to the broadcast, Romania's anti-corruption unit claimed the segment was a scenario made up by British journalists. Local media outlets are reporting that Ramsay paid the individuals featured in the video to act as traffickers, and The Guardian reports that a man called Aurelian Szanto claims to have been tricked into appearing in the video, believing it to be a dramatized reenactment.

Sky News and Stuart Ramsay stand by the report. In response to Mashable's request for a statement, a Sky News spokeswoman said: "Stuart Ramsay is one of our most experienced and tenacious journalists with a long history of delivering major stories from around the world. He's delivered a robust report on gun dealing in Romania and Sky News fully stands by the story."

Romanian Twitter, however, is not convinced  or it's having way too much fun trolling Ramsay to care.

In response to the barrage of tweets directed his way, Ramsay has voiced increasing irritation:

True or false, this story sounds like the beginnings of an excellent political thriller. Filmmakers, novelists and Matt Damon, are you taking note?

[H/T Reddit]
Patti Davis, daughter of the late former president Ronald Reagan, posted a blistering open letter to Donald Trump on Wednesday over remarks he made earlier in the week that many perceived as a threat against Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival in the 2016 presidential campaign.

The GOP presidential nominee made the comment Tuesday while stumping in North Carolina, saying in part, "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although, the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don't know." The Trump campaign immediately released a statement saying that remark was about "unification" at the polls, nothing more.

However, there was an immediate backlash from many who saw Trump's remark as an assassination threat. Davis, too, thinks Trump, who's often likened himself to Reagan, crossed a dangerous line.

"I am the daughter of a man who was shot by someone who got his inspiration from a movie, someone who believed if he killed the President the actress from that movie would notice him," Davis, an actress and author began. "Your glib and horrifying comment about 'Second Amendment people' was heard around the world."

Read more: Rob Reiner Calls Out GOP Over Trump's 'Second Amendment' Comments: "Enough's Enough"

President Reagan was shot in March 1981 - only a few months after he took office - by John Hinckley Jr., a man obsessed with actress Jodie Foster and who believed killing Reagan would win her love. Hinckley was recently released from a mental institution to live with his mother.

Davis told Trump his remark on Tuesday traveled far, to all types of people.

"It was heard by sane and decent people who shudder at your fondness for verbal violence," she wrote. "It was heard by your supporters, many of whom gleefully and angrily yell, 'Lock her up!' at your rallies. It was heard by the person sitting alone in a room, locked in his own dark fantasies, who sees unbridled violence as a way to make his mark in the world, and is just looking for ideas."

She concluded with "Yes, Mr. Trump, words matter. But then you know that, which makes this all even more horrifying."
Thursday, August 11, 2016 The Readers Write Of Taxes, The PNM Blackout And More



Regressive taxes, such as a gasoline tax, always settle out as a way to go get some money to balance budgets. Pity. All others tax avenues are narrowed down, from outside pressure, to a precious few. I don't like the way tax revenue burden is being moved down the line to lower income families: and I don't support that. Where is the proportional tax revenue burden sharing from up the line higher income families? And corporations? Not many, look out for the little guy.



A reader writes of the recent ABQ area blackout:



Joe, You wrote: "Why did a lightning strike at a lone transfer station expose nearly the entire electric grid in the state's largest metro to collapse? Where's the back-up?"



For over six years former ABQ GOP State Rep. Janice Arnold Jones talked about the danger that our national grid system and the NM grid system faces and how vulnerable the grid system is. Two years ago former US Senator Harrison Schmitt asked a question of the NM Homeland Security Department head and received almost a blank stare at the weekly Republican Party of Bernalillo County breakfast. Now you see what can happen and better realize that this is not far from a major problem. It is a danger that is under-appreciated and ignored by our state and city. It isn't PNM that is the problem...it is a national, state and local problem that is being ignored.



Reader Carol Nordengren writes of the Sunday outage:



Our outage should be a wake up call to everyone about the fragility of the electric grid, not just PNM. My experience with Abq preparedness is that when the power goes out, everybody jumps into their car to go buy gas. Good luck with that. Compared to other cities, states, two significant outages in 15 years is nothing short of a miracle. And, we were very lucky the outage came at night, after a rain storm, so nobody was sweltering.

Sure, PRC and PNM need to trouble shoot this, but the grid has inherent weaknesses which weather and trouble makers can exploit at any time. Power was out at my house for about 30 seconds. I'm glad I'm not hooked up to that main transmission line. This time we were lucky.



NO REAL CHANGE?



More on the environment front with Santa Fe reader Susan Martin. She weighs in on our report that outgoing state Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn is positioned to become the next executive director of the NM Oil and Gas Association:



Joe, there's no real change here. He'll just be receiving a larger paycheck from a different source. He's been representing polluting corporations throughout his tenure as general counsel and then Secretary of the Environment Department. As long as Susana Martinez, beholden to the dairy, copper, oil and gas industries, remains governor, the Environment Department will be restrained from effectively regulating to prevent air, ground and surface water contamination from these campaign contributors. I'm a former employee of the Environment Department during the Anaya and Carruthers administrations. In my view it has never been as tough for employees there who want to protect the environment as is has been under Susana Martinez.



WHEN IS THAT?



Gas prices are in the cellar and ABQ's population growth is flat but the spokesman for the ABQ transit department says



DeReyes said he expects ridership numbers on the Central lines, and throughout the system, to rebound strongly as gas prices rise, and Albuquerque's population expands.



Gosh, and we we were starting to worry about things around here.



This is the home of New Mexico politics.







Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.



( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2016 If Gov. Martinez sticks to her no increase in taxes pledge we won't be seeing a a boost in the gasoline tax as some legislators are proposing. That's just fine with many of our readers, including Thomas Luna:A reader writes of the recent ABQ area blackout:Reader Carol Nordengren writes of the Sunday outage:More on the environment front with Santa Fe reader Susan Martin. She weighs in on our report that outgoing state Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn is positioned to become the next executive director of the NM Oil and Gas Association:Gas prices are in the cellar and ABQ's population growth is flat but the spokesman for the ABQ transit department says not to worry Gosh, and we we were starting to worry about things around here.This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)
Ross Stores Inc. ROST is slated to release second-quarter fiscal 2016 results on Aug 18. Last quarter, the company posted earnings in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.



In fact, the company has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 2.7% over the trailing four quarters. Lets see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

ROSS STORES Price and EPS Surprise

ROSS STORES Price and EPS Surprise | ROSS STORES Quote

Factors Influencing this Quarter



Ross Stores, which has been gaining from the favorable response of value-focused customers to its extensive collection of brand bargains and efficient cost controls, remains confident of its future performance. Ross Stores strategy to keep itself on the growth trajectory involves a continued focus on merchandising organization through investments in workforce, processes and technology. With a solid financial status, ongoing merchandise initiatives and consistent focus on store expansion, Ross Stores remains confident of performing well this year.



For the fiscal second quarter, the company expects earnings in the range of 6467 cents per share compared with 63 cents earned in the prior-year quarter. Total sales are expected to grow 45%, with comps expected to be up 12%.



However, Ross Stores expects to face challenges related to strong comparisons, amid macroeconomic uncertainty and a volatile retail landscape, which may slightly impact results.



Earnings Whispers



Our proven model does not conclusively show that Ross is likely to beat earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below:



Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP for Ross Stores is currently pegged at 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 67 cents.



Zacks Rank: Ross Stores Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the companys ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction difficult.



We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.



Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates



Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:



Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY, scheduled to report earnings on Aug 23, has an Earnings ESP of +7.14% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).



GameStop Corp. GME, scheduled to report earnings on Aug 25, has an Earnings ESP of +7.14% and a Zacks Rank #2.



DSW Inc. DSW, scheduled to report earnings on Aug 30, has an Earnings ESP of +6.90% and a Zacks Rank #2.



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Zacks Investment Research
By Lidia Kelly MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday there would be daily three-hour ceasefires in Syria's Aleppo starting Thursday to allow humanitarian convoys to enter the city safely, a proposal which the United Nations said it would consider. Aleppo is split into rebel and government controlled areas. The rebel-held east, where about 250,000 people are thought to be living, came under siege in early July after government forces cut the Castello Road, the main supply route into the district. Last Friday rebels staged a major assault southwest of Aleppo to break this siege. Rebel fighters did manage to pierce the ring of government-controlled territory, but a safe corridor for civilians and aid has not yet been established as fierce fighting continues. Speaking at a televised briefing, Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian Defence Ministry official, said the pause in fighting would run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time. Rudskoi said the question of joint control over delivery of humanitarian aid via Castello Road was being discussed with the United Nations and the United States. He said "all military action, air and artillery strikes" would be halted for the three-hour periods. "This is to ensure that all interested organizations have the opportunity to deliver their humanitarian assistance to the residents of Aleppo," Rudskoi said. He added that Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels in Syria's five-year-old civil war, would work with Damascus to ensure safe delivery of the aid. A spokesman for a major rebel group fighting inside Aleppo told Reuters it was skeptical of the Russian plan. "Is this publicity that Russia is a neutral party? What is three hours? In those three hours they will just be bombing (rebel-held) Idlib!", said Abd al-Salaam Abd al-Razzaq, military spokesman for the Nour al Din al-Zinki insurgent group. Air strikes killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens in rebel-held Idlib province, southwest of Aleppo, on Wednesday. One Idlib town, Saraqeb, has received daily heavy air strikes since a Russian helicopter was shot down nearby 10 days ago. QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE TRAPPED At least four people died and many suffered breathing difficulties when a gas, believed to be chlorine, was dropped alongside barrel bombs on a neighborhood of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday, a hospital and a civil defense group told Reuters. Food supplies, infrastructure and medical services are immensely strained for the roughly 250,000 people believed to be trapped inside eastern Aleppo. United Nations aid chief Stephen O'Brien said on Wednesday he was willing to consider the Russian plan, but that a 48-hour pause in fighting was needed to meet all the humanitarian needs in the Syrian city, Syria's most populous before the war. "At all times I will look at any kind of suggestion which enables humanitarian aid to be delivered," he told reporters. "When we're offered three hours then you have to ask what could be achieved in that three hours - is it to meet the need, or would it only just meet a very small part of the need? "Clearly, from our point of view, were simply there to meet the need, all the need...," O'Brien said. "To meet that capacity of need you need two (road) lanes and you need to have about 48 hours to get sufficient trucks in." He said last month that any Aleppo humanitarian pause needed to be 48 hours because the Castello Road was so damaged that only smaller trucks could be used, taking longer to deliver the assistance needed. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the United States would welcome any pause in fighting in Syria to facilitate delivery of vital humanitarian aid, but a truce must be observed by all parties. Rudskoi said that a point for collecting the aid and forming convoys has been established near Handarat, on the northern outskirts of Aleppo. Two weeks ago Russia and the Syrian government declared a joint humanitarian operation for the besieged area, showering it with leaflets telling fighters to surrender and civilians to leave through a number of "humanitarian corridors" it had set up. Russian and Syrian warplanes have bombarded eastern Aleppo and other rebel-held areas of Syria daily for months and the United States suggested the humanitarian corridors plan may have been an attempt to depopulate the city so that the Syrian army could seize it. "All seven humanitarian corridors, established for the exit of peaceful residents and militants who wanted to lay down their arms, are open and work around the clock," Rudskoi said. "An additional humanitarian corridor for militants with weapons continues to operate near the Castello Road." He said that a "number" of armed groups, with weapons, had already left the eastern part of Aleppo through that corridor. Rudskoi said the situation in the southwest of Aleppo remains difficult, with about 7,000 Jabhat Fatah al-Sham militants massing there for the past week and still being joined by new combatants. He said the militants had tanks, artillery and combat vehicles with weapons mounted on them. (Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York, Lisa Barrington and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Beirut; editing by Andrew Osborn and Mark Heinrich)
By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin summoned his security council and the Russian Navy announced war games in the Black Sea a day after the Russian president accused Ukraine of trying to provoke a conflict over Crimea, which Moscow seized and annexed in 2014. The belligerent posture heightened worries in Ukraine that Russia may plan to ramp up fighting in a war between Kiev and pro-Russian eastern separatists that had been de-escalated by a shaky peace process. Using some of his most aggressive rhetoric against Kiev since the height of the war two years ago, Putin has pledged to take counter-measures against Ukraine, which he accused of sending saboteurs into Crimea to carry out terrorist acts. Ukraine has called the accusations false and says they look like a pretext for Russia to escalate hostilities. Such an escalation could be used by Putin to demand better terms in the Ukraine peace process, or to inflame nationalist passions at home ahead of Russian parliamentary elections next month. The Russian leader met his top military and intelligence service brass on Thursday and reviewed "scenarios for counter-terrorism security measures along the land border, offshore and in Crimean air space," the Kremlin said. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he had ordered all Ukrainian units near Crimea and in eastern Ukraine onto the highest state of combat readiness. He was seeking to urgently speak to Putin, the leaders of France and Germany, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and European Council President Donald Tusk. In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the United States was extremely concerned and called on both sides to reduce tension and rhetoric. In New York, the U.N. Security Council held a closed-door meeting at Ukraine's request to discuss the growing tensions. Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko warned that Russia had amassed more than 40,000 troops in the region and said the build-up could reflect "very bad intentions." Oleh Slobodyan, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border guards, said he had observed an uptick in Russian military activity in northern Crimea in recent days after heavier fighting in eastern Ukraine. "These troops are coming with more modern equipment and there are air assault units," he told a news briefing in Kiev. The Russian Defence Ministry said its navy - whose Black Sea Fleet is based in Crimea - would start to hold exercises in the area to practice repelling underwater attacks by saboteurs. There were reports on Thursday evening that the authorities had cut off Internet access in northern Crimea close to Ukraine. PUTIN'S PLAY Russia says it caught infiltrators after at least two armed clashes on the border between Crimea and Ukraine over the weekend, and one of its soldiers and an FSB security service employee were killed. Kiev denies the events ever happened. Whatever the truth, the allegations have already scuppered planned talks about eastern Ukraine slated for the sidelines of a G20 summit in China next month. Putin said such talks would now be "pointless." In an editorial, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti said escalation was a proven Kremlin tactic ahead of negotiations. Putin was trying either to alter or to tear up the Minsk peace process, named for the Belarus capital where truces were hammered out for the war in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region. "Events in Donbass in 2014-15 showed that the Kremlin tactic is to raise the stakes before negotiations. The main political question now is what will happen to the Minsk process. Will Russia break away from it or will it demand new concessions?" the newspaper wrote. "Putin in his rhetoric has returned to the start of 2014. Once again, he does not deem the Ukrainian authorities legitimate." Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst in Ukraine, said he thought the Kremlin had its own revised peace plan for eastern Ukraine up its sleeve. "Putin will scare the West with the prospect of full-scale conflict with Ukraine," he said. "He is trying to increase pressure on Kiev to force Ukraine to accept a Russian plan to resolve the conflict in the east. "Putin won't go all out for a big war. But there might be pinpoint military operations against radicals whose bases are located near the border with Crimea." PUTIN'S AIMS The European Union and the United States have tied the success of talks under the Minsk process to any possible decision to lift financial sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis. But Moscow has grown increasingly frustrated by the talks and by what it says is Ukraine's refusal to fulfill the terms of the truce. Kiev for its part says Moscow is the one that is still stirring tensions among pro-Russian separatists. Escalating tension over Crimea could give Putin a pretext to abandon talks altogether, or demand changes to their format and terms, while holding out the prospect of a full-scale renewal of hostilities if he doesn't get what he wants. It could also help rally Russians ahead of the parliamentary vote, in which the main pro-Kremlin United Russia Party might struggle to win as many votes as usual because of an economic slump caused by low oil prices as well as the sanctions. "While polls show United Russia doing okay (60 percent support), Putin never likes to take chances with domestic politics," Timothy Ash, a strategist at Nomura Bank, wrote in a note. "(He) will want to impress on the Russian electorate his own strength and how lucky they are to be Russian citizens as perhaps compared to their Ukrainian counterparts." The imbroglio also gives Crimea's pro-Russian authorities an excuse for their failure to raise living standards since Russia took over. Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed prime minister, told state TV he blamed the Ukrainian incursions on the U.S. State Department. Putin may also hope instability in Ukraine can feed into the U.S. presidential election campaign, where Republican candidate Donald Trump accuses President Barack Obama's administration of incompetence and has called for better ties with Moscow. Putin may yet hope to cut a deal on both Ukraine and Syria, the two big issues of contention with Washington, before Obama exits. What actually happened in and around Crimea at the weekend remains disputed. U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said Washington had so far seen nothing to corroborate Russia's version. A spokeswoman for EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini also said there had been no independent confirmation. Russia's Kommersant newspaper on Thursday cited unnamed security sources as saying a group of men Russia had arrested for planning attacks had confessed to seeking to destroy Crimea's tourist industry by bombing resorts. The sources told Kommersant two of seven saboteurs in one group had been killed and five captured. Russian state TV on Thursday evening broadcast footage of one of the detained men being interrogated by the FSB security service. The man, whose name was given, said he had been part of a group of saboteurs working for Ukrainian military intelligence and that they had planned to blow up a ferry, an oil refinery and a chemical factory among other targets. State TV aired footage of what it said was the saboteurs' weapons cache showing a large number of mines, grenades and improvised explosive devices laid out on the floor. In Ukraine, the detained man's brother had earlier said he thought his brother had been kidnapped as part of "a big game." (Additional reporting by Matthias Williams, Pavel Polityuk, Natalia Zinets and Alexei Kalmykov in Kiev, Maria Tsvetkova and Maria Kiselyova in Moscow, Francesco Guarascio in Brussels, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Ruthy Munoz in Washington; Editing by Peter Graff and James Dalgleish)
One day after Russia accused Ukraine of attempted incursions across the de-facto border into Crimea, the territory annexed by Moscow in 2014, Kiev put its military on high-alert and the Kremlin announced the start of war games in the Black Sea, raising fears of a return to open war in the country for the first time in more than a year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with members of his Security Council on Thursday to discuss mounting tensions with Kiev in Crimea. According to the Kremlins press service, the Russian leader pledged to take countermeasures along the land border, offshore, and in Crimean airspace against Ukraine, which he accused on Wednesday of sending intelligence agents into Crimea to carry out terrorist acts and provoke a conflict with Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that it will hold naval exercises in the Black Sea  off the coast of Crimea  to practice countering underwater attacks by saboteurs.

The Russian drills  which will last from August 11 to 13  are part of the already planned Caucasus-2016 naval exercises by the Russian Defense Ministry in the region, but their timing has left Ukrainian officials worried that the heightened military activity could escalate quickly into a direct conflict with Moscow.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered his countrys army to be on combat alert near Crimea and along the front line in eastern Ukraine  which has seen an uptick in fighting in recent weeks. Oleh Slobodyan, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border guards, told reporters on Thursday that Russia has massed troops near Crimeas northern border with mainland Ukraine.

These troops are coming with more modern equipment and there are air assault units, Slobodyan said during a briefing in Kiev.

The chain of events that have resulted in the current standoff remain murky. On Wednesday, the FSB announced that two different incidents had taken place: a raid on a terror cell in Crimea over the weekend that left one FSB officer and an accused Ukrainian intelligence officer dead, and an exchange of gunfire across the Crimean border that left one Russian soldier dead. Kiev, however, has denied any involvement in a terrorist plot or in a firefight with the Russian military, calling the FSBs claims false information and accusing the Kremlin of using the scenario as a pretext for war.

Story continues

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt also disputed Moscows version of events, saying on Twitter that: Russia has a record of frequently levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect attention from its own illegal actions.

Adding to the confusion on the ground, Valery Kondratyuk, the head of intelligence at Ukraines Ministry of Defense, said during a meeting with Poroshenko on Thursday that a skirmish had taken place over the weekend in Crimea between the Russian military and border guards in Russias Federal Security Service, the FSB  not with Ukrainian forces as alleged by the Russian agency.

Kiev took further measures on Thursday, with Vadim Troyan, the acting head of Ukraines National Police Force, announcing that a kidnapping investigation has been launched into the disappearance of Evgeny Panov, the alleged Ukrainian intelligence officer the FSB has in custody. The security service says that Panov tried to infiltrate Crimea in order to carry out a series of terrorist attacks. According to reports in Ukrainian media, Panov is a former volunteer in the Ukrainian armed forces who fought in the war in eastern Ukraine against pro-Russian separatists. His family says that he went missing over the weekend and his brother reportedly believes he was kidnapped.

Amid the growing accusations, insults, and aggressive rhetoric from Moscow and Kiev, Poroshenko instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to arrange a phone conversation with Putin to discuss the mounting tensions. However, it remains to be seen how receptive the Russian leader will be to talking with his Ukrainian counterpart. During comments to the press on Wednesday, Putin accused Ukraine of resorting to terrorism and that continuing in internationally-backed talks on the war in eastern Ukraine  slated to pick up in a few weeks during the G20 summit in China  were pointless.

Both the European Union and the United States have tied the decision to remove economic sanctions on Russia to the success of the Minsk deal  the peace process brokered in the capital of Belarus in February 2015. However, both Moscow and Kiev have become frustrated with the stalled and often violated agreement. Russia has accused the Ukrainian government of refusing to live up to the terms of the truce, exchanging fire in eastern Ukraine and denying elections in the separatist held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. Kiev has rebuffed the charges and insisted that Russia has no interest in observing the peace deal or preserving the status quo.

Photo credit: YURI LASHOV/AFP/Getty Images
Geneva (AFP) - Russia is considering extending a three-hour daily ceasefire in Aleppo, the UN envoy for Syria said Thursday, insisting a 48-hour halt in fighting was needed to bring in aid.

Staffan de Mistura also said he could not verify reports of a deadly chemical attack in Aleppo but that there was "a lot of evidence" it had happened, and if so, would be considered a "war crime".

De Mistura said the ceasefire issue had been discussed extensively at the weekly meeting of the UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria and Russia had voiced its willingness to expand the pause.

He also said Moscow had not consulted with the United Nations before announcing its decision to hold its fire around Syria's war-ravaged second city for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid in.

"Any pause obviously should always be seen and looked at with great interest, because a pause means no fighting, but three hours is not enough," the UN Syria envoy told reporters.

The UN has called for urgent aid access to Aleppo and 48-hour weekly pauses for aid deliveries, warning that civilians are at grave risk from water shortages and disease as fighting has intensified.

An estimated 1.5 million people still live in the battered city, including about 250,000 in rebel-held eastern districts.

"The Russian reaction here at the taskforce was 'we heard you, (and) we need to talk in order to see how we can improve our original proposal'," he said.

De Mistura's deputy and the head of a UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, Jan Egeland, also said he hoped fighting could stop for long enough to make a difference.

- 'So many dangers' -

"(The Russians) say they would like to sit down with us... and discuss how a UN proposal could be implemented, and we are hopeful that that will lead to something," he told reporters.

He said that a lot of time would be required because so many people were in need, requiring large convoys to travel the extremely dangerous Castello road, the last route into rebel-held parts of the city.

Story continues

"The road is so destroyed, it is mined, there are so many dangers, the logistics are so enormous, that we do need time each week, and we need 48 hours," he said.

Russia, the main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has vowed that it will halt its air strikes and artillery strikes between 0700 GMT and 1000 GMT for an unspecified period, starting Thursday.

But an AFP correspondent in the eastern districts said trucks carrying food and other products were unable to enter the city Thursday because of intense bombardment.

Fighting between government forces and rebels in Aleppo has intensified in the past month.

De Mistura has been struggling to get a new round of peace talks started for the war-ravaged country.

"We need a target timing, and the target timing is still towards the end of August," he added.

Responding to questions about reports of a deadly chemical attack in Aleppo Wednesday, the Syria envoy said it was it was not in his remit to verify such reports but that "there is a lot of evidence that it actually did take place".

"If it did take place, it is a war crime and as such it would require everyone... to address it immediately," he added.

A US-Russian brokered deal in 2013 saw Syria cave in to international pressure to hand over its chemical stockpile for destruction, after a sarin gas attack in August that year that was blamed by the West and the opposition on Assad's regime.

There have since been numerous allegations of chemical weapons being used against civilians, both by Assad's regime and the rebels.
Beirut (AFP) - Russian air strikes on the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa in northern Syria on Thursday killed at least 30 people, including 24 civilians, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they were killed and dozens of people wounded when 10 Russian raids hit the city and its outskirts.

The monitor said it had not yet confirmed how many of the remaining six people killed were civilians or IS jihadists.

The Britain-based Observatory -- which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information -- says it determines what planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.

Russia confirmed that six Tupolev warplanes carried out airstrikes around Raqa, but said it had demolished "a chemical weapons factory in the city's northwestern outskirts."

The defence ministry said the raids also destroyed a weapons storage facility and a training camp for IS fighters to the north and southeast.

The ministry said that the jihadists had suffered "significant material damages" in the strikes and that "a large number of fighters have been killed."

The raids comes a day after the ministry said it would halt fire around Syria's ravaged city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid in, an initiative the United Nations said is insufficient to meet the city's needs.

The UN has called for urgent aid access to Aleppo and 48-hour weekly pauses for the aid deliveries, warning that civilians are at grave risk from water shortages and disease as fighting has intensified.

Fighting between government forces and rebels in Aleppo has intensified in the past month, with both sides sending in reinforcements.
From Popular Mechanics

On July 24, the Ukrainian news source UAWire reported that three members of the Border Guard Service suffered retinal burns while carrying out surveillance. The cause? Laser weapons. UAWire suggests this was a deliberate attack by pro-Russian separatists using "prohibited special-purpose laser weapons."

This is the most serious incident, but far from the first. Since 2014, European observers in the area reported have noted Ukrainian border guards' complaints of "frequent minor provocations against them from the Crimean side, such as laser pointing." The border guards captured one such provocation on video and put it on YouTube. In the clip a light reconnaissance aircraft is lased by a uniformed man on the ground. You can see the handheld device, which may simply be a laser rangefinder, though these do not normally use visible light.

UAWire has made similar claims about illegal weapons before, citing the flechette rounds that throw out thousands of tiny darts are prohibited ammunition. Is Russia, or its sympathizers, really using illegal weapons?

Blinding lasers have been outlawed by international treaty, specifically the 1995 Protocol On Blinding Laser Weapons, an extension to the Geneva Convention. This was introduced when one thing became crystal clear: While it is difficult to build a laser powerful enough to damage a tank or an aircraft, it's easy to make one that could permanently blind someone.

However, the wording of the Protocol is very specific, prohibiting only weapons for which "their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that is to the naked eye or to the eye with corrective eyesight devices." The Protocol does not outlaw lasers that can cause permanent eye damage when viewed through binoculars or similar, and the UAWire report does mention that the observers were using optical equipment-presumably similar to the scope depicted. So, while it is possible that the lasers involved were illegal high-power types, it is also possible that they were legal laser dazzlers which are harmless to unenhanced vision.

Story continues

The U.S. military makes extensive use of legal dazzlers, such as BE Myers GLARE MOUT that can be fitted to a rifle. These were fielded in large numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US Army bought more than 12,000 in one batch in 2011, in fact. They were commonly used at checkpoints to warn oncoming drivers to stop if they had not slowed down; the bright light not only shines a warning but also stops would-be suicide bombers from being able to drive straight. Some of these lasers can be dangerous if shone into the eyes at point-blank range, as accidents have shown.

Russia has fallen behind in this area, but prior to the 1995 ban it had a whole arsenal of blinding laser weapons. The 1K17 Szhatie ("Compression"), nicknamed Stilletto by NATO, was a tank that mounted a bank of high-intensity ruby lasers instead of a gun. In battle, the Szhatie would have countered Western anti-tank missiles by blinding the missile operators. It also produced portable devices for infantry. There was even a prototype 'laser pistol' for cosmonauts that would have been used against optical sensors on satellites.Russia has shown a renewed interest in the field of late. A ship-mounted laser countermeasure system called Grach (Raven) launched last year. According to the makers, Grach "enables ships to conceal an assault landing by using a bright light to dazzle enemy combatants and optical devices". Meanwhile, the Chinese are apparently fielding handheld lasers so powerful that they may violate the 1995 Protocol.

Robert Bunker, a counterterrorism expert at TRENDS Research & Advisory, compares the apparent provocation in Ukraine to Cold War incidents when Soviet ships used lasers against NATO aircraft. Indeed, those older incidents highlighted the difficulty of proving any wrongdoing. In the most famous one, a Russian merchant ship apparently lased a Canadian helicopter in1997. The pilot suffered eye problems afterwards, but a clinical assessment did not prove that these were due to laser effects, and no laser was found on the Russian ship.

That incident had endless repercussions. The situation in Ukraine is far more volatile. It gives plenty of scope for provocation that may stay within the letter of the law. "I hate to think it's only a violation if someone gets his eyes injured," says Bunker. "If this trend continues it is an escalation of the conflict."

Photo credit: BE Meyers

Alexander Hug, Deputy Head of the OSCE monitoring mission, was forthright about the use of lasers and other means to prevent the international observers from carrying out their role: "Those who are destroying our equipment do so in order to hide things. Those who blind us conduct an attack on the whole process of observation and this is an obstacle for the peace process," Hug told the German newspaper Bild.

The Ukrainian claims cannot be verified, and even the YouTube incident may not be what it appears. But if the claims about laser blinding are accurate, it is possible that someone is using lasers to turn another cold war into a hot one.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Navy plans to hold exercises in the Black Sea to practice repelling underwater attacks by saboteurs, Russian news agencies on Thursday cited the defense ministry as saying. The scenario would be based on pushing back an underwater attack by saboteurs from the sea, the ministry said. Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Wednesday of using terrorist tactics to try to provoke a new conflict and destabilize annexed Crimea after Russia said it had thwarted two armed Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into the contested Black Sea peninsula. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
On 3-5 October 2017 Kyiv is going to host the Space and Future Forum to network international experts and youth, many of whom will also participate at the first CosmoHack in the world. Joinfo provides media coverage of the Forum, and some of its topics were already discussed ...
Berlin (AFP) - German energy provider RWE recorded a further net loss in the second quarter as it struggles to reposition itself in a changing energy market.

The group reported a net loss of 403 million euros ($450 million) between April and June -- only slightly smaller than losses in the same period last year.

RWE prefers to point to a 10-percent increase in net profit adjusted for special items to 598 million euros over the first half of the year on revenues of 22.7 billion.

But the first half also saw operating profit as measured by EBIT fall by 7.2 percent to 1.88 billion euros.

RWE blamed the fall in "significant unexpected losses" in its trading business in the second quarter.

Like most big European energy companies, RWE is battling low wholesale electricity prices and competition from heavily-subsidised renewable energy.

This quarter, the firm was not forced to write down the value of any assets -- a practice that had become commonplace as the profitability of coal- and gas-fired plants has plunged in recent years.

Rival EON had on Wednesday announced almost 4.0 billion euros of depreciations and provisions on gas plants and infrastructure, feeding into heavy losses over the quarter.

Like EON, RWE is in the process of splitting in two, planning to split its renewables, networks and trading operations into a new subsidiary named innogy from September 1.

The group plans to offer 10 percent of innogy's capital on the market by the end of 2016.
By Jeb Blount RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - After getting beaten up in their first light-wind races at the Rio Games on Tuesday, the world's leading Laser and Finn-class sailors took advantage of strong winds on Wednesday to reassert their dominance. Top-ranked Giles Scott of Britain powered to second- and first-place finishes in high waves and 20-knot winds on the Niteroi ocean course. That moved Scott, his nation's best medal hope since four-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie's retirement, into first place with five preliminary races to go after Tuesday's disappointments on fluky Guanabara Bay. World No. 35 Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia is five points back and in second place overall. "It couldn't have been more different today," Scott told reporters. "We went from racing underneath a mountain in very light and fickle winds to be out in strong winds and big seas. (It) made for really full on racing." Second-ranked Frenchman Jonathan Lobert moved up into fifth place from 12th after racking up a 26-second win over Scott in the first race of the day and a seventh in the second. In the men's Laser class, No. 2-ranked Tonci Stipanovic extended his overall lead on 26 points while continuing Croatia's hunt for its first Olympic sailing medal. Sailing in strong winds off Copacabana Beach, Stipanovic finished ahead of Britain's Nick Thompson and Rutger van Schaardenberg of the Netherlands. Twice Olympic gold medallist and nine-time Laser world champion Robert Scheidt, 43, improved his chances for a record sixth medal in six games as Brazil's "El Demolidor" moved into fourth from eighth. In the women's Laser Radial class, defending gold medallist Xu Lijia of China surrendered her lead to Ireland's Annalise Murphy, whose 19 points put her one ahead of Denmark's Anne-Marie Rindom and two ahead of Netherland's Marit Bouwmeester. Wednesday also showcased the first day of racing in the 470 two-person dinghy and Nacra 17 mixed-sex catamaran, both classes contending with light winds on Guanabara Bay. Helmsman Sime Fantela and crew Igor Marenic of Croatia moved into top spot after a 55-second trouncing of New Zealand's Paul Snow-Hanson and Daniel Willcox, who sat in third after two races. Australia's Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan are in second. Japan's Ai Kondo Yoshida and Miho Yoshioka lead the women's 470, with Slovenia's Tina Mrak and Veronika Macarol in second after a protest disqualified New Zealand's Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie from the first of two races. Aleh and Powrie, the defending gold medallists, failed to take a penalty turn after interfering with Austria's right-of-way. Sweden's Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger lead the Nacra 17, followed by Ben Saxon and Nicola Groves. (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)
The gulf between the terrorist and his atrocity is a wide one.

Terrorist deeds are often monstrous and defy all human comprehension. But, as over three decades of research on terrorism shows, terrorists, by and large, are psychologically normal: not crazy-eyed, furious fanatics, but ordinary killers, with lives and personalities lacking, as Hannah Arendt famously said of Adolf Eichmann, in any kind of diabolical or demonic profundity. The gulf between homegrown Western jihadis and their atrocities is seemingly wider still: Their profiles reveal not only lives of breathtaking banality but also lifestyles of fulsome secularity, often allied to a criminal past or present.

This apparent gulf has now become a central argumentative theme in the ongoing Is the Islamic State Islamic? debate. For some observers, the outwardly secular lifestyles of many Western jihadis  from Salah Abdeslams dope-smoking and drinking to Omar Mateens reported homosexuality to Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlels pigging out, so to speak  is proof positive that these men are not, and were never, true Muslims and that Islam cannot therefore explain their embrace of groups like the Islamic State. The journalist Mehdi Hasan, for example, rarely misses a chance to seize on the discovery of some secular proclivity in any given perpetrator, in a gotcha sort of way, as evidence for his view that religion plays little, if any, role in the radicalisation process. For Hasan, Islamic State recruitment in the West is better explained in terms of nonreligious motives, like adventure, secular hate, or outrage over Western foreign policy.

The problem with this view is not just that it comes close to adopting the same dark takfiri impulse as the Islamic State by declaring who is and who isnt a true Muslim; it also fails to acknowledge the complex and contradictory ways in which people live their faith. Not all Muslims fully adhere to the five pillars of Islam, yet they still self-identify as Muslims, in much the same way many Christians continue to self-define as Christians, despite rarely attending church: These are the invisible affiliates, who, while rarely  if ever  attending religious services, may still retain a religious identity. And some Muslims, just like some non-Muslims, live in a state of cognitive dissonance, proclaiming adherence to a belief that they contradict systematically in practice.

An even bigger problem with this view, however, is that, in its rush to cleanse Islam of the stain of terrorist violence, it fails to appreciate the role religion itself may play in bridging the gap between jihadi killers secular and criminal lifestyles and their posthumous portrayal as holy warriors, or soldiers of the caliphate, by both the Islamic State and the media that unwittingly serve as its echo chamber. A more convincing approach would be to acknowledge the potentially dangerous synergies between these two poles of the secular and the religious: how criminal lifestyles can be justified by religion as necessary for the greater good of Islam and how the redemptive narrative of religion can be enlisted to excuse a multitude of vices.

The former idea is, in fact, the defining philosophy of some Muslim street gangs in the West. According to this philosophy, stealing and violence are bad, but only in so far as the victims are Muslims  or real Muslims. Non-Muslims or fake, coconut Muslims, by contrast, are fair game and can be robbed and hurt with impunity. Drug-dealing is similarly permissible, as long as drugs are sold only to kaffirs and some of the proceeds are donated to good Muslim causes. In southeast London, for example, street gangs combine criminal badassery with an aggressive embrace of Islam, selectively appropriating symbols and motifs from the latter to justify the former. I have witnessed this same phenomenon in my current research on jihadi activism in Trinidad, where, in the central region of the country, a notorious street gang called the Unruly ISIS operates. And, of course, Molenbeek, in Belgium, was home to a network headed by the now convicted Islamic State recruiter Khalid Zerkani, who specialized in both robbery and radical religious proselytism, using the proceeds from his network of criminals to send jihadis to Syria.

At a deeper spiritual level, religion provides a script for personal salvation and is thus especially attractive to those whose lives are mired in sin. The more poignant the sense of sin, the more urgent the desire to escape it. Which is why the jailhouse, as Mark Hamms research on prisoner radicalization shows, is the site of so many radical conversions. Hamm, a criminologist and former prison warden, found that the primary motivation for conversions to a non-Judeo-Christian religion among prisoners was spiritual searching in an effort to resolve discontent. He also found that prisoners with latent anxieties over spiritual well-being were especially amenable to the proselytizing of jihadi recruiters. The social anthropologist Scott Atran echoes this theme in his research and commentary on the Islamic State, ventriloquizing the jihadis jail-house pitch in this way: [L]ook what this sick, nihilist society has done to you, but you can turn the tables [by] following God, redeem yourselves, save others and you can do this best by using the skills and knowledge of the underworld against the society that forced you to suffer there.

The idea of sinners finding salvation through a life of selfless service to the faith cuts across religions. In The True Believer, published in 1951, the philosopher Eric Hoffer suggested that mass movements hold a special appeal to sinners, providing a refuge from a guilty conscience. He wrote that mass movements are [custom-made] to fit the needs of the criminalnot only for the catharsis of his soul but also for the exercise of his inclinations and talents. The Islamic State is not a mass movement, but it is certainly custom-made for the Muslim with a bad conscience or a long rap sheet  or both.

Seen in this light, the seemingly discrepant or hypocritical behavior of the Abdeslam brothers, who drank alcohol and took and sold drugs, makes perfect sense: They knew what they were doing was Islamically off-limits, and it is likely that this knowledge shamed them. But they also may have known, or come to believe, that their sinning and the shame it brought them could be expunged through dedication to the sacred cause of jihad. Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who reportedly drank, ate pork, and was sexually permissive, may also have felt shamed by his own secular lifestyle  so much so that he sought absolution from it in murderous suicidal violence.

The recent wave of jihadi terrorism in the West seems to suggest the emergence of a new type of homegrown radicalization  religious conversion without devout commitment. Or a sort of radicalization lite, where self-identity, not behavior, becomes the relevant transformational measure. Lahouaiej Bouhlel, for example, lived a robustly secular and criminally deviant life right up until his death, yet he seemingly embraced a jihadi ideology that helped him redefine himself as a holy warrior and justified his atrocity. There is perhaps something intrinsically late-modern about these lite conversions, in that they closely reflect what the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman refers to as the liquid nature of contemporary social life, where the liquid modern man lives like a perennial tourist, changing places, jobs, lovers, values, politics, and even sexual preferences  all in the blink of an eye.

Previously we were mostly dealing with radical Islamists, Alain Grignard, a senior member of the Brussels Federal Polices counterterrorism unit, told the journalist Paul Cruickshank recently. These individuals, he said, were radicalized toward violence by an extremist interpretation of Islam. But, with the emergence of the Islamic State, this has changed: Now were increasingly dealing with what are best described as Islamized radicals  young, urban Muslims who were radical before they were religious.

This is perceptive  but it isnt quite right. Grignard mistakes gang delinquency for revolutionary political opposition. These lapsed Muslims were never radical; they were criminal. And then in the Islamic State, and the scripted violence it offers, they found a way of spiritually transcending their badassery, all the while remaining badasses. They found authorized transgression, a hallucinatory vision that simultaneously allowed and redeemed their bad Muslim selves. They also found in the Islamic State an ideology that required no particular knowledge or lifelong commitment yet promised instant action and redemption. They found a religion, in other words, perfectly in tune with the prevailing era of liquid lives and loves.

Photo credit: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images
Aside from its extremely popular Galaxy devices, Samsung also manufactures a wide range of other products, including many components that go into its own phones and into devices from the competition. Dangerous chemicals are used during production of some devices, and Samsung is being accused of not having provided crucial information about these chemicals to factory workers. 76 former Samsung semiconductor and LCD workers, most of them in their 20s and 30s have died as a result, according to the findings of an investigation into the matter.

DONT MISS: Googles new Nexus phones will be just as fast as the Galaxy Note 7

South Korean authorities let Samsung hide important details about work hazards, The Associated Press says. A worker safety group in the country documented more than 200 cases of serious illnesses that may be linked to exposure to chemicals used in Samsung factories. The diseases include leukemia, lymphoma, multiple sclerosis and lupus.

The report notes that former employees will not be compensated for occupational hazards from the South Korean government with ease, and the absence of information concerning their exposure to toxins makes it almost impossible to receive any compensation.

"[Samsung] once offered me 1 billion won ($864,000), asking me to stay silent, said the father of a former Samsung factory worker who died of leukemia at 22. The idea was to deny her illness was an occupational disease and to leave me without any power to fight back."

"There was never any education (at the factory) about what kind of chemicals could be bad so that we could be more careful, added a 36-year-old former Samsung display worker who lost her eyesight after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

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See the original version of this article on BGR.com
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday it will acquire U.S.-based luxury appliances maker Dacor Inc, seeking to boost high-end product sales.

Samsung said in a statement it will keep Dacor's brand name and leave its operations unchanged following the acquisition. The company did not disclose financial terms. The Korea Economic Daily said Samsung paid $150 million to buy the California-based company.

Researcher Traqline says Samsung was the top home appliances maker in the United States during the second quarter with a 16.7 percent market share, beating out rivals such as LG Electronics Inc and Whirlpool Corp. (WHR.N)

(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Richard Pullin)
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday it will acquire U.S.-based luxury appliances maker Dacor Inc, seeking to boost high-end product sales.

Samsung said in a statement it will keep Dacor's brand name and leave its operations unchanged following the acquisition. The company did not disclose financial terms. The Korea Economic Daily said Samsung paid $150 million to buy the California-based company.

Researcher Traqline says Samsung was the top home appliances maker in the United States during the second quarter with a 16.7 percent market share, beating out rivals such as LG Electronics Inc and Whirlpool Corp.

(Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Richard Pullin)
As his daughter, Zelda Williams, put it, "It's that time of year again."

Today marks the two-year anniversary of Robin William's death in 2014. To pay tribute to him, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Williams' co-star in one of his final projects, The Crazy Ones, shared a touching photo of the two together.

"Time is the best teacher, but unfortunately, it kills all of its students," she captioned the picture, a quote often attributed to Williams online, though it was first spoken by French music critic Hector Berlioz.

EXCLUSIVE: Zelda Williams Shares the 'Handy' Advice Father Robin Williams Passed Down to Her

SMG posted another Instagram of the comedian surrounded by underwear models in angel wings and wrote, "The way I like to think of you RW...with all the angels." She added the hashtag "miss you."

Meanwhile, Zelda announced she would be taking a break from social media to remember her father privately.

"I will always be so grateful for all the love the world had and continues to have for dad, but for obvious reasons, it's sometimes harder to be the sort of surviving public vessel for receiving those sentiments, and one often expected to somehow flawlessly express them back," the 27-year-old actress explained on Sunday. "I'll be excusing myself for a bit. Hearts just need little breaks sometimes!"

One of Williams' most iconic films, Hook, celebrated its 25-year anniversary this week and ET rounded up the Lost Boys to reflect on working with the actor. Hear what they had to say in the video below.

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Saudi Arabia just made it much more likely that OPEC and other oil producers will take action if crude prices weaken.

Word that the cartel will meet on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria in late September had already stirred up the oil market this week, but confirmation Thursday from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih gave much more credibility to the idea that OPEC will consider action if oil prices remain low. West Texas Intermediate futures soared as much as 5 percent in trading Thursday after the Saudi comments, and later settled at $43.49 per barrel, up 4.3 percent.



Some OPEC members, particularly Venezuela, have been pushing the idea of production limits for months, but Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said it would go along only if all producers agreed. Iran, however, has steadfastly refused to accept limits, and it has been aggressively returning oil to the market in an effort to grab back the market share it lost while it was under sanctions for its nuclear program. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia turned up the taps, and its production in July jumped to a record 10.67 million barrels a day.

Saudi Arabia has been feeling the pinch of low oil prices, but it is better-positioned than most other producers, based on its cheap production costs and strong market presence. But it now has a new reason to cooperate with OPEC  the economic transformation plan announced by Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this spring.

At the heart of that plan is the IPO of state-owned Saudi Aramco in 2017 or 2018, which is key to a move to diversify the economy and turn its Public Investment Fund into a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund.

Even though the IPO could be well into the future, it is in Saudi Arabia's interest to have a more stable oil price with the high volumes it is producing, analysts said.

"Thirty dollar oil isn't great if you're talking up the prospect of your IPO. Mohammed bin Salman is positioning himself as the young leader of the Arab world. He's really staking his reputation on his tremendous economic transformation, and he's put the IPO at the center of that. He will try to make the IPO go well. ... This is his initiative. This is not a collective initiative. This is being driven by one increasingly ambitious man. He's the great disruptor and he literally sees himself as the future king," said Helima Croft, head of commodities strategy at RBC.

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Al-Falih was named energy minister earlier this year by bin Salman, whose role is to oversee the military as well as energy and the economy. Bin Salman, 31, is the youngest son of King Salman.

"There is an opportunity for OPEC and major exporting non-OPEC ministers to meet and discuss the market situation, including any possible action that may be required to stabilize the market," al-Falih was quoted as saying.

Michael Wittner, global head of oil market research at Societe Generale said a report Thursday morning from the International Energy Agency was a factor in the market, but the biggest driver was al-Falih's comment. "The key phrase there is 'including any possible action that might be required to stabilize the market.' That indicates a willingness ... to perhaps do more. It's not even limited to a freeze. Hypothetically, any action is possible," he said.

Wittner said it's hard to say if there's a trigger price that would get OPEC to drop its Saudi-driven strategy of letting market forces move oil prices, rather than production quotas. But $40 oil could be a "wake-up call" that might bring the parties together, he said.

"It comes down to the core four  the Saudis, Iran, Iraq and Russia. If you're talking freeze, it's not going to make a damn bit of difference for real crude supply. Russia is maxed out. Iraq is maxed out or close. Iran is maxed out or close to it, and the Saudis are out with a big number in July but that's seasonal, and they'll be coming down. The freeze would solidify the status quo, and it wouldn't do anything but give a boost to market psychology," said Wittner. Russia will be in attendance at the energy conference in Algeria.

Wittner said there's been no public indication Saudi Arabia is concerned about the oil market because of its IPO. "It's at least in the back of their minds. It's a very reasonable assumption. It would be stupid if they were not thinking about it, and they are not stupid," he said.

Venezuela has been an ardent proponent of OPEC action, since lower oil revenues have exacerbated its economic and political crisis. Croft said it is possible the cartel will consider a Venezuela proposal on production bands, which means each producer would have a range of output levels and they could move within the range based on market price.

OPEC and producers outside of the cartel met in Doha, Qatar, in April and failed to reach an agreement. Reports at the time put the blame on a last-minute decision by bin Salman, but Saudi Arabia had also said it would not agree to a deal unless all producers went along. OPEC also met in June.

What's changed is the market is closer to being balanced. Iran has also returned oil to the market so quickly it is close to its past production level.

"The last go-around, I was utterly convinced the meeting would end in failure. This time I'm not. I think you have to be more cautious on this one, with these Saudi statements and the Iranians closer to full strength," said John Kilduff of Again Capital.

Al-Falih said in his comments that the oil market is rebalancing but it will still take time to clear both oil and refined product inventories. "We are on the right track, and prices should reflect that. But the large short positioning in the market has caused the oil price to undershoot," he said.



Wittner said al-Falih's statement was similar in tone to his comments at the June meeting, his first as energy minister.

"They didn't play nice in April but again al-Falih made a real effort to try to mend fences in June. The tone and the content of the statement is consistent," he said. "They weren't playing nice in April. That's when MBS (bin Salman) called (former oil minister Ali) al Naimi and said the deal is off."



Croft said any action will depend on price. "Let's say we get back to the $50s, and we get to September and the market is once more in the right direction. There isn't any impetus. But if were in the $40s or if we go back to the $30s, they would at least set up a working group," she said.

Analysts have said oil could take another leg down during refining maintenance season, between late August and October. Refinery demand for crude drops as refiners shut down in preparation of winter fuel production.

Another big difference between now and April when OPEC tried to strike a deal is the reduction in U.S. shale oil production. The U.S. produced 8.4 million barrels a day last week, about a million barrels less than this time last year.

"People were waiting for something from the Saudis to make this credible. Nobody believes Venezuela," Croft said.

Update: Corrects amount of barrels of crude produced by Saudi Arabia





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Sanaa (AFP) - Saudi-led coalition jets on Thursday pounded Shiite rebel positions in and around Sanaa for a third consecutive day, as shelling from Yemen killed a woman in Saudi Arabia.

The coalition has been fighting the Huthi rebels since March 2015, after they overran the capital and drove south forcing internationally recognised President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country.

In the morning, coalition warplanes struck the Al-Dailami airbase near Sanaa airport and a military school inside the Yemeni capital, the pro-rebel Saba news agency reported.

Military sources loyal to the Hadi government said the air raids targeted only military positions held by the Huthis and their allies, supporters of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

But Saba said civilian homes were also struck, and reported other raids on the Huthi stronghold of Saada, a northern province near the borders with Saudi Arabia.

It said Sanaa airport had been closed since the coalition on Tuesday launched a wave of air raids in and around the capital, for the first time in three months.

The raids had been halted as Kuwait hosted UN-brokered peace talks between and the Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Huthis and their allies.

But the UN suspended the talks last week after the rebels appointed a so-called "supreme political council" comprising 10 members to run Yemen.

In July the Huthis and their allies rejected a UN peace plan that called on them to withdraw from territory they had occupied and give up heavy weapons seized from the army.

The rebels said the plan did not meet their key demand for a unity government.

Rebels and pro-government forces clashed again in the Naham region north of Sanaa, where 22 rebels and four loyalists have been killed since Wednesday, a pro-government spokesman said.

Also on Thursday a Saudi woman was killed and seven other people wounded by shelling from Yemen, the Saudi civil defence said.

It came hours after a civilian was killed and seven others wounded late Wednesday in the Saudi province of Hazan also in shelling from Yemen, it added.

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The United Nations says more than 6,400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen since the coalition air campaign began in March 2015.

The fighting has also driven 2.8 million people from their homes and left more than 80 percent of the population needing humanitarian aid.

Around 100 members of the Saudi forces and civilians have been killed in skirmishes, by artillery fire or landmines inside the kingdom's borders since the coalition launched its campaign.
A new congressional investigation has concluded that senior military officials presented an overly positive spin on the progress of the U.S. fight against the Islamic State, but its initial findings stopped short of explicitly charging the Obama administration with cooking the books.

The White House shouldnt break out the champagne: The findings could still be a lose-lose proposition for both the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton just as Donald Trump appeared to be on the ropes amid plunging poll numbers and sharp attacks from members of his own party.

Trumps primary attack on Clintons national security credentials centers around his accusations that she and the president whom she served deserve blame for the spread  if not the very birth  of the Islamic State. The mogul has stepped up his rhetorical attacks on both Clinton and President Barack Obama in recent days, deriding Obama as the founder of the group and labeling Clinton its co-founder.

As with so many of Trumps attacks, its a wholly inaccurate claim. The Islamic State grew out of the remnants of al Qaeda in Iraq, an extremely violent Islamist group that battled U.S. forces after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, five years before Obama even took office. The president made an early series of remarks downplaying its capabilities, but has since launched an expansive military campaign that officials say has dramatically shrunk the size of its self-proclaimed caliphate.

Still, the new evidence that the U.S. war against the Islamic State may not be going as well as the administration has claimed makes it easier for Trump to accuse Obama of intentionally misrepresenting the facts on the ground or to argue that the president was so incompetent that that he didnt even realize that he was being misled by his commanders.

Trump has already begun rolling out variants of that line of attack, part of the concerted Republican strategy to persuade voters that Obama bears responsibility both for losing Iraq by prematurely withdrawing American troops and for creating a vacuum that ISIS stepped in to fill. The president, Republicans argue, was also slow to grasp the severity of the new threat as evidenced by his tone-deaf and inaccurate description of the Islamic State as the JV team of international terrorism.

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Offered a way to back out of the clearly incorrect remarks on Thursday, Trump instead doubled down to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. No, I meant hes the founder of ISIS, Trump said. Hewitt pushed back, saying the president is trying to defeat the group, but the New York businessman gave no ground.

I dont care, Trump replied. He was the founder.

Now Trumps efforts to attack Obamas  and Clintons  handling of the Islamic States spread are getting a boost from the House report, which could be used as rhetorical ammunition in the GOP push to diminish the counterterrorism gains of the entire administration.

The Republican chairs of the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, and of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, formed the task force to investigate allegations that the U.S. Central Command, in charge of the war in the Middle East, had manipulated intelligence in 2014 and 2015.

The answer, the House panel concluded, was yes: CENTCOM leaders approved intelligence that typically provided a more positive depiction of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts than was warranted by facts on the ground and were consistently more positive than analysis produced by other elements of the Intelligence Community. It also corroborated claims by CENTCOM whistleblowers that superiors were distorting their products or pressuring them to do so. The findings were first reported by the Daily Beast.

The House report found no evidence that administration officials implicitly or explicitly pressured senior CENTCOM officials to cook the books, but Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves and one of the task forces leaders, hinted that political motivations might ultimately explain the skewed intel analysis.

The Democratic minority on the House Intelligence Committee, which conducted its own review, agreed with the majoritys conclusions about the faulty assessments but repeatedly emphasized that neither probe found administration involvement.

We found no evidence of politicization of intelligence in this case, said the committees top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Nor did we  or the majority  find any evidence that the White House requested to, or in any manner attempted to, have the intelligence analysis conform to any preset or political narrative.

Trump and his allies havent shied away from alleging just such a connection, even though even Republican investigators couldnt find one.

Kelly Ayotte, a vulnerable Republican senator running for reelection in New Hampshire and one of the Obama administrations loudest critics, was one of the first to weigh in on Thursday. A successful strategy to defeat the scourge of radical Islamist terrorism must be based on facts  not rosy assessments manipulated to support a political narrative, she said.

Still, Trumps ability to capitalize politically on the Obama administrations track record in the war against the Islamic State may be complicated by inconvenient realities in his own record, including inaccurate claims that he initially both opposed the Iraq invasion (he supported it) and the subsequent withdrawal of U.S. forces (he backed that, too).

Photo credit: Joe Raedle / Staff
Aodhan O Gogain, a PhD candidate in the School of Natural Sciences at Irelands Trinity College, uncovered an interesting new bit of information about a 300-million-year-old shark.

New fossils of fecal matter found in Canada revealed something a little unsettling: These sharks were feasting on their own young, possibly in times of low food supply. The findings were published on Thursday in the journal Palaeontology.

Within the fossils, there were loads of juvenile shark teeth. Scientists think that this species, Orthacanthus, lived in oily waters in swamps off the coast of Europe and North America, surrounded by hot jungles. When nothing else was available, these top predators might have dipped into their own population to keep from going hungry.

Scientists refer to this behavior as filial cannibalism.

Gogain described what the shark would have looked like in a press release.

Orthacanthus was a three-metre-long xenacanth shark with a dorsal spine, an eel-like body, and tricusped teeth, he said. There is already evidence from fossilized stomach contents that ancient sharks like Orthacanthus preyed on amphibians and other fish, but this is the first evidence that these sharks also ate the young of their own species.

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He said that they were probably similar to the bull sharks of today because they could survive in brackish swamps and shallow oceans. Gogain also mentioned that this may be part of the way fish started to colonize inland fresh waters.

Another coauthor of the study, Dr. Howard Falcon-Lang of the Royal Holloway University of London, noted in the release that although the juvenile shark teeth were found in the fecal matter of adults, there is still some question as to why.

But, because the time that these sharks lived in was also the time in which marine fish were moving into freshwater locations, there might have been a decreased food supply for the sharks. This could have caused them to eat their own young for survival  an ironic twist on trying to keep the species alive.

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It looks like this isnt the only time a species has been forced to cannibalize its own members in attempts to survive, however. Recently, seagulls in Washington state have started eating their own chicks, for example, because rising water temperatures have caused plankton, their main food source, to vanish.

So, while it may seem like an usually sinister phenomenon, cannibalistic ways appear to be a long-practiced final resort for animals who are trying to hold on in the face of changing environmental conditions.

NOW WATCH: Watch a man propose to his girlfriend underwater surrounded by sharks





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From Esquire

The magistrate on the other hand is the guardian of justice, and, if of justice, then of equality also. And since he is assumed to have no more than his share, if he is just (for he does not assign to himself more of what is good in itself, unless such a share is proportional to his merits-so that it is for others that he labours, and it is for this reason that men, as we stated previously, say that justice is 'another's good'), therefore a reward must be given him, and this is honour and privilege; but those for whom such things are not enough become tyrants.

-Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book V

You can spend hours reading the report filed on Wednesday by the Department of Justice on the racial catastrophe that is the Baltimore Police Department, and I've already done that. (The New York Times got an early copy.) No matter how many times you read it, you still come back to Ray Kelly, who is a normal 45-year old working guy who can't even remember how many times he's been stopped by the Baltimore Police Department for Being A Normal 45-year Old Working Guy While Black.

I can remember, vividly, every time a policeman has stopped me throughout my 62 years on the planet. I can feel the vise in my gut and the sweat beginning to gather on my brow, and I've never done anything more criminal than commit the occasionally disputable traffic violation.

I can't imagine what Ray Kelly's average day is like.

"Hearing the actual numbers, like on the traffic stops, is blowing my mind," Mr. Kelly said.

The numbers would blow anyone's mind.

In Baltimore, a city that is 63 percent black, the Justice Department found that 91 percent of those arrested for discretionary offenses like "failure to obey" or "trespassing" were African-American. Blacks make up 60 percent of Baltimore's drivers, but they account for 82 percent of traffic stops. Of the 410 pedestrians who were stopped at least 10 times in the five and a half years of data reviewed, 95 percent were black.

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And that's just the top line.

Not only are the numbers staggering on their own, but the report makes clear that the numbers the BPD reported have all the legitimacy of a floating crap game. For example, in 2014, the BPD recorded 124,000 stops but an in-house audit found that officers finished 37 reports out of a sample group of 123 stops. The corruption runs so deep beneath the numbers that it appears that there isn't anything there except the corruption.

But, Ray Kelly.

Photo credit: Andrew Burton/Getty

Every morning, Ray Kelly got up and he was far more certain than any American should be that he would have an encounter with law enforcement. He got up and he was far more certain than any American should be that he would have an encounter with law enforcement that would not be pleasant. He got up and he was far more certain than any American should be that he would have an encounter with law enforcement that would end badly.

The history of the numbers-and, therefore, how things went so badly wrong in Baltimore-is a sorry and not entirely inexplicable story. Not if you are familiar with the history of how things go so badly wrong in this country. Race is shot throughout the report; the numbers draw a clear and vivid picture of that. Everything in the report comes down to the disinclination of the civic and political power to grant the freedom of their constitutional rights to its African American citizens. Nothing in the report proceeds without that simple fact. From fugitive slave patrols to this report, the history of American law enforcement shows that so much of American law enforcement hasn't any more idea of how to solve this nation's original sin than does any other institution of American society. Except these people have badges. And guns.

But, Ray Kelly.

Ray Kelly walked the streets of Baltimore with a place in his heart and in his head in which he knew the Bill of Rights did not apply to him. He walked the streets of Baltimore with a place in his heart and in his head where he knew that he was not immune from illegal searches and seizures, that his freedom of speech and of assembly and, god knows, his right to petition his government for redress of grievances were all truncated, their spirit amputated in him. Every day, he walked the streets with a place in his heart and his head in which he knew that. Every day.

Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

It's a tough report for, among other people, former Baltimore Mayor, former Maryland Governor, and former Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley, whose campaign was dogged throughout its brief life by his commitment while mayor to zero-tolerance, "broken windows" policing which, in too many places and too many instances, was simply a declaration of open season on the people on whom it has been open season for 300-odd years. The report goes into considerable detail on this phenomenon.

In the early 2000s, BPD began a "zero-tolerance" enforcement strategy that encouraged officers to make frequent stops, searches, and arrests for misdemeanor offenses. This strategy overwhelmingly impacted the City's African-American residents and predominantly African-American neighborhoodsIn some cases, BPD supervisors have ordered their subordinates to target African-Americans specifically for heightened enforcements.

Martin O'Malley's first year as mayor of Baltimore was 2000. He took office during an incredibly violent period in the city's history.

But, Ray Kelly

Every day, when he went to lunch, he had to drive more carefully than I ever do. He had to talk more carefully than I do. And even that would not be enough, because there was that place in the local government that was very similar to that place in his heart and in his head wherein the Bill of Rights did not fully apply to him, wherein its spirit was amputated.

Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

The report also describes how the victims of the BPD put themselves in peril simply for complaining about being victims of the BPD. This is the way this kind of thing works. This is the way actual tyranny works, day after day, stop after stop, year after year.

For example, an officer in downtown Baltimore in 2011 "feltthat it was reasonable" to order a young African American man to leave the area because he "had no respect for law enforcement" and was making "idle threats toward a uniformed officer."

Indeed, in another case, an officer patrolling the inner harbor on the Fourth of July complained that a man, "Nicholas," bumped his shoulder while walking past. As Nicholas continued walking, the officer said, "Hey, you ran right into me," to which Nicholas replied "fuck you" and continued walking. Although no crime had been committed, the officer pursued Nicholas and demanded his identification. Nicholas continued to walk away from the officer, who attempted to grab his arm. Nicholas swore at the officer again and continued to pull away, at which point the officer informed him he was under arrest. According to the officer's report, after attempting to place the man under arrest, the incident ended in a physical altercation between officers, Nicholas, and his brother, with the brother eventually being tased. Though Nicholas made repeated attempts to walk away peacefully, the officer pursued him and escalated the encounter. According to the officer's report, he believed that Nicholas's attitude and actions indicated "he was purposely looking for a confrontation with law enforcement[.]" However, Nicholas made no obvious threats or aggressive movements toward the officer. His use of profanity did not rise to the level of "fighting words" and was protected by the First Amendment. The officer's pursuit, detention, and eventual arrest was an unlawful exercise of government power to exact personal vengeance for a perceived slight.

Furthermore, we have reviewed many incidents in which BPD officers believe they are justified in using force or arresting a person, based solely on profane or insulting words. We reviewed an incident, for example, in which an officer tased a young man who, according to the officer's report, had removed his shirt and was yelling at club patrons and staff.

But, Ray Kelly

Every night, when he got home, he was relieved that he was not stopped and searched. He was relieved that he did not encounter local law enforcement. He went to sleep and he woke up the next morning and the vise tightened again. Day after day, stop after stop, year after year. This report is not about America. It's about something else. It's about a nation within a nation, where the rules are made from the outside and are faceless and omnipresent. This report is about something like a failed state, a place where self-government dies for lack of oxygen and nobody outside that failed state seems to care.

Ray Kelly is no more or less an American than I am. Or you are. Or the members of the Baltimore Police Department are. Without that simple truth, nothing else goddamn matters.

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Seth Rogen Alberto E. Rodriguez final

Seth Rogen will forever be linked to the Sony hack.

The leaking of emails and other information from the studio was reportedly done by North Korea in retaliation for Rogen and Evan Goldberg's movie "The Interview," a comedy featuring a fictional plot by two American journalists to try to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

While on "Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons" on Wednesday to promote his movie "Sausage Party" (out Friday), Rogen looked back on the hack, and it sounds as if he's happy none of his personal emails got out.

"I would have had some explaining to do," he said. "You talk s--- about a million people in your day-to-day life in your emailing, especially if the last 20 years of my emails had come out, which I would not have liked."

Simmons then asked what Rogen thought about the news media calling the emails "leaked" instead of "stolen."

"That is honestly the thing that drives me f---ing crazy," Rogen said.

The actor believes the relevance of the Sony hack 10 years from now will be in how the media handled the story.

"It was the first major cyberattack that put the media to the test of how we deal with this," he said. "Do you protect the victim of the crime? Do you do what the perpetrator of the crime is hoping you're going to do?"

Many mainstream media outlets reported on the leaks. One major revelation was about the enormous gender gap in pay throughout Hollywood. Jennifer Lawrence learned she was getting paid less than her male costars only through the leak. This led to her writing an essay about it.

But Rogen pointed out that perhaps the attack's biggest casualty was a woman: the head of Sony's movie division Amy Pascal.

"One person lost their job, a woman, who was running the studio, who specifically had a very feminist agenda in the best way possible," Rogen said, pointing out that Pascal approved the female-led "Ghostbusters" reboot.

Watch the clip from "Any Given Wednesday" below:

Story continues

NOW WATCH: The directors of 'Catfish' and 'Nerve' reveal how to make it in Hollywood without going to film school





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(Reuters) - About two dozen people and firefighters were injured on Wednesday in an explosion and fire that erupted at an apartment building north of Washington D.C., a spokesman for the fire services said.

The explosion shortly before midnight rocked Silver Spring, Maryland, and the fire burned into Thursday morning, Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said on a voice recording.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the explosion at the four-story building, which displaced about 90 people.

Piringer tweeted that about two dozen people, including firefighters, were injured. It is unclear if there are fatalities, and five to seven people remained unaccounted for, local media reported.

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was under control.

Silver Spring, Maryland is about 6 miles (10 km) north of Washington D.C.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Larry King)
This story was updated Aug. 10 at 6:19 p.m. EDT.

In an experiment fit for a horror movie, researchers glued shark teeth to a power saw and ran them through hunks of raw salmon  all in the name of learning how these ferocious predators attack and devour their prey, a new study reports.

Though unconventional, the "toothy" saw did the trick, and helped the scientists examine the cutting abilities of differently shaped shark teeth.

The sharp teeth of tiger, sandbar and silky sharks dulled quickly, whereas the less sharp teeth of the bluntnose sixgill (Hexanchus griseus) showed less dulling over time, the researchers said. [On the Brink: A Gallery of Wild Sharks]

The findings suggest there may be a trade-off between tooth-cutting ability and wear among sharks, said study co-author Stacy Farina, a postdoctoral fellow of organismal and evolutionary biology at Harvard University.

"Some teeth might be more optimized for cutting [prey] really well, but they wear quickly, " Farina told Live Science. "And some might not cut as well, but they don't wear as quickly."

Most sharks lose and replace their teeth quickly, she noted. It's possible that sharks with sharper teeth actually lose and replace these teeth more frequently than sharks with duller teeth do, she said. But more research is needed to say for sure, because little is known about the rate at which different sharks lose their teeth, Farina said.

Toothy saw

For their experiments, Farina and her colleagues created four saws: one for the bluntnose sixgill, another for the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), a third saw for the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and a fourth for the silky shark (C. falciformis).

When sharks hunt, they often rush up to the prey, strike with an open mouth, dig their teeth into the prey and shake their head side-to-side to tear through the prey's body, Farina said.

Adult sixgills, which eat fish and marine mammals, are not known to display this head-shaking behavior, the researchers wrote in the study. These sharks have teeth that aren't as sharp, perhaps because they eat their prey whole and use their teeth to restrain, rather than to cut, the researchers said. [7 Unanswered Questions About Sharks]

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Yet, having duller, longer-lasting teeth may be an advantage: Sixgills live in cold water and have slower metabolisms, and likely don't replace their teeth frequently, meaning they would need the teeth to last longer, Farina said.

The other sharks  the tiger, silky and sandbar  "cut their prey to pieces before eating it, and tiger sharks, in particular, are known to engage with very stiff prey tissues, like the carapace [shell] of sea turtles," the researchers wrote in the study.

To mimic this behavior, study contributor Jeffrey Brash, a metalworker at Valley Steel & Stone in Friday Harbor, Washington, built an apparatus with a fulcrum. This setup allowed the saw to fall onto the salmon carcass, much like a shark would clamp down on its prey, Farina said.

Then, the researchers ran the shark-tooth saws at different speeds to measure their properties, Farina said.

Some experts have questioned the study's methods, however, asking if the transformed saws accurately model a shark attack.

The study reveals interesting facts about the relative mechanical strength of different shark teeth, said John Maisey, a curator of vertebrate paleontology who specializes in fossil fishes at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and who was not involved with the study.

But, he told Live Science in an email, "I am particularly concerned about the side-to-side motion of the teeth, which (as far as I know) is not something sharks would do; it would require the upper and lower jaws to move sideways relative to each other, whereas most shark jaws generate their cutting action by the vertical 'chomp.'"

The study was published online Aug. 10 in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

Editor's note: This story was updated to say that the researchers didn't run the saws at three different speeds. Rather, they used teeth from three shark genuses. Also, sharks don't hunt with open mouths, but rather rush up to the prey and then strike with an open mouth.

Original article on Live Science.

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Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Its the third biggest decline in the APAC region.

Singaporean consumers have sank into pessimism in the first half of 2016, as the city-state's consumer confidence dropped 10.7 points to 33.6.

According to the Mastercard Index of Consumer Confidence, the 10.7- point plunge is classified as significant deterioration. Further, the steep drop means Singapore saw the third biggest decline in confidence, surpassed only by Indonesia and Hong Kong with 14.7 and 12.4 point-declines.

Meanwhile, Singapore saw three components fall more than 10 points in H1quality of life plunged 14.5 points, regular income tumbled 12 points, and employment sank 11 points.

Overall, consumer confidence in the Asia Pacific markets remained stable, inching up 0.05 points to 59.72 in H1.

"Taiwan, which experienced extreme deterioration in consumer confidence in the previous survey recorded the largest improvement in the current survey. Philippines, India and Malaysia also saw improvements of at least 5 points, Mastercard stated.

The developing markets of India (97.6), Philippines (95.2), Vietnam (94.9) and Myanmar (99.8) remain extremely optimistic in their outlook," it added.



Photo: joyfull/Shutterstock.com





More From Singapore Business Review


Mobile data services boosted profit.

On back of sound performances by its mobile data and cyber security services, Singtels net profit grew a measly 0.3% YoY to $944 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2016.

According to Singtel, mobile data services remained a key growth driver across all markets while cyber security was another bright spot as revenues climbed up $109 million for the quarter following the purchase in September last year of Trustwave Holdings, an information security company.

Singtels press release also said that the groups post-tax earnings of regional mobile associates also went up 19.2%.

Strong performances by Telkomsel and Airtel saw pre-tax contributions from the regional associates increase 14% for the quarter to S$714 million. Telkomsel recorded strong growth across its voice, data and digital businesses and data customers now constitute almost half of its mobile customer base. In India, Airtel continued to strengthen its market leadership and accelerate its 4G network rollout  also delivering growth in data and voice services. In Thailand, AIS successfully acquired the 900MHz spectrum, securing continuity of its network leadership while Globe in the Philippines has entered into an agreement to acquire 50% of the telecom assets of San Miguel, including its 700MHz spectrum, Singtel explained.

However, operating revenue for the quarter dipped 7% due to mandated cuts to mobile termination rates in Australia, it added.







More From Singapore Business Review


Russia and Turkey to fight ISIS: Days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Turkey says talks are underway for the two countries to start carrying out joint operations against Islamic State in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday, we will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh operations together, using an alternate name for the group. Lets fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible, the minister said. Conversely, talks between Moscow and Washington over sharing intelligence on ISIS and Nusra Front in Syria have stalled, according to reports.

FPs Keith Johnson and John Hudson have lots more on the efforts that Moscow and Ankara are undertaking to repair  and bolster  their relationship, and what that means for NATO at a time of increased tensions with Russia, and NATO ally Turkey.

Russians moving in Crimea. Is it happening again? Russians often talk about the August curse  its month that has seen multiple wars, and coups, start  and with new intrigue Crimea, one wonders if Europe is headed for another short, sharp conflict, the kind Moscow has specialized in recently.

Quick recap: Russias state security service, the FSB, said Wednesday it had foiled two attempted incursions by Ukrainian special forces into Crimea over the past week. The FSB said one of its officers and a Russian soldier have been killed after coming under heavy fire from the Ukrainian side.

Putin does his thing. Russian President Vladimir Putin says hes not having it. There is no doubt that we will not let these things pass, he said on state television Wednesday. I think it is clear now that todays Kiev government is not looking for ways to solve problems by negotiations, but is resorting to terror. Putin called a meeting of his security council on Thursday to discuss antiterrorist security scenarios at the land border, sea, and in the airspace of Crimea, according to a Kremlin news release.

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Kiev having none of it. Ukrainian officials have flatly denied the accusations, FPs Reid Standish writes, dismissing the claims as fake, adding that the assertions from Moscow could be used as a pretext for further offensive operations. Reports have been circulating that Russia is moving military equipment and personnel to Crimeas northern border with Ukraine. Some of those movements are a planned troop rotation, but others may be to goad Ukraine into overreacting, allowing Moscow to play the victim, rather than a provocateur.

August is the cruelest month. Just a recap of what the role August plays in recent Russian military history. In August 2014, Russian forces pushed into Ukraines Donbas to prop up their staggering separatist allies. In 2008, Russian armor poured into Georgia to kick off the summer war between the two countries. Looking back further, of course, there was the failed coup in Moscow in 1991, the kickoff of the second Chechen war in 1999, and the tragic sinking of the Kursk submarine in 2000. If we want to push it, there was the infamous Guns of August in 1914, which saw the start of WWI.

Bloody Wednesday. Wednesday was a big day for body counts at the Pentagon, with two top generals boasting of big numbers of ISIS fighters killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. General John Nicholson, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said that Afghan forces and U.S. airstrikes  along with American commandos on the ground  have killed 300 Islamic State members in Nangarhar province over the past few days. And Gen. Sean MacFarland, the U.S. commander in Iraq, said that the United States has killed about 45,000 ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria since August 2014. Body counts. They dont matter until they do.

MacFarland also offered some real talk when it comes to the idea of defeating ISIS. Id like to register a note of caution, he told reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday. Military success in Iraq and Syria will not necessarily mean the end of [ISIS]. We can expect the enemy to adapt, to morph into a true insurgent force and terrorist organization capable of horrific attacks, MacFarland.

A note on body counts. To put the 45,000 number in some perspective, consider that of the 26,300 targets hit by U.S. and coalition pilots in Iraq and Syria over the past two years, the Pentagon says it has only killed 41 civilians and injured 28 others, according to U.S. Central Command. Human rights groups say that count is extremely low. The Pentagon is currently investigating several airstrikes in Syria that may have killed dozens of civilians.

Peacekeepers need not apply. The White House push to reinforce a struggling United Nations peacekeeping force in South Sudan encountered stiff resistance this week from its once-reliable ally President Salva Kiir, highlighting Washingtons waning influence in a country it helped create only five years ago, FPs Colum Lynch and Siobhan OGrady report. Washington wants 4,000 new peacekeepers to protect South Sudanese civilians after more than 300 people were killed when violence broke out between government and rebel soldiers in the capital of Juba last month.

Good morning and as always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley

2016

On the heels of calling on Moscow to hack Hillary Clintons email, the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, said Wednesday night the Crimean people wanna be with Russia. Last month, Trump claimed that Russia is not going into Ukraine, O.KYou can mark it down.

China

Beijing has launched a new satellite which it says will keep an eye on the countrys controversial artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. China Daily reports that China launched the Gaofen-3 radar imaging Earth observation satellite via a Long March 4C rocket. Xu Fuxiang, who lead the Gaofens development for the the China Academy of Space Technology, said that the Gaofen-3 and others like it will be very useful in safeguarding the countrys maritime rights and interests. Xu also said the satellite will be used to predict and monitor natural disasters.

Air Force

Senior Air Force officials are once again raising the alarm about its pilot shortage, the AP reports. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein spoke at a Pentagon press conference about their concerns over a shortfall of 700 fighter pilots. James and Goldfein warned that the service could lose an additional 300 pilots if the problem is left unchecked. The two Air Force leaders pointed to increasing competition from the private sector as a threat to retention and urged Congress to give them the authority to shell out more for pilot bonuses in order to deal with the problem.

Syria

Russia has proclaimed a unilateral ceasefire in Aleppo, which will last for three hours starting at 10 am local time on Thursday. The plan form Moscow says the ceasefire will take place every day during those three hours, during which a humanitarian corridor will allow food and aid supplies to reach the city, which has been under siege following a renewed push by the Assad regime to reclaim it from rebel groups. United Nations Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Stephen OBrien, however, said the three hour duration wasnt nearly enough time to carry out thorough aid distribution. It might not matter. Reports from Aleppo Thursday say the bombs didnt stop at 10:00 am.

ISIS

The U.S. Air Force is talking up its bombing of $11 million worth of the Islamic States oil after a weekend of airstrikes targeting tankers hauling the groups most valuable commodity. USA Today reports that American warplanes, including A-10 Warthogs and F-16s, struck a convoy of 83 tankers belonging to the group in Syrias Deir Ezzor province. Air Force officials say the Islamic States unwise massing of valuable supplies represents a breakdown in command and control within the group. Coalition forces have pointedly targeted the Islamic States oil infrastructure, which some analysts estimate have made up nearly half the groups revenue.

Canadian police killed a Toronto man on Wednesday whom they say was an adherent of the Islamic State preparing to carry out a suicide bombing. CBC News reports that police stormed the Ontario home of Aaron Driver and shot him after he detonated an explosive device. Police tell CBC that they believe Driver was planning to use a second explosive device to carry out a terrorist attack in Canada. Driver first appeared on Canadian intelligence officials radars after he tweeted support for the Islamic State. He was subject to a peace bond  a kind of parole for criminal offenders  when police raided his home on Wednesday.

Egypt

Nazi Germanys arsenal of weapons is coming back to haunt Egypt as the Islamic State digs buried weapons out of the ground. Newsweek reports that ISIS operatives group is using components and explosives scavenged from World War II-vintage anti-tank planted by Gen. Erwin Rommels Afrika Korps to make its improvised explosive devices. Fathy el-Shazly, Egypts top official in charge of removing mines, tells the magazine that there are at least 10 reported incidents of bombings that using recycled mines.

Bots o war

Drones belonging to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have taken a beating from Russian-backed rebels throughout the conflict in Ukraine, according to Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFIR Lab). The OSCE, a multinational observer organization which monitors conflicts, has been using its Special Monitoring Mission drone to keep track of ceasefire violations and the movement of equipment and fighters from both sides of the conflict. DFIR Lab rounds up evidence of multiple attempts by Russian-backed separatists to take out the drones, ranging from jamming with Russian electronic warfare equipment to small arms and anti-aircraft fire.

The United States is gearing up to sell ScanEagle drones to Iraq, IHS Janes reports. Theres no word yet on how many drones will be part of the sale but the contract is worth $8 million and will be concluded by 2017. The Defense Department has been greenlighting sales of the Insitu ScanEagle quite a bit this year, with sales to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kenya. Iraq already operates much the larger armed CH-4B, courtesy of a recent sale from China.

Photo Credit: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Will Smith addressed western Islamophobia and Donald Trump during a recent press conference in Dubai.

The 47-year-old actor was promoting his new comic book movie, Suicide Squad, when the conversation quickly turned to the GOP nominee.

PICS: Who the Celebs Are Rooting for to Be the Next President of the United States

"As painful as it is to hear Donald Trump talk, and as embarrassing as it is as an American to hear him talk, I think it's good," Smith said. "We get to hear it. We get to know who people are and now we get to cleanse it out of our country."

One controversy surrounding the Republican nominee is his call for "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the U.S. until "our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."

Trump made the plea in a statement released in December, further affirming his message in a subsequent tweet, writing, "Just put out a very important policy statement on the extraordinary influx of hatred and danger coming into our country. We must be vigilant!"

Just put out a very important policy statement on the extraordinary influx of hatred & danger coming into our country. We must be vigilant!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015

Smith told reporters that anti-Islamic sentiment like Trump's is a big part of what lead him to make the trip to Dubai.

WATCH: How Olympic Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad Is Transforming Team U.S.A.

"In terms of Islamophobia in America, for me, that's why it's important to show up," he said. "I'm in Dubai and I'm having fun and I'm tweeting and I'm showing pictures. Hey, doesn't look like they hate me, does it?"

While Smith aired grievances overseas, actress Rose McGowan had even stronger words in an open letter addressed to "Enablers and Donald" on Wednesday, in which she refers to Trump as "a murderer in the making."

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"After the Republican National Convention, I wrote an open letter to a rabid Trump supporter," she wrote. "I realize now the letter was for you, Donald and media men. It's you I've been wanting to talk to. You who have been stressing me and most of the nation out to the point of a diagnosable sickness. WE ARE BEING POISONED. We, the public, are being sickened by an ever expanding assault on our right to live a healthy and free life. Donald and you ratings-driven colluders are holding us, the public, hostage and exposing us to disease."

WATCH: 'Duck Dynasty' Star Sadie Robertson Endorses Donald Trump: 'I Trust Him'

"I do not want to live my life this way," she continued. "I am a proud AMERICAN & GLOBAL CITIZEN who's head is bowed to her knees in because she is sickened every day. Because of you. It is NOT most of America who should be ashamed, it is YOU for propagating this propaganda."

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From Popular Mechanics

The year was 1967, the middle of the Cold War. America and Russia were locked in a staring contest from opposite sides of the world, each daring the other to blink. Nuclear missiles were armed and ready to fire at a moment's notice. In the U.S., the military was constantly on high alert, waiting for the Soviets to launch some sort of surprise invasion or preemptive strike.

Finally, on May 23, that moment came.

The Air Force's Ballistic Missile Early Warning System was a series of radar installations arrayed around the world to detect a Soviet missile launch. It was the first line of defense, giving the military as much advance notice as possible to prepare for a nuclear strike. On May 23, 1967, multiple radar installations in the Arctic suddenly and inexplicably went dark.

The U.S. military believed the Soviets had managed to disable the Early Warning System. With war imminent, the Air Force began prepping aircraft equipped with nuclear weapons. However, those aircraft never launched, as commanders received crucial information at the last minute that may have averted full-scale nuclear war.

Photo credit: Space Weather

That information came from the North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD) newly established Solar Forecasting Center. A few days prior, it had detected a massive solar storm, one of the largest of the century. The storm produced solar flares and radio bursts that knocked out communications around the world, including the Air Force's Early Warning System.

The Solar Forecasting Center issued a bulletin warning that severe solar flares were incoming, and that bulletin managed to reach a commanding officer in time to avert action against the Soviets. If that bulletin had been delayed a few minutes, those nuclear aircraft could have launched, and the solar flares would have made it impossible to communicate in the air. If those aircraft had launched, there would have been no way to call them back.

Story continues

Fortunately for the world, those planes weren't launched and nuclear missiles were never fired. But this near-miss underscores the importance of preparing for solar storms. Today, a significant portion of our communications rely on satellites, which can easily be disrupted by a strong solar storm. An extremely powerful storm could even cripple the entire power grid, leaving millions of people without power for weeks or months.

If a solar storm could cause enough damage in 1967 to bring the world to the brink of nuclear war, imagine how much damage one could do to us today. Our increasing reliance on advanced communications technology places us at greater risk of solar storms than ever before. We need to start preparing for future solar storms, or the entire grid could be knocked out with hardly a moment's notice.

Source: Space Weather via Space.com

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From Cosmopolitan

A huge red, white, and blue letter T with an American flag theme in tribute to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has risen on a lawn days after a slightly smaller one was torched there.

Trump supporter Sam Pirozzolo stood proudly Wednesday on his front lawn in Staten Island by the 16-foot-high letter, almost as tall as his house.

Photo credit: AP

The T, ringed by a fence, is painted in latex on foam insulation with a wooden support frame. The few surviving pieces of the original T are still charred black.

Investigators are trying to determine who sneaked up under the cover of darkness and set fire to artist Scott LoBaido's original 12-foot-high T on Sunday, about three months after it was installed. Pirozzolo blames "pro-Hillary Clinton thugs."

Pirozzolo was awakened at about 1 a.m. when a passing motorist knocked on his door to alert him about the fire.

He rushed out as the Trump tribute was going up in flames, "and the first thing that came to my mind was, 'Oh, my god, this is like the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross on my lawn, telling me that I have to shut up.'"

Instead, Pirozzolo, who's a 52-year-old optician, and the artist set to work the next day, assembling another installation.

Photo credit: AP

Pirozzolo said Trump called him Monday, thanking him and LoBaido for their show of support. Pirozzolo's wife and two teenage kids listened in.

On Wednesday, passing motorists honked and shouted their approval.

LoBaido said the T is his response to the harassment of Trump supporters, including signs with Trump's name being pulled up from their lawns.

On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of people appeared after the new T went up, singing "God Bless America" and shouting comments opposing Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee.

The new T "is a symbol of the freedom of speech that we have that's been taken away from us," said Tina Matula, a 39-year-old Republican and Staten Island native now living in Sayreville, New Jersey.

She said she had her two young daughters with her to teach them they have the right "to be able to express how you feel politically."
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's parliament on Thursday began interviewing candidates to replace Thuli Madonsela, the head of a corruption watchdog whose findings undermined support for President Jacob Zuma and his administration and worried investors. Appointed by Zuma in 2009 for a seven-year, non-renewable term, Madonsela investigated several scandals involving Zuma which contributed to a sharp loss in support for the ruling party African National Congress in local elections last week. Among the 14 candidates shortlisted to replace Madonsela in the role of Public Protector are two judges, several lawyers, as well as the current deputy national director of public prosecutions. All would were due to be questioned by lawmakers on Thursday. The Public Protector has a constitutional mandate to probe misconduct and abuse in state affairs. It was not clear when a new candidate to replace Madonsela would be named but her term ends in October. The scandals investigated by Madonsela have worried investors in Africa's most industrialised country, who feared it could lead to instability. In one of her most high-impact investigations in 2014, Madonsela found Zuma had included in a $16 million "security upgrade" to his rural Nkandla home a raft of non-security items including a swimming pool and amphitheatre. She said Zuma should pay back the cost of those items, and her view was supported in March by South Africa's highest court, which said Zuma had broken the law by ignoring Madonsela's order. Zuma, who survived an impeachment vote in April after the court ruling, has since said he will repay some of the money, as ordered by the court. Madonsela has said she is investigating whether Zuma allowed a wealthy business family, the Gupta family, to decide on cabinet appointments. Both Zuma and the Guptas have denied the accusations made by the opposition. South Africa ranked 61st out of 168 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2015, which measures public sector corruption. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia and Raissa Kasolowsky)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's state-run power utility Eskom said on Thursday that electricity supplies were unaffected despite a nationwide pay strike, and that it was holding wage talks with unions mediated by labour authorities. The dispute is the latest problem to beset Eskom, which has struggled to meet power demand in South Africa due to its aging power plants and grid. However, it has managed a year without rolling blackouts that have hurt the economy in the past. The company, the sole power provider in Africa's most industrialised country, said on Thursday only around 2,000 of its 47,000 staff were taking part in the strike that started on Monday, following a deadlock in wage negotiations with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). "The majority of our people are here...the work at our power stations continues without any interruptions," Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said. The NUM, which has around 15,000 members at Eskom, about a third of the employees, said it could not immediately verify the exact number of members on strike, its chief negotiator at the utility, Helen Diatile, said. Eskom, whose operations are designated essential services by law, obtained a court order against the NUM and two other unions on Wednesday to stop the strike. The NUM has said its members were taking part in the strike in defiance of the court order. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) is trying to bridge the gap between the parties. The utility is offering pay increases of 7 to 9 percent while the NUM on Tuesday lowered its wage demand to 8.5 to 10 percent from 12 to 13 percent. Around 15,000 workers in the petrochemical industry have also been on strike over wages since last week, but so far there have been no significant fuel shortages. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by James Macharia)
Madrid (AFP) - Spain's energy giant Abengoa, struggling under a billions-strong debt pile, said Thursday it had reached a deal with creditors and investors allowing it to ward off bankruptcy.

The renewable energy firm had until October 28 to strike a debt restructuring agreement after announcing last year that it was filing for preliminary protection from creditors following years of frenzied, unsustainable expansion.

In a statement, the company said it had struck "a deal... on the terms and conditions for the restructuring of its financial debt and its recapitalisation" with creditors such as Banco Popular and Santander bank and investors like KKR Credit.

Under the agreement, the company will be given a much-needed liquidity boost of 1.17 billion euros.

The world player in solar and wind power, biofuels and water management has already launched a recovery plan as it seeks to reduce its debt burden which stood at 8.7 billion euros at the end of last year.

This includes the sale of biofuels assets and other non-strategic holdings, as well as job cuts.

The company, which posted losses of 1.2 billion euros last year, has shed more than a third of its global workforce since the beginning of 2016.

A family-owned company founded 75 years ago, Abengoa rose from being a local electrical firm, fixing installations damaged in Spain's 1936-1939 civil war, to a major player in solar energy and other renewables.

But risky bets on biofuels and Spain's cuts to renewable energy subsidies during an economic downturn pushed the company to the edge of bankruptcy.
By Abhinav Ramnarayan

LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Spanish government bond yields dropped to a record low on Thursday as acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy edged closer to securing a second term in office, which would end a near eight-month political deadlock.

This came against the backdrop of a broad rally in low-rated euro zone government bond this week on expectations that the European Central Bank will move further down the ratings spectrum to fulfil its asset purchase programme.

Spain's 10-year bond yield fell slightly in early trading on Thursday to hit a trough of 0.944 percent and is now at the tightest spread to German equivalents seen all year at 112 basis points, according to Tradeweb data.

"Spain is clearly below the 1 percent mark now, partly on hopes that the political risks have come down and that a third election could be avoided," said Christoph Rieger, rates strategist for Commerzbank.

Rajoy announced on Wednesday that his conservative party's leadership would vote next Wednesday on a reform pact proposed by centrists Ciudadanos as a condition of their support in forming a government [nL8N1AR4W1.

That has increased hopes that Rajoy will form a minority government in a country that has not been able to break a political deadlock after inconclusive elections in December 2015 and June 2016.

Most euro zone government bonds have been supported all week by a rally in gilts and expectations the ECB will have to move up the duration curve and down the ratings spectrum to fulfil its monthly asset purchases of 80 billion euros.

The issue was brought into relief earlier this week when Britain failed to find enough bonds to buy in its own quantitative easing programme.

"With the last supply for two weeks, that is yesterday's Bund tap, out of the way, European government bonds too are now more susceptible to the spill-over effects from the UK," said the ING analysts.

The yield on Portugal's 10-year bonds fell another 1.5 bps on Monday morning to a four-month low of 2.75 percent, meaning the yield has fallen 14 bp since the end of last week.

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"This is purely about the yield on offer, even though the fundamentals are not strong - I would advise investors to be more cautious," said Rieger.

New Zealand's Reserve Bank joined the worldwide rate cutting by lowering its official cash rate 25 basis points to 2.0 percent and said that further policy easing will be required.

For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan, editing by Larry King)
(Updates prices)

By Abhinav Ramnarayan

LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Spanish government bond yields dropped to a record low on Thursday as acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy edged closer to securing a second term in office and ending a near eight-month political deadlock.

This came against the backdrop of a broad rally in low-rated euro zone government bonds this week on expectations that the European Central Bank will move further down the ratings spectrum to fulfil its asset purchase programme.

Spain's 10-year bond yield fell as much as 3 basis points to a low of 0.92 percent, squeezing the gap over German equivalents to 109 bps - its tightest level this year, according to Tradeweb data.

In addition, the spread between Spain's two- and 30-year debt was at 213 bps, the lowest level since April 2015.

"Spain is clearly below the 1 percent mark now, partly on hopes that the political risks have come down and that a third election could be avoided," said Christoph Rieger, rates strategist for Commerzbank.

Rajoy announced on Wednesday that his conservative party's leadership would vote next Wednesday on a reform pact proposed by centrists Ciudadanos as a condition of their support in forming a government [nL8N1AR4W1.

That has increased hopes that Rajoy will form a minority government in a country that has struggled to break a political deadlock since inconclusive elections in December 2015 and June 2016.

Spain led a fall in southern European bond yields.

The yield on Italy's 10-year bond was down 1.6 bps, having hit a new 17-month low at 1.05 percent. Portugal's 10-year bond yield touched a four-month low of 2.75 percent, meaning the yield has fallen 14 bps since the end of last week.

"Peripheral Europe is having a good session, and I can't see it as anything more than a focus on central bank action globally," said Lyn Graham-Taylor, a strategist at Rabobank.

"There's some noise from the BoJ (Bank of Japan) that September isn't going to herald the end of quantitative easing, the Bank of England has started QE again and the New Zealand central bank has cut rates."

New Zealand's central bank on Thursday joined the worldwide rate-cutting by lowering its official cash rate 25 basis points to 2.0 percent and said that further policy easing will be required.

For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; editing by Andrew Roche)
From Popular Mechanics

Ever get the feeling that the new car you just bought might not actually be as good as the previous model?

As we reported in July, Special Operations Command has hired Lockheed Martin to provide a miniature submarine for the Navy SEALs: the Dry Combat Submersible (DCS). Capable of carrying eight SEALs, the DCS would be used to infiltrate hostile areas, carrying soldiers to within reach of accessible coastlines. The submersible will be delivered in 2018, answering what SOCOM calls an "urgent need."

It's been urgent for a while. In fact, SOCOM actually had an operational mini-sub in 2003. The ill-fated Advanced Seal Delivery System (ASDS) was the predecessor to DCS, and while it died on the vine, it was arguably more capable than the new vessel.

Keep Them Dry

The key feature of the new DCS is that it will keep SEALs dry. They'll be fully enclosed inside a mini-submarine while in transit, reducing their exposure to cold water and fatigue. Up to now, SEALs have gone ashore from SEAL Delivery Vehicles (SDV). These are semi-enclosed submersibles in which the SEALs ride, exposed to the water while breathing from the vehicle's compressed air supply or using their own SCUBA gear.

The same "keep them dry" logic was the basis for the old ASDS. Designed and built by Northrop-Grumman in the 1990s, ASDS was 65 feet long, weighed 60 tons and, using electric propulsion, could travel about 125 nautical miles at a speed of around eight knots at a classified depth. The forthcoming DCS, which is based on Lockheed's S301 commercial submersible, is approximately 31 feet long, weighs about 30 tons, and uses similar electric propulsion. If we were to extrapolate from the S301, we'd say it probably can travel around 60 nautical miles at a depth of 190 feet.

The program was officially canceled in 2006 after only one submersible (ASDS-1) was built.

John Brandes, senior program manager, for Lockheed Martin, told IHS Jane's in July: "The difference between DCS and ASDS is displacement, length, and the payload capacity. ASDS was close to twice as long; it had a lot more displacement and could carry a lot more things."

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But ASDS didn't pan out. The sub was plagued by technical problems including noisy propellers and batteries that depleted more quickly than expect. There were also your typical cost and schedule overruns. The program was officially canceled in 2006 after only one submersible (ASDS-1) was built. The final straw came in November 2008 when ASDS-1 literally went up in flames while its lithium-ion batteries were being recharged at its Pearl Harbor base, exploding into a fire that burned for six hours.

A Lesser Sub?

That failure led to SOCOM 's present effort to buy a dry submersible off the shelf. Lockheed Martin's DCS program director, Erika Marshall, says SOCOM has essentially used the S301 as a technology demonstrator, evaluating various propulsion, battery, and other technologies before combining them in the new mini-sub. The contract with Lockheed Martin is for just one DCS for now. If SOCOM has the desire and funding to acquire more, there are options for two additional submersibles.

The DCS will have two topside hatches through which SEALs can exit upon reaching shore and enter when being picked up following a mission. It will also have a lock-in lock-out lower hatch through which gear or other payload items might pass. Whether it has active or passive stealth features or weapons capability is strictly classified.

One thing it does not have is the ability to be launched from a full-size submarine. The old ASDS was designed to be to deployed from the Navy's SSGN Ohio-class guided missile submarines. In fact, the Navy converted four SSGNs during the mid-2000s to allow them to carry and launch ASDS. DCS will only be deployable from a surface ship. The means of getting it off the deck and into the water have yet to be determined, though use of a crane or A-frame is likely.

The presence of a large ship putting DCS into the water 60 miles offshore is hardly clandestine or stealthy. The SSGN-deployed ASDS would have been much more difficult to detect. SOCOM will have to work out compensatory tactics if DCS is to be used successfully.

Yes, SOCOM needs a new way to deploy the SEALs, but you can't help but wonder if this is a step backward.

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microsoft quietest room in the world

Hidden deep within Building 88 on the Microsoft campus lies what's officially certified to be the quietest room in the world.

Really  the company recently won the Guinness World Record for it.

While I was in town this week, I got to spend about five minutes in there with Gopal Gopal, principal engineer at Microsoft's audio lab.

And I thought I was going to lose my mind.

Microsoft built this completely silent room, called an "anechoic chamber," to help it do all kinds of science  from building better speakers for its Surface tablets and laptops, to improving Skype call performance, without noise contamination from the outside world.

But Microsoft didn't just want a quiet room...it wanted the quietest. Gopal tells me that the absolute quietest that anything on this planet can ever get is negative 23 decibels, since that's the sound level made by air molecules bouncing off each other.

Microsoft's main anechoic chamber goes down to negative 20.3 decibels. "Right at the edge of physics," as Gopal put it.

Once the door to the chamber is sealed, you immediately notice the difference: Your voice stops carrying, at all, because it's not bouncing off the walls. All background noise totally fades out. Just talking normally felt like shouting into a pillow, as the noise barely traveled at all.

microsoft quietest room in the world

Then, Gopal asked for total silence for 20 seconds. It was oppressively quiet, and a weird humming came up just on the edge of my hearing. After 20 seconds, I thought my head was going to cave in just from the oppressive sense of isolation.

My tour guides, I found out after the fact, felt it too.

That disorientation lingered even after Gopal started talking again, explaining how the total silence is a huge boon when you're trying to do the necessary science to ensure that the super-quiet, super-subtle sounds of your Surface Book's power supply or fan kicking on don't ruin your Kanye West listening party.

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All I can say for certain is that if I spent much longer in that room, I would have gone totally nuts.

NOW WATCH: How to make your iPhone louder using just household items





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COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's parliament on Thursday passed a law to establish an office to trace people who disappeared during a 26-year war and another insurrection amid protests by former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa's supporters in the chamber. The law was passed without a vote. It will enable independent investigation of thousands of cases of missing people, measures to trace them and protection of their rights and interests and those of their relatives. "We have brought this to correct the past mistakes in the history," Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera presenting the bill told the parliament. Rajapaksa's supporters, who allege that the move was to prosecute the military, protested wearing black bands and shawls. Rajapaksa, now an opposition legislator, was out of the country on Thursday. But Samaraweera said the government was trying to safeguard the military by looking into the allegations leveled against them and to maintain their reputation internationally. The United Nations and rights groups have long urged justice for the families of those who disappeared during the war, including those who were alleged to have been secretly abducted by state-backed groups and paramilitary outfits. Sri Lanka has already acknowledged that some 65,000 people were missing, mostly ethnic minority Tamils from its 26-year war with Tamil Tiger rebels and a separate Marxist insurrection. President Maithripala Sirisena's coalition government has agreed to address past human rights violations through independent investigations and to implement a resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Former president Rajapaksa's government had rejected the U.N. recommendations, saying it wanted to address rights concerns without any international pressure. Rajapaksa lost power in January 2015. M.A. Sumanthiran, an opposition legislator from the main Tamil party said the new law was the "first baby step" in the process of reconciliation. "There cannot be a reconciliation without the ascertainment of truth and in this process the most important issue is the missing person, persons who have been made to disappear during the course of a protracted war in this country," he said. The office of missing persons will trace those disappeared during the war for an independent Tamil state in the north and east of the island of Sri Lanka and an armed revolt by a radical Marxist group against the government in 1987-89. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal)
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's previous government hid debts of at least 1.36 trillion rupees on the books of some state and semi-government institutions, aggravating the debt crisis, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday. He said the global economic downturn was also making it more difficult for Sri Lanka to boost state finances. The International Monetary Fund, which approved a $1.5 billion, three-year loan in May, said a durable reduction of the fiscal deficit and public debt through a growth-friendly emphasis on revenue generation should be a priority for the nation's fiscal policy. Total debt stood at 8.77 trillion rupees ($60.29 billion) as of March 31, the latest central bank data showed. The prime minister told parliament: "We still don't know the exact total debt number." He said it would only become clear after a three-member committee reported following an investigation. It was not immediately clear when that would be. The previous government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, in office for nine years until January 2015, borrowed heavily on commercial terms to fund infrastructure projects after a 26-year war ended in 2009. Total government debt rose more than three-fold to 7.39 trillion rupees under Rajapaksa's government, central bank data showed. Rajapaksa has rejected the allegation that he hid debts and said his government borrowed money to develop the country. The central bank estimates government debt will fall to 74 percent of gross domestic product this year from last year's 76 percent. Wickremesinghe said the government had to increase revenue, streamline taxes and create jobs through foreign investment. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Stars, Bikes Come Out for 'Harley and the Davidsons' Premiere

Last week I got an email from Discovery Channel inviting me to the party for "Harley and the Davidsons" at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. They had me at the word "catered", but they kept talking and mentioned celebrities, bikes, and an open bar...

If there is anything L.A. knows how to do it is throw parties, and this one was pretty awesome. Ed Tahaney from HDForums.com was kind enough to let us use his pictures here.

20160801_203838

"Based on a true story," according to Discovery, "Harley and the Davidsons" charts the birth of the world's most iconic motorcycle brand, focusing on the adventures of company founders Bill Harley and brothers Walter and Arthur Davidson.

I will have more on this three-night mini series event, including a review, and an interview with Alex Wheeler  who built all of the bikes for the movie  in the next few weeks. For now, a preview of the movie and a review of the party:

The event was held at the newly renovated Petersen museum, which is about as perfect a place for it as there is because it is already packed with cool cars and bikes.

20160801_204459

When I first arrived, I actually was having a trouble telling the prop movie bikes apart from the bikes that are part of the museum's collection.

The Thor and Brough Superior in the top picture are museum bikes. The two bikes below are replicas made for the movie (not sure if these two were runners).

Co1GROWUkAAnEus-1024x576

We did not have prime enough spots on the red carpet to be able tell you who everyone was, and who they were wearing, but they were all there. Since we are merely moto-journalists and not celebrity/popular media reporters, we honestly didn't even try to elbow our way up to the front of the pack to find out. But the beautiful people did turn out, including some of the stars of this three-episode, six-hour, motorcycle focused mini series.

Co1H069UkAEopqE

From right to left, this is Wilson Bethel in the hat ("Hart of Dixie," "Young and the Restless"), Robert Aramayo behind that head of curly hair (who plays William Harley), Sean Scully (who plays Walt Davidson Jr), Annie Read in the blue dress (who plays Caroline Jachthuber), Essa O'Shea right in the center but behind someone (who plays Clara Beisel), Stephen Rider ("Daredevil," and who plays William Johnson, the motorcycle racer who broke the AMA's color barrier), and just off camera is Rich Ross, the head of the Discovery Channel on the red carpet.

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There was another red carpet out front, and, the Petersen being motocentric, this was where the bikes were allowed to park. I suspect most of our readers are more interested in these stars.

20160801_185111

Perhaps the coolest thing about the party was the virtual reality set up they had. If you've ever wanted to use 21st century technology to experience virtual motorcycle racing in the 1900s, while sitting in a life-size museum diorama, this was your chance. If you have a Google Cardboard, or other headset, you can get almost the same result at home on your couch with the VR videos on the official site.

20160801_204250

From the party, the clips I have seen so far, and the props and bike I got to see up close, this looks like it will be worth watching. Plenty of money was spent getting a quality cast and making things looks correct, and, of course, this material is rich with stories that can be dramatized.

Let's hope Discovery sticks more to the real story and less to the type of "reality" we usually see on TV. You can watch a preview here. "Harley and the Davidsons: part 1" is on Monday, 5 September at 9pm ET, the second and third parts follow on the next two nights.

I am waiting to get some detailed behind-the-scenes pictures of the movie bikes (most of which ran!) from the builder and Discovery Channel, so expect an interview next week with more details.

Learn more about Bryan and the rest of RideApart's excellent staff here: The RideApart Team

Follow RideApart on Facebook and Twitter, along with@RideApart on Instagram.
It's hard to believe it's been an entire decade since Step Up, the romantic dance movie that introduced the world to Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum, first hit theaters.

Since its debut on Aug. 11, 2006, the film was followed up with four sequels -- Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D, Step Up Revolution and Step Up: All In -- but none compared to the original love story of hip-hop heartthrob Tyler Gage (Channing) and contemporary dancer Nora Clark (Jenna).

WATCH: How Channing Tatum Explains His 'Magic Mike XXL' Moves to His Daughter

Had it not been for this now-iconic movie, Hollywood's hottest dance couple may have never met. Channing, 36, and Jenna, 35, first locked eyes on set, and officially took their onscreen romance off-screen shortly after filming wrapped. The two said "I do" at the Church Estate Vineyards in Malibu, California, in July 2009, and are now parents to a 3-year-old daughter, Everly.

In celebration of the movie's 10-year-anniversary, we've rounded up Channing and Jenna's most adorable moments in the film, during interviews, at celebrations and on the red carpet. Check 'em out below!

1. Dancing by the water

It doesn't get any more beautiful than this! Who could possibly forget the gorgeous duet the two performed on a rooftop in Baltimore, Maryland, at sunset?

NEWS: 'Step Up' Series Is Coming to YouTube With Channing Tatum

2. Stunning at Sundance

Getty Images

The same year the movie premiered, Channing and Jenna attended a Sundance Film Festival party together at The Shop in Park City, Utah. Chan was clad in camouflage, an oversized hoodie and backwards cap, while Jenna looked comfy and cute in a white fur jacket and matching scarf.

"We liked each other instantly," Jenna told the Artisan News Service during a press interview for the film. "He's a really good person -- he's a really open person, and I'm a really open person, so from the get-go in rehearsals we just started creating this chemistry, I think, together that really helped us in the scenes in the movie, and just was a genuine, natural flow. It was perfect."

Story continues

NEWS: Jenna Dewan Gives Channing Tatum a Lap Dance to 'Pony' Song

3. First kiss

The two first locked lips while shooting a steamy scene for the film, but Channing admitted he and Jenna were a real-life item from the very beginning. "We were basically together on the movie. It's interesting now, because we can watch it and see; we can go, 'Oh, wow, that was actually our first real kiss,'" Channing gushed to Redbook magazine in October 2014. "As soon as the movie wrapped, we went back to L.A. and were together, and together ever since -- never broken up."

4. Love on the red carpet

Getty Images

One of their first red carpets together as a couple was at an event held at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles on June 21, 2006. Jenna wore a strapless white gown and strappy silver heels while her beau donned an all-black ensemble. "My girlfriend right now, she just came at the right time," Channing gushed to reporters.

RELATED: Channing Tatum Has Family Dance Parties

5. The original Step Up poster

Summit Entertainment

Even the official artwork for the film, which featured Channing and Jenna gazing into each other's eyes, proved their chemistry was the real thing. "Two dancers. Two worlds. One dream," the text on the poster read.

While talking to Vanity Fair last August, however, Channing revealed it's difficult for them to re-watch the film. "Me and Jenna just saw Step Up on TV, and we watched it for two seconds," he said. "It was hard because you're like, 'Wow, I remember it being so much better.' Then other times you're like, 'I remember it being worse.'"

"Things happen that change your perspective," he continued. "Not just your opinion but your windshield, your lens. Like you put on a 50-mm. [lens], then take that 50 off and put on a 16. Now you can see so much more, but you're missing the little things. I think for a while I'm going to try to make movies that, even if they don't make a dollar, I'll still be so proud to be a part of them that it won't matter."

6. Nora's Showcase

One of the best scenes from the original film was when Tyler showed up for Nora's Maryland School of Arts senior showcase. While the two had some incredible solo moments in the dance sequence, Channing and Jenna truly shined in the sections where they danced together -- performing flawless lifts, romantic dips and graceful turns.

7. Step Up After-Party

Getty Images

The duo was all smiles and full of laughter at the official Step Up after-party, held at the Cabana Club in Los Angeles on Aug. 7, 2006. Nine years later, Channing and Jenna looked equally in love while busting out their best Step Up moves at The Weinstein Company and Netflix's Golden Globes after-party.

According to Channing, dance battles happen quite often in their home. "When we wake up in the morning, we put on music, and while Everly's eating we dance and it just starts to get stupid," he revealed to Redbook. "Changing the baby is an intermission -- but our daughter hates getting her diaper changed, so it's almost like a break-dancing battle to get it on her. As soon as you lay her down, she's bridging out of it and doing some jiu-jitsu windmill. It's pretty intense."

WATCH: Beyonce Crashed Channing Tatum's Epic 'Lip Sync Battle' and Everyone Freaked Out

If you can't get enough of the Step Up franchise, you're in luck! A series based on the original film is coming to YouTube Red. Channing and Jenna are executive producing the project, along with Step Up's original producers, Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot and Meredith Milton. ET reached out to YouTube, who confirmed they have not yet started production.

As we patiently wait for updates, watch the video below to hear ET quiz Channing on his wife.

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Here are 5 stocks added to the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) List today:

 Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. FOXA is involved in creating and distributing media services. Its business portfolio consists of cable, broadcast, film, pay TV and satellite assets. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 7% downward over the last 30 days.

 SunPower Corporation SPWR designs and manufactures high-efficiency silicon solar cells and solar panels based on an all-back contact cell design. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has declined 4.6% over the last 30 days.

 Healthcare Services Group Inc. HCSG provides housekeeping, laundry, linen, facility maintenance and food services to the health care industry. It has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings being revised 2.1% downward over the last 30 days.

 H&E Equipment Services Inc. HEES is one of the largest integrated equipment services companies in the U.S. with full-service facilities throughout the Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast & Southeast regions of the U.S. The Zacks Consensus Estimate revision for its current year earnings was a negative of 8% over the last 30 days.

 Fogo de Chao, Inc. FOGO owns and operates Brazilian steakhouses. It offers beef, lamb, chicken, pork and seafood items as well as liquor, beer and wine. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has moved 8.9% lower over the last 30 days.

View the entire Zacks Rank #5 List.



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People who are hospitalized for infections may face an increased risk of dying from suicide, according to a new study that may suggest a biological basis for some suicidal behavior.

The researchers examined data in a Danish national registry, following 7.2 million people from 1980 to 2011. They found that people who were hospitalized for infections during that period had a 42 percent increased risk of dying by suicide compared with people not hospitalized for infection.

Though the study cannot prove causality, researchers found that 1 in 10 suicides could be linked to this infection-related risk, according to the findings published today (Aug. 10) in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. [5 Myths About Suicide, Debunked]

The research bolsters an idea that has been gaining more weight among psychiatrists, the hypothesis that suicide is linked to bodily inflammation.

"To find evidence confirming some of the current edge-cutting hypotheses in psychiatric research in an epidemiological study of this scale is highly significant," said Lena Brundin, a neurobiologist at the Van Andel Research Institute and Michigan State University, who was not involved in the research but wrote an editorial to accompany it in the journal. "This is a very impactful study."

How inflammation could affect behavior

Over the years, small studies have found a link between inflammation  which is essentially the result of the immune system going into attack mode  and suicidal behavior. A 2015 review published in the Annals of Gastroenterology found that a third to half of patients treated with drugs that spur inflammatory responses develop depression as a side effect of treatment. Inflammatory chemicals called interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 show up at high levels in the blood and brain tissue of people who have died by suicide, according to a 2015 paper published in Biological Psychiatry. And Brundin and her colleagues have found that the more suicidal a patient is, the higher the levels of quinolinic acid in their cerebrospinal fluid. Quinolinic acid is generated by inflammation and can interfere with brain signaling.

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But no one had really addressed the origin of this inflammation, Brundin told Live Science. In the new study, a team led by researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital turned toward infections, an obvious immune-system trigger, as a possible cause of inflammation.

The researchers used the Danish Civil Registration System to gather data on the psychiatric diagnoses, hospitalization history and cause of death for residents of Denmark who were 15 or older in 1980. This cohort of more than 7 million people was followed until December 2011.The Danish registries are an unusually detailed data source, offering detailed information on aspects of people's lives such as unemployment, marital status and socioeconomic status, that can be difficult to gather in large studies.

During the study period, 809,384 people were hospitalized with infections. There were also 32,683 deaths by suicide. Of the people who had died by suicide, 7,892, or 24.1 percent, had been hospitalized with an infection.

The role of infections

The vast majority of people who had an infection serious enough to require hospitalization did not die by suicide. And likewise, the majority of people who did die by suicide did not have a history of serious infection. Nevertheless, after controlling for demographics, socioeconomics and other factors that might influence suicide rate, the researchers found that people who were hospitalized for infections were 42 percent more likely to die by suicide than people who were not.

"The numbers indicating an increased risk for suicide after severe infections are high, perhaps surprisingly high even for us working with this subject," Brundin told Live Science.

The longer or more serious a person's infection history, the higher their risk of dying by suicide. A hospital stay of four days or fewer translated to a 42 percent increased risk, but those who spent more than 94 days hospitalized had a 138 percent increase in risk of suicide. Likewise, a single infection raised the risk of suicide by 34 percent, but people who had seven or more infections had nearly three times the risk of suicide than those who had none. [7 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

The association held true for all infections except for ear infections or pregnancy-related infections. The risk was highest in patients with hepatitis (an infection of the liver) or HIV/AIDS, which come with their own risks of depression and suicidal ideation.

The association also held when the researchers limited their analysis only to people who'd never had a psychiatric diagnosis. Even without a mental health diagnosis, being hospitalized for an infection was linked to a 21 percent increase in suicide risk.

There are many mechanisms that could link infections and suicide, study leader Helene Lund-Srensen, of Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, told Live Science. The team controlled for factors like cohabitation, sex, age and the presence of chronic diseases to try to narrow their focus on psychiatric disorders, but weren't able to account for the fact that some psychiatric disorders might go undiagnosed. There might also be self-care issues that cause people with depression and suicidal behaviors to be more likely to come down with an infection.

However, Lund-Srensen and her colleagues wrote, the new findings fit with other results from the smaller psychiatric studies on inflammation and suicidal behavior, the researchers wrote.

"Provided that the association between infection and the risk of death by suicide was causal, identification and early treatment of infections could be explored as a public health measure for prevention of suicide," they wrote. "Still, further efforts are needed to clarify the exact mechanisms by which infection influences human behavior and risk of suicide." [7 Absolutely Horrible Head Infections]

Lund-Srensen and her colleagues are planning a study to investigate whether less severe infections that don't require hospitalization, might be linked with suicide.

There are many ways an inflammation-suicide link could affect how health care providers approach patients, Brundin said, such as increasing their focus on psychiatric symptoms when patients are in the hospital with an infectious disease. Clinical trials could attempt to eradicate chronic infections with antibiotics, Brundin said, and anti-inflammatory drugs could reduce inflammation. Currently, patients with suicidal behavior are excluded from most clinical trials, Brundin added, which gives a skewed view on how pharmaceuticals might affect them.

"Novel treatment studies in suicidal and depressive patients are highly warranted," she said.

Suicide is complex, study co-author Teodor Postolache, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told Live Science. And translating the research on inflammation to treatment is similarly complex: Some patients may be vulnerable to certain inflammatory triggers, like allergies, that don't affect others. Other environmental factors, like sunlight exposure or even low oxygen levels from living at a high elevation, have been shown to be associated with suicide, too. And, of course, there are traditional risk factors for suicide, such as having an untreated mood disorder and access to firearms, which makes suicide attempts more deadly.

"Every layer is going to be important," Postolache said. "This is such a resilient epidemic worldwide."

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
UPDATED, Friday 2:24 PM: Going into the weekend, Warner Bros. Suicide Squad is sitting pretty at $191.5M internationally, having grossed a big $11.7M on Wednesday and another $11.4M on last night. Globally, the DC Comic fan favorite has cumed $370.6M on its way to over $400M after it rolls through this weekend.

The David Ayer film opened in Argentina yesterday to dominate the market with a 72% share of the Top 5 films in play. With $426K on 314 screens, it would seem small in comparison to the U.S. market, but that gross was well ahead of its other comps in the marketplace  119% higher than the bow of Guardians of the Galaxy and 77% head of Deadpool.

The records it has racked up overall include the biggest August opening day ever in North America and abroad. Currently, with Russia clocking in with a $16.3M gross for Suicide Squad, it has surpassed the entire run of Batman v Superman. Likewise, in Mexico where it has collected $15.3M, the film has surpassed the entire run of its comp Guardians of the Galaxy in that country.

The film will be released in Italy, Germany and Japan in the coming weeks

PREVIOUSLY, WED, 5:21 PM: This morning we reported that Warner Bros Suicide Squad is crushing it domestically in midweek numbers, busting through Guardians of the Galaxys grosses one after another. After opening to $133.3M in 57 markets this weekend to push it past comp Deadpool, the movie based on the DC Comic has grossed an estimated $15.7M Monday with another $15.3M on Tuesday to bring its international cume up to $165M. With domestic haul of $161M added in, David Ayers raucous romp has grossed a $326.1M for the studio so far.

In Brazil, Suicide Squad has passed the entire run of Guardians of the Galaxy after only six days in release there, scooping up $14.9M.

With its top offshore market so far being the U.K. with $19.7M, the supervillain pic starring Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie salso pushed over Guardians entire gross run in South Korea with $12.1M after only one week in release. That country has a holiday next weekend with the celebration of its Independence Day on August 15, which might help moviegoing in the territory.

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Its No. 2 offshore market is Russia ($14.2M), followed by Mexico ($13.2M), and Australia ($12.3M).

In its second weekend domestically, look for the film to hit $51M-$54M, while overseas, its expecting another big weekend. The film is the biggest August opener both abroad and stateside. Overseas, its also chalked up the second-biggest DC Comics movie opening, behind only this years Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.

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Sun Life Financial Inc. SLF reported second-quarter 2016 operating net income of $368 million (C$474 million), down 35.2% year over year. Howeer, operating net earnings per share of 69 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.



Soft performance across all the segments led to the underperformance. Nonetheless, the quarter witnessed higher sales in both individual insurance and Group Benefits as the life insurer continued to expand its protection businesses.



Adjusted premium and deposits were $29.3 billion (C$38.0 billion), up nearly 7% year over year. The improvement came on the back of a favorable currency impact from the weakening Canadian dollar, increased fund sales and higher net premium revenue, partially offset by lower segregated fund deposits. Adjusted premium and deposits increased 1.1% year over year on increased fund sales and higher net premium revenue, partially offset by lower segregated fund deposits.



Adjusted revenues came in at $5.2 billion (C$6.8 billion), up 7.9% year over year on higher premiums and investment income.



Total company wealth sales were $415.2 million (C$538 million), up 26% year over year.



Total company life and health sales were $25.2 billion (C$32.7 billion), up 3.2% year over year.



Segment Results



SLF Canada reported operating net income of $147 million (C$191 million), down 42.3% year over year. The decline was attributable to weaker-than-expected performance across Individual Insurance & Wealth, Group Retirement Services and Group Retirement Services.



SLF U.S. operating net income of $50 million, down 54% year over year. The segment suffered due to softness at Group Benefits and In-force Management.



SLF Asset Management reported operating net income of $118.1 million (C$153 million), down 11.6% year over year.



SLF Asia reported operating income of $52.5 million (C$68 million), down 26.7% year over year.



Financial Update



Assets under management increased 7% year over year to $664.7 billion (C$864.6 billion) as of Jun 30, 2016.



Sun Life Assurance's Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (MCCSR) ratio was 214% as of Jun 30, 2016 compared with 233% as of Jun 30, 2015.



Sun Life Financials operating return on equity of 10.1% compared unfavorably with 16.5% in the year-ago quarter. Underlying ROE of 11.9% deteriorated from 13.9% in the year-ago quarter.



Cash, cash equivalents and short-term securities as of Jun 30, 2016 were $4.8 billion (C$6.3 billion), up 13.7% year over year.



Dividend Update



The board of directors of Sun Life Financial approved a dividend of 40.5 cents per share to be paid on Sep 30 to shareholders as of Aug 1.



Zacks Rank



Sun Life carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).



SUN LIFE FINL Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

SUN LIFE FINL Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | SUN LIFE FINL Quote

Performance of Other Life Insurers



Earnings at Torchmark Corp. TMK, Reinsurance Group of America Inc. RGA and Genworth Financial Inc. GNW beat their Zacks Consensus Estimate in the second quarter.



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Daniel Radcliffe Imperium

Around the time when Daniel Radcliffe first read the script for his new movie, "Imperium," Dylann Roof had just shot and killed nine Charleston, South Carolina, churchgoers in the hopes of starting a race war.

Radcliffe's character in the film, Nate Foster, is an FBI agent who goes undercover in a white-supremacy group and finds himself talking with fellow extremists about starting a race war of their own.

"My dad's from Northern Ireland  he grew up during the Troubles. I grew up with an awareness that terrorists come from everywhere and have all sorts of motivations, and so it seemed like that was a very relevant thing," Radcliffe recently told Business Insider before a TimesTalks event to promote "Imperium," which is out on August 19. "But I don't think either of us envisaged that white supremacy might take this sort of bizarre jag toward the mainstream or rather that the mainstream might jag toward that by the time it came out."

The idea of white supremacy in the mainstream also came up at the TimesTalks event, and New York Times culture reporter Melena Ryzik said that either Radcliffe or "Imperium" director Daniel Ragussis was prime for making a joke about Donald Trump. But both refrained from overtly commenting on the Republican presidential nominee.

Instead, Ragussis said that a feeling of victimization and oppression is "the seed" of totalitarian movements that is "far more prerequisite of it than a figure like Mussolini or Hitler."

Radcliffe told Business Insider that, in the process of making the film, he decided that talking to people on the fringes of politics is the most important way to move forward:

"Somebody's life who prior to that had no meaning suddenly feels like they are engaged in something meaningful, and I think my biggest takeaway from this film is that, as much as we want to demonize these people and in a way demonize their views, we should try and find a way of getting them into this conversation, unfortunately as awful as that sounds, because the more you ostracize them and aggressively dismiss them, the more it just plays into their worldview that everything is a conspiracy against them."

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Ragussis, who joined Radcliffe in an interview with Business Insider, agreed, saying that catchall terms like "monster" aren't helpful.

"They don't give you any access as to the mechanism that's going on there and why the people are behaving the way they are," Ragussis said. "I think if you're going to try to dismantle that or change it, you have to understand what's going on and what's happening."

The actor's and director's thoughts back the idea that living in constant fear that others are out to get you will cause a person to act out violently, which a former FBI criminal profiler told Business Insider in 2015.

Watch the full TimesTalks interview with Daniel Radcliffe and "Imperium" director Daniel Ragussis below:





More From Business Insider


Women have been reportedly banned from swimming in a gym's pool while they are on their period.

A sign in the women's changing rooms at the Vake Swimming Pool and Fitness Club in Tbilisi, Georgia, read: "Dear Ladies! Do not go to the pool during periods," ITV News reported.

One gym member took to social media to express her outrage at the sign. Sophie Tabatadze posted an image of the sign on Facebook and accused the centre of misogyny.

"Do you even realise how offensive this is?" she posted, before asking whether women would be eligible for a discount if they are forbidden from using the pool for up to six days each month.

"And, by the way, since according to your rules we are not allowed to use a swimming pool 5-6 days each month, do we get a preferential price compared with men? #mysogyny #mysogynyinaction [sic]"

One Facebook commenter said the sign had been there for eight years.

Any woman with a period will know that wearing a tampon or menstrual cup while swimming is generally a seamless process and rarely results in leakage.

Not to mention the fact that for many women, swimming is an effective and safe way to ease menstrual cramps and other pain caused my periods.

However, responding to Tabatadze's allegations of sexism, the gym said it was "protecting" members after an incident in which a woman contaminated the pool with menstrual blood, ITV News reported.

Tabatadze said menstruation has "nothing to do with hygiene", adding that: "When you go into a public swimming pool you should accept certain level of germs. And since when are men exemplary clean creatures?" reported ITV News.

Periods should be the least of our worries when it comes to swimming pool hygiene. According to research, the average person contributes at least 0.14 grams of "fecal matter" to the water, and tests show it's awash with sweat, urine and beauty products.

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Time to start saving for a personal swimming pool.

Tell me, how will this period ban be implemented? Bears at the pool entrance? https://t.co/adhjXxaw8b pic.twitter.com/lMuqR40BuO  Hanna Flint (@HannaFlint) August 11, 2016

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

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ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's highest court has ordered Israel to pay Iran around $1.1 billion plus interest in a decades-old dispute over a secretive oil pipeline company predating the 1979 Islamic revolution which made the countries enemies.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected an appeal, citing lack of due process, against an arbitration ruling last year. The verdict, dated June 27, was available on the Lausanne court's website.

It also awarded Iran 450,000 Swiss francs ($461,302) in court costs and lawyer fees.

It remains unclear whether Israel will pay up given restrictions its "trading with the enemy" laws.

Lawyers for each side had been locked in an arbitration over the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co (EAPC), a joint venture set up in 1968, when the two nations were friendly, to transport Iranian oil to the Mediterranean.

For a decade, the pipeline successfully carried oil from the Red Sea for export to Europe. But since the Islamic revolution that brought the ayatollahs to power, Iran has been demanding its share of revenues and assets that remained in Israel.

Since the partnership collapsed, EAPC has grown into a complex of energy assets, now mostly handling oil from former Soviet states.

How much profit it has made or how much it is worth is unknown, largely because it is protected in a similar way to Israel's intelligence agencies, including by gag orders restricting coverage of its activities.

But Tehran, setting aside its decades-old refusal to recognise Israel's right to exist, had determined to recoup its part of EAPC and pursued a complex arbitration case since 1994, first in France and then in Switzerland.

In that time, the company has become the largest distributor of oil in Israel, with ambitions to become a major hub for energy trading in the Mediterranean. Israel maintains tight controls over EAPC.

The company has its roots in the 1967 Middle East war, when Egypt blocked the Suez Canal, making it impossible for Iran to transport its oil by tanker to Europe. Under the EAPC deal, Iranian tankers would unload at the Red Sea port of Eilat and oil would flow 254 km (158 miles) northwest to Ashkelon.

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The countries formed a straw company in Halifax, Canada called APC Holdings, the primary shareholder in EAPC. By December 1969 the pipeline was ready to handle 60 million tons of crude a year, though it never reached that level.

A decade later Iran's Shah was ousted and the partners in EAPC became enemies overnight.

Lawyers for both countries have declined to comment.

Case number: 4A_322/2015

($1 = 0.9755 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Toby Chopra)
ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's highest court has ordered Israel to pay Iran around $1.1 billion plus interest in a decades-old dispute over a secretive oil pipeline company predating the 1979 Islamic revolution which made the countries enemies. The Swiss Federal Tribunal rejected an appeal, citing lack of due process, against an arbitration ruling last year. The verdict, dated June 27, was available on the Lausanne court's website. It also awarded Iran 450,000 Swiss francs ($461,302) in court costs and lawyer fees. It remains unclear whether Israel will pay up given restrictions its "trading with the enemy" laws. Lawyers for each side had been locked in an arbitration over the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co (EAPC), a joint venture set up in 1968, when the two nations were friendly, to transport Iranian oil to the Mediterranean. For a decade, the pipeline successfully carried oil from the Red Sea for export to Europe. But since the Islamic revolution that brought the ayatollahs to power, Iran has been demanding its share of revenues and assets that remained in Israel. Since the partnership collapsed, EAPC has grown into a complex of energy assets, now mostly handling oil from former Soviet states. How much profit it has made or how much it is worth is unknown, largely because it is protected in a similar way to Israel's intelligence agencies, including by gag orders restricting coverage of its activities. But Tehran, setting aside its decades-old refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist, had determined to recoup its part of EAPC and pursued a complex arbitration case since 1994, first in France and then in Switzerland. In that time, the company has become the largest distributor of oil in Israel, with ambitions to become a major hub for energy trading in the Mediterranean. Israel maintains tight controls over EAPC. The company has its roots in the 1967 Middle East war, when Egypt blocked the Suez Canal, making it impossible for Iran to transport its oil by tanker to Europe. Under the EAPC deal, Iranian tankers would unload at the Red Sea port of Eilat and oil would flow 254 km (158 miles) northwest to Ashkelon. The countries formed a straw company in Halifax, Canada called APC Holdings, the primary shareholder in EAPC. By December 1969 the pipeline was ready to handle 60 million tons of crude a year, though it never reached that level. A decade later Iran's Shah was ousted and the partners in EAPC became enemies overnight. Lawyers for both countries have declined to comment. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Toby Chopra)
By John Miller ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss man whose computers were destroyed a decade ago during an investigation into the illicit sale of nuclear weapons material to Libya has failed to force Switzerland to pay him more than $1 million in property damages. A ruling rejecting the claim, published by the Swiss Federal Tribunal on Wednesday, is the latest chapter in the case surrounding Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program who also sold nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea. [http://reut.rs/2bkRTJP] In 2004, Khan's technology network that extended deep into Switzerland helped spawn one of the greatest nuclear proliferation crises of the atomic age, United Nations officials have said. Last year, an unidentified Swiss man whose computers were seized by law enforcement officials investigating the case demanded the government pay him 1.05 million Swiss francs ($1.08 million). The destruction in around 2006 of his materials, including backups and compact discs, cost him his life savings and retirement, he claimed in court documents. A three-judge panel of Switzerland's highest court, however, confirmed a lower court ruling that concluded the statute of limitations on the matter had expired in 2011. Though the high court did not release the man's name, the ruling stated his case was linked to the Tinner family -- father Friedrich Tinner, along with sons Marco and Urs -- who were arrested in 2005 and jailed for about three years. They were initially accused of helping Khan skirt international sanctions governing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, although Urs Tinner later said he was helping the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency root out Khan's network. [http://reut.rs/2bj8iRI] In 2012, they reached a plea deal with the Swiss government in which they acknowledged supplying centrifuge parts and participating in Khan's smuggling ring. They were fined but avoided more time behind bars. [http://reut.rs/2b10d2d] Contacted by Reuters, Marco Tinner said in an email on Thursday that this latest damages claim was not from his family. Reuters emails and phone calls to a fourth person who was investigated in the case, an engineer in eastern Switzerland, were not returned. (Editing by Toby Chopra)
Sydney (AFP) - The Sydney Opera House is set to undergo a multi-million-dollar overhaul, with an emphasis on improving its acoustics, once described as worse than an aircraft hangar, officials said Thursday.

The Aus$247 million (US$190 million) revamp is the biggest since Australia's most recognisable building opened in 1973 and includes other upgrades to the main concert hall and the foyer, along with a new function centre.

Describing the landmark as a "symbol of modern Australia", New South Wales state deputy Premier Troy Grant said the renovations were necessary to help the Opera House -- the country's busiest performing arts centre -- meet demand.

The refurbishments in the concert hall will involve the installation of a new acoustic ceiling, specially designed acoustic reflectors, automated draping, and a 3D surround-sound system.

The second-largest performance space, the Joan Sutherland Theatre, is also being redeveloped.

There has long been criticism of the acoustics of the concert hall, which is located inside the largest roof sail of the Opera House.

US actor John Malkovich in 2014 said the acoustics were so hideous they "would do an aeroplane hangar a disservice".

"It's lovely to drive by on a motor boat and it has a very nice crew, and very capable, but the acoustics are hideous," the American star told a local newspaper then.

In 1999, Sydney Symphony Orchestra chief conductor Edo de Waart threatened to boycott the venue during the 2000 Olympics, calling its acoustic reflectors "a joke".

"The doughnuts (clear, circular reflectors above the platform) are a joke. They might as well be toilet seats. They do nothing whatsoever," de Waart told the ABC then about his frustrations, which were shared by his predecessors.

"It's very frustrating. You get no help from this hall. It actually takes away from the sound the orchestra makes."

Danish architect Jorn Utzon began work on the harbourside structure in 1957 but quit the project in 1966 during construction following a storm of controversy over budget blow-outs and his artistic vision.

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Changes to the interior design after Utzon departed left the building -- which was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2007 -- with acoustics criticised as inadequate for international opera standards.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra's managing director Rory Jeffes said his musicians were excited about the improvements, adding they would deliver the "true ambitions" of the original creators.

The concert hall revamp is expected to start in mid-2019 and last for 18 months.
Vatican City (AFP) - Young Syrian refugees who Pope Francis brought home with him after a trip to Greece laughed and joked with the pontiff Thursday as they told him of their new life in Italy.

The seven children were part of a group of 21 Syrian refugees given a new start in Rome after the pope's intervention following a visit to the Greek Island of Lesbos in April.

All 21 sat down for lunch with him at the Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican guesthouse, with the children presenting him with a book of their drawings.

"It was a moving, family moment... they spoke in Italian, which they have been learning... they told him about their life, where they came from, their country, their town, but also what they are doing in Rome," said Daniela Pompei, of the Saint'Egidio religious community, which is temporarily housing the families.

"They thanked him, because he saved their life (and) the children little by little became more confident and started to play with the pope, laughing, making jokes, something that greatly amused the holy father," she added.

The refugees came to Italy in two groups in April and June.

Twelve of the group were brought to Rome by the pope himself in April at the end of a trip to Lesbos in Greece aimed at highlighting the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees arriving on the shores of Europe.

Another nine who had also been living in a transit camp on the Greek island after making the perilous sea crossing from Turkey were brought to Italy in June.

Francis has repeatedly condemned Western society for its indifference to refugees, making the cause of migrants trying to reach Europe one of the defining themes of his papacy.

Over 1.1 million people have crossed clandestinely from Turkey to Greece since the start of 2015, with hundreds drowning en route. Many of them are Syrians, fleeing the horrors of the country's war.

Arrivals in Greece fell sharply after Turkey agreed in March to take back anyone denied asylum in return for billions in EU cash and other concessions. Human rights groups have criticised the arrangement.
Well, that was fast!

Saturday Night Live alums Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah have landed coveted new TV gigs, days after both were let go from NBC's late-night staple. Both will star in Showtime projects.

Showtime President and CEO David Nevins addressed Killam and Pharoah's castings for the two comedies, alluding to the fact that discussions with the actors had been ongoing for a while.

RELATED: Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah Not Returning to 'Saturday Night Live'

"Our conversations had been with the actors," Nevins told reporters at summer Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday. "It's been happening over the last several weeks -- probably over a month -- individually. We were prepared to work around their SNL schedules. Our schedule got easier when they ended up getting released from the show."

Killam will lead the new comedy anthology pilot, Mating, which centers on a recently-divorced guy who married young and now finds himself completely unprepared for the brave new, frank and fluid world of dating and hooking up.

Meanwhile, Pharoah has been cast in the lead role in the new half-hour comedy pilot, White Famous, produced by Jamie Foxx. The project follows a talented, young African-American comedian, Floyd Money (Pharoah), whose star is rising, forcing him to navigate the treacherous waters of maintaining his credibility as he begins to cross over towards becoming "white famous."

RELATED: Jon Rudnitsky Leaving 'Saturday Night Live'

Earlier this week, NBC confirmed to ET that Killam and Pharoah would not be returning to SNL for season 42. After the news broke, Killam spoke to Uproxx about his abrupt departure, admitting, "I don't know fully [what happened]. I don't know the other side of it."

"You sign for seven years, so I had one more year," he said. "I had sort of had it in my head I would make this upcoming year my last year, but then heard they weren't going to pick up my contract. I was never given a reason why, really. I can assume until the cows come home."

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Following his exit, Pharoah shared an Instagram photo of himself with Killam and SNL castmember Vanessa Bayer with the caption, "My fam for life," accompanied by several smiley face emojis.

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A federal judge has granted the government's request to garnish assets of former TierOne CEO Gilbert Lundstrom held by a financial services firm.

U.S. District Court Judge John Gerrard on Thursday granted a writ of garnishment filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office against a Lincoln branch of UBS Financial Services.

According to a court filing, Lundstrom paid $555,000 of a $1 million restitution payment that was due on May 4, then ignored subsequent requests for payment.

The filing says UBS is "believed to owe or will owe money or property to the judgment debtor, or is in possession of property of the debtor."

The filing did not specify what assets UBS holds for Lundstrom or an estimated amount.

Lundstrom is serving an 11-year prison sentence for orchestrating a scheme to conceal losses on real estate loans from regulators and shareholders, which ultimately led the bank to fail in June 2010.

He and two other former bank executives, President James Laphen and Chief Credit Officer Don Langford, were convicted in the scheme and are jointly responsible for more than $3.1 million in restitution.
He went to find a job, but ended up finding his sister, whom he hadn't seen in eight years as they both struggled to survive in the foster care system.

Read: 18-Year-Old Asks Mom's Boyfriend to Adopt Her at Graduation Party: 'His Wish Had Come True'

New Jersey Trooper Quaron Crenshaw, 39, told InsideEdition.com he was hosting a recruiting fair at Rutgers University, targeting foster kids, when suddenly, he heard screaming.

When Crenshaw went to investigate, he found an emotional 19-year-old named Terrell, who told him he had just found his long lost sister, 18-year-old Faith.

"They hugged for hours," said Crenshaw, who did not share the teens' last names. "It was an exciting moment."

Terrell later told Crenshaw that he lost contact with his younger sister after they were placed in foster care and that she had changed her last name, making it impossible for him to find her.

But he never gave up hope. He scoured Facebook to no avail. Faith was trying to find her brother, as well.

It was Terrell who spotted Faith at the job fair earlier this month. He yelled her name across the auditorium, desperate to not to lose her again, and shouted, "You're my sister!"

"I loved this story. It gave me chills because it reminded me so much of myself," said Crenshaw, who was also in foster care when he was younger.

Read: Woman Abandoned at Phone Booth as a Baby Is Reunited With Man Who Saved Her, 22 Years Later

When Crenshaw was 7 years old, he entered the system and was adopted soon after.

He kept in touch with a brother, but he quickly lost contact with three other siblings.

Eventually, he and his wife came to adopt two little girls of their own, ages 4 and 7.

"It's good to see a reuniting of a family like that," he said.

Watch: Girl, 5, Gets Happily Ever After When Disney Princesses Surprise Her at Adoption Court Hearing

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kaylee halko musical.ly star

Like most girls her age, 13-year-old Kaylee Halko loves singing along to her favorite tunes in the bathroom. It has the best lighting in the house, which is important for Halko's purposes.

Because unlike her peers, when Halko records her concert in the commode and uploads it to Musical.ly, a fast-rising social video network, millions of fans tune in to watch.

If you haven't heard of Musical.ly yet, it's probably because you're older than 16 or don't live with a teen. The app took off in 2015 and today, 50% of teens in the US have downloaded it, according to Alex Hoffman, president of Musical.ly North America.

The app allows people to upload 15-second videos of them dancing, performing comedy skits, or lip-syncing to today's top hits, and it's given rise to the next generation of social media stars. While most middle schoolers are worrying about zits and exams, overnight celebrities like Halko are learning to juggle international stardom with real life.

Halko has never been your typical American girl. Halko has a rare and fatal disease called progeria, which makes her body age up to 10 times faster than normal children. She stands less than four feet tall, with a smooth head and radiant blue eyes. Her voice sounds like tiny jingle bells.

Typically, people born with progeria show no signs until the age of two, when they start to exhibit growth failure, loss of body fat and hair, aged-looking skin, and stiffness in the joints. On average, they die at 14, often of a heart attack or stroke.

There are 135 known children in the world currently living with progeria. But only one is a rising social media star.

Growing up in suburban Ohio with three older brothers, Halko became the confident, fearless one in the clan. She always insisted on taking the bus to school. She took dance classes in jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, and musical theater, and continues to enter dance competitions.

@kaylee_halko A video posted by FANPAGE (@kaylee__halko) on Apr 9, 2016 at 6:22pm PDT on Apr 9, 2016 at 6:22pm PDT

When she was 8, she appeared on ABC's "20/20" and explained to Barbara Walters what the biggest difference between them was: "I have a bald head and you have hair," she said.

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Around the same time as her national news debut, Halko became a victim of bullying in her elementary school. A couple students created Instagram hate pages targeting her disease.

"It pretty much said, 'We need to kill all kids with progeria,' and, 'I want to see all these f-----g kids die,'" Halko's father, Tim, told a local news station.

When they complained to the administration, the school forced the students to delete the pages. They popped back up a day later. Eventually, Halko transferred to another school.

A year ago, when Halko's cousin showed her what Musical.ly was, she downloaded the app and didn't think much of it. Halko started spending 15 minutes a day creating lip-syncing videos that show her bopping along to her favorite hip-hop and dance tunes, serenading the camera in her bathroom.

Let's try to get @kaylee_halko 1st place on the musical.ly leaderboard  To do this like all her vids  Her musical.ly is ~khalko A video posted by FANPAGE (@kaylee__halko) on Apr 4, 2016 at 8:09pm PDT on Apr 4, 2016 at 8:09pm PDT

Halko has since racked up over three million followers and a dozen fan pages on Musical.ly. She almost always cracks the top 25 leaderboard, a list of the most liked users on the app that's updated daily. And on any post, there are thousands of comments complimenting her eyes, her taste in music, and her spirit.

For every bully that calls her a name, a flock of fans bury the comment with positive replies.

kaylee comments musical.ly blurred

"I definitely feel [supported] because I've gotten a lot of nice comments and stuff," Halko tells Business Insider. "They are definitely nice, so that makes me feel good."

She says she will often respond to direct messages from fans and doesn't mind posing for selfies in public. On a trip to South Carolina, she was ambushed for photos on the beach, in the store, and at a cafe. Fans often ask to take photos with her, but are too starstruck to strike up a conversation. Halko is happy to chat, and doesn't mind their nervousness.

Just don't expect her to talk about progeria on Musical.ly. Halko doesn't make her disease part of the conversation, because that's not why she's on the app. She's here to have fun.

"Like, I don't want followers to follow me just because I have progeria," Halko says. "I want them to follow me because they like me."

That they do.

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Like the previous two weeks, last week was all about earnings in the telecom sector. Several sector participants revealed their second-quarter 2016 financial numbers.

Telephone & Data Systems Inc. TDS and its wireless subsidiary United States Cellular Corp. USM reported strong financial results in the second quarter of 2016, wherein both the top and the bottom lines surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.

As of Jun 30, 2016, Telephone & Data Systems had 590,200 residential wireline connections, up 0.4% year over year.The company exited the reported quarter with 334,900 commercial wireline connections, down 4.5% year over year.Total cable connections were 287,600, up 5.4% year over year.

On the other hand, U.S. Cellular exited the second quarter with a subscriber base of 4,973,000 compared with 4,779,000 at the end of the year-ago quarter. The postpaid subscriber base was 4,490,000 compared with 4,324,000 at the end of the prior-year quarter. The prepaid subscriber base totaled 413,000 compared with 368,000 at the end of the year-ago quarter.

Regional telecom operators, CenturyLink Inc. CTL and Cincinnati Bell Inc. CBB reported mixed results. CenturyLinks bottom line outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate while the top line came in slightly below the consensus. Cincinnati Bells top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate but the bottom line missed the same.

As of Jun 30, 2016, CenturyLinks total access lines were 11.413 million, down 5.7% year over year. High-speed broadband customer count was 5.99 million, down 1.9% and Prism TV customer was 0.311 million, up 20.5%. On the other hand, Cincinnati Bell had 0.2091 million residential local access lines, down 7.4% year over year and 0.3159 million business local access lines, up 2.9% year over year.

Small-sized cable MSO (multi service operator) Cable ONE Inc. CABO reported strong financial results in the second quarter of 2016. Both the top and the bottom line surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. As of Jun 30, 2016, the total customer base of Cable ONE was 659,943, down 1.8% year over year. The non-video customer base was 316,745, up 17.1% year over year.

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Windstream Holdings Inc. WIN reported mixed financial results in the second quarter of 2016. The company incurred narrower-than-expected loss in the quarter, while revenues lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate.In the reported quarter, Windstream lost 4% of its high-speed Internet customers and 8% of its digital television subscribers.

Major cable MSO Charter Communications Inc. CHTR also reported strong financial results in the second quarter of 2016, with both the bottom and the top line outpacing the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. As of Jun 30, 2016, Charter Communications had 16.934 million video, 20.667 million high-speed Internet and 10.255 million voice customers for the residential segment. It also serves 378,000 video, 1,148,000 high-speed Internet and 725,000 voice subscribers in the commercial segment.

Outside the U.S., two leading Canadian operators, namely, TELUS Corp. TU and BCE Inc. BCE also reported their respective second quarter 2016 financial results. TELUS reported strong financial results with both revenues and earnings outpacing the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, BCE disappointed, with both the top and the bottom line lagging the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.

As of Jun 30, 2016, TELUS had 8.427 million wireless subscribers, up 0.9% year over year.Total wireline subscriber count was 4.067 million, up 1.9% year over year.The total wireless subscriber base of BCE increased 1.9% to 8,280,693. BCE had 2,750,596 TV subscribers, up 2.8% year over year.

Europe and Latin America based leading cable MSO and mobile service provider Liberty Global Plc. LBTYA reported strong financial results in the second quarter, wherein both the top and the bottom line surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.

As of Jun 30, 2016, Liberty Global had 25.7241 million subscribers, which constituted 53.9 million RGUs (revenue generating units). Of the total, 22.5 million were video RGUs, 17.1 million were broadband Internet RGUs and the remaining 14.3 million were telephony RGUs. Moreover, the company had 6.7 million mobile subscribers.

Read the last Telecom Stock Roundup for Aug 04, 2016.

Recap of the Weeks Most Important Stories

1. GAAP net income of Telephone & Data Systems in the second quarter of 2016 was $28 million or 25 cents per share compared with $23 million or 21 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 20 cents were ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 16 cents. Revenues were up 1% year over year to $1,283 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,241 million. (Read more: Telephone & Data Systems Beats on Earnings in Q2.)

2. In second-quarter 2016, GAAP net income of U.S. Cellular came in at $27 million or 32 cents per share compared with net income of $19 million or 23 cents in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly earnings per share of 32 cents were well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 17 cents. Quarterly revenues of $980 million were up 0.4% year over year and ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $969 million. (Read more: United States Cellular Tops Q2 Earnings, Revenues.)

3. GAAP net income of TELUS was approximately $323 million, up 22% year over year. GAAP earnings per share were 54 cents, up 25% year over year. Second-quarter adjusted earnings per share were also 54 cents, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 52 cents. Total revenue came in at approximately $2,444 million, up 1.5% year over year and ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,427 million. (Read more: TELUS Beats Earnings and Revenue Estimates in Q2.)

4. CenturyLink posted second-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings per share of 63 cents, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 59 cents. GAAP net income was $196 million or 36 cents per share compared with $143 million or 26 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. Quarterly total revenue of $4,398 million was down 0.5% from the prior-year quarter and was slightly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,401 million. (Read more: CenturyLink Q2 Earnings Top, Revenues Lag Estimate.)

5. On a GAAP basis, quarterly net income of Cincinnati Bell came in at $75 million or 35 cents per share compared with net income of $189 million or 85 cents in the year-ago quarter. However, adjusted earnings per share of 1 cent fell marginally short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents. Quarterly total revenue was $299.2 million, up 5% year over year and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $294 million. (Read more: Cincinnati Bell Misses Q2 Earnings, Keeps 2016 View.)

Price Performance

The following table shows the price movement of the major telecom players over the past week and the last six months.

Company Last Week Last 6 Months VZ -0.17% 7.66% T 0.14% 18.58% S 1.15% 25.61% TMUS 0.00% 36.53% VOD -1.34% 4.77% CHL -0.58% 16.68% AMX 5.05% -3.59% CMCSA 0.57% 20.44% DISH -0.88% 28.10%

Over the last five trading sessions, share price movement of the major telecom stocks witnessed a mixed trend. Apart from America Movil, which gained a considerable 5.05%, the other major telecom stocks witnessed minor gains or losses. Over the last six months, the price performance of most of the telecom stocks was positive. America Movil was the sole exception. Among the stocks that gained significantly were T-Mobile US (36.53%), DISH Network (28.10%), Sprint (25.61%), Comcast (20.44%) and AT&T (18.58%).

Whats Next in the Telecom Sector?

We do not foresee any significant changes in the telecom industry or overall global economic factors that can affect the industry in the coming week. Consequently, we expect stocks to trade in line with the broader market movement.

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TELUS CORP (TU): Free Stock Analysis Report



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LIBERTY GLBL-A (LBTYA): Free Stock Analysis Report



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US CELLULAR (USM): Free Stock Analysis Report



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From Cosmopolitan

HOUSTON (AP) - Texas reported its first Zika-related death Tuesday after a baby girl whose mother traveled to El Salvador while pregnant died shortly after birth in a suburban Houston hospital.

The girl, who died a few weeks ago, had microcephaly linked to the Zika virus, said Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health.

"We are devastated to report our first case of Zika-associated death and our hearts go out to the family," Shah said.

Test results linking the death to Zika were confirmed Friday. The mother had traveled while pregnant to her native El Salvador and returned to Harris County in her second trimester. Officials did not release her name.

The only other confirmed Zika-related death in the U.S. was that of an elderly Utah man who died in June. He suffered from additional health conditions.

Florida is the only U.S. state that has reported homegrown Zika transmission by mosquitoes, in Miami-Dade County.

Texas has reported 97 Zika cases, all contracted during travel abroad. Harris County has reported 31 Zika cases, including 14 in Houston.

Last week, Texas officials announced that the state's Medicaid program would provide mosquito repellent to all expectant mothers and women between the ages of 10 and 45. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett doubted the efficiency of that program and said he would work with local and state officials as well as corporate partners to get the spray directly to residents.

"How many people are going to go get a prescription for bug spray? I think the more realistic way is to find corporate partners and make it happen," he said.
So, yesterday, August the 10th signified 20 years since the infamous Oasis @ Knebworth. Two days of carnage, chaos and class A consumption.



On the 10th of August, 1996. 250,000 people from all corners of the British Isles, arrived at a small village, just off the M25. Knebworth village was minuscule, but the venue wasnt. I mean a massive field, in the middle of the country. Whats not to like? A perfect setting for the ravers of the 90s.



Not only did you have one of the largest bands of the 90s performing, but even their support acts were colossal. The Charlatans, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, The Manic Street Preachers, Kula Shaker, Ocean Colour Scene, and ..The Bootleg Beatles.

So, I suggest you take a look at the full concert footage from Knebworth. The footage is a little grainy, but what do you expect? It was the 90s man.

Columbia Acquiesce Supersonic Hello Some Might Say Roll With It Slide Away Morning Glory Round are Way Cigarettes and Alcohol Whatever Cast no Shadow Wonderwall The Masterplan Dont Look Back In Anger My Big Mouth Its Getting Better Man Live Forever Champagne Supernova - Encore I am The Walrus (w/John Squire) - Encore

As Liam, Noel, Bonehead, Guigsy and Whitey all graced the stage, Noel addressed the bucket-hat clad crowd by taking to the mic and reciting,Youre making history, you lot, This is history right ere. Before a half-drunk, half-excited Liam shouts, Hello, Hello, Hello, Lets go. Noel hits that first chord, the crowd go wild. I would have loved to witness that pivotal moment in Rock history. I doubt any concert nowadays will reach the sheer capacity and atmosphere of Knebworth. Although, the 4 days @ The Etihad with The Stone Roses was pretty crazy. Maybe Mancunians do it best?

Knebworth is a concert that will withstand the test of time, as will Oasis.

You can still catch Noel performing at slightly smaller venues nowadays, with new songs, but same attitude. Liam on the other hand divides his time between ranting on social media about his brother and supposedly trying to form a new Beady Eye.

Will Oasis ever reform? Who knows, theres been so many rumours, its hard to say.

But, if Universal Records can offer 80 million for Robbie Williams, then surely we can fork out a few more for Oasis. I sincerely hope the boys dont pull a Dave and Ray Davies, and not reform until their late 70s.
Trump CNN chyron

CNN has been fact-checking Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in real time in its television chyrons, and when Trump made news on Thursday by saying that President Barack Obama founded ISIS, the network corrected him.

But the correction itself wasn't exactly accurate.

In its fact-check, CNN said that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi founded the terrorist group. But while he's the "caliph," or leader, of ISIS, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the bloodthirsty zealot who's generally regarded as the group's founder.

ISIS was born out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, a group that rose up after the US invasion of that country. AQI quickly gained a reputation for being even more indiscriminately violent than its parent organization, and Zarqawi is the man responsible for that vision.

Al Qaeda's central leadership eventually disowned its Iraqi affiliate after Zarqawi defied orders and continued sanctioning the killing of Muslims in Iraq. He declared the creation of an Islamic State in 2006 before he was killed in a US airstrike.

NOW WATCH: TRUMP: President Obama is 'the founder of ISIS'





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From ELLE

A few months ago, a friend said she potty trained her daughter in a single weekend. I myself was a few weeks into the toilet training ordeal with my own toddler, bribing her with everything from chocolates and Elmo videos to a selection of fresh-out-the-box toys, including a massive plastic Doc McStuffins veterinary clinic that took my husband an hour to put together. I briefly considered giving her $100 per toilet turd.

So, when that same friend asked how the potty training was going, I did the unthinkable. I smiled, tossed my hair and lied. "So great! It's actually not that bad." (Full disclosure: It took us SIX WEEKS and 17 bottles of wine to get our obstinate angel to join the civilized world and use a toilet.) I don't know why I did it, it sort of just happened. And it felt dirty.

My daughter's name is Satya. It means "truth" in Sanskrit. And here I was, mother of Truth, telling the mother of all lies.

Rock bottom, are you there? It's me, Raakhee.

As they often do, the little white lie loomed large when my friend and her allegedly perfect pottygoer came over. I was hoping for an accident free day from Satya, until my friend's baby, she with the alleged superhuman bowel controls, pooped herself at lunch. And like a sick freak-and a bad friend-I felt relieved.

The slip-ups are just an occupational hazard of the lying mom, you see. Another friend told me about a woman in her building with two kids under three. Now an Athleta-clad stay-at-home-mom, she'd would make a point of talking about how much she loved her new lifeuntil, of course, she got drunk at a building party and called her son a "demon dick."

Same goes for an acquaintance who talked up her kids "expansive palette"-her words, not mine-only to be outed at a mutual friend's birthday party when her toddler refused to eat anything but cheese sticks.

I do it too. Without realizing it, the lies come tumbling out, tiny gems of bullshit that seem harmless and feel effortless. But parenthood needn't be pathological. So, in an effort to come clean, the following six things are the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Story continues

Confession #1: Each night Satya sleeps for 12 hours.

It's more like 11. Well, 10.5. It's usually 10.5. Unless it's 10 hours, which is basically what we get every night. So, yeah, Satya sleeps for 10 hours. And even though I know that 10 hours to a lot of parents feels like I dream, I've told multiple people she sleeps for 12 hours. Why? I have no idea.

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Author

Confession #2: Once or twice a week, I lie and say I'm going to the farmer's market or running late on a call.

Instead, I sit at the bar at the Brass Rail, order a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and read a book for 30 minutes. I am late to pick up my daughter and I don't care. Truth is, I've read five books this summer.

Confession #3: It's not that my daughter prefers dinosaurs to princesses...

It's that I'm too terrified to introduce her to the tiara-wearing terrors, lest she forsake all the gender-neutral STEM stuff I've stocked up on.

Confession #4: Satya watches TV.

Not a ton-just Sesame Street, Bollywood songs and "Formation"-but she watches a little something everyday. Mostly, it's short YouTube videos twice a day when we brush her teeth. But I'll plop her in front of the boob tube on the rare occasion I decide I need a shower sans audience, particularly the kind of audience that demands I press my tush cheeks against the foggy glass and fashion an Elmo face out of the imprint.

Confession #5: Despite my full-blown attempts at brainwashing, my daughter's favorite toy is not her Obama doll...

But rather a stack of latex gloves we've amassed from various visits to the doctor. Kid loves gloves.

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Author

Confession #6: Satya hated baby yoga.

When she wasn't crying, she was sleeping. And I was mostly Instagramming. Namaste.

While writing this piece, and in the hopes of feeling a little better about myself, I texted a friend to ask her if she ever lies to the mommy mafia. "I have two groups of friends," she wrote between trips to the toilet with her son. "One I never lie to, and one I always lie to."

She's right, of course, and I do the same.

She followed up with a video of her son, pants around his ankles, screaming bloody murder and refusing to the use the toilet. Brutal honesty.

My friend Lyss also happens to be the doyenne of the Upper East Side mom circuit. She's got three kids ranging from age two to 12 and tells it like it isnow. "I remember being that first-time mom, sitting with the other moms, listening to them talk about how their kids only eat organic green juice and saying mine does too, even though it wasn't true. You just want to feel socially equal, but in the end it's so laughable," she says. "What difference does it make what time your kid napped? Or if your kid had ice cream instead of lunch? I am who I am and I am not pretending to be the kind of parent I'm not."

"The stakes are so high with motherhood, and the pressure to be perfect can feel all-consuming."

The stakes are so high with motherhood, and the pressure to be perfect can feel all-consuming. It seems to start the moment we're knocked up, when the greatest measure of prenatal prowess is to grow a full-sized baby human within the confines of the tiniest bump possible. This is proven with a series of Instagram photos with hashtags like #FitPregnancy or #BumpWatch. Once the baby arrives, the pressure morphs from the smaller-is-better philosophy, to the bigger-is-better camp, namely in the shape of giant knockers that turn your body into a dairy farm. It's now acceptable for strangers to discuss your lactation schedule, offering up a selection of old wives tales and outdated science to shame you into breastfeeding. As everyone weighs in on the performance of your tits, it's also time to panic about "getting your body back."

My friend Simi, mom to two adorable boys, put it this why: "Why do we feel so compelled to make the whole parenting thing seem like such a breeze? Is it to protect our kids or ourselves, or just because we're so damn exhausted? Maybe it's just easier than having to explain ourselves."

The fact of the matter is, NO MOM always goes to the gym, kills it at work, makes pizza from scratch and then has enough energy to have fake an orgasm. We all have our own shortcomings, but I'm pretty sure it's cool to use sauce out the bottle, let our kids have cookies and, sometimes, avoid spending time with the very same maniacs we complain we don't see enough. And, if we would just agree to come clean to each other, about the imperfect messiness of it all, it would take a lot of the pressure we put on ourselves and our friends.

The truth won't just set us free, it'll actually make our jobs a whole lot easier. So, the next time I feel the familiar urge, the need to match or one-up whatever another mom is telling me about her kid, I'm just going to fight the feeling.

We have to.

Because there's a special place in hell for moms who lie to other moms. And that hell is a napless afternoon, followed by a sleepless night, after finding out you're fresh out of Annie's cheddar bunnies.
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has written to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri calling for restrictions on oil exploration in the Falklands Islands to be lifted and for more flights to the British-run islands, her office said on Thursday. Argentina claims sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands it calls Las Malvinas, and relations between Buenos Aires and London have been strained for decades over the issue, culminating in a war in 1982 which Britain won. May, who became prime minister in July, called for "more productive" relations between the two countries in her letter to the pro-business Macri, who took office in December as Argentina's first non-Peronist president in more than a decade. "Since the election of President Macri, we have been working towards improved relations with Argentina because we think that is in the interests of both our countries and the Falkland Islanders too," May's Downing Street office said in a statement. In her letter, May said she hoped that where the two countries had differences, "these can be acknowledged in an atmosphere of mutual respect". She called for progress towards new flights between the islands, which are located about 435 miles off the coast of Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina, and third countries in the region. As things stand, a Chilean airline flies from Santiago to the Falklands every Saturday via the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas, according to the Falklands Tourist Board. Once a month, the flight also stops in Rio Gallegos, Argentina, in both directions. May also called for the removal of "restrictive hydrocarbons measures", a reference to various attempts by Argentine authorities to restrict oil and gas exploration in the waters around the islands. Tensions flared in June last year, under Macri's predecessor Cristina Fernandez, when an Argentine federal judge ordered the seizure of millions of dollars' worth of assets owned by drillers operating in the Falklands area. The Argentine measures have not halted oil exploration, although efforts have been scaled down in recent times due to low oil prices on international markets. The Falklands are inhabited by about 3,000 people, the overwhelming majority of whom say they wish the islands to remain a British overseas territory. Argentina has rejected that argument, accusing Britain of deliberately settling people there over a long period of history to bolster an illegitimate sovereignty claim. (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison)
This August 15, we celebrate Indias 70th Independence Day  the grand old lady has surely come a long way since she broke free from the British rule in 1947. While economically, we have progressed tremendously, from a closed, inward looking economy, to a highly globalised one. Our GDP has grown, and at 7.9 percent, is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. We can get about anything at our doorsteps, and the whole world is at our fingertips. The image that we portray globally has also seen a huge change, from being that of a country of snake charmers, beggars, elephants and all things exotic, to one which exports some of the best brains, and is a technological hub. In other words, we have started to make noise internationally, and are being heard by other nations. But does all this really imply that we are free? If freedom were to be measured in terms of safety, corruption, social values, human development indices, or even basic happiness - I dont think so.

A school in Allahabad has been making headlines for refusing to hold the recital of the national anthem on Independence Day, on account of the phrase, Bharat bhagya vidhata, in the opening stanza of the anthem violating the basic tenets of Islam, according to the schools manager, and some Muslim families opposing the recital. While nine teachers resigned in protest of the same, the manager has been arrested, and the school building is being sealed.

It may have been seven decades since India got its freedom, but in many ways this freedom is far from taking us forward. Where everything in the country has become a matter of rights and violation of it - be it religion, culture, gender, beliefs, and even food habits, the concept of India is getting diminished, and that of a fragmented society is becoming more vocal. The schools decision of not reciting the anthem is a case in point.

For Indias 50th independence day, I clearly remember the pride and happiness with which I, and I believe every one around me, participated in the various Independence Day programmes, sang the national anthem and stood in attention as the tricolor was hoisted in school. 20 years ago, there was a lot of enthusiasm and pride - how much remains today? Maybe it was the child in me that made me so proud of the country that I came from, and the adult in me that makes me cynical of my freedom today. Or maybe, it was a collective pride and happiness in us for being from a free country. But, today, apart from tricolours being sold, and people planning holidays, especially if it falls on a long weekend, the enthusiasm of an Independence Day seems to be lacking, especially if it boils down to basic questions like whether the anthem should be sung or not. And, more often than not, these same tricolours are sole by little boys and girls to whom freedom means nothing. They ply their wares all day to go back to abuse and hunger, at night.

Story continues

The long road to freedom

So, what has changed today? Yes, we may have progressed GDP wise, but has this economic growth been converted into social growth? Are our cities any safer today than they were 20 or 70 years back? If freedom means being able to venture out safely as a woman, then no. If we thought that nothing could be more horrific than the Nirbhaya rape case, a simple glance at the daily papers or the 24 hour news channels, is enough to prove us wrong  gory details of rapes emerge every day, and this is across gender, class and age groups. Our highways, shops, transport system, schools and even homes, are not safe. The fact that in UP, gang rape videos are now being sold for 50 to Rs 150 a clipping, speaks volumes of the tragic state our country is in.

If freedom means treating animals and humans with dignity, then we are surely way behind. While, on the one hand animals suffer horrific abuse such as being thrown out of the terrace, shot dead, or burnt alive in the hands of cruel perpetrators, who even have the perverted mind to film the acts, in other instances, humans are being subjected to beatings and torture in the name of protecting the cow. Whether the cow actually died because a lion ate it or not, is secondary. If the same sense of protectionism and vigilance (minus the horrific and brainless violence) was shown to other animals as well, then we would be doing far better and not finding our tiger, elephant and wildlife population diminishing. According to the Wildlife Protection Society of India, a conservation charity, 28 tigers had been poached by 26 April, which is three more than last year.

If freedom means the feeling of being accepted in your own country, then we surely dont deserve the freedom that we have now. Because, people are being targeted and made to feel like outsiders nearly every day. Because of their features, people from the north east are often referred to as Chinese, made fun off, and beaten up many a times. Many societies and house owners even refuse to give their house on rent to people from other communities. Kashmir has seen extreme violence over the years, and rather than being armed with developmental tools and jobs, the youth are armed with stones. A sense of exclusion and a feeling of not belonging to the country, is common among the youth.

If freedom means breaking away from the evil clutches of corruption, then we are way way behind. We see the hands of corruption in our every day lives, from the potholed roads that keep caving in after every Monsoon, to the miscreants who get away jumping traffic signals by bribing cops, and highways that collapse, killing many. Out of 168 countries surveyed by Transparency International, India ranks an abysmal 76th. The silver lining, however, is that the country has climbed nine spots from 2014.

And, if freedom is being able to practice your religion as you please, then we have a long way to go. The Congress-mandated US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has pointed out that religious freedom in India is moving on a negative trajectory, with increased freedom violations. According to the report, in 2015 alone, communal violence showed a 24 percent jump with 97 people were killed at 2,246 people injured over religiously motivated attacks and communal violence. While, it may be convenient to wish it off as a US driven agenda to tarnish the country, the numbers cant be ignored.

The issues mentioned above are just a small portion of what afflicts the country today. India is a great nation, no doubt, but for us to attain the freedom and happiness we deserve, we need to work towards getting rid of the evils that plague our society, so that we, and the generations to follow, can truly savour the meaning of freedom.

Gayatri Vinayak
State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha is threatening to read into the legislative record the transcript from Sen. Bill Kintner's cybersex encounter.

Chambers says if the Papillion senator remains a member of the Legislature next year, Chambers will read the transcript aloud in the legislative chamber "over a number of days or even weeks."

The 18-page transcript includes online messages between Kintner and a stranger via Skype while they masturbated on a live video feed in July 2015. Kintner was fined $1,000 for using his state laptop for the exchange.

Gov. Pete Ricketts and others have since called on Kintner to resign. He has refused, and fellow lawmakers are now considering whether to remove him from office through a special session this fall.

The alternative is Chambers blocking legislative debate on other issues when the Legislature convenes in January, he wrote in a memo to colleagues dated Wednesday.

Among the issues lawmakers must address next year is the biennial budget.

Chambers says he would use Kintner and his behavior as "source material for rhymes throughout the 90-day session."

"Be prepared for the pun, the double entendre and other verbal techniques to 'keep the issue alive.'"
The following timeline charts the origin and spread of the Zika virus from its discovery nearly 70 years ago: 1947: Scientists researching yellow fever in Uganda's Zika Forest identify the virus in a rhesus monkey 1948: Virus recovered from Aedes africanus mosquito in Zika Forest 1952: First human cases detected in Uganda and Tanzania 1954: Virus found in Nigeria 1960s-80s: Zika detected in mosquitoes and monkeys across equatorial Africa 196983: Zika found in equatorial Asia, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan 2007: Zika spreads from Africa and Asia, first large outbreak on Pacific island of Yap 2012: Researchers identify two distinct lineages of the virus, African and Asian 201314: Zika outbreaks in French Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands and New Caledonia. Retrospective analysis shows possible link to birth defects and severe neurological complications in babies in French Polynesia March 2, 2015: Brazil reports illness characterized by skin rash in northeastern states July 17: Brazil reports detection of neurological disorders in newborns associated with history of infection Oct. 5: Cape Verde has cases of illness with skin rash Oct. 22: Colombia confirms cases of Zika Oct. 30: Brazil reports increase in microcephaly, abnormally small heads, among newborns Nov. 11: Brazil declares public health emergency November 2015-January 2016: Cases reported in Suriname, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Venezuela, French Guiana, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Ecuador, Barbados, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Curacao, Jamaica Feb. 1: World Health Organization (WHO) declares public health emergency of international concern Feb. 2: First case of Zika transmission in United States; local health officials say likely contracted through sex, not mosquito bite Feb. 5: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says virus being actively transmitted in 30 countries, mostly in the Americas Feb. 8: U.S. President Barack Obama requests $1.8 billion to fight Zika Feb. 12: Brazil investigating potential link between Zika infections and 4,314 suspected cases of microcephaly. Of those, 462 confirmed as microcephaly and 41 determined to be linked to virus Feb. 17: Brazil investigating potential link between Zika and 4,443 suspected cases of microcephaly. Of those, 508 confirmed as microcephaly and most of those cases are linked to the virus. WHO seeks $56 million to fight Zika. Feb. 18: CDC adds Aruba and Bonaire to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 32. Feb. 23: CDC investigating 14 cases of possible sexual transmission of Zika. CDC also adds Trinidad and Tobago and Marshall Islands to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 34. Feb. 25: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases number more than 580 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,100 suspected cases of microcephaly. Feb. 27: France detects first sexually transmitted case of Zika. Feb. 29: CDC adds St. Maarten, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 36. March 1: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 641 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,222 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 8: WHO advises pregnant women to avoid areas with Zika outbreak and said sexual transmission of the virus is "relatively common." March 9: CDC adds New Caledonia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 37. March 15: Cuba reports first case of Zika contracted in the country. March 16: Cape Verde identifies first case of microcephaly. March 18: CDC says during Jan. 1, 2015 to Feb. 26, 2016, 116 residents of the United States had evidence of recent Zika virus infection based on laboratory testing. Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 863 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,268 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 19: CDC adds Cuba to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 38. March 21: South Korea confirms first case of Zika. March 22: CDC adds Dominica to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 39. Bangladesh confirms first case of Zika virus. Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 907 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,293 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 29: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 944 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil said the number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped slightly to 4,291. March 31: According to the World Health Organization, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, though conclusive proof may take months or years. April 1: CDC adds Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 40. April 4: CDC adds Fiji to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 41. April 5: Vietnam reports first Zika infections. April 6: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 1,046 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped to 4,046. April 7: St. Lucia confirms first two cases of Zika, contracted locally. April 12: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 1,113 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped to 3,836. It was the second week in a row that the overall total figure fell. April 13: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years. CDC adds St. Lucia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 42. April 14: Colombia confirms two microcephaly cases linked to Zinka. April 18: Peru reports first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus. CDC adds Belize to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 43. April 19: Chilean authorities find Zika mosquito for first time in decades. April 25: Canada confirms first sexually transmitted Zika case. April 26: Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly climbed to 1,198 from 1,168 in the week through April 23, but suspected ones under investigation continued to decline to 3,710 from 3,741 a week ago. Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2, the health ministry said, in its first national report on the epidemic. April 29: Puerto Rico reports first death related to Zika, according to the CDC. The country also confirmed 683 Zika cases, including 65 pregnant women, and five suspected cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome from Zika, the CDC reported. May 4: Panama confirms four microcephaly cases tied to Zika. May 6: Spain gets first case of Zika-related brain defect in a fetus. May 9: CDC adds Papua New Guinea, Saint Barthelemy and Peru to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 46. Honduras suspects first case of microcephaly in Zika patient. May 11: Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly dropped to 1,326 in the week through May 7 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation continued to decline to 3,433. May 12: CDC adds Grenada to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 47. May 13: Puerto Rico reports first case of Zika-related microcephaly. May 20: WHO says an outbreak of Zika virus on the African island chain of Cape Verde is of the same strain as the one blamed for birth abnormalities in Brazil. May 24: Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at 1,434 for the latest week to May 21. Suspected ones under investigation declined to 3,257. May 26: CDC adds Argentina to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 48. June 9: WHO issues updated guidelines on prevention of sexual transmission of the Zika virus, including advising women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant. June 14: El Salvador confirms first case of microcephaly linked to Zika. June 23: CDC reports seven babies in the United States with microcephaly or other Zika-related birth defects such as serious brain abnormalities, and five lost pregnancies from either miscarriage, stillbirth or termination. June 28: First baby with Zika-related birth defect microcephaly born in Florida. June 30: CDC adds Anguilla to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 49. Guinea-Bissau confirms three cases of Zika, government says. Spain records first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus, health authorities said. July 8: CDC confirmed that a Utah resident's death last month is the first Zika-related death in the continental United States. July 14: CDC adds Saint Eustatius to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 50. July 15: New York City's health department reports the first female-to-male transmission of the Zika virus. July 18: CDC reports that caregiver of Utah man who died of Zika tested positive for virus. July 19: Florida health officials are investigating a case of Zika virus infection that does not appear to have stemmed from travel to another region with an outbreak. July 21: CDC reports 400 pregnant women in U.S. with evidence of Zika infection, up from 346 a week ago. The health agency also reports three more babies born in U.S. with birth defects linked to the Zika virus, bringing total to 12. Florida Department of Health said it was investigating a non travel-related case of Zika in Broward County, marking the second such case in the U.S. July 22: New York City health officials reports first baby born with Zika-related birth defect. July 25: Spain reports first case in Europe of baby born with Zika-related defect. CDC issues updated recommendations for preventing and testing for Zika infection, warning that the virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected female partner. July 26: Honduras detects 8 cases of babies with Zika-related defect. CDC adds Saba to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 51. July 27: Paraguay reports first cases of microcephaly linked to Zika. July 29: Florida authorities report what is believed to be the first evidence of local Zika transmission in the continental United States. Aug. 1: Florida identifies 10 more cases of Zika virus caused by mosquitoes, bringing total to 14. CDC issues guidelines for pregnant women who live in and traveled to affected area in a Miami neighborhood. Aug. 2: Health authorities in Florida add one more case of locally transmitted Zika, bringing total to 15. CDC adds Antigua, Barbuda, and Turks and Cacos to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 54. Aug. 3: U.S. researchers said they launched Zika vaccine clinical trial. Aug. 4: Cuba reports two cases of locally transmitted Zika. Aug. 5: Florida health authorities report another locally transmitted case, bringing total to 16. Aug. 8: Florida said it was investigating new case of locally transmitted Zika in Palm Beach County. Aug. 9: Texas health officials said death of infant born with microcephaly is linked to Zika, the first casualty in the state associated with the virus. Cayman Islands reports two locally transmitted Zika cases. Florida announces four more cases of locally transmitted Zika, bringing total to 21. Aug. 11: Florida reports three additional cases of locally transmitted Zika, bringing total to 25. SOURCES: World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reuters (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by the Americas Desk)
Camila Alves, Brazilian-American model and designer, stopped by the Today Show set in Rio, where she helped the crew brush up on their Portuguese. Instead of asking Alves about her career, husband Matthew McConaughey, or their three children, the veteran anchors went straight to the hard-hitting question of how to say Can we take a selfie? in Portuguese.

Al Roker did ask Alves about her family, kind of, when he asked how to say power couple in Portuguese, obviously referring to McConaughey and Alves, but he asked Natalie Morales for the answer.

Finally, Roker got around to the most important part of the interview: How to say all right, all right, all right in Portuguese. Al prefaced the question by saying its an expression she must hear a lot because of its popularity all these years after McConaughey uttered those words in the 1993 classic Dazed and Confused. Alves obliged and told them how to say it in the same slang people would use in Rio.

Alves slowly and coolly said, Valeu, valeu, valeu.

Today Show Anchors Trip to Christ The Redeemer Nearly Ruined by Fog:



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By Guy Faulconbridge and Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly 76 years to the day since Leon Trotsky was murdered in Mexico with an ice-pick on Josef Stalin's orders, the Russian revolutionary has returned to haunt Britain's opposition Labour Party in the turmoil sparked by the Brexit vote. Labour was thrust into one of the biggest crises in its 116-year history after Britain's June 23 vote to leave the European Union, when most of the party's lawmakers responded by voting to withdraw support for left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn. Less than a year into the job, Corbyn now faces a leadership challenge from lawmaker Owen Smith who, like most of his colleagues in the party's contingent in parliament, says Corbyn was lacklustre in campaigning to stay in the EU and too poorly organised to effectively oppose the Conservative government. But the decision is in the hands of party members, including more than 100,000 who joined this year, and polls show members still favour Corbyn. The party's deputy leader, Tom Watson, who has tried to persuade Corbyn to quit, raised the pitch of the rhetoric by saying some of the new members were Trotskyite infiltrators from the far-left, who saw Labour as a vehicle for revolution. "There are Trots that have come back to the party, and they certainly don't have the best interests of the Labour Party at heart," Watson said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper. Momentum, a Corbyn-supporting grassroots movement which says it wants to ensure Labour implements socialist policies such as wealth distribution, dismissed Watson's remarks as conspiracy theories. "There is no return of Trotsky's ghost," Jon Lansman, one of Momentum's senior figures, told Reuters. "The influx to the Labour Party of hundreds of thousands of mainly young people with no prior history of involvement in political parties means that Trotskyism has never been more irrelevant to British politics." POLITICAL FERMENT But the references to a 20th Century revolutionary are still a reminder of the fractious heritage of a party that moved firmly to the centre during 13 years in power under prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, but whose members voted to reject that shift in selecting Corbyn last year. "There are some old hands twisting young arms in this process ... They are caucusing and factionalising and putting pressure where they can, and thats how Trotsky entryists operate," Watson said. In British Labour history, "Trotskyite" was used to describe militant Marxist campaigners who battled the party's leaders in the 1970s and 1980s. "Entryism" refers to a tactic Trotsky encouraged, under which far-left Communists would join more mainstream Socialist movements and radicalise them. Alex Callinicos, professor of European studies at King's College London, who and said he himself could be described as Trotskyite in a broad sense, said Trotsky "still captures people's imagination". "He stood for the idea of international revolution and self-organised revolution ... Trotsky acts as reference point for those who do not like capitalism." But while some Labour members may be Trotskyites, they were not to blame for the party's turmoil, Callinicos added. "The Labour Party is imploding. What is happening in Britain after the Brexit vote is more broadly a political ferment," he said. "Britain has to work out what it is doing in the world." (editing by Peter Graff)
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - The curtain comes down on one of swimming's great rivalries on Thursday when Olympic giants Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte lock horns one last time.

Phelps will look to win the men's 200m individual medley for an incredible fourth successive Games while Lochte, so often the bridesmaid, finally tries to get one over on his fellow American.

After the formalities of Wednesday's semi-finals, both swimmers indulged in some sweet-talk before their last dance in Rio.

"The history him and I have had with one another it's something special," said Phelps, who won his record 20th and 21st Olympic gold medals on Tuesday.

"We've been racing for the last 12 years and having one more battle tomorrow will be fun," he added after qualifying quickest for the final in a time of one minute, 55.78 seconds.

"Ryan and I have grown closer as friends this year -- so we'll have one more time to hop in the pool and duke it out."

Phelps has caught fire in his fifth and final Olympics, winning gold medals in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays and the 200m fly, and Lochte is under no illusions about the size of the task he faces.

"It's going to take a perfect performance in order to beat him because of how tough a competitor he is," said world record holder Lochte, who has taken two silvers and a bronze behind Phelps in Athens, Beijing and London.

"He won't give up and that's awesome. That's why he brings out the best in me.

"Any chance I can get up and race Michael, that's the best," gushed Lochte, second fastest in the semi-finals half a second behind Phelps. "We've been racing since 2004. He's the toughest competitor I've ever gone up against.

"When we go up on the blocks, we're always trying to win -- that's just the competitive instinct we have," he added. "But win or lose we're still good friends."

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Brazilian Thiago Pereira qualified third quickest in front of his home fans in 1:57.11 but the real danger is likely to come from Japan's Kosuke Hagino, who won the 400m medley in Rio and has plans to gatecrash the American party.

"Tomorrow I just have to swim my own race and leave everything out there," the 21-year-old Japanese told AFP after winning his heat in 1:57.38.

"I really don't care about Phelps or Lochte. They're heroes of mine, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to front up.

"Precisely because they are heroes of mine, I want to give them my best shot, give it everything I've got."
Its a bummer of a day for potheads.

The Drug Enforcement Administration today declined again to loosen restrictions on marijuana even though pot is now legal in four states and the District of Columbia and medical use is permitted in an additional 22.

The disconnect between Washington and the states will continue to complicate matters for the growing marijuana industry, frustrate those who see weed as a tax-revenue generator, vex law enforcement officials, disappoint Americans who consider pot no more harmful than alcohol and leave libertarians shaking their heads.

Related: Trump Doubles Down on His Claim That Obama Was a Founder of ISIS

A year ago, the purple haze around marijuana seemed to be clearing and legalization had more than one champion. Republican presidential candidate Senator Rand Paul, a libertarian from Kentucky, favored legalization, and on the Democratic side, the insurgent candidate Bernie Sanders made ending restrictions on marijuana possession a crowd-pleasing line for his sometimes smoky rallies.

But Paul dropped out early, and Sanders was vanquished by Hillary Clinton. However, Sanders supporters did manage to insert in the platform that emerged from the Democratic convention a call for a pathway to legalization.

That was a victory for the Bernie bros, but it could go nowhere even if Clinton is elected.

The former secretary of state has spoken in favor of medical marijuana but has taken a wait-and-see approach on how legalization works in states that have lifted restrictions on possession.

The Republican Party platform doesnt sanction medical marijuana use, but Donald Trump has said he is behind it 100 percent. In the past, he has spoke about legalizing pot, though his current position seems to be that the states should decide.

The Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group, gives Trump a C+ grade, and inexplicably gives Clinton a B+. Inexplicable, because Trump has talked about ending what he has called a failed and costly war on drugs.

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On the other hand, the cannabis website Merry Jane calls Trump the best option if you want marijuana legalized.

Related: Heres Why Libertarian Gary Johnson Could Pick Off Bernie Supporters

Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, a former Governor of New Mexico, freely admits to smoking marijuana and backs legalization. But the latest Real Clear Politics average shows Johnson polling just 9 percent in a four-way race, with Clinton at 43.6 percent, Trump at 36.4 percent and Jill Stein of the Green Party at 3.8 percent. So Johnsons chance of putting his feet up on the desk of the Oval Office and lighting up are slim to none.

Where would Trump really come down?

In an interview at the GOP convention, controversial political operative Roger Stone said libertarians should vote for Trump because of his enormous skepticism about the war on drugs.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Donald Trump told Time magazine earlier this week that Republican leaders are urging him to soften his tone, but he feels more comfortable in attacking style.

That was evident on Thursday, when Trump doubled down and tripled down on his claim that President Obama was founder of ISIS and Hillary Clinton its co-founder.

ISIS is honoring President Obama, Trump said Wednesday night. He is the founder of ISIS  and I would say the co-founder is crooked Hillary Clinton.

In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, the real estate mogul was given the chance to clarify his remarks.

I know what you meant, Hewitt said. You meant that he created a vacuum, he lost the peace.

No, I meant hes the founder of ISIS, Trump responded. I do.

Trumps comments have forced media outlets like CNN to fact-check them in real time. (CNN)

According to Max Boot, senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Trumps incendiary rhetoric is undercutting what could be an effective critique of the Obama administrations record on terror.

I think Donald Trump is basically delegitimizing all legitimate criticism of President Obama or his track record in office, Boot told Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric on Thursday afternoon. I am somebody who has been critical of what President Obama has done in Iraq and Syria. He has left a vacuum of power that has allowed ISIS and Hezbollah and other radical groups to flourish.

That is a legitimate criticism, Boot continued. What Trump is saying is not a legitimate criticism. What he is saying is just plain nuts.

Related: Trump: If I lose, its OK  I go back to a very good way of life

Hewitt offered Trump a lifeline, Boot noted, but the Republican nominee defiantly rejected it.

Boot also scoffed at Trumps assertion that ISIS reveres Obama.

Id love to see his evidence for that, Boot said, given the fact that President Obama is sending warplanes to bomb ISIS on a daily basis. Im kind of guessing that ISIS does not actually revere the president.

Boot added: If anybody else would be saying this, youd be saying, Oh my goodness. How on earth could he possibly say this? But with Trump, its become pretty standard fare because almost every single day he comes out with some literally insane statement.
Donald Trump

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump keeps calling President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton the "founders" of ISIS, insisting that bad US policies both were involved in are to blame for the rise of the terrorist group.

"[Obama] was the founder of ISIS, absolutely," Trump told CNBC Thursday. "The way he removed our troops. Shouldn't have gone in. I was against the war in Iraq. ... We destabilized the Middle East. We've been paying the price of it for years. But he was the founder, absolutely the founder."

Trump has been making these types of claims for months, but he's ramped up his rhetoric in recent weeks. Even some conservatives have questioned his portrayal of Obama and Clinton's role in the rise of ISIS.

"You said the President was the founder of ISIS," conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said to Trump during a Thursday interview. He then seemingly gave Trump an out to explain his outlandish statement: "I know what you meant. You meant that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace."

But Trump doubled down.

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do," Trump said.

He later insisted that people like it when he calls Obama and Clinton "co-founders" of ISIS.

"Everyone's liking it. I think they're liking it," Trump said. "I give [Obama] the most valuable player award. And I give it to him, and I give it to, I gave the co-founder to Hillary."

Other Republican politicians have made the point in the past that the Obama administration's foreign policy gave rise to terrorism in the Middle East. But Trump takes that argument a step further by claiming that Obama and Clinton actually founded ISIS.

Trump supporters have said they know what he really means by that  that Obama administration policies, which Clinton was a part of during her tenure as secretary of state, created a power vacuum in the Middle East that allowed terrorist groups to sprout up in the place of US troops. Obama is responsible for the US troop drawdown in Iraq, and therefore, Republicans argue, he's responsible for what happened there after the US left.

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But it seems that Trump wants people to take him quite literally.

The problem with that, explained terrorism expert Thomas Joscelyn on Twitter, is that it feeds into conspiracy theories rampant in the Middle East about US involvement in the creation of ISIS.

1. @realDonaldTrump's claim that @POTUS is the "founder of ISIS" is a bad way to criticize policy. Could feed a popular conspiracy theory.  Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) August 11, 2016

5. It is true that mistakes going back to '03, including total troop withdrawal by Dec. 2011, made it easier for #ISIS to rise. But...  Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) August 11, 2016

6. You can criticize policy decisions without resorting to such a crude formulation that is similar to a damaging conspiracy theory.  Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) August 11, 2016

There's the widespread perception in the Middle East that the US is so powerful that the military could defeat ISIS if the government really wanted to. The fact that ISIS continues to exist is proof to some that the US doesn't really want it gone.

And a recent survey found that 81% of Syrians and 85% of Iraqis think the US created ISIS. Another recent survey found that 93% of Iraqis view the US as an enemy of their country.

Despite the US military drawdown in Iraq, the country is still a crucial ally in the fight against terrorism. A US presidential candidate seemingly legitimizing conspiracy theorists further undermines any authority America has left in the Middle East.

NOW WATCH: Watch Hillary's brutal attack ad showing children watching Trump's controversial statements





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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in a March interview that he doesn't settle lawsuits - but that's precisely what happened with the former staffer he was dueling with in court.

The exact circumstances surrounding the settlement remain to be seen, but both Sam Nunberg's attorney Andrew Miltenberg and Trump's attorney Lawrence Rosen confirmed Thursday to The Hollywood Reporter that the fight is over.

"The matter was resolved amicably," Rosen said in a brief statement to THR.

Trump filed a $10 million arbitration complaint against ex-aide Nunberg in July, claiming he violated his non-disclosure agreement by spilling secrets to the media. Nunberg fired back, saying the Trump Campaign ly accused him of leaking information to the New York Post about a public screaming match between ex-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and spokeswoman Hope Hicks. Further, Nunberg argued his consulting agreement demands that disputes be resolved in New York state court.

While the beginning of the battle was playing out behind closed doors and temporarily sealed documents, Nunberg's attorneys last week brashly called out the candidate in court briefs - after Trump's camp accused him of filing the lawsuit for publicity.

An agreement to discontinue the proceedings with prejudice was signed by attorneys earlier this week and filed with the court on Thursday.

Read more: Donald Trump Defends RNC in Interview: "I Wasn't Looking for Star Power, I Was Looking for Policy"
A Nebraska state senator and others who have worked several years to legalize medical marijuana in the state say they are disappointed federal authorities won't lower the classification of the drug.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said Thursday it will not remove marijuana from the highest Schedule I classification for medical purposes.

Schedule I includes such exceptionally dangerous drugs as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. The classification means the drug is considered to have a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and that there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision.

Schedule II, which advocates hoped for as a reclassification, includes such drugs as oxycodone, fentanyl, opium and methamphetamine.

Sen. Tommy Garrett tried to legalize marijuana for medical uses in the last legislative session but was unsuccessful. His bill (LB643) was filibustered on the second round of debate and went down when it got 30 of 33 votes needed to end extended debate.

Garrett said Thursday he is disappointed by the DEA's decision. More than 1.4 million Americans are legally using medical cannabis and seeing positive effects, he said. Private institutions and universities have more than outlined its medical efficacy in their research.

Forty-two states and the District of Columbia allow some form of medical marijuana use.

"We have children suffering seizures, veterans fighting opioid addiction and still the federal government refuses to act, not because of any particular medical research, but because of a United Nations convention that took place over 55 years ago," Garrett said. "Reprehensible. Obama could have been brave, but he choked."

Shelley Gillen, whose son Will has severe epilepsy and who helped Garrett in his campaign for legalization, wasn't surprised by the ruling.

"But of course it's still very frustrating, because we know that it does have medicinal value," she said, "especially when you have several synthetic FDA-approved drugs of cannabis."

Prolonged research is a slow and painful process for those who are waiting, she said.

Josie Kranz, a board member of Nebraska Families 4 Medical Cannabis, was also disappointed.

The group is raising money and unifying people to potentially put medical cannabis legalization on a 2018 ballot, Kranz said.

A lot of research has already been done in other countries and at the University of Mississippi, she said.

It's just a political mess that the DEA doesn't want to have to deal with, Kranz said.

The DEA studied reclassification of the drug at the request of Govs. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island and Jay Inslee of Washington and psychiatric nurse practitioner Bryan Krumm of New Mexico.

In a letter to them dated Thursday, DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said that while it may strike some people as odd that marijuana is a Schedule I drug while seemingly more dangerous drugs are Schedule II, its inclusion is not about relative danger.

"It is best not to think of drug scheduling as an escalating 'danger' scale, rather specific statutory criteria based on medical and scientific evidence determine into which schedule a substance is placed," he said.

Since April 2014, Rosenberg said, the number of marijuana researchers registered with the DEA has more than doubled, from 161 to 354. The amount of marijuana available for research has also increased, he said.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center launched a study this summer on cannabidiol use for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

If cannabidiol would prove to be safe and effective for treatment of certain medical conditions, Rosenberg said, "that would be a wonderful and welcome development."

"But we insist that CBD research -- or any research -- be sound, scientific and rigorous before a product can be authorized for medical use," he said.

That is the province of the Food and Drug Administration, he said.

If the scientific understanding about marijuana changes, and it could, Rosenberg told the governors and Krumm, the decision could change.

"But we will remain tethered to science, as we must, and as the statute demands," he said. "It certainly would be odd to rely on science when it suits us and ignore it otherwise."
Donald Trump refused in a CNBC interview to back down from a gun-rights remark he made this week, interpreted by some as a suggestion to use violence against Hillary Clinton .

"On the Second Amendment everybody came to my defense because there was nothing said wrong, I'm talking about the power of the voter," Trump told " Squawk Box " on Thursday in a phone interview. "Only the haters tried to grab on to that one."

Trump received torrents of criticism for his comments earlier this week on the potential of Clinton's making judicial appointments.

"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," Trump told a crowd in Wilmington, North Carolina on Tuesday. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is I don't know."

Clinton blasted Trump on Wednesday, telling a crowd in Iowa that Trump's "casual inciting of violence" showed he was unfit to be president.

"Words matter, my friends. If you are running to be president, words can have tremendous consequences," Clinton said at a rally in Des Moines. "Yesterday we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line, ... his casual inciting of violence. Every single one of these incidents shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander-in-chief of the United States."





More From CNBC


Donald Trump, calling himself a "free trader," told CNBC on Thursday he would renegotiate trade deals like NAFTA, not end them.

"We will be redoing some of these horrendous, like I mean horrendous, trade deals that have destroyed New York state, ... that have destroyed Pennsylvania, that have destroyed Michigan," he said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "Look at what's going on in Michigan. Car companies that are moving to Mexico, in particular. I'll stop it. Hillary Clinton can't stop it."

Trump's anti-trade comments have been a source of concern on Wall Street, and one market fear has been of rising protectionism.

"So they may be talking about the fact that because I'm going to negotiate trade, I won't have any trade, and that won't lead to jobs," Trump said in the phone interview. "Well, the fact that I'm negotiating trade will mean that we're going to make good trade deals. But we are absolutely going to keep trading. I am not an isolationist. And they probably think I am. I'm not at all. I'm a free trader. I want free trade, but it's got to be fair trade. It's got to be good deals for the United States."

Trump complained about companies that leave the U.S. for Mexico, which he mockingly called "the eighth wonder of the world."

"We're losing businesses to Mexico, like one after another," he said. "Ford is building a massive new plant. It's an extension of another one. It just keeps going." He said when it comes to companies leaving for cost efficiencies, companies should look for more competitive opportunities in other states.

"You can't just leave the United States and there's no consequence," he said. He pointed to Carrier Corp, which is shutting down a plant in Indiana, and moving the work to Mexico.

"When they make an air conditioning unit they're going to pay something at the border. Every time they ship in a unit they're going to have to pay something. Now, when we do that, they're not going to leave any more," he said.

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The case Donald Trump made on Thursday afternoon to a gathering in Orlando of around 700 conservative Christian pastors and their spouses is one he has relied on throughout this campaign in reaching out to evangelicals. The federal government, Trump argues, has effectively muzzled religious conservatives  and he alone can save them.

Youre the most powerful lobby there is, Trump told the American Renewal Project, an effort to get conservative pastors more involved in politics, even as candidates. Yet youve been totally silenced, like a child has been silenced.

It was the same message he delivered to evangelicals in his acceptance speech last month at the Republican National Convention: You have so much to contribute to our politics, and yet our laws prevent you from speaking yours minds from your own pulpits.

What Trump is talking about is something called the Johnson Amendment, a change to the U.S. tax code that was proposed by then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson in 1954 to prohibit tax-exempt organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Some, but not all, religious institutions claim tax-exempt status and are therefore technically required to abstain from using their resources on behalf of candidates.

Over the past decade, political speech has become a rallying point for many conservative Christians, including the group Alliance Defending Freedom, which encourages pastors to engage in civil disobedience to challenge the tax code. Given Trumps ongoing campaign against political correctness, as well as concerns among conservative Christians over his bona fides on other issues, like abortion and same-sex marriage, its no surprise that he made free speech for pastors his main appeal to that constituency.

Theres only one problem: Pastors and other religious leaders can, and do, already engage in political speech, including candidate endorsements.

The fact is that no U.S. law prevents church leaders from endorsing candidates. What the law does not allow is endorsing on behalf of a church or using church resources  such as making an endorsement from the pulpit during Sunday services  while also claiming tax-exempt status.

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Church leaders can even endorse using church resources at any time; they are simply expected to forgo their tax-exempt status in order to do so. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and free exercise of religion, but it does not provide a constitutional right to tax-exempt status.

Perhaps the best rebuttal to the idea that religious leaders operate under a clergy gag law is the fact that the Johnson Amendment is currently unenforced. So regardless of whether a pastor follows the tax code by separating his personal endorsements from his role with a church, the IRS is not investigating or penalizing churches for political speech.

In fact, the most prominent recent example of a pastors free speech may be the benediction delivered by Pastor Mark Burns at last months RNC, the most explicitly political prayer ever offered at a party convention. In his prayer, Burns declared Democrats to be our enemies and praised God for giving [Trump] the words to unite this party, this country, that we together can defeat the liberal Democratic Party.

Pastor Mark Burns delivering an explicitly political prayer at the Republican National Convention. (Photo: Reuters Video)

Every fall since 2008, Alliance Defending Freedom has urged pastors around the country to observe Pulpit Freedom Sunday by preaching openly political sermons and sending copies of those sermons to the IRS  in effect, baiting the IRS to come after them. So far, theyre still waiting.

Youd have to go back to 2006 to find the last significant instance of the IRS investigating a church for political speech. In that case, it was the Bush administrations IRS and the church in question was a liberal Episcopal congregation in Pasadena that was probed after a guest preacher delivered a sermon questioning the Iraq War.

According to the Alliance Defending Freedoms own numbers, more than 2,000 pastors connected to the group have reported preaching political sermons since 2008. Yet none of them has been probed by the IRS for political activity or had tax-exempt status revoked.

In one particularly memorable example from 2004, a Baptist pastor in North Carolina told his congregants that if they voted for John Kerry, they needed to repent of their sin or resign their church membership. Nine members were ultimately voted out of the church. But while the pastor himself ended up resigning because of the controversy caused by his leadership, the IRS never got involved.

None of this will come as much of a surprise to the nearly two-thirds of American churchgoers who report hearing their clergy discuss political issues, in the latest survey from the Pew Research Center. Despite the old social rule that one should never discuss religion and politics in polite society, Americans have rarely shied away from combining the two subjects.

Nonetheless, Trump told religious leaders in Orlando on Thursday afternoon that in order to protect their own freedom of speech, they really now have a one-time shot. If he is not elected, Trump warned, you are never going to have a chance again.
With her defeat all but certain, Hillary Clinton struggled in 2008 to explain why she refused to concede the Democratic nomination fight to Barack Obama. We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California, she said.

The response was universally harsh. Her team quickly explained that Clinton meant to note simply that this was not the first primary campaign to stretch into the summer, not to suggest that Obama might be assassinated. She publicly apologized to the Kennedy family.

The incident showed how desperate Clinton was to win, how ham-fisted she could be as a candidate, and how far she would stretch to parse a political gaffe.

Donald Trumps defenders are dredging up the Kennedy quote to defend a far more grotesque comment their candidate made Tuesday.

Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment. If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment peoplemaybe there is, I dont know. Butbut Ill tell you what. That will be a horrible day. Ifif Hillary gets to put her judgesright now, were tied. You see whats going on.

Im not a mind reader, so I dont know what Trump meant to suggest when he said, maybe there is something Second Amendment supporters can do to prevent Clinton from picking judges.

Recommended: How American Politics Went Insane

But it almost doesnt matter what Trump meant to say, because of the truth in this maxim about leadership: What you say isnt nearly as important as what people hear you say.

What did people hear?

First, they heard Trump again and again, throughout the primary campaign, discuss violence at his rallies with language that was either recklessly provocative or purposely inciting.

They heard an adviser to Trump say that Clinton should face a firing squad for her handling of the Benghazi raid and her private email server.

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They heard Trump lie about Clintons approach to the Second Amendment: She does not want to abolish it.

They heard Trump say there is nothing a gun-rights advocate can do to stop her from appointing liberal judges.

They heard him say, waitmaybe there is something you can do.

They heard Trump say the election itself is rigged  that Clinton might steal the election, a baseless charge befitting not a democracy, but a banana republic on verge of revolution.

The people who are listening most closely to Trump tend to be those Americans most buffeted by economic and social change; least trusting in government, the media, and other social institutions; most enraged at the status quo, liberalism, and Washington; most likely to view Clinton as evil, the living embodiment of all they hate about politics and 21st-century America; and, finally, most likely to be exploited by Trump.

Many of them buy his spin. Trump says he was merely suggesting that gun-rights supporters will vote against Clinton. Rightand Clinton in 2008 was merely noting that Democratic campaigns run into the summer.

Recommended: Republicans Need to Get Ready for the Trump Aftershock

Unlike Trump, Clinton:

In no way suggested or implied that Obama be killed for his political views.

Apologized for reckless language that could be misinterpreted.

Never spoke of it again.

I believe most Trump supporters are actually smarter than their candidate and more tolerant. They arent insecure bullies and bigots and sexists, but they are so desperate for change that theyre willing to roll the dice.

We will not see an army of Clinton haters take up arms against her.

But it only takes one.

If Trump meant to incite violence, he should be in jail. If this was an accidentif Trump doesnt understand the danger he loaded into his language; if he doesnt know how to measure his wordshe should not be president.

Related Video:

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
(Repeats Wednesday item)

* Debt payments, weak revenues weigh on new leader

* New technocrat premier makes bold reform promises

* Past governments failed to push austerity plans

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Tunisia has gone through five prime ministers in as many years since its revolution, each pushing a widely-praised transition to democracy. None, though, has made much progress in building the economic stability and opportunity that young Tunisians demand.

Now the sixth post-uprising premier, French-educated technocrat Youssef Chahed, is making bold promises even before he has taken office to tackle Tunisia's problems.

But a looming budget crisis and debt repayments, coupled with political inertia, may prevent the 40-year-old premier-designate from escaping the fate of his predecessors.

Since the 2011 overthrow of autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has achieved free elections, a new constitution and a spirit of compromise between secular and Islamist parties - in contrast to the repression, chaos or war that has afflicted other countries which also had "Arab Spring" revolts.

The flip side is that popular protests, labour union resistance and political squabbling have held back plans to overhaul heavy state spending including on a huge body of public workers, and to implement banking and investment laws.

After the last premier lost a parliamentary confidence vote over the economy and security, President Beji Caid Essebsi called last week for Chahed to lead a national unity government capable of advancing economic reforms demanded by lenders including the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

"We are in times that require exceptional decisions and sacrifices," Chahed told reporters, saying his focus would be tackling corruption and terrorism, promoting economic growth and clearing up public finances. "I want to talk frankly with the Tunisian people about the reality of the country's financial situation."

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Many Tunisians ask whether Chahed, an agricultural specialist and Essebsi ally, can muster the political capital to push through change. Some opponents dismiss him as an Essebsi puppet, chosen for his loyalty to the president rather than his ability to deliver. He is now negotiating to form his cabinet.

"Chahed has been handed a poisoned chalice, the financial situation is pretty catastrophic. He is going to find the coffers empty and lots of demands," said Jamel Arfaoui, a local analyst and newspaper columnist. "He is facing potential protests at the same time as the need for reforms."

The change of premier comes at a difficult time. Three major attacks by Islamist militants have badly hit tourism bookings, forcing job cuts in an industry that accounts for 8 percent of the economy. Unemployment is already at 15 percent, with the rate far higher for young people in a country where more than half the population is under 29.

Months of on-off protests and sit-ins by jobless youths have also disrupted production and exports of the state-run phosphate industry, another major revenue earner. Essebsi estimated losses at $2 billion from sector disruptions over five years.

Under the 2016 budget, the public deficit is supposed to fall to 3.9 percent of gross domestic product from 4.4 percent in 2015. But that assumes the economy will grow 2.5 percent whereas the actual rate in the first quarter was only 1 percent year-on-year, weakening tax revenue.

Next year will be tougher still for the public finances. Around $3 billion is due in debt service payments and the state will struggle just to come up with the roughly $450 million it needs every month to pay its employees.

At 13.5 percent of the GDP, Tunisia's public sector wage bill is proportionately one of the highest in the world.

"Revenues forecast for 2017 will not be enough to cover the one billion dinars each month for 700,000 public sector employees," Central Bank Governor Chedli Ayari said last week. "We are going to need more foreign financing in this difficult context and with the fall off in tourism and phosphate revenues."

SOCIAL PRESSURES, POLITICAL WILL

A senior member of Essebsi's Nidaa Tounes party, Chahed will easily secure approval for his new cabinet in parliament, where Nidaa Tounes and Islamist party Ennahda in the ruling coalition control a majority.

But outside parliament, he must navigate relations with the unions and the social unrest that has scuppered past government attempts to push through the kind of financial sacrifices and austerity reforms he is promising.

The IMF has approved a $2.88 billion four-year loan programme for Tunisia. However, release of much of this is subject to reviews of the government's progress on economic and financial reforms.

Tunisia has been under pressure for some time from its international lenders to implement measures on the public deficit, investment and the financial sector.

Mehdi Jomaa, a technocrat prime minister managed to secure temporary fiscal reforms in 2014 to boost revenues. The last premier, Habib Essid, got a law to protect the central bank from political meddling through parliament, although only after protracted negotiations within the ruling coalition.

Deeper reforms have stalled, often because successive governments have lacked the political capital or will to stand up to popular pressures against public spending reductions or austerity measures.

An attempt to increase vehicle tax triggered violent protests in 2014, forcing the government to step back. A tax on border traffic also provoked rioting last year, leading to another government retreat.

Now doctors and lawyers are threatening strikes over increased audits on their billing to help combat tax evasion, while the powerful UGTT union is resisting reforms to raise the retirement age and reduce state pension payments.

Twice this year the government and the UGTT reached deals increasing public wage salaries, adding pressure to the state finances.

A new investment code law, aimed at increasing incentives for foreign investors and reducing bureaucracy, has been parked in parliament for three years after two revisions.

Social pressure over jobs already exploded into mass protests in southern and central regions at the start of the year, a reminder of the conditions that helped to inspire the Tunisian revolution and later Arab Spring uprisings.

"The Chahed government wants to chip away at freedoms to push through painful measures in his economic plan," said Hamma Hammai, leader of the Popular Front opposition party. "But the government will fail because it is not proposing anything new, just the same as Essid." (Writing by Patrick Markey; editing by David Stamp)
Istanbul (AFP) - Two Turkish military attaches posted in Greece fled to Italy at the weekend following last month's failed coup, Turkey's top diplomat said Thursday, saying Ankara was working to track them down.

The two missing envoys are among several Turkish officials posted abroad who Ankara is seeking to locate over their alleged links to the July 15 coup.

Speaking to NTV television, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said colonels Halis Tunc and Ilhan Yasitli left on August 6, taking the car ferry across the Adriatic Sea to Italy.

"We are working to bring both these traitors back to Turkey," he said, without detailing the allegations against the men.

"The Greek authorities recorded this. Tunc's brother lives in Holland. We are working with both the Netherlands and Italy," he said.

Earlier this week, media reports said the pair had gone missing. Yasitli is reported to be the overall military attache and Tunc the naval attache. Their accreditation to Athens has now been cancelled.

A Greek government source told AFP that Athens was aware of the case but had not been tipped off about the attaches before they fled.

"The two attaches left the country before the Turkish authorities went looking for them," said the source. "And before we were informed that their diplomatic passports had been revoked."

Turkey has embarked on a wholesale purge of the military in the wake of the coup which was blamed by Ankara on followers of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

- 'People escaped' -

The two Athens-based attaches are among several Turkish officials based abroad now wanted by Ankara in the wake of the coup.

"There are people who escaped and some of our diplomats are among them," said Cavusoglu.

"For example two officials based in Bangladesh have escaped to New York," he said, adding that an ultimatum for them to return had expired.

In a separate case that has strained improving ties between Ankara and Athens, eight Turkish military officers fled by helicopter to Greece after the failed coup of July 15. To block their deportation back to Turkey, they have applied for asylum.

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They have been handed suspended two-month prison terms for illegal entry and will remain in police custody until their asylum hearing on August 19.

Two Turkish generals serving in the NATO force in Afghanistan were also detained in Dubai last month on suspicion of links to the failed coup.

Cavusoglu revealed they had been detained by the UAE authorities and extradited to Turkey aboard a special flight.

He also confirmed Saudi authorities detained the Turkish military attache to Kuwait, thanking Riyadh for its help in delivering him back to Turkey.
Turkey may look outside NATO for defense cooperation, the countrys Foreign Affairs Minister said in an interview.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said NATO countries will remain Turkeys primary defense allies as before, Reuters reports. The suggestion that Turkey may look to expand its defense arrangements comes after the failed coup strained President Recep Tayyip Erdogans relations with the West, and takes place the same week that Turkey and Russias leaders began a reconciliation process.

During the interview with NTV, Cavusoglu expressed disappointment that NATO allies have not shared more defense technology with Turkey. NATO released a statement Wednesday statement reaffirming its support of Turkey, as well as Turkeys place in the alliance.

NATO counts on the continued contributions of Turkey and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO, the statement said. Turkey has the second-largest armed forces in the allied defense group.

[Reuters]
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Turkish government believes that the current Syrian leadership could potentially take part in talks aimed at resolving the Syria crisis, the RIA news agency quoted Umit Yardim, Turkey's ambassador to Russia, as saying on Thursday. "We want the existing political leadership of the country to take part in the negotiation process," it cited Yardim as telling a news conference in Moscow. Yardim also said Ankara was not opposed to the current Syrian leadership playing some kind of a role in a possible political transition, the TASS news agency reported. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a TV interview that a political transition in Syria with President Bashar al-Assad was not possible however. President Vladimir Putin received his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in St Petersburg on Tuesday where both men discussed Syria, a conflict where they have long backed opposing sides. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament approved on Wednesday evening a law requiring workers younger than 45 years old to be automatically registered with a private pension plan, a move aimed at boosting domestic savings. "The Turkish Parliament has just approved a major reform. Auto-enrolment in private pension schemes is likely to boost domestic savings," Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek wrote on his Twitter account. The contribution for employees would amount to around 3 percent of their annual income, according to the law. Turkey's domestic savings rate was at 15.63 percent of the gross domestic product in 2015, according to the legislation. The law will go into effect from the start of 2017. (Reporting by Gulsen Solaker; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by David Dolan)
By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police detained 17 suspected militants in a sweep in Istanbul on Thursday that included a raid on offices of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), state media said, hours after twin bomb attacks hit the mainly Kurdish southeast. Security sources blamed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants for the bombings on Wednesday evening, which killed nine civilians and came as Turkey is in the midst of a crackdown after a failed military coup attempt on July 15. Backed by a helicopter, counter-terror squads raided HDP offices in Istanbul's central Beyoglu district at 3 a.m. (0000 GMT) as armoured vehicles were deployed nearby, the Dogan news agency reported. The HDP, parliament's third-largest party, wrote on its Istanbul Twitter account that police had broken open the door of its building and "illegally" searched the offices when no party official was present. The raids, in 10 districts across Turkey's largest city, targeted the "urban structure" of the PKK, Anadolu said. It said the detainees were accused of "terror group membership", recruitment and staging illegal protests. A 2-1/2 year ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK fell apart last year, triggering some of the worst violence in the southeast since the group launched its insurgency in 1984. Bomb blasts in two cities in southeast Turkey killed nine civilians and wounded dozens on Wednesday evening, according to the security sources. A top PKK commander had warned at the weekend of fresh attacks, saying police "will not be able to live as comfortably as they did in the past in cities." "The war will from now on be conducted everywhere without distinguishing between mountains, valleys and cities," the PKK's Cemil Bayik said in an interview published by the Firat news agency, which is close to the group. Wednesday's bomb attacks, in the southeast's largest city Diyarbakir and in the Kiziltepe area of Mardin province, were condemned by the HDP in a statement on Wednesday evening. "We repeat our call for the bloodshed and violence to be halted immediately and for steps to be taken to solve our problems by talking and negotiations," it said. HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas subsequently said Bayik's statement was wrong and called for the PKK to boost its efforts for peace. President Tayyip Erdogan accuses the HDP of being a political extension of the PKK and has spearheaded a parliamentary move to lift the immunity from prosecution of HDP deputies. The HDP denies direct links with the autonomy-seeking PKK and promotes a negotiated end to the insurgency that has killed 40,000 people, mostly Kurds. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Patrick Markey and Raissa Kasolowsky)
PHOENIX  A former Lincoln man suspected of killing a woman and wounding two others in a triple shooting in north Phoenix on Wednesday was arrested Thursday.

Phoenix Police said Adam P. Blomdahl, 35, was arrested in Winslow, Arizona, after fleeing the scene of the early-Wednesday shooting.

The names of the woman and two men who were shot haven't been released yet.

Police say the 42-year-old woman got into an altercation with Blomdahl, who was her neighbor. They said he assaulted her and her boyfriend, 62, went to her aid.

Investigators believe Blomdahl then shot the woman, her boyfriend and a 65-year-old neighbor.

As the victims ran from the home, police said, Blomdahl got into his car and ran into the woman four times before leaving the scene.

Winslow is about 170 miles northeast of Phoenix.

Blomdahl lived in Lincoln as recently as 2014, according to court records.
Time Warners Turner Broadcasting, in the latest move to seed its digital media future, has led a $45 million investment in Refinery29, a fast-growing media company focused on millennial female audiences.

The pact brings another TV partner into Refinery29s fold, with previous investor Scripps Networks Interactive also contributing to the latest round. To date, the New York-based company has raised $125 million; other investors include WPP, Hearst, Stripes Group, Floodgate, Lead Edge Capital, First Round Capital and Lerer Ventures.

With Turners investment, the companies plan to collaborate on developing content tied to programming across Turners cable networks and targeted to Refinery29s young-female demo and also will team on cross-platform ad sales. Christina Miller, president and G.M. of Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang, will join Refinery29s board.

For Turner, the deal year represents another bet on broadening its online-video lens. The cable programmer led a $15 million investment in Mashable this spring, and acquired a majority stake in streaming-video provider iStreamPlanet last year for $148 million. In June, Turner relaunched online comedy brand Super Deluxe, focused on producing offbeat and subversive material across multiple platforms, including long-form TV series.

In order to achieve success in todays quickly evolving digital environment, we believe in partnering with brands that have distinct voices and loyal, engaged audiences, Turner president David Levy said in announcing the funding. Refinery29 certainly fits the bill, bringing with it a highly coveted following of millennial-minded women, strong capabilities in digital products, event marketing and content creation, as well as an attractive advertiser base.

Refinery29, founded in 2005, has about 27 million unique visitors per month to its website and claims to reach over 225 million users across all platforms.

We are thrilled to bring Turner on board as a key strategic partner, co-founders and co-CEOs Philippe von Borries and Justin Stefano said in a joint statement. Turners portfolio consists of many of the worlds strongest media properties and is a true leader in global content creation.

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In the past year, Refinery29 has expanded internationally via launch of websites in the U.K. and Germany. Its also boosted its video lineup with new formats and genres, including the launch of new thematic channels such as Brawlers (sports), Short Cuts (beauty) and RIOT (comedy), as well as the launch of the companys first podcast and app.

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For many shoppers, there's comfort in choosing a familiar brand. But before you go out and buy a new TV set, there's something you should know: Even if it carries a brand name you recognize, the TV might have little connection to the company that built that brand.

For example, RCA, one of the most iconic TV brands in American history, now appears on sets produced by a Korean firm named On Corporation. Sharp TVs? They're manufactured by the Chinese TV brand Hisense, which also bought Sharp's TV manufacturing plant in Mexico.*



"For many years, TV making was limited to the few large consumer electronics companies that could afford the investment," says Paul Gagnon, who monitors TV manufacturing for San Diego-based IHS Markit Research.

But that barrier to entry has been lowered significantly, which in turn decreased the margins, creating a landscape far too competitive for the industry's titans. "For some brands," says Gagnon, "the TV business was not profitable anymore."

Companies such as Sharp, JVC, and Toshiba exited the U.S. market, licensing their brands to lesser-known firms. And companies in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan eagerly adopted those brands, hoping their products would enjoy greater recognition and credibility in the U.S.

What Does This Mean for Consumers?

Just because a TV carries a licensed brand, it doesn't mean it's poorly designed. But it's hard to predict how it will perform.

"Some companies choose to license their brands to manufacturers, mostly from China, who will then build the products based on their own technology," Gagnon explains. "This isnt always the case, though. In some instances, the licensing brands still have a lot of input into the design of the product and performance requirements as a part of the agreement."

In fact, some Hisense-made Sharp sets did well in our testingthough none yet rivals the top models in our ratings. And some Westinghouse-branded sets scored poorly. To protect yourself, you should probably purchase the new TV with a credit card that doubles the manufacturer's warranty. A retailer such as Costco will grant you the same cushion. This will safeguard you if the TV stops working or needs repair.

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Keep in mind that it might be more difficult to get the set serviced, especially if it requires parts from overseas.

You can also ask retailers for a 30-day guarantee that allows you to return the TV if you're unhappy with the picture quality. As you might imagine, it's not always easy to find reviews and information on licensed-brand models.

At the end of the day, your best option is to consult our ratings, which feature TVs that have been put through the paces by our testers.



So which company made the TV in your living room? Or, more to the point, which company made the set you're thinking about buying? We recently did some digging to learn more about the corporations that use the common TV brands of today. Here's what we discovered.

Before you choose a new set, you might want to check out this list.



Brand Details Element Element first came to our attention during Walmart promotional events. The manufacturer earned some press a few years back for touting that its TVs were assembled here in the U.S., first in Detroit, now in South Carolina, though much of the part production was done in China. But since then the American company has been quietly acquired by Chinese manufacturer TongFang, which also owns the Seiki and Westinghouse TV brands. JVC Since late in 2011, the JVC TV brand has been licensed to the Taiwan manufacturer AmTRAN. The company's U.S. arm, AmTRAN Video, is also known for producing TVs sold under the Vizio brand. Magnavox Once a U.S. market leader, the Philips-owned Magnavox brand is now licensed by Funai Electric. The Japanese manufacturer also controls the U.S. licenses for the Emerson, Philips (see below), Sylvania, Sanyo, and Symphonic brand names. Funai recently created a stir by announcing it would stop producing VCRs. It goes down in history as the last company to make them. Philips This one's licensed to Funai via a subsidiary called P&F USA. The deal, which also includes the Magnavox name, runs through the end of 2018. Polaroid The once-venerable Polaroid name has become something of a cautionary licensing tale, at least as it pertains to TVs. In 2001, the genuine Polaroid declared bankruptcy but reorganized and licensed its brand to the Petters Group Worldwide, which bought the name outright in 2005. But Petters Group filed for bankruptcy protection three years later after an FBI investigation concluded the company was being run as a multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. In 2009, a group of investors snapped up the Polaroid brand and launched a company called PLR IP Holdings, which now administers the licenses. The current U.S. licensee is Empire Electronics. ProScan Once the premium sub-brand of RCA TVs, the ProScan name is owned by Technicolor, which controls RCA as well. The brand is currently licensed in North America by Curtis International, an Ontario, Canada, manufacturer and distributor of value-based consumer electronics products. Quasar Ask your grandfather about the Quasar name and he'll probably remember it fondly. This TV brand launched by Motorola was acquired by Matsushita (the parent company of Panasonic) in the '70s, but the little-used trademark expired in 2007. About three years ago, though, Panasonic re-registered it. And now, Quasar TVs can be found in a few retail outlets, including B&H Photo and BrandsMart. RCA One of the most significant consumer electronics brands in American history (the original company helped develop the NTSC standards for color televisions) is today owned by Technicolor. Over the past decade, the trademark, which stood for Radio Corporation of America, has gone through several TV licensees, including TCL a few years ago. But the U.S. brand is currently licensed to On Corporation, a Korean TV manufacturer. Sanyo Two years ago, Panasonic agreed to license the Sanyo TV brand to Funai Electric. Today, Sanyo TVs seem to turn up mostly in Walmart stores, almost as a private label for the retailer. Seiki Seiki, which gained some prominence in the U.S. by offering early 4K TV sets at very low prices, is another TV brand controlled by TongFang. (See Element and Westinghouse.) Sharp No company did more to develop and commercialize LCD TV technology than Japan's Sharp Corporation. Despite owning one of the most advanced LCD plants in the world, the company yielded to market pressures here in the U.S. and decided last year to license its brand to Chinese TV manufacturer Hisense. Toshiba Joining the growing list of Japanese TV manufacturers that have found the U.S. market too competitive, Toshiba pulled the plug on its U.S. TV business last year, licensing its brand to Taiwanese manufacturer Compal. Westinghouse The Westinghouse TV brand, still controlled by a CBS subsidiary called Westinghouse Electric Corporation, is now part of TongFang Global's growing portfolio of TV brand names. The Chinese electronics manufacturer sells those Westinghouse-brand TVs through a subsidiary called Westinghouse Electronics. It acquired the rights to do that following the dissolution of prior licensee Westinghouse Digital.

*Clarification: An earlier version of this article did not include the location of the headquarters of the companies mentioned.





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Mel Brooks famously said, tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.

He could have been describing a storyline out of one of todays TV comedies or dramedies. In recent years, weve seen scripted programs find creative, often humorous, ways of attacking weighty topics ranging from PTSD and bipolar disorder to gentrification, prison violence, and abortion.

UnReal co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro says: Cynicism by itself is boring, so [co-creator Marti Noxon and I] were like, If were going to write this really dark show then it also has to be funny. And I think some other shows are also hitting the mark where, if its going to be dramatic, it also has to have some lightness and humanity to it.

UnReal follows the goings-on behind the scenes of a Bachelor-like reality series, but the Lifetime show often finds itself addressing social and political issues. An eerily timed season two episode discussed police brutality toward African-American men days after the shooting deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.

Similarly, the penultimate episode of Netflixs Orange Is the New Blacks most recent season delved into institutional problems in our penal system when a guard accidentally killed a beloved character.

Even more such traditional comedies as ABCs Black-ish have explored the topic of police brutality, while the second episode of NBCs The Carmichael Show was about the Black Lives Matter movement. Many of the Orange characters and all of the leads on both of these broadcast series are people of color.

I honestly dont think about it as far as race at all, says Carmichael Show star and co-creator Jerrod Carmichael. If we were an all-white cast, our Black Lives Matter episode would have probably been more interesting  note to Chuck Lorre.

Obviously, it affects black people in a true, emotional way, but thats not the reason why we do it. The reason why I wanted to write it is because its very interesting; its very American. Thats what America is going through right now and people can connect.

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Carmichael thinks humor is best when its serious; why not delve into these real things? Why not talk about the things that we honestly talk about? He adds that, when used correctly, multi-camera formats like his program can be most intelligent, the most connective, the most in-your-face.

Weve seen so many bad versions of multi-cams. Probably most are bad because they dont have fear and intensity. You can see it in the writing. I dont think audiences are dumb and I wont treat them that way.

Not to be overlooked is that Carmichael and Black-ish have the opportunity to reach such a wide audience.

I used to rebel against that idea because Im a comedy writer and I just want to fucking be funny, says Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. But I do think that I have been really blessed and fortunate to have this show and I have heard the comments that have come from people on the outside. With that being said, I have opened up and I do feel there is some responsibility to try to be accurate and thoughtful with the conversations were having.

Barris says there are some conversations, such as gang violence, that would feel contrived if they took place within the world of the shows upper-middle-class household.

Were not Law & Order. Were not trying to be incendiary, he says. Were trying to talk about what this family would organically be talking about.

Instead, this seasons opener explored the evolution of the N-word while another episode tackled the ongoing debate about working moms and having it all.

Meanwhile, abortion  arguably the most polarizing and heated topic of them all  has been the catalyst for plots on such comedies as Showtimes Shameless and Netflixs BoJack Horseman, while UnReal has discussed domestic abuse. All three of those shows, as well as comedies like FXXs Youre the Worst and Netflixs Orange and Lady Dynamite have dealt with depression and mental illness, often from the points of view of female characters.

I think for women to keep their sense of humor during tough times is sort of what it takes to be alive, says UnReals Shaprio. And I think that sort of aching humanity in all of these projects might come from the half of the population who has to put up with a lot of shit.

Maria Bamford stars in Lady Dynamite, a series based on her own experiences with her diagnosis of depression and bipolar II disorder because, she says, mental illness is hilarious in, of course, retrospect. She argues that there is specific humor that comes from dealing with her condition while working in Hollywood.

If it is something you cant see, people assume its something you can fix yourself or its a character flaw if you cant get out of bed or want to kill yourself, she says. The responses to people with illness, especially in Los Angeles society, are hilarious and so offensive: It just sounds like youre in an interesting place right now and be curious about it.

Bamford does regret that, because of its nature, its hard for her fairly autobiographical series to discuss how this diagnosis impacts those who are less fortunate than she is, and dont have her type of career, support system, or income.

Shapiro wonders if the shared instinct among so many showrunners to tackle serious topics with humor may be a response to the world being chaotic right now because it lends itself to shows that deal with that complexity.

In peak TV, the audience demands complex storytelling  they dont want to be totally, morbidly depressed, she says. The news is really hard to watch right now, so shows that talk about whats happening in the world right now but also have humanity and light in them are a welcome relief.

She says its a crazy, crazy high-wire feat to bring the funny and the serious because in one episode, well go from comedy to sex scenes to a dark and political issue.

The start [of an episode], for Marti and I, is humanity and if we interject humanity into all elements of the show, we can achieve this with the characters, she says. From the beginning, we felt that it was really an important opportunity to open up the idea that women who go on shows like The Bachelor are humans. We felt that we needed to show bully TV and the culture created by those shows really can have a damaging effect.

Still, no one wants to suggest that every show can benefit from its writers haphazardly picking a crisis of the week.

If you dont have real thoughts or views on it, you shouldnt do it, Carmichael says. But if I have a real thought or perspective on it, I have to write it. Great art makes you feel and I like that. I like when people are a little uncomfortable. Dare I even say it, I like when people have to stay woke.

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Port Louis (Mauritius) (AFP) - Twelve Somalis who attacked a container ship in the Indian Ocean were sentenced to five years in jail in Mauritius Thursday, a reminder of the region's battle against piracy.

The men were accused of firing on the MSC Jasmine, a Panamanian-flagged container ship, in January 2013 before being captured by naval anti-piracy forces and transferred to Mauritius for trial.

They were found guilty of sea piracy on July 14, and sentencing them Thursday a judge said the three years they have already served will be taken off their jail time.

Foreign navies that capture suspected pirates have handed over hundreds to regional nations including Mauritius, as well as Kenya, Seychelles and Tanzania, though the criminal industry in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden has largely died out.

The men, aged between 22 and 47, had been acquitted in November 2014 but prosecutors appealed, and in December last year a new trial was ordered.

Somali piracy reached its peak in 2011 when Somali pirate gangs attacked 237 vessels, seizing 11 vessels and 216 hostages, earning on average more than $2 million (1.8 million euros) for every ship ransomed.

Anti-piracy patrols by international warships and armed guards aboard commercial vessels which now sail faster and further away from the Somali coast have largely suppressed incidents of piracy.

Although Mauritius was not directly affected, the Indian Ocean island nation feared for its maritime trade as well as the many luxury cruises that feed its economy.
Bangkok (AFP) - Twin blasts in Thailand killed one woman and injured 19 people, including foreigners, in the popular seaside resort town of Hua Hin, police said.

The explosions took place 30 minutes apart in the bar district of the beach town, the latest incident to threaten the country's reputation as a holidaymaker's paradise.

Small blasts are common in Thailand during times of heightened political tension, but there have been few such incidents in the past year and it is rare for tourists -- a key source of income for the kingdom -- to be targeted.

Officials said they were looking into motivations behind the latest blasts, which hit around after 10:00 pm (1500 GMT) and killed one Thai woman selling papaya salad.

"The type of bomb is still under investigation," Hua Hin's police chief, Sitthichai Srisopacharoenrat, told AFP after the blasts.

"One Thai woman was killed and altogether from the two bombs 19 people were injured," said another local officer.

"Three are in serious condition and seven of the injured are foreigners -- four women and three men," he told AFP, adding that the two blast sites were 50 metres (164 feet) apart.

Photos showed emergency workers evacuating victims from the area on stretchers and foreign tourists with minor cuts and injuries gathered at a local hospital.

Hua Hin is an upscale resort town about 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Bangkok, popular with both local and foreign tourists.

It is also home to a palace for years frequented by Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch.

The 88-year-old is currently hospitalised in Bangkok for a myriad of health complications.

The explosions hit Hua Hin ahead of a long holiday weekend in the kingdom, with many people travelling as Thais prepare to celebrate Queen Sirikit's 84th birthday on Friday.

- Record tourism -

Thailand's reputation as the "Land of Smiles" has suffered in recent years amid frequent road accidents, crimes against foreigners and political unrest, but tourists continue to flock to the its sandy beaches and famed temples.

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The kingdom is expecting a record 32 million visitors in 2016, with the tourism industry a bright spot accounting for at least a 10th of the otherwise lacklustre economy.

Thursday night's blasts come several days before the one-year anniversary of the last major attack on tourists in Thailand -- a bomb in the capital that killed 20 people on August 17, mostly foreigners.

The explosive ripped through a Hindu shrine set in the heart of Bangkok that is thronged nightly by crowds of tourists and local worshippers.

Thai authorities have accused two Uighur men from western China of the bombing, which was the deadliest assault of its kind in recent years.

The two men have both denied involvement in the attack and their trial is set to begin later this month.

Thailand's military junta, which seized power in 2014 after a decade of at times deadly political unrest, has touted increased stability in the kingdom as a major accomplishment of its rule.

But the generals have been unable to quell a festering Islamic insurgency in the three most southern provinces -- nearly 1,000 kilometres away from Hua Hin.

The conflict is largely contained to the far south region but has occasionally spilled into other areas.

Business conflicts have also been known to trigger small incidents of violence in Thailand.

Earlier Thursday local media reported that several people were injured by a small explosion at a market in Trang province.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is extremely concerned about tension on the boundary between Russia and Ukraine and calls on both sides to reduce tension and rhetoric, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said on Thursday. "We believe that any actions, including rhetoric, including remarks, have the ability to escalate what is already a very tense situation and a very dangerous situation," Trudeau said. Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of using terrorist tactics to try to destabilize Crimea, a region Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. (Reporting by Ruthy Munoz; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
(Adds criminal charges, comments and details throughout, byline)

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced criminal fraud charges against a San Francisco hedge fund manager who allegedly schemed to raise money by falsely boasting of his formidable performance record and overstating the amount of assets he managed.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said Nicholas Mitsakos enticed investors by telling them he oversaw more than $60 million of assets and posted annual returns of 20.9 percent to 66.3 percent between 2012 and 2015 at his firm, Matrix Capital Markets LLC.

But, according to Bharara, the returns were based on a hypothetical portfolio rather than actual investments, and Mitsakos invested no customer assets before receiving a $1.99 million investment from a Cayman Islands fund in September 2015.

Rather than invest that money, however, Mitsakos diverted $800,000 to cover personal expenses, including Mercedes car payments, credit cards, rent and legal bills, and lost more than two-thirds of the money he did invest, authorities said.

"Mitsakos and his firm tried to lure prospective investors with a mirage of assets under management and phony performance results, and when they finally won some actual business from a client, they proceeded to steal a large portion," Andrew Calamari, director of the SEC's New York regional office, said in a statement.

Mitsakos was criminally charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed related civil charges against him and Matrix. Mitsakos is 56, the SEC said.

Bharara said Mitsakos surrendered to law enforcement on Thursday in Los Angeles.

It was unclear whether Mitsakos had hired a lawyer. Matrix could not immediately be reached for comment. A message left at a San Francisco phone number listed for Mitsakos was not immediately returned.

The cases are U.S. v Mitsakos, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-mag-04997; and SEC v. Matrix Capital Markets LLC et al in the same court, No. 16-06395.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
By Julie Steenhuysen and Toni Clarke CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has shifted $81 million in funds from other projects to continue work on developing vaccines to fight Zika in the absence of any funding from U.S. lawmakers. In a letter addressed to Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat and minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said she was allocating $34 million in funding to the National Institutes of Health and $47 million to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to work on Zika vaccines. Burwell said the funding was intended to keep Zika vaccine research going despite the lack of funding from U.S. lawmakers, who left for summer recess before allocating any funding to Zika research and preparedness. The mosquito-borne Zika virus has spread to more than 50 countries and territories since the outbreak began last year in Brazil. On Thursday, Governor Rick Scott said state health officials have identified three additional people in the affected area with locally transmitted Zika, bringing the total to 25. The Obama administration in February requested $1.9 billion to fight Zika, but congressional lawmakers have been considering a much smaller sum. A bill providing $1.1 billion was blocked by Democrats after Republicans attached language to stop abortion-provider Planned Parenthood from using that government funding for healthcare services, mainly in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico. The Republican legislation also would siphon off unused money under President Barack Obama's signature 2010 healthcare law to combat Zika. In addition, Democrats balked at a Republican provision that they said would gut clean water protections. The new bolus of funds from HHS comes on top of the $589 million in repurposed funds previously allocated for Ebola efforts. HHS has said these funds will run out at the end of August. At a press briefing in Washington, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he needs $33 million to prepare to move the first potential Zika vaccine to the second phase of human clinical trials. The first phase of that testing is expected to end in late November or December. Fauci said the health secretary has the authority to transfer 1 percent of NIHs $33 billion budget per year from one Institute to the other. He said the director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, will decide which existing programs the funds will be drawn from. He will probably do it on a prorated basis across the Institutes, he said. Fauci said the budget transfer will not fill the longer-term NIH funding needs to fight the virus and to develop a second or third potential vaccine candidate. Drugs frequently fail to realize the promise they show in early trials. "We still need about $196 million more, he said. Fauci said the health secretarys action was essentially one of desperation given the failure of Congress to authorize additional funding. Taking money from other research programs is extremely damaging to the biomedical research enterprise, he said. Were taking money away from cancer, diabetes, all those things. Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said at the briefing that local health authorities are similarly siphoning off money from other programs. "We're robbing Peter to pay Paul," he said. In her letter, Burwell said the $47 million in funding for BARDA will allow the agency to enter into contracts with key partners to develop vaccines. But, she said BARDA will need an estimated $342 million in additional funding to continue its work with outside partners in the development of vaccines, diagnostics and pathogen inactivation technology used to protect the U.S. blood supply. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Toni Clarke in Washington; editing by Grant McCool and Bernard Orr)
A 58-year-old Ohio man will serve time in a Nebraska prison for getting caught last year with 88 pounds of marijuana and THC vaporizer pens.

Slavko Pavlovic of Parma pleaded no contest to possession of more than a pound of marijuana for what started with a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near the U.S. 77 exit on Sept. 13, 2015.

Pavlovic told the Lancaster County Sheriff's deputy he had a medical marijuana card from California and an ounce of marijuana from a California dispensary, according to reports.

But a search of the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee he was driving led deputies to 87.98 pounds of marijuana in three duffel bags in the back seat, 28 grams of packaged marijuana in the passenger side of the SUV and the vaporizer pens.

Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret sentenced him Wednesday to a year in prison.

Pavlovic will have to serve six months before his release, plus nine months of post-release supervision.
By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said the recent cyber attack on Democratic politicians was "broad" and that Russians were clearly behind the breach, adding that the damage was still being investigated. "It is the Russians," Pelosi told reporters at a news conference, referring to the recent breach affecting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Pelosi called the attack, made public last month, an "electronic Watergate" akin to the 1972 burglary at Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office that upended the Nixon presidency. "This is a break-in." Pelosi's comments come on the heels of a New York Times report on Thursday that the cyber attack targeting Democrats was wider than first thought, with more than 100 party officials and groups were affected. The Democratic National Committee and U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign was also affected. Asked if she was personally targeted, Pelosi said she did not know. "We are assessing the damage," Pelosi told reporters, adding that she could not speak to the impact on any Democratic governors. The Obama administration has not publicly named Russia as behind the attack, but investigators have concluded the attackers were directed by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service, and the FSB, the civilian espionage agency. Clinton has also pointed to Moscow. Russia has denied involvement in the breach. A U.S. official familiar with the investigation said no evidence has been found so far that indicates the hackers got into Clinton's personal server or any classified systems, but their footprints suggest they "paid special attention to accounts they thought might lead them to information of national security interest." The official said the hackers apparently proceeded beyond the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton campaign, and the Democrats' House of Representatives campaign committee to individual email accounts and probably other Democratic groups and individuals who emailed people using the accounts they first hacked. "The pattern fits what has come to be standard hacking practice," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation by government as well as private agencies. "You go as far as you can, hoping you find something useful." (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Additional reporting by John Walcott; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by W Simon and Lisa Von Ahn)
By Patricia Zengerle and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Central Command painted too rosy a picture of the fight against Islamic State in 2014 and 2015 compared with events on the ground and grimmer assessments by other analysts, according to a U.S. congressional report issued on Thursday. The report came from a task force established by the Republican chairmen of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Intelligence Committee and Defense Appropriations subcommittee. House Democrats, who have accused Republicans of launching repeated partisan investigations purely for political reasons, did not participate. They released findings from their own investigation on Thursday, including that Central Command's analysis system had flaws including insufficient accommodation of dissenting views. The Republican report found "widespread dissatisfaction" among analysts at Tampa-based U.S. Central Command who felt their superiors were distorting their research. Central Command is responsible for combat operations in the Middle East and South Asia. "What happened at CENTCOM is unacceptable  our warfighters suffer when bad analysis is presented to senior policymakers. We must continue our efforts until we fix it," Republican Representative Ken Calvert, a member of the task force, said in a statement. But neither the Republican nor Democratic investigation found evidence that President Barack Obama's administration tried to make the intelligence analysis conform to a political narrative. Islamic State was grabbing a swath of territory from Iraq into central Syria in 2014 and 2015, much of which it still holds. The partisan fight over Obama's plan for fighting the group has become a theme of the 2016 presidential campaign. Republican nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday ratcheted up rhetoric on the issue as he called Obama and Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton the "co-founders" of Islamic State. Patrick Evans, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Department of Defense had initiated a separate investigation into the issue, and would take no action or make any comment that could influence the inspector general's work. A spokeswoman said the inspector general's office is completing its investigation and drafting its report. But Evans said the intelligence community routinely provides a wide range of assessments. "Experts sometimes disagree on the interpretation of complex data, and the intelligence community and Department of Defense welcome healthy dialogue on these vital national security topics," Evans said. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Idrees Ali; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish)
By Angel Krasimirov SOFIA (Reuters) - U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein accused Bulgaria on Thursday of committing systematic human rights violations by criminalising migrants. Bulgaria's policy "raises serious concerns about the States compliance with international law", he said in a statement. He said it was "particularly disturbing to see important and influential public figures expressing support for illegal armed vigilante groups who have been brazenly hunting down migrants along parts of the border between Bulgaria and Turkey". "One of the most serious problems is that virtually all people entering Bulgaria in an irregular manner are detained as a matter of course," Zeid said. "Even worse, they may also be prosecuted and jailed - for a year or even more - if they try to leave the country. The act of leaving the country is criminalised in spite of the right of everyone, under international law, to leave a country, including their own." A Bulgarian interior ministry spokeswoman told Reuters the statement "does not fully represent the objective situation concerning asylum seekers in the country". The state agency for refugees said Bulgarian law laid down rules on how asylum-seekers should be processed. "A foreigner seeking international protection can be accommodated temporarily and for the shortest possible time in a center that is of a closed type to establish or verify his identity or when necessary to protect national security or public order," it said. The agency said foreigners had not been detained by force at any of the four regional accommodation centers of an open type. It said it had no information about human rights violations. Zeid said that other concerns included "pushbacks" of migrants into neighboring countries and persistent allegations of physical abuse and theft by law enforcement officials at borders. Last month Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said the Black Sea state was bracing for a potential rush of migrants on its southern border following the attempted coup in Turkey. Bulgaria detained about 14,000 migrants in the first six months of this year, compared with 21,000 in the same period last year. Few migrants want to stay in the European Union's poorest state, preferring to journey onwards to wealthier EU countries like Germany and Sweden. (Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Andrew Roche)
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A build-up of Russian military on Ukraine's border with the Crimean region, which has been annexed by Moscow, could reflect "very bad intentions," Ukraine's U.N. envoy warned on Thursday after the U.N. Security Council discussed the growing tensions. Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, who requested the closed-door meeting of the 15-member council, said Russia had amassed more than 40,000 troops in Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014, and on the Ukrainian border. "These numbers may reflect some very bad intentions and this is the last thing we would like to happen," he told reporters. "My biggest hope is that this discussion (in the council) will help the Russian Federation to understand that they cannot really continue with this kind of behavior," Yelchenko said. Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to take counter-measures against Ukraine which he accused of sending saboteurs into Crimea to carry out terrorist acts. Yelchenko called on Russia to produce proof of those accusations. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin dismissed concerns about a Russian military build-up. He described the Security Council meeting as "useful" to explain the situation. "Instead of counting our military they should be bringing an end to the conflict in Donetsk and stop shelling civilians in Donetsk and Luhansk," Churkin told reporters after the meeting. Pro-Russian separatists are fighting the Kiev government's forces in the eastern Ukraine region despite a fragile ceasefire. Civilian casualties from shelling, mines and booby traps in eastern Ukraine are at their highest in a year, the United Nations' human rights chief has said. A peace plan for the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine, negotiated in Minsk between Ukraine and Russia by Germany and France some 18-month ago, has stalled for months. "There is chaos in Kiev, they don't know what to do about Donetsk," Churkin said. "We call upon all those who have influence on Kiev to make sure that they do what they are supposed to do (under the Minsk agreement)." The Security Council has discussed Ukraine dozens of times since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, but has been deadlocked on the topic as Moscow is one of the body's five veto powers. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Susan Heavey)
Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine's security service said on Thursday it had blocked channels being used by jihadists travelling to fight with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and detained an 'IS recruiter' from one of the former Soviet republics.

"The Ukranian security service, prosecutor's office, police and migration service have blocked several channels for the transit of foreign fighters to the IS international terrorist group through our state's territory," the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement.

The discovery was made in a wave of security sweeps across several major cities.

The SBU said an apartment in the government-held northeastern city of Kharkiv was being used as a temporary shelter by alleged IS members who intended to travel to both Syria and Iraq.

"This 'transit point' had four foreign nationals from Central Asian states," it said.

"Two of them had been earlier deported from Turkey in connection with their involvement in terrorist activity."

- 'IS recruiter' -

The SBU said they held several fake passports from various countries and two of them had been waiting to receive forged Ukrainian documents so they could enter Syria through Turkey.

The Ukrainian service said the four were being financed and assisted by foreign countries but did not reveal which ones.

"Two of the foreigners have already been expelled from the territory of our state," the SBU statement said.

"Investigations into the other two are continuing."

The SBU added that it had also detained an "IS recruiter from one of the former Soviet republics that was being sought by Interpol" pan-European police organisation.

It said that security agents had detained another "IS supporter" in the Kiev region who had undergone training in "Syrian terrorist camps".

The unnamed individual is facing a court hearing and has not yet been charged.

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Ukraine has been riven by a 27-month pro-Moscow insurgency in its industrial east that has claimed the lives of more than 9,500 people and left around 400 kilometres (250 miles) of its southeastern border with Russia under rebel control.

The SBU previously said it detained four alleged IS fighters headed for Europe from Central Asia and Russia in January and June.

Ukraine's security service has been under pressure to show its strength as the pro-Western government in Kiev tries to meet President Petro Poroshenko's pledge to apply for EU membership by 2020.

Some EU nations and leaders have called the bid far too optimistic because Ukraine not only lacks control of its separatist east and the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula but also remains riddled with other security threats.

One of these appears to the increasing use of Ukraine and its porous borders to ship IS fighters to stage attacks in Europe or join the group in Syria and Iraq.

The SBU said it had detained an "IS recruiter from one of the former Soviet republics that was being sought by Interpol" pan-European police organisation.

It added that security agents had detained another "IS supporter" in the Kiev region who had undergone training in "Syrian terrorist camps."

The unnamed individual is facing a court hearing and has not yet been charged.
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine has the military resources to defend itself and is monitoring the situation around Crimea, the spokesman for the General Staff, Vladislav Seleznyov, told Reuters on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev on Wednesday of using terrorist tactics to try to provoke a new conflict and destabilize Crimea, a region Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Earlier on Wednesday Russia said it had thwarted armed Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into the peninsula. Putin's comments stirred fears that Russia, which has been steadily reinforcing Crimea militarily, may be considering new military action in the region. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; editing by Matthias Williams and Gareth Jones)
Kiev (AFP) - Ukraine put its forces around Crimea on high alert Thursday, as tensions soared after Moscow accused Kiev of attempting to mount armed incursions into the disputed peninsula.

Russia's FSB security service said on Wednesday it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea this week by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back armed assaults, but Kiev fiercely denied the claims.

The allegations ratcheted up the heat in a feud sparked by Moscow's 2014 seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine and raised fears of a wider conflict.

In a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council, Kiev asked Moscow to provide evidence to back up its accusations of a terror plot, Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko told reporters.

"If it happened in reality, where are the proofs? Statements, pictures, photos, videos, whatever," Yelchenko said.

"They are only words."

Ukraine's pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko earlier met his top brass and ordered forces along the frontier with Crimea and across the conflict-wracked east onto "high-alert level".

Russian President Vladimir Putin also met security chiefs to discuss "additional measures for ensuring security for citizens and essential infrastructure in Crimea," the Kremlin said.

"Scenarios were carefully considered for anti-terrorist security measures at the land border, in the waters and in the airspace of Crimea," it said.

Meanwhile a NATO official told AFP that the US-led military alliance was monitoring the heightened Crimea tensions with concern.

The official, who asked not to be named, said that "Russia's recent military activity in Crimea is not helpful for easing tensions", and called on Moscow "to work for calm and de-escalation."

- 'Take a step back' -

The United States also called on both sides to show restraint, with State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau saying Washington was "extremely concerned".

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"We call for the avoidance of any actions that would escalate the situation," Trudeau said, urging a return to the negotiating table.

"Take a step back."

Russia's FSB security service said one of its officers was killed in clashes while arresting "terrorists" overnight August 6-7, while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with "sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian military on August 8.

Putin angrily accused Kiev of "practising terror" and warned that the deaths of the Russian officers would have consequences.

"We obviously will not let such things slide by," Putin said. "This is a very dangerous game."

Russia's foreign ministry reiterated Thursday that Kiev would not go unpunished.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the West to warn Kiev against "dangerous steps that could have the most negative consequences" in a phone call with his French counterpart, the ministry said.

Poroshenko on Wednesday called Moscow's claims "senseless and cynical."

"Fantasies are only another pretext for the next military threats toward Ukraine," he said.

Two residents living on the Russian-controlled side of the Crimea-Ukraine frontier told AFP there had been an unexplained build-up of Russian military hardware in the area over the past few weeks.

Russia is holding nationwide legislative elections next month -- including in Crimea -- and the FSB said the alleged raids could be aimed at destabilising the situation ahead of the vote.

- 'Crude provocation' -

A senior Ukrainian security official told AFP that Moscow's claims were a "crude Russian provocation" and that Kiev was "getting ready for anything," including an invasion.

Russia says it has detained several Ukrainian and Russian citizens over the incident, including an alleged Ukrainian military intelligence officer named Yevgen Panov. Kiev has called Panov a "hostage".

Russian television showed FSB footage of Panov being questioned, with several cuts and bruises visible on his face and arm.

He said he was recruited by Ukraine's military intelligence, with the planned targets a ferry, a helicopter regiment, an oil depot and a chemical factory.

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter dispute since the Kremlin seized Crimea in March 2014 after Ukraine's Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

The crisis sent ties between Moscow and the West plunging to their lowest point since the Cold War and led to tough economic sanctions by the European Union and the United States against Russia.

The latest war of words represents the most serious increase in tensions in months as a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine -- that Kiev and the West blame on Moscow -- drags on despite a stalled peace deal.

More than 9,500 people have been killed since the pro-Russian insurgency erupted in April 2014.

Putin said a mooted meeting with Poroshenko and mediators German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande at next month's G20 summit in China was now "senseless".

Independent Russian daily Vedomosti wrote in an op-ed that Moscow has tended to ramp up tensions ahead of negotiations over Ukraine.

"The main political question now is what is the future of the Minsk process," the paper wrote, referring to the peace deal hammered out in the Belarussian capital in February 2015.

"Will Russia bring an end to it or demand new concessions?"
KIEV (Reuters) - Russia has amassed more troops in recent days equipped with more modern equipment on Ukraine's border with the Crimean region, which has been annexed by Moscow, Oleh Slobodyan, the spokesman for the Ukrainian border guards, said on Thursday. "We can unequivocally say that Russian troops who were there since March are now being replaced with others," he told a briefing amid an increase in tensions between Moscow and Kiev. "These troops are coming with more modern equipment and there are air assault units. In recent days, we see a strengthening of the units that are at the border. Their number increased," Slobodyan said. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev on Wednesday of using terrorist tactics to try to provoke a new conflict and destabilize Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russia said it had thwarted armed Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into the peninsula. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Gareth Jones)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Ukraine on Thursday asked Russia to provide the UN Security Council with evidence to back up its accusations of a terror plot by Kiev in Crimea.

Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko told reporters that he had challenged his Russian counterpart to produce proof during a closed-door meeting of the council.

"If it happened in reality, where are the proofs? Statements, pictures, photos, videos, whatever," said Yelchenko.

"They are only words."

Tensions soared after Ukraine put its military on alert on Thursday following Moscow's allegations that Kiev had attempted armed incursions in the disputed territory.

Russia's security agency on Wednesday announced it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back an armed assault, claims Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko dismissed as "senseless and cynical."

Yelchenko said Kiev had asked UN and European observers as well as Red Cross officials to travel to Crimea and question two people detained in connection with the alleged plot.

The results of the interrogation would be presented to the Security Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said the ambassador.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that Ukraine had carried out a "clear act of sabotage and terrorism" in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Churkin said the alleged attacks showed that "there is chaos in Kiev."

"They are trying to distract attention onto other things," he said.

Both envoys expressed hope that tensions would not escalate further.

The council discussed the crisis in Crimea during consultations requested by Ukraine, which is a non-permanent member of the council.
CK One is an iconic unisex fragrance. (Photo: Calvin Klein)

Ever since the notable launch of CK One in 1994, the idea of fashionable unisex beauty and grooming products has steadily grown. Today, more than 20 years later, unisex is a lucrative marketing strategy for an increasing number of companies, giving birth to independent, luxury, and mass-market products alike.

Following the trajectory of inoffensive and neutral beauty products like CK One into the new millennium, new products are released every year purposefully devoid of any clear signifiers about which gender should be most tantalized by its scent, features, enhancements, or benefits  but with perhaps a bit more edge, flair, and flavor. As gender itself becomes more and more fluid for new generations of consumers, the beauty and grooming industry has more fully embraced this new direction after decades upon decades of encouraging men to buy one product in a blue box and women one in a pink box (at a notably higher price). But is unisex necessarily something for the new millennium?

Unisex is bulls***, says Kelly Kovack, the founder and CEO of Beauty Matter. Perhaps a surprisingly bold statement, but one that comes with 15 years of experience in everything from merchandising, to product and brand development, to creative strategy for independent and multibillion-dollar brands. With this much time in the trenches in an industry built on making people look and feel good, perhaps she ought to know.

Among Kovacks accomplishments, and one of her more notable projects in recent years, was the creation and launch of Odin New York, a fragrance brand in collaboration with the retail fashion brand Odin  for which she won numerous industry awards. And its a product line that intentionally dismisses the traditional signs of masculine and feminine marketing. Kovack explains her strategy:

Fragrance is not by its very nature male or female, she says. Its completely subjective. But as marketers, we have defined what is perceived to be female or perceived to be male, and then we market it by name, by the color, by the note that we call out. So, with Odin, she set out to try to something different. Its in a black bottle, it had a black box, and there are no market cues as to what you might be smelling  It was all very intentional because we wanted people to experience the fragrance and then decide whether they liked it or not, and not go into it with any preconceived idea.

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Odin New York is a fragrance brand with unisex scents. (Photo: Odin New York)

But isnt that unisex?

All of a sudden unisex has become this trend. It has always been there. There are certain products that by their very nature are unisex but they just happen to be marketed to men or women. A face wash is a face wash  or shaving cream. I mean, the product has a function. The skin has sort of a biology and physiology behind it, so there are [only] a few products that would be specific to women or specific to men. When you really get down to it, its all marketing, explains Kovack.

Those products that Kovack mentions fall into one particular area, according to cosmetics-chemist-turned-publisher Ron Robinson of BeautyStat.com, a 20-plus-year veteran in the industry. There is a physical difference in men and women. One key difference is facial skin care. Men tend to have thicker skin, less sensitive skin, than women do. So that allows for perhaps higher levels of active ingredients to exfoliate or stimulate collagen development. Even with these differences, says Robinson, nothing will have adverse effects on men versus women if they choose to use each others products.

And what explains the reinvigorated fascination and business growth around the concept of unisex beauty? I think why unisex has become such a hot point is because indie fragrances are kind of on fire right now, says Kovack. Fragrance is a big dollar business for the beauty industry  and even for the fashion industry, through licenses  and then all of a sudden you have these indie brands that have come out of nowhere and almost upset the apple cart.

Kovack continues, Youre seeing retailers like Sephora change their format to accommodate niche fragrances, for example. And youre seeing small brands have to be unisex because you need to sort of cast the widest net, referring to brands like Le Labo, the Odin New York line, Aesop, Malin + Goetz, and others.

In addition to changing tastes in consumer preferences, the reinvigorated appeal of choosing products that dont telegraph a gender orientation may come down to sheer simplicity. Honestly, I think its just how we live our lives these days. Were all really busy, and were all looking for ways to simplify our lives. So a lot of these products can be shared, says Kovack.

Kiehls mens skin care line. (Photo: Kiehls)

In fact, producing grooming products for more than a single gender has been around for some time, particularly in mass-market aisles. There are certain beauty brands that tend to be more unisex: Jergens, Vaseline, Neutrogena. These are family products, explains Robinson. And you can even look at more prestige product lines like Kiehls, which has been around for a very long time.

Despite new campaigns and product launches touting the newfound liberation of unisex makeup, fragrances, lotions, etc., unisex as a thing has been a thing for some time. And despite ingrained cultural preferences, who says a man cant smell like flowers and a woman cant smell like musk?

Perhaps it is fair, after all, to say unisex is a bunch of nonsense, but it may be more accurate to just say that unisex is us.

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump prospers where other candidates perish. His abrasive rhetoric, repudiated by some, is embraced by many more.

But after comments on Tuesday that could be interpreted as a call for violence against his rival Hillary Clinton or her judicial nominees, observers, including stalwarts within his own Republican Party, were wondering aloud whether the Republican's campaign is beyond repair.

"The Republican Party needs to start examining quickly their options for removing the Republican nominee," former GOP congressman Joe Scarborough, now a television host, wrote in a Washington Post opinion column.

Trump was the unsinkable candidate throughout the primaries, besting 16 other Republican rivals, infuriating and entrancing voters with rhetoric while fuelling a year-long media frenzy over The Donald.

He clashed harshly with a female Fox News anchor, inflaming debate about his treatment of women. He called Mexican immigrants "rapists," alienating the powerful Hispanic voting bloc. He called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, drawing widespread concern about bigotry.

And yet no controversy has proved serious enough to torpedo Trump's candidacy.

But the general election is widely seen as a different animal than the primaries, and recent polls show his campaign listing badly after a series of stumbles in which critics accused him of disrespecting military families.

He trails Clinton by nearly eight points nationally, according to a RealClearPolitics average.

- Rare precedent -

Seldom has a candidate bounced back from such poor poll numbers less than three months before an election in the modern era, but it has happened.

In May 1988, Democrat Michael Dukakis stormed into the lead against vice president George H.W. Bush and held it for more than three months, taking a 17-point advantage in August, according to Gallup.

But Bush regained the lead shortly after the Republican convention and coasted to victory.

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John McCain surged ahead of Barack Obama in 2008 to a five-point advantage after the Republican convention in September, only to fade to defeat.

Trump has no such convention luxury ahead of him. He already enjoyed his post-convention bump late last month, prior to the Democratic confab.

"Whoever is leading two weeks after the second convention has won every time," Christopher Wlezien, a government professor at University of Texas at Austin, told AFP.

"Preferences are substantially baked by that point."

Recent polls show Trump trailing in crucial battleground states Ohio and Pennsylvania, and virtually tied with Clinton in Florida.

Traditionally Republican strongholds Georgia and Arizona are now described as "in play," with one recent Georgia poll putting Clinton ahead by four points.

With pressure building on the provocative billionaire to stay on message, he has proven to be a bridge too far for many Republicans. Fifty senior national security experts wrote an open letter this week saying Trump "lacks the character, values, and experience" to be president.

In a scathing editorial, The New York Times appeared to agree. "The time has come for Republicans -- including Mr. McCain -- to repudiate Mr. Trump once and for all," it said.

- 'No power' to dump Trump -

Although a movement is afoot among some Republicans to dump Trump, scrapping a fairly elected presidential nominee from the ticket would be unprecedented in the modern era.

Longtime Republican National Committee member Morton Blackwell, president of the Leadership Institute which trains conservative activists, said the committee has "no power" to remove a nominee.

"They simply can not override the decision of the national convention," said Blackwell, who was a Ted Cruz supporter but now backs Trump.

Doing so would effectively require a political coup, an effort that would likely end up in court, sullying the party at a critical juncture.

Even if it worked, no Republican heavyweight has stepped forward to serve as savior.

Trump is likely looking towards the upcoming three debates, the first of which is scheduled for September 26, as a way to improve his standing.

"I will absolutely do three debates," Trump told Time magazine.

"But I have to see the conditions," he said, adding he reserved the right to challenge the choice of moderators.

History shows the debates have impacted close races, notably the 1960 contest between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. But a strong debate performance does not ensure victory.

Republican Mitt Romney dealt a blow against Obama in their first debate in 2012. One month later Obama comfortably won re-election.
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Thursday called on Ukraine and Russia to show restraint after Moscow accused Kiev of plotting attacks in disputed Crimea, and urged a resumption of talks.

Ukraine has put its forces on high alert after Russia's FSB security service said it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in the Black Sea peninsula this week by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back armed assaults -- claims Kiev fiercely denies.

"We are extremely concerned about the increased tension near the administrative boundary between Crimea and Ukraine," said a State Department spokeswoman, Elizabeth Trudeau.

"Our position, as I said yesterday, is well known: Crimea is part of Ukraine and is recognized as such by the international community," she said.

"We call for the avoidance of any actions that would escalate the situation," Trudeau added. "Take a step back."

"We continue to remain in close touch with international partners on this. But we believe now it's the time to reduce the tensions, to reduce the rhetoric and get back to talks."

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter dispute since the Kremlin seized Crimea in March 2014 after Ukraine's Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

The latest war of words represents the most serious increase in tensions in months as a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine -- that Kiev and the West blame on Moscow -- drags on despite a stalled peace deal.

More than 9,500 people have been killed since the pro-Russian insurgency erupted in April 2014.
San Francisco (AFP) - A US judge Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit accusing Twitter of abetting terrorism by allowing Islamic State propaganda to be broadcast using the messaging platform.

District Court Judge William Orrick granted a motion by Twitter to dismiss the case, reasoning that providing a platform for speech is within the law and that the company did not created the content.

The Communications Decency Act protects online platforms from being held responsible for what users post.

The suit was filed in San Francisco federal court by the families of two government contractors killed late last year while working at a police training center run by the United States in Amman, according to court documents.

A Jordanian police captain studying at the center shot the two men to death, and IS later claimed the captain was a "lone wolf" working for the group's cause, the judge recounted in his ruling.

"As horrific as these deaths were, under the CDA Twitter cannot be treated as a publisher or speaker of ISIS's hateful rhetoric and is not liable under the facts alleged," Orrick said in the decision.

The suit accused Twitter of providing "material support" to by letting accounts spread the message of the extremist group.

The judge left open the option of refiling an amended version of the suit.
Washington (AFP) - US military leaders painted an overly optimistic picture of American efforts to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, a damning government report released Thursday found.

The interim report stems from a congressional task force investigating whistleblower allegations that intel bosses cherry-picked information that soft-pedaled the risk of IS while overstating US efforts to train local forces to fight the jihadists.

"From the middle of 2014 to the middle of 2015, the United States Central Command's (CENTCOM's) most senior intelligence leaders manipulated the command's intelligence products to downplay the threat from ISIS in Iraq," Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo said in a statement, using an IS acronym.

"The result: consumers of those intelligence products were provided a consistently 'rosy' view of US operational success against ISIS," he added, noting this "may well" have put US troops at risk.

Task force investigators surveyed dozens of CENTCOM analysts, with many viewing the leadership environment at the time as toxic.

"Forty percent of analysts respond(ed) that they had experienced an attempt to distort or suppress intelligence in the past year," the report states.

Additionally, CENTCOM disseminated press releases and gave public statements that were "significantly more positive" than reality, investigators found.

Further, senior CENTCOM leaders "violated regulations, tradecraft standards, and professional ethics" by modifying intelligence to present overly positive assessments of initial US efforts to train Iraqi security forces to fight IS.

The Pentagon's inspector general is currently running an internal investigation into the matter so officials could not comment directly on Thursday's report.

"The intelligence community routinely provides a wide range of assessments based on multifaceted data related to the current security environment," Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Commander Patrick Evans said.

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"These assessments and the expert analysts who develop them are absolutely vital to our efforts, particularly given the incredibly complex nature of the multi-front fights that are ongoing now in Iraq and Syria.

"Experts sometimes disagree on the interpretation of complex data, and the intelligence community and Department of Defense welcome healthy dialogue on these vital national security topics."

Congressman Brad Wenstrup said it remained unclear why the intel had been skewed.

"We still do not fully understand the reasons and motivations behind this practice, and how often the excluded analyses were proven ultimately to be correct," he said.

CENTCOM officials must be held to account if they pressured analysts to distort or suppress information in the anti-IS fight, said Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"A successful strategy to defeat the scourge of radical Islamist terrorism must be based on facts -- not rosy assessments manipulated to support a political narrative," she said in a statement.

CENTCOM is responsible for military operations across the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Cindy Lange-Kubick Columnist Cindy Lange-Kubick has loved writing columns about life in her hometown since 1994. She had hoped to become a people person by now, nonetheless she would love to hear your tales of fascinating neighbors and interesting places. Follow Cindy Lange-Kubick 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

Jan Conrad looks at the man across the coffee shop table, the curious stranger from Canada who just reunited her with a piece of her childhood.

You tell it, she says.

The 67-year-old Lincoln woman is talking about the tale of the childrens book, dog-eared at one corner, on the table in front of her.

My Little Green Story Book belonged to her long ago, the proof inside the back cover in her mothers neat printing: Janice Elizabeth Conrad, 3440 Washington Street, Lincoln, Nebr. Age 5, Sept. 8, 1953.

Her birthday, says Jan, a retired secretary.

She doesnt remember who gave her the book. She doesnt remember reading it. Or what happened to it -- a Goodwill box, a long-ago garage sale, hard to say.

But somehow the simple storybook left Lincoln and made its way to an elementary school in Montreal, where a man named Eric Angen teaches.

Eric is the curious stranger across the table, a slender and friendly man in a button-down shirt.

It was 2013, he says. They were cleaning out the Vanguard School library, preparing for a move to a bigger building, when he picked up the slim green book.

He began turning the pages, intrigued by the old-fashioned world inside. Dad in his suit and tie, Mom in her apron and heels, Susan and Tommy and Betty, wholesome as apple pie.

Each page, an early reader masterpiece. Tom, Tom. Come, Tom. Come, Betty. Come, Susan. See Mother work. Tom and Betty can work. Susan can work.

And finally the inscription in the back in blue ballpoint. He did the math; 5-year-old Janice Elizabeth Conrad was born in 1948, like him.

I thought this book was really precious, he says three years later. And I wondered, How far is Lincoln from Montreal?

***

The Story of the Books Return was told Tuesday morning at Meadowlark Coffee on South Street.

Jan was there, of course, and her brother John (out of curiosity), Eric, the intrepid teacher, and two additional guests, the five of them looking like old friends at a table by the window.

Im the person who answered the phone at the county clerks office in Lincoln, Nebraska, three years ago, says Cari Forbes.

I met Eric in Ireland last summer, says Emily Post, a young woman from Switzerland then called Emily dAngelo. He told me about the book.

Eric fills in the rest.

His colleague told him to toss the book that day in 2013, but he took it home, determined to find the girl it belonged to half a century earlier.

The internet helped him find a Jan Conrad in Salem, Massachusetts, a dentist whose office he called.

I got the sense she thought I was harassing her, he says. Plus, shed never been to Nebraska.

He turned to Google again, and although it didnt turn up a Janice Conrad in Lincoln, he did find a phone number for the county clerk's office.

Cari Forbes answered the phone, happy to help. And before he knew it, he had marriage license information for a woman named Jan, whose maiden name was Conrad.

The clerk couldnt provide an address or phone number, but Eric sleuthed it out, and eventually Jan (since divorced and using her maiden name again) was on the phone, saying yes shed lived on Washington Street, and yes, that was probably her book.

And sure, shed love to have it back.

He was going to mail it to me, she says Tuesday.

I was hoping youd come to Montreal, he says.

Neither happened. Eric put the book in a file, along with the notes hed scribbled on a piece of paper -- and a year passed.

Then a movie starring Bruce Dern came out, and Eric bought a ticket.

He loved Nebraska; it made him think about the little green book and Jan Conrad and her hometown, envisioning it in black and white with a main street and not much else.

It made him think he should do something about that book.

And then the credits rolled and nothing happened.

And in the summer of 2015, Eric went to Ireland on vacation. He took a bus trip to the coast and began to chat with a fellow traveler.

Emily d'Angelo told the teacher she was from Switzerland but was working on an Irish farm for a month before moving to the United States to live with her boyfriend.

Eric wanted to know where.

Nebraska, she answered. Lincoln, Nebraska.

***

Eric landed in Lincoln Sunday.

Hes staying with Emily and her boyfriend-turned-husband, Eric Post.

On the bus in Ireland, it seemed like Lincoln was calling him to visit, and the two had exchanged email addresses.

Emily prodded him a time or two: Have you given the book back?

And: Id love to be there if you ever do ...

It almost didnt happen.

Eric had a friend in Montreal who grew up in Chicago and returned for a long visit each year. The friend was going in August.

Thats when I started thinking, 'How far is Nebraska from Chicago?

He booked the 500-mile, hourlong flight. He told Emily he was coming. All he had to do was pack the little green book.

But the little green book was nowhere to be found. I was tearing through things like a mad man, going through papers and boxes.

At last, he found it, along with a piece of paper scribbled with notes and phone numbers. He packed them in his suitcase.

When he landed in Lincoln, he emailed Jan.

He emailed Cari.

Could they meet at a coffee shop Tuesday morning?

They did, and the book was delivered and friendships were forged; everyone happy with how the story ended.

Except Eric.

Who knocked on the door of Jans old house on Washington Street Tuesday afternoon and told the woman who lives there now his story.

And invited Laura Paul back to the coffee house the next day to meet Jan.

And see the book that started it all.
By Greg Roumeliotis and Alexandria Sage

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.N) over whether it hid from insurers its relationship with a specialty pharmacy that helped boost its drug sales, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Lawyers at the U.S. Attorneys Manhattan office are trying to gauge whether concealing those ties may have amounted to defrauding insurers, the Journal report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters later on Wednesday that investigators have been looking into what disclosures Valeant and the pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services, made to insurance companies about their relationship.

U.S.-listed shares of Valeant (VRX.TO) (VRX.N), which is headquartered in Canada, slid 12.5 percent to $23.90 in extended trading. The troubled company has seen its market value fall by some 90 percent in the last year as its drug pricing and other business practices prompted investigations by multiple U.S. government agencies and by Congress.

It first came under scrutiny from New York prosecutors last October over its drug pricing and distribution. Media also reported at the time that it used Philidor to overcome insurer rejections to reimbursing its medications, with Philidor resubmitting claims to insurers until they were approved.

Valeant said in a statement on Wednesday that it was continuing to cooperate with the U.S. Attorneys Office in New York regarding the investigation that was disclosed last October. The company did not provide further details on the subject of the probe.

Valeant takes these matters seriously and intends to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct as we move forward with our mission to improve peoples lives with our healthcare products, the company said.

The investigation by U.S. prosecutors could lead to criminal charges against former Philidor executives and Valeant as a company, the Journal report said, citing one person familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/2aMvQwS)

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Officials at the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan and representatives for Philidor, which closed its operations, were not immediately available for comment on the Journal report.

SURPRISE DISCLOSURE

The October revelation of Valeants ties to Philidor took investors by surprise. Following media reports of a relationship between the two, the drugmaker disclosed at the time that Philidor accounted for nearly 6 percent of its revenue and that it had an option to acquire the pharmacy, an unusual relationship in the pharmaceutical industry.

Reuters and other media outlets reported on how Philidor helped secure insurer reimbursement for Valeant drugs. In some circumstances, the pharmacy would resubmit claims using the billing identification numbers of other affiliated pharmacies until an insurer approved payment, according to former employees.

A small group of Valeant employees were deeply involved in directing Philidors daily operations, raising questions about how much the drugmakers executives knew of its practices, Reuters reported at the time.

At least one payer, the pharmacy benefits manager OptumRx owned by UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N), became aware of what appeared to be irregular billing practices and sought to shut out Philidor from its network. After Valeants ties to Philidor became public, other payers cut off the pharmacy and it subsequently closed.

Valeant has taken a series of steps to restore investor trust, including cutting off ties with Philidor last October, conducting an internal review of that relationship, replacing Chief Executive Michael Pearson, overhauling its board of directors and appointing new leaders to run its main businesses.

Billionaire investor William Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management is Valeants largest shareholder, has taken a board seat to influence efforts to clean up the business. New management, led by CEO Joseph Papa, has sought to move beyond the questions over its Philidor ties. Ackman declined to comment.

Valeant is also under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange and U.S. prosecutors in Massachusetts.

(Additional reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Writing by Michele Gershberg; Editing by Leslie Adler and Edwina Gibbs)
Vanguard Growth & Income Investor Fund (VQNPX) a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) was incepted in August 1995 and is managed by Franklin Portfolio Associates LLC, Boston. The objective of VQNPX is to seek long-term growth of capital and income from dividends. VQNPX invests in a diversified group of stocks chosen with the help of sophisticated computer models. VQNPX seeks stocks that appear to be undervalued by the market and that, as a group, appear likely to provide higher returns than the unmanaged Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Stock Price Index while having similar risk characteristics.

This Large Blend product, as of the last filing, allocates their fund in three major groups; Large Value, Large Growth and Intermediate Bond. Further, as of the last filing, Apple Inc, Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft Corp were the top holdings for VQNPX.

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In this golden age of television, visual effects are so cleverly woven into the visual artistry theyre often invisible. Vfx teams working in TV are doing exactly whats expected in features  extending sets, making practical effects look even bigger, or replicating historical backdrops behind the scenes. Theyre just doing it with a more frenzied schedule and less coin to spend. With all these pressures, they still deliver shots that stun viewers. Five of this years Emmy-nominated artisans in the category of special visual effects in a supporting role walk us through some of the most challenging work from the past season.

Better Call Saul

William Powloskis work on AMCs Better Call Saul has been consistently subtle, even delicate at points, and the Emmy-nominated Fifi is no exception. One of the most complex vfx shots of the last season arrives without fanfare in this episode when the camera appears to make one continuous move following a truck transporting ice cream (along with some more illicit cargo) across the border from Mexico.

>The shot is inspired by another border-crossing scene from the classic Orson Welles film Touch of Evil. But Powloski had to pull off his sequence with a TV budget and schedule and he had to please producers who didnt want vfx that would become a spectacle. He relied on the talents of a committed team and extremely detailed planning to make sure everything would come together just as they wanted.

The thing Im happiest about is that they said yes to what we wanted to do because it would have been easy to say no to something this complex that would take so much time and effort. It gave us the opportunity to do something special, Powloski says. And Guillermo del Toro even reacted to that shot on Twitter.

11.22.63

For the eight-part Hulu limited series 11.22.63, visual-effects supervisor Jay Worth found himself carefully tweaking the look of the show in the Emmy-nommed episode The Rabbit Hole to give the audience the feeling of being present in the early 1960s with JFK. Worths careful research paid off as he gently recreated Dealey Plaza, the Dallas location of JFKs assassination, and even parts of the infamous Zapruder film by learning about the type of camera used on that day.

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Adapted from a Stephen King book of the same name, the time-travel tale was shot in Dallas and Toronto, which presented their own sets of challenges for Worth and his team. Everything from the street lights to the heights of trees and the way crosswalks were painted had to be altered to their original 1963 appearance to visually sell the audience on the location and the decade.

Its a time period and event most of us feel like we know, so viewers bring a lot to history to those moments, Worth says. We shot our version of the Zapruder film on 16mm to get the same feeling as the original, which was shot on Bell & Howell 8mm.

Hannibal

We chose this episode for submission because it had the largest breadth of work, says visual-effects supervisor Robert Crowther of the Primavera installment from the NBC series Hannibal. Were moving into the psyche of [FBI agent] Will Graham and so we get glimpses into his imagination.

Grahams mind is populated with a veritable horror show of images that include a strange beast that appears to be part stag and part human. The creature started as a type of puppet and then the vfx department was asked to put some finishing touches on the beast to make it more real and more chilling.

Crowther and his team focused on layering their effects, using as many practical elements as they could in any situation. When in-camera work and CG come together, Crowther believes you get a more believable, more powerful result. The audience also tends to stay more focused on the story.

We tried to make the movement look more natural, with muscles underneath the skin, and we added antlers that grow out of the stumpy neck of the creature, Crowther says. Something thats purely CG can have too much of a feeling of being CG. [Series creator] Bryan Fuller wanted us to do something that wasnt just good, but really beautiful and special.

Sherlock

Visual-effects supervisor Danny Hargreaves was thinking about the main character in Sherlock long before he began planning effects shots for television and film.

I followed the books when I was a child so its something very special to be asked to work on this story, Hargreaves says. And seeing this character develop over the course of the series, weve really developed a sense of what his world should be.

This years nominated installment, The Abominable Bride, was a 90-minute PBS special that featured some of the most skillfully created and composited vfx seen on TV. Modern-day London was transformed into Victorian London by creating a digital matte painting street extension of Ludgate among other places. There was also enhancement of a practical waterfall as well as the atmospherics and steam in keeping with the period.

Hargreaves acknowledges the pressures of TV are intense because budgets and schedules are smaller than features, but film-quality vfx are still expected. Its still a challenge he enjoys and even seeks out.

We all come back to work on Sherlock because we love the show, Hargreaves says. Just making London in the middle of Bristol was quite a journey.

The Walking Dead

In the episode No Way Out, vfx supervisor Victor Scalise had to enhance scenes of 10-15 actors wielding weapons while exploding heads fire off throughout the action, and heighten the drama of a lake fire sequence in which the stuntmen are actually on fire.

The kills go by really fast in these scenes, Scalise says. Sometimes you have those beautiful kills that linger on screen but we had something different here and lots of challenges because of it.

The vfx crew took their planning seriously since it was the only way to manage the rapid-fire action of more than a dozen extras battling and dying in their fight sequence. It was also the only way to orchestrate the lake fire, which involved increasing flames and adding elements to houses near the lake, all while moving the story forward.

Though the show is high drama and demands new and interesting ways to kill walkers all the time, Scalise is careful not to go overboard with the vfx in AMCs The Walking Dead.

Yes, you want the best head explosions, but the writers are pretty specific about what the visuals should be. Were there for the story and so is the audience.

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Jesse Castillo waited more than half a century for this moment.

Fifty-two years after he left his Texas high school, the Vietnam veteran finally received his diploma on Monday.

Read: Vietnam Veteran's Apartment Get a Makeover: 'They're Transforming My Life'

The 71-year-old decorated former Marine grinned as he crossed the stage during a special ceremony held by Riviera Independent School District.

"It was the most emotional thing you've ever seen," Karen Unterbrink, the school district's superintendent, told InsideEdition.com. "He said there's been this one thing that's been missing in his life and it's his high school diploma."

Castillo was scheduled to graduate from Riviera-Kaufer High in 1964 but left before he could finish his schooling. Instead, he joined the U.S. Marines and served in the Vietnam War, where he was shot in the right leg.

After returning home, he received a Purple Heart, a Gold Star and a Vietnam Service Medal with three Bronze Stars, among other accolades. He achieved his GED and finished two years in college before taking a job at a post office, where he eventually worked as a supervisor, KIII reported.

But the thought of his high school diploma still bothered him.

Read: 90-Year-Old Veteran Receives Honorary Diploma After Dropping Out To Fight in World War II

That's when state's education code , which allows a person who was scheduled to graduate between 1940 and 1975 to receive a diploma if they left high school to serve in World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam War. Recipients must also have been honorably discharged from the armed forces.

"Marines aren't supposed to cry man or get emotional," he laughed at the ceremony. "But I'm a former Marine."

Watch: Horse Visits Dying Vietnam Veteran Owner for Heartfelt Goodbye

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Motorola Solutions is examining how VR technology could put an expert at a remote command center right in the middle of an accident or emergency situation.

With all the hype being generated by devices like the PlayStation VR and the HTC Vive it can be very easy to forget that the potential uses and benefits of virtual reality stretch far beyond the realms of gaming and immersive multimedia consumption.

For example, BMW is already using VR to accelerate the automotive design process. But rather than simply saving time and money, how about using VR to save lives?

Motorola Solutions is looking at how VR could be used to harness all the data, information and images that flow in from numerous channels to help experts take full control of an emergency situation.

"Law enforcement agencies have access to data from multiple sources including 9-1-1 calls, live video feeds, social media activity, nationwide databases and more," said Jim Mears, senior vice president, Motorola Solutions North America Sales. "Motorola Solutions' CommandCentral platform captures this information and turns it into real-time intelligence that helps first responders resolve incidents quickly and even prevent them from happening."

The company has developed what it calls a proof of concept Virtual Command Centre that uses both Virtual Reality and Eye Interaction technologies. Motorola claims this will help users quickly share vital information with those on the scene, navigate through an incident, and more effectively guide and manage the people -- be they police, fire department or ambulance crews -- who are responding to an incident.

The system will be demonstrated for the first time on August 15 as part of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) conference 2016, which is being held this year at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
By Jessica Dye

(Reuters) - Lawyers for Volkswagen AG vehicle owners will seek up to $332.5 million in fees and costs for their work in a $10 billion settlement over claims the automaker used software to cheat on emissions testing, according to a court filing.

The filing late Wednesday in a federal court in California said Volkswagen and the plaintiffs' lawyers have not yet agreed on how much the attorneys will be paid. Volkswagen has agreed to pay reasonable costs and fees in connection with the settlement announced in June, which covers vehicles with 2.0-liter engines.

In the filing, the lawyers said they will request no more than $324 million in fees and up to $8.5 million to cover other costs for a total of $332.5 million. Lead lawyer Elizabeth Cabraser said the amount was far less than the "judicially established benchmark" for class actions of approximately 25 percent of the settlement amount.

"But this is not an ordinary case, this is not an ordinary settlement, and this will not be an ordinary fee request," the filing said.

She said that various reports had speculated that lawyers' fees could be as high as $3.5 billion.

A final request will require approval from the judge overseeing the litigation. Fees will be paid separately by Volkswagen, and not deducted from the settlement fund, according to court filings.

Volkswagen spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said the automaker will pay attorneys' fees that "reasonably reflect" the work of the lead plaintiffs' lawyers in connection with the settlement, adding the decision ultimately rests with the judge.

Those lawyers said affected owners and lessees have given "overwhelmingly positive feedback" about the deal.

A hearing on final approval of the settlement is set for Oct. 18.

The settlement stems from litigation against the German automaker after it admitted last year it intentionally misled regulators by installing secret software that allowed U.S. vehicles to emit up to 40 times legally allowable pollution.

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Under the deal, which received preliminary approval last month, owners of up to 475,000 vehicles will be eligible for buybacks, lease termination and other compensation.

Volkswagen will also will pay $4.7 billion for environmental remediation and promoting emission-free vehicle technology.

The deal does not cover similar unresolved claims over approximately 85,000 vehicles with 3.0-liter engines.

Volkswagen $14.7 billion settlement cleared another legal hurdle last month after a federal judge gave the automaker preliminary approval to buy back up to 475,000 vehicles.

(Reporting by Jessica Dye in New York; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington, D.C.; Editing by David Gregorio and Jeffrey Benkoe)
The head of Volkswagen's South Korean unit apologised Thursday as he presented himself to state prosecutors for questioning over the German carmaker's emissions fraud scandal.

Johannes Thammer, CEO of Volkswagen Korea, was summoned by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office a week after South Korea banned the sale of 80 Volkswagen AG models.

"Fist of all, I want to say that I am sorry for the situation and we will do everything, faithfully, to cooperate with the prosecutor," Thammer was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency as he arrived at the office.

Thammer, who has been in his current post since December 2012, is expected to be questioned over allegations that Volkswagen Korea fabricated test results on engine noise levels, fuel efficiency and emissions.

The world's second-largest automaker faces legal action in several countries, after it admitted in September last year to faking US emissions tests on some of its diesel-engined vehicles.

Last week the environment ministry said it was revoking the certification for 80 Volkswagen models, or a total of around 83,000 vehicles, largely because of forged documentation.

It also slapped the company with a $16 million fine.

In November last year, Seoul had ordered the company to recall more than 125,000 diesel-powered cars sold in South Korea and imposed a fine of $12.3 million.

Sales of Volkswagen in South Korea plunged 33 percent to 12,463 vehicles in the first half of this year from a year earlier.

The German carmaker sold around 69,000 cars here in 2015.

Foreign carmakers, especially German brands like Volkswagen, have steadily expanded their presence in the South's auto market long dominated by the local giant Hyundai and its affiliate Kia.
A district judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the city of Lincoln against Lancaster County seeking to cover the medical costs stemming from a friendly punch between officers in September 2013.

A sheriff's deputy hit a Lincoln police officer working light duty on the left shoulder as he greeted her, not knowing she recently had rotator cuff surgery, the order said.

Nebraska's Workers Compensation Court then ruled the city owed the officer $63,418 for medical expenses and indemnity benefits, the order said.

In May 2015 the city sued the county, saying the deputy was negligent and failed to recognize that the physical contact might harm the police officer.

Lancaster County District Judge Jodi Nelson ruled Tuesday that the deputy's punch constituted battery not negligence under state tort law.

That law defines battery as an actual infliction of an unconsented injury or unconsented contact with another, Nelson states.

In a battery case, the motive doesn't matter, the judge wrote.

As such, the county isn't liable because state tort claims law for municipal governments doesn't apply, Nelson said.

Also, the county's insurance policy doesn't apply to any negligent or intentional act on the part of county employees that results in damages of $250,000 or less, she said.

Nelson ruled in favor of the county, ending the lawsuit before a trial.

The city must pay for costs of the suit, she ruled.
It was April 13, just past noon, and Hasan al-Araj was behind schedule as he left an underground hospital for his next rounds. He was usually careful to check the skies above him in Hama, where he was the last surviving cardiologist in the provinces rebel-held territory, for the Russian and Syrian warplanes that regularly cruised overhead. But, in his haste, he did not use his walkie-talkie to confirm with colleagues that the skies were clear.

A missile exploded near his van as he drove away. In the wreckage, colleagues found body parts and pieces of his white medical coat.

It was targeting, said Ahmad al-Dbis, a pharmacist and medical aid worker who worked closely with Araj. Its known that thats the location of a hospital, and its known that most of the people moving around there are medical staff.

Since March 2011, at least 738 Syrian doctors, nurses, and medical aides have died in more than 360 attacks on medical facilities, according to Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The independent human rights group holds the Syrian government and its ally, Russia, responsible for upwards of 90 percent of these attacks.

Medical aid workers accuse the Syrian government and Russia of seeking to demoralize and drive out civilians and fighters from opposition-held territory by depriving them of health care and battlefield medicine. The targeted attacks on hospitals have certainly depleted the supply of doctors in rebel areas. Earlier in April, a sniper bullet to the head killed the last doctor in the besieged town of Zabadani. Later that month, rebel-held Aleppo lost one of its last pediatricians when a regime airstrike flattened al-Quds Hospital. According to PHR, 95 percent of the medical personnel who were in Aleppo before the war have either fled, been detained, or were killed.

It is a war crime under international law to deliberately target hospitals, doctors, and nurses. In early May, after a series of airstrikes in Aleppo, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described as surgical strikes  hitting surgical wards. But like so many other U.N. declarations about Syria, it had no teeth there was no risk of punishment for violating the resolution. By the end of that month, two more hospitals were damaged as a result of air raids on rebel-held Idlib and Aleppo.



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Araj, who was 46 at the time of his death, accepted the risks of his work. He sent his wife and five children to Turkey for their safety and visited his family there frequently. But he was dead set on remaining in his homeland: Even if you give me all of Europe, I will not leave my country, he told an assembly of doctors at a medical conference in Geneva last year, according to Dbis. I dont betray my country in these circumstances. And, inshallah, either I will die in Syria or we will triumph.

Despite devastating losses, the medical system serving Syrias rebels and the remaining civilians in opposition areas has proved resilient, like the rebellion itself. From the idealistic uprising in 2011 to the dystopian violence of 2016, Syrian health care workers have found ways to survive, adapt, and treat those wounded in horrific fighting, as well as to deliver babies and treat ordinary illnesses. Dodging arrest and torture, then missiles and snipers, they have built a clandestine health care system out of the one their government destroyed.

Syrian doctors treat a wounded man in a field hospital in Qusayr, Syria, on July 10, 2012. (Photo by ANTONIO PAMPLIEGA/AFP/GettyImages)

2011: No Mercy for Doctors

Abu Ibrahim Bakrs patient was not only at risk of dying  he was at risk of causing the deaths of anyone who treated him. It was June 2011, three months after the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assads rule erupted, in Saqba, a town near the capital of Damascus. A bullet wound in the patients belly marked him as a participant in the uprising. As far as the government was concerned, he was a criminal who should not be saved.

We couldnt move the patient around at all, said Bakr, a general surgeon in the Damascus suburbs of Eastern Ghouta whose name is a professional alias.

In the earliest days of clandestine rebel medicine, the opposition to Assads rule largely consisted of nonviolent protests. The activists held no territory in the country; the only way they could treat their wounded comrades was to hijack the governments health care system.

In Saqba, doctors sometimes smuggled injured protesters through the back door of a nearby hospital. But government forces that day had closed the roads, making the medical facility impossible to reach. A man volunteered his bedroom. Bakr unpacked one of the medical kits he and his colleagues, by then, had hidden in every town in the area. The doctors had, as he put it, stuffed an operating room into a suitcase. An anesthesiologist recommended dosages by cell phone.

We put him on the bed, in the bedroom, and we opened up his stomach, the surgeon recalled.

Syria once enjoyed an advanced medical system. The average life expectancy in the country in the years before the rebellion broke out had hovered around 73, roughly on par with that in neighboring Turkey, according to World Bank data. Some of the doctors, paramedics, and nurses who have assisted the opposition were driven by their own rejection of the Assad regime; others simply felt they should provide care to all, as a fulfillment of their professional and humanitarian duty. So the practitioners formed secret networks of trusted colleagues to treat the wounded and protect patients from government reprisals.

We noticed that many of the people who were getting injured in the streets by the security forces and the military  when they were transported to a hospital, public or private, the intelligence services would follow, said a founding member of the Union of Free Syrian Doctors, a loose association of doctors and medical activists who banded together in late 2011 to try to fill the gap in available medical services. The doctor, a radiologist now living in West Virginia, asked that his name be withheld to protect his family still in Syria.

Of course, every person that the intelligence services discover had treated a patient from one of the protests, his fate is to be detained, absolutely, said the radiologist, who says he was detained and tortured himself by one of the countrys most notorious agencies, Air Force Intelligence. Hes even classified almost in the same group as the armed rebels.

To evade Assads security forces, doctors treated patients in secret, in shops and other unconventional places that would briefly be converted into emergency rooms. In desperate cases, the only way to save a patient was to sneak him or her into a government hospital. That required daring help from a network of willing doctors, nurses, and friends.

We would communicate through a series of quick phone calls using phones linked to false names, which were bought from the black market with the IDs of dead people or fake IDs, to make it harder to trace, said Osama Abu Zayd, a medical equipment engineer with the Union of Free Syrian Doctors. Using the masked phones, Abu Zayd would describe the patients injury to a friendly hospital doctor using numeric codes for the location and type of wound.

Patients at risk of arrest were given fake names. Their doctors also worked under aliases. Even two doctors in the same hospital, each wouldnt know that the other is revolutionary, Abu Zayd said.

There are some doctors, until now, after four or five years of working with them, I still dont know their real names, said Mohammad Yasser Tabbaa, a co-founder of the nonprofit Syrian Expatriate Medical Association (SEMA). A Syrian expat living in Saudi Arabia, he has made more than two dozen trips to Syria since the beginning of the war to establish health care facilities there.

Friends and relatives provided referrals for new members of the network. Between us, there is trust. We know whos honest and whos not, he said.

The real danger came when someone was caught, Tabbaa added, because then the security forces would torture them until they gave up their friends names. Every time, whenever anyone was caught, all his friends would go into hiding, or they would travel, or run away, he said.

The radiologist living in West Virginia said some of the Free Syrian Union doctors had private clinics and could take in injured rebels.

We didnt differentiate the armed [soldier] from here or from there or whomever we found in the street  our goal was to treat people, he said. I dont care, this person, what his background is.

But even private facilities were not safe. In the early days of the revolt in 2011, security and military forces often barged into the Kafr Zita Specialty Hospital, which was owned by the cardiologist Hasan al-Araj, said his colleague Ahmad al-Dbis. When soldiers opened fire on protests in the small town, the injured would often be rushed to Arajs private hospital in secret.

Araj and his staff performed protesters surgeries as quickly as they could. The demonstrators who were most wanted by the security forces were stabilized at the hospital and quietly transferred to local homes, including Arajs house. When security forces came knocking at the hospital, Araj told them they were working on routine surgeries  like an appendix or abscess removal  and prevented them from entering the operating rooms.

In those days, there was still a bit of respect for doctors, Dbis said.

Over time, as the protests grew and turned more violent, government security forces became more aggressive in chasing down injured protesters and those who treated them. During the first year of conflict, an estimated 250 doctors were arrested or interrogated for treating injured protesters in Syria, according to a report published by PHR at the end of 2011.

Doctors and aid workers said Assads security forces examined orders for blood bags at the state-run blood banks or orders for tetanus shots, which are usually given to people with gunshot or shrapnel wounds, to track down doctors who were treating members of the opposition.

The regimes intelligence services have no mercy if they find out youre working as a field doctor, said Rami Kalazi, who was then completing his residency in neurology at Aleppos state-run Razi Hospital. For them, this is even much worse than carrying a weapon.

Kalazi, who worked with a group of colleagues to provide secret medical and humanitarian aid, ran a makeshift pharmacy out of the basement of the apartment building in which he lived, stocked with supplies he and colleagues took from the hospital, bought from pharmacies, or received as donations.

Eventually, the chief resident got word that the regime was after Kalazi and his wife, who also worked at the hospital. He told us, Take my advice: Pack up and leave, because youre no longer safe, Kalazi recalled. He is still practicing medicine in Aleppo but in a different hospital in a rebel-held area.

F.J., a doctor working in the suburbs of Damascus during the early years of the uprising, was detained in 2012 by Assads security forces. He was taken to an underground room with what he estimated to be about 80 other people. There was no ventilation, no light, and no place to sit. He was tortured for seven days, he said. He and the other prisoners often found piles of dead bodies in the bathroom.

Really, it was like hell, he said. Everyone was just praying to die.

Araj, the Hama cardiologist, was arrested twice, said his wife, Najwa. The horrors of his detentions made him more vigilant about avoiding regime soldiers and checkpoints. He often told Najwa, If a missile hits me and cuts me in two, it would be easier than spending 15 minutes in the infidel regimes prison.

A man stands in a makeshift surgery room at a private house being used as a hospital in Qusayr, Syria, on February 27, 2012. (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP/Getty Images)

2012: Nobody Came to Teach Us

In the summer of 2012, fighting reached Aleppo and Damascus, the countrys two most populous cities. With many activists turning into rebels and the government shifting to heavier firepower, the pressure on medical providers grew.

As the rebels began carving out territory of their own, some medics no longer needed to sneak around regime hospitals. They set up their own field hospitals and makeshift medical facilities in opposition-held areas, ushering in a new era of rebel medicine.

In and around Damascus, the doctors were rushing to adapt to the Syrian governments shelling of entire neighborhoods. They were now less exposed to arrest  but they were exposed to bombs, and they had to re-create operating and care facilities from scratch.

Were in a place where there are civilians and theres shelling, said Mouaffak, a surgeon in Douma, who described the beginnings of the field hospitals in Eastern Ghouta. Put two or three beds on a farm; thats a field hospital. Put consumables that would last a while in case the area is besieged; thats a field hospital.

This new phase required creating new regimes of care and medical supply on the fly. Staffing at the field hospitals was inventive: No expertise, no matter how tangential to medicine, could be wasted. Doctors and other professionals were fleeing the country in droves; they had to be replaced by ad hoc trainees.

As the Free Syrian Army rebels began gaining ground against government forces in Aleppo in the summer of 2012, medical personnel at the Dar al-Shifa Hospital in the rebel-held Shaar neighborhood put out a call for volunteers. There were a lot of massacres at the time, and there were only 10 people at that hospital in the beginning, said Modar Shekho, who began working at the hospital as a nurse.

This one was an engineering student, that one was a law student, another was an English student, Shekho said. Nobody came to teach us. There was no time.

On his first day, he walked into the emergency room to find an orthopedic surgeon standing in a pool of blood, stitching up a patient injured by shelling.

He said, Come help me with drying the wound, Shekho recalled, remembering how he approached the bloodied patient and, feeling faint, went outside to collect himself.

So I got some fresh air and then I went back to the emergency room, he said. I told the doctor, Ill continue with you. And since then, I continued. And thats it. It became normal. My body got used to it.

In Hama, Araj also watched his world change as Syrian army soldiers withdrew from the town of Kafr Zita around early 2013, leaving the area to the opposition.

Thats when Dr. Hasan announced right away that his hospital would provide free surgeries for everyone, Dbis, the pharmacist, recalled. He announced that the hospital was for everyone, for free medical treatment, for battle injuries, and injuries from the shelling, and others.

The ruins of eastern Ghoutas al-Ihsan surgical hospital, after it was targeted by regime shelling in November 2013. (Photo by Osama Abu Zayn)

2013-2014: Everything Vanished

Ihsan surgical hospital was shelled for the first time in November 2013. A series of attacks ripped through the building, leaving rubble everywhere. The airstrikes blasted gaping holes in the brick walls, exposing hospitals beds with crooked IVs hanging over them to the outside world.

The hospital, in a besieged district of Eastern Ghouta, had only been open five months. This was the rebel-held suburb of Damascus that had suffered the worst of the chemical gas attacks mounted by the Assad regime the previous summer. According to the hospitals staff, it served the majority of the cases arising from the areas population of about 500,000. The facility was now leveled. Three of the hospitals medical staff died in the barrage.

Everything vanished, everything, said Abu Zayd, of the Union of Free Syrian Doctors.

Refusing to be deterred, Abu Zayd and his colleagues took what equipment remained from Ihsan to set up another hospital at a secret location in Eastern Ghouta. They tried to take precautions on safety: They reinforced the infrastructure and separated certain emergency wards in secret locations in basements, only known by hospital staff.

A few months later, it was hit in another series of airstrikes. Once again, the hospital was damaged. Once again, they had to rebuild.

Ihsan represented a new humanitarian dilemma for the Syrian opposition. Syrias field hospitals have themselves come to pose huge health risks to the people who visit them  or even live near them. But the bombing campaigns also had the unintended consequence of helping usher in the next phase of Syrias rebel medicine.

The Assad regime routinely uses barrel bombs, oil drums packed with high explosives that destroy indiscriminately when dropped from helicopters or planes, against rebel medical facilities. Arajs hospital in Hama, the Kafr Zita Specialty Hospital, was hit 10 times in 2015. Three of the staff  an anesthesiologist, a desk clerk, and a lab technician  were killed last year. Two of the three floors were wiped out.

Rami Kalazi, the Aleppo neurosurgeon, says each barrel bomb attack causes frantic panic among civilians. He used to live next door to Sakhour Hospital, rebel-held Aleppos largest trauma center, before the airstrikes forced him to move. In just six months over the end of 2014 through the spring of 2015, the hospital was struck on three occasions, damaging Kalazis home in the process. The staff had to ship cement in from Turkey to rebuild on each occasion. The airstrikes have only continued: According to Kalazi, the hospital was hit more than 20 times in 2014 and 2015. Eight of those strikes temporarily put the hospital out of service.

Weve become used to being targeted, he said.

Ambulances are also constantly under threat. Kalazi said Sakhour has lost all of its ambulances to airstrikes and now relies on ambulances from other hospitals in the district or civilian cars.

The Syrian governments hospital bombing campaigns motivated international donors to redouble their efforts to aid Syrias medical facilities. Syrian expat networks based in the United States, the Persian Gulf, and Turkey that previously operated on an ad hoc basis have come together as large-scale nonprofits, like SEMA and the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), collecting millions of dollars in private donations and state funding to keep the hospitals running. These nonprofits have received money from the United Nations, the United States, Canada, and several European countries. Money and aid have also come from individuals in the Persian Gulf and organizations like the Qatar Red Crescent. To vet recipients, aid groups rely on the guidance of local Syrian medical bureaus or on their own longtime relationships with medical staff. International organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) also provide funding and supplies for medical facilities in Syrias opposition territory.

With greater assistance from international donors, Syrias domestic opposition started designing medical facilities able to evade, or withstand, the regimes relentless attacks. It became clear that we needed to set up secure hospitals, underground, in a way that the airstrikes wouldnt affect them, whether its barrel bombs or missiles, Dbis said. And that, in turn, allowed rebel doctors to move beyond short-term emergency medicine and begin providing long-term medical care.

The Central Cave hospital was constructed inside a mountain in the governorate of Hama. The patients and medical workers are protected from air strikes by 55 feet of rock and dirt. (Photo by Zaher Sahloul)

2015: The Place Will Endure

From the inside, it could be any hospital. Men in scrubs tend to an emergency room. There are beds and sterilized equipment, and the floors are ceramic tile. But look up at the dome-shaped ceiling. The jagged rocky edges and gaping holes reveal the inside of a mountain in Hama.

Araj called it the Central Cave hospital. It opened in late 2015, as shells fell on his hospital aboveground. The bombardment couldnt harm them now. The cardiologist, his colleagues, and the hospitals patients were sheltered under 55 feet of rock and dirt. Najwa, his wife, called the buried hospital magnificent.

No matter how much they shell, shell, shell it, nothing will happen, Mohammad Yasser Tabbaa, the SEMA co-founder, said of Central Cave. Maybe it will shake the place, but the place would endure.

This is the trend were trying to push for, he added.

The financial barriers to going underground are high. Its not easy for all the money to go and pour into one single place, Tabbaa said.

Central Cave cost about half a million dollars to build, underwritten by an array of aid organizations, including SEMA, the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, and the Assistance Coordination Unit, the humanitarian arm of the Syrian National Coalition. The health directorate in rebel-held Hama also funneled some of the money it had received from the British government into the project, according to Dbis.

Medical workers in Hama led the initiative, bringing in local labor to tunnel into a mountain in the northern countryside, where smaller caves already existed, to make way for the hospital. After around a year of drilling and shaping rock into rooms and hallways, Central Cave now sits at the base of the mountain. It welcomes around 1,500 patients a month from Hama and Idlib, mostly for free. The hospital includes operating rooms for general and orthopedic surgery, an intensive care unit, a pharmacy, a lab, a medical ward, and X-ray facilities. SAMS, the U.S.-based aid group, still pays nearly $50,000 a month in operating costs, including the salaries for the full-time staff who live in the hospital.

All across Syria, the need to protect hospitals has become acute. Moscows decision to join the air campaign in 2015 has only heightened the risk: Russian warplanes brought with them stronger weapons and more destructive power. PHR has called 2015 the deadliest year yet for Syrian health care, with 122 attacks on medical facilities.

Yet the Russian escalation has failed to destroy the rebels infrastructure. Central Cave isnt the only example of rebel medicine moving underground: Many hospitals have by now moved into reinforced basements, cellars, or abandoned factories. In cases where its impossible for medical facilities to completely move their operations, the most sensitive units, like surgical and emergency rooms, have been relocated to a subterranean level.

For some hospitals, like Eastern Ghoutas Ihsan, the huge loss brought on by airstrikes led them to disperse their facilities. An emergency room might be almost 1,000 feet from the operating room and similarly distant from the intensive care unit.

Our strategy was to select unknown areas, so we stayed away from governmental buildings completely, said Abu Zayd, the representative from the Union of Free Syrian Doctors. We settled for commercial basements, from factories, sewing shops, or other similar places.

Patients are ferried by ambulance or sometimes travel through tunnels that connect the facilities.

If one location is hit, not all of the departments are destroyed, said Mouaffak, the surgeon in Douma. If were in the emergency room and its shelled, God forbid, there are people in other departments who could still rescue us.

Medicine in opposition areas has become increasingly sophisticated as it has evolved from its earlier state of triage and improvisation. Underground hospitals also treat civilians suffering from routine ills. Several doctors said much, if not all, the care they provide is free. The nonprofit organizations now foot the bill for their salaries, though some reported working without pay for at least the first year after the spring 2011 revolt.

The patient is usually poor here, Mouaffak said. If theres only one doctor who can do this surgery and the doctor wants the patient to pay him, it basically means the patient wont make it.

Doctors have also developed a methodical approach to the influx of patients that an airstrike brings. Right away, we keep the dead on one side, said Kalazi, the neurosurgeon in Aleppo. The most serious cases are quickly sent to the operating rooms. Sometimes patients are sent to other Aleppo hospitals and even into Turkey. Kalazi recalled working 40 hours straight in early 2014 during a day of particularly intense shelling, when Sakhour Hospital admitted around 200 patients.

Doctors report that vaccines, antiseptics, and antibiotics are often unavailable, especially in besieged areas like Eastern Ghouta that have been cut off from supply routes since 2013. In regions like Idlib and Hama, medical tools and supplies come in trucks from neighboring Turkey. Yet in Eastern Ghouta, where international aid deliveries are erratic and insufficient, underground tunnels provide an alternative lifeline. Medical supplies are smuggled in across regime lines at great financial cost and great personal risk.

If medical workers cant get the supplies they need, theyre forced to improvise. Three doctors said small-scale factories began springing up in 2014 in the Damascus suburbs to produce materials like gauze or serum that were too difficult to import from outside areas.

Some hospitals have medical equipment, such as CT scanners, salvaged from prewar facilities. The sandbags placed around the expensive machines suggest a constant threat of destruction.

There is still not enough anesthesia, however. Without anesthesia, the surgery doesnt happen, said an anesthesiologist in Eastern Ghouta, who goes by the assumed name Abu al-Zaher. The patient would die from the pain.

The constant shortages have also spurred innovation. Zaher began producing a low-cost anesthetic out of ingredients he had available. He tested his formula on 50 patients receiving cesarean sections and reported the results were on par with the standard version. Basic household items, like olive jars, have been repurposed as medical instruments. Civilians and medical staff alike are trained to work outside the boundaries of what they knew.

We held nursing workshops for the people in the towns, Zaher said. So now in every town, most people have some knowledge of nursing procedures. More formalized nursing schools and academies have recently emerged: A school that opened in Idlib last year has already graduated 70 paramedics, and this June, an Eastern Ghouta health institute graduated its first cohort of 35 students.

Training also comes from overseas. In October 2012, Anas Moughrabieh, a Syrian-American doctor in Detroit, worked with SAMS to get two nurses from Syrias Idlib province smartphones and internet-enabled cameras. Moughrabieh then became the virtual doctor to 40 patients almost 6,000 miles away.

The program has since spread to seven hospitals. A network of more than 20 volunteers in the United States and Canada now take formal shifts to provide 24/7 medical advice using apps like Viber, WhatsApp, and Skype. What the doctors see can be overwhelming.

I asked them to stop streaming pictures, Moughrabieh said. I dont want to see. I open the camera, and I see them dying, blood everywhere, patients on the floor. This is too much for me.

Dr. Hasan al-Araj, a cardiologist by training, was killed by an airstrike outside an underground hospital in Hama on April 13, 2016. He was 46 years old. (Photo by Ahmad al-Dbis)

2016: Whats Wrong and Whats Coming

The Syrian doctors and medical workers who decided to defy Assad have come a long way from bedroom surgeries. But their work teeters on a knife-edge, always at the mercy of the next air raid.

When the planes dont show up, said Abu Zayd, of the Union of Free Syrian Doctors, we wonder, Whats wrong, and whats coming?

Still, they stay, even as the dwindling number of doctors paints a foreboding picture. For some, its too late or too difficult to leave now. But in reflecting on what keeps them in Syria, most cite their religious faith, frustration with the regimes injustices, or dedication to the medical oath they took years ago.

The people who live here, theyre our families and our people, said Abu Ibrahim Baker, the general surgeon in Eastern Ghouta. How would I leave my family, my people, in this situation, under shelling?

I cant tell you I didnt think of leaving, said Mouaffak, the surgeon in Douma, who often writes eyewitness accounts of particularly brutal days in a digital diary titled Memories of Tragedy. But  this is my city.

With every chapter of political, diplomatic, and military developments, Syrian doctors in the field have found ways to keep going. But no matter how deep underground these doctors go, or how much international support they garner, they are not safe.

Ahmad al-Dbis and Abdallah Darwish, two of Hasan al-Arajs colleagues in Hama, were in Turkey for a war surgery workshop on April 13, when they learned of Arajs death.

Ahmad, we have to go to Syria right away, Dbis recalled Darwish saying.

Dr. Hasan Darwish said, but couldnt continue his sentence.

I had a semi-breakdown, Dbis recalled. During the revolution, we became more than brothers. Even the secrets we didnt tell our wives, we told each other.

Passport in hand, he rushed to his car half-dressed and crossed the border into Syria for the funeral.

Of course, there was nothing for us to see, Dbis said. I mean, a lump of severed limbs in a bag  that was buried.

Najwa and her children, who still live in Turkey, dont have the authorization to regularly cross the border back to their home country. They couldnt attend the funeral or visit the modest grave: a small concrete tile sitting atop a pile of soil and gravel, with patches of green sprouting around it. In black felt, the cardiologists gravestone reads, The martyr Dr. Hasan Mohammad al-Araj.

This story was produced in a investigative reporting class at Columbia Journalism School during the spring of 2016 and is part of a series on Syrias underground medical system, which is available at http://medicineunderground.org.

Additional reporting done by Mazin Sidahmed, Shannon Najmabadi, Chris Huffaker, Annie Hylton, and Nina Agrawal.

Top photo credit: ANTONIO PAMPLIEGA/AFP/Getty Images.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Washington transit police officer charged with attempting to help the Islamic State militant group was ordered held pending trial, U.S. court documents showed on Thursday.

The suspect, Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, Virginia, was arrested this month in an FBI sting operation. He is the first U.S. police officer to face such charges involving a group on the government's terrorism list.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Anderson in Alexandria, Virginia, ordered Young to remain held pending trial, according to court filings. He cited risks that Young may not show up for a court appearance and that he could endanger public safety.

Young is alleged to have sent codes for gift cards worth $245 to an FBI informant posing as someone who was working with Islamic State in July. The cards were intended for mobile-messaging accounts that the militant group uses to recruit its followers.

Young had been an officer with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority since 2003. He was fired after his arrest on Aug. 3.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Dinosaur Jr. celebrate shredding of all kinds in the video for "Goin Down" off their new album, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not.

The clip was shot by skateboard photographer and videographer Atiba Jefferson and finds Dinosaur Jr. admiring the feats of veterans riders like Christian Hosoi and Harry Jumonji at Brooklyn's House of Vans. As Jefferson toggles between clean footage and a grainy Nineties aesthetic, J Mascis and co. show off their own gnarly tricks as they rip through the blistering "Goin Down" on the skatepark floor.



Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not was released at the beginning of August via Jagjaguwar, and marks Dinosaur Jr.'s 11th album and first since 2012's I Bet on Sky. The group has a few Japanese dates scheduled this month before kicking off a massive North American tour September 7th in New Haven, Connecticut.



Related
MTV is set to premiere True Life: We Are Orlando this coming Monday, and TheWrap has your first look at the sobering special.

This episode of the long-running docuseries follows survivors of the anti-LGBT Pulse nightclub shooting as they try to come to terms with their trauma. The cable channels televised version follows a previously existing digital-only series of the same name, which has been running on MTV social channels.

Viewers can also follow the the four young adults featured in the televised episode via MTVs Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat Discover and tumblr. Plus, MTV plans to provide mental health resources for people dealing with trauma, pathways to better understand and challenge anti-LGBT bias, as well as ways to support Orlando and take action on gun violence.

Also Read: Orlando Shooting Survivors Shocked to Learn Gunman's Dad Was at Same Clinton Rally

The individuals profiled on the televised version are as follows:

Tony Marrero

Tony was shot four times during the attack, including once in the back. He faces a long road ahead as he heals from his physical wounds, but is finding it more challenging to accept the loss of his best friend Luis Vielma, who was killed in the attack, and also come to terms with the guilt he feels over being forced to leave an unknown club patron behind as he called for help while Tony crawled out of the club.

Patience Carter & Tiara Parker

While on vacation from Philadelphia, Patience, Tiara and Tiaras cousin Akyra headed to Pulse for a night out. The three young women hid in a bathroom during the attack where they were shot and trapped in the room with the shooter during his three hour standoff with the police. Patience and Tiara are now starting therapy to deal with the unspeakable actions that they witnessed and begin to move forward.

Joshua McGill

During the attack, Joshua fled over the back wall of the club and hid behind a car where he heard a stranger crying out for help. The injured man was Rodney Sumter, a bartender at the club and father of two, who had been shot multiple times. Joshua crafted a tourniquet out of his shirt to stop the bleeding in both of Rodneys arms. A police officer then instructed Josh to lie down in the back of his car with Rodney on top of him and squeeze his back to constrict the blood from a third wound as they drove to the hospital  where the two men were separated before Josh had a chance to learn Rodneys fate.

Story continues

Also Read: Watch Broadway Stars Crush 'What the World Needs Now Is Love' at Democratic Convention (Video)

Heres who is featured in the digital offering:

Brett

Brett and his partner Frank were standing at the bar with friends when the shots started. Brett hit the floor and crawled behind the bar as bullets whizzed by, one shot grazing him in the arm, but he lost track of Frank. Rigas and Franks family later checked the crisis center and found there was no record of Frank at any of the hospitals, confirming Frank did not survive long enough to receive treatment. According to Brett, Frank was shot 8X in the face.

Natalia and her wife, Mallerie

The couple went to Pulse and met Natalias sister, Yilmary Rodriguz Solivan. When the shooting began, Natalia and Mallerie were on the porch and managed to escape, but Yilmary was inside with her brother-in-law, and was shot. It wasnt until Tuesday at 10 AM (3 days later) that Natalia and her family were informed that Yilmary was one of the victims who died. Yilmary was married and a mother of a 7-year-old, and the family is overwhelmed trying to cope with the loss.

Jason

He was on his way to pick up his friend, Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, from Pulse when the gunshots started. He was prevented from running inside by police, and waited 17 hours before learning that Xavier was killed. Jason had feelings for Xavier and is now resolved to help their mutual friend Wilma raise the son that Xavier left behind.

Angel

Angel was in the main room when the shooting began. He was shot 3 times in the leg, and suffered a broken femur due to being trampled. He received additional gunshot wounds in the hand and hip. Angel was with 2 friends who also survived, but lost others including Shane Tomlinson. Angel is currently rehabbing, but he cant work for months, and was made subject of a video claiming Angel was an actor and that the shooting was a hoax. Angel reconnects with Tony Marrero in the episode, six weeks after they endured the horror together on the floor of the club.

Milan

Milan was performing at Pulse, just like every other Saturday night. At 1:57 he left the stage and went to dressing room, when the shots began. While hiding in the dressing room, they heard shots, people panicking, crying, phones going off, and the shooter yelling, while Milan tried to look out for his coworkers whom he considered himself responsible for. They were eventually rescued by SWAT, but Pulse was like Milans home, and he lost 7 people that night.

Also Read: Donald Trump, Marco Rubio Blasted for Plans to Attend 'Extremist Anti-LGBT Summit' in Orlando

MTVs Elect This campaign, which moves beyond the candidates to the issues that matter most to Millennials, is also spotlighting Adam, a young gay man from Orlando who is supporting an Elect This Change.org petition calling on Florida Rep. Alan Grayson and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to pass an executive order banning the sale of assault weapons like those used in the attack. The petition currently has 40,000 signatures.

During the True Life: We Are Orlando special, MTV will air a special remembrance dedicated to the 49 lives lost during the attack. MTVs True Life debuted in 1998, and has gone on to win a Daytime Emmy Award, a GLAAD Media Award, a NAACP Image Award and a Prism Award.

True Life: We Are Orlando debuts Monday, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. on MTV.

Major Terrorist Attacks in 2016 (Photos)

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Major attacks in 2016 have taken place in Brussels, Nice, Syria, and Orlando

Terrorist attacks in Brussels, Orlando, and Nice have made the biggest headlines around the globe, but there have been more than 100 more terrorist attacks this year. These are some of the deadliest ones that have happened so far. Be advised: This gallery contains violent imagery.

View In Gallery

Related stories from TheWrap:

Hillary Clinton Gets Toxic Endorsement From Orlando Shooter's Dad

Pink, Imagine Dragons, Britney Spears Record Song for Orlando Shooting Victims (Audio)

Orlando Shooting: Police Release Terrifying Minute-by-Minute Timeline of Massacre

Orlando Killer: Feds, Pulse Nightclub Regulars Split On Gay Theory
Selena Gomez is currently on the Australian leg of her worldwide Revival concert tour, but that doesnt mean she wont take time to give her devoted fans some personalized attention.

Radio station KIIS FM arranged a surprise visit between the pop star and one of her biggest Australian supporters, a local 22-year-old Sydney resident named Sophie Saunders who has spearheaded the Facebook and Instagram pages for Gomez.

I heard about this super super awesome fan of mine, and how she came to the first show, Gomez says in the video the radio station produced. I figured, since shes gonna come maybe tonight, I should go surprise her.

It turns out that Saunders had even flown all the way to Dallas for one of Gomezs previous shows  Thats insane, thats so sweet, I dont even fathom somebody, like, getting on a flight, Gomez tells her  and the two girls commemorate the moment with a few selfies taken in Saunderss room, which is bedecked with posters of her idol.

The big meet-up was heart-melting enough that even one of the radio hosts was in tears by the end of it. Watch, above.
Smoke rises after an airstrike in the rebel held area of old Aleppo, Syria April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail/File PhotoFOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES - RTX2AUEV

On July 26, coalition military forces in support of Operation Inherent Resolve continued their hunt against ISIS militants with eight airstrikes near Manbij, Syria.

A press release from US Central Command states that the airstrikes struck eight separate tactical units, destroyed 12 fighting positions, and eliminated two ISIS vehicles.

Manbij is a city in northern Syria that is the last piece of ISIS territory that shares a border with Turkey. Currently, US-backed forces have almost completely retaken the city from ISIS in a major blow to the group's territory.

In addition to the strikes in Manbij, coalition forces also struck other ISIS targets in Iraq  destroying weapons caches, bunkers, and mortar positions.

In total, 22 airstrikes using bombers, attack fighters, and remotely piloted aircraft were coordinated against ISIS, the militant group also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh.

Here's what the strike against fighting positions near Manbij, Syria, looked like:

via GIPHY

via GIPHY

Watch the entire video from CJTF Operation Inherent Resolve:

NOW WATCH: TRUMP: President Obama is 'the founder of ISIS'





More From Business Insider


Great investing opportunities exist everywhere in the stock market. But how do you find them?

Tracey Ryniec, Stock Strategist at Zacks Investment Research, discusses two hidden gems that might be worth a closer look at by investors: Caesarstone Limited (CSTE) and Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS).

Hidden gems are stocks that are followed only by a handful of Wall Street analysts and which the rest of the stock market doesnt pay much attention to but they should because their fundamentals are strong.

Caesarstone makes quartz surfaces for kitchens and baths. It saw record revenue in the second quarter as sales jumped in Canada and Australia.

Fortune Brands Home & Security operates in 4 segments including cabinets, plumbing, doors and security. Sales rose by 12% in the second quarter. It saw gains in all of its segments, with cabinet sales soaring 17% as the housing market remains hot.

Not only has new construction picked up but home owners are renovating their kitchens and baths.

Fortune Brands shares have also seen tremendous gains in the last 5 years. Could the returns be beating Facebook?

Analysts have been raising 2016 and 2017 estimates on both companies.

Caesarstone is expected to grow earnings by 10% in 2016. Fortune Brands is even hotter, with earnings forecast to be up 32%.



But what else should investors take away from these two companies? Watch the video to find out.



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



CAESARSTONE LTD (CSTE): Free Stock Analysis Report



FORTUNE BRD H&S (FBHS): Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
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NEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Company named David Kowach to head its retail wealth management division, Wells Fargo Advisors, the nation's third-largest brokerage, on Thursday.

Kowach was promoted from his job overseeing roughly 11,000 brokers in the bank's Private Client Group. He succeeds Mary Mack, who left Wells Fargo Advisors last month to head up Wells' community banking business.

Kowach, a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry, was focused on recruitment, retention, growth and sales during the more than four years he led the Private Client Group, Wells Fargo's largest wealth management business. In his new role, he will takes on managing an additional 4,000 bankers under the Wells Fargo Advisors umbrella.

Kowach enters the role at a time when the full-service brokerage industry is undergoing major regulatory and technology changes.

A new Department of Labor rule that takes effect in April 2017 has sparked an industry overhaul as wealth management businesses big and small scramble to decipher which products and business practices meet the rule's fiduciary standard.

The cost of compliance industry-wide is expected to reach as much as $31.5 billion in the next decade, which will result in higher costs to serve mass affluent investors who make up a large portion of the St. Louis-based brokerage's clientele.

Wells Fargo Advisors is working to roll out a pilot version of a robo adviser in first half of 2017 in order to have more options for clients who want to pay lower fees or prefer digital options.

Wells also made a play last year to target wealthier clients by recruiting more than 100 private bankers from Credit Suisse Group AG when the Swiss bank sold off its U.S.-based brokerage business, many of whom took jobs in Kowach's old division.

Wells Fargo, which said it would name Kowach's successor shortly, did not make him available for interviews.

(Reporting By Elizabeth Dilts; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Bill Trott)
Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) are rallying at midday, with energy (XLE) in the green, while utilities (XLU) are pulling in the rear. Stephen Guilfoyle, chief market economist at Stuart Frankel & Co., joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange.

To discuss the other big stories of the day, Jen Rogers is joined by Yahoo Finances Rick Newman and co-founder & president of Confide, Jon Brod.

The end of an era

Arianna Huffington just announced shes leaving the Huffington Post for a startup called Thrive Global, which is a health-and-wellness venture. She said shed hoped to stay on with the Post, but the demands of the new job quickly grew as it moved from idea to reality. What does this move mean within the changing digital media landscape?

Why Confide is Snapchat on steroids

Jon Brod discusses his own app company, Confide, Your Confidential Messenger. Communicate digitally with the same level of privacy and security as the spoken word. With encrypted messages that self-destruct, Confide gives you the comfort of knowing that your private messages will now truly stay that way.

Clintons plan

Hillary Clinton is getting ready to deliver an economic speech in Michigan. Her campaign says the plan will add over 320,000 jobs to Michigans workforce and over 10,000,000 throughout the nation by the year 2020. How would she do it?

Falling deep into the red

More and more people are loading up on debt. Overall, it comes out to over $12 trillion in the red. Around 14% of US households are falling into the category of negative net worth. What are the primary reasons people have a negative net worth?
It would have been a suicide mission, and a rather pointless one. But that is roughly the picture that Russian President Vladimir Putin painted on Wednesday when he accused Ukrainian saboteurs of trying to infiltrate Crimea and commit what he called an act of terror. On Russian state TV, newsreels even showed the supposed weapons cache the Ukrainians allegedly tried to use, including bombs fashioned out of plastic soda bottles and other improvised explosives. But the story didnt make a lot of sense.

However decrepit and dysfunctional the Ukrainian army may be, they still have enough military factories left over from the Soviet Union to arm their soldiers, who would have no need to make their bombs using recipes out of the The Anarchist Cookbook. Besides, what would they expect to achieve with these weapons? Since annexing Crimea in 2014, the Russian military has sealed it up about as tight as its stockpiles of nuclear weaponswhich, by the way, Russia has threatened to use in defending Crimea if necessary.

Read More: Dear Mr. Putin: Heres Why You Should Help Save My Beloved BlackBerry

That means any Ukrainian scheme to get back Crimea, or even to destabilize it, using an amateurish bunch of guerilla-saboteurs, would have been stupid, senseless and self-defeating, as Putin himself admitted during a press conference held at the Kremlin on Wednesday. It is foolish because you cannot have a positive impact on the people in Crimea in this manner, Putin remarked. By setting off bombs in their cities? Clearly not.

So what really happened? Given the dearth of reliable information coming from the heavily militarized border between Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea, its very hard to tell. According to local media reports, there does appear to have been a flare-up in fighting near that border over the weekend, and Russia has been moving forces toward the area from its massive Crimean military base. But Ukraine says that it made no attempt to penetrate the de facto border, and it insists that Russia is just trying to invent a pretext for another invasion.

Story continues

From what we know, there seem to be a couple of scenarios in Putins mind, the more likely of which is the more banal. Russia needs the West to lift the sanctions it imposed in retaliation for the seizure of Crimea. But for that to happen, both Russian and Ukraine would need to fulfill the peace accord they signed in February of last year, known as Minsk II. Reached through the mediation of France and Germany, the deal is at a standstill, with both Kiev and Moscow accusing each other of not doing their part.

Read More: Turkeys Erdogan and Russias Putin Agree on Steps to Repair Relations

Both of them are right. Among other points in the deal, Ukraine has failed to grant a blanket amnesty for the Russian-backed separatists who have been fighting the Ukrainian military in the eastern Donbass region for more than two years. For its part, Moscow has refused to give Ukraine control of its eastern border, as that would cut the separatists off from their supply lines in Russia.

In trying to break this stalemate, Putin has tried to convince the West that Ukraine is really at fault, as he again sought to do on Wednesday. I would like to appeal to our American and European partners too, he said. I think it is now clear to all that the authorities in Kiev today are not looking for a solution to the problem through negotiations, but are resorting to terror.

In other words, it does not make sense to maintain the sanctions against Russia when the deadlock in the peace talks is all Ukraines fault. The Europeans now have to let that message sink in before the next round of peace talks are set to begin in early September, because as Putin noted on Wednesday, these talks would not make much sense right now. Not unless the Europeans can get their Ukrainian friends into line.

Read More: Putin Is on a Foreign-Policy Winning Streak

In pushing this same agenda, Russia has also kept up an ongoing dialogue about Ukraine with the U.S., applying similar arguments to get the U.S. sanctions lifted. This effort has even extended into Syria, where Russia has sought to form an alliance with the U.S. in fighting ISIS terrorists. As if to highlight the usefulness of such an alliance, the Russian military claimed on Thursday that its warplanes had destroyed a chemical munitions plant in the ISIS capital of Raqqa.

All of this is meant to convince the U.S. that the crisis in Ukraine should be put to one sideand all the related sanctions should be liftedin order for the worlds leading military powers to focus on the terrorist threat emanating from Syria. Painting the Ukrainian armed forces as terrorists in the making would seem to bolster the Russian argument.

But the U.S. does not seem to be buying it. On Thursday, the U.S. ambassador in Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, said he has seen nothing to corroborate Russias claims of a sabotage mission against Crimea. Indeed, the Russian security services have not provided any evidence to support its claim that one of its officers was killed, along with a Russian soldier, in defending Crimea from Ukrainian attacks over the past few days.

All we have seen on Russian state TV is a corpulent man in handcuffsidentified as Evgeny Panov, an agent of the Ukrainian military intelligence forcesstanding silently before the Russian news cameras with a bleeding gash in his forehead. According to his Russian interrogators, the alleged saboteur has confessed to his crimes. But that may mean little to the WestRussia has a record of frequently levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect attention from its own illegal actions, Ambassador Pyatt tweeted on Thursday.

In the weeks before the annexation of Crimea, for instance, Russian state media reported that Ukrainian fascists and right-wing militias, having supposedly seized power in that winters revolution, were planning to move south in order to pacify Crimeas ethnic Russian majority. These reports were false. Fascists had not seized power in Kiev, and there were no paramilitary columns moving in Crimeas direction. But the propaganda effort helped to stir up enough panic among Crimean residents for many of them to welcome the Russian troops who promptly came to occupy the peninsula and prepare its annexation.

The fact that Putins claims on Wednesday might provide a similar casus belli for further military action are certainly cause for alarm, and they point to the other scenario that Putin might be contemplating. Since taking control of Crimea, Russia has spent billions of dollars keeping it supplied with fuel, food, water and electricity, all of which this region had previously received from Ukraine. In November, a group of pro-Ukrainian saboteurs blew up the electricity pylons that carry power from mainland Ukraine to Crimea. The Russian-backed leaders of the peninsula were then forced to declare a state of emergency, as the resulting blackouts had created a heating crisis across Crimea just as the Eastern European winter was setting in.



That act of sabotage was a painful reminder of how vulnerable Crimea became after the swift and bloodless Russian annexation. In order to really secure its hold over this territory, Russia would either need to spend enormous amounts of money on new infrastructuresuch as bridges, power lines, energy pipelines and so onthat would connect Crimea to the Russian mainland, or it would need to launch an all-out invasion of Ukraine in order to secure a land bridge through the countrys eastern and southern regions all the way to Crimea.

But Putin likely realizes that he cannot afford to do either, at least not any time soon. With so much of his military firepower tied up in Syria, it would put enormous strain on the Russian armed forces to declare a full-scale war against Ukraine, which has spent the last two years building up defenses against exactly that kind of attack. It is also far from clear that the Russian people would support such a war, much less in retaliation for a bunch of alleged saboteurs in Crimea with backpacks full of soda-bottle bombs.

In its monthly fear map survey, which was published on Wednesday, the Kremlins leading pollster found that Russians are currently most afraid of international tensions, conflicts between nations and military actions. Even issues such as crime, healthcare and the devaluation of their savings now worry Russians far less than the possibility of war, the survey found.

So Putin should hardly be eager to grab at this chance to attack Ukraine. With the recent collapse in the price of oil, Russias main export, the national economy shrank by nearly 4% last year, and is projected to contract by at least another 2% this year, according to the World Bank. In order to ease some of that pain, Russia needs the West to allow normal trade relations to resume. Of course, Putin is far too proud, and far too invested in his image as a counterweight to the arrogant West, to start pleading for the U.S. and Europe to drop their embargoes.

But he might at least try to achieve the same ends by casting Ukraines leaders as a bunch of terrorists. At a minimum, this would mean offering Western leaders an off-ramp in their ongoing support for Ukraine. Now its up to them to decide whether to take it.
Shares of Yahoo! Inc. YHOO stock were up 3.8% in mid-morning trading Thursday largely thanks to the companys 15% stake in Alibaba BABA, which had a strong Q2 earnings performance.

Alibaba posted earnings before market open, in which it beat Zacks Consensus Estimates. The company posted $0.52 in earnings per share (Excluding $0.08 in non-recurring items), and revenue of $4,838 million. These beat our estimates of $0.38 and $4,610 million respectively.

Yahoo first paid $1 billion for a 40 percent stake in Alibaba back in 2005, and sold half of that back to the company for $7.6 billion in September of 2012. In late July, Yahoo agreed to sell its core internet business to Verizon Communications (VZ) for $4.8 billion. This leaves the company with its stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo! Japan.

Todays stock movement put Yahoo near 52-week highs, although the company has had little other good news recently. However, it did announce a deal with Hulu to launch Yahoo View, a TV-watching website that will feature free content from Hulu.

At the moment, Yahoo is operating as little more than a trading vehicle for Alibaba. The company had planned to spin off its stake in Alibaba, but is not due to uncertainty from the IRS as to whether or not it could be carried out on a tax-free basis.

Its difficult to create expectations for Yahoos future, as there is still doubt about how it can use its stakes and partnerships to derive revenue. The companys deal with Verizon is expected to close in early 2017.

Yahoo has seen upward earnings estimate revisions for this quarter, up one cent to $0.07.

Yahoo! Inc. currently sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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LONDON (AP)  Ecuador said Thursday its ready to set a date for Swedish prosecutors to question Julian Assange inside its London embassy  a potential breakthrough in the years long international impasse over the WikiLeaks founder.

Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish police over alleged sexual offenses stemming from his visit to the country in 2010. He denies all the accusations against him made by two women. In June 2012, he sought shelter in Ecuadors embassy in the British capital and has been holed up there ever since.

Ecuador announced last year that it had agreed to a Swedish proposal to interview Assange at the embassy, but no interview has taken place.

Ecuadors Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a date for the questioning in the embassy would be set in the coming weeks.

Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Karin Rosander said Sweden handed over a formal request to interview Assange in January, and a reminder in June, and received Ecuadors reply on Tuesday.

It means that a questioning can make the case go forward, Rosander told The Associated Press. This is decisive to be able to take a decision whether to formally charge him or not.

Rosander said the Swedish prosecutor is on holiday and no date has been set for the trip to London.

Assanges defense team said in a statement that it welcomed the steps to take the WikiLeaks founders statement, which it said comes after six years of complete inaction on the part of the Swedish prosecutor.

Assange fears that if he is extradited to Sweden he will be sent to the United States for prosecution over WikiLeaks publication of secret documents.

He faces arrest by British police if he leaves the building and, with the exception of occasional trips to the embassy balcony, has not been outside for years.

In February, a United Nations panel said Assanges stay at the embassy constituted arbitrary detention and he should be freed. The British and Swedish governments have rejected the non-binding findings of the U.Ns Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Story continues

In its statement, Ecuador said it stands by its August 2012 commitment to grant Assange asylum due to fears of political persecution.

___

Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this story.
CHICAGO -- Seated in his office here, wearing neither a necktie nor a frown, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is remarkably relaxed for someone at the epicenter of a crisis now in its second year and with no end in sight. But, then, stress is pointless when the situation is hopeless. Besides, if you can ignore the fact that self-government is failing in the nation's fifth-most populous state, you can see real artistry in the self-dealing by the Democrats who, with veto-proof majorities in the state Legislature, have reduced this state they control to insolvency.

Illinois' government, says Rauner, "is run for the benefit of its employees." Increasingly, it is run for their benefit when they retire. Pension promises, though unfunded by at least $113 billion, are one reason some government departments are not digitized at all.

What is misleadingly called the state's Constitution requires balanced budgets, of which there have been none for 25 years. This year, revenues are projected to be $32.5 billion, with spending of $38 billion. Illinois Democrats are, however, selective constitutionalists: They will die in the last ditch defending the constitution's provision that says no government pension can be "diminished or impaired."

The government is so thoroughly unionized (22 unions represent almost all government employees), that "I can't," Rauner says, "turn on a light switch without permission." He exaggerates, somewhat, but the process of trying to fire someone is a career, not an option.

At last count, $7.6 billion was owed to many of the state's vendors. But the law in its majesty requires that the state's legislators -- those who write the laws -- get paid under any circumstances. This removes perhaps the most important potential pressure for compromise. If schools were unable to open this month, parents with pitchforks would march on Springfield, so a quasi-budget was cobbled together to keep government semi-funded for six months.

Under Rauner's Democratic predecessor, the Legislature passed a "temporary" tax increase, serenely expecting that when it expired they would enjoy the truth of Ronald Reagan's axiom that there is nothing as immortal as a temporary government program. They did not count on the first Republican governor in 12 years.

Rauner let the tax lapse. To their demand for more tax increases, he sweetly says: Let's talk. About pension reforms and tort reform. And about exempting local governments from paying on construction projects the "prevailing wage" -- which Rauner says is, effectively, "whatever unions tell them they want it to be," and which raises costs 30 to 40 percent.

Rauner favors term limits for state legislators. Democrats have job security, thanks in large part to the financial support of grateful public- and private-sector unions. Illinois voters overwhelmingly want term limits, which Democratic politicians oppose because, they say, such limits restrict voters' ability to get what they want.

Illinois is a leading indicator of increasing national childishness -- an unwillingness to will the means for the ends that it wills. Nationally, state and local governments' pensions have somewhere between $1 trillion and $4 trillion in unfunded pension liabilities, depending on, among other things, assumptions about returns on pension funds' investments. The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2001, the 20-year median return was 12.3 percent and every percentage-point decline in returns increases liabilities by 12 percent. Last year, the largest fund, California Public Employees' Retirement System, which assumes 7.5 percent returns, instead gained 0.6 percent. This, in the sixth year of the recovery from the 2008-09 crisis, was the worst performance since then -- and another recession will surely happen.

Nationally, neither party is eager to talk about the rickety structure of the entitlement state, although the Democratic platform promises to make matters worse. Although scheduled Social Security benefits vastly exceed the value of worker and employer contributions plus interest, the platform, a case study in reactionary liberalism, opposes even raising the retirement age. This, even though benefits are available at 62, three years younger than when the system was created in 1935, when life expectancy at 65 was 12.5 years. Today, it is 19.3 years for men and 21.6 for women. If in 1935 Congress had indexed the age of Social Security eligibility to life expectancy, the age today would be 72.

The federal government can continue to print money. There are bankruptcy procedures for cities but not for states. So, high-tax Illinois will continue bleeding the population and businesses, but with one contented cohort -- the Democratic political class, for whom the system is working quite well.
For the past three decades, critics of public education in the United States have assailed it and used its flaws to promote publicly funded privatization. Corporate and political interests have attacked the very concept of public education, claiming that the private sector is invariably superior to the public sector.

These developments are by no means limited to the U.S.; the same movement to privatize public schools is occurring in the United Kingdom, Africa and other regions -- with troubling implications

In the U.K., the Conservative Party government wants to turn all public schools into private academies, funded by taxpayers. The British multinational corporation Pearson has ambitions to open for-profit schools using its products in many nations across the world. In Africa, a corporation called Bridge International Academies (BIA) is opening for-profit schools in poor countries that cost $1 a week. Liberia is considering outsourcing its entire elementary program to BIA, which is funded by American billionaires Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and others from Wall Street.

The Economist magazine wrote a glowing article about BIA's plan to make low-cost schooling available in Africa, because existing public schools are so poorly resourced. The potential market of hundreds of millions of children is alluring and sure to be profitable. Teachers in the Bridge schools are uncertified; They teach a scripted curriculum from a notebook computer. Many families cannot afford even $1 a week, especially if they have more than one child. Meanwhile, the state is relieved of responsibility to supply what is being outsourced to private enterprise.

Many of the plans to privatize education globally can trace their beginnings back to ideas and funding that started in the United States.

In the U.S., the attack on public education can be traced to a 1983 report by a commission appointed by the Reagan administration. Titled "A Nation at Risk," it warned that the public schools were so mediocre that the future prosperity of the nation was endangered by them. Advocates of privatization saw an opportunity to advance their cause and joined in the attack on public schools. Thirty-three years after the report, it is obvious that its predictions of economic disaster were wrong. The U.S. has the strongest economy and military in the world.

Story continues

[READ: Is America's image on the decline?]

Yet the privatization advocates kept up the drumbeat of failure. In 1990, a few states began to experiment with charter schools, which are privately managed but publicly funded, and free of most state regulations that apply to public schools. Today, almost every state has endorsed and opened charter schools. About 90 percent of these schools are non-union; one-quarter of the nation's charters have received financial support from the right-wing Walton Family Foundation, which was created by the family that owns Walmart.

Charter schools claim to be public schools, but the only thing "public" about them is their funding. They are run by private boards that do not hold open meetings, as elected boards of education do; they are neither transparent nor accountable in their finances.

At the same time they were pushing for charter schools, U.S. privatization advocates pushed for publicly funded vouchers that students could take to any religious or independent school. Once considered an extreme right-wing idea, vouchers have been enacted by nearly half the 50 states in the U.S., even though most state constitutions mandate that public money must be dedicated only to public schools.

A quarter century after privatization began in earnest, it is clear that its main effect has been to undermine the public schools. Actually, that has always been the goal of the privatization movement. Their propaganda campaign -- which now spans from Kenya to the United Kingdom -- blames public schools for the persistence of poverty and for the low test scores of children who grow up in poverty, without adequate food or medical care.

The privatization movement has cleverly and deceitfully branded itself as a "reform movement." As they divert resources and students from public schools, which still enroll the vast majority of students, they congratulate themselves for leading a civil rights movement and introducing market discipline into what has traditionally been a government responsibility.

Who is behind the privatization movement? A lot of money and influence. Hedge fund managers are big supporters of charter schools; they clearly prefer the private sector to the public sector, though they like the secure cash flow from the public coffers. Major foundations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the charter movement.

Who would have imagined that public education in the U.S., U.K, Africa and elsewhere around the world would become a target for a hostile takeover by corporate interests? The outcome is predictable.

Two nations -- Chile and Sweden -- have demonstrated what will happen. Students use choice to self-segregate by religion, social class, race, and family income. The neediest children do not benefit. Educational results are negligible. The most admired school systems in the world, such as Finland, have not promoted school choice or privatization. They have concentrated on creating a highly professional teaching corps, funding public schools adequately and ensuring that children and families have a good quality of life.

The question for the coming decade is whether privatization will undermine and enfeeble public education in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Diane Ravitch is a historian of education at New York University and author of many books about education.


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Talking Points:

Access Our Free Q3 Oil Outlook As Oil's Best Quarter Looks For Confirmation

The intraday move in Crude Oil of a 5%+ gain was one of the most impressive moves in August and aligns with the risk-on view shown in equities and commodity FX. Saudi Arabias Oil Minister noted that there might be discussions next month in Algiers to support prices.

Thursdays intraday high was the highest level since July 25. While demand is very hard to forecast, and there are few forecasts of growth in emerging or developed markets demand there appears to be a boost from refiners. The IEA believes that refiners will process record volumes of crude in Q3 that could increase 600,000 barrels a day from a year earlier. According to the IEA, this increased demand from the IEA should reduce the overhang, in the market.

Track short-term Crude Oil price levels and patterns with the GSI indicator!

One other word of warning from the IEA was the risk to U.S. Producers if the price of Oil stays below $60/bbl. We have seen a rise in active US Oil Rigs per the Baker Hughes could, however, the current number is a bit less than 75% production from over a year ago, and it will take a price tag closer to ~%60 to see pop in US Activity, which would help the balance sheets of US Energy firms.

Crude Oil Price Chart Rises ~5% Intraday Into Prior Resistance

WTI Crude Oil Price Forecast: IEA & OPEC Spur 5% Hope Rally

The Channel going back to early 2014 on the chart above has done an extremely fine job of framing price action in WTI Crude Oil. After failing at the top channel in June, the price quickly dropped down to a pre-identified zone for a bounce between $41.85-$35.22/bbl. However, you can see now that were coming into an internal trend-line that may provide resistance.

Story continues

If the price of WTI Crude Oil closes above $43.36/bbl on Thursday, the daily candle will have formed a Bullish Key Reversal where the days low broke yesterdays low, but the close was higher than yesterdays high. Such developments tend to have followed through, and we could see a follow through up to the 55-DMA (not pictured) all the way up ~$46.20.

Given the light volume of mid-August, its often folly to fight quick moves even though true breakouts have less participation.

Bottom Line:

Todays price action in Crude Oil was impressive. The 5% Rise in the price of Oil that was the largest move in three months naturally aligns with the risk-on narrative of breakouts in equities and a rather sanguine US Dollar.

The Rebalancing effort continues, but the IEA seems to note that demand will begin to come in line as US production will have a hard time keeping up with the massive OPEC production. Regardless of the increases in production in Iran, the record production in Saudi and Russia, a move higher could sustain if the massive short position from hedge-funds is unwound.

Performance Chart For CL1 From Today 8/11/16 To YTD

WTI Crude Oil Price Forecast: IEA & OPEC Spur 5% Hope Rally

Created by Quasar Elizundia, DailyFX Research Team

Contrarian System Beginning To Favor Upside Risk as of 8/11/16

WTI Crude Oil Price Forecast: IEA & OPEC Spur 5% Hope Rally

In addition to the technical focus, we should keep an eye on retail sentiment. Upside is now aligned with our Speculative Sentiment Index or SSI for now.

As of mid-day Thursday, the ratio of long to short positions in the USOil stands at 1.15, as 53% of traders are long. Yesterday the ratio was 1.69; 63% of open positions were long. Long positions are 17.1% lower than yesterday and 30.8% below levels seen last week. Short positions are 21.7% higher than yesterday and 33.1% above levels seen last week. Open interest is 2.7% lower than yesterday and 8.7% above its monthly average.

We use our SSI as a contrarian indicator to price action, and the fact that the majority of traders are long gives signal that the USOil may continue lower. The trading crowd has grown less net-long from yesterday and last week. The combination of current sentiment and recent changes gives a further mixed trading bias.

Key Levels Over the Next 48-hrs of Trading As of Thursday, August 11, 2016

WTI Crude Oil Price Forecast: IEA & OPEC Spur 5% Hope Rally

T.Y.

Think Oil has more room to run? Trade Oil With Low Margin Requirements (non-US Residents only)



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Citing concerns over Saudi Arabias human rights record, Republican Senator Rand Paul says hes looking for ways to stop a $1.15 billion weapons deal with Riyadh that would include the sale of 130 Abrams battle tanks, 20 armored vehicles, and other military equipment.

Pauls pledge comes as Saudi Arabia resumed its bombardment of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa following the collapse of peace talks in Kuwait between representatives of the government and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

I will work with a bipartisan coalition to explore forcing a vote on blocking this sale, Paul told Foreign Policy in a statement. Saudi Arabia is an unreliable ally with a poor human rights record. We should not rush to sell them advanced arms and promote an arms race in the Middle East.

Humanitarian organizations are criticizing the proposed weapons sale as a setback for efforts to bring pressure on Riyadh to throttle back its military campaign. The U.N. estimates that at least 6,400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict while more than 2.8 million have been displaced from their homes.

Earlier this week, Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, also expressed concern about the sale, noting the high civilian casualty rate in Yemen and Riyadhs shrinking role in the military campaign against the Islamic State. Id like to see them commit to rejoin that fight as part of major new military sales, Murphy said in a statement.

Still, stopping the deal is going to be an uphill battle. The main beneficiary of the deal is General Dynamics Land Systems, according to a statement by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The firm is a subsidiary of General Dynamics, a massive defense contractor that wields significant clout on Capitol Hill. That could make it hard for Paul to find the allies he would need in the House and Senate to permanently block the sale.

The State Department defended the proposed deal, saying it did not amount to an endorsement of Saudi Arabias activities in Yemen. This proposed sale is aimed toward strengthening Saudi Arabias long-term defense capabilities, David McKeeby, an official at the departments Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, told FP. If finalized, this proposed sale will require major refurbishment of some existing tanks, and manufacturing of the rest over the course of several years.

Story continues

Human rights groups, by contrast, say the move sends the wrong message to Saudi Arabia.

The international community must go all in on a peace agreement, said Scott Paul, a senior policy adviser at Oxfam America. A sale of major arms to Saudi Arabia signals the opposite  that the U.S. is instead all-in on a senseless war that has created one of the worlds largest humanitarian emergencies.

As the fighting resumed in Yemen this week, local medics told Reuters that 14 civilians were killed after Saudi-led air strikes struck a potato chip factory in Sanaas Nahda district. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by Houthi rebels toward its cities Abha and Khamis Mushait, the Associated Press reported. It said the missiles did not cause any damage.
Photo: Getty Images

From Beyonce to Reese Witherspoon, the A-list loves Zac Posen. Now wine shops do too, thanks to his latest project  a new bottle design for Ecco Domanis 20th anniversary.

But white wine isnt the only thing keeping Posen in the news: Besides filming Project Runway and designing his spring 2017 collection, the New York native has a cookbook in the works, plus a new Hollywood client: Betty Boop. (Really.)

We spoke with Posen in Manhattans SoHo  after knocking back a few glasses of wine, obvs.

Yahoo Style: You get offered tons of collaborations. Why say yes to a wine bottle?

Zac Posen: Because like fashion, wine is an experience. Any kind of sensual experience is something Im interested in. I think it creates brand diversity, and it brings a new way of doing table decor. Plus, its fun and it has a lot of reach  a lot of people drink! Plus, the price point is different from other things I do, and so it reaches a different demographic. And since I cook, it partners well.

Do you drink while designing clothes?

Definitely not! I drink rarely, to be honest, and I dont ever drink at work or even really at work parties. But when I do drink, Ill enjoy myself. This is my second year doing the labeling of an Ecco Domani bottle. So when they first asked me to do this project, I had the experience of testing their wine by weekend drinking with my parents on their farm.

So the cookbook, the wine  are you single-handedly trying to take down the stereotype that fashion people dont eat?

Ha! I mean, if you look at my Instagram and all the recipes I post, you know my friends and I definitely eat. Im coming out with my cookbook as an extension of my brand. And wine gives you a piece of that experience at a lower price point than a ball gown.

Arent you also dressing Betty Boop?

I am working with Betty! Shes my new client. In my opinion, shes a femme-fatale feminist. Im working on the rebranding of Betty Boop with an illustrator, with the blessing of the Betty Boop estate, and also with the Hearst Corporation. Im helping a girl out.

Story continues

Will she appear on your next runway?

Not in the [main] collection, but in ZAC Zac Posen, any woman with an inner Boop can get a boost. The truth is, shes awesome. So youll see her around.

Last season, your catwalk casting was incredibly diverse, and you used the social media tag #BlackModelsMatter. As a designer, how do you see as your role in making the industry more inclusive?

I believe the fashion community needs to be aware of social issues, and we have a responsibility to spotlight and support them. People who work in culture and the arts and have a social media influence, because so much of the next generation is following us and looking to us for images of whats next, its our job to guide people to understand diversity through beauty.

How can we do that?

I hope [fashion] people take stances. I hope they blast messages. Its very clear were living in a time that I find very upsetting. I think weve reverted. Every day, I think about my grandmother, who was a first-generation immigrant, very progressive, a real New York City girl. She fought in her career for racial diversity. And in a way, Im happy shes not with us anymore, because the world right now would break her heart. Theres a time to stand up and fight through our work, and this is that time. That was a very intense answer

Gwyneth Paltrow at the Oscars in 2007 wearing Zac Posen. (Photo: Getty Images)

It was amazing. But if you want to go the other way  do you have a favorite Hollywood moment involving your clothes?

Gwyneth at the Oscars!

Mine too!

It was just perfect. I was there in the fittings. [Apple] was on the floor playing with Fred Leighton jewels. The dress fit perfectly. She found it while watching [my runway] show on late-night public-access TV. It was just meant to be.

Can we clarify a Wikipedia rumor?

Lets. I bet my page is really off.

It says the first dress you ever designed was for a doll, using your grandparents kippas from their synagogue

Nonsense! Ha. As a kid, when I went to my grandparents synagogue, I did grab a few, but they werent the first materials I used, and it wasnt like I didnt have actual fabric!

So the yarmulke dress is a myth

Well, in high school, after asking my friends who were more religious than I am if it was OK, I used them as [a pattern] for the perfect B-cup. Theyre the perfect B.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  August 11, 2016  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA), NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL), Cypress Energy Partners, L.P. (CELP), CONE Midstream Partners LP (CNNX) and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP ( BWP).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Wednesdays Analyst Blog:

5 Oil Stocks to Buy on OPEC Indications

On Monday, OPECs President Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada provided fresh indications of talks between oil exporting countries in the bloc in order to arrive at an agreement on controlling crude production. Slack global demand and a fall in prices of oil may have led to producers considering such a move, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Opinion remains divided about the likelihood of oil exporting countries reaching an agreement on controlling production. However, several market watchers believe that simply a discussion among the key stakeholders would be enough to boost sentiment. Adding oil stocks from sectors with relatively lower risk may be a good idea in such an environment.

OPEC President Sounds an Optimistic Note

Qatars minister of energy and industry and OPEC president Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada sounded optimistic about the market for crude. In a statement made in Vienna, he said that he expected demand for crude to firm up in the second half of this year. Additionally, he emphasized that the worldwide supply of crude would decline during this period.

Additionally, Dr. Al Sada also said that OPEC was closely watching the situation in oil markets and was regularly discussing with member countries about the possible methods that could be used to introduce a modicum of stability into the market for oil. More importantly, he said that the blocs members would most probably meet during the 15th International Energy Forum to be held in end September in Algeria in order to discuss the imposition of controls on production.

Story continues

Prices Fall on Higher Domestic Production Outlook

Crude prices declined on Tuesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its short outlook. According to the EIAs new estimates, U.S. output will come in between an average of 8.73 million barrels in 2016 and 8.31 million barrels next year. This is higher than its earlier estimate of 8.61 million and 8.2 million for 2016 and 2017, respectively.

However, market watchers believe that the very prospect of discussions between OPEC members could curb the price fall. Additionally, oil market participants await the release of EIA data on Wednesday. According to a survey undertaken by The Wall Street Journal, the EIAs report will likely reveal that domestic crude inventories declined by 800,000 barrels during the week ended Aug 5. During the week ended Jul 29, crude output in the U.S. dropped for the first time in four weeks by 55,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 8,460,000 bpd.

Our Choices

While some amount of skepticism continues to prevail among investors, it is increasingly likely that OPEC will soon enter into a discussion on controlling output. Meanwhile data and projections show that the demand supply gap is likely to come down at least on the domestic front.

This looks like a good time to pick select oil stocks. However, it may make for a better choice to pick companies with relatively safer businesses like refining and marketing or pipelines. At the same time, it is important to pick winning stocks.

This is where our VGM score comes in. Here V stands for Value, G for Growth and M for Momentum and the score is a weighted combination of these three scores. Such a score allows you to eliminate the negative aspects of stocks and select winners. However, it is important to keep in mind that each Style Score will carry a different weight while arriving at a VGM score.

We have narrowed down our search to the following stocks based on a good Zacks Rank and VGM score.

Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA) is a retailer of gasoline products and convenience store merchandise primarily in the United States.

Murphy USA has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a VGM Score of A. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 46.9% over the last 30 days. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 7.6% over the last 30 days.

NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL) is a limited partnership operating a vertically integrated propane business with three operating segments: retail propane; wholesale supply and marketing; and midstream.

NGL Energy Partners has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of A. The company has expected earnings growth of more than 100% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 5.9% over the last 30 days. The forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) for the current financial year (F1) is 14.92, lower than the industry average of 16.78.

Cypress Energy Partners, L.P. (CELP) offers pipeline inspection and integrity as well as environmental services across North America.

Cypress Energy Partners has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of A. It has a P/E (F1) of 26.49, lower than the industry average of 30.17.

CONE Midstream Partners LP (CNNX) is an owner, operator, developer and acquirer of natural gas gathering and related midstream energy assets.

CONE Midstream Partners has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A. The company has expected earnings growth of 23.1% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 3.3% over the last 30 days. It has a P/E (F1) of 11.59, lower than the industry average of 17.50.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (BWP) is a master limited partnership engaged in the transportation, processing and storage of natural gas.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B. The company has expected earnings growth of 35.4% for the current year. Its earnings estimate for the current year has improved by 8.7% over the last 30 days. It has a P/E (F1) of 14.23, lower than the industry average of 17.50.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  August 11, 2016 - Stocks in this weeks article include: Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC), Stamps.com Inc. (STMP), Gibraltar Industries Inc. (ROCK), Global Brass and Copper Holdings Inc. ( BRSS) and Innospec Inc. (IOSP).

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

Top 5 Stocks with Impressive Net Profit Margin

The primary motive of any investment is to generate profit. Investors pour money into businesses and companies in the hope of multiplying returns. Profits are used to reward shareholders and can be reinvested for expanding the business.

Net Profit Margin = Net profit /Sales * 100.



Net profit of a business is the amount that remains in the last line (also known as bottom line) of the income statement after all costs (including taxes) have been deducted from revenues.



In fact, net profit margin can turn out to be a powerful tool to measure how efficiently a company is running its business and controlling its costs. Moreover, a higher net profit margin as compared to peers lends a competitive advantage.



Further, a higher net profit margin attracts not only new investors but also well-skilled employees that eventually increase the value of the business.



Pros and Cons



Net profit margin helps investors to understand a companys business model in terms of pricing policy, cost structure and manufacturing efficiency. Hence, a healthy net profit margin is preferred by all kinds of investors.



However, net profit margin has a number of drawbacks that limit its scope as an effective analytical tool. Its calculation varies widely from industry to industry. Difference in accounting treatment of various items  especially non-cash expenses like depreciation and stock-based compensation  makes it a difficult metric for the purpose of comparison.



Further, for companies preferring to grow with debt, instead of equity funding, higher interest expense usually drags down the net profit. In such cases, it is not an effective tool to analyze the companys performance.



The Winning Strategy

Healthy net profit margin and solid EPS growth are two of the most sought after ingredients in a business model.



Apart from these two metrics, we have added a few other criteria to ensure maximum possible return from this strategy.



Screening Parameters



Net Margin 12 months  Most Recent (%) greater than equal to 0 : High net profit margin indicates solid profitability.



Percentage Change in EPS F(0)/(F-1) greater than equal to 0 : It indicates earnings growth.



Average Broker Rating (1-5) equal to 1 : A rating of #1 indicates brokers extreme bullishness on the growth prospects of the stock.



Zacks Rank equal to 1 : Only Strong Buy stocks are allowed. In good markets or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) continue to outperform.



VGM Score of A or B: Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of 'A' or 'B' when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy) offer the best upside potential.



Here are five of the seven stocks that qualified the screen:



West Orange, NJ-based Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) provides career-oriented post-secondary education to recent high school graduates and working adults. The company operates 31 schools in 15 states. The stock has a VGM score of A. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has narrowed by 7 cents to a loss of 3 cents over the last 7 days.



El Segundo, CA-based Stamps.com Inc. (STMP) provides Internet-based services for mailing or shipping letters, packages or parcels anywhere in the U.S. The stock has a VGM score of B. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has surged 80 cents (17.2%) to $5.45 per share over the last 30 days.



Gibraltar Industries Inc. (ROCK) manufactures and distributes products to the industrial and buildings market. The company has its headquarters in Buffalo, NY. The stock has a VGM score of A. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has increased by 6 cents to $1.44 per share over the last 30 days.



Illinois-based Global Brass and Copper Holdings Inc. (BRSS) is a converter, fabricator, processor and distributor of specialized non-ferrous products, including a wide range of sheet, strip, foil, rod, tube, and fabricated metal component products. The stock has a VGM score of A. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has remained steady at $2.15 over the last 30 days.



Colorado-based Innospec Inc. (IOSP) develops, manufactures, blends, markets and supplies fuel additives, oilfield chemicals, personal care and other specialty chemicals. The stock has a VGM score of B. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 has surged 15 cents (4.1%) at $3.80 over the last 7 days.



Get the rest of the stocks on the list and start putting this and other ideas to the test. It can all be done with the Research Wizard stock picking and back testing software.



The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Story continues

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today .

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks' portfolios and strategies are available at : https://www.zacks.com/performance .

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Sign up now for your free trial today and start picking better stocks immediately. And with the backtesting feature, you can test your ideas to see how you can improve your trading in both up markets and down markets. Dont wait for the market to get better before you decide to do better. Start learning how to be a better trader today: https://at.zacks.com/?id=111

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

About Screen of the Week

Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Each week, Zacks Profit from the Pros free email newsletter shares a new screening strategy. Learn more about it here https://at.zacks.com/?id=112

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.

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Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer .

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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LINCOLN EDUCATL (LINC): Free Stock Analysis Report



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GIBRALTAR INDUS (ROCK): Free Stock Analysis Report



GLOBAL B&C HLD (BRSS): Free Stock Analysis Report



INNOSPEC INC (IOSP): Free Stock Analysis Report



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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  August 11, 2016  Zacks Market Edge is a podcast hosted weekly by Zacks Stock Strategist Tracey Ryniec. Every week, Tracey will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life. To listen to the podcast, click here: ( https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/227497/should-you-invest-in-the-pizza-stocks )



Should You Invest in Pizza Stocks?

Welcome to Episode #44 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast.

Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life.

In this episode, Tracey is joined by Eric Dutram, Editor of the Surprise Trader and the ETF investor, to discuss a topic near to both of their hearts: the pizza stocks.

There are worries that the consumer is pulling back on restaurant spending and that the restaurant stock rally is done.

But if you looked at the pizza stocks, you might think otherwise. They are nearly all trading at or near all time highs.

The pizza market is not very concentrated. It is mostly dominated by mom-and-pop operators with their local pizza parlor.

But there are 5 chains that dominate.

Yums Pizza Hut is the largest chain in the United States, with 15,000+ stores followed by Dominos with over 11,000.

But the 6th largest chain, California Pizza Kitchen, has just 300 restaurants so the drop off after the top 5 is pretty dramatic.

That means there are growth possibilities there, but who will cash in?

1. The Big Guys: Pizza Hut (YUM), Dominos (DPZ) and Papa Johns ( PZZA)

2. The take-home king: Papa Murphys (FRSH)

3. The small town favorite: Caseys General Stores (CASY)

Tracey and Eric discuss valuations of their favorite pizza stocks along with which stocks they think investors should be looking at for the next 12 months.

This isnt the first time that Tracey and Eric have discussed the restaurant stocks.

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See who they think is the next Chipotle.

But what else should you know about the pizza stocks? Check out this weeks podcast to find out.

Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor of theInsider Trader andValue Investor services. You can follow her on twitter at@TraceyRyniec and she also hosts the Zacks Market Edge Podcast on iTunes.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.

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Media Contact

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800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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YUM! BRANDS INC (YUM): Free Stock Analysis Report



DOMINOS PIZZA (DPZ): Free Stock Analysis Report



PAPA JOHNS INTL (PZZA): Free Stock Analysis Report



PAPA MURPHYS HL (FRSH): Free Stock Analysis Report



CASEYS GEN STRS (CASY): Free Stock Analysis Report



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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  August 11, 2016  Zacks Value Investor is a podcast hosted weekly by Zacks Stock Strategist Tracey Ryniec. Every week, Tracey will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life. To listen to the podcast, click here:(https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/227660/small-cap-value-stocks-for-the-win )

Small-Cap Value Stocks for the Win

Welcome to Episode #4 of the Value Investor Podcast

Every week, Zacks value stock strategist and the Editor of Zacks Value Investor portfolio service, Tracey Ryniec, talks about all things happening in the value stock universe, including her top stock picks.

This week, Tracey discusses the one area value investors need to be in: small cap value stocks.

Small cap value has outperformed large cap value stocks over the long haul except for the last 2 years. Small caps, in general, both growth and value, have underperformed their large cap counterparts over the last 24 months.

Tracey believes thats about to change so investors need to have exposure to small cap stocks.

But how do you get it?

2 Ways to Invest in Small Caps

1. Use ETFs to get exposure to a broad range of companies

2. Use the Zacks Rank to find good quality small cap names with rising earnings estimates

Tracey discusses the pros and cons to each investing method.

Tracey recommends 2 ETFs, although there are also others you can use: the Vanguard Small Cap Value ETF ( VBR), which she owns in her own portfolio, or the Guggenheim S&P Small Cap 600 Pure Value ETF (RZV).

For small cap value stocks, she likes these three small cap companies with global businesses. They are also Zack Rank Buys.

3 Top Small Cap Value Stocks to Buy Now

1. ACCO Brands (ACCO)

2. Columbus McKinnon (CMCO)

3. Ferro Corporation (FOE)

Tracey also recommends that value investors check out her new weekly video series called Hidden Gems available on Youtube.

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While all the stocks featured in Hidden Gems wont necessarily be value stocks, although some likely will be, they will still be companies with great fundamentals that most traders ignore and that are followed by few analysts. They will have some of the same value attributes.

But what else should investors know about the importance of investing in small cap value stocks?

Check out this weeks podcast to find out.

Want more insights from Tracey?

Check out her weekly Value Investor service to receive more in-depth analysis on value companies and see which stocks she thinks are the best bargains now.

Click here to learn more>>

Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor of theInsider Trader andValue Investor services. You can follow her on twitter at@TraceyRyniec and she also hosts the Zacks Market Edge Podcast on iTunes.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch

Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

https://www.zacks.com/performance

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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



VIPERS-SC VALUE (VBR): ETF Research Reports



GUGG-SP 600 PV (RZV): ETF Research Reports



ACCO BRANDS CP (ACCO): Free Stock Analysis Report



COLUMBUS MCKINN (CMCO): Free Stock Analysis Report



FERRO CORP (FOE): Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
BULAWAYO (Reuters) - New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is taking several positives from his team's two test wins over Zimbabwe as the tourists head across the border for an expected tougher challenge against South Africa. New Zealand clinched a 2-0 series win in Bulawayo on Wednesday, matches that served as a warm-up for the two-test series against South Africa, the first test starting in Durban on Friday week. "There were some really good things that we can take into that series," Williamson told reporters on Wednesday. "The way the seamers bowled was fantastic, our batsmen spent a lot of time in the middle which was another positive and also for our spinners to come into it. "But, at the same time, South Africa are a different proposition and in different conditions. So I guess that while the learnings are a positive, the approach and our preparations will be different. Its not starting afresh, but its looking at whats coming up and preparing accordingly." Williamson said selection for the first test would depend on conditions but hinted at changes from the line-up that played both tests at the Queens Sport Club against Zimbabwe -- the first won by an innings and 117 runs and the second by 254 runs. "We have some good seamers who havent had a go yet and a very good off spinner in Mark Craig," he said. "We have plenty of options to look at. We are up against an extremely strong side and well have to be at our best to keep making those improvements we have been showing." (Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Andrew Both)
Harare (AFP) - A Zimbabwe pastor who became the figurehead of recent demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe's government said Thursday he is travelling to the US to meet compatriots there and consider his next move.

Evan Mawarire, founder of a protest campaign dubbed "ThisFlag", was detained last month for allegedly trying to overthrow the state, but a court dropped charges against him.

After his release he travelled to neighbouring South Africa, where he has been living and meeting with fellow Zimbabweans until leaving for the US.

"I am going to the USA. I am meeting some citizens over there...and to take time to think what will be my next move," Mawarire said in a video message posted on Facebook.

"Our power is in our unity, our power is in the fact that each Zimbabwean has decided to rise up".

The 39-year-old evangelical priest urged his compatriots to keep holding government to account and not rely on his leadership alone to pressure the government.

He called on Zimbabweans to stand up against "poor governance, corruption, theft of money and misgovernance".

Mawarire has steered clear of political affiliation and has avoided criticising Mugabe directly, repeatedly appealing for Zimbabweans to protest peacefully.

But Zimbabwe's veteran leader has publicly denounced the popular pastor.

Earlier this week, Mugabe accused his opponents, including Mawarire, of trying to topple him through protest, "like in the Arab countries".

The government has also accused western governments of being behind the recent wave of protests against Mugabe's government.
They may grow up to be ruthless predators, but for now, these newborn dingo pups couldn't be cuter.

Behind-the-scenes footage shared by the Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney, Australia shows two young boys posing for photos with the zoo's new litter of purebred dingo pups.

Read: Little Penguin Chick Becomes First of Its Species to Be Hatched in Zoo's 120-Year History

The five dingoes prove quite a handful for the little boys.

"That was enough photos for one day!" one jokes in the video.

The Wildlife Park welcomed the pups last month as part of its initiative to repopulate the species.

Ever since, the three female and two male pups have been under the protective care of their mother, Smudge, and dad, Bear.

But now the public is getting to cuddle with them, too.

The zoo is welcoming visitors to its "Dingo Puppy Weekend", where they can take their own pictures with the five pups, but, "if the puppies get tired, they may need to return to mumma Smudge for a puppy nap," the zoo warned.

While the encounter will be one of the first times these dingoes will be displayed at the zoo, officials said it may also be one of the last.

Read: Rescued Calf and Puppy Are Inseparable: 'They Loved Each Other From Day One'

The pups will remain at the zoo where their parents will teach them how to hunt and socialize, but once they become old enough to leave the pack, they will be relocated to other wildlife parks around Australia.

The zoo is taking part in an effort to repopulate the species because, according to officials, the number of purebred dingoes is quickly falling due to crossbreeding with feral dogs.

Watch: Giant Panda and Newborn Cub Share Tender First Moments Together

Related Articles:
By Rishika Sadam and Paul Carsten BENGALURU/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd posted its best revenue growth since before the e-commerce titan's listing in late 2014, lifting its shares to their highest level in a year. But Alibaba was silent on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into its accounting practices, which have long been the subject of criticism. In the three months to June 30, Alibaba also made more money from mobile shopping than from PCs for the first time, helping to send its shares up by more than 5 percent to $92.10 in New York, its highest level in more than a year. "We never had any doubt that we would be able to deliver increasing monetization of our users," Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai told a post-earnings conference call. "This is a decoupling of revenue from GMV (gross merchandise volume)," he said, referring to a measure of the total value of goods transacted on Alibaba's online shopping platforms. Despite GMV growth remaining low compared to previous years, rising 24 percent to 837 billion yuan, Alibaba is squeezing more money out of its e-commerce business, chiefly from advertising. That translated to quarterly revenues of 32.15 billion yuan ($4.84 billion), a 59 percent leap from the previous year and the highest growth rate since late 2013. Analysts had on average had expected revenue of 30.17 billion yuan, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Chief Financial Officer Maggie Wu said the ratio of money Alibaba made from e-commerce transactions was higher for mobile users than non-mobile users for the first time, something investors had expressed scepticism about before its IPO. Net income attributable to shareholders fell to 7.14 billion yuan, or 2.94 yuan per share, from 30.82 billion yuan, or 11.92 yuan per share, in the year-earlier quarter, when Alibaba deconsolidated its film business. However, China's flagging economic growth could threaten Alibaba, said Wedbush Securities' Gil Luria. "If there is a slowdown in the Chinese economy. ... I don't believe Alibaba is going to escape that," Luria said. BRANCHING OUT While China e-commerce was strong for Alibaba in its first quarter, the company is also investing in other businesses including cloud computing arm Aliyun, driverless vehicles and online shopping in Southeast Asia. It hopes these can become an eventual source of growth as Alibaba faces the prospect of a saturated online retail market in China. Although some are showing promise - Aliyun sales rose 156 percent, though only contributed 4 percent of total revenue - most are still loss-making. Tsai also took aim at those who had criticized Alibaba for its opaque accounting practices, noting that the company had started to report its revenues by business segments and provide more detail about its earnings. "We have worked hard to make it easy to understand Alibaba," he said. "We have provided you with more detailed info about our company so that you can better analyze our business." However, Alibaba said in June it would in the future only release GMV figures, a measure it had previously strongly emphasized, on an annual basis. This followed the disclosure that the SEC was probing Alibaba's accounting practices, related party transactions and data from its annual Singles' Day shopping festival, which produces figures the firm touts as a yardstick for its scale and success. Asked about the investigation on Bloomberg Television, Tsai said there were no updates. (Editing by Ted Kerr and Alexander Smith)
The following story isnt a script for a bad Hangover sequel, though Hollywood should definitely adapt it for the big screen.

Remember that incredibly cool motorbike helmet that took Indiegogo by storm exactly two years ago? The Skully AR-1 was supposed to be the coolest bike helmet ever, featuring an advanced heads up display complete with augmented reality (AR) elements. The company secured almost $2.5 million in funding via Indiegogo and an additional $11 million from investors after that.

Where did that money go? Among other things, it paid for expensive cars and trips to hot destinations, but also for personal expenses including rent, limos and strip club attractions.

DONT MISS: The worst thing about the iPhone 7 might be the iPhone 7 Plus

Marcus and Mitch Weller are the two brothers who headed the company into filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, in spite of its tremendous crowd-funding campaign. The company did not disclose any information about their alleged wrongdoings while at the helm of Skully, but a lawsuit filed by a former assistant reveals a treasure trove of information about what went on.

The unforeseen challenges and circumstances, beyond our control, made this effort impossible the company mentions in its polite letter to backers is not at all what we have expected.

As detailed by TechCrunch, Jalopnik, and Droid-Life, to name a few of the sites that covered the scandal, the Wellers adventures on the backers dime sound preposterous.

The former assistant filed the suit because of wrongful termination and failure to pay overtime, among other things. But she also revealed that the brothers used the money they got to pay rent and security deposits to new apartments, weekly cleanings, grocery bills, all restaurant meals, but also personal tech including iPads, iPhones, TVs, watches, and GoPros.

Thats just the tip of the spending iceberg. They also purchased an Audi R8, two Dodge Vipers (one of them was involved in a crash and needed replacement), four new motorcycles, and $13,000 trips to Vegas. The brothers also paid for trips to Florida, last-minute first-class tickets to Hawaii, strip joints and limo rides.

Story continues

They also paid $80,000 in cash to an unnamed co-founder, money that was hidden as expenses for a trip to China. In fact, the brothers routinely demanded [the assistant that she] engage in fraudulent bookkeeping practices designed to defraud investors in Skully into believing that Skully funds were being used for business purposes, when in fact, the funds were being used to pay the personal expenses of the Wellers.

Marcus Weller even made his assistant attend his driving school in his place. Weller was forced to attend it after receiving a traffic violation in that new R8.

So if you backed Skully by now youre wondering how you can get your money back  thats $1,500 per person, for nearly 1,000 people. The bad news is that you will probably not be able to do it because of that Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.

However, theres a company called Fusar that makes smart bike tools, and which is offering a credit equivalent for the whole amount you paid for the AR-1 helmet. The Skully Owners Stimulus (SOS) package will not let you spend all that credit at once, but you should be able to recoup the entire sum over time.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
THE ASSISTANT

When Amazon in late 2014 released the Echo, a "smart speaker" powered by digital assistant software called Alexa, those who wanted one had to endure a waiting list and a $200 price tag -- and what they received was a new class of device that is always listening.

After some product missteps (you probably forgot about that phone), Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is again the ultimate disrupter, releasing a tectonic piece of home tech that removes physical interaction and encourages users to think more about "what" and less about "how," which means more listening and less searching.

The Echo not only promotes Amazon's own Prime Music store, it also connects seamlessly to Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio and TuneIn, providing listeners an endless array of choices while their hands are otherwise occupied ("Alexa, stream my dishwashing playlist").

The New Pioneers: Is Kanye a Genius or a 'Classic Narcissist'? Toure, Joy Reid & Justin Hunte Debate

Though the Echo has yet to go mainstream -- sales figures were estimated at 3 million in April by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners -- it has clearly sparked the tinder, with Google releasing its own version, Home, in the fall and Apple rumored to be working on a Siri-powered version.

Amazon's plans for the Echo to become your home's Hal 9000 supersede music, of course -- according to The New York Times, more than 10,000 developers have registered to integrate Alexa into their products -- but voice-activated music on demand may be its most intuitively enjoyable benefit. -- Andrew Flanagan

THE NEW STARMAKER

With 90 million users, Musical.ly's social network is larger than the population in Germany. A free app that allows "musers" to upload 15-second lip-sync videos, the platform's popularity has skyrocketed in the last six months, drawing 50 percent of American teens and reportedly helping the company raise $100 million.

Story continues

"Musical.ly allows everyone to be an entertainer," co-founder Alex Zhu tells Billboard. It also, in theory, allows everyone to be a star. That's the case with 13-year-old Jacob Sartorius, a tween-pop personality whose 8 million Musical.ly followers helped propel his debut single, "Sweatshirt," to No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 this summer.

The New Pioneers: How Kesha Kept Her Career Afloat After Dr. Luke

Such momentum hasn't escaped industry attention. In May, a campaign for Ariana Grande's "Into You" yielded 150,000 lip-sync videos in one day. Acts like 5 Seconds of Summer and Flo Rida have posted lip-syncs to promote singles. In July, the app announced a label licensing deal with Warner Music Group. As Zhu puts it: "Our vision [is] to make music more participatory." -- Camille Dodero

This article originally appeared in the Aug. 20 issue of Billboard.
Malware dubbed Gooligan targets devices running Android 4.0 and 5.0, which represent nearly 74 percent of mobile devices using the Google-powered operating system (AFP Photo/JUSTIN SULLIVAN) (Getty/AFP/File)

Moscow (AFP) - Russia's anti-trust authority on Thursday fined Google 438 million rubles ($6.75 million) after finding it guilty of abusing its dominant market position by forcing smartphone makers to install its search engine on Androids.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) in September last year deemed Google in breach of a law on "protecting competition" after an investigation following a complaint by Russia's largest search engine, Yandex.

Yandex asked the anti-trust authorities to prevent Android phones from being automatically bundled with Google's search engine.

The FAS said that Google has two months to pay the fine.

Yelena Zayeva, the head of its department for regulating communications and IT was quoted in the statement as saying the ruling "will allow the development of competition on the mobile software market in Russia, which will have a positive effect for consumers."

All companies whose production is on sale in Russia have to observe the law on competition, "including transnational corporations," Zayeva added.

Google said in a statement sent to AFP: "We have received notice of the fine from FAS and will analyze closely before deciding our next steps."

"In the meantime, we continue to talk to all invested parties to help consumers, device manufacturers and developers thrive on Android in Russia," Google said.

The tech giant's Android operating system dominates the smartphone market with a share of around 80 percent, which enables Google to offer search and other services to handset users.

Russia's anti-trust authority had been holding consultations with Google aimed at reaching an amicable agreement, but this required Google to admit guilt.

Google has insisted that consumers are free to choose whether to use its services.

Google has been hit by similar anti-trust charges in other countries, particularly in the European Union, which has launched three cases against Google, one of which is specifically about using the dominance of the Android mobile phone operating system to restrict competition.

Russia's anti-trust authority this week also launched legal proceedings against US tech giant Apple over the alleged fixing of resellers' prices for iPhones in the country.

Apple said in a statement sent to AFP: "Resellers set their own prices for the Apple products they sell in Russia and around the world."
Photos of President John Mahama in a Ghanaian army uniform has left many Ghanaians on social media fascinated.

He wore the uniform to the commissioning of the naval headquarters complex at Burma Camp in Accra on Thursday.

Although President Mahama is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, this is the first time he has been photographed wearing an army uniform.

Some Ghanaians have been showering praises on the president on social media.

"Omanpanin, in fact, you look absolutely nice in this attire. I salute the most handsome President ever in the history of Ghana," one Sylvanus Amanyo wrote.

"You will go down in history as the best president ever. Such a smart man with so much charisma," Ameh Ben-Bella wrote.

Some social media users were, however, not so charitable, with one describing the president as "the commander-in-chief of dumsor".

What do you make of the pictures? Share your views with us in the comments section and feel free to share this article with your friends. You can also send your reactions, pictures and videos to us on Facebook and on Twitter.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Aug. 6 and 9 mark the anniversaries of the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. U.S. propaganda insists American lives were saved by use of these weapons, but Japan was ready to surrender, only wishing to retain its emperor. The U.S., however, fanatically insisted on an unconditional surrender. If you have an argument with someone, have you ever insisted on unconditional surrender?

Had the U.S. agreed about the emperor, the war would have ended about two months sooner. That would have saved American lives. Also, American POWs, as well as the POWs from other nations, were killed in these bomb blasts. Of the nearly 100,000 humans who perished at Nagasaki, only 250 were military personnel.

The U.S. does not pledge no first use of nuclear weapons  curiously, North Korea does.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama plans to develop a new cruise missile and to rebuild our nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years at a cost estimated at $1 trillion. Yes, one trillion of your tax dollars, which could be far better spent on U.S. infrastructure, schools, homeless shelters and so forth.

By the way, in the end, Japan was allowed to keep their emperor.

Mark M. Giese

Mount Pleasant
Despite increased public support,

R.I. lawmakers fail to restrict guns

By David H. Leach. August 5th, 2016

This legislative session was no better than the previous two in terms of legislation passed to increase gun safety and reduce gun violence. But the tide seems to be turning in efforts to break the stranglehold the National Rifle Association has over our legislature: The Rhode Island Coalition against Gun Violence commissioned a poll this session that showed that a high percentage of Rhode Islanders agreed with the legislation it supported.

The local arm of the NRA is a group called the 2nd Amendment Coalition, and it works with a number of sportsmen groups to rally opposition to gun-safety legislation and introduce bills to ease restrictions on gun ownership. These groups employ paid lobbyists.

Local groups on the side of increasing gun safety and reducing gun violence are the Rhode Island Coalition against Gun Violence, the Rhode Island chapter of Moms Demand Action, the Rhode Island Coalition against Domestic Violence and the Religious Coalition for a Violence-Free Rhode Island. These groups held rallies, lobby days and news conferences to call attention to the issues surrounding gun violence with the goal of raising the awareness of legislators and the general public. .....

Sad to see this degree of anti-gun sentiment - "the R.I. Coalition against Gun Violence increased its list of partner organizations to more than 95, including the Rhode Island Board of Rabbis, several synagogues, and the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Alliance". They want to see schools made into total gun-free-zones and of course the old favorite - magazine capacity restrictions, plus, the over-used terms"gun safety" and "gun violence" being handed out.

"You don't have to be Jewish to fight by our side."

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2 US-based Nepali children orphaned after losing parents

Two US-based Nepali children, aged two and three, have been rendered orphan after losing their parents in two separate incidents within a year.
Chandragiri Cable Car service opens

Chandragiri Hills on Monday officially opened the Chandragiri Cable Car service to the general public amid a Vedic ceremony.
Essentials dearer due to higher import costs

Prices of daily essentials, particularly sugar and pulses, have shot up over the last one month. Traders have attributed the jump to shortages and a hike in import and factory gate prices.
Gangamaya resumes fast-onto-death; keeps herself away from saline, medicine

Gangamaya Adhikari, who has been struggling since long demanding justice to her son murdered during the Maoist insurgency in the country, has resumed fast-onto-death from Thursday.
Mountain Air helicopter makes force landing in Nuwakot

A Mountain Air helicopter carrying five people, including the captain, on board was forced to make an emergency landing in Nuwakot on Thursday.
Not the fairest of them all

For all the expenses on reconstruction, an investment of a few million rupees more is worth the aesthetic value
NTB passes Rs1.12b budget to revive crippled tourism

A record budget of Rs1.12 billion has been approved for the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) for fiscal 2016-17 to allow it to rev up promotional activities and revive the countrys tourism industry which was knocked to the ground by last years twin disasters.
Oil shock

Govt should urgently take up issues of laid-off Nepali workers in Saudi Arabia
Over 50 cases of Scrub typhus found

More than 50 people cases of Scrub typhus, a bacterial disease caused by intracellular parasite Orientia tsutsugamushi, were reported in Chitwan in the last four months.
PPMO set to amend Public Procurement Regulation 2007

The Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO) is all set to amend the Public Procurement Regulation 2007, making it mandatory for bidders to qualify on both technical and financial fronts to bag government contracts.
Probe panel to look into alleged misuse of fund

The International Affairs and Labour Committee of Parliament on Wednesday formed a probe panel to look into alleged misuse of the Migrant Workers Welfare Fund (MWWF).
Rio Olympics 2016: Relay hands Ledecky third gold of Rio Games

Freestyle queen Katie Ledecky made sure of her third swimming gold medal of the Rio Olympics, and fourth of her career, after anchoring the U.S. women to victory in the 4x200 meters freestyle relay on Wednesday.
Son, daughter-in-law thrash mother for practicing 'witchcraft'

A 69-year-old Sumitra Khatri of Armala-6 in Kaski has been taking shelter at an old-age home after her son and daughter-in-law allegedly forced her to leave the house accusing her of practicing witchcraft.
Subina Shrestha nominated for Emmy

Journalist Subina Shrestha has been nominated for 2016 International Emmy Awards, becoming the first Nepali to be nominated for the prestigious honour.
Syria conflict: Aleppo medics appeal to Obama for help

The last doctors in the rebel-held east of the Syrian city of Aleppo have urged US President Barack Obama to come to the aid of the 250,000 civilians there.
Thai, Bolivian nationals nabbed with cocaine worth Rs 60m

Police have arrested two foreign nationals and sized 4 kg of cocaine worth Rs60 million.
The cross they bear

Those concerned about religious conversion in Nepal should analyse properly why it is happening
Unilever trying to end crisis amicably

A top official of Unilever Nepal Limited (UNL) has said the company is making efforts to resolve the current disruption at its Hetauda plant, creating a win-win for both the management and the workers.
Uproar over bid to free criminals

The demand for release and exoneration of persons involved in criminal offences like murder and aggravated assault during the Madhes protest has caused an uproar in Parsa.
Visit of Prez Xi depends on Nepals readiness: Ji

A visiting professor of a Chinese think tank has said that the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping will depend on the expectations of Nepal government and Nepali political parties.
World's most daring wedding spot? (Photo feature)

It's not everyone's idea of a special day, but one couple in China chose to celebrate their wedding by dangling in mid-air from a glass bridge.
Yes, its hard to to tell when one enters the city limits

Yes, they will make the city more inviting

Maybe ... does it really matter?

No, the signs in place are fine

No, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars

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The Chief Justice Bart Katureebe condemned the dramatic scenes that played out at Makindye Court yesterday where protesters holding placards in support of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) General Kayihura disrupted court proceedings.

In an impromptu press briefing he held at the Kampala High court, the visibly angry justice Katureebe warned against attempts to intimidate the judiciary while it executes its duties.

Justice Katureebe challenged Ugandans to decide on whether to be ruled by such lawlessness or rule of law.

Earlier, the legal fraternity advised the Inspector General of Police to step aside to allow meaningful investigation of a case in which is he is alleged to have abated brutalization of innocent Ugandans.

This comes after the Police Chief and second of his commanders failed to show up before the Makindye Magistrates Court to answer charges of torture.

However according to the police deputy spokesperson Polly Namaye, they are yet to receive the summons.

Addressing the media today, Anthony Mutimba, the treasurer at the legal service providers network board of directors said that with Kayihura still the head of the investigating institution, all evidence against him is likely to be distorted.

Meanwhile, the opposition Forum for Democratic Changes Dr. Kizza Besigye has condemned the police for not acting in the interest of the people who opened a case against on IGP Gen Kale Kayihura.

Addressing journalists at his home in Kasagati, Besigye says that the impending prosecution of Kayihura is confirmation that the police that he leads does not function as peoples force.

The Ethics and Integrity Minister Fr. Simon Lokodo too has condemned what he describes as acts of lawlessness exhibited at Makindye Magistrates Court yesterday.

Father Lokodo said it was very unfortunate further expressing disappointment that the police did not swiftly swing in action to avoid such a scene.

In an interesting turn of events however, Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura has been defended by Parliaments Human Rights Committee Chairperson Jovah Kamateka.

The Mitooma Woman legislator says Gen. Kaihura has contributed to the countrys stability and having him prosecuted would be total humiliation and an attack on his integrity.

Kamateka also says that that the youths that besieged court yesterday were only exercising their rights.

After both the accused and complainants made no show at court, the magistrate adjourned the case to August 29th to determine whether or not the Director of Public Prosecutions should be allowed to take over the proceedings.

Story By Ruth Anderah and Benjamin Jumb
The army Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Katumba Wamala has explained the UPDFs failure to rescue all Ugandans trapped in troubled South Sudan.

The army last month rescued thousands of Ugandans majority of whom were traders who had assembled in Nisitu as part of the rescue plan.

But the force has been criticized for only rescuing Ugandans who were in the capital Juba, ignoring those who are stuck in the far off areas like Boor and Jonglei.

However while appearing before parliaments committee on Defence and Internal Affairs chaired by Mityana Woman MP Judith Nabakooba, Gen Wamala has explained that Uganda has no capacity to rescue civilians under intense fighting since it has no mandate for deployment.

Story By Moses Kyeyune
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By Anabel Gonzalez

WASHINGTON, DC  The Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom and the presidential race in the United States have shown, among other things, that public distrust of global integration is on the rise. That distrust could derail new trade agreements currently in the works, and prevent future ones from being initiated.

The danger implied by this scenario should not be underestimated. Isolationism and protectionism, if taken too far, would break the trade-based economic engine that has delivered peace and prosperity to the world for decades.

As a former trade minister for Costa Rica, I know how difficult it is for countries  developed and developing alike  to craft trade policies that deliver benefits to all of their people. But just because managing the effects of globalization is difficult does not mean we should throw our hands up and quit.

In the developing world, trade has delivered high growth and technological progress. According to the World Bank , since 1990 trade has helped to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty. But these gains, while impressive, are not necessarily permanent. If high-income countries close themselves  and their consumers  off from global markets, the world's poorest people will suffer the most.

Trade thrives in an open environment of willing participants acting in good faith and governed by clear rules. Short of this, the forces of globalization can turn cooperation into conflict. That's why policymakers should focus on four areas.

First, countries should dismantle protectionist measures they have in place, and make a firm commitment not to implement policies that distort global markets.

Second, countries should come together to update the international rules governing trade to account for changing economic conditions, and effectively implement negotiated agreements.

Third, individual countries and institutions such as the World Trade Organization should work together to eliminate barriers that increase trade costs. In particular, they must abolish agricultural subsidies, remove restrictions on trade in services, improve connectivity, facilitate cross-border trade and investment, and increase trade finance.

Finally, and most important, wealthy countries should support developing countries' efforts to integrate themselves further into the global economy. Given trade's record of reducing poverty, this is a moral imperative; it is also indispensable for peace and stability.

To be sure, trade must deliver for all countries and for all people, from factory workers suffering plant closures in Europe or the United States to subsistence farmers trapped in informal economies in Africa and South Asia. But those who suggest that trade is a zero-sum game are simply avoiding the hard questions: Who should bear the painful dislocation costs from trade and new technologies? What policies will enable dislocated people to pursue new opportunities? How can countries maintain productivity-led growth in an age of frequent and sudden disruption?

The challenges of global integration are not new, but nor can they be ignored. Policymakers should mind the lessons of economic history. Above all, they should bear in mind that even during past periods of rapid technological change, far more people benefited from free and open trade than from protectionist barriers.

No country in today's world can seal itself off from foreign goods, services, capital, ideas, or people. Instead leaders should foster more commerce to include more people. They can do so by adopting international rules to manage openness and interdependency; establishing stronger social safety nets; investing in innovation, education and skills-training, and infrastructure; and creating a more conducive regulatory environment for businesses and entrepreneurs to foster stronger and more inclusive growth.

No country can deliver long-term prosperity to its people on its own. Closer international cooperation and economic integration is the only way forward.

Anabel Gonzalez is Senior Director for the World Bank Group's Trade & Competitiveness Global Practice. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate.
China and Russia should welcome the decision to deploy the U.S. THAAD missile defense system in South Korea because it helps lessen the need for Seoul to seek other defense options, including development of its own nuclear weapons, a U.S. expert said Wednesday.



Richard Weitz, director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute in Washington, made the point in an article, titled "Better THAAD than Dead," arguing that South Korea has ample reasons to shore up defense and nuclear weapons development could be an option.



Should the South go nuclear, Japan will follow suit, a scenario that is not in China's interest, he said.



"China and Russia should welcome THAAD, because it alleviates the need for South Korea or Japan to pursue other defense options, which could include the development of nuclear weapons," Weitz said in the article.



China has strongly protested the decision to place a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense unit in South Korea, claiming the system could be used against the country, despite repeated assurances from Seoul and Washington that the battery is aimed only at defending against North Korean missile threats.



Weitz said that many in South Korea and Japan now worry about the strength of U.S. security commitment. Recent developments have undermined U.S. credibility, from President Barack Obama's failure to enforce his 'red line' warning against the use of chemical weapons in Syria, to Donald Trump's presidential nomination, he said.



"Some members of South Korea's governing conservative Saenuri Party now openly call for the acquisition of nuclear weapons, believing that this will deter a North Korean attack and prompt China to increase pressure on its client to roll back its weapons programs," Weitz said.



"If South Korea develops a nuclear arsenal, Japan is likely to do the same, especially given China's aggressive pursuit of its claim to the Japanese-occupied Senkaku Islands," he said. "Japan has an enormous stockpile of separated plutonium and the technical wherewithal to be a 'virtual nuclear power': without having any nuclear weapons on hand, it could quickly develop them if necessary."



But nuclear weapons development by South Korea and Japan would not only put the countries under international sanctions, but it would also "be the start of a new Cold War, or worse," the expert said.



"Against this backdrop, the case for THAAD is clear. The US, South Korea, and Japan should cooperate on missile defense as the first line of regional deterrence, while also fortifying and dispersing vulnerable targets, deepening trilateral intelligence sharing on North Korean threats, and working with the international community to disrupt the North's weapons programs," he said.



"South Korea and Japan should not alienate the US by setting out on their own -- no matter what Trump tells them," he said. (Yonhap)




The Galaxy Note 7 opens a new chapter of the global smartphone market, the head of Samsung Electronics Co.'s smartphone business said Thursday, ahead of the phablet's debut in South Korea.

Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile communications business, made the remarks during a meeting with reporters as it begins selling the Note 7 in South Korea from Aug. 19.

"I think that the Galaxy Note 7, with its more completed look, opens a new chapter for the global smartphone market as well as Samsung Electronics," Koh said.

Samsung unveiled the phablet in New York earlier this month in a bid to keep up the momentum of its smartphone sales.

The Note 7 features an iris scanner and an S-Pen that allows users to translate words. Adding an extra security feature, the iris scanner enables only the owner of the device to use the smartphone.

Koh said the Note 7 is a product of Samsung's efforts to defy boundaries of engineering to offer a comfortable grip and easier one-handed operation.

"We spared no efforts to offer high-end hardware and software and strengthen the user experience," Koh said.

Koh ruled out the possibility of leaking biometric information stored in the phablets.

"The human retina is impossible to replicate and iris-recognition security is the safest to date," Koh said.

The Note 7 supports Samsung Pass authentication solution, bringing authentication such as iris scanning and fingerprint recognition to more financial apps and services.

With the Note 7's Samsung Pass, users can make mobile-banking transactions with Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank, company officials said.

The Note 7 is priced at 988,900 won ($898.10) in South Korea. (Yonhap)
ALBION  The Bosch Community Fund recently awarded more than $50,000 in grants to three local school districts.

The grants will help increase students access to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and environmental sustainability programs and activities.

Ive seen firsthand the positive impact Bosch Community Fund grants have on the children in our schools, Michael Sagan, plant manager at Boschs Albion facility, said in a news release.

During visits to several schools, the students demonstrated projects theyve created thanks to support from the funds grants. It was wonderful to see how excited, proud and knowledgeable they were about their projects. The grants have definitely enhanced the students focus and excitement in STEM-related courses.

The grants support the following programs:

Central Noble Community School Corp.

 STEM lab/maker space: This $6,500 grant supports a maker space laboratory at Wolf Lake Elementary School. The lab is a collaborative workspace used by small groups as well as entire classrooms for making, learning, exploring and sharing STEM concepts.

Teachers facilitate the learning process while students take the lead in finding their own solutions to real-world problems through activities that draw upon their natural desire to explore and discover.

 Apple Academy Training: A $5,995 grant is providing support to send staff members who are responsible for professional development activities within the schools to the Apple Foundations Trainer Academy. Participating staff members will enhance their abilities to provide professional development training in Apple OS X and related Apple creativity apps used within the schools.

 Vernier equipment: A $4,022 grant is going toward the purchase of Vernier sensors, LabQuest mini hardware and Logger Pro 3 software for Central Noble Jr./Sr. High School. This equipment will increase the accuracy of lab work performed in science classrooms, allowing for real-time graph analysis, and will enhance the dynamics of learning through advanced, technological hands-on applications.

East Noble School Corp.

 LittleBits: This $4,999 grant is aiding in the purchase of LittleBits electronics for education for Avilla Elementary School. LittleBits, a platform for easy-to-use electronic building blocks that empower invention, will be used by students in first, fourth and sixth grades. The school plans to eventually incorporate LittleBits activities into other grades and after-school programs.

 Lego Mindstorms: A $4,496 grant is providing funds to expand South Side Elementary Schools Lego STEM program, which was established in 2015 with support from a Bosch Community Fund grant. With this grant, fifth-grade students take the knowledge and skills gained from Lego Education WeDo activities completed in fourth grade and apply them to the Mindstorms kit in which they build and program robots.

 Water quality atudy: For the second year, the Bosch Community Fun supports the East Noble Middle School water quality project. Thanks to the $4,000 grant, participating students develop science skills by performing a variety of water quality tests to discover the physical and chemical properties of area lake water and then use research and problem-solving skills to develop recommendations to reduce water pollution.

 Project Lead the Way: A $3,500 grant is assisting in the implementation of Project Lead the Way at Rome City Elementary School. With the activity, students learn problem-solving strategies, critical and creative thinking as well as how to communicate and collaborate. The project and problem-based curriculum focuses on computer science, engineering and biomedical science.

West Noble School Corp.

 iPad technology: A $5,500 grant is aiding in the purchase of iPads for West Noble Primary School. This technology allows teachers to deliver individual instruction needed by each student. The iPads will be used in several capacities, including small groups, work stations and guided reading.

 Outdoor classroom: A $5,500 grant is supporting an outdoor classroom at West Noble Elementary School. The outdoor classroom originated from a student effort to collect plastic lids to be recycled to create a couple of benches and grew into a communitywide effort. To date, students have collected more than 7,600 pounds of recyclable plastic to fund their project.

 3-D printing lab: A $5,494 grant is contributing to the purchase of equipment, materials and software needed to start a 3-D printing course at West Noble Middle School. Having this 3-D printing capability gives 60-100 students annually an opportunity to integrate math, art and technical skills in a collaborative setting. The 3-D printing course is part of an integrated approach in teaching students art and industrial technology.

Through the generous support of the Bosch grants, East Noble students have the opportunity to engage in science and technology lessons that stretch students critical thinking and stimulates natural curiosity and innovation, East Noble Superintendent Ann Linson said in the news release. Our teachers truly appreciate Boschs support of education and Noble County youth.

Since 2012, the Bosch Community Fund has provided $204,698 in grants to organizations in Noble County.
No

Yes, a light case

Yes, two or more light cases

One serious case

Two or more serious bouts

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A little rain and a few downed power lines didnt stop Coulee Region residents from coming out for Congressman Ron Kinds 15th annual corn roast at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway on Aug. 4.

Residents packed the exhibition hall of the fairgrounds to show their support of Kind and enjoy a good bratwurst, roasted corn on the cob, a cold drink and music by local band Garys Ridgeland Dutchmen.

During the majority of the three-hour event, Kind chatted with his constituents and listened to their concerns, while campaign staffers and his colleagues milled about the crowds making sure everyone had the information they needed to get out and vote.

Kind said the reason he continues to serve the Third District is that there is always more work to be done and more things to accomplish.

Democracy is hard work. I think people know that it requires a lot of work, a lot of patience, he said. Consensus-building is never easy, and yet Ive been around long enough to establish relationships, including across the isle.

Kind said it was these relationships he has worked hard to build among those aligned with the GOP that makes him as effective in Congress as he is.

A moderate Democrat from La Crosse, Kind is in a unique position this year. Its the first time in almost a century that the Third District representative for the house will run unopposed by a Republican candidate in the general election.

That isnt to say Kind is running entirely unopposed. He faced off against progressive Democratic candidate Myron Buchholz in Tuesdays primary contest. Kind won the race will be the only name on the ballot in November.

According to Kind, a La Crosse Logan graduate, living and raising a family in La Crosse has given him the opportunity to stay connected with his constituents.

I know all what the hopes and aspirations and challenges are here throughout the Congressional district, Kind said. I think throughout the years, people have gotten a chance to know me and how I conduct myself.

Kind said working in Congress has been frustrating, getting things done in such a divided arena.

Its no question its been frustrating, he said. The dysfunction coming out of Washington is way too polarized.

Its way too hyper-partison and it doesnt have to be that way, he added.

Kind said he believed things were going to start turning around in Congress.

I think the pendulum is starting to swing back, he said. You may not believe it in this presidential race, but I think a lot of my colleagues and friends on the other side, Republicans, are getting very tired of the gridlock and the constant back-and-forth finger-pointing.

He said he believed if Congress could find a middle ground, there is the opportunity to build on that to get some work done on behalf of the American people.

According to Kind, there is often a disconnect between what his constituents in Wisconsin want and what is possible in Washington. He explained that the environment in Washington is a lot different than what people in Wisconsin are accustomed to.

The biggest disconnect is good old-fashion Wisconsin manners, he said. People tend to treat each other more civilly and respectfully back home, but when you get to Washington, all the name-calling and finger-pointing is really unbelievable.

He said most Wisconsinites can respect each other even if they have a difference of opinion.

That doesnt translate well to Washington, Kind said.

He added that his job in Congress has been to represent good old-fashioned Wisconsin values in Washington, bring that to D.C., and through that, hopefully get things accomplished.
At about 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, a severe thunderstorm made its way over the Coulee Region, raining down a fury of strong winds, thunder and lightning.

Heavy rain flooded streets and and strong straight-line winds leveled trees, often taking down power lines with them. Well over 2,000 people were without power in the minutes after the storm.

West Salem and Holmen were among the worst affected by the blast of rain and wind. In West Salem alone, nearly 1,500 people were without power after large trees took down power lines all across town.

The story was largely the same in Holmen, where the strong winds had toppled trees, taking out power for well over 500 residents, according to Xcel Energys outage tracking website.

By 4 p.m. the storm had passed, but the heavy rains had left behind deep pools of standing water in many intersections, yet another hazard for the hundreds of Coulee Region residents who flocked home to survey the damage.

For Bob schneider, a former line worker, his retirement couldnt have come at a better time. Schneider had retired from Xcel Energy two weeks prior and was celebrating his retirement with his family and friends in the Village Park when the storm struck.

Schneider, along with his friends and family, were forced to bunker down in the park shelter while trees toppled around them. Schneider said all they could hear was the whistling of the wind as the storm blew past.

In the minutes after the storm, firefighters and police canvassed the scene, investigating reports of downed lines.

At the corner of East Garland and Mill Street, firefighters cordoned off a block while Xcel Energy crews worked the scene to restore power to residents.
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind has been a tireless advocate for the people of Wisconsin, and he deserves your vote Aug. 9. By remaining focused on those whom he represents, instead of playing party politics, hes managed to steer a big bill through Congress that was signed by President Barack Obama and is already having an impact.

For years, a loophole allowed corporations to import goods into the United States that were made using child, slave or forced labor. Kind introduced legislation to stop this morally outrageous exploitation of foreign work forces and also level the playing field for our workers. He took leadership on the issue and built consensus, eventually passing a bill in both the House and Senate at a time when his party controlled neither body.

Recently, for the first time in years, U.S. Customs was able to seize a shipment of goods because of the loophole closed by Kind. Not only did Kind finish the job, but the legislation is already getting results.

Its easy to demand change, but it's much harder to get it done. Ron Kind deserves your vote; hes proven that hes able to rise above the rhetoric in order to do the right thing for our nation and for Wisconsinites.

Kris Troyanek,

La Crosse
Nearly 50 years ago, the Milwaukee Journal (now the Journal-Sentinel) received the Pulitzer Prize for public service for its successful campaign to stiffen the states laws against water pollution. I remember this milestone in environmental progress well because I had been hired soon after the award by the Journal as a cub reporter.

One of the members of the Pulitzer-winning reporting team, the late Don Olesen, followed up a few years later with a series of articles titled Poison in Paradise that exposed the public health dangers in Door County of pollution reaching the countys wells through the thin soil and fractured limestone bedrock. The karst geology of the northeast Wisconsin permits surface waters and the pollutants they carry to quickly reach the ground water.

Now, half a century later, Wisconsin has water pollution problems that suggest the Journals efforts and 50 years of regulation and scientific research have left us still scratching our heads over what to do about water pollution from manure spreading by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and other pollution sources. Kewaunee County, with its karst geology and concentration of large dairy CAFOs, is at the forefront of concern, but lax enforcement of water pollution control regulations is a statewide problem, according to a recent independent audit.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp wrote in the Green Bay Press Gazette in May that, Sound science takes some time, but this administration has invested the resources to actually seek to solve the problem with ground water quality in this region.

A month later, she went before the DNRs citizen board to give her excuses for why the states Legislative Audit Bureau had just released a report saying the department had failed to administer the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) according to state and federal laws.

Stepp cited staffing shortages and lack of state funding.

Then last month, the DNR weakened a proposed set of regulations on manure spreading after dairy groups objected to costs of implementing them, particularly those that would have applied to CAFOs.

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign noted in its recent bulletin that one of the major farm industry groups raising the objections  the Dairy Business Association  has dozens of sponsors whose employees have contributed more than $2.1 million to statewide and legislative candidates, including $710,000 to Gov. Scott Walker in recent years. The Democracy Campaign added that the owners of a factory farm that was cleared of violating state environmental rules on a manure spreading issue this year gave more than $30,000 to Walker over the past six years.

If this isnt a poster case for the power of money in state politics and the politicizing of the DNR, I dont know what is. But, thankfully, people are beginning to notice.

Rep. Scott Krug, R-Nekoosa, was quoted in Sundays La Crosse Tribune saying that ignoring water quality and quantity problems in his central Wisconsin district would be political suicide.

And there is this from the La Crosse County Board: A resolution in polite whereaes and therefores that the DNR should do its job in enforcement of the 17 facilities in La Crosse County with permits for discharging pollutants.

The resolution noted that, statewide, the DNR failed to provide electronically filed annual reports from CAFOs to those responsible for monitoring and compliance. Also, the DNR issued a notice of violation to 33 permittees when 558 should have received such notices according to its own enforcement policies. Further, the resolution noted that at least five of 12 CAFOs required to have groundwater monitoring wells exceeded their permit limits, including one in La Crosse County with exceedences beginning in 2005.

According to the resolution, the DNR within 90 days, will provide the county with an enumerated report of the compliance status of all WPDES permits in La Crosse County.

Kudos to the county for holding the DNR accountable. Cathy Stepp should be held accountable as well for failing, according to the business model she often cites as guiding her actions, to provide her customers, the people of Wisconsin, the clean water that they need and expect. There is nothing new in the past 50 years about the need for clean water. What has changed is the political commitment to enforce protection of the states waters.
Luther (7-3) built a lead in its Division 6 first-round game at third-seeded Markesan on Friday and held on to beat the Hornets 26-14 for their first playoff win since becoming a member of the WIAA.
Frank probably would have wanted it this way.

Actually, the legendary musician, composer and all-around pot-stirrer Frank Zappa may not have wanted any documentary at all made about his life. Asked in a television interview late in his life how hed like to be remembered, he growls Not important.

But documentary filmmaker Thorsten Schutte disagrees, and the result is his film Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words. Instead of taking the traditional approach of talking to friends, family members or bandmates about Zappa, the film curates exclusively from interviews Zappa gave throughout his life. In the film, as was probably true in life, Zappa gets the first and last word.

Zappas life and work was a fascinating mix of the highbrow and the lowbrow, although he wouldnt have acknowledged the distinction. He was the flamboyant frontman of the 60s rock band the Mothers of Invention, which often sounded like a circus train careening off the tracks. The influence of the band overshadowed his work as a gifted composer of intricate, unorthodox classical pieces. He influenced rock bands ranging from Primus to System of a Down, but was himself influenced by the likes of Igor Stravinsky and Bela Bartok.

What tied it all together was an unabashed and fervent belief in creative freedom, wherever it happened to take him and whoever it happened to offend. While Zappa compared interviews to the Inquisition, hes good at parrying his inquisitors, often wittily declaring his distaste for government authority and the lowering of cultural standards.

With his steady gaze and gift for cynical quotes, he comes across less as a prophet and more like a small business owner, staring grimly from his doorstop at the forces threatening his livelihood. That business ethic extended to the way he ran his band  members were forbidden from drug use while on tour, simply because it could jeopardize a show.

Schutte doesnt provide any context or onscreen text to explain what were seeing or when, making Eat That Question a film more suited to longtime fans than Zappa newcomers. The footage is almost always entertaining, but I would love to see a film thats more thorough, and perhaps less supplicating to its subject.

We do see footage of some of the key points of Zappas career, such as when he gets banned from Londons Royal Albert Hall for what, in retrospect, were incredibly mild lyrics. We also get a sense of the freethinking Zappas vast influence when he visits post-Communist Czechoslovakia, and President Vaclav Havel presents himself as a huge fan. And, of course, theres footage of Zappa famously testifying in Congress against the Tipper Gore-led Parents Music Resource Center and their crusade to put warning labels on record albums. (Youd think Zappa, ever the savvy businessman, would have predicted that such labels would only drive up sales.)

Zappa died of prostate cancer in 1993 at the age of 53, at a time where he had largely left rock music behind to focus on his classical work. The last scene in the film just shows a visibly ailing Zappa working with an orchestra on a piece, his head bobbing gently as he listens.

Its the work, not the words, that Zappa wanted to be remembered, and Eat That Question will send many viewers to their vinyl or YouTube to hunt it down.
Jerry Ray Banegas was born Jerry Ray Moore to Ellis Ray Moore and Ruby Belle (Coates) Moore Sept. 5, 1945, in Asheville, N.C. After the dissolution of the marriage, Jerry's mother married Lester Frank Banegas and adopted Jerry at age 6.

Jerry passed away Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse.

Jerry was baptized Nov. 17, 1956, and received the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation on Dec. 9, 1956, at Christ the King Catholic Church, Norfolk, Va.

Jerry married Carolyn Wise on Aug, 10, 1963, in Buncombe County, N.C. Two children were born of this marriage, Timothy Ray and Connie Lynn. The marriage was dissolved.

Jerry married Sonja Ann Gutzel Kirkeeng on July 29, 1978, in the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Iowa.

Jerry's education occurred in a lot of places, except schools. His dissatisfaction with classrooms peaked as he began the ninth grade in an all-boys Catholic boarding school in Norfolk. He ran away from the school. He ran to Asheville, leaving behind school and parents. He went to stay with grandparents in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina.

At 15, he enrolled in trade school, taking mechanics courses. While working on cars, things went fine, but classroom situations continued to bother him. Soon he quit and went to work for Sears, installing heating and air conditioning equipment. Before he was 17, he was working full time for Sears. He said he was a success; he was making $36 a week, and had his own Chevrolet!

After a move to Charleston, S.C., he joined the fire department. He claims that was his favorite job. He attended a semester at the Baptist College in Charleston, passing some college boards to gain admittance. He studied nothing but math and physics, launching his engineering career.

In April 1967, he earned his first patent, for a ventilating system which was sold to the Holiday Inn in Memphis. Later while working for a Charleston firm that produced engines for helicopters, he received a copyright on a slide-rule device used for calculating engine temperatures.

After the helicopter engine firm started to wind down, along with the Vietnam War, he moved through a succession of jobs until landing with an Asheville, firm called Product Engineering Corp. Eventually a bigger corporation noticed Product Engineering, and tried to buy it. That larger firm was ALCO (Automatic Liquid Control), which was unable to buy the business, but did succeed in hiring Jerry Banegas.

He started with ALCO and Emerson Electric in 1977, spending a year in St. Louis. Trane Co. became an immediate responsibility and a year later he moved to La Crosse.

In 1999, he retired from Emerson and started his own consulting business. He retired again in 2003.

Jerry enjoyed life at the home he and Sonja built in Dutch Creek, Bangor. They moved to La Crosse in 2003.

He was a proud participant in organizing the LarryFest Bluegrass Festival. Jerry was also a life member of Hammerton Lodge No. 332 A.F.M. in North Charleston, S.C.

Jerry is survived by his wife of 38 years, Sonja; son, Timothy Ray (Patricia) Banegas of La Crosse; daughter, Connie Lynn (Jeff) Burns of Charleston, S.C; stepchildren, Laurie Ann (Robert) Nicholson of Middleton, Wis., and Tia Lynn (Jeff) Hrudka of West Salem; his mother, Ruby Coates Banegas of Summerville, S.C.; sister, Debra Ann Banegas of Summerville; grandchildren, Karrie Sonja Nicholson of Denver and Max Leo Nicholson of Milwaukee; along with other relatives and friends.

A celebration of Jerrys life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at the Fish Creek Lutheran Church, 5467 County Road J, Rockland. Pastor John Stennes-Spidahl will officiate. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Family and friends are invited for visitation from noon until the time of service Saturday at the church. The family asks that memorials be given in Jerrys name to a charity of choice. Online condolences may be offered at www.torkelsonfuneralhome.com. The Torkelson Funeral Home of Cashton, is assisting the family.
This time of year, school supplies are at the top of the wish lists for many local charities, but the need extends beyond the state and even the country. Alaffia and the Peoples Food Co-op are calling on the community to spread their generosity beyond the Coulee Region to help the students of Togo, in West Africa.

Pens and pencils may not cost much but they can make all the difference to students in Togo. Less than a quarter of children in West Africa make it through sixth grade, due in large part to lack of transportation and supplies. Togo students are required to purchase their own books and uniforms, leaving little money left over for the basics.

The co-op will collect No. 2 pencils, ballpoint pens, white chalk, compasses, protractors and lined paper through Sept. 30 on behalf of Alaffia, an organization founded by Olowo-ndjo Tchala that markets fair trade products to fund Empowerment Projects and has distributed supplies to more 25,000 students.

This is the third year the co-op, which carries Alaffia products, is having a collection.

Peoples Food Co-op is proud to support an organization that so closely aligns with our mission of empowering, supporting, and educating our community, said co-op marketing director Ann Mull.

A basket will be set up in the co-ops wellness department for donations. The Co-op is located at 315 Fifth Ave. South. For more information about Alaffia, click here.
Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence lambasted Hillary Clinton and the media during a La Crosse speech today in which he insisted that GOP presidential candidate Donald Trumps no-holds-barred approach will put the nation on the right course.

Donald Trump just gets it, the Indiana governor told a crowd of about 300 people during the town hall event at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He tells it like it is, and the American people have heard him loud and clear.

Pence, accusing Democratic nominee Clinton of using pay-to-play politics, vowed that he and Trump will evict the Clinton dynasty from Washington.

Donald Trump and I, when elected, will put an end to it once and for all, vowed Pence, who has been governor of the Hoosier State since 2013.

Local Republicans Dan Kapanke and Julian Bradley warmed up the crowd of about 250 people. The two men stressed this election is too important to sit out. Kapanke is running against Sen. Jennifer Shilling to represent the 32nd Senate District. Bradley is running against Rep. Steve Doyle to represent the 94th Assembly District.

U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wausau, who also spoke at UW-L in support of the Trump-Pence ticket, took a a softer tone than his party's nominee when speaking about the Islamic State.

Trump recently said President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton are the "founders" of the terrorist organization. Duffy said Obama and Clinton "set the policy up that ISIS could rise."

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was not in attendance. The former GOP presidential contender was scheduled to attend the State Fair cheese and butter auction in West Allis.

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump campaigned last week in Green Bay, an event marked by the absence of the states top Republicans, some of whom have clashed with the real estate mogul in recent weeks.

Trump came in second to Sen. Ted Cruz in the Wisconsin presidential primary, though he did well in western Wisconsin, winning the 3rd Congressional District, including La Crosse and surrounding counties.

Pence is scheduled to make a second stop tonight in Milwaukee.

The fact that Trump and Pence are spending time in Wisconsin suggests they think the state, which has not gone for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984, could be in play, said University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political scientist Joe Heim.

Despite a Marquette Law School poll this week showing Democrat Hillary Clinton with a 15 point lead, Heim expects things will look different by November.

The Republicans have not really begun to attack Hillary, he said. Once that starts I believe the race will tighten up.

An appearance in La Crosse also allows candidates to reach voters in Minnesota and Iowa.
OSAGE, Iowa  The Mitchell County Board of Supervisors have voted to remove a "Suicidal Deer" sign in Osage, but it declined to remove the signs anywhere else.

Another of the signs is on Route 105 north of St. Ansgar, but the board says it hasn't received any complaints from other towns.

Waterloo activist campaigns against suicidal deer sign WATERLOO  The suicidal deer sign north of St. Ansgar had its moment in the spotlight shortly after it went up in Mitchell County in March. Reactions were mixed.

The signs  which gained national attention  were placed with the hope motorists would notice the unusual wording and pay attention in high-traffic deer areas, the supervisors said.

The sentiment from Osage residents, including Mayor Steve Cooper, was the sign brought up bad memories for those who were affected by or lost someone to suicide.

These signs dont say 'commit suicide,' Supervisor Joel Voeklander said during a recent meeting. When a TV says suicide bombing, do you turn off the TV?

Supervisor Shannon Paulus said the deer arent suicidal, theyre just crossing the road.
Nathan Hansen has been the Education Reporter for the Tribune since 2014. Prior to that, he covered education, agriculture and business topics for the Winona Daily News. He is always on the lookout for news tips and can be contacted at 608-791-8234.

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SPARTA, Wis.  Western Technical College in Sparta will hold a ribbon-cutting event for the College Prep and Transitional Education Center from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the new location, 112 S. Water St.

The college made the move downtown last fall but recently completed remodeling to accommodate Westerns General Education Development, High School Equivalency Diploma, college prep and English language learner courses. The event will include a brief ceremony at 4 p.m. featuring college representatives and a recent graduate of the GED program. Refreshments and a tour will follow. The public is invited to stop by anytime during the event and learn more about the services offered.

Our new and improved downtown space will give us an even stronger connection to the Sparta community, said Chad Dull, dean of Learner Support and Transition at Western. The services we offer prepare students for whatever is next  college courses, a job or even a promotion. ... We hope the new location will allow more people to take advantage of these services.
MADISON  With Wisconsins largely perfunctory primary over, the table is set for the Nov. 8 general election.

The hotly contested Senate rematch between Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Democrat Russ Feingold tops the list of races to watch in Wisconsin, along with an open congressional seat in the Green Bay area.

It may be too soon to know whether Wisconsin will be a top-tier battleground state in the presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday had bad news for Trump and Johnson. It showed Clinton leading Trump by 10 points among registered voters and 15 points among likely voters. In the Senate race, Feingold was leading by 6 points among registered voters and 11 points among likely voters.

The poll was conducted by phone Aug. 4 through Sunday, sampling 805 registered Wisconsin voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points. The margin of error was 5 points among likely voters.

Ohio, Pennsylvania and Iowa look to be more competitive than Wisconsin, said Democratic pollster Paul Maslin, who isnt connected with the Marquette Poll. With Clinton leading in Wisconsin polls, it just feels to me like Clintons in pretty good shape, said Maslin, who lives in Madison.

Trumps running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, planned a pair of Wisconsin campaign stops today, in La Crosse and Milwaukee. Trump and Clintons running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, each campaigned in Wisconsin last week. But neither campaign has focused its television advertising spending on Wisconsin yet.

Trump supporters are hoping to win Wisconsin after a string of Democratic presidential victories dating back to 1988. But Trump has divided Republican leaders in the state, with some refusing to back him and others, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Gov. Scott Walker, being openly critical of his most controversial remarks and positions.

Trump lost Wisconsins April primary by 13 percentage points and his initial refusal to back Ryan in Ryans primary race further angered Republicans.

Ryan said Tuesday that the ease with which he dispatched his primary opponent, Trump backer Paul Nehlen, doesnt spell doom for Trumps chances in Wisconsin in November. But he also cast his victory as one for political leadership that is inclusive, not divisive.

In times as uncertain as these, it is easy to resort to division, Ryan said after beating Nehlen by a more than 5-to-1 ratio. Its simple to prey on peoples fears. That stuff sells, but it doesnt stick. Most of all, it doesnt work.

Before Ryan even talked about his own race, he made sure to endorse fellow Republican Mike Gallagher, who is running for the open 8th Congressional District seat in the northeastern part of the state that includes the Fox Valley.

Gallagher, a former Marine and adviser to Walker in his presidential race, handily won a three-way primary. He will face Democrat Tom Nelson, the Outagamie County executive and former state Assembly member.

Ryan and three other incumbent House members  Republican Sean Duffy and Democrats Ron Kind and Gwen Moore  all cruised to victory.
Every couple of years or so, I feel the need to whine about the plight of newspapers. Its August. Im Trumped out. So todays the day.

Except that HBOs John Oliver beat me to it with the best defense of newspapers  ever. His recent Last Week Tonight with John Oliver monologue about the suffering newspaper industry has gone viral in journalism circles, but he deserves a broader audience.

Besides, its funny.

Leavening his important message with enough levity to keep the dopamine flowing, Oliver points out that most news outlets, faux, Fox and otherwise, essentially rely on newspapers for their material. This includes, he says, pulsing with self-awareness, Oliver himself. Hes sort of part of the problem, in other words, but at least he knows it, which makes it OK, sort of.

The problem: People want news but they dont want to pay for it.

Consequently, newspapers are failing while consumers get their information from comedy shows, talk shows and websites that essentially lift material for their own purposes.

But somewhere, somebody is actually sitting through a boring meeting, poring over data or interviewing someone who isnt nearly as important as he thinks he is in order to produce a story that will become news. As Oliver points out, news is a food chain, yet with rare exceptions, the most important members of the chain are at the bottom, turning off the lights in newsrooms where gladiators, scholars and characters once roamed.

Some still do, though most are becoming rather long-ish in the tooth. (You can actually get that fixed, you know.)

That any newspapers are surviving, if not for much longer in any recognizable form, can be attributed at least in some part to the dedication of people who really believe in the mission of a free press and are willing to work harder for less  tweeting, blogging, filming and whatnot in addition to trying to write worthy copy. Most of the poor slobs who fell in love with the printed word go unnoticed by any but their peers.

An exception is Marty Baron, the unassuming executive editor of The Washington Post, recently featured in the film, Spotlight about the Boston Globes stories under Barons leadership about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Its a good movie, not just because of great casting and acting but because its a great tale about a massive investigative effort that led to church reform and the beginning of healing for victims. (Not to worry, my pay comes as a percentage of the money I make for the company. This wont make a dime of difference.)

My point  shared by Oliver  is that only newspapers are the brick-and-mortar of the Fourth Estates edifice. Only they have the wherewithal to do the kind of reporting that leads to stories such as Spotlight. What happens to the news when there are no newspapers left?

We seem doomed to find out as people increasingly give up their newspaper subscriptions and seek information from free-content sources. And though newspapers have an online presence, its hard to get readers to pay for content.

As Oliver says, now is a very good time to be a corrupt politician. Between buyouts, layoffs and news-hole reductions, theres hardly anyone paying attention.

Except, perhaps, to kitties.

In a hilarious spinoff of Spotlight called Stoplight, Oliver shows a short film of a news meeting where the old-school reporter is pitching a story about city hall corruption. The rest of the staff, cheerful human topiaries to the reporters kudzu-draped mangrove  are more interested in a cat that looks like a raccoon.

And then theres Sam Zell, erstwhile owner of the Tribune Company, who summed up the sad trajectory of the nations interests and, perhaps, our future while speaking to Orlando Sentinel staffers in 2008. When he said he wanted to increase revenues by giving readers what they want, a female voice objected, What readers want are puppy dogs.

Zell exploded, calling her comment the sort of journalistic arrogance of deciding that puppies dont count.  Hopefully we get to the point where our revenue is so significant that we can do puppies and Iraq, OK? [Expletive] you.

Yes, he said that.

Moral of the story: If you dont subscribe to a newspaper, you dont get to complain about the sorry state of journalism  and puppies you shall have.
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has added two of Gov. Scott Walkers major financial backers to his economic advisory team.

Trump named Diane Hendricks, owner of ABC Supply and one of the wealthiest billionaires in Wisconsin, and Elizabeth Uihlein, co-founder of Uline Corp., to the team along with six other women.

Trump faced criticism when he announced an economic advisory team that included 13 men and no women.

Hendricks has been a major backer of Republicans in Wisconsin, famously asking Walker in early 2011 before the Act 10 protests when he would make Wisconsin a right-to-work state. Walker told her his strategy was to first take on public-sector unions as part of a divide-and-conquer strategy.

She has given $5 million to a super PAC backing Walker and $529,100 to Walkers campaigns, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Uihlein and her husband Richard contributed $284,500 to Walkers gubernatorial campaign through the end of last year and gave $6.2 million to groups supporting Walkers short-lived presidential campaign, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Both Hendricks and Uihlein were named to the Republican National Committees Trump Victory fundraising committee in May.

Beloit-based ABC Supply is the nations largest roofing supply business, while Uline is a shipping supply company based in Pleasant Prairie.
Amidst a blazing sun-filled Saturday, Aug. 6, a number of members from area Lions clubs, including Oakdale, Tomah and Warrens, spent the day  not fishing for the areas finny treasures but rather a different collection of treasures to fill a familiar yellow Tomah School District bus.

If you shopped at all last Saturday out at the Tomah Walmart store, you would have seen the school bus parked just outside the store and at each entrance to the store and you would have observed Lions club members casting for a different kind of treasures  that being down-home, generous Americans.

The bait was handouts , provided by the Tomah School District, listing items that students at all levels in the districts school of the basic items that students from kindergarten to high school seniors would need to start the 2016-17 school year, which only is a couple of weeks away. The bait was used to get either money donations or items that the Walmart customers could purchase and then put the purchased items in the Lions creels and then be used to stuff the bus.

This unique mid-summer project was started several years ago here in Wisconsin and locally last year. The purpose is to provide the basic items students need, to start their school year, like notebooks, pens and pencils, backpacks, with the items then distributed to students by school district staff to those whose families might not be able to afford.

The goal is to make sure that all students start the school year with the items needed to get their school work complete. Thus, a fully-stuffed bus at the days end at 4 p.m. was like a full creel of trout or a basket of bluegills and crappies or a wall-sized bas or muskie for an angler who had spent those Saturdays on the water fishing.

This years Lions anglers were headed up by Lion Vern Nauman from the Tomah Lions Club and Pat Hart from the Warrens Lions, with the following Lions also casting throughout the day for items to stuff the bus with: Bill Baxter, Kathy Frieske, John Hanson, Joan Hanson, Dennis Koranda, Kip Muench, Tom Muench, and Pete and Maggie White. With the bus fully stuffed, it was truly a trophy day of outdoor adventure carried out on the hard surface of the Walmart parking lot and those who spent the day fishing for donations went home with their hearts bursting with another successful fishing trip, aimed at filling the creel to the maximum, thanks to a day-long school customers coming and going, in and out of Walmart and with many bags of school supplies being placed in shopping carts, thanks to the generosity of the shoppers.

And in these days of political chaos going on around the country, it was a very refreshing adventure afield with a fully stuffed bus , here in Tomah, on a hot August Saturday. It was thanks to the generosity of Americans who care and who share their bounties to help those who might not be quite as fortunate and in the end, it was a trophy day for all who took part from the dedicated Lions who gave of their time. Also thanks to Walmart for its cooperation and to all who helped to fill the bus with their donation of money and school supplies. This is an example of Americans at the best. You are the true trophies of this special day spent afield. For those Lions involved, truly you serve in Lionism.

Ramblings hither and yon

District 6 of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress held its Fall district meeting on Tuesday evening at the Sandhill Wildlife Area Education building. The district includes Adams, Clark, Jackson, Juneau, Monroe, Portage and Wood counties. The agenda included updates from Wisconsin Department of Resources staff and then current issues going on in the various counties. For those interested, the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board will hold its next meeting at the Comfort Inn in Black River Falls on Sept. 28. The board is the decision-making unit on new rules and regulations for natural resources in Wisconsin, and the public is invited to attend to see how these operations work. If you desire to appear before the Board in regards to issues, you need to contact the DNR headquarters and go through the process of being scheduled to appear. This is about the closest a board meeting will get to us and a good opportunity to see the board in action.

It also was announced at the district meeting that the latest release of elk has gone off smoothly and the elk are on the move. It has been reported that two bull elk have moved into Monroe County and if you happen to see one, you can contact the DNR service center in Black River Falls. There were 50 elk released earlier this year and they have now been released from the holding area and are out on their own.

There are now 16 dog killed by wolves thus far in 2016, the latest on Saturday, Aug. 6 in Bayfield County. The closest to our area has been two killed in Clark County. If you suspect a killing by wolves, whether it be out in the field or in a residential yard, you should immediately contact the USDA at the following numbers: 715-369-5251 for northern Wisconsin or 920-324-4514 for southern Wisconsin. This applies to any wolf killings  whether it be hunting dogs, any type of livestock, or, for that matter, even an elk.

Three Mouseketeer update

The girls are doing fine and Biscuit is in her routine cupboard door checking, making sure nothing new has been added to the cupboard shelves. She takes this task quite seriously, for a cat never knows when a mouse has moved into her territory. Overall, all three still are running the household and keeping we humans under their paw and loving it.

Now, as you go afield to savor these August treasures, such as blackberries, strive always to leave things better than you found them and the wild country will be better for your having passed through.
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind held off a challenge from the left in Tuesdays partisan primary, virtually ensuring the La Crosse Democrat an 11th term representing Wisconsins 3rd District.

Kind had 29,335 votes with nearly 90 percent of precincts counted; opponent Myron Buchholz, a retired teacher from Eau Claire, had 6,784 votes, or about 19 percent.

With no Republican or third-party candidate registered for the general election, Kinds will be the only name on the November ballot. It will be the first uncontested general election for Wisconsins 3rd District in 90 years.

First elected in 1996, the 53-year-old Kind is chairman of the centrist New Democrat Coalition and is ranked by the organization govtrack.us as one of the most conservative Democrats in the House.

Buchholz, 58, accused him of being disloyal to Democratic principles.

Kind, who declared victory shortly after 9 p.m., said he has no plans to change his bipartisan approach.

If Im not taking incoming from the far right and the far left, Im not adequately representing this district, Kind said. Im not surprised that Im going to get some criticism from far-right opponents and far-left opponents, but thats not the district I represent.

Buchholz, in his first bid for public office, ran as a progressive Democrat inspired by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. He focused largely on foreign trade, specifically Kinds support for the Trans Pacific Partnership, a multinational trade agreement that has become a lightning rod for economic anxiety.

Both Sanders and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton say they oppose the deal, as does Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Buchholz said trade agreements such as NAFTA have not resulted in prosperity for the average American. Instead, wages have stagnated and more than half of Wisconsin schoolchildren now qualify for free and reduced-price meals.

Kind, who was credited with corralling enough Democratic votes to get fast-track negotiation authority through the House, says the TPP is widely misunderstood and is crucial to establishing rules for trade that is already happening and ensuring U.S. companies have access to some of the worlds fastest-growing markets.

Buchholz, who decried the role of money in politics, was far outmatched by Kinds campaign war chest. Buchholz raised less than $27,000 and did most of his campaigning door-to-door. Kind, in his first primary challenge since 2006, brought in more than $1.6 million and reported spending more than $870,000 through the first half of the year.

Buchholz did not immediately respond to calls for comment Tuesday night.

Kind was one of three House incumbents from Wisconsin to face a primary challenge. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan easily fended off political novice Paul Nehlen, while fellow Republican Sean Duffy was leading Donald Raihala with 90 percent of the votes in his northwestern district.

Five-term Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore bested former state senator and convicted felon Gary George in the 4th District.
State Sen. Jennifer Shilling will face Dan Kapanke in November for a second time after defeating him in the 32nd Senate District recall election five years ago.

Shilling, D-La Crosse, easily won Tuesdays primary against Democratic challenger Jared William Landry of La Farge, receiving 91 percent of the vote. Kapanke, a La Crosse Republican, won his partys primary with similar numbers, receiving 90 percent of the vote against John Sarnowski of Onalaska.

I am very honored with the strong showing in todays primarys results, Shilling said Tuesday. Starting tomorrow, the main event starts.

Shilling, 47, will face off against the 68-year-old Kapanke, who is attempting to take back the seat he held from 2005 to 2011, and independent Chip DeNure of La Crosse. She won the 2011 recall election with 55.38 percent of the vote compared with Kapankes 44.58 exactly five years ago Tuesday to represent voters from La Crosse, Vernon, Crawford and Monroe counties.

The owner of the La Crosse Loggers, Kapanke focused his campaign on offering services to improve his constituents lives, particularly when it comes to transportation costs and finding qualified employees for Wisconsin jobs.

Kapanke did not immediately return requests for comment Tuesday night.

The Senate minority leader said she hopes to put what she calls her Coulee Region common sense to work to find bipartisan solutions to the states problems.

I think people are hungry for problem solvers, Shilling said. Voters here in western Wisconsin like people who can reach across the aisle and work with those across the aisle.

Shilling will concentrate on building public-private partnerships for job creation, fostering innovation and building up the states health care and education systems.

I think theres still angst over the slow economy here in Wisconsin, and we can connect the dots better as far as workforce development and economic growth here in Wisconsin, Shilling said.

As she criss-crosses the district talking to voters, Shilling said she will discuss plans to expand funding of public schools and infrastructure such as roads and broadband access.

We are in the early stages of developing a new budget, and the governor has certainly sent some early messages in funding our university system, she said. Many people here in Wisconsin are concerned about the direction the university has taken with these deep budget cuts.

Shilling criticized tax breaks that led to 11 taxpayers earning more than $35 million a year being able to claim $21.5 million in tax credits, tax breaks that 98 percent of Wisconsin residents dont qualify for.

As we look at tax relief, we need to be targeting working families here in the state and helping with child care  looking at student loan debt, family medical leave, ensuring that women have access to reproductive healthcare, she said. Those are all things I will continue to work and defend and advocate for.

She added that she has also been hearing more and more about the states access to clean water and will work to be a good steward of Wisconsins natural resources.
The Houston County Historical Society museum complex will be open 12 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 18; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 19-20; and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21. The research center will be closed.

Exhibits in the new museum will include the Crayola collection donated by Berdell Meiners of Caledonia and vintage clothing. Two cars will be on view: the 1908 Maxwell, donated by Audrey Almo of Caledonia that had belonged to her father Harold St. Mary; and a 1923 Model T coupe that was owned by Harvey Borger of Caledonia and donated by Robert and Janelle Wood, Sparta, Wis. Also new is a one-seat restored buggy donated by Jeb Griffith of Caledonia. There will also be a large Minnesota Vikings display as you enter the museum.

The Flatten-Swenson Pioneer Log Home will feature several demonstrations and vintage wedding dresses are on display in the Sheldon Presbyterian Church. One dress, donated by Joseph Kumph of Dorchester, Iowa, is a unique style. The other dress was worn by Mary Hampe of Theilman, Minn., when she married John Bouquet of Caledonia in 1899 and was donated by Evelyn Bouquest of Caledonia.

New in the Agriculture Building is a cutter donated by Jeb Griffith. The Daley School and Mayville Town Hall will also have new displays.
Somethings Burning was the Westby Times headline in August 2006, because plans were being made to light a fire! The Westby Area Historical Society was going to burn the mortgage of the Thoreson home that they had purchased in 1993. A lunch, program and, of course, cake and coffee, were being planned for Sunday, Aug. 13, to celebrate this accomplishment and show appreciation to the many donors and sponsors who made it possible. In 13 years, the society had raised enough money through fundraisers, events and begging to pay off the $65,000 loan. Quite an accomplishment for an organization that was founded in 1989, only four years before the purchase.

The property was first deeded to Hans Knudtson by the U.S. Government in 1872. Knudtson sold the land to Theodore and Katherine Thoreson in 1881. They began building the home in 1892 and moved in 1893 with their three sons. Bennett, the oldest, raised his family of five in the home and Bennetts son, Myron, was the last of the Thoresons to live in the home. In 1971, John and Leah Walker bought the property from Myron and two of their three children graduated from Westby High School while living there. Upon retiring, the Walkers decided to sell the house to downsize and do more traveling.

Elaine Lund, a founder of WAHS, had earlier talked with John about the possibility of purchasing the house if ever he decided to sell. Elaine recognized the same value of wainscoting in the kitchen, inlaid wood floors, exquisite natural woodwork and sound construction of the four-square design of this historic home. John gave Elaine first opportunity to purchase, as he had promised, and documents were drawn by Attorney Tim Gaskell. On Sept. 24, 1993, John and Leah Walker signed in the presence of Verna Oliver, Collette Radtke, Orin Larson, Margaret Garlick, Eileen Constalie, Elaine Lund and Margaret Gulsvig to sell the home to the Westby Area Historical Society.

For the next 13 years, the society held pie and ice cream socials, stone soup suppers, bridal gown shows, spaghetti dinners, flower sales and even a Rock-A-Thon, to raise enough money to support the house and pay off the mortgage. Many of these fundraisers, lefse/plse at Syttende Mai being the most well-known, still continue on an annual basis. Reaching the mortgage payoff benchmark in August 2006 was a huge confirmation to WAHS that their efforts were appreciated, but also determined a new set point for restoring the home to museum quality and for managing the collections.

Projects have been ongoing since that celebration day 10 years ago and we have recently completed siding and new windows on the Thoreson House Museum. Our next venture will be to spruce up the interior and we are constantly working to improve the displays of our beautiful collections.

Please join the Westby Area Historical Society in celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the burning of the mortgage by donating your historic Westby area artifacts, family stories, your time and financial support to continue our mission to collect, preserve, promote and communicate the history, culture and heritage of the Westby, WI area.

For more information on how you can contribute to our mission, visit www.westbywihistory.com or leave a message at 608-634-4478 and we will return your call.


From Washington, this is VOA News.

Im Michael Brown reporting.

Russia says it will temporarily cease military operations in the Syrian city of Aleppo for three hours starting Thursday to allow humanitarian aid to get in, but media reports say fighting continues.

The Special Advisor to the UN Special Envoy to Syria, Jan Egeland, says they are waiting for the all clear to deliver the badly-needed supplies.

There are enormous resources ready, and humanitarian workers willing to take the risk to go into these zones if they get the permission, and they are not at the moment.

Attacks this week have severely damaged Aleppo's electric and water infrastructure, while the main supply routes to both the eastern and western parts of the city have been cut in recent weeks, making an already severe humanitarian situation much worse.

Pakistani officials say Afghan security forces are making efforts to secure the safe release of the crew of a Pakistani helicopter that crashed inside Afghanistan last week while flying to Russia.



Residents and officials said all the men on board survived, but were taken hostage by Taliban insurgents because of a lack of government authority in the area.



Members of the anti-state Pakistani Taliban, who are believed to be hiding in border areas of Afghanistan, have also denied involvement.

And, Turkey carried out deadly airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq and raided pro-Kurdish political offices in Istanbul after deadly bombings blamed on the rebels hit southeastern Turkey.



Turkey often conducts similar airstrikes as part of its campaign against members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency.

This is VOA News.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.


Officials in Laos estimate that the country has about 15,000 people who have been injured by unexploded ordnance, also called UXO.

The ordnance landed in the countryside, but failed to explode over 40 years ago. They were dropped as part of a secret American bombing campaign during the Vietnam War.

Today, there are few support services available in Laos for people injured by the bombs.

One of those people is Houng Phomma Chak. He was severely hurt one day in 2004. He and two friends went out into the countryside to look for scrap metal to supplement their family's earnings. They found a piece of metal partly buried in the ground.

The three recognized it as a piece of an old bomb casing. They thought it was no longer dangerous. Instead, it was a live cluster bomb, known in Laos as a bombie.

The device exploded.

Bomb shrapnel ripped through Houngs body and those of his two friends. They were killed. Houng was blinded in one eye and lost both his lower arms.

Now, his wife depends on the support of neighbors to help with the familys rice field. His eldest daughter spends much of her time caring for the needs of her disabled father.

A lack of money means most survivors do not get the medical treatment they need. Many lack disability services, like physical therapy, mental health support, prosthetic equipment and job training.

It is difficult for families affected by unexploded ordnance. These families have to care for a parent or child while trying to work and earn a living.

Laos is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. Most of the population lives in rural areas, making it more difficult to provide assistance.

Colette McInerney is with World Education, a U.S.-based group that provides training and assistance for teachers and schools. It is one of the largest of the few aid providers in Laos.

There are still people that fall through the gaps that we dont hear about until many years after their accident, said McInerney.

World Education has enough money to support just 250 survivors a year.

McInerney says there is a need for more non-governmental organizations and non-profit groups.

For INGOs (international non-government organizations) and NPAs (non-profit associations), there really is a serious gap in funding to provide a comprehensive support to survivors no matter where they live. And for survivors themselves, the financial burden on a family once someone is injured or killed, is quite significant, she said.

The Laotian government has a plan to deal with the problems of unexploded bombs. But most of the governments energy is currently centered on the work of disarming and clearing the explosives. This effort, too, largely depends on foreign aid.

More U.S. funding is expected

Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. military dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs within Laos. The campaign was part of a secret operation during the Vietnam War. The goal was to cut off the supply lines of North Vietnamese forces.

Some estimates say nearly one third of the 270 million explosives that were dropped did not explode. Today, more than 40 years after the war, deadly explosives are still found across the mountains and rice fields of Laos Xieng Khouang province.

Next month, Barack Obama will become the first U.S. president to visit Laos while in office. He is to attend a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the capital, Vientiane.

The U.S. Embassy in Laos confirmed that Obama plans to announce an increase in financing for UXO groups. But the details have yet to be finalized.

The activist group Legacies of War says that the U.S. government gave more than $4 million a year to the UXO clean-up effort in Laos between 1995 and 2015. Most of the money went toward efforts to clear away explosives.

Titus Peachey is an official with Legacies of War. He said, "U.S. contributions to the UXO sector have increased many-fold over the past 10 years, reaching $19.5 million in 2016. Most of this increase has gone to clearance operations and an improved survey methodology, which will improve the efficiency of the clearance work.

Peachey added that the need now is to provide aid for the thousands of people affected by the bombs. He said many of these people will require long-term medical care.

Im Mario Ritter.

Daniel Carteret reported this story for VOA from Xieng Khouang, Laos. Mario Ritter adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

ordnance  n. military weapons including explosives and ammunition

scrap  n. material from unwanted or broke things, often used with metal

supplement  n. something in addition to

prosthetics  n. an artificial replacement for a body part such as and arm or leg

comprehensive  adj. complete or nearly complete, including all or most parts of something

methodology  n. a detailed plan for carrying out a task or a method

gaps  n. a hole; a space between two things; a missing part
Rajashri Chakrabarti, Giacomo De Giorgi, and Rachel Schuh

Educational attainment is an important element of human capital; however a series of recent papers highlights the crucial role of the quality of educationwhich determines the skills actually learned, rather than the number of years spent in a classroomas a main driver of growth. In fact, Hanushek and Woessmann argue that the importance of more appropriately measuring skills is seen in the very tight relationship between quality of skills, or knowledge capital, and growth. Moreover, the researchers state, The knowledge capitalgrowth relationship suggests little mystery for East Asia, Latin America, or other regions: Growth rates are accounted for by cognitive skills. Similarly, Considering knowledge capital dramatically increases our ability to account for differences in growth.



Given the evidence of the importance of knowledge capital, we believe that looking at this dimension is extremely informative in a comparison of Puerto Rico with the continental United States, as well as with some meaningful comparison countries. We want to understand whether Puerto Rico has the opportunity to enhance its economic growth prospect by improving the quality of its human capital.

The Quantity of Human Capital

In the chart below we look at the educational attainment of Puerto Ricans twenty-five years to fifty-four years old in 2013, in comparison to their peer group on the U.S. mainland. In terms of educational attainment, the prime age population in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland are fairly comparable. However, economic growth has been consistetly slower in Puerto Rico than in the U.S. mainland; one reason, as noted, may be that years of schooling are just a proxy for human capital and, given the importance of the quality of education in explaining growth, we want to look deeper.

The Quality of Education

Puerto Rico in an International Comparison

A sample of 1,668 students from fifty-six public and private schools in Puerto Rico participated in the PISA test for the first time in 2012. The test is designed to capture the quality of human capital and the ability to perform specific tasks in an internationally comparable setting. From the PISA website: The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. To date, students representing more than 70 economies have participated in the assessment.

Although the PISA test is designed and implemented by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), this first edition of the PISA test in Puerto Rico was implemented by the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE) while facilitated by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Our analysis focuses on the statistics published in this report. Because this is the first implementation, we believe some caution is needed in interpreting the statistics below. However, they align with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results as we will see below, further these statistics have been widely discussed by various media outlets, including the Puerto Rican press on several occasions.

In this post we focus on the mathematics test score, which has been shown to be a good predictor of future labor market outcomes. Among the sixty-six countries and territories and three U.S. states that participated in the PISA test in 2012, the average score in Puerto Rico is fifth from the bottom, with only Colombia, Qatar, Indonesia, and Peru having worse scores. In the figures below we present the results for the top scorer, the U.S. mainland and participating states, the overall average, and for Puerto Rico and twelve peer countries closest to Puerto Rico in terms of GDP per capita in 2012.

In fact, in Puerto Rico virtually none (less than 1 percent) of the sampled students scored above level 3, which is generally considered a basic proficiency level, on the PISA test. To have a sense of what that level entails, the NCES offers the following characterization:

At Level 3 [lowest score 482, about 54.5 percent of students perform at or above this level], students can execute clearly described procedures, including those that require sequential decisions. Their interpretations are sufficiently sound to be a base for building a simple model or for selecting and applying simple problem-solving strategies. Students at this level can interpret and use representations based on different information sources and reason directly from them. They typically show some ability to handle percentages, fractions and decimal numbers, and to work with proportional relationships. Their solutions reflect that they have engaged in basic interpretation and reasoning.

In comparison, the highest PISA mathematics proficiency level is described as follows:

At level 6 [lowest score 669, only 3.3 percent of students score at or above this threshold in the PISA sample], students can conceptualize, generalize and utilize information based on their investigations and modelling of complex problem situations, and can use their knowledge in relatively non-standard contexts. . . .

Puerto Rico in a National Comparison

The NAEP is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what Americas students know in a variety of subjects. In 2015, representative samples of 137,400 fourth-grade and 135,100 eighth-grade public school students from all fifty states and the District of Columbia completed the NAEP. From private schools, representative samples of 2,400 fourth-grade and 2,300 eighth-grade students completed the exam.

In Puerto Rico, representative samples of approximately 4,700 fourth-graders from 160 public schools and 5,100 eighth-graders from 120 public schools participated in a Spanish-language version of the NAEP mathematics assessment in 2015. Students in Puerto Rico participated in the NAEP in 2003, 2005, and 2007, but due to improved data quality, the exam results from 2011 through 2015 provide the most meaningful comparison with the U.S. mainland.

In the charts below, we compare the performance of Puerto Rican students on the 2011, 2013, and 2015 mathematics assessments with their peers in the nation overall and with those eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Because virtually all public school students in Puerto Rico are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, NSLP students constitute the more relevant comparison group. Fourth- and eighth-grade mathematics performance is reported as average scores on a 0 to 500 scale and as percentages of students scoring at or above three achievement levels (basic, proficient, and advanced). Average mathematics scores for students in Puerto Rico, as well as those for public school students overall and NSLP eligible students, were little changed from 2013 to 2015.

The basic achievement level denotes: Partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at each grade. As the charts below show, 89 percent of Puerto Rican fourth-graders, and 94 percent of the eighth-graders scored below the basic level in 2015. In contrast, in the nation as a whole 28 percent of NSLP fourth-graders, and 42 percent of the eighth-graders scored below the basic level in 2015. Results in 2011 and 2013 were similar. Thus, mathematics performance of Puerto Rican students lags far behind their mainland peers.

In the maps below, we examine how Puerto Rico stacks up against individual states, as measured by the percentage of students scoring at or above the proficient level in NAEP math. Again, Puerto Rico lags dismally behind all states. In fourth-grade math, Alabama and New Mexico are the lowest scoring states as measured by this indicator, with 26 percent and 27 percent of their students, respectively, scoring at or above proficient. In contrast, this number is 0 percent in Puerto Rico. In eighth-grade math, Alabama and Louisiana were the lowest scoring at 17 percent and 18 percent respectively. In contrast, no sampled Puerto Rican eighth-grader scored in the proficient category.

Conclusions

The test results for both PISA and NAEP are alarming, and even more so given the migration trajectories out of Puerto Rico. The very slow growth of Puerto Rico seemed puzzling given previous estimates of the quantity of human capitalas proxied by the number of years of schoolingand its contribution to growth. However, this slow economic growth is in fact consistent with the evidence on the quality of human capital highlighted in this blog. As a caveat, the test scores cited here reflect the human capital of students who have not yet entered the labor force, so this analysis relies on the assumption that these poor educational outcomes persist. It seems clear, nonetheless, that boosting educational performance can help Puerto Rico substantially in establishing future economic growth.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.



Giacomo De Giorgi is a senior economist in the Banks Research and Statistics Group.

Rachel Schuh is a senior research analyst in the Banks Research and Statistics Group.



How to cite this blog post:



Rajashri Chakrabarti, Giacomo De Giorgi, and Rachel Schuh, Human Capital and Education in Puerto Rico, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Liberty Street Economics (blog), August 11, 2016, http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2016/08/human-capital-and-education-in-puerto-rico.html.
Intel isnt developing Atom chips for smartphones, tablets, or low-power laptops anymore. But it looks like the Atom brand will live on.

At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco next week, the company will unveil some details about next-gen Atom chips based on the new Apollo Lake platform.

There arent many details available at this point, but as PC World notes, the technical session schedule includes a few events related to the unannounced, next-gen Atom products.

The upcoming low-power chips are positioned as solutions for drones, robots, Internet of Things (IoT) products, and other embedded applications. Intel says theyll also be designed to work with the companys RealSense ZR300 depth-sensing camera. That could mean the chips will also be used for virtual reality or augmented reality devices or maybe the camera will just help drones and robots keep from bumping into things.

Intel says the processors will use the latest version of the companys Gen 9 graphics and Intel also plans to offer new developer tools in a Media SDK for embedded Linux for IoT.

We should learn more about Intels plans for the next-gen Atom chips on August 17th but at this point, Im more interested in learning when the company will release Celeron and Pentium Apollo Lake processors. Those are the chips that will likely show up in next-gen tablets, notebooks, and 2-in-1s as replacements for the Braswell chips that power current devices like the new HP Stream 11, Stream x360, and Stream 14 laptops that will hit the streets later this month.
Disappointed that Samsungs latest high-end smartphone has just a measly 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage? Dont worry. Samsungs mobile chief DJ Koh says a 6GB/128GB variant is coming.

Theres just one catch: itll only be available in China.

Update: The Galaxy Note 7 has been launched in China, and at least for now, it seems to only be available with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

In an interview with the Korea Herald, Koh confirmed that a model with more memory and storage will be coming to China soon.

Why is China the only market that will get that model? Because its the only market where Samsung needs those kinds of specs to be competitive.

While were starting to see phones with 6GB of RAM in other markets, most of the 6GB phones Ive seen so far have been Chinese exclusives, such as the Vivo XPlay 5 and LeEco Le 2 Max.

Its not like you really need more than 4GB in an Android phone. Thats how much most of todays top-tier phones from big-name companies has, and most phones on the market have less memory than that. There are still plenty of companies cranking out phones with 2GB or less, so theres little reason for app developers to create apps that require more memory.

Of course, the more RAM you have, the better your multitasking performance is likely to be and the more future-proof your phone is likely to be. But in 2016, 4GB is still pretty respectable.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7s other specs arent bad either: the phone has a 5.7 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel display with dual curved edges, S-Pen support, a microSD card slot, a USB Type-C connector, an Iris scanner, a 12MP rear camera and 5MP front camera, and an IP68 water and dust resistant case.

In the US the phone features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, while customers in other markets will get a model with a Samsung Exynos 8890 processor.

via Android Police
In honor of 54 years since the reunification of Jerusalem, when the Lubavitcher Rebbe introduced the Tefillin campaign, we are bringing this article out of the archives.

As head of the Mossad, Israels national intelligence agency, Yossi Cohens routine is anything but humdrum. Beginning his day at the crack of dawn, the recently appointed director is responsible for counterterrorism and the security of the Jewish state. He fields phone calls from parallel agencies around the world, briefs his top operatives, and keeps in close contact with Prime Minister Netanyahu. But before he heads for the office, Cohen takes some quiet time to practice an ancient ritual.

Every morning, the head of Israels most important intelligence agency pulls out a satchel containing tefillin (phylacteries), two black boxes with leather straps, and binds them around his head and his arm as he recites a blessing. The small boxes contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with Torah verses, and have been worn by Jewish men in prayer since biblical days. The ritual has a way of centering Cohen, rooting him in his past as he works to stay ahead of Israels enemies in a fast moving world of intrigue and espionage.

Chasidic philosophy teaches that tefillin serve as a conduit, linking the physical with spiritual in the Divine service of the Jewish male. But, as with many Jewish traditions that fell out of practice over time, so too with tefillin. When the Lubavitcher Rebbe launched a worldwide tefillin awareness campaign in the days leading up to the Six-Day War of June 1967, the black boxes were an obscure ritual item to many among the largely unobservant Israeli public.

The Rebbe insisted that the mitzvah has deep spiritual potency. When one puts tefillin on his head, he said quoting the Talmud, he projects fear over our enemies wherever they are. Thus was born a groundbreaking campaign, the first of the Rebbes popular mitzvah initiatives, which caught fire in Israel and beyond. Worldwide, Jewish men and boys over the age of 13 responded to the invite to roll up their sleeves and perform the mitzvah for the sake of Israels security. The miraculous victory that brought the war to a swift, dramatic end sparked a euphoric feeling of Jewish pride among Israels citizens and world Jewry.

In the days following the Six-Day War, Chabad rabbis and volunteers helped thousands bind tefillin at the newly liberated Western Wall. On the streets of midtown Manhattan, in central Paris, London, and a thousand other places, Jews gravitated to the Chabad students and rabbis who were offering them a chance to bind tefillin for Israels well-being. With Jerusalems reunification, Chabad activists set up a permanent tefillin booth at the Western Wall.

Spiritual Inclusion

Though the daily, weekday wearing of tefillin is among the most fundamental commandments observed by Jewish men, You shall bind them as a sign upon your head, and they should be a reminder between your eyes (Deuteronomy), many Israelis may have only performed the practice at their bar mitzvah. According to a Ynet-Gesher poll, some 90 percent of Israeli boys celebrate their bar mitzvah with a traditional ceremony in which the boy reads from the Torah and puts on tefillin. A much smaller segment of the population commits to regular daily tefillin use following the bar mitzvah.

According to an Israeli study from 1965, some 79 percent of Israeli Jewish men owned tefillin, but only about a quarter put them on regularly. About half did not use them at all. Chabad set out to reverse those downward trends, and since the Rebbes call to action in 1967, millions of Jews around the world have wrapped tefillin with Chabad.

The offer of sharing the mitzvah with any Jewish male represented a radical shift in philosophy. The tefillin campaign was revolutionary in the sense that prior to the initiative an Israeli was either religious or not religious, explains Rabbi Menachem Brod, spokesman of Chabad in Israel. Chabad came in with a new message that no matter your level of religiosity, you can and should participate in a mitzvah, even just the one time.

The message was at first greeted with open criticism from certain quarters. Orthodox detractors bristled at the idea of inviting a non-observant Jew to wrap tefillin, and in secular Israeli strongholds such as Tel Aviv, the young Chabad men offering tefillin were seen as a threat to their secular lifestyle. But today, certain orthodox groups are imitating Chabads model with their own tefillin stands. And secular Israelis have come to see Chabads outreach as an expression of inclusiveness and Jewish unity. The Israeli public, says Brod, has largely warmed to Chabads innovative thinking. Presenting religious experience as a continuum was a message of spiritual inclusion that softened the stark divide between the religious and the non-religious in Israel.

Nitzan Dery, a 47-year-old father of three, says that though he is not exactly religious, an encounter with a Chabad student who invited him to put on tefillin moved him to connect with his heritage. I hadnt put on tefillin since my bar mitzvah, admits Dery. Every Friday, I used to pass the Chabad stand and turn down their requests to wrap tefillin, until one day for whatever reason I said yes.

The simple act struck a chord with him, and he began seeking out the Chabad boys so that he could perform the mitzvah. Eventually, I realized that though I may not keep other things, tefillin was something I wanted in my lifea point of Jewish connection that I can commit to daily. The Nahariya native dusted off an old pair that was handed down to him from his father, and has donned them every weekday since.

Go to Where the People Are

The ability to meet each Jew on his own level, wherever he is, may help explain the success of Chabads tefillin campaign. Since its inception, the campaign sought to make tefillin easy and accessible to any Jew. Mitzvah mobiles are a standard street fixture and pop-up tefillin booths have become part of the landscape. In Israel, every Friday, waves of volunteersfrom students to seniorsencourage men to put on tefillin prior to the start of Shabbat. Many Chabad men carry a pair of tefillin with them just in case.

In a nod to the countrys Start-up Nation mentalityIsrael is one of the worlds most vibrant technology communities outside Silicon ValleyChabad even developed a tefillin app that reached position #27 in the Israeli app store.

The ubiquitous campaign brought Jewish pride and precepts into public consciousness. The idea, to have your Jewish blood pressure takena play on the tefillin bindings of the armresonated beyond traditional Jewish circles. Today, Israelis can expect to be stopped at a bus station in Tel Aviv, on a college campus in Haifa, or even in their own office, with the offer to wrap tefillin.

Rabbi Mordechai Siev, a Chabad rabbi and American transplant, first started manning a tefillin stand when he arrived in Israel in the mid-80s. The language barrier was a non-issue, as no words needed to be exchanged.

Often when people see a tefillin stand in Israel, theyll just come over. They dont even say anything and just start wrapping, the rabbi says, estimating that a little less than half of Israelis are able to complete the ritual on their own. Others know how to do it but if Chabad wasnt there they may not bother. One volunteer explains that often when he asks passersby if they put on tefillin they will reply in the affirmative. Yet when he asks if they had put on tefillin that day, many reply I havent had a chance or I forgot. The convenience and accessibility of the Chabad tefillin stands ensure that they can perform the mitzvah on the spot.

Arms for Israel

In late February, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro ran in the Tel Aviv marathon. During the race, he stopped to don tefillin with the help of Chabad representatives who were present along the route. Upon completing the race, the ambassador proudly broadcast his mitzvah to his Facebook and Twitter followers.

Politician photo-ops with tefillin have become a bit of an Israeli tradition. In an encounter widely publicized in Israeli media, Israels late prime minister Ariel Sharon, accompanied by other high-ranking IDF officials, visited the Western Wall soon after the 1967 war and agreed to wrap tefillin with a Chabad rabbi. Sharon told reporters that it was the first time he had put on tefillin since his bar mitzvah. Before long, it was all over the news. Inspired by his act, many Israelis followed suitsome for the first time in their lives.

The Israeli army in particular has become a tefillin touchpoint. Military service in Israel is mandatory, and the IDF is thus fairly representative of Israels diverse population. Chabads presence at army bases and its volunteer activities with IDF soldiers has given Jews of all stripes a tefillin experience. Chabads tefillin efforts are intrinsically connected to the Israeli army, as the danger facing its soldiers was the impetus for its founding, Brod explains. We make a special emphasis to reach out to and engage IDF soldiers.

And their children. Ever since the Six-Day War, Chabad has hosted an annual bar mitzvah ceremony for the children of Israels fallen soldiers. At each emotional celebration, the children are presented with a gift by Israels leaders: a set of their own tefillin. This past April, 110 orphan Israeli children celebrated their bar and bat mitzvahs with Chabad in Jerusalem.

Tying the Physical and the Spiritual

With thousands of visitors passing through daily, Chabads permanent stand at the Western Wall (the Kotel) has become a landmark at Judaisms holiest site. Chabad representative at the Kotel, Rabbi Shmuel Weiss, says the stand serves on average, 500 men a day in the winter, and over 1,000 men a day during peak summer travel season. On Jerusalem Day, when around 20,000 youth visited the Kotel, the number topped off at around 1,500.

The stand opens at at sunrise and runs non-stop until sunset, the last minute that it is permissible by Jewish law to put on tefillin. Weiss says many have come to rely on Chabads services. Some say I wont put on tefillin this morning since I am going to the Kotel and Ill put it on with Chabad there. Conversely, others who do not normally do the mitzvah see it as an opportunity: I am at the Kotel, how can I not put on tefillin?

In a personal narrative describing how he wrapped tefillin with Chabad at the Kotel, journalist Liel Leibovitz wrote in a recent article that the meaningful encounter led him to daily tefillin observance. Despite not fully understanding why he does this, no matter how I choose to manifest my relationship with the Creator, I start each day by acknowledging that this relationship exists, that it matters, and that everything that follows in the day should be, in part, a reflection on how my thoughts and my actions conform to or challenge my faith.

Weiss expounds on the phenomenon. In the Land of Israel, we believe that everything physical has a spiritual element. It is when the straps and boxes of coarse cowhide containing the loftiest of Jewish prayers are placed on the head and on the arm, that they both meet.

Tefillin Anyone?

The Tefillin campaign established by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1967 to raise awareness of this cardinal mitzvah, has since been promoted by Chabad emissaries and adherents all around the globe. As Israel is home to the worlds largest Jewish population, Chabad has focused intense efforts on tefillin in the Holy Land.

Now approaching the 50th anniversary of the campaign, Chabad will ramp up its tefillin activities. Rabbi Meir Leider, who is part of a committee dedicated to improving and enhancing the nation-wide tefillin effort, says that today Chabad in Israel shares tefillin with about 13,000 Jewish men a week. Yeshiva students, rabbinical students and Chabad lay people dedicate time every week to participate in the campaign.

With a target goal of raising Chabads wraps a week to 20,000, Leider and others have created new materials to step up the outreach. New, premium and weather proof tefillin bags have been created to allow ease of use, and clever pop-up tables and awnings that weigh under five lbs make setting up a tefillin booth anywhere quick and easy. The changes translate to numbers: in the time it once took a volunteer to wrap tefillin with 20 men, he is now counting 40.

Chabad is also adding more permanent tefillin stations. Today, five are scattered throughout the country, including the stand at the Kotel and a kiosk at Ben Gurion airport. Five new locations are in the works, bringing the country wide total of permanent tefillin spots to ten. Some of these have set the bar high, aiming for 30,000 wraps a month.
Nestled across the street from the Gulf of Mexico in Madeira Beach is a new eco-village that features seven net-zero energy homes powered by SolarCity panels.

New site in Madeira Beach features seven solar powered homes

SolarCity says the site is one of many such neighborhoods that will appear in Tampa Bay in the coming years

Net zero energy means that the homeowner [] is not going to consume any energy from the utility companies, said SolarCity's operations manager Nathan Traynor. These homes are extremely efficient.

According to Traynor, each home has 16 solar panels that can produce more energy than the homeowner needs.

When theyre not using that energy its going to be fed back into the grid, he said. For every kilowatt hour you feed back into the grid you get full credit back from the power company.

Net metering provides that energy credit and Traynor said the big utilities want Amendment 1 to pass in November so they can limit it.

We dont want Amendment 1 to pass, he said. That would give more power to the utility companies to control net metering in Florida.

Instead, solar power companies want voters to pass Amendment 4 during the August 30 primary.

We want everybody to vote yes on Amendment 4, Traynor said. "What its going to do is open more doors for more solar power to be installed.

On average, a 4,000 watt system will cost about $15,000 to purchase and install, according to Traynor. Homeowner Daniel Szuwala said the cost of his SolarCity system was included in the purchase price for his 2,000 square foot home.

It was around $400,000, he said. Its a long term investment.

Szuwala said he moved into the eco-village about two weeks ago and enjoys checking his app to see how much energy hes using.

It calculates how much youre saving, he said. Everybody constantly walks by and asks about the house and the solar panels.

Traynor said more eco-villages will be popping up around Florida this year.

Theres another one going up in Dunedin and that one is a townhomes project. []Theres one going in Port St. Lucie, he said. Pretty soon therell be one in Panama City. Theres a big one in Tampa.

The Eco Village in Tampa is called Waterset and will feature 500 net-zero energy homes. Traynor said a model is scheduled to be built by the fall.
CAIRO, Egypt, - The Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Luxor Governorate have announced the launch of a joint project, 'Youth Employment for Socio-Economic Stability in Upper Egypt', which will be implemented jointly with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in cooperation with the Japanese government.

Image by 123RF

The Minister added that the plan will support efforts of the Government to diversify and revitalise the local economy and better integrate young women and men

The project targets the agribusiness, renewable energy, building and construction, creative industries, telecommunications, information technology and waste management sectors, said Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil. It is part of joint efforts to support entrepreneurship and employment among youth.

The Minister added that the plan will support efforts of the Government to diversify and revitalise the local economy and better integrate young women and men into the productive activities of the local economy, hence improving their livelihoods. During its one-year lifetime, the program will partner with public and private support institutions at both central and local levels and leverage the ecosystem capacity in Upper Egypt.

Kabil said the project will enhance the quality and outreach of business support services for the creation and growth of start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as fostering business linkages and improving the technical and life skills of youth to match with labour market requirements.

Integrate entrepreneurship

He also expects the program to develop the entrepreneurial attitude of the young generation by integrating entrepreneurship education in general, especially in technical schools.

The Egyptian Minister explained that the project will focus on a number of priority sectors where opportunities for economic empowerment, employment generation and private sector growth exist and can be further stimulated.

He pointed out that this new project supports the Central Bank of Egypt's initiative to develop small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as agricultural, industrial and service investments through the analysis of the value chain and also the identification of investment opportunities, preparation of a clear agenda for these investments and materialisation of these opportunities through financing in coordination with the relevant banks, in order to support the economic sector, create new jobs and increase competitiveness.

Giovanna Ceglie of UNIDO stated that UNIDO has been supporting Egypts progress over the years towards the achievement of social and economic growth through the promotion of industrial development for employment generation and environmental sustainability. Ceglie, who is currently collaborating with Egyptian authorities and civil society to implement a number of initiatives to support MSMEs, indicated that UNIDO is at present engaged with the Government and civil society in initiatives that promote MSME development and job creation in sectors with high potential for inclusive industrial development, and unleash the potential for energy efficiency and renewable energies and the advancement of green industries.
Aarthi Sampath, the head chef of Vikas Khanna's Michelin-star winning restaurant Junoon, has won the American competition based reality show Chopped on 9 August 2016.

The show has four chefs competing to create a three course meal using random ingredients provided to them to test the contestants on speed, creativity and presentation.

Reacting to her victory, Sampath said in a statement: Firstly, I feel relieved. It was one of the toughest things I have done in my life. Cooking a dish in 20 minutes and then being subject to criticism is not easy.I feel accomplished and I am so excited for this new journey I am going to start. I feel like I am one step closer to my goal of inspiring women in India and across the globe.

Sampath, who is currently the Chef de Cuisine at Junoon, has come a long way. She started off as a trainee in the Taj Hotel Group Management Programme, and spent the next 5 years with Taj in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. After this, she moved to the US to attend Johnson & Wales University and landed up in Junoon as an intern. Her role was elevated to Chef de Cuisine in recognition for her culinary skills, as well as her ability to combine modern techniques with traditional Indian cooking.

Sampath was also featured in the pictures from Prime Minister Modis visit to the US last year. Sampath was part of Khannas core team for The Billionaires Club Dinner.

Here's some of the scrumptious food she whips up at Junoon:

Here's more, only this time its fusion food:

Aarthi Sampath's casual meeting with her boss and mentor, Vikas Khanna:
Tollywood actor Nani will soon be seen with Keerthy Suresh in their upcoming Telugu film Nenu Local. The film will soon be going on the floors.

The actress shared the news on her Twitter account after the muhurtham ceremony on Wednesday, 10 August.

A source had earlier revealed to The Times of India, "The female lead in the film is equally important as the male lead. So, the director was looking for someone who can carry off a role like that and felt Keerthy Suresh would be an apt choice."

Directed by Trinadh Rao and the film's music will be composed by Devi Sri Prasad.

This will be Keerthy Suresh's second Telugu film after Nenu Sailaja. The actress, who has already worked with some of the big names in the South Indian film industries, will be seen opposite Vijay and Suriya in her upcoming films. Meanwhile, Nani's film Majnu will be releasing in theatres in September.
You might have forgotten who Akashdeep Saigal is, but according to him Salman Khan has not. To refresh your memory, Saigal or Sky Walker as he prefers to call himself, had played the role of Ansh Gujral in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. The actor now claims that the Sultan actor has destroyed his career.

During the fifth season of Bigg Boss that is hosted by Salman and had Akashdeep as a contestant, the two got into a spat. Akashdeep had also alleged that Khan had hit him and caused him emotional hurt. Post-Bigg Boss the actor who has featured in many other reality shows, did not not get any other roles on the small screen.

The actor who is currently working on a Tamil film said in an interview to The Times of India that though he has put the issue behind him, he is not sure if Salman has.

"I never hired any PR to destroy a career. I don't have a petty mind. I don't take 10 people along with me to make myself seem more powerful," he said.

Saigal was last seen in the 2009 Tamil film Ayan starring Suriya and Tamannaah.
Controversy's favourite child aka Rakhi Sawant is at it again. With a dress or without one, Rakhi has managed to hit the headlines with her antics.

The actress, who was in attendance at a pre-Independence Day party in Chicago, USA, was seen wearing a garish black number emblazoned with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Besides the tiny head shots of the PM, the worst part seems to be the PM's figure that's placed strategically enough for his hand to land right on Rakhi's bust.

And behind, Sawant's butt bore another image of Modi with the Prime Minister seemingly giving the actress' booty a first class rating with his gestures.

So what was Ms Sawant thinking when she went ahead with this so called show of patriotism?

Rakhi Sawant speaks to Firstpost from Chicago, "I have got this dress made from all my heart and love for our dear prime minister. He is the best PM and I am representing him in the US. I just want to tell people: 'Dont waste your time creating controversies over my dress, instead take care of your family. There are more serious issues in India that needs to be dealt with, like rape of little girls, farmers committing suicide...So live and let live and dont waste your time on my dress. Love you guys.' The dress has been designed by a new designer called Sayki."

She continues, I wore this dress so that I can impress BJP, especially Narendra Modi ji and Amit Shah. I love them both. Rajnath [Singh] called me, he considers me as his daughter. I met him in Delhi and I will meet him again. I am already BJPs daughter. I made this dress so that I can impress Modi ji. Modi ji is my dream man. I am most happy that he is our PM and he will remain one for next 15 years. Wherever I go I will wear this dress, and I will also make one sari with his image on it.

Rakhi says that she doesnt fear controversies or being attacked for this act.

I had first sent this costume for approval and if Modi ji says that he never approved my dress, then he can put me behind bars, only he has the right to do so. Nobody else. I'm accountable only to Modi ji. I got it approved from him and his team and only then wore the dress. I respect Modi ji, I respect Amit Shah and all the BJP members. In the future, I want to join BJP and do lot of work. If they want me in their party, I will be with them," she adds.

Besides the pre-independence party in Chicago, Rakhi says, she also wore the dress at the World film festival in San Francisco. I represented Modi ji and our country in Chicago and San Fancisco. I will auction this dress for poor children, who live in orphanages and also those suffering from cancer. If anybody wants to bid for it, then they can go ahead and do so. I am the true daughter of India, that is why I am promoting India and Modiji.
New York: Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar are the only two billionaires from India in Forbes list of the Worlds 100 richest people in technology, ranking in the top 20 ahead of Google boss Eric Schmidt and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.

The 100 Richest Tech Billionaires In The World 2016 list has been topped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates with an estimated fortune of $78 billion.

Premji ranks 13th on the list with a net worth of $16 billion and Nadar comes in on the 17th spot with $11.6 billion of net worth.

The other Indian-American technology czars in the list are Symphony Technology Group CEO Romesh Wadhwani and founders of IT consulting and outsourcing company Syntel Bharat Desai and his wife Neerja Sethi.

Forbes said Premji, who heads Indias third-largest outsourcer, Wipro has been on a buying spree in the past year to boost growth.

Premjis son Rishad, who heads strategy and sits on the board, also oversees Wipros $100 million venture capital fund.

Nadar co-founded HCL, which is reportedly mulling a US listing, Forbes said adding that Nadar also owns HCL TalentCare, a skillsdevelopment firm that provides training to new graduates. His latest venture is a $500 million fund to invest in startups and US healthcare tech firms.

Wadhwani comes in on the 67th position with a $3 billion net worth. A recipient of the 2013 Forbes India NonResident Philanthropist Award, Wadhwani announced in 2015 that he plans to commit up to $1 billion to fund entrepreneurship initiatives in India.

Forbes said despite a tumultuous year for the stock market, it was a good time to be a tech billionaire.

The titans on Forbes second annual list of the worlds richest in technology are worth a combined $892 billion, six per cent more than a year ago. Just over half of the 100 richest in tech are from the US, including eight of the top 10 richest on the list.

China has the second highest number of tech tycoons, with 19 people worth a combined $132.7 billion.

The richest Chinese member is Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who is on the 8th spot and has an estimated net worth of $25.8 billion.

Canada has five tech billionaires and Germany has four.

Forbes said the second richest person in tech Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is also the biggest gainer on the list this year and has an estimated $66.2 billion fortune, an increase of $18.4 billion since this list was released last year. That puts him ahead of Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, who comes in on the 4th spot.

Ellison was also beaten by Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who climbed from fourth to third place thanks to a 30 percent jump in the value of Facebooks stock; he is now also Californias richest person, another title that previously belonged to Ellison.

There are only five women rank among the worlds 100 richest in tech, including Zhou Qunfei on the 33rd spot. She became a billionaire in 2015 after Lens Technologys IPO, and has a net worth of $6.4 billion.

Americas richest selfmade woman in tech is health care software firm Epic Systems founder and CEO Judy Faulkner, who has a net worth of $2.7 billion and is ranked 79th.

The only other American woman on the list is HewlettPackard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, who has a net worth of $2.2 billion. She ranks 93rd.

These 100 billionaires have an average age of 53, a decade younger than the average age of the entire 2016 Forbes Billionaires List.
Traders body CAIT has filed a complaint with DIPP alleging that major e-tailers Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal are blatantly violating FDI norms.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has filed a complaint with the "DIPP against Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal for blatant violation of FDI Policy in e-commerce of the government", CAIT said in a statement.

When contacted, Snapdeal declined to comment on the matter. Amazon and Flipkart did not respond to e-mail queries.

CAIT said that during past three days these companies have given big advertisements in media announcing sale on their platform which is a violation of FDI guidelines on e-commerce.

These companies are allowed to do B2B business but they are doing B2C for which they are not authorised, it said.

CAIT has sought an appointment with Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

It asked the ministry to "take immediate action against these companies which are habitual in contravening the policy".

In March, government allowed 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in the marketplace format of e-commerce retailing.

As per the guidelines issued by the DIPP on FDI in e- commerce, foreign direct investment (FDI) has not been permitted in inventory-based model of e-commerce.
Flipkart, India's largest e-commerce company, finally got some respite on the valuation front after the online retail firm's shares were valued higher by one of its existing investor Valic Co.

The mark-up in valuation for the Bangalore-headquartered company comes following a series of valuation mark-downs in recent months by the several of the company's foreign investors.

According to a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the mutual fund firm Valic Co said it has marked up the etailer's shares by 10 percent at $108.04 apiece by May-end compared with $98.19 in the previous quarter, a Times of India report said.

Following the latest mark-up in value of shares by Valic, Flipkart is now valued at close to $11.6 billion after the fund had marked down the company's shares in consecutive quarters by 20.2 percent and 12 percent, respectively, to $10.5 billion. This, however, is still down from Flipkart's peak valuation of $15.2 billion when it last raised capital in July 2015, the Economic Times reported.

Before Valic, Fidelity, too, had recently valued the online retail firm's shares marginally higher valuing it at $9 billion, the ToI report said.

Before the latest mark-up, Flipkart had in fact faced six valuation markdowns this year. In July, US-based investment firm Vanguard Group slashed the holding value of its investment in Flipkart by as much as 25 percent in the quarter through March.

From $136.87 a piece Vanguard bought on 30 September, 2015, the US-based investment firm slashed its value to $102.65 as on 31 March, 2016.

Besides this, a fund managed by Morgan Stanley reduced the value of its investments twice while Fidelity Rutland Square Trust II, Valic Co., and T. Rowe Price also each lowered the value once.

In May, Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund Trust, a mutual fund investor in Flipkart Ltd, had lowered its estimate of the online retailers valuation by 15.5 percent for the second successive quarter in a row. Similarly, in April, T. Rowe Price disclosed in a filing that it cut the value of its stake in Flipkart by 15 percent.

On the series of markdown, Sachin Bansal in an interview had said, I do not think much of the markdowns. We should just focus on execution and keep our heads down on serving our customers."

This markup comes at a time when Flipkart is facing stiff competition from the US-based Amazon, which is rapidly closing the gap with its Indian competitor.
Hyderabad: Swedish furniture maker Ikea Thursday said it will double sourcing of products and material from India to euro 600 million in up to next four years.

The firm held groundbreaking ceremony for its first store in the country which will come up here in an area of 4 lakh sq ft with an investment outlay of Rs 700 crore.

Juvencio Maeztu, Chief Executive Officer, Ikea India said the construction may be completed by next year-end.

"The Ikea store is planning to open in Autumn of 2017, giving access to affordable, good quality home furnishing products. The company will hire 500 direct co-workers and another 1,500 engaged in providing services around the store. The store will be about 4,00,000 sq ft large and will host more than 5-6 million customers every year," Maeztu told reporters.

"Today we buy more than euro 300 million from India alone and we will multiply it by 2 to euro 600 million in the next three to four years," he said.

Replying to a query, he said the furniture maker may also introduce online sales in India in future. "Today, I touch and feel in the store and tomorrow I am ordering online. We are now activating online business in many countries and in India, we will also have online business. Having said that, we will start with stores (first). We want to build the brand in the store," he explained.

Maeztu further informed that the company is actively looking to finalise sites in Bengaluru and Delhi National Capital Region.

On the recently passed GST Bill, he was of view that it will benefit the business community. In May 2013, the government allowed the Swedish furniture major to invest Rs 10,500 crore for setting up single brand retail stores.

Ikea was one of the first few companies in India to be allowed 100 percent FDI in retail. Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali and state Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma were also present on the occasion.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia boosted its oil output to a record high in July, it told OPEC, in a sign key members remain focused on market share rather than tackling a supply glut by curbing production.

The monthly report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) also said output from the 14-member group hit a new high last month, indicating excess global supply may persist into next year.

Oil declined almost 15 percent in July on concern about a glut of crude and finished products that would delay a long-awaited rebalancing of the market. The drop has prompted some OPEC members to rally support for producers to agree steps to prop up prices.

"Cheap crude has led refiners to produce more refined products worldwide, adding to the oversupplied market," OPEC said in the report.

Saudi Arabia pumped 10.67 million barrels per day of crude in July, according to figures it provided to OPEC. That is up from 10.55 million bpd in June and above the previous record of 10.56 million bpd achieved in June 2015.

Saudi-based industry sources said in April output would rise to meet summer power demand, not to flood the market. Other OPEC producers like Iraq and Iran are boosting supply, offsetting the impact of militant attacks in Nigeria. Based on figures OPEC collects from secondary sources, OPEC pumped 33.11 million bpd in July, up 46,000 bpd from June.

This is the highest since at least 2008, according to a Reuters review of past OPEC reports.

The report pointed to more resilient supplies from producers outside the group, despite a more than halving of oil prices since mid-2014 that OPEC officials hoped would curb rival production and create a more balanced market by this year.

OPEC now expects non-OPEC supply to drop by 790,000 bpd this year, not as much as the 880,000 bpd decline expected last month. Supply is also seen falling next year, but by a smaller rate of 150,000 bpd.

"The short-term outlook for non-OPEC supply in 2016 is being revised up due to the recovery in Canadian oil production following the vast wildfire in Alberta and rising rig counts in the U.S. for four consecutive weeks," OPEC said.

OPEC's report backtracked from earlier predictions supply and demand would re-balance in 2016, saying higher seasonal demand in coming months would contribute to the "expected rebalancing of the market," without saying when it would occur.

OPEC expects demand for its crude in 2017 to average 33.01 million bpd, suggesting a supply surplus of 100,000 bpd if OPEC keeps output steady. Last month's report pointed to a small deficit.

In the report, OPEC made no significant change to its global demand outlook, predicting average demand growth of 1.15 million bpd in 2017.
London: Reserve Bank's outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan, whose outspoken views have often been seen as being critical of the government, feels whatever he will say on Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be "problematic".

Rajan, whose tenure at RBI has been marked with several controversies triggered by his comments on issues ranging from tolerance debate to the government's flagship programme 'Make in India', was asked to describe Modi in a televised rapid-fire like interview with BBC.

"I think I will pass on that question. Whatever answer I give will be problematic, so I will just pass," said the on-leave professor of finance at Chicago University, who will return to academia after end of his three-year term at RBI on 4 September.

After his decision to return back to academia, there have been voices suggesting that his candid public speeches were one of the aspects which made the government uncomfortable about reappointing Rajan for another term.

Some of the controversial speeches made by him include the one where he quoted American political philosopher Francis Fukuyama to question whether strong governments can really help a country or in defence of tolerance in the middle of a

debate started by the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of storing beef, or questioning the premise of the high-octane 'Make in India' campaign.

Rajan, a former IMF Chief Economist, also ruled out joining politics.

"I think that is one place where my wife overrides everything and her answer is 'no'," he said on joining politics.

Asked how he feels about being on the list of India's 'most desirable men', the 53-year-old Governor quipped: "I wish they had done it when I was 25."

Rajan described himself as a "boring guy" and said he being described as 'Rockstar Banker' is an "overblown" statement.

In an earlier TV interview, Rajan had said he was open to staying a bit longer at RBI to complete the unfinished work of bank clean-up, but was perfectly happy to go.

Rajan, who announced in June that he would not serve another term at RBI, said the dialogue with the government did not reach a stage where he could have agreed to stay on.

In recent months, Rajan has faced a slew of personal attacks from BJP MP Subramanian Swamy who had alleged that the former IMF chief economist was "mentally not fully Indian" and sent confidential and sensitive financial information abroad.

Rajan has also faced criticism by some others for his controversial remarks on various occasions. At a select media interaction earlier this week after presenting his last monetary policy, he strongly defended his views saying they were "perfectly legitimate" ones and within the remit of a central bank head.

"In none of those speeches that I have made has there been an explicit criticism or an implicit criticism of the government. There are people who read the interpretation of what is the speech I have given," he said.

Rajan said his concerns on the Make in India campaign -- wherein he had pitched for 'Make for India' given the fragile economic conditions the world-over -- have come true.

In case of the post-Dadri speech at his alma mater IIT-Delhi, Rajan had reiterated the need to be open for ideas as a service-sector driven economy.

Defending these views, Rajan said, "That speech was about the fact that in order to grow as a country which is largely a service economy, we have to be open to ideas. Once you reach the frontier, the only way you can grow is by ideas. And in order to get those ideas, you have to have tolerance for unorthodox ideas because those unorthodox ideas is how we move forward."

"As a society which is developing, which in some places is near the frontier, we have to have an open dialogue," Rajan added.

"I haven't in a sense talked about (things like) dance and music. That would be exceeding my remit," he quipped.
New Delhi: Cabinet on Wednesday gave ex-post facto approval to the amendments made to the Maternity Benefits Act, that aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

The Cabinet also gave ex-post facto nod to for amendments in the Factories Act, which has already been introduced in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.

"The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its ex-post facto approval for amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 by introducing the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament," an official statement said.

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her of a full paid absence from work - to take care for her child.

It is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons and the amendments will help around 1.8 million

women workforce in the organised sector.

These amendments include increasing maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two children, 12 weeks maternity leave to a 'Commissioning mother' and 'Adopting mother' and mandatory provision of creche in respect of establishment having 50 or more employees, the statement said.

In the case of the Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the approved amendments will give boost to manufacturing sector and facilitate ease of doing business with an aim to enhance employment opportunities, it added.

These amendments relate to increase in overtime hours from the existing 50 hours per quarter to 100 hours (Section

64) and existing 75 hours per quarter to 125 hours (Section 65).

Earlier in the day, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya introduced the Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Lok

Sabha, that seeks to enhance the limit of overtime hours.

The bill that was opposed by several opposition parties, was passed by the Lower House after Congress and Left parties staged a walkout. Besides, Congress, the bill was also opposed by the Left parties, TMC, JDU and IUML.

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was listed in the Rajya Sabha, could not be taken up today.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the town hall meeting on Saturday, where he made an emotional appeal to the country asking people to "stop attacking my Dalit brethren. If you have to shoot, shoot me, but not my Dalit brothers", the atrocities on Dalits continued unabated.

The Centre on Tuesday said that the issue of atrocities against Dalits will be taken up by the Lok Sabha on Thursday. "The issue of Dalit atrocities will be taken up on Thursday. There is no hesitation from government to discuss this issue. We have always been open for the discussion," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters.

Modi's 6 August address came at a time when the NDA government is facing flak over incidents of violence against Dalits and Muslims by cow vigilantes in various states including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

A look at some of them:

7 August: Two children belonging to the minority community, one of whom is Dalit, were allegedly tied to a pole and brutally assaulted by a vegetable vendor who suspected them of theft, at Sadar Kotwali. The incident took place outside the shop on Sunday, reported The Indian Express.

The incident came to light when a passerby witnessed it and informed the police, who in turn rescued the two children, the report added.

8 August: Two Dalit brothers were stripped and thrashed by a mob of gau rakshaks after they skinned a cow, which had died due to electrocution. The incident took place at Janakipeta in Amalapuram town of the district in Andhra Pradesh. The two were admitted to a hospital in Amalapuram for treatment.

On getting to know of the skinning, the gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes) went to the place and beat up the duo, identified as Mokati Elisha and Lazer, suspecting that they had killed the animal. Eight people were arrested arrested by Allavaram police, who clarified that the incident had nothing to do with "cow vigilantism" as suspected.

9 August: A 22-year-old Dalit man was beaten to death by a shopkeeper and his employees, after he was accused of stealing wrist watches in Uttar Pradeshs Lakhimpur Kheri district, reported The Indian Express. The FIR, which was filed by the victim's neighbour, revealed that Avaneesh was beaten up and hit on the head with a stick after he told the shopkeeper he belonged to the Dalit community, reported International Business Times.

The Indian Express added that the police arrested shopkeepers Pushpendra Singh and Sanjeev Verma, who will be produced before the court on Thursday. Two other men who were also beat up Avaneesh have absconded.

9 August: A 15-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang raped, while her minor sister was sexually assaulted by three men, including a relative of the victims', police said on Wednesday. The accused identified as Ajay, their distant, and his friends Balram and Pradeep were arrested on Wednesday, Sonipat's Baroda police station inspector Rajpal said.

According to police, the girls were allegedly abducted from their schools by the accused on Tuesday and taken to agricultural fields in Banvasa village, where one of them was allegedly gang raped, while her 16-year-old sister was sexually assaulted.

All the accused were booked under different sections, including 376 (rape), of the IPC, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and SC/ST Act, police said. The girls were threatened of dire consequences if they disclosed the incident to anyone, police said, adding the victims' statements were recorded before a magistrate.

9 August: A 30-year-old Dalit man was allegedly assaulted by the gram pradhan and others at Tugalpur village in Muzaffarnagar, police said on Wednesday.

According to the complaint filed by Vinod Kumar, he was beaten up by village head Pertal Singh and others on Tuesday, when he was going to the fields.

Based on the complaint, a case has been filed against Singh and one other under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 307 (attempt to murder), 341 (wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police said.

10 August: A minor Dalit girl and her father were beaten up by a temple priest in Gunnaur in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district, when the girl tried drawing water from the temple well.

The 13-year-old was reportedly denied water by the priest due to her Dalit status. After the father confronted the priest over the issue, he was attacked with a trident. A few followers of the priest also joined in the attack against the family. The police have launched an investigation and also arrested the accused. A case was registered against the priest under SC and ST Act after family protested.

Here's a brief timeline of instances of atrocities on Dalits after Modi's town hall address.

With inputs from PTI
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) has reportedly given a clear warning to IT giant Intel Technology India Pvt Ltd as part of its special drive to collect due property tax from big commercial companies that default on paying taxes.

According to a report by India Today, the BBMP has come up with a very unique method to extract the dues. It has decided to teach the employees of the IT company to love a stinky office if the IT giant fails to pay its taxes.

The Intel employees were greeted by a pile of garbage when they reached their office. The BBMP officials had blocked the gates of the firms premises in Belandur with trucks filled with garbage, the India Today report added.

The Hindu quoted sources as saying that some officials even threatened to dump the garbage inside the office if the company did not pay up property tax dues to the civic body.

The standing committee on taxation and finance found that Intel had defaulted tax payment between 2007 and 2008 of around Rs 34 crore. Intel challenged this in court. However, after valid documentation, the BBMP managed to convince the court how Intel defaulted, according to reports.

Intel ignored several court warnings to pay half of the due amount by 25 July. India Today quoted the Joint Commissioner of the Mahadevapura zone, BBMP, Muniveerappa as saying that the company had been calculating its taxes on the basis that it was not an air conditioned office, but the reality was that it was centrally air conditioned.

He also said that after Intel authorities gave a written undertaking that they would pay half of the dues by 28 August, the garbage trucks were removed from the office gate.

Apart from BBMP, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) too has come up with innovative ways to make defaulters pay their dues.

According to its recent notice, the BMC will now seize movable property such as computers, furniture, sofas, televisions, refrigerators, air-conditioners and other valuables if they dont pay up by the due date, reported The Indian Express. It also plans on sealing the lifts, building material and entrance of the building to restrict its usage to recover the property tax due on land, according to the policy.
Jaisalmer: Border Security Force has beefed up security along the border areas in Rajasthan under 'Operation Alert' ahead of Independence Day, officials said on Thursday.

The security exercise, which began on Wednesday, will continue till 19 August, DIG, BSF, Ravi Gandhi said.

Under the operation, security arrangements have been beefed up along the border areas to check infiltration bid from across the border, he said.

BSF personnel will be deployed along the border round-the-clock and will undertake fence repairing work.
Misguided media coverage is one of the many factors pushing the mass rebellion currently underway in Kashmir. As in 2010, the last time there was such a mass eruption, attempts to belittle or play down the extent of the upsurge only pushes the angry youth on the ground to go the extra mile to show the depth and extent of their anger. False reporting could fuel more anger and violence even further.

School principal Muzaffar Wani, for example, has unparalleled influence in the Valley today; it was his militant son Burhans death that sparked the current upsurge of agitations.

Muzaffar Wani backs negotiations for an early settlement, saying, "Koi aisi baat-cheet honi chahiye jisse maar-dhaar band ho sake (there should be such talks that would lead to an end to street violence)." But not only has he been largely ignored, but he has also been dangerously misquoted by a prominent media house.

Muzaffar Wani says he has not gone farther than half a kilometre from his house since Burhans death  he has only been to the mosque on the other side of the road. Nor has he accepted any of the slew of invitations he gets to address public meetings. Yet, he says, "look at our media," adding that The Economic Times wrote that he went to Pampore for a public meeting, at which he allegedly offered to give his daughter to the struggle after sacrificing two sons.

He has been further amazed by hyper television channels. "Yeh channel wale kya kya bolte hain! (What are these TV channels saying!),"

Specifically, he complains that a "muchhad" (moustachioed) former army officer said on television that he (Burhans father) had taken money from Pakistan to send his sons as militants. "If I took a crore," he says, "what will I spend it on without my sons? If I set up a five-star hotel, who will benefit (when I have lost my sons)?"

Sober analysts ought to consider what havoc a figure such as Muzaffar Wani might cause in an already volatile situation if he stated this allegation is an attack on his and his familys self-respect. He could easily whip up far more anger. Instead, he remarks that Trals self-respect is intact.

Young people have already pilloried media persons over the past month over skewed coverage, even preventing reporters from going into hospitals and other such centres of coverage. Employees of some channels do not dare take their OB vans out onto the roads. Many media persons have removed media stickers from their vehicles.

Given this sort of existing public anger, a few incendiary words from Muzaffar Wani could be devastating. Although he insists that he is no leader, he is clearly a hero to local youth. A truck filled with young men on the way to a public demonstration stops at his gate while I chat with him. Many of the men get off the truck and raise slogans praising Burhan. After a while, he goes out to talk to them.

Their passionate enthusiasm could easily affect the school principal. He has had daily doses of it for five weeks now. Instead, he speaks to me about the need for an environment in which negotiations between India, Pakistan and "Kashmiri leaders" could take place. He stands for freedom, but also for negotiations.

Raw rage

The family is clearly aware of the raw rage of todays youth. Ghulam Ahmad Wani, Burhans grandfather, contrasts todays fearlessness with the time when people were "cowards" in the face of oppression by the forces ("We called them all military," he says in response to a question, "We only learnt later that these are RR and these are CRPF and so on"). "Just as the forces dont fear to kill, todays boys dont fear to die," he adds.

Muzaffar Wani adds that the fear of death has vanished to the extent that people pick up sticks and tools and whatever else they can to resist these forces now. Older people still fear, he adds, but the young do not.

Indeed, the teenagers on the streets now are more fierce, organised and resourceful than the ones who had taken to the streets in 2010 - when most of todays teenagers were in their pre-teens.

Given these trends, media analysts  including uninformed television discussion panelists  who deny agency to the protesting youth only increase their rage.

Blaming Pakistan for all that is happening in the Valley is a convenient, easy explanation. It is probably true to some extent, possibly a large extent. But to throw this around glibly is to taunt the boys, and make the task of agents provocateurs easier.

Calling them "misguided," "paid agents," "drug addicts" and other such terms calculated to deny their strong sentiments also angers them and thus adds to the momentum of their agitations. Such analyses tend to be counter-productive.

As he sees me off outside his gate, Burhans father introduces me to a little boy, probably younger than 10. The boy is a leader of the current agitations, he says. Embarrassed, the boy covers his face with his hands and half turns, bashfully. But I have no doubt he could be lethal with a pile of stones.

This is indeed the generation that confronts the Indian state today. It is a fearless generation, one that poses a challenge beyond description.
Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra on Thursday criticised the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government in Odisha for "its double standards" on the Mahanadi water issue.

The Congress leader said the state government knew about the construction of the barrage by the Chhattisgarh government since 2001, while it is now claiming that it was not kept in the loop over the projects.

"Construction of projects upstream on the Mahanadi by Chhattisgarh was in the knowledge of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his government. He had replied to an adjournment motion on April 10, 2001," said Mishra.

He also said that the Chief Minister had informed the House that he would not allow Chhattisgarh government to construct barrages and dams without consulting the Odisha government.

Then he had assured the House that he would never let the Chhattisgarh government construct the proposed projects. Besides, the Chief Minister had informed that he had already talked to the then Union Water Resources Minister, said Mishra.

"But now, he is claiming that his government didn't know about the projects and promised to come out with vigour to fight the issue till his last breath," Mishra informed.

"This is utter hypocrisy of the state government. The Chief Minister deliberately allowed construction of projects on Mahanadi as the projects would fetch water to industries which have also projects in Odisha," alleged the senior Congress leader.

He also urged all the political parties to rise above political considerations and oppose the construction of projects on Mahanadi river by the Chhattisgarh government.
Morena (Madhya Pradesh): A Dalit man in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district cremated the body of his wife in front of his house, claiming he was not allowed to use the cremation ground by upper caste people.

The man, identified as Bablu, claimed the cremation ground has been encroached upon by "upper caste" people. However, the local administration says the land was illegally occupied by the Dalits.

The incident happened in Garhi village of Morena's Ambah town on Tuesday. When Bablu arrived at the cremation ground with his wife Pooja's body, he was told he cannot cremate the body as the land belongs to the so-called upper caste people.

Dalit villagers said they all face the same problem as the "upper castes" have started farming on the land meant for cremation.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (revenue) D.C. Sandhi on Thursday told IANS that there was a cremation ground for Dalits in the village, but it was being illegally occupied by a few people of the same community.

He denied that Bablu was stopped from using the cremation ground.

Sandhi said Bablu has been awarded financial assistance of Rs 10,000, and the authorities have begun the process to remove the encroachment from the cremation land.
Chandigarh: Amid an uproar over cow vigilantism, Haryana government has decided to carry out police verification of all members of the Gau Raksha Dals in the state and is considering issuing them identity cards. Haryana government's Gau Sewa Ayog, which carries out activities for protection of cows, said the step will prevent unscrupulous elements from extorting money and harassing people in the name of cow protection.

"We have decided to get the police verification done of all the Gau Raksha Dals working in the state. Once the verification is done, we may issue them I-Cards which will be their identity," Ayog's chairman Bhani Ram Mangla said.

"This step is aimed at stopping any fake cow protectors from extracting money from people and thrashing innocents in the name of cow protection and it will also help in exposing those unscrupulous people who operate as Gau Raksha Dals," Mangla said.

"Gau Raksha Dals will only inform the police once they come to know about cow smuggling or cattle being taken for slaughter. They will not take law into their hands. It is for the police to take action against cow smugglers," said Mangla.

The Haryana government's move came two days after the Union Home Ministry issued an advisory asking all states to take prompt action against anyone sidestepping taking in the name of protecting cows. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had denounced cow vigilantes and asked people to beware of the "fake" protectors trying to divide society. He has asked states to punish the self-styled cow-protectors.

Last month, Dalit men were brutally thrashed by cow vigilantes in Gujarat's Una town for skinning a dead cow. Later, it was found the cow was killed by a lion.

Mangla claimed that Haryana has not seen any violent incident in the name of cow protection and said there could be 5-6 Gau Rakasha Dals in every district. "We have received a list of 100 such groups whose police verification will be done," he said.

Notably, Haryana government had already entrusted senior IPS officer Bharti Arora with the task to supervise and monitor the functioning of teams constituted in all districts to effectively check slaughter and smuggling of cows.

Mangla said a toll-free helpline will also be set up in Gurgaon. Among other initiatives, Haryana Gau Sewa Ayog has planned to provide financial helps to cow shelters. "We have plans to set up a bio-gas plant in a village whereby power generated from the unit will be supplied to the village. Pesticides, disinfectants and manure will also be made from cow urine," he said.

In Haryana, there are 3.20 lakh cows in Gaushalas and 1.17 lakh are stray cows, he said. Haryana Gau Sewa Ayog has already proposed that the BJP government in the state levy 'cow cess' to generate funds for welfare of the cows. For protection of cows, Haryana Assembly had in March 2015 passed a Bill for a complete ban on cow slaughter and provides for a rigorous imprisonment ranging from three years to 10 years for killing the animal.
Till two days ago, Irom Sharmila was an icon with no parallel in independent India; but today, she is a homeless social reject.

Now that the Manipuris have more or less outcasted Irom, her strategy of carrying on the fight against the special powers of the Indian army through mainstream politics, let alone becoming the chief minister of the state, is unlikely to work. And ironically, her real and everyday challenge will now be more mundane  food, which she voluntarily shunned for 16 years, and shelter.

This is the tragedy of political iconisation thats built on personal sacrifice  one just cant leave a cause midway because more than the cause, sacrifice is the main story. And what happens if the icon drops the main story? Unfortunately, history offers no scope for that. Theres no alternative storyline. Either you win, or die.

Irom Sharmila tried to rewrite the story and has evidently failed. Had she looked back in history, probably she wouldnt have dropped out and risked disgrace because all the great political icons had a story of enormous personal sacrifice. What immortalised their glory was that they stayed on till the end of the fight or lost their lives for their cause. The template was set by leaders like MK Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and Malcolm X. In fact, only extraordinary people can fit this template.

Irom Sharmila was also extraordinary in that respect, only until 9 August. She was either crazy or too strongly committed to her cause in refusing to eat for 16 long years. She literally abandoned her personal life at a prime age of 28, but what happened in the course of her fight was that her right to choose was involuntarily taken away by the people whom she stood up for. Today when she is asking for the return of that right, fellow Manipuris think she is a traitor.

The problem is that when she symbolised their fight against Afspa (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) sacrificing her life, fellow Manipuris lived a part of that sacrifice without actually experiencing it. With her stopping the fast, they too lost a sacrificial life by proxy that they have been living. Seemingly, they cannot come to terms with this personal loss because it also means a big setback to their fight. Afspa is a painful reality and the resistors now have lost their way.

Irom Sharmilas tragedy should be a lesson for people who jump headlong into causes, without thinking about personal consequences, most importantly their rights. The most dangerous trap in this process is the iconhood that Sharmila had achieved long ago.

Burmese national leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who also lost almost the same number of years of her life to house arrest while fighting for her countrys independence, always resisted efforts of iconisation. As this Firstpost article explained, she played down all the virtues, including personal sacrifice, attributed to her.

In 2012, Suu Kyi told Indian journalists (Barkha Dutt and Karan Thapar) that she was no saint, had a bad temper and that she had made mistakes. In her interviews with them, she made it clear that her house arrest was her choice and strategy, and not sacrifice, to fight back. There was no spirituality, mystery or superhumanness to her persona, but a practical resolve to bring back democracy. Whats more, she told Karan Thapar that she believed in the army and wouldnt mind a back-door and front-door access.

Suu Kyis success was that she ensured that her right to personal choices remained inalienable, irrespective of people rallying behind her, whereas Irom Sharmila didnt realise that her personal rights were being usurped by the same people that she fought for.

Could she have done anything differently?

Of course, she could.

There are two more templates available in the country. One is that of high-profile activists who straddle two worlds and the other. The most recent example is that of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who unlike nobody in Indian history, had converted a civil society movement to a political party in two years.

The first choice is most convenient because there is no personal loss and substantial gains of fame and power. One hops between the world of activism and that of convenience without personal sacrifice. You could wander with Maoists in the hills or spend time with Edward Snowden in Moscow fighting the imperialists, but be certain that you could get back to your regular existence in Jor Bagh. One could spend a few days trekking through Adivasi dwellings and places of farmer distress and return to the global lecture circuit for the rest of the year. One could make a whole lot of money selling workers equity and read Marx to them. This is the easiest route to be an icon, small or big. Its fast and returns are handsome.

The second choice, the political model pioneered by Kejriwal demands a lot of conviction and strategy besides hard work. Its a better model for social change because it looks for political disruption. It doesnt conceal any double standards and is open to peoples audit.

The first model wouldnt have befitted Irom Sharmila because she couldnt have straddled two worlds. But probably, 16 years into a futile fight, she wanted to change course and the path before her was that of Kejriwal  of politics. And it would certainly have made sense and people could have stood by her. But unfortunately, what she didnt realise was that she didnt ask the tens of thousands of Manipuris, who were also living her life by proxy if they were willing to change course as well.

The moral of the story is that if you are not too sure of the consequences, dont become an idol. You may lose everything.
New Delhi: In his first official visit, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar will travel to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq from 17 to 23 August during which he will discuss with the West Asian leadership key security issues, including threat by the Islamic State and the 39 Indians who were taken hostage in war-hit Mosul.

This was announced by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup, who said the visit to these three important countries in West Asia is a reaffirmation of India's deep interest in promoting bilateral relations as also in the peace and security in the region in its extended neighbourhood.

The Spokesperson also said that the minister's visit will also give India an opportunity to have first- hand assessment of evolving security situation in that region.

Asked if the issue of Indians, who were taken hostage in war-hit Iraq by the Islamic State in 2014, will figure during minister's talk, Swarup said the issue has been always raised by India during its interaction with the leaders and other interlocutors. "It is but natural that it will be discussed during minister's visit," he added.

Terming the Islamic State as that biggest "security threat", he said the minister will discuss it during his meetings.

In Lebanon, Akbar is expected to meet the top leadership including President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of Lebanon Tammam Salam and will have extensive discussions with the Lebanese leadership covering bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

In a continuing dialogue process with the leadership of Syria, the minister will pay a courtesy call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Prime Minister Emad Mohammad Deeb Khamis.

Among others, Akbar will also interact with the Grand Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun during his visit. "The discussions would focus on our bilateral cooperation and the unfolding security situation in the region," Swarup added.

During his visit to Iraq, he would hold discussions with Foreign Minister of Iraq Ibrahim Al-Eshaiqer Al-Jafari on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

"Our time-tested, warm and friendly relations with Iraq are underpinned by historical and religious inkages, strong people-to-people contacts, our energy security quest and capacity-building cooperation.

The visit is expected to add further impetus to our bilateral engagement.

"It will also provide an opportunity to meet other senior leaders of Iraq, including religious leaders, and to convey India's abiding commitment to the emergence of a stable, peaceful, united and democratic Iraq, which is in the interest of regional and global peace and security," the Spokesperson said.
As per news reports, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved a 2,000-kilometer long road along the McMohan Line connecting Mago-Thingbu in Tawang, the western extremity of Arunachal Pradesh, to Vijaynagar at the eastern extremity of the state.

Between the two extremities, the road will pass through Tawang, East Kameng, Upper Subansiri, West Siang, Upper Siang, Dibang Valley, Desali, Chaglagam, Kibithoo, Dong, Hawai and Vijaynagar on the Arunachal Pradesh border.

The environmental clearances for the road have reportedly already been accorded. According to Arunachal Times, the Army had objected to the earlier alignment of this road and asked for fresh alignment as the area has very little population and sustaining the safety and civilian traffic would end up being the responsibility of the armed forces.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar recently informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply: Based on an operational requirement of the Army, the proposal for construction of Tawang to Vijaynagar highway has been endorsed with a few changes in its alignment. A concept paper with provision for consultancy services to cost Rs 63 crore has reportedly been submitted to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway and an empowered committee has been holding consultations with all stakeholders.

Earlier on 23 June, news headlines had quoted a senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official as saying that the above-mentioned road project had hit the Indian Army hurdle as the Army was opposed to constructing any road close to the disputed border with China. The Hindu report mentioned a meeting in MHA where the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) had opposed the project saying that the alignment of the proposed road was not conducive from a security point of view.

The DGMO reportedly opposed the demand of opening advance landing grounds (ALGs) for civilian use in these forward areas. The news report also included these details: one, the proposed road was 1,500-kilometer long parallel to the China border; two, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways approached for the project declined to work on it, citing that it was financially not viable; three, MHA was looking to rope in an international contractor to complete the project; and four, Mechuka ALG was inaugurated by a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) officer without the consent of the state government.

Bashing the military is media norm in India. It is secure because of the knowledge that there would be no comeback. But let us first look at this business of IAF inaugurating Mechuka ALG without the consent of the state government.

Mechuka ALG has been operational for a long period of time and was surely not activated by the IAF without immediate sanction of the MoD. If the state government takes umbrage, it should direct its unhappiness to the MoD directly or through MHA, certainly not at the IAF.

But more significantly, how was the first alignment drawn and by whom? Surely, it cant be the state authority picking up a pen and drawing a line across a map or a sketch. A border road alignment running parallel to a sensitive border with China cannot be drawn without taking into account location of the ground defences of the forward troops and location of reserves, considering that the Chinese tail with its phosphorous content catches fire at just the sight of a matchstick.

In essence, such alignment should not have been worked out without including the Border Road Organisation (BRO) directly under the MoD, if not exclusively by the BRO, which doesnt appear to be the case. Even if MHA didnt want BRO into the project, its inclusion in working out the alignment of the road would have automatically taken into account army concerns. This is because the BRO has a considerable army component and is headed by a three-star General from the Corps of Engineers.

On the other hand, if the BRO did work out the initial alignment and without any reference to the army, then it could have only happened because of the MoD. On balance, there appears to have been unwanted adhocism at play and unwarranted blame throwing on the military, which is hardly healthy.

What has been given a total miss, by design or default, is the armys concern of linking this proposed strategic road to existing road heads south of it. In May last year, then Minister of State (Defence) had stated that MoD has set itself a deadline of 2018 to complete infrastructure projects in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, saying, The Chinese infrastructure is right up to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), whereas we are at places 50-100 km away from the LAC. This is now being addressed. By 2018  a year here or there  we plan to put the infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh and the Northeast in place.

This is a tall order considering the vagaries of terrain and weather in forward areas resulting in limited working season coupled with the intricate tasks of refurbishing ALGs, building strategic railway lines, tunnels, and arterial roads leading up to the LAC.

Hopefully, these deadlines will be kept, which should also cater for the much needed additional military deployments that are now taking place. In meeting such deadlines, we also have this peculiar problem of a foreign-funded or blackmailed cross-section disrupting development of infrastructure, to include political parties vying for more power.

More importantly, the promise of by 2018  a year here or there needs to be strictly adhered to, not only considering the highly developed Chinese infrastructure but also the fact that Chinese military reorganisation is to be completed by 2020, beyond which they have declared progressing their territorial claims (however illegal).

The operationalisation of ALGs is a good development in air travel and must be extended to the public. We have been doing this in Kargil which is directly under observation of Pakistani posts in PoK, so there is no reason we cannot do so in forward areas along the LAC.

But what the government must ensure is acquisition of additional airlift assets for such purpose. What has been shoved under the carpet over the years is the fact that the training hours for airborne and heliborne operations have been drastically reduced over the years for such reasons and unavoidable sudden requirements of disaster relief.

The government needs to do a reality check about this. As for developing the border infrastructure in telescoped time, the resources of the BRO obviously need to be augmented and private players brought in. As importantly, in the race to show achievements, quality should not be sacrificed, considering some new roads in forward areas have lost their surfacing just after one winter. Also, while MoD has talked about Sikkim and Arunachal, eastern Ladakh must not be lost sight of, where a couple of months back the army was being blamed for stopping road construction.

The author is veteran of the Special Forces of the Indian Army.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought suggestions from public for his Independence Day speech to be given from ramparts of the Red Fort.

Messages inviting suggestions have been put on some of the government websites.

"Independence Day speech from ramparts of the Red Fort is perhaps the most important speech of the year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the trend of directly seeking ideas and suggestions from citizens for formulating his Independence Day speech.

"Like last year, this year too the Prime Minister invites citizens to contribute their views, their ideas, their suggestions, indeed their own vision," read the message.

People can contribute on either the MyGov open forum or the Narendra Modi site and mobile application, it said.

"All you have to do is to click on the respective icons and have your say. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will articulate them," said the message put up on the Personnel Ministry's website.

The best inputs would be incorporated by the Prime Minister in his speech on 15 August, it said.

It will be Modi's third Independence Day address as Prime Minister.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday met the family of Indian prisoner Hamid Nehal Ansari, who was attacked at least thrice by inmates in a Peshawar jail, and assured them of all possible help.

Swaraj last week had directed the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to seek consular access to Ansari. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India has again "strongly" taken up with Pakistani authorities security of Ansari in the wake of reports that he was attacked inside the jail.

"On August 5, we have again strongly taken up the matter of security of Hamid Ansari while he is in the custody of Pakistani authorities. This was done specifically in the light of reports that he was attacked again in prison in which he is lodged.

"We have reminded the Government of Pakistan of its responsibility to ensure his security," Swarup said adding "We have also conveyed that according to our understanding since his sentence of three years is already over he should be released and repatriated to India at the earliest." Swaraj met the family of Ansari and assured that government will keep pursuing his case with Pakistan. Ansari, a Mumbai resident, was arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online. He had suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison recently.

31-year-old Ansari was sentenced to three years imprisonment by a military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card. Ansari's lawyer lawyer Qazi Mohammad Anwar told Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday that his client was attacked at least thrice by jail inmates in recent months. Anwar also told the court that Ansari had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

Ansari was attacked and injured three times over the last couple of months and shifted to the hospital for treatment, the counsel said. He said even the head warden would subject him to brutality and slap him on a daily basis without any reason.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.
Srinagar: Police on Thursday took into preventive custody Hurriyat Conference leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as they tried to defy house arrest and march to Eidgah to pay homage to Sheikh Abdul Aziz on his eighth death anniversary.

Police detained Geelani, chairman of the hardline Hurriyat Conference, as he tried to defy the restrictions, and took him to Humhama police station, a spokesman for the Hurriyat faction said.

"Mirwaiz was arrested by police outside his Nigeen residence and lodged in Nigeen police station," a spokesman for the chairman of the moderate faction of Hurriyat said. The separatists, as per their joint protest programme announced on 4 August, had asked people to march to the Eidgah to pay homage to Aziz.

Meanwhile, the separatist camp in Kashmir has asked people not to send their children for participating in Independence Day events and gave a call for a two-day "referendum march" at Lal Chowk on 13 and 14 August to let the people of the state exercises their right to self-determination to decide on its future status.

"Parents are directed not to send their wards for participation in these (Independence Day) celebrations," the separatists said in the joint protest programme issued on Thursday for six days from 13 to 18 August.

"From 7:00 am onwards (on August 15), block all the roads towards and around the place of celebration of Indian Independence Day; District Development Commissioners are asked not to hoist the Indian Flag in any part of the Jammu and Kashmir," they added.

Geelani, the Mirwaiz and JKLF chairman Mhammad Yasin Malik have been spearheading the ongoing protests against recent civilian killings in the valley.

"Raise black flags on your houses, shops, market centres and local chowks and wear black dresses or black bands on this day," the separatists said.
New Delhi: Women employees who have complained of sexual harassment can get three months leave during the pendency of inquiry, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The government does not maintain any centralised data on the number of sexual harassment complaints, he said.

Section 12 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 provides for grant of leave up to three months to an aggrieved woman employee during the pendency of inquiry in to her case, he said in a written reply.

"Such leave may be granted by the employer if a written request from the aggrieved employee duly recommended by the local committee or the internal committee, as the case may be, is received," said the Minister of State for Personnel, Public

Grievances and Pensions.

To a question seeking details on the number of sexual harassment complaints registered by women employees as on date, the Minister said "centralised data is not maintained".

As per the law, sexual harassment includes physical contact and advances, demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing any pornography and any other unwelcome physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.

Besides, implied or explicit promise of preferential or detrimental treatment in employment; implied or explicit threat about her present or future employment status; interference with her work, creating an intimidating, offensive or hostile work environment for her; and humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or safety may also amount to sexual harassment.
The Mumbai police investigation has revealed that funds close to Rs 60 crore were transferred into the accounts of televangelist Zakir Naik and his relatives in the last three years from three different countries.

The probe also discovered that the money was initially transferred to Naik's account after which he transferred the money to five accounts belonging to his relatives, reported The Times of India.

The police still has no knowledge regarding the purpose of the funds. They said that they will run an inquiry into these shell companies controlled by Naik and the banks which transferred the funds.

The four offshore companies  a construction firm, a realty company, a solvency company and perfume manufacturing unit  allegedly conduct no actual business.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the police was quoted saying, "We will investigate each alleged transaction and seek detailed statements from the bank. We will first record the statements of bankers and others, and then of Naiks family once preliminary investigations are complete."

The police haven't yet questioned the officials of Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), but confirm that the funds actually belonged to Naik and not his NGO.

When contacted by The Indian Express, a spokesperson at the IRF said that they had no knowledge about the companies held by Naik or his family members. They confirmed that the IRF has received fund from foreign entities, but remained uncertain on the activities of Naik's personal accounts.

On Wednesday, the Mumbai police had filed a report on the IRF and alleged that Naik had used the foundation for 'unlawful activities'. They recommended that the state should book Naik under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The report based on police investigations into Naik's alleged terror links was submitted by Mumbai police commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The 72-page report alleged that the foundation misused its status as an educational trust to convert people. It gave a platform to 'terrorist minds' for propagating their ideology. It listed various Islamic speakers who have propagated terror and have been banned by other countries.

Devendra Fadnavis had said, "In the probe, several new facts have come to light. Naik's activities are illegal. Statements made by a section of youths, who had links with the Islamic State and Indian Mujahideen, also point to the unlawful activities of IRF. We will take the strongest possible action in consultation with the law and judiciary department and MHA."

The funding received by IRF has also recently come under the scanner. According to a report by The Hindustan Times, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has started a preliminary enquiry (PE) into the foreign funding of the IRF. The Union Home Ministry is also conducting an investigation into the foundation's funding under the The Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act (FCRA).

The police will file an FIR against the foundation after the PE stands in the court of law.

Naik came under the scanner following revelations that two of the young Islamist attackers, who killed 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, during a Dhaka cafe siege on 1 July, drew "inspiration" from his speeches.

The Mumbai police is all set to book Naik under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Aam Aadmi Party found itself in the middle of yet another controversy last month, when the Income Tax department claimed to have unearthed undeclared income worth Rs 130 crore in a tax raid conducted at AAP MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar's residence.

In his affidavit submitted with the Election Commission ahead of the 2015 Delhi Assembly election, Tanwar had declared assets worth Rs 17.64 crore  of which immovable assets were Rs 7.69 crore and movable assets Rs 9.95 crore. His fleet of cars cost Rs 72 lakh, reported Firstpost's Debobrat Ghose.

On 27 July, the I-T department conducted raids at the Chhatarpur MLA's residence, office and farmhouse and also at the residences of his brother and domestic help.

Unaccounted cash and jewellery of about Rs 1 crore was seized from Tanwar and his brother, along with papers corresponding to the transactions made by the MLA.

Searches have revealed several illegal transactions by Tanwar, who bought land and farm houses in Chhatarpur and adjoining Ghitorni. All these were done through cash transactions and more than 30 companies were floated for the purpose, an I-T official privy to investigation told Firstpost on condition of anonymity.

Many people in Chhatarpur call Tanwar a land shark, who has amassed great wealth by buying and selling land, especially farm houses.

The I-T investigation, comprising searches, scrutiny of documents and questioning of the MLA twice by tax sleuths, revealed important details of Tanwars alleged transactions.

Most of Tanwar's major transactions were done through cash, which consequentially carried no tax as there was no proof of these transactions taking place. Moreover, to avoid paying stamp duty and registration fee, Tanwar allegedly used power of attorney to buy and sell land and farm houses. He amassed most of his wealth through benami properties.

Tanwar, a first time MLA, worked as a junior engineer at Delhi Jal Board (DJB). He contested municipal election for the first time from Bhati ward in 2007 and became a corporator. He again contested in 2012 and won with a bigger margin. He was a BJP leader before joining AAP in 2014.

AAP's initial reaction this latest allegation was not surprising. The party alleged political vendetta and claimed it was a witch-hunt by the BJP-led central government..

Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had said in July, Modiji, you deploy the CBI, Delhi police, IB, ED and Income Tax, but we will keep doing our work.

Incidentally, AAPs political affairs committee members Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, in 2015, had questioned the dubious background of 12 AAP candidates, but were later expelled from the party. They went on to form the Swaraj Abhiyan party. Till now, FIRs have been filed against 12 AAP MLAs, of which 11 have been arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Even though individual party members have spoken in support of Tanwar, AAP till now, has not issued any public statement regarding the case. AAP's silence seems quite uncharacteristic, as in the past, the party has not refrained from vocalising its claims against perceived injustice.

Following the arrests of AAP leaders in July, Kejriwal had made a very strong statement against PM Narendra Modi and BJP, claiming that the Centre was trying to send all AAP MLAs to jail on false charges. He stated that the Income Tax department, Delhi police and CBI were all after AAP, and were working on the directions of a 'mastermind'.

"Going to jail is a very small thing. We will have to take it for granted that all our MLAs will have to go to jail. Apart from imprisonment, anything can happen to us," he said. "If you are ready to face all the difficulties, then support us," Kejriwal had.

He even said that Modi is frustrated and angry. "Two days after they target and arrest our MLAs, those MLAs are released. He has not been able to prove anything against AAP. Even the courts have told the police that they are indulging in politics," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal went ahead and even alleged that the Modi government may try to get him killed.

These allegations against AAP and its members have come at a critical time when the party is planning to make inroads in Goa, Punjab and BJP stronghold Gujarat. However, now that Kejriwal is back from his vipassana course, it remains to be seen how the Delhi chief minister will put out this fire.

With inputs from agencies.
Lucknow: Swami Prasad Maurya, who recently joined BJP after quitting BSP, has been booked for violating prohibitory orders during his visit to the state capital.

The FIR was registered against Maurya on Wednesday night and others under IPC sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), SHO Hazratganj, Vijaymal Yadav said.

During his visit to party office in Hazratganj area from Airport, Maurya was accompanied by a number of supporters in a cavalcade of cars creating traffic jam.

The supporters also burst crackers outside the BJP office to welcome Maurya in party fold.

Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) have been enforced in the Hazratganj area by the district administration prohibiting assembly of more than 10 people, holding of demonstrations or carrying of weapons.

On 7 August, an FIR was registered against Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel from Mirzapur on same charges during her first visit to the city after being inducted in the Narendra Modi Cabinet in July.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday urged against politicising the issue of atrocities on Dalits and said society must take it as a challenge to bring an end to such incidents.

"It is painful that even after 70 years of independence we are still discussing atrocities on Dalits. We cannot deny that there are people from several castes and religion. We should not politicise the atrocities on Dalits," Rajnath Singh told Lok Sabha in a reply to the day-long debate on the issue of atrocities on Dalits.

"We can make India world's best country if we consider humanity above all. There are many articles in our Indian constitution for Dalits. But there is a need for effective laws. Our government is working at socio-economic development of the Dalits."

Dismissing the remarks that it was only after BJP came to power, atrocities on Dalits have increased, Singh said: "Just ask yourselves if this is true. It has been happening since the beginning. Show me the data records. I don't want to point fingers at any political party. But in 2013, 39,346 cases were registered against atrocities, 40,300 and 35,564 were registered in 2014 and 2015 respectively," Singh said.

On PM Modi's silence during Parliament discussions, Singh said, "If you check past years, has any PM participated in all parliamentary discussions? When PM spoke on the atrocities, and cow vigilantes, I issued an advisory that strict action should be taken against them."

Hailing Dalit community, the home minister said, "When India was under the British Rule, no matter how atrocities the community suffered, still they stood by India. They never demanded a separate country. We in the government empathise with the Dalits.

"For instance, one of the organisations which has been majorly active at the grassroots for the upliftment of Dalits is Seva Bharati, an RSS organisation," Singh said.

"It is pointless to blame the other government. Why did we celebrate Ambedkar's 125th anniversary with such affection? Respecting Ambedkar is like respecting India.

We all should work together and commit to the cause of upliftment of Dalits and ensure strict action against the atrocities.

"Also, I would appeal all the state governments to take strictest possible action against anti-social elements who try to disrupt the harmony of secular fabric of the country," the home minister said.

"People from various castes and communities in India live together. Our ancestors believed in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (World is one family)," he said.

The debate was held following outrage over incidents of flogging of Dalits, including in Una in Gujarat, by cow vigilantes.
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Thursday began general discussion on the "atrocities against Dalits" in the country under Rule 193.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) member PK Biju from Kerala alleged that while there has been substantial increase in incidents of atrocities against Dalits, the community has not seen improvement in conditions, in education and social parameters.

As soon as the house re-assembled after the lunch break, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs SS Ahluwalia requested Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, who was in the chair, to allow taking up the debate as against a listed item of government bills.

Initiating the discussion, Biju, the Lok Sabha member from Alathur constituency in Kerala, said over 37 percent of Dalits live below the poverty line while at least one Dalit is attacked every 18 minutes.

"You have enough provisions to protect the Dalits in the country, but who will protect us," he asked and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to emerge as a true "custodian" of the people.

Referring to Modi's statement recently that first he (Prime Minister) be attacked and not the Dalits, the Marxist MP said such statements only reflects that the issue of attacks on Dalits is serious.

He said despite being a "prosperous state", Dalits' conditions have not been very good in the western state of Gujarat.

"I request the Prime Minister not to confine (himself) to only giving statements but also show action," Biju said.

Quoting National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reports, the member said many Dalit children die before the age of five and women literacy rate among Dalits was below 40 per cent.

There is need for "political will" to control incidents of violence an atrocities against Dalits, he said.
New Delhi: Opposition members in Lok Sabha on Thursday took the government to task over its "failure" to check rising cases of atrocities against Dalits, with some members seeking a ban on 'right-wing' cow vigilante outfits saying the SCs and STs were living in "deep sense of fear".

Participating in a debate on attacks on dalits, the members focused on the poor conditions of these downtrodden sections across the country, with KH Muniyappa (Congress) alleging that in Gujarat, the attacks on them have a reached "a level never seen in history".

Initiating a debate on the issue, PK Biju (CPI-M) spoke about the overall poor conditions of Dalits and cited figures to argue that they were denied equal rights despite the Constitution promising all citizens same rights.

Every day, three Dalit women are raped and every 18 minutes a crime against Dalits occur, he said, adding that over 37.8 percent of students from the community sit separately in government schools while over 24.5 percent of them are not allowed to enter police stations.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement against cow vigilante groups, Biju demanded action against these outfits and not remain confined to words alone.

"If you have got such a feedback (about attacks on Dalits by the cow protection groups), then why should you not stop such atrocities? We would like him to take strong measures," the CPI(M) member said.

Observing that he had visited Una in Gujarat where some Dalits were flogged for skinning a cow, he said "ban it (cow vigilantes) throughout the country" and also sought measures to fill up vacancies of posts reserved for Dalits.

Muniyappa said "dalits are living in the grip of deep sense of fear and insecurity. They had faith in Congress to protect them but have no faith in BJP. ... There was no protection needed for SCs and STs earlier. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was there, such incidents never happened."

He said quality education will bring SCs and STs to the mainstream and asked the government to open Navodaya Schools for them.

Muniyappa also raked up Union Minister VK Singh's alleged dog analogy in a case involving Dalits and questioned why he was still in the government.

Referring to cases of atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat, he said over 14,500 such cases have occured there so far since Modi had taken over as the Chief Minister and added that the conviction rate was only 3-5 percent.

"This never happened in history," he said.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is schooling everyone on how to make the most of social media.

From using Twitter to help many Indians facing problems abroad to giving a witty and sharp reply to a person complaining about a defective refrigerator, Sushma Swaraj has always eagerly interacted with all sorts of people on social media and helped them when required.

And her latest tweet shows that the social media-savvy politician does not shy away from sharing moments from her personal life with people on the internet.

In her latest tweet, Swaraj has posted a photo of her with her husband Swaraj Kaushal after she had a chance meeting with him at the Parliament House gate.

Swaraj showed all Indian politicians how to be light-hearted on social media when, in another tweet, she said, "Ghar mein saath hain, sansad mein nahin hain (We are together at home, not in Parliament)."

Together after many years - a chance meeting with @governorswaraj at the Parliament House gate today. /1 pic.twitter.com/yHvD0NliSt  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) August 11, 2016

What makes the photo even more delightful is Congress leader Digvijaya Singh smiling happily behind the couple.

Swaraj Kaushal is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court and was one of the youngest people to be appointed the Governor of a state in India when he became the Governor of Mizoram at the age of 37.

If only other politicians of our country used Twitter to have a bit of fun and genuinely help people, we'd be living in a happier country.
Kandahar: On Thursday fighting raged in Helmand after Afghanistan rushed military reinforcements to beat back Taliban insurgents advancing on the besieged capital of the southern poppy-growing province, as officials downplayed fears that the city could fall.

Afghan forces fought back insurgents after they stormed Nawa district, just south of Lashkar Gah city, late Wednesday, raising alarm that the provincial capital was at risk.

"The security situation in Lashkar Gah is under our control," said defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri.

"We have retaken control of Nawa. Fighting is still going on in the outskirts but we are making progress with clearance operations," he told AFP, adding that dozens of Taliban were killed in the fight.

Fierce battles in recent days across Helmand, seen as the focal point of the insurgency, has sent thousands of people fleeing to Lashkar Gah, sparking a humanitarian crisis as officials report crippling food and water shortages.

The turmoil convulsing the long-contested province, blighted by a huge opium harvest that helps fund the insurgency, underscores a rapidly unravelling security situation in Afghanistan.

Around 30,000 people have been displaced in Helmand in recent weeks, local officials said, with many fleeing to Lashkar Gah forced to abandon their lentil, maize and cotton crops during the lucrative harvest season.

Panicked Lashkar Gah residents said the city was practically besieged, with roads from neighbouring districts heavily mined by the insurgents.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had downscaled its staff in Lashkar Gah, with some non-medical staff relocated from the city.

"In Helmand, #Afghanistan, we're still running Boost hospital... as fighting nears," the international medical charity tweeted on Wednesday.

"We've shared coordinates of our 300 bed hospital to approaching warring parties in Helmand."

The Taliban effectively control or contest 10 of the 14 districts in Helmand, the deadliest province for British and US forces in Afghanistan over the past decade.

The United States has stepped up air strikes supporting Afghan forces on the ground, highlighting the intensity of the battle in Helmand.

Nato officially ended its combat mission in December 2014, but US forces were granted greater powers in June to strike at the insurgents as President Barack Obama vowed a more aggressive campaign.

Washington has deployed several hundred troops in Helmand in recent months.

The Taliban briefly captured northern Kunduz city in September last year, the first urban centre to fall to the insurgents in a stinging blow to Afghan forces.

As fighting escalates in Helmand, Nato and Afghan officials have repeatedly insisted that they will not allow another city to be captured.
WASHINGTON Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Wednesday accused Republican opponent Donald Trump of inciting violence with his call for gun rights activists to stop her from nominating liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices.

Clinton's comments added to a growing outcry over Trump's remarks on Tuesday at a North Carolina rally, which some interpreted as a call for violence against his White House rival. His remarks also fuelled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track.

"Words matter, my friends," the former U.S. secretary of state, who rarely engages in direct back-and-forths with her Republican rival, said at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. "And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences."

"Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line," she said, citing "his casual inciting of violence."

Trump insisted in an interview with Fox News that his remarks were a call for political, not physical, action.

There is tremendous political power to save the Second Amendment, tremendous," the New York businessman said. "And you look at the power they have in terms of votes and thats what I was referring to, obviously thats what I was referring to, and everybody knows it."

The U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms.

"I cant think of anything remotely comparable to it. No one tells a joke about the opponent getting shot. Ive never heard it," said Bob Shrum, a top aide for Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000 and John Kerry's in 2004.

REPUBLICANS SHAKEN

High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters appeared shaken on Wednesday after a string of Trump misfires, struggling with how to best reject his divisive candidacy. Some pledged to withhold their endorsement and others backed Clinton.

Some, including MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, called for party leaders to replace Trump on the ticket.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken Aug. 5-8 - before Trump's latest controversy - showed that nearly one-fifth of 396 registered Republicans said they want Trump to drop out of the race and another 10 percent said they "don't know" whether the Republican nominee should or not.

Clinton's campaign, seeing an opening, has moved to bring disenchanted Republicans into the fold by announcing an official intraparty outreach effort on behalf of the Democratic nominee.

Clinton's campaign now has a website for Republicans and political independents to sign up to pledge their support, listing 50 prominent Republicans and independents who have endorsed her.

On Monday, 50 Republican national security officials signed an open letter questioning Trump's temperament, calling him reckless and unqualified to be president.

Other top Republicans, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine this week, have disavowed Trump but said they cannot back Clinton.

James Rohrscheib, 74, a registered Republican and retired U.S. Navy officer from Washington state, told Reuters the reality is the Nov. 8 election will be a "tough one."

"Im in a quandary as to who I am going to vote for," Rohrscheib said.

Trump has dismissed the defections and criticism as an unsurprising reaction of the so-called Washington elite to his drive to change the status quo.

One group that appears unswayed is Trump's donors. Reuters interviewed nine major Trump donors on Wednesday, and not one said his Second Amendment comment had given them pause.

Trump Texas fundraising co-chair Gaylord Hughey called the interpretation of his remark as condoning violence "ridiculous" and "ludicrous."

"Its just another issue the press has really twisted to make headlines," Hughey said.

But Mike Smith, a Republican voter and Reuters/Ipsos poll respondent, said the support Trump is still receiving from Republicans "almost seems obligatory rather than voluntary."

"Im almost at the point where I think Im going to vote for Hillary. I don't like her," said Smith, a 74-year-old retiree who lives in Clearwater, Florida. "But Mr. Trump is making me very nervous."

RESET ABANDONED

Republican strategist and Trump supporter Ford OConnell said Trump has "dug himself a deep hole" with voters and to win the election he will need to "make it a referendum on Hillary Clinton and the 'rigged system.'"

Trump sought to do just that by using an economic policy speech in Detroit on Monday to correct a series of missteps that included a prolonged clash with the parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier. But his remarks Tuesday undermined that effort.

"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," Trump said at the rally in North Carolina. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know," he continued.

A federal official familiar with the matter denied a media report that the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates threats against presidents and candidates, had formally spoken with the Trump campaign about his remark.

Trump's comment and the resulting backlash occurred as Reuters/Ipsos polling showed some 44 percent of 1,162 registered voters believe Trump should exit the race, and that as of Tuesday, Clinton led Trump by more than 7 percentage points, up from a 3-point lead late last week.

Strategists and Trump detractors agreed that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove Trump from the Republican ticket.

"Its wishful thinking to believe the Republicans are going to replace its nominee after the convention. People are grasping at straws," Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with Trump, told Reuters.

A more likely scenario would be a replay of the 1996 presidential race, when the Republican Party essentially deserted nominee Bob Dole, who was badly trailing President Bill Clinton, to focus on congressional races.

(Additional reporting by Alana Wise, Emily Flitter, Ginger Gibson, Susan Heavy, Doina Chiacu, Grant Smith, Eric Beech and Jonathan Allen; Writing by Amanda Becker; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WARREN, Mich. U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday said rival Donald Trump had no real plans to help middle-class families, arguing that his agenda of tax cuts and tough trade talk would throw the economy into recession.

"He's offered no credible plans to address what working families are up against today," Clinton said in Warren, Michigan, shortly after touring Futuramic, a hangar-like, high-tech factory that makes parts for the aerospace industry.

Clinton said Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, would scrap regulations meant to hold corporations accountable, cut taxes on "millionaires and Wall Street money managers," and eliminate the estate tax, an inheritance tax that generally hits the wealthy.

Clinton offered no new proposals of her own but sought to cast doubt on the image Trump promotes of himself as the voice for working people. The New York businessman is counting on his appeal to blue-collar voters with concerns about global trade to boost his chances in key states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Clinton on Thursday ran through many of the policies she has outlined over the last year to contrast herself with Trump, who has given far fewer details about his plans, as the presidential campaign heads towards the Nov. 8 election.

Trump delivered an economic speech in Detroit on Monday. He publicly named his economic advisers last week, which Clinton mocked as "six guys named Steve." On Thursday, he released a list of nine additions to the council, eight of whom were women. New members included roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks, investor Carla Sands and hedge funder Anthony Scaramucci.Workers' anxiety over trade deals has become a central theme in the 2016 election, and Clinton rejected the portrait Trump has painted that she only pretends not to favour the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a deal she praised when she was secretary of state from 2009-2013 but has more recently opposed.

Clinton also says she would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by former President Bill Clinton, her husband. Trump routinely disparages the agreement as bad for American jobs.

"It's true that too often past trade deals have been sold to the American people with rosy scenarios that didn't pan out, Clinton told the crowd of factory workers. "The answer is not to rant and rave, or cut ourselves off from the world.

"The answer is to finally make trade work for us, not against us," she said. "So my message to every worker in Michigan and across America is this: I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership."

(Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson and Amanda Becker in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday tried to raise ethical questions about Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and criticized her for letting the father of the Orlando nightclub shooter sit behind her at a rally.

At campaign events in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and earlier in Abingdon, Virginia, Trump sought to rally his campaign after a setback on Tuesday when he appeared to suggest gun rights activists should take action against Clinton.

On Wednesday he drew attention to the emergence of emails from Clinton's use of a private server when she was secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term, from 2009-2013.

A conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch, obtained the release through court order of 44 email exchanges that it said were not previously turned over to the State Department.

Among them was a 2009 email in which Doug Band, a former official at the Clinton Foundation charity run by former President Bill Clinton, directed two Hillary Clinton aides to put Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor Gilbert Chagoury in touch with a State Department official dealing with Lebanon.

The Clinton campaign has dismissed the new emails as having nothing to do with Clinton or the foundation's work.

Trump, who is trailing in many polls with three months to go until the 8 November election, said the new batch of emails suggested a "pay for play" scheme.

"You're not allowed to do it," he said. "It's illegal."

Trump also called Obama "the founder of ISIS" for not leaving US forces in Iraq and said that made Clinton "the co-founder."

In addition, he had sharp comments about the seating of Seddique Mateen, the father of Omar Mateen, who shot to death 49 people at an Orlando nightclub in June, behind Clinton at a rally in Kissimee, Florida.

"Wasn't it terrible when the father of the animal who killed the wonderful people was sitting with a big smile on his face right behind Hillary Clinton?" he said.

Trump said he believed that people who sit behind the candidate at rallies are close to the campaign.

Reporters noticed that sitting behind Trump at the event in Fort Lauderdale was former US Representative Mark Foley, who resigned from Congress in 2006 after allegations surfaced that he had sent suggestive emails and sexually explicit instant messages to teenage boys who had been congressional pages.

Foley told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel he has been a long-time friend of Trump's and has found him to be "a different breed of leader and a different breed of candidate."

Trump sharply criticized the news media for the way it handled a comment he made in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Tuesday suggesting gun rights supporters could take action against Clinton.

"I would actually say that the media is almost as crooked as crooked Hillary Clinton," Trump said.

He drew harsh criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike because some took his remarks on Tuesday to mean he was inciting violence despite Trumps insistence he was only urging more people to rally votes against Clinton.
Donald Trump has accused President Barack Obama of establishing the Islamic State group that is wreaking havoc from the Middle East to European cities.

A moment later on another topic, he referred to the president by his full legal name: Barack Hussein Obama.

"In many respects, you know, they honour President Obama," Trump said during a raucous campaign rally outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "He is the founder of ISIS."

He repeated the allegation three more times for emphasis. The Republican presidential nominee in the past has accused his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, of founding the militant group. As he shifted the blame to Obama on Wednesday, he said that "crooked Hillary Clinton" was actually the group's co-founder.

With inputs from PTI
Tripoli: Libyan forces battling to oust Islamic State from Sirte on Wednesday captured a large convention hall complex in the city centre, seizing a symbolic base where militants once held meetings and flew their black jihadist flag.

Securing the Ouagadougou Conference Centre as well as hospital and university buildings would mark the biggest advance made by Libyan forces in weeks. The United States 10 days ago began air strikes on Sirte, which fighters say hastened their progress.

"Our forces have complete control of the whole of the Ouagadougou complex, they even advanced some distance beyond the complex," Rida Issa, a spokesman in the forces' media office, said. Photos posted on the media office's Facebook page showed fighters with armed pickup trucks and a tank milling around next to the convention hall, which was pockmarked by shelling.

The large domed building is a landmark in Sirte, hometown of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and was used for meetings and religious instruction by Islamic State (IS) after they took control of the city last year.

Losing Sirte would be a major setback for the militants, already under pressure in Syria and Iraq. It would also be a boost for Libya's United Nations-backed government, which has struggled to impose its authority and faces ongoing resistance from hard-line armed factions.

Forces aligned with the government, which launched their campaign for Sirte in May, saw the advance slowed as they approached its centre. Led by brigades from the city of Misrata, the forces have suffered heavy casualties from Islamic State landmines and snipers.

Clashes have been sporadic, with heavier fighting interspersed with lulls lasting for several days. IS militants are encircled in the centre of Sirte but still control several residential areas, and the Misrata-led brigades have previously found it difficult to advance through neighbourhoods in house-to-house fighting.

Since 1 August, US drones and fighter jets have carried out a total of 29 strikes, earlier this week targeting several IS emplacements and a gun-mounted pickup, according to statements by US Africa Command.

In Wednesday's clashes, the government-backed forces said they had also advanced to a cluster of unfinished blocks just west of the centre of Sirte, known as the "bone buildings," which had been used by IS snipers and fighters had described as a major impediment to their progress.

At least 16 fighters from the government-backed forces were killed and 11 wounded, Issa said.

Earlier in the day, Libyan forces said they had lost a fighter jet over Sirte. Issa said the cause of the crash and the fate of the crew could not be confirmed. IS claimed it shot down the jet, killing a pilot, according to a statement on a website close to the group.

Post-Gaddafi chaos

Libyan militants returning from combat in Syria's civil war helped implant IS in the North African country in 2014, but the group failed to win widespread support or hold territory as most locals regard it as a malign import dependent on foreign fighters.

The militant group took advantage of conflict between various factions of former rebels who emerged as power-brokers after the fall of Gaddafi in 2011. The UN-backed government in Tripoli is the latest attempt to consolidate power and end the conflict.

In addition to US air strikes, Libyan brigades in Misrata and Sirte have been working with small teams of Western special forces who have provided intelligence and logistical support as well as strategic advice.

A few dozen members of Italy's elite special forces are in Libya to collect intelligence, provide non-combat "support" to government-backed forces and help other allies present in Libya, such as British or American special forces, a source said on Wednesday.

The Italian government delivered a brief document outlining the special forces mission in Libya to the parliament's intelligence services oversight committee last week, said the source, who had knowledge of the document.

La Repubblica newspaper reported that Italians were teaching Libyans how to diffuse land mines in Sirte. The defence minister and prime minister's offices did not respond to requests for comment.
Los Angeles: A garbage collector convicted of the "Grim Sleeper" killings that terrorised southern Los Angeles for more than two decades was sentenced to death.

Lonnie David Franklin, 63, had been convicted of 10 counts of first-degree murder for the killings of nine women and a 15-year-old girl between 1985 and 2007.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy told victims' relatives and friends that the sentencing would be unlikely to give them "closure."

"Your loved one, your daughter, your sister, your mother, your friend is still gone," she said.

"Hopefully there is some measure of justice you'll feel, but closure isn't what this trial was about."

During Franklin's three-month trial, which ended in May, the prosecution presented evidence it said linked him to the killings of another four women, although the authorities suspect he is behind dozens more murders.

After the sentencing, Franklin's attorney Dale Atherton dismissed California's death row system as "a joke" and voiced doubts over whether the punishment would ever be carried out.

"The case is far from over. I seriously doubt he'll be executed  he's already too old," the lawyer told AFP.

Franklin committed crimes dating back to the 1974 kidnapping and gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Germany while he was in the US military, the court heard.

He showed little emotion during the sentencing, staring straight ahead as victims' relatives made statements to the court.

Prosecutors had described him as "completely irredeemable" and a "psychopathic, sadistic serial killer who takes joy in inflicting pain on women and killing them."

The killer stalked the streets of South Los Angeles at a time when an epidemic of crack cocaine plagued the neighborhood, authorities say.

Several of his victims were prostitutes and drug addicts whom he shot or strangled, dumping their bodies in alleyways or trash bins. He raped some before killing them.

Prosecutors said Franklin took advantage of some of his victims' addiction to crack, luring them to his backyard camper with money and drugs before killing them.

Investigators searching his home found nearly 200 pictures and videos of women, many of whom have not been identified.

Deputy district attorneys Beth Silverman and Marguerite Rizzo, pushing for the death penalty, pointed to the "staggering number of murders" in the case.

"He routinely manipulated others to achieve his goal: doing evil," they said in a written submission.

Franklin earned the moniker "Grim Sleeper" because of a 13-year gap in the murders.
Riyadh: A trial is underway for 14 people over a deadly crane incident in Saudi Arabia that killed more than 100 people at Islam's holiest site, local media reported Thursday.

They are accused of "negligence leading to death, damaging public property and ignoring safety guidelines" at the site of the crane collapse in September 2015, according to the Okaz and Saudi Gazette newspapers.

The defendants include at least one Saudi "billionaire" and nationals from Pakistan, The Philippines, Canada, and several Arab countries, the papers said.

The tragedy at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi city of Mecca killed at least 108 people and injured about 400, including foreigners who had arrived ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage which began later that month.

During severe winds a construction crane toppled into a courtyard of the Grand Mosque. It was one of several cranes the Saudi Binladin Group had employed as part of a multi-billion-dollar expansion to accommodate increasing numbers of faithful.

Saudi King Salman sanctioned the Binladin Group after he reviewed an investigative committee's findings that the firm was "in part responsible" for the crane collapse.

The accused denied the charges against them, insisting the crane collapse was caused by inclement weather.

The criminal court in Jeddah, where the trial began Wednesday, ordered a new session for next month to allow the defence to respond.

Last year's hajj was hit by a second tragedy a week after the crane incident, when around 2,300 foreign pilgrims were killed during a stampede.
New York: Pakistan is exposing its fundamental insecurity by admonishing the US for keeping quiet about Kashmir and encouraging India to boost aid to Afghanistan. After years of catering to its 'Global War on Terror' ally Pakistan, the US is batting for India providing greater security assistance to Afghanistan. This hasn't gone down well with Pakistan.

Pakistani English language daily The Nation reported that Islamabad had warned the Barack Obama administration that "preferring New Delhi over Islamabad could hamper the global campaign against terror".

According to the daily, Pakistan is smarting after US State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner asked Pakistan to act against terror groups targeting its neighbours and not just the ones that pose a threat to it, alleging Pakistan was going after terror groups selectively.

Pakistan, of course, believes India has been filling the ears of US State Department officials, but it fails to see that it is its own worst enemy. It has failed abysmally to root out militants from its notoriously lawless tribal region, which runs for more than 500 miles along the rugged Afghan border. It is well documented that North and South Waziristan harbour a sort of rogue's gallery of Al-Qaeda, Taliban and other Islamic militants.

Admittedly, it's been a tough month already for Pakistan: On 3 August, the Pentagon withheld $300 million in military assistance to Pakistan, in a sign of ongoing US frustration with Islamabad for not acting against militants fuelling violence in Afghanistan. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter had decided against making a certification to Congress citing the continuing operations of the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani militants on Pakistani soil.

The Obama administration is now grappling with deteriorating security in Afghanistan, where a resurgence in Taliban activity has derailed plans to definitively end the long US military effort there.

Pakistans interests are completely different from those of India in Afghanistan. Islamabad wants the return of some variant of the Taliban so that they can again use Afghanistan as a launching pad for jihadi attacks against India, especially in Kashmir.

"The US should also be unalterably opposed to this because it poses a threat to American national security. Let us not forgot that the Times Square bomber was trained in the Af-Pak region," said South Asia expert Sumit Ganguly, who holds the Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilisations at Indiana University in Bloomington.

When the India-hating Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until December 2001, Pakistani militant groups based out of Afghanistan launched frequent cross-border attacks on Kashmir. India was in all kinds of trouble when Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terrorists hijacked an Indian Airlines flight on 24 December 1999 and took it to Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan. The eight-day hijack drama ended only after India freed three high-profile Kashmiri separatist prisoners.

Despite its generous aid to Kabul, New Delhi has backed off from a more explicitly military option in Afghanistan. It has deferred to Pakistani sensitivities about raising Indias strategic profile in Afghanistan. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached out to the Afghan government, helping with institution building and supplying MI-25 attack helicopters. The two countries have signed a strategic partnership agreement.

While agreeing that Pakistan has raised concerns about India's growing role in Afghanistan, a top US commander on Wednesday welcomed New Delhi's participation in strengthening Afghan forces.

The tremendous cooperation India has made in the human capital of Afghan security forces is the one contribution that is going to be enduring, General John William Nicholson, Commander of the US Forces in Afghanistan, said on Wednesday in New Delhi.

Nicholson was referring to the training provided by India to Afghan soldiers. According to Indian strategists, India does not need an explicitly military option in Afghanistan. All New Delhi needs to do is to train the Afghan army by bringing contingents over to India where it has extensive training facilities which are lying idle. India is doing a little bit of this but should ramp it up. India must do everything to ensure post-war Afghanistan does not have an ascendant Taliban that can threaten Indias stability by sponsoring Islamic militancy.

Nicholson added that Afghanistan's military requires more aircraft: The Afghan Air Force needs to expand. We are concerned about making it sustainable, so that they can maintain the aircraft, and get their parts in time.

Washington also broadly supports India and Afghanistan signing a deal with Tehran for a transport corridor opening up a new route to Afghanistan via the Iranian port of Chabahar, as it outflanks the $46 billion China-Pakistan economic corridor project with Gwadar as its focal point.

Some US senators were caught off guard by the announcement of the Chabahar port deal in May, but the Obama administration has batted for India.

"For India to be able to contribute to the economic development of Afghanistan, it needs access that it does not readily have across its land boundary. India is seeking to deepen its energy relationship with the Central Asian countries and looking for routes that would facilitate that," assistant secretary of state for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal earlier told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Modi signed the high-profile India-Iran Chabahar port deal three months ago.
New Delhi: Strongly rebuffing Pakistan on Kashmir, India on Thursday said it has no "locus standi" in the matter and its attempt to internationalise the issue will not "whitewash" cross-border terrorism supported by it.

It also asserted that the recent arrest of LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali is yet another proof of Pakistans continued involvement in cross-border terrorism and infiltration into India, despite several assurances that it will not allow its territory to be used for terrorism against any other country.

"Pakistan has no locus standi in addressing any aspect of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internal matter of India, except to put an end to all cross-border terrorism, infiltration and support and instigation to terrorism and violence against India.

"We are in touch with important interlocutors bilaterally as well as multilaterally to put across the correct picture. Let me also say it does not matter how many letters are written, it will still not whitewash cross-border terrorism," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

He was responding to a question on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif writing to the UN Secretary General and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urging for efforts to end the "persistent and egregious violation of the basic human rights" of the Kashmiri people and also to implement UN Security Council resolutions.

Earlier, replying to a written question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar said India has also emphasised to its international interlocutors that Indian security forces exercised extraordinary restraint, as evident in injury to over 3780 security personnel in mob attacks during the continuing violent protests in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali's arrest in Kashmir, Swarup said, his interrogation and confession has clearly revealed the details of the kind of training that is provided to such young men, the camps in which they are kept, the weapons that they are provided and, most importantly, the indoctrination that they undergo prior to infiltrating into India.

"Bahadur Ali has also revealed how his Pakistani handlers gave him instructions to mix with the local people, create disturbances and attack police and security forces. His confession proves that the Lashkar-e-Taiba is sending its cadre in connivance with Pakistani security forces, to fuel large-scale agitation in Kashmir.

"Pakistan now stands completely exposed. We have already taken up the matter bilaterally with Pakistan, including our offer to provide consular access to this Pakistani terrorist," Swarup said.

Asked if the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan were still in touch, the MEA spokesman avoided a direct reply, only saying new dynamics are at play and India cannot be oblivious to it.

India had said in the recent past that though the representatives of the two countries had not met to work out the modalities for resumption of the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, the foreign secretaries were in touch.

Commenting on the recent terror attacks in Pakistan including in Quetta, Swarup said there was no good or bad terrorism.
Quetta: In another horrific attack, a roadside blast, which was aimed at an Anti-Terrorism Force vehicle, injured at least 10 people in Quetta, Pakistan on Thursday, Dawn reported.

Loud explosion heard near Al Khair Hospital in #Quetta, several injured : Pakistan Media  ANI (@ANI_news) August 11, 2016

The blast occurred near Al Khair Hospital, injuring 14 people which includes two security personnel in Quetta's Zarghaon Road.

Right after the blast occurred, a rescue team was dispatched to the spot and the injured were moved to the Civil Hospital in Quetta.

As the ATF vehicle was passing, the bomb which was planted at the side of the road exploded, shattering window panes of near by buildings.

"This is a busy road and the terrorists take advantage of this, planting bombs and fleeing on motorcycles," said Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, strongly condemning the attack while talking to media at the site of the blast.

"These blasts are aimed at sabotaging Independence Day activities in Balochistan. I believe these cowardly acts will

not bring down our morale. We are in a conflict zone and we will fight with renewed resolve," the minister added.

He also assured that they 'are reviewing our security measures' and 'changes' will be palpable adding that three to four kilograms of explosive material was used in the blast.

This attack comes in the wake of another attack that took place earlier this week.

On Monday, a suicide bomber in Pakistan killed at least 70 people and wounded more than 100 on Monday in an attack on mourners gathered at a hospital in the southwestern city of Quetta, and Islamic State claimed responsibility.

The bomber struck a crowd of mostly lawyers and journalists, who were crammed into the emergency department to accompany the body of a prominent lawyer, who had been shot and killed in the city earlier in the day, Dawn added.

With inputs from agencies
Sydney: Racist graffiti and swastika symbols been scrawled along a main street in Australia's iconic Bondi beach in New South Wales (NSW) state, reports said on Thursday.

Police found about 15 swastika symbols drawn on the footpath, bus stops, poles, benches and electrical boxes, the ABC reported.

Another piece of graffiti read, "not white, not right".

Eastern Suburbs Local Area Commander Superintendent Jason Box said police were taking the graffiti seriously.

"The NSW Police Force takes crimes that are motivated by hatred or prejudice very seriously and any such crimes will not be tolerated," ABC quoted Box as saying on Thursday.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff condemned the graffiti as a hate crime, The Daily Telegraph reported.

It is hurtful (to Jewish people) given the swastika represents Nazi Germany, at the same time it's offensive to all Australians because Australia fought against Nazi Germany, Alhadeff said.

This is an affront to all the citizens of Bondi, and there is no place for such bigotry in our country, The Daily Telegraph quoted the chief executive as saying.
UNITED NATIONS A build-up of Russian military on Ukraine's border with the Crimean region, which has been annexed by Moscow, could reflect "very bad intentions," Ukraine's U.N. envoy warned on Thursday after the U.N. Security Council discussed the growing tensions.

Ukrainian U.N. Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, who requested the closed-door meeting of the 15-member council, said Russia had amassed more than 40,000 troops in Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014, and on the Ukrainian border.

"These numbers may reflect some very bad intentions and this is the last thing we would like to happen," he told reporters.

"My biggest hope is that this discussion (in the council) will help the Russian Federation to understand that they cannot really continue with this kind of behaviour," Yelchenko said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to take counter-measures against Ukraine which he accused of sending saboteurs into Crimea to carry out terrorist acts.

Yelchenko called on Russia to produce proof of those accusations.

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin dismissed concerns about a Russian military build-up. He described the Security Council meeting as "useful" to explain the situation.

"Instead of counting our military they should be bringing an end to the conflict in Donetsk and stop shelling civilians in Donetsk and Luhansk," Churkin told reporters after the meeting.

Pro-Russian separatists are fighting the Kiev government's forces in the eastern Ukraine region despite a fragile ceasefire. Civilian casualties from shelling, mines and booby traps in eastern Ukraine are at their highest in a year, the United Nations' human rights chief has said.

A peace plan for the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine, negotiated in Minsk between Ukraine and Russia by Germany and France some 18-month ago, has stalled for months.

"There is chaos in Kiev, they don't know what to do about Donetsk," Churkin said. "We call upon all those who have influence on Kiev to make sure that they do what they are supposed to do (under the Minsk agreement)."

The Security Council has discussed Ukraine dozens of times since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, but has been deadlocked on the topic as Moscow is one of the body's five veto powers.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Susan Heavey)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Jeddah: Their "Gulf dream" in tatters and facing an uncertain future, the first batch of 25 crisis-hit Indian workers left for New Delhi from the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Thursday morning.

The workers, who were brought to the airport in a bus by the Indian consulate, were seen off by Consul General Noor Rahman Sheikh, and senior officials Anand Kumar and M Fahmi.

The 25 are among the estimated 7,700 workers of the Saudi Oger construction company who hit the headlines when they were affected by financial crisis because of non-payment of salaries and dues, and had to be given food and shelter in some 20 camps.

Their crisis prompted the government to despatch Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh to Saudi Arabia.

The crisis also saw Saudi Arabian King Salman issuing a series of directives to address their problems, and earmarking Saudi Riyal 100 million ($26 million) to address the concerns of the workers and end their suffering.

King Salman also directed the Saudi passport department to facilitate exit visas and other procedures for the distressed workers.

Many of the workers, including Hindus, at the airport on Thursday morning were seen carrying the holy waters of Zamzam in bottles for friends and relatives back home. The Saudi Labour Ministry had announced free passage for workers who were willing to return home.

Though Indian consulate officials have assured the workers that they will pursue financial claims on their behalf, most appeared confused and apprehensive about what lay ahead  including the onward journey to their states from New Delhi.

"It is saddening to leave Saudi Arabia as I made some money earlier; but now the chances are grim," said Ram Nivas, a plumber from Churu district in Rajasthan.

"Due to non-payment of wages, there was no meaning in continuing the job," said Nasir Raza of Gaya district in Bihar, who had returned to Saudi Arabia only recently after a vacation and is now leaving for good.

I have full faith in both the governments of Saudi Arabia and India and I have authorised them to collect my pending arrears and send them to me in India," said Musharaf Ali, a driver hailing from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh who has been here for eight years.

"I had heart surgery and the huge expenses were borne by the now ill-fated company. I had enjoyed working there. Though there was the option to seek new employment, I prefer to return home," said Shakir Ahmed, a resident of Patna in Bihar.

"When I arrived three years ago I felt so happy to be part of such a large company, but the situation worsened and it is sad to return home. I love the country, said V. Ram Prasad of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The lists of workers who are being repatriated at their request are being prepared by Indian diplomats in coordination with Saudi Labour Ministry officials. Many Indian workers are opting to return home, according to sources.
Vitrolles: Fires whipped by high winds ravaged swaths of southern France and Portugal, killing at least four people, burning scores of homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands, including tourists.

In France, multiple fires formed a column marching toward the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, on Wednesday. Hundreds of miles away, a fire swept overnight into Funchal, the capital of Portugal's Madeira Islands, killing three elderly people and leaving more than 300 with minor burns and smoke inhalation.

A forest watchman was killed on the mainland during the night when one of more than 100 blazes engulfed the caravan he was sleeping in 150 kilometers (95 miles) north of Lisbon.

Two people were reported injured, one seriously, as the fire in southern France moved toward Marseille, firefighters said, and 20 to 25 homes were burned. At least 2,700 hectares (6,670 acres) of land were devastated.

Four firefighters were injured, three seriously, battling a separate blaze in the nearby Herault region  brought under control like a fire in an industrial area outside Marseille that stocks oil and petrochemicals.

The Marseille airport rerouted incoming flights to make way for firefighting aircraft, while officials in Marseille, France's second-largest city, were bracing for flames that risked lapping at its doors, and the airport warned flights risk delays or cancellations today.

Thick layers of ochre-colored smoke dimmed the afternoon skies of sun-drenched Marseille, while black plumes rose above Vitrolles and Pennes-Mirabeau.

"It was a scene really like the end of the world," Caroline Vidal, a Vitrolles resident told iTele TV, describing the scene as she fled her home to her grandmother's house and saw people running on the highway to escape.

Assistant Prefect Yves Rousset, asked at a pre-dawn meeting with reporters in Marseille, whether the fire might reach France's second-largest city overnight, said, "We can never say there will be no risk, but we're doing everything so it doesn't." Firefighting aircraft were restarting duty at daybreak, while the battle continued on the ground.

Firefighters in both countries battled multiple blazes fanned by high winds and fed by brush in a hot, dry summer, considered fire season in both countries. A full 186 wildfires were counted yesterday on Portugal's mainland.

But the blazes were exceptionally powerful in both countries, roaring through Madeira and southern France at the height of the tourist season  a mainstay of the economy of Madeira islands, off northwest Africa.

Portugal's National Civil Protection Service reported 14 major wildfires burning out of control in mainland Portugal where almost 4,500 firefighters were in action in a massive operation, supported by 28 water-dumping aircraft and 1,300 vehicles. Desperate, the government requested help from other European Union countries.
ORLANDO, Fla. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump acknowledged on Thursday that his campaign was struggling in Utah, a usually rock-solid Republican state, in a sign that party loyalists were still divided over whether to support him.

Trump made the comment in urging conservative Christian evangelicals to organise support for him in several key states where the Nov. 8 election is likely to be decided, such as Ohio, Florida and Virginia.

It came on a rare day of self-reflection for the wealthy New York businessman, who has suffered a number of self-inflicted wounds in recent days that have given the advantage in the campaign to Democrat Hillary Clinton.

"We're having a tremendous problem in Utah," Trump told a conference room filled with evangelical pastors, blaming a "false narrative" that has been built up around his candidacy.

A SurveyUSA opinion poll conducted for the Salt Lake Tribune in June showed Clinton and Trump tied. Other polls have given Trump a lead but not the type of advantage that previous Republican nominees have enjoyed in the state.

Trump, who is trailing Clinton in Virginia, a formerly Republican state that Democratic President Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012, urged evangelicals to help him in that state as well.

In doing so, Trump pledged to rewrite the so-called Johnson Amendment, the 1954 change in the U.S. tax code that prohibits church leaders from using the pulpit for political purposes.

"If we get those people to vote, we're going to win in Virginia," he said. "If they don't vote, it's not going to happen."

Trump also said "we need help in Ohio," the state where he held his Republican National Convention last month.

Ohio Governor John Kasich, who lost to Trump in the Republican primary race, has refused to endorse Trump.

"We're very close in Ohio, but we need help," Trump said.

Trump has seen a steady stream of moderate Republicans vow not to support him, such as U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, and 50 Republican national security experts signed a letter opposing him.

All this is evidence of fissures in the party over the bellicose rhetoric and positions of Trump, who on Wednesday called Obama "the founder of ISIS," the acronym for Islamic State, and Clinton "the co-founder."

Trump joked that winning the White House and doing a good job as president might be his only way to salvation.

"So go out and spread the words and once I get in, I will do the thing that I do very well," said Trump with a smile. I figure its probably maybe the only way Im going to get to heaven, so I better do a good job.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said the recent cyber attack on Democratic politicians was "broad" and that Russians were clearly behind the breach, adding that the damage was still being investigated.

"It is the Russians," Pelosi told reporters at a news conference, referring to the recent breach affecting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Pelosi called the attack, made public last month, an "electronic Watergate" akin to the 1972 burglary at Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office that upended the Nixon presidency. "This is a break-in."

Pelosi's comments come on the heels of a New York Times report on Thursday that the cyber attack targeting Democrats was wider than first thought, with more than 100 party officials and groups were affected.

The Democratic National Committee and U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign was also affected. Asked if she was personally targeted, Pelosi said she did not know.

"We are assessing the damage," Pelosi told reporters, adding that she could not speak to the impact on any Democratic governors.

The Obama administration has not publicly named Russia as behind the attack, but investigators have concluded the attackers were directed by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service, and the FSB, the civilian espionage agency. Clinton has also pointed to Moscow.

Russia has denied involvement in the breach.

A U.S. official familiar with the investigation said no evidence has been found so far that indicates the hackers got into Clinton's personal server or any classified systems, but their footprints suggest they "paid special attention to accounts they thought might lead them to information of national security interest."

The official said the hackers apparently proceeded beyond the Democratic National Committee, the Clinton campaign, and the Democrats' House of Representatives campaign committee to individual email accounts and probably other Democratic groups and individuals who emailed people using the accounts they first hacked.

"The pattern fits what has come to be standard hacking practice," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation by government as well as private agencies. "You go as far as you can, hoping you find something useful."

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Additional reporting by John Walcott; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by W Simon and Lisa Von Ahn)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton basked in a diplomatic "Moscow Spring," seizing on Vladimir Putin's break from the presidency to help seal a nuclear arms-control treaty and secure Russia's acquiescence to a Nato-led military intervention in Libya. When Putin returned to the top job, things changed.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, has vowed to stand up to Putin if elected, drawing on her four years of ups and downs as the public face of President Barack Obama's first-term "reset" with Russia. By comparison, her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has rung alarm bells in Washington and Europe with his overtures to the authoritarian Russian leader.

But Clinton's wrangles with Russia led to mixed results. Her fortunes dipped dramatically after Putin replaced Dmitry Medvedev as president in May 2012.

Just weeks later, Russia outmaneuvered her in negotiations over a complicated Syria peace plan, dealing her what was arguably her worst diplomatic defeat. While Clinton hailed it as a triumph, the war only escalated. And while her aides still insist she came out on top, the blueprint effectively gave Syria's Moscow-backed president, Bashar Assad, a veto over any transition government, hampering all mediation efforts still.

"There is no doubt that when Putin came back in and said he was going to be president, that did change the relationship," Clinton said in a Democratic debate last year. "We have to stand up to his bullying and specifically, in Syria it is important."

Clinton's history with Russia is significant given the surprising role Russia has played in the US presidential campaign.

Clinton and her supporters say she would be far tougher on Moscow than Trump, whose unusual foreign policy statements include musings about Nato's relevance and suggestions that he could accept Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Russia's reported hacking of Democratic Party email accounts also has led to charges that Putin's intelligence services are meddling in the election, and Trump aided that perception by publicly encouraging Russia to find and release more of her emails.

Clinton's first encounters in Russian diplomacy began on much more hopeful note. Meeting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in 2009, Clinton initiated the effort to repair years of bitter relations, punctuated by a Russian war with neighboring Georgia a year earlier. Offering a large red reset button, Clinton outlined a broad agenda of cooperation.

The new policy paid dividends.

With Putin focused on domestic matters during a four-year stint as prime minister, Medvedev opened up a new corridor for US forces and materiel heading to Afghanistan as part of the US surge in the war. After missile defense concessions by President Barack Obama, the two nations sealed their most ambitious arms control pact in a generation. Washington and Moscow united on new Iran sanctions. Years of trade negotiations culminated in Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization.

But it was perhaps Clinton's unlikeliest diplomatic breakthrough that began the downward spiral: Libya. Even before Putin's first two terms as president, Russia had always opposed UN Security Council action that might lead to a leadership change.

As America's European allies sought a military intervention against Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Clinton played the role of skeptic, refusing to jump aboard. When she finally did, it proved critical in persuading Russia to abstain. The rebels overthrew Gaddafi five months later.

"It was the first time that Putin publicly criticized Medvedev," said Michael McFaul, Obama's main Russia adviser at the time and later US ambassador in Moscow. "When things went poorly and not according to plan as we had promised, I think that was the beginning of the end for the reset."

Relations soured further by the end of the year as Putin won a new, six-year presidential term. Evidence of election fraud led to the largest protests since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Clinton issued a sharply worded statement; Putin accused Clinton of sending the "signal" to undermine his country.

If Libya destroyed trust, McFaul said the demonstrations were the reset's "body blow."

"Putin got paranoid," he said, and "believed we were behind them, really believed it. We never gained traction after that."

Returning as president in May 2012, Putin was immediately confronted with Syria's Libya-like escalation from Arab Spring protests to full-scale civil war. He played his cards differently than Medvedev, hinting to Obama that he could drop his support for the Syrian leader while shielding Assad from any UN pressure or foreign action that might chase him from power.

"Putin claimed that he had no particular love for Assad," Clinton wrote in her memoir "Hard Choices," recalling a meeting between the US and Russian presidents in June 2012. "He also professed to have no real leverage with Damascus."

Seeking Russia's cooperation, Obama and Clinton avoided any talk that might threaten Russian equities in Syria, including a large naval base there. Their message was clear: The US wouldn't try to pull a future post-Assad government out of Moscow's orbit.

It didn't matter. When the UN proposed a peace plan that involved ushering Assad out of power and included penalties for noncompliance, the Russians balked. Faced with stalemate, the US and Russia arrived at a formula for a new government comprised of individuals chosen by the "mutual consent" of Assad and the opposition.

Although Clinton claimed credit for the 30 June, 2012, compromise in Geneva, it appeared to be Russia's objective all along.

"There was no way Assad would pass such a test," Clinton said. "The opposition would never consent to him."

Russia didn't read the deal that way. Neither did Assad. And Assad is still president.

"Putin doesn't do favors," said Stephen Sestanovich, a Russia specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior diplomat under Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. "If we had had a robust policy in Syria and said, 'This is what we're going to do; what are you going to do?'  that's one thing. But we didn't. We asked for help and the chances of that working were zero."

The Geneva deal has had long-term repercussions. The US and Russia both say it must be the basis of any settlement to the five-year civil war. But their interpretations still differ, contributing to a standstill that keeps Assad in power.

At the time Clinton negotiated the Geneva deal, some 8,000 people had been killed in Syria. Since then, the death toll has risen to perhaps 500,000, with millions of refugees and the Islamic State group emerging.

"I doubt they could have gotten more out of Russia," said Robert Ford, who was U.S. ambassador to Syria at the time and is now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Clinton's deal could have proved viable, if backed up by American military pressure, he said. But Obama didn't see it that way. "The tactics were not in sync with the strategy," Ford said.

Frederic Hof, a senior member of Clinton's delegation to the talks, called the document a "road-map to peaceful regime change." But others in the US government were unwilling to do anything to realize the plan, he said, adding: "This is why Syria continues to hemorrhage internally and externally."

Clinton, in any case, was mistaken if she believed Obama was prepared to act militarily in Syria.

With her plan doomed to fail otherwise, she joined Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and CIA Director David Petraeus later that year in urging Obama to authorize military support for vetted, moderate rebels and US enforcement of a no-fly zone over opposition-held areas of the country.

Obama refused.

Clinton has acknowledged her frustration with an increasingly hostile Russia on Syria and other matters as her time in office wound down.

In her final months, Russia ordered the end of all US Agency for International Development programs in the country. It approved a new law constraining the work of Russian and foreign non-governmental organizations. It banned US adoptions of Russian children.

In December 2012, Clinton accused Putin of trying to "re-Sovietize" its region. And just before leaving, she wrote a memo to Obama urging him to finally suspend a reset that ended once and for all with Russia's military incursions in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014  well after Clinton had left government.

"Strength and resolve were the only language Putin would understand," Clinton wrote in her book, published shortly afterward.

It was a lesson she could say she learned firsthand.
A roadside bomb apparently targeting a judge injured at least 13 people in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta on Thursday, officials said, days after a major attack killed most of the city's senior lawyers.

"The bomb was planted on a bridge in the city, which went off immediately after the vehicle of an Islamic court judge passed by it," Akbar Harifal, the home secretary of southwestern Balochistan province, told AFP.

The judge, Zahoor Shehwani, survived, he added, but the blast hit his security escort vehicle, injuring four police personnel and nine passers-by.

Hamid Shakeel, a senior local police official, confirmed the attack and the casualties.

No group immediately claimed responsiblity for the attack, which came three days after a devastating suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital killed at least 73 people, many of them senior lawyers.

With inputs from AFP
Next time you get a call from "the ATM headquarters" or the "SBI main branch" seeking your debit card details, ask: "Are you calling from Jamtara?" The caller may not respond, but the answer most likely is yes. This back-of-beyond district in eastern Jharkhand is at the bottom of the pile among computer-literate regions, populated by poor farmers, and the homes get barely five hours of electricity a day. Yet, some hundred villages here have emerged as a frenzied phishing industry hub.

Thousands of calls are recorded daily at the cellphone towers near these villages. Calls are made to random numbers in search of gullible victims, who will share their debit or credit card details with the "bank official" and end up with money flying out of their accounts.

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A few months ago, the caller from the "SBI main branch" could have been Sitaram Mandal, 24, matriculate, unemployed, now in jail and yet a hero in Jamtara district's Sundorjori village. Sitaram made his last phishing call on a sultry Sunday evening in May. He was doing a dry run for the benefit of a couple of wide-eyed young followers in the village, showing off his skills when the police swooped down.

Deputy Mukhiya Saddam Hussein, above in blue shirt, was arrested by the West Bengal police. Photo: Ranjit Kumar Mandal

Sitaram's modus operandi was simple. Make random calls to a series of numbers from a SIM acquired through a fake ID. Have a companion stand by with another phone on which the details of ATM/debit cards and the OTP are filled in. Money from the account is transferred into an e-wallet and almost immediately out of it. One phone call, a few minutes and the young men were several thousand rupees richer.

In 2010, Sitaram, the unemployed son of an unemployed father, had travelled to Mumbai in search of work like many other young men from Jharkhand. He worked at roadside eateries, as a tout at a railway station and finally at some call centres, where his life changed forever. Sitaram returned to Jamtara in 2012. Four years later, local police say Sitaram has Rs 12 lakh in his account (now frozen), two concrete houses (both painted sunrise yellow), a Mahindra Scorpio SUV, and his two sisters have been married off to wealthy grooms. They recovered seven smartphones and 15 SIM cards from Sitaram and his associate Vikash Mandal. The IMEI numbers (15-digit unique identity) of their mobile phones matched those provided by police from several states in complaints about phishing calls that had been traced to cellphone towers in Jamtara.

But in one of India's poorest states, where there are few opportunities for young people, Sundorjori residents see Sitaram as a worthy son. The dozen police cases of fraud don't bother anyone. "Parivar ke liye mehnat karta hai, kya galat hai? Baahar to nikal hi jayega (He works hard for his family, what is wrong in that? He will eventually come out of jail)," is a common refrain. While the cases pan out in court, Sitaram in Jamtara jail is equally nonchalant. "Sab jhooth hai (All lies)," he says with a shrug. Mandal is a legend now, a sort of Amitabh Bachchan of cybercrime, say the police. But he is only one of hundreds of Jamtara youth who are believed to have taken up phishing as a career.

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PHISHING AS COTTAGE INDUSTRY

No one seems to know when the young people of Jamtara district started phishing. The lore goes that some young men who went to Delhi got involved with an online racket called 'Chehra Pehchano' (recognise the face). People were asked to identify mildly blurred images of Bollywood stars for a reward. Gullible victims called on the numbers given and were asked to pay a processing fee so that they could get the gift they had won-an SUV. Once the money had been credited to the account number provided by the fraudsters, they stopped taking the victim's calls. Police say a few youth involved in this racket returned to Jamtara and were the first ones to begin phone phishing. Gradually, more and more youngsters were drawn to it.

Jamtara has 1,161 villages and most of the population depends on rain-fed farming except in about a hundred villages. "The cops have zeroed in on these villages where phishing seems to be the only industry," says Ajay Kumar Sinha, officer-in-charge at the Karmatand police station, part of the jurisdiction along with Narayanpur, where most of these villages are located. Since April, the two stations have got over 150 notices from police in 16 states with requests to find one fraudster or another. Jamtara SP Manoj K. Singh points to the runaway construction in villages in the Karmatand station area. The villagers are flush with illegally acquired cash, he adds.

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Other phishing accused in Jamtara. Photo: Ranjit Kumar Mandal

Kalajhariya village, which has a mobile tower that gets 2,500 calls a day, and Dudhania with its flashy new pucca houses are cybercrime datelines in Jamtara. As our vehicle rolls into Dudhania on a mid-summer Sunday in the last week of June, we come across village women dancing to Bollywood tunes belting out of massive loudspeakers. The celebrations peter out as we approach. The villagers don't want to talk to us. They blame the police and journalists for spoiling a party that had continued undisturbed from 2011 to 2014, when the police made the first arrests. "Baat hi nahin karna hai ji. Koi baaharwala nahin chahiye (We don't want to talk at all. We don't want any outsiders)," says a man in his forties. The womenfolk give us hostile looks.

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The police focus on Jamtara, incidentally, has all to do with Pappu Mandal, 22, a high school dropout. A resident of Kasitand village, some three kilometres from Karmatand, Pappu has two pucca houses in the village today. But in November 2015, he made the mistake of calling up Kerala MP Premachandran, posing as a Reserve Bank of India official. He duped Premachandran of Rs 1.6 lakh. But greed ultimately got the better of him, as Pappu kept calling the MP. "Once he succeeded in hoodwinking me, he kept calling asking for OTPs. I diverted the calls to Delhi Police, who cracked the case. But I am yet to get back the money he swindled," says Premachandran. Pappu is now cooling his heels in jail.

Triveni Singh, an officer in Uttar Pradesh Police's special task force, says almost 90 per cent of the transaction-fraud-related calls made in the state were traced back to Jamtara. Telangana police chief Anurag Sharma posted a warning on Facebook on January 30, alerting people to be wary of Jamtara fraudsters. "We have had policemen from all over the country travelling to Jamtara in the past 3-4 years," says SP Manoj Singh.

On July 1, the West Bengal Police arrested Saddam Hussein, 32, deputy mukhiya of Jamtara's Sonabad panchayat for defrauding a Kolkata man, Shankar Kumar Bose, of over Rs 1 lakh. Hussein spoke fluent Bengali and persuaded Bose to share his ATM card details over the phone. The man's position in the village shows the level of acceptance cyber criminals have in Jamtara, says a senior administrative officer. The Jamtara police has arrested over 100 people in the past six months for phishing offences but the calls keep going out. So next time you get that call from "the ATM headquarters", remember, it could be yet another phishing attempt from Jamtara.

Follow the writer on Twitter @amitabh1975

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On May 13 this year, BJP Rajya Sabha member R.K. Sinha got an urgent call - "Leave for Ninora immediately!" A staunch Sangh loyalist, Sinha quickly followed the instruction to attend the RSS gathering, Vichar Mahakumbh, in the small Madhya Pradesh town, an event on the fringes of the Ujjain Simhastha celebrations. An exclusive gathering as it turned out - inaugurated by RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself gracing the closing ceremony. But Sinha had been summoned for a tte--tte with RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi, who delivered the high command's message: "The Sangh's leadership has decided to give you the responsibility for Hindusthan Samachar Samvad Samiti. Now you will have to lead it."

Sinha accepted the Sangh's directive with alacrity. Just three days later, in a board meeting, he was anointed patron of the Samvad Samiti. Within 12 days, an imposing building he owned in Noida's Sector 63 got a plush makeover to suit the hitherto foundering news agency's new image. Bhaiyyaji himself officially inaugurated the new offices on June 1; on June 10, Sangh sahsarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale paid a visit to offer the news team pointers on journalistic objectivity: "Give preference to positive and growth-oriented news, not violence-, crime- or terrorism-related reports."

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But what made this media story newsworthy was another announcement, also on June 10, of a new policy by the Union ministry for information and broadcasting, which, perhaps coincidentally, promises to give the RSS's Hindusthan Samachar project new prominence and revenues.

A board meeting in progress at Hindusthan Samachar's Noida office on July 5

A new Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) policy has set criteria to assess newspapers' eligibility for lucrative government ads, rating them on a scale of 0-100. Newspapers can now increase their DAVP ad traffic by earning 'marks': 25 for providing RNI/ABC certificates; 20 based on their employees' enrolment in EPF; 10 for printing in their own press; 10 on payment of annual subscriptions to the Press Council of India; 12-20 depending on the number of pages. And the kicker:15 points for subscribing to UNI, PTI and the hitherto little-known Hindusthan Samachar.

The policy has already boosted both the profile and the subscriptions of the agency, which had for years survived in tiny offices in Delhi's Gole Market (and a 'data centre' in Nagpur). Founded in 1948 by RSS pracharak Dadasaheb Apte to provide 'nationalist' news in regional languages, HS has had a chequered career. It never really recovered from its enforced 'merger' (along with UNI and PTI) in the state-controlled Samachar agency in the Emergency years. The agencies were 'demerged' in 1978 and HS passed into receivership in 1982 and then back into RSS hands after a lengthy court case in 2002 (see box: Divine Agency).

Cut to today, and CEO and editor-in-chief Rakesh Munjal is bullish: "We are on the verge of an agreement with a large IT company, which will assist us. A large number of brands will be joining us very soon."

Some observers see a disturbing irony in the policy. Says Dr Srirupa Roy, political science professor at the Centre for Modern Indian Studies in Gttingen, Germany, "During the Emergency, DAVP used its advertising policy as a tool of political and financial patronage and censure. Once at the receiving end of the Emergency, the RSS and BJP seem to have learned their lessons well."

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HS board member Rambahadur Rai finds nothing ominous in the new policy. "At least now there is a policy instead of arbitrary corruption," he says. "And it will encourage reporting in regional languages." Nor do the developments trouble PTI CEO M.K. Razdan. "We are a news agency," he says. "If a policy is promoting a news agency, what is the problem?" But elsewhere in independent media circles, the new policy has been met with discontent. "The way media policy is now being decided is a complete mystery. In new guidelines for release of DAVP ads to newspapers, a supposed points system has been evolved that gives media entities subscribing to 'PTI, UNI or Hindusthan Samachar' a significant advantage," says Hardev Sanotra, managing editor of news agency IANS. "There is no clarity or explanation on what criteria were adopted. Independent news agencies with decades of experience and credibility, such as IANS, were neither informed nor consulted."

It's not hard to unravel the 'mystery' behind the 'arbitrary' changes Sanotra complains of. RSS's Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Manmohan Vaidya spells it out: "The Sangh never instructs directly, it only provides guidance. We wish that all news pertinent to national concern-which the media have tended to overlook-should now come to the fore and the institution should work professionally. That is why it has been entrusted to a corporate leader."

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Said corporate leader is Sinha himself. He heads India's leading security firm, SIS India Ltd, with a turnover in excess of Rs 3,000 crore. The agency has also made other moves to establish its professional credentials and shed its image as an ideologically-driven entity. But its new board of directors is studded with stalwarts of the Sangh-affiliated right, notably Achyutanand Mishra, Jagdish Upasane, B.K. Kuthiala and Rambahadur Rai.

Despite Sinha's support, the RSS itself and DAVP munificence, it's hardly certain that HS will be able to sustain its grand ambitions. Media ventures remain one of India's more uncertain businesses.



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As a prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi was quick to realise the power of social media. His two-year-old government runs a fairly successful outreach using it to communicate its achievements. Modi is also now the third most followed world leader, after US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis with 21.3 million followers on micro-blogging site Twitter and 35 million on his Facebook page.

In March this year, the Modi government ramped up its social media outreach, running workshops for ministers on how to use the micro-blogging site Twitter more effectively. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) also quietly monitors the performance of the cabinet on social media, grading the quality of their tweets. These ratings are also believed to have played a role in the recent ministerial reshuffle, and may well go down as the world's first such e-governance initiative.

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SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH

Until March this year, the government's social media campaign operated in silos. Individual ministers pushed their ministries. Some like foreign minister Sushma Swaraj (also among the top 10 followed world leaders on Twitter) ran an outstanding public diplomacy campaign, reaching out to Indians in distress overseas. Other vital ministries, like civil aviation, food processing and women and child welfare, were either unrepresented or dormant.

The first indication of change came in March. The PMO hashtagged 'Transforming India' as the catch-all phrase to project the government's second anniversary achievements. Ministers were instructed to use the hashtag every time they tweeted about major outcomes on social media. This would allow the PMO to monitor social media commentary on the government and its achievements.

Phase 2 began in May and involved getting onto Twitter hitherto under-represented ministries like civil aviation under Ashok Gajapati Raju. The PMO also scrupulously monitored the performance. Non-outcome-based tweets like people met or places visited would not qualify. Only tweets directly impacting governance and people, as also the public response, made the cut. Modi's social media outlook, key PMO officials explain, revolves around four precepts: engaging people through the ministers' social citizen-centric media interaction on governance issues and projecting the government as a single entity in the public eye; keeping ministers and the bureaucracy on their toes vis-a-vis performance; giving ministers a chance to share decisions of other ministries to kindle a 'Team NDA spirit'; and, finally, affording people an opportunity to rate ministerial performances.

The PMO organised three day-long training sessions of ministers and key officers in April and May this year after the experiment was launched to finetune the exercise. The dos and don'ts on tweets were discussed as also the fact that a monitoring system had been organised. All the data collected on #transformingindia are stored in transformingindia.mygov.in (Transforming India is a division under MyGov).





In June, the PM began a weekly internal rating of each minister on the basis of their Twitter and Facebook performance on three outcome-based scores: positive, negative and neutral.

"The 2014 general elections firmly laid the foundation of digital governance. Social media, with its egalitarian nature, opens up the doors for listening to citizens and engaging and responding to them, which is one dimension of the Digital India initiative. That the PMO is engaging in an exercise to prepare a report card of ministers' social media engagement is a welcome step and the learnings will benefit all," says Rajesh Lalwani, CEO, Scenario Consulting, a brand marketing firm.

HOW THE RANKING WORKS

In a modest office, a dedicated team tracks every minister on his/her Twitter and Facebook account almost on a day-to-day basis. They monitor public reactions to each minister's tweets and the quality of content. The tracking shows most and least trending regions, which indicates in which region people are engaging the most and in which the least. The tracking also reveals the topics people show the most interest in. A score sheet with every minister's ratings lands in the PMO every week.

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A PMO official prefers to call it a "mindset changing exercise" rather than a performance-evaluation exercise. "It is to put pressure on ministers to engage with people on governance issues and also in turn goad the bureaucracy to work harder." One good that has come out of the social media move is a scramble among ministers to look good on it. Minister of state for external affairs General V.K. Singh (retired), who lost a second ministry in the July 5 reshuffle, for instance, flew down into Juba, south Sudan, to personally supervise the evacuation of the 600-odd Indian nationals there, even tweeting a short video of him interacting with them aboard an IAF C-17. On July 15, Union tourism minister Mahesh Sharma tweeted to dispel the public perception that arrivals were down-it seems there's been a three-fold rise in e-tourist visa arrivals, 0.47 million, in the first half of 2016.

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Modi, in keeping with his style of encouraging intra-cabinet competition, also occasionally retweets some of his cabinet colleagues' (22 this month) pronouncements. One of them was Union health minister J.P. Nadda's tweet on India being felicitated by Unicef for eliminating maternity and neo-natal tetanus.

The Twitter initiative also allows ministers instant feedback from people. For instance, when new MoS for civil aviation Jayant Sinha tweeted on July 14 that passengers will have to pay less for cancellation charges from August 1, a flier alerted him on the premium levied on window and aisle seats till row 20.

A PMO official calls the monitoring more about "doing things systematically". "It is more about inter-ministerial coordination and communication and breaking the silos in which the ministries used to work besides maintaining an all-encompassing interface with the people on governance," he says. "More than anything else, it is a live government-to-people platform for sharing government initiatives and allowing people to come back with their views. It allows people to express their opinion while also giving the government an idea of where they are going right, or wrong," adds Gaurav Dwivedi, IAS, CEO of MyGov, under which the Transforming India portal functions.

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Tweets are, of course, met with a healthy dose of scepticism. Minister of state for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman's tweet early this month about Rs 12,000 crore being earmarked to train one crore people in skill development elicited tweets about the challenges in monitoring government bodies tasked with execution at the ground level.

Ministers also now routinely announce policy decisions on Twitter. Prime Minister Modi tweeted a big change in FDI policy soon after it was announced last month. Finance minister Arun Jaitley recently shared the government's crucial decision to revive defunct fertiliser units in Sindri in Jharkhand, Barauni in Bihar and Gorakhpur in UP.

The public engagement has also seen a rise in the number of followers for ministers. Union minister for food and public distribution Ramvilas Paswan has already jumped to 0.18 million followers from just 21,400 in March. Other Union ministers, including Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Kalraj Mishra, Narendra Tomar and Thawar Chand Gehlot, have also seen followers double and treble, matching their Twitter activity. A new national constituency for the political class to address.





Follow the writer on Twitter @UdayMahurkar



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The security guard at this quiet corner house in Delhi's posh Nizamuddin East neighbourhood is visibly annoyed at the unending stream of visitors over the last one week. The day has just begun. In the glass-fronted drawing room on the second floor, overlooking a park, the 78-year-old matriarch of the house is settling down for breakfast-sprinkling black pepper on two egg whites and asking the help to get her a glass of pomegranate juice. Her personal assistant puts two pills beside her, to be taken after breakfast. In another room, on the ground floor, over a dozen people are waiting, half of them with bouquets in hand.

This has been the morning routine for three-time Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit ever since she was declared Congress chief ministerial candidate for election-bound UP. Relegated almost to political oblivion after her humiliating defeat in the 2013 Delhi assembly elections, Dikshit has now been given the toughest assignment of her political career - to win UP for a party which last won an election in the state 27 years ago, in 1989.

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Her detractors believe she has been set up as a scapegoat as the Congress is expected to come fourth in the elections and the party needs someone to pin the blame on and shield the Gandhi family. According to sources, election strategist Prashant Kishor, who has been hired to chalk out a victory strategy for the party in UP and Punjab, wanted either Rahul or Priyanka to be the CM candidate. But neither was willing, and Priyanka persuaded Dikshit instead.

"We are not expecting to form the government," says a Congress Rajya Sabha member, "but the idea is to increase the tally to the highest possible number. Dikshit is a perfect choice as she has nothing to lose but has the stature and aura to take along a divided Congress in UP. She is in perfect sync with Sonia, Priyanka and Ghulam Nabi Azad, the general secretary in charge of the UP Congress."

Dikshit laughs off such speculation. "I'm not a scapegoat. We are the first party to declare a CM candidate and put in place an election management committee. That only shows our seriousness..." she stops abruptly to take a call on her cellphone. After a brief three-minute conversation, she thanks her caller, someone from the party cadre it turns out, meticulously noting down his inputs in her diary.

She understands the importance of personal contact, which she's counting on to overcome her first big challenge-motivating demoralised party workers. "I'll do road shows and rallies to connect with people in all 18 divisions of the state. I'll certainly use communication tools such as social media, but I believe more in direct contact," she says.

Dikshit, who has in Parliament represented Kannauj, a stronghold of the Kanyakubj Brahmins, is a Punjabi Khatri married to a Brahmin, Vinod Dikshit, a UP cadre IAS officer and son of the late Uma Shankar Dikshit, former West Bengal and Karnataka governor and a top Congress stalwart from UP. Congress hopes UP's daughter-in-law will appeal to both Khatris and Brahmins, two key communities in the state's political equation.

But Dikshit herself is unwilling to play the caste card. "People know what I have done for Delhi. My primary promise to the people of UP is inclusive development, not development of one caste, community or religion," she says. Her eyes light up as she recalls the public reception she got when she landed in Lucknow on July 17. From the airport to the party office, her vehicle crawled through a sea of party workers and curious onlookers, taking her four hours to cover a distance that usually takes 30 minutes. "It was an unprecedented groundswell," she says. "All we need to do now is to connect with people and convert this emotional support to votes."

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Raj Babbar, the newly appointed president of the UP Congress committee, echoes her promise of development. "The people of Uttar Pradesh have seen what other parties have to offer. The Samajwadi Party is a party of one clan, which has captured all official positions. The Bahujan Samaj Party was formed for the welfare of the Dalits, but it has now become the epitome of corruption. BJP president Amit Shah felicitates people who are accused of instigating communal clashes. Only the Congress talks of, and delivers, development," says Babbar, whose appointment too is also being seen as the party's attempt to rise above caste politics. Announcing his name, Azad said as much: "Raj Babbar is above caste." For the record, he comes from the Sunar (goldsmith) caste, an other backward caste in UP.

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But however hard Dikshit and Babbar may try to disavow caste, the new appointments and the campaign management committee reveal that the party has been at pains to blend caste equations with popular appeal and organisational abilities. It is trying to create an axis of Brahmin, Muslim and backward communities.

With Dikshit's appointment taking care of the Brahmin vote, the next ploy is to cash in on Muslim unhappiness with the SP's inability to maintain law and order. And though the Mayawati-led BSP has offered 100 seats to Muslim candidates, the recent surge of dissidence is casting doubts over its return to power. The Congress has already made a smart move in that direction by appointing Azad in charge of the state. It also has as one of its vice-presidents, Imran Masood, famously given to anti-Modi polemics, a clear indication that the party is going to be very aggressive in wooing the Muslim voter.

The other state Congress vice-presidents include Rajesh Mishra, a Brahmin; Rajaram Pal, an OBC belonging to the Gadariya sub-caste; and Bhagwati Prasad Chaudhry, a Dalit. Among backward communities, it's focusing on the non-Yadav and non-Kurmi castes, which have more than a 60 per cent share of the total OBC population.

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Dikshit and Raj Babbar at the UPCC office in Lucknow after their appointments. Photo: Maneesh Agnihotri

Rajya Sabha MP and Amethi royal Sanjay Singh has been made chairman of the campaign committee, an appointment that is expected to bolster the Thakur vote in the state. Though the party is banking on Babbar's charisma and acceptability, his predecessor, Nirmal Khatri, who is highly appreciated for his organisational skill, has been made head of the screening committee. "It's the best possible team," says Dikshit, "a perfect blend of youth and experience. My challenge is that this team acts in unison and speaks in one voice."

Babbar also rubbishes reports of resentment among party cadres for thrusting two "outsiders" on them. "Khatri is like an elder brother to me and has always guided me. He came to me and offered unconditional support. We are a team," he asserts.

However, it's not just development slogans and a fresh team at the helm the party is relying on. The Congress high command also has an election strategy in place. It has divided all assembly seats into five categories. The first of these has 29 seats where the party won in 2012; the second 22 seats where it came second; the third category has 74 seats, where it stood third. The 125 seats in these categories are said to have potential and the party will try its best to win at least 75 per cent of them.

In the 2012 poll, Congress candidates lost their deposits in 240 seats. In these seats, the party aims to field winnable candidates who have recently defected from other parties to the Congress. A fifth category will have seats the Congress has never won after the 1989 assembly election. In these seats, the party plans to field candidates who have performed well in the panchayat elections.

However, one strategy the party has still not been able to finalise is the role Priyanka will play. She has till now restricted herself to campaigning in Rae Bareli and Amethi, the two Lok Sabha constituencies Sonia and Rahul have represented respectively. Though several Congress veterans indicate she will campaign across the state, there is no official confirmation yet. The 2012 experience was not particularly memorable for Priyanka. She had campaigned extensively in Amethi and Rae Bareli, yet the Congress lost eight of the 10 assembly seats in its two pocket boroughs. In 2014, though Rahul and Sonia retained the seats, the vote share dropped substantially.

Back in Delhi, Dikshit has finished her breakfast and paperwork, and is ready to mingle with her visitors-the waiting area has now extended on to the road below. She doesn't fail to remind everyone that the Uttar Pradesh campaign is not about an individual but about a journey towards prosperity in the state. The rhetoric sounds much like Modi's in the 2014 campaign. Affronted, she remarks, "Please don't embarrass me by comparing my promise with that of Modi. Please check how many promises he has kept." Dikshit has certainly kept her one key promise-of undying loyalty to the Gandhi clan.





with Ashish Mishra



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When I heard the chewing, I signaled to my husband to stop paddling.

We knew our tandem kayak was floating through beaver territory in Montana last week, but I never expected to see one of the nocturnal builders.

This late-evening excursion was our second float down lovely McDonald Creek  from Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park to the confluence of the Middle Fork Flathead River  and the day before wed noted at least half a dozen beaver lodges on that stretch of creek. Clear water let us see the lodges underwater foundations and entrances, and I figured that was treat enough.

But the chewing suggested otherwise.

Soon, a beaver swam from that spot out into the creek, then disappeared with a loud warning slap of its tail on the water surface. Yes, I was startled. Yes, I may have let out a little shriek.

In the dying light, we drifted the rest of the creek and were rewarded with more beaver sightings and more dramatic tail slaps.

Three decades ago  before hunter-conservationists massive effort to build nesting platforms helped Canada goose numbers recover  Idaho closed a stretch of the Snake River to goose hunting.

Hagermans goose-hunting closure stretched from the Lower Salmon dam to the pipeline that crosses the river at Banbury Springs. But agricultural producers complained of geese-inflicted crop damage, and it was time for reevaluation. Last spring, after taking public comment, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission reduced the size of that closure  opening up the stretch of river from the southern tip of Ritter Island to the Banbury pipeline, as well as canyon rim land on both sides.

On Monday, the commission approved another reduction in the closures size.

Last fall, a private landowner within the closure area had asked that the boundary be modified again to remove his land  a small area east of Gridley Island Bridge between the south bank of the Snake River and U.S. 30  and the agencys regional staff recommended doing so.

The landowner is currently not able to plant fall grain crops on the fields in the closure due to the damage caused by geese and his inability to keep them out of the fields, Regional Supervisor Toby Boudreau wrote in his recommendation. This boundary change would increase hunting opportunity for geese and help this landowner to protect his property from damage.

The commission approved the change at a Boise meeting.

Fly fishing in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in July, a Meridian angler landed a new Idaho catch-and-release record for Arctic grayling  besting a record set just a month earlier.

Jeffrey Morris caught his 12.75-inch Arctic grayling in Lake 13 of the Alpine Creek drainage July 30. That was more than 2 inches longer than Lafe Gametts 10.4-incher from Mill Creek Lake on June 24.

South-central Idaho yielded another catch-and-release record last month: Wayne Scotts 13.5-inch peamouth chub from C.J. Strike Reservoir, the first record awarded for that nongame species.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game will offer a free Youth Shooting Clinic for new hunters, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Jerome County gun range.

Many students dont have the chance to practice and get proficient with their gun before they take it out for the first time to hunt, the agencys announcement said. Our mentors would like to help you by offering their years of knowledge.

Mentors will teach trap shooting, sporting clays, archery, sighting in your rifle, marksmanship, knowing your accuracy and blood trailing.

Interested? Call TanaRae Alberti at 208-324-4359.

Tara McClure-Cannon is the new chief of cultural and natural resources at City of Rocks National Reserve.

McClure-Cannon, a native of northern Nevada, has a bachelors degree in anthropology from the University of Nevada and a masters in anthropology from New Mexico State University. Her focus in grad school was on southern New Mexicos late prehistoric cultures, the reserve said in a Facebook post. For the past eight years, she worked for private cultural resources management firms.

Her main interests are European-American homesteading in the West, historic mining and prehistoric archaeology of the Great Basin, the post said.

Kristen Bastis, the former chief of cultural resources at City of Rocks, left in February for a job with Missouris state parks. McClure-Cannon has both natural and cultural resource responsibilities.
ROGERSON  The Twin Falls County Coroner identified human skeletal remains found in June in a remote area of the South Hills.

The remains were those of Valentin David Sanchez-Hilario, of Burley, who was 24 when he went missing in November 2014.

Its not 100 percent, but its as close as were going to get, Coroner Gene Turley said Thursday. We talked to the family, and theyre OK with what we have.

A hiker found Sanchez-Hilarios remains June 6 in the South Hills in a very non-traveled area off Langford Flats, Twin Falls County Sheriffs Lt. Perry Barnhill said in June. The hiker passed the GPS coordinates off to the sheriffs office, who then went and secured the area, looked for evidence and treated it like a normal crime scene.

It was kind of a fluke that he found it, Barnhill said. He was just at the right place at the right time and happened to look in the right direction.

The bones were found not far from where Sanchez-Hilarios vehicle was found abandoned in November 2014. The Idaho State Missing Persons Clearinghouse listed his last date of contact as Nov. 6, 2014.

Its a little good, but at the same time a little bad, Sanchez-Hilarios mother, Norma Hilario, said in Spanish during a phone interview Thursday from San Jose, Calif.

Hilario said she was happy to have some closure, but she had still been holding out hope that he was alive.

I never thought he would be found dead, she said.

Sanchez-Hilario was born in the state of Veracruz, on the eastern coast of Mexico, and moved to the United States when he was 14, his mother said. Right away, he went to work laboring in the agriculture industry in California; he sent most of his earnings to his mother in Mexico until she was able to join him.

He was extremely hard working, Hilario said.

Sanchez-Hilario became a father at age 17 when his girlfriend, Blanca Salvador Tolentino, gave birth to a baby girl. The couple and their daughter moved to Burley in 2012, where Sanchez-Hilario worked on a dairy.

He came to visit me for 15 days, Hilario remembered Thursday. Eight days later, he disappeared.

Hilario plans to come to the Magic Valley soon to collect her sons belongings and his vehicle from the sheriffs office. While authorities believe Sanchez-Hilarios death was likely from exposure, Hilario is not convinced that there wasnt some type of foul play involved.

Identifying the remains

When Sanchez-Hilarios bones were found, they were pretty amazingly intact, Turley said at the time. They didnt look to have been scattered by animals, and there was still bits of clothing around the skeleton. Right away, the sheriffs office and coroners office believed the remains were probably those of Sanchez-Hilario based on their proximity to where his vehicle was found.

The key to identifying the remains, as Turley predicted in June, was the teeth, which the coroner said had very unique dentistry.

Turleys plan was to contact Sanchez-Hilarios dentist and confirm certain dental records, which would allow the coroner to positively identify the remains.

The problem, and the reason it took nearly two months to make the identification, was that Sanchez-Hilario had his dental work done in Mexico, and Turley wasnt able to track down the dentist to confirm the dental records. Instead, a family friend found a picture that gave a good view of Sanchez-Hilarios teeth.

The friend texted the pictures of him smiling, we compared them to the dental caps on the remains and they matched perfectly to the pictures, Turley said. If the dental work wasnt so unique, Id be less confident. But weve blown up the pictures and everything matches.

Turley still plans to conduct a bone inventory with the help of Jim Woods, an anthropology professor at the College of Southern Idaho.

With the bone inventory, well take the skeleton bone-by-bone from one table to another to build that skeleton and see what bones are present and what bones are missing, Turley said in June.

Theyll study each bone to look for suspicious markings, the coroner said. At that point, if foul play is suspected based on bone markings, the remains would be taken to Boise for a more thorough investigation.
Volunteers  Hospice Visions Inc. is looking for volunteers to visit with patients and their families, do minor home modifications such as grab bars, and also volunteer Light Touch Massage therapists, hair dressers, meal assist volunteers, and to play music and games with hospice patients. Volunteers are needed with licensed certified therapy animals to love our hospice patients in their own homes or assisted living centers. Hospice Visions is looking for volunteers interested in doing art projects with patients or filming and creating a Life Legacy Video, or to take someone to the store, run an errand or out for a drive. Veterans can become a Vet-to-Vet Volunteer and visit with other veterans. Volunteers are also needed to assist with fundraising events and provide office assistance. Information: Nora at 208-735-0121 or nwells@hospicevisions.org.

Volunteers  Idaho Home Health and Hospice needs volunteers who will bring compassion, support and dignity to those facing a serious, life-limiting illness and their families. Volunteers can choose between offering respite to family caregivers or provide support with administrative tasks. Information: Heidi Walker, 208-734-4064 or Heidi.Walker@LHCgroup.com..

Drivers  The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteer drivers for its Road to Recovery program in Twin Falls. Volunteers will drive patients to and from medical treatments. Commitment is flexible. Information: Renae Delucia at renae.delucia@cancer.org or 702-891-9023.

Volunteers  The Twin Falls County Historical Society is seeking volunteers for various programs and general support. Volunteers are needed to paint, weed, clean or work on docent projects and fundraising. No minimum amount of hours, commitment is flexible. Fill out an application at the Twin Falls County Historical Museum (Union School at Curry), open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Information: 208-736-4675.

Volunteers  Interlink Volunteer Caregivers provides volunteers to help elderly, disabled and chronically ill people live safely and independently in their homes. Volunteers assist with transportation to health-related appointments and essential errands, light housekeeping chores, friendly visits, yard maintenance and simple home repairs. Carpenters and handymen are also needed. Volunteers are reimbursed for mileage and covered with excess auto liability insurance. Commitment is flexible with no minimum hours required. Information: Edie, 208-733-6333 or ivcofmv@gmail.com.

Volunteers  St. Lukes Home Health and Hospice is looking for new volunteers to join its team to share compassion and care and increase the quality of life for patients and their families. The program is designed to offer companionship and socialization to patients as well as respite and support for the caregivers. Information: Marie Sharp, 208-814-7603 or sharpm@slhs.org.

Drivers  The Twin Falls Senior Center delivers meals to homebound seniors in the Twin Falls area Monday through Friday, and the routes take an hour or less to complete. Commitment is based on your availability; pick a day of the week or drive once or twice a month, pick a week to drive, or be a substitute driver. Volunteers must be 18 years of age with their own car, and have proof of liability insurance. Drivers receive 54 cents a mile fuel reimbursement. Information: Sandee Earl, 208-734-5084.

Volunteers  St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center is in need of volunteers for a variety of positions from shuttle drivers to care volunteers to gift shop volunteers and more. The medical center is looking for pleasant, and friendly individuals with a sincere interest in voluntary services offered to patients, visitors, employees and guests. Meet new people and learn new experiences and challenges. Information: Kim Patterson at 814-0861 or kimpa@slhs.org, or visit the Volunteer Services Office, lower level at St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center; 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls. Applications are available at the Front Information Desk.
TWIN FALLS  Mike Crapo thinks we need better screening for refugees entering the United States, but he opposes banning them from coming based on what group or what country they come from.

I dont think we should have any across-the-board bans of certain categories of people, Idahos senior U.S. senator told the Times-News editorial board Wednesday. I believe that what we need is a much more focused effort to look at whether we can adequately vet.

Crapo said he disagrees with banning people from the country based either on their religion or on their country of origin, both of which have been proposed at times by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who last year proposed banning Muslims from entering the United States and has said more recently he wants to ban people who come from countries with terrorism links.

However, he stressed, there is legitimate concern about whether terrorists are able to make it into the U.S. through refugee resettlement, and the federal government needs to address it.

The solution is to resolve the vetting issue, Crapo said.

Refugees looking to enter the United States must go through multiple interviews, fingerprinting and background checks  a vetting process that can typically take up to two years. However, many have expressed worries about the adequacy of the background checks for refugees coming from Syria in particular, where millions of people have been displaced by civil war but where U.S. security agencies dont have the same ability to verify peoples documents and stories that they do for some other countries. After the terrorist attacks in Paris late last year, many Republican governors, including Idahos C.L. Butch Otter, called for halts to refugee resettlement or made moves to try to block the resettlement of Syrians.

Crapo, a Republican from Idaho Falls, was first elected in 1998 and this year is running for re-election to his fourth term against Democrat Jerry Sturgill, a Twin Falls native who lives in Boise now, and Constitution Party candidate Ray Writz, of Coeur dAlene.

Crapo was unopposed in 2004 and won with 71 percent of the vote in 2010. He announced in May 2015 that he was running for re-election, and said he started to campaign and raise money a year ago.

I take nothing for granted, Crapo said.

According to the last campaign finance filings, which were due in mid-July, Crapo has a little more than $5 million on hand in his main campaign account. Sturgill had almost $428,000. The only Federal Election Commission filing from Writz so far has been his statement of candidacy in March.

Sturgill said Wednesday he has worked with refugees who contribute to society and the economy and said he supports the inclusive views toward immigrants and refugees espoused by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which both Sturgill and Crapo are members. Sturgill said he would oppose closing our borders based on fear.

Its inconsistent with my belief, its inconsistent with the churchs position, and we should continue to be that kind of beacon to the world that weve been historically, he said.

Crapo reaffirmed his support for Trump Wednesday, saying he views the election as a contest between an opportunity society and a caretaker society. Crapo said a win by Democrat Hillary Clinton would lead to a federal government with a larger role in the economy and less of an emphasis on individual freedom and strong national defense. Also, Crapo said, the next president will likely appoint two or three Supreme Court justices, and he said the list of potential nominees Trump has made public shows he would appoint judges who share Crapos strict constructionist views.

Its a contest between two very different ideas about how we should govern in America, Crapo said.

Sturgill said he is certainly not going to vote for Donald Trump, and that he doesnt know how anyone could. Sturgill interpreted Crapos endorsement as caving to partisan pressure.

Its a symptom of the hyper-partisanship and the dysfunction of Washington, he said.

Crapo didnt endorse anyone during the Republican primary, and he said Wednesday that, while Trump wasnt his first choice, he was the candidate the voters chose. Regarding Trumps rhetorical style, Crapo said, Trump has a way of making very aggressive statements and bold statements that stir people up, and that this trait of his is responsible both for peoples unease with Trump and for much of his support.

People want somebody who will say it like it is, or say strong statements, and push back on the current political system in the United States, Crapo said.
SHOSHONE  Part of U.S. 26 was blocked late Wednesday and early Thursday after a semi truck went off the road.

Kenneth Hunter, 28 of Jerome was driving west in a 2016 International semi truck pulling two tanker trailers when, around 11:30 p.m., he drove off the right shoulder and the truck rolled, coming to rest on its side, according to Idaho State Police.

Hunter, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken by ambulance to North Canyon Medical Center in Gooding. He was no longer a patient as of about noon, the hospital said. The lanes were blocked for three-and-a-half hours.
TWIN FALLS  In March, close to 100 homeless people came to the Salvation Armys office for lunch and a free haircut.

Many of them were children or veterans. They also got coats, sleeping bags, backpacks, hygiene kits and socks, plus information about other services for the homeless available in the area.

The Homeless Stand Down was all made possible by Madison Miller, who organized the event as her senior project before she graduated from Xavier Charter School.

We couldnt be more proud of Madison if she was my own daughter, said Deb Lattin, who works for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. She helped Miller to find volunteers and gather some of the items.

On Wednesday, Miller, 18, was recognized at a ceremony in front of the Salvation Army. U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo presented Miller with his Spirit of Idaho award, an honor he came up with about a decade ago and gives to people who help others or do something to make Idaho a better place.

Madison stepped forward to serve a need in her community, Crapo said. He presented Miller with a certificate and with an American flag that had previously flown over the U.S. Capitol.

Millers Homeless Stand Down was the first to be organized in Twin Falls, but similar stand downs have been held in other cities, often organized with the help of the Veterans Administration and targeted at homeless veterans.

Miller said she got the idea from her grandmother, who works for the Idaho Department of Labor in Pocatello. Miller said she attended the Southeast Idaho Homeless Stand Down with her and decided something similar could also be useful in Twin Falls.

Miller thanked everyone who donated money and goods and who helped her to organize the event.

I didnt expect even half of the support that I got, she said.

Lattin beamed with pride and praise for Miller as she spoke, telling the crowd about how Miller moved from place to place and made sure everything ran smoothly during the stand down.

I wish you could have seen the faces of the folks who received assistance, Lattin said. As they were loading up resources, it was just awesome to see.
Courtesy Kimberly Shappley(PEARLAND, Texas) -- The mother of a 5-year-old transgender girl in Pearland, Texas, is continuing her fight against the Pearland Independent School District to allow her daughter to use the girls' bathroom.



Kimberly Shappley -- mom of soon-to-be kindergartner, Kai Shappley -- said her fight against the school district started in May. The district allows students to use gender-neutral bathrooms, found in some areas of the school, but the mom says that isn't enough.



"I went to the campus and approached the school district to try and work with them," she told ABC News today. "I wanted to make sure Kai wouldn't be discriminated against and be able to use the girl's bathroom, but it soon became very apparent that the superintendent has a very strong, prejudiced stance against the LGBTQ community."



Coincidentally, later that month, the Obama administration issued a directive to schools saying that transgender students should be able to use bathrooms that match their gender identity.



The district's superintendent, Dr. John Kelly, said in a statement in May to The Pearland Journal that he believed the directive was just "one more example of unconstitutional interference and social engineering by the federal government."



"What's next? Legalizing pedophilia and polygamy?" he said. "Unless we return to the Biblical basis on which our nations laws were established, we are in serious trouble  and cannot expect Gods continued favor."



Kelly added that it "has been the position of Pearland ISD administration that children whose parents declare them 'transgender' must go to the bathroom for the sex indicated on their birth certificate. Such student(s) have also been allowed to use a private bathroom (such as in the nurses station) if they are so inclined."



In a statement to ABC News, Pearland ISD said its "stance on transgender students remains" and that all "Pearland ISD kindergarten classrooms have a private, gender-neutral bathroom within the classroom for student use."



Kimberly Shappley told ABC News that she was still concerned her daughter, Kai, would feel alienated and discriminated against if she wanted to use the girls' bathroom during recess, physical education, or assemblies -- times she might not have access to a kindergarten classroom where a gender-neutral bathroom is available.



Though Shappley said she found the words and actions of the superintendent and the school "hurtful," she said she would be the first to admit she "used to be one of them."



"I am a devout and conservative Christian and an ordained minister," she said and explained that she tried to force Kai into being a boy when she was a toddler.



"I knew my kid was different before the age of 2," Shappley said. "My child was very feminine, flamboyant and dramatic. No matter how I tried to punish, reshape or discipline her, she continued being very feminine."



By the age of 3, Kai began "adamantly saying and verbalizing she was a girl."



Shappley said a turning point for her came, though, when Kai -- who was called Joseph back then -- began "consistently praying for Joseph to go to heaven."



"Kai was begging the Lord to let her die," she said. "My child would pray and ask the Lord to let Joseph go to heaven and be with Jesus."



Shappley said she then began doing research and discovered that transgender children without familial support are at a significantly higher risk of suicide.



"That did it for me," she said. "I chose to stick with the words in red in the Bible, the words that Jesus spoke. I clung to those words, prayed and fasted -- and the Lord just helped me to be my kid's mom."

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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Libyan forces aligned with the UN-backed unity government Wednesday took over the Islamic State groups command center in Sirte and several other strategic locations.

After four months of fierce combat, the Misrata forces fighting under the banner of the Government of National Accord (GNA) finally took control of Ouagadougou convention center used by the terrorist group as its headquarters. GNA forces also announced they have taken over the University and the main hospital in the city.

Our forces have complete control of the whole of the Ouagadougou complex, they even advanced some distance beyond the complex, Rida Issa, a spokesman in the forces media office, said.

The regular forces reportedly lost a warplane in the Wednesday fighting. The operation room did not disclose what happened to the aircraft but IS reportedly claimed downing it. The pilot has been killed in the incident, Libya Herald reports.

Takeover of the conference hall, the university and the hospital by GNA forces means a setback for IS which has taken control of the coastal town since last year.

GNA forces advance has been possible thanks to US air power which last week started shelling IS positions, reducing thus the terrorist groups resistance. Since August 1, the Pentagon has launched 29 airstrikes against the militants at the request of the GNA.

Since it settled in Tripoli in March, the GNA has put regaining control of Sirte and IS destruction on top of its priorities.

Besides the American commandos, Italian Special Forces, French and British troops are also in Libya to collect intelligence and to assist Libyan forces in their battle against the terrorist group.
Egypts Foreign Minister and the Egyptian parliament, leaned towards President al-Sisi, have criticized the United Kingdoms readiness to grant asylum to members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood if they are able to prove that their lives are at risk. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in a statement relayed by local media indicated that the move could harm relations between UK and Egypt.

The UKs Home Office issued earlier this month a new asylum guidance offering members of the Muslim Brotherhood the chance to apply for political asylum in UK if they can prove that their lives are under threat of persecution in Egypt.

The persecution threats include detention where there may be a risk of ill-treatment, unfair trials and disproportionate punishment, reports say.

Many hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members have been killed or injured during protests, while thousands have also reportedly been detained, some in unofficial places of detention, the Home Office guidance said.

There are also reports of Muslim Brotherhood supporters dying in police detention, instances of persons tortured to death and other allegations of killings in prisons and detention centers, the guidance stated adding that death sentences have been handed down to senior leaders in the Brotherhood for charges that include violence, espionage and jailbreak.

For the Egyptian Foreign Minister the UKs assertions are unfounded. He said Egypt has always briefed its international partners about crimes committed by the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, including terrorist acts that target security forces and citizens, Al Ahram reports.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned since 2013 and the organizations assets frozen by the state. Authorities have flagged the organization as a terrorist organization. Hundreds of its figures, including deposed President Mohamed Morsi, have been put on trial, and thousands were reportedly killed in state crackdown.

The parliament, dominated by al-Sisis supporters, has also lambasted the UK for the new guidance and called on London to revise its decision. British society will suffer greatly if it lets extremist Brotherhood ideology into the country, and will regret making the decision, MP Dalia Youssef told reporters.

The documents issued by the British Interior Ministry contained false information and disregarded that detained group members in Egypt have committed acts of violence and terrorism against Egyptians, she said.
Omani oil and gas minister Mohammad bin Hamd al-Rumhy said the government would not be participating in the International Energy Forum scheduled at the end of next month in Algeria because they are disappointed by the (OPEC) groups failure to address the issue of low oil prices.

OPEC members are expected to hold a meeting on the sidelines of the forum to discuss oil prices but the Omani minister does not expect a positive outcome. He said he does not see the point of continuing to be part of the group. Oman is a non-OPEC oil producer.

OPEC members are divided over the policies to adopt and implement in order to increase oil prices. Rumhy said the organizations current stance is affecting oil producing countries. We are moving into difficult times, and others still believe that everything will be fine, he said.

Saudi Arabia, which rejected calls to cut production, argues that the market will balance itself.

Talks to freeze production also failed after Iran said it has to reach its ante-nuclear sanctions output before considering a freeze.

Oil prices are still below $50 forcing many countries to review their public expenditure and the trend is expected to continue because some countries are increasing their production.
The United States has raised concerns over the demolition of Susiya village, southern Hebron, by Israel as a decision is expected the latest on Monday from Defense minister Avigdor Liebermans office.

The US Consul General in Jerusalem stated, during a visit to the village on Wednesday, that they are deeply concerned about the situation of this highly vulnerable population.

State Department Press Office director Elizabeth Trudeau said that proceeding with the demolition would be very troubling and would have a very damaging impact on the lives of the displaced villagers. She noted the increased demolition of Palestinian structures in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Yochai Damri, head of the South Hebron regional council, equaled the comments from US authorities as an attempt to prejudice the court in a foreign country and described the villagers in Susiya as a criminal clan from Yatta that has taken over the land and has built illegally.

The village is situated in Area C where it is very difficult for Palestinians to obtain building permits.

Right wing minister Lieberman is expected to decide by August 15 whether the plan would go ahead, without prior notice, to demolish 40% of the structures in the village. Around 200 people live in Susiya. The village lies between an Israeli settlement and an Israel-controlled archaeological site.

The US and the EU have reportedly discussed the matter with Israeli officials. So, going ahead with the demolition will provoke a lot of angry reactions from the international community and would be the crossing of a red line because it would be the first major displacement of a big group of people. According to press reports, Washington would respond harshly to the demolitions. According to UN data, demolitions conducted this year have already surpassed those of 2015.
Russian authorities have confirmed that six Tupolev warplanes bombarded targets near Raqqa, destroying weapons storage facility, a chemical weapons factory and a training camp used by the IS.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the airstrikes caused significant material damages and a large number of fighters were killed but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were 10 raids with at least 30 casualties including both extremist fighters and civilians.

Russia is collaborating with Damascus to fight the extremist group but Turkey which is against Assads stay in power has requested joint operations with Moscow in Syria. It is unclear how Ankara plans to implement it but Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said they will discuss all the details with their Russian counterparts. He voiced optimism that strengthening cooperation between their military, intelligence and foreign service will contribute to this process of eliminating IS. He thinks that their cooperation will help to prevent mistakes because many countries are actively engaged in Syria.

Meanwhile, Russia will be suspending its airstrikes on Aleppo for three hours each day for humanitarian aid to reach the population in rebel-held areas. The UN was hoping for a 48-hour ceasefire per week to deliver the aid through the seven humanitarian corridors as fighting intensifies between rebel and pro-Assad forces.

Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy, chief of the main operational directorate, said they will continue to prevent terrorist transferring backup forces to rebel controlled areas in Aleppo estimating that around 7000 fighters armed with tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery and weapon-mounted vehicles have been amassing ahead of an assault on government forces to end the siege.

Protests that started in Syria in 2011 for reforms turned into a call for Assad to step down before becoming a civil war that has ravaged the country for more than 5 years killing hundreds of thousands and forcing millions to flee. Several efforts to end the war have been fruitless.
Somalia welcomed Stephen Schwartz as new US ambassador to the country, making the senior Foreign Service officer, the first US diplomat to the war-torn country in more than two decades.

The new ambassador presented his credentials to Somalias Foreign Minister, Abdulsalam Omer, on Tuesday in capital city, Mogadishu.

The Government of Federal Republic of Somalia is honored to welcome H.E. Ambassador Stephen M. Schwartz to his new post as the Ambassador of the United States to Somalia, the government said in a press statement.

According to the statement, the appointment of Schwartz mirrors the strengthening of relations between Somalia and the US. It is also the clearest sign that Somalia has turned the corner towards stability and progress, the statement read.

The darkest chapter in ties between US and Somalia came in 1993 when the bodies of US soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by a mob after fighters loyal to Mohamed Farah Aideed, who was on the US wanted list, shot down two Black Hawk helicopters.

Thousands of Somalis and 18 American soldiers died in the ensuing battle between fighters loyal to Aideed and US soldiers.

Although the US never formally severed ties, the embassy in Mogadishu was closed in 1991 as Somalia descended into chaos amid a bloody power struggle among brutal clan chiefs.

The Somali government that finally took power in August 2012 was the first to be given global recognition since the regime of dictator Siad Barre fell in 1991. The US recognized the new government in January 2013.

As a reminder, the war-ravaged nation last year appointed its first ambassador to the United States in a quarter-century.
Mozambiques government on Monday resumed peace talks with the main opposition party Renamo in Maputo.

Two decades after the end of Mozambiques bloody civil war and over a year and half after the ruling party, the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo,) won elections, tensions have been running high with opposition Renamo guerillas, which rejected the results of the elections.

Former Botswana President Sir Ketumile Masireas nominated by the London-based Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) is expected to facilitate negotiations to end the low-level war between the armed opposition and the government of President Felipe Nyusi.

Clashes have intensified in recent months following Renamo leaders declaration that he would take power in six of the countrys 11 provinces, where he claims to have won the 2014 elections.

The group has also accused the government of failing to integrate its rebel soldiers into the army and police.

This new round of negotiations started even as violence was spreading in the north with hundreds of Mozambicans fleeing the country as a result.

Renamo is expected to demand that it governs in the provinces where it says it won a majority of votes in the October 2014 general elections, while the government will push for the disarming of the Renamo militia.
Talks to end years of conflict in Sudan began on Tuesday, a day after the signing of a roadmap agreement on peace and dialogue by Sudanese warring groups.

Instigated by the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, the roadmap agreement was earlier rejected by four groups but signed by the government in March.

The consensus spells out a process for reaching a permanent ceasefire, endorses a national dialogue between the government and opposition rebel and political groups, and includes provisions for immediate humanitarian assistance.

The National Umma Party, Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement  North, Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement had requested measures to grant political freedom in the country as well as the release of political prisoners.

The state-owned media Sudan Tribune quoted the head of the government delegation and presidential aide Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid as saying that We expect the talks would set timetables and to immediately begin the security and political arrangements in the Two Areas and to establish a committee to monitor the synchronized implementation.

In a joint statement released on Tuesday, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and the European Union commended the opposition for signing the agreement, which will go a long way to ensure peace in the region.

We urge the signatories to lose no further time in agreeing a cessation of hostilities and modalities for humanitarian access in Darfur and the Two Areas, the statement said while encouraging the opposition parties to unite during the process.

Although violence has eased in recent years, an intermittent insurgency has continued. At least 130,000 people have fled fighting in the central Jebel Marra area of Darfur since mid-January alone.
Credit: Chris Stacey

People naturally form themselves into cliques in the workplace but a new study has shown that they can be overcome, according to a landmark Australian study of healthcare professionals, published in BMJ Open.

The study, by Macquarie University's Australian Institute of Health Innovation, has revealed that professional divisions  the cliques  common within healthcare and other large organisations do not solely reflect innate human behaviour but are the result of the structures, cultures and history of the organisations themselves.

Hospitals and other healthcare service providers are often hindered by tribal divisions between doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, and many other industries and large organisations are likewise affected by professional silos, despite the clear need for effective teamwork to optimise performance.

The study, the first of its kind in healthcare, brought together 133 clinicians currently working across Australia's hospitals into a lab, and got them to play interactive games away from their politicised workplaces.

"We found that when we grouped various healthcare professionals into mixed teams they did not exhibit stereotyped behaviour based on their professional status. In fact, what was even more interesting was that observers of the participants' teamwork couldn't tell in most cases who was a doctor, nurse or allied healthcare professional," said lead researcher Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite.

The study results have implications for healthcare delivery, as well as other large organisations that are frustrated by similar divisions.

"We have now shown, for the first time, that professional 'tribalism' in healthcare organisations isn't just an inherently human way of working, or the inevitable consequence of the way clinical groups cluster in relative isolation from each other, but is a response to entrenched cultures in organisations," said Professor Braithwaite.

"This means interventions to improve teamwork can be very effective. But they do require a bit of effort on the part of managers and leaders, and the clinicians themselves," finished Professor Braithwaite.

Explore further Database launched outlining payments to healthcare professionals

More information: Jeffrey Braithwaite et al. The basis of clinical tribalism, hierarchy and stereotyping: a laboratory-controlled teamwork experiment, BMJ Open (2016). Journal information: BMJ Open Jeffrey Braithwaite et al. The basis of clinical tribalism, hierarchy and stereotyping: a laboratory-controlled teamwork experiment,(2016). DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012467
Decriminalisation of personal drug use and possession not only saves public money, it has significant public health benefits, according to the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW. Credit: Shutterstock

Decriminalisation of personal drug use and possession not only saves public money, it has significant public health benefits, according to a report prepared by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW.

The report, which was issued by the Centre's Drug Policy Modelling Program to coincide with today's NSW Cross Party Harm Minimisation Summit, also finds that there is strong public support for decriminalisation approaches, such as directing users into treatment.

Report co-author Dr Caitlin Hughes, a criminologist and drug policy specialist at the NDARC, said that decriminalisation should not be confused with legalisation.

"Decriminalisation removes criminal penalties for use and possession by law or in practice. It does not provide a legal avenue to obtain drugs," said Dr Hughes.

"It is a sound and pragmatic policy, supported by research evidence, that can save public money and offer a more effective and humane response to drug use."

Australia operates decriminalisation schemes in many states and territories and there has been strong public support for such schemes. Australia already has a mixture of de jure (in law) or de facto (in practice) schemes, yet many people continue to be arrested and sent to court for possessing only minor quantities of drugs, according to the report.

"There is a clear opportunity to expand decriminalisation of drug use in Australia and this would be sound evidence-informed drug policy supported by public opinion," said Dr Hughes.

The 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey found that a majority of Australians supported a variety of decriminalisation measures for people found in possession of small quantities of cannabis, ecstasy, heroin or methamphetamine.

Just over 88 per cent of respondents supported decriminalisation of possession of cannabis for personal use, with 42 per cent believing cannabis users should be cautioned or no action taken.

Around 65 per cent of Australians also favoured a decriminalisation approach to use and possession of small quantities of heroin or methamphetamine but were more likely to support users of these drugs being diverted into treatment programs.

"There is clearly a strong public health benefit to people who use drugs being diverted away from the criminal justice system and this is not a radical idea  it is already happening," said Dr Hughes.

"The research evidence also indicates that decriminalisation reduces costs to the criminal justice system and improves social outcomes, such as increasing the likelihood that people who use drugs remain in or enter the paid workforce.

"In contrast, there is no evidence that decriminalisation increases drug use or crime," she added.

Explore further Busting drug law fears

More information: The report is available online: The report is available online: ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/resource  ossession-australia- %E2%80%93-briefing-note
A new publication in the scientific journal Gut sheds light on the role that certain genes have in determining how people differ in their bowel habits. The study results from the collaboration of research groups at Karolinska Institutet and the University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.

How often people move the bowels is important for their well-being, as altered patterns are often observed, for instance, in common gastrointestinal conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), affecting millions worldwide.

By studying two population-based cohorts from Sweden (PopCol) and the Netherlands (LifeLines-Deep), researchers from the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at Karolinska Institutet and the University Medical Center Groningen have tested the hypothesis that human genes may contribute to individuals' differences in their evacuation rates (stool frequency).

They used genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to look at the genetic make-up of people who kept daily records of their bowel movements, and identified genes that are associated with increased or decreased stool frequency. Among these, two important classes of genes were most abundant: cytochromes and ion channels. Cytochromes are enzymes that help detoxify our body from substances known as xenobiotics (chemicals found in foods and drugs), while sodium and other ion channels are important conductors of the electric pulses controlling, for instance, heart pumping and bowel contractions.

"This is a good example of the potential for translational medicine that can be gained from the study of the general population; the genetic mechanisms we have started to unearth represent known druggable targets and may be exploited for future therapeutic options in common conditions like IBS," senior co-author Mauro D'Amato comments.

Explore further First screen for genetic risk factors of IBS in the general population

More information: Soesma A Jankipersadsing et al. A GWAS meta-analysis suggests roles for xenobiotic metabolism and ion channel activity in the biology of stool frequency, Gut (2016). Journal information: Gut Soesma A Jankipersadsing et al. A GWAS meta-analysis suggests roles for xenobiotic metabolism and ion channel activity in the biology of stool frequency,(2016). DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2016-312398
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

A new, long-term study examined the antibody response to natural infection with adeno-associated virus (AAV) in chimpanzees for the purpose of characterizing the broad-based immune responses that could reduce the effectiveness of AAV vector-based gene delivery strategies. The study, which demonstrated the production of antibodies able to cross-neutralize multiple AAV serotypes, is published in Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development.

Coauthors Roberto Calcedo and James M. Wilson, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, monitored a group of chimpanzeeschosen because of their genetic similarity to humansfor 10 years and measured the levels of circulating antibodies in response to infection with naturally occurring AAV. The authors discuss the difference observed in the immune response to natural AAV infection compared to administration of AAV vectors used to deliver gene therapy in the article entitled "AAV Natural Infection Induces Broad Cross-Neutralizing Antibody Responses to Multiple AAV Serotypes in Chimpanzees".

"The impact of anti-vector antibodies remains a technical hurdle in systemic applications of AAV gene therapy," says Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development Editor James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. "The study of chimps provided us a window into the type of antibody response that occurs following a natural AAV infection."

Explore further Promising results reported in study of AAV-based gene delivery to treat methylmalonic acidemia

More information: Roberto Calcedo et al, AAV Natural Infection Induces Broad Cross-Neutralizing Antibody Responses to Multiple AAV Serotypes in Chimpanzees, Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development (2016). Journal information: Human Gene Therapy Roberto Calcedo et al, AAV Natural Infection Induces Broad Cross-Neutralizing Antibody Responses to Multiple AAV Serotypes in Chimpanzees,(2016). DOI: 10.1089/humc.2016.048
Credit: University of Manchester

The world is in the grip of a global crisis that kills the equivalent of the populations of Philadelphia, Kampala or Prague - around 1.6 million each year.

A new report by a University of Manchester academic, published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, documents how many countries do not have life-saving antifungal therapies.

Fungal infections attack the lungs and may spread through the body and, without the drugs to fight back, claim the lives of over 3,500 people every day.

Now GAFFI (The Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections) has gathered together the most powerful weapon there is  knowledge  information that it plans to use to bring about change.

It has today published the largest survey ever undertaken from 159 countries and found that two critical antifungal medicines for AIDS patients are not available in over 95 countries. One of these antifungals has been available since the 1950s and the other since the 1970s.

Professor David Denning of The University of Manchester, President of GAFFI and the paper's lead author says it beggars belief that hundreds of millions of people cannot access the optimal therapy for fungal meningitis and fungal lung infections.

Credit: University of Manchester

"It is doubly tragic," he said, "That these antifungals have been used since the late 1950s in the case of amphotericin B. Yet the systems for delivering these drugs to the most needy are still not in place.

"Last year GAFFI called on governments to provide fungal diagnostics and antifungal drugs to all their citizens yet there has been a deafening silence. There is clearly a long way to go, but the tragedy is that every day thousands more people die needlessly while the world turns a blind eye," he added.

Actor and GAFFI celebrity patron Rupert Everett declared that: "We have known for over 25 years that many people with AIDS and cancer do die of fungal complications. And death is avoidable with treatment. Why on earth are commonly used antifungal medicines not provided to everyone who needs them?"

Dr Glenda Gray, President and CEO of the African Medical Research Council and Professor of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, at University of Witwatersrand, said: "In South Africa we are addressing the HIV epidemic squarely on with greatly increased provision of anti-retroviral drugs and expanding testing.

"Fungal diseases in AIDS have not received the priority they should have, although this is now changing with our national screening program for Cryptococci meningitis. Clearly ensuring antifungal agents are available to all is an key component in reducing deaths and illness across southern Africa."

Key findings:

One of the critical drugs for fungal meningitis in AIDS (amphotericin B) is not available in 42 countries. The other key drug for fungal meningitis, flucytosine, is unavailable in at least 95 countries. Yet both have been available in Europe and the US for over 40 years. The World Health Organization recommends they be used together to bring down mortality from 100% to 25%. Fungal meningitis is the commonest form of meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa because of AIDS.

The 25 -year old drug, fluconazole is available in all countries and itraconazole is unavailable in just five countries. However, being available is not enough  price also matters as patients pay for their care in many countries. The daily cost of fluconazole varied from

Explore further No response to first antifungals tied to worse keratitis outcomes

More information: Global access to antifungal therapy and its variable cost. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. first published online August 10, 2016 Journal information: Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Global access to antifungal therapy and its variable cost.. first published online August 10, 2016 DOI: 10.1093/jac/dkw325
(HealthDay)A water-based Ai Chi program is associated with improvements in quality of life for women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), according to a study published online July 26 in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.

Sagrario Perez de la Cruz, Ph.D., from the University of Almeria in Spain, and Johan Lambeck, P.T., from the University of Leuven in Belgium, examined the effects of a program of water-based Ai Chi on health-related quality of life in a sample of 20 female subjects diagnosed with FMS. The visual analogue scale and Short-Form-36 physical and mental health summary scores were assessed at baseline and upon completion of 10 treatment sessions.

The researchers observed significant improvements in practically all the variables under study after 10 treatment sessions (P < 0.05). Significant differences were seen in pain perception, vitality, mental health, and perceived overall improvement in quality of life.

"A water-based Ai Chi program may contribute to the improvement of mental and physical health and the quality of life in women with FMS," the authors write.

Explore further Tai Chi improves pain and well-being in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Copyright  2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
New hotel for Bakuriani within Host in Georgia

The state program Host in Georgias is supporting a new beneficiary who will receive financial support from the state to build a new hotel in Georgias Bakuriani ski resort.Local company PMG Ltd is a new recipient of the Host in Georgia state program. The company aimed to build a small hotel in Bakuriani by December 2016.PMG Ltd will invest $810,000 USD to build the new hotel in Bakuriani, where 37 people will be employed.The role of 'Host in Georgia in this partnership is to co-finance the interest of the beneficiary's loan.Over the next two years the Entrepreneurship Development Agency (Enterprise Georgia) of Georgias Ministry of Economy, which runs the Host in Georgia program, will co-finance new hotel projects with PMG Ltd.Within the scheme seven new hotels worth 12 million GEL (about $6 million/5 million*) will be built in four of Georgias iconic areas to improve tourism infrastructure and develop the hospitality industry.These hotels will open in the following areas: Bakuriani  three hotels; Gudauri  one hotel; Poti  one hotel; Ureki  one hotel; Nikortsminda  one hotel.All hotels must have at least 10 rooms.Through this effort more than 200 rooms will be added to the hotel sector and create jobs for about 180 people.The first beneficiary of Host in Georgia was local company Toka Ltd, which is building a hotel in Bakuriani. This hotel also will open in December.Enterprise Georgia has jointly covered the interest costs of Toka Ltds $270,000 USD loan, which the company borrowed to build the new hotel.The Host in Georgia sub-component was part of the Produce in Georgia state program that was introduced in March 2016 to revive the countrys production industry and improve Georgias economic future.Within the Host in Georgia sub-program, the state will co-finance the business projects of entrepreneurs who want to build a new hotel in any region of Georgia except capital Tbilisi and Black Sea resort town Batumi.
The Zootown Fringe Festival is starting up for its fourth year next Tuesday, and this year, its going global. The festival was recently accepted into the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals, a membership that puts artists and audiences worldwide in direct contact while protecting the integrity of fringe festivals everywhere.

Although Michelle Risho, producer of the Zootown Fringe Festival, said Missoula has already been host to performers from all over, the acceptance into the CAFF means the city's small-scale festival is being viewed by festival organizers around the world.

Risho said she will even be joining the World Fringe Congress in Montreal this November, where she and more than 100 other fringe festival producers will learn how to better celebrate the fringe movement.

And Risho thinks the Zootown Fringe Festival will make a great addition to CAFF.

Im excited because our festival is very unique from others, Risho said. Were so small still that performers are always going to get the media attention they need that lacks at other festivals. We can almost guarantee them media coverage. And were incorporating the environment in our festival this year with the River Fringe.

Risho said fringe attendees will meet at the Cyr Bridge in Alberton on Thursday morning ready to float the Clark Fork River. The festival is teaming up with Lewis and Clark Trail Adventures for the float and Risho said whoever doesnt bring a boat has to pay the rental fee for another.

The fringe performances will begin at the put in and continue along the river all day. Following the float that day will be performances at the Dunrovin Ranch in Lolo. SuzAnne Miller, owner of Dunrovin Ranch, said she joined the Fringe Festival last year.

It was such fun we just decided to do it again, Miller said. The Fringe is a really fun event because people come from all over the place for it. And I just love art.

Miller said the festival this year coincides with a kids horse camp that will be at the ranch. A pantomime group from San Francisco will come early Thursday to teach the kids a performance involving stick horses.

When the floaters and other Fringe fans arrive at the ranch, Miller said there will be an open grill for people to cook on and the kids and the mimes will perform. There will also be music, other performances, and a painted pony parade.

After having some conversations with the organizers of Fringe Fest, I hope to eventually host a full-blown equine art ranch festival, Miller said. The reason the Fringe Festival is the perfect group to work on this with is they attract artists from around the world to come and paint live horses and have contests for most beautifully painted horses.

Among all the new Fringe events are the returning performers like Steven Kates, the highest paid porn star who has never taken his clothes off, who has agreed to come to the Zootown Fringe Festival all four years.

Kates said he has done the same performance each year, "What I Learned from Porn," but he always refines the show and makes adjustments to improve it based on the audiences reactions.

The show is about Kates career in porn at the industrys peak profit through VHS and DVDs, when plot mattered. The industry was making so much money it was able to hire people like Kates, who would focus solely on dialogue in the rising action of the plot, while others were paid to focus on the ... climax.

Kates said after the creation of the internet, porn became less about the story and more about getting straight to the point. Were living in an attention span deprived era, Kates said, and it has made his job in porn obsolete.

Kates will be performing two nights at the Crystal Theater next week  Friday at 11 p.m. and Saturday at 10 p.m.  and he promises nothing in the show is X-rated.

I love the open nature of the fest and the way Michelle really makes it so inviting, Kates said. The audiences are really thankful and I love the Crystal. To be a part of this every year since it began is a real thrill. To be part of a legacy is a rare thing.

Visit http://zootownfringe.org/calendar/ to see the Zootown Fringe Festivals full schedule.
Montana native Aaron Parrett is set to read from his new book, "Montana Americana Music: Boot Stomping in Big Sky Country," this Friday at Shakespeare and Co. before he and some friends play a relaxed set of songs.

Although the book includes information about music one might define as "country music," Parrett said its not what most people are thinking.

Its not about this new bro country music, Parrett said. Its not that Blake Shelton crap. I think Ill read a short section from the intro that talks about what Americana music really is. Its kind of a blanket term that isnt very helpful so I tried to delineate what that means in the book.

Americana music, Parrett said, isnt a specific genre. The term is more of a radio format in that it includes many genres of music in the same way that "easy listening" or "adult contemporary" include different, similar genres.

When it comes to Americana, Parrett said all the genres under its umbrella are associated with the country rather than the city.

Parrett said his book, which includes the history of and interviews with Americana bands all over Montana, was released about two weeks ago on July 27. The book only took about six months to write, as Parrett had already done much of the research for an article he wrote years ago called The History of Montana Fiddling. The University of Great Falls faculty member has also written book-length history titles such as "Literary Butte: A History in Novels and Film" and published his fiction.

Parrett said his interest in writing about Americana music stems from being a longtime country musician.

The main band I play in is called Balled and Burlap and were an old-time string band, Parrett said. We play mostly square dances and classic 40s and 50s type country. My favorite music is the old-time tradition, front-porch kind of music.

After Parrett reads from his book, starting at 7 p.m., he and some of the musicians included in his book will play a few live songs. Those musicians include Joseph Running Crane, who started off in a punk band and transitioned into what Parrett calls acoustic soulful country music.

Running Crane said Parretts book is a great resource for anyone interested in local music.

Montana has a very rich history of Americana music that I think is overlooked by a lot of mainstream musicians and writers, Running Crane said. This is the first project Ive seen in a while that Im excited about. Everything Aaron does is a great, inventive idea so Im happy to support whatever he has going on.

Running Crane said his interest in Americana music came after he looked into his fathers old music tastes in musicians like Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and Hank Williams. Running Crane said he then started writing songs using those musicians as inspiration and that naturally progressed to him playing the solo acoustic shows he does now.

Garth Whitson, owner at Shakespeare and Co., said he is looking forward to hearing Parretts reading and music.

Aaron's remarkable book is a must-have for any musician or fan of homegrown music in the state of Montana, Whitson said.
What happens at the Western Montana Fair stays at the Western Montana Fair. Except, perhaps, the unique brand of bloat that results from equal parts corn dog, cotton candy and deep-fried Twinkie.

When one considers how much time one spends in line, not to mention the money one leaves behind, it pays to approach the fair with some kind of meal plan, so you can economize your time, money and belly space. So here is your handy-dandy food planner for 2016, based on a quick research trip on opening night.

I tried to stick to foods that are unique to our fair. This isnt to say that such foods have anything to do with Montana, beyond the local organizations that their sales support. And thats OK. Im not looking to play the native card here. Just looking for quality.

Consider the deep-fried Wisconsin cheese curds, sales of which go to the Fort Missoula Historical Society. The curds are literally imported from Wisconsin (otherwise we couldnt call them Wisconsin curds, it was explained to me). Despite their faraway origins I consider these to be a worthwhile purchase. Sure, Id have preferred Lifeline curds from the Bitterroot Valley, but I already know from my 'Sconie friends that the local curds just dont squeak at the proper pitch when you chew them, so I didnt even bring it up. With their mantle of authenticity, these curds truly belong somewhere, even if the where isnt exactly here.

My salivary glands began working overtime when my order of sizzling curds was presented. Luckily, the woman checked me with some sage advice: Dont burn yourself, she warned. The resulting pause in the action allowed me to notice the bottle of ranch dressing, which was key. The Wisco curds puff up and soften marvelously, while remaining eminently chewable, if no longer squeaking. The ranch was a nice accompaniment, but in all honesty some hot sauce would have completed the flavor. But there wasnt any, because Wisconsin.

Speaking of geography, my blue ribbon savory snack of the fair is a total geographic mismatch: Kickin  Korean beef tacos, presented by the Missoula Taekwondo Center. If we drew a line from Korea to Mexico, by way of Missoula, it would be more of a right angle. But if we took out Missoula, that line could pass above southern California, where Korean tacos is not as random as it sounds. In fact, the Los Angeles-based Kogi BBQ Taco Truck that has become a local institution with a national following (@kogibbq has 148K Twitter followers). People wait as long on sweltering California sidewalks for their Korean tacos as Missoula county fairgoers will for their Vikings.

Sold by the Sons of Norway, these deep-fried balls of beef, egg and oats are served impaled on sticks, just as the enemies of Norse were vanquished back in the day. If youre going to invest in some breaded lard bombs, the Viking might be your best bet in terms of flavor, tradition and quantity.

But along purely culinary lines, not to mention the matter of how you feel a few minutes later, I prefered those Taekwando Tacos. At $4 each or two for $7, its a pretty good deal for the large slabs of marinated beef that nearly dwarfed the tortilla it came on. A few bits of cabbage rounded out the mildly chewy, fully satisfying taco. Much more rewarding than, say, a spinning back kick to gut.

I almost got sucked into a Rev Burger, presented by the Missoula Methodist Church. What intrigued me was that it had ham on it, making it arguably a true hamburger. But I ended up going with a Tater Pig, proceeds from the sales of which benefit the Rocky Mountainaires Barbershop Quartet. It consisted of a baked potato into which a breakfast sausage had been surgically implanted, served with a pad of butter, a dollop of sour cream, and a pile of grated cheese. I could see how some people would really enjoy this dish. Again, hot sauce would have been nice. Im left wondering how the Rev Burger would have tasted.

The highest score of the day belongs to the Huckleberry Jamboree, presented by Christian Counseling. My visit to this gaily decorated truck began with a sample of Lemondairy, a mix of lemon slush and vanilla soft-serve ice cream. The sample was so big I wondered how many people would simply call it good after that. But no, it was too delicious for me to stop there. Plus I had kids in tow. Plus, there was this matter of The Huckleberry Jamboree.

This treasure, which even incorporates our beloved local berry, consists of a Lemondairy to which copious amounts of huckleberry syrup are added. It makes for a cup thats as visually stunning as it is delicious. Even my wife, aka the fair Grinch, expressed her amazement at this one.

My big regret of the evening is that I didnt find my way over to the 4-H Cafe, where breakfast burritos, burgers, biscuits and gravy and pies are served. The same menu at one of the other booths wouldnt even slow me down, but 4-H is part of the unsung heart of the entire event. Its been there since long before the teddy bear peddlers and nacho pushers followed the scent of money to the fairgrounds of America.

Soon, I was little more than a ring of waving limbs surrounding a bloated belly, waddling valiantly onward in a bovine stupor. My slowed pace gave my eyes the opportunity to lilt upon a wooden building with a sign that read Culinary.

It was guarded by a woman who stood by a mostly closed door onto which a handwritten note announced the building was closed for the day. They are busy judging, she told me. Through the gap between the doors I could see jars of pickles and jam on a shelf. This, I hypothesized, is where the real Montana food of the fair could be found. Minutes later I had talked myself inside, where I met with Helen Moore, the Superintendent of the Culinary Building. Moore oversees the judging of the various culinary items submitted for evaluation, including cakes, pies, bread, and the canned goods which had caught my eye. From Wednesday through Sunday, fairgoers may poke around the Culinary Building and pose for selfies with the winning entries and whatnot. And by all means, be sure to stick around for the 3 oclock competitions.

These afternoon contests have a different theme each day. You missed International food on Wednesday. Thursday will be Any Type of Sandwich. Friday is Tough Enough for Pink, a man-only showdown which promises to prove that the dudebros can hang in the kitchen. Saturday brings The Great Chili Cookoff, and on Sunday, the grand finale: Chocolate, Chocolate, and MOAR Chocolate. (OK, they spelled it More.)

After the entries are judged and ranked, the public is invited to sample the remains.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where the fairest fare of the fair can be found. For free.
Everyone in Montana is fully aware that our state is in need of greater access to mental health services, but many may not be aware that there are important reforms working their way through Congress right now to address this issue.

In early March each year, the leadership of the American Psychological Association gathers in Washington, D.C., and takes the time to meet with their congressional delegation. This year there was an exciting turn of events; there were bipartisan bills introduced in both the House and Senate that could significantly improve mental health care in our nation

In visiting Capitol Hill, we looked forward to meeting with Congressman Ryan Zinke, as he had already signed on as a cosponsor of the House billthe "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act," H.R. 2646. In a later interview with Zinke, I asked how he got involved with this bill. He described relying on his healthcare advisory board, and discussed his personal relationship with Congressman Tim Murphy, R-Pennsylvania., the bills sponsor.

As Zinke said in his interview: We should be concerned that our largest mental health facilities are our prisons, and that were not helping people lead productive lives. As a practicing psychologist for 20 years, I have seen the effects of inadequate mental health services on Montanans firsthand. Mental illnesses are every bit as deadly, disabling and damaging as physical illnesses, and the toll they take on our fellow citizens is with me every day. Congressman Murphy is also a practicing psychologist, and in addition to his work in Congress serves in the Navy Reserve Medical Service Corps at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Our Montana delegation of eight psychologists were hopeful after our trip to Capitol Hill, but none of us could have foreseen the swift action that has occurred since then. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2646 by a vote of 422-2. A nearly unanimous vote on a health care policy issue is rare, but the need to substantially improve our nation's mental health system is one of the rare issues that almost everyone can agree on. This bill is an important first step to establish an effective mental health care system. We need to put more gas in the tank of our mental health system by spending more money on services, and H.R. 2646 is a long overdue tune up of federal programs and policies.

The bill takes several steps to improve our mental health system. It strengthens enforcement of the federal mental health parity laws, so that health plans do not continue to discriminate in how they cover mental health and substance use services. It requires closer coordination across federal agencies responding to mental illness, and a greater focus on helping those with serious mental illness. It will clarify health information privacy regulations so they work better, and are easier to understand, for individuals with mental illness, their families and health care providers. It authorizes new programs focusing on infant and early childhood mental health promotion and intervention, and a new program on adult suicide prevention. The bill would also establish new grants for developing statewide child mental health care access programs, and organized networks of child and adolescent psychologists and psychiatrists, to integrate behavioral health with pediatric primary care. These are just some of the bills provisions.

My colleagues and I applaud Zinke for cosponsoring and voting for H.R. 2646. Now we need the Senate to pass its mental health reform legislation early in September, so that a final version can be passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. It is my sincere hope that U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines continue the bipartisan example set by the House, and work with their colleagues to pass this legislation. By the end of this year we can, and should, have a new roadmap in place to a mental health treatment system that actually works for the millions of our citizens, and our fellow Montanans, who need help.
I grew up through grade six in Shelby; my best friend was Larry Earl Barger, he was Tom Sawyer to my Huck Finn on a make-believe raft in his parents' basement. Larry went to Vietnam and they sent him home in a box, his blue eyes closed, his blond hair wrapped tightly in thick white tape from his eyebrows down both cheeks and under his chin. I figured there were about 35 square inches of his face Brownie and Howard had left of their baby boy, that his brothers Cliff, Rick and Tommy had left of Larry. Howard Barger collapsed over his son's coffin as taps played into the north Montana wind, and Donald Trump, you say you also sacrificed.

My great friend and fraternity brother Robert Vincent Willett Jr. left Great Falls for college and signed into the Air Force to fly jets. We argued about the war, but Vince believed in what he was doing. We had a keg party on the Missouri River sand dunes the night before he shipped out. His plane was shot down and a son, brother, husband, friend went missing in action. I still wear his MIA bracelet and hope to somehow see him again. His mom and dad wished the same. If he had been captured, Donald Trump would have called him a loser, as he did John McCain for being captured, tortured and held prisoner for five years, and as he says, Donald Trump also sacrificed.

I have many friends whose names are on the Walls in Montana and Washington, D.C. All their extended families are members of a sacred group of Gold Stars and to hear Donald Trump denigrate one of them and compare his business misdeeds to their tragedies truly sickens me.

As Khizr Khan so succinctly stated, Donald Trump has sacrificed nothing.

James C. Waddell,

Missoula
Years before her assassination, Benazir Bhutto told George H.W. Bush that he was creating Frankenstein by his financing and arming of the mujahideen to fight the Russians during their invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. In fairness to the Bushes, CIA support for the mujahideen as proxies against the Russians goes back to the Carter administration and expanded through the Reagan terms. It was considered a victory for the United States when the Russians left but the mujahideen soon turned on the sugar daddies of the West as the focus of the holy war.

The first Iraq war started over control of oil. This is not necessary now that there are abundant oil supplies everywhere. Once started, the wars drew on a seemingly bottomless international pool of fighters so that attrition doesnt limit hostilities. Theres plenty of outside oil money and weaponry, often procured on the world market from U.S. suppliers. The original oil war is now perceived as a religious war. The Frankenstein warned of by Bhutto has spawned the cruel and fanatical ISIS. Our National Intelligence chief reports nearly 500 drone strikes in the last six years in Yemen, Somalia, Libya and nuclear-armed Pakistan. In classic newspeak, these are called countries where we have no active hostilities. It doesnt count Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Defense Department claims 2,500 killed in these four countries with no active hostilities, along with civilians; without benefit of due process, it goes without saying.

We wont be able to kill enough people to make a difference and theyre not going to run out of money. As you sow, so shall you reap; and the drones have sown in more and more countries like a drip torch. We have all the energy we need. Lets not start any more fires, except maybe a backfire (Mann Gulch).

R. Carter,

Libby
A locomotive burst into flame earlier this week near the spot of the disastrous Alberton chlorine spill in 1996, but this time there were no hazardous materials on board the train.

No one was injured in the latest in a string of mishaps since April on the Montana Rail Link, which runs from Idaho to east of Billings.

Frenchtown Rural Fire spokesman Mel Holtz said the Burlington Northern Santa Fe engine was the middle of three pulling a general merchandise stack container train eastward toward Missoula. The fire was reported by the MRL crew at around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Holtz said the fire department responded to the scene a few miles west of Alberton at the end of Plateau Road.

Heavy smoke and then flames were showing and were easily visible from Interstate 90 when firefighters arrived. Two crew members separated the locomotives from the rest of the train, Holtz said, "but with the diesel electric it was a little tricky making sure everything was shut down.

It was roughly 40 minutes before the diesel pumps could be turned off and the fire dissipated enough to get water on it. After that it was extinguished within 10 minutes.

Montana Rail Link spokesman Jim Lewis said rail traffic in both directions was held up for roughly four hours, delaying four trains. The line reopened shortly before 10 p.m.

MRL did the initial investigation into the fire's cause. Lewis said the locomotive was to be shipped to a BNSF shop to complete the investigation.

In early April an MRL employee, 57-year-old Richard Schmitz, died in a collision between a train and the small utility vehicle Schmitz was driving in the Missoula yard beneath the Scott Street Bridge. The crash was ruled accidental by a Missoula County coroner.

The body of Alan Jay Willis, 65, of Minneapolis was found by MRL employees near the east end of the Mullan Tunnel northwest of Helena on July 29. A Lewis and Clark County deputy coroner said Willis died of multiple blunt-force traumas caused by a freight train. A backpack and water bottle belonging to Willis were found on a train in Drummond later in the day.

On Saturday a man escaped with minor injuries Saturday when a train clipped the rear end of his van at a fishing access site near Springdale, between Big Timber and Livingston. According to news reports, Montana Highway Patrol said the train was traveling an estimated 30 mph when it hit the vehicle, which had paused on the tracks as its driver watched a couple of motorcyclists near Interstate 90. The van was spun around and thrown into the air. It landed on its side 20 feet down the road.

Holtz said the Alberton incident was the first response to a train locomotive emergency since he started with the Frenchtown department in 2004. In April 1996 a 19-car derailment released some 60 tons of poisonous chlorine gas, killing one person, hospitalizing at least 11, and forcing the evacuation of 500 people and the closure of I-90.

Montana Rail Link actually came out five or six months ago just to put on a class on locomotive emergencies, and fire was part of it, Holtz said. That helped a lot.
BILLINGS - A 5-year-old girl has reported that 34-year-old man raped her on multiple occasions.

Jason Harold Rose was charged with a felony sex crime Wednesday in Yellowstone County Justice Court.

Justice of the Peace David Carter held Rose in lieu of a $100,000 bond and ordered him placed on GPS monitoring prior to release. Carter also ordered Rose to have no contact with the child victim or her family.

In February 2015, the 5-year-old girl reported to a caretaker that Rose had laid on top of her and raped her, according to court documents. A subsequent medical exam of the girl showed evidence of sex with an adult.

Rose denied he raped the child, according to court documents.

The child's mother told Yellowstone County Sheriff's detectives the child had never been alone with Rose. The mother no longer has custody of her daughter, according to court documents.

The child was not able to give a statement about the rape until March 24, about a year after she made her first report and a medical exam was performed. The 5-year-old made clear statements to detectives describing the rape, according to court documents.
GREAT FALLS (AP)  A former Great Falls chiropractor who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an employee has been sentenced to 5 years in prison.

The Great Falls Tribune reports that District Judge Dirk Sandefur sentenced 48-year-old Reese Riggin on Thursday after expressing frustration with the binding plea agreement that he felt was too lenient.

The Montana Board of Chiropractors revoked Riggin's license two years ago after former employees reported he touched them inappropriately during adjustments he required under the terms of their employment.

He was charged in October 2014 and pleaded guilty in March to sexual intercourse without consent. The agreement called for a 20-year sentence with 15 suspended.

Riggin lost his chiropractic license in Idaho over similar allegations in 1997. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual exploitation by a medical care provider.

___

Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com
WEST GLACIER  The male bear that fatally mauled a mountain biker who collided with him here in June was a 20-year-old grizzly with no known conflicts with humans prior to the incident, officials said Thursday.

Brad Treat, a 38-year-old law enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service, was killed after the June 29 collision, which occurred just outside Glacier National Park, about three miles from the West Entrance, on the Green Gate/Half Moon trail system off U.S. Highway 2.

John Fraley, a spokesman for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the collision occurred on a section of the trail with limited sight distances, which gave Treat little time to react to the sudden sight of the bear.

Wardens and biologists with the Wildlife Human Attack Response Team, who completed the investigation, called it a surprise encounter. Attempts to trap the bear were unsuccessful.

However, the grizzly turned out to be one that had been captured and released a decade ago during a research project in Glacier Park.

Fraley said DNA collected at the scene confirmed that the bear was the same as the one that entered a trap in 2006. At the time, researchers determined the grizzly was approximately 8 to 10 years old.

Due to the parameters of the research project, Fraley said, the bear was not fitted with a radio collar at the time.

The only other times prior to this year that the grizzly was on anyones radar came in 2009 and 2011, when it was identified through DNA from hair samples collected from trees the bear had rubbed against.

Treat was riding with a companion, who continued on to seek help after the collision. First responders found the victim dead at the scene.

The last lethal bear attack inside Glaciers borders happened in 1998, when three bears killed and partially ate a park concessionaire employee while he was hiking.
Huckleberry hounds have an excuse  not that they necessarily want one  to leave the forests and take a break this weekend from their relentless pursuit of the wild-grown fruit prized by both humans and grizzly bears.

Across northwest Montana, people will be celebrating all things huckleberry.

And thats a lot of things anymore.

No fewer than three huckleberry festivals are on tap. Two start Friday and run through Sunday. The other is an all-day affair on Saturday, meaning if you want to, you can hit one a day.

The Swan Lake Huckleberry Festival is Saturday. Both the Trout Creek Huckleberry Festival, and Whitefish Huckleberry Days, run Friday through Sunday.

The allure of the huckleberry starts with its flavor  Absolutely delicious and unique, says Maria Mantas, director of Swan Valley Connections and a plant ecologist  but doesnt end there.

There is also the fact that, despite many tries, no one has been able to domesticate the huckleberry.

You cant commercially produce them, Mantas says. The only place you can get them is in the wild.

That sends pickers out in search of the very best patches  often found years after wildfire has burned through a forest  and the discoveries are closely guarded secrets.

***

Theres no place like northwest Montana, the Idaho Panhandle and portions of northeastern Washington for wild huckleberry production, Mantas says.

The Flathead and Kootenai national forests produce some of the best, according to Mantas, and the Kootenai National Forest can be off the charts in a good year.

Ive never seen huckleberries like Ive seen around Noxon and Trout Creek, Mantas says. They can be as big as your thumb and weigh down the branches.

You can, of course, pop a huckleberry in your mouth then and there, but the fruit has given way to its own industry.

There are stores devoted to huckleberry products  called, naturally, the Huckleberry Patch  in Arlee and Hungry Horse, and many more that carry huckleberry products.

You can buy huckleberry ice cream, huckleberry milk shakes, huckleberry preserves, huckleberry jellies, huckleberry syrup, huckleberry ice cream topping, huckleberry pies, huckleberry pie filling, huckleberry honey and huckleberry fudge.

And weve only just begun.

There are pancake, waffle, brownie and scone mixes for huckleberry lovers, not to mention huckleberry-flavored coffee, tea and hot cocoa.

If you dont want to eat them  though we cant imagine why  you can pick up huckleberry hand cream, huckleberry lotion, huckleberry soaps, huckleberry-scented candles and huckleberry lip balm.

But youve got to want to eat them, right? So try huckleberry taffy, candy canes, gummy bears, licorice, jelly beans, lollipops, chocolate bars or cordials.

***

There are seven different species in Montana, according to Peter Stickney, curator emeritus at the University of Montana Herbarium, and they can be found in the western third of the state.

In Montana, a huckleberry is not the same as huckleberries found east of the Mississippi River, Stickney says. Huckleberry is actually a misnomer, but its so ingrained in society it will never change. The huckleberry east of the Mississippi is in the same plant family. Its edible, but it does not have a good taste.

Montanas versions like moist soil and lots of sun, and those conditions are more prevalent in the northwest corner of Montana.

After a fire goes through, the second decade is the most productive for huckleberries, Stickney says, and Mantas adds that plants often show the results of previous years of precipitation.

Even though weve had a lot of rain this year, they store up reserves, and the plants were set back by last years drought, Mantas says.

Thats made for a fairly average huckleberry year where she lives, in the Swan Valley.

But there, and in Trout Creek and Whitefish, theyll still hail the huckleberry this weekend.
HELENA  Montana's Fish and Wildlife Commission on Thursday shot down a proposal to separate elk presumed to be exposed to disease from unexposed elk herds, an idea that wildlife officials acknowledged probably wouldn't work even as they pitched it.

The hazing plan, backed by the livestock industry, was meant to keep small groups of elk that are within a designated brucellosis surveillance area north and west of Yellowstone National Park from coming into contact with other groups from outside the area. It was proposed as an addition to a larger management plan to prevent the spread of brucellosis, a disease that causes animals to abort their young, and its transmission from wildlife to livestock.

The commission unanimously panned the hazing plan, saying the focus should stay on keeping disease-exposed elk away from cattle. It would be impossible to haze elk away from other elk across southwestern Montana's wide landscapes, and ensure the animals stay separated day and night, commissioners said.

"To me, this is way too much like animal husbandry and not like managing wild, free-ranging wildlife," Commissioner Gary Wolfe said.

The management plan already allows elk-kill permits, fencing and the hazing of elk away from cattle in the designated surveillance area where brucellosis-positive elk live.

The surveillance area stretches east from Beaverhead County to Park County and south from Interstate 90 to Yellowstone and the Wyoming border. FWP officials said the elk-hazing program would be in response to known, small groups of disease-exposed elk encroaching upon disease-free elk near that boundary. The aim would be to prevent the surveillance area's boundaries from expanding as new elk groups come into contact with exposed elk.

"We understand its's different, new, an additional layer of difficulty," said Quentin Kujala, the FWP's wildlife management section chief. "But we see a responsibility to flesh the issue out."

Of particular concern is a herd of elk from Wyoming that have been ranging close to a Montana herd outside of the surveillance area along the eastern front of the Beartooth Mountains, said Montana state veterinarian Marty Zaluski. Time is short to prevent the groups from mingling, he said.

"Once these elk mix, whether it is 12 or 24 months, we'll have no opportunity to unscramble the eggs," Zaluski said.

Zaluski acknowledged the hazing plan's shortcomings, and suggested instead the wildlife agency come up with a strategic elk-hunting plan for that area that would have the desired effect of keeping the herds separate.

Department officials said they will examine hunting options. Fish and Wildlife Commission Chairman Dan Vermillion also called on Wyoming to end its practice of putting out grass and alfalfa hay in feedgrounds to help elk survive the winter.

The clusters of elk at feedgrounds have been blamed for promoting the spread of diseases such as brucellosis and chronic wasting disease.

"It's not Montana's place to tell Wyoming what to do," Vermillion said, and added that closing the feeding grounds wouldn't end the problem overnight.

"But it would be a good start on that path," he said.
BILLINGS  More than 2,000 miles from his adopted Bronx home, Ecuadorean native William Quizhpi found a connection to his native roots during a visit to a Montana Indian reservation in July.

It was an eye-opening experience, he said in a telephone interview. The people there made me feel in touch with the heritage I have.

Quizhpi visited the American Prairie Reserve south of Malta for 10 days in July as part of an SEO Scholars trip. SEO, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, is an academic program that helps low-income high school students attend college.

American Prairie Reserve first partnered with SEO last year to give the city students an immersive introduction to rural life, the Montana prairie, bison, dinosaurs, prairie dogs, a rodeo, county fair and American Indians.

Its directly in line with our goal for public access and enjoyment of that biosphere, said Hilary Parker, communications and outreach manager for American Prairie Reserve.

Founded in 2004, the nonprofit American Prairie Reserve is working to create the largest nature reserve in the United States by purchasing ranches in central Montana. As part of that goal the group is also working to restore native species, such as bison, to the prairie.

Its a place that appealed to Quizhpi, despite its removal from anything he has ever known or experienced.

I miss it very much, he said. I had never been to the Mountain West, and I just imagined it was going to be in the middle of nowhere. There was some of that, but it was also really beautiful. I loved the prairie, hiking and the wildlife. Around here in New York we dont have such beautiful landscapes.

Quizhpi moved to the United States from Ecuador when he was 8 to join his parents, who had immigrated north in search of the American dream, he said. Because of his native heritage, Quizhpi was especially intrigued by the SEO groups trip to the Fort Belknap Indian Community.

During that portion of the visit, Quizhpi said the group helped a tribal medicine woman collect medicinal plants such as sweetgrass and yarrow. The lesson he took away from the experience was that the plants had given up their lives for him, so he should give thanks to the plants.

The visit for the high school senior was so transformative that hes now considering taking the risk to attend college at the University of Montana and expanding his studies to include field biology after his contact with a variety of scientists during the APR trip.

It felt welcoming, he said. The people there were really friendly and open.

Siri Eliasen, who helped guide the students through their Montana trip along with instructors from the Montana Outdoor Science School and other APR staff, said she hopes the teens take a sense of wonder, concern for the environment and a zest for adventure back to their urban lives.

Its a place that has already made a strong impression on Eliasen. A native of the Seattle area, she said the vastness of the prairie, how it goes on forever, was the most startling thing for her when she first visited the area about six years ago.

That sense of wonder and vastness struck the group on two occasions when large lightning storms roared across the expansive prairie.

We stood there in awe, said Yacine Fall. We were literally blown away by the wind. We saw lighting from 20 miles away and I was like, whoa.

Fall, a 17 year old Harlem student, has visited strange lands before. She traveled to Senegal, her parents homeland, years ago. But shed never been to a place quite like the Montana prairie, which she found more diverse ideologically as well as ecologically.

I thought it would be very conservative, she said. But Montana is more diverse than I expected it to be.

It was also her first exposure to an array of wildlife, such as the bison herd that roams the American Prairie Reserve.

I learned the importance of wildlife, she said. Id never been a wildlife person who advocated for animals. But now I understand that they are beings that should be advocated for.
KALISPELL  Tribal leaders from across North America are gathering in Glacier National Park in honor of the grizzly bear, which is considered sacred by tribes across the continent.

The group held a prayer ceremony for the animal Friday. The event was to be led by spiritual leaders from the Blackfoot Confederacy, which comprises Blackfeet tribes in Canada and the tribe in northwestern Montana.

The meeting comes as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed lifting threatened-species protections for grizzlies in the Yellowstone National Park area.

Tribal governments opposed to the plan have expressed concerns about sovereignty, tribal and religious freedom violations.

Traditional chief of the Blackfeet Nation James "Jimmy" St. Goddard told the Flathead Beacon that "to kill the grizzly is to kill our own kind."
CHOBE NATIONAL PARK, Botswana  The moment the baby elephant trotted onto the dirt road, the lesson from Moagi Rain Robson vanished for at least one passenger riding in the open Land Cruiser.

The guide had urged the visitors to Chobe National Park to keep their voices down so the animals keep coming close to the open vehicles for years to come, continuing to give visitors an intimate experience with wildlife.

At the sight of the baby, though, its trunk swinging 'round, the teenager couldn't contain his excitement, and he hollered: "Dumbo!"

In response, Robson uttered a phrase he would repeat often over the next 24 hours, in earshot of jackal, impala, even lions panting under bushes on the riverbank: "Please minimize your voice."

Developing countries  such as Botswana and Zambia  and places shifting away from resource extraction  Montana, for instance  are looking to tourism and recreation as growth industries.

Botswana boasts elephants, Zambia and Zimbabwe offer the glorious Victoria Falls, and Montana offers stunning vistas of Glacier National Park, part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Indeed, a report released this year on climate change and tourism at World Heritage sites identifies the travel industry as a significant economic engine around the world.

"Tourism is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing economic sectors, responsible for 9 percent of gross domestic product globally and providing one out of 11 jobs," said the report, published by the United Nations Environment Programme in Kenya, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations in France, and Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States.

But the very tourists who find solace in protected places, and whose dream vacations support those economies  and the salaries of the shushing guide in Chobe and the Jammer drivers in Glacier  also are a threat.

The more tourists, the more problematic encounters with elephants in Africa  or bison in Yellowstone National Park.

The more airplane trips, the more carbon emissions, releases that are shrinking popular destinations like Grinnell Glacier in Montana and quieting the thunderous Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Titled "World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate," the report notes that carbon emissions from tourism contribute some 5 percent of total global emissions, and are predicted to more than double in 25 years.

"If unplanned, uncontrolled or poorly managed, however, tourism can have a wide range of negative consequences for World Heritage sites and their local communities," the report said.

If poorly managed, tourism is also a threat to the wildlife people want to see. In Chobe, famous for its elephant herds, Robson points out the "bum shots" over and over, the tall and round rear-ends of elephants. He's proud the largest land animals feel so safe they are willing to turn their backs to humans.

He asks his passengers: Would you ever turn your back to a lion?

***

Across the border in Zambia, the city of Livingstone is considered the tourism capital of the country, and it pulls in people looking for work in a place where the African Development Bank Group puts the average wage at just $112.50 a month.

Axon Zulu, who owns a cab company and is launching a travel guide company, La Travel and Tours, came to Livingstone because of the opportunity.

"(With) transportation, you never go wrong in Livingstone," he said.

Christopher Banda, also a cab driver and chairman of the Taxi Association of Livingstone, said he's seen more tourists in the city in recent years. Last month, he and his younger partner were hailed by tourists crossing the border from Zimbabwe.

Banda's partner hit up tourists waiting in line to get their passports stamped and then delivered them to Banda, waiting at his car. Then, he shuttled the visitors downtown.

Unlike some village residents who fear the elephants that eat their crops, Banda believes the animals are an important asset.

"They are. Without them, probably you wouldn't be coming through here," he said.

Banda, who has been driving a cab for 10 years, said tourism needs the animals to survive, but he also hopes the government will find ways of protecting the farmers.

According to the most recent World Travel and Tourism Council data, the industry has provided nearly $1.8 million to Zambia's gross domestic product, including $400,000 in direct impacts.

That total is expected to more than double by 2025, and the direct contribution is estimated to grow by 7.7 percent in the same time.

Most of the patrons who dine on the patio at Cafe Zambezi in Livingstone appear to be foreigners, and a tourist in a country with a poverty rate at some 60 percent can hardly avoid peddlers selling carved hippos and salad tongs carved in the shape of giraffes.

"For you, a very special price."

***

According to a story posted on Zambia Tourism, the country's key international markets include South Africa, China, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, India, Tanzania, the United States, Kenya and Germany.

Last summer, travelers came to Glacier from as far away as Italy, the Netherlands, Israel, Austria and Scotland, according to the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana.

Most of these tourists will fly, and the journeys they take to see places noted for their wonder will also diminish those sites, according to the report on climate change and tourism.

"International tourism is heavily reliant on energy-intensive transport modes, particularly aeroplanes and cars, and the sector's contribution to global carbon emissions, 5 percent in 2005, is predicted to more than double by 2035," the report said.

Tourism's reliance on fossil fuels is "incompatible with the need to decarbonize the global economy," it said. It also noted a 2016 recommendation from the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection that the carbon emission standard for aircraft "could be strengthened over time."

Andrew Gray is one tourist who understands the impacts his travels have on the wonders he visits. Born in Zambia, Gray now lives in the United Kingdom, and he's visited Victoria Falls 14 times.

"I came here when I was 7," Gray said at one of the viewpoints of the cataracts. "I fell in love with it."

He has returned here more times than to any other destination, even though he's keenly aware the flights he boards have environmental impacts on the place that he loves. But Gray lives with a philosophy about the footprint his lifestyle has on the planet.

"When I was young, I made a conscious decision that having kids would have an environmental impact," Gray said.

So he doesn't have them. Instead, he tracks his environmental credits, and he uses them for his priorities, such as travel, and he'll continue to seek adventures and gaze into the pools and explosive cascades at Victoria Falls.

"Don't we have a right to travel the world and see amazing things?" Gray said.

***

According to the report on tourism and climate, changing temperatures will affect a multitude of tourism segments, including ecotourism, safaris, bird watching, trekking, cultural tourism and more.

But the experiences also can be transformative, and some nature lovers hope travel will nurture a conservation ethic in future generations.

This year, Amy and Trip Allen of California brought their children to Africa to see the wild animals in their natural environment before it's too late for some species.

The family usually travels to developing countries, such as those in South America, where the teens, Kyra, 12, and Leaf, 14, will have different experiences than they do in San Rafael.

"Partly, we want to show them the world. Every trip, they learn and grow," Allen said.

Already, the Allens are raising their children with an ethic of sustainability, and Amy Allen hoped the intimate experience in Chobe National Park would help cement in the teens a love for the planet and its life, and continue to fan their desire to help others in poor countries as well.

In Chobe, visitors hear the cries of hyenas and growls of lions at night. By day, they see the lilac-breasted roller fly by with its feathers ablaze in mauve, teal and royal blue, a giraffe loping across the Kalahari, a jackal crunching on beetles in a pile of dung.

"They will forever have this image in their heads and feeling in their hearts, and I think it will bring it closer to home," she said.

***

Robson, the guide, has a career that depends on tourists, but he's also circumspect as to whether visitors are a benefit to nature in the future.

"It depends," he said. "In a way, like with jumping out of vehicles, you are bad."

The night before, his passengers had witnessed a tourist in another guided vehicle leap from the open car to shoot photos. The practice not only jeopardizes the safety of the tourist, it chips away at the illusion the guiding companies have created for wildlife, the idea that cars are contained and safe, Robson said.

Throughout the day, he repeatedly urges his passengers to speak quietly: "Guys. Guys. Let's minimize our voice."

The animals talk among themselves, he said, and if too many of them report that cars come with threats, the wildlife will stay far away. These days, the elephants come so close to the vehicle that passengers can see the pattern of dents around their ears and the sun flickering on the whiskers along their trunks.

In fact, some elephants trot up to the vehicles and get so close, a tourist could touch them with barely a stretch.

Kalahari means "thirsty land," Robson said, and in the park, some of the brush looks dry, and the rain has been a problem this year. Those aren't the ongoing hazards, though, the guide said.

"If there's no rain, there won't be as much water. We had the rain. It was not a big one, but the bigger problem is the human interference," he said.

For now, the tourists can still see  without binoculars  lions resting under scrubby bushes along the riverbank, and elephants jogging right up to the cruiser. In the background, they'll hear the guide warning them to minimize their voices.
Two teams of scientists have succeeded in dating the opening of the gateway to America, only to disagree over whether the Clovis people  one of the first groups from Siberia to reach the Americas  ever used the gateway to gain access to the New World.

About 23,000 years ago, in a period of intense cold that preceded the end of the last ice age, glaciers from west and east merged to cut off Alaska from North America. With so much of the worlds water locked up in ice, sea levels were much lower and a now-lost continent, Beringia, stretched across what is now the Bering Strait to join Siberia to Alaska. But people who had trekked across Beringia to Alaska could go no further because of the ring of glaciers that blocked their way south.
Butte-Silver Bow homeowners will pay a little more in property taxes over the next year because of the water park voters passed in June, but their bills under a new county budget will still be less than four years ago.

Commissioners approved a $145 million spending plan 10-1 Wednesday night, capping a weeks-long review process that was relatively free of contention. Bill Andersen cast the lone dissenting vote for the plan, which is retroactive to July 1 and runs through June 30, 2017. Bud Walker was absent.

The budget includes revenue and spending from all sources, including federal and state money, bills for utility services and county payments on bond debt for such things as the Detention Center, the Archives, and the planned pool and Uptown parking garage. All but the garage were approved by voters.

Chief Executive Matt Vincent got $1.37 million from the countys industrial tax-financing district and cut expenses to help offset a $1.6 million decline in revenue. Most of that hit was due stagnant copper prices that lowered gross proceeds taxes Montana Resources pays the county.

But if not for the $7.2 million bond voters approved for a pool and lazy river, homeowners under this budget would be paying the same amount in county-levied property taxes as they did last year. Only about $23 million of the budget is from property taxes, but most homeowners and businesses pay them.

Homeowners paid more in county property taxes in fiscal year 2013 than they will under the new budget, and they have seen a net decrease in their bills over the past four years. That was made possible in part because of $1 million infusions from the industrial tax district in 2013 and 2015.

The budget includes $435,000 in new money for road improvements, which residents once again deemed the top funding priority through a survey the county conducted to gauge public opinion. More than $600,000 in additional funding was steered to roads last year, and $165,000 of that carried over to this budget.

Chief Executive Matt Vincent credited the lack of disputes to a great work by Budget Director Danette Gleason and her staff and incorporating the priorities of commissioners and their constituents into the plan.

We have a good system in place, he said. I can recall budget hearings prior to my administration and even when I used to work in it that would go into the wee hours because there was all this contention and things brought in at the last minute and 6-6 ties, he said.

When you engage the public the way we do and try to align the budget with priorities  theres not a lot to argue with.

Commissioner Dan Foley said Gleason and her staff did an outstanding job in preparing the plan and presenting it to the council and the public. Commissioners had plenty of time to recommend changes, he said.

Numbers are fairly tight and besides the swimming pool, there is little or no additions in personnel or capital expenditures, Foley said.

The pool bond will tack an additional $8.70 onto the property tax bill for a house worth $75,000, for a total county bill of $401.42. The bill for a $100,000 house will be just over $535  an $11.60 increase because of the pool. And those with a house valued at $200,000 will pay $23.19 more for a total of about $1,070.

The county tab is only 53 percent of residents property tax bills. Local schools make up most of the other 47 percent, with property taxes due in November and May.

The $145 million total budget is about $20 million less than a year ago. The decline is largely due to spending and progress already made on two huge public works projects  the new Basin Creek water treatment plant being built south of town and major upgrades to the Metro Sewer plant.

The spending plan includes some money for capital projects, much of it carried over from the previous budget.

Vincent turned down most new capital requests this time, but $300,000 was penciled in for an engineering analysis of the courthouse to determine the extent of its structural and wiring problems. Another $165,000 could be spent on an Asphalt Zipper, which is used to make road repairs and open utility trenches.

The budget includes initial debt service for the planned $7.4 million parking garage. That is being funded with revenue from the Uptown tax-increment financing district, but it did not require tax increases.

Remaining debt on all outstanding bonds, including those from tax-increment districts, is about $32 million, Gleason said.

This budget does not steer new money into reserves, something Gleason made a priority when she became budget director in 2014. There is about 16 percent of all tax-supported funds in reserves, which is still a healthy amount, Gleason said.

Butte-Silver Bow employees get a 1.5 percent pay raise or an extra $500, whichever is higher, and the county is offering to pay another $30 per month toward health costs for those in the countys self-insured program. But premiums are going up 10.6 percent, costing employees at least $80 more per month.

Residents do face another increase in sewer rates this year. It is the third year of increases commissioners approved in 2014 and will raise residential bills an average of $9 this year.
Leadership Montana will hold its annual statewide conference Sept. 22 and 23 at NorthWestern Energy in Butte.

Each year, this event attracts leaders from all corners of Montana who convene to discuss important issues affecting businesses, higher education, government, non-profit organizations, the healthcare industry and more. The conference theme this year is "Building the Future on the Foundations of the Past.''

We are very excited to showcase this rich community and what it means to be Butte Tough, said Chantel Schieffer, President and CEO of Leadership Montana. This annual gathering of alumni and friends is a great opportunity for us to continue our Leadership Montana experience and training. We also highly encourage anyone who is interested in leadership training or learning more about Butte to join us. This event is open to all.

Keynote speaker Brig. Gen. (ret.) Colleen McGuire will share her lessons in leadership. McGuire served 32 years with the Army and was the first woman to hold several high-ranking positions including the Armys top law-enforcement position as provost marshal general of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. Shes also a University of Montana graduate and recipient of the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Then participants will hit the streets of Uptown Butte for an interactive leadership session that focuses on effective team-building within organizations.

In between, community leaders will share examples of how Butte is leveraging its history to reinvent the city as a vibrant place to live, work and play through community festivals, infrastructure improvements and outdoor events. Participants will also celebrate Buttes rich cultural and ethnic heritage through sampling a wide variety of food that our city is known for.

Registration is $100 and participants do not have to be a graduate of Leadership Montana to attend. To register, visit leadershipmontana.org.
Is Montana running out of workers?

Some Treasure State employers seem to think so.

In fact, 58 percent of business owners said labor availability will negatively impact their business in 2016, according to a survey conducted by the Montana Chamber Foundation.

Webb Brown, the executive vice president for the Montana Chamber Foundation, presented the information to business and community leaders Wednesday at the NorthWestern Energy Building in Uptown Butte during the annual Economic Update series.

The theme for this years update is The Competition for Talent, which seems fitting given numbers from the survey.

Among employers who took the survey, 33 percent said labor availability will somewhat hurt their business in 2016 while 25 percent said it will strongly hurt. To give you some perspective, only about 11 percent fell into the strongly hurt category last year.

In other words, its hard to get good help these days.

Patrick Barkey, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, said these sentiments are more than just perceptions, especially in healthcare and construction.

The share of the national workforce made up of construction workers, he said, has been low in comparison with historical norms since 2010, and to get back to normative levels the nation will need about 550,000 more workers.

However, there are 500,000 unemployed men aged 55 and under in the United States, which basically means there arent enough workers nationwide to fill the positions.

If you connect the dots, that says that if we took every unemployed man 55 and under and stuck them on a job site and let them build houses, that would just plug the hole, said Barkey, which is silly  its not going to happen its an impossible outcome.

As a result, Barkey predicts that, among other things, construction employers will need to raise wages to attract workers from other industries and that a significant portion of construction labor force will continue to be foreign workers (28 percent of the nations construction workers are Hispanic, Barkey said).

Healthcare is another pressure point Barkey discussed.

Both in Montana and throughout the nation the population is aging.

In Montana, Barkey said, the population 65 and up with grow from 17 to 23 percent in the next 15 years, and nationwide aging will add $2.3 billion to healthcare spending by 2030. Whats more, innovation in technology and the increasing number of Americans with health insurance brought on by the Affordable Care Act will also increase the demand for healthcare.

All of these things are putting more fuel to the fire of healthcare growth, said Barkey. We all want knee replacements, and were getting them and were spending money.

But with the increased demand for healthcare, he said, there will also be an increased demand for labor.

By 2024 Montana will need 15,557 additional healthcare workers, but the Montana University System institutions only produce about 1,200 health graduates each year, Barkey pointed out.

Given the shortage of workers one has to wonder: How can Montana employers attract, train and retain qualified employees?

Kate McGoldrick, the executive director at the Center for Enterprise and Executive Development at the University of Montana, spoke on this point.

McGoldrick said that employers could do well by, among other things, understanding the changing needs of the workforce, especially among millennials.

These millennials want something really different than the previous generations have, said McGoldrick. Theyre looking for flexible workplace assignments. They want teleworking more often. They have different ways of communicating in the workplace. So  who are these high-performing workers that you need that are going to fulfill your critical roles, and whats going to make them successful?

She then asked audience members what skills they saw lacking in tomorrows workforce and how the skill-gap can be addressed.

One business leader said that he felt modern workers need to become better communicators.

Social skills, he said. Why do I need to talk to a human being anymore? Why do we need to pick up a phone anymore?

Another audience member said he felt company loyalty was a problem.

Youve got to give to get, he said, referring to the preference among millennials for more flexibility. Its got to be a two-way street. And what I see in the younger folks today is all get.
A 32-year-old Butte man who police say kicked in an apartment door and punched a hole in a ceiling is facing burglary and criminal mischief charges in Butte justice court.

Weston Clark Krizan was formally charged at his initial appearance before Judge Ben Pezdark on Wednesday.

According to witnesses, Weston Clark Krizan broke into a residence on the 3200 block of Busch Street on Tuesday afternoon.

The front door was kicked in and items were thrown around the apartment before the suspect punched the ceiling and said he wanted to lead police on a high-speed chase.

Krizan fled in a white Toyota Corolla. Police reports state he struck a utility pole in the area of Harrison and George Street about 14 minutes after the residential break-in. The damage to the pole was unknown.

The suspect smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred, said Butte-Silver Bow Undersheriff George Skuletich. A pint of whiskey was found in the vehicle. A Breathalyzer test showed Krizans blood alcohol content was over the legal limit.

Krizan pleaded not guilty in Butte city court Wednesday to misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief, an open container in vehicle, careless driving and driving under the influence.

Krizan was being held on $15,000 bond at the county jail. A pretrial hearing was set for Sept. 8 in justice court.
Irish festival seeks volunteers

The An Ri Ra Irish Festival is seeking volunteers for the event on Aug. 12 and Aug. 13. People are needed for pop and water sales as well as a few other tasks. Details: call Julie at 406-782-7375 or 406-498-0018, or Mary at 406-490-8037, or email juliaogara@charter.net.

Grassroots group forming in Whitehall

WHITEHALL  Jim Rollick of Whitehall and other area people will be working with interested locals to start a new ACT for America chapter in Jefferson County. The kick-off event will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at the Whitehall Community Center.

ACT for America is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots national security organization with 300,000 members and more than 1,000 chapters around the country. Each chapter focuses on educating, engaging, and mobilizing citizens and elected officials to impact legislative outcomes to protect America.

The meeting is free. Donations are encouraged to help defray meeting costs. Details: Jim Rollick, 406-451-3915

Nicole Evankovich best speaker

This weeks competition winners for the Uptown Toasters, Toastmaster Club # 9765 include Nicole Evankovich, best speaker; Jeff Amerman, best evaluator; and Dan Matteucci and Brendon DeShaw tied for best table topic.

The next meeting is at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Butte Archives. Details: 406-782-6605.

Democratic field office opens in Butte

The Montana Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee will celebrate the opening of its new legislative field office from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, at 63 W. Broadway, Uptown Butte.

Tickets are a suggested donation of $35. Contributions will go toward Democratic candidates.

Talk set Aug. 16 at Woodson Ranch

Ruby Habitat Foundation, in cooperation with Wildlife Conservation Society's Community Partnerships program, will feature Erik Johnston and the Golden Eagle "Aquila" at the Woodson Ranch near Sheridan for a presentation Tuesday, Aug. 16.

The potluck dinner will start at 5:30 (we'll provide barbecue beef sandwiches and soft drinks). Feel free to bring a side dish, salad or dessert. Johnstons talk starts at 7 p.m.

The Woodson Ranch Visitor Center is 2 miles north of Laurin bridge on Ruby River Drive. Details: Dave at 406-660-2709.

Cribbage tourney results listed

DEER LODGE  Deer Lodge hosted the second annual American Cribbage Congress at the Deer Lodge Elks Lodge, this past weekend. More than 40 ACC members attended.

In Friday nights Early Bird Event, Sandy Sands of Helena took top honors, winning six of seven games. Sands teamed up with Bob Russ, of Helena, to win the doubles competition against 15 other teams.

At Saturdays main event, Scott Hudson from Apache Junction, Arizona was the high qualifier winning 16 games with seven skunks and 290 spread points, for a 39/16/290 card. Saturday evening 16 doubles teams went into battle with father and son duo Carl and Robert Vennis of Spokane, emerging on top.

Sunday morning the top 10 qualifiers from the main event competed in the playoffs. Joy Tuttle of Deer Lodge played seven-time Life Master DeLynn Colvert of Missoula in a best three out of five format. Tuttle won all but game five, which she lost by single digits. Meanwhile, the remaining 30 players competed in the consolation event with newcomer Leroy Mehring of Butte emerging victorious.

Pinwheel Pledge ceremony Aug. 17

The St. James Healthcare Foundation will hold its second annual Pinwheel Pledge ceremony from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, at the St. James Healthcare Cancer Center Courtyard.

To make your pinwheel pledge, stop by the St. James Healthcare Foundation at 425 W. Porphyry St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Friday, Aug. 11-12, or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16. Details: Kacie, 406-723-2828.
Political parties change over time, sometimes reversing roles, sometimes disappearing. Todays GOP has undergone many transformations since its birth in the 1850s as the successor to the Whig Party. The Republican Party was founded on and ultimately found its legitimacy as the abolitionist, anti-slavery party prior to and after the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, Americas 16th and arguably greatest President, was its voice and identity.

Today we wonder if the GOP is going to be Abraham Lincolns party or Donald Trumps.

In the years following Lincoln, because of the Republican commitment to ending slavery and reforming the south, and because of the vestiges of slavery/racism in Americas south, we saw a century in which the solid south was solidly Democratic. Republicans didnt stand a chance in the south, but their party led the rest of the nation in the progressive era, peaking in the period of Republican President Teddy Roosevelt.

As the Democratic Party sought to support in northern cities, it struggled for an identity not based on the Jim Crow racism of the south  often cloaked in the rhetoric of states rights. The crisis period that changed the Democratic Party came between 1948 and 1968. In the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Hubert Humphrey urged the Democratic Party to "get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights." Strom Thurmond Dixiecrats bolted the party. Yet, in the 1950s it was still a Republican President, Dwight Eisenhower, who sent the federal troops into Little Rock to enforce school desegregation.

Real change, the role reversal based on civil rights, began during the 1960 campaign when John F. Kennedy called up Coretta Scott King when she was fearful for Martin Luther Kings life when he was held in Georgia State Prison for probation violation. Then Vice-President Richard Nixon, the GOP presidential candidate, decided not to make that phone call. Following JFKs 1960 election, he tried to walk a line between southern and northern Democrats, but ultimately bent toward that sunshine of human rights. After Kennedys assassination, Lyndon Johnson, a southerner, became a profile in courage when he pushed through the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Racially-tinged southern Democratic opposition to that legislation and to the direction of the party led to a long-term loss of Democratic strength in the South.

Meanwhile the noble history of Lincolns GOP was radically altered in 1968 by politically reincarnated Richard Nixons electorally driven southern strategy which used racial code words, dog-whistles and states rights rhetoric to secure, long-term, the southern vote for Republicans (described in Kevin Phillips 1969 book The Emerging Southern Majority).

Its been awhile since the GOP was Lincolns party. A Republican Party identity crisis looms today, thanks to Donald Trump who has gone way beyond dog-whistle politics to outright appeals to racism and intolerance and who strikes out at all kinds of people and peoples.

In her book, Team of Rivals (The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln), historian Doris Kearns Goodwin notes Lincolns extraordinary array of personal qualities and that in the hands of a truly great politician (Lincoln) the qualities we generally associate with decency and morality   kindness, sensitivity, compassion, honesty, and empathy   can also be impressive political resources. She points out that under appalling pressures, Lincoln refused to be provoked by petty grievances, to submit to jealousy, or to brood over perceived slights.

Goodwins book, written in 2005, could not have anticipated the GOP ascendency of Donald Trump. Yet the very attributes Goodwin described as supreme assets for Lincoln represent potentially fatal flaws in Trump, who can be baited by a tweet to react in ways that are not just counter to his own good but also to the good of the country. Trumps instability and uncontrollable reactivity contrasts directly with Lincolns studied calmness in the face of the most strenuous assaults.

So, has the GOP just lost its way? Will it, following this election, find itself returning to being the party of Lincoln, or even the party of Nixon? Or will it find itself, in Trump victory or defeat, permanently changed, having lost its soul? And, if so, will good-hearted Republicans stay with such a party?

-- Evan Barrett of Butte recently retired from 47 years at the top level of Montana economic development, government, politics and education. He writes columns and commentaries, produces Montana history films and occasionally teaches.
State Rep. Pat Noonan, D-Butte, has been legislatively term-limited out and has turned his political ambitions to running for a highly paid position on the Montana Public Service Commission.

In an August 5 Standard guest column, he doesnt tell us how he would regulate transportation, or energy, or oversee telecommunications, water, and pipeline safety. Instead, he tells us of the dangers of having the Commission controlled by a single-minded narrow ideology, assuming, I guess, that we would then conclude that such a situation exists at the PSC.

I think many of us would look at the PSC and conclude they are doing a reasonable job in a rapidly changing energy environment. They certainly are not in lockstep ideologically. Commissioners did not unanimously approve NorthWesterns purchase of PPL Montanas hydroelectric dams. Also, the commission split on the allowance of power replacement costs for an electric plant outage, causing company shareholders to pick up additional costs -- not ratepayers.

Narrow ideology? You decide.

If Noonan is seriously concerned about diversity, he should support his Independent opponent Caron Cooper, of Livingston, a woman with energy experience here and abroad, and who holds doctorate degrees in economics and engineering. She is a Democrat, but chose to run as an Independent when Noonan announced his candidacy for the PSC. And she is not related to a NorthWestern lobbyist (Art Noonan, Patrick Noonan's uncle).

My real frustration with Noonans guest column, however, is his idea that aggrieved political candidates should abandon their rights to defend themselves because doing so could cause intimidation and threats and limit discourse among the body politic. He claims this a free speech issue.

Specifically, Noonan outrageously maligns Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte for frivolous and dangerous anti-free speech lawsuits.

What did Gianforte do?

His lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to Montana media to put right mischaracterizations in an attack ad by a PAC funded by the Democratic Governors Association. The letter said the ad contained false claims, such as Gianforte being a "millionaire from New Jersey" and that he "sued to eliminate a popular public access spot."

Fact: Gianforte is from California and grew up in Pennsylvania. He filed a quiet title complaint against the state seven years ago to clarify a property boundary. The issue was resolved out of court with Gianfortes property line determined and an adjacent fishing access boundary corrected and preserved. Accurate property records are good for protecting against unintended consequences.

A cease and desist letter is not a lawsuit, nor is it shouting down attempts at public discourse, nor is it frivolous, nor is it a free speech issue.

Lest we forget, free speech has its obligations.

In the 2014 Montana race for the U.S. Senate, the Montana Democratic Party Chairman Jim Elliott admitted two statements in a series of political mailers attacking Steve Daines were false and not correct. Elliot said he regretted any inconvenience this may have caused.

One statement claimed that employees at RightNow Technologies, where Daines, a vice president, worked and Gianforte was owner, were laid off in order to outsource Montana jobs to India. Democrats also claimed in the mailers that money from government contracts was used to ship jobs overseas.

Both statements were wrong, and Elliot apologized after Ganforte challenged the Montana Democratic Party, claiming the organization libeled Daines.

Left uncontested, Daines reputation and that of Gianfortes business would have been harmed. Did Gianforte exercise his personal rights correctly or did he inhibit free speech?

-- Mellda Freeman, a Butte resident, is a mother and grandmother, a Latin tutor and an education consultant.
Kimberly Bowman from the Flickinger Learning Center will be the speaker. Items on the agenda include Fruitland Fun Day activities including the schedule to man the bounce houses and booth, parade, and selling raffle tickets. Updates on Fun with Lions and the Summer Food Program at MCSA will be given, and the garage sale Sept. 17 will be discussed.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Former Muscatine High School swimmer Natalie Radtke finished the 20-mile Catalina Channel swim Wednesday morning in Palos Verdes, California in 10 hours, 15 minutes and 20 seconds.

The channel swim was also a fundraiser for the Leukeumia and Lymphoma Society. Individuals could donate through Radtke's fundraising page on Facebook or go to her page on Teamintraining.org. She raised $22,488 dollars for the LLS and said the amount will continue to rise as people honor their donation pledges.

The swim began at Doctors Cove.

As she was swimming, friends, family and supporters followed her on a live stream to see her progress. She also had updates on her Facebook group, Natalie Swims the Catalina Channel.

Almost 11 and a half miles into the swim, Radtke was hit with shoulder pain.

"My shoulder started hurting and I kind of went to a dark place for a bit," Radtke said. "That was, physically, the toughest part to overcome."

Radtke pushed through the pain and saw the challenge to the end.

When she arrived on the shore of Palos Verdes, she was "astounded, humbled and honored" as she saw all the supporters who came to see her finish the swim.

"I was overwhelmed," Radtke said. "I had an extraordinary sense of support with all the people that were there."

Radtke said she was met by supporters saying the swim was "awe inspiring" and "incredible."

"It's amazing," Radtke said. "I hope people are inspired to push themselves."
WAPELLO, Iowa A Louisa County man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to sex charges involving a minor.

Scott Duane Jordan, 37, Wapello, was originally charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, enticing a minor under the age of 16 for a sexual purpose, and dissemination and exhibition of obscene materials to minors, according to online court records.

Jordan pleaded guilty to attempting to entice a minor under the age of 16 and dissemination and exhibition of obscene materials to minors.

He has received a two-year suspended prison sentence, a $650 fine, and two years probation. He was also ordered to enroll in a sex offender program after pleading guilty to attempting to entice a minor under the age of 16, according to online court records.

Jordan was also sentenced to 365 days in jail with 335 days suspended, and a $315 fine for dissemination and exhibition of obscene materials to a minor.

His arrest was the culmination of a lengthy investigation involving the review of electronic records and witness interviews. Jordan knew the victim and the alleged crimes occurred through electronic communications, according to Louisa County Attorney Office.

Jordan will be required to register as a sex offender.
WAPELLO, Iowa  There may be a delay in the start of work on over $2 million of capital improvements in the Wapello School District, after the school board voted Wednesday to table action on accepting the low bid on the project.

Myers Construction, Sperry, beat out two other contractors when it submitted the apparent low bid during a special Aug. 3 school board meeting. At that special meeting, Jean Underwood and Chelsea King, architects for BLDD Architects, Davenport, told board members they would review the bid documents and present a recommendation at the boards Aug. 10 regular meeting.

King presented the recommendation, which was signed by Underwood, explaining the architects were recommending the board accept a modified bid from Myers Construction.

According to the architects recommendation, Myers originally bid $2,088,350 as its base bid. The company also included a $9,400 alternate bid to connect air controls, which the architects recommended the board accept.

King also pointed out that subcontractor, Odessa Mechanical Contracting, Wapello, had withdrawn its electrical bid for the work, meaning Myers needed to use its next lowest bidder for that work.

However, that would increase Myers base bid by $3,200, meaning the board would need to include that increase in any action to approve the bid, King said, adding even with the changes, Myers still had the low bid.

Board members quickly ran into several stumbling blocks over the bid recommendation, including roof specifications and subcontractor selections.

Board member Eric Smith said he was surprised to learn the roofing specifications called for material that would not be as energy efficient as other materials and suggested that should be changed.

After scanning a list of subcontractors provided by Myers, Smith also said he was concerned about using companies that might be too far away from the school, had previously not performed satisfactory work or would not provide material that would match well with previous work the school had completed.

I would like the roofing and flooring rebid, he told King.

I will have to double-check on that, King replied, explaining she needed to consult with Underwood by telephone.

After reaching Underwood, King said the school board would need to either accept the Myers bid or reject it.

Its a package deal, she said.

Board vice-president Matt Stewart, who conducted the meeting in the absence of board president Duane Boysen, said that was a concern.

If we cant do the things we want to do, then I dont want to accept the bid, he said.

King, however, said that would mean the entire project would need to be rebid, leading to additional costs and delays.

Superintendent Mike Peterson acknowledged the boards concerns, but said not accepting the bid would likely put off the start of construction until the end of September.

The board finally voted 3-1 to table action and request a representative from Myers Construction attend a special meeting to discuss the board members concerns. Board member Larry Miller voted against tabling, while Stewart, Smith and Doug Housman voted in favor.

The special meeting has been set for 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15 at the Central Administration Office.

In other action, the board:

Set a Sep. 16 public hearing to extend the schools Instructional Support Levy;

Turned down a give-away promotion request by a local business and directed Peterson to develop a policy proposal to handle such requests.
Important stuff you won't get from the liberal media! We do the surfing so you can be informed AND have a life!
Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi []
Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes []
If you like or share a Facebook post which contains questionable information, you can face legal action for engaging in the chain of publication.

An example is the recent case where the website African News Updates published a fake article titled Two arrested over 80,000 ballot papers already marked as ANC votes.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) slated the fake report, and highlighted that it is an offence to make intentionally false statements with the aim of disrupting or influencing an election.

The IEC opened a case with the SA Police Service to investigate the source of the false reports, and for referral for prosecution.

The article received around 20,000 Facebook likes, which raises the question: Is it a legal risk to share or like fake reports?

Verlie Oosthuizen, a social media law expert and partner at Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys, said there is a risk if a person engages in the chain of publication.

When a person likes or shares a comment, they are publishing that comment once again, especially in a Facebook and social media context, as it will appear on that persons newsfeed, said Oosthuizen.

In normal circumstances it may only result in defamation. However, in the election context, where there is specific legislation regarding comments about elections, votes, and political parties, there may be statutory liability, she said.

This means that anyone who shares or likes a dubious Facebook post could face legal action as part of the chain of publication.

Stolen ballot papers article definitely an offence

Nicholas Hall from Michalsons Law Firm said the article about the stolen ballot papers is definitely an offence in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act 27 of 2000.

It is an interesting question of whether a person who shares the article on social media would also be liable, and further if people just retweet or reshare or like it, said Hall.

Hall said in terms of our law of defamation, sharing, liking, or retweeting constitutes an act of publication  so he would argue that similar logic would apply here.

However, whether you could attribute intention to create hostility or fear to a person sharing on social media would be far more difficult to prove, said Hall.

He said it is unlikely that the IEC would pursue criminal action against the general public who share the article.

Regardless of the legal liability, Hall said the public needs to be more responsible in assessing the truth of an article that appears online before republishing it on social media.

Just being tagged in a post can land you in trouble

In 2013, the Pretoria High Court ruled that a person who was only tagged in a defamatory message was liable for defamation.

This person was found guilty as he knew he was tagged in the posts and allowed his name to be used.

Stuart Scott from Webber Wentzel Attorneys said that South African law does not require the defendant to be the originator of the defamatory content.

Merely repeating a defamatory statement made by another person may constitute defamation, said Scott.

On Facebook it follows that sharing a defamatory post would be sufficient to meet the publication requirement.

More on Facebook

Facebook to bypass ad blockers

Facebook fighting clickbait

Facebook attracts 1.71 billion monthly users
MIDDLETOWN -- The cause of last Septembers historic Valley Fire, the third-most destructive wildfire in Californias history, was a faulty electrical connection for a hot tub, Cal Fire announced Wednesday afternoon.

The connection arced and ignited surrounding dry grass on High Valley Road on Cobb Mountain, creating a wildfire that killed four people, burned 76,000 acres, destroyed 1,955 structures and cost nearly $57 million to extinguish, Cal Fire reported.

Cal Fire will be submitting its 500-page investigative report to Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson who will determine if any criminal or civil charges will be filed, officials said.

A full copy of the report is available at: calfire.ca.gov/fire_protection/fire_protection_firereports.

The Valley Fire caused $1.2 billion in damage and it was the largest of the three fires that hit Lake County last summer.

Besides the four fatalities, four firefighters were injured during the Valley Fire, which began Sept. 12 at 1:21 p.m. on Cobb Mountain when a vegetation fire was reported behind 8015 High Valley Road, Cobb Mountain.

The homeowner was John Pinch, Cal Fire said.

The circuit was not up to national standards, it was not buried 18 inches deep and it shared a trench with a water line, Cal Fire said.

An electrical engineer determined that the connection was loose in the wire nut and it arced and melted the copper wire. It took a temperature was 1,981 degrees to melt the wire, investigators said.

According to the CalFire press release, there were no other plausible causes for the fire.

Pinch's house was damaged, but did not burn down, Cal Fire said.

The blaze burned 76,000 acres, destroyed 1,955 structures, mostly single-family homes, and at the peak of the fire on Sept. 19, 4,400 firefighters from throughout the nation were fighting the blaze. Especially hard hit was the Anderson Springs neighborhood, where 197 homes were destroyed and only 17 survived.

Additionally, 20,000 people were evacuated, many to the Napa County Fairgrounds. Carlene Moore, CEO of the fairgrounds, estimated it cost the Fair Association some $57,000 in lost revenue to act as an emergency shelter.

The shelter was open for 14 days and served more than 20,000 hot meals to 1,000 evacuees. More than 500 volunteers worked 20,000 hours during those two weeks.
Former President Bill Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump are reportedly heading to Napa Valley at different times this month, not to take wine-tasting tours, but to drink in campaign fundraising cash.

But in the world of appearances by national political figures involved in fast-paced campaigns, news can be quick-moving, murky and hard to pin down.

The Clinton visit is to come first. Local Democratic leaders said theyve heard Clinton will be here on Friday to raise money for his wife, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But no one had a written invitation, with the news circulating by word-of-mouth.

Mary Jane Bowker, campaign events coordinator for Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said Thompson plans to attend. But she didnt know the time or location.

This just happened really quickly, Bowker said on Wednesday morning.

Assemblyman Bill Dodd, D-Napa, plans to attend, said John Moreno of Dodds office.

If the reported Friday date is true, Clinton will have a busy day. He is scheduled to speak at the Presidential Election Forum that begins at 2 p.m. at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Bowker and various local Democratic leaders said the Napa Valley visit involves Craig and Kathryn Hall of Hall Wines near St. Helena. Kathryn Hall was appointed ambassador to Austria by then-President Bill Clinton in 1997 and hosted a November 2015 fundraiser when Hillary Clinton came to the winery.

The Bill Clinton event will be smaller than the Hillary Clinton event last year, Bowker said. It will be closed to the press.

Emails from the Napa Valley Register to the Hillary Clinton campaign media office sent since Saturday requesting more information went unanswered as of Wednesday. The campaigns event calendar makes no mention of Bill Clinton stopping in Napa Valley or anywhere else on Friday.

Napa Valley is apparently in the sights of both presidential campaigns.

The Washington Post reported on Aug. 4 that Trump will hold fundraising events from Aug. 29-31 in Napa, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland. That report generated talk among local Republican leaders.

One question that arose  is Trump coming, or will he send his vice presidential nominee Mike Pence or a family member?

Gaylon Kastner is California Federation of Republican Women Northern Division 3rd vice president. She contacted someone in the Trump campaign and heard that Trump himself is coming, though she has yet to receive news of the time and location.

Ive had people calling me and asking me, Kastner said. Theres a lot of excitement.

Dee Cuney, president of the Upper Napa Valley Republican Women Federated, said she had yet to be notified about Trumps visit as of Wednesday morning.

They always give us information at the last second, Cuney said, adding that local Republicans in the late 1990s learned about a Jeb Bush visit one day before the event.

She believes Trump will come himself, as opposed to sending a representative.

We have some amazing Republicans in the Napa Valley, Cuney said. Theyve always hosted our Republican nominees and candidates and theyve done some amazing events for us.

Emails from the Napa Valley Register sent since Saturday to Trump campaign press secretary Hope Hicks went unanswered as of Wednesday.

David McCuan, a political science professor for Sonoma State University, said the reported Clinton and Trump events are examples of candidates hitting the California ATM for fundraising. Plus, theres the cachet of Napa Valley wine money.

The Clintons make regular fundraising stops in California, McCuan said. But, if Bill Clintons Napa Valley trip will apparently be done quietly, McCuan sees Trump as being in a different position.

Trump says he wants to put California into play as a possible state he can win. He doesnt need cash, he needs coverage, McCuan said.

In that sense, splash is important, McCuan said. Trump has got to parachute in, Atlantic City-style.

Napa Valley is no stranger to national political figures. Bill Clinton appeared at the Napa Valley Opera House Cafe in January 2008 in support of Hillary Clintons bid that year for the Democratic presidential nomination. In addition, Bill Clinton appeared at the Uptown Theatre in Napa in 2010 at a get-out-the-vote rally hosted by Thompson.

President George W. Bush spent the night at Meadowood Resort near St. Helena in April 2006 and went mountain biking in Angwin. Vice President Dick Cheney stopped Upvalley in March 2005.
CALISTOGA  A Calistoga employee who was bitten by a police dog received a public apology from Napa County Sheriff John Robertson at a City Council meeting.

Robertson also thanked the Calistoga community for their patience during the four-hour lockdown on July 12. During that event, law enforcement officers were combing the area looking for alleged robbers that John Beebe, the office manager of Optimal Health Center on Washington Street, was bitten by the police dog.

I do also want to apologize, one of our K-9s had an accidental bite. It wasnt the dogs fault, it was the handlers fault, and we are handling that through our claims system and we will make restitution as is needed, Robertson said. I wanted to apologize for that but accidents do happen.

Beebe, who declined to comment on the day of the incident, later said he was outside the office building taking a break, standing in the shade while police were searching for two suspects believed to be involved in an armored car heist in Windsor earlier that day.

A passer-by saw Beebe standing on the side of the building, and from that viewpoint it probably looked like he was hiding, Beebe acknowledged. The person alerted police.

Beebe was unaware of the lockdown status and was standing on the side of the building when the dog came around the building and bit him in his lower right leg.

After determining that Beebe was not a suspect, he said the officers apologized, and were later seen helping him to a chair while the dog was nearby.

Beebe is seeking medical cost reimbursements and said he filled out the necessary paperwork but was told it could take up to 45 days to process.

The suspects, Serge Gutsu, 24, of Antelope, and Ivan Morales, 23, of Lakeport, were arrested, but only after Gutsu allegedly fired shots at Calistoga Police Officer Luis Paniagua, who quickly reacted by striking Gutsu with his patrol car.

Gutsu was arrested at the scene, but Morales fled on foot and a four-hour search involving about 200 law enforcement officers ensued. Morales was discovered hiding in a culvert near where Gutsu was arrested and they had stopped their vehicle.

At the Aug. 2 City Council meeting, Robertson said Paniagua acted heroically and did a fine job.
Backers of a watershed and oak woodland protection initiative have lost their last chance to place the measure on the Nov. 8 ballot.

They turned to the courts after Napa County disqualified the measure on a technicality. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of California denied their latest legal effort to overturn the countys decision in time for election deadlines.

Initiative proponent Jim Wilson called the legal effort a hail Mary, given the time constraints. The deadline for the county Board of Supervisors to place measures on the Nov. 8 ballot is Friday.

Wilson said the appeals courts ruled ruled against their request for an emergency decision, but he doesnt believe they ruled on the merits of the case. That could allow proponents to still pursue an appeal of the Napa County Superior Court decision. If successful, they could qualify the measure for the 2018 ballot without further signature-gathering, he said.

Another option is to once again gather signatures for a 2018 measure. After Nov. 8, the next scheduled Napa County election is on June 5, 2018.

We will if we have to, Wilson said. We believe its important.

But what looked to be a Nov. 8 election showdown is over. Opposing the initiative as adding unnecessary complications and expenses to farming were Napa Valley Vintners, Napa County Farm Bureau, Napa Valley Grapegrowers and Winegrowers of Napa County.

The Water, Forest and Oak Woodland Protection Measure came amid controversies over removing forests in hills to make room for vineyards. It seeks to increase buffers near streams and limit how many oaks could be cleared from a hillside property.

Proponents Wilson and Michael Hackett said the measure would help protect watersheds and the water quality in local reservoirs. Wilson said the issue is one of health.

Hackett predicted Wednesday the issue of increased watershed protections will continue, even with the measure off the Nov. 8 ballot.

There is a very small segment of greedy people in the valley who want to have things their own way, Hackett said. There will be a rising up of vintners and citizens and politicians to support enhanced protections for the watershed. Theres no question about that.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Alfredo Pedroza said Thursday hes confident the county and the wine and farming sectors will have whatever discussions need to be had on watershed issues.

Napa County has tried to manage its resources and the challenges posed by its success, doing such things forming the Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee and addressing groundwater issues, Pedroza said. It has shown a commitment to the community that it does the right thing, he said.

The wine industry has done such things as help form the Napa Green environmental certification program for land and wineries. Multi-generational farmers are thinking about the next generation, Pedroza said.

We dont need an initiative hanging over our heads, Pedroza said. We have people who want to make sure the future of our community isnt worse, its better.

Wilson had a different view of the initiative.

The people want to have a say, he said. Theyre not going to have it this November, unfortunately.

Proponents of the initiative gathered 6,298 signatures on a petition, more than the 3,791 required to qualify a ballot measure. Registrar of Voters John Tuteur in June certified that enough of the signatures were from registered voters.

But a few days later, the county said that signature-gathers failed to include the full text of the proposed measure with the petition, as required by state law. The initiative refers to policies in an existing county oak woodland plan appendix and the county said the petition needed to include this language.

Napa County Superior Court Judge Diane Price on July 22 agreed with the county. Initiative proponents then turned to the California 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco and ultimately the California Supreme Court, but failed to win their point.

Napa Valley Vintners, Winegrowers of Napa County, Napa Valley Grapegrowers and Napa County Farm Bureau said in an April letter the proposed laws seek to change a system that already works.

There is no question that Napa County has already taken a forward-looking approach to environmental protection, the letter said.

Existing Napa County law for sensitive domestic water supply drainages requires maintaining a tree canopy of at least 60 percent of what exists. It requires replacing oaks at a 2-to-1 ratio. It requires stream setbacks of 35 feet to 150 feet, depending on slope.

The proposed initiative would require owners in agricultural watershed zoning areas wanting to clear oaks on properties of 5 acres or larger to, in most cases, submit oak removal plans to the county. They would have to retain at least 90 percent of the oak canopy on a parcel. They would replace trees that are removed at a 3-1 ratio.

Stream buffer zones would be increased. For the first time, a 35-foot buffer would be required for Class III streams that are impressions serving as the headwaters for larger streams feeding rivers and bays.

Five nonprofit groups wrote to the California Supreme Court urging it to allow the Napa County watershed measure to be on the Nov. 8 ballot. They are California Native Plant Society, California Wildlife Foundation, Forests Forever Inc., Forests Unlimited and Corporate Ethics International.
Horrors of horrors! The sky is falling! Is the Apocalypse upon us?

A Republican, Doris Gentry, is running for City Council. Good grief, if that happens the grand total of Republicans serving our fair city will be - one.

According to Sally Archambault ("Gentry was associated with tea party," Aug. 9), who starts out praising Doris' community service, that will not be a good thing. Why? Because Doris "admitted" she was a member of the tea party in 2010. The tea party! Which, according to Sally, seems to be a notch below the Nazi Party.

She then "supports" her liberal thoughts by listing "facts" about it. It's racist, she writes (false). It would trim some of the thousands of redundant government agencies.(true). What a terrible idea! It's anti-government and then she quotes a patriot slogan, "Don't tread on me," from our fight for freedom from an oppressive over taxing British government. Duh? What's so bad about that? It would lower taxes?

I realize that this town, county and state have been controlled by Democrats for decades and have brought us this far. One of the worst-performing school systems in the country. And yet billions of dollars are spent on education. High regulations, strangling small business. Crumbling infrastructure. PC gone wild. Taxation, some of the highest in the country.

And here in Napa, where economic segregation is entrenched. And a Republican is going to destroy all that? No! No! A thousand times No!

My wife has had dealings with Doris, and finds her to be a compassionate, caring, intelligent woman. A woman who is truly concerned about the people of this town. Why wouldn't anyone vote for her just because she has an R behind her name? Apparently Sally won't.

Damn the torpedos, I'm voting for Doris. She will be a breath of fresh air in the stifling, stagnant political atmosphere in our beloved Napa town. We Republicans need a voice. Come on people, give us at least one.

Kent Cohea

Napa
I am pleased and honored to recommend Jennifer Baker to you for the position as a board member for Napa Valley College.

We residents of St. Helena watched Jennifer Baker, as our library director, transform our beloved George & Elsie Wood public library into the No. 2 small library in America. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation honored her leadership with the prestigious national award in 2014.

Jennifer Baker exhibits a contagious enthusiasm for solving problems. She looks at all elements of a difficult situation and motivates her colleagues to take immediate action. As a member of the Board of Directors of Napa Valley College, we can rest assured that she will make things happen. That's what she does best.
Vietnam moves new rocket launchers into disputed South China Sea  sources

(NationalSecurity.news) [Reuters] Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking Chinas runways and military installations across the vital trade route, according to Western officials.

Diplomats and military officers told Reuters that intelligence shows Hanoi has shipped the launchers from the Vietnamese mainland into position on five bases in the Spratly islands in recent months, a move likely to raise tensions with Beijing.

The launchers have been hidden from aerial surveillance and they have yet to be armed, but could be made operational with rocket artillery rounds within two or three days, according to the three sources.

Vietnams Foreign Ministry said the information was inaccurate, without elaborating.

Deputy Defence Minister, Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Chi Vinh, told Reuters in Singapore in June that Hanoi had no such launchers or weapons ready in the Spratlys but reserved the right to take any such measures.

It is within our legitimate right to self-defense to move any of our weapons to any area at any time within our sovereign territory, he said.

The move is designed to counter Chinas build-up on its seven reclaimed islands in the Spratlys archipelago. Vietnams military strategists fear the building of runways, radars and other military installations on those holdings have left Vietnams southern and island defenses increasingly vulnerable.

Military analysts say it is the most significant defensive move Vietnam has made on its holdings in the South China Sea in decades.

Hanoi wanted to have the launchers in place as it expected tensions to rise in the wake of the landmark international court ruling against China in an arbitration case brought by the Philippines, foreign envoys said.

The ruling last month, stridently rejected by Beijing, found no legal basis to Chinas sweeping historic claims to much of the South China Sea.

Vietnam, China and Taiwan claim all of the Spratlys while the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim some of the area.

China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands and nearby waters, Chinas Foreign Ministry said in a faxed statement on Wednesday. China resolutely opposes the relevant country illegally occupying parts of Chinas Spratly islands and reefs and on these illegally occupied Spratly islands and reefs belonging to China carrying out illegal construction and military deployments.

The United States is also monitoring developments closely.

We continue to call on all South China Sea claimants to avoid actions that raise tensions, take practical steps to build confidence, and intensify efforts to find peaceful, diplomatic solutions to disputes, a State Department official said.

STATE-OF-THE-ART SYSTEM

Foreign officials and military analysts believe the launchers form part of Vietnams state-of-art EXTRA rocket artillery system recently acquired from Israel.

EXTRA rounds are highly accurate up to a range of 150 km (93 miles), with different 150 kg (330 lb) warheads that can carry high explosives or bomblets to attack multiple targets simultaneously. Operated with targeting drones, they could strike both ships and land targets.

That puts Chinas 3,000-metre runways and installations on Subi, Fiery Cross and Mischief Reef within range of many of Vietnams tightly clustered holdings on 21 islands and reefs.

While Vietnam has larger and longer range Russian coastal defense missiles, the EXTRA is considered highly mobile and effective against amphibious landings. It uses compact radars, so does not require a large operational footprint  also suitable for deployment on islets and reefs.

When Vietnam acquired the EXTRA system, it was always thought that it would be deployed on the Spratlysit is the perfect weapon for that, said Siemon Wezeman, a senior arms researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

There is no sign the launchers have been recently test fired or moved.

China took its first Spratlys possessions after a sea battle against Vietnams then weak navy in 1988. After the battle, Vietnam said 64 soldiers with little protection were killed as they tried to protect a flag on South Johnson reef  an incident still acutely felt in Hanoi.

In recent years, Vietnam has significantly improved its naval capabilities as part of a broader military modernization, including buying six advanced Kilo submarines from Russia.

Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnams military at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said the deployment showed the seriousness of Vietnams determination to militarily deter China as far as possible.

Chinas runways and military installations in the Spratlys are a direct challenge to Vietnam, particularly in their southern waters and skies, and they are showing they are prepared to respond to that threat, he said. China is unlikely to see this as purely defensive, and it could mark a new stage of militarization of the Spratlys.

Trevor Hollingsbee, a former naval intelligence analyst with the British defense ministry, said he believed the deployment also had a political factor, partly undermining the fear created by the prospect of large Chinese bases deep in maritime Southeast Asia.

It introduces a potential vulnerability where they was none before  it is a sudden new complication in an arena that China was dominating, he said.

(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington, Michael Martina in Beijing and Martin Petty in Hanoi.; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

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NationalSecurity.news is part of USA Features Media.
Experts: Clintons emails likely to chill gathering of intelligence by U.S. spy agencies

(NationalSecurity.news) The effects of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons emails, if they were indeed hacked as now appears likely, will have far-reaching ill effects on U.S. intelligence-gathering efforts, according to experts.

As reported by the Washington Examiner, emails discussing the case of an Iranian nuclear scientist who was allegedly working with the United States and who was recently executed by Iranian officials for treason lead many to believe that it will be difficult for the intelligence community to gain the trust of sources in the future.

The scientist, Shahram Amiri, was believed to have provided U.S. intelligence information about Irans progressing nuclear weapons program. He entered the Pakistan embassy in Washington in 2010, declaring that he wanted to return home to Iran.

Amiri appears two times in Clintons emails, which had been sent over personal, unclassified and under-protected email servers she used while serving as secretary of state, though he was never referenced by name, the Washington Examiner noted:

The first on July 5, 2010, states that our friend needs to be given a way to leave the U.S. The second, a week later, says that the gentleman was still trying to get home and could lead to problematic news stories.

Amiris relationship had been reported publicly before the release of the emails. A 2010 New York Times story quoted U.S. officials who said Amiri was paid $5 million for giving information about the countrys nuclear program to the CIA.

That said, Matthew McInnis, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told the news site that he believes the revelation will have at least some impact on the U.S. intelligence communitys ability to recruit HUMINT  sources to provide human intelligence, which can be extremely valuable but hard to get. McInnis said that it is already tough and risky to develop such sources because electronic communications are increasingly vulnerable.

I think if people know that senior U.S. officials are frequently talking about certain sensitive issues like this in unclassified emails, I think that would send a signal of how risky it is, he told the news site.

Elizabeth Trudeau, a State Department spokeswoman, did not directly answer questions Monday about whether the emails discussing Amiri played a role in his execution at the hands of the Iranian judiciary.

Were not going to comment on what may have led to this event, Trudeau said.

Often, high-ranking U.S. officials must respond to intelligence immediately, forcing them to use less-than-secure communications where they sort of talk around issues without mentioning details and names. And though Clinton may have done that in her emails, the fact that she went to such lengths to hide her communications by using private servers was way beyond the norm, McInnis said.

Obviously, how Secretary Clinton was using and securing her emails, as we all know, was really inappropriate and quite dangerous. But I think almost anyone in the government recognizes theres a certain level of this challenge to be able to do your job, he said.

Failure to adequately safeguard current information makes it less likely that U.S. personnel or allies will put themselves at risk when U.S. leaders fail to safeguard potentially life threatening information, he added.

Other experts have noted that most U.S. intelligence today comes from the National Security Agency and allies, not human sources. But they say when sources can be cultivated, they can have a major impact on intelligence operations.

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NationalSecurity.news is part of USA Features Media.
June Carbone

Robina Chair in Law, Science and Technology, U. Minn. Law School

August 10, 2016 Bloomington, MN

I like Hillary. Would I like to have a mimosa with her? Wrong question. I suspect that that neither she nor I have much interest in partying during the mimosa part of the day. Indeed, I suspect that no woman who meets the mimosa test would run for President or be elected if she did. Instead, for me, a detail oriented policy wonk, the more relevant question is whether I would find a discussion of political strategy to be exhilarating. And in spite of the fact that I have supported Hillary for the last thirty years (since I was thrilled to discover that someone who had worked for the Childrens Defense Fund was running for Yale Alumni Trustee) and went out of my way to stick up for her over Bernie Sanders in the Minnesota caucuses, I still have no idea whether she sees the issues  the defining issues of our day  in the same terms that I do.

My doubts come from the way we are alike  the very reasons why I identify with her. Shes a few years older than I am, but we went to the same law school and were shaped by the same movements that opened to the door to professional women. Coming of age in that world and striving as a lawyer meant becoming a realist. The exciting ideas of the eighties and nineties proposed to reinvent government, free corporate decision-making from hidebound bureaucratic committees, and seize the center  which ushered in an era of technological change and globalization. In that age, it was hard not to resent the left  the self-destructive left that still seems stuck in the sixties, cheered Ralph Nader in 2000 (allowing the election of George W. Bush), and more recently shouted down Leon Panettas anti-Trump message at the Democratic National Convention. It was also hard not to admire (even without being First Lady) Bill Clintons political success at triangulation as he outflanked Republicans from the right, Obamas success in advancing universal health care through the adoption of Romneycare (even while the experts recognized that Hillarys proposals were better), and the embrace of free market oriented cap and trade policies as a principal approach of those who would fight climate change. Hard-headed realists of the eighties and nineties became admirers of neo-liberal policies such as free trade even as they remained loyal to the causes of racial and gender justice.

But this is a different era. For hard-headed realists, the central issue of the day is whether Hillary can translate progressive policies, which she appears to support, into a narrative that creates a new political identity. Creating that narrative requires tying together three pieces.

The first is the dysfunction of todays business elite. With the rise of industrialization in the nineteenth century, a new capitalist class, freed from the restraints of a well-ordered society, took the world to the brink of destruction through two world wars and the Great Depression. Industrial capitalism was finally made to work for society as a whole with the New Deal in the United States and post-war European reconstruction. Today, the rise of a new economic order, which has ushered in globalization and the information age, has destabilized the institutions of mature capitalism and, yet, no new order has arisen to manage the changes. Instead, a resurgent capitalist class appears to be locked into a series of destructive practices.

These practices, which brought us the financial crisis, combine free market ideology that blocks meaningful reforms with a corporate elite mired in short-termism. Corporate executives today earn their billions by focusing on quarterly earnings (threatened by activities shareholder who will dislodge them if they do not.). As a result, they cook the books. The same type of economists who celebrated the efficiencies of corporate takeovers in the eighties now write doctoral dissertations on how the emphasis on stock options encourages dishonesty in the executive suites. These same executives, who like Mitt Romney squirrel away their earning in the Cayman Islands, shortchange the future. While corporate earnings are up, corporate investments in research, machinery, and human capital are down. Workers, once considered the backbone of industry, have become liabilities; the easier way to boost immediate earnings is to reduce workforces, training programs, and pension plans. CEOs who once, like Mitt Romneys father, thought that the health of their companies constituted the mark of their executive success now like Donald Trump view the size of their individual bank accounts as the more important measure. These changes do not just create greater inequality, although they do exactly that. And they do not just rig the system against those outside of the elite, although they also do that. These changes also imperil the global economy and the American place within it. They are guaranteed to produce:

Recurrent, intensifying financial crises. New Deal regulations eliminated for fifty years what Herbert Hoover viewed as inevitable bubbles and busts. Financial crises  the Savings and Loan debacle of the eighties, the turn of the century dot.com bust, and the much more severe Great Recession  are back. And Dodd-Frank reforms notwithstanding, nothing has been done to prevent the next crisis.

The dismantling of the feedback loops that reinvest profits in mechanisms that improve Both public and private investment in basic research have been scaled back. The most recent financial forecasts have been revised downward because companies are continuing to sit on boatloads of cash that should be invested in new plants and machinery. And public and private investments in human capital are down, as states cut funding for public universities and companies fail to invest in workers. Free market publications like The Economist routinely decry the plateauing of productivity increases, which are likely to further slow growth, yet it is hard to imagine further increases in productivity without greater investment.

The destruction of the link between corporate profits and consumer spending. Companies that share prosperity with their workers create the conditions that spur consumer confidence, increasing demand. Henry Ford got that if his employees could afford to buy his cars, his company was likely to be more prosperous. Today, executive insistence on using companies to extract profits means that workers do not share in capitalist successes, weakening demand for the next generation of products. Globalization has forestalled the day of reckoning, as companies move their products to the hot markets of the day, but a global stall is on the horizon.

Elizabeth Warren  and Donald Trump  capture the sense that something is wrong with this picture when they say that the system is rigged. Hillary has endorsed a progressive agenda  taxing the rich, investing in infrastructure, raising the minimum wage, making college more affordable, profit sharing with employees  that is mostly right. Yet, its not clear whether she can construct a narrative that links the problems that threaten the American working class to issues that threaten the American economy as a whole. That narrative requires tying together todays information economy with the need to recreate public solutions that rechannel the benefits of that economy into sustainable progress for everyone.

The second issue is the terms of Americas global engagement. A central reason for the problems with todays business class is the fact that the elite can evade national norms and regulations through the creation of a global race to the bottom. The Trans-Pacific Partnership becomes a problem not because foreign trade is inappropriate in itself, but because it is a symbol of a stacked system that allows corporate interests to evade accountability to anyone, undermining confidence in global institutions. Trump would respond by making America first, at a time when the crying need is the creation of reinvigorated international institutions. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the worlds only superpower. The predictable response would be to expect rest of the world to unite against us. The smart move in that context would be for the United States to lower its profile and to try to create international institutions that promote our values. George W. Bush squandered that opportunity in Iraq, wasting American resources and good will on an ill-conceived war while allowing a power vacuum to develop elsewhere. In that vacuum three long term threats to U.S. interests and to global stability have increased: the rise of China, which if it remains strong will continue to expand its economic influence on ill-liberal terms and if it falters could depress the global economy, the creation of failed states such as Somalia and Syria that create terrorist safe havens, and the weakening of international institutions such as the EU that were once thought to promote shared prosperity. In this this rapidly changing international environment, economic issues may be as important as security concerns and a bi-partisan foreign policy establishment with a clear-eyed view of American global interests no longer exists. In its place are the neo-cons who see American dominance displays as ends in themselves and activists who understandably cheer any way to dislodge tyrants like Saddam, Qaddafi and Assad. Obama, whose clearest objective was to avoid doing stupid stuff, understood the need to avoid being sucked into foreign conflicts, but his most promising initiatives involved efforts to bring regimes like those in Iran and Cuba back into a moderating system of international exchange. Only a global response offers hope of a long term solution. Where in the midst of this chaos is Hillarys vision?

I have more optimism that Hillary fully gets the third piece  the need for a political realignment in the United States and the defeat of what she termed the vast right wing conspiracy that has plagued her for her entire public career. I have less confidence that she understands how to create the narrative necessary to do so. The Reagan coalition took hold in part by making the very idea of tax and spend delegitimizing words, and associating government spending with resentment against minorities. The GOPs most sacred ideological commitment remains to preventing governments generally and Democratic governments, in particular, from doing much of anything and certainly from not getting credit for what they do effectively. Yet, Democrats, while railing against attacks on the middle class, have never effectively made the case stick that conservative opposition to government is responsible for the economic misfortunes of Trump supporters. Countering Republican ideology requires inoculating the public. The Democratic response needs to be that when you hear a politician promise to cut taxes, what he is trying to do is to make it easier for CEOs to bank the proceeds from their companies in the Cayman Islands. When conservatives talk about cutting spending, they want to insulate fat cats from paying their fair share for roads and schools. When they stoke resentments of disfavored groups, they are announcing that they have no moral principles and will sell out their own voters the moment they take power. The voters do get this when they are given the chance. After all, the very conservative voters from rural Kansas just voted out their tea party Congressman in large part because of his failure to promote the farm subsidies that benefit them. Yet, Obama has never effectively made the case to the public that his stimulus program rescued the country from another Great Depression and the recovery did not filter down to the rank and file in large part because the Republicans blocked the measures most likely to help the working class (as opposed to bailouts for the banks) and when they regained the House in 2010 the first thing they did was to end programs that were succeeding. While Hillary gets most of this right, she still pays lip service to the importance of balancing the federal budget. In fact, as Paul Krugman points out at least once a weak that conviction is in the same league with denying the reality that humans are causing climate change. Democrats once embraced the notion that a principal purpose of monetary and fiscal policy ought to be a full employment economy and that infrastructure spending and, yes, deficits, are necessary to that end.

Donald Trump has gotten as far as he had because he has tapped into the widespread conviction that things are not working well for many people, and that mainstream politicians have helped rig the system against the little guy. The amazing thing about his success is that he done so without recognition that many of the policies he advocates would make things worse. He is able to get away with this because of the lack of a coherent counter narrative. To create a new political realignment requires distilling complex, long term shifts into explanations that average people can understand and a political identity that corresponds to determination to bring about real change. Hillary, after all, has been attacked for her entire career by the forces that also imperil the working class. Democrats need to be able to explain how a progressive agenda is common sense one and that the Republican opposition to government is opposition to policies that work. The agenda for the next generation is the construction of a new political agenda that genuinely reinvents government as the agent of a more flexible citizenry able to share in the profits of a global information economy
Italian prime minister demands that she be addressed as prime minister in masculine form

Pentagon to send Ukraine new aid package worth $275 million

Europe will ban sale of one type of car

European Commission head announces new aid and investments for Serbia

Biden calls Putin's rhetoric on nuclear weapons 'dangerous'

Lukashenko on Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict: What are you fighting for in these mountains, where not even goats walk?

Swedish authorities offer to create united northern army

Lukashenko: Conflict issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be resolved now - with Ilham Aliyev

Lukashenko about situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border: Where are we racing horses, where are we rushing to?

Pashinyan: Armenia-Diaspora relations undergo profound substantive changes

Lukashenko to Pashinyan: Sit down with Aliyev and make a decision, if you don't make it today, it will be worse

Bulgarian interim government urges to speed up transition to euro zone

President of Karabakh: It is necessary to unite all national potential and efforts

IMF: China's sharp and uncharacteristic economic slowdown will stall growth in Asia by the end of 2023

Iran: Riots in country were planned by the intelligence services of the USA, England, Israel and the KSA

Steinmeier: Ukraine war caused 'epochal break' in Germany's relations with Russia

Gas prices in Europe remain high in coming years

Ararat Mirzoyan and Toivo Klaar stress importance of hosting EU civilian mission in Armenia

Armenia's ambassador-at-large: Daily false propaganda can't cover up Azerbaijani war crimes

Taiwan MFA outraged by Putin's speech on his status and Pelosi's visit

Armenia gives no response to peace treaty proposals, Bayramov says

Netanyahu expects return to power after 5th Israeli election in 4 years

Armenian gravestone found in Trabzon, Turkey neighborhood

Pashinyan: CSTO Secretary General's report mainly reflects existing realities

Azerbaijan talks possible deliveries of its gas to international Turkish hub

CSTO leaders to meet in late November: Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border will be discussed

Dollar, euro continue falling in Armenia

Pelosi's house attacked, her husband injured

Russias Putin to have private talks with Armenias Pashinyan, Azerbaijans Aliyev

Mher Grigoryan: CIS needs a new scientific and technical agreement

Pentagon strategy doesn't rule out use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear threats

French National Assembly plans to pass resolution proposing certain sanctions against Azerbaijan

Mher Grigoryan: There are no other corridors in the trilateral statement other than Lachin's

Konstantin Zatulin: Russia should have made maximum efforts so that there would be no war in Karabakh

The Hill: The American people deserve to know how the war in Ukraine will end

Sochi to host trilateral talks of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on October 31

Poland receives first Turkish drones

Hungarian government may extend price limits on fuel and some basic foodstuffs

Armenias Simonyan attends meeting of heads of EEU countries parliaments

Polish general appointed as head of EU mission to train Ukrainian troops

Russia MP: Karabakh status decision is in fact its Armenians safety guarantee

Zatulin: West seeks to push Russia out of negotiation process at any cost

Legislature head proposes to organize, under CIS auspices, return of Armenians detained in Azerbaijan

Iran prevents bomb explosion in Shiraz crowded street

Iraqi parliament expresses vote of confidence in new cabinet

France lawmakers visit Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

Putin: Moscow is doing everything possible to normalize relations between Yerevan and Baku

Annual shopping festival kicks off in Dubai on December 15

Lazarevsky Club: Minute of silence held in memory of fallen Russian and Armenian soldiers

Bayramov and US Assistant Secretary of State discuss Yerevan-Baku relations

Expansion of cooperation with Interpol is important, Armenia PM says

Armenia defense minister briefs Austria envoy on situation due to recent Azerbaijan military aggression (PHOTOS)

Australia can't rule out energy price caps

Armenia parliament speaker: Use, threat of force undermine processes aimed at establishing peace

Garo Paylan is in Yerevan

Barack Obama tries to help Democrats win midterm elections

Azerbaijan president, Russia first deputy PM discuss North-South transport corridor project

PM Pashinyan receives France-Armenia friendship group delegation from French parliament

Taiwan urges China to start talking

Armen Grigoryan and Toivo Klaar discuss Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiation process

Matviyenko: Russia will continue mediation for signing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty

Politico: Scholz and Macron threaten U.S. trade retaliation

CIS premiers sign several agreements at Kazakhstan meeting

Konstantin Zatulin: Nagorno-Karabakh peoples right to self-determination must be respected

Armenia legislature head: Policy of threats, coercion is unacceptable to us

U.S. must strengthen its defense against growing threats from both China, Russia

Karabakh ex-President: Necessary to rule out mistakes, miscalculations which will have irreversible consequences

EU reaches agreement to ban new cars with internal combustion engine by 2035

Benny Gantz: Future of Israel and Turkey is promising

EU Special Representative for South Caucasus arrives in Armenia

Lazarevsky Club meeting underway in Yerevan, Moscow

Yellen sees no sign of recession in U.S. economy in near future

Cannes palm trees promenade named after Charles Aznavour

Pashinyan: Armenia agrees to work on basis of main principles proposed by Russia

CIS prime ministers meeting kicks off in Kazakhstan

Newspaper: Karabakh people to make appeal to Armenia authorities

Viking swords embedded in mound 1,200 years ago discovered in Sweden

Residents of Moldova asked not to go out into street in dark

Bloomberg reports fuel shortages in some parts of Europe

British schoolboy writes book that became bestseller
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that there was an agreement with Russia on equal financing for the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, TASS reported quoting HaberTurk TV channel.

According to him, the Russian side was informed that there were no problems with Turkish Stream.

The Turkish leader said they had proposed splitting the investment in half for financing the project on the Turkish territory. He reminded that gas will go through a bottom of the Black Sea. As for the rest agreement concerning its financing at the rate of 50 to 50 is achieved by them.

Following the results of negotiations of Erdogan and the Russian president Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on August 9 it was decided to resume work on the Turkish Stream. The decision on creation of a working group and study of a road map is made.

It was planned that the sea section of the Turkish Stream will consist of four 15.75 billion cubic meters threads each. The gas pipeline must pass 660 km in an old corridor of South Stream and 250 km in a new corridor in the direction of the European part of Turkey.
Italian prime minister demands that she be addressed as prime minister in masculine form

Pentagon to send Ukraine new aid package worth $275 million

Europe will ban sale of one type of car

European Commission head announces new aid and investments for Serbia

Biden calls Putin's rhetoric on nuclear weapons 'dangerous'

Lukashenko on Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict: What are you fighting for in these mountains, where not even goats walk?

Swedish authorities offer to create united northern army

Lukashenko: Conflict issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be resolved now - with Ilham Aliyev

Lukashenko about situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border: Where are we racing horses, where are we rushing to?

Pashinyan: Armenia-Diaspora relations undergo profound substantive changes

Lukashenko to Pashinyan: Sit down with Aliyev and make a decision, if you don't make it today, it will be worse

Bulgarian interim government urges to speed up transition to euro zone

President of Karabakh: It is necessary to unite all national potential and efforts

IMF: China's sharp and uncharacteristic economic slowdown will stall growth in Asia by the end of 2023

Iran: Riots in country were planned by the intelligence services of the USA, England, Israel and the KSA

Steinmeier: Ukraine war caused 'epochal break' in Germany's relations with Russia

Gas prices in Europe remain high in coming years

Ararat Mirzoyan and Toivo Klaar stress importance of hosting EU civilian mission in Armenia

Armenia's ambassador-at-large: Daily false propaganda can't cover up Azerbaijani war crimes

Taiwan MFA outraged by Putin's speech on his status and Pelosi's visit

Armenia gives no response to peace treaty proposals, Bayramov says

Netanyahu expects return to power after 5th Israeli election in 4 years

Armenian gravestone found in Trabzon, Turkey neighborhood

Pashinyan: CSTO Secretary General's report mainly reflects existing realities

Azerbaijan talks possible deliveries of its gas to international Turkish hub

CSTO leaders to meet in late November: Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border will be discussed

Dollar, euro continue falling in Armenia

Pelosi's house attacked, her husband injured

Russias Putin to have private talks with Armenias Pashinyan, Azerbaijans Aliyev

Mher Grigoryan: CIS needs a new scientific and technical agreement

Pentagon strategy doesn't rule out use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear threats

French National Assembly plans to pass resolution proposing certain sanctions against Azerbaijan

Mher Grigoryan: There are no other corridors in the trilateral statement other than Lachin's

Konstantin Zatulin: Russia should have made maximum efforts so that there would be no war in Karabakh

The Hill: The American people deserve to know how the war in Ukraine will end

Sochi to host trilateral talks of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on October 31

Poland receives first Turkish drones

Hungarian government may extend price limits on fuel and some basic foodstuffs

Armenias Simonyan attends meeting of heads of EEU countries parliaments

Polish general appointed as head of EU mission to train Ukrainian troops

Russia MP: Karabakh status decision is in fact its Armenians safety guarantee

Zatulin: West seeks to push Russia out of negotiation process at any cost

Legislature head proposes to organize, under CIS auspices, return of Armenians detained in Azerbaijan

Iran prevents bomb explosion in Shiraz crowded street

Iraqi parliament expresses vote of confidence in new cabinet

France lawmakers visit Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan

Putin: Moscow is doing everything possible to normalize relations between Yerevan and Baku

Annual shopping festival kicks off in Dubai on December 15

Lazarevsky Club: Minute of silence held in memory of fallen Russian and Armenian soldiers

Bayramov and US Assistant Secretary of State discuss Yerevan-Baku relations

Expansion of cooperation with Interpol is important, Armenia PM says

Armenia defense minister briefs Austria envoy on situation due to recent Azerbaijan military aggression (PHOTOS)

Australia can't rule out energy price caps

Armenia parliament speaker: Use, threat of force undermine processes aimed at establishing peace

Garo Paylan is in Yerevan

Barack Obama tries to help Democrats win midterm elections

Azerbaijan president, Russia first deputy PM discuss North-South transport corridor project

PM Pashinyan receives France-Armenia friendship group delegation from French parliament

Taiwan urges China to start talking

Armen Grigoryan and Toivo Klaar discuss Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiation process

Matviyenko: Russia will continue mediation for signing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty

Politico: Scholz and Macron threaten U.S. trade retaliation

CIS premiers sign several agreements at Kazakhstan meeting

Konstantin Zatulin: Nagorno-Karabakh peoples right to self-determination must be respected

Armenia legislature head: Policy of threats, coercion is unacceptable to us

U.S. must strengthen its defense against growing threats from both China, Russia

Karabakh ex-President: Necessary to rule out mistakes, miscalculations which will have irreversible consequences

EU reaches agreement to ban new cars with internal combustion engine by 2035

Benny Gantz: Future of Israel and Turkey is promising

EU Special Representative for South Caucasus arrives in Armenia

Lazarevsky Club meeting underway in Yerevan, Moscow

Yellen sees no sign of recession in U.S. economy in near future

Cannes palm trees promenade named after Charles Aznavour

Pashinyan: Armenia agrees to work on basis of main principles proposed by Russia

CIS prime ministers meeting kicks off in Kazakhstan

Newspaper: Karabakh people to make appeal to Armenia authorities

Viking swords embedded in mound 1,200 years ago discovered in Sweden

Residents of Moldova asked not to go out into street in dark

Bloomberg reports fuel shortages in some parts of Europe

British schoolboy writes book that became bestseller

Lebanon, Israel sign deal on maritime border demarcation

Spanish prime minister twice mistakes Kenya for Senegal during his speech

Peskov: CSTO meeting to be held before Armenia-Azerbaijan-Russia summit

Putin says he is ready to negotiate with Ukraine

Putin compares Indian Prime Minister Modi to icebreaker

Putin warns Seoul about risk of ruining relations with Russia by supplying weapons to Ukraine

Interpol Secretary General visits Armenia

Putin: Russia will not abandon the historical legacy of the USSR and the Russian Tsarist Empire

Putin sees no point in nuclear strike on Ukraine

Olaf Scholz says solution can be found to curb speculative spikes in gas prices

Putin calls Russians and Ukrainians one people who find themselves in different states

Putin: We proposed Armenia give 5 districts

Putin: Washington version provides for recognition of Azerbaijan's sovereignty over whole Karabakh

Putin calls Erdogan consistent and reliable partner, although not easy one

Italy plans to double national gas production to 6 billion cubic meters a year

Putin: The West, as a minority, has no right to impose values on the world

Putin: As long as nuclear weapons exist, there is always a danger of their use

Putin outraged by US assassination of General Soleimani: What is this all about?

FM Abdollahian: Iran will not allow its interests to become plaything of terrorists

Mirzoyan and Lavrov discuss preparations for CSTO Collective Security Council
YEREVAN.  During the meeting with the Russian president in Moscow Armenian President sent a direct message that Karabakh issue cannot be resolved without participation of Stepanakert, Vice-Speaker of the Armenian parliament Eduard Sharmazanov told reporters on Thursday.

According to him, Serzh Sargsyan delivered a number of important messages in Moscow. Message number one - Azerbaijan distorts the essence of the Karabakh issue. The heart of the problem is not elimination of consequences- the issues of refugees and other issues, but the task number one is a full realization of the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh for self-determination. That is, if we want to change the status quo, if we want lasting peace and stability in the region, then all parties, first and foremost, Azerbaijan, as well as the mediator countries, should realize that the Nagorno-Karabakh people should determine their own fate, there is no other option, Sharmazanov emphasized.

He added that, unlike the president of Azerbaijan who said one thing at the negotiation table and another thing in Baku, Armenia President expressed the same thoughts in Yerevan and in Moscow: the referendum should be held and Karabakh cannot be a part of Azerbaijan.

In 1988, our people took to the streets for the sake of a fair fight. And Armenia's President showed in Moscow that the authorities will do everything possible to win in Karabakh fair fight, Eduard Sharmazanov noted.

The second message of the Armenian President, in his opinion, was also directed to the President of Azerbaijan as the latter distorted the essence of the talks after the meeting in St. Petersburg, and forgot that trust mechanisms should be established.

"The president noted that the agreements reached in St. Petersburg and Vienna must be implemented. He emphasized that the Ceasefire Agreement of 1994 was tripartite. If we take the truce agreement as a basis, the number one matter is a format of the agreement which is broken today. That is, if we speak about the truce, then should remember that the truce was concluded by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh", the Vice Speaker emphasized.

He also added that with readiness to execute all reached agreements, Armenian side also recorded that Armenia is reliable partner for the international community.
22:56

Scientists are preparing to unveil a new planet in our galactic neighbourhood which is "believed to be Earth-like" and orbits its star at a distance that could favour life, German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

The exoplanet orbits a well-investigated star called Proxima Centauri, part of the Alpha Centauri star system, the magazine said, quoting anonymous sources.

"The still nameless planet is believed to be Earth-like and orbits at a distance to Proxima Centauri that could allow it to have liquid water on its surface, an important requirement for the emergence of life," said the magazine.

"Never before have scientists discovered a second Earth that is so close by," it said, adding that the European Southern Observatory will announce the finding at the end of August.

The report gave no further details.

NASA has announced the discovery of new planets in the past, but most of those worlds were either too hot or too cold to host water in liquid form, or were made of gas, like our Jupiter and Neptune, rather than of rock, like Earth or Mars.

Last year, the US space agency unveiled an exoplanet that it described as Earth's "closest-twin".

Named Kepler 452b, the planet is about 60 percent larger than Earth and could have active volcanoes, oceans, sunshine like ours, twice as much gravity and a year that lasts 385 days.

But at a distance of 1,400 light-years away, humankind has little hope of reaching this Earth-twin any time soon.

In comparison, the exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, if confirmed, is just 4.24 light-years away.

This is a mere stepping stone in relation to the scale of the Universe but still too far away for humans to reach in present-generation chemical rockets.

According to NASA's Godard Space Center's website, it lies 39,900,000,000,000 kilometres away, or 271,000 times the distance of Earth to the Sun.

Proxima Centauri, discovered in 1915, is one of three stars in the Alpha Centauri system, a constellation mainly visible from the southern hemisphere.
Stream Discovery Program is focus of workshop

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A September workshop at Southern Illinois University Carbondales Touch of Nature Environmental Center offers area teachers, educators and others who work with children in grades 5-12 a chance to learn about the Stream Discovery Program, a unique environmental education project.

The Stream Discovery Training Workshop is Sept. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Touch of Natures Indian Building. Touch of Nature is located about eight miles south of Carbondale on Giant City Road.

The stream program was developed by the National Great Rivers and Education Center in Godfrey and those attending the workshop will learn about the program, its methods and resources. They will discuss macroinvertebrate biology, ecology and aquatic identification before they go to a nearby stream to take field samples for analysis. They are advised to wear appropriate clothing and footwear for wading in a local stream.

The Stream Discovery Program is a stream monitoring program that enables students to assess water quality in their communities by a variety of methods, including checking the water chemistry and sampling aquatic macroinvertebrates such as mayfly and dragonfly nymphs, dobsonfly larva and snails. Water quality data gathered by youths involved in the program is then uploaded to National Geographics FieldScope mapping and data platform, allowing comparison to student data collected for other watersheds in Illinois.

The cost for the workshop is $55 and participants must pre-register by Sept. 8. Lunch is provided. Online registration is available at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ecvtmoyt196e9e96&llr=wx7o69dab.

Those attending may also earn six professional development hours at no cost. They should bring their Illinois Educator Identification Number to the event.

For more information about the workshop, contact Steve Gariepy at mammoth@siu.edu or by calling 618/453-1121. To learn more about the many programs, services and facilities at Touch of Nature Environmental Center, visit www.ton.siu.edu, call 618/453-1121 or email tonec@siu.edu.
University set to welcome new, returning students

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- New and returning Southern Illinois University Carbondale students will find numerous special events and activities when they arrive for the fall 2016 semester.

There is a myriad of activities leading up to the start of classes on Aug. 22. Saluki Startup, Aug. 18-20, is a series of transition programs for all new incoming students while Weeks of Welcome, or WOW, features nearly three weeks of activities for all students. Weeks of Welcome will run Aug. 21 through Sept. 10.

Students can download MySIU, app available for Android and iOS. MySIU will provide the complete guide for Saluki Startup, Weeks of Welcome, and other activities during the year. A web version of the guidebook, a cost-effective way to alert students to events on campus, is also available at http://siu.edu/guidebook/.

Media Advisory

Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover the many events of Saluki Startup and Weeks of Welcome.

The on-campus festivities for students and their family members begin Aug. 18 with Saluki Startup -- an opportunity for new students to become acquainted with the university, its people and its services. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday and Friday, Aug. 18-19, Saluki Basecamp, a resource fair of campus departments, will be in front of the Student Center.

The New Student Convocation, featuring Interim Chancellor Brad Colwell and other university officials, begins at 6 p.m., (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) on Friday, Aug.19, in the SIU Arena, as faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in this formal welcoming ceremony for new students.

The annual new student photo will take place immediately after the convocation on the SIU Arena steps, where students will get their first free SIU T-shirt. From 7 to 8 p.m., WelcomeFest, a local business fair, takes place on the arena concourse. The Saluki Pride Pep Rally is at 8 p.m., along with the Saluki Family Social in the arenas Cook Club, sponsored by the Saluki Family Association and University Bookstore. Playfair, which will give everyone a chance to meet one another in a fun, exciting and engaging setting, begins at 8:30 p.m. on the arena floor. The events then move to Saluki Stadium at 9:45 p.m. for the film, Captain America: Civil War.

On Aug. 20, new students will be able to attend several Saluki Success Day workshops from noon to 4 p.m., in Morris Library; the workshops will give students additional insight into the campus and services that are available. Beginning at 8 p.m., the annual Dawgs Nite Out at the Student Center will offer another opportunity for students to have fun, participate in numerous activities and meet faculty and staff.

Another tradition, kicking off the Weeks of Welcome, is the Watermelon Fest, from 2 to 4 p.m., Aug. 21, on Morris Librarys front lawn. Students will have a chance to enjoy watermelon with Colwell, faculty, staff and other students.

More information, along with the event schedule for Saluki Startup, is available at http://salukistartup.siu.edu/, while the schedule for Weeks of Welcome is at http://wow.siu.edu/. Information is also available by contacting New Student Programs at 618/453-1000.
Some good news on opioid epidemic: Treatment options are expanding

UF psychiatry professors William Greene and Lisa J. Merlo-Greene write that while health care claims for an opioid dependence diagnosis rose more than 3,000 percent from 2007 to 2014, medical knowledge about addiction and a social and political will to fight it are expanding as well.

In the past two decades, the devastation associated with opioid addiction has escaped the relative confines of the inner city and extended to suburban and rural America. Due in large part to the proliferation of prescription pain relievers, rates of opioid abuse, addiction, overdose and related deaths have increased dramatically. This has affected families and communities that once felt immune to this crisis.

On Aug. 1, an analysis of health care claims for treatment of opioid dependence showed a 3,000 percent increase from 2007 to 2014.

The knowledge that many are afflicted or affected has helped people understand the powerful psychological and physiological grip of addiction. As a result, stigma has decreased.

What was once relegated to the back burner of public concern has become a top public health priority.

We addiction experts also have gained better understanding of the illness, and we see reasons for hope.

Shifts in public policy

The Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act combined to finally require insurance companies to cover treatment for patients suffering from addiction. Insurance companies can no longer deny treatment or significantly limit treatment for psychiatric disorders, including addiction, as they had in the past.

President Obama recently proposed US$1.1 billion in funding to expand access to treatment for opioid addiction and overdose prevention.

In July, the House passed a bill that would further expand access to care for addiction and other mental health conditions.

Then, on July 22, the president signed into law the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016.

If adequately funded by Congress, the law will help to strengthen prevention, treatment and recovery efforts.

This improves treatment options for individuals in the criminal justice system, which may decrease rates of return to crime and prison. It also expands access to naloxone, a lifesaving drug that emergency medical workers and even family and friends, in certain cases, can administer to someone who has overdosed.

This stepped-up policy response is giving doctors the means to better treat people with opioid addiction. When combined with improvements in public understanding that addiction is a disease requiring treatment, we as a society are creating an environment that supports treatment. We believe this will save many thousands of lives.

A societal effort

Physicians are re-examining their own prescribing practices to decrease the likelihood of medication diversion or misuse and to minimize the development of iatrogenic addiction, or addiction that stems from medical treatment.

Law enforcement officials have worked to close down hundreds of pill mills, or clinics purporting to serve patients with chronic pain disorders. In reality, they serve as primary access points for dealers selling prescription drugs on the black market.

In all states except Missouri, prescription drug monitoring programs have also helped to identify patients in need of intervention.

More patients have access to treatment than ever before, including many in the criminal justice system who participate in drug court diversionary programs. Such programs save taxpayer money and decrease recidivism.

Greater understanding and knowledge

The field of addiction medicine has matured and expanded, recently acquiring recognition as a dedicated medical specialty.

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the disease of addiction is best understood as a single condition. There is no distinction made depending on the preferred drug(s) of abuse.

Addiction specialists conceptualize addiction as a bio-psycho-social-spiritual disease. They understand that continued use of psychoactive substances interferes with active participation in psychosocial treatment. Such usage prevents development of a personal program of recovery.

Therefore, successful treatment of opioid addiction begins with abstinence from all substances of abuse. Patients should not expect to quit using oxycodone, fentanyl or heroin but continue to drink alcohol or to smoke marijuana. The same holds true for treatment of addiction to alcohol, marijuana, cocaine or any other drug.

Some patients require medically supervised detoxification to abstain. Accessing the right treatment is crucial to success. Some will need a more intensive treatment setting. Even individuals who were unsuccessful maintaining abstinence with outpatient treatment may achieve recovery in a more intensive treatment setting.

Addiction, like other medical conditions with significant behavioral components, is a chronic condition. Relapse may occur. Thus, most patients need to learn skills that help them cope adaptively with stressors in their daily lives. Often, they need to address issues from their past that relate to substance abuse.

People with addiction may have other psychiatric conditions. They need to be treated for those, too. In many areas, publicly funded treatment programs are available for individuals lacking insurance or who cannot afford private treatment.

Support from family and 12-step programs helpful

Family members should encourage patients suffering from addiction to seek a professional evaluation. This will help determine the appropriate level of care, which could range from outpatient management to long-term residential treatment.

In addition, physicians and other treatment specialists highly encourage participation in a 12-step recovery program, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. Such programs are free, and they offer many benefits. Research has documented significantly reduced risk of relapse with increased likelihood of successful outcome among patients treated for opioid addiction in this way.

Family members often benefit from 12-step programs, too. Al-Anon or Alateen can help them learn how best to support their loved one without enabling the addiction.

Medications also helpful

Patients with opioid use disorders may also benefit from medication assistance. Currently, four types of prescription medication are approved to assist with treatment of opioid addiction.

The opioid antagonist medication, naltrexone, is available as a daily oral pill or as a monthly intramuscular injection. It helps patients by decreasing cravings. It also blocks patients' ability to get high, even if they use an opioid drug. Naltrexone has no abuse potential, and can be safely used by most patients.

Second, the opioid partial agonist medication buprenorphine is available as an oral pill, dissolving tablet or filmstrip. It also reduces cravings and reduces and prevents withdrawal symptoms. It, too, blocks the ability to get high.

Buprenorphine has some abuse potential, however. It should be used only under guidance and careful monitoring by a physician with sufficient expertise. In fact, doctors must receive a waiver to be allowed to prescribe buprenorphine.

Third, the opioid agonist medication methadone prevents withdrawal symptoms, reduces cravings and interferes with the ability to get high from other opioids.

Methadone also has abuse potential and risk of overdose if used inappropriately, however. As a result, methadone is typically dispensed in liquid form on a daily basis, and only from specialized methadone maintenance treatment clinics.

Finally, for individuals at high risk of relapse, new measures are in place to help prevent death in the event of accidental overdose. The opioid antagonist medication naloxone is now available in an automatic injector formulation for use by police, EMTs and other first responders. Naloxone has long been used by medical professionals in emergency rooms to reverse opioid overdose.

Naloxone is also available by prescription for patients with opioid addiction and their families to keep on hand as a safety precaution. In some states it is also available over the counter at certain pharmacies. It can be viewed much like an Epi-pen, which patients with severe allergies keep on hand for emergencies. A naloxone nasal spray is newly available, which may further facilitate access to this lifesaving medication.

These changes to public policy and advances in opioid treatment have greatly improved the prognosis for patients suffering from opioid addiction. Research and clinical evidence have demonstrated that long-term recovery is not only possible, but expected, following adequate treatment with appropriate follow-up care.

Now, more than ever, there is hope for healing from addiction.

This article originally appeared in The Conversation on Aug. 9, 2016.
Pennsylvania State Police(LEBANON, Pa.)  Pennsylvania police are searching for a 21-year-old hospital patient and the 18-year-old man who was allegedly armed with a gun when he entered the hospital before leaving with her.



Alicia Buzzard was last seen at the Phil Haven Hospital in West Cornwall Township at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Cornwall Borough Police Department. She is described as 5-foot-4 and 140 pounds, with shoulder-length brown hair.



The man, Elliot Ravert, took Buzzard from the hospital and was armed with a handgun, police said. He was seen driving a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche truck with the Pennsylvania license plate number ZGY-3594.



It is unknown if Buzzard willingly accompanied Ravert, police said.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Development of Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on workers as of Wednesday, reports Arab News.

The decision will benefit all categories of workers including skilled, unskilled and professionals such as doctors, nurses, teachers, farm and construction workers, Golam Moshi, Dhaka's envoy to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News on Thursday.

He recalled that opening the recruitment channels from Bangladesh is subsequent to the meeting between Saudi King Salman and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in June.

We are thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for allowing us to resume recruitment, Moshi said.

The ban did not apply to female domestic workers who make up for 60,000 of the 1.3 million Bangladeshis working currently.

Visas for male domestic helpers were issued only from June, and there is a sizable number coming into the Kingdom regularly, he said, adding that 6,000 female workers on average are arriving per month.

We have around 48 categories of workers serving in all parts of the Kingdom, the envoy added.

In January, Minister of Labour Mufrej Al-Haqabani and Bangladesh Minister for Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Islam decided to increase the number of Bangladeshi housemaids.

Both ministers agreed to enhance cooperation in the manpower sector by addressing issues like reducing migration cost, imparting training to Saudi Arabia-bound workers and recruiting more male workers for mutual benefit.

--IANS ss/ksk/bg

( 257 Words)

2016-08-11-14:28:01 (IANS)
Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark has called for stronger bilateral trade ties and urged British companies to take advantage of a wealth of opportunities in India, following his visit to India yesterday. He stressed importance of UK's long-standing relationship with India and made clear UK is open for business met with a number of Indian ministers during visit, including Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal. During his visit, Clark held talks with Indian government ministers and business leaders in New Delhi, reiterating that Britain is open for business and that India and the UK would mutually benefit from working together, particularly in the energy sector. The UK is already the largest G20 investor in India, while India is the third largest investor in the UK. During his visit, the Business and Energy Secretary held talks with Indian government ministers and business leaders in New Delhi, reiterating that Britain is open for business and that India and the UK would mutually benefit from working together, particularly in the energy sector. The UK is already the largest G-20 investor in India, while India is the third largest investor in the UK. While in New Delhi, the Business and Energy Secretary discussed the UK-India business relationship and considered ways to develop even stronger trade links following the UK's vote to leave the European Union. Clark said: "The UK has a long-standing trade relationship with India and we want this to grow and prosper. That is why I wanted to meet with government ministers and key business leaders in the country to make clear that the UK is open for business and will continue to thrive on the world stage. The UK is already the largest G20 investor in India and I want to nurture these trade links further, deepening our co-operation on areas such as energy and infrastructure." The Business and Energy Secretary also met with Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to discuss future co-operation. The Business and Energy Secretary's visit to India was the first by a UK Cabinet Minister since Theresa May became Prime Minister. (ANI)
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Massive arrangements have been made for the 12-day Pushkaram with 72 bathing ghats constructed in the city and 44 in neighbouring Guntur district.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is personally monitoring the arrangements and has visited the bathing ghats several times. The government launched a website to provide information to pilgrims about the locations of bathing ghats, Pushkar Nagars and food courts.

Krishna Pushkarams Special Officer B Rajasekhar said that over 96,000 government staff being deployed in Krishna and Guntur districts on Pushkaram duty.

State Director General of Police N Sambasiva Rao said that 30 IPS officers and more than 31,000 police personal have been assigned to maintain law and order and regulate the pilgrim crowd.MORE UNI DP CS 0930

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The Bihar Police have launched a probe into the alleged involvement of a BJP legislator over the communal tension in Saran district, a police official on Thursday said. Saran Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar Raj told IANS that a probe was underway into the role of Bharatiya Janata Party legislator C.N. Gupta. "We are investigating into Gupta's role. Action against him would be initiated or taken only after investivation completed," he said. On Tuesday, video clips emerged and were telecast by local Hindi news channels showing Gupta leading a mob of people, armed with traditional weapons in Chapra district headquarters of Saran during a shutdown called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal and despite the district administration issuing orders prohibiting any public gathering to maintain law and order. "Instead of appealing to people to maintain communal harmony and peace, Gupta was leading a march of VHP and Bajrang Dal supporters in Chapra, in full view of district administration, that resulted in violence. Shops and houses of minority community members were attacked," Congress legislator Shakil Ahmad Khan said. Khan told IANS that it was clear that Gupta violated prohibitory orders and instigated people that created communal trouble. "The state administration has to take a tough stand to send a strong message for communal harmony," he added. Some social activists in Chapra have also blamed Gupta for the communal tension in Saran town. They said Gupta was wellknown for his decades long associatin with the RSS and other Hinduvta organisations like the VHP and Bajrang Dal. Gupta, however, has denied any involvement in violence. According to reports, the situation in Saran town was under control but tension remains. Schools and colleges opened on Tuesday and markets also reopened, a district official said. The trouble began when some youths of Balha village and other youths from Maker village blocked roads last week to protest police failure to take action against those who had posted an objectionable video clip online. Trouble escalated and angry mobs attacked the houses and shops of minority community members on Friday. Some youths attacked the house of the prime accused, which led to the communal tension, an official said. On August 5, violent clashes took place between both communities and shops and houses were targeted at several places. The following day, violent clashes were reported and the VHP and Bajrang Dal called a day-long shut-down, forcing shops, schools and colleges to remain closed. Over a dozen persons, including policemen, were injured, 55 shops torched, houses looted and 62 persons were arrested. --IANS ik/ksk/vt ( 438 Words) 2016-08-11-12:08:00 (IANS)
As many as 26.81 lakh patients have been tested under NTR Vaidya Pariksha (NTRVP) scheme during the period from January 1 to August 8, this year. Informing this at a review meeting with the Health department officials here last night, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that 26,81,865 patients had been treated under NTRVP scheme and of which 5,87,751 patients undergone various diagnosis during the month of July alone. Health officials told Mr Naidu that seven Tele-radiology centres would be added to the existing 113 centres and the total number of X-rays uploaded during the period is 1.89 lakh. Moreover, under NTRVP, 5,459 CT Scans were uploaded from the nine CT scan centers. When officials informed the Chief Minister that the usage of the e-Aushadhi scheme is 73 per cent, he enquired why the rest of the 27 per cent was not making use of the scheme. The officials pointed out the problems in implementation in Tribal areas and the Chief Minister directed them to come up with a plan for its 100 per cent implementation. The Chief Minister called for real time inspection of hospitals and suggested that the supervisors should take photographs and upload them on the core dashboard along with details like sanitation, security, pest and rodent control. The officials informed the Chief Minister that all blood banks are being digitalized and called e-rakta. Mr.Naidu was apprised that the Health department is developing a blood bank app for students to motivate them to donate blood and start a blood savings bank. The Chief Minister appealed to the Telugu doctors in America to come forward to collaborate with Andhra Pradesh government in providing assistance in health care sector. UNI DP CS 1302 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-882300.Xml
Responding to the members' concern in the Lok Sabha, Mr Singh said members have given suggestions that the Bill should be sent to the Standing Committee. "I have no objection in referring the Bill to the Joint Parliament Committee or House Select Committee provided there is consensus in the House."

''If House allows then I will move a motion in this regard today itself,'' the Minister added.

The Bill seeks an amendment in the Citizenship Act, 1955 to provide that migrated Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will not be treated as illegal migrants.

Raising concern over the Bill, BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab said it was an important Bill and needed to be properly scrutinised. Making a submission, he said the Bill should be sent to Joint Select Committee for the suggestions.

Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia of the Congress also supported Mr Mahtab views that the Bill should be referred to the Joint Select Committee. "The Bill should be discussed in detail and our first preference is that it should be sent to Standing Committee of Parliament or to Joint Select Committee so that all members can give their views."

Mohammad Saleem (CPI-M) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay of the AITC said the Bill should be sent to Joint Select Committee and make it in a time-bound manner.

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"Returning back from 10-day vipassana course. Feeling very fresh and energetic," Kejriwal tweeted.

Kejriwal had gone to attend the session at Dharamkot, close to the Dalai Lama's abode in Himachal Pradesh, on August 1.

His course began on August 2. During the 10-day period, he was not allowed to meet anyone and denied access to newspapers and telephones.

--IANS aks/mr

( 91 Words)

2016-08-11-15:12:02 (IANS)
The Uttarakhand Police has issued a high alert in Haridwar and Dehradun following reports that a call was made to Kashmir via the satellite phone from the Bhagwanpur area. "At this point of time, we are not in a position to reveal whether it was used by a tourist, terrorist or any other anti-national element as there is no clarity about this. But the central agencies are on this job. Keeping this in view, we have issued a special alert in Haridwar and Dehradun," Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) M.A. Ganapathy said. "We have also asked the local police to be alert. Our ATS is also active," he added. Ganapathy told ANI the satellite phones are sometime used in Uttarakhand, especially by the tourists from Nepal. "It is not banned in Nepal whereas it is banned in India. At times, the foreigners keep the satellite phones with them unintentionally and talk, so the central agencies track them. As far as Bhagwanpur is concerned, it was informed by the central agency that someone was speaking on the satellite phone from there and that they have picked the signals," said Ganapathy. "So, the central agency along with the help of state police force tried to track the satellite phone but no signals were received after August 3," he added. As per reports, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) sleuths tracked the call. The state government, which was later informed about the same, has issued direction to the police force to remain vigilant. (ANI)
"Senior leader and Prabhari of ten states Vinay Shukla, on a three-day visit to North India, will visit Jammu on August 14," Shiv Sena (Bala Ji Sahib Thackery) state president Dimpy Kohli told reporters here today. He said during his visit Mr Shukla will also visit to Punjab and neighbouring states.

Mr Kohli said on his visit, he will also interact with party workers and listen to their grievances.

He said during the Amarnath yatra, pilgrims have faced a lot of hardships and the state government has totally failed to give any facility to them.

"BJPPDP coalition government is giving step motherly treatment to the people of Jammu province and is not giving basic amenities of life," he said, adding that the grievances of the people will be discussed with the party high command through Vinay Shukla and the party will try to highlight important issues on general public on the occasion.UNI VBH PY SB 1624

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The ceremonial event of cutting the first steel plate for Ship No.20, was held in Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) yesterday. The plate cutting ceremony was one of the initial milestones in the construction of a ship, a shipyard statement said here today. Mr Y Sreenivas Rao, Scientist G DRDO Hyderabad and Project Director of Ship No.20 cut the first steel plate by switching on the Plate cutting machine, in a ceremony held in the Hull Shop of the yard, in the presence of i Madhu S Nair, CMD, the Directors, officers, supervisors and workmen of CSL. The senior representatives from Indian Register of Shipping and DNV-GL, the classification societies for the vessel also attended, it said. The ship with a length of 118.4 meters, 20 meters width and 7.1 meters draft and having a steel weight of approximately 3900 Tonne was contracted in August 2015. Further to construction of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier for the Indian Navy, CSL is currently building a Barge for M/s National Petroleum Construction Company, Abu Dhabi, the statement said, adding that it had started design work of the contract for building of two No. "1200 passenger cum 1000 MT Cargo" and another two No. "500 passenger cum 150 MT Cargo" vessels for the Andaman & Nicobar Administration. The CSL has already delivered 18 of the 20 Fast Patrol Vessels built for the Coast Guard and the balance two vessels are getting ready for delivery. The Ro-Ro vessels for the Kochi Corporation are also scheduled to be delivered soon. In ship repair, INS Viraat, the aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy has been docked in CSL for the final refit. Expansion plans are on the anvil for CSL in the form of a New Dry Dock within CSL and an International Ship Repair Facility, in the land taken on lease from Cochin Port Trust, at an outlay of Rs 2,769 Crore. UNI CGV CS 1727 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-882630.Xml
The Madras High Court today granted permission to the police for video recording of Ramkumar, the accused in the techie Swathi murder case, at the Puzhal Central Prison, where he was lodged. Hearing the last-minute petition filed by Ramkumar's advocate Ramraj, opposing the police move to take the accused to Nungambakkam Railway station, where the murder took place, and make him to re-enact the crime, Mr Justice P N Prakash directed the police to take photographs of the accused at theprison itself. The Nungambakkam police, which was probingthe case had earlier obtained permission from 14th Metroplitan Magistrate court, while Ramkumar's advocate filed an appeal in the Madras High Court earlier in the day. The Magistrate court had granted permissionto video record Ramkumar on Monday. But did nothappen because of the petition filed by Ramrajin the High Court. After hearing the arguments, Judge Prakash quashed the order of the Magistrate Court and instead granted permission to the police to record Ramkumar in the prison. Police sources said the video record will help them correlate it with the CCTV footage of the suspect recorded on the day of murder. The Judge also directed the the prison authorities to provide necessary facilities for the Investigation Officer to take video,photographs and other measurements of Ramkumar with the help of the technical officer in the police photo section, not below the rank of sub-inspector. The court directed the IO to produce the material before the metropolitan magistrate, who would forward it to forensic experts for their opinion and report.UNI GV CS 1701 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-882746.Xml
The Tamil Nadu government was determined to set up medical college hospitals in all the districts of the State, Health MinisterDr C Vijayabhaskar told the State Assembly today. Replying to a calling attention motion given notice of by MLAs T Senguttuvan and C V Rajendran on the 'necessity to set up a medical college in Krishnagiri-Hosur National Highway area due to the occurence of frequent accidents', he saidthat all districts would get medical colleges in a phased manner. He said all the district hospitals have been upgraded on par with medical college hospitals and a lot of lives were being saved within the golden hour. XXXXCongress welcomes dedication of KKNP-1 Congress Legislative Party leader K R Ramasamywelcomed Wednesday's event of dedication of theKudankulam nuclear power plant's unit one tothe nation. ''It will do a lot of good to Tamilnadu,' he said, adding that the project was first startedduring the Congress regime in the Centre. The plant was dedicated to the nation through video conferencing by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin andChief Minister J Jayalalithaa last evening.XXXXStalin raises train heist issue, Speaker refuse permissionLeader of Opposition M K Stalin (DMK) today sought permission from the Chair to speak on the train heist incident, in which Rs 5.75 crore was stolen from theSalem-Chennai Express, in the Assembly. Mr Stalin said it was a serious issue and wantedto know the government's response and the actiontaken by it on the incident. But Speaker P Dhanapal refused permission statingthat he (Stalin) had given notice to him and that it was under his consideration.UNI GV CS 1715 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-882758.Xml
RSS promoted Rashtriya Muslim Manch has planned flag hoisting functions at some madrassas across the country following an incident when the manager of a private school in Allahabad refused to allow singing of National Anthem on its premises on Independence Day Indresh Kumar, the senior RSS functionary and president of Muslim Rashtriya Manch(MRM), will be addressing a programme in a madrassa at Binaki Mangalwari here. "Flag hoisting will be held all over the country. At some places, the national song Vande Matram may also be sung along with raising 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogan. It is going to be a mix of National Anthem and national song at different places," Mr Kumar said. "Riding on success of Rashtriya Muslim Manch, the RSS also plans to launch an anti-terror cell on Independence Day. This will involve educated Muslims who will work on preventing the youth from joining radical forces like IS" Kumar said. "A section of RSS leaders want to increase outreach among Muslims.Promoting traditions like Raksha Bandhan to counter western culture is a part of the attempt," he said. However, scepticism remains over the acceptance of Muslims in RSS itself as the Rashtriya Muslim Manch remains a fringe organization of RSS till now. Many feel Muslims should be included in Shakhas (units) and core activities like training camps. Modi's belated statement after assault on Dalits by cow vigilantes has made Muslims feel left out. This is because there have been series of attacks on Muslims too for the same reason. On this, Mr Kumar said a meeting was planned to be held in a couple of days and added as Muslim Gau Rakshaks are being promoted, focus of the meeting will be on discouraging beef eating. On violence against Muslims, Mr Kumar said, any such act needs to be condemned be it against humans or animals.UNI PK PS SB 1644 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-882647.Xml
Maharashtra based private sector RBL Bank, which has its operations across 16 states and union territories including Gujarat, today announced to go for a public issue of equity shares of face value Rs 10 each at a price band from Rs 224 to 225 aggregating up to Rs 832.5 crore. The issue to open from August 19 will also include an offer for sale up to 1,69,09,628 equity shares by certain selling shareholders . Managing Director & CEO of the bank Vishwavir Ahuja told newsmen here that the bank was rapidly growing in various segments. The issue closes on August 23 and the bids can be made for a minimum of 65 shares and in the multiples of 65 thereafter. Mr Ahuja said that RBL Bank is one of India's fastest growing scheduled commercial banks. It is continuously expanding its presence across India through a growing network of branches and ATMs. It is also actively in to the 'payment banking' business and among top five to six Indian banks being used as payment gateway for online purchases. Established in 1943, RBL Bank formerly known as Ratnakar Bank Ltd undertook a transformational journey under a new management team in 2010. It embarked on an aggressive growth plan based on a robust platform of professional governance, relationships, technology infrastructure, high quality capital and geographic expansion. Over the last five years, some of the most notable global and domestic names have infused capital of over Rs 1,500 crore, taking TIER 1 capital to Rs 2,200 crore (approx), he said adding that today the bank offers specialised services under five business verticals namely: Corporate & Institutional Banking, Commercial Banking, Retail Banking, Agri and Development Banking and Financial Markets. The Bank currently serves more than 14,00,000 customers and has a total business size of over Rs 31,000 Crores.As of March 2016, RBL Bank has grown to a network of 201 branches and 365 ATMs across 16 Indian states and Union Territories of these 16 branches were in Gujarat. Initially it was limited to Maharashtra and parts of North Karnataka only. UNI XC PS 1645 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-882701.Xml
Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar and Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Raymond Tshibanda NTungamulongo held a meeting here on Thursday during which the two sides discussed the entire gamut of various aspects of the bilateral relationship. The Foreign Minister of DRC conveyed his governments deep appreciation for the assistance provided by India to his country in areas of skill development and capacity building, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said during his weekly media briefing here. India has funded several projects in DRC through concessional lines of credit amounting to approximately $ 495 million, he said. The projects have been in the diverse areas such as setting up a cement plant, acquisition of buses, rural water supply, hydro-electric power projects and power distribution projects. The issue of the Congolese national who was was beaten to death in Delhi in May this year by three youths after an altercation over the hiring of an auto-rickshaw as well as the subsequent reprisals against Indian nationals in Congo also came up for discussion. Swarup said that NTungamulongo condemned the recent unfortunate incidents. He appreciated the pro-active steps undertaken by the government of India in both the incidents and requested for speedy trial so that justice could be done, he said. He also assured that DRC government will take all necessary measures to provide security to the Indian nationals residing in DRC. Akbar informed the visiting minister of the swift action taken by Indian law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits involved and underlined that as people, society and nation, we do not believe in racial discrimination, the spokesperson said. According to Swarup, NTungamulongo expressed DRCs support to Indias candidature for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the 2021-22 term for which elections will be held at the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York in June 2020. He said that DRC is aware of Indias immense contribution to UNs Peacekeeping operations as it itself hosts a strong Indian peacekeeping contingent in DRC, Swarup said. --IANS ab/bg ( 357 Words) 2016-08-11-18:22:01 (IANS)
Calling BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati a ''self-styled'' messiah of Dalits, BJP MP Udit Raj today said the people of his caste had suffered the most under her chief ministership, and also slammed other Opposition parties for projecting that atrocities against Dalits were taking place only under the present Government. ''We discuss the incidents of atrocities on Dalits, but not the mindset that is the source of such incidents,'' Mr Raj said participating in the discussion on 'Rising incidents of atrocities against Dalits' under Rule 193 in the Lok sabha. The BJP member said it was under the regime of Ms Mayawati, who herself comes from the Dalit community, that the state government lost a case in the Lucknow High Court against a central order against promotion to SC and STs in government jobs, and that is just because the case was not pursued properly. This affected the career of thousands of Dalit employees, he said. Moreover, it was her government in Uttar Pradesh that passed the order that the only murder and dowry would come under the Prevention of Atrocities against Dalits, which was later nullified by the court on his petition. The BJP Government had now increased the number of crimes under Prevention of Atrocities Act to 123. Mr Raj said he would have no problem with Ms Mayawati projecting herself as Dalit well-wisher, provided she did some good to them. ''But it is so painful to see atrocities against Dalits increasing under her rule,'' he said. The BJP also gave several examples of killing of Dalits in sates ruled by the Congress and other Opposition parties, like the killing of five Dalit youths in Jhajjar district of Haryana on the charges of killing a cow in 2002 to silence the critics of the present government. He said killers of these Dalits were finally never brought to justice in most of the cases, as the judicial process took so long that justice was denied to victims. Mr Raj called upon all sections of the society, including ''dharm guru''(religious leaders) to fight for justice to Dalits. Giving example of Abraham Lincoln who fought for the rights of blacks in America, hewondered why non-Dalits should not come forward for the cause of Dalits.UNI NAZ AE 1749 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-882837.Xml
Demanding a CBI probe into the gruesome mother-daughter gangrape on July 29 near NH-91 in Bulandshahr, the BJP today held a massive demonstration in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency and attacked the Samajwadi Party government of Uttar Pradesh for the worst law and order situation in the state. The BJP activists led by state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak also handed over a memorandum to Governor Ram Naik through the Varanasi District Magistrate. The demonstration was held under the slogan of ''Behin beti ke samman me, BJP maidan me'. Later talking to reporters after the demonstration which was attended by more than 2,000 people, Mr Pathak said that CBI probe was necessary in the case after UP minister Mohammad Azam Khan had expressed political conspiracy behind it. Moreover, a CBI probe should also be initiated against the DGP and IG for their controversial comments on the incident, he said. "The recent statement of state chief secretary directing the officials to work for development proves that all development works have been stalled in the state. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was just making fake claims on development to confuse the people," he alleged. The BJP leader also claimed that today's statement by UP minister Shivpal Singh Yadav in Gonda that corruption by the officials was responsible for breach in embankment leading to submerging of over 50 villages in flood waters in the district shows how corruption has prevailed in this SP government during the past four and-a-half-years. "Shivpal Singh Yadav should disclose who are responsible for the breach of embankments and why the government despite knowing about corruption did not act against the officials," he demanded.UNI MB PS SB 1751 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-882772.Xml
Congress party leader Manish Tiwari on Thursday said mere use of phraseology cannot absolve Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his government from the policies being followed to resolve the unrest in Kashmir. "The Prime Minister has been singing this melody on 'Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamooriyat' since 2013. The Prime Minister needs to explain what does he mean by Insaniyat? Is it an outreach to those people who have unfortunately got injured in this latest round of violence in the Kashmir Valley? Does his Jamooriyat mean an outreach to those people or separatists who are outside the main stream? When he talks about Kashmiriyat what is his definition of Kashmiriyat and what is he trying to recreate? Because, when Mr. Vajpayee used these words in 2003, he made a simultaneous outreach to Pakistan from the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium as well as to the separatists in the Kashmir Valley. So, it was used in a larger context, and here, the Prime Minister is using the phraseology in a cliche," he told ANI. "His home minister (Rajnath Singh) says that the only outstanding agenda with Pakistan is PoK, and then, one would ask the home minister why you went to Islamabad, why did the Prime Minister go to Lahore. Now, people are saying that the finance minister is ready to go to Pakistan. So, if the only unfinished business you have with Pakistan is the return of PoK, then why are you making these repeated pilgrimages to Pakistan would be a legitimate question, and that is why there is absolutely no coherence, either in their Kashmir policy or for that matter in the Pakistan policy, the Prime Minister says one thing, the home minister interprets it completely differently and the government seems to be a complete morose of confusion," he added. "The fact is that this government has decided to let certain people loose on the RBI governor. So, it was not an attack on Raghuram Rajan personally, but was an attack on the institution of Reserve Bank of India. But more importantly, the underlined message to all regulators and to all independent bodies was that if you do not fall in line and do not keep enacting command performances, then we will hound you, we will go after you, we will run your reputation in the mud and we'll hound you out of the country. So, therefore, there was a larger design in the manner in which the RBI governor Raghuram Rajan was treated," he added.(ANI)
Various Sikh bodies and political leaders on Thursday criticised the alleged desecration of the Sikh holy book the Guru Granth Sahib in California, saying some elements want to create unrest in the Sikh community by committing such incidents, and urged urging the U.S. Government to thoroughly investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. Taking a serious note of the incident, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) Dajeet Bedi told ANI that they condemn the incident and appeal to the Sikh community living there to be vigilant. We will take up matter with the U.S. Government through proper channel (Government of India) and appeal them to provide safety and security to the Sikhs living there, gurdwaras and holy scriptures," he added. Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) president Paramjit Singh Sarna said such incidents were unheard in the U.S, adding that some elements want to create unrest in the Sikh community by committing such incidents. "Disrespect to holy religious scriptures was unheard in the U.S. Some elements wanted to create unrest in the community, and thus, were indulged in such incidents," Sarna told ANI. While condemning the incident, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh told ANI, "This is unbelievable, because for the first time such an unfortunate incident has been reported from America. Sikhs living there should be ensured that such incidents are not repeated." He said he was hopeful that the U.S. Police would soon nab the perpetrators, who dared to hurt Sikh religious feelings, and would put him behind the bars. He also appealed to the U.S. Government to ensure safety of all Sikh religious scriptures at homes and in gurdwaras. Punjab Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema, meanwhile, said his government condemned the incident. "We hope that the U.S. Police would soon nab the perpetrators and appeal to the U.S. Government to ensure safety and security of the Sikhs living there," he told ANI. Cheema, meanwhile, appealed to all Sikh leaders of America, Canada and other parts of the world to maintain peace and communal harmony, while urging the U.S. Government to thoroughly investigate the alleged desecration of the Sikh holy book the Guru Granth Sahib in California. Cheema said, "I appeal to all the Sikh leaders of America, Canada and even Sikhs of other parts of the world that they should maintain peace and communal harmony, because somebody is trying to provoke the community and his designs are very evil. So, we must take care so that peace and communal harmony are not disturbed at any cost, and the U.S. Government should take the case very seriously." Stating that the incident is "extremely serious", Cheema said it must be condemned by everybody as such incidents were aimed at disturbing the peace and communal harmony. "The way this incident took place, it shows that there is some deep-rooted conspiracy. Some agency wants to disturb peace and communal harmony. And time and again, they are perpetrating such incidents in Punjab, and now in America," said Cheema. Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal said India must demand the "strongest and urgent" action against desecrators of the Guru Granth Sahib. "I hope and I'm going to meet Sushma ji (External Affairs Minister) and appeal to her that India must demand the strongest and most urgent actions, so that the perpetrators in California are brought to the book immediately," said Harsimrat Kaur. She told ANI the decimation of religious scriptures was taking place and now was happening in California. "I appeal to Sikhs worldwide to realise what these enemies of the nation and enemies of Punjab are trying to do by disrupting peace and development of Punjab. Now, they are doing the same there (in California), but the sufferers are going to be Punjabis and nobody else," Badal said. The incident took place yesterday when pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were torn and thrown away by the miscreant. "The incident took place last evening, when a notorious person torn the holy book into pieces. This has riled up the people of our community. We along with our community will take up this issue. And we expect that American authorities will find a solution to this and bring the culprits to the book. Moving on we also wish that police and local authorities lend us help in the matter," said American Gurudwar Committee coordinator Pritpal Singh. Subsequent to the incident, California Mayor Carol Dutra arrived at the protest site and assured the protestors of penal action against the miscreants who have attempted to hurt their religious sentiments. According to reports, police have registered a complaint in the matter. (ANI)
Afghanistan's Ambassador to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali on Thursday described the current situation in Kashmir as very dangerous, especially in terms of security. He also said Afghanistan, India and Pakistan should consider economic cooperation in a manner that would bring about a change. "It is a very dangerous situation that we are in, especially in terms of the security that we have, which is worrisome. Therefore, as I have suggested in my book, the community should become the basis of relationships. We hope that the three of us-Afghanistan, India and Pakistan cooperate in a manner that will bring about a change in terms of security to our people," Abdali told ANI. Abdali said in his book 'Afghanistan-Pakistan-India: A Paradigm Shift', has focused more upon the economic integration that Afghanistan, Pakistan and India should enter into and suggested Afghanistan could become a bridge between the two countries. "the agreement that we have in the context of Afghanistan-Pakistan, that we hope would include India in it and at the same time, Afghanistan would be very glad to give free access to Pakistan to Central Asia through Afghanistan," he added. Asserting that there are possibilities of cooperation, Abdali said there are challenges that we face. "Those challenges require immediate action. Those actions could be in context of economic cooperation and then leading towards the most difficult issue that we have. It is possible of course.you can't resolve all the problems overnight. You need to start with easy questions and I think the doable among us at this stage is the economic cooperation between the three of us," he added. Abdali also said that the Army chief of Afghanistan would be in India this month and the aim of his visit is defence cooperation. (ANI)
This was the fourth such group to meet the Prime Minister.

He also motivated them to keep cleanliness in their respective villages.

The Prime Minister urged the group to eliminate any discrimination between daughters and sons.

Prime Minister Modi yesterday met the third group of the village pradhans from the same constituency and urged them to encourage awareness among villagers regarding Central schemes.

During the interaction, the Prime Minister encouraged the Pradhans to generate greater awareness among the people in their villages about Central Government Schemes such as Soil Health Card Scheme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. (ANI)
Centre has convened an all party meeting on the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow while authorities have extended curfew to more areas in Kashmir valley, particularly Srinagar to foil a march called by separatists.Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh informed Rajya Sabha yesterday that the meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would be held on the last day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The move comes after Opposition parties including Congress demanded an all party meeting on Kashmir situation during a discussion on the issue in the Upper House yesterday. Rajya Sabha yesterday adopted a resolution that expressed concern and anguish at the prolonged protests in Kashmir valley resulting in loss of lives and injuries. While saying that there cannot be any compromise on national security, the House appealed to all sections of society in the state to work towards peace and normalcy. Rajya Sabha also resolved to restore confidence among the people especially the youth.Making a statement in the House, Home Minister squarely blamed Pakistan for the prevailing situation in the valley. Mr Rajnath Singh also denied rumours that the security of the Kashmir Valley would be handed over to the Army after the end of Amarnath Yatra. "These rumours are being spread deliberately. Nowadays, anything can be said on social media," he said. Union Home Minister also praised the efforts of the Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure the continuation of essential services. He also sought to address the misunderstanding that entire Kashmir has been under curfew for weeks. He said curfew had been imposed in particular pockets and that markets had remained shut in general due to the strike called by separatists.Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh praised the role played by the security forces, and asked that they not be made the villain of the piece. Opposition parties including also demanded that an all-party delegation be sent to the valley. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reached out to the people of the state calling for "democracy and dialogue" in the spirit Atal Bihari Vajpayee's call for 'Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat'. While all members spoke in one voice, the sense of the debate was that Kashmir is a complex issue and that constant dialogue with all stakeholders is necessary to avoid any feeling of alienation that may develop and be exploited by vested interest.UNI SHK RP1955 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0430-883259.Xml
Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation today approved construction of 37,013 crore houses for the urban poor in Karnataka and Haryana with an investment of Rs 1,491 crore. An inter-ministerial Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee chaired by Dr Nandita Mukherjee, Secretary(HUPA) has approved construction of 36,254 houses for Economically Weaker Sections in Karnataka with an investment of Rs1,468 crore and 759 houses in Haryana at a cost of Rs 23 crore.In Karnataka, 12,371 dwelling units will be constructed in 8 cities under Affordable Housing in Partnership component of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) for rehabilitation of slum dwellers, the Ministry said in a statement. City-wise details of houses to be built are: Gadag-3,630, Bengaluru (Basavangudi)-1,699, Bidar-1,500, Mysuru-1,355, Bellary-1,188, Raichur-1,050, Vijaypura-1,028, Padmanabhanagar (Bengaluru)-895 and Bagalkot-784.Another 23,883 houses will be built in 207 cities and towns in Karnataka for urban poor under the Beneficiary Led Construction component of PMAY (Urban).The Central government will provide a total assistance of Rs 558 crore for construction of these houses for urban poor in Karnataka. During the last financial year, Ministry of HUPA approved construction of 16,522 houses for urban poor in Karnataka taking the total houses approved for the benefit of urban poor so far to 53,776.Ministry of HUPA approved construction of 759 houses by slum dwellers in 11 slum colonies of Yamunanagar-Jagadhari under Beneficiary Led Construction component of PMAY(Urban) at a total cost of Rs 23 crore. The Centre will provide an assistance of Rs 11 crore in this regard.Slums to benefit from construction of these houses are in Harinagar, Lajpat Nagar, Mishra colony, Mukherjee Park, Tirath Nagar, Madhuban colony, Bhagirath colony, Jammu colony, Hamida colony and Burla colony. UNI NY RSA 2006 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0099-883286.Xml
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu warned the traders and vendors of stringent action, if prices of commodities were hiked, taking advantage of the 12-day mega spiritual event of Krishna Pushkarams, beginning tomorrow. Inaugurating the modernized Tummalapalli Khetrayya auditorium here today, the Chief Minister recalled that after devastation of Hudhud cyclone in Visakhapatnam, the local traders and vendors hiked prices of commodities exorbitantly but the government had taken stringent steps to contain it. "If the prices of commodities was hiked exorbitantly, stringent action will be initiated against the traders and venders. The citizens should welcome and host the pilgrims. The 12-day Krishna Pushkarams should be held in a spiritual and festive atmosphere" Mr.Naidu said. The Chief Minister said that the Tummalapalli Khetrayya auditorium was modernized at a cost of Rs eight crore with centrally air conditioned, comfortable seats and other amenities. He wished that some more such auditoriums should come up in the city to meet the requirement. Ministers D Umamaheshwara Rao, P Narayana, P Pulla Rao, K Ravindra and MP K Srinivas were also present.UNI DP CS 2002 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-883297.Xml
Congo today assured India that it would take all possible measures to provide security to its nationals against any reprisal by Congolese citizens, but also urged New Delhi for speedy trial of attack on its nationals in India.Visiting Foreign Affairs Minister of Congo Tshibanda N'Tungamulongo, in a meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar Minister condemned the recent unfortunate incidents related to Congolese nationals in India as well as the reprisal against Indian nationals in Kinshasa. The Minister, accompanied by H E Mr Jeannot Matadi Nenga Gamanda, Minister of Energy and Water Resources, is on official visit to India from August 10-12."The Foreign Minister of DRC conveyed his government's deep appreciation for the assistance provided by India to his country in areas of skill development and capacity building," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said here. Mr N'Tungamulongo appreciated the pro-active steps undertaken by the Government in both the incidents of attack on Congolese citizens and requested for speedy trial in the cases. He also assured that his government will also take all necessary measures to provide security to the Indian nationals residing in DRC."Mr Akbar informed the visiting Minister of the swift action taken by our law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits involved and underlined that as people, society and nation, we do not believe in racial discrimination," Mr Swarup added.The visiting Foreign Minister has expressed Congo's support to India's candidature for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for the term 2021-22 for which elections will be held at the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York in June 2020.The various projects, especially the hydroelectric power projects, were discussed in great detail during the meeting. There will also be a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the visiting Foreign Minister of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).India has funded several projects in DRC through concessional lines of credit amounting to approximately US 495 million dollars. The projects have been in the diverse areas such as setting up a cement plant, Acquisition of Buses, Rural Water Supply, Hydro-Electric Power Projects and Power Distribution Projects.UNI RG NAZ CJ RSA 2118 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-883460.Xml
A Delhi Court today granted bail to AAP MLA Sharad Chauhan, who was arrested in connection with a case of a party woman worker's alleged suicide. Soni had filed a complaint against Ramesh Bhardwaj for allegedly touching her inappropriately and a case of molestation was registered in June. She had also alleged that the accused was being protected by the local AAP MLA. She had consumed a poisonous substance at her home in north-west Delhi's Narela area and died during treatment at LNJP Hospital on July 19. Family members of the woman had claimed that she had gone into depression after her alleged molestation by Bhardwaj, an AAP colleague, who was released on bail. Delhi Police had registered a case of abetment to suicide on July 20 and handed over the entire matter to a Special Investigation Team. The woman in a video recording had levelled serious allegations against Bhardwaj, accusing him of pressuring her to "compromise" if she wanted to rise in the party. He had allegedly claimed himself to be "close" to the local party MLA. Delhi Police arrested Chauhan along with others on July 30 in connection with the case. Bhardwaj was arrested by a police team from Sonipat on July 26. He was questioned for several hours in connection with the case, along with Chauhan.His co-accused include Ramesh Bhardwaj, Rajnikanth alias Rajni and Delhi Police ASI Mukhtiyar Singh, are currently in judicial custody. Counsel for Chauhan submitted before the court on the bail application that the politician was falsely implicated in the case and his name did not appear in the dying declaration made by the deceased so he is entitled to be released on bail. The counsel further submitted before the court that he was ready to furnish the surety as may be directed by the court if he is released on bail. The prosecution opposed the bail application of Chauhan by submitting to the court that the MLA had played a "big role" in shielding his associates in a separate case of molestation which forced the victim to live under constant threat.Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan, after hearing arguments on behalf of the prosecution and defense counsel, said "In her statement (on July 19), deceased named accused Ramesh Bhardwaj, Amit Bhardwaj and Rajni Kant as the persons responsible for her death as they made her life hell by defaming her". The court granted relief to Narela MLA after noting that his name was not stated by the deceased in her last statement. The court further said that no useful purpose would be served by keeping him in further custody" as per the probe agency, before the arrest of applicant has been thoroughly interrogated. The Court pass an order that in totality of facts and circumstances of the case, the applicant is entitled to bail on furnishing a personal bond and surety bond in sum of Rs 30,000.UNI XC RSA 2138 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-883483.Xml
Kashmir Pandits today asked for an all-party delegation meeting tomorrow in the presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to meet all the stakeholders including the members of their community. ''After meeting in Delhi, the all party delegation must visit the state of Jammu and Kashmir and engage all stake holders including Kashmiri Pandits both at Jammu and Srinagar before finalising its proposals which must then be implemented in letter and spirit by both the Government of India and the state Govt,'' K K Khosa, chairman, Kashmir Pandit Sabha while chairing a meeting said. The sabha appealed to all stakeholders to be pragmatic and accommodative to aspirations of different sections of the population which is not only diverse culturally, but also in respect of region and religion. It has to be accepted that we all have to coexist in this diversity that we have inherited and any kind of intolerance will continue to spell disaster for the entire state. ''It is time we introspect collectively to assess where we have reached in these seven decades of independence in comparison with the other states of the Nation,'' Mr Khosa said adding that although J&K is a Muslim majority state in a Hindu majority Nation our destinies are inextricably interwoven and that this fact is to be borne in mind before we pursue our own selfish goals. Being a border state having an unreasonable and unstable neighbour in Pakistan which has been fomenting trouble since independence, he added and said, ''the onus on the citizens of the state to maintain peace and harmony doubles up and we must match up to this inherited situation''. ''Since the neighbour is not going to change we have to factor in this aspect for a clearer roadmap for the future,'' said the KP Sabha.UNI VBH CJ RSA 2326 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-883493.Xml
Stating that ISIS is a threat to the northeastern state, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today called for concerted efforts among the security agencies in the North Eastern states to tackle terrorism. "We have flagged the issue pertaining to this concern before the Government of India much before the threat perception," Dr Sangma told reporters after chairing a cabinet meeting. He said that the state is also trying to prevail on the Union government to ensure necessary efforts are made by adopting a mechanism involving all security agencies of north east states and those under the centre. All security agencies need a collaborative effort to overcome the challenges. Despite the challenges, we are confident of dealing with the situation. We all saw the recent senseless killing in Assam's Kokrajhar. Any incident occurred in one state including Assam, is a matter of concern for us too. We need to address collectively, and we hope we can deal with the situation," Dr Sangma said. UNI RRK CJ RSA 2324 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-883558.Xml
Amid boycott by the Opposition Congress and CPM, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today assured the Lok Sabha of effective and stern action against all miscreantsincluding "cow vigilantes" who meted out atrocities against Dalits and people of other strataof the society. Replying to debate on atrocities on Dalits under Business rule 193, Mr Singh said, "All state governments will ensure effective and stern action against all sorts of atrocities and crimes against Dalits and people of all other strata of society against anti social elements includingso called gau rakshaks(cow vigilantes)". He said, "After the Prime Minister's stern observation against incidents in the name of cow protection, I had issued an advisory to all state governments for due and stern action in such cases". Mr Singh said "Although we have brought down such atrocities during past two years,Ican not claim these have been curbed fully,..atrocities are there,..these are big challengesbefore all of us". He said, "We strongly condemn these incidents..,..we reaffirm the government's commitmentto eradicate this evil..I also seek cooperation from all parties and all state governments",adding that it should not be politicised. Mr Singh also lauded the role and contribution made by RSS and its frontal organisation--Seva Bharati-- in socio-economical elevation of Dalits stratum. Refuting allegations from the Opposition benches about alleged failure of the present dispensation at the Centre in the incidents of atrocities, the Home Minister hit back that afalse impression has been created that such incidents have cropped up only after the installation of the present BJP Government at the Centre, but this is not true". He also slammed the Opposition for targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for notspeaking over the issue in Parliament saying "Is there a convention that Prime Minister should speak on every subject and every issue..,..in the past it was not done by the thenPMs". Besides, Mr Singh, Minister for Consumer Affairs Food and Civil Supplies, Ram Vilas Paswan, Information and BroadcastingMinister M Venkaiah Naidu, MoS Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal also intervened in the debateto defend the approach and policy of the government over the issue. Eds: rest pick up suitably from earlier series.UNI SS RSA 2315 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-883569.Xml
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal returned to the national capital tonight after having attended a 10 day meditation course at Vipassana Meditation Retreat, Dharamshala, sources said.Before leaving for Delhi, the Chief Minister tweeted, "Returning back from 10 day Vipassana course. Feeling v fresh n energetic." Sources in the AAP said the Delhi CM , on his arrival in the national capital, is expected to be briefed by his ministers and officials on crucial developments in Delhi in his absence, including the setback in the Delhi High Court. The Chief Minister has so far not reacted to the verdict which established the primacy of Lt Governor in administration of Delhi. The government has already announced it would move Supreme Court against the order. During his stay in the meditation course, the AAP chief used to start his day at 0430 hrs every day, party sources said. Mr Kejriwal remained inside the Vipassana Meditation Retreat till this morning and he did not even interact with other participants of the meditation course during the period. During his stay there, he had no access to newspapers, telephone and social media. UNI RG/AR RSA 2337 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-883583.Xml
The shelling targeted the sprawling Hamadaniyeh district in the government-controlled western part of Aleppo city, Xinhua quoted a report by pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV as saying.

The shelling lasted all day on Wednesday as ambulances were seen speeding to transfer the wounded to hospitals.

According to the report, over 40 wounded people were hospitalised, as some bodies of civilians were found charred due to the intensity of the shelling.

The report said the targeted areas are all civilians with no military presence, adding that the death toll is not final as the shelling is still ongoing and ambulances were still wailing in that part of the city.

Earlier in the day, a military source told Xinhua that up to 142 civilians have been killed in rebel attacks in Aleppo since July 31.

An array of extremist groups unleashed what they called "Aleppo' s Large Epic" battle on July 31, the source said on condition of anonymity.

A total of 48 children, 31 women, and 63 men have been killed, in addition to 672 injuries, mostly women and children, the source added.

--IANS sku/

( 217 Words)

2016-08-11-04:00:01 (IANS)
High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters today struggled with how to best reject Donald Trump's divisive candidacy, as the nominee dealt with fallout from his remark that gun rights activists could stop Hillary Clinton from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices.MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post saying the party was in "uncharted waters" and called for leaders to start looking for ways to remove Trump from the ticket.A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken August 5-8 showed that nearly one-fifth of 396 registered Republicans want Trump to drop out of the race for the White House and another 10 per cent "don't know" whether the Republican nominee should or not.Clinton's campaign moved to bring disenchanted Republicans into the fold by announcing an official intraparty outreach effort on behalf of the Democratic nominee.But strategists cautioned that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove Trump from the Republican ticket."It's wishful thinking to believe the Republicans are going to replace its nominee after the convention. People are grasping at straws," Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with Trump, told Reuters.The best moves for Trump's detractors may be withholding their endorsements, refusing to raise money for his campaign, throwing their weight behind Clinton or holding out hope that he voluntarily quits.PROMINENT DEFECTIONSClinton's campaign now has a website for Republicans and political independents to sign up to pledge their support. It lists 50 prominent Republicans and independents who have endorsed her so far, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.John Negroponte, former director of national intelligence under President George W Bush, and former Republican US Representative Chris Shays of Connecticut were among those that announced their support today."Donald Trump lost me a long time ago," Shays told MSNBC in an interview. "He does and says everything my mom and dad taught me never to say and do. He doesn't understand the basic requirements of being president of the United States. And, frankly, he's dangerous."Earlier this week, 50 Republican national security officials had signed an open letter questioning the real estate mogul's temperament, calling him reckless and unqualified.Other top Republicans, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine this week, have disavowed Trump but said they cannot back Clinton, either.Trump has dismissed the defections and criticism as an unsurprising reaction of the so-called Washington elite to his drive to change the status quo."He has dug himself a deep hole overall because he's allowed the race to become a referendum on his fitness to be president," said Republican strategist and Trump supporter Ford O'Connell. "If he's going to win this, he has to make it a referendum on Hillary Clinton and the 'rigged system.'"RESET ABANDONEDTrump, a New York businessman, was seeking to reset his campaign this week with an economic policy speech after a series of missteps that included a prolonged clash with the parents of fallen Muslim American Army Captain Humayun Khan.But Trump's remark at a yesterday rally about gun rights activists sparked a torrent of criticism on social media that he was effectively calling for Clinton's assassination."If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," Trump said at the rally at the University of North Carolina. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know," he continued. The US Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms.Clinton's campaign called Trump's remark "dangerous." Trump's campaign said the comment was misinterpreted and that he was encouraging gun activists to use their political power."What he meant by that was you have the power to vote against her," former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said late yesterday when introducing Trump at another rally.Trump's comment and the resulting backlash occurred as Reuters/Ipsos polling showed some 44 percent of 1,162 registered voters believe he should exit the race and that as of Tuesday, Clinton led Trump by more than 7 percentage points, up from a 3-percentage-point lead late last week.Republican Party rules and state laws would make it difficult at this juncture to replace Trump on ballots ahead of the November 8 election.The party would have to host another nominating convention or have delegates vote following the same process used at a formal convention. In addition, some states require that nominee names on ballots be certified earlier than others. The deadline in Ohio is August 10; Florida is September 1. Both are critical battleground states.A more likely scenario would be a replay of the 1996 presidential race, when Republican nominee Bob Dole was badly trailing President Bill Clinton. The party essentially deserted Dole by urging its congressional candidates to cut ties and concentrate on maintaining a Republican majority in the US Congress.REUTERS DS0019 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-881855.Xml
Russia said today there would be daily three-hour ceasefires in Syria's Aleppo starting tomorrow to allow humanitarian convoys to enter the city safely, a proposal which the United Nations said it would consider.Aleppo is split into rebel- and government-held . The rebel-held east, where about 250,000 people are thought to be living, came under siege in early July after government forces cut the Castello Road, the main supply route into the district.On Friday rebels staged a major assault southwest of Aleppo to break through this siege. Fighters did manage to pierce the ring of government-controlled territory, but a safe corridor for civilians and aid has not yet been established as fierce fighting continues.Speaking at a televised briefing, Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian Defence Ministry official, said the pause in fighting would run from 10 am to 1 pm local time.Rudskoi said the question of joint control over delivery of humanitarian aid via Castello Road was being discussed with the United Nations and the United States.He said "all military action, air and artillery strikes" would be halted for the three-hour periods."This is to ensure that all interested organisations have the opportunity to deliver their humanitarian assistance to the residents of Aleppo," Rudskoi said.He added that Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against rebels in Syria's five-year-old civil war, would work with Damascus to ensure safe delivery of the aid.A spokesman for a major rebel group fighting inside Aleppo told Reuters it was sceptical of the Russian plan."Is this publicity that Russia is a neutral party? What is three hours? In those three hours they will just be bombing (rebel-held) Idlib!" said Abd al-Salaam Abd al-Razzaq, military spokesman for the Nour al Din al-Zinki insurgent group.Air strikes killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens in rebel-held Idlib province, southwest of Aleppo, today. One Idlib town, Saraqeb, has received daily heavy air strikes since a Russian helicopter was shot down nearby 10 days ago.QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE TRAPPEDConcerns are growing for the roughly 250,000 people believed to be trapped inside eastern Aleppo, where food supplies, infrastructure and medical services are immensely strained.United Nations aid chief Stephen O'Brien said today he was willing to consider the Russian plan, but that a 48-hour pause in fighting was needed to meet all the humanitarian needs in the Syrian city, Syria's most populous before the war."At all times I will look at any kind of suggestion which enables humanitarian aid to be delivered," he told reporters."When we're offered three hours then you have to ask what could be achieved in that three hours - is it to meet the need, or would it only just meet a very small part of the need?"Clearly, from our point of view, we're simply there to meet the need, all the need...," O'Brien said. "To meet that capacity of need you need two (road) lanes and you need to have about 48 hours to get sufficient trucks in."He said last month that any Aleppo humanitarian pause needed to be 48 hours because the Castello Road was so damaged that only smaller trucks could be used, taking longer to deliver the assistance needed.In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the United States would welcome any pause in fighting in Syria to facilitate delivery of vital humanitarian aid, but a truce must be observed by all parties.Rudskoi said that a point for collecting the aid and forming convoys has been established near Handarat, on the northern outskirts of Aleppo.Two weeks ago Russia and the Syrian government declared a joint humanitarian operation for the besieged area, showering it with leaflets telling fighters to surrender and civilians to leave through a number of "humanitarian corridors" it had set up.Russian and Syrian warplanes have bombarded eastern Aleppo and other rebel-held areas of Syria daily for months and the United States suggested the humanitarian corridors plan may have been an attempt to depopulate the city so that the Syrian army could seize it."All seven humanitarian corridors, established for the exit of peaceful residents and militants who wanted to lay down their arms, are open and work around the clock," Rudskoi said. "An additional humanitarian corridor for militants with weapons continues to operate near the Castello Road."He said that a "number" of armed groups, with weapons, had already left the eastern part of Aleppo through that corridor.Rudskoi said the situation in the southwest of Aleppo remains difficult, with about 7,000 Jabhat Fatah al-Sham militants massing there for the past week and still being joined by new combatants. He said the militants had tanks, artillery and combat vehicles with weapons mounted on them.REUTERS DS0056 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-881871.Xml
Libyan forces battling to oust Islamic State from Sirte said today they had captured a convention centre in the city centre, seizing a base where militants once flew their black jihadist flag.Retaking the Ouagadougou centre would mark the biggest advance Libyan forces have made in weeks. The United States began air strikes 10 days ago on Sirte, which fighters say eased their advance to encircle the militants."Our forces have complete control of the whole of the Ouagadougou complex - they even advanced some distance beyond the complex," said Rida Issa, a spokesman in the forces' media office.The large domed Ouagadougou complex is a landmark in Sirte, hometown of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and was used for meetings and religious instruction by Islamic State after they took control of the city last year.Losing Sirte city would be a major setback for Islamic State, already under pressure in Syria and Iraq. It would also be a boost for Libya's UN-backed government, which has struggled to impose its authority and faces continuing resistance from hardline armed factions.Forces aligned with the UN-backed government launched their campaign for Sirte in May. Their advance slowed as they approached its centre, and the forces, led by brigades from the city of Misrata, have suffered heavy casualties from Islamic State landmines and snipers.Clashes have been sporadic, with heavier fighting interspersed with lulls that last for several days. Islamic State still controls several residential areas and the Misrata-led brigades have previously found it difficult to advance through neighbourhoods in house-to-house fighting.Since August 1, US drones and fighter jets have carried out a total of 29 strikes, targeting several IS emplacements on Monday and a gun-mounted pick-up truck yesterday, according to statements by US Africa Command.In today's clashes, the government-backed forces said they had also advanced to a cluster of unfinished blocks just west of the centre of Sirte, known as the "bone buildings", which had been used by Islamic State snipers.At least 16 fighters from the government-backed forces were killed and 11 wounded, Issa said.Earlier in the day, Libyan forces said they had lost a fighter jet over Sirte. Issa said the cause of the crash and the fate of the crew could not be confirmed. Islamic State said it shot down the jet, killing a pilot, according to a statement on a website close to the group.POST-GADDAFI CHAOSLibyan militants returning from combat in Syria's civil war helped implant Islamic State in Libya in 2014, but the group failed to win widespread support or hold territory as most local people regard it as a malign import dependent on foreign fighters.Islamic State took advantage of conflict between various factions of former rebels who emerged as powerbrokers after the fall of Gaddafi in 2011. The UN-backed government in Tripoli is the latest attempt to end the conflict.In addition to US air strikes, Libyan brigades in Misrata and Sirte have been working with small teams of Western special forces who have provided intelligence and logistical support as well as strategic advice.A few dozen men belonging to Italy's elite special forces are in Libya to collect intelligence, provide non-combat "support" to government-backed forces and help other allies present in Libya, such as British or American special forces, a source said today.The Italian government delivered a brief document outlining the special forces mission in Libya to the parliament's intelligence services oversight committee last week, said the source, who had knowledge of the document.La Repubblica newspaper reported that Italians were teaching Libyans how to diffuse land mines in Sirte. The defence minister and prime minister's offices did not respond to requests for comment. REUTERS DS0105 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-881874.Xml
Italy's government today dissolved the municipal government of Corleone, the Sicilian town known around the world as both a real and fictional stronghold of the mafia.Corleone, which means "heart of the lion" in dialect, and three other local governments in southern Italy were disbanded by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government in a sign the country still grapples with organised crime in the 21st century.Corleone was the hometown of Mario Puzo's fictional "Godfather", and also the real birthplace of Bernardo Provenzano and Salvatore Riina, two mafia chieftains who took control of Sicily's Cosa Nostra in the 1980s after a bloody mob war that some historians estimate left 1,000 people dead.Riina and Provenzano, dubbed "The Beasts" for their brutal violence, were eventually tracked down and jailed for life. Provenzano died at age 83 last month, while the 85-year-old Riina remains in a high-security prison.From 1991 through June of this year, 212 city governments had been dissolved in Italy for mafia infiltration. This is the first time Corleone's administration has been dissolved.Cities are then managed by a government-appointed commissioner until new elections are held. The administrations of Arzano near Naples, and two Calabrian towns, Bovalino and Tropea, also were disbanded this week.The criminal power of Sicily's Cosa Nostra has declined markedly over the past two decades as a result of a sweeping crackdown after the assassination of two prominent anti-mafia jurists in 1992, which shocked Italy. But Calabria's 'Ndrangheta mafia has grown in influence by making itself Europe's single-biggest importer of South American cocaine, investigators say.Reuters DS0112 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-881877.Xml
Nearly one-fifth of registered Republicans want Donald Trump to drop out of the race for the White House, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released today, reflecting the turmoil his candidacy has sown within his party.Some 19 per cent think the New York real estate magnate should drop out, 70 per cent think he should stay in and 10 per cent say they "don't know," according to the August 5-8 poll of 396 registered Republicans. The poll has a confidence interval of six percentage points.Among all registered voters, some 44 percent want Trump to drop out. That is based on a survey of 1,162 registered voters, with a confidence interval of 3 percentage points. That is 9 points higher than his support for the presidency in the latest Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll.The figures underscored deep divisions within the Republican Party over Trump's candidacy. A number of prominent Republicans have declined to endorse him in the November 8 election against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, citing his fiery rhetoric and policy proposals such as building a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and temporarily banning Muslims from entering the country.Mike Smith, a 74-year-old retiree from Clearwater, Florida, said he supported Trump for much longer than he should have, but now feels the candidate should drop out of the race. Trump "has not comported himself as a leader," said Smith, adding that he might vote for Clinton over his party's nominee."His policies don't seem to be well formed, they don't seem to make any sense," Smith said. "The support he has from Republicans almost seems obligatory rather than voluntary."Trump found himself embroiled in yet another controversy yesterday after saying at a rally that gun rights activists could act to stop Clinton from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices - a comment his campaign said was misinterpreted, but that Clinton's campaign called "dangerous.""If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," Trump said at the rally at the University of North Carolina. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know," he continued. The US Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms.Megan MacDonald, 25, is a Republican but did not support Trump through the primary. He has not done anything since to change her mind, and believes he should leave the race."I just feel there are so many derogatory things that have come out of his mouth, and he's putting it out there - it's not like someone is finding skeletons in his closet," said MacDonald, a stay-at-home mom in Louisiana, who may pick a third-party candidate. "It feels like he's not even trying to be a decent person who we should look up to."Trump had previously stirred criticism for engaging in a spat with the parents of a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in Iraq.In addition, 50 prominent national security experts signed an open letter saying they would not vote for Trump in the fall, saying he "lacks the character, values, and experience" to be president. Trump dismissed the group as part of the Washington establishment that he blames for many of the United States' problems.Stacie McDaniel, 42, said Trump's rhetoric has, at times, made her think he should drop out of the race."Sometimes I think he has good intentions, but his mouth gets overloaded," said McDaniel, a relocation director for a real estate company in Louisiana. "I think he says things that if he does get elected, he's not going to get anything done."Still, she plans to vote for Trump, she said, because she cannot bring herself to support Clinton. "I dislike Hillary so much," she said. "As the lesser of two evils is why I'm voting for him."Indeed, neither Trump nor Clinton enjoys great popularity. Some 53 per cent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Clinton, who has been accused of mishandling her emails as secretary of state, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.Nearly 63 per cent have an unfavorable view of Trump.Clinton led Trump by more than 7 percentage points in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, up from a less than 3-percentage-point lead late last week.REUTERS DS0306 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-881902.Xml
Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine today of using terrorist tactics to try to provoke a new conflict and destabilise annexed Crimea after Russia said it had thwarted two armed Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into the contested peninsula.Russia's FSB security service said two people were killed in clashes and its forces had dismantled a Ukrainian spy network inside Crimea. Kiev denied the assertions, calling them an attempt by Moscow to create an excuse to escalate towards a war.The Russian president accused Kiev of playing a dangerous game and said he saw no point in holding a new round of talks about the troubled peace process in eastern Ukraine on the sidelines of a G20 summit in China next month."The people who seized power in Kiev ... have switched to terror tactics instead of searching for ways for a peaceful settlement," Putin told a news conference, saying Russia would not let such actions pass without a response."The attempt to provoke an outbreak of violence, to provoke a conflict is nothing other than a desire to distract (Ukrainian) society from its problems," he added, calling Ukraine's actions "criminal."Putin's comments stirred fears that Russia, which has been steadily reinforcing Crimea militarily, may be considering new military action.Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the Russian accusations were a cynical pretext to make more military threats against Ukraine."Russian accusations towards Ukraine of terrorism in the occupied Crimea sound as preposterous and cynical as the statements of the Russian leadership about the absence of the Russian troops in Donbass (region of Ukraine)," Poroshenko said.The Russian allegations follow an uptick in Russian military activity in northern Crimea and heavier fighting in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian government troops are battling pro-Russian separatists.If true, the events - which the FSB said involved at least two armed clashes on the border between Crimea and Ukraine - would be the most serious escalation on the contested peninsula since Moscow annexed it from Ukraine in 2014.US and European Union sanctions to punish Russia for the land grab remain in place, though Moscow has made clear it has no intention of handing Crimea back.Ukraine's UN Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko drew parallels between the current situation involving Russia and Ukraine and the lead-up to a 2008 war between Russia and Georgia."The scenario looks very similar and very familiar. That's why we stand ready for any further provocative developments, the convening of the Security Council is being considered," he told reporters at the United Nations. "We still hope that it will not bring the conflict to another level, but it seems that it is quite possible unfortunately."BORDER CLASHESUkraine, the United States and many western European governments say Moscow has armed and encouraged pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, and covertly infiltrated Russian military personnel.Former US ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said that while it was impossible to know the Kremlin's intentions based on Putin's statements, "They've clearly set the stage for a crisis, and maybe a broad (military) movement."Herbst, now at the Atlantic Council think tank, said Ukrainian security forces have strengthened their military lines in eastern Ukraine and to the north of Crimea, meaning that while Russian proxies could grab additional territory, it would not be easy.Herbst said it was possible that "testosterone-heavy Ukrainian volunteers" had staged a provocation, as Putin charged, but added, "The odds of it being Ukrainian are 5 per cent, 8 per cent Certainly, Ukrainian authorities want no part of this."The FSB said it believed Ukrainian special forces had been planning attacks targeting critical infrastructure.An FSB employee and a Russian soldier were killed in the clashes, it said."The aim of this subversive activity and terrorist acts was to destabilise the socio-political situation in the region ahead of preparations and the holding of elections," the FSB said, referring to Russia-wide parliamentary elections next month.The FSB said it had tackled one group of Ukrainian saboteurs in an operation that spanned late Saturday and early Sunday, smashing what it called a Ukrainian spy network.Ukraine and Russian nationals were arrested and an arms cache, including 20 homemade explosive devices, ammunition, mines, grenades and specialised weapons commonly used by Ukrainian special forces, were recovered, it said.The FSB said the situation escalated further late on Sunday and in the early hours of Monday."The attempts to break through were accompanied by massive covering fire from the neighbouring state and from Ukrainian armoured vehicles," it said.The US State Department referred questions about the Russian claims to Ukraine's government, and repeated Washington's rejection of Russia's annexation of Crimea."Crimea is and will always be part of Ukraine," spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reportersUS officials are monitoring the situation, but have yet to drawn any conclusion about Russia's intentions, said a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.REUTERS DS0328 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-881908.Xml
After a hectic first month in office following the June 23 Brexit vote, new Prime Minister Theresa May is off on holiday and she has chosen a country outside the European Union with close ties to the bloc - Switzerland.May, who became prime minister on July 13, will head to Switzerland today for two weeks, her office said. It did not provide any further details of the trip.The British leader has spoken previously of her love of walking holidays in Switzerland, a destination also favoured by her German counterpart Angela Merkel."The views are spectacular, the air is clear and you can get some peace and quiet," May wrote in the Telegraph newspaper in 2007.The model of Switzerland is one Britain will be looking at closely as it seeks to determine its own future relationship with the EU following the vote to leave the bloc.Switzerland, along with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, is a member of the European Free Trade Association.Its goods exporters enjoy tariff-free access to EU markets while it is also free to negotiate its own trade deals with non-EU countries. It has only limited access to the EU's services market however, and almost none for financial services -- a significant contributor to the British economy. REUTERS DS0501 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-881923.Xml
The Incident took place yesterday when pages of the Granth Sahib were torn and thrown away by the miscreant.

"The incident took place last evening, when a notorious person torn the holy book into pieces. This has riled up the people of our community. We along with our community will take up this issue. And we expect that American authorities will find a solution to this and bring the culprits to the book. Moving on we also wish that police and local authorities lend us help in the matter," said American Gurudwar Committee coordinator, Pritpal Singh

Subsequent to the incident, California mayor Eric Garcetti arrived at the protest site and assured the protestors of penal action against the miscreants who have attempted to hurt their religious sentiments.

According to reports. police have registered a complaint in the matter. (ANI)
Poroshenko gave the order after a military meeting here. It comes after Russias security service said on Wednesday it had foiled a terrorist attack in Crimea plotted by Kiev.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had found a group of infiltrators in Crimea, near the Ukrainian border. The infiltrators were preparing to target Crimea infrastructure, the agency said. Explosive devices and ammunition were also discovered at the scene.

A network of agents from Ukraines chief intelligence directorate has been uncovered in Crimea, according to the FSB.

Meanwhile, security in the region has been tightened due to the discovery, the FSB announced, saying that additional security arrangements have been made near major infrastructure objects, in crowded places, and on the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Kiev denied claims that it was behind the terrorist plot, and accused Moscow of provocation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Ukraine has turned to "the practice of terrorism" and "is playing a dangerous game", calling Kiev's actions "stupid and criminal".

--IANS ahm/dg

( 207 Words)

2016-08-11-18:38:01 (IANS)
He was joined by several other politicians and critics in slamming the security establishments of the country for their 'good' and 'bad' terrorists approach, reports the Khaama Press.

His comments came after a deadly attack on a hospital in Quetta city.

The critics accused Pakistan's security institutions of aiding and protecting the "good" militants , the ones who launch attacks in India and Afghanistan, while cracking down on "bad" terrorists whose attacks have killed more than 60,000 civilians and soldiers since 2004.

"It is also public knowledge that non-state actors find no obstacles to their agenda," said Khattak and added "proscribed organizations not only indulge in public activities but also give themselves the right to determine Pakistan's regional policy."

Khattak, a longtime critic of Pakistan's support for hard-line Islamist groups, said, "Our country is at daggers drawn with three out of four neighbors and faces growing international isolation."

Another lawmaker, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, said at the Pakistan National Assembly, "Powers within this country are backing the terrorists. These people attacking us are from among us."

He also rejected claims by a senior Balochistan official that India's main foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), orchestrated the Quetta attack.

"There is no RAW in Balochistan," he said. (ANI)
The newly-formed government of Nepal has decided to send special envoys to India and China to maintain harmonious relations with both its neighbours.As per the Cabinet decision taken today, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bimalenda Nidhi will be the special envoy to government to IndiaFor China Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been assigned the role of special envoy.Both the deputy prime ministers and the minister assigned the task of special envoy will leave for New Delhi and Beijing respectively, to strengthen the bilateral ties and apprise the two neighbours about the latest political situation of the Gorkha nation.The newly-formed Nepal government has decided to maintain friendly and balanced relations with both its neighbours and continue the regime of peace and friendship under the able guidance of Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda."UNI XC CJ RP1945 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-883204.Xml
A 27-year-old salesman of Abbott Laboratories' operations in India, one of the American health care company's top performers there, committed suicide amid pressure from the company to achieve sales target. A note found in his pocket after the suicide read, "I'm going to commit suicide because I can't meet my company's sales targets and my company is pressuring me," reports the New York Times. Ashish Awasthi's death last month resonated across India and through health care giant. More than 250 fellow Abbott drug representatives in India walked off the job for a day, protesting what some called the company's overly aggressive sales policies. A national union of drug sales workers called for new government rules to rein in sales practices industry-wide, saying they compromised with the patient's health. It was found that to win customers in India's highly competitive drug market, some Abbott managers instructed employees to pursue sales at virtually any cost , in violation of Indian law, professional medical standards and the company's own ethics guidelines. In one of the most common practice, Abbott managers told sales staff to hold "health camps", where the representatives would perform tests on patients for various ailments in an effort to step up business for doctors, who would in return prescribe Abbott drugs. Sales personnel who perform screening tests could be accused of practicing medicine without a license, which is a criminal offense, said Dr. Jayshree Mehta, president of the Medical Council of India, the country's medical regulatory agency. "Indian medical ethics regulations also prohibit quid pro quo," said Mehta. Abbott India's public affairs director, Anand Kadkol said "the company's marketing policies are aligned with applicable laws in India." He called the health camps "disease awareness education programs" and said that the company's policies did not allow the camps to be conducted "in exchange for an explicit or implicit understanding" to prescribe Abbott products. But a former manager of a sales team in northern India, Vivek Gupta, said he was fired last year when he tried to resist the pressure to make his sales representatives do more screenings of patients to promote a new Abbott multivitamin for nerve damage. He said he resisted out of respect for the national rules and the company's own policies. Another former sales agent in central India in the neurology division, 26-year old Dhirendra Yadav said he resigned in December 2013 under "immense pressure to conduct business in unethical ways." (ANI)
Sri Lanka's parliament on Thursday passed a law to establish an office to trace people who disappeared during a 26-year war and another insurrection amid protests by former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa's supporters in the chamber.The law was passed without a vote. It will enable independent investigation of thousands of cases of missing people, measures to trace them and protection of their rights and interests and those of their relatives."We have brought this to correct the past mistakes in the history," Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera presenting the bill told the parliament.Rajapaksa's supporters, who allege that the move was to prosecute the military, protested wearing black bands and shawls. Rajapaksa, now an opposition legislator, was out of the country on Thursday.But Samaraweera said the government was trying to safeguard the military by looking into the allegations leveled against them and to maintain their reputation internationally.The United Nations and rights groups have long urged justice for the families of those who disappeared during the war, including those who were alleged to have been secretly abducted by state-backed groups and paramilitary outfits.Sri Lanka has already acknowledged that some 65,000 people were missing, mostly ethnic minority Tamils from its 26-year war with Tamil Tiger rebels and a separate Marxist insurrection.President Maithripala Sirisena's coalition government has agreed to address past human rights violations through independent investigations and to implement a resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).Former president Rajapaksa's government had rejected the U.N. recommendations, saying it wanted to address rights concerns without any international pressure. Rajapaksa lost power in January 2015.M.A. Sumanthiran, an opposition legislator from the main Tamil party said the new law was the "first baby step" in the process of reconciliation."There cannot be a reconciliation without the ascertainment of truth and in this process the most important issue is the missing person, persons who have been made to disappear during the course of a protracted war in this country," he said.The office of missing persons will trace those disappeared during the war for an independent Tamil state in the north and east of the island of Sri Lanka and an armed revolt by a radical Marxist group against the government in 1987-89. REUTERS CJ GC2110 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-883443.Xml
East Godavari SP Misala Raviprakash said that one more accused was arrested today in connection with theSudhapalem Dalits assault case. He told media persons here that further investigation in this case was in progress and if anyone found involved in the assaulting of dalits under the pretext of alleged cow slaughter in this incident would not be spared but would be brought to book under SC ST atrocities act. He gave the name of the arrested as Vaka Gopi(26) of Kamanagaruvu village Amalapuram Mandal. The SP also warned of stringent action if any one indulges in circulating wrong messages about the incident in social media. Meanwhile Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Home Nimmakayala China Rajappa has visited the area hospital in Amalapuram and enquired the health of the two dalits who were thrashed by people under the pretext of cow slaughter. He said that government was serious about the incident and take stringent action against the accused however influential they may be. He also assured all pout help to the families of the victims.UNI XR-DP CJ RK2200 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-883520.Xml
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (2nd L) holds talks with his Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed (2nd R) in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei)

NAIROBI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday here that China is Kenya's trustworthy partner as the East African country endeavors to achieve economic prosperity.

Wang made the remarks while meeting with his Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed, and both sides pledged to further deepen bilateral practical cooperation.

China and Kenya have enjoyed the advantage of high-level political mutual trust and strong economic complementarity, said Wang.

And as a next step, he said, the two countries should take the opportunity of fully implementing the important consensus reached by the two leaders and the fruitful outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in Johannesburg, to further promote bilateral cooperation and development and achieve practical results that are beneficial to the two peoples.

Kenya is one of the leading African countries that are deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with China, said Wang. The two countries have already defined a cooperative framework in five major fields -- industrialization and infrastructural construction, agriculture and green environmental protection, cultural and educational exchanges, peace and security and justice and police affairs, and international and regional affairs, he said.

China is willing to work with Kenya to further enhance political mutual trust and dovetail development strategies so as to make headway with the three projects of Mombasa-Nairobi railway, Mombasa port and Mombasa special economic zone, said Wang.

Besides, China will cooperate with Kenya in the construction of an industrial economic corridor that is connecting roads and ports, and help Kenya develop into the center of manufacturing and logistics in East Africa and become a regional development hub, he said.

China is Kenya's most trustworthy partner while the East African nation strives to realize the Kenya 2030 Vision, Wang added.

For her part, Amina said that with a strong bilateral friendly relationship and frequent high-level exchanges, Kenya and China share broad consensus on further promoting bilateral cooperation.

Kenya is willing to enhance cooperation with China in areas such as infrastructural construction, industrialization, special economic zone, agricultural modernization, energy and environmental protection, technical training, she added.
BRUSSELS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The two airplanes threatened by bomb alerts Wednesday have both landed at Brussels' Zaventem airport safely with nothing suspicious being found, according to local media reports.

"Currently, there is no concrete threat," Belgian newspaper Le Soir quoted spokesperson of the Interior Minister Jan Jambon as saying. The planes have been searched by explosive detection dogs, and nothing suspicious were found.

"It seems to be a false bomb threat," said Eric Van Der Sypt, spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office.

Emergency medical plan had been put in place at Zaventem airport following the information that there might be bombs on two airplanes run by the Scandinavian airline.

Passengers on both planes, one from Oslo, Norway and the other from Arlanda, Sweden, have left the plane orderly. The operation of the airport is now back to normal, according to working staff at the Zaventem airport.

There have been several false bomb alarms in Belgium since the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels that killed 32 people. Security alert in Belgium remains level three, the 2nd highest on a four-tier scale, after the attack.
BOGOTA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A "chop-up house" where criminal gangs are thought to have committed horrific crimes, including dismembering the bodies of murdered victims, is where Bogota's government decided to begin the destruction of Bronx Street on Wednesday.

Bronx Street, in the center of the Colombian capital, has long struck fear into the hearts of residents but the local government has now decided to bulldoze many of the buildings and rebuild this dark corner of the city.

On Wednesday, heavy machinery began the bulldozing of the chop-up house, protected by police officers and accompanied by the firefighters.

Bogota's mayor Enrique Penalosa spoke to the press as the demolition began, assuring them that his administration would continue to improve security in Bogota, in order to restore public spaces and reduce the danger for vulnerable inhabitants.

"The important thing is the human factor. There are thousands of residents who are in shelters, young people are entering drug rehab programs. We must now focus on a rehabilitation process for those who live on this street," said Penalosa.

The reconstruction and restoration of Bronx Street will last around a year and cost around 11.6 million U.S. dollars, he said. Once completed, the street will also house the new seat of the local government of Los Martires, a district of Bogota.

Penalosa said that his proposal involved taking a zone where crime was rampant and transforming it into a safe area for all citizens.

"We need for businesses in the area to collaborate in order to make this a safe, more dynamic areas, with more businesses and activities to benefit the community," said the mayor.

The intervention on Bronx Street began in May with 2,500 public security officers carrying out a raid, which led to 13 arrests of gang members and the seizing of 30 firearms and around 100,000 doses of drugs. Enditem
Donald Trump speaks on the last day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, the United States, July 21, 2016. New York billionaire Donald Trumpofficially accepted the presidential nomination of the U.S. Republican Party Thursday night on the final day of the Republican National Convention. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican nominee Donald Trump's speech on the economy on Monday showed a more statesman-like side of him, but his controversial remarks on Clinton's gun control policy a day later quickly betrayed him.

Trump has in recent months become infamous for his big personality and equally big mouth. While it has galvanized blue collar white males to help him win the nomination, his colorful but often over-the-top rhetoric has offended many Americans outside Republican rank-and-file voters.

Analysts said he needs to tone down his presentation in a bid to clinch independent voters and others. But this proves to be a nearly impossible task for the brash New York real estate billionaire.

Trump's speech on Monday was in part a bid for him to appear to be more presidential. He refrained from trash talking, outlined his plan to revive the economy, and put it together in a cogent and rational argument.

"Trump attempted to change the conversation by giving a major economic address," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

Indeed, Trump used a teleprompter to deliver the speech, instead of just winging it, as he so often does.

Reading from a pre-written speech helped Trump stay focused and refrain from his usual confrontational demeanor, which is a turn-off for many moderate voters.

Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua that speeches and policy positions like Monday's speech are certainly what Trump needs to do in order to shift away from the distractions and self-inflicted wounds of the past few weeks.

To try to appeal to voters, Trump will have to suggest that rival Hillary Clinton is a continuation of U.S. President Barack Obama's economic policies and that his policies will be a break away from policies on trade and regulations.

Mahaffee said that thus far, the "Hillary's status quo" message seems to be driving the most attention. He was referring to Trump's argument that Clinton would simply continue what Trump calls the failed economic policies under Obama.

But few people believe Trump can maintain the sense of civility very long. "He is able to stay in script for limited periods of time," West said.

On Tuesday, Trump issued arguably his most vile remarks in this year's campaign, by indicating that gun rights advocates could stop Clinton from appointing Supreme Court judges who will support stricter gun control.

"Hillary wants to abolish ... the Second Amendment ... by the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is," Trump told a campaign rally in North Carolina.

U.S. gun advocates insist their gun rights derive from the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

Critics interpreted Trump's remarks as a suggestion that gun rights advocates should kill Clinton to prevent her from implementing her gun control policy.

Trump later explained that he was not inciting violence, but was talking about a political movement only. But this could hardly convince people that he will become a guy who is calmer and more measured just as he was making the economic speech on Monday.

Certainly, many of Trump's recent stumbles have been self-inflicted, and a lot of them have to do with his temperament as a candidate.

Trump has come across to a lot of the American people as thin-skinned and impetuous, and that raises questions about someone who will have the powers and responsibilities inherent with the presidency, Mahaffee said.

While there is a lot of time left in the campaign, Trump has pushed away many educated moderates over the past few week, and his tumbling poll numbers in some important swing states have demonstrated that.

"With the debates looming and plenty of campaigning, there is time for that to change, but there is a risk that many people have made up their minds about Trump's temperament," Mahaffee said.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (R) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei)

NAIROBI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Railway lines built by Chinese firms in African countries are becoming a model of China-Africa cooperation in industrial capacity, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during his visit to Kenya on Wednesday.

Wang cited the Nairobi-Mombasa railway line as an example during a joint press conference with his Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed after their talks and a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The railway line, funded by China and being built by a Chinese company, will run from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, and a new deal has been signed to extend it to the country's western border.

Construction of the modern rail is being carried out in line with Chinese standards with Chinese equipment being used, Wang said.

"Once completed next year, it will be one of the railway lines with the highest standard, quality and cost effectiveness in Africa," he said.

Wang said the railway suited the requirements for Kenya's development and was part of the fruits of China-Kenya cooperation.

Construction of the railway line has created more than 40,000 jobs for locals, with some 20,000 local employees having received training in related skills. It has contributed to about 1.5 percent of Kenya's gross domestic product (GDP), Wang said.

Along the railway, fourteen wildlife passes have been designed to address concerns over the animals' free movement, he added.

Wang said the Chinese-built railway lines had established themselves in many African countries, citing those in Nigeria and Angola and one linking Addis Ababa with the port of Djibouti.

The Chinese-built railway lines were also entering countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America, he said, adding that Chinese standards and Chinese equipment were gaining recognition in more and more countries.
NEW YORK, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A man equipped with suction cups and climbing gear was safely snatched into the Trump Tower here on Wednesday, after a nearly three-hour standoff with the police.

The man began his ascend around 4 p.m. on the south side of the 58-story building that served as the residency and campaign headquarters of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The stunt had brought the busy mid-town Manhattan to a halt, attracting thousands of onlookers who gathered at the southwest and southeast corner of the building on East 56th Street.

City police and emergency responders had rushed to the scene, bringing ladders, a high-rise window cleaning lift and giant inflated cushions in effort to stop the climber.

Police officers had smashed a couple of windows as the man slowly scaled the building, moving from the south side to the east to avoid comprehension.

At around 6:35 p.m., the man was finally cornered by the police on the 21st floor and subsequently pulled inside through a window. The crowd exclaimed with relief.

"It was crazy," said onlooker Gahhan Haskins, who happens to be a Trump supporter. Haskins believed the stunt would not hurt the presidential campaign of Trump, who was in Virginia holding a rally.

The climber's identity and motives were not clear yet, but a Youtube video posted on Tuesday showed a man resembling the climber said he was a supporter of Trump's campaign.
A man equipped with suction cups and climbing gear was safely snatched into the Trump Tower in mid-town Manhatten, New York on Aug. 10, 2016 after nearly a three-hour standoff with the police. (Xinhua/Li Changxiang)

NEW YORK, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- A man equipped with suction cups and climbing gear was safely snatched into the Trump Tower here on Wednesday, after a nearly three-hour standoff with the police.

The man began his ascend around 4 p.m. on the south side of the 58-story building that served as the residency and campaign headquarters of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The stunt had brought the busy mid-town Manhattan to a halt, attracting thousands of onlookers who gathered at the southwest and southeast corner of the building on East 56th Street.

City police and emergency responders had rushed to the scene, bringing ladders, a high-rise window cleaning lift and giant inflated cushions in effort to stop the climber.

Police officers had smashed a couple of windows as the man slowly scaled the building, moving from the south side to the east to avoid comprehension.

A man equipped with suction cupps and climbing gear was safely snatched into the Trump Tower in mid-town Manhatten, New York on Aug. 10 after nearly a three-hour standoff with the police. (Xinhua/Li Changxiang)

At around 6:35 p.m., the man was finally cornered by the police on the 21st floor and subsequently pulled inside through a window. The crowd exclaimed with relief.

"It was crazy," said onlooker Gahhan Haskins, who happens to be a Trump supporter. Haskins believed the stunt would not hurt the presidential campaign of Trump, who was in Virginia holding a rally.

The climber's identity and motives were not clear yet, but a Youtube video posted on Tuesday showed a man resembling the climber said he was a supporter of Trump's campaign.
MELBOURNE, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Melbourne woman has sued Singapore Airlines after a chain of events on a flight ended with injury on her leg.

Jennifer Green, 71, alleged that she injured her leg when a Singapore Airlines flight attendant made her husband "jerk" into her by spilling a tray of drinks onto his lap.

In a written submission to Victoria's Supreme Court, Green was unable to specify what caused the flight attendant to spill the drinks she was carrying but that the chain of events made her right foot collide with the seat's metal footrest.

The collision with the footrest prompted a devastating series of actions, Green alleged, including multiple health complications such as aggravating her diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

In the submission, published in Fairfax Media on Thursday, Green said the incident caused "soft tissue injury caused by a blow to the lower right leg, development of right leg cellulitis caused by the said blow to the right lower leg, aggravation of rheumatoid arthritis and aggravation of type-one diabetes."

Green said her prognosis remains "uncertain."

The events took place shortly after takeoff on Singapore Airline flight 228 from Melbourne to Singapore in July 2014.

In the submission to the court Green asked the Supreme Court to also order the airline, which ranks as the tenth biggest airline in the world for passengers carried, to pay for her hospital and medical bills.

It is not known how much Green is seeking in compensation from the airlines.
KIEV, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Dutch company Yuzgas B.V. is ready to invest 200 million U.S. dollars within the next five years to explore shale gas deposits in the Yuzovska field in eastern Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian energy official announced on Wednesday.

"Within the first year, the investment could reach 20 (million) to 30 million dollars," Viktor Nazarkevych, the head of the state company Nadra Yuzovska, which runs the Yuzovska field, told reporters during a press conference in Kiev.

The Dutch company is ready to drill the first well within a year if the Ukrainian government approves it as a partner to extract shale gas in Yuzovska area, Nazarkevych said.

The Yuzgas B.V., which was set up by Emerstone Energy investment fund, has won a bid for shale gas exploration in Ukraine in July.

To start its work on the Yuzovska field, the company has to sign a production-sharing agreement with the Ukrainian government.

Last year, Royal Dutch Shell plc, the Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company, withdrew from a treaty with Kiev on Yuzovska field development citing "force majeure circumstances."

The Yuzovska field, located in the Kharkov and Donetsk regions, has estimated reserves of between 3 trillion and 4 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Since April 2014, hostilities between government forces and pro-independence rebels had been underway in the area in eastern Ukraine, which is close to the Yuzovska gas field.
MOSCOW, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russia is planning to turn the Hmeymim air base in Syria into a full-fledged military base and to place a permanent contingent of air forces, a Russian official has said.

"After the legal status of Hmeymim is agreed upon, it will become a full-fledged base of Russian armed forces with appropriate infrastructure," Frants Klintsevich, first deputy head of the Russian Federation Council's Defense and Security Committee, was quoted as saying by a report published Thursday on the website of Russian newspaper Izvestia.

He also said that Russia understands that if no action is taken, terrorism will threaten Russia.

"If Western countries don't want to agree on joint actions, we will strengthen relations with Syria, Iran and Iraq," said Klintsevich.

The official said Russia's support to Syria has allowed the country's seriously demoralized armed forces to restore their combat capability.

Strategic bombers and nuclear weapons will not be located in the base, because it does not match with Russia's international obligations, he added.
OTTAWA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Canadian police announced Wednesday evening they had detained a suspect after warning of a potential terrorist attack.

"Earlier today, the RCMP received credible information of a potential terrorist threat. A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement.

With the purpose of creating mass causalities, the suspect allegedly planned to set off a suicide explosion in public areas, reported local media.

Information the police received included a photo of a man wearing a balaclava, but it is not clear if the man pictured was the suspect detained by RCMP.

"As this is still an unfolding matter and that the investigation is still underway, we are not able to provide further comment at this time," the RCMP said.

"We encourage Canadians to remain alert and to immediately report any suspicious or unusual behavior to their local police," added the RCMP.
SYDNEY, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Queensland government has finally given the green light to Uber to be legalized across the sunshine state, Fairfax Media reported on Thursday.

The newspaper reported that while Uber will be made legal, its drivers will face more regulations including background checks to match its already established taxi industry.

At present, Queensland and Northern Territory are the last two states in Australia yet to have legalized Uber. The ride-sharing services are free to operate in New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Tasmania and Western Australia.

However, despite the illegality, Uber has recently launched a maxi-cab style service in Queensland known as UberXL in June. The service allows parties of up to six people into one car, and is claimed to be 30-percent cheaper than current traditional "maxi-taxis" found in the state.
SINGAPORE, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) announced Thursday that its net profit inched up 0.3 percent year-on-year to 944 million Singapore dollars (703.7 million U.S. dollars) in the quarter ended on June 30 of the current financial year.

Singtel, Southeast Asia's largest telecommunications operator, said its net profit would have risen 2.3 percent in the quarter when factoring out currency movements.

The telco noted that performance in the quarter was underpinned by its resilient core business and increased contributions from regional mobile associates. Mobile data and cyber security services are key growth drivers.

In the same quarter last year, the telco had recorded exceptional gains on the divestment of certain venture investments and Airtel Africa's tower assets. Singtel's operating revenue for the quarter ended on June 30 fell 7.1 percent year-on-year, while that in constant currency dropped 5.7 percent. The decline was due to mandated cuts to mobile termination rates in Australia. Excluding the impact of the rate reduction, operating revenue dipped 1 percent in constant currency terms

Chua Sock Koong, Singtel Group CEO, said that Singtel's associates were well-positioned to successfully drive data usage and customer growth as the group have invested extensively in 3G and 4G networks and services and with the rise of smartphone adoption.

"Across Singapore and Australia, our quality networks, differentiated content and flexible data pricing plans also helped us stand out from competitors," said Chua.

The telco said ICT was also a key performer as demand for cyber security services grew, with cyber security revenues of 109 million Singapore dollars (81.2 million U.S. dollars) for the quarter.

Chua also stressed that Singtel's ICT business is getting a solid boost from new opportunities in cyber security.
SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's central bank on Thursday froze its policy rate at a record low in a bid to wait and see the effect from a quarter-percentage-point cut in borrowing costs in June.

Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol and six other policy board members decided to keep the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate on hold at an all-time low of 1.25 percent.

It was in line with market consensus as experts predicted a rate on hold for the expected wait-and-see stance by the BOK following the June rate cut as well as the continued increase in household debts.

According to a Korea Financial Investment Association (KFIA) survey of 200 fixed-income experts, 96 percent of the respondents had predicted a rate freeze this month.

The BOK refrained from altering the rate as the already massive household debts keep rising. Outstanding household debts by banks increased 6.3 trillion won (5.7 billion U.S. dollars) in July from a month earlier.

Mortgage loans, which account for more than two-thirds of household debts, expanded 5.8 trillion won last month. Home-backed loans topped 500 trillion won in June for the first time amid the record-low borrowing costs.

Despite concerns about surging debts, expectations mount for the BOK to lower its policy rate further in and around October due to dismal outlook for the economy.

Kwon Young-sun, a Hong Kong-based economist at Nomura International, forecast a BOK rate cut by 25 basis points in October based on his expectation for a sharp fall in South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter.

The country's real GDP grew 0.7 percent in the April-June period compared with the previous three-month period, staying below 1 percent for three straight quarters.

Seoul's finance ministry submitted an 11 trillion-won supplementary budget plan to the National Assembly, but the passage has been delayed amid bickering over whether to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korean soil.

The ruling Saenuri Party calls for the THAAD deployment by the end of next year as planned, while opposition lawmakers demanded a sincere review over whether the installation is in national interests.

Market watchers expected the extra budget plan to be passed through the parliament by the end of this month and to be implemented from next month, casting a cloud over the third-quarter growth forecast.

The THAAD deployment, which will weaken economic ties between China and South Korea, is forecast to weigh down on the already sagging South Korean exports.

The export-driven economy's overseas shipments declined 10.2 percent in July from a year earlier, marking the longest monthly fall in history for the 19th consecutive month.

South Korean exports to China, the world's second-largest economy, slumped 9.3 percent over the year in July. China takes up about a quarter of South Korea's total overseas shipments.

Outlook for South Korea's exports recovery gets abysmal as the local currency continued to appreciate to the U.S. dollar. The won/dollar exchange rate settled at 1,095.4 won per dollar in Seoul trading on Wednesday, falling below the 1,100-won level for the first time in 13 months. It was a sharp drop in the rate, which peaked at 1,245 won in February.

Caused by sluggish exports, the employment among manufacturers, the country's main export engine, reduced 65,000 in July from a year earlier. It marked the first decline in 49 months since June 2012.

The ongoing restructuring in the shipbuilding and shipping industries led the jobless rate in the southeastern region, where major shipyards and ports are sited, to rise further.

The unemployment rate in South Gyeongsang province rose 1 percentage point from a year earlier to 3.6 percent in July. It was a stark contrast to a 0.2 percentage-point fall in overall jobless rate last month.

The region's unemployment is expected to keep rising as three major shipbuilders promised to cut workforce by 30 percent by the end of 2018 as part of the government-led restructuring process.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been escalating as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Kiev of plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea and vowed to take additional measures to ensure the safety of infrastructure and citizens there.

"The people who seized power in Kiev ... have switched to terror tactics instead of searching for ways for a peaceful settlement," Putin told a news conference.

"The attempt to provoke an outbreak of violence, to provoke a conflict is nothing other than a desire to distract (Ukrainian) society from its problems," he added, calling Ukraine's actions "criminal."

"We will certainly do our utmost to ensure safety of infrastructure and citizens...(and) those will be serious additional measures and more than that," he said.

Earlier on the same day, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said the country has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service.

One officer died on the night between Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 during a clash with saboteurs and another serviceman was killed on Aug. 8, as Russian forces prevented two attempts of the special units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to penetrate Crimea from Ukraine which was covered by heavy shelling from the Ukrainian side, the FSB said in a statement.

However, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said "Russian accusations towards Ukraine of terrorism in occupied Crimea sound as preposterous and cynical as the statements of the Russian leadership about the absence of the Russian troops in Donbass (region of Ukraine)."

Crimea, which was previously part of Ukraine, was incorporated into Russia in 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Ukraine and Western powers.

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said the claims were "hysterical and false," and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry termed the allegations as Moscow's attempt to justify its re-deployment and actions in the region.

Ukraine will ask the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting if tensions continue to rise over Russia's accusations, Ukraine's Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko on Wednesday told reporters at the UN headquarters.

"The convening of the Security Council is being considered," he said. "As soon as it comes to the point, we will do it immediately."

As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Ukraine has the right to call a meeting on any matter considered to be a threat to international peace and security.

Since Ukraine joined the council in January, it has held only one meeting on the crisis in the country.

Ukraine, the United States and European governments have long accused Russia of arming and encouraging pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst has said Ukrainian security forces have strengthened their military lines in eastern Ukraine and to the north of Crimea.

A ceasefire was signed in Minsk in September 2014 and then in February 2015, with representatives from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany reaching a new agreement in the Ukrainian capital.

However, fighting in the east between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels continues despite the peace deal.

Related:

Ukraine denies attempted troop invasion of Crimea
LHASA,Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Tibet will hold its third tourism and culture expo on Sept. 10 to 16 in the regional capital Lhasa.

About 1,500 officials, experts and representatives will attend the Third China Tibet Tourism and Culture Expo, said Wang Wenpei, deputy head of the expo organizing committee on Wednesday at a press conference.

The expo includes forums on the opportunities resulting from the Belt and Road initiative, culture, the medical industry and water resource development, said the official.

"The expo will help make Tibet's distinctive industries stronger," said Wang.

Tourism is a pillar industry in Tibet Autonomous Region, with revenue accounting for over 20 percent of the region's GDP.

More than 6.8 million tourists visited Tibet in the first half of 2016, up 31.9 percent year on year, with tourism revenue up 32.1 percent to reach 7 billion yuan (1.05 billion U.S. dollars), according to the regional tourism development commission.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Four Brazilian lawmakers announced on Wednesday they filed a case at a court of Organization of American States (OAS) to end the impeachment process against suspended President Dilma Rousseff.

The impeachment process is irregular say the four lawmakers, including three members from Chamber of Deputies and Senator Telmario Mota, in the file to the OAS Inter-American Court for Human Rights.

The impeachment process was established in an illegal manner by former President of Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha, they argued, and Rousseff was not allowed a full defense.

The lawmakers also noted Rousseff did not commit any financial crimes as accused.

The Brazilian Senate voted on Wednesday put Rousseff on an impeachment trial, which is expected to begin in late August or early September.

Rousseff is accused of committing fiscal fraud to balance the 2014 budget.

One of the three deputies, Wadih Damous, called the impeachment "an exclusively political process" and "an ongoing coup" with the aim of deposing a legitimately elected president.

The four decided to resort to the OAS Inter-American Court for Human Rights to paralyze the impeachment process until Rousseff was reinstated, Damous added.
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were injured when a blast went off near a hospital in Pakistan's southwest Quetta city on Thursday morning, local Urdu TV channel ARY reported.
CANBERRA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australians are spending more time in front of television, computer and cell phone screens than they are with their families and loved ones, a new study has found.

Respondents to the survey, conducted by Australian charity "R U OK? " said they spent, on average, 46 hours per week looking at a screen, but just six hours socializing with family and friends.

Rachel Clements, clinical psychologist from the suicide prevention charity said the trend could be damaging to not only personal relationships, but to one's self-esteem as well.

"It definitely has an impact on mental health, in terms of low mood, ability to get through difficult situations, having someone to talk to, to debrief with," Clements told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Thursday.

"Those types of relationships, if they're strong and they're around us, they're big protective factors in keeping us well."

"Staying connected to people, reaching out to people and having really good relationships is a really positive thing."

"When people are disconnected, when we pull away or withdraw from others, it means that if challenges or obstacles or difficult times come our way it can make those times a little tougher to get through," Clements said.

"R U OK?" Board Director Helen Christensen said too much time in front of a screen could be detrimental to one's physical health as well as their mental health.

"Connecting with people we care about is so important for maintaining good mental health. We know that strong and caring connections with friends and family provide a vital safety net to help people cope with the challenging moments in life," she said in a statement on Thursday.

Of the 1,000 respondents to the survey, half said they spent two hours or less of their weekly downtime with family and friends.

The survey was undertaken ahead of the well-known R U OK DAY on Sept. 8, a key date dedicated to raising awareness of mental health. Australians are encouraged to ask friends, family, colleagues and strangers the question, "R U OK?"
Screenshot of CNN affiliate WXMI shows Morrie Boogart knitting a hat.

CHICAGO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ninety-one-year-old Morrie Boogart is a bit different from other patients in his assisted living home in Grandville, in the U.S. state of Michigan. Instead of just resting in bed, he chose to do more -- knitting hats for the homeless.

Boogart has been doing this for 15 years, and has donated over 8,000 hats to those who cannot afford a place to live during the harsh winter, CNN affiliate WXMI reported.

"Why do I do it? It just makes me feel good," he told WXMI. "This has been the best thing that's happened to me because I just stay in my room."

Boogart said he's slowing down a bit now and it takes him two days to finish one hat.

His assisted living home said that many people are donating yarn and hand-made hats to help Boogart do his job, and his latest batch of works will be delivered in October.
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai (1st R) addresses the "China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor: Feasibility and Approaches" workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)

KATHMANDU, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The establishment of a China-Nepal-India economic corridor will help secure economic prosperity of the entire Asian region through enhancing cooperation on trade, tourism, energy and connectivity, experts said here on Wednesday.

Speaking at a one-day workshop organized by China Study Center on "China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor: Feasibility and Approaches," experts highlighted the potential mutual economic benefits for the three neighboring countries and the entire Asia region after establishing the economic corridor.

Ji Zhiye, President of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank under China's State Council, said that the trilateral cooperation among China, Nepal and India can be enhanced through Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China.

"China wants to enhance economic cooperation with neighboring countries such as India, Nepal, through Belt and Road Initiative which is aimed at creating a win-win situation for economic cooperation between China and other countries," Ji said.

Nepalese former Foreign Minister Bhesh Bahadur Thapa, who is currently a coordinator from the Nepali side in the India-NepalEminent Persons Group, said that China and India have played significant roles in global stage in 21st century.

"The concept of establishing China-Nepal-India economic corridor is now gaining momentum. Establishment of such corridor will promote people-to-people and institution-to-institution contacts of the three neighbouring countries. This is more important to Nepal which is sandwiched between the two emerging countries," said Thapa.

Experts were of view that the economic corridor will bring benefit to all three countries and will promote the region more vibrant as a economic and commercial zone.

Saying that the 21st century belongs to Asia, the economic and foreign affairs experts opined that Trans-Himalayan Connectivity proposed by China is a landmark step for the shared economic prosperity of people in the Asia region.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai, said that the China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor is not a sole strategy of China, but it's for creating win-win

cooperation among the three countries.

"Himalayas are not barrier but in fact they are linkages for enhancing connectivity," said the ambassador.

Reiterating the support provided by China in Nepalese roads, major airports and other mega projects, Wu said that China is ready to assist in the development of neighboring countries.

On the occasion, Nepalese former ministers and ambassadors dwelt over the feasibility, approach and challenges of the economic corridor.

Former Chief Secretary of Nepal Leela Mani Paudyal, said thatNepal can serve as a bridge between China and India, the two emerging economies of the world.

"China has made tremendous progress on the economic front while India and Nepal need foreign investment in order to develop their infrastructure," said Paudyal, adding that the trilateral partnership will create win-win cooperation among the three countries to enhance economy.

Nepalese Infrastructure expert Surya Raj Acharya stressed on extension of Chinese railway to Kathmandu which is decided to extend to Kerung of Tibetan Autonomous Region of China from Xigatse.

"Geography is not a barrier to extend railways in this region," said Acharya, adding that the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will change the entire structure of the Himalayan region after it is expanded to Indian northern states via Nepal.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai (2nd L) and Ji Zhiye (4th L), president of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) pose for a photo with other participants during the one-day workshop organized by China Study Center on "China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor: Feasibility and Approaches" in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)
TOKYO, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- New reconstruction minister of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet visited the war-linked notorious Yasukuni Shrine here on Thursday.

Masahiro Imamura, minister in charge of comprehensive policy coordination for revival from the nuclear accident at Fukushima, is a regular visitor to the notorious shrine, which honors millions of war dead as well as 14 convicted Class-A war criminals of World War II.

He routinely visits the shrine during its spring and autumn festivals, according to Kyodo News.

Imamura's visit came just days prior to the Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

The 69-year-old lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is a former railway man who had worked on agricultural issues after being first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996.

A native of Saga prefecture in southwestern Japan, he had served as senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Imamura took office as minister for reconstruction last week following Abe's cabinet reshuffle on Aug. 3.

Yasukuni Shrine is regarded as a symbol of the past Japanese militarism. Visits to the infamous shrine by Japanese leaders and officials have sparked strong criticism from China and the Republic of Korea.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday strongly condemned the terror attacks in southeastern Turkey and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting its ally in the fight against terrorism.

Six people were killed and 54 others wounded on Wednesday in two separate attacks staged by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party in southeastern Turkey, local media reported.

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms today's terrorist attacks in southeastern Turkey. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of those killed, and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured," National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

"We remain steadfast in our support for Turkey, our NATO ally and partner, which has suffered from several recent terrorist attacks, as well as a violent coup attempt on July 15," Price said.

The failed military coup has chilled relations between Turkey and the United States as Ankara blamed Washington for being behind it.

At the same time, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter also condemned the attacks, which he said appeared to have targeted Turkish security personnel.

The U.S. swift reaction to these terror attacks in Turkey apparently aims to repair its strained ties with Ankara, a major NATO ally and major part of the U.S.-led coalition in fighting the Islamic State terrorist group, media reports said.
BRASILIA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian lawmakers from the Workers' Party have filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for help in the impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff.

Rousseff herself also signed the petition filed with the commission.

In their petition dated Wednesday, the lawmakers call for the suspension of the impeachment process until the legal matters surrounding the impeachment are clarified.

"We are experiencing a coup d'etat in Brazil that relies on the participation of the parliament and the omission of the judicial system," said Wadih Damous, one of the deputies who signed the petition.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly early Wednesday to put Rousseff on trial, one step closer to her permanent removal from office, after she was suspended by the Senate for up to 180 days pending the trial.
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai (1st R) addresses the "China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor: Feasibility and Approaches" workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 10, 2016. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)

KATHMANDU, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The establishment of a China-Nepal-India economic corridor will help secure economic prosperity of the entire Asian region through enhancing cooperation on trade, tourism, energy and connectivity, experts said here on Wednesday.

Speaking at a one-day workshop organized by China Study Center on "China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor: Feasibility and Approaches," experts highlighted the potential mutual economic benefits for the three neighboring countries and the entire Asia region after establishing the economic corridor.

Ji Zhiye, President of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank under China's State Council, said that the trilateral cooperation among China, Nepal and India can be enhanced through Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China.

"China wants to enhance economic cooperation with neighboring countries such as India, Nepal, through Belt and Road Initiative which is aimed at creating a win-win situation for economic cooperation between China and other countries," Ji said.

Nepalese former Foreign Minister Bhesh Bahadur Thapa, who is currently a coordinator from the Nepali side in the India-NepalEminent Persons Group, said that China and India have played significant roles in global stage in 21st century.

"The concept of establishing China-Nepal-India economic corridor is now gaining momentum. Establishment of such corridor will promote people-to-people and institution-to-institution contacts of the three neighbouring countries. This is more important to Nepal which is sandwiched between the two emerging countries," said Thapa.

Experts were of view that the economic corridor will bring benefit to all three countries and will promote the region more vibrant as a economic and commercial zone.

Saying that the 21st century belongs to Asia, the economic and foreign affairs experts opined that Trans-Himalayan Connectivity proposed by China is a landmark step for the shared economic prosperity of people in the Asia region.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai, said that the China-Nepal-India Economic Corridor is not a sole strategy of China, but it's for creating win-win

cooperation among the three countries.

"Himalayas are not barrier but in fact they are linkages for enhancing connectivity," said the ambassador.

Reiterating the support provided by China in Nepalese roads, major airports and other mega projects, Wu said that China is ready to assist in the development of neighboring countries.

On the occasion, Nepalese former ministers and ambassadors dwelt over the feasibility, approach and challenges of the economic corridor.

Former Chief Secretary of Nepal Leela Mani Paudyal, said thatNepal can serve as a bridge between China and India, the two emerging economies of the world.

"China has made tremendous progress on the economic front while India and Nepal need foreign investment in order to develop their infrastructure," said Paudyal, adding that the trilateral partnership will create win-win cooperation among the three countries to enhance economy.

Nepalese Infrastructure expert Surya Raj Acharya stressed on extension of Chinese railway to Kathmandu which is decided to extend to Kerung of Tibetan Autonomous Region of China from Xigatse.

"Geography is not a barrier to extend railways in this region," said Acharya, adding that the Qinghai-Tibet Railway will change the entire structure of the Himalayan region after it is expanded to Indian northern states via Nepal.
CHANGCHUN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Conservationists have applauded the rebound in China's Siberian tiger population, but villagers who count the cats as neighbors are not so happy.

In late July, life in a small mountain village in Hunchun City, Jilin Province, was disrupted when a wild Siberian tiger cub was found in the village.

The cub was seen wandering in a corn field by several villagers, and many found its footprints in their courtyards.

Hunchun, near the Russian and DPRK borders, is near the wild tigers' natural habitat. Zhou Yamei, 62, said it is the first time she has seen a tiger enter the village.

"I'm so afraid that I don't dare go to the field," she said. For almost two weeks, her family has not touched any farm work.

A police car was parked on a road connecting the village to a mountain. Police said the tiger cub is probably in the mountains and they were there to dissuade villagers from heading into the hills.

According to the provincial forestry department, forest covered some 9.4 million hectares in Jilin, or about 43.9 percent of the province, in 2016. The wild Siberian tiger population in the province has grown from nine or fewer in 1998 to the current 27, thanks to conservation measures.

Some villagers are considering moving. Zhang Yujie has been living in the village for some 20 years. "I want to move away, but it is hard for me to leave the village where I have so many relatives and friends."

Not far from the village is a pasture that has been haunted by the ferocious felines since May.

Yin Zhaohai rents the pasture, where he raises more than 100 cows for the villagers. "So far, six cows have been bitten by tigers and died, and another 20 have gone missing," he said, sighing.

"We are not allowed to kill tigers since they are a rare animal, but our own safety is really in danger," he said.

According to the forestry department of Jilin, injuries and economic losses due to wild animals have been on the rise. Last year, over 5,400 cases of injuries or loss were confirmed in the province, compared to around 2,600 in 2009.

In 2006, the province issued a document stipulating compensation for people who have suffered injuries or economic losses caused by wild animals. By the end of 2015, a total of 120 million yuan (18 million U.S. dollars) in compensation had been granted.

Xiao Wanjun, an official with the department, said a planned national forest park for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards may help solve the problem.

The park will include tiger and leopard habitats in Jilin and neighboring Heilongjiang Province. The government will relocate residents and industries in designated areas to ensure safety and protect the animals, Xiao said.
SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Lawmakers of three South Korean opposition parties held their first gathering to oppose the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on its soil, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.

Members of three political parties, including the main opposition Minju Party, the casting vote-exercising People's Party and the minor Justice Party, held the first closed-door meeting to discuss how to launch a tri-partisan anti-THAAD gathering.

Participating in the meeting were four Minju Party lawmakers and three People's Party members. One Justice Party member was originally set to join the meeting, but he was absent as he visited Seongju county, where one THAAD battery is set to be sited by the end of next year under the Seoul-Washington agreement.

The People's Party and the Justice Party have demanded the retraction or re-negotiation at the National Assembly of the THAAD deployment decision, which will strain relations of South Korea with China and Russia and escalate tensions in the region.

The Minju Party has been divided into those clearly against the THAAD installation and members taking cautious stance ahead of the presidential election in late next year. About half of South Koreans are against the U.S. missile shield, while the rest half is in favor of it.

The ruling Saenuri Party claims the parliamentary agreement is not required in the THAAD deployment as it is a matter of national security, but opposition lawmakers demand an open debate as it causes serious effects militarily, diplomatically and economically.

As the ruling party lost its majority in the April general elections, it cannot win approval at the National Assembly for the THAAD deployment if the parliamentary ratification process is launched.

The tri-partisan anti-THAAD gathering is expected to be formally launched in September after one more preparatory meeting among the lawmakers, according to Yonhap. About 30 lawmakers are forecast to join the anti-THAAD gathering.

Related:

THAAD deployment adds worry to sagging S.Korean economy

SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Decision between Seoul and Washington to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korean soil adds worry to the already sagging economy as the deployment is expected to reduce trade with China, South Korea's largest trading partner.

Last month, South Korea and the United States agreed to house one THAAD battery in its southeastern county of Seongju by the end of next year despite strong oppositions from neighboring countries. Full story

News Analysis: S.Korean president perplexed at anti-THAAD lawmakers leaving for China

SEOUL, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye appears perplexed at six first-term lawmakers of the main opposition Minju Party who left for China as they are against the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- At a time when the task of capacity reduction is exerting pressure on China's heavy industries, enterprises are exploring ways, not only to survive, but also to thrive.

Wang Yu works for a coal company in central China's Henan Province and is fretting over the effects of shrinking profits on the company's 230,000 employees.

Like many in the coal and steel industries, China Pingmei Shenma, the largest coal company in Henan province that is based in Pingdingshan City of the province, has been feeling the pinch during the past two years when long-term overcapacity became enmired in a stagnant economy.

"Our workers and their families are half the city population. Some are only making around 1,000 yuan (150 U.S. dollars) per month, less than the city's minimum wage," Wang said.

Besides worrying about workers, bankruptcy is a constant shadow.

Shaanxi Baoshen Mechanics makes brick-making machinery in northwest China. The company's sales plummeted in 2015.

"Many other companies were forced to close down, and we are all wondering who will be next," said deputy general manager Wang Fan.

As the world's largest producer and consumer of steel and coal, China aims to cut steel capacity by 45 million tonnes and coal by more than 250 million tonnes this year.

FACING UP TO CHALLENGE

The way out for many companies will be laying off workers and trying to move up the value chain.

Peng Tao, of the Guizhou human resources department of the Aluminum Corporation of China, said the company has been developing tertiary businesses like logistics and real estate in an effort to find new jobs for employees. This time last year, the company had resettled 7,178 workers.

"As for the 2,000 workers with only primary or secondary school education, we set up a pension service center to employ them. The center has been running well," he added.

"Reducing staff can only cut costs, but upgrading products can re-energize the company," said Ji Yanzhao of an aluminum company in Henan. Most Chinese aluminum plants churn out raw materials and roughly processed products which have suffered sharp price drops in recent years.

"We are trying to come up with more highly processed products to increase our profit margin," he said.

Pingmei Shenma is on the same track, investing in technology to sharpen its competitive edge. "Despite lower wages, workers are still optimistic," Wang Yu said.

MORE SUPPORTING POLICIES CALLED FOR

The Ministry of Finance announced in May 100 billion yuan of aid for steel and coal companies cutting capacity. The funds will mainly be used to resettle laid-off workers. "A combination of measures" will attempt to resolve overcapacity through tax, land, fiscal and financial reform.

Local governments have also been providing support, such as unemployment insurance and payments to the unemployed.

While applauding the support, enterprises are expecting more from the government in terms industrial upgrades.

Mo Yihui, general manager of Lyujiaozi agriculture development company in Shaanxi Province, hopes the government will put more effort into developing basic technology and offer more financing support for companies short of capital.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Jing Chunhua, a former senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in northern China's Hebei Province, stood trial on Thursday for accepting bribes.

Jing, secretary general and member of the CPC standing committee for the provincial committee of Hebei, was accused of taking advantage of his various official posts from 2001 to 2013, to seek benefits for others in regards to project construction, business operation, personnel promotion and reassignment.

Personally, or through his wife, he accepted bribes worth over 60.5 million yuan (9.1 million U.S. dollars), according to the indictment.

According to prosecutors, Jing was also unable to specify the sources of his assets, worth over 86.3 million yuan, which would constitute another criminal violation.

Changchun Municipal People's Procuratorate in Jilin Province filed the charges with Changchun Intermediate People's Court.

A total of 40 people, including journalists and members of the public, attended the hearing.

The court ruling will be announced at a later date.
SYDNEY, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia's state parliament of New South Wales is considering a proposal which will decriminalized abortion, local media reported on Thursday.

Greens member of parliament Mehreen Faruqi has introduced a bill to NSW parliament that would remove abortion from the Crimes Act and bring the state's laws covering terminations via abortions in line with those living in Victoria, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory.

"Decriminalizing abortion is essential," Faruqi said.

"Women and all people choosing to have an abortion as well as their doctors are not criminals and we need to remove the stigma and shame associated with it."

At present, NSW and Queensland are the only two states in Australia where abortion is illegal. However, women in NSW can have their pregnancies terminated if a doctor believes their physical or mental health is at risk.
A file picture taken on October 3, 2015 shows a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber taking off from the Hmeimim airbase in the Syrian province of Latakia.(AFP Photo)

MOSCOW, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russia is planning to turn the Hmeymim air base in Syria into a full-fledged military base and to place a permanent contingent of air forces, a Russian official has said.

"After the legal status of Hmeymim is agreed upon, it will become a full-fledged base of Russian armed forces with appropriate infrastructure," Frants Klintsevich, first deputy head of the Russian Federation Council's Defense and Security Committee, was quoted as saying by a report published Thursday on the website of Russian newspaper Izvestia.

He also said that Russia understands that if no action is taken, terrorism will threaten Russia.

"If Western countries don't want to agree on joint actions, we will strengthen relations with Syria, Iran and Iraq," said Klintsevich.

The official said Russia's support to Syria has allowed the country's seriously demoralized armed forces to restore their combat capability.

Strategic bombers and nuclear weapons will not be located in the base, because it does not match with Russia's international obligations, he added.
Visiting Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Song Tao (L) shakes hands with Myanmar State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi during their meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on Aug. 11, 2016. (Xinhua/U Aung)

NAY PYI TAW, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Song Tao met with Myanmar State Counselor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi here Thursday.

The pair had discussions on promotion of bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Song presented a lotus painting to Aung San Suu Kyi, saying that the state counselor likes flower and the lotus represents the precious flower for Buddhists in Myanmar, according to an official of the Chinese delegation.

On Thursday, Song also met with Chairman of the Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission of Myanmar's Parliament U Shwe Mann, who was former speaker of the parliament.

Minister Song and his delegation arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday evening on a five-day goodwill visit to Myanmar, during which Song will tour the Myanmar capital of Nay Pyi Taw and the former capital of Yangon and meet with government leadership as well as leaders of political parties.
by Xinhua Writer Luo Jun

BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Given China's dramatic development, huge population and unique culture, it is understandable for some countries to have concerns over China's role and impact on the world.

However, such concerns, if brewed in fear and bias, could transform into a toxic mind-set of China-phobia and blockade win-win cooperation.

The Australian government on Thursday rejected China's State Grid Corp.'s bidding for its largest electricity network, citing "national security" concerns.

The recent delay of a China-invested nuclear power station in Britain also triggered media speculation that it was also due to "national security" reason.

To suggest that China would try to kidnap the countries' electricity network for ulterior motive is absurd and almost comical, since it is widely recognized in the world that business reputation is critical to any corporate activity.

It's also ridiculous to suggest that Chinese enterprises would risk their credit and commit suicide on the world stage by threatening to deny the Australian and British public electricity.

Besides, the huge amount of investment itself -- around 7.8 billion U.S. dollars in the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in England -- would be an valuable asset China would not want to lose.

Chinese investment should not become the source of worries about China gaining some kind of advantage, but should be taken as the country's promise in cooperation with other countries.

It will not be an zero-sum game for China and Australia, or China and Britain in such deals, as they bound their interests together for either mutual benefit or common loss.

The fragile situation of global economic recovery demands closer international cooperation both on the technology front and the infrastructure front to stimulate growth.

However, the paranoia over Chinese investment is becoming a real problem that goes against such efforts.

Behind the hurdles lies the dangerous mind-set of China-phobia that needs to be addressed through open and sincere communication, as well as a fair and objective perspective.
KINSHASA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The UK government on Wednesday urged Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) government to ensure the forthcoming presidential elections are held within constitutional timeline.

The appeal was made by the British Minister for Middle East and Africa Tobias Ellwood at the end of his two-day visit to the country.

"The UK is ready to support the electoral process, but the first responsibility for organizing elections rests with the Congolese government. Timely elections, peaceful hand-over of power and democratic institutions will offer certainty and opportunities not only to the Congolese people, but also to international business people," Ellwood said.

The world is ready to invest in DR Congo, its people and in its economy, the British minister said, adding that it is upon the government to create an ideal environment for this to happen.

The British minister who has been in the country between Aug. 8 to 10, was making his first visit to DR Congo. He used the opportunity to reiterate Britain's commitment to support DR Congo and the Congolese people.

During a series of meetings that included meeting Prime Minister Matata Ponyo and Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba, Ellwood urged the Congolese government to make more efforts towards holding elections on time.

The minister equally met with opposition leaders and highlighted the importance of elections to DR Congo's continued development.
ACCRA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has appealed to striking Civil and Local Government Service Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSSAG) to return to work.

Addressing delegates at the 10th Quadrennial Congress of the Trades Union Congress in Kumasi on Wednesday, President Mahama said any attempt to yield to the demands of CLOGSSAG would throw the country's budget completely off track and make nonsense of the sacrifices it had made together over the last year.

Members of the CLOGSSAG declared a nationwide strike on July 27, contending that since the implementation of the new pay policy, the Single Spine Salary Structure, in 2010, they had neither been paid their interim market premium, additional allowances paid under the pay policy nor migrated onto the permanent market premium.

But Mahama said the government would only consider CLOGSSAG's demands in 2017 since it had resolved not to overspend in an election year.

"I'm happy to note that this year even though it's an election year, expenditure targets are still on track and I intend to stay strictly to the budget and the Appropriations Act as approved by Parliament. And this is why I appeal to CLOGSSAG members to return to work," he said.

"I wish to assure you that it is government's intention to implement a comprehensive policy on payment of premiums starting from next year, and I have asked the Minister of Employment and Labor Relations to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with CLOGSSAG to this effect," said the president.

The leadership of the striking workers have called the bluff of the employment ministry which has warned them to resume work or risk losing their August salaries.

Isaac Bampoe Addo, Executive Secretary of the association, said his members were ready to forfeit their salaries if the government would not consider their concerns.
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ten Chinese tourists were injured in a collision between their rented minibus and a cargo truck in southwestern Cambodia's Kampot province on Thursday, a local police officer said.

The crash took place at 2:10 p.m. local time on national road No. 3 in Tuek Chhou district, when the two vehicles were driving in an opposite direction and hit head-on, said Chea Pheara, deputy police chief of Tuek Chhou district.

"All 10 Chinese in the minibus got injured, but only two of thema man and a womanwere in serious condition," he told Xinhua, adding that the injured tourists had been rushed to a local hospital for treatment.

The minibus, carrying the Chinese tourists, was travelling from Phnom Penh City to coastal Kampot province when the accident happened, he said, adding that the minibus driver, a Cambodian was also wounded.

According to Pheara, the cargo truck was blamed for the accident, as its driver escaped the scene soon after the crash.

Road accidents are a leading cause of death in the Southeast Asian country, killing an average of six people per day.

According to a government's report, road crashes killed 2,265 people last year, up 5 percent year-on-year.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Bao Chongming, the former Communist Party of China (CPC) deputy chief of Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has been charged with accepting bribes and abuse of power, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced Thursday.

Bayannur City Procuratorate in Inner Mongolia filed the indictment to the city court last week, the SPP statement said.

Bao is accused of abusing his power by selling state-owned properties at unreasonably discounted prices, causing huge losses to the government, according to the prosecutors.

He was also accused of exploiting his position to seek profits for others in exchange for an "extremely huge" amount of money and properties.

The defendant was informed of his legal rights and has been represented by lawyers.
BANGKOK, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Thai people accepted the 2016 draft constitution and the additional question for stability, but to ensure stability in the future, the power balance between politicians, independent organizations and the military.

The results of the referendum reflect that the majority of the Thai people prefer stability, as they have been fed up with repeated political turmoil over the past 10 years, Kitti Prasirtsuk, director of Institute of East Asian Studies, Thammasat University, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

Some 61.35 percent and 58.07 percent of Thais voted "Yes" to the new charter and the additional question which will give 250 government-picked senators to elect for a new prime minister after the government promised a general election in 2017 with 500 elected members from the lower house, as Thailand's Election Commission revealed the official results of the Sunday referendum on Wednesday.

Kitti said a return of former constitutions which allowed a very high degree of democracy would plunge Thailand into turmoil again, because both the Red and the Yellow, cannot win approval from the majority and their conflicts would go on.

"Therefore, we go to this kind of semi-democracy in which the new constitution allows selected senators to have a big say in running the country, including the selection of a prime minister," said Kitti, adding that the semi-democracy is suitable for Thailand in this period.

But the new constitution alone cannot ensure a stable future, according to him, the power balance between politicians, independent organizations and the military are very important in the process.

The new constitution unprecedentedly bestowed a lot of power on the Constitutional Court and other constitutional independent organizations to curtail politicians.

Media reports said impeachment of politicians will become easier, and someone who is not a member of the elected lower house may become prime minister.

"If independent organizations get too much power and exercise too much power, or if selected senators exercise too much power, they will destabilize the balance, which may plunge Thailand into turmoil again," said Kitti.

Prayut Chan-o-cha, the prime minister, explained coming steps that will finally lead to a general election in later 2017.

According to him, the new constitution will be promulgated in three months, then 10 organic laws, especially four of them that are necessary for a general election will be drafted and promulgated in middle 2017, after which a general election will be held in five months, or sometime late 2017.

After the election, a new government will be founded, while Kitti predicted weaker coalition administrations found it difficult to exercise its polices, as the new proportional voting system will make it harder for larger parties to win an overall majority.

Despite the 250 selected senators, the members of the lower house is consist of 350 members form the election on a constituency basis and 150 members from the election on a party list basis.

"I think the new government is very likely to be formed by multiple parties, it can be formed by four, five or six parties...it will be harder for a coalition administration to exercise its policy," He said, adding that the new government allow need to work in accordance with the national strategy stipulated in the new constitution, which will be ensured by the supervision of selected senators.

Since the coalition government is weaker than government run by a major party, Kitti also predicted a general election in every two to three years following the first election under the new constitution.

As for the two major parties of Thailand, namely the Pheu Thai Party or the Democrat Party, he said the country may be in turmoil again when either of them attained power.

"Thais need a new alternative pole party to be the solution for Thai politics," Kitti said.
A student representative spoke at the graduation ceremony of a China-sponsored railway technology course at Railway Training Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Baishun)

NAIROBI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Patrick Mburu's ability to strum the guitar and belt out an uplifting ballad earned him rock star status as a teenager growing up in a family of modest means in central Kenya.

The 25-year-old accomplished guitarist is yet to reconcile with a strange turn in his life's path after landing in an engineering career despite spending the better part of his youth honing musical skills.

Mburu confounded everyone when he enrolled for a telecommunications engineering course in a mid-level college because he always stood out as an undisputed crooner since childhood.

He was among 102 Kenyan youth who were on Monday awarded certificates after completing a four-month course on railway technology sponsored by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).

During an interview with Xinhua, Mburu said the tailor made railway technology course sponsored by CRBC opened new horizons.

"After completing my major in telecommunications engineering, I spent months roaming in the valley of indecision but my moment of reckoning was in April this year when I secured a chance to study for a four-month railway technology course sponsored by CRBC," said Mburu.

He added that the rigorous training conducted by tutors from China's Southwest Jiaotong University coupled with robust interaction with Kenyan peers sharpened his engineering and social skills.

"We were privileged to have a rich cast of experienced and passionate tutors who made sure we grasped the finer details in railway engineering," Mburu told Xinhua.

He successfully completed the four-month course in signaling and communication and was awarded a certificate that will greatly boost his resume.

Mburu and his peers have already secured a five-month internship with CRBC and will be deployed to its flagship Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project to hone their engineering skills further.

"I look forward to becoming one of the star technicians at the SGR project and am confident additional opportunities will crop up in the near future," said Mburu.

He disclosed to Xinhua that his ultimate dream is to become a consultant in the engineering field while mentoring youth as a way to give back to the community.

Kenyan youth consider Chinese construction firms a prized destination to hone skills while earning stable income.

Mburu and his comrades were emphatic that Chinese firms have not wavered in their commitment to provide lifelong skills to local youth as part of their corporate social responsibility.

As for Tabitha Kiplimo, taking up a locomotive engineering course sponsored by CRBC marked a critical milestone in the life of the 25-year-old youth, whose humble roots in the North Rift region has always been a constant reminder for her to strive for a better tomorrow.

Kiplimo had just graduated with a diploma in electrical engineering when she was shortlisted for the four-month locomotive engineering course sponsored by the Chinese construction firm.

"I felt honored to be selected as a trainee for the locomotive engineering course and felt the urge to prove doomsayers wrong by scoring a good grade," Kiplimo remarked.

She grew up in a highly patriarchal society where cultural norms dictated that young women's place was in the kitchen rather than classroom.

"I'm very grateful to my parents who defied twisted advice from elders and took me to school where realization of lifelong dreams was guaranteed," said Kiplimo.

She is among a growing army of Kenyan young women who have overcome huge odds to pursue a thriving career in engineering.

"The future is bright and I dream of becoming a locomotive driver since I'm adequately prepared to undertake the task," Kiplimo remarked.

She added that interaction with Chinese tutors broadened her grasp of railway engineering and rich culture in China.

Hundreds of Kenyan youth have benefited from skills development programs funded by Chinese firms operating in the east African nation.

These youth are charting enviable career paths after undergoing training and mentor-ship supported by Chinese enterprises.

Concilia Owire, a 22-year-old holder of a diploma in electrical engineering, said the four-month course in locomotive and rolling stock engineering sponsored by CRBC opened new frontiers.

"To be honest, I was not sure where my destiny lie until I completed the four-month course on locomotive and rolling stock engineering and new opportunities came knocking at my doorstep," said Owire.

Her ultimate dream is to become a locomotive driver and mentor young women to take up engineering courses.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China has reduced unnecessary identity confirmation when obtaining certain permits, in its latest move to eliminate redundant procedures.

A government circular released Thursday specified 14 items of personal information that do not need to be "proven" by any other documents, such as previous names, gender and ethnicity, as this information "is self-evident" and included on identification cards and household registration papers.

Various authorities should not ask residents to prove self-evident information such as previous addresses or relationship to their spouse or offspring, it said.

The circular, which will take effect on Sept. 1, was authored by 12 departments including the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Ministry of Civil Affairs and National Health and Family Planning Commission, in a bid to "simplify redundant procedures and provide convenience for the people."

"We want to cut all processes that can be eliminated," the MPS said in a separate statement.

Chinese residents must secure a number of documents and certificates to gain permits for overseas travel, their children's schooling, having a baby and others.

To obtain a permit to have a baby, for instance, a couple must fill out an application form, provide their ID cards, household registration papers, marriage certificate and have all these documents stamped or signed by their employers, communities and managers of the places they belong to. They should also provide certificates that prove that they abided by the one-child policy, which was abolished in 2015.

Last year, a story made the rounds about a Beijinger who wanted to travel overseas. He was asked to prove that "his mother was his mother" to get his travel permit. Premier Li Keqiang called the whole debacle "shameful."

Thursday's circular also listed 15 conditions that need to be proven. Among them six, such as the marriage status, education background and death, will still need to be confirmed, but no longer by the police.

The police are responsible for issuing nine other certificates, including criminal records, temporary IDs (if the originals are lost) and adoption registration.
CAPE TOWN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Police fired at striking workers who were protesting peacefully outside Hendrina Power station in South Africa's eastern Mpumalanga Provine, injuring several of them, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Thursday.

The NUM strongly condemns the action and attitudes of the police who had randomly fired rubber bullets and assaulted the striking workers, NUM national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said.

But police did not make comments on the allegations.

"The workers who were protesting peacefully were provoked by the police who fired rubber bullets and several of our members were injured," he said.

One NUM member is currently in hospital with a broken leg after being allegedly assaulted by the police, Mammburu said.

The NUM is going to open a case against the police, he said.

The shooting of striking workers continued this morning at Hendrina and Tutuka Power Stations in Mpumalanga, Mammburu said.

The NUM members will not be intimidated by the police, he said.

"The NUM is extremely disappointed at the action of the police. We call on the police to stop assaulting and shooting our members for protesting peacefully," said Mammburu.

NUM members' right to strike is enshrined in the constitution of South Africa, he noted.

All members of NUM at power stations across the country went on a strike on Wednesday, joining workers who downed tools at three power stations on Monday.

The workers began the strike after power utility Eskom rejected their demand for pay increases between eight to 10 percent, and a 3,000 rand (225 U.S.dollars) housing allowance.

The NUM has about 15,000 members at Eskom -- almost a third of the company's workforce of 47,000.

The full-blown strike may effect electricity output at the utility's power plants.

On Tuesday, Eskom celebrated one year of no load shedding in the country that had been hit by constant blackouts that began in November 2014.
PARIS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A man has been arrested in connection with multiple wildfire that ravaged southern French cities and triggered evacuation of hundreds of people, according to local report.

The man in his fifties, from a northern district of Marseille, was arrested and placed in custody on Wednesday in Vitrolles, BFMTV new channel reported.

A resident saw the man coming out of a thicket where a fire was starting, it added.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of fire.

Multiple wildfire which started on Wednesday in many towns, southern France, has destroyed 3,300 hectares of forest and forcing 500 people to quit their homes, according to the prefecture of Bouche-de Rhone.

"The situation is difficult because of the weather, with strong wind and a drought that lasted several weeks," said French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

Cazeneuve added "important air means," and 2,500 firefighters were deployed to fight against fire.

The minister also confirmed that four firefighters were wounded when trying to contain the blaze ravaging Herault department.

"Three of them are in absolute emergency,"he added.

In a statement released earlier on Thursday, the authorities in the prefecture of Bouche-de-Rhone said three people in Rognac commune were injured whiles many houses and industrial buildings were burnt.
HERAT, Afghanistan, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Suicide bombing and gun battle claimed the lives of five people and injured nine others in Shindand district of western Afghanistan's Herat province on Thursday, a police official said.

"A terrorist detonated his explosive-laden vehicle closed to a base of the national army in Shindand district which followed by gunshots had killed five people including two soldiers and injured nine others including three soldiers," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, Sayed Ahmad Mohammadi, police spokesman in the province in talks with Xinhua confirmed the incident and said the terrorists planted explosive device in a rickshaw and detonated it closed a checkpoint of the national army, which inflicted casualties.

However, spokesman for Herat provincial government, Jilani Farhad in talks with media confirmed the attack and without providing details stated that the attackers had been killed and situation is under control.

He also blamed the enemies of peace, a reference to the Taliban for organizing the attack. However, the armed outfit has yet to make comment.

Shindand, a former stronghold of Taliban, has been the scene of the persistent militancy over the past several years.
Rebel fighters ride a tank in an artillery academy of Aleppo, Syria, August 6, 2016. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

DAMASCUS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Intense battles raged Thursday morning in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, just hours after government troops unleashed pre-emptive strikes on rebel positions in the province's southern countryside, a military source told Xinhua.

Fierce fighting continued Thursday between the Syrian army, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah and Russian air cover, and the rebels' Jaish al-Fateh in all areas in the southern countryside of Aleppo, said the source on condition of anonymity.

Artillery and rocket shelling by the Syrian army on the positions of Jaish al-Fateh left the rebels in a state of "confusion," the source added.

The source added that many rebels were either killed or wounded by the shelling on al-Ramouseh, Musherfeh, and the Project 1070 areas in southwestern Aleppo.

Meanwhile, opposition activists said that a rebel commander was killed in the Project 1070 area during battles with government forces.

The Syrian army carried out a preemptive strike against a rebel position in the countryside of Aleppo on Wednesday evening, inflicting hefty losses among the opposition militants.

The military forces targeted gatherings of the rebels' Jaish al-Fateh group in the Project 1070 area, one of several areas that have recently fallen to Jaish al-Fateh, in the southern countryside of Aleppo.

The source noted that the rebels were preparing to unleash an all-out offensive in Aleppo.

Meanwhile, the state news agency SANA said the Syrian and Russian air forces dealt "decisive strikes" on the positions of Jaish al-Fateh in southern Aleppo on Wednesday.

Citing a military source, SANA said the airstrikes targeted the gatherings of the rebels, killing "large numbers of them and destroying armored vehicles outfitted with machine guns."

The strikes destroyed four command centers, three booby-trapped vehicles and dozens of armored vehicles, SANA added.

It said the Russian and Syrian air forces had killed hundreds of terrorists a day earlier in Aleppo, isolating the battle areas from the rest of the province.

Jaish al-Fateh announced last Monday that the next phase of battles in Aleppo will be a wide-scale offensive to "liberate the entire city" from government forces.

Since then, reports have emerged that the Syrian army and the rebels are sending reinforcement in anticipation of the all-out offensive.

Jaish al-Fateh, or the Army of Conquest, an alliance of several rebel factions, was reportedly formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordination of Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini.

The group seized most of Idlib province in northwestern Syria last year.

Aleppo is strategic for all warring parties due to its key location beside the Turkish border and role as Syria's industrial capital.

Observers say whoever controls Aleppo will gain the upper hand in any potential settlement in Syria.
WINDHOEK, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's trade deficit came in lower during the second quarter of 2016, pegged at 7.3 billion Namibian dollars (545 million U.S. dollars), according the Statistics Agency, NSA.

The agency on Thursday said that the statistics represented a decline of 36.8 percent in comparison to the corresponding quarter of 2015, which recorded 11.1 billion Namibian dollars.

Statistician General, NSA, Alex Shimuafeni, said the decline in the deficit was attributed more to the growth in exports revenue during the reported period.

"During the period under review, merchandise exports from Namibia rose by 4 percent to account for 16.5 billion Namibian dollars, up from 15.9 billion Namibian registered in the same period a year earlier," he added.

Shimuafeni attributed the growth in exports to the high export values of diamonds, fish, copper ores, and live animals.

In terms of Namibia's expenditure on imports, figures declined to 23.8 billion Namibian dollars during the second quarter of 2016, down from 27.5 billion Namibian dollars registered during the same period a year ago, representing a decline of 13.5 percent.

"The decrease in imports was largely led by weakening domestic demand for fuels, steel, plastics, copper ores, beverages and vehicles," Shimuafeni noted.

Meanwhile, during the presentation, the agency highlighted the key export markets during this quarter, with South Africa topping the list.

Furthermore, NSA revealed that during the period under review, the major sources of Namibia imports were again topped by South Africa followed by Botswana, Italy, Zambia and the High Sea, which according to Shimuafeni, supplied Namibia with 78 percent of its total imports.
Photo taken by cellphone on Aug. 11, 2016 shows the explosion site at a power plant in Dangyang, central China's Hubei Province. At least 21 people were killed and five others were injured, three seriously, after a pipeline explosion hit a power plant in central China's Hubei Province Thursday afternoon, local authorities said. (Xinhua)

YICHANG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 people were killed and five others injured, three seriously, after a pipe explosion hit a power plant in central China's Hubei Province Thursday, local authorities said.

A high-pressure steam pipe exploded at the Madian Gangue Power Generation Co. Ltd. in Dangyang City around 3:20 p.m.. The injured have been rushed to hospital, according to local authorities.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known.

Rescue efforts are underway.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen (R) shakes hands with outgoing Chinese Ambassador Bu Jianguo during the farewell meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Aug. 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Thursday appreciated outgoing Chinese Ambassador Bu Jianguo for her active contributions to deepening Cambodia-China ties, said a Cambodian senior official.

"During a farewell meeting, Samdech Techo Prime Minister said that during Ambassador Bu's three-year tenure, the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries has been deepened," Kao Kim Hourn, minister attached to the prime minister, told reporters after the meeting.

The two countries elevated their ties to the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in December 2010.

The prime minister said that in the past three years, China had provided a lot of grant aid, non-interest loans and concessional loans to Cambodia for development projects, particularly road and bridge projects.

Hun Sen said Bu had not only actively worked to deepen Cambodia-China relations, but only contributed to enhancing ASEAN-China ties during her diplomatic term.

For her part, Bu expressed sincere thanks to the Cambodian government for working closely with the Chinese Embassy, which had led to her successful completion of diplomatic mission in Cambodia.
HAIKOU, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China will allocate more resources to GM crop R&D, according to a five-year plan for science and technology progress published Monday by the State Council.

The plan lists science and technology targets for the 2016-2020 period, as well as the government action needed to achieve the proposed results.

China has identified GM as an important area on many occasions, ordering research and supervision to be improved, the development of a GM food evaluation system and the industrialization of certain GM food crops.

A GM research project, approved by the State Council in 2008, explored the creation of new GM varieties alongside their application value and proprietary intellectual property rights. The project was part of a wider push to ensure the sustainable development of China's agriculture.

"Since 2008, China has built a GM technology system," according to an official with the Ministry of Agriculture. "The system covers gene cloning, genetic transformation, new variety breeding and safety evaluation."

The new plan, with its emphasis on innovation, advantages of hybrids and breeding by molecular design, will help elevate GM research to the next level.

"Innovation is extremely important in the industry," said Zhang Shihuang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Agricultural experts had predicted, for example, that the industrialization of genetically modified corn would be realized in the next five years, but a suitable breed has yet to be identified. Zhang attributes this to a lack of innovation.

SAFETY SHOULD BE PRIORITY

GM remains shrouded in controversy due to safety concerns. The new plan reveals that China is taking a prudent attitude toward the research and application of GM crops. Safety, however, has always been, and will always be, put first.

China has a sound safety evaluation system for genetically modified crops, according to Guo Anping, a member of the country's GM crop bio-safety committee and vice president of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences.

"China's safety evaluation system on genetically modified crops is the world's strictest in terms of technical standards and procedures," said Wu Kongming, from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and also a member of China's GM crop bio-safety committee.

Compared to China's regulation on GM crops over the past five years, which places emphasis on improving the GM organism cultivation and safety evaluation systems, the new plan proposes that a standardized bio-safety evaluation technical system should be established over the following five years to ensure the safety of GM products.

The safety management of GM organisms must be improved to avoid any risks to people, micro-organisms, animals and plants as well as the environment, Guo said.

From field experiments to application, every procedure concerning GM organisms requires a rigid evaluation and approval process, he continued.

Experts said China should focus on GM research of fields that can solve agriculture problems, such as insect resistance, water scarcity as well as high yield and high quality.

For GM crops, China currently only allows insect-resistant cotton and antiviral papaya for commercial purposes to be planted.

For instance, China has cultivated 147 species of GM insect-resistant cotton, which has helped reduce pesticide consumption by 400,000 tonnes, saving 45 billion yuan (6.78 billion U.S. dollars).

China has released a GM crop roadmap, giving priority to the development of non-edible cash crops, according to official Liao Xiyuan, with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), in April.

Next in line comes indirectly edible and then edible crops, reflecting China's prudent attitude to GM crops, said Liao.

CALL FOR SUPPORT, SUPERVISION

Although China has made discoveries, especially with regards to GM technology, it still has a way to go in the industrialization of GM products.

A total of 28 countries around the world have planted GM crops. China was the sixth largest GM crop grower in 2015, following the United States, Brazil, Argentina, India and Canada, according to a study by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

GM researchers say the new plan is inspiring but it lacks a general framework, and detailed policies and actions are needed to ensure implementation.

Agriculture officials say they hope the plan will improve GM crop safety. Severe punishment will be given for any unauthorized GM crop sales, planting and field trials, according to Liao.
GENEVA, Aug.11 (Xinhua) -- The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday expressed grave concerns over the situation in Aleppo, urging all parties to the conflict to ensure, first and foremost, the safety and dignity of civilians.

According to UNHCR, civilians trapped in the Aleppo city including families and vulnerable groups, are facing constant bombardment, violence, and displacement.

Furthermore, UNHCR is gravely concerned about the spate of attacks on internally displaced person (IDP) settlements in Idleb governorate over the last 10 days, as well as other attacks on other IDP settlements and civilians elsewhere in the country, which have resulted in civilian casualties and further displacement.

The attacks indicate a shocking disregard for civilian life. UNHCR reiterates the importance of allowing access to safety, and respect for the civilian and humanitarian character of IDP settlements.

The UN refugee agency reiterates its call for ensuring the protection of civilians based on international humanitarian law, international refugee law, and human rights law. UNHCR calls for a durable and sustainable solution to this conflict.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Sales of iPhones continue to fall in urban China and now trail Chinese brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi, an industry survey showed Thursday.

In Q2, Apple accounted for 17.9 percent of smartphone sales in urban China, 1.8 percentage points less than a year ago, according to a survey conducted by Kantar Worldpanel.

"The decline has pushed Apple behind Huawei at 25.7 percent and Xiaomi at 18.5 percent," said Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Asia, although iPhone 6s and 6s plus remain the top sellers.

With the iPhone SE in short supply, the model made little impact, accounting for only 2.5 percent of total sales.

In contrast to the decline in China, iPhones returned to growth in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and the United States.

In the United States, Apple's sales grew 1.3 percentage points year-on-year, accounting for 31.8 percent of all sales.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech carries out monthly panel surveys among Chinese urban mobile phone users to monitor the market share of various brands.
ANKARA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Two Turkish military attaches based in Greece have fled to Italy, after being recalled following the failed July 15 coup, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

In an interview with NTV television news channel, Cavusoglu said that Turkish authorities will contact Italian officials for their return.

The Greek Foreign Ministry canceled the two military attaches' accreditations last Sunday upon the request of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Greek officials confirmed that the two Turkish military attaches in Athens, Staff Col. Ilhan Yasitli and Col. Halis Tunc, have gone missing along with their families since Wednesday.

Some Turkish diplomats are still on the run amid the country's ongoing probe over the July 15 coup attempt.

"Turkey is taking the necessary steps regarding those with suspected links to the Gulenist organization," Cavusoglu said, referring to Fetullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric Ankara says was the mastermind behind the failed coup.

Turkey has demanded that the United States extradite Gulen.

Cavusoglu said Turkey is seeing some signs of cooperation from the U.S. over the extradition request.

A delegation from the U.S. Department of Justice is expected in Turkey soon, the minister said.
MADRID, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A chance encounter in a bus station in the Spanish city of Almeria led to the arrest of a man who had been on the run from U.S. justice for over three years, according to media reports on Thursday.

Chris Ponce had been a wanted man ever since cutting an ankle monitoring tag while on bail for charges of manslaughter and driving under the influence in May 2013.

He had originally been arrested in 2012 for causing the death of 20-year-old William Angel in a car crash in Tampa, Florida while driving on the wrong side of the road with twice the legal limit for alcohol in his bloodstream.

Ponce's disappearance provoked a major police search in the United States. He was on Interpol's wanted list and had been the subject of TV program The Hunt. But it was not until Monday night when he was finally discovered thousands of miles from where he was last seen.

Ponces's arrest happened after a police patrol saw the 26-year-old acting in a suspicious manner in the bus station in Almeria, a city in the southeast of Spain.

The police asked him for identification and Ponce presented them with a travel card and a false Mexican passport, each bearing a different name. He was taken to the police station for fingerprints where his true identity was discovered.

Ponce is now facing extradition to the United States. The parents of his victim, who had set up a Facebook page "Find Chris Ponce," posted that his arrest meant it was "a great day."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu)

KIEV, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered Thursday to put all military units near the border with Crimea and in Donbass on high combat readiness.

He gave the order when meeting with the leadership of defense agencies and the foreign ministry.

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been escalating as Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea and vowed to take additional measures to ensure the safety of infrastructure and citizens there.

Russia has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said Wednesday.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry immediately rejected the allegation, calling it Russia's attempt to justify its redeployment and actions in the region.

The autonomous republic of Crimea was absorbed into Russia in 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Kiev.
ABC News(NEW YORK) -- The 20-year-old man who scaled Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan Wednesday afternoon wanted to get Donald Trump's attention for a "personal meeting," according to the NYPD.



The climber, an independent researcher from Virginia who traveled to New York City yesterday and stayed at a local hotel, had the "sole intention" to meet Trump, not to hurt the candidate, police said. Cops were initially alerted to him climbing the building around 3:30 p.m., and it took more than three hours to bring him into custody, grabbing him through a window that had been removed.



Once in custody, the man went in peacefully but didn't have much to say once they got him inside, police said. He was removed from Trump Tower on a stretcher and taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he will be psychologically evaluated, police said. He will be placed under arrest, but the appropriate charges against him have yet to be determined, police said.



According to cops, the NYPD was in contact with the Secret Service.



The man's backpack contained various forms of identification because the man now goes by a different name, police said. His identity has not been determined.



The climber used a contraption made up of five suction cups to scale the building for more than three hours. The suction cups could have been purchased from any store that sells mountain climbing equipment, police said.



His climb started on the fifth floor atrium, which is accessible to the public.



Responding officers yanked the man into the building around 6:35 p.m. after knocking out a full window pane on the 21st floor. NYPD emergency services had been trying to "safely isolate" him by making it difficult for him to continue climbing, an NYPD official said. Throughout the climb, police had been negotiating with the man but were reluctant to do anything that could cause him to fall, the official said.



"He wanted to climb to the top so he could speak with Trump," said Chief Vincent Giordano. "When he got to the point where he was on the pane which would have cracked if he applied all his weight, he was taken in."



Before pulling him into the building, police lowered safety lines and told the climber that he should lock in. When he proceeded to ignore those instructions, the officers found an "opportune moment" and grabbed him, police said.



"Sir, you need to come with me," said the officer who grabbed the man.



As the scene unfolded, a crowd formed below on Madison Avenue, with some people cheering and whistling for him. When the climber slipped, gasps could be heard.



Traffic was shut down on Fifth Avenue during the incident.



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Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao (R) meets with Bhutan's Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji, who visits China for the 24th round of boundary talks, in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)



BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China hopes to work with Bhutan for early establishment of diplomatic relations and solution to boundary issues, Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao said on Thursday.

Li made the comment when meeting with Bhutan's Foreign Minister Damcho Dorji, in China for the 24th round of boundary talks.

"China and Bhutan have yet to establish diplomatic ties but have always respected each other and treated each other as equals," Li said.

Damcho Dorji said Bhutan expects to strengthen cooperation with China in various fields and looks forward to settling the boundary issue at an early date.

Also on Thursday, Li met with Swiss Vice President Doris Leuthard on strengthening bilateral relations.
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Three Chinese nationals were injured in a collision between their rented minibus and a cargo truck in southwestern Cambodia's Kampot province on Thursday, a local police officer said.

The crash took place at 2:10 p.m. local time (0710 GMT) on national road No. 3 in Tuek Chhou district when the two vehicles from an opposite direction hit head-on, said Veth Chan, assistant to deputy police chief of Tuek Chhou district Chea Pheara.

"Three Chinese in the minibus got injured. Two of them, a man and a woman, were in serious condition," he told Xinhua, adding that the victims had been rushed to a local hospital for treatment.

According to Veth Chan, besides the Chinese victims, one Cambodian woman was killed and six other Cambodians got injured in the crash.

Chea Pheara, deputy police chief of Tuek Chhou district, said the minibus was travelling from Phnom Penh to coastal Kampot province when the crash happened.

He said the cargo truck was blamed for the traffic accident, as its driver escaped the scene soon after the crash.

Road accidents are a leading cause of death in this Southeast Asian country, killing an average of six people per day.

According to a government report, road crashes killed 2,265 people last year, up 5 percent year-on-year.
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- At least four militants were killed in a shootout with paramilitary troops in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Thursday, local Urdu media reported.

Dawn News said the militants were planning to launch an attack on the Independence Day celebrations on Aug. 14 in the city.

The paramilitary troops Rangers conducted a search operation in Manghopir area of Karachi, capital city of the south Sindh province, on an intelligence tip-off.

The terrorists opened fire at the troops when being cordoned, triggering the shootout.

The Rangers spokesperson said they recovered weapons from the hideout of the suspected militants.

The forces continued operation in other areas of the city following the incident.
File photo taken on July 1, 2010 shows bullet trains serving for the Wuhan-Guangzhou high speed railway, at Wuhan Railway Station in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua)

MONTEVIDEO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese railway experts have begun training their Uruguayan counterparts in Montevideo, as part of bilateral cooperation agreements between the two governments, the Uruguayan presidency said Wednesday.

The First International Seminar on Railway Construction and Administration is aimed to teach Uruguayan engineers a range of subjects, including railway signage equipment, communications systems usage and maintenance, the reconstruction and repair to sewage systems, and the maintenance of tunnel and track ballast.

"The foreign instructors will share their experience and knowledge to allow us to identify useful solutions," said Jorge Setelich, deputy minister of transport and public works, in a statement.

Setelich said that the seminar, which began on Monday and runs till Aug. 19, would "allow Uruguayan professionals to gain new technical skills to be applied nationwide."

For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Uruguay Dong Xiaojun said: "China enjoys a wealth of experience ... in railway construction and administration, with patented technologies of a high global level."

"We hope this seminar represents a new chapter for cooperation between China and Uruguay in terms of infrastructure, always benefiting our two peoples," he added.

Successive Uruguayan administrations have for years sought to renovate the country's rapidly aging railway infrastructure.
The file photo shows the Greek cargo ship involved in the collision accident. A Chinese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Greek cargo ship in the East China Sea early Thursday. Six crew members have been rescued by Japanese coast guard ship. Searching work for the eight missing is still underway. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, Aug.11 (Xinhua) -- Six crew members of a sunken Chinese fishing boat saved by Japan have been handed over to China, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed late Thursday night.

China is continuing searching for others still missing, spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.

A Chinese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Greek cargo ship in the East China Sea Thursday morning, said the Foreign Ministry quoting an announcement by the China Coast Guard and China Maritime Search and Rescue Center.

The crash occurred in waters about 70 kilometers northwest of China's Diaoyu Islands, according to reports. Both China and Japan sent out government ships for rescue work.

"China appreciates Japan's cooperation and humanitarian spirit displayed in the rescue operation," she said.
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro takes part during the seventh Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), at the Palace of Conventions, in Havana, Cuba, on April 19, 2016. (Xinhua/CUBADEBATE)

by Victoria Arguello

CARACAS, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- As revolutionary leader Fidel Castro nears his 90th birthday on Aug. 13, the international spotlight has once again turned towards Cuba, the nation he shaped into one of the Caribbean's most developed in terms of education, healthcare and life expectancy.

Historians and political observers are taking stock of Castro's lasting legacy and the impact of his policies on Latin America and the world.

"Fidel Castro's influence is universal," Venezuelan historian and award-winning author Luis Britto Garcia told Xinhua in an interview.

"His accomplishments are important to the achievements of the Caribbean, Latin America and the world," said Britto.

Since appearing on the world stage in the 1950s, as leader of Cuba's revolutionary movement to topple U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista, Castro has presented the world with a larger than life figure to be contended with.

"From the beginning, Fidel put his life on the line for the revolution," despite his relatively well-off background, noted Britto, winner of the 2001 National Literature Prize.

That he gave up a life of comfort to spearhead a revolutionary movement to better the lives of average Cubans makes his historical contributions all the more remarkable, he said.

Bolivia's President Evo Morales (C), and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro (L), accompany former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, before heading to the celebration of Castro's 89th birthday, in Havana, Cuba, on Aug. 13, 2015. (Xinhua/ABI)

Castro was born in 1926 as "the son of a wealthy farmer, which would have been enough for him to lead a comfortable, easy, pleasant life, but Fidel... decides to live a life of struggle and of fighting for the community, for the people," said Britto.

After initially failing to drive Batista from power, and serving less than two years behind bars as a result, Castro and his rebels finally succeeded in 1959, marking the beginning of one of the most profound national transformations in history.

Under Castro, Cuba evolved from a tropical playground for its northern neighbor with an economy under the yolk of the U.S. government, to an independent nation with "very high human development" on a par with many richer nations, according to the United Nations Development Program.

Not only did Castro succeed in vastly improving living standards across the board, said Britto, but he did it a mere 145 km from the United States, a superpower and declared enemy of Castro's government.

"Fidel achieved what seemed impossible for the rest of Latin America: healthcare and jobs for everyone, important accomplishments in the area of culture, (such as) exceptional filmmaking, and the development of a great network of scientific research," said Britto.
Photo taken by cellphone on Aug. 11, 2016 shows the explosion site at a power plant in Dangyang, central China's Hubei Province. At least 21 people were killed and five others were injured, three seriously, after a pipeline explosion hit a power plant in central China's Hubei Province Thursday afternoon, local authorities said. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A work group has been dispatched to the scene of an explosion at a power plant where 21 people were killed in Dangyang, central China's Hubei Province.

The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) confirmed that at least 21 people were killed and five injured by high-pressure steam when a pipeline exploded.

The accident happened around 3:20 p.m. Thursday at the Madian Gangue Power Generation Co. Ltd. in Dangyang City.

The cause of the blast is still unknown.
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan said on Thursday that involvement of foreign elements could not be ruled out in a deadly suicide bombing in the southwestern city of Quetta this week that killed over 70 people.

Islamic State and a breakaway faction of the Afghan Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attack that prompted a series of high-level security meetings to go after the hideouts of the militant groups.

The army said the security forces have launched a "combing operation" in the suburbs of Quetta following the Aug. 8 attack.

No one has so far been arrested. However Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali told the parliament on Wednesday that security officials have got "some clues" that have been shared with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He also claimed to reach the perpetrators soon.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakariya said there could be possibility of foreign involvement, but he did not directly blame any country for the Quetta carnage.

"The Indian intelligence agencies have remained involved in subversive activities in Pakistan especially Balochistan and Karachi," the Pakistani spokesman told a weekly press briefing.

Pakistani officials claimed in March that security agencies arrested a "serving Indian naval officer" Kulbhushan Yadav in Balochistan for his "anti-state activities to destabilize" the country.

Indian officials denied any links with Yadav, saying that he was a retired officer and was running business in the Iranian port city of Chahbahar.

"The confessional statement of Yadav vindicates Pakistan's claim in this regard," the Pakistani spokesman said.

The spokesman also rejected the Indian allegations of infiltration across the Line of Control, which divides Pakistan and India in the disputed Kashmir region.

"We have a firm position on it and we will not allow our land to be used against any other country. Pakistan itself is the victim of terrorism and it is committed to eradicating the menace," he said.

Indian officials have alleged that Pakistani is interfering in its affairs, in a reference to statements by Pakistani leaders about the violence in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in recent weeks.

Violence gripped the Indian-controlled Kashmir after the security forces killed a commander of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideeen group.

Expressing concerns over violence in Indian-administered Kashmir, the Pakistani spokesman urged the international community to check what he called "blatant human rights violations" in Kashmir.

He noted that countries including the United States, China, Turkey and Azerbaijan as well as human rights organizations and NGO have expressed their concerns over the situation in Kashmir.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's innovation drive has seen the emergence of three distinct regions in the country's developed east coast aspiring to become the next Silicon Valley.

The three regions are Haidian district in Beijing, which includes the country's tech hub Zhongguancun, Zhangjiang tech park in Shanghai and Nanshan district in southern Chinese boomtown Shenzhen.

SILICON VALLEY HOPEFULS

Some of China's earliest tech firms, including PC maker Lenovo, search engine Baidu and online portal Sina, can trace their roots back to Haidian in the 1990s. The district has been the breeding ground for the country's top Internet and tech firms ever since.

Official data shows that more than 33 tech start-ups sprung up in Haidian every day during Q1. The tech hub is also home to 22 companies that managed to become "unicorns," company with valuations exceeding 1 billion U.S. dollars within five years.

Among these unicorns, Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi acquired its rival Uber China earlier this month and receives backing from top Chinese Internet giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, as well as from Apple in the U.S.

Ksyun, a cloud computing subsidiary of Kingsoft, raised nearly 50 million U.S. dollars in its latest funding round in May, making it the latest start-up in Zhongguancun with a valuation exceeding 1 billion dollars.

"This region is producing top start-ups faster than anywhere else," said Wang Delu, President of Beijing Greatwall Enterprise Institute.

"Angel funds, venture capital, and government-back funds are all ready to fund the next unicorn start-ups in Haidian."

The district has over 1,500 funds specializing in equity financing.

"Many entrepreneurs I met here said they have been able to secure funding for their business faster than in other countries," said Mao Daqing, founder of start-up incubator UR Work.

Zhangjiang, the high tech park east of downtown Shanghai, has long branded itself as China's silicon and medicine valley as it houses a number of chip manufacturers and drug makers.

The tech park is home to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), the world's fourth largest chipmaker with 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 revenue.

More than 300 drugs are being developed at the tech park. One in every three new drugs approved by China Food and Drug Administration comes from Zhangjiang.

The tech park also houses 133 research and development centers for multinational corporations.

"Innovation is carried out on a global scale and this is particularly true in Shanghai, where global and local talents work together. The city's vast array of world-class hospitals, research institutes and R&D centers constitute a complete industrial chain," said Du Ying, chairman of Zai Lab, a biotech firm based in Zhangjiang.

As China' s smallest high-tech zone, Nanshan in Shenzhen covers only 11.5 square kilometers, or roughly 1 percent of Hong Kong, but is home to more than 7,000 companies, including 84 listed firms.

DJI, a drone maker based in Nanshan, has pioneered the development of drones for consumers. Currently, DJI products have gained 70 percent of the consumer drone market across the world.

In addition to DJI, Nanshan also boasts telecom giants Huawei, ZTE and Internet giant Tencent, all of which are world leaders in their respective fields.

The tech hub's proximity to the country's IT manufacturing base has also allowed companies to turn cutting edge technologies into affordable consumer electronics.

Nanshan's Appotronics has managed to use its laser display technology to produce 100-inch televisions at 10,000 yuan, making it the first company in the world to have applied laser displays in mass production.

STILL CATCHING UP

The three regions do, however, have their shortcomings.

Shenzhen's lack of top universities and research institutes calls into question the sustainability of innovation in Nanshan.

Huawei's CEO Ren Zhengfei said at a national conference on technological innovation earlier this year that the company had waded into uncharted waters in technology and lacked guidance. The reason for that, Ren said, is insufficient scientific research.

To address this problem, Shenzhen has asked world-leading universities to build campuses in the city and plans to have 20 higher learning institutes in the next 10 years.

At Zhangjiang, medical research is led by foreign drugmakers. Even in co-development projects, the Chinese side still have difficulty in obtaining critical technologies.

Despite being a hub for innovative internet start-ups, Haidian still has a long way to go to match Silicon valley in terms of innovation.

"Companies here in Haidian are still modelling after their predecessors in Silicon Valley," said Cheng Fang, president of Tsinghua Technology & Innovation Holdings.

"Silicon Valley has produced the world's leading suite of tech giants such as Apple, Google, Cisco and Oracle. Companies from Haidian still do not quite measure up."
BENI, DR Congo, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- United Nations peacekeepers managed to rescue 11 officers injured during a recent joint operation with the Congolese army in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) against Ugandan rebels.

The information was revealed on Wednesday by the interim spokesman for the UN Mission for Stabilization of Congo (MONUSCO) during a weekly UN press conference in Kinshasa.

The spokesman said Congolese army working in close collaboration with the UN peacekeepers had managed to control the security situation in Beni territory.

Security sources from North Kivu province contacted by Xinhua affirmed that there is a "Muslim coalition in the province from neighbouring states that wanted to create a Muslim territory in eastern DR Congo."

The situation comes just a week after a meeting between DR Congo President Joseph Kabila and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni during which they agreed to share intelligence reports on ADF rebels.

The UN and human rights NGOs have accused the Ugandan rebels of killing over 600 people in eastern DR Congo since October 2014.

ADF is an armed group founded in 1995, bringing together movements opposed to Ugandan president. The group has split in various small groups that are scattered in DR Congo and Uganda.
KIGALI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan Government has recalled its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Eugene-Richard Gasana.

This is among the decisions made by Wednesday's Cabinet Meeting chaired by President Kagame at Village Urugwiro in Kigali.

Gasana had served as Rwanda's Permanent Representative to the United Nations since July 2009.

He was later in 2012 appointed as State Minister in Charge of Cooperation, a new portfolio created that year.

The statement does not indicate whether his ministerial portfolio will be affected. Enditem
STOCKHOLM, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The southern Swedish city of Malmo has seen a string of car torching incidents in the past month, with at least 11 vehicles burnt down and totally destroyed on Wednesday night alone, local media reported Thursday.

Nearly 60 car fires occurred around Malmo, Sweden's third largest city, since the beginning of July. There has been an escalation in incidents in the past few days, according to the police.

"Many cars have been burnt down within a short space of time. We don't know why it is happening now in particular," Ewa-Gun Westford, a spokesperson of the Malmo police, told the Swedish news agency on Wednesday.

Vehicles have also been set alight in other Swedish cities and towns, including in Gothenburg, the country's second largest city.

"I don't know why exactly [the cars were attacked]," said Peter Adlersson, another police spokesperson. "It is pure devilry. It tends to be like this in connection with the start and end of the school breaks," he added. Enditem
BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ping An Bank, a national commercial bank headquartered in Shenzhen, said on Thursday that its net profit rose 6.1 percent in the first of this year, thanks to rising revenue.

Net profits hit 12.3 billion yuan (1.8 billion U.S. dollars), the lender said in a statement. Business expanded quickly in the first six months with operating revenues up to 54.8 billion yuan, a rise of nearly 18 percent year on year.

The bank's total assets reached 2.8 trillion yuan at the end of June, up 11.7 percent from the start of the year. Meanwhile, the non-performing loan ratio was 1.56 percent, up 0.11 percentage point, the statement said.

In contrast, net profit growth for the country's commercial banks on average slowed to 3.2 percent year on year during the first six months, official data showed on Wednesday. Enditem
PARIS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- France urged an international initiative to thwart encrypted messaging services used by extremists, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Thursday.

"We are at an extremely high terrorism alert. We stress the seriousness of the challenge where encrypted communication is used by terrorists," Cazeneuve noted after a security council held at the Elysee Palace.

"It's a key issue in the fight against terrorism. Many of the messages exchanged to make terrorist attacks are now via encrypted means," he added.

Cazeneuve will meet his German counterpart Thomas de Maiziere on Aug. 23 to work on a European and international solution "because it is not only one country that can take such an initiative."

Earlier this week, French anti-terrorism police arrested a radicalized 16-year-old girl who was the administrator of a chat group on the encrypted messaging service Telegram. She posted numerous propaganda messages from the Islamic State, calling for more attacks on French soil.

On July 26, Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean, killed an elderly priest in a church in northern France. Investigation showed the two teenagers had met via Telegram a few days before the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State.
An Israeli policeman holds a blood-stained shirt at the scene where police said a Jewish man was stabbed with a screwdriver in East Jerusalem neighbourhood of A-tur August 11, 2016. (Reuters photo)

JERUSALEM, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israel's police launched manhunt for a screwdriver-wielding Palestinian who stabbed an Israeli youth in East Jerusalem and fled on Thursday afternoon.

The incident took place in A Tur, a neighborhood in annexed East Jerusalem.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the Palestinian attacked the 18-year-old victim near a bus station, stabbing his neck and back.

The youth was slightly injured, Samri said.

Since mid-September, an outburst of violence has killed at least 220 Palestinians and 34 Israelis.

Israeli leaders accuse the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the unrest, while the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, home to more than 5 million Palestinians, where they wish to establish an independent state.
GAZA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israel has announced the arrest of two Gazans working for international organizations. Palestinian analysts warned that it may influence the humanitarian services in the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.

According to Israeli media, Israeli security released a report on Tuesday that Wahid al-Bursh, a 38-year-old citizen from Gaza, who works for the United Nations Developing Program (UNDP), was arrested on July 3 at the Israeli-controlled crossing point of Erez on the borders between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Working for the UNDP since 2003, al-Bursh was accused of being a member in the Islamic Hamas movement, and serving Hamas at his position in the UN organization.

According to Israeli media, al-Bursh was accused of carrying out several missions for Hamas, like transferring the UNDP materials to build a small sea dock for Hamas on the beach of northern Gaza Strip.

The charges included al-Bursh removing the debris of four destroyed houses belonging to Hamas members in Gaza during the 2014 conflict.

He was also charged of reporting to Hamas about finding weapons and tunnels underneath the houses instead of reporting to the organization he worked for.

The security report said al-Bursh has confessed to the charges after he was questioned by the Israeli security services.

However, the UNDP said in an official statement Tuesday night that the organization has strict measures of removing the rubble of the destroyed houses in the Gaza Strip, stressing that the rubble were collected, smashed and reused according to the organization's plans.

"Al-Bursh has to be offered all the legal measures and has to be taken to a fair court," said the UNDP statement, adding that "the UNDP takes all the Israeli charges against al-Bursh into consideration."

The arrest of al-Bursh came several days after Israel announced that Palestinian citizen Mohamed el-Halabi, director of the World Vision in the Gaza Strip, had been arrested and was charged of providing financial aid to Hamas.

The Israeli charges against el-Halabi were published last week, two months after he had been arrested. Both Islamic Hamas movement and his family denied the charges.

Father of el-Halabi told Xinhua that his son has been working with the organization for 13 years, and he doesn't belong to any Palestinian organizations.

"My son was arrested on June 15 when he came back to Gaza from the West Bank through Erez Crossing, where he joined a three-day workshop at the World Vision office in the West Bank," said the father.

Meanwhile, the Hamas movement, which has been ruling Gaza for the past nine years, denied the charges, saying "the alleged Israeli accusations related to leaking money from the UNDP and the World Vision to Hamas movement are false."

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed press statement that "these alleged accusations are made as part of an Israeli plan to tighten the siege and suffocate the Gaza Strip by chasing the international aid organizations that are serving in the Gaza Strip. The aim is to restrict their humanitarian activities."

Palestinian analysts expressed deep concerns over the arrest of two local aid workers, warning it would have negative impacts on the humanitarian aid activities of these organizations in Gaza.

Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Government Organizations (PNGO) in Gaza warned of reducing the aid services "due to the Israeli incitement campaign against the local workers of these organizations."

"The Israeli measures would bring dangerous and negative consequences to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip," said Shawa, adding "we forecast more Israeli tight measures on the free movement of other local aid workers."

Adnan Abu Aamer, political science professor specialized in Israeli affairs, told Xinhua that "as long as we don't have accurate information from the imprisoned workers or from their attorneys, I could say that it could be a new Israeli policy that aims at practicing more pressure on Gaza and tightening the siege," said Abu Aamer.

He stressed that Israel wanted to show the world that Hamas is a terrorist organization and is using the international aid organizations to gain money.

Israel has been imposing a tight siege on Gaza since Hamas violently took over the control of the coastal enclave in 2007. Due to the blockade, 1.9 million Gaza people have been suffering from high rates of poverty and unemployment.
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Thursday encouraged the China Road and Bridge Corporation to continue investing in infrastructure in Cambodia, a Cambodian senior official said.

The prime minister made the remarks during a meeting with Wen Gang, chairman of the China Road and Bridge Corporation, at the Peace Palace.

"Samdech Techo Prime Minister encouraged the company to continue investing in infrastructure projects in Cambodia, saying that infrastructure development was one of the top priorities for Cambodia," Kao Kim Hourn, minister attached to the prime minister, told reporters.

So far, the Chinese company has invested in many infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asian country, Kao said.

Both sides also discussed the development of new roads, bridges and expressways in Cambodia.

Meanwhile, Hun Sen advised the company to work closely with the nation's institutions and relevant ministries to expedite the implementation of those projects.
LUSAKA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's electoral body and international observers have expressed satisfaction with a peaceful voting process amid high voter turnout.

Priscilla Isaac, director of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), said reports received from various parts of the country indicate that there was a good voter turnout.

Early this week, the ECZ had expressed concern that violence that had characterized the run-up to the elections would result in many voters failing to turn up to exercise their right to vote.

Violent clashes between supporters of incumbent President Edgar Lungu and leading opposition challenger Hakainde Hichilema characterized the campaign.

"The ECZ is pleased to report that there is a good turnout at various polling stations and the voting environment is calm and peaceful," she said on Thursday during a press briefing.

The electoral chief said most polling stations opened on time because materials were distributed on time, although there were a few polling stations, mostly in western and northwestern Zambia, where voting was delayed due to poor road network.

She said the late opening of the polling stations will be compensated as the stations will not close at 6 p.m. local time, which is the official time for closing of the voting process.

Long queues were a regular sight as people went to the polls in most parts of the country, with some voters turning up at polling stations two hours before the voting started.

Apart from electing a president, the electorate will be voting for 156 lawmakers, 1,624 local councilors, city mayors and for a referendum meant to amend part three of the constitution, which deals with people's rights.

The presidential race is tight between Lungu and Hichilema.

The opposition leader cast his vote at Kabulonga Secondary School, in Lusaka, the country's capital, and said Zambians expects free, fair, transparent and credible elections.

"Otherwise Zambians will decide for the leadership they require today; we campaigned but today is the day for the voter," he said.

He said whoever wins the elections does no matter as long as the elections are held in a free and fair environment.

Lungu, who cast his vote at John Howard's Apostolic Church in Chawama compound, said he was impressed with the voter turnout and urged stakeholders to allow the electoral body to conduct credible elections.

The European Union (EU) Observer team said the high voter turnout indicates that Zambians were eager to exercise their right to choose their leaders.

Chief observer Cecile Kyenge said a visit to a number of polling stations has revealed that the voting process was peaceful and without irregularities, according to state broadcaster, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation.

Final presidential results are expected late on Saturday.
GENEVA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- As fighting continues to rage in war-torn Syria, the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura on Thursday warned that militarization of the ongoing conflict is untenable if a peaceful solution is to be reached between factions at war.

"No sustainable military solution is possible in Aleppo or anywhere else in Syria," De Mistura said after a weekly humanitarian taskforce meeting here.

This statement comes amid ongoing clashes between factions vying to control the strategically and symbolically important Aleppo, once Syria's largest city.

Residents trapped in both eastern and western parts of the war-ravaged city, northern Syria, have been particularly hard-hit by food and medical shortages. The lack of running water and electricity has further compounded the dire situation on the ground.

Aid groups have been unable to carry out critical relief operations because of intensified fighting. A Russian pledge to implement a daily three-hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to access the city's desperate people was deemed insufficient by the UN.

"First of all, we the UN were not consulted. Secondly, three hours is not enough," De Mistura said, adding that the Russians do seem open to the idea of discussing further plans to see if the initiative can be improved upon.

The UN has been calling for a 48-hour truce to be set up to cater to the pressing needs of the two million people living in Aleppo.

Despite protracted violence, the envoy iterated his intention to resume Syrian peace talks towards the end of August seeking to broker a political end to the five-year conflict.

The UN-mediated negotiations have been on hold since April this year.
SOFIA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 82 percent of Bulgarians did not plan trips to western Europe and Turkey because of the terror attacks and attempted coup, according to a public opinion published Thursday.

The survey, carried out by Gallup International, found that about 6 percent of the respondents did not change their travel plans due to what happened.

Another 6 percent said the incidents made them change their travel plans over the past months.

By extrapolating this data to the general Bulgarian population, this means that approximately 300,000 Bulgarians reconsidered their plans to travel to countries in western Europe or Turkey.

About 40 percent of the people in the survey said they plan to go or went on holiday to the Bulgarian seaside.
JERUSALEM, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he and Israel care more about the Palestinians than their own leaders do, following recent revelations over abuse of aid funds in the Gaza Strip.

"I, the prime minister of Israel, and Israel, care more about Palestinians than their own leaders do," Netanyahu said at the start of a video statement posted on his Facebook page on Thursday.

The Israeli prime minister addressed two affairs in the past week, in which workers in aid organizations in the Gaza Strip allegedly transferred funds to Hamas, the Islamist organization controlling the Palestinian enclave.

"A few days ago, the world learned that Hamas stole millions of dollars from humanitarian organizations like World Vision and the United Nations," the prime minister said.

He charged the group of using the money to "build a war machine to murder Jews," while "innocent and impoverished Palestinians are denied vital aid."

Netanyahu also mentioned Israel allows the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and treating some Palestinian citizens in Israeli hospitals.

"Imagine where we might be if Palestinian leaders cared about helping their own people as much as hurting our people...the Palestinian people deserve better," he concluded.

On Tuesday, Israeli authorities said Waheed Borsch, a 38-year-old engineer from Gaza working in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), abused his position to help Hamas with "material assistance."

In a separate affair revealed last Thursday, authorities claimed Mohammed El-Halabi, director of the Gaza office of a U.S. charity organization called World Vision, funneled 7.2 million U.S. dollars a year to Hamas over five years.

Israel occupied the Gaza Strip, along with the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights territories, during the 1967 Mideast War. It evacuated its settlers and soldiers from the strip in 2005, which has been ruled by the Hamas movement ever since.

Israel imposed a blockade on the strip in the wake of Hamas' takeover, allowing a restricted transfer of goods in and out of the enclave and limiting most exits and entries of people.

The two sides have fought several rounds of fighting in the past decade. The latest round, in summer 2014, claimed the lives of more than 2,200 Palestinians and over 70 Israelis, leaving thousands of Palestinians homeless.
DAR ES SALAAM, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities said on Thursday the east African nation was facing huge shortage of vaccines for rabies, a disease caused by dog bites.

Mohammed Mohammed, Acting Permanent Secretary for Health, said the government was working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to alleviate the shortage.

The shortage of the vaccines came at a time when there was an outbreak of rabies in the country's regions of Lindi, Mtwara, Morogoro, Coast and Dar es Salaam.

Mohammed said the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Medical Stores Department (MSD) have come up with recommendations aimed at reducing the shortage,

"At least 1,400 vaccines against rabies are expected to be distributed by MSD from the first week of September," he said, adding that plans were afoot to ensure that there was enough supply of the vaccines for the next year. Enditem
YEREVAN, Armenia, Aug.11 (Xinhua)-- A tender has been announced on the design and construction of a bridge over River Debed along the Armenia-Georgia border, reported Armenpress on Thursday.

The tender will be open until September 20 within the procurement system of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. In the first phase of selection only the technical capacities of applicant companies will be considered. The second phase will see that the clarified and updated proposals and commercial applications are reviewed.

It is expected that the implementation of the contractual commitment will commence on December 28 and will last for three and a half years, including 18 months for designing and construction, as well as 24 months for the elimination of identified shortcomings. The project will be financed by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development but the loan will be equally paid for by Armenia and Georgia.

The agreement on building this bridge dubbed as the Bridge of Friendship was signed between the governments of Armenia and Georgia in December of 2014.
WINDHOEK, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- After years of holding back on the economic partnership agreement with the European Union, Namibia finally ratified the deal Wednesday ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline.

The 10-year agreement offers duty and quota free market access to the European Union market for African countries and those in the Caribbean as well as the Pacific.

Namibia had refused to sign the initial agreement, demanding clarification on export taxes, infant industry protection, food security and the free circulation of goods.

The deal was signed in Botswana in June this year, and then Namibia's parliament endorsed it about two weeks ago.

Namibia's ambassador to the EU Kaire Mbuende confirmed the signing Thursday. Mbuende said the international affairs minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah signed the agreement Wednesday.

According to Mbuende, the challenge now is for Namibia to produce enough quality products to meet the demand.

"This open market will immediately result in millions of dollars for Namibia through trade and export," he said. Enditem
ANKARA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish interior minister said nearly 76,000 civil servants have been suspended since the July 15 failed coup, Hurriyet News reported on Thursday.

As many as 5,171 have been detained and some 16,899 have been arrested, the report quoted Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala.

A total of 190 military staff, of whom nine were generals, are still at large since the failed coup, the minister said.

He said the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is focusing on regulations that would prevent another coup attempt, adding that, however, another bid could take place in the next five to 10 years if the system and institutions weren't democratized.

"We can say that the immediate danger is about to pass. We've made plenty of regulations and we're doing that," he said.
PYONGYANG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday once again slammed Seoul for its decision to deploy the anti-missile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korea Peninsula, saying it is "dodging the mounting criticism."

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her government are "driven into a tight corner by the strong criticism and protest against the THAAD deployment from not only the South Korean public, but also from all Koreans and international society," said a statement given by a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (CPRC).

The statement, which was carried by the official KCNA news agency, criticized Seoul for its pro-American policy, saying it is being "utterly indifferent to the national dignity and interests."

Last Wednesday, the CPRC denounced Park for her hyping up the North's nuclear and missile threats to justify Seoul's joint decision with Washington to introduce the missile interceptor to the Korean Peninsula.

Last week, the DPRK fired two ballistic missiles into east waters in an apparent protest against the deployment of THAAD in South Korea.

Park said last Thursday that a shift from the site in Seongju county planned for the THAAD deployment can be reviewed.

Her comments came amid a growing outcry among local residents over the planned THAAD deployment some 250 km southeast of Seoul, where South Korea and the United States agreed last month to deploy one THAAD battery by the end of next year.

China has expressed strong opposition to the THAAD deployment on the peninsula as it damages China's security interests and breaks the strategic balance in Northeast Asia, while Russia has indicated a military response by deploying a missile unit in the Far Eastern region.
MOSCOW, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russia's anti-monopoly watchdog said Thursday it has fined industry giant Google 438 million rubles (6.7 million U.S. dollars) for violating competition law.

The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) said Google had forced mobile device manufacturers to preinstall its applications on mobile devices using the Android system.

Google was also accused of placing its applications at priority positions on the home page of mobile devices to the detriment of alternative software. Google's software also prevented the installation of applications of other developers, the FAS said in its statement.

"The Competition Law must be observed by all the companies that supply their products to the Russian Federation, including multinational corporations," Yelena Zayeva, head of the Communications and Information Technologies Department of the FAS, said in the statement.

The FAS said Google must pay the fine within 60 days after the order becomes effective. The Russian side is still discussing related issues with the company. [ The FAS ruled against Google last September over the company's abuse of its dominant market position, following a complaint filed by Yandex, one of the leading Internet technology firms in Russia.
KATHMANDU, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Congress, the largest party in the Nepalese parliament, has expressed grief over the loss of lives in a power plant blast in central China on Thursday.

President of Congress party Sher Bahadur Deuba extended condolences to the Chinese government and Chinese people on behalf of this party.

"I am saddened by the news of power plant blast in China's Hubei Province, killing 21 people and five injured. I would to express deep condolences on the loss of lives and deep sympathy to the bereaved families at this great hour of tragedy," he said in a statement.

At least 21 people were killed and five others injured, three seriously, after a pipe explosion hit a power plant in central China's Hubei Province Thursday.
VILNIUS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The chief of Lithuania's State Food and Veterinary Authority Jonas Milius has refused to resign from office amid a frozen food scandal, the country's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said on Thursday.

"I had a meeting with Milius today, he refused to resign," Butkevicius said according to local media.

The general prosecutor's office of Lithuania started a pre-trial investigation into the case in July in which Milius, director of the food safety authority, is suspected of abuse of office and forgery of documents.

It is suspected that the agency hid information about human health-threatening bacteria being found in frozen dumplings produced by Judex, a manufacturing company based in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas.

Milius, who has led the food agency since 2010, is currently on holiday until Aug. 23. He claims he did not break any rules, local website vz.lt reported.

The government will make its decision concerning Milius after legal conclusions on the issue are ready, which is expected at the beginning of next week, Butkevicius said.

The head of government said earlier that he no longer had confidence in Milius after reading a statement from the Special Investigation Service about corruption risks highlighted in the activities of the food agency.

Milius refused to step down despite political leaders urging him to do so, including Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and ministers of health and social affairs.

"I consider the situation as very bad and think that he should have stepped down a long time ago," Grybauskaite said earlier this week in an interview with BNS news agency.

Available data raises suspicion that heads of the Judex company attempted to avoid penalties for occupational safety, packaging, labeling, hygiene and other violations.

It is suspected that the administration of the company sought to bribe specialists of the Lithuanian food agency and/or people who could influence them. Enditem
JERUSALEM, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli food company on Thursday recalled products after discovering traces of salmonella, a week after Unilever Israel recalled a popular cereal brand for the same reason.

Shamir Salads, manufacturer of hummus and tehina salads, common ingredients in Israeli cuisine, announced recalling their tehina products made in the past ten days after a health ministry inspection found traces of the bacteria.

The company said in a statement on Thursday it "apologizes for the error and is working to remove the products from the shelves and all distributions lines."

The company's CEO Ami Guy told the Hebrew-based Ynet news website that the company has received a late notification of the contamination from the manufacturer in charge of the raw material.

"The supplier notified us too late...we've already been producing this tainted product for ten days. We assume some of these products have been eaten," he added.

The company said it destroyed "about 200 tons of raw tehina," and opened a hotline for worried consumers. The Walla! news website reported some of the salads were supplied to military bases.

Tehina is also used as an ingredient in other forms of salads in Israel, and eight different products containing it were recalled.

The Health Ministry said it will continue to investigate the affair and consider charges against the company if needed.

Also on Thursday, the Millotel company manufacturing frozen french fries announced recalling its product after laboratory examinations found traces of the listeria bacteria in it.

Furthermore, the Health Ministry ordered the destruction of four tons of camel's milk after two children in central Israel were hospitalized after drinking it early Thursday.

The Ynet news website reported they were infected with the brucella that spreads from animals to humans or from drinking unpasteurized milk.

Last week, Unilever Israel, owner of the Israeli Telma brand of cereals, announced it had accidentally shipped salmonella-tainted cornflakes boxes to stores across the country.

The Health Ministry said on Sunday it had suspended the manufacturing license to the manufacturing plant, and Israel's Health Minister Yakov Litzman threatened on Friday to revoke the company's production license in Israel.

As the world's third largest food corporations, Unilever claimed last week that no tainted products left the factory, but on Thursday it admitted some 240 contaminated boxes were shipped to stores. Enditem
OTTAWA, Aug.11 (Xinhua) -- A suspected ISIS sympathizer was killed in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Wednesday night hours after RCMP warned a potential terrorist threat, according to CBC Thursday.

The ISIS sympathizer named Aaron Driver, 24, was killed inside a home in the town of Strathroy, some 220 kilometres west of Toronto. He was well known to Canadian intelligence and police officials for his support for the Islamist terrorist group.

Driver was shot to death after he detonated a device that wounded himself and one other person.

The Canadian Press reported that Driver allegedly planned to use a bomb to carry out a suicide attack in a public area.

"The RCMP received credible information of a potential terrorist threat," an RCMP statement said Wednesday evening. "A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety."

Maria Pereira, who lives next door to Driver's home where RCMP shot and killed Driver, said heard a loud explosion coming from her neighbour's yard Monday afternoon. and then she called police.

Driver first caught the attention of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and RCMP in October 2014 when he was tweeting support for the ISIS under the alias Harun Abdurahman. He also said Michael Zehaf-Bibeau's attack on Parliament Hill in October of that year was justified.

Driver agreed to the conditions of a peace bond when he appeared in a Winnipeg court earlier this year after his arrest in June 2015. He was prohibited from using a computer or cellphone - rules that were to be in place until the end of August.

However, Driver's former lawyer, Leonard Tailleur, told CBC News there was no evidence Driver was directly affiliated with ISIS or any other organization.

Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale said in a statement that he spoke with the prime minister to confirm that public safety "continues to be properly protected."

Taking all relevant information into account, the national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at "medium," where it has stood since the fall of 2014, Goodale added.
by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- For more than half a century, Cuban leader Fidel Castro has been a target for many of his political enemies and adversaries that tried to topple the socialist regime in the island country by any means, including his assassination.

Castro once stated, in regards to the numerous attempts on his life, that he believed he had set a world record.

"If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event, I would win the gold medal," he said.

During his 47 years in power, Castro survived 637 conspiracies to kill him and 164 real assassination plots, making him the most targeted head of state in the 20th century.

"In the last few years, several Cuban security researchers conducted an investigation and we concluded that 637 conspiracies to kill Fidel Castro had been carried out with various methods," Pedro Etcheverry, an investigator at Cuba's State Security Research Center, told Xinhua.

Etcheverry said U.S. intelligence services admitted in 1975 that they had organized eight separate plots to kill Castro since 1960, after he broke off relations with Washington and established key political and economic alliances with the former Soviet Union.

"These plots were never carried out because our security forces dismantled them but it shows how the U.S. tried to physically eliminate Fidel because he was a threat to their interests in Cuba," added the academic.

The expert said the U.S. and anti-Castro groups were very "aggressive" in the early years of the revolution and plots were continuously organized.

He said many factors, including luck, had helped the fact that none of the assassination attempts against Castro were ever successful.

From sniper and bazooka attempts to guns hidden in video cameras and even poisoning milkshakes or chemical attacks to remove his beard have been some of the assassination methods.

One of the most renowned plots was in Chile in 1971 when Fidel Castro visited his ally, former president Salvador Allende.

"During a press conference, the CIA had infiltrated two cameramen with guns inside their video cameras. Minutes before Fidel came out to speak to the press, one of the two men declined to take a shot at Cuba's president and the other one also backed down," said Etcheverry.

Another tense moment came in 1997 in Venezuela when Fidel Castro attended the VII Iberoamerican Summit and terrorist groups planned a disastrous assassination plot.

"The plan in Margarita Island, Venezuela, was to fire a bazooka at Fidel's airplane when it was about to land. The perpetrators were arrested and two bazookas, an assault rifle as well as explosives and guns were found," he added.

Etcheverry believes Castro's enemies never gave up in their attempts to physically eliminate him until he officially retired in 2008.

"The U.S. government and terrorist groups insisted on trying to kill Fidel because he is a symbol of social justice, sovereignty and independence for Cuba and many other nations around the world," he said.
MADRID, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Spanish company Abengoa has reached an agreement with creditors in order to avoid Spain's largest corporate bankruptcy, the company reported on Thursday.

According to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), investors such as Centerbridge Partners LP, Abrams Capital, Varde Partners LP, KKR Credit and Elliot Management Corporation, will provide 1.17 billion euros (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) of new loans in exchange for a 50 percent stake.

Both investors and creditor banks, such as Spanish lenders Banco Popular and Banco Santander, will own between 90 and 95 percent of Abengoa depending on the targets the company is able to meet.

The current shareholders and a part of the company owned by the founding Benjumea family will own about 5 percent of the company, which will also receive 307 million euros in financial guarantees.

The renewable-energy producer had been negotiating with creditors since November in order to avoid becoming Spain's largest corporate bankruptcy. Abengoa's debt had reached 8.903 billion euros in September, 2015.

The company was born in 1941, it employs 24,306 people worldwide and works in more than 80 countries. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars) Enditem
RIGA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Latvian Railway signed an agreement Thursday with Czech, Canadian companies to make eco-locomotives.

The deal was signed between Latvian national rail company Latvijas Dzelzcels (Latvian Railway) and Czech enterprise CZ LOKO, Canada's Ballard Power Systems to work out a technological solution for a hydrogen powered locomotive on the basis of the Czech-made CME3 shunting locomotive.

The locomotive will be overhauled to reduce its noise and vibration levels, as well as get rid of engine emissions.

"Today, hydrogen powered locomotives are no longer a scientific experiment or a futuristic dream. They are reality, a combination of modern-day technology and knowledge," said Latvian Railway CEO Edvins Berzins.

"The transition to hydrogen as the source of energy marks the beginning of a new technology era in the transport sector, characterized by an efficient use of energy and reduced pollution," said Berzins.

"We have already implemented two rolling stock modernization projects in cooperation with CZ LOKO. We have practically rebuilt our CME3M shunting locomotives and also a 2M62UM cab unit diesel locomotive," the head of the Latvian rail company said.

LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss, a subsidiary of Latvijas Dzelzcels in charge of rolling stock maintenance, will be involved in the project to carry out the rebuilding work, CZ LOKO will provide the necessary parts and documentation, and Ballard Power Systems will supply the hydrogen fuel cells.

The Latvian Academy of Sciences will also be providing technical support.

Similar green transport projects have already been implemented in China, Britain, the United States, Denmark, Japan, Germany, India and South Africa. Enditem
ROME, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- A new Italian study showed the Zika virus would survive in semen of infected men for up to six months after symptoms appear, local media reported on Thursday.

The study was carried out by Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome, and published in the Eurosurveillance medical journal in August, according to Ansa news agency.

It focused on the case of a man in his early 40s, who returned to Italy from a two-week long visit to Haiti in January 2016.

The patient developed high fever and rash for three days after returning to Italy, and had reported mosquito bites in Haiti, scientists explained.

"Laboratory analyses performed at day 3 after symptom onset showed blood cell count and liver function tests within the normal range," they wrote in their Eurosurveillance article.

Yet, testing for infectious diseases demonstrated the presence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in both plasma and urine. The presence of the virus was still detectable in plasma up to 9 days after symptom appeared, and in saliva from 15 to 47 days, respectively.

"Notably, persistent shedding of ZIKV RNA was demonstrated in semen, still detectable at 181 days after onset," the authors wrote.

Several cases of sexually transmitted Zika infections, to which birth severe defects are associated, have been already documented in the world, confirming the disease is not spread only through mosquitos.

Yet, the Spallanzani study's findings might have relevant implications.

"A remarkable aspect of this case was the long duration of viral nucleic acid shedding in semen," the authors said.

"Data from this case suggest a prolonged potential for sexual transmission," the authors added.

However, Italian scientists warned the presence of ZIKV RNA in semen would not necessarily imply the presence of infective virus in the body, since "it could just represent a trace of past infection."

The research was carried out in cooperation with the Dept. of Molecular Medicine, the Microbiology and Virology Unit, and the Infectious Disease Unit of the University Hospital in Padua, northern Italy.

Overall, some 61 cases of Zika infections were registered in Italy, and 1,136 in Europe up to Aug. 5, according to data by the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC).

All of these cases were travel-associated infections.

The Zika infection developed in pregnant women has been particularly linked to microcephaly and acute neurological defects in newborns. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) suggested those pregnant women positive to Zika virus who choose to terminate should be granted access to safe abortions.

The Spallanzani Institute in Rome is Italy's major reference medical center for infectious diseases, and is part of the ECDC Network on the Zika virus emergency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a news conference after meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on August 10, 2016. (Kremlin photo)

MOSCOW, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday criticized the Ukrainian government for its inaction and provocative moves.

"Russia is seriously concerned about the inaction of Kiev authorities in the face of growing militant rhetoric and violent actions taken and planned by the so-called volunteer battalions and other extremists," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry called on Ukrainian government to stop provocations and fully fulfil its commitments to the Minsk agreements aiming at peaceful settlement of Ukraine crisis.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday it had dismantled a spy ring in Crimea organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, which was plotting acts of terror and sabotage on critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure.

The Foreign Ministry added that such acts were made to undermine the preparation for local elections and the political stability.

The incidents showed the unwillingness of Kiev to peacefully settle the conflicts through compromises, and its attempt to resort to force or even terrorist means, the ministry said.

Noting the growth of anti-Russian sentiment inside Ukraine stirred by its authorities, the ministry urged Kiev to avoid taking "dangerous steps that could have the most negative consequences."

Russia would do its utmost to protect Crimea's stability and security, while Kiev and its foreign supporters would suffer the consequences if any damage were inflicted on the Russian side, the ministry said.

A court in Crimea later in the day announced that a Ukrainian suspect in the terrorist plot, Yevgeny Panov, was arrested for two months.

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been escalating as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Kiev of plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea.

Immediately rejecting Russia's allegation, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered Thursday to put all military units near the border with Crimea and in Donbass on high combat readiness.

The autonomous republic of Crimea was absorbed into Russia in 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Kiev.
BAGHDAD, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) signed Thursday an agreement with the Iraqi government to tackle the widespread corruption that is paralyzing its economy and institutions as the country is fighting to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

"The UNDP stands ready to support the reform process in any way we can. Reforms are difficult and sensitive but with Daesh (IS group) nearly defeated, strengthening governance is a top priority," a UN statement quoted Lise Grande, the UNDP representative and UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, as saying.

Under the terms of the agreement, the UNDP will recruit international investigators to help mentor and train Iraqi investigators, the UN said in the statement released after the signing ceremony with the Iraqi government.

Naoufel al-Hasan, the Chief of Staff of the Office of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, said "ending impunity is at the center of our reform agenda. We have reached out to the UNDP to provide technical assistance to strengthen our capacity to investigate and prosecute corruption cases," according to the statement.

For his part, Saad al-Hadithi, spokesman of Abadi's office, attributed resorting to international investigators to pressure that might be exerted on Iraqi investigators by some parties.

"The presence of international investigators and specialists will ensure impartial investigations," Hadithi told reporters.

Earlier, Abadi pledged to carry out substantial reforms, including fighting corruption and activating the economy, by using international and local expertise that would help the government in the reform plan.

Last year, Abadi launched several reform packages after massive demonstrations in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and several other cities in the south to protest against slack public services, power shortage, and massive corruption.

Abadi's reform plan gained popular support at first, but with the passing of time the reforms fell short to convince many demonstrators, who held many demonstrations and demanded that Abadi be more aggressive against the political parties that benefited from corruption and could reverse the reforms to their own good.

Some political blocs and politicians apparently have been resisting the reforms because there is a lack of trust among the political parties, who see that such reforms, or part of them, are marginalizing their factions from the political scene, which originally was built on power-sharing agreements.

A series of failed reform measures have paralyzed Iraq's parliament and the government as the country is struggling to fight the IS, which seizes swathes of territories in northern and western Iraq.

The country is also in dire need to respond to an economic crisis sparked in part by a plunge in global oil prices.
Donald Trump speaks on the last day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, the United States, July 21, 2016. New York billionaire Donald Trumpofficially accepted the presidential nomination of the U.S. Republican Party Thursday night on the final day of the Republican National Convention. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- If U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cannot control his mouth, he may lose the presidential race because of his seemingly endless gaffes.

Any gains that Trump would have made from his economic policy speech on Monday have already been erased by his inciting remarks on Tuesday about his rival Hillary Clinton.

Trump implied in a speech at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Tuesday that gun rights advocates have to stop Clinton from becoming president to appoint anti-gun judges.

His remarks set off a firestorm as many interpret them as inciting violence against Clinton or the Supreme Court judges she will appoint after winning the election.

If the brash billionaire keeps this up, he may lose the chance to clinch the White House, experts said.

While Trump's statement could be simply an off-the-cuff remark that was not a complete thought, U.S. media zeroed in on the gaffe, which caused even Trump's supporters to groan and lament the bombastic businessman's inability to control his tongue.

"He certainly has at least shifted many of the headlines towards his economic plan, but a lot of attention continues, and likely will continue, to be paid to his temperament," Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua.

While criticizing the specifics of Trump's economic plan, the Clinton campaign also kept highlighting the issue of Trump himself, as they pointed out that The Economist, a highly regarded British magazine, listed a Trump victory as one of the threats to the global economy, Mahaffee said.

Though Trump was able to keep from his usual over-the-top rhetoric during Monday's speech, which he read from a teleprompter, he has yet to demonstrate that level of self-control on the campaign trail, Mahaffee noted.

"Frankly, many moderates may be increasingly turned off by the fact that we have to continue to discuss whether a presidential candidate has sufficient self-control for the office," he said.

On his campaign trail, Trump has had a number of self-destructive stumbles that cast a long shadow over his White House run as they call into question if he is presidential. As a result, Trump is trailing Clinton in recent polls in several swing states.

This week also saw 50 leading Republican security experts who cautioned that Trump would be a disaster for U.S. national security if elected president, citing that he lacks self-control and acts impetuously.

This resonated with those saying that Trump's personality is unfit for the presidency. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, has already called Trump "unfit for presidency" in an interview early the month.

Analysts said Trump drastically needs to keep focused on the economy, as that is the issue that could win him the election -- if it's not too late to do so, given the constant controversy surrounding him.

While the U.S. economy has improved since the 2007-2008 economic nose dive that sent the global economy reeling, millions of Americans continue to struggle today.

In a televised speech made in Detroit, Michigan, Trump on Monday zeroed in on the U.S. economy in a bid to convince voters that he can bring the lackluster economy back to life. But his economic message was quickly buried by the controversy over his gun control remarks.
BELGRADE, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Serbia's parliament voted on Thursday for the election of a new government presided by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.

The new government, elected with 163 out of 250 MP votes, consists of ministers from the ruling coalition of Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party and the smaller partner Socialist Party of Serbia Ivica Dacic.

Vucic and his whole cabinet of ministers took an official oath after the end of the voting at the parliament, marking the official beginning of their four-year term to lead the country.

Voting at the National Assembly of Serbia was preceded by a parliamentary debate where representatives of all political parties discussed the composition of the new government proposed by Vucic, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party whose coalition won 131 MP seats at the election.

After the voting, Vucic thanked MPs for their support and said the new government awaits serious and responsible work for the country's interest.

"We want to fight for a country where everyone will want to stay, and for one's descendants to live in and where people will be able to live better than we do now," Vucic said, adding that new government will be dedicated to Serbia's interests.

Summarizing the program of the future government at the beginning of the parliament session on Tuesday, Vucic promised MPs that the new government will close all 35 chapters of the EU negotiations before the end of the four-year mandate.

The new government will have four deputy prime ministers who will also perform ministerial duties.

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and president of the Serbian Socialist Party, smaller partner in the government, will remain as first deputy Prime Minister, while other deputies will be Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic and Construction Minister Zorana Mihajlovic.

The new government will consist of 16 ministries, the same as the previous one. Ministers will be replaced in six areas -- economy, agriculture, justice, public administration and local self-government, education, culture and media.

New minister of public administration and local self-government is Ana Brnabic, the Economy Ministry will be led by Goran Knezevic, while Nela Kuburovic will be put in charge of justice.

Mladen Sarcevic will be Serbia's new minister of education, Branislav Nedimovic is now in charge of agriculture, while Vladan Vukosavljevic will take over the area of culture.

Dusan Vujovic will continue to be finance minister, Aleksandar Antic will keep the area of mining while Zoran Djordjevic will stay at the place of defense minister.

Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar remain at his post as well as Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Sport Minister Vanja Udovicic.

The new government will also have three ministers without portfolios instead of one -- Jadranka Joksimovic will remain to be in charge of European Integrations, while new ministers without portfolios are Slavica Djukic Dejanovic and Milan Krkobabic.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Iraq signed an agreement in Baghdad on Thursday to help the Iraqi government to detect, investigate and prosecute corruption, a UN spokesman said.

Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, quoted the UN agency as saying that "... with Da'esh nearly defeated, strengthening governance is a top priority."

"The Development Programme said it will recruit international investigators to help train Iraqi investigators," Haq added.

The agreement was designed to help Iraq tackle endemic graft that is eroding the Iraqi economy and institutions as Baghdad struggles to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants, also known as Da'esh fighters.

Thirteen years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, the Middle East country still suffers a shortage of electricity, water, schools and hospitals, while existing facilities and infrastructure suffer widespread neglect.

The UN Security Council has maintained that the IS, also known as ISIL, poses a threat to international peace and security, calling upon all UN member states to fight the terrorist group, including making the joint efforts to cut off funds for it.

In June, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that more than 14,000 Iraqis have been displaced from their homes and registered in camps following a renewed offensive by the Iraqi Security Forces against the Islamic State in southeastern Mosul since late March this year.

Iraq has witnessed intense violence since the IS took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups such as the IS group on the United States, which invaded Iraq in March 2003 under the pretext of seeking to destroy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the country.

The war led to the ouster and eventual execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, but no WMD was found. Enditem
PHILADELPHIA, the United States, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Against the backdrop of rising anti-trade sentiment around the world, many government officials and businessmen from both China and the U.S. still believed that trade and investment could benefit people from both countries, and called for further understanding and interaction between the two countries.

"If you address the focus of anti-trade, you show them ways how trade is good, positive and productive, and creates ... higher paying jobs, creates more opportunities, enables people to be innovative," Michael Stack, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, told Xinhua, at an event held by China General Chamber of Commerce-U.S.A.

Stack described the presidential campaign rhetoric about China as "sensational." China and the U.S. do have different views in some areas, but both countries can continue communication to clarify the differences and find common ground for cooperation, he said.

As long as the China-U.S. relationship is fair and benefiting both countries, it's a strong relationship both sides can keep working on, said Stack.

Zhang Qiyue, Chinese consul general in New York, also called on both countries to understand and interact more with each other. A strong and healthy relationship can not only benefit people from both countries, but also contributes stability and development to the world, said Zhang at the event.

Protectionism in the United States is rising, especially in the presidential election year, Xu Chen, president of the Bank of China U.S.A, told Xinhua. But he emphasized that presidential nominees' actions were worth more attention than their rhetoric.

In regard to the rising anti-trade sentiment, Xu said that globalization boosted economy around the world, but did leave some people behind. He suggested improving social safety net to help those affected by the globalization.

With China's economic restructuring going forward, more and more Chinese companies showed great enthusiasm in investing in the United States.

Data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed that Chinese investment was the fastest-growing source of foreign direct investment in the United States in 2014. Chinese investment in the U.S. not only created jobs for local economy but also contributed millions of reinvestment to the U.S. market.

In 2013, U.S. affiliates of Chinese-owned firms employed over 37,000 U.S. workers, and invested 449 million U.S. dollars in research and development, said the Commerce Department.

Despite rising Chinese investment in the U.S., Chinese companies are still facing some obstacles, such as frequent national security reviews by the U.S., complicated and uncoordinated policies by U.S. federal government departments, said Xu.

Xu called on companies and government agencies from China and the U.S. to communicate more and build trust to clear these hurdles.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with his Ugandan counterpart Sam Kutesa during their talks in Kampala, Uganda, Aug. 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Yuan Qing)

KAMPALA, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday said China's participation in Africa's peace and stability causes in recent years have gained recognition and appreciation from African countries.

At a joint press conference held here with his Ugandan counterpart Sam Kutesa, Wang said that China is currently pressing on with the implementation of a pledge made by Chinese President Xi Jinping last year that the country would provide 100 million U.S. dollars in military assistance to the African Union to support the establishment of the African Standby Force.

Wang said over the years China has been involved in peacekeeping, mediation and providing assistance to help end conflicts on the continent.

He said over 2,400 Chinese peacekeepers are currently being deployed to seven missions in Africa, including countries such as Mali and South Sudan where Chinese peacekeepers even sacrificed their lives during service earlier this year.

"We have provided through bilateral and multilateral means, peacekeeping assistance to the African Union and other regional organizations," he said.

Kutesa said China has been and remains one of Africa's most reliable partners, adding that different from Western powers' imposition of solutions on Africa for its problems, China has always been supportive and helping Africa find its own solutions.

In a bilateral meeting held earlier in the day, the two ministers supported regional efforts aimed at ending the ongoing fighting in South Sudan.

"We have emphasized the importance of a government of national unity, fully implementing the agreement of the resolution of the conflict of South Sudan," Kutesa said.

He added that they also discussed the conflict in Burundi and other international issues of mutual interest.

Wang is in Uganda for a two-day visit after he ended his visit to neighboring country Kenya on Wednesday.
by Omar Mendoza

SANTIAGO, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The main task of the Image of Chile Foundation (ICF) is showcasing Chile as a strong and trustworthy country around the world, said Myriam Gomez, IFC's executive director.

Gomez told Xinhua that she wants every Chilean to be an ambassador for the country "in order to highlight every corner of the country and the positive attributes of every region."

ICF is a non-profit, private-public partnership, whose president is Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz.

Another mission of the ICF "is to help creativity, which is present in innovations across architecture, astronomy, scientific research, tourism, agriculture, and more," she said.

According to Gomez, Chile has been a leader in many areas of innovation and applied technology, from the development of its wine region to numerous sciences, including astronomy, seismology and volcanology.

"Chile's image around the world is very positive. We have been promoting the country, whether astronomy, wine or tourism," she said.

Last year, around 4.5 million tourists visits Chile, which the ICF executive says is due to it "being a safe country with many options to enjoy."

As a result, Gomez points to a rise in international media coverage of Chile, with publications even having named it as the "best adventure tourism destination in South America."

"These results have helped Chile's image, building its reputation in broadly different areas, such as a good export basket, an attractive place for foreign investments, a tourism destination, a country with good governance, which strengthens our political, economic and cultural influence," added Gomez.

The ICF and Chile's Foreign Ministry are currently preparing the Second Week of Chile in China, which will take place in Guangzhou on Aug. 29-30 and Beijing on Sept.1-2.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with his Ugandan counterpart Sam Kutesa during their talks in Kampala, Uganda, Aug. 11, 2016. (Xinhua/Yuan Qing)

KAMPALA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday that China will strengthen its cooperation with Uganda in industry sector.

"We stand ready to support the development of infrastructure, the construction and operation of industrial parks in Uganda. It is China's hope that Uganda will take the lead among African countries to realize industrialization," Wang said while meeting with his Ugandan counterpart Sam Kutesa.

Wang said there is need to work together to implement the pledges made by China during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held late last year in Johannesburg.

China pledged over 60 billion U.S. dollars aimed at fast tracking the continent's development. The money will, among others, fund infrastructural development and construction of industrial parks.

China will roll out industrial cooperation programs in line with Uganda's development, share its experiences on industrial park construction, and encourage more Chinese enterprises to participate in the country's infrastructural development, Wang added.

Kutesa thanked China's support for Uganda and Africa's development. He said Uganda hopes to accelerate its industrialization process, and deepen cooperation with China in infrastructure, energy and manufacturing sector.

Uganda would build more industrial parks, and create conducive policy and business environment to attract more Chinese investors, he said.

Figures from the Chinese embassy in Uganda show that China's accumulated investment in Uganda totaled to 4 billion dollars. Signed agreements are worth over two billion dollars.

Kutesa said China has been influential in financing critical transport and energy infrastructure projects aimed at fast tracking the country's economic development.
U.S. Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton gestures to spectators on the last day of the 2016 U.S. Democratic National Convention at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States, on July 28, 2016. Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has formally accepted the U.S. Democratic Party' s nomination for president and pledged more economic opportunities for Americans and "steady leadership". (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Thursday reassured her supporters that she would oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement if elected president.

"I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership," Clinton said in a speech laying out her economic plans in the state of Michigan.

"I oppose it now, I'll oppose it after the election and I'll oppose it as president," Clinton said, adding that she would appoint a trade prosecutor to ramp up enforcement of existing trade deals.

Clinton's hard line to the TPP came after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday attacked her over trade deals. Trump said Clinton "will enact the TPP" if elected president, which he claimed would have a devastating impact on the U.S. auto industry.

Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe also said last month that Clinton would support the TPP deal or seek to renegotiate it if elected president.

But John Podesta, chairman of Clinton's presidential campaign, responded at the time that "she is against it before the election and after the election."

Clinton supported the TPP while she was secretary of state, but came out against it after the deal was completed last year. She said the TPP in current form didn't meet her "high bar" for creating good American jobs, raising wages and advancing national security.

President Barack Obama has vowed to push Congress to approve the TPP deal during the so-called lame-duck session of Congress after the November general election, the final time window before he leaves White House on Jan. 20.

But many lawmakers have cast doubt on a vote for the TPP in the lame-duck session. House Speaker Paul Ryan said last week that the TPP won't get a vote in Congress this year because there isn't enough support.

"As long as we don't have the votes, I see no point in bringing up an agreement only to defeat it," Ryan said. "I have my own problems with TPP, it is not ready, the president has to renegotiate some critical components of it."

The TPP deal involves Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. It was formally signed by ministers from these 12 countries in February after more than five years' negotiation.

The TPP now undergoes a two-year ratification period in which at least six countries, which account for 85 percent of the combined gross domestic production of the 12 TPP countries, must approve the final text for the deal to be implemented.
ANKARA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Russia agree that the next Syrian regime should be all inclusive, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

Speaking in an interview with local NTV, Cavusoglu noted that Syria should have an administration which allows everyone to practice their beliefs freely.

"We think the same as Russia on Syria's future. The next administration in Syria should be inclusive and cover everyone," he said, adding the new administration in Syria "should be a secular one."

"We always say only a political solution (in Syria) can be permanent, in terms of not hurting civilians, separating moderate opposition from terrorist groups and (ensuring) humanitarian aid," Cavusoglu stressed.

"We are on the same page with Russia that Syria should have an administration under which everyone can live with their beliefs," he said.

A Turkish delegation held talks in Russia on Thursday aiming at coordination on Syria and other bilateral issues following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Turkey shot down a Russian fighter plane last year.

Cavusoglu also called on Russia to carry out joint operations against the Islamic State, adding that the proposal was still "on the table."

Cavusoglu said that cooperation between Russia and Turkey on politics, military and intelligence will pave the way to put bilateral relations on a solid ground and help resolve problems in Syria.

During President Erdogan's visit to St. Petersburg on Tuesday, the two leaders agreed to set up a joint committee on Syria, which consists of military and intelligence officers and diplomats from both Russia and Turkey.
NEW YORK, Aug. 11 (Xinhua)-- Oil prices climbed on Thursday as investors were digesting the latest remarks from the Saudi energy minister.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Thursday that members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as well as non-members would discuss the market situation, including any action that may be required to stabilize prices, during an informal meeting on Sept. 26-28 in Algeria.

Earlier this week, OPEC said in a statement that members of the group are "in constant deliberations on ways and means to help restore stability and order to the oil market."

"The recent decline observed in oil prices and the current market volatility is only temporary," said Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar's energy and industry minister and the group's current president, in the statement.

"The economies of major oil consuming countries are expected to improve which in turn would augment oil demand in the coming quarters... oil price would increase during later part of 2016," he said.

The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery added 1.78 U.S. dollars to settle at 43.49 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery increased 1.99 dollars to close at 46.04 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Olivierre calls for more collaboration across the sector

Currently, each operator has their own set of energy services. If they can work together and share some of those logistics, certainly savings will accrue to each company and then the competitiveness of the local energy sector would be significantly increased. So we certainly want to encourage this type of sharing, from a logistic standpoint.

Asked what else upstream companies can do to save money, Olivierre said sharing of logistics really is one of the key ways to minimising your supply chain costs.

The minister was speaking with reporters last Wednesday (August 3) during a break in the energy workshop, Global Trends and Technology for Sharing and Collaboration in the Offshore Upstream Industry.

The event was hosted by British High Commissioner, Tim Stew, in conjunction with Peterson Integrated Logistics (Peterson), at Stews Maraval residence.

During her address, Olivierre noted that the initial negative impact of sustained low energy prices is forcing the industry to become more resilient, stronger and efficient...We are now seeing a new side of the oil and gas industry. Companies are resorting to innovation, collaboration and introduction of new technology with the objective of reducing unit costs of production and ultimately increasing unity margin and achieving higher return on capital employed.

She lamented however that in an environment of growth, TTs industry has been less than prompt in managing costs, as generally efforts in the sector are focused on improving production and maximizing revenue generation. Consequently, producers only concentrate on managing and optimizing supply chains when prices fall.

Olivierre added that optimisation of supply chains is not necessarily a core competence. As a result, it is an area open for several innovations that can have a significant positive impact on costs. One such is the sharing of services between companies, each using the same provider.

The idea of shared services is not new, since I understand that it is one that has been practiced by Peterson Integrated Logistics in other jurisdictions. I view the introduction of such services in TT as a natural evolutionary step for our industry. For example, in the past offshore operators would optimize the use of expensive rigs through scheduling their drilling days to take advantage of the rigs availability in TT.

It is my hope, Olivierre said, that the trend towards greater collaboration among companies to reduce costs continues. It ensures that TT remains competitive as a location for energy services globally by combining logistics and other services. Moreover, it will enhance the desirability of TT as a base for the provision of higher level energy services. For now, this may be confined to TT but in time, those services may extend to Guyana and other regional hydrocarbon provinces.

Meanwhile in explaining why he chose to support the Peterson workshop, Stew reminded that the British High Commission is committed to supporting the industry and the main oil and gas players in TT, not just because most are UK investors, with the largest acreage under lease from the Government but also because of the importance of the wider partnership between TT and Britain, and because of the centrality of this twin-island Republic to our relationship with the wider Caribbean.

Stew encouraged local energy players to participate actively, to compare notes and identify options for closer collaboration because, from the British perspective, we have seen the benefits to our own oil and gas industry from closer collaboration.

He said Peterson was chosen because of its 15 years of experience in combining sailings using a pool of supply vessels and shared supply bases.

Stew noted the company has an enviable track record, for example, receiving a prestigious collaboration award at the 30th Offshore Achievement Awards in Aberdeen, Scotland in March this year. This was based on their success as the facilitator of the Aberdeen Marine Logistics Alliance  a vessel sharing initiative which maximises efficiencies and reduces marine logistics costs.

Established in 1995, this progressive idea was embraced by the industry in Aberdeen. Participating organisations save millions of dollars and significantly reduce CO2 emissions. Peterson was also commended at that awards ceremony for working with nine operators in developing a means of outsourcing their combined marine and aviation requirements, Stew stated.

Petersons Regional Manager, Maarten Spiljard, spoke about how the companys collaboration models have led to greater efficiency for participating companies while saving them 25 percent to 40 percent on service costs, depending on the range of services being pooled.

The main model discussed was the Southern North Sea (SNS) Pool, an integrated fourth party logistics concept (4-PL) where nine Operators outsourced their combined marine requirements and their helicopter requirements to one logistics facilitator; Peterson.

The SNS Pool website states that the development of this unique and innovative concept was initiated in 1993 and started with various smaller scale arrangements which evolved in 2002 (with) the establishment of the SNS Pool for marine extended, with helicopter logistics since 2006.

The SNS Pool has centralised its combined marine, air and supply base operations in Den Helder in the Netherlands, the geographically best situated location for the Southern North Sea.

Spiljard said there are three key objectives of the SNS model. To maximise efficiency by combining volumes, distance and capacity. Maximise safety by setting minimum quality standards and standardisation of safety rules and regulations, and minimise exposure to the environment by reducing sailing and flying distances.

Spiljard said creating a culture of collaboration takes time, trust, transparency and accountability. He gave the example of the SNS Pool in 1989 compared to 2016.

In 1989, there were nine operators, nine offshore supply bases and 8.7 supply vessels, supporting 60 locations. Whereas there are now 11 operators, one offshore supply base and 5.2 supply vessels, supporting 140 locations with annual savings of approximately US$23 million.
Stew: Brexit will not affect UKs commitment to TT

That hasnt changed in any way except I would say its been perhaps reinforced further. Stew was responding to Business Days questions about Brexit following the workshop, Global Trends and Technology for Sharing and Collaboration in the Offshore Upstream Industry. Stew hosted the event in conjunction with Peterson Integrated Logistics at his Maraval home last Wednesday (August 3).

Asked if he expects to see Britain placing greater emphasis on the Caribbean post-Brexit, Stew told reporters the vote was not against international trade nor against international engagement.

Britain (wants) to do more trade, not less. Our economy has been built on trade and international trade. I think more jobs have been created in Britain in the last six years than in all of the rest of the EU member states put together.

So weve got a very strong economy, were out there, weve always been a strong engager in the world and that has not changed, Stew said, TTs Energy Minister, Nicole Olivierre, attended the workshop and responded to Business Days questions about Centricas ongoing efforts to dispose of its local assets.

Asked what impact this would have on the industry, the minister pointed out that the energy company has not produced their TT assets at a time when the country continues to experience a significant gas curtailment (while) there are small fields that have proven reserves that have not been exploited. So if Centrica is not prepared to do that exploration, Olivierre declared, then we certainly would want to invite another company that will produce it, because our objective is to get production. We have reserves sitting in the ground, there are stranded reserves, there are idle reserves. So if one party, who is sitting on that acreage, is not putting in the investment that would produce, we certainly would like to see them give it up to someone who will. Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, entered TT in 2010 when it acquired the assets from Suncor for US $380 million (?246 million) in cash. Centrica has a non-operated 17.3 per cent stake in one producing block; North Coast Marine Area (NCMA-1) and a 90 percent operated interest in one development, Block 22, which contains two discoveries; Cassra and Sancoche. The NCMA-1 block currently supplies gas into the Atlantic liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility.

In 2014, Centrica sold its 80 per cent stake in Blocks 1(a) and 1(b) in the Gulf of Paria to Trinity Exploration and Production plc for US$23 million. Business Day asked Olivierre is she has had discussions with Centrica about a smooth transition to another company to explore the reserves.

The minister said, We havent gotten to discussions on the terms of that transition because before they can make any attempt to sell those resources, they would have to get authorisation from us and we would have to approve the company thats buying it. Olivierre cautioned that if a company is sitting on acreage and not meeting their minimum work obligations, the Energy Ministry will take steps to terminate those agreements if they are not able to produce it the way that they should be producing it.
A conference on business and ICT

There is ample evidence to demonstrate that a key driver of innovation and productivity is the use of Information and Communication Technology  or ICT - even in economies where other sources of productivity gains produce lower returns or have dried up.

A 2001 working paper by Jalava and Pohjola titled Economic Growth in the New Economy revealed that ICTs enhance a countrys economic growth in two ways:  Directly through the production of ICT goods and services and  Indirectly through the use of ICT in the production of other goods and services The paper also stated that the increasing application of ICTs lead to rising productivity. The view is no different today.

ICTs can help transform societies by improving access to services, enhancing connectivity, and creating employment opportunities through entrepreneurship and new business models.

Upon recognising this transformative impact, the World Economic Forum in 2001 created the Global Information Technology Report, GITR, and the Network Readiness Index, NRI, to help measure and rank the performance of participating countries in the use of ICTs.

In the 2015 release Trinidad and Tobago ranked 70th out of 143 countries.

The reason for this can largely be viewed in the context of our of 89th in the Environment sub-index, which is a measure of the extent to which the market conditions and regulatory framework support entrepreneurship, innovation, and ICT development. Evidently, the Government has a critical role to play in all of this.

But what is noting is that while our ranking on individual usage of ICT is 58th, our business usage ranking is 86. Trinidad and Tobago comes in at number 84 when it pertains to the Economic Impact of ICTs - a measure of the effect of ICTs on the economy through technological and non-technological innovations. This means that the private sector also an important role to play in bringing about change.

At the TT Chamber we believe that greater investment into ICTs by businesses can help them to grow even in these turbulent times.

Given that they are more agile, with typically shorter decision-making processes, SMEs are well-poised to make the most out of ICT investments.

With this in mind, the TT Chambers NOVA Committee will be hosting its 5th biennial SME Conference titled Smarter Technology; Better Business on the 18th and 19th of October this year.

This two-day interactive session will be focus equipping SMEs with the muchneeded tools to maximise the use of technology to improve their business operations. There will be cuttingedge keynote addresses and panel discussions on both days, while the core conference workshops will provide solid ideas and solutions which could be applied almost immediately.

To sign up today, visit the Nova Facebook page find out more or our Facebook page and the Conference please visit the website www.novasme.

com, or call 637-6966 ext 1252 or 1286 to find out more.
Man gunned down

Dead is Kervin Shabby Ransome, 23, who was shot multiple times as he attempted to flee from his attackers.

According to police, at about 2 pm, Ramsome was driving his car near Lodge Road, Claxton Bay when it was struck from behind by another vehicle, a Nissan B13.

Ransomes car subsequently veered off the roadway and crashed into a nearby utility pole.

Ransome, police said, got out of his car and ran off as gunmen alighted from the second car and ran after him.

Ransome tripped and fell to the ground and lay helplessly as the gunmen stood over him and pumped bullet after bullet into his body.

He died at the scene. Police believe high powered weapons were used to kill Ransome.

As officers cordoned off the crime scene, relatives stood nearby and wept.

Ransomes mother Rhona Young, said her son did not deserve such a death.

God is watching, she said repeatedly as she cried.

Ransome recently left his home in Claxton Bay to reside with his girlfriend Tasha Jones, 24.

A tearful Jones said she was informed that Ransome was at his workplace in Claxton Bay when he received a telephone call.

His co-workers said it was during his lunch time he got a phone call and he left immediately. He did not tell them where he was going, but I am told he went in his car and drove off, Jones said.

She added that moments later, Ransomes co-workers received a telephone call that he was shot dead in the Claxton Bay area. No one knows who called him or where he was going but I am sure his death is linked to that last phone call he got. They called and put him in place to be killed. It was a set up, she said.

Earlier yesterday, Ransome had gone to the Couva Magistrate Court to lend support to a friend who is incarcerated on remand and who had a court appearance. Police recovered over 18 spent shells at the scene where Ransome was gunned down. Police said Ransome has several pending matters before the courts.

An autopsy is expected to be performed today.

Region III Homicide Division and Claxton Bay police are continuing investigations.
Plead guilty to espionage

Nafeesa Mohammed, the attorney representing the interests of the mens families yesterday told Newsday she was unaware of any call for them to plead guilty to spying.

However, Gloria Charles who is the mother of Wade Charles  one of the detained five  told Newsday the men who are due to appear in court on August 17, were being advised by the Venezuelan authorities to plead guilty to the charge of espionage for which they will be sentenced to three years imprisonment.

At next weeks court session, she said, the judge is expected to wrap up proceedings.

Her son, Charles said, has told her the authorities have told them that if they plead guilty they will be given the three year sentence. As they have already been locked up for almost two and half years, she said, they were told they would only have a half year more to serve in jail after which they will be deported.

Charles, who recently visited her son in Caracas, said it would appear that the authorities want the men to plead guilty because they have no evidence against them yet do not want the legal system to look bad.

Asked if the men will plead guilty next week when they come up before the judge, Charles said, I told my son not to plead guilty.

It will be unfair for them to plead guilty for something they did not do just because they want to come home. However, she said, They are in a spot now.

They are desperate to come home, and are willing to do anything to be set free.

They are tired, sick, and most of the time hungry. Saadiqua Mohammed, wife of Dominic Petilall  the father of three sons, told Newsday that the men should not plead guilty for something they did not commit.

The men, who were detained since March 19, 2014, have already been in detention for almost two and a half years.
Conflicting reports into UTT assault

Clarke also said that the security guard who was involved in the fracas was recently discharged from the St. James Medical Centre where he was receiving treatment and has since been placed on injury leave by the security company.

On the UTT end, security was beefed up and is still being improved as we speak to help the students feel a bit more secure, Clarke said.

However, subsequent reports from sources within the Police Service suggests that no arrest has been made in the matter, and that the man may still be at large.
Wetlands  their loss is our loss

Wetlands in their natural state are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, producing and providing life in abundance. Benefits gained from harvesting wetlands per unit of land area surpass the most intensive agricultural systems. Under the Ramsar Convention, wetlands are areas of marsh, peat land, estuaries, mud flats, mangrove swamps, reservoirs, water, fresh, brackish or salt, including rocky marine shores and coral reefs and marine water that at low tide does not exceed six metres. Wetland habitats contain a significant proportion of the worlds wildlife.

A coastal wetland and marsh is a delicately balanced system dependent on the free flow of tide and the rivers that feed it fresh water. Wetlands are great mixing bowls of nutrients and food and are feeding spawning and nursery areas for 60 to 70 percent of our commercially and recreationally valuable coastal fish and shrimp. Several species of turtles also use use estuarine zones of wetlands for a part of their life cycle.

The fishing and shrimping industries will not survive without healthy wetlands and by extension, the livelihood and survival of many people.

For a man to gain a pound the sea must produce half a tonne of living matter (FAO).

Wetlands support dense growth of edible oysters, mussels, barnacles, sponges, snails, crabs, shrimp and other marine, estuarine and herbaceous or freshwater swamp species; many of them commercially important.

Wetlands hold silt, brought down from denuded hillsides, preventing it from flowing into offshore reefs and smothering and destroying corals and the marine life in them.

Reef animals also use wetlands for spawning, feeding and nurseries.

Wetlands are natural decomposers, breaking down or removing harmful substances such as toxicants. They trap sediments preserving valuable topsoil brought down in rivers through flooding from bare hillsides and mountains, trapping these sediments often filled with harmful toxicants from upstream dumping of agricultural chemicals, industrial discharges and untreated waste and sewage.

This is taken up by wetland vegetation, filtered and then re-distributed through the wetland ecosystem in a usable form. Wetlands are natural purification systems playing an important part in sanitation and pollution control, but there is a limit to what even they can do.

The watershed of a wetland is an important part of its system and lies in our hills and mountains.

Wetlands with mangroves and palm forests protect our coasts and shorelines, inland agriculture, towns and people, from strong winds, high water and prevent exposure to storms and hurricanes.

Wetlands like the Nariva Wetlands on the east coast of Trinidad protect not only the east coast but all of central Trinidad from violent storms coming in from the Atlantic. Destruction of these important wind belts could mean millions of dollars lost in property and damage.

What price do we put on human life? Wetlands and mangroves are also important land builders.

Mangroves are primary producers and are important to the survival of all species of fauna within the wetlands together with many other land species, both fresh and salt water fish.

Wetlands also prevent the intrusion of salt water into fresh ground water. In low lying coastal areas where the underlying substrate is permeable, a ridge or wedge of fresh water overlies the deeper saline/salt water. This wedge is a wetland. If this wedge, the wetland, is removed, salt water then moves upwards towards the lands surface, affecting fresh water supplies to people, communities (drinking, irrigation, agriculture) and wildlife.

River and coastal vegetation help prevent the flow of brackish tidal waters into rivers.

Nariva, east coast; our largest herbaceous freshwater swamp has an extremely rich and varied fauna including 57 species of mammals, 170 species of birds, eight species of edible fish, 12 crustacean species, seven amphibians and 37 species of reptiles, monkeys, three species of opossums, two species of anteaters, the tree porcupine, three of our five species of wild ducks and many species of migratory birds, the endangered blue and gold macaw (bred and released by the Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust into the Bush Bush Wildlife Sanctuary) and the endangered Manatee.The Caroni Swamp has 157 species of birds, including the national bird, the Scarlet Ibis; the crab-eating raccoon; the silky anteater and many species of opossum and reptiles.

Tobago, 26 miles to the north east of Trinidad boasts of some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world, teeming with colourful aquatic life, deep blue waters and high surfing waves that can be compared with the best anywhere.

The beautiful Speyside reef and Buccoo have been declared a Marine National Park.

The Buccoo Reef/Bon Accord Lagoon complex is home of under-represented, endangered coral species, seagrass beds and mangrove forests as well as the critically endangered hawksbill turtle and about 119 species of fish.

Other important wetland sites are Kilgwyn, Petit Trou, Bloody Bay, Great Courland Bay, Little Courland, Turtle Beach River, Friendship and Minister Bay.

These wetlands are Ramsar sites of international importance.

Molly R. Gaskin is president of the Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust, www.papwildfowltrust.org
United States Congress(FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.)  Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned from Congress in 2006 in disgrace after sending sexually explicit messages to teenage congressional pages, attended a rally for Donald Trump in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday.



Foley, who could be seen in the background in videos and photos of the event, raised his hand when Trump asked if the people featured in the seats directly behind the stage knew him.



"[H]ow many of you people know me?" Trump asked, adding, "A lot of you people know me. When you get those seats, you sort of know the campaign."



A longtime Republican presidential campaign advance staffer described the seating area behind the candidate to ABC News as a "tapestry" -- a backdrop of people often chosen by the campaign to reflect wide-ranging support for the candidate.



Foley's appearance comes as Trump continues to bash Hillary Clinton after Seddique Mateen -- the father of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen -- attended her rally in Kissimmee, Florida on Monday.



The Clinton campaign said that they had no prior knowledge of Sedique Mateen's presence at the rally, calling it an "open-door event for the public," and later added the Clinton "disavows his support."



[T]he people behind me, theyre all on television," Trump told the crowd at BB&T Center. "They're gonna be famous. And by the way, speaking of that, wasnt it terrible when the father of the animal that killed the wonderful people in Orlando was sitting with a big smile on his face right behind Hillary Clinton?"



Following the Trump gathering, Foley confirmed to MSNBC his support of Trump's presidential bid, and said that the two have a longstanding relationship. "[H]es been a friend of mine for 30 years and one of my biggest contributors," Foley said.



According to campaign contribution records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, Trump gave at least $9,500 to Foley's political campaigns over a period of 10 years.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Final rites for TTs Earl of Music

Thank you, Earl Crosby, for your time with us. We are all the better for his love, his music and his passion. Nikki quipped that in the past people would tell her that she was lucky to be Earls niece, but in time they would tell Earl he was lucky to be her uncle.

The mood was also lightened by the lively delivery of hymns by the church choir (under Ian Amoroso) backed by an array of the nations top musicians, including pannist Johann Chuckaree, Pelham Goddard on keyboards and trumpeter Etienne Charles (including an instrumental of Celine Dions The Prayer), with a vocal solo of Ave Maria by Juditha Fitzwilliam.

Officiating priest, Rev Fr Ashton Pierre, in his homily touched on the reading of Matthew chapter 25 (When I was hungry you fed me) to lament societys pursuit of material items over human contact.

Later, many mourners testified to Newsday as to Earls kindness.

Cheryl Ann Lutchman said he was very helpful to people he met and was known by virtually everyone in St James. He was most down to earth and really pleasant, Lutchman recalled. He was always promoting the culture. Calypsonian Edwin Crazy Ayoung hailed Earl for his honesty.

As soon as St Peter sees him by the pearly gates hell give him a thumbs-up, as he is the most honest and decent man ever in this dog-eat-dog business of steelband, calypso and soca. Pan Trinbagos Byron Serrette recalled Earls help in producing a recording of steelband each Carnival and for assisting with the Customs and Excise Divisions annual calypso contest.

FCB chairman, attorney Anthony Smart, hailed Earl for establishing the We Beat event in St James and said his legacy was the propagation of calypso music. He was very supportive to the calypsonians and performers and made a tremendous contribution to the music of TT, Smart said. It is sad to see him go so early.
Public figures sign condolence book

One of those events, the signing of a condolence book, took place yesterday at the headquarters of the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) located at 40 Duke Street, Port-of -Spain.

Arriving just after noon, Calypsonian Dr Hollis Chalkdust Liverpool signed the book and spoke about the impact Daaga had on his life and music. Liverpool stated that many of his calypsoes have been inspired by Daaga and he even once wrote one titled, Say Thanks to Daaga. Minister of Public Administration and Communications Maxie Cuffie paid his respects to the late icon by also being present to sign the condolence book. Admitting that he did not know Daaga personally, Cuffie stated that he knows Daaga through his work and lasting contributions to society.

Questioned about how the Government plans to honour the legacy of Daaga, Cuffie said he could not provide any updates at the moment but assured that the Government will discuss the issue and make a decision.

Political Leader of NJAC, Kwasi Mutema, spoke about the tremendous respect shown to Daaga upon his passing. Mutema noted that earlier on in the day Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development, Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, also signed the condolence book. Mutema said Daagas impact on society transcended boundaries such as party lines and ethnicity and that he lived truly for the nation and had an interest in people which reflected in the way he lived.

Deputy Political Leaders of NJAC, Embau Moheni and Ife Alleyne, who accompanied their political leader, each spoke of the significant contributions of Daaga to society. Moheni commented that Daaga fought for justice and a more unified country while Alleyne wanted Daaga to be remembered as someone who made a significant impact on societys youth.
Udecott seeks expressions of interest for St Clair hotel

In a paid advertisement yesterday, Udecott said the proposed site is approximately 16,522 square metres of prime real estate, owned by the Government.

The St Clair area demands the development of a full service hotel that offers all the necessary amenities and a wide range of business and leisure activities by a reputable international tourism operator, Udecott said.

Udecott said it is inviting expressions of interest (EOIs) from interested entities, to provide the services which demonstrate the entities experience in the provision of similar services on projects of a similar nature. Prospective entities may associate to enhance their qualifications but must indicate in the EOI, whether their association is in the form of a joint venture, consortium or sub-consultancy.

Included in the information which prospective entities must provide to Udecott must be a minimum of three years independently audited financial statements and experience in financing and operating hotels.

Udecott reserves the right to short-list entities based on its assessment of the responses received.

Interested entities have a deadline of 2 pm on September 30 to submit their EOIs at Udecotts offices in Port-of- Spain.

Last September, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the Agriculture Ministrys headquarters will be relocated from St Clair to Chaguanas. In an interview broadcast on I95.5 FM, Rowley recalled that under the former Peoples Partnership (PP) government, a building was constructed in Chaguanas to house the Tertiary Education Ministry. The Cabinet has taken the decision that building will be used for something else, he said. The Prime Minister explained that once this move takes place, More importantly, we would have freed up probably the primest piece of real estate in Port-of-Spain where that Ministry is now. He recalled that a previous administration had contemplated using that location as a hotel site and Government will revisit that idea.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat has said the ministry will be moving from St Clair into its new offices in Chaguanas in October
TTs first LNG cargo passes through Panama Canal

The vessel, operated by BP Shipping, left Atlantic in Point Fortin on July 26 with its cargo destined for Mexico.

A photo of British Merchants historic passage was issued by BP Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) on Monday (August 8).

The Expanded Canal (referred to as post-Panamax) can now accommodate 90 percent of the worlds LNG tankers, which will have a major impact on global LNG flows and offer numerous benefits to shippers. TTs LNG now stands to benefit from enhanced market access particularly to the Asian market.

In a July 21 statement about this historic shipment, Atlantics CEO, Nigel Darlow, had said this augurs well for TT because the Asian market accounted for 72 percent of worldwide LNG demand in 2015.

Prior to June 2016, approximately eight percent of the worlds LNG tankers utilised the Canal however, with the expansion, 90 percent of the worldwide fleet can now traverse, Darlow stated.
Khan: PM did not discuss health with me

In an interview at a function at Freeport on Tuesday, Khan said Rowley has not discussed his health with him, even though he is chairman of the party. Khan, who is also Rural Development and Local Government Minister, added, So for the time being, that he is of the view that the public needs to know more, I think we respect his decision in that regard.

Rowley left the country on August 4 for California for vacation and to have medical examinations done at a clinic there. Rowley has said he did his examinations locally, those results were sent to his doctors abroad and both sets of doctors agreed, further tests should be done. He said these examinations should take a week and he plans to return home on August 15.

Rowley is expected to chair the PNMs screenings of local government election candidates next week. The first screening exercise begins on August 17 at Balisier House in Port-of-Spain from 5 pm.
POS Mayor: Help relocate street dwellers

Nevertheless, he is certain that headway is being made to clean up the City and relocate homeless persons in spite of the challenges being faced.

In a telephone interview, Valentine told Newsday yesterday that the Port-of- Spain City Corporations hands are tied since it cannot simply remove the homeless persons from the streets because there is no proper housing for them.

Meanwhile, he said, he has had preliminary talks with Minister of Family Services and Social Development, Cherrie- Ann Crichlow-Cockburn and is due to have a meeting with her in a few days. Newsday contacted Crichlow-Cockburn who asked that questions pertaining to the Ministrys intervention to treat with the issue be sent to her. This was done but, up to press time, no responses were forthcoming.

Valentine has consistently expressed his concerns about the health of the public and the overall cleanliness of the City in light of sidewalks being stained from the urine and faeces of homeless persons.

After a major clean up, on July 30, of Independence Square, Valentine said that homeless people congregated in the area not long after
Bury remains properly for TTs peace

He issued the warning while speaking at the launch of a book The Indigenous Peoples of TT- From the First Settlers Until Today, at the National Library in Port-of-Spain.

After saying the community applauded the commitment given by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Emancipation Day that the First Peoples would receive the land promised by previous administrations, Hernandez said the community was looking forward to receiving both legal documents for the promised 25 acres of land and seed funding identified for the initial works on those lands.

Turning his attention to human remains and other artefacts of the First Peoples that were discovered on the grounds of the Red House in 2013, Hernandez reiterated the communitys appeal for these remains be buried with the appropriate ceremonies together with the other requests we have made. Noting the United Nations has declared that the worlds indigenous people have the right to repatriation of their human remains, Hernandez said there are many reasons why nations go through turmoil.

While crime is not a unique problem to TT, Hernandez claimed one of the reasons why it has been escalating over the years, is the spirituality of the First People and the human remains that is popping up all over the place. He told the audience, which included Community Development Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby Dolly, Our ancestors are speaking to us. The authorities...the Government...must pay serious attention. He warned that if Government continues to administer the affairs of the country without satisfactorily treating with the human remains at the Red House, then all their decisions will come to nought. In reiterating his appeal for a one off national holiday in 2017 for the First People, Hernandez stated, The corporate community does not know the First People. Saying the First People are treated like homeless persons when they approach the business community for support, Hernandez said the one off holiday will remedy that situation because, the State takes the lead in dispensing reparatory justice. In response, Gadsby Dolly reaffirmed Governments commitment to the First Peoples of TT.

She said Government is committed to working with their leadership with respect to the land promised to them and abiding by the provisions enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Gadsby Dolly promised Hernandez to communicate his sentiments to the Cabinet.
Bill Clinton got millions from worlds biggest Sharia Law education firm

Former President Bill Clinton collected $5.6 million in fees from GEMS Education, a Dubai-based company that teaches Sharia Law through its network of more than 100 schools in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation.

(Article by Richard Pollock)

The companys finances strictly adhere to Sharia Finance, which includes giving zakat, a religious tax of which one-eighth of the proceeds is dedicated to funding Islamic jihad.

The company also contributed millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation.

The former president served as honorary chairman for GEMS Education from 2011 to 2014, according to federal tax returns he filed with his wife, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

His biggest paycheck from the closely-held company  which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands  was in 2014 when he pocketed $2.1 million. It is unclear if Bill received income from the Middle Eastern firm in 2015, since Hillary has not yet released her tax return for that year.

Sharia law is the Islamic religious legal system that many in the West see as intolerant of human rights and other religions, as well as violating the rights of women and gays. Sharia law is considered by Muslims to be superior to all secular authorities. Islamic jihadis regularly call for the imposition of Sharia law and want to impose it on the West.

GEMS boasted in a 2013 bond prospectus that it is the only foreign group approved for educational services in Saudi Arabia. The GEMS facilities in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, taught 1,600 students in 2013.

Saudi Arabia is where Wahabism, the strictest form of Sharia, is observed. The Middle Eastern kingdom bars women from driving cars, requires women to wear the strictest form of the hijab, which covers everything but the eyes and hands. Gay men and women are persecuted in Saudi Arabia.

GEMS distributed a job notice in 2014 for a director of Islamic and Cultural Studies for its campuses in the Saudi Kingdom. The skills for the position included proficiency in Sharia to help develop a curriculum. The company also acts as an educational consultant in Egypt, Jordan, and Libya.

Clintons relationship with the Sharia-oriented education firm drew critical reviews from anti-terrorism experts.

Why would Bill Clinton be participating in programs that teach Sharia in foreign countries where that is the specific objective of the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and al-Qaeda, asked counter-terror analyst Stephen Coughlin in an interview with TheDCNF.

GEMS is one of the most dominant educational programs in the Middle East, with 51 separate schools operating in the region. Globally, the for-profit company claims that 250,000 students are learning under its program in 170 countries.

Outside of the Middle East and North Africa, GEMS operates schools in Kenya, Uganda, Southeast Asia, and the United Kingdom.

GEMS even has two international schools in Chicago.

At the GEMS Jumeirah Primary School in Abu Dhabi, the website promotes Islam as a central tenet of its curriculum. Our aim is teach all Muslim students the pillars of Islam, Islamic faith and morals, enabling them to efficiently apply them to their lives. To increase the knowledge of Islam we share with the children, the stories of prophets, manners of living a Muslims life, the five pillars of Islam.

The Dubai firm has donated between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to the foundation website. GEMS was an official sponsor of the 2013 and 2014 Clinton Global Initiative. Its Indian-born CEO Sunny Varkey attended both years.

And the Varkey Foundation, named after the CEO, contributed $250,000 to $500,000 to the foundation.

Varkey publicly claimed Bill was the honorary chairman of his foundation. But Bill and Hillary report in their joint federal tax returns the annual payments came from the for-profit GEMS Education company.

The company has raised funds through bonds and has openly broadcast its commitment to Sharia finance. In 2013, the company issued a $200 million bond prospectus and assured potential investors it relied on Fatwa and Sharia advisers to assure it was compliant with Sharia finance.

Coughlin said Sharia law on finance also includes money for zakat, a religious tax. And if you read the law of zakat, one-eighth of that money goes to fund Jihad, he says. There are eight categories of zakat you must pay every year. And one of them is Jihad.

Two of the banks  Emirates NB and Noor Bank  provided critical loans to GEMS in August, 2015, and were also accused of conducting illicit banking deals with Iran.

In a June 9, 2009, diplomatic cable made public by WikiLeaks, U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Richard G. Olson slammed one of the lenders, Emirates NB Bank.

Olson told the Department of State that Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey pointed out that Dubai-based Emirates NBD appears to remain out-of-step with other major international financial with respect to its sizable Iranian exposure.

Olson reported the Emirates NBD Chairman Ahmed al Tayer erratically dismissed Under Secretary Leveys concerns about doing business for Iran with a mix of hostility, remorse and assurances of submission.

Noor Bank, another bank which provided GEMS with financing, helped Iran process foreign currency receipts. MarketWatch reported that in 2012 Dubais Noor Islamic Bank had been a primary conduit for returning foreign-currency oil receipts to Iran.

GEMS is owned exclusively by billionaire Varkey and his family. Four of the five directors are Varkey family members.

The Varkey Group Ltd, the parent company of GEMS, and its shares are held in a trust by a private trust company for the benefit of the members of the Varkey family, according to the 2013 bond prospectus. Varkeys net worth is estimated at $2.1 billion.

All of the Varkey groups activities appear to be transacted by MaplesFS, the largest law firm in the Cayman Islands.

As stated by GEMS in its prospectus, Under existing Cayman Islands laws will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands. It also tells potential investors, The Cayman Islands currently have no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance or gift tax.

Bill has been a frequent visitor to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the trips often deal with money. As previously reported by TheDCNF, shortly after leaving the White House, Bill pocketed $15 million in an investment deal with the Dubai Investment Group that included as his business partner, the countrys authoritarian ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin-Rashid al-Marktoum.

Bill also collected $500,000 for a single speech he delivered in Abu Dhabi in 2011. He was paid by the UAEs royal family. The United Arab Emirates is a monarchy where no elections are held and human rights abuses, especially of foreign laborers, are rampant.

TheDCNF contacted the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation about the GEMS Education relationship, but received no response.

TheDCNF also reached out to GEMS in Dubai but there was no reply by press time.

Read more at: Dailycaller.com

Submit a correction >>
Cry me a river: Muslim flight attendant complains and sues airlines for not doing her job

A Muslim flight attendant has sued ExpressJet, accusing the airline of wrongly suspending her because she refused to serve alcohol to passengers.

(Article by Associated Press)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan chapter announced Tuesday it filed the lawsuit last week on behalf of Charee Stanley, a Detroit-based flight attendant for the airline headquartered in Atlanta.

The federal court case follows a discrimination complaint filed last year with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which dismissed it without determining whether the airline violated the law.

Stanley alleges ExpressJet didnt provide a reasonable religious accommodation and seeks back pay and other damages. She was placed on unpaid leave last summer.

ExpressJet said in a statement that it values diversity but cannot comment on specific personnel matters or ongoing litigation.

Read more at: Freep.com

Submit a correction >>
President President of India proposed nine sutras to invigorate India's march towards a more inclusive

New Delhi, Thu, 11 Aug 2016 NI Wire

President proposes nine sutras to invigorate India's march towards a more inclusive, diverse, sustainable and innovative society

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee addressed students and faculty of Higher Educational and Research Institutions and Officer Trainees at Civil Service Academies from Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday (August 10, 2016) using the National Knowledge Network. The topic of the address was 'Innovation: A Way of Life'.

Addressing the students, faculty and officer trainees, the President proposed nine sutras to invigorate India's march towards a more inclusive, diverse, sustainable and innovative society which include -

(i) we should not snub children when they ask questions to which we have no answer;

(ii) we should promote and reinforce a scientific temper by questioning our beliefs which are not compatible with scientific way of thinking;

(iii) innovation clubs and tinkering labs should be set up in schools, colleges and research institutions;

(iv) we should build viable and sustainable bridges between formal and informal knowledge systems;

(v) we must give due recognition to cultural, technological and traditional skills while implementing our employment guarantee schemes and skill development programmes;

(vi) we should bring our educational system in line with contemporary societal expectations;

(vii) we need to overcome the deeply-embedded inertia in our psyche and constantly ask ourselves: how can I solve this problem? Can I still try, no matter if I fail a few times?;

(viii) we must develop a sense of immediacy as time and tide waits for none; (ix) we must not tolerate inefficiency, shabbiness and poor quality work.

The President said India is the world's largest youth-populated nation. Over 600 million people in India out of a total population of 1.28 billion are below the age of 25 years. We have an abundance of creative, restless and inquisitive minds. In the networked environment of today, we need the power of youth to realize the full potential of an aspirational India. For this, creative thinking and a desire for innovation must become a part of our day-to-day lives.

The President said India may have lagged behind in some high tech innovations but when it comes to developing solutions to everyday problems, we have made a difference. He stated that Rashtrapati Bhavan has been hosting innovation scholars as guests for the last three years under its 'In-Residence' programme where innovative minds come together to recharge their creative batteries. He called upon educationists, corporate leaders and community leaders to think of extending such recognition to creative and innovative people of our country.

Source: PIB
Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh calls on Health Minister Shri J P Nadda

New Delhi, Thu, 11 Aug 2016 NI Wire

Centre will extend all the support for Health Projects in Himachal Pradesh: J P Nadda

Shri Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh called on the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda, here yesterday. They discussed various issues relating to the health sector in Himachal Pradesh. During the meeting, the Chief Minister requested Shri J P Nadda to expedite the process of establishing AIIMS in Himachal Pradesh. The Chief Minister also requested Shri J P Nadda for providing financial support for installing the equipment in ESI Medical College at Mandi. Shri J P Nadda assured all the support and cooperation to the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Shri J P Nadda also raised issues regarding allotment of the land for new branch of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) at Shimla. The Minister said that NCDC requires 2-3 acres of land from the State to set up a world class lab in the state at the cost of Rs 10 Crore. He requested the Chief Minister to expedite the process of transferring the land so that necessary steps can be taken up for establishing such a facility in the State. The Minister further said that the clearance for establishing Medical College attached to the District Hospitals of Hamirpur and Chamba is still pending and the State government should take proactive steps for establishing both the colleges. The centre has earmarked Rs 189 Crores for each college, Shri Nadda added.

The Health Minister added that even though the tender worth Rs. 62.55 Crore for the super speciality hospital Block at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla has been awarded, the civil work has not yet started. The state government may look into this and take necessary action so that the project is not delayed further. The Health Minister also urged for allotting the land for Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and Drug Testing Lab at Baddi so that the project can be rolled out smoothly. CDSCO Sub Zonal Office with Drug Testing lab shall cost about Rs. 10 Crore, the Health Minister stated.

The Health Minister further informed that the Ministry is seeking proposals from the State for establishing Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Mental Health at the cost of Rs 30 Crore and the Government of Himachal Pradesh should send the proposal to the Ministry for consideration. He further mentioned that the Ministry has approved the establishment of Geriatric Centre at Tanda under the Rashtriya Varishth Jan Swasthya Yojana (RVJSY). The state government is requested to adopt this scheme and sign an MoU with the Ministry.

During the meeting, the Health Minister also recalled the announcement made by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, regarding the 56 New National Highways for Himachal Pradesh. The Health Minister requested the Chief Minister to expedite the preparation of DPRs for these National Highways too and assured all the support to the State.

Source: PIB
THE WAR PARTY IS NONPARTISAN



By Chuck Baldwin

August 11, 2016

NewsWithViews.com

It is imperative that people understand that Neocons are politically neutral; they are neither Democrat nor Republican. The only party to which they belong is the War Party. They use Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and Christians and Muslims to promote their radical pro-war agenda. Political labels mean absolutely nothing to these people.

Neocons care nothing about social and domestic issues either, except as they assist the war agenda. For example, if liberals want to promote the LGBT agenda, Neocons dont interfere. If conservatives want to promote pro-family legislation, Neocons dont interfere. Neocons are one-issue driven; and that issue is perpetual war. For the most part, the only domestic issues that Neocons care about are a mushrooming Police State, so-called free trade deals, and maintaining open borders, because a burgeoning Police State, Neocon-controlled trade deals, and open borders directly enhance and promote the Warfare State.

Make no mistake about it: Hillary Clinton is the War Partys perfect candidate, which is why Neocons in both major parties are flocking to her candidacy. If Adolf Hitlers rise to power made World War II inevitable, the election of Hillary Clinton will make World War III inevitable (not to mention the war for our right to keep and bear arms).

Over the past several days, news sources from the left, right, and center are warning the American people that a Hillary presidency portends global disaster. Anyone with half a brain (from any political point of view) should be able to see what Hillary Clinton really is: a war monster.

Here are three expert evaluations of what Im talking about: one from the right, one from the left, and one from the center.

From the Right:

In the top echelons of political power, there is only one major party in American politics, and that is the globalist war party. In case Americans needed more evidence that party labels are largely meaningless to the bipartisan ruling establishment, influential members of the establishment wing of the GOP--neocons, warmongers, globalists, and so on--are abandoning the Republican Party and in many cases jumping on board the Democrat Hillary Clinton campaign. From Bush-era war hawks who misled Americans into war to pseudo-conservative operatives of the globalist-minded Council on Foreign Relations, Republicans In Name Only (RINOs) are showing their true colors and allegiances. Blasting Donald Trump, more than a few of the globalist RINOs and neocon warmongers are now proudly on the Hillary Train.

Consider: At the top of the list of prominent alleged Republicans pushing Clinton is globalist bankster Henry Hank Paulson. Among other supposed accomplishments, the Goldman Sachs CEO and George W. Bush Treasury secretary helped oversee the redistribution of trillions of dollars in public money from middle class and poor Americans to billionaire Wall Street insiders. According to lawmakers, they were threatened by Paulson and his cronies with a declaration of martial law if Congress refused to approve the banker bailout heist. Now, Paulson spends much of his time pushing the discredited man-made global-warming theory hoping to profit from the radical policy schemes.

Also featuring prominently on the list are many of the neocons responsible for squandering trillions of tax dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives--if not millions--on undeclared, illegal wars based on lies. Chief among them is neocon Robert Kagan, a senior fellow at the far-left globalist think tank Brookings Institution and a co-founder of the fringe Project for the New American Century that helped lead America into Iraq under Bush. Aside from his own non-stop warmongering seeking to send your children off to die in undeclared wars, Kagan is married to senior Obama official and fellow warmonger Victoria Nuland. Naturally, Kagan is on Team Hillary.

Another senior neocon globalist on the Hillary Train is Max Boot, a left-wing Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) operative who claims to have been a lifelong Republican despite his love for Big Government. [Hillary Clinton] would be vastly preferable to Trump, Boot was quoted as saying, adding that he hopes the GOP will split. What she basically espouses is a pretty mainstream view. Of course, what Clinton espouses is so far from mainstream, it's hard to believe anyone, including fringe neocons, actually believes something so ridiculous. Just a few days ago, a poll showed eight in 10 voters want more restrictions on abortion, while Clinton wants even less restrictions and more tax funding for it. Almost no Americans except Hillary Clinton, the DNC, and fringe abortion activists support any tax funding for abortions. And that is just the start.

Others on the list of disgraced Republican neocons, globalists, and establishment insiders who are pushing a Clinton presidency include Bush globalist and leading Iraq war booster Richard Armitage; Ken Adelman, assistant to Iraq warmonger Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and later a senior disarmament bureaucrat; Tony Fratto, deputy propagandist for George W. Bush; former regional EPA administrator Alan Steinberg, also from the second Bush administration; Mark Salter, a former speechwriter for embattled neocon globalist Senator John McCain of Arizona; and more. Also listed are people with politically toxic titles like Republican lobbyist, Republican strategist, and a handful of mega-donors and crony capitalists.

See the report: Neocons, Warmongers, And Globalists Abandon GOP For Hillary

From the Left:

A new low in presidential politics was reached with a candidate representing Washingtons lunatic fringe, a neocon war goddess drooling for endless conflicts.

If elected, Hillary risks committing greater high crimes of state than her predecessors, including possible nuclear war--why its crucial to defeat her in November. Humanitys fate hangs in the balance.

Her Thursday night acceptance speech was what youd expect--featuring rambling lofty rhetoric, dreary and dull pontificating, empty promises, an unprincipled display of dishonesty.

Claiming economic and social justice issues (are) front and center where they belong on her agenda belies her record as a corrupt lawyer, first lady, US senator, secretary of state and influence-peddler to the highest bidders through the Clinton Foundation, for self-aggrandizement and wealth enrichment.

Hillary represents a new low in US politics, featuring unrestrained imperial lawlessness, endless wars of aggression, risking WW III by confronting nonexistent Sino/Russian threats, serving monied and warmongering interests exclusively, along with ignoring the welfare and concerns of ordinary people.

Defeating her presidential ambitions tops all other priorities for people everywhere.

See this report: A New Low In US Presidential Politics: The Anointment Of Hillary, The Neocon War Goddess

From the Center:

There is a good reason why so many neocons and retired military brass are opting to support Hillary Clinton for president. It is Clintons support for continued American military intervention in battle zones abroad and her brinkmanship with Russia that has so many former supporters of George W. Bush opting to rally to Mrs. Clintons presidential candidacy.

For the neocons, Clinton is a natural candidate. The older generation of neocons were originally found nested in the Lyndon Johnson administration as pro-Vietnam War Democrats. When Richard Nixon became president, a few neocons migrated over to support the Republican president, but a vast majority, including Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, and Scooter Libby, found a leader in the war hawk Democratic senator from Washington, Henry Scoop Jackson. Jacksons support for confrontation with the Soviet Union and his lavish sycophantic support for Israel provided the neocons with a senatorial base from which to operate, especially during the Carter administration. The neocons disdained Carter and his human rights advocacy.

When Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, challenging Carter, the neocons saw their chance to become, once again, part of a pro-war administration. Perle, Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, and other neocons avidly supported Reagan and were rewarded with key administration positions as a result. The neocon support continued for both George H. W. and George W. Bush. With the isolationalist-oriented Donald Trump winning the Republican nomination, the neocons have returned to their original roots in the Democratic Party. The partys platform on issues of war and an interventionist foreign policy were not affected in the least way by Bernie Sanderss supporters. The Third Way, formerly the Democratic Leadership Council, has praised the Democratic platform for its likeness to past Republican planks on foreign policy and defense.

As far as Republicans supporting Clinton is concerned, it should be noted that most of them look forward to Clintons war hawkish policies to benefit their own political and financial interests. Richard Armitage and Brent Scowcroft, past members of Bush administrations, are totally involved in the military-industrial complex and see Mrs. Clinton as an insurance policy for their continued lucrative paydays. Hewlett-Packard CEO and GOP candidate for governor of California Meg Whitman has financial interests in the high-tech industry that will do well when Clinton sinks more taxpayers money into the bloated Pentagon budget. The same goes for her fellow California high-tech entrepreneur colleague Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape. Individuals like Whitman, Andreessen, and other wealthy high-tech executives who endorse Clinton see only dollar signs from four to eight years of American wars abroad.

As for Representative Richard Hanna, the first Republican member of the House of Representatives to endorse Clinton over Trump, the Lebanese-Americans Mohawk Valley district, which includes Rome, Utica, and Binghamton, has a number of Pentagon contractors, including BAE Systems, ITT Corporation, and Romes Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Lab. For Hanna, Clinton means wars and wars are good for his congressional district.

A Hillary Clinton administration, from a defense and foreign policy viewpoint, will look very much like that of George W. Bush.

Subscribe to the Wayne Madsen Report here.

While I will reserve a more detailed analysis of Donald Trumps candidacy for another column, I do not believe Trump belongs to the War Party. But while the War Party is going ALL OUT for Clinton, they are still trying to infiltrate Trumps staff with Neocons, including successfully convincing Trump to select Neocon Mike Pence as his running mate. How much more they succeed with Trump will depend on how aware Trump is to the whole Neocon agenda and how truly opposed to it he is. These are big unknowns, but his selection of Pence is not encouraging.

What is NOT unknown is how corrupt and committed to the war agenda Hillary Clinton is. And the War Party machine, including its propagandists in the mainstream media, has called for a full-court press to put Hillary in the White House.

Joel Skousen has this part of the story:

In prior months I have documented the establishments attempt to co-opt and control Donald Trump by surrounding him with globalist advisors and friends like Newt Gingrich, Chris Christie, Rudolph Giuliani and Paul Manafort. That worked partially, as Trump has absorbed all of the neocon propaganda about ISIS and the war on terror, but they havent been able to dissuade him from opposing globalist trade agreements and being a roadblock for illegal immigration. . . . It appears that the establishment has given up even trying to control Trump, and has opted instead to create a landslide defeat for the business mogul, with negative attack ads (featuring his own words), articles highlighting his business and personal mistakes and even election fraud, if necessary. In contrast, the criminal sins of Hillary Clinton, which are legion, will continue to receive no coverage or excused as partisan attacks.

As long as the media continues to hide the mountains of dirt and corruption on Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump is going to be the target of the day--every single day!

Subscribe to Skousens World Affairs Brief here.

Plus, you know that the Bush machine, along with the GOP establishment (including Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell), are working feverishly behind the scenes to elect Clinton.

What this presidential election is proving beyond all doubt is how totally nonpartisan the Neocons are, how committed they are to promoting global war, and how deep the mainstream media is in their hip pocket.

P.S. From a spiritual/scriptural perspective, the greatest crime any nation can commit is the Crime of Aggression. This truth is rooted in both Natural and Revealed Law. God destroys nations (or allows them to destroy themselves) who stubbornly ignore and violate this universal law. America has been routinely ignoring and violating this divine law since the end of World War II. I am afraid Gods patience with America may be running out. When it comes to our national sins, this is the one that pastors and Christians should be focused on--but on the whole, they seem to be totally oblivious to it.

Not long ago, I brought a message on this important subject. The Message is called The Crime Of Aggression: Condemned By The Law Of Nature And Natures God. I urge readers to obtain this DVD and share it with as many people as they can--including and especially their pastors and church leaders. We will continue to ignore this Natural law to our own destruction.

Order the DVD of my message "The Crime Of Aggression: Condemned By The Law Of Nature And Natures God" here.

[If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link.]

[I also have many books and DVDs available for purchase online. Go to Chuck Baldwin Live Store]
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Following the devastating fire that sparked in the Atlantic Portuguese Island of Madeira, Morocco, at the instruction of King Mohammed VI, sent two Canadair aircrafts to help the neighboring country extinguish the fire.

The news was confirmed by the Royal Household pointing out to the gravity of the situation in the Portuguese islands where fires took the lives of at least three people and forced thousands to flee their homes.

Madeiras Regional governor Miguel Albuquerque said at a press conference that 80 people were in hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

The fire broke in Madeira at a moment Portugal is already battling 186 fires in its mainland, mostly in the northern part of the country. According to the Civil Protection Agency, a dozen of these fires were labeled major fires that were out of control.

Strong winds and high temperatures have complicated the efforts of the more than 4,000 firefighters and other emergency workers who have been deployed on Madeira and in mainland Portugal to fight the blazes.

Madeira is the largest Portuguese island in an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean that lies about 360 miles off the Moroccan coast, and about 600 miles southwest of Lisbon.
The Egyptian government is putting the final touches on new foreign direct investment (FDI) council to be launched very soon in a bid to drain more foreign capital needed by the North African country to support its battered economy.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has given green light for setting up a Higher Council for Investment. The council is tasked with facilitating FDI and will be vested with executive power to make decisions on legislation pertaining to investment.

The council will include the Prime Minister, the governor of the central bank, as well as representatives from a wide range of ministries, government agencies and non-governmental bodies, and the private sector.

The new body will review all investment laws and procedures with a view to improving the investment environment substantially, as part of the governments economy-led program.

Approved last year, the new investment law aims to make it easier to invest in the country, creating a one-stop-shop for investors and rolling out a range of new incentives.

The law allows for incorporation procedures to be implemented through a single government agency, the General Authority for Investments and Free Zones, and introduces a number of fiscal amendments, including a decrease in the customs rate for imported tools, equipment, and machinery from 5 pc to 2 pc.

Meanwhile, other incentives include reduced energy prices, the possibility of partial reimbursement on costs of utilities, technical training, social security charges, and free or reduced land cost.

According to experts, the new investment law and the new Higher Council for Investment will help Egypt to attract foreign investment, although the countrys business environment still presents challenges to potential investors.

Overall, Egypt ranked 131 out of 189 economies in the World Banks Doing Business 2016 report, down five places from 2015.
Marrakesh is no doubt a global must-see city for its delicacies, glamorous restaurants and culture. U.S network channel CNN has confirmed the reputation, ranking the town among the worlds top 23 cities for street food.

If Asian cities namely Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, and Beijing are renowned for their busy and buzzy streets day and night, Jemaa el-Fna square in Marrakesh becomes a huge open restaurant at dusk, immensely popular with locals as well as with foreign tourists.

CNN African food and travel reporter, Anna Koblanck is one of millions of foreign travelers who do not resist the inviting smells filling the square after creative cooks set up their stalls at sunset.

Smells of food fill the streets of Moroccan cities, and nowhere is the quality or diversity greater than in Marrakesh, comments Anna Koblanck who labels Marrakesh as the street food capital of Morocco, offering everything from camel spleen kebabs to deep-fried sesame cookies.

In the evenings, the city gathers among snake charmers and musicians at the Jemaa el-Fnaa square to taste the incredible spread of Moroccan delicacies that are on offer from the street stalls, she says, adding, Youll find everything from freshly squeezed fruit juices to snail soup and sheep heads. Its a full-on feast for all the senses, and not particularly pricey.

Though Marrakech stands out as Moroccos main cuisine destination, Koblanck also talks about the good food tradition and culture in other Moroccan cities where the quality or diversity is not to be ignored.

My favorite Moroccan street snack is the Meloui, a kind of pancake made of folded pastry that you buy hot off the stove.

I had one in the market in Fes that was made with a spicy onion-based filling that was simply divine. Its a very heartwarming bite, a sort of comfort street food. You see these sold everywhere in Morocco, often in the food markets, she says.
Michael Morell. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Last week, former acting CIA director Michael Morell endorsed Hillary Clinton in an op-ed for the New York Times. Clinton proceeded to publicize Morells endorsement over Twitter.

"She will deliver on the most important duty of a presidentkeeping our nation safe." Michael Morell on Hillary https://t.co/zmI3BOCH9Y  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 7, 2016

The following day, Morell told PBS that the United States should arm Syrian rebel groups and instruct them to kill Russian and Iranian personnel in their country. As a model for his proposed operation, Morell cited Americas support for Islamist groups fighting off the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s  a tactic that some observers believe aided the rise of Al Qaeda.

What they need is to have the Russians and Iranians pay a little price, Morell told Charlie Rose. When we were in Iraq, the Iranians were giving weapons to the Shia militia, who were killing American soldiers, right? The Iranians were making us pay a price. We need to make the Iranians pay a price in Syria. We need to make the Russians pay a price.

We need to make them pay a price by killing Russians and killing Iranians? Rose asked.

Yes. Covertly, Morell replied. You dont tell the world about it. You dont stand up at the Pentagon and say we did this. But you make sure they know it in Moscow and Tehran.

"I ran the CIA now Im endorsing Hillary Clinton and I want Hillary to kill lots of Russians and Iranians in Syria":https://t.co/Ka7oSby9kk  Christoph Germann (@Ch_Germann) August 9, 2016

Morell also suggested that U.S. forces bomb Syrian government installations, including government offices and presidential guard positions. Taken together, Morells proposals would constitute a major escalation of American involvement in Syrias civil war, one that would move our country toward direct confrontation with Iran and a Nuclear Weapon State. Even if one supports the substance of Morells position, theres a distinctly Trumpian recklessness to floating a plan for covert aggression against nations we arent at war with on national television.

But Morells brazen hawkishness shouldnt be a surprise to the Clinton camp. Like many of the neoconservative foreign-policy elites whom the campaign has embraced, Morell helped facilitate Americas invasion of Iraq, suggested that the nuclear agreement with Iran would make the world less safe, and defended waterboarding as an effective (if morally questionable) means of intelligence gathering.

The Clinton campaign has adopted an open-border policy with regard to anti-Trump Republicans seeking refuge from the GOPs civil war. The tactical logic of this move is clear: Cross-over endorsements buoy the argument that all Americans, regardless of ideology, should be able to recognize that Donald Trump is not qualified for the presidency.

Beyond its strategic benefits, there is an ethical argument for taking this big-tent approach. Trumps xenophobic authoritarianism represents a unique threat to our liberal democracy. By amplifying the voices of Republicans willing to acknowledge this fact, Clinton helps to delegitimize the hateful creed Trump stands for.

Theres no question that Democrats should take in some #NeverTrump refugees. But a more rigorous vetting process is in order  because when Clinton holds up unrepentant supporters of Bush era foreign policy as arbiters of what does and does not make America safe, she is giving legitimacy to views nearly as dangerous as Trumps.

Our countrys most experienced and bravest military leaders will tell you that torture is not effective, Clinton said in March. It does put our own soldiers, and increasingly our own civilians, at risk.

"One of the things I learned when I studied the program was that the most effective technique was waterboarding" Morell I Ran the C.I.A. Now  epp uku (@logoffski) August 5, 2016

If her remarks were sincere, then Clinton does not consider Morell one of our countrys bravest military leaders. She should make that view explicit. Otherwise, she invites the suspicion that she sees eye-to-eye with neoconservative foreign-policy elites on far more than just Trumps lack of fitness for the Oval Office.

After all, Morell currently works at a consulting firm founded by longtime Clinton aide and ally Philippe Reines, and is often mentioned for national security jobs in a potential Clinton administration, according to the Associated Press. Whats more, in his endorsement of Clinton, Morell specifically cited the former secretarys advocacy for a more aggressive policy in Syria as one of his reasons for supporting her:

During the early debates about how we should respond to the Syrian civil war, she was a strong proponent of a more aggressive approach, one that might have prevented the Islamic State from gaining a foothold in Syria.

On Charlie Rose, Morell said that he hadnt discussed his make the Russians and Iranians pay a price plan with Clinton, but did say he believed she would support efforts to gain diplomatic leverage. If Clinton is sympathetic to Morells plan, then her foreign policy represents a far more dramatic break from the Obama doctrine than she has publicly acknowledged.

Earlier this week, 50 former GOP national-security officials signed onto a letter announcing their opposition to Donald Trump. The mogul replied:



The names on this letter are the ones the American people should look to for answers on why the world is a mess, and we thank them for coming forward so everyone in the country knows who deserves the blame for making the world such a dangerous place  They are nothing more than the failed Washington elite looking to hold onto their power, and its time they are held accountable for their actions.

Your average liberal Democrat agrees with Trump on very few things; that the architects of George W. Bushs War on Terror have no business wielding power is one of them.

It remains to be seen whether Hillary Clinton is your average liberal Democrat.
Will Americans vote for the candidate, not the party in November? Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

As Hillary Clinton begins to open up a fairly consistent lead over Donald Trump, and an unusual number of Republicans (though most of them not people running for office this year!) distance themselves from the mogul, the big question for down-ballot races is whether well see the comeback of ticket-splitting in November.

To be clear, the idea that Republicans can save their congressional majorities, even as Trump goes down to a dreadful defeat, really does depend on a degree of ticket-splitting that has become less and less common in the 21st century. As the Washington Posts Philip Bump notes, in 1992, 11 of the 34 states holding Senate elections produced different partisan results for the upper chamber and the presidency. In 2012, despite two Democratic Senate pickups in red states where the GOP candidate basically imploded, only six states split their results.

Reasons for this trend are well-known. In a process often called the great sorting-out, liberal voters have increasingly associated themselves with the donkey party, while conservatives have clustered in the shadow of the elephant. This ideological polarization has itself reduced ticket-splitting, as there are fewer opportunities for voters to find like-minded candidates on the other side of the partisan divide. But it has also increased partisan polarization, whereby voters prone to support one party (as self-identified partisans, or as independent leaners who almost always vote like partisans) tend to view those in the other party as enemies, or even as threats to the republic.

Democrats focused on down-ballot races this year are hoping that this pattern holds in 2016  assuming Clinton wins, of course. But Republicans think (and certainly hope) that Trumps exotic nature  amplified by the sheer number of GOP opinion-leaders who are keeping their distance from him  will send a signal to swing voters that the genial, glad-handing Republican pol who represents them in Congress or the statehouse has nothing to do with the rude, raging beast at the top of the ticket. Theres even a belief, more speculative than empirical, that if Trump really falls apart, it could make it easier for voters to split tickets  partly because everybodys doing it, and partly because some will want congressional Republicans to act as a counterweight and safeguard against Hillary Clinton running wild, with her radical ideas of gender equality and access to health care and child care and so on. The last time there was any clear evidence of widespread strategic voting of this type, however, was all the way back in 1972: Democrats picked up Senate seats despite the debacle that George McGovern suffered at the presidential level. And back then, of course, it was very easy for voters in the South and parts of the West to vote for conservative Democrats down-ballot, along with the conservative GOP presidential candidate. In Georgia, where I lived at the time, there was even a ballot line where you could vote straight-party Democratic, right after you cast your presidential vote against the communistic McGovern.

Theres really not much clear evidence of how this is going to work out either way. Even as Clinton moves ahead at the presidential level, no one is seeing signs so far of a wave election which might sweep not only the Senate, but possibly even the House, into the Democratic column. Some vulnerable Republican senators (e.g., Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania) seem to be running ahead of Trump in their states, but often voters make up their minds late on such contests. The best-case scenario for Democrats is probably for 2016 to be the mirror image of 1980, when a presidential-level landslide gave Republicans wins in just about every close Senate race. After the Republican victory in 2014, such an outcome would also almost certainly produce big House gains as well, if not necessarily a majority. But whatever happens, its clear that a lot of the talk from Republicans about Trump and Clinton is really aimed at keeping the GOP rank and file in line  for the benefit of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell.
Damn emails. Photo: Win McNamee/2016 Getty Images

Donald Trumps (ostensibly sarcastic) dreams are coming true. Officials tell the New York Times that the cyberattack targeting Democratic officials, which led to the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz last month, was much wider than originally thought. Its believed that in addition to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Russian hackers breached the private email accounts of more than 100 Democratic officials and groups. Clinton campaign officials were among the main targets, and it appears the Democratic Governors Association was also breached.



The FBI has broadened its investigation and agents have begun notifying those who were affected. The House and Senate Intelligence Committees were briefed on the DNC hack last week, and according to a staff member, they said they are almost certain that the Russian government was behind the cyberattack.



Its unclear if the attack was part of Russias routine cyberespionage effort, or an attempt to influence the presidential election. So far, it appears only Democrats have been hacked.



Wikileaks published 20,000 leaked DNC emails from that alleged hack on its site just days before the Democratic National Convention. Naturally, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wont say how the organization obtained the DNC emails, or if the Russians were involved. But last week he admitted that the trove was purposely released to coincide with the DNC, and he promised that more leaks are coming. We have more material related to the Hillary Clinton campaign, he told CNN. That is correct to say that.

Assange has criticized Clinton for being a war hawk and an enemy of freedom of the press  plus, on a personal level, she pushed to indict him for his role in publishing classified government documents obtained by Chelsea Manning. But last weekend Assange denied that his aim was derailing the Clinton campaign. We are very interested in power and publishing the truth about power so people can work out however they choose so they can reform power, he said.



Nevertheless, if Democrats werent already worried about an October surprise, they are now.


He just wants to make sure everyone has the facts straight. Photo: Johnny Louis/WireImage

Donald Trump denied a report that he had a conversation with the Secret Service about what was widely interpreted as a suggestion that gun owners should shoot Hillary Clinton, but hes responded to the outcry by dialing back his attacks on his opponent. At a rally in Florida on Wednesday, he accused President Obama of being the founder of ISIS, while downgrading crooked Hillary Clinton to co-founder.



Its quite the demotion, since last Wednesday Trump said his opponent should receive an award from the terrorist group as the founder of ISIS. The remark went largely unnoticed because a few days earlier Trump called Clinton the devil.



Many Republicans argue that Obama and Clinton are responsible for the rise of ISIS because they followed through with the Bush administrations plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011, and underestimated the threat from the JV team. Thats what Trump was alluding to, but what he actually said was, Hes the founder of ISIS. Hes the founder of ISIS. Hes the founder. He founded ISIS, adding, I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.

However, Trump wasnt just boiling down the criticism of Obamas foreign policy into a false one-word insult. He also revived his suggestion that the commander-in-chief, who authorized 11,000 U.S. air strikes against ISIS in the past two years, harbors a secret affinity for the terrorists. In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama, Trump said, offering no further explanation.



Later, while discussing the situation in Crimea  which he just learned was annexed by Russia in 2014  Trump emphasized the presidents full name, saying it took place during the administration of Barack Hussein Obama.



After taking birtherism into the mainstream, Trump mostly avoided the topic during the primaries. Now hes bringing it back for the general election, because why not? While Trump supporters including Mike Huckabee and Corey Lewandowski have asked to see Obamas college transcripts in recent weeks, the candidate has focused on the conspiracy theorys underlying implication that Obama is a terrorist sympathizer. When discussing terrorism after 49 people were killed in Orlandos Pulse nightclub in June, Trump said Obama, doesnt get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands. He also suggested theres something going on, and wondered why the president isnt more motivated to take out ISIS, saying, Why doesnt he have competitive zeal to knock them out?



But of course, the problem here isnt Trumps repeated use of dangerous rhetoric, its the famed Clinton spin machine. In a USA Today op-ed, Senator Jeff Sessions complains that the press totally misconstrued Trumps thoughtful analysis of how a Hillary Clinton administration could lead to new limitations on Second Amendment rights.

This piling on must stop, Sessions writes. As the election heads into the fall and becomes a sprint to the finish, the media must provide the best and most fair coverage of both candidates. Apparently that means ignoring Trumps frequent, incoherent allusions to political violence and a secret terrorist infiltrating the highest office in the land.


Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Tropical air is visiting the New York area this week, bringing you the heat and humidity of the Caribbean, but without the white beaches or fruity frozen drinks. The weather in and around the city will be oppressive and uncomfortable from now until early next week.

A heat advisory is in effect for the New York City area through Saturday night. The fun begins on this muggy Thursday, with temperatures stretching toward 90. From there, temperatures will keep rising, and once the humidity is factored in, the real feel temperature will be somewhere between 95 and 105 degrees for the rest of the week. Saturday will be particularly uncomfortable. The mercury could hit 95 degrees, but that tropical dew point could make it feel as hot as 110 degrees in the city.

These heat levels are at danger levels, so the National Weather Service is seriously advising you to bask in the air conditioner. New York City will open cooling centers across the five boroughs, too.

Hazy sun and some clouds will linger overhead this weekend, with a likelihood of a few scattered thunderstorms. But since the tropical air is unsettling the atmosphere, those thunderstorms could take the form of torrential downpours and localized flash flooding.

Relief probably wont come until at least Tuesday, but there is one speck of good news in all of this: Clouds and lingering storms should clear out for long enough Thursday night to give New Yorkers a possibly Instagram-worthy glimpse of the Perseid meteor showers.
Americans appear to be increasingly over the whole procreation thing. Following up on the news that newborns are bad for your self-esteem, a new report from the CDC finds that America now has the lowest number of babies per female yet recorded.

As James Hamblin reports for the Atlantic, the rate  62.5 births per 1,000 women  has been tracked since 1909, and its slipped 10 percent since 2007. Nonetheless, the U.S. population is so gigantic, at 319 million people, that the absolute number of babies is higher than it was ten years ago. By 2060, there will be 417 million Americans, a 30 percent increase.

Learning that the birthrate is going down is way easier than knowing why the birthrate is going down. Some details emerge when you tease out the demographics: Births to women younger than 30 are going down, but theyre going up for women aged 30 to 44. One reason is reproductive technology: egg freezing is growing, as is IVF. The other may be education: More and more Americans are going to college, and young women are far outpacing young men in pursuing higher learning, and as is consistent across the globe, the better educated people are, the later in life they have kids. From 1980 to 2013, the average age of first birth climbed from 22.7 to 26 years.

The other, less hopeful reading is that people might be having kids later because of how little American society supports childrearing. (Liberal columnist Paul Krugman described the state of American child care as cruel and shameful.) In countries like France and Norway, theres lots of state support  public nurseries, stipends for having more kids  so its easier for women (and men!) to combine parental and professional responsibilities. The good news is that both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have (vaguely) articulated child-care plans, so more help may indeed be on the way.
Photo: Larry Washburn/This content is subject to copyright.

A judge on Wednesday sentenced a former University of Colorado Boulder student to no prison time for raping a fellow student. Austin James Wilkerson, 22, was convicted of sexually assaulting a helpless female student who had been drinking at a party after he reassured her friends he would take care of her.

District Judge Patrick Butler sentenced Wilkerson to two years in a jail work-release program that will allow him to attend school and work during the day and return to jail in the evening. He was also sentenced to 20 years to life on probation, a move the judge reminded him of during sentencing. If I or any other judge sees you on a probation violation, I have almost no doubt you are going to prison, Butler said, according to the local Daily Camera. So if you think in any way you are getting off lightly, you are not. Twenty years to life is a long time for somebody to mess up, and I hope you dont in any way take any of that lightly.

Prosecutors asked for prison time after the initial pre-sentencing report by the probation department did not include it. Deputy District Attorney Caryn Datz said that Wilkerson lied on the stand in order to cover up his actions and that his talk of remorse wasnt genuine.

It was a five-day display of arrogance, entitlement, privilege, and blatant disregard for the role of law, Datz said. This defendant on the witness stand admitted he is willing to lie to gain an advantage to himself. Judge Butler also echoed some of concerns, saying that, I do have some great concerns over, as I would describe it as, ways he tried to play the system.

The assault took place on March 15, 2014, following a St. Patricks Day party, according to prosecutors. Wilkersons account of what happened thereafter changed throughout the investigation and case, prosecutors said. At the party, Wilkerson told friends that he would take care of the victim, who was intoxicated at the time. He made certain his roommate saw him checking her pulse and temperature, and giving her water, prosecutors wrote, according to The Guardian. After the assault that night, Wilkerson then sent a message to the victims friend. She thanked him for taking care of her.

When questioned by a university investigator, Wilkerson said that he had made repeated advances on the victim, but that she rebuffed him each time, and that he felt pissed off and that she was a fucking bitch, according to prosecutors. He later said that the victim had responded to him passionately. Finally, he admitted that he digitally and orally penetrated the woman while he wasnt getting much of a response from her.

During the trial, Wilkerson appeared to show remorse for his actions and lamented that he added to the number of sexual assaults among his fellow students. I sexually assaulted (the victim), Wilkerson said. No words I can say could ever take away the pain and fear that I have caused. Nothing I say can make it better, but I am so sorry.

The victim, who is now 21, spoke during the hearing about the effects of the sexual assault, saying she has nightmares and panic attacks, according to the Daily Camera. But the worst part, she told Judge Butler in her statements, is the victim blaming. If I hadnt been drunk, this wouldnt have happened, she said. If I hadnt gotten separated, this wouldnt have happened. Yet it was excusable for him to rape me because he was drunk?

The case has drawn attention for its similarities to the Brock Turner case from California. Turner, who was convicted of multiple felonies, was sentenced to only six months in jail after he sexually assaulted an unconscious woman. He is expected to serve three months in jail.
Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Kevin Davis Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Department of Justice published a report on Wednesday following their yearlong investigation of the Baltimore Police Department. It was a scathing document that detailed routine violations of citizens constitutional rights, the use of excessive force, and disproportionate targeting of African Americans. It also revealed a catalogue of ways in which the police department repeatedly failed sexual-assault victims.

Some of the departments behavior was simply egregious neglect of routine procedures: Rape kits were continually left untested, standard DNA evidence was not gathered, witnesses and suspects to a sexual assault were not contacted. But the report also revealed an insidious victim-blaming attitude throughout the department:



For instance, officers and detectives in BPDs Sex Offense Unit often question victims in a manner that puts the blame for the sexual assault on the victims shoulders  for example, with questions suggesting the victims should feel personally responsible for the potential consequences of a criminal report on a suspect or for having engaged in behavior that invited the assault. In their interviews of women reporting sexual assault, for example, BPD detectives ask questions such as Why are you messing that guys life up?



Women were also interrogated in emergency rooms and threatened with lie-detector tests. An email correspondence between a BPD officer and a prosecutor indicates clear disdain for a victim who had reported sexual assault:

The prosecutor wrote that this case is crazy  I am not excited about charging it. This victim seems like a conniving little whore. (pardon my language).; the BPD officer replied, Lmao! I feel the same.

Sex workers in particular had their cases entirely disregarded. One woman reported that she had been attacked by a man with a gun, and the suspects interview was almost entirely consistent with the victims account of the assault. Despite the suspect basically admitting to the crime, officers told him hed only be charged with gun possession.

So far, six police officers have been fired since the report was released.
Photo: Maurice Rivera/EyeEm/Getty Images

The romantic-comedy trope of a man running to a train or plane to stop a woman he loves from leaving is so overdone by now. So Queens resident Danesh Gomanie decided to try something new when his girlfriend, who declined to be named, was leaving for a trip to Guyana: He called 911 on July 27 to tell them that she would be traveling out of JFK airport with a bomb two days later.

FBI agents tracked them both down, and she admitted that Gomanie was jealous that she was traveling to Guyana because her ex-husband lives there, hence why he called in the bomb threat. (Reasonable!) Per New York Daily News, she laughed off the idea that she wanted to get back with her ex-husband, whom she has been separated from for 10 years.

Gomanie was arrested then released on bail shortly afterward. As for his girlfriend, she says, Were back together. I forgive him.

Ah well. The heart wants what the heart wants.
Mte

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tbh

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+1. most male comedians are tired before they even get started. it's so...basic.

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i feel similar. i have a lot more favorite male comedians just bc i can name more of em but the funniest ones to me are female

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I feel like all male culture/culture having to do with masculinity is, for lack of a better term, passe. What hasn't been said? How much more drama is there to be mined from the same fucking scenarios?



stuff having to do with subaltern perspectives is the only fresh material there is

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ia, male humor is very uninspired

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I agree. I find all of my female friends hilarious my guy friends not so much. Guys take themselves far too serious.

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So many of them seem to rely on being ~edgy or dirty or flat-out mean to be funny. It gets old real fast.



Iliza Schlesinger is my queen.

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male humor is usually like the most basic form of it, they rarely ever actually get creative.

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This is the best thing about today tbh



theyjusthavetodie.gif

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most men aren't funny tbh, they generally rely on ""shocking"" humour aka "how many times can i say the word cunt and call my girlfriend a bitch in 60 minutes"

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I don't pay attention to pro comedians anymore, but irl hell yes. Most men I know who try to be funny just rely on offensive humor. Some women do it too but it's like 99 percent of men who try to ~charm~ through humor.

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does anyone have a link to the real video source? i can't do 240p

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thnx babe

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I love when you don't find a man funny or think what they said is funny bc they often get so fragile and defensive about it?? All while saying we're the sensitive ones...meanwhile they're having a meltdown over it.



I used to work with a guy like that and it was the worst. Not only was he not funny but he needed constant validation over his humor even though he knew I didn't like him.

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lmao i know. and they spend aages trying to explain why you're wrong, why what they said was TOTALLY hilarious and like, maybe you just didn't understand? or maybe you're just an uptight bitch, why don't women have a sense a humour :/



or ya know. maybe your bigoted joke that was totes ironic~ just wasn't funny?

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my brother and dad are like that. I don't find either of them funny most of the time and they make snide comments about getting a sense of humor. no y'all just aren't funny, maybe work on your routine a bit.

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this. THIS. i don't know if i'm funny or not but i will totally say i am engaging, i can bring people into a rawkus conversation and lead the thing and just have a grand ole time and some men HATE it. my friend's husband would get very defensive against me about it and also when we played board games because as i got more stoned i got better at the game and he was straight laced and he'd actively plot against me, even at his detriment or try and talk over me even though other people weren't having it. and me being a crazy woman like actually felt bad for him some of the time? i got over that real quick though, dude was a douche.

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my mom told me when i was in middle school that boys would like me more if i laughed at their jokes and i was just like "but mine are funnier"



it's well known that men are threatened by women smarter than them but i think it's safe to say they're threatened by funnier women, too. pathetic.

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lmaoooooooo o lord this is gonna piss of men so bad

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good :))))

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I'm invisioning heaps of "well this just proves our point, I'm definitely not even a little bit bothered by this lolololololol." type responses to it

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Not me sis, I'm in here all for this. Samantha Bee is my fucking queen, she legit make me fucking cry laughing so hard.

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You might think this a joke, but this is why men's suicide rates are so high. Women just want men to be beneath them.



Yadda yadda... I read on some FB page about art the differences of women under the "patriarchy" and under "feminism"



Apparently under feminism women are unpaid prostitutes and only desired for their bodies 

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I can't wait.

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Lol the comments so far about the tactics male comics use are funny because I can name a lot of female comics who rely just as much on "shocking" humor.

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you're a guy, right?

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Not surprised tbh lol

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Ugh I love Kate McKinnon sfm.

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Would give up all men for her tbh

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I'm straight and I would too, tbh. Though to be fair it wouldn't take much for me to give up all men.

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in a heartbeat

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I love this.

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like i said i can't wait for weed to not be a hot topic anymore so seth rogan for the first time in his life will actually have to try to be funny

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omg lmao

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Oh God that'll be the day

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I can't believe how much money people give him to bring life to his fucking 13-year-old boys stuck in a minivan in rush hour with their mom humor

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I like Seth Rogan but lmao, true.

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He is the epitome of an unfunny tryhard. His fame baffles me.

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lmao damn

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omg truuuu

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While I do find plenty of male comedians funny, I def struggle to find men irl that are funnier than me, or are even able to make me laugh properly.

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lmao this is me



i make myself laugh more than any man ever could

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yeeep! Not my fault i'm wittier and funnier than them!

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LOL, same! I do and say so much ridiculous shit and it cracks me up.

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ive only had one male friend that would make me laugh so hard i cried. the rest were always girls.

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honestly same. no man makes me laugh the way i make myself laugh unless they are just being dumb and i'm laughing at them

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lol yeah, personally I crack myself up and my girlfriends are the ones who can keep up. most guys are dumb and humour takes intelligence.

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i have one or two male friends who are actually hilarious



but make no mistake, i'm the funniest and guys have no business trying to out-funny me lol

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lmao Samantha & Tracee's thinly veiled pissyness A+

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I really don't find most straight men funny because I guess I can't relate to their experiences or w/e.

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jfc snapchat. who thought that was a good idea?

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isn't there a blackface snapchat filter as well? or was i just imagining it?

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coming 2017

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it was the bob marley filter.

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FFS, glad I never got into snapchat



Edited at 2016-08-11 11:59 am (UTC)

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iirc his estate approved it or something similar.



in that case, it was less blackface and more celebrity imitation. big difference imo.

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there was also a kanye and drake one too no?

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yeah that's the one i was thinking of.

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The Kardashians would have a field day.

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It always astounds me how shit like this manages to get through so many teams of people before release without one person going "guys maybe this is a bit racist/sexist/bigoted in some form?" So many people just seem to lack basic awareness or empathy!



Edited at 2016-08-11 11:56 am (UTC)

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it goes to show you they dont have much diversity behind the scenes....companies that do shit like this never do

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Yep

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definitely, it's a team of yes-men

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which seems crazy to me because the vast majority of the graduate students when I worked in the CompSci deparment were from Asia, but IDK if they'd want to work somewhere like Snapchat.

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There's maybe one person who says it but everyone ignores that person as usual.

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wtf? and they did a Bob Marley one too once



how fucking stupid are they?

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While I found the bob one to be ehhhh, this is worse bc at least it was a specific person vs random stereotype Asian called yellow face

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these filters need to go.the.fuck.away. They are the worst, and are only entertaining the first time you do it when you're drunk or something. Otherwise, no. Also, the "pretty" filter. Who are you trying to fool, you don't look like that???

/endrant.

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what's the pretty filter? the one with the big eyes & flower crown? /never used snapchat

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The "pretty filter" is like a super subtle overall photoshop of your face. it smooths the skin, makes the eyes slightly bigger, and i think it also slims the face down a bit. Also has like a glowy, sepia ish tone to it.

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There's a childhood friend of mine who only posts pictures of herself using that filter and in every single one of them she looks like some freakish anime character.

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lmao I love the pretty filter :( it's great for bad skin days

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they're fun, it's not that serious lol

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I don't hate filters but I do wish people would calm down, especially girls who use the dog filter...like...why??? why do you use the dog one, of all filters, so much?



I follow like 5 separate girls who damned if they won't have that filter on like every 3rd snap.



WHY THE DOG ONE???

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you sound like a fun person who is easy to talk to

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damn it's not that serious...

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lmao I love the filters and I do love that they make me look hawwwwwt butpeople who make their FB/twitter/tinder prof pics with the 'pretty' filters on I'm like LOL OK but we ALL see what ur doing there.

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why do people openly hate things that women enjoy?

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How do things like this happen? Like is it user created content and so there's no moderation until people complain? Or...did this go past people, like devs and shit, and everyone said 'No, this isn't horrifically offensive at all!'



Edited at 2016-08-11 12:02 pm (UTC)

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imo this is the first one that i've found offensive. they've done well until now lol.

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Best guess is it's kind of a mixture of both. The executives want X number of apps developed and de-bugged every so many days, no excuses.



Meetings are probably like:

Exec: Is there a new filter ready?

R&D Guy: Yes, but-

Exec: does it work?

R&D Guy: Well, yes, but-

Exec: Good work, it launches Friday. Start on the next one.





On the other hand, it might be like when multiple BudLight execs approved that rapey-ass beer slogan.



Either way, I'd blame corporate culture

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I don't have snapchat. So...nope.

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I just saw a Silk commercial featuring DJ Khaled snapchats and now I want this world to burn.

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i like amber from f(x)'s because all she does is wake up at like 4pm, get boba & hang out with her dog

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nvm my page hadn't refreshed so I didn't realise you answered



Edited at 2016-08-11 02:50 pm (UTC)

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I really like Sara Hopkins for some reason. She's just a viner but does cool stuff. And Chrissy Teigan

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I used to love Joe Jonas on snapchat because he actually has a really goofy sense of humor



But the past year with the success of his new band his snaps have turned more into look where we are traveling today



I follow several male models, Oliver Cheshire is a total party boy and always has fun snaps. And then Chico Lachowski is soooo cute with his son, and I don't even think kids are cute

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retta and shay mitchell

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John Mayer (idgaf, I dig his snaps)

Chrissy Teigen (the FOOOOOOOOD OMG)

Paris Hilton (life goals, tbh)

Kate Hudson (idgaf, she's cute)

Kim K (for the sometimes snaps of Nori playing around with the filters she's so damn cute)

Reese Witherspoon (idc I like her)

Matthew Santoro (I have followed his channel(s) on You Tube for awhile, like him)





Edited at 2016-08-11 02:19 pm (UTC)

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idgaf ...Spencer Pratt is my snapchat king he cracks me tf up every day



also love Paris Hilton & Kim K for their absolute ridiculousness (ie: Kim K's weight loss journey lmao)

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cakes1todough1 and realrhettlink are the only two I follow who I don't know personally

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John Boyega!

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Me

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I love my PLL girls most of the time. Shay's especially.



Karlie Kloss too.

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chrissy teigen bc she's funny

godfrey gao bc he snaps yummy food, his dog, and he's hot

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Unapologetically Nigerian/black John Boyega

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Shay Mitchell has a fun account. Troian Bellisario also posts some really funny stuff.



JoJo's is entertaining too

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Marvel needs to fire whoever's in charge of their wigs because this is a tragic mess

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WHO THE FUCK EVEN THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA

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Oh wow, I thought it was just supposed to make you look like a happy anime character

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Same lol

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yeah I didn't realize what it was and now Im feeling a bit dumb

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yeah, it didn't occur to me either but once it was pointed out I understood

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I thought it was a baby.

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THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT TOO

I ALMOST USED IT YESTERDAY JFC

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That's what they intended it to be, I mean it's not actually called the "yellowface" filter - this title is misleading.

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i feel so stupid but that i didn't realize

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same

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I thought it was a Betty Boop filter

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that's what I thought too, tbh

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I've never seen that one? Do people get different ones?

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yea they do I think have diff ones for diff regions sometimes but this one got deleted yesterday...I noticed it in the mid-afternoon and by evening it was GONE

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I barely skimmed the last posts about her not liking the Canadian politician but I vaguely remember ppl saying she was socially conservative.

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Yeah, she's been islamaphobic with supporting the charter of values in Quebec, which says that's wearing hijabs is illegal.

There was a post about it here a few years ago

A long time ago in the early 90's she said she isn't a separatist in regards to Quebec and got a lot of backlash over that so she hasn't talked about it since

Other than that she doesn't really talk politics, Rene always told her to never talk politics or religion so she's mostly stuck to that motto



She's always been like "love whoever you want" so this is a really nice change for her to be pretty outspoken about this and not super vague or anything

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I know someone that works with her directly and she is an extremely open-minded, loving individual. I grew up in Quebec and I think that it's intelligent of her to avoid social commentary because when she does speak out she can't win. I suppose it's that way with any celebrity and their political views, but I think being quebecois makes things particularly volatile.

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Everyone who works around her always has positive stuff to say so this makes me happy :)

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this queen. she's so extra i love her

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Montreal is so lovely. I was just there for the first time two weeks ago. Happy Pride Montreal :) Is it this weekend?

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It from the 8th - the 14th :)

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Glad you enjoyed it here!!

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Waiting for ottawa pride, at least I'll be able to understand what people are saying when I jump in.

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still so sad i missed Euro Pride :((( i'll be in Amsterdam in less than a month, ugh.

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love your icon. river slays in the role.

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i'm going to quebec city with my mom for our birthday next week! (we're born on the same day) i've been there quite a few times before but i'm really happy to go with her. we've both been really busy and stressed lately.



mostly excited for the food tbh

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goddamn I am sooooo sad I didn't know about this concert I totally would've gotten tix and driven from toronto to see her </3

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She's in Quebec all month so maybe you can grab up something if there's stuff still available :)

And yesssss at your icon <3



Edited at 2016-08-11 04:01 pm (UTC)

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omfg this is amazing news!!! I have to see if I can recruit my sister for a road trip (and probably like a billion dollars for tickets hehe!) and YOUR icon!! a true ICON haha :)

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Haha you're welcome!

She's at the centre bell until the 17th, then the centre videotron until the 27th, and somewhere else for the 30th and 31st.

Haha I love puns lol

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I'm surprised she didnt work in a "This is why we're better than ethinic countries" dig while showing her support..cause yanno lol

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montreal's such a beautiful city, i was contemplating going at the end of august, but i gotta save my vacay days for next year, lol.

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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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Doesnt she have a secret girlfriend?

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If you believe all those blind items then sure lol



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Any roommates I can crash with in Montreal?



I'm really over suburbia right now. Actually I've been over it as long as I've been alive.

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I really want to check out Montreal pride at some point. But usually by this point in the summer I'm tired and broke.

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i love her

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OT but omg her new album is perfect! Encore Un Soir is <33333333333

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Chesapeake Energy has decided to exit the Barnett shale, agreeing to transfer its assets there to a First Reserve Corp unit based in Dallas. The deal, according to Bloomberg, has been prompted by long-term pipeline contracts that have saddled Chesapeake with US$2 billion in pipeline contracts.

The transfer of property will have an immediate impact on the gas companys costs, cutting them by US$715 million by the end of 2017 alone. However, Chesapeake will not receive any money from Saddle Barnett Resources for its gas assets, which span 215,000 acres and whose value has been estimated at around US$1 billion.

Whats more, it will pay pipeline operator Williams Brother US$334 million to be freed from a supply contract and another US$66 million to be released from another contract. In addition, Saddle Barnett will pay the pipeline company US$420 million.

According to Chesapeakes chief executive, We are essentially divesting an asset that is a very significant cash-flow drain on the company every single year. This is just another step in strengthening Chesapeake.

Doug Lawler explained that Chesapeake had not drilled at its Barnett shale property for years now, and with the transfer, another company will get the chance to continue developing the deposit. There are currently 2,800 operating wells in the plot.

Barnet Resources parent, First Reserve Corp. is a private equity firm focused exclusively on energy assets.

Chesapeake has been struggling for survival like most of its peers in the recent price downturn in commodity markets. Asset sales and job cuts have been accompanied by equity-to-debt swaps in a bid to prevent the company from going under.

Not too long ago, Chesapeake was the biggest player in the shale patch thanks to its Barnett operations, but now both Chesapeake and the cradle of the shale revolution that helped the U.S. get so much closer to energy independence are in decline. While the Barnett Shale gave way to Marcellus and Utica, Chesapeake became one of the many victims of the price crash.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Nigerian youths demanding jobs at Chevron blocked the companys Escravos oil depot yesterday. The leader of the protest, Collins Edema, told Reuters that Chevron had promised the youths jobs, and promised the local communities new accommodations after houses next to the depot were destroyed to make space for its operations.

Our protest will continue until Chevron listens to our demands. We at Ugborodo are urging other Itsekiri communities to follow suit and shut down Chevron activities in our communities, the protest leader said, as quoted by Reuters.

Chevron, for its part, said in a statement that indeed a group of local people had gathered at the gates of its Escravos depot, but did not provide any details as to whether the regular operation of the facility was affected in any way. The company added that it is negotiating with the protesters and has involved the regional government as well.

Chevron has been on the receiving end of multiple Nigeria attacks, most notably at the hand of the Niger Delta Avengers, and have been forced, along with others, to evacuate Nigerian personnel as recently as last month.

The Niger Delta has been making world headlines for several months now, mostly with violent attacks on oil production and infrastructure, carried out by various militant groups claiming to be protecting the rights of the local communities to get a bigger portion of oil revenues and a cleaner environment.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Protestors in the Hela province of Papua, New Guinea have taken control of a conditioning supply plant belonging to Exxon.

The plant is an important asset to the companys efforts, and is a supplier to Exxons PNG LNG project, which is valued at $19 billion. The protestors are demanding that the government pays approximately $631,000 in royalties that are currently being held in a trust. The funds were to be held by the central bank while land claims were assessed, as per an agreement made in 2009. Those assessments are still in progress.

Exxon is calling for a quick resolution to the matter, asking the government to settle the landowners grievances. Exxon said that it is monitoring the situation, which for the present, remains peaceful. The companys facilities are still in operation.

A company spokesman stated, We respect the right of individuals to peacefully protest, but we also encourage continued dialogue between landowners and the government to resolve their outstanding issues promptlyWe are committed to maintaining a positive relationship with landowners, the government and the wider community.

Stanly Mamu from PNG blog LNG Watch said that protestors and landowners have given the government a deadline of Friday to craft a plan to address the grievances. Mamu stated that if the government does not come up with a response to the demands, landowners plan to shut down wellheads supplying gas to the project. Police have been deployed to the region to prevent a shutdown, but the landowners have vowed to fight if necessary.

According to Mamu, landowners have said that there could be a response similar to the 1998 civil war on Bougainville. In that war, 20,000 people died. The Bougainville war erupted when the government did not address environmental concerns over Rio Tintos copper and gold mining operations, and did not share royalties from the operation. New Zealand brokered peace negotiations in 1997, and the conflict came to an end after it came to light that the government had hired mercenaries to regain control of the island. The island will have a referendum for independence in 2020.

Lincoln Brown for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
As rapid expansion looms on the horizon, Lowlands Group has appointed Dave DeMarco as its new Director of Operations.

DeMarco is a Wisconsin native brings 17 years of restaurant and retail operations leadership to the table including management for Target and program management for the Kohl's Corporation. As vice president of operations for the Roaring Fork Restaurant Group, DeMarco also assisted in scaling the business from one Qdoba location to 30 locations over a nine-year period.

"There couldnt be a better time for Dave to join our team," says CEO Eric Wagner. "His experience in scaling up operations is exactly what we need as Lowlands Group continues to grow and expand."

Lowlands Group owns and operates seven Grand Cafes in Wisconsin including: Benelux Grand Cafe and Market, Cafe Bavaria, and Cafe Centraal, as well as four Cafe Hollanders located on Downer Avenue, the Village in Wauwatosa, Hilldale in Madison and Mequon.

The group has also signed on as a tenant for The Corners of Brookfield, a new new regional, mixed-use, open air shopping destination which will feature stores including Von Maur, Sendik's, Anthropolologie, Evereve, lululemon, twigs, Arhaus and -- as announced this week -- the first L.L. Bean location in Wisconsin.
This morning, respected national gay magazine The Advocate posted a glowing blurb and slideshow of images from "Images of America: LGBT Milwaukee," by OnMilwaukee contributor Michail Takach.

That's cool, of course, because Takach's book is a comprehensive illustrated look the city's LGBT history. The headline is bound to really garner some attention.

"What's the most underappreciated gay Mecca in the U.S.?" the headline queried, then answering its own question with the post, which called Takach's book, "beautifully researched and (with) very moving text.

"This book, consisting mostly of photos and detailed captions, takes us from the bad old days of the deep closet to drag queens most glorious, to mega-discos, and beyond."

Congratulations, Michail.

Stay tuned for an interview with Takach about the book around the time it hits shops on Monday, Aug. 22.

The author is donating all proceeds to Milwaukee Pride, Inc. to support the Wisconsin LGBT History Project and education programs.
OnMilwaukee is once again honored to support Potawatomi Hotel and Casino's Heart of Canal Street fundraising program. As a long-time partner and passionate community advocate, we're also thrilled to announced that this year we'll help support our long-time partner, the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM).

Last year, we worked with the children's museum in Milwaukee, Betty Brinn.

The Heart of Canal Street program serves as the hotel and casinos signature community program, which has helped enhance and improve the lives of children and their families in southeastern Wisconsin for more than 20 years. Since 1994, the program has provided nearly $16 million to over 550 area charities.

We've partnered with the Milwaukee Public Museum for years on Food & Froth, Moveable Feast and on countless stories and promotions.

But this new partnership with Heart of Canal Street will directly benefit more than 6,000 low-income students who will receive field trips to the museum via MPM's Fossil Fuel Fund. It's a great cause, and we're honored to be a part of it.

The majority of funds for this program are raised through the Canal Street bingo game that also began today and will be played during every bingo session at the Casino through Dec. 15. Half of each $3 or $7 Canal Street Bingo game purchased goes to the Heart of Canal Street fund, which totaled more than $1 million last year! Share your heart by playing the Canal Street Bingo game now through Dec. 15. Visit paysbig.com/heart to learn more.

During a presentation today in the Bingo Hall, the casino revealed this years 10 Heart of Canal Street signature charities. Signature charities are selected by the programs media partners.

The 10 signature charities and their corresponding media partners include:

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, presented by Lamar Outdoor

Food Pantry of Waukesha County, presented by WITI FOX 6

Jewish Family Services, presented by Milwaukee Radio Alliance

Kathys House, presented by iHeart Media

Northcott Neighborhood House, presented by Milwaukee Radio Group

PEARLS for Teen Girls Inc., presented by Entercom Radio

SHARP Literacy, presented by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Parenting Network, presented by Clear Channel Outdoor

Wisconsin Humane Society, presented by CBS 58/Weigel Broadcasting

And, of course, Milwaukee Public Museum, presented by OnMilwaukee

In addition to the signature charities, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino will announce its 2016 "Charity of Choice" at special event on Tuesday, Aug. 16. The Charity of Choice will receive the first $100,000 raised this year.

Twenty additional charities will also take part in the 2016 Heart of Canal Street season and will be randomly selected on Nov. 29. On Dec. 16 the Heart of Canal Street fundraising total will be announced.


Mercurius

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"Nobody knows jack sh*t about what is going on."

-Terence McKenna (in reference to the sum of knowledge of all the world's religion, philosophy, and science)

+++

The human earth species is going to madly self-destruct if it does not find a perceived and shared purpose for even being alive here on the earth in the first place. I mean a purpose other than just indulging in distracting and entertaining pleasures before death comes or just trying to develop oneself 'spiritually' before death comes. And one of the themes of this article series has been that the human species does not have such a purpose. Lives that are nothing but drudging through jobs provided by oligarchic masters and blindly making babies who can carry on this ghastly routine when their parents die and all the while grandiosely fantasizing about 'spiritual development' or future political utopias is the certain path to self-destruction as an earth species. We have no shared conscious purpose for even being here. Even if we provide all humans with adequate food and shelter and 'equal rights' we are still confronted with the question of what our purpose here is. Sooner or later we will be forced to nakedly confront this question and answer it meaningfully or be undone by our lack of an answer.

Earth and material reality in general has a purpose other than just being the lowly handmaiden of Spirit or the prostitute for human desire and we will find that purpose or She will wipe us out. This civilization is anti-earth and without any growth compass. Ninety percent of what constitutes our civilization is completely unnecessary for evolutionary advancement and growth of consciousness. It exists merely as the manifestation of fear-based human-power fantasy. Our technological development has done nothing to deepen the consciousness or wisdom of humanity. In fact, it impedes such growth by confusing data growth with consciousness growth. Technology is not the same as, or a substitute for, consciousness growth. This civilization is a direct contradiction of our real purpose in being on earth and for that reason it will be destroyed one way or another. It can be by human will or against human will, but it will be deconstructed down to the foundation and replaced by something that serves our real purpose in being on earth. All this 'civilized' sound and fury adds up to nothing in the end but the power of the oligarchs.

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First SpaceX Geo Mission is Underway!

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The goal of Elon Musk's SpaceX is colonization of Mars, and the bottom-up, NGO space exploration organization has taken a number of successful steps in that direction. The visionary project offers a genuine sense of perspective amidst a sea of political corruption. So take a moment and enjoy this short video of extraordinarily beautiful slo-mo footage compiled from four launches. It'll touch your soul. And restore hope in the higher aspirations of humanity.

After Musk sold Paypal for $1.5 billion, with an intention to change the world for the better, he invested in two startups: replacing petroleum based cars with electric, via Tesla Motors, and taking steps to colonize Mars, via SpaceX. Musk has"staked his fortune on businesses that address fundamental human concerns."

Tesla and SolarCity are on track to merge before the end of the year. Earlier this week on SolarCity's conference call, Musk referenced one of the two new products which will be launched by year's end, saying , "It's a solar roof, as opposed to modules on a roof...I think this is really a fundamental part of achieving differentiated product strategy, where you have a beautiful roof. It's not a thing on the roof. It is the roof."

Currently, Musk's estimated worth is nearly $13 billion. But it wasn't easy:





SpaceX was founded by Musk in 2002. But 2008 was "a year Musk describes as the worst of his life. Tesla was on the verge of bankruptcy. Lehman had just imploded, making capital hard to come by. Musk was freshly divorced and borrowing cash from friends to pay living expenses. And SpaceX was a flameout, in the most literal sense. Musk had spent $100 million on the company and its new rocket, the Falcon 1. But its first three launches had all detonated before reaching orbit. The fourth was due to lift off in early Fall of that year, and if it too blew apart in the atmosphere, SpaceX would likely have numbered among the casualties. Aerospace journalists were drafting its obituary already. Musk needed a break, badly. And he got it, in the form of a fully intact Falcon 1, riding a clean column of flame out of the atmosphere and into the history books, as the first privately funded, liquid-fuelled rocket to reach orbit." ~ Aeon

SpaceX's achievements include the first privately funded,liquid-propellant rocket to reach orbit (2008), the first privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft (2010) and the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station (2012) according to the wiki.

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Uighur protest in Berlin on July 10, 2009 for the human rights of this persecuted Muslim minority in China.

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The kidnapping and execution of Fan Jinghui, a freelance consultant, in Syria eight months ago clearly and unambiguously highlighted the new developments to the dismay of Beijing. Months earlier, the Chinese embassy in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, was damaged and a staffer died in a car bomb attack that primarily targeted a nearby hotel.

Chinese engineers are not finding it easy going even in Pakistan, for whom China is a time tested friend. From Gilgit to Quetta and Gwadar, the pereception of threat is increasing by the day, even as the Pakistani civilian and military leadership says they have walked the extra mile to beef up security for Chinese workers. The incidents of kidnapping and ambushing of Chinese workers are on the rise.

The Uighur Islamists operate from safe havens provided by the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan belt, using the Gilgit-Kashgar corridor to mount attacks on their home targets. Pakistan Army's Operation 'Zarb-e-Azb' has spared them both since the Pakistani Taliban are good terrorists, according to the classification of the ISI, which nurtures terrorists of various hues in furtherance of State policy.

Uighur Islamists, under the banner of the Turkistan Islamic Party, TIP, ( also known as the East Turkistan Islamic Movement or ETIM), have forged close ties with al-Qaeda, and ISIS, with which the Taliban, was associated from Day One, first as a trainer, and then as a recruitment centre.

Terrorism expert, Nodirbek Soliev (Senior Analyst at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, ICPVTR, a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, RSIS, Singapore) estimates that nearly 1,000 Uighur fighters and their families from China's Xinjiang province have joined al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, al-Nusra Front, and its rival, ISIS, in the Middle East. The number of Uyghur militants in Afghanistan is put at around 300-500 as part of the IS-Taliban axis.

TIP's Syrian branch, known as the Turkistan Islamic Party in the Levant (TIP-L), is a close ally of al Nusrah Front and part of "Jaish al Fatah" ('Army of Conquest'), the new coalition of jihadists that has been fighting against the government forces in Syria.

All this helped the Uighur Islamists to spread their wings and mobilize jihadi support to make China bleed, and hurt its economic interests globally either on its own or with the help of allies like al-Shabaab, Al Qaeda's branch in Somalia, the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) of Pakistan.

Uighur heat is being felt mostly in Pakistan, where China is investing heavily in an energy corridor from Gwadar on the Balochistan coast to Xinjiang province in Western China. Also in Afghanistan, where China is focusing on mining and processing of copper, amongst other ventures.

Put simply, the situation has reached a stage where China can no longer rest on the assurances of the army, police and other security forces of Pakistan and hope for a turnaround.

It is this realisation that appears to have stirred China to finally raise an accusing finger at the LeT for the 2008 Mumbai (India) terror attacks. A documentary on the Chinese state TV channel, CCTV-9, in June highlighted the role of the LeT and its sponsors in Pakistan in the terror attack.

This is a clear giveaway that China is no longer prepared to turn a blind eye to Pakistan's greatest export -- terrorism. Until now, Beijing has been blocking UN efforts to put more Pakistani entities and wanted militants like Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, Talha Saeed and Hafiz Abdul Rauf (all of LeT/JuD, Jamaat-ud-Dawa) and Masood Azhar of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) on the terrorism watch list or black list.

China's new anti-terrorism law that has paved the way for Beijing to deploy its military for overseas counter-terrorism purposes makes sense. Action rather than rhetoric will be necessary if China wants to take pre-emptive measures to safeguard its transnational business interests, rather than the 'non-interference' foreign policy, that Beijing has been following ever since it became a Bamboo capitalist on the prowl. It needs to make a beginning with Pakistan if it wants to sound credible.
By Adam Andrzejewski

OpenTheBooks.com

Oregon taxpayers deserve to see every dime spent at every level of government  federal, state and local. So why does Lane County want to charge $23,487 to simply produce a record of its public employee salaries?

Recently, the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization American Transparency filed Freedom of Information Act requests with each of the 1,509 units of government in Oregon asking them to produce their checkbook expenditures, public employee salaries and pension information. Our goal is to capture and display every dime, online and in real time  a complete record of all government spending within Oregon for fiscal year 2015.

We believe transparency is the foundation of smart government. It answers key questions in public policy: How much does government really cost? Are there indications of waste, fraud or duplication? Once citizens can see these details, politicians have a hard time saying, Theres no place left to cut or consolidate.

Last month, we added the 34,855 state of Oregon public employee salary records to our database. This type of information can be illuminating: The top 1,626 highly compensated state employees receiving annual salaries of more than $100,000 cost taxpayers $258.3 million in payroll, benefits and pension costs. In 2010, there were only 730 six-figure salaries in state government, which cost taxpayers roughly $117.5 million in total compensation.

Yet Oregons state government was unable to produce a basic record containing names, titles, salaries and employment ZIP codes for all state workers. After two months and correspondence with three state agencies, we still cant establish the location or whereabouts of state personnel.

Collecting the public pension information was a similar story. The state Public Employees Retirement System will not release the last government employer of retirees. Weve already found 1,853 retirees with $100,000-plus pensions conferred by universities, municipalities and other units of Oregon government. But which public bodies conferred the most $100,000-plus retirement pensions, and which coddle double-dipping public servants who game the system for personal gain?

Wed like to hold them accountable, but theres a lack of basic transparency.

We are deeply committed to opening the books at every level and will not rest until the public can see exactly where government spends our money.

So we are filing a request for review with the Oregon attorney general. Why? Because 39 local units of Oregon government want to charge us more than $40,100 in special fees just to produce simple records of public employee salaries.

If these units succeed in imposing what is essentially a transparency tax, our organization could face future fees up to $4 million across 1,509 units of government to simply compile a complete record of all government expenditures: salaries, pensions and vendor transactions. Levying extreme fees  a tactic used to keep government spending hidden  is a violation of Oregons open records law.

What on earth could Lane County, which wants to charge us $23,000 in fees, be hiding?

Recently, while examining the Portlands public salaries, we found that the embattled environmental services director Marriott Dean took home $355,760 in 2015, not the $199,000 severance package that was widely reported. And Portlands fire training chief, Mark Kaeil, made $275,891 last year.

In our home state of Illinois, in 2013, we faced comparable resistance to transparency from a Republican comptroller. After filing a successful lawsuit, we posted online all line-by-line state spending since 2005: half a million vendors were paid half a trillion dollars on 500 million individual transactions.

When we opened the books in Illinois, we found that the salary of a school district treasurer jumped from $164,000 to $296,000 in one year. After his indictment for stealing more than $1.5 million over 20 years, the treasurer is serving a nine-year prison term.

At my local junior college, the College of DuPage, the president, treasurer and comptroller were fired after our exposure showed that administrators opened house accounts at the upscale on-campus French restaurant and billed hundreds of thousands of dollars against students, taxpayers and the scholarship fund.

In our quest to post every dime taxed and spent at every level of Oregon government, we applaud the nearly 300 municipal, state, school district and other local units of government  so far  that have produced a full record of their salaries.

So heres our message to Oregon taxpayers: In God we trust, but our politicians we must audit. After capturing, mapping and displaying online all Oregon government spending, there will be endless opportunities for oversight. Remember, its your money. You have a right to know how its spent.
Civil, Military meeting held in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: An important meeting was held, with Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif in the chair, to review the pace of implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, ISI DG Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and other senior officials attended the meeting.



The meeting also reached an agreement that a meeting of all four provincial chief ministers would be called soon to make provincial apex committees stronger and to give them more resources.



It was decided in the meeting that security institutions would further be strengthened by giving them more authority, after which the security forces would be able to carry out raids anywhere in the country without prior permission.



Addressing the participants, Nawaz Sharif said that complete eradication of terrorists would be ensured and Pakistans war would continue until the last terrorist was eliminated. The PM directed all the departments concerned to ensure better coordination among them.



He said that terrorists had attacked innocent citizens once again and tried to play havoc with the law and order of the country.



The security forces have cleared Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of terrorists, but a handful of the surviving ones are in search of safe havens. We have to finish them by dragging them out of their dens.



He said that the government would not allow anyone to play with the lives of innocent people. No doubt the enemy wants to disturb the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, he said, adding that the project was a ray of hope for brighter Pakistan.



He asked the security institutions to ensure elimination of terrorists with full power, saying that the government would provide best available resources for the purpose.



The meeting also decided to fully execute the NAP and to make legislation for introducing stern anti-terrorism laws. The participants of the meeting also agreed to initiate combing operations across the country.



The meeting also reviewed the internal and external security situation following the Quetta suicide bombing. It also mulled over the evidence found during the course of investigation, which indicated at foreign involvement in the attack.



Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif was not present in an important meeting that was held on Wednesday to review the implementation on National Action Plan (NAP) under supervision of PM Nawaz Sharif. Sources have disclosed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif intentionally didn't call Khawaja Asif in a meeting so that he would not meet with Federal Minister for interior Ch. Nisar Ali Khan. This was allegedly all designed to please Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan.



However, the rest of the country's top leadership, including Federal Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Ishaq Dar, Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, National Security Adviser Nasir Janjua, Secretary Foreign Affairs Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and other senior officials attended the meeting. The absence of Federal Minister for Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif in this important meeting held in connection with implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) has left many questions unanswered.



Sources have further revealed that Prime Minister Nawaz Shairf will sooner or later himself take over the portfolio of Ministry of Defence as Khawaja Muhammad Asif would only take care of the matters of Ministry of Water and Power that he was presently doing.



Khawaja Muhammad Asif had taken the charge of Ministry of Defence when cases of missing persons were under trial in the Supreme Court. It was impossible for the prime minister to appear before court each time in the above mentioned cases, which was why the Defence Ministry charge handed over to Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
Nawaz Sharif condemned Quetta suicide bombing

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday condemned the Quetta suicide bombing and said the nation was united in the war on terror, which would be taken to its logical end at any cost.



Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the prime minister said that intelligence agencies were working day and night to frustrate the designs of Pakistans enemies. These misguided people have become our enemies, he said and added that this mindset wanted to sabotage Pakistans peace. He reiterated that the government would eliminate every single terrorist from Pakistan.



This is the same mindset, which targeted Benazir Bhutto, Ismailis in Safoora, Hazaras in Balochistan, children at the Army Public School in Peshawar and minorities in Lahore and other parts of the country, he said. This mindset is the enemy of the society as well as legal and constitutional framework of the country, he said. It wants to strike at a time when Pakistan is witnessing economic development in the form of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The Operation Zarb-e-Azb is the outcome of a national consensus and it will continue until complete elimination of terrorists from Pakistan, the prime minister said.



We have foiled many attempts of terrorists, Sharif said, adding that terrorists could not weaken nations resolve to fight them. He said the government could eliminate terrorism from the country through national unity. He said the government, people of Pakistan, the armed forces and the national institutions were united and steadfast in their fight against terrorism. He said that Pakistan raised its voice against Indian atrocities in Held Kashmir at international forums. He said the armed forces were safeguarding the territorial boundaries of the country in the best way and doing an excellent job to maintain law and order in the country.



Speaking on the occasion, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the civil-military understanding was the main reason for an improved security situation in the country. He said the ongoing military operation was launched after consultations with all political parties, although some parties such as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had expressed their reservations about it. He said that no operation could succeed without national unity. He said the army played a critical role in the war against terrorism. In 2008-09, he said, Pakistan witnessed more than 2,000 terror attacks each year. Even Islamabad was not safe. As many as 181 terror attacks were carried out in Pakistan in the first eight months of the incumbent government, he said.



Referring to the comments of Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who described the Quetta attack as an intelligence failure and said that blaming the Indian intelligence agency would not serve any purpose, the interior minister said: I wish those who raised their voice against the government would also have pointed finger at the RAW [Research and Analysis Wing] and the NDS [National Directorate of Security]. He left the hint that security agencies had found some leads to those involved in the Quetta suicide bombings. He said that intelligence-sharing had improved in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He laid stress on the need to defeat internal and external forces of terrorism. He said that military courts were meant to try terrorists, not political opponents. He said the next few months were crucial for the country.



After Khans speech, decorum of the House could not be maintained and the opposition parties like the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) walked out of the House over interior ministers remarks. However, the prime minister went to the opposition lobby and brought them back.



Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah said the opposition stood by the government in the war against terrorism. He said the opposition supported all initiatives for elimination of terrorism from the country. He said that a parliamentary committee on national security should be set up. He said the government could not win this war alone.
Nawaz Sharif to release of Rs 100 million for NACTA

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed release of Rs 100 million for the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), as a high-level huddle began in the federal capital on Wednesday to review the fight against violent extremism.



The meeting also discussed issues relating to the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) and financial constraints faced by NACTA. Attendees included Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, Director General (DG) Military Operations Major General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, DG Military Intelligence Major General Nadeem Zaki Manj, Minister for Interior Affairs Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid, Adviser to prime minister Sartaj Aziz, National Security Adviser Lt General (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua and others.



The prime minister was briefed about NACTAs performance and progress made in the anti-terror fight, mainly from the military-led agencies, including the 3,100 intelligence based operations (IBOs) that helped foil hundreds of terror attacks. The meeting also called for strengthening NACTA on an emergency basis to ensure effective and timely communication and coordination among the intelligence agencies



On paper, NACTA is functional, but the situation on the ground is different, one official said. Subsequently, the prime minister directed the finance minister to release the Rs 100 million allocated for NACTA, and asked the interior minister to streamline the bodys functioning and operationalise its joint directorate.



PM Nawaz pointed out that an uptick in terror attacks in Pakistan coincided with Islamabads efforts to raise the Kashmir issue on the international stage. The terrorist incidents happened at a time when Pakistan is raising awareness about Indian atrocities in Kashmir.



The enemy has targeted prominent personalities in the country, besides killing minorities, he said while referring to the assassination of Balochistan Bar Association President Bilal Anwar Kasi in Quetta on Monday which was followed by a deadly suicide blast that claimed at least 74 lives. He added, A mindset is involved in such heinous activities that do not tolerate the improved law and order situation in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan.



He hinted that the attacks were specifically to counter the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Such mindset does not assimilate the emerging prospects of progress and prosperity in Pakistan and mega development projects like CPEC.



Law-Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) have taken more than 50 suspects in Lahore and outskirts into custody, following a high alert issued by the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), Islamabad, about possible terror attacks at Wagah and Ganda Singh borders. Through an alert dispatched late on Tuesday to the Punjab Director General of Pakistan Rangers, the Home Department and the provincial police chief, NACTA asked for high preventive measures to protect the public as well as security personnel.



Tehreek-i-Talibans Fazalullah group is planning to target parade at Wagah Border in Lahore and Ganda Singh Border in Kasur on August 13-15, the security alert says. The letter also said that two suicide bombers had been sent to hit these targets. Extreme vigilance and heightened security measures are suggested to avoid any untoward incident, it added.



A deadly terrorist attack had hit Wagah in November 2014, when over 60 people, including children and security personnel, were killed and 200 others injured minutes after the flag-lowering ceremony at the border. We have taken measures in the wake of the security alert issued by the NACTA about possible terror attack at two important places in Lahore and Kasur, Capital City Police Officer Amin Wains told the reporters.



He said that the police had launched the combing, search and sweep and intelligence-based operation late on Tuesday, effecting arrests in many parts of the city. He said that the suspects would be quizzed and kept into custody till verification process as a majority of them could not produce documents related to their identity.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...


"challenging fun"

- Entertainment Weekly

Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy offor seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchildren. Thanks! Tom
In this Friday, May 27, 2016, file photo, staffers pass security guards near a company logo at the Alibaba Group headquarters in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Alibaba reports financial results Thursday, Aug. 11. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Shares of Alibaba jumped on Thursday as the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse added shoppers and mobile revenue surged.

Alibaba, which went public in a splashy IPO in 2014, accounts for 80 percent of all online shopping in China. Its shares have fluctuated over investor concern about the state of China's economy.

But investors were reassured by the quarterly results, sending shares up almost 6 percent in morning trading.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Thursday reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $1.14 billion.

The Hong Kong-based company said it had profit of 44 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and amortization costs, were 74 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 61 cents per share.

The online retailer's revenue jumped 59 percent to $4.84 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.61 billion. Revenue from mobile shopping more than doubled to $2.64 billion.

The company added 11 million annual active buyers from the prior quarter, bringing total active buyers to 434 million.

Revenue from cloud computing, a small but growing segment for Alibaba, more than doubled to $187 million.

"With both international and domestic sales forging ahead, and with new areas like cloud computing making a better contribution, Alibaba is firmly on an upward trajectory," said Conlumino retail analyst Hakon Helgesen.

Alibaba shares rose $4.89, or 5.6 percent, to $92.22 in afternoon trading Thursday.

Explore further Alibaba buys nearly 33 million shares of Groupon

 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
New ant species Paratopula bauhinia (Golden Tree Ant) is described from Hong Kong by HKU biologists. Credit: The University of Hong Kong

The Insect Biogeography and Biodiversity research group led by Dr Benoit Guenard at the School of Biological Sciences, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has recently described and named a new species of ant from Hong Kong, Paratopula bauhinia, or the rare "Golden Tree Ant" in Asian Myrmecology, a peer-reviewed, yearly journal dedicated to the study of Asian ants.

A newly described species is a species previously unknown to Science, i.e. it has been discovered on Earth for the first time. The person who describes it has the right to name it. The new ant species discovered by the research team represents the 22nd ant species described from Hong Kong since 1858. The last one was in 2000. Descriptions of earlier species had to be dated back to 1928.

While some might think that new species are only discovered in deep pristine forests, this new ant species was found just a few hundred meters from HKU campus on the foothill of Lung Fu Shan Country Park during a night field course. The unusually large size of the ant (about 7mm long) and its golden appearance piqued the curiosity of Ms Ying Luo, a research assistant of the School of Biological Sciences, to collect it for further detailed inspection. Back at the laboratory, she and Dr Guenard realised that this ant was quite special, not only did the specimen represent the first record of the ant genus Paratopula for Hong Kong and southern China, it also represented a new species for science. Despite intensive collection efforts since its original collection, it has only been found at Lung Fu Shan Country Park and so the ant can be considered as endemic to Hong Kong Island. This new species is described in Asian Myrmecology by Ms Luo and Dr Guenard, along with the first description of the queen of another arboreal species, Rotastruma stenoceps.

The newly described species has been given the scientific name Paratopula bauhinia, in reference to the Bauhinia flower, symbol of Hong Kong. Indirectly, the name also refers to the arboreal nature of the ant. Indeed, this species seems to live on trees and forage only at dusk and at night where it can be found on lower vegetation and human-made structures. Its beautiful golden colour and relative large size, similar to a grain of rice, makes this discovery all the more remarkable. Considering the number of hikers, joggers and visitors to Lung Fu Shan Country Park and its ease of access, this ant could have been found by anyone curious of nature and new discoveries.

The discovery of Paratopula bauhinia in Hong Kong, as well as three other new species from Singapore earlier this year by the Insect Biodiversity and Biogeography research group illustrates how little we know about insect biodiversity surrounding us and the pressing need for discovering it. In times of a biodiversity crisis, with major parts of natural habitats disappearing, describing new species before they disappear is particularly important.

"With probably 80% of life still unknown to Science, species descriptions are more than ever paramount to the study and protection of biodiversity, including in Hong Kong," said Dr Guenard.

The Insect Biogeography and Biodiversity Laboratory at the School of Biological Sciences is a relatively new research group at the University of Hong Kong. The group works on biodiversity patterns of insects and how human activities directly or indirectly modify species distribution and composition in Hong Kong and South East Asia. While this is the first new ant species described from Hong Kong by the Insect Biogeography and Biodiversity Laboratory, several other specimens have already been identified to represent unique new species and should be described in the coming years.
The Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence could be a waste of time according to a recent statistical analysis of the likelihood of life arising spontaneously on habitable-zone exoplanets out there in the wider universe (and let's face it - when have predictive statistics ever got it wrong?) Credit: SETI Institute

Many years ago, Carl Sagan predicted there could be as many as 10,000 advanced extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy.

After nearly 60 years of searching without success, a growing list of scientists believe life on Earth only came about because of a lucky series of evolutionary accidents, a long list of improbable events that just happened to come together at the right time and will never be repeated. Is it possible they are right and we are all there is? Highly unlikely.

Earth is a typical rocky planet, in an average solar system, nestled in the spiral arm of an ordinary galaxy. All the events and elements that came together to build our world could happen almost everywhere throughout the galaxy and there should be nothing unusual about the evolution of life on this planet or any others.

In a galaxy of hundreds of billions of stars, the law of averages dictates that intelligent life must exist somewhere. So, why haven't we found it yet? There could be many reasons.

Looking for a radio signal in a galaxy of over 400 billion worlds across 100,000 light years and billions of radio frequencies makes the proverbial needle in a haystack sound easy. Imagine you are driving home, your spouse in one car and you in the other. There's a thick fog making visual confirmation impossible and no cell phone reception. Luckily, a week ago you had a 250 channel CB installed in both cars. Unfortunately, you forgot to agree on a broadcast channel. To chat, the two CBs would have to be on at the same time and you'd need to independently search every channel, listen, broadcast, then move to the next, hoping to get lucky enough to land on the same channel.

What are the odds that would happen? Not very good. Multiply this scenario one hundred billion times and you have some idea of the challenges facing SETI. To add to that, advanced civilizations probably only stay radio active for a relatively short time in their development as they develop more sophisticated technology. Searching the radio spectrum would require looking at one frequency 24/7 for years to be sure you weren't missing something and telescope time is far too expensive for that. While you were sitting on that single frequency, 20 extraterrestrial signals could have come in on other channels and you'd never know it.

The Fermi Paradox is used by many skeptics as the holy grail when trying to prove there is nobody out there. Fermi theorized that a galaxy with so much potential for life must be full of extraterrestrials. He noted that since the majority of stars are considerably older than our sun, extraterrestrials could be millions of years more advanced than us. Fermi calculated that even at sub light speed one of those civilizations should have colonized the galaxy by now and we would have seen evidence of it.

There is however a problem with that logic.

In 50,000 years, humans will probably look a little different than people do now. In 10 million years, considerably different. Imagine a civilization completely different from us from the start and 10 million years more advanced. We might not even be able to recognize them as life forms, let alone see any evidence of their existence.

The Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico was the site of NASAs High Resolution Microwave Survey, a search for extraterrestrial radio messages. Credit: Unites States National Science Foundation

Arthur C. Clarke once said advanced extraterrestrials would probably be indistinguishable to us from magic. Their communications would be like listening for an answer to drumbeats and getting only silence while the ether around you is filled with more information in a second than one could utter in a lifetime. There could be the alien equivalent of the super bowl going on a few light years away and we would probably not even have a clue.

The distances in our galaxy are incredibly vast. Current spacecraft travel about 20 times faster than the speed of a bullet. While that sounds fast, at that speed it would take a spacecraft 75,000 years to travel to our nearest star only 4 light years away. Light years are a measure of distance so if we could speed that ship up to 186,000 miles per second it would take 4 years to reach that same star.

Looking at a star 1,000 light years away is like being in a time machine. You are not seeing it as it is now, but one thousand years ago. Our galaxy is about 100,000 light years across with over 200 billion stars. Current theory suggests there may be as many as one billion earth-like planets in our galaxy. If just one tenth of those had some kind of life, that would leave us with about 100 million worlds harboring one celled creatures or better.

If just the tiniest fraction of them, (one one hundred thousandth) managed to spawn an advanced race of beings, there could be as many as 1,000 extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. Regardless of whether you consider that a lot or a little, that would mean one technically advanced alien society exists for every hundred million stars. Our nearest extraterrestrial neighbor might be very, very far away. In the movies, the speculative fiction of warp speed, hyper drive and worm holes enable spaceships to travel faster than the speed of light and breach those distances fairly easily. But if the physics of this turn out to be impossible, then even the nearest alien civilizations may find interstellar travel very difficult and quite undesirable.

Another reason extraterrestrials may have made themselves scarce could be that the galaxy is jam packed with all sorts of weird beings and wondrous destinations. In this scenario why would advanced forms of life want to come here? There are probably so many more interesting places to visit. It would be like hunting for an exotic bird and not even giving the ant hill below your feet a second look.

Stephen Hawking has said, "I believe extraterrestrial life is quite common in the universe, although intelligent life less so. Some say it has yet to appear on Earth."

Many think once a civilization achieves radio, it has a short window of but a few hundred years before it starts to integrate artificial intelligence into its own biology. Machines do everything so much easier, with far less risk and are immortal. It is entirely possible any aliens we hear from will have morphed into something more machine like than biological.

There has been a push lately for SETI to expand its operations from just passively listening, to actively broadcasting messages into the cosmos. One of the smartest men on the planet, Stephen Hawking, doesn't think that's a good idea. He believes that our messages might attract unwanted attention from unsavory creatures looking to blast us back into the stone age. He uses what happened to the Native Americans when they first encountered Columbus as an example. Alien races may have had to endure the same aggressive survival of the fittest culture. If they are at least as smart as Stephen Hawking, than everyone out there could be listening and nobody is broadcasting for fear of attracting the equivalent of Darth Vader and the Evil Empire to their shores.

Or, maybe there is a signal on its way right now, having traveled thousand of years, arriving next week, month or year.

Lasers like this one, at the VLT in Paranal, help counteract the blurring effect of the atmosphere. Powerful arrays of much larger lasers could hide our presence from aliens. Credit: ESO/Y. Beletsky

Many scientists like Paul Davies, think SETI needs to start thinking more out of the box in its search methods. He advocates analyzing places in our own solar system like the moon, planets, asteroids and the Earth for evidence that aliens have passed this way. We should also be open to the possibility that we have already received a message from the stars and don't recognize it because it arrived by something other than radio. Physist Vladimir Charbak thinks that life may have been spread throughout the galaxy by intelligent design and there may actually be evidence of this within our own DNA just waiting to be discovered.

Another reason we have yet to detect alien life could be there is nothing out there to find. Or to put it another way, we are the only game in town. To best answer that question, ask yourself, does this seem logical? There is a very good chance that one or more worlds just in our own solar system harbor some form of life. In a galaxy with as many as one billion or more potentially habitable planets, one could almost guarantee many of them will host life. There may potentially be hundreds of millions of worlds with living things on them. Does it make sense that in all that habitable real estate we are the only race to evolve into an intelligent species?

We humans tend to think of things with a distinctly anthropomorphic spin. Notions like, life needs water, oxygen and is based on carbon. Or, an advanced alien race would use radio and their signals should repeat. In popular culture, extraterrestrials portrayed in movies look remotely like us. This is done so we can recognize emotions and that fills movie theaters. I can remember aliens portrayed in the classic science fiction television show, "The Outer Limits" as energy balls, dust motes and tumbleweeds. They weren't the most popular episodes, but the reality is that those portrayals are probably closer to the truth than ET and his heart lamp. Extraterrestrials will probably be as different from us as we are from a blade of grass and their motivations a complete mystery. It is very possible that the reason we haven't found them yet is one that completely eludes our understanding at this point.

So where does that leave us?

Time and patience.

If you compare the 4.5 billion year old earth to a 24 hour clock, mankind doesn't appear until a little over a minute before midnight. Take the almost sixty years we have been looking for extraterrestrials and project that on the same clock, it probably represents only about 20 or 30 seconds worth of searching for intelligent beings who may have been around millions and perhaps billions of years longer than we have. Our passage through time is just a tiny almost imperceptible blip when compared to the evolution of our galaxy.

New, very powerful listening devices will be coming into operation soon as well as sophisticated instruments that will be able to analyze exoplanets atmospheres to look for hints of life. SETI will expand into new areas and scientists will be able to devote a lot more telescope time to the search as the newly funded (100MM) Project Breakthough Listen kicks into high gear. It will cover 10 times more of the sky and the entire 1-10GHz radio spectrum. There will be more powerful optical and infrared searches and it is estimated the project will generate in a day as much data as SETI produced in an entire year. Recently, Project Breakthrough Starshot was announced as well. Seeded by another 100MM by Russian Billionaire, Yuri Milner, this ambitious project seeks to send a tiny light propelled robotic spacecraft to our nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. Stephen Hawking thinks this can be accomplished within the next generation and that new technology would allow a journey of only 20 years.

SETI scientist Nathalie Cabrol thinks its also time for a new approach to SETI's search, a reboot if you will. She feels that "SETI's vision has been constrained by whether ET has technology that resembles or thinks like us. She feels that the search, so far, has in essence been a search for ourselves. Electromagnetic fingerprints of radio transmitions carry a strong like us assumption". She proposes involving a lot more disciplines in a redesign of the search. Astrobiology, life sciences, geoscience, cognitive science and mathematics among others. Her plan is to invite the research community to help craft a new scientific roadmap for SETI that very well may redefine the meaning of life and the cosmic search for new forms of it.

Some experts say we won't see evidence of extraterrestrials for another 1500 years. That's the time it will take for our TV and radio signals to have reached enough stars and have the best chance to be discovered.

In my opinion, I think highly advanced extraterrestrial societies already know we're here and in about 10-15 years we'll start getting some of the answers we've been looking for.
Credit: Department of Land And Natural Resources

On a warm July evening, visitors Lonnie Watson and Mark Louviere from the Ft. Worth, Texas metro area did what they normally do during their frequent visits to Hawaii. They wandered out to the coastline to watch the setting sun. On this particular day they spotted something that they say has humbled and blessed them. Watson explained, "For some reason there was a beam of lightjust a beamit landed right on one of them and for some reason I just turned my head. I said, look, it was just a stroke of luck."

What they saw was a large petroglyph, etched into the sandstone. Upon further investigation, they discovered at least 10 figures, stretching over roughly 60 feet of beach. While it's likely this series of petroglyphs, created by aboriginal inhabitants of the Waianae coast, have revealed themselves in the past, this is the first time they've come to the attention of the DLNR State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) and the U.S. Army. Both agencies have been working together to record and document the petroglyphs; which now number at least 17 figures.

Army archaeologist and Waianae native Alton Exzabe was one of the first officials to arrive at the site. He said, "What's interesting is the Army in Hawaii manages several thousand archaeological sites, but this is the first one with petroglyphs directly on the shoreline.

What's exciting for me, is I grew up coming to this beach and now as an archaeologist working for the Army, helping to manage this site, we discovered these petroglyphs that have never been recorded. Some people have said they've seen them before, but this is quite a significant find."

Credit: Department of Land And Natural Resources

Glen Kila is a lineal descendent of the aboriginal families who first settled in Nene'u on the Waianae Coast. His family home is a short ways from the petroglyph field, and he says until now he was unaware of these particular figures. "They record our genealogy and religion. It's very important to know about the lineal descendants of the area and their understanding of these petroglyphs. The interpretation of these petroglyphs can only be interpreted by the lineal descendants who are familiar with its history and culture," Kila said.

Several days after the Texas families first saw the petroglyphs, a small group of people stood atop the rocks as sand was washing back in to recover them. Exzabe and fellow archaeologists from the SHPD encourage people to look and not touch. Even the process of scraping sand away by hand or with brushes can damage the integrity of the figures.

Exzabe added, "We can now come up with a plan to further protect and preserve this site. The ones with the fingers, for me, are pretty unique. I believe there are some elsewhere with fingers, but fingers and hands are pretty distinct, as well as the size of them. We find a lot of petroglyphs that are a foot or so tall, but this one measures 4-5 feet from head to toe. It's pretty impressive."

Credit: Department of Land And Natural Resources

The petroglyphs were only viewable for a short time. Since the Texans' initial reporting, the sand has moved back in to cover them; however, the Army and SHPD are committed to protecting the "new" discovery whether visible or not.

Dr. Alan Downer, the administrator for the SHPD said, "We're eager to join the Army in developing a protection and preservation plan for these petroglyphs. They are an important part of Hawaii's culture and while sands have covered them again, in time they will reappear and we want to make sure people know that they are fragile and culturally sensitive and should only be viewed; not touched."

Explore further Researchers date oldest known petroglyphs in North America

Provided by Department of Land And Natural Resources
Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

Field studies designed to assess the impact of promoting political contribution incentives, such as public matching funds and tax credits, showed that nonpartisan publicity did not affect the likelihood that individuals would make a contribution or the amount they would donate. Possible reasons why the use of nonpartisan messages to publicize incentives did not attract new donors or increase contributions are examined in an article in Election Law Journal.

Coauthors Michael Schwam-Baird, Costas Panagopoulos, Jonathan Krasno, and Donald Green, Columbia University, Fordham University (New York, NY), and University of Binghamton, NY, suggest that more partisan messages promoting contribution incentives may have a greater effect on donor behavior. In the article entitled "Do Public Matching Funds and Tax Credits Encourage Political Contributions? Evidence from Three Field Experiments Using Nonpartisan Messages"), the authors emphasize the important lessons to be learned from this study related to campaign finance policy.

"While hundreds of millions of dollars are being raised by presidential candidates this cycle from small donations, the reality is that below the presidential level, the campaign finance system remains very biased toward a small number of donors," says Election Law Journal Editor Paul Gronke, Reed College (Portland, OR). "The experiments in this article demonstrate that by use of modest public matching funds, we can significantly increase contributions by Americans of modest means."

Explore further New survey on Americans' views on the influence of campaign donations on political system

More information: Michael Schwam-Baird et al, Do Public Matching Funds and Tax Credits Encourage Political Contributions? Evidence from Three Field Experiments Using Nonpartisan Messages, Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy (2016). Journal information: Election Law Journal Michael Schwam-Baird et al, Do Public Matching Funds and Tax Credits Encourage Political Contributions? Evidence from Three Field Experiments Using Nonpartisan Messages,(2016). DOI: 10.1089/elj.2015.0321
Ph.D. student David Moss is the study's lead author. Credit: Syracuse University

Researchers in the Department of Earth Sciences have shown that high-latitude bivalves live longer and grow slower than those in the tropics. Their findings are the subject of an article in the "Proceedings of the Royal Society B" (The Royal Society, 2016).

David Moss, a Ph.D. student in the Earth sciences department, located in the College of Arts and Sciences, is the article's lead author.

"We've created a global database of more than 1,100 populations of marine bivalves, documenting their maximum reported lifespan and growth rate, along with body size," he says, referring to animals such as oysters, clams, scallops and mussels. "Cold-blooded marine animals, such as bivalves, are influenced by their environment, so latitudinal patterns that exist in bivalves likely exist in other invertebrates, too."

After months of work by Moss and other members of the Earth sciences department, two patterns have emerged. The first reveals that, as a bivalve's lifespan increases, its growth rate decreases. The second shows that long life and slow growth are common among animals near the North and South poles, whereas tropical bivalves, close to the equator, are fast-growing and short-lived.

"As the poles are thought to harbor ecosystems like those from millions of years ago, our data suggest that more ancient animals were slow-growing," Moss says.

Professor Linda Ivany '88, in whose lab Moss is based, says bivalves are just as abundant in the fossil record as they are in today's oceans. As a result, she and her students can easily recover bivalve lifespans and growth rates by studying the bands in their fossilized shells, a process analogous to tree-ring dating.

Ivany says this kind of work has implications for the study of the evolutionary history of life on Earth, and may help explain why the metabolism of cold-blooded animals has changed over time.

"Research shows that marine animals have gotten bigger over the last 500 million years," Ivany says. "Because body size is determined by how fast you grow and how long you grow, this work sets the stage for us to move back in time and answer evolutionary questions about why and how animals have gotten bigger."

Based on his group's observations, Moss argues that the increase in body size of marine bivalves throughout the Phanerozoic, the current geologic eon stretching back more than 540 million years, should be accompanied by a shift to faster growth and a shorter lifespan.

Moss also hopes to pinpoint why biodiversity is high in the tropics and low near the poles.

"Short generation times and high mutation rates associated with short lifespan and fast growth enable new species to appear at a faster rate in the tropics," he says. "The distribution of lifespan and growth with latitude might help explain one of the more fundamental patterns in the evolutionary and ecological history of animal life on the planet: the latitudinal diversity gradient."

Explore further Similarities in species diversity and range in both terrestrial birds and marine bivalves

More information: David K. Moss et al, Lifespan, growth rate, and body size across latitude in marine Bivalvia, with implications for Phanerozoic evolution, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2016). Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B David K. Moss et al, Lifespan, growth rate, and body size across latitude in marine Bivalvia, with implications for Phanerozoic evolution,(2016). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1364
One of my favorite Woody Allen lines is, "I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens." Death ...
Michael Goot night and weekend editor Follow Michael Goot 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

I am finishing up a story that will run in the Sunday paper about school superintendent turnover. The average time at their current position is about 4  years for the school district in The Post-Star coverage area.

Speaking of turnover, while I was working on this story, another item came to my attention. The Stillwater Board of Education on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Elementary Principal John Powell. Powell reportedly had been pressured by the new superintendent, Patricia Morris, to resign.

Stillwater is a little south of our coverage area, but I was intrigued to read on the Times-Uinion website that about 60 staff and parents showed up at the meeting to express their support for Powell.

The district does not say why Powells resignation was sought. In the Times-Union account, he says that there were small differences between him and the superintendent, but nothing that could be worked out. He does not mention specifics.

Board President Timothy Hems was quoted as not being able to comment because it is a personnel matter.

The board approved a settlement agreement with Powell, so there is more to this story.

Most of the discussion about personnel hiring and firing happens behind closed doors, so there is much the public does not see and much the district is not required to disclose.

Morris did put a statement on the districts website that states a plan is in place to move the district forward and said that Assistant Principal Paul Morcone has been named the interim principal.

As superintendent, it is my intention to share information with you as quickly as possible. Information that impacts the educational experience of our children will always be shared as transparently as possible.

As with any change, we understand that this news may be greeted with mixed emotions, but we are confident that our staff and students will welcome and assist Mr. Morcone in maintaining the educational excellence for which the Stillwater Schools are recognized. It is our job to ensure that the integrity and quality of all our school programs will continue. I look forward to working with the school community toward the future success of our students, Morris said in the statement.

It asks people to contact her if they have questions at 373-6100, ext. 30022.
A Republican presidential platform proposal to allow private passenger rail carriers to compete against Amtrak in the Northeast Corridor likely would not be detrimental to Amtrak lines that service the local area, dues to state subsidies of Amtrak, said Bruce Becker, vice president of operations for National Association of Rail Passengers.

If something were to change on the corridor over future years, I dont see how that would have any deleterious impact on the operation of the Adirondack or the Ethan Allen, said Becker, formerly president of Empire State Passengers Association.

Becker said the Adirondack line, between New York City and Montreal, is subsidized by New York State.

Certainly we dont see that relationship changing any time soon, if ever, he said.

Amtrak is an extremely expensive railroad for the American taxpayers, who must subsidize every ticket, the GOP platform states. The federal government should allow private ventures to provide passenger service in the Northeast Corridor.

Becker said the GOP proposal is somewhat similar to the British model.

The idea of attempting to separate the infrastructure in the Northeast from an operating standpoint has been discussed for many years. The Republican platform goes one step further by talking about interjecting competition and potential for multiple private operators to use the Northeast corridor infrastructure, he said.

The practical implementation of that and the practicality of that is certainly an unknown question in that we have never within modern times had anything like that in the U.S.
Editor's Note: All charges were dismissed against Larry G. Bishop.

ALBANY  A Schuylerville man who authorities allege stole dozens of laptop computers while working for the state has been indicted by an Albany County grand jury.

Brian Baker, 46, of Route 29, faces felony counts of grand larceny and defrauding the government and misdemeanor official misconduct for the alleged theft of 45 new laptops while working for the state Office of Information Technology Services. He is accused of taking them from a state storage facility, and having them sold through contacts in the Glens Falls area.

The computers were worth an estimated $30,000, and were sold online for about half to two-thirds of their value. The state Inspector Generals Office tracked them down by doing online searches for specific Hewlett-Packard and Dell laptops, then comparing serial numbers to ones that were missing from the state warehouse.

Charges are still pending against three Queensbury residents through whom authorities believe Baker moved the computers. William Shouse, owner of Adirondack Information Systems of Glens Falls; Larry G. Bishop, owner of LGB Computers of Queensbury; and a worker in Bishops shop, Terra J. Wedman, all face a felony count of criminal possession of stolen property.

Their charges were not included in the indictment handed up in Albany County this week. Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan said her office was investigating the matter to determine how the charges should be handled.

We are reviewing the files, talking with defense lawyers and working with the Inspector Generals Office and Albany County District Attorneys Office, she said.

Police believe Baker provided the computers to Shouse, who then either sold them privately or had them sold to LGB Computers of Queensbury. LGB Computers sold them to consumers through its website.

Bishop has said he got the computers from Shouse, not knowing they were stolen property.

We want these two guys (Baker and Shouse) prosecuted to the fullest, he said Thursday.

Shouse referred comment to his lawyer, William Montgomery, who did not return a call Thursday.

All four defendants are free, pending prosecution.
LAKE GEORGE  James Ross was guiding his 34-foot Chris Craft cabin cruiser into Green Harbor on Lake George six years ago when the collision came out of nowhere.

Ross and his two friends were not hurt, but the man who hit them  who was in a much smaller boat  was knocked unconscious and spent several days in Albany Medical Center.

Last month's fatal boat crash near Cramer Point happened just yards from where Ross' boat was hit just after 10 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2010 in shockingly similar circumstances.

Ross, a Lake George resident who was 21 years old at the time, was headed west at slow speed when a boat traveling much faster hit his boat in the side. The boat, owned by Ross' father, was hit near a steel pillar on its port side and sustained $15,000 in damage.

The 18-foot boat driven by the New Jersey man who hit him was destroyed, and the driver was prosecuted for boating while intoxicated after he recovered from his injuries. Ross said police estimated the New Jersey man was traveling at least 30 mph when the collision occurred, and his boat navigation lights were off while Ross' were on.

"If we weren't in a bigger boat, we could have died," he said. "A few feet either way, we could have died."

Ross shared his story this week because he said he feels strongly that state boating laws need to change.

Ross said he rarely ventures onto the lake at night anymore because of the accident. He knows many boaters don't understand how to pilot on the lake at night, and many have been drinking. With plenty of rocks and islands, the lake is a difficult challenge for boaters who don't know what they are doing.

"It's a completely different lake at night. Your depth perception isn't there," he said. "You have to know where you are and what you are doing."

He said state law seems to be lacking in terms of training required for boaters, and believes all boat operators should have to pass a safety course before getting on the water. State law requires only that younger boaters, born after May 1996, take the course.

"I still remember my boating safety course at the Bolton firehouse. It was very informative," he said.

Ross also questioned why state law allows boat operators and passengers to drink while on the water; rules of the water should mirror those for the road, he said.

The July 25 crash near Cramer Point that claimed the life of 8-year-old Charlotte McCue remains under investigation by Warren County sheriff's officers. Police said the boat McCue was on was hit broadside by one driven by Alexander M. West, 24, of Lake George. He has been charged with leaving the scene of a boating accident and may face additional charges.

The Cramer Point area is also where the Ethan Allen tourboat sank in 2005, claiming the lives of 20 passengers. Overcrowding and a wave were blamed for that tragedy.

Here is a link to the Post-Star coverage of the 2010 crash that involved Ross.
ARGYLE  Firefighters from at least nine departments were called to the scene of a fire on Todd Road on Thursday morning that started in a garage and spread to a nearby home.

No injuries were reported in the blaze at 71 Todd Road, which was called in about 9:40 a.m.

Officials at the scene said the fire was caused by an electrical issue with a car in the garage. A wall of the home that was nearest the garage was heavily damaged.

Firefighters from Argyle, Fort Edward, Hebron, Greenwich, Hudson Falls, Hartford, Cossayuna, Kingsbury and Middle Falls were called to the scene. Granville firefighters were put on standby in Hartford.

Todd is a dead-end off Coach Road.
New York State United Teachers on Thursday announced its endorsement of U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, for re-election.

This endorsement is recognition that Congresswoman Stefanik has heard the concerns of parents and educators around the district and has demonstrated the ability to seek bipartisan consensus and get results, said Don Carlisto, a board member of NYSUT, the states largest teachers union.

Carlisto said Stefaniks support for legislation to reauthorize federal K-12 programs, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, was a factor in the endorsement.

The legislation provides states with more flexibility on standardized testing.

Stefanik is a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Stefanik is one of only two Republicans NYSUT has endorsed in congressional races this year, according to the NYSUT website. The other is Rep. Daniel Donovan, R-Staten Island.

NYSUT endorsed Democrats in 25 other New York congressional races.

In 2014, NYSUT endorsed Aaron Woolf, Stefaniks Democratic opponent in the local congressional race.

Stefanik is running in the 21st Congressional District against Democrat Mike Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, and Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls.

Stefanik leads Derrick in labor union contributions, a traditional strong base of support for Democrats.

Stefanik had received $36,000 in labor union contributions, as of June 30, and Derrick had received $22,300, according to reports the campaigns filed with the Federal Election Commission.

United Steel Workers, which represents workers at area paper mills, endorsed Derrick in March.
The Washington County Deputy Sheriff's Police Benevolent Association will host a fundraising chicken barbecue Saturday in Argyle.

The event will be held at the Argyle fire station on Route 40, starting at noon. Chicken meals are $10.

The organization represents Sheriff's Office law enforcement members, and raises funds to use for community programs such as scholarships and assistance to community members during emergency and illness situations.
Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether 

Read more
Mr Asamoah said at the 10th Quadrennial Delegates Congress of the TUC in Kumasi that the IMF policies are not working and have never worked anywhere.

He said Ghanaians are getting poorer every day under the IMF programme. We urge you and your government to abandon the IMF programme and invest in the home grown policy, to loud cheers.

READ MORE

The extended credit facility with the IMF will end next year, but before it does, the release of the third tranche has been delayed.

Talks have however resumed for the release of the funds after investors abandoned Ghanas fifth Eurobond, and parliament rejected zero financing of the central government by the Bank of Ghana.
According to him, expenditure targets are still on track despite figures showing the government has overspent than projected in the first half year.

The fiscal figures for the first five months of this year show that the government has spent more than GHC 2 billion than forecasted.

READ MORE

I wish to reiterate my earlier statement that this is our ultimate IMF programme, president Mahama said. We will finish hard. Next year is the last year and we will go back to the homegrown fiscal policy.

His comments came after the Trades Union Congress (TUC) asked him to abandon the IMF programme and invest in the homegrown fiscal policy.

President Mahama also noted he will stick strictly to the budget and the appropriation act passed by parliament, a comment analysts have said was directed at the striking Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOSSAG).

Members of CLOGSAG have been on strike for the past two weeks, demanding that the government pays them their respective market premium before they return to work.

The National Labour Commission described the strike as illegal because CLOGSAG did not inform the Commission before embarking on the strike.
In a statement, the IMF Egypt mission head, Chris Jarvis, said: "the government recognises the need for quick implementation of economic reforms for Egypt to restore macroeconomic stability and to support strong, sustainable and job-rich growth."

"The program aims to improve the functioning of the foreign exchange markets, bring down the budget deficit and government debt, and to raise growth and create jobs, he added.

READ MORE

Africa's third largest economy has been struggling with it fiscal policies after the over of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, rising activities of terrorists which driving out tourists and lack of investment.
READ ALSO:

According to the union workers of Ghana Gas feels slighted and undervalued by the government, the Finance and Petroleum ministries for going ahead to announce the takeover of the companys facilities without any engagement.

Ghana Gas personnel, apart from working tirelessly and delivering on its mandate to curtail the dumsor situation, is also saving the government of Ghana of harsh invoice balances from the importation of light crude oil for energy production. Considering these beneficial deliverables on the companys part, the local union least expects government to engage in such demotivation fragmentation of the company by siphoning its important installations to other state agencies without tangible synergistic plan for a win-win manifesto, the statement said in part.

Even though the union said there was a directive from the ministry of petroleum to BOST to take over the management of the natural gas facilities without any engagement, we are yet to receive any official communication from government or the sector ministry about the proposed takeover [by BOST]. The union is of the view that such decisions demoralize personnel and may ultimately affect productivity in the long run.

Mr. Alamu also noted in the statement that hardly has the Ghana Gas facility begun charting a sustainable growth path geared at maximizing the nations gas reserves for profitable power generation than for its major pipelines to be handed over to BOST as named owner, operator and transporter of gas via our pipelines.

Use monies from energy levy to defray VRA indebtednessThe workers also want government to use monies accrued into the Energy Levy Fund to pay for the over $350 million VRAs chronic indebtedness to Ghana Gas being the invoice value for lean gas supplied for its power production.

The union says the ripple effect of the VRAs indebtedness to Ghana Gas has virtually disabled the company from meeting its debt servicing obligation to the China Development Bank, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation for its raw gas exported to the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant.

The statement added that the graveness of this indebtedness has prevented the company from instituting any tangible remuneration and benefits package to its dedicated and hardworking personnel.
Speaking to Pulse.com.gh, the Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Education Service, Rev. Jonathan Bettey said statistics show an improvement in this years results.

At least 598 candidates who sat in the 2016 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) had their entire results cancelled, a statement signed by Agnes Teye-Cudjoe, Head of Public Affairs at WAEC, said.

The statement indicated that 1,576 candidates had their subject results cancelled while some 13 candidates who had their entire results cancelled have also been barred from taking any of the Councils examinations for two years mainly for impersonation during the examination.

Many have hit hard at the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education for what they call poor performance of students.

But the GES PRO believes Ghanaians are blowing the thing out of proportion.

I dont know whether they [critics] have the figures to support them...We are not saying that this is the best results we should have, he said.

Last year, we saw a lot of leakages; this year WASSCE; no leakage. But there were a lot of malpractices. So the measures put in place have also made the students bring out their actual knowledge, Rev Bettey added.

READ ALSO: Poor WASSCE Performance

He debunked claims that the lack of well-trained teachers and infrastructure could have contributed to the problem.

There are a lot of improvement in infrastructure wise. Training of core subject teachers; much went into it, last year and this year. So when people are bombarding the Ghana Education service and the Ministry of Education, they should read the figures and check the facts, he said.

The GES PRO was unable to directly indicate what could be the cause of the inconsistency in results over the years.
He believes the three year duration is short to warrant educational success.

READ ALSO: Poor WASSCE Performance

Nana Ogyeahoho said "I was sad to read the recent SHS statistics released by the WAEC.... Those who had grade F9 are 38.9%. How can our country develop when we have these failures?

He continued that "my appeal to NPP and Nana Akoffu Addo is to review this current three year SHS policy when the people of this country give you the nod. Review the policy and examine it again to see if the four years policy is what will help us.

Than this three years policy is part of the dwindling fortunes of other sporting disciplines and other extra curricula activities in our schools. How many persons could Ghana produce for the ongoing Olympics in Rio? The reason is that the timetable for the SHS is approximately 2years and some three months. If we need to take the four year policy, let's do it, if it is the 3 years too, let's resource the schools", Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi suggested.
Dr Nsiah Asare, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), who is a leading member of the NPP, said President John Mahamas decision to restore the payment of allowances to nursing trainees is a desperate move to secure votes for the general elections.

A statement signed by the Health Minister indicated that the payment amount would serve as a bridging mechanism pending the amendment of the Students Loan Trust Act, to enable students in non-tertiary Health Training Institutions access loans to support their education.

READ ALSO: NPP

But Dr Nsiah Asare has described the allowance promise as a lie. He believes government must produce the source of funding for the GH150 monthly allowance fee for trainee nurses.

This GH150 promise even though it is too small, I bet you, it is not realistic because there is no money to pay the trainee nurses. This GH150 promise was not captured in the budget.

I, therefore, dare President Mahama to boldly come out and tell Ghanaians about the source and funding of this GH150 monthly allowance for the trainee nurses. It is meant to win votes from the nurses, he said.

Dr Asare was addressing hundreds of NPP supporters during the campaign launch of the Offinso South Constituency NPP on Sunday.
She said the GII consortium identified gaps and proposed actions to address these gaps in 17 anti-corruption laws.

We are not asking for the passage of new laws but we are saying that the existing laws that we have, we need to strengthen those ones. But any party that is interested in moving our nation forward should be prepared to strengthen our anti-corruption legislative framework in order to make corruption high risk and a low gain activity.

The criminal offences Act 1960 act 29, apply to offence of bribery by national public officials; however, bribery by foreign public officials and officials of public international organizations has not been criminalized. We call on all presidential candidates and their political parties to demonstrate their commitment to the fight against corruption by incorporating the gaps in their manifestos and implement same should they win the elections come December 2016, the GII Executive Director said.

READ ALSO: IEA Report

A recent survey by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) revealed that the desire to attain riches, greed, and selfishness as well as low salaries, have emerged as the top three root causes of corruption in Ghana.

The survey, which focused on the root causes of corruption in Ghana, also showed that majority of Ghanaians are forced to pay bribes in order to be given fair treatment from superiors and other officials.

Senior Adjunct Fellow at the IEA, Professor Atsu Ayee believes the immediate passage of the Right to Information Bill is the only way forward in finding a solution to the menace.
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Subsequently, the Communication Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akomea called on the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to probe Akua Donkor for the allegations made.

Backtracking her statement on Accra-based Kasapa FM Akua Donkor said I acquired those properties on my own, but I have intentionally credited Mahama for purchasing them for me because of what Nduom did to me some time ago. When Nduom took his Tundra Vehicle from me, he categorically told me I should go to Mahama to give me vehicles. That is why Im doing this.
The referee must be seen to be transparent and accountable. We talk of transparency and accountability and these are the cornerstones of our national constitution and the EC should not be exempted from these provisions, the former president told a delegation from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), both based in the United States.

READ ALSO: Election 2016

The delegation, led by Johnnie Carson, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, who is currently a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group and the United States Institute of Peace, had paid a courtesy call on the former president to solicit his views on the processes leading to the crucial elections.

The team is also expected to meet the political parties, senior and former political leaders, constituent groups, NGOs and others who are concerned about the electoral process.

Former President Kufuor said: The whole idea is that the EC must be independent alright, but it should also know that it is accountable to the people. It is not an independent institution unto itself. It is accountable to the people generally.

We are coming into another election and naturally some serious stakeholders think that there should be true transparency, fairness and the justice of the election.
He gave this assurance when a joint high-powered delegation from the African Union, ECOWAS and the United Nations, led by Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, called on him at the Ministry to ascertain the countrys preparedness for Election 2016.

Bani said that mechanisms have been put in place to minimise threats and save lives and property.

The delegation conceded that Ghana is a beacon in Africa and therefore all were expecting that the country would hold credible elections. They also assured the minister of their support for Ghana to uphold its democratic credentials.

The Minister re-emphasized that Ghana is a country that upholds the Rule of Law and anyone who goes against the law would be severely dealt with.

He added that there was

On the subject of vigilante groups, the Minister affirmed the Ministrys position that those groups were not registered and therefore considered illegal; should there be any violence, they would be arrested as individuals.
The IGP has recently reiterated that he still stands by his earlier intentions to ban social media during the election if need be.

But Bani said the IGPs statement was taken out of context. And he, therefore, decided took

READ ALSO: Emmanuel Bombande against shutting down social media on election day

He was speaking to a joint high-level delegation from the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Accra on Wednesday.
Ghanas constitution currently allows an elected president to stay in office for four years after which he can seek re-election for a second term. Other African countries that practise similar system include Nigeria and Egypt. Most African countries have their presidents going for two 5 or 7-year terms.

Speaking at an International Society for African Philosophy and Studies (ISAPS) conference in Accra, Thursday Kufuor said the four-year term does not guarantee any mark of development and transformation.

He argued that the current term limits leaders from executing their plans effectively. But for him, an increase in the term of office will allow for more developmental projects by the president.

He further explained that if the term is increased, the President can familiarise himself with the office in the first few years, and then roll out his plan in subsequent years with little or no pressure.

Ex-President Kufuor governed Ghana from 2001  2009. In his last address to parliament, he made a similar request arguing that we simply copied from the American democracy.

READ ALSO: Kufuor indicted for agreeing to Kempinski Hotel deal without parliamentary approval
The impressive growth notwithstanding, the 20% penetration rate of mobile money in Ghana has still been described as inadequate by players in the telecom and financial sectors of the economy.

Apart from the penetration challenge, there seems to be lingering friction between the banks and the telcos as to the proper channels through which mobile money receipts lodged with the banks must be disbursed.

READ MORE:Possible haven for money laundering

While the telcos insist that the monies must be disbursed through them, given them the opportunity to conveniently take their service charges and pay vendors their facilitation fees as the BOG stipulates, the banks prefer to release monies to the customers directly.

This notwithstanding, some stakeholders from the telecom industry have lauded the contributions of the Bank of Ghana in developing strategies to effectively regulate the countrys mobile money market.

According to the General Manager for mobile financial services at MTN, Eli Hini, not only has the central bank worked to enforce the implementation of the regulations introduced in 2015 to guide the financial industry, but the regulators commitment to the changing phases of the mobile money market has contributed to increased patronage.
The nation has been so consumed with the topic and idea of marriage in 2016 (and 2015) and has become an obsession.

Last week, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of GodPastor E.A Adeboye was mocked by a section of online Nigerians for his sermon about the type of women that make good wives.

Today, (August 11, 2016) popular blogger Linda Ikeji spoke about the pressure of marrying before 30. Marriage is not an achievement. There is so much more to life than being someones wife. Get married please, but dont be pressured into it. I dont know how many of you single girls are under pressure to get married but I am. Pressure from family, friends and people who just cant mind their business," she said, adding, "The pressure is so intense right now I feel like going to husband market  if there is any such thing- to buy myself some breathing space. Give me a break you people she said in a recent interview.

Eligible bachelor Banky Whas written so much on marriage this year that he can pen his own book about the topic. We are still sniffing to find out if Dbanj truly got married and actress Halima Abubakar who loves talking about marriage says she cant have kids outside of wedlock.

Not only have Nigerians gone marriage crazy, celebrities have also joined in on the madness as well. Hardly a week goes by without a celebrity speaking about the over flogged topic.

It has been either the talk of marriage (as well as the pressure of getting married) or the crash of a high profile marriage (Tiwa Savage & Tee Billz) and former couples fighting (Toyin Aimakhu and Adeniyi Johnson).

Apart from the economic recession and politics, marriage is (likely) the most talked about subject in the country.

Why have celebrities caved in and joined the marriage discussion? Well it has to do with so-called fans who try to define the careers of our celebrities by marriage.

Nollywood amazon Genevieve Nnaji, 37, released her movie  last year and during her press rounds she was asked when she would be getting married.

Apparently Genevieve Nnaji releasing a Nollywood movie of international standard wasnt of any concern. The big deal was when Genevieve will be getting married. Despite her success many people feel that she needs a ring on her finger to be complete.

Many of our celebrities are viewed with this type of lens- you can do anything you want to do but if you are not married you havent yet done much.

The constant bashing, harassment and trolling has gotten to many of our celebrities and now they are speaking up. Its sort of annoying that they have to speak about marriage every time they are being interviewed.
Victoria Grace is a luxury brand known to fuse intricate aesthetics into her pieces. The womenswear brand is owned by Ijeoma J. Roenne a British-born Nigerian who has worked with Conde Nast UK, Vogue Magazine and Calvin Klein.

The 6th edition of the anticipated fashion event set to hold at the London Olympia West Hall, Kensington London on the 9th-10th September 2016 with an interactive conference on the 'Globalization of African Fashion' making a first time debut at this year's edition.

Over 60 designers from Africa and beyond are set to walk five catwalks with side attractions including exhibitions and performances slated to happen for the grand 6th edition.

The Lagos edition (AFWN 2016) was held recently at Eko Hotel and Suites with Yemi Alade as the ambassador (she's was unveiled as ambassador for AFWL as well ) and around 70 designers showcasing their latest collections at the grand event.

About Agatha Moreno

is a ready-to-wear fashion brand that is established to take care of everyones fashion need from average to elite, slim, big, curvy, short or tall, dark skinned or light; with funky and high-end casuals, blends of haute couture, red carpet wears, bridals, e.t.c.

The brand has clothed series of celebrities and top models. And has been featured on the cover of top lifestyle magazines. debuted at S fashion week and has since featured in A-Class fashion events

About Victoria Grace

Victoria Grace is an elegant fashion brand. The brand aims to dress women who love elegance, timeless style and luxury, blending either the East or the West with Africa. All Victoria Grace pieces speak elegance. The label closes the taste gap between cultures by creating a unique style; it is the ultimate taste of European-African joie de vivre.

Victoria Grace is an inimitable state of the art fashion label. Most pieces are limited and bespoke with an aesthetic towards couture-creation.

Details:

Date: 9th to 10th September 2016
The famous actor released his first ever collection with Scandinavian fashion brand Selected Homme and the pieces are so good (mindblowing for a debut collection actually).

ALSO READ:Why Orange Culture will be around for a long time

The actor showed off well tailored suit, jackets, t-shirts, biker/leather jackets and a whole lot touching on formal/red carpet looks, sporty casual, casual and more with the collection he modeled himself.

The actor hinted via Fashionbeans that his collection was inspired by his life on the red carpet as an actor who wanted to look good everytime he stepped out; on the red carpet or just running errands in a casual get up which he has infused into the collection that boasts of red carpet ready pieces as well as casual, sporty and more.

With retail set from 17 for a t-shirt up to 340 for a leather jacket the actor turned designer is definitely one to watch out for.

Antonio Banderas dumped acting for fashion school, Central Saint Martins in 2015 at age 55 to pursue his dreams of owning a successful fashion brand.
Abdul Khadar was one of 300 passengers on-board a Dubai bound flight who survived a crash after the aircraft caught fire as it was about to land on Wednesday, August 3, 2016.

According to Gulf News, the lucky man had bought a lottery ticket on his way to India for an holiday. He realized this was a winning slip upon his return to Dubai.

Full of good heart and care for the needy, Abdul Khadar has outlined how he plans to spend his winnings.

I clearly need to help the kids in Kerala who are less blessed than others and need some budgetary help and medicinal backing.

I would prefer not to offer it to a philanthropy or manufacture a business, I need to go out and discover individuals who truly require help and give them cash.
Daily Mail reports that Abolore hired one Anthony Ezekpo, to pretend to be the father of her new baby and register his birth in his name but the suspects were caught when she transferred 1,000 into Ezekpos account on the same day he was supposed to register the childs birth certificate.

According to court records, the UK police, during investigations, found out through online pictures, that the real father of the baby is one Peter Gentry, the younger brother of actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry's husband.

The trio of Fausat Abolore, Anthony Ezekpo and Samson Awoyinka

Photo Credit: Daily Mail

Investigators told the court that Abolore hired Ezekpo so she could gain British citizenship, using his name on the babys birth certificate and claiming she lived with Ezekpo, providing the UK authorities with a fake address.

Abolore reportedly gave birth to her son at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich on August 6, 2014, and was previously arrested in September last year and the jury heard that under Home Office investigation, she had no legal basis to be in the UK and when asked to take a paternity test, Abolore refused.
The pair, who recently reconnected have stated that their meeting was love at first sight, Daily Mail reports.

Mares affirmed that they plan to do everything possible to get acceptance in their relationship, including the right to have sexual intercourse.

ALSO READ: Mother confesses to sleeping with her son to maintain his wealth

It was almost love at first sight for us when we met for the first time last Christmas, since I gave him up for adoption.

We have vowed to fight for our right to have a sexual relationship and we appeal to the public to help donate to their legal fund and support us.

We successfully kept our relationship a secret when we lived happily together in a mobile home with my two youngest children.

But the police found out about the affair.

In his reaction, Peterson claimed to have made the first move on his mother, who apparently had the same thought as he did.

According to him, the woman has made him feel special, stating that he had never had anyone spoil him with meals
The woman's husband, Jamiu Adewunmi, had told the court that she could no longer stay married to her after discovering that she was practicing Christianity without his approval.

The husband, who is a devoted Muslim, mentioned that he does not love her anymore, as he could not accept two religions at his residence.

Now remorseful, Kehinde urged the court to intervene and disallow her estranged husband from going through with the divorce plans.

She stated that she is ready to please him and do whatever he wants. The idea of being without him seems totally off to her.

Please court; help me beg him, where will I get a man at my age to marry me if my husband divorces me.

I am ready to make amends wherever I might have made mistakes; I am not ready to divorce my husband.

I still love him and besides, I do not want my children to suffer this action because they are innocent. Please, safe my marriage.

In his reaction, Jamiu told the court that he is no longer in love with her after discovering pictures of his wife wearing a white religious garment.

My wife was always telling me that she was going for an Islam programme called Alasalatu, instead she would secretly go to a church to worship."

I got to know when I broke into her room in her absence because, lately, she was always locking the room and would keep its key closed to her chest."

So, I was curious to know what she was hiding in the room."

When I entered her room, I saw pictures where she wore a gown and cap belonging to one of the white garment churches."

In the pictures, she posed with some other worshippers wearing the same uniform."

I dont want her anymore because, I cannot condole another religion in my house except the one I am practicing, he said.

Adegboyega Omilola, who is the president of the court, told the couple to bring three members each from their families for a reconciliation at court.
Read his letter here:

"My name is Justin and I have been married for five years but my marriage is heading down the rocks because of the attitude of my wife, Idara. She is so troublesome and heady, so much that she fights and insults my family members, especially my parents.

Before we got married, Idara was one nice and gentle lady who showed so much love to my family and I can remember that it was my mother who insisted I get married to her because of her gentle nature. Idara was so accommodating and my siblings came to love her and often took sides with her whenever we had issues.

I never knew she was doing all those things to get them to support her because I also had another lady who also wanted me to marry her. Shortly after our wedding, Idara began showing signs of possessiveness and started laying down the rules.

She started getting petty and uncomfortable whenever members of my family came to visit. She made it clear they were not welcome and that they need to seek her permission before coming. At first, I thought she just wanted some privacy since we were newly married but I later noticed that her people were always welcome while she was mad anytime my people came.

I remember when mother came to visit and had planned to stay for some weeks but my wife told me plainly that my mother had to leave after just three days. I insisted that my mother can stay as long as she wanted but Idara got mad at this and took it out on my mother. She would starve the poor woman whenever I was not around, locking the food in the fridge or even locking the kitchen.

When my mother complained, my wife insulted her and told her she should go back to her husband's house or go and stay with her other children. I tried to talk sense into her but she insulted and abused the hell out of me.

This trend has continued and has caused a serious friction between my family and myself as they have vowed never to come to my house. My mother refused to come when our first child was born and almost two years down the line, she has not seen her grandchild while my siblings too have alienated me all because of my wife.

I am really fed up and don't know if I can continue in the marriage any longer.

Justin."

The teaser for the day was:

How Nigeria voted:

I will also stop his/her family members from coming to my house - 65%

I will try and manage the situation - 13%

I will divorce him/her - 22%
The chiefs said Aregbesola is encouraging the people of Osogbo community to take part of the land that belongs to Ede.

Representatives of the community also accused the Osun Governor of harbouring a grudge against them.

According to Punch, the National Vice-President of the Federation Council of Ede Descendants Union, Chief Moshood Adeleke, said This is the crux of the matter and this is why we are calling the attention of the general public to the decision of the Osun State government to ignite the suppressed tension in the state through its obnoxious and biased decision to annex a large part of Ede-North Local Government Area to Osogbo in disregard of the consequence of such a volatile policy.

Therefore, Ede community views the directive as a slap on our collective integrity and an attempt to personally cause confusion and tension in the state. More so, such a draconian directive has never been implemented since 1991 when Osun was created. It does more harm than good.

They also alleged that Aregbesola is trying to victimise, punish and frustrate the people of Ede community for no reason.

Adeleke also added that It is also very unconstitutional for Mr. Governor to have attempted to annex part of Ede North Local Government to Osogbo Local Government. There is nowhere in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, which empowers Mr. Governor to arbitrarily put part of a local government to another. An attempt to do this is a total violation of the constitution and a breach of the law.

Osun State lawmakers on Monday, August 8, 2016 said they are going through hell due to the financial challenges the state is facing.
It was because of their activities that a new Police division was opened in Burra but the police cannot carry out operation in the forest because it is a high risk operation.

They kidnap people daily, and receive between N3million and N5million as ransom.

Misau also said he will write to the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and the Department of State Security (DSS) to help.

He also alleged that the terrorists have been harassing people around Burra forest and taking their money.

Troops waging war against Boko Haram, have been bombarding the Sambisa forest hideout of the terrorists.
A statement issued by the US government also said it will disburse the funds through its agency for international development.

Adding that The savagery of Boko Haram has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and surrounding countries in the Lake Chad Basin region. Families have been driven from their homes, millions are left without enough to eat, and human rights abuses are widespread. Despite gradually improving security conditions, the humanitarian situation remains dire. Throughout the region, approximately five million people need emergency food assistance, and 2.5 million people are displaced.

The food assistance will be delivered to conflict-affected communities in the Diffa Region of Niger, including populations who fled their homes following the recent attacks in Bosso. This new food assistance will be coordinated with the humanitarian community in Nigeria to scale up the overall regional food response.

The statement also said With this announcement, the United States is providing more than $318m in humanitarian assistance since 2015 to the Lake Chad Basin region and continues to be the single largest humanitarian donor to the region.

In addition to humanitarian funding, USAID provides targeted assistance that seeks to reduce extreme poverty and improve the quality of life for Nigerias most vulnerable communities through improved governance and civic participation at the federal, state and local levels; reduced corruption; a strengthened private sector as a source of job creation; and improved quality of social service delivery.
This is following a petition which the former chairman of the House committee on appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin submitted to the police and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Jibrin also appeared before the EFCC recently to back-up his allegations and clear the air on certain issues.

On why Dogara shunned the police invitation, a source who spoke to Punch said The Speaker is the number four citizen of this country.

If you are sending a letter to him, there should be a signature of the Inspector-General of Police on it.

Meanwhile, a member of police committee dismissed the claim that its invitation was not signed by the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, saying anyone can sign the invitation.

Jibrin has also slammed the House Speaker for saying budget padding is not a crime, when that was the reason he gave for removing him from the position of chairman.

The former chairman also said God is using him to answer President Buhari's prayer against corruption.
Buhari made the comment on Thursday, August 11, 2016, while meeting with the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), Professor Babatunde Osotimehin at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President said:

It has been a very difficult year for Nigeria. Before we came to office, petroleum sold for about $100 per barrel. Then it crashed to $37, and now oscillates between $40 and $45 per barrel.

Suddenly, were a poor country, but commitment to transparency and accountability is not making people know that there is severe shortage.

President Buhari has been blamed for the economic crisis in the country with members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accusing him of brining negative change.
The meeting, which held in President Buharis office, is said to have lasted about an hour.

I came to discuss national and international matters, general matters, thats all! Professor Soyinka said when questioned by journalists on the purpose of the meeting after it had ended.
In a series of tweets on Thursday, August 11, Fani-Kayode said if the search, however, fails, the President and the north will be against restructuring, which according to him is the way forward for the country.
This is coming after Jonathan debunked the allegation that he is the founder of the Niger Delta militant group.

The RNDA, in a statement sent to Pulse News, titled: How NDA Was Formed, the spokesperson of the group, Cynthia Whyte, insisted that GEJ is the founder of the NDA.

Whyte also alleged that the Niger Delta Avengers was formed to counter the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), after secret talks with Charles Okah failed.

The RNDA spokesperson said the name, Avengers came from the lips of former President Jonathan.

Read the full statement: To cut a long story short, NDA was formed to counter MEND but failed. It therefore did not come to the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) as a surprise that the Grand Patron of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has distanced himself from the NDA. Like every sponsor, sympathizer and operative earlier mentioned who has equally denied links with the Avengers, we can understand the wisdom behind their decision; as their participation was always meant to be covert.

After a clandestine meeting in Otuoke, Bayelsa state in 2014 between the Grand Patron and several unidentified persons ahead of the Presidential election campaign of 2015, it was agreed that the Okah brothers should be contacted to reach out to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to endorse former President Goodluck Jonathan, and work with the group of persons to ensure victory for the PDP and President Jonathan.

At the time, because MEND was the suggested tool, the NDA as a body was not yet formed.

Mr Kingsley Kuku and Mr. Gordon Obuah, SA on Niger Delta and Chief Security Officer to President Jonathan, respectively were selected to visit Charles Okah in Kuje prison. Mr Daniel Alabrah was given the assignment to draft an endorsement statement for Charles Okah to go through and pass on to MEND.

The duo reported back that they had visited Okah in Kuje prison at night with the promise of his release along with others should he cooperate to get MEND to endorse Jonathan.

It therefore came as a shock when MEND did the opposite and endorsed Buhari. Mr. Jonathan was livid with anger and swore that the Okah's would rot in prison.

It was also agreed that a show of force be put up in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state where ex-militants led by Government Ekpemupolo and Kingsley Kuku would threaten war should the electorate vote in Buhari's favour.

It was around that period the idea of forming the Niger Delta Avengers was conceived. In fact the name "Avengers" came from the lips of Goodluck Jonathan.

As election day approached, certain stakeholders were mobilized to form a force to standby and ensure total anarchy in the South-South and South-East within 24 hours if the election results were not favourable to Jonathan. It took everyone by surprise to learn that Mr

Jonathan had conceded defeat even before the final results were released. The standby force who were to attack specific targets were told to stand down. They were all compensated in US dollars cash.

The Niger Delta Avengers was born from the failure at the polls and would now be used as an organ to make the Buhari government ungovernable, bring economic hardship and cause hatred for the administration towards failure at the 2019 general elections.

MEND was aware of this plot through a spy that could not be identified, and the group began its campaign to counter every effort of the NDA and the Biafra agitators to this day. MEND has been a thorn in the flesh because MENDs successful propaganda has caused the split in our ranks today.

If former President Jonathan provokes us further with denials of this revelation, we will reveal more sordid details. The prison authorities in Kuje who witnessed the closed door meeting from the outside can attest to that night visit of November 2014.

The Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) named Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, former Governor, Godswill Akpabio and Raymond Dokpesi, Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo),the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB),Kingsley Kuku, Kimi Angozi, Patrick Akpobolokemi, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state and a host of others, as sponsors of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

Jonathan also alleged that the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is plotting to assassinate him.
The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) said in a statement late Wednesday they had shown they were "men of (their) word" by destroying part of the Urhobo pipeline in oil-rich Delta State on Tuesday.

The creation of the group was announced scarcely two days earlier by its spokesman, self-proclaimed "general" Aldo Agbalaja, who warned that the NDGJM would strike at oil installations within 48 hours.

A security source confirmed an attack using dynamite on the Uzere-Eriemu line in the Isoko South area of Delta State.

Communities near the pipeline, which is owned by the state-run Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), are suffering from pollution caused by leaking oil, the source added.

"We started noticing crude oil on our land only to be told that it is as a result of crude oil spill from a trunk line conveying crude from Isoko to the Eriemu manifold," said Victor Emuherie, leader of a youth movement in the affected village of Agbarha-Otor.

The populous Niger Delta region on the Gulf of Guinea has for decades seen attacks by local militants on oil installations run by the NPDC and by foreign oil giants, causing successive governments to deploy troops.

The NDGJM warned that Tuesday's attack was only a preview of its activities to come and urged multinational companies "to evacuate their personnel".

- 'Quite murky' talks -

The government last week resumed payment of allowances to former fighters under an amnesty scheme primarily involving ex-rebels of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

MEND is a historic armed movement demanding reparations and a fair share of oil revenue for residents of the Niger Delta, which has seen spin-offs by radicals who want independence for the region and refuse to recognise Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, as Nigeria's president.

Attacks by another more active group, the Niger Delta Avengers, have led to a sharp fall in oil production since the start of the year in a country already hit by tumbling prices for crude, which accounts for 70 percent of state revenue.

Oil analyst Rhidoy Rashid said the renewed amnesty payments to MEND are unlikely to stop attacks on oil infrastructure.

"These payments don't actually include the Niger Delta Avengers," said Rashid, who works at the London-based consultancy Energy Aspects, "so they won't decrease the frequency of attacks".

Rashid described rumoured talks between the Niger Delta Avengers and the Nigerian government as "quite murky".

"Perhaps there are discussions going on behind the scenes, but really we think it's going to be difficult because the government is not prepared to give into the new militants."

- Splinter group? -

A war of words stepped up early this month when a purported splinter group of the Niger Delta Avengers said that former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan was sponsoring the militants.

Cynthia White, spokesperson for the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, said in a statement that the breakaway group would "co-operate with the government by exposing the identities of our comrades who remain stubborn in their insistence to continue attacks".

In response the Niger Delta Avengers that their "household is intact" and dismissed White and her group as "government agents".

Lagos-based security analyst Don Okereke said that the splinter group's origin and claims seem suspicious.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, August 11, when he received a delegation from the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN), Mohammed urged the media to desist from propagating negative news about the country, stressing that it would discourage investors and be counter productive to tourism growth.

He said: "Recently, all the newspapers carried the negative story that 20 states in Nigeria are not safe, according to a U.S. report.

"We are in Nigeria, how can we believe the claim that 20 states in Nigeria are not safe.

"That is not correct. There is no state in Nigeria that is not safe today.

"Is there any week they are not killing people in the U.S. by either shooting in schools or driveways or people committing suicide or mass bombing.

"How many of these stories do their media celebrate?

"If they want to tell their people not to come to Nigeria, it is not for us to help them propagate it.

The minister urged the media and members of the association to complement efforts of government to reposition the tourism sector.

He noted that tourism is driven by perception rather than reality, adding that every Nigerian must invest in perception management for the country.

The minister also urged leaders in the public and private sectors to help promote local tourism by spending their vacations and holidays at tourist sites within the country.
For today, August 11 2016:

THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

SEC to end issuance of e-dividend warrant by June 2017

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has directed all registrars operating in the Nigerian capital market to end the issuance of e-dividend warrant to investors by June 31, 2017.

Economy bleeds as blue chips lose N51.8b

With four major blue-chip companies losing as much as N51.86 billion in the first half of 2016, the lot of the manufacturing sector is getting bleaker.

Nigeria records highest drop in output at OPEC

Nigeria is fast losing its clout among global oil producers as the country recorded the highest drop in crude production in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July.

THE VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

How Nigeria lost top position in GDP to South Africa

ABUJASouth Africas economy has regained the position of Africas largest in dollar terms more than two years after losing it to Nigeria as the value of the nations currencies moved in opposite directions. Based on gross domestic product at the end of 2015 published by the International Monetary Fund, the size of South Africas economy is $301 billion at the rands current exchange rate, while Nigerias GDP is $296 billion.

How bigwigs formed Avengers militant group

WARRITHE Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, RNDA, yesterday, released more details of how sponsors of Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, formed the militant group in Bayelsa State and shared US dollars to ex-militants at one of the meetings. READ MORE

Army court-martials 20 soldiers for selling ammunition to terrorists, murder

MAIDUGURI  The Nigerian Army, yesterday, court-martialed 20 officers and men for various offences allegedly committed within the Theatre Command of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-East sub-region of the country. READ MORE

THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

Police arrest pastor behind serial car theft

He explained that it was their sixth in the last few months, adding that he usually sold the cars at 60,000 to one Maxwell who resided in Port Harcourt. READ MORE

Budget padding: Dogara shuns police invitation

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has shunned the invitation of the police Special Investigating Panel over allegations of budget padding. READ MORE

Jonathan formed Avengers before 2015 polls  RNDA

The Reformed Niger Delta Avengers says former President Goodluck Jonathan formed the Niger Delta Avengers in 2014 during the build-up to the presidential election. READ MORE

THE NATION NEWSPAPER

Sheriff shuns peace move six days to PDP convention

Six days to its National Convention in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, all is still not well with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). READ MORE

EFCC investigates missing N3b military operation cash

How did the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) utilise the multi-billion naira it collected from some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for military operations between 2007 and 2015?

Fed Govt stops PTAs from collecting levies in Unity schools

The Federal Government has banned the collection of development levies by Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) in the 104 Unity colleges. READ MORE

THE BUSINESS DAY NEWSPAPER

Nigeria begins overhaul of tax policy as oil incomes shrink

Nigeria, still struggling to rev up revenues as oil incomes thin out - has now commenced an overhaul of its tax policy which had bred multiplicity in tax process, complexities and also discouraged compliance.

Ship traffic into Nigerian ports falls 77.8% on economic downturn

The number of oceangoing vessels bringing imports, including finished goods and raw materials into the country declined by 77.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 with cargo volumes dropping from about 62 million Gross Tonnage (GT) to about 35 million GT.

Two years ago, Nigeria loses Africa's top economy spot to S/Africa
I expected a movie on sexual harassment at place of work, office politics and most especially, rape. Watching the movie, I saw one that told an interesting and entertaining 'love gone sour' story.

Synopsis."The Arbitration" tells the story of Gbenga (O.C Ukeje) and his employee Dara (Adesua Etomi) who had an affair. After the affair ended and Dara left the company, she sued Gbenga and accused him of rape. An arbitration panel was constituted to find out the truth.

Despite its official synopsis, the movie isn't one that addresses a rape case with the aim of having a winner or loser. It probably subconsciously raises the question "when is 'rape' really 'rape?' But it isn't that movie addressing one of the most topical recent issues in Nigeria.

However, it is an interesting and brilliantly scripted Nollywood movie, which focuses on a hardworking young woman fighting to get back everything she worked and laboured for.

The movie kicks off introducing Gbenga as a rich billionaire who can afford the best lawyer to get him out of a rape lawsuit, except there isn't a judge, but an arbitrator (Sola Fosudo).

We also get to meet the confident lawyer Omawumi Horsfall (Somkele) and the overconfident lawyer, Funlayo Johnson (Ireti Doyle). Then we meet the claimant Dara Olujobi, who was supposedly raped by her married boss and ex lover, and forced to give up her shares worth millions, after their affair ended.

Recently, most Nollywood movies can't be faulted when it comes to picture quality as most films tend to focus heavily on that, shifting from the core of filmmaking which is the story and its interpretation. However, "The Arbitration" offers a fresh and original story scripted by Chinaza Onuzo, and stellar performances from cast led by Ireti Doyle.

"The Arbitration" is one that comes with intelligent conversations which stands out from the accustomed awkward romantic exchanges, and not-so-funny dialogue found in most Nollywood comedy movies.

From Brymo's "Femi" to Annie Lennox's "I Put a Spell on You," the film's music is quintessential, and moves in a manner conforming with the film's story and narrative.

Talking about the visual effects of the film, the movie isn't one with too many lens flare that spoils a film or distracts.

"The Arbitration" is an intelligent script, brought to life by a talented director, Niyi Akinmolayan. Hislatest outing as a director passes with flying colors, demonstrating how his craft has grown since his last cinema outing "Falling."

Despite the films screenplay moving back and forth on a round table in a room with an arbitrator presiding over the proceedings, it is still easy to connect with the characters and their various emotions.

Now, can we talk about the performances? Unlike most Nollywood movies, the film doesn't depend on a particular cast to be brought to life. It rides completely on the shoulders of its stellar cast.

Sola Fosodo as the arbitrator does an amazing job, however, the makers' idea of giving his character amusing ties seems to lessen his overall seriousness as an arbitrator.

Ireti Doyle handles her character as a no-nonsense professional lawyer with perfection and class. Doyle as Funlayo Johnson is without doubt one of the best performances so far for the year. And from "Fifty" to "The Arbitration," Doyle hasn't taken a step back towards being a complete performer.

OC Ukeje excels in playing his character Gbenga Sanni with utmost conviction and confidence. Adesua Etomi as Dara Olujobi brings in the complete Etomi quotient to the film and acts her part very well.

The ease with which Somkele as Omawumi Horsfallis brought to life, is completely adorable, praiseworthy, and screams talent...

The magnetism between Dara and Gbenga is applaudable. Something about their combination presents movie lovers with yet another scorching on-chemistry. Not only do their sexy scenes resonate, but also their banter, and fight scenes.

Gregory Ojefua impressed us in "Suru L'ere." He was an interesting part of "Not Just Married," and he held his part once again in "The Arbitration." However, I found his character a bit exaggerated and unrealistic - he is a geek not a twerp. In a bid to portray him as a comic relief, the character came off as exaggerated and unintelligent. I also hope Ojefua's talent doesn't get concealed in comic characters that just help to move stories forward - he deserves more.

The scene featuring the arbitrator and his paralegal (Lota Chukwu), her response to his 'what do you think of this case?' question, and her illustration, are as realistic as a real life event can get. A response I would love to believe as a viewer played a pivotal role, and helped the arbitrator make his final decision. A response that explains that life can't always be a movie, and sometimes humans are forced to make desperate decisions to move further.

"The Arbitration" is a movie that requires the viewers utmost attention as it uses the flashback technique to take viewers through the various accounts - get distracted, and get confused.

On the whole, "The Arbitration" is a brilliantly scripted movie which is engaging and funny at times. It is a movie I totally recommend for a movie lover interested in an intelligent and refreshing Nollywood movie.
The 4-day film screening event to be hosted by Ooni of Ife, HRH Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, will take place at the cradle of the Yoruba race and the citadel of cultural tourism in South Western Nigeria, Ile Ife, Osun State.

Ile Ife is the ancestral home of the progenitor of the Yoruba people, Oduduwa and the source of Yoruba civilization.

The Yoruba Film Festival (YFF), according to the founder and initiator, Segun Omoworare is created to screen films with Yoruba theme.

The festival, according to the organisers would exhibit industry interactions, features films, shorts, documentaries, conversations and awards in order to explore the Yoruba identity, the contemporary Yoruba experience in Nigeria and Africa and the richness of Yoruba culture in a diverse modern world.

The mission of the Yoruba Film Festival (YFF) is to offer a platform to promote outstanding films and videos that communicate positive, appropriate and accurate images of Yoruba people; expose the richness of the Yoruba historical and cultural heritage as preserved in films; celebrate and appreciate the creativity, imagination and hardwork of the Yoruba filmmakers; encourage filmmakers interaction and sharing of knowledge on innovations and developments; to support the growth of young, upwardly mobile and future Yoruba filmmakers; provide a forum for festival audiences to engage filmmakers in open and robust dialogue.

The Yoruba people pioneered the film industry in Nigeria with the itinerant Alarinjo Theatre, made popular by the late theatre doyen, Chief Hubert Ogunde.

The Yoruba indigenous movie thrives in Nollywood, adjudged Africas largest movie industry in terms of value and the number of movies produced per year.

It is also Nigerias most persuasive cultural agent and significant cultural export.

Significantly, films of Yoruba cultural distinction lead the regional creative sectors and are noteworthy to Nollywoods output.

"There is no doubt that the Yoruba heritage of dance, drama and storytelling, which formed the superstructure of the enduring itinerant Yoruba Traveling Theater (Alarinjo) was a stimulus to the emergence of Nollywood", said Omoworare.
In an open letter titled "International Youth Day: A Wake-Up Call", to Nigerian youths on Thursday, August 11, 2016, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain recalled that Anthony Enahoro, Yakubu Gowon and Muhammadu Buhari all attained leadership positions at very tender age during the military era.

Frank noted that that the United Arab Emirate had a 22-year old minister of youth while the chairman of the ruling party in Kenya was just 31.

"I wish to urge the present administration to give the youths their rightful quota in appointments yet to be made as the youths are currently less than 10 per cent of the total appointment made so far", he said.

"We also need to leverage on our number to demand that ministers of youth affairs should, be appointed from of persons between 25-40 years of age", he added.

Frank who called on Nigerian youths to massively support the #NotTooYoungToRun bill urged the National Assembly to ensure its passage into law.

He expressed optimism that the bill would lay a solid foundation for a desired paradigm shift in the governance of the country through equitable, fair and just youth representation.

He called on the government at all levels in the country to "immediately evolve policies towards a holistic investment in youth in order to make the saying that 'youths are the future leaders' a reality in our time".

Frank who urged youths to shun electoral violence said they should "as a matter of priority" sit with candidates seeking elective positions, beginning from 2019, to sign a pact aimed at ensuring 50 per cent youth participation in governance.
The RNDA also said that Jonathan chose the name Avengers and is the groups Grand Patron.

The group also threatened to reveal more about the alleged relationship between the former president and the NDA.

The comments were contained in a statement released by RNDA spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte and obtained by Sahara Reporters.

The statement reads in part:

The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, and Mr. Gordon Obuah, the Chief Security Officer to President Jonathan, respectively were selected to visit Charles Okah in Kuje prison.

Mr. Daniel Alabrah was given the assignment to draft an endorsement statement for Charles Okah to go through and pass on to MEND. According to the account, both men reported back that they had visited Okah in Kuje prison at night with the promise of his release along with others should he cooperate to get MEND to endorse Jonathan.

It therefore came as a shock when MEND did the opposite and endorsed Buhari. Jonathan was livid with anger and swore that the Okahs would rot in prison.

It was around that period the idea of forming the Niger Delta Avengers was conceived. In fact, the name Avengers came from the lips of Goodluck Jonathan.

As Election Day approached, certain stakeholders were mobilised to form a force to standby and ensure total anarchy in the South-South and the South-East within 24 hours if the election results were not favourable to Jonathan.

It took everyone by surprise to learn that Mr. Jonathan had conceded defeat even before the final results were released. The standby force that was supposed to attack specific targets was told to stand down. They were all compensated in US dollars cash.

MEND endorsed Buhari for the Presidency on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 via a statement released by its spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), upon careful consideration of the state of the nation, endorses and fully supports the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari, the statement had read.

Our decision to throw our full support on Gen. Mohammadu Buhari stems from the pathetic state in which the country has been put by the government of Goodluck Jonathan and our strong believe in Buhari as the man and change the country needs. President Goodluck Jonathan does not deserve a second more in the Presidency as soon as his tenure expires as he has continuously and blatantly disregarded the very people who voted him into office, it added.

The RNDAs allegations are reminiscent of accusations made by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo who said that Jonathan was training snipers in preparation for the 2015 elections.

ALSO READ: MEND congratulates Buhari on 2015 election win

Obasanjo made the allegations via an 18-page letter written to Jonathan in December 2013.He also accused Jonathan of putting 1000 political opponents on a watch list.
The Delta APC made the comments after state PDP Chairman, Kingsley Esiso said the ruling party brought negative change to Nigeria.

Esiso also said that the PDP would overthrow the APC during the 2019 general elections.

The Delta APCs comments were contained in a statement released by Chairman, Jones Erue.

The statement reads:

If President Goodluck Jonathan was still in power, fathers would have been selling their children for them to get their daily bread.

What Esiso should be doing is to ask Governor Ifeanyi Okowa what he did with the N15billion bailout fund received from the federal government since his assumption of office.

Prior to the 2015 general election, local government workers in the state were owed over 8months salary backlog, was it Buhari too that caused that?
Also, a chieftain of the PDP, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, said the party is sure that the convention will hold.

Ihedioha also slammed the embattled Chairman of the PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff, calling him an interloper.

The PDP chieftain said We will be focused and confident that the national convention of the PDP will hold. We cannot be distracted by agents that are against the ideals of our party.

Sheriff is an interloper. No one has the authority to say that he has cancelled or suspended the convention. Decisions were taken at a national convention that was held in Port Harcourt. The party constitution is supreme.
The Delta PDP Chairman made the comments on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 during a meeting with the PDP Patriotic Ladies in Asaba, Vanguard reports.

For about two years now, Nigerians have witnessed negative change that has brought injuries, hardship and high cost of living to them, Esiso said.

They came with the mantra of change that former President Goodluck Jonathan was not doing well but the reverse is now the case. We will endure till 2019 to change the change, he added.
The former governor made the comments on Monday, August 8, 2016, while speaking to journalists in the Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of the state.

If my party finds me worthy of the partys presidential ticket to serve Nigeria, I will thank God and oblige. Although there are issues in the party that we are all working to resolve, we hope to have success soon and come out united, he said.

As Im talking to you now, we are working silently to resolve our differences and bring back to our fold those that left the party for APC," he added.
The National President of the Association, Comr. Idongesit Micah stated this position in Asaba, Delta State yesterday, August 10, when she visited the State Police command Headquarters on a fact finding mission over the well reported case where a lecturer was caught naked trying to sleep with a Delta State University female student, Miss Esther Omokinovo at Wembley Hotel.

The victim had earlier informed the National President that the randy lecturer has been harassing her sexually and has been threatening to fail her if she refused to comply to his sexual desires hence she decided to inform the police that she has accepted the demand of the lecturer and invited the police to the hotel room.

ALSO READ: Lecturer caught pants down in hotel

The fiery student's activist expressed her dissatisfaction with the delay in apprehending the suspect before a competent court of Justice. She also hinted of the group's intention to petition the Inspector General of Police to take over investigation of the matter. saying, "our attorneys has been briefed accordingly".

In that same vein, the umbrella body of all female student groups in the country has strongly urged the National Assembly to expedite the legislative processes left in the passage of the pending Sexual Harassment Prohibition bill which has become neccesary due to the important role it will play in serving victims from the humiliation and inhumane treatment being meted on female Students by randy lecturers, adding that, "this event has vindicated our position at the public hearing of the bill recently, a position which of course was stoutly opposed by ASUU".

Micah stressed that the present legal lacuna is only benefiting randy lecturers who may still be set free after police investigations even when found guilty as there is no relevant laws for now to punish offenders of sexual harassment, especially of female students.
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Rida Issa, a spokesman for the forces, said it was not clear how the plane crashed. Islamic State said it had shot down the jet, killing the pilot, according to a statement on a website close to the jihadist group.

Forces aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government launched their campaign for Sirte in May. On Aug. 1, the United States began air strikes to help them advance against militants encircled in the centre of the Mediterranean coastal city.

U.S. drones and fighter jets have carried out a total of 29 strikes since then, targeting several IS emplacements on Monday and a gun-mounted pick-up truck on Tuesday, according to statements by U.S. Africa Command.

Libyan fighter jets have also been flying regular missions over Sirte, the hometown of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, whose fall in an 2011 uprising precipitated years of factional anarchy in the oil-exporting North African country.

The U.N.-backed government arrived in Tripoli in March, but has struggled to impose its authority and faces continuing resistance from armed factions that control eastern Libya.

On the ground in Sirte, Libyan forces led by brigades from the city of Misrata have suffered heavy casualties from Islamic State mines and sniper fire. Clashes have been sporadic, with heavier fighting interspersed with lulls that last for several days.

"Our forces are making progress in their attack against Daesh (Islamic State), and have recaptured the University of Sirte," Issa said. They had also advanced to a cluster of unfinished buildings used by Islamic State snipers just west of the centre of Sirte, he said.
Backed by a helicopter, counter-terror squads raided HDP offices in the central Istanbul district of Beyoglu at 3 a.m. (0000 GMT) as armoured vehicles and a water cannon vehicle were deployed nearby, the Dogan news agency reported.

The raids came after bomb blasts in two cities in southeast Turkey killed nine civilians and wounded dozens on Wednesday evening, according to security sources who said Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants were responsible.

A top PKK commander had warned at the weekend of fresh attacks, saying police "will not be able to live as comfortably as they did in the past in cities."

The HDP, parliament's third biggest party, wrote on its Istanbul Twitter account that police had broken open the door of its building and "illegally" searched the offices when no party official was present.

The raids, in 10 districts across Turkey's largest city, targeted the "urban structure" of the PKK, Anadolu said.

It said the detainees were accused of "terror group membership", recruitment and staging illegal protests.
Jaelyn Young, who converted to Islam while studying at Mississippi State University, was jailed on terrorism charges on Thursday, August 11, by US District Judge Sharion Aycock.

In March, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Young's parents had pleaded for leniency as she had faced up to 20 years in prison. She reportedly broke down in tears as was about to be sentenced, saying she was ashamed of her actions.

ALSO READ: ISIS beheads 4 footballers after banning sport

Report said her fiance, Muhammad Dakhlalla, pleaded guilty on March 11 to a similar charge, but his own sentencing is set for August 24. Prosecutors said Young had persuaded Dakhlalla into the plan
Authorities said water levels were rising on the Blue Nile along border with Ethiopia after continuous rainfall in that country.

"The Blue Nile is rising because of continuous heavy rainfall in Ethiopia," Mohameddin Abu al-Qasim of the interior ministry told AFP.

"We warn residents living on both sides of the Nile to be cautious."

The water levels were rising particularly rapidly in the state of Blue Nile bordering Ethiopia, the official news agency SUNA reported.

At least 76 people have been killed due to flooding elsewhere in Sudan, Interior Minister Ismat Abdul-Rahman said last week.

The United Nations aid agencies had warned of flooding in Sudan between July and November this year.

The most affected states are Kassala, Sennar, South Kordofan, West Kordofan and North Darfur, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.

"Heavy rain and flooding since early June have affected over 122,000 people and destroyed over 13,000 houses in many parts of Sudan," it said in a statement released on Wednesday.

A downpour in August 2013 was the worst to hit Khartoum in 25 years, affecting tens of thousands of people, the UN said.
The Washington Post

 Record-shattering temperatures this summer have scorched countries from Morocco to Saudi Arabia and beyond, as climate experts warn that the severe weather could be a harbinger of worse to come.

In coming decades, U.N. officials and climate scientists predict that the regions mushrooming populations will face extreme water scarcity, temperatures almost too hot for human survival and other consequences of global warming.

If that happens, conflicts and refugee crises far greater than those now underway are probable, said Adel Abdellatif, a senior adviser at the U.N. Development Programs Regional Bureau for Arab States who has worked on studies about the effect of climate change on the region.

This incredible weather shows that climate change is already taking a toll now and that it is  by far  one of the biggest challenges ever faced by this region, he said.

These countries have grappled with remarkably warm summers in recent years, but this year has been particularly brutal.

Parts of the United Arab Emirates and Iran experienced a heat index  a measurement that factors in humidity as well as temperature  that soared to 140 degrees in July, and Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, recorded an all-time high temperature of nearly 126 degrees. Southern Moroccos relatively cooler climate suddenly sizzled last month, with temperatures surging to highs between 109 and 116 degrees. In May, record-breaking temperatures in Israel led to a surge in heat-related illnesses.

Temperatures in Kuwait and Iraq startled observers . On July 22, the mercury climbed to 129 degrees in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. A day earlier, it reached 129.2 in Mitribah, Kuwait. If confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization, the two temperatures would be the hottest ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere.

The bad news isnt over, either. Iraqs heat wave is expected to continue this week.

Stepping outside is like walking into a fire, said Zainab Guman, a 26-year-old university student who lives in Basra. Its like everything on your body  your skin, your eyes, your nose  starts to burn, she said.

Guman has rarely left home during daylight hours since June, when temperatures started rising above 120 degrees and metal objects outside turned into searing-hot hazards.

About that time, Aymen Karim also began feeling trapped.

The 28-year-old engineer at a government-run oil company in Basra said employees were ordered to stay home for several days in the past month. He and his family try not to go outside before 7 p.m.

Were prisoners, Karim said.

Bassem Antoine, an Iraqi economist, said the weather has inflicted serious damage to the countrys economy. He estimates that Iraqs gross domestic product  about $230 billion annually  has probably contracted 10 to 20 percent during the summer heat.

Iraqi officials say scores of farmers across the country have been struggling with wilting crops, and general workforce productivity has decreased.

Hospitals, meanwhile, have seen an uptick in the number of people suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis displaced by battles between government forces and Islamic State militants have endured the heat in tents and other makeshift shelters. Humanitarian organizations have been unable to reach all of them because of budget constraints, restrictions by Iraqs government and risks associated with operating in war zones.

A lot of these people are probably dying, but its hard to know, said an official at an aid organization who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and so spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In Baghdad, the capital, the temperature measured at the international airport has reached 109 degrees or higher nearly every day since June 19. The city has been 10 and even 20 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year.

The government has declared multiple mandatory official holidays because of the heat. When that happens, many public employees turn up to work anyway because of the air conditioning available at government offices.

Most Iraqi homes and businesses suffer daily power cuts for 12 hours or more, and most Iraqis  unlike their rich neighbors in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia  are too poor to afford 24-hour air conditioning anyway. Such a luxury requires paying expensive fees for gas-powered generators.

During daylight hours, Baghdads streets are empty, but some businesses remain open. Its either sweat at work or starve at home, said Eissa Mohsen, who owns a fruit stand in the Karrada area of downtown Baghdad.

Look over there! Thats an air-conditioning unit, but I cant afford to pay the generator fees to run it, he said at his shop on a recent day.

The immediate cause of all this misery is a stubborn high-pressure system, but a fundamental shift in the countrys weather patterns appears to be taking place, said Mahmoud Abdul-Latif, spokesman for Iraqs meteorological department. In Baghdad, he said, the number of days with temperatures at 118 degrees or higher has more than doubled in recent years.

If you look back 40 years ago, youd have these temperatures for four or five days, but then the wind would kick up dust and that would cool the surface. Thats just not happening now, he said.

Climate scientists say this shouldnt be surprising.

A study published by the journal Nature Climate Change in October predicted that heat waves in parts of the Persian Gulf could threaten human survival toward the end of the century. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Cyprus Institute in Nicosia recently predicted a similarly grim fate for the Middle East and North Africa, a vast area currently home to about a half-billion people.

The regions governments are generally not prepared to deal with rapidly growing populations and climactic shifts, said Francesca de Chatel, an Amsterdam-based expert on Middle Eastern water issues. For years, she said, they have failed to address these problems adequately despite warnings from climate experts and U.N. agencies, and it may be too late now.

The United Nations predicts that the combined population of 22 Arab countries will grow from about 400 million to nearly 600 million by 2050. That would place tremendous stress on countries where climate scientists predict significantly lower rainfall and saltier groundwater from rising sea levels. Already, most countries in the region face acute water crises because of dry climates, surging consumption and wasteful agricultural practices.

Analysts point to inadequate government handling of an unprecedented drought in Syria as a trigger for the countrys devastating civil war, which has produced extraordinary refugee flows that have spilled into Europe.

Last year, Iraqis rallied in Baghdad against their governments inability to provide enough electricity during another scorching summer heat wave. Little, if anything, resulted from those demonstrations. According to some estimates, Iraqs population of about 33 million people will nearly double by 2050.

The countries in the region are not prepared to cope with the effects of climate change, said de Chatel.

Such a blistering future doesnt seem like a far-off possibility to 33-year-old Arkan Farhan, who lives with his family near Baghdad in a tin hut at camp for people displaced by the Islamic State.

Last month, he said, he contracted typhoid from a communal water source that has become particularly crowded  and filthy  this summer. To cool off, his sons use it to fill a pan for bathing.

This month, his 69-year-old father, Jassam, was taken to the hospital after passing out from the heat.

Fortunately, he was only bruised. He didnt break any bones, Farhan said of his father while sitting in his sweltering shack. Iraqis are strong people. But this heat is like a fire. Can people live in fire?

Mustafa Salim in Baghdad and Sheikha al-Dosary in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributed this report.
A new nonprofit, Lead(H)er, created a spark of excitement Wednesday night among the young Quad-City women it hopes to help and the experienced leaders who will lead the way.

Dozens of Quad-Citians gathered at Me & Billy in downtown Davenport for the official launch of Lead(H)er. The organization is the brainchild of Melissa Pepper, a 2009 Augustana College graduate.

In awe of the nearly 100 filling the reception room, Pepper said, "Thank you for being here as we ignite a conversation about young women, their careers and who will be beside them as they grow."

The startup organization intends to match young women with community leaders to not only help fuel their careers, but also help them become more engaged in the community, she said.

In an interview, Pepper said the program has been operating in pilot mode for the past six months. Lead(H)er's goal is to make 100 matches of young women and mentors in the first year with its Strike a Match program. "We're so excited to get more young women digging deep in this community."

"We want to get young women to volunteer in the community and see their potential to be leaders or to serve on a board  be it school board, a nonprofit organization or city council,'' said Pepper, a Genesis Foundation Board member.

The new marketing director for Lane & Waterman, she credits her career success to the community, her involvement and the mentors she has had. A Byron, Illinois, native, Pepper turned down an opportunity to take a job in Chicago to stay in the Quad-Cities. "I didn't want to start all over on my community involvement."

As part of the launch, she was presented with a $10,000 Nation of Neighbors Award from Royal Neighbors of America CEO Cynthia Tidwell to help fund the startup organization.

"We are all about empowering women. We were about empowering women 120 years ago," Tidwell said as she told how nine women started the business in order for women to be able to get insurance for the first time.

RNA's Nation of Neighbors Awards empower individuals to reach new goals, especially those creating new businesses or organizations that help women and girls. Ten $10,000 grants will be presented across the nation this year. Since 2007, more than 12,000 families have been helped and more than $1.8 million has been awarded, she said.

The kick-off was sponsored by Northwest Bank & Trust, Missman Inc., Royal Neighbors of America, Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center and Integrity Integrated.
Immediately following an hour-long town hall meeting Thursday in Davenport, U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, walked over to my table, pointed to the screen of a cellphone and said, "We just got this. The inspector general is launching a full-blown investigation."

But he has no idea what to expect.

Maybe we'll find out whether Davenport veteran Brandon Ketchum really was flat-out turned away by the Iowa City VA the day before he committed suicide? Maybe we'll find out someone has been held accountable for offering the opposite of help when Brandon begged for it?

Maybe we'll find out Brandon portrayed his July 7 experience at the VA unfairly, inaccurately? Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to carry out a plan that had been incubating for years in his troubled mind?

Or maybe we'll learn something short of nothing.

"I know all about HIPPA privacy," Loebsack said of the federal health care law that also protects health records. "I can't predict what we'll get."

The Iowa congressman, who knows firsthand about mental-health problems from growing up with a mother who was a sufferer, said he has a meeting set up with a top VA official. Despite his clout, Loebsack could not gain access to the secretary of the VA. He's meeting instead with a deputy secretary.

"I'm not happy about that, as you might imagine," he said.

Funny thing is, the congressman's frustration over VA access had been precisely the point of the meeting that had just wrapped up.

Loebsack listened to local veterans talk about their experiences with the Veterans Affairs health-care system. Some had horror stories. Some reported top-notch care.

But everyone agreed on one important point: The system is failing too many veterans. If the system failed Brandon to the point of essentially being a co-conspirator in his death, something had better happen immediately to make sure it doesn't happen again.

No one is more eager to see the VA gets its act together than Scott County's VA Director David "Woody" Woods.

He was in tears when he told the group at the Davenport American Legion about a phone call he got last month from the family member of another vet who had killed himself. The caller blamed Woody for the suicide.

"It really tore me up," he said. "I was very upset."

He called the VA hospital, demanding to know what had gone wrong.

"Something is wrong with our system ... young men and women going out and committing suicide when there's help all around," Woody said. "I was told it wouldn't happen again  where another vet won't be turned away."

But his trust in the VA medical system has grown thin.

Officials from the VA in Iowa City have said, if Brandon truly had said he was suicidal, he would have been admitted. Even if they didn't have an available bed that day, they would have found one.

Brandon's last post to Facebook offered a contrary version. He wrote that he'd told his doctor he feared for his health and safety, but he was sent back home to Davenport.

"They gave up on me, so why shouldn't I give up on myself?" he wrote in the hours before killing himself. "Right now, that is the only viable option given my circumstances and frame of mind."

At Brandon's funeral, Woody said, the 40 fellow veterans who traveled to Wisconsin to pay their respects talked of their distrust for Veterans Affairs. And trust is huge among vets.

Loebsack, a Democrat, isn't the only political leader to demand answers about what happened to Brandon. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both Iowa Republicans, also have asked the VA in Iowa City to get to the bottom of his "emergency appointment." And Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Brandon's home state of Wisconsin, signed the answer-seeking message to the VA, along with Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy, Vermont, and Thomas R. Carper, Delaware.

The whole battalion cannot be out of step here. Everywhere you look, veterans, family members, friends and lawmakers are asking what in the hell's going on.

Consider this: There's a vets' center in Moline that does nothing but counsel for PTSD, Woody said. But the woman who runs the place called him recently and told him to "slow down the referrals" to the center, because it is short-staffed. A month later, the positions have not been filled. No counselors, no counseling.

While several veterans at Thursday's meeting talked about months-long waits for treatment and years-long waits for responses from the VA to their benefit applications, the conversation kept coming back to where it started: This country's inability or unwillingness to look mental-health problems, most certainly including PTSD, straight in the face and deal with them. Maybe the long-standing stigma of mental illness finally is coming into the open, and that's part of the reason we're hearing so much about it.

But that's only good news if we're prepared to help. We know how to do it.

None of these people who are demanding answers about Brandon is naive. No government system nor loving family nor town-hall meeting can spare every veteran. People have committed suicide since the beginning of time. Those who do not wish to be saved will find a way.

But look at the numbers. The VA keeps track: 20 American veterans take their own lives every day.

In other words, in one year, we lose as many of our veterans to suicide as we lost in combat casualties in both Afghanistan and Iraq. They survive the war and come home to die. It's not acceptable.

Woody's counterpart in Cedar County, Iowa, Patty Hamann, talked about the frustration of referring veterans to VA programs that no longer exist. Word didn't reach the trenches. She also talked about a VA doctor who died suddenly. Some vets had built an enormous bond with this psychiatrist and had been seeing him for years.

"We eventually were notified by mail," she said.

In Brandon's case, Hamann said, someone should have reached out to him when he went home.

The 33-year-old was a Marine and Army sergeant and served three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. We know for sure that he asked for an emergency appointment. We know he was suicidal. He died alone.

Even though Brandon had been diagnosed with PTSD, was taking anti-depressants and had been battling alcohol and drug addiction, the Army sent him to Afghanistan for his third deployment.

Ask the Vietnam vets. They'll tell you that was crazy. They'll tell you it's no wonder so many of our young veterans are coming apart at the seams. The country has asked too much of them, and when they ask back, the country isn't there.

"If he would've known we were going to fight for him, and he didn't have to bear the burden alone, maybe this wouldn't have happened," Hamann said of Brandon's death.

Kristine Nichols, Brandon's partner of three years, sat next to me during that hour Thursday. She barely spoke.

When Loebsack came over, I introduced them.

"You OK?" the congressman asked.

"I'm here," she replied.

For now, a collection of veterans, a congressman and a grieving girlfriend  all in the same room  is going to have to pass for progress.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  A man wanted by Muscatine Police for allegedly threatening another person with a gun is in custody.

Robert Owen Knapp III, 24, Muscatine, was arrested in the 200 block of West Mississippi Drive about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday. Knapp was wanted on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon.

At approximately 1:23 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, Muscatine Police responded to the area near 510 W. Fourth St. following a report of a subject pointing a gun at another person.

Upon arrival, authorities discovered the alleged offender had left the scene. There were no injuries or property damage was reported.

No further details about Knapp's apprehension are available at this time.
DES MOINES  Gov. Terry Branstad has ordered a review of Iowa laws governing liquor, wine and beer with an eye on balancing the needs of a rapidly expanding growth industry of micro-enterprises with state regulations and social concerns associated with alcohol consumption.

Iowa laws regulating alcohol were first written in 1934, Branstad said Wednesday in announcing a study of laws governing the regulation of alcohol in Iowa. Many things have changed in this industry since then, and we want to make sure our laws are not barriers to entrepreneurs and businesses.

Branstad named Stephen Larson, administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, and Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, to spearhead the working group review beginning next month with the goal of providing recommendations to him by next January.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, said he welcomed an effort to improve and streamline Iowas regulatory framework while maintaining the three-tier system in which an independent distributor must operate between the manufacture and sale of alcohol.

I fully support it, said Danielson, who had hoped for a similar legislative interim study. We can preserve the three-tiered system and grow Iowa products at the same time. There is common ground around some changes. I see it. We just havent had a chance to get everybody in the room and to talk about it.

The owners of Mississippi River Distilling Co. in LeClaire have been advocating for changes. For instance, state laws allow small wineries and craft breweries to sell their product on-site. Distilleries that produce hard liquor want a similar exception but have failed over the past four years to convince state lawmakers to approve it.

Weve seen tremendous growth in the Iowa wine and beer industry, and what were asking for is the same thing, the same privileges youve extended to the beer and wine producers in the state, extend those to the distillers, Garrett Burchett, who owns the company with his brother Ryan, said for a story in April.

Among the topics for consideration by the working group would be easing restrictions on out-the-door products by microbreweries that currently serve their products at on-premise restaurants or lifting production caps on distilleries and allowing them to sell their products on their venue sites, he said.

With the rapid growth in recent years of craft breweries, native wineries and micro-distilleries, the composition of the states industry is far more diverse and innovative than in years past, according to the governors office.

Micro-enterprises in this industry are locating in our communities  both big and small  and are not only creating jobs but are also increasing tourism in our state, Durham said. Its important that we modernize our laws so this cottage industry is on a level playing field and feel like they have a chance to succeed.

Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds said the demand for Iowa-made products in the beverages industry is growing every day, making it important to ensure that Iowa laws are encouraging business development as well as protecting Iowans.

Larson said laws governing alcoholic beverages must be clear and easily understood, noting that exceptions and carve-outs that have been enacted over the years have led to confusion and ambiguity in some regulatory areas.

The working group will work with representatives of the alcoholic beverages industry, including wholesalers, manufacturers, retailers, prevention specialists and regulators to gain a broad range of perspectives.
CEDAR RAPIDS  Iowa Libertarians think there is a silver lining to the 2016 presidential race featuring two highly unpopular major-party candidates.

Iowans dont like either major-party candidate, said Keith Laube, Libertarian Party of Iowa chairman. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are so disconnected from the American public that people are looking for another option.

If 2016 is the year people vote for the candidate, not the party, Laube is optimistic that a better-than-ever showing by the Libertarian presidential candidate in November will help establish the party as a viable alternative to two-party gridlock.

The Newton civil engineer thinks the Libertarian ticket of former GOP governors Gary Johnson of New Mexico and William Weld of Massachusetts (www.johnsonweld.com) will appeal to Iowa voters who are Libertarian at heart (because) they dont want to pay a lot of taxes and they want government to be efficient, but at the same time, they dont want to lose their freedoms.

The challenge may be to change voting habits, said Chris Larimer, who teaches political science at the University of Northern Iowa.

Regular voters who identify with a political party are going to have a hard time overcoming their partisan loyalties, Larimer said.

Laube acknowledged its hard to get people to go outside their boundaries. However, voting for the best candidate, the candidate who is best for me and my community, is the only way to get good people in office.

Even if the Johnson-Weld ticket doesnt win, Laube thinks it will help the state party achieve practical and incremental goals. If Johnson-Weld can get at least 2 percent of the Iowa vote, Libertarians will be recognized by the Iowa Secretary of State as a political party rather than as a non-party political organization. In short, Libertarians will be treated as the Democratic and Republican parties are.

That would give us a lot of credibility, said Jake Porter, a new business consultant from Council Bluffs, who is a 2018 Libertarian candidate for governor. It would make things more interesting.

Johnson isnt on the Iowa ballot yet, but Marco Battaglia, a campaign volunteer who worked on campaigns for Barack Obama and both Ron and Rand Paul, said the candidate has the 1,500 signatures needed. Volunteers hope to get at least 2,200 before submitting the petition to the Iowa Secretary of State Office.

Iowa Libertarians are having a banner year. Laube, public works director for the city of Newton who is running for the Jasper County Board of Supervisors, and Porter expect to have at least 28 candidates for president, Congress and the Iowa Legislature.

Libertarians, who Laube said favor a fiscally conservative and socially accepting platform, have been making slight gains in recent elections. The party has run more candidates and seen their share of vote increase since 2000 when Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne received 3,209 votes in Iowa or 0.24 percent. It dipped to 2,992 votes in 2004 before rising to 4,950 votes, 0.32 percent, in 2008.

The high water mark was 2012 when Johnson received 12,926 or 0.81 percent of the Iowa vote total. Still, thats far from the 2 percent needed for Libertarians to be recognized as a political party.

Were a growing party, Laube said, pointing to the number of Libertarian candidates and about 10 active county party organizations. We have a long ways to go. This is a small piece, but thats how grass fires start.

Electing a couple of Libertarian candidates would be a big help, Laube said. He hopes that happens this year.

Given how disliked Trump and Clinton are, University of Iowa political scientist Tim Hagle said 2016 would seem the opportune time.

Unfortunately, he added, Johnson isnt very charismatic and really isnt taken seriously by some on the right.

Johnson might be able to break through in the coming 80-plus days or an outside event  an economic downturn or terrorist event  might shake up the race, Hagle said.

As much as some argue that there really arent that many truly undecided voters in presidential elections, I think that percentage is much higher this time because of the flaws in the two major party candidates, he said.

Even if Johnson breaks through it may not translate to down-ballot races, said Barbara Trish, chairwoman of the political science department at Grinnell College.

Even if Libertarian candidates get on the ballot, voters are very willing to split their ticket, so a draw in the presidential contest may not translate into a Libertarian vote at the state legislative level, she said.
CEDAR RAPIDS  Thirteen weeks before Election Day, a Suffolk University poll shows the race in Iowa  often considered a must-win state for both candidates  is a statistical dead heat with GOP nominee Donald Trump leading Democrat Hillary Clinton by 1 percentage point.

The Aug. 8-10 live telephone interviews of 500 likely voters found him leading 41 percent to 40 percent with a 4.4 percentage point margin of error. Another 17 percent were undecided.

When third-party candidates were added to the mix, Trump led Clinton 37 percent to 36, with Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein getting 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

The Suffolk poll, conducted between Iowa visits by Trump and Clinton, comes a day after an NBC/Marist poll showed Clinton ahead of Trump 41 percent to 37 percent among registered voters with a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.

Noting that Suffolk found 62 percent of those polled said Clinton isnt honest and trustworthy and 9 percent werent sure, Trumps Iowa Director Eric Branstad said theres a good reason for that.

Shes been dishonest and untrustworthy and will lead our country down the wrong path, he said. After facing countless investigations, Hillary Clinton has proven time and time again she will skirt rules and the law for her own personal gain. Todays polling is just another indication that Iowans want a leader who will fight for them, not someone who thinks they are above the law.

Trump was viewed as honest and trustworthy by 34 percent of respondents while 55 percent said he was not, with more than 10 percent not sure.

The Clinton campaign declined to comment.

In the Iowa U.S. Senate race, Suffolk found the same result as that NBC/Marist poll: Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley leading Democratic challenger Patty Judge 52 percent to 42 percent with 6 percent undecided.

Irrespective of their choice for president, by a 53 percent to 31 percent margin, Iowans said Clinton will win.

In Iowa, there is a marked difference between what voters will do at the polls and what voters think others will do at the polls, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston.

The tight race reflects current party registration in Iowa  33 percent Republican, 32 percent Democratic and 35 percent no party, he said.

With party registration evenly split, so are the opinions of voters from the Hawkeye state, Paleologos said.

Although the margin did not change in the four-way ballot test, Paleologos said the results suggest that Stein and Johnson could have an impact in Iowa.

In conservative southwest Iowa, an area Trump likely will need to carry by a wide margin, Johnson polls higher than he does statewide. In those counties, Suffolk found Johnson polling at 11 percent.

On the flip side, Steins numbers were higher with younger voters, a demographic that has shown less enthusiasm for Clinton than older voters. Among the 18-34 age group, Stein gets 9 percent, triple her statewide standing.

The most important issues to voters were jobs and the economy, 25 percent, and terrorism and national security, 21 percent. Choosing Supreme Court nominees, reducing the federal debt, health care and illegal immigration tallied 9 percent, 7 percent, 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

When voters were asked if they feel more or less safe living in America than they did five to 10 years ago, 56 percent said less safe, 10 percent indicated safer and 28 percent indicated no change.

Although the Zika threat remains low in Iowa, nearly two-thirds of voters are concerned about its spread. One-third said they were not very or not at all concerned.
DES MOINES  There was some bipartisan agreement among Iowas federal representatives and candidates Thursday as they discussed banking laws and regulations at a forum hosted by an organization that represents Iowas community banks.

Democrats and Republicans at least partially agreed that portions of the regulations implemented after the 2008 financial crash are unfair to smaller banks, a farm credit program has expanded beyond its intended purpose and it would be fair to explore taxing and regulating large credit unions similarly to banks.

The remarks were made Thursday by many of Iowas congressional members and candidates at a forum hosted by the Community Bankers of Iowa at Prairie Meadows Convention Center. Democrats and Republicans fielded the same questions from the organizations members at separate sessions.

There was bipartisan agreement that the federal Farm Credit System needs more oversight in the wake of revelations that the program designed to help farmers has in recent years doled out loans to the technology company Verizon and the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel.

The purpose is good, but like a lot of things that have been around 100 years, theyve tried to outgrow the original purpose, said Rod Blum, a Republican congressman in eastern Iowas 1st District. We need to make sure that they are not competing in areas theyre not supposed to be in.

Democrats had a similar response.

I would look at having a little more monitoring of that, because I dont think its fair, said Kim Weaver, a Democrat running for Congress in western Iowas 4th District. They tend to go after large borrowers. How is that helping the small family farmers?

Patty Judge, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa, said she thinks the issue should be raised as the next federal farm bill is negotiated in Congress.

The representatives and candidates largely agreed that the Dodd-Frank law, which was designed to control large banks that were at the heart of the 2008 financial crash, is overly punitive on small banks, which they said had little to do with the crash.

Judge said that Dodd-Franks one size fits all approach does not work and that she supports providing some regulatory relief for community banks.

Republicans were willing to go further; many used the issue to suggest the federal executive branch has been granted too much rule-making authority and called for all new regulations to be passed through Congress.

We need to make sure that no regulation that goes into effect does so without an up or down vote of the Congress of the United States, said Chuck Grassley, Iowas longtime Republican U.S. senator who is being challenged by Judge. Weve delegated too much power to the bureaucracy.

The federal representatives and candidates also indicated a willingness to examine how credit unions are taxed and regulated. Banks have grown increasingly concerned that some large credit unions continue to enjoy more relaxed tax and regulatory structures despite growing to offer services similar to banks.

I would definitely support reviewing the regulations and seeing if they actually fit today, Weaver said. They are, in some parts, unfair to community banks.

The Republicans also said that some credit unions may have outgrown their charter.

If they do the same things (as banks), they should be taxed at the same rate, said Chris Peters, a Republican running for Congress in eastern Iowas 2nd District. If theyre straying outside their original charter, I think they should be taxed the same (as banks).

A representative for Iowas credit unions pushed back at the need for any such changes.

Were taxed differently because were structured differently. Were not-for-profit; they are for-profit, said Jon Murphy, director of government affairs for the Iowa Credit Union League. Both models are fine and they work for Iowans, and thats a good thing. Iowans get choice and competition when they have strong banks and strong credit unions.
MUSCATINE, Iowa A bachelor party inspired a Muscatine native to organize the River Rat Rumble, a hot rod car cruise along the Mississippi River.

Travis McConnaha, owner of Keep the B**** Floored, a hot rod gear and apparel company, said after cruising during his cousin's bachelor party last year, he wanted to do it again.

McConnaha had planned to host a car show but decided a "car cruise" was the way to go.

"I wanted a fun thing to do and I wanted it to be something that was low pressure, mainly about getting together with people and hot-roders and things like that," he said.

All are invited to join the hot rod cruise, which will gather at the Muscatine riverfront at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, and leave to cruise around 2 p.m. The entry fee is $10, and the event will include door prizes and giveaways.

McConnaha is hoping for a good crowd.

"I think the local community and support, its pretty large. I would love to see between 50 and 100 cars, thats a huge success for me," he said.

The cruise will begin at the Muscatine riverfront, head towards Davenport on Highway 22, cross over into Illinois, and return to Muscatine on Highway 92.

"I think itll be fun. I think that itll be something neat to watch," McConnaha said.

Fifty percent of the proceeds will be donated to Parent Group Muscatine, and local businesses have donated prizes and coupons for the giveaways. And McConnaha's company, KTBF, which is presenting the event, will be donating prizes as well.

While McConnaha said he would like the event to remain hot rod oriented, the rules for participation will not be strict, it will be open to bikes and hot rods.

"If someone hasnt seen a hot rod cruise before its something to experience, thats the coolest thing," he said.
DAVENPORT  Funeral services to celebrate the life of James L. Hunt, 79, a resident of Davenport, and formerly of St. Joseph, Missouri, will be noon Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 in the All Faith Chapel at Halligan-McCabe-DeVries funeral home, 614 Main St., downtown Davenport. Burial with military graveside services conducted by American Legion Post 26 will be in Rock Island National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. The family will greet friends from 4-7 p.m. today at Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, 614 Main St., downtown Davenport.

Jim died Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, at the Davenport Lutheran Home following a nearly 10-year battle with Alzheimers.

James Luther Hunt was born May 8, 1937 in Lucas, Iowa, a son of James Dewey and Beulah (Baker) Hunt. He was united in marriage to Alberta Jane Mackley on March 29, 1957 in Hiawatha, Kansas. They were blessed with more than 59 years of marriage.

He retired after a 30-year career with John Deere Harvester Works, East Moline. He had been a welder. He had previously served as a Fireman while living in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Alberta and Jim enjoyed many good years of marriage. They were proud of their seven children and their families. They enjoyed traveling, and Jim especially enjoyed working on older model cars. He was a talented body man and was happy to restore many classic cars. Jim had a special place in his heart for kids and babies; he adored gods creation.

Memorials can be made in Jims name to the Alzheimers Association of Greater Iowa.

He is survived by his loving wife, Alberta of Davenport; his children and their spouses, Kathy Baublit, St. Joseph, Missouri, Terry (Edward Skip) OBrien, Bettendorf, Randy (Kelly) Payne, Moline, Nancy (Jack) Lucas, Alba, Missouri, James P. (Becky) Hunt, Tacoma, Washington, Jeffery Hunt, Woodstock, Georgia, and Jamie (Sam) Wilkins, Davenport; 17 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, 4 great-great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, ten siblings, and a son-in-law, Aaron Baublit. May they rest in peace.

Jims family would like to thank the staff of the Davenport Lutheran Home for the wonderful care they provided to Jim and his family.

Condolences and remembrances may be expressed to the family by visiting Jims obituary at www.hmdfuneralhome.com.
Marine and active community member, John Thomas Ahern, of Silvis, died Monday. In his time, Ahern was well-known in the community and made numerous contributions to it in many aspects. He served as a trustee for Black Hawk College, fathered thirteen children, and his family has served the United States military exceptionally.

Johns son, Saemus also served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and was a subject in the speech that was a catalyst to President Obamas popularity when he addressed the 2004 Democratic National Convention as its keynote speaker. Saemus was 23 at the time that Obama met him, heading off to Iraq, and Obama described meeting him in his speech, praising him, good-looking kid  clear-eyed and with an easy smile. As I listened to him explain why hed enlisted, the absolute faith he had in our country and its leaders, his devotion to duty and service, I thought this young man was all that any of us might hope for in a child. But then I asked myself, Are we serving Seamus as well as he is serving us? Saemus said that he stayed humble, but of course his family and friends had been thrilled for him, especially his father.

Continuing to serve in his community, John was an alderman in Silvis, a member of the Alleman High School Board of Education, trustee for Black Hawk College, East Moline/Silvis Rotarian, Knights of Columbus Council 716 member, a member of the Quad-Cities St. Patricks Society, and served as the grand marshal in the Quad-Cities St. Patirck's Day Grand Parade.

Ahern was elected to the Black Hawk College Board of Trustees in November 1995, then re-elected in 2001 and 2007 and served until May 2012. John always had the students first when making decisions on programs and future development, said chair of the Black Hawk College Board of Trustees, David Emerick, He was a mentor to many trustees on the board and was very willing to provide assistance to make sure the right outcome was achieved.

John Aherns dedication and service to the college and the community is deeply appreciated.
Of all the dangerous things that Donald Trump has said, perhaps the most concerning is his assertion that the election might be rigged. This irresponsible, unsupported suggestion augurs poorly for Trump's behavior in the increasingly likely event of his loss.

"The election is going to be rigged," Trump warned at a rally in Ohio. "I'm telling you, November 8, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged," he told Fox News' Sean Hannity.

Those comments set the stage for an explosive outcome the likes of which this country has never seen. It is not far-fetched to imagine Trump inciting his partisans against accepting the verdict of voters, further inflaming an already toxic political climate in Washington.

As much as Republicans sought to ensure President Obama's failure from the moment of his election, their animus toward a President Hillary Clinton would be that much greater -- even without Trump piling on. Clinton would enter office as a more divisive figure; after all, the GOP argument that she is disqualified to hold the office, whether by virtue of Benghazi or emails, preceded Trump's "Crooked Hillary" attack.

If Clinton is elected, Republicans will have been shut out of the White House for three elections in a row, for the first time since 1948. And if Democrats retake control of the Senate, Republicans eyeing the 2018 map -- when 25 Democrats (and independents caucusing with Democrats) and only eight Republicans face re-election -- would have every incentive to impede Clinton's initiatives. They would try to make her not just a one-term president but a two-year one.

Add to this predictable ugliness a losing nominee who rouses supporters with assertions that the election was somehow stolen from him and you have a recipe for turmoil of a most un-American variety.

Just how un-American can be judged by looking to Al Gore's gracious concession to George W. Bush. The Democratic nominee had won the popular vote; he had every reason to believe that, but for a botched election and butterfly ballot in Florida, he would have won the Electoral College majority as well.

Nonetheless, Gore, in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling, spoke of meeting with Bush "so that we can start to heal the divisions of the campaign and the contest through which we just passed." He invoked Sen. Stephen Douglas on being defeated by Abraham Lincoln -- "Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism" -- and added, "This is America, and we put country before party. We will stand together behind our new president."

There is every reason, from his current comments and his past history, to think that Trump would respond in a different, far less elevated manner. Consider Trump 2012, who unleashed a stream of unhinged tweeting about Mitt Romney's loss -- unearthed by my Washington Post colleague Stephen Stromberg.

The president "lost the popular vote by a lot and won the election. We should have a revolution in this country," Trump proclaimed, although Obama in fact won both the popular vote and the Electoral College. A few minutes later: "The phoney [sic] electoral college made a laughing stock out of our nation. The loser one!" A few minutes later: "We should march on Washington and stop this travesty."

Trump notwithstanding, the election was not "a total sham." The Electoral College, for better or worse, is specified in the Constitution. Calling for revolution? Imagine what Trump might do when the loser is himself.

In his interview with the Post's Philip Rucker, Trump offered an unsettling preview. The United States, Rucker noted, has a tradition in which losers "concede graciously and try to get their supporters on board like Al Gore did in 2000. Would you?"

Trump: "I don't want to jump the gun. I don't want to talk about that. I'm just saying that I wouldn't be surprised if the election ... there's a lot of dirty pool played at the election, meaning the election is rigged."

Trump's evidence, such as it is, of prospective rigging involves the string of recent court rulings invalidating voter ID laws and the phantom menace of voter fraud. "The voter ID situation has turned out to be a very unfair development," Trump claimed to Rucker. "We may have people vote 10 times."

There is no such evidence. The provisions of North Carolina's restrictive voting law, a federal appeals court just ruled, "impose cures for problems that did not exist."

Trump is dangerous, and the threat he poses might not be extinguished by a loss at the polls.
As a United States citizen, I believe every citizen should be held to the same high standards regardless of an individuals occupation or title. If we do something wrong, we should be held accountable. No one should be above the law. Not even Hillary Clinton.

She should be held accountable for the emails she had on her home computer and for lying about them during the investigation. She said there were no emails with top secret information present on her computer. FBI Director James Comey there were some with top secret information. They also gained evidence that Clinton deleted many of the emails and some of them were possibly hacked.

Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced they would not press charges against Clinton. They said it was because of carelessness, not criminal actions, that she was handling highly sensitive information and both recommended not filing charges.

I feel Clinton should be brought up on the charges and held accountable. If she gets off without charges, then she will think she can get away with anything.

I think this shows disrespect to the U.S. Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance. If she does not get charged with it, then I think they should change part of the Pledge of Allegiance, the last section of it where it states, liberty and justice for all, to liberty and justice for some.

Jeff Medinger

Clinton
Im writing this letter to the editor because once again, Ive read an opinion guest column that is not factual. In the opinion piece, Religious Intolerance, Mr. Steve Corbin, an emeritus professor of Marketing at University of Northern Iowa, stated that twice as many Americans have been killed by Christian extremists and anti-government fanatics than radical Muslims.

A quick Google search shows that Mr. Corbin used the exact words from an article written by PunditFact.com., which was fact-checking a tweet by liberal pundit Sally Kohn, proving her tweet to be half-true. This article was written 19 months ago in January 2015 and we all know a lot has happened since then.

According to New Americas International Security Program, 94 Americans have been killed by radical jihadists and 48 Americans have been killed by far right-wing groups. If Mr. Corbin had read the entire article, he wouldve seen the statement was only half-true and maybe would have done more research.

We can all agree that racism and Islamophobia is bad, however deflecting that conversation and placing blame on Christian groups is not constructive.

Connie Smith

LeClaire
CEDAR RAPIDS  Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, became the 44th president of the National Conference of State Legislatures at its annual meeting in Chicago.

In the unpaid position, Gronstal, 66, will lead the bipartisan organization that serves the nations 7,383 state lawmakers and more than 20,000 legislative staff members. The leadership alternates between Republicans and Democrats. The president oversees and presides over the executive committee, which is the NCSLs governing body.

Gronstal thinks governing should be a bipartisan effort and said that was reflected in what many called an impressive, even landmark, session last year with a noticeable lack of gridlock.

There are so many issues that transcend across party lines, and NCSL provides that very opportunity to discuss solving some of those pressing issues impacting each of our states, Gronstal said.

Gronstal has represented the Council Bluffs and Carter Lake region in western Iowa for more than 30 years, two in the House and 31 in the Senate. He has served as Senate president, minority leader, majority whip and assistant majority leader, and, during the Senates historic tie in 2005-2006, he was elected to serve as co-leader.

Gronstal has been a social worker, shipping clerk and stay-at-home dad. His priorities include addressing Iowas shortage of skilled workers, improving teacher pay and making community college more affordable.

He has been recognized by his colleagues for his dedicated work and knowledge of complex issues in the insurance and utilities industries.

Gronstal is a graduate of Antioch College in Ohio, a third generation Council Bluffs resident. He and his wife, Connie, have two grown daughters.
NATION

Reid: Clinton will pick Garland for court

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid says he is convinced that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will nominate Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court if she is elected president.

Senate Republicans have blocked Garland's confirmation since President Barack Obama nominated him in March. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the next president will choose the person to replace late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Reid said on a conference call Thursday that he is predicting Clinton will pick Garland "with some degree of credibility." A spokeswoman for Reid later said he had not spoken to Clinton directly about whether she would nominate Garland and was speculating.

Man in hospital after Trump Tower incident

A man who said he was seeking "a private audience" with Donald Trump by climbing the Republican presidential candidate's skyscraper was hospitalized on Thursday after his arrest a day earlier on charges of reckless endangerment and trespassing.

The New York Police Department identified the climber as 19-year-old Stephen Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia. It was unclear when Rogata would appear in court or if he had an attorney who could comment for him.

Rogata made a spectacle of himself on Wednesday by spending three hours scaling the glass facade of the 68-story Trump Tower in Manhattan using large suction cups before officers hauled him to safety through an open window. He was taken to a hospital for an evaluation.

WORLD

Puerto Rico asked to step up Zika campaign

The U.S. surgeon general on Thursday urged Puerto Rico to step up its public education campaign against Zika as he warned that 25 percent of the island will be infected with the mosquito-borne virus by year's end.

Dr. Vivek Murthy said during a visit to the U.S. territory that local officials need to boost mosquito control efforts and make contraception more accessible and affordable.

"We cannot afford to wait much longer," he said. "I am deeply concerned about how quickly the virus is spreading."

Puerto Rico has had a total of 8,776 registered Zika cases, including 901 pregnant women, since the first case was reported in December. A total of 88 people have been hospitalized, and 27 have been diagnosed with a temporary paralysis condition called Guillain-Barre that has been linked to Zika.

Russian bombers hit IS targets

The Russian military sent long-range bombers to strike a series of Islamic State targets in the group's de facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday  a fresh round of airstrikes that Syrian activists said killed at least 20 civilians and came amid Turkish calls for greater cooperation with Moscow against the extremist group.

The offer by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to coordinate with Russia on operations against IS followed a meeting between the Russian and Turkish leaders earlier this week in which they agreed to mend ties.

Relations between the two nations, which back opposite sides in Syria's civil war, soured after Turkish air force jets downed a Russian warplane on the Syrian border in November. Russia retaliated by deploying long-range air defense missile systems to its base in Syria, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey and imposing an array of economic sanctions.

Cavusoglu also said Turkey would resume airstrikes against IS targets in Syria, months after they were suspended amid the row with Moscow. "On the issue of Daesh, we have made a call to Russia. We said we have a common enemy which we can struggle against together," Cavusoglu said, using an Arabic-language acronym for IS.
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Thomas Craig Pfeifle, 19, of Rapid City, was still in critical condition Wednesday after falling at least 20 feet on Granite Peak earlier this week.

Pfeifle was rescued by helicopter Monday afternoon after falling near the summit of the 12,808-foot peak. He was taken to a hospital in Billings before being transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg said Pfeifle remains in the intensive care unit.

Granite Peak is the highest point in Montana.

George Crain, 57, from Highland, Utah, was climbing Granite Peak on Monday with his son-in-law when they came across Pfeifle a few minutes after it happened.

"Thomas' jaw was badly dislocated, and the side of his face was badly gashed," Crain said.

One of the people in the group Pfeifle was with told Crain the teenager had been descending the mountain in a section dubbed the "Ramp" by the peak's climbers.

"It's a really steep section on the face of the mountain, stretching probably 600 to 700 feet, with a decent amount of obstacles," Crain said. "We were told that he fell probably 20 feet and then tumbled down the rocks until he came to a rest."

Crain said he offered his cellphone to the group of climbers, but that one of Pfeifle's friends was already speaking with emergency services from his cellphone. A man from Colorado also offered his satellite phone to the group.

By the time rescue crews arrived, Pfeifle's breathing was "raspy" and had a gurgle to it, Crain said. He watched a helicopter lower a paramedic onto a safe spot on the peak and scramble over to Pfeifle.

Pfeifle was strapped onto a special board before he and the paramedic were hooked up to the helicopter and lifted up in a "spiderweb of straps," Crain said.

Emergency call

A call came through Sweet Grass County at about 11 a.m. Monday from one of Pfeifle's climbing partners requesting rescue, Park County Undersheriff Clay Herbst said Tuesday.

Pfeifle was climbing with at least four others, and one of them was able to get cellphone service for the first emergency call, Herbst said.

The climbers borrowed a satellite phone from another climbing group to stay in contact with authorities throughout the rescue, Herbst said.

Rocky Mountain Rotors Co-owner Mark Taylor said his company, based out of Belgrade, was involved in the rescue of Pfeifle on Monday afternoon.

He was rescued by a Gallatin County high-angle rescue team and flown by helicopter to a separate landing zone near Sky Top Lakes. A medical helicopter from Bozeman then landed to provide medical treatment before he was flown to Billings.

Pfeifle is the son of South Dakota Seventh Circuit Court judges Craig Pfeifle and Jane Wipf Pfeifle.
The biker fashion statement has always been made with denim, leather and metal  sometimes spiced up by fishnet and lace.

The fashion scene in Sturgis this year is no different. Many riders still favor jeans and a cotton T-shirt, the can't-miss attire at the rally.

And yet, trends do trundle forward.

Noticeable mainly among the belles of the biker scene, the hot 2016 rally look features old-school garments like corsets, but also the body paint approach that makes naked people look like they're wearing clothes, animal skins or the American flag.

After a day of trolling for trends at the 2016 rally, here is a glance at what's hot to wear in Sturgis this year.

Corsets come back

On Tuesday morning, Andra Stark got cinched into her new corset on Main Street. The garment that tightens the midriff, colored black-purple-gold brocade with front metal hooks, hugged her figure in a slimming way. It also showed off the tattoos on her chest and on the length of her arms.

Stark, 35, of Texas, describes her new purchase as sexy and fun. Back home in Houston, she has a black leather corset and a white one she wore at her wedding in 2011.

Corsets with metal closures in front, like Starks, have been best-sellers at Bikers Den, a clothing store on Main Street in Sturgis. This is the first time the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based retailer has sold the design at the Sturgis rally.

Their popularity might be due to the relative ease of putting them on and taking them off, says store personnel Aisha Jabouir. The original corsets, which the store also sells in Sturgis, has lacings both in the front and back that require more effort, she explains.

A body as art

David Caballero has noticed a higher-than-average request for U.S. flags this year in his body-painting business.

Most of Caballero's customers are women, and almost all of them want a chest piece or a corset, he said. This means they leave his shop, just off Main Street, wearing nothing on top but body paint and breast pasties.

At the last rally, a lot of women asked for the Confederate flag, said Caballero, from Denver, Colo. But this year the U.S. flag has stolen the spotlight.

Scant clothing draws eyes

Many heads along Main Street have turned at the sight of women in not just body paint but tiny black bikinis, or chaps over nothing but underwear.

Women here like to show their bodies more, said Rita Farhat, co-owner of Bikers Den.

She said Sturgis shoppers particularly like designs that showcase their chests, such as shirts with custom-made slits in front.

T-shirts still cool

At Toms Ts, a Sturgis business that sells official rally apparel, the best-selling shirt is the black official. It simply means a black T-shirt bearing the official rally logo, which incorporates a bald eagles head, two bikers, several bison and eagle feathers under the words Black Hills Motor Classic.

Since her husband created the official T-shirt three decades ago, the store has sold a bunch at each rally, owner Vicki Monahan said. She hasnt kept track of exactly how many pieces are sold every year.

Other vendors say their most sought T-shirts are those representing Sturgis and South Dakota. For instance, a motorcycle against the backdrop of Mount Rushmore, a skeleton version of Wild Bill Hickok on a horse and Main Street Sturgis filled with bikers.

A vest, leather boots and a head band complete the look.

The patches prove it

Patches bearing skeletons, the bald eagle, the Harley-Davidson shield, Native American symbols and the U.S. flag have always been popular at Teo Schizas Sturgis rally store.

Schizas hardly had time to talk Tuesday morning as he sewed patch after patch on biker vests, as his customers waited in line.

As expected, this year he has sold a lot of patches bearing the words Sturgis 2016. Rallygoers commemorate their attendance this way, said the entrepreneur from Indianapolis, Ind.

But he has noticed that Stars and Stripes have been especially popular this year. He pointed to three designs that have stood out: an almost black-and-white rendering of the flag, a bright-colored version with singed borders and the flag in the shape of a skull.

Its possibly the election is fueling the trend, Schizas says.
PIERRE | A federal board's Thursday decision to rename Harney Peak to Black Elk Peak surprised South Dakota's governor, but vindicated activists who unsuccessfully argued to state officials last year that the peak shouldn't bear the name of a man whose soldiers killed Native Americans.

The decision by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names will cause "unnecessary expense and confusion," Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Thursday in a statement. The governor said he's heard little support for renaming the peak, which is South Dakota's tallest and stands in the Black Hills National Forest.

"I suspect very few people know the history of either Harney or Black Elk," Daugaard said in a statement.

Black Elk was a Lakota spiritual leader who died in the mid-20th century.

"He's definitely a very powerful visionary that is at least deserving of the peak's name," said Wayne Frederick, a representative on the tribal council of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in southern South Dakota. "It's extremely uplifting."

Frederick said he was in a council meeting all day, and when he learned of the change, he passed his phone around to several representatives near him. "They were in disbelief," he said.

The federal board determined from the input received that Harney Peak was concerning to Native Americans in the area, said Lou Yost, the board's executive secretary for domestic names. The vote was 12 in favor, none against and one abstaining, he said.

"In this case, the board felt that the name was derogatory or offensive being that it was on a holy site of the Native Americans," Yost said, adding that the change applies to federal usage on new maps or other products.

Army Gen. William S. Harney's men massacred Native American women and children during a battle in September 1855, according to historic records.

Some people last year argued to the state's Board on Geographic Names that Harney Peak was offensive and should be changed, but the board decided against backing a new name. Members of Daugaard's administration opposed efforts to have the name changed, and state lawmakers eventually approved a law in 2016 that limited the board's autonomy.

Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune said in a statement that the federal board's "unilateral" decision is upsetting and "defies logic" since it goes against state officials' recommendations.

Basil Brave Heart, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, proposed the change to Black Elk Peak. Brave Heart didn't answer a telephone call for comment Thursday.

"I don't want to see a peak that's named after someone that violated women and children," Brave Heart said in 2015. "Our people had to live under that icon, that man who did that to our people."
Wendy Alexandre's tattoo communicates a message about choices.

It's an image of a half-angel, half-demon that covers much of her back, and she said it's a reminder that people can decide which one to be.

Which one is Alexandre?

"I hope I've matured enough to choose the nice one," she said with a laugh. "But that wasn't always the case."

Alexandre, of Boise, Idaho, got her first tattoo  a butterfly on her lower back  10 years ago at the Sturgis motorcycle rally. That made her want to get more tattoos, and she decided to go big.

The angel-demon tattoo has taken 21 sessions over two years to create so far, and it's still not quite finished. She figures she has spent about $4,000 on it to date.

Alexandre wears back-baring shirts to display the tattoo during the rally.

"I paid a lot of money for it, so I guess I should show it off," she said.
RAPID CITY | Eileen was born Jan. 4, 1929, to Frank Joseph and Dorothy Ellen Blanche (Wintermote) Sack on a farm near Liberty, KS. During her childhood, Eileen lived on farms near Liberty, Valley Center and Sedgewick, KS. In 1946, Eileen graduated from high school in Wichita, KS.

In the spring of 1946, Eileen and her family moved to a farm three miles west of Onida. Eileen worked for Hiltons restaurant and Onida High School until the spring of 1947. From 1947 to 1959, she worked for the Sully County ASCS Office. Eileen then elected to stay home to raise her family. From 1967 to 1973, Eileen went back to work outside the home at the Peavey Lumber Yard. She worked as secretary for her husband and manager, Wilbur. From 1973 to 1989, Eileen completed her civil service career at the Onida ASCS office. She retired in 1989.

On Sept. 3, 1950, Eileen married Wilbur Hofer. After raising their family, Eileen and Wilbur toured the United States on numerous bus trips. In 1985, they enjoyed the plane trip and excursion to Hawaii. In 1989, they became world travelers. Supporting their youngest son, Calvin, who at the time was Director of the Rapid City Central High School Band on concert tour, they traveled to Romania, Russia, Hungary and Austria. In 1997, they embarked on yet another bus trip to Guadalajara, Mexico.

In 1995, Eileen and Wilbur established a winter home in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, residing at Rollin Home Mobile Park in Mission. They lived six months in Texas and six months in South Dakota, until both Wilburs and Eileens health required they remain in South Dakota. After Wilburs death in 2005, Eileen lived at the South Dakota Veterans Home in Hot Springs and at Holiday Hills Estates, The Victorian and Bella Vista in Rapid City until her death.

Holding numerous offices over many years, Eileen was active in the American Legion Auxiliary. She was a member of the Onida First Presbyterian Church, holding deacon and photo album chair offices for the womens organization. Eileen loved to work in her yard at home planting flowers for all to see and enjoy. She was always ready to help anyone who needed help. She was involved in the Onida senior center and senior meal delivery program.

Dorothy Eileen (Sack) Hofer, 87, of Onida and Rapid City, SD, died peacefully Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, at the Golden Living Centers-Bella Vista nursing home in Rapid City.

Eileen is survived by her three sons and their wives: Terry (Janet) of Rapid City, SD; Scotty (Wendy) of Denver, CO; and Calvin (Margaret) of Grand Junction, CO; by her six grandsons and two great grandchildren: Colin (Jamie) and great granddaughters Addison and Emerson, Andrew, Jared, Zachary, Stephen and Timothy; by her four siblings: two sisters Jeanne Marie of Manteno, IL, and Ann of Pierre, SD; two brothers Donald (Carol) of Snohomish, WA, and Dan of Kansas City, MO; three sisters-in-law Sylvia of Spearfish, SD, Lexie of Ft. Pierre, SD, and Joyce of Onida, SD; and by her numerous nieces and nephews.

Eileen was preceded in death by her parents, six brothers, Ronald, Louis, Paul, Leland, Phillip and his wife Nona, and Frank, one sister Madeline and her husband, John Zebroski, and two brothers-in-law, Leo Johnson and Bill Bridges.

Eileen was a mothers mother. Although at times feisty with a sparkling personality, she mothered, mentored and tutored in a firm but loving manner, not only her three sons, who tended to need strong, loving direction, but also those around her, including extended family from South Dakota to Missouri to Minnesota and beyond, whom she felt needed support, help and guidance. Eileen lived and mothered from a gracious, honest and good heart. In Eileens unique way, she expressed her love to those she loved, through Jesus Christ, for the benefit of all she touched.

Services at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1012 Soo San Drive, Rapid City, SD 57702, with Pastor Dillon Ferguson presiding. Visitation at 11 a.m.

Burial services at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 15, at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.
Former regional vice governor gets 3.5 years in prison for embezzlement

MOSCOW, August 11 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko)  Moscows Basmanny District Court has sentenced former vice governor of the Novgorod Region Victor Nechayev to 3.5 years in prison for embezzling 6.5 million rubles ($100,300), the Investigative Committees website reports on Thursday.

Nechayevs accomplices, Sergey Aleksandrov and Ulyana Zhuravskaya, received a 3-year suspended sentence each.

During pretrial investigation all accused persons pleaded guilty; Nechayev compensated 6.5 million rubles embezzled from a victim, according to the statement.

According to investigators, between July 30, 2013 and August 10, 2013 Nechayev and Aleksandrov promised a local woman to release her prosecuted husband from jail and help him receive a suspended sentence. Thus, the defendants got 6.5 million rubles by fraud.

Moreover, between July and August 2015, Nechayev along with Zhuravskaya conspired to embezzle $47,000 from a man for assistance in closing criminal case against him. However, defendants could not manage the money because they were arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Hearings in case against Russian nationalist Potkin to begin on August 15

MOSCOW, August 11 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov)  Hearings in the case against Russian nationalist Alexander Potkin, also known as Alexander Belov, who stands charged with embezzlement in Kazakh BTA Bank and organization of an extremist movement will begin on August 15, RAPSI learned in Moscows Meshchansky District Court on Thursday.

Earlier, Potkins lawyer Ivan Mironov has said that opposition politician Alexei Navalny would be questioned as a witness for defense in this case about cooperation with Kazakh opposition figures because he allegedly had contacts with them along with Potkin.

According to investigators, Mukhtar Ablyazov, former chairman of the bank, who wanted to destabilize the constitutional order in Kazakhstan, asked Potkin to help him with organizing an extremist group. Potkin allegedly agreed and used funds embezzled from BTA Bank to spread the nationalist ideology in Kazakhstan.

Belov was arrested on October 15, 2014 at the Hotel Intourist Kolomenskoe in Moscow on charges related to the embezzlement of $5 billion from BTA Bank. At the time of the arrest, Belov allegedly had documents on him that effectively tied him to the embezzlement.

Investigators believe that Belov (Potkin) was a mastermind in a money laundering operation in 2012-2014. He was also suspected of involvement in laundering money that was embezzled from BTA Bank by its former chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov.

Ablyazov, who allegedly defrauded BTA Bank of more than $6 billion, left Kazakhstan for the UK, where he was granted political asylum in 2011. However, he remained a fugitive from justice since February 2012.

Ablyazovs whereabouts remained unknown until he was detained on July 31, 2015 near Cannes, France. Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine are all seeking his extradition.

In October 2015, French authorities approved Ablyazovs extradition to Russia.
Acquittal of prominent Russian art expert Basner upheld

ST. PETERSBURG, August 11 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) - The St. Petersburg City Court on Thursday upheld acquittal of a prominent Russian art expert Yelena Basner in a fraud case, RAPSI learnt in the courts press office.

However, the court overturned the lower courts refusal to consider a civil lawsuit by a victim in the case.

On May 17, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of St. Petersburg declared Basner not guilty to fraud. Basner was investigated over a painting, In restaurant, attributed to Boris Grigoryev, a well-known Russian artist of the first half of the 20th century. The painting, which was allegedly examined by Basner in 2009 and sold for $250,000, was proven to be a fake in 2011.

St. Petersburg prosecutors and the victim in the case, art collector Andrei Vasilyev, have filed appeals against acquitting judgment.

Basner, a former employee of the Bukowskis auction house as well as the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, was arrested on January 31, 2014. She was charged with large-scale fraud. On February 5, 2014, she was placed under house arrest. In January 2015, a court in St. Petersburg released Basner from house arrest.

According to investigators, in summer 2009 Mikhail Aranson, who is now wanted by police, in collaboration with unknown co-conspirators invited Basner to the criminal conspiracy of selling the fake painting. Investigators allege that Basner made up a sham story about the paintings history and found the buyer, a publisher Leonid Shumakov. He, convinced of the paintings authenticity, proposed his close friend, St. Petersburg art collector Andrei Vasilyev, to buy the painting.

Eventually, Vasilyev bought the fake painting for  180,000 (13 million rubles), whereas its real price was 12,000 rubles ( 166).

Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence Basner to 4 years in prison, impose a fine of 500,000 rubles ($7,700) on her and order to pay the collector 16.5 million rubles ($254,600) in compensation.
Russian antimonopoly agency detects large-scale cahoots in procurement

MOSCOW, August 11 (RAPSI)  The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has found 90 companies to be guilty of fixing up the results of tenders for delivery of military uniforms and gear for the Russias Interior Ministry, Federal Security Service, and Federal Customs Service, the agency reports on Thursday.

FAS has noted that there were 118 legal entities involved in the case as defendants. The agency could detect 18 rigged public online auctions involving in total 3.5 billion rubles ($54 million).

Ninety companies were found guilty of cahoots. Some of the cartel members simultaneously managed three to four legal entities registering them as auction participants to give the appearance of competitive bidding. Prices were as a rule offered by one entity in spite of 11 to 40 other organizations participating in an auction; they abandoned the struggle in order to ensure that the right participant wins and to prop up prices, the antimonopoly watchdog noted.

The cartel members have developed a system of quotas calculated basing on the starting price of a contract proportionally with the number of participants of an auction. The quotas could be obtained, exchanged, or accumulated. After accumulating a certain quantity of quotas one of the colluders could become the contract holder in the framework of an auction,  Andrey Tenishev, the head of the FAS Anti-cartel Directorate said.

The agency has stressed that its decision and case materials will be submitted to the Interior Ministrys General Administration for Economic Security and Combating Corruption, so it could initiate a criminal case against the colluders.

According to Andrey Tsarikovsky, a Deputy Head of FAS, cartels operating in the sphere of procurement for security agencies not only undermine basic principles of competition, but may become a threat to national security.
HAMILTON  As the firefighting effort begins to wind down on the Roaring Lion fire southwest of Hamilton, people are starting to get an idea of what the flames have left behind.

Near the popular trailhead where the fire is suspected to have started, there isnt a whole lot of green left to see.

People are going to be pretty shocked when they finally get to go up to the trailhead, said Forest Service Public Information Officer Mike Cole. It was pretty much a crown fire that went through there. On both sides of the canyon, it did get up into the trees. The south side of the canyon is just black snags.

Cole and several others with the Forest Service ventured up to the trailhead for the first time since the fire started on July 31.

From the trailheads parking lot, Cole said the forest was black as far up the mountain as he could see.

We were lucky there werent a lot of people up the canyon that day, he said. That was one hot and fast moving fire that moved through there. Its the type of fire that would trap animals. Even animals wouldnt be able to get out of the way fast enough in that kind of fire.

What needles on the trees that didnt burn were frozen in the direction of the high winds that must have blown down through the canyon that first night.

You could tell which direction the fire was coming from by looking at the needles, Cole said. All of the needles were pointed east. Its something called needle freeze. Its really unique  the fire was burning through so fast and so hot and it flash-froze the needles.

The only thing that survived on the trailhead sign was the metal that framed it.

Even with the recent rain, Cole said there was a still quite a lot of smoke coming from tree trunks and downed logs in the area.

That little bit of rain that we got was nice, he said. Its slowed things down for a few days, but by this weekend it will be hot again and well see more fire activity occur.

When firefighters do their mop-up work, they focus their efforts on the first 200 feet in from a fire line. Beyond that, Cole said people are going to notice that theres quite of bit of material still smoldering.

When we were at the trailhead today, around us 360 degrees, we could see stumps burning and other material smoking, he said. Its going to take a season-ending event to put this out. I think people may have a false sense of hope right now. They might think that this fire is out. While that would be nice, its not true.

A Hotshot crew has spent the past couple of nights camped out high on the southwestern edge of the fire in order to get an early start each day extending the fire line higher up the mountain.

They want to hang that fire far up on the side of the mountain so it cant come back down and get into the stands of heavy timber in Camas Creek, Cole said. We dont want to allow it to blow out into the valley again.

On Wednesday, a feller buncher was used to take out trees to help widen fire lines on the southwestern edge of the fire. The trees were limbed and the logs hauled out by trucks on FS Road 496 down to the Lost Horse Road.

We have some logging truck traffic coming out of there that people need to be aware of, Cole said.

On Wednesday, the management of the fire was turned over by the Northern Region Type 1 Incident Management Team to a smaller Type 3 team as the resources tied to fighting the fire continue to be released.

The new incident commander is Drew Daily, who has served as operations manager with the larger Type 1 team.

This is the best-case scenario, Cole said. He knows the whole fire and all of its moving parts. That should make the transition really smooth.

There are 518 people assigned to the fire. Cole said those numbers will continue to drop over the next few days.

The fire received a little bit of rain Tuesday.

Over the past four days, a portable weather station just south of the fire recorded a half-inch of precipitation.

That doesnt mean the fire got a half-inch, Cole said. It did get a good shot of moisture yesterday (Tuesday). We a little bit of a chance for a thunderstorm today and then the system will be moving out of here. Then well be back to typical August weather.

Farther south, firefighters have made good headway around the eight-acre Lost Trail fire.

They are doing mop-up right now, said Bitterroot Forest spokesman Tod McKay. They havent called it contained, but they have de-mobed a lot of resources from it. Its looking pretty good at this point.

Firefighters, local law enforcement and Forest Services made a video to offer their thanks to the community through this trying time. It can be found at facebook.com/DiscoverBitterrootNF.
A Florence physician charged with 400 felonies for allegedly providing patients with illegal prescriptions said Wednesday that he still isnt prepared to proceed to trial this fall.

During a short hearing, Ravalli County District Court Judge Jeffrey Langton told Dr. Chris Christensen that the trial was moving forward and that he needed to be ready to produce his list of witnesses and exhibits at a pretrial conference set for later this month.

Christensen, 67, appeared at the hearing without representation.

Since December, when the Office of the State Public Defender withdrew from the case after finding that he made too much money to qualify for state-funded counsel, Christensen has maintained that hes seeking a lawyer, but cant afford one.

Langton recently denied Christensens request to delay his trial that is set to begin October.

Christensen was arrested in August 2015 after allegedly providing hundreds of illegal prescriptions to his patients, including two who died from overdoses. Amongst the charges he faces are two counts of negligent homicide.

At Wednesdays hearing, Christensen said he was unable to proceed to trial without a lawyer and told Langton that he was doing everything possible to move his situation forward.

Christensen has maintained all along that he has no plans of representing himself at the trial.

In his request in May for a yearlong delay in the trial date, Christensen said he will require three attorneys, three legal assistants, several law clerks, two secretaries and an office manager to prepare his case. In addition, Christensen said hell need medical experts in at least 11 different specialties and an in-house medical law consultant.

Christensen claimed the boutique law firm would cost as much as $1 million in public defense fees and might require a special appropriation by the Montana Legislature.

On Wednesday, Ravalli County Deputy Attorney Thorin Geist told Langton that he had offered Christensen a plea agreement, but there had been no response.

After Christensen read a short statement saying he was unable to proceed without a lawyer, Geist told the judge the agreement was now off the table.

Geist also expressed concern about the fact the confidential plea agreement document had been disseminated to the press. A copy was forwarded earlier this week to the Missoulian newspaper.

Geist learned the agreement had been circulated after a Ravalli Republic reporter inquired about its validity.

Geist said Christensen was the only person who had been emailed a copy.

At Wednesdays hearing, Geist warned Christensen about circulating confidential criminal information, including names of witnesses and other information that he will be presented with at the upcoming pretrial hearing.

Geist told Christensen that he could face additional charges if he disseminated that material.

Christensen denied forwarding the proposed plea agreement to the newspaper.

I cant offer any explanation to that allegation, he said.

Christensen faces a potential sentence of up to 388 life terms, plus 135 years and a fine of up to $20 million if convicted on all charges.

Potential jurors for the trial set to begin on Oct. 20 will be notified soon. The trial is expected to last a month.
America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance!
James W. Lucas

Donald Trump has fought through a 17-challenger field to win the Republican presidential nomination. Now the smartest move for Trump would be to leave the race. Yes, I mean that. (And I am not the only one to wonder if his commitment to finish the race is less than complete.)

But after coming this far, why would a man who wrote a book called Never Give Up walk away? The answer has nothing to do with poll numbers or GOP malcontents. The reason is because of Trump's long-term perspective gained from decades as a successful businessman.

As he regularly tells us, Trump is a businessman, not a politician. And, unlike one-hit wonders like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, he has built a career in which he has founded and grown numerous enterprises. One of the key talents underlying this long career is his preternatural ability to know when to change course. To understand this uncanny instinct for knowing when to switch strategies one needs to look back at the most dramatic time in Trump's career. In the early 1990s, Trump faced disaster. Heavily invested in Atlantic City gaming ventures, Trump had billions of dollars in debt, almost a billion of it personally guaranteed. His personal financial demise was predicted.

How did Trump react to what he described as "the lowest moment I had yet encountered in my life" (Never Give Upp.2)? He told his advisors that it was "time to move forward" and announced a lot of "new projects I had lined up for us. There were a lot of projects, and they were big deals" (Never Give Up p. 3). However, they were not in Atlantic City. He worked on Mar-a-Lago in Florida and acquired 40 Wall Street, among many others. As he told the Wall Street Journal regarding Atlantic City, "I said, 'OK, now it's junk bond time. It's been a great experience, but I'm out." Many have criticized Trump for bankrupting his casinos in exiting from the much-hyped campaign to revive old worn down Atlantic City with the fantasy of turning it into a new Las Vegas. However, two decades later that effort has largely been a big bust, and Trump can be seen as prescient for getting out when he did.

Trump's goal was not to succeed in one specific venture. It was broader  to build a worldwide business. To do so, one has "to pursue multiple options  at the same time  you've got to have back-up options.  Don't ever be afraid to change your mind about something.  I'm fortunate to have the capacity to change my thought patterns quickly" (Never Give Up, pp. 68, 92, 95). In many respects this ability has underlain his whole career. He started as just one more New York real estate developer. However, over the decades he has transformed his operation from being just one of a hundred successful real estate development businesses into a unique marketing and branding enterprise.

Trump is capable of making the bold unexpected move, and doing something no politician would think of. But would he turn the race over to someone else? Let's look at the benefits of such a bold switch now at the top of his presidential run:

Better the kingmaker than the king

Where does Trump move to if he is no longer the GOP presidential candidate? He becomes the kingmaker of the Republican Party. He certainly would secure a commitment to pick his successor as the GOP presidential candidate as a condition for granting the fondest wish of the party apparatus and leaving the race. This would be someone who supports him and his policies, foreclosing anti-Trump establishment types like Paul Ryan. Trump should be confident that he would make a good choice. After all, identifying and promoting strong talent was the fundamental premise of The Apprentice.

We can be sure that the author of the Art of the Deal would secure many other commitments from the GOP. Trump would instantly become the elder statesman of the Republican Party. He could exercise his influence over issues without having to engage in the grubby compromises of being in office. Look at it this way. If he stays in the race and loses, he is finished. If he wins, all he gets are a few years in office fighting a recalcitrant Congress. On the other hand, if he leaves now, he will have enormous influence over his designated successor's administration. If his designee loses, it will be that guy's fault, and Trump will still have the ongoing influence he would have negotiated with the party at his exit and the ability to continue his crusade untarnished by defeat.

The Kids and the Long Game

Trump has shown he knows how to play the long game. For example, he spent 30 years developing the Penn Yards project on Manhattan's West Side.

One of the unexpected and exciting aspects of Trump's candidacy was the introduction to the wider world of his adult children. Donald, Jr. (Don), Ivanka (wow!) and Eric Trump are smart, able, dynamic and telegenic. Any or all of them could have amazing political careers. Especially open paths are available to them now in New York. The New York Republican Party is not strong. Both U.S. Senate seats, the governorship and the New York City mayoralty are all held by Democrats badly in need of defeating. As one myself, I am confident that New York Republicans (who overwhelmingly supported Donald in the primary) would enthusiastically support the candidacy of the next generation Trumps. This is how you build the Trump brand beyond one generation.

A political career would also offer a way for these capable people to move outside Dad's shadow without rebelling, always a challenge for the sons and daughters of high profile fathers.

The Voice

Running for and holding office puts a huge kink in one's freedom to do and say what must be done and said. The pain Trump was suffering was palpable when he endorsed Paul Ryan and John McCain in his recent campaign speech in Wisconsin. Yet internal critics like Ryan and McCain are certain to be a permanent trial if Trump is president. Outside of office with the permanent bully pulpit he would gain from voluntarily stepping away, Trump would be in a position not only to advocate his policies without reservation or compromise, but also to use his well demonstrated attack skills to go after those who attack him and his. In particular, Trump has advanced positions on trade, immigration and foreign military ventures that go against those of the Beltway establishment. Only a strong powerful voice from outside the establishment can keep the GOP on the populist course Trump has envisioned. What better voice than Donald Trump himself, a voice which can actually be made stronger and freer by the bold step of stepping away from the race now.

James W. Lucas is an attorney in New York City with decades of experience in advising businesses. He is also the author of Are We the People? How We the People Can Take Charge of Our Constitution and Timely Renewed: Amendments to Restore the American Constitution.
A residents shows China's yuan and US dollar banknotes in Qionghai, South China's Hainan province, Jan 7, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's central bank is expected to choose a Chinese lender to clear yuan transactions in the United Arab Emirates by the end of this year, which would strengthen the growing economic ties between China and the Middle East, Reuters reports.

Middle East's first yuan clearing centre was opened in Qatar last April, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) becoming the clearing bank, handling 350 billion yuan ($52.6 billion) in transactions since it launched, Zhou Xiaodong, general manager of ICBC's Dubai branch, told Reuters.

The launch of a clearing bank in the UAE could influence trade and investment in the Gulf, where Dubai acts as the region's top business centre, handling flows of money and goods to countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and beyond, Reuters reports.

Fang Min, senior executive officer of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), told Reuters: "In this region everyone thinks of Dubai as the hub for the whole of the Middle East".

"From an economic and financial centre point of view, Dubai is the most appropriate (place) to set up an offshore renminbi market," Fang said.

The yuan clearing bank in the UAE will be chosen among Agricultural Bank of China, ICBC, Bank of China and China Construction Bank, according to Fang.

The trade between China and the UAE was estimated at $60 billion last year, up from $47.6 billion in 2014, according to Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

In addition, as the UAE is the most active country in the Middle East in using yuan for direct payments to China, yuan was used for 74 percent of payments by value from the UAE to Chinese mainland and Hong Kong on the SWIFT international transactions network last year.

Fang said he expected the UAE's ratio for SWIFT direct payments in yuan could increase to 80 or 85 percent by 2020.
KATHMANDU, Aug 11: Seven Chinese companies have shown interest in carrying out the feasibility study of the proposed Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu railway.

The construction of a Nepal-China railway was mentioned in the joint press communique issued by the two countries during the official visit of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to China in March this year.

Director of the Department of Railways, Ananta Acharya said that seven Chinese companies have shown their interest in carrying out the feasibility of the Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu railway.

"There is a need of constructing many infrastructures such as bridges and tunnels for the railway given the mountainous and rugged topography and it needs a lot of budget.

No agreement on this was made during the Prime Minister's visit but the topic was included only in the joint press communique, so, it is difficult to give authorization to carry out the feasibility study as per the law and acts," he said.

Railway is considered cheaper, faster and convenient means of transportation. Goods brought up to Sigatse of China by train and then from there to Kathmandu by truck took 15 days.

It is found that goods ferried from Kolkata port to Kathmandu take 45 days to arrive. The transportation of goods to Nepal became faster after India opened the Vishakhapatnam harbour last year.

Before this, it was a Chinese company itself that carried out the feasibility study of the Kathmandu-Pokhara railway.

The study report has already been submitted to the Railway Department.

According to Director General Acharya, the Kathmandu-Pokhara railway is feasible as per the study report. RSS
KATHMANDU (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Last year's twin earthquakes in Nepal disproportionately affected single women, underlining the need for equal land ownership to increase their resilience in disasters, a women's rights activist has said.

Of the more than 900,000 homes damaged and destroyed, about a quarter belonged to female-headed households. More than 500,000 women and girls were displaced and about 2,000 women were widowed, according to official data.

"The deep gender inequality in Nepal meant that women, and single women in particular, suffered most in the aftermath of the earthquakes," said Lily Thapa, founder of Women for Human Rights (WHR), a group campaigning for single women's rights with about 100,000 members.

"They could not make themselves heard and they received the least assistance, which left many vulnerable to abuse, trafficking and harassment," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Kathmandu.

While the 2015 constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender and established equal property rights, a deep-rooted patriarchy still denies these rights to women, and to single women in particular.

Nepal's categorization of single women - estimated by the charity to number 500,000 - includes those who are widowed, those who are unmarried above the age of 35, and those who are divorced.

Early marriage, with 37 percent of Nepali women married before the age of 18, increases their vulnerability, Thapa said.

The migration of millions of young Nepali men overseas to find jobs has also led to an increase in female-headed households to 26 percent in 2011 from 15 percent in 2001, according to census data.

While women's ownership of land and property has improved in recent years, women are still much less likely to inherit land, to have land registered in their name, or possess documentation that supports their claim, Thapa said.

Female ownership of land and/or property stood at 20 percent in 2011 compared with 12 percent in 2001. In rural areas, it is 18 percent compared with 27 percent in urban areas.

TEMPORARY SHELTERS

The quakes that struck last April and May killed 9,000 people and injured at least 22,000 in the Himalayan nation.

Nearly a quarter of the 495 single women-headed households surveyed by WHR and Oxfam after the disaster said they had lost their property papers, and nearly half had lost their citizenship certificates.

Many women have never had citizenship papers, marriage certificates or even birth certificates. Getting documentation can be daunting for single women, as large numbers are illiterate, Thapa said.

After the quakes, these challenges were thrown into sharp relief as single women had to repair or rebuild their homes and care for the family. Many were unable to seek assistance.

When WHR surveyed women several months after the quakes, more female-headed households than male-headed households were still in camps, Thapa said.

"Women who were widowed in the quakes, for example, had to observe the mourning rituals for a year - staying indoors, not going into crowds. How could they go get relief or get new papers?" Thapa said.

"There is a lot of social pressure on widows, on single women to observe rituals, to stay home, to remain dependent on men," said Thapa, a widow herself.

Nepal appointed its first female president last year and its first female chief justice earlier this year, in signs that the country is becoming increasingly inclusive, following the end of 10 years of civil war in 2006.

WHR is lobbying the government to include single women in the planning and implementation of disaster preparedness, response and recovery programs and resettlement plans.

It is also asking the government to ensure that joint land ownership registration is made mandatory for married couples, and to promote women's registration on other forms of land documentation.

"Strengthening single women's asset ownership is key to reducing their vulnerability to disasters and boosting their resilience," Thapa said.
New Orleans' road warriors GOATWHORE will return to the US tour circuit this Fall on a short run of live abrasions prior to and following their Ozzfest appearance in San Bernardino, California on September 24th. The trek will commence on September 16th and rupture fifteen stages through October 1st. Support will be provided by The Blood Royale on select dates. GOATWHORE's latest US journey will follow a two-week stretch of European onstage debauchery set to kick off next month.





Comments GOATWHORE frontman Ben Falgoust, "We have been associated with Ozzfest in the past and are grateful to be playing it this year, but being part of Black Sabbath's final West Coast show is another legendary experience to be affiliated with and be able to witness first hand, taking in every element of a band that has been a great influence on all levels in the metal world. Also, Ozzfest has given opportunities to countless freshly-emerging metal acts to forge new paths and give people new levels of extreme music to connect with and hear... that doesn't exclude this year. Tons of acts that have been pretty damn strong in the underground metal community will be making their first appearances at Ozzfest Meets Knotfest, as well as repeat acts that have been a part of it in the past. So, when you come to see Black Sabbath out West for their last time, come early and be a part of the future of metal, as well as it's legendary past."





Adds drummer Zack Simmons, "We are very honored to be a part of Black Sabbath's last ever California performance and Ozzfest's 20th Anniversary. It'll be a ripping day of heavy metal and a bittersweet farewell to the godfathers of the genre."





GOATWHORE:

8/11/2016 Alte Zuckerfabrik - Rostock, DE

8/12/2016 Party San - Schlotheim, DE

8/13/2016 Ieper Fest - Ieper, BE

8/14/2016 Bloodstock - Walton On Trent, GB

8/15/2016 Tower - Bremen, DE

8/16/2016 Beta - Copenhagen, DK

8/17/2016 Lido - Berlin, DE

8/20/2016 Motocultor Saint - Nolff, FR

w/ The Blood Royale:

9/16/2016 The District - Lafayette, LA *

9/17/2016 Texas Rose Saloon - Beaumont, TX

9/18/2016 Grizzly Hall - Austin, TX

9/19/2016 Korova Basement - San Antonio, TX

9/20/2016 Mesa Music Hall - El Paso, TX

9/21/2016 Flycatcher - Tucson, AZ

9/22/2016 Dive Bar - Las Vegas, NV

9/23/2016 The Merrow - San Diego, CA *

9/24/2016 Ozzfest - San Bernardino, CA *

9/25/2016 Golden Bull - Oakland, CA

9/26/2016 Rojo's - South Lake Tahoe, CA

9/28/2016 Lion's Lair - Denver, CO

9/29/2016 Launchpad - Albuquerque. NM

9/30/2016 Reno's Chop Shop - Dallas, TX

10/01/2016 Luna Live - Lake Charles, LA *

* No The Blood Royale





metalblade.com/goatwhore GOATWHORE released their unanimously-revered Constricting Rage Of The Merciless full-length via Metal Blade in 2014. Crowned a, "blasphemous blast," by Decibel Magazine and commended for channeling, "every evil impulse of its blackened death thrash," into the record by The Austin Chronicle, Constricting Rage Of The Merciless debuted at #81 on Billboard's Top 200 chart, crushing their last entry position of #171 with Blood For The Master. Constricting... also hit the #21 spot on Billboard's Rock chart, #7 on the Hard Rock chart, #13 on the Independent chart and, boasting ten mutinous tracks of thick, predatory, subterranean metal, continues to reap the exaltation of fans and critics globally. Purchase your copy today atwhere you'll also find a host of videos, including a special edition of "FBS," compiled from fan-filmed footage from around the globe.








"I would like to say 'This book is written to the glory of God', but nowadays this would be the trick of a cheat, i.e., it would not be correctly understood."--Ludwig Wittgenstein



"Talk to me about the truth of religion, and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolation of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand."--C.S. Lewis
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Babak Anvari's feature debut Under the Shadow has been earning rave reviews as it tore through the festival circuit this year. The trailer for the horror flick is here and you can watch it below.

In Under the Shadow Shideh is a stay at home mom looking after her daughter Dorsa. Her husband is sent to the front lines during the Iran Irag War in 1988. That is when the trouble begins.

Shideh finds herself slowly drawn into the ensuing turmoil, struggling to cling onto what is real and what is not. Searching for answers, she learns from a superstitious neighbor that the cursed missile might have brought with it Djinn  malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits that travel on the wind. Convinced that a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess Dorsa, Shideh has no choice but to confront these forces if she is to save her daughter and herself.

The Iranian horror flick has been earning praise not only for its scares but also for the performance from his lead Narges Rashidi, who plays the beliguered mother Shideh. Pierce Conran caught the film on the festival circuit this summer and had this to say:

Director Babak Anvari, who makes his feature debut with this Sundance-premiered film, weans scares and ideas a plenty throughout the film, yet perhaps his single greatest tool is actress Narges Rashidi. Playing the strong-willed and unwilling housewife, Rashidi conveys a potent feeling of perseverance mingled with helplessness.
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Arianna Huffington, chairwoman, president, and editor in chief of the Huffington Post, will be these things no longer. I fully expected to be able to continue leading HuffPost while also building Thrive Global, Huffington tells the New York Times today, But it became clear that this was an illusion as Thrive went from an idea to a reality, with investors, staff and offices. Here, Huffington is referring to a wellness startup named for her book Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. A fearless advocate for wellness, Huffington is now fighting for controversial causes like a good night's rest, as she does in her book The Sleep Revolution. One of the Thrive principles is knowing when its time for a new chapter to begin, and for me that time has arrived, Huffington said.

While that's one real and also expedient explanation, another, as tendered by Recode and surely others, has to do with a crowding of the Huffington Post and a potentially forced change of her role there. As was announced at the end of July, Verizon bought Yahoo for $5 million. Yahoo's media tendencies might clash with another Verizon-owned media company, The Huffington Post.

More precisely, the hierarchy is this: The Huffington Post was sold to AOL five years ago, and then Verizon bought AOL last year. Now, with Verizon absorbing Yahoo, there's a little too much media at the company, and perhaps not enough love to go around. "It was pretty clear that in Yahoo/AOL, she wouldnt have the same position that she has now," or so an anonymous source tells Recode.

So now Ms. Huffington will turn her attentions to Thrive Global, a "corporate and consumer well-being and productivity platform" with $7 million in funding and a $33 million valuation. As Business Insider notes, the company plans to focus on "curated commerce" focused on wellness  "think pillows, candles, and food supplements."

You know, with that kind of money, it can't be terribly hard to sleep at night.

Previously: Sunday Morning Coming Down: Verizon Buys Yahoo For $5 Billion
The suspect in a August 4 strong arm robbery of a Pokemon Go player is a wanted man in three other cities, police announced Wednesday night.

According to San Francisco Police Department Spokesperson Officer Grace Gatpandan, 23-year-old Damarea Williams-Evans allegedly snatched the cell phone from the hands of a Pokemon Go player on Mission Street near 17th Street.

The victim told police that he "chased the suspect and demanded the return of his cell phone, threatening to strike the suspect with a bottle if he did not get his cell phone back."

Williams-Evans allegedly "placed his hands into the front of his pants and threatened to shoot him if he came at him with the bottle" in response.

"The victim stated that, based on the actions of the suspect, he believed that he did possess a gun," Gatpandan says.

Shortly after the altercation, the victim flagged down some Mission Station officers at 17th and Hoff Streets, pointed out Williams-Evans, and told police his tale of woe.

Officers detained Williams-Evans, who as it turns out did not have a gun on his person. However, "the victim was able to unlock the cell phone that the suspect had in his possession by scanning his fingerprint and showed officers a digital image of himself on the phone," Gatpandan says.

Williams-Evans, who Gatpandan says has "numerous active South San Francisco, Santa Clara and Marin County warrants," was booked into San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of felony strong-arm robbery, terrorist threats, and narcotics-related charges. According to online information provided by the San Francisco Sheriff's Department, he is now "out of custody." A call to the Sheriff's Department for more details on Williams-Evans' current location was not returned at publication time.

Related: Investigators Puzzled After 20-Year-Old Randomly Killed While Playing Pokemon Go
The union representing officers with the San Francisco Police Department and top department brass have come to an agreement on just how, exactly, its members should and should not be using social media. KQED News reports that the new policy comes after a scandal involving the alleged sexual exploitation and trafficking of a minor rocked both the SFPD and the Oakland Police Department.

At heart was Celeste Guap, an East Bay resident who says that as a minor she had sex with numerous police officers  including at least one SFPD officer. In addition, it turned out that dozens more members of the SFPD were connected to Guap via Facebook  and were either conversing or flirting with her thre  and a federal officer reportedly reached out to her via Instagram in an attempt to pimp her.

"Weve seen the situation in Oakland, we saw the situation in our own department through some of the hideous text messages that were being sent back and forth, Gary Delagnes, the former president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, told KQED News. Delagnes helped to negotiate the new policy. "Everybody was kind of on the same page on this one. You cant give the appearance to the public that this is the way we act or the way we think.

A chunk of the new policy, highlighted by the publication, seems to be an attempt to head off any future questionable online interactions.

Members are prohibited from any use of personal social media to contact or communicate (e.g., friending, following, messaging, etc.) with witnesses, crime victims, or any person under the age of 18 who members interact with through the course of their official duties with the Department. Such contacts or communications on social media could impair the members capacity to perform his or her duties or jeopardize an ongoing investigation or criminal case. All such contacts and communications shall be done through Department authorized methods and channels (e.g., Department email, etc.). These restrictions do not apply to communications with relatives of Department members that members have a relationship with outside the Department.

While it is certainly good to have this in writing, one has to wonder what difference it will make. Isn't it common sense that a police officer shouldn't be Facebook friends with a trafficked and abused minor, as Guap was? (Though it's very possible none of them knew her age or occupation, and that she reached out and befriended them.) If a police officer makes the decision to do coke and have sex with an underage girl, as the Examiner reports SFPD Officer Rodger Ponce De Leon is alleged to have done, then is a social media policy really going to get in his way?

The Police Commission is set to vote on the new guidelines on September 7. In the meantime, Guap's grandmother has said the officers involved with her daughter should be put in jail, where, of course, their opportunities to hit on underage victims of crime via Facebook would be greatly reduced.

Related: And Now A Federal Officer Is Accused Of Trying To Pimp The Oakland Teen At Center Of OPD Scandal
@Snapchat @snapchatsupport idk if u realize, but this filter is yellowface and u should take it down pic.twitter.com/MLSHz0Bbkl  lia (@limb_light) August 9, 2016

Much like they did on 4/20 with their blackface Bob Marley filter, the geniuses at LA-based Snapchat have done an about-face and removed a Japanese anime-inspired filter that was essentially yellowface, and offensive by any stretch. The filter, or lens as they call it, superimposed squinty eyes, thin upraised eyebrows, and pouty lips or buckteeth on the photo subject, and quickly drew the ire of Asian Americans on Twitter, as evidenced below.

Snapchat issued an apology saying "Lenses are meant to be playful and never to offend."

USA Today spoke to a UCLA professor who suggests that Snapchat, and other tech companies, really should "take seriously hiring people with a deep knowledge of cultural studies, ethnic studies, sociology, women studies, fields that are deeply attuned to the histories of people of color."

Via Twitter, reactions to the lens began on August 9. Snapchat has now removed the lens, as the Associated Press reports.

.@Snapchat wanna tell me why u thought this yellowface was ok?? pic.twitter.com/sgpW4AFPsE  grace (@tequilafunrise) August 9, 2016 @Snapchat what the HELL is up with this yellow face filter? Racist filters are not cute. Wtf are you doing? Deleting pic.twitter.com/MABZ5iDZkn  Tasting with Tansu (@TansuPhilip) August 9, 2016

As Wired explains, the fact that offensive filters like this one slip through may be due to the fact that the company, for reasons of revenue and user engagement, is going hog-wild creating new filters.

For Snapchat, experimenting with filters is good for business. They prove the companys value for advertisers as a creative way to let brands insert themselves in conversations that dont alienate teens. The more filters people use, the more likely theyll be to download a lens sponsored by a brand, like the Target-branded filter thats live right now.

Right, but COME ON. There wasn't anybody on the team, even like one Asian person, who was like, "Hold up, guys. This might be seen as racist."??

Back in April, the Bob Marley filter that was launched in collaboration with the Marley estate, sparked controversy but was not removed, and rather than apologize for it Snapchat issued a weird statement saying the blackface lens "gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music. "

Previously: 4/20 Fail: Snapchat's Bob Marley Filter Puts Everyone In Blackface


Hey everyone, it's time for the annual Perseid meteor shower! And, as it's San Francisco in August, that also means it's time for everyone to get disappointed that their view of the Perseid meteor shower is obstructed by clouds. However, there are a few ways for fog-bound San Franciscans to see the hours-long light show, and as KQED News reports not all of them involve getting out of the city.

First, lets start with the basics. What is this thing, anyway? The good folks at NASA have put together a helpful explainer which drops the following bits of knowledge. The light streaks you'll see in the sky are "tiny specks of comet-stuff hitting Earth's atmosphere at very high speed and disintegrating in flashes of light." The comet in question is 109P/Swift-Tuttle (impress your friends with that), and thanks to Jupiter's gravity moving some of the comet debris around, this year's show is going to be more spectacular than usual. "Even though the moon phase is not the best for viewing, the 2016 shower will be an outburst, with rates double the normal levels," NASA explains.

That translates to up to 200 meteors per hour tonight and Friday night.

"Every Perseid meteor is a tiny piece of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 133 years," NASA further explains. "Each swing through the inner solar system can leave trillions of small particles in its wake. When Earth crosses paths with Swift-Tuttles debris, specks of comet-stuff hit Earths atmosphere and disintegrate in flashes of light. These meteors are called Perseids because they seem to fly out of the constellation Perseus."

So there you have it.

Prime time to see the meteor show is around 1:10 a.m., but you should be able to spot something starting around 11:00 p.m. If you're sticking in San Francisco (where it is expected to be cloudy), KQED News says that as long as you get in a "moon shadow" and look to the north-east you'll be good. "Have the moon be blocked by a tree or a chubby neighbor, Foothill College's astronomy professor Andrew Fraknoi told the publication.

If you want to be sure to see some meteors, however, your best bet will be to head out of SF. Thankfully, there are plenty of great viewing spots. Get yourself to Lawrence Berkeley Lab or Vollmer Peak located in Tilden Park. Or, if you're lazy, there's a much easier option: NASA will livestream the media shower (the stream starts at 7:00 p.m. PST and is embedded below) so you don't even have to leave your bed.

Happy gazing!

Previously: Where To Watch The Perseid Meteor Shower Tonight
DES MOINES  Gov. Terry Branstad has ordered a review of Iowa laws governing liquor, wine and beer with an eye on balancing the needs of a rapidly expanding industry of micro-enterprises with state regulations and social concerns associated with alcohol consumption.

Iowa laws regulating alcohol were first written in 1934, Branstad said Wednesday in announcing a study of laws governing the regulation of alcohol in Iowa. Many things have changed in this industry since then, and we want to make sure our laws are not barriers to entrepreneurs and businesses.

Branstad named Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and Stephen Larson, administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, to spearhead the working-group review beginning next month with the goal of providing recommendations to him by next January. Durham, of Sioux City, is a former president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, chairman of the Senate State Government Committee, said he welcomed an effort to improve and streamline Iowas regulatory framework while maintaining the three-tier system for manufacturers, distributors and retailers that make up Iowas spirits, wine and beer markets.

I fully support it, said Danielson, who had hoped for a similar legislative interim study. We can preserve the three-tiered system and grow Iowa products at the same time. There is common ground around some changes. I see it. We just havent had a chance to get everybody in the room and to talk about it.

Among the topics for consideration would be easing restrictions on out-the-door products by microbreweries that currently serve their products at on-premise restaurants or lifting production caps on distilleries and allowing them to sell their products on their venue sites, he noted.

With the rapid growth in recent years of craft breweries, native wineries and micro-distilleries, the composition of the states industry is far more diverse and innovative than in years past, according to the governors office.

Micro-enterprises in this industry are locating in our communities  both big and small  and are not only creating jobs but are also increasing tourism in our state, Durham said. Its important that we modernize our laws so this cottage industry is on a level playing field and feel like they have a chance to succeed.

Matt Matthiesen, owner of West O Beer brewery in West Okoboji, Iowa, said the states step to modernize the laws is a "win." He said Iowa wineries have been around longer than breweries, and enjoy some advantages over breweries.

"One thing off the top of my head is that I wish we could, at least, sell local wines," Matthiesen said. "Wineries can sell beer; breweries cannot sell wine. I think we are missing customers because of that."

Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds noted that the demand for Iowa-made products in the beverages industry is growing every day, making it important to ensure that Iowa laws are encouraging business development as well as protecting Iowans.

Larson said laws governing alcoholic beverages must be clear and easily understood, noting that exceptions and carve-outs that have been enacted over the years have led to confusion and ambiguity in some regulatory areas.

The working group will be designated to look at the existing laws and make recommendations for changes that could better position the state for growth in the cottage industries of wine-making, brewing and distilling, according to the governors directive. Appointees will work with representatives of the alcoholic beverages industry, including wholesalers, manufacturers, retailers, prevention specialists and regulators to gain a broad range of perspectives.

Journal staff writer Alex Boisjolie contributed to this story.
SIOUX CITY | The United Way of Siouxland is launching its 2016/17 annual campaign beginning Aug. 25 in the Rocklin Center at Western Iowa Tech Community College.

Campaign chairs Doug and Susan Boden with Aalfs Manufacturing Company will announce the goals for this year's campaign, and share results from the previous year. The event will feature several guest speakers.

"Company coordinator training" will immediately follow the event at 8:30 a.m. The training will be helpful to those leading their organization's employee campaign.
I first fell in love, or at least was infatuated, with pinot noir as a young restaurantgoer many years ago.

I did a fair amount of appreciating back then, before I started asking questions, and believe me when I say that the appreciating was easy  even effortless at times. Servers at multicourse dinners would set down beautiful pieces of stemware in front of me and then fill them with exquisite wine that would go with the upcoming course.

Sometimes the wine would give away the food before it arrived. A small tulip glass of Sauternes? Here comes the seared foie gras. Even if the wine didnt completely spill the beans on the food (as sommeliers like to surprise and delight), the progression was usually consistent: start small and end big. Light to heavy, delicate to bold  choose the opposing words you like best.

I got excited when a bowl glass arrived, not because of what food was on its way (maybe its mushroom risotto, maybe salmon, maybe duck), but because of what wine was on its way. When I saw that classic Burgundy glass before me, it told me that we were moving into reds.

Nothing against bubbles or whites. Obviously some of the worlds most sublime wines are white or shimmering with fizz. And I want some of each of those every time I lock in to a multicourse meal. But I also want to move from those lighter wines to bigger ones, and from the delicate fare that kicked off the evening to the bolder flavors that will end it.

Those later dishes and later wines were not always better than the earlier ones. There are no guarantees in life or in dining. But there is also no one among us who has been hooked by a story and didnt care to know how it ended. In those days, I thought of the arrival of pinot noir as the rising action of the story that was my dinner. It told me that we were past the exposition and moving toward the climax, falling action and resolution (the denouement, if you must). It was the spot where the story got really good.

But that is a backhanded compliment. It implies that pinot noir was not much more than a Pavlovian trigger, when actually another huge reason I fell in love with pinot noir was that it was, more often than not, ridiculously awesome.

It is a wine style with many moods. If ever there were times when declaring a wine fruit-forward was appropriate, surely they have included pinot noirs. On the other hand, when a pinot noir is not jamming with strawberries, cherries and raspberries, it might be brooding with leather, smoke, forest floor and funk (the smell of animals, human or otherwise). In between, the possibilities could include violets, roses, figs, plums, incense and truffles. Some pinots can cop to several of these descriptors in a single glass.

The undisputed Eden of pinot noir is the Burgundy region of France, specifically the Cote dOr, where single bottles can demand absurd prices in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Pinot noir also does well in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, in several regions of California (including Sonoma and the Central Coast), and in Chile, Australia and New Zealand (most notably in Marlborough, Martinborough and Central Otago).

Vineyard managers will tell you that pinot noir is a difficult grape variety to grow because it wants to ripen early and too much heat can allow it to do that and burn out its potential, and winemakers will tell you that it takes more effort to turn pinot noir into great wine than it does with a lot of other grape varieties. Perhaps these are a couple of the reasons that pinot noir  particularly Burgundy  is the stuff of legend.

But again, to stop there would be to not give full credit to a grape that is one of the worlds greatest. Put another way, if it were easy to grow, and it basically made itself in the winery, it would still be legendary based on what it does for just about everyone who lifts it to his nose and mouth. If pinot noir were an art period, it would be post-impressionism  often easy to like at first glance, but also full of surprising depth when you return to it.

Besides its ever-evolving aromas and flavors, and generally reasonable levels of alcohol, pinot noirs lower tannins and lighter body make it a silky, sensual indulgence as well. While the variety is most known for the delicate, pale red wine it gets turned into, pinot noir is also a major grape in Champagne (along with chardonnay and pinot meunier) and other sparkling wines around the world.

It is believed that pinot noir gets its name from the way its clusters look on the vine, like little dark pine cones. In Italy it is called pinot nero, and in Germany it is called Spatburgunder. And of course in France, Burgundy is Bourgogne. Call it what you like. Just make sure that it is part of your regular wine consumption. You would be slighting yourself if you didnt.
HINTON, Iowa | Modifications at the Central Valley Ag Co-op in Hinton continued to move ahead this week as crews transported a pair of 100-foot dryers away from the grain elevator damaged in a March 17 explosion that injured two employees.

Stan Kalhoff, grain operations manager for Central Valley Ag in Hinton, said the dryers, which were previously hooked to the elevator that had been damaged in the explosion, remain in good condition.

"We're moving these to another elevator that's in working condition," he said. "It's basically like moving a house."

A pair of moving companies transferred the first dryer, which measured 110 feet and weighed approximately 30 tons, Monday morning, Kalhoff said. Crews returned to transport the second of the two dryers, which measured about 100 feet, Wednesday afternoon. Kalhoff said Monday's move took about four hours and Wednesday's took about 2 1/2.

The companies moving the dryers were DeVooght House Lifters & Structural Movers of New Jersey and Hummel House Moving out of Jefferson, South Dakota. Industry officials say picking up and moving a grain dryer is unusual.

The explosion at the Central Valley Ag grain elevator startled the town of Hinton the morning of March 17 and seriously injured 28-year-old Shane Noreen and 24-year-old Gustavo Gutierrez, both facility employees.

Following the explosion, Noreen and Gutierrez were admitted into the burn unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha in critical condition. A hospital representative could not be reached Wednesday to confirm whether they were still at the hospital.

A state fire marshal investigation following the explosion confirmed the source of the explosion was grain dust. John Ticer, a special agent with the Iowa State Fire Marshal Division, said investigators don't know what ignited the dust.

Kallhoff said Central Valley Ag lost about 170,000 bushels of its 5.5-million-bushel storage capacity in the explosion. The co-op went back into operation approximately two weeks following the explosion, he said, and will continue preparations for harvest season.

Kalhoff said there is no repair date set for the damaged grain elevator.
SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City man was arrested Tuesday, accused of stealing a vehicle at Octapharma Plasma, 2417 Pierce St. It was then determined he might also be connected to a theft of multiple firearms earlier this month.

According to court documents, Hunter VanWyk, 22, was arrested after surveillance footage showed him entering a vehicle without the owner's permission.

On Aug. 4, the documents say, VanWyk entered the residence of his mother and stepfather at 3315 Fifth Ave. The documents say he is a transient and is not allowed to be at their home. He was let in by a sibling while his mother and stepfather were at work.

When the stepfather arrived home, documents said, he saw a Colt 1911 pistol and a .45-caliber handgun were missing. The handgun was a 60th anniversary Michigan State Patrol edition priced at $1,500.

On Sunday, the documents say, one of the guns stolen was used when another suspect shot at a vehicle at the 3000 block of Seventh St.

The gun was seized at that time.

The court documents say that in a post-Miranda interview, VanWyk admitted he was in the house on Aug. 4 and handled the guns that were stolen, but denied stealing them.

In 2013, VanWyk was charged with second-degree theft and was sentenced to a deferred judgment and three years probation.

He is being held at the Woodbury County Jail on two counts of second-degree theft, traffic of stolen firearms and possession of a firearm as a felon.
EAGLE GROVE, Iowa | A Sioux City man has been accused of setting a fire that injured at least 11 people in Eagle Grove.

Police say the house fire started about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday. Two police officers and one firefighter were among the 11 people taken to hospitals. Police helped some people to escape out second-story windows. -- Associated Press
DES MOINES | In her first appearance in Iowa since winning the states first-in-the-nation caucuses six months ago, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stressed her economic proposals during campaign stops Wednesday at a popular local T-shirt shop and a high school.

During a visit to Raygun, Clinton said she wants to make it easier for young entrepreneurs to start businesses and she wants to encourage businesses to invest in American-made products.

Clinton contrasted her plan by accusing Donald Trump, the New York businessman and Republican candidate for president, of outsourcing much of his businesses work to other countries.

This is one of the big differences I have with Donald Trump, Clinton said. He could make his ties in Denver. He could make suits in Ohio. He could make furniture in North Carolina.

You can build it in America, and I am determined that were going to build more, and were going to be able to create more businesses and more jobs by doing so.

The Trump campaign responded to Clintons assertions by pointing to Trumps previous responses to questions on the subject.

During a recent interview with an Ohio radio station, Trump said he has been forced to make his products overseas because of trade deals that he said are bad for U.S. businesses.

All Im doing is Im doing the market, Trump told WSPD-AM in Toledo. But I want products to be made in our country. And Im going to bring companies back so that we can actually buy products from our countries so that we do make televisions in the United States again.  So that we do make different products in the United States again. 

A lot of products arent even made here anymore because theyre outsmarting us at the negotiating table, other countries.

Clinton, during her address to a crowd of 1,600 at Des Moines Lincoln High School, cited an analysis by Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moodys and a former economic adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Zandis analysis said Clintons proposals would result in 7.1 million new jobs, which would outpace current law by 2.2 million jobs.

Clinton also pointed out Zandis analysis called Trumps economic proposals fiscally unsound and would result in very large deficits and much higher debt load.

Clinton said that during her first 100 days as president she would call for heavy investment in both physical and electronic infrastructure, in clean and renewable energy sources and programs and in programs that promote small business growth.

She also proposed a three-year moratorium on student loan payments, which she said would not only help young people start businesses but also would help recent college graduates manage their student debt.

If we do infrastructure and we do clean, renewable energy jobs, then were going to be on our way to a 21st-century economy that will work for everybody, not just those at the top, Clinton said. If we want to get the economy working for everybody, then we need a campaign that lays out the agenda so people can vote for it, so when Im elected I can tell Congress this is what the people of America voted for.

At one point during the rally, U.S. Secret Service stormed the stage to protect Clinton; they were responding to protesters who unfurled two large signs directly behind Clinton. The protesters appeared to be from an animal rights group.

During her visit to Raygun, Clinton talked shop with store owner Mike Draper, telling him her father, Hugh Rodham, printed drapery fabrics.

For the event, Draper wore a Raygun-printed T-shirt that displayed one of Clintons campaign slogans, America: Hill yes, and he gave one to Clinton.

Clintons return to Iowa was brief. She appeared at Raygun for roughly a half hour, popped in on a local coffee shop, then spoke for roughly 17 minutes at the rally, after which she also greeted supporters.

Clinton left immediately; she is scheduled to give a speech Thursday in suburban Detroit.
NAIROBI - Railway lines built by Chinese firms in African countries are becoming a model of China-Africa cooperation in industrial capacity, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during his visit to Kenya on Wednesday.

Wang cited the Nairobi-Mombasa railway line as an example during a joint press conference with his Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed after their talks and a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The railway line, funded by China and being built by a Chinese company, will run from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, and a new deal has been signed to extend it to the country's western border.

Construction of the modern rail is being carried out in line with Chinese standards with Chinese equipment being used, Wang said.

"Once completed next year, it will be one of the railway lines with the highest standard, quality and cost effectiveness in Africa," he said.

Wang said the railway suited the requirements for Kenya's development and was part of the fruits of China-Kenya cooperation.

Construction of the railway line has created more than 40,000 jobs for locals, with some 20,000 local employees having received training in related skills. It has contributed to about 1.5 percent of Kenya's gross domestic product (GDP), Wang said.

Along the railway, fourteen wildlife passes have been designed to address concerns over the animals' free movement, he added.

Wang said the Chinese-built railway lines had established themselves in many African countries, citing those in Nigeria and Angola and one linking Addis Ababa with the port of Djibouti.
Never Ghana give you up

STORM LAKE, Iowa | A Laurens, Iowa, man found out the hard way that love comes at a cost.

Wade Hartley, 45, was arrested after police say he attempted to wire counterfeit bills in an attempt to begin a romantic relationship.

He was charged with two counts of felony forgery.

A release issued by the Storm Lake Police Department said police responded to the Wal-Mart in Storm Lake because a Hartley was trying to pass several counterfeit $100 bills.

Upon questioning, Hartley said he met a woman from Ghana online and she sent him two packages containing several thousand dollars in fake money, the release said. Hartley told police that he was told if he transferred the money back to the woman, it would lead to a romantic relationship between the two.

The release said Hartley was believed to have known the money was counterfeit and followed through with the transfer and also kept some of the money for his own use.

Police secured $1,900 in counterfeit $100 bills from Wal-Mart. Hartley was also in possession of $300 in fake bills.

The police department has urged community members to be on the lookout for counterfeit bills, as some may still be in circulation.

Is the customer really always right?

SIOUX CITY | People of Wal-Mart has become an infamous corner of the internet and a Sioux City man punched his membership Tuesday when he exposed himself to several people at the Sioux City store.

According to court documents, at 5:37 p.m. Tuesday, shoppers at the Wal-Mart at 3101 Floyd Blvd. notified loss prevention that Douglas Jones Coney, who was riding around the store on an electric scooter, was exposing himself as he passed females in the store.

Documents say a loss prevention representative followed Coney around the store and saw Coney approach a female, reach into his pants and expose himself. Loss prevention witnessed this in five separate areas of the store, documents say.

When officers arrived and asked Coney to lift his shirt, documents say they found his zipper was unzipped and he was not wearing underwear. Officers later found underwear in a tablet case he was carrying with him.

Coney was charged with indecent exposure and is being held in the Woodbury County Jail on $2,000 bond.
Each year, Google processes billions of automotive industry queries across the United States. In fact, 69 percent of people use Google Search to find answers when they need automotive services.

In automotive PPC, the competition is fierce! Understanding the most current auto industry trends and car advertising tactics gives smart marketers a leg up on the competition. Thats why we took a good look recently at the state of search marketing for automotive industry advertisers.

Our data pool at WordStream is deep, spanning billions of dollars in Google AdWords spend annually. We dug into that data to discover the average cost per click, average click through rate and more, specific to the automotive vertical. Weve also got some interesting new data from Google on car-related search and car advertising trends in 2016. Check it out.

The 2016 Automotive PPC Market

Mobile Search & Advertising Trends in the Automotive Industry

Im sure youre tired of hearing about the mobile-first world. Too bad! Auto searches are definitely mobile-first: Just 41 percent of automotive-related queries are happening on desktop devices. Over half of consumers search for car-related queries on their phone, and 7 percent from a tablet.

See our Mobile PPC Basics and Best Practices resource for tips and tricks on better connecting with these audiences through your Google PPC campaigns.

The Importance of Location in Automotive Advertising

One of the things Google found is that half of all searchers will make their decision based on proximity to their home or office.

This tells us that if youre doing car advertising and marketing automotive-related products/services, youve got a great opportunity to take advantage of Google AdWords features like Location Targeting. In fact, if youre using Ad Customizers with location-specific information, you can cut your CPAs in half.

Your website is critical, too, because 69 percent of searchers will check out an automotive industry website before making a purchase. Obviously, if you dont have a website, youre going to be overlooked. But the quality of your site matters, too  71 percent of searchers dont take further action if the website they visit lacks relevant, current information. Think of the sexy, engaging imagery and video content top auto brands are using; car advertising is so competitive, consumers wont settle for boring or minimal effort.

Average Click-Through Rates and Costs Per Click in Automotive Advertising

We learned in our research earlier this year that automotive advertising enjoys a better than average CTR, at 2.14 percent (compared to 1.91 percent across all industries). See the purple bar in the red box (second from the left) below:

The average CPC stacks up pretty well against the industry average of $2.32 across the search network. In automotive PPC, advertisers are paying a CPC of just $1.43, on average.

New Auto Industry Trends in Google Search and PPC for 2016

This is an industry where most of the top searches are branded; the terms with the highest search volume are GM, Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Tesla (see the top 20 below). This means theres great opportunity there for smart marketers who can tap into long-tail search queries.

Check out these other automotive PPC and SEO insights and see if you can adjust your campaigns to capture more of those 742 million search ad clicks!

Republished by permission. Original here.
Its nearly mid-August and if you listen closely, youll hear the school bells off in the distance.

Well, not really. But it is the end of summer. Everybody sigh in 3-2-1 

Though it may be sad to see summer go, it could also be a great time for businesses that cater to Back-to-School shoppers.

According to the National Retail Federations latest Back-to-School Spending Survey, Americans this year will spend a whopping $27.3 billion on back-to-school supplies. That amount is the most spent since 2012, when a record $30.3 billion was spent, according to the organizations data.

Now, while a lot of back-to-school marketing campaigns started about a month ago  thats probably when you first started seeing commercials or online ads and displays in stores  most consumers dont start shopping for supplies or new clothes until right about  NOW!

When To Start Your Back to School Promotions

The NRF data reveals that 73 percent of all back-to-school shoppers start actually buying the items between a week and a month prior to the start of school.

More specifically, just more than half (50.9 percent) of all shoppers start right now, about three weeks to a month prior to the first class bell ringing.

And about 5 percent (4.8 percent, specifically) wait until the week school starts or even after school starts to do their shopping.

You probably thought you missed out on the back-to-school rush this year but actually, a majority of the customers who will be doing that shopping could be heading to your store at this very moment.

The NRF survey revealed that only 22.2 percent of shoppers will look for back-to-school supplies at least two months before school starts.

This data should be encouraging to any shop thats looking to cater to back-to-school shoppers. Of course, its not all good news.

NRF also found that small businesses arent the most popular destination for back-to-school shoppers. Theyre actually number eigt on the list with just 16.4 percent of consumers planning to visit a small business for their back-to-school supplies.

Of course, that shouldnt deter you from putting some time into marketing back-to-school. After all, even a small percentage of the staggering expenditure back-to-school shoppers will sink into a variety of products is worth the effort.

So, how can you compete?

Back to School Retail Tips

Obviously, youll want to prominently display a back-to-school promotion at your store. Get all your products that cater to the back-to-school theme front-and-center so shoppers can see them easily.

Dont forget to update your social media channels with back-to-school sales posts, too. And a post on your companys blog or a specific landing page that offers a back-to-school discount arent bad ideas either.

Another way your business may be able to keep up with those bigger discount stores that tend to dominate the market this season is to offer free shipping or some other form of very fast delivery.

The NRF survey also found that nearly all back-to-school shoppers  89.4 percent  will look to take advantage of a free shipping deal on their supplies or other items they purchase.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
LEONARDTOWN, Md.

(Aug. 10, 2016)The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office released the following incident reports.DETECTIVES INVESTIGATING ARMED ROBBERY: On August 7, at approximately 12:13 a.m., deputies responded to the 46000 block of Rosewood Drive in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Lexington Park for the report of an armed robbery. A pizza delivery driver was approached by two males and one produced a handgun. The suspects fled on foot after a brief altercation with the victim. Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division responded to the scene and continued the investigation. Detectives are asking anyone with information about this crime to contact Detective Cory Ellis at 301-475-4200, ext. *8125 or via email cory.ellis@stmarysmd.com. Callers may also call Crime Solvers at 301-475-3333 (callers can remain anonymous, or text a tip to "TIP239" plus your message to "CRIMES" (274637).BURGLARY: Unknown suspect(s) attempted to make entry into a residence in the 29000 block of Autumnwood Drive in Mechanicsville. Corporal E. Johnson is investigating the case.BURGLARY: Unknown suspect(s) forced entry into a residence in the 25000 block of Budds Creek Road in Mechanicsville and stole property. Deputy J. Bare is investigating the case. CASE# 40799-16SUSPICIOUS INCIDENT: Deputies responded to the 21000 block of Williams Drive in Lexington Park for a reported suspicious incident where an unknown suspect was observed exiting the wood line in the area. Deputy D. Holdsworth investigated the case. CASE# 40800-16PROPERTY DESTRUCTION: Unknown suspect(s) damaged mailboxes on Bayside Road in the area of Sweetpea Lane and Bluegrass Lane in Leonardtown. Deputy T. Payne is investigating the case. CASE# 40874-16, 40875-16, 40899-16, 40900-16.BURGLARY TO MOTOR VEHICLE: Unknown suspect(s) entered a motor vehicle and stole property in the 45000 block of Springsteen Court in California. Deputy M. McClure is investigating the case. CASE# 40918-16
Robert Maurice Lumpkins, 62, of Piney Point, Md.

A St. Mary's County man had his commercial oyster license revoked after he was convicted last Thursday of harvesting oysters from polluted waters.Andrew Phillip Nelson, 20, of Hollywood, was charged in May with catching oysters from St. Inigoes Creek off the St. Mary's River, an area closed to harvesting by the Maryland Department of the Environment because of pollution.Officers on saturation patrol saw Nelson hand tonging in the headwaters of the creek and intercepted him as he returned to shore. They seized 11 bushels of oysters.In addition to revoking Nelson's commercial license, a St. Mary's County District Court judge sentenced Nelson to three year's unsupervised probation.A St. Mary's County waterman has been criminally charged with running a commercial fishing fraud scheme, the Maryland Natural Resources Police reported.Robert Maurice Lumpkins, 62, of Piney Point, was charged Friday with perjury, false entry in a public record and theft between $10,000 and $100,000 for illegally obtaining the striped bass allocation of an ailing waterman and then allowing an employee to temporarily use the allocation.The employee, Ryan Marshall Edwards, 28, of Piney Point, and Sharon Lea Hammett, 63, of Leonardtown, the notary used in the allocation transfer, were also charged in the scheme.Lumpkins last fall permanently transferred to his own tidal fishing license the striped bass allocation of David O'Donnell McKenney, a waterman who was in a bicycle accident Sept. 7 that left him a quadriplegic until his death on Nov. 1, 2015.Edwards applied for, and received, a temporary transfer of the allocation during that time. Edwards used that allocation to harvest striped bass while McKenney was hospitalized and for several months following his death.Officers inspecting the permanent and temporary transfer documents noticed McKenney's signature did not match signatures on older documents, including his will. When confronted with the fact that McKenney could not have signed the permanent transfer documents on Sept. 20after his accidentLumpkins told officers the waterman had signed them earlier in the year when he was well.The temporary transfer to Edwards for use of the allocation from Oct. 27, 2015 to Aug. 31 of this year was dated Oct. 27. Both transfer documents were notarized by Hammett.After McKenney's death, his beneficiary obtained his tidal fish license, but not the striped bass allocation, a valuable part of the license now held by Lumpkins.When questioned by officers, Hammett first said that Lumpkins and McKenney each had come to her business to have the transfers notarized. Each man had signed a statement that the documents contained accurate and true statements. But Hammett later admitted that Lumpkins and Edwards brought the documents to her already signed. She told officers that she no longer kept a registry of transactions.Edwards was charged with perjury, false entry in a public record and theft between $10,000 and $100,000. Hammett was criminally charged with two counts of misuse of a public seal and was charged under common law with two counts of misconduct in office. A date has not been set in St. Mary's County District Court.In 2011, Lumpkins pleaded guilty for his role in the largest striped bass poaching ring in the history of the Chesapeake Bay and was sentenced to serve 18 months in federal prison. He also was ordered to pay a fine of $36,000 and make restitution of $165,000.
MECHANICSVILLE, Md.

(Aug. 10, 2016)Troopers from the Leonardtown Barrack stopped a Charles County man for impaired driving early yesterday morning which led to the seizure of four guns, almost 800 prescription pills and a felony arrest.The accused is identified as Michael Laciny, 50, of the 3100 block of Saint Peters Church Road in Waldorf. Laciny is charged with two felony handgun charges, CDS possession not marijuana, CDS possession with intent to distribute, CDS possession of paraphernalia and DUI. Laciny was transported to the Saint Mary's County Court Commissioner's office.At 9:30 a.m. yesterday morning, troopers from the Leonardtown Barrack received a 9-1-1 call from a motorist reporting a reckless and possibly intoxicated driver traveling on MD Rt. 5 in St. Mary's County. The caller reported the suspect was driving a blue cargo truck bearing Maryland registration.Within minutes, a trooper spotted the vehicle in the 27000 block of Three Notch Road. Laciny appeared to be sleeping in the driver seat, with the vehicle engine running.As the trooper approached the driver's side window, a very strong odor of alcohol was detected. Further investigation led troopers to the arrest of Laciny for suspected impaired driving. A further search of the vehicle revealed four loaded handguns almost 800 prescription pills.
WASHINGTON

(Aug. 10, 2016)The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced the following contract awards that pertain to local Navy activities., is being awardedfor firm-fixed-price delivery order 0062 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-12-G-0008) to procure spares, support equipment, and support services for the ScanEagle Unmanned Aircraft System operations for the government of Iraq intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services program. Work will be performed in Baghdad, Iraq (90 percent); and Bingen, Washington (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2017. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $8,291,844 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity., is being awardedfor modification P00007 to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N00019-15-C-0004). This modification procures initial spare modules, engine system trainers, support equipment and depot activation services and supplies in support of the F-35 Lightening II for Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, international partners and foreign military sales customers. Work will be performed at Hartford, Connecticut (88 percent); and Indianapolis, Indiana (12 percent), and is expected to be complete in September 2019. Fiscal 2014 and 2016 aircraft procurement (Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force); international partner; and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $151,664,883 will be obligated at the time of award, $35,825,147 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($53,864,460, 35.52 percent); Navy ($30,732,970, 20.26 percent); Marine Corps ($18, 273,353, 12.05 percent); international partners ($45,731,912, 30.15 percent); and foreign military sales customers ($3,062,188, 2.02 percent). The, is the contracting activity.---CHANTILLY, Va. (Aug. 9, 2016)Vencore, Inc. announced today that it entered into a Basic Ordering Agreement with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Cyber Warfare Detachment (CWD) program. The BOA will run through late June 2018.NAVAIR CWD's mission is to detect and prevent access to weapon systems, continue to operate during enemy engagement and develop future cyber-hardened response. Under this BOA, Vencore will have a unique opportunity to secure Navy systems and platforms. Specifically, Vencore will compete for task orders to provide advanced research, integration and development support and services to cyber resilient and full spectrum cyber warfighting capabilities on various NAVAIR platforms."Vencore will bring an innovative and proven cyber skillset to the NAVAIR CWD team," said Mac Curtis, president and chief executive officer of Vencore. "We are excited to have won a position on this important effort and look forward to expanding our partnership with NAVAIR in support of CWD's critical mission."Vencore has 3,800 employees and is based in Chantilly, Va. For more information about Vencore and Vencore Labs, visit www.vencore.com and www.vencorelabs.com.
The Dream of a gay nation was born in the heroic age that followed the Stonewall Uprising (1969-1971), when militants tried to imitate the work of Zionists and other nationalists to create an autonomous gay nation.

L. Craig Schoonmaker, head of the aptly-named Homosexuals Intransigent!, argued that gays could never achieve equality as permanent minorities in a country where the straight majority rules. According to Donn Teals activist history, The Gay Militants, Schoonmaker urged gays to become the majority by designating certain geographical areas for demographic takeover by homosexuals.

We should leave the farms and villages, the small towns and small cities, and come to specific neighborhoods of specific big cities. We should take over entire election districts and cities, and vote our people in to speak militantly for our rights. The blacks have done it. Puerto Ricans, Italians, Irish, and others too. It works.... Schoonmakers plan was to create a homosexual majority in Manhattans 19th and 20th Congressional Districts - which we have designated the First Gay-Power District.

Schoonmakers master plan did not go well with other activists, who were involved with more pressing - and practical - issues. Dick Leitsch, at the time President of the New York Mattachine Society, complained that Craig Schoonmaker wanted to agitate for a gay homeland. I told him, we have one already. Its called Cherry Grove [Fire Island].

Meanwhile, on the Left Coast, activist Don Jackson had what Teal called a broader, non-city dream of gay takeover to establish a gay counter-culture, a refuge for persecuted homosexuals, and a gay tourist Mecca. I have a recurring daydream, Jackson said. I imagine a place where gay people can be free. A place where there is no job discrimination, police harassment or prejudice. A place where love rules instead of hate. A beautiful valley in the mountains, remote enough from cities so we will not be hassled, yet close enough so transportation is rapid. A place where a gay government can build the base for a flourishing gay counter-culture and city.

Jacksons daydream was to take over Alpine County, at the time a sparsely-populated rural enclave in Californias Sierra Nevada Mountains, and turn it into a Stonewall Nation. Alas, Los Angeles- press-hungry activists Morris Kight and Don Kilhefner took this idea of a Stonewall Nation and turned it into a huge publicity stunt, which frightened the conservative residents of Alpine County into passing ordinances that would prevent a possible gay takeover.

More recently - on June 14, 2004, to be exact - gay Australian activists who never heard of Craig Schoonmaker or Don Jackson expressed their dissatisfaction with Australias ban on same-sex marriage by taking over Cato Island, an uninhabited islet in Australias Coral Sea Island Territory, and declaring it to be an independent gay kingdom. Renamed The Island of Heaven, Cato Island became the capital of the Gay & Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, complete with a rainbow flag and an upside-down pink triangle as its coat of arms. It was the most momentous event of its kind since the 1980s, when Key West seceded from the Union and briefly became the Conch Republic.

Critics called the Gay & Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands a publicity stunt or a joke. Whatever it was, it was in the fine tradition of LGBT militancy. On independence day (June 14) the founders of the gay kingdom raised the rainbow flag on Cato Island and sent the Governor General of Australia a formal notice of independence. The kingdoms Declaration of Independence, posted on its Web site (gaykingdom.info), is a long, ponderous tract which obviously owes much to Thomas Jeffersons more famous (and shorter) Declaration.

A Gay Constitution was also concocted, which declared the island to be a constitutional monarchy. Australian activist Dale Parker Anderson (who, we are told, is a direct descendant of Englands gay King Edward II) became His Imperial Majesty Dale I, Emperor of the Gay & Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands. (Nothing less than an Emperor would do.) Needless to say, the Australian government has refused to recognize this new gay kingdom in the Coral Sea.

Undaunted, the founders of the Gay & Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands proceeded to bestow upon itself all of the accouterments of modern nationhood. I am what I am, as sung by Gloria Gaynor, was named the national anthem and the Pink Dollar became the national currency.

The Kingdom also produced camp postage stamps to be sold as fundraisers. Meanwhile, His Majestys gay government announced plans to give diplomatic recognition to [the] nations of Taiwan and Tibet, to legalize euthanasia, and to open its borders to gay immigration and ingathering of gay exiles. Every homosexual now has the right to emigrate to the kingdom [on the Gayflower] and after his arrival should he desire to settle here may obtain permanent residence status.

The Kingdom will also be a tax haven and will derive its income from other means. On military matters, the Kingdom has declared itself neutral; it does however have a small army of gay activists located around the world it can call on in times of emergency. Finally, the Gay Kingdom has Consulates located in the major cities of most states and nations in the world. Most of the Consulates are located in the offices of the gay press of these nations.

The Emperor Dale assured the Sydney Star Observer that were very serious about the Gay & Lesbian Kingdom. The [Australian] governments obviously not going to recognize it but if we can force them to do something about it, then they can ignore it. Without taxes, the gay kingdom will have to depend on tourism for its income, though His Imperial Majesty admits that Its a bit hard to get there because theres no harbor and you have to park the boat off the reef and wait for a wave.

Alas, like too many LGBT groups before or since, the Gay Government soon split over personalities and procedures; and queer republicans tried to overthrow the Emperor Dale. Since 2005, several factions have seceded from the Kingdom and gone their own gay ways, forming the Gay and Lesbian Commonwealth Kingdom and the Unified Gay Tribe in the United States and the Gay Homeland Foundation in Germany.

Recently the group Planting Peace, led by the LGBT ally Aaron Jackson, visited Antarctica and claimed it as the worlds first LGBT-friendly continent, raising the rainbow and transgender pride flags over the ice to the bemusement of the native penguins and seals. Meanwhile there is nothing left of the Gay & Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands but a Web site, a Facebook page and a Yahoo group.

A version of this article first appeared in GayToday.com.
Keith Allen has bowled in Poverellos Bowling to Fight Hunger event for the last nine years.

Three years ago, with a 196 score, he helped his team take first place. Every week, he heads to Manor Lanes in Wilton Manors to practice his game. The bowl-a-thon isnt until Aug. 20 this year, but he and some members of all five teams hes put together this year have been hitting the lanes weekly for the last three months.

Allen, a behavioral counselor, doesnt just come around for the Bowl-a-Thon. The 51-year-old is also a Texas Hold Em dealer around town a few nights a week, which comes in handy at Poverellos casino nights. He says its the non-profits drive thats gotten them more recognition around town within the last two years.

Helping out a charity is always something Ive wanted to do, Allen said. Ive put my foot in other charities and I felt like this one was worthwhile, especially with the way they were helping out in the community.

Poverellos Annual Bowl-a-Thon is now in its 26th year, with hopes of raising $100,000 from a raffle, silent auction, and donations that teams and individuals raise leading up to and on the day of the event. Last year their goal was $75,000, but far surpassed raising $107,000 instead. Kevin Clevenger, Poverellos Events and Fundraising Coordinator, said the Bowl-a-Thon is one of the biggest events they put on every year and its in part to the help of donations from the community.

RELATED: CHARITY LIP SYNC AT HUNTERS A HUGE SUCCESS FOR POVERELLO

Were having an amazing fundraising year, Clevenger said. Social media is free advertising and its helped escalate our name in the community.

Clevenger has been working at Poverello for the last two and a half years. Before he arrived, though, he volunteered to help with the annual bowling event. Now hes running it, along with other events that get the word out about how to help Poverello.

For almost 30 years, the Poverello Center has been able to provide meals for 3,000 people annually. Aside from health and nutritional services, the non-profit also offers a full-service gym, access to a nutritionist, and cooking and mental health classes. The donations from the Bowl-a-Thon are critical to helping feed the community.

For every $2.50 we raise, thats a complete meal to someone in need, Clevenger said. Some of the money thats raised will go to the cooking classes, mental health classes, and other services.

The bowling event has grown exponentially over the years. For a long time, it was held at Manor Lanes in Wilton Manors, but due to the amount of teams and bowlers that signed up, the event outgrew the bowling alley. It was a good problem to have, and the event moved to Sawgrass Lanes in Tamarac four years ago, one of the largest bowling alleys in Broward. With 56 lanes and 280 bowlers, the event has sold out the last two years. Clevenger expects this year to be another massive hit.

Its a fun event, its not all about the bowling, he said. Some people are competitive, but its more about coming together for our community.

The two dozen sponsors this year are helping keep the cost of producing the event relatively low so all the proceeds can go back to the services Poverello offers. The event makes a significant portion of money from the raffle and silent auction. Right now, you can win everything from trips to Antigua, Panama and St. Lucia to hotel stays, jewelry, spa treatments and salon visits. There are even chiropractic services, artwork, and liquor baskets. Bidders for the silent auction and raffle dont even need to be bowlers to participate.

Since were a non-profit, all items are tax-deductible, Clevenger said. It helps promote the business, its a return on investment. It also shows community involvement because it looks good on the organization that theyre supporting the cause.

At the end of the bowling tournament, theres an awards ceremony for the bowlers and the fundraisers. Regardless if you raise money through your bowling skills, networking, or cash on hand, theres a way for everyone to join in for a good cause.

The biggest part is participation, Keith Allen said. What we can do is spend money by buying raffle tickets and buying in the silent auction.

Allen said he personally hasnt raised a lot, but hes helped his five teams raise money. Last year he put together six years. The year before, in 2014, he put together seven. This year, three out of the top five teams hes organized are raising the most money.

Because people work a lot, Allen said its not easy to get a lot of donations to the teams. The other parts of the Bowl-a-Thon are critical to raising money. But that doesnt stop him and his five teams from competing hard on game day.

At least three of the five teams are very Im gunna kick your butt attitude, he laughed. Others are just happy to participate. We always meet afterward to celebrate what weve done.

Want to help? To register or support a person or team, or to donate to the raffle or silent auction, visit hungerfighter.org.

If You Go:

Saturday August 20, 2016

Practice: 11 a.m. -Noon | Event: Noon-3 p.m.

Sawgrass Lanes

8501 N University Drive

Tamarac, FL 33321

This years leaderboard so far

Individuals

Jo Anne McCann  $2,423

Tom Haynes  $1,305

Ericha Lichter  $1,105

Adam Anthony  $575

Cowboy Dan  $510

CJ Josey  $450

Donald Reilly  $435

Mike Trottier  $330

Chris Caputo  $306

Joe Imbrogno  $300





Teams

Derby Winners  $2,873

GFLGLCC - Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber  $2,740

RLII Strikes Out Hunger 26  $1,105

GYM Bar JOCKS  $539

Hunger Fighters  $378

SFGN Newsies  $345

The Swear and Care Crew  $290

T House Peeps  $286

Dicks Service Station  $228

Khaleesi's Vortex  $215
Today, on the eve of the two-month anniversary of the deadly massacre that took the lives of 49 people and injured 53 others, Presidential Candidate Donald Trump and Florida Senator Marco Rubio joined in an anti-LGBT event in Orlando.

"Instead of honoring the memory of those we lost at Pulse two months ago, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have come to Orlando to headline a gathering of some of the nations most incendiary anti-gay bigots," said DNC Chair Donna Brazile and LGBT Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes in a joint statement. "We at the DNC join all people of good conscience in expressing our solidarity with the Orlando LGBT community as they continue to grieve the deadliest shooting in American history."

Related: Disgraced Ex-Congressman Sits Behind Trump at Rally

They added: "We suggest Trump and Rubio disavow these anti-gay extremists who have likened gay people to Nazis and characterized HIV/AIDS as divine penalties' for being gay. Failing to do so will be yet another example of the utter lack of judgment that makes Trump unfit to serve."

In response, Equality Florida hosted a peaceful rally and press conference today. LGBT leaders, faith leaders and community members joined together in Orlando in direct response to Rubio and Trump attending the anti-gay event.

They said in a statement: "In the midst of our grief, we demand an end to hatred and bigotry of all kinds, call for the passage of fully inclusive anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, and urge our elected officials to support common sense gun violence prevention measures to honor the 49 lives cut short by hatred."
Almost hidden away on a side street in Fort Lauderdales arts district is a play about friends coping with crisis.

Terrence McNallys Love! Valour! Compassion! was written in the mid-1980s when the AIDS epidemic hit America hardest  particularly gay America. At times it can be confusing who is with who as eight friends meet at a New York lake house for three holiday weekends.

I lived through this whole thing, said Ted Dvoracek, a cast member in the Fort Lauderdale production. Im the oldest one in the cast. It was important to me to be a part of this because its a part of gay theatre history.

Dvoracek plays Perry, a lawyer who has been with his partner Arthur (William Smith) for 14 years.

Were role models now, Perry bemoans at one point in the play.

Dvoracek said his angry portrayal of Perry is how the character dealt with not being able to face the horrific burials that were happening in the community. Its in big contrast with what is going on now and Im not sure the audience was prepared for such a serious piece.

Audience members should be prepared for the full monty as most cast members eventually strip down to their birthday suits. Bryan Betancourt, who plays Ramone, a Puerto Rican hustler, told SFGN nudity was the easy part.

To me its embarrassing, but to my character Ramone its just a part of the way he lives, Betancourt said after last Friday nights show. He just doesnt care. He has the body. He just wants to show everyone what hes capable of doing. Personally, to some degree, I relate to Ramone because I love showing my body.

Jerry Jensen directs performances. Jensen, who stage managed the recent production of Hair at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, said he was stunned and enthralled by McNallys work in the spring of 1995 during the plays Tony-winning run on Broadway.

I could see a group of gay men relating to each other in all manifestations, sharing romance, anger, laughter, sex and difficult truths, Jensen said. These were men I knew, and here they were on stage, openly addressing questions of gay identity, self-esteem, the threat of AIDS and male love.

Cast member Richard Weinstock, plays Gregory Mitchell, an aging professional and owner of the lake house where the men gather to share secrets. Weinstock said the older-younger relationship dynamic in McNallys script is a reality not often discussed.

As an aging gay man myself I can relate, said Weinstock. You see a lot of it out there. Older-younger relationships and there are realities to that. I often wonder, if there is a guy out in the audience who is in his forties or fifties and hes dating a 20-year-old and if he looks at this and the reality hits.

Rounding out the cast is Rosseroni Parris, Brett Watts and Jason Fazio. Andrews Living Arts Studio, managed by Bob Nation, houses this production. Ticket prices are $34.95 for general admission, $29.95 for seniors and $39.95 for premium seating.

If You Go

What: Love! Valour! Compassion!

Where: Andrews Living Arts Studio, 23 NW 5th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.

When: Through Aug. 20, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays: 3 & 7 p.m.

More Info: AndrewsLivingArts.org
The heated presidential campaign provided timely inspiration for Shorts Gone Wild 4, the annual festival of LGBT-themed short plays presented each August by Miamis City Theatre and Island City Stage in Wilton Manors.

Subtitled Decision 2016: Its Gonna be Yuuuuuge!, the latest version featured eight new 10-minute plays by seven playwrights and performed by a cast of six and staged by five local directors.

And, like the daily public opinion polls about the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns, results are mixed. The only clear losers were Log Cabin Republicans who became the common butt of the jokes in many of the plays.

As in previous years, the audience played a role in deciding the order of the performances, this time using the convoluted rules of the various state party primaries and caucuses. Jokes about superdelegates abounded as the audiences popular vote was overturned or, as in the closed primaries, only a small percentage were allowed to select the next play. Fortunately, chairs didnt fly.

Among the clear winners was Jenny & Simone by Christopher Demos Brown. An encounter between two blushing bridesmaids (Christina Groom and Gladys Ramirez) after a Baptist wedding proved that politics can indeed come between two seeming soulmates who agree on virtually everything else but their preferred presidential candidate.

RELATED: ANGRY FAGS OPENS ISLAND CITY STAGE SEASON

Be the Change by Susan Westfall also features a married couple (Noah Levine and Christina Groom) who harbor dispolar political views. When their favorite restaurant on Wilton Drive, Carabbas, is transformed into a flamboyant gay club, they must confront their prejudices and embrace modern realities.

Similarly, Michael McKeevers Things My Grandfather Taught Me, finds two gay and lesbian couples enjoying dinner together. Unfortunately, opposing political views by the respective partners hilariously come between the friendship of Robbie (Dominic Smith) and his lesbian wife, Meredith (Rita Joe).

Larry Buzzeo took a fine solo turn in McKeevers Dear GOP, a Dear John letter from a nominal gay Republican who can no longer intellectualize his ties to a party that refuses to accept his marriage.

As sometimes happens with short plays  and the failure of a certain candidate to explain away her email controversy  others stumbled over themselves to make a point and still land a few laughs.

Bernie Singles Dot Com by Jessica Farr raced out of the gate, a staged infomercial for a dating service catering to the disaffected supporters of the failed Democratic Socialist candidate. Plenty of jokes abounded, drawing laughs from the decidedly non-Millennial audience, but towards the end, Farrs premise sputtered and failed to seal the deal, just like Bernie.

Michael Aman, who wrote the critically-acclaimed drama, Feeding the Bear, totally overthinks North Carolinas controversial bathroom law, only to wrap up the meandering discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in said bathroom with a quick punchline.

And, another couple (Noah Levine and Dominic Smith) find themselves in marriage counseling in Lips Like Crocus by Stuart Meltzer. It turns out that Levines Seth has a sexual fetish with lesbian MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow. The play is silly fun, yes, but seemed like filler in comparison to other plays in the lineup.

Speaking of filler, in previous years the play selection skit provided flow and continuity between disparate plays. But, with a unified theme, the primaries seemed to hinder the pace of the evening, especially since the line-up was more or less preordained. Clocking in at two hours and 10 minutes (with a 15-minute intermission), nearly 20 minutes of Shorts Gone Wild in total was spent clearing the stage, introducing the next play and then resetting the stage in nearly the same configuration.

Despite a very few shortfalls, Shorts Gone Wild is certainly a welcome distraction from the barrage of political ads that will be filling the airwaves over the next few weeks as the state primaries approach.

Island City Stage and City Theatre present Shorts Gone Wild 4 through Aug. 28 at The Abyss Theater, 2304 N. Dixie Hwy. in Wilton Manors. Tickets are $35 at IslandCityStage.org.
We are seated by the pool of Island House Key West Resort during their weekly Naked Sunday afternoon when Edmund White tells me that he is and always was smitten by male beauty.

Maybe that is why he has written a passionate book about a French gay male model named Guy whose life is smitten by his own beauty, by his friends, by AIDS, by his career and finally by love.

Despite a distracting throng of playful and beautiful men in the pool, I called Whites attention to my questions about that book, the recently published Our Young Man.

When I asked him why he wrote the book and what he had in mind for it, he said, I always try to be original. I try to put together elements in a way that has not been done before. I based Our Young Man on a 19th century French novel called Sapho by Alphonse Daudet. I homosexualized it, Americanized it and modernized it.

In Our Young Man, White assembles a gay family that did not have the benefit of LGBT equality and a television-generated concept of the modern family.

I wondered if White had that in mind when describing the early 80s New York City household the characters establish.

I didnt think of that. The AIDS experience certainly brought gay people closer together, he said. I set it in the 80s because that was a time when models first became supermodels.

He continued: We all had these men in our lives on Fire Island, in New York, and there was one man in particular that I had in mind when writing Guy. He was an American model who was living in Paris. I went out with him several times, as did Brad Gooch (model, author of Smash Cut and one of Whites resources for Our Young Man) He spoke no French, but it was amazing how much English the Parisians were able to speak to him.

I spouted a rather tedious contemplation about whether Whites character Guy was good, bad, noble, narcissistic, vacuous, wise or whatever. White put an end to this by reminding me that Guy refers to himself as a black hole in space. Americans like to think of people as either good or bad. They are less at ease with the reality that we all contain a variety of virtues and flaws. Some say Guy reminds them of Dorian Gray, but that isnt fair. Still, he is no saint. Near the end, he says he wont go with his lover to Peru because it would ruin his complexion.

I changed the subject, invoking the Baron a frightening character who is into extreme sado-masochism. When I said that I pictured him looking like Karl Lagerfeld, White laughed.

I then invoked another character, Fred, who has come out of the closet late in life, falls in love with Guy, buys him a house and becomes HIV-positive. When I suggested that in the movie version of Our Young Man Fred be played by Cate Blanchett, White roared, I assume with approval.

I told White I had one complaint about the book, the fact that he did not write a three-way sex scene involving Guy and the two young blonde identical twins from Minnesota.

That wouldnt happen because only one of the twins is gay. I think that in many cases of identical twins, they may have sex with each other, but often, only one is gay, he said. This disproves the notion that there is a gay gene. If there were a gay gene, both identical twins would have it.

When I told White that I had not wanted this book to end and that I was now hoping for a sequel, he said that many of his readers have asked for a sequel.

I wondered if, in the sequel, Guy would become less interested in his own beauty and in the beauty of other men, and perhaps turn to having sex and romance with odd looking and quirky men.

Well. I think as you get older, more and more people seem beautiful, he said. I now find almost anyone male attractive.

I wondered if Guy would eventually lose his lovers when he lost his looks.

Yes, that is always the way of it, he said dryly.

Our Young Man is engrossing and delightful, not only because I lived through those years, admired men of great beauty and shared with my peers the fresh hell of AIDS in its first years, but because White is one of the few writers at work today whose prose is reliably lyrical and pleasurable. Many of us read his books repeatedly just to revel in the way he sequences his words.

In Our Young Man, White does not shy away from what he calls the cock and balls problem: the fact that many straight readers find gay romance appealing but may not want to read depictions of messy gay sex. There are pages that will make the ladies who lunch gulp.

When I asked White what he is now working on, he said, Im writing something about the activity of reading books. Its not as boring as it sounds. In this next book, I write about how reading books and having sex at the library are fused for me. I cannot have one without the other.

Having had my first sexual experience in the mens room of the Hartford Public Library, I intend to be first in line for a copy of that one.

To order Our Young Man: Amazon.com/Our-Young-Man-Edmund-White/dp/1620409968/
The Central American nation of Belize struck down an anti-sodomy law on Wednesday in a major victory for gay rights activists.

The Belize Supreme Court, on Aug. 10, ruled in favor of gay activist Caleb Orozco. The court ordered Section 53 of the Criminal Code to be amended to exclude penalty of sexual acts between two consenting adults of the same gender. First filed in 2010, the case was a long process, spearheaded by Caribbean human rights activists and fought vigorously by groups associated with the Roman Catholic Church, Belize Evangelical Churches and the corporate body of the Church of England.

Maria Sjodin, Deputy Executive Director of OutRight Action International, said the ruling marks a turning point in decriminalizing same-sex conduct in the region.

The court ruling in Belize means that the number of countries that criminalize same-sex behavior is now down to 72 and hopefully this downward trend can continue, Sjodin said, in a news release. But it is important to remember that laws are only part of what impacts peoples lives  the fight to change societies must continue worldwide and this can only happen with strong LGBTIQ movements.

According to its website, OutRight Action Internationals core mission is to document and expose human rights violations against LGBTIQ people across the world." The organization has a 25-year history and was the first U.S. based LGBTIQ organization to achieve consultative status at the United Nations.

Covering a land mass slightly smaller than Massachusetts, Belize gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1981, but was not recognized by neighboring country Guatemala until 1992.
Messier 18 ESO

Messier 18 was discovered and catalogued in 1764 by Charles Messier  for whom the Messier Objects are named  during his search for comet-like objects.

It lies within the Milky Way, approximately 4600 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius, and consists of many sibling stars loosely bound together in what is known as an open cluster.

There are over 1000 known open star clusters within the Milky Way, with a wide range of properties, such as size and age, that provide astronomers with clues to how stars form, evolve and die. The main appeal of these clusters is that all of their stars are born together out of the same material.

In Messier 18 the blue and white colours of the stellar population indicate that the clusters stars are very young, probably only around 30 million years old. Being siblings means that any differences between the stars will only be due to their masses, and not their distance from Earth or the composition of the material they formed from. This makes clusters very useful in refining theories of star formation and evolution.

Astronomers now know that most stars do form in groups, forged from the same cloud of gas that collapsed in on itself due to the attractive force of gravity. The cloud of leftover gas and dust  or molecular cloud  that envelops the new stars is often blown away by their strong stellar winds, weakening the gravitational shackles that bind them. Over time, loosely bound stellar siblings like those pictured here will often go their separate ways as interactions with other neighbouring stars or massive gas clouds nudge, or pull, the stars apart. Our own star, the Sun, was most likely once part of a cluster very much like Messier 18 until its companions were gradually distributed across the Milky Way.

The dark lanes that snake through this image are murky filaments of cosmic dust, blocking out the light from distant stars. The contrasting faint reddish clouds that seem to weave between the stars are composed of ionised hydrogen gas. The gas glows because young, extremely hot stars like these are emitting intense ultraviolet light which strips the surrounding gas of its electrons and causes it to emit the faint glow seen in this image. Given the right conditions, this material could one day collapse in on itself and provide the Milky Way with yet another brood of stars  a star formation process that may continue indefinitely (eso1535).

This mammoth 30 577 x 20 108 pixel image was captured using the OmegaCAM camera, which is attached to the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at ESOs Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Larger image
Expedition 48 crew members Kate Rubins (left) and Jeff Williams (right) of NASA outfit spacesuits inside of the Quest airlock aboard the International Space Station. Rubins and Williams will conduct a spacewalk in August 2016 to install the first International Docking Adapter, the new docking port that will enable the future arrival of U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. Credit: NASA. NASA

A pair of astronauts tried on U.S. spacesuits this morning ahead of a spacewalk next week. Afterward, the crew explored heart cells, fluid pressure in the head and the eyes and the composition of meteors.

NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins are due to work outside the International Space Station on Aug. 19 for 6.5 hours. The duo tried on the spacesuits today they will wear during the spacewalk to complete the installation of the first of two International Docking Adapters to the Harmony module. Commercial Crew vehicles are being developed by Boeing and SpaceX that will dock to the new adapters in the future.

Rubins then moved on to observing heart cells with a specialized microscope. The heart cells are derived from stem cells that were manufactured from human skin cells.

Williams joined cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin for ultrasound scans and vision checks. That work was part of the Fluid Shifts study that is exploring how the lack of gravity influences head pressure and eye shape possibly affecting an astronauts vision.

Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi replaced a hard drive on a laptop computer that collects data on the composition of meteors entering Earths atmosphere. Cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin participated in a study that seeks to improve the ability of a crew member to pilot a spacecraft.

On-Orbit Status Report

Fluid Shifts Operations in the Service Module: With ground team assistance, crewmembers continued Fluid Shifts Imaging exams by conducting the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) exam, Ultrasound scans, the Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAE) tests, and a Tonometry exam. This investigation characterizes the space flight-induced fluid shift, including intra- and extravascular shifts, intra- and extracellular shifts, changes in total body water and lower vs. upper body shifts. Results from this investigation are expected to help define the causes of the ocular structure and vision changes associated with long duration space flight, and assist in the development of countermeasures.

Mouse Epigenetics Cage Unit Maintenance: The crew completed standard maintenance activities for the Mouse Epigenetics experiment by refilling the water in the Mouse Habitat Cage Unit located in the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF). The Mouse Epigenetics investigation studies altered gene expression patterns in the organs of male mice that spend one month in space, and also examines changes in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of their offspring. Results from the investigation identify genetic alterations that happen after exposure to the microgravity environment of space.

Heart Cells Microscope Operations: The crew set up the Heart Cells microscope, removed the BioCell Habitat from the Space Automated Bioproduct Lab (SABL) and the Multiwell BioCell from the BioCell Habitat and inserted into the microscope before conducting Heart Cells operations. The Heart Cells investigation studies the human heart, specifically how heart muscle tissue, contracts, grows and changes (gene expression) in microgravity and how those changes vary between subjects. Understanding how heart muscle cells, or cardiomyocytes, change in space improves efforts for studying disease, screening drugs and conducting cell replacement therapy for future space missions.

Meteor Hard Drive Change: The crew R&Rd the hard drive in the Meteor Laptop located in the Window Observational Research Facility (WORF) in preparation for upcoming meteor showers. The Meteor investigation provides the first space-based measurement of meteor flux. It also allows for the monitoring of carbon-based compounds. Continuous measurement of meteor interactions with the Earths atmosphere could also spot previously unforeseen meteor showers.

Dose Tracker: The crew completed entries for medication. This investigation documents the medication usage of crewmembers before and during their missions by capturing data regarding medication use during spaceflight, including side effect qualities, frequencies and severities. The data is expected to either support or counter anecdotal evidence of medication ineffectiveness during flight and unusual side effects experienced during flight. It is also expected that specific, near-real-time questioning about symptom relief and side effects will provide the data required to establish whether spaceflight-associated alterations in pharmacokinetics (PK) or pharmacodynamics (PD) is occurring during missions.

MSG Video File Transfer Issues  Yesterday, the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) experienced an issue with the Video Unit Equipment (VUE). Ground teams were unable to access the solid state storage devices during HeartCell video downlink operations. A soft reboot was attempted with no success. A power cycle was then conducted and the drives were recovered. In addition, ground teams are having difficulties in downlinking large files associated with the payload. The HeartCell data is being recorded, so no loss of science at this time. If required, the current work-around is to have the crew utilize a thumb drive to allow the files to be downlink. Currently, the VUE is functional except for downlinking large files. Ground teams are investigating.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The crew continued preparations for the IDA2 EVA scheduled on August 19. This morning they performed pressurized Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) On Orbit Fit Check Verification (OFV) of EMUs 3003 and 3008 to assess fit and feel of the suits prior to the EVA.

Todays Planned Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

EMU On-orbit Fitcheck Verification

PILOT-T. Preparation for the experiment r/g 3036

CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 2888

Soyuz 720 Samsung Tablet Recharge, Initiate

On MCC Go Regeneration of ??? ?2 Micropurification Cartridge (start)

EMU On-orbit Fitcheck Verification, Operator

Maintenance Closures of Vozdukh Valves

Filling (separation) ??? for Elektron

PILOT-T. Experiment Ops r/g 3037

??? Maintenance

Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position / Pressure Control & Atmosphere Monitoring System

PILOT-T. Experiment Ops r/g 3036

EMU O-ring Replacement

METEOR Removal and Relocation

MATRYOSHKA-R. BUBBLE-dosimeters initialization, BUBBLE-dosimeter Reader replacement and deployment for exposure r/g 3038

FLUID SHIFTS. Donning CardioLab Holter

FLUID SHIFTS. Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAE) measurement Test

DOSETRK Data Input

JEMAL JEM Airlock Pressurization

FLUID SHIFTS, Ultrasound 2 Activation

FLUID SHIFTS. Ultrasound scan

Soyuz 720 Samsung Tablet Recharge, Terminate

ECG Device Activation and Checkout

FLUID SHIFTS. Ultrasound Scan Assistance

JEMAL JEM Airlock Leak Check

MCRSCPE Hardware Setup

MOUSE Hardware Setup

FLUID SHIFTS, OCT Setup

Exercise Placeholder, Crews Preference

Installation of Laptop RS1 SW Updates r/g 3016

Flush Progress 432 [AO] Rodnik ?1, B2 Connectors / r/g 3039

HRTCEL Sample Insertion into Microscope

Crew Conference on Flight Factors

Installation of Laptop RS2 SW Updates r/g 3016

Soyuz 731 Samsung tablet recharge, initiate

HRTCEL Ops

Installation of Laptop RS3 SW Updates r/g 3016

Crew OBT, Crew Medical Officer (CMO), Computer based training

FLUID SHIFTS. Eye Imaging Examination with Remote Guidance

FLUID SHIFTS. OCT Baseline Exam

XF305 Camcorder Settings Adjustment

FLUID SHIFTS. Tonometry Setup

PILOT-T. Experiment Ops r/g 3034

MOUSE Module Water Exchange

Installation and Testing of REMOTE RS LAPTOP S/W UPDATE r/g 3016

FLUID SHIFTS. Tonometer Exam Operator

FLUID SHIFTS. Tonometer Exam

MCRSCPE Ops

FLUID SHIFTS. Post-Ops Hardware Stowage

FLUID SHIFTS. Blood Pressure Equipment Stowage

FLUID SHIFTS. Hardware Removal and Stowage

PILOT-T. Closeout Ops r/g 3034

Countermeasures System (CMS) Sprint Exercise, Optional

IMS Delta File Prep

CONTENT. Experiment Ops / r/g 3035

PAO Hardware Setup

Thermolab  Instrumentation Ops for Circadian Rhythms

Crew Prep for PAO

PAO Event

ISS-HAM Radio Session

Soyuz 731 Samsung Tablet Recharge, Terminate

CASKAD. Manual Mixing in Bioreactor / r/g 2888

On MCC Go Regeneration of ??? ?2 Absorption Cartridge (end)

Completed Task List Items

None

Ground Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

EMU checkout ops

Fluid Shifts support

Nominal ground commanding.

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Thursday, 08/11: USOS crew holiday (Japans Mountain Day)

Friday, 08/12: NanoRacks Module 9 ops, Heart Cells media change, SPHERES-Zero Robotics competition, Neuro Mapping, HMS Ultrasound, Circadian Rhythms

Saturday, 08/13: Crew off duty

QUICK ISS Status  Environmental Control Group:

Component  Status

Elektron  On

Vozdukh  Manual

[???] 1  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV1)  Off

[???] 2  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV2)  Off

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab  Standby

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3  Operate

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab  Idle

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3  Operate

Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA)  Process

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA)  Standby

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab  Off

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3  Full Up
Thu, 27.10.22 - 11:04

The temperatures will fall in the Murcia Region but the weekend still promises to be warm and sunny Autumn has ye...
The observers are unnecessary as the United Nations already has a "massive" presence in the country and Ethiopia itself is responsible for the lives of its citizens, government spokesman Getachew Reda told the Al Jazeera broadcaster.

The demonstrations against a government plan to include parts of Oromia into the capital of Addis Ababa began in November 2015, sparking fears that local farmers would be required to move from the area. This year, the conflict escalated and protests started in Amhara after security forces attempts to arrest the leader of the region.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) will intensify operations against Daesh terrorist group in Libya, AFRICOM spokesman Chuck Prichard told Sputnik on Thursday.

"As we have said, US personnel have periodically gone in and out of Libya to exchange information to strengthen the fight against ISIL [Daesh] in Libya, and that will intensify under this approach, " Prichard said.

Two weeks ago the US Department of Defense spokesperson announced that the US military had conducted airstrikes against the Daesh jihadists in Libya at the invitation of the Libyan Government of National Accord.
Last fall, left-wing think-tank Agenda initiated an integration committee, chaired by Bard Vegar Solhjell of the Socialist Left Party and featuring members of the Left, Labor and Christian Democrats. Yesterday, a list of proposals for a better integration policy was produced, Norwegian national broadcaster NRK reported.

Surprisingly, the commission recommended banning the niqab from public institutions altogether and working against hijab in Norwegian schools.

"To ensure a better integration, we must encourage a greater participation in the public life. Therefore we cannot allow covered faces, Jette Christensen of the Labor Party said at the press conference.
Recently, a group of asylum-seekers were denied entry at the nightclub Strand Borgholm, linked to a four-star hotel on the island of Oland, despite the fact that they were all old enough and one of them was admitted inside the club earlier this summer, Swedish Radio reported. Curiously, one of them was reported to possess a VIP card, but was still denied entry.

All asylum-seekers in Sweden are granted so-called LMA cards, as many are forced to leave all other identification documents with competent bodies to speed up the consideration process. According to Sweden's Migration Board, an LMA card should not be considered as an ID, despite the fact that it actually features a person's name, photograph and date of birth. Even if an LMA suffices to buy liquor and cigarettes, the lack of a proper Swedish ID is the formal pretext for many clubs and pubs to keep asylum-seekers out.

The hidden undertone to the common decision to deny entry to asylum-seekers is the recent wave of sexual attacks and numerous cases of harassment that tarnished the period of summer festivities in Sweden. Earlier, some of the molesters and rapists were identified as "immigrant adolescents," whereupon the police was forced to retract this description under pressure from the Swedish media, which for the sake of political correctness refrains from stressing the culprits' ethnic background.
In a recent amendment to aviation laws published on Monday by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, 14 types of behavior are cited which, while not criminal, will land offenders with steep fines. The list includes using mobile phones, smoking, forcibly occupying seats, blocking channels and gates, breaking into airports and planes, physically beating a crew member or other workers, fighting, or spreading rumors and causing other, unnamed, troubles, China Daily reports.

Under the new amendments, aviation companies are also required to set up a management system that will prevent and minimize civil aviation accidents. For example, if a flight is delayed, they must alert passengers and provide necessary services.

In the United States, passengers on most major airlines are allowed to use their mobile devices in airplane mode, with many carriers equipped with WIFI for pay. Recently, the FCC proposed that airlines should be able to allow passengers to use cellular connections once the plane reaches 10,000 feet, as, they claim, technological advancements no longer make it a danger. The decision is up to individual airlines to adjust their policies as they see fit.
ASTANA (Sputnik)  On July 18, an armed man, later identified as Ruslan Kulekbayev, attacked police officers in Kazakhstan's southern city and former capital of Almaty. Kulekbayev killed six people, injured six police officers and two civilians outside a police building.

On Thursday, the Interior Ministry of Almaty said in a statement that one of the injured police officers died at the hospital.

"The doctors had assessed the condition of the patrol officer as extremely grave. They fought for the police officers life to the end," the statement said.
NEW DELHI (Sputnik)  A bomb went off at Quetta's Zarghon Road, The Express Tribune said. The causes of the explosion remain unknown, the newspaper added.

Rescue and security teams arrived at the scene, while the police cordoned off the area, the daily specified.

This is already the second blast within a week in Baluchistan province. On Monday, more than 70 people were killed in a suspected suicide bombing at the Quetta civil hospital in Balochistan. The militant group Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.
During an interaction at the India Foundation, a Delhi based independent research center, Gen Nicholson said that getting spare parts for Russian aircraft and military hardware currently operational in Afghanistan has become difficult due to western sanctions on Russia, thus affecting the ongoing fight against terror. Gen Nicholson urged India to supply the spare parts to Afghanistan.

Afghanistans Army Chief General Qadam Shah Shamim is likely to visit India this month to seek active defense cooperation, and to boost the supply of more Russian made helicopters like Mi-25 and Mi-35 to Afghanistan. Last year in December, India agreed to supply four Mi-25 attack helicopters to Afghanistan.

"I cannot speak for the Afghan government. But I know that they have requested more and would like more and I think there is an immediate need for more as these aircraft can immediately get into the fight," said Gen John W Nicholson.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the Phuket Gazette newspaper, an explosive device went off while vendors were opening their stalls in the morning.

Police cordoned off the area and law enforcement officers are inspecting a suspicious bag that was found near the site of the explosion. All those who received injuries have been brought to the hospital.

No information about those behind the explosion has been reported as yet. Police have opened an investigation into the incident.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the GEO TV channel, the crew, five Pakistani nationals and a Russian technician, have been relocated to Pakistan. Earlier reports indicated that seven people were onboard the aircraft.

The indcident occurred when the helicopter made an emergency landing in eastern Afghanistan, and, according to the channel, was en route to Russia for a routine overhaul. Other media outlets claimed that the aircraft was heading from Peshawar to Uzbekistans city of Bukhara.

Senior Taliban leader Qari Saifullah Mehsud told Pakistani media that his group was behind the incident.
NEW DELHI (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, local media reported that the crew, five Pakistani nationals and a Russian technician, have been relocated to Pakistan. Earlier reports indicated that seven people were onboard the aircraft.

"Efforts are being undertaken, we are still working. This is a very sensitive situation," Nafees Zakaria told RIA Novosti when asked to confirm these reports.

The incident occurred when the helicopter made an emergency landing in eastern Afghanistan, and, according to the local media, was en route to Russia for a routine overhaul. Other media outlets claimed that the aircraft was heading from Peshawar to Uzbekistans city of Bukhara.
London newspaper The Guardian has published the leaked reports detailing the sexual abuse, self-harm and cruelty suffered by young refugees and asylum seekers on the Pacific island of Nauru. More than half of the 2,116 reports involve children.

There is undeniable evidence that suggests that refugee children are not safe under existing arrangements on #Nauru https://t.co/TRU60DcZ2P  UNICEF (@UNICEF) August 11, 2016

The newspaper states: "The devastating trauma and abuse inflicted on children held by Australia in offshore detention has been laid bare in the largest cache of leaked documents released from inside its immigration regime."

The reports cover the time between May 2013 and October 2015 and have been published amid exposure of the brutal treatment of children in a juvenile detention center in Australia's Northern Territory.
Beijing has increased combat patrols to the South China Sea, in a show of military might intended to ward off counter-provocation and bring the dispute to a standoff.

Vietnams inflammatory posture, however, has raised the stakes, increasing the possibility of war between the two long-time allies, and potentially prompting China to declare an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), packing the Paracel and Spratly islands with additional military assets to prevent their seizure.

Beijing may engage in military escalation if it suspects that Hanoi is using the mobile rocket launchers to create an anti-access/area-denial capability (A2/AD). The Vietnamese military is one of a few global forces that could threaten China in a conventional war, as it possesses some of the worlds most advanced submarines, purchased from Moscow.

War between Vietnam and China is unlikely, however, as the two Communist countries have historically maintained a dialogue and could orchestrate a compromise. In the broader environment of Japans military buildup to oppose China, and the US sitting on Beijings backdoor, having deployed the THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, the possibility of military action by China cannot be understated.
In March, US President Barack Obama met with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, issuing a stern warning against the militarization of Scarborough Shoal, given its strategic proximity to the Philippines.

"The signaling from the US side was that this was serious," a former US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Financial Times.

Chinas apparent decision to flout that warning is likely related to last months ruling by the Hague-based Court of Arbitration. That decision sided against Chinas nine-dash territorial claims in the South China Sea, a ruling that Beijing does not recognize as legitimate.
Amid aggravated territorial disputes between Southeast Asian states and China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, Japan plans to boost defense cooperation with the militaries of the Philippines and Vietnam. Sources say that Tokyo intends to increase the number of defense attaches to improve information sharing and data gathering regarding China's military activities.

Another goal suggested by the announcement is to reportedly warn Beijing that, by increasing provocations in waters around the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, a counteraction from Japan is assured.

The government of Japan will make necessary budget requests for the year, from April 2017.
Finland, which has scarce gas resources of its own, has been successfully collaborating with Russia for decades on the project. Most of its gas is supplied from Russia, which, according to the EU bosses, is in the position to exert pressure over Helsinki.

Even though this has never been used, it is hardly surprising that the European Commission constantly has sought to weaken Finland's "dependence" on Russian gas and is ready spare no expense. Recently, the European Commission announced its decision to allocate approximately 210 million dollars to support the construction of the first line of the Baltic Connector pipeline, which is expected to link Finland and Estonia, European media platform Euractiv reported. Obviously, Brussels has been counting on the Baltic Connector to end Finland's "isolation" in terms of energy supplies from Europe, allowing the Nordic nation of 5 million, to go easy on Russian gas.

187.5m investment in 1st gas pipeline Estonia-Finland. Balticconnector to end gas isolation https://t.co/TwGiFGpjSc pic.twitter.com/cya3eGRjl2  European Commission (@EU_Commission) August 10, 2016

According to the European Commission, the circa 150 kilometer long Baltic Connector remains one of the most important projects for the European energy market as it is expected to help the countries of the Baltic region to diversify their energy supplies (which in this context means disrupting their traditional economic ties with Russia). For this reason alone, the EU is ready to finance 75 percent of the total project cost, which is the maximum possible share. European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete has repeatedly stressed that the EU's priorities are diversification of energy sources and energy routes, as well as of energy markets.
BAKU (Sputnik)  On Monday, the Russian, Iranian and Azerbaijan presidents met in Baku. According to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, the talks were intense and the leaders of the three countries managed to discuss a wide range of international issues, as well as certain matters of regional cooperation.

On the same day, Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that Iran was considering increasing its energy ties with Azerbaijan and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

"This is a crucial question for Iran, and most likely, in the near future, Iranian gas will be pumped to Azerbaijani underground storage facilities. Azerbaijan has two gas storage facilities, including Garadagh and Galmaz, the capacity of which is up to 5 billion cubic meters of gas," Zamaninia said in an interview with Azerbaijan's Trend news agency, published on Thursday.
BELGRADE (Sputnik)  On Tuesday, Vucic presented his cabinet's program to parliament, while on Wednesday lawmakers discussed his proposals.

"Where to import the gas from, if not from Russia? We can import it only from Russia, and every other alternative I have heard of was just empty talk. We now have the best possible price from Russia  $118 per thousand cubic meters of gas," Vucic, whose government was endorsed by the Serbian parliament on Thursday, told lawmakers.

Vucic told the assembled lawmakers that alternative gas delivery routes to Serbia were discussed during his recent visit to the United States, as well as at meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and during meetings with European Commissioner for Energy Maros Sefcovic, but all of the alternatives would be more expensive than Russian gas.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived in St. Petersburg for first talks to reset bilateral relations which turned cold after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 jet over Syria in November 2015.

"Recent developments in Russian-Turkish relations create good prospects for the full-scale resumption of bilateral relations in trade and industrial areas but reaching previous levels will be difficult," Manturov told RIA Novosti.

The two leaders agreed to develop bilateral ties, returning to the pre-crisis level of cooperation in trade, energy and defense and other spheres.
The study, published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, shows how satellite observations starting in 1993 had been distorted by the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.

The cataclysmic outburst temporarily blocked sunlight and cooled the planet, giving observers an artificially low starting point, researchers said.
Quite often they conduct criminal operations as a means to raise funds.

According to IsAG (Italian Institute of Advanced Studies in Geopolitics and Auxiliary Sciences) General Director Daniele Scalea, there are now different institutions, formal and informal, of multiple European intelligence agencies cooperation such as INTCEN, Europol, the Club de Berne counter terrorist group (CTG) and the EU counter-terrorism coordinator.

Unfortunately, other countries do not support these institutions especially when it comes to the data banks information exchange. But existing regulations restrict the use of these data banks for combating terrorism, said Scalea.

In the past years, European leftists, while protecting migrants rights to a private life, have blocked the use of the pan-European databases SIS II and Eurodac.

Intelligence agencies could only partly access the data although their constant systematic use would protect European countries from illegal migration.

Even Italy transmits to the Eurodac data bank only one third of all migrants who illegally crossed the border, while these migrants do not even have their fingerprints taken, maintained Scalea.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Ecuadors Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Ecuador would allow Sweden to question Assange at its London embassy.

"Obviously, Mr. Assange welcomes it but it doesnt cure the harm he suffered," Taylor said.

Assange and Ecuador have been calling for this to happen for over five years as it is a fundamental right to be able to defend one's name, she noted.
According to latest estimates, Germany invests more money in the EU budget than other countries. At the same time, the greatest benefit from the EU budget goes to the Czech Republic and Poland. To motivate them to solidarity, German MEPs proposed to introduce corresponding measures.

"Payments to the countries that do not adhere to the European law or states which do not cooperate by reception of refugees must be reduced," the head of the Budget Control Committee in the European Parliament Inge Grassle told Die Welt on Wednesday.
BERLIN (Sputnik)  Refugees in Germany who lied about their identity or pose a security threat must be deported in a timely manner, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Thursday.

"Those who provoked their deportation themselves, for example, by providing false information about their identity, committing offenses or posing other threats to public safety, shall be definitely deported," de Maiziere said, stressing that a faster procedure is required.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered the countrys foreign ministry to initiate the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Special Monitoring Missions (OSCE) enhanced presence on the Crimean border, a statement on the presidential website said Thursday.

The OSCE SMM should be asked to maximize the presence of OSCE observers in the area of the administrative border with Crimea and demand that Russia allow OSCE SMM officials to facilities in Crimea, the statement reads.

Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin was ordered to instruct the head of the Ukrainian missions in the United Nations to hold UN Security Council consultations, it adds.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Ecuadors Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the Latin American state would allow Sweden to question Assange at its London embassy.

"The Swedish Government Offices, including the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, welcomes the fact that Ecuador has decided to agree to Swedens request for judicial cooperation," Veronica Nordlund said.

Earlier in the day, a spokeswoman for the Swedish Prosecution Authority assessed Ecuador's decision as highly important for the investigation.
"Technical tasks for combating cybercrime will be entrusted to the Central Department of Information Technology and Security (ZITiS). It must be established early next year, more than 400 people will work there," de Maiziere said.

He reminded that the gunman behind the Munich attack bought his gun illegally on the "dark net."

Larger Police Presence

The minister said that the government will fulfill its commitment to create an additional 4,600 jobs in the country's law enforcement agencies, including 3,250 places in the federal police service. This decision will be implemented before the end of the current administration.

In total, "more than 2 billion euros [$2.2 billion] in additional funding in the period from 2015 to 2020 will be allocated," de Maiziere said.

Faster Deportations

The German Interior Ministry called for the timely deportation of refugees who lied about their identity or who pose a security threat.

"Those who provoked their deportation themselves, for example, by providing false information about their identity, committing offenses or posing other threats to public safety, shall be definitely deported," de Maiziere said, stressing that a faster procedure is required.

Breach of Medical Confidentiality

The German government will begin negotiations with the representatives of the medical community about opening up information on patients who may pose a security threat, de Maiziere said.

"We agreed that we, as the federal government, will begin negotiations with representatives of the medical community on how to come to a decision regarding confidentiality for a possible reduction in the threat to citizens'," de Maiziere said.

He added that as for now, there is a clause in the professional code of medical staff that allows for breaches to medical confidentiality in case of "protection of the public good."
MINSK (Sputnik)  The Belarusian NPP is currently being jointly built by Belarus and Russia's Rosatom state atomic energy corporation and is set to become the country's first nuclear plant. Earlier in the day, Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik said that the Belarusian side had decided to replace the shell but had not yet prepared the official documents.

"The regulating body has received the confirmation of the decision to replace the shell of the Belarusian NPP N1 reactor," Sobolev said.

The government made the decision after considering Gosatomnadzor's earlier recommendation against using the reactor, he added.
But I will repeat again, the central problem we are facing is the problem of labor payment, said Foldyna.

As for regional elections in Czech Republic and Brexit, a British demarche might affect the choice of Czech voters as it is an emotional side.

Again, it is a peripheral topic, repeated the deputy. Some political parties put this topic at the heart of their campaign as issues of transportation and the current situation with regional middle education are utterly not to their liking.

In addition, analytics say that if the Social Democratic Party fails to win, it could then result in the loss of the Czech Republics integration in Europe idea.

I would say it is a side issue. But it appears at the partys subconscious level and in the emotional choice of voters, maintained Foldyna. If we ask voters to choose between Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of Czech Republic, and leaving the European Union, they will not be even interested in our idea of decreasing the train price so they would have more money left.

After all, this problem might appear, but at the end of the day it is only a political game.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Pelosi led a delegation of Congressional Democrats to Italy during the last week and met with top Italian government officials.

"We talked about the EU [European Union] and Brexit and what that meant especially in Italy, because theyre saying Italy is next to go, but that was not the impression that we got in Italy," Pelosi stated. "It was a stronger EU, a more fulsome EU, rather than leaving."

On June 23, majority voters in the United Kingdom opted in a referendum to exit the European Union, a move also known as Brexit.
GENEVA (Sputnik)  PKK supporters from all around Switzerland, numbering around 100, gathered in front of the UN Geneva headquarters at around 3 p.m. local time (14:00 GMT).

Security measures were stepped up inside the building after four demonstrators entered the premises. All access to UN territory was closed by UN security forces as well as the Swiss police. First floor windows have been sealed with metal shutters and the main entrance gates were also closed, with even UN staff barred from entering or leaving.

Demonstrators said that four men had broken into the building earlier in the day, intending to talk with UN officials.
KIEV (Sputnik)  In the city of Kharkiv, the special services found private apartment, which was used for the temporary stay of Daesh members, who intended to move to the occupied territories of Syria and Iraq. The security forces detected four foreigners in the apartment, two of them were deported from Turkey over involvement in terrorist activities.

"Several transit channels of Daesh terrorist groupn for transferring foreign militants through the territory of our state have been blocked by the Security Service of Ukraine, assisted by the prosecutor's office, police and migration service," the SBU said in a statement.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Poroshenko ordered to put units near the border with Crimea and in Donbas on high combat readiness.

"The MFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] and Border Service should address Ukrainians with a request to refrain from visiting Crimea due to numerous provocations committed against Ukrainian citizens. It is also my personal request," Poroshenko said, as quoted by the presidential press service.

On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had uncovered a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, detaining both Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in preparing terrorist attacks on the peninsula. An FSB officer died as a result of a shootout during the raid.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  Russia hopes the Ukrainian authorities will do everything possible to avoid escalation of conflict following a foiled Kiev plot to conduct a series of attacks in Crimea, Russias permanent representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Thursday.

"I hope the Ukrainians will be prudent enough to do everything for no escalation to happen," Churkin stated in a press conference after a special UN Security Council meeting on Crimea.

On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had eliminated a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, detaining both Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in preparing terrorist attacks on the peninsula. An FSB officer died as a result of a firefight during the arrest.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera, the increased security measures in all Italian ports for the cruise and passenger traffic mean that a higher percentage of vehicles and passengers will be screened during loading and unloading.

The media said that the coastguard provided no reason for the move, but noted that it comes amid the increased terrorist threat in Europe as well as the escalation of the conflict in Libya and the busiest period at the airports due to the tourist season.

On Wednesday, Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti said that Italy was ready to let the United States use its military bases, in particular Naval Air Station Sigonella, to support the US airstrikes against the Islamic State (Daesh) jihadists in Libya.
According to earlier reports, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has proposed sweeping security measures in response to recent attacks in Ansbach and Wurzburg, and a shooting spree in Munich in July.

These measures include the creation of a 400-member counter-cybercrime department, a faster deportation mechanism for refugees who lie about their identity or who pose a security threat, and legislation that will enable access to medical records of those who are suspected of posing a security threat. These measures also include increasing the size of the police force with 4,600 new recruits, according to earlier reports.
The patient fell into a coma in May, following a car accident. He felt fine at first and walked home, but by the time he reached doctors he had a haematoma in his brain the size of a fist, and doctors did not believe that he would recover.

Other patients have also shown improvements. Some are able to focus on television and others can smile and make facial expressions. Dr. Maksymowiczs team performed the first of these procedure in Poland in May, under the supervision of Japanese Neurosurgeon Prof. Isao Morita, who has performed 300 similar operations.
"On August 11, six Tu-22M3 long-range bombers which took off in Russia carried out a concentrated high-explosive ammunition attack on targets of the Daesh terrorist group in areas south-east, north and north-east of the city of Raqqa," the statement said.

The aircraft destroyed ammo and oil depots, a chemical weapons factory and a major training filed dealing a heavy blow to the terrorists' facilities and manpower.

"Su-30SM and Su-35S jets were covering the bombers. After accomplishing the combat task all Russian planes returned safely to their airfields."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Turkey is part of the US-led coalition against Daesh that consists of more than 60 nations and has conducted airstrikes against the terrorist group in Syria and Iraq since 2014.

"We have to fight Daesh together. We are joining operations [against Daesh], actively using our aircraft," Cavusoglu told Turkey's NTV broadcaster.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Those deprived of work permit will not be allowed to work in public or private education institutions again, according to the minister.

"Our main principle is that children should not be [Fethullahist Terrorist Organization's] victims. Students from the closed schools will be able to switch to other private schools," Yilmaz told reporters, as quoted by the Diken newspaper.
The plan first surfaced in late 2015, but its implementation was postponed until the "status of the object was determined," the source added, providing specific details on Hmeymim's future.

Russia wants to expand the aircraft apron or the area where planes are parked, loaded and unloaded or refueled, because the ramp at Hmeymim was too crowded on busy days. Extra artificial hills will also be added to secure the warplanes in case of shelling.

The source further said that it was possible that aviation squadrons will be stationed in different areas of the air base to enhance security because "at the moment there is a single 'parking lot' there."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Senior Daesh member responsible for natural resources Sami Jassim Mohammad Al Jabouri, also known as Haji Hamad, has been killed near the Iraqi town of Qaim, Kurdistan Region Security Council announced in a Twitter message on Thursday.

Joint op by our Counter Terrorism Dept (CTD) & U.S. Special Forces killed snr #ISIL member near Iraqi-Syrian border. pic.twitter.com/az4uoiN7tb  KR Security Council (@KRSCPress) 11  2016 .

The operation, which also killed Haji Hamads aide, took place "in the early hours" on Thursday, according to the council.

"All personnel safely returned to their base," the message added.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere presented a draft of changes to national laws to the German parliament aimed to respond the recent terrorist attacks in Germany.

"The risk is abstract, but it's very high. We have to accept that we have hit-squats and sleeper cells in Germany. We have substantial reports that among the refugees there are hit-squads. There are hundreds of these reports, some from refugees themselves. We are still following up on these, but we haven't investigated all of them fully. But, we have irrefutable evidence that there are some Daesh command structures in place that makes attacks in Germany likely," Hauser told the BBC Radio 4.

Last month, an Afghan asylum seeker carried out an ax and knife attack on a train near Bavaria's Wuerzburg, wounding five tourists. A few days later, a Syrian refugee set off a bomb outside a music festival in Ansbach, also in Bavaria, killing himself and wounding 15 bystanders. Islamic State jihadist group, banned in Russia among other countries, claimed responsibility for both attacks.
Damascus-led forces blocked northern and eastern roads to the village of Ithriyah located in the Syrian Desert as part of a larger anti-Daesh offensive in the Hama province. As a result, Daesh fighters have been unable to use the road between Ithriyah and the city of Salamiyah that is currently under the SAA control to transport weapons and supplies.

Last week, the Syrian Arab Army destroyed dozens of trucks, including oil tankers that were meant to deliver crude to the besieged villages of Uqayribat and Abu Hanaya, as well as four-wheel drive off-road vehicles loaded with weapons.

"Four trucks carrying petroleum were destroyed last week. Armed drivers and their guards were also eliminated. In addition, we intercepted and confiscated two vehicles with ammunition, mines and other weapons," the source detailed.
In Iraq, nine coalition airstrikes near six cities hit Daesh tactical units and fighting positions, as well as five assembly areas, 22 rocket rails and 22 rockets, according to the task force.

The US-led coalition of more than 60 nations has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria and Iraq since the summer of 2014.

The Iraqi operations are coordinated with and in support of the government of Iraq, but the airstrikes in Syria are conducted without the approval of President Bashar Assad.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Moscow notes frequent attempts to distort the information on the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, some western media outlets are engaged in outright speculation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

"In recent times the cases of incidents of attempts to distort the information on developments in Syrias Aleppo have become more frequent. Some western media outlets, which seek to be objective and impartial, are engaging in outright speculation, operating with unverified information from dubious sources," the ministry said in a statement.
He also went on to explain a new aspect that is unfolding amongst some of the larger militant groups:

"There is much to be said on the fact that when any of these groups display more violence, there also seems to inevitably be a considerable loss in support even on the ground. So this is a reason why there are more displays of propaganda type material that show the other side of what life under their regime can or would look like."

But clearly, when looking at some of the recent editions of the Daesh propaganda magazine  'Dabaq'; alongside the choice to display lighter visual content and articles, there is still much overt displays of barbaric atrocities as well as threats towards intended targets. And if as is reported, that Boko Haram feels a sense of diminishing power in their region surely this would be a cause for concern that they may act out of desperation in order to reassert their status.

"The sole aim for groups such as Boko Haram is to spread more panic and fear and so in addition to the immediate military response against them which is crucial, people must remain as calm as can be and not panic every time they release new statements," Dr Richards told Sputnik.

FLASH: Nigeria Army document reveals Boko Haram planning massive attack across Nigeria pic.twitter.com/KhT9i8RJc1  Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) August 10, 2016

Clearly Boko Haram's new leader Al-Barnawi is intent on using fear and violence as they have been doing and so negotiation is just not something that can even be considered. He has reported to have recently said that Christians in Nigeria will be the new target of the sect's attacks.

The government spokespersons in Nigeria have called on Nigerians to ignore what they describe as "cheap propaganda tactics" being used. Nigerian press reports conveyed the government statement saying:

"Don't believe the cheap propaganda by the global terrorist group ISIS, which has reportedly named the new leader for Boko Haram. Our gallant military has put Boko Haram on the run and nothing will bring back the terrorists, not even any wishful thinking by ISIS," the statement said.

It's all fine and well to issue a statement of calm to the public, but clearly more solutions need to be explored to remove the power-dynamic that militant groups keep trying to assert worldwide.
The broadcaster stressed that another shipment was seized by Greek patrol ships in 2015.

The documents show that the sales were carried out through several middlemen. At least one US and three United Arab Emirates companies purchased the vehicles before "donating" them to local warring factions.
In addition to this, tourism representatives wish for the abolition of the visa regime.

First of all, the tourist sphere will benefit from it, exclaimed Ayik.

As Ayik commented, after the Turkish president sent an apology letter to Mr. Putin, the beginning of normalized relations between the countries had begun.

Russian tourists began to travel to Turkey again and the tourism industry slightly revived, the head of Turkey Hoteliers Federation told Sputnik.

As a result of negotiations, it was decided to lift all restrictions. In this regard, we hope for a speedy recovery of the tourist flow, said Ali Kizildag, Head of Professional Hoteliers Association of Turkey.

Last year, relations between Moscow and Ankara fell apart after Turkey hit the Russian Su-24 warplane. On August 9, Vladimir Putin met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan to restore economic ties between Russia and Turkey as it will benefit both countries prosperity.
According to the expert, Russia's initiative to create a full-fledged military base in the Syrian airport of Hmeymim is primarily viewed as an important step towards ensuring security and stabilization in the region.

"Middle Eastern countries (Syria itself, as well as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon) only welcome this Russian initiative, because Russia has never pursued the goal of military aggression and colonization of this region; the goal of the Russian military presence is to contribute to the stabilization and ensure security in Syria and the Middle East," the expert said.

The expert also argued that the military bases created by the United States in various parts of the world, by contrast, only bring destruction and undermine safety in many regions.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement reiterating it calls for all regional and international partners to realistically engage in helping Syria resolve its crisis.

"UN agencies will look at any suggestion  but we need 48 hours pause to meet needs. We are ready to deliver. It needs to allow two-way traffic  aid delivery must be neutral, impartial, independent," the UNHCR spokesperson said.

Earlier on Thursday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said the United Nations believed the three-hour humanitarian ceasefire windows in Syria, announced by Russia, would be insufficient. De Mistura stressed that the United Nations would maintain the aim for a 48-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Aleppo.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Circumstantial evidence exists that Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen's Hizmet network supported the military coup to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson told Sputnik.

"The fact is the coup was carried out in part by the military but with the support of a substantial civilian network," Wilson said. "The only organization that has that kind of network and can operate in a secret manner would be the Gulen Movement. There is at least circumstantial evidence that points in that direction."

The Turkish government, Wilson noted, has issued an arrest warrant for Gulen and US Department of Justice officials traveled to Ankara this week to assess the evidence, Wilson noted.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  It specified that the first fixed-term contracts on aftersale services were signed between the company and the Peruvian Defense Ministry after it won a tender in early July.

"In accordance with the terms of the agreement, the Russian holding company shall complete the delivery of aviation equipment for the helicopters before the end of 2016," the Russian Helicopters press service said.

"Russian Helicopters is counting on the gradual increase in the volume of deliveries," Deputy CEO overseeing aftersales service Igor Chechikov said.
It showed one of the six planes drop a dozen of bombs on what the Ministry said were Daesh assets southeast, north and northwest from Raqqa, the terrorist group's stronghold in northern Syria.

The airstrike destroyed an arms depot, a factory producing chemical weapons, as well as a major training field, and killed a large number of militants, according to the Russian military.
The Swedish armed forces will hold exercises on finding and defusing homemade bombs and explosive devices, as well as tracing their origin as part of the international Bison Hunter drills. The drill starts on Friday and is scheduled to continue for ten days. The exercise will be hosted by the city of Karlskrona, which is home to Sweden's eponymous and only remaining naval base, as well as the headquarters of the Swedish Coast Guard.

The exercise, taking place at sea and on the islands around Karlskrona, will gather some 50 military personnel.

"Here in Karlskrona, we will hold drills on finding and disarming homemade bombs, of which we hear in the news almost every day now," Ludvig Adielsson of the Karlskrona Naval Base told Swedish Radio.
Rather than sell directly to member states, the Pentagon would sell to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, and the lethal commodities would then be distributed to alliance members who have pooled their resources.

On Thursday, the US State Department approved the Navys plan to sell some $231 million worth of precision-guided missiles to NATO. If approved by the US Congress, it will be the first transaction of its kind, and could pave the way for future deals.
Announced Wednesday, the US Air Force will dispatch a Boeing B-52H Stratofortress, a Rockwell B-1B Lancer, and a Northrup Grumman B-2A Spirit bomber to operate concurrently in the US Pacific Command region in support of the Continuous Bomber Presence (CBP) and Bomber Assurance and Deterrence (BAAD) missions.

The move by the United States supplements a sizeable but undisclosed number of B-52s stationed at Andersen Air Force Base on the Island of Guam since 2006. The move called for the transfer of a fleet of B-1Bs and three B-2s to be deployed to Andersen Air Force Base to assist with the BAAD mission.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  A new Missile Defense Agency contract to Lockheed Martin will bring the cost of the US Aegis Ashore anti-missile base in Poland to $2.23 billion, the US Department of Defense announced.

"Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training [of] Moorestown, New Jersey, has been awarded an $8.1 million modification contract," the announcement said on Thursday. "The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $2.239 billion."

The new contract will provide engineering support and interface design for Aegis Ashore test and operational systems in Poland, including facility and interface design, engineering support and procurement of spares material, the Defense Department explained.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recognizes that he needs to revive diplomatic and economic relations with Russia to prevent the United States and its allies from isolating him, former CIA analyst and whistleblower John Kiriakou told Sputnik.

"Erdogan realizes that he has pushed his relationships with the United States and Russia too far," Kiriakou said on Wednesday. "You cannot threaten one country and then accuse the other of trying to overthrow your government without recriminations. So it's time to rebuild."

Erdogan has reacted to strained ties with Washington following the failure of the July 15 coup plot by strengthening economic relations with Moscow. At a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, the Turkish leader agreed on measures to boost economic and other bilateral ties with Russia.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited St. Petersburg on Tuesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin after seven months of strained relations, a development which some experts and officials in the United States and Europe found alarming.

"The speculation over Turkey is unjustified if not ridiculous," Wilson said. "Turkeys relationship with Russia had broken and that was the context of the outreach the Turks made to President Putin. That is normal and that is right."

Speculative comments that the US-Turkish relationship would be irreparably damaged because of Ankaras diplomatic overtures to Moscow are incorrect, Wilson noted.
Ankara's relations with Moscow were improving even before the botched coup, but the failed putsch appears to have accelerated rapprochement culminating in Russian President Vladimir Putin holding talks with his Turkish counterpart in Saint Petersburg on August 9.

"Erdogan's visit came at a time when both Turkey and Russia are going through a rough patch in their relations with the West," the analyst observed. Erdogan "opted for a pivot to Russia when he did not receive the backing from the West he was hoping for following the coup attempt."

Putin and Erdogan announced that both countries were ready to restore relations, but Ankara wants to speed up this process, Ozturk Ylmaz, deputy chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), told Sputnik.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the United States must make a choice between Ankara and a movement led by US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, known as Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO) in Turkey.

On Wednesday, Ilnur Cevik, chief adviser to the president, told Sputnik that Ankara has no intention of ever closing the Incirlik airbase, from which US planes fly anti-Daesh missions, and will continue to cooperate with the United States.

"Sooner or later the US will make a choice. Either Turkey or FETO," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara on Wednesday, as quoted by the state-run Anadolu Agency. "Either the coup-plotting terrorist FETO or the democratic country Turkey. It has to make this choice."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The cooperation of Moscow and Ankara defines a lot both in the Black Sea Region and generally, in the world, he noted.

"The latest visit will take all our contacts to a new level. It was the most important visit over the past few years," Yardim told reporters.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived in St. Petersburg for first talks to reset bilateral relations after the November 2015 downing of a Russian aircraft by Turkey. The two leaders agreed on a series of measures to boost economic and other ties.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived in St. Petersburg for the first talks to reset bilateral relations after the November 2015 downing of a Russian aircraft by the Turkish Air Force.

The two leaders agreed on a series of measures to boost economic and other ties.

"The two leaders played a key role in this [rapprochement]. It is the merit of their great political wisdom. In a few months, we will be able to fully appreciate their wisdom and political will," Yardim told reporters.
"All these talks now, that Turkey has problems with NATO, that Turkey could be leaving NATO, that Turkey will reconsider its relations with NATO, this is all a very false and speculative stance, because we are members of this organization and there are no talks of us stopping cooperation," Yardim told reporters.
BEIJING -- Beijing police have launched a two-month crackdown on cyber crimes, according to authorities.

The operation is being carried out to restore online order and security, Beijing police said in a statement.

It will target cyber crime that damages political security, while also cracking down on online terrorism and other types of illegal information.

Police will pursue crimes related to pornography, gambling, guns, explosives and drugs.

The special operation also targets infringement of private information, telecommunications fraud, hacking, the spread of violence and terrorism, and damage to the social order.

Websites, online service providers and employees will also be subject to police inspection, it said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On July 15, the Turkish authorities said that an attempted coup was taking place in the country.

A day after the coup attempt, eight Turkish servicemen flew a helicopter to the northern Greek border town of Alexandroupolis where they sought political asylum out of fear for their lives. Turkey demanded their extradition, while the men in question denied any involvement in the coup attempt.

"The trial on fugitive servicemen will take place in the end of this month We expect that the decision of the Greek court will lead to their extradition," Cavusoglu said as broadcast on the NTV channel.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson voiced hope during their phone conversation that bilateral ties would normalize despite existing tensions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Both sides expressed hope for the normalization of Russian-British relations, emphasized the intent to intensify political dialogue despite the remaining issues in bilateral relations to realize their considerable potential, including in the economy, humanitarian ties, foreign policy cooperation, the ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers also addressed anti-terrorism efforts and the situation around Syria during their phone conversation.
KIEV (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had eliminated a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, which was preparing acts of sabotage on "critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure." An FSB officer died during a shootout that ensued during the raid.

"US government has seen nothing so far that corroborates Russian allegations of a 'Crimea incursion' & Ukraine has strongly refuted them," Pyatt posted in his official Twitter account.

The US State Department said Wednesday that it was aware of the reports of the thwarted attacks and was in touch with Ukraine on the matter.
Eastern and Central European nations, according to researchers, approved arms export licenses "despite ample evidence that weapons are being diverted to Syrian and other armed groups accused of widespread human rights abuses and atrocities."

Yet media in some nations that have been singled out in the report have not paid meticulous attention to the findings that cover shipments made since 2012.

Czech media "briefly" covered the report, Jiri Just from the Aktualne newspaper said. "There were photos and videos, but in general no one in the Czech Republic knows about it; no one is talking about it."

People could become more interested in this issue when "more reliable and specific information appears," he added. "In general, the [Czech] society ignores this issue."

The Czech journalist hopes that the European Union will launch an investigation into the issue and that European authorities will take it seriously. "I personally think that it was wrong and ugly," he said.

A source in the European Union told RIA Novosti on Tuesday, that Brussels is "aware of the investigation's data" and is "studying it."
GENEVA (Sputnik)  On Tuesday, following a meeting with Erdogan, Putin said that Russia and Turkey are determined to find a mutually-acceptable solution to the conflict in Syria.

"We have been always looking forward to all members of the ISSG [International Syrian Support Group] to have a cooperative attitude among them in order to reach a formula that can be implemented in Syria. So seeing the Turkish president and the Russian president talking about Syria and apparently coming up with some type of coordination on agreement is certainly something that we are looking with a great interest at," de Mistura told reporters.
"Erdogan's first trip abroad after the failed military coup is a sign of Turkey's alienation from the West, and a warning signal to the EU, which, after the attempted coup, dealt with its difficult partner in an inadequate way," the newspaper wrote.

Sudden reconciliation  calming, but suspicious

Journalist Stefan Kuzmany wrote for Spiegel Online that the sudden reconciliation between the two countries demonstrates the ability of both leaders to change political course without any ideological preconditions.

"Sudden reconciliation between Erdogan and Putin is calming to a certain extent because the ability of both leaders to change policies means that despite constant striving for their own benefit, they don't pursue any certain ideology," Kuzmany wrote.

At the same time, German newspaper Handelsblatt is suspicious about rapid reconciliation between Moscow and Ankara.

"After the Russian fighter jet was shot down by Turkey, there was an ice age between Putin and Erdogan. Now, the two leaders have met in St. Petersburg. Has everything been forgiven and forgotten?" the newspaper asked.

"In international politics a smile says more than a thousand words. After months of sanctions, insults and threats, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are sitting in a luxury Konstantinovsky Palace in the suburbs of St. Petersburg and make a good face. This is the first meeting [] between the two presidents since the beginning of the serious Russian-Turkish crisis. Despite the conflict, the greetings look friendly," the newspaper wrote.

Other opinions

German regional newspaper Nurnberger Zeitung viewed Erdogan's visit as a premise to resolve the conflict in Syria, because the leaders of the two countries finally started to communicate with each other.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  In late June, Turkey and Israel announced that they had reached an agreement aimed at the normalization of bilateral ties following a period of tensions in the relations between the two countries. The agreement must be ratified by the parliaments of the two countries in order to take effect.

"I think we will finalize the issue before parliaments recess. Israel has met our terms, paving the way to normalize ties. Therefore, we must do this as soon as possible," Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Anadolu news agency.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the week, former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis claimed that the normalization of the relations between Russia and Turkey would contribute to the promotion of peace and stability in the Middle East, as Turkey and Russia are important players in the region.

"The pact resulted in a great tragedy I doubt that after a hundred years we should create another pact If such speculation, scenarios exist, that Russia and Turkey will create such an agreement, if there is speculation on it, it should be curbed," Yardim said during a press conference at the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.

The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement defined spheres of influence between the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire in the Middle East after World War I and served as the basis for determining the present borders in the region.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Kartal allegedly had links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO) and figures associated with it, in particular prominent Gulenist figure Emre Uslu and Ekrem Dumanli, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Zaman, who was arrested in 2014 for being affiliated with Gulen.

The BBP, a far-right political party, is believed to have ties to the Turkish nationalist extremist group Grey Wolves, on whom Ankara blamed hundreds of murders.

On July 15, the Turkish authorities said that an attempted coup was taking place in the country, which was suppressed the next day. Ankara believes that Gulen and his supporters were seeking to overthrow the current government. The Fethullahist Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure, made up of Gulen's supporters, is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Poroshenko instructed the ministry to invite US Vice President Joe Biden and European Council President Donald Tusk for talks, as well as initiate negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Foreign Ministry should organize telephone conversations with the leaders of Germany and France in the trilateral Normandy format, the statement reads.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday it had dismantled a spy ring in Crimea organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, which was plotting acts of sabotage on "critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure.

"Ukraine requested for consultations today on Russian latest provocations in temporarily occupied Crimea," the mission said in an English-language post on its Twitter account.

Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in preparing terrorist attacks have been detained following a sweeping FSB operation on the peninsula in which two Russian servicemen died. President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of resorting to terrorism instead of being focused on political settlement in Ukraine.
According to the expert, the meeting between Russia and Turkey is a positive sign, showing that the countries are opening a new page in their relations.

"The two leaders' meeting in St. Petersburg reflects the perfect timing for a quick response to changing world affairs," the expert said.

According to Prof. Dr. Hakki Casin, the meeting was very important for Turkey especially in the wake of the recent coup attempt. During the meeting, Putin and Erdogan announced that both countries were ready to restore relations and enhance economic and political cooperation. Moreover, the two leaders discussed ways to resolve the ongoing Syrian crisis and eliminate terrorism.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik)  The official claimed that Moscow has not provided proof of the attempted incursion into Crimea by Ukraine, and stressed that the alliance was closely following the events following heightened tensions on the peninsula.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday it had dismantled a spy ring in Crimea organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, which was plotting acts of sabotage on critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure. Two Russian officers were killed. Kiev denied the claims as Moscows provocations.

Separately, the NATO official called on sides to the conflict in eastern Ukraine to negotiate toward crisis settlement through diplomatic and peaceful means with the Minsk agreements a key factor.
Chebli was quoted as saying by the Saudi Gazette newspaper that Germany, along with other Western countries, regularly cooperated with Saudi Arabia in the fight against terrorism.

On July 24, a Syrian national, whose asylum application had been turned down and who was to be deported to Bulgaria after living in Germany for a year, detonated a bomb in the Bavarian city of Ansbach, killing himself and injuring 15 bystanders.
On Wednesday, US media reported that the hack was more widespread than previously thought, targeting the DNC, the DCCC, and at least 100 party officials.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken the lead in determining the source and scope of the hack. The agency has not publicly released any conclusions.

The White House said earlier in August that the FBI has not yet released any particular results of its probe into the DNC emails' hack.
These countries want to live in world with multiple centers of power and share responsibility for decisions that affect other nations. They also want other nations, primarily the US and its allies, to refrain from military interventions in sovereign countries.

The Syrian conflict and the Iran nuclear deal show that "Russia under Vladimir Putin is trying to discuss global issues with Washington as equals," the writer observed. "But first and foremost Putin wants the West to acknowledge Russia's interests in its neighborhood, primarily with regard to Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, Transnistria, Moldavia and Ukraine."

Del Valle also said that Moscow has "grown tired" of Washington using human rights to justify military interventions.

"Putin is still open for cooperation with Europe and the West but only under the condition that they cast away arrogance and stop meddling in internal affairs of countries that Russia views as strategically important," he said.

Del Valle further noted that China, Turkey, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Algiers share Russia's view on Washington's foreign policy.

The French writer also commented on the thaw between Russia and Turkey, saying that the row was bound to be temporary.

"Russian and Turkish economies perfectly complement each other," he said. "Both countries need each other when it comes to economy and energy. This is why the cold spell [between Russia and Turkey] could not last long."
"We would also like to warn Kiev and its foreign curators that the damage caused to Russia, the loss of Russian troops, will not remain without consequences," it said.

Russia has repeatedly pointed out to its partners Ukraines unwillingness to seek peaceful solutions, the ministry said.

"We have repeatedly pointed out to our partners that the current Kiev authorities are not interested in looking for peaceful ways to resolve problems in Ukraine, they are not ready to compromise, but seek to resolve emerging issues via forceful, and now terrorist, measures," the ministry said in a statement.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  While in Italy, a group of Democratic leaders met with top Italian leaders, including President Sergio Mattarella and Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

We appreciate that they [Europeans] are holding to the sanctions. This is the most important message we deliver: thank you for supporting the sanctions on the ongoing basis, Pelosi said.

Prior to the EU's renewal of anti-Russian sanctions in June, a number of regions in Italy were urging the government to lift the economic restrictions that were hurting local businesses. The United States and EU first imposed the sanctions on in 2014 following the Crimean referendum to rejoin Russia.
At the same time, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has established a very close friendship with Putin but Tokyo is close to Washington, and Russia has a territorial dispute with Japan, the article said.

That is why South Korea would be the best partner for Moscow in the development of Russia's Far East riches. The country doesn't pose a military threat to Russia and, at the same time, is a strong industrial power.

"Russia watched how China benefited from its close relationship with Korea. It views Korea as a partner that can help it shake its fear over China's expansion," the expert wrote.

South Korea will also benefit from cooperation with Russia.

"Russia could be an alternative destination for Korean intermediary exports, which have been hurt by China's slowdown stemming from its sluggish exports to Europe following the British vote to exit the European Union," the newspaper wrote.

Moreover, experts advise to set up a joint industrial park near the border between Russia and North Korea, which over time might attract workers from North Korea. Thus, thanks to the cooperation between Moscow and Seoul, South Korea might improve relations between the two Koreas. According to the newspaper, the country's authorities shouldn't miss such this chance.
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BERLIN (Sputnik)  According to earlier media reports, Steinmeier was set to visit Ekaterinburg on August 14-15.

I do plan to go to Yekaterinburg next week, where I will read a lecture at the Boris Yeltsin University and hold a discussion with students. Of course, I will use this opportunity to meet with the Russian foreign minister. We have plenty of topics to discuss, Steinmeier told the Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper.

According to the minister, Germany maintains regular communications with Russia.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday it had dismantled a spy ring in Crimea organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, which was plotting acts of terror and sabotage on critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine's permanent mission to the United Nations said that Kiev will initiate consultations at the UN Security Council following the latest events in Crimea.

"This was a clear act of sabotage and terrorism. So I am very surprised that they raised the issue with the UN Security Council," Churkin said ahead of the UN Security Council session.
What lies at the root of such a double-edged approach adopted by the Saudis?

It is not the first time that the Saudis have weaponized radical Islamism, according to Dr. Abbas Kadhim, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University.

Kadhim offers to look back into the history of KSA founder Abdulaziz Ibn Saud's quest for power.

"Since the appearance of the self-described Islamic State-formerly the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-many analysts tried to trace its political, historical, and ideological genesis," Kadhim notes in his article for The National Interest drawing historic parallels between Daesh and the Saudi Ikhwan terrorist group that "tormented large populations in the Middle East between 1912-1930."

The crux of the matter is that the Ikhwan was created by Ibn Saud (1875-1953) to subdue the Arabian Peninsula, the scholar points out.

Ibn Saud recruited the Bedouins of Arabia which were subjected to "rigorous religious education" in accordance with the teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd Al-Wahhab, founder of the radical Wahhabi school.

"The Ikhwan became Ibn Saud's merciless army that went with him on a rampage throughout Arabia to fight the 'unbelievers,' meaning all Muslim groups that believed in non-Wahhabi interpretations of Islam," Kadhim narrates.
Former CIA Deputy-Head Michael Morell who supports Hilary Clinton's election campaign said Tuesday that Russians and Iranians in Syria should be killed covertly to make their countries "pay a price" and quickly resolve the Syrian crisis.

"This is so outrageous what he said. He talks about using military force to scare Assad. I would suggest that in order to scare Assad he should just make a picture of Hillary Clinton for him. That would be frightening enough," Johnsons told Sputnik.

According to him, Russia was the only country that offered Syria real support and helped to fight Daesh and other terrorist groups.
As Barry R. Posen of Massachusetts Institute of Technology noted in his Op-Ed for The National Interest, Washington's alliances come at a high price at the same time bringing very limited benefits.

"At best, our allies defend themselves with vast assistance from the United States," he noted, highlighting that "the strategic benefits to the United States of its NATO commitments" are "slim."

US author and contributing editor at the Atlantic Jeffrey Tayler echoes Posen:

"Trump's various offenses aside, on his latter point, there can be no doubt: of NATO's 28 member states, only five spend the recommended 2 percent or more of their GDP per year on defense; Estonia is the sole Baltic country to meet the 2-percent benchmark. The United States, meanwhile, covers 72.2 percent of NATO's budget."

On the other hand, would the US-led NATO alliance risk a direct confrontation with Russia if the latter attacked the Baltics?

"Far from making NATO stronger, inducting the Baltics may have turned Article 5 into a dead letter, and 'the most important military alliance in world history,' as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called it, into a paper tiger," Tayler points out.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Ukraine's permanent mission to the United Nations said that Kiev will initiate consultations at the UN Security Council following the latest events in Crimea.

"There are some volunteer extremist battalions present in the east of the country. We have a concern about their [Kievs] ability to control their own people," Churkin stated in a press conference after a special UN Security Council meeting on Crimea.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Turkey's Ambassador in Moscow Umit Yardim told reporters that Turkey and Russia will start active consultations on Syria in the nearest future.

"Weve seen those reports certainly. We remain in close contact with our Turkish allies and our partners in the fight against Daesh. Weve been clear if work against Daesh is a priority for all of us, if this is truly a step in that direction, we would welcome that," Trudeau said.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had eliminated a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, detaining both Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in preparing terrorist attacks on the peninsula. A FSB officer died as a result of a firefight during the arrest.

"If their [Russias] allegations on what happened, this so-called terrorist attempt of Ukraine across the border with Crimea, if it happened in reality, where are the proofs  statements, pictures, videos, whatever?" Yelchenko stated after a special UN Security Council meeting on Crimea.

The FSB also said it had prevented two overnight attempts by Kiev-organized terrorist groups from entering Crimea on August 8, in which one Russian soldier was killed.
As one of Trumps most respected advisers, Ivanka may be Americas only hope.

"He trusts you. He believes in you. Although I dont know you personally, you seem to be a very smart and together woman. I think he will listen to you," he wrote. "I say this with the utmost kindness, care and concern for you, and I know you will do the right thing. Bring him in, off the road, away from the crowds. Now. Tonight."

If she accomplishes the impossible, Moore suggests, America will thank her.

"The entire nation  in fact, the entire world  needs you to step forward and do the courageous thing history will praise you for: the loving act of a brilliant daughter who also loved her beleaguered country enough to say her father wasnt well and needed help."

However well-intentioned Moores letter may be, its hard to imagine that Ivanka has not already attempted to reason with her father  even if, clearly, to no avail.
On this episode of "By Any Means Necessary" host Eugene Puryear is joined by Dr. Lawrence Brown of Morgan State University to talk about the Justice Department's report highlighting the abuses and illegal actions of the Baltimore Police Department. Misconduct in Baltimore included unconstitutional stops and arrests, discrimination against African-Americans, constitutionally excessive force, and gender bias in sexual assault investigations.

Later in the show Eugene Puryear is joined by Ben Woods, an organizer with Pan-African Community Action to talk about the recent local elections in South Africa, the waning support for the ANC, and cross continental connections to the United States.

In a special third part Eugene is joined by Robert Dunham, Executive Director at the Death Penalty Information Center to talk about upcoming referendums in California that could abolish the death penalty and the cruel and unusual ways in which individual states still murder those on death row.
The holding of elections in Eastern Ukraine, another point in the Minsk agreements, is another bone of contention. Both sides fundamentally disagree, to Dr Cheskin, its all about democratic standards being in place. As soon as we have observers in place and we can verify the results of the local elections, we can talk to you. Russia doesnt find this acceptable, neither do the separatists. Unfortunately I agree with Xavier, I dont see how this agreement will ever work. Xavier pointed out that elections have actually already being held in Kharkov and almost all the big cities, and in all, opposition candidates were elected. If that is the case, Dr Cheskin says, why not allow democratic, independent elections with independent observers, and the Ukrainians would have to negotiate with these people because these are the terms that they have set? Xavier then added that in fact the DNR, LNR and Russia actually have no problem with OSCE monitoring of elections in Eastern Ukraine. Unfortunately elections have been postponed until November 2016, and it is by no means certain that they will take place then, so that point on the Minsk Agreement is also invalid.

The next point on the Minsk Agreement concerns decentralisation, or the Federalisation of East Ukraine. Has this happened? Dr Cheskin said, the clear answer is no.

The simple reason is that there is such domestic opposition, this can be seen by the huge amount of dissatisfaction in Ukrainian society after the government tried to pass a law granting special status for Donbass in March 2015.

Xavier Moreau however didnt think the issue was public opinion but more to do with the leaders in charge:

In my opinion the Ukrainian people want peace  most of them. The problem is the Rada. Inside the Rada you have about 20-25 war leaders who are dangerous people, who have people with weapons available to start any unrest and so its impossible to have a constitutional majority to implement this constitutional reform and this is a reason why Kiev cant implement this Minsk agreement.

In the second part of the programme the discussion widened to include the sanctions against Russia, which do not seem to be working. Xavier said the sanctions are part of wider war against Russia by the United States, to include Russia in Europe. Dr Cheskin reacted to this, stating that this view as being overly simple, coming straight from the Kremlin. Of course we can put some blame on the EU and the US and see this as a geopolitical conflict, but the idea that America needs a war is too simplistic. It is not in Americas interest for there to be a war happening, it is in Americas interests for Ukraine to be weak, you could argue that, and it is in America's interests to limit Russian influence in Ukraine, I think you could say that, but it is not in America's interests for there to be a war in Ukraine, thats absurd. I think it is a frozen conflict, and this is depressing.

Is Ukraine able to afford to rebuild Donbass, if it was able to? Xavier said: The key date is 2019, that is when IMF loans come due, there is $2 billion outstanding for gas transit fees to Europe to be paid, and there will be presidential and parliamentary elections. In my opinion, the conflict is frozen until the end of 2018, beginning of 2019. I think then you will have a more democratic parliament in Ukraine and complete bankruptcy of the Ukrainian economy. They will have no choice but to recreate some good relations with Russia. Dr Cheskin said that it would also be difficult for Russia to take on the reconstruction of East Ukraine, because its economy is stretched at the moment, with the conflict in Syria, a weakened economy and support for other frozen conflicts. Although Moreau counteracted this by stating that the sanctions have not affected the Russian economy in the way reported and in fact have greatly boosted agriculture and other industries.

The way forward according to Xavier is for Ukraine to decentralise and for an end to sanctions against Russia. According to Dr Cheskin, Russia is key to solving the current situation in Ukraine.
Googles parent company Alphabet has celebrated its one year anniversary. The conglomerate was created by Googles founders to bring their companies under one roof  creating a behemoth that has its hands in a great many areas of our lives, from our health to our homes to our location, finances and more.

Astonishingly, this could even include the presidential election, with Google serving as, in the words of Julian Assange, Hillary Clintons secret weapon. There is justified outrage at the NSAs mass surveillance, but is Google essentially the same thing  just led by a CEO rather than a General?
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has cracked down on an extremist group that was recruiting militants for Daesh over the Internet, the FSB press center said Thursday.

"[The FSB] acting in coordination with the Interior Ministry uncovered the activities and dismantled cells of the international Internet community Rohnamo ba sui davlati Islomi ['guidebook to Daesh' in Tajik] on the territory of the Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions, which was created to propagandize terrorist ideology, recruiting militants into Daesh, as well as to raise money to fund this terrorist organization," the press center said.

It is noted in the statement that the security services carried out 27 raids on the apartments of Rohnamo members in the Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk Regions on August 10.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Four militants have been killed in a special operation in the Russian republic of Dagestan, Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said Thursday.

"The militants opened fire after being asked by law enforcement officers to surrender. Four militants were killed by the Federal Security Service," the committee said.

A local gang leader who has been on the federal wanted list since 2014 is believed to be among those killed.
SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had eliminated a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, which was preparing acts of sabotage on "critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure." A FSB officer died during a shootout that ensued during the raid.

"A criminal case has been opened to look into all the facts of crimes. Investigative and operational measures are being taken and a preliminary investigation is being carried out. Criminal proceedings have been initiated over the preparations to commit an act of sabotage and participation in creating and organizing an illegal armed group and also in relation to the deaths," Poklonskaya told RIA Novosti.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had eliminated a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, which was preparing acts of sabotage on "critical and life-supporting elements of the peninsula's infrastructure." A FSB officer died during a shootout that ensued during the raid.

"You see which path they [Kiev] picked But I am sure that these are not their own actions and premises, they have the US State Department behind them because the Ukrainian authorities would not have the guts to carry out such activities," Aksenov said on the Rossiya 24 television channel.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had eliminated a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, detaining both Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in preparing terrorist attacks on the peninsula.

"An instruction to provide the level of security on the premises of all holiday resorts subordinate to the Property Management Directorate necessary for comfortable stay of tourists has been issued," Kolpakov said.

"There are no cancellations or emergency departures from holiday resorts," he pointed out.
SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik)  The Ukrainian National Police opened a case into Panov's abduction after the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained the Ukrainian national in Crimea during a raid on a group suspected of preparing terror attacks.

"He officially crossed the Crimea-Ukraine border through a checkpoint. Thus, all speculation about his abduction is groundless," the source said.

Simferopol's Kiev District Court is expected to decide on pre-trial restrictions for Panov.
SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik)  Yevgeny Panov, a native of Ukraines Zaporizhia Region born in 1977, was detained on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack in Crimea late last week, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday.

"The court arrested Panov for two months," the source at the Kievskiy district court of Simferopol said, relaying judge Tatyana Rube's announcement.

The Ukrainian National Police opened a case into Panov's abduction during the raid. A security service source disputed that claim, saying Panov entered Crimea through a checkpoint.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russias space agency Roscosmos plans to cut down the number of cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS), Head of Piloted Space Programs and cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev said.

"We have sent letters to the participants of the ISS program  we want to hear their opinion on how to cut the crew and when," Krikalev said in an interview with the Russian Izvestia newspaper.

According to Krikalev, three people, which is the current crew at the Russian segment of the ISS, is too much for the equipment that is now used there.
"It would also help avoid using xenogeneic material to treat pathology. Additive prototyping allows manufacturing products of virtually all shapes and sizes. All we need is a technology for processing biopolymer material for printing."

Bioprinting will also come in handy in space.

"The development of a magnetic bioprinter will allow printing tissue and organ constructs which are hypersensitive to the effects of space radiationfor biomonitoring of the negative effect of cosmic radiation in the conditions of a prolonged stay in space and for the development of the preventive countermeasures," reads a press release from 3D Bioprinting Solutions, after signing a contract with the United Rocket and Space Corporation earlier this month.

Consumer-level 3D printers are easily available. A cheaper model is offered for some $350 at big-box retailer Office Depot, but it may be better to spring for the top-shelf model if will be used for life-saving medical purposes.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Turkey, with 83 percent of respondents believing terrorists could pretend to be refugees, showed the most susceptibility to this fear, while in Russia 77 percent and in Hungary 72 percent of respondents said they are concerned about such a scenario, according to a survey conducted by the Ipsos market research firm.

The Spanish public was the most skeptical about such a scenario, with just 16 percent of respondents acknowledging that they are worried about terrorists potentially pretending to be refugees, the poll found.

Turkey also had the largest share of supporters of closing borders to refugees, with 64 percent of those polled in favor of such a move.
A drone, or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a remote-controlled aircraft without a human pilot aboard. Drones are currently used in policing, firefighting, pipeline checks, as well as for the military purposes.

Both, the UK Federal Aviation Authority and the British Airline Pilots Association have warned that drones can be unsafe to use. Given the complexity of the current aerospace system, drones could easily collide with a passenger plane and cause a major incident.
Morell caused a firestorm with his comments , with Franz Klintsevich, the defense and security official at Russia's Federation Council, saying that such remarks could fuel tensions between Moscow and Washington and lead to open confrontation.

Ray McGovern, a retired CIA analyst, whistleblower and political activist told Sputnik that Morell "is not a person to be taken seriously" for, by trying to act tough, he is simply taking the same line as Hillary Clinton, while angling for a high position under her administration.

"He is not a serious person. He has shown himself willing to do the bidding of those who lied about the intelligence before the Iraq war, bear in mind that intelligence was not mistaken, it was fraud, and he supervised much of it," McGovern noted.
Meanwhile, Okinawan elected officials, who have recently been in sharp dispute with Tokyo about the US military presence on their island, offered that training foreign forces in Okinawa is not prohibited under the treaty, and would be decided depending on a case-by-case basis. The Japanese government is reportedly in the process of confirming the circumstances of the deployment with the British government.

Non-American troops in Japan, unlike US service personnel stationed in the country, are not covered by the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which facilitates standard immigration procedures and gives the military primary right of jurisdiction in case of a breach of law while on duty.

"It seems UK troops in Japan are operating here without legal status. There could be serious ramifications if they were involved in an accident or incident," said Manabu Sato, a professor of political science at Okinawa International University.

In June, thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Okinawan prefectural capital of Naha to protest the heavy US military presence in the region. A history of violent crimes by American personnel against Japanese citizens on the island has angered residents for decades, including the murder of a local woman in April by a former marine.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  The Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation is terminating the gathering of gas in the Barnett region, Texas, to reduce expenses and increase operating income, the company said in a statement.

"Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to convey its interests in the Barnett Shale operating area located in North Texas to Saddle Barnett Resources, LLC ("Saddle Resources"), a company backed by First Reserve, a leading global private equity and infrastructure investment firm exclusively focused on energy, and simultaneously terminate future commitments associated with this asset," Chesapeake said on Wednesday.

According to the companys release, the move will increase its operating income by approximately $200 to $300 million annually in 2016-2019. It will also cut down 2016-2017 expenses by over $700 million.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Manning tried to kill herself on July 5. The transgender soldier is facing administrative charges related to the suicide attempt with the maximum penalty of indefinite solitary confinement.

"Chelsea Manning supporters delivered more than 115,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning, calling for him to drop serious new charges faced by Ms. Manning as a direct result of her attempt to take her own life on July 5th," Demand Progress said Wednesday in a statement.

According to the pressure group, the petition calls for the US military to provide Manning with adequate and humane treatment.
"The frequency of these interactions could have provided CENTCOM leaders with outsized influence on the material presented to the President outside of formal coordination channels," the report said.

The task force highlighted that the frequent calls contradict the statement Clapper has previously made during his testimony to Congress.

"These frequent interactions are at odds with the DNI James Clappers testimony to Congress that intelligence assessments from CENTCOMcome to the national level only through the Defense Intelligence Agency," the report stated.

The House Joint Task Force along with the US Department of Defense is continuing to investigate the whistleblower allegations, and the findings are only preliminary, the report stated.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The report made public on Thursday revealed that CENTCOM manipulated intelligence reports and public statements on the fight against Daesh terrorist group to portray events on the ground as being more positive than they were.

US Central Command has seen the Congressional Joint Task Force initial report and we appreciate the independent oversight provided, Raines said. We are reviewing the findings of the initial report; since the Joint Task Force investigation is ongoing, as is the DOD IG's [Department of Defense Inspector General] investigation, we will refrain from further comment at this time.

House of Representatives committees convened the task force after a whistleblower claimed in May 2015 that CENTCOM leaders were engineering intelligence products to present an unjustly positive outlook on US efforts to train Iraqi Security Forces and fight Daesh.
In June, Nartker, along with with an unidentified sailor, appeared before Rear Admiral Frank Morneau, commander of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, to formally hear charges. During whats called a "Captains Mast," all charges against the unidentified sailor were dropped, while Nartker was informed that he would face disciplinary procedure.

In June, a declassified Navy investigation into the captured ships concluded that Iran violated international law when their navy detained American servicemen at gunpoint, just days before the countrys nuclear accord was implemented.
Lorie Ann Hill, 49, was arrested after Wagoner High School officials called police at approximately 9 a.m. to report that she was "disoriented and without pants" in an empty classroom. The school has stated that she was just recently hired.

She was found in a room kind of disoriented," Police Chief Bob Haley told Tulsa World. "By the time we got there she was in a room and wearing shorts.

It is unlikely that students were present, as the first day of school is on Thursday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  An African-American woman from the US state of Mississippi has been jailed for 12 years for seeking to support the Islamic State (ISIL, or Daesh), the US Department of Justice announced on Thursday.

"Young, 20, of Starkville, Mississippi, was sentenced today to serve 144 months in prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a designated foreign terrorist organization," the statement said.

On March 30, Young pleaded guilty before Chief US District Judge Sharion Aycock of the Northern District of Mississippi,
In a forum hosted by the Institute for Policy Studies, Black Youth Project 100 leader Janae Bonsu commented that "Palestine is in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and vice versa because we see and understand our struggles as similar."

Bonsu described social media posts from Palestine during the mass protests in Ferguson, Missouri teaching activists how to combat tear gas. "You have to choose what side you're on. Youre either for freedom or you're not," she said.

Black Lives Matter and pro-Palestinian groups have found common cause in opposing what they view as systemic racism and oppression. The association has drawn criticism from pro-Israeli groups both in the United States and abroad.
The plaintiff in the case, Tamara Fields, claimed that her husband was killed while working as a contractor in Jordan due to extremist propaganda disseminated on Twitter.

In November 2015, Lloyd Carl Fields, Jr. and James Damon Creach were shot and killed while working as United States government contractors at a law enforcement training center in Amman, Jordan. The shooter was a Jordanian police officer who had been studying at the center, the lawsuit stated. In subsequent statements, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, describing the gunman as a lone wolf.

In the lawsuit, Fields claimed that Twitter was in violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act by not cracking down on accounts created by Daesh, though it does not indicate specific tweets linked to her husbands death.
"No," Trump responded, "I meant that he's the founder of ISIS. He was the most valuable player. I gave him the most valuable player award."

"I mean, with his bad policies, that's why ISIS came about. If he would have done things properly, you wouldn't have had ISIS. Therefore, he was the founder of ISIS," Trump declared. "The way he got out of Iraq, that was the founding of ISIS, okay?"

Trump emphasized that his statement was not intended to be humorous, and added that voters approve of his accusation.

"Everyone's liking it. I think they're liking it," Trump said.

Earlier on Wednesday, during a speech in Florida, Trump said: "You know, in fact, in many respects, [Daesh] is honoring President Obama. He's the founder of ISIS. He founded ISIS."

"I would say the co-founder would be Crooked Hillary Clinton," Trump added.

"We should never have gotten out the way we got out. We unleashed terrible fury all over the Middle East," Trump claimed.
Environmental groups behind the effort, led by Coloradans Resisting Extreme Energy Development, announced on Monday that both initiatives gathered far more than the required 98,492 signatures needed to qualify for a spot on the ballot, collecting over 200,000 in five months. They still needed to pass verification by the Secretary of States office, verifying the signatures were legitimate.

On Thursday, the Secretary of States office announced that the initiatives will be included on the November ballot.

"I am thrilled that the people of Colorado will have their voices heard," Tricia Olson, the Health and Safety Over Fracking executive director said in a statement. "I am so, so grateful to our hundreds and hundreds of Colorado volunteers and to the organizations that stepped forward."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The National Defense Department explained that warships would also partner with the Canadian Coast Guard, the Arctic Research Foundation and other services to carry out hydrographic surveys.

"The deployment of these ships continues Canadas stated commitment to assert our sovereignty over our northernmost regions," Skjerpen stated.

The deployment of the two ships, the coastal defense vessels Moncton and Shawinigan, will last seven weeks, according to the release.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Islamic State (ISIL, also known as Daesh) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the failed attack that was thwarted by Canadian police on Wednesday, The Times of Israel reports.

The Daesh news agency said on Thursday that the Canadian man killed by police on Wednesday was a member of the group and was "acting on its general instructions," The Times of Israel reported on Friday.

Aaron Driver, the 24-year-old Canadian man, was killed on Wednesday when police officers tried to apprehend him at his home in Ontario.
With their schedule so busy, trainer John Butenschoen and his wife, Jackie, werent planning anything special for Wednesday (August 10), their 30th wedding anniversary. But they got something special anyway  Pennsylvania Sires Stakes victories at The Meadows from John Butenschoen trainees Dover Dan and Giveitgasandgo.

Corey Callahan piloted both colts. The $184,096 stake for freshman colt and gelding trotters, known as the Florida Pro, was contested over four divisions, with Muscles Jared and You Cant Habit taking the other splits.

Their anniversary was something of a homecoming for Jackie Butenschoen, who grew up in Washington County. Her father, the late Jack Kiger, was a blacksmith at The Meadows when the track opened in 1963. John composed an anniversary message to Jackie and posted it on Facebook, then gave her yet another present.

I put her to work, he joked.

As is his custom, driver Corey Callahan kept Dover Dan (Andover Hall-CR Kay Suzie) near the rear before launching a decisive first-over move that carried him to his second PASS win in as many tries for owners William Wiswell, Jean Goehlen and Eugene Schick. He scored in 1:57, one and three-quarter lengths better than early leader Muay Hanover, with Phi Alpha third. The win increased his career earnings to $40,486.

Butenschoen said that rallying style suits Dover Dan for now.

Hes been wanting to get a little anxious and keyed up, he said. Today, we just wanted to make sure he got off the gate trotting. He has the ability; its just a matter of keeping him focused. As long as he races like hes racing, I dont see any need [to send him].

Muscles Jared quarter-poled to the front for John Campbell and had little problem from there, prevailing in a stake-fastest 1:56.1. Box Of Luck was second, two and three-quarter lengths back, while Andy M completed the ticket.

Since trainer George Ducharme added hopples for Alfred Ross gelded son of Muscle Massive-Tetiana, the colt has two wins in as many outings.

That really helps a lot of young trotters, Campbell said. It steadies them when they need it the most. They have more confidence with their gait. He felt good. I was impressed with him the night he raced at The Meadowlands, and he came back as good or better. In the last turn, he looked around and thought it was all over. I got his attention back, and he picked it up in the lane.

You Cant Habit also converted an uncovered move to victory, triumphing in 1:57 for Brett Miller, trainer John McDermott and owner 4 Leaf Racing. Moonshiner Hanover was second, two and a quarter lengths in arrears, while Affair Of Honor  another from the Butenschoen stable  earned show.

Hes such a nice horse  he really loves his work, McDermott said of the son of Cantab Hall-Habit Of Creature, a $55,000 yearling acquisition. As long as hes not going too fast, he can get it done. Hes staked very lightly. We want to make him into a nice three-year-old and aged horse.

In the final division, Giveitgasandgo (Yankee Glide-Mazda Hanover) was victorious in 1:57 for driver Corey Callahan. Giveitgasandgo is owned by Harmony Oaks Racing Stable Inc., David Miller, Lawrence Means, and VIP Internet Stable LLC.

In the $20,000 Preferred Handicap Trot, I Know My Chip extended his winning streak to four when he zipped by his stablemate, Tall Cotton, to down him by a half-length in 1:54.3. Classicality was third. Callahan drove the four-year-old Deep Chip-Madelines Crown gelding, who now boasts $447,793 in career earnings, for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Phillip Collura.

Live racing at The Meadows resumes Saturday when the action-packed card features the $147,500 Moni Maker for three-year-old filly trotters and two events for three-year-old colt and gelding pacers: a $160,760 PASS and an $80,000 PA Stallion Series stake. First post is 1 p.m.

(With files from The Meadows)
Casie Coleman and the fellow owners of Betting Line decided to skip several of harness racings big-money events for three-year-old male pacers this summer, but the group is pleased with the results and is betting that the decision pays off down the road.

The Ontario-based Betting Line won the North America Cup on June 18 at Mohawk Racetrack. Since then, he has raced three times, all on the Ontario Sires Stakes circuit, and posted three victories.

He was not staked to the $500,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial, $732,050 Crawford Farms Meadowlands Pace, $400,000 Delvin Miller Adios, or $320,000 Cane Pace. Racing Hill won the Hempt and Adios; Control The Moment won the Meadowlands Pace and Cane.

Betting Line, who has won seven of eight races this year and earned $737,000, will leave Ontario for the first time in his career when he competes in Saturdays $300,000 Carl Milstein Memorial Invitational at Ohios Northfield Park. Betting Line is the 3-5 morning line favourite in the eight-horse field, which includes filly Pure Country, Dan Patch Award-winner Boston Red Rocks, and Ontario rival Sintra.

He was good each start (following the North America Cup) and Im glad I was able to give him a bit of a break, said Coleman, who trains Betting Line. The colt is owned by Colemans West Wins Stable, Christine Calhoun, and Mac Nichol. A lot of these other horses have been racing tough week in and week out. I know hes going to get busy in the next several weeks.

Its hard to be upset with the money hes made. The Ontario-sired horses go for such good money right here in his backyard. We decided to try to hit all the Ontario Sires Stakes we could and work his open stakes races around them. Our program is so good its just hard to say no. We decided to go this route and were all happy with the money hes racking up doing it this way.

Following the Milstein, Betting Line will head to the Battle of the Brandywine at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on August 20. He has an Ontario Sires Stakes event on September 3 at Mohawk and the Simcoe Stakes a week later at the same venue. Next on his schedule is the Little Brown Jug on September 22 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Ohio.

He is not staked to the Tattersalls Pace at Lexingtons Red Mile, but could be supplemented. Coleman, though, is focused on the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final on October 15 at Mohawk and the Breeders Crown eliminations a week later at the Meadowlands. If all goes well, Betting Line would make a trip to the Breeders Crown final on October 29 and end his season with the Progress Pace at Dover Downs in November.

For now, Coleman is only concerned about the Milstein. Betting Line and driver David Miller will start from Post 2 on the half-mile oval and bring a seven-race win streak to the event. Pure Country, who finished fourth in the Cane Pace, is the 9-2 second choice from Post 6. Sintra, who in 10 races this year has posted seven wins and three second-place finishes to Betting Line, is 6-1 from Post 4.

It will be the first time Betting Line will be on a half-mile track, but its really well banked and a good surface, Coleman said. Any inside post is good, so Im happy with that. Its a tough enough field. Youre going for $300,000 so its always going to be tough.

Sintra, weve beaten him every time so far, but hes a really good horse, so hes one to worry about. Pure Country, shes been just unreal, so you have to worry about her. I dont know some of the horses coming from Indiana and Ohio, but from their lines it looks like theyve been racing quite good. Hes definitely going to have his work cut out for him, but he seems good and sharp coming into the race.

Betting Line won six of 12 races last year, including the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final for two-year-old male pacers. He finished second in the Metro Pace and fourth off a tough trip in the Breeders Crown.

Coleman prepared Betting Line for his three-year-old season by training him with four-year-old Reverend Hanover, a two-time Ontario champion. It was more out of necessity than by design (note  Coleman told Trot Insider this week that Reverend Hanover has been retired).

Ive just got a small barn and didnt bring back many three-year-olds, Coleman said. Reverend, when he trains, he wants to rattle and roll. Hes a little bit of an aggressive trainer. Betting Line definitely had to train back with tougher competition than I would have liked, but thats what we had to do.

He raced great as a two-year-old, but that last start when he went a tough trip in the Breeders Crown final I was quite worried. You dont want to see a horse end the year with a start like that. I was worried if it would hurt him at all coming back at three, but he seemed to forget all about that.

Coleman is more than happy with Betting Lines attitude, and its tough to put a price on that.

Every time I put him behind the gate he always gives me everything hes got, Coleman said. Its always exciting racing him.

This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.
This Saturday's Preferred Pace at Mohawk Racetrack features a solid field of nine horses, with a handicap in condition forcing State Treasurer to the outside of the starting gate. In reality, the horse is facing a second handicap in recovering from a near-tragic incident last week.

Dr. Ian Moore was looking forward to a more compact field in last week's Preferred, where a field of five was scratched down to four when State Treasurer was a Judges' scratch -- scratched for just the second time in his 100-plus race career. Moore was jogging the defending Horse of the Year last Friday when he took an uncharacteristic lame step.

"He jogged super that day, I had him on a trail that had just opened...and he was trotting, I hadn't seen him trot ever. We were saying the day before we were looking forward to racing him in a smaller field on Saturday...when we put him away, that's when it was found."

The 'it' in question was a two-inch #10 screw in his left hind hoof, buried all the way to the edge of the thread.

"I didn't measure it but it seemed to be a two-inch screw, #10 diameter. It was a very thick screw. Obviously I've seen a few of those over my veterinary career but typically they're the smaller diameter ones that get in there," Moore told Trot Insider. "A #6 diameter would be the maximum that gets turned up and in there...this is probably the largest screw I've seen in there. Shingle nails are very common and the good thing about shingle nails is they don't penetrate deep enough.

"It didn't go all the way in but it was in an area where if put any weight on that it would push it in even further," stated Moore. "Typically, if I'm not too far away, I like them to hold that so I can x-ray where the screw is so you know what you're dealing with. In this case I went for an eye appointment and Mitch Tierney, who works for me, decided it needed to be taken out right away....which is actually probably a good move because [the horse] could have pushed it in even more."

While such an injury surely sounds painful, the situation is even serious than just discomfort. Moore is fully aware a puncture of that nature can be life-threatening to horses.

"First of all, with a puncture wound like that -- a screw or a nail or a piece of wire, I've even seen a piece of hard plastic penetrate the foot before -- if it goes into the navicular bursa or the coffin joint, within 12 hours you can have an immediate sepsis or infection of the joint. And tetanus is always a concern too, horses and humans are the two most susceptible species to tetanus.

"So, obviously that didn't happen but there are other vital structures in there as well...the coffin bone itself, or the navicular bone. If the screw touches that you can get an osteomyelitis -- infection of the bone -- or any of the ligaments in the foot."

State Treasurer was immediately started on antibiotics to help fight off infection.

"This would be one of two times when I believe in prophylactic (preventative) antibiotics. I don't use them on horses for any other reason other than that and if a horse choked on feed or hay or something because they can get an aspiration pneumonia from that.

"So I have him on high doses and it's knocked him off his feed a bit as a result but he's happy and he's walking sound."

Throughout the week, Moore actively treated the foot with soaks and packing, and he's added a special plate across the area as the frog is soft where the screw penetrated through. When he was dropped in the box on Tuesday, the probability of racing wasn't quite 100 per cent but the foot has shown daily improvement.

As surgery in this area is extremely difficult, Moore is thankful that to this point all signs would indicate such a procedure isn't necessary.

"It bled a lot, which is a good thing because it would help get out the bacteria," said Moore. "And he was vaccinated for tetanus before he left Florida and before he went to Florida so hopefully we should be good with that."

Owned by Paul & Sally MacDonald, State Treasurer leaves from Post 9 in Saturday's $34,000 Preferred Handicap. Chris Christoforou will drive the seven-year-old Real Desire gelding, listed as the 3-1 morning line choice.

Race 9 -- $34,000 Preferred Handicap - Mohawk Racetrack

1. Erle Dale N (James MacDonald - Ron Adams) - 10-1

2. The Wayfaring Man (Paul MacDonell - Nicky Comegna) - 12-1

3. Boomboom Ballykeel (Jon Drury - Richard Moreau) - 10-1

4. Mohawk Warrior (Sylvain Filion - Richard Moreau) - 8-1

5. Jins Shark (Steve Condren - Ciaran Morrison) - 8-1

6. Nirvana Seelster (Phil Hudon - Bill Budd) - 5-1

7. Nickle Bag (Trevor Henry - Bill Robinson) - 9-2

8. Ellis Park (Jack Moiseyev - Brad Maxwell) - 7-2

9.State Treasurer (Chris Christoforou - Dr. Ian Moore) - 3-1
The Forest City Yearling Sale will be held at the Western Fair Agriplex in London, Ont. on Sunday, October 23. The online roster is now available with pedigrees.

The roster and pedigrees are available at forestcitysale.com.

The sale roster can be sorted by Sire, Dam, Hip, or Consignor. Videos will be added as soon as they are available. The sale catalogue can be ordered online and will be mailed out during the week of August 31.

The yearlings will be available for inspection on Saturday, October 22 from 10 am at the agriplex. The Yearling Video Theatre will be available in the agriplex lobby beginning Saturday and will be available during the sale. As well, a live webcast of the sale will be broadcast on the website.

"I'm very pleased with the collective calibre of yearlings we have to offer again this year," said Ann Straatman, sale manager. "Not only are they a good looking bunch, but many have current families racing in the Ontario Gold divisions; there are first and second foals from prominent race mares and well-known pedigrees. With the new 2 million dollar Owner Bonus program for buyers of Ontario Sired and Ontario Bred yearlings, there couldn't be a better time to attend the sale."

Please visit forestcitysale.com or contact the Forest City Sale office at 519-319-0650 for more information.

(Forest City Yearling Sale)
With the Republican party divided over GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, a Democrat could reclaim Southwest Washingtons congressional seat, according to a Vancouver legislator who is the Democratic nominee for the seat.

State Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, will face U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, for the 3rd District congressional seat in the Nov. 8 General Election. Moeller took second place in the Aug. 2 primary, earning the right to square off against Herrera Beutler, who is seeking her fourth two-year term.

Im at a huge disadvantage running against an incumbent, but Ive always been challenged, Moeller said Wednesday.

He said with a divided Republican Party on Trump, he thinks some Republicans will vote for him. Quite honestly, this is the year thats going to happen.

Herrera Beutler won the primary election with 55 percent of the ballots, or 70,000 votes districtwide. The 3rd District comprises Southwest Washington, including Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Wahkiakum and Pacific counties. Moeller received 24 percent, a total of 31,000 votes, earning 50 percent more votes than the three other Democrats combined. In all, the Democrats attracted 42 percent of the vote, still well short of Herrera Beutlers tally.

Moeller said he will be challening what he considers the incumbents lack of leadership  from missed votes to skirting the fence on her partys presidential nominee.

Herrera Beutler said its not the first time she has been challenged by a Democrat from Clark County. She said shes not focused on her opponent but more focused on making voters aware of the work she has been doing.

A chemical-dependency counselor and representative for the 49th District, Moeller is known as one of the most liberal Democrats in the state House. He supports a state income tax after the McCleary decision, wants the state minimum wage to increase to $15 and opposes the Millennium coal terminal in Longview.

And he has not said how he plans to appeal to conservative voters or moderate Democrats. In Cowlitz County the margin between the two candidates was even wider than the districtwide tally. Herrera Beutler received 57 percent of the votes while Moeller only received 16 percent.

The 3rd District was solidly Democratic for decades, but the loss of Thurston County to redistricting and population growth in Clark County  much of it in the conservative suburbs  has made it fertile territory for the GOP. In addition, Herrera Beutler has the advantages of incumbency and finances: She has raised nearly $1 million for her campaign, and Moeller has raised a scant $16,000, according to OpenSecrets.org.

But Moeller said voters are frustrated with Herrera Beutlers lack of leadership. He said she needs to get off the fence about her own partys presidential candidate.

Trump as the head of the Republican Party is a train wreck, quite honestly, Moeller said. Jaime Herrera Beutler needs to get off the fence of her endorsement of him. ... She has listened to him talk as everyone has for well over a year.

Herrera Beutler still maintains her stance on the candidate. She said she plans to vote, but not for Hillary Clinton and not yet for Trump.

At this point he hasnt earned my vote. Im hoping that he does, Herrera Beutler said. I think the time is running out.

Moeller was a former Vancouver city councilman for eight years before he was elected state representative in 2002. He has been House speaker pro tem since 2010.

The top-two primary eliminated four other challengers in the race  Democrats David McDevitt, Angela Marx and Kathleen Arthur and Independent L.A. Worthington.

Herrera Beutler said she has been focusing on job creation since she first ran in 2011, and she said the economy will continue to be her first priority. A self-described conservative, she has been vocal about her views against abortion and same-sex marriage. But she said she has a history of working across the aisle and avoiding pitfalls that come with severe partisanship.

You can have your beliefs, but how you treat people affects how effective you can be at this job, she said. And being willing to work with people on an issue to me is critical.

Herrera Beutler said her strategy leading up to the General Election is making people aware of the issues shes been working on, which she said include job creations for fisheries and the marine industry.

But Moeller heavily criticized Herrera Beutler for fluff bills that show no leadership and having one of the highest absentee rates in Congress, largely because of her newborns health condition in 2013.

She has not been showing up to work, Moeller said. Im running for the 3rd Congressional District to have representation for the 3rd Congressional District.

Herrera Beutler missed many of the votes in 2013 when her daughter was born without kidneys and a rare condition called Potter Syndrome. But the congresswoman said she flew back during this time for close or contentious votes.

I never quit doing this job, Herrera Beutler said in an email. During this time, my office still accomplished casework, and I helped successfully push bipartisan bills.

Since January 2011 she has missed 16 percent of roll call votes, much higher than the average 2 percent among representatives, according to govtrack.us. Moeller said she has voted against providing paid family leave but exercises her own privilege of missing work for her children.

We all know that there are show horses and there are workhorses, Moeller said. I tend to be a workhorse.

Herrera Beutler disagreed. She said she supports paid family leave and said some legislative proposals have not advanced in Congress for various reasons.

My goal is to be part of the solution in Congress, she wrote, citing the Congressional Caucus on Maternity Care she started with a Democrat. Our mission is to tackle challenges like these that moms face, and find meaningful, bipartisan solutions.
An death of an elderly Vancouver woman whose body was found in the Lewis River Friday has been ruled a suicide by drowning, the Cowlitz County Coroners Office reported Wednesday.

There was no sign of trauma or foul play in the death of Maryanne Arnold, 67, according to Deputy Coroner Brett Dundas.

Arnolds body was spotted by a passerby at around 11 a.m. Her body was recovered by a Clark County Sheriffs boat just downstream of The Ghost railroad bridge, and her car was found parked nearby on Dike Road, Dundas said. Arnolds body had been in the river several days, he added.

The official cause of death was ruled as asphyxia by drowning. Arnolds family is en route to the area from California.
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The Opposition in Goa has demanded that the state government upgrade its cyber security infrastructure after the state legislative assembly was told on Wednesday that 17 state government websites were hacked over the last four years.

"The cyber cell of Goa Police is completely poor... It appears to be in coma. Major government websites are hacked and they are defaced. The government has not been able to find the culprit," Independent MLA Vijay Sardesai said.

The Opposition MLA from Fatorda also said that the cyber cell was being used for intimidation of the incumbent government's critics.

"Cyber crime cell is being used to intimidate people who are social media enemies. There is need to be proactive to insure that the right image of Goa goes out to India and the world," Sardesai said.

Over the last four years, the websites of 17 state government departments of Sainik Welfare, Accounts, Water Resources, NRI Commission among others were hacked by unidentified hackers.

According to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar "the cause behind the attack was identified as the vulnerability identified in the content management system i.e. Joomla and accordingly all the websites were cleared of the vulnerabilities".

"While the websites were hacked, the government has never lost substance, material or information. The hackers have only defaced and damaged the front page. Data has never been removed," Parsekar said.

Parsekar also said that a new setup of web servers has been configured using all the latest technologies available in the market.

"The hacked websites were cleared of vulnerabilities and re-deployed on the newly configured web server. The OS hardening of the web server was also carried out to tighten the security of the websites," Parsekar added.

IANS
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Thousands of vitriolic comments left on Australian swimmer Mack Horton's Instagram account have been deleted by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). Netizens, many of them Chinese, bombarded Horton's social media accounts after he called Chinese swimming rival Sun Yang a "drug cheat" before they competed in Saturday's men's 400 meters freestyle final, demanding that he apologize.

By Wednesday, all comments - which numbered at least 200,000 on one photo post alone - had disappeared from Horton's page. "My staff are instructed to remove any comments that are offensive and in breach of the AOC's Social Media Guidelines. Comments must not be disrespectful, threatening or in poor taste," AOC's director of media & communications, Mike Tancred, told Reuters in an e-mail.

Instagram told Reuters it could not comment on specific user accounts. It has recently introduced new tools giving users more control over comments on their pages. Censorship is common in China, whose users are prohibited from visiting certain websites by the government and often see controversial remarks on social media sites being deleted. Facebook and Instagram are banned in China, meaning that mainland users have to access the sites by jumping the "Great Firewall" using a virtual private network.

That does not mean that users have stopped trying - screenshots of the message "mackhorton has turned off comments for this post" were posted on China's social media sites. The spat between Horton and Sun is turning into a battle of national media commentators and underlines how the issue of doping has become a defining issue for these Olympics. Chinese state media reacted to Horton's remarks by calling Australia "uncivilized" and "Britain's offshore prison", while the Australian delegation said they would support Horton's right to speak freely on the issue.

Sun, who finished second to Horton in the 400 freestyle, was revealed two years ago to have secretly served a three-month suspension for using a banned stimulant. He said at the time the stimulant was in medication to treat a heart issue and did not enhance his performance.

Reuters
tech2 News Staff

Recently news was going around that an Android bug named QuadRooter had affected close to 900 mn Android smartphone users. According to Google, users should not worry about this threat.

While Google acknowledges the reported threats, it says that the company's Verify App feature on the Play store already blocks the apps that are trying to take advantage of the QuadRooter.

Speaking to Android Central, Google spokesperson gave this statement, "We appreciate Check Point's research as it helps improve the safety of the broader mobile ecosystem. Android devices with our most recent security patch level are already protected against three of these four vulnerabilities. The fourth vulnerability, CVE-2016-5340, will be addressed in an upcoming Android security bulletin, though Android partners can take action sooner by referencing the public patch Qualcomm has provided. Exploitation of these issues depends on users also downloading and installing a malicious application. Our Verify Apps and SafetyNet protections help identify, block, and remove applications that exploit vulnerabilities like these."

Check Point Software technologies unveiled the research detailing the vulnerability that is said to affect over 900 million devices running Android. The company reported the four vulnerabilities to Qualcomm back in April. These vulnerabilities affect the smartphone drivers which control the communication between multiple chipsets components. According to Check Point, users should be on the latest Android OS version to avoid these vulnerabilities, as well as not side-load any Android app.

Latest devices in the market including Google Nexus 5X / 6 / 6P, HTC 10, LG G5, OnePlus 3, Moto X (2016), Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge including the most secure BlackBerry DTEK50 is also affected by the flaw. Even the secure BlackPhone 1 and 2 have been affected by this flaw, states The Inquirer.

According to Google, three out of the four vulnerabilities have already been fixed in the August Android OS security patch and the fourth one would be fixed in the September security update.

While Verify Apps is a feature that is on by default for those using Android 5.0 and up devices, the older handsets running Jelly Bean version will have to manually switch on the 'Verify Apps' feature in settings.
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After successfully establishing itself in the smartphone space in India, global internet and technology conglomerate LeEco is changing the dynamics of the TV market. LeEco, formerly known as Letv, is a global pioneering internet and technology company with multiple internet ecosystems across content, devices, applications and platforms. LeEco is enthused by the unprecedented responses for its Super3 Series Ecosystem TVs during the ongoing pre-sales on LeMall as well as Flipkart. It has successfully achieved top spots in Indias TV industry within just one day: No. 1 brand in 55-inch and above TV category, No.1 4K TV brand and No.1 in Smart TV category online.

The first online pre-sale day has already led LeEco to the number one spot in the 55-inch and above TV category in the overall market. Not just this, LeEcos Ecosystem-enabled TVs have also emerged as the No.1 4K TV brand in India. Even in the Smart TV segment, LeEcos Super TVs have grabbed the leading position in the online space.

The remarkable industry records that LeEco achieved have demonstrated that ecosystem enabled smart TV is the next big thing in Indias TV market. What sets LeEco apart is not just the high-end specs, disruptive pricing, but also the superior experience of the rich content library and numerous internet services.

The Super3 Series Ecosystem TV range by LeEco consists of Super3 Max65 that supports 3D display, Super3 X65 and Super3 X55, which were officially launched in India on August 4. The online pre sales of these models started on August 10 and will go on till August 12 on both Flipkart and LeMall. During this pre-sale, both platforms are extending some amazing offers to enable consumers to get the Super TV of their choices at disruptive prices. These offers include:

1.)Rs. 5000 cashback on purchases via HDFC credit card

2.)EMI options

The highlight of these Super TVs is that they have a strong all-metal body that exudes elegance and sophistication. The Super3 X55, Super3 X65 and Super3 Max65 all come with a 4K Ultra HD display that ensure a crystal-clear viewing experience.

At the heart of these Super3 TV series is LeEcos eUI5.5 user interface, which brings with it the option of customization that shows different apps depending on the frequency of use. The TVs are equipped with LeEco's self-developed and renowned content-viewing apps such as Levidi, LIVE, LeView along with other tailor-made apps like Panosearch.

The Super TVs will surely disrupt the Indian TV market given its pricing. Super3 X55 - 139.7 cm (55) will be available for Rs 59,790, LeEco Super3 X65 - 163.9 cm (65) is priced at Rs 99,790 and Super3 Max65 163.9 cm (65) will come at a price of Rs 149,790. All three Super TVs come with 2 years of LeEco Membership worth Rs 9,800.

So it is truly a now-or-never offer for people wanting to get their hands on these future ready Super TVs.

Super3 X55, Super3 X65 and Super3 Max65 are all available on LeMall.com as well as on Flipkart.

This is a promoted post.
tech2 News Staff

After the main Galaxy Unpacked event, we now have Samsungs Galaxy Note 7 launch that took place at New Delhi in India today. Samsung India launched the 64GB version of the smartphone and has priced it at Rs 59,900. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 hits pre-order in India from 22 August till 30 August and will be available in stores from 2 September.

The Korean electronics giant has tied up Jio 4G as well and will be offering unlimited access to voice and data services for 90 days. Alongside, the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung also announced two new accessories, including the Gear IconX Bluetooth wireless earbuds priced at Rs 13,490 and the the new Gear Fit 2 watch priced at Rs 13,990.

Additional packaged goodies also include a new GearVR headset that can be purchased for just Rs 1,990 during the pre-booking period.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 comes with many firsts, both for the Note brand and Android smartphones in general. It packs in a 5.5-inch QHD Super AMOLED display with always-on capability. The display is also the first mobile unit to feature a mobile HDR support. Samsung has also protected the display with Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and back of the device.

Inside, we get an Exynos 8890 chipset along with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage with microSD card support. The camera on the back is a 12MP unit with OIS and PDAF, while the camera on the front is a 5MP unit. The device packs in a 3500mAh battery, which is still smaller than the one on the Galaxy S7 edge, but the Note 7s software also packs in a brand new battery saver mode.

You do get IP 68 certification for dust and water resistance and you also get a USB Type C port at the bottom, both firsts for Samsungs Note series. Last but not the least, Samsung has also included the redesigned S Pen that can detect over 4000 levels of pressure.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will be available in Coral Blue, Platinum Gold, Silver Titanium and a Onyx Black version and boots to Android 6.0 Marshmallow with Samsungs refreshed TouchWiz UI above it.

Disclaimer: Reliance Jio is owned by Reliance Industries, who also own Network18, the publisher of Firstpost and tech2.
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There is need for innovation in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector as India cannot afford to emulate developed economies due to limited resources, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said on Wednesday. He called for holistic planning rather than piecemeal approach to achieve the vision of Digital India.

Addressing a seminar organised by the National Institute of Communication Finance on "ICT emerging technologies & USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund) for Digital India", Sinha warned that if India lags in catching up with emerging technologies in the coming 15 to 20 years, the very existence of the country will be at stake. The minister asked the officials and other stakeholders to "Walk the Talk" for achieving the Prime Minister's vision of transforming India through digital revolution.

He said it is our bounden duty to digitally empower the huge chunk of population particularly in rural areas who are still deprived of IT revolution and he underlined that the Government alone cannot do this and called for cooperation of all. Sinha expected that by March 2017, one lakh gram panchayats (GPs) will be connected through optical fibre cable to set up a network infrastructure to serve the rural masses.

He said there was need for finding appropriate technologies -- whether network infrastructure or digital highway -- for the deprived sections of society. Telecom Secretary J.S. Deepak, who was also present at the event, said the finance ministry was very conservative in allocation of funds under USOF.

Despite Rs 70,000 crore available under USOF, allocation of work was less than 40 per cent, he said, adding that the execution of digital infrastructure projects particularly in rural areas needs to be speeded up. He also announced that Rs 10,000 crore will be spent during 2016-17 under USOF.

IANS
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Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, which presently registers 90 percent of its sales from online channel in India, is planning to double offline presence over the next few months.

"For us, online is the dominant channel and we are trying to build a base for offline in India. We had a partnership with Redington last year (for distribution) and four weeks back, tied up with Innocomm and Just Buy Live," Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain said in Mumbai.

Jain added that with these two new partners, the company now sells its products via 5,000 shops and plans to double the figure in a few months.

Xiaomi launched Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime in the country priced at Rs 6,999 and Rs 8,999, respectively.

The phones will be initially available at Mi.com and Flipkart.

Xiaomi, which sells over 1 million phones a quarter in the country, did its first sale for Redmi 3S yesterday on Flipkart and Mi.com and sold out all 90,000 units.

"For the first sale that we did yesterday, we wanted to bring the highest possible quantity and we brought 90,000 units. Everything was added to cart in a few minutes and it took two-and-a-half hours to ship out everything," Jain said.

Xiaomi chose open sale, instead of the usual flash sale on Tuesday, as the company brought significantly higher volumes than it ever did, Jain said.

Xiaomi will have another open sale on August 17 for Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime with similar number of units.

Both the phones have been manufactured in India at the company's Andhra Pradesh facility.

"We are scaling up the facility at Andhra Pradesh. We are adding more lines and more capacity to the same plant and once we exhaust it, we are thinking of adding more factories along with our partners Foxconn," he said.

PTI
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Tesla said on Wednesday that one of its cars had crashed in Beijing while in 'autopilot' mode, with the driver contending sales staff sold the function as 'self-driving', overplaying its actual capabilities.

Tesla said it had reviewed data to confirm the car was in autopilot mode, a system that takes control of steering and braking in certain conditions.

The company, which is investigating the crash in China's capital last week, also said it was the driver's responsibility to maintain control of the vehicle. In this case, it said, the driver's hands were not detected on the steering wheel.

The crash, Tesla's first known such incident in China, comes months after a fatal accident in Florida, which turned up pressure on auto industry executives and regulators to tighten rules on automated driving technology.

A 33-year-old programmer at a tech firm, Luo Zhen was driving to work and engaged the autopilot function as he often does on Beijing's highways, he told Reuters in his first interview with international media.

Luo, who filmed the incident with a dashboard camera, said his car hit a vehicle parked half off the road. The accident sheered off the parked vehicle's side mirror and scraped both cars, but caused no injuries.

"The driver of the Tesla, whose hands were not detected on the steering wheel, did not steer to avoid the parked car and instead scraped against its side," a Tesla spokeswoman said in an emailed response to Reuters.

"As clearly communicated to the driver in the vehicle, autosteer is an assist feature that requires the driver to keep his hands on the steering wheel at all times, to always maintain control and responsibility for the vehicle, and to be prepared to take over at any time."

Luo, however, blamed the crash on a fault in the autopilot system and said Tesla's sales staff strongly promoted the system as 'self-driving'.

"The impression they give everyone is that this is self-driving, this isn't assisted driving," he said. Interviews with four other unconnected Tesla drivers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou also indicated the message conveyed by front-line sales staff did not match up with Tesla's more clear cut statements that the system is not "self-driving" but an advance driver assistance system (ADAS).

These Tesla owners all said salespeople described the cars' function in Chinese as "self-driving", a term the company generally avoids using in English, and took their hands off the wheel while demonstrating it.

"They all described it as being able to drive itself," said Shanghai resident Mao Mao, who bought a Tesla Model S last year.

The term "zidong jiashi" appears several times on Tesla's Chinese portal, which is most literally translated to mean "self-driving". It is also the term for airplane autopilot, leaving room for confusion among consumers.

"We have never described autopilot as an autonomous technology or a 'self-driving car,' and any third-party descriptions to this effect are not accurate," the Tesla spokeswoman said.

China woes

Tesla does not regularly announce its sales data for China, where it has faced tough local competition, and it is not clear how many cars in the country have autopilot, an add-on feature that costs more than 27,000 yuan ($4,000) extra.

The company struggled to sell its high-tech electric cars in China at first due to distribution issues and widespread concerns about charging vehicles.

There is no clear regulation on self-driving cars in China as the country is in the midst of drafting its policy toward the technology. Under current Chinese law, drivers must keep two hands on the wheel at all times.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not respond to faxed questions asking about the legality of self-driving cars, including Tesla's autopilot function. The Ministry of Transportation did not reply to a request for comment.

Unsatisfied with Tesla's initial response to his crash, Luo posted pictures and a video of the crash on Chinese social media platform Weibo describing the incident and criticizing the company.

The pictures show damages to his blue Tesla Model S and a parked Volkswagen, while the dashboard camera video captures the lead up to the crash and the car subsequently stopping.

Luo, who said he had used autopilot for more than a month, said he was looking at his phone or the in-car navigation at the time of the accident, only looking up every several seconds - but blamed Tesla's hard sell.

"They use this immature technology as a sales and promotion tactic...but they don't take responsibility for the safety of the function," he said.

Tesla does provide safeguards. If a driver has not touched the wheel in a certain amount of time, the autopilot system will remind drivers to place their hands on the wheel and will automatically come to a stop if drivers do not heed the warning.

Reuters
Dedicated to the Restoration of Progressive Democracy
Ex-president of Philippines now midway through 'ice-breaking' Hong Kong trip. Beijing is looking forward to former Philippine president Fidel Ramos' visiting China as a special envoy and wants him to come as soon as possible, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday, the third day of the former leader's "ice-breaking trip" to Hong Kong.

Hua Chunying

"China sticks to an open attitude toward all means of contact between China and the Philippines, and welcomes Mr Ramos to China," Hua said.

The spokeswoman called on the two sides to make joint efforts to improve bilateral ties, restore dialogue and cooperation, and push forward the healthy and stable development of China-Philippines ties.

Ramos, 88, started a five-day trip to Hong Kong on Monday. He said he would meet "old friends" with links to officials in Beijing.

Ramos told reporters on Tuesday that he planned to meet with Wu Shicun, who heads the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, a think tank on Hainan Island. He gave no other details of his itinerary.

Ramos defined the trip as "ice-breaking", after bilateral ties were jeopardized by an arbitration case initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.

During Ramos' time as president from 1992 to 1998, the two countries eased tensions caused by confrontations over the Meiji Reef.

Delia Albert, former secretary of foreign affairs of the Philippines, told China Daily that she thinks the relationship could make progress with the meetings in Hong Kong.

"I'm very happy to see Ramos visiting Hong Kong, because he has many good friends there and he is also the main promoter of the Boao Forum. More contact is very good," she said.

Richard Heydarian, assistant professor of political science at Manila-based De La Salle University, said the Philippines is looking for investments from China for its domestic development, but the current relationship is "extremely toxic".

This visit "hopefully brings some normalization to it", he said.

Chen Qinghong, a researcher in Southeast Asian and Philippine studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, said that China and the Philippines can start communications on some easier topics first to create an atmosphere for dialogue on sensitive issues.

However, he added that China's stance on sovereignty will not be changed, since sovereignty is not a kind of commodity to trade.

Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
Saudi withdraws ban on BD workers

The Ministry of Labor and Social Development of Saudi Arabia has lifted the ban on the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers as of Wednesday.



The ban was in force for the past six years except for the Bangla domestic helps.

Delighted over the new development, Bangladesh Ambassador Golam Moshi told Arab News that this is good news for all prospective workers from his country, reports Arab News.



The envoy recalled that opening the recruitment channels from Bangladesh is subsequent to the meeting between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in June.



He said the new decision would pave the way for all categories of Bangladeshi workers which include skilled, unskilled, professionals such as doctors, nurses, teachers, farm and construction workers.



We are thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for allowing us to resume recruitment, Moshi said, adding that the Kingdom has always stood with Bangladesh in good times and bad.



Currently, there are some 60,000 female domestics among the 1.3 million Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom. Visas for male domestics were issued only from June, and there is a sizable number coming into the Kingdom regularly, he said, adding that 6,000 female workers on average are arriving in the Kingdom per month. We have around 48 categories of workers serving in all parts of the Kingdom, the official added.



In January, Minister of Labor Mufrej Al-Haqabani and Bangladesh Minister for Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Islam decided to increase the number of Bangla housemaids.



Both ministers agreed to enhance cooperation in the manpower sector by addressing issues to reduce migration cost, imparting training to Saudi-bound workers, and recruiting more male workers for mutual benefits. -- Dhaka, Aug 11 (UNB)
Indian stray wild elephant finally tranquilised

The stray wild elephant, swept away with floodwater into Bangladesh from India about one and a half months ago, is now tied in ropes with trees after its rescue following tranquilisation from a local pond at Kayra village in Sharishabari upazila. Witnesses said Sayed Hossain, a veterinary surgeon at Banghabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Safari Park, injected the elephant with tranquiliser by using a special gun around 2pm. In reaction, the elephant jumped into pond of the village and started losing consciousness. After an hour of frantic efforts, locals pulled the tranquilised elephant off of the water and tied it in ropes with several trees around 3pm. Syed AZ Murshed Ali, upazila nirhabi officer of Sarishabari upazila, said the legs of the elephant have been tied up with ropes. Communication to the area is not smooth and the rescue team needs a truck and a crane to remove the elephant from the area, he said. The divisional forest officer along with other officials of the administration and the Safari Park are there near the spot and will jointly take the decision regarding the rescue, the UNO added. Earlier on August 3, a three-member Indian team came to Bangladesh to give support to a 17-member Bangladeshi team for the rescue of the elephant. On June 28, the elephant was swept away with the floodwater of the trans-boundary Brahmaputra River from Assam of India into in Kurigram district at Roumari border. It wondered across Bogra, Sirajganj, finally into Dewanganj of Jamalpur district along the Brahmaputra and the Jamuna rivers for about one and half months, looking for shelter and food while struggling against the floodwater. Finally, the elephant took shelter at Koyra village from where it has been put under human control. -- Jamalpur, Aug 11 (UNB)
JAMALPUR: Students of Bakshiganj N M High School donating their savings to Abu Hasan Siddiki, UNO for the flood affected people on Tuesday.
Verdict of Himu murder deferred by court

Chittagong Bureau :

Himadri Majumder Himu succumbed to his wounds at a Dhaka hospital 26 days after he was allegedly pushed off a building's roof in Chittagong.The verdict in the murder of Himadri Majumder Himu, who was allegedly been pushed off a building roof in Chittagong, has been deferred once again.

A Chittagong court was expected to pronounce the verdict on Thursday, but Public Prosecutor Anupam Chakrabarty says it has been deferred due to 'full court reference.

The court will not proceed on Thursday, so the verdict will not be delivered," he told. After concluding the trial, a metropolitan sessions judge's court had fixed Jul 28 for the verdict, but it was deferred to Aug 11 as the judge was on leave. Himu, a student of Summerfield School and College was allegedly pushed off the roof of his friend Junaid Ahmed Riad's house in the port city's Panchlaish Residential area on Apr 27, 2012.Riad, including his other friends-Shahdat

Hossain, Mahbub Ali Danny and Jahidur Rahman Shaon-are also accused of setting a pack of Doberman dogs after him.Himu succumbed to his wounds 26 days later at Dhaka's Square Hospital.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat addressing a view exchange meeting organised by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in the city on Thursday.
JS body annoyed with BB

Staff Reporter :

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry on Thursday expressed annoyance over Bangladesh Bank for its failure to identify persons responsible for laundering money from the country.

The body also showed is dissatisfaction about the poor performance of the financial intelligence unit of the BB, officials said. President of the committee Abdur Razzak told journalists after the meeting, "So far as we know, Tk 500 crore is siphoned off every year through different channels. The trend is going on for last 10 years."

"Tk 996 crore was laundered in 2013. We don't understand what the duty of financial intelligence unit of BB is?' he said raising a question. According to the ministry's version, which was given in the minutes of meeting, 80 percent of the laundered money was siphoned off either under-invoicing or over-invoicing. In this regard, the ministry refereed to the recent report of Global Financial Integrity (GFI).

Meanwhile, the JS body's meeting took a decision that in case of the AB bank's failure to return back its laundered money by September 30, the central bank will take action against it. Sources said, four foreign companies had laundered USD 4, 25, 40,000 (Tk 340 crore) through AB bank's offshore unit. The money was laundered to Singapore and The United Arab Emirates.

AB bank authorities have admitted that they done wrong and already recovered 40 percent of the money. The remaining part of the money would be recovered soon, officials said. State Minister of Finance MA Mannan, Abdul Wadud, Tipu Munshi and Mustafizur Rahman were present in the meeting.


Murder accused flee from court



Court Correspondent :

An accused of a murder case on Thursday disappeared from the jail (Hajatkhana) area of the District and Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka.

Disappeared Mokter Hossain Amir is also an accused in the child Parag abduction case. Officer-in-Charge (OC) Khandaker Ekhlasur Rahman of Dhaka District Police Prosecution said, handcuffed Amir fled away at around 12 noon. The accused was taken to the court on the occasion of a murder case, filed in connection with sensational killing of Kamal, a Keraniganj resident. The case was filed over the murder. Victim Kamal was a son of Latif Hawlader of Keraniganj's Chunkutia area killed on August 9, 1999. The victim was allegedly hacked to death with sharp weapon due to previous enmity.


KSA withdraws ban on BD workers

After long seven years, the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of Saudi Arabia has lifted the ban on the recruitment of Bangladesh workers.

The opening of the recruitment is indeed the culmination of unremitting efforts of Bangladesh, said the Foreign Ministry here on Thursday mentioning the ban had been in force for the past seven years except for the domestic service workers. It was high on agenda during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the KSA in June 2016. "Certainly, her fruitful meeting with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud greatly contributed to the outcome," said the Foreign Ministry statement.

The people and the government of Bangladesh express their deep gratitude to King Salman for this generous gesture towards Bangladesh and for his continued support to the country, it said. Currently, there are about 1.3 million Bangladesh workers in the Kingdom, including around 60,000 housemaids. The new decision will pave the way to build strong economic ties between the two brotherly countries for mutual benefits, Bangladesh hopes.

With the lift, now all categories of workers, including skilled and semiskilled as well as professionals, such as doctors, engineers, teachers and nurses from Bangladesh, could be recruited for working in Saudi Arabia.

The Prime Minister, during her visit to the Kingdom, urged Saudi investors to invest in Bangladesh, including in the skill-development training-centers and certification and assured them of all-out support and cooperation.

By now, the Saudi investors have entered into an agreement with BMET for 4-training centers in Dhaka, Chittagong, Manikganj and Mymensingh. Earlier, Bangladesh Ambassador Golam Moshi shared the news in Saudi media outlets.

The envoy recalled that opening the recruitment channels from Bangladesh is subsequent to the meeting between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in June. "We are thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for allowing us to resume recruitment," Arab News quoted Moshi adding that the Kingdom has always stood with Bangladesh in good times and bad.

"Visas for male domestics were issued only from June, and there is a sizable number coming into the Kingdom regularly," he said, adding that 6,000 female workers on average are arriving in the Kingdom per month. "We have around 48 categories of workers serving in all parts of the Kingdom," the official added. In January, Minister of Labor Mufrej Al-Haqabani and Bangladesh Minister for Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Islam decided to increase the number of Bangla housemaids.

Both ministers agreed to enhance cooperation in the manpower sector by addressing issues to reduce migration cost, imparting training to Saudi-bound workers, and recruiting more male workers for mutual benefits.




Arrested JMB activists put on remand

Court Correspondent :A Dhaka court placed six activists of the banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on 10 days' remand in three cases for interrogation by the Police.Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Alamgir Kabir Raj granted the remand after hearing on Thursday afternoon.The police have been given six days to interrogate the suspects in the anti-terrorism case and two days each in the firearm possession and the explosive substance cases.The suspected militants are learnt to be the members of a suicide squad of the JMB and they have been accused in three cases on the charges of possession of illegal firearms, explosives and anti-terrorism related activities. They are Mostafizur Rahman alias Shifat, 27, Jahid Hasan alias Moin, 21, Noyon Hossain, 21, Jahid Anowar alias Porag 21, Tajul Islam alias Tajul, 29, Ziabul Haque, 24.RAB said that Shifat was a member of Ansarullah Bangla Team, but police identified him as the spokesperson of Daulatul Islam of Bangladesh.According to RAB, Shifat used to take part in terror attacks in Bangladesh on behalf of Islamic State alongside updating IS' official website Amaq news agency. RAB members detained the suspects in separate raids between Tuesday night and Wednesday from Mirpur, Gabtoli and Airport Railway Station areas. They were handed over to police on early Thursday, said Inspector Firoz Hossain.
Zakir Naik got Rs 60 cr in 3 yrs from abroad: Cops

Times Of India, Mumbai :

A total of Rs 60 crore was deposited in controversial televangelist Zakir Naik 's bank account in the last three years from three different countries, a Mumbai police probe has found. The money was transferred to five accounts belonging to Naik's family members,

a police officer who did not wish to be named said.

Police sources said they had probed the money angle and found details of all transactions. "We still don't know what this money was meant for. We have done an inquiry and found the money trail. The money was transferred to family members' accounts," said the officer.

The account, the officer made clear, does not belong to Naik's NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) but is his own. Police are looking into the financial transactions of Naik and the IRF. However, they are yet to question IRF officials. "We may question them about the source of income, the connection between the depositors and Naik," said the officer.

A decision on whether to initiate action against Naik's two NGOs under the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act 2010 is yet to be taken. The Union home ministry is examining possible FCRA violations by IRF and IRF Educational Trust, both registered as "educational" NGOs under FCRA but reportedly receiving and utilising foreign funds for "religious and religion-linked" activities. A source close to Naik however said, "There is no illegal transaction. The money came into the bank account, and all the records of IRF have been cleared till 2015 by the Income-Tax department. Whatever money came is in white and all the records are maintained. This also helps the country's foreign exchange to grow."

Mumbai police are also probing the accounts of an international school run by Naik. A police inquiry report, submitted to commissioner D D Padsalgikar recently, was compiled after going through the bank statements and money transfers, sources said.

TOI had on Wednesday reported that the Maharashtra government is all set to book Naik for promoting religious enmity . The tele-preacher has been under the scanner after a probe into the July 1 Dhaka attack revealed two of the attackers were inspired by him.

Last month, Kerala police registered a case of forcible conversion against Arshi Qureshi and Rizwan Khan and arrested the two. Qureshi was in the past attached to the IRF. Mumbai police on August 6 registered a case against four persons, including Khan and Qureshi, for allegedly radicalizing Ashfaque Abdul Majeed, 22 and instigating him to join the IS.
High Court Division finds police report on teacher deplorable

A TWO-member High Court Bench has rejected a police probe report and ordered Wednesday a judicial inquiry into the public humiliation of Narayanganj school teacher Shyamal Kanti Bhakta in the second week of May. In a suo moto rule the Court directed the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) in Dhaka on Monday last to conduct a fresh inquiry to find out the offence committed in its entirety and identify the real perpetrators. The police report submitted recently found none was responsible for the humiliation although media report showed the squatting of the teacher in presence of local Jitiya Party lawmaker AKM Salim Osman under severe duress. The Court has asked the CMM to submit fresh enquiry report before it on November 3 so that hearing can be held on November 6 for passing further order on this case.

The HC Bench insisted while taking up the suo moto matter that the Senior Judicial Magistrate in Narayanganj accepted the police report on August 3 on public humiliation of Shyamal Kanti Bhakta without properly applying judicial mind. They dismissed the report submitted by police as 'incomplete, inconclusive and highly deplorable. They held the view that the investigation officer has failed to identify the perpetrators who compelled Shyamal to squat in an open space.

In fact the incident went viral immediately in a video clip in social media showing how the headmaster of Piyar Sattar Latif High School was humiliated holding his ears in presence of lawmaker Salim Osman of Jatiya Party. The HC Bench said people across the country saw the incident through electronic and print media. The judges cannot remain oblivious to such an incident. None is above the law. Everybody is subject to the law. It is the essence of rule of law.

The action taken by a High Court Bench of Bangladesh Supreme Court has definitely come at a time when police are subjected to easy political control and police reports not often trustworthy. Yet the courts, especially the lower courts accept police report without question knowing most of such reports are politically tainted. The justice system is thus badly impaired.

We must express the hope the HC order will enhance the confidence of people in the higher judiciary. In Bangladesh we find so much lies and cowardice in upholding the cause of the people by public servants which did not occur in this part during Pakistan days.

Some judges show courage and not all of them. The lawyers are the real source of courage for the judiciary but they are mostly political activists for personal gains and not judicial activists for the rule of law. The country is in a big crisis of failing justice system.

The police report in question submitted at the direction of a court is also far from the truth. The police found none to be blame for the public humiliation of a teacher because a political leader has to be saved.

We expect as law enforcers police must behave like police of a free country. If police do not have the courage to be law enforcers then we shall be engulfed in anarchy - with police no exception.

Some brave judges are and only hope to save the Constitution and the rule of law. We cannot be unfit for independence and freedom.






This proposed monument is part of a larger outdoor space honoring the late UL professor Griff Blakewood.

Courtesy Lafayette Central Park

He inspired students to believe they could achieve greatness and truly make an impact in their community by persistence and passion alone, Damon Robert writes of the late UL Lafayette geosciences professor Griff Blakewood on the Freetown Press blog in July 2015.

When Griff caught wind of the future plans for the Horse farm, he quickly took action and did what hed always done best, inspire others. He rallied behind a student-run campaign to Save the Horse Farm and gave legitimacy to a cause, which would have otherwise been ignored by the former powers-that-be. In the end the farm was saved and the university made the decision to sell the property to the Lafayette Consolidated Government. Happily ever after, except for one exception. In early 2013 Griff was diagnosed with cancer. A cancer he still managed to teach classes through, (I was one of his students), and a disease that he didnt make apparent to the university until shortly before his death in 2014 at the age of 54.

Tuesday afternoon the Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authoritys board of trustees took to heart the words of Robert and so many of the inspiring mentor's former students by voting to honor Blakewood with a permanent monument on the Horse Farm property, now officially called Moncus Park at the Horse Farm.

Blakewood's and his students' efforts are largely credited with killing an ill-conceived property swap deal that would have led to commercial development of the Johnston Street property.

As part of its $2.6 million donation to the park in 2013, the LPTFA had reserved naming rights to a portion of the park, in much the same fashion as other major donors.

Read Roberts A Proposition for the Creation of Griffs Lookout at the Lafayette Horse Farm here and more about Blakewood's life here.
She's leaving a good restaurant even better than how she found it. Lafayette will sorely miss her.

Ashley Roussel and Jackson Nevitt caught in transition between lunch and dinner service at Saint Street Inn. Roussel turns the restaurant over to Nevitt this month after nearly two years in charge. photo by Robin May

After 16 years manning the stores and stoves at some of Lafayette's best restaurants, Ashley Roussel is ready to normalize her life. Starting Sept. 1, she'll begin a new tack in her career, leaving her post as Saint Street Inn executive chef for the same position with nouveau grocery concept Simone's Market in New Orleans. There she'll be in charge of the market's prepared foods, seafood and butchery departments, concocting and creating takeaway meals from scratch-made provisions like soup stocks, pickles, condiments and homemade pastas.

While that's still a hefty workload, the self-described "perpetual sous-chef" says the move to fellow Acadiana ex-pat Simone Reggie's new grocery outfit will give her the chance to pursue a more balanced lifestyle.

Ill be 34 this year. I know how young I am," Roussel says. "But there are certain things that I want from my future and my life. But when youre married to your job, its been tough to find that balance. Ill get to give some energy to a life outside of the four walls of a restaurant.

A tireless manager and creator, Roussel brought a consistency and creativity to Saint Street Inn that the restaurant had flirted with before but struggled to maintain through the tenures of a few predecessors. With Roussel in charge the restaurant hit its stride, producing a cuisine that was as accessible and niche as the restaurant's chummy atmosphere.

A wizard with hummus and off-beat seasonal dishes, Roussel's cooking was affectionate and irreverent, and always served with heartful charm.

In her place will step Jackson Nevitt, former chef and co-owner of Downtown's art house and bistro Astra Modern. Nevitt, like Roussel, runs in a circle of chefs loosely confederated around Denny and Katy Culbert's Runaway Dish series and the local slow foods movement. He's worked at a number of topnotch Lafayette restaurants including the sadly defunct Cochon, Social Southern Table and Bar, Pamplona and, most recently, Ruffino's.

Roussel says Nevitt is a natural fit for restaurant's culture and farm-to-table philosophy, but to expect him to impart his own character to restaurant's eclectic menu.

"We wanted someone who could take the restaurant forward on the path we were on," Roussel says. "Jacksons gonna do a great job. Its going to be different. Its impossible that it would be the same. Im excited to see the direction that he would take it.

Nevitt has been training with Roussel for the last week or so. He'll officially take over Saint Street Inn after Roussel's last shift at the end of this week.

Saint Street Inn is located at 407 Brook Ave. in Lafayette.
Deputies arrested 29-year-old Matthew Reon Tuesday morning at his home in Duson.

by The Associated Press

Reon Lafayette Parish Sheriffs Office

Lafayette Parish sheriff's deputies have arrested an Acadiana High School algebra teacher on a charge of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

John Mowell with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office tells local media outlets deputies arrested 29-year-old Matthew Reon Tuesday morning at his home in Duson.

According to an affidavit for his arrest, Reon had an outstanding warrant that was signed by Judge Thomas Duplantier on Aug. 8.

He is being held on a $25,000 bond.

Deputies have refused to discuss details of the arrest. They say the case remains under investigation.
Pre-purchase property inspection is a relatively new thing in the United Kingdom. Its not something that most people have heard about, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years with the rise in property prices and increased demand for high quality homes.

What are the benefits of pre-purchase building inspection? What can you expect to find out when you pay someone else to inspect your home before you buy it? And what should you look for during an inspection?

Many people want to know if theyre buying a house thats been well maintained or if its had any serious problems. If youve found a place on the market that seems attractive, but then discover some issues after moving in, you may not be as excited about buying it as you thought you were.

Its important to do your due diligence when looking at properties. A lot goes into making a property appealing to potential buyers, from the landscaping to the flooring to the kitchen appliances. The same applies when inspecting a property  there are many things that need checking over to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Here are some of the benefits of performing a pre-purchase inspection:

You get to see exactly what will happen to your money

When you go shopping for a new car, youll probably be shown several different models. You might even be shown one that looks like a great value, but doesnt fit around all of the extra features that you want. When it comes time to actually buy the vehicle, however, you wont have seen how your money will be spent on it once you drive it off the showroom floor.

Likewise, when you shop for a new home, you dont really know what youre getting yourself into until you move in. In order to get a feel for whether the home youre considering is what you want, you normally have to spend quite a bit of time inside it. This allows you to learn more about everything that youre going to be spending your hard-earned cash on.

A pre-purchase building inspection gives you much the same kind of experience without having to spend thousands of dollars. Since youre paying for the service, you can expect to see exactly what youre paying for, instead of just seeing a vague idea of what you might end up with.

You find out about potential major repairs

Some buildings are very expensive to maintain, which means that owners often neglect them for the sake of saving money. While youre paying for a building inspection, youre also paying for a professional who knows how to spot signs of trouble and repair work that needs doing.

If you notice that a particular area of your new home needs fixing right away, you can call in an expert to take care of it quickly. If you find that theres something wrong with your boiler, you wont have to wait weeks for a plumber to come over and fix it. Instead, youll have access to a solution immediately.

You can save hundreds of pounds by finding out about potential problems early on

One of the biggest expenses when you first buy a home is the cost of moving in. Many people dont realize this until its too late. Buying a home involves not only paying for the actual house, but also for moving costs, furniture, and other items that have to be moved along with the home.

Having a good idea ahead of time of what youre likely to encounter can help you avoid these kinds of costs. If you know youll need to replace the plumbing system, for example, youll be able to put together a budget for the expense and plan accordingly.

You can protect your investment by finding out if the homes been well cared for

While there are plenty of people who think that houses always look better when theyre newly built, youd be surprised at how well maintained older residences can still look nice. Sometimes, though, those homes need some additional maintenance to keep them looking their best.

This could involve repairs that arent so noticeable or small improvements that you wouldnt consider otherwise. Even worse, some houses have fallen into disrepair without anyone noticing. This is why having a professional perform a building inspection prior to purchasing a home is such a big benefit.

Not only will it give you insight into the state of the property, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing youre not getting taken advantage of. As long as youre aware of the potential pitfalls, youll have less reason to worry about the state of your new home.

You can use information gathered during a building inspection to negotiate a lower price

If youre worried about buying a home because you suspect that it may need extensive renovation work, you may already have a rough idea of how much work youll need to do to bring it up to scratch. That knowledge can come in handy if you decide to buy the home.

You can use all of the details that you gather during a building inspection to present a realistic picture of what the home is worth to prospective buyers. If a potential buyer thinks that the home is worth more than what you paid for it, you can try negotiating a lower price.

You can sell your home faster and for more money

If you decide to list your home on the market soon after buying it, youll need to price it accurately in order to attract buyers. But if youve already done a thorough building inspection, youll know exactly what work is needed and what the current market conditions are.

In other words, youll be able to make a more accurate estimate of the amount of money youve invested in the home and how much its worth. If you find that youre selling your house for close to its full market value, you can use this information to convince the potential buyer that your home is worth the asking price.

Even if youre planning to stay in the home for a while before you decide to sell, the fact that you did a thorough building inspection will give you more confidence when listing it. Prospective buyers will know exactly what theyre paying for.

Your home will hold its value longer

As mentioned earlier, the value of a home depends heavily upon the condition of the building itself. If your home is in bad shape, potential buyers wont be interested in buying it. On the other hand, if youve performed a thorough building inspection and know what sort of repairs are necessary, you can offer your prospective buyer a compelling reason to invest in your property.

When you buy a home, youre essentially agreeing to have it inspected periodically to ensure that it stays in top shape. Not only does this allow you to avoid expensive repairs down the road, but it can also increase the value of your home.

You can make smart decisions about property investments

Buying real estate isnt as simple as just driving a couple of minutes to pick up a house. There are lots of considerations involved, ranging from location to cost. The same is true when youre investing in property.

If you find a house that meets all of your requirements, youll want to make sure that you have a solid understanding of where it stands with regards to the rest of the market. If you havent spent enough time researching the area, you could inadvertently end up with a bad deal.

There are lots of resources available online that can help you determine the overall level of competition in your area. They can also help you figure out if there are any properties that meet your requirements that you didnt know about.

If you own rental property, you can use the information to identify tenants who might cause damage

If you own rental property and youve noticed that certain tenants consistently cause damage, you can use the results of a building inspection to identify them. You can then contact them directly to let them know that youre watching them closely and that you dont appreciate the problem theyre causing.

They might start taking better care of their homes, which would be good news for everyone. It could also be the case that youll find out that theyre responsible for previous damages that werent caught during a previous visit.

You can make smarter decisions about hiring contractors

If youve hired contractors to build or repair your home, you might want to ask them for references. However, unless you perform a thorough building inspection, you might not know exactly what to look for.

For instance, maybe you only checked the roof for leaks or the walls for cracks. You might not have looked underneath the foundation for anything that could cause a future issue. By performing a building inspection, you can ensure that you hire reputable contractors who will be trustworthy with your money.

You can avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition

Of course, the main benefit of structural inspections perth is that it helps you avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition. Before you make the decision to buy a home, you should do whatever you can to find out about the state of the building.

You can also ask your realtor about what sorts of inspections are typically recommended. Some agents say that its standard practice to check the heating system, the roof, the electrical wiring, and the floors. Others will tell you that they recommend that you check the entire structure.

Either way, if you choose to hire an inspector, youll find out exactly what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost to do so.

As a result, it can be concluded that a pre-purchase building inspection is highly important for the buyers because it provides transparency regarding the current conditions of the structure. Additionally, the building owner is made aware of any upgrades or repairs that are required, which could lead to a fair deal throughout the purchasing and selling process.
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
Artist Joan Skiver-Levy, 84, will be the honoree Friday, Aug. 12, at a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Anthology Art and Design Gallery, 706 N. Main St., Carbondale.

The reception is an evolution of her 35 years as an artist, in which 30 to 40 pieces of art will be displayed.

The West Frankfort artist described art as a latent talent that has always interested her, but was previously placed on the back burner until her husband, Earl, died two decades ago.

When I paint, the whole world fades away, and Im lost in the world of creation, Skiver-Levy said.

Skiver-Levy has exhibited her work at about 30 shows, she said, including galleries at Southern Illinois University, John A. Logan College, and Cedarhurst Center for the Arts. She has also won multiple regional awards, including one for a photo that was selected at the Du Quoin State Fair to be exhibited in Disneyland.

Skiver-Levy works in various forms of media like oil, acrylic, water color, pastel and collage. She said one of her fondest subjects to paint is large version still life. Her favorite painting is titled Out of Space Blueberries  a watercolor featuring blueberries the size of cantaloupes, she said.

The reason this type of art appeals to her said explained, is that we as a society never stop to really look at something.

Skiver-Levy is not, however, afraid to try different types of art. She is currently working on building glass towers and doing water color wax resist, which is in addition to her penchant for dabbling in poetry, dancing and singing. She said she enjoys the joy of creation.

Fridays reception will be staged by Mark Davis in a home-like setting, unlike at many art galleries where pieces are displayed on the wall.

Skiver-Levy, a member of the Little Egypt Arts Association, will also be singing with musician Jim White at Fridays reception  a first for her, she said.

Its a great time in my life, she said. I aim to have fun every day.

 Danielle Gordon
COBDEN  Musician Corky Siegel, of Chicago blues fame, will be returning to the Yellow Moon Cafe in Cobden next weekend, playing with Howard Levy, a harmonica player best known for his years with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

Siegel met Levy about 15 years ago while at a professors house at Northwestern University. Siegel said the professor crafted various instruments from bagpipes to wooden flutes, and Levy could play them all.

Not only is Howard a hundred fold the most amazing harmonica that has ever lived on the face of the earth, but his genius on that instrument is matched by his genius in his understanding, his skills, and his knowledge of music in general, Siegel said of Levy.

Though Howard isnt a household name, hes won at least two Grammy awards. Theyre (the audience) really witnessing history as if they were coming to hear Einstein speak, or Mozart play or Beethoven exhibit his compositions, he explained of Levys musical virtuosity. Theyre actually seeing a living genius.

Siegel, of Chicago, said he likes to visit the Yellow Moon Cafe at least once a year or more. His introduction to the cafe came from Jim and Sandi Buchheit, parents of Yellow Moons current owner, Jennifer Buchheit.

I used to play a club in the north of Chicago, in the suburbs in the woods, a converted ski chalet  Harry Hopes, Siegel said of his introduction to the Buchheits and the Yellow Moon Cafe. The same owners had a place down the way, I wanted to come.

I think the Yellow Moon is my favorite place to be and to play music, he said. It is the most intimate and the people are great Earth beings. And they understand why we play music, and they understand why they offer music and offer extremely good, pure and healthy food.

Levy and Siegel both play the piano and the harmonica, but of the performance next weekend, Siegel said, a third party takes a major role in the performance, the third party is Mr. Spontaneity, and we let him do his thing because hes an expert. Its just makes the show especially fun.

In March, Siegel performed at the Yellow Moon with the legendary blues musician Sam Lay and the concert drew an overwhelming response, according to Yellow Moon Cafe staff. To accommodate so many guests, Siegel and Levy are playing for two nights. Siegel encourages people who want to see the show to get tickets early. I dont want my shows to sell out, I want everyone who wants to come to get in.

The shows are at 8 p.m. Aug. 19 and 20. Tickets are $35 in advance, and dinner reservations are required. For more ticket information or to make dinner reservations, call 618-893-2233.

In his upcoming projects, Siegel, who's known for his Chamber Blues, has an album coming out in February called, Different Voices, a juxtaposition of blues and classical, featuring numerous Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning artists.
CARTERVILLE  Students at John A. Logan College will have the opportunity to take a course offered by Southern Illinois University for the upcoming fall semester.

As of Aug. 25, SIU will be offering Technical Resource Management 322: Labor Management Relations for students interested in learning about labor negotiations and relations.

Ron House, interim president for JALC, said the course  offered on Thursdays from 6 to 8:50 p.m. at JALC in the Workforce Education Building  is the result of cooperation from faculty and staff at JALC and SIU.

This is the result of a lot of hard work by faculty and staff both here and at SIU," he said, "and I am very appreciative of President Dunn and Chancellor Colwell and their staffs for their effort and cooperation."

Under the instruction of Ed Workman, senior lecturer of information systems technology at SIU, the course, will touch on the basic concepts and techniques of modern labor relations and concepts which include labor history and law.

Mandara Savage, director of SIU Extended Campus, said the course broadens educational resources from the Carbondale campus.

Were excited about the opportunity to extend the four walls of our university' he said. "Its our belief that any opportunity to extend the educational resources of our campus is an opportunity we should welcome  especially in this case."

House said he hopes the partnership between JALC and SIU continues.

We feel that this course will appeal to both the student that plans to transfer to SIU and to area business people that would like to learn more about labor negotiations and relations, he said. I could not be more pleased that we are going to be able to offer this course for our students and I feel that this is just the beginning and that this partnership will continue to evolve.
The City of West Frankfort will receive $61,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Rural Business Development grant program, Sen. Dick Durbin announced Thursday.

The federal funding will finance the installation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning for the citys business incubator.

This funding will help boost small and new businesses in southern Illinois, Durbin said in a news release. This means new opportunities for those looking to start a business and new jobs for southern Illinois residents. I will continue working to ensure that our states rural communities have access to the critical federal investments that drive economic growth.
A Carbondale resident accused of stealing a vehicle in January has been sentenced to four years in prison with two years of mandatory supervised release, Jackson County States Attorney Michael Carr announced Thursday in a news release.

Justin L. Peak, 28, pleaded guilty to burglary charges in May.

On Jan. 12, Carbondale police officers received a report of a stolen vehicle outside a business in the 500 block of E. Main St. The theft had been captured on video surveillance.

Later, officers located the stolen truck and observed Peak loading items into it. Upon his arrest, officers searched Peak and found he was carrying a watch that had been stolen from the victims truck.

Peak had been serving probation for another car burglary, which occurred in October 2015.

The defendants probation was revoked in May, and he was resentenced to four years in prison for the previous case. The sentences will run concurrently, authorities said.

 The Southern
A De Soto man was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Burgess S. Endres, 25, was sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to a news release from Jackson County State's Attorney Michael Carr. He was sentenced to serve a period of mandatory supervised release from three years up to his natural life, after his release from prison.

On Oct. 8, 2015, detectives with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and the Murphysboro Police Department began investigating Endres for possible possession of child pornography, the release said.

That day, investigators received a search warrant for his De Soto home, from which they seized several items of computer equipment. Images of child pornography were discovered on a removable storage device on his laptop computer, according to the news release.

Some of these images were of children younger than 13 years old engaged in various sex acts with adult men, according to the news release.

 The Southern
At a traffic stop on Wednesday, Franklin County authorities made three arrests and recovered a large amount of methamphetamine along with a loaded handgun, Sheriff Don Jones said in a news release.

Police made the arrests at 1:09 a.m. Wednesday morning at a traffic stop on Illinois 148, just outside of Sesser.

Anthony A. Granfeldt, 36, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of more than 15 grams of methamphetamine and a DOC warrant.

Alecia R. Soto, 25, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and unlawful possession of more than 15 grams of methamphetamine.

Shane M. Tate, 25, was charged with obstructing justice.

The three suspects are being held without bond pending review by the states attorneys office and the sitting of bond by the circuit court, authorities said.

 The Southern
BENTON  The Franklin Hospital District Board of Directors voted Wednesday to hold off on appointing a special committee that would make recommendations regarding the institutions hospitalist program.

Franklins emergency room provider is currently responsible for providing both emergency care and regular patient care during off hours and on the weekends.

The decision to put ER doctors on double duty was a controversial one. At a previous board meeting, doctors said it would pose a safety issue in the event of multiple emergencies, and in response, the board said it would find a long-term solution to the problem within 90 days.

But it looks as though progress has stalled for the time being. Joyce Ragan made a motion to table the special committee issue until the boards next meeting on Aug. 23. The motion passed 5-2.

The special committee would consist of four physicians, two hospital employees, two board members, two public officials and any additional individuals as needed.

Ragan took issue with Chairman Brent Youngs decision to include two public officials in the committee.

What do they know about the hospitalist program? Not even as much as we know, and we dont know all that much, she said.

Its going to allow the community, the public, to have the opportunity to talk to their public officials. So I think its just open transparency, Young said.

Dr. Richard Rethorst, who currently oversees hospitalist services, also argued for the inclusion of public officials in the committee.

We need to improve the public perception of this facility, he said. To do that, you have to know what the problems are to work on.

Asked by the hospitals attorney whether she simply hoped to postpone the appointment of the committee, Ragan said, Well, I would kill it if I could.

Board member Debbie Ricci announced her decision to step down from the board. Ricci had previously been vocal in her support of Dr. Tim Morthland, Franklins previous hospitalist, and frequently went toe-to-toe with Ragan.

The board also announced that no action would be taken on engaging an interim CEO. Former CEO Hervey Davis, who was first appointed in 2002, stepped down from his post on June 30.
To the Editor:

Recently I found a new local newspaper in my mailbox, Southwest Illinois News. I immediately noticed the articles all leaned heavily in one direction. I also noticed there wasn't any advertising or information about the publisher. I wondered who can afford to just give these out by the thousands. According to Crain's Chicago Business, our governor, Bruce Rauner, can, via the Liberty Principles PAC, which he funds. Unfortunately, the paper lacks that disclosure, even though it is required by Illinois campaign law.

There are 12 similar papers being sent out to 12 other regions across Illinois. Of course they're not really local newspapers at all but propaganda sheets with a smattering of local news gathered from community websites thrown in to give a semblance of legitimacy. Curiously, the publisher at one time provided suburban news for the Chicago Tribune until the Tribune discovered the articles, many of which were outsourced to freelancers in the Philippines, were guilty of "ethical breeches, plagiarism, false bylines and fake quotations," (according to a Chicago Tribune article).

PACS have every legal right to send campaign mailers to whomever they choose, so long as they identify themselves. So why the smokescreen? Why not tell us who you are? Why masquerade as a newspaper? Seems cowardly at best. But not surprising. These papers are just one example of a trend of ideologues creating pseudo-media to further their agendas. So the next time you're catching up on your 'local news' recognize it for what it is.

Bill Thomas

Carterville
Claflin University will be enrolling its first class of registered nurses looking to pursue their bachelor of science degrees in nursing this year.

The university and the Regional Medical Center signed an agreement Wednesday for registered nurses to earn the degree through Claflins new RN-to-BSN program.

The hybrid program offers online and on-campus courses. It is open only to registered nurses who have earned an associate degree in nursing from an accredited institution.

At Claflin University, were committed to growing the number of academic programs that are career focused and this is certainly an example of such a program, President Dr. Henry N. Tisdale said.

The partnership with RMC provides a pipeline for nursing graduates to earn a bachelors degree at Claflin in less than 18 months.

This program really is all about the students and giving students with an associate degree in nursing an opportunity to continue to grow professionally, Tisdale said.

He said that a special reduced tuition will be available for employees of the Regional Medical Center looking to continue their studies as well as students coming out of the nursing program at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College.

We started by doing an assessment, doing the research to determine if there was a need for such a program and the research came back to say certainly there was a need, he said.

He added that discussions with the hospital have been in the works for more than a year.

RMC President and CEO Tom Dandridge said the hospital is, truly blessed that we have on one side of us a technical college that gets these kids started on their education and then, on the other side of us, we have Claflin University that helps them finish up.

Not many hospitals have this type of relationship with these institutions.

Dr. Shannon Smith, director of the RN-to-BSN program at Claflin, said she is excited to have the opportunity to work with the hospital.

Not only do we get students as a result of collaborating with the hospital, the hospital now gets bachelors degree-prepared students and statistics tell us that hospitals who employ nurses with baccalaureate degrees have better patient outcomes, so its directly linked to quality and safety for a hospital, Smith said.

Students who have an associates degree in nursing can transfer all of their classes to Claflin as long as they have received at least a C in all of their courses and a 2.5 GPA, she said.

The program includes Saturday intensives which gives us an opportunity to bring students on campus and actually have face-to-face discussions, presentations, hit some of those key issues in nursing so that we can have an actual dialogue with them, Smith said.

Mickey Whisenhunt, RMCs vice president of patient services/chief nursing officer, said the availability and convenience of the courses will enable nurses to advance their education without having to leave.

It is going to make it a lot easier for nurses to remain working while pursuing their education because you can work and you dont have to go too far so you dont have to drive an hour, she said.
Dr. Walt Tobin, president of Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, is one of five finalists to become the fourth president of Central Piedmont Community College near Charlotte.

Tobin said in a statement to the OCtech family on Wednesday that he has not been actively seeking new employment.

I am very happy at OCtech, he said. Ive mentioned to you that OCtech is a great place to work on numerous occasions, and Im convinced of that more and more every day.

Tobin said he was asked and encouraged to apply for the job. Also, his wife, Kim Kim, is from Charlotte and her family still lives there.

But he also sees the position as an opportunity for his own professional growth.

In this case, it was an opportunity that presented itself at the right time, he said. Ive spent the last 15 years of my career at OCtech and I do believe that we are one of the best colleges in this state, if not in the country.

There is a lot to be proud of and our work over the last five-plus years has prepared me for another challenge.

Tobin said he decided to seek the job after a lot of prayer, many conversations with my family and the constant what if scenario playing in my head that would probably occur some years down the road. It is not something that I took lightly.

He will be on the CPCC campus in late August where hell interview with trustees and meet members of the faculty and staff during candidate forums.

CPCC spokesman Jeff Lowrance said the board hopes to select a candidate by Labor Day. When the new president arrives will depend on when that person is able to come, he said.

All finalists are sitting presidents right now, Lowrance said.

CPCC realizes it will take some time for the new president to settle matters at his or her current college, but current President Dr. Tony Zeiss has promised to stay on board until the new president is in place, Lowrance said.

Tobin said the search for CPCCs next president is very competitive and there are no guarantees that he will be the boards choice.

If I am not selected, lets continue on the path of improving the lives of our students and their families, he told the OCtech faculty and staff.

The other candidates seeking to replace Zeiss, who has been president of CPCC since 1992, are Dr. Michael L. Ash, president of Southeastern Community College in Burlington, Iowa; Dr. Kandi W. Deitemeyer, president of the College of Albemarle in Elizabeth City, N.C.; Dr. Angeline D. Godwin, president of Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, Va. and Dr. Kirk A. Nooks, president of Metropolitan Community College-Longview in the Kansas City, Mo. area.

Tobin became president of OCtech in June 2011. Prior to that, he served as vice president of academic affairs at the college.

He took a leave of absence from July 2009 until mid-January 2010 to serve as acting president of Denmark Technical College.

Tobin earned a bachelors degree in math teaching from Clemson University. He also earned a masters degree, an Ed.S. degree and a doctorate in education administration from the University of South Carolina.

CPCC is one of the largest colleges in the Carolinas, serving approximately 70,000 individuals per year. During Zeiss tenure, the college grew from one campus to six.

Under Zeiss leadership, the colleges annual operating budget has grown from $46.7 million to $202.4 million.
Orangeburg attorney Charles Williams is appealing his sentence for trapping and killing hawks, claiming the judge in his case loves birds.

In June, Williams and two co-defendants pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for trapping and killing hawks without a permit.

Federal prosecutors said the 66-year-old trapped and killed hawks that preyed on quail that he released at the 1,790-acre Willcreek property in late 2013.

Williams pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanor counts.

U.S. Magistrate Shiva Hodges sentenced him to one year of probation, including a ban on hunting anywhere in the world during that time. He was also sentenced to a $75,000 fine and 50 hours of community service work at the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw.

Co-defendants Jimmie Aiken, 57, and John Dantzler, 67, pleaded guilty to one count each. They were sentenced to one year of probation, a one-year hunting ban and a $1,000 fine.

Williams attorneys want an appeals court to reverse his sentence because Hodges told the court she loves hawks.

Just moments after Hodges handed down Williams sentence, she told the court, in part, that she first saw a red-tail hawk when she was at the Governors School for Science and Mathematics.

She was taking an ornithology class with Dr. Bill Alexander, a noted ornithologist and bird photographer, at the time.

His class opened my eyes to a love of birds and a love of nature, and really began to teach me about the circle of life, Hodges said, according to official court transcripts.

And while my love of birds and nature led me to a biology degree in undergraduate school and has continued through my appreciation of nature, my role as a judge is different than my role as a nature lover, she said in court.

In their filing, Williams attorneys Gedney Howe III and Sen. Brad Hutto state that Hodges erred imposing the sentence.

This past Monday, the U.S. Attorney Generals Office filed a response stating, in part, The magistrate did not err  much less plainly err  in failing to recuse herself from handing a case involving wildlife offenses merely because she expressed a personal love of nature and sympathy for the victim wildlife.

Moreover, the judges sentencing remarks, when viewed in context, made it clear that she understood that her affinity for birds and nature should not improperly influence her decision as a sentencing judge, Acting U.S. Attorney Beth Drake wrote.

The U.S. Attorneys office also wrote that federal prosecutors could have charged Williams with more than 30 counts, one for each predator carcass recovered, but agreed to limit the counts to seven in exchange for Williams agreement to plead guilty.

The Office also said that prosecutors requested a fine of $100,000, but Shiva granted $75,000.

In addition, prosecutors could have asked for restitution, but asked for a fine only because the fine, in this case, would ultimately be transferred to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act account.

The office also noted that Hodges could have imposed a prison term of 18 months and a fine of $105,000, but did not do either of those.

Williams serves on the board of trustees for the University of South Carolina.

U.S. Judge Michelle Childs will hear his appeal at a later date.
Throughout the year, students from all across South Carolina tour Boeings North Charleston assembly plant. The highlight of the day is always the paper airplane design and construction contest  especially the chance to fly their creations in Boeings massive Final Assembly factory.

But every so often these tours strike a different chord  as one North Charleston student said, even though he lived virtually in the companys backyard, he had no idea they built airplanes in North Charleston. And being inside the plant was a powerful first step towards a possible future working in this high tech wonderland someday.

Whether its President George W. Bushs warning of the soft bigotry of low expectations or President Barack Obamas reminder that we all must be our brothers keepers  a common thread runs through virtually all programs designed to lift up our youth: A kid who can genuinely imagine him or herself succeeding is more likely to actually succeed. By helping young students see their facility as a place they genuinely belong, Boeings DreamLearners program truly opens up new vistas and makes a better future possible for our kids, our communities, and our state.

Engaging Creative Minds is dedicated to programs like this and others  including ECMs summer STEAM (the traditional Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math of STEM plus the Arts) Institute to prevent summer learning loss and keep young minds active. During the school year, ECM supports third- to eighth-grade classrooms using arts-infused standards-based experiences that also cultivate the skills necessary for 21st century employment, such as creativity, innovation, persistence, collaboration and communication. Connecting to the communitys creative sector through ECM, impacts students awareness of the arts and provides knowledge of innovative careers available to students in their community.

Last year, ECM trained more than 400 teachers and 75 artists who directly served more than 6,500 students. And we have grown from eight schools during the 2012-13 School Year to 25 schools this coming fall. This rapid growth is a powerful validation of our core belief  that the only way to truly address long-term problems of inequality and social dislocation is to create a level playing field and genuine economic opportunity for all.

With state and local budgets more taxed and overstrained than ever, we couldnt do this work without support from local companies like Boeing  which has given nearly a million dollars to our efforts, on top of extensive in kind contributions like arranging facility tours and volunteer legwork from its team. As the company marks its 100th anniversary this summer, it is their legacy of commitment and service that we wish to celebrate.

But its also a model that policymakers and other large employers should recognize and build upon. One that other organizations should look towards as a best-in-class example of a company developing programs that cultivate imaginative, creative and innovative skills. And it is a model that other companies working with ECM could use to emulate as they develop similar programs.

Because the truth is that while Boeing is a good corporate citizen, it funds these programs for more than simple charity. Its leaders realize that a steady flow of skilled workers and creative innovators is vital to the companys next 100 years of success. Put another way, Boeing needs the next generation of engineers, designers, and computer scientists for the company to keep growing and thriving just as much as South Carolinians need those high-skill, high-pay jobs.

Indeed, on a deeper level, without the jobs and overall economic vitality created by our partners  Boeing alone has more than 7,500 employees in the state  it would be almost impossible to break through with at-risk students and to translate our educational programs into long term success. All the job training in the world wont mean much if there arent any jobs.

In a society marked by continued economic inequality, racial and social injustice, and pockets of poverty where the ideas of a steady job or owning a home are simply out of reach, it is clear there is much more work like this to be done. We may not be able to create genuine equal opportunity for all our kids overnight, but with strong partnerships with companies like Boeing, theres a great deal of progress we can make.
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By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stressed a progress observed in the peace over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"There is progress in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Aksam newspaper quoted Erdfogan as saying on August 11.

Erdogan said that if five regions of Azerbaijan are initially liberated from the Armenian occupation, the process of normalization may begin in the region.

The whole world is aware of the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia. And if everyone recognizes this, then why not to put an end to this occupation? Erdogan resented.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

Turkish President noted that the U.S., France and Russia for over 23 years have been unable to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. But now Russian President Vladimir Putin is working on this issue, he said.

Speaking of the establishment of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Russia trilateral format, Erdogan noted that Azerbaijan, as well as Turkey and Russia, expresses a positive attitude to it. The main purpose of this format is to track and monitor events in the region, Turkish President added.

On August 9, Erdogan said that Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia may establish a tripartite cooperation mechanism.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.
Bells tolled and thousands bowed their heads in prayer in Hiroshima on Thursday at ceremonies that marked the 70th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing. [Photo/CFP]

While observing the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan should also solemnly reflect upon its history of aggression. One can only pray for the innocent souls that perished in the two cities, but we should not forget that they were victims of Japan's militarist policy. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi rightly said, "victims deserve sympathy, but perpetrators can never shirk their responsibility".

Millions of innocent people were massacred, and cities and villages pillaged as the Imperial Japanese Army army invaded China and other Asian countries to fulfill their rulers' militarist ambitions.

But by portraying the Japanese as victims of World War II and denying the Japanese army's atrocities in other countries, right-wing politicians want to absolve their predecessors of their war crimes. Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe and his colleagues are once again trying to portray Japan as a victim of the war by downplaying its role as an aggressor. Japanese rulers' rabid pursuit of power before and during WWII was the main reason the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasakithe Japanese militarists rejected the Potsdam Proclamation on July 26, 1945 even in the face of certain defeat because they considered civilians' lives worthless compared with their ambitions.

The tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese army in other countries are horrid examples of what frenzied militarism can result in. As the only country to suffer atomic bombings, Japan has been extremely sensitive to "nuclear" issues. But some Japanese politicians have openly said Japan should possess nuclear weapons. Japan's huge stockpile of weapons-grade nuclear material and the government's statement in April that using nuclear weapons is not against its Constitution have put its neighbors on edge.

Another dangerous sign is that Abe skipped mentioning Japan's long-held "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" of not possessing, not producing and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons on its soil in his speech at the Hiroshima ceremony last year, the first time a Japanese prime minister had omitted it since 1994.

Besides, in the recent cabinet reshuffle, Abe appointed Tomomi Inada, policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as defense minister, fuelling worries among neighboring countries because she is known as a political hawk with contentious views on history. Worse, she has regularly visited Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 class-A war criminals. She also called for the amendment of Japan's pacifist Constitution, including scrapping Article 9 that renounces war, to allow the country's Self-Defense Forces to act more like a conventional army.

Though 71 years have passed, it seems the only lesson the Japanese right-wing forces have learned is to tie up with the world's superpower while creating trouble for neighboring countries without worrying about the ramifications.

While commemorating the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese politicians should not forget the reason why innocent people had to die. Only through deep and sincere reflection on its history of aggression can Japan truly recover from the painful memories of war.

The author is a writer with Xinhua News Agency.
By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

NATO has stated its strong position on Turkey's membership at the alliance, naming the country as "a valuable ally".

After the failed coup attempt, Turkey's membership in NATO was one of the most questionable topics. Many made suppositions that Ankara would intend to separate its ways with the alliance, while other suggested weakening of NATO's interests in Turkey's membership in the military bloc.

However, NATO dispersed such suppositions, calling them "speculative media reports."

"Turkey's NATO membership is not in question after the attempted coup in the country," RIA Novosti reported with reference to the statement of the NATO official regarding media coverage and position of NATO.

Turkey, as a very strong and longstanding member of NATO, historically made significant contributions to all its allies. The country holds second largest army in the alliance after the U.S. Armed Forces, with an estimated strength of 675,000 military, civilian and paramilitary personnel.

"In light of the speculative media reports on the position of NATO about the failed coup in Turkey and Turkey's membership in NATO, let me indicate a clear position of the alliance that Turkey is a valuable ally, which makes a significant contribution to the joint efforts of NATO," said the NATO representative.

Turkey is fully involved in making consensus-based decisions in the alliance against the biggest security challenges of generation, he added.

"Turkey's membership in NATO cannot be questioned. Our alliance is committed to collective defense and based on the principles of democracy, individual freedom, human rights and the rule of law. NATO is counting on the continuation of Turkey's contribution to the alliance and in turn, Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO... the representative of the alliance emphasized.

Previously, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Turkey will remain an important NATO ally despite the crackdown inside the country and its newest rapprochement with Russia.

It is good to see the two nations moving closer together after the downing Russian warplane. However, I do not expect the two sides to grow so close that Russia can offer an alternative to NATOs security partnership. Turkey is an important NATO partner, Steinmeier added.

Turkey is viewed as an important North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally given its strategic geographic position between Europe and Asia, a bridge that has served as an entryway for refugees fleeing violence in Syria. The country hosts about 1,500 American military personnel and aircraft at Incirlik Air Base, a staging point for the fight against Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.
Koeman targets striking reinforcements

, 11 August,







The Dutchman addressed the press today as part of his media duties ahead of Saturday's season-opener against Tottenham Hotspur and transfer targets were an inevitable topic with the deadline less than three weeks away.

Koeman had already told the television media that he will do everything he can to keep Romelu Lukaku but he is also targeting another striker among the three or four new faces he hopes to land before 31st August.

That is one of the positions where we are looking, Koeman told the Liverpool Echo.

It is that position and that is one of the reasons why I put [Gerard] Deulofeu in front at No.9 to see if he can occupy that position.

Deulofeu performed well in a central attacking role in the early pre-season friendlies in the absence of Lukaku and Arouna Kone but Koeman is clearly on the lookout for a more natural striker to bolster his attack.

The fact that he has discounted Niasse as a viable option means that he will need to look elsewhere for a solution but, overall, realistic links with goal-scorers have been few and far between this summer.

Wilfried Bony has been linked with a move to Goodison Park from Manchester City but some media outlets, the Echo and the Express's Paul Joyce among them, insist there is no interest there.

Meanwhile, Utrecht forward Sebastian Haller was strongly tipped to join the Blues earlier in the summer but nothing has come from the speculation thus far, while talk of a bid for Sporting's Islam Slimani has been revived this evening.

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The Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA) has opened a new 3-km road built to ease traffic congestion in Industrial Areas 15 and 17, located next to National Paints Bridge in Sharjah, UAE.



The dual-lane road, built at a cost of Dh49 million ($13.33 million), is 7.3 metres wide. The road opens a new route for commuters heading to Dubai, said a Gulf News report.



The SRTA said the road takes motorists from the area behind the Sharjah English School, located opposite Sharjah University City, and continues up until the Oud Rakan Bridge on Maliha Road. Motorists will then have access to Mohammad Bin Zayed Road.
JAC Motors, a leading Chinese automaker, said it has continued to rise in popularity in the Middle Eastern and African auto markets, with a focus on young, tech-savvy and style-conscious drivers.



The launch of JACs S2 model SUV at Cairos Automech auto show in March followed the success of the record-breaking S3, said a statement from the company.



With a stylish and sporty exterior, high-end specifications, outstanding off-road performance and reasonable price tag, the S2 is expected to repeat the sales success of the S3, which has sold over 300,000 vehicles globally since its release nearly two years ago. The S3 has sold particularly well in Egypt since its launch there last July, passing 100 vehicles per month, it said.



In terms of commercial vehicles, JAC recently celebrated its 300,000th high-end light-duty truck sold, it added.



In the South American market it has made a great impression, with the best-selling Chinese models in Chile, Peru and Colombia, among others.



JAC has also entered the highly competitive Southeast Asian market, which has been dominated by Japanese brands for a number of decades. JACs Euro V light-duty truck has also entered large and developed auto markets such as Turkey and Mexico.



JAC also plans to expand its international exports of electric vehicles (EVs) in the coming months. In April JACs EVs became the third best-selling electric models worldwide, with 2,331 vehicles sold that month.



Supporting the evolution of this high-growth sector, JAC has continually developed its electric vehicles, boosting its sales by 400 per cent compared with the same period last year. In particular, the IEV 6S, launched at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show, has received much acclaim from customers for its stylish exterior and eco-friendly technology.



The IEV 6S is the first pure electric model to be released in China, equipped with an advanced Samsung lithium battery, and with a range of up to 300 km.



During the first half of the year JAC has sold 333,639 vehicles, an increase of nearly 15 per cent from the same period last year, according to data from the China Automobile Association.



The S3 model has performed particularly well, selling 97,457 units during 2016, winning an award as the H1 SUV sales champion in China. Industry experts have put JACs recent success down to its focus on quality products and high level of customer care, it added.  TradeArabia News Service
The modules for the first heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) for the Siemens Mega project in Egypt have begun their journey from South Korea to the Beni Suef power plant.



The boiler is scheduled to be installed at the plant on its arrival in mid-September, said a statement from the company.



The power plant is set to become the world's biggest gas-fired combined-cycle power plant complex when completed.



NEM, part of Siemens and a leading global company in the field of heat transfer technology, is delivering a total of 24 heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) for this mega project, which includes three 4.8 gigawatt turnkey combined cycle power plants in Beni Suef, Burullus and New Capital. In total eight boilers will be installed in each plant, it said.



The modules for the first HRSG begin their five week journey at the port of Ulsan in South Korea in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), where it will be loaded into a heavy lift vessel, it added.



From there, it will be shipped after a short stop at Tanjung Langsat Port in Malaysia to co-load main steel and casings for the same project to the Port of Adabiya on the Red Sea, said a statement.



Onshore, the several tonne cargo will be transported to the natural-gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Beni Suef. This plant will be powered by eight Siemens SGT5-8000H gas turbines, selected for their high output and efficiency, it stated.



In each of the eight HRSGs the exhaust gas from these turbines will be used to produce high-pressure steam and drive the four steam turbines installed in the power plant, it said.



The overall NEM project scope for the three combined cycle power plants include engineering, manufacturing and delivery of 24 vertical triple-pressure reheat once-through HRSGs. This type of HRSG was chosen for its fast and flexible startup and relatively light weight and small footprint.



Each boiler contains 24 modules and approximately 14,000 single tubes, each around 20 m in length, it added.  TradeArabia News Service
The sophisticated design of Grohe products, which appeals to design lovers all over the world, recently attracted a number of renowned awards.



Prizes such as the Red Dot Design Award or the Iconic Awards: Interior Innovation once again highlight the unerring focus on good design which remains one of the most important values underpinning the Grohe brand, the company said.

"This philosophy is instrumental in creating unique products which bring a distinct sense of style to all bathroom and kitchen decors," it added.



Red Dot Design Award

This years line-up of Red Dot Design Award winners includes two Grohe products contributing to a special shower experience, namely the water-proof Bluetooth Aquatunes speaker and the Grohterm 800 thermostat.



Sporting a stylish design, the wireless Aquatunes speaker lets users enjoy their favourite tunes under the shower. At the same time, the pared down and ergonomic design of the Grohterm 800 is all about ensuring the highest levels of comfort, convenience and safety while showering.



Both products impressed the approximately 40-strong panel of judges on such counts as the degree of innovation, formal quality and ecological compatibility.



Organised by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen since 1954, the Red Dot Award is one of the worlds most respected prizes in this field.



iF Product Design Award

Another double success came for Grohe at the iF Product Design Award. The slimmer reinterpretation of the popular classic Essence faucet line garnered the acknowledged iF label. It shared this distinction with the Grohe Rainshower F-Series 40" Aquasymphony, a ceiling shower which blends water with light to create a truly luxurious shower experience.

The iF label has been awarded annually since 1954 and is recognised and respected by design lovers all over the world. The judges awarding this renowned prize are drawn from the ranks of international top designers.



Iconic Awards

Three new Grohe products are among the winners of the Iconic Awards: Interior Innovation. One member of the victorious trio was Eurocube Joy, a line of cubistic designed faucets accentuated by an innovative, smooth-handling joystick lever. The Essence faucets and the Aquatunes shower speaker were singled out by the judges of this award, too. The Iconic Awards: Interior Innovation are awarded annually by a high-calibre panel of judges. Initiated by imm cologne and organised by the German Design Council, this prize has emerged as a widely accepted mark of distinction in the interior design sector.



Green Good Design Awards

Recently two kitchen faucets from Grohe attracted praise from judges as well. Essence and Minta Touch each won a Green Good Design award. This prize rates products not only in terms of their design and style but also based on their contribution to energy efficiency, environmental friendliness and resource conservation.



The two Grohe products impressed the judges with their strong sustainability profiles extending along their entire life-cycle from development and production to day-to-day use and post-consumer management. Organised by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies since 2010, the Green Good Design Award has brought public appreciation and awareness to design philosophies promoting sustainability and ecological restoration.



Committed to excellence in bathroom and kitchen design, Grohe continues to create inspiring products which are appreciated by consumers and design experts alike, th company said. - TradeArabia News Service
Proserv, a global technology services company, has formed a strategic partnership with Klaw Products, an oilfield equipment provider, to offer an enhanced field safety service preventing offshore spills in the Middle East.



Klaw Products supplies breakaway couplings and emergency release systems for the safe transfer of hazardous and non-hazardous material. This agreement will see Proserv offering Klaws products across the region while also delivering in-country technical support.



As Proserv continues to build on its quality, service and reliability in the region, the partnership will see many safety benefits both subsea and topside.



Garry Kidd, vice president at Proserv, said: Establishing a partnership with Klaw Products is very exciting for Proserv. Not only can we provide this service supporting operators in improving the safety of their work, but we can also offer our UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia customers unrivalled response speeds, enhanced customer service and technical support across the Klaw product range.



Dominic Hinchey, sales director at Klaw Products, said: We are delighted to be working with Proserv. Their local knowledge and technical expertise will prove to be invaluable to companies involved in the transfer of liquids and gases.



Proserv, which operates worldwide through 25 operating centres based in 11 countries, has a 40-year track record in delivering world-class products and services for the energy industry, particularly in the subsea, production and drilling market sectors.  TradeArabia News Service
In technology, organizations in UAE often seem seduced into chasing the latest shiny object. Cloud! Containers! Orchestration! IoT! Big Data!



These are all well and good and can not only deliver significant value but can enable new classes of applications and revenue streams over time. That said, its worthwhile for IT decision-makers in the country to pause to think about practical ways to increase the value of existing investments while simultaneously planning for exciting future opportunities.



Some people might be thinking that virtualization is yesterdays news. But it continues to play a major role within just about every enterprise IT infrastructure whether measured by the number of applications it touches, the expense of supporting it, or the number of administrators needed to manage it. At the same time, its often not used efficiently. At Directions 2016, IDC Group vice president for Enterprise Infrastructure, Al Gillen, noted that virtual machine (VM) density is stalling out at about 10 VMs per server and between 30 to 50 percent server utilization. This leaves ample room for improved efficiencies and financial value.



Modernizing virtualization can take a variety of forms. Im going to focus on three pragmatic areas of value:



Get things done faster



Internal activities, such as provisioning servers or interacting with third-party systems, take away from the time that your system administrators can spend on other, potentially higher value tasks. Furthermore, application developers and other IT customers may be stuck waiting for those tasks to be completed. Faster cycle times for internal activities can bring benefits across the entire organization.



These faster internal processes can, in turn, lead to what really matters: accelerating customer-facing activities. Whether responding more quickly to customer requests and improving customer satisfaction as a result, or bringing new products and services to market sooner, increased speed generally delivers direct business benefits.



Technologies that can help get things done faster include: self-service portals (which allow delegating tasks, under established policies, to users), automation (which improves both speed and repeatability), and third-party integrations (which reduce the amount of manual work required).



Save time and money internally



While speed (a.k.a. agility/flexibility/adaptability) is widely viewed as an important attribute of modern IT infrastructures, making efficient use of both physical and human resources is still a top-of-mind concern for almost every IT manager. Its worth noting that even the Web-scale companies most associated with the newest technologies are also known for their extremely high physical densities and large numbers of servers handled by each system administrator.



Increasing the density of virtualization deployments is a straightforward way to allow more workloads to run on a given number of physical servers. Equally important are management tools and processes that shut down workloads which dont need to be running or which optimize workload placement and other parameters.



Stay safer, in control, and follow the rules

Security is often the shorthand here. However, its usually not familiar aspects of system security like access controls or firewalls that are causing the concern. Rather, its data jurisdiction, auditability, regulatory compliance, and verifiable end-to-end encryption that top the list.



Real-time monitoring and enforcement of policies can not only address performance and reliability issues before the problems become serious but they can also detect and mitigate potential compliance issues. Automating in this way can reduce the amount of sysadmin work that is required. However, its also a way to document processes and reduce error-prone manual procedures. Human error is consistently cited as a major cause of security breaches and outages.



In conclusion, while sometimes overlooked, improving the efficiency of existing virtualization infrastructures can unlock significant value for organizations in UAE.



Gordon Haff is a technology evangelist with Red Hat.
Delta Air Lines on Wednesday cancelled more than 300 flights and upended thousands of travellers' plans for the third day in a row after a power outage hit its computer systems, though it forecast a return to normal operations later this afternoon.



Delta, the No. 2 U.S. airline by passenger traffic, said systems that allow customer service agents to process check-ins and dispatch aircraft are now functioning normally. Most of Wednesday's delays and cancellations are the result of flight crews being displaced or running up against maximum allowed work hours, it said.



As of 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT), Delta said it had canceled 311 flights on the day, adding to the more than 1,600 cancellations since Monday. Another 2,540 flights departed on Wednesday, with 70 percent of them within 30 minutes of their scheduled times, the airline said.



"We're in the final hours of bouncing back from the disruption," Bill Lentsch, Delta's senior vice president for airport customer service and airline operations, said in an online posting.



The travel havoc at one of the world's largest carriers has brought into focus the vulnerability of airlines' technology infrastructure. Experts say mergers - and sometimes insufficient investment in back-end technology - have left airlines with a hodgepodge of systems.



What is more, a drive by companies to automate operations, from mobile boarding passes to check-in kiosks, means the impact of any single glitch will multiply.



Delta said problems arose when critical systems did not switch over to a backup source following a power surge and outage on Monday.



The airline is still investigating the cause, Chief Executive Ed Bastian said in an online video post, adding that the company has invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" in infrastructure upgrades and backup systems.



"I'm sorry we let you down. We'll do everything that we can to make certain this does not happen again," Bastian said in the video.



"There have been no indications of a hack," Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter added in an emailed statement.



Shares were down 1.3 percent at $36.47 in late afternoon trading.



PASSENGERS FRUSTRATED



Frustrated fliers like Camille Davies-Mandel of Maplewood, New Jersey still faced multihour waits at airport lines on Wednesday.



"I have two kids with me, looking forward to getting to their cousins so they can seek out (characters) in Pokemon Go," she said in a telephone interview after waiting three hours to check in at Newark Liberty International Airport. She was unable to download a boarding pass online and missed her flight.



Davies-Mandel said she appreciated Delta's outreach on social media and messages from management, but she added "when you get on the phone and you deal with their customer service, that's a whole different experience," noting two calls took her four and a half hours.



Delta said it contacted some of its most frequent fliers who would be stuck in the disruption and offered them seats on its Delta Private Jets subsidiary to finish their journey.



Analysts expect passenger refunds, overtime hours for workers and other costs will reduce Delta's profit this quarter. Daniel McKenzie, an analyst with the Buckingham Research Group, said in a research note that earnings per share may be 5 percent to 10 percent lower, or 10 to 15 cents per share below his prior estimate.



"Delta still remains the best operation in the industry by a wide margin," McKenzie said, noting that the airline had canceled far fewer flights than rivals in recent years.



Other carriers have also suffered from technology issues.



Southwest Airlines Co forecast on Wednesday a further drop in a key profitability metric for the quarter due to delays and cancellations of more than 2,000 flights after an outage hit its computer systems in July.  Reuters
International tourist arrivals in the Middle East are estimated to have grown by 1 million (up 2 per cent) in 2015, increasing the total to 53 million, a new report has revealed.



According to a report by UNWTO, the region has consolidated the rebound that started in 2014, when arrivals increased by 7 per cent, following three years of decline. International tourism receipts increased by 4 per cent in real terms to $54 billion. The Middle East has a share of over 4 per cent in both worldwide arrivals and receipts.



Growth was driven by intraregional demand from member states of the GCC. Oman (over 16 per cent) and Lebanon (over 12 per cent) both recorded double-digit growth in international arrivals in 2015 as they continued their rebound from the weaker results in the early 2010s.



Qatar posted a 4 per cent increase, making it the only country in the region that has maintained consistent growth for over a decade. The regions leading destination, Saudi Arabia, reported a small decline (down 1 per cent). Egypt reported a 5 per cent decrease in arrivals in 2015 as a result of various incidents. Jordan and Palestine also received fewer arrivals.



According to Tourism Towards 2030, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide is expected to increase by an average of 3.3 per cent a year over the period 2010 to 2030. Over time, the rate of growth will gradually slow, from 3.8 per cent at the beginning of the period to 2.9 per cent in 2030, but this is on top of growing base numbers. In absolute numbers, international tourist arrivals will increase by some 43 million a year, compared with an average increase of 28 million a year during the period 1995 to 2010. At the projected rate of growth, international tourist arrivals worldwide are expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2020 and 1.8 billion by the year 2030.



International tourist arrivals in the emerging economy destinations of Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Eastern Mediterranean Europe, the Middle East and Africa will grow at double the rate (over 4.4 per cent a year) of that in advanced economy destinations (over 2.2 per cent a year). As a result, the number of arrivals in emerging economies is expected to exceed those in advanced economies before 2020. In 2030, 57 per cent of international arrivals will be in emerging economy destinations (versus 30 per cent in 1980) and 43 per cent in advanced economy destinations (versus 70 per cent in 1980).



The strongest growth by region will be seen in Asia and the Pacific, where arrivals are forecast to increase by 331 million to reach 535 million in 2030 (over 4.9 per cent per year). The Middle East and Africa are also expected to more than double their number of arrivals during this period, from 61 million to 149 million and from 50 million to 134 million respectively. - TradeArabia News Service
The bankrupt coal company that laid off 235 of its northern Wyoming employees in March wants to provide almost $12 million in bonuses to its six top executives.

Peabody Energy, which operates the North Antelope Rochelle mine outside Gillette, argued in court documents filed Aug. 3 in the U.S. bankruptcy court in St. Louis that incentive bonuses, contingent on cutting costs, as well as meeting revenue and environmental reclamation goals, will ultimately boost the companys viability.

Reaching the $11.9 million in potential bonuses would require that the executives exceed all targets, a company spokesman explained.

"This comes only after other employee wages, incentive plans and benefits were requested and confirmed first as part of the first day motions," the company said in a statement. "We then obtained approval for a program related to retention of key employees working on the filing and essential to timely completion. This last action is to consider the senior team."

Peabody's argument that incentives are vital to successfully emerge from bankruptcy is a familiar one and one that often succeeds in court.

Alpha Natural Resources, which operated the Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte mines, came under fire during its bankruptcy proceedings when the company received approval for millions of dollars in bonuses to top executives.

Peabodys request, meanwhile, comes amid a debate in Wyoming over the companys practice of self-bonding for reclamation.

They dont have enough money to purchase surety bonds, yet theyve got enough money to give to their executives, said Bob LeResche, chairman of the Western Organization of Resource Councils. Each of the bankrupt coal companies have done such a thing. It amazes me every time.

The practice of setting a companys assets against the eventual cost of cleanup is a contentious one for environmentalists and landowners represented by groups like the Resource Council, who argue that corporate surety bonds and collateral bonds are the only way to keep taxpayers from picking up the bill for reclamation if coal companies go bust. Companies argue that the strength of their viable assets is sufficient to restore lands disturbed by mining.

The Office of Surface Mining Regulation and Enforcement on Tuesday issued a policy advisory to states encouraging an end to the practice of self-bonding at coal mines due to the number of prominent bankruptcies and an unstable coal market future.

The advisory recommends states immediately assess the financial stability of coal companies, halt new self-bonds and retain a five-year operating minimum before companies emerging from bankruptcy can self-bond.

The consistent, albeit subtle, pressure from the national regulators is a boon to Western landowners, environmentalists and outdoorsmen who fear Wyoming has failed to properly regulate the industry.

The stakes are high, LeResche said. Peabody Energy has amassed a $726 million reclamation liability with over 90 square miles of unreclaimed mines in Wyoming. The writing is on the wall: Coal companies must replace their risky self-bonds, and we hope the state of Wyoming will follow these helpful guidelines from OSMRE.

Peabody maintains that they are committed to paying the total of their reclamation costs.

"The company is continuing to provide assurances to states through a variety of forms including self-bonding, third-party surety bonding, letters of credit and now superpriority claims," the company said in a statement.

Wyoming is one of 24 states that have a state regulatory body for mining, the Department of Environmental Quality. Only 10 states, including Wyoming, currently have self-bonding agreements with surface mines, according to federal data.

Environmentalists worry the coal market will worsen, leaving more reclamation costs unpaid.

Advising states to end self-bonding is a recognition that the collapse of the coal market is not over and that more must be done to protect people and the environment from the fallout, said Sharon Buccino, director of lands at the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a statement. As the era of Big Coal comes to an end, we must do more to ensure coal companies live up to their obligations to coal communities across the nation.

For their part, bankrupt companies argue that replacing self-bonds is too expensive and lack of liquidity precludes the possibility of paying for other assurances.

But that argument isnt satisfying to some.

The Resource Councils recently petitioned for federal intervention, arguing that Wyoming is breaking the law by allowing Peabodys self-bonding during bankruptcy.

It filed a similar complaint against Wyomings self-bonding deal with Alpha, and federal officials agreed Wyoming broke its own laws in a declaration released last month. The state is appealing that decision.

Wyoming regulators said in the appeal that enforcing strict bonding requirements would only punish these bankrupt companies and hurt state revenue and the Wyoming workforce.

But self-bonding critics want states to do a better job regulating leases in the first place so that companies never reach that point.

Granting a self-bond is total discretionary to the state, LeResche said. The state is supposed to use some judgment, and our state has never done that.

This story has been updated from its original edition.
DOUGLAS  Wyoming authorities say the investigation is continuing into the June 30 fatal shooting of a man by deputy U.S. marshals at his father's funeral in Douglas.

Deputies shot and killed 44-year-old Jasen Scott Ramirez of Colorado while trying to arrest him outside a church after the funeral service. Ramirez was under federal indictment in Wyoming on drug and weapons charges.

Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Director Steve Woodson says his agency's investigation is still ongoing. Converse County Attorney Quentin Richardson said Wednesday he has no indication when the investigation will be completed.

The Converse County Sheriff's Office and County Attorney's Office issued a statement after the shooting saying investigators found two handguns in Ramirez's vehicle and also found roughly 4 ounces of methamphetamine in the vehicle and on his person.
Candidates for Wyomings House and Senate have raised about $800,000 in advance of the primary election, campaign finance records show, with a couple in Teton County leading in contributions to hopefuls.

The first campaign finance report for candidates for the Legislature was due at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. It covered the period from the beginning of the year through Aug. 2.

A total of 179 candidates are running for the House and Senate. All 60 seats in the House are up and 15 of the state Senates 30 seats are up for election. The primary is Tuesday.

Top donors

Dan Brophy, Jackson: $33,899

Carleen Brophy, Jackson: $28,325

Wyoming Education Association-PACE: $23,010

Wyoming Realtors Political Action Committee: $17,000

Devon Energy Corp. Political Action Committee, Oklahoma City: $16,000

Dan Brophy declined to answer questions for this story about why he and his wife take such interest in state legislative races. He has in the past written letters to the editor in support of allowing people to carry firearms on school grounds or in government meetings and other public events. He also opposes Medicaid expansion, according to letters to the editor he has penned.

The couple were involved in a suit two years ago with the Wyoming Liberty Group, challenging a $25,000 limit on contributions to all political candidates in an election cycle. The Brophys prevailed.

Candidates with the largest contributions

Affie Ellis, Republican, Cheyenne, Senate District 8: $42,812.70

Rosie Berger, Republican, Big Horn, House District 51: $34,355

Mark Kinner, Republican, Sheridan, HD29: $21,100

Dan Neal, Democrat, Casper, HD56: $20,938

Ken Esquibel, Democrat, Cheyenne, SD4: $20,735.43

Neal said hes pleased and humbled by the number of individuals who have contributed to his campaign, which he said was over 150.

The Star-Tribune asked Neal how he would manage his relationship with his donors  especially if they felt strongly about a bill.

I dont think anyone would be surprised by my stances, he said. Anyone, any constituent who calls you, deserves to be heard out and their ideas discussed. I just had an email this morning from a fella who I think is connected with one of the libertarian groups in town. He wanted to know how I stood on a number of things, and I responded. I think perhaps legislators first obligation is to listen, particularly to constituents. Legislators in Wyoming have a responsibility to the state and their home district. If people contact you, you should listen and see if you have a role to play.
CHEYENNE  A wildfire burning northwest of Cody more than doubled in size on Wednesday.

The Hunter Peak Fire in the Shoshone National Forest began Tuesday and has burned about 2 square miles.

It is threatening about 95 structures in the area, including scattered rural residences. No structures have been lost, and firefighters are working to protect those in the fire's path.

Some residents in the area have been evacuated.

Aerial tankers are using water from the Buffalo Bill Reservoir west of Cody to help fight the fire, and part of the reservoir is closed to the public.

Elsewhere, a new fire in Yellowstone National Park is being suppressed by firefighters. Two other remote fires in the park are being allowed to burn.
If you've followed Tucson cellist Nicholas Mariscal's career as long as we have, going back to at least 2005 when he was a standout young composer and cellist in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Young Composers Project, then you would understand why the email that landed in our inbox Thursday was not surprising.

Mariscal, who is now 23 and studying with cellist Ralph Kirshbaum at USC in Los Angeles, was selected for the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center Fellowship Program, a summer academy for advanced study curated and hosted by Boston Symphony Orchestra.

"Tanglewood has been a great experience so far," Mariscal said in a Facebook message Thursday night. "The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra is without a doubt the best student orchestra I've ever been a part of, and because of that we've been able to perform some incredible repertoire at a level that I think is probably on par with some professional orchestras."

Among the highlights so far: Performing Olivier Messiaen's "Turangalila-Symphonie," which Mariscal called "one of my favorite 20th century orchestral works" and one "so large and difficult that I never thought I'd have the opportunity to play it."

"I also just recently got to perform Shostakovich's rarely-heard 14th Symphony with one of my musical heroes, soprano Dawn Upshaw, singing with the orchestra in addition to other Tanglewood voice faculty and fellows, which was a really powerful and incredible experience," he added.

Mariscal's selection to Tanglewood is a big deal and not only because it's affiliated with one of the world's premier orchestras. By BSO estimates, some 30 percent of all first-chair orchestra players passed through this program. It can be a major launching pad for a career with a major orchestra.

Mariscal has been with Tanglewood since late June and continues through later this month. Among his performance opportunities, according to Tanglewood folks, has been working with leading conductors including Jacques Lacombe, Stefan Ashbury, Giancarlo Guerrero and Andris Nelsons during Tanglewood on Parade. He also performed in Steven Stuckys Chamber Concerto 20 at the famed Festival of Contemporary Music.

"For our last week here, I'm fortunate enough to get to sit as principal cello for part of our concert with the world-renowned conductor Charles Dutoit, in which we're performing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring as well as works by Tchaikovsky and Kodaly," Mariscal said.
The weeks downpours, remnants of Tropical Storm Javier, have done nothing to deter this weekends beer-themed activities and events.

Like the raging waters in Tucsons many washes after monsoon rains, beer will flow freely in taprooms and restaurants across Southern Arizona.

Here are a few ways to enjoy some good craft drinking over the next seven days.

take two for brew tour

On July 9, Dragoon Brewing, 1912 Brewing, and Hamilton Distillers, craft beer and whiskey producers located along West Grant Road, joined forces to host their own version of a pub crawl dubbed the Westside Brew House District Tour.

The evening was a rousing success, according to 1912 owner Allan Conger.

It was phenomenal, Conger said. The turnout and the reaction was really great.

The three businesses hope for a repeat this weekend as they host their second district tour on Saturday, Aug. 13.

One $15 tickets gets you a drink at each of the three locations. Dragoon, 1859 W. Grant Road, will host Mr. Cookmans for eats; Hamilton Distillers, 2106 N. Forbes Blvd., will offer desserts and 1912, 2045 N. Forbes Blvd, will feature music from the Bryan Dean Trio.

Conger said there are talks about making the tour a regular event, and they hope to hold at least one more in the next couple of months.

Info: facebook. com/1912brewing

Brewery looks back

Thunder Canyon Brewerys downtown location, at 220 E. Broadway, will play host to an art exhibit dubbed Cult of Nostalgia starting Saturday.

The show will feature works by local artists paying homage to 80s and 90s pop culture, including the video games, television shows and movies of the era.

Think Reservoir Dogs and Edward Scissorhands with a little Super Mario Bros. thrown into the mix.

The show will benefit the Sculpture Resource Center. Thunder Canyon will hold a launch of the exhibition Saturday night running from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Visit facebook.com/thundercanyonbrewery for more information

Drink like a pirate

In honor of Bisbees sixth annual Pirates of the High Desert weekend (yes, that apparently is a thing), Beast Brewing, 1326 W. Highway 92, in Bisbee will be throwing its first ever Reggae Festival on Saturday.

The brewery is inviting customers to come dressed like pirates, sample some good beer and enjoy music from Arizona bands Poolsyde and Pride Through Strife. Admission is $5.

On the menu for the afternoon: Caribbean dumplings, Jamaican meat or veggie pies, and grilled jerk shrimp or chicken marinated in a spicy Scotch bonnet jerk sauce, according to the brewerys Facebook page.

Beast joins the entire town in honoring all-things pirate, a weekend that includes a seance demonstration, a costume contest and a pirate ball at St. Elmos Bar, 36 Brewery Ave.

Visit facebook.com/BisbeePirates/ for more information.

Gose release? can do

Borderlands Brewing, 119 E. Toole Ave., is spreading the love when it comes to the canning of its Citrana Southwestern Style Gose.

The downtown brewery will hold not one, not two, but three release parties at taprooms and restaurants around town next week.

It kicks things off at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Ermanos Craft Beer & Wine Bar, 220 N. Fourth Ave., followed by a second engagement at the Tucson Hop Shop, 3230 N. Dodge Blvd., on Wednesday.

Still not enough?

Try Tap & Bottle, 403 N. Sixth Ave., next Thursday, Aug. 18, to complete the Borderlands gose party trifecta.

More info on all three events at facebook.com/borderlandsbrewing online.
Authorities seized $60,000 in cash, a handgun and packages of synthetic marijuana from a mans house that was raided as part of a multi-city investigation into the sale and manufacture of the drug commonly known as spice, court records show.

Hesham Ibrahim, a native of Sudan who was born in 1988, was arrested July 27 during the execution of a search warrant at his midtown home, near South Swan Road and East 22nd St., states an unsealed criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Tucson.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Tucson police and other agencies conducted raids that day on homes and businesses in Tucson and two other cities in connection with the drug investigation.

Agents found packets of suspected synthetic cannabinoids, in trash bags, backpacks and other bags throughout Ibrahims house, states the complaint.

The spice packets were labeled Kush, King Kong, Klimax and Toxic. A field test of one of the packets inside a backpack tested positive for an illegal controlled substance, according to the court document. Previous DEA laboratory tests of packages with these labels have also tested positive for illegal substances.

A safe containing about $60,000 cash and a money counter were also found inside the house, along with a loaded Springfield XD-9mm handgun in a bedroom, states the complaint.

Agents also seized a clear plastic container with marijuana, documents from his business, the Blue Moon Smoke Shop, and a black plastic tub containing a red leafy substance, which tested negative for synthetic cannabinoids.

However, agents believed the leafy substance ultimately was intended to be used as a synthetic cannabinoid, according to the court documents.

During questioning, Ibrahim told investigators that he knew that the synthetic cannabinoids at his house were illegal, states the complaint.

No documents regarding the smoke shop were found in a court records search.

The majority of court records related to the raids are sealed, said Erica Curry, a DEA spokeswoman in Phoenix. She said because records are sealed, DEA agents cannot comment on the investigation.

Ibrahim was released on his own recognizance days after his arrest and cannot leave Arizona without the courts permission, under conditions of his release. He also was required to surrender his passport and not possess any firearm, or other dangerous weapon or ammunition.

The undercover federal investigation, which included the Tucson Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, served 32 federal search warrants in Tucson, Denver and Long Beach, California, and 18 people were arrested, Curry said after the raids.

The DEA has not said how many arrests were made in Tucson.

In addition to cash, agents also seized 600 pounds of spice and several luxury vehicles. Authorities also dismantled a possible drug manufacturing lab, said Curry.

Spice, which is smoked, is often sold in smoke shops, small convenience stores and gas stations as incense or potpourri.

Not all brands are illegal  it depends on the compounds used in the manufacturing of the product. Spice is a mixture of herbs, spices or shredded plant material that is typically sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
First day for Catalina Foothills schools

Dressed as "Waldo," library clerk Jill Wadsworth greets students as she directs them and their parents as they enter the school on the first day of school at Ventana Vista Elementary School, 6085 N Kolb Rd., in Tucson on August 11, 2016. Students throughout the Catalina Foothills School District returned to school for the Fall semester. A.E. Araiza / Arizona Daily Star
PHOENIX  A federal judge is questioning some actions by the states gaming director in his bid to block the Tohono Oodham Nation from operating a full-scale casino near Glendale.

Gaming Director Daniel Bergin was working through his attorney with a lawyer for the Gila River Indian Community, U.S. District Judge David Campbell said in a written ruling.

The Gila Tribe is not a party to the lawsuit in front of Campbell, which deals only with whether Bergin has the right to deny the certification for Class III gaming to the Oodham. The judge noted the Gila Tribe has a financial interest in limiting the kind of gambling that the Oodham can conduct at the casino, which opened with limited gaming late last year.

Potentially more significant, Campbell said Bergin is supposed to be regulating the activities of both tribes. Yet Bergin was arguing that his lawyer could send letters to the attorney for the Gila River Indian Community about his bid to block full-scale gaming in Glendale but not have to disclose what was said to the Oodham.

Campbell rejected Bergins bid to keep the contents of the letter secret, saying there is no legal basis for Bergins claim that it is not subject to disclosure.

But thats not all. The judge said theres another aspect of Bergins bid to keep the Tohono Oodham from knowing exactly how he was working with the Gila River Indian Community to undermine the Glendale casino.

The court also finds troubling the notion that a state regulatory body could join in a privilege-protected partnership with one of the entities it regulates to thwart expansion of another entity it regulates, whether or not the regulatory body has a valid basis for opposing the expansion, Campbell wrote. That appears to be what is happening here.

In fact, the judge said there appears to be good reason for the Tohono Oodham to want to know exactly what Bergin and his attorney were saying to the Gila River community. He cited other things that Bergins office was doing that could be perceived as undermining the Tohono Oodham casino and its operations that are in competition with the Gila tribe.

For example, Campbell noted that Bergin sent a letter last year to the state Department of Liquor Licenses and Control suggesting that agency look for violations of liquor laws at other Tohono Oodham-operated casinos before issuing a license to serve alcoholic beverages at the new Glendale site. To date, the state has not issued the new license.

And Bergin separately wrote to the Congressional Budget Office that was reviewing legislation by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., to repeal a 1986 law that allowed the tribe to buy the land in the first place, have it become part of the reservation and conduct gaming on it.

The CBO was looking at what would be the federal governments liability if it voided the law. Bergin told federal officials that he believes the tribe defrauded the state and, in essence, suggested there is no liability for changing the law.

Despite that, the budget office told federal lawmakers the tribe could sue and potentially get up to $1 billion if the legislation is approved and its gaming plans had to be scrapped. The U.S. House eventually voted to kill the Franks bill.

All that, Campbell said, relates to the issue of Bergin working with the Gila River Indian Community  and why the gaming director cant keep his communications secret from the Tohono Oodham. The judge suggested that hand-in-hand cooperation may be inappropriate.

Gila River has a strong commercial incentive to stop the West Valley Casino, Campbell wrote. It currently has the closest casino to the Glendale site, at the southwest edge of Phoenix, and stands to lose business if area residents choose not to drive that far but instead go to Glendale.

Director Bergins interest is not commercial, the judge said.

The judge said, though, it is not up to him to decide if Bergin has crossed any legal line, as that issue is not before him and beyond the scope of this order or the jurisdiction of the court. But Campbell said what he can do is rebuff Bergins bid to keep the Tohono Oodham from learning whats in the letter to the lawyer for the Gila tribe.

A spokeswoman for Bergin said Tuesday he would not comment on the judges order.

In a prepared statement, Tohono Chairman Edward Manuel said his tribe shares the same concerns raised by Judge Campbell. But Manuel, whose tribe has fought  and mostly won  repeated prior lawsuits over the casino said he remains confident of a positive outcome in this case.

In those earlier lawsuits, Campbell acknowledged that voters, asked to approve gaming compacts in 2002, were told there would be no new casinos in the Phoenix area. But he said the actual wording of those deals clearly allows the tribe to build the new casino.

This new case stems from the refusal of Bergin to issue the required state certification for full blown Class III gaming, including slot machines, poker and blackjack. He claims that the tribe acted fraudulently in hiding its intent from voters, an issue that was not part of Campbells earlier rulings.

The tribe sued. In the interim, it opened the Glendale casino with Class II slot machines that essentially are linked to instant bingo games, machines the state cannot preclude.
PHOENIX  A bid to let adults buy and use marijuana for recreation has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

But, in the end, that may not be enough.

Matt Roberts, spokesman for the Secretary of States Office, said Wednesday that the petitions verified so far show there will be at least the legally required 150,642 valid signatures to give voters the last word. Roberts said he wont have a final count until Thursday, as his office is waiting for the results of signature review by Coconino County.

But he said what officials there ultimately provide wont make a difference: There are enough signatures from the other 14 counties to put the measure over the top. Based on that news, proponents have scheduled a formal announcement and rally of sorts for Thursday.

That celebration, however, may be premature.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jo Lynn Gentry is scheduled to hear arguments Friday from challengers who contend that the wording of the measure is legally flawed. If Gentry agrees  and her decision is not overturned  it wont matter how many people signed petitions to put the issue on the November ballot.

Current law permits those with certain medical conditions, a doctors recommendation and a state-issued ID card to obtain up to 2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks. About 100,000 Arizonans already have such certification.

It also set up a network of about 90 dispensaries where those with a card can obtain the drug.

For everyone else, possession remains a felony, though a 1986 law prohibits incarceration for a first offense.

What would be Proposition 205 would let any adult to have up to an ounce of the drug or up to 12 plants without fear of winding up in court. The number of outlets would increase to a maximum of 147 through 2020, with sales subject to a special levy earmarked for education and other causes as well as the regular state sales tax.

Any campaign is likely to focus on the wisdom of legalizing the drug for recreational use. Proponents and foes each have marshaled arguments about what has been the experience in Colorado and other states where recreational use already is legal.

But opponents are also trying to short-circuit the process and keep what promises to be a multi million-dollar campaign on each side from even getting started. And theyre doing it with a virtual grab-bag of legal arguments designed to convince Gentry that the initiative does not comply with legal requirements.

For example, attorney Brett Johnson charges that neither the measures legally required 100-word description nor the text itself spells out how such a radical change in state law will affect employers. And he said it lacks definition of some of the terms used.

Similarly, Johnson cites what he said are impacts on child welfare laws, statutes governing landlords and tenants, and the ability of local governments to set limits on marijuana businesses. He contends none of that is explained in the initiative summary.

And he claims the measure is misleading in saying it would regulate marijuana like alcohol, saying there would be substantial differences. All of that, Johnson is arguing to Gentry, make the measure legally insufficient to be put to voters.

But campaign spokesman Barrett Marson said todays rally will go on as scheduled. And he rejected any suggestion that such a celebration is premature ahead of a final word on the lawsuit.

We have our own legal analysis, he said. Its a frivolous lawsuit and itll be beat back in court fairly quickly.

The latest campaign finance reports show proponents have raised more than $2.4 million. But more than $1.1 million already has been spent gathering signatures and for other expenses.

Opponents have so far collected close to $770,000, with reported expenses of only about $106,000.
PHOENIX  The fate of whether voters get to decide two ballot measures dealing with wages could depend on who shows up in court starting Thursday, Aug. 11.

Challengers contend that many of the people who gathered signatures to raise the minimum wage and to cap the pay of hospital executives were out-of-state residents or paid circulators.

That, by itself, does not disqualify them. But attorney Andy Gordon, who represents those opposed to both measures, said many of them did not register as required with the secretary of state. That, he said, invalidates any signatures they gathered.

What Gordon has done to prove his case is issue subpoenas for those whose credentials he questions to show up in court. That would give him a chance to question them in a bid to show the petitions they circulated should not be counted.

Hes going to have to convince judges that a lot of the circulators should not have been out there gathering names to throw out a lot of those signatures to keep the issues from going to the ballot.

The first people subpoenaed are due in court today.

That measure, if approved by voters  assuming it gets on the ballot  would require employers to pay workers at least $12 an hour by 2020. It also mandates at least three paid days of personal leave  five for larger employers.

Backers turned in 271,883 signatures. They need to have just 150,642 found valid to put the question on the November ballot.

Gordon does have one thing working in his favor. Under the law, if someone who has been properly served with a subpoena fails to show up, the court has to conclude the person was not a legal circulator, making all of the signatures that person gathered inadmissible.

On Wednesday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joshua Rogers threw a hurdle into Gordons path.

The judge said that 87 of the 170 subpoenas issued were not properly served. So Gordon will not be able to question them, meaning the signatures they gathered are presumed valid.

Gordon has separately issued about 130 subpoenas in his bid to quash a separate ballot measure that would cap the compensation of nonmedical hospital administrators and executives at what is paid to the president. That figure is $450,000 a year.

That case goes to Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Douglas Gerlach next week.
May 3, 1997: Horse trainer Bob Baffert wins his first Kentucky Derby

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when few in Tucson knew Bob Baffert from Bob Lewis, their lives took a path that would merge side by side in the winners circle at the 1997 Kentucky Derby.

They didnt live charmed lives. They lived Silver Charmed lives.

In the winter of 1991 at Californias Santa Anita horse track, Baffert was a 38-year-old rising star in the thoroughbred training business, and Lewis was a mega-wealthy beer distributor who hoped to get involved at the highest level of horse racing.

Baffert and Lewis met at Santa Anita.

Are you related to Melissa Baffert of Nogales? Lewis asked the relatively unknown Baffert.

Shes my cousin, Baffert said.

Well, my daughter, Nancy, became good friends with Melissa at the University of Arizona. I used to own a Porsche dealership in Tucson.

Lewis ultimately told Baffert he would give him $2 million to buy a horse at auction.

A bit later, while studying videos of the top 2-year-old thoroughbreds in Florida, Baffert got his first look at Silver Charm. Bingo. He contacted Lewis, who, acting on Bafferts advice, made an $85,000 payment for Silver Charm.

In 1997, Baffert, Lewis and Silver Charm broke through, winning the Kentucky Derby, launching Baffert into a career in which he has become the worlds leading thoroughbred trainer. Silver Charm went on to win $6.94 million.

Sometimes theres a diamond in the rough in those 2-year-old sales, and we happened to find him, Baffert said in 1997.

A year later, the son of a Nogales rancher won his second Kentucky Derby, with Real Quiet. As with Silver Charm, a victory in the Preakness followed. Baffert became a celebrity. He was photogenic, quotable and funny. Most of the funny stories came from the stories of his childhood days in Nogales and from his eight-year grind to earn an undergrad degree at the UA.

In 1999, Baffert wrote a biography, Dirt Road to the Derby, which is a candid account of his party-filled days (and nights) in Nogales, the UA and of his struggling days as a quarterhorse trainer at, among other places, Tucsons Rillito Park racetrack.

It was as much Animal House as a story about horse racing.

How did all this happen? How did Baffert and his greatest horse, American Pharoah, win the 2015 Triple Crown?

In Dirt Road to the Derby, Baffert traces his instincts for recognizing and developing talent to his days as a kid on his fathers ranch. The Baffert kids were active in 4-H Club programs: Bob grew up judging goats, cattle and horses. He took care of his horses teeth. He wrapped their legs, studied their personalities, rode em, shoed em, fed em.

To make extra money, he sold eggs that he gathered from the chickens on his farm.

He gives you that loosey-goosey, lets-find-a-party, laugh-a-minute routine, Mac McBride, for 25 years part of the administration at Del Mar racetrack outside San Diego, told me. But when you see him conduct his business, he is the king of detail. He has wonderful organizational skills. He runs a very tight ship.

Thats a long way from Bafferts profile at his first Kentucky Derby, 1996, when his horse, Cavonnier finished second by a nose.

When Baffert climbed onto a timers stand during the weeks final workouts, he found himself near an ESPN analyst.

Hey, the analyst said, pointing to Baffert. Can you run down to the media center and find my runner, Sally, and tell her ESPN is here?

Baffert turned to a friend, deadpan, and said, Go find Sally and tell her Norm needs more hot towels.

Things changed in a hurry. After winning the 97 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Baffert told ESPN he felt like the Pope.

Where are they now? Lewis, who owned a Porsche-Audi dealership on East Speedway in Tucson from 1977 to 1985, died in 2006. He was 81.

How he did it: Baffert hasnt forgotten his Tucson connections. After winning the 97 Kentucky Derby, he scouted claiming races in California, looking for prospects for his old Tucson buddies, Bill Belton and Forest Metz, both with strong histories as horsemen. Baffert recommended they spend $16,000 to claim Busy Little Beaver.

We didnt have any intention of claiming a horse that day, Belton told me. We didnt even have a check with us. But Bob was persuasive. He had been watching him and had a good feeling. He said hed front us the money, so we went ahead and claimed him.

Busy Little Beaver won its next three races and won in excess of $90,000 in three months.

Photo: Trainer Bob Baffert holds the trophy aloft after Silver Charm won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, May 3, 1997. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
Help India!

By Amit Kumar, Twocircles.net

Dasha, Gujarat: Ashok Parmar, who came into limelight during post godhra riots in 2002 when he was captured by photographer Sebastian Dsouza with a saffron band on head and iron rod in hand, will join the Dalit Asmita yatra from Savarkundla on August 11.

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In 2002, his photo had gone on to become the face of Hindu rioters.

In a seminar organised in 2014 by CPM leader P Jai Rajan (now cabinet monister in Kerala) just before 2014 loksabha election, Parmar had publicly apologised for the killing of innocent Muslims during 2002 riot in gujarat in the presence of Qutubuddin Ansari, who had become the face of 2002 victims.

Parmar was booked for rioting and arsoning in 2005 but due to lack of evidence session court had given him a clean chit. In a cruel twist of fate, the Gujarat government had appealed in the Gujarat high court against the order. The case remains pending.

Currently he lives the life of a destitute with no home to live. His only source of income is his job as a cobbler.
Help India!

By TCN News,

Aligarh : A formula racing car prepared by the 22-member engineering student team of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has been judged as the 31st best in the world in the cost and manufacturing category.

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The students team, lead by Captain Arpit Upadhyay was in the United Kingdom to display its manufactured Formula car at the Formula Student 2016 competition held at London. The students delegation returned from London event on Sunday.





AMU engineerig students along withe their Race Car at London.



AMU team under Upadhyay included, Ayush Mittal, Anchal Varshney, Mehul Varshney, Irfan Khan, Haani Farooqi, Mridul Sharma, Mohd Faraz, Sharif Kidwai, Shubham Varshney, Asim Noor, Faizan Anwar, Hamzah Khan, Asnal Rizvi, Hammad Murtaza, Kashif Zafar, Syed Faraz, Faraz Ahmad, Sagar Varshney, Areeb Mahmood, Wamiq Hashmi and Aman Agarwal participated in the event. The team, which consisted of students from all four years batches of Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, took a year to build the car.

The work on the car, which was ready to participate in this event, was wrapped up in May 2016. The team members started building the car in May 2015. The total cost of the cars development is approximately Rs 25 Lakhs.

The competition started with an opening ceremony in which technical heads of many renowned companies such as Mercedes AMG, Jauguar Land Rover, Mathworks, GKNetc were present.

Competitions first day was dedicated to the technical inspection of the cars where all the parameters were checked for the racing application. It was an interactive session in which the students were involved in a discussion with the car design experts. The static rounds were scheduled on the second and the third days.

The team members have said that it was a remarkable experience in terms of exposure, which helped them to learn new concepts and quality of management.

Final Year students in the team said that they will pass this experience to their juniors to make a better car next year which will yield much more appreciation for the University and the country.

Sharing their experience, the team members said that the team worked tirelessly for three days to re-assemble the car in a very cold and chilly London weather.

These AMU engineering students have conveyed gratitude to AMU administration; AMU alumni organizations of Kingdom of Saudia Arabia, Qatar and North America; teaching staff and non-teaching staff of AMU Engineering College in general and Department of Mechanical Engineering in particular.

With the participation in the London event, the AMU team has also qualified to participate in Formula Bharat 2017 in January 2017. AMU team was representing India at the event with teams from IIT Bombay, DTU and Chitkara Unibersity in all the static events showcasing the brilliant Cost analysis skills.

The team has earlier won the Most Popular Formula Car Award Formula Student India.
These days, our youth is very hard working. For talent hunters, it becomes too tough to choose the right candidate for a particular position. Talking about Bollywood, this industry has been gifted with many young, energetic, and beautiful girls in the recent years. These ladies are so charming and dedicated that they have made us forget about Kareena Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, and Kajol like senior female celebs. Here I am going to talk about hottest young Indian Actresses who have started receiving offers from Hollywood.

Jacqueline Fernandez

Born in August 1985, Jacqueline Fernandez is an innocent and successful B-Town diva.

She is originally from Sri Lanka and came to India to pursue her career as an actress. In 2006, Jacqueline was crowned with the Miss Universe Sri Lanka pageant. After this achievement, she started receiving modeling offers from both India and the US. According to Fernandez, her first preference was Bollywood, but now she is thinking to take one step ahead and begin her Hollywood career too.

She obtained her graduation degree from the University of Sydney. During the initial days of her career, Jacqueline used to work as a TV reporter in her native land. She has been a part of projects like Aladin, Murder 2, Housefull 2, Race 2, and others. Apart from this, the stunning Fernandez has played the leading role in 2014s Kick, a highest grossing Indian movie.

Talking about her personal life, Jacqueline told that she misses being around her parents. It has been reported that she is dating Salman Khan, but the two deny the news.

Shraddha Kapoor

Shraddha Kapoor, born in 1987, is a bold and beautiful Bollywood actress. This young lady is the daughter of former celeb Shakti Kapoor. Shraddha started her career as an actress by playing a minor role in 2010s Teen Patti, followed by her appearance in 2011s Luv Ka The End.

She is quite young and energetic, so the expectations of Bollywood fans and filmmakers from Shraddha are high.

She gained global recognition for her incredible performance in 2013s blockbuster film, Aashiqui 2. For this particular role, she received various awards. Later on, the gorgeous girl appeared in movies like Haider, Hamlet, Ek Villain, ABCD 2, and Baaghi.

Reportedly, Kapoor has started receiving Hollywood offers, and she is busy in communicating with a few American producers.

Alia Bhatt

Born in March 1993, Alia Bhatt is an adorable daughter of Mahesh Bhatt and younger sister of Pooja Bhatt. As an actress, Alia is very skilled and hard working. She never used the name of Bhatt family for becoming successful. Alias first screen appearance was 1999s Sangharsh. Later on, she completed her studies and began her career as an adult actress from 2012s Student of the Year.

Bhatt won our hearts with her amazing performance in 2014s Highway. For this role, she received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. Her top films so far are 2 States, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Kapoor & Sons, and Udta Punjab. Moreover, Alia has recently claimed in a press conference that she is about to begin working in Hollywood.
888Live Tallinn Kicks Off on August 25

August 11 2016 Jason Glatzer

Right around the corner, the 888Live series is hitting the Baltics for four days of exciting poker action at the Olympic Casino in Tallinn, Estonia from August 25-28.

The highlight of the poker festival is the two-day 888Live Tallinn Main Event, where for just a $440/400 buy-in players will be competing for at least a share of the $30,000 guaranteed prize pool. Among the big names planning to participate in this event is none other than 888poker Ambassador Kara Scott.

The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will be on hand to cover the 888Live Tallinn Main Event, which kicks off on Friday, August 26 at 16:00 with players starting off with 25,000 chips and blinds increasing every 30 minutes. Surviving players returning for a second and final day of action on Saturday, August 27 at 12:00. Players who are eliminated early in the tournament will have the opportunity to reenter once during the late registration period.

Last year, local Estonian poker pro Ranno Sootla outlasted a field of 116 players to win the first-place prize of 12,000 after beating Finland's Kalle Aberg in heads-up play.

Sootla, who now boasts $253,234 placing him in eighth place on The Hendon Mob Estonia All-Time Money List, shared his enjoyment of the event and the overall experience with PokerNews after his victory.

"I really liked the event and it was great to see that a lot of Estonia's top poker players reacted positively to 888poker's call and joined the event," Sootla explained. "The Main Event was full of recreational players and beginners, and I have enjoyed that. Also, I got the chance to play against a lot of friends and Estonian players that I don't see every day."

Players still have one more chance to qualify online into the Main Event with a package valued at $1,250 listed below in a $160 satellite taking place on Sunday, August 14 at the world's second largest real-money online poker room 888poker.

$440 entry to the 888Live $30,000 Guaranteed Main Event

$250 travel expenses

Bed and breakfast at the four-star Nordic Hotel Forum

888Live Kit

Welcome toast and access to the VIP party

A guided tour of Tallinns Old Town

Sub-qualifiers for this event start at just $0.01 allowing any player regardless of their bankroll to head to Tallinn in style for some hot poker action.

As an additional perk, online qualifiers that are eliminated out of the Main Event will also be able to win a few bucks in a special bounty freeroll with $5,000 in prizes on August 27 at 13:00. Additionally, on August 25 at 22:00, Olympic Casino will be hosting a freeroll satellite with 20 rebuys with the winners walking away with seats to the Main Event.

More Than Just Poker!

If you have attended an 888Live event before, you already know that the poker festivals are about more than just poker. To welcome players to the event in Tallinn, 888poker is hosting a welcome toast in the casino on August 25 at 20:00. For even more excitement, players will be partying all night long during a VIP party at the VaBank nightclub on August 27 at 23:00.

When not on the felt, those heading to Tallinn can also choose to take walks in one of the best old towns in Europe, take tours of the city, capture a stunning view of the city from Toompea Hill, or even head out of the city to visit the picturesque Lahemaa National Park.

Lead image courtesy of 888poker eMagazine.

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Sharelines The 888Live series is heading to Olympic Casino in Tallinn, Estonia from August 25-28.
Dave Devilfish Ulliott to be Remembered With the 1m Devilfish Cup

August 11 2016 Matthew Pitt Editor

When Dave Devilfish Ulliott died in April 2015, after a battle with cancer, the news shocked the poker community.

Players, members of the poker media, and cardroom staff took to social media to share their stories of the legendary Devilfish, and offer their condolences to Ulliotts wife, eighth children, and legion of friends.

Jesse and Mickey May, friends of Ulliott for many years, won a European Poker Award for the PokerNews article Devilfish: A Friend with a Heart of Gold, a powerful piece of writing that gave an insight into the kind of man Ulliott was.

While most of these articles and comments were looking back at Ulliotts colourful life, partypoker, Dusk Till Dawn, and the WPT Foundation are looking towards the future with the launch of the inaugural Devilfish Cup, a tournament bearing the name of one of pokers true greats.

The Devilfish Cup begins on Monday 31 October, 2016, and is held at Dusk Till Dawn, Nottingham, during the World Poker Tour UK festival. Entry to the Devilfish Cup is 5,000 plus a 300 donation, and all donations, plus three percent of the 1 million guaranteed prize pool, is to be collected then split between the Marie Curie charity, and a trust fund for Ulliotts youngest daughter, Lucy, for when she turns 16-years-old.

Anpaktita Ulliott, Ulliotts wife, will present the Devilfish Cup champion a special trophy commemorating the event.

Simon Trumper, a Dusk Till Dawn Director and long-time friend of Ulliott explained the concept behind the Devilfish Cup.

Rob Yong, owner of Dusk Till Dawn, announced after Daves funeral that we would wait a while before announcing plans to honour him. During his last few days, Rob visited Dave and asked him how he wanted to be remembered. He asked us to hold a high buy-in event at the club, as Dave was always proud of his WPT Tunica win. We thought it fitting to replace this years High Roller with the Devilfish Cup. World Poker Tour and WPT Foundation have been great, and it is a pleasure to be working with them on this inaugural event.

The WPT Foundation has helped raise more than $6 million for charities since its creation.

Adam Pliska, President and CEO of the World Poker Tour, said: We are proud to announce the Devilfish Cup for the partypoker WPT UK festival at Dusk Till Dawn, and to honor and celebrate Dave Devilfish Ulliott alongside his family, friends, and fellow competitors. As a testament to the communitys dedication and contributions, WPT Foundation has helped raise more than $6 million to date, and we look forward to supporting another non-profit program of excellence in Marie Curie.

Another way Dusk Till Dawn is honouring their late friend is by renaming its bar The Devilfish, after all, Ulliott was often seen with a drink in his hand, making people blush with his blue jokes, or belting out songs while strumming his guitar.

Anyone wanting to order a double vodka with Red Bull will now have to ask the bar staff for a Devilfish, as a tribute to Ulliott.

Satellites for the Devilfish Cup will run online at partypoker, and once they have been finalised, PokerNews will bring you all of the details.

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Its like killing a unicorn with like a bomb.  Saul

Inspiration can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time. Take Hollywood producer Judd Apatow for example. One day hes sitting at home watching 1993s True Romance on the boob tube, and suddenly a light bulb appears in a cartoonlike cloud over his head. Wouldnt it be cool if a stoner like Floyd (Brad Pitt) from Tony Scotts film was mixed up with some really bad dudes and had to hightail it out of his apartment? Sounds pretty crazy, huh?

Well, Apatow thought so too at first, but the more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. So much so, he enlisted his longtime friends Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who wrote Superbad to pen the screenplay--which was then snatched up by Sony Pictures after Rogen hit the big-time with The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. In the end, what seemed like a thought derived from tapping a bong turned out to be one of the most popular and talked about comedies of 2008Pineapple Express.

In the movie, Rogen plays Dale Denton, a process server whose daily routine alternates between putting on disguises in order to sneak up on and slap unsuspecting civilians with subpoenas or savoring the buzz of a well-rolled doobie. As soon as his stash is running low, he pays a visit to his dealer--a mild-mannered pothead named Saul (James Franco). On one particular afternoon, Saul sells Dale some of his new exclusive product that is the cream of the marijuana crop, a rare form of cannabis called Pineapple Express.

Later that evening, when Dale is smoking a joint in his car before delivering civil documents to the home of one Ted Jones (Gary Cole), a police cruiser pulls into the driveway causing him to instinctively fire his roach out the window. A few moments afterwards, Dale witnesses a gruesome murder. Dale flees the scene in a panic and heads to Sauls to lay low for a while. The plot thickens, however, when he learns that Sauls supplier is Red (Danny McBride), the middle-man connecting Saul to the drug kingpin in town, Ted Jones. Piecing together that Jones will be able to trace the roach back to them, Dale and Saul take off on a wacky adventure to save their necks, and maybe smoke a little weed, too.

After watching the first few minutes of Pineapple Express, I couldnt ignore this sinking feeling in my stomach, kind of like the awkwardness and dread of sitting in the dentists office waiting to be called in for a filling. Maybe Im in the minority, but I thought the Item 9 flashback prologue, where the military tested out the effects of marijuana, missed the comedic mark completely. Dont get me wrong, I like Bill Hader, but the opener felt like a bad SNL sketch that went horribly wrong. I understand it was included to set the stage for what comes later on in the film, but for me it was a fumble that hit all the wrong chords.

Following the bizarre opener, I was relieved to see that things improved dramatically once Dale made it to Sauls place. The entire atmosphere morphed from a silly Austin Powers-esque comedy to more of the grade-A quality instant classic that Apatow and Rogen usually deliver when they collaborate on a project together. Whats more, unlike their previous films, Pineapple Express is packed with well choreographed action. The big sequences are the car chase and the final climatic showdown, but my favorite had to be the brawl between Dale, Saul, and Red at Reds house. It was raw and vicious, and I had a hard time catching my breath I was laughing so hard.

The real magic, however, happens between Rogen and Franco, who have the ideal chemistry and complement each other perfectly. The interactions with them were priceless, especially whenever Saul said something ridiculous and threw Dale for a loop. That being said, while Rogen is great as always, if it wasnt for Franco, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for this performance, the movie just wouldnt have been the same. He creates a stoner character with innocence and heart that doesnt feel like the typical cliche were used to seeing. To put it another way, Sauls personality is genuine, almost as if weve known him for years.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray



'Pineapple Express' tokes its way onto 4K as part of an Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray combo pack that includes a Digital HD copy. It's my understanding that this Ultraviolet redemption code can also be used on Sony's 4K streaming service -- Ultra -- where you can watch the movie in UHD. Other services are likely limited to HD.



The Ultra HD Blu-ray contains ONLY the theatrical cut as well as the option to watch the movie with the Audio Commentary. Otherwise, to see the Extended Cut or the Bonus Materials, you need to pop in the included Blu-ray Disc, which appears to be a repackaging of the original 2008 release (not the more recent Mastered in 4K version).
On Tuesday morning, former President George W. Bush joined President Obama and Vice President Biden as they made their way to a memorial service in Dallas, Texas for the victims of the recent sniper shooting. While both presidents gave a heartwarming speech, Republicans were quick to criticize Obama, while staying silent over Bush's dance moves caught on camera.

Bush dancing in Dallas

During his eight years in office, Bush was the butt of many jokes. In addition to questionable policy decisions, Bush would often butcher the English language and find himself in situations that many were quick to criticize.

Joining hands with his wife Laura and First Lady Michelle Obama, Bush started dancing during a musical number, as reported by The Hill on July 12.

As a local choir sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic," Bush was caught bouncing back and forth and dancing with a smile on his face. The president and first lady gave an awkward to smile as they turned their heads at Bush, but social media wasn't as kind.

George W. Bush was definitely enjoying "Battle Hymn of the Republic" a little more than others onstage in Dallas pic.twitter.com/c8lG7iAs5c  Max Tani (@maxwelltani) July 12, 2016

"Was that George W. Bush next to Michelle Obama rocking out to "Glory Hallelujah" during the police memorial?" one Tweet read, saying, "Even Biden knows better." "I wonder if Bush was drunk in the memorial service in Dallas," another Tweet said, "He was dancing to "Glory, glory, alleluia."

I wonder if Bush was drunk in the memorial service in Dallas. He was dancing to "Glory, glory, alleluia."  Noga Sklar (@nogasklar) July 12, 2016

Was that George W. Bush next to Michelle Obama rocking out to "Glory Hallelujah" during the police memorial? Even Biden knows better.  Ryan O'Horo  (@redteamwrangler) July 12, 2016

Republican silence

As Obama gave his speech honoring the officers, where he called for unity while praising the Dallas Police Department, Republicans on social media were quick to offer their thoughts.

Words like "disgrace" and "hate" were thrown around to describe Obama and his speech, despite most media outlets applauding the president's message. Despite this, conservatives went silent when Bush was caught dancing at the memorial, in another prime example of partisan politics.

Ever since the shooting last week, Republicans have been quick to link the commander in chief to the deaths of the five officers. Even though Obama has spoken out against the shooting, ending his trip to Europe early to attend the service in Dallas. the GOP continues to remain hard-lined with their opposition.
A new study published today shows that since 2009, President Obama has enacted over 600 major regulations, costing taxpayers nearly $800 billion dollars. That's according to the conservative think-tank American Action Forum (AAF), which also shows that 2012 was a record-breaking year for the most regulations. The study doesnt include the minor regulations, of which Obama has imposed nearly 400,000 a year via federal agencies like the EPA, FDA, and FCC. That comes out to about one major regulation every four or five days or one rule every three days when the federal government is working.

Major regulations have major impact

The AAF describes a major rule that negatively affects the economy by at least $100 million or more. The new study shows the Obama administration has pushed out roughly 81 major regulations per year and cost taxpayers billions. That comes out to about $2,300 per person in the U.S., says Sam Batkins, the regulatory policy director at the AAF, who conducted the study.

One such regulation is the Clean Power Plan (CPP), which has forced the shuttering of coal-fired power plants across the country and sent electricity prices skyrocketing. The CPP was so burdensome, that the Supreme Court issued a stay that prevented its implementation because 29 states and industry are challenging its legality.

The Supreme Court Just Delivered A Crippling Blow To Obamas Global Warming Agenda https://t.co/ohYEdZNmuq via @dailycaller  Mike Bastasch (@MikeBastasch) February 10, 2016

Regulation nation

By his sixth year in office, President Obama had implemented more regulations than his predecessor did in eight years. And after reaching the 600 major regulations mark, that was 20 percent more than the previous president did in eight years.

The AAF notes the federal government is open only 250 days a year, which means a major regulation was unveiled every three days or roughly two per week.

How much is $743 billion? That equates to over $2,200 for every person living in America. By the end of July this year, Obama has added 40 percent more rules and regulations than his President George W.

Bush. Keep in mind that after 9/11, Bush issued a bevy of new regulations and implemented the Sarbanes-Oxley rules, but still came nowhere near the number that Obama has attained.

The 600 #regulations cost Americans $743 billion & 194 million paperwork burden hours: https://t.co/aBSMkUuQtT pic.twitter.com/LccknBPMEI  AmericanAction Forum (@AAF) August 8, 2016

Even more regulations to come

The AAF has determined that by the end of his term and after all the new rules have been tallied, Obama will have issued 641 major regulations. This number doesnt include the period between Election Day and Inauguration Day, considered to be one of the most active regulatory periods for any president. By the time the next president is sworn in, its estimated Obama will have issued 31 percent more major regulations than President Bush.

The AAF foresees three pending areas that Obama plans to regulate before he leaves office. They include greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty trucks, the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, and new standards to make manufactured housing more efficient. The AAF says that all these rules and regulations will effectively lower wages, create fewer jobs, and trigger higher prices.

Doing the math

Yesterday, presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) outlined his economic plan for the country and, if elected, promised to roll back the Dickensian regulations and taxes that are hurting consumers and businesses. His plan has been likened to President Ronald Reagan's fiscal blueprint for growth.

Last quarter, the U.S.s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 1.2 percent, the lowest its been since 1949 and a key indicator of a country's financial health. Leading analysts believe the anemic economy, abysmal GDP, and stagnant wages are signs of a looming recession. Under President Reagan, the GDP was consistently as high as eight percent.
Fans of film history and costume design will be thrilled by the new documentary,Women Hes Undressed, which chronicles the life of three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Orry-Kelly. From his time as the head of Warner Bros. Studios costume department from 1932 to 1944, through his death in 1964, the "hem stitcher" as he called himself, designed the attire for 282 motion pictures including such classics asCasablanca; 42nd Street; Now, Voyager; Oklahoma!; An American in Paris; Some Like It Hot, and more. With a farcical, tongue-in-cheek tone that is said to match his personality, Australian director Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career, Oscar and Lucinda) brings a long-overdue look to fellow Aussie designers stunning works.

Early life and work

Born in 1897 in the small township of Kiama on the coast of New South Wales, Australia, Orry-Kelly was different from the local folks in that he was gay and interested in the theater. Being forced into banking by his family, he moved to Sydney, but soon quit the business to take up with theater folks. After hooking up with a charming criminal, he decided to reinvent himself and moved to New York City. Residing in a hotel with other theater folks like Gracie Allen, George Burns and Jack Benny, spurred Orry-Kelly to the chorus of vaudeville shows, where he didnt show much talent onstage, but showed talent in designing the frocks.

Cary Grant and Hollywood

In New York, the Australian befriended a young Bristol chap named, Archie Leach, who would soon become Cary Grant.

Orry-Kelly and Grant lived together on and off for nine years. Its assumed the two mates were a couple, as later it would be assumed that Randolph Scott and Grant were also an item until Hollywood forced each to marry. Nonetheless, both men propelled the other, and they both headed to Hollywood in the early 1930s. Grants agent helped get Orry-Kellys costume designs to Warner Bros.

Studio head, Jack Warner. Warner would eventually hire the designer to head up the costume department where he would work with such actresses as Kay Francis, Ruth Chatterton, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, to name just a few.

Although there was no denying his amazing talent  he designed clothes that accentuated womens best attributes and didnt go in for frilly and puffy concoctions  Orry-Kelly was a blunt talker.

He wasnt a yes man, which of course rubbed many people the wrong way. Plus, he was a drinker, which the film points out, was a characteristic of many costume designers of the time. There was a stint in rehab, which tarnished his relationship with Warners (although Jack Warners wife Ann would remain a lifelong friend).

Interviews and accolades for Orry-Kelly

Although the films Orry-Kelly symbolic re-enactments fall flat (due to no fault of actor Darren Gilshenan), its the interviews and the clips of the gorgeous costumes from the film classics that make this documentary shine. Those interviewed to discuss Orry-Kelly and his accomplishments include costume designers Colleen Atwood, Kym Barrett, Catherine Martin, Ann Roth, Michael Wilkinson, and historians Larry McQueen, Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Leonard Maltin, and actresses Jane Fonda and Angela Lansbury.

Those interested in Hollywood of the 1930s  1960s, costume design and complex trendsetters must seek out Women He's Undressed, available August 9 on all digital platforms including iTunes, Vimeo On Demand and Wolfe Video.

Theatrical Trailer forWomen He's Undressed
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (R) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug 10, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

NAIROBI - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday welcomed more Chinese investment and hailed China's Belt and Road Initiative while meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

China is a sincere friend and important partner of Kenya, Kenyatta said, expressing thanks for China's support to Kenya's economic and social development.

Kenyatta called for dovetailing Kenya's national strategies with the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiative and for ensuring the timely operation of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, which is being built by a Chinese company.

The president also encouraged Chinese firms to expand investment here so as to make Kenya a gateway for Chinese products to enter Africa.

Wang hailed the Sino-Kenyan relationship as being in its prime. Chinese companies are also confident about the Sino-Kenyan ties, he said, which is evidenced by their rapidly increasing investment in Kenya.

Via the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, Mombasa port and Mombasa special economic zone, China hopes to strengthen its cooperation with Kenya and aid the country's industrialization, Wang said.
China's JD.com revenue meets expectations as slowdown set to continue Updated: 2016-08-11 07:17 (Agencies)

An advertisement for e-commerce retailer JD.com Inc in Shanghai. [Photo/China Daily]

JD.com Inc, China's second biggest e-commerce company, reported revenue for the second quarter of 2016 that was within company forecasts, even as the growth rate continued a steady decline that is expected to continue.

The company, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's main rival in online shopping, said on Wednesday revenue for the quarter rose 42 percent to 65.2 billion yuan ($9.83 billion), within JD.com's forecast range of 64.2-66.2 billion yuan.

But the company is predicting an even sharper decline in growth for the third quarter, compounding concerns that China's e-commerce sector is saturating. JD.com's revenue from Amazon-like online direct sales rose 40 percent in the quarter, versus a 67 percent jump in sales from services and other businesses.JD.com now expects revenues for the third quarter to be 59-61 billion yuan, a rise of 34-38 percent from the same quarter in 2015.

Net losses were 132.1 million yuan ($19.92 million), compared to a loss of 510.4 million yuan in the previous year. The total value of merchandise transactions on JD.com's platforms was 108.7 billion yuan in the quarter, up 47 percent excluding online marketplace Paipai.com, which JD.com shut down.

Including Paipai's previous contribution to transactions for the previous year in the comparison, the second quarter's growth rate for value of merchandise sold would be 40 percent, according to Reuters calculations.

The company also gave an update on its share repurchase program it authorized in September, saying it had purchased 2.4 million ADSs for about $51.5 million. It has also entered into a structured repurchase agreement to lower the cost of acquiring shares.

JD.com shares were up around 3 percent at $23.10 in pre-market trading in New York, but well below the $29.53 price at the beginning of the year.
Claim, compensation of Macao tour bus crash very complicated: insurance expert Updated: 2016-08-09 15:30 (Xinhua)

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MACAO - The claim and compensation of Macao's tour bus crash accident could be very complicated and time-consuming, local news paper reported on Tuesday quoting an insurance expert.



At least 32 tourists from the Chinese mainland were injured, three seriously, on Monday when a tour bus crashed into a building in Macao, and the driver was arrested for suspected dangerous driving, the special administrative region's authorities said.



According to Macao Public Security Police Force (PSPF), the accident happened when the bus stopped downslope in a street close to the Ruins of St. Paul, one of Macao's famous tourist attractions. A white van rear-ended the bus and the bus driver got off to check the situation. The bus suddenly moved down through the slope without the driver and rammed into a roadside clinic.



According to Macao Daily News, the accident involves multiple parties such as the bus owner, tourists, driver, travel agencies, the clinic, the building and households who live there. An insurance expert said if it is the bus' fault, the affected parties could ask the travel agencies for compensation. But given the complicated situation, responsibilities recognition procedure, and possible law suits, it could be as long as one year or even longer.



For the injured tourists, the expert added, the easier way could be personal claim under the travel insurance policy, including compensation for medical expense and loss of personal properties. The insurance companies will then come to the insurer of the tour bus for compensation.



The Macao SAR government held an emergence response meeting late Monday to coordinate the works of different departments, including transport, public security, health, tourism, immigration, airport management, travel agencies. The meeting discussed accident rescue and treatment, family visit of the injured, and travel document extension for those still hospitalized.



Macao's travel office said it reported the accident to the National Tourism Administration and the Tourism Administration of neighboring Guangdong Province. The office will help the families of the injured tourists come to Macao for visit.
Kenyan president meets Chinese FM, hails bilateral ties Updated: 2016-08-11 09:00 (Xinhua)

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (R) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug 10, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

NAIROBI - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday welcomed more Chinese investment and hailed China's Belt and Road Initiative while meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

China is a sincere friend and important partner of Kenya, Kenyatta said, expressing thanks for China's support to Kenya's economic and social development.

Kenyatta called for dovetailing Kenya's national strategies with the China-proposed "Belt and Road" initiative and for ensuring the timely operation of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, which is being built by a Chinese company.

The president also encouraged Chinese firms to expand investment here so as to make Kenya a gateway for Chinese products to enter Africa.

Wang hailed the Sino-Kenyan relationship as being in its prime. Chinese companies are also confident about the Sino-Kenyan ties, he said, which is evidenced by their rapidly increasing investment in Kenya.

Via the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, Mombasa port and Mombasa special economic zone, China hopes to strengthen its cooperation with Kenya and aid the country's industrialization, Wang said.
Ukraine denies attempted troop invasion of Crimea Updated: 2016-08-11 11:08 (Xinhua)

KIEV - Ukraine on Wednesday denied a statement by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on Ukrainian troops attempting to invade Crimea and plotting terror attacks on the peninsula.

"The FSB's statement does not correspond to reality," the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said.

The ministry has described the FSB's statement as an "attempt by Russia to justify the redeployment of its military units" in Crimea.

Earlier in the day, the FSB said in a statement that during the weekend it prevented several groups of armed "saboteurs," who were members of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's intelligence forces, from invading Crimea.

A FSB officer and a Russian serviceman were killed in clashes with the "saboteurs", the statement said.

The armed groups were preparing terror attacks on the peninsula's infrastructure, which were aimed at destabilizing the social and political situation in Crimea on the eve of federal and regional elections, read the statement.

Last week, the Ukrainian State Border Service said that Russia is building up troops levels along the contact line separating Crimea and Ukraine's southern Kherson region. Russia has not made official comments on the claim.

The autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were absorbed into Russia in March 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Kiev.
Chinese family travelers take to museums Updated: 2016-08-11 11:31 By Lia Zhu In San Francisco(China Daily USA)

Liu Zichen (left), a Chinese student at a Los Angeles college, and hismother (right) and aunt visit the Getty Center in Los Angeles on their summer vacation. Lia Zhu / China Daily

Instead of the Sunset Strip and Hollywood Boulevard, Liu Zichen, a Chinese student at a Los Angeles college, took his mother and aunt, both first-time visitors to the US, to the Getty Center, where an exhibition on Dunhuang art is on display.

"I think it's more meaningful to spend a day at the museum, learning the stories behind those works of art and meeting people from different cultures," said Liu, a student at New York Film Academy's Los Angeles campus.

Hollywood, theme parks and shopping malls still top the lists for many Chinese tourists in Los Angeles. But more family travelers are taking to activities that offer a blend of educational and cultural experiences.

"Chinese tourists give the world an impression of taking photos and only buying things on their overseas tours," said Liu's mother. "We will go shopping, too, but learning different cultures and experiencing new ways of life are more important. That's the reason why we take this trip."

The mother said the family had taken annual vacations overseas for many years, and it was those tours that helped change their mindset about tourism.

"We want to learn about the real life of American people and how they think of China," she said. At the Getty Center, she was mostly impressed by the American audience's interest in the Dunhuang art. "They were so attentive. Some of them even took notes," she said.

At the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, China has overtaken Europe as the largest source of international visitors so far this year. The museum has launched a "China Ready" program, including Chinese-language guidebooks and a docent service, in response to the rising demand.

Family travelers are seeking not only new but also more immersive experiences. There is an increasing trend for more cultural or educational travel experiences that can be shared with friends and family, according to the family targeted work plan of Visit California, a nonprofit organization that promotes California on behalf of the state's tourism industry.

While the primary market for family travel is domestic, California has seen the economic benefits of the increasing number of international visitors with children.

Among those, Chinese families make up 25 percent, well ahead of Canada and Mexico, according to the work plan.

We think the millennial, and potentially the younger kids, are all about personal enrichment, and there are a lot of synergies between California and young Chinese travelers that really want to discover the world, said Leona Reed, associate vice-president of global marketing with Visit California.

They want to make themselves better and more educated, she said, adding that California offered the opportunity for tourists to meet different people and sample different cultures.

The reason is the growth of Chinas middle class, and more people can afford multiple overseas tours to seek intellectual experiences, said Charlie Gu, director of tourism with China Luxury Advisors, a Chinese consumer-strategy consultant. His firm helped launch the Chinese-language channel on WeChat for the Getty Center and Asian Art Museum.

The major force of overseas Chinese tourists would be those born in the 1980s and 1990s, and many of them are interested in art, he said. I often receive inquiries from tour operators about museums such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I believe museums will become a hot spot for Chinese family travelers.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
Explore Wyoming's top romantic vacation spots while staying at a cozy inn, stylish mountain lodge or a unique hotel. Visit Grand Teton National Park, drive through Yellowstone, plan a hiking trip or relax at a spa. Whether you are looking for a luxury hideaway or an affordable weekend break, our list includes many beautiful places to stay. Here are some of the best Wyoming vacations.

We recommend that you call the attractions and restaurants ahead of your visit to confirm current opening times.

1. The Wort Hotel  The Wort Hotel

The Wort Hotel was built in 1941 and visitors who choose to stay here can know that they are staying in a little piece of history. The hotel is built to reflect the charming style of the Old West and is located only two minutes on foot from the center of Jackson. For guests who fancy exploring the area, the hotel is also near Grand Teton National Park. The hotel has majestic period features such as sweeping wooden staircases, historical artwork and roaring log fires, as well as all of the modern amenities guests expect such as Wi-Fi, televisions, and a minibar. Suites offer individual themes for those who want a larger living space and also include bathtubs and wet bars. 50 Glenwood St, Jackson, WY 83001, Phone: 307 733-2190

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2. The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch  The Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch

Brush Creek Ranch is a luxury Wyoming dude ranch near Saratoga spread over 15,000 acres. It is located about 30 miles from the Medicine Bow National Forest, in the heart of the scenic Platte River Valley in southeastern Wyoming. The guests of the Lodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch have the opportunity to experience the spirit and grandeur of the American West in style and comfort. The ranch was founded in the late 1800s as a working cattle ranch and still functions as such. Some of the adventures the guests enjoy are big game hunting, fly fishing, campfire dining, and horseback riding. In the winter, the activities include snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, sledding, and snowmobiling. The ranch rooms are comfortable and refined, with beautiful mountain views, typical Western-style rustic furnishing, free Wi-Fi, coffeemakers, and fine linens. Private cabins and suite cabins are also available. The guests enjoy gourmet meals, yoga classes, a fitness center, a spa, a great room, a saloon, and a beautiful scenic mountaintop deck. 66 Brush Creek Ranch Road, Saratoga, WY 82331, Phone: 307-327-5284

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3. Spring Creek Ranch  Spring Creek Ranch

Spring Creek Ranch is a unique place to stay in Jackson which features cabins that are designed to allow guests to take in the best of the surrounding mountain views thanks to private balconies and patios. Larger groups, can book a townhouse or a villa instead of a cabin, and all accommodations are situated close to other outdoor attractions like the National Museum of Wildlife Art and Grand Teton National Park. The ranch has hot tubs and pools to help guests to relax after a long day exploring the local flora and fauna, and there is a shuttle that takes guests to the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort should they want to indulge in some winter sports like skiing. 1600 N E Butte Rd, Jackson, WY 83001, Phone: 307 733-8833



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4. Wyoming Vacations: Hotel Terra  Hotel Terra



Hotel Terra, nestled close to the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is,an eco-hotel that is designed in a modern style that aims to practice responsible and sustainable hospitality whichpreserves the local environment and is sure to be a hit with guests. Some features of the hotel include rooms with rain showers and heated floors, and suites that have private terrace areas as well as balconies. For guests who want to explore the great outdoors as part of their stay, Hotel Terra is situated near Grand Teton National Park and the National Elk Refuge for those who are interested in wildlife conservation. Keep reading for more Wyoming destinations. 3335 Village Dr, Teton Village, WY 83025, Phone: 307 201-6065

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5. Romantic Getaways in Wyoming: The Spa Suites at Rustic Inn  The Spa Suites at Rustic Inn



The Spa Suites at Rustic Inn offers guests the best in both hotel service and spa treatments, and there is a choice of either rooms or charming cabins for visitors to choose from. Whatever guests prefer, they can expect full amenities including Wi-Fi, rain showers, and cozy fireplaces that are perfect when things cool down. The hotel is sprawled across 10 acres of private land so that couples can enjoy a stroll around the grounds to take in the beautiful Wyoming scenery. Both Grand Teton National Park and the National Elk Refuge can also be easily visited from the hotel. 475 N Cache Street, Jackson, Wyoming 83001, Phone: 800 323-9279

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6. Wyoming Vacations: Chamberlin Inn  Chamberlin Inn



Chamberlin Inn is an historic 1903 hotel in Cody's downtown district, located within walking distance of area attractions like the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Museum. The family-operated boutique hotel showcases 21 beautifully-appointed guest rooms and suites, stocked with antique furnishings and luxurious amenities like flat screen televisions, claw-foot tubs, and coffee makers. Apartments and cottages are also available for extended stays, featuring private kitchenettes and spacious living room areas. Guests can learn about the hotel's extensive history and legacy and view a preserved signature of author Ernest Hemingway within the hotel's original guest register. A hip hotel bar serves up drinks throughout the evening, while a lounge, library, and outdoor courtyard provide communal relaxing space. 1032 12th St, Cody, WY 82414, Phone: 888-587-0202

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7. Rusty Parrot Lodge and Spa  Rusty Parrot Lodge and Spa

The Rusty Parrot Lodge and Spa is a family-run business that features 32 intimate rooms so guests can expect privacy and relaxation during their stay here. Guests who stay at the lodge will find friendly and knowledgeable local staff who will answer any questions you have about the area. The rooms are individually styled and are designed with luxury in mind such as whirlpools and fireplaces. There are suites that feature special bathtubs designed for two that are perfect for anyone looking for a romantic honeymoon setting. One of the big draws here is the Body Sage Spa which has some of the finest treatments and spa technicians in the area. 175 N Jackson Street, Jackson, Wyoming 83001, Phone: 307 733-4455



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8. Snake River Lodge and Spa  Snake River Lodge and Spa

Located in the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, the Snake River Lodge and Spa is a charming lodge modeled in the classic Western style that is close to Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest, so opportunities to explore the local area are limitless. Visitors can expect fine dining, a comprehensive spa center, as well as a sauna and hot tubs to soothe tired muscles at the end of a hard day skiing, hiking, or biking in the resort. The emphasis at the lodge is on luxurious touches such as marble bathrooms that will ensure that guests feel pampered at all times. Places to Visit in Wyoming 7710 Granite Road, Teton Village, Wyoming 83025, Phone: 307 732-6000



9. Wyoming Vacations: Inn on the Creek  Inn on the Creek

Nestled on the edge of gorgeous Flat Creek, the Inn on the Creek is a charming and rustic bed and breakfast experience which is located close to central Jackson. From the inn, visitors can walk into town and explore delightful Jackson Town Square, and if they want to venture further afield they can head to Grand Teton National Park. The inn may be small but it makes up for this with privacy and attention to detail in the form of amenities such as dramatic four poster beds and individual whirlpool tubs. There are also larger suites available with kitchen and living areas for families to enjoy. 295 N Millward Street, Jackson, Wyoming 83001, Phone: 307 739-1565

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10. Wyoming Vacations: Amangani  Amangani

For guests who want to enjoy the spectacle of Snow King Mountain in Wyoming, Amangani is the perfect place to visit in the winter and enjoy the snow. The hotel is perfectly placed to provide guests with gorgeous mountain views from their rooms, and the resort is also conveniently located less than five miles outside of Jackson for those who want to explore the local area. The hotel offers luxury accommodations for guests in the form of fully stocked suites with individual fireplaces, flat screen televisions, Wi-Fi, and minibars. Suites also come with their own individual balconies or patio areas in order for guests to experience uninterrupted vistas of the mountains from the privacy of their own rooms. 1535 NE Butte Road, Jackson, Wyoming 83001, Phone: 307 734-7333



11. Romantic Getaways in Wyoming: Four Seasons Jackson Hole  Four Seasons Jackson Hole

Four Seasons Jackson Hole is set amidst breathtaking mountain scenery and sits close to other local attractions such as the Jackson Hole Aerial Tram and the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for those guests who want to go skiing on vacation. The emphasis at the Four Seasons in on luxury and the rooms at the hotel feature marble bathrooms complete with spacious tubs that are perfect after a long day of hitting the slopes. Guests should also expect roaring fireplaces and minibars, and some suites also feature their own private terraces. In the hotel itself, guests can enjoy both indoor and outdoor pools, fine dining options, and a cafe. 7680 Granite Road, Teton Village, Wyoming 83025, Phone: 307 732-5000

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12. Romantic Getaways in Wyoming: K3 Guest Ranch Bed Breakfast  K3 Guest Ranch Bed Breakfast

Situated just outside of Cody in Wyoming, this charming ranch is a great choice for guests who are looking to experience something a little different. The site used to be a cattle ranch and now guests can enjoy the spirit of the West at this delightful getaway that is nestled between mountains, meadows, and vast stretches of pristine wilderness. That said, the location of the ranch means that visitors are also close to downtown Cody should they prefer to go into town. Rooms at the ranch are individually styled to reflect the local environment and have Western themed names such as the Chuck Wagon Room. In keeping with local traditions food is cooked over a campfire for guests. 30 Nielsen Trail, Cody, Wyoming 82414, Phone: 301 587-2080



13. Wyoming Honeymoon: The Mad Carpenter Inn  The Mad Carpenter Inn

As the name suggests, this is not your typical inn, but a rather fun bed and breakfast option located in the town of Laramie. All rooms are traditionally furnished with period antiques although guests will also have full access to all modern touches such as televisions, internet, and minibars. In keeping with the period features of the inn, guests can expect spacious claw-foot bathtubs and the main cottage is equipped with a large deck area to take in the local sights, as well as a whirlpool tub for guests to soak in. The inn is locatedon charming grounds and guests are encouraged to go for a stroll to take in the local wildlife as well as the onsite pond. 353 N 8th St, Laramie, Wyoming 82072, Phone: 307 742-0870



14. Wyoming Vacations: Huff House Inn  Huff House Inn



The former residence of Dr. Charles Huff, a prominent doctor famous for delivering healthcare to the residents of Jackson, the Huff House Inn was built in 1917 and renovated in 2015 to provide guests with a luxurious inn experience in downtown Jackson. From the inn's strategic location, guests can walk to a range of dining, shopping, and entertainment venues, as well as explore the legendary scenery of Wyoming. This period location has just five rooms and three cabins available which means that guests can expect a bespoke service from friendly staff. There is a fire pit and hot tub onsite for guests to enjoy. 240 E Deloney Avenue, Jackson, Wyoming 83001, Phone: 307 733-7141

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15. The Historic Mansion House Inn  The Historic Mansion House Inn



If you really want to go back in time then head to the Historic Mansion House Inn, a hotel that dates from 1903 and is furnished in the traditional Victorian style to give guests a rustic and old-word feel. The inn is close to points of interest such as museums and Fort Phil Kearny, so it's a good choice for guests who are interested in exploring local sights further. The rooms are styled around individual themes and thereis an emphasis on period Victorian features such as iconic claw-foot tubs for guests to soak in after a long day. That said, the inn also has all the modern amenities needed to truly relax in style such as flat screen televisions. 313 N Main Street, Buffalo, Wyoming 82834, Phone: 307 684-2218



16. Romantic Getaways in Wyoming: Jackson Hole Hideout  Jackson Hole Hideout



Recently renovated and under new ownership, the Jackson Hole Hideout features both rooms and suites which will appeal to a range of budgets and styles meaning that everyone can now experience a taste of the famous Jackson Hole hospitality. There is ample decking which is so guests can enjoy the lush surroundings and a wealth of local flora and fauna, as well as a hot tub for guests to use after a day of sightseeing. Rooms and service are bespoke to cater to all guests' needs and the emphasis at this classic bed and breakfast is on friendly service in a comfortable setting. 6175 Heck of a Hill Road, Wilson, Wyoming 83014, Phone: 307 733-3233

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17. Wyoming Vacations: TA Guest Ranch  TA Guest Ranch



The original building on the TA Guest Ranch dates all the way back to 1882, making this the perfect location for guests who want to step back in time and stay in a setting of historical significance in Wyoming. This family ranch has now been renovated andonly offers three guest rooms and a common room that guests can use for socializing, so it has an intimate and familiar feel for those looking for a quiet and relaxing vacation. Rooms include period features such as pot-bellied stoves and are designed to reflect the style of the Old West. 28623 Old Hwy 87, Buffalo, Wyoming, 82834, Phone: 307 684-5833



18. Wyoming Getaway: Lytle Creek Inn Bed and Breakfast  Lytle Creek Inn Bed and Breakfast



Strategically located near to the Black Hills and nestled in Lytle Creek Valley, Lytle Creek Inn Bed and Breakfast is a sight to behold for visitors who can enjoy the gorgeous verdant Wyoming scenery as well as towering hills and lush secluded valleys. From the inn, guests can take in the neighboring Devils Tower National Monument, and the area is rich with flora and fauna that can be viewed from the comfort of plentiful deck areas at the inn. Rooms are spacious and the inn has a cozy and peaceful feeling which allows guest to unwind and enjoy home cooked meals for a real taste of Wyoming. 289 Lytle Creek Road, Devils Tower, Wyoming 82714, Phone: 307 467-5599



19. Red Butte Ranch Private Lodging  Courtesy of Ffooter - Fotolia.com



Nestled along the banks of the picturesque North Platte River, Red Butte Ranch Private Lodging is a delightful bed and breakfast that is situated near to the Alcova Reservoir. For something a little different, the Red Butte Lodge is decorated in an antipodean style, and reflects Australian and New Zealand motifs. The cottage next to the river has three bedrooms available for a secluded stay. Despite the rustic charm, the rooms are all equipped with the latest amenities such as flat screen televisions and kitchen areas. Guests also receive private access to the river and boating is an excellent way to enjoy the majestic scenery from the water. 8550 Bessemer Bend South Road, Casper, Wyoming 82604, Phone: 307 472-3784



20. Vee Bar Guest Ranch  Vee Bar Guest Ranch This sweet bed and breakfast, quaintly located next to the river, is near local attractions such as Bamforth National Wildlife Refuge and is built in the traditional style of log cabins. The cabins have all their own amenities such as separate living quarters, cozy fireplaces, and private porch areas, and some are even located right on the river. They are decorated with antique furnishings such as period brass beds and also have hot tubs for guests to enjoy. Activities available at the lodge include horse riding in the picturesque Wyoming landscape, and just relaxing by the river and take in the views from private cabins. 38 Vee Bar Ranch Road, Laramie, Wyoming 82070, Phone: 307 745-7036



21. Wyoming Getaway: The Hideout Lodge  The Hideout Lodge The Hideout Lodge & Guest Ranch is a lodge as well as a working ranch located in Shell, Wyoming. It is conveniently close to Cody and Yellowstone National Park. Guests looking for some adventure will not be disappointed by the ranch which features horseback riding and fly-fishing, as well as outdoor activities such as hiking and biking in the surrounding wilderness. If you prefer, you can take to the water and try canoeing or kayaking. One of the joys of the Hideout Lodge is its secluded and serene location because there is a limit of up to 25 guests at the lodge each week which means that staff are able to provide a premium service and allow visitors to choose from one of the 95 horses available for rides at the ranch. 3170 County Road 40 1/2, Shell, Wyoming 82441, Phone: 307 765-2080



22. Wyoming Getaway: Bentwood Inn  Bentwood Inn For something truly unique, head for the Bentwood Inn, a luxurious bed and breakfast that is made from 200 year-old local timber. The bed and breakfast spans 6,000 square feet and nearby attractions include Jackson Hole Mountain Resort as well as Grand Teton National Park. The rooms at the bed and breakfast are designed individually and all have Western themes and are decorated with period furnishings that will make guests feel like they have stepped back in time. Some of these include sweeping bay windows, balconies, and log walls, although there are also modern touches like flat screen televisions and whirlpool bathtubs. 4250 Raven Haven Road, Wilson, Wyoming 83014, Phone: 307 739-1411



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Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged Quang Ngai Province to continue to improve its competitiveness, as he addressed an investment promotion conference in the province yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo

QUANG NGAI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged Quang Ngai Province to continue to improve its competitiveness, as he addressed an investment promotion conference in the province yesterday.

Quang Ngai has succeeded in developing economic and industrial zones, and comprehensive policies to attract investment have helped the province become a strong economic hub of Viet Nams central region, the conference was told.

Quang Ngai Peoples Committee Chairman Tran Ngoc Cang said the province offers investors minimum land rents, which are equivalent to 0.5 per cent of the land prices in a framework stipulated by the Government.

The province assists investors with 20 per cent of site clearance costs for stimulated projects. It also assists them with 50-90 per cent of infrastructure investments for projects involved in education, healthcare and culture, as well as sport and environment.

It enables investors to deal with administrative procedures following a one-stop shop mechanism, besides giving them support related to trade, promotion and labour training.

The province especially carries out preferential policies and investment incentives to lure investments into the Dung Quat Economic Zone, Viet Nam  Singapore Industrial Park.

It has adjusted a master plan for the development of the Dung Quat Economic Zone until 2025, increasing its area from 10,300 hectare (ha) to around 45,300 ha.

It is accelerating construction of ports and industrial parks in the zone, and urban development in Van Tuong, Doc Soi and Sa Ky districts.

The Dung Quat Oil Refinery, a main force driving local economic growth, will be a premise for development of a national refinery and petrochemistry centre in this area in the future, in accordance with national strategies.

Quang Ngai should now consider enterprises a motive power for development, and build a government that is stimulative, active and incorruptible to businesses. The government at various levels must follow this spirit, Phuc said.

The PM asked local authorities to build a transparent and fair legal framework, hold more dialogues with businesses to help them solve problems, and encourage co-operation between domestic and foreign companies so that their operations benefit the people.

He urged the province to foster investments in tourism and services to enhance local living standards, and pay more attention to nursing local human resources for the cause of socio-economic development.

As any investment is carried out, the environment must be preserved, he said.

Yesterday, provincial authorities reportedly granted investment registration certificates for five projects, including an urban development project of Hoang Thinh at JSC and an asphalt production project of South Koreas Pields Engineering.

They also certified a steam facility manufacturing project of GE Viet Nam, a leatherware making project of South Sea Leatherwares Viet Nam, and a fibre and cloth processing project of Freetex Elastic Fabric Factory.

The authorities also approved investments in principle for four projects, including a shipbuilding, logistics and fishery of Company 19-5, and an electric wire production project of Glitter & Cable Company Limited.

The other two included a rural housing project of construction firm 108 Truong Thanh, and a waste treatment project of Mien Bac (North) Investment & Development JSC.

These nine projects have a total registered investment capital of more than VN5 trillion (US$222.2 million), according to the Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper.

Quang Ngai is situated in the key central economic region, covering an area of more than 5,000 sq.km with about 1.3 million residents.  VNS
HCM CITY  The HCM City Real Estate Association on Wednesday asked the local Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN HCMC) branch to pay for building the electricity grid for projects being incurred by developers.

Chairman of the association Le Hoang Chau said that under the Electricity Law 2004 and the law supplementing and amending a number articles of the Electricity Law promulgated in 2012, power companies have the responsibility of building transformer stations and installing electricity meters for customers.

Under the Law on Real Estate Business issued in 2014, project investors must complete infrastructure facilities before handing over houses to their clients.

Currently, property developers had to build all medium-voltage and low-voltage lines as well as transformer stations and connect power meters to the lines to distribute power to every apartment. On completion of the project, they had to pass on all the works to electricity companies without any payment, Chau said.

He added that funds invested in the system supplying power for housing projects often accounted for 1 per cent to 2 per cent of total project investments. As a result, home buyers would have to pay more.

After the meeting with EVN HCMC, the association will send a document to the municipal Peoples Committee and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, asking the electricity authorities to issue a payment mechanism applied for housing projects of which price is below VN22 million ($982) per sq.m, Chau said.

Deputy General Director of the EVN HCMC Pham Quoc Bao said the company acknowledged the situation and would report it to the EVN.

Bao said power prices would probably be affected if the electricity sector had to develop a system to distribute power to every apartment in every housing project.

He said the sector might only accept paying the cost for projects of which profitability was ensured, meaning that people had to live there and consume electricity.

For high-priced projects, in which nobody lived and no power was consumed, it was hard for the sector to incur the cost.

A lawyer in HCM City said to thesaigontimes.vn that housing developers must complete all technical facilities, including electricity systems, within the scope of the project while power companies must supply electricity to the hedge of the projects and install power meters as requested by home buyers.  VNS
NINH BINH  The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme (CPCP), a collaboration between Save Vietnams Wildlife (SVW) and Cuc Phuong National Park, released 20 endangered Sunda Pangolins to a safe and undisclosed location in Viet Nam on Wednesday.

The critically endangered pangolins were rescued from the wildlife trade and rehabilitated at SVW/CPCP in Cuc Phuong National Park in the northern province of Ninh Binh.

The released pangolins were among 21 pangolins confiscated by the provincial Forest Protection Department (FPD) in June. Pangolins normally do not survive well in captivity and yet of the 21 pangolins, 20 survived.

This successful release and high survival rate of the rehabilitated pangolins is in large part thanks to the co-operation of Ninh Binh FPD which enabled us to release the animals quickly and avoid the high mortality that pangolins normally experience due to captivity stress, said the manager of the CPCP, Tran Quang Phuong.

The pangolins were given health checks to ensure they had fully recovered from the injuries they sustained in the illegal wildlife trade and were micro-chipped, allowing them to be identified in future.

Executive Director of Save Vietnams Wildlife, Nguyen Van Thai, said This year we have released 95 Sunda Pangolins confiscated from the wildlife trade back to safe locations in the wild. While this is good news, these pangolins represent only a fraction of those illegally traded each year in Viet Nam. We need to do more on enforcement and awareness otherwise these precious mammals may become extinct in our lifetime.

Pangolins are the most traded animals in the world. Viet Nam has two species (Sunda Pangolin and Chinese Pangolin), both critically endangered, meaning they are in imminent threat of becoming extinct in the wild.

Save Vietnams Wildlife (SVW) is a national non-profit organisation founded to pprovide more effective solutions to secure a future for Vietnamese wildlife.

At the core of SVWs programme in Viet Nam is a partnership with Cuc Phuong National Park to support the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme (CPCP).  VNS
Lush Saigon will host a Black and White Masquerade Ball on August 13.

The event will feature Australian DJ Mike Hyper, who has played music for 19 years at big clubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and China. He has shared the stage with world-leading DJs like Steve Aoki, A-Trak and Craze.

A masquerade dance show and lucky draw will also be held. Participants, who are asked to wear black-and-white clothing, will receive complimentary masks.

The event begins at 9 pm at 2 Ly Tu Trong Street in District 1. Entrance is free.  VNS
MOSCOW  Ernst Neizvestny, a Russian-born sculptor who publicly debated modern art with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and went on to create his final memorial, died in the US on Tuesday.

Neizvestny, known for his dynamic monumental works, died in New York, US-based journalist Oleg Sulkin announced on Facebook early Wednesday morning.

Neizvestny, who was forced to leave the Soviet Union in the 1970s, famously confronted Khrushchev in 1962 at The New Reality contemporary art show in central Moscow.

Khrushchev came to view the exhibition and, encouraged by his entourage, launched a tirade against the artists, calling them "degenerates".

But Neizvestny, a burly decorated war hero, spoke back to the Soviet leader, insisting that he show his work while attempting to explain it.

"Im not afraid of your threats," the artist reportedly told Khrushchev, he recalled in a 1979 interview.

Khrushchev accused him of wasting metal that could be used in industry and advised him to go and live abroad, sparking a purge of artists.

Afterwards Neizvestny was expelled from the Union of Artists.

Theres the devil in you

Yet the men developed an unlikely rapport.

"Youre an interesting person," Khrushchev told the artist. "Theres the devil in you but an angel somewhere too." "Despite the atmosphere of fear, it was easy to talk to him," Neizvestny said.

"Khrushchev spoke directly... which made it possible for me to answer him directly." Khrushchev died in 1971 after being removed as Soviet leader and, at his familys request, Neizvestny created his memorial in Moscows Novodevichy cemetery.

The striking black-and-white composition with Khrushchevs head in the middle symbolised the Thaw leaders contradictory personality traits and was designed in the style he had once condemned.

Neizvestny was born in 1925 in the Urals city of Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg in western Russia.

He fought in World War II and was seriously wounded and decorated for bravery.

After the war he studied art in Riga and Moscow and swiftly won recognition.

He emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1976 citing "aesthetic differences with the regime," moving first to Switzerland and then to the US, where he taught at several universities.

Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky and other senior officials expressed their condolences following the artists death.  AFP
Le Kim Toan

The use of millions of dong from the state budget by a Government official from the central Binh inh province to study what turned out to be a fraudlent PhD course abroad has stirred public outcry in recent days.

Le Kim Toan, who is currently the provinces Permanent Deputy Party Secretary, registered to study a course on Education Management at Bulucan State University in the Philippines from 2011 to 2013 when he was Head of the provincial Department of Propaganda and Training.

The course cost nearly VN400 million (US$17,900) and was paid for by the State budget following the approval of provincial authorities.

Recent investigations by the Party Central Examination Committee into Toan, who was elected as a National Assembly in May, found that his PhD degree was not recognised by the Ministry of Education and Training. The degree does not clearly mention whether his training was full-time or part-time.

Further investigations are being made but this incident once against raises concerns about the ineffective use of the State budget in training for Government officials.

Toans is not the first case of the State budget being misused for higher education. In 2010, former Permanent Deputy Party Secretary of northern Yen Bai province Nguyen Van Ngoc was found to use nearly VND80 million ($3,600) of State funds to cover part of the fee of a PhD course on business management at the Southern Pacific University in Malaysia. The official got his PhD after six months of study, however it soon turned out to be invalid.

Government officials should get higher education. Well-educated leaders will create more effective and accountable governments. However, this does not mean that leaders need to earn a masters or PhD degree. A leader is elected for his or her communication skills and capacity, not by degrees. As former Minister of Education and Training Pham Minh Hac said, promotions cannot depend on degrees.

Former Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh said going abroad for ineffective training was a waste of State funds.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2013 reported that an estimated 3,200 delegations of Vietnamese officials from ministries and sectors made foreign trips each year. Each trip of about ten officials is estimated to cost nearly $50,000, highlighting the burden on the State budget every year.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh admitted that many of these trips were ineffective, including overlapping missions that served no purpose.

Many officials sent abroad for short-term studying and learning use huge amounts of the State budget but spend most of their time touring or shopping.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands are still hungry, thousands of new schools are needed to help children in disadvantaged areas access education and thousands of bridges are needed to help people cross rivers to work and study safely. We wait for all these things because of a scarce State budget.

The General Statistic Office reported that in July alone, 23,200 households across Viet Nam were pushed into hunger or 97,300 people didnt have enough food. Compared to the same period last year, the number of hungry households rose by 5.2 times, whereas the number of undernourished people was 4.9 times higher.

This year to date, hungry households have received aid, donated by central and local agencies and organisations, totaling VN590 million ($26,339) in cash, not much more than was spent on the Binh Dinh officials PhD.

While total state budget collection from the start of the year was VN500.8 trillion ($22.4 billion), total state budget spending was estimated at VN606.4 trillion ($27.1 billion). Since the beginning of the year, state budget overspending was more than VN105.6 trillion.

The first two storms to hit Viet Nam this year caused damage worth more than VN6.7 trillion ($297.7 million). At least four people died with another seven missing in the northern mountainous Lao Cai province last week after typhoon Nida-triggered flooding struck the province. If the province had enough money to evacuate those in high-risk areas tragedy could have been avoided. According to the provincial evacuation plan in 2016, 391 households living in high risk areas should be evacuated but it could only move 72 households.

There are so many things the State budget is needed for, but somehow its still being wasted.

Current and emerging leaders need training to prepare them to make and implement laws. Many tax-payers feel it is ok to use State money to fund our leaders higher education. However, the money must be used effectively.

Developing a country needs not only well-educated leaders but also awareness and practicality. Leaders, managers and administrators need to understand their roles as they relate to strategic planning, project management, human resource management and fiscal responsibility, in accordance with the wishes of their people.

The fight against State budget wastefulness is huge and needs the involvement of the whole of society. In this battle, Government officials should set a strong example.

Not only those who waste funds but also heads of ministries, localities and sectors that approved the spending must take responsibility.

Change cannot happen overnight. But a small change in the mindset of some Government officials in using State funds could contribute to creating big changes in the country. - VNS
President Tran ai Quang (R) receives Japans Marubeni Corporation's Managing Executive Officer and Regional Chief Executive Officer of ASEAN, Shoji Kuwayama in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI  Japans Marubeni Corporation is seeking investment opportunities in coal exports, gas production, renewable energy and wastewater treatment in Viet Nam.

The corporations Managing Executive Officer and Regional Chief Executive Officer of ASEAN, Shoji Kuwayama, announced these plans at a meeting with President Tran ai Quang in Ha Noi yesterday.

He said his group specilises in developing energy resources and infrastructure, processing farm produce and seafood, and producing garment products for export.

Apart from business and investment activities, the corporation had also focused on social issues, including the establishment of a scholarship fund in 1994 to support students in some Vietnamese localities, he told the President.

President Quang praised Marubeni Corporation for investing effectively in Viet Nam since the early 1990s, as well as its remarkable contributions to the countrys economic development.

He also hailed the group for reinforcing economic ties between Viet Nam and Japan via energy and thermal power projects, and activities to support children and develop education in Viet Nam over the past few years.

The President called on Japanese businesses to increase investment in Viet Nam, especially prioritising key areas under Viet Nams industrialisation strategy; developing high-quality infrastructure, energy, support industries and agriculture; promoting technological transfers; and supporting human resources training.

He said he hoped Marubeni Corporation would seize new opportunities and promote its role as a leading trade company in Japan to continue with effective operations in Viet Nam, contributing to the countrys socio-economic development.  VNS
HA NOI  Tran Van Them, an 80-year-old man from Bac Ninh Province who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in 1973, got a public apology from central judicial bodies today.

A meeting to announce the public apology took place earlier this morning in Thems hometown in Yen Phong District, Bac Ninh Province.

At the meeting, deputy chief justice of the Supreme Peoples Court of Viet Nam Tran Van Tuan read the official decision to apologize to Them, according to which he said the case was a lesson for judicial bodies during the judicial proceedings.

The wrongful conviction has caused harm to Them and his family, Tuan said.

Them and his younger cousin, Nguyen Khac Van, had reportedly gone to Tam Duog District in the northern Vinh Phuc Province to sell pipe tobacco one day in 1973. While resting at a local barbers shop at night after finishing their work, they were attacked by a robber.

Van was stabbed with a metal stick and Them suffered a head injury. Them later said in court that they had been robbed, but local authorities insisted he was the prime suspect, and detained him.

Them was accused of killing his cousin for money. In 1975, a man confessed to the murder in Thems case. Them was freed and yet the local judiciary failed to make any official announcement regarding his innocence, following his wrongful conviction.

Since then, Them and his relatives have been knocking on many doors to ask for declaration of his innocence. In 2014, Nguyen Van Hoa, Thems authorised representative, and his lawyer managed to submit a letter to the Peoples Supreme Court about the case.VNS
HA NOI  The capital city police yesterday arrested three people suspected of printing, publishing and trading value-added tax (VAT) invoices.

Colonel Phung Anh Quang, head of the investigation division, said after tracing the operation of the accused, the police found they had used ghost businesses to illegally trade VAT invoices.

Their trick was to buy businesses suffering losses and then modify the business details, or they would establish ghost companies operating in all fields, including construction, tourism, services, and trade. (These businesses would be used) to sell VAT invoices, the colonel said.

The police found Hoang Le Hang, 45, residing in Hai Ba Trung District. She headed the 10-person ring, which comprised her relatives and acquaintances.

Her office was based in Yen Cafe on Cam Hoi Street.

Hang bought businesses at prices ranging from VN30 to 40 million each, including their stamps and invoices.

She and her accomplices then sold VAT invoices at a price of VN200,000-300,000 each.

On arresting the accused, the police seized 36 company stamps, nearly 200 invoice books, several other documents, and VND757 million in cash.

Since June 2014, the ring has sold more than 3,000 VAT invoices, worth VN780 billion, to 500 companies, under the names of 33 companies.

The illegal trading in VAT invoices has caused tax losses of VN78 billion for the State budget, the police said.

The three accused are Hoang Le Hang, Vu Kim Oanh, and Nguyen An Tuan.

The police are still investigating the case.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City has set a target to save 2.5 per cent of energy consumption between now and 2020, according to a report by city authorities.

To achieve the goal, the city will use high-performance equipment and energy-efficient technologies, while gradually replacing low-performing equipment and removing outdated technology.

The city, which aims to ensure energy savings at manufacturing facilities, plans to reduce energy consumption by 10 per cent in several energy-intensive industries.

In addition, the plan calls for improving fuel efficiency of the transport system and limiting environmental pollutants.

At least 10 per cent of businesses would be using an energy-management system by 2020, while 100 per cent of construction would be completed in compliance with national technical standards for economical use of energy, according to the report.

The plan also calls for high-performance lighting equipment installed at all public light locations.

This year, the city is expected to consume between 21,400 and 21,600 million kWh, a rise of 7-8 per cent over 2015, according to EVN HCM City.

Solar-power subsidies

Last year, the citys Department of Science and Technologys Energy Saving Centre launched a pilot programme to financially support households, businesses and companies that use solar energy to generate power.

The programme funding for 2015 and this year totals VN10 billion (US$449,000), according to the centre.

The households and companies receive help to install solar-energy systems and connect them with public power lines.

The city administration gives the participants a subsidy of VN2,000 or $0.09 for every kilowatt they produce.

Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of the HCM City Energy Saving Centre, said that 10 households and six enterprises had received support from the programme, worth VN125 million last year.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 30 enterprises have participated in the programme, with a total capacity of 500kWp.

The programme is expected to create a foundation for agencies to create further incentives for investment in green energy, such as solar, wind and biomass power.

Financial support

Nguyen Khac Thanh, deputy director of the Department of Science and Technology, said it was vital to raise peoples awareness about energy efficiency.

Thanh said that industry, high-rises, transportation, schools and hospitals should use energy-efficient technologies.

Since the middle of last year, 16 State-owned companies and organisations have committed to becoming more energy-efficient, saving 481 million kWh of electricity and 5.6 million litres of oil in the 2015-17 period, a savings of VN807 billion ($38.4 million).

The Sai Gon Co.op Mart, HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zone Authority, Saigontourist and several others have agreed to join the citys green strategy, which will help cut 285,000 tonnes of emissions.

The Department of Science and Technology will assist them with technical solutions, equipment and technologies.

With increased demand for power and the impact of climate change, the city wants companies and organisations to use energy efficiently, with the State sector being the pioneer.

Tuoc, of the Energy Conservation Centre, said that HCM City would face a critical energy shortage in the near future if energy-saving solutions were not adopted.

Transport and industrial sectors and households are among the largest consumers of energy.

While most businesses should use energy-efficient technologies to improve competitiveness, they lack capital and need support from the government, including loans with low interest rates.

HCM City has financially supported more than 1,000 enterprises with more than 6,000 solutions to save energy, including advanced technology in production and management.

For households, the best way would be the use of high-performance equipment and energy-efficient technologies, and gradual replacement of low-performance equipment, according to Tuoc.  VNS
HCM CITY  The quality of school buses has declined in recent years, leading to a drop in use by students, according to education officials.

In the 2012-13 academic year, the city had 274 schools with buses serving 100,000 students. That fell to 133, serving 32,159 students in the 2015-16 year.

The number accounted for only 1.9 per cent of the citys total number of students.

Schools typically work with transport companies to provide the service.

At a recent workshop on school bus services in the city, a representative of the municipal Public Transport Management and Operations Centre said many schools lacked personnel capable of managing and providing funds for bus services.

Bui Thi Diem Thu, deputy head of the citys Department of Education and Training, asked the citys Transport Department to improve bus quality and provide conveniences for parents and students.

She said the education department had begun working with schools to apply IT to improve management and monitoring of bus services.

Many of the school buses are old and have been running for 10 years, which has driven away parents fearful of the safety risk.

Parents in inner city districts usually prefer to pick up their children at school, but the need is greater in outlying districts.

However, those districts often do not provide school bus services, and, as a result, many secondary and high school students drive motorbikes and electronic bikes to schools.

The list of traffic violations sent to the education department after the academic year ends has shown that most of the students were not wearing helmets and were driving without a licence.

Recent research from the Vietnamese-German Transport Research Centre of Vietnamese-German University showed that the number of young people under 18 years old involved in traffic accidents reached an alarming level between 2013 and 2015.

High school students were the most vulnerable, Dr Vu Anh Tuan was quoted as saying in Sai Gon Tiep Thi (Sai Gon Marketing).

For the 2013-15 period, the mortality rate among high school students involved in accidents was 32.5 per 100,000 students in HCM City, four times higher than the rate for the entire city, and eight to nine times higher compared to the rate among the same age group in developed countries.

Around 80 per cent of traffic accidents involving students occurred while the students were driving vehicles, and the rest while adults were driving, according to Tuan.  VNS
Workers destroyed violation construction at 8B Le Truc Street in Ha Noi. The city has 1,600 construction inspectors working from municipal level to ward and commune levels, but construction experts said violations in the field were still common.  Photo tuoitrethudo.vn

HA NOI  Ha Noi has 1,600 construction inspectors working from municipal level to ward and commune levels, but construction experts said violations in the field were still common.

In a recent conference reviewing urban public order, Secretary of the Ha Noi Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai said that construction violations in Ha Noi were serious as they were seen every day and everywhere.

Hai said that several construction inspectors were found to have helped violators.

The municipal Department of Construction must manage and strictly punish inspectors working with violators, he said.

Hai asked the Ha Noi Peoples Committee to propose management methods to the municipal Party Committee soon.

Following Hais request, the Ha Noi Peoples Committee asked district peoples committees to directly oversee construction inspectors in their localities. The oversight will start at the beginning of next month.

The Ha Noi Department of Construction is completing procedures so that district authorities can arrange inspector forces before the end of this month.

Vo Nguyen Phong, deputy director of the Ha Noi Department of Construction, told the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that the arrangement would help inspectors work more effectively.

Organisations and individuals responsibility in managing construction would be clarified, he said.

Under the new arrangement, the Ha Noi Department of Construction would give guidance and manage salary and personnel.

Districts peoples committees would manage and assign construction inspectors duties.

In another development, by the end of last month, Hoan Kiem District meted out punishment in more than 10 cases of construction violations in Tran Hung ao, Ly Thai To, Trang Tien and Hang Khay wards.

The district peoples committee also asked the Hoan Kiem Inspection Department to check the responsibility of chairmen of the wards peoples committees in the cases.  VNS
HA NOI  The settlement of chemical toxin consequences is an urgent and long-term issue, and also the responsibility of the whole political system and people, President Tran ai Quang said as the nation commemorated the 55th Agent Orange (AO) Day in Viet Nam in Ha Noi yesterday.

At the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Rinh, Chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Victims of AO/Dioxin (VAVA), said that on August 10, 1961, the US army began spraying the so-called herbicide in Viet Nam, triggering the biggest and longest chemical warfare with the most catastrophic consequences in human history.

August 10 had become a day for AO/dioxin victims to remind people of the disastrous effects on the environment and human health, and call for joint efforts to ease the pain suffered by victims, he noted.

From 1961 to 1971, the US army sprayed 80 million litres of toxic chemicals, 61 per cent of which was AO that contained at least 366kg of dioxin  one of the most toxic substances ever known in history, on nearly 25 per cent of the area of southern Viet Nam. That exposed 4.8 million Vietnamese people to the toxins, and more than 3 million of them were victims.

"Dioxin made many women infertile, and a large number of children were born with deformities. Notably, its impacts were long-lasting, as there have been fourth-generation victims," Rinh added.

Susan Schnall, a US veteran who took part in the USs war in Viet Nam who is now head of the New York branch of Veterans for Peace, apologised for AOs massive destruction in the country.

She vowed to work with Viet Nam to deal with the wars impacts, detoxify contaminated land and care for the victims.

At the commemoration, President Quang expressed deep sympathy for AO victims and hoped that they would keep faith in life.

The Party and State have continually paid attention to AO impact settlement, including offering monthly financial aid and healthcare to victims, combined with the national action plan on resolving AO impacts with local socio-economic development activities and calling for domestic and foreign support for the victims.

He appreciated contributions by all-level authorities, businesses, and people at home and abroad to care for the victims. He also thanked diplomatic agencies, foreign organisations and people advocating for AO victims justice.

The settlement of AO consequences would also help promote Viet Nam-US relations, along with global efforts for peace, co-operation and development, the leader said, calling on people around the world to work together to prevent chemical warfare.

At the ceremony, President Quang presented the VAVA with the Labour Order (first class) for its outstanding performance in past years.

The association also launched a campaign inviting Vietnamese people and foreigners to support AO victims by texting DACAM to 1409. The campaign lasts from August 10 to September 30.  VNS
HA NOI  The infringement of intellectual property (IP), manufacturing and trading of counterfeit goods in Viet Nam has become increasingly complicated with more sophisticated tricks being employed. Yet, most violations were punished with administrative penalties.

Statistics from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) showed that relevant forces have inspected and detected 25,966 cases of intellectual property infringement, fake production and sale, between 2012 and 2015. Of these, 25,543 cases have been levied administrative fines and 381 cases were prosecuted, with 553 arrestees.

Le Xuan Loc, a laywer from T&G Law Firm, said administrative punishments on IP violations were popular as the procedure for settling in these cases occurs quickly and saves costs compared with other remedies, like civil or criminal ones.

However, he said, due to a lack of severe punishments, the administrative punishments didnt achieve desired results.

Loc said one particular identification case surrounding unhealthy competition relating to amway2u.vn domain. After the company owning the Amway trademark filed a request at the inspectorate of the MoST, the competent agency forced the violator to pay an administrative fine and return the domain. However, the violator refused to comply with the request.

According to Vu Xuan Binh from the Market Surveillance Department, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the department found 1,342 cases of IPR violations and fake products in the first six month of 2016, which accounted for total fines of VN769 billion (US$345,000). Confiscated goods were worth a total of VN11.5 billion ($515,000).

Counterfeit goods, infringing IP, are not only produced in the country but are manufactured in foreign countries and then brought back for domestic consumption, which caused serious impacts on consumers and the whole community. Fake goods which range in price include medicines, supplementary foods, building materials, and electrical appliances.

Binh pointed out inadequate punishments and manpower, and lack of co-ordination among enforcement agencies as major challenges in dealing with violations of intellectual property rights (IPR).

He said these issued must be tackled by strengthening the effectiveness of IPR enforcement which will result in more cases settled by criminal or civil remedies.

Relevant agencies should closely co-ordinate with each other to improve the legal framework, he said.

Pham Van Toan, deputy Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said Viet Nam was one of a handful of countries in the world that imposed administrative punishments on IPR violations.

Nguyen Huu Cu from the Economic Crime Investigation Police Agency said the agency found 286 cases of IPR violations (fake production and sale) in the first six month of this year, of which 49 cases have been prosecuted.

Cu attributed the low rate of prosecuted cases to the poor awareness of people on IPR regulations. They didnt recognise the importance of product registration except for some foreign-related enterprises, thus, resulting in abuse of reputation by violators.

He also blamed legal obstacles such as vague definitions used on the law relating to IPR for low enforcement through criminal remedies.

However, he said, it was settled in the Criminal Code 2015.

According to Nishiyama Tomohiro, chief advisor from Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), the JICA funded a project entitled Strengthen Effectiveness of Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement aiming to improve the capacity of manpower and co-ordination of agencies in handling IPR cases as well as raising awareness of the people about the harmful effect of IPR infringement. Then it would help eradicate fake goods in the market.

For example, if contraband goods were medicine, it would affect peoples health.

However, it takes a long time for consumers to understand and be aware of this issue, he said.

The forum was organised by the Intellectual Property Rights Department under the Ministry of Science and the Japanese International Co-operation Agency.  VNS
HA GIANG  Reports about people being kidnapped for their organs in the northern mountainous Ha Giang Province are inaccurate.

Colonel Le Van Canh, head of Consulting Office of the Provincial Police Department, talked to Vietnam Plus online newspaper this morning.

Canh rejected statistics issued by Si Ma Cai Districts Police Office in the nearby Lao Cai Province in its legal document 487/TB-CAH, recently signed by deputy head of the office Senior Lieutenant Colonel Trinh Minh Phu.

The document said there were 16 cases of people being abducted for harvesting organs in the first six months of this year in Ha Giang.

Canh said several kidnapping cases had been reported in the first six months of this year in Ha Giang, but the motive behind them was not harvesting of organs.

The Ha Giang Police Department would ask the Lao Cai Police Department to clarify where they had got the statistics from, he said.

A few days ago, Si Ma Cai Districts Police Office issued the legal document 487/TB-CAH to warn local residents about a new type of crime in which people could be kidnapped and their organs harvested.

The document was widely shared yesterday via social networking sites, causing public concern.

In another movement, last night, Hoang Tien Binh, head of the Si Ma Cai Districts Police Office, said people should not get too affected by the report. The document only aimed to remind them of the risk, though in reality, such cases had never occurred in the district.

The police office issued the document after receiving a message from the Lao Cai Police Department about people being abducted and their organs being harvested in the neighbouring Ha Giang Province in the first six months of this year, he said. VNS
HA NOI  Family Medical Practice (FMP) Vietnam and the Israeli Embassy will jointly organise a free medical check-up and treatment camp for the needy in the Central Highlands Kon Tum Province.

A medical team of 20 doctors, 30 nurses and up to 70 other support staff from FMP Vietnam will provide health check-ups, consultations, vaccinations and medicines free of cost for people in 10 communes in Kon Plong District between September 11 and 18. The programme also aims to build the capacity of Kon Tum hospital to serve the local people.

Besides medical assistance, basic necessities such as books, clothes, shoes and blankets, besides toys, school supplies and confectionery will also be given to the local people.

In line with the medical camp, we are inviting organisations and individuals to support this charity mission that could touch the lives of thousands of disadvantaged people. Any contributions toward these efforts from the community will be tremendously appreciated, Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israeli ambassador to Viet Nam, said.

Organisations and individuals are invited to donate items or money till September 3, which can help purchase salt, rice and flash-lights in support of this mission.

Kon Plong is a mountainous district, the poorest in the Central Highlands Kon Tum Province. It is home to some of Viet Nams most disadvantaged communities. People in these regions have among the highest mortality rates and lowest life expectancies in the region. Located more than 50km from the nearest medical facilities, the people of Kon Plong have effectively no access to any healthcare.  VNS
A boy was reportedly home alone die after falling from the eleventh floor of a building in Linh am urban area in Hoang Mai district.Poor safety in high-rise buildings in big cities are a danger to residents living there, particularly children.  Photo vnexpress.net

HA NOI  Poor safety in high-rise buildings in big cities are a danger to residents living there, particularly children.

Several tragic accidents in high-rise apartments have been reported recently due to poor safety measure for windows and balconies.

The latest accident was the death of six-year-old boy in Ha Noi last month, Lao ong (Labour) newspaper reported.

The boy was reportedly home alone die after falling from the eleventh floor of a building in Linh am urban area in Hoang Mai district.

Earlier, a child aged six in Long Bien Districts Viet Hung urban area died after falling from a sixth floor balcony.

According to the newspapers survey, balcony and window designs in some buildings in Ha Noi such as Linh am, Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh or Nam Trung Yen are still unsafe.

Many of the high-rise apartments were designed without window bars.

In some buildings, the distance between safety bars was too large and easy for children to climb.

According to Ministry of Construction design standards, bars are needed in apartments from the ninth floor upward and must be at least 1.4m in height.

Dr Pham Sy Liem, vice chairman of Viet Nam Construction Federation, said poor safety in high-rise apartments railings and balconies was due to design error.

According to him, railings in high buildings must be at least 1.2m tall.

Balconies must be designed with vertical bars to prevent children climbing up easily, he said.

Tran Ngoc Mai, a Hanoian mother, said her husband made iron cages around the balcony to prevent their boy climbing.

Col Nguyen Ngoc Chau, head of Ha Noi Fighting Police No 8 also said that the main cause of accidents in high-rise buildings was poor design.

Railings and balconies were not high enough, leading to tragedies, he said.

- VNS
Government-funded school meals are putting financially vulnerable children at risk of being overweight, a Virginia Tech researcher has found.

As millions of kids who eat government-funded breakfasts or lunches head back to school this fall, most of them will participate in meal programs that may be part of the cause of the nationwide obesity epidemic.

Students from low-income families and those who live in the Northeast, South, and rural America are most susceptible to the problem.

While well-intentioned, these government funded school meal programs that are aimed at making kids healthy are in fact making participating students more at risk of being overweight, said Wen You, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This study identifies the hardest battles in crafting policy to alleviate children in low-income populations being overweight.

Yous findings were recently published in the journal Health Economics.

You found that those children who were most likely to be overweight came from families who participate in both the school breakfast and lunch programs consistently throughout their elementary and intermediate school years. These children consume one-third to one-half of their daily meals at school. The study examined data collected from 1998 to 2007.

We found that the longer children were in the programs, the higher their risk of being overweight. We also saw the most negative effect of the government-funded school meal programs in the South, the Northeast, and rural areas of the country, You said. The question now is what to do in order to not just fill bellies, but make sure those children consume healthy and nutritious food  or at least not contribute to the obesity epidemic.

The study also found in the South the most significant impact on child weight was in the fifth grade, and in the Northeast, in the eighth grade.

The study comes on the heels of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which raises the school meals nutrition quality standards and the Community Eligibility Provision that allows schools in high-poverty areas to provide free meals to all students. The new legislation took effect in 2014-2015 school year.

"Its potentially troubling since even the nutritional targets of previous standards were not being met satisfactorily prior to this new legislation, and now there are potentially millions more kids who could be affected by accessing free school meals, said You, who did not have data to assess the impact of the newly adopted pieces of legislation in her study.

You and her colleague Kristen Capogrossi, a former doctoral student at Virginia Tech and now an economist at RTI International, examined both long-term and short-term school meal programs participation effects and the specific short-term participation effect of those students whose families may have experienced intermittent poverty and switched participation status along the way.

They found that long-term participation posed the largest risk of being overweight. The study utilized a nationally representative longitudinal data of 21, 260 students who were followed from kindergarten to eighth grade and controlled for the self-selection and income effects to examine school meal programs influence on the change in students' body mass index.



The study utilized statistical methods to match students who were eligible and chose not to participate in the school meal programs with students who chose to participate to ensure comparability. The team also examined a subgroup of students who changed their program participation status along the way and confirmed the short-term risk of being overweight imposed by the school lunch program.

The study reveals the need for improving the school meal programs effectiveness at promoting better nutrition among school-age children. Although the research is limited at looking at the school meal programs as a whole, it uncovers the need to go beyond merely raising nutrition standards to comprehensively designing how the programs can enable schools to provide not just healthy food that meets standards, but also healthy food that will be acceptable and appetizing to children.

Policymakers need to consider all the aspects of school meal programs  from availability and affordability to nutritional content and tastiness. It is important to have extra policy support that will allow funding for programs, such as chef-to-school and farm-to-school, as well as culinary training for cafeteria staff so kids actually enjoy eating what is ultimately prepared for them, said You. This study also helps to identify the regions that are most in need and calls for targeted policy design, she said.

The study was funded in part by the Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics Center for Targeted Studies and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Written by Amy Loeffler

Editor's note: This story was updated on Aug. 12 to include the years that the data was collected.
The Flint, Michigan, water system is healing.

Lead levels appear to have fallen below actionable limits, according to the most recent testing by Virginia Tech researchers.

In addition, no alarming Legionella bacteria were found in water heaters of random homeowners. And testing has also eliminated concerns about contamination from disinfection byproducts in the water.

But the improvements do not mean Flint residents should start drinking straight from the taps, said Marc Edwards, the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech.

What our data clearly shows is Flint water is dramatically better, Edwards said during a news conference Thursday at the Quillen Family Auditorium in Goodwin Hall in Blacksburg, Virginia. Residents certainly should continue using bottled water and filters until notification from the Environmental Protection Agency or the state  no one is saying the water is safe.

Researchers tested water from 162 homes over the summer in sampling led by former Flint resident LeeAnne Walters and funded by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Data presented Thursday by Kelsey Pieper, a U.S. Department of Agriculture postdoctoral fellow at Virginia Tech, shows Flint water appears to be below the lead action level. However, samples were not from an approved Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule sampling pool.

Generally, Edwards said, the numbers indicate lead levels are 50 percent to 80 percent lower than they were about a year ago. The water is clearer and also contains less iron, largely because of corrosion control chemicals that have been flowing through the water system.

In March 2016 the lead level was 1.5 times the action level, Edwards said. Then residents were encouraged to use the water and flush out the pipes.

Increased water flow allowed anticorrosive chemicals to work, and lead levels apparently fell below the action level by July 2016.

Edwards said the recent sampling was thorough, but the results should not be considered official per the EPA or the state of Michigan. Residents should continue to use lead filters or bottled water.

As long as good corrosion control continues, things are destined to be better in each round of testing for the next year or so, Edwards said.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech graduate students William Rhoads, a doctoral candidate, and Taylor Bradley, a masters student, both with the Charles E. Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, discovered Legionella colonization rates in Flint homes are also very low.

In a study funded by the state of Michigan, two teams of seven students  with the aid of three community volunteers and three plumbers  tested samples originating from hot water tanks at the source and at various locations in the house, such as the shower.

In addition, they flushed 30 hot water tanks to see whether accumulated sediment was interfering with residual chlorine, which could create a favorable environment for bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease or Pontiac fever.

They said flushing did not eliminate or reduce the incidence of Legionella, nor did flushing change levels of lead, iron, copper, or chlorine in the water system. They did not recommend a one-time, short-term cleaning program to flush Flint hot water tanks.

Meanwhile, Edwards said separate water heater disinfection byproduct testing funded by the EPA and led by Dave Reckhow, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, found levels of disinfection byproducts were normal.

Edwards said Flint residents experiencing breathing difficulties or rashes are concerned about the chemical byproducts in the water system.

We feel these fears are justified and we take these problems seriously, Edwards said. Given the widespread concern, we recruited the team from UMass Amherst.

In terms of discoloration and floating particles, the water looks better than it did in summer 2015, when Virginia Tech's Flint Water Study team first worked with Flint residents in a historic sampling that demonstrated serious lead-in-water contamination throughout the city.

Walters, a concerned parent who could not get state or local officials to pay attention to the orange-tinted water coming out of her spigots, contacted Edwards in 2015 to enlist Virginia Techs involvement.

Virginia Tech testing showed lead levels were dangerously off the charts, but getting officials to accept the public health problem was difficult, eventually leading to Congressional hearings to investigate the situation.

For Edwards, much of that is water under the bridge.

Look at what was accomplished, Edwards said. EPA experts and state officials have implemented some of the best corrosion control practiced in U.S. When we saw the healing progress was slow, the residents water bills were paid for a month to help start drawing water through the system. Since the state of Michigan and others acknowledged the problem, I have been satisfied with the response. This is how science should work. People are doing their jobs and doing them well.

More information on Virginia Techs work in Flint can be found online:

 http://flintwaterstudy.org/

 http://www.vt.edu/flintwater/

 http://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2016/04/engineering-flintresults.html

 http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2016/02/021916-engineering-flintwater.html

Media assets:

Written by John Pastor
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case on a complaint received from Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) against three officials of the Bank. An alleged loss of around Rs 321 crore was caused to the complainant bank (IOB) and the foreign branches of PNB and BoB.

According to CBI's Zonal Office, Delhi u/s 120-B r/w 420 of IPC and Sec. 13(2) r/w 13(1) (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against three then Assistant Managers, Indian Overseas Bank, Chandigarh; a Proprietor of Chandigarh based private firm; Proprietor of another Chandigarh based private firm; two then Directors of another Chandigarh based private firm and also said firm, a Hong Kong based company, a Brigadier (Retd.) based at Chandigarh and other unknown public servants and private persons.
Heartbreaking family update after mother-of-six was killed in horror crash Hannah Fraser's father and stepmother are trying to make it from the United Kingdom to Australia in time for their daughter's funeral.

Firefighter unions latest message to Andrews Government More than a hundred fire trucks in Victoria will carry pointed messages about the Andrews Government as part of a union campaign in the lead up to next month's state election.

Family of Aboriginal teen who died in apparent suicide after sexual abuse back calls for inquiry Police believe 15-year-old Layla Leering took her own life after being raped in the Northern Territory community of Bulla in 2015.

Duttons declaration to voters amid Labors big mess The Opposition Leader said the Prime Minister "might write me off" but he believes Australians will vote the Coalition back into power in 2025 to clean up "the big mess" Labor will leave behind.
WATERLOO  Charges have been dropped against an Indiana man who had challenged a 9-year-old drug case.

Prosecutors asked the court to dismiss a charge of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver in proximity to a park filed against Christopher Lee Parish in 2012 in connection with a 2007 narcotics investigation.

The move allows Parish to enter the federal pretrial diversion program. On July 25, Judge Linda Reade ordered the case be dismissed without prejudice, which means prosecutors have the option of reinstating the charge in the future.

Parish will be placed under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office, and the government can formally decline prosecution upon successful completion of the diversion program.

The diversion program can include counseling, employment, education and community service, according to the U.S. Department of Justice website.

Authorities alleged Parish was involved in a shipment of cocaine that traveled from Mission, Texas, to Waterloo in October 2007 in a 2,200-pound moving container packed with household items. The container was delivered to a vacant townhouse on Oaklawn Avenue near Elks Memorial Park.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Parish in February 2012, and it remained sealed until Parish was arrested in March 2016. Parishs attorney, Mike Lahammer, had sought to throw out the case, arguing the government didnt pursue the drug case for years and then didnt take any steps to find Parish after the indictment was filed.

Parishs prior brush with the law included a robbery and attempted murder conviction stemming from a 1996 shooting at an Elkhart, Ind., housing project. He served about seven years in prison before the Indiana Court of Appeals granted a new trial in 2005 after key witnesses said they doubted the confidence in their identification of Parish when presented with photos of other suspects. DNA from one of the other suspects was found in a ball cap left at the Elkhart shooting scene, and the suspect was later convicted of an unrelated murder in Michigan in 2002.

Indiana prosecutors dropped charges in the shooting case, and Parish ultimately received a $4.9 million settlement after lodging a wrongful conviction suite.

Court records indicate Parish now operates a real estate company involved with the construction of Section 8 housing in Indiana and Illinois.
WATERLOO (AP)  The city with Iowas highest African-American population has settled lawsuits against white police officers who roughed up three black residents, including a 13-year-old girl who was handcuffed after yelling at a passing officer to slow down.

Videos obtained by The Associated Press in two of the cases show questionable uses of force by Waterloo officers at a time when interactions between police and minority residents around the country are being scrutinized after several high-profile deaths of blacks at the hands of police.

In one, officer Mark Nissen slams 17-year-old Malcolm Anderson face-first into a concrete sidewalk outside a hospital and leaves him handcuffed and injured on the ground. In another, Nissen points his stun gun at a crowd of black residents before using it to shock 31-year-old Justin Jones, who had been helping police break up an early morning party outside his home.

In a third case outlined in court records, officer Timothy Everett took the 13-year-old girl to the ground and handcuffed her after she refused to give him her last name. Everett initiated the encounter after the girl yelled slow down after he sped by in his patrol car, pulling a U-turn to confront her about the comment.

The incidents occurred between 2013 and 2015, prompting lawsuits that were settled last month, according to court records. The settlements follow a $2.5 million payment the citys insurer agreed to in January with the family of a 22-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a white officer in 2012.

Sixteen percent of Waterloos 68,000 residents are African-American, but just two of the citys 124 police officers are black.

Waterloos insurer has agreed to pay $170,000 to settle the Jones and Anderson cases. An additional amount expected to go to the 13-year-old girls family hasnt been released since the settlement needs approval from a judge.

Attorney Tom Frerichs, who represented all three plaintiffs, said he could only comment on two cases filed by Jones, who will receive $70,000 to settle the 2013 stun gun incident and a separate wrongful arrest in 2015.

The other two cases include confidentiality agreements.

The Jones cases reflect a serious and nearly complete lack of any meaningful disciplinary policy within the Waterloo Police Department, Frerichs said, calling it a recipe for disaster.

In each case, charges filed against the suspects were later found to be meritless and dismissed. Yet internal affairs investigations justified the uses of force and found no violations of policy or law.

Handcuffing juveniles is illegal in Iowa under most circumstances. But the department backed Everetts treatment of the 13-year-old, claiming the force was justified because she tried to flee.

Police Chief Daniel Trelka said officers made honest mistakes due to deficient training. He said officers have been instructed to stop arresting people who wont give their names, a practice that is illegal absent additional criminal activity.

They were errors that we felt we could correct from training, that didnt rise to the level of needing discipline, he said.

Trelka said he remains confident in the policing abilities of Nissen, who has been sued four times since 2012 over his use of force. It just happens hes one of our most active officers, the chief said.

Nissen faces a separate lawsuit after he and another officer shot a black man who was leaving a nightclub last year, a shooting later ruled justified.

Anderson, who was 17 when he was injured by Nissen outside UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital in 2014, will receive a $100,000 settlement.

Officers wanted Anderson to go with them to the police station so he could be questioned about the stabbing of an acquaintance he had taken to the hospital. But he said he knew nothing and wouldnt go voluntarily since he wasnt under arrest.

Video captured by freelance journalist Myke Goings shows Nissen restraining Andersons arms behind his back before throwing him to the ground outside the front door of the emergency room. The video was shown to The Associated Press by Frerichs. An edited version of the video on YouTube does not show the incident, only the before and aftermath.

Officers keep Anderson on the ground with his face down as passers-by walk in and out of the hospital, getting him up only after Goings flashes his lights to signal that hes filming. They later accused Anderson of fighting with officers but a judge dismissed the charge, saying the video showed otherwise.

Officer Nissen assaulted my son and then lied about it in a police report. He should not continue to be a police officer, Malcolms mother, Andrea Anderson, wrote in a complaint. An internal affairs investigation, in which Anderson was not interviewed, cleared Nissen.

In 2013, Jones had been hosting a party at his home, and a crowd spilled into an adjacent lot. After officers arrived, Jones cooperated and got the partygoers to begin leaving. But after he refused to give his last name, police sought to arrest him. Nissen pointed his stun gun at the crowd before shooting electrodes into Jones, who was later kneed in the groin by another officer after he repeatedly asked what hed done wrong.

The department found both uses of force justified, telling Jones: We appreciate you bringing this to our attention.
LA PORTE CITY  The Union School District will vote to fill an unexpired term on its school board at the Nov. 8 general election. Interested candidates should file nomination papers with the school district secretary by Aug. 31.

Board member James Bronner resigned from the board upon moving out of the district last spring and was replaced through board appointment.

His four-year term was due to be up in September 2017, but current Iowa law requires that any appointment to fill a school board vacancy occurring before July 1, 2016, lasts only until the next pending election, general elections included.

The Union School Board appointed Darrell DeWinter to fill the immediate vacancy at its June 22 meeting.

The vacancy is in District One of the school district. Candidates must be residents of this subdistrict, but they are elected by the voters of the entire school district. The winning candidate will take office after official canvassing for the general election is completed.

For more information, contact the Black Hawk County Election Office at 833-3007 or election@co.black-hawk.ia.us or the Union School District at 342-2697 or k_krug@union.k12.ia.us.
WATERLOO  Tony Stevens wears University of Northern Iowa purple and gold.

Hes worked 44 years in various capacities under roofs of buildings bearing the UNI name.

But he also was one of 10 activists associated with the UNI Seven, a group of UNI students who protested the schools treatment of African-Americans. They staged a sit-in at then-university President J.W. Mauckers house in 1970 to advocate for a black cultural house on campus.

Seven of those activists were identified by the administration and faced disciplinary action.

Stevens, 66, admits its a bit strange hes worked so long for an institution he protested so passionately when he was young.

Yeah, that crosses my mind on a regular basis, Stevens said. But its been so long. Most people dont know about that ...

My philosophy is, I ... call myself a blue-collar worker in a white collar profession, Stevens continued. I just do my thing and get it done. Thats the way I do it.

Robert Smith, director of UNI-CUE, doesnt hesitate to call Stevens by a different title.

I call him The Godfather of UNI-CUE, Smith said. Because there are two things Tony never, never compromised in 28 years Ive worked with him: his family and his community. And first-generation, low-income people  thats who Tony works for.

Friday will be Stevens last day as director of the educational talent search program at UNI-CUE. Its a title hes held for 31 years, and co-workers say hes leaving on top.

Yet Smith acknowledged Stevens despises recognition.

He speaks with his actions. He doesnt say a whole lot, Smith said. But I think the public really needs to know what hes meant not just to UNI-CUE but to this community.

Waterloo roots

Stevens has lived in Waterloo his entire life. Hes been married to Terry Pearson Stevens for 44 years, his three children all live in Waterloo and all but one of his seven grandchildren live here as well.

His mother, Helen, worked for the Iowa State Extension program for many years. His father, Monroe, worked for the Rath Packing Co.

Stevens said his parents were active in the community and that meant their children often accompanied them to events.

Monroe was involved in union work and participated in a 1972 sit-in of the Waterloo Community Schools superintendents office. Tony was right behind his father.

Stevens attended UNI for one year before moving on to North Iowa Area Community College and then to Wartburg College, where he graduated with a degree in social work.

Stevens began working for UNI in 1972 as an academic adviser in charge of recruiting and counseling minority students in an educational opportunity program. He obtained a masters degree in communications while working at UNI.

He moved to the UNI-CUE in 1983 to take on an assistant director position before switching to head the educational talent search program in 1985.

Information

Stevens said his program arms students with information they need to explore educational and career opportunities post-high school. It serves 1,200 students in nine Waterloo schools. Of those students, at least 800 come from a disadvantaged background.

You know, I really enjoy what Ive been doing, and thats why Ive done it for so long, Stevens said. Designing programs and providing input is what he enjoys most, perhaps inspired by a passion for magazine design and photography that never quite coalesced into a career.

The program offers weekly workshops for students on study skills, financial literacy and the like. Stevens said hes worked in all nine schools over the years.

Stevens loves working with kids. When he talks of his work with middle-schoolers his gruff voice mellows and his hard exterior softens.

There are challenges. ... Some of the things they do or say, they dont know why theyre doing it either, he said with a hint of a laugh.

He emphasized the work parents, schools and the community are already doing to help students. But he says the students themselves deserve the most credit.

Stevens said his biggest accomplishment may be working for UNI-CUE so long. Hes worked with three generations of some families.

The pride Stevens feels for his longevity goes hand-in-hand with UNI-CUEs longevity. The program has consistently secured federal funding over the years, which helps keep its doors open. UNI also supports UNI-CUE.

UNI-CUE most recently has been approved for $2.5 million in federal funding for the next five years, a $100,000 increase from its last funding cycle.

Looking back

Stevens didnt have much interest in reflecting on 44 years of change in Waterloo, nor did he care to detail his time with the UNI Seven aside from a few brief comments.

Have you ever gone to a dinner, and everyone else was eating steak and youre not eating steak? Stevens said in an analogy for his time as a student. Youre invited to the dinner, but you dont get served no meal.

Stevens said in demanding a place for black students to congregate, activists werent asking anything that wasnt already afforded to white students.

We also wanted to see some people on campus who look like us and act like us. Nothing wrong with that, he said. And thats what theyre still fighting for today.  Some of those conditions still exist 45 years later.

Smith said its important for the community to realize the historical link between the UNI Seven and UNI-CUE, which was established in 1967. The Seven shined a light on the value of the UNI-CUE, Smith said.

When I retire, Id love to leave like Tonys leaving, Smith said. If I can leave like Tony, leave on top  with UNI-CUE at the highest place its ever been, Id be proud.

Were going to miss him. Everybody here, absolutely, Smith said.

Stevens said hes healthy and still doing good work, but its just time to go.

Father Time just catches up with you, he said.
WATERLOO  Calling it a compromise, U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-1st District, is challenging his Democratic opponent Monica Vernon to six debates.

Blum, a Dubuque businessman who is vying for his second term, had previously proposed 10 debates; Vernon countered with two. So, now Blum is trying to meet her in the middle  reducing his proposal by four, and hoping to increase hers by four.

I think thats reasonable, trying to compromise, Blum said Thursday. Im puzzled. Im absolutely puzzled why a challenger would not want to debate.

Blums current proposal calls for the six debates to be held in Cedar Rapids, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area, Decorah, Dubuque, Grinnell and Marshalltown. Vernon, a former Cedar Rapids City Council woman, initially countered for the two debates to be held in their respective home towns.

Vernons campaign continues to push for two debates just as Congressman Blum agreed to in 2014. Vernons campaign previously cited the precedent for two debates during the 2014 and 2012 general elections in the 1st District.

Blum noted his defiance of tradition by issuing the challenge as an incumbent. Usually, the challengers call for more debates, not fewer.

But he said he wants to debate on their respective visions.

I think I know the issues, so Im not afraid to have that conversation or that debate about my vision for the country, and the policies, versus, I dont even know what her vision is, Blum said, adding he believes most eastern Iowans agree with him on the issues.

Blum said it may benefit him to have fewer debates  so fewer people learn where Vernon stands on issues  but he wants to have the conversation. Blum said Iowans deserve to hear for themselves about their visions.

Vernons campaign, meanwhile, said Iowans deserve answers to questions on Blums positions.

Northeast Iowans have a lot of questions for Congressman Blum: Why does he keep supporting unfair, job-killing trade deals? Why does he keep trying to cut Social Security and privatize Medicare instead of looking out for Iowas middle class? Iowans deserve to know, said Vernon campaign spokeswoman Michelle Gajewski.

Blums campaign once again called the counter-proposal disappointing, though not surprising.

Blum made his initial proposal in June and his campaign hasnt gotten a response beyond Vernons public call for two October debates.

But his campaign offered in a statement to work closely with Vernons campaign to organize the debates and find mutual agreement on the terms and structure of the debates.
CEDAR RAPIDS  Thirteen weeks before Election Day, a Suffolk University poll shows the race in Iowa is a statistical dead heat, with GOP nominee Donald Trump leading Democrat Hillary Clinton by 1 percentage point.

The Aug. 8-10 live telephone interviews of 500 likely voters found him leading 41 percent to 40 percent with a 4.4 percent margin of error. Another 17 percent were undecided.

When third-party candidates were added to the mix, Trump led Clinton 37 percent to 36, with Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Partys Jill Stein getting 6 and 3 percent, respectively.

The Suffolk poll, conducted between Iowa visits by Trump and Clinton, comes a day after a NBC/Marist poll showed Clinton ahead of Trump 41 percent to 37 percent among registered voters with a 3.1 percent margin of error.

In Iowas U.S. Senate race, Suffolk found the same result as that NBC/Marist poll: Republican Sen. Charles Grassley leads Democratic challenger Patty Judge 52 percent to 42 percent with 6 percent undecided.

Irrespective of their choice for president, Iowans said Clinton will win by a 53 percent to 31 percent margin.

In Iowa, there is a marked difference between what voters will do at the polls and what voters think others will do at the polls, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston.

The tight race reflects current party registration in Iowa  33 percent Republican, 32 percent Democratic and 35 percent no party, he said

The poll found Clinton continues to struggle with trust issues. Among likely voters, 62 percent said she isnt trustworthy and 9 percent werent sure. Trump was viewed as honest and trustworthy by 34 percent of respondents while 55 percent said he was not, with over 10 percent not sure.

Although the margin did not change in the four-way ballot test, Paleologos said the results suggest Stein and Johnson could have an impact in Iowa.

In conservative southwest Iowa, an area Trump likely needs to carry by a wide margin, Johnson polls higher than he does statewide  at 11 percent.

On the flip side, Steins numbers were higher with younger voters, a demographic that has shown less enthusiasm for Clinton. Among the 18-34 age group, Stein gets 9 percent  triple her statewide standing.

The most important issues to voters were jobs and the economy, 25 percent, and terrorism and national security, 21 percent. Choosing Supreme Court nominees, reducing the federal debt, health care and illegal immigration tallied 9, 7, 6 and 5 percent, respectively.

When voters were asked if they feel more or less safe living in America than they did 5 or 10 years ago, 56 percent said less safe, 10 percent indicated safer and 28 percent indicated no change.

Although the Zika threat remains low, nearly two-thirds of voters are concerned about its spread. One-third said they were not very or not at all concerned.

For full results, visit: www.suffolk.edu/SUPRC.
DIKE -- A Waterloo man is hospitalized with multiple injuries following a car-motorcycle crash in Grundy County Wednesday.

Jeffrey Cosby, 49, was driving a 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle and suffered injuries in the crash, reported about 4:25 p.m. at the intersection of County Road D-19 (160th Street) and County Road T-65 (X Avenue) about three miles east of Dike.

He was transported to Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo.

The other driver was identified as Jeffrey Hall, 49, of Grundy Center, driving a 1998 Pontiac Grant Am. Hall was not injured. The Grundy County Sheriff's Office said Cosby was eastbound on D-19, slowed to make a left turn onto T-65 and was struck in the rear by Hall's vehicle.

The crash remains under investigation.
Trump and honesty

BRIGETTE YANES

LA PORTE CITY  While the candidates plan to share their policies with the public, Im once again bemused with Trump supporters. This morning, KWWL showed part of a Donald Trump speech talking about the need to bring outsourced jobs back from foreign companies. He conveniently forgets his guilt in that area, seeing how Trump goods are created in foreign countries.

If I remember correctly, Trump has denigrated Hillary Clinton for her lack of honesty. Doesnt that make him a hypocritical outsourcing businessman? I dont understand how hes gotten so far. How can anyone see him as a good candidate? They conveniently forget how he cheated on past wives and conveniently changes his position on important issues. How does anyone trust him?

If Trump is somehow elected, we might as well as gear up for World War III. He doesnt know what tact is. As a businessman he has the power and money to say whatever he wants, but that sort of behavior can only damage our foreign relationships both good and bad. I would just like his supporters to look more closely at his candidacy.

Wants or needs

JIM CHAPMAN

WATERLOO  The last Waterloo City Council meeting they voted to go ahead with a study on the white-water course. This was voted down two other times. This also is a want.

Here are a few of the needs: cameras for the police, fix the bump on the Sixth Street bridge, put money toward the Fourth Street bridge, the sewer system the EPA says we have to fix and the cement that divides the lanes on Park Avenue bridge is falling apart. Those are just a few of the needs I can think of; there are a lot more. I feel that the money being spent should go to benefit us all, not just a few. This goes to show us the special interest groups win again.

Elder abuse law

LOIS STORK

NEW HARTFORD  The Senate recently passed a resolution co-sponsored by Sen. Charles Grassley to raise awareness of elder abuse.

Perpetrators of financial exploitation, neglect and emotional and physical abuse against vulnerable seniors will be held accountable for the full extent of their crime.

Iowa Irish Fest

JODY DOHERTY

WATERLOO  Last weekend I along with thousands of other people joined in the celebration of Irish culture. Although I was born and raised in Iowa and I am a true American, I am equally proud of my Irish heritage. Not only am I proud to be Irish, I am proud of my born-and-raised Irish husband having come here from Killarney Kerry in 1978.

Last weekend put a smile on my face. Never in my life have I experienced such joy and togetherness at a Waterloo event. If you didnt attend, you missed out! Iowa Irish Fest celebrated 10 years in our city. It was not only the best yet, it was the most visited.

I sat in my chair soaking in the sun and beautiful weather along with watching all the love that surrounded me. It was such a pleasure to enjoy the different acts, Mass in the park with the Rev. Tom McDermott, educational opportunities, dueling pianos, Irish dancing and lets not forget the mind-blowing performances of the Irish bands. I people watched and absorbed the fellowship around me. Wow!

Give for cameras

TOM HAGARTY

CEDAR FALLS  Cedar Falls residents have a chance to show their support for the Cedar Falls Police Department. This involves the safety of our officers who protect us 24/7.

A recent Courier editorial endorsed full support by citizens of the Cedar Falls/Cedar Valley area in making this happen. The CFPD is hoping to purchase 30 body cameras for all its officers. Many citizens and groups stepped up and made donations to purchase an initial 14 body cameras which need to be shared from shift to shift.

I would like to encourage residents and organizations to step up and help the CFPD successfully reach their goal on this campaign. The goal is $30,000. If you or your business would like to donate to this campaign, contact Assistant Chief Craig Berte at 269-5153. Donations can also be mailed to the CFPD at 220 Clay St., Cedar Falls IA., or go online to: www.gofundme.com/cfpdbodycameras site to donate.
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KIEV - Ukraine on Wednesday denied a statement by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on Ukrainian troops attempting to invade Crimea and plotting terror attacks on the peninsula.

"The FSB's statement does not correspond to reality," the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said.

The ministry has described the FSB's statement as an "attempt by Russia to justify the redeployment of its military units" in Crimea.

Earlier in the day, the FSB said in a statement that during the weekend it prevented several groups of armed "saboteurs," who were members of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's intelligence forces, from invading Crimea.

A FSB officer and a Russian serviceman were killed in clashes with the "saboteurs", the statement said.

The armed groups were preparing terror attacks on the peninsula's infrastructure, which were aimed at destabilizing the social and political situation in Crimea on the eve of federal and regional elections, read the statement.

Last week, the Ukrainian State Border Service said that Russia is building up troops levels along the contact line separating Crimea and Ukraine's southern Kherson region. Russia has not made official comments on the claim.

The autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were absorbed into Russia in March 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Kiev.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, August 11, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Product innovations and technology developments have been a hallmark characteristic of EDCO Products for the past 70 years - and they have done it again. Delivering yet another industry first, EDCO is proud to announce the launch their latest product innovation; the all-new Infiniti Roofing line.



"Infiniti Roofing is the latest addition to an already powerful lineup of roofing products offered by EDCO," said Eric Lindquist, EDCO's President and CEO. "It began when we launched Arrowline in 2001 which is still the gold-standard in metal roofing. Then we followed with Generations which added a variety of colors and highlights to Arrowline, and now we have Infiniti which brings rich colors and enhanced texture to our award winning roofing collection. I couldn't be more proud of our EDCO team," he said.



The highlights of this product include:

- Multi-tone layering, natural shading

- Lifetime warranty for beauty and protection

- Permanent thermal-fused texture

- Whisper Quiet technology

- Eco-performance with "Cool Roof" technology



Infiniti Roofing will initially be offered in two colors; Obsidian and Aged Bronze - supported with a full line of color coordinated accessories.



Infiniti is in full production and is already making positive impacts with contractors and consumers alike. "This Infiniti roof is the best-looking roof we've ever installed," said Brad Fleming of ABC Seamless of Owatonna. Minnesota homeowner Paul Anderson said, "We are very pleased with our new Infiniti roof. Our previous cedar shake roofing was worn out from 18 years of Minnesota weather. We wanted to retain the character and style of the shake roofing without having to replace it again in the next fifteen to twenty years."



About EDCO Products, Inc.



Headquartered in Hopkins, MN EDCO Products, Inc. is one of the single largest manufacturer of pre-finished exterior products in the United States, including a full line of siding, roofing, gutter, and soffit products. It is also one of the oldest and longest-running steel/metals companies in this country. EDCO has established distributor partnerships across the United States.



EDCO was founded in 1946 by the enterprising Edwards family who capitalized on a strong demand for affordable building materials in the wake of WWII. For the past nearly 70 years, EDCO has delivered numerous industry inventions while achieving industry leading quality. Today, the Edwards family continues to push the leading edge of innovation and excellence.



# # #
Aug 11, 2016 | By Alec

When you look at what industries are most strongly benefiting from industrial-level 3D printing, the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors are often top of the list. But as British diamond expert De Beers revealed, the diamond industry can also greatly benefit from 3D printing technology. After their first Stratasys 360mc 3D printer became a huge hit in their R&D department for the development of diamond testing equipment, the company even took the step to adopt a Stratasys Dimension 1200es 3D printer as well.

No company in the worlds diamond industry can benefit from these technological breakthroughs as much as De Beers, which is currently the world leader in diamond exploration, mining, processing and retailing. With its roots in the South African diamond rush of the 1880s, the company has grown into a renowned diamond company known for bringing the finest 100% conflict-free the diamonds to the market.

But doing so requires a lot of technological power, and not just for cutting the diamonds themselves. At the De Beers Technologies UK research and development facility in Maidenhead, Berkshire, engineers develop and manufacture machinery for, among others, diamond verification and grading, diamond sorting and treatment, as well as synthetic diamond detection.

This is done at breakneck speeds of up to eight diamond per second, and thus requires immensely advanced equipment that operates with unparalleled efficiency, flexibility and consistency. The company is also always looking at accelerating those processes. And of course when it comes to something as valuable as diamonds, theres no margin of error.

Thats where 3D printing comes in. To cope with the R&D demands of the modern diamond industry, De Beers first adopted a Stratasys Fortus 360mc 3D printer  after previously outsourcing most of the 3D printing work. Until recently we did all of our 3D printing through a bureau service, explains Technical Manager Trevor Poulter. However, we soon discovered that the amount of printing we were doing would soon justify buying a 3D printer of our own.

It was a huge hit almost immediately, and is currently running almost non-stop. In particular, it has proven itself as a huge cost-reducing innovation that breaks through the barriers of traditional diamond processing equipment. Especially for machining and casting equipment, 3D printing has become invaluable at De Beers and introduced new levels of design freedom. The machine is available 24-7 for our engineers to use on a daily basis, says Poulter. With the Fortus 360mc in place, we can fit R&D parts between production builds to produce prototypes or test pieces in a much quicker fashion.

Senior Mechanical Engineer Andrew Portsmouth discovered this for himself, as 3D printing gave his team the ability to 3D print brand new ideas overnight. So that the next day we are testing it, assessing it, and figuring out any limitations. We can then modify the design and put it back on the 3D printer overnight. The following morning we are testing the next iteration. In terms of reducing development time, its impossible to put a value on what 3D printing has saved us, he explained. The Fortus 360mc has changed the way we work as engineers and designers. In fact, we are now designing parts purely to take advantage of 3D printing, and forgetting the restrictions that conventional processes such as machining or casting bring.

Though the company did look at different 3D printers, they eventually found that Stratasys offered the best package. The Fortus 360mc itself 3D prints in production-grade thermoplastics at incomparable accuracy levels. It also features a build envelope of 355 x 254 x 254mm and an automated material changeover feature for uninterrupted production for long periods of time.

The optical measurement cell housing, visible above, could not even be developed without 3D printing. And according to Mr. Portsmouth, the technology is also proving itself as a significant cost-reducing opportunity. Today, it feels like we print anything and everything: its the flexibility and the change in the way we innovate thats really made the difference here. I would also say that the Fortus has helped us create more innovative products because of the design freedom it allows  making parts that were simply not possible before, he says.

As a result, De Beers engineers have started using 3D printing so extensively, that it became necessary to purchase a second 3D printer (a Stratasys Dimension 1200es) to alleviate capacity limitations. They purposefully chose a different machine to bring different material and production options to the table. The Dimension 1200es 3D prints in ABSplus thermoplastic at differing layer thicknesses of 0.254 or 0.33mm. It also features a larger build envelope at 254 x 254 x 305mm. As a result, we can better react to specific requirements, and in a very quick time, Poulter added. 3D printing is thus quickly becoming indispensable at De Beers.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Hans wrote at 8/20/2016 4:55:24 PM:I agree with Jeff, anyone that thinks diamonds are recovered by using slaves has it wrong.Jeff wrote at 8/13/2016 3:58:12 PM:John Dee - that makes no sense, De Beers doesn't deal in carrots. Carats maybe, but not carrots. In addition your "point" is ignorant, poorly thought out, and just plain wrongJohn Dee wrote at 8/11/2016 8:47:47 PM:De Beers, which is currently the world leader in diamond exploitation & slavery, known for bringing the finest 100% conflict-free the diamonds to the market. SO find a diamond at the side of the road and debeers would do their damnedest to tell you it wasnt worth a Carrot




Kate Brown at Eurozine:

The race to relegate the Chernobyl disaster to history books shows that humans don't have the patience for the time scale that nuclear accidents require. The period for half of the cesium and strontium fallout to decay elapsed at thirty years. It will take another thirty years to extinguish the remaining half. Americium as it decays over several hundred years issues radioactive iodine, a powerful and harmful, short-lived isotope. Plutonium will continue to pulse with destructive energy for thousands of years.

In the dawning age of the Anthropocene, humans are grappling with new temporal orders presented by a mounting, steadily accruing layer of toxins and carbons produced and released by human activity. One thousand years from now geologists will find substances in the sedimentary layer, among them radioactive isotopes, which they will date starting about 1945. The scientists of the future will be able to track the remnants of plutonium, uranium and other isotopes as they multiplied on the earth's surface in the decades of nuclear weapons testing followed by decades of furious reactor construction. They will locate hot spots of concentrated activity, but generally the isotopes will embrace the planet like the sweet icing glaze encircling a donut: existing everywhere, holding fast, spiking the flavour of life.

Looking back now, it is easy to see how resistant scientists were in the months after the accident to accepting the fact that Chernobyl was a problem with very long legs. In August 1986, Soviet and international scientist met at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The anxious body of experts rushed to tell the public that the accident was under control.

more here.
Victoria Gill in BBC:

Only three known mammals experience the menopause  orcas, short-finned pilot whales and we humans. Even our closest ape cousins, chimpanzees, do not go through it. Their fertility peters out with age and, in the wild, they seldom live beyond childbearing years. But female orcas and women evolved to live long, active, post-reproductive lives. From an evolutionary perspective, it's very difficult to explain, says Prof Darren Croft, who travels here from the UK's University of Exeter to study the whales. Why would an individual stop having their own offspring so early in life? Darwinian evolutionary theory says that any characteristic reducing an animal's chance of passing on its genes to the next generation will be edged out  the process of natural selection. That has led some to argue that menopause in humans is a result of longer life, better health and better medical care. But, as well as painting a rather depressing image that post-menopausal women are simply alive beyond their evolutionarily prescribed time, that theory has been largely debunked  thanks, in part, to these orcas. Obviously, medical care is not increasing their lifespan. So studying them in the wild could help us reveal some of the mystery of why menopause evolved, Croft says

Some of their latest insights came from analysing hundreds of hours of video footage of the whales going about their lives  chasing the salmon on which they depend for sustenance. We noticed that the old females would lead from the front  they're guiding their groups, their families, around to find food, says Croft. Crucially, he and Franks also noticed that the older females took the lead more often during years when salmon supplies were low  suggesting that the pod might be reliant on their experience, their ecological knowledge. It's just like us, says Croft. Before we had Google to ask where the shop was, if there was a drought or a famine, we would go to the elders in the community to find out where to find food and water. That kind of knowledge is accumulated over time  accumulated in individuals.

More here.
TGI Weekend! Here's some fun stuff. Go do it.





Take this photo with you and get 25 percent off your purchase at this weekend's Incase pop-up.

Shop Tech Accessories

What: Shop cool iPhone cases, Macbook sleeves, backpacks, and the limited-edition all-leather Jet Collection at Incase's SF pop-up. Get 25 person off your entire purchase by presenting the invitation above.

When: EndsThursday, Aug. 11th, 10am to 7pm

Where: 459 Geary St. (Union Square), incase.com









Do This Workshop: Image Transfer to Wood



What: This workshop led by Chelsea Farley, owner of Cuppa Fog, will teach you how to transfer an image onto a wooden canvas. Learn how to prep the wood, transfer the image, and cool distressed-finish techniques, as well as how to apply hardware to the back of your new art. Enjoy free wine and snacks, and shop the goods at Gather at a discount. Tickets start at $35.

When: Thursday, Aug. 11, 7 to 9pm

Where: Gather, 541 Octavia St. (Hayes Valley), gathersf.com





Morning Dance Party on a Boat!

What: Daybreaker SF's Tropical Cruise, with DJs from Space Cowboys, is about the most fabulous, most summer-lovin' way we can imagine kicking off the weekend. Don your dance clothes and head for this morning party on the Bayyour ride departs from Pier 3 bright and early! Go for cold brew coffee, fresh juice, yoga classes, dancing, and more. And be back at the dock in time to head to the office fully jazzed.

When: Friday, Aug. 12, 7:10am to 9am



Where: Pier 3 on the Embarcadero; tickets available at daybreaker.com





Romeo, Oh Romeo!



What: We all know the tale of those star-crossed lovers. We Players Presents Romeo and Juliet with a twist: full audience immersion into the action. Here, the boundaries are blurred between the audience and the actors. Hear the clash of steel as swords fly, join the Capulets in their family dance, participate in the rituals of marriage and death, and let Romeo & Juliet break your heart once more.

When: Friday, Aug. 12 through Sept. 25. Evening performances are timed with the sunset and begin 4:30-6pm. All Sunday performances begin at 3pm.

Where: Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park, 3325 Adobe Rd. (Sonoma), weplayers.org









Cuyana + Cereal Launch Party

What: Womenswear purveyor Cuyana and Cereal magazine celebrate the launch of A Guide to San Francisco with a party at Cuyana's Union Square showroom Friday. Go for the open bar serving SF-themed cocktails and get a free guide book with any purchase.

When: Friday, Aug. 12, 5 to 7pm

Where: 291 Geary St., Suite 201 (Union Square), cuyana.com









The 17th Annual Laurel Street Fair

What: This volunteer-run festival makes its return to Oakland this Saturday with live music, merch from local artisans, yoga classes, fun things for kiddos, and food trucks galore. Goit's free.

When: Saturday, Aug. 13, 11am to 6pm



Where: MacArthur Blvd between 35th and 38th Avenues, (Oakland), facebook.com





(Courtesy of Foreign Cinema)

Chow Down on Indian Brunch @ Foreign Cinema

What: Acclaimed chef Niloufer Ichiporia King, author of My Bombay Kitchen, will be preparing a special a la carte brunch and cocktails inspired by her upbringing and travels, in collaboration with Foreign Cinema chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark. Reservations are a must.

When: Saturday, Aug. 13th and Sunday, Aug. 14th, 11am to 2pm

Where: Foreign Cinema, 2534 Mission St. (Mission); for reservations, call 415.648.7600 ext. 0;foreigncinema.com




Asian Activities Report for August 31, 2011 includes: Carbine Resources Limited (ASX:CRB) reported additional high grade assay results from the Nimbo Prospect within the Madougou Project in Burkina Faso; Uranium Equities Limited (ASX:UEQ) says today that Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) has purchased the Founders' 10% interest in the PhosEnergy Process for US$4.5 million and Uranium Equities has a 6-month option to purchase 30% of this interest from Cameco; AusQuest Limited (ASX:AQD) has received further highly anomalous silver results from the emerging Phaco Prospect at its Comoe Joint Venture in Burkina Faso; Niuminco Group Limited (ASX:NIU) re-listed on the ASX yesterday after successfully finalised a A$12 million capital raising.


Presentation - Canaccord Boston Growth Conference

Melbourne, Aug 11, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - iSignthis Ltd ( ASX:ISX ) are pleased to provide the Company's Presentation at the Canaccord Boston Growth Conference August 10 - 11th 2016.



Australia's only ASX listed RegTech, with payment processing capability, iSignthis automates AML/CTF KYC & transaction monitoring via its payments and identity processing platform for traditional and non traditional businesses.



iSignthis Ltd (ASX : ISX) - What will drive our growth?



1. Regulated Growth: Increasingly more stringent Regulation, such as the EC's 4AMLD and Payment Services Directive 2.



2. Online Transition: AML Regulated entities seeking to offer cross border services, and move away from localised face to face services.



3. Reach: CRA based services cover less than 9% of the world's population, whereas iSignthis dynamically reaches circa 51% of the world's (banked) population.



4. Mitigating Fraud Risk: Current manual or database KYC methods are not effective at mitigating electronic payment risk.



5. Enhanced Customer Value Proposition: Full Automation, dynamic, real time combination of payments and identity (paydentity(TM)) which delivers KYC and settled funds in parallel.



6. Additional Sectors: such as gaming, wagering, betting, digital currencies now regulated by full AML/CFT regulations in the EU.



Other opportunities: ISX expanding services and revenues



iSignthis has four core revenue streams available to it in the short and medium term.



Verify



The core of our patented process to verify identity for AML obligated financial institutions. ISX charges a fee for every identity verified.



Process



The 'Paydentity' service provided by ISX allows for Strong Customer Authentication to meet PSD2 requirements i.e. the transaction verification to authorise an online transaction. This service expands further to cover additional revenue opportunities in the card payment processing chain allowing ISX to become our customers;



- Payment Processor (Gateway): allows a merchant to accept payments by credit card.



- Acquirer: allows a merchant to collect funds from their customers.



ISX charges a fee for every transaction processed, authenticated and acquired.



Settle



A longer range (medium term) strategic play for iSignthis is to become a licensed settlement institution. Settlement being the exchange of funds between a card issuer and an acquiring institution (effectively completing the payment transaction). ISX has applied directly for an EU eMoney license which will enable it to become a settlement institution for transactions. This further expands the services available to be offered to our customers creating a stronger relationship and additional sources of revenue. Unlike our core services, the full acquiring and settlement initiative is a volume game with lower margins but an opportunity to settle a large number of transactions per day.



Issue



The EU e-money license will also allow ISX to potentially become a card issuer. This is a longer term initiative to potentially operate as a financial institution that offers credit or debit cards to users (the general public).



To view the full presentation, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/7HDP9SS9





About iSignthis Ltd





iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is a hybrid monetary financial institution and also a RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment, electronic money and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions.

By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard.

iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia.

ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, PRZ24 and others.

Probanx Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to CORE Banking solutions, SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Eurosystem's Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service.
Albuquerque police on Wednesday identified the two men shot and killed at a home near Wyoming and Copper Monday night.

Officer Simon Drobik said officers were called to a shooting at a house on the 300 block of General Marshall St. NE around 11 p.m. Monday. When they arrived, they found Juan Carlos Saenz-Ponce, 23, and Daniel Chumacero, 24, dead inside.

Two other men were found injured inside the house and taken a hospital. Drobik said police are not identifying them for their safety, but both men remained in serious condition Wednesday evening.

Drobik said detectives are still working to determine what led to the shooting.

There is information this was not a random attack, however, no suspects have been identified and no arrests have been made at this time, he said.

Drobik asked anyone with information about the shooting to call 242-2677.
Donald Trump told supporters in Appalachian coal country on Wednesday that Hillary Clinton would be a horror show for miners as he sought to move past the controversy over his statement that gun enthusiasts could block his Democratic rival from naming judges.

The presidential election in November will be the last shot for the miners, the Republican nominee told the audience at a rally in Abingdon, Va. The mines will be gone if she gets elected.

Trump, who was uncharacteristically subdued, has vowed to scrap federal rules that curb the burning of coal in order to reduce the emission of gases that cause global warming. Trump once called climate change a hoax created by China to harm U.S. manufacturing, but has avoided the topic during the campaign.

Miners, some of them in hard hats, sat on stage behind Trump at the rally, many of them holding signs reading, Trump Digs Coal. Trump held one up and told the cheering crowd: If I get in, this is what it is, OK?

He reminded the audience that Clinton said in March that she would put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business with her energy policies, a remark that could cost her votes in struggling coal regions of Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Trump also ridiculed clean coal technology, saying the Chinese were not subject to rules restraining pollution from mining.

Believe me, theyre not cleaning it, he said of Chinese coal. We have a small  a very, very small planet compared to the universe, right? And that stuff is going up, and theyre not cleaning it. And here, we produce great stuff, and were not allowed to use it.

Turning to Clintons record as a U.S. senator from New York, Trump said she had broken her promise to strengthen the upstate economy. Lamenting the loss of manufacturing jobs, he called the region a war zone and wasteland.

Trump did not mention attacks by Clinton and others over his comment Tuesday about Second Amendment backers stopping her from naming judges. But on Twitter, Trump denied a report that the Secret Service discussed the matter with his campaign.



2016 Los Angeles Times

Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

-

PHOTOS (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): TRUMP

_____
(c) 2016, The Washington Post.

Establishment Republicans continue to run up the score in high-profile congressional primaries, with House Speaker Paul Ryans trouncing Tuesday of his obscure opponent the exclamation point to a summer punctuated largely by mainstream triumphs.

Ryan, R-Wisconsin, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, and several Republican chairman have all beat back challenges from the right, leaving the constellation of conservative groups that have caused such headaches the past five years without a major political scalp this primary season.

In fact, the most notable primary defeat thus far came last week when Kansass Republican establishment took out Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a three-term conservative who made it his mission to rebel against Ryan and his predecessor, John Boehner, R-Ohio.

But strategists on both sides of this intra-party war took note of a win Tuesday by a Minnesota right-wing talk radio host that jeopardizes a seat in the Twin Cities suburbs comfortably held for 14 years by a moderate Republican.

And they are girding for a set of primaries in Arizona and Florida later this month that might go a long way to determining how much clout rabble-rousing conservatives who form the House Freedom Caucus will wield next year.

Keller acknowledged that some of these far-right Republicans never developed strong campaigns, lacking fundraising, organization or grassroots support.

But just as Donald Trump tapped into the angry outsider sentiment among many conservatives, the overall tone of Republican races continues to favor those who buck the system.

I dont think anyone would advise their Republican clients to run on their association with Washington, said Keller, who worked for Huelskamp and Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, who won Boehners seat in March.

Davidsons victory has served as the emotional high point for anti-establishment forces this cycle.

It gave the tea party forces, under the auspices of the House Freedom Caucus, control of the districts once represented by Boehner and Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader who two years ago lost his district in the Richmond, Virginia, area in a stunning upset to Rep. David Brat, R.

Cantors defeat probably made establishment-friendly Republicans better prepared this year.

Brian Walsh, a consultant who works for establishment House GOP candidates, said the tea party claiming Boehners seat was a wake-up call to large donors who are tired of the internal feuding and want a governing majority that can advance conservative causes even if it means some compromise with President Obama.

Having 218 votes in the House is no longer good enough, said Walsh, who worked for the Ending Spending super PACs campaign to oust Huelskamp. These Republican donors want to elect quality candidates, not just quantity, he said.

McCarthys campaign for speaker was thwarted last year by the Freedom Caucus, which believed he was too moderate to replace Boehner, who they fought to oust. Ryan was instead elevated, knowing that he might have a tough time uniting the establishment and tea party wing of the conference.

Groups close to the House leadership, particularly the Congressional Leadership Fund and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, played a more active role than previously in GOP primaries, investing to shore up incumbents or to boost establishment candidates running in open seats that lean heavily Republican.

North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers is the only other Republican to lose a primary this cycle  but thats because redistricting forced her into a new district with another incumbent, Rep. George Holding, R, who was better financed and more popular.

In late July, the establishment and tea party wing fought bitterly over replacing retiring Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Georgia, who comes from a solid conservative district but is counted as a Ryan ally.

The Club for Growth poured more than $800,000 into supporting the most conservative candidate, while the Chamber and Ending Spending  largely funded by the Ricketts family, close friends of Ryans  dropped $1.3 million to help the establishment candidate, who narrowly won.

While the conservative groups have failed to oust any incumbent, they have won several contested primaries in swing districts, leaving veteran GOP operatives in Washington worried that those longtime Republican seats will fall to Democrats in November.

House Republicans were already bracing for significant losses this fall, both because they won in in 2014 in some places that are more difficult to keep in a presidential year and because Trump is expected to drag down some Republicans, particularly those in suburban districts where he is unpopular.

Republicans are still expected to hold the House majority, but Ryan has increasingly sent signals to the GOP donor class to help shore up the lower chamber and not just save the Republican Senate majority.

Ryan can afford to lose 29 seats to retain the majority, but even a loss of 15 to 20 seats would make Ryans job as speaker much more difficult.

Thats because his losses in November would not likely come from Freedom Caucus members in their deeply conservative districts.

Instead, mainstream Republicans  Ryans most loyal allies  would suffer and, therefore, the Freedom Caucuss size inside the entire Republican Conference would grow, posing potentially greater problems for the speaker.

Ryans moves Tuesday night show that he understands whats at stake.

Shortly after winning his primary, Ryan endorsed Mike Gallagher, a former Marine intelligence officer who also worked on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before moving home to Green Bay.

Gallagher, an establishment favorite in a seat vacated by retiring Rep. Reid Ribble, R, won a contested primary and now finds himself in a tough general election against a Democrat who had no primary challenge.

What Ryan didnt do was endorse Jason Lewis, a talk radio personality in the Twin Cities whose nomination to fill the seat of retiring Rep. John Kline, R, placed the seat in grave jeopardy.

Analysts at the Cook Political Report and The Rothenberg & Gonzales Report (Stuart Rothenberg is a PowerPost contributor) now rate that seat, held comfortably by Kline for 14 years, as tipping to the Democrats.

Staunch conservatives won similar victories earlier this year in swing districts being vacated by longtime Republicans in Nevada and New York.

The next front comes in Arizona and Florida, where there are five primaries to replace retiring lawmakers from strong Republican districts. Also, theres a fierce GOP primary underway for the nomination in a Democratic-held district that should be a competitive race.

Strategists on both sides agree the fight will continue for years to come. Theyre angry, Keller, the anti-establishment consultant, said of conservative voters.

Walsh said mainstream donors are ready to keep up the fight. His phone kept ringing after Huelskamp went down in Kansas.

These donors, he said, said the same thing: Whos next?

gop-establishment

_____

Keywords: paul ryan, tea party, nehlen, wisconsin primary, huelskamp, ending spending, house freedom caucus, u.s. chamber, club for growth. kevin mccarthy, eric cantor
SANTA FE  A Santa Fe High School graduate was shot and killed by her estranged husband in Missouri last week, according to local reports.

The Gasconade County Republican reports that 30-year-old Inez Chrisilina Gregory, whose maiden name is Inez Tulk, was gunned down by Toby Gregory, 42, outside an Owensville, Mo., motel the evening of Aug. 4 after an altercation. Toby Gregory allegedly shot Inez Gregory once inside the hotel room and four more times with hollow-point rounds as she ran outside, the newspaper reports. Toby Gregory then started to kick Inez as she lay on the ground.

Toby Gregory shot himself in the chin a short distance away from paramedics who were responding to the scene and was taken to a St. Louis hospital in critical condition. He has been charged with first-degree murder and had his bond set at $500,000, according to the Republican.

Inez Gregory graduated from Santa Fe High in 2003, according to Internet sources, and was an Army veteran. She left behind four sons, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help the family with court and funeral costs.
Responding to a new national report showing New Mexicos education system ranks as the 50th worst out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Journal editorialized Aug. 7 about the wrong failures holding us down.

Disconnect between NM school funding and rank excuses Gov. Susana Martinez and Public Education Department Secretary Hanna Skandera for failing to invest in proven successful strategies for increased student success during their six years to date.

The Journals editors chose to ignore countless details in the WalletHub 2016 analysis of States with the Best and Worst School Systems such as the positive fact that New Mexico ranks 27th of 51 in school safety. They also fail to note that the Martinez reforms seem to be working in the wrong direction, even among the factors the Journal chose to emphasize.

In the 2014 WalletHub analysis, we were ranked 46th. This year in the WalletHub ranking for best to worst states to be a teacher, we are ranked 43rd. In the 2014 survey we were 28th. The punitive teacher evaluation system and the over-reliance on standardized testing that characterize the Martinez reforms seem to be hurting our standing in just about every way!

More importantly, the WalletHub report includes comments from a panel of experts, most of whom agree on two major points: (1) It is not how much is spent, but what it is spent on and how it is implemented (programs with significant practitioner input and guidance succeed more often); and (2) the impact of poverty and other social factors must be considered.

There are two out-of-school factors that greatly affect students performance: race and parents economic circumstances.

In every state, minority students and students from low-income households tend to perform significantly worse on test scores and to have higher drop-out rates.

For example, in 2013, only 9 percent of white students performed below the basic achievement level. The comparable figures for black students was 28 percent, and for Hispanic students, 34 percent.

Given its unique economic and demographic history, our state is among the highest proportion of students from minority and of low-income families in the nation.

Not a barrier to success outright, poverty and other social and economic factors do create additional factors educators must overcome to help our students achieve their success.

Given New Mexicos highest-in-the-nation levels of child poverty and of minority students, it is not at all surprising that its middle-of-the-pack level of school funding is associated with low student performance. It is simply foolish to compare New Mexicos overall educational performance with those of other states without taking these demographic factors into consideration.

Good schools can go a long way toward countering these demographic achievement gaps and leveling students academic performance.

However, even the very best schools cannot fully offset these family-related affects. And bringing disadvantaged students up to the academic level of their peers is expensive.

Students with socioeconomic disadvantages require more time, attention and, especially, highly trained and dedicated teachers.

It also requires additional ancillary professionals and the services of counselors, nurses, and others  services often provided in other states by agencies other than schools  and for which other states consider to be health care rather than as education spending.

Under-funding education only makes New Mexicos achievement gap, and consequently its overall educational achievement level, worse.
In a sad parallel to the highs and lows of drug abuse, New Mexico ranks high in teens who use a wide range of illegal substances, high in the negative effects of drug use, and low in everything that can help in deciding that using illegal drugs is the wrong choice.

The Centers for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Survey ranks New Mexico No. 2 for teens who have smoked marijuana in the last month, who have tried cocaine and who have used ecstasy. It ranks the state fifth for teens who have used methamphetamine, eighth for those who have tried heroin and 15th for those who have tried prescription drugs without a doctors permission.

Its no surprise, then, that New Mexico also has the nations highest rate of alcohol-related deaths, second-highest rate of drug-overdose deaths, is No. 2 in poverty and No. 2 for violent crime.

And No. 1 for dependency on federal funds.

Or, conversely, that New Mexico is 37th when it comes to its residents health; 49th in its childrens well-being, education quality, high school graduation rate and retirement savings; and 45th in its economic diversity. Nearly half of the states population is on Medicaid, and a quarter is on food stamps.

The abundance of illegal drugs in New Mexico and a shortage of addiction treatment options, coupled with a failing public school system in Albuquerque and a sluggish economy statewide, would indicate that those rankings arent likely to be reversed any time soon.

And that should give state lawmakers who defend poor educational results, who clamor for more dependence on governmental programs, who advocate for the seemingly easy tax money of legal recreational pot, to think about what will truly serve New Mexicans, specifically young New Mexicans.

Because getting high isnt.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
For years, decades even, policymakers and businesspeople have struggled to make science and technology the foundation of Albuquerques economy.

We have worked to get Sandia National Laboratories to help get small businesses started with the labs technologies. We hoped Intel would be the basis of a cluster of local semiconductor companies. We watch the University of New Mexico license its technologies to local entrepreneurs, then hope those entrepreneurs will build a locally controlled company of some meaningful scale.

Weve done this for many reasons: We want an economy where our kids can find good jobs; tech companies pay better; tech companies are usually less polluting than traditional manufacturers; tech companies grow faster and employ more people over time; tech companies tend to spawn more tech companies.

A new study from the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution says Albuquerque has a long way to go to create that new economy. In fact, the study shows were losing ground.

Brookings identified 50 industries in manufacturing, energy and services that spend at least $450 per worker per year on research and development and employ at least 20 percent of their workforces in STEM-intensive occupations (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Then for the nations 100 largest metropolitan areas, Brookings calculated how many workers are employed in those industries, how much they earn and how important those industries are to the local economy.

Brookings found that employment in what it calls advanced industries in Albuquerque declined 1.4 percent from 2010 to 2013 and grew not at all from 2013 through 2015. The output of those industries declined 0.6 percent from 2010 to 2013 and declined 2.3 percent from 2013 to 2015. Nationally, output grew 2.7 percent from 2013 through 2015, and employment grew 2.46 percent.

Albuquerque ranked 99th among the nations 100 largest metropolitan areas in the growth of its advanced industries output and 85th in employment growth.

The industries employ 38,400 people in the Albuquerque area and generated $6.2 billion worth of output in 2015. They pay an average annual salary of $76,889, compared with an average of $45,221 for all industries in the Albuquerque area.

Mark Muro, who directs Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, really cant explain it.

Albuquerque remains a puzzling case, in some ways, and sure has been having a difficult time across multiple measures of post-crisis recovery, Muro said in a email exchange with the Journal. It does seem to lack dynamism.

Albuquerque has experienced some growth in computer systems design, web search services and data processing. Precision instruments, miscellaneous manufacturing, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals are growing a bit or gaining momentum, Muro said. But these industries dont employ that many people.

Looking at larger employers, the region is getting less engineering growth than most places, and semiconductors had a rough two years. Meanwhile, your largest industry  R&D services  added employment but not at a rapid pace. Perhaps this is reflective of slow federal budget increases, since the state is heavily tied to federal funding flows.

Another Brookings study, published two years ago, says there are several impediments to our long-held hope that the national laboratories in New Mexico would help our advanced industries grow. Brookings found that despite their undeniable potential, most national labs appear to contribute only marginally to the build-out and dynamism of their regions local innovation clusters.

Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories are primarily weapons labs that remain at present too mission-focused and too little incentivized to plunge deeply into their respective regional economies.

The labs have a heritage of defense activity that has created a culture within the labs that is occasionally still resistant to collaboration with local business, according to Brookings.

The labs bureaucracy and time-consuming contracting processes are difficult for small businesses to navigate and are too costly for most small businesses to endure, Brookings reported.

To the difficulties Brookings identified, add the risk of starting a new business, the difficulty of finding the investment to start a tech company and the dearth of local business talent to take technology to market and you get an idea of why growth of advanced industries in Albuquerque is so slow.

UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Winthrop Quigley at 823-3896 or wquigley@abqjournal.com. Go to ABQjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.
SANTA FE  Trouble keeps piling up for former New Mexico state Sen. Phil Griego.

Already awaiting trial on public corruption charges, Griego is now also facing the possible revocation of his real estate license, according to documents obtained by the Journal.

The New Mexico Real Estate Commission filed a complaint against Griego earlier this summer, alleging violation of several state real estate laws and regulations, and could move forward on disciplinary measures in the coming months.

In addition, the Attorney General Hector Balderas office is investigating whether the former longtime lawmaker  Griego served 18-plus years in the Senate  might have misused campaign funds after he resigned from the Legislature in March 2015.

Specifically, an investigator with the Attorney Generals Office recently obtained a search warrant to access Griegos bank records. In an affidavit, the investigator claimed probable cause existed to suspect Griego embezzled $500 in campaign money that the ex-legislator had claimed was spent on a campaign event at a Santa Fe middle school, among other alleged discrepancies.

The top administrators at Capshaw Middle School told the investigator they could not recall Griego holding an event there and could not find any record of Griego paying for use of school facilities, according to the affidavit.

Griego had reported spending a total of $2,000 for constituent meetings, $1,600 to rent office space, $1,500 to a political consultant and $1,400 for campaign-related travel in a six-month period after he resigned from the Legislature under the cloud of an ethics probe.

He insisted last year that the expenditures were allowable, telling the Journal in an October 2015 interview, Im not trying to hide anything.

Griegos attorney, Tom Clark, did not immediately respond Wednesday to questions about the AGs Office search warrant.

Meanwhile, James Hallinan, a spokesman for the AGs Office, said the latest investigation stems from a referral from Secretary of State Brad Winters office about possible violations of the state Campaign Reporting Act.

The new developments represent the latest legal headaches for Griego, a Democrat from San Miguel County, who is accused in state District Court of using his position as a legislator to pocket a $50,000 brokers fee in the 2014 sale of a historic state-owned building in downtown Santa Fe.

After the AGs Office filed charges earlier this year, a district judge ruled last month that Griego should face trial on nine felony and misdemeanor counts, including bribery, perjury and violating his oath of public office. Griego has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his attorney has argued the state has not shown evidence to back up its charges.

A trial date has not been set in the case and Griego remains free on his own recognizance.

Meanwhile, the Real Estate Commission complaint against Griego was filed in June by a commission investigator, according to records obtained through the states Inspection of Public Records Act. The alleged violations in the complaint also hinge on Griegos role in the 2014 real estate deal and whether he properly disclosed his involvement in the transaction.

If Griego is found to have violated real estate laws or regulations, he could face fines, a letter of reprimand and possibly suspension or revocation of his license, Regulation and Licensing Department spokesman Ben Cloutier said.

The complaints allegations are being contested by Griego, whose attorney wrote in an Aug. 1 letter to the commission that Mr. Griego denies that he has committed any act of bad faith, incompetency, untrustworthiness, impropriety, fraud, dishonesty, negligence or any unlawful act.
The Albuquerque Journal is asking a judge to unseal court documents from the breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by former Superintendent Winston Brooks against Albuquerque Public Schools over alleged disparaging statements made about Brooks by his successor.

In March, 2nd Judicial District Court Judge Denise Barela Shepherd sealed the transcript of a hearing on APS motion to keep former interim Superintendent Brad Winter from giving a deposition. A second order was sealed in April, though it is not clear what it regarded.

The Journals motion, filed Monday by its attorney Greg Williams, argues that the public has a compelling interest in the sealed documents because the case involves former high-ranking officials and taxpayer money. Brooks is seeking over $100,000 in damages and attorneys fees for comments Winter, his successor, made during a Journal interview in 2015. Those statements violated a nondisparagement agreement both parties signed when he stepped down in 2014, according to Brooks.

Williams noted that there is particular interest in knowing how this matter is progressing in the courts.

In addition, court proceedings are always open unless there is a compelling reason, he said in a Journal interview. Under New Mexico law, documents can be sealed only with the existence of an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access to the court record.

It doesnt appear that Mr. Brooks and APS provided that information to the court and so the sealing orders must be lifted, Williams said.

Brooks attorney, Maureen Sanders, did not return a telephone call from the Journal. Tony Ortiz, attorney for APS, declined to comment.

In January, Ortiz questioned whether Brooks, 63, has the capacity to continue the suit because Kansas court records show that his wife was appointed his guardian in November 2014.

The controversial superintendents six-year tenure at APS had ended three months earlier with a $350,000 buyout. The basis for that deal is contained in a still-secret report ordered by then-president of the APS Board of Education Analee Maestas.

APS has not disclosed the reason Brooks stepped down, but he drew outcry for an insensitive tweet comparing Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera to livestock, as well as frequent behavior some characterized as bullying or bizarre.

The Journal and KOB-TV have sued the district seeking to make public the report leading to Brooks resignation and the six-figure payment by APS.

The case is separate from Brooks suit against the district.
SANTA FE  Rep. Nora Espinoza, the Republican nominee for secretary of state, says the complaints filed two weeks ago by a state Democratic Party official regarding her campaign finance reports are false and malicious.

Espinoza responded this week to the complaints filed by Robert Lara of Las Cruces, treasurer of the state Democratic Party, telling the secretary of state in a letter, I have not violated any provision of the Campaign Reporting Act.

The Roswell lawmaker said Lara created false and misleading documents to bolster his arguments.

Lara complained in part that Espinoza, on a recent campaign report, provided incomplete information about her spending.

But it appears he may have relied on summary reports on the secretary of states website that dont give the full picture of what a candidate has reported.

On the website, a candidates spending report differs depending on what link the user clicks on to access the report. Click on one link and you get the full report the candidate filed, including expenditures. Click on another, which provides only the expenditures, and you get much less information.

Lara, for example, said Espinoza failed to include the purpose of some expenditures. Espinoza countered that the full online report she filed listed the specific purposes of those expenditures.

Her Democratic opponent in the race, Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver, held a news conference Wednesday to draw attention to the discrepancies on the website  although she claimed it wasnt prompted by Espinozas response. She suggested the online system may be riddled with such flaws and needs a thorough investigation.

It is a phony issue to blame the online information for filing a false complaint, Espinoza responded.

She said she is filing a complaint against Lara with the Disciplinary Board of the New Mexico Supreme Court.

The Secretary of States Office said Wednesday that the summary reports that website users can link to werent meant to mirror the full reports, and acknowledged that could be made clearer to users.

This is an old system.  Weve made some good changes. There are still some issues with it, said Secretary of State Brad Winter.

Winter said legislation that passed this year requiring a more transparent, user-friendly campaign reporting system wasnt accompanied by any funding, and we are stuck with the system that we have until there is funding.

Espinoza, in her response to Laras complaint, denied it was a violation to describe the occupations of big contributors as Business or Business man, and disputed his assertion that candidates had been told not to list couples as individual contributors.

And she denied that state Rep. Zach Cook, R-Ruidoso, had done legal work for her campaign that was not reported, calling that a frivolous attack on Cook. Cook filed a campaign finance complaint against Toulouse Oliver in June with the secretary of state that was publicized by Espinoza.

Lara did not immediately return a call from the Journal. The Democratic Party issued a statement saying the website discrepancies should be a concern for voters.
Many of the same issues facing the state Children, Youth and Families Department are at the heart of the issues facing the state as a whole, CYFD Cabinet Secretary Monique Jacobson told the Economic Forum of Albuquerque on Wednesday.

Further, those issues impact economic development, a message of particular interest for the business and community leaders attending the Forum breakfast  and a good reason, she told them, to get on board with CYFDs PullTogether campaign to improve the quality of life for kids in our state.

New Mexico consistently ranks as among the states with the worst education system, highest crime rates, and highest child poverty and food insecurity rates. About 80 percent of children in New Mexico are Medicaid-eligible, Jacobson said.

In talking with teachers around the state, they have told her,  I have children in my class who have not even eaten; how am I supposed to get them to focus on learning math?  Or they have kids in class who  experienced domestic violence in the home last night and have not slept, so how am I to get them to focus on reading? 

Jacobson said that one of the greatest barriers to attracting businesses and companies to New Mexico is the states poor ranking in education and crime.

Crime is cyclical, she said, and the kids that were seeing at CYFD from Protective Services and especially Juvenile Justice, if we dont do a good job with them and get them to reverse their trajectory, theyre not going to be contributing members of society, but contributing to the crime rate that limits economic development.

Another reason to get involved is because the kids in CYFD custody are quite literally our children, Jacobson said. The closest thing they have to parents at that time is us. I say us, the agency, but really it is all New Mexicans. They are in the custody of the state of New Mexico, so these children are your children.

Improving the quality of life for New Mexicos children and making New Mexico the best place to be a kid are the goals of the statewide PullTogether campaign. The task, however, will take more than one agency, more than one nonprofit, more than one church, more than law enforcement or schools, Jacobson said. It takes us all pulling together.

She asked the Economic Forum attendees to go to the PullTogether.org website to see how each of them, in their own way, can help.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

Albuquerque police reports from the fatal shooting of Mary Hawkes by now-fired Albuquerque police officer Jeremy Dear confirm there were no fingerprints found on the gun that police said Hawkes pointed at Dear, and that DNA tests on the weapon were inconclusive.

But the reports state that police believed there was sufficient evidence to link the gun to Hawkes, 19, through a series of her Facebook messages and friends. Police considered the case exceptionally cleared and sent the case to the District Attorneys Office for review without recommending any charges be filed against Dear. The DAs Office is still reviewing the case.

The Albuquerque Police Department on Wednesday released hundreds of pages of police reports and summaries of the reports in response to a request by the Journal under the Inspection of Public Records Act. The documents reveal new aspects of the police investigation, which included a lengthy review into the .32 caliber pistol police said was recovered feet away from Hawkes body.

Dear said he shot Hawkes when she pointed the weapon at him.

A lawsuit brought by Hawkes family over the shooting had said there was no DNA or fingerprint evidence linking the gun to Hawkes. The police reports released Wednesday show that police were aware there were no fingerprints on the gun days after the shooting.

Dear shot Hawkes, a suspected car thief, in April 2014 during a foot chase. Earlier in the night, officer Sonny Molina spotted Hawkes driving a truck belonging to a man who police ultimately learned Hawkes had stayed with for several weeks.

Around 5 a.m., police had Hawkes cornered in a trailer park near Wyoming and Zuni. As police gave commands for her to surrender, Hawkes jumped a wall and ran east across Zuni. Dear gave chase.

Police said that Hawkes stopped, turned and pointed a gun at Dear. He then shot her several times. But Shannon Kennedy, an attorney for the Hawkes family, has said an expert hired by the plaintiffs has concluded that Hawkes must have been running east and falling toward the ground when she was shot at a downward angle through the left ear, arm and back.

Questions have swirled around the police account of the shooting for the past two years. Dear has said his camera came unplugged as he chased and shot Hawkes.

Dear invoked his Fifth Amendment right more than 100 times when he was deposed as part of the civil case filed by the Hawkes family. He said that, on the advice of attorneys, he refused to answer questions.

According to the newly released reports, APD brass told the departments internal affairs bureau about a week after the shooting to investigate the gun found next to Hawkes. That investigation was going on at the same time APD homicide detectives were conducting the investigation that prosecutors would use to determine whether Dear would face criminal charges.

A sergeant in the internal affairs bureau found the gun had originally been purchased by an Albuquerque man in 1998. That man later sold the gun and lost the receipt.

The police reports state that the serial number from the gun had been run through a national criminal information database as part of a separate investigation by APDs Crimes Against Children Unit. That search traced the gun back to a Michael Gaddy of Albuquerque.

Gaddy was Facebook friends with Hawkes and had asked her to come to his house a week before Hawkes was shot.

Hawkes also had messages on her Facebook account from Erik Hawke, who accused Hawkes of stealing a piece from his friend.

Due to the fact that both Erik Hawke and Michael Gaddy are Facebook friends with Mary Hawkes, it would appear there is evidence to suffice the origin of the .32 caliber firearm in Mary Hawkes possession on the evening, APD Detective Matt Caplan wrote in a police report that has been submitted to the District Attorneys Office.

Dear was fired from APD in December 2014, but not in connection with the Hawkes shooting.

Police said that an internal affairs investigation was launched into Dears overall lapel camera use. That investigation found that Dear made a recording on only about half the calls he was on. Police Chief Gorden Eden said that he considered Dear insubordinate because he had been ordered to record each and every call with citizens.

Dear disputed that he had been given such an order. He appealed his termination to the citys personnel board, which sided with Dear and gave the officer his job back.

The city has appealed the boards decision to state District Court, where the case is pending.
FARMINGTON  Federal defendants in an ongoing lawsuit over the San Juan Mine have requested a new review of the potential environmental impacts from coal-mining operations there.

In 2013, the Santa Fe-based environmental group WildEarth Guardians filed suit against the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and other federal agencies, citing a chronic failure to ensure any possible impacts to air, water, land and wildlife were protected from coal mining at the Waterflow mine now owned by the Colorado-based Westmoreland Coal Co.

Christopher Holmes, OSMRE spokesman, declined to comment on the suit, citing a blanket policy not to comment on any litigation.

The challenge also accused the agencies of failing to provide adequate opportunity for the public to participate during the review process that led to approval of a lease expansion at the underground mine. That process stems from a request in 2001 to change the mines lease permit when mining operations transitioned from surface to underground longwall operations.

The federal agency approved a mining plan change in 2008 after it issued a one-page finding of no significant impact the year before. That decision, and its lack of substantive review, amounts to a violation of National Environmental Policy Act rules, the environmental group argues.

On July 18, attorneys with the Department of Justice asked the magistrate judge to give OSMRE the chance to address WildEarth Guardians concerns, especially those concerning air-quality testing at the mine and the nearby San Juan Generating Station that burns the coal the mine supplies.

They cited recent rulings by the Districts of Colorado and Montana on the merits of (WildEarth Guardians) similar mining plan challenges.

However, the lawyers asked the judge to allow mining operations to continue during a three-year environmental review, according to court documents.

In court documents, the mines owners have argued that not maintaining status quo operations during an environmental review would harm the public interest and (coal company) employees and contractors by effectively shutting down operations at the mine, resulting in the loss of jobs and tax revenue to local and state governments.

The mine was owned and operated by BHP Billiton New Mexico Coal until Feb. 1, when it was sold for about $127 million to Westmoreland San Juan, a subsidiary of Westmoreland Coal Co. PNM Resources, the parent company of the Public Service Company of New Mexico, financed a $125 million loan to Westmoreland so the company could buy the mine.

In June  less than half a year after taking ownership of the mine  Westmoreland laid off 85 of its workers.

Efforts to reach officials at officials at Westmoreland for comment on the legal action were unsuccessful today.

Jeremy Nichols, a climate and energy advocate for WildEarth Guardians, said in a phone interview that the federal attorneys willingness to take a harder look at the potential environmental impacts posed by coal operations at the mine is gratifying. Nichols said he wants a hard timeline within the three years with measures in place, including quarterly reports, to ensure a substantive analysis is conducted.

(The federal defendants) are conceding that they broke the law, and they need to go back and makes things right, Nichols said. They say three years (to complete the review), but its open ended. We need some incentives to ensure that they get it done.

Nichols said the recent bankruptcies of three coal companies  Peabody Energy Corp., Alpha Natural Resources Inc. and Arch Coal Inc.  signal the need for updated and exhaustive reviews of coal operations like those at San Juan Mine.

Nichols said a decision on the case is likely by September.

James Fenton is the business editor of The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4621.



2016 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)

Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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CARLSBAD, N.M.  Efforts to build a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in New Mexico are moving forward after a Denver-based company relinquished its rights to the land.

The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports (http://bit.ly/2aJlbQC ) that Holtec International and Eddy Lea Energy Alliance are partnering to create storage for spent nuclear fuel rods from power plants across the country.

Intrepid Potash gave up its mineral rights lease to land near Carlsbad, saying it likely wont be in a position to mine for potassium-containing salts there for several years.

Program Director Ed Mayer says the HI-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage project is expected to cost more than $1 billion and provide about 200 construction and operations jobs.

Holtec will propose the project to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March. The approval process takes two to three years.

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Information from: Carlsbad Current-Argus, http://www.currentargus.com/
SANTA FE  The Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office is looking for a man wanted for attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and shooting at an occupied dwelling after he allegedly shot a woman in the hand in Glorieta on Wednesday.

Deputies began searching for 24-year-old Jose Javier Medina of Santa Fe on Wednesday afternoon in the Glorieta and Pecos areas with the help of a State Police helicopter.

According to sheriffs spokesman Juan Rios, deputies responded to a shooting on State Road 50 in Glorieta at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and found 9 mm bullet casings and traces of blood in the driveway. Investigators later found out that Senta Guerra, 41, had been taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center by a family member with a gunshot wound to her hand.

According to a witness, Medina went to the Glorieta home looking for Guerras son, David Mares. Mares told detectives that Medina drove up to the house, got out of his car and started firing at him with a handgun.

Mares said his mother used pepper spray on Medina after Medina threatened to shoot her. Medina got into his car and fired shots from the road, hitting Guerra in the hand as she was calling 911.

Rios said Wednesday that deputies were combing the Glorieta and Pecos area and a State Police helicopter has searched areas of adjacent San Miguel County.

Detectives and a State Police chopper also searched the downtown Santa Fe area around 2 p.m. Wednesday but quickly left after figuring out that a possible address they had for Medina was wrong. Rios said Medina should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who knows of Medinas whereabouts is asked to call 505-428-3720.
PHOENIX  A man charged in an attempted drug transaction and shooting in Tempe and a subsequent lockdown of a Phoenix airport terminal has been sentenced to 10  years in prison.

Maricopa County Superior Court officials say Layron Dejarnette was sentenced Thursday.

He pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to commit sale or transportation of marijuana, unlawful flight, armed robbery and aggravated assault.

Authorities say the 27-year-old Dejarnette and two co-defendants went to a Tempe gas station in September 2014 to meet a man and buy $700 worth of marijuana.

They told police the man got into their car and took out a gun and was shot in the ensuing struggle.

The three suspects were pursued in a high-speed chase that ended at Terminal 4 of Sky Harbor International Airport.
WASHINGTON  Hillary Clinton offered a selective accounting of her history on trade Thursday, leaving out her support for initiatives that have since become unpopular. She also offered a rosier view of the U.S. workforce than the numbers portray.

A look at some of the claims in her Michigan economic speech and how they compare with the facts:

___

CLINTON: We have the most dynamic, productive workforce in the world, bar none.

THE FACTS: Actually, bar two. Luxembourg and Norway have more productive workforces, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

More concerning is the fact that U.S. productivity has been slipping in recent years.

Productivity, or the amount of output per hour worked, is a measure of how efficient an economy is. The U.S. is third in the world, says the OECD, a group of mostly rich countries. But American productivity has been extraordinarily weak since the recession began in December 2007, a trend that could weigh on economic growth and incomes. Higher productivity makes it possible for employers to pay their workers more without raising prices.

Productivity fell 0.4 percent in the April-June quarter compared with a year earlier. That was the fourth time productivity has fallen from a year earlier since the recession began. Before that, productivity hadnt fallen since 1993.

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CLINTON: Its true that too often, past trade deals have been sold to the American people with rosy scenarios that didnt pan out.  I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages  including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I oppose it now, Ill oppose it after the election and Ill oppose it as president.

THE FACTS: She didnt oppose the Pacific deal when she was secretary of state, but rather promoted it. In 2012, during a trip to Australia, she called it the gold standard of trade agreements. She flip-flopped into opposition in the Democratic primary when facing Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was vehemently opposed to it.

Clinton says she no longer backs the proposed trade deal as written because it does not provide enough protections for U.S. workers on wages, jobs and the countrys national security.

Over the years, she has opposed some trade deals and supported others. Two that she backed are the source of contention in her 2016 race with Republican Donald Trump, just as they were when Barack Obama called her out on them in the 2008 Democratic primary campaign.

For years before that campaign, Clinton repeatedly defended the North American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband shepherded through Congress in 1993. As first lady in 1996, she said NAFTA is proving its worth. As a New York senator, she said the agreement was good for the U.S. on balance and her 2003 memoir voiced the conviction that the deal with Canada and Mexico was the right step.

While campaigning for the Senate in 2000, she also expressed support for her husbands initiative normalizing trade with China, despite her concerns about labor rights for Chinese workers. She said, again on balance, that it was in the interest of U.S. workers to have China open its markets to more U.S. goods.

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CLINTON: Too many companies lobbied for trade deals so they could sell products abroad but instead moved abroad and sold back into the United States.

THE FACTS: This may be true, but it shouldnt have been a surprise. Most trade deals the U.S. agrees to, including NAFTA and subsequent agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, include investor protections. These are legally binding provisions that are intended to reassure companies that if they set up shop overseas, foreign governments wont be able to seize their assets or use regulations to hurt their businesses. Not surprisingly, many companies have taken advantage of those rules to shift their operations abroad.

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CLINTON: According to an independent analysis by a former economic adviser to Sen. John McCain, if you add up all of Trumps ideas  from cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations to starting a trade war with China to deporting millions of hard-working immigrants  the result would be a loss of 3.4 million jobs. By contrast, the same analyst found that with our plans, the economy would create more than 10 million new jobs.

THE FACTS: First, Clinton persists in citing a former McCain adviser  the respected Moodys Analytics economist and forecaster Mark Zandi  without mentioning that Zandi is a donor to her campaign.

As well, she did not fully capture what Zandi estimated when she quoted him as saying her plans would add 10 million jobs. Zandi actually estimated job gains of 7.2 million in the next presidential term if there are no policy changes.

He estimated her plans would add 3.2 million jobs to that baseline. Shes taking credit for jobs expected to grow even if the economy were essentially on auto pilot.

Further, the analysis Clinton quotes for Donald Trump was released in June, so it doesnt account for revisions in his economic plans, such as his intention to make the top marginal tax rate for individuals 33 percent, instead of the 25 percent analyzed by Zandi. Still, the outdated analysis says that there would be fewer jobs after four years of a Trump administration than exists today.

Also worth noting: Most forecasts are extremely speculative and seldom correspond with what really happens in the economy.

___

Associated Press writer Cal Woodward contributed to this report.

EDITORS NOTE  A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
Time is running short to get in on this years New Mexico Private 100.

The annual program features a list of the top 100 privately held companies in the state based on revenue, and the deadline to take part is this Friday.

Moss Adams LLP, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Modrall Sperling are sponsoring the 2016 New Mexico Private 100 in conjunction with the Journals Business Outlook.

The New Mexico Private 100 program is an excellent event that recognizes a diverse group of privately held companies within our great state, Steve Keene, Partner In Charge for Moss Adams Albuquerque. Each year, we are excited to welcome new companies to the list, as well as admire the longevity of the companies we welcome back to the list every year.

To qualify for the list, a company must be privately owned and headquartered in New Mexico. It may be any type of business except an accounting firm, cooperative, depository financial institution, law firm or securities broker-dealer. There is no minimum or maximum number of employees or sales revenue.

The nomination requires each company to report revenue for ranking purposes. But information will be kept strictly confidential  financial information will be used solely for ranking purposes and wont be disclosed in the final list.

Other restrictions may apply; the nomination form provides details.

Nomination forms can be found at mossadams.com/nmprivate100. The deadline to apply is Aug. 19. For more information about the nomination form or the New Mexico Private 100 program, contact Cindy Miller or Amanda Marquez at nmprivate100@mossadams.com or 505-878-7200.

The program is a way to bring attention to the economic contribution these companies make to New Mexico. A special issue of the Journal s Business Outlook this fall will feature the Private 100.
New Mexico State Universitys Arrowhead Center and WESST will hold next month aimed at female entrepreneurs.

The WE Mean Business conference will bring together innovators to share personal strategies with early stage entrepreneurs.

It will feature guest speakers, a panel and two tracks of breakout sessions.

The conference will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 10 at NMSUs Center for the Arts, 1000 East University Avenue in Las Cruces.

General admission is $35. More information is available at arrowheadcenter.nmsu.edu/we/.
ACAs library of educational tools help members improve their business practices. ACA also holds the most popular industry conferences and offers credentialing for collectors, attorneys, and more. ACAs Training Zone subscription gives agencies access to almost all of our education for one low cost.
A former Internal Revenue Service employee was sentenced Wednesday to nine years and two months in jail for leading a $1 million identity theft scheme that ensnared hundreds of taxpayers.

Nakeisha Hall, 40, a former employee at the Taxpayer Advocate Service, pleaded guilty in February to charges of theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, unauthorized access to a protected computer and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and mail fraud affecting a financial institution. (see IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service Employee Pleads Guilty to Identity Theft). Part of her job involved helping taxpayers resolve their identity theft problems, but she instead used her position to get access to taxpayer information that could be used to claim tax refunds. She has worked for the IRS since 2000 and is also the daughter of a longtime IRS employee.

Judge Karon O. Bowdre sentenced her to over nine years in prison and ordered Hall to pay $438,187 in restitution to the IRS, in addition to forfeiting the same amount of money to the federal government as proceeds of criminal activity. The sentence was based on Halls role in the scheme and the fact that she abused her position of trust with the IRS.

Hall worked in the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service office in Birmingham, Ala., between July 2007 and November 2011 and later worked in Omaha, Neb., New Orleans, La., and Salt Lake City, Utah.

This defendant abused her position of trust as an IRS employee, using her access to compromise taxpayers identities to attempt to steal more than $1 million from the agency, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance said in a statement. She successfully claimed more than $400,000 in fraudulent tax refunds. Hall victimized United States taxpayers and jeopardized the reputation of the IRS and its division that is intended to assist taxpayers experiencing problems resulting from identity theft. Todays sentence reflects the outrageous and serious nature of her crime.

Three co-conspirators also pleaded guilty in the case. Lashon Roberson, 36, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud affecting a financial institution and mail fraud affecting a financial institution. She worked for many years in the financial services industry and was sentenced last month to three years in jail. Roberson was also ordered to pay $119,185 in restitution to the IRS.

Jimmie Goodman, 37, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and bank fraud. Goodman had a previous identity-theft conviction and was sentenced in July to three years and five months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $82,802 in restitution to the IRS and to forfeit that amount to the government.

Abdulla Coleman, 40, also of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

According to prosecutors, Hall and the others stole taxpayers names, birth dates and Social Security numbers through unauthorized access to IRS computers. Hall used the personal identity information to prepare fraudulent income tax returns and electronically filed them with the IRS. She asked the IRS to deposit the tax refunds on debit cards and directed that the cards be mailed to drop addresses under her control. Hall solicited and received drop addresses from Goodman, Coleman, Roberson and at least one other person. They also collected the debit cards from the mail.

Hall activated the cards by using the stolen personal information. She and the others withdrew the money from the debit cards at ATMs or used the cards for purchases. If the fraudulent returns generated U.S. Treasury checks instead of the requested debit cards, they used fraudulent endorsements to cash the checks. Hall paid Goodman, Coleman, Roberson and a fifth unidentified co-conspirator by giving them part of the refund money, or giving them refund cards for their own use.
Madison Media Sigma, a part of Madison Media Group, has just announced the win of inner wear brand Dixcy. The account will be handled out of the agencys Mumbai office. The estimated size of the account is Rs 50 crore.

Dixcy was founded in 1984 by Prem Prakash Sikka, with a vision to create a strong brand that caters to all the segments in the hosiery market. With the drive to create innovative products that are economically priced, Dixcy has evolved from being an innerwear brand to a lifestyle brand over the last 32 years.The latest technology and production units have given the quality and quantity a boost, with over 500,000 pieces being produced a day which are then distributed across 120,000 stores. Salman Khan has been endorsing Dixcy since the last six years.

On selecting Madison Media, Raghul Sikka, Director, Dixcy, said, We wanted a holistic approach towards our media planning & implementation. The skill and experience Madisons team has in this field is quite exceptional. They have built so many brands and we look forward to being one of them.

Commenting on the win, Vanita Keswani, CEO, Madison Media Sigma, said, I am delighted to have Dixcy back as a Madison client and we are looking forward to partnering them in their journey.

Madison Media Groups client roster includes Godrej, ITC, Marico, Snapdeal, McDonalds, TVS, Raymond, Piramal Healthcare, Pidilite, Tata Salt, Levis, SpiceJet, Dominos, Max Life Insurance, Asian Paints, Acer, Crompton Greaves, Indian Oil, BlueStar, Gowardhan Dairy and many others. The gross billing of Madison Media Group is about Rs 3,750 crore.
The Disease Might Be Rare, but the Need for Primary Care is Universal

Today, Health and Wellness Education Partners (HWeP) of Ramsey, New Jersey, launched a free continuing education (CME/CE) activity for primary care providers, titled Optimizing Primary Care for Patients with Rare Diseases. This Web-based program features expert video presentations, patient- and caregiver-presented case studies, downloadable print resources, and more, focused on the successful delivery of primary care to patients with complex conditions and rare diseases. The content is intended for physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists and offers up to 6 credits to eligible participants. The program is available now at www.RareOpportunities.com.

This new CME/CE activity, jointly provided by the University of Cincinnati and HWeP, is part of HWePs rare-disease initiative called Rare Opportunities in Primary Care. The overall mission of the initiative is to deliver education, tools, and resources to primary care providers to help them give comprehensive care to patients with rare diseases. Of note, HWeP is self-funding this first-of-its-kind CME/CE offering, a testament to the companys commitment to addressing the great unmet need for high-quality education in this area.

Nearly 1 in 10 Americans, or 30 million people, lives with a rare diseaseand two-thirds of these patients are children. Despite primary care providers assuming responsibility for the management and care of these patients common needs, the majority of these providers do not receive any special training on how to administer or adjust routine care for their patients with rare diseases. HWeP hopes that Rare Opportunities in Primary Care and this new CME/CE activity will bring these issues to light, as well as raise the bar for the quality of primary care provided to this population.

Program chair Dr. Robert Saul of Greenville, South Carolina, notes: Although each of these diseases is rare on its own, together they affect the lives of 30 million Americans. Clearly, primary care providers must be better prepared to help identify and care for these patients.

A survey conducted for this initiative confirmed that many primary care providers are less than confident providing routine care to patients with rare diseases. The first CME/CE program of its kind, Optimizing Primary Care for Patients with Rare Diseases strives to help these clinicians:

Identify clinical clues that expedite diagnosis of rare diseases in different clinical settings

Develop successful referral networks

Optimize care for pediatric patients

Utilize a whole-patient approach with an enhanced understanding of the impact of rare-disease progression on mental health conditions

Continuing education credits are available to eligible participants through the University of Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. More information about this CME/CE program and Rare Opportunities in Primary Care is available at www.RareOpportunities.com.

About Health and Wellness Education Partners

Since 2005, Health and Wellness Education Partners (HWeP) has worked with academia, industry, patients, and payers to advance patient care. HWePs latest initiative is Rare Opportunities in Primary Care, developed to provide education, tools, and resources to primary care clinicians that will help them provide comprehensive care to patients with rare diseases.

University of Cincinnati

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the University of Cincinnati and Health and Wellness Education Partners (HWeP). The University of Cincinnati is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physicians | The University of Cincinnati designates this activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should claim only the credits commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Learner Assurance Statement

The University of Cincinnati is committed to resolving all conflicts of interest issues that could arise as a result of prospective faculty members significant relationships with drug or device manufacturer(s). The University of Cincinnati is committed to retaining only those speakers with financial interests that can be reconciled with the goals and educational integrity of the CME activity.

Disclaimer Statement

The opinions expressed during the activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Cincinnati. The information is presented for the purpose of advancing the attendees professional development.

University of Cincinnati College of Nursing

Nurses | 6 continuing education contact hours for nurses approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing through the OBN Approver Unit at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing (OBN-011-93).

American Academy of Family Physicians

This Enduring Material activity, Optimizing Primary Care for Patients with Rare Diseases, from 08/01/2016  07/31/2017, has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 6 Prescribed credit(s) by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The program is accredited by the University of Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Follow us on Twitter @RarePrimaryCare

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005076/en/

Health and Wellness Education Partners

Jani Hegarty, 201-661-5552

President

Ramsey, NJ

jhegarty@hwpnj.com
BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Batchery, an East Bay, California-based global incubator for seed-stage startups ready to go from idea to launch at lightning speed, today announced a partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center. The intention of the unique partnership is to spur innovation and stimulate the incubation of startups both in the Bay Area and in Nevada. Additionally, The Batchery's members will be able to leverage the sophisticated laboratory and equipment resources of the University of Nevada, Reno. Entrepreneurs and innovators will have access to The Batchery's resources for advice, guidance and introductions to Silicon Valley influencers.

The Innevation Center is a synergistic, collaborative space designed to stimulate the creation and incubation of start-ups and accelerate the growth of Nevada's next generation of economic leaders by igniting the creative and entrepreneurial spirits in University of Nevada, Reno students, faculty, community creatives, makers, economic developers, and emerging global tech companies. Creation of the The Innevation Center was supported by Rob Roy, CEO and Founder of Switch.

The Batchery is a constellation of 50 "tech veterans" with backgrounds at companies like Oracle, Google and Accenture. They include investors from the Sand Hill Angels, Partech Ventures, Spruce Advisors, Sierra Angels, Berkeley Angel Network and more.

"We are excited to partner with the Batchery and create a bridge from Nevada to the extraordinary innovation economy in Silicon Valley," said Jim Sacherman, Director of the University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center. "The Batchery provides us with a stimulating opportunity where we can share information, access resources and receive valuable advice crucial to helping our Nevada entrepreneurs and innovators navigate through early-stage obstacles. We look forward to accelerating their development and growth working with the Batchery's mentors and advisors over the coming months."

"The Batchery supports startup entrepreneurs  such as those at The Innevation Center  who are building sustainable ventures that bring innovative solutions to a vast spectrum of marketplace opportunities," stated Jeff Wallace, President and Managing Partner at The Batchery. "Given the vast resources of equipment, laboratories and talent at The Innevation Center, this partnership is of great value to our members and provides them with such access. Likewise, we strive to provide a bridge to Silicon Valley for entrepreneurs and innovators not located in the Bay Area. As such, we look forward to working with the Nevada entrepreneurs and innovators and partnering with them for success."

About The Innevation Center

The University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center brings the campus community of faculty, staff and students together with entrepreneurs, investors and commercialization experts. Located in downtown Reno, it offers co-working, conference and meeting space, plus a makerspace with resources and equipment to support prototype development and minimize the design cycle. The Innevation Center is home to Nevada Industry Excellence, a statewide manufacturing-extension program hosted by the University to strengthen Nevada companies, and the University's Nevada Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center, supported by the Governor's Office of Economic Development Knowledge Fund.

For more information including membership information, visit www.unr.edu/innevation.

About The Batchery

The Batchery is an East Bay, California-based global incubator for seed stage startups ready to go from idea to launch at lightning speed. We are a community of 50 veteran investors and advisors ready to provide you with ideas, insights, and networks. The Batchery is the global gateway to Silicon Valley, with the best in office space, tools, and partnerships for entrepreneurs in the Bay Area, around the US, and internationally.

For information, please visit: www.batchery.com or apply at: https://goo.gl/NrrYTh

Media Contacts:

Beth Trier

Trier and Company for The Batchery

beth@triercompany.com

415-285-6147

Jane Tors

University of Nevada, Reno

jtors@unr.edu

775-327-2359

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SOURCE University of Nevada, Reno
Prices for domestic and imported sawlogs in Austria and Germany have falling during 2015 and 2016 to levels not seen in ten year, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. While domestic log prices have declined, they are still among the highest in Europe and many sawmills in the two countries have increased importation of lower cost sawlogs from neighboring countries the past few years.

Softwood sawlog prices in both Austria and Germany have been in steady decline for about two years and in the 1Q/16 they reached their lowest level since 2006 (in US dollar terms), according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). Although less dramatic, prices have also trended downward in Euro terms with average prices currently being 12% lower than two years ago.

Despite the recent price declines, sawmills in the two countries have some of the highest wood costs in Europe. The high costs for domestically sourced sawlogs have driven sawmills to increasingly source wood raw-material from neighbouring countries where log prices are lower. Germany and Austria are the second and third largest importers of softwood logs in the world and Germany in particular has increased importation substantially over the past five years. In 2008, Germany was actually a net exporter of logs of about 1.6 million m3 but the flow of logs has since turned around and the country was a net importer of 5.4 million m3 in 2015. The major log-supplying countries in 2015 and early 2016 have been the Czech Republic, Poland, Norway and Estonia.

Austria imported just over 6.5 million m3 of softwood logs in 2015 and is on pace to reach closer to 7.5 million m3 in 2016. Three countries supply about 85% of the import volume, namely the Czech Republic, Germany and Slovenia. The biggest shifts in log sourcing over the past ten years have been the sharp reduction in importation from Germany, while Slovenian imports have gone up from 180,000 m3 in 2006 to 1.2 million m3 in 2015.

A majority of the imports are sawlogs for the domestic lumber industry, often at lower cost than the domestic market prices, according to the WRQ (www.woodprices.com). However, some Austrian pulp mills are also importing marginal pulpwood volumes, predominantly from Slovenia, to supplement locally sourced pulplogs and wood chips. Similarly to domestic pulplog prices, import prices have also fallen the past few years, from approximately $90/m3 in 2011 to $60/m3 in 2016.

European lumber, sawlog and pulpwood market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The report, which was established in 1988 and has subscribers in over 30 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, lumber and pellet prices, trade and market developments in most key regions around the world. To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to www.woodprices.com

Wood Resources International LLC (WRI), an internationally recognized forest industry-consulting firm established in 1987, publishes two quarterly timber price reports and have subscribers in over 30 countries. The Wood Resource Quarterly, established in 1988, is a 52-page market report and includes sawlog prices, pulpwood and wood chip price and market commentary to developments in global timber, biomass and forest industry. The other report, the North American Wood Fiber Review, tracks prices of sawlogs, pulpwood, wood chips and biomass in most regions of Canada and the US.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced an increase to the services remotely piloted aircraft pilot bonus Aug. 10 in a multi-pronged approach to increase RPA manning and incentivize RPA pilots within a community that has operated at surge capacity for more than 10 years.As part of the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Forces RPA Get Well plan, RPA pilots who have completed their initial active-duty service commitment from training starting in fiscal year 2016 will be eligible to receive a bonus of $35,000 per year, $10,000 more than the current bonus, in exchange for an additional active-duty service commitment.RPA pilots who previously accepted a bonus will also be eligible for the increase in exchange for an additional year on their service commitment. Specific contract details will be forthcoming over the next few weeks.The Air Force recognizes the important contribution RPA pilots make every day, and retaining these valued aviators to execute our current operations and shape the future is critical, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David. L. Goldfein. While we applaud this effort, we recognize we have similar challenges across our entire pilot force, and wed like the opportunity to offer higher retention bonuses for all our pilots.Currently, the Air Force is seeking legislation to fund an increase in aviation retention pay above the current limit of $25,000 per year for all pilots. This pay has not changed since 1999.Money is important, but it isnt everything -- it isnt the be-all and end-all James said.As youve heard me say repeatedly, quality of life, quality of the work environment; these are also important factors. To that end, we will soon announce ways we will reduce assigned additional duties to give Airmen some of their precious time back. We are also working with Congress to ensure basic allowance for housing, which is a key factor for total compensation for military members, remains robust and does not change substantially for our Airmen.The Air Forces focus on improving retention and quality of life across the service has been a key priority for Air Force leadership with the expansion of selective reenlistment bonuses from 44 to 117 Air Force specialty codes, high year of tenure extensions for 122 specialties, and strong support of Defense Secretary Ash Carters Force of the Future initiative , which included the extension of maternity leave.
Air Force Global Strike Command's three strategic bombers, the B-52 Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit, are all in the

U.S. Pacific Command region

conducting the area's first integrated operational mission for all three bombers.The B-1, which arrived at Andersen Air Force Base Aug. 6, will replace the B-52 in support of the PACOMs continuous bomber presence mission. The CBP bomber swap between the B-1 and B-52 is occurring throughout the month of August as the B-1s return to support this mission for the first time since April 2006.In addition to the CBP bomber swap, three B-2s arrived in theater to conduct a bomber assurance and deterrence deployment. The CBP mission and BAAD deployments are part of a long-standing history of maintaining a consistent bomber presence in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region in order to maintain stability and provide assurance to U.S. allies and partners in the region.
Eligible enlisted Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and active-duty Airmen interested in pursuing a medical degree must submit their intent to apply email by Oct. 7 and complete their application for the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program by Dec. 9, Air Force Personnel Center officials said.The EMDP2 offers enlisted members an opportunity to complete the preparatory coursework for admission to medical school while maintaining active duty status and full pay and benefits. The program, which incurs a three-year, active duty service commitment, includes coursework in a traditional classroom setting with structured pre-health advising and formal medical college admission test preparation, with classes slated to begin August 2017.Airmen selected for the two-year program will transfer on permanent change of station orders to Bethesda, Maryland, where they will attend school full time at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, where tuition and associated academic costs will be funded by the Air Force.Following successful completion of the program, graduates will apply for acceptance to the USUHS medical school and/or civilian medical schools. Once accepted for an approved medical school, participants will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the Medical Services Corps. As fourth year medical students, those lieutenants will be eligible to apply for medical residencies approved by the Air Force Health Professions Education Requirements Board.The program is open to enlisted members from all Air Force specialty codes who meet eligibility criteria. Applicants must be younger than 35 as of June 30, 2017, have at least 36 months but no more than 10 years time-in-service as of Sept. 30, 2016, and have a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline from an accredited institution.Full eligibility criteria and application guidelines for the program are available on myPers . Select Any from the dropdown menu and enter EMDP2 in the search window.For more information about Air Force personnel programs, go to the myPers website . Individuals who do not have a myPers account can request one by following the instructions on the Air Force Retirees Services website
AF releases criteria for basing new F-16 training squadrons

The Air Force released basing criteria Aug. 11 that will be used to select candidate bases to establish additional permanent formal training units using F-16 Fighting Falcons from Hill Air Force Base, Utah.



The Air Force needs to increase fighter pilot production as part of the services efforts to address its fighter pilot shortage. However, establishing permanent FTUs takes time and the need for additional fighter pilot production is urgent.



Therefore, as an interim solution to increase fighter pilot training, the F-16s at Hill AFB will be temporarily moved to augment pilot training at up to two of the existing F-16 training locations: Luke AFB, Arizona; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland's Kelly Field Annex, Texas; or Tucson Air National Guard Base, Arizona.



Site surveys will begin at these four locations next week to gather detailed information on operational requirements, infrastructure capacity, environmental considerations and cost.



The basing criteria for the long-term permanent solutions include mission requirements (weather, airspace and training range availability), capacity (sufficient hanger and ramp space, and facility considerations), environmental requirements, and cost factors.



The Air Force will evaluate all installations in the continental United States with an existing fighter mission and a runway that is greater than or equal to 8,000 feet against the approved criteria to identify candidate bases for the F-16s.



After identifying candidate bases for the long-term permanent solution, Air Education and Training Command will conduct site surveys at each location as applicable. Site survey teams will assess each location against operational requirements, potential impacts to existing missions, infrastructure, environmental considerations, and manpower. They will also develop cost estimates to bed down the F-16s.



Based on the results of these efforts, the Air Force plans to identify candidate installations for the F-16s later this year. The Air Force will use its environmental impact analysis process to analyze reasonable alternatives determined through the use of these criteria.



The Air Force is committed to a deliberate and open process to address relocating the F-16s, said Jennifer A. Miller, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations. As we progress through the basing process, we will share information so interested communities are aware of what to expect.
Since an Ebola outbreak was declared in Uganda on 20 September, health assistant Nyangoma Kirrungi has been on the frontline of the countrys response day in and day out, working as a contact tracer in Madudu sub-county, one of the areas affected by the outbreak.
At least 14 people were injured when a roadside bomb targeting a judge, exploded near a hospital in Quetta in Pakistans restive southwestern Balochistan province, days after a deadly attack killed 74 people, mostly lawyers.



Fourteen people were injured in the blast when a vehicle belonging to the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) accompanying Justice Zahoor Shahwanis vehicle was hit at Quettas Zarghon road.

Balochistan Home minister Sarfaraz Bugti said the judge escaped the attack but one of the security vehicles escorting him was damaged.

The bomb was planted along the side of the road and exploded as the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) vehicle passed by.

According to rescue officials, ten civilians and four security officials were injured, with two in critical condition, in the blast near Al Khair Hospital in Balochistans provincial capital. The blast also shattered windows of nearby buildings, the Dawn reported.

Police spokesman Shahzada Farhat said police officers and passers-by were wounded.

Security forces and a bomb disposal squad reached the scene to collect evidence. Rescue teams moved the injured to nearby hospitals.

Police cordoned off the area as a search operation went underway.

This is a busy road and the terrorists take advantage of this, planting bombs and fleeing on motorcycles, Bugti said, strongly condemning the attack.

These blasts are aimed at sabotaging Independence Day activities in Balochistan. I believe these cowardly acts will not bring down our morale. We are in a conflict zone and we will fight with renewed resolve, the minister said.

We are reviewing our security measures and you will see changes on the ground, he said.

Bugti said that three to four kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast.
Ecuador has reached agreement to allow the Swedish government to interview WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Quito said late Wednesday.



In a statement, the foreign ministry said a letter had been sent by the Ecuadoran government to set up a meeting with Swedish officials at Quito`s embassy in London, where Assange has been sheltering since June 2012.

The meeting is to take place in the coming weeks, the statement said.
Ahead of the Independence Day celebrations on Monday, city police have started stepping up security in Mumbai.



As the Independence Day is being celebrated next week, we have started taking all possible measures to avoid any untoward incident, Mumbai police spokesperson Ashok Dudhe said.

Nearly 40,000-strong city police force will be on bandobast duty, he said, adding there will be nakabandi at various locations across the city.

We have called for some extra security forces from outside to ensure peace on and before the Independence Day.

Personnel of Rapid Action Force (RPF) will be roped in and there will be policemen stationed across Mumbai in plain clothes, Dudhe said.

When asked if police have received any specific security alert, the official said, There has been no alert as such.

But we are stepping up security as part of routine process.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had opened a new Public Grievances office at Dadar east to meet railway commuters and solve their problems brought before him. However, Prabhu had visited the office only once in the past 20 months since it became operational, as per the information provided by the Central Railway administration to RTI Activist Anil Galgali.



Galgali had sought information from the Central Railway regarding the various functioning of the Public Grievances office opened at Dadar (E).The Public Information Officer and Deputy General Manager Saket Kumar Mishra informed Galgali that, Suresh Prabhu had visited the Public Grievances office on 9th January 2015 at 4 pm. This office was established in the portion of the Deputy Chief Engineer (construction) office and the previous office is occupying the area in the back of this office. The office has received about 1600 complaints and at an average it receives at least 12-25 people approaching with grievances. The office has received complaints related to trains movements, inspection, stoppage at specific stations, facilities for passengers, and any other issues.

Galgali said, Since the office was started due to the initiative taken by Suresh Prabhu then he should have devoted more time for it. He should have paid regular visits to the office. Also since not much importance has been given, the complaints redressal is also poor. Since Suresh Prabhu is a resident of Mumbai, it is imperative that he should himself sit and hear the Public Grievances personally to solve them.








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What can said about a man of supposed high and unswerving moral principles who then betrays his own wife who has scarified her life for him and his son who had stood by his side? There is a saying that truth is stranger than fiction. Taking this into consideration, Horace Carby-Samuels has been responsible for setting in motion an pattern of events that would be too unbelievable for any movie. A character created from a real life Horace Carby-Samuels would arguably simply be too unbelievable.



How does a man whose wife sacrificed her life for him in an over 50 year marriage in which she nursed him from near death and in poor health on more than one occasion then refuse her basic medical treatment which resulted in her now not being able to talk, walk or write?



How does a man who said that he held integrity to the most important human characteristic make up a lie to Ottawa Police Services that his son suffered from mental illness to deflect from his son complaining about the abuse he observed against him Mom?



How does a main who complained about being treated as a less than favourite child then back-up Marcella, his daughter, in lies she concoted to the police? Indeed, Marcella Carby-Samuels is apparently no stranger to lies. How you think she got accepted into the PhD programme at Lund University in Sweden? By keeping her maiden name and pretending that she wasn't married to David Tenenbaum, a tenured professor in the same department. She's an apparent master of manipulation.



How does a Horace, man who complained about his experience of racism and racist cops in particular then use racist cops to prevent his wife and son from seeing each other? Horace exploited the racial profiing of the Ottawa Police by creating a story that his son suffered from a mental illness that made him a threat to both him and his wife. He got the police to harass him son for months. Apparent dirty cops like Detective Robert Griffin subjected his son to harassment for months.



How does Horace, a man who would talk about all the sell-outs among the black community in Ottawa and elsewhere apparently sell his son and wife out to someone who bought him a new toilet and sink with promises of more?



How does such a man go on as if he has no responsibility to bear in the path of human destruction that he has sewn? Instead he now turns to aooarenr corrupt lawyers to further embellish and spin the lies and deceit that he has executed and sewn against his own wife and son.



Is this a man of integrity and honour that he has professed to be or a hypocrite who ignored his own father for being the bad father?



His father Wilford, might not have been the best father, but would his father have ever have kept his wife and sons from seeing each other under a shroud or lies and deceit that Horace has spun? Would his father have blocked his own wife getting access to medical care, speech therapy and social services support when she needed it the most? I would think not.
University Professor Publishes Book on Ancient Assyrian King

Assyrian King Sargon II (R) with Crown Prince Sennacherib. Clarkson University Associate Professor of Ancient History Sarah Melville has just published a book examining military and political struggles in the ancient the Near East.

Sarah MelvilleThe Campaigns of Sargon II, King of Assyria, 721-705 B.C. is the first in-depth military study of an Assyrian king. Melville's book demonstrates how Sargon changed the geopolitical dynamics in the Near East, inspired a period of cultural florescence, established long-lasting Assyrian supremacy, and became one of the ancient world's most successful kings.

Sargon reigned in what is now northern Iraq, the area where ISIS recently destroyed Assyrian ruins at Nineveh (modern Mosul) and Nimrud. By contrast, Sargon II aimed to improve the territory he took.

"He was not only a conqueror, but a clever politician and excellent judge of human nature," says Melville, who received her Ph.D. in Near Eastern languages and civilization from Yale University. "Sargon understood that in order to control a huge empire, he would have to apply force selectively and persuade people that they were better off coming to his side."

For example, Melville notes that he conquered Babylonia without fighting any major battles or destroying a lot of property. Instead, he used espionage, diplomacy, and military maneuver to achieve his objectives."

Melville spent six years researching and writing her book, which was published at the end of July in the University of Oklahoma Press' Campaigns and Commanders series. She is the first female scholar to contribute to the series, of which her book represents the 55th volume.

Professor of Ancient History Sarah Melville. As part of her research, she studied a wide range of sources, including cuneiform tablets, monumental art, and artifacts. In order to gain perspective and determine the chronology of events, she also looked at Sargon's actions from the point of view of his foreign enemies, as recorded in their own writings.

"Researching ancient history is like trying to put together a big puzzle, without having all the pieces or knowing what the picture looks like" she says. "It can be frustrating, but also rewarding."

Melville teaches ancient history and war studies at Clarkson, including courses on Greek and Roman warfare, ancient medicine, and war literature.

"Like most people," she observes, "the Assyrians went to war because they thought they had to, in order to survive and secure a better future. In the ancient world, life was precarious. The environment was harsh and people didn't have a lot of control. We can learn a great deal from ancient history, if we don't impose our modern sensibilities, but instead consider the ancients in the context of their own cultures and times. Rather than condemn them for actions we now find reprehensible, we need to identify the challenges they faced and figure out why they responded as they did. Their answers often shed light on modern events in surprising ways."

Clarkson University educates the leaders of the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as an owner, CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. With its main campus located in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in the Capital Region and Beacon, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university with signature areas of academic excellence and research directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through more than 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, education, sciences and the health professions, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo and connect discovery and innovation with enterprise.
French photographer Delphine Blast spent two months in the suburbs of Bogota, Colombia, shooting environmental portraits of girls in their quinceanera dresses. In Blasts series, called simply Quinceanera, the elaborate dresses contrast with the everyday surroundings in which the girls live, providing a sociological context. Whether rich or poor, 
August 11, 2016

The electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip is no longer just the problem of the 1.8 million Palestinians who live there or of the Hamas regime. The chronic power deficit is creating environmental repercussions that threaten Israels water reservoirs, sewage system and environmental quality. In May, Gazas sewage system collapsed, and raw sewage reached the water reservoir of the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. Gazas sewage plants have ceased functioning due to the lack of electricity, and left wastewater flows into Israel untreated.

Without electricity, water cannot be produced and wastewater cannot be treated, said Eilon Adar, a hydrologist and the former director of Ben-Gurion Universitys Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Department of Environmental Hydrology and Microbiology in Beersheba. An aquifer knows no borders. Water does not stop at a border. At the moment the damage is negligible, but Gaza is now dumping its untreated wastewater near the Beit Lahia wastewater treatment plant. This site, founded a number of years ago with Israels agreement, is only about 200 meters [660 feet] from Israels border and the [effluent] lake seeps into the coastal aquifer.

According to Adar, when Gaza's wastewater treatment plant does not function, Israel stands to suffer as well. The ramifications of this can already be seen.

Gaza sends wastewater to the area of the nonfunctional treatment plant, causing the water level to rise. A virtual mountain of underground water has been created that will flow to the only place in Gaza that still has drinkable water. That water will become contaminated and then disaster will hit. Once [contaminated] water permeates potable water, it will be almost impossible to fix the situation.

Tel Aviv Universitys Porter School of Environmental Studies has been keeping tabs on Gazas electrical, water and sewage crises for years. The school has been issuing periodic warnings about the immediate risks and dangers involved, recognizing the need for wastewater to be treated and for a potable water supply made available to the residents of the Gaza Strip. Adar explained that currently, Israel infuses a significant amount of potable water from the Ashkelon desalination facility into pipes in the Khan Yunis area, but that is not enough. Even this supply cannot forestall the catastrophe-in-the-making involving everything connected to water and sewage treatment. Unless the problem is addressed immediately and comprehensively, disaster is inevitable.

The electricity crisis in Gaza began after former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert instructed the Israel Defense Forces to destroy the transformers in Gazas electrical station in retaliation for the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006. Although the station was partially restored, it never returned to its former level of performance.

Today there is only one operating turbine, which supplies a bit of electricity to Gaza residents, said one of Gazas largest fuel merchants, who requested anonymity. He told Al-Monitor that there is just enough fuel to partially operate one out of four small, reconstructed turbines. Before the station was destroyed it supplied some 125 megawatts. The station's capacity, together with electricity supplied through direct lines from Israel and Egypt, guaranteed a more or less reasonable level of electricity. Now, however, the station provides no more than 50 megawatts, and the direct electricity lines from Israel and Egypt often suffer temporary cuts.

A few months ago, Hamas authorities sent the merchant to Egypt to purchase industrial fuel to properly operate the transformer station, but he returned empty-handed. The Egyptians had demanded payment in cash.

We have no cash to pay and are unable to commit ourselves to pay for diesel fuel from Israeli fuel companies, he said. According to the merchant, the European Union (EU) had for years helped operate the transformer station, by transferring payment via the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah, but it ceased doing so more than five years ago. Since then, the plant has been operating at only a quarter of its capacity. The EU stopped financing the purchases of diesel fuel after it discovered that some of the funds received by the PA had disappeared. In recent years, Ramallah has continued to underwrite the purchase of industrial fuel from Israel, but as its economic situation worsens, so does its payments and fuel quotas for operating the Gaza transformer station.

Gaza residents currently suffer from an acute shortage of electricity. In recent months, every household has received six to seven hours of electricity intermittently.

Every single day, we regret that a transformer station was ever built in Gaza, the merchant said. If not for that station, which was bombed by Israel and only partially reconstructed, the Israelis and the world would be obligated to supply us with electricity. Now we are living like in the Middle Ages and even made to feel that its our problem.

As already mentioned, however, the electricity crisis is not only the problem of Gaza residents and Hamas. It is impossible to operate an aquifer, which is the most important source of water in the Middle East, without cooperation from the neighbors, said Adar. We need to get used to the idea of buying sewage from Gaza, treating it, using it as wastewater for irrigation in the northern Negev and exchanging it for drinking water. It is in our interest that the mountain aquifer water remain drinkable.

Adar also noted that European countries and others recognize the importance of preserving good water quality in the region. They support joint water enterprises and are concerned about water pollution. In July, US congressional representatives sent a letter to Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz in which they expressed deep concern about the state of Gaza's water supply and the lack of sewage treatment. They warned that the absence of immediate action to purify sewage water would lead to severe environmental and health hazards that will affect Palestinians as well as Israelis.

It is clear to everyone  the letters signatories, EU representatives and Israeli and Gaza residents  that there is only one path to averting disastrous repercussions  resolving the severe electricity shortage in Gaza before it is too late.
August 11, 2016

TEHRAN, Iran  President Hassan Rouhani cited "lack of justice in the employment process" when he ordered the cancellation of the third Civil Service Examination on July 31. Over 2,800 job opportunities at 12 state bodies were up for grabs in the test, which was due to be held in September. Rouhani further tasked the Management and Planning Organization with ensuring "women's employment rights by amending the gender-related quotas and informing the Cabinet about the results."

The order was reportedly issued on the request of Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi. On July 26, the semi-official news agency ISNA quoted her as saying that she had "sent a letter to Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri about gender discrimination at this year's exam."

Al-Monitor contacted Molaverdi for more insight into what prompted her to reportedly sound the alarm. She told Al-Monitor, "Based on the job titles and the number of positions allocated to women, we concluded that their share of the jobs has not been met."

Moreover, Molaverdi denied that Rouhani had acted upon her department's advice, saying, "We only monitored the public's and online community's reactions and reported them to the president. Thus, a decision was made to halt the exam until gender equality is fulfilled."

The vice president declined to further comment on the matter to Al-Monitor, saying that she "avoids creating controversy and prefers to have calm, expert-level discussion about it."

What Rouhani was referring to when citing "unfair quotas" is the number and proportion of positions earmarked for women in the exam booklet.

Of the 2,800 jobs up for grabs, at least 886 were exclusively allocated to men. In contrast, less than half as many jobs  404  were allocated to female job-seekers. Of the latter 404 positions, 360 were offered by the Education Ministry and 41 by the Prison Authority. Moreover, only three positions were offered to female applicants at the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, while the other 77 positions at the same body were for male applicants. Of note, the Islamic Development Organization put forth zero openings for women, offering all 44 vacancies to male clerics. The remaining 1,570 positions do not appear to have been earmarked for any particular gender.

While the exam controversy is merely over a few hundred job openings, the significance of the issue at hand comes to light when put in the context of broader unemployment trends and female education.

According to the Statistical Organization of Iran, unemployment in the last quarter of 2015 was 9% among Iranian men, and more than twice as high, at 18.9%, among women. The situation is more alarming for young women. The jobless rate for women between the ages of 15 and 29 is 38.5%. Meanwhile, the majority of Iranian university students are women. In the academic year 2013-14 alone, over 21,400 female students graduated from universities with master's degrees, while 2,700 women received doctorates.

Rouhani's order to delay the exam has triggered a variety of reactions. Tayyebeh Siavoshi, a female lawmaker from Tehran, expressed support for the move in an Aug. 3 op-ed for news website Fararu. She argued, "Iranian society must have a realistic view of women's unemployment and a change in women's lifestyle as the number of single women [who live alone] or are breadwinners for families is rising." Siavoshi added, "Whether we like it or not  the issue of female unemployment is now on the front burner and it cannot be seen as propaganda or a second-tier policy as there are more and more educated women [who need jobs]  hence, it seems that based on such an argument, the president decided to halt the exam."

Meanwhile, Fars News Agency cited previous remarks by the interior minister and the government's spokesman as proof that the Rouhani administration had no intention to employ anyone in the first place and concluded that the president's July 31 order was mostly for propaganda purposes.

Of note, only three days before the cancellation of the exam, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said, "There will be no more state employment as the government has no capacity to accept more civil servants."

Al-Monitor discussed gender discrimination in the exam with women's rights advocate Touran Valimorad, who runs Iran Zanan Network, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to women's affairs. Valimorad told Al-Monitor, "Nobody doubts the importance of eradicating discrimination against women and paving the way for them to have equal opportunities. But Rouhani's record in the three years of his presidency is very poor when it comes to women's rights or tackling discrimination against them. What they [Rouhani and Molaverdi] have done so far has been nothing but talk and bombastic propaganda."

Valimorad, whose NGO's efforts to institute changes to inheritance laws have resulted in several legal changes in favor of women, added, "The task of revising the gender-related quotas  given to the Management and Planning Organization  won't lead anywhere. Such missions should be assigned to women because they are capable of finding solutions and fixing the problem."

But has Rouhani really stood by women?

Azar Mansouri, a female member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, a Reformist faction close to former President Mohammad Khatami, gives Rouhani "a fair grade" when it comes to women's affairs. In an Aug. 2 piece in Farheekhtegan Daily, Mansouri wrote, "The president has paid attention to gender equality from the very first day.  Rouhani changed a series of trends that had eroded women's effectiveness in society and reversed some previous decisions, including gender segregation at universities," further expressing hope that "such a trend will continue in the future."

Not everyone shares that optimism. A prominent female Iranian academic who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity asked, "What gender equality [is there] when there is not even a single female minister in the Cabinet? If he [Rouhani] thinks women are as powerful as men, why did he not appoint a female minister? If he [on the other hand] thinks they are not capable enough  well, then it is a feeble excuse and even worse." She added, "It would be better for the president to start restoring women's rights within his own Cabinet. Instead of demoting a female vice president to being an aide, he should promote a woman to become a minister."

In this vein, the academic said she believes Rouhani's order is "political rhetoric as we are approaching next year's [presidential] election." Women's rights advocate Valimorad echoed the same line of reasoning. As she tells it, Rouhani and his team are merely "toying with women's grievances in order to win their game of thrones in 2017."
August 11, 2016

The meaning of the apology offered by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman after the crude tongue lashing he gave President Barack Obama on Aug. 5 regarding the Iranian nuclear agreement, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus swift disavowal of Liberman's remarks, goes beyond the arena of US-Israeli relations. One can assume that the political echelon will from now on be careful in mentioning the words nuclear Iran. Along with its Iranian enemy, the Israeli right is soon going to be losing its American enemy, Barack Hussein Obama. It will take a few months and several new West Bank settlement outposts before the next US president can be portrayed as an Israel basher. So whos left?

Netanyahu has reconciled with Turkey and has kindly suggested that Israels Arab citizens should prosper. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is out for the count, and the Israeli left doesnt count. How much mileage can Netanyahu get out of blasting Hamas and inciting against left-wing organizations? True, Netanyahu will always have Naftali Bennett, chairman of HaBayit HaYehudi, as a punching bag, but a partner in the governing coalition, especially a religious Jew, cannot be portrayed as a true enemy. Therefore, once again the leftist mafia has been designated the role of Trojan horse.

What if all the employees of the new public broadcasting corporation are members of the Breaking the Silence organization? Netanyahu said at an Aug. 8 meeting with representatives of the public broadcasters Channel One TV and Israel Radio, the components of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). He claimed that the matter of the new public broadcasting corporation that will replace the bankrupt IBA had escaped his radar while he was busy with Operation Protective Edge against Gaza in summer 2014. In other words, even as Israeli soldiers were sacrificing their lives in battles with Hamas, the left-wing monsters dug a secret tunnel under the representatives of the people in the Knesset to infiltrate television and radio studios. What could be more left than Breaking the Silence, the organization that collects soldiers' testimonies on the Israeli military's behavior in the West Bank and elsewhere, spreading libel against Israeli soldiers to the heathens abroad?

The public readily swallows such conspiratorial messages. A poll conducted last year by the Ifat Group ahead of the annual journalism conference in Eilat, in December 2015, found that 63% of the Israeli public is convinced that the media leans left in covering issues of diplomacy. Its study, based on a review of 1,200 news items, opinion pieces, interviews and feature stories in leading media outlets, also indicated that the pervasive view that the media serves as a mouthpiece of the left is groundless. It showed that 26% of the work reviewed expressed opposition to an arrangement with the Palestinians, and 39% of the coverage was characterized as balanced. In other words, 65% of the coverage does not lean to the left. Only 35% of leading Israeli media coverage of diplomacy-related issues tends to support an agreement with the Palestinians.

Moreover, the old left-leaning (relative to those days) party newspapers have been replaced by media outlets openly identified with the right and the West Bank settler establishment: Makor Rishon, Channel 20, the Galei Israel radio station and the weekly Besheva. The Walla news website owned by businessman Shaul Elovitch, a Netanyahu associate  so much so that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has banned Netanyahu as minister of communications from handling any matter related to Elovitch's telecommunication businesses  pampers the Netanyahu family with its special coverage.

Leading the ranks of the right-wing media is the free daily Israel Hayom (Israel Today), owned by Sheldon Adelson, Netanyahu's right-wing American patron. Adelson claims the Palestinians are an invented people. He also owns the NRG news website. According to TGI data on market share released July 25, Israel Hayom has widened its lead over its main competitor, Yedioth Ahronoth, with 39.7% of distribution compared to 34.9%. On weekends, Israel Hayom's distribution has almost caught up with that of Yedioth Ahronoth, 37.6% to 37.7%. Israel Hayom gives away 550,000 weekend editions.

The success of Israel Hayom has encouraged the other media outlets, chief among them Yedioth Ahronoth, to adopt a right-wing editorial line. Thats what the public wants, so thats what the public gets. Anyone looking for up-to-date information about the expansion of the settlement enterprise and critical opinion pieces in Hebrew about the injustice of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank can only find it in Haaretz and on this website. Although Haaretz's distribution in Israel has plunged to 3.5%, an organization calling itself Reservists at the Front, which is fighting the boycott and divestment movement against Israel, has decided to launch a media campaign against the outlet. According to the organization, boycott activists around the world rely on material they compile from Haaretz's English-language edition.

This antiquated approach is in line with remarks by Sima Vaknin, director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, at an Aug. 7 debate in the Knessets Committee on Transparency. The former chief military censor asserted that Israels problem is the narrative. The challenge Israel faces, Vaknin said, is that the narrative told around the world not equate Israel with apartheid. So what can be done about this? Establish an inter-ministerial team of officials tasked with formulating the alternative narrative that Israel wishes to convey to the world.

This is, indeed, a serious marketing challenge. It is not easy to sell the enlightened world of the 21st century an alternative narrative, in other words a positive one, about a state that has been holding millions of people under occupation for almost a half century, since 1967. To do so might require restoration of the censorship in place during Israeli military rule over its Arab citizens, which lasted until 1966. If it did so, then Israel would be forced to relinquish the narrative according to which it is the only country in the Middle East that sanctifies democracy and press freedom. Fifty years ago, there was no Facebook, and Twitter had not been born, both immune to every kind of censorship.

In conclusion, a challenging question for the right is as follows: If the Israeli media is so leftist, how is it that you have been in power for so many years? Or maybe the media is not so influential. After you take control of the public broadcasting and stifle all criticism of the government, you will have to find a new enemy. Hillary, take cover.
August 11, 2016

The first meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin since the downing of the Russian jet in November 2015 was a much-anticipated event. A few hours before the encounter Aug. 9, the Turkish media released a story on the details of the clandestine shuttle diplomacy to end the Russia-Turkey crisis. Interestingly, all of the alleged back-channel negotiators were also present at the meeting, to demonstrate the immense political will behind the talks.

The underlying motive for the rendezvous between Erdogan and Putin was best framed by Russias leading political commentator, Fyodor Lukyanov, when he said, [Russia and Turkey] are two great powers with close historical, cultural and geographical ties with Europe that have never been recognized as 'our guys' there. After the Cold War both got 'dropped off' from the 'Big Europe' project. Paradoxically, it was Putin and Erdogan who at the early stages of their rule invested the most efforts to 'fit in the project.' Thus they both have similar trajectories of disappointment."

It needs to be added that for more than nine months the two leaders have experienced equal disappointment with one another. That's why once the political decision to normalize the relations was made, Moscow and Ankara maintained diplomatically neutral rhetoric on the past grievances.

The stage sets were rather rich with theatricality. Putin never went to meet Erdogan at the airport; instead, a crowd of Turkish construction workers building infrastructure at the St. Petersburg airport took a break to greet Erdogan waving Russian and Turkish flags. The language was even more interesting: Putin referred to the downed jet as the tragedy, while Erdogan referred to it as what happened. As Putin maintained friendly composure, the Turkish leader twice called his Russian counterpart my friend Vladimir and twice my dear friend. However, Putin reaffirmed his support for Erdogan that he initially signaled soon after the failed coup attempt by saying, Russia is always against unconstitutional actions.  I hope that under your guidance the Turkish people can handle this crisis."

On a more substantive note, the talks focused on two issues: One had to do with areas where cooperation could be augmented, and the other with problems that both nations still disagree upon. On the first, Putin and Erdogan demonstrated clear political intent to breathe new life into the Turkish Stream project. Russian energy officials insisted that since the inception of the project, market conditions have changed and the initial idea of supplying more than 63 billion cubic meters with four supply strings can no longer be realized. Nevertheless, Russia is still Turkeys largest gas exporter  in 2015 it supplied 23 billion cubic meters. Given the current contract for the gas supply to Europe through Ukraine and Romania  part of which goes to Turkey  and limited potential of alternative sources such as Norway, Ankara had all the reasons to embrace Moscows proposal that looked mutually beneficial anyway. The parties will now hasten to prepare the documentation to move forward.

Another big deal on the table was relaunching the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Turkey  Akkuyu, a 4,800 megawatt, $20 billion project in which the Russians have already invested $3 billion. As a result of the negotiations the Turkish government granted the project the status of a strategic investment. It will be essentially built by the Russians and serviced by Turkish specialists, most of whom for this reason will travel to Russia for an intensive training program.

Moreover, Russia will lift the ban it had put in place on operations of Turkish companies and allow for tourist flights from Russia to Turkish resorts  a significant boost to the Turkish economy that suffered from a drastic drop in the number of Russian tourists from 4 million last year to 100,000 this year. There was also a particular intent on the Turkish side to increase the bilateral trade turnover to $100 billion. But given that it plunged by 40% over the last year, this figure might be ambitious to reach within a short period.

The problem-related basket produced more modest results. Speaking with Russias top interviewer ahead of the meeting with Putin, Erdogan outlined his three key principles on the Syrian problem. First, he said that Russia "is the key player in the Syrian solution, and that Turkey is looking for ways to engage its potential. We share a 950-kilometer (590-mile) border with Syria. In cooperation with Russia we can take 'certain steps' without violating the territorial integrity of Syria, he said. Second, Erdogans position vis-a-vis the Syrian president is firm. He said, We arent looking for ways to break up Syria, but whatever measures we take, departure of [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad is a necessary condition. The unity of Syria with Assad in power is impossible. Finally, Erdogans position on other forces fighting in Syria reflects his domestic concerns. He called it a wrong approach to list Jabhat al-Nusra as a terrorist organization while not doing the same with the Syrian Democratic Forces. If fighting [the Islamic State] is the criteria of an allied group, then Jabhat al-Nusra shouldnt be considered a terrorist group, he said.

This obviously did not sit well with Moscow, and it has proved difficult for the two presidents to find common ground. Nevertheless, Russia and Turkey agreed on a greater coordination of the military and intelligence on Syria  most likely to prevent another incident such as the downed jet. Though this is certainly not a breakthrough, it is an interesting development. The two leaders concluded that coordination of our approaches in Syria is possible since we have a common goal there  to have democratic transformations in the country. Since Syria is now virtually the major stumbling block between the two states, Putin and Erdogan decided to have a separate meeting on this issue sometime in the future. Meanwhile, the respective parties in both countries will work together and separately to brainstorm on what joint initiatives may be discussed further.

On a much bigger level, Russia and Turkey are rediscovering Eurasia. Prior to his encounter with Putin, the Turkish leader met with Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who played a significant role in normalizing Russia-Turkey relations. In turn, Putin visited Baku for a historic summit  which may now acquire a regular format  with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Iran. The parties agreed to deepen economic cooperation, strengthen regional security and unite efforts in fighting terrorism. As if this is not enough, the president of Armenia visited Moscow the day after Erdogan left Russia. There is more talk in Moscow on a possible attempt to moderate yet another reset of Turkish-Armenian relations that would ease the overall tensions in the South Caucasus. From the Kremlin's point of view, Russia-Turkish normalization fits into a larger framework that would make Turkey a third engine to the Eurasian grand integration project.

The relationship is no longer going to be based on a mens friendship," but rather on a more solid ground of what some Kremlin insiders called "constructive opportunism." Thus, regardless of the ambitions of the two authoritarian leaders, the respective policies will be crafted based upon ad-hoc opportunities. But for this to happen too many different  often opposite  issues have to converge. This bears great risks for both Russia and Turkey, but makes this subject all the more interesting to watch.
August 11, 2016

Tunisias Ministry of Womens Affairs submitted to parliament in mid-July a new draft law on the elimination of violence against women. Article 2 of the draft law extends to all forms of gender-based violence directed against women by any perpetrator, whatever form it takes, without discrimination on the basis of birth, color, race, religion, thought, age, nationality, socio-economic conditions, civil status, health, language or disability.

Under the draft law, punishment may extend to two years of imprisonment with a fine of 5,000 Tunisian dinars (roughly $2,300) against perpetrators of sexual harassment crimes. Article 16 of the draft law stipulates, Whoever harasses women in a public place, be it through verbal or nonverbal behavior, or remarks that would offend them, shall be imprisoned for one year.

The draft law has caused a wave of sarcasm on social media with people posting pictures and jokes on what might happen after the law is passed. Some joked that a simple look or smile at a woman on the street may lead the man to jail, while others posted a sarcastic picture of a baby who looked at a women before ending up in a correctional facility.

The new articles of this bill have tightened sanctions against the perpetrators of violence and harassment acts against women, compared to the Tunisian Penal Code's provisions in force. Some of these provisions will be abolished under the bill in case it is ratified by parliament, such as Article 266 of the Penal Code that stipulates that sexual harassment crimes are punishable with a year of imprisonment and a fine of 3,000 dinars ($1,350).

The tight sanctions came in light of the alarming figures in regard to violence against women in Tunisia.

In March, the Center for Research, Studies Documentation and Information on Women revealed in a study titled Gender-based violence in public spaces that 53% of women in the study were subjected to violence in public places. The study, which was conducted between 2012 and 2015, said that 41% of the women questioned experienced physical violence in public places, while 75% of the women in the study were subjected to sexual violence in public places such as on the street or in the workplace.

The new bill defines violence against women as any gender-based physical, mental, sexual or economic [abusive] act against women, causing them physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm, including the threat of resorting to such acts, exerting pressure on them or denying them their rights and freedoms, whether in public life or in private.

The controversy and sarcasm  which were centered on the tightened sanctions for harassment crimes  overshadowed the fact that the law is a big push for women to have access to advanced social and economic posts, by promoting gender equality and criminalizing all types of discrimination.

Article 3 of the draft law criminalizes economic abuse and defines it as any action or abstinence from acting that would deprive women of economic resources, such as depriving them of money, income or vital needs, controlling their wages or income, and prohibiting or forcing them to work. The same article also criminalizes any distinction, exclusion or restriction denying women their human rights and freedoms on the basis of equality in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural domains.

Women in Tunisia have faced great difficulties in the employment domain, as they have suffered from wage discrimination and have been paid less than men for doing the same work, especially in the private sector. Article 11 of the Public Employment Law of 1983 regulating jobs in the public sector prohibits any form of discrimination between men and women.

Law expert Mazen Korshide told Al-Monitor, "The Labor Code regulates employment in the private sector. Article 5 of said law prohibits any gender-based discrimination in general. Yet it does not clearly specify that men and women should receive equal pay. The law remains a theoretical text, which explains why some institutions violate laws and pay women less than men.

A study published in March on the violation of womens rights in the private agricultural sector, which was conducted by the Tunisian Association for Cultural Action, revealed that 99% of women do not receive equal pay as men for doing the same job. The study focused on Sidi Bouzid, in central Tunisia, and revealed that the economic and social rights of women working in the agricultural sector there are being violated.

According to the same study, 36% of participating women who work in the agriculture sector said that their job poses a risk to their health due to the exposure to sunlight, and that they were subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace. Such discrimination is contrary to Article 20 of the 2014 constitution, which stipulates that citizens, male and female, have equal rights and duties, and are equal before the law without any discrimination.

Article 46 of the constitution states, The state is committed to protect womens accrued rights and work to strengthen and develop those rights. The state guarantees the equality of opportunities between women and men to have access to all levels of responsibility in all domains. In 2014, Tunisia ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Nevertheless, the challenge facing the draft law once ratified by parliament is to what extent the legal text will help improve the status of women in reality, especially those new articles criminalizing harassment and violent crimes and prohibiting any form of discrimination against women in the workplace.

For her part, activist Fatma Riahi told Al-Monitor, When reporting crimes of violence and sexual harassment, women will face family, social and even police pressure. Unfortunately in many cases victims are viewed as guilty and responsible for the harassment they were subjected to, because of the way they are dressed or the way they conduct themselves. Many victims choose not to resort to the judiciary out of fear of being placed under such pressure. This is why awareness of their rights should be raised so as to prompt victims to unveil such crimes, because silence, warding off the scandals and impunity come to the advantage of the perpetrators of violence and harassment crimes.

Many laws and government actions in Tunisia are not in line with the 2014 constitution, and so this requires the ratification of laws guaranteeing gender equality in the various fields and preventing discrimination against women. For instance, women and men do not have an equal share in inheritance, as a man equals two women under Tunisia's Personal Status Code. Despite the feminists calls to amend these laws, the legislative branch is preoccupied with the vote of confidence on the new government, countering terrorism and addressing the economic crisis.
Lawyers for a St. Clair County teenager accused of soliciting support for a terrorist act are moving for his release and a bond reduction, arguing he was not capable of understanding his actions.

According to court documents, lawyers for Payton Jack Pruitt, 19, of Wattsville, have entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental defect. They are also arguing a recent mental evaluation shows he should have his $1 million bond reduced, allowing him to return to his family for care and supervision.

James Gallini, an attorney for Pruitt, said he is waiting to hear a response from St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor. Minor had no comment on the case.

Pruitt was arrested Nov. 13, 2015, charged with soliciting support for a terrorist act.

At a December hearing, witnesses described Pruitt as a "child" - a teenager with an IQ in the 50s who cannot tie his own shoes, soils his clothes, has little verbal skills and lacks the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy.

Yet a St. Clair County investigator then testified that the FBI determined Pruitt used the Internet to communicate with what he believed were representatives of the Islamic State and the Pakistani Taliban, and that he told an FBI agent that he provided links to encrypted information on car bombs, pressure cooker bombs and suggested high value targets for acts of terrorism.

Further testimony stated Pruitt had been written up in April at a Talladega technical center for using a computer to access "the ISIS website." After viewing Pruitt's videotaped FBI questioning in December, a judge denied a bond reduction request.

According to court documents filed July 29, Pruitt's lawyers said a psychological evaluation of Pruitt in May stated he has "a mental defect, mild to moderate intellectual disability (formally known as mental retardation)."

"The defendant gives an account of the circumstances surrounding the offense that indicates that he was experiencing a mental defect, mental retardation, such that he was unable to appreciate the nature and quality of his actions or the wrongfulness of his acts," the document states.

The report says Pruitt is "not a danger to himself or the community."
A Gadsden attorney recently filed an ethics complaint with the state's bar association against Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, for comments Cohen has made about suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.

Cohen calls the complaint "baseless" and retaliation for the complaints his group filed that has led to the judicial ethics charges against Moore.

Trent Garmon, and his wife, Holly, filed the complaint with the Alabama Bar Association on July 28.

The complaint states that Cohen violated one of the rules of professional conduct that states a lawyer can't make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard to its truth or falsity regarding the qualifications or integrity of a judge.

Cohen made a number of comments about Moore's letters, public comments, and orders since January 2015 regarding same-sex marriage, which Moore opposes, the complaint states.

Cohen's public comments in news publications have included that Alabama "elected him to be a judge, not a pastor," that he was a demagogue, the "Ayatollah of Alabama," and is unfit for office, the complaint states.

The Garmons' complaint states that "our Chief Justice as elected by the voters of Alabama deserves the respect, honor and dignity the rules of professional conduct afford notwithstanding any disagreement as to legal positions held by Cohen and the SPLC."

The SPLC filed an ethics complaint against Moore to the Judicial Inquiry Commission on Jan. 28, 2015, the day after Moore wrote a letter to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley saying that issuance of same-sex marriage licenses would be in defiance of the state's marriage laws. Moore also stated in that letter that he would continue to enforce those laws despite a federal judge's order days earlier.

The SPLC would update the complaint three more times, including this past January after Moore issued an administrative order to probate judges stating that a previous order by the Alabama Supreme Court banning issuance of same-sex marriage licenses was still in effect despite the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling making gay marriage legal nationwide.

It's that order by Moore that is the focus of the current ethics complaint against the chief justice.

The Alabama Court of the Judiciary will hold a trial on Sept. 28 on whether Moore should be removed from the bench or punished.

Cohen said that he responded to the Garmons' complaint on Tuesday and provided AL.com with a copy.

"The complaint filed against me by the Garmons is baseless," Cohen states in his response to the Bar. "My statements about Chief Justice Moore are protected by the First Amendment and were not 'know[n] to be false' or made 'with reckless disregard as to [their] truth or falsity.'"

"Indeed, my statements were accurate and served the public interest by alerting the public to the fact that Chief Justice Moore was acting in a manner that undermined the integrity of the judiciary," Cohen states in the letter. "The fact that the Judicial Inquiry Commission has brought an ethics complaint against the Chief Justice based on a complaint that I filed reflects that my statements had a firm foundation in fact."

Cohen told AL.com tht he doesn't want to suppose the Garmons' motives in filing the complaint. "But it's clear they are Roy Moore supporters and it appears to be a retaliatory attack," he said.

Trent Garmon

Trent Garmon told AL.com that while he does support Roy Moore, the complaint is not retaliation. He said that he has supported the SPLC in its defense of the poor and immigrant issues - including opposition to Alabama's immigration law a few years ago.

But Cohen should respect the office of Chief Justice, Garmon said.

Garmon and hopes what comes of it is a simple reprimand by the Bar for Cohen. "It's not a personal thing against Richard (Cohen)," he said.
The Fifty Shades of Luv Guv Bentley.

The most embarrassing governor in recent history - and that's saying more than a mouthful - is now back-tracking and endorsing an issue - the lottery - because it's "less immoral" than letting sick children and old people die.

The governor wants a lottery and all of a sudden Alabama Lives Matter?

Why didn't Alabama lives matter when the governor spurned the expansion of Medicaid?

The good Dr. Bentley is good for what ails a cartoonist and a few late night talk hosts. And that's about it.

He is a sexy beast, though. Probably rocks a mean wet T-shirt.

Check out more Bentley cartoons by JD Crowe
The number of bankruptcies in the U.S. spiked during the Great Recession, topping 1 million filings each year from 2008 to 2011. Since then, the number has declined, dropping to 820,000 in 2015.

Not everyone has seen relief, however.

NerdWallet recently looked at the counties with the greatest number of personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents. It found the median bankruptcy rate in the U.S. from April 1, 2015 to March 31 was 224 filings per 100,000 people. In the 10 counties with the highest number of bankruptcy filings - including one in Alabama - the rate was nearly four times greater, an average of 856 per 100,000 people.

The two counties with the highest bankruptcy rates are Shelby County, Tennessee (1,285 per 100,000 people) and Clayton, Georgia (1,096 per 100,000 people.) At number three nationally is Houston County, Alabama, with a bankruptcy rate of 940 per 100,000 residents.

Other Alabama counties also posted high bankruptcy rates:

Montgomery County (10

Jefferson County (13

Tuscaloosa County (1 4

Mobile County (17

Lee County (32

Baldwin County (44

Calhoun County (58

Morgan County (75

Madison County (90

Etowah County (100

Overall, Alabama had 529 bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents, second only to Tennessee.

Welcome to Thursday's Wake Up Call. Here's what's going on:

Carly Fiorina vying to chair GOP

Former HP CEO and 2016 presidential contender Carly Fiorina is planning to make a run for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, according to reports.

Fiorina is helping with down-ballot races and reaching out to members of the RNC. Members will elect a successor to incumbent chair Reince Priebus in January.

And the dead giveaway? She's already registered the domains CarlyforChair.com and CarlyforRNC.com.

More than 1,000 U.S. "spies" protecting Olympics

More than 1,000 members of the U.S. intelligence community are assisting with security during the Rio games, NBC reported. The numbers include analysts, law enforcement and special operations personnel, as well as dozens of highly trained Navy and Marine Corps commandos. The U.S. personnel are working with the Brazilian Federal Police and the Brazilian Navy.

Other military units are on call should a rescue or counter-terrorism operation be needed.

Crash landing survivor wins lottery

A Dubai-based Indian man who survived his airplane's crash landing last week won $1 million in the lottery just days after the incident.

Mohammad Basheer Abdul Khadar, 62, was on board Emirates flight EK521 en route from southern India last Wednesday when it had a hard landing in Dubai and burst into flames. Thirteen passengers were injured and a firefighter responding to the scene was killed.

On Tuesday, Khadar's winning number was drawn in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw held at the Dubai International Airport.

Michigan wants to ban straight-party voting

Michigan is seeking to have a ban on straight-party voting reinstated.

The practice - where voters use one mark for all candidates from one party - was banned by last month before a court temporarily suspended the prohibition. Civil rights advocates said the ban would keep African-Americans from voting.

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder said the law does not place a burden on voters or violate the U.S. Voting Rights Act. He is asking for it to be reinstated before the November general election.

Until tomorrow.
A Phenix City man was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison on Thursday following a conviction on gun and drug charges.

Antonio Darset King, Sr., 47, was convicted by a federal jury in March of possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense, of being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possessing cocaine with the intent to sell it.

According to evidence presented at trial, investigators with the Russell County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at King's Phenix City residence in February 2014. They found a firearm, more than 5 grams of cocaine and about $3,000.

Prosecutors said King planned to sell the cocaine found in his residence, and that he had a firearm for the purpose of protecting his drug trafficking trade.

At the time of the execution of the search warrant, King was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm.

"I truly appreciate the assistance we received from the U.S Attorney's Office and ATF in this case," Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor said in a written statement. "King was one of the most dangerous individuals I have encountered during my law enforcement career. The citizens of Russell County are safer today with him off the streets."
A Montgomery woman is charged with murder in connection with a November traffic crash that caused the death of another woman.

Carla Thompson, 32, was arrested Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Service after being indicted on the charge by a Montgomery County grand jury in July, court records show. She is being held in the Montgomery County Detention Facility on $65,000 bond.

The indictment claims Thompson "did recklessly engage in conduct which manifested extreme indifference to human life and created a grave risk of death to a person" in the crash that killed Nasrin Sultana, 30, of Montgomery.

According to Montgomery police, Thompson was a driver of a vehicle involved in a three-vehicle crash on Eastern Boulevard at Young Barn Road on Nov. 21, 2015.

MPD's initial investigation indicates a Honda Accord traveling southbound on Eastern Boulevard left the roadway and collided with a Toyota Sienna and then with a Mitsubishi Galant.

Sultana was the driver of the Mitisubishi Galant. The driver of the Honda Accord sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to an unspecified hospital for treatment. The driver of the Toyota Sienna sustained no injuries.

The cause of the crash wasn't released by police, and police haven't released which vehicle Thompson was driving.

No one from the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office was immediately available for comment.

Thompson will be appointed an attorney during an Aug. 31 court hearing.

This report will be updated if more information becomes available.
An Arkansas sheriff's deputy was killed and a police chief was injured during a Wednesday morning ambush-style shooting.

Sheriff's Cpl. William "Bill" Cooper was shot in the neck after responding to the report of a domestic disturbance near Greenwood, NBC News reported.

Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells was grazed by a bullet and suffered minor injuries, KHBS-TV reported.

"Essentially it was an ambush," Fort Smith police spokesman Sgt. Daniel Grubbs told reporters. "It just appears this guy was waiting on us to get here."

According to reports, police were called to a residence near Highway 253 at around 7 a.m. by the father of the suspected shooter, Billy Jones, 35. The father claimed Jones had pulled a gun on him.

When officers arrived on the scene, Bill Jones opened fire with an assault-style rifle, KHBS reported. He is accused of shooting and disabling a bomb-disposal robot investigating around Jones' trailer.

Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck told NBC News that Jones may have been wearing body armor.

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including a SWAT team and federal authorities responded to the scene.

Hollenbeck said the motive for the shooting remains under investigation.

Jones surrendered at just before noon. His charges weren't immediately available.

My thoughts and prayers are with the two police officers shot in Sebastian County, Arkansas. #LESM  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2016
Veterans parade.JPG

The nation's largest Memorial Day event, the 2016 National Memorial Day parade, is set for Monday (May 30.) (Contributed photo/American Veterans Center)

((Contributed photo/American Veterans Center))

After years of broken promises and paralyzing bureaucracy inside the department of Veterans Affairs, it was announced Wednesday that a new VA clinic will be built in Mobile, helping to serve Southwest Alabama's more than 50,000 veterans.

The announcement ends years of speculation surrounding the region's VA clinic, although questions remain on when the new clinic will be delivered and at what cost.

"Since being elected to Congress, I have repeatedly called on the VA to move forward with this project," said Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) in a press release Wednesday. "It is a shame the process took as long as it did, but the new facility will be able to better serve those who have given so much to our country. I will continue to provide diligent oversight throughout the construction process to ensure the project remains on schedule."

The VA currently leases around 45,000 square feet of space on two floors at the University of South Alabama, costing the agency around $58,000 a month. That rent is sent to increase to $83,000 per month by October and $222,000 by January, according to a USA official. The VA had originally planned to vacate the space before the rent was increased, but is now attempting to negotiate a new lease while a new facility is decided on.

One possibility that was offered to the VA last year was the old Infirmary West hospital on Knollwood Drive at Grelot Road. Local commercial real estate broker John Toomey III had tried repeatedly to convince the VA to make use of the facility, offering 100,000 square feet over 20 years for $1.6 million a year. However, the building was recently torn down.



It's not yet known where the new facility will be.

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson also welcomed the development, noting in a press release Wednesday that a new VA facility in the city was "long overdue."

"There are thousands of veterans living in Mobile who have served their country, and they deserve a world class facility that serves them," added Stimpson. "To the veterans living in Mobile, my hope is that this new facility will give you the quality care you need and deserve."
bentley horizontal by julie june 4 2014.JPG

Gov. Robert Bentley's lawyers want the House Judiciary Committee to suspend impeachment proceedings against the governor.

(Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Gov. Robert Bentley's lawyers have asked for suspension of impeachment proceedings against him, saying that the resolution to impeach is so vague it does not allow due process.

"In fact, the current impeachment resolution appears to sanction the deployment of governmental power to conduct a roving investigation that is unbounded by time and subject matter, and to then compel the governor to defend himself against amorphous allegations that almost certainly have no bearing on a lawful impeachment process," Bentley's lawyers wrote in the introduction of the 10-page document.

Last week, Bentley's lawyers filed a document with the Judiciary Committee saying removal from office is warranted only by the most egregious offenses, not just because legislators disapprove of something the governor has done.

In April, 23 members in the 105-seat House of Representatives signed a resolution to impeach Bentley for willful neglect of duty and corruption in office.

The impeachment resolution does not say what actions are the basis for the charges, other than to mention that two complaints have been filed with the Ethics Commission seeking an investigation into whether Bentley misused state property.

Bentley has said he has done nothing to deserve impeachment and that he plans to finish his term in January 2019.

In March, former Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier accused Bentley of having an affair with former political adviser Rebekah Mason. Collier made allegations at a press conference the day after Bentley fired him.

Bentley admitted making inappropriate comments to Mason after they were revealed on secretly recorded audio tapes, but he and Mason denied having an affair.

Collier has sued Bentley for wrongful termination and defamation.

Collier said Bentley fired him for refusing Bentley's order not to cooperate with the attorney general's office about an investigation concerning the Mike Hubbard case.

Bentley has denied that. Bentley said he fired Collier over possible mishandling of state funds.

Collier has said he has done nothing wrong and would welcome an investigation.

Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, began pushing the resolution to impeach Bentley shortly after the audio tapes became public and Collier's allegations.

The three-page impeachment resolution makes no specific allegations.

The motion to suspend the proceedings says that impeachment proceedings are criminal in nature and that the governor is entitled to all the constitutional and statutory protections as a criminal defendant, including due process. And that requires that the charges be specific, Bentley's lawyers wrote.

"A sitting governor cannot be forced to speculate as to the scope or meaning of grounds for impeachment with which he is charged," they wrote.

The motion is signed by lawyers Ross Garber, who was hired to represent Bentley in the impeachment proceedings, Joe Espy, Bentley's personal lawyer, and David Byrne, the governor's chief legal advisor.

In a separate motion filed today, Bentley's lawyers asked for three members of the 15-member Judiciary Committee to recuse themselves.

Reps. Mike Ball, R-Madison; Allen Farley, R-McCalla and Mike Holmes, R-Wetumpka, all signed the resolution to impeach Bentley.

As accusers of Bentley, they should not be allowed to be adjudicators, as well, Bentley's lawyers wrote.

Statements and appearances in the press by Ball and Farley also indicate a high risk of bias against Bentley, they wrote.

Ball, Farley and Holmes have said they do not intend to recuse themselves.

This story was updated at 6:38 p.m. to add more details about allegations between Gov. Bentley and Spencer Collier.
Selma police officers are reportedly on "sick-out" after being refused pay raises.

Selma Police Chief John Brock told WSFA that 10 patrol officers, all of the day shift, called in sick on Thursday, and several officers called in sick for the night shift.

According to the report, the remaining 37 detectives and supervisors patrolled the streets today.

Brock declined a telephone interview with AL.com on Thursday. Selma Mayor George Evans wasn't immediately available for comment.

As of late Thursday morning, the Selma Police Department hasn't sought assistance from the Dallas County Sheriff's Office or the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

The Selma Times Journal reported that officers with the police department submitted a letter to the mayor and city council asking for a meeting to discuss pay increases.

The starting hourly wage for a patrol officer in the city is $12.90, the newspaper reported. The last pay raise for officers was in 2007.

"As you know, we didn't get in to this profession to get rich, but we would like to be compensated for the hard work that we do encounter," the letter reads, in part. "We put our lives on the line every day... we work strenuous hours with minimum manpower and still manage to maintain the standard of policing."

The letter states that officers in Alabama cities smaller than Selma get paid more.
Donald Trump rally in Wisconsin

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is greeted by vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., after landing for a campaign rally, Friday, Aug. 5, 2016, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

(Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump is denying reports the Secret Service spoke to his campaign about comments he made regarding Second Amendment supporters stopping Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

CNN reported the Secret Service spoke to the Trump campaign on multiple occasions to clarify remarks he made the previous day in Wilmington, Delaware.

"Hillary wants to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her (Supreme Court judges) nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know," Trump told the crowd. "But I tell you what, that will be a horrible day, if Hillary gets to put her judges in, right now we're tied."

Those comments - seemingly referencing gun rights supporters - drew criticism that the Republican presidential nominee was trying to incite violence. The Clinton campaign blasted the comments and several Democratic lawmakers called on the Secret Service to investigate.

Trump took to Twitter Wednesday to deny the CNN report.

Reuters just announced that Secret Service never spoke to me or my campaign. Made up story by @CNN is a hoax. Totally dishonest.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2016

No such meeting or conversation ever happened - a made up story by "low ratings" @CNN.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2016

The Secret Service has not confirmed any of the reports but issued a statement on social media yesterday that they were aware of the comments.

Trump's campaign maintains he was trying to encourage gun rights supporters to get out and vote and that the statements were blown out of proportion by the media.
Mobile Housing Board 10Aug16 lfs.jpg

Mobile Housing Board members listen to Executive Director Dwayne Vaughn (front right) on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Facing, from left, are Norman Hill, Joyce Freeman, Kim Pettway and Melvin Clark. (Lawrence Specker/LSpecker@AL.com)

Meeting after a couple of days that included a critical HUD report and a broadside from Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, the Mobile Housing Board went about its affairs on Wednesday with a conspicuously calm and businesslike manner.

The morning's regular monthly meeting opened with consideration of several routine administrative affairs: Approving revisions to a five-year plan so that it could be submitted to the federal department of Housing and Urban Development; approving a fiscal year 2017 plan, also to be sent to HUD; and awarding a contract for inspection and maintenance of fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems.

It was board member Norman Hill who finally brought up the elephant in the room, noting that the board had been the subject of some very public criticism over the past 48 hours and "certainly we ought to discuss those concerns." Hill raised the possibility of going into executive session, but a vote to do so failed to gather a majority. Consequently, the board turned to Executive Director Dwayne Vaughn to address it during his regular remarks to the board.

Late last week, Stimpson had announced that with the appointment of new board member, Reid Cummings, he had now appointed a majority of the five-person board. On Monday, Stimpson cited a newly released report from HUD, saying that criticisms in the report raised "serious questions about the leadership of the Mobile Housing Board and their management of federal funds." He reiterated his view at Tuesday's City Council meeting, saying that changes are needed at the Housing Board and that it should be subjected to an independent audit.

On Wednesday, Vaughn acknowledged that "it's been a tough week for us" and said that "we are saddened" by the criticism, which he thinks is unjustified. "Needless to say, we think we've been besmirched and are not happy with it," he told the board.

"We don't think we've done anything improper, we don't think there's any fiscal mismanagement," he said.

Vaughn said the report from HUD's Office of Inspector General does not say that the Housing Board has improperly spent federal money, and challenged its two main complaints. One is that the board failed to disclose a conflict of interest regarding a contractor handling maintenance and repair work. In that matter, Vaughn said there was no actual conflict.

The other is that the board has too many vacant housing units on its books and too many people waiting for assistance. Vaughn said the second criticism stems from a difference in vision. He and the board feel strongly that it's time to close down and redevelop four old, troubled housing developments rather than pouring money into obsolete facilities. Most of the vacancies HUD cites are in developments such as the Roger Williams and Josephine Allen projects, he said, and it would be a mistake to consider them viable for new tenants. "We fundamentally disagree," he said. "We think those units should be torn down."

Earlier in the meeting, in fact, Vaughn had told the board that concentrated efforts were under way to relocate the last 110 families still living in Roger Williams. "The residents are as excited as can be to move out of there," he said. "It's a very exciting time."

He said that once Roger Williams was empty, the board would come up with a redevelopment plan for the site along Three-Mile Creek near Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. Much of the site is in the flood plain, he said, so it's likely that future new housing will take a substantially different form. "We think we have waterfront property there," he said.

Vaughn said the Housing Board's next step is to follow up on the report with HUD's field office, continuing to try to make its case that its approach makes sense for Mobile. He didn't directly address Stimpson's call for reform, except to say "we have reached out to the mayor for an opportunity to chat" and expected a meeting in the near future.

After the meeting, Vaughn said he thought the Stimpson administration had been supportive of the long-term plan to tear down and redevelop the old projects. "We haven't seen that the mayor has suggested stopping us going forward" with that process, he said.

Kim Pettway, the Stimpson appointee who chaired Wednesday's meeting, said she expected the board to "take this as an opportunity to move forward" rather than dwelling on criticisms of past board actions. She also said that while the board would address the HUD criticisms via administrative process, she didn't anticipate engaging in a public battle with Stimpson or anyone else.

"I don't know if the community is waiting for something to happen," she said of the board's discussion. "This is it."

New appointee Cummings was not present at Wednesday's meeting. According to board members and the mayor's office, he had not been sworn in yet; that event was planned for Wednesday afternoon.

Cummings is an assistant professor of finance and real estate at the University of South Alabama and is the director of USA's Center for Real Estate and Economic Development. Vaughn said he was impressed by Cummings' qualifications, and was looking forward to having "the richness of a full board."
Hillary Clinton

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton aims to address this with a proposal that will "make debt-free college available to everyone."

(Andrew Harnik/The Associated Press)

David Herbert

By Dr. David Hebert, an assistant professor of Economics in the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University. Follow him on Twitter: @Dave_Hebert. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not imply endorsement by Troy University.

It's August, which means millions of recent high school graduates are about to make the transition to college. For most, this is the first step towards adulthood, a solid career, and the rest of their lives. But with an average graduation rate of only 58% and an unemployment rate of 7.2% among recent college graduates, many students are unknowingly taking their first step towards financial hardship, where they will spend years dealing with crippling student debt and abysmal job prospects.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton aims to address this with a proposal that will "make debt-free college available to everyone." She hopes to increase access to college by making it more affordable. These are laudable goals.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Clinton's plan would make it easier for students to go to college without addressing the actual problem; that students are graduating without the skills necessary to find employment in today's economy. If we want to solve this problem, we need to look to tax vouchers.

Every year, millions of high school graduates receive acceptance letters to universities and colleges across the country. And, every year millions of students have little trouble taking out billions in loans, most of which are subsidized by the federal government.

While college is the right choice for many individuals, college isn't right for everyone and certainly isn't the only path to a successful life. Many good paying jobs, especially in the trades, require only a high school degree. For example, the latest edition of the Alabama Labor Market News shows increasing employment opportunities in the goods-producing and service-providing employment sectors.

Making the decision to attend college or not isn't about intelligence or having a work ethic; those are required in every job in today's global market. It is about what is appropriate for the individual given their interests and abilities. Importantly, we don't want individuals to make the wrong choice simply because it happens to be what everyone else is doing or because that is what the federal loan programs pay for.

With its emphasis on providing funding for college, instead of for any type of post-secondary job training, millions of Americans are steered away from trade schools, apprenticeships, and other forms of training.

Washington bureaucrats have created this mess by pushing people to go to college rather than explore viable post-secondary job training options that would be more appropriate given their individual goals. This is why over 800,000 students drop out of college every year and those that do graduate face an underemployment rate of 14.9%. These students are left with debt that must be repaid and nothing to show for it.

If the federal government is going to subsidize education, individuals would be better served by creating a tax voucher system that allows people to choose from a wide-range of post-secondary education and training options. A tax voucher system would provide equal benefits for any type of post-secondary job-training program and give people the choice of what program, rather than assume that college is the appropriate choice for every individual.

This would increase the employability of all graduates, college and otherwise, by giving them the opportunity to choose any program that they're passionate about. More job opportunities and higher salaries would also make it easier to pay back any remaining educational debt. Further, unlike Mrs. Clinton's plan, a tax voucher system would not require increased government spending.

Hillary Clinton is right on at least one thing; there is a serious need for education reform. Unfortunately, her proposed reforms are just more of the same tried and failed methods that emphasize expediency over effectiveness. Even if her plan were viable, students who graduate will still face abysmal job prospects.

The tax voucher system for education is an effective solution; one that will provide more people with greater access to the training that they need to compete in today's increasingly global economy.
Japan will have to devote an increasing amount of time, energy and resources to the troubled security front.

Rupakjyoti Borah is currently a research fellow with the Tokyo-based Japan Forum for Strategic Studies.

In recent days, 13 Chinese coastguard ships, along with around 230 Chinese fishing vessels entered the contiguous zone around the Japanese-held Senkaku islands  claimed by China as Diaoyu  in the East China Sea.

Incidents like these are becoming increasingly commonplace and are among the litany of challenges that Tokyo faces in the security realm.

Earlier, on August 3, North Korea fired a ballistic missile which travelled close to 1,000km before landing in Japanese waters.

In addition, though last months verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in favour of the Philippines in its territorial dispute with China made it clear that Beijings claims in the South China Sea region do not stand legal scrutiny, China is in no mood to back off.

Hence, in order to counter Chinas growing influence, among other measures, Tokyo has ramped up its ties with countries such as India, Australia and the Philippines while moving to end its historical dispute with South Korea over the comfort women issue.

Also in February this year, Tokyo and Manila signed a landmark defence pact which envisages the transfer of defence weaponry and technology from Japan to the Philippines.

Ramifications of the new paper

Therefore, it is no surprise that the recent Japanese Defence White Paper 2016  released on August 2  terms Chinas assertive military moves in the region as dangerous. It bemoans the lack of transparency surrounding Beijings military build-up.

This is also in line with statements and concerns emanating from the United States  Japans closest ally  on account of Beijings militarisation of the South China Sea, even though Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged that China would not militarise the artificial islands it has built in the area during his visit to the US in September 2015.

Last year, Tokyo had to scramble its military jets more than 570 times to fend off Chinese aircraft intruding into Japanese airspace.

In response to the publication of this new Japanese Defence White Paper, the Chinese defence ministry retorted that the annual document is hostile to the Chinese military and deceptive to the international community.

The Abe government has been toying with the idea of amending Japan's pacifist post-war constitution for some time now, but has been hobbled by repeated elections and concerns over the health of the economy. by

The Paper notes that Pyongyangs actions have led to increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and have become a grave and imminent threat not only to Japan but also to the security in the region and the international society.

However, on the North Korean issue, Tokyo is in a bind as it needs Beijings support to coax and cajole Pyongyang, given the fact that only Beijing retains a modicum of leverage on North Korea.

The White Paper devotes 50 pages to Japans alliance with the US, which has grown stronger since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assumed office for a second time in December 2012, while expressing concern over Russias growing military prowess in the Far East.

Even though Japan has been trying to reach out to Russia, things have not worked out between the two nations, especially in the aftermath of Russias annexation of Crimea.

OPINION: The new Japanese assertiveness in Asia Pacific

The White Paper calls for Beijing to accept the recent ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in its dispute with the Philippines while making it amply clear that Tokyo is in no mood to let Beijing gain the upper hand in Japans immediate neighbourhood.

Soon after his re-election in 2012, Abe had given a strong message that Japan is not, and will never be, a Tier-two country.

Churning on the domestic front

Meanwhile, the elections in July to the Upper House of the Japanese parliament brought a clear majority for the Abe-led Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito.

OPINION: Shinzo Abes vision for a more proactive Japan

The ruling coalition, therefore, has a commanding majority in both houses of the Japanese parliament. Abe has also upped the ante by nominating a new defence minister, Tomomi Inada, who is seen to be hawkish and like the prime minister, is on the same page with regards to the idea of a revision of Japans post-World War II constitution.

The Abe government has been toying with the idea of amending Japans pacifist post-war constitution for some time now, but has been hobbled by repeated elections and concerns over the health of the economy.

What lies ahead?

With the Japanese Emperor Akihito signalling that he wishes to abdicate in the near future it seems that Tokyos domestic and foreign policy milieu is in for quite a bit of a churning.

In September 2015, the Japanese parliament had passed new security legislation which will allow Japanese troops on foreign shores, even in cases where Japan is not directly under attack.

While the US-Japan alliance remains steadfast, Tokyo may also have to recalibrate its foreign policy if the Republican candidate Donald Trump is elected to the US presidency.

Trump has thrashed the US-Japan security alliance, and remarked recently that if the US is attacked, all Japanese would do is sit home and watch Sony television.

Prime Minister Abe, therefore, has some tough choices ahead. While his political fortunes are tied to the way he is able to put the economy back on track, for the moment it seems that Japan will have to devote an increasing amount of time, energy and resources to the turbulent security front. This is also what the new Defence White Paper advocates.

Rupakjyoti Borah is currently a research fellow with the Tokyo-based Japan Forum for Strategic Studies.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
The split from al-Qaeda has long been considered, and is to a significant degree based on Syrian revulsion.

The recent decision by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, al-Nusra Front, to sever its ties with al-Qaeda is a momentous and positive move.

Distancing itself from the ambitions of its sponsor is both good politics and may be good for Syrians.

And yet, the announcement has been received internationally with weary scepticism and a level of cynical dismissiveness that fails to understand the opportunity this decision represents.

The principal Western response has been that al-Nusra Front leaderships decision is merely cosmetic, designed to remove itself from the list of groups subject to bombardment. This, of course may be true but it misses the point.

Good politics and clever diplomacy

It has taken Jolani and his colleagues more than a year to finally to make this move  a clear sign that the deal has not only been motivated by short-term tactical gains on the battlefield.

Make no mistake, internal discussions in al-Nusra Front have been vituperative and violent. A principal reason for not making the move earlier has always been that the foreign fighter remnants of al-Nusra Front would turn on their former colleagues with that particular violence reserved for former friends.

Diplomacy between armed groups has always been an intriguing topic and we should not disregard it as a simple exercise  in fact, it is a rather risky endeavour and involves complex political negotiations.

Looking deeper into the issue reveals a few interesting caveats. The main push for separation from al-Qaeda has apparently come from the Syrian element in al-Nusra Front, impelled by the frankly horrified reactions of local Syrian communities to extremist governance.

Twofold strategy

In any conflict, local voices matter and can be decisive. Conflict parties need to understand that ruling a territory comes with responsibilities. Relying on local good sense is not a last resort, it is a powerful instrument.

Of course the desire to avoid air strikes and to be a less toxic ally of other Syrian armed opposition groups must have been important factors.

Peace-making always demands a suspension of belief in order to pursue possible ends. Syria, of all places, cannot afford to dismiss without study this new chance to remake the parties to that conflict. by

But at the end of the day, they may only have been arguments that tipped the balance in the Nusra Shura towards making the decision to quit.

The split from al-Qaeda has long been considered, and is to a significant degree based on Syrian revulsion.

These two facts  pressure from below and a long-term strategy  seem to have been lost in the international assessment of last weeks decision.

OPINION: The ramifications of al-Nusras split from al-Qaeda

However, Jolanis most difficult task lies still ahead of him. He now must decide how to use this new status in the months to come.

What role does al-Nusra Front  rebranded as Jabhat Fath al-Sham  want to play in Syria? How does he want to position the group? What is his message to Syrians who have suffered for years? These are tough questions that require a serious debate.

The best is the enemy of the good

As a mediator, I know that any shift in the geometry of conflict parties can present opportunities. We must not assume the worst before even asking these questions.

Peace-making always demands a suspension of belief in order to pursue possible ends. Syria, of all places, cannot afford to dismiss without study this new chance to remake the parties to that conflict.

I have spent the greater part of the last four years working to preserve a hope for Syrias future.

Working for peace in Syria needs sober and unsentimental commitment. Over the years I learned that the best is the enemy of the good.

Peace processes are not perfectly designed procedures; creative ideas for peace often originate in unexpected ways.

Martin Griffiths is a mediator, and between 2012 and 2014 he served as a senior adviser to all three UN Syria Envoys.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Relatives say the sons of two opposition politicians found guilty of war crimes have been detained and disappeared.

The sons of two Bangladesh opposition politicians convicted of war crimes during the countrys 1971 war of independence have been detained by authorities, relatives of the two men told Al Jazeera.

Relatives said that Hummam Quader Chowdhury, 33, the son of the late Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, a leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party who was executed in 2015, was arrested last week.

Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, 32, the son of Mir Quasem Ali, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party whose appeal against execution for war crimes has been rejected, was held on Tuesday.

A senior Bangladesh police official denied any knowledge of the detentions.

Hummam Quader Chowdhurys mother, Farhat, said that her son was picked up by men in civilian clothes on the morning of August 4 as they were travelling by car to attend a court hearing in Dhaka.

Some men in plain-clothes opened the right hand back door where Hummam was sitting, and asked: Are you Hummam Quader Chowdhury? My son said: Yes. They told him to get out, Farhat said.

I said he could not go as he had to go to court. But the men said with great authority: No, he is coming with us.

Some among the group of eight to 10 men who took Hummam were armed and claimed to be police detectives, said Samshad Sayem, who was sitting in the front seat of the car.

Sayem said he tried to follow the group on foot but they threatened violence if he persisted.

Mir Ahmed, the son of imprisoned Jamaat-e-Islami party leader Mir Quasem Ali, was taken from his home in the Mirpur area of Dhaka on Tuesday night, his sister Tahera Tasnim said.

The men who took her brother, who is a lawyer, wore civilian clothes, did not show an arrest warrant and did not identify themselves as members of a law enforcement unit.

They did not wear any uniform and they had no legal arrest warrant, she said.

Nothing. They just said, Come with us. They did not give any reason why they wanted to take him. They did not say why they were taking him or where they were taking him.

Bangladeshs Deputy Inspector General of National Police AKM Shahidur Rahman said he knew nothing about the two men.

I know nothing about this, he said.

READ MORE: Bangladesh to ban Islamic TV channel after Dhaka attack

The disappearance of the two men follows just weeks after local newspapers reported that Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina said she believed plans were being hatched to free Mir Quasem Ali from prison.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal also told reporters that setting Mir Quasem free was one of the motives behind recent attacks in Bangladesh, including the hostage takings and killings at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on July 1, in which killed 22 people.





Although the Holey Bakery attack was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (or ISIL, also known as ISIS), the Awami League government has been reluctant to acknowledge links between local attacks and ISIL, and regularly blames opposition parties for the violence.

According to the local human rights organisation, Ain o-Salish Kendra, the disappearance of Hummam and Mir Ahmed coincides with an increase in alleged detentions and extra-judicial killings by Bangladesh law enforcement in response to attacks in recent months.

Two men, who were present at the Holey Artisan Bakery when it was attacked, were secretly detained by authorities for 30 days before they were brought to the court last week to be charged in connection with the attack, according to their families

WATCH: Bangladeshs new reality
Canadian police have shot dead a man in southern Ontario after receiving credible information of a plan to carry out a suicide bombing in a public area, local news organisations reported.

CBC News said on Thursday that Aaron Driver, 23, was killed by police at a house in Strathroy, a town about 225km west of Toronto, after he detonated a device that injured himself and another person.

CBC said that Driver had another device that he was about to detonate, before police shot him.

A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the publics safety, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

CTV News, citing an internal government memo, said the suspect was planning to use an improvised device to carry out a suicide bombing in a public area. His alleged plan, according to the document, was to kill many people

Intelligence sources, who declined to be identified as they did not have permission to speak to media, told the Reuters news agency that Driver was arrested last year for openly supporting the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant on social media.
Attacks kill eight people in southeastern Turkey as 17 are arrested in Istanbul anti-terror raids.

Eight people, including police officers, were killed and several others wounded in two separate bomb attacks in southeastern Turkey.

At least three people, including one police officer, were killed and 30 others wounded, including five police officers, when a handmade explosive was detonated by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a police vehicle was passing in the Kiziltepe district of the southeastern Mardin province on Wednesday, according to Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan.

The PKK, also on Wednesday, carried out a separate attack in the Sur district of the southeastern Diyarbakir province targeting another police vehicle, the government said.

READ MORE: How could failed coup affect Kurdish peace process?

In Diyarbakir, five civilians were killed and 12 people, including five police officers, were wounded, according to Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency.

A bomb-packed car was used in the attack, according to a statement by the provincial governor.

Earlier, officials said four soldiers had been killed and nine wounded when PKK fighters opened fire with rockets and long-range weapons from across the Iraqi border into Turkeys Sirnak province.

HDP offices raided

In a separate development, Turkish police said they arrested 17 people after anti-terror raids in at least 10 districts of Istanbul early on Thursday.

The suspects, accused of having links to the PKK or other pro-Kurdish groups, were charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation, recruiting members for a terrorist organisation and organising illegal demonstrations, the state-funded Anadolu Agency reported.

READ MORE: Turkey passes bill to strip politicians of immunity

The headquarters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), in Istanbuls central Beyoglu district, was also raided as part of the police operation, according to Turkish media reports.

Several organisational documents, one walkie-talkie and a jammer device were confiscated during the raid, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling AK party have previously called for members of the HDP to be prosecuted, accusing them of being the PKKs political wing.

Turkey, the United States and the European Union call the PKK, an armed group that has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy since 1984, a terrorist organisation.

The HDP, parliaments third-biggest party, denies direct links with the PKK and advocates for a negotiated end to the Kurdish conflict, which has claimed hundreds of lives since a peace process, once led by Erdogan and the AK party, collapsed in 2015.
Activists accuse Democratic leaders of using Moscow as a scapegoat and diversion from controversy caused by the leaks.

Nancy Pelosi, the US House Democratic leader, has said that the recent cyber attacks on Democratic politicians and officials were broad and repeated the accusation that Russian authorities were behind behind the breaches that caused controversy and division within the party.

It is the Russians, Pelosi told reporters at a news conference on Thursday, referring to the recent hacking of the Democratic National Committees computers.

The cyber attacks, which mainly targeted presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her allies in the DNC, resulted in a trove of internal emails released by the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks and appeared to show party officials working together to ensure Clinton won the presidential nomination over her rival Bernie Sanders.

READ MORE: Leaked emails appear to show hostility to Sanders

The leaks prompted Debbie Wasserman Schultz to resign as DNC chairwoman and spurred further accusations of election rigging in the Democratic primary.

Pelosi called the cyber attack, made public last month, an electronic Watergate akin to the 1972 burglary at Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office that brought an end to Richard Nixons presidency.

This is a break-in, she said.

Pelosis comments come on the heels of a New York Times report on Thursday that the cyber attack targeting Democrats was wider than first thought, with more than 100 party officials and groups affected.

We are assessing the damage, Pelosi told reporters.

The Obama administration has not publicly named Russia as being behind the attack, but investigators have concluded that the attackers were directed by the GRU, Russias military intelligence service, and the FSB, the civilian espionage agency.

Clinton has repeatedly accused Moscow of being behind the hacking.

READ MORE: US election fraud allegations prompt calls for reform

The cyber attack has prompted the government to carefully consider whether the government should step up its protection of the election system by launching greater digital security measures for electronic voting machines, Jeh Johnson the US Department of Homeland Security chief, said.

Were actively thinking about the election and cybersecurity right now, he told reporters.

However, some activists accuse Democratic leaders of using Russia as a scapegoat and as a diversion from the political controversy the leaks exposed amid widespread allegations of vote rigging in the Democratic primary.

Shyla Nelson, a cofounder of the civil rights group Election Justice USA, said: The narrative that somehow foreign operatives would be doing so [hacking] in order to interfere with our national elections is not only unsubstantiated, its reckless and incendiary.

Election fraud in 2016 has been, by all verified accounts, an inside job. No tinfoil hats.
Restaurant owners in the Bangladeshi capital say businesses are struggling as cautious residents avoid dining out.

A few months ago, getting a reservation at Taste of Lanka, a busy restaurant in the heart of the Bangladeshi capital was close to an impossible task.

But when a group of gunmen stormed a cafe popular with the young, the middle classes and foreigners on July 1, everything changed.

In a well coordinated assault, six gunmen walked into the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhakas upmarket Gulshan neighbourhood and took several people hostage.

During a 10-hour siege, the men, pledging allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), started posting photos on social media of what they said were dead foreigners.





The attack would later become one of the deadliest in Bangladeshs history, with 20 foreign hostages killed, many of them hacked to death.

More than a month later, Taste of Lanka, which had a big foreign customer base, is empty for much of the evening.

I was just telling my husband, why dont we get a bulletproof car? Nusrat Zaman, one of the few customers daring to eat out told Al Jazeera.

That would be much better. Our car is not bulletproof, she said, jokingly.

With many fearing to venture out, food delivery companies such as Go Fetch are seeing a surge in business.

We take security pretty seriously, Farhan Rahman, the founder of Go Fetch, told Al Jazeera.

The guys that we work with, the delivery men that we have, theyre all our own people, theyre all vetted, theyre all coming in through referrals.

READ MORE: ISIL targets tourism

Violence has spiked in Bangladesh in the past 18 months with a spate of attacks, often using machetes, against individuals including liberals, gays, foreigners and members of religious minorities.

ISIL has claimed many of those killings but the government has denied their involvement and instead points the finger at local groups.
Spokesman tells Al Jazeera government is responsible for safety of its own citizens.

Addis Ababa  Ethopia has dismissed a plea from the United Nations that it allow international observers to investigate the killing of protesters by security forces during a recent bout of anti-government demonstrations.

Getachew Reda, a government spokesman, told Al Jazeera on Thursday that the UN was entitled to its opinion but the government of Ethiopia was responsible for the safety of its own people.

Redas comments came after the UN urged the government to allow observers to investigate the killings of at least 90 protesters in the Oromia and Amhara regions over the weekend.

Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said allegations of excessive use of force must should be investigated and that his office was in discussions with Ethiopian authorities.

Reda, however, told Al Jazeera that it was not necessary to send observers to specific parts of the country since the UN already had a massive presence in Ethiopia.

He said the government would launch its own investigation into whether security forces had used excessive force and would do so in consultation with local people.

He blamed what he called terrorist elements for stoking the violence from abroad, without giving further detail.

At the weekend, an opposition leader told the AFP news agency that up to 50 people were killed as security forces suppressed the protests. Amnesty International put the death toll at 97.

Oromia, an area which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa, has seen several months of protests, sparked by plans to allocate farmland in the region for development.

Authorities scrapped the land scheme in January, but protests have flared again over the continued detention of opposition demonstrators.
No sign of aid windows promised by Russia as clashes between army and rebels continue in southern Aleppo.

Syrian rebels and government forces have clashed in southern Aleppo, including during the period of a promised Russian lull to allow humanitarian convoys in, according to media reports.

Lorries carrying food were unable to enter Aleppo on Thursday because of intense bombardment, the AFP news agency reported from the rebel-held east of the city where private vendors managed to deliver fresh produce.

Syrian state news agency said army troops seized territory south of Aleppo on Thursday, adding that rebel fire killed four civilians in a government-held district. But it made no mention of the humanitarian windows announced by Russia.

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday it had documented six strikes by regime or Russian warplanes on health facilities in the north that killed 17 people in the past two weeks.

With heavy bombing continuing relentlessly in Aleppo especially, hospitals and clinics need to be treated as the sacred life-saving places they are, not as additional bombing targets, said deputy Middle East director Nadim Houry.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement on Thursday that he was concerned by reports of a new chemical attack that is said to have claimed four lives people and left dozens injured.

Activists accused government forces on Wednesday of carrying out an attack using chlorine gas on a rebel-held residential neighbourhood in Aleppo.

READ MORE: Why Aleppo matters

Fifteen of the only remaining doctors in the eastern half implored US President Barack Obama on Thursday to protect civilians from atrocities in their city.

Unless a permanent lifeline to Aleppo is opened it will be only a matter of time until we are again surrounded by regime troops, hunger takes hold and hospitals supplies run completely dry, the letter said.

We do not need tears or sympathy or even prayers, we need your action. Prove that you are the friend of Syrians, they wrote.

An estimated 1.5 million people live in Aleppo, including about 250,000 in rebel-held districts.

Battle for Raqqa

Further east, Russian raids hit Raqqa, the stronghold of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), killing at least 24 civilians and wounding 70 people, said the Observatory.

The monitor said another six people were also killed but it had not yet confirmed how many of them were civilians or ISIL fighters.

Russia said the raids destroyed a chemical weapons factory on Raqqas outskirts as well as a weapons storage facility and ISIL training camp to the north and southeast.

Its defence ministry said ISIL suffered significant material damages in the strikes and that a large number of fighters have been killed.
WikiLeaks founder has been living in the London Embassy since 2012 to avoid arrest over rape allegations.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, potentially breaking a stalemate in an almost five-year-long investigation into alleged sex crimes.

Swedish prosecutors want to question Assange over allegations of rape stemming from a work visit he made to the country in 2010 when WikiLeaks was attracting international attention for a trove of documents leaked by US Army Private Chelsea Manning, then known as Bradley.

Assange has consistently denied the allegations but declined to return to Sweden to meet prosecutors and eventually sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has lived since June 2012.

In the coming weeks, a date will be set for the proceedings to be held at the embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom, in reference to the open legal case in Sweden against citizen Julian Assange, Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said in an official statement on Wednesday.

READ MORE: UN panel says Assange arbitrarily detained since 2010

The Ecuadorian ministry said that they have been encouraging Sweden to interview Assange in their London embassy since 2012.

For more than four years, the government of Ecuador has offered to cooperate in facilitating the questioning of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, as well as proposing other political and legal measures, in order to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties involved in the legal case against Julian Assange, the statement said.

In December, Ecuador and Sweden finally signed an agreement of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, which will provide the legal framework for the questioning of the WikiLeaks founder in the London embassy, according to Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry.





Arbitrarily detained

Ecuador said that the proceedings would not affect the validity of a decision by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions of the United Nations, which found that Assange was being arbitrarily detained by the UK and Sweden.

The procedures to be followed, under the mutual legal assistance agreement, do not affect the conclusions and recommendations issued by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions of the United Nations (opinion 54/2015) which states that Julian Assange is in a situation of arbitrary detention.

READ MORE: Assange hails significant victory after UN finding

After the UN human rights group announced its decision in February, both Sweden and Britain dismissed the ruling, issuing statements saying that Assange is free to leave the embassy whenever he wants.

Swedish authorities have no control over his decision to stay there. Mr Assange is free to leave the embassy at any point, the Swedish government said at the time.

The UK government said that Assange was avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain at the embassy and that the government had a legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden.
Israeli PM said on Thursday that he cares more about the Palestinian people than their leaders do.

Palestinian rights groups have slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus claim that he and Israel care more about the Palestinian people than their own leaders do.

Netanyahu made the comment on Thursday in his first response to disputed allegations that Hamas, the rulers of Gaza, illegally obtained massive amounts of aid money from the global charity World Vision and the United Nations.

I, the prime minister of Israel, care more about Palestinians than their own leaders do, Netanyahu said in a video posted online. Israel cares more about Palestinians than their own leaders do, Netanyahu said.

Hamas, the terrorist organisation that runs Gaza, stole millions of dollars from humanitarian organisations like World Vision and the United Nations.

Innocent and impoverished Palestinians were denied vital aid supplied from nations around the world, he said.

Israels propaganda

Shawan Jabarin, director general for the Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, told Al Jazeera that Netanyahus comments were part of a long-standing campaign to consolidate Israels control of financial aid to the heavily blockaded territory by discrediting international charity organisations.

READ MORE: Israeli activists push for peace with Palestinians

Jabarin said that Netanyahus propaganda is part of an effort to convince the international community to cease funding humanitarian campaigns in Palestine by spreading the fear of aid funds reaching the wrong hands.

They are trying to undermine the work of international aid organisations, he said, adding that Netanyahu has tried to persuade European foreign ministers to stop funding Palestinian organisations.

Israel has maintained a tight blockade on Gaza for a decade, restricting access of many basic goods. Thirty-eight percent of Palestinians in Gaza are unemployed, according to the World Bank.

READ MORE: Vanishing Palestine  The making of Israels occupation

And a 2014 conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead, the majority of them civilians, including over 500 children, according to the United Nations.

Ayed Abu Qtaish, from the rights group Defence for Children International  Palestine, told Al Jazeera that Netanyahus comment can be discredited best by Israels systematic mistreatment of the most vulnerable, both within and without the state of conflict.

Since the beginning of the Second Intifada [uprising] in 2000, more than 2000 children were killed as a result of Israeli presence in the territories  two-thirds of which were in Gaza.

The numbers show how much Israel is violating the rights of children, especially the right to live, he said, pointing out that an Israeli law passed a week ago that allows child terrorists as young as 12 to be jailed for crimes such as murder, attempted murder and manslaughter, will most likely result in the further discriminatory targeting of Palestinian minors.

With additional reporting by Ryan Rifai
Police shot and killed Aaron Driver, 24, who allegedly planned to attack a Canadian urban centre within 72 hours.

Toronto, Canada  A man who was shot and killed in a confrontation with police in the province of Ontario was allegedly planning to attack a major Canadian urban centre, the national police force said on Thursday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said the FBI alerted them on Wednesday that a person was planning to attack an urban centre in Canada within 72 hours during morning or afternoon rush hour.

The RCMP identified that person as Aaron Driver, 24, a man living in southern Ontario who was already on the Canadian authorities radar for allegedly sympathising with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

Driver was killed in a violent confrontation with police on Wednesday near his home in Strathroy, Ontario.

He had detonated a homemade explosive device in the back of a taxi before he was killed, the RCMP said.

The cab driver sustained minor injuries and the suspect died during his engagement with police, Commanding Officer Jennifer Strachan said in a press conference in Ottawa.

The incident ended rather tragically, but could have [had] a completely different ending with significantly greater loss of life, Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana said.

We actively engaged relevant Canadian law enforcement and security agencies, asking them to exercise an increased level of vigilance and to be on the lookout for anything that appeared somewhat suspicious, Cabana added.

Spill the blood

The FBI tip-off included a video, which was shown during the news conference. It shows a man wearing a balaclava over his face and threatening to spill the blood of Canadians.

Oh, Canada. You have received many warnings. You were told many times what would become of those who come against the Islamic State, the man in the video said.

The Canadian authorities alleged that Driver espoused support for ISIL on social media, where police said he was also known by the alias Harun Abdurahman.

In 2015, Driver was placed under a peace bond, a court-ordered measure that allows Canadian authorities to impose restrictions on a person it suspects will commit an act of terrorism.

The conditions of Drivers peace bond changed last February and an electronic bracelet he had been wearing was removed, Cabana said.

Credible information

Canadas Public Safety Minister, Ralph Goodale, said that he discussed the actions taken by police with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Earlier today, the RCMP received credible information regarding a potential terrorist threat and took action to ensure public safety, he said in a statement.

Two separate attacks were carried out in Quebec and Ontario in 2014, and two Canadian soldiers were killed.

In an interview with CBC News in June 2015, Driver shared his thoughts on those incidents. He said there was a difference between attacks on Canadian security forces and civilians.

If a country goes to war with another country, or another people, or another community, I think that they have to be prepared for things like that to happen. And when it does happen, they shouldnt act surprised. They had it coming to them. They deserved it, he said.
Ukraine puts troops on high alert as Moscow threatens with additional measures after alleged armed attack on Crimea.

The death of Russian servicemen in armed clashes on the border between the annexed Crimean peninsula and the rest of Ukraine over the weekend will have consequences, Russia has warned.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that attempts to destabilise the situation in Crimea would fail, referring to the alleged attack from the Ukrainian side.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with security chiefs to discuss additional measures for ensuring security for citizens and essential infrastructure in Crimea, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Scenarios were carefully considered for anti-terrorist security measures at the land border, in the waters and in the airspace of Crimea, it said.

READ MORE: Ukraine divided  stories from warring sides

Two residents of Crimea told the AFP news agency there had been an unexplained build-up of Russian military hardware in the area over the past few weeks.

Ukraine has denied the clashes and deaths took place, but placed its forces around Crimea on high alert as the tensions soared.

A senior Ukrainian security official told AFP that Moscows claims were a crude Russian provocation and that Kiev was getting ready for anything, including an invasion by Moscow.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that he had asked his foreign minister to arrange telephone conversations over the issue with Putin as well as the leaders of Germany and France, US Vice President Joe Biden and European Council President Donald Tusk.

READ MORE: The Odessa File

The UN Security Council was to discuss the growing tensions later on Thursday at the request of Ukraine, a non-permanent council member.

NATO is concerned about the heightened tension between Moscow and Kiev, an alliance official told the DPA news agency on condition of anonymity.

We are also deeply concerned by the recent upsurge in violence in eastern Ukraine, and the increase in ceasefire violations along the line of contact, primarily by the Russian-backed militants, the official said.

He called on Russia to work for calm and de-escalation, while urging all parties back to the negotiating table to achieve a peaceful settlement.

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter dispute since the Kremlin seized Crimea in March 2014 after Ukraines Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.
Rescue group and hospital say gas dropped on the Zubdiya neighbourhood of rebel-held Aleppo.

At least three people were killed when a gas, believed to be chlorine, was dropped on a neighborhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday, according to a hospital and a local rescue group.

The Syrian Civil Defence, a volunteer rescue group operating in rebel-held territory, told Al Jazeera it had recorded three deaths and at least 25 injuries after a barrel containing a gas suspected of being chlorine fell on the Zubdiya neighbourhood of rebel-held Aleppo.

At about 7:30pm on Wednesday, an explosive barrel was dropped from a helicopter on the Zubdiya neighbourhood. One woman suffocated to death due to gas inhalation, along with her 10-year-old daughter and four-year-old son, Khaled Khaled, an Aleppo-based member of the rescue group, told Al Jazeera.

The group, also known as the White Helmets, said it could not independently verify the nature of the gas.

Hamza Khatib, the manager of Al Quds hospital in Aleppo, told a Reuters news agency photographer that the hospital had recorded four deaths from gas poisoning and 55 injuries.

READ MORE: Aleppo battle  Assad sends thousands of reinforcements

Khatib said he was preserving clothing and fragments from the barrel bombs as evidence for analysis.

Helicopters also dropped explosive barrels on the neighborhoods of Seif al Dawla and Zubdiya late on Wednesday evening, according to the the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The northern city of Aleppo, Syrias most populous before the war, is split into rebel and government-held districts.





A fierce battle for control of the city has been raging for nearly a week, after rebels staged a major assault last week to break a month-long government siege of the rebel-held east, home to nearly 300,000 people.

Rebel fighters managed to break the siege over the weekend, but a safe corridor for civilians and aid has not yet been established.

A three-hour ceasefire, announced by the Russian army, is set to begin on Thursday at 10am local time to allow humanitarian convoys to enter the city, although the United Nations has said it was not nearly long enough to help trapped civilians.

Chemical attacks

There have been unconfirmed reports from activists and residents of chlorine gas falling on rebel-held east Aleppo since the rebel offensive began.

Last week, there were reports of a chlorine attack in the Aleppo neighbourhood of al-Qatarji, although no one was seriously injured.





On the day that alleged attack was reported, at least 33 people, including 18 women and 10 children, were taken to hospital after a chlorine attack in Saraqeb, a town in Idlib province.

Government and opposition forces have both denied using chemical weapons during the war.

Western powers say the government has been responsible for chlorine and other chemical attacks, and the government and Russia have accused rebels of using poison gas.

UN investigators established that sarin gas was used in Eastern Ghouta in 2013. The United States accused the Syrian government of that attack, which it estimates killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children. Damascus denied responsibility, and blamed rebels.

Later that year the UN and the Syrian government agreed to destroy the states declared stockpile of chemical weapons, a process completed in January 2016.
The proposal would see the two powers put aside their differences to fight the common enemy of ISIL.

Turkey has called on Russia to carry out joint operations in Syria against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, after crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at ending a crisis in ties.

The comments by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came as a Turkish delegation was in Russia for talks aimed at coordinating actions on Syria and other bilateral issues.

We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh [ISIL] operations together, Cavusoglu said in a live interview on Thursday with the private NTV television, adding that the proposal was still on the table.

Cavusoglu urged Russia to fight against the common enemy of ISIL fighters in Syria.

Lets fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible, the minister said, warning that otherwise the group would keep on expanding and spread into other countries.

Erdogan visited Russias second city of St Petersburg on Tuesday  his first trip abroad since the July 15 coup attempt.

It was also his first direct meeting with Putin since the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish air forces on the Syrian border in November that caused unprecedented damage to relations.

NATO member Turkey was long criticised by its Western partners for not playing a full role in the fight against ISIL but upped its involvement last year by offering US forces use of an airbase near the Syrian border for raids against the group.

READ MORE: Aleppo battle  Assad sends thousands of reinforcements

Turkey has also carried out air and artillery strikes against ISIL of its own, although it is believed to have halted the operations following the Russian plane incident.

The three-person Turkish delegation in Moscow, made up of representatives from the military, intelligence and foreign service, is responsible for implementing decisions made at Tuesdays summit, Cavusoglu said.

I believe the mechanism will contribute to this process, he added.

Cavusoglu said close cooperation between Turkey and Russia would help prevent incidents in the future such as the plane crisis.

Many countries are engaged in Syria actively. There could be mistakes, he said.





In order to prevent that, we need to put into practice the solidarity and cooperation [mechanism] between us including sharing of real-time intelligence.

Cavusoglu said real-time communication was also needed between the two presidents and the military officials of the two countries.

Political calculation

Zeina Khodr, Al Jazeeras correspondent reporting from Ankara, said the talks between Turkey and Russia marked a clear shift in position.

Just a few weeks ago Turkey accused Russia of carrying out massacres in Syria and not fighting ISIL, instead choosing to target the so-called moderate opposition in Syria, Khodr said.

The rhetoric, really the language, has changed, she said.

At the same time, Turkeys relationship with the West and the United States is quite tense at the moment. They could use this really as a pressure card, Khodr said.

Is this a tactical alliance or strategic alliance? At the end of the day we have to remember that the views of Turkey and Russia on Syria are still very different, she said.

This could be a political calculation on the part of Turkey and Russia.

Oubai Shahbandar, a former US Department of Defence official who currently serves as an adviser to the Syrian National Coalition, told Al Jazeera: There may be some rapprochement, but theres still a major divergence when it comes to Turkeys objectives in Syria and the Russian regimes as well.

Moscow is one of the principal backers of Bashar al-Assads government and militarily intervened in the war in Syria on his behalf in October 2015. Turkey, on the other hand, strongly backs several prominent anti-government rebel groups and has said that a political transition in Syria that includes Assad is not possible.

When it comes to the Russian position in Syria, we really havent seen a meaningful shift. In fact, just hours ago, before the so-called temporary ceasefire in Aleppo, we saw instances of barrel bombs full of chlorine gas dropped in rebel-held neighborhoods in Aleppo city.

The Russian regime is already also launching punitive daily strikes against Saraqeb, a city in northwest Syria where a Russian helicopter was shot down last week. So we havent really seen anything meaningful on the ground in terms of the Russians decision to stop launching the air strikes.
Two Turkish military attaches working in Greece are missing after being called back to Ankara in a post-coup probe

Two Turkish military attaches, both working at the Turkish embassy in Greece, are missing after being called back to Ankara as part of investigations into a failed military coup attempt, according to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Two Turkish military attaches based in Greece fled to Italy and Turkish authorities will contact Italian officials for their return, Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV on Thursday.

The Turkish embassy in Athens confirmed to Al Jazeera that two of their military attaches, Staff-colonel Ilhan Yasitli and Colonel Halis Tunc, are missing with their families, following an investigation about their alleged links to Fethullah Gulen and his network.

The Turkish government accuses the US-based cleric and businessman of masterminding last months failed coup attempt.

READ MORE: Turkeys coup attempt captured in dramatic images

Earlier on Thursday, a Turkish official talking to Reuters news agency claimed that a Turkish military attache in Bosnia was also missing, but this claim was swiftly denied by Turkeys embassy in the country.

Turkeys military attache in Bosnia was not called to Ankara, he is doing his business as usual, a press officer from the embassy said on Thursday, adding that there was only one Turkish military attache in Bosnia.

A total of 160 members of the military wanted in connection with the July 15 failed coup are still at large, including nine generals, according to Turkish officials.

Cavusoglu said that a military attache based in Kuwait had tried to escape through Saudi Arabia, but had been sent back, as well as two generals based in Afghanistan who had been caught in Dubai by UAE authorities and returned to Turkey.

A rear admiral is also missing

A Turkish rear admiral on a NATO assignment in the United States has claimed asylum in the country after Ankara sought his detention following the failed July 15 coup attempt, Turkeys state-run Anadolu news agency said on Wednesday without giving its source.

Anadolu did not say whether the US had accepted Rear Admiral Mustafa Zeki Ugurlus claim, which comes at a time of strained relations between Washington and Ankara.

Foreign Minister Cavusoglu later told Turkish broadcaster NTV that Ankara was still waiting for an answer from US officials about the rear admiral.

Ugurlu, who had been stationed at NATOs Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, is the subject of a detention order in Turkey and has been expelled from the armed forces, Anadolu reported.

Ugurlu had not been heard from since July 22 when he left the base, it said.

Five employees of Turkeys embassy in the Netherlands were also recalled on suspicion of involvement with the Gulen movement, the Turkish charge daffaires told the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper this week.

It wasnt the cook or the servants, Kurtulus Aykan, acting head of Turkeys mission to the Netherlands, was quoted as saying, according to Reuters.

These were high-ranking staff members. Talented people with whom I had an excellent working relationship. I suspected nothing. Thats the talent of this movement. They infiltrate silently.

Cavusoglu has previously said that about 300 members of the foreign ministry have been suspended since the coup plot, including two ambassadors. He said on Thursday that two officials in Bangladesh fled to New York, and another official had fled to Japan through Moscow.

We will return these traitors to Turkey, Cavusoglu said.
Assad regime and opposition demand international inquiry to look into alleged chemical attack near Aleppo city.

Syrias government and rebels have demanded an international inquiry into a deadly attack which both sides cite as an evidence that the other has used chemical weapons.

Bashar Jaafari, Syrias UN ambassador, announced on Wednesday that he had asked the UN to form a specialised, independent and neutral technical mission to investigate the use of chemical weapons by the opposition in the attack in the town of Khan al-Assal near northern city of Aleppo.

The attack, which killed 26 people on Tuesday, if confirmed, would be the first use of chemical weapons in the nearly two-year-old conflict.

The Syrian government, if it has such weapons, will never use it against its own population, Jaafari said.

Denying any involvement into the incident, the rebels have accused the government forces of using the chemical weapons. They have also called for an inquiry into the deadly attack.

The UN, however, said on Wednesday that Syrian government had made no formal request for the investigation into the government claims that opposition rebels had used chemical weapons.

Crime against humanity

Martin Nesirky, the UN spokesman, appeared to counter a statement by Jaafari that Syria had asked for the independent inquiry into the claims.

I think we will have something further to say once we have received a formal request which we have so far not received, Nesirky told reporters.

The secretary general remains convinced that the use of chemical weapons by any party under any circumstances would constitute an outrageous crime, the UN spokesperson said.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition said it wanted an international investigation into the alleged chemical attacks in Khan al-Assal as well as Otaiba, a town near the capital city of Damascus.

The Coalition would like all parties and individuals involved in this reprehensible crime to be brought to justice, it said in a statement.

Testimonies and images from the attacks [on Tuesday] demonstrate that these banned weapons have been used, in what amounts to a crime against humanity, it added.

UN Security Council nations are remaining cautious about the claims.

We simply dont have any information to corroborate, verify, substantiate the allegations by either side, a senior UN diplomat has said.

Red line

Washington has disputed the regimes claim and said there was no evidence that the rebels had fired chemical weapons.

So far we have no evidence to substantiate the reports that chemical weapons were used [on Tuesday], said Robert Ford, the US ambassador to Syria, adding that the administration was extremely concerned and trying to verify reports of such weapons being used.

Barack Obama, the US president, has previously stated that the use, deployment or transfer of chemical weapons to be his red line for possible military intervention in Syria.

Britain said that the reports of the chemical attack strengthened the case for relaxing a European Union arms embargo on the country.

France and the UK have been pushing for the EU ban to be eased to allow the flow of arms to outgunned rebels, a move opposed by several EU countries and Russia.
Moscow and Kiev are putting their armies on high alert after Russia says Ukrainian forces launched raids into Crimea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of carrying out a border raid in Crimea that allegedly killed two Russian servicemen.

An allegation the Ukrainian government has denied.

Russia annexed Crimea two years ago and now controls the territory. It has recently increased its troop numbers along Crimeas border with Ukraine.

Kiev says it will respond in kind.

Could the worst escalation of tensions in months re-ignite the wider conflict between the two neighbours? Or is it just a case of sabre rattling?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Nataliya Gumenyuk  head of the Ukrainian news channel Hromadske TV

Sergey Strokan  political commentator at the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant

Domitilla Sagramoso  lecturer in the department of war studies at Kings College London
In Matanzas poorest neighbourhood, one woman is challenging the tradition of rumba by getting girls to play the drums.

Regla Gonzalez Miro is a community worker in the heart of Matanzas poorest yet most culturally vibrant neighbourhood, La Marina.

At the Nelson Barrera Community Centre where Gonzalez is the coordinator, there is constant activity: a crochet group, puppet workshops, early education for children, and a choir for elderly women. But at the centre of her work are efforts to make drumming accessible for girls as well as boys.

The rumba will survive, but right now it's evolving. by Regla Gonzalez Miro, community organiser

From the beginning the idea of the centre has been to revitalise the life and customs of the neighbourhood, Gonzalez says.

A former slave port, Matanzas is renowned for its Afro-Cuban culture. It is also considered the birthplace of rumba music and dance, which is closely connected to the Afro-Cuban rituals of the Santeria religion. Santeria draws on West African Yoruba and Roman Catholic influences.

La Marina represents many things to me as a Cuban. It was considered the worst neighbourhood in the city. Its where the whores were, where the bars were, where the sailors came for easy women. Here we dont have dogs and most of us dont have burglar bars because we have nothing to protect, Gonzalez says.

What we do have is love. Were willing to share coffee, salt, sugar and all those things. That doesnt exist in any other neighbourhood Ive lived in.

That sense of community and history binds Gonzalez to La Marina, the neighbourhood where she was born and raised.

Through her story, we gain an intimate insight into this vibrant place and its rumba culture, to which Gonzalezs past and present  as the daughter of an avid rumba dancer  are tied.

Traditionally women are not allowed to play the drums, but Gonzalez, together with her friend Regla Mesa Milanes, are determined to challenge this. They created a Female Rumba Association three years ago and hold drumming classes for boys and girls.

See more from Al Jazeera Englishs My Cuba series here.
We investigate how a fight against corruption and pro-Russian oligarchs in Odessa may determine Ukraines future.

Over the past decade Ukraine has been battered by insurrection, economic crises, and the loss of Crimea to Russia. Now, with tension in the east continuing and millions driven from their homes by war, a new battle is under way  against deeply entrenched corruption and over mighty oligarchs, who still exercise such power and control over the countrys assets that many fear Ukraines very existence is under threat.

We sent filmmaker Glenn Ellis to the strategically vital Black Sea port of Odessa to investigate.

FILMMAKERS VIEW

By Glenn Ellis and Katerina Barushka

With two revolutions, the loss of Crimea and a war with Russian-backed separatists, surely no European country has suffered more upheaval in recent years than Ukraine. So its a shock today to find tourists, mime artists and revellers filling the Maidan, Kievs famous Freedom Square where both uprisings began. Weve arranged to meet the acclaimed novelist Andrei Kurkov.

The situation is very strange, he agrees. If you go to expensive restaurants, they are full. But in reality the country is at war. Yesterday one of my friends was killed and he will be buried tomorrow.

Kurkov witnessed both revolutions.

The first failed because people believed it was enough to have honest elections, he says. The second revolution was against corruption.

He explains that following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraines state assets were systematically plundered by a nomenklatura, which then evolved seamlessly into a powerful oligarchy. These oligarchs still exercise huge control in the country today and the scale of the corruption resulting from their mafia-style endeavours is simply breathtaking. Billions of dollars simply disappear from state coffers every year. All thats keeping Ukraine afloat are massive loans from the International Monetary Fund.

According to Victoria Voytsitkaya, an anti-corruption MP we met in the parliament building, state-owned enterprises were used and are still used by oligarchs as a source of free cash, where weve seen so-called management repositions, where oligarchs will put in their own management and they will pour the money out from these companies.

Voytsitkaya survived an assassination attempt earlier this year. She is one of a new batch of brave parliamentarians who came to power after the last revolution, but such people are in the minority  most MPs belong to parties financed by oligarchs.

WATCH: Upfront  Klitschko on Ukraine, Russia and a new Cold War threat

Existential threat

But the government is trying to fight back.

Artem Sytnik heads the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, a rare independent body, set up at the insistence of the IMF by the government.

Every case we investigate causes worries for some oligarch, he says. Thats why the challenges we face are huge.

Sytnik walks to a window and points to two tanks parked outside his office in the capital.

We have a special forces unit, he says, which provides security for our employees.

Sytnyk sees Ukraines fight against corruption as existential.

It is a second front for Ukraine, maybe even more dangerous than the one in the east of the country. Why? Because corruption is one of the main threats to our national sovereignty, he says.

Hes a man in a hurry, he tells me. If nothing changes in the next two years there will be very serious risks for the existence of the state itself.

OPINION: EU can still protect the spirit of Ukraines revolution

Odessa: strategically vital, famously lawless

Its in the south of the country where this battle is being waged most bitterly. Last year, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko shocked international observers by appointing former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili as governor of Odessa, Ukraines strategically vital  if famously lawless  Black Sea port.

Saakashvili, who fled Georgia after being charged with abuse of power in 2014, is nevertheless credited with bringing democracy to the post-Soviet state and going a long way towards ridding it of corruption.

Asked to do a similar job in Odessa, he has already begun to made inroads.

Take, for example, his appointment of Yulia Marushevskaya as his chief customs officer. Marushevskayas I am Ukrainian YouTube video was a rallying call during the revolution, catapulting her to international fame.

Now the 26-year-old is proving equally adept at fighting corruption, stamping out bribery at the ports customs authority and overseeing the recruitment and training of new recruits to the service.

Appropriately enough, we met by Odessas famous steps, where director Sergei Eisenstein once filmed a key sequence in his communist revolutionary epic Battleship Potemkin.

For me, she says, this job is a continuation of a struggle that started two years ago, because we stood up against corruption two years ago.

READ ALSO: Brothers No More

Purging Odessa of corruption is key

Controversially, Saakashvili also appointed Giorgi Lortkipanidze, Georgias former deputy interior minister, as Odessas new police chief.

Lortkipanidze has wasted no time: raiding casinos, destroying contraband and jailing mobsters. He brushed aside an assassination attempt, focusing instead on the bigger picture.

When we speak about fighting corruption, he told us, we must take into account the whole country, because you cannot fight it in one region while in other regions criminals walk free.

Nonetheless, everyone here knows that if Odessa can be purged of corruption, then there is hope for the rest of Ukraine.

The port is hugely significant: It was here that Putins Ukrainian adventure came to an abrupt halt in May 2014. Crimea had been annexed and Donbass was in flames when pro-Russians attempted to seize control. They met stiff resistance from loyal Ukrainians, however, and were forced to retreat to Trades Union House, a landmark in the city centre. Following gunshots from inside the building and, some witnesses say, an exchange of petrol bombs, it caught fire and 48 people were killed  a dreadful outcome that still enrages many pro-Russians here today. But the clashes also marked a pivotal moment when Ukrainian nationalists drew a line in the sand against Russian expansion.

When we meet Saakashvili, in the grounds of his official residence on the outskirts of the city, he outlines the importance of Odessa today.

Its the south flank of Ukraine without which not only Ukraine would fall, but the entire region would be destabilised, he says.

Saakashvili believes the stakes are also high for Putin.

This is the last predominantly Russian-speaking area under the control of Ukrainian government. If Ukraine manages not only to keep it but to stabilise and develop it, then it will have a very loud resonance in Moscow and I think that would be the principle fear of Putin, he says.

The governor remains optimistic.

Its very important that we bring not only the idea of a Ukrainian state, but hope, a non-corrupt government and efficiency: all the things it has lacked historically. Its very much a fight for the future, an ideological battle.




Vanishing Time



author: Katharine Britton

publisher: Brigham Books (June 8, 2016)

genre: Literature, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

soft cover : 306 pages



"foodie" read: Not per se, but there's a lot of inspiration in the pages!



opening sentence: Cama Truesdale was removing a heart when Beethoven's Fifth trumpeted forth.



teaser: Cama Truesdales ex-husband and young son leave Boston for a "boys only" fishing trip in South Carolinas Low Country. In the early morning hours, Cama is jolted awake by a phone call. Theres been a fire on board the boat. Her ex-husband is dead. Her son is missing and presumed dead.



As she sets off for South Carolina, Cama's belief that her son Tate is alive is unwavering. But her frantic search soon stirs up painful memories that send her reeling back to her childhood and the mysterious car crash that killed her Gullah mother and white father. As the clock ticks down, exhausted, haunted by dreams, and stymied by the police and local community, she enters a world in which she must rely on instinct over fact, and where no one and nothing is what it seemsnot even the boundary between the living and the dead.



about the author: Katharine Brittons first novel, HER SISTERS SHADOW, was published in 2011, by Berkley Books (Penguin, USA). Her second novel, LITTLE ISLAND, came out in September of 2013, from the same publisher.



She has a Masters degree in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College, and a Master's in Education from the University of Vermont.



She is also an avid, novice birder and volunteers at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, where she loves to hang out with owls and feed orphaned baby birds. Read



connect with the author: website | facebook | twitter | goodreads



recipe inspired by the book: Gullah Red Rice w/ Shrimp, Bacon & Fennel Katharine BrittonBrigham Books (June 8, 2016)Literature, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspensesoft cover : 306 pagesNot per se, but there's a lot of inspiration in the pages!Cama Truesdale was removing a heart when Beethoven's Fifth trumpeted forth.Cama Truesdales ex-husband and young son leave Boston for a "boys only" fishing trip in South Carolinas Low Country. In the early morning hours, Cama is jolted awake by a phone call. Theres been a fire on board the boat. Her ex-husband is dead. Her son is missing and presumed dead.As she sets off for South Carolina, Cama's belief that her son Tate is alive is unwavering. But her frantic search soon stirs up painful memories that send her reeling back to her childhood and the mysterious car crash that killed her Gullah mother and white father. As the clock ticks down, exhausted, haunted by dreams, and stymied by the police and local community, she enters a world in which she must rely on instinct over fact, and where no one and nothing is what it seemsnot even the boundary between the living and the dead.Katharine Brittons first novel,, was published in 2011, by Berkley Books (Penguin, USA). Her second novel,, came out in September of 2013, from the same publisher.She has a Masters degree in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College, and a Master's in Education from the University of Vermont.She is also an avid, novice birder and volunteers at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, where she loves to hang out with owls and feed orphaned baby birds. Read more about Katharine HERE Gullah Red Rice w/ Shrimp, Bacon & Fennel

Gullah Red Rice with Shrimp, Bacon and Fennel Sometimes called Charleston red rice or Savannah red rice, red rice is a South Carolina Low Country tradition associated with Gullah heritage.



by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes Keywords: bake entree side nut-free soy-free bacon rice shrimp American Southern

Ingredients (serves 8-10) 6 ounces bacon, diced

1 1/2 pounds small shrimp, peeled and deveined shrimp

1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 cups Carolina Gold rice

1 cup tomato puree

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

3 1/2 cups chicken (or fish/seafood) stock

kosher or sea salt (garlic sea salt is nice here)

freshly ground black pepper

chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large shallow casserole or cast iron pan cook the bacon over medium heat until it is crisp, 7-9 minutes. Use a slotte spoon to transfer to a paper towel lined plate; reserve.

Turn the heat up to medium-high, add shrimp to remaining fat in pan and cook until pink, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove to a bowl; reserve.

Turn heat back down to medium and add the fennel, onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic to the hot pan and saute the mixture until the veggies have softened, ~5 minutes. Add the rice to the pan and stir until each grain is coated in fat and some have started to turn just a tad golden.

Add the tomato puree, paprika, and turmeric, then stir until combined. Add the stock, a pinch of salt and several good grates of black pepper; bring mixture to a boil.

Put a lid on the pan and slide into the center of the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove the cover, fluff the rice with a fork, stir in the shrimp with any accumulated juices and the bacon. Let the mixture cook uncovered for 5 minutes longer to "dry out".

Sprinkle rice with a good smattering of parsley and serve. Goes great with a green salad and bread.

-adapted from Savannah Now
           2005     ..        










English News Farooq cant find Kashmir solution without adhering to Progressive ideology of his father Sheikh Abdullah

Alwihda Info | Par Hem Raj Jain - 11 Aout 2016



Bengaluru, India

Dear Editor



Sub:- (i)- Farooq right that without remembering past future cant be built (ii)- But shallow analysis of past and ignoring the present will not do (iii)- Farooq fails to take present global Jihadi terrorism especially of ISIS in reckoning (iv)- No Kashmir solution without adhering to Federal-Democratic-Secular-Socialist-Modern-Progressive ideology (vi)- AFSPA etc gradually and pellet guns immediately should be removed from J&K.



----- In view of very serious (even as per Union Home Minister Rajnath) situation in Kashmir after July, 8 killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani (where ~ 60 killed ~ 6,000 injured including security forces and ~ 200 eyes injured / damaged due to pellet guns and over a month curfew) former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah said on Tuesday that  [it is important for New Delhi to acknowledge that the genesis of Kashmir turmoil lies in injustice of August 1953 when a popular, democratically-elected Prime Minister of J&K was illegally overthrown to suppress the political sentiment in Kashmir].



Farooq is right when he believes that without remembering past the future cant be built. But shallow analysis of the past and ignoring the present will not do. If Farooq is really serious about finding Kashmir solution then he should understand that without adhering to human rights friendly Federal-Democratic-Secular-Socialist-Modern-Progressive (FDSSMP) ideology of his father Sheikh Abdullah and his party JKNC of that time, there is no Kashmir solution as explained below:-



(1)- First and foremost Farooq should analyses the event of pre and post partition of India in 1947. If there is one person who is responsible for trifurcation of India (and attended killing of ~ 1 million people and displacement of ~ 10 million people in gory circumstance due to partition) then it was Gandhi as vividly explained by Maulana Azad in his book India Wins Freedom. But despite this un-pardonable blunder of Gandhi it does not diminish the greatness of Gandhi whom Indians still rightly respect and revere.



(2)- Similarly if there is one person who is responsible for keeping J&K with India then it is Sheikh Abdullah of J&K National Conference (JKNC). Nehru could go to UN and agree for plebiscite only on the basis of confidence that Sheikh Abdullah (and his colleagues in JKNC) will see to it that majority of J&K will vote in favor of India. But JKNC made a mistake when (after 1948 UN Plebiscite Resolution collapsed due to alleged refusal of Pakistan to vacate PoK militarily) JKNC did not demand from Union of India the immediate retrieve of PoK militarily. What is worse JKNC even allowed India and its Union Government to compromise on human rights friendly FDSSMP ideology. But like Gandhi (who committed blunder of partitioning India) Sheikh Abdullah also deserve the respect and gratitude of Indians for not only keeping J&K with India but also to have shown faith in human rights friendly FDSSMP ideology.



(3)- India was partitioned on the basis of religion and JKNC (over medieval thinking theocratic Pakistan) preferred to remain in India despite J&K being Muslim majority State. This was of-course a right decision of JKNC because FDSSMP ideology is a better ideology [in terms of human rights friendly (which is necessary in any democracy) and capable of providing more economic and military power]. But JKNC which was a role model for rest of India in early post  partition days about FDSSMP ideology (where not only genuine secularism was practiced but even socialism was also being practiced by way of working class friendly JKNC , land reforms etc) said good-bye to said progressive ideology. Therefore if Farooq is really serious about finding Kashmir solution then he should restore FDSSMP ideology not only in J&K but also in rest of India as given below:-



(i)- The JKNC should understand that J&K being Muslim majority State its political party JKNC (which shunned Muslim theocratic Pakistan) has responsibility to uphold FDSSMP in India. Hence JKNC should be renamed as NC



(ii)- As far human rights friendly policies, India is yet to give the crucial institutions of health-care and education under the control of the people. Though in first stage it can easily be done regarding health-care institutions by modifying ESI [Where representatives of the contributors (employees and employers of all the sectors) should be there in management in addition to representatives of the government].



(iii)- Regarding federalism. It should be demanded by NC that genuine federalism should be adopted by India where only martial matters of defense, foreign affairs, national transport (including national railways), communication, currency will be with Union and all civilian matters including natural resources should be with State (State railways should also be with States).



(iv)- For democracy two things are to be done:-



(A)- Because democracy requires higher moral of people than of State hence reservation should not be given in the name of Dalits (oppressed, backward etc). Rather reservation only in government services (and not in education, elections etc) can be given to any identifiable group of Indians who think that they will otherwise will not get proportionate representation in government services



(B)- Election Commission of India should be made legally responsible for ensuring periodic organizational elections of political parties and regular annual return of their audited financial accounts.



(v)- For protecting secularism NC should immediately file following 6 writ petitions in Supreme Court of India (SCI):-



(A)- Legally expected restoration of Status-quo-ante of Babri Masjid which was demolished in 1992 in the presence of Observer of Supreme Court (B)- Query about retrieve of POK in the interest of removal of AFSPA etc from J&K (unlike Hindu majority Goa the POK has not been retrieved by so-called secular India and even Bangladesh was not assimilated in 1971 despite collapse of two nation theory because both are Muslim majority) moreover Indian military does not have courage to take-on the military of Pakistan for the retrieve of POK and instead showing its bravery by training guns at the civilians / citizens of India in J&K manly at Kashmiri Muslims (C )- Prosecution against guilty found by Sri Krishna Commission about 1992-93 communal riots in Mumbai / Maharashtra (while rightly asking for deportation / action against Dawood Ibrahim etc, the guilty of serial blasts which were direct fallout of said riots) (D)- Identification, tracking and deportation of illegal immigrants, mainly from Bangladesh (E)- Quashing of discriminatory (especially against Muslims) Reservation Policy (F)- Delhi 1984 & Gujarat 2002 riots about section 130 & 131 Cr.P.C.



--- Second writ petitions for retrieve of POK can first be filed in J&K High Court. Even if PoK is to be retrieved militarily NC need not worry about nukes with India and Pakistan because after all it is white mans burden and the last word on Indias partition is yet to be written.



(vi)- For protecting socialism which is nothing but joint-capitalism or mixed-economy where State-capital should also have sanctity and should be deployed (like private capital) profitably especially in the interest of eliminating unemployment (for example by constructing residential and commercial building which can be given on rent to be decided by statutory Rent Commission). But in India (like in USSR which got dismantled as it too squandered State-capital) most of the Public Undertakings have been allowed to run in loss. The worst part of it is that State-capital (out of Tax) to the tune of ~ $ 15 Trillion is not being recovered by GOI. Hence two writ petitions should be filed in SCI by NC about (A)- Constitutional obligation about Public debt under Article 292 & 293 and not under unconstitutional FRBM (B)- Recovery of Rs ~ 1,000 Trillion tax out of black money (declared illegally as agricultural income to avoid tax) which, if recovered, can solve most of the problems being faced by India especially arising due to economic hardship



(4)- Farooq / NC should also stop pampering the people of J&K unnecessarily by saying that they should be consulted about future of J&K. This future was already decided by his Father Sheikh Abdullah that entire J&K is an integral part of India. To be fair to Farooq and people of J&K this absurdity (any doubt about accession of J&K to India) is prevalent in Government and Parliament of India too who are thinking of sending all party delegation to J&K to discuss about political solution of Kashmir problem which is absurd as it questions the accession of J&K with India.



(5)- Of-course Farooq / NC can & should ask Government of India that the AFSPA etc gradually (in a time bound period of say two years) and pellet guns immediately should be removed from J&K. At the same time Farooq / NC should ensure that Kashmiri Pandits are rehabilitated within a time period of two years (even by providing them the protector-companions, if needed).



(6)- Here NC should keep one very important present global political scenario in mind. If NC has ever nursed or is nursing any idea of Kashmir solution by keeping any part of J&K (including PoK) under Pakistan (in any form) then NC should give-up any such idea which is not only unconstitutional but impractical too. Specially in modern times when entire world is suffering due to global-Jihadi- terrorism (including of ISIS) the powerful West (USA, Europe and Europe origin countries) will never agree to any arrangement which will buttress Islamic theocratic ideology (as is being practiced by Pakistan, the factory of Jihadi terrorists).



Therefore instead of indulging in shallow analysis of past or breast-beating about any injustice of August, 1953 the Abdullahs (Farooq and Omar) should try to restore human rights friendly FDSSMP ideology in India through NC for which their father / grandfather Sheikh Abdulla so valiantly fought and lived and which is the real solution to Kashmir problem too and which ultimately is bound to bring lasting peace, prosperity and justice to entire SAARC region.



Regards



Hem Raj jain



(Author of Betrayal of Americanism)



Bengaluru, India





Dans la meme rubrique : < > China to make greater contributions to human progress China willing to work with the international community to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations Chinese new energy vehicle industry speeds up innovation Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
It is not surprising, especially in an election year, to see politicians and others demonize banks and call for them to be broken up. The memory of the 2008 crisis  when banks around the globe suffered over $500 billion in subprime-related losses, resulting in bank failures and bailouts  is still fresh.

But despite proposals unveiled at both the Democratic and Republican conventions to return to some version of Glass-Steagall, which would restrict the activities of bank holding companies, the reality is that much has already been done to protect the industry and public at large from the systemic risk posed by "too big to fail" institutions.

Critics act like policymakers had no response to the crisis. But the truth is Basel III was a significant strengthening of capital requirements; the Dodd-Frank Act has led to tougher prudential requirements for large firms, living wills, a new bail-in regime and other reforms; and annual stress tests further strengthen capital. Dodd-Frank has also significantly curtailed the type of trading and investing activities banks can participate in, albeit through the painfully complex restrictions of the Volcker Rule.

Yet these safeguards have done little to satisfy populist candidates and, notably, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari.

Kashkari argues regulators will not actually enforce the new "bail-in" rules, and therefore another round of taxpayer bailouts are inevitable. Although he agrees that the regulatory reforms since the financial crisis are headed in the right direction, he fears that come the next crisis the government will once again be put in the position either of rescuing big banks or risking broader economic collapse.

The underlying logic of this theory is that many global banks still pose a systemic risk simply because of their large size related to gross domestic product. Pressure to bail out banking giants in the crisis was even bigger in countries like Ireland and Iceland. Italy currently faces a looming crisis with its large banks struggling and serious talk of a publicly funded bailout growing.

More than 50 groups (including economists, financial experts and finance industry groups) have also called for larger banks to be broken up.

Still, leaders around the globe, including Kashkari's peers at the Fed and Christine Lagarde at the International Monetary Fund, argue that clear and intense regulation will result in stronger banks and a more stable system.

Who's right? To decide, let's use a real-life example of a bank that did fail during the crisis to see what the impact would have been of new rules put in place since the crisis.

Washington Mutual, one of the most aggressive mortgage lenders prior to the subprime crisis, went into distress in 2008 and had to be resolved by the regulators, becoming the biggest bank failure in U.S. history.

At the start of the crisis, Wamu had risk-weighted assets of $240 billion, tangible common equity of $16 billion and ultimately over $31 billion of subprime mortgage losses. If Washington Mutual had been regulated to current standards and rules:

Risk-weighted assets would likely have been closer to $260 billion under the more conservative Basel III rules.

Tangible common equity would likely have been closer to $26 billion.

The combination of capital and bail-in debt would have been closer to $52 billion (20% of risk-weighted assets).

Liquidity  Wamu's key pressure point when over $16 billion of deposits were withdrawn during one critical week  would have been strengthened under Basel III's "liquidity coverage ratio," which requires at least a 30-day liquidity buffer.

And perhaps most important, as Wamu embarked on its aggressive growth strategy in subprime lending in 2004, the annual stress tests under the Fed's Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review would have presumably triggered warning signs, such as over $30 billion of exposure versus tangible common equity of about half that amount.

True, the effectiveness of the reforms such as the bail-in regime will be realized if regulators enforce them. Kashkari's main concern seems to be that regulators will not be willing to bail in debtholders for fear of tainting the market and causing a reputational "bank run" from such securities.

But I believe such reforms are already having a positive effect on the market. All newly issued bank securities now include a clause about what would happen if the financial institution is no longer viable. The risk of debt being converted into equity through a bail-in process is being priced into certain securities. Considering these developments, on what basis could a regulator waive enforcement?

There is concern, however, that the timeframe for regulators to take action in the next crisis may be even shorter than in the last crisis, given market forces. It is likely that long before a "nonviable" pronouncement is handed down by the regulator, the capital markets will be pricing this heightened risk into the bail-in securities.

The best path forward then is to fully operationalize the new regulatory framework and closely monitor the progress of the big banks.

Brian O'Donnell is executive-in-residence at the Global Risk Institute.
Steve Unger was startled when a Wells Fargo banker called him out of the blue to say one of his online accounts had been violated and someone had viewed his account numbers.

"I saw no unusual activity on my accounts, and my experience was that my account numbers were always masked," he recalled.

As it turns out, this problem is common in online banking  account numbers are hidden in some places but often displayed in full in statement and check images.

More importantly, the burden then dumped on Unger to clean up the mess points to a broader issue plaguing the banking industry. While banks are providing better defenses against online banking fraud  U.S. banks stopped more than $8 out of every $10 of attempted deposit-account fraud in 2014, according to the American Bankers Association's latest Deposit Account Fraud Survey Report  closing the compromised accounts and opening new ones remains nightmarish for banks and customers.

Unger, who owns and runs the Lion and the Rose inn in Portland, Ore., had to shut down and reopen all seven of his Wells Fargo business and personal accounts twice. Because several of his bank accounts feed data directly into his QuickBooks software, he also had to contact vendors and reestablish linkage with QuickBooks Online. He had to communicate with each of his creditors twice about the account changes.

"It was an ordeal and a mess," Unger said. He estimates he spent 40 hours at a local branch over the course of three months sorting out matters.

Wells Fargo says it has since put in place several security controls to try to prevent third-party access to small-business accounts, including two-factor authentication, real-time fraud analytics and challenges to users who try access sensitive information such as account statements.

The Trouble with Tainted Accounts

The process of closing and reopening credit card accounts has been perfected to the point where banks do thousands of these a day. They have had plenty of practice in recent years due to the massive breaches at Target, Home Depot and many other retailers.

Deposit accounts are another story.

"That's like having your house burn down and saying, 'My house burned down, I'm just going to get a new house,'" said Rick Swenson, who until recently oversaw enterprise fraud prevention and detection at USAA and who now has his own consulting company, RSS Consulting.

Banks have to reconstruct the accounts, shutting off automatic payments, facilitating bill payments, issuing new checks and re-establishing relationships with other accounts the customer may have with the bank.

"What banks most fear is mass takeover on their deposit accounts because there is no switch, there's no easy way to transfer all of a customer's credits and debits over to a new account," Swenson said. "It's an extremely laborious task."

It is even more difficult if the customer has intermingled retail and commercial accounts at the same bank, as Unger does.

"Banks haven't done much in the past 30 years to make that any better," Swenson said. In one case, a bank had 1,200 accounts taken over at once. Switching all those customers to new accounts lasted six months.

Old technology is a big part of the reason banks struggle. Many banks are running core deposit systems that are two or three decades old, and they run customized code on top of that.

And large banks have multiple deposit-account systems because of their many acquisitions. "They're running so many back-office environments, and they're knitted together  some with baling wire and others with yarn," Swenson said. "You have a seismic shock wave that goes through these systems, and they've got all kinds of exception-handling routines keeping these accounts in check."

And having bank staff take care of the account closing and reopening process is sometimes cost-prohibitive, depending on the size of the customer, Swenson said.

Wells Fargo says it's trying to do better. "If we suspect a customer's been compromised, there's a continual effort to make that process of getting them back in business as pain-free as we can," said Chris Clausen, group manager for authentication, detection and omni-solutions in the virtual channels group at Wells Fargo. "It's an ongoing drive the operations groups have: to make that the best experience it can be."

New Security Checks

Most banks are doing their best to monitor for potential threats and notify their customers. Where they fall down, in Swenson's view, is in lacking adequate, systematic triggers that flag transactions for review and failing to consistently require strong, multifactor authentication.

"I do believe banks are doing enough to keep their online banking sites secure," Swenson said. "But I do not believe banks are being as assertive as they need to be in requiring specific levels of authentication be in place before they process high-risk transactions."

Wells Fargo has added several risk controls to its online banking site, Clausen said. It conducts risk checks every time someone logs into a business account. If something looks out of the ordinary  say, the person's device ID shows they have also tried to access the accounts of other customers  the bank requires two-factor authentication or blocks the session. If someone navigates to a sensitive part of the site where there could be account information, again the bank requires two-factor authentication.

Much of this happens behind the scenes, to keep the session smooth for customers. "A typical customer logging in from a typical device would never see that capability because everything checks out with what we would expect," Clausen said.

The bank also conducts real-time checks throughout the session. If something looks odd, it might ask for a special code sent to the customer's mobile device, make a call to an established landline or require the use of a security fob.

Similarly, First Tennessee Bank recently added several security controls to its online banking site. The bank now has an extensive group of real-time text alerts, some mandatory and some optional, that let customers know instantly when something suspicious has happened on their accounts.

"If you know within seconds of the transaction happening, and you're able to make a phone call to First Tennessee and say that wasn't me and we're able to block it, the damage is very small, compared to if you don't know until midnight tonight," said Kevin Karrels, digital channel strategy executive at First Tennessee. The bank pays special attention to the movement of money. For example, it has added a requirement for out-of-band authentication (which involves a code sent by text message) for adding a new payee. Failed bill payments, additions of accounts or recipients, modified payments and other events trigger alerts.

'Praying'

Even after a painful experience, the Wells customer Unger is sticking with his bank  for now.

"I've been a happy customer for many years," he said. "I'm praying this doesn't happen again."

He noted that all his family's accounts are with the bank, and he pays his kids with SurePay. Unwinding all those services would be another trial.

"And if I go to Bank of America, how do I know they're going to be any better?"

But other customers who are victims of online banking fraud, or attempted fraud, may not always be so patient. It is easy to picture someone who has been asked to shut down and reopen all his or her accounts twice just saying forget it, and switching to another bank.

Unger, in fact, says if an incident like this happens again he will go elsewhere.

"This time I would fight them  I would refuse to do it," he said.

Editor at Large Penny Crosman welcomes feedback at penny.crosman@sourcemedia.com.


Patriot National Bancorp in Stamford, Conn., is in the market for a new chief executive.

The $665 million-asset company said in a regulatory filing that Kenneth Neilson will step down as president and chief executive on Aug. 19. Neilson has held those posts since 2013.

The company has formed an internal committee, consisting of Neilson; Fred Staudmyer, chief administrative officer; and Edward Constantino, an independent director, to search for a permanent chief. Kaplan Partners was hired to assist with the search.

Michael Carrazza, the company's chairman, was appointed interim CEO and will serve without additional compensation until a new CEO is hired, the filing said. Carrazza is founder and CEO of Solaia Capital Advisors, an investment management firm, and chairman of Siena Capital Finance.

The company also disclosed that Susan Neilson will resign as chief operating officer on Aug. 19. The board appointed Peter Cureau to serve as interim president and chief operating officer.

Cureau is managing principal and owner of PD Cureau Advisors, a consulting and advisory firm, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was president and CEO of Capital Bank and Trust in Troy, N.Y., from 2003 to 2010.

In January Patriot National named Neil McDonnell, an independent financial consultant, chief financial officer. McDonnell replaced Christina Maier in that role for the company and bank. Maier also resigned as executive vice president for the bank in April.


Donald Trump, shortly after securing the GOP nomination, attached a name to Hillary Clinton, just as he did to his opponents throughout the primary process. She was Crooked Hillary, based on a lifetime of playing fast and loose with finances, ethics, and honesty. After photos surfaced this past weekend showing Mrs. Clinton struggling to ascend a set of steps, as well as reports of possible seizure activity, Trump may want to rename Mrs. Clinton "Unhealthy Hillary."

These health concerns are not new and were raised by me as well as others several years ago after Mrs. Clinton fainted, fell, and banged her head, suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and subdural hematoma. Could her recent behavioral and physical maladies be a consequence of this head injury? Or could other conditions be at play? As Trump said, did she take "a short-circuit in the brain"?

A website devoted to traumatic brain injury lists falls as one of the top three causes. Fall down, whack your head  not hard enough to fracture your skull, but enough to cause swelling and/or bleeding in or around your brain.

These injuries can be mild or severe. In the case of Mrs. Clinton, the injury can reasonably be considered severe based on the words of former President Bill Clinton. Mrs. Clinton's husband revealed that his wife's injury "required six months of very serious work to get over." He called it a "terrible concussion."

The TBI website describes a number of deficits that may occur after a severe brain injury. These include "impairment of higher level cognitive functions"  in other words, rational thought. Other problems include "abnormal speech or language, loss of thinking ability or emotional problems."

Cognitive deficits associated with TBI include memory. One of Mrs. Clinton's favorite answers when queried about past issues is "I don't recall." Other memory issues include her false recollections about sniper fire in Bosnia and being named after Sir Edmund Hillary. More worrisome are deficits in "executive functions," something atop the job description for president of the United States.

Difficulties with movement are another consequence of TBI  as in the recent photos of Mrs. Clinton needing to be steadied walking up a flight of stairs. Other deficits include vision problems such as double vision. When testifying before the Senate in 2013, Mrs. Clinton wore glasses with Fresnel prisms, used to correct double vision. Light sensitivity is another problem linked with TBI. Anyone remember the famous photo of Mrs. Clinton wearing sunglasses while inside a cargo plane? No one else in the photo needed sunglasses.

Seizures are common after head injury. This might explain recent photos of one of Mrs. Clinton's aides carrying and holding at the ready what appears to be a Diazepam pen, used for emergency short-term control of seizures. Diazepam is the generic name for Valium, a medication "[u]sed to treat anxiety disorders, alcohol withdrawal symptoms, or muscle spasms. Diazepam is sometimes used with other medications to treat seizures." Presumably the Diazepam pen was for treating seizures as opposed to the other listed medical conditions.

Control of bowel or bladder may break down after TBI. Remember Mrs. Clinton's excessively long bathroom break during the Democrat primary debate? Loss of stamina is another symptom. A Clinton campaign aide acknowledged Mrs. Clinton's low energy: "she doesn't have the strength. She doesn't have the stamina."

Also described as symptoms are irritability and aggression. Such as Mrs. Clinton exploding at her aides. Or her "[s]creaming, child-like tantrums that have left staff members in tears and unable to work."

Finally, there is denial and lack of awareness after TBI. Plenty of examples of this, from her lies and obfuscation over the Benghazi attack to her contorted excuses for her email recklessness and Clinton Foundation finances.

Some of these symptoms could be attributed to advancing age or an aberrant personality, but taken as a whole, they make a compelling argument for TBI due to her fall. But any good doctor comes up with a differential diagnosis, other possibilities that could account for the patient's signs and symptoms.

What about neurosyphilis? One variety, called general paresis, can cause paranoia, mood swings, emotional troubles, personality changes, weakened muscles, and eventual dementia. Another variety, tabes dorsalis, leads to trouble balancing, loss of coordination, incontinence, altered gait, and vision problems. Most of these symptoms have been described above.

Oropharyngeal cancer is another possibility, based on the hole in Mrs. Clinton's tongue and her well documented coughing fits. There is also Parkinson's Disease, with slowed movements, difficulty walking, impaired balance, and speech changes, also noted and written about.

This is not medical grand rounds, where a final diagnosis much be reached. Instead, it's about whether Hillary Clinton is mentally and physically well enough to serve as president of the United States. These are legitimate questions, and an honest and diligent media would be investigating her health as they did for similarly older candidates John McCain and Bob Dole when they ran for president. Instead, and not surprisingly, CNN circles the wagons around its favored candidate, ignoring these health concerns.

Rather than piling on every Donald Trump utterance, the health of Hillary Clinton deserves scrutiny. Otherwise, a President Clinton might be too sick to function, similar to the fossilized general secretaries of the old Soviet Union, who rarely appeared in public and allowed their underlings to run the country.

Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based retina surgeon, radio personality, and writer. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Time to revisit FBI Director James Comeys statement that no reasonable prosecutor would bring charges against Hillary Clinton. Not only was it a lie that allowed Hillary to abscond, we have been predictably rewarded with more lying, more evidence that indeed Hillarys private server was hacked by foreign intelligence services, and now face the very likely prospect that our next president will not only be a lawless, pathological liar, but open to the worst kind of blackmail. This is the legacy of Comeys FBI, and should Hillary win election, he and his agency are fully complicit.

Comey and the FBI colluded to protect Clinton in the FBI interview. It is now clear beyond reasonable cavil that the purpose of the meeting on the Phoenix tarmac between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton was to advise Hillary through her husband that 1) the investigation would be concluded without prejudice against her provided 2) she did not lie in her forthcoming FBI interview and 3) confirmed the gist of the questions to be asked (and doubtless vetted by Hillarys attorneys.) While this is not a particularly stunning revelation, Hillarys excuse that she short-circuited when she told Chris Wallace on national television that Comey said shed been honest, puts the tarmac meeting and especially her FBI interview in a new perspective. Hillary now relies on Comeys statement that her FBI interview was truthful to vouch for her overall honesty in the matter, even though he has otherwise implied she lied in public statements.

For Hillary to have been truthful in her statements to the FBI and to also have escaped indictment, the FBI must have conducted the interview with the intent of effectively exonerating her from criminal liability at least as Comey intended to define it two days later. Regardless of how one views Comeys discretionary judgment about Clintons criminal liability, it is now quite clear that it was a judgment deliberately cooked into the investigation, which was entirely improper. The purpose of FBI interviews is to gather information, not to provide defenses to subjects of investigation. Yet this is exactly what the FBI did, and Hillary is throwing it back in their faces by claiming her honest responses in her FBI interview prove she did not lie about her private email server, and by implication is free of wrongdoing.

The usual purposes of an investigatory interview are to develop information to refine or expand the investigation; to tie the interview subject down to one story, no matter what it may be; to set potential traps for the subject in the event that she is lying; and to obtain admissions where possible. It is very clear that the FBI did not try to do any of these things during Clintons interview.

Lets parse what we know of the farcical interview itself, based on Comeys own accounts. Supposedly it was conducted by five or six agents (youd think hed know for sure) and lasted about three hours. Hillary was not sworn, nor was the interview recorded either electronically or via transcript. Comey testified that the agents did not find evidence of evasion during the interview, but if Comey is being truthful, depending on the questions, no evasion would have been necessary.

First, a three hour interview for the subject in such a long lasting and complex case is exceedingly short, but even so is probably exaggerated. Counted in those hours no doubt is Hillarys arrival, administrative tasks, set up (would you like some coffee Madam Secretary), and dozens of time wasting preliminary questions:

Now , um, Madam Secretary, are you married (tee hee)?

And to whom would that be (har har)?

Those five or six agents dont make the already short interview more efficient, they complicate it. As did Hillarys small army of attorneys. Count in probable frequent breaks for consultations (and the bathroom) and it is doubtful that more than 15 or 20 minutes were devoted to any kind of relevant questioning. And when that occurred those questions must have been deliberately phrased in a way that exonerated Hillary so as to fit Comeys rubric for the statement he intended to deliver (and did) shortly thereafter. They would not require evasion, because they were designed to elicit truthful responses.

For example, in a real interview, which would have lasted many, many more hours, the questioning might have gone like this:

Mrs. Clinton, I am showing you whats been marked exhibit one. Can you identify it?

Exhibit one is part of an email chain in which you sent and received, is that correct?

Exhibit one contains a classified markings on it is that right?

And the date of the email chain indicates that it was so marked at the time sent and received?

You received this marked classified email via your private server?

And that server was not authorized by the State Department?

Was its use in keeping with State Department policies concerning business related and most especially classified communications?

Didnt you stipulate this yourself in instructions that went to all State Department personnel over your signature that private email should not be used for this purpose?

Now, of course, if Clinton believed the questioning would have been anything like that she would not have agreed to the interview. If actually so questioned, she would have taken the 5th and walked out. But she knew ahead of time that this would not be the case and so attended and answered canned questions that were structured so that she could respond honestly without incriminating herself. A question like this:

Did you ever knowingly, with intent to compromise classified information, send or receive any emails that you personally knew were classified at the time you sent or received them?

Here Hillary could answer no honestly, since part of that convoluted compound question accuses her of specific intent to compromise classified information, which Hillary probably did not do. Perhaps she personally did not even notice the classified markings. The question is deliberately designed to allow an honest denial. It is a sure bet that besides introductory and meaningless background questions, the entire interview was of this nature.

Hillary has now adopted that interview as proof of her truthfulness, allowing her to engage in all manner of Clintonian evasion now. If Comey thought his non-indictment indictment of her actions, and subsequent Congressional testimony somehow redeemed his honor, or gave him some leverage despite his genuflection to Clinton and Obama on the merits, Hillarys subsequent conduct has put paid to that idea. Im well beyond giving Comey the benefit of the doubt on matters related to the Clintons. Hes an unethical hack who wants to eat his cake and have it too. Hillary has now made him look a fool though he evidently (and perhaps reasonably) believes this is survivable so long as the mainstream media dont report it that way, and the American people dont get it.

The FBI subverted itself in this investigation, something that Hillarys claims of honestly make absolutely clear. That among the many scores of agents that supposedly worked on this investigation, not one has stepped forward, despite this fundamental abuse of the agency is perhaps more disturbing than Comeys own dishonesty. It suggests that the entire agency is corrupted, and will be in Hillarys pantsuit pocket if she wins in November.
It's not that no one has been sounding the alarm. FBI Director Comey and many in the intelligence community have been straightforward about the threat from the connection between refugee resettlement and terrorism. The problem is no one in the administration is listening to them.

Senator Jeff Sessions is once again issuing a warning to the administration about their inadequate vetting procedures that could lead to terrorist attacks here at home.

Breitbart:

Despite a clear nexus between immigration and terrorism, and warnings from top officials in his own Administration about their inability to properly vet refugees, President Obama remains in denial about the dangers that his policies pose to the United States, Sessions said in a statement Wednesday. To Sessions, Obamas refugee plan is reckless and fails to consider the real perils of a refugee flow that has already been infiltrated by terrorists in the past. The Alabama lawmaker said, the Obama Administration leads the United States down a dangerous path  admitting as many refugees as possible from areas of the world where terrorists roam freely, and granting a temporary amnesty to Syrians living in the United States illegally. And contrary to the assertions made by many, the potential for future terror activity is real. According to Sessions, the administration should be seeking out locations of refuge for displaced migrants close to their homelands so that they might be able to return once the conflict is over. Instead, however, the Obama Administration has pursued a plan of further displacement, promising to bring at least 10,000 Syria refugees to U.S. shores by the end of this fiscal year  as Sessions noted, a nearly 500 percent increase over FY 2015 when just 1,600 Syrian refugees were admitted to the U.S. This radical increase places the safety and security of the American people at risk, there will surely be consequences, Sessions said.

Sessions points to the worrying and growing numbers of refugees and the probabilty that the slip shod vetting regimen is allowing the wrong people to enter the US:

As of August 9, 2016 the administration has already admitted 61,232 refugees this fiscal year, including 8,114 from Syria, 7,322 from Iraq, 7,067 from Somalia, 2,838 from Iran, and 1,924 from Afghanistan. By all accounts the Obama administration will achieve, if not exceed its goal of 10,000 Syrian refugees resettled in the U.S. this year and pursue a plan to resettle another 100,000 refugees in the U.S. next year. Sessions notes that the threat of infiltration by terrorists is real, pointing out that at least 40 people admitted to the U.S. as refugees since September 11, 2001 have been implicated in terrorism. Some were admitted as adults, others as children, but these cases refute the false assertion that those admitted to the United States as refugees never engage in terrorism. But because these facts do not fit within his worldview, President Obama rejects them. And in so doing, he rejects his sacred oath for what he perceives as political gain, Sessions said.

European security officials have said flat out that there are 500 terrorists on the continent who have made it to the west by blending in with refugees. Why should our vetting procedures be any better than theirs?

They aren't, but that's not the point the Obama administration is trying to make. Without saying so, the administration believes that we can absorb a few terrorist attacks from refugees in order to achieve the higher humanitarian goal of admitting desperate people into the US. That is the subtext of their denial that there is any danger. We can sacrifice a few dozen or a few hundred American lives in order to show how much heart we have.

No matter how well we vet the newcomers, it is likely some terrorists will get through. Many agree with Mr. Trump that the refugee flow should be completely stopped. Others believe we can severely limit the risk simply by applying the same vetting procedures we use for any other immigrant. Either course of action would be far superior to the way the issue is being handled by the administration today.
Donald Trump has fought through a 17-challenger field to win the Republican presidential nomination. Now the smartest move for Trump would be to leave the race. Yes, I mean that. (And I am not the only one to wonder if his commitment to finish the race is less than complete.)

But after coming this far, why would a man who wrote a book called Never Give Up walk away? The answer has nothing to do with poll numbers or GOP malcontents. The reason is because of Trumps long-term perspective gained from decades as a successful businessman.

As he regularly tells us, Trump is a businessman, not a politician. And, unlike one-hit wonders like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, he has built a career in which he has founded and grown numerous enterprises. One of the key talents underlying this long career is his preternatural ability to know when to change course. To understand this uncanny instinct for knowing when to switch strategies one needs to look back at the most dramatic time in Trumps career. In the early 1990s, Trump faced disaster. Heavily invested in Atlantic City gaming ventures, Trump had billions of dollars in debt, almost a billion of it personally guaranteed. His personal financial demise was predicted.

How did Trump react to what he described as the lowest moment I had yet encountered in my life (Never Give Up p.2)? He told his advisors that it was time to move forward and announced a lot of new projects I had lined up for us. There were a lot of projects, and they were big deals (Never Give Up p. 3). However, they were not in Atlantic City. He worked on Mar-a-Lago in Florida and acquired 40 Wall Street, among many others. As he told the Wall Street Journal regarding Atlantic City, I said, OK, now its junk bond time. Its been a great experience, but Im out. Many have criticized Trump for bankrupting his casinos in exiting from the much-hyped campaign to revive old worn down Atlantic City with the fantasy of turning it into a new Las Vegas. However, two decades later that effort has largely been a big bust, and Trump can be seen as prescient for getting out when he did.

Trumps goal was not to succeed in one specific venture. It was broader  to build a worldwide business. To do so, one has to pursue multiple options  at the same time  youve got to have back-up options.  Dont ever be afraid to change your mind about something.  Im fortunate to have the capacity to change my thought patterns quickly (Never Give Up, pp. 68, 92, 95). In many respects this ability has underlain his whole career. He started as just one more New York real estate developer. However, over the decades he has transformed his operation from being just one of a hundred successful real estate development businesses into a unique marketing and branding enterprise.

Trump is capable of making the bold unexpected move, and doing something no politician would think of. But would he turn the race over to someone else? Lets look at the benefits of such a bold switch now at the top of his presidential run:

Better the kingmaker than the king

Where does Trump move to if he is no longer the GOP presidential candidate? He becomes the kingmaker of the Republican Party. He certainly would secure a commitment to pick his successor as the GOP presidential candidate as a condition for granting the fondest wish of the party apparatus and leaving the race. This would be someone who supports him and his policies, foreclosing anti-Trump establishment types like Paul Ryan. Trump should be confident that he would make a good choice. After all, identifying and promoting strong talent was the fundamental premise of The Apprentice.

We can be sure that the author of the Art of the Deal would secure many other commitments from the GOP. Trump would instantly become the elder statesman of the Republican Party. He could exercise his influence over issues without having to engage in the grubby compromises of being in office. Look at it this way. If he stays in the race and loses, he is finished. If he wins, all he gets are a few years in office fighting a recalcitrant Congress. On the other hand, if he leaves now, he will have enormous influence over his designated successors administration. If his designee loses, it will be that guys fault, and Trump will still have the ongoing influence he would have negotiated with the party at his exit and the ability to continue his crusade untarnished by defeat.

The Kids and the Long Game

Trump has shown he knows how to play the long game. For example, he spent 30 years developing the Penn Yards project on Manhattans West Side.

One of the unexpected and exciting aspects of Trumps candidacy was the introduction to the wider world of his adult children. Donald, Jr. (Don), Ivanka (wow!) and Eric Trump are smart, able, dynamic and telegenic. Any or all of them could have amazing political careers. Especially open paths are available to them now in New York. The New York Republican Party is not strong. Both U.S. Senate seats, the governorship and the New York City mayoralty are all held by Democrats badly in need of defeating. As one myself, I am confident that New York Republicans (who overwhelmingly supported Donald in the primary) would enthusiastically support the candidacy of the next generation Trumps. This is how you build the Trump brand beyond one generation.

A political career would also offer a way for these capable people to move outside Dads shadow without rebelling, always a challenge for the sons and daughters of high profile fathers.

The Voice

Running for and holding office puts a huge kink in ones freedom to do and say what must be done and said. The pain Trump was suffering was palpable when he endorsed Paul Ryan and John McCain in his recent campaign speech in Wisconsin. Yet internal critics like Ryan and McCain are certain to be a permanent trial if Trump is president. Outside of office with the permanent bully pulpit he would gain from voluntarily stepping away, Trump would be in a position not only to advocate his policies without reservation or compromise, but also to use his well demonstrated attack skills to go after those who attack him and his. In particular, Trump has advanced positions on trade, immigration and foreign military ventures that go against those of the Beltway establishment. Only a strong powerful voice from outside the establishment can keep the GOP on the populist course Trump has envisioned. What better voice than Donald Trump himself, a voice which can actually be made stronger and freer by the bold step of stepping away from the race now.

James W. Lucas is an attorney in New York City with decades of experience in advising businesses. He is also the author of Are We the People? How We the People Can Take Charge of Our Constitution and Timely Renewed: Amendments to Restore the American Constitution.
The FBI has started briefing Congress on what it knows about the hack of the DNC emails, blaming Russia. While those Dems still feeding media hysteria that Trump committed treason by inviting disclosure of Hillarys 33,000 deleted emails if they have them would regard this a good news, there was some absolutely terrible news for them. Eric Lichtbau and Eric Schmitt of the New York Times report:

A Russian cyberattack that targeted Democratic politicians was bigger than it first appeared and breached the private email accounts of more than 100 party officials and groups, officials with knowledge of the case said Wednesday. The widening scope of the attack has prompted the F.B.I. to broaden its investigation, and agents have begun notifying a long list of Democratic officials that the Russians may have breached their personal accounts. (snip) F.B.I. officials briefed staff members of House and Senate Intelligence Committees last week on the investigation into the theft of emails and documents from the Democratic National Committee.

As for Trumps invitation to Russia:

The F.B.I. says it has no direct evidence that Mrs. Clintons private email server was hacked by the Russians or anyone else. But in June, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, said that intruders had tried, and that any successful intruders were probably far too skilled to leave evidence of their intrusion behind. Law enforcement officials said he had the Russians in mind.

As D.K. emailed me this morning:

Extremely unlikely that the bad guys didn't also hack the private server Hillary used while at State. Why wouldn't they? Kindness, indifference? Why?

Id say the odds are pretty good the Russians have Hillarys secret email stash. I am expecting a lot of surprises by Nov. 8.
Democratic Party commissioners on the Federal Election Commission are once again going after online political speech, looking to blow up the internet and squelch political views they disagree with.

What they are advocating is nothing less than a revolution in how citizens receive information on politics and government from the internet.

Washington Free Beacon:

Democratic Federal Election Commissioner Ann Ravel moved this week to deny a conservative nonprofit group legal protections that exempt most online political communications from federal political spending limits and disclosure laws. Experts say the move is an attempt to undermine the internet exemption, as the provision is known, without going through normal legislative and regulatory processes. In effect, they say, Ravel was denying legal protections to the group simply because she disagrees that those protections should exist. Ravels move came as the FEC weighed a complaint against the Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, a conservative nonprofit that ran television ads last year attacking Sen. Rand Pauls (R., Ky.) support for the nuclear deal with Iran. The FECs six commissioners unanimously ruled that the groups failure to report expenditures associated with the ads did not violate federal law, since they focused on a legislative issue and did not call for the election or defeat of a political candidate. However, the commissioners split on a separate question. In its legal analysis, the FECs general counsel noted that four YouTube videos cited in the complaint against the foundation would have been legally permissible even if they had engaged in express advocacy. Under federal campaign finance laws, people and organizations that engage in uncompensated online political communications that would otherwise trigger disclosure requirements do not need to report those communications to the FEC. The foundations YouTube videos would likely be exempt from the Commissions independent expenditure reporting requirements under the Commissions regulations, which exempt the costs associated with uncompensated internet activity from the definition of expenditure, the general counsel explained. That analysis never made it into the commissions official findings. All three Democratic commissioners voted against adopting the general counsels analysis. According to Ravel, the sticking point was the section relating to the internet exemption. Ravel, in a statement on the vote, called on the FEC to reconsider the exemption, which she has previously opposed, but she did not deny that it exists or that it exempted the foundations communications from regulations on television or paid internet advertising. That earned a rebuke from the commissions three Republicans, who called Ravels statement a familiar, if tired, refrain [that] fails to justify a public officials failure to apply well-established law adopted unanimously by a fully-apprised Commission in 2006.

This is absolutely chilling and not unexpected. The only form of media where conservatives compete on a roughly equal basis with the left is online. Destroying that rough equality would harm liberal online publications as well but leave the vast leftist-dominated mainstream media untouched. We'd be back to a media universe as it existed in the 1980s. With the exception of talk radio  itself under attack with threats to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine  conservative voices would be stilled.

While the Commission is split 3-3 between Democrats and Republicans, the staff is hired by the party that holds the White House. As we have seen, the FEC staff has the power to set the agenda and recommend action. Needless to say, if Clinton wins the White House, that power will be used to silence her critics.
Senator Jeff Sessions is once again issuing a warning to the administration about its inadequate vetting procedures that could lead to terrorist attacks here at home.

It's not that no one has been sounding the alarm. FBI director Comey and many in the intelligence community have been straightforward about the threat from the connection between refugee resettlement and terrorism. The problem is no one in the administration is listening to them.

Breitbart:

Despite a clear nexus between immigration and terrorism, and warnings from top officials in his own Administration about their inability to properly vet refugees, President Obama remains in denial about the dangers that his policies pose to the United States, Sessions said in a statement Wednesday. To Sessions, Obamas refugee plan is reckless and fails to consider the real perils of a refugee flow that has already been infiltrated by terrorists in the past. The Alabama lawmaker said, the Obama Administration leads the United States down a dangerous path  admitting as many refugees as possible from areas of the world where terrorists roam freely, and granting a temporary amnesty to Syrians living in the United States illegally. And contrary to the assertions made by many, the potential for future terror activity is real. According to Sessions, the administration should be seeking out locations of refuge for displaced migrants close to their homelands so that they might be able to return once the conflict is over. Instead, however, the Obama Administration has pursued a plan of further displacement, promising to bring at least 10,000 Syria refugees to U.S. shores by the end of this fiscal year  as Sessions noted, a nearly 500 percent increase over FY 2015 when just 1,600 Syrian refugees were admitted to the U.S. This radical increase places the safety and security of the American people at risk, there will surely be consequences, Sessions said.

Sessions points to the worrying and growing numbers of refugees and the probabilty that the slipshod vetting regimen is allowing the wrong people to enter the U.S.:

As of August 9, 2016 the administration has already admitted 61,232 refugees this fiscal year, including 8,114 from Syria, 7,322 from Iraq, 7,067 from Somalia, 2,838 from Iran, and 1,924 from Afghanistan. By all accounts the Obama administration will achieve, if not exceed its goal of 10,000 Syrian refugees resettled in the U.S. this year and pursue a plan to resettle another 100,000 refugees in the U.S. next year. Sessions notes that the threat of infiltration by terrorists is real, pointing out that at least 40 people admitted to the U.S. as refugees since September 11, 2001 have been implicated in terrorism. Some were admitted as adults, others as children, but these cases refute the false assertion that those admitted to the United States as refugees never engage in terrorism. But because these facts do not fit within his worldview, President Obama rejects them. And in so doing, he rejects his sacred oath for what he perceives as political gain, Sessions said.

European security officials have said flat out that there are 500 terrorists on the continent who have made it to the West by blending in with refugees. Why should our vetting procedures be any better than theirs?

They aren't, but that's not the point the Obama administration is trying to make. Without saying so, the administration believes we can absorb a few terrorist attacks from refugees in order to achieve the higher humanitarian goal of admitting desperate people into the U.S. That is the subtext of the denial that there is any danger. We can sacrifice a few dozen or a few hundred American lives in order to show how much heart we have.

No matter how well we vet the newcomers, it is likely some terrorists will get through. Many agree with Mr. Trump that the refugee flow should be completely stopped. Others believe we can severely limit the risk simply by applying the same vetting procedures we use for any other immigrant. Either course of action would be far superior to the way the issue is being handled by the administration today.
Who was in charge of U.S. foreign policy when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state? That is a legitimate question to consider in light of the most stunning revelation yet mined from the Wikileaks hack. George Soros is suggesting an intervention in domestic Albanian politics, and getting his way!

Kyle Olsen of the American Mirror spotted the incriminating email chain, which begins:

Dear Hillary, A serious situation has arisen in Albania which needs urgent attention at senior levels of the US government. You may know that an opposition demonstration in Tirana on Friday resulted in the deaths of three people and the destruction of property. There are serious concerns about further unrest connected to a counter-demonstration to be organized by the governing party on Wednesday and a follow-up event by the opposition two days later to memorialize the victims. The prospect of tens of thousands of people entering the streets in an already inflamed political environment bodes ill for the return of public order and the countrys fragile democratic process.

Soros then calls for (see full text here) the international community (ahem) to intervene and pressure the Albanian government to forestall further demonstrations and tone down public pronouncements. He even offers a list of three candidates to go to Albania and act as mediator.

Soros asks (or is it instructs?), and guess what happened?

Just three days after Clinton received the e-mail from Soros the EU ended up sending Soros suggested nominee Lajcak to mediate the civil unrest, the BBC reported.

Let us be clear here: Soros got the U.S. and other accomplices to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. Soros has long been accused of being a puppet master orchestrating world politics and markets for his own benefit. I am not certain if this is the first documented instance of his ordering an action and it being implemented by major powers, but even if there is precedent, how is this not huge news?
Since NAFTA, both parties have extolled the virtues of "free trade," which means that other countries sell their products in our country at will. This has reduced the price of consumer goods, although while the price is low, the quality of the products seems to match the price. Virtually all clothing, toys, consumer electronics, tools, and many other products are made in China, Vietnam, and other foreign countries.

The consequence is the loss of jobs in those American industries that made the products now made mostly in China. Fifty years ago, companies moved to southern states to avoid the unions in the northern states. Now these companies have moved their operations to foreign countries.

Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans addressed the issue of workers who lost jobs to foreign countries. They gave lip service to retraining workers and educating workers for high-tech jobs and service jobs. But not everyone goes to college, and even for those who do, there is no guarantee of a good job.

Donald Trump is the first major presidential candidate to emphasize this issue. Pat Buchanan raised it, but he was not taken seriously as a third-party candidate. Trump has clearly stated the problem: that we have negotiated one-way deals, and there is no such thing as free trade. China, Vietnam, and the other countries that flood our markets with their goods do not have labor unions to represent employees, do not have the massive employment regulators and laws such as the EPA, OSHA, the EEOC, age discrimination, the NLRB, and others. It is impossible for most American-based companies to compete with foreign countries because our cost of doing business is so much higher.

This imbalance in the cost of doing business has to be reflected in the price at which foreign-made goods are sold. It is, as Trump said, a matter of negotiating trade deals that reflect the cost of doing business.

Economists usually justify "free trade" by arguing the theory of "comparative advantage," which means that products and services should be provided by the lowest-cost producer. This sounds great, but it ignores why some producers operate at the lowest cost.

The Democratic Party and the establishment wing of the Republican Party, which daily is refusing to support Trump and is comfortable with Hillary as president, have abandoned American workers who lost their jobs and, moreover, those Americans who will not be able to get good jobs because of "free trade."

We are seeing a realignment where the Quisling Establishment Republicans are jumping ship, refusing to support Trump, which helps Hillary. This is addition by subtraction  or, as Clemenza said in The Godfather, "this gotta happen every ten or fifteen years. It gets rid of the bad blood."

We are seeing workers responding to Trump because they know that the Democratic Party has abandoned them. This ties in to American workers who have lost jobs in the coal industry as a result of Obama's and Hillary's war on Coal, refusal to authorize the Keystone Pipeline and offshore drilling, and increasing regulations on American business.

Trump appeals to the self-employed, small business owners, and workers  in short, to those who work and create jobs for Americans. Trump has a good chance to appeal to these disaffected workers in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Ohio, where towns have been hollowed out as a result of factories closing because of "free trade."

Trump offers hope that he will renegotiate trade deals, cut taxes, reduce regulations, and authorize drilling, all to revive the economy.

Hillary offers nothing except class envy. She will tax the "rich." (Although she did have a moment of truth where she said she will tax the middle class.)
The recent kerfuffle about the Second Amendment has another angle aside from that of the law professors today. This post is written based not on current legal wranglings. It's about the Second Amendment from a historical perspective, on a lower class level than that of the upper-level Founders like Madison.

Yeoman farmers actually won the Revolutionary War, following the lead of various officers. One such farmer was of German descent, though he was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania on May 20, 1755. No doubt he was bilingual German and English, his father arriving on the ship Patience in August 1750, with many more Germans. As the war heated up, he enlisted in the militia for Berks County on April 1, 1778. No record shows that the government, such as it was, gave him a gun. He served as a wagon master in various regiments and companies that dissolved as often as snow in the sun. He was even captured by the British for an unknown duration. Through it all, he somehow managed to find time to marry a local German girl on September 1, 1781. Their first child, a girl, was born near the end of the war on March 18, 1783. His younger brother, incidentally, was a ranger in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and their father contributed supplies, no doubt watching British soldiers slog on by, in these Pennsylvanians' home state.

The job description of a wagon master was not appealing to the sunshine soldier:

Transport was the linchpin of supply and throughout the war was a logistical headache for the quartermaster generals departments of both armies. The road system was sparse, the terrain rugged. In bad weather the roads turned to quagmire. (During February 1778 not one wagon could reach the encampment at Valley Forge.) It took over two days to travel the ninety miles between New York and Philadelphia. There were few bridges, and none across the main rivers. The lumbering wagons that carried goods throughout the interior were in short supply. Finding forage to geed the wagon horses was a constant challenge (Michael Stevenson, Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought, Harper Perennial, 2007, pp. 105-06)

After the war, this farmer migrated with his young family to the frontier in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. On January 26, 1789, six years after the war ended, he was required to join the militia in the county. He also owned his gun  all his very own. When he died before February 9, 1814, in neighboring Huntingdon County, the inventory and appraisement of his goods and chattels included a gun, valued at $3.00 (he owned no slaves, incidentally, as 80-plus percent of Americans did not).

The point is that the baby nation could not afford to distribute lots of guns widely to the rank and file. Yes, there may have small armories here and there, but they were insufficient to the task at hand. The privates and many more had to provide their own firearms. After the war was over and they had to join a local militia, they still had to supply their own firearms.

So even if, as some leftists argue, gun ownership was connected to the local militia in the eighteenth century, the gun still belonged to the yeoman and was kept at his house. He could use it to feed his family by hunting or to protect his family from hostile natives.

Private gun ownership was the custom, and no one dared take it away from them, either. So may it remain today.

James Arlandson's website is Live as Free People, where he has written more about Private John Ryland, yeoman and wagon master.
The see-saw battle between "voting rights" advocates and supporters of the voter ID law in Wisconsin has swung back toward voter integrity as an appeals court reversed the ruling of a trial court that severely weakened the provisions of the law.

At issue is the order from the lower court that citizens could present an affadavit listing the reasons they were unable to obtain valid ID. As Rich Hasen of Election Law Blog points out, the exemptions were too broadly drawn so the appeals court reinstated the provision regarding what constitutes valid ID.

Hasen also points out that this is not the end of challenges to the law.

In an order issued today, the Seventh Circuit in Frank v. Walker has put on hold the softening of Wisconsins voter id law which a trial court had ordered a few weeks ago. That softening required Wisconsin officials to accept an affidavit from a voter that he or she had a reasonable impediment to getting one of the narrow ids WI allows for voting in the election. It was a very broad affidavit which would allow many more people who lack the ids to vote. The 7th Circuit issued the stay because it believes it is very likely to reverse the requirement for the affidavit alternative, because it is not targeted enough to the kinds of people who face special burdens on voting. Because the district court has not attempted to distinguish genuine difficulties of the kind our opinion mentioned, 819 F.3d at 38586, or any other variety of substantial obstacle to voting, from any given voters unwillingness to make the effort that the Supreme Court has held that a state can require, there is a substantial likelihood that the injunction will be reversed on appeal. In practical effect, given the timing close to the election, this means no affidavit requirement will apply in the upcoming Wisconsin November elections unless this order is further reversed by the full 7th Circuit (sitting en banc) or by the Supreme Court. Well how likely is that? The plaintiffs could well go to the full 7th Circuit en banc, and as I noted in my post on the district courts order, the Seventh Circuit has recently gone from a 5-5 split on the question of the propriety of these voter ids to one that now appears to be 5-4 skeptical of these id requirements. But that doesnt necessarily translate into a 5-4 vote to reverse the stay and put the affidavit softening in place. One issue will be timing. Another is whether the softening comports with what has happened earlier in the case and with Crawford. Whatever the full 7th Circuit might do, I expect that is likely the last word (unless there is a Purcell/timing question posed). The Supreme Court on the merits could well split 4-4 if and when the case gets there.

The problem opponents have in challenging voter ID law is that they can't prove hardship endured by voters in getting valid ID. I'm sure there are instances, such as a wheelchair bound individual who would find it difficult to obtain ID, or a foreign born citizen finding it difficult to retrieve a birth certificate. But the idea that huge numbers of minorities, young people, and senior citizens can't get valid ID is absurd.

Why do we have to show an ID to get on a plane? Isn't that discriminatory? Why do check cashing businesses require an ID? Doesn't that put a burden on the same people that liberals claim are being targeted by voter ID Laws?

This war on truing the vote will continue as long as there are judges will to suspend reality in order to achive a political goal.
The Pentagon admitted that a "small number" of U.S. troops are on the ground fighting ISIS in Libya, supporting operations of local forces fighting the terrorists.

The Hill:

"As with any military operation supporting another force, coordination and synchronization of effort is essential. To that end, a small number of U.S. forces have gone in and out of Libya to exchange information with these local forces in established joint operations centers, and they will continue to do so as we strengthen the fight against [ISIS] and other terrorist organizations," said Deputy Defense press secretary Gordon Trowbridge.

Those forces are based in joint operations rooms, away from the forward line, to facilitate coordination among Libyan forces fighting ISIS, he said.

The Pentagon announced on Aug. 1 that it had expanded its air war against ISIS into Libya, where its fighters have established a foothold in Sirte.

At the time, defense officials said there were no U.S. forces on the ground supporting the air operations, but did not deny there were U.S. forces on the ground there.

The acknowledgement came after The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that U.S. special operations were "providing direct, on-the-ground support for the first time to fighters battling" ISIS in Libya.

"I can tell you those [reports] are not true," said Trowbridge. "They are not on the front lines, nor are they on the ground in Sirte."

Rather, he said, those forces are providing "unique capabilities."

"Notably intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and precision strikes  that will help enable GNA-aligned forces to make a decisive, strategic advance," he said.

"These strikes are targeting key ISIL military infrastructure such as tanks, high-caliber weapons, and command and control nodes using precision ordnance," Trowbridge said, using another acronym for ISIS.
The Harwood Art Centerfor those who are unfamiliar with the neo-classical revival style building near Downtown Albuquerqueis a place for young artists to learn, experienced artists to teach and the admiring community to marvel at perpetually compelling gallery shows. On Friday, August 5, I attended an opening reception at Harwood for artists Juliana Coles, Mark Horst and Susie Protiva. Initially inspired to attend after reading Coles artist statement online, I was curious to see her artwork in person. The statement mentioned her experience with epilepsy and how her artistic creations are an attempt to piece together fragmented memories ... to create a personal history that [she is] not always a conscious participant in. My knowledge of epilepsy is limited, constructed mainly by one college psychology course from years ago, and I was eager to get a glimpse of someones experience living with such a complex condition.

At first glance, the exhibit appeared to be an overwhelming collection of random colors and bold images covering the centers front gallery wall-to-wall. I wasnt sure where to look first. Once my eyes adjusted to the somewhat noisy background, I began focusing on specific pages and reading strings of words, which were a significant component in the overall work.

On display were notebooksmany, many notebooks filled with layers of personal messages and emotive images alongside them. Words functioned as patterns and were meaningful not just by literal definition, but as decorative and artistic elaboration as well. The oldest books were from over two decades ago while the newest were completed during a recent residency in Morocco. Book after book was propped behind glass, opened to seemingly arbitrary pages, and on two adjacent walls were enlarged prints of selected pages.

Juliana stood confidently beside her work and explained to me that she didnt begin filling notebooks with the intention of showing them. Only recently had she decided to openly display the progression of her colorful and complex life.

This is a medicine story, one page read, with three skeletal figures lurking in the background. Another one read, I spent a lot of time crying but mostly praying, and another, Foreign to me but everything is going to be all right. I had no idea what hidden, subtle meanings existed beneath all the words and drawings but I knew they were poignant and crucial in the process of coping with epilepsy and its effects.

I could feel an intensity rising from the once blank and now completely modified books. Everything in front of me was so immensely personal. I felt slightly uncomfortable, like I was rifling through someones memory bank, violating privacy and getting my foreign hands on their secret thoughts. I had to remind myself that the exhibit existed for the community to view and appreciate, and also reminded myself that while viewing art, discomfort is usually a good sign. It means that the viewer is allowing him/herself to become acquainted with something unfamiliar.

Though I only knew a brief history of the artistfrom her written statement and our short conversation at the openingit was clear that the works on display were profound, necessary components of one persons struggle and graceful reemergence from a darker reality. The one-liners scrawled throughout the notebooks seemed like they came from tipping points and moments of serious realization. Struggle and acceptance were recurring themes throughout the exhibit, and it was refreshing to view a dark and muddled history as a blessing rather than a curse, as something that shaped the artist into a creator of beauty rather than tethering her to confusion and misery. In the words of the artist herself, My disability is a gift: the intense essence of who I am and the very foundation of my mission in life. Though I cannot fathom the effects of living with epilepsy and it would be impossible to understand without experiencing first-hand, I was able to catch a glimpseno matter how briefof how intensely deep and lasting the experience must be.
Googles ongoing fight against allegations of monopolistic trade practices in Europe has received a severe jolt as the American search giant has now been fined 438 million rubles ($6.75 million) by the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) in Russia for allegedly violating the countrys antitrust laws by forcing Android OEMs to install its services as default on Android devices being sold in the country. The investigation was initiated by the FAS after the countrys largest internet company, Yandex, filed a complained with the regulator alleging that Googles contract with Android device makers violates Russian anti-monopoly laws. The U.S. company earlier this year settled a long-standing dispute with the tax authorities in the U.K. over alleged tax-avoidance, by agreeing to pay 130 million in back taxes.

As for the latest developments, the Russian regulator, in its ruling, agreed with Yandexs assertion that Google is indeed responsible for throttling its competitors (including Yandex) through restrictive trade practices. That being the case, the FAS instructed the U.S. company to amend the terms of its contract with device-makers in a way that will allow other firms to compete on even terms with the U.S. tech giant. As for the penalty imposed on Google, FAS says that it arrived at the amount based on Googles Play Store revenues from Russia in 2014. The company will be required to pay up the full amount within a period of sixty days. Google is yet to comment on the judgment, although it has released a statement saying that it will study the decision before deciding on its future course of action.

Meanwhile, Googles problems with antitrust regulators are not restricted to Russia alone. The company has already had multiple well-publicized run-ins with the EU Competition Commission and its uncompromising leader, Ms. Margrethe Vestager. The company is currently facing almost identical charges in the European Union and allegations that its contracts with various Android OEMs violate the regions tough antitrust regulations are nothing new to the company. However, in what must be infinitely more disconcerting for Google, the company is currently also under investigation by the U.S. FTC (Federal Trade Commission), which, earlier this year, announced that it is investigating allegations that the company is abusing its market dominance with Android.
GV (formerly Google Ventures) has been around since 2009, and has managed huge amounts of capital and gotten Google in on the ground floor of more than a few profitable ventures, such as the recently sold Jet.com. Under founder Bill Maris, the firm has managed to get Google a ton of profitable investments and even some acquisitions over the years that have helped the tech giant build to where they are today. Coming in at the advent of Googles newfound mega-popularity that came with the launch of Android, GVs timing could not have been better, and the results, despite a few missteps, largely show as much.

With all that being the case, it may be a bit surprising that Maris has decided to make his exit from Google. Having been with the company for over half a decade now, Maris departure from the firm that he created is surrounded in ambiguity. Maris himself has made no effort to tell anybody whats next for him, and sources close to him, who have said that his last day will be Friday, have also failed to mention any plans for the future. This comes on the heels of a similar departure by Chris Urmson, one of the founding fathers of Googles self-driving car project, under similar circumstances. Like Maris, Urmson took his leave with little notice and didnt say where he was planning on going.

Maris will be succeeded by a longtime manager of GV, David Krane. Kranes track record includes a long period with Google as one of their first communication managers, quite some time before getting involved with GV. It is worth noting that GV was separate from the Google flagship, and wound up facing competition in its own specialty from both Google and another offshoot called Google Capital, which specialized in more established companies. This competition began quite some time ago, and while it could have brewed a bit of animosity, its quite unlikely to have had much, if anything to do with Maris departure. This event is just another in a series of mishaps and growing pains as Google transitions into their new identity as Alphabet.
Motorola had introduced two Moto X smartphones last year, the Moto X Play and Moto X Style. The Moto X Play was introduced as the companys mid-range offering, while the Moto X Style was the companys flagship smartphone. That being said, Motorola had introduced two flagship devices back in June this year, the Moto Z and Moto Z Force. The company had decided to take a somewhat different approach this time around, these two handsets differ quite a bit than the Moto X Style. Having that in mind, many people have been wondering whether Motorola has any intention to release a Moto X-branded smartphone this year. Well, weve seen quite a few leaks thus far that suggest Moto X 2016 is on the way, and todays leak only adds more fuel to the fire, read on.

If you take a look at the image down below, youll get to see certification documentation from China, which suggests Moto X 2016 is on its way. Now, this listing really does not reveal much in terms of Moto Xs specifications, but it does reveal that the phone will be fueled by the Helio P10 SoC, which is manufactured by MediaTek, and that the device will include fast charging. This is a mid-range processor, and its inclusion definitely suggests that the company has opted to move the Moto X line to the mid-range sector, while they intend to keep their recently introduced Moto Z devices on a pedestal. Now, this listing only confirms what we already knew thanks to a listing which surfaced on GFXBench back in June. According to GFXBench, the upcoming Moto X handset will not only ship with the Helio P10 SoC, but will also pack in 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The device will, if the listing is to be believed, come with a 4.6-inch fullHD (1920 x 1080) display, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. The 16-megapixel shooter will be available on the back of the device, and an 8-megapixel snapper will, seemingly, be located on the front side of this smartphone.

That is pretty much everything we know thus far. Were not entirely sure what will the device look like, but Motorola might want to keep it similar to the rest of its 2016 lineup in terms of the design, and include a fingerprint scanner up front. In any case, stay tuned, well report back soon.
Even as the global smartphone industry is seeing a slowdown, India continues to grow at double digit rates. Alongside the U.S. and China, the country is already one of the three largest markets for mobile phones in the world, and the fast rate of growth has attracted a whole host of companies from around the world to Indian shores over the past couple of years. Indian tech site, 91 Mobiles, has now published a detailed study regarding the mobile phone landscape in the country. According to the report, these new companies, mostly from mainland China, are creating quite a niche for themselves in the countrys smartphone scene even as Samsung continues its dominance in most segments of the market. Android, of course, accounts for 97% of the Indian smartphone market, as pointed out by Strategy Analytics in a recent report.

Overall, as many as 132 different smartphone brands are operating in India as of H1 2016, which is a small increase over the same period last year, when 127 different brands were vying for the attention of the Indian smartphone buyer. However, even though more companies have come into the market, the number of phone launches during the period has gone down for the first time in three years. While H1 2015 saw as many as 857 smartphones being launched, only 507 handsets were launched during the same period this year, which represents a 29% decline YoY. The mid-range continues to dominate, and if the number of page views on the 91 Mobiles website is anything to go by, the most popular phones are in the Rs. 10,000  Rs. 20,000 ($150  $300) segment with 42% of all searches coming in for devices that fall in this particular price bracket.

However, the basic entry-level segment continues to remain the most popular among vendors, with a whopping 605 devices launched during the first six months of this year priced lower than Rs. 5,000 ($75). The premium segment (> Rs. 30,000 / $450), meanwhile, saw only 15 devices being launched, including the likes of the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge and LG G5. One remarkable new phenomenon in the Indian mobile landscape has been the rocketing popularity of China-based companies over the past couple of years, and leading the charge have been two firms that have been struggling in their homeland over the past twelve months or so. Lenovo and Xiaomi, at fourth and fifth positions in the country last year, have now climbed to numbers two and three respectively, even though both only sell their devices exclusively online. Overall, Xiaomis Redmi Note 3 has been the most popular smartphone among netizens during the period, getting more page views than the next two devices on the list combined.

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Meanwhile, Indias largest home-grown smartphone brand, Micromax, slipped down two places to number four, while HTC now stands at number five, having lost its number three spot to Xiaomi. Another Taiwanese company, however, has been having a much better time of it of late. ASUS has apparently climbed up one spot and is sitting pretty at number six, while LeEco has forced its way into the top ten in its very first year of starting operations in India, thanks largely to the LeEco 1S. Intex, Coolpad and Gionee round out the top ten. Other Chinese brands that are also becoming popular are OPPO and Vivo, both of which are also taking giant strides in the smartphone industry, having already replaced Xiaomi in their homeland. Another interesting point to note is how online-only brands have been trying to get their products to traditional offline retailers in order to reach a larger customer base, while vendors with established offline distribution channels, like Samsung and Micromax, are coming up with online-only devices to appeal to a more tech savvy user-base in the country.
When it comes to smartwatches, Google and their partners have not had it quite as easy as other firms out there. Despite offering some of the better-looking and arguably more functional smartwatches out there, Android Wear has yet to take off. This is probably down to a lot of reasons, but the lack of big names and a lack of attractive features are probably up there at the top. After all, the Apple Watch is far from attractive in terms of watch look and feel, but the Apple name is hard to argue with no matter the product its attached to. With Android Wear 2.0 on the horizon, its clear that Google is hoping for some sort of resurgence, and with IFA 2016 just around the corner as well, it could be the perfect time for a relaunch of sorts for Android Wear.

IFA, held every year in Berlin, has a special place in the tech calendar. Its often thought of as the CES of Europe, and is where a lot of companies launch their new products for the Fall. It was the birthplace of Samsungs Galaxy Note, and it was where the South Korean firm launched the Gear S2 last year, too. Its a big trade show, and now that Samsung has given IFA a miss theres room for another big fish in what has become a smaller pond over the past couple of years. IFA is all about hardware, and if theres one thing Android Wear is in need of, its fresh hardware.

Throughout the year, weve seen few big releases from brands. Theres a new Casio on shelves, and we got a new, glitzier pair of the Huawei Watch to choose from. Thats about it. Of course, many of you reading will be asking about the new Fossil watches (which curiously now have a release date of August 29th, just before IFA 2016 kicks off in earnest), the new Michael Kors Access line and the recently-announced Polar M600 that were all announced earlier in the year. Well, these are smartwatches that have been announced, but werent given a release date. Many of these were announced before Google I/O and once I/O came around, and Android Wear 2.0 was announced, it all started to make sense. After all, why would Google let these shiny new watches out into the wild with older software?

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Android Wear 2.0 has all manner of tweaks and changes that people are looking forward to, but on the whole it essentially overhauls and updates the overall platform. It does this with the inclusion of many, many new fitness features. When Android Wear 2.0 hits this Fall, devices with GPS chips as well as heart rate sensors will become a lot more useful for those looking to stay active. On top of this, Android Wear 2.0 has the ability to integrate extra functionality into any watch face you choose. This is going to be a big deal for a lot of reasons. Take one of the new Michael Kors watches launching later this year for instance, its a lot easier to sell such a watch to someone with the knowledge that they can still take advantage of the extra features while proudly wearing a Michael Kors face. This is great for the user, as buying a name watch is mostly about said name in the first place, but also for manufacturers as well, as it would be more attractive to go in with Android Wear if they know their identity wont be discarded soon after purchase.

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Android Wear 2.0 looks like a great new chapter for the platform overall, but the idea of building something only for people to follow it blindly just doesnt work anymore. Especially not in a market that is quickly becoming very crowded. IFA 2016 would be the perfect place for Google and their partners  lets not forget about LG, Motorola and Huawei here, either  to launch the next-generation of smartwatches running Android Wear. Generating buzz around a smartwatch is, at the best of times, a little trying and Google will be wise to make sure that they make a lot of noise right away. Itd be no good to allow all these individual companies to go their own route and launch devices on their own, especially with such a big opportunity like this around the corner.

These trade shows have long been known to announce the next big thing in the tech world, and even though Android Wear has been around since 2014, it has yet to catch fire as Google and their partners would have hoped. Using a trade show like this is one surefire way to generate huge amounts of buzz surrounding the smartwatch platform. More importantly for the end user however, it gives developers a real sense that theyre developing for a platform thats going places. We cover the best new Android Wear apps and watch faces each and every month, but throughout 2016 the bar has lowered considerably. Maybe this is because these developers have been waiting for Android Wear 2.0, but its more likely that theyve been waiting for a big push from Google. Announcing a big new step for the platform, as well as introducing a whole new range of hardware is one hell of a way to say were still in this.

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On a personal level, Ive been wearing an Android Wear watch since they first launched back in 2014, with the original LG G Watch, and I still love the platform. However, what was once a really nifty gadget on my wrist has become just another thing I use on a daily basis. I still love my current watch however, now a Fossil Q Founder, because I think they look good and I really enjoy having notifications appear on my wrist, rather than having to check my phone all of the time. Beyond notifications and a few other neat things such as timers and the weather, I dont do much with my smartwatch, and I cannot be alone in this. Its awkward to talk to your wrist in public  even more so in Middle England where Im from  and this is why Android Wear 2.0 is going to be so important. It brings with it a more a streamlined and easier-to-understand interface and flow to it, and it also adds in a keyboard for those looking to type a quick message, rather than look like Dick Tracy 24/7.

If IFA 2016 is to be the big reveal for the second-coming for Android Wear, this will no doubt have been planned for months. If thats the case, then some of the evidence already points to this, as weve hinted on earlier. Its more than a little strange for Fossil, Michael Kors and Polar to all announce devices with no release date in sight, if Google werent planning something big. Its perhaps even stranger that we havent seen anything from Huawei yet, the original Huawei Watch was announced back at Mobile World Congress back in Spring 2015, and it was one of their most successful products outside of China. A watch might not be something you announce each and every year, but weve not seen anything from LG or Motorola, either. Its clear that something is brewing, and well find out in less than a month or so. If anything, Google at least need to make it clear that the Apple Watch is not going to dominate the market, and there are few better places to do it than during one of the biggest trade shows of the year.
Samsungs mid-range Galaxy Grand Prime smartphone arrived in the United States last year on the same day as the premium Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge phones. A year and a half later, a new Samsung device bearing a similar model number has been spotted while being exported from South Korea to India for evaluation purposes. While the original Galaxy Grand Prime phone, which was marketed in the United States as a device perfect for selfies thanks to its wide-angle front camera, carried a model number SM-G531, the device spotted a few days ago bears a model number SM-G532F.

The only available specification of the new device is a 5-inch screen, which is peculiar for a device named Grand Prime. The original Galaxy Grand Prime phone arrived with a 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels, so it is possible that its recently-spotted successor could be a Mini version rather than an actual one. In any case, even if the new phone, if it does arrive in the United States, is worth the same as its predecessor at $179.99, it is possible that Samsung may include some modifications to make it more powerful and competitive considering the fact that a number of Chinese phone makers are now offering decent smartphones at lower-than-ever prices. Specifications of the Galaxy Grand Prime which released last year included 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, a 2,600 mAh battery, Android 4.4 KitKat on-board, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera with 85-degree field of view. The phone also packed a MicroSD slot with a capacity of 64GB, 4G compatibility and Bluetooth 4.0 support.

Zaubas data shows that the price of this device is Rs. 6,843 per unit, which translates to just $102. However, the listing also includes a device priced at Rs. 13,686 ($204) whose screen size isnt mentioned, which means that we may be looking at two variants of the same device here (do keep in mind this is not final pricing, not by a long shot). It will, however, be prudent to wait for further details of the device before speculating further. Interestingly, as recently as in May, T-Mobile started offering the Galaxy Grand Prime for free for a limited time to customers purchasing Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 handsets, so it might have been a way for Samsung to make buyers familiar with the phone and clear the decks for the launch of its successor in the coming days.
Before the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was officially introduced, rumors had it that the flagship will be released in two main variants, one powered by 4 GB of RAM and the other relying on 6 GB of RAM instead. Needless to say, the Galaxy Note 7 presented on stage in New York City earlier this month was equipped with 4 GB of RAM, not unlike all the models currently available for pre-order. However, last week a mysterious Samsung Galaxy Note 7 variant rocking 6 GB of RAM was spotted in TENAAs database (Chinas equivalent to the FCC) rekindling old rumors and fueling new ones, and today the Korean tech giant actually confirmed the existence of a Galaxy Note 7 with 6 GB of RAM on-board.

According to The Korea Herald, during the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 launch event in Seoul earlier today the companys president of mobile business Koh Dong-jin confirmed that a different variant based on its latest flagship phone will be released in China. It is true that we are reviewing the rollout of a new tablet with 128 GB built-in memory in China because Chinese companies are aggressively doing marketing with high-capacity memory. Unsurprisingly, this variant will be equipped with 6 GB of RAM as opposed to 4 GB, and will take advantage of 128 GB of internal storage instead of 64 GB. However, no other details have been revealed, so its safe to assume that beyond more RAM and on-board storage, the upgraded variant meant for the Chinese market will sport the same hardware internals as the variant released in the rest of the world. This includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 system-on-chip or an in-house Exynos 8890 chipset, a microSD card slot allowing for an additional of 256 GB of external memory, a 12-megapixel main camera with an f/1.7 aperture and 1/2.5-inch sensor, a 5-megapixel front-facing sensor, and of course, a fingerprint scanner embedded in the home button, along with iris scanning technology for what Koh Dong-jin describes as the safest security technology at the current level.

Although no pricing details have been revealed in regards to the beefier Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in China, recent rumors have explored the possibility that the device will be accompanied by a price tag of $914. In South Korea, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage will officially be available for 988,900 Korean Won which translates to roughly $899 at todays conversion rate.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was one of the most anticipated smartphones this year, and the company finally introduced it back on August 2nd. Weve seen tons of rumors and leaks regarding the Galaxy Note 7 before the device finally got announced, and most of those rumors were spot on. The Galaxy Note 7 might not have been a surprise in terms of specs or the design, but it still managed to awe people, at least based on initial reactions and pre-order numbers in some regions. That being said, Samsung had confirmed about a week ago that theyll introduce the Galaxy Note 7 in India on August 11th, and thats exactly what just happened, read on.

Samsung has just unveiled their new flagship phablet in India, and as we expected, its the same exact device they announced in New York a week ago. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is made out of metal and glass, just like the other two Samsung-branded flagships this year, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. The Galaxy Note 7, unlike its predecessor, comes with the Dual Edge display, which essentially means it is curved on both sides. Samsungs well-known S Pen stylus is here once again, and it is waterproof this time actually, and the phone itself comes with IP68 certification, which means it is both water and dust resistant. The Galaxy Note 7 is also equipped with the iris scanner, and theres also a fingerprint scanning security option if thats what you prefer.

The Galaxy Note 7 comes with a 5.7-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) Dual Edge Super AMOLED panel, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable internal storage. The device is fueled by the Exynos 8890 SoC in India, Samsungs 14nm 64-bit octa-core processor. The 12-megapixel Dual Pixel camera with Smart OIS is placed on the back of the Galaxy Note 7, while a 5-megapixel shooter can be found on its front side. The 3,500mAh battery is included on the inside, and it is not removable, and it is also worth mentioning this device is equipped with a heart rate sensor as well. Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow comes pre-installed here with Samsungs Grace UX which is available on top of Googles offering. If youd like to read more about the devices specs, click here.

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The Galaxy Note 7 comes in Silver Titanium, Gold Platinum and Black Onyx color variants in India, and it is priced at Rs. 59,900 ($896). The device will become available on September 2nd across India, and pre-orders will start on August 22nd. If you pre-order the device, youll be eligible to get the new Gear VR for Rs. 1,990 ($30), while it usually costs Rs. 7,290 ($109).
Verizon Wireless customers looking forward to buying new products  like the brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 7  from the carriers retail stores in the coming weeks might be in for a treat, as the mobile operator is working on a new system designed to speed up transaction times in brick & mortar stores. The system is called FlexFlow and Verizon intends to make it available by the end of August.

According to David Small, EVP of wireless operations at Verizon, FlexFlow is expected to roll out for all of our sales professionals at stores sometime in the month of August. FlexFlow is a new system designed to make in-store transactions less time consuming, and does so by changing the way the stores representatives will interact with customers. According to David Small, when a customer entered a Verizon store before FlexFlow, historically its been Let me pull up your account and lets walk through the things we need to walk through. And in this FlexFlow environment [the process] becomes, What exactly did you come in for?' The store representative will jump straight to that section, and will either continue finalizing the transaction or will go back to further inquiries if needed. The process, according to David Small, can lead to some pretty good transaction time reductions. In addition to improving in-store transaction times through FlexFlow, David Small also added that Verizon has continued to work on improving its call center response, revealing that in the last year the mobile operator has dropped the average handle time by roughly 75 seconds year-on-year. Verizon achieved this by continuing to improve the hardware and by streamlining its IVR (automated interactive voice response) system. These are not the most exciting things according to David Small but from a business fundamentals and from an efficiency point of view, and cost savings, thats exactly what you need to do.

Although FlexFlow is expected to rollout by the end of August, for what its worth it appears that the system may have been available to some Verizon employees for at least a couple of months  according to a Reddit user describing FlexFlow as not bad but still buggy. However, the original post dates back to two months ago, and its logical to assume that by the time FlexFlow will be officially implemented in stores by the end of August, most issues will be (or have already been) ironed out.
(ANSA) - Caserta, August 11 - An Italian couple was extradited from France to Italy overnight on charges of raping and torturing the woman's underage daughter, the Caserta flying squad said Thursday.

The couple, both aged 37, fled to France in April after a court in the Campania town of Santa Maria Capua Vetere issued a European bench warrant against them for sexual assault, battery and torture against the woman's underage daughter. The daughter, now aged 17, was reportedly abused from 2007 when she was 12 years old to 2014. The investigation was sparked after she confided in a teacher.

Her mother didn't believe her, and subjected her daughter to a series of tortures including tying her up and beating her with a belt, spraying her with icy water, forcing her under boiling showers, and locking her in the dark in a tiny room.

The man has been jailed and the woman has obtained house arrest.


(ANSA) - Rome, August 11 - The mosquito-borne Zika virus responsible for severe birth defects can remain in the sperm of infected men up to six months after symptoms begin, according to a new study out Thursday by Rome's Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases published on Eurosurveillance medical journal.

This implies the virus could also be transmitted sexually, and not just through mosquito bites.

The article documents the case of a 30-year-old man who returned to Italy in January 2016, two weeks after he was first diagnosed with a Zika infection he contracted in Haiti, and whose sperm remained positive for the virus 188 days later. "The results (have) implications for potential sexual transmission," experts wrote.

At least 80% of Zika cases are asymptomatic, they added.

In Italy so far there have been 61 diagnosed Zika infections, compared to a total of 1,111 in Europe. In all cases, the carriers had traveled to countries with high rates of infection.

The Zika virus has been linked to severe birth defects such as microcephaly and acute neurological problems, and the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this year said pregnant Zika patients who choose to terminate should be granted access to safe abortions.

"While the Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito) is the primary vector, the Aedes albopictus (tiger mosquito) - which is present in 20 European countries - can also transmit the virus and remains a potential vector," the WHO said in March 2016 report.

Aedes aegypti is present on the Portuguese island of Madeira and on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. The Aedes albopictus lives in Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the Vatican City.

The WHO recommends a four-pronged prevention approach: pest control, keeping tabs on the virus via an early warning system, swift lab confirmations of possible infections, and alerting the public - especially pregnant women - as to the risk.


(ANSA) - Rome, August 11 - Italy's Coast Guard said Thursday it has increased security measures at cruise and passenger ports across Italy. The measures became effective today and include more checks on vehicles and people, more controls at port crossings, and more detailed monitoring of each port's staging area.

The new measures are not linked to specific threats, the Coast Guard said.

Each port authority will have to bring its security measures up to speed with the new ones from central command.


(ANSA) - Ventimiglia, August 10 - Measures are underway to forcibly remove migrants who massed in the Italian town of Ventimiglia after being rejected at the French border, officials said Wednesday. They are being bused to Identification and Expulsion Centers (CIEs) in southern Italy prior to deportation.

National Police Chief Franco Gabrielli said Monday "the only way to decompress the situation at Ventimiglia is to take (the migrants) somewhere else".

Meanwhile the Red Cross said it has served 600 breakfasts and 817 lunches to migrants at its outpost in Ventimiglia's Parco Roja, a disused area near a commercial rail yard. The meals served were up from 580 breakfasts and 800 lunches served yesterday, the Red Cross said.

It added that out of the thousands of people who have come through the Roja facility in recent weeks, just 10 have filed requests for political asylum.

Also on Wednesday, Father Rito Alvarez of Saint Anthony's parish in Ventimiglia's Gianchette neighborhood said two dozen families are being hosted by the church. They are from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Chad, Nigeria, and the Sudan, and include children as young as six months old, he said.

"Parco Roja is only men," the priest said. "Here we are providing hospitality for families, with women and children...to whom we wanted to provide a more peaceful, cozier environment".


Turkey military officers flee to Italy, 'involved in coup' 'Informed by Greek authorities', says ambassador

(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGUST 11 - The fact that two military officers fled to Italy after the July 15 attempted coup ''proves that they were connected'' to it, Turkey's ambassador to Rome said Thursday.



Ambassador Aydin Adnan Sezgin made the comment during an interview with Radio Radicale.



''I can only say that we are in contact with the relevant authorities,'' he added in response to a question as to whether Turkey has asked for the two colonels' extradition. ''We were informed by Greek authorities that the two left Greece on a ferry", he said. The military officers disappeared on July 29. On Thursday morning, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told NTV that the two had fled to Italy by sea with their families. The two colonels were named as Ilhan Yasitli (Army) and Halis Tunc (Navy). One of the two has a brother in the Netherlands, the foreign minister noted, and the Dutch authorities have also been notified. (ANSAmed).




Three dead, one missing in Madeira wildfire 300 injured, mostly from smoke inhalation

(ANSAmed) - Lisbon, August 11 - Three people were dead, one was missing and a further 300 were injured in the Portuguese island of madeira on Thursday as a result of wildfires around the capital Funchal.



The victims are elderly people living in a house that was devoured by flames during the night. Most of the injuries were due to smoke inhalation.



Roughly 1,000 people have been evacuated due to the fires, which have already caused significant damage.



Approximately 40 homes in the upper part of the city and a 5-star hotel on a hill in an outlying area have been destroyed and the flames are now threatening the Baixa and church of San Pedro in the historic centre.



Portuguese Premier Antonio Costa has announced the deployment of military reinforcements from Lisbon and the government has activated the EU emergency plan, securing assistance from two spanish and one Italian firefighting planes.



Two people have been arrested on Madeira on suspicion of arson. Mainland Portugal is also in the grips of dozens of wildfires, fueled by high temperatures and strong winds. A German national has died in a fire 150 km north of Lisbon.



Approximately 4,000 firefighters are working to put out the blazes with support from 1,150 vehicles and 12 firefighting planes. (ANSAmed).




- New York - Anti-ISIS military operations in Syria and Iraq have led to the death of 45,000 Islamic extremist militants in two years, US Commander Sean MacFarland has said.



25,000 jihadists have been killed in the last 11 months, he added.



Consequently, the number of combatants has been reduced to "15,000-30,000" in the two conflict areas, while ISIS is allegedly having problems recruiting new members. The spokesman of the anti-ISIS coalition said Syrian Democratic Forces could defeat ISIS in Manbij within a few weeks.
51 indicted in connection with Sousse attack Investigations ended a month ago

(ANSAmed) - Tunis, August 11 - Fifty-one people have been indicted in connection with the June 2015 terrorist attack in the luxury resort of Sousse that left 38 people dead, a court spokesman said Thursday.



Of these, 17 are in prison custody, 27 are free and 7 - including Aboubakr Hkim and Chamseddine Sendi - are on the run. The investigations, which involved collaboration with judicial and police authorities in other countries, ended a month ago. On June 26, 2015 the Tunisian Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire at holidaymakers on a beach near the Imperial Marhaba Riu hotel in Sousse-Port El Kantaoui before being shot dead by security forces. (ANSAmed)
- Milan - The central Montello barracks could be used to house thousands of migrants and refugees in Milan, sources have said.



The barracks extends over an entire block in Via Censio near Corso Sempione and consists of a series of depots and open spaces. It was opened in 1913 and has accommodated cavalry, logistics and combat engineer battalions.



It is still in service but is in the process of being decommissioned. Montello has been offered as a solution to the problem of accommodating migrants and refugees in the Lombardy capital after the idea of using structures at last year's EXPO site and tents was turned down.
ROME - Pope Francis had lunch Thursday with 21 Syrian war refugees at his residence in St Martha's guest house in the Vatican, spokesman Greg Burke said in a statement. The families came to Italy after landing on the Greek island of Lesbos, where Francis visited earlier this year. A first group came on board the papal flight on April 16, and a second group came in mid-June. They are currently being hosted by the St Egidio Community, a lay Catholic movement.



"Both children and adults have had the possibility of speaking with Pope Francis since the beginning of their lives in Italy," Burke said.



"The children gave him a collection of their drawings, and the pope reciprocated with toys and other gifts".
ROME - The government has nominated Giuseppe Perrone to head up the Italian embassy in Tripoli, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in an interview with Correiere della Sera on Thursday.



The embassy in Libya has been closed since February 2015 but the government intends to reopen it once security conditions have been met. "Italy is about to give (Premier Fayez al-Sarraj) a great deal, on different levels. I hope the reopening of the embassy  seals a great cooperation effort," Gentiloni said. "Our committment should not come as a surprise: helping to stablise Libya is a national priority, from security to immigration," he continued.



However, he denied Italy is engaged in military missions in the north African country. "If we have them in future they will be authorised by parliament," he said.
Turkey offers joint anti-ISIS ops with Russia 'We might seek alternatives to NATO for defense'

(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGUST 11 - Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday offered to team up with Russia for operations against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.



The comments came as a Turkish delegation was in Russia for talks to coordinate actions on bilateral issues.



Though the two countries have long been on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict, a meeting in recent days between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Saint Petersburg paved the way for closer ties.



Relations had soured between the two especially after the shooting down last autumn of a Russian fighter jet that had strayed into Turkish airspace near the country's border with Syria. The leaders called for separate talks at the ministerial and intelligence services levels to deal specifically with the issue of Syria. Speaking to the private Turkish television channel NTV, Cavusolglu said that Moscow and Ankara were discussing joint security plans. The head of Turkish diplomacy added that Turkey might seek alternative options to NATO for defense sector cooperation but that ''our first option is still that of cooperation with NAO allies''. Turkey is part of NATO - whose forces operate out of its Incirlik base, use of which has also been authorized for US-led anti-ISIS operations - and is one of the staunchest backers of opposition forces fighting against the Syrian government of Bashar Al-Assad, which is supported militarily by Moscow.



(ANSAmed).




- Rabat - The number of tourists arriving in Morocco fell by 1.4% in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year due to the global economic crisis and fear of terrorism, the national tourist observatory has said.



Big drops were seen from the UK market (-7%), Germany (-7%), Italy (-6%) and France (-3%).



The number of overnight stays booked in Fes fell by 20% and in Rabat by 3%.



Only Casablanca and Tangiers bucked the trend, both showing 6% growth.



At this rate the target set by the tourism ministry of 20 million visitors a year by 2017 looks to be a mirage, as does reaching the 10 million visitor mark achieved in recent years. Casablanca's recognition as the third tourist destination in Morocco thanks to the arrival of Moroccans resident abroad has done little to help.



However, expectations are high for the Muslim festival of sacrifice in September, when emigrants return to visit family in their droves. (ANSAmed)
Building on the experience gained and in-service success of the BAe 146QT (Quiet Trader) freighter of which around 30 aircraft were produced, the business has spent the past year assessing the suitability of the newer-build Avro RJ as a freighter.

This work has created a full OEM-designed specification for the freighter which is now being offered to the market. The principal variant for conversion would be the RJ100 aircraft which are now starting to come out of passenger service and will be available over the next few years. The business can help potential customers source suitable aircraft.

Typically such aircraft can be bought for between US $ 1-1.5 million and the freighter kit and conversion would cost between US$ 2.2 and 2.8 million. Availability would be from the end of 2017. Most of these aircraft will have accumulated between 20,000 - 35,000 flight cycles (depending on aircraft age and history).

BAE Systems offers an Avro RJ Life Extension Programme which commences at 40,000 flight cycles and clears the aircraft life limit up to 60,000 flight cycles, ensuring many years of operational service. BAE Systems Regional Aircraft can provide a total support package, planned to last for at least a 15-20 year period.

BAE Systems will have a strategic MRO partner who will provide the freighter conversion or working party support solution to suit any need. Typical lead-time from contract will be 9-12 months and conversion time will be a round three months, subject to the specific modifications that are required.

In addition the business will work with any potential Avro RJ Freighter customers to develop bespoke specifications for the aircraft to suit differing requirements, including loadmaster seat, extended range, increased/re-distributed floor loading and remote operations. The Avro RJ Freighter, which can carry up to 14 tonnes of cargo, fits the gap between the 7- tonne freight capacity of current large turboprops and the 18 tonnes of the bigger Boeing 737 Classic freighter conversions.
This new service, which is being operated with a Boeing 777-300ER, expands the airlines network in Southeast Asia to 12 cities in seven countries and offers more choices and convenience to passengers travelling between Hanoi and Yangon to Dubai and beyond.

Yangon, the first destination within Myanmar to be served by Emirates, is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. As the countrys largest city and the most important commercial centre, Yangon contributes approximately one fifth to the countrys GDP. The previously undiscovered country offers visitors a rare glimpse of ancient Asia, and since the opening up of tourism, has witnessed an increase in foreign tourist arrivals.

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and also a destination with rich culture and heritage for over a thousand years, becomes Emirates second gateway within the country following the launch of services to Ho Chi Minh City in 2012.

Badr Abbas, Emirates senior vice president, commercial operations Far East, was on board the inaugural flight with a number of senior executives of the airline. They were joined by a VIP delegation that included prominent business leaders as well as media from the UAE, GCC and Europe. The aircraft was greeted in Yangon and Hanoi by traditional water cannon salutes upon arrival.
The Albuquerque rally for third-party presidential candidate and former NM Governor Gary Johnson, originally scheduled for today, has been rescheduled to August 20.

A New Mexico Man charged with incest told authorities that he felt the relationship would spare his mother from further abuse and neglect.

Health department officials have rejected plans for a drive-through medical cannabis dispensary in Albuquerque.

In more local news, a naked man jumped into traffic and was hit by a car on I-40.

Second Judicial District Judge Alisa Hadfield set up a strict list of restrictions on news media covering the trial of former APD officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez. The two are charged with the death of homeless camper James Boyd in 2014. Their trial commences in September.

On Wednesday night, the Albuquerque Isotopes defeated the Las Vegas 51s by a score of 8-7, completing a four-game sweep of the Nevada team.

Although fishing on the Jemez River is slow this week, conditions are fair at Cochiti Lake for those using curly tail grubs. Meanwhile, hotdogs for bait still kill at Tingley Beach.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. During the talks between the Presidents of Russia and Armenia a great attention has been paid to the Karabakh conflict settlement taking into account the trilateral St. Petersburg summit and the meeting results with the Azerbaijani President on August 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in Moscow on August 10.

Russia is interested in decreasing tensions in relations between our neighbors. We will continue doing all we can to help undo the Karabakh knot in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and through direct contacts with Yerevan and Baku. We hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will be able to settle their disagreements through compromise  without winners and losers, the Russian President said, the Kremlins official website reported.

He said the meeting with the Armenian President was held in a friendly and constructive environment.

Serzh Sargsyan told me about the recent events  I would say tragic events in Yerevan  related to the hostage situation.

I would like to emphasize and reiterate that Russia strongly condemned this action by militants right from the start. We consider unacceptable any attempts to resolve difficult domestic political issues through illegal, unconstructive actions, Putin said.

Putin said during our talks today they discussed ways of further developing the bilateral relations, including the trade and investment ties.

Russia is Armenias leading partner. We account for a quarter of the republics trade. Regrettably, in 2015 our bilateral trade fell by a little more than 11 percent. This was mostly due to unfavorable developments in the global raw materials and financial markets.

However, analysts noted positive signs in January-May of this year, notably an increase in trade. Although small, it still constitutes a trend and, as I said, we are happy about it. Now we must keep it going.

Imports of food and other agricultural products from Armenia have grown considerably, by 86 percent. Investment cooperation is going strong  Russias total investment in the Armenian economy has exceeded four billion dollars. It amounts to 40 percent of all foreign investment in Armenia.

About 1,300 Russian companies are operating in Armenia  around one third of all joint ventures with foreign capital. They are working in key sectors of the economy  gas, transport, telecommunications and finance, Putin said mentioning the names of several largest investors such as Gasprom, Rosatom, Russian Railways.

The Russian President said Armenias entry in the Eurasian Economic Union in January 2015 gave fresh impetus to bilateral contacts.

We have seen a high level of cooperation in educational, scientific and cultural exchanges. About 3,500 students study at the Russian-Armenian University and at eight affiliates of Russian universities. The first academic year has come to an end at Moscow State Universitys affiliate in Yerevan. The founding of a Russian-language grammar school in Yerevan is under consideration.

We also discussed some issues of cooperation within the CSTO now chaired by Armenia. The next CSTO summit is scheduled to take place in Yerevan in October and Russia is certainly planning to attend it, the Russian President concluded.
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. A meeting was held between Chairman of the Government of Adjara Zurab Pataradze and Armenias Consul General to Batumi Yeghishe Sargsyan, Armenpress was informed from the Armenian Consulate General in Batumi.

At the meeting the sides discussed the need to establish direct flights between Yerevan and Batumi in order to develop tourism.

The sides discussed issues related to the trade-economic cooperation and the development of tourism. The Consul General expressed readiness to organize joint cultural events.

A cooperation is being held between Armenia and Adjara for years in numerous directions. The region is in partnership with brother-cities which must be more intensified in the future, Pataradze said.

In recent years the number of Armenians visiting Adjara has been significantly increased.

Armenia ranks the 3rd in terms of the number of international visitors to Georgia from the very start of the year.
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An increasingly impatient Congress has demanded that the Army achieve audit readiness for the first time by Sept. 30, 2017, so that lawmakers can get a better handle on military spending. But Pentagon watchdogs think that may be mission impossible, and for good reason

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), the behemoth Indianapolis-based agency that provides finance and accounting services for the Pentagons civilian and military members, could not provide adequate documentation for $6.5 trillion worth of year-end adjustments to Army general fund transactions and data.





The DFAS has the sole responsibility for paying all DOD military and personnel, retirees and annuitants, along with Pentagon contractors and vendors. The agency is also in charge of electronic government initiatives, including within the Executive Office of the President, the Department of Energy and the Departing of Veterans Affairs.

For two decades, the U.S. military has been unable to submit to an audit, flouting federal law and concealing waste and fraud totaling billions of dollars.

Linda Woodford spent the last 15 years of her career inserting phony numbers in the U.S. Department of Defenses accounts.

Every month until she retired in 2011, she says, the day came when the Navy would start dumping numbers on the Cleveland, Ohio DFAS. Using the data they received, Woodford and her fellow accountants there set about preparing monthly reports to square the Navys books with the U.S. Treasurys. And every month, they encountered the same problem. Numbers were missing. Numbers were clearly wrong. Numbers came with no explanation of how the money had been spent or which congressional appropriation it came from.

We got money for wars, but cant feed the poor  Tupac Shakur

Washington, D.C.  A new Department of Defense Inspector Generals report , released last week, has left Americans stunned at the jaw-dropping lack of accountability and oversight. The glaring report revealed the Pentagon couldnt account for $6.5 trillion dollars worth of Army general fund transactions and data, according to a report by the Fiscal Times.The Pentagon, which has been notoriously lax in its accounting practices, has never completed an audit, would reveal how the agency has specifically spent the trillions of dollars allocated for wars, equipment, personnel, housing, healthcare and procurements allotted to them by Congress.Beginning in 1996 all federal agencies were mandated by law to conduct regular financial audits. However, the Pentagon has NEVER complied with that federal law. In 20 years, it has never accounted for the trillions of dollars in taxpayer funds it has spent, in part because fudging the numbers has become standard operating procedure at the Department of Defense, as revealed in a 2013 Reuters investigation by Scot Paltrow.According to the report by the Fiscal Times While there is nothing in the IGs report specifying that the money has been stolen, the mere fact that the Pentagon cant account for how it spent the money reveals a potentially far greater problem than simple theft alone.For every transaction, a so-called journal voucher that provides serial numbers, transaction dates and the amount of the expenditure is supposed to be produced. The report specifies that the agency has done such a poor job in providing documentation of their transactions, that there is no way to actually know how $6.5 trillion dollars has been spent. Essentially, the government has no way of knowing how the Pentagon has spent the trillions of taxpayer dollars allocated by Congress for national defense.In turn, employees of the DFAS were routinely told by superiors to take unsubstantiated change actions commonly referred to as plugging the numbers. These plugs  which amounted to falsifying financial records  were then used to create the appearance that the militarys financial data matched that of the U.S. Treasury Departments numbers when discrepancies in the financial data couldnt be accounted for, according to the Reuters investigation.According to that Reuters investigation While many of the problems occurred due to bookkeeping errors rather than actual financial losses, the DFAS has failed to provide the necessary tracking information essential to performing an accurate audit of Pentagon spending and obligations, according to the IGs report.Army and Defense Finance and Accounting Service Indianapolis personnel did not adequately support $2.8 trillion in third quarter adjustments and $6.5 trillion in year-end adjustments made to Army General Fund data during FY 2015 financial statement compilation, wrote Lorin T. Venable, the assistant inspector general for financial management and reporting. We conducted this audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.The Pentagon has a chronic failure to keep track of its money  how much it has, how much it pays out and how much is wasted or stolen. Adding to the appearance of impropriety is the fact that thousands of documents that should be on file have been removed and disappeared without any reasonable explanation.DFAS did not document or support why the Defense Departmental Reporting System . . . removed at least 16,513 of 1.3 million records during Q3 FY 2015. As a result, the data used to prepare the FY 2015 AGF third quarter and year-end financial statements were unreliable and lacked an adequate audit trail, according to the IGs report stated.The accounting errors and manipulated numbers, though obviously problems in their own right, highlight a far greater problem for the Defense Department than only bad recording keeping and wasteful spending habits. In reality, they are a representation of the poor decision-making, and lack of oversight and accountability that plague our nations government as a whole.While the Department of Defense cant account for $6.5 trillion dollars of taxpayer funds, in 2014 there were, living in poverty in the U.S.  %15 of the U.S. population, which is the largest total number in poverty since records began being kept 52 years ago.Please share this story if you are appalled by the fact that there are Americans that are homeless and hungry, including U.S. combat veterans  while the government is unable to account for $6.5 trillion dollars of taxpayer money.
At dawn, a Chinese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Greek cargo ship off the Senkaku. Japans Coast Guard rescued six sailors. Up to 300 Chinese fishing boats recently sighted near Japanese waters. Washington confirms its support for Tokyo against Beijing. China strengthens its military installations on atolls.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies)  A Chinese fishing boat sank shortly after colliding with a Greek cargo ship in the East China Sea, the Japan Coast Guard said.

The incident occurred near the disputed Senkaku group of islets, (Diaoyu for China), following increased activities in recent days by Chinese ships in the waters close to the Japan-controlled, China-claimed territory.

A coast guard patrol ship rescued six crew members of the fishing boat and searched for other missing crew following the boats dawn collision with the freighter Anangel Courage about 65 kilometres off the largest of the Senkaku. The Chinese government thanked Japan for its timely action.

The Japanese coast guard based in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, has recently been on high alert since it detected increased operations by Chinese government vessels and fishing boats in the disputed waters.

Some to 300 Chinese fishing boats were spotted sailing in the so-called contiguous zone just outside territorial waters, with some entering Japanese waters, prompting Tokyo to lodge repeated protests with Beijing.

Chinas ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, said on Wednesday that recent large-scale sailings of Chinese fishing and government vessels around disputed islands in the East China Sea were due to a big catch of fish seen in the area.

The United States has expressed support for Japan in the dispute in the East China Sea.

We oppose any unilateral action that seeks to undermine Japans administration of the Senkaku Islands, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

At the same time, Trudeau reaffirmed that the Senkaku Islands have been under Japanese administration since the reversion of Okinawa in 1972.

Beijing's "imperialist" policy in the Asia-Pacific region seas, especially its militarisation of a group atolls in the South China Sea, although denied in official statements, is exacerbating the growing tensions in the area.

Satellite images (pictured) appear to show China building aircraft hangars, confirming that Chinese military fighter jets could, at some point, be based on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs.

In addition, each islet also hosts a mysterious group of three towers. There is speculation that such structures are in fact reinforced air defence facilities which could house surface-to-air missile batteries.

Such a move is raising the level of confrontation  verbal so far - with the regions other nations (mainly Vietnam) and the United States, concerned about who controls the area.

Satellite photos confirm the pace and scope of China's military build-up on the disputed atolls and coral reefs where, only two years ago, there was nothing, especially hangar construction that could accommodate Chinese fighters.

Responding to Chinas increased militarisation, Vietnam has recently began deploying a new defensive system aimed at China on some atolls it controls.
Police in Indias economic capital stop phoney couple from going through organ donation. Private hospital CEO and medical director charged in the case.

Mumbai (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Police in Mumbai charged five doctors, including the chief executive officer and the medical director at a prestigious Indian hospital, in connection with illegal organ transplants after a kidney trafficking ring was uncovered last month.

On 14 July, acting to an anonymous tip, police raided Hiranandani Hospital in Mumbai where a kidney transplant was underway from a woman to a man based on false marriage papers.

Based on the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, police detained Hiranandani Hospital CEO Dr Sujeet Chaterjee, medical director Dr Anurag Naik, and three other doctors.

In addition to the two people involved in the organ exchange and the five doctors, seven other people have been taken into custody as part of the still ongoing investigation.

This is the second kidney trafficking racket uncovered a top Indian hospital in recent months. In June, police discovered a similar operation at the reputable Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in the capital New Delhi. Six people, including three medical staff, were arrested in this case.

Traffickers allegedly lured poor people from Gujarat into selling their kidneys for as low as 200,000 rupees (US$ 3,000) and then re-sold their organs on the black market for US$ 36,000 to US$ 45,000.
by Shafique Khokhar

Today is 69th anniversary of the historic speech by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of modern Pakistan, before the constituent assembly of the newly-established state. The Day honours the contribution of minorities to nation-building. Christian, Hindu and Sikh leaders want justice. Priorities are work, education and an end to forced conversions.

Lahore (AsiaNews) - The Government of Pakistan must remember its responsibility to protect the rights of marginalised communities, representatives of the countrys religious minorities said on 11 August, Minorities Day.

Today is in fact the 69th anniversary of the historic speech by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of modern Pakistan, before the constituent assembly of the newly-created nation (1947).

In 2009, the government decided to dedicate a day to Pakistans (Hindu, Christian and Sikh) minorities to honour their service to and sacrifices for the nation.

After recent attacks on members of these groups, this day also provides an opportunity to remember the abuses, intolerance and violations minorities have had to live with.

Social discrimination, say some leaders, "has now become the norm, reinforced by hate speech that leads to violent incidents."

In March 2013, a mob burnt about a hundred Christian homes in Lahore after accusing Christians of blasphemy. In November 2014, a married couple was burnt alive in Punjab for the same reason.

These incidents, say minority leaders, are part of the constant abuse of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan. For them, the government should implement some real changes if it really wants to honour minorities in an honest way.

It must first stop recruiting only non-Muslims as street sweepers. It must remove from school textbooks any content that incites hatred against minorities. It must adopt a policy that awards 20 marks for admission of minority students enrolling in university, as it does with Hafiz Quran students.

Minorities also call for the publication of a report on the use of government funds earmarked for minorities.

The Punjab government allocated 20 million rupees for scholarships, but they were never paid out. In 2015-16 the government increased its minority budget to 1 billion rupees, but the money was never spent.

Finally, marginalised communities require strong action against forced conversions to Islam and a 5 per cent job quota for their members.
Target of the attacks, Turkish police vehicles and stations. An explosion in Kiziltepe killed three people and injured 25; car bomb in Diyarbakir killed five civilians and wounded 12. The militants of PKK leader speaks of a "new style of war" launched against Ankara.

Istanbul (AsiaNews / Agencies)  At least eight people have died and several left injured in two bomb attacks unleashed by the rebels of the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers' Party) against the Turkish police yesterday in the majority Kurdish south-east of the country. According to Ankara, at least three people were killed and 25 injured in an explosion in the town of Kiziltepe. In Diyarbakir car bomb killed five civilians and injured 12 others.

Clashes between Turkish security forces and rebel militias close to the PKK resumed last year (July 2015), ending a ceasefire in force for some time. The new hotbed of tension has caused the worst wave of violence in the region in 20 years.

The attacks coincide with a renewal of the military, following the attempted militray coup of July 15.

The car bomb in Diyarbakir targeted a control post situated near a bridge over the Tigris River. In Kiziltepe the bombs were detonated through a remote control near a hospital.

Earlier, in the border province of Sirnak at least four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine were injured during an attack - with mortars and long-range weapons - launched by PKK militants across the border in Iraq. In a recent interview with the Kurdish militia leader Cemil Bayik spoke of a "new style of war" launched against Turkey.

The PKK is outlawed party in Turkey and its leader Abdullah Ocalan has been imprisoned since 1999 [the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment in 2002]. The group launched an armed struggle against Ankara in 1984, denouncing widespread abuse and discrimination against the Kurdish minority. Since the end of the ceasefire, which came into force in March 2013, the Turkish military operations and the Kurdish retaliation has caused hundreds of casualties.

According to the Turkish government the PKK (and affiliated groups) are behind a series of attacks that have bloodied the country.

The violence also prompted many residents of the area to flee to avoid being involved in the fighting, which involved rural and urban centers. One of the objectives of the Turkish army military operations is precisely to hunt the fighters from urban centers.
The Chinese government wanted to include a reference to Thaad in the Security Council in the text, the anti-missile system installed by the United States in the south of the peninsula. Situation in deadlock, the statement is set aside. Experts: "There will probably be a weakening of the sanctions against its nuclear program".

New York (AsiaNews / Agencies) - China has blocked a UN statement condemning the missile tests carried out by North Korea. Beijing blasted the draft text, already revised by the 15-member UN Security Council because it did not contain any reference to the Thaad anti-missile system. This, installed by the United States in South Korea, is considered by the Chinese "a threat to peace in the region".

The Council was working on the statement since last Aug. 3, when Pyongyang launched a battery of different range missiles reaching the territorial waters of Japan. Two days ago, the Chinese representative to the UN submitted a formal revision of the original text - prepared by the United States - the five permanent members of the Council and the ten electives.

The new text retain the condemnation of the tests, but you also read that "the nation involved in the area for political, diplomatic or economic reasons should not take any action which might increase tensions on the Korean peninsula. Nor should they install new defense systems on the pretext of keeping the North Korean weaponry under control".

The text was rejected en mass by the Member States. Even Russia, which had expressed serious concerns before the Thaad project declined to sign the draft. Some experts who have participated in the review commented to Chosun Ilbo: "This way of doing things weakens the role of the Security Council and puts at risk the sanctions imposed by the UN on Pyongyang for its aggressive nuclear program".
Mgr Georges Abou Khazen is stuck in Beirut because the access roads to Aleppo are closed. Speaking to AsiaNews he talked about the faithfuls fears. The situation has been "critical" for days, but in the last few hours, bread, vegetables, and water have been available. Moscow announces a three-hour suspension in its bombing. For the UN, it is not enough.

Beirut (AsiaNews)  Stuck in Beirut and unable to return "because the road has been closed" for days as a result of fighting, and only partially reopened in some directions, Mgr Georges Abou Khazen, Vicar Apostolic of Aleppo of the Latins, has been waiting anxiously in the Lebanese capital to travel to the city currently the main battleground in the Syrian conflict.

From talking to his aides and faithful in the city, with whom he is close and constant contact, the prelate confirms that "the situation is critical, and people are afraid. There is a real fear of an "escalation of the fighting," even if residents  Christians and Muslims  "are praying unceasingly for peace".

In recent days, fighting between government forces and rebel militias has intensified. As Syria's second largest city, Aleppo has become a symbol of a war that is in its fifth year and has claimed the lives of more than 280,000 people and displaced millions.

Analysts and experts point out that the conquest of the city would be the mother of all battles, by either side, and would probably give a major if not decisive push to the conflict.

Half of Aleppo, once Syrias economic and commercial hub, is held by so-called rebel groups, mostly jihadists (Islamic state) and Islamic extremist movements like the al-Nusra Front, the local offshoot of al Qaeda. Many of the weapons used by the "insurgents" have been provided by Western nations, Gulf States, and Turkey.

Moscow announced that Russian forces are due to suspend military action in Aleppo for three hours to allow in humanitarian aid.

The "humanitarian window" will be in place between 10:00 (07:00 GMT) and 13:00, a Russian Defence Ministry official said. For United Nations officials, that is not enough" to ease the suffering of an exhausted population.

The announcement came as the rebel forces made gains on the ground against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Earlier the last doctors in the rebel-held east of the city appealed in a letter to US President Barack Obama to have the bombing stop and come to the aid of the 250,000 civilians.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Mgr Georges Abou Khazen said that "the situation has been critical" for days, especially for the "lack of supplies and diesel."

In the last hours, said the vicar, "the general picture appears to have slightly improved. Vegetables and bread have been brought in; there is water, but no power.

"Faced with an escalation of the conflict, the civilian population does not know what to expect for the future," he added, noting a " feeling of anticipation for the imminence of a great battle, a pitched battle that everyone hopes to avoid, because it is civilians who will pay the most" for its consequences.

For the apostolic vicar, hope lies with "diplomacy to prevail and that the recent meeting between Erdogan and Putin" can help break the deadlock.

"If Turkey closes the borders much of the problem would be solved," the prelate said, because jihadists would lack weapons and supplies.

Pope Francis mentioned the escalating violence last Sunday during the Angelus when he spoke about the civilian victims of the war.

"We are grateful for the popes words, said Mgr Abou Khazen. The pontiff continues to pray for us and has never failed to show his closeness. Christians and Muslims thank him and say that if the situation is holding and events have not yet precipitated it is thanks to his intervention and prayers.

It is all "in the hands of the great powers," the bishop concludes, as he prepares to return to Aleppo in the coming hours.

"Before we could get into the city from the south, but now the battle rages on, and I do not know what will be the access route. Maybe through the north, but we are still waiting for news."
by Mathias Hariyadi

In mid-July the fundamentalists had requested the revocation of the building permit granted by the authorities in February. The Catholics says that the decision to drop the charges was made "to avoid the climate of tension that has been created between those for and against." Since 2009, the Binuko family fights for the realization of the place of worship.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - In a surprise move, the 39 Islamic extremists who opposed the construction of a replica of the Lourdes grotto in the Yogyakarta province have withdrawn their complaint. The decision was announced during the third session of the trial in the city court.

In mid-July last year, the men opposed a local Catholic family's wish to donate their land for the building of Giriwening sanctuary, under the management of the parish of the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus in Wedi.

Agnes Dwi Rusjiyati, parish official, said the decision to withdraw the charge was taken to stop the climate of tension that has been created in the local community, now divided between those for and against the construction.

The Muslims demanded the revocation of the building permit (Izin Mendirikan Bangunan, IMB) granted by the head of Gunung Kidul district last February. The process for the construction of a non-Muslim place of worship in Indonesia is complicated and may take five to 10 years before obtaining permits.

Also, if it is a place of Christian worship, it requires the clearance of a number of residents (at least 60), as well as the consent of the village chief. Christian leaders had decided to remain silent on the issue of a building permit, but caution that it is not enough to ward off attacks and intimidation form the Islamic extremist fringe.

The first steps for the construction of the sanctuary date back to September 2009 at the behest of Binuko family and received an acceleration in 2011, following the visit of the former archbishop of Semarang, Msgr. Johannes Pujasumarta. The area has become popular in March of that year, when dozens of Islamic extremists set fire to the point where the shrine was to be located and blocked construction.

Over the years the Giriwening shrine became a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of faithful of Central Java, raising the religious tourism in the area.

Local sources explain that, more often than not, the Muslim fundamentalist fringes who denounce the construction of Christian places of worship are not locals but come "from outside", manipulating religious matters for political objectives.

Yesterday, there were reports that two Central Java Marian shrines have been vandalized by unknown assailants.
Reports in overseas media say that the global law firm White & Case is planning to launch in Australia with a Melbourne office.The firm is US-headquartered but already has a large international presence including Asia Pacific offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.According to UK publication Legal Business, White & Case is considering a Sydney office in addition to Melbourne and there is speculation of a team being hired from Herbert Smith Freehills However, White & Case has not commented on the report while HSF dismissed the speculation as just rumours.The Philippine foreign secretary is calling on China to respect the rule of law with regards to disputes in the East China and South China seas.Reuters reports that maritime law and security in the region has been the focus of discussions in Manilla between Perfecto Yasay and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.The United States has joined with its regional allies in asking questions about Chinas activity in the seas, which Beijing claims are almost entirely Chinese territory."Everyone must respect our maritime order and security in this area in the South China Sea and East China Sea and we urge them to respect the rule of law," Yasay told a press conference on Thursday.A judge who had endured a barrage of abusive language from a defendant in her court this week, calmly retaliated as she passed sentence.John Hennigan was convicted of racial abuse and had 23 previous convictions, many also involving racism. For that reason, Judge Patricia Lynch QC presiding at Chelmsford Crown Court in the UK said that despite concern over how Hennigan would cope with a custodial sentence she felt she had little choice.The defendant then called the judge a bit of a c*** to which she immediately responded Youre a bit of a c*** yourself. Being offensive to me doesnt help.The Mirror reports that Hennigan followed up with Go f*** yourself which was met with the judges response you too.The final salvo came when Hennigan made anti-Semitic comments to which Judge Lynch calmly responded We are all very impressed. Take him down.
The Law Council of Australia condemns the horrid terrorist bombing in Pakistan earlier this week which left at least 70 people killed.In far too many places in the world, it requires extraordinary bravery to practice law, said Law Council president Stuart Clark AM. The Law Council of Australia salutes the bravery and dedication to the rule of law shown by the Pakistani legal profession.He also extended the organisations sympathy to those affected by the attack.The scope of the horror in Quetta defies easy comprehension. On behalf of the Law Council of Australia, I want to offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to those killed and those injured, as well as their families, Clark said.The suicide bombing happened when a crowd mostly made up of lawyers gathered at the citys Civil Hospital to protest and mourn Balochistan Bar Association president Bilal Anwar Kasi who was shot to death earlier on Monday.The bomb which was packed with ball bearings also injured more than 100 people in the city of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province in Pakistan.The bombing creates an ironic situation in the country, Clark noted, as the legal fraternity which was the target in the attack will be at the forefront of pushing for a fair trial of those accused of the bombing.It is indeed ironic that it will be Pakistani lawyers who will demand that any persons charged with offences in relation to this tragedy receive a fair trial, he said.The council stressed the importance of the judiciary and urged for international assistance because of the bombing.The judiciary is a fundamental pillar of any democracy and the targeting of lawyers and judges, whether by a government or those seeking power through force of arms, is calculated to intimidate or remove those who stand for the rule of law and against corruption, Clark said.We urge international assistance for the Pakistani Government so that it can effectively investigate this violence and ensure that any persons who are charged are dealt with according to law and receive a fair trial, he added.
By David Glance, Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice, University of Western Australia

Author

Despite being told that the site is now operational, the ABS census site is still not accessible for many. The frustration felt by the public over the ABSs failed census night has been exacerbated by extremely poor communication about highly technical matters.

Everything about the project suggested poor planning and even poorer execution. In the end, despite speculation of hackers and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, the servers were switched off because the ABS and IBM made a bad decision based on false information.

Patrick Gray has reported that according to his sources, IBM and the ABS initially turned down the offer of comprehensive DDoS protection from their network supplier NextGen Networks. Instead, they asked NextGen to simply block all traffic from outside Australia when they were subjected to the first DDoS attack that occurred early on the Tuesday morning.

The system was subsequently hit with an attack from within Australia which caused their firewall to stop working effectively causing it to need a restart. There were initially two firewalls, one serving as the backup for the other. However, after the restart, one of them became inoperative.

At the same time, IBMs monitoring software falsely interpreted an alarm from the servers that suggested that data was in the process of being sent out to a foreign destination. This was interpreted as a hack of the servers which then caused them to shut down the servers.

This explains the comments by the ABSs David Kalisch who said initially:

We have steps in place to counter attacks, [but] this one, there was one breach that did actually get through via a third party  and believe that weve plugged that gap,

The Australian Signals Directorate was called in to investigate because of the suspected breach and even though it proved to be false, still had to complete an investigation.

The question may be asked why IBM and the ABS turned down the offer from NextGen to provide DDoS protection. From IBMs perspective, this may have been because they believed that the DDoS protection provided by its hosting service would be sufficient.

The eCensus system was built by IBM and hosted on servers run by a wholly-owned subsidiary SoftLayer. The data centre used is likely to have been in NSW at Baulkum Hills.

The ABS is just one of many organisations machines in this shared data centre. This means that the network protection provided by SoftLayer is essentially aimed at protecting the data centre as a whole and not specific individual clients. In fact, this is something that SoftLayer is at pains to stress.

When this protection was obviously not succeeding in preventing DDoS attacks from affecting the service, NextGen was called in.

The net effect of this however was that the ABS and IBM were running the application without specific and effective DDoS protection and they it appears that they never tested the setup under such an attack. The failure of the firewall is evidence of that.









Ping.EU





After restoring the eCensus application by Thursday afternoon, the site was still not available for many users. This was because when users try to access the name of the site http://www.census.abs.gov.au, the DNS responsible for translating this address into an IP address was timing out. Again, it is possible that DNS lookups for the ABS are being deliberately blocked if they appear to be from outside Australia, or that the DNS service for this address is being attacked itself by a DNS DDoS attack.

The Australian Census Disaster will become a case study in how not to run an IT project and represents another blow to IBMs reputation. Worse still, it has now poisoned the whole concept of eGovernment because it will be hard to rebuild the trust of the public that the Australian Government is capable of running any project online. Even the idea of putting NAPLAN testing online is now being questioned

Ultimately, it is clear that all online applications should not be tarred with the same brush. There are millions of sites and applications that function successfully online despite constant attacks and high loads from millions of users. Companies like Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook prove this every day. Perhaps they, rather than IBM should be the ones to help in the next project?

Originally published in The Conversation.
Hi everyone,



I'm new to the immigration applications and my partner who is from Northern Ireland is applying for a visa through me. I was wondering if my bad credit score will affect our application. Any help would be appreciated, thanks
Hi,



I want to inquire about the settlement funds requirement by QLD 190 Visa. I am eligible and met all other requirements but have some confusion in the settlement funds requirement.



I am Offshore. I have 3 secondary applicants(1 spouse and 2 children). As per website I require 45000AU$ for settlement fund. I want to inquire

How much minimum cash in bank is required. I have around 15000AU$ in Bank.

I have property (House) worth around 100,000AU$. Do I need to sell it actually to meet the requirement

Will 15000AU$ and this property(without selling) suffice the settlement funds requirement?



Waiting for your response. Thanks
Suzuki Hayabusa: Make in India

We check into Suzuki Motorcycle Indias Gurgaon factory to watch the legendary Hayabusa come to life.

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Unlike in Japan, the assembly line is completely manual. Operators were hand picked from the existing lines. Skill, patience and careful handling of parts were critical. One operator from India underwent a week-long training in Japan. The others were trained in India by a Japanese engineer. Theres a list of names thats put up outside this caged room. Only those on it, can enter.

The Hayabusa is Suzukis Kohinoor. It is a global icon, revered and respected for the sheer audacity of its original brief and the stretching of the realm of possibilities that resulted from it. Indian motorcyclists have always loved it and since its launch in 2008, the Busa has clocked consistent sales numbers despite the arrival of a number of younger superbikes. In recognition of this devotion to the Busa, Suzuki Motorcycles India fought and won to get this landmark bike even closer to the Indian motorcyclist. No, it wasnt easy. Yes, there was resistance, and understandably so. Every manufacturer had steered clear of assembling a hyper-performance motorcycle in India, but eventually the HQ in Japan gave in. We step into the Busas cosy nest to see how it all comes together.

As has happened before, I seem to have more unanswered questions now than when I began, but one thing I am sure of is that it took a lot of sweat and determination to make this happen. Suzuki wont say when the plans first took shape, but you can be sure its been brewing for a while. Just consider, from design to production, it took Suzuki ten months to okay the saree guard and front number plate. In true Suzuki fashion, it was tested and tested, until they were absolutely sure. Think tens of thousands of kilometres. Yes, for parts that most customers will chuck even before they turn a wheel.

Saree guard is surprisingly discreet, and unsurprisingly, very well designed.

But, thats the Suzuki way. And, the go-ahead to Make In India was given only once it was sure that Japanese quality standards could be maintained here as well. Suzuki Motorcycle Indias managing director, Satoshi Uchida reiterates, We had to maintain the same level as SMC, Japan and so, we had to gear up at SMIPL to make sure everything was at 100 percent. Most important was to get the right operators. The very best were picked from Suzukis existing pool and then trained further. These operators were trained specifically for handling high-performance motorcycles by engineers from Suzukis Toykawa factory, confirms Jun Hashimoto, director (Production), SMIPL.

Suzuki was familiar with building kits, as the Hayabusa was already being exported to Brazil in a completely knocked- down form. However, for India, a separate line was required to better package the kits. These are then shipped to India and after 45-60 days of transit time, two containers with twenty Hayabusas worth of parts arrive at Suzuki Motorcycles plant in Gurgaon.

On two tables sub-assemblies are built and fed to the three stations on which the Hayabusa grows stage by stage. The first jig holds the engine to receive the frame and suspension, and is then hoisted to the next station where all the fluid, mechanical and electrical connections are laid out. The third and final station is where the motorcycle takes on its distinctive look.

Unlike in Brazil, the engine for India comes assembled. Rest of the motorcycle comes in pieces.

Currently it takes ten hours to assemble the Busa in India. It could be faster, but Suzuki has chosen to take things slow, and layer quality checks upon quality checks to make sure things are done right. It takes four workers and two supervisors to complete the assembly. The vehicle check is then conducted by an operator and a supervisor. Material handling also involves a supervisor overseeing two operators.

One Hayabusa at a time, Suzuki will build this iconic motorcycle here in India. And, by the canny decision to assemble this superbike in India, Suzuki has upset the apple cart by offering one of the most recognised motorcycles in the country with a price tag that is less than that of most litre-class superbikes. Clearly, Suzukis sensibilities are also made for India and we can take this as a sign of bigger things to come.

Copyright (c) Autocar India. All rights reserved.
Come September and Jeep will introduce the Wrangler Unlimited in India. Here are five highlights of this highly capable and iconic off-roader.

Jeep Indias parent company Fiat-Chrysler is all set to launch the Wrangler Unlimited on September 1, 2016. This model which was introduced internationally in 2007 is the one that's headed to India, but with many updated features.

Versatility

The Wrangler Unlimited gets four doors and seats five people comfortably. But what really sets this car apart is its versatile nature. You can choose between owning a hard-top version or a soft-top one. The hard top and the soft-top can be removed completely in three stages for an open-top experience. Moreover, the doors can be removed individually and the windscreen too can be folded down, to sit atop its bonnet. So, its ability to brace itself for a no-holds-barred off-road experience remains unique to this day.

Comes with a diesel

The Wrangler Unlimited is powered by a 2,776cc, four-cylinder diesel engine. It is good for 200hp which is belted out at 3,600rpm and gets 460Nm of torque from as low as 1,600rpm. However, it will get a five-speed automatic gearbox and not the eight-speed 'box which the Grand Cherokee gets. Also, the fuel efficiency of 12.1kpl sounds fairly decent for a vehicle that weighs a 2,119kg.

Off-road ability

Heres an SUV that boasts serious off-road capability. To begin with, it has 238mm of ground clearance, which is a lot higher than that offered by other soft-roaders. It gets a switchable four-wheel-drive system with the icing on the cake being a four low range to further multiply torque and allow the Wrangler to tread steadily over rocks and other difficult terrain.

Upmarket features

Even though the Wrangler is an off-road-biased SUV, Jeep hasnt left many stones unturned when setting its feature list. A few noteworthy ones include heated leather seats, a 6.5-inch touch display, a tyre pressure monitoring display and a 28GB hard drive. It also gets satellite navigation and Bluetooth. On the safety front, it gets airbags, electronic stability control and traction control.

No real competition

The Wrangler Unlimited is expected to be priced at around Rs 40 lakh in India. For an SUV with genuine off-road credentials, the Wrangler Unlimited will face no real competition here and will be a unique offering in this price bracket.


One must always remember that the Nurburgring is the strictest teacher a driver can have - making it through in one piece will seriously boost your skill and yet your slightest mistake will be mercilessly punished.

4 photos
The 2017 Civic hatchback will be built at Hondas facility in the United Kingdom, located in Swindon. From there, the car will be exported to mainland Europe and the United States of America, as well as other markets.The Civic X has gone through a significant change in design philosophy, as the car will become a global model for the 2017 generation. The term global model refers to a car that is sold in the same design and specification across the globe, with minor modifications and changes to suit each market.Ford and other volume automakers have sold the same nameplate with different configurations on the U.S. and European markets for years, shifting towards this strategy to reduce costs. Honda has decided to follow the idea with the Civic X , marking a new landmark in the history of this model.One of the members of CivicX.com has published a photo of a 2017 Civic X in the Southampton docks in the United Kingdom. We felt obliged to let the world know about the all-new model that Honda is about to send to the USA with no disguise. According to our reader, the car is in the mid-level trim called EX-L in the USA, but they cannot be sure on this aspect.However, the person that sent us the image did note that the cars rear satellite radio antenna is visible, as well as its LaneWatch camera, which is mounted on the inferior part of the passengers side mirrors and activates a constant real-time display on the multimedia unit.The system is present on the 2016 Honda Civic , and it is both a blind-spot monitor that is activated when the right turn signal is turned on, as well as with a button on the signaling stalk.
LS7 pulling teeth3 -Tag A Friend- Built by: @cordes_performance_racing By: Josh Thomas A video posted by CORVETTE LIFESTYLE (@corvettelifestyle) on Aug 10, 2016 at 7:13pm PDT

Nevertheless, certain parents know how to ease out the pain turn to another side of the event's memorable side. Let's take the father in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page, for instance.With his son having reached the age when baby teeth become loose, the man decided to skip the whole tooth fairy part and use a more masculine approach that could teach the little one about the benefits of being brave.The man used his Corvette Z06 to pull out the troublesome tooth and it all works brilliantly. Sure, the little one does seem a bit scared at first, but he seems to overcome the emotion just fine.This is a C6-generation Z06 , which means we're dealing with a case of "no replacement for displacement" - to be more precise, the engine compartment is occupied by a 7.0-liter LS7. And while we're talking teeth, perhaps it's time to remind you that the Z06 beats the humans at this game, with its 14-inch flywheel being gifted with 168 teeth. For the fun of it, you can compare that to the average human adult's 32 teeth.Like so many Z06s out there, this one seems to have been given a custom cam treatment. One of the results is that the idle soundtrack of the LS7 instantly makes one think of a racecar - the kid doesn't seem to be too bothered about such details, but, given the situation, we fully understand his lack of attention.Hopefully, the father can continue leading his son on the quality family time path. And since the kid seems old enough to be able to drive on the track, that could make a sweet bonus for the child's willingness to turn his tooth-pulling job into an Instagram piece.
By comparison, the Maserati MC12, which was the Enzo's almost identical twin, spawned just 62 copies, making it a way more rarefied breed. 50 of the 62 hypercars from the House of the Trident were road-going MC12s, while the other 12 came in the guise of the hardcore Corsa variation we're covering today.Officially dubbed the Versione Corse, one such highly desirable example is offered for sale by Ferrari-Maserati of Fort Lauderdale for a hefty $3 million, about a million dollars more than what a pristine condition Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is worth in this day and age.Maserati MC12 Corsa chassis #002 is a 2005 model that's finished in Blue Victory, with an interior that's awash with Sparco bucket seats, carbon fiber everything and some blue accents here and there. Only one MC12 Corsa was reconfigured for being road-legal, but this one isn't it. Wanna have a guess how much these babies were going for when they were brand spanking new? $1.47 million. Yup, that much.The original and the current stickers are not nearly impressive though, especially if you consider that the 745 horespower V12 engine and the shortened nose are shared with the Maserati Corsa MC12 GT1 racecar. So how about it  if you had the money and you wanted a track-only machine, would the MC12 Corsa be it?
According to the figures published by British Police, drug driving and drunk driving tests are being done on fewer people than before, but with more positive test results.In the case of any of the two offenses presented above, a positive test result means that the motorist in question was under the "spell" of alcohol or drugs while driving on public roads.In figures, this summer campaign has led to 49,440 vehicles stopped by British Police, with 45,267 breath tests administered. Out of those tested, ten percent were definite, failed, or the driver refused to take the test. Furthermore, 11.4% of drivers tested with a breath analyzer after a collision had a result that was positive, including failures and refusals.Almost the same percentage (10.2%) occurred with drivers that were tested without a collision, so it was just a matter of chance that this category was not involved in an accident the night they went driving after they had drank.Police officers performed 279 drug field impairment tests, and 80 of them resulted in an arrest, which means 28.7% of all the tested drivers. The former category of tests was done following a collision, and 66 people were tested positive. However, 2,588 drug screening devices were administered, and 39.7% of them were positive (no failures or refusals here).As Brake representatives have underlined, the United Kingdom needs to make a priority out of ensuring a strong deterrent against drunk or drugged driving.According to Gloucestershires road safety advocates, a different organization than Brake, but with the same goal, a conviction for drink driving could cost an offender between 20,000 and 50,000 pounds as a result of fines, lawyer fees, increase in car insurance, and even a loss of a job.We must note that British drivers caught in the United Kingdom while driving after they consumed alcohol can get a minimum driving ban of 12 months, a criminal record, a fine of up to 5,000 pounds, and an endorsement on the license for 11 years.The latter, along with a criminal record, will bring a strong stigma one one reputation, which will be enough for some employers to fire the person that was convicted for driving drunk, while others will not employ the same person after discovering their criminal record.The moral of this story is never to drink and drive . The same applies for drugs or prescription medication that can affect driving performance (ask your physician when a new medicine is prescribed).On the same note, we would also remind drivers not to get behind the wheel of a car if they have not had enough sleep . In any of the situations in this paragraph, if one considers driving, it is best to pretend you do not have a car or a license.
Case in point with the rear-engined spectacle in the images to your right. We're dealing with a London supercar spotting episode, one that involves no less than three Neunelfers sharing a stretch of tarmac.We're dealing with a pair of 991s, namely a GT3 RS and a Turbo S (does anybody ever spot "normal" Turbos these days?) and a 996-generation Targa. We'll leave the senior rear-engined machine out of this one, as we're talking about an attention duel between the young guns.The Rennsport model might come in the Lava Orange launch color we've already gotten used to, but the supercar is wingless. We're not sure why the generously-sized aero element is missing, but you don't need it in the British capital traffic anyway - remember the time when we showed an Ultraviolet Blue GT3 RS that was temporarily separated by its wing in order for a custom color job? Perhaps this is one of those cases.Regardless, the 500 hp GT3 RS makes the 560 hp Turbo S look almost tame, especially if you put on your Porsche connoisseur glasses. And such an image is worth tons of internet fame, so we'll tip our lenses to Autogespot for the pics.P.S.: If you've seen enough GT3 RS Porsches (can anybody say that?) and are looking for a 911 R piece, perhaps this Black-White-Yello trio that recently arrived at a US dealer based in Illinois will quench your Zuffenhausen machine-spotting thirst - here 's the video showing the rear-engined triumvirate.
AGC Asahi Glass announced that AGC Automotive Europe has reached a basic agreement with Induver Holding, a glass manufacturer in Morocco, to set up a joint venture for manufacturing automotive glass. Establishment of the production base marks the AGC Groups first operations in North Africa. This latest deal is subject to approval by the relevant local authorities.

Morocco has been enjoying the highest economic growth in North Africa, reflecting its position in recent years as a production base for Europe. Automakers in Europe have already decided or plan to set up operations in the country. Automobile production in Europe exceeds 20 million units annually, and is forecast to continue growing at approximately two percent a year. Considering these factors, the AGC Group said it has decided to establish an automotive glass manufacturing company through a joint venture with Induver in Kenitra Province in the northern coastal area of Morocco.

The new joint venture is expected to start commercial production in 2019 and provide customers in Europe and North Africa with products and services such as laminated glass and tempered glass, with a production capacity of approximately 1.10 million vehicles per year, according to the companies.
Volkswagen's BUDD-e won the Best Concept Truck of the Year in the North American Concept Vehicle Awards 2016 under the Concours d'Elegance of America, held in Plymouth, Michigan last August 1. The award body which started in 2002 recognizes vehicle concepts that make the strongest impact in terms of automotive design, engineering and market responsiveness.

Volkswagen's BUDD-e which features an all-electric drive range of 331 miles was first presented at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 and has been getting a lot of positive reviews ever since. It captured the attention of the jury too and after a thorough analysis of the candidates that have made their debut in the last 12 months, the judges decided to name the electric vehicle of the German firm as the Concept Truck of the Year 2016.

The awards' jury highlighted that the Volkswagen's BUDD-e won because of its environmental compatibility while managing to meet the 21st century's vehicle-utility requirements. Another aspect that attracts the attention of the judges is the exterior design that boast a highly conceptualize modern look. Furthermore, the cockpit is a sight to be behold, projecting the curved screen covering the entire dashboard, the multifunction steering wheel, the system advanced speech recognition, digital side mirrors, gesture control, custom lighting and the system that allows turning on the air conditioning remotely.

As a reminder to car enthusiasts, the BUDD-e is the first Volkswagen vehicle to be produced in the new MEB (Modular Electric Platform) platform created for electric vehicles and hybrid plug-in. in this case the Microbus uses an electric system consisting of a pair of electric generators, one in each exe- that is powered by a battery of 101 kWh produce 236 kW (317 hp). this energy allows the vehicle to achieve a top speed of 150 km / h and a range of 375 kilometers.

The Buick Avista was also recognized and won as the Best Concept Car of the Year which is not surprising at all considering the praises it already got since the Detroit Auto Show this year.
Demand for the Tesla Model X is shooting through the roof in China where the SUV is reported to be sold in the grey market at rates several thousands of dollars more than the list price. According to Forbes, the Chinese seem to have no qualms paying $240,000 for a Model X 90D which is $70,000 more than the officially listed price of $170,000.

What is even more amazing is that the Model X being sold at a premium are in reality meant to be sold in the US and hence, do not comply to Chinese specifications. What that means is that the Model X being sold via unofficial channels has their warranties deemed void. While the vehicles will still be serviced by the Tesla guys in China, owners will have to bear the entire costs on their own.

Similarly, the vehicle's navigation systems won't be functional in China as it relies on Google Maps for its working in the US-spec version of the Model X. With Google Maps banned in China, Tesla circumvents that by having tied up with the Chinese mapping company NavInfo whose maps are used in Tesla vehicles sold in the country.

Moreover, all of the displays are made in US English as well while speed is displayed in miles per hour. However, as is mentioned by Motor1, getting the grey channel Model X insured is not posing any issues.

Grey market imports are legal in China though there are several restrictions that apply. However, that does not seem to be deterring dealers to make bulk purchases in the US and having them shipped to China. For instance, a Tianjin-based dealer imported 16 P90D variants of the Model X with all of the red variety being sold off. He is only left with the white versions and there are no other color options available.

Tesla is yet to respond to the development even though it entails losing out on revenue. The P90Ds costs $115,000 in the US while the same in China is priced $170,000. Since it's the US-spec Model X that are being sold, Tesla is missing out on the extra revenue stream.
11 August 2016 14:24 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Spanish Antonio Lizana jazz band comes again in Baku with an amazing concert program.

The unforgettable show will be held at Landmark Rotunda on October 23 as part of the Baku International Jazz Festival, an annual jazz event organized by renowned saxophonist Rain Sultanov, Azertac reported.

It's not the first visit of jazz band to Baku and for sure its not the last.

The Spanish musician has already performed at "Sound Waves" folk festival which brought together talented musicians from different countries.

The fascinating show received full attendance and admiration from folk music lovers.

The biggest surprise was an unexpected performance of the Azerbaijani folk song "Sari Gelin" by Antonio Lizana.

All festival fans and jazz lovers have a chance to enjoy an extraordinary program with participation of foreign musicians!

History of Azerbaijani jazz is very rich and illustrious and it continues to grow until now, thanks to talented musicians and composers such as Rain Sultanov, Jamil Amirov, Salman Gambarov, as well as young genius conquering worldwide fame Isfar Sarabski, Nurlan Novrasli, Emil Afrasiab, Elchin Shirinov and more.

The Baku International Jazz Festival is an annual jazz event which attracts many famous foreign musicians to the City of Winds.

The event aims at showcasing Azerbaijan's long-running attachment to the American-born art form, a connection first established in the country during the 1950s and 1960s, during a time when jazz was outlawed by Soviet authorities.

Many famous musicians from a dozen countries, including Georgia, Portugal, Italy, Israel, USA, Germany, Canada, and Russia, have thus far participated in the festival.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
11 August 2016 16:46 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

An astonishing festival EuroVillage-2016 will be held in the Baku Boulevard on October 1 to mark 25 years of EU-Azerbaijan Partnership.

The colorful public event will showcase varied cultures and traditions of the European Union, Report informs.

EuroVillage, which has been held since 2013 in Icherisheher, is co-organized by the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Azerbaijan in cooperation with the Embassies of European Union member-states and in partnership with the Administration of the Baku Boulevard.

Guests will enjoy numerous contests and quizzes for children and adults, virtual tours of European countries, national dances and karaoke, face-art, chess competitions and various other activities. Winners of the competitions and quizzes will be awarded with special prizes.

Moreover, visitors to the fair will be able to see delicious creations featuring traditional European dishes such as gazpacho and paella, and watch a virtuoso show of pizza twirling.

Both to children and adults will be awarded with special prizes at Eurovillage 2016

The event will feature a magician performance and various attractions for children that will be followed by performances from the participants of the music contest "The Voice Azerbaijan".

The festival will come to end with a huge concert attended by a famous European celebrity.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
11 August 2016 14:55 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that his country could act as a guarantor in the solution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

"Russia and some other countries of OSCE Minsk group could act as guarantors in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict," said President of Russia Vladimir Putin following the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in Moscow on August 10.

Putin said that Russia is interested in reducing tensions between Baku and Yerevan. He added that Russia will continue supporting the search for solutions, hoping for a compromise.

I would emphasize that Russia is interested in reduction of tensions between our neighbors. We will continue rendering assistance on finding a solution to the Karabakh problem within the OSCE Minsk group and through direct contacts with Yerevan and Baku, he said. I hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will be able to reach a compromise settlement of the existing conflict.

Putin mentioned that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was discussed with Azerbaijani side during his recent visit to Baku, as well.

Answering the question of an Armenian journalist on the supply of Russian arms to Armenia and Azerbaijan, Putin stressed that in the common market of arms any country can buy any weapons. And a country like Azerbaijan  an oil producing nation with fast developing economy and quite large volume of gold value reserves - is definitely able to buy it anywhere, Putin noted.

Earlier this week, Russian President visited Baku, meeting with his Azerbaijani and Iranian counterparts Ilham Aliyev and Hassan Rouhani in trilateral and bilateral formats.

We will do everything possible so that Armenia and Azerbaijan reach a compromise acceptable for both sides, so that the two countries peoples win from this, he said at the meeting with the Azerbaijani leader.

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 surrounding districts.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
11 August 2016 18:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Reconstruction of 451 houses destroyed as a result of Armenian provocation of April 2-5 on the frontline has been finalized in Agdam region of Azerbaijan, Chief executive of Agdam region Ragub Mammadov told this Trend on August 11.

Mammadov assured that all ruined buildings and objects in the region have been restored. Eight of the destroyed houses were rebuilt, and repair works are nearing to completion. Moreover, 15 houses are under restoration with work over 14 already been completed. The restoration of one home is to be over soon.

Additionally, 27 houses renovated after getting shelled by Armenian armed forces are now handed to owners. Mammadov informed that 401 houses suffering from partial damage were also refurbished.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire of large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers by Armenian army. Azerbaijani counter-attack led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the population.

Military operations on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies were stopped on April 5 at 12:00 with mutual consent of the sides. However, Armenian side still continues violating the ceasefire.

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 still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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11 August 2016 19:39 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Preparatory campaign held in connection with the forthcoming constitutional referendum, will be partially completed on August 12, in accordance with the planned schedule, approved by the Central Election Commission (CEC).

The CEC will complete a number of events connected with the referendum including definition of requirements connected with the order of issuance and the number of voting certificates, direction of the certificates to the district electoral committees and further to divisional election committees, as well as publishing of a list of polling stations and the information about their location and telephone numbers.

Moreover, the committee will start the issue of voting certificates, which will last till September 1, 2016.

Expert panel as well as working group under the CEC will be established to investigate complaints connected with the violation of electoral right.

Earlier, CEC started printing process of voting bulletins and published a list of media outlets that will allocate free airtime and column space for campaigns on the eve of the nationwide vote.

Amendments are proposed to 29 articles of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan concluded that the changes proposed by President Ilham Aliyev are in line with the requirements of the Constitution of the Republic.

The referendum is scheduled for September 26, 2016. Final results of the Referendum will be announced till October 21.

The last time changes to the Constitution were made seven years ago, following Constitutional referendum held in 2009.

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11 August 2016 18:01 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan and Russia plan to create a reserve for the restoration of leopard population in the Caucasus in the near future.

The reserve is proposed to become a part of Zagatala State Nature Reserve (Azerbaijan) and Federal Reserve Tlyaratinsky (Republic of Dagestan). Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia Sergey Donskoy instructed to finalize the Program on restoration (reintroduction) of Caucasian leopard in the Caucasus until the end of 2016.

We are interested in support of the program by colleagues from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, Donskoy told media.

The Caucasian leopard is one of the biggest of the eight recognized sub species of leopard. They live mainly in remote, mountainous habitats which can range from dry and arid areas to forested regions and even extend up into snowy mountain ranges.

The Caucasian leopard is found across several different countries, including Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Georgia. Sadly, in all these countries the leopard population has been devastated by uncontrolled hunting and habitat destruction.

There are thought to be fewer than 1,300 Caucasian leopard left in the wild, while their number is around 25 in the southwestern part of the Caucasus region.

Until the early 2000s, very little information was available about leopards living in the territory of Azerbaijan. But thanks to the studies of past 15 years, Azerbaijani zoologists discovered their traces in Hirkan forest, Nakhchivan and Mingachevir water reservoir.

With the aim of protecting and increasing the number of wild nature, Azerbaijani IDEA Public Union identified the Caucasus Big Five project which envisages protection of Caucasian leopard.

As part of the Protection of Leopards project, IDEA jointly with local and international organizations, held various events aimed at public education, including summer camps, scientific seminars and workshops for students, as well as youth competitions.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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11 August 2016 14:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

The representative office of Azerbaijans state energy giant SOCAR in Ukraine has recently created a new company for the wholesale and retail sale of liquefied gas, Ukrainian media reported. The new SOCAR LPG company will be headed by Ekaterina Tamrazova, according to the report. Founders of the company are Galickaya Oil Company and Trading House SOCAR Ukraine Trading House.

Highlighting her appointment Tamrazova told NefteRynok website that the newly created company is a result of the strengthening gas constituent in the Ukrainian representation of SOCAR. The company made its debut during the last auction carried out by the Ukrgasdobicha on August 4, where SOCAR acquired some 42 tons of liquefied gas for newly-established SOCAR Ukraine LPG.

The company was registered in early July 2016 in Ukraines Cherkassy city. Tamrazova officially took the office on August 1, 2016. Previously, Tamrazova was in charge of the compressed natural gas (CNG) in SOCAR Ukraine.

SOCAR, which opened its representation in Ukraine in 2008, is currently represented by SOCAR Energy Ukraine, the network of 58 refueling stations. The main activity of SOCAR Energy Ukraine is to improve the network of petrol filling stations and organize wholesale of petrol and oil products in the territory of Ukraine. The filling stations are operating under the SOCAR brand in the Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv, Nikolaevsk, Rovensk, Cherkasy, Khmelnytsky and Poltava regions of Ukraine.

SOCAR exported 389,220 tons of diesel fuel in the first half of 2016 as compared to the volume of 491,850 tons in the same period of 2015.

SOCAR is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets, as well as, supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.

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11 August 2016 12:29 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Iran may pump its gas to the underground gas storages of Azerbaijan in the nearest future, said Amir Hossein Zamani Nia, Irans Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs.

He said the issue was on agenda of the meeting between Irans Oil Minister and President of the Azerbaijans energy giant SOCAR.

The issue is of great importance for Iran, and the Iranian gas will likely be pumped to the gas storage facilities of Azerbaijan soon. Currently, there are two underground gas storage facilities in Azerbaijan (Garadag and Kalmaz), the capacity of which is five billion cubic meters of gas, but about a third of the total volume is empty. Gas consumption in Iran significantly increases in the winter season, therefore storage of Iranian gas in the gas storages of Azerbaijan is considered to be an interesting offer for Iran, he said.

He also mentioned that the two countries are discussing the possibilities of development of oil and gas deposits in the Caspian Sea, but the talks have not yielded any concrete results yet.

Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia have a huge potential for the cooperation in the sphere of energy at the international level. We have also opportunities for the cooperation, which may allow to create a balance of demand and supply in the world oil market, he added, mentioning that Iran is ready for holding discussions with Iran and Russia on the export of Iranian gas to European countries, despite the fact that the export of compressed natural gas (CNG) to more remote destinations is a priority for the country.

Iran will be able to export some 200 million cubic meters of gas per day soon. At the same time, such destinations as the countries of the region and East Asia still remain priority for Iran. Main directions in the cooperation with Azerbaijan and Russia are extraction of hydrocarbon resources, their transportation, the sphere of petrochemistry and CNG. Iran possesses oil and gas projects in the Caspian Sea, which will be presented to foreign investors in the short run.

Irans gas production in winter is less than the consumption in the country. But in summer Iran produces several billion cubic meters of surplus gas. The country stores some of the surplus gas in Shoorijeh and Sarajeh gas storage facilities. The two facilities located in Azerbaijan store only three billion cubic meters of gas, so Iran could store around 2 billion cubic meters of its surplus gas in the facilities, and receive them back in winter. Kalmaz storage is located 75 km southeast of Baku and was put into operation in 1955, while Garadag storage is located 25 km southeast of Baku and it was launched in 1954.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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11 August 2016 13:06 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

The European Commission has reacted to the recent proposal of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to link the Turkish Stream pipeline, which is being developed by Russia, to the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), via which Azerbaijani gas is to be delivered to Europe in 2020.

The EU declared about its commitment to the policy of diversification of gas sources, counterparties and routes for the reduction of dependence on a single dominant supplier or route, an informed source in the European Commission told Trend on August 10.

The commission aims at creating more interconnected and competitive gas markets in Europe in order to achieve this objective, with such initiatives as, particularly, the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC)," said the source.

The source also said that the European Commission is familiar with the statements of the Russian and Turkish sides after their meeting in St. Petersburg on August 9, but it doesn't have any particular comment to make in connection with the Turkish Stream, stressing that any infrastructure, including pipelines covering the territories of the EU will have to fully respect the EU laws.

Earlier, Turkish FM said Ankara will buy only 16 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year via the Turkish Stream while the remaining volume of Russian gas can be exported through Turkey via TANAP by connecting it to the Turkish Stream, stressing that TANAP is a priority project for Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Ministry, TANAP Consortium and Energy Ministry of Russia have not yet provided any details on the statement of Cavusoglu.

Implementation of Turkish Stream project, which envisages gas supplies of Russia to Turkey and further to Europe bypassing Ukraine, was on the agenda during the St. Petersburg meeting of heads of states on August 9.

Realization of the project was frozen due to the deterioration of Russia-Turkey ties connected with the shoot down of a Russian Su-24 bomber with two pilots on board. Nevertheless the issue became topical following the mending of relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Alexander Novak, Russian Energy Minister told Russia 24 that Russia and Turkey may sign intergovernmental agreement on the Turkish stream in October, 2016, mentioning that a special working group will be created in this regards. He said that the draft agreement will include realization of at least one of the branches covering the ground of the Black Sea to the territory of Turkey, stressing that the implementation of the second branch will be possible, should the EU provide necessary guarantees.

Turkish Stream project is aimed at delivery of Russian natural gas to Southern Europe via Turkey. The pipeline was announced by President Putin in December 2014 during a visit to Turkey.

President Erdogan recently said that the Turkish Stream project will be implemented, adding that the country will take the necessary steps to ensure the supply of Russian gas to Europe through the pipeline.

The $10 billion TANAP pipeline is expected to transport gas of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field from the Georgian-Turkish border to the western border of Turkey. The gas will be delivered to Turkey in 2018, and after completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipelines (TAP) construction, the gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020

TANAP shareholders are Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR (58 percent), BOTAS (30 percent), and BP (12 percent).

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11 August 2016 16:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

OPEC in its August report has improved the forecast for world oil demand in 2017 by 0.09 million barrels per day (bpd) to a record of 95,41 million bpd. The change is linked to better results of the first half of this year in the European and Asia oil producing countries.

In the meantime, oil supplies from non-OPEC countries are expected to drop by 0.79 million bpd - to 56,13 million barrels by the end of 2016. This is 100,000 barrels more as compared to the July report. The betterment of forecast is due to the increased oil production in the U.S., U.K., India, Brazil, Oman and Ghana in the second quarter of 2016, that compensated for the deterioration of forecasts for Australia, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Russia and CIS countries.

Meanwhile, August forecasts of OPEC on Azerbaijan remained unchanged as compared to the previous monthly oil market report.

OPEC forecasts Azerbaijans oil supply to average 0.85 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2016, which is 10,000 bpd less than the countrys oil production of 2015. A decline in oil production in Azerbaijan by 40,000 bpd in 2017 is also expected because of a lack of new project start-ups.

Currently, the main oil output in Azerbaijan comes from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field. This offshore block produces Azeri Light oil with 0.15-percent sulfur content and 35 degrees API. Azerbaijans total proven oil reserves made up 7 billion barrels at the end of 2015, according to BPs Statistical Review.

Richard Mallinson, the geo-politics analyst of independent research and consulting company Energy Aspects, assumes that the extraordinary meeting of OPEC countries expected for September will not change the situation in the oil market. Earlier media reported that OPEC may hold an informal meeting at the International energy forum in September and once again discuss the possibility of freezing the level of oil production.

Currently, countries such as Venezuela and Algeria, apparently, initiate a new round of negotiations, Mallinson said. He stated that Saudi Arabia and other influential members of OPEC may agree to participate in an informal meeting to demonstrate that they do not hinder the cooperation in the cartel, but this does not mean that they are ready to agree to freeze production.

Mallinson believes that as long as major producers, in particular Iran and Saudi Arabia, do not come to a compromise and do not support the proposal to freeze production, this initiative will not be any more successful than previous ones taken from the beginning of this year.

As for current oil prices, they lately saw a slight decrease. On August 10, OPEC oil baskets price stood at $40.57 per barrel or $0.51 less than on August 9.

Prices of Brent and WTI crude oil also decreased on August 11. The price for October futures of the North Sea Brent oil mix decreased by 0.68 percent to $43.75 per barrel, while the price for September futures of WTI oil declined by 0.89 percent to $41.34 per barrel.

Being introduced on June 16, 2005 the OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) is made up of the following oil brands: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Rabi Light (Gabon), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

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11 August 2016 18:28 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Turkey and Russia have come to an agreement over joint implementation of the Turkish Stream project at the territory of Turkey, Haberturk quoted Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.

Erdogan mentioned that some 50 percent of the construction of the Turkish Stream project falls to a share of Turkey, while another 50 percent accounts for Russia, stressing that there is no problem in the realization of the project.

Umit Yardin, Turkish ambassador to Russia, recently said that Moscow and Ankara are currently discussing the issue of possible markets for the sale of gas, which will be delivered by the Turkish Stream project.

He said that the sides have decided to continue their cooperation on the project, regardless the fact that the opinions of the two countries on the project do not coincide.

We have started talks on the project at pre-crisis period and had certain differences in opinions, nevertheless the sides will launch the official dialog on the project soon. This is a long-term project and we are currently holding discussions on the number of branches, which will be constructed, he said.

He mentioned that the talks will be continued in the weeks to come, stressing that negotiations are gaining momentum.

Earlier, talking to Ria Novosti Yildirim said that Turkey remains a special country for Russia, just as Russia is for Turkey even in the face of political rollback, adding that ignoring the fact and forgetting about it is unacceptable.

During his meeting with the Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the Turkish President stated that Turkey will implement the project, adding that the country will take the necessary steps to ensure the supply of Russian gas to Europe through the pipeline. He said that the project will comprise two branches with one of them being used for domestic consumption, and another for the supply of gas to Europe.

Putin in turn said that Moscow has not turned down neither Turkish nor South Stream projects, stressing that there is a need for the clear position of the European Commission.

Consensus on unfreezing the Turkish Stream project was reached on August 9, during the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in St. Petersburg.

The implementation of the Turkish Stream project envisaging Russian gas supply to Turkey through the Black Sea was suspended by Russia on December 3, 2015 after the deterioration of the relations between the two countries over the SU-24 incident.

Alexander Novak, Russian Energy Minister recently said that Russia and Turkey may sign intergovernmental agreement on the Turkish stream" in October, 2016. Commenting on the number of branches he said that the draft agreement will include realization of at least one of the branches covering the ground of the Black Sea to the territory of Turkey, underlining that the implementation of the second branch will be possible, should the EU provides necessary guarantees.

Meanwhile, Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu has offered to connect the Turkish Stream pipeline to the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), via which Azerbaijani gas is to be delivered to Europe in 2020.

The Turkish Stream project was announced by President Putin in December 2014 during a visit to Turkey.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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11 August 2016 15:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Gunay Hasanova

NATO has stated its strong position on Turkey's membership at the alliance, naming the country as "a valuable ally".

After the failed coup attempt, Turkey's membership in NATO was one of the most questionable topics. Many made suppositions that Ankara would intend to separate its ways with the alliance, while other suggested weakening of NATO's interests in Turkey's membership in the military bloc.

However, NATO dispersed such suppositions, calling them "speculative media reports."

"Turkey's NATO membership is not in question after the attempted coup in the country," RIA Novosti reported with reference to the statement of the NATO official regarding media coverage and position of NATO.

Turkey, as a very strong and longstanding member of NATO, historically made significant contributions to all its allies. The country holds second largest army in the alliance after the U.S. Armed Forces, with an estimated strength of 675,000 military, civilian and paramilitary personnel.

"In light of the speculative media reports on the position of NATO about the failed coup in Turkey and Turkey's membership in NATO, let me indicate a clear position of the alliance that Turkey is a valuable ally, which makes a significant contribution to the joint efforts of NATO," said the NATO representative.

Turkey is fully involved in making consensus-based decisions in the alliance against the biggest security challenges of generation, he added.

"Turkey's membership in NATO cannot be questioned. Our alliance is committed to collective defense and based on the principles of democracy, individual freedom, human rights and the rule of law. NATO is counting on the continuation of Turkey's contribution to the alliance and in turn, Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO... the representative of the alliance emphasized.

Previously, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that Turkey will remain an important NATO ally despite the crackdown inside the country and its newest rapprochement with Russia.

It is good to see the two nations moving closer together after the downing Russian warplane. However, I do not expect the two sides to grow so close that Russia can offer an alternative to NATOs security partnership. Turkey is an important NATO partner, Steinmeier added.

Turkey is viewed as an important North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally given its strategic geographic position between Europe and Asia, a bridge that has served as an entryway for refugees fleeing violence in Syria. The country hosts about 1,500 American military personnel and aircraft at Incirlik Air Base, a staging point for the fight against Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq.

On July 15 evening, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them.

However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 246 people excluding the coup plotters and over 2,000 people were wounded.

Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey on July 20.

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Former deputy Edward Tucker was recaptured in Lake Isabella on Friday, five days after he walked away from a rehabilitation facility where had
International food manufacturer Bakkavor has seen revenues rise 3.2% to 438.7 million in its second-quarter (Q2) results for the 13 weeks ended 25 June 2016, compared with the same 2015 period.

Like-for-like revenue rose 3.6% from 422.8m to 437.9m, while adjusted ebitda jumped 18% to 41.4m, from 35.1m in the same period.

Meanwhile, revenues in its UK business increased to 394.8m from 387.8m, a difference of 1.8%. Adjusted ebitda in the UK rose 12% from 34.3m to 38.3m in the period. The group attributed this performance to higher volumes and its exit from certain low-margin business along with a continued focus on productivity projects. It added that the improvement in profitability was encouraging, especially given the ongoing pressure on labour costs in the UK, exacerbated by the introduction of the National Living Wage in April.

In a statement the company said: Our commitment to driving innovation is fundamental to the groups position as the UKs leading own-label fresh prepared food manufacturer. We opened our new central development kitchen in April, giving our chefs another world-class facility to create new and inspiring products and showcase the latest food trends and tastes to our customers.

Commenting on the results, Agust Gudmundsson, chief executive officer, said: I am pleased to report another excellent set of results for the group, with both strong revenue and ebitda growth across our businesses. Although the UK is entering a period of some economic uncertainty following the recent EU referendum, we believe we are well placed to manage the challenges that may lie ahead.

The company is planning to continue its accelerated capital investment programme to support its ongoing growth with key customers and drive further performance benefits.

2016 marks the 30th anniversary of Bakkavor being founded by Agust and Lydur Gudmundsson in Iceland. The company supplies fresh prepared foods, and employs over 18,000 people globally, producing over 5,000 products in 18 different categories.

In June 2016, Bakkavor planned to create 470 new roles in its deli and desserts businesses.
PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Food News Local Company Spreads its Wings Fresquez Cos., an ABQ-based food service company in charge of some of the restaurants at the Sunport, opened a new airport eateryTia's Authentic New Mexican Eatsat the Denver International Airport. It's a rebranding of Tia Juanita's, a restaurant at the Sunport, with added healthier options.

GMO Labels Affecting Small Businesses A new law that requires food manufacturers to disclose whether or not their product contains genetically modified ingredients has many small to medium food companies sweating over how to comply. Changing packaging, adding smartphone scancodes, paying to receive GMO-free certification or even switching up the ol' recipe can cost smaller companies way more than big corporations, relatively speaking.

Catch Some Reality, Losers Nick Pena, owner of Food Tour New Mexico is planning a scavenger hunt inspired by Pokemon Go. Well, maybe inspired isn't the right word. Probably more like, in defense of reality against the encroaching singularity of the virtual, as evidenced by Pokemon Go. So yeah. Go out and catch real things.

An Apple (or Two) a Day The summer will be wrapping up soon, and according to Gwyneth Doland of the Fork, it's time to start freezing your apples for winter pies, tarts and crisps. Her guide to getting it done can be found online at sfreporter.com.
A Tampa police officer has been arrested and charged with sexual battery.

Adam York, a 12-year veteran of the police force, is facing charges, according to Police Chief Eric Ward.

Ward announced the arrest Thursday morning.

The arrest stems from a Feb. 1 incident that occurred after a woman, who was pulled over for speeding, reported that she was sexually battered by York. The alleged victim was in her 20s.

Surveillance video from the Westshore mall parking lot shows the traffic stop, just after Gasparilla.

She alleged that during a traffic stop, she didnt know who or what agency, pulled her over and sexual misconduct took place, said Ward.

The video is grainy and it doesnt show much. But according to the arrest affidavit, DNA evidence found on the victim came back a month later, and linked York to the crime.

"This investigation is a shock and disappointment to all at TPD," Chief Ward said. "We hold our office to a very high standard. Those who fail to meet those standards are dealt with seriously."

Ward said York denied the woman's accusations. He was fired March 4.




A group of parents across Florida, including some in the Bay area and Central Florida, have filed a lawsuit challenging part of the state's reading retention law for third grade students.

Parents suing over 'illegal requirement to take state tests'



Parents say kids are proficient readers and had them opt out of test



Asking for damages resulting from kids not being promoted to 4th grade

The lawsuit targets standardized testing, specifically the reading portion of the Florida Standards Assessments for third-graders.

The 14 parents filing the lawsuit say their children are proficient readers and had their children opt out of the test, which is allowed under Florida law. The state, however, later told them their children would be held back over not taking the test.

Pasco and Hernando counties are two of the seven districts being sued, along with the Florida Department of Eduction and the State Board of Education.

The lawsuit says because of the policy: "a third-grader who takes the standardized tests and scores poorly.... can still be promoted. Yet, an outstanding student who regularly produces proficient school work in the classroom for which they receive passing grades will be retained simply for not taking a standardized test that they are permitted to opt out of."

There is a student portfolio exemption in the case of students who opt out of the FSA but that requires teachers to collect school work throughout the year and submit that to the principal for review.

The problem last year, according to the parents, is that it allegedly took the state until the end of the school year to even determine what an acceptable portfolio was.

The state board is not commenting on the lawsuit.

Parents are asking for damages resulting from their students not being promoted to fourth grade. It is not clear if a judge could force the board of education to promote the students to fourth grade once the lawsuit is decided.
Decapitated bodies line the streets of Acapulco, Mexico, a once-popular destination spot now a place where beach-goers carry small bags containing with weapons for their protection as cartels fight for turf.

The former tourist haven, with a population of 810,000, ranks as one of the most violent cities in the world. In 2015, a year that saw 1,170 killings, the city had a murder rate of 111 per 100,000 inhabitants. Even before that, Acapulco was dubbed Guerreros Iraq in 2012..
Louisiana, Oklahoma and Nebraska insurance regulators formally submitted objections to a proposed federal regulation that would impact short-term health insurance, just in time for the close of the comment period on August 9.

Here are seven things to know:

1. The proposed regulation would cut short-term health insurance coverage to less than three months.

2. Of the 88 submitted comments on the proposed regulation, 84 voiced objections.

3. The Nebraska Department of Insurance director opposed the rule because he believes it hurts individuals who can't afford Affordable Care Act health plans.

4. The Louisiana Department of Insurance commissioner voiced his opposition because a suppressed short-term health insurance market will not provide more affordable major medical plans.

5. Many states currently provide short-term coverage lasting up to 360 days. If the proposed rule passed, most states would experience a 75 percent reduction in their maximum coverage periods.

6. The Department of Insurance in Pennsylvania represented the sole supporter of the proposed rule.

7. The fate of the proposed regulatory rule will probably be decided in October.
The following hospitals announced plans to expand, upgrade or renovate their facilities in the last week.

1. Good Shepherd Health Care System breaks ground on $11M expansion

Hermiston, Ore.-based Good Shepherd Health Care System broke ground Aug. 9 on an $11 million expansion of its Women's Center, according to the Hermiston Herald.

2. Rezoning approved for $24M Erlanger behavioral health hospital

Rezoning of Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System's $25 million behavioral health hospital was approved Aug. 9 by the Chattanooga city council, according to The Chattanoogan.

3. Waynesboro Hospital breaks ground on $6M expansion

Waynesboro (Pa.) Hospital started a four-phase renovation project this month that includes technical additions and cosmetic updates to the 56-bed facility.

4. Mission Hospital $400M expansion larger than expected

Ashville, N.C.-based Mission Hospital, part of Ashville-based Mission Health, will add more beds to its emergency room than previously planned, according to a WLOS report.

5. Arkansas Children's Hospital plans center for childhood obesity

The Arkansas Children's Research Institute revealed plans to build a childhood obesity research center using $9.4 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, reports Arkansas Matters.

6. Hilton, Baptist Health plan 184-room hotel in Miami

Hilton Worldwide and Miami-based Baptist Health South Florida signed a franchise agreement to open a full service hotel on Baptist's main hospital campus in Miami.

7. Hawaii hospital to open ED by end of the year

Kapaau, Hawaii-based Kohala hospital's emergency department relocation and renovation project entered the inspection stage. Officials said the new ED will open by the end of the year, according to the Tribune Herald.

8. 3 things to know about Crystal Run Healthcare's new outpatient facility

Crystal Run Healthcare, a multi-specialty group medical practice based in Middletown, N.Y., opened its new outpatient facility in Clarkstown, N.Y., The Journal News reports.

9. St. Vincent HealthCare to open 3 stand-alone clinics in Florida

Jacksonville, Fla.-based St. Vincent's HealthCare, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Ascension, is building three health centers in Jacksonville.

10. City rejects UPMC's plan to renovate 100-year-old hospital

New Castle, Pa., city officials decided to withdraw from a project to renovate UPMC Jameson South Side, citing high costs as the main deterrent, according to the New Castle News.

11. Lakeland Health in Michigan plans $160M expansion

St. Joseph, Mich.-based Lakeland Health will expand its St. Joseph-based LakelandMedicalCenter in a $160 million project.
Older patients tend to be more susceptible to mental and physical deterioration in the hospital, even if they recover from the injury or illness that landed them there in the first place. However, hospital wards tailored to older patients' needs can help prevent such effects, according to NPR.

The need to address the unique challenges older patients face in the hospital is clear. One study published in 2011 cited by NPR found nearly a third of patients over age 70 and more than half of those over 85 left the hospital with greater disabilities than when they arrived.

"The older you are, the worse the hospital is for you," Ken Covinsky, MD, a physician and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco's division of geriatrics, told NPR. "A lot of the stuff we do in medicine does more harm than good. And sometimes with the care of older people, less is more."

Side effects of drugs, interrupted sleep, unappetizing food and long days spent in bed are uncomfortable for anyone, and can cost long lasting damage to the elderly. As a result, some hospitals have established separate medical units tailored to their older patients.

For example, the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center created the Acute Care for Elders ward in 2007. The ward is staffed by a health team trained in geriatrics, and focus less on the original diagnosis and more on how to get patients out of the hospital and living as independently as possible, according to the report.

Staff in the ward test patients' memory and evaluate how well they can walk and take care of themselves at home. They also encourage patients to do as much for themselves as possible, and remove catheters and IV tethers as soon as medically advisable, according to the report. The health team also encourages patients to get out of bed and have meals in the communal dining area.

While ACE units have been shown to reduced hospital-acquired disabilities in older patients, reduce length of stay and lower the number of patients discharged to nursing homes, so far, there are only 200 such units around the U.S.
Americans should be worried about Medicaid, the $500 billion federal program that provides healthcare coverage to the nation's most vulnerable, according to Scott W. Atlas, MD, a senior fellow at Stanford (Calif.) University's Hoover Institution.

In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Atlas, author of Restoring Quality Health Care: A Six Point Plan for Comprehensive Reform at Lower Cost, argues that Medicaid fails to provide adequate healthcare to its beneficiaries, most of whom (57 percent) are low-income minorities, calling the expansion of the program under the Affordable Care Act "one of the most misguided parts" of the health reform law, "shamefully expanding second-class healthcare for the poor."

Here are three thoughts from Dr. Atlas on Medicaid and how it fails the American poor.

1. Medicaid enrollees have a hard time getting physicians to see them. More than half of physicians  55 percent in major metropolitan areas refuse to take new Medicaid patients, Dr. Atlas wrote, citing a 2014 report from Merritt Hawkins. In the same year, HHS reported 56 percent of Medicaid primary care physicians and 43 percent of specialists wouldn't take on new patients.

2. They generally have worse outcomes. Medicaid patients have more in-hospital deaths, more post-surgical complications and longer hospital stays than privately insured patients with similar conditions, according to Dr. Atlas. He cited a randomized study by the Oregon Health Study Group that found having Medicaid coverage did not significantly improve patients' health compared with the uninsured as a result of Medicaid's limited access to drugs, specialists and technology.

3. Medicaid is in need of more ambitious reforms. Dr. Atlas argues current federal dollars should establish and begin funding for new Medicaid health savings accounts, which would incentivize beneficiaries to live healthy lifestyles. Medicaid reform should also link federal funding to states enrolling more citizens in private insurance.

"By changing Medicaid into a bridge to private insurance, Medicaid agencies would help beneficiaries shop for private plans," Dr. Atlas wrote. "Doctors and hospitals would receive payments from the same insurance that non-Medicaid patients receive. Second-class healthcare for the poor would be eliminated, and costs would come down. Shouldn't those be the goals of any administration's Medicaid reform?"
HHS' Office for Civil Rights is becoming more aggressive in enforcing HIPAA regulations. In the first seven months of 2016 alone, HHS recorded close to $15 million in settlement payments. As HIPAA audits ramp up, hospitals and health systems are bolstering safeguards and security practices to avoid multimillion dollar fines.

Here is a look back at 10 of the biggest HIPAA penalties and settlement agreements between healthcare organizations and HHS.

1. Advocate Health System (Downers Grove, Ill.): $5.55 million

The latest HIPAA settlement is also the biggest. In the first week of August, Advocate Health System agreed to settle HIPAA violation claims related to three data breaches that occurred in 2013. In total, the three incidents compromised the protected health information of 4 million individuals. Read more

2. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University (New York City): $4.8 million

In May 2014, these organizations agreed to pay a combined $4.8 million to settle charges from a 2010 breach when a Columbia-based physician attempted to deactivate a personal computer connected to the NewYork-Presbyterian network that contained patient information. The attempt left protected health information accessible on internet search engines. While separate entities, the organizations have an affiliation where Columbia professors work as attending physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian, and the two share a data network and firewall. NewYork-Presbyterian paid $3.3 million and Columbia paid $1.5 million. Read more

3. Cignet Health (Prince George's County, Md.): $4.3 million

HHS determined Cignet Health violated HIPAA by denying 41 patients' access to their medical records. The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires covered entities provide patients copies of records within 30 dates of a patient's request. The agency investigated Cignet Health, and the system allegedly refused to respond to OCR's demands to give patients the records. Read more

4. Triple-S (San Juan, Puerto Rico): $3.5 million

This insurance holding company settled alleged widespread noncompliance with HIPAA throughout its subsidiaries. The OCR investigated Triple-S after receiving multiple breach notifications. Read more

5. University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson): $2.75 million

The OCR launched an investigation into UMMC in March 2013 after the health system reported a missing password-protected laptop that contained protected health information. The breach affected approximately 10,000 individuals. The investigation found UMMC did not notify each individual whose information was compromised, nor did it initiate any risk management activity until after the breach. Read more

6. Oregon Health & Science University (Portland): $2.7 million

OHSU's HIPAA fine follows investigations into two 2013 data breaches affecting more than 7,000 patients total. In the first breach, an unencrypted laptop containing patient information was stolen from a surgeon's vacation home. In the second breach, residents and physicians-in-training had stored patient information in a Google-based cloud system that was not approved for storing such data. Read more

7. CVS Pharmacy (Woonsocket, R.I.): $2.25 million

In 2009, CVS paid $2.25 million to settle allegations that it failed to take reasonable and appropriate security measure to protect sensitive information of customers and employees. The Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into the pharmacy chain after allegations it was throwing pill bottles containing patient names, addresses, medications and personal information into open dumpsters. HHS also opened an investigation into the disposal of health information protected by HIPAA. HHS and the FTC coordinated their investigations. Read more

8. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital: $2.2 million

NewYork-Presbyterian was hit with another HIPAA settlement fine in April 2016 after television film crews for the show "NY Med" filmed two patients in the hospital without obtaining their authorization. OCR found the hospital also allowed film crews "virtually unfettered access to its healthcare facility, effectively creating an environment where PHI could not be protected from impermissible disclosure to the ABC film crew and staff," according to HHS. Read more

9. Concentra Health Services (Addison, Texas): $1.7 million

This subsidiary of Louisville, Ky.-based Humana that provides occupational medicine and other services faced HIPAA violation allegations after an unencrypted laptop was stolen from one of its facilities in 2012. The $1.725 million settlement was finalized in April 2014. Read more

10. Alaska Department of Health and Social Services: $1.7 million

Tied for the 10th biggest HIPAA fine is Alaska's health agency which reported a stolen USB hard drive containing protected health information. The OCR's investigation found ADHSS did not have adequate policies and procedures in place to safeguard electronic protected health information. The settlement was reached June 2012. Read more

10. WellPoint (Indianapolis): $1.7 million

Another $1.7 million settlement came from WellPoint (now Anthem) in July 2013. OCR launched an investigation into the health plan after a data breach exposed the protected health information of more than 612,000 individuals in a database. The investigation found WellPoint did not adequately implement policies or safeguards to protect such information. Read more

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Here are eight recent news updates on key health IT companies.

1. Oklahoma State University's Center for Health Systems Innovation in Stillwater launched its Center for Predictive Medicine which uses a national clinical database donated by Cerner.

2. Though the details are vague, rumors are flying about a new Apple device separate from the Apple Watch and iPhone that collects and tracks user biodata.

3. Allscripts and Hospital IQ, a hospital performance management platform, entered a strategic agreement in which Allscripts clients will have access to Hospital IQ's predictive analytics platform.

4. The second quarter of 2016 proved to be a positive one for Allscripts, which posted record bookings, 10 percent year-over-year revenue growth and 16 percent increase in profits.

5. As part of Cerner's acquisition of Siemens that was completed last year, the Kansas City, Mo.-based health IT vendor plans to scale up operations at a former Siemens facility in Malvern, Pa., by investing $75 million and creating 250 jobs.

6. After conventional methods of detection failed, a team of Japanese researchers from the University of Tokyo's Institute of Medical Science used IBM Watson to successfully diagnose a 60 year-old woman where physicians were unable to.

7. Apple announced its bug bounty program, offering bounties from between $25,000 to $200,000 for hackers to find and inform the company of flaws.

8. McKesson is planning on expanding employee numbers at its 340,000-square-foot distribution center in Clear Lake, Iowa.

More articles on health IT:

10 largest HIPAA settlement fines

Tesla's autopilot helps drive man to ER

Health IT costs exceed $32k per physician per year
Mission Trail Baptist Hospital in San Antonio has named Eric Schmacker president.

Here are three things to know about Mr. Schmacker.

1. He began his new role Aug. 1.

2. He replaces Andy Harris, who accepted a role as vice president of rural network development of Mission Trail's parent company, Baptist Health System in San Antonio.

3. Prior to joining Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, Mr. Schmacker was COO of North Central Baptist Hospital in San Antonio.
As'ad's Bio

As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.
John O'Malley has been appointed president of St. Joseph Mercy Livingston in Howell, Mich., effective Sept. 12.

Here are five things to know about Mr. O' Malley.

1. As president, he will lead day-to-day operations of both the hospital and St. Joseph Mercy Brighton (Mich.) health center, leading expansion projects at both campuses and serving as executive liaison within the community, according to Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Saint Joseph Mercy Health System.

2. Mr. O'Malley's appointment comes as Saint Joseph Mercy Health System facilities in Livingston County are undergoing a $41 million renovation to upgrade St. Joseph Mercy Livingston hospital and develop a short stay center for overnight stays at St. Joseph Mercy Brighton.

3. Previously, Mr. O'Malley served as CEO of Select Specialty Hospital, located within St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor.

4. In January 2015, he became a regional executive for Select, leading both the Ann Arbor facility as well as multiple other hospitals throughout the Midwest.

5. Before joining Select Specialty Hospital, he was an operations leader at Warren, Mich.-based St. John Providence Health System and served as its regional vice president of operations, business development and service lines.
Woodbury, N.J.-based Inspira Health Network has terminated its affiliation agreement with Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health, according to the Courier Post. The news follows Jefferson Health's announcement Tuesday that it will merge with Vorhees, N.J.-based Kennedy Health, pending regulatory approval.

"Jefferson's announcement of their intent to merge with Kennedy Health is a breach of our agreement and would impede our ability to partner with Jefferson to provide services in the region," said Inspira president and CEO John DiAngelo, according to the report. "As a result, Inspira's leadership felt that it was in the best interest of our community and our organization to seek other partners."

Steven Klasko, MD, president and CEO of Jefferson Health, told the Philadelphia Business Journal Tuesday that Jefferson's affiliation with Inspira was far less comprehensive than the system's planned merger with Kennedy.
The Florida Department of Health added four new cases to the state's tally of nontravel-related Zika infections, bringing the total number of such cases in the state to 21. All cases are suspected to have been transmitted in the Miami neighborhood of Wynwood.

Health officials are collecting samples for testing both within the less than one-square-mile Miami neighborhood and without. In total, there are 18 samples with pending results.

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On Tuesday, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton made a campaign stop at a local clinic in Wynwood. According to the New York Times, the presidential hopeful described the neighborhood as the frontline of the Zika fight in the U.S. and urged congressional leaders "to call people back for a special session and get a bill passed." Mrs. Clinton also cautioned that Miami is not likely to be the only city affected by the Zika virus unless substantial efforts are made to circumvent the spread of the virus.

In July, Congress broke for summer recess before passing a measure to allocate emergency funds to combat Zika. The inaction was the result of months of partisan squabbling.

As of Aug. 3, there have been 1,825 total reported cases of Zika infection in the U.S.  497 of those cases occurred in pregnant women.

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CDC director: Local Zika spread could last a year in Florida
Pressure to slash drug prices from both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, as well as leaders and consumer advocates around the globe, could spur changes to the drug pricing model, according to Fortune.

Setting drug prices based on how much they improve patients' health, or their value, rather than how many pills or vials are sold would ensure that limited funds yield the highest benefits. Additionally, such a pricing model would pay for the most promising medical advances in the future, according to the report.

However, shifting the entire pharmaceutical industry to a new model requires vast improvements in data collection, as well as a new mindset among drug company executives.

"Eventually, we are going to get there," said Kurt Kessler, managing principal at ZS Associates in Zurich, which advises companies on sales and marketing strategies, according to the report. "But it is a long, tough slog because it's difficult to get the right data and agree on what the right outcomes are to measure."

The U.S. drug market accounts for 40 percent of global drug sales, according to Fortune. Given the pledges by both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to take steps to curb drug prices, some pharmaceutical company executives have admitted to preparing for a "confrontational" period in relations with lawmakers, according to the report.

But some drug makers agree the pricing model needs to change. Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez believes drug makers must adopt value-based pricing models, such as the performance-based deal Novartis recently made with two U.S. insurers for its new heart failure drug.

Similarly, GSK CEO Andrew Witty believes an outcomes-based approach will slowly become the norm in more disease areas and geographies. "Whoever wins the election in the U.S., and also in Europe, we will see those conversations play out over the next few years," Mr. Witty told Reuters. "I am not particularly expecting anything dramatic in 2017. I would say it is worth keeping an eye open for evolution of change, probably in '18 and '19."
The rising cost of specialty drugs is the number one driver of healthcare expenses for large employers, according to a survey released Tuesday by the National Business Group on Health.

Although specialty drugs are used by less than 4 percent of the population, 31 percent of employers in the survey listed them as the top concern for healthcare costs, reported Washington Business Journal.

"Specialty drugs weren't even considered among the top five drivers of health costs in the same survey just three years ago," said Brian Marcotte, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.

With even more specialty medications coming down the pipeline in the near future, Mr. Marcotte projects a 17 percent jump in specialty drug costs.

In the survey, employers indicated plans of adopting "utilization management protocols" that help manage costs by influencing patient care decision-making on a case-by-case assessment.

Some companies are forming specialty tiers within their pharmacy benefits and requiring employees to obtain their specialty drugs only from specialty pharmacies.

Employers are also shifting focus from plan design changes to increased offerings of value-based care from affordable care networks and high-performance networks of providers.

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Valeant enters licensing agreement with Norgine
Misonix is supporting the Uganda Spine Surgery Mission for the fifth consecutive year, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Here are five things to know:

1. Plano-based Texas Back Institute's Isador Lieberman, MD, organized the mission.

2. In 2006, Dr. Lieberman co-founded the Uganda Spine Surgery Mission with Dr. Mark Kayanja, a Ugandan physician, to offer patients suffering from infectious, degenerative, traumatic and congenital spinal ailments advanced spine care.

3. Through the mission, Drs. Lieberman and Kayanja aim to educate local providers on best practices to serve these patients.

4. Other spine surgeons including Michael Hisey, MD, of the Texas Back Institute and Paul Holman, MD, neurosurgery director at Houston Methodist Spine Center, offer spine care through the emission.

5. Misonix is an international surgical device company that creates, manufactures and markets products for spine surgery, neurosurgery, wound debridement, skull-based surgery and laparoscopic surgery, among others.

"We're happy to be able to support the great work of the Uganda Spine Surgery Mission and continue to pledge our support as the mission's goals and values mirror those of Misonix, in that their dedication is fueled by their commitment to improving patient lives," said Scott Ludecker, senior vice president, Misonix. "Operating under less than ideal circumstances, the BoneScalpel allows these surgeons to be able to perform spine surgery that is safe, efficient and impactful. We want to thank Dr. Lieberman, the mission's many spine surgeons and medical staff for their charitable work in Uganda. Their selfless effort to help the less fortunate continues to be an inspiration to us all."

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Security firm G4S - which employs more than 1,500 staff across Northern Ireland - has warned that businesses could be hit by the UK's decision to quit the European Union.

Unveiling a significant rise in profits, the world's biggest security services provider said it feared that the country's workforce and economic growth may shrink as a result of Brexit.

"Depending on the nature of the terms of the UK's exit from the EU around the free movement of capital and labour, this could result in a shortage of skills or workforce availability in the UK market", the company said in a statement.

"It is also possible that the continuing period of uncertainty lowers economic growth in both the UK and Europe, which could affect both our customers and our competitors".

Shares in G4S rocketed 18% yesterday after the company reported pre-tax profits up 9.7% to 203m and revenue up 3.2% to 3.5bn, driven by success in winning new contracts worth 1.4bn.

Chief executive Ashley Almanza has been looking to shore up the company's balance sheet by winding down onerous contracts and disposing of loss-making businesses.

To this end, the firm sold seven businesses in the first half of the year, raising 32m. Since 2013, G4S has offloaded 25 businesses, raising a total of 288m.

Mr Almanza said: "Our plans are delivering tangible results. We have much to do to realise the full potential of our strategy which is underpinned by our growth, innovation, productivity and portfolio programmes. Executing these programmes and reducing net debt remain our key priorities."

Last year, G4S invested 3.4m in a new monitoring centre in Belfast which co-ordinates responses to incidents or alarms across the UK.

Although the company expressed concern about the Brexit vote impact, it said that it was "relatively well positioned, with around 80% of revenues outside the UK and minimal cross-border trading".

A G4S spokesman said: "We typically trade within national markets and have very little cross-border trade, so we anticipate that Brexit will have little impact on our ability to trade and grow.

"We don't operate in any of the four biggest eurozone markets of Germany, France, Italy or Spain.

"Although we haven't collected the data formally before, rough estimates would suggest that about 1% of our UK labour force are EU nationals.

"We think it's too early to say what impact a reduction in free movement would have or indeed if it will actually happen, but on the basis of the estimate we would anticipate the impact on the business to be fairly small."

However, a survey by the Bank of England reveals that many UK firms are expecting to put hiring and expansion plans on hold as they brace for a trading hit following the Brexit vote. The report showed a slowdown in business services growth and consumer spending, while firms across all sectors except manufacturing expect turnover to be knocked over the year ahead.

Business services and construction firms appeared the hardest hit, although manufacturers are expecting to see a boost from the weaker value of the pound, according to the Bank of England's report.
Steve Aiken has said the DUP have had a "u-turn" following the Brexit vote

Steve Aiken described the animal as a 'small, intelligent and ferocious Mexican attack dog'.

An Ulster Unionist MLA has hit out at the First Minister after she described him a Chihuahua in a debate over Brexit.

The debate began after Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Martin Mcguinness released a letter sent to Theresa May outlining their priorities for the upcoming Brexit negotiations.

When UUP MLA for South Antrim Steve Aiken criticised the DUP for their u-turn, Mrs Foster said that the party had sent their attack dog but he was more like a Chihuahua.

He quickly responded that this was the first time I've ever been compared to small but intelligent & ferocious Mexican attack dog.

@julianoneill - first time I've ever been compared to small but intelligent & ferocious Mexican attack dog!! @uuponline  Steve Aiken OBE MLA (@SteveAikenUUP) August 11, 2016

Read more:

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The joint letter raised five areas of concern for Northern Ireland after Brexit - the border border between Northern Ireland and the Republic; trading costs; the energy market; loss of EU funding and the agri-food sector.

As the DUP supported leaving the European Union, other parties accused Mrs Fosters party of trying to have their cake and eat it.

Dear Theresa,

I want to have my cake and eat it.

Love,

Arlene



Leaving EU but keeping all benefits not an option.https://t.co/Y0lSAQc7CK  Naomi Long MLA (@naomi_long) August 11, 2016

Mr Aiken told the BBC: "These are all concerns that existed before the referendum.

"Indeed given the content of the letter I would question whether this is a DUP u-turn on their position on the referendum after the vote has taken place?

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster, Mrs Foster said she didnt believe campaigning for Brexit was a mistake and it will bring opportunities as well as challenges.

Responding to the UUP MLAs comments, she said: "Poor Steven Aiken has been sent out once again to be the attack dog against the executive and frankly, he comes across more as a Chihuahua."

But Mr Aiken quickly responded on Twitter and his colleague Councillor Stephen Nicholl sent a photo of a Chihuahua baring his teeth, adding the comment that this was the UUPs new mascot.

Send your suggestions of politicians and the animals you think they look like to us

Tweet us @BelTel or email digital.editorial@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
An artist's impression of the proposed new Lanyon development in Belfast

One of the largest office developments planned for Belfast city centre is expected to get the green light later this month - valued at 55m.

Property developer Paddy Kearney is planning to develop a series of huge office buildings across the city over the next few years, in order to help meet a severe shortage of top-end office space in Belfast.

Mr Kearney's Kilmona Holdings will build two large buildings in a new development called Lanyon Central at East Bridge Street.

It's due to be made up of four separate buildings, including 14-storey and 10-storey office buildings, along with two smaller buildings.

Planners from Belfast City Council said on balance "the proposal would constitute an acceptable development at this location" and would "deliver the regeneration of a brownfield site in the city centre".

Kilmona, the firm behind the scheme, said the investment is worth 55m, and could create as many as 350 construction jobs over a two-year period.

It says the buildings would be able to hold 2,500 workers once completed.

The development will go before the planning committee on Tuesday, and is being put forward for approval.

It would be one of the largest single office developments proposed for the city in more than a decade.

The development will also feature retail units, car parking at lower ground floor level with an external plaza and landscaping.

The new buildings will sit on an empty brownfield site beside Central Station in east Belfast.

But the major development has received several objections from residents, as well as from Sinn Fein MLA Mairtin O Muilleoir, who is now Finance Minister.

In a letter to planners, he said: "I believe that the planned development would totally dominate the residential properties in the immediate area."

Speaking about the scale and size, planners said that "given the urban city centre context, it is considered that the height of the buildings proposed on East Bridge Street are acceptable and would not harm the character or appearance of the immediate area.

"The form and height of the proposal establishes a presence that responds to the scale and massing of other commercial buildings in the immediate environment that is considered to be appropriate."

Elsewhere in the city, Paddy Kearney has applied for planning permission to build another new office development.

His company is planning to knock down Scottish Amicable House at Donegall Square South, beside his hotel Ten Square, and build a nine-storey office development.

He had originally applied for permission to use the building as another extension to the hotel, asking to add another 66 bedrooms. The firm says it hasn't withdrawn that application, and instead is adding "options at this site".

A spokesman had told the Belfast Telegraph the application "is a response to the pent-up office demand in Belfast".
Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Jonathan Bell joins Beannchor GroupAos Petra and Bill Wolsey as Bill received the Industry Legend award at Hospitality UlsterAos Pub of the Year Awards 2015, in recognition of his commitment to the local hospitality industry. A total of 14 awards were presented at the prestigious ceremony, which was hosted by Cool FM presenter Pete Snodden and held at the La Mon Hotel and Country Club. The awards are the only industry recognised awards in Northern Ireland. This yearAos awards were supported by Britvic, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Dillon Bass, Drinks Inc., Heineken Northern Ireland, Henderson Foods, Molson Coors, Richmond Marketing, TennentAos NI, and media partners, Sunday Life, Downtown Radio/Cool FM and Hospitality Review NI. For the full list of winners visit www.nipuboftheyear.org. Photo by Press Eye.
Cat Deeley has revealed the sweet reason she and husband Patrick Kielty kept their son's name a secret for so long.

The TV presenter (39) and Northern Irish comedian (45) welcomed their first child in January and managed to keep his name under wraps until Cat wore a necklace last week with her son's name.

But the So You Think You Can Dance host revealed it wasn't a "contrived" press opportunity, but rather they wanted to wait until the six-month-old had met his family in Ireland first.

The couple, who wed in Italy in 2012, flew to Ireland in May for a few weeks to catch up with the Kieltys in Co Down and after that, decided it was time to share it with everyone else.

"The reason we didn't say it beforehand actually was because he hadn't met all the other family - my husband is Irish and he hadn't met all their family yet in Ireland, so it felt weird to announce it to everyone when he hadn't met his granny and uncles and nieces," she told Access Hollywood.

"There was nothing contrived. It was cute though, right?"

"We got back in June....don't expect him on the red carpet anytime soon!"

The new mother gushed over her son to PEOPLE about her hopes for his future, saying: "I would like him to do anything he wants to do. I would like him to be happy, first and foremost.

"I would like him to be kind, I would like him to be funny and I would like him to be smart. And any of those things are fine by me."

The loved-up pair said they would be raising their son in California for the time being, but haven't ruled out a return across the pond in future.

"We're going to ensure we take the baby back home to visit our families as much as possible but, for now, we're happy here in Los Angeles and are excited to bring up our child with an outdoors lifestyle."

"They're going to experience the LA sunshine Patrick and I never got to experience."

Irish Independent
The Duke and Duchess of Westminster with their baby boy Hugh in 1991

First Minister Arlene Foster has led tributes to billionaire landowner the Duke of Westminster, who grew up in her native Co Fermanagh.

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor - the third richest man in the UK, worth an estimated 9 billion - was born in Omagh and raised on an island in Lough Erne that he once described as "idyllic and isolated".

The 64-year-old died in hospital in Lancashire on Tuesday afternoon following a suspected heart attack.

Read More

The DUP leader said she was "deeply saddened" by his death and added that the people of Fermanagh would remember him with "great affection".

She said that the father-of-four maintained close links to the county right up to his death.

"The Duke never lost his attachment for his childhood home and the last time I spoke with him was at the memorial service for the Earl of Erne in Enniskillen Cathedral in May of this year," she said.

"The Duke of Westminster may have been a very rich person, but he used his fortune for good in many areas of London and beyond. He was above all a man of the country and loved farming, something that is obviously linked back to his upbringing here in rural Fermanagh.

"His untimely death at the age of just 64 will of course be felt most keenly by his family, and I send them my deepest condolences, but he will also be mourned in Fermanagh, where he will always be remembered with great affection."

The Duke and his wife Natalia had three daughters and a son.

The Duke spent many years of his youth on a Fermanagh island where he had plans to become a beef farmer.

But after his uncle died without any heirs, his father Robert inherited the title and his life was to change dramatically. The Duke had previously insisted he wasn't interested in his wealth, saying in a rare interview: "Not interested in material things. Honestly. It would drive me bonkers if I thought too deeply about it."

Fermanagh-South Tyrone MP Tom Elliott said the Grosvenor family were very much part of the community where he grew up.

"I know the Duke of Westminster and his father looked on themselves very much as Fermanagh people," he said.

"They worshipped in the local church, shopped in the local shops. I think people looked at them very much as Fermanagh as well.

"There are many stories going around about how they were very integrated into the community and even though they may have had a lot of wealth, they were very much down to earth people and grounded in their Fermanagh roots."
A young Co Down fisherman is fighting for his life in hospital following an accident at sea.

Dinu Aurelian, originally from Ovidiu, Romania, but now based in Ardglass, was injured on board the Sea Harvester fishing vessel last Wednesday afternoon. The incident occurred near the Scottish island of Ailsa Craig.

Dinu was airlifted to hospital in Glasgow where he is understood to be in an induced coma after suffering a serious head injury.

His mother has flown from Romania to be with him in the specialist intensive care unit, where his girlfriend is also present.

The prawn trawler, which was originally towed to Campbeltown following the accident, is now back in Ardglass and a formal investigation by marine authorities into the incident is under way.

Dinu lived on the boat at the harbour in Ardglass, as is the norm for a number of foreign nationals working on local fishing boats.

Dinus Facebook page shows him proudly standing by the Sea Harvester vessel he refers to as My Boat as well as photos of his catches. He also posted photos of him socialising in local bars.

According to residents his high standard of English helped him to mix well with other people in the village, who are concerned to hear what has happened.

Local community group Street Safe has appealed for people to pray for the fisherman.

On their Facebook page they posted: Can we ask everyone on our page also in our community to light a candle and say a prayer for local Ardglass fisherman Dinu Aurelian who is

critically ill in hospital following an accident at sea ... we pray that he makes a full recovery.

Dick James, of The Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation Ltd, explained that his organisation offered advice and help to boat owners in such circumstances.

He said they were awaiting the results of an investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Bureau and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to establish what exactly had happened.

They will look over the vessel in terms of safety regulations to see if there are any anomalies, he said.

Mr James said Dinu was a senior deck hand and keen worker on the boat. He is a terribly nice fellow who is well skilled, added Mr James.

He is a popular fellow in the village.

A spokesman for the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said that it was investigating the incident.

MAIB has started an investigation of the serious injury to a crewman on board the UK registered fishing vessel Sea Harvester when 7.3 miles north west of Ailsa Craig, Scotland, on August 3, the spokesman said.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed it was also conducting an investigation.
Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses following a collision in Colin Glen Forest Park that killed mother-of-three Valerie Armstrong.

Valerie (35), died the day after she was hit by a scrambler bike at around at 5.45pm on Tuesday 19 July as she walked her dog in a Colin Glen Forest Park in west Belfast.

She left behind her husband of 11 years, Seamus, and three children, Dylan (10), Lucy (7) and five-year-old Sophie-Belle, who is due to start primary school in September.

Inspector James Murphy who is leading the investigation has appealed for any further witnesses to come forward to assist with the police investigation into the tragic incident.

Inspector Murphy said: "Whilst we have been contacted by a number of people who were in the area at the time of the incident, we believe that there are many more people that were there that evening.

"I am appealing for them to get in touch with police. Officers are striving to carry out a full and detailed investigation into Valeries death and with the local communitys help we hope to achieve this."

Last month Fr Vincent Cushnahan said the family were "in a state of shock", but grateful for the support received from neighbours and medical staff.

He said that Mrs Armstrong went to church every Sunday with her children. "She was a very joyful and committed presence in the church," he said.

"We would have found her a very dedicated mother to her three children, and she and her husband Seamus worked very hard in their respective places of employment to make sure their children were well provided for.

"She seemed to be a generous, kind and loving person who was filled with life and the natural expectations of a young mum."

Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The scene of a collision at the Springbank pond in the Colin Glen Forest park in which a woman has been struck by a motorbike. July 19 2016 ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Police at the scene in Colin Glen Forest Park on Tuesday night Kevin Scott / Presseye The scene of a collision at the Springbank pond in the Colin Glen Forest park in which a woman has been struck by a motorbike. July 19 2016 ( Photo by Kevin Scott / Presseye ) Kevin Scott / Presseye Colin Glen Forest Park in west Belfast KEVIN SCOTT / BELFAST TELEGRAPH / Facebook

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Mrs Armstrong had worked as a waitress at Cafe Vaudeville, and on the news of her death her employers posted on Facebook: "It is with heavy hearts that all of us at Cafe Vaudeville have taken the news of our friend and colleague Valerie Armstrong's tragic death."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at Musgrave on 101 quoting reference 1041 19/07/16. Information can also be given anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Childhood memories: the Duke was born in Omagh and was raised at Ely Lodge on the shores of Lough Erne

Despite being Britain's richest aristocrat, with a fortune estimated at more than 8bn, the Duke of Westminster never forgot his humble upbringing near Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh.

The sudden death of Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor at the age of 64 at the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire on Tuesday has been keenly felt in the place he once described as "idyllic."

Born in Omagh, Co Tyrone, he grew up at Ely Lodge, a secluded country mansion on the opposite side of Lough Erne with his sisters Leonora and Jane, who became in due course the Countess of Lichfield and the Duchess of Roxburghe.

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With a keen interest in the rural surroundings, the Duke, who didn't inherit the title until he was 27, once recalled how popping down to the corner shop to buy sweets was always "a bit of a safari."

Ely Lodge, which he said gave him a "swallows and Amazons" childhood, was where he got to explore the great outdoors such as traversing the vast estate which comprised 1,000 acres in Fermanagh and 1,500 acres in Tyrone, fishing and boating on Lough Erne.

The family yacht was called Trasna and was moored at the jetty near Ely Lodge. Trasna, 54 feet in length, was built at Bangor shipyard around 1968, and could hold up to 16 passengers.

The widow of the family's former butler and chauffeur, who lived at Ely Lodge, recalls the young Duke whom she fondly remembers as "a cheeky chappy."

"We went to live at Ely Lodge when our son wasn't even walking. We lived in the stables where the Duke and Duchess had lived prior to that. That's how we first met them. The garage was where the cars were kept and so we saw the family quite often.

"Gerald was like every boy, he was a boy, a lad. Sometimes he was a little cheeky and would have acted the cod about the place. He would get into the car with dirty feet and when my husband said, 'If you do that again I'll tell your dad on you,' he would laugh at him. He was a rascal.

"Gerald would have asked my husband for a cigarette but he wouldn't give him one. One day, however, he did and the father happened to walk by and found Gerald smoking. He sent him to his room for a week and he wasn't allowed out."

The former Enniskillen woman, who prefers to stay out of the limelight and asked not to be named, says the Duke's mother, Viola, the Duchess of Westminster who died in a car crash, "was soft on him" while his father was much the opposite.

"Gerald used to ride horses and go boating. If my husband was down cleaning the boat, he used to go out on it. He would spend a lot of time running after him, like every youngster Gerald was just a lad. He was a friendly lad, we saw him through all the holidays; he and his sisters used to go exploring the islands in the Lough Erne but they wouldn't tell their mother and father.

"He used to drive a Mini around the estate and as soon as my husband washed it he would have driven it through the dirtiest part of the yard. My husband would have peace for a day or so and then it would be the same again.

"He always wanted to go into Enniskillen and would have asked my husband to bring him into town. He was just a typical young boy," she told the Belfast Telegraph.

"I am saddened by his death. He did a lot of good throughout his life," she added.

When he was just seven years old, the young Gerald was sent to prep school in Sunningdale, Berkshire. He wasn't to shine in the world of academia, though, and later left Harrow with only two O-levels in English and history. "I was not motivated at school. I was unhappy. I never applied myself. I found it very difficult to make friends," he later said. "I did not need O-levels to lead, to have judgment, to make decisions and to be decided."

At 15, it seems, he began to grasp the full implications of his destiny when his father told him of his likely inheritance. It was anathema to him. "It almost made me run for the door, slam it and keep running," he recalled years later. "The implications were daunting. In Ulster I was called Gerald all my life and there was no question of titles, 'Your Grace this, Your Grace that'. I find it very embarrassing when people ask what they should call me - then, I stumble."

The Duke's 21st birthday party was held at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen and was organised by the owner Raymond McCartney. It wasn't all fun, however. As a young man, Gerald had to start learning the management of the family estates instead of taking up an Army career as intended, though he did go on to serve with the Territorials, eventually becoming a major-general and assistant chief of the defence staff with responsibility for the Army reserves and cadets.

Ironically, the Duke wasn't meant to inherit the title and had always rather hoped he would end up a beef farmer, but after his uncle died without heirs, his father, Robert, inherited the title. He said in later life that "the accident of inheritance" had taken him away from the simple life of a farmer like his father.

His father, Lieutenant Colonel Robert George Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, was the Ulster Unionist MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone and one-time parliamentary private secretary to Edward Heath. The UUP's Tom Elliott, the area's current Westminster MP, said like his father, the Duke "served the people of the constituency well."

"Even when he had left Fermanagh the county was never far from his mind. He would have taken a great interest in the people and in particular the farming industry. He would have asked about local agriculture and business. He was particularly interested in knowing how the High Street was doing and if the businesses were able to compete against the multi-nationals," he said.

Mr Elliott described the Duke "as a man of the people who always looked out for the vulnerable."

"He was always down to earth, was always as comfortable talking to ordinary people like me as he was mixing with the more elite members of society. He never forgot his roots," he said.

First Minister Arlene Foster, the MLA for Fermanagh South Tyrone, spoke to the Duke when he attended a memorial service for Lord Erne at St Macartin's Cathedral in Enniskillen in May.

"By attending that memorial service and coming back to Fermanagh he showed the affection that he had for the county. I do think this area played a big part in his life.

"He always thought he was going to be a beef farmer, he wasn't born to be the Duke. He didn't have a lot of airs and graces, he wasn't the kind of person who you felt intimidated by, he was very pleasant," Mrs Foster told the Belfast Telegraph.

The Duke, a friend of the royal family, was said to be the 68th richest billionaire in the world, and third in the UK. But he once said: "Given the choice, I would rather not have been born wealthy, but I never think of giving it up. I can't sell. It doesn't belong to me." When he appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 1995, he gave a further insight into how his vast wealth had not perhaps always sat easily with him: "In the context of eternity, if I am lucky I might live 70 years, but this estate has been with us for 3, 4, 5, 600 years. I am only a mere flicker in the process of time. It is what I do with it, rather than what I am worth, that I believe is more important."

In 1998, the Duke suffered a nervous breakdown and depression, later saying he had become exhausted from the pressures of business and public appearances. He rarely gave interviews and in 1992 talked about how he wanted to teach his son, Hugh Grosvenor, now 25, who will inherit his fortune, "self-discipline and a sense of duty."

"He has to see himself as a caretaker, keeping the estates in good shape in his lifetime. It took me 10 years just to understand what I had inherited. It hasn't been easy."

The Duke supported a number of charities and good causes, including making a 500,000 donation to farmers during the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have sent a message of condolence to the Grosvenor family while the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall said yesterday they were "deeply shocked and greatly saddened" by the sudden death.

A spokeswoman for the Grosvenor family said on Tuesday: "It is with the greatest sadness that we can confirm that the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, died this afternoon at Royal Preston Hospital. He was taken there from the Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire where he had suddenly been taken ill. No further comment will be made for the time being but further information will follow in due course."

Additional reporting by Tim Ferres, who blogs as Lord Belmont
Ruth Pollock (left) at home with neighbour Sandra Kilgore, who is helping her while her husband Chris is in hospital

An elderly farmer who suffered a heart attack after he was badly beaten during a terrifying raid at his north Antrim home has been moved to another hospital to have a stent inserted.

Chris Pollock (78) was savagely assaulted when he bravely tried to fight back against two masked thugs who targeted his home at Lisnagat Road, Mosside, near Ballymoney.

Mr Pollock's wife Ruth told the Belfast Telegraph her husband had been moved from the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine to Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry for the procedure.

A stent helps keep the heart's arteries open to reduce the chances of a coronary.

Mrs Pollock said: "We thought he might have been able to get home on Tuesday but he has now been moved to Altnagelvin for further tests and may also have to get a stent inserted.

"It is concerning, and I am praying that he makes a full recovery."

Mrs Pollock suffered serious bruising to her arms after being tied up during the ordeal early on Monday morning when she and her husband were bundled out of their bed.

The couple were frog-marched to their living room where they were tied up as thieves demanded to know where they kept their money.

The house was ransacked and the evil raiders, who claimed to be "from the IRA", even threatened to burn a Bible belonging to the couple, who are regular gospel hall attendees. A spokeswoman for the Northern Health Trust confirmed yesterday that Mr Pollock had been moved to Altnagelvin and said he was in a "stable condition".

Mrs Pollock was released from hospital on Monday, and she praised the actions of neighbours, who have rallied round and have been helping out on the farm while her husband recovers in hospital.

"I couldn't ask for better neighbours, I have been heartened by the response," said Mrs Pollock.

"Neighbours have been helping out on the farm and I have also had people staying over with me the last few nights while Chris has been in hospital."

Yesterday morning one of them, Sandra Kilgore, was with Mrs Pollock in the farmhouse.

Ms Kilgore said: "Everybody in the area was really shocked by what happened to Chris and Ruth.

"Nothing like this has happened here and we all hope the police catch whoever did this as soon as possible.

"The community has rallied round and local farmers have been helping look after the farm for her, and people have been staying over to help ensure she feels safe."

There has been a huge swell of condemnation of the incident on social media.

Local politicians have also called for tougher sentences for people convicted of such crimes against the elderly.

North Antrim Assemblymen Robin Swann and Mervyn Storey are among those who have called for a tougher response against the thugs who target older people.

Mr Swann called on the Stormont Justice Minister Claire Sugden "to classify attacks on the elderly as hate crimes and to radically increase the punishments for those found guilty by the courts of such heinous attacks on older people".

Mr and Mrs Pollock were married in 1999.

They have lived in the farmhouse since.
Thousands of people have attended the funeral of the former Bishop of Derry Edward Daly.

Dr Daly's family and fellow clergy were joined at St Eugene's Cathedral by political and religious leaders from across Ireland.

The bells of both St Eugene's Cathedral and the Church of Ireland's St Columb's Cathedral began ringing out across the city at 3.30pm.

A papal tribute to Dr Daly's dedication to peace and justice was read out during the service.

As a young cleric the future Bishop of Derry waved a blood-stained white rag as a symbol of ceasefire as he led a mortally injured teenage civil rights protester to safety under army fire in January 1972.

The peacemaker and staunch opponent of all violence died on Monday aged 82.

[Audio] Listen to Bishop McKeown's homily below

Irish President Michael D Higgins and Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness were among mourners.

A message from a spokesman for Pope Francis said: "Recalling Bishop Daly's generous and dedicated episcopal ministry in the service of peace and justice, His Holiness joins you in prayerful thanksgiving for his life and in commending his soul to the merciful love of God Our Father."

Expand Close Former SDLP leader John Hume attending the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PA PA / Facebook

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Mourners, including the Queens representative Lord Lieutenant of Derry Angela Garvey, heard the current Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown pay tribute to Dr Daly as a man of peace who opposed violence from all quarters during the Troubles.

"His ministry was marked by total dedication to the people he served, wherever he was called to minister," said Bishop McKeown.

"That dedication was visible in outstanding courage. He showed physical courage on Bloody Sunday and his moral courage was evident in his passionate struggle against violence and injustice from all quarters.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Connor Anthony Farquhar (second left) attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PA PA Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PA PA Fr. Aidan Troy attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PA PA Former Stormont MP Ivan Cooper attending the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: A family walks past a mural depicting a scene from Bloody Sunday as final preparations for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: Irish President Michael D. Higgins (C) arrives for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: A priest holds an order of service for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: John Hume (C) arrives for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness arrives for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: Civil Rights activist during Bloody Sunday Ivan Cooper (R) arrives for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: Irish President Michael D. Higgins arrives for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: Priests stand in procession for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Musician Phil Coulter attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA John Hume (left) hugs Kay Duddy, sister of Bloody Sunday victim Jackie Duddy, before the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Former Stormont MP Ivan Cooper attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Former Church of Ireland Primate Dr Robin Eames attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness attending the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Civil rights campaigner Nell McCafferty (left) attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Kay Duddy (centre), sister of Bloody Sunday victim Jackie Duddy, attends the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Irish President Micheal D Higgins is welcomed by Bishop Donal McKeown (front right) to the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 11, 2016. The former Bishop of Derry who came to the aid of a dying civil rights protester on Bloody Sunday and waved a white handkerchief in an enduring image of the Troubles died on Monday aged 82. See PA story ULSTER Daly. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire PA LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - AUGUST 11: A young boy points at a mural depicting a scene from Bloody Sunday as final preparations for the funeral of the late retired Bishop of Derry, Dr. Edward Daly as he lies in state at St. Eugene's Cathedral on August 11, 2016 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The iconic image of the then Fr Daly waving a hankerchief over one of the Bloody Sunday victims became one of the most enduring images of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Bishop Daly who has been described as a fearless peace-builder passed away at the age of 82 following a brief illness, he will be buried this afternoon in the grounds of the cathedral following requiem mass. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) Getty Images / Facebook

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"It takes enormous courage to be a peacemaker and he was an apostle of mercy, whether as a curate, as a bishop or as chaplain in the Foyle Hospice. For that courageous service of God and of his people, we give thanks today. We have all been blessed by it."

Bishop McKeown said the thousands of people who had filed past the coffin of Bishop Daly in the past four days showed that they value loving, courageous, generous spiritual leadership. Bishop Daly would not seek praise for himself. He would ask that more young people dedicate their lives to his sort of service to God and his people.

He said his first encounter with Bishop Edward Daly was when he visited the Irish College in Rome in 1974.

Expand Close Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness attending the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. PA PA / Facebook

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"He was a young bishop and we were studying theology. He asked us to do one thing  he said please pray for me," said Bishop McKeown.

"This was not merely a pious expression. Rather they seemed to come from a heart which knew the maelstrom that was Northern Ireland in those awful years.

"He knew about murder and loss. He knew that the years of conflict followed upon decades of terrible poverty and discrimination  as well as heroic generosity. "He knew the enormous resilience of people who could face almost anything together."

Funeral for Bishop Edward Daly has begun in Derry. St Eugene's Cathedral filled to capacity. Hundreds more outside pic.twitter.com/Uv3WsKYSTl  Lesley-Anne McKeown (@LAMcbelfast) August 11, 2016

Archbishop Eamon Martin speaking at the end of the Mass said Dr Daly was a wonderful priest and bishop with charisma that made him so uniquely suited to service in this time and place.

There was never any doubt that Edward Daly was a great priest, a caring and compassionate pastor, a man of prayer and peace, a courageous and fearless leader, a special person.

The cleric's use of a white handkerchief during a massacre of innocent civil rights protesters by soldiers in Derry in Northern Ireland became an enduring image of the conflict.

As a young priest he famously led the brave group bearing fatally injured Jackie Duddy, 17, to safety.

Paratroopers had opened fire and killed 13 people. Fourteen were injured and another was to die later.

Bloody Sunday has been described as one of the catalysts of IRA recruitment and the 30-year conflict which left more than 3,000 dead and many others injured.

He will be buried in the cathedral grounds afterwards.
The wife of a civil engineer has made a desperate plea to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for lifesaving treatment for her husband, who has been told he has only months left.

Natasha Carey (nee Healey) lives in Portglenone with her husband Kevin, who was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.

Kevin's last hope is pioneering immunotherapy treatment - but it costs over 200,000, as it is only available privately.

Natasha and Kevin, who have been married for over six years, were on a trip to Portstewart in July last year when he became unwell and suddenly took a number of seizures.

He was rushed to hospital where he was misdiagnosed with sudden onset epilepsy.

But after arranging their own MRI scan Kevin, a former GAA player, was given the devastating diagnosis of glioblastoma - an aggressive grade four terminal brain tumour.

He underwent gruelling treatment involving major brain surgery in September last year. This was followed by six weeks of radio-chemotherapy, then six months of full strength chemotherapy to blast the last remaining cancer cells.

The Portglenone man, who is described by Natasha as "wonderful, kind and funny", remained positive and determined throughout his treatment.

Then in June this year medics told the couple the treatment worked and to book a holiday. However, days before they were to jet off Kevin fell ill again, and a year to the day he was first diagnosed, Kevin was given the heartbreaking news that the treatment hadn't worked.

Natasha, who works as an optician for the NHS, said the tumour was growing so aggressively it had wrapped itself around major arteries, making it's way higher up into Kevin's brain.

"Two weeks ago we were told Kevin had a three-month life expectancy, even with more chemotherapy," she said.

"Kevin had to make a rapid decision to choose whether or not to undergo risky specialist neurosurgery away from home in London to try again to remove the bulk of the tumour. He is the bravest, most fearless man I know and replied to the three-month life expectancy news with: 'I won't be beaten, I want to fight'.

"We got on the next flight to London, where Kevin had fully awake, local anaesthetic, brain surgery, which lasted a gruelling five hours. His head was put in a metal clamp and a saw was used to open the skull.

"They gave him a few sedatives to calm his nerves and that was it. The surgery was a horrific experience for Kevin.

"One experienced neurosurgeon said it was one of the hardest things she has ever had to witness. Kevin has taught them, and me, what strength really means."

The neurosurgeons managed to remove almost 97% of the tumour. But the remaining 3-5% is still aggressive, and it's a race against the clock now to try to halt its growth.

Their only hope at a chance to prolong his life, and put an end to this horrific ordeal, is pioneering immunotherapy in London.

Natasha explained: "Immunotherapy teaches the immune system to find and attack the brain cancer cells, however it is only available privately and will cost 205,000. We are putting all our personal finances, every penny we have, into funding this treatment, plus travelling back and forth to London, but we can't meet it alone."

In just one day more than 100,000 has been raised for Kevin on his fundraising page. An emotional Natasha said she was "overwhelmed and amazed" by the response.
The man was later placed on the floor of the hospital and had his legs strapped.

A man had to be restrained on the floor of a hospital after he hit out at officers.

He had been taken for treatment following a domestic incident where he was sprayed with CS spray.

On Wednesday night police attended the domestic type call where the offender was placed under arrest.

However when he fought back he was sprayed with CS spray but still managed to make off from the officers.

A short time later the man was located close to the original incident location.

He was detained but had suffered a cut to his hand after punching through a window and needed to be taken to hospital for treatment before going to custody.

While in Daisy Hill A&E, held by two officers and surrounded by a further four, the man hit out again despite being handcuffed.

He was then placed on the floor and had his legs strapped.

PSNI officers said: "Despite his abusive language and struggling, the magnificent doctor and nurses treated the man, patched him up and we were able to take him on to custody. He will be dealt with later this morning.

"To the patients in the waiting room, apologies that you were forced to listen to the man in question and watch his carrying on, to the patients whose treatment was put back as a result of this thank you for your patience and to the staff  thank you whole heartedly for your efforts. You dont get paid enough."
A man who damaged an assault victim's teeth in a Belfast city centre street attack may have had his drink spiked, a court heard.

A man who damaged an assault victim's teeth in a Belfast city centre street attack may have had his drink spiked, a court heard today.

Barry Douglas has no memory of launching the violent early morning assault on another man, his lawyer said.

The 35-year-old defendant was sentenced to 160 hours community service and ordered to pay 400 compensation for the injuries inflicted.

Douglas, of Ardcaoin Walk in the Dunmurry area, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Belfast Magistrates' Court heard he had acted aggressively, puffing out his chest and shouting loudly on the Dublin Road in the early hours of 6 December last year.

Prosecutors said the victim tried to calm him down and then felt an impact to his forehead.

He was taken to hospital for treatment to cuts and bruising, along with two chipped teeth.

Defence counsel Michael Boyd described his client as a "respectable" man who remembers little about the incident.

"He simply can't get his head round why he behaved that way on that particular night," the barrister said.

"He believes his drink may have been interfered with in some way."

Mr Boyd stressed his client accepted responsibility, adding: "He's ashamed by what he did."

Recognising Douglas' previous clear record, District Judge Alan White imposed community service and financial compensation.

Any failure to pay could result in 14-day imprisonment, he warned.
Three men are to stand trial for alleged roles in a major drugs distribution operation run on the dark web from a bedroom, a judge ruled.

They face charges connected to a suspected racket involving couriers being used to deliver MDMA and other substances across parts of Northern Ireland.

Police seized ecstasy pills, herbal cannabis and diazepam tablets worth an estimated 100,000 in separate raids on addresses in Coleraine, Co Londonderry and east Belfast 12 months ago.

Appearing before the city's Magistrates' Court today were 26-year-old Kyle Hall, Richard Sinclair, 33, and 29-year-old Stephen Rodgers.

Hall, of Chamberlain Street in Belfast, and Sinclair, from Cranagh Road in Coleraine, face a range of charges including possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and having criminal property.

Sinclair is further accused of importing quantities of ecstasy.

Rodgers, from Glynn Park Close in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, is charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A, B and C drugs, along with converting criminal property.

The alleged offences cover a period between January 2014 and August 2015.

At a previous hearing it was claimed the operation involved drugs being bought and sold online via the dark net, and dispatched to customers in the post using the electronic bitcoin currency.

Couriers unwittingly delivered some consignments hidden inside jigsaw puzzles, it was claimed.

Police were said to have uncovered a list of customer names, email and delivery addresses, types of drugs, quantities, purchases and sales during a swoop on Sinclair's bedroom.

Officers also recovered thousands of pounds in cash as part of the investigation.

During preliminary enquiry proceedings today defence lawyers did not resist prosecution submissions that the three accused each have a case to answer.

Hall, Sinclair and Rodgers all declined to give evidence or call witnesses at this stage in the case.

District Judge Alan White granted a prosecution application to have them returned for trial at Belfast Magistrates' Court.

Releasing them on continuing bail, he told the trio: "You will be informed of a date for your arraignment, turn up on that date."
Police have launched an attempted murder investigation after a viable pipe bomb type device was found in north Belfast.

It is believed that the device, which was found on North Queen Street on Tuesday morning, had been thrown at a police vehicle the night before.

DCI Peter Montgomery said: ATO examined a suspicious object that was discovered in the area, carried out a controlled explosion, and later declared it to be a viable device which was removed for further forensic examination.

"It is now believed that this device was most likely thrown at a police vehicle the evening before. If this is an attack on police officers, we are very lucky that none of my colleagues or members of the public were injured.

This incident also caused massive inconvenience, disruption and upset for the local community of north Belfast and I would like to reiterate our thanks to the members of the public for their patience and cooperation during the operation on Tuesday morning.

He added that police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

He said: I am appealing for anyone who noticed any activity in the North Queen Street area, close to Spamount Street, between Monday evening and Tuesday morning. I am also interested in speaking to the driver of a White Van seen in North Queen Street, just before midnight.

"Anyone with any information that could assist with the investigation to contact Detectives at Musgrave Police Station on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 247 of 09/08/16. Alternatively, if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The PSNI Chief Constable was brought in for interrogation last night - by his followers on Twitter.

Questions put to George Hamilton by social media users ranged from the serious to the utterly ridiculous in the hour-long quiz.

Mr Hamilton, who is a veteran of Twitter Q&A sessions with the public, revealed everything from how many officers he wants to recruit to how many Smarties can fit in a PSNI Land Rover.

Using the hashtag #AskChiefCon, a Twitter user called Martin asked the PSNI chief: "When is next recruitment campaign for Police Constables?"

Mr Hamilton, whose Twitter handle is @ChiefConPSNI, replied: "Timing of next recruitment campaign is still TBC (to be confirmed). Depending on budget an estimated 300-400 people will be recruited."

Andyg continued with the theme: "Budgets aside is there any appetite to recruit part time officers?"

Mr Hamilton revealed that the PSNI is now examining its workforce model and "part time officers will be considered in this review".

However, one Assembly Member seemed surprised at policing levels in one particular unit.

Ulster Unionist MLA Robin Swann asked: "How many officers are currently in the PSNI Rural Crime Unit?" Mr Hamilton responded: "There is no rural crime unit, but it remains a priority in relevant areas and is tackled on a daily basis."

A nonplussed Mr Swann replied: "When was it disbanded - there was a lot of fanfare when it was established?"

#AskChiefCon Thanks to everyone who asked me a question. pic.twitter.com/AlsvWRKk1g  George Hamilton (@ChiefConPSNI) August 10, 2016

But there was no reply to that query.

No Twitter Q&A can end without things taking a surreal twist, and last night's was no exception. Diarmuid MacAoidh asked: "How many Smarties does it take to fill a Land Rover? Has anyone ever tried putting Smarties in a Land Rover?"

Mr Hamilton seemed remarkably well-informed on how many of the sweets could fit into different types of the PSNI's armoured Land Rovers - "3,698,167 Smarties in a Pangolin, 4,092,473 in a Tangi."
More than 50 officers are to join a new policing unit dedicated to crushing paramilitary gangsterism across Northern Ireland.

Investigators will target key loyalist and republican paramilitaries involved in criminality and organised crime, as well as low-level gang members.

Specialist financial probes will also seek to identify and seize assets gained through criminality.

The team will comprise of 56 police officers and six police staff at an annual cost of over 4m a year for five years, the Northern Ireland Policing Board has been informed.

Read More

This model is considered to be "the optimal resource necessary to deliver effective, long term dismantling of paramilitary groups", the PSNI said.

Calls have been made for a more "robust" strategy from Stormont to deal with paramilitarism in the wake of the murder of prominent loyalist John 'Bonzer' Boreland.

The 42-year-old's murder last Sunday night has reignited concern over paramilitary criminality.

An assessment by the PSNI and MI5 last year of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland concluded that members of organisations like the UVF, Red hand Commando, UDA, PIRA and INLA, "continue to engage in violent activity, both directed by local leadership and conducted without sanction".

The assessment, which was commissioned by the Secretary of State, said that "violence and intimidation are used to exercise control at a community level".

It also confirmed that they are involved in large-scale smuggling operations, fuel laundering, drug dealing and extortion of local businesses. The PSNI said that the objective of its five-year strategy to tackle paramilitary activity is "the dismantling of organised crime gangs".

However, DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson warned that a "culture of fear" is preventing people from reporting paramilitary criminality to police.

"You have to have the evidence to bring people before the courts. If a businessman is facing a demand for money the police need that businessman to stand up in court and give evidence. There's a culture of fear that we need to tackle and that's how the paramilitaries operate. Rounding them up is one thing, convicting in court is another," he told the BBC's Nolan Show.

Read More

Victims campaigner Raymond McCord, whose son was murdered by the UVF, said communities remained to be convinced by the PSNI's determination to stamp out paramilitarism.

"When you have police officers watching a gang of UVF men march down a main road and into a housing estate in a show of strength like they did last week on the Shore Road, how can you believe they are really going to tackle paramilitarism?" said Mr McCord.

"Until the police show they can stand up to paramilitaries we will see more murders like the murder of John Boreland."

Dr Jonny Byrne, a lecturer in criminology at the Ulster University, said that any focused resources could only be a positive development.

"However, this can only succeed with support and contribution from communities. People must feel safe reporting crimes and must believe that the police can protect them and ensure paramilitaries are removed from the community," he said.

Read More

The proposed new policing unit is part of the PSNI's response to a panel report in May on the disbandment of paramilitary groups. The panel was one of the key components of the 'Fresh Start' agreement.

In June the PSNI received 1.1m funding to increase its capability to tackle criminality associated with paramilitary groups. This money is being used to create an investigative team with an inspector, two sergeants, eight constables, a financial investigator and an analyst. It is understood this team will join the new unit when it is formed.
Leona stands in a field of rapeseed at the farm with her daughter Emily and son Jacob

One of Northern Ireland's biggest farming success stories is facing a dismal harvest after their crop was battered by high winds.

Richard Kane, who makes premium Broighter Gold rapeseed oil at his farm in Limavady, is counting the cost after losing 30% of the crop to last Sunday's lightning storm.

He estimates that the bad weather has cost the business around 15,000.

"It's pretty awful weather. Over the last weekend there has been nearly an inch of rain each time and then there was the storm on Sunday," he said.

"The oilseed is very brittle just before harvesting and we lost about 30% of it. It has cost us about 15,000 as it came at exactly the wrong time. There is nothing you can do."

The crop was planted almost a year ago, in the last week of August 2015, and the team should have been half-way through the harvest by now - but were hit by delays due to months of wet weather earlier this year.

"It all goes back to the wintertime. The five months of rain in the winter left all the crops very late," Richard said. "The rain has been holding us back and we couldn't get to the crop and this storm just came in at the wrong time."

The team had been poised to start harvesting on Monday - but the storm hit the night before.

"It's the first year in a long time that we've had so many losses due to wind. It was the storm - it just came on the wrong day," he said.

"When we came to cut it, it was lost and that was it, end of story. You grow it for 50 weeks and it's lost in a day."

Richard posted a video online showing the wind and rain battering the oilseed crop, commenting: "If you look closely you will see so many of the pods broken and the seeds lost. All prayers or sun dances welcome for the weather to change."

Even the crop that hasn't been damaged will be more costly to process, Richard said.

"It means that drying costs escalate because of the wet weather and it all builds up," he said.

Broighter Gold is run by Richard and his wife Leona.

The award-winning infused oil has reached the dinner plates of many famous figures, including US President Barack Obama as well as the Queen when she was hosted at Titanic Belfast. Chef Noel McMeel of the Lough Erne Resort used it for the G8 summit.

Their most recent success came when their 'special edition' with flakes of edible 23ct gold won two stars at the Guild of Fine Food's Great Taste Awards 2016.

The business was formed in 2011, with Leona taking over all aspects of Broighter Gold, from marketing and bottling, right down to product photography.

She also enlisted a designer to create the company's logo. She used social media to get in touch with chefs and now supplies many top hotels and restaurants.
The women were arrested when the plane landed at the City of Derry airport

Ryanair has warned customers that they will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour after two women were arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft at the City of Derry Airport.

The two woman, aged in their 30s, were removed from the flight from Stansted when it landed at City of Derry on Wednesday.

Police attended the scene and the woman arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: The crew of this flight from London Stansted to Derry requested police assistance upon landing in Derry, after two passengers became disruptive in-flight, who were removed and detained by police.

"We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."

The women were released on Wednesday evening. Both received a community resolution notice in relation to disorderly behaviour on an aircraft.
The view from the window on SS Nomadic

The best view in Northern Ireland has been announced as the Titanic Belfast & SS Nomadic in Belfast.

It took top spot in a contest to find Northern Ireland's most beautiful 'Window with a View' following a huge public vote.

The attraction went up against Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, a cottage on the beach in Ardglass and the Ulster Museum in the competition launched earlier this year by MyGlazing.com.

Titanic Belfast & SS Nomadic will now go up against finalists from 11 other areas across the UK to fight it out for the title of the UK's Best Window with a View.

The national winner will be decided via an online vote at MyGlazing.com/WWAV. Voting is now open and closes on August 31. The national winner will be announced in September.
There was rapturous applause as Bishop Edward Daly left St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry for the last time.

Described by many as a "true friend" of the community he served for almost 60 years, it appeared that entire community had turned out to bid him a final farewell.

Inside the impressive St Eugene's Cathedral, in the heart of Derry's Creggan area, there was standing room only with hundreds more gathered in the grounds or peering through the railings of the surrounding streets.

Mourners were told that since Monday, some 25,000 people had flowed through the church doors to pay their respects and share stories of the much-loved cleric whose memorable image from Bloody Sunday was known the world over.

Archbishop Eamon Martin, leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland who was ordained by Bishop Daly 29 years ago, said: "Many hearts are hurting in Derry and around Ireland this week.

"There was never any doubt that Edward Daly was a great priest."

Among those packed into the cathedral for the hour-and-a-half-long service were Irish President Michael D Higgins, Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, former MP and Nobel peace-prize winner John Hume, Foyle MP Mark Durkan, Anglican Archbishop Robin Eames and Derry-born musician Phil Coulter.

Lord Lieutenant of Co Londonderry Denis Desmond and Kieran Carey, representing Taoiseach Enda Kenny, were also in the congregation alongside staff from the Foyle Hospice where Bishop Daly was chaplain since his retirement.

Phil Coulter said: "They don't build them like Eddie Daly any more. This is an end of an era for a lot of us.

"He was Bishop Daly but most of us knew him as Eddie and that was part of his magic - he was a man of the people. It is a very sad day."

As a young priest, a photograph of Bishop Daly waving a blood-stained handkerchief as he led a fatally injured civil rights protester Jackie Duddy to safety on Bloody Sunday was beamed around the world and became one of the most memorable of the Troubles.

The events of that fateful day in January 1972 helped shape his ministry.

In his homily, current Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown said: "His ministry was marked by total dedication to the people he served, wherever he was called to minister.

"That dedication was visible in outstanding courage. He showed physical courage on Bloody Sunday and his moral courage was evident in his passionate struggle against violence and injustice from all quarters."

His efforts for peace were also hailed.

Bishop McKeown added: "It takes enormous courage to be a peacemakers and he was an apostle of mercy, whether as a curate, as a bishop or as a chaplain in the Foyle Hospice.

"It took enormous courage to build healing on the burning sands of conflict.

"We are all blessed because we have seen how love can transform a blood-stained piece of cloth into an unforgettable symbol of divine compassion. Today we are grateful for Edward Daly and thousands of others across our community and churches who took risks and paid the price that peace might take roots in our hearts and communities."

Meanwhile, veteran civil rights campaigner Ivan Cooper, who also witnessed the carnage of Bloody Sunday, said he would remember Bishop Daly's "kindness, goodness and humanity."

"He did a great deal for this city and for peace in general," he said. "He was a man of great humanity and great spiritual commitment.

"His death is a great loss to the community."

Kay Duddy, a sister of the 17-year-old civil rights protester Jackie Duddy, said her family had lost a dear friend.

She said: "He brought comfort to our Jackie in his dying moments and through the years he was always there for us.

"As far as I am concerned he was a saint."
Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness have warned that the UK's exit from the EU must not undermine the war against cross-border crime

Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness have warned that the UK's exit from the EU must not undermine the war against cross-border crime.

Despite taking opposing positions over the UK's position in the European Union, the First and Deputy First Ministers joined forces to warn Prime Minister Theresa May how Northern Ireland could suffer badly if the Brexit wasn't handled carefully.

"There have been difficult issues relating to the border throughout our history and the peace process", they wrote in a letter.

"We therefore appreciate your stated determination that the border will not become an impediment to the movement of people, goods and services.

"It must not become a catalyst for illegal activity, or compromise in any way the arrangements relating to criminal justice and tackling organised crime.

"It is equally important that the border does not create an incentive for those who would wish to undermine the peace process and/or the political settlement".

Dissident republican groups use the Republic as a preparatory base for attacks north of the border, while cross-border smuggling can be a lucrative source of funding.

Stormont's top two politicians also warned the Conservative leader that the province's agri-food industry is particularly vulnerable to the loss of EU funding.

EU funds have been "hugely important" to the peace process and the province's economy, amounting to 13bn from 1994, Mrs Foster and Mr McGuinness said. A proportion of EU funds for projects in Northern Ireland may not be drawn down due to the exit, which Mrs Foster and Mr McGuinness said was of real concern.

The leaders said they wished to play a role in the engagement between the British and Irish governments on matters concerning the border.

However, Ulster Unionist economy spokesperson Steve Aiken MLA said the areas of concern which were outlined all existed before the referendum.

"I'm astonished the ministers would have the audacity to release this letter," he said.

"Indeed, given the content of the letter I would question whether this is a DUP U-turn on their position on the referendum after the vote has taken place?

"It is about time the Executive came forward with real plans for dealing with Brexit. Instead of providing clarity and solutions, the Executive Office is quickly becoming the Department for Stating the Obvious."

Meanwhile SDLP MLA for south Belfast Claire Hanna says the letter is "breath-taking reverse ferret" from the First Minister and signals confusion within Sinn Fein.

She said: "The First Minister has serious questions to answer over the breath-taking reverse ferret she is currently performing. Ms Foster has clearly realised the error of her ways in backing Brexit and now the horse has bolted, is asking the Conservative Government to close the gate.

She continued: "Once again Sinn Fein is taking its lead from the DUP in the Executive. It failed to fully mobilise behind the campaign to remain in the EU and appears unable to stand up to the DUP by fighting for the democratic will of the people by going along with Arlene's determination to see Article 50 triggered and the North dragged out of Europe.

"It must have slipped Martin McGuinness' mind that a senior Sinn Fein MLA has signed up to the same legal challenge that the SDLP are committed to, along with a number of other parties and agencies, to prevent the North from being removed against our will. It is also a substantial oversight that this letter was not copied to Enda Kenny as there is a substantial North South Dimension.

"What is glaringly obvious is the Executive has no plan for how to deal with any of these issues. This matter is too critical to be left to those who failed to understand the issue in the first place or someone who can't make up his mind. The SDLP is calling for the urgent development of a Brexit Committee in the Assembly to fully explore the options available to us."
The car stuck on a walkway used by ferry passengers at Dunquin, Co Kerry

A motorist had to crawl out of the boot of his hatchback after spending the night wedged between walls on a narrow path 200 feet above the sea.

The unnamed man drove his car down the twisty, steep and narrow walkway used by ferry passengers making their way from Dunquin to the Blasket Islands off Co Kerry in Ireland.

It is believed he spent the night in the car after getting stuck at about 9pm on Tuesday.

He was not freed until some of the staff from Blasket Islands Ferry took the keys from him, opened the boot and helped him to crawl out at about 8.30am the following morning.

Sibeal Ni Lubhaing, of the ferry company, said her colleagues discovered him when they went to the pier.

"He had great dreams of camping out beside the pier. But it all went horribly wrong - he's world famous now at this stage," she said. "I think it was quite innocent. He just chanced his luck. He was terribly embarrassed about the whole thing."

Known by some locals as Sheep's Walk, the precipitous path to the Dunquin pier is a notorious accident spot. Drivers routinely get stuck after edging downhill, only to find the pedestrian route - with sheer drops on either side - is too narrow and then burning out their clutch trying to reverse back up.

A Bobcat loader was brought in to tow the car up the path and several sailings of the ferry to the islands had to be cancelled leaving hundreds of tourists and visitors high and dry.
A brave toddler who fell five floors from a hotel rooftop has made a miraculous recovery.

Neil Shanahan (2) has been described as the "flying boy" after he survived the fall from the sixth floor balcony to the first floor concrete area of the Strand Hotel in Limerick on July 2.

Neil has returned to his home in Farranshone, Co Limerick, after spending the past five weeks in the care of staff at Temple Street Children's Hospital.

His mother Martina is convinced that her little boy was saved in a series of miracles.

"I believe it was a miracle, I believe I got a dig out, I really do," the mum-of-three said. Neil spent much of his five weeks in hospital in intensive care, and he was put in a full body cast as doctors monitored his amazing recovery. Neil and his "thrilled" family arrived home in Farranshone, Limerick, last Friday night having endured a traumatic time since the incident.

"He spent 70 hours in a critical condition, I'm just so delighted he's home. I'm just so delighted I got my (boy) back. He's my life. I would never have got over it if we had lost him," Martina said.

Neil, who hasn't a mark on him, has been nicknamed "miracle boy" by family and neighbours.
Theresa May could find it difficult to ignore Switzerland's immigration troubles with the European Union as she holidays in the country and mulls over how to deliver Brexit.

The Prime Minister has broken with predecessor David Cameron's habit of spending a few days in Britain before jetting off for a foreign break and is continuing her tradition of visiting the Alpine country with husband Philip.

Mr Cameron has repeatedly come under fire for urging Britons to take "staycations" but then enjoying sunshine breaks in the likes of Spain, Italy and Portugal combined with trips in the UK.

Mrs May is unlikely to suffer the mishaps which plagued the former PM, who has been stung by a jellyfish in Lanzarote, mocked for dressing on the beach under a Mickey Mouse towel, and criticised for his choice of clothes.

But she will hope she does not have to follow in the footsteps of Britain's only other woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who cut short a Swiss holiday in 1985 after the deaths of 55 people in the Manchester air disaster.

And, as many busy Britons discover on holiday, she may find it difficult to take her mind off work during the two-week break, given Switzerland's similarly strained relationship with the EU and its trouble implementing a referendum result.

The country is not a full EU member but enjoys a negotiated bilateral agreement which allows it some access to the single market with tariff-free trade and open access to the services market.

Its agreements go furthest in replicating EU benefits for a country outside the bloc, but it must also accept the free movement of people, pay into the union's budget and comply with single market regulations.

It is now embroiled in long-running talks with the union over how to implement a 2014 referendum result in which the Swiss people backed limiting immigration through quotas, including EU citizens.

The parallels with the UK are striking but Mrs May has previously revealed that she loves holidaying in the country because she can get some "peace and quiet".

She said she and her husband had "discovered the joys" of walking in the country "quite by chance".

In a piece for the Telegraph in August 2007, she said: "We first visited the country about 25 years ago but spent most of the time in Lucerne.

"On a return trip, we decided to go walking, enjoyed it and gradually began doing more adventurous hikes.

"We have been going back ever since and have walked all over the country."

Mrs May said in the piece that her two favourite areas are Zermatt and the Bernese Oberland, which are both "fantastic for walking".

She added: "If you're a keen walker, Switzerland is a wonderful summer destination: the views are spectacular, the air is clear and you can get some peace and quiet."

Downing Street said Mrs May remained in charge. She will be kept updated and briefed on events, with a senior Cabinet minister remaining in London.

Chancellor Philip Hammond will be in the capital this week.
Australia's announcement is likely to scupper the Chinese bidders' attempt to lease the Ausgrid network

Australia has said it plans to block Chinese bidders from leasing a major Sydney electricity grid on national security grounds.

Treasurer Scott Morrison said Chinese state-owned State Grid Corporation and Hong Kong-registered Cheung Kong Infrastructure Group had until next Thursday to respond to his preliminary view that their leasing a 50.4% stake in Ausgrid over 99 years would not be in the national interest.

The decision almost certainly sinks the deal for the New South Wales state-owned electricity network that would have earned more than 10 billion Australian dollars (5.8bn). The money would have been spent on Sydney rail and road infrastructure projects.

Mr Morrison would not reveal the security concerns raised by the deal.

"The issues are real, they're matters obviously of national security interest to the Commonwealth and elaborating on those obviously would not be in the national interest either," Mr Morrison said.

"When it comes to foreign investment, particularly in an asset such as this, the national security issues are paramount."

Some security analysts said a Chinese-controlled Ausgrid could become vulnerable to being shut down by cyber-attack as hackers linked to Russia had done in the Ukraine in December.

Hackers used a co-ordinated attack to take down part of western Ukraine's power grid, blacking out more than 225,000 people after hitting regional electric power distribution companies.

US officials called it the realisation of a nightmare scenario - hackers able to take down a critical system on which a country depends.

Chinese foreign investment, particularly from state-owned companies, has become increasingly contentious in Australia as Beijing takes a more aggressive stance in territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Such investments have to be approved by Mr Morrison after investigations by the Foreign Investment Review Board establish that they are in Australia's national interests.

He has recently added emphasis to the national security aspects of that decision-making process by appointing a former spy agency chief and former defence consultant to that board.

Mr Morrison said the message from the Ausgrid decision to potential foreign investors was that Australians "have a robust process for examining foreign investment".

AP
Two passenger planes that landed at Zaventem Airport in Brussels had reported bomb alerts, according to reports.

Some flights were redirected to other airports because of the reports of a possible explosive devices.

A spokesman for the federal prosecutor, Eric Van der Sypt, told Belgain broadcaster VRT there was a threat deemed "serious enough to take measures".

The threats came from messages on Twitter, according to Belgian newspaper HLN. Both planes landed safely.

An airport police spokeswoman said no bomb alerts were in place and that there was no problem at the airport.

The planes were both run by the Scandivian airline, SAS, one came from Oslo in Norway and the other from Arlanda in Sweden.
Dateline: Canada

On the night of Friday, July 29, police in Toronto took to Twitter to warn citizens about a report of a man with a gun. Person w/ a gun. Grange Ave. and Augusta Ave, man seen w/ a gun, no injuries, police on scene searching, read the tweet from Toronto Police Operations. Eight minutes later, the tweet was updated, informing people that the gunman turned out to be a cardboard cutout of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger from The Terminator. Police on scene have located a Terminator cutout holding a gun, read the follow-up tweet. Mr. Schwarzenegger was not arrested. Toronto Police ended the comical thread with the hashtag #IllBeBack.

Dateline: China

The BBC is reporting a Dutch man got stood up for 10 days at the airport after flying to China to hook up with a woman he met on an online dating app. Alexander Pieter Cirk, 41, flew some 5,000 miles from his home in Holland to Changsha Huanghua International Airport in Hunan province to meet a 26-year-old Chinese woman identified only as Zhang. When the woman failed to show up at the airport, Cirk refused to leave. Cirk spent 10 days sprawled out on a row of seats at the airport before being taken to a local hospital for exhaustion and malnutrition, which exacerbated his severe diabetes. Cirk told reporters he met Ms. Zhang online two months ago and the two fell in love. Ms. Zhang was eventually tracked down by Chinese media and was reportedly surprised to hear that Mr. Cirk was in China looking for her. We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous toward me, Zhang told Hunan TV. One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly, and I thought it was a joke. He didnt contact me later. Zhang also added that by the time Mr. Cirk arrived at the airport, she was away having plastic surgery in another province. Cirk has since returned to Holland.

Dateline: Georgia

A man was arrested after he allegedly attacked his wife because she made his grilled cheese sandwich too cheesy. James De Paola, 55, reportedly flew into a rage after his spouse, Michele, made him a grilled cheese sandwich with three slices of cheese after hed requested just two slices. According to Athens-Clarke County Police, the couples 12-year-old daughter called 911 from a cell phone claiming her father had hit her mother and pulled the house phone off the wall. De Paola later admitted destroying the phone because he did not want his wife calling 911 for a stupid reason. Athens-Clarke County Police told WSB-TV in Atlanta that De Paola was screaming at his wife in such a fashion that spit was hitting her face. De Paola has a history of violent behavior and has previously been served with a restraining order. Michele told police it had been a while since De Paola had been violent toward heralthough she admitted he is frequently verbally abusive and aggressive. De Paola was charged with obstruction of a 911 call and criminal damage to a property while trespassing.

Dateline: Tennessee

The Leaf-Chronicle newspaper in Clarksville reports two people were arrested on Aug. 2 after they tried to sell some PlayStation video game systems to the pawn shop owner from whom they were stolen. According to Clarkesville Police, 30-year-old Jeremy Allen Watts and 24-year-old Jessica Faye Heady visited the Cash America Pawn Shop and tried to sell some items, including two PlayStation video game systems, controllers, video games and DVDs. Pawn shop owner Edward Dial recognized the items as his. Dial went home and found that someone had broken into his residence and taken several items. He called police, who arrested Watts and Heady on charges of aggravated burglary. Police said the stolen property was valued at more than $1,000.

Dateline: New York

Its so hot in upstate New York local officials say horse poop is bursting into flames. The state Department of Environmental Conservation says one of its enforcement officers responded on July 5 to multiple calls complaining of smell and smoke coming from a burning pile of horse manure at a property in the town of Throop, some 30 miles west of Syracuse. DEC officials say the owner of a horse stable had been storing the manure in large piles. This summers hot and dry weather apparently caused the piles to spontaneously combust. The owners of the stables told an officer for the New York DEC that the manure heaps ignite frequently. According to the Watertown Daily Times, it took three local fire departments two hours to douse the flaming horse poo. The DEC is reportedly advising local stable owners to deal with the combustion problem immediately.
A Canadian man previously banned from associating with Islamic State (IS) extremists had prepared a martyrdom video and was about to commit a terrorist attack when he died in a police operation, officers said.

The suspect was killed after he detonated his explosive device in a taxi and was shot at by officers who say they thwarted the suicide bomb plot after being tipped off by the FBI.

He planned to carry out a suicide bombing in a public area in an urban centre during rush hour, Deputy Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) commander Mike Cabana said.

Mr Cabana identified the suspect as Aaron Driver, 24, originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The police operation took place in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy, 140 miles (225 kilometres) south-west of Toronto, on Wednesday night.

RCMP commander Jennifer Strachan said Driver was intercepted by police as he entered a taxi with a backpack, adding that Driver detonated an explosive device, injuring himself and the taxi driver, before police shot at him.

It was unclear whether Driver died as a result of the shrapnel or a police bullet.

After being tipped off by the FBI, police said Driver was quickly identified as the person in the so- called martyrdom video. Police say he planned an attack within 72 hours.

"It was a race against time," Mr Cabana said.

In the video, aired during a news conference in Ottawa, a masked Driver is seen railing against Western "enemies of Islam" and warning that the only solution would be the "spilling of your blood".

Driver had been under the spotlight for at least a year, as authorities believed he was a threat because he could help terror groups.

He gave a media interview where he expressed support for prior terror attacks in Canada and expressed interest in travelling to join IS.

"This case is an example of the strong cross-border law enforcement co-operation that exists between Canada and the United States.

"Our partnership reflects our joint commitment to protecting the safety of our citizens," US Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman said in a statement.

Transit agencies in Toronto, Canada's largest city, were warned of a security threat before police confronted the suspect.

Brad Ross, spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission, said the agency was made aware of a terror threat investigation early the previous day, but noted that it had no specifics attached.

He said that as a precaution a "vigilance notice" was issued to all staff, encouraging them to speak up if they saw something of concern. Regional transit lines were also advised of a security threat.

Driver was under a court order from earlier this year not to associate with any terrorist organisation, including IS.

In February, Driver's lawyer and the prosecutor agreed to a peace bond stating there are "reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group".

Winnipeg-based lawyer Leonard Tailleur, who handled Driver's peace bond, said he was "shocked" to hear what had happened.

"Saddened to hear that it had to end this way for him," Mr Tailleur said in an email to the Canadian Press.

Driver was first picked up in Winnipeg in June 2015.

Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University who studies radicalisation and terrorism, maintained in 2015 that Driver had posted for several months on social media about disliking Canada and about a desire to move overseas.

Mounties applied for the peace bond, which can impose limits on Driver's activities, alleging in provincial court documents that investigators believed he might help with terrorist group activities.

When Driver was released later that month, he was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device and banned from going on the internet or having any communication with IS, including wearing or carrying anything with an IS logo.

His bail conditions drew criticism from the Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties.

Later, the government announced that some of his strict bail conditions had been lifted and that he would not be going to trial.

Driver was allowed to remove his monitoring bracelet but continued to be prohibited from using a computer or mobile phone - rules that were to be in place until the end of August.

Canadian public safety minister Ralph Goodale said he had spoken to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the police operation "to confirm that public safety has been and continues to be properly protected".

He said the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other police and security agencies were involved in the operation.

He also said the national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at "medium", where it has stood since autumn 2014.

After a shooting rampage by a lone gunman at Parliament in Ottawa in 2014, a Canadian police report said the attack that killed a soldier showed that Canada was "ill-prepared" to stop terrorist attacks.

The Ottawa attack came two days after a man, described by authorities as an IS-inspired terrorist, ran over two soldiers in a parking lot in Quebec, killing one and injuring the other before being shot to death by police.

That attacker had been under surveillance by Canadian authorities.

AP
The tower is the HQ of Mr Trump's US presidential campaign

A man is trying to scale the all-glass face of Trump Tower in New York City using suction cups.

A video recorded by a bystander and streamed online shows police observing the man from an outdoor terrace.

A police spokeswoman said officers responded to the skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan but had no further information.

The 58-storey building is the headquarters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign. He also lives there.

There was no immediate comment from Mr Trump's campaign spokeswoman.

Parts of the building, including the terraces, are open to the public during the day.

AP
Ukraine has put its troops on combat alert along the country's de-facto borders with Crimea and separatist rebels in the east amid an escalating war of words with Russia over the region.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending several groups of "saboteurs" to carry out attacks in Crimea and said that two Russians died while fending off their incursions. Ukraine has denied the claim.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, and a conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces flared up in eastern Ukraine weeks later.

The conflict in the east has killed more than 9,500 people and is still raging.

Russia's domestic security agency said that one of its officers was killed in a gun battle with a group of "saboteurs" from Ukraine over the weekend. It said the intruders carried an arsenal of bombs, ammunition and mines.

The agency also said that two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armour. One Russian army soldier died in that clash, the FSB added.

President Poroshenko rejected the claims as "fantasy" and "a provocation".

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he described as Ukraine's "stupid and criminal" action and called a session of his Security Council to discuss boosting security in Crimea.

He also said that it makes no sense to discuss the implementation of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine with leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany at the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in China next month as had been planned earlier.

The Russian Foreign Ministry followed up by warning that if Mr Poroshenko had been involved in "criminal decisions to stage armed provocations" in Crimea, "he could claim the role of the grave digger of the Minsk process".

"And if he had been unaware of these decisions, it's even worse," it said.

Mr Poroshenko, in his turn, ordered Ukrainian troops to go on combat alert not only on the de-facto border with Crimea but also along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine - where the warring sides have continued to routinely exchange fire despite a 2015 truce.

He also ordered Ukrainian diplomats to organise his conversations with the US and European leaders and Mr Putin.

The strong language used by Mr Putin and other Russian officials, particularly Mr Putin's refusal to discuss the implementation of the peace accord with Mr Poroshenko, has raised fears of a possible escalation of hostilities.

While local media and social media users have largely corroborated reports of a shootout at the Crimean border, independent accounts of the second border incident reported by the FSB were missing.

"A pretense of an anti-terrorism operation staged by Russia is more plausible than an actual Ukrainian attack on Crimea," commentator Oleg Kashin wrote on Slon.ru.

"Russia deliberately pushes for an escalation and ignores the opportunities it has to preserve the status quo."

As soon as Russia forced the last Ukrainian troops based in Crimea to leave in 2014, Moscow set up fortified border crossings and sent new weapons to the peninsula - from cutting-edge fighter jets to the newest missile systems.

Despite the military build-up, hardly any disturbances or let alone cross-border shootings have been reported in Crimea since the annexation.

The 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine signed in Minsk has helped reduce fighting in eastern Ukraine, but peaceful settlement has floundered.

The deal obliged Ukraine to grant broad autonomy to the rebel regions before it can fully regain control of the border with Russia, but those provisions have not been implemented.

Independent Moscow-based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said that if the Kremlin wanted to make gains or solidify its positions in Ukraine, now would be a good moment because the world's attention is elsewhere.

"The temptation is high to try and use this occasion to solve the Ukrainian problem once and for all," he said.

"While America is right now not very operational because it's in a midst of a divisive election campaign, Europe is also divided - on Brexit, on refugees, on sanctions against Russia."

Mr Putin menacingly referred to the Ukrainian leadership as "the people who seized power." Moscow refused to recognise Ukraine's interim authorities after Ukraine's pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych, was driving from power by massive protests, but later recognised Mr Poroshenko.

AP
The attack happened in an opposition-held district in the city of Aleppo (Alexander Kots/Komsomolskaya Pravda/AP)

A Syrian government airstrike on an opposition-held district in Aleppo has killed at least two people in what was alleged to have been a chlorine gas attack.

The attack on the city's eastern Zabadieh neighbourhood saw at least four barrel bombs dropped on the area, one of which purportedly released the chlorine gas.

A father recounted dramatic moments of gasping for breath and cowering with his family on the top floors of their apartment building as a choking gas filled the hallway.

It came hours after the Russian military, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the civil war, promised a daily, three-hour cease-fire for Aleppo to allow humanitarian aid in to besieged areas.

Lt Gen Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military's General Staff said the cease-fires will be observed from 10am-1pm local time starting on Thursday, in order to facilitate the distribution of aid.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said that reports of possible chemical weapons use in Syria "are of great concern".

The Netherlands-based agency said in a statement that the use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances is "reprehensible", adding it continues to examine any credible reports it received.

Khaled Harah, a first responder in the rebel-held part of Aleppo, said a government helicopter dropped four barrel bombs on the neighbourhood of Zabadieh and that one of them released chlorine gas, leading to the deaths of a mother and her two children.

The report, which was posted online on Thursday, could not be independently verified and it was not clear how it was determined that chlorine gas was released.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks the civil war in Syria, also reported that government barrel bombs struck the neighbourhood. It had reports of two killed and several people suffering breathing difficulties.

The Observatory made no mention of chlorine gas.

Abdelkafi al-Hamdu, a resident of Aleppo, said he saw two airstrikes from his in-law's balcony, about 30 metres away.

He said the first blast released a gas he identified by the smell as chlorine, but the wind was blowing in the other direction, lessening the odor.

He took cover in the apartment but began experiencing severe difficulties breathing, so he took his wife and daughter with him and tried to leave the building. But the odor grew stronger as they descended the stairs, so they returned to the higher floors to wait out the effects.

Accusations involving use of chlorine and other poisonous gases are not uncommon in Syria's civil war, and both sides have denied using them while blaming the other for using it as a weapon of war.

Last week, the Syrian government and the opposition traded accusations of using chlorine, also in Aleppo.

Chlorine gas is a crude weapon, fatal in high concentrations while in lower doses, it can damage lungs or cause severe breathing difficulties and other symptoms such as vomiting and nausea.

AP

Meanwhile, activists say at least 20 civilians have been killed in airstrikes on Raqqa, the de facto capital to the Islamic State group in northern Syria.

The local activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently says the strikes also cut the city's water supply.

The group said a security building and a water pumping station were hit in the city, among other targets on Thursday morning.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the airstrikes, saying 24 civilians were killed, along with six others whose affiliation and identities could not yet be confirmed.

Both groups said the strikes were launched by Russian jets, though it was not clear how they determined that.

AP
Donald Trump supporter Stephen Rogata, who scaled the all-glass facade of Trump Tower in New York City using giant suction cups, has been arrested after being pulled inside the building by police.

Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia, was first seen climbing the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue and 56th Street at around 3.30pm Wednesday.

The 19-year-old scaled the building for more than two hours before he was apprehended. He said that he wanted to talk to the Republican presidential nominee.

Videos recorded by bystanders and streamed online showed police observing the man from an outdoor terrace.

Expand Close A man scales the all-glass face of Trump Tower in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (Alex Cannon via AP) AP / Facebook

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Whatsapp A man scales the all-glass face of Trump Tower in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (Alex Cannon via AP)

A police spokeswoman said officers responded to the skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan but had no further information.

The building is the headquarters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign. The Republican nominee who lives in the 58-storey building was in Florida at the time preparing for an election rally at the BB&T Center.

There was no immediate comment from Mr Trump's campaign spokeswoman.

LIVE: Police remove windows above climber at Manhattan's Trump Tower https://t.co/YORRP3gCLO pic.twitter.com/nNVy1b3oUy  Reuters Live (@ReutersLive) August 10, 2016

The spectacle ended when police removed windows on the 21st floor and pulled Rogata inside.

Michael Cohen, executive vice-president of the Trump Organization said: "There's damage to the building and he caused the unnecessary deployment of New York's finest to protect his safety and the safety of everyone in the building.

"He caused the shutdown of traffic on Fifth Avenue. I'm 100% certain the NYPD had better things to do. If Mr. Trump were here he'd be thanking law enforcement for the job they're doing."

Rogata posted a video (viewable below) to Youtube on Tuesday titled "Message to Mr. Trump (why I climbed your tower)". The man explains his reason for scaling the building.

"I am an independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter. I guarantee that it is in your interest to honour this request.

"Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it. The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Police grab man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images TOPSHOT - An unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images NYPD Commissioner William Bratton arrives on the scene as an unidentified man that scaled Trump Tower using suction cups is moved to an ambulance, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images NYPD Commissioner William Bratton (C) arrives on the scene as an unidentified man that scaled Trump Tower using suction cups is moved to an ambulance, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police watch from the street as an unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images An unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images An airbag is deployed by police as an unidentified man attempts to scale Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police watch as an unidentified man (L) scales Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images The media lines across Fifth Avenue as an unidentified man who attempted to scale Trump Tower using suction cups is moved to an ambulance, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images An unidentified man who attempted to scale Trump Tower using suction cups is moved to an ambulance, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images An unidentified man who attempted to scale Trump Tower using suction cups is moved to an ambulance, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Trump supporter Gahan Haskins of the East Village holds up a sign as an unidentified man who attempted to scale Trump Tower is moved to an ambulance, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images People watch from the street as an unidentified man attempts to scale Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images People watch from the street as an unidentified man attempts to scale Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 10: People in the streets watch as a man identified as 'Steve from Virginia' climbs up the Trump Tower on August 10, 2016 in New York City. The man used suction cups to scale more than 20 stories of GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump's signature skyscraper in Manhattan. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 10: A man identified as 'Steve from Virginia' is grabbed by police as he climbs up the Trump Tower on August 10, 2016 in New York City. The man used suction cups to scale more than 20 stories of GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump's signature skyscraper in Manhattan. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Getty Images An unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images An unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images An unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images An unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police grab an unidentified man scaling Trump Tower using suction cups on August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 10: A man identified as 'Steve from Virginia' is grabbed by police as he climbs up the Trump Tower on August 10, 2016 in New York City. The man used suction cups to scale more than 20 stories of GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump's signature skyscraper in Manhattan. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** An unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York. Police on August 10, 2016 captured a climber scaling Trump Tower, dragging him to safety through an open window on the 21st floor of the New York headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president. Live television footage showed uniformed officers reaching out and grabbing the young man -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- around three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups. "The climber has been taken into custody," a police spokesman tweeted. / AFP PHOTO / Bryan R. SmithBRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A man scales Trump Tower using suction cups Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The man spent more than 2 hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower, climbing as high as the 21st floor before officers grabbed him. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) AP / Facebook

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"If I had sought this via conventional means, I would be much less likely to have success, because you are a busy man with many responsibilities.

"As for anyone else who is watching, please help make this video go viral so that it gets to Mr. Trump, and be sure to get out and vote for Mr Trump in the 2016 election."
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a fraternal organisation for Roman Catholic men and, like many other fraternal organisations, it has lodges, in this case known as divisions, as well as regalia, ritual, passwords and processions.

Hibernians claim a history stretching back to the 16th and 17th centuries and see themselves as the inheritors of a tradition that appeared at various times as Whiteboys, Defenders, Ribbonmen, Molly Maguires and others.

However, the Ancient Order of Hibernians was actually founded by Irish-Americans in 1838 and then exported back to Ireland. In the early part of the 20th century it had as many as 170,000 members in Ireland and represented a very conservative form of Roman Catholic nationalism.

Today in Ireland the AOH is a much smaller organisation, but it still makes annual appearances on the streets with it parades in March for St Patricks Day and then around August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This year the County Antrim Board of the AOH is holding its Ladys Day demonstration in Ballycastle this Sunday and all county boards have been notified and invited.

The AOH is organised on a county basis, with county boards and county presidents, and earlier this year the County Tyrone Board elected as its county president the prominent republican Gerry McGeough. He is a veteran republican who once served in the ranks of the Provisional IRA, but now opposes Sinn Fein.

He was previously elected as president of the Tyrone AOH back in 2011, but was jailed a few weeks later for the attempted murder of DUP councillor Sammy Brush in 1981. McGeough had been arrested in Omagh in 2007 as he was leaving an Assembly election count. He had stood in that election as an independent candidate in opposition to Sinn Feins support for the PSNI.

McGeough was sentenced in April 2011 to 20 years in prison, but as a result of the Belfast Agreement served only two years and was released on January 29, 2013. Now, the Tyrone Hibernians have honoured him by electing him for a second term as county president.

Never a man to remain silent, McGeough was interviewed by Martin Galvin, the former director of Noraid, on Radio Free Eireann in New York on March 26.

During that interview he described the nationalist Irish News as part of the West Brit/Stormont establishment  a comment that shows just how extreme his politics really are.

McGeough was back on the Irish-American radio show at the weekend and was interviewed again by Galvin.

He said: There are people from republican families who are sitting as Diplock court judges and prosecutors and all the other stuff of the day you cant possibly imagine and they are arrogantly passing judgment on patriots. So, you have Irish Catholics, traitors in effect, administering British rule here in the Six Counties. We want (the English) out and then we will deal with all these other issues... the collaborators and all the rest of it.

That threat was made by a convicted IRA gunman who is now Tyrone county president of the AOH. There is, therefore, an onus on the leadership of the AOH to address this issue, to condemn the threats and to take disciplinary action against McGeough. Actions speak louder than words.

I have never seen the rule book of the AOH, but it probably has a rule in there somewhere about members not bringing the organisation into disrepute.

By his threats on the Irish-American radio programme, Gerry McGeough has certainly brought the organisation into disrepute.

This is no ordinary rank-and-file member of the AOH. McGeough holds a very senior position as Tyrone county president and he must be held to account for what he has said.

The AOH has big questions to answer and one of them is this: will they allow McGeough to remain in post as the Tyrone county president?
Eighteen years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement terrorists are still holding a gun to the head of the peace process. The brutal murder of UDA man John Boreland in Belfast on Sunday, apparently by fellow loyalists, shows that the default position of the terror gangs is still to bring out the weapons to enforce their own warped sense of justice.

Whatever Mr Boreland was deemed guilty of, there can be no place for self-appointed juries and executioners in this society in 2016, and news that a special PSNI task force is being formed with the intention of dismantling paramilitary bodies - both loyalist and republican - will be welcomed warmly by all law-abiding people in the province.

For these organisations - far from being self-styled defenders of their communities - enslave the areas in which they hold sway. They drive away would-be investors, denying people the opportunity to break the cycle of deprivation which they endure - and then demand with menaces both loyalty and finance through their protection rackets.

The gangs are heavily involved in all types of criminality, from poisoning young people with drugs to sheer thuggery including kneecapping and murder, as was seen in the tragic case of Michael McGibbon, who bled to death in an Ardoyne alleyway after being shot in the legs by dissident repubicans.

Not content with bleeding their communities dry through organised crime, the paramilitary bodies also have the gall to seek public money in Government-sanctioned initiatives designed to wean them away from crime. No previous such initiatives have worked.

To the long-suffering people of Northern Ireland a robust anti-terror initiative as proposed by the PSNI, both clamping down on paramilitary crimes and seizing the ill-gotten gains of the godfathers, is the right signal to send out.

For too long there has been an impression that the paramilitaries are tolerated, providing they don't endanger the peace process too seriously.

Among those who will most welcome this proposal are the victims' groups, who feel that their suffering has been in vain and that unrepentant terrorists hold more sway in the political process than they do in their search for justice of any kind. To them it had been deeply offensive to see the very groups which killed or injured their loved ones continue to flourish, apparently beyond the reach of the law.
Seeds of discord: Territorial claims to the emerald lands of Ulster have been the root cause of conflict here for centuries

I am standing on a Fermanagh hillside with a farmer, surveying the patchwork of fields around us. I see green fields, like a quilt over the little hills which stretches into the valleys. And I see cattle in some fields, in others a splash of yellow where the rapeseed grows.

What he sees is different. He views the landscape of the Ulster countryside much as I view the city of Belfast from Black Mountain. I can point out the Protestant and Catholic streets. I can show him the peacelines and more.

I can locate the places where riots were staged, where mills and factories and even whole streets were burned. I can even see the corners on which people were shot. I can see, in my mind's eye, things that aren't there any more, whether they were stripped away by violence or redevelopment.

He can read the countryside like that, too. It is a parchment recording our history. There are Protestant farms and Catholic farms. There are forces determined to maintain the boundaries between them.

"You'll often hear it said that such a piece of land will never be sold to a Catholic," he says. "Or the other way round. That's how it is." And it is no surprise that it should be like that, for the history of division in Ulster is a history of land and territory. The Plantation of Ulster was a claiming of land for settlers who were, roughly speaking, the ancestors of the people who are now the backbone of unionism.

I remember Father Faul explaining Tyrone republicanism to me.

"For some people around here," he said, "it is still about the land. They can tell you the farm their forebears were put off. And they want it back."

A redrawing of the historical parchment that is the very terrain of our countryside would be an upheaval as great as a reshuffling of neighbourhoods in Derry and Belfast after which the ancient quarrel would lose its integrity. It would no longer then be possible to stand on a hill and identify yourself as a Protestant, or Catholic, with that hill, or that street, that piece of bog, that corner.

And that is why, furtively and urgently, communities have tried to preserve the sales of land down the generations within their own traditions.

So, how is all this to be affected by the fact that half of the farms in Northern Ireland have no one to inherit them? How will the legacy of division be preserved if the family lines in half the countryside have come to an end?

Families have defined themselves by the land they owned as much as, and even more than, by the country they inhabited.

And in border areas, many believed that, by holding on to poor and unproductive land, they were holding a line, a frontier, against an erosion that would have changed the character of the whole state.

But what is left of that frontier if there is no one left to preserve that tradition and maintain its defence, when the land is unwanted and, therefore, cheap and anyone can have it for the asking?

That is the future that is intimated at by the report this week from the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU), which contacted hundreds of farmers and found that nearly half of them have no idea who will take over their land from them.

The primary concern of the UFU is to preserve the viability of agriculture in Northern Ireland by urging farmers to plan for succession, but it is plain that there are broader cultural and political implications, too.

This isn't just about who will milk the cows after granda dies, what with Tommy now living in Canada and the daughter married and happy in London. It is about whether that land will ever make a decent price if farming dies out here.

And it is also about whether an ancient grievance is about to simply disappear, dissolved not by victory on any side, but simply by having become economically unsustainable. There have been other theories about how demographic shift in Northern Ireland might change the political profile of the region.

By one such, the Catholics simply outbreed the Protestants and vote us into a united Ireland.

The weakness in that one is that Catholic families are getting smaller, too, and they don't all want a united Ireland anyway.

By another theory, the Protestants being older die off in bigger numbers and the Catholics inherit the land. That is not too far off the vision painted for us by the failure of half of the farmers to find anyone to leave their land to.

But what was not foreseen was that territory and who owns it, which was at the very heart of the problem here for centuries, would simply become irrelevant for want of anyone being at hand to take possession of it. If half the farms in Northern Ireland are going to have to be sold in the coming decades, because no one will inherit them, then that land will not go for much.

It is impossible to foresee who might take it and what they might use it for.

It is horribly possible that some of it will fall into disuse, that no one will take it.

Just as remnants of the 19th Century litter Donegal and Mayo in those old collapsed stone cabins, will the farmhouses and barns that defined the landscape of Ulster in the 20th century, stand rotten and bedraggled and overgrown through most of this century?

Will they even, in the same way, become part of the tourist appeal? That is what has happened to some of the old cotton plantations in Mississippi. And they, too, are part of a history of division and violence, but now they stand as relics not as artefacts of a living culture.

We are now on the threshold of a social revolution. The decline of agriculture alone, even without the implications for the demographic profile and the sectarian map of this place, will create a land that will be different from the one we know.

It will change the scenery, the view from the train and the plane, the very fragrance of the spring air.

And none of this revolution will have been brought about by the stolid frontiersmen who thought they were preserving an Ulster future, or by the rebels, from those that had a pike in the thatch to the men with Armalites and Semtex.

Change, as usual, comes when we are thinking about other things.

And the farmer beside me on the Fermanagh hillside may scratch his head and wish it was different, if not for preserving an Ulster he thinks he knows, if only to keep a few fields in the family, but his chances are slim.
Muhammad Yusuf (center), chairman of the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, speaks to journalists after the Counter Terrorism Financing Summit 2016 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, Aug. 11, 2016.

Twenty-six nations wrapped up a meeting in Bali on countering terror financing Thursday by pledging to cooperate in strengthening intelligence efforts in cutting off funding sources even as terrorists change their methods of delivering cash.

In a joint statement co-hosts Indonesia and Australia, along with Malaysia, Thailand and other participants at the 2016 Counter-Terrorism Financing Summit committed to working together to reduce four major financing risks to the Southeast Asia and Australian region: self-funding from legitimate sources; at-risk non-profit organizations (NPO); fundraising through social media and crowd sourcing; and criminal activity.

There needs to be a rule that charities are not misusing donations, including channeling funds for terrorism, Muhammad Yusuf, chairman of Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), told reporters at the end of the four-day meeting.

The four major risks to the region were assessed in a 48-page document published at the meeting, titled the Terrorism Financing Regional Risk Assessment 2016 report, and which was co-produced by Australia and Indonesia in conjunction with the other nations.

Among its findings, the report pointed to the likelihood that terrorists were adapting and changing their financing methods including through increasing the use of stored value cards similar to gift cards, because law enforcement had disrupted previous funding methods.

According to the report, foreign terrorist fighters have used stored value cards before and after departure to their destinations. The cards can be loaded with cash or through non-reportable electronic methods, easily carried to another country and are not subject to reporting requirements, the report said.

Funds can be redeemed through ATM withdrawals restricted only by limits on how much cash can be taken out. Cards can be reloaded remotely and anonymously by third parties, meaning that the face value of some cards can understate their value, the report stated.

Risk levels

The report included a chart that rated Indonesia as at high risk for each of the four sources, while Malaysia was rated at high risk for self-funding from legitimate sources and fund raising through social media. Thailand was at high risk for self-funding and at-risk through non-profit organizations.

Other key points highlighted in the report include that Indonesia faces a high threat of terrorism because about 258 Indonesians are involved in conflicts in Syria and Iraq conflict and 183 are believed to have returned home. The report has identified 11 active designated terrorist groups  and some of the most active are linked to the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda.

Malaysia elevated the risk of terrorism and financing in 2014 because of threats posed by IS and foreign terrorists. The report estimates that 73 Malaysian nationals have joined or attempted to join extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, and at least 19 have been killed.

Malaysia continues to be a transit country for recruits for terrorist groups active in other countries, the report said.

Thailand, which claims no known foreign fighters, sees its national security influenced by the conflicts in the Deep South, the report stated.

Thailands porous national borders increase its exposure to illegal movement of weapons, people, cash and goods of exchange, the report states.

Funding sources

Self-funding  a high risk for all three Southeast Asian participants  is likely to remain a key enduring risk across the region over the next three to five years, the report went on to say.

It pointed out that in Malaysia, self-funding is used primarily for tactical, short-term purposes such as lone actor or small-scale attacks. In Indonesia, a terror group collected legitimately sourced funds that were then used to finance military training, the report said.

The level of misuse of non-profit organizations to fund terrorists is lower than expected across the region, the report stated. Still, some NPOs in Thailand have diverted money to fund propaganda to support separatist insurgents in the countrys Deep South.

The report suggested that financial investigative units (FIU) should collaborate more closely with relevant NPO supervisors or regulators to improve oversight; reporting institutions to ensure due diligence; and NPO leaders to build community trust.

It pointed to Malaysias positive efforts. In contrast to many regional countries, Malaysia has conducted a comprehensive risk assessment of the sector and has adopted target approaches to risk mitigation.

Online fundraising

The report said online activity had been minimal and largely opportunistic.

Terrorists are more likely to use social media as a communication channel to solicit and broadcast calls for funding, and not actually collect funds, it said. These platforms can be used by FIUs to detect terrorist activities and suspicious activities.

Criminal activity remains a key source for funding terrorist organizations in the region, the report added.

Kidnapping for ransom remains a source of income for the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines, while militants in Indonesia rely on violent robbery to raise funds, the report said. In Thailand, Deep South insurgents have stolen cars and smuggled oil, but rely mainly on extortion to raise funds.

While conference participants focused on Asia and Australia, Malaysia Home Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his proposal for combating terrorists globally drew support from the other attendees, according to Malaysian state news agency Bernama.

Hamidi proposed the formation of a global secretariat to combat international terrorism.

Interpol Executive Director Jurgen Stock met me personally and will take up the recommendation for its implementation and coordination by the United Nations, he told Bernama.
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For Immediate Release, August 11, 2016 Contact: Wendy Park, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 844-7138, wpark@biologicaldiversity.org

Brian Kaiser, Ohio Environmental Council, (614) 487-5837, bkaiser@theoec.org

Mark Westlund, Sierra Club, (415) 977-5719, Mark.Westlund@sierraclub.org Forest Service Asked to Reject Fracking Plan in Ohio's Wayne National Forest Feds Fail to Address Climate Change Impact, Danger to Groundwater, Wildlife Habitat ATHENS, Ohio The U.S. Forest Service should reject a new oil and gas leasing plan in Ohios Wayne National Forest due to its failure to address serious concerns over fracking and climate change, conservation groups said today in a letter to the Service. The plan to allow dangerous hydraulic fracturing or fracking on 40,000 acres of the states only national forest would degrade streams and groundwater, fragment wildlife habitat and worsen climate change  issues inadequately addressed in the environmental analysis for the proposal  according to the letter from the Center for Biological Diversity, the Ohio Environmental Council and the Sierra Club. The groups also criticized the agencys failure to quantify the plans greenhouse gas emissions, contrary to the Council on Environmental Qualitys new guidance issued to federal agencies last week. Under the guidance, the agency should disclose the full life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the proposed leasing in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, including emissions from burning oil and gas extracted from the Wayne, the letter asserts. Any proposal for new oil and gas leases on public land should include an analysis of its contribution to the climate change crisis, said Nathan Johnson, an attorney with Ohio Environmental Council. Legally and morally, any decision on federal fossil fuel must examine the impact that burning that fuel will have on all of us. Indeed, if we are to prevent the worst effects of climate change, the science tells us that all new federal fossil fuel leasing should be off limits. The groups also highlighted the Forest Services failure to address groundwater and surface-water contamination risks from wastewater disposal and other fracking operations. While the agency claims that measures in its land-use plan, such as a prohibition on underground wastewater disposal, would protect water resources, these restrictions do not apply to neighboring private lands scattered throughout the forest. Horizontal wells required for fracking can reach oil and gas deposits two miles away and so need not be sited on federal land. Over three-quarters of the forests Marietta Unit, where the leasing is proposed, is private land.



The governments plan is remarkably shortsighted in its failure to consider the full extent of fracking and wastewater disposal that could occur throughout the forest, said Wendy Park, an attorney with the Center. Water quality and wildlife will suffer regardless of where these activities occur. The endangered Indiana bat relies on the Wayne and could be drawn to wastewater ponds that would serve as deathtraps for bats, said the groups, noting a potential Endangered Species Act violation. Fragmentation of habitat for the bat and other species is another concern, and the environmental analysis underestimates the total amount of forest that would be cleared for pipelines and well pads, the letter noted. In May the Bureau of Land Management  the agency in charge of the proposed auction  received public comment on the environmental analysis for the proposed leasing. The Forest Service must consent to leasing parcels nominated by oil and gas operators before the auction can go forward. The Bureaus website suggests an auction is planned for December, but last week, Forest Supervisor Anthony Scardina announced in an email that he would be leaving the Wayne on Aug. 15 for a temporary four-month post in Montana. Athens District Ranger Jason Reed will serve as acting supervisor in the interim. It is unclear how the supervisors departure will affect the Forest Services review of the controversial leasing proposal. The groups requested a meeting with the Forest Service. Public lands are for the people, not for the benefit of Big Oil and Gas, said Lena Moffitt, director of the Sierra Clubs Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign. Drilling for oil and gas means more fracking, and fracking means poisoning our air and water, and threatening the health of our communities and our environment. At a time when clean energy like solar and wind is proving to be safest, healthiest, and most cost-effective way to power our country, it's high time we recognized that we need to leave dirty fuels like coal, oil, and gas in the ground. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


For Immediate Release, August 11, 2016 Contact: Taylor McKinnon, (801) 300-2414 tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org Public Records Sought Over Federal Surveillance of Climate Protesters WASHINGTON The Center for Biological Diversity today filed nine Freedom of Information Act requests seeking the release of public records relating to surveillance of peaceful protests of federal fossil fuel auctions. Records obtained by the Intercept in July revealed that federal and local police agents went undercover at a May 20 public protest of a Bureau of Land Management fossil fuel auction in Lakewood, Colo. Todays filings expand that inquiry to all federal fossil fuel auctions conducted by the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management since August 2015, including 14 fossil fuel auctions that faced public Keep it in the Ground protests. The requests seek all internal federal correspondence related to the protests as well as communication with other agencies, including local, state, and federal law enforcement, industry, and private consultants. Theres a large and growing movement of peaceful protesters calling on their government to make a moral choice to save our climate and end new fossil fuel leasing on public lands, said Taylor McKinnon with the Center. The public has a right to know whether the government has launched a surveillance program targeting climate activists who are courageously speaking up for whats right. Every oil and gas lease sale on public lands since September 2015 has faced climate protests as part of the Keep it in the Ground movement that is calling on President Obama to end all new fossil fuel leasing on public lands. Those protests have halted several BLM fossil fuel auctions, and spurred BLM and BOEM to begin conducting fossil fuel auctions online to avoid public controversy. Neither undercover surveillance nor moving fossil fuel auctions online will hide the dangerous disconnect between the Obama administrations climate rhetoric and its fossil fuel leasing policies, McKinnon said. Until those policies align with U.S. climate goals, theyll continue to face growing public protest  and rightfully so. Download a copy of todays request here. Background

The American public owns nearly 650 million acres of federal public land and more than 1.7 billion acres of Outer Continental Shelf  and the fossil fuels beneath them. This includes federal public land, which makes up about a third of the U.S. land area, and oceans like Alaskas Chukchi Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Seaboard. These places and the fossil fuels beneath them are held in trust for the public by the federal government; federal fossil fuel leasing is administered by the Department of the Interior. Over the past decade, the combustion of federal fossil fuels has resulted in nearly a quarter of all U.S. energy-related emissions. An 2015 report by EcoShift Consulting, commissioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, found that remaining federal oil, gas, coal, oil shale and tar sands that have not been leased to industry contain up to 450 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. As of earlier this year, 67 million acres of federal fossil fuel were already leased to industry, an area more than 55 times larger than Grand Canyon National Park containing up to 43 billion tons of potential greenhouse gas pollution. Last year Sens. Merkley (D-Ore.), Sanders (I-Vt.) and others introduced the Keep It In the Ground Act (S. 2238) legislation to end new federal fossil fuel leases and cancel non-producing federal fossil fuel leases. Days later President Obama canceled the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, saying, Because ultimately, if were going to prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, were going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them and release more dangerous pollution into the sky. Download the September Keep It in the Ground letter to President Obama. Download Grounded: The Presidents Power to Fight Climate Change, Protect Public Lands by Keeping Publicly Owned Fossil Fuels in the Ground (this report details the legal authorities with which a president can halt new federal fossil fuel leases). Download The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions of U.S. Federal Fossil Fuels (this report quantifies the volume and potential greenhouse gas emissions of remaining federal fossil fuels) and The Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions fact sheet. Download Over-leased: How Production Horizons of Already Leased Federal Fossil Fuels Outlast Global Carbon Budgets. Download Public Lands, Private Profits, a report about the corporations that are profiting from climate-destroying fossil fuel extraction on public lands. Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition calling on the Obama administration to halt all new offshore fossil fuel leasing. Download the Center for Biological Diversitys legal petition with 264 other groups calling on the Obama administration to halt all new onshore fossil fuel leasing. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


For Immediate Release, August 11, 2016 Contacts: Sarah Uhlemann, (206) 327-2344, suhlemann@biologicaldiversity.org

Joanna Nasar, (415) 488-7711, joanna@tirn.net

Kimiko Martinez, (310) 434-2344, kmartinez@nrdc.org U.S. to World: Protect Dolphins, Whales or Lose Access to U.S. Seafood Market New Rules Ban Seafood Imports That Dont Meet Strict U.S. Standards for Marine Mammal Protection WASHINGTON  The National Marine Fisheries Service issued regulations today prohibiting seafood imports from nations whose fisheries kill more whales and dolphins than U.S. standards allow. Each year around 650,000 whales, dolphins and other marine mammals are unintentionally caught and killed in fishing gear worldwide. Under the new rule, foreign fishermen must meet the same marine mammal protection standards applied to U.S. fishermen or their fish will be banned from the lucrative American seafood market. The rule is the result of a settlement in a lawsuit brought by conservation groups two years ago. The new regulations will force countries to meet U.S. conservation standards if they want access to the U.S. market, saving thousands of whales and dolphins from dying on hooks and in fishing nets around the world, said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The U.S. government has finally recognized that all seafood consumed in the United States must be dolphin-safe.  The new rules will be put in place gradually with full implementation by 2022. Exporting nations will now need to track and monitor fisheries and whale, dolphin and other marine mammal populations, modify fishing gear, and may even have to close fishing in some areas to limit entanglement risk. People may assume that the fish they grab in the store is whale- and dolphin-safe, said Zak Smith, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Councils Marine Mammal Protection Project. That simply is not true. But with this rule we can export U.S. marine mammal protections to our trading partners and significantly limit the carnage cause by poorly regulated fisheries. Whales and dolphins have suffered long enough. Since 1972 the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act has prohibited the United States from allowing seafood to enter the country unless it meets U.S. whale and dolphin standards. But for the past 40 years, the federal government has largely ignored the ban. In 2014 the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council and Turtle Island Restoration Network sued to enforce the import requirement, and todays regulations were a result of that settlement. The public demands and the U.S. can  and by law, must  wield its tremendous purchasing power to save dolphins and whales from foreign fishing nets, said Todd Steiner, a biologist and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network. We have the right to ensure that the seafood sold in the U.S. is caught in ways that minimize the death and injury of marine mammals. Despite U.S. efforts to protect marine mammals in its own waters, fishing gear continues to pose the most significant threat to whale and dolphin conservation worldwide. Among the species that may benefit from todays rule are the endangered right whale that migrates off the U.S. East Coast, the Gulf of Californias critically imperiled vaquita, dusky and other dolphins off South America, spinner dolphins in the Indian Ocean, and false killer whales off Hawaii. Americans consume 5 billion pounds of seafood per year, including tuna, swordfish, shrimp and cod. About 90 percent of that seafood is imported and about half is wild-caught. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org Turtle Island Restoration Network is an international marine conservation organization headquartered in California whose 200,000+ members and online activists work to protect sea turtles and marine biodiversity in the United States and around the world. Visit us at Seaturtles.org. Visit our online Got Mercury at https://seaturtles.org/programs/mercury/ to find out how much mercury is in your seafood. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.


Charles Gersbach, the Rooney Family Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and director for the Center of Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering at Duke University. Researchers have used CRISPR -- a revolutionary new genetic engineering technique -- to convert cells isolated from mouse connective tissue directly into neuronal cells.

In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka, a professor at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto University at the time, discovered how to revert adult connective tissue cells, called fibroblasts, back into immature stem cells that could differentiate into any cell type. These so-called induced pluripotent stem cells won Yamanaka the Nobel Prize in medicine just six years later for their promise in research and medicine.

Since then, researchers have discovered other ways to convert cells between different types. This is mostly done by introducing many extra copies of "master switch" genes that produce proteins that turn on entire genetic networks responsible for producing a particular cell type.

Now, researchers at Duke University have developed a strategy that avoids the need for the extra gene copies. Instead, a modification of the CRISPR genetic engineering technique is used to directly turn on the natural copies already present in the genome.

These early results indicate that the newly converted neuronal cells show a more complete and persistent conversion than the method where new genes are permanently added to the genome. These cells could be used for modeling neurological disorders, discovering new therapeutics, developing personalized medicines and, perhaps in the future, implementing cell therapy.

The study was published on August 11, 2016, in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

"This technique has many applications for science and medicine. For example, we might have a general idea of how most people's neurons will respond to a drug, but we don't know how your particular neurons with your particular genetics will respond," said Charles Gersbach, the Rooney Family Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and director for the Center of Biomolecular and Tissue Engineering at Duke. "Taking biopsies of your brain to test your neurons is not an option. But if we could take a skin cell from your arm, turn it into a neuron, and then treat it with various drug combinations, we could determine an optimal personalized therapy."

"The challenge is efficiently generating neurons that are stable and have a genetic programming that looks like your real neurons," says Joshua Black, the graduate student in Gersbach's lab who led the work. "That has been a major obstacle in this area."

In the 1950s, Professor Conrad Waddington, a British developmental biologist who laid the foundations for developmental biology, suggested that immature stem cells differentiating into specific types of adult cells can be thought of as rolling down the side of a ridged mountain into one of many valleys. With each path a cell takes down a particular slope, its options for its final destination become more limited.

If you want to change that destination, one option is to push the cell vertically back up the mountain -- that's the idea behind reprogramming cells to be induced pluripotent stem cells. Another option is to push it horizontally up and over a hill and directly into another valley.

"If you have the ability to specifically turn on all the neuron genes, maybe you don't have to go back up the hill," said Gersbach.

Previous methods have accomplished this by introducing viruses that inject extra copies of genes to produce a large number of proteins called master transcription factors. Unique to each cell type, these proteins bind to thousands of places in the genome, turning on that cell type's particular gene network. This method, however, has some drawbacks.

"Rather than using a virus to permanently introduce new copies of existing genes, it would be desirable to provide a temporary signal that changes the cell type in a stable way," said Black. "However, doing so in an efficient manner might require making very specific changes to the genetic program of the cell."

In the new study, Black, Gersbach, and colleagues used CRISPR to precisely activate the three genes that naturally produce the master transcription factors that control the neuronal gene network, rather than having a virus introduce extra copies of those genes.

CRISPR is a modified version of a bacterial defense system that targets and slices apart the DNA of familiar invading viruses. In this case, however, the system has been tweaked so that no slicing is involved. Instead, the machinery that identifies specific stretches of DNA has been left intact, and it has been hitched to a gene activator.

The CRISPR system was administered to mouse fibroblasts in the laboratory. The tests showed that, once activated by CRISPR, the three neuronal master transcription factor genes robustly activated neuronal genes. This caused the fibroblasts to conduct electrical signals -- a hallmark of neuronal cells. And even after the CRISPR activators went away, the cells retained their neuronal properties.

"When blasting cells with master transcription factors made by viruses, it's possible to make cells that behave like neurons," said Gersbach. "But if they truly have become autonomously functioning neurons, then they shouldn't require the continuous presence of that external stimulus."

The experiments showed that the new CRISPR technique produced neuronal cells with an epigenetic program at the target genes matching the neuronal markings naturally found in mouse brain tissue.

"The method that introduces extra genetic copies with the virus produces a lot of the transcription factors, but very little is being made from the native copies of these genes," explained Black. "In contrast, the CRISPR approach isn't making as many transcription factors overall, but they're all being produced from the normal chromosomal position, which is a powerful difference since they are stably activated. We're flipping the epigenetic switch to convert cell types rather than driving them to do so synthetically."

The next steps, according to Black, are to extend the method to human cells, raise the efficiency of the technique and try to clear other epigenetic hurdles so that it could be applied to model particular diseases.

"In the future, you can imagine making neurons and implanting them in the brain to treat Parkinson's disease or other neurodegenerative conditions," said Gersbach. "But even if we don't get that far, you can do a lot with these in the lab to help develop better therapies."

Source: Duke University
Mewing is a TikTok trend that has blown up in the last few months. It is claimed that it can help shape your jawline as well as cure other ailments by actively pressing your tongue to the roof
WASHINGTON D.C., USA - Plans by the government of Zimbabwe to introduce legislation to tightly restrict access to social media and monitor private communications, with stiff criminal penalties for violators, has been met with criticism internationally.

Image by 123RF

In response, Freedom House issued the following statement: The government of Zimbabwes Computer Crime and Cyber Crime Bill would severely limit citizens access to information, as the government tries to stifle calls for economic and political reform, said Lynn Fredriksson, director for Freedom House Southern Africa programs.

President Mugabe and Supa Mandiwandzira, the minister of information communication technology, should know that further stifling communication will lead to more anti-government demonstrations across the country.

Many Zimbabweans rely on Twitter and WhatsApp, which have been used to rally mass participation in demonstrations in the country over the past few weeks.

The governments planned legislation would allow authorities to arbitrarily seize mobile phones, tablets and laptops; monitor private communications; interrupt broadband service; and sentence violators to imprisonment.

The legislation, which would supplement the national ICT policy which is still being developed, is part of the governments response to recent anti-government protests that have largely been organised and shared via social media.

Hashtags such as #ThisFlag have attracted large numbers of followers. Many Zimbabweans rely on Twitter and WhatsApp, which have been used to rally mass participation in demonstrations.

In July, the government temporarily blocked access to WhatsApp, as it faced protests over its inability to pay civil servants salaries.

Zimbabwe is rated Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2016; Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2016; and Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2015.
LAGOS - Nigerian civil rights groups condemned the government after the arrest of a news blogger by an anti-graft agency sparked concerns about freedom of speech in the vast African country.

Image by 123RF

Abubakar Usman, the founder of popular political blog abusidiqu.com, was arrested at his Abuja home on Monday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly "cyber stalking".

Last week, Usman published a post claiming that EFCC boss Ibrahim Magu was "bullying" his staff.

The blogger is a known supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari and is a founding member of the ruling party's youth wing.

The All Progressive Congress Youth Forum said in a statement that the EFCC, which is designed to tackle endemic fraud in the country, had "obviously overstepped its jurisdiction".

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a high-profile civil rights group in Nigeria, said: "Nigerians should be allowed to talk freely without threats of arrest or harm."

Members of Nigeria's official opposition voiced fears that bloggers who support their party would be arrested next. "Their plan is to arrest opposition bloggers, that is our fear," Adeyanju Deji, a member of the People's Democratic Party, said to AFP. "We have come to the conclusion that this government doesn't like to be criticised."

EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren said that Usman had been released on bail and that his court date will be announced in the coming days.

Buhari has bolstered the EFCC in his bid to stamp out fraud in Africa's largest economy, but critics accuse him of using his war against corruption as a way to silence political foes.

Source: AFP.
UK-focused investment group Brait's share price plunged as much as 10% to a low of R110.33 on Wednesday, after it reported that the pound's Brexit plunge had caused its rand-denominated net asset value to fall.

Its net asset value per share at the end of the June quarter was R131.94, a 3.2% decline from R136.27 at the end of March.

The owner of UK chains Iceland Foods, New Look and Virgin Active said the pound had weakened 7.5% against the rand from R21.21/ at March 31 to R19.62/ at June 30.

If the pound had remained at R21.21/ instead of diving after the UKs vote on June 23 to leave the EU, Braits net asset value per share would have grown 2.7% for the quarter, it said in Wednesdays quarterly update.

New Looks revenue declined 4.2% during the 13 weeks ending June 25 from the matching period in 2015. Excluding new store openings, its UK sales fell 7%.

"The UK clothing and apparel sector has experienced a challenging quarter as a result of unfavourable market conditions, lower consumer confidence and consequent increase in promotional sales," Brait said in the statement.

Iceland Foods sales for the 12 weeks ended June 17 fell 0.6%. Excluding new stores, sales fell 2.4%, "a modest improvement on the 2.5% decline recorded in the final quarter of its 2016 financial year".

Iceland Food added six stores during the June quarter, including four Food Warehouse stores. Taking into account two store closures, the group had a total of 885 stores at period end, which includes 16 Food Warehouse stores.

Virgin Active opened 18 new gyms over the year to end-June, three of which were opened in SA this year.

Braits South African operation, fast-moving consumer goods group Premier, "delivered solid, double-digit ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) growth over this period". Brait increased its holding in Premier to 91.4% at the end of June from 91.1% at the end of March.

Premiers baking division grew bread volumes 6% to more than 500-million loaves sold. Brait said this followed a R370m investment over the past two years to upgrade facilities and increase capacity in its Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal operations.
South Africa continues to face energy challenges, but these can be surmounted with alternative sources that are funded at the right price.

An over-reliance on old, badly maintained and coal-based power plants has created an unpredictable, environmentally-unfriendly and costly energy market. However, alternative solutions are already proving successful in the renewable energy space, where many projects are now contributing hundreds of megawatts to the national grid. Apart from this, the country is geographically well positioned for a number of new and innovative energy-generating technologies.

Theres also a significant need in Africa for energy and infrastructure in general, and the opportunity exists for the energy to be in a renewable format.

Nandu Bhula, CEO of ACWA Power Solafricas Bokpoort CSP, introduces concentrated solar power (CSP) as a potential answer  or part of an answer  to South Africas present power woes.

Though traditionally considered an unreliable form of energy production, ACWA Powers CSP plant in Bokpoort, Northern Cape has a thermal energy capacity of 1,300MWh  thats equivalent to nine-and-a-half hours of electricity. It is also greener and more economical than the current favoured method of energy production.

Appropriate fund mechanisms

South Africa is well suited to technology that can generate energy in cleaner ways, photovoltaics in particular. However, question marks remain around the most appropriate funding mechanisms to support these projects.

Chairman of the Institute of Directors of SA, John Oliphant, says there was an urgent need for government to invest in infrastructure to aid the development of the renewable energy sector, yet it currently cannot afford to do so. The answer, he says, was private-sector infrastructure development. Pension funds, for example, are suitable long-term holders of infrastructure assets and appropriate products can be developed to suit their risk appetite.

Head of natural resources at Standard Bank, Berrie de Jager, says he was excited about the future growth potential in the alternative energy market and the solutions these can bring to resolve persisting energy challenges. There is plenty of opportunity to finance and develop solutions that can boost the economy and create a better life for all."
Women farmers across Southern Africa are getting ready for the annual gathering of women in agriculture, aimed at strengthening the entrepreneurial capacity of women in this sector. The annual gathering will take place from 26-29 September 2016 and is organised by the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU).

William Creighton via Wikimedia Commons

Turning ambitious dreams into reality

SACAU CEO Ishmael Sunga has urged women to escalate their aspirations in agriculture. We need to have ambitious dreams. Then we need to translate these dreams into reality. The sad truth is that many dreams are never realised due to poor execution of plans. As such, SACAU is focused on helping all farmers get the skills, knowledge, and access to resources to turn their ambitious dreams into reality, said Sunga.

There are numerous opportunities for women farmers to take advantage of in the business of agriculture. The stage is set for farmers to begin driving agricultural entrepreneurship across the continent, he noted.

We must move beyond conventional thinking of women empowerment. We must look towards technology and how we can take advantage of the agriculture value chain to grow women farmers in Africa. He urged the sector to begin new conversations on gender in agriculture.

Addressing challenges faced by women in agriculture

For agro-entrepreneurship to thrive, equitable access to production resources is needed by all - including women. We must ensure access to rewarding markets to all farmers, since markets are the pulling force for production, said Sunga,

He noted that a conducive policy environment that will lead to the transformation of the agriculture sector was essential. In this regard, it was important to monitor government implementation of commitments to global instruments including the Malabo Declaration on African Agriculture.

The Malabo commitments have specified that Africa has to address the challenges faced by women that include limited access and control of ownership of land, limited access to agricultural labour, limited access to technologies and agricultural extension services, limited access to financial services, low productivity, and lack of adequate disaggregated data and indicators.

There are already several treaties for gender empowerment including COMESAs initiatives on Gender and Women Empowerment and CAADPs National Agriculture Investment Plans (NAIPs) which all have a gender component.
Sea Harvest Corporation, the hake fishing company controlled by empowerment group Brimstone, has gained control of Australian Securities Exchange-listed agribusiness Mareterram.

skeeze via pixabay

Sea Harvest emerged as one of the anchor shareholders when Mareterram listed on the Australian Securities Exchange at the end of 2015. But earlier in 2016, Sea Harvest signalled an intention to bulk up its holding in Mareterram by making an offer to that company's minority shareholders.

Mareterram catches and processes king and tiger prawns out of Western Australia and operates a sales and marketing arm, mainly for seafood. Mareterram's shares have largely traded in a narrow band since listing, peaking at 35 Australian cents in April after reaching a 27c low in March.

According to a statement on Wednesday, Sea Harvest now holds 56% of Mareterram after shareholders accepted bids for shares worth about R200m. Sea Harvest CEO Felix Ratheb said Mareterram's strategy was closely aligned to Sea Harvest's strategy of becoming a vertically integrated global agribusiness.

Acquisitive growth

The Mareterram deal follows a transaction in which Brimstone increased its stake in Sea Harvest to 85% after buying out fellow empowerment participant Kagiso Tiso Holdings. Brimstone has a meaningful presence in the fishing sector and also holds a significant minority stake in JSE-listed fishing conglomerate Oceana Group. Oceana recently made its big move offshore by acquiring Louisiana-based fishmeal and fish oil specialist Daybrook.

Brimstone chairman Fred Robertson said the company supported acquisitive growth by its subsidiaries. "In the instance of Sea Harvest, the opportunity of global expansion using Australia as an entry point is an exciting one and aligns with our view of becoming a global player in the sector."

Mareterram has a market capitalisation of about A41m (about R421m). Market watchers suggested Sea Harvest's determination to build a bigger stake in Mareterram underlined Brimstone's longer-term plans to build a sizeable food platform. Robertson said Mareterram would create a platform from which further acquisitions could be launched.

"The longevity of fishing rights in Australia gives us a certain amount of certainty around this investment," he said. He also stressed that Mareterram added diversity in terms of species and geographical markets to Sea Harvest. "We also intend broadening our seafood basket, we don't want to be solely dependent on fish."

Source: Business Day
The buying and selling property process can get even trickier than usual when one party is a not a South African citizen or permanent resident.

Rocklands, Sea Point Promenade

Its therefore crucial to appoint a specialist conveyancing attorney with experience in this field, especially if the transaction is to be concluded at a time when the foreign party isnt in South Africa, because additional documentation is required and procedures when signing agreements can vary depending on the country in which they reside.

This is according to Danielle Abrahamson, Specialist Conveyancing Attorney at Mcloughlin Clark Incorporated, who says: Just one missing signature or incorrect document can delay or even compromise a sale, and the repercussions can be costly.

Abrahamson says its often the small oversights that impede the successful conclusion of a deal, and its therefore essential that estate agents and conveyancing attorneys familiarise themselves with the local laws relating to property transactions with foreign nationals, and that buyers and sellers know what questions to ask.

These include:

Spousal signatures: When non-residents purchase property in South Africa, their spouses signature is not required although the transfer document must state by which countrys marriage laws their union is governed. However, when a foreigner sells property in South Africa, the spouses signature may well be required.

Signing of transfer documents: If the foreign buyer is signing the transfer documents outside of South Africa, it must be done at a South African embassy or consulate, but this isnt always practical or cost-effective as embassies are often far away or entirely absent in some countries.

If the country in which the buyer will be signing the documents is a member of the Hague Convention, he or she can sign in front of a notary public and an apostille will be attached. The Hague Convention is an international treaty which sets out how documents can be verified and an apostille is the certification.

Should the country not be a member of the Hague Convention, such as Saudi Arabia or Ghana, then an apostille is not acceptable and once the documents have been notarised, they need to be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs for authentication.

The simplest option to avoid these tedious processes is for the buyer to sign a special power of attorney authorising a person in South Africa to act on their behalf, because many foreigners arent necessarily in South Africa when the various documents need to be signed before the transaction is concluded.

Withholding tax on purchase price: When a foreigner sells a South African property valued at more than R2m the purchaser is legally obliged to withhold a percentage of the purchase price to ensure the full funds arent taken out of the country without capital gains tax being paid.

5% if the seller is a natural person



7.5% if the seller is a company



10% if the seller is a trust

The conveyancing attorney will generally pay the funds over to SARS, but if the buyer receives the full purchase price directly and has been advised that the withholding tax needs to be paid then he or she is liable.

A foreign seller also needs to be aware that if the intention is to take the proceeds of the sale out of South Africa, he or she must be able to show the flow of the foreign funds and have a deal receipt from when the money was first brought into the country.

Lew Geffen, chairman of Lew Geffen Sothebys International Realty, says getting even one step of this process wrong can jeopardise a sale.

Working with an experienced estate agent can make or break a sale, especially in regions like Cape Town where according to a report just released by FNB Property Economist John Loos, the percentage of foreign property ownership is approximately 3% higher than the national average of around 5%, and the possibility of entering into this type of transaction is more likely.

The estate agent can play a significant role in circumventing possible hiccups by being well-versed in the legal requirements for these transactions, as well as by informing the conveyance attorney of the circumstances of the sale as early as possible, but its also important for local buyers and sellers to be aware that there might be more challenges and what these could be.

Its always a good idea for consumers to arm themselves with as much information as possible, and not be afraid to ask questions.

Avoiding confusion down the line

Geffen says agents should advise attorneys if the foreign party is leaving South Africa soon after signing the offer to purchase, determine whether both spouses want to own the property despite the prevailing law of the land in which they reside and advise both parties about withholding tax in order to avoid confusion down the line.

Geffen concludes: Although these additional factors may seem daunting when added to an already tedious ream of paperwork, as long as all procedures are followed correctly and everyone is aware of the requirements from the start, theres no reason that concluding a property transaction with a non-resident should be anything but seamless.
Stellenbosch at Summer Place will return to Hyde Park on 26 October - a stellar one-night showcase featuring some of South Africa's finest wines, food, and art on offer - giving connoisseurs an opportunity to mingle with the country's top winemakers and chefs.

Stellenbosch, South Africas first and foremost wine route, has long been regarded as one of the countrys most beautiful and cultured destinations thanks to, amongst others, its heritage, entrancing landscapes and a collection of world-class restaurants and iconic wine estates. Stellenbosch at Summer Place, an exclusive experience presented by Stellenbosch Wine Routes and Sanlam Private Wealth, brings this reputation to Johannesburg.

Lending additional panache this year, Stellenbosch at Summer Place will celebrate excellence forged from the eponymous regions illustrious past and future; a place where greatness shaped over centuries is merged with the visionary talents of pioneering youth. Stellenbosch at Summer Place 2016 will be attended by these very proteges who are set to become the leading winemakers and chefs of tomorrow.

This is the seventh year that Stellenbosch Wine Routes has partnered with Sanlam Private Wealth to host the occasion. Every year, Summer Place is transformed into a stylish Winelands rendezvous that allow guests to indulge every sense at the luxurious cocktail-style affair. In addition, it provides the chance for wine-lovers to stock up on rare vintages in the run-up to the festive season and support a charitable cause  the Stellenbosch Wine Routes Education Fund.

The City of Oaks fame as a centre of epicurean distinction goes on display with more than 100 of Stellenboschs best wines from a variety of vintages offered for tasting by winemakers and estate owners, and available for purchase.

Alongside them will be sublime food creations presented by a handful of renowned chefs who will demonstrate why Stellenbosch is widely regarded as the Gourmet Capital of South Africa. Among them will be Delaire Graff wine estate restaurant head chef Michael Deg and Waterkloof Wines restaurant executive chef Gregory Czarnecki.

Satisfying artistic urges at this years event will be live music performances while art enthusiasts will also get the privileged chance to view rare pieces from the Sanlam Art Collection  one of South Africas finest and most extensive of its kind.

For more information or tickets, visit Stellenbosch Wine Routes or contact Elmarie Rabe at Tel: 021 886 8275, send an email to az.oc.etuoreniw@stneve or book online.
Some of Dion Vengatass earliest memories is being drawn into the kitchen by the magical mist aromatic curry. He grew up around master of flavour - grandmothers and aunts who understood the art of balancing flavours and respecting ingredients. It was infectious growing up around and inevitable for him to become a chef.

Dion Vengatass

Hotel-keeping and catering were two of his subjects in high school at William Hills High School. One of his teachers, Mrs Mrajum, began to hone his unrefined talent - this was when he began to understand the basics of the art of classic cooking. Today he cooks food based on classic cooking but with a twist by bringing in flavours which represent the heritage of which he is extremely proud.

Vengatass studied hotel management at the Swiss Hotel School, but his love for cooking saw him undertaking a self-study programme to become a chef. This passionate chef was inspired by well-known American chefs as well as local chef and mentor, Rudi Liebenberg under whom he currently works at The Belmond Mount Nelson.

Being part of a national culinary team is one of the greatest achievements for a chef in any country, so representing South Africa and wearing the national colours means a lot to me because Ive always been a hardcore patriot. This is what I have worked for my entire career! says Vengatass when asked what being on the South African National Culinary Team means to him.

Dions role in the Culinary Team sees him in charge of the cold starter in the Hot Kitchen and the tapas items on the five-course festive menu for the Cold Table. He has a particular affinity for the Hot Kitchen starter dish (Cape Crayfish Malay  poached crayfish, pressed carrot terrine, carrot mayonnaise and Malay curry sauce) because the subtle Indian flavours of the ingredients are reminiscent of his childhood and showcase his heritage.

Dion currently works as a Sous Chef at The Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town.
SAN FRANCISCO, USA: US-based Intel on Tuesday, 9 August 2016, announced a deal to buy an artificial intelligence startup as the computer chip colossus looks to broaden its role in data centers and the expanding internet of things.

Intel did not disclose how much it is paying for Nervana Systems, but US media reports put the price at more than $350 million.

"With this acquisition, Intel is formally committing to pushing the forefront of AI (artificial intelligence) technologies," Nervana co-founder and chief executive Naveen Rao said in a blog post.

"We can now shatter the old paradigm and move into a new regime of computing."

Founded two years ago in Southern California, Nervana has specialized in combining hardware and software to help machines think in ways similar to human brains, according to the companies.

Intel plans to put Nervana expertise to work in Xeon and Xeon Phi chips to better handle "deep learning" in the internet cloud, Intel data center group executive vice president Diane Bryant said in an online post.

"While artificial intelligence is often equated with great science fiction, it isn't relegated to novels and movies," Bryant said.

"AI is all around us."

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge
The CEO of WesBank, Chris de Kock has joined the list of speakers lined up for the biennial CAR Conference which will take place during the SA Festival of Motoring at the Kyalami Circuit and Conference Centre on 1 September 2016.

Chris de Kock

There were gasps when De Kock pronounced in March that WesBank predicted a decrease of 12% in total vehicle sales in 2016 compared to 2015. However, it seems his prophecy is pretty well on track as the year-to-date decline at the end of July was 11%. Nobody else had forecast such a big fall in sales volume.

Disruption and disruptive trends are current buzzwords in the global automotive world and they are going to be significant in a number of presentations at this years conference, where the theme is: Consumer trends and disruption: How South African automakers can drive the change required to adapt to a new future. De Kock will examine disruption in the automotive finance industry in his presentation.

Keynote addresses - mega trends and disruption

Keynote addresses at the conference will be delivered by Martin Briggs from the United Kingdom and Mark Lamberti, the CEO of the Imperial Holdings Group.

Briggs is the industry principal who leads the Mobility team at Frost & Sullivan, an international company which provides detailed market research and consulting advice in this sphere. He is recognised as a thought leader on a range of Urban Mobility topics, especially car-sharing business models and the integration of public transport with road-based mobility services. The title of Briggs presentation at the CAR Conference is: Megatrends and the future of mobility.

Lamberti will talk to the topic Leadership in times of economic downturn and consumer disruption. Lamberti is currently busy restructuring the Imperial Groups automotive division in preparation for the impending retirement of Manny da Canha, the kingpin in the imported car section of this division, so his presentation will be very topical.

Panel discussion on the state of SA's automotive industry

The all-day conference will conclude with a panel discussion on The state of the South African automotive industry and change required to compete in world markets. The panel will consist of Mike Whitfield, the president of NAAMSA; Jeff Osborne, the head of Gumtree Automotive; Thomas Schaefer, the president and CEO of Volkswagen South Africa, Chris de Kock of WesBank, and Dave Duarte, the founder of Treeshake.

The conference will once again enjoy sponsorship from Tracker, while this year Gumtree has come in as an additional sponsor too. The CAR Conference was held for the first time in 1996 as part of Auto Africa and subsequently at the Johannesburg International Motor Show. Over the years it has become South Africas definitive conference for the broader motor industry and an important showcase for the latest trends and possible developments for the future.

Visit the 2016 CAR Conference for more details and to book ("early bird" offer ends 15 Augusts).
South African house group, Mi Casa is set to return to the Toyota presents DRUMBeat concert on Saturday 27 August. This is the first time that a band has returned to the DRUMBeat stage in the concert's six year history.

Not only are Mi Casa a SAMA nominated and winning hit house band, but they were so well received in 2015, which is why they were invited by Toyota, DRUM Magazine and Hilltop Live to perform at this years concert.

Starting in 2010, Mi Casa comprises of three highly talented musicians: Mo-T, JSomething and Dr Duda. They released their debut album Micasa Music, which reached platinum status within six months of release.

They have shared a stage with international acts such as Drake, The Layabouts, Reel People andTortured Soul. Mi Casa followed up with their album Su Casa Mi Casa, which went on to become a double platinum seller. Home Sweet Home is Mi Casas highly anticipated studio album, released in 2015 and has seen the band continue their chart success with singles Dont Wanna Be Your Friend and Mumble in the Jungle.

Lineup

Mi Casa will join Karabo, Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Nathi, Kwesta, Nasty_C, Solly Mahlangu and Mobi Dixon at DRUMBeat 2016.

Two stages will bring live jazz, hip hop, house and pop to an anticipated audience of 5,000 people at the Soweto Theatre.

Ticket details:

Tickets are available from Computicket

Tickets: R150 presale via Computicket (online and at stores)

VIP tickets: R1,500 available via Computicket

Toyota presents DRUMBeat in association with Mzansi Magic and Hilltop Live.

www.drumbeatconcert.co.za
Kim Lawrence chats to TV presenter, actress, model and businesswoman Shashi Naidoo about her modelling agency, Alushi , and her thoughts on celebrating women this month.

How do you balance family and career? How much modelling are you doing at the moment?

Its easy to get carried away with work and forget to make time not only for yourself, but also for family. I try to always make midweek plans with family - its an excuse for something to look forward to midweek and breaks the work week, so its a win/win, because family catch up time is always important. My career for some time has been evolving into something new. My focus has been on Alushi and driving the models I represent and now on my new business venture, The Laser Beautique Menlyn.

How old were you when you first realised you wanted to become a model and how did your career kick off?

Modelling wasnt always my plan. I actually studied Chiropractic, however, one of my part-time jobs as a student was as a florist. One day I was delivering flowers to an advertising agency and was asked if I was there for the casting, which I obviously wasnt. But, being a bit of a risk taker, I decided to try my luck anyway. And the rest snowballed from there.

How did the birth of Alushi begin?

I wasnt your typical model. When you think of a model, most people picture a very tall, rake-thin girl. This wasnt my build at all and for a model, I am regarded very short and struggled to find an agency that would represent me, because of my height. But, despite being the only unconventional model at my agency, I wasnt struggling to book work. There were plenty of clients looking for a different kind of model. This gave me an idea: why not start an agency of my own that focuses on offering the kinds of models that the traditional agencies dont? My idea wasnt to supply what the industry calls character models  people who completely defy the traditional image of a model and fill a very specific niche. My aim was simply to stretch the definition of the concept a bit to include people who didnt conform to the absolute stereotype. I followed my hunch and Im so glad that I did.

Why did you decide to start your own business?

I had seen a gap in the market and hoped to capitalize on that.

As a strong and successful individual do you find men / women intimidated by you?

You will always get people who are intimidated by others success, but I think that has more to do with their own insecurities. I surround myself with people who are always pushing me to go further and strive for more than I have.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being your own Boss?

The hardest part of being your own boss is definitely self-discipline; when you have no one to report to its easy to lose track of what you are doing and procrastinate to get things done. Thats why Ive become very goal orientated. I set targets for the day, week and month and make sure I stay on top of them.

You are always encouraging young ladies to pursue their dreams and remain positive, how do you manage to do this?

I think the easiest and best way to do this is to be a good role model and live by those principles in everyday life.

How would you identify a good entrepreneur?

I think some people are more inclined to entrepreneurship and some people are more comfortable with the security of being a jobeneur. I think a good entrepreneur is someone who can identify a demand for a service or product that doesnt currently exist, as well as the discipline and determination required to get a project off the ground.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

I would tell them never to be discouraged- its all about trial and error and you really need to just keep trying different things until you figure out what works for you.

Youve achieved a lot thus far. What would you say are one of the major things you have not yet achieved?

Im 35 now and really looking forward to having a family.

Being humble is a key factor in your industry what would you say keeps you grounded?

I have had the same circle of friends since I moved to Johannesburg in 1999, a true friend will always call you out if you are acting out of character, and thats been of great value for me.

Since your first appearance on TV in 2004, how has Shashi Naidoo evolved?

I really enjoyed my time in the industry as a model and TV presenter. I got to travel the world and meet a diversity of interesting people, but Ive also enjoyed my evolution to someone who works behind the scenes. I have such a sense of fulfillment in scouting a new model and then watching his/her career flourish.

You completed your chiropractic degree in 2007. Do you find yourself using your degree or would that be a future plan?

What I took from my studies was hard work, dedication and commitment towards an end goal and I believe that will carry me in good stead throughout my life. I dont however see myself as a practicing chiropractor in the future.

As the director/owner of the super successful company, Alushi, did you ever think it would be as big as it is now?

My aim when I started Alushi was always to be one of the most successful agencies in South Africa, but I am well aware of how blessed and fortunate I have been to get to this point.

What is the toughest thing to deal with when doing your job?

Running an agency and representing over 350 models is tough, because often models dont realise that their behaviour and actions dictate a clients impression of the agency. We put a lot of work into making each model feel a part of the team and instilling a good work ethic.

Being in the spotlight and a fashion inspiration, what are some of your favourite brands?

I wear the clothes that I love and I try not to focus on a specific brand. Id buy a blazer from Louis Vuitton if I liked it, but Id be equally happy wearing one from Mr Price if it suited me.

What do you love about being a woman?

That I can do anything a man can do, but in stilettos.

Do you think its important to have a month dedicated to women?

Of course its important. Looking back on history and how women were so severely underestimated, I think a month devoted to women and empowering them is very important.

What is the role of feminism in South Africa in 2016?

I think the role of feminism in South Africa is ultimately to ensure womens voices are heard and equalize the power women have in society relative to men. If women and men are equally empowered, we can work together. I think that success needs women and men united in action.

What is your message for Women's Month?

One woman can make a difference, but together we can change the world.

What are the plans ahead for Shashi Naidoo?

My next big project is the opening of my own Laser Beautique in Menlyn, I am so excited to watch this grow and throw myself into entirely uncharted territory.

www.alushi.co.za
Tiger Wheel & Tyre has announced the opening of a new store in Bulawayo, the third store opening after entering the Zimbabwean market in September 2015 with two stores in Harare.

The new store is located on the corner of Plumtree and Manchester Roads in Belmont, Bulawayo. It boasts four fitment and two wheel alignment bays to service the wheel, tyre and automotive battery needs of motorists in this busy location.

Tiger Wheel & Tyre Bulawayo has a state of the art showroom that showcases a wide range of wheels, tyres, batteries and accessories from the world's leading automotive brands. Tyre brands include, among others, Continental, Yokohama, Hankook, Michelin, BFGoodrich, Pirelli, GT Radial, Sumitomo and Tiger Wheel & Tyre's own value brand Velocity. Wheels include models from TSW, Racing Hart Concepts, Black Rhino, Turn 1TM and more.

While skilled technicians attend to their vehicles, customers will be invited to relax and enjoy refreshments in the store's inviting hospitality lounge.
The Fak'ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival, taking place from 19 August-3 September 2016, will bring to the fore the role women play in digital arts as well as celebrate digital art and its impact on culture, creativity, arts and technology.

With its Afro Tech Riot theme, festival organiser, Tegan Bristow, says that this years lineup will illustrate how creativity and technology are becoming more mainstream and the important role women are playing in this space: We are very proud of the lineup of women this year. The successful engagement of arts, culture, creativity and technology by women is inspiring, and worthy of a spotlight at this years Fakugesi festival.

Festival participants

Taking place at The Tshimologong Precinct in Braamfontein, Bristow adds: I have several incredible women collaborating with us this year to showcase the possibilities within culture and technology: Janine Johnston, national coordinator of the Maker Library Network in South Africa who is working with the British Council to bring a host of free maker workshops to the festival; Kerry Friend, executive creative director, Isobar, is working with teams of musicians and technologists, including female performer Lindiwe Matshikiza, for the Festivals Future Sounds project; and Thato Noinyane, project manager, British Council Connect ZA who brings us the Festivals Market Hack and Soweto Pop Up projects among many other activities. They have all assisted in developing an exciting, and much-needed focus on women in digital arts.

Chaza and Kgatle

An exciting element of the festival is the Artist Residency and this year will also feature the talents of two up-and-coming African women: Vuyi Chaza and Regina Kgatle.

Chaza wants to create spaces and opportunities where women in Zimbabwe can pursue a career in digital arts: This is not only about growing the art form, but more importantly for Chaza, it is about shaping the narrative surrounding women in Zimbabwe.

For Regina Kgatle digital arts is a way in which she can use games to educate people no matter where they live or what school they go to. She is the founder of Educade and a non-profit start-up called 67games, which is how Kgatle reaches schools around South Africa. She is one of the Mail & Guardians top 200 Young people and has been nominated for the African Alliance award by the United Nations.

The Festival will host with Women in Tech ZA a special Festival focused networking session on the evening of 25 August as part of its Fakugesi Talks programme. Visitors must book online to join.

Adding some international flavour to the lineup is London-based digital artist Valentina Floris and immersive filmmaker Karen Palmer from SDNA, who will not only share how they are breaking boundaries in their mediums, but explore the intersections between technology, creativity and innovation.

For more information, visit www.Fakugesi.co.za.
On the next Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media radio show on Thursday, 11 August 2016, from 9-10am, show host Warren Harding is joined by Oresti Patricios ( @Orestaki ), founder and CEO of Ornico ( @ornicomedia ), a brand intelligence firm with presence in 14 African countries.

We chat about the current research underway for the 2016 Social Media Landscape Briefing taking place in Johannesburg on 20 September and Cape Town on 22 September.

The annual event is the definitive research briefing around the big platforms relevant to SA by the authorities Arthur Goldstuck and Mike Wronski, by far the biggest social media briefing of the year. Get more info online: www.marketingmixconferences.co.za/.

Tune into Biz Takeouts every Thursday from 9am-10am live from the 2oceansVibe Radio studio in Cape Town as we discuss the topics that matter in Marketing & Media.

How to listen

Comments or questions

Podcast

A podcast of the show will be available in the Biz Takeouts special section on Biz later during the week.
On Thursday, 11 August 2016, Biz Takeouts Marketing and Media Radio show host Warren Harding ( @bizwazza ) took a closer look at the Social Media Landscape Briefing 2016 - the definitive annual research briefing about the big platforms relevant to SA by authorities Arthur Goldstuck and Michal Wronski, by far the biggest social media briefing of the year.

We were joined by Oresti Patricios (@Orestaki), founder and CEO of Ornico (@ornicomedia), a brand intelligence firm with presence in 14 African countries. Ornico is conducting the research for the social media landscape briefing.

We spoke to Oresti about:

 What is happening at Ornico.

 The acquisition of FuseWare earlier this year.

 How the research is conducted.

 How social media management is changed.

 The Social Media Landscape Briefing and who should attend.

 What the future holds for Ornico.

To get all the annual landscape research results and insights on 20 September in Johannesburg & 22 September in Cape Town plus expert opinions about the probable impact of the latest platform announcements, go to the Marketing Mix Conference site to find out more.

AGENCIES: If you would like to be included in the social media research currently taking place, please follow this link to find out more.

All this and so much more is covered in the podcast this week.

Episode 184: Oresti Patricios chats about the research around The Social Media Landscape briefing 2016







Date: 11 August 2016 Length: 11:45min File size: 16.5MB Host: Warren Harding





If you are interested in getting interviewed on Biz Takeouts, or want to suggest a show topic, email Warren Harding (@bizwazza) on moc.ytinummoczib@stuoekatzib.

Bizcommunity.com's Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media Show takes South Africa's biggest online marketing, media and ad industry platform to the airwaves and gives relevant, useful and interesting insights into all aspects of marketing in SA, Africa and beyond. Each week, the show features the movers and the shakers of the industry, current media trends, upcoming events and brand activities.

For more:
Dear Alibi,

It has been six years since we have completely removed all of our red light cameras in Albuquerque. Now Santa Fe and Las Cruces have turned their red light cameras back on. New Mexico has now become the number one [state] in pedestrian fatalities [for our] population. Seventy-one pedestrians killed in N.M. Forty-one killed just in Bernalillo [County]. It is obvious that we [need to] get our red light cameras and speeding vans back here in Albuquerque. Seven bicyclists [were] killed in 2014. N.M. is the second in the nation for bicycle fatalities. Rio Rancho is planning to get more speeding vans, Albuquerque needs to follow their example.

-Sandra Han
There are about 120,00 refugees living in 9 camps in Thailand near the border with Burmamost are ethnic Karen who fled fighting between the Burma Army and armed groups over the last 2 decades.

Three-hundred of the four-hundred housing units that the foundation originally planned to build for returning refugees are currently being built. Its estimated that completion of these dwellings are at thirty percent.

The remaining 100 housing units arent being allowed, said KNU Chairman Pado Saw Sar Pi Tu for Mergui-Tavoy District.

After discussing with the regional government, they only allowed 300 housing units. They refused to give permission to build the remaining 100 units citing rule of law and regional security as the reason. So, the donor, Nippon Foundation, cancelled the 100 housing units.

Although the Nippon Foundation had planned to build the remaining 100 housing units on the land between Maw Thar Kwar and Kyauk Twin villages under KSer Doh Township, the KNU requested to the government that the housing units be built in Taung Ni Village since there are orchards and plantations on the original designated area.

The other housing is being built in Tee Mo Pwa and Ler Mu Lah Townships.

When contacted by KIC News yesterday, Sa Ayeyar Win, member of the joint ceasefire monitoring committee for Tanintharyi Region denied that the government stopped the Japanese foundation from building 100 homes in KSer Doh Township.

Its not true that [the government] doesnt allow it. The Taung Ni Village IDP issue is still being submitted to the Union government so the 100 housing units will be built and distributed in the remaining three IDP villages.

The Nippon Foundation reached an agreement with the government and KNU in March to carry out an extensive rehabilitation program in four districts controlled by the Karen armed group. The foundation planned to build 1,250 homes, 7 schools, 3 clinics, a healthcare centre, a bridge, and 5 wellsa total cost estimated at 1.08 billion Japanese Yen.

Reporting by SPhan Shaung for KIC News

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by BNI staff
Sao Lao Pha, a Mong Yaw resident who, along with family members of the deceased, was permitted entry into the military hearing, said that six of the seven Burmese soldiers pleaded guilty to killing the five men, while one pleaded not guilty on the grounds that he was obeying orders.

They confessed that they committed the crime, Sai Lao Pha said. However, one of them, Sargent Sein Win Maung, pleaded not guilty to killing the victims because he said he was ordered to do so by higher ranking officers. He said that he was told to make the five men put on army uniforms and then kill them.

Sai Lao Pha told Shan Herald that also on trial are the soldiers superiors, Chief of Military Operations Command 10 Col. Myo Aung, and Chief of Battalion 362 Maj. Tin Myo Zaw.

Reached for comment, Aye Nang, one of 20 Mong Yaw residents attending the hearing, said Sergant Sein Win Maung told the court that he killed two of the men with a knife.

However, according to witnesses, only bullet cartridges were found at the grave where the five victims were buried. No one saw any knife wounds on their bodies, she added.

It is highly unusual for members of Burmas armed forces, especially officers, to stand trial for abuses committed against civilians. It is also irregular for a military court to allow civilians access. Tuesdays proceedings were held at North Eastern Command headquarters in Lashio, northern Shan State.

Sai Lao Pha said that the judge did not set any date for the next hearing, nor were the matters of punishment or compensation discussed.

He told Shan Herald that Brig-Gen Nay Win Aung chaired Tuesdays military trial. Lt-Col Kyaw Moe Myint represented the plaintiffs, while Lt-Col Naing Win represented the defendants.

On June 25, five Mong Yaw villagers were working in a farmers field when they were arrested by a unit of Burmese government troops, who accused them of being rebels or rebel sympathizers. A few days later, the five men were uncovered in a shallow grave near the local Burmese army camp. Two other civilians were shot dead on June 25 when they failed to stop their motorbike at an army checkpoint in the town.

On July 20, Lt-Gen Mya Tun Oo, the serving chief of Burmas military intelligence, confirmed at a news conference in Rangoon that government soldiers were responsible for the Mong Yaw murders.

Earlier this week, authorities in Lashio Township reportedly exhumed all seven bodies in Mong Yaw where local police have apparently opened their own investigation into the murders.

The five murdered men were: Aik Hseng, 23; Aik Lod, 39; Aik Maung, 27; Sai Mon Awn, 17; and Sai Aik Maung, 23. The names of the two shot while riding a motorbike are unknown.
SAN FRANCISCO  Firms that work as financial advisors helping California school districts issue bonds after serving as campaign consultants on the preceding bond measure have a conflict of interest and are engaged in a form of pay-to-play, critics say.

Such firms, a small subset of the financial advisor sector in California, walk the school districts through the bond election process, then help the them select and negotiate prices with underwriters and bond counsel for the subsequent sale.

In many cases, they are paid both by the political action committee formed to pass the bond measure, which receives contributions from underwriters and the bond counsel, and then by the district.

It is a conflict of interest, said state Assemblyman Chris Norby, R-Fullerton, who authored an unsuccessful bill last year to try to stop financial professionals from running bond campaigns. A bond election should reflect the wishes of the local community and taxpayers who are going to be backing up the bond. It shouldnt be financed by those whose sole motivation is making money off the bond.

California law does not prohibit such activity, though Norby and others have tried to change that, so far without success.

Those involved in the practice defend their roles as essential to helping schools finance needed facilities during a time of tight budgets.

Pay-To-Play

School finance is rampant with pay-to-play in one form or another, said Douglas Baron, director of public finance for the Los Angeles County treasurer and tax collectors office.

Timothy Schaefer, who runs Newport Beach, Calif.-based independent financial advisory firm Magis Advisors, said FAs that run bond ballot campaigns and get paid by the political action committee supporting the measure demonstrate a clear conflict of interest.

Schaefer said the practice raises questions about advisors adherence to fiduciary responsibility standards in the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He said the law now specifically requires financial advisors to put the clients economic interests ahead of the firms.

I can only speak for myself. I do not do this. I do not do it for a very specific reason, Schaefer said. I dont think I should ever be an advocate for you being in debt; it is as simple as that.

Schaefer said he has lost business because he did not give contributions or provide election services to school districts.

Baron said hes also concerned that some bond underwriters provide election services.

Our view essentially is that the financial professionals that work on the bond transaction should not contract for actual financing work until the bond election has passed, said Baron, whose office under county Treasurer Mark Saladino has targeted misuse of taxpayer money in school bond sales.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board recently increased ballot measure campaign-disclosure requirements for bond underwriters, prompting more scrutiny of their practices.

A review earlier in the year by The Bond Buyer found that nearly every time an underwriter gave to a successful California school bond campaign, it worked on the following bond deal.

Financial advisors also make contributions to bond campaigns, but they are not under the same disclosure rules as underwriters.

State law prohibits public funds from paying for campaign activities. Critics say the practice of entangling election and finance advisory services ultimately causes unnecessary public expenditures.

Pre-packaged campaign and underwriting relationships may result in higher fees and less favorable terms in bond issuances conducted in a negotiated sale, making taxpayers the ultimate losers, legislative staff wrote in a report summarizing Norbys argument for AB 1045, which cleared the Assembly in 2011 before stalling in the Senate.

Tax collectors report that the higher costs of underwriting that they see in negotiated bond sales are attributable to 'free campaign services that are being covered in the bond sale, according to another legislative staff report on the bill.

Hiring one consultant for both election services and subsequent bond advisory work simplifies the complex process, say firms that provide such one-stop-shop solutions.

Small schools in particular have relied on firms that are staffed to provide multidisciplinary services at a more efficient and substantially reduced price, one firm, Caldwell Flores Winters Inc., said in a fact sheet it distributed in opposition to Norbys bill. Without these types of firms, the vast majority of school district bonds that have passed would have either never been attempted or would have failed.

PAC in Action

The mechanics of the arrangement are illustrated in campaign finance records related to a school bond campaign in Rialto, in San Bernardino County.

The political action committee, Citizens for Rialto Schools  Yes on Measure Y, said in its filing that it paid Caldwell Flores more than $30,000 for its consulting services, campaign literature and reimbursements for its election expenses.

The PAC received around $75,000 of contributions, mostly from groups or firms that hoped to benefit from a successful bond election, such as architecture and construction companies, according to campaign finance records.

We were running the campaign, said Rialtos PAC treasurer Barbara Zupanic. I dont know what [Caldwell Flores Winters] were paid for.

The Rialto Unified School District board hired Caldwell Flores in March 2010 initially to evaluate a potential bond measure, paying it $18,000 to conduct a poll, according to meeting minutes.

The board then hired bond counsel Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in July and underwriters Piper Jaffray and Stone & Youngberg in October, agreeing to pay them contingent on a successful bond campaign.

The three firms then gave money to the PAC, which was recorded in campaign finance documents filed after the November 2, 2010, election.

Orrick contributed $5,000 to the committee on Nov. 1, 2010. Stone & Youngberg gave $8,500 on Nov. 9, 2010, and Piper Jaffray contributed the same amount on Jan. 6, 2011.

When asked about the late contributions, Zupanic said they had been promised earlier.

The underwriters were among five broker-dealer firms that contributed more than $700,000 to California local school bond campaigns during 2010, according to MSRB records.

The broker-dealers have said they have policies in place to only make contributions in districts where they already have a formal banking relationship.

Roger Davis, head of Orricks public finance practice, said the firm makes contributions to bond campaigns in districts where it has an existing client-attorney relationship.

The contribution is unrelated to the assignment, he said. The purpose of the contribution, of course, is to support passage of the bond measure, something in which we and our client have a common interest.

Caldwell Winters Flores did not return calls about this story.

Rialto school board member Michael Ridgway said the district had to rely on financial professionals to guide them through the process. He also said he didnt know about Caldwell Flores involvement.

When it gets to a certain point, we shut up and let the political action committee take over, Ridgway said, adding that some board members volunteered to work on the campaign in their free time.

The bond measure was approved with well more than the required 55% margin, authorizing $98 million of bonds.

In March 2011, the district sold $37 million of bonds. The issuance cost Rialto USD $1.75 million, according to the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission  $189,000 to the underwriters, $128,000 to FA Caldwell Flores and $55,000 for bond counsel, and $91,812 in other expenses.

The district spent $643,000 on Assured Guaranty bond insurance.

WHATS NEXT?

Only underwriters are required by industry regulators to disclose contributions in support of bond measures.

Financial advisors and bond counsel do not have the same restrictions. As a result its difficult to measure the scale of their contributions in California, as campaign finance records for local bond elections are maintained by the states 58 counties, many of which do not put the data online.

Ernesto Lanza, the MSRBs deputy executive director and chief legal officer, said earlier this week that it is having very active discussions about whether it should expand the rules governing underwriters beyond just requiring them to disclose contributions to bond campaigns.

The MSRB offered similar restrictions on contributions by financial advisors, also called municipal advisors, to bond ballot election campaigns in a new proposed rule  Rule G-42  last August, but temporarily withdrew it until the Securities and Exchange Commission finalizes its definition of a municipal advisor in its registration rules. The SEC is not expected to release those final registration rules for financial advisors until at least the last quarter of this year.

Norby said he will not give up. However, his bill last year  which would have prohibited the bundling of bond underwriting, financial advisors, or legal services with bond campaign activities  followed in the unsuccessful footsteps of four similar bills introduced since 2008, according to legislative staff reports.

It is almost like you have this unholy alliance, Norby said of the opposition. Conservatives tend not to like to bash Wall Street and the liberals dont want to bash the public schools.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With nine years of dance experience under her belt, plus eight community productions, Brandons own Arianna Laluk already has an impressive resume  and shes just 12 years old.

The Grade 8 student has another exciting role to add to her repertoire this summer as she makes her Rainbow Stage debut as a member of the childrens ensemble in Shrek The Musical.

Its really exciting to see how its all coming together with all the music and the lights and all the different things to make the show happen, Arianna said on Wednesday, the eve of opening night.

Photo by Tammy Wenham Arianna Laluk, 12, is a member of the cast of Shrek The Musical, debuting on Rainbow Stage on Thursday night.

After performing as Young Fiona in Mecca Productions Shrek in 2013, Arianna was excited to find out Rainbow Stage was holding auditions for the summer show.

I really love the music and the message that we should be who we are, she said.

Following a successful audition process in October, Arianna was chosen to be a member of the 36-member cast, which includes a 16-member childrens chorus, ranging in ages from nine to 16.

The role meant Arianna had to spend a lot of her summer in Winnipeg for rehearsals, but its clear that shes enjoying the experience.

Its a lot of work, but Ive learned a lot. We spend time every day dancing, acting and singing and those are things I love to do, she said.

Mecca artistic director Lisa Vasconcelos worked with Laluk in the local groups production of Shrek.

It is really exciting for our whole community to have Arianna take it to the next level in a professional production, Vasconcelos said in a press release. She is a very hard-working and dedicated performer. She is heavily involved in our Performance Troupe program, has appeared in many musicals with us, takes voice lessons and is committed to the dance program at Steppin Time. She has worked hard to be ready for this experience.

Ariannas mother, Joanna Labossiere Laluk, said it has been an exciting time for the family, and they will be proudly watching from the audience.

Were seeing her become more and more independent as this process has gone on, Joanna said. Shes a great role model for not only her siblings, but for all the kids at Mecca or Steppin Time who think going to Winnipeg is too big for me, that if you work hard and you put in the hours that you can accomplish your dreams.

Shrek The Musical opens tonight and runs until Aug. 31. It stars Carson Nattrass (Shrek), Jeigh Madjus (Donkey), Heather McGuigan (Princess Fiona), Peter Huck (Lord Farquaad), Becky Frohlinger (Gingy), Aaron Hutton (Pinocchio), and Nicky Lawrence (Dragon). It is directed/choreographed by Ray Hogg and conducted by Anthony Bastianon.

Rainbow Stage executive director Julie Eccles said its always an exciting time to debut a show.

Photo by Rob Tinker Rainbow Stages production of Shrek The Musical, the stage adaptation of the popular Disney animated film. Arianna Laluk can be seen third from right.

Its actually quite lovely in that youre not following anyones footprints, she said.

Eccles said it is particularly nice to see just how much the children learn and grow throughout the process.

The children are amazing in how theyve come together, you can feel their camaraderie, which is so great to see, she said.

Other Mecca productions Arianna has performed in include Annie, A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland Jr., Tarzan, Sleeping Beauty Jr., A Christmas Story and Seussical.

When I did my first show, I really, really loved it, and ever since then I have wanted to do more shows, and its just so amazing to do them, she said.

She is planning to audition for the upcoming Billy Elliot show next month. Her ultimate dream is to someday perform on Broadway in New York City.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Environment Canada has tentatively categorized the tornado that damaged seven homes and destroyed an eighth in Waywayseecappo First Nation on Monday as an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale  a tornado classification system that goes up to EF-5.

The strength is determined by the damage that is done, Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said. Certain wind speeds will do certain damage. Were also looking at the construction  theres a difference between a tornado coming along and hitting a 100-year-old barn  or a (well-constructed) building with a basement that was ripped off its foundation.

According to Environment Canadas website, an EF-2 tornado can have wind speeds between 180 and 220 km/h.

Eva Wasney/The Brandon Sun This forest east of Erickson was toppled during Monday night's storm.

Lang says its impossible to determine the category of a tornado just by photographs because not all intensities are created equal.

The size does not determine the strength, she said, using the analogy of a figure skater spinning around. When they want to go faster they pull their arms in. When they want to go slower they take their arms out.

Three tornadoes are confirmed to have touched down in Westman during Mondays storm and Environment Canada damage assessors are trying to determine if it was high winds or a fourth tornado that toppled trees and damaged property near Erickson.

Lang says the assessors will be talking to residents in the RM of Clanwilliam  where a swath of trees roughly a half-kilometre wide was flattened by the storm  about damage as well as looking at the pattern of downed trees.

You can kind of tell if all the trees were thrown in one direction  but if theyre all in a swirl pattern theres definitely evidence of tornadic winds, she said, adding that straight-line winds can be just as damaging as tornadoes.

Following Mondays storm, approximately 700 Manitoba Hydro customers had their power affected in Westman. However, public affairs manager Scott Powell says that number is much lower than previous storms this summer.

The damage was highly localized and generally on lines serving much smaller groups of customers, he said. The really big one two weeks ago, I think we had around 40,000 affected at the height of it.

Powell says the area east of Erickson was impacted the hardest and a number of Hydro poles and lines had to be replaced. Every customer had their power restored by 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Several residents in the RM of Clanwilliam expressed concern about the amount of forest that had been damaged during the storm.

Brad Epp, manager of urban forestry health and field services with the provinces Sustainable Development department, says extreme wind storms can cause risks for residents and forests alike.

Eva Wasney/The Brandon Sun Debris from a house that was destroyed in Waywayseecappo First Nation is scattered throughout a valley. The house was pushed off its foundation at the top of a hill on Monday during a tornado-producing storm.

Unfortunately, it is part of the natural process  which includes blow-down and insect and disease and forest fires  its part of the natural regeneration process, he said, adding that downed trees are more suseptible to infestation. There are many insects and disease pathogens that are attracted to open wounds on a tree.

The rate of forest regeneration, according to Epp, depends on the species of tree and the amount of damage. Hardwood trees might start sprouting new shoots within a year, while softwood and coniferous trees can take decades because their seeds can have a hard time finding good soil with a lot of deadfall on the ground.

A large amount of deadfall in a forest also increases the risk of forest fires by adding dry timber to the forest floor.

Homeowners should also be careful when clearing trees on their property and to call a licensed arborist if the trees are quite large. Epp also advises residents to properly dispose of downed elm trees to avoid spreading Dutch elm disease.

Dont transport it around it has to be disposed of at a designated site, like the Brandon landfill, and it has to be chipped or burned, he said.

 ewasney@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @evawasney
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG  Recent interest in Churchills transportation woes has brought forth ideas to solve its unique problems. None has mentioned safety. Perhaps this is because many of those offering solutions havent lived or worked in the North.

Some may argue Churchill plays no economic role. However, as Arctic ice covers less and less area due to climate change, Churchill, with proper land access, will be in a strategic position to ship goods to Europe and Asia from the Prairies.

Whatever your perspective, shipping goods to Churchill involves a considerable distance by ground transport over a variety of difficult terrain, often in challenging weather conditions. By air, Winnipeg to Churchill is about 1,000 kilometres and to Churchill from Thompson about 400 km. The rail line to Churchill from The Pas is 1,010 km. Road options exist, but all have engineering and safety factors that require attention. The result of surveys to determine the best route out of Thompson (or Gillam) will very likely come up with a road distance well in excess of 500 km.

Although I have a warm spot in my heart for Churchill, having visited there many times since 1967, two events remain etched in my mind that have a bearing on a ground-transportation route. In mid-January 1971, I landed at Churchill with a

62 km/h wind and a temperature of -40 C. That equates to about -64 C, when exposed skin can freeze in less than two minutes. In July 1973, I landed at Landing Lake (on floats), east of the south end of runway 33 and barely got in ahead of a fast-moving and not uncommon fog bank coming in from the bay.

These memories highlight the realities of weather extremes along the Hudson Bay coast. Whether by road or rail, there are clearly severe weather-related risks, much less so for rail.

If a road is to be constructed, there may be a need for repeater stations to provide sufficient connection for radios or cellphones to work in the event of a problem or an emergency. Any route near Hudson Bay is relatively easier to construct due to the existence of limited permafrost under old beach ridges that are high enough to remain above anticipated rising sea levels. Given the snow and winds at times, the likelihood of whiteouts, especially along the coast and in areas with little tree growth, is a factor that must be addressed carefully to ensure transport safety.

Travellers will also need to contend with polar bears relaxing in summer and migrating in the fall (until Hudson Bay freezes over at Cape Churchill). The prime polar bear denning area sits amongst and within the beach ridges nearer to Churchill, so special attention is needed there to ensure the bears and transport units dont meet. The most significant denning area is protected by a national park, but not all dens are within it. There are also two caribou herds along the coast that could be affected by a road.

These realities will require careful attention regardless of the actual route that might be developed, although a more inland route would avoid most polar bear issues.

Winter roads have been in operation in northern parts of Canada for many years. Beyond repeater stations, thought might be given to temporary camps where travellers stranded by mechanical or weather problems could seek refuge. In more open areas, large and clear markers would assist in dealing, to a degree, with a limited whiteout. As a minimum, survival equipment should be mandatory for all those navigating the roads. Personal vehicles are a different matter: abandoned cars along more southerly winter roads illustrate the safety risks. Consequently, they may be required to have entrance permits subject to carrying appropriate communication and survival gear.

It is not clear whether a road for trucks or a rail line is best suited to serve Churchill. Careful analysis will help in the decision. Whichever solution is chosen, the route will need analysis to determine the nature and extent of safety measures to make transport as safe as possible. The route to Churchill from Thompson or Gillam is not like other parts of Manitoba: the risks are considerable, unique and extreme.

Manitoba has been managing winter roads for 45 years, but beyond part of a winter road into Shamattawa, they pass through different terrain than that to be found in accessing Churchill. Given the combination of weather, wildlife and terrain involved, when determining the preferred type of transport and the route location, safety deserves priority and must be included in the multitude of factors impacting the decision.

 Jim Collinson is a management consultant specializing in energy, economic and environmental issues who has held assistant deputy minister positions in the federal and Manitoba governments.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In opposition, Pallister made sweeping promises about making Manitoba the most improved province in Canada, but he seems determined to do the opposite now that hes in power. On his watch the unemployment rate has climbed, investments in infrastructure have stalled, families who need child care are being ignored, the North is being snubbed and the environment is suffering.

 Interim Manitoba NDP leader Flor Marcelino

For any new government  especially one formed by a party that has been out of power for the better part of two decades  there will be a period of adjustment. Not just for the new ministers and the bureaucracy, but also for the outgoing party that had its reins of power cut, and the voters who are watching the new government try to gain its footing under a very public microscope.

And there are bound to be missteps.

As you can read in todays paper, Brian Pallisters first 100 days as premier are over. Pallister himself used the target of 100 days as a bookmark for his new government, just ahead of the April 19 election. At that time, he detailed 15 priorities on which his government would focus.

While the Tory premier hasnt met all the goals he set, his first three-plus months in office have been relatively gaffe-free. There have been some bumps in the road, of course. Most notably: The budget. It was tabled too quickly, was short on details and it made both Mr. Pallister and Finance Minister Cameron Friesen look like amateurs when they had to backtrack on their claim that they found $122 million in savings just six weeks after being elected. Unfortunately, it gave the New Democrats ammunition to keep the focus off the budget mess their government left behind with a deficit of more than $1 billion.

But overall, the Conservatives havent sunk Manitoba into a pit of hellfire and fury, as some of their critics suggested would happen.

Case in point, reading the press release comments by Opposition leader Flor Marcelino above, youd think that the province has been beset by the devil himself. That one man could seemingly cause more unemployment, kill infrastructure development, and cause further degradation to the environment  all in just three months  well, it defies logic at best.

Pallister is doing what he promised  going through all the NDP commitments that were made over the years with a fine tooth comb. While that is admirable, it has caused some consternation here in Westman.

In his interview with The Brandon Sun, Pallister essentially reaffirmed that he has no firm position to offer when it comes to some of the big-ticket items Brandon needs. With spending and project reviews still underway, he could offer no specifics, saying it would be unrealistic and unwise to endeavour to keep the promises of a desperate NDP government that would have promised anything, frankly, to get back into power.

Work on the new First Street bridge got underway before the spring election, and it has been continuing apace. But the previous NDP government had promised the Daly Overpass expansion would commence immediately following the completion of the First Street bridge. Other pricey projects the NDP committed to include Assiniboine Community Colleges move to the North Hill and Brandon University student housing.

And then theres the issue of a new school  two of them, really  for the Brandon School Division, which continues to grapple with a growing student enrolment and a lack of available space. Unfortunately, all Pallister could offer at this point were platitudes.

Theres no doubt that Brandons a growing community, and theres no doubt that theres a need for more investment in educational capital, he said.

Considering the state of the provinces finances, theres obvious concern that, while these are important projects to this community, we may face some delays in that timeline. And so we have to hurry up and wait. We dont like it, but its understandable.

Yet there are other reasons for concern. In another interview Pallister gave to our sister paper, the Winnipeg Free Press, it seems trial balloons are being sent up to gauge the publics mood for potential cutbacks to front-line workers, despite repeated promises on the election trail that wasnt going to happen.

Mr. Pallister has started to hedge his bets in that regard, suggesting he will do his best, but  again  not making a firm commitment. For now, hes blaming both the federal Liberals  with a potential cut to transfer payments as a result of the economic downturn  and the previous NDP government for a budget deficit that was 2.5 per cent higher than disclosed.

The Tories need to be careful, though. The best-before date on the NDP as a scapegoat is fast approaching.

 The Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 11/08/2016 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Better bus service needed in north end

Is the city going to improve the bus service to the north end before they demolish the bridge or are the residents just out of luck? This should be done well before the bridge is torn down.

So proud of Isabela Onyshko

Wow can we ever be so proud of Isabela Onyshko at the Olympics. This is Sunday night and what a performance she has put on. We should all be proud in Manitoba for such a sweetheart like that! She had a wonderful performance.

Storm warnings go by too fast

Cant Environment Canada do a better job with these weather warnings? When the warning breaks into television programming we fear for our safety. Then incredibly the list of towns in dangers path are shown for about two seconds followed by garbled audio instructions. How about having the list of towns in harms way on the screen long enough to read them.

Just do the job right in the first place

The Brandon airport is costing us yet more money. This time for paving the parking lot. To make the pill a little easier for taxpayers to swallow, the successful bid came in under what the City of Brandon administration expected it to be. I am not sure if this means a low bid or the inability of the city to do a competent estimate. At any rate, whats more important is the quality of the job. I hope it is considerably better than paving efforts of the past. If the work has to be redone or require significant repairs over the next few years, then it is not a good deal at any price! Keeping in mind it is not what something costs but what its worth.

City planters not for your advertising use

I am pretty sure that the city doesnt place those beautiful planters on the boulevards for people to place their garage sale or event signs in them!

Thanks for not spraying

This is a big thank you from all the pregnant women in Brandon for not spraying Brandon with malathion to kill the mosquitoes. Malathion is a well-known carcinogen.
South African retailer Steinhoff has upped its offer for UK discount chain Poundland after pressure from a US hedge fund to bump up the deal.

Poundland, which operates as Dealz in Ireland, has agreed to a higher 227p-a-share bid, worth 610.4m including a 2p-a-share dividend, following moves by Elliott Management to build up a 17.5% stake in the group.

Steinhoff had originally agreed a 222p-a-share deal worth 597m last month, but within days the US activist had increased its stake, reportedly with plans to bump up the deal - so-called "bumpitrage".

Poundland and Steinhoff remained tight-lipped on Elliott's involvement in the higher offer.

Darren Shapland, chairman of Poundland, said: "The Poundland board is pleased to recommend Steinhoff Europe's increased all-cash offer which presents Poundland shareholders with an opportunity to realise their shareholding at an improved price."

Steinhoff said its revised offer was final.

Markus Jooste, chief executive of Steinhoff, added: "By offering Poundland shareholders an improved cash offer we aim to bring certainty to the transaction recognising the strength and value of the business and its management team."

Elliott has a track record of "bumpitrage" and muscling in on takeovers, having played a part in pushing for a better offer from brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev for SABMiller.

It also succeeded in getting a higher offer for Quintain - the UK property group that developed Wembley Stadium - last year from US buyout firm Lone Star.

Steinhoff, which owns UK furniture firm Harveys and Bensons For Beds, has been determined to expand further across Europe, having tried and failed to gatecrash two deals in recent months.

It recently lost out in a battle with Sainsbury's to buy Argos owner Home Retail Group in March and was outbid for London-listed white goods retailer Darty.

It is backed by South African retail billionaire Christo Wiese, whose Brait investment group also owns controlling stakes in Virgin Active, New Look and food chain Iceland.

Poundland has around 18,000 staff across more than 900 stores and is headquartered in Willenhall, near Wolverhampton.

Steinhoff has already said it has no plans to change the group's head office or employment conditions for staff.

The takeover follows a hefty slump in Poundland's shares over the past year after tough trading and a difficult takeover of rival 99p Stores.

Annual results recently laid bare Poundland's sales woes as underlying pre-tax profits fell 13.5% to 37.8m in the year to March 27, while bottom-line pre-tax profits crashed 83.7% to 5.9m, including converted 99p Stores.
Dublin Zoo has announced the birth of seven African painted dogs.

This brings the total number of African painted dogs at Dublin Zoo to 11.

The new arrivals were born five weeks ago.

In preparing for the birth, the female excavated a deep burrow in the ground and for weeks the animal care team could only guess what was happening.

It is not until the new-borns open their eyes approximately three weeks after birth that she brings them to surface to the sunlight.

Team leader Helen Clarke said: We are very pleased with how the new additions to the pack are settling in.

African painted dogs are an endangered species so the arrival of seven pups to Dublin Zoo is of great significance to us.

Also known as African wild or hunting dogs, African painted dogs have a unique coat pattern, making them easily identifiable.

It is estimated that approximately only 6,000 African painted dogs remain in the wild today.

To see the newest arrivals, visit the African Plains at Dublin Zoo.
Update 6.27pm: Bloody Sunday priest Edward Daly was a courageous and merciful peacemaker, mourners at his funeral have been told.

The retired bishop of Derry was a young cleric when he raised a bloodstained white handkerchief as a symbol of ceasefire and tried to lead a mortally injured teenager to safety under a hail of Army fire in January 1972.

Irish President Michael D Higgins and Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness were among the mourners at his funeral at St Eugene's Cathedral in Derry, after he died on Monday aged 82.

Current Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown said: "He showed physical courage on Bloody Sunday and his moral courage was evident in his passionate struggle against violence and injustice from all quarters.

"It takes enormous courage to be a peacemaker and he was an apostle of mercy, whether as a curate, as a bishop or as chaplain in the Foyle Hospice.

"For that courageous service of God and of his people, we give thanks today. We have all been blessed by it."

In later life the retired bishop was reluctant to discuss the moment that arguably best symbolised his Christian ministry; in death it has largely defined him.

As a young priest he famously waved the bloodied rag as he led a brave group bearing fatally injured civil rights protester Jackie Duddy, 17, to safety in Derry in Northern Ireland on Bloody Sunday.

Paratroopers had opened fire and killed 13 people. Fourteen were injured and another was to die later.

Bloody Sunday has been described as one of the catalysts of IRA recruitment and the 30-year conflict which left more than 3,000 dead and many others injured.

Two years later Dr Daly was appointed Bishop of Derry. He retired in 1993 due to ill health.

The cathedral was full with a thousand mourners. Up to 25,000 have visited St Eugene's, where the retired bishop has been reposing since his death on Monday.

During the ceremony clergy used the chalice presented to him by the people of his native Belleek in Co Fermanagh in 1957 to mark his ordination as a priest.

A sea of bishops wearing mitres behind a golden cross led the way into the cathedral.

Among them was Catholic Church leader of All-Ireland Eamon Martin - who was ordained by Dr Daly at St Eugene's 29 years ago - and former primate Sean Brady.

Archbishop Martin said: "There was never any doubt that Edward Daly was a great priest, a caring and compassionate pastor, a man of prayer and peace, a courageous and fearless leader - a special person."

A papal message lauding his dedication as a peacemaker was read to mourners.

Dr Daly had long friendships with former Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Robin Eames. And he was jointly granted the freedom of Derry with his Anglican counterpart James Mehaffey last year in recognition of their many years of co-operation in building a more united society.

He was buried in the cathedral grounds.

Update 3.51pm: A papal tribute to Bloody Sunday priest Edward Daly's dedication to peace and justice has been read out at his funeral today.

As a young cleric, who later became the Bishop of Derry, waved a blood-stained white rag as a symbol of ceasefire as he led a mortally injured teenage civil rights protester to safety under army fire in January 1972.

The peacemaker and staunch opponent of all violence died on Monday aged 82.

Irish President Michael D Higgins and Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness were among mourners at a Requiem Mass at St Eugene's Cathedral in Derry.

A message from a spokesman for Pope Francis said: "Recalling Bishop Daly's generous and dedicated episcopal ministry in the service of peace and justice, His Holiness joins you in prayerful thanksgiving for his life and in commending his soul to the merciful love of God Our Father."

The cleric's use of a white handkerchief during a massacre of innocent civil rights protesters by soldiers in Derry in Northern Ireland became an enduring image of the conflict.

As a young priest he famously led the brave group bearing fatally injured Jackie Duddy, 17, to safety.

Paratroopers had opened fire and killed 13 people. Fourteen were injured and another was to die later.

Bloody Sunday has been described as one of the catalysts of IRA recruitment and the 30-year conflict which left more than 3,000 dead and many others injured.

His funeral attracted a large crowd from across Ireland and beyond.

He will be buried in the cathedral grounds afterwards.

Earlier

The funeral of the former Bishop of Derry, Dr Edward Daly is underway at St Eugene's Cathedral this afternoon.

Dr Daly was featured in the iconic photo from the Bogside in 1972 as he ran to help victims of the Bloody Sunday shootings - waving a blood-stained handkerchief.

President Michael D Higgins joined the hundreds of mourners who have congregated for this afternoon's service.
Three men have been arrested in connection with an assault in Co Meath, which took place over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The three men in their 20s were arrested this morning in Dublin's north inner city.
Update11.18am: Three civilians - a mother and two children - have died in a suspected chlorine gas attack on an opposition-held district in the city of Aleppo, a Syrian rescue worker said.

Khaled Harah, a first responder, said a government helicopter dropped four barrel bombs on the Zabadieh neighbourhood last night, and one of them released chlorine gas.

The report, which was posted online today, could not be independently verified and it was not clear how it was determined that chlorine gas was released.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks the civil war in Syria, also reported that government barrel bombs struck the neighbourhood.

It had reports of two people killed and several people suffering breathing difficulties.

The Observatory made no mention of chlorine gas.

Earlier:

At least four people are dead after a suspected chlorine gas attack on the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo.

The gas is believed to have been dropped alongside barrel bombs on a rebel-held part of the city.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a woman and her child were among the dead.

One local doctor told Sky News he was saving pieces of patients' clothing as evidence of the gas attack.
Germany is considering banning the burka.

Angela Merkel's government is looking at a series of security proposals that could see the Islamic clothing outlawed.

Doctor patient confidentiality could also be violated in the face of potential terror threats.

There is expected to be calls for even tighter rules such as quicker deportation and an end to dual citizenship.
Two small bombs have exploded in the popular seaside resort town of Hua Hin in Thailand, killing at least one person and injuring 20 others, according to Thai media.

The bombs were hidden in plant pots on a busy street with open-front bars, according to reports.

The victims include Thais and foreign tourists, whose nationalities were not immediately known, according to the reports.

The dead woman was described as a street food vendor, and some reports said a second person had died.

It was not clear who was behind the attack, but the timing suggested it might be an effort to embarrass the military government that took power two years ago.

The Irish Embassy in Bangkok has said it is aware of reports of two bombs at the seaside resort.

The Embassy is advising people to follow the advice of local authorities in Thailand.

Junta chief and prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday took credit for bringing stability back to Thailand after an extended period of unrest.

The incident took place on the eve of the birthday of Queen Sirikit in a town where she and King Bhumibol Adulyadej maintain a summer palace.

The ruling junta has declared that defending the monarchy is its priority, especially as there is concern about the process to succeed the ailing 88-year-old king, who is the world's longest-reigning monarch.

The prime minister's speech was to mark the success of a referendum on Sunday that approved his government's proposed new constitution that is supposed to lead to an election next year.

Critics of the charter say it is undemocratic and was fashioned to keep the military in control for at least five more years, even if a free election is held.

Another bombing took place earlier in the southern province of Trang, killing one person and injuring six, according to Thai press reports. It was unclear if it was related to the Hua Hin blasts.

Trang is on the fringes of Thailand's deep south, where a low-level Muslim separatist insurgency has killed more than 5,000 people since 2004.

Thailand has been plagued by political violence, including several bombings, for much of the past decade.

Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted as prime minister in a 2006 military coup after demonstrations accused him of corruption, abuse of power and insulting King Bhumibol. His ousting set off sometimes bloody battles for power between his supporters and opponents, who include the military.
Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes because of wildfires in Portugal and France.

Three people have died on the tourist island of Madeira (pictured) while another was killed in mainland Portugal.
Police have launched an investigation following reports of a "reckless" near-miss between a drone and a commercial flight.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the passenger plane, which was carrying 62 people, was arriving at Newquay Airport on Tuesday afternoon when it reported the near collision.
THE HAGUE: Climate activists glued themselves to Johannes Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' at a Dutch museum on...

SAN FRANCISCO: US tech titans looking to the future are seeing growth take a beating in the face of foreign...
ISLAMABAD: The number of cellular subscribers as well as teledensity declined for the second consecutive month in...
LONDON: Rishi Sunak on Tuesday became Britains third prime minister this year and the first person of colour to...
She writes about her own art practice: "There is something Samuel Beckett-y about the making of them [the drawings]. The process is repetitive, arduous and often seems ridiculous and insane to me. I feel like this kind of over-investment suits the subject matter  the death thing. Each drawing starts as an empty outline, then as they are made the black detail creeps over until the form is used up."

Obsessiveness is the most characteristic feature of Lucienne Rickard's drawings as she works into sheets of drafting film with pencil, deliberately leaving traces of her battle with the image and the technique for all of us to see and contemplate. Each drawing becomes a diary of creativity, a record of the artist's journey in the work where the debris on the battlefield has not been cleared.

Lucienne Rickard,Untitled I, in Winter Drawings at Beaver Galleries.

Born in Lithgow, Rickard studied at the Queensland College of the Arts before moving to Tasmania in 2002, where she remains today. I first saw her work at the Beaver Galleries in 2010, but then she became omnipresent in the Australian art scene and was included in the Primavera exhibition for emerging artists at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney in 2014.

Drawing is a direct and confronting art form, but experienced a decline in Australian art schools in the 1980s and 1990s, when almost everything that had a skill base went out of the window. This century has marked the great revival of the art of drawing and Rickard's practice occupies a niche in this revival. Her pencil drawings do not articulate forms or describe them, but interpret them and give them a substance and an emotional existence.

Her Bruiser series, dealing with a dog that you meet in nightmares when alone in a dark alleyway, focuses on the fangs and the repetitive layering of pencil marks that indicate the head. Much of the drawing in Bruiser 1 is in the faintest outline, so that the heavily worked head has a dominating presence.

In Bruiser 2, the beast is on its back inviting you to tickle its belly, but the two pronounced white fangs may caution overzealous fingers, despite the owner's reassuring voice that he is friendly and bites rarely. It's Rickard's uncanny ability to build up layers of graphite not purely for mimetic intent, with the velvety quality of the fur or feathers on a severed bird's wing, but also for its emotional and psychological impact, that is one of her rare qualities.
August 13: From Memories to Memoirs with Rae Luckie from 10am to 4pm in E Block Seminar Room, Gorman Arts Centre 55 Ainslie Avenue, Braddon is a workshop about writing life stories, family history or fiction based on life. eventbrite.com/e/from-memories-to-memoirs-with-rae-luckie-tickets-26772747007 .

August 14: John Walker's poetry book The Loaded Doggerel will be launched at 4pm at The Canberra Irish Club, 6 Parkinson Street, Weston, ACT (note move from the Rugby Union Club). Entry: $3 MFS Members, Concessions and Blackboard Performers, $5 non-members.

August 15: Australian author Liane Moriarty will discuss her new novel, Truly Madly Guilty, in which she sifts through the emerging fault lines of seemingly happy families, at the National Library of Australia theatre, lower ground floor at 6pm. Tickets $15. nla.gov.au.

August 15: At 7pm at Smith's Alternative, 76 Alinga Street, Canberra City, will be the launch of the first day before snow, an experimental collaboration between Carmel Summers and eight Australian master tanka poets, by Hazel Hall with an introduction by Josh Inman. Free entry.

August 16: At Muse Canberra at 6pm, journalist Peter Mares will discuss Not Quite Australian, in which he investigates the complex realities of temporary migration, with Frank Bongiorno.Tickets: $10 (includes a drink). musecanberra.com.au.

August 16: In an ANU/Canberra Times Meet the Author event, journalist Peter Stefanovic will talk with former Canberra Times editor Jack Waterford about Stefanovic's new book Hack in a Flak Jacket, which explores his experiences from wars through to royal weddings. Theatre 2, Manning Clark Centre, ANU, 6.30pm. Bookings: anu.edu.au/events or 6125 8415.
Workplace safety minister Mick Gentleman says he won't pre-empt the findings of a probe into the death of a construction worker last week by committing prematurely to workplace safety reform.

A 62-year-old Sydney man died when a crane carrying a generator tipped on its side at the site of the new University of Canberra public hospital on Thursday night.

A man died at the University of Canberra Hospital site after he was struck by a crane last Thursday. Credit:Rohan Thomson

The Aikman Drive work site remains closed as WorkSafe ACT continues its investigation into the fatality which was the first on an ACT worksite since 2012.

But the mother of the last man killed on a Canberra construction site has renewed her calls for exclusion zones around equipment like cranes and booms.
In a rare public display of support for Australian technology, a large US investment fund backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates has taken a stake in a local biotech start-up.

Launched in 2010 and based in a converted toolshop in Leichhardt, in Sydney's inner west, Atomo Diagnostics has developed a testing platform which is making inroads into the industry globally. Winning the backing of the Gates-backed fund sends a strong message to biotechs worldwide, Atomo Diagnostics founder John Kelly said.

Typically the Gates-backed Global Health Investment Fund will lend money to start-ups but rarely takes a direct stake. Negotiations in late 2015 to borrow $US6 million from the Gates-funded group soon broadened to include taking a direct shareholding.

In Atomo's latest financing round, the US fund has put up most of the $4.5 million that has been raised, to emerge with an 8.4 per cent holding in the company. The former chief of Macquarie Bank, Allan Moss, has also chipped in some money, to take around a 3 per cent stake.
Telstra's chief executive admits "work still needs to be done" to improve network performance and customer service, and has launched a massive $3 billion spending program to "match our level of aspiration".

Telstra will not yet say exactly how it plans to spend the money because it does not want competitors to know, but did reveal it would go towards "transforming the next generation of networks". This uncertainty has weighed on the share price.

Chief executive Andrew Penn said the additional capital expenditure is "about building the networks for the future" and comes on top of the $250 million Telstra said in June it would spend fixing outages on the mobile and fixed networks.

The amount of data downloaded on mobile networks has increased nine-fold since 2011 and six-fold on fixed networks, Mr Penn said. There has already been 10 million live streams of the Rio Olympics through the Channel Seven app, whereas digital rights did not even exist for the London Olympics, he added.
Mining for coal under the fertile Liverpool Plains poses "too great a risk" for farming and the Baird government will pay BHP Billiton about $220 million to buy back its Caroona exploration licence.

The move also raises doubts about the even bigger Watermark mine, an open-cut venture planned for a nearby region by China's Shenhua group.

Caroona, by contrast, was to have been an underground mine.

Premier Mike Baird and Deputy Premier Troy Grant on Thursday said the government had reached a commercial agreement with the world's biggest miner to purchase its Caroona exploration licence, covering about 344 square kilometres in the Liverpool Plains.
The attempted kidnapping, bashing and stabbing of an international tobacco company manager outside his family home in Sydney suggests crime syndicates are hitting back at efforts to combat the booming illicit tobacco trade.

A criminal syndicate is suspected of ordering the botched kidnapping in June of a former decorated NSW policeman turned manager of British American Tobacco.

The BAT manager was stabbed and bashed by at least three men, after he refused their order that he get into a car. The kidnappers arrived at the man's Sydney home at around 10pm on Saturday June 4.

A source said the manager was forced to "fight for his life" to ward off the kidnappers, who have not been identified. He was rushed to hospital after the attack.
Despite being familiar with the sounds of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for many years, it was only during a tour in China in 2014 that the chief conductor felt like he was truly hearing the musicians play.

"We were in seven different concert halls [in China] and I had the feeling that I was hearing the orchestra for the first time," said chief conductor David Robertson.

The Concert Hall in the Sydney Opera House - the home of the orchestra - has long been plagued with acoustics problems. But things will soon change.

The hall and its surroundings will undergo a $202 million transformation, funded by the NSW government after the sale of the state's electricity assets.
For the past two years, the family of Carly McBride have sought answers about her disappearance.

And, this week, that mystery was resolved when police discovered the remains of the missing woman near Scone in the Hunter Region of NSW on Sunday, the Scone Advocate reports.

Following a four-day operation, which involved forensic experts, a rescue squad, dog unit and officers from the Hunter Valley Local Area Command, police confirmed on Thursday morning that Ms McBride's remains had been found.

A post-mortem examination was undertaken in Newcastle on Wednesday and the results confirmed the remains were those of Ms McBride.
After spending years ridiculing an old Labor Party policy of introducing free sunscreen to parks, Brisbane City Council's Liberal National Party administration has defended spending thousands of dollars on free sunscreen for cyclists to help promote its CityCycle bike hire scheme.

Council documents show $4330 was paid to CityCycle operator JCDecaux for an undisclosed number of 60 millilitre 50+ sunscreen packets on July 15.

Council spent more than $4000 on free sunscreen last month to encourage more CityCycle use. Credit:Michelle Smith

It left Labor councillors seething, after their own 2012 policy to introduce free sunscreen to Brisbane parks came under years of repeated ridicule from LNP councillors in the council chamber.

During question time at this week's council meeting, Labor opposition councillor Jared Cassidy (Deagon) said Brisbane ratepayers were "paying through the nose for this scheme", which had cost the council $15 million over eight years.
It was a year in the making, but the Palaszczuk Government's response to the introduction of ride sharing to the taxi market has not managed to please everyone.

The Queensland Taxi Council labelled the year-long review process, which examined ways to move forward, a "farce" and a "waste of millions of dollars" despite previously having welcomed the government's 'slow as it goes' review approach to the situation.

"It appears as though the government has deceived Queenslanders by pretending to establish an independent review when the results were clearly predetermined, TCQ chief executive officer Benjamin Wash said in a statement.

"It's basically a carbon copy of what happened in New South Wales, which is already creating problems and causing the government there to reconsider aspects of their foolish decision."
Police are appealing to the public for help to find a man involved in a savage attack in Helensvale on Wednesday night.

Two men received stab wounds in the attack, believed to be inflicting by a hunting knife, at about 10pm on La Trobe Avenue.

Police are searching for David Charles Brown, 50, over an alleged stabbing attack in Helensvale. Credit:QPS Media

Police were able to arrest one of the alleged offenders, who faced court on Thursday, but they are still searching for the other man involved.

Fifty-year-old David Charles Brown who is described as Caucasian, 180 centimetres tall with a slim build and dark brown hair is known to frequent the Gold Coast area, particularly Southport.
A data scientist has analysed Donald Trump's Twitter feed and shown a reliable way to tell which tweets were sent by the controversial US presidential hopeful himself, and which were sent by a member of his staff.

Or, rather, he has crunched data to prove what many of us already suspected: the angry, outrageous and insulting tweets are from Trump.

A while ago, there was a change in Trump's Twitter behaviour.

Previously famous for its rambling, misspelled and sensational outbursts (often in all caps), Trump's official account become tamer as the prospect of his being a real contender for the presidency came closer.
Prisoners inside a Victorian jail have been foiled in their attempts to grow marijuana in a vegetable patch.

A crop of 28 cannabis plants was discovered flourishing this week in a house at Fulham Correctional Centre, a medium security prison about 200km east of Melbourne.

Prisoners have been growing marijuana inside a Victorian jail. Credit:Theresa Ambrose

Some of the plants were up to half a metre tall, the state's correction's boss said, and was growing alongside plants cultivated as part of a prisoner horticulture training program.

"It is embarrassing; these things shouldn't happen inside a prison," Corrections Commissioner Jan Shuard told radio station 3AW.
WA Deputy Premier Liza Harvey has ridiculed new Nationals leader and fellow cabinet member Brendon Grylls' economic plan, which includes a new mining tax, but said she looked forward to working with him.

Mr Grylls seized back the Nationals' leadership this week, while criticising the economic performance of Liberal Premier Colin Barnett's government.

Liza Harvey is no fan of Brendon Grylls' proposal for a mining tax. Credit:Erin Jonasson EJZ

The tax is a proposed new $5 a tonne land rent charge for WA's two biggest iron ore miners, global giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, that he says will raise $7.2 billion and get the current $3 billion-plus deficit-laden budget back into surplus.

Those two companies have slammed the proposal but Mr Grylls said the onus should be on them - if they want to avoid the tax - to somehow convince the federal government to give WA a better deal on GST as it has recently received the lowest share of Australia's states.
Warren, Michigan: US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said in a speech at a Michigan factory on Thursday that her jobs and tax plans would better help middle-class Americans than the plans released earlier this week by Republican rival Donald Trump.

Trump delivered an economic speech in Detroit on Monday. He publicly named his economic advisers last week.

"He's offered no credible plans to address what working families are up against today," Clinton said, shortly after touring Futuramic, a hangar-like, high-tech factory in Warren, Michigan, that makes parts for the aerospace industry.

Workers' anxiety over trade deals has become a central theme in the 2016 election, and Clinton rejected the portrait Trump has painted that she is only pretending not to favour the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a planned deal which she had praised when she was secretary of state in President Barack Obama's first term but has opposed as a candidate for the presidency.
The daughter of the late US president Ronald Reagan has a message for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump: "Words matter."

Patti Davis responded to Trump's suggestion on Tuesday that "Second Amendment people" could maybe find a way to stop Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton from rolling back gun rights if she is elected.

Davis says on Facebook that, while Trump's comments were heard by "sane and decent people", they were also heard by someone "locked in his own dark fantasies", who "sees unbridled violence as a way to make his mark in the world".

Davis notes that her father, a Republican, "was shot by someone who got his inspiration from a movie".
Bangkok: Cambodia has banned Victoria's parliamentary secretary for multicultural affairs from the country for criticising the government of long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Cambodian-born Hong Lim, the member for Clarinda, who is also Victoria's Parliamentary Secretary for Asian Engagement, told Fairfax Media that barring him from returning to Cambodia is a violation of his human rights.

"It demeans the regime but we can't expect much from a government which Human Rights Watch branded as violating human rights on a daily basis," Mr Hong Lim said in an email from China, where he is preparing for a visit next month by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

"My only concern is they might continue to behave like an animal, hurting my family, friends and supporters in Cambodia," he said.
An upsurge of intense fighting around the city of Aleppo has killed scores of Syrians in the past weeks, displaced thousands and cut water and power to up to two million people on both sides of the front line, worsening the already dire conditions faced by hundreds of thousands in the city.

Amid the desperate situation, the handful of Syrian doctors still working in rebel-held Aleppo have made an extraordinary plea to the American president.

A young girl suffering the effects of a suspected gas attack in Aleppo this week. Credit:Sky News

In a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, 29 of the 35 physicians left in the bombed-out eastern areas of the city called Thursday for help in getting humanitarian aid to 300,000 civilians trapped there and ending punishing air raids by warplanes operated by Syria's government and Russia.

"We do not need tears or sympathy or even prayers, we need your action. Prove that you are the friend of Syrians," the letter said, according to the BBC.
Latest News Lendi Group settles $33.6 billion in FY22 Ambitious target of a deal a day for brokers

APRA announces new appointments The prudential regulator has a new chair, deputy chair, and members

Brisbane-based broker and founder of Boss Money, Tom Uhlich, has developed his own app for his boutique broking and wealth advisory firm.Speaking to Australian Broker, Uhlich said he developed his own business app as an innovative and digital alternative to a business card, to make him memorable to both referral partners and clients.Everything is app driven these days and I know a few agents that have found them highly effective. Also, business cards are very yesterday. No one keeps them, nor passes them onto anyone else like they used to.In the past, I would give [real estate] agents a handful of cards to give out but they would forget them or lose them  or most likely bin them. Same with my greatest referral source, my clients. As good as you think you are, they will forget you. Years later they will think: who was that brilliant bald broker who helped us? Now they have my noggin on their phones.The app has also been developed with push notifications, alerting clients in real time to lender rate cuts or rate offers, acting as a call-to-action for clients to get in contact with Uhlich.This will flash up on their phone, Uhlich told Australian Broker. But the app also offers a one click way to share my details and book an appointment, as well as the ability to use calculators to compare their current rate to the latest, or how much they can borrow.Uhlich says the feedback from users so far has been overwhelmingly positive and he is already seeing a boost in referrals as a result.I should have done it earlier. Everyone loves the calls and updates; I have received four referrals from agents since its launch less than a week ago.When at open houses they click share, input the clients mobile and bingo, they get a link to download the app.
Ambitious target of a deal a day for brokers

The prudential regulator has a new chair, deputy chair, and members
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

Theyre not buying it.

The outgoing residents of a tony Park Slope old folks home say theyre skeptical of a real-estate investment firms promise to pay them the $3.35 million they agreed to take in exchange for vacating the ritzy property, which their landlord failed to cough up when it was due last month.

Sugar Hill Capital Partners claims it is willing to front the cash Prospect Park Residence owner Haysha Deitsch agreed to pay his frail tenants so they can afford to move to a new nursing home, yet just last week the firm got a court order to stop Deitsch from using its money for that very purpose. Now the tenants and their loved ones say they dont believe either party is good for the greenbacks.

I dont know whether they really mean it, said Nancy Richardson, whose 93-year-old friend AnneMarie Mogil lives in the Prospect Park West home.

Deitsch claims he intended to pay off the residents  who fought a high-profile court battle to stay in the building for two years before finally agreeing in June to leave for the handsome sum  using a security deposit Sugar Hill put down in 2014 to nab the ritzy 134-unit building and turn it into condos.

But Sugar Hill just obtained a court order preventing him from dipping into the down payment, accusing him of crying poverty to secretly spend their cash behind their backs.

Rather than respond to good-faith efforts to reach resolution, the seller is refusing to negotiate, threatening bankruptcy, and seeking to wrongfully retain Sugar Hills down payment for its own benefit, the firm said in a statement.

Sugar Hill claims it is still prepared to fund the settlement itself so it can finally take control of the building and turn it into condos, but refused to say how, when, or why it wont just allow Deitsch to use the deposit, declining to comment further.

In the meantime, the frail residents say theyre stuck in the middle  theyve already put down deposits on new nursing homes, but cant afford to leave until someone coughs up the cash.

Were screwed at the moment, said Richardson. [Mogil] could move in there tomorrow, but not unless that money comes through.

The residents loved ones are also worried Deitsch is still shopping around for another buyer willing to pay more than the $76.5 million he agreed to sell it to Sugar Hill for two years ago. They claim theyve seen him leading parties of well-dressed professionals through the building.

Weve seen him bringing through groups of people, 15 people at a time, and walking through the building starting with the roof, said Richardson. Why is he doing this? And hes been doing it for months.

But Deitschs attorney said that if his client is trying to pull the rug out from Sugar Hill, nobody told him about it.

I am not aware of him showing the building to other buyers, said lawyer Joel Drucker. The parties right now are Sugar Hill and Deitsch, and are close to a settlement.

The residents lawyer is now trying to place a $3.35-million lien on some other properties Deitsch owns on Fourth Avenue.

Prospect Park Residence itself already has $10 million in liens tied to wrongful death suits he is in the midst of fighting, so the attorney hopes an attachment order on his other investments will light a fire under Deitschs butt.

At this point, putting a lien on 1 Prospect Park West doesnt really put any pressure on him, said attorney Fred Millet. We wanted to come up with something outside the box.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

The head of a pro-bike, anti-car advocacy group called on the NYPD to start enforcing the law to save bicyclists lives on the latest edition of Brooklyn Paper Radio.

Paul Steely White, the chief of Transportation Alternatives  who apparently was calling from a cellphone from inside a deep cave or in an unused subway tunnel  wondered if police officers are even interested in giving out moving violations when there is so much other crime going on in the city.

We need the NYPD to start treating traffic crimes as seriously as rape or murder and other types of violent crime, he told hosts Gersh Kuntzman and Vince DiMiceli. Many cops view it as not real police work.

Steely White pointed out that some officers are proud of the work they do battling reckless driving, because they are saving lives, but not enough police resources are being used to fight the problem.

Its going to be a combination the NYPD getting serious about traffic safety and prioritizing their limited resources according to the data, he said. Lets not focus so much on tinted windows and more on egregious reckless driving that is going completely unchecked.

Steely White also called on the state to allow the city to install more traffic-calming red-light cameras.

The boys were also joined rookie reporter Caroline Spivack, who talked about her Pulitzer-worthy story on the Schnitzel Haus Dounald Trump photo fiasco, which featured the shows first real phone call from a listener.

Finally, an attempt to get Gershs dad on the phone to talk him out of voting for Donald Trump failed measurably, ending with Gersh and Vince leaving a message at the sound of the beep.

All in all, it was another great show that you can listen to right now.
Was there a murder 100 years ago at Yardley's Continental Tavern?

Frank Lyons began excavating the basement of the Continental Tavern in Yardley. He found a gun, bloody corset and part of a woman's purse.
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October 3, 2022

Dee Gambit

Hundreds  if not thousands  of new and returning TV shows and movies are released every month  your options of what to watch are endless. Variety, they say is ...
Harvey continued to fight to get Mike out of prison early in Suits Trust, but its a process, one that has its hiccups. Also, Rachel fought for her Innocence Project case and Louis enlisted Donnas help in buying a house.

Here are the best quotes from Trust.

Suits Recap: The Long Con>>>

Im gonna kick ass for him up and down the block, and theres no law against me rooting for Mike while Im doing that.

Harvey: Look where we are, Sean. Were in a car, sneaking Mike into prison. You pulled every string you have to make this happen. Youre gonna pull out now?

Sean: I am, cause Im not gonna put myself in position to collude with you.

Harvey: I wont put you in that position.

Sean: Im in that position right now.

Mike: No, youre not. He isnt even representing anybody yet. This conversation is completely hypothetical.

Sean: I dont need legal advice from the convict, and I dont need to lose my career because you tanked this guys defense.

Harvey: Im not tanking anything. Im gonna kick ass for him up and down the block, and theres no law against me rooting for Mike while Im doing that.

I know that were not supposed to become emotionally invested in our clients, but if we dont have any passion, then whats the point of trying to help them in the first place?

Rachel: I dont care whether it qualifies or not. I promised Leonard Bailey that Id fight for him.

Professor Dunbar: Well, you shouldnt have done that.

Rachel: Professor, I know that were not supposed to become emotionally invested in our clients, but if we dont have any passion, then whats the point of trying to help them in the first place?

Its good to have you back, buddy. Once you get used to having someone around you can trust, its hard to go back.

 Kevin to Mike

Yes. What other way could there possibly be?

Donna: Okay, let me get this straight. You want to spend a fortune buying a home so that you can spend another fortune remodeling it?

Louis: Its the only logical way that I can spend time with her.

Donna: Is it?

Louis: Yes. What other way could there possibly be?

Someone calls me a piece of shit to my face, I want to know what the encore is. You here to piss on my floor?

 William to Harvey

I didnt as a baby, and Im not gonna start now.

Harvey: Your son-in-law saved Mike from a guy I put behind bars. That means I owe you, and you didnt tell me about it because you knew Id find out and come crawling back on my own.

William: Youre hardly crawling.

Harvey: I didnt as a baby, and Im not gonna start now.

It doesnt feel like nothing to me.

Leonard: How do you know what I feel? You dont know what its like to be kept away from your loved ones.

Rachel: Actually I do  My fiances in prison.

Leonard: How long?

Rachel: Two years.

Leonard: Two years is nothing.

Rachel: It doesnt feel like nothing to me.

Not one word.

Louis: Whats going on with the house hunt?

Donna: I am on top of it, Louis.

Louis: Well, it doesnt look like youre on top of it. It looks like youre drinking a goddamn cup of coffee.

Donna: Maybe thats because I was on the internet all night trying to find houses for you because I knew that nothing would ever meet your insane specifications.

Louis: Is that true?

Donna: Not one word.

Well, then Ill figure out a way to get it done.

Harvey: Im not gonna tell you the details, because Im not gonna put you at risk, but I have a chance to get Mike out early, and if I lose this motion, its over.

Louis: Well, then Ill figure out a way to get it done.

Look, I dont know if its gonna work or not, but I do know Im not gonna stop trying.

Rachel: I heard you get upset with Louis earlier, and now youre coming to me about Gallo. So I just need to know if you think this whole Cahill things really gonna work.

Harvey: Rachel  

Rachel: Harvey, just tell me the truth.

Harvey: Look, I dont know if its gonna work or not, but I do know Im not gonna stop trying.

I appreciate that, Louis, but you didnt have to say it, because actions speak louder than words, and you doing this says it all.

Louis: Hey, Harvey, I know how tough its been not having Mike here, and I just want to let you know that I miss him too.

Harvey: I appreciate that, Louis, but you didnt have to say it, because actions speak louder than words, and you doing this says it all.

Google it.

Stu: You know, I dont get it. Youre obviously a big-time attorney, and now youre subletting to me. What the hell happened here?

Jessica: You dont know?

Stu: Why would I?

Jessica: Google it.

Guard tells you you have a visitor, doesnt say who it is, you start thinking maybe Angelina Jolie opened your letters after all.

 Frank to Harvey

Who is?

Louis: I miss you, Donna. I miss having you as my secretary.

Donna: I miss you too, Louis.

Louis: And dont get me wrong. Im not saying Gretchens not great.

Donna: Who would?

Louis: Its just  Im just saying shes not you.

Donna: Who is?

When people Google our name, Id rather they see, innocent man freed by Pearson Specter than Manhattan law firm hires a fraud.'

Jessica: Ill do it  Your pro bono. Bring me the file tomorrow morning.

Rachel: Jessica, Im sorry. Can I just ask why?

Jessica: What does it matter?

Rachel: It matters to me.

Jessica: Ive been out all day, trying to drum up business, and it hasnt been easy. So from now on, when people Google our name, Id rather they see, innocent man freed by Pearson Specter than Manhattan law firm hires a fraud.'

Suits season 6 airs Wednesdays at 9pm on USA.

(Images courtesy of USA)
On this episode of Suits, Trust, in order to help Mike, Harvey has to take on two clients he swore hed never represent, Rachel runs into a snag with the Leonard Bailey case and Mike struggles to gain Kevins trust.

The world of white-collar criminals is a small one because the guy Cahill wants Mike to help nab is William Sutter, the scumbag that Harvey refused to represent just days earlier. Harvey is worried that if Kevin finds out that his father-in-law came to see Harvey, and Harvey told him to drop dead, Kevin will never trust Mike.

Collusion

Now Harvey has to take on the case and kick ass. If he doesnt, the plan, as well as Harvey and Cahills careers, are finished. Theres nothing that says Harvey cant defend Sutter to the best of his ability while rooting for Mike at the same time. Cahill reluctantly agrees, but warns Harvey that if he remotely puts Cahill in jeopardy, hes pulling the plug on the whole deal.

Suits Recap: Mike Struggles with a Moral Dilemma >>>

No Bono, No Bueno

After her steamy conjugal visit with Mike, Rachel gets some bad news from Professor Dunbar. Leonard Baileys case doesnt qualify for the Innocence Project. None of the grounds for an appeal revolve around previously undiscovered DNA. Rachel doesnt care if the case qualifies or not, she made a promise to Leonard Bailey. But theres nothing Professor Dunbar can do other than promise to find Rachel another case.

Love and Real Estate

On a lighter note, Louis is moving forward with his plan to win Tara Messers heart. Theres just one problem; he doesnt own a home in the Hamptons for her to redesign. So, Louis seeks help from his go-to girl Donna to help him acquire one. Donna finds it a bit ridiculous that Louis is willing to spend a fortune to buy a house only to spend another fortune remodeling it and suggests that Louis take a less roundabout route of romancing Tara by simply asking her out. Louis feels his best shot is having Tara get to know him first, and hes confident this could be his last shot at love. Donna is moved enough to agree to help Louis out.

Trust is a Two-Way Street

Mike is back in his cell, and his first order of business is to get Kevin to tell him what hes in for. Kevin doesnt want to share the information, but Mike points out hes told Kevin everything about him, and besides understanding the fact that Kevin doesnt want his own kids to visit him in jail, Mike knows nothing about his cellmate. Kevins willing to talk to Mike about a lot of things, but that just isnt one of them.

Harvey tells Sutter hell take him on as a client. Harvey knows Sutter came to him because he found out Mike was in prison with Kevin. Sutters son-in-law saved Mike from a man Harvey put behind bars, and that means Harvey owes him. Sutter knew Harvey would come crawling back.

Rachel has to break the news to Leonard Bailey that she cant take his case, and he doesnt take the news well. He reminds Rachel that she begged him to take a chance on her, promising she would fight for him.

Harvey informs Cahill that hes officially William Sutters attorney and unless Cahill brings an indictment in the next 48 hours, Harvey will sue the SEC and Cahill for harassing his client. Cahill sees through Harveys plan. Mike cant get Kevin to talk without Cahill bringing an action.

It doesnt matter because Cahill refuses to bring an indictment without knowing hes going to win at trial, and Harvey says Cahill will never win a trial if he doesnt shake a tree and see what falls. Cahill refuses to collude with Harvey, and thats exactly what Harvey is trying to get Cahill to do by coming to his office and demanding he bring an indictment against his client. Harvey insists hed take this same course of action no matter who his client was. Cahill promises that if Harvey wants an action, hell get one.

Kevin has Doubts About Mike

Harvey pays a visit to Kevin, informing him that hes representing his father-in-law. Since the SEC thinks Williams firm, the one Kevin worked for, is breaking the law, Harvey wants to know what Kevin plans to say when they come at him. Kevin is going to stick to the same story hes been telling all along: Sutter is innocent. Harvey warns Kevin that an indictment is coming down any minute. That makes Kevin every inmates ticket out of Danbury, so if Kevin ever has a doubt about Sutters innocence, hed better keep it to himself.

Mike still has Gallo riding his ass. It turns out the motion Mike filed on Gallos behalf got bounced back. While Mike was laid up in the infirmary, Gallo got an email that said it wasnt filed right. Mike swears its a procedural mix up, but hell need Gallos phone to straighten things out. Gallo doesnt want to cooperate, but Mikes used up his phone privileges for two days, so Gallo can play nice or waste time.

Mikes also getting the cold shoulder from Kevin. He tells Mike that Harvey is representing his father-in-law which also means hes representing Kevin, and Harvey told Kevin not to trust anyone. Mike swears hes on Kevins side, but Kevin has his doubts. One minute Gallo is Mikes sworn enemy, and the next, hes handing Mike his cell phone like theyre best friends. Mike explains that hes trying to get Gallo out which is good for both of them.

But thats not all thats got Kevins panties in a bunch. He had a friend who works in the infirmary check on Mike, and the guy lets Kevin know that Mike was gone for at least three hours. Mike comes up with a lie about Harvey taking him to the hospital because he didnt trust that Mike would make it through the night in prison. Mike didnt tell Kevin, fearing it would put his pal in a position where hed have to lie for him. Kevin calls B.S. which Mike finds funny since Kevin doesnt even trust Mike enough to tell him why hes in prison.

Playing Hardball

Harvey gets something from Cahill, but it isnt an indictment. Cahill has suspended Sutters trading license instead. Harvey cant stop this from happening, which means Sutter will fire him which is exactly what he tells Cahill. But since Cahill wasnt down with Harvey representing Sutter in the first place, he doesnt give a shit.

Mike uses Gallos phone to call Harvey. (These two are having definite communication issues, especially where Kevin is concerned.) Unfortunately, Mike has a more pressing problem. Gallos motion needs to be filed in person by his attorney of record. The last thing Harvey wants to do is help Gallo, but if he doesnt, Mike is going to have bigger problems than getting Kevin to trust him.

Once again, Mike goes to Julius for help. He needs to get a message to the warden. Julius explains that if Mike wants to get a message to the man in charge, he needs to go through the proper channels and do it himself. Mike explains that thats not a feasible option. Mike has no choice but to tell Julius about his deal. Julius isnt going to help Mike set up his cellmate as its not part of his job description. Mike points out that it is Julius job to prepare Mike for life after prison, and this deal guarantees that life after prison will come much faster.

Rachel goes to see her professor. He may not be able to provide her with the resources and backing she needs to work on Baileys case, but Rachel has a proposition. What if she can rally the resources and get a qualified attorney to supervise her. Pearson Specter Litt has been known to take a pro bono case now and again. Dunbar agrees.

A Lose-Lose Proposition

Harvey goes to Louis for help with the Sutter case. Louis is the numbers guy. So Louis takes a break from house hunting to come up with a plan. They dont have to stop the suspension, they can turn Sutters firm into a subsidiary of a separate holding company that can execute the trades for him. The rub is that nobody wants to work with Sutter. Harvey reminds Louis about their new trader pals across the hall.

Harvey is pretty certain Jessica can persuade Stu to do the deed. But first, he has to explain to her why he did a complete turnaround when it comes to Sutter. Jessica knows the ideal outcome means they wont have Sutters business for long, but it pays the bills in the meantime, and they can leverage it into more business anyway. It better, because while losing the case is good for Mike, its not so good for the firm.

Jessica comes to Stu with the Sutter deal, promising hell get paid handsomely. Stu cant figure out why a big-time attorney is subletting to him. Jessica explains they hired a lawyer who turned out to be a fraud. Stu is bright enough to suspect that Jessica knew exactly what Mike was.

Suits: 13 Key Moments Leading up to Mikes Decision in Turn >>>

The Best Laid Plans

Mike gets pulled out of his cell and thrown into solitary, or at least thats the latest piece of fiction being handed to Kevin. Waiting for Mike is the warden. So, Julius came through after all. Hes seen a lot of inmates come and go, and these kinds of deals dont always go well. Mike asks if the warden thinks hell serve his full two years, and the warden responds he hopes it doesnt turn out worse than that. Then Mikey gets to spend the night all by his lonesome.

The warden wakes up Kevin and questions him just how much he knows about Mikes little field trip. Kevin denies everything, and the warden makes it clear that if he finds out Kevin is lying, hell be the one in solitary, and it wont just be for one night.

Harvey and Cahill go to court, and Cahill is annoyed when he gets outsmarted by Harvey. To make things worse, Harvey asks the judge to remove Cahill from the case due to their antagonistic history. He claims Cahill is trying to get to him through Sutter. This is just a ploy to gain Sutters trust and it works.

Nice try, but no dice. Cahills no Harvey, but he cant argue his way out of a paper bag, so both attorneys remain on the case.

You Screw Me, Ill Screw You

Harvey has one last unpleasant piece of business to attend to, and that is to go see Gallo and inform him that hes his new attorney. In return, not only is Gallo not going to lay a hand on Mike, but hes going to be Mikes personal bodyguard. Gallo balks at the idea, threatening to get another lawyer, but Harvey swears hell make sure that the powers that be know Gallo tried to poison Mike. Doesnt matter if its true or not, who will everyone believe?

Mike returns from solitary and is pretending to blame Kevin for betraying his confidence about Harvey getting him out. Kevin feels guilty enough to finally open up. He got in a fight with his wife. He went out, got drunk, got into his car and almost killed someone.

Mike wants to know what Kevin and his wife were fighting about, but Kevin clams up.

I miss the carefree Suits days. This season is as overwrought as Sean Penns performance in I Am Sam. The only respite from Harvey continually selling out, Jessica bitching about money, and Mikes incredibly eventful, albeit brief, prison stay is Louis. And Rachel officially wins the Debbie Downer award. Lets get Mike out and return Pearson Specter Litt to its golden days. Whos with me?

Suits airs Wednesdays at 10pm on USA.

(Photo courtesy of USA)
Dental professor takes 12th trip to Syrian refugee camps, treats more than 1,000 children

The volunteers treated hundreds of children per day, performing temporary fillings, sealants, fluoride varnishes and more.

Dentist gathering support to launch mobile dental clinic, expand educational programs for refugees during October visit to Lebanon

Families are immigrating because they dont see a future for their children in Syria. Education is the most effective way to help them rebuild their home. 

BUFFALO, N.Y.  Every few months, Othman Shibly performs what some consider to be a miracle.

The Lebanese-born University at Buffalo dental professor travels regularly to refugee camps in the countries neighboring Syria to establish dental clinics, open schools and deliver needed medical supplies.

His most recent endeavor: Providing dental care to more than 1,000 children living in Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon in five days.

The week-long undertaking in May was a part of Shiblys Miles for Smiles mission to bring oral health care to the student refugees who lack access to treatment due to the ongoing Syrian war.

The effort received support from nearly 100 volunteers from the Saint Joseph University School of Dental Medicine in Lebanon, a handful of dentists from the U.S. and a donation of $20,000 worth of materials from health care products provider Henry Schein.

The group treated hundreds of children per day, performing temporary fillings, sealants, fluoride varnishes and more. Each child also received oral health education, a toothbrush, toothpaste and other dental supplies.

We brought together people of different cultures, backgrounds and religions, and they all worked together for this noble cause, says Shibly, clinical professor in the UB School of Dental Medicine.

The effort recently earned Shibly the Ibn Al-Nafees Outstanding Achievement Award from the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS). He was presented the award on July 24 at the SAMS 16th International Conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Dr. Shiblys outstanding work to help those affected by ongoing conflict has been an inspiration to our faculty, students and staff, says Joseph Zambon, DDS, PhD, dean of the School of Dental Medicine. We are all proud to see another example of how the school is achieving its vision of defining excellence in global health.

Miles for Smiles began in December, when Shibly traveled with his daughter to Lebanon to donate more than 500 books to schools within the camps to establish an English language curriculum.

The director of the Education Program in Lebanon (EPL), the administration that oversees schools in Lebanons refugee camps, asked Shibly if he could donate toothbrushes and toothpaste as well, as many students didnt have the basic tools for oral hygiene.

Knowing a toothbrush wouldnt solve the schools oral health needs, Shibly went a step further by arranging to treat every child in each camp, a daunting task, as some children required extractions or other emergency treatments, nearly half had gingivitis and close to 10 percent of them had an infection, says Shibly.

To prepare for the journey, Shibly worked with the EPL to pre-screen for the oral health needs of students in five schools spread throughout camps in Saadnayel, Bekaa Valley and Bar Elias  all areas in eastern Lebanon. SAMS arranged travel and food for the group.

We were happy to do it, says Shibly. When examining the children, some who have been in the camp for five years said that they have never brushed their teeth. When we told them to be careful about eating candy, some kids raised their hands and asked us what is chocolate.

Seven weeks to another mission of support

Shibly will return to Lebanon in October and work with Saint Joseph University and other local universities to treat more children in other camps and expand dental care to include adults.

He also plans to establish a mobile dental clinic that can be driven between camps to provide care in the area. The mobile clinic would allow dentists to treat infections and perform extractions and other extensive treatments on site, rather than having to transport children to a dental offices in nearby towns that have the necessary equipment.

During future visits, Shibly hopes to offer access to maxillofacial surgery  a specialization to treat diseases and injuries to the mouth, jaws and face  through a partnership with Doctors Without Borders and local universities.

In addition to dental care, Shiblys efforts in the region also focus on education, as millions of children, who make up half of the displaced Syrian population, were forced to quit school.

He has helped establish 15 schools in Damascus, the capital of Syria. These schools, which provide elementary through secondary studies, have taught more than 5,000 children.

Education brings hope to the children and their families, says Shibly. Families are immigrating because they dont see a future for their children in Syria. Education is the most effective way to help them rebuild their home.

It ensures the children have a better future, it saves them from disintegration intellectually and spiritually, and it keeps them from becoming the future seed of extremism.

Shibly is building support through partnerships to offer more English-education curriculums and catch-up programs for students who have missed time in school due to the war. Many of his students are also in need of backpacks, uniforms and school supplies.

To learn how to assist Shiblys humanitarian efforts in Syria and the surrounding regions affected by ongoing conflict, contact shibly@buffalo.edu or 716-829-3845.
Lawsuit seeks $5M in wages for Great Adventure hourly workers

The class action lawsuit says workers should be paid for time spent walking across Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson.
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OIL India Ltd is set to usher into a new era with roadmap drawn to ramp up production and diversification plans to foray into liquefied natural gas (LNG) business on track. The company's newly elected chairman Utpal Bora shares his road-ahead plans, views on subsidy burden on upstream companies and strategies for overseas expansion in an exclusive interview with Shine Jacob.



Your first priorities after taking charge?



This is a big challenge for me. My first priority would be to increase the production of oil and gas. Considering the increasing demand in the country, the government is looking at us to improve our performance in production.
With nearly a billion subscribers, India is the worlds second largest mobile market. No wonder, every sixth subscriber of mobile device across the world is an Indian. But when it comes to revenues, India is a pygmy, with average monthly spends of $4 per user or 2.7 per cent of the worlds.
Ltd (MASL), a 100 per cent agricultural commodities-focused subsidiary of automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), aims to treble its revenue in the next three years. Turnover was Rs 900 crore in 2015-16.
Country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki has said it is on course to reach a volume of 2 million units by 2020, a 40% jump over the 1.42 million units sold in FY16. In addition to expanding its sales-service network, the company has said it will launch 15 new products to grow volumes.

"We have promised the Indian consumer about 15 new models till 2020. The Gujarat plant commissioning is being expedited and may start operations by early 2017," Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director and chief executive officer, said in the 2015-16 annual report released today.



At present, the company sells 16 models, three of which (S-Cross, Baleno and Brezza) were launched in last one year.
The Singapore International Arbitration Centre's (SIAC's) order in the Ranbaxy-Daiichi case has revealed in detail how the Indian pharmaceutical major withheld pertinent information from Japans Daiichi-Sankyo, reported The Indian Express on Thursday.
Under a public private partnership (PPP) model, fabrics maker has collaborated with the Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission to impart training in tailoring craft to the unemployed youth of the state.
Having already crossed 500,000 merchants, second to only Alibaba, 80 per cent of which are from tier-2 and -3 cities, is now looking at tapping the rural B2B market.
Canada-based enterprise mobility solutions provider Inc plans to invest $12 million in coming two years and add 300 employees in India, which is a priority market growing at over 50 per cent annually.
The Swedish furniture major IKEA reaffirmed the central role of brick and mortar stores to its business even while planning to launch online operations in many countries including India as it conducted ground-breaking for the first furniture store project in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Swedish fashion retailer H&M has opened over half a dozen stores in the country and looking to double that by end of the year. Rival to Spain's fashion chain Zara, H&M has opened many stores which are located close to Zara outlets in the country. Ahead of store opening in Mumbai,, Country manager at H&M India, spoke to Raghavendra Kamath about the chain's experience here and the plans ahead. Edited excerpts:

What has been the response to your stores so far?

Response has been good so far and as per our expectations. We believe Indian market has a great potential and since Indian shoppers have high knowledge of western-wear, we expect to do well here.
Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Mansur Ahmed Mir on Wednesday called for creating greater awareness about among youth as it has detrimental impact on the society.

Inaugurating the 'Awareness programme on drug addiction among Youth,' organised by District Legal Services Authority, Shimla under the aegis of HP State Legal Services Authority (HPSLSA), chief justice said the purpose of such programmes is to increase awareness of the drug misuse among the children and the youth.

The teacher can play very important role in this field and the problem of can be contained by making concerted efforts by all the stakeholders of the society, he added.

Chief Justice said the "The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports that approximately 5% of the World's population use the illicit drug and 27% of the world adult population can be classified as problem drug users".

It has been estimated that total cost of world is $100 to $200 billion or 0.3 to 0.4% of the global GDP, he said, adding that incidents of drug abuse in children and adolescent is higher than the general population because for youth it is a time for experimentation and identity formation.

He said in Himachal Pradesh 29.3% youngsters in the state are found to be addicted to cigarette, gutkha and khaini while 24% are found alcoholic, according to study conducted by IGMC, Shimla.

The percentage of those taking cannabis is 20.8% while 3.4% youngsters have been found to be addicted to opium.

Justice Sanjay Karol, Executive Chairman, HP State Legal Services Authority said that 520 students from 30 schools of Shimla district were selected by the District legal services authority to participate in this awareness campaign.

He said HPSLSA has chosen two district of Shimla and Kullu to start the awareness campaign on drug addiction among the students.
A day after five doctors, associated with Mumbais LH Hospital, were arrested by the Mumbai Police in connection with a kidney racket, media reports state that more arrests are likely. Among the arrested so far is the CEO of the hospital, Dr Sujit Chatterjee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought suggestions from public for his speech to be given from ramparts of the Red Fort.

Messages inviting suggestions have been put on some of the government websites.

" speech from ramparts of the Red Fort is perhaps the most important speech of the year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the trend of directly seeking ideas and suggestions from citizens for formulating his speech.

"Like last year, this year too the Prime Minister invites citizens to contribute their views, their ideas, their suggestions, indeed their own vision," read the message.

People can contribute on either the MyGov open forum or the Narendra Modi site and mobile application, it said.

"All you have to do is to click on the respective icons and have your say. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself will articulate them," said the message put up on the Personnel Ministry's website.

The best inputs would be incorporated by the Prime Minister in his speech on August 15, it said.

It will be Modi's third Independence Day address as Prime Minister.
In a jolt to self-styled god man Asaram Bapu, the Supreme Court on Thursday declined to grant interim bail to him on health grounds in connection with a rape case.

The apex court directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to constitute a medical board to evaluate the health condition of Asaram and to submit a report within 10 days.

Asaram has been in jail since August 2013 for allegedly raping a schoolgirl and was arrested after the 16-year-old victim, whose parents were both devotees, lodged a complaint with police.

Two months later Asaram and his son Narayan Sai were booked for allegedly raping two sisters at their ashram in Surat, Gujarat.

Raju Ramachandran, Asaram's counsel, moved the petition seeking one-two months' interim bail for the self-styled god man on the ground of his poor medical condition.

Ramachandran said his client was suffering from neuralgia for the past several years and his condition had deteriorated lately.

He claimed that his client could not control his urine and stool, which was ascertained by jail doctor's report.

The counsel said Asaram needed traditional ayurvedic treatment, which was available at only a few hospitals.

However, declining to grant interim bail, Justice M.B. Lokur said all the court can do is to direct AIIMS to constitute a board to evaluate the medical condition of Asaram.

However, the counsel contended that several medical boards had already been constituted and the medical condition cited before the court was a part of the report by a latest medical board constituted by the high court.

Ramchandra said Asaram's medical condition was sufficient ground for even a regular bail, which the high court rejected.

He added that the plea for a regular bail would also be filed in the apex court soon.

Though the court was intended to dismiss the petition, it kept the plea pending on the request of Asaram's counsel for not dismissing the plea till medical the board submits it's report or the plea for a regular bail is heard.
The for the first half of 2016 has placed India in extremely optimistic territory. The country also further solidified its position with a score of 97.6, moving up to the second spot in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
British Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark in an interaction with Subhayan Chakraborty tells that tax rows with Vodafone and Cairn need to be resolved, but strength of relationship between the two countries is not affected by these disputes. Edited excerpts:



Your predecessor Sajid Javid also came to New Delhi last month, just after the referendum on Brexit. What brings you to India within such a short time?



We always have been keen to strengthen and deepen our trading, cultural and personal relationships with India. Now we have an important opportunity after Brexit. The UK has decided to renew and strengthen its relationships around the world. The decision that was made in the referendum was to be more global from our perspective and India was a natural place to be.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister today urged the Union Health Minister J P Nadda to expedite forest clearance for setting up an AIIMS at Bilaspur and providing equipments for ESIC Medical college at Ner Chowk in Mandi district.

Singh who met Nadda in Delhi told that the government had identified 1200 bigha of land for the AIIMS and 750 bighas had been transferred for the institute while forest clearance of 450 bigha land was awaited, an official release here said.

The Chief Minister also apprised the Union minister that that state had signed an MoU to take over the ESIC Medical College building at Ner Chowk in Mandi district and admissions of first batch of MBBS would start from the next year.

He said the state government would be paying Rs 285 crore to ESI over a period of five years beginning from 2019 in lieu of the college building.

He said due to limited resources, the state would require central assistance for making it a premier institute.

Singh also requested Nadda to approve the proposals of the state to establish Mother Child Health Care Centre (MCH) at Bilaspur and 50 bedded hospital at Ghumarwin.

While discussing about opening of three new medical colleges at Nahan, Hamirpur and Chamba, he said all formalities had been completed to start classes in Dr Y S Parmar Medical College, Nahan from September this year besides appointing teaching faculty and other staff.

He said the work was under progress for construction of medical college buildings at Hamirpur and Chamba.

Singh urged for early forest clearances from the Union Government for construction of new medical college building at Hamirpur.

Nadda assured the CM that Union Health Ministry would consider all these issues on priority.
The Government has given in-principle approval for setting up Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) in India. The LIGO-India project will establish a state-of-the-art gravitational wave observatory on the Indian soil in collaboration with the LIGO Laboratory in the U.S. run by Caltech and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The project will bring unprecedented opportunities for our scientists and engineers to dig deeper into the realm of gravitational wave and take global leadership in this new astronomical frontier. LIGO-India will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting edge technology for the Indian industry which will be engaged in the construction of eight kilometre long beam tube at ultra-high vacuum on a levelled terrain. The LIGO-India project will be jointly coordinated and executed by three premier Indian lead institutions viz., the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar and the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore. Some of the Universities in the country will also participate in the project. .

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Under the Mega Science Projects, an amount of Rupees105 crore has been made in XII Plan outlay by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)-Department of Science & Technology (DST) towards LIGO-India. Out of which, the share of contribution of DST will be Rupees 55 crore including 50% of seed-funding amount of Rupees 9.70 crore and DAEs share would be Rupees 50 crore. No financial sanction has been issued so far for the project. .

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This information was provided by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today. .

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Hanle in Ladakh has been identified as one of the potential alternate sites for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The original site for TMT was Mauna Kea in Hawaii in the United States of America. The construction work for TMT at Mauna Kea was started but had to be stalled due to revocation of Permit by orders of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. .

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Shri Y.S. Chowdary, Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, in a written reply to a Question in Rajya Sabha today, informed the House that in view of significant investments and efforts already made towards realizing the project, it has been decided by the TMT Partner Countries to look for alternate sites, including Hanle, as fall-back options. .

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Further, the Minister, through the reply, informed that Indias participation in the TMT project is being jointly funded and overseen by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), with DST as the Lead Agency. DST has received clearances from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs for hosting TMT at Hanle in Ladakh. .

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The Minister also informed that Indian scientists leading this project, led by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, visited the region and have completed measurements of the key scientific parameter, viz. Atmospheric turbulence or Seeing measured in arc-second. .

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The necessary site-specific details have been submitted to the TMT alternate site selection team. Hanle site has lower seeing values of 0.9-1.2 arc sec as compared to the alternate sites in Chile and Canary Islands of Spain (La Palma) which have seeing values of 0.55 arc sec. Thus, scientifically, Hanle has less advantageous characteristics for hosting a mega telescope like the TMT in comparison to the other alternate sites, the reply added. .

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Government is, in fact, giving special attention to infrastructure development projects, such as, road, rail, communication, and telecom network in the North Eastern Region. .

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A total of 197 on-going road development projects are being implemented under various programmes/schemes of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoR&TH) in the North Eastern States. The total length and the total sanctioned cost of these projects are 4320.95 kms and Rs.37691.05 crore respectively. .

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20 major railway projects consisting of 13 new lines, 2 gauge conversions and 5 doublings, having aggregate length of 2624 km at a cost of Rs.52030 crore have been taken up in the North Eastern Region. An expenditure of Rs.21336 crore has been incurred on these projects upto March, 2016. An outlay of Rs.5040 crore has been provided for 2016-17 for these projects and for the residual liabilities of some completed projects. .

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Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for North-Eastern Region at a cost of Rs.5336.18 crore is under implementation. .

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North Eastern Council (NEC) is implementing 715 various development projects in North Eastern States, and are underway at a total approved cost of Rs.714864.98 lakh. Ministry of Rural Development is providing assistance in respective State Governments under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) programme. .

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Ministry of DoNER is also providing funds for meeting gaps in infrastructure, subject to the availability of funds. An amount of Rs.4113.31 crore has been released for 608 Roads and Bridges under Non-lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme upto 5.8.2016. Under the scheme, North East State Roads Investment Project, a total of 433.4 kms is undertaken for upgradation/ construction in the North East at a total cost of Rs.1355.83 crore. Under North East Road Sector Development Scheme (NERSDS), four inter-state neglected road projects have been taken up by Ministry of DoNER for upgradation through National Highway & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). .

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This was stated by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question by Shrimati Jharna Das Baidya in the Rajya Sabha today. .

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The Government has underlined the need for an interface on the real problems of the Himalayan region, as it will help in proper planning. Chairing the Third Meeting with MPs from the Himalayan region here last evening, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Anil Madhav Dave, said that man, wild animals and forests have been living in harmonious co-existence. The Environment Minister pointed out that no Scheduled Tribe has ever posed a threat to the forests. He emphasised that Himalayas must be seen as a single whole and not in different parts. Himalayan range is one of the areas that has been suffering the ill-effects of pollution the most", Shri Dave said. .

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Some of the issues discussed at the meeting included - the possibility of disaster risk reduction, climate change impact, retreat of Himalayan glaciers, forest fires and the need to reduce out migration. Members of Parliament raised the issue of diversity and extreme sensitivity of Himalayas. Among the Members of Parliament who attended the meeting were - Shri Ajay Tamta, Shri Shanta Kumar, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Shri Neiphu Rio, .

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Earlier, two meetings with Himalayan Parliamentarians have been held. The First Meet was held on September 10, 2015, at the G.B Pant National Institute of Himalayan, Environment and Sustainable Development (GBPNIHESD) Institute, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora in Uttarakhand. The meeting discussed the need to bring in a Mountain Perspective in national policies and plans. It also emphasised the need to find long-term, research-based solutions to the issues specific to the region. .

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The Second Meeting was held in the Ministry on December 15, 2015. It stressed the need for collective advocacy at national level and bringing mountain states to the forefront of Sustainable Development Agenda in the country. .

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Indian agricultural sector is facing a number of challenges. On one hand, there are challenges to feed a growing population, on the other hand, our farmers are facing challenges due to the limited availability of natural resources along with increasing pressure on agricultural land. The problems emerging due to climate change and consequent to it the adverse circumstances are clear on the scenario. In spite of these challenges, Modi Government has resolved to double the incomes of farmers within a span of five years trigging a great responsibility on govt's shoulders. However, the govt is working in a fast track in this direction. The above statement was delivered by Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh today on the inauguration of National Workshop organized on Indian Green Agricultural Project. The organization of this green workshop was carried out under the joint efforts of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as well as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Among the dignitaries presents in this workshop were Secreatary, DAC& FW, Shri S.K. Pattanayak, DG, ICAR and Secretary DARE, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Joint Secretary, DAC&FW, Shri R.B. Sinha and Indian representatives of United Nationss, Food and Agriculture Organization Dr. Shyam Khadka. .

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Shri Singh said that the fifth national report submitted in Bio-Diversification Summit by India indicates that there is an acute pressure on the productivity potential of land in various pockets of the country due to the extension in the area of agriculture and continuous use of the land. This pressure owes its existence particularly due to deforestation, disintegration of forest areas, eradication of wet land and conversion of meadows into agricultural sector. This has solved the problem of foodgrain to some extent, however, it has triggered a scarcity in bio diversification. It has also posed a challenge for the survival of wild life as well as human beings. .

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Union Minister further said that the Government of India has resolved to sort out these problems and has chalked out a number of schemes viz. climate smart agriculture, sustainable land use and management, bio-production, use of local and traditional knowledge along with the agriculture bio diversification conservation. In addition, a number of National Level Programmes like National Mission for Sustainable Development of Agriculture (NMSA), Integrated Horticulture Development Mission (MIDH), National Livestock Development Mission as well as Traditional Agriculture Development Scheme (PKVY) etc. are being implemented. However, the challenges still persist. This workshop has been organized to have a substantial discussion on the subject. This project will be finalized for implementation in the country after having obtained a substantial fora for sustainable agriculture in India based on the negotiations conducted in this workshop. .

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The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) was started in India in 1991. It has the mandate to resolve problems related to global environment. GEF provides financial support for environmental improvements. The span of GEF is for five years which reflects sustainable agriculture development, land degradation, bio diversification and sustainable forest management because it is directly related to the adaptation of climate change process. For the first time, Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved the project related to Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on the subject to obtain revolutionary change on the strategies and methodologies for sustainable agriculture in India" to implement it in a various parts of five states viz Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and Mizoram. A sum of 37 million dollars (Rs. 250 crores) would be incurred on this project which India has achieved in the form of grant-in-aid. This project will be implemented by the Agriculture Departments of the States within the span of seven years. .

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For this programme, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India is a political focal point of GEF which is responsible for the strategies and administration, whereas the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is a focal point of GEF in India which will carry out the responsibilities of coordinations of GEF programmes. .

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It is pertinent to note that the Secretaries of the Departments concerned, top brass of the Centre and State Governments, Non Government Organizations and enlightened farmers of different states as well as the representatives of various organizations participated in this workshop. .

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SS/AK
In addition to devolution of funds to the State Governments, Government of India allocates funds for the development of North Eastern Region under various schemes of Union Ministries. In the year 2016-17, 56 Ministries have allocated a budget of Rs. 33,097.02 crore for the North Eastern States which is inclusive of Rs. 2400 crore of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). .

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Under the schemes of Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) administered by the Ministry of DoNER and schemes of NEC, various State Governments, including Government of Tripura send proposals on the basis priority fixed by them. These proposals are considered within the overall availability of resources. Further, Border Area Development Programme (BADP) administered by Ministry of Home Affairs provides for specific funds for development of border areas. Ministry of DoNER has also released Rs. 120 crore for Akhaura-Agartala Rail Link Project to Ministry of Railways under the NLCPR-Central Scheme of the Ministry. .

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This was stated by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question by Shrimati Jharna Das Baidya in the Rajya Sabha today. .

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At least 21 people were killed and five injured today after a high-pressure steam pipeline exploded at a power plant in central China's Hubei Province.

The blast occurred at a coal-fired power station in Dangyang city in Hubei around 3:20pm.

At least 21 people were killed and five injured, three seriously, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The injured were rushed to the hospital and rescue efforts were underway.
Netizens can now ping US President Barack Obama on just like they do to friends as the White House tries to stay in touch with people and keep up with the changing times using a Messenger bot.

"1801: The White House starts to receive mail. 1880: The White House takes its first phone call. 1994: The White House receives email. And today for the first time ever, you can send a note to President Obama by messaging the White House on Facebook, the same way you message your friends," said the White House on its page while announcing the maiden initiative.

The White House's Messenger bot, a first of its kind for any government the world over, will make it as easy as messaging your closest friends, Chief Digital Officer of the White House Jason Goldman said.

Every night, President Obama reads 10 letters that were sent to him by citizens and have been a part of his daily routine since taking office in 2009, he said in a statement yesterday.

"These 10 "letters a day", or 10 LADs as they are known to staff, do more to keep the President in touch with what is happening around the country than just about anything else," Goldman said, adding Obama is not alone in this and that reading letters from the public is a Presidential tradition going back to Thomas Jefferson.

The statement quoted Obama as saying that the letters not only "help me to stay in touch with the people who sent me here, or the people who voted against me, but a lot of times they identify problems that might not have percolated up through the various agencies and bureaucracies. And more than once there have been occasions where these letters inspired action on real problems that are out there".

Goldman said: "Today, there are more ways than ever for us to communicate. No matter where you are or what time of day it is, it's possible to connect instantaneously, in real time, to people all over the world. One of our jobs at the White House is to keep up.

"Our goal is to meet people where they are."



It is the reason why Obama launched his own Twitter account and First Lady Michelle Obama is on Snapchat, he said, adding it is about creating opportunities for people to engage with their government in new and accessible ways, using the same technologies people already rely on in daily lives.

Face-to-face time is a little harder to come by these days, but technology makes it possible for anyone with an internet connection to send a message to the President and his Administration, he said.
Syrian doctors in opposition districts of have accused the United States of inaction in the face of repeated atrocities in the devastated city.

In a heart-wrenching letter addressed to US President Barack Obama, 15 of the 35 doctors in eastern neighbourhoods of Syria's second city warned the situation would be desperate for civilians if regime forces re-impose a siege.

On Saturday, rebels and allied jihadists broke a three-week government encirclement that had left residents of eastern reeling from skyrocketing prices and food shortages.

But the pediatricians, surgeons, and other physicians who signed the letter said the situation remained dire.

"Unless a permanent lifeline to is opened it will be only a matter of time until we are again surrounded by regime troops, hunger takes hold and hospitals' supplies run completely dry."

The letter lambasts the US, saying it had seen "no effort on behalf of the United States to lift the siege or even use its influence to push the parties to protect civilians."

"We do not need tears or sympathy or even prayers, we need your action. Prove that you are the friend of Syrians."

The World Health Organisation said Syria was the most dangerous place for health care workers to operate last year, with 135 attacks on health facilities and workers in 2015.

An estimated 250,000 people still live in the rebel-held eastern parts, with around 1.2 million in the government-controlled west.

Rebels and regime forces are amassing fighters around Aleppo ahead of what is likely to be a protracted battle for the northern city, whose hospitals and other civilian infrastructure have been ravaged by violence since mid-2012.

In late July, four makeshift hospitals and a blood bank in Aleppo city were hit by air raids in a single day.

Many of the signatories to the letter worked at those hospitals, where medicine is scarce and sandbags line the entrances.

"What pains us most, as doctors, is choosing who will live and who will die," the doctors wrote.

"Young children are sometimes brought into our emergency rooms so badly injured that we have to prioritise those with better chances, or simply don't have the equipment to help them."

The doctors lamented that for five years, they had "borne witness as countless patients, friends and colleagues suffered violent, tormented deaths."

One attack two weeks ago left four newborn babies dead after the force of the blast cut off the oxygen supply to their incubator.

"Gasping for air, their lives ended before they had really begun.
US prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into over whether it hid from insurers its relationship with a specialty pharmacy that helped boost its drug sales, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Lawyers at the US Attorneys Manhattan office are trying to gauge whether concealing those ties may have amounted to defrauding insurers, the Journal report said, citing people familiar with the matter. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters later on Wednesday that investigators have been looking into what disclosures Valeant and the pharmacy, Philidor Rx Services, made to insurance about their relationship. US-listed shares of Valeant, which is headquartered in Canada, slid 12.5 per cent to $23.90 in extended trading. The troubled company has seen its market value fall by some 90 per cent in the last year as its drug pricing and other business practices prompted investigations by multiple US government agencies and by Congress.

It first came under scrutiny from New York prosecutors last October over its drug pricing and distribution. Media also reported at the time that it used Philidor to overcome insurer rejections to reimbursing its medications, with Philidor resubmitting claims to insurers until they were approved.

Valeant said in a statement on Wednesday that it was continuing to cooperate with the US Attorneys Office in New York regarding the investigation that was disclosed last October. The company did not provide further details on the subject of the probe.

Valeant takes these matters seriously and intends to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct as we move forward with our mission to improve peoples lives with our healthcare products, the company said.

The investigation by US prosecutors could lead to criminal charges against former Philidor executives and Valeant as a company, the Journal report said, citing one person familiar with the matter.

Officials at the US Attorneys Office in Manhattan and representatives for Philidor, which closed its operations, were not immediately available for comment on the Journal report.

The October revelation of Valeants ties to Philidor took investors by surprise. Following media reports of a relationship between the two, the drugmaker disclosed at the time that Philidor accounted for nearly 6 per cent of its revenue and that it had an option to acquire the pharmacy, an unusual relationship in the pharmaceutical industry.

Reuters and other media outlets reported on how Philidor helped secure insurer reimbursement for Valeant drugs. In some circumstances, the pharmacy would resubmit claims using the billing identification numbers of other affiliated pharmacies until an insurer approved payment, according to former employees.

A small group of Valeant employees were deeply involved in directing Philidors daily operations, raising questions about how much the drugmakers executives knew of its practices, Reuters reported at the time.

At least one payer, the pharmacy benefits manager OptumRx owned by UnitedHealth Group, became aware of what appeared to be irregular billing practices and sought to shut out Philidor from its network. After Valeants ties to Philidor became public, other payers cut off the pharmacy and it subsequently closed.

Valeant has taken a series of steps to restore investor trust, including cutting off ties with Philidor last October, conducting an internal review of that relationship, replacing Chief Executive Michael Pearson, overhauling its board of directors and appointing new leaders to run its main businesses.

Billionaire investor William Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management is Valeants largest shareholder, has taken a board seat to influence efforts to clean up the business. New management, led by CEO Joseph Papa, has sought to move beyond the questions over its Philidor ties. Ackman declined to comment.

Valeant is also under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange and US prosecutors in Massachusetts.
Russian President today accused Ukraine of waging "terror" over alleged attempted incursions into annexed Crimea that Kiev has fiercely denied.

Russia's security agency announced it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back an armed assault, claims that have ratcheted up tensions first sparked by Moscow's 2014 annexation of the strategic Black Sea peninsula.

The FSB said in a statement that one of its officers was killed in armed clashes while arresting "terrorists" on the night of August 6-7 while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with "sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian defence ministry on August 8.

"This is very alarming news. In fact, our security services prevented an incursion into the territory by a sabotage-reconnaissance group from Ukraine's defence ministry," Putin said.

The Kremlin leader accused the authorities in Kiev of "practising terror" and pledged not to leave the deaths of the two Russian officers unanswered.

"From the Russian side there were losses  two servicemen killed. We obviously will not let such things slide by," Putin said.

"This is a very dangerous game. We will of course do everything to assure the security of infrastructure, citizens and will take additional measures to provide security, including serious additional measures."

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter feud since the Kremlin seized Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

Ukraine's national security council chief Oleksandr Turchynov branded the allegations as "hysterical and false" and said Moscow was trying to stoke fear in Crimea.

Ukraine's defence ministry also dismissed the allegations as "nothing more than an attempt to justify the redeployment and aggressive actions" of Russian forces in the region.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring the frontier between mainland Ukraine and Crimea did not report any incidents.

But it said road traffic was halted this earlier this week and border guards appeared to be on "heightened alert".

In its statement, the FSB  which controls Russia's border guards  said it had "foiled terrorist attacks on the territory of Crimea prepared by the intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian defence ministry".
The head of Volkswagen's South Korean unit apologised on Thursday as he presented himself to state prosecutors for questioning over the German carmaker's emissions fraud scandal.

Johannes Thammer, CEO of Korea, was summoned by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office a week after South Korea banned the sale of 80 AG models.

"Fist of all, I want to say that I am sorry for the situation and we will do everything, faithfully, to cooperate with the prosecutor," Thammer was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency as he arrived at the office.

Thammer, who has been in his current post since December 2012, is expected to be questioned over allegations that Korea fabricated test results on engine noise levels, fuel efficiency and emissions.

The world's second-largest automaker faces legal action in several countries, after it admitted in September last year to faking US emissions tests on some of its diesel-engined vehicles.

Last week, the environment ministry said it was revoking the certification for 80 Volkswagen models, or a total of around 83,000 vehicles, largely because of forged documentation.

It also slapped the company with a $16 million fine.

In November last year, Seoul had ordered the company to recall more than 125,000 diesel-powered cars sold in South Korea and imposed a fine of $12.3 million.

Sales of Volkswagen in South Korea plunged 33 per cent to 12,463 vehicles in the first half of this year from a year earlier.

The German carmaker sold around 69,000 cars here in 2015.

Foreign carmakers, especially German brands like Volkswagen, have steadily expanded their presence in the South's auto market  which has long been dominated by the local giant Hyundai and its affiliate Kia.
stores Mexican unit said on Wednesday it has agreed to sell its Suburbia clothing chain to El Puerto De Liverpool for about $852 million as the worlds largest retailer streamlines operations in its largest non-US market.

De Mexico y Centroamerica, also known as Walmex, will sell Suburbia with its 119 stores and real estate for 15.7 billion pesos ($852 million) including debt of 1.4 billion pesos. Walmex will also receive an additional 3.3 billion pesos in items including declared dividends after the deal closes, it said in a statement.

In January, the retailer said it was looking to sell Suburbia without giving a time frame for completing the sale. Some Mexican media outlets had speculated the sale could fetch as much as $2 billion.

Liverpool is one of Mexicos department store operators, with more than 100 outlets. Company representatives were not immediately available for comment.

has been looking to double sales in Mexico by 2024 by boosting its core business of running discount retail and membership stores, and expanding its fresh food business. The divestiture is part of Walmarts strategy, announced in 2013, to streamline and sell businesses not central to its overseas operations.

Walmarts division, which contributes roughly one-third of the companys total annual sales of nearly $480 billion, has divested some non-core businesses across Chile, Mexico and Canada in the past two years.

In Mexico over the past three years, Walmex has sold its Vips restaurant chain to fast-food operator Alsea SAB for $626 million, and its Banco Walmart unit to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slims bank Grupo Financiero Inbursa for about $247 million.

Walmart acquired Suburbias parent supermarket chain Cifra in 1997. Suburbia has 119 stores in 46 cities and is popular with urban shoppers, ranking among Mexicos top five department stores, according to analysts.

Suburbia, which is profitable, contributed 3 per cent to Walmexs overall revenue in 2015. Walmex, Mexicos biggest private sector employer and the countrys largest retailer, posted sales of about $26.35 billion in 2015.

At the companys shareholders meeting in June, David Cheesewright, head of Walmarts overseas division, singled out the Mexican market as a top priority. Mexico has Walmarts largest number of stores outside the United States.

Walmart has struggled in overseas markets, including Britain and China, but Walmex has remained a bright spot with second-quarter revenue growing 11.5 per cent to about $6.93 billion.
Proposals by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to tighten rules on algorithmic trading could help boost confidence in markets and won't hurt the country's second biggest bourse, the head of Indian exchange operator BSE told Reuters.
The percentage of direct plans sold by has continued to surge and now forms nearly 40 per cent of sectoral assets.
has moved higher by 5% to Rs 273, recovering 7% from intra-day low on the BSE, after the company announced divestment of its OEM & export business of auto product division to Badve Engineering, Pune in an all cash deal.
has moved higher to its 52-week high of Rs 519, up 8%, extending its Wednesdays 6% surge on the BSE, after the Lok Sabha passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Madhavan Nair in connection with the Antrix-Devas scam in the court of a special judge for CBI cases at Patiala House Courts here.

They have been accused of facilitating wrongful gain of Rs 578 crore to private multi-media company Devas, by Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO. Besides Nair, former Managing Director of Forge Advisors and CEO of Devas Ramachandra Vishwanathan and the then Director of Devas M.G. Chandrasekhar have also been named in the charge sheet.

The deal between Antrix and Devas was fixed in principle in January 2005, however, the then Antrix Executive Director signed it six months later, only after a U.S. company represented by Chandrashekhar and Vishwanathan became majority stakeholders in Devas.

The deal was, thus, in violation of the Shankara Committee recommendations, which said execution of any such agreement should be entered into with an Indian company alone.

The charge sheet comes a month after India lost its arbitration case in an international tribunal over Antrix scrapping a deal with Devas. India is liable to pay compensation, which could run into millions of dollars.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has accused Pakistan of encouraging police excesses and torture in the Gilgit-Baltistan region and called on the state to immediately ensure accountability and put in place a mechanism of checks and balances to prevent such incidents and prosecute those involved in crimes of this nature under the rule of law.

In its report, the AHRC said that police excesses and torture are not a new phenomenon in urban and remote regions of Pakistan and added that with the police in charge of the department of prosecution, there is blatant and free license to indulge in acts of torture to get incarcerated people to accept guilt even when they may not have committed a particular crime.

To substantiate this view, the AHRC cited the police torture case of one Shabbir Hussain, a resident of Chalat Bala district in Gilgit-Baltistan, where he was severely thrashed and bruised for refusing to heed a Jirga verdict.

Hussain, the AHRC said, had a dispute with his cousin Fida Ali on the use of common space between their houses. While Mr. Shabir was in Dubai, the dispute was presented before a Jirga of local elders who ruled against him.

Because of the Jirga verdict, Shabbir was required to make major changes inside his house. This took time, infuriating Fida, so he lodged a complaint at the Chalat police station. According to the police account, Shabir was asked to visit the police station several times, but he refused.

According to the AHRC report, on June 26, 2016, the police entered Shabbir's home and arrested him without a warrant. He was illegally detained and beaten with long sticks by Constable Iftikhar and Station House Officer (SHO) Iqbal.

He was only released from police custody after local notables intervened. The AHRC said that no FIR was lodged against Shabbir, yet he was tortured and detained for interrogation at the Chalat police station.

In the Gilgit Baltistan region, performance of law enforcement agencies is said to be very poor. There are no adequate checks and balances on society on the part of the government. As a result, police officers do not follow the rule of "no torture" during an investigation. Both police officers and/or magistrates do not follow the rules for remand. Most officers are not capable, having insufficient background in the law.

The AHRC says that with the police handling the prosecution department in Gilgit Baltistan entirely, tortures of individuals are not reported, and more often than not, police officers prosecuting cases in court are ignorant of the law, which in turn results in many criminals getting acquitted.

What comes as a surprise to the AHRC is that torture is not considered a crime in Pakistan, and that even victims think it is a routine matter and don't report it.

In Pakistan, Article 14 of the constitution recognizes and protects the dignity of the citizen, prohibiting the use of torture by law enforcement agencies. The police who are duty bound to protect citizens cannot be allowed to perpetuate acts of torture upon persons in their custody. Their primary duty is to detect crime, bring the criminals before a court of law and not to punish them. The Gilgit Batistan region is not represented in the Pakistan Constitution. The state asserts its power through law enforcement agencies to subjugate the populace who do not have any fundamental rights under the de facto administration. The victims of torture have no right of reprisal and thus suffer in silence.

According to the AHRC, the reality is that there is an archaic colonial system of policing in Pakistan and particularly in a region as peaceful as Gilgit Baltistan, and therefore, because of this, the area becomes crime infested sooner than later. Harsh incidents of police torture are still a rarity, but the AHRC warns that the trend is increasing.
With the latest inclusion of expelled Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expressed absolute confidence of sweeping the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

"Taking note of the enthusiasm in the BJP workers post Swamy Prasad Maurya joining the party, I can say with conviction that the BJP will achieve absolute majority in 2017,"

Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya told ANI here.

In a move bound to irk Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati ahead of next year's assembly polls, Swami Prasad Maurya on Monday joined the BJP on Monday.

"This is a new home for me. And as expected, things would be new. Till now, I was in the BSP because it was formed by Kanshi Ram ji who was influenced by Bhimrao Ambedkar ji to work for the upliftment of Dalits," said Maurya.

The Padrauna MLA Swami, who is the leader of opposition in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, had left the BSP on June 22 accusing the Mayawati of selling poll tickets and deceiving the Dalit community.

There were speculations earlier that Maurya will join the Samajwadi Party.
Being qualified is not equivalent to being employable, Corporate Readiness, a blend of professional behavior, social skills andvalues is an essential element to achieve the best in an organizational setting.

CORE offers industry relevant programs, with a focus on corporate readiness, ensuring a smooth transition from the campus to the workplace. All programs at CORE include vital aspects needed in building a strong foundation that leads to successful achievement of goals and swift career growth. With equal emphasis on soft and hard skills, each program at CORE is reverse engineered, incorporating what is required by the industry including aspects like Global Etiquette, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Impression Management, CV Writing, Acing Interviews, Netiquette, and Socio- Etiquette.

On the domain-specific knowledge front, CORE offers students the opportunity to learn from the best names in the industry, understand the market with live case studies, and find working solutions for real-time problems, and a lot more.

Digital Media Marketing, an exponentially growing component of Marketing, is a field that offers excellent job and growth opportunities, globally. In sync with this trend, CORE offers intense, success-focused Digital Media Marketing Programs, that get students future ready. With real case studies, in-depth problem solving and vital soft skills training, the Digital Media Marketing Programs are designed and taught by the best in the industry, enabling students to become effective professionals in the world of Digital Media Marketing. With specialization options in three core areas of Digital Media Marketing, Account Management, Brand Sentiment Monitoring and Media Buying, as well as a multi-pronged approach, students successfully completing the program can start their own company, join an agency or work in the Marketing or Corp Communication Departmentof an organization.

Digital Media Marketing Programs offered by CORE:

Full-Time Program:

Diploma in Digital Media Marketing

Specialized Programs:

Fast-Track Program in Digital Media Marketing

1-Week Module in Digital Media Marketing

1-Day Workshop in Digital Media Marketing

Certificate Module in Corporate Readiness

The Digital Media Marketing Programs at CORE offer advantages like:

Guaranteed Internships & Placement Support

Best-in-the-Industry Course Designers & Faculty

Live Case Studies Based Learning

Specialized Workshops

Equal Focus on Soft & Hard Skills

Industry Networking Sessions

Course Timings

Saturdays: 10am to 6pm

Mondays to Thursdays: 10am to 3.30pm

Incubated by 1 Small Step, CORE is led by Chief Mentor Yati Doshi, who comes with over 14 years 'experience in Corporate Learning and Development and over 10 years of organizational work experience.

"If you want to understand marketing, digital is extremely important, if you want to understand digital - throw the textbook and learn from the practitioners." Jaimit Doshi (CMO - Coverfox Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd)

"The digital industry is about a billion dollar industry in India; and growing at the rate of approximately 38% annually. Companies need young, enterprising, hungry students to come and revolutionize the way operates." Suveer Bajaj (Founding Partner - Foxymoron)

"What will help freshers succeed in digital marketing are a sound foundation of technical and industry specific knowledge and aspects like collaboration & team work, and seeing things from different perspectives." Harshil Karia (Managing Director - Schbang)

"The Indian Government's latest initiatives are completely digital, be it MyGov, Digital India, e-Governance, etc. We look for freshers who are job ready - they should be well aware of basics at the very least." Amyn Ghadiali (Group Director - Brand Communications - Gozoop)

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SOTI Inc. the world's leading provider of Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) and?Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) solutions' CEO Carl Rodrigues announced today an investment of USD 12 million in the Indian market, through the increase of the current employee base in the country, adding 300 new jobs within the span of two years. SOTI has also expanded its operations into a new state-of-the-art facility -- built on the vision of creating an environment to enable creativity and foster innovation.

According to a study[1] by NASSCOM and Deloitte, the global enterprise mobility market has been pegged at USD 140 billion by 2020 - with Asia-Pacific to grow by 21 percent. As per Gartner's 2016 Hype Cycle for ICT in India, improving a business' competitiveness and operational efficiencies is the major driver for enterprises adopting EMM throughout the country. Along with the maturity of the solutions offered and functions becoming more standardized, even across industries, the adoption of EMM in India will continue to increase exponentially for another 5 to 10 years.

"This is an exciting time to be in India. With the proliferation of mobile phones, the Indian ecosystem is undergoing a monumental digital disruption. We believe with SOTI's competency in enterprise mobility and focus on enabling business transformation across vertical sectors, we are uniquely positioned to execute on a connected enterprise mobility and IoT strategy," Carl Rodrigues, CEO, SOTI Inc. said. "We have a deep focus on innovation, and this expansion is part of the company's larger R&D growth strategy. SOTI is leading the way to the next generation of mobility management," he added.

His Excellency Nadir Patel, High Commissioner for Canada to India, said, "I would like to congratulate SOTI on their USD $12 million investment in a new state-of-the-art facility in India. With this investment SOTI has made India their Asia Pacific hub which will promote innovation, research, and development in the IT sector and I look forward to following SOTI's ongoing success. This announcement by SOTI is another example of a Canadian company taking advantage of the growing business opportunities in India and reflects the robust Canada-India trade relationship."

SOTI is the only player in the industry that works across solutions for both the knowledge and task worker, rugged and consumer devices, connected peripherals, and all major OS's. Known as the industry leader in Android management, SOTI's Android+ technology includes over 95 device manufacturers representing more than 90 percent of the Android device market. SOTI's Android+ leadership is recognized within the Indian marketplace, as the company continues to build out its local partner network, offering the deepest management across the broadest range of Android OEMs.

Over the span of three years, SOTI's presence in the Indian market has successfully built a very strong network of reseller partners and top OEM relationships. Awarded a 5-Star rating in its 2016 Partner Program Guide by CRN, SOTI has the solutions and capability to support operations of any scale throughout India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Captured Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali has requested the Investigation Agency (NIA) for councillor access to meet his family.

According to NIA sources, Ali's request has been forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs from where it will be sent to Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit.

During his interrogation by the agency, the captured terrorist has revealed that a proper recce was done of the route from which they would infiltrate, adding that videos were also taken of the path as part of preparation.

Stating that Ali is not a fidayeen terrorist, sources further stated that he has made earlier attempts to hurl grenades at public places in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir, but had failed to do so.

Ali, who was was initially recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and trained by the LeT to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and brew tension in the region, also confessed that the LeT has built its own network.

He also possessed 23,000 Indian rupees although some of it was fake.

The NIA yesterday disclosed that Ali has confessed to the involvement of LeT and Pakistan Army behind the unrest in Kashmir.

NIA chief Sanjeev Kumar said Ali during his interrogation confessed that he was directed to take advantage of the unrest in Kashmir Valley.

"We have collected all kinds of evidences. Bahadur Ali was directed to take advantage of the current situation in Kashmir," said Kumar.

"Bahadur Ali was recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, subsequently LeT radicalised him. Bahadur Ali underwent all three training process organised by the LeT," he added.

Ali was captured by the security forces earlier on July 26 during an encounter with the infiltrators, in which two of his accomplishes were killed.

Ali was the second Pakistani terrorist captured alive by Indian forces in the last two months in Kashmir.

Ali had later confessed that he was from Jahama village of Raiwind in Lahore, adding he had entered the Indian territory along with two other terrorists to exploit the unrest in Kashmir.

He was also trained for map reading and handling GPS devices.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive here tomorrow on a three-day official visit to India during which he will hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on important issues of bilateral, regional and multilateral interest.

"Wang Yi is arriving tomorrow and will be here for three days. He will be in Delhi during which he will meet the External Affairs Minister and he will also call on some other dignitaries and he will also be going to Goa which is the site of the BRICS Summit," said MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

He said the discussions between both leaders will include all important issues of bilateral, regional and multilateral interest.

However, ahead of its Yi's visit to India, state-owned Chinese media has warned New Delhi to refrain from "unnecessary entanglement" in the South China Sea issue and instead focus on trade between the two countries.

An opinion piece in the Global Times hinted at trade imbalance between the two countries.

It said that India's focus on the South China Sea issue could risk unnecessary side effects to the ties between New Delhi and Beijing and potentially set up obstacles for Indian exporters hoping to increase their presence in China.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in New Delhi on Friday (August 12) to possibly firm up the agenda for the talks that are to take place between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of this year's G-20 Summit to be held in the resort town of Hangzhou.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi will be meeting his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Saturday (August 13).

The Ministry of External Affairs has described the visit as part of the regular high level dialogue between New Delhi and Beijing.

Foreign Minister Wang last visited India in June 2014. Both Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Sushma Swaraj have been meeting regularly on the margins of multilateral meetings. Most recently, they had met in Moscow during the Russia-India-China trilateral meeting in April 2016.

During the visit, the two sides will discuss various issues of mutual interest, including the upcoming multilateral meetings viz., G-20 Summit being held in China and BRICS Summit being held in India.

However, according to a report in China's state-owned Global Times, Foreign Minister Yi may also use his visit to New Delhi to acquire a perspective and an assessment of Prime Minister's Modi's prior visits to Vietnam and Laos before landing in Hangzhou for participation in the G-20, ASEAN-India and East Asia Summits, which could provide a greater insight into India's "Look East-Act East" policy, as also New Delhi's stand on the ongoing South China Sea (SCS) territorial dispute following the July 12, 2016 verdict of the international tribunal in favour of The Philippines.

According to the report, Beijing is viewing Prime Minister Modi's visit to Vietnam rather closely, given that Hanoi is also a party in the SCS dispute and has also staked a maritime and rich energy resource claim to use of its waters.

Prime Minister Modi's visit to Vietnam on September 2 and 3 to hold bilateral discussions with the Vietnamese leadership, including President Tr?n ?i Quang and Premier Nguy?n Xuan Phucon, will be centered on boosting bilateral trade, energy cooperation, oil exploration, defence ties, as also discussions on regional issues of mutual interest to both nations, which could focus on concerns over reported Chinese aggression in the SCS, Prime Minister Modi's visit to Japan in 2015 and his interaction with Premier Nguy?n Xuan Phucon in Delhi.

Last year's joint vision statement issued by India and the United States with regard to developments in the Asia-Pacific region could also figure in the talks in Hanoi.

As far as the territorial dispute related to the SCS is concerned, New Delhi has been a firm advocate of the "Right to Freedom of Navigation for all six countries located in its vicinity i.e. Brunei, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, The Philippines and Vietnam.

India could use this visit to Vietnam to state that China must consider not militarizing or blocking navigation on and through the South China Sea (SCS).

Interacting with media in New Delhi recently, Vietnam's Ambassador to India Sin Thanh appreciated India's position on the South China Sea dispute, and said, "We do not welcome any militarisation in the region but welcome constructive engagement by other countries to make situation peaceful."

There are reports in the media that India could take the talks related to offering Vietnam Indo-Russian manufactured Brahmos cruise missiles and other military hardware such as T-54/55 tanks and Mi7/8 helicopters during Prime Minister Modi's visit forward.

Government run Chinese media has said that India should not get entangled in the SCS dispute.
The Congress Party has welcomed the Centre's decision to convene an all-party meeting on Friday over the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by the security forces.

Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said it is a good development as the government has agreed to initiate dialogue with all stake holders in the Kashmir Valley.

"The government has finally agreed to convene an all-party meeting on Jammu and Kashmir on 12th. And I think this is a good development that the government has agreed to send a delegation of all political parties. And apart from that, the government has agreed to initiate the political process as well as dialogue with all stake holders in Kashmir," Shukla told ANI here.

Asserting that the Centre is ready for talks on the Kashmir issue, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh yesterday announced that an all-party meeting will be convened at 12 p.m. on Friday.

The Opposition yesterday came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing the concerns of the Kashmiris in Parliament.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, yesterday said there is murder of humanity and democracy in Kashmir and called for integration of hearts for an amicable solution to the crisis.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against President Barack Obama by calling him the "founder of ISIS".

He made the comments at a rally in Sunrise, Florida, on Wednesday, a day after he hinted that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton could be assassinated by supporters of gun rights.

"ISIS is honoring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS. He founded ISIS. And, I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton," the Guardian quoted Trump, as saying.

Republicans have always blamed Obama's foreign policy for the turmoil in the Middle East but, Trump has routinely gone a step further by stating directly that Obama is sympathetic to terrorists.

Although the ISIS has expanded rapidly during Obama's tenure, seizing in particular on the Syrian civil war, the administration has also made gains in its military campaign against the terrorist group.

US army Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland said on Wednesday an estimated of 45, 000 fighters linked to the ISIS had been killed in the two years since the US-led military coalition.

To combat the ISIS, Trump has always threatened a ruthless bombing campaign and a ban on Muslim immigration in the US.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Several people have reportedly been injured as a loud explosion was heard at Quetta's Zarghon Road near a private hospital in Pakistan today.

The Dawn reports that causalities are feared and several people have also been injured in the blast, which shattered the windows of many buildings nearby.

Rescue teams have reached the scene and the injured are being shifted to a nearby hospital and security forces are on the scene and collecting evidence.

Meanwhile, the police are still trying to confirm the source and nature of the blast.

The fresh attack comes after a suicide bomber on Monday targeted the emergency services ward at Quetta's Civil Hospital killing over 70 people and leaving scores injured.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), claimed responsibility for the bombing which occurred at the gates of the building housing the emergency ward.
Pointing out the depressing state of affairs in Kashmir, ex-RAW chief A.S. Dulat on Thursday said dialogue, engagement and talking with the people of the valley is the only solution to the ongoing crisis.

Dulat asked the ruling dispensation to follow the footsteps of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to tackle the unrest in Kashmir.

"The situation in Kashmir is serious, sad and depressing.sometimes it looks out of control. South Kashmir certainly looks its liberated. The situation is such that even the army is not comfortable to go into South Kashmir. The whole village has come up in support of militancy," he told ANI.

Cautioning the government over Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion that any talks on Kashmir will be about the territories under the occupation of Pakistan, Dulat said, "We should talk to Pakistan also.whether you talk on PoK or our Kashmir or on terrorism, we must talk."

Pitching for dialogue between the two Asian neighbours, Dulat said the situation can be retrieved if we start talking again.

"The situation will always get alright. We have seen this before also in Kashmir. It's not that it will not get alright. I think talking is necessary," he added.

Asserting that there hasn't been any outreach to politicians, mainly the separatists, Dulat said even the Conference has not been involved in any kind of conversation or dialogue.

"So, the question is that the separatists have lost a lot of credibility, but they are still there and they represent a certain thought in Kashmir. Therefore, their involvement is always necessary," he added.

Meanwhile, curfew continued in the Valley for 34th day today.

Sharing the pain of the suffering Kashmiris, the Parliament yesterday unanimously appealed to people of the valley to restore peace and harmony even as the government expressed readiness to hold talks with moderate groups and others and decided to call an all-party meet on Friday.

The Home Minister declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread 'deliberately'.

"No power on earth can snatch Kashmir from us," Singh declared, while referring to the letter of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the UN seeking 'plebiscite' in Kashmir.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The official Spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that it had reminded Pakistan about its responsibility to send incarcerated Indian Citizen Hamid Ansari back home at the earliest.

"We have reminded the Government of Pakistan of its responsibility to ensure his security. We have also conveyed that according to our understanding since his sentence of three year's are already over he should be released and repatriated to India at the earliest," said MEA Spokesman Vikas at his daily media briefing.

"As far as we are concerned, on the 5th of August, we have once again taken up very strongly the matter of the security of Hamid Ansari while he is in the custody of Pakistani authority,"he added.

Hamid Ansari was attacked earlier this month in a Pakistani jail and his mother, Fauzia Ansari, has approached the Inidan government to do everything within its power to bring her son back.

Hamid's parents told ANI that they came to know about the incident through the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, and they know only what is published or what their lawyer tells them, as they have no direct contact with their son.

Hamid Nehal Ansari entered Pakistan with the help of a fake identity card sent by Facebook friends. They left him in a Kohat hotel on November 14, 2012, from where he was arrested and sentenced to three years imprisonment for espionage.

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Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday said India must demand the "strongest and urgent" action against desecrators of the Guru Granth Sahib in Union City, California.

"I hope and I'm going to meet Sushma ji (External Affairs Minister) and appeal to her that India must demand the strongest and most urgent actions, so that the perpetrators in California are brought to the book immediately," said Harsimrat Kaur.

She told ANI the decimation of religious scriptures was taking place and now was happening in California.

"I appeal to Sikhs worldwide to realise what these enemies of the nation and enemies of Punjab are trying to do by disrupting peace and development of Punjab. Now, they are doing the same there (in California), but the sufferers are going to be Punjabis and nobody else," Badal said.

The incident took place yesterday when pages of the Guru Granth Sahib were torn and thrown away by the miscreant.

"The incident took place last evening, when a notorious person torn the holy book into pieces. This has riled up the people of our community. We along with our community will take up this issue. And we expect that American authorities will find a solution to this and bring the culprits to the book. Moving on we also wish that police and local authorities lend us help in the matter," said American Gurudwar Committee coordinator, Pritpal Singh.

Subsequent to the incident, California mayor Eric Garcetti arrived at the protest site and assured the protestors of penal action against the miscreants who have attempted to hurt their religious sentiments.

According to reports, police have registered a complaint in the matter.

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JKNPP chairman Harsh Dev Singh has welcomed the Centre's move to convene an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss the Kashmir unrest but said that the local leadership, who have a base and can give some valuable suggestions for restoring normalcy in the state, should also be invited for the same.

Singh told ANI that the political parties can play a very significant role in restoration of normalcy.

"The recognised political parties of Jammu and Kashmir need to be called for the purpose. If you invite the political parties with their representatives belonging to other parts of the country who do not have any notion about Kashmir then it would not serve the purpose," said Singh.

"But you should involve the local leadership of Jammu and Kashmir, the recognised parties, the leadership who have a base and who can give some valuable suggestions for restoring normalcy in the state of Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

The JKNPP chairman threw light on the fact that similar exercise was conducted during the tenure of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh in 2010-11 when the security situation was adversely affected because of the stone-pelters.

"At that point of time also, a meeting of the political parties was convened and they were taken into confidence. So, the same thing needs to be done in the present case as well and different political parties need to be fully involved because all mainstream political parties won't that peace and normalcy must prevail in the state of Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

Commenting on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion that there would be no compromise on security and pro-Pakistan slogans on the Indian soil will not be tolerated in any case, the JKNPP chairman said the situation that we are faced with today is largely the result of the open space that was given to the separatists and anti-nationals in the past.

"We welcome the statement of Rajnath Singh when he says that Pakistani flags will not be tolerated, the ISIS flags will not be tolerated and anti-India campaign will not be tolerated. But Mr. Rajnath Singh must remember that they have been tolerating all this things for the last two years, right from the day the government was formed in Delhi and this BJP-PDP government was formed in Jammu and Kashmir," said Singh.

"The intensity of incidents where Pak flags have been hoisted and where ISIS flags are being unfurled in Kashmir that intensity has increased and an open space has been given to separatists and anti- elements, they are taking out pro-Pak rallies in Kashmir, they have been allowed to go unchecked, action has not been taken against them under the relevant law of the land," he added.

Accusing Islamabad of being fully responsible behind the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by the security forces, the Home Minister yesterday lashed out at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and said that no power in the world can wrest Kashmir from India.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha regarding the state of violence in the Valley, Rajnath said that the unrest was sponsored by Pakistan and that they were to be blamed entirely for the tense situation, adding that separatist leaders were fanning the flames by trying to spread an atmosphere of fear.

"Since 9th July, their so-called leaders have maintained on prolonging protest. Even the areas even where there is no curfew, out of fear, the shops remain closed. I want to laud the state government for functioning effectively despite all the hurdles thrown in their way. I'm not saying that the situation is completely under control, but the state government is ensuring the daily lives of the people continue unhindered," he said.

Talking about the criticism the Centre is facing over the use of 'excessive force' by the security forces in the Valley, Rajnath stated that the number of defence personnel were higher than the civilians when it came to injuries in the clashes.

"After I came back from Kashmir, I formed an expert committee and asked them to give me a report in two months as to what other options we have regarding non-lethal weapons. 4, 515 jawans and 3, 356 civilians have been injured. More jawans have been injured because we have asked them to exercise restraint and avoid the usage of pellet guns," Rajnath said.

The Home Minister also informed the House that 100 ambulances were destroyed by stone-pelting yet 400 more ambulances have been deployed.

Asserting that the entire nation stood in solidarity with the people of the Valley, the Home Minister added that Kashmir remains an integral part of India and will not be separated at any cost.

"Two weeks ago, Nawaz Sharif said that he is waiting for Kashmir to be handed over to Pakistan, he even wrote to UN Secretary General regarding this. I want to assert that no power in the world can wrest Kashmir from us. And if at all they want to have a dialogue with us, then we are ready. But it will be about Pakistan occupied Kashmir, not Kashmir," he said.

"Some Lashkar terrorists are trying to threaten our security personnel and their families in Kashmir," Singh added.

Appealing to the youth of the Valley to ensure that no anti-national elements thrive on the soil of Kashmir, Rajnath stated that anti-national slogans will be tolerated.

Regarding the waving of ISIS flags during protests, he said the terrorist organisation is disrespecting Islam, as the religion does not allow murder.

Asserting that the Centre is ready for talks on the matter, Rajnath announced that an all-party meeting will be convened on Friday at 12 p.m.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to chair the all-party meeting on August 12 regarding the Kashmir unrest, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called on all parties display 'political maturity' to stay united in a time of crisis.

Speaking to ANI here, BJP leader Shaina NC said that the only agenda on hand at the moment is nationalism and safeguarding interests.

"The issue of Kashmir is an internal matter of India and Indians. The Prime Minister has asked for this meeting on August 12 and I hope every party will show the political maturity to stay united at a time of crisis, to realise that the only agenda is nationalism and safeguarding interests in every nook and corner of India," Shaina said.

Lauding Home Minister Rajnath Singh for taking a tough stand on Pakistan regarding Kashmir, she added that she had full faith in him and Prime Minister to come up with a logical solution to Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

"Rajnath Singh ji is clearly a patriotic Home Minister who has only one agenda, which is to secure every nook and corner of this country. Now if PoK is an area of contention, it's an area of discussion too and I'm sure we will come up with a logical solution and the Prime Minister in collusion with the Home Minister has only one agenda and it is to safeguard every single territory of Indian soil," she said.

Earlier, Rajnath Singh accused Pakistan of being fully responsible behind the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by the security forces, and lashed out at Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying that no power in the world can wrest Kashmir from India.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha regarding the state of violence in the Valley, Rajnath said that the unrest was sponsored by Pakistan and that they were to be blamed entirely for the tense situation, adding that separatist leaders were fanning the flames by trying to spread an atmosphere of fear.

Asserting that the entire nation stood in solidarity with the people of the Valley, the Home Minister added that Kashmir remains an integral part of India and will not be separated at any cost.

"Two weeks ago, Nawaz Sharif said that he is waiting for Kashmir to be handed over to Pakistan, he even wrote to UN Secretary General regarding this. I want to assert that no power in the world can wrest Kashmir from us. And if at all they want to have a dialogue with us, then we are ready. But it will be about Pakistan occupied Kashmir, not Kashmir," he said.

The Opposition earlier came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing the concerns of the Kashmiris in Parliament.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday said there is murder of humanity and democracy in Kashmir and called for integration of hearts for an amicable solution to the crisis.
Pakistan has outrightly rejected arrested terrorist Bahadur Ali's confession that the LeT and Army are involved behind the unrest in Kashmir.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said Islamabad rejects any such claims.

He said Pakistan's stance against fighting terrorism remains very clear, adding it does not allows its soil to be used for terrorist activities against any nation.

"We have rejected the allegations or claim of any infiltration across LoC. In Pakistan, we have a very firm policy in this regard that we will not allow our soil to be used for any terrorist activity against anyone," said Zakaria.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India yesterday disclosed that Ali has confessed to the involvement of LeT and Pakistan Army behind the unrest in Kashmir.

Briefing the media in New Delhi, NIA Inspector General Sanjeev Kumar said Ali was initially recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and trained by the LeT to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and brew tension in the region.

Kumar said Ali during his interrogation confessed that he was directed to take advantage of the unrest in Kashmir Valley.

Kumar further said the articles seized during Ali's arrest explain that the LeT operative was trained by masters of the field.

The NIA IG further said Ali also disclosed that there were around 30-50 trainees at the training camps of LeT from different parts of the countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Kumar said Ali's investigation is underway and added that they would be exploring tangents relating to the role of LeT in the ongoing Kashmir unrest.

The NIA also showed a video of Ali's confession. He was arrested on July 25 with weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, live rounds, grenades and grenade launcher.

Earlier on Tuesday, India summoned Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit in New Delhi and handed him a "strong demarche" over Islamabad's continued support to cross-border terrorism by pushing in trained terrorists to carry out the attacks, particularly in Kashmir.

Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar called the Pakistani envoy to his office and lodged a strong protest over the issue as he made a specific reference to Ali.

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The Lok Sabha is scheduled to take up a discussion on the matter of atrocities on Dalits today.

Earlier in the House, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and others had raised the issue and sought the chair's intervention to allow early debate.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar has said that the government is never hesitant to discuss any issue including the anti-Dalit violence.

The most recent incident of violence was reported earlier on Monday, when two brothers, who were hired to skin a cow that had died of electrocution, were attacked by around 100 'gau rakshaks' or cow vigilantes, who arrived at the spot accusing them of stealing and killing the animal.

The brothers are presently undergoing treatment at a hospital with reports indicating that one of them is critical.

As per reports, the police have identified the attackers.

The incident came just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a hard-hitting message against attacks on Dalits and cow vigilantism.

Addressing a public meeting on his first visit to Telangana on August 7 after assuming office, the Prime Minister asked the people to beware of its 'fake' protectors trying to divide society and the country and asked the states to severely punish them.

"I would like to tell all countrymen that they beware of these fake cow protectors," he said.

Prime Minister Modi asked the states to identify the people who want to destroy the social fabric and take stern action against them.
A Special Investigation Agency (NIA) Court on Thursday extended the custody of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist Bahadur Ali till August 17.

The NIA yesterday disclosed that Ali has confessed to the involvement of LeT and Pakistan Army behind the unrest in Kashmir.

Briefing the media here, NIA Inspector General Sanjeev Kumar said Ali was initially recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and trained by the LeT to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and brew tension in the region.

Kumar said Ali during his interrogation confessed that he was directed to take advantage of the unrest in Kashmir Valley.

Kumar further said the articles seized during Ali's arrest explain that the LeT operative was trained by masters of the field.

The NIA IG further said Ali also disclosed that there were around 30-50 trainees at the training camps of LeT from different parts of the countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Kumar said Ali's investigation is underway and added that they would be exploring tangents relating to the role of LeT in the ongoing Kashmir unrest.

The NIA also showed a video of Ali's confession. He was arrested on July 25 with weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, live rounds, grenades and grenade launcher.

Earlier on Tuesday, India summoned Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit and handed him a "strong demarche" over Islamabad's continued support to cross-border terrorism by pushing in trained terrorists to carry out attacks, particularly in Kashmir.

Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar called the Pakistani envoy to his South Block office and lodged a strong protest over the issue as he made a specific reference to Ali.

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New Delhi, Aug.11 (ANI): Yet another desperate attempt was made from Pakistan to further incite people of Kashmir Valley to rise and widen the ongoing unrest there following Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani's killing.

On August 1, 2016, Pakistan's largest religious organisation and one of its mainstream political parties, Jamat-e-Islami (JeI), led by its leader, Senator Siraj-Ul-Haq and other leaders marched from Lahore to eight kilometers short of the Wagah border near Amritsar to hold a rally.

Ranting venomously against India during the rally which was attended by about 10,000 people, Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) 'supreme commander' Syed Salahuddin (actively supported by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)), urged Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to immediately "suspend trade and diplomatic ties" with New Delhi, and asked why the Pakistan government had invited India's Home Minister, Rajnath Singh to the SAARC Home Ministers' conference.

Members of the Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), led by Hafiz Saeed (also head of Lashkar e Taiyyaba (LeT) and prime perpetrator of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack) and some Hurriyat/Kashmiri separatist leaders were also seen taking active part in the rally, making anti-India hate speeches and threats of launching a violent resistance to stop Rajnath Singh's visit.

"Inshaallah, we will do everything to stop him", said Salahuddin, while protest organiser Senator Siraj-ul-Haq called on the Pakistan government to ban Rajnath Singh's visit.

The organisers even made children holding toy guns participate in the rally.

Saeed, whose 26/11 Mumbai attack was widely aimed not only at Indians, but also at foreigners, particularly Americans and Jews, is on the United States' most wanted list with a USD 10 million bounty on his head.

Ironically, the Jamat-ud-Dawa is on the Pakistan government's 'terror watch list', while the HuM is a declared banned militant organisation as per the Pakistan Interior Ministry's records. Yet, they freely hold protests and rallies in major cities of Pakistan. The JeI is planning to hold another such a march and rally on August 15, 2016 from Muzaffarabad to Chakothi in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

Also on August 1, 2016, thousands of people in the Kashmir Valley reportedly reached the Karimabad graveyard in Pulwama district, following a call given jointly by hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, so-called 'moderate' faction leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Yasin Malik to pay tributes to terrorists killed during the recent unrest.

Abu Dujana, the most wanted LeT terrorist, was also reported to have participated in the gathering, wearing a mask and surrounded by many people, as pro-freedom and anti India slogans were raised with the waving of Pakistani and LeT flags.

It may be pertinent to mention that in 2015, there were 117 attempts by Pakistani terrorists to cross the Line of Control (LoC) into Kashmir Valley of which 33 were successful. In 2016, till July itself, there have been 80 such attempts, of which 54 have been successful. These have led to 96 terrorists being killed in 2015 and 93 being killed till July 2016, both near the LoC and in the hinterland.

Only 170 terrorists remain in the valley after such attrition which is a major reason for increase in frustration/desperation by ISI and terrorist leaders.

Daanish Bin Nabi has written an article in the online website Daily O titled "South Kashmir becoming hotbed of terrorism" that elders are wary of the emerging discontent, and its manifestations.

He further states that they believe that the political, economic and social rights of the youth have been compromised by the state government, and that they blame social media tools like WhatsApp and Facebook for playing an important role in the recruitment of militants and in the radicalising the Kashmiri youth.

He adds that after Burhan uploaded his video in early September 2015, in Nizampora, Shopian, terrorist organisations recruited 17 youth.

On Pakistan's role in Kashmir, its "non state actors" (NSAs) and use of social media, Mohammad Shehzad, one of Pakistan's bold journalists, says in his piece titled 'The War Within'(December 2013 issue of Newsline), is very relevant: ".the ground reality is that we are a state at war with itself, a state sans the state's writ.

The society is being governed by non-state actors - terrorists, religious extremists, clerics and criminals. The state has cowardly ceded its writ to non-state actors, of which the most powerful are the jihadis and sectarian outfits who are exceedingly well-organised down to the street level. .. violence against Shias and Ahmediyas, terrorist attacks against hapless civil populace by Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan and a large number of jihadi outfits, including those meant specifically for anti-India operations has been business as usual, despite claims of disbandment of some of the outfits, which have merely been changing names and street locations. The Nawaz Sharif government's promises about tackling terrorism and sectarianism amount to naught, because at least 55 of its members represent some or the other jihadi outfits, with the TTP being a major factor".

Shehzad also wrote that during the tenure of People's Party of Pakistan (PPP), jihadis/sectarian outfits started making use of the social media to extend their dangerous mission, not only in Pakistan, but across the world. However, instead of banning the provocative pages, the PPP government blocked all those Facebook pages and Twitter accounts that raised concerns about the rising militancy and sectarianism in the country. The electronic media too played a very negative role by glorifying the jihadi/sectarian militants.

There are some very interesting and significant inputs on the current situation came from senior Kashmiri journalists this writer interacted with, whose names are not mentioned for the sake of their safety.

One is about a very recent incident in North Kashmir, where an Army officer's reaction to grave provocation was highly praised.

A violent crowd converged on an army post shouting anti-India/'Azadi (freedom) slogans and throwing stones. When the officer came out and requested the crowd to stop stoning, one of the ringleaders came up to him and slapped him. The officer surprised the agitators by not reacting aggressively and urging the crowd to listen to him. He conveyed that while it was very easy for him to react by firing on the crowd with telling effect, he did not do so as he considered them as his own countrymen, though they were agitated.

He explained that the army could not grant them Azadi (Freedom), but said their demands should be addressed to the government. In this situation, if the officer had ordered his troops to fire, the public reaction would have spread far and wide in North Kashmir.

"This officer's very mature and patient handling of the situation despite great provocation, saved many lives.hats off to him," said the journalist.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken, albeit over a month late, and appealed for "insaniyat" (humanity/humanism) , "jamhooriyat" (republic/democtacy), Kashmiriyat (spirit of Kashmir),

"India loves Kashmir..
Patanjali Ayurved Limited has received orders for establishing its units and food parks in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra respectively.

According to a Patanjali statement, Madhya Pradesh Finance and Industry Minister Rajendra Shukla handed over a letter to Acharya Balkrishan, Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd for establishing its units in the state.

Besides?, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) has said Patanjali has met the qualifications of a technical bid for development of a food park on a 230-acre piece of land, and the financial bid for which has now been opened.

According to the statement, the development of modern food park was envisaged for the first time at the MADC board meeting on March 10 for the betterment of Vidharbha region, for which the MADC carved out a plot of 230 acres close to the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN), which was acquired in 2013 and remained undeveloped.

The development of food park was proposed considering the backlog of Vidarbha region to cater to growing farmer suicide cases, and optimal utilisation of the local produce from agriculture and forest area. In the process, the huge population of farmers, peasants and tribal in Vidharbha region will get economic support, capability building and employment opportunities for local population. The huge export potential of processed food industry can be tapped at minimum time and cost due to the upcoming international airport and cargo terminal in MIHAN, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Demanding freedom from Pakistan, people on Thursday took to the streets in Muzaffarabad protesting against rigged elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that saw Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) coming to power.

Venting their anger by raising slogans of "Aazadi", people also protested against Pakistan's occupation of Kashmir.

The rigged July 21 election witnessed the PML (Nawaz) emerging victorious in 32 of the 41 seats.

Earlier on July 29, protesters in the Neelum Valley (PoK) had to face the wrath of the police as they burnt Pakistani flags and raised slogans against the government.

Besides blackening election posters, the protestors also burnt tyres, blocked traffic and clashed with the police personnel deployed on duty.

Widespread protests have been witnessed in the major PoK towns, including Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Chinari and Mirpur, after members of the PML (N) killed a supporter of the Muslim Conference (MC) in Muzaffarabad.

Locals allege that the elections in PoK are always fixed in favour of the ruling party in Pakistan, in current instance, for the PML-N.

The political parties have questioned the authenticity of the elections. They say public money has been wasted as the so-called democratic process was fraught with corrupt practices.

The Pakistan Human Rights Group has confirmed the allegations of corrupt practices, involving money and muscle power.

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Banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud Group has claimed that they have in their custody all the hostages of the Pakistani Punjab

Government's helicopter that crash-landed in Afghanistan last week.

According to a media statement, Taliban claimed that it will soon release a video of the hostages, reports the Nation.

However, according to earlier reports, the TTP denied having taken any hostages while the Afghan Taliban claimed having them.

There has been no official confirmation about these reports but, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif , has contacted the Afghan Government and head of American Forces in Afghanistan General Nicholson for safe recovery of the hostages.

Reportedly, unofficial efforts are also underway as Ulema and clerics having soft corner for the Taliban were contacted to use their influence for the recovery of the hostages.

According to media reports, a Punjab Government Mi-17 helicopter crash landed in Afghanistan's Logar province on Thursday last week and the insurgents took the crew hostage before setting the helicopter on fire.

The chopper had seven people onboard at the time of the incident including, six members of the Punjab government and a Russian engineer. All seven survived the crash.
In an endeavor to strengthen its fast growing global footprint, Wadhwani Foundation today announced the appointment of Suman Sasmal, Managing Director - India and Asia, Javier Campos, Managing Director - Latin America and Varsy Wanjau, Managing Director - East Africa. This further shores up the highly skilled and experienced global management team at the Foundation and reaffirms its global job creation strategy led through entrepreneurship, innovation and skills development initiatives.

This strategic hiring aligns with the Wadhwani Foundation's mission of accelerating economic development in emerging economies. The Foundation is present in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangladesh in Asia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopiain East Africa and soon in Mexico, Chile, Columbia and Peru in Latin America. In each of these countries the Foundation is forging partnerships with governments, educational institutes, corporates, mentors / investors networks, associations, to create entrepreneurial and skilling eco-systems by sharing IP, resources and experiences from its journey in India. It has plans to expand to 15-20 more countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, by 2020.

Emphasizing on the strategic importance of these hires, Dr. Ajay Kela, President and CEO, Wadhwani Foundation said, "The Foundation has developed a tried and tested model for job creation and job fulfillment in India, and is now rapidly scaling operations in multiple emerging economies. Leveraging technology, building capacity networks and establishing government partnerships form the cornerstone of this expansion strategy.

Having tested this expansion model in Malaysia and Indonesia earlier, the Foundation is now launching its initiatives in multiple countries in East Africa, Latin America and Asia. To achieve these objectives, the Wadhwani Foundation is pleased to have on board three seasoned professionals, Suman Sasmal, Javier Campos and Varsy Wanjau to head India & Asia, Latin America and East Africa regions respectively. With their years of experience managing businesses and technology, the Foundation hopes to accelerate scaling and accessibility of its entrepreneurship and skilling initiatives, globally".

"After spending years in the technology sector, this exciting opportunity to work with the Wadhwani Foundation caters to a long unfulfilled dream of contributing to the society and providing high-value jobs to millions, by amplifying human potential. I am grateful to be part of a movement that has a laser sharp focus on outcome of high-value jobs providing family supporting wages for 25 million by 2022", says Suman Sasmal, Managing Director,India and Asia, Wadhwani

As Managing Director, India and Asia of Wadhwani Foundation, Suman Sasmal will be responsible for all product development and deployment across most Wadhwani Foundation initiatives, including NEN, SDN, OND,in India and South East Asia. With a successful career in the IT services industry spanning almost three decades, Suman has a unique track record of working across multiple roles and geographies. Prior to joining Wadhwani Foundation, Suman had worked with Infosys as Global Head of Delivery for Healthcare, Insurance and Life Sciences and Head of the Infosys Development Centre at Bangalore.

Expressing happiness on joining the Foundation, Javier Campos, Managing Director, Latin America, Wadhwani Foundation said, "Early in my career, I questioned myself as to why I had been given the opportunity to learn and grow both personally and professionally, helping global organizations to expand around the world. Now, I've learnt that it all comes down to serve a greater purpose: To give back to society. Joining the Wadhwani Foundation to lead and deploy its mission of accelerating economic development through large-scale job creation in Latin America will allow me put all my experience, knowledge, passion and energy to fulfil this noble purpose"

Javier Campos as the Managing Director, Latin America will be based in Mexico City and will be responsible for the Foundation's Latin America Operations. With over 20 years of a successful career across markets and industries in Europe and Latin America, Javier's entrepreneurial spirit, development strategic thinking and global deployment experience led to germination and expansion of several start-ups and new divisions of global organizations. Prior to joining Wadhwani Foundation, Javier was the Vice President of the International Division of USS, where he was instrumental in the development and implementation of the international growth for the company. Previously, as the Managing Director of Stanley Security Mexico, Javier was instrumental in launching the company in the region and establish it as a strong player in the market. Javier started his career at Schneider Electric, where he took various management roles in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East to create growth strategies focused on Industrial, Aerospace and Defence markets.

Elated by his new role, Varsy Wanjau, Managing Director, East Africa, Wadhwani Foundation, said "I am excited and enthused to be deploying Wadhwani Foundation's skilling and entrepreneurship-led initiatives in East Africa starting with Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania. The Foundation has made phenomenal impact in India and taken significant strides in other markets like Malaysia and Indonesia and I will be looking replicate this success in East Africa. For over 15 years I have turned around several corporations under challenging circumstances and I am now honoured to be part of the Foundation's job-creation endeavors."

Varsy Wanjau, Managing Director, East Africa is based in Kenya and will be responsible for building and leading operations and managing partnerships with the Government, Academia and Industry. With over 15 years of experience in customer service and administration, Varsy will also be responsible for building a strong bonded community of beneficiaries (start-ups, SMEs and skilled personnel) and partners (mentors, investors, associations, corporates, academic institutions, government officials). Prior to joining Wadhwani Foundation, Varsy worked with Rapidol Pty Ltd, South Africa as the Country Manager and other organizations like Ceva Sante Animale France, Nestle' Kenya Ltd., HACO Industries BIC France Alberto Culver USA; East and Central Africa and Procter & Gamble East Africa.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the Mumbai Police probe revealing that a total of Rs. 60 crore was deposited in Zakir Naik's bank account in the last three years from three different countries, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said the controversial Islamic preacher's suspicious activities will be revealed soon.

"There have been several revelations one after another about Zakir Naik.His activities are against the interest of the country. Agencies are working on this. I am sure his activities will be revealed soon," Naqvi told ANI.

As per reports, the money was transferred to five accounts belonging to Naik's family members.

The police are looking into the financial transactions of Naik and his NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

Earlier this week, the Mumbai Police submitted a report on Naik to the Maharashtra Government after finding him to be allegedly involved in unlawful activities with possible terror links.

Naik had come under the scanner of the Indian Government after reports emerged that two of the six terrorists, who killed 22 people at a posh Dhaka cafe in July, were allegedly inspired by his speeches.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its ex-post facto approval for amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 by introducing the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament.

The maternity benefit Act 1961 protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her of a 'maternity benefit' - i.e. full paid absence from work - to take care for her child. The act is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons.

The amendments will help 1.8 million (approx.) women workforce in organised sector.

The amendments to Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 are as follows:

Increase Maternity Benefit from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two children.

12 weeks Maternity Benefit to a 'Commissioning mother' and 'Adopting mother'.

Facilitate 'Work from home'. Mandatory provision of Creche in respect of establishment having 50 or more employees.

Justification:

Maternal care to the Child during early childhood - crucial for growth and development of the child.

The 44th, 45th and 46th Indian Labour Conference recommended enhancement of Maternity Benefits to 24 weeks.

Ministry of Women & Child Development proposed to enhance Maternity Benefit to 8 months.

In Tripartite consultations, all stake holders, in general supported the amendment proposal.

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Bank of Baroda fell 7.61% to Rs 148.10 at 10:19 IST on BSE after net profit fell 59.74% to Rs 423.62 crore on 2.99% decline in total income to Rs 11877.91 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

The result was announced before trading hours today, 11 August 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was almost flat at 27,775.59.

On BSE, so far 20.41 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volume of 11.52 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 153 and a low of Rs 146.40 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 216.25 on 18 August 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 109.45 on 12 February 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past 30 days till 10 August 2016, falling 0.28% compared with 0.12% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 1.65% as against Sensex's 7.70% rise.

The large-cap state-run bank has equity capital of Rs 460.83 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 42991.68 crore as on 30 June 2016 as against Rs 40521.04 crore as on 31 March 2016 and Rs 17273.95 crore as on 30 June 2015. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 11.15% as on 30 June 2016 as against 9.99% as on 31 March 2016 and 4.13% as on 30 June 2015. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 5.73% as on 30 June 2016 as against 5.06% as on 31 March 2016 and 2.07% as on 30 June 2015.

The bank's provisions and contingencies (excluding tax provisions) surged 234.16% to Rs 2004.07 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015. Provision coverage ratio of the bank was at 60.17% as on 30 June 2016.

Government of India holds 59.23% stake in Bank of Baroda (as on 30 June 2016).

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Sales rise 14.92% to Rs 199.69 crore

Net profit of Bannari Amman Spinning Mills declined 17.70% to Rs 4.93 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 5.99 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales rose 14.92% to Rs 199.69 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 173.77 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.199.69173.7712.6814.2915.1215.877.798.814.935.99

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Sales decline 14.60% to Rs 11.23 crore

Net profit of Bharat Wire Ropes declined 21.88% to Rs 0.25 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 0.32 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales declined 14.60% to Rs 11.23 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 13.15 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.11.2313.1514.0716.731.111.120.550.530.250.32

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing and ratification of an Agreement between India and Croatia on Economic Cooperation.

India and Croatia had earlier signed an Agreement on trade and economic cooperation in September, 1994 with an aim to promote and develop bilateral trade and economic relations.

Signing of the new Agreement between India and Croatia would be a step in continuity as the existing Agreement expired in November, 2009.

India's bilateral trade with Croatia during 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 were US$ 152.01million, US$ 148.86 million and US$ 205.04 million respectively. The average bilateral trade growth was 17.44% during the last three years.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to amend regulation for foreign investment in the Non- Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs).

The amendment in the existing Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by the Person Resident Outside India) regulations on Non- Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) will enable inflow of foreign investment in "Other Financial Services" on automatic route provided such services are regulated by any financial sector regulators (RBI, SEBI, PFRDA etc.) / Government Agencies. Foreign investment in "Other Financial Services, which are not regulated by any regulators / Government Agency, can be made on approval route.

Further, minimum capitalisation norms as mandated under FDI policy have been eliminated as most of the regulators have already fixed minimum capitalisation norms. This will induce FDI and spurt economic activities.

It will cover whole India and is not limited to any State/Districts.

Background

In the Budget 2016-17 Speech, the Hon'ble Finance Minister had announced that "FDI will be allowed beyond the 18 specified NBFC activities in the automatic route in other activities which are regulated by financial sector regulators". The present regulations on "Non-Banking Finance Companies" stipulates that FDI would be allowed on automatic route for only 18 specified NBFC activities after fulfilling prescribed minimum capitalisation norms mentioned therein. In the proposed regulations, FDI is allowed on automatic route for all "Other Financial Services" provided such services are regulated by any regulators (RBI, SEBI, PFRDA etc.) / Government Agencies. Further, minimum capitalisation norms as mandated under FDI policy have been eliminated as most of the regulators have already fixed minimum capitalisation norms.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of Pension and Post-Retirement Medical Schemes as part of superannuation benefits for Employees of Food Corporation of India (FCI) as per guidelines of Department of Public Enterprises (DPE).

The annual financial implication for both schemes combined would be around Rs. 134.4 crore at present level of salaries of the employees.

Salient Features of New Pension Scheme for Employees of FCI

1. Coverage - All employees. (Category I, II, III and IV) of the Corporation on the payroll as on 1.12.2008 or appointed thereafter are covered under the scheme.

2. Eligibility - Minimum service period of 15 years before superannuation except in case of death.

3. Effective date of implementation - 01.12.2008. (as per effective date of wage revised allowances.

4. Employer's Contribution - 10% of Basic pay and DA per month in respect of all existing employees as on 01.12.2008 or appointed thereafter.

5. Employees' Mandatory Contribution - 2% of basic pay + DA per month. Employees' Voluntary Contribution - upto 25% of basic pay + DA per month

6.

Benefits - Pension (Annuity) on superannuation and Death Cover.

Salient Features of New Post-Retirement Medical Scheme for employees of FCI

1. Applicability - All employees Category I, II, III & IV employees of the Corporation including retired employees who are members of the current employee funded Medical Health Scheme for Retirees.

2. Eligibility - Minimum service period of 15 years before superannuation except in case of death.

3. Employer contribution - 3.83% of Basic + DA w.e.f. 01.04.2016.

4. Employee Contribution - Last drawn Basic pay and DA at the time of retirement / death during service (for spouse), subject to minimum of Rs.10,000.

5. Coverage - The Scheme would cover the medical expenses of retired member, his/her spouse and dependent disabled child at any hospital in India subject to the overall annual ceiling.

Background:

FCI was established in 1965 under the Food Corporations Act, 1964 for the purpose of procurement, storage, distribution and sale of foodgrains and other foodstuffs. Over the years it has played a pivotal role in achieving the objective of food security for the country. Given its strategic importance, size of operations and other parameters, FCI has been recognised as Schedule 'A' Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Africa for cooperation in the field of Tourism. The MoU was signed on 08.07.2016.

The main objectives of the MoU are:

a) to expand bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector;

b) to exchange information and data related to tourism ;

c) to encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders, including hotels and tour operators.

d) to establish exchange programmes for cooperation in Human Resource Development;

e) Investing in the tourism and hospitality sector;

f) to encourage visits of Tour Operators/Media/ Opinion Makers and tourists from both countries for promotion of two way tourism;

g) to exchange experiences in the areas of promotion, education, marketing, destination development and management;

h) to participate in travel fairs/exhibitions in each other's country; and

i) to promote safe, honourable and sustainable tourism.

Background:

India and South Africa share and enjoy warm and friendly bilateral relations.

South Africa is an emerging tourism source markets for India (India received approximately 51922 tourists from South Africa in 2015). India has extended the Electronic Tourist Visa (eTV) facility for the South African Nationals which elicited good response from travel trade of both. The MoU will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this emerging source market.

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Haryana to build 759 houses at a cost of Rs.23 cr

Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation approved construction of 37,013 cr houses for urban poor in the States of Karnataka and Haryana with an investment of Rs.1,491 cr. An inter-ministerial Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee chaired by Dr. Nandita Mukherjee, Secretary(HUPA) has approved construction of 36,254 houses for Economically Weaker Sections in Karnataka with an investment of Rs.1,468 cr and 759 houses in Haryana at a cost of Rs.23 cr.

In Karnataka, 12,371 dwelling units will be constructed in 8 cities under Affordable Housing in Partnership component of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) for rehabilitation of slum dwellers. City-wise details of houses to be built are: Gadag-3,630, Bengaluru (Basavangudi)-1,699, Bidar-1,500, Mysuru-1,355, Bellary-1,188, Raichur-1,050, Vijaypura-1,028, Padmanabhanagar (Bengaluru)-895 and Bagalkot-784.

Another 23,883 houses will be built in 207 cities and towns in Karnataka for urban poor under the Beneficiary Led Construction component of PMAY (Urban).

Central government will provide a total assistance of Rs.558 cr for construction of these houses for urban poor in Karnataka. During the last financial year, Ministry of HUPA approved construction of 16,522 houses for urban poor in Karnataka taking the total houses approved for the benefit of urban poor so far to 53,776.

Ministry of HUPA today approved construction of 759 houses by slum dwellers in 11 slum colonies of Yamunanagar-Jagadhari under Beneficiary Led Construction component of PMAY(Urban) at a total cost of Rs.23 cr. Central government will provide an assistance of Rs.11 cr in this regard.

Slums to benefit from construction of these houses are in Harinagar, Lajpat Nagar, Mishra colony, Mukherjee Park, Tirath Nagar, Madhuban colony, Bhagirath colony, Jammu colony, Hamida colony and Burla colony.

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Sales rise 0.55% to Rs 94.47 crore

Net profit of Kriti Nutrients declined 23.88% to Rs 1.53 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 2.01 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales rose 0.55% to Rs 94.47 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 93.95 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.94.4793.953.504.642.873.542.292.981.532.01

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For Rs 94.82 crore

Rane Engine Valve has sold portion of land owned by the Company in Alandur, Chennai admeasuring 6.815 acres (approx.) on 11 August 2016 for a consideration of Rs 94.82 crore.

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Sales decline 5.56% to Rs 12.39 crore

Net profit of Tokyo Plast International declined 29.35% to Rs 0.65 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 0.92 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015. Sales declined 5.56% to Rs 12.39 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 as against Rs 13.12 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2015.12.3913.1213.8812.731.401.540.801.090.650.92

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Yes Bank lost 1.59% to Rs 1,244.75 at 12:13 IST on BSE on reports the bank is contemplating to raise about $1 billion through issue of shares to qualified institutional buyers.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 97.88 points or 0.35% at 27,872.76.

On BSE, so far 73,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 2.08 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,268 and a low of Rs 1,237 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 590 on 24 August 2015. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 1,269 on 8 August 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 10 August 2016, surging 13.02% compared with 2.39% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, advancing 33.16% as against Sensex's 7.77% rise.

The large-cap bank has equity capital of Rs 421.22 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Media reports suggested that Yes Bank is contemplating a $1 billion share sale to institutional investors through qualified institutional placement (QIP) to support its expansion plans. The issue is expected to be launched within 30 days, reports suggested. It may be recalled that Yes Bank's board of directors in April 2016 approved the renewal of its capital raising plan of upto $1 billion through appropriate capital raising modes.

Yes Bank's net profit rose 32.8% to Rs 731.80 crore on 25.4% growth in total income to Rs 4762.83 crore in Q1 June 2016 over Q1 June 2015.

Yes Bank is one of the leading private sector banks in India.

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At least 21 people were killed and five others injured in a pipe explosion at a power plant in central China's Hubei province on Thursday, local authorities said.

A high-pressure steam pipe exploded at the Madian Gangue Power Generation Co. Ltd. in Dangyang City around 3.20 p.m. The injured were rushed to hospital.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known. Rescue efforts were underway.--IANS

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A six-day event to celebrate Independence Day will begin from August 12 at Rajpath Lawns near India Gate here. The event, 'Bharat Parv', will showcase handicrafts, folk items and cuisines of various states, among others.

The event will be inaugurated by Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar followed by a performance by the armed forces band. Cultural performances will feature choreographed folk dance and music.

The Ministry of Tourism has been designated as the nodal agency for the event. A photo exhibition titled 'Azaadi 70 Saal - Yaad Karo Kurbaani' will also be set up at the venue by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

"The prime objective of the event is to generate a patriotic mood and promote cultural diversity of the country," said Vinod Zutshi, secretary in the tourism ministry.

The event will feature a food court and crafts mela with 50 stalls each from different states and Union Territories.

There will be pavilions on either side of the Rajpath besides arrangement for water-resistant shelters in case of rains.

The event will include 17 theme pavilions where each state will exhibit its achievements and initiatives, besides tourism products and destinations.

"There were requests from a few other states as well but we couldn't let them set up separate pavilions owing to lack of space," said the tourism secretary.

The programme will begin at 2 p.m. and continue till 9 p.m.

The dance performances will include bhangra, ghumar and basanta raas from respective respective states.

All Union Territories except Delhi, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep have given their consent to showcase their cultural legacy at the event.

The entry is free for the public. However, an identity proof is required to enter the venue.

--IANS

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Alia Bhatt sizzles in a yellow sari as she gyrates seductively to "Tip tip barsa paani" - a la Raveena Tandon -- as a promotional stint for Akshay Kumar's forthcoming release "Rustom".

The song had originally featured Akshay with Raveena, and is said to be one of the most sensuously shot rain songs in Bollywood.

After a string of Hindi film celebrities like Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan and Arjun Kapoor chose their own unique way to promote Akshay's "Rustom", Alia decided to do it this way.

She shared a video in which she is draped in a bright yellow sari, and she grooves to the 1990s song like no one's watching.

After the video ends, Alia is heard saying: "Kya kar rahe ho yaar, cut! Mujhe kya dekh rahe ho...jaake 'Rustom' dekho na... One day to go! (What are you doing guys? Cut! What are you watching me for? Go watch 'Rustom'...One day to go)"

"The madness that comes along with the excitement! Just One day for 'Rustom' Akshay Kumar, Ileana D'Cruz, Esha Gupta," she captioned the 43-second video.

Directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, Akshay's 'Rustom' is slated to hit the silver screen on Friday. The thriller, inspired by a real life incident in the 1950s, also features Ileana D'Cruz, Arjan Bajwa and Esha Gupta.

-*-

Honoured to be part of Ajay's directorial: Sayyeshaa

Debutante Sayyeshha, who is gearing up for the release of the upcoming film "Shivaay", says it's a great honour for her to be a part of actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn's directorial.

"It gives me great honour to be a part of his (Ajay) directorial film. That doesn't happen very often, so I couldn't have asked for a better debut," Sayyeshaa said here.

The actress, who is the grandniece of veteran Bollywood actress Saira Banu, considers herself "fortunate that Ajay sir gave me the opportunity to become a small part of 'Shivaay'."

Praising the "Singham" star, Sayyeshaa said he is very talented and "very accurate" when it comes to direction.

"He knows exactly what he wants, which made my life easier," she added.

Asked if Ajay scolded her on the set, she said, "I didn't get any scolding, Ajay sir is the most calm, cool person that you will ever find. He is strict in the way that he knows what exactly he wants. So till he gets that, he will make sure the take is shot."

The film promises a bundle of action sequences, scenic backdrops, and an intriguing storyline. It has been shot in the scenic locales of the Balkan mountains of Bulgaria, Hyderabad and Uttarakhand.

--IANS

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Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton on Thursday claimed that immigrants in detention centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea often lodge false complaints to secure asylum in the country.

Dutton's comments follow the release of over 2,000 reports detailing incidents of sexual violence and threats against women and of self-harm among immigrants detained at the Nauru detention centre, Efe news reported.

"I have been made aware of some incidents that have reported false allegations of sexual assault, because in the end, people have paid money to people smugglers and they want to come to our country. Some people have even gone to the extent of self-harming and people have self-immolated in an effort to get to Australia," the minister said.

However, Dutton said the reports must be investigated by Nauru authorities.

The documents, released on Wednesday night by the Australian edition of The Guardian daily, detailed the abuse and trauma children and women face at the immigration detention centres maintained by Australia in the neighbouring Nauru.

The reports revealed several cases of sexual assault -- especially against young women detainees -- perpetrated by security guards, other detainees and local people.

Over a hundred reports, said the source, outline cases of self-harm among detainees, including several suicide attempts.

In 2012, Australia revived its policy of processing asylum applications from immigrants, who travelled to its shores, in third countries, and opened offshore detention centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

Many of the immigrants Australia intercepts have fled conflict-ridden regions like Afghanistan, Darfur, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria, or have escaped conditions of discrimination such as the minority Rohingyas in Myanmar or the Biduns in the Persian Gulf.

--IANS

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Brazilian lawmakers from the Worker's Party have sought suspension of the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, and help from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in sorting out legal matters.

Rousseff herself also has signed the petition filed with the commission, Xinhua news agency reported.

In their petition dated Wednesday, the lawmakers called for the suspension of the impeachment process until the legal matters surrounding the impeachment are clarified.

"We are experiencing a coup d'etat in Brazil that relies on the participation of parliament and the omission of the judicial system," said Wadih Damous, one of the deputies who signed the petition.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to put Rousseff on trial, one step closer to her permanent removal from office, after she was suspended by the Senate for 180 days.

--IANS

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Britain's Jack Laugher and Chris Mears won the gold in the men's synchronized three-meter springboard diving competition at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Laugher and Mears accumulated 454.32 points on Wednesday, followed by Americans Sam Dorman and Mike Hixon (450.21), China's Yuan Cao and Kai Qin (443.70), Germany's Stephan Feck and Patrick Hausding (410.10) and Mexico's Rommel Pacheco and Jahir Ocampo (405.30), reports Efe.

The competition began with the favored Chinese out in front, but in the third round they received scores of below 8 points, while the Britons secured several 8.5 evaluations on a dive with a difficulty rating of 3.4 and surged into first place, which they never subsequently relinquished.

From that point forward, however, the Chinese - who are the world champions in the event - focused intently on recovering lost ground and began moving up in the standings from sixth place, eventually moving all the way back up to third.

Laugher and Mears, who won the bronze in the World competition last year, had saved their most highly rated dives - 3.4, 3.9 and 3.8 - for last, and given that they executed them all virtually flawlessly, their gold was well-deserved.

The Mexicans had been in third place after three rounds, but they had a bad dive in the fourth round and slipped out of the running for the silver, where the Chinese and Americans battled it out.

Dorman and Hixon moved into the last round under pressure to perform almost perfectly, which they managed to do on a dive rated 3.8, whereby they garnered 98.04 points, thus ensuring themselves the silver.

In the pair diving competition so far, China is ahead with three golds and one bronze, followed by Britain with a gold and a bronze, the United States with two silvers, Italy and Malaysia with one silver each and Canada and Australia, each with a bronze.

--IANS

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Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy has asked Facebook to investigate the origin of the "likes" of the official page of Prime Minister Hun Sen, whom he accuses of paying companies to generate fake followers, authorities said on Thursday.

In a message directed at Facebook's Government and Outreach Manager Crystal Patterson, Sam Rainsy argued that Hun Sen is using his popularity on the social media to justify his repressive policies, Efe news reported.

"This matter of fake likes bought by Hun Sen can have far-reaching consequences and be very harmful to the general public and to me, in particular, if we don't shed light on it," Rainsy wrote in his email.

According to the Social Bakers website, till August Hun Sen got close to five million likes from Cambodia, while the rest of his followers were from India (11.5 per cent) and Thailand (7 per cent).

"How could Hun Sen get around 547,000 likes from India when his Facebook page is exclusively written in Khmer, a language completely unknown in India," Rainsy writes.

Hun Sen has denied buying fake likes for his Facebook page on several occasions ever since local daily Phnom Penh Post carried a report in March alleging that he had done so.

"He (Sam Rainsy) is mad and out of control, he is behaving childishly. The Prime Minister issued a statement saying he does not want to use Facebook to attack political rivals but as means for dialogue, to serve people better," Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan told EFE news on Thursday.

"Sam Rainsy is jealous of the Prime Minister's popularity, he can make whatever accusations he wants, it is not in our power to control Facebook, it is a private company," he added.

Rainsy has been in self-exile in France since last November, after a court issued an arrest warrant to carry out the opposition leader's 2011 conviction in absentia.

--IANS

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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that her Republican rival, Donald Trump incited violence when he said gun rights supporters could stop her from winning..

"Words matter, my friends. And if you are running to be president or you are president of the US, words can have tremendous consequences," the former US secretary of state said on Wednesday while addressing a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa.

"Yesterday (Tuesday), we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line. ... Every single one of these incidences shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the US," she said.

Clinton insisted that this election cycle is not "normal", adding that she had taken note of the fact that Republican figures and voters were joining her campaign upon deciding that Trump does not represent their values.

The New York billionaire once again found himself in the centre of controversy after telling a North Carolina political rally on Tuesday that gun rights defenders can "do something" to prevent Clinton from winning the November 8 election, a remark that has been interpreted by broad groups as a call to use violence.

Trump had said that Clinton, if elected, would "abolish" the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which establishes the right to "keep and bear arms".

Those comments immediately sparked a firestorm of criticism of Trump both on Twitter and in the mainline communications media, and particularly among Democratic sectors, that the magnate had, in effect, issued a veiled call for violence against the former first lady.

The Democratic nominee's campaign director, Robby Mook, reacted at the time in a statement saying "This is simple - what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the President of the US should not suggest violence in any way."

Trump's campaign, however, responded in another communique in which communications director Jason Miller said the mogul was referring to the "power of unification" in his remarks, adding that "Second Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power. And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won't be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump."

--IANS

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A 32-year-old taxi driver was found dead in his car on Thursday in Delhi, police said.

The driver has been identified as Mahesh Sharma, a resident of west Delhi's Palam Extension.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) Surender Kumar told IANS, "A call was received in the morning regarding a dead body in a cab from Dwarka's Sector eight area."

According to a senior police official, the driver might have died due to cardiac arrest.

--IANS

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday urged against politicising the issue of atrocities on Dalits and said society must take it as a challenge to bring an end to such incidents.

"There should be no over this issue. We should take it as a challenge to end this injustice," Rajnath Singh told Lok Sabha in a reply to the day-long debate on the issue of atrocities on Dalits.

"People from various castes and communities in India live together. Our ancestors believed in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (World is one family)," he said.

The debate was held following outrage over incidents of flogging of Dalits, including in Una in Gujarat, by cow vigilantes.

--IANS

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Fiji has recorded 34 Zika cases from January to August 3 this year, Health Minister Jone Usamate said on Thursday.

Aside from Zika, 623 dengue fever, 41 chikungunya, 225 typhoid as well as 430 leptospirosis cases were recorded during the same period in the Pacific island country, according to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.

"I urge you all to keep your surroundings clean and free of any such containers or receptacles. The recent 'Fight the Bite, Clean up Fiji' campaign helped reduce the number of mosquito-borne diseases. With a proactive approach, we can continue to keep these numbers low," Xinhua news agency quoted Usamate as saying.

The minister also urged the public to refrain from swimming or wading in flooded waters to avoid waterborne illnesses.

Zika presents a risk for pregnant women and their unborn babies as the causal relationship between microcephaly and other severe brain defects had been confirmed by scientists.

--IANS

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As the first batch of 26 retrenched Indian workers were on their way back home from Jeddah on Thursday, India appreciated Saudi Arabia's prompt action to provide relief to distressed Indian workers in the Gulf kingdom.

"We appreciate the magnanimous view taken by the Saudi Arabian government of granting exit visas expeditiously and agreeing to bear the expenses for the travel of the workers," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing in New Delhi.

"The swift action to tackle a localised problem specific only to some companies of Saudi Arabia signifies the deep and abiding relationship that our two countries share," he said.

Following reports of retrenchment of the workers by the Saudi Oger company, Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh visited Saudi Arabia last week.

According to Swarup, Singh "had very productive meetings" with the Saudi Minister for Labour and Social Development Mufrel Al Haqbani and other senior dignitaries.

"As a result of these meetings, the process of lodging claims and making arrangements for those Indian workers wishing to come back to India or relocate to another company has already started," the spokesperson said.

The crisis also saw Saudi King Salman issuing a series of directives to address their problems, and earmarking 100 million Saudi Riyals ($26 million) to address the concerns of the workers and end their suffering.

King Salman also directed the Saudi passport department to facilitate exit visas and other procedures for the distressed workers.

Swarup said in his media briefing that the first batch of 26 Indian workers left Jeddah for New Delhi on Thursday by a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight.

"Once they arrive, respective state governments will be making arrangements for their travel to their home towns," he added.

The workers, who were brought to the airport in a bus by the Indian consulate in Jeddah, were seen off by Consul General Noor Rahman Sheikh, and senior officials Anand Kumar and M. Fahmi.

Many of the workers, including Hindus, at the airport on Thursday morning were seen carrying the holy waters of Zamzam in bottles for friends and relatives back home. The Saudi Labour Ministry had announced free passage for workers who were willing to return home.

Though Indian consulate officials have assured the workers that they will pursue financial claims on their behalf, most appeared confused and apprehensive about what lay ahead -- including the onward journey to their states from New Delhi.

"It is saddening to leave Saudi Arabia as I made some money earlier; but now the chances are grim," said Ram Nivas, a plumber from Churu district in Rajasthan.

"Due to non-payment of wages, there was no meaning in continuing the job," said Nasir Raza of Gaya district in Bihar, who had returned to Saudi Arabia only recently after a vacation, is now leaving for good.

"I have full faith in both the governments of Saudi Arabia and India and I have authorised them to collect my pending arrears and send them to me in India," said Musharaf Ali, a driver hailing from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh who has been here for eight years.

"I had heart surgery and the huge expenses were borne by the now ill-fated company. I had enjoyed working there. Though there was the option to seek new employment, I prefer to return home," said Shakir Ahmed, a resident of Patna in Bihar.

"When I arrived three years ago I felt so happy to be part of such a large company, but the situation worsened and it is sad to return home. I love the country," said V. Ram Prasad of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The lists of workers who are being repatriated at their request are being prepared by Indian diplomats in coordination with Saudi Labour Ministry officials. Many Indian workers are opting to return home, according to sources.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who perhaps had plans to settle down this year before breaking up with his girlfriend Ankita Lokhande, said he would get married after finding a girl.

When asked about his marriage plans, Sushant said: "First let me find a girl then, I will get married after that."

Reportedly, the actor is dating his "Raabta" co-star Kriti Sanon. However, Kriti has dismissed these rumours.

When asked Sushant about his reaction on Kriti's statement, he said: "She always speaks the truth and whatever she has said is right."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government on Thursday said that it has asked the Pakistan government to release an Indian national, Hamid Nehal Ansari, who is lodged in a Pakistani jail where he was beaten up, as his sentencing period is over .

"We have reminded the government of Pakistan of its responsibility to ensure his security," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing here.

"We have also conveyed that, according to our understanding, since his sentence of three years is already over he should be released and repatriated to India at the earliest," he said.

Ansari was attacked twice in the Peshawar Central Prison in the last two months, Dawn online quoted his lawyer as telling a court on August 4. The lawyer said a jail official also daily thrashed Ansari.

Jail Superintendent Masoodur Rehman, however, argued that the injuries were of minor nature and that such incidents "kept happening" in prisons.

Ansari is kept in a death cell. Superintendent Rehman said in his statement in the court that the Indian "can't be kept in a normal barrack with other prisoners for the sake of his security".

Ansari's lawyer said he wanted security for his client but the jail official had refused to give such a guarantee.

The official had promised to shift Ansari to a hospital after the attack but did not do so. The lawyer also alleged that a prison warder used to beat Ansari daily.

Ansari, who reportedly possessed a fake Pakistani identity card, was arrested by intelligence agencies in Kohat district in November 2012. He was convicted by a military court in February this year.

Swarup said on Thursday that on August 5, India again strongly took up the matter of the security of Ansari while he was in the custody of Pakistani authorities.

"This was done specifically in the light of reports that he was attacked again in prison in which he is lodged," he said.

The spokesperson also said that the External Affairs Ministry was in touch with Ansari's family.

"As we speak, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is meeting his family in Parliament House," he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, two legislators and leaders of opposition parties were detained on Thursday when they were heading for a dharna in Hazaribagh against the alleged forcible land acquisition by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

Leaders of the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajantraik (JVM-P) were going to join a sit-in stike at Barkagaon where NTPC has been given a coal block.

Congress legislator from Barkagaon Nirmal Devi, JVM-P legislator Pradeep Yadav, state RJD President Gautam Sagar Rana and other leaders were going to take part in the sit-in strike along with Babulal Marandi.

The Congress lawmaker is fighting for the local people against the forced land acquisition and demanding due compensation.

The coal block was allocated to NTPC in 2010 but work could not start due to villagers' protest.

The opposition leaders had on July 24 met the villagers who are opposing the land acquisition for the NTPC's upcoming coal block in Pakri-Barwadidh area of Barkagaon of Hazaribagh district.

An FIR was lodged by the NTPC against Marandi and opposition leaders. On August 4, the opposition leaders went to court arrest but the Hazaribagh police turned them away.

On Thursday, the opposition leaders again went to Hazaribagh to express solidarity with the local residents against forcible land acquisition.

"The agitation will continue till the district administration assures that the agriculture land will not be acquired. The compensation which villagers should get has not been given," Pradeep Yadav told reporters.

--IANS

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Romanian Gabriel Marian, arrested for stealing money through electronic tampering of a SBI ATM here, was interrogated on Thursday after being flown in from Mumbai.

Kerala Police officials accompanied him on a commercial flight from Mumbai. He was taken straight to a police camp in the heart of the capital city.

Mumbai Police caught him on Tuesday when he was withdrawing money from an ATM. He will be produced before a court here on Friday.

One officer said Marian was not cooperating in the investigation.

Marian and his friends are believed to have stayed at Kovalam in Kerala last month.

Police have also taken into custody a mobile telephone dealer here who reportedly provided Sim cards to these Romanian nationals without securing proper documents.

The Romanian gang placed electronic equipment in the SBI kiosk, which enabled them to get the details of card holders who withdrew money from the ATM. Using the stolen data, they withdrew money from Mumbai ATMs.

Marian said his gang included three other Romanians who have left India.

The Kerala Police has seized Rs 200,000 from his possession, a laptop and some electronic equipment.

--IANS

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In his first trip abroad since assuming charge as the Minister of State for External Affairs, M.J. Akbar will go on an official visit to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq from August 17 to 23, it was announced on Thursday.

Making the announcement at his weekly media briefing here, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that Akbar's visit was aimed at strengthening "our mutually beneficial bilateral ties with the West Asia region".

Swarup said that in Lebanon Akbar is scheduled to have extensive discussions with Prime Minister Tammam Salam, bilateral interaction with the President of the National Assembly Nabih Berry and will receive Director General of the Directorate General of General Security of Lebanon Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim apart from other dignitaries, academics and intellectuals.

Akbar in his discussions with the Lebanese leadership is expected to cover bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

In Syria, Akbar will pay a courtesy call on President Bashar al-Assad and Prime Minister Emad Mohammad Deeb Khamis.

"He will have bilateral discussions with first Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates H.E Walid Al-Moallem," the spokesperson said.

"He will also meet the National Security Advisor Ali Mamlouk and interact with the Grand Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun during this visit. The discussions would focus on our bilateral cooperation and the unfolding security situation in the region."

During his visit to Iraq, Akbar will hold discussions with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Eshaiqer Al-Jafari on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

"Our time-tested, warm and friendly relations with Iraq are underpinned by historical and religious linkages, strong people-to-people contacts, our energy security quest and capacity-building cooperation," Swarup said.

"The visit is expected to add further impetus to our bilateral engagement.," he said.

"It will also provide an opportunity to meet with other senior leaders of Iraq, including religious leaders, and to convey India's abiding commitment to the emergence of a stable, peaceful, united and democratic Iraq, which is in the interest of regional and global peace and security," he added.

--IANS

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Rome, Aug 11 (IANS/AKI) A lawmaker for the anti-immigrant Northern League party on Thursday urged Italy to ban the head-to-toe Islamic burqa in public places.

"The Northern League tabled proposals in parliament a month ago to outlaw the burqa in public places in order to allow people to be recognised and to ensure greater security," said MP Paolo Grimoldi.

"We ask for our bill to be debated by lawmakers immediately after the summer recess," Grimoldi said.

"Lombardy is the only Italian region to have banned the burqa in hospitals and other public places," he said.

Elsewhere in Italy, Muslims are exempt from a law forbidding people from walking around in public in headgear that covers the face - including motorbike helmets - Grimoldi noted.

A ban on the burqa in public is among 27 proposals to boost security in the wake of recent terror attacks in Germany signed up to by interior ministers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrat party and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union.

--IANS/AKI

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The new government in Nepal has decided to send special envoys to India and China to maintain harmonious relations with both neighbours.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bimalenda Nidhi will be the special envoy for Nepal government to India, according to a Cabinet decision made on Thursday.

Similarly, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara will be sent as special envoy to China.

The two deputy prime ministers will leave for New Delhi and Beijing, respectively, to strengthen bilateral ties and apprise the two neighbours of Nepal about the latest political situation in the Himalayan nation.

The Nepal government, led by Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda", has decided to maintain friendly and balanced relations with both its neighbours.

--IANS

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has asked the External Affairs Ministry to provide consular access to arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Bahadur Ali, an official said on Thursday.

This comes following Ali's request to the anti-terror agency to meet his family members who live in Lahore. He is the eighth of the nine wards of his parents. His father had worked in the police department in Pakistan's Punjab province.

NIA sources said Ali, arrested on July 25 from Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir, is not a 'fidayeen'.

The official said Ali had thrice attempted to throw grenades on the army and police in Handwara in Kupwara but failed every time.

He said a part of the Rs 23,000 seized from Ali was counterfeit.

Ali told his interrogators that a video recording of the infiltration routes he took along with two other LeT operatives Saad and Darda was made while they crossed over to the Indian side on June 11-12.

Armed with his confessional statement, the NIA on Wednesday blamed the banned LeT for fuelling the continuing unrest in Kashmir.

The NIA said it is gathering further evidence regarding the role of LeT in the Valley's violence in the last 34 days.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said that President Barack Obama is "the founder" of the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

During a campaign rally in Sunrise, Florida, Trump on Wednesday criticised Obama's counter-terrorism strategy and said he was "the founder of IS" and that his rival in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton, is the "co-founder" of this terrorist group, EFE news reported.

"IS is honouring President Obama. He is the founder of IS. And I would say the co-founder is crooked Hillary Clinton," said Trump while rally-goers cheered 'Lock her up!' directed at Clinton.

Trump criticised that Obama has refused using the term "radical Islamic terrorism" to refer to the attacks in Orlando, Florida and San Bernardino, California.

Trump also took aim at Clinton for her refusal to use that term as well: "She doesn't want to say it, 'cause she doesn't want to offend the president, because then bad things could happen to her if she offends the President."

--IANS

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At least four militants were killed in a shootout with paramilitary troops in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Thursday, local media reported.

Dawn News said the militants were planning to launch an attack on Independence Day celebrations on August 14 in the city.

Pakistan Rangers conducted a search operation in Manghopir area of Karachi, capital city of Sindh province, on an intelligence tip-off.

The terrorists opened fire at the troops when being cordoned, triggering the shootout.

The Rangers spokesperson said they recovered weapons from the hideout of the suspected militants.

The forces continued operation in other areas of the city following the incident.

--IANS

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Parliament on Thursday passed the Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provides for bringing the northeastern state of Nagaland under the jurisdiction of Imphal-based Central Agriculture University in neighbouring Manipur.

The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The Rajya Sabha passed the draft legislation on Thursday without a debate.

The bill seeks to amend the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992, which was enacted for the establishment and incorporation of a university for the northeastern region.

The 1992 act provides for the establishment of a university in the northeastern region for the development of agriculture, and advancement of research in agriculture and allied sciences.

It also states that the university will be responsible for teaching and research in the field of agriculture for the northeastern state.

The premier institute in Manipur capital Imphal has been working towards promoting agro-economic development and research in agriculture and allied sectors.

After inclusion of Nagaland under the jurisdiction of Central Agricultural University, the College of Veterinary Sciences in Nagaland would generate the much-needed professional manpower in the fields of animal husbandry.

The new college would help familiarise the farmers with new techniques, thereby contributing to the production and productivity of domestic animals in Nagaland.

Even as the bill was passed, Congress members took a dig at the government and said the bill must be a money bill since the establishment of university in Nagaland will involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.

"I hope everyone realises there is expenditure involved in setting up university in Nagaland and by the definition of Leader of the House (Arun Jaitley), this is a money bill," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal went ahead to ask Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien about his opinion if it was a money bill.

Congress leader Anand Sharma then said a view needs to be taken on the issue as every bill involves a money component.

The Congress has blamed the government of converting bills into money bill to get past the Rajya Sabha, which does not have a role in passage of money bills. The ruling NDA does not have a majority in the upper house.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pressure is mounting on former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to take up the leadership of the now fragmented UDF, following the exit of Kerala Congress (Mani) from the alliance.

Several Congress and United Democratic Front leaders have approached the party high command with requests that Chandy should return to lead the Congress-led UDF.

Senior Congress leaders M.M. Jacob, Vakkom Purushothaman and K. Sankaranarayanan, all former ministers and former governors, wished that Chandy should return to steer the UDF out of the present impasse.

"He is a very clever leader and one should never underestimate Chandy. He will have to return," said Purushothaman.

Chandy had refused to take up the post of Leader of Opposition or of chairman of the UDF.

Chandy has said a polite no to all media persons who are approaching him for an interview, and when asked why he is not holding a press meet to address various issues, he replies, "I am only an MLA now."

The demands that Chandy should return has strengthened ever since the third biggest ally of the UDF-Kerala Congress (Mani), one of the founders of the UDF formed 34 years back, quit the front last Sunday citing that they were treated shabbily.

And while other leaders from the Congress and UDF spoke harshly against Mani, the master politician that Chandy is - was modest in his reaction and said that he is shocked by the decision.

Chandy had reached Mani's residence last week to urge that he not to do anything drastic, but it fell on deaf ears, when last Sunday his party decided to walk out of the UDF.

With Chandy making his decision to be out of any position, the leadership mantle fell on Ramesh Chennithala who was made leader of opposition and the UDF chairman.

Chandy's skill of managing the coalition was seen during the entire five-year period when he was the Chief Minister (2011-16) and chairman of the UDF. Not many had given Chandy any chance to survive the full term as the UDF began with just a two-seat majority in the 140-member assembly after the 2011 polls.

"He continues to be in shock over the electoral reverse, which he never ever expected to be this bad," a close aide of Chandy told IANS.

Chandy, who turns 73 in October, has won every election he contested from his home constituency - Puthupally in Kottayam district since 1970 - and even though he is just a legislator, his office and home continue to be the most crowded with numerous people coming to see him for various needs.

Many believe that Chandy will return to a top post once the organisational elections of the Congress party is held here later this year.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to increase the maternity leave to 26 weeks from the present 12 weeks.

The bill provides for maternity leave of 26 weeks to women for two surviving children, and also includes the commissioning and adopting mothers.

The surrogate mothers have, however, been left out, a point which was objected to by several opposition members. They sought Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya's assurance that the government will examine it and take action.

The bill, which will now go to the Lok Sabha, will lead to the ratification of International Labour Organization convention number 183 that provides for 14 weeks of maternity benefit to women.

The bill also facilitates 'work from home' for nursing mothers once the leave period ends and has made creche facility mandatory in respect of establishments with 50 or more employees.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to increase the maternity leave to 26 weeks from the present 12 weeks.

The bill provides for maternity leave of 26 weeks to women for two surviving children, and also includes the commissioning and adopting mothers.

The surrogate mothers have, however, been left out, a point which was objected to by several opposition members. They sought Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya's assurance that the government will examine it and take action.

The minister assured the house he will examine the issue.

The bill, which will now go to the Lok Sabha, will lead to the ratification of International Labour Organisation convention number 183 that provides for at least 14 weeks of maternity benefit to women.

The bill also facilitates 'work from home' for nursing mothers once the leave period ends and has made creche facility mandatory in respect of establishments with 50 or more employees.

Employers will have to allow women employees to go to the creche four times during duty hours, which will also include her rest period, the bill said.

Speaking before the bill was passed, Dattatreya said a maternity bonus of up to Rs 3,500 will also be given to women staff.

The minister also said that employers cannot fire a woman on ground of pregnancy.

"The law will benefit more than 1.8 million workforce in this country," Dattatreya said.

The bill also requires employers to inform women about the maternity leave benefits in writing or electronically at the time of joining.

Speaking during the debate, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said the maternity leave is not a holiday, as many people feel.

"This is not a holiday... it is a very stressful time for a woman," Gandhi said.

She said that although her ministry recommended eight-month maternity leave, but the Labour Ministry felt the period of 26 weeks was sufficient.

Participating in the debate, Rajni Patil of the Congress said some companies are not willing to employ married women because then they will have to be given maternity benefits.

"Maternity benefits should be extended to employees in the unorganised sector too," Patil suggested.

She also pitched for paternity leave for men.

"Motherhood is not restricted only to mothers. Fathers should also take the responsibility," Patil said.

Kahkashan Parveen of the Janata Dal-United, meanwhile, said it was for the first time in 18 months that the house was discussing an issue related to women.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Rajya Sabha was disrupted on Thursday as Samajwadi Party members said the Central government was not releasing funds due to Uttar Pradesh (UP).

"UP chief minister, chief secretary and other ministers have written to the Central government several times. The contribution that Centre should give to UP is not being given. There is partiality," SP leader Ramgopal Yadav said in the Rajya Sabha.

He said the money not being given includes that for flood mitigation, compensation for crop destroyed by hail, minority, and scheduled caste scholarships, and funds for making roads.

"Had it been their own government, they would have given the money, unless they assure they will disperse the money in next few days, we will not allow the house to function," Yadav said.

Soon after SP members trooped near the chairman's podium.

Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader Sharad Yadav said similar treatment was being given to Bihar.

"Centre is not implementing crop insurance scheme in BIhar," Ali Anwar Ansari of JD-U said.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said: "Wherever there is non-Bharatiya Janata Party government they are not giving money."

As protests continued, Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien adjourned the house for 15 minutes.

When the house reassembled the protests resumed, and Kurien adjourned it till 12 p.m.

--IANS

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Raising objections to involvement of private players in the company formed to manage the accounting and collection of GST, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has written to the Prime Minister to "have a close second look" in the matter.

The company, Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), was incorporated in March 2013 by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government with 49 per cent government share and 51 per cent private shares.

"It was a swift and secret move in 2013 to float this company with 51 per cent private shares... All the data management for computation of tax share, will be by GSTN. That is, the finance ministry in 2013 took this decision to outsource such confidential assessment and activity, to the private sector," Swami wrote.

"Being a Section 25 company, GSTN is a not-for-profit organisation. Then why should private profit making entities have any stake, and that too majority stake in it? What is in it for them," he pointed out.

Swami said the GSTN has "appropriated nearly Rs 4,000 crore in expenses and fees for its preliminary exercises".

"I urge you to subject GSTN to a close second look and thorough scrutiny," he said.

The private companies holding shares in GSTN include ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and LIC Housing Finance Ltd.

"A close look at the private partners reveals that entities such as the HDFC Bank, lClCl Bank and LIC Housing Finance Limited have shareholding of several foreign investment companies," Swami said.

Asserting that tax administration is a matter that deals with sensitive private information, Swami found it "shocking" that the home ministry was not even consulted before making this decision.

"The GST Bill at present has a long way to go. Adequate security has to be established to ensure that this data does not fall in the wrong hands.

There is still time to put the right government owned structure in place," he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ukraine has denied a statement by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on troops attempting to invade Crimea and plotting terror attacks on the peninsula.

"The FSB's statement does not correspond to reality," the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry has described the FSB's statement as an "attempt by Russia to justify the redeployment of its military units" in Crimea.

Earlier on Wednesday, the FSB said in a statement that over the weekend, it prevented several groups of armed "saboteurs", who were members of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's intelligence forces, from invading Crimea.

An FSB officer and a Russian serviceman were killed in clashes with the "saboteurs", the statement said.

The armed groups were preparing terror attacks on the peninsula's infrastructure, which were aimed at destabilising the social and political situation in Crimea on the eve of federal and regional elections, read the statement.

Last week, the Ukrainian State Border Service said that Russia was building up troops levels along the contact line separating Crimea and Ukraine's southern Kherson region.

Russia has not made official comments on the claim.

The autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were absorbed into Russia in March 2014 following a referendum, which was recognised by Moscow but rejected by Kiev.

About 9,000 people were reported to have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine that followed the Russian annexation of Crimea.

The US and European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow in response to its seizure of the territory.

--IANS

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday instructed all military units near Crimea and the eastern Ukrainian Donbass region to be at the highest level of combat readiness.

Poroshenko gave the order after a military meeting here. It comes after Russia's security service said on Wednesday it had foiled a terrorist attack in Crimea plotted by Kiev.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had found a group of infiltrators in Crimea, near the Ukrainian border. The infiltrators were preparing to target Crimea infrastructure, the agency said. Explosive devices and ammunition were also discovered at the scene.

A network of agents from Ukraine's chief intelligence directorate has been uncovered in Crimea, according to the FSB.

Meanwhile, security in the region has been tightened due to the discovery, the FSB announced, saying that additional security arrangements have been made near major infrastructure objects, in crowded places, and on the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Kiev denied claims that it was behind the terrorist plot, and accused Moscow of provocation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Ukraine has turned to "the practice of terrorism" and "is playing a dangerous game", calling Kiev's actions "stupid and criminal".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mahatma Gandhi's Sevagram Ashram at Wardha has offered the Dalit victims of Una to shift to its premises in Maharashtra after they expressed fear for their lives at their native village Mota Samadhiyala.

Wardha Ashram President Jaywant Mathkar made the offer when a delegation of the Gandhians visited the victims at their native village in Una taluka in Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a delegation spokesman said on Thursday.

The family members of the four Dalit youth, who were flogged in broad daylight by cow vigilantes in Una town in July 11, are said to have told the delegation that they were afraid that they might become "victims of accidents" and get killed.

Mathkar assured the families that they would not only be provided various facilities free of cost for the next 25 years, but also each family would be given two acres of land and a cow and all facilities for education of their children at the ashram.

The Sarva Seva Sangh of the Akhil Bharatiya Sarvodaya Mandal and the Gujarat Lok Samiti jointly announced a donation of Rs 50,000 to the victims.

Besides the Wardha Gandhi Ashram, the Sarvodaya Sangh and the Gujarat Lok Samiti, the delegation also included representatives of the Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal and the Sadbhavana Seva Sangh.

A large number of Gandhians also held a day-long fast at the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad as a penance for the atrocities committed on the Dalits in Gujarat as well as in different parts of the country by the so-called upper caste people.

The Gandhians also demanded that the land collected during the 'Bhoodan' movement by Acharya Vinoba Bhave and still in the possession of the state governments, should be allocated to the Dalits.

In Gujarat alone, they said, about 53,000 acres of land had still remained un-allocated which should be given to the Dalit families.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat CID Crime Police have arrested one more person allegedly involved in the Una incident, taking the total number of those arrested in the case to 34. The police said some more arrests were likely in this case.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It is axiomatic that it will be difficult to curb activities which are considered harmful to society unless there is deterrence in law against them. An element of fear over falling foul of the law should be there. On the other hand, excessively harsh laws that make criminals out of fairly ordinary transgressors run the risk of becoming counterproductive. A sense of unfairness, where there should be remorse, overtakes the wrongdoer. In the case of India, lawmakers have an additional reason why they should think several times before passing legislation with very tough provisions for violation: The Indian system is easily prone to abuse by law enforcers and tough sanctions can provide a handle for harassment and rent-seeking.
With reference to Malini Bhupta's report, "COAI-Trai tussle to impact spectrum auctions" (August 11), the fight between the two could jeopardise the fate of future spectrum auctions and the government's revenue projections. Profit-seeking telecom operators may find it difficult to bid for spectrum because of their self-perceived inability to make revenue projections. The locking of horns does not augur well for either of them.
The backlash bandwagon has rolled over Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing. Australia's treasurer moved on Thursday to block the sale of a majority stake in Ausgrid, the country's largest electricity distribution network. The stumbling block is national security, since both bidders have ties to . But, Li's Cheung Kong Infrastructure is a very different animal from Beijing-owned State Grid. With recent snubs in Britain and Canada, it looks as if the climate for Chinese overseas investment is souring rapidly.
West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra has highlighted an issue of critical importance - the rise in the indebtedness of his state, and indeed of many other states. In an interview with this newspaper, he has also urged the Centre to examine ways to mitigate the debt-induced stress that states like his are faced with. Mr Mitra is right in his diagnosis that the problems arising out of worsening state indebtedness will not only impair the fiscal health of the states concerned, but also be harmful for India's growth prospects. The Centre, therefore, cannot wash its hands of the responsibility of assessing what is ailing states' finances and what needs to be done to repair the damage. In the last four years, the aggregate liabilities of state governments have seen a double-digit growth every year, ranging between 10.8 per cent and 12.7 per cent. The share of states' consolidated debt in gross domestic product (or GDP), however, has stayed at around 22 per cent, below the target of 24.3 per cent recommended by the Thirteenth Finance Commission. This is also lower than the 25 per cent cap identified by the Fourteenth Finance Commission as a condition states must fulfil if they were to exceed their fiscal deficit target of three per cent of gross state domestic product (or GSDP) by 25 basis points.
India has added around 1,300 MW of solar power generation capacity in the April-July period this fiscal, Parliament was informed today.

"Solar projects are set up both by a large number of private companies and government-owned entities in the country. As on July 31, 2016, solar projects of 8,062 MW have been set up," New & Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply the Lok Sabha.

According to the statement, India's solar power generation capacity was 6,762.85 MW at the end of last fiscal i.E. March 31, 2016. Thus the country added roughly 1,300 MW of solar power generation capacity till July-end this fiscal taking the cumulative capacity to 8,062 MW.

The minister stated that the 3,018.88 MW solar power generation capacity has been added during the last fiscal compared to 1,112.07 MW in 2014-15.

The minister also stated that the trend from the last few years has shown fall in prices of solar photovolatic modules in the country.

The cost of solar PV modules per MW as per the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's order for the determination of benchmark capital cost has come down to Rs 3.28 crore for the current fiscal from Rs 3.65 crore and Rs 3.32 crore in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively.

Earlier this week, the minister hdd told Rajya Sabha that tenders for solar projects worth 20,766 MW have been issued so far, out of which power purchase agreements have been signed for 8,482 MW.

Out of the 20,766 MW capacity, letter of intent has been issued for 3,392 MW while financial bids have been opened for 1,930 MW.

Presently, tenders have been floated for 6,962 MW for which bids are yet to be opened.

Government is hopeful of adding around 10,500 MW solar power generation capacity during the current fiscal. It has an ultimate objective of adding 100 GW of solar power generation capacity by 2022.

The Minister had told the House that during 2016-17, a capacity addition target of 4,000 MW and 12,000 MW has been proposed for wind and solar, respectively.
At least 10 people were today killed and 20 others injured, including two seriously, when a vehicle pile-up occurred in east China involving two buses, a car and a motorcycle.

The pile-up took place in Boshan district of Shadong province's Zibo city around 8:23 am when a truck collided with two buses, a car and a motorcycle on a village road, state-run agency Xinhua quoted the district government as saying.

Four persons on a bus, one in the car and another in the truck died, an initial report said.

Two of the 20 injured were said to be in critical condition.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Krishna Pushkaram, the 12-day festival that comes once in every 12 years, begins tomorrow with over three crore devotees expected to take a holy dip in the river across Andhra Pradesh.

About 3.5 crore people are expected to take a holy dip in river Krishna in three districts of Andhra Pradesh but over 80 per cent of this crowd will be performing the rituals in Vijayawada, the hub of Krishna Pushkaram every time.

Having successfully completed the interlinking of rivers Godavari and Krishna through the Pattisam Lift Irrigation Scheme, the state government now wants to embark on the next step to link river Krishna with Penna.

"We have interlinked Godavari and Krishna and now we have to extend it to Penna and later to Somasila. The ultimate objective is to make AP drought-free by the next Pushkaram," Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said.

In all, 170 bathing ghats have been readied in Kurnool, Guntur and Krishna districts for the Pushkaram.

A daily 'harati' programme will be organised at Ibrahimpatnam near here, where the Godavari flows into Krishna. A host of cultural programmes involving top artistes have been lined up at various places.

The unique feature of Krishna Pushkaram this year is that its technology-driven.

The government machinery is making extensive use of various information and communication technology tools for effective crowd management and provision of facilities for the lakhs of pilgrims who throng the bathing ghats every day.

While the state government launched a website krishnapushkaram.Ap.Gov.In containing exhaustive information about the event, a GPS-based mobile application has also been launched for people to obtain information on ghats, the rush, bus services, etc.

Led by Krishna District Collector Babu A and Chief Minister's Joint Secretary P S Pradyumna, officials have developed a software application Kaizala, in collaboration with Microsoft that will act as an interaction tool between the multi-disciplinary teams that have been deployed for Pushkaram duties.

Krishna is one of the 12 large perennial rivers in the country. It originates in Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra and merges in the Bay of Bengal at Hamsaladeevi in Krishna district after traversing Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

"We have over 60,000 staff deployed for Pushkaram



duties and communicating will become easier and quicker with this single application.It also has an inbuilt location-tracking system for monitoring deployment and movement of staff," Babu said.

For the first time in the country, the administration has also introduced child tracking services to easily locate children in case they go missing.

"We will tag every child entering a bathing ghat with a waterproof band that will have their mobile phone number. In case a child goes missing, the tag will help in easy identification of the child and the parents," Babu added.

The police department, according to Director General of Police Nanduri Sambasiva Rao, has installed 1400 closed-circuit television cameras at all vantage points for crowd and traffic management.

"We are also deploying 25 drones for live recording at all ghats. In all, 31,401 police personnel, including officers, will be on duty to ensure smooth conduct of the festival," the DGP said.

Besides CRPF personnel, policemen from neighbouring Karnataka, Odisha and Chhattisgarh were also deployed for bandobust duties.

A helicopter is being kept on standby for use in emergency.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams will provide free food to one lakh people while the Akshaya Patra Foundation will cater to another three lakh pilgrims every day during the 12-day festival, according to Pushkaram special officer B Rajasekhar.

The Railways, on its part, will be running 646 special trains from different places to Vijayawada while the AP State Road Transport Corporation will ply 2500 special services.

In Vijayawada city alone, over 700 city buses will be in operation to ferry pilgrims to bathing ghats free of cost.
A high-profile judge today escaped an assassination attempt targetting his convoy in Pakistan's restive Balochistan but 14 people including security officials were injured in the roadside bombing, three days after 74 people mostly lawyers were killed in a suicide attack.

10 civilians and four security officials of the Anti- Terrorism Force (ATF) were injured in today's powerful explosion on the busy Zarghon Road in Balochistan's capital city of Quetta near the Al Khair Hospital that also shattered windows of nearby buildings, with two in critical condition.

The ATF personnel were escorting the vehicle of Justice Zahoor Shahwani of the Federal Shariat Court when the blast took place.

"The judge is safe but 14 others have been wounded including some civilians who were near the impact area," a senior police official said.

Balochistan Home minister Sarfaraz Bugti said the judge escaped the attack but one of the security vehicles escorting him was damaged.

No group immediately took responsiblity for the attack, which came after a suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital on Monday killed at least 74 people, many of them senior lawyers, and injured 115 others targetting the legal community, seen as a strong force against terrorism in the troubled southwestern region.

The suicide attack took place after lawyers and well- wishers had gathered at the Civil Hospital to mourn the death of President of the Baluchistan Bar Association Bilal Anwar Kasi who was shot dead outside his residence earlier in the day.

Bugti said three to four kilogrammes of explosive material was used in today's blast. The bomb was planted along the side of the road and exploded as the ATF vehicle passed by.

"The area is a congested and busy one and those responsible for this have not been identified or arrested.

"This is a busy road and the terrorists take advantage of this, planting bombs and fleeing on motorcycles," he said, strongly condemning the attack.

"These blasts are aimed at sabotaging Independence Day activities in Balochistan. I believe these cowardly acts will not bring down our morale. We are in a conflict zone and we will fight with renewed resolve.

"We are reviewing our security measures and you will see changes on the ground," the minister said.

Security forces and a bomb disposal squad reached the scene to collect evidence. Police cordoned off the area as a search operation went underway.

Bugti said the terror attacks in Quetta appeared to be an aim to sabotage Independence Day activities in Balochistan which has been hit by terrorist attacks by militants and separatists who demand more autonomy in the province in recent times while outlawed outfits have also carried out sectarian killings of Shia Muslim Hazaras and targeted police and security officials.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 15-year-old girl was allegedly drugged and gang-raped after being abducted by three persons in Uttar Pradesh's Loni area, police said.

The victim's father said in the complaint that she was made unconscious by using chloroform drug and abducted by one Dilshad alias Diloo his two other associates on August 7, Deputy Superintendent of Police Anil Yadav said.

The accused took turns to rape the girl in a semi- constructed house in Nishant colony of Tronica city.

Next day, she was dropped at Khad Khadi village railway station. The traumatized girl reached home and narrated her ordeal to the parents, police said.

The victim's parents could not muster courage to lodge an FIR against the accused fearing the case could bring disrepute to the family, they said.

Later, an FIR lodged against Dilshad and two others under relevant provisions of the IPC and POCSO Act and the girl was sent for medical examination.

Dilshad was arrested while a manhunt has been launched to nab the absconding accused, police added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CPI(M) today accused TMC of inflicting "unprecedented" violence on Left cadre in West Bengal, claiming the ruling party men killed 183 Left workers over the past five years and injured 2,000 others and charged it with targeting women sympathisers "specifically".

In the same breath, the CPI(M) criticised the Centre too, accusing it of "intervening in all matters, but going slow" in connection with CBI enquiries against TMC leaders (in Saradha scam) to protect the "tainted" members of the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

"The TMC, backed by the government and large section of police, has unleashed violence against Left workers and those sections who oppose and dissent (against it)...We not seen such large scale attack against any political party in the history of Independent India," CPI(M) Politburo member Brinda Karat told reporters here.

"The Central government intervenes in almost every issue...But on the issue of CBI enquiry against West Bengal leaders is not happening. So, it is clear the Modi Government is trying to save these leaders," she alleged.

Brinda, who was accompanied by party leader MA Baby, said the alleged attacks have been at "several levels" with the TMC workers seeking to "eliminate" Left from the state by targeting its workers, damaging offices of communist parties, trade unions and affiliated mass outfits.

According to a booklet 'Democracy Under Siege in West Bengal' the duo released during the briefing, "TMC men allegedly looted 649 offices of CPI(M), 14 of Left Front and as many of the Congress. Besides, 131 offices of trade unions have been attacked in similar manner," the booklet claims.

It also alleged that 8 women Left sympathisers have been raped by TMC "criminals", while 86 others were physically assaulted/sexually harassed during the ruling party's tenure beginning in 2011.

"There are specific assaults on women. The use of rape, terror, the threat that if you continue to hold red flag, your daughter will be picked up. Your sons and children will be targeted. The fact that women are standing with red flag is extremely commendable...The women activists have shown exemplary courage," Brinda said.

She alleged that villages "which polled in favour of opposition parties" were "burnt completely" by the TMC workers as it is easy to make out voting patterns across booths due to electronic voting machines these days.

Brinda further alleged the state government and "a large section" of police were backing the attackers. On the contrary, over 125 Left Front workers and leaders have been arrested in "false and fabricated" cases, they claimed.

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Baby termed the attacks as "undeclared Emergency" imposed on Left cadre and questioned silence of media on the issue even as he urged it to bring the alleged violence to light.

He also expressed hope that the Left parties will stage a comeback in the state.

Brinda though stated the attacks are being "resisted" by the workers of Left parties, even as party units from other states are expressing solidarity with their West Bengal counterpart.
Two main streets in a South African town have been renamed after two Indian-origin veterans who played a critical role in the non-violent struggle against apartheid in the country.

Goolam Suleman and EV Mohamed played important roles in supporting late African National Congress President Chief Albert Luthuli, who was confined to his home in the area with repeated banning by the white minority apartheid government.

Formerly known as Stanger, the town was renamed after the advent of democracy under Nelson Mandela in 1994.

One of the main streets through KwaDukuza town, Cato Street has been renamed after Mohammed and Hullett Street after Suleman.

"The two gentlemen worked very closely with Luthuli, who was a banned individual at the time," said KwaDukuza mayor Ricardo Mthembu at an official renaming ceremony.

"They supported him in his work by receiving correspondence, arranging couriers, served as secretaries, drivers and availed facilities for underground ANC meetings," Mthembu said.

Mthembu referred to Suleman and Mohammed as "the architects and midwives of the democratic South Africa", because they had even organised a concert to help raise funds for the infamous 1956 Treason Trial in which Luthuli was one of the accused".

Because Luthuli's house was under constant police watch, Mohammed's offices were used for Luthuli's meetings.

Mohammed had also been a key player in organising a huge public protest against Luthuli's banning order in 1959, which prevented him from getting a South Africa passport.

A year later, Luthuli became the first person from outside the Americas and Europe to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of non-violence in the fight against apartheid.

Mthembu said it was important to recognise the efforts of people who had played a role in the liberation of South Africa and its people to ensure that their contribution was not erased from the memory of the nation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A gangster and two policemen from Maharashtra's crime branch were injured in a shootout in the city, police said on Thursday.

The crime branch team from had come here to nab Sagar Rajput, a member of Gajanan Marne gang (of Pune), who is wanted in a murder and several other cases in Maharashtra.

As the police team dressed in plain clothes last night around 10 PM zeroed-in on Rajput who was riding a scooter at a spot behind Nehru Bhavan here, he tried to escape.

This was followed by a shootout between Rajput and the police team which continued for 20 minutes and around 12 rounds were fired by both the sides, police said.

One of the policemen received injury in chest while the other hurt his leg, they said.

In the exchange of fire, Rajput received injuries on his leg and he jumped a wall of a residential locality and hid behind it.

Later, Rajput was nabbed with the help of local police after residents of the locality informed them about him being hiding behind the wall.

City Police Commissioner E Radhakrishnan and other officials rushed to the spot.

"We have been trying to locate Rajput's wife and his other contacts in the city and weapons used by him," a senior police official said, adding an investigation in underway in the matter.

According to police sources, there is a rivalry between the Marne and Nilesh Ghaywal gang in .
Two Railway policemen posted at Old Delhi station have been shifted to police lines for alleged negligence and meting out "unprofessional treatment" to a 16-year-old mentally-challenged girl from Rohtak.

Constables Parminder and Ranvir had found the girl shivering in cold at Old Delhi Railway station seven months back.

Police said they had temporarily accommodated the girl on the station but did not take the follow up action. Later during a probe, the duo were spotted with the girl on the platform over two days in CCTV footage.

Explaining the sequence of events, a police official said, the girl had boarded a train from Rohtak and reached Old Delhi station. Two days later, she boarded a train back to Rohtak and reached to her family, said the officer.

Meanwhile, the girl's parents had registered a case of missing persons at a police station in Rohtak and when she returned, they approached the police with her.

She levelled serious allegations against the two policemen.

Following this, the Rohtak Police visited Old Delhi Railway police station and the CCTV footage showed the presence of girl with the two cops.

The footage was taken by Rohtak Police and a report was prepared on the basis of it but no action was taken.

However, later the Railway police instituted a probe in which the cops were found guilty and were sent to police lines last week and the departmental enquiry has been instituted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than 200 technical institutes in the country were "allowed" to shut down due to "a variety of reasons" by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in past two years, the government today said.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Mahendra Nath Pandey submitted data according to which a total of 10,328 technical institutions functioned in the country in 2015-16.

Over 20 lakh students were enrolled in them.

"Only 125 institutions in 2015-16 and 106 institutions in 2016-17 have applied for closure due to variety of reasons and have been allowed to shut down by AICTE," Pandey said.

He was separately asked whether the Central University of Jharkhand was being run at a Panchayat Training Campus, to which the Union minister replied in the affirmative.

"Yes, sir," he said.

Further, the minister went on to explain the reason for running a central university at a panchyat campus, saying the construction of new buildings has been stopped as the CBI was conducting an inquiry into allegations of irregularities.

"CBI has advised the university not to release any payments to the contractors/suppliers/architects. As such, the buildings are incomplete and the university has not been moved to new buildings," Pandey said.
The first batch of 26 Indian workers, who had lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia, arrived here today after the country issued them exit visas.

Saudi Arabia had agreed to swiftly resolve plight of thousands of laid-off Indian workers including providing them free passage to return to India during visit of Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh to the Gulf nation last week.

"Minister of State, V K Singh has had very productive meetings with the Labour minister and other senior ministers during his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"As a result of these meetings, the process of lodging claims and for those wishing to come back to India has already started," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

He said India appreciated the "magnanimous view" taken by the Saudi Arabian Government of granting exit visas expeditiously and agreeing to bear the expenses for the travel of the workers.

Saudi Arabia has also set up a crisis management group to address difficulties being faced by the jobless Indian workers while a separate panel has been appointed to look into their claims relating to unpaid wages.

Saudi rules restricts foreign workers to leave the country without NoC by the employers.

"The swift action to tackle a localised problem specific only to some companies of Saudi Arabia signifies the deep and abiding relationship that our two countries share. We are confident that this will alleviate the problems faced by workers of all nationalities," said the MEA Spokesperson.

The Spokesperson referred to the difficulties of retrenched workers of Saudi Oger limited and said the first batch of 26 Indian workers were issued exit visas. The workers came by a flight from Jeddah.

"From here, respective state governments will be making arrangements for their travel to their home towns," Swarup said.

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Meanwhile, as per figures presented to the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar while replying to a question, a total of 55,730 Indians have returned from Saudi Arabia between August 2015 and July 2016.

The number of people returned from the country included those on home visits and coming to India on other purposes.

As per the figures, the number of returnees in May this year was 7,752 while it was over 8,000 in June and 6,437 in July.

Replying to a separate question, Akbar said negotiations for an extradition treaty between India and Afghanistan was in the final stage.
Russian air strikes on the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa in northern Syria on Friday killed at least 30 people, including civilians and jihadists, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 raids hit the city and its outskirts, wounding at least 70 .

The monitor could not specify how many of those killed were IS militants.

confirmed that six Tupolev warplanes carried out airstrikes around Raqa, but said it had demolished "a chemical weapons factory in the city's northwestern outskirts."



The defence ministry said the raids also destroyed a weapons storage facility and a training camp for IS fighters to the north and southeast.

The ministry said that the jihadists had suffered "significant material damages" in the strikes and that "a large number of fighters have been killed."



The raids comes a day after the ministry said it would halt fire around Syria's ravaged city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid in, an initiative the United Nations said is insufficient to meet the city's needs.

The UN has called for urgent aid access to Aleppo and 48-hour weekly pauses for the aid deliveries, warning that civilians are at grave risk from water shortages and disease as fighting has intensified.

Fighting between government forces and rebels in Aleppo has intensified in the past month, with both sides sending in reinforcements.
Four booklets reportedly written by former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, who allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday last, have been found in his room and handed over to police.

"We have not read the booklets so it cannot be assumed as suicide note. There was no diary found from the spot as has been reported earlier. Police have already registered a case and it is under investigation," Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Talo Potom, who conducted the inquest, told reporters here today.

The four 60-page booklets, titled 'Mere Vichaar' (My Thoughts), allegedly signed by Pul, were found in the room where Pul was found dead, the ADM said.

Potom said he had sealed the documents and handed it over to police.

"I was only ordered to conduct inquest by the District Magistrate under Section 176 of the CrPc," he said.

The ADM said four mobile handsets and one tablet were also found and handed over to police.

Principal Secretary (Home) Satya Gopal said that an enquiry would be carried out.

Gopal said the medical board constituted by the state government has not submitted the post-mortem report yet. "They are duty bound to submit the report once it is finalised," he said.
A five-year-old girl was today electrocuted at her residence at Tiljala in east Kolkata, the police said.

Suhana Khatun, resident of Tiljala Masjid Bari Lane in the Karaya police station area, was killed when she held an iron gate which was touched by a live wire this morning.

Her parents took her to the CNMC Hospital where she was declared 'brought dead'. The body of the deceased was handed over to her father after post-mortem was done at the NRS Hospital.

Last Monday, a 14-year-old student Yash Bengani, a student of Class VIII of Bhowanipore Education Society, was electrocuted while returning from tuition through knee-deep waters in the Bhowanipore police station area.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP today received a shot in the arm in the run up to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due early next year when six MLAs from Congress, BSP and SP joined the saffron party.

Three of them are from Congress, two from BSP and one SP.

The MLAs, who joined the BJP in presence of state party chief Keshav Prasad Maurya are Sanjay Jaiswal, Vijay Dubey and Madhuri Verma (all Cong), Rajesh Tripathi and Bala Prasad Awasthi (both BSP) and Sher Bahadur (SP).

Maurya claimed there was exodus in BSP, SP and Congress.

He said there was "misrule and goondaraj" in Uttar Pradesh against which BJP was fighting from Parliament to streets.

He said there were immense possibilities of development in UP, but the state government was "blocking" them with all its efforts.

"Whatever is happening in the state is due to nexus of BSP and SP," he said.

Meanwhile, BSP supremo Mayawati said those who have joined BJP or any other party, had done so out of sheer personal interest as they were denied tickets long back due to complaints against them.

"The MLAs who joined today had entered the saffron party several times in the past...Therefore, there is nothing new or unexpected in it," she said in a statement.

"Besides being a political party, BSP is also a movement of social change. Therefore, it does not induct 'aya ram, gaya ram' in its fold," she said.

Commenting on today's development, ruling SP alleged that BJP-led central government had "failed" on all fronts and was trying to mislead people. It was making efforts to win election on the basis of "imported" faces, SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said.

"The rejected stuff not required by any party is being inducted by BJP," he said, adding leaders who have lost their relevance were searching new shelters.

"If BJP leaders feel it is gaining popularity, then it is their misnomer," he said.

Among those who joined BJP today, Sanjay Jaiswal is MLA from Rudauli in Basti district, Madhuri Verma represents Nanpara seat in Bahriach district while Vijay Dubey is member from Khadda seat in Kushinagar district.

Rajesh Tripathi is MLA from Chillupar, whereas Bala Prasad Awasthi was elected from Mohammadi seat in Kheri. SP MLA Sher Bahadur represents Jalalpur in Ambedkarnagar.

Uttar Pradesh will go to polls early next year to elect 403 law makers and political activities have hotted up in the run up to the elections.

Yesterday three expelled Congress MLAs joined BSP along with an SP MLA and a BJP leader.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Aam Admi Party today asked Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundra Raje to resign following death of hundreds of cows at government-run Hingonia gaushala, claiming she knew of the poor state but did not move to improve the situation.

AAP leader Ashutosh said that the high court was told by government officials that "the chief minister has been informed about the poor situation in the Gaushala on February 29."



"After which the high court issued detailed guidelines to improve the situation at the Gaushala, but despite all, hundreds of cows have died due to poor arrangements," he said.

Ashutosh, following his visit to the gaushala with other party leaders, demanded the resignation of Raje.

"BJP does dirty politics in the name of cows and it is very disappointing that several hundred cows have died in a BJP-ruled state and what is more disappointing is that chief minister has no time to visit the Gaushala," he told reporters here.

Meanwhile, PCC president Sachin Pilot said the government should hand over the Gaushala to private and experienced entities to save the cows from dying.

"The animal husbandry minister has expressed the government's inability to run the guashala therefore the government should rope in private organisations who serve cows in order to save lives of cows," he said.

"The BJP government is totally insensitive, be it differently-abled people or cows," he said.

More than 100 cows have reportedly died at the cowshed in Jaipur.

The Raje government has been criticised by Congress, VHP, and Bajrang Dal over the death of cows.

Congress has alleged that 100 cows have died due to "mismanagement and lack of facilities" at the gaushala while VHP has claimed that more than 500 cows died due to the "inhuman behaviour" of Raje government towards them.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a shocking incident, a 10-month-old baby died in a UP government hospital here allegedly after he was not given timely treatment by the staff as his parents could not pay the bribe demanded by them, triggering an outrage that prompted Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to remove the Chief Medical Superintendent.

The infant's father, Shivdutt, a daily wage earner, alleged that Krishna died because the hospital staff delayed administering a crucial injection to him and wasted time demanding a bribe for providing treatment.

The victim's family also alleged that the infant was given "a wrong injection" by the nurse leading to his death on the morning of August 9 in the Bahraich district hospital, 130 km from Lucknow.

Taking serious note of the incident, the chief minister issued an order removing the CMS, an official spokesman said in Lucknow.

Akhilesh said that the government was committed to providing better medical facilities to the people and warned that stern action will be taken against insensitive doctors who ignore patients.

Taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, the National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the UP government acting on the basis of media reports.

The NHRC notice was issued to the Principal Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare department seeking a report within four weeks.

Timely treatment in this case, could have saved a precious human life, NHRC said, adding that the incident raises serious issue of violation of right to life of poor patients, who cannot afford expensive treatment at private hospitals.

As the incident came to light, the state government swung into damage-control mode with Minister of State for Health SP Yadav directing the district magistrate to conduct an inquiry and send him the report within 24 hours.

BSP supremo Mayawati attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the Bahraich incident.

Talking to reporters in Delhi, she demanded action against the culprits.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The is struggling to fill a shortage of 700 fighter pilots by the end of the year, even as the US battles in three air wars against the Islamic State group in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James also told Pentagon reporters yesterday that she is planning to pay drone pilots a $35,000 a year retention bonus to encourage them to stay in the service.

The 35,000 a year retention bonus would be an increase over $25,000 bonus the service has been allowed to provide. And all drone pilots would be eligible once their service contract is up.

She added that Air Force needs the authority to increase bonuses for all pilots in order to address the shortage.

The Air Force has grappled with pilot retention for some time, particularly as airlines look to hire them, promising higher salaries and benefits. James said the pilot shortage could grow to 1,000 in a couple years.

"The airlines are forecast to be hiring a lot more," she said, adding that the Air Force also needs to increase its training of new pilots.

She and Gen David Goldfein, Air Force Chief of Staff, said they want to improve pilots' quality of life and their military service conditions, including training and housing.

"It is a crisis," said Goldfein. "Air superiority is not an American birthright, it's actually something you have to fight for."

He said fighter pilots are leaving at a higher rate, and that improving their quality of service as well as beefing up the retention bonus will help address the problem. Fueling that problem, he said, has been the persistent overseas deployments as the US has been engaged in air wars for more than two decades.

"If we take a balanced approach, we're hoping that we can get these folks to stay," he said.

Goldfein said that so far the pilot shortage isn't affecting air operations over Iraq, Syria and Libya. But the ongoing deployments continue to affect pilots' decisions on whether to stay in the service.
Bharti has acquired rights to use 4G airwaves of Aircel in seven out of eight telecom circles under their Rs 3,500-crore spectrum trading deal.

"With respect to the acquisition of rights to use 20 Mhz 2300 band BWA spectrum from Aircel, Bharti Ltd has now informed BSE that the proposed transaction has been successfully concluded for Orissa circle following the receipt of all necessary approvals and satisfying all the conditions," the company said in a regulatory filing.

has entered into the Rs 3,500-crore deal with Aircel to acquire rights to use the latter's 4G spectrum in eight telecom circles -- Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, North East, Orissa and and Andhra Pradesh.

Airtel already has completed the transaction in six circles of Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam and North East. The spectrum trading deal related to the Andhra Pradesh circle is yet to complete.

For Orissa circle, Airtel had to surrender 1.2 Mhz spectrum, worth around Rs 38 crore for approval as it breached the spectrum limit after taking into account Aircel's spectrum.

The deal makes Airtel second largest holder of 4G spectrum in 2300 Mhz band after Reliance Jio Infocomm, which holds the 4G spectrum in all 22 circles of the country.

Meanwhile, the Department of Telecom has put all spectrum trading, sharing and liberalisation deal on hold till the end of auction scheduled to start from September 29.
AMU teachers today gave a call for strike on Saturday to protest the varsity administration's failure to pursue its demands, including the institution of a CBI probe into recent incidents of violence inside the campus.

"The call has been given following a resolution passed by the Executive Committee yesterday," Aligarh Muslim University Teachers' Secretary Association Mustafa Zaidi told reporters.

Zaidi said one of the main demands of the teachers was institution of a CBI probe into recent incidents of violence, including murder, inside the campus in April.

The AMU vice-chancellor had approached UP government for a CBI inquiry but there had been no follow-up on this.

Zaidi said another major demand relates to the restoration of compulsory monthly deduction of subscription of the teachers' association from the salary of the teachers.

The current university administration had tried to financially weaken and strangle the teachers' association by stopping the traditional system of funding, he said.

The teachers have also demanded immediate revoking of the suspension of all the teachers who have been suspended for raising voice for their demands.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The much-awaited joint venture (JV) between steel giant ArcelorMittal and state-run SAIL will be operational by December this year, Steel Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh said today.

"An MoU was signed earlier, but there were some issues related to production, etc, which will be sorted in a month or so. It should be operational by the year-end," Singh told reporters here.

The Minister said the JV plant by the world's largest steel maker and India's biggest steel producer will also focus on producing specialised grade steel products for defence, space and automobiles.

In May this year, an inter ministerial group (IMG) had reviewed the progress of MoU that aims to set up an estimated Rs 5,000-crore joint venture (JV) plant to produce auto grate steel in the country.

Singh's predecessor Narendra Singh Tomar had earlier told PTI: "We have signed an MoU with ArcelorMottal for a steel plant. We want to finalise the project this year. Work on it is progressing."



The proposed JV will construct a cold rolling mill and other downstream finishing facilities in India, touted as one of the fastest-growing automotive markets in the world with production expected to double between 2014 and 2020, from 3.6 million units to 7.3 million units.

In an investor presentation in June 2015, ArcelorMittal had said the proposed steel plant will come up at a major auto cluster in India.

India has four major auto clusters - Pune-Chakan belt in Maharashtra, in the outskirts of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Sanad in Gujarat and the Gurgaon-Neemrana belt spread across Haryana and Rajasthan.

The world's largest steel maker expects India to grow as a hub for automobile export manufacturing facilities to cater to the international market and establishing an automotive focused production presence in the country is a natural progression in executing its global automotive strategy.

The move is considered a big one for ArcelorMittal, which is trying to enter India after failing for a decade to set up plants in Odisha and Jharkhand. Its work on the USD 6.5 billion Karnataka plant is yet to take off.

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As many as 216 people were rescued by the Army and NDRF after an entire village in Sapotara area in Karauli district was inundated following heavy rains.

"In a successful operation, Army and NDRF teams evacuated 216 people from a village last night in Karauli district. They were shifted to safer places," relief secretary Rohit Kumar told PTI.

He also informed that in Alwar's Bansur area, 8 or 9 people are stranded and Air Force has been asked to rescue them.

Army was also deployed last night in Jodhpur where heavy rains have paralysed normal life and many colonies were water logged.

Jalore, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Pali have also been facing flood-like situation following heavy rainfall which has increased the water level in the rivers.
The Himachal Pradesh forest department has planted around 87,000 saplings in the forest range of Parwanoo, Dharampur and nearby areas as compensatory afforestation, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) today informed the National Green Tribunal.

NHAI's counsel informed a bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar that around 52,800 saplings and over 27,000 saplings were planted in Parwanoo and Dharampur respectively.

After the counsel's submission, the bench said, "We will send local commissioner to these two places."



It appointed a local commissioner to visit these places to see plantation of saplings, saying "It was necessary to have a complete verification."



It also said that the saplings would be counted and the commissioner would prepare a video of the area.

"Let the report be filed within two weeks from today," the bench said.

The green panel observed that as per NHAI, these saplings have been planted as a "compensatory afforestation" in view of the trees which were uprooted for a road project from Parwanoo to Shoghi.

It had earlier pulled up the authorities concerned for not planting trees after cutting thousands of plants for the road project and had observed that "time is not far away when people will have to carry oxygen cylinder" due to environment degradation.

The tribunal had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the matter pertaining to cutting of trees from Parwanoo to Shoghi in Himachal Pradesh for the project.

The NGT had directed the conservator of forest to file an affidavit giving details of number of trees cut in the stretch and had also asked the NHAI and state government to file their reports on the issue.
The government is planning to increase the compensation to the families of persons killed in man-elephant conflict from the current amount of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh.

To a question by All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Aminul Islam during the Question Hour in the Assembly, state forest minister Pramila Rani Brahma said 1,024 persons were killed by wild elephants across 22 districts in the last 16 years. Of them, 770 lost their lives in the last 10 years.

"We have a system of giving compensation to the families of victims. Currently, it is Rs 1 lakh. The value of one's life cannot be just one lakh, in fact it is priceless. Still we have proposed to increase it to Rs 3 lakh, provided we get approval from the finance department," she said.

Of the 1,024 persons whop were killed, compensation has been paid to the families of 972 victims, Brahma said.

"Earlier, the Congress government was complacent, so not all families received the compensation. In the last 10 years, 718 families were compensated. We have now changed some procedure so that people get the money easily," the minister said.

To a question by Nandita Das, Brahma said the government is adopting various measures to prevent man-elephant conflicts.

The forest department is installing solar powered fences, elephant-proof trenches, crackers and high-power search lights among other things at different places to protect human lives, Brahma said.

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Romanian national Gabrial Mariam, who was allegedly involved in the hi-tech ATM robbery which rocked the Kerala capital, was brought here today after being arrested from Navi Mumbai.

The 35-year-old Gabrial, one among four Romanians accused in the robbery in which a large number of persons lost their money from their accounts, was taken into custody on transit remand from a court in Mumbai and brought here by air, police sources said.

While the other three accused are still at large, Gabrial was nabbed from a hotel in Vashi by a team of Kerala Police on Wednesday night, with the help of Mumbai Crime Branch.

After the robbery came to light, a case was registered under IPC Section 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc) and under relevant sections of the IT Act at Museum Police Station of Thiruvananthapuram.

The arrest came after Kerala Police zeroed in on four foreign nationals suspected to be the key players behind the ATM robbery and decided to seek Interpol's help to track them.

The four, found installing an electronic device inside an ATM kiosk of a public sector bank at Vellayambalam here, had been caught in the CCTV installed there.

Police sources said interrogation of the accused would commence today itself.

The foreign nationals, including Gabrial, had come to India on June 25 and reached Kerala on July 8.

They had come on tourist visas and had taken rooms in a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram for two days.

Over 20 people had lodged complaints, saying money was withdrawn from their accounts in a fraudulent way.

As per the preliminary assessment, about Rs 2.5 lakh had been lost, police said.

It is suspected that the electronic device at the ATM counter enabled the fraudsters collect the secret pin code and card details.

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Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Head of the Punjab Dialogue Kanwar Sandhu today alleged recent incidents of atrocities against Dalits have exposed the real face of BJP.

In a bid to identify issues related to the Dalit community to be incorporated in the party's poll manifesto, AAP discussed the people from the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe category in a session.

Addressing the gathering, Sandhu said growing incidents of atrocities against Dalits in the country has made it more significant to know the issues of Dalits from horses' mouth to set agenda of the forthcoming AAP's Government in Punjab.

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will block the sale of the $7.7-billion electricity network in its most populous state to two companies from mainland China and Hong Kong, it said on Thursday, citing national security.

The move highlighted Canberra's concerns over investment from Beijing and follows its rejection of the sale of the country's biggest private landowner to a Chinese-led consortium.

Chinese state media reacted angrily, with the official Xinhua news agency calling the latest decision "absurd and almost comical".

China's State Grid Corp and Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings had bid for the 99-year lease of the nation's largest electricity network, Ausgrid, with the sale expected to raise more than AUD 10 billion ($7.7 billion) for the New South Wales state government, according to some estimates.

But Treasurer Scott Morrison said he told the bidders their proposals to secure a stake of just over 50 per cent in Ausgrid, which supplies power to more than 1.6 million homes and businesses, were "contrary to the national interest".

"Ausgrid's footprint includes critical power and communication services that Ausgrid provides," Morrison told reporters in Brisbane.

"The national security concerns are not country-specific and relate to the transaction structure and the nature of the assets."



Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings and Power Assets Holdings, owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, already own 51 per cent of South state's power grid.

China's State Grid Corp also has investments in energy infrastructure in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South and Victoria.

Morrison said there were national security concerns about NSW's power assets, without giving details.

China is Australia's largest trading partner and the two countries signed a free trade agreement last year, with Beijing winning concessions on investment.

But a commentary on Xinhua said that "paranoia over Chinese investment is becoming a real problem".

"Behind the hurdles lies the dangerous mind-set of China-phobia," it said, adding: "To suggest that China would try to kidnap the countries' electricity network for ulterior motive is absurd and almost comical".

The grid decision came just months after the government introduced tougher rules for the sale of major Australian state-owned infrastructure to private foreign investors, after concerns about a 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin to China's Landbridge Group.

Despite Canberra's decision, the Treasurer added that his government continued to welcome foreign investment, saying some AUD 160 billion in sales were approved in 2013-14.

"We will continue to actively engage with the rest of the world, because foreign investment capital is important to Australian jobs," he said.

The two bidders have one week to appeal.

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Private sector Axis Bank today launched a micro-lending product to disburse unsecured loans of up to Rs 15,000 to the urban low income segment using payments company Suvidhaa Inforserve's customer database.

"This is the first-of-its-kind offering which will give collateral-free loans of up to Rs 15,000 within two hours to deserving individuals based on their cash flow history," Axis Bank Executive Director Rajiv Anand said.

Suvidhaa, which is into remittances, bill payments and rail bookings among others, has over the past nine years accumulated data on transactions of its 35 million customers which will be used by the bank to disburse the loans even if credit information companies are unable to provide data.

Apart from term loan, the bank has also included an overdraft facility under the product to enable small traders and hawkers, who are in need for short-term liquidity, to avail credits and if they pay the same day, will be interest-free as well, the private lender said.

A customer can walk into any of the over 22,000 outlets from where Suvidhaa serves Axis Bank as a business correspondent to avail the loan.

After a paperless process involving the customer establishing his/her identity and using the Aadhaar-based e-KYC, the customer is given a prepaid card on which the loan amount is loaded. The interest payments start only after the customer withdraws the money.

While the tenor of a term loan is up to 18 months, the same for an overdraft is one year, bank officials said, adding the interest will be above 14 per cent.

Axis Bank has been testing the product since last December in the financial capital and already acquired over 900 customers so far. It is targeting to roll out the product in Surat, Pune amd Delhi to start with, and targeting to reach 1 lakh customers in an undefined time frame, Anand said.

The product will be an extension of the bank's micro-lending vertical where it has acquired over 1.3 million customers and built an asset book of Rs 2,000 crore.

Meanwhile, Anand said at present there are no plans to take any stake in any of the payments banks but the lender is in talks to explore opportunities of cross-selling its products with multiple entities.

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Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh today accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of "trying to polarise people" along communal lines for "political gains", and said his party will not let this happen as the state cannot afford "another dark era".

He alleged that the Chief Minister was responsible for the "spate in violent incidents" in the state, including the attack on RSS' Punjab vice president Jagdish Gagneja last week.

Gagneja was shot at by some bike-borne persons at Jyoti Chowk area in Jalandhar, leaving him seriously injured.

"The Deputy Chief Minister cannot pass off everything on the ISI," Amarinder said while speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of 'Halqe vich Captain' programme here.

"We all know what the ISI is up to. But what are you doing to stop it from executing its nefarious designs? Mere chest beating and blaming them will not solve any problem. You need to act," he said.

"There was a consistent pattern in desecration incidents in Bargari, Ludhiana and Malerkotla. And then came the attack on the RSS leader," Amarinder claimed, alleging, "The Chief Minister is deliberately orchestrating all this to polarise people for vested political interests."



"This is a dangerous game and Congress will not let it happen as Punjab cannot afford another dark era. If such things continue to happen, Punjab will further slide down. Also investors are reluctant to come here," he claimed.

On AAP leader H S Phoolka's threat of filing defamation suit against him, Amarinder said, "He is welcome to do that.

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Militants today shot at and injured two civilians in Tangmarg area of North Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said.

The militants opened fire on Aftab Ahmed and Abdur Rehman at Tangmarg on the Srinagar-Gulmarg raod at around 7 pm, injuring the two civialams, a police official said.

While Aftab was admitted to local hospital, Rehman has been referredf to a hospital in Srinagar, he said.

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Pro-government forces today battled to clear the Islamic State group from its main Libyan stronghold of Sirte, after dealing a major blow to the jihadists by seizing their headquarters.

IS fighters still control several areas of the Mediterranean city, whose capture in June last year sparked fears that the extremist group would use it as a springboard for attacks on Europe.

The fall of Sirte would be a huge setback to the jihadists' efforts to expand their self-proclaimed "caliphate" beyond Syria and Iraq where they have also suffered a string of losses.

Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government made a significant breakthrough yesterday in their nearly three-month-old offensive to retake the city, seizing a conference centre where IS had set up a base.

"The battle for Sirte has reached its final phase, after the successful offensive by our heroes," a spokesman for the forces, General Mohamad Ghassri, said today in remarks carried by the LANA agency.

The rapid advance comes after the United States launched air strikes on IS positions in the city for the first time on August 1.

The US Africa Command said 36 strikes had been carried out against IS positions since the start of "Operation Odyssey Lightning", including seven on Tuesday.

IS took advantage of the chaos that followed the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Mummar Gaddafi in 2011 to gain a foothold in the oil-rich North African country.

Yesterday, the forces loyal to the Government of National Accord also seized the University of Sirte campus just south of the Ouagadougou conference centre as well as the Ibn Sina Hospital to the north.

Libyan television broadcast images of flag-waving soldiers in recaptured areas including the Ouagadougou centre, flashing victory signs as they posed for photographs.

The pro-GNA forces said 16 of their fighters were killed and dozens wounded yesterday in the fighting in Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown which lies just across the Mediterranean from Italy.

It was unclear how many IS fighters were killed, but the centre said that at least 20 jihadists had died in fighting for the university campus.

In total more than 300 pro-government fighters have been killed and 1,800 wounded in the operation for Sirte, according to medical sources in the city of Misrata, where the operation's command centre in based.

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Accusing the BJD government of doing "petty politics" on the Mahanadi river water issue, Congress today said though Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had promised 15 years ago that Odisha would not allow Chhattisgarh to construct dams without consulting it, he was now claiming ignorance about the projects.

"It is now amply clear that Naveen regime is adopting double standards and doing petty politics over the Mahanadi river water issue... To mislead the people instead of safeguarding the interest of Odisha," Congress stalwart and Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra told reporters here.

Terming as "baseless", the BJD government's claim that it was unaware of the constructions on Mahanadi river in Chhattisgarh, Mishra said way back on April 10, 2001 the chief minister himself had made a categorical promise in the state assembly while replying to an adjournment motion moved by Ashok Das on the impact of construction of barrages on upstream of Mahanadi.

Patnaik had assured the House that Chhattisgarh government would not be allowed to go on constructing dams and barrages on Mahanadi without consulting Odisha, said the Congress leader adding the CM had also stated in assemnly: "We will work towards an inter-state agreement with the Government of Chhattisgarh."



The BJD government's action shows it is "either inefficient or hand in gloves" with Chhattisgarh in benefitting industrialists at the cost of irrigation and power generation in Odisha, Mishra alleged.

The fact that Naveen regime kept silent all these years about construction of dams and barrages on Mahanadi raises suspicion it has "joined hands" with Chhattisgarh where at least six barrages are being built with money from 21 industries to provide water to their units, he claimed.

Since these industrialists also have business and projects in Odisha, the ruling BJD's silence for so many years comes under scanner, Mishra said.

Slamming the chief minister for not answering his letters for convening an all-party meeting on Mahanadi water issue, Mishra said finally he was compelled to call such a meet himself to which BJD was invited but it stayed away.

Questioning Patnaik's intention behind "staying away" from an exercise involving the state's interests, he said now time has come for all political parties and forces in the state to get united and fight for Odisha's rights over the water of Mahanadi river.

Claiming that BJD regime had also failed to act promptly after central notification to expand Kolkata port's jurisdiction right up to Dhamra, Mishra said though there was then a Congress government at the Centre, he had fought a legal battle and finally the move was set aside.

Naveen Government is playing a similar role now, Mishra said, adding there was no politics in the all party meet and the only agenda was to protect the interest of Odisha.

He also denied that there was any move towards a separate political grouping.
Top Brazilian athletes Rafaela Silva and Joanna Maranhao have hit back at racist and sexist insults that have caused Olympic heartbreak and tears.

Rio gold medal judoka Silva, who was called a "monkey" after crashing out of the London Games four years ago, and swimmer Joanna Maranhao, who has had rape threats in recent days, say they will use the hatred to fuel change.

"This medal is (a response) for all those who said I should be in a cage," said a tearful Silva, who was targeted after being disqualified at the 2012 London Games, but came back in Rio with a stunning win in the 57kg category.

"This can be an example for children from (poor) communities," she said.

Silva was called a "monkey" after her London disaster, but she says the racism against favela slum residents goes far deeper.

"If you are black, people in the street look at you with suspicion. If you go by someone they move their wallet away," the new Olympic champion said.

About half of the 204 million people in Brazil identify as black or mixed race. Non-whites are overwhelmingly represented among the poor and less educated, as well as in the death toll from crime and killings by police.

At its most visible, the racial divide also runs in the Olympic stadiums where whites -- although many of these are foreign tourists -- dominate in the stands and personnel like cleaners and security guards are often black or mixed race.

- Fighting beyond the arena -



=============================



The government has distributed pamphlets titled "Olympics without racism" in stadiums and the government tsar on racial equality told a press conference Wednesday that "we need to fight" for change.

"I want to see black legislators, senators, governors, doctors, engineers, judges, state ministers," said the official, Luislinda Valois, who became Brazil's first black judge.

Silva hopes her star profile can aid in that struggle.

Back at her low point after London, she almost gave up judo, her father said, and "it wasn't the loss that affected her -- it was the racism.

"It was the racist comments that people posted which hurt her," he said. "She was afraid to look at her computer in case she'd see even worse things written about her."



Now Silva is answering her critics the way she knows best, by showing she is a winner.

"The monkey came out of the cage in London and became champion in Rio de Janeiro," she said Wednesday at the press conference on racial equality.

"Now you have a black who isn't assaulting someone but bringing joy to the Brazilian people. I want to show that we have good things, not just bad, and that's why I'm here," she said.

- Insults -



===========



Maranhao, who is not black, but comes from the heavily black northeast of Brazil, was crudely pilloried Tuesday after losing in the 200 meter butterfly and exiting the Olympics.

"It shouldn't be possible for people to say that they'll rape you or that you should die," she said, crying after her defeat.

"Brazil is a macho country, a racist country, a homophobic country, a xenophobic country. I am not generalizing because there are people like that, I'm afraid," she said.

Maranhao said she would file lawsuits against those who insulted her. She hopes to use any money from damages to fund a group working against pedophilia, Infancia Libre.

Addressing those who "came here to denigrate, offend, and insult," Maranhao said: "Thank you very much!... Your hatred will be used for a good cause.
Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May will be holidaying in Switzerland for two weeks starting today, nearly a month after assuming charge.

Unofficially referred to as the "silly season", the month of August marks holiday time in the UK political world.

"The Prime Minister will be taking a holiday in Switzerland and will be returning to the UK on August 24," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

May, 59, took charge as Prime Minister on July 13, following the resignation of David Cameron in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union (EU).

May's choice of destination has sparked comparisons with Britain's first female PM, as shebecomes the first Prime Minister since Margaret Thatcher to take a break in Switzerland.

She will be joined by her husband Philipon the Alps, where she has previously enjoyed walking trails.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph in August 2007, May had praised the region as a perfect holiday destination.

She said: "We first visited the country about 25 years ago but spent most of the time in Lucerne. On a return trip, we decided to go walking, enjoyed it and gradually began doing more adventurous hikes".

"We have been going back ever since and have walked all over the country," sge had said.

Despite being in the heart of Europe, Switzerland is not an EU member or a member of the European Economic Area, but signed its first free trade agreement with the EU in 1972.

In 1999 it signed an agreement on freedom of movement with the EU, and is an associate member of the Schengen passport-free area.

It is currently embroiled in long-running talks with the EU over how to implement a 2014 referendum result in which the Swiss people backed limiting immigration through quotas, including EU citizens.

Therefore, the country may symbolise a good neutral ground at the end of a hectic few weeks as the prime minister, when she sought to reassure the UK's neighbours after the Brexit vote on June 23.

The Prime Minister travelled to Scotland soon after taking over the top job for talks with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to show her commitment to preserving the UK.

She has also undertaken numerous foreign visits to speak with European leaders, including trips to Italy, France and Germany.

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A pioneering British steamship has been discovered almost 140 years after it sank in Russia during an attempt to open a sea route between the UK and Siberia.

Researchers have found The Thames, a steamship with sails which braved the Arctic ice in the 19th century, sunk deep in the bed of the Yanisei river in Russia.

The ship was found with its stern above the sand and the rest buried eight metres beneath silt.

The find testifies to the legacy of British exploration close to the Arctic Circle throughout the 19th and early 20th century, researchers said.

Alexander Goncharov, associate professor at the Siberian State Aerospace University and a member of the expedition, said the team had set out along the Yanisei river with the intention of discovering the ship's final resting place.

The 120-tonne steamship was captained by Joseph Wiggins, an explorer determined to find a sea route between Britain and Siberia through the Arctic Ocean.

Under his guidance the ship was the first ocean vessel to enter the great Yanisei river and one of the first to navigate the North East Passage, which headed up Norway's coast and across over Siberia to come down towards Japan.

When Captain Wiggins reached the Yanisei river in The Thames in 1876, he ran the ship aground where it froze to the riverbed, 'The Independent' reported.

While he and his crew disembarked and sold some parts to local merchants, the abandoned ship sank in 1878.

Such was the British enthusiasm for securing a fast trade route to Siberia, which was rich in coal, fur and timber, that explorers continued to send boats every year from about 1893, said Goncharov.

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The country's buffalo meat exports will reach close to Rs 40,000 crore in the next five years at an annual growth rate of eight per cent, rating agency ICRA said on Thursday.

"In the long term, we expect buffalo meat exports to continue to report healthy growth, driven by improving infrastructure, a sizable buffalo population, a relatively lower price of Indian buffalo meat, and steady demand in the international market," ICRA Senior Vice-President  Corporate Sector ratings Sabyasachi Majumdar said.

While India has been exporting buffalo meat for almost two decades, it gained momentum only in the last decade.

"This can be attributed to factors like increasing demand from developing countries, including China, Vietnam and Thailand among others, slaughtering method meeting religious requirements of certain ethnicities, price competitiveness, high buffalo population, and low domestic consumption," Majumdar said.

Within India, Uttar Pradesh accounts for the highest share (28 per cent) of the total buffalo population and has also emerged as the leading buffalo meat-producing state, housing around 60 per cent of the total standalone slaughter houses, standalone meat processing units and fully-integrated meat processing units, the report revealed.

Indian buffalo meat exports have grown to Rs 26,682 crore in FY16 from Rs 3,533 crore in FY08, accounting for 20 per cent of the world's total buffalo meat exports (in volume terms).

The country has also become the largest volume exporter of buffalo meat, overtaking Brazil and Australia.

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The Uttar Pradesh government today filed a status report on the investigation into the Bulandshahr gangrape case before the Allahabad High Court.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice D B Bhosale and Justice Yashwant Varma decided to resume the hearing in the matter tomorrow, after perusing the status report.

The court has taken suo motu cognisance of the gang rape of a minor girl and her mother on a highway passing through Bulandshahr in western UP on July 29.

Based in Noida, the girl and her mother were on their way to Shahjahanpur along with four other members of their family when their car was stopped by criminals who sexually assaulted them.

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BJP today staged demonstrations across Uttar Pradesh to protest what it called "the jungleraj" in the state following the brutal gangrape of a mother and her teenaged daughter on a national highway near Bulandshahr.

Raising the slogan 'Maa Beti ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein', party workers staged protests in several parts of the state, including Varanasi, Ghaziabad and capital Lucknow.

BJP national vice-president Dinesh Sharma and state general-secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak led the demonstration in Lucknow and Varanasi, respectively.

A delegation led by BJP state chief Keshav Prasad Maurya submitted a memoradum to Governor Ram Naik demanding a CBI inquiry into the gangrape case. They also sought action against state cabinet minister Azam Khan who had termed the incident a "political conspiracy".

The Bulandshahr gangrape reminded people of the "jungleraj" and was a blot on the law and order machinery in the state, the memorandum said and added that it brought shame to the state.

The governor said he was pained with the incident and would sent letters to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for a CBI probe into incident.

In Varanasi, BJP state general-secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak deplored the comments by Khan and criticised him for "rubbing salt into the wounds of the victims."



Pathak, who led protesters at the district collectorate, asked Khan to tender an apology to the families, saying the miniority welfare minister should be ashamed of his comments as thousands of party workers shouted slogans against the state's Samajwadi Party-led government.

In Ghaziabad, BJP workers from 17 zones staged a protest outside the colloctorate.

Addressing the workers, general secretary of Uttar Pradesh BJP unit Swatantra Dev Singh said Akhilesh has adopted a "dual standard" in giving compensation to gangrape victims.

Singh said in the Bisahada lynching case the ex-gratia amount was immediately given to the victim's family while in Bulandshahr gangrape incident the government "has become deaf and dumb."



On July 29, a group of bandits had gangraped the woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of their car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur.

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A Canadian man previously banned from associating with Islamic State extremists has been killed as Canada's national police force thwarted what they believed was a suicide bomb plot, a senior police official said.

The suspect allegedly planned to carry out a suicide bombing in a public area, a top Canadian police official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak ahead of a conference later today, identified the suspect as Aaron Driver, a man in his mid-20s originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Driver had been under the spotlight for at least a year, as authorities believed he was a threat because he could help terror groups.

The police operation involving Driver took place last night in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy, 225 kilometers southwest of Toronto.

Details of how Driver died have not been released. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it halted a possible attack after receiving credible information of a potential terrorist threat.

Transit agencies in Toronto, Canada's largest city, were warned of a security threat before police confronted the suspect. Brad Ross, spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission, said the agency was made aware of a terror threat investigation early the previous day, but noted that it had no specifics attached.

He said that as a precaution a "vigilance notice" was issued to all staff, encouraging them to speak up if they saw something of concern. Regional transit lines were also advised of a security threat.

Police said a suspect was identified and the "proper course of action has been taken" to ensure no danger to public safety.

Driver was under a court order from earlier this year to not associate with any terrorist organization, including the Islamic State group.

In February, Driver's lawyer and the prosecutor agreed to a peace bond stating there are "reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group."



Winnipeg-based lawyer Leonard Tailleur, who handled Driver's peace bond, said he was "shocked" to hear what had happened. "Saddened to hear that it had to end this way for him," Tailleur said in an email to the Canadian Press.

Driver was first picked up in Winnipeg in June 2015.

Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University who studies radicalization and terrorism, maintained in 2015 that Driver had posted for several months on social media about disliking Canada and about a desire to move overseas.

When Driver was released later that month, he was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device and banned from going on the internet or having any communication with the Islamic State group, including wearing or carrying anything with an IS logo.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Canadian federal police said they arrested a suspect who posed a "potential terrorist threat," after receiving a tip about an imminent attack.

Authorities had received "credible information of a potential terrorist threat," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement yesterday.

A suspect was arrested "to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety," the RCMP said, adding that it takes "all such threats seriously."

The investigation is still underway as the matter "continues to unfold," and no other details from officials were immediately available.

Broadcaster CTV, citing internal government documents, however, said the suspect was linked to the Islamic State group and planned to set off an explosive device in a packed public space in a major city.

was the target of two separate lone wolf attacks in October 2014 in Quebec and Ottawa that resulted in the death of two soldiers.

In Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Montreal, a young man drove his car into two soldiers in a parking lot, killing one of them before being shot dead by police after a short chase.

Two days later on October 22, an attacker gunned down a ceremonial military guard and stormed parliament before being killed by security guards only meters (yards) from a room where the prime minister and his caucus were meeting.

Following these attacks, the Conservative government passed a bill giving the RCMP and Canada's spy agency sweeping powers to thwart terror plots and prevent Canadian youth from flying overseas to join the Islamic State group in Syria.

joined the US-led coalition against IS in September 2014.

After his Liberals unseated the Tories in a general election last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scaled back Canada's participation in the coalition, ordering the withdrawal of Canadian fighter jets but increasing the number of military trainers in Iraq.

On several occasions, Trudeau has reaffirmed his government's commitment to "fight terrorism in all its forms" and work closely with allies.
A Canadian man who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video was shot dead in a taxi after setting off an explosive device, police said today.

Aaron Driver, 24, was killed yesterday after a tip to Canadian authorities from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who had intercepted the video, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told a press conference.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana said that yesterday they had received information from the FBI, including "a martyr video that had been prepared by an individual who at that time was unknown to us but who was clearly in the final stages of preparing an attack using homemade bombs."

Based on the information received, police believed an attack was possible "within the following 72 hours" in an "urban center," Cabana said.

Police and counter terrorism experts quickly identified the man in the video as Driver.

Meanwhile, Toronto's transit system was alerted about a "credible terrorist threat," and security was beefed up along its network of subways, bus lines and street cars used by 1.8 million people a day.

The RCMP said they intercepted Driver in Strathroy, Ontario, about 220 kilometers southwest of Toronto, outside the home where he lived with his sister, at about 4:30 pm local time yesterday.

He had just gotten into the back seat of a taxi that had just arrived.

When police approached, Driver detonated an explosive device in the back seat of the cab, causing minor injuries to the driver, before he was shot dead by officers, authorities said.

"If he had gotten out of that residence before we got there the scenario would have ended differently, I'm confident of that," commented RCMP commander Jennifer Strachan.

She said the incident could have resulted in "significantly greater loss of life."

Driver first come to the attention of authorities in June 2015. He had been arrested and released under court supervision after police received complaints of extremist posts on social media.

He was ordered to undergo counseling from a religious leader, wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and stay off the internet, but was not be surveilled, police said.

Those restrictions were gradually loosened and were scheduled to expire this month.

In interviews with Canadian media that year, he appeared to support two separate lone wolf attacks by suspected jihadists in October 2014 in rural Quebec and Ottawa. Two soldiers died in those attacks.

He also expressed a desire to travel abroad to join the Islamic State group.
Canadian police said they thwarted a "potential terrorist threat" after shooting dead an alleged Islamic State sympathizer said to have been armed with an explosive device.

Media reports said 24-year-old Aaron Driver was shot to death last night during a police raid on a home in Strathroy, Ontario, 220 kilometres southwest of Toronto, where he lived with his sister.

Driver's father confirmed that his son had been shot and killed, telling the National Post "the police did what they had to do. He would not surrender. I'm sure they gave him ample chances."



"As sad and shocked as I am, it doesn't surprise me that it has come to this. Aaron was a good kid who went down a dark path and couldn't find the light again," the father, who was not named, was quoted as saying.

A relative told Canadian public broadcaster CBC that police informed the family that he was shot dead after detonating an explosive device, injuring himself and one other person.

They said they had to shoot Driver because he had a second device which he was planning to detonate, according to the CBC.

The other injured person was reported to be a taxi driver, but it was unclear what his connection was to the suspect.

Broadcaster CTV, citing internal government documents, said the suspect allegedly had been planning to set off an explosive device in a packed public space in a major city.

"Earlier today, the RCMP received credible information of a potential terrorist threat. A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement.

Hours earlier, authorities had alerted Toronto's transit system of a "credible terrorist threat," Brad Ross, a spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission, told CTV today.

FBI had tipped off Canada about imminent attack by alleged IS sympathizer.

Police have beefed up their presence on the network of subways, bus lines and street cars in Canada's largest city, used by 1.8 million people a day.

Canadian authorities had issued a public warning late yesterday of a "potential terrorist threat," and said a suspect had been arrested but provided no details.

Driver was described in media reports as a Muslim convert with a troubled childhood who became radicalised on the internet.

"It was like he turned out the lights and put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door," his father told CBC in interviews last year with his son.

"When he was living at home, he was very secretive; a lone wolf. He didn't bring friends over, never talked about where he was going and what he was doing," the father said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Canadian police said they thwarted a "potential terrorist threat" after shooting dead an alleged Islamic State sympathizer said to have been armed with an explosive device.

Media reports said 24-year-old Aaron Driver was shot to death last night during a police raid on a home in Strathroy, Ontario, 220 kilometers southwest of Toronto.

A relative told Canadian public broadcaster CBC that police informed the family that he was shot dead after detonating an explosive device, injuring himself and one other person, whose condition was unclear.

They told the family they had to shoot Driver because he had a second device which he was planning to detonate, CBC said.

Broadcaster CTV, citing internal government documents, said the suspect allegedly had been planning to set off an explosive device in a packed public space in a major city.

"Earlier today, the RCMP received credible information of a potential terrorist threat. A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement.

Driver was described in media reports as a Muslim convert with a troubled childhood who became radicalized on the internet. "It was like he turned out the lights and put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door," his father told CBC in interviews last year with his son.

"When he was living at home, he was very secretive; a lone wolf. He didn't bring friends over, never talked about where he was going and what he was doing," the father said.

Driver came to the attention of Canadian authorities in 2014 after posting tweets in support of the Islamic State group and justifying a Muslim convert's killing of a sentry at Canada's national war memorial during an October 22, 2014 attack that spilled into the nearby parliament building.

"If a country goes to war with another country or another people or another community, I think that they have to be prepared for things like" the Ottawa attack, he told the CBC in last year's interview.

"And when it does happen they shouldn't -- they shouldn't act surprised. They had it coming to them; they deserved it."



He was arrested in June 2015 and released under court supervision. He was ordered to undergo counseling from a religious leader, wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and stay off the Internet. Those restrictions were gradually loosened and were scheduled to expire this month.

According to the order, a peace bond which was signed in February, there were "reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group," the Canadian Press agency said.

The RCMP said an investigation was under way as the matter "continues to unfold." No other details from officials were immediately available.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Canada's terrorism threat level remains at "medium," a ranking which it has maintained since October 2014 after lone wolf attacks by suspected jihadists in Quebec and Ottawa.

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CBI today opposed the anticipatory bail plea of TV actor Anuj Saxena before a Delhi court in a graft case involving Director General of Corporate Affairs B K Bansal, alleging he played an active role in the commission of the offence.

The agency submitted before Special CBI Judge Gurdeep Singh that Saxena, also the Chief Operating Officer of Elder Pharmaceuticals, had played a direct role in bribing Bansal to ensure that he does not order an SFIO inspection against his firm on charges of illegal collection of Rs 175 crore from 24,000 investors, diversion of funds to companies abroad and not giving returns on time.

Advocate K P Singh, appearing for the probe agency, told the court that the Saxena had played an active role in commission of the offence and CBI had recordings of the phone conversations of the accused persons.

While seeking bail for Saxena, known for roles in soaps "Kkusum" and "Kumkum", senior advocate K K Manan said that his client did not have any direct link with the case and there was only a disclosure statement of a co-accused.

He claimed that CBI had tapped the accused' phone but no incriminating material was found against the actor and that he was ready to join the investigation.

The court reserved the order on Saxena's plea for tomorrow.

According to CBI, an FIR was registered against Saxena alleging that his company Elder Pharmaceuticals had bribed Bansal to ensure that he does not order an SFIO inspection on charges against him.

Saxena, who is COO and Chairman-cum Managing Director of the firm, has not been arrested by CBI which has taken into custody Bansal, middleman Vishwadeep Bansal and two more private persons.

Bansal is at present out on interim bail granted by the court till August 22 following the alleged suicide by his wife and daughter after his arrest.

The case emanated from complaints received by Registrar of Companies in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs from investors who had alleged that Elder Pharmaceuticals had collected over Rs 175 crore from over 24,000 investors under Companies' Acceptance of Deposits Rule, CBI has said.

The company had allegedly lured them offering attractive rates of interest ranging from 9.5 per cent to 11.5 per cent on deposits ranging from a 12-36 month period. Over 1000 such complaints were made to RoC, they said.

The ministry had instituted an inspection by Regional Director (West) Mumbai which claimed the company had allegedly not kept 15 per cent of deposits in liquid form, accepted Rs 138 crore from other companies which was akin to accepting deposits among other acts which were against the law, it has said.
A special NIA court here today framed charges against five persons accused of having links with Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-E-Taiba and hatching a conspiracy to carry out killings in India to cause communal strife.

"The court framed charges against Mohammed Muzzammil, Mohammed Sadique, Mohammed Iliyas, Mohammed Irfan and Mohammed Akram under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and for criminal conspiracy (under IPC)," said an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Five others have been shown as wanted accused. The framing of charges paves the way for the start of the trial.

Maharashtra ATS had said it had arrested the accused in 2012 before they could execute the conspiracy. Later, NIA took over the probe.

According to the central agency, Akram came in contact with LeT operatives in India, and at their behest travelled to Saudi Arabia on the pretext of having got a job there.

In Saudi Arabia, he met LeT and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) operatives (shown as wanted accused) and hatched a conspiracy to kill prominent "Hindu leaders, journalists, politicians and police officers" in various parts of India, including Hyderabad and Nanded in Maharashtra.

The intention was to cause communal strife and "threaten the unity, integrity, security, sovereignty of India and strike terror in the mind of the people," the charge sheet said.

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With China mulling its options to counter Vietnam's reported plan to send mobile rocket launchers to the disputed South China Sea, Chinese media today termed the move a "terrible mistake" and asked Hanoi to "draw lessons" from the war in 1979 between the two countries.

"If Vietnam's latest deployment is targeting China, that would be a terrible mistake. We hope will remember and draw some lessons from history," an article in the state-run Global Times said.

While the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry reportedly termed the media report as "inaccurate", the discreet deployment appeared to have caught China by surprise specially in the backdrop of Beijing's efforts to reinforce its control over the South China Sea after the tribunal struck down China's claims over almost all of the South China Sea.

China which rejected the verdict initiated by the Philippines petition has stepped up air and naval patrols to assert its controls over the region. China also enhanced its satellite monitoring of the area.

Besides and the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the South China Sea.

The launchers deployed by are said to be capable of striking China's runways and important trade routes in the region with missiles and experts believe the move by Hanoi will likely raise tensions in the region, the article said.

"As the waves created by the controversial South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines have barely subsided, the reported new deployment by Vietnam will add to the difficulty of solving the South China Sea disputes peacefully," it said.

Chinese officials say Vietnam has "illegally occupied" 29 of about 50 islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

It has conducted construction and reclamation work on over 20 of them since the 1980s, and the scale of the reclamation has increased in the past two years.

It also has built infrastructure, including runways and barracks, on the islands and reefs, another state-run newspaper China Daily said in its report.

China itself has developed islands with runways and military facilities in several islands.

Jia Duqiang, a senior researcher on Southeast Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it is Hanoi's latest effort to tighten its hold on islands in the South China Sea.

Xu Liping, another Southeast Asian studies researcher with CASS, said Hanoi is trying to emphasise its determination to strengthen its illegal occupation of the islands.

For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated its claim of the South China Sea specially over Spratly islands, which Beijing calls as Nansha islands also claimed by Vietnam.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their surrounding waters. China has always firmly opposed the illegal occupation of parts of China's Nansha Islands and reefs by certain countries and their illegal construction and military deployments on these islands," the report quoted a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement as saying.
on Thursday voiced its resolute opposition to a call by UN human rights experts to release a Chinese jailed activist, describing it is "gross interference" in its domestic affairs and judicial sovereignty.

UN human rights experts expressed concern about Yang Maodong, a jailed rights activist whose health is reportedly "deteriorating" after a hunger strike, and urged Chinese authorities to release him, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"This is gross interference in China's domestic affairs and judicial sovereignty and is resolutely opposed to it," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.

She said the comments from the UN human rights experts are irresponsible and based on false information, and called on them to do objective and fair work and have constructive dialogue with all countries.

"Yang's health condition is normal and his legitimate rights are guaranteed, based on information from relevant departments," Hua said.

Yang was sentenced to six years in prison by a court in southern in November last during a crackdown on human rights advocates.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in India tomorrow on a three-day visit starting from Goa, the venue for the BRICS Summit, and hold talks with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj here on August 13 on key regional and bilateral issues, including China thwarting New Delhi's bid for NSG membership.

In Goa, Wang will meet the local leadership including Governor Mridula Sinha and Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar apart from visiting the BRICS venue. India is hosting the 8th BRICS Summit in October.

On whether it was unusual for a Foreign Minister to visit a state before holding official talks with his counterpart, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said it was not unusual if the minister wants to familiarise himself with the venue where his President will be attending an event.

Significantly, Wang's visit also comes just days after Chinese troops "transgressed" the border on land and by air in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand last month.

China also stalled India's Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership bid at the plenary meeting of the 48-nation grouping in June on the ground that it was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Earlier, Swarup had said the leaders will discuss various issues of mutual interest, including the upcoming multilateral meetings--the G-20 Summit being held in China and the BRICS Summit.

On whether India will raise the recent incident of transgression in Uttarakhand at the meeting, Swarup said, all international, regional and bilateral issues of mutual interest will be discussed.

However, he had added that the Defence Minister has already made a statement and there are mechanisms, including at army-to-army level, to take care of such incidents.

According to sources, the Indian side is likely to raise the issue of China scuttling India's NSG membership bid.

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The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has sought more incentives from the West Bengal government for food processing sector for greater volume of investment in the state.

"Food Processing Industry is looking at more incentives for greater volume of investment in the state," the CII told the state's Agriculture Secretary Sanjeev Chopra during an interaction here.

"The states where there is no rent control for cold storage can avail the National Horticulture Board subsidy," chairman of the CII Eastern Region, Agriculture and Food Processing Task force, B Sumant told Chopra.

"West Bengal, already a top-performing state in agriculture in the country, can emerge as a robust hub of food processing industries. All it require is enabling policies and incentives," Sumant told the Agriculture Secretary.

"The CII ER Agriculture and Food Processing Taskforce is working on a White Paper to be submitted to the state government for its model food processing policy," Sumant said while apprising Chopra of the policies that a few states have adopted and the incentives they offered.

Stating that the state government was working on its Organic Farming Policy, Chopra said rice production was fast moving from the states like Punjab and Haryana to Bengal.

"The policies are in place, but the main concern is the trust deficit that continues to exist between farmers and industry," Chopra said, adding that the industry could step up its efforts to market what farmers were producing.

"Since the state government's stated policy is to encourage Farmer Produce Organisations (FPOs), it is counting on industry and NGOs to work closely with them. Each FPO consists of at least 1,000 farmers," Chopra said in a response to a query on contract farming.

"The state government can grant a subsidy of 50 per cent on drip irrigation to an organised group of farmers. CII could help farmers avail the subsidy," he said adding that industry may identify the products for which they need support from the state government.

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CISF security personnel returned a bag containing Rs 1.80 lakh cash to a commuter who forgot it at a Delhi Metro station.

Officials said the incident occurred yesterday at the Rajendra Place station when a person identified as R Venkatesh approached on-duty CISF officials stating his bag containing a laptop and few documents was missing after he left it for X-ray scanning.

The security team of the force, at the same time, found a similar looking unattended bag and subsequently segregated it for detailed scanning.

The bag contained Rs 1.80 lakh cash and belonged to a person from Panipat and he had picked Venkatesh's bag by mistake, thinking it to be his own, they said.

The person was called back to the station and the two bags were restored after due verification, they added.

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Fighting raged today in Helmand after Afghanistan rushed military reinforcements to beat back Taliban insurgents advancing on the besieged capital of the southern poppy-growing province, as officials downplayed fears that the city could fall.

Afghan forces fought back insurgents after they stormed Nawa district, just south of Lashkar Gah city, late Wednesday, raising alarm that the provincial capital was at risk.

"The security situation in Lashkar Gah is under our control," said defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri.

"We have retaken control of Nawa. Fighting is still going on in the outskirts but we are making progress with clearance operations," he told AFP, adding that dozens of Taliban were killed in the fight.

Fierce battles in recent days across Helmand, seen as the focal point of the insurgency, has sent thousands of people fleeing to Lashkar Gah, sparking a humanitarian crisis as officials report crippling food and water shortages.

The turmoil convulsing the long-contested province, blighted by a huge opium harvest that helps fund the insurgency, underscores a rapidly unravelling security situation in Afghanistan.

Around 30,000 people have been displaced in Helmand in recent weeks, local officials said, with many fleeing to Lashkar Gah forced to abandon their lentil, maize and cotton crops during the lucrative harvest season.

Panicked Lashkar Gah residents said the city was practically besieged, with roads from neighbouring districts heavily mined by the insurgents.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had downscaled its staff in Lashkar Gah, with some non-medical staff relocated from the city.

"In Helmand, #Afghanistan, we're still running Boost hospital... As fighting nears," the international medical charity tweeted yesterday.

"We've shared coordinates of our 300 bed hospital to approaching warring parties in Helmand."



The Taliban effectively control or contest 10 of the 14 districts in Helmand, the deadliest province for British and US forces in Afghanistan over the past decade.

The United States has stepped up air strikes supporting Afghan forces on the ground, highlighting the intensity of the battle in Helmand.

NATO officially ended its combat mission in December 2014, but US forces were granted greater powers in June to strike at the insurgents as President Barack Obama vowed a more aggressive campaign.

Washington has deployed several hundred troops in Helmand in recent months.

The Taliban briefly captured northern Kunduz city in September last year, the first urban centre to fall to the insurgents in a stinging blow to Afghan forces.

As fighting escalates in Helmand, NATO and Afghan officials have repeatedly insisted that they will not allow another city to be captured.
Fresh fighting hit Syria's Aleppo today, the first day of a promised Russian aid window the UN said was insufficient to bring relief for the city's desperate residents.

Even as Moscow pledged to pause strikes around the divided second city, it carried out raids further east on the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa that a monitor said killed 24 civilians.

Russia was meanwhile offered the possibility of joint operations against IS by Turkey, which has backed rebel groups against President Bashar al-Assad.

The offer came one day after crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at ending a crisis in ties.

A longtime ally of Damascus, Russia has provided air cover for pro-government forces for nearly a year, including in the escalating battle for Aleppo.

The city has been rocked by a recent surge in violence, with residents on both sides of the front line living in fear of being trapped by renewed hostilities.

The United Nations said Russia was considering expanding three-hour pauses in fighting every morning to bring in desperately-needed aid.

"Any pause obviously should always be seen and looked at with great interest, because a pause means no fighting, but three hours is not enough," said UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura.

Jan Egeland, who heads the UN-backed Syria humanitarian taskforce, said he was "hopeful" talks with Russia could lead to aid entering the city.

But rebels and regime forces clashed in southern Aleppo today, including during the period when the pause was meant to take hold, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rebels and jihadists broke a three-week government siege of the city's east on Saturday, opening a new route for goods through the southern outskirts.

AFP's correspondent in the east said trucks carrying food were unable to enter the city today because of intense bombardment.

An estimated 1.5 million people live in Aleppo, including about 250,000 in rebel-held districts.

Syrian's state agency said army troops seized territory south of Aleppo today, adding that rebel fire killed four civilians in a government-held district.

But it made no mention of the "humanitarian windows" announced by Russia.

Fifteen of the only remaining doctors in the eastern half implored US President Barack Obama today to protect civilians from atrocities in their city.

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Hillary Clinton admonished rival Donald Trump today for claiming that she and Barack Obama were the founders of the Islamic State, saying anyone who would "sink so low" should never be president.

"No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS," Clinton tweeted.

"Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our Commander-in-Chief."



Trump again roiled the presidential campaign late yesterday, telling a rally in Florida that Obama "is the founder of ISIS."



"And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton."



Republicans have long stated that the foreign policies of Obama and his then-secretary of state Clinton share blame in helping create conditions that allowed IS to grow in Iraq and Syria.

IS was founded in 2013, months after Clinton left the State Department. It was born out of the terror group Al-Qaeda in Iraq that grew in strength in 2006 following Republican president George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

The group flourished with Obama's withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in late 2011. Republicans said Obama was slow to recognize the threat when he said in 2014 that the Islamic State was a "JV", junior varsity team even though they gained ground in Syria and Iraq.

"It goes without saying that this is a false claim from a presidential candidate with an aversion to the truth and an unprecedented lack of knowledge," Clinton senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

"This is another example of Donald Trump trash-talking the United States."



Sullivan warned that Trump was "echoing the talking points of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure."



The Democratic National Committee weighed in, saying Trump "should apologize for his outrageous, unhinged and patently false suggestions."



But today, Trump doubled down, telling homebuilders in Miami Beach, Florida that Obama and Clinton were "the founders of ISIS."



"ISIS will hand her the most valuable player award," he said of Clinton, 68.

Earlier today, Trump stood firm when asked by CNBC whether it was appropriate to say a sitting US president founded a jihadist group determined to kill Americans.

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India and Congo today held wide- ranging talks on the entire gamut of bilateral ties during which the African nation sought punishment to those involved in killing of a Congolese national here in May that had triggered outrage among African envoys.

In his meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar, Congo's Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Raymond Tshibanda N'Tungamulongo condemned the unfortunate incidents related to Congolese nationals in India.

Killing of Congolese national Masonda Ketada Oliver following a brawl here had triggered backlash as Indian shops and establishments in Congo's capital Kinshasa were attacked.

N'Tungamulongo, who arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit, conveyed to Akbar that his Government will take all necessary measures to provide security to the Indian nationals residing in Congo.

"The visiting Foreign Minister condemned the recent unfortunate incidents related to Congolese nationals in India as well as the reprisal against Indian nationals in Kinshasa.

"He appreciated the pro-active steps undertaken by the Government of India in both the incidents and requested for speedy trial so that justice could be done. He also assured that his government will take all necessary measures to provide security to the Indian nationals residing in Democratic Republic of Congo," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

He said Akbar informed N'Tungamulongo of the "swift" action taken by India's law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits involved in the incident and underlined that "as people, society and nation, we do not believe in racial discrimination."



Swarup said the two ministers held wide ranging discussions today on entire gamut of bilateral relationship.

"The visiting Foreign Minister expressed DRC's support to India's candidature for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for the term 2021-22 for which elections will be held at the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York in June 2020," said the MEA Spokesperson.

He said the Congolese Foreign Minister conveyed to Akbar his government's deep appreciation for the assistance provided by India to his country in areas of skill development and capacity building.

India has funded several projects in Congo through concessional lines of credit amounting to approximately US 495 million. The projects have been in diverse areas such as setting up a cement plant, acquisition of buses, rural water supply, hydro-electric power projects and power distribution projects.

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A couple was arrested today for allegedly killing their teenaged daughter and dumping her body in a canal in Odisha's Ganjam district.

The couple had allegedly killed the 18-year-old on August 1 at their house at Goutami, the body was recovered from the canal at nearby Kaukhata on August 4, police said.

The accused - Runu Jena (45) and Saura Jena (52), mother and father of the deceased respectively were arrested and a murder case was registered against them, said sub divisional police officer of Berhampur Sadar, A K Mohanty.

Preliminary inquiry showed that the girl's mother slit her throat, while the father helped in disposing the body, he said.

The body was kept in the mortuary in MKCG Medical College and Hospital here was handed over them after they identified the body, he said.

The couple might have killed the girl when she refused to marry the person they had selected for her, police said.

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Central Railside Warehouse Company Ltd (CRWC), subsidiary of Central Warehousing Corporation, is planning to set up 10 warehouses at rail heads to store commodities besides upgrading its existing 19 warehousing complexes for Rs 200 crore.

The activities and plans of CRWC was briefed to the members of Parliamentary Consultative Committee by Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today.

"The Central Railside Warehouse Company Ltd has planned 10 new warehouses with temperature controlled system at rail heads to facilitate handling and storage of bagged commodities," an official statement said.

The company has undertaken upgradation of its existing 19 railside warehousing complexes across the country for Rs 200 crore.

Paswan said that the corporation is being diversified to make it more competitive.

As part of its diversification initiatives, CRWC has entered into a joint venture agreement with IFFCO Kisan SEZ and Indian Potash Ltd for development of integrated railside warehouse complex and freight terminal at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.

It has proposed to set up silos for storage of foodgrains for FCI at Jalalabad and New Jalpaiguri with the Railways.

Paswan said the CRWC is also planning a foray into road transportation and has been awarded a contract for transportation of manganese ore for Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.

"The corporation is in discussions with NTPC for exploring avenues for bulk transportation of fly ash through specialised rakes," the statement said.

Briefing about the performance of Consumer Helpline being run by the Department of Consumer Affairs, Paswan said the capacity of the call centre is being increased to 49 desks from existing 14 and it will be further expanded to 60.

Six zonal Helpline centres will also be set up at Ahmedabad, Banalore, Guwahati, Kolkata, Patna and Jaipur.

A cloud-based new Customer relations software has been developed to integrate the entire consumer grievance handling activities at helpline centres. Web chat and Mobile App will be developed in the near future for handling consumer complaints.

Participating in the discussions, the members of Parliament suggested a publicity campaign to create awareness about consumer redressal system including the Consumer Helpline.

"They were of the view that disposal of cases at consumer forums should be expedited by strengthening infrastructure," the statement said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One more person has been arrested by the police in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh in connection with the case of assault on two Dalits at Sudhapalem.

With this, a total of nine persons have been arrested in the case.

District Superintendent of Police M Ravi Prakash said Vaka Gopi (26), native of Kamanagaruvu village in Amalapuram Mandal, was arrested today under the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and a local court sent him in judicial remand.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister N Chinarajappa visited victims of the attack at a hospital in Amalapuram and enquired about their health.

Allavaram police had yesterday arrested eight persons for allegedly beating up two Dalits who tried to skin a dead cow.

Police, however, had clarified that the incident, which happened late on Monday night, had nothing to do with "cow vigilantism" as suspected.
Under attack over atrocities against dalits, government today said the states should take strict action against anti-social elements indulging in activities like cow protection as it pitched for a united fight against the "perverted mindset".

"Some anti-social elements are indulging in nefarious activites in the name of cow protection...I appeal to all state governments to take strict possible action against them," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha while replying to a discussion on atrocities on dalits.

"To deal with 'vikrut manasikta' (perverted mindset) of those who resort to such atrocities is a big challenge," he said.

The discussion was marred by acrimony and walkout by Congress and the Left members who alleged that the incidents of atrocities against dalits have increased since the NDA came to power two years back.

Singh insisted that the incidents against Dalits have come down since the Modi government took over and reeled out statistics to buttress the point.

He said the number of registered cases of atrocities against dalits were 39,346 in 2013, they went up to 40,300 in 2014 and thereafter came down to 38,564 in 2015.

"We have to accept the truth that the atrocities against dalits are going on. We have to stop it and this is a challenge for all of us," the Home Minister said while regretting that the House had to discuss the issue even 70 years after Independence.

Countering the opposition charge of not doing enough for the dalits, he said "what you could not do in 55 years, our government did in last two years".

To questions as to why Modi did not speak on the dalit atrocities for so long, he asked the opposition to spell out if earlier Prime Ministers since 1947 used to speak on each and every issue.

"The Prime Minister may speak or may not speak, but his aura should be such that action is taken against the perpetrators," Singh said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also intervened in the debate which lasted for six hours.

"You did everything possible to humiliate B R Ambedkar, the messiah of dalits", Paswan, a dalit leader, told Congress MPs who protested vociferously.

Rajnath Singh said the Centre has issued advisories to



states asking them to take stringent action against people resorting to such atrocities in the name of cow protection.

He said it was unfortunate that Parliament has to discuss the issue of atrocities on dalits 70 years after independence.

The Home Minister said that laws have been made to protect dalits, but much is desired to be done.

"Our government is trying to check atrocities on dalits. For their socio-economic upliftment, new laws have been made," he said, adding there was need to deliberate on how to stop such incidents.

"There is an illusion that since our government came to power, atrocities against dalits have gone up", he said, condemning the Una incident in Gujarat that triggered nationwide protests.

He praised the work of Sangh parivar affilates Sewa Bharti and Vanvasi Kalyan ashram for working for the cause of dalits and adivasis.

Suggesting that Ambedkar and Keshav Baliram Hedgewar were contemporaries, he said while the dalit icon fought for the socially deprived sections, the RSS founder worked for national renaissance.

Noting that government is totally committed for the development of dalits, he said no one could accuse them of being anti-national and they have never demanded creation of a separate country.

Paswan regretted that atrocities against dalits have



continued to increase over the years and "we are discussing it after so many years of independence".

He said the issue should not be politicised and all efforts should be made to put an end to the discrimination againt dalits.

Paswan said dalits are being discriminated even after they become Christians, Muslims and Budhhists.

"Hindu religion is the most flexible religion. You continue to be Hindu even if you worship Lord Rama or you do not worship Him," he said.

Pointing towards Congress, he said, "You criticise RSS and Modi ji....If Modi ji says take action against so-called cow vigilantes, taking action against them is the duty of the state government"



His remarks that Samajwadi Party came in the way of ensuring reservation for dalits and promotion evoked sharp response from Dharmendra Yadav (SP) who said the same facility is extended to people belonging to backward classes and Muslims.

Paswan appreciated Modi's remarks in which he said, 'if you have to attack, attack me but stop attacking my Dalit bretheren'.

Jyotiraditya Scindia (Congress) said such a statement by the Prime Minister reflects his helplessness.

Scindia said the atmosphere of the country has deteriorated after the BJP came to power.

Taking a dig at Paswan, he said, "If you were so much unhappy with the UPA why did you not leave the government... We need to work for principles."



He said the government's campaign for Swachh Bharat will not go anywhere until and unless "we clean our heart and mind".

He wanted to know why the Prime Minister did not speak about the dalit and Kashmir issues in the House when Parliament is in session.

After Scindia's emotional speech, BJP members took a dig



at Rahul Gandhi as they were heard saying that he was a better speaker than the Congress Vice President.

Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), while talking about cow protection incidents, said animal life is "taking precedence over human life and for the first time we are seeing something like "skin for skin."



He said "Muslim can never be part of Hindu nationalism and shall always be a part of Indian nationalism."



Earlier, P K Biju (CPI-M) alleged that a district judge, who is a Dalit, in Andhra Pradesh was "brutally attacked and harassed" and later suspended after he did not delete the name of the brother of a High Court judge from the dying declaration of a man.

The judge, he told the House, met him last week.

"In that dying declaration there appeared a name of one person who happens to be the brother of one sitting judge in the High Court. He called the district judge and asked him to delete that name. How can a name be deleted from the dying declaration of a person?



"He was brutally attacked, harassed and sent to some other area of jurisdiction. That harassment is still going on. He was suspended also."



The judge approached the Registrar of the High Court and the Supreme Court but "nothing positive came out of it", Biju said.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today directed the officials to complete underground power cabling in five districts by 2018.

Reviewing the work of energy department, Das said underground cabling would be completed in Ranchi, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Deoghar by March 2018, an official release said here.

He also asked them to codify transformers so that when necessary it could be identified and action could be initiated.

Das also suggested forest clearance for laying transmission lines in forest areas and appoint any retired forest official as nodal officer.

The chief minister said work would also be carried out under public private partnership to give uninterrupted electricity. There would not be any dearth of funds and if necessary loan from NABARD would be taken, he said.

The department officials told the Chief Minister that various projects worth Rs 110 crore was completed while Rs 1183 crore was allocated to Power Grid Corporation of India Limited to complete various transmission projects.

They said grid sub-station was completed in Dumka, Chaibasa, Madhupur, Mohanpur, Chatra, Simdega and Tamad while work was in progress at Patratu, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gobindpur, Ramchandrapur, Mango and Jainamore (Bokaro), the release said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid a tussle between AAP and the Centre, the Delhi government will skip a cultural festival being organised by the Modi dispensation to mark Independence Day, saying it was "not approached" for participation.

However, a top Union Tourism Ministry official claimed the Delhi government has not given its confirmation for participation in the seven-day festival, 'Bharat Parv', which kicks off tomorrow at Rajpath here.

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has been at loggerheads with the Centre over various issues, the latest being the administrative control over the UT.

As many as 30 states and Union Territories have given their consent to participate in the event to the Tourism Ministry, which is nodal agency for the event. It will be inaugurated by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Besides Delhi, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, West Bengal and Bihar have not sent their consent for participation in the festival aimed at generating patriotic mood, the official said.

"We have not heard (anything about participation) from Pondicherry, Chandigarh... Lakshadweep and Delhi also have not come so far," Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi said when asked about the states not participating in the event.

A list of participating states and UTs provided by the Ministry also does not mention the names of Bihar and West Bengal, besides the four UTs.

Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra maintained that the Delhi government was not approached and that it would have loved to participate in the event.

"We were not approached. There is zero communication. We have no clue and we would have loved to participate in such an event," Mishra said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma will also be present at the inauguration ceremony at 5 PM tomorrow.

The festival, which will culminate on August 18, will showcase India's cultural diversity with various folk and tribal dance performances from different states and UTs.

The event would also witness performance from the Armed Forces Bands, multi-cuisine food court, craft mela and photo exhibition -- Azadi 70 Saal-Yaad Karo Kurbani -- by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

A similar festival was organised at Red Fort from January 26 to 31 for Republic Day this year.

Buoyed by the public response to it, Zutshi said the government decided to hold an event on the same lines at India Gate on the eve of Independence Day.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Jammu and Kashmir Police today made an appeal to the Imams not to make "provocative speeches" during Friday prayers so that the people with vested interest do not exploit the situation.

"The Imams and Khateebs are requested not to deliver provocative speeches so that the situation is not exploited by vested interests," a police spokesman said.

He said it has been observed that after the culmination of Friday prayers miscreants force the people to assemble on the chowks and roads, thus obstructing the normal traffic.

"Many a times these gatherings are manipulated to pelt stones upon the police/security force deployments. In order to avoid such situations the parents are requested not to allow their children to take part in such activities," he said, adding youth are advised not to fall prey to such machinations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Terming atrocities against dalits as "shameful", Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today asked all political parties to desist from giving a political colour to such "unfortunate events."



"It's a shame that such incidents are happening 70 years after Independence," he said while making intervention in a debate on 'Atrocities against Dalits'.

"Let's not rake up social tension...Let us not politicise the issue...No political colour should be given," he said.

There is a need to create favourable atmosphere in the society so that all sections of the society can harmoniously live, he added.

Targeting opposition, Naidu said, political parties make beeline when atrocities happen in the state run by ruling party but maintain silence when such incidents happen in states run by them.

"It will to totally unfair to target one political party, one state...It is an issue for all of us," he said.

"We should not work with the objective of hitting the headlines...The mainline is to address the issue and eradicate poverty," he added.

He said political parties should not compete in paying homage to the place where atrocities against dalit have taken place but they should compete in stopping such incidences.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken various steps like funding the unfunded and reaching the unreached.

He said the highest number of SC MPs are from BJP, highest number of ST MPs are from BJP and highest number of OBC MPs are from BJP.

"This government is concerned about welfare of poor and downtrodden. Our PM is 'messiah' of poor particularly SC/ST," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi University student attempted suicide by jumping in front of a metro train at Indraprastha station here today but she escaped with injuries as the driver applied breaks on time.

The B.Sc final-year student of Miranda House, identified as 20-year-old Anuradha, a Noida resident, jumped before a train heading towards Yamuna Bank on the Blue Line at around 2.20 PM, said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Metro).

The girl sustained injuries in her head and waist and was taken to LNJP Hospital where she was undergoing treatment, police said.

Police said the girl was depressed as she was not happy with her performance in the practical examination held recently.

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Two easily available medicines can effectively treat scleroderma interstitial lung disease, a study conducted by an Indian doctor has found.

The research by Kochi-based doctor Padmanabha D Shenoy says data is there to suggest Cyclophosphamide (CYC) and Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) are effective in management of scleroderma interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD).

The study, published in the latest issue of international medical journal 'Arthritis Research and Therapy' is expected to give relief to lakhs of people who suffer from Scleroderma-- a systemic autoimmune disease characterised mainly by skin manifestations and involvement of various visceral organs, especially the lungs, Shenoy said here.

"Approximately 80 per cent of patients have evidence of pulmonary fibrosis at post-mortem examination or on high esolution computed tomography, although clinically evident disease is present only in approximately 40 per cent of patients," it said.

The research said that for over 15 years, cyclophosphamide (CYC) has been used in treating SSc-ILD.

"CYC is a cytotoxic immunosuppressive agent that suppresses lymphokine production and modulates lymphocyte function by alkylating various cellular constituents and depressing the inflammatory response via normalisation of neutrophilia and healing of vascular endothelial cells.

"CYC is the only agent shown to at least stabilise lung function in a randomized, controlled trial," it said.

According to the research, Mycophenolic acid has emerged recently as a promising therapy for SSc.

"Evidence supporting its use derives from small, uncontrolled, single-arm studies, suggesting that mycophenolate is a safe therapeutic modality associated with functional stabilisation of SSc-ILD," the paper said.

"We support the use of immunosuppressants in patients with scleroderma ILD. Although MMF and CYC may be equally effective, MMF may be preferred due to the long-term toxicity of CYC. Larger randomized controlled studies are sorely needed to support this premise," it concludes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ecuador said it will let Swedish officials interview at its embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder has been sheltering since June 2012.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said a letter has been sent by the Ecuadoran government to set up a meeting with Swedish officials at Quito's embassy in London.

The meeting is to take place "in the coming weeks," the statement said.

Prosecutors in Sweden want to interview Assange in connection a 2010 rape allegation against him.

The 45-year-old Australian sought refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London in June 2012 after exhausting all his legal options in Britain against extradition to Sweden.

Assange fears that if he were sent to Sweden to face trial, he could be extradited to the US to be tried over WikiLeaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents and face a long prison sentence or the death penalty.

Assange on Wednesday appealed a Stockholm district court's decision to maintain a European arrest warrant against him over the rape allegation.

"We have appealed the decision to keep him remanded in custody in absentia," his attorney Tomas Olsson told AFP.



Assange's lawyers have said that is why he refuses to travel to Sweden to be questioned by prosecutors.

A UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on February 5 ruled in a non-binding decision that Assange's confinement in the Ecuadoran embassy amounted to arbitrary detention by Sweden and Britain.

Both Britain and Sweden have angrily disputed the UN group's findings.
A CBI court today acquitted eight retired people, including IPS officer Ram Chandra Khan, accused in the uniform scam case over 32 years ago.

CBI court judge Sarvjeet passed the order acquitting Khan and seven others for want of evidence against them in the case relating to uniform scam in Bihar Military Police (BMP) in 1984.

Khan was the IG of BMP when the Rs 37.50 lakh uniform scam surfaced.

A case was registered under sections of Indian Penal Code, besides Prevention of Corruption Act against Khan and other accused persons by the then CBI DSP N N Singh at police stations in Gopalganj, Lakhisarai and Patna districts on July 8, 1986.

The accused were charged with purchasing police uniform at steep rates and abusing their power to give undue favour to local suppliers between 1983 to 1985 in violation of the circular against purchasing these materials locally.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Encephalitis, which claims hundreds of lives every year in eastern India, will be made a notifiable disease, the government announced in the Lok Sabha today amid concerns expressed by members over "failure" to check it despite years of efforts.

Health Minister J P Nadda also accepted the demand of two BJP members from eastern UP, the state worst affected by the disease whose victims are mostly children, that the Gorakhpur-based unit of National Institute of Virology, Pune, be upgraded as a regional centre.

In a Calling Attention Motion, Yogi Adityanath (BJP) said over 125 children have died in BRD Hospital, Gorakhpur, alone this year due to the disease, which is also known as brain fever, and such deaths have been happening year after year since 1978.

Teams of doctors and other experts have been visiting the district but it has been of little help, he said, adding innocent children there have become "guinea pigs" and the region a "laboratory".

"The failure is visible in tackling the disease," he said wondering if polio and smallpox can be eradicated, then why not encephalitis, which is vector-borne and water-borne disease.

In his reply, Nadda sought to lay the blame at the doors at the state governments, particularly the Uttar Pradesh government, saying over Rs 50 crore given to it for vector-borne disease control was lying unspent this year.

While providing money and technical assistance is the central government's responsibility, execution of various measures lie with states, he said.

"Despite support from the Centre, only 10 Paediatric ICUs out of 20 have been established in UP. There are a large number of vacancies of medical officers, nurses and supporting staff, affecting the implementation of the programme," he said.

He has reviewed the situation with health ministers of 11 affected states and issued them 10 advisories, Nadda said.

Agreeing to demands, he said, "We will make it a notifiable disease."



A notifiable disease is required by law to be reported to authorities, allowing them to prepare in time to take preventive measures in time.

During the current year, a total of 757 encephalitis cases have been reported from UP, he said.

(Reopen PAR15)



Nadda asked members also to take personal interest in monitoring the progress, saying they have been empowered by being made chairperson of District Level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee to review the health programmes under National health Mission.

The setting up of an AIIMS in Gorakhpur, whose foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, and one each in Assam and West Bengal will also help, the Health Minister said.

Adityanath said the fatality rate in encephalitis is 25-35 per cent but not much was done to inform masses about its symptoms and precautionary measures while outbreak of swine flu, which he said has about 2 per cent fatality rate, invites much publicity.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose Samajwadi Party is in power in Uttar Pradesh, said the disease has been affecting the state for decades and it was primarily for the Centre to take preventive measures.

His remark that the state government had paid compensation to the families of victims invited protests from some members.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Cong), Mohammad Salim (CPI-M) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (AITC) also spoke on the matter which saw a brief duel between Chowdhury and Bandyopadhyay, inviting the Speaker's ire. The Speaker said they should not fight while children are dying.

Jagdambika Pal (BJP) also highlighted the seriousness of disease in the eastern UP and wondered if 125 children had died in one hospital in Gorakhpur, then how many lives had been lost in total. There should be surveillance mechanism in place, he said.
The EU today launched an investigation into the merger of US agri-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont to see if one of the world's largest tie-ups will reduce competition and harm customers.

"The livelihood of farmers depends on access to seeds and crop protection at competitive prices. We need to make sure that the proposed merger does not lead to higher prices or less innovation for these products," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Dow Chemical and DuPont, two of the oldest US companies, announced the tie-up in December to create the world's biggest chemical and materials group valued at USD 130 billion.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union, said it had opened the "in-depth probe" to determine if the deal was in line with the bloc's merger regulations.

"The Commission will investigate further whether the deal may reduce competition in areas such as crop protection, seeds and certain petrochemicals," the statement said.

"The transaction would take place in industries that are already globally concentrated."



Given the global reach of the new entity, the Commission said it was "cooperating closely" with other countries, notably the US, Brazil and Canada in assessing the impact.

It said the two companies submitted remedies last month but these were "insufficient" to allay its concerns and so it decided to launch the probe which will last 90 days to December 20.

Dow Chemical and DuPont said that they had expected the investigation and were working closely with regulators.

"The companies continue to believe the merger is procompetitive and good for customers and consumers," they said in a joint statement.

"Dow and DuPont will continue to work constructively with the Commission to address their concerns and to obtain clearance for the merger, which we are confident will be achieved.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Additional District and Sessions Judge Kamaljit Singh Lamba today rejected the interim bail plea of former Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh in connection with a case of sexual harassment and corruption.

The case was registered at the City police station here on August 3.

In 2005, Rajneesh Kumar, an employee of Powercom and a resident of Geeta Bhawan here, had lodged a complaint with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in which he had alleged that he was falsely implicated in a rape case and Singh had taken Rs 50,000 from him to drop his name from the FIR.

He had also accused Singh of getting into an illicit relationship with his wife.

Singh landed in controversy earlier this year after Pakistani terrorists allegedly kidnapped him around 30 hours before launching an attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot on January 2.

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Police on Thursday took into preventive custody Hurriyat Conference leaders and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as they tried to defy house arrest and march to Eidgah to pay homage to Sheikh Abdul Aziz on his eighth death anniversary.

Police detained Geelani, chairman of the hardline Hurriyat Conference, as he tried to defy the restrictions, and took him to Humhama police station, a spokesman for the Hurriyat faction said.

"The Mirwaiz was arrested by police outside his Nigeen residence and lodged in Nigeen police station," a spokesman for the chairman of the moderate faction of Hurriyat said.

The separatists, as per their joint protest programme announced on August 4, had asked people to march to the Eidgah to pay homage to Aziz.

Meanwhile, the separatist camp in Kashmir has asked people not to send their children for participating in Independence Day events and gave a call for a two-day "referendum march" at Lal Chowk on August 13 and 14 to let the people of the state exercises their right to self-determination to decide on its future status.

"Parents are directed not to send their wards for participation in these (Independence Day) celebrations," the separatists said in the joint protest programme issued today for six days from August 13 to 18.

"From 7:00 am onwards (on August 15), block all the roads towards and around the place of celebration of Indian Independence Day; District Development Commissioners are asked not to hoist the Indian Flag in any part of the Jammu and Kashmir," they added.

Geelani, the Mirwaiz and JKLF chairman Mhammad Yasin Malik have been spearheading the ongoing protests against recent civilian killings in the valley.

"Raise black flags on your houses, shops, market centres and local chowks and wear black dresses or black bands on this day," the separatists said.
A class V girl student of an MCD school in Aman Vihar area of outer Delhi was allegedly molested by her teacher and her father was thrashed by the accused alongwith his colleagues when he tried to lodge a complaint, police said today.

"A 13 year old girl who studied at the MCD school at Kirari in Aman Vihar was allegedly molested by the accused teacher Manoj Rathi on last Saturday. A case has been registered under relevant sections of IPC and POCSO Act against the accused and efforts are being made to arrest him," said a senior police officer.

Police said that the victim after returning from school told her parents about the incident following which her father went to the school on Monday to lodge a complaint with the school authorities.

He was allegedly thrashed by the accused and his colleagues and threatened to refrain from trying to go to school authorities or police in the matter, said the officer.

The accused also allegedly threatened the father of the girl that he will sent him to jail in a fabricated case and forcefully took his thumb impression, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Congress Legislature Party chief Charanjit Singh Channi today asked the Union government to ensure safety of Sikhs settled in Kashmir, saying they were under a "fear psychosis".

"The supporters of the militants in the Valley are harassing Sikhs and forcing them to raise anti-national slogans," he claimed.

The "neglect" by the Union government and "no initiation" to protect the interest of Sikhs by the Punjab government on the issue clearly prove their anti-Sikh stand, he alleged here.

He urged Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to separately take up the issue with the Narendra Modi government as the Akali Dal was in alliance with BJP.

"Such a sensitive issue must be handled at the highest level in the government at the Centre," he said.

Meanwhile, Channi appealed to the SGPC chief to immediately send teams to the affected areas and meet the families there.

"This is the duty of SGPC to safe guards the interests of the Sikh families," he said.

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Government is considering a proposal to introduce a star rating programme for new passenger cars based on safety features, Parliament was informed today.

"Proposal of Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) - a star rating programme of new passenger cars based on safety performance is being reviewed by the government," Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrihsnan informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The progrmme is proposed to be implemented initially on voluntary basis by car manufacturers which rate the safety performance of the car mainly in offset frontal crash, slide impact crash, child safety requirements and pedestrian safety requirements with several other safety features like anti-skid brakers and seat belt reminder.

Radhakrishnan said, "Several Indian car models got poor star ratings in the crash test performed under global new car assessment programme conducted by Global NCAP, which is international voluntary organisation working in the interest of consumers."



The government has already notified mandatory crash norms for frontal and side impact crash in line with UNICEF regulation for implementation in India from October 2017 for new car models and from 2019 for all the car models.

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Government will construct 1,000 km of expressways under its flagship road building programme NHDP at a cost of Rs 16,680 crore, Parliament was informed today.

"Government of India has approved a plan for constructing 1,000 km of expressways under National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase VI at a cost of Rs 16,680 crore on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

The main criteria for selection of expressway corridors will be the traffic volume and it was approved that the highest density corridor i.E. Vadodara-Mumbai Corridor (400 km) to be given top priority and considered for feasibility study, the Minister said.

It was also decided that remaining 600 km will be selected out of the routes identified on the basis of traffic volume.

"The high density corridors under NHDP Phase VI are - Vadodara-Mumbai corridor (400 km) in Gujarat and Maharashtra, Delhi-Meerut (66 km) on NH 58 in Delhi and UP, Bangalore-Chennai (334 km) on NH 4 in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu...

"...Delhi-Jaipur (261 km) on NH 8 in Delhi and Rajasthan, Delhi-Chandigarh (249 km) on NH 1 and NH 22 (now changed to Delhi, Punjab and J&K, Kolkata-Dhanbad (277 km) on NH 2 in West Bengal and Jharkhand and Delhi-Agra (200 km) on NH 2 in Delhi and UP," Gadkari said.

Out of 66 km length of Delhi-Meerut Expressway, 30.63 km has already been awarded in 2 packages and contract agreement is executed, he said.

In addition, the government has approved to take up one more expressway - Eastern Peripheral Expressway - for a length of 135 km in 6 packages, the Minister added.

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A vigilance special court here today sentenced a retired IAS officer to three years rigorous imprisonment and slapped a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on him after convicting him in a 2008 disproportionate assets case.

The designated vigilance special court convicted Himsanshu Sekhar Samantaray, a former managing director of Orissa Lift Irrigation Corporation Limited, and said that in case of default in payment of the penalty, he would undergo rigorous imprisonment for 20 more months.

The court giving its verdict in a case resgistered against Samantray and his wife under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988 and IPC, according to a vigilance department press release.

The prosecution had said Samantray was in posession of assets of Rs 80,46,133 disproportionate to his known sources of income.

A confiscation case has also been initiated in the court of the authorised officer, special court, Bhubaneswar for confiscation of Samantray's properties.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Clean energy player Greenko today raised USD 500 million by selling green bonds to international investors, making it the first high yield or junk debt sale by a domestic firm.

The bonds, sold by Hyderabad-based Greenko Investment company, are backed by the parent Greenko Energy Holdings and are the first high yield corporate green bond issuance.

The Greenko Group is the largest clean energy independent power producer in the country with 1 GW of operating projects across hydro, wind and thermal segments and is majority owned (72 per cent) by the Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC.

The company, which is eyeing the India assets of the troubled US-based green power producer SunEdison, will be using the proceeds to retire a part of its costly debt and for other general corporate purposes.

The company could drive a hard bargain with investors as it could tighten the pricing by 50 bps from the initial guidance of 5.375 per cent to final yield of 4.875 per cent, thanks to huge response from international investors as the order book touched 8.4 times at USD 4.2 billion.

While the company could not be contacted, Deutsche Bank, one of the merchant bankers, said the transaction was designed on lines similar to Greenko's earlier bond issuance and benefited from sound structure, and a good parentage.

Other joint book-runners were JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Investec.

"The domestic high yield bond space, which was dormant since April 2015, is going through a turnaround currently. The attractive pricing of Greenko indicates that good quality paper will always attract global investors," Deutsche Bank India's Corporate Finance head Amit Bordia said.

"In the past two months alone we have seen USD 1.3 billion of high yield papers getting printed from the country," he said.

Since the trade was well received, with the orderbook coming in at USD 4.2 billion, the company increased the issue size from USD 450 million to USD 500 million, he said.

The massive demand came in from 275 accounts from Asia (59 per cent), US (20 per cent), Europe/Asia (21 per cent) fund managers (89 per cent), public sector banks (8 per cent), insurers and private equity players (2 per cent) and the rest from others.

The 144A/Reg S six-year instrument carries B+ (stable) rating by S&P and Fitch, which is below investment grade, and called junk bonds. It can be redeemed after three, four, five and six years and will be listed on the Singapore Exchange.

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The Aam Aadmi Party today alleged Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal's remarks that ISI was fomenting terror in the state was a way to "prepare ground" for attacking AAP leaders in the run up to the state Assembly election next year.

"Sukhbir Singh Badal is the Home Minister of Punjab. Instead of making such baseless allegations, why does not he come up with proof about our sources of funding? Why does not he reveal the names of leaders who are on ISI radar?" AAP leader Sanjay Singh told a press conference here.

His reaction came after Badal accused AAP leaders of "aligning with radical groups of Punjab" and demanded a probe by a Central agency into the party's source of funding.

Singh, who is AAP's Punjab in-charge, also hit out at the Deputy Chief Minister over his allegations that pro-Khalistani groups were funding the party.

He said Badal had emerged as a "comedy minister" by making such comments.

The AAP leader said the allegations were Badal's way of "preparing the ground" for deflecting criticism in future in the event of attacks on AAP leaders. He also referred to the past attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's convoy in Ludhiana.

"He (Badal) is making these allegations so that in the event of an attack, ISI is held responsible and not the SAD-BJP government," Singh said.

Asked about reports of discontent in the party's Punjab unit following the release of the first list of candidates for the 2017 Assembly polls, Singh said Sucha Singh Chotepur, party's state convenor, will meet Kejriwal to sort out the issues.

On whether AAP will declare its Chief Ministerial candidate in Punjab soon, Singh said the party will decide at an appropriate time as "we have a long list of leaders with absolute clean records.

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AAP leader and the party's Punjab legal cell head Himmat Singh Shergill today alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal is "planning" to get the party leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "eliminated".

"Sukhbir yesterday made a statement that ISI was going to target important leaders in Punjab.... Sukhbir Badal is plotting to use violence and he is planning to get AAP leaders eliminated. They can get Arvind Kejriwal eliminated," he alleged.

Sukhbir yesterday had said Pakistan's ISI has "big plans" to destablise the state by targeting important leaders, before 2017 Punjab assembly polls, adding that this has been conveyed to the Union Home Minister and the National Security Advisor.

"If the leaders are on ISI radar, Sukhbir should tell us who they are, whether those leaders have been informed and what security arrangements have been made to protect them," Shergill said.
Discontent seems to be simmering in Kerala Congress (M), which recently severed its ties with the opposition Congress-led UDF, with a powerful group in KC(M) today arguing that the party needed to be a part of either the UDF or the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, for its survival.

Less than a week after KC-M announced its decision to snap the over three-decade old ties with UDF, citing "humiliation" meted out by Congress, a faction headed by P J Joseph has sought to nip any move from within the party to forge a tie up with BJP, saying there was no question of "sacrificing the interests of the people" supporting the party.

"There is an importance of political fronts in Kerala politics. Kerala Congress will have to become a partner of the state's coalition politics," party MLA Mons Joseph, representing constituency Kaduthuruthy in Kottayam district, told PTI.

On possibilities of KC-M forging a tie-up with BJP in the state, Mons, also a former state minister, said Kerala Congress worked on the basis of certain principles and is also committed to protect interests of people supporting it.

"The party has not taken any decision on joining any political front. At the same time, we cannot sacrifice the interests of a large section of people supporting us," he said.

Kerala Congress wields considerable clout among the farming community and Syrian Catholics concentrated in certain parts of central Kerala.

Mons, a political disciple of veteran Kerala Congress leader and Thodupuzha MLAP J Joseph, however, dismissed suggestions of differences within KC-M over the decision taken at the Charalkkunnu camp last week.

"There are no differences within the party over the Charalkkunnu camp decision. We all unanmiously arrived at the decision to keep equal distance with all political fronts and to function as a separate bloc in the state Assembly. We stand by it," he said, adding KC-M's future course of action will be discussed in its next meeting.

Joseph endorsed Mons' views, saying "certainly being part of a political front is a need" for the party.

KC(M) supremo K M Mani was quick to react to the seeming discontent within the party and said "there are no differences within the party" over the issue.

"I am not saying there is no importance for coalition politics. We are standing alone in Kerala politics. It was a decision taken unanimously (at the two-day party camp held in Charalkkunnu last week). Let us gather strength first," he told reporters in his native Pala.

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Jammu and Kashmir police had intruded 14 km inside Himachal Pradesh, near Sarchu pass in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti, the Geological Survey of India (GSI), which is working on demarcation of border between the two states, has found.

"The survey conducted by the GSI team has indicated that Jammu and Kashmir police had intruded 14 km inside Himachal Pradesh, near Sarchu pass, and set up a post in 2014," Deputy Commissioner (DC), Lahaul and Spiti Vivek Bhatia said on Thursday.

"There is another boundary issue with the neighbouring state near Shinkula pass and the team is carrying out the process to ascertain the boundary to resolve the issue permanently," he added.

DC, Kargil, Ladakh and DC, Lahaul and Spiti had accompanied the GSI team, led by Major General RP Sen, during its visit. The report of the team would be submitted to Commission for Scheduled Tribe (NCST) at New Delhi.

NCST Vice Chairman Ravi Thakur informed that GSI was directed to carry out the demarcation process and it would submit its report within 10 days following which, the final decision would be taken.

Thakur, who is also the Lahaul and Spiti MLA, said that according to a direction of the Supreme Court, the would be considered final in the matter.

The dispute surfaced in July, 2014 when Jammu and Kashmir police set up its post at Sarchu for Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama's 'Kaal Chakra' initiation in Ladakh.
Gujarat's Land Acquisition Bill, 2016, which dilutes Centre's stringent Land Acquisition Act 2013, has received the presidential assent, and will be implemented in the state from Independence Day.

The bill aims to do away with social impact assessment and consent clauses for acquisition of land for public purposes, industrial corridors and Public Private Partnership projects.

"President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the 'Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Gujarat Amendment) Bill 2016' on August 8," Revenue Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasma told reporters here today.

"We will implement the new law in the state from August 15, which is Independence Day," he said. The state government will notify it as an Act before August 15.

"The 2013 UPA Land Act had many anomalies. This new amended law of ours will remove those anomalies and facilitate fast-paced growth in the state," he said.

The amended bill was passed by the state legislative assembly on March 31 this year. Then it was sent for presidential assent.

After coming to power in 2014, the Narendra Modi government had brought in amendments to Land Acquisition Act-2013. All the amendments that were brought by NDA government were part of the bill that Gujarat assembly passed.

The NDA version, however, failed to pass the muster of Rajya Sabha as the BJP and allies lacked numbers in the Upper House. The Modi government then dropped the idea of passage of the bill in Rajya Sabha and instead asked states to amend the law suiting them.

One of the key provisions of the bill is doing away with Social Impact Assessment (SIA) for projects related to Defence and social sectors, such as building air base, defence manufacturing units, schools, roads, canals and affordable houses.

The other key change is that SIA will not be carried out for land acquisition for industrial corridor and PPP projects taken up by the government.

Another key amendment is doing away with the provision of consent of affected parties. As per the original Central Act, 80 per cent of land owners must give their nod for the acquisition of land.

As per the new Bill, these provisions will not be



followed if the land is acquired for public purpose. However, it will remain in place for acquisition related to industrial development.

In the original Act, a head of the department is liable to face criminal proceedings and punished as per the law, if he is found guilty of any misdeeds related to land acquisition process. However, the government replaced the provision with a milder one.

As per the Bill, proceedings against head of the department will be subject to government's consent, without which he could not be prosecuted directly by court.

Apart from the social and defence sector projects, the Bill proposes to exempt from SIA industrial corridors set up by the state government and its undertakings, where it is required to acquire land up to 1 km on both sides of designated railway line or road.

In addition, the infrastructure projects under PPP mode, where land continues to vest with the government, are also exempted from social impact assessment and consent clause.

Chudasama said farmers will gain as compensation part has been kept unchanged. "In the urban areas compensation paid to land owners will be 100 per cent of the market value of the land, while in rural areas it would be 400 per cent," he said.
Madras High Court today struck down a lower court's order to take Ram Kumar, main accused in the June 24 murder of a IT professional, to the crime scene and directed prison officials to make arrangements in jail to take his photographs, videographs and other measurements to enable them to compare it with video footage already with the police.

Ram Kumar allegedly murdered 24-year-old Swathi in broad daylight on June 24 at Nungambakkam Railway Station here and later went absconding.

Setting aside the order of the 14th Metropolitan Magistrate at Egmore here, Justice P N Prakash directed the the prison authorities to provide necessary facilities for the Investigation Officer in the case to take videograph, photographs and other measurements of Ram Kumar with the help of the technical officer in the police photo section, not below the rank of sub inspector.

He further directed superintendent of prisons, Puzhal, where Ram Kumar is lodged, to allow him give his measurements, photographs and videographs.

The court directed the IO to produce the material before the metropolitan magistrate, for sending the same to forensic experts for their opinion and report.

The court said that in its considered opinion, it was not necessary to take Ram Kumar anywhere near the place of occurrence for making him reenact the crime.

"The Identification of Prisoner's Act was passed in the year 1920, where photography was the only technology available. Today technology has improved by leaps by bounds and it will be an anachronism to hold that photography will not include videograph,", the judge said.

"The taking of videograph per se will not make the suspect criminally liable. The videography should have to be compared with one already with the police by forensic experts and the evidence and report of the experts would become relevant under Section 45 of the Evidence Act," the judge said.

The accused was arrested from his house in Meenakshipuram near Shencottah in Tirunelveli District on July 1. When police went to arrest him, he allegedly used a knife and slashed his neck to evade arrest.

He was taken to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital and treated for his wounds and later brought to Chennai and admitted to the Government Royapettah Hospital.
Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave today said the Himalayan range has been suffering from the ill-effects of pollution "the most" even as he discussed various issues including impact of climate change on the range and retreat of glaciers with MPs of the region.

Chairing the third meeting with MPs from the Himalayan region last evening, Dave also underlined the need for having an interface on the real problems of the Himalayan region to help proper planning to mitigate them.

"Man, wild animals and forests have been living in harmonious co-existence. No Scheduled Tribe has ever posed a threat to the forests.

"Himalayas must be seen as a single whole and not in different parts. Himalayan range is one of the areas that has been suffering the ill-effects of pollution the most," Dave said.

Some of the issues discussed at the meeting included the possibility of disaster risk reduction, climate change impact, retreat of Himalayan glaciers, forest fires and the need to reduce out migration.

The government has underlined the need for an interface on the real problems of the Himalayan region, as it will help in proper planning, an official statement said.

The MPs who took part in the meeting include Ajay Tamta, Shanta Kumar, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Neiphu Rio.

Two such meetings have been held earlier. The first meeting was held in September last year in Almora in Uttarakhand.

The meeting discussed the need to bring in a 'Mountain Perspective' in national policies and plans and also emphasised the need to find long-term, research based solutions to the issues specific to the region.

The second meeting was held in December last year and it had underlined the need for bringing mountain states to the forefront of Sustainable Development Agenda in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
HLL Infra Tech Services Limited (HITES), the fully-owned subsidiary of public sector HLL Lifecare Ltd (HLL), has secured its first global contract to offer consultancy services for the construction of two hospitals in the Republic of Guinea.

HITES has signed a contract with Guinea's Ministry of Health with the objective of strengthening the western African nation's health system under the line of credit funding extended by India.

HITES will act as Project Management Consultant (PMC) for the construction of two 200-bed hospitals at Kankan and Nzerekore -- two of the biggest cities in Guinea.

The project involves an outlay of USD 35,000,000 (Rs 233 crore) Line of Credit from the Ministry of External Affairs, a company release said here today.

HITES, a division of HLL and formed in 2014, specialises in infrastructure development, procurement and management specifically for the healthcare sector.

It has taken up several projects in India for clients, including the Central and State governments, government departments, Public Sector Undertakings, corporations and institutions.

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The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) today approved construction of 37,013 houses for the urban poor in Karnataka and Haryana with central assistance of Rs 569 crore.

The total investment in construction of these houses would be to the tune of Rs 1,491 crore, an official release said.

The inter-ministerial Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee, chaired by HUPA Secretary Nandita Mukherjee, has approved construction of 36,254 houses for the economically weaker sections in Karnataka with an investment of Rs 1,468 crore and 759 houses in Haryana at a cost of Rs 23 crore, it said.

For construction of the houses, the Central government will provide assistance of Rs 558 crore to Karnataka and Rs 11 to Haryana, the release added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of Independence Day, the Delhi Police today issued an order prohibiting aerial activities of several kinds including para-gliding, UAVs, hot air baloons, till the second week of October.

The restrictions, that will come into force from tomorrow and continue till October 10, involve para-gliders, para-motors, hang gliders, UAVs, UASs, microlight aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons, small-size powered aircraft, quadcopters and para jumping from aircraft among others.

Special teams of police will be stationed on August 15 to neutralise the possibility of any airborne-activity such as drones.

Heightened security arrangements will be put in place for the celebrations at the historic Red Fort this year in wake of terrorists striking crowded places worldwide.

Nearly 6,000 security personnel and hundreds of CCTV cameras will monitor from three control-rooms the venue at Red Fort, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation, police officials have said.

More than 5,000 Delhi Policemen and 1,000 paramilitary personnel will be deployed at the venue apart from elite NSG commandos and intelligence officials.

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With the surging sea waves gradually eating into the Puri beach near Swarga Dwar, the Odisha government today said a technical team from IIT-Madras will soon examine the impact of high tide on the beach.

"A master plan is being prepared to fill the eroded portions with sand. A technical team from IIT Madras will soon arrive in Puri. Based on its recommendations, steps will be taken," water resource secretary P K Jena told reporters here.

Jena said the sea waves have ingressed into the coast at three places across the coast recently.

On Puri beach erosion situation, Jena said "Immediate steps have been taken to tackle the situation in Puri. Two senior engineers have already inspected the beach near Swarga Dwar."



A team of experts from the water resources department yesterday visited the site at Swarga Dwar where the high tide ingressed about 100 meters in the coast. The spot has been red flagged by the administration restricting the entry of tourists, said a district official.

The district administration has, in the mean time, deployed life guards in the beach to keep a watch on people roaming close to the sea after the IMD cautioned that the sea wave height might increase upto three to four metres along Odisha coast due to a deep depression over Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal.

The IMD also said the sea condition would be rough to very rough along the Odisha coast.

"Red flags have been put up at the sensitive areas by life guards. Tourists are advised not to take bath near the Swarga Dwar spot," a district official said.

Meanwhile, Puri Collector Aravind Agarwal met Chief Secretary A P Padhi and apprised him on the situation due to beach erosion near Swarga Dwar, the Hindu crematorium, in the last few days.

The surging sea waves in the last two days have swept away about 100-metre stretch of the beach near Swarga Dwar posing a threat for complete erosion of the narrow sand bed there.

Meanwhile, about 100 makeshift shops in the beach have already shifted their establishments to other places as the sea has washed away the sand bed.

Jagannath Bastia, a member of the Puri-based coastal protection body, recalled similar beach erosion due to high tides at Baliapanda on the Puri sea beach in 2007.

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Classes at the IIT here resumed today as the students called off their 4-day-long agitation over the death of a 26-year-old research scholar after the institute accepted their demands and suspended the doctor of the health care centre till a fact finding committee submits its report.

The institute also decided to give a compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the family of the student.

Students at started boycotting classes after the death of Alok Pandey on Monday. The administration had claimed that the scholar died due to a cardiac arrest, whereas the students of the hostel and his brother Adarsh Kumar Pandey had alleged that Alok died after he was given an injection by a doctor at the centre without conducting any tests.

A meeting of the advisory committee was held at the campus till 4 AM and the decision to suspend Dr Shailendra Kishore of the health centre was taken as he was accused of giving Alok a wrong injection, Director Indraneel Manna said.

"He will remain suspended until the report is received and if found guilty, action will be taken against the doctor," he said.

The college authorities have also sent a letter to the HRD Ministry mentioning the demands of a CBI probe into the incident and a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the family, Manna said.

The fact finding committee consists of three doctors and two students from the college. Services at the health centre will also be made better so that timely treatment can be given to students who fall sick, he added.

Alok, a PhD scholar of Material Science at the IIT, had complained of severe chest and neck pain after which he was rushed to the institute's health centre. As his condition deteriorated he was referred to a cardiology centre. However, he died on the way to hospital.

An FIR was also registered under IPC Section 304 A(causing death by rash or negligent act) against Kishore, the Warden In-charge, Guide Kamal Kekar and the hospital administrator, Kanpur SSP Shalabh Mathur had said.

Alok's brother alleged that the scholar was ill-treated and tortured in the hostel.
Swedish furniture maker Ikea today said it will double sourcing of products and material from India to euro 600 million in up to next four years.

The firm today held groundbreaking ceremony for its first store in the country which will come up here in an area of 4 lakh sq ft with an investment outlay of Rs 700 crore.

Juvencio Maeztu, Chief Executive Officer, IKEA India said the construction may be completed by next year-end.

"The IKEA store is planned to open in Autumn of 2017, giving access to affordable, good quality home furnishing products. IKEA will hire 500 direct co-workers and another 1,500 engaged in providing services around the store. The store will be about 4,00,000 sq ft large and will host more than 5-6 million customers every year," Maeztu told reporters.

"Today we buy more than euro 300 million from India alone and we will multiply it by 2 to euro 600 million in the next three to four years," he said.

Replying to a query, he said the furniture maker may also introduce online sales in India in future.

"Today, I touch and feel in the store and tomorrow I am ordering online. We are now activating online business in many countries and in India, we will also have online business. Having said that, we will start with stores (first). We want to build the brand in the store," he explained.

Maeztu further informed that the company is actively looking to finalise sites in Bengaluru and Delhi National Capital Region.

On the recently passed GST Bill, he was of view that it will benefit the business community.

In May 2013, the government allowed the Swedish furniture major to invest Rs 10,500 crore for setting up single brand retail stores.

Ikea was one of the first few companies in India to be allowed 100 per cent FDI in retail.

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali and state Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma were also present on the occasion.

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An incoming Kuwait Airways flight to the city was delayed by over seven hours today, airport officials said.

The flight, which was scheduled to land here at 3.30 AM today and return at 5.30 AM.

It finally arrived at 11.10 AM and left for Kuwait at 12.40 PM, the officials said.

The exact reason for the delay is not known yet, they said.
India has handed over to Pakistan High Commission here a letter from suspected LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali, written in his own hand, seeking legal assistance, and said the Pakistani national may be provided consular access, if sought by Islamabad.

Ali, who has been in NIA custody since last week of July, wrote a letter addressed to the Pakistan High Commissioner to India seeking legal assistance, official sources said.

The sources said 21-year-old Ali, who hails from Raiwind in Pakistan's Lahore, had given detailed address in his home town and an identity card which proved he was a Pakistani national.

They said India may provide consular access to him if Pakistan made such a request.

Ali was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police on July 25 after locals in Yahama village of Kupwara in North Kashmir informed them about his movement. The case was later handed over to the NIA which brought him here and interrogated him at length.

During interrogation, NIA claimed, Ali alias Saifullah said that Lashkar-e-Taiba was fuelling the unrest in Kashmir, especially after gunning down of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces.

Ali's 'confessional video', released by NIA yesterday, shows him spilling beans about LeT's role in the disturbances. He is also shown speaking about the LeT's sophisticated communication network and assistance rendered to it by the Pakistani army.

NIA also showed to the media a video of Ali, a Punjabi-speaking man, talking about his family, the time he spent in the terror outfit and his crossing over to the Indian side of the border.

This is for the first time that NIA has shown a video statement of a captured militant. Pakistan had earlier this year shown a video statement of Kulbhushan Yadav, an Indian national arrested in Balochistan in March over charges of spying for Indian intelligence agencies. However, Pakistan did not provide him consular access.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
on Thursday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 28.6 crore for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a net loss Rs 23.5 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's total income on standalone basis also rose to Rs 777 crore in the April-June quarter from Rs 591 crore during the same quarter in 2015-16, the company said in a BSE filing.

Its total expenses jumped to Rs 701 crore, compared to about Rs 580 crore a year ago.

"This healthy jump in our company's profitability is primarily due to improved efficiencies, higher volume and realisation and better cost control," stated Vinita Singhania, vice chairperson and managing director, .

The firm also brought down its fuel and power consumption during the period.

The company's Whole-time Director Shailendra Choukey said: "Surat grinding unit has started its trial run and the work on rehabilitation of Udaipur cement plant under its subsidiary UCWL is progressing satisfactorily and we hope to commence trial production by end of December 2016."



The firm, part of the $4 billion JK Group, operates integrated cement facilities at Sirohi (Rajashthan), Durg (Chhatisgarh), Kalol and Surat (Gujarat) and Jharli (Haryana).

At present, it produces 8.4 million tonnes annually and its capacity is scheduled to go up to 12 million tonnes per annum shortly.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's rant about unprofessional male co-stars on the set of "Fast and Furious 8" rant was reportedly aimed at co-star Vin Diesel.

The decisions Diesel has made as the film's producer reportedly led to tension between the two actors, reported TMZ.

The 44-year-oldwrestler-turned-actor, known for being one of the nicest actors to work with in Hollywood, surprised fans by calling out his male co-stars on action franchise, in an instagram post, but he did not drop any hint about the identity of the persons.

Source say that the two actors had a secret meeting in the middle of filming in Atlanta on August 9 to try resolving their differences.

Diesel, 49, is yet to comment on the issue.

The other cast members apparently are not happy with Johnson's expletive-filled post on social media.

The rest of his male co-stars including Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Scott Eastwood reportedly think it was out of line for the actor to talk bad about them.

The shooting on the movie will end in a week and a half.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says the Afghan government is launching a mission to free the crew of a Pakistani helicopter that crashed inside Afghanistan while flying to Russia earlier this month.

The ministry's spokesman Nafees Zakaria said today that six Pakistanis and a Russian navigator were aboard when the copper went down on August 4. He said Kabul has informed Pakistan that the crew was alive and efforts are being made to rescue them through local tribal elders.

Zakaria did not say who captured the crew, but an Afghan governor has said the crew was detained by the Taliban in the area outside the government's control.

According to a Pakistani Taliban leader, the crew was being held by a Pakistani Taliban commander in Afghanistan's Logar province.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Government employees, who have been protesting here against the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp in Kashmir Valley, today expressed dismay at Prime Minister Narendra Modi "not speaking about them" and said they were the "real victims" of the unrest.

The protest at the Relief Commissioners Office (RCO) entered the 29th day today.

"We are disappointed that the Prime Minister while speaking about stone pelters did not utter a single word about us, people who are the real victims of stone pelting, but we will continue our protest and are hopeful that our struggle will bear fruits," Chairman of the All Party Migrant Coordination Committee Vinod Pandita said.

"It is not about 700 people who are protesting here, but 700 families that have been hit by the turmoil," he said.

The protesting employees demanded that "their posts be shifted to Jammu as it is not safe for them to return and work in Kashmir. Their is no guarantee that they will not be targeted again by the mob," Pandita said.

"We were peacefully doing our job in Kashmir when we were attacked by the mob. They forced us to raise anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans.

"They threatened to kill us. How can the government expect us to return and work in such an environment?" Sangeeta, a protester said.

The protesters have accused the state and the Centre of turning a blind eye towards the "miseries" faced by the community. They alleged that the government is yet to send a representative to talk to them.

The workers belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community have refused to return to their jobs in the Valley after the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp.

More than 1,600 displaced Kashmiri Hindu youths had been recruited under Prime Minister's Special employment package and posted in Kashmir voluntarily.

Most of these employees escaped from Haal transit accommodation in Pulwama, Baramulla, Kupwara transit camps, Vessu and Mattan KP employees colonies in Anantnag district after the unrest began and have been camping in Jammu.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal left for the national capital today after attending a 10-day vipassana session at a meditation centre in Dharamkot here.

Kejriwal left for Chandigarh by road and will fly to Delhi from there, sources said.

The AAP chief, who arrived here on July 31, attended the meditation session from August 1 to 10.

"Returning back from 10 day Vipassna course. Feeling v fresh n energetic(sic)," Kejriwal tweeted.

Earlier in the day, he met AAP leader Rajan Sushant and discussed about the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election slated for 2017.

After the meeting, Sushant said AAP would be a major player in the next year's election and that Kejriwal would decide who would lead the party in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A lawyer was today attacked by a litigant, engaged in a matrimonial dispute with his wife, with a blade inside the Tis Hazari Courts premises.

The incident took place in the afternoon when the man, identified as Deepak, passed some comments on the woman advocate, who is representing his wife, and other lawyers came in her support.

The man then attacked advocate Manish Sharma with a blade and he received minor injuries.

According to the police, they have received complaint from both the parties and are probing the matter.

Advocate Sanjeev Nasiar, President of Delhi Bar Association, said after the incident, the district judge and bar members reached the spot and tried to pacify the lawyers gathered there and asked the police to expeditiously probe into the matter.

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A day after a traffic police constable was assaulted inside a courtroom here allegedly by some advocates, a lawyer today lodged a complaint against the cop and three other policemen accusing them of misbehaving with him and his sister earlier.

The complaint by advocate Satya Prakash Gautam was filed after the police had yesterday registered an FIR against him and some other advocates for allegedly assaulting traffic police constable Rambir inside the courtroom of a Metropolitan Magistrate.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma said that an FIR was registered yesterday on the basis of Rambir's complaint under relevant provisions of the IPC.

"We have registered an FIR in the matter. The accused had escaped from the spot. Police will take action against them," Verma said.

Meanwhile, advocate Gautam claimed he has today filed a complaint to the SHO of Sabzi Mandi police station against Rambir and three other cops.

A senior police official, however, said that they have not yet received any complaint from the advocate.

The official said that yesterday when Rambir was present in the courtroom for the hearing, some advocates allegedly repeatedly punched him on his face before two other policemen managed to rescue him from the lawyers.

Rambir was rushed to a hospital and was treated for the injuries sustained on nose, face and hands.

Meanwhile, Gautam has alleged in his complaint that on June 26, 2016 he was on bike with his sister when Rambir had stopped him near the New Delhi Railway Station and had threatened to send him behind the bars for not carrying some documents of his vehicle.

He alleged that Rambir, along with three other cops - Head Constable Naresh Kumar, Constable Dharmender and ASI Bijender Singh - used "filthy and vulgar language" when he was with his sister and kept on harassing them.

"Police officials constable Rambir, Head Constable Naresh Kumar, Constable Dharmender and ASI Bijender Singh under a conspiracy with the ulterior motive to defeat legal system, procedure and the penal action, may cause harm/injury/hurt either to me or my family members to any extent and hence, I prefer to file the present complaint requesting for a strong, stern and prompt action against these erring police officials as early as possible," he said in his complaint.

The lawyer said that a meeting was held at Bar Council of Delhi in which it was discussed that atrocities of policemen on lawyers were increasing and the lawyers body is planning to go on strike.

Gautam also alleged in his complaint that the cop asked



him for a bribe of Rs 2,000 to settle the matter but when he refused to pay it, the Constable began harassing him and his sister.

"Instead of issuing challan, the constable started making a video of me and my sister and when I objected to it, he started abusing us," the lawyer claimed.

He said when he pointed to a PCR vehicle going on the wrong side and asked Rambir to issue a challan to its driver as well, the cop dismissed his contention.

He also alleged that he was threatened outside the Tis Hazari court complex yesterday, when he was on his way to attend the hearing against him.
In his first official visit, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar will travel to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq from August 17-23 during which he will discuss with the West Asian leadership key security issues, including threat by the Islamic State and the 39 Indians who were taken hostage in war-hit Mosul.

This was announced by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup, who said the visit to these three important countries in West Asia is a reaffirmation of India's deep interest in promoting bilateral relations as also in the peace and security in the region in its extended neighbourhood.

The Spokesperson also said that the minister's visit will also give India an opportunity to have first-hand assessment of evolving security situation in that region.

Asked if the issue of Indians, who were taken hostage in war-hit Iraq by the Islamic State in 2014, will figure during minister's talk, Swarup said the issue has been always raised by India during its interaction with the leaders and other interlocutors. "It is but natural that it will be discussed during minister's visit," he added.

Terming the Islamic State as that biggest "security threat", he said the minister will discuss it during his meetings.

In Lebanon, Akbar is expected to meet the top leadership including President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of Lebanon Tammam Salam and will have extensive discussions with the Lebanese leadership covering bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

In a continuing dialogue process with the leadership of Syria, the minister will pay a courtesy call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Prime Minister Emad Mohammad Deeb Khamis.

Among others, Akbar will also interact with the Grand Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun during this visit. "The discussions would focus on our bilateral cooperation and the unfolding security situation in the region," Swarup added.

During his visit to Iraq, he would hold discussions with Foreign Minister of Iraq Ibrahim Al-Eshaiqer Al-Jafari on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

"Our time-tested, warm and friendly relations with Iraq are underpinned by historical and religious linkages, strong people-to-people contacts, our energy security quest and capacity-building cooperation. The visit is expected to add further impetus to our bilateral engagement.

"It will also provide an opportunity to meet other senior leaders of Iraq, including religious leaders, and to convey India's abiding commitment to the emergence of a stable, peaceful, united and democratic Iraq, which is in the interest of regional and global peace and security," the Spokesperson said.

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Wreckage of one of the two buses which were washed away in the Savitri river near Mahad after a British-era bridge collapsed on August 2 was pulled out of the water this evening.

Wreckage of Rajapur-Borivali MSRTC bus was retrieved.

"After working 12-14 hours a day for the last 8 days, the Naval teams located wreckage of the two buses submerged in water at Mahad," a Defence spokesperson said.

The wreckage were found approximately 170 and 200 meters from the collapsed bridge.

After the Navy divers located the buses, braving strong currents and crocodiles in the river, NDRF teams were summoned to retrieve them.

The Indian Navy team comprising personnel specialising in diving was searching for the wreckage and survivors since the morning of August 4.

So far, 26 bodies have been recovered after two State Transport buses and some other vehicles fell in the river following the bridge collapse on Mumbai-Goa Highway near Mahad in Raigad district, about 170 kms from here, on August 2.
The existing Majuli Civil Sub Division in upper Assam has been upgraded to a district as sanctioned by the Assam Governor.

Majuli Civil Sub Division will be known as the district of 'Majuli' with Assam Governor sanctioning the formation of a new Administrative District, a government release said today.

The creation of this new district is for administrative expediency and this has reference to government notification No. GAG (B) 27/2005/Pt. VI/59 dated Dispur, August 5, 2016, the release said.

The date of operation of the district will be notified shortly, the release added.

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A law that criminalizes defamation and provides for steep fines and jail terms for violators took effect in the Maldives with the president signing it today despite widespread public outcry.

President Yameen Abdul Gayoom ratified the bill passed by Parliament on Tuesday.

The law criminalizes speech, writing and even sounds that are deemed defamatory or against any tenet of Islam. It puts the burden of proof on defendants. Convicted media companies and individual bloggers and social media users can be fined from USD 1,620 to USD 130,000.

Journalists working for registered media outlets can be fined up to USD 9,730 in addition to the fine imposed on their employer. Unpaid fines carry a jail term of up to six months.

Maldivian journalists and opposition politicians, as well as the European Union and the embassies from the US, Britain, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands, had urged the government not to pass the law.

The government promised to have a multiparty parliamentary committee study the bill and to take suggestions, but the ruling party dominated committee ignored objections and sent the bill to Parliament for voting.

After Parliament approved it, the activist group Transparency Maldives had urged the president to consider the concerns over the law before endorsing it.

Maldives became a multiparty democracy in 2008 and a year later defamation was made a civil offense, one of a number of democratic changes, but the country has lost much of those gains since then.

Gayoom has taken a stranglehold on power since his election in 2013. He is accused of manipulating the judiciary, police and bureaucracy to concentrate power and stifle the opposition.

At least four senior politicians a former president, a former vice president a former defense minister and a political party leader are among those who have been given lengthy jail terms after trials criticized for a lack of due process.

The government is also accused of failing to investigate the case of a journalist went missing two years ago and is suspected to have been abducted. Also two media outlets have been shut down this year which critics say is the result of government pressure.

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A 19-year-old man from Virginia created an hours-long media spectacle when he climbed 21 floors of the Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan using suction cups and straps allegedly to meet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump but was arrested for the stunt.

Stephen Rogata, from Great Falls in Virginia, was safely pulled inside the building by the police personnel after nearly three hours-long dare-devil stunt last evening.

He was dragged inside through a window on the 21st floor of the 68-story skyscraper.

New York police said today that he had been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.

The 70-year-old real estate tycoon, whom police said Rogata wanted to meet, was out of town at the time of the incident.

The stunt was witnessed by hundreds of passerby and live on television as the and visuals of his escapade circulated widely on social media.

Police said the man's motive was to climb to the top of the tower and get a personal meeting with Trump, whose name is on the priciest real estate in Manhattan.

Trump was on his presidential campaign tour in Virginia. Security is tight around the tower, which is the site of Trump's campaign launch and is also his residence.

The Republican presidential candidate responded through Twitter saying, "Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber."



Personnel from the New York Police Department had to undertake elaborate safety measures as well as some extreme steps like breaking some windows in the tower to pull the man inside the building.

They raised a ladder in an effort tostop him, buthad to close it as he moved higher. Apart from breaking windows to reach him, police also placed inflated giant cushions below him in case he tumbled off the 58-story Trump headquarters.

The man was eventually pulled inside moments after he ascended to a tight spot near a large window removed by police.

Police later said the man had told them that he had posted a YouTube video on Tuesday titled "Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower)."



In the message a hooded man claimed he was an "independent researcher."



"Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it," the man said in the video.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention".

At the end of the entire episode, emergency responders brought the man out of the building on a stretcher and placed him in an ambulance. The man was then taken to a city hospital for mental evaluation.

The entire spectacle was watched by thousands online as passersbys recorded videos of the climb and posted it on social media platforms.

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A man has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a local court for raping a minor girl in 2014.

District and Session Judge Anupam Shrivastava yesterday awarded the sentence to Mahesh Mongia for luring and raping the 12-year-old girl on February 24, 2014.

He also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on Mongia, district prosecution officer Mohammad Zafar said today.

The incident occurred when the victim was had gone to a market area in the town. Mongia then lured her and took her to Indore, Ratlam and Gujarat and later raped her.

Following a complaint by her family members, police apprehended Mongia and traced the girl after some time.

The fine would be given to the victim as compensation, the judge ruled.

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A man was killed today when the jeep he was driving rolled down into a deep gorge near Shilla Bagh village in Rajgarh area, about 125 km from here.

The vehicle was returning from Parwanoo area after unloading apple and carrying groceries to Nerwa when the incident took place, Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajgarh Yogesh Rolta said.

Devinder alias Kaka, 28, of Neuti village was alone in the vehicle and died on the spot.

In a separate incident, a 26-year-old labourer Deepak Kumar, 26, of Jharkhand, working with a private electric contractor was electrocuted while working on an electric pole.

The matter was under investigation and an FIR has been lodged, Station House Officer of the Kala Amb police station Yoginder Singh said.

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Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe's former home in The Palm Springs, California has been raided by burglars.

The crooks triggered the alarm after kicking the front door in, and police raced to the scene - but the culprits got away.

The home was recently owned by an elderly woman, but it appears she died recently and the home was sitting vacant, according to TMZ.

Law enforcement officials found power tools on a nearby lawn that appeared to have been stolen from the house.

Monroe lived there in the late 1950s.
Country's largest carmaker Suzuki India (MSI) plans to bring more products with hybrid technology over the next few years as concern for safeguarding environment increases in India.

The auto major, which is facing capacity constraint, is also expediting the process to operationalise its upcoming Gujarat plant by early next year and start selling vehicles produced from the plant within this fiscal.

"As a market leader and a responsible corporate citizen, we are fully sensitive to our duty towards the environment. We were the first ones to launch mild hybrid products with reasonably good volumes. This process of hybridisation will be expanded further in the next few years," MSI Manging Director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said in his address to shareholders in the company's Annual Report for 2015-16.

MSI is providing factory fitted CNG cars and is making efforts to expand their penetration, he added. Currently the company offers mild hybrid technology in Ertiga MPV and premium sedan Ciaz.

Stating that the company is facing a capacity constraint, he said: "The Gujarat plant commissioning is being expedited and may start operations by early 2017."



The company has a manufacturing capacity of 15 lakh units in its two plants in Gurgaon and Manesar. Currently, Baleno has a waiting period of 6-7 months while Vitara Brezza has a waiting period of around 8-9 months, depending upon variants.

The Gujarat plant will have an annual production capacity of 2.5 lakh units in the first phase which could be ramped up to 15 lakh units going ahead.

On new light commercial vehicles business, Ayukawa said: "We have put in place a dedicated organisation to help us identify and acquire sites for our own retail space from a long term derisking point of view."



MSI is also making efforts to expand its exports to markets across the globe.

"We are making a lot of market development efforts in exports so that in the next few years we are on a strong footing to provide cars to many countries of the world from India," he said.

Baleno became the first car manufactured by the company to be sold in Japan. The vehicle is also exported to Europe and many other markets across the world.

On upcoming R&D centre at Rohtak, Ayukawa said: "The first few facilities are have been commissioned and in the coming three years will witness more expansion. If we can design and develop in India we will get global competitiveness in technology, cost and quality much faster. That will be our next step - Create in India.

The company is also aligning all its processes and operations including supply chain to keep enhancing the quality of manufacturing, he added.

On rapidly growing SUV and crossover segment, Ayukawa said the market response has been very good for its products Vitara Brezza and S-Cross.

"We hope to attain a healthy market share of the UV/SUV segment. Similarly we are encouraged by the market response to the Ciaz in the premium car segment," he added.
Ministry of External Affairs has initiated the process of registration of Indian students studying abroad, in order to compile data so that the government is able to advise them in hour of need.

In a letter to Telangana government, Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, Additional Secretary (CPV & OIA), Ministry of External Affairs, said Students Registration Module has been placed within Ministry's MADAD portal (the Consular Services Management System).

He said the data entered into this module in a voluntary manner by the Indian students abroad would provide useful inputs about their pattern of migration globally, educational courses that they are registering in and related matters.

Mulay requested the students to register themselves in this module, according to a press release issued by Telangana government.

"In the subsequent weeks, the module will be expanded to include country specific advisories for Indian students; links to Facebook pages of Indian associations and Indian students associations; links carrying information on accredited educational institutions in various countries etc," he said.

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A Mississippi woman, who once sought to disguise a planned journey to join the Islamic State group as her honeymoon, was sentenced today by a federal judge to 12 years in prison on a terrorism charge.

Vicksburg native Jaelyn Young broke down in heavy sobs during her sentencing by US District Judge Sharion Aycock. Young pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organisation.

Young had faced up to 20 years in prison. Her parents pleaded for leniency at today's hearing. Young, amid sobs, said she was ashamed of her actions.

Her fiance, Muhammad Dakhlalla, pleaded guilty March 11 to a similar charge and is set to be sentenced August 24.

Prosecutors have said Young, who converted to Islam while studying at Mississippi State University, had prodded Dakhlalla into the plan.

The two were arrested in 2015 before boarding a flight from Columbus, Mississippi, with tickets for Istanbul, Turkey.

"I found the contacts, made arrangements, planned the departure," Young had written in a farewell letter to her family. "I am guilty of what you soon will find out."



Young and Dakhlalla were among a number of people arrested around the country for Islamic State sympathies. Like many, authorities said, they had developed views supporting the Islamic State in part by watching online videos and were arrested after social media posts attracted the attention of the FBI.

The daughter of a school administrator and a police officer who served in the Navy reserve, Young is a former honor student, cheerleader and homecoming maid at Vicksburg's Warren Central High School.

The two were arrested in August 2015 before they could board the flight from Mississippi with tickets for Istanbul purchased using her mother's credit card without permission, according to court records.

Authorities said the couple had contacted undercover federal agents in May, seeking online help in traveling to Syria. Both remained jailed in Oxford since their arrests.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has blacklisted Emami Power Ltd and Oriental Sales Agencies (India) Pvt Ltd that debars them from participating in all its schemes for a period of three years.

Last month, state-run NTPC has informed the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy that Emami Power Ltd and Oriental Sales Agencies (India) Pvt Ltd were indulged in malpractices in the tenders for solar power projects by it under Phase-II of National Solar Mission, MNRE said in a statement.

Taking a note of this, the Ministry decided to blacklist the two companies for three years, the statement said.

This means that the firms have been debarred from participating in any schemes or programmes of the Ministry during the said period, it said, adding that a copy of this order has been sent to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and NTPC Ltd.

IREDA and SECI are implementing various solar energy initiatives of the government which has envisaged adding 100 GW of solar power generation capacity by 2022.

The statement also said that the action clearly indicates that government does not allow any malpractices by vendors to ensure quality of supplies.

NTPC has drafted its business plan of capacity addition of about 1,000 MW through renewable resources by 2017. In this endeavour, NTPC has already commissioned 360 MW solar PV projects.

It has envisioned 128GW of total power generation capacity by 2032, with 28 per cent from renewable energy sources.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid growing attacks on Dalits, Congress today squarely blamed the Narendra Modi government for the atmosphere of intolerance in the country, saying the "fringe" has become the centre.

"In India the 'fringe' has become the centre and the centre has become the 'fringe'", party spokesman Jyotiraditya Scindia told reporters, targeting the Prime Minister for showing "helplessness" to take action.

Replying to questions, he said "intolerance is the core issue" at present given the fact that the government, which is mandated to provide safety and security to people, is not asserting on any issue.

"It is unfortunate that the government has remained a mute spectator as the attacks are growing...It does not behove Prime Minister to be seen as helpless and meek," he said.

Saying that at Una in Gujarat, Dalits were attacked for skinning a cow which was killed by a lion, Scindia regretted that in this session of Parliament, there has been no suo motu statements from the government on such issues.

Wondering as to why the government is not doing anything about this rise in violence against Dalits, he said a climate of fear is being created.

"Every 18 minute, a Dalit is assaulted. Three Dalits are raped and two Dalits are murdered each day," he said and asked why the Home Minister, the Social Justice Minister and the National Commission for SC and ST were not acting.

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Scores of people gathered outside the central jail premises here today to pay their tributes to Khudiram Bose, the youngest freedom fighter to face the gallows, on his 108th death anniversary.

A two-minute silence was observed at 4:02 AM sharp, the time when Bose was executed in 1908 at the age of 18 for throwing bombs at the carriage of Kingsford, the then magistrate of Muzaffarpur.

District officials, city MLA Suresh Sharma, three persons from Bose's ancestral village in Habibpur in West Midnapore district of West Bengal and hundreds others took part in the event.

Sharma, Tirhut Divisional Commissioner Atul Yadav, District Magistrate Dharmendra Singh and others later garlanded a statue of the revolutionary at the Khudiram Bose Memorial in Companybagh where Bose had executed the daring act, along with Prafulla Chaki.

Sharma demanded that a chapter on the life history of Bose be included in the state board syllabus so that the new generation knows about his "inspiring" story.

"I will submit a proposal to Bihar Legislative Council Chairman Awadhesh Narain Singh in this regard... People should know about the revolutionaries who laid down their lives for the freedom of our country. This will instill a sense of nationalism in them," he said.

Sharma also demanded setting up of a community centre named after Bose and development of the spots that have historical relevance.

Meanwhile, Nagrik Morcha, a local outfit, staged a demonstration at the Muzaffarpur railway junction pressing their demand of renaming the station after Bose. They also demanded renaming of Mokama railway station after Chaki.

At Mokama Ghat railway station, Chaki shot himself to dead to avoid being arrested a few days after the bombing.

Scores of people also paid tributes to the revolutionary on the riverbank of Budhi Gandak where Bose was cremated.

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Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik had received foreign funding of Rs 60 crore which was subsequently transferred in the bank accounts of his family members, police said today.

Police also stated that the televangelist had floated four shell companies in which his kin are directors.

According to an official attached to Economic Offences Wing (EOW), they are probing the motive behind floating the shell companies.

"Was it (founding of shell companies) meant to integrate funds....Or what activities these funds were to be used for," he said.

The official said the money trail involving the foreign funding and its transfer in bank accounts of Naik's kin will now be probed under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation Act).

He refused to elaborate on the exact period when Rs 60 crore was deposited in Naik's account and the year when the shell entities were founded.

The Mumbai Police, tasked with probing Naik's alleged provocative speeches, had submitted its report to the state government on Tuesday.

Police were asked to probe Naik's speeches available online to see if any of them could have encouraged youths to join terrorist groups, amid reports that his preachings inspired some of those involved in the Dhaka terror strike.

"Mumbai Police found Naik to be allegedly involved in unlawful activities with possible terror links," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday.

He had said his government was examining the report with several aspects that are in the domain of the Centre, and that he will send it to the Home Ministry for further action.

The CM had also said efforts would be made to extradite Naik, currently abroad, if he failed to return on his own.

The city police is also conducting a joint inquiry (with other agencies) into the functioning of Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), to scrutinise the finances it has received from various parts of the world.

Naik, in a media interaction via Skype from Saudi Arabia last month, had rubbished allegations against him while terming himself as the "messenger of peace".

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British police today said they are investigating reports of a "near miss" between a drone and a plane carrying 62 passengers, the latest such incident in the country.

The Flybe plane was travelling at about 900 feet (274 metres) and was about 2 miles (3 kilometres) from Cornwall Airport Newquay when it reported the incident on Tuesday, police said.

Devon and Cornwall Police conducted a search of the area but have not found the drone or operator, the BBC reported.

Inspector Dave Meredith called it "an incredibly concerning incident".

"The close proximity of the drone to the passenger aircraft shows a complete disregard by the operator for public safety and we are appealing to the public for information to help us track down this reckless drone operator," Meredith said.

A spokeswoman for Cornwall Airport Newquay confirmed a drone had flown within the air traffic zone adjacent to the final approach to the airport as the plane flew in from London Stansted.

"Although on this occasion there was no danger of collision, Air Traffic Control (ATC) reported this incident to the police as the drone should not have been flown in that area without ATC clearance and posed a potential danger to incoming flights," she said.

In April, there were reports that a passenger plane approaching Heathrow Airport hit a drone.

The British Airways flight from Geneva, with 132 passengers and five crew on board, was hit as it approached the London airport on April 17.

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority says there were some 40 near-misses between drones and aircraft in 2015.

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Nepal's new government today decided to send special envoys to India and China in the near future in a fresh bid to reach out to its two big neighbours.

The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prachanda took a decision to send two Deputy Prime Ministers (DPMs), Bimalendra Nidhi to India and Krishna Bahadur Mahara to China, as the Prime Minister's special emissaries, according to Cabinet sources.

However, the date of their visits is yet to be fixed.

The decision is taken as the new government's move to build cordial relations with both the neighbouring countries through high-profile visits.

The DPM duo would meet political leaders and government officials in New Delhi and Beijing.

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UK Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark has called for stronger bilateral trade ties with India and asked British companies to take advantage of opportunities the country presents.

Clark, who was on a visit to India earlier this week held talks with Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal and Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, discussed the business relationship between the two countries.

The meetings discussed future cooperation between the two nations and "considered ways to develop even stronger trade links following the UK's vote to leave the European Union," Clark's office said in a statement.

"The UK has a long-standing trade relationship with India and we want this to grow and prosper. That is why I wanted to meet with government ministers and key business leaders in the country to make clear that the UK is open for business and will continue to thrive on the world stage," the statement quoted him as saying.

Stating that the UK is already the largest G20 investor in India, he said the two countries "would mutually benefit from working together, particularly in the energy sector."



India is the third largest investor in the UK.

"The UK is already the largest G20 investor in India and I want to nurture these trade links further, deepening our co-operation on areas such as energy and infrastructure," he said.

The Business and Energy Secretary's visit to India was the first by a UK Cabinet Minister since Theresa May became Prime Minister.

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State-owned NHPC Ltd today announced the commissioning of Unit 4 of Teesta Low Dam Project-IV.

"The unit 4 of Teesta Low Dam Project-IV (160 MW) has been successfully commissioned at its full load of 40 MW on August 11, 2016 at 01:00 hrs," NHPC said in a BSE filing.

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Gamesa bags 40 mw wind power proj from KCT Renewable Energy * Gamesa today announced bagging of a 40 mw wind power project from KCT Renewable Energy Pvt Ltd.

It will be responsible for the supply, erection and commissioning of the wind farm, the company said in a statement, it said adding that the project essentially comprises 20 units of G114-2.0 MW T106 turbines which are due to be commissioned by March 2017.

"This order confirms that technology is a key differentiator, which enables customers to trust our wind energy capabilities. Our proven expertise in the wind domain has helped us develop a strong footing in the renewable energy space, which helps us cater to the needs of customers better," Ramesh Kymal, Chairman and Managing Director, Gamesa India said.

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ItzCash joins hands with RBL Bank for RuPay wallet service * Digital payments company ItzCash has joined hands with RBL Bank to launch RuPay platinum wallet service.

"ItzCash has partnered RBL Bank to launch country's first co-branded RuPay Platinum Prepaid Card. The multi-purpose prepaid wallet powered by the homegrown digital payments facilitator RuPay, will roll out a suite of prepaid services across physical and virtual platforms," ItzCash said.

It will offer cash transactions services for general spend, online shopping, in-app payments, ATM cash out, gifting and corporate rewards purposes.

Faircent raises USD 1.5 million from media firm BCCL



* Peer-to-peer lending platform Faircent.Com today said it has raised USD 1.5 million from media company BCCL.

The P2P platform, which caters to retail and business segments, has raised the money from Brand Capital, the ad-for- equity investment arm of the company, a statement said.

"More people need to be made aware of the alternate investment opportunity that we provide and this will help us take a step closer to provide easier and cheaper access to the credit market in India," Faircent Founder and Chief Executive Rajat Gandhi said.

Faircent has over 6,000 and 26,000 registered lenders and borrowers, respectively, and disbursed loans of Rs 6.5 crore in the last two years, the statement said.

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Kotak Mahindra Bank ties up with Flipkart * Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) and Flipkart have entered into a tie-up which the private lender's mobile banking application will have the e-commerce major's mobile site.

The special tab will help the bank's customers to avail specially-curated deals, and convenient checkouts as required fields on their shipping address get filled up automatically and ensure faster payments, KMB Chief Digital Officer Deepak Sharma said.

Stating that the bank is seeing a faster traction on mobile banking, he said the lender is targeting to get half of its mobile banking users to shop using the app, for which it will be announcing more such tie-ups in the future.

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Shivalik Bank to sell LIC insurance policies in a tie-up pact * Shivalik Bank has tied-up with LIC to sell life insurance products of the country's biggest insurer across its branches.

"Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank announces its strategic bancassurance partnership with the country's largest life insurer in public sector, Life Insurance Corporation of India," the bank said in a statement.

The tie-up arrangement was signed by Shivalik Bank MD&CEO Suveer Kumar Gupta and Suparno Chakravorty, Regional Manager North Central Zonal Office Kanpur, LIC.
Curfew in some parts and restrictions on the assembly of people continued for the 34th day today in Kashmir Valley where normal life remained disrupted.

Curfew continued to remain in force in parts of the summer capital Srinagar and Anantnag town, a police official said here.

"Curfew is in force in five police stations in downtown (interior) area of Srinagar city and Anantnag town in south Kashmir," the official said.

He said curfew was also clamped in Pampore town today in view of the death anniversary of former chairman of Jammu and Kashmir People's League Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who hailed from the Saffron-town.

The official said restrictions on assembly of four or more people also continued to remain force in rest of the Valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

Even as the official said the situation across Kashmir has showed signs of improvement since the beginning of this week, normal life remained affected in the Valley for the 34th consecutive day due to the curbs imposed by the authorities and separatist sponsored strike.

Schools, colleges, business establishments, petrol pumps and private offices remained closed while public transport remained off the roads.

The attendance in government offices and banks was also thin, the official said.

However, most of the shops open after 6 PM on alternate days as the separatist groups have announced relaxation in their protest programme to allow people to buy essentials.

Mobile Internet services continued to remain snapped in the entire Valley where the outgoing facility on prepaid connections is also barred.

The separatist camp has extended the shutdown call in Kashmir till tomorrow and as part of the protest programme had asked the people to march to the martyrs graveyard today to hold congregational prayers on the death anniversary of Aziz who was killed in 2008.

Violent protests have rocked Kashmir after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8.

As many as 55 persons, including two cops, were killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes between protestors and security forces.

(REOPENS DEL23)



Meanwhile, chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was taken into preventive custody by police as he tried to defy house arrest order and march towards Jamia Masjid with his supporters.

The Mirwaiz was taken into custody and lodged at Nigeen police station, a police official said.

The authorities had yesterday put the Mirwaiz under house arrest and taken JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik into preventive custody ahead of the call for march to Jamia Masjid.

Malik was later shifted to the Central Jail here.

Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Geelani continued to be under house arrest.
City-based Government Dental College has started holding weekly camps in Arthur Road jail, where prisoners are examined and treated free of cost for their dental ailments.

Dr Mansingh Pawar, dean of the dental hospital, said the initiative, which was kick-started on Oral Hygiene Day on August 1, is aimed at allaying security concerns arising out of prisoners being brought to the hospital for treatment.

"We have decided to visit Arthur Road jail every Wednesday to examine and treat the prisoners. A team of three doctors, one helper and a mobile van has been deputed for the task," Dr Pawar told PTI.

Around 100 prisoners have been examined and treated in the past two visits made by the doctors.

"We get a lot of prisoners from jails for dental treatment. Our visits will be convenient for both the parties. This is being done for the well-being of the prisoners," Dr Pawar said.

He added that initially he was mulling to set up a satellite centre in the jail premises to keep doctors on standby in case of emergencies, but the jail administration was not too keen on the proposal. "Then we thought of using our own mobile van," he said.

Dr Rajesh Gaikwad, Associate Professor at the Government Dental College said the 'oral hygiene day' is celebrated in the country in memory of Periodontologist Dr G B Shankwalkar, also an ex-dean of the hospital.

"It was his dream to spread oral hygiene to common man. Around 70 per cent of India's population lives in rural areas and about 60 per cent of Mumbai lives in slums, where oral hygiene is rare. There is a great deal of awareness required in such places," he said.

According to him, the college has been honoured with the first prize for best celebration of oral hygiene day among 300 dental colleges across the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least two people died and dozens, including three firefighters, were injured after an explosion and large fire at an apartment complex in a Maryland suburb of Washington and searchers are looking for up to seven people who were still unaccounted for, authorities said today.

Assistant Montgomery County Police Chief Russ Hamill said at a conference that two people are confirmed dead but have not yet been identified. He said the two people were located in the ruins of the building.

Hamill also said three firefighters with minor injuries were among 34 people taken to local hospitals after the blaze, and were released today.

Hamill appealed for all residents of the building to contact authorities as people have still not been accounted for.

Firefighters were called to the four-story apartment complex just before midnight yesterday and found people on upper floors who needed help, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said at a briefing.

"People were dropping children and jumping out of other windows," Goldstein said. "Everybody was getting out of the building as rapidly as possible."



Goldstein said natural gas furnaces and stoves are in each of the units. It took at least an hour and 45 minutes to put out the blaze and Washington Gas helped safely turn off gas, he said.

Residents of nearby buildings that were not affected by the fire were allowed to return to their homes after several hours.

Paul Carden, regional disaster director for the American Red Cross, estimated that 100 people were displaced, and 60 or 70 were staying at a Red Cross shelter established at a nearby community center.

Carden said those displaced are primarily Spanish speakers. Translators were being brought in to ease communication.

He said the nature of the explosion has been especially traumatic.

"To basically be in an event where people were blown out of their of beds ... And what they own is lying across the street, that's a key difference" from a typical fire evacuation, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Opposition members in Lok Sabha today took the government to task over its "failure" to check rising cases of atrocities against Dalits, with some members seeking a ban on 'right-wing' cow vigilante outfits saying the SCs and STs were living in "deep sense of fear".

Participating in a debate on attacks on dalits, the members focussed on the poor conditions of these downtrodden sections across the country, with K H Muniyappa (Cong) alleging that in Gujarat, the attacks on them have a reached "a level never seen in history".

Initiating a debate on the issue, P K Biju (CPI-M) spoke about the overall poor conditions of Dalits and cited figures to argue that they were denied equal rights despite the Constitution promising all citizens same rights.

Every day, three Dalit women are raped and every 18 minutes a crime against Dalits occur, he said, adding that over 37.8 per cent of students from the community sit separately in government schools while over 24.5 per cent of them are not allowed to enter police stations.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement against cow vigilante groups, Biju demanded action against these outfits and not remain confined to words alone.

"If you have got such a feedback (about attacks on Dalits by the cow protection groups), then why should you not stop such atrocities? We would like him to take strong measures," the CPI(M) member said.

Observing that he had visited Una in Gujarat where some Dalits were flogged for skinning a cow, he said "ban it (cow vigilantes) throughout the country" and also sought measures to fill up vacancies of posts reserved for Dalits.

Muniyappa said "dalits are living in the grip of deep sense of fear and insecurity. They had faith in Congress to protect them but have no faith in BJP. ... There was no protection needed for SCs and STs earlier. When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was there, such incidents never happened."



He said quality education will bring SCs and STs to the mainstream and asked the government to open Navodaya Schools for them.

Muniyappa also raked up Union Minister V K Singh's alleged dog analogy in a case involving Dalits and questioned why he was still in the government.

Referring to cases of atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat, he said over 14,500 such cases have occured there so far since Modi had taken over as the Chief Minister and added that the conviction rate was only 3-5 per cent.

"This never happened in history," he said.

Muniyappa and Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) sparred for a



while when the Congress leader targeted the BJD government in Odisha over the recent killing of tribals in Kandhamal.

Defending his party, BJP's Udit Raj said no one but the system was responsible for the atrocities on Dalits. "People are encouraged (to attack dalits) as cases remain pending in courts for years on," he said, adding that the debate should not get entangled in a war between BJP and Congress or BJD.

He used the opportunity to attack BSP chief Mayawati saying under her rule several attacks took place against the community and her government did little to defend reservation in promotion policy in the Allahabad High Court. He also said the conviction rate under the Prevention of Atrocities Act varies from 2-8 per cent which was very poor.

Raj also took on the AAP government in Delhi saying it has not set up a vigilance committee to assess the progress made in cases relating to atrocities on dalits.

Saugata Roy (TMC) asked Home Minister Rajnath Singh to ban VHP and 'gau raksha dals' saying in the name of cow protection, they were targeting dalits and Muslims.

Taking potshots at BJP, he also questioned why the Prime Minister had only referred to Dalits in his recent statements and made no mention of Muslims. He said it took Modi 26 days to speak out against dalit atrocities after the Una incident.

"Enough with Hindutva. You have come to power. Now is the time to wipe the tears of Dalits," he said amid protests by BJP members who questioned why the TMC member named VHP and RSS in his statement.

Roy said while Modi has become the Prime Minister and was holding a responsible position, his followers were indulging in cow vigilanteism. He also questioned the "time lapse of nine days" by then Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel in visiting Una after Dalits were beaten up there by the so-called cow vigilantes.

Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said the conflict was growing among dalit community and the society cannot be brought together by force.

"Conflict is growing as dalits demand for justice. Constitution provides for equality but the society does not accept it," Mahtab said, adding that atrocities against dalits have been growing day by day in last 10 years.

No political party has taken upon themselves to bind the society together and a number of parties are surviving by dividing the society either on the basis of society or caste, Mahtab said.

Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said the conflict is growing as



dalits are demanding justice.

"Constitution provides for equality but the society does not accept it," Mahtab said, adding that atrocities against dalits have been growing day by day in last 10 years.

He said no political party has taken upon itself to bind the society together and a number of parties are surviving by dividing the society either on the basis of society or caste.

Sadashiv Lokhande (Shiv Sena) said, "the attacks on dalits are politically motivated and it is shameful that even after 70 years of independence we have not been able to ensure progress of dalits."



Arjun Ram Meghwal (BJP) said Congress party is getting worried since dalits are shifting their support towards BJP.

Congress did not provide Baba Saheb Ambedkar the chance to be in the Lok Sabha and it was the Modi government which is thinking about their upliftment, he said.

When people died in Godhra, Congress did not speak of the dalits who lost their lives, Meghwal said.

"We are trying to do away the social and economic anomalies which the dalits are facing," Meghwal said, adding the government has strengthened the SC and ST Artocities Act, and launched schemes like Mudra Yojana and Stand Up Yojana for economic upliftment.

P Ravindra Babu (TDP) said if we one to achieve one nation, then the caste system should be abolished.

Varaprasad Rao (YSR Congress) suggested that empowerment



is the solution to the dalit issue.

"Mahatma Gandhi got us independence but he did not agree to B R Ambedkar suggestion of separate electorate for dalits," he said, adding, had it been done all the problems would have been solved.

Terming 'Gau Rakshak' as a new concept, he said this should be curbed and strong action should taken against such elements.

Echoing similar views, Supriya Sule (NCP) said 100 per cent of 'Gau Rakshaks' in her area are fraud.

Others who participated in debate included Dharmendra Yadav (SP), Sirajuddin Ajmal (AIUDF) and Pappu Yadav (RJD).
Rubbishing the draft National Education Policy, Opposition today alleged that the education system was being communalised and commercialised by the government which expressed readiness to accept suggestions by various parties before moving ahead with it.

Congress leader and former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, while speaking on the issue in the Rajya Sabha, said the government was trying to impose its "ideology" as he asked it to "dump this draft in the dustbin" and "start afresh" by taking "us into confidence".

Responding to this, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government was ready to hold a workshop for members of Parliament to take their suggestions on the draft policy before proceeding on it.

"This is only a draft...I have no hesitation in having a workshop... I can take the suggestions," he said.

Sibal contended that there is no direction in the draft, arguing that the document does not talk anything substantive about three important aspects--quality, access and equity.

"Education is ideology neutral. No education system can survive in the world if you infuse ideology in the textbooks. And the problem is, while we have a draft education policy, what you do on the ground is just the opposite," he said.

"You are trying to bring about a change in the education system outside your education policy by bringing ideology in every institution in India," he added.

Targeting the government over attacks on minorities and SC/STs, Sibal recited a couplet: "Shaktiman (horse) ki laat todi, Vemula hi himmat, jo chatron pe vaar kare kaise hogi woh sangat (you broke the leg of Shaktiman horse in Uttarakhand, demoralised Rohith Vemula, how would be the party which attacks students?).

"This is what you are doing to my country. You are attacking the minorities, attacking tribals, you are attacking the SCs, STs and you are saying that you will change the textbooks of history," Sibal said, addressing the ruling side.

Alleging saffronisation of higher education, he said: "You say in draft that universities should be politics-free. But what are you doing to universities? Your ABVP is entering into every university campus, occupying Vice Chancellor offices and creating an environment of violence, running a parallel administration that's what you are doing on the ground."



The governement has saffornised every post from governors, VCs, head of instituions or IIT directors, he said.

On making the education policy better, he advised the government to formulate it keeping in mind the children of the country.

"Make yourself see from the eyes of a child, then you will understand what he or she wants. And that's how you can have an education policy which serves 20 crore children of our country," Sibal said.

Come up with something which serves long-term interest of the country, he added.

"Let some real educationists and bright educationists head the committee. Let them have full consultations with the states. Let's get together as education is more important than anything else," Sibal said.

(Reopen PAR36)



Earlier, the suggestion for holding a separate workshop for MPs on education policy was made by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and was appreciated by Deputy Chairman P J Kurien.

Derek O'Brien (TMC) welcomed the government's move to seek views from the House, saying: "the new Minister (Javadekar) will look at all our inputs and will not do any dadagiri."



He said the new policy should be "inclusive open to diversity of thought and belief".

He said the government, like in the case of passing GST, should consult all the parties before implementing a new education policy.

Ravi Prakash Verma (SP) suggested that pre-education classes should be the focus areas and curriculum on higher education should concentrate on producing super specialists.

S R Balasubramoniyan (AIADMK) questioned the committee selected to formulate the draft education policy, saying it did not have specialists from the field.

He attacked the draft's suggestion for creation of an All India Education Service, saying such a step would be a "disaster".

He said 100 per cent FDI in education sector will lead to commercialisation of education.

Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) attacked the government on communalising education saying that students should not be forced to sing Vande Matram.

Dilip Tirkey (BJD) said that syllabus, academic calendar and marking pattern should be uniform across the country.

He also suggested creation of tribal universities in tribal dominated areas across the country and that focus should also be given to higher education among tribals.

S C Misra (BSP) asked the government to provide details on the utilisation of the Education Cess, while stressing on the training of teachers, better primary education and teaching English from primary levels.

Vandana Chavan (NCP) said the policy should provide special focus on education of Muslims.

The policy is silent on education of children with special needs, she said adding that sports, extra curricular activities should also form an important part of education.

Supporting focus on education for Muslims, Nominated member Anu Aga stressed on better training institutes for teachers and compulsory education till class 10th.

K Keshava Rao (TRS) said there should be a broad-based meeting on the education policy adding that policy should be student-centric and not teacher-centric.
In one of the biggest search and rescue operations in the Bay of Bengal, over 250 fishermen in 18 fishing trawlers which had gone missing in the sea during rough weather have been rescued by the Coast Guard, officials said today.

The Coast Guard has been doing a search and rescue operation to locate the missing fishing boats in the Bay of Bengal for the last 48 hours.

"We have ensured safe return of 18 boats with about 254 fishermen to harbour," officials said.

Apart from diverting its ships patrolling at sea, additional surface and air assets have been pressed into service to augment the search.

The operation is on for the last 48 hours and will continue till reports are received that all fishermen are safe, the officials said.

Forty four fishermen in three boats who were reported drifting have been located and escorted back to harbour, officials said.

A fishing boat 'Dayamoyee' along with 16 fishermen has been located and found adrift 62 nautical miles from Sagar Island due to engine failure.

ICGS Anmol was directed to provide necessary assistance and tow the stranded boat to Sagar Island.

Coast Guard's regional headquarters in Kolkata is in constant liaison with the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) of Bangladesh.

In case any fishing boat drifts towards Bangladeshi waters crossing the international maritime boundary line, necessary assistance will be provided by Bangladesh rescue agencies and Coast Guard ships will take over and escort them to safety, the officials said.

CG ships and aircrafts are regularly sanitising the area and diverting the fishing boats to safety.

In the meantime, an ocean data buoy belonging to the National Institute of Ocean Technology was found beached at Frazerganj by the Coast Guard personnel of Frazerganj on August 5.

The high value data buoy was handed over to the representatives of NIOT recently and is being transported safely to Chennai, the officials added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Celebrating the theme of 'women empowerment', the fifth edition of theIndian Film Festival of Melbourne 2016today kicked off with the screening of Leena Yadav's drama"Parched" as its opening film.

The festival, dubbed as the largest Indianfilmfestival of the southern hemisphere, will screen over 50 films in 17 languages from India and the subcontinent over the next 12 days.

Besides screening, the fest will also holdseveral special events includingflag hoisting event, master classes and a special awards night tomorrow.

The festival was officiallylaunched this morning in presence of Consulate General of India in Melbourne Manika Jain and Festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange at a press conferencepresided byRishi Kapoor, who is alsothis year's chiefguest of the festival, along with Richa Chadha, Radhika Apte,Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, filmmakerLeena Yadav and Shakun Batra.

The state's minister for creative industries Martin Foley, also present on the occasion,said "Victorian Government is proud to support IFFM as part ofCreative State, our USD 115 million strategy to strengthen Victoria's creative industries and cultural offering."



He said that the festival celebrated the state'slong-standing relationship with India,honoured thevibrant local Indian community, and presented an exciting program of events for all to enjoy.

"I am very happy to see Fawad part of this contingent of the Indian film festival. It only translates that we only have one secular language and that is cinema," Rishi said.

He said thoughBollywood cinemais very proud of its old-agetradition of music and dance culture, there is a different curve inIndian cinema happeningnow.

"I do see a different kind of cinema, and different audience.. Even in my father's era we use to make films which were without song and dance."



Bhowmick said the festival will see the Australian premiere ofHrithik Roshan's "Mohenjo Daro" and world premiere of documentary "Moving Bodies Moving Boundaries" directed by critically acclaimed director Onir Anticlock.

The festival will end with the screening ofPan Nalin's "Angry Indian Goddesses".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Parliament today passed a bill to include Nagaland under the jurisdiction of Imphal Central Agriculture University (CAU) to help the Northeastern state achieve higher growth in animal husbandry sector.

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh moved the Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2016 for consideration and passage, which the House passed by a voice vote without discussion.

After the Bill was passed, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, who was in the Chair, remarked "this is called constructive cooperation and constructive opposition."



The Bill to further to amend the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992 was passed by Lok Sabha on August 9.

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh while moving the bill for consideration said Nagaland has been devoid of the advantages of agriculture and allied education for the last two decades and the law will help in promoting the sector in Nagaland.

Anand Sharma (Cong) said it was Nagaland's decision not to be included in that for historic reasons, but now with its inclusion, the state will benefit.

On July 27, the Cabinet approved the amendment in the clauses of the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992, to include Nagaland under the jurisdiction of CAU, Imphal.

The amendment will help Nagaland to reap the benefit of the Imphal Central Agriculture University, established for the entire north eastern region.

The bill seeks to amend the Central Agricultural University Act, 1992, that was enacted for the establishment and incorporation of a university for the north-eastern region in order to promote development and research in agriculture and allied sectors.

The definition of 'North Eastern region' and the jurisdiction of the Central Agricultural University under the Act earlier did not cover the state of Nagaland.

After the passage of the amendment bill, Nagaland would get all facilities like other Northeastern states get under this Act.

After inclusion of Nagaland under jurisdiction of the CAU, the College of Veterinary Sciences in Nagaland would produce the much-needed professional manpower in the fields of animal husbandry, which will facilitate socio-economic growth in the region.

The new college would help familiarise the farmers with new techniques, thereby contributing to the production and productivity of domestic animals in the State of Nagaland.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yoga guru Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved today said it has received approval from Madhya Pradesh to set up production unit.

The company also said that it has also qualified technical bid for development of food park in 230 acre land in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

Finance and Industry Minister of Madhya Pradesh Rajendra Shukla has handed over letter to Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishan in this regard, the company said in a statement.

"Patanjali would soon set up a food processing unit in Madhya Pradesh... . It would also help the local farmers by providing fair price for their products," said Rajendra Shukla.

Patanjali, as per its growth plans has ambition to set up food processing units in all major regions of the country to meet its growing demand.

In Maharashtra, the government had called for a global tender for 230 acres plot from industries for developing industry based on agro, food, herbal and forest-based processing business.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japan and the Philippines joined forces on Thursday to call on China to observe the rule of law in resolving maritime disputes after an tribunal rejected Beijing's claims to most of the .

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his counterpart Perfecto Yasay in the southern Philippine city of Davao where both pledged to work closely to boost maritime security while facing separate sea disputes with China.

"We have agreed that in the pursuit of the solution to the conflict in the maritime area, it is important to base ourselves on the rule of law and resort to peaceful means and not the use of force or coercion," Kishida said, referring to the UN-backed tribunal's finding published in July.

"We invoke and urge China to make sure that maritime security and the rule of law must completely and uncompromisingly be respected," Yasay said in his statement.

Japan and China are locked in a long-running dispute over uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, while Manila and Beijing have overlapping claims in the .

Kishida on Tuesday called in Cheng Yonghua, Beijing's envoy to Tokyo, following what Japan calls "intrusions" by Chinese ships near the disputed islands for five consecutive days.

Tensions over the disputes have mounted since the tribunal's decision, with China angrily rejecting it and announcing penalties for "illegal" fishing in its waters including the disputed areas.

"We have the same experience in the East China Sea and the with respect to certain actions that use force, intimidation, provocation in order to assert one's claim over a particular territory," said Yasay.

Kishida said Japan, while not a claimant in the South China Sea, would continue to cooperate closely with "relevant countries" for the peaceful resolution of maritime rows.

He pledged continued Japanese aid for the Philippines to boost its maritime security capabilities.

Several patrol vessels earlier pledged by Tokyo to President Rodrigo Duterte's predecessor Benigno Aquino are to begin arriving in Manila by month's end, Kishida added.

With a severely under-equipped military, the Philippines has been seeking to strengthen ties with allies like Japan, the United States and Australia, which have called on China to comply with the ruling.

China has conducted massive reclamation in the South China Sea, with a US-based think tank releasing images this week showing what appears to be Beijing building military aircraft hangars on disputed reefs.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims to the sea, through which over $5 trillion in annual trade passes.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister make a statement in Parliament on the issue of atrocities on Dalits.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged that the recent statements of the prime minister on Dalits were an exercise in "damage control".

Ahead of UP elections and polls in some other states, there have been incidents like the Rohith Vemula episode, the Una attack on youths and other atrocities which have affected the Bharatiya Janata Party's image with regard to Dalits, Mayawati claimed.

"Our party wants that rather than expressing sympathy with Dalits, the PM should focus on acting against those who commit atrocities against them," the BSP chief said.

She also demanded that Modi should speak on the issue in Parliament. "If he can speak on it outside, he can also say it in the House," she said.
A senior inspector of Pune police was today suspended following a complaint by a city-based builder that he demanded Rs 25 lakhs to "settle" a land grabbing case.

Sandip Jadhav, the complainant, had submitted a video to the police and the Anti-Corruption Bureau which purportedly showed senior police inspector Dhananjay Dhumal asking him for money and alleging that city police commissioner Rashmi Shukla had demanded it.

According to the builder, he shot the video on July 20 at Dhumal's office. Next day he approached ACB and subsequently the state DGP's office, Chief Minister's office and the Lokayukta.

"As the matter is serious, on the basis of prima facie probe we have suspended Dhumal from duty," Shukla told PTI.

The video was sent to the forensic laboratory to check its authenticity.

"We have not yet received the results from the laboratory," the commissioner said.

Before suspension, Dhumal, who was with property cell of the police, was transferred to the control room.

In 2011, Dhumal, then with the ATS, along with three constables was accused of trying to extort money from a businessman by threatening to implicate him in terror-related case. The complaint was disposed of for lack of evidence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indias total power generation rose by 7.13 per cent in April-July FY17, to 391.16 billion units, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

The electricity generation in the country increased to 391,163.27 million units (MUs) during 2016-17 (April-July), from 365,146.09 MUs during 2015-16 (April-July), thus, registering a growth of 7.13 per cent, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

According to the statement, power generation at private sector projects increased 14.95 per cent to 123,885.45 MUs in the first four-month period in FY17, compared with 107,777.67 MUs a year ago.

Central and state sector power projects output increased by 3.94 per cent to 265,293.66 MUs in April-July, against 255,237.2 in the same period a year ago.

The minister said as per information received from NTPC, the cost of power as billed to the power utilities from its thermal power stations for the current year 2016-17 (April-June, 2016) has reduced to Rs 3.04 per kWh from Rs 3.19 per kWh during the corresponding period last year.

This is mainly on account of rationalisation of freight charges for domestic coal and reduction of imports, he added.

In a separate reply, the minister said: "As informed by Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, being the nodal Ministry for according environment clearance, 15 Hydroelectric Projects and 10 Thermal Power Projects are pending for Environmental Clearance as on August 5, 2016."



According to reply nine such projects are in Arunachal Pradesh including Naying DSC Power Ltd's 1000 MW Naying project in West Siang district, Jindal Power Ltd's Etalin 3097 MW project in district Dibang, Kalai Power Pvt Ltd's 1,200 MW Kalai-II project in District Anjaw.

Three such projects under consideration for environment clearance are in Himachal Pradesh which are in public sector. These includes L& T Himachal Hydropower Ltd's 260 MW Sach-Khas project in district Chamba and DCM Shriram Infrastructure Ltd's 120 MW Chhatru project in district Lahul & Spiti.

West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd's 1,000 MW Turga Pumped Storage Project in Purulia District is also awaiting environment clearance.

Uttarakhand has two such projects -- THDC India Ltd's 108 MW Jelam Tamak project in district Chamoli and UJVN Ltd's 100 MW Nand Prayag Langasu project in district Chamoli.

Ten thermal power projects awaiting environment clearance include NTPC's 4000 MW Pudimadaka plant at Villages in district Visakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh and 4000 MW Coal based Ultra Mega Power Project near Bhedabahal Village in Sundergarh Tehsil of District Sundergarh, in Odisha.
Public Broadcaster Prasar Bharati has decided not to discontinue All India Radio's (AIR) regional bulletins in Dharwad, Pune, Indore, Trichy and some other cities.

Prasar Bharati chairperson A Suryaprakash is learnt to have directed officials in the Service Division (NSD) of the AIR to continue the bulletins after reports suggested that the regional units in some of the centres were being closed.

According to an advisory issued by DG (News) AIR Sitanshu Kar, regional units at Indore, Pune, Dibrugarh, Bhuj, Dharwad, Trichy and Kozhikhode would continue with their normal services like bulletins, headlines and programmes as usual.

The advisory also said that correspondents at Allahabad, Pauri, Jalandhar, Patiala, Coimbatore and Kochi will also continue to perform their duties from these locations till personal orders. These were as per the Prasar Bharati chairperson's directions, the advisory added.

There were reports that the decades old news services in some of these towns were being discontinue by the I&B ministry causing anguish among many of the listeners.

When contacted, Suryaprakash confirmed that the services would continue and said that to ensure this he would seek I&B minister M Venkaiah Naidu's "intervention" in this regard.

Earlier there were reports that the five decade-old news division of All India Radio's Kozhikode station, whose local flavoured news bulletins are immensely popular among radio buffs in northern Kerala.

Similar reports had emanated from other towns as well.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scientists have discovered macabre evidence suggesting 300 million-year-old Orthacanthus sharks ate their own young, as fossil poop of these fearsome marine predators contained the tiny teeth of juveniles.

These prehistoric sharks used protected coastal lagoons to rear their babies, but it seems they also resorted to cannibalising them when other food sources became scarce.

Three hundred million years ago, Europe and North America lay on the equator and were covered by jungles (the remains of which are now compacted into coal seams).

The top predators of these so-called "Coal Forests" were not land animals, but huge sharks that hunted in the oily waters of coastal swamps.

The fossil evidence for shark cannibalism comes from distinctive spiral-shaped coprolites (fossil poop) found in the Minto Coalfield of New Brunswick in Canada.

The poop is known to have been excreted by Orthacanthus because this shark had a special corkscrew rectum that makes identification easy.

The poop is packed full of the teeth of juvenile Orthacanthus, confirming that these sharks fed on their own babies. This is called "fillial cannibalism".

"Orthacanthus was a three-metre-long xenacanth shark with a dorsal spine, an eel-like body, and tricusped teeth," said Aodhan O Gogain, PhD candidate at the Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.

"There is already evidence from fossilised stomach contents that ancient sharks like Orthacanthus preyed on amphibians and other fish, but this is the first evidence that these sharks also ate the young of their own species," said Gogain.

"As palaeontologists cannot observe predator-prey relationships directly in the way that a zoologist can, they have to use other methods to interpret ancient food webs," said Mike Benton, professor at University of Bristol in the UK.

"One method is by probing the contents of coprolites (fossil poop) as we have done here," Benton said.

"We don't know why Orthacanthus resorted to eating its own young. However, the Carboniferous Period was a time when marine fishes were starting to colonise freshwater swamps in large numbers," said Howard Falcon-Lang, from Royal Holloway University of London.

"It's possible that Orthacanthus used inland waterways as protected nurseries to rear its babies, but then consumed them as food when other resources became scarce," Falcon-Lang said.

"Orthacanthus was probably a bit like the modern day bull shark, in that it was able to migrate backwards and forwards between coastal swamps and shallow seas," said Gogain.

"This unusual ecological adaptation may have played an important role in the colonisation of inland freshwater environments," he said.

The findings were published in the journal Palaeontology.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Corp-backed realty portal PropTiger has acquired a Gurgaon-based startup 3DPhy, which is in the field of virtual and 3D visualisations.

The company did not disclose the deal value.

With this acquisition, PropTiger aims to advance its technological platform to further enhance hi-tech marketing solutions for developers," the portal said in a statement today.

PropTiger had last year acquired Bengaluru-based interactive technology firm OoBi. The latest acquisition would boost its 3D capabilities.

With its virtual walk-throughs, 3DPhy enables builders and brokers to showcase multiple properties over phones, laptops, tablets or head-mounted devices.

PropTiger CEO Dhruv Agarwala said: "With mobile devices overtaking desktops, the real estate sector has become one of the prime sectors where people want to have the ability to search anywhere and anytime, and that is a big priority for us."



By providing holistic, end-to-end technology and consulting solutions, he said the company intends to offer greater flexibility and choice and improved user experience to its customers.

PropTiger.Com offers a one-stop platform to home buyers. The portal is funded by Corp, SAIF Partners, Accel Partners and Horizen Ventures. It has acquired Makaan.Com and OoBi in the recent past.

Founded by a group of IIT Kharagpur alumni - Amit Shekhar, Rajeev Kumar, Uttam Kumar and Raghvendra Polinki -- with the vision of becoming a leading organisation in 3D virtual and augmented reality, 3DPhy provides realistic 3D models for e-commerce, captured automatically from physical objects.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Safeguard measures like MIP and anti-dumping duty have been levied to protect domestic steel firms from cheap imports, but they cannot be "perpetual", Steel Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh said today.

"When I talk to industry people, I said okay for the time being we can have these protection measures, but not for long. It cannot be perpetual. So there are these protective measures, but side-by-side you work on increasing your efficiency, competitiveness," he told reporters here.

Last week, government extended the minimum import price (MIP) on steel products by two months, but pruned the list from 173 products to 66. It said rest of the products will be brought under anti-dumping duty, which is a better protection mechanism.

Singh's predecessor, Narendra Singh Tomar too, in April this year, had a similar advice for the domestic companies.

Tomar, now Union Rural Development Minister, had said: "But in the long term, industry has to accept external realities and learn to compete and emerge stronger in spite of them. Time is of essence and all plans and actions by the companies must be well-planned and executed."



Stressing on increasing investments and focus on R&D, the Minister said there are some sectors where steel can be more prominently used, like in constructing highways, bridges, railways, ship yards and also in rural India.

"But Indian industry should also come out with new products and that can happen only with innovation and focus on research and development (R&D). My focus is on these issues," he explained.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Coal and Steel in its report placed in Parliament yesterday, pointed out that expenditure by Indian steel companies on R&D remained a dismal 0.05-0.5 per cent of their sales, which is lower compared to 1-2 per cent by those in China, Japan and South Korea.

It recommended that Indian steel companies, both public and private, should make an attempt to benchmark their R&D spending with internationally prevalent best practices in the sector.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Infrastructure major Punj Lloyd's standalone net loss narrowed to Rs 211.39 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Company's net loss in the April-June quarter of the previous financial year was Rs 581.84 crore, said in a BSE filing.

Net sales of the company during the quarter ended June was at Rs 887.57 crore, up 40% from the year-ago period, it added.

Revenues from the engineering, procurement and construction services during the quarter went up to Rs 831.35 crore from Rs 504.51 crore in the year-ago period.

"Our order backlog remains strong at Rs 21,618 crore and execution of all our projects across geographies is progressing in line with defined timelines.

"We are seeing a gradually improving environment both in India and overseas and are optimistic of opportunities unfolding," Company's Chairman and MD Atul Punj said.

Company's thrust is on improving the quality of the balance sheet, execution of projects, recovery of claims, cash flows and settling all legacy issues, he said.

In another filing, the company said its Board had on Wednesday appointed Atul Kumar Jain as Additional Director to hold office up to the next Annual General Meeting.

Jain was also appointed as whole time Director of the company for a period of five years subject to the approval of shareholders.

Group is a diversified international conglomerate offering EPC services in energy and infrastructure along with engineering and manufacturing capabilities in the defence sector.
Two more rain-related deaths were today reported from Rajasthan's Jodhpur district, taking the toll to 16 even as about 250 people were rescued by teams of army, air force and NDRF in parts of the state hit by heavy rains over the last few days.

Bulaki Das (58) and his wife Kiran Devi had come from Bikaner for treatment at Jodhpur's MDM Hospital and were staying in a room in the basement of a nearby guest house. On Tuesday, following heavy rains in the city, water entered the basement and the couple drowned," District Collector V C Mallik said.

The family of the victims have in a complaint alleged negligence on the part of the guest house management. Its manager is at large, police said.

Joint teams of army, NDRF and police evacuated 216 people last night from a village in Sapotara area in Karauli district, while eight people were airlifted in Alwar today.

"A group of eight people, including three women, as many children and two men, was airlifted by an IAF helicopter and moved to Bansur town," defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha said.

In Sawai Madhopur district, 25 people were rescued and shifted to safer places. A column of army is also carrying out rescue efforts in the district. The situation in Chittorgarh and Bhilwara districts is improving, Relief Secretary Rohit Kumar said.

Incessant rains have also hit normal life in Jodhpur district, where army was deployed last night. Rivers in Jalore, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Pali districts are in spate following heavy rains.

Heavy to very heavy rains continued to pound Jaipur and Jodhpur districts today. Chittorgarh had 67 mm of precipitation. The weather department has warned of more rains in the state tomorrow.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rajasthan government today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India Trade And Exhibition Centre (ITEC), Dubai for promotion of skill development, investment and tourism sectors.

As per the agreement, ITEC would work as a service providing agency for promotion of skill development, investment and tourism sectors in Rajasthan.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje before the signing ceremony chaired a high-level meeting to discuss various sectors of mutual cooperation.

ITEC Chairman Sudesh Agarwal assured that ITEC would provide support for increasing partnerships with Dubai in other sectors as well, a release said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Reserve Bank today said it will transfer to the government Rs 65,876 crore of its surplus, generated through investment activities, which is a tad lower than last fiscal.

"The board today approved the transfer of surplus of the Reserve Bank for the year 2015-16 amounting to Rs 65,876 crore to the government. The amount was Rs 65,896 crore for the previous year," the central bank said in a statement after the board meeting here today.

The surplus is generated through RBI's investment activities, primarily in other sovereign bonds like that of the US T-bills, which is its single largest investment source.

Last year, the surplus payout was 25 per cent more than the previous financial year, prior to which it has been much lower.

Since the past three years, the government has been making its budget calculations about the RBI surplus payouts public as non-tax revenue. This year's payout is almost the same as the budget estimate.

The transfer comes amid calls to use RBI's excess funds for recapitalising the NPA-saddled state-run banks, which was suggested first by chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian's in the last Economic Survey.

The RBI brass, led by outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan, has been opposing the move.

The Reserve Bank board held its 559th meeting at the central bank headquarters at Mint Road here.

Subramanian, along with government nominee Shaktikanta Das (the economic affairs secretary) was present at the meeting, the statement said.

Other directors, including Damodar Acharya, N Chandrasekaran, Bharat Doshi and Sudhir Mankad also attended the meeting along with deputy governors Urjit Patel, R Gandhi, SS Mundra and NS Vishwanathan, it said.

"The board reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges and policy responses and other specific areas in the working of the Reserve Bank," it said.

The board also discussed the draft annual report of the Reserve Bank for 2015-16, it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan's disgraced former captain Salman Butt believes that over-dependence on leg-spinner Yasir Shah has pushed the team on the backfoot in the ongoing Test series in England.

"I think there has been an over-dependence on Yasir in this series and that to me has put us in a difficult position in this series," Butt said in an interview.

Butt, who completed a five-year ban for spot-fixing last September after the infamous scandal in England in 2010, is presently in Kabul with a group of players taking part in the Afghanistan T20 league.

Butt, who was regarded as a shrewd captain before the scandal broke out, said that the England batsmen had worked out Yasir after the first Test.

"In the first Test at Lord's Yasir got a perfect pitch similar to the ones found in the UAE. But he lacks variation and is depending heavily on just two deliveries and the English batsmen have now worked them out," Butt said.

The former captain said that Yasir was bowling too quickly and not giving it enough air.

Butt also felt that Mohammad Aamir had also did not live up to expectations because he was a changed bowler since 2010.

"If you look at Aamir's videos you will see he was bowling more close to the stumps on the 2010 tour and got appreciable in-swing. But on this tour he is too wide of the stumps and is not getting the ball to come in," he said.

Butt, who led Pakistan on the 2010 tour to Test victories over Australia and England, said that Aamir was wasting too many balls wide off the stumps.

"I am surprised that Pakistan lost two back to back matches after winning at Lord's. Because the pitches they have got in the three tests are not typical English pitches the sort we encountered in 2010 with lot of seam movement," he said.
Multi-speciality hospital Narayana Health today launched an institute for robotic surgery which will primarily conduct prostate, kidney, gynecological, colorectal and select head and neck cancer surgeries.

The Institute of Robotic Surgery has been supported by Infosys Foundation here.

The da Vinci Robotic Surgical System will be used primarily for prostate, kidney, gynecological, colorectal and select head and neck cancer surgeries, Narayana Health said in a statement.

Unveiling the plaque, signifying the launch, Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murthy said the need to adopt and continually update treatment protocols that reduce errors is crucial for a country like India, which sees high patient volumes and a wide spectrum of complex diseases.

Robotic surgery, with its high degree of precision and faster recovery time, has the potential to address this efficiently, she said.

"Our partnership with Narayana Health is aimed at encouraging rapid adoption of robotics in healthcare in India. Through this endowment, we also intend to provide impetus for further research in this area, and enable the masses to reap the benefits of affordable and high-quality treatment," she added.

Narayana Health Chairman Devi Shetty who also spoke, said "World is on the threshold of a major transition from laparoscopic surgery to robotic surgery."



Robotic surgery has proved that inaccessible areas of the human body like deep in the pelvis where a prostate surgery needs to be done for a patient with cancer of the prostate can easily be accessed, he said.

He further said, "It is a matter of time before most procedures on the human body will be done better with the robotics."



Shetty said Infosys Foundation donated 'da Vinci Surgical Robot' to develop Infosys Institute of Robotic Surgery to train robotic surgeons for the future.

(REOPENS MES7)



"We are happy to announce the Rs 15 crore Institute of Robotic Surgery supported by Infosys Foundation.The institute will offer training for surgeons," Dr Shetty said.

Asked whether the Infosys Foundation will increase investment into research, Sudha Murthy said "we have given Rs 8 crore for the purpose of setting up the institute to carry out activities such as research and training surgeons for conducting robotic operations."



She further said through this funding, the Foundation intends to provide impetus for further research in this area, and enable the masses to reap the benefits of affordable and high-quality treatment.

Replying to a query, Shetty said the prices of robotic surgery is bound to come down. "In next four years time there will be a marginal difference between laparoscopic and robotic surgery. It is bound to happen."



Shetty said the institute would act as a changing agent and encourage hospitals to acquire more and more robotic equipment which would create a market and consequently bring down the prices. "Right now there is no big market for robotic surgical equipment," he said.

Asked if the institute is keen on acquiring robotic machines manufactured by other companies, he said: "Definitely, we are open to acquire new equipments to conduct robotic operations. There are Medtronic MDT and a startup backed by Johnson and Johnson JNJ and Google, and we would like to add these equipment in our portfolio, for we are constantly looking at new modalities of treatment," he said.
Samajwadi Party today forced three adjournments of Rajya Sabha in pre-noon session alleging discrimination by the Centre in releasing funds for Uttar Pradesh.

Slogan-shouting SP members trooped into the Well of the House demanding an assurance from the Centre that it would release the share of Uttar Pradesh shortly.

JD-U members too trooped into the Well charging Centre with not implementing the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) in flood-hit Bihar.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien first adjourned the house for 15 minutes and then till noon as uproarious schemes continued. The House was adjourned for the third time soon after it reasembled at noon.

Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) gave a notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business to discuss the alleged discrimination against Uttar Pradesh, while Sharad Yadav (JD-U) gave a similar notice to raise non-release of funds for Bihar.

Soon after listed papers were laid on the table, Yadav said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Chief Secretary have written several letters to the Union government seeking release of the state's share of funds.

Listing out schemes under which funds have not been released, he said Rs 1,425 crore for scholarship for 8 lakh SC/ST and OBC students had not been released, while Rs 4,742 crore compensation for hailstorm-hit areas was yet to come.

Out of Rs 2,780 crore sanctioned for UP from the Central Road Fund, only Rs 219 crore had been released so far, he alleged, adding that not even half of the money allocated under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana has been released, leading to stalling of projects.

Also, money under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, higher education as well as scholarship for minorities and other backwards too had not been released, he said.

"If the Centre does not give an assurance that the due funds will be released in 2-3 days, the House will not be allowed to function," he said.

While Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said similar discrimination was being meted out to Bihar, his party colleague Ali Anwar Ansari said 2,300 villages in 14 districts were under water but the crop insurance scheme was not being implemented there.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) raised a case of daring heist in a moving train when Rs 5 crore out of Rs 340 crore cash being sent to Reserve Bank of India from Salem in Tamil Naidu was stolen.

He asked how the cash transfer was being done without security and alleged complacency of RBI officials in the loot.

Soon after SP leader Yadav completed his submission, his party members trooped into the Well raising slogans against the government.

JD(U)'s Ansari after making his brief statement too joined them in the Well.

Kurien asked members to return to their seats and promised to allow them raise the issue so that the government could react.

But the members remained unrelenting. SP members also urged Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was present in the House, to join them in the Well saying he represents Uttar Pradesh in Rajya Sabha and should stand in solidarity.

As the din continued, Kurien adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.

No sooner the House met after the brief adjournment,



slogan-shouting members of Samajwadi Party again trooped into the Well.

A helpless-looking Kurien read out the names of 15 members who had to make their Zero Hour mentions.

"I am expressing my inability and apologies to them (members who were to make Zero Hour mention)," he said, as the members could not read out their statements amidst the vociferous sloganeering.

Kurien then adjourned the House till noon.

A similar scenario again prevailed when the House met for Question Hour at noon with SP members raising slogans alleging discrimination by the Narendra Modi government against the state of Uttar Pradesh.

As the disruption showed no signs of abating, Chairman M Hamid Ansari adjourned the House for half-an-hour till 12.32 PM.

When the House met at 12.32 PM, similar scenes were



witnessed with Samajwadi Party members entering the Well again and raising slogans against the Modi government for "discriminating" against Uttar Pradesh.

They alleged that the UP budget was not being released by the Centre.

Uttar Pradesh goes to polls early next year.

All pleas by Chairman Hamid Ansari to allow the Question Hour went unheeded as SP members continued to raise slogans like "Uttar Pradesh ke saath bhed bhaav karna band karo" (Stop discrimination against Uttar Pradesh) and "UP budget jaari karo" (Issue UP budget).

Asking the members not to raise slogans, Ansari then adjourned the House till 2 PM, the fourth time today.
A bill providing for enhancement of maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks was today passed by the Rajya Sabha, in a step aimed at benefitting about 1.8 million women in the organised sector and increasing the strength of the working women force.

Once the new law is enacted, India will jump to third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Norway (44) and Canada (50), said Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya while replying to a debate on the legislation.

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by voice vote by the House, even as some members sought norms for paternity leave also so that parents can share the responsibility of raising children.

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her full paid absence from work, to take care for her child.

The new law will be applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more people.

The Bill provides for increasing maternity benefit from 12 to 26 weeks for two surviving children and is aimed at benefitting about 1.8 million women in the organised sector.

Cabinet had yesterday given ex-post facto approval to the amendments made to the Maternity Benefits Act, that aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

"The very purpose of this Bill is to increase the working women force because in the work force, participation of women is decreasing day by day," Dattatreya said.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said her ministry had recommended raising maternity leave from 12 weeks to 8 months but it was considered too long for the employer.

The legislation will go a long way in ensuring that the future generations are healthier, she said as she noted that after giving birth, a woman's body needs to heal over a period of time. "It is a very stressful time for the mother, who should be with the child".

Highlighting that there are more nuclear families now, Gandhi said the bill has its roots in malnutrition, as breastfeeding the child is recommended which is not possible unless the mother is in physical proximity of the child.

She said the government is thinking of introducing direct benefit transfer for women and it is "under consideration".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Cutting across party lines, elders in Rajya Sabha today passed a Bill that provides for 26 weeks maternity leave, even as some members sought norms for paternity leave so that parents can share the responsibility of raising children.

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was moved for consideration and passage by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, was passed by a voice vote.

The measure also seeks to increase maternity benefit from 12 to 26 weeks for two surviving children that would benefit about 1.8 million women in the organised sector.

"The very purpose of this Bill is to increase the working women force because in the work force, participation of women is decreasing day by day," Dattatreya said.

He said the law is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons.

Citing the maternity leave rules prevalent in various countries, Dattatreya said post the enactment of the Bill, India will jump to the third position in terms of the number of weeks (26) for maternity leave, behind Norway (44) and Canada (50).

Highlighting that there are more nuclear families now, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said the Bill has its roots in malnutrition, as breastfeeding the child is recommended which is not possible unless the mother is in physical proximity of the child.

Moreover, after giving birth, a woman's body needs to heal over a period of time, she said, adding "it is a very stressful time for the mother, who should be with the child".

Observing that the legislation will go a long way to ensure that the future generations are healthier, Gandhi said the Women and Child Development Ministry had recommended raising maternity leave from 12 weeks to 8 months but it was considered too long for the employer.

The Minister said the Government was thinking of introducing direct benefit transfer for women and it was "under consideration".

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her full paid absence from work, to take care for her child.

Cabinet had yesterday given ex-post facto approval to the amendments made to the Maternity Benefits Act, that aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

When the Bill was introduced, Shantaram Naik (Cong)



raised a point of order seeking to know its status.

He said the Maternity Bill was approved by the Cabinet yesterday. "Some bills have already been passed by the other House. What is the status, as Rule 7 of the Rules of Business of the Government requires a bill to be placed before the Cabinet."



To this, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien ruled that the Chairman has the power and he has suspended that ruling, which is why the bill was introduced.

Besides enhancing maternity leave to 26 weeks, these amendments include 12 weeks maternity leave to a Commissioning mother and Adopting mother and mandatory provision of creche in respect of establishment having 50 or more employees.

Participating in the debate, Rajni Patil (Cong) said no doubt it was a progressive bill but government should also address the "hidden biases against working women".

Seeking provisions for paternity leave, Patil said "the father too is responsible for raising a child". She also demanded provisions for women in the unorganised sector too.

Narayan Lal Panchariya (BJP) termed it as a much-needed step as infant mortality rate was 13 per cent in India. He said lives of children could be saved with proper nursing as even medical science has proved that the mother's milk was beneficial for the child and strengthened its immune system.

Vijila Sathyanath (AIADMK) said Tamil Nadu model should be implemented across India as the state had done pioneering work in this regard, resulting in over 90 per cent of deliveries carried out in an institutional manner.

Dola Sen (TMC) stressed the need for paternity leave as well saying it will result in sharing of the responsibility of the child by parents. At the same time she stressed that maternity benefits should also be extended to working women in the unorganised sector.

Kahkashan Parveen (JD-U) said the Bill has provisions to facilitate work from home, but government should clarify how it was going to ensure that it will benefit rural women who are devoid of gadgets like laptops and mobiles. She also sought steps to ensure that factory and mill workers benefit.

Tapan Kumar Sen (CPI-M) while supporting the Bill said government should ensure that its benefits are extended to the grassroot as barely 30 per cent women were benefitting from the existing legislation.

He pointed out that at many places women are forced to suppress their marital status to clinch jobs, an issue which should be addressed. Besides, he stressed the need to bring smaller factories too under its purview or else a large chunk of the workforce would not benefit from it.

Sen demanded an assurance from the government that under no circumstances working women of any segment be deprived from the benefits.
Self-styled 'godman' Asaram Bapu was today denied interim bail in a rape case by the Supreme Court which asked AIIMS to set up a medical board to ascertain his health condition before taking up his regular bail plea.

A bench of justices M B Lokur and R K Agrawal said that a three-member panel of doctors from All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will assess the condition of 75-year -old Asaram and submit its report in 10 days.

"We are not inclined to grant relief to petitioner.... We direct the director of AIIMS to constitute a panel of three doctors to examine the health condition of petitioner (Asaram) and submit report in ten days," the bench said.

Asaram was arrested by Jodhpur Police on August 31, 2013 and has been in jail since then.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran appearing for Asaram, said the medical board constituted on the direction of the High Court has opined that his health condition was deteriorating and sought interim bail for him for a period of one or two months.

"As per the doctors, he needs to go to Kerala where he needs to undergoes Panchakarma (Ayurvedic purification and detoxification treatment) as the climate is suitable for this kind of treatment," Ramachandran said.

Referring to the Rajasthan High Court order which has refused to grant him interim bail, Ramachandran contended that it 'erred' in not granting relief to Asaram.

The bench said that High Court has also said that another medical check-up should be done.

"AIIMS can examine the petitioner and give its report," the bench said.

Ramachandran said that he will be filing an appeal against the High Court order refusing his client the interim bail and till then his prayer for relief should be kept pending.

To this, the bench said it will look into the issue after the medical board submits its report on the present health condition of Asaram.

On August 9, the High Court had rejected the bail application of Asaram Bap in the rape case.

A teenage girl had accused Asaram of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur. The girl belonging to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was a student at the ashram.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia today said he was "shaken" from the core over the death of a 65-year-old man whose two-wheeler was allegedly hit by his car in Kerala.

"It has shaken me from the core," Scindia told reporters adding that he did everything possible to get prompt medical treatement to the victim and later saw to it that the man's daughter was flown there from Delhi where she is working.

He said he also went to the residence of the man along with party MP K C Venugopal to condole the death.

The man was killed yesterday when his two-wheeler was allegedly hit by a car in which Scindia was travelling at Puthiyakavu on the Kochi-Allapuzha stretch of a national highway yesterday.

Scindia was going in a chauffeur-driven car to attend a function at Cherthala after arriving at Kochi from New Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the extended weekend approaching on account of Independence day, Singapore as an international destination and Candolim in Goa have emerged as favourite places to visit, according to a report.

Short-haul destinations such as Singapore topped the charts on the outbound front, while Candolim was the most preferred inbound destination, according to a report by Hotels.Com.

The report was compiled from the Hotels.Com website data for search period between January 1 and July 31, for travel periodfrom August 12-15, 2016.

Bali is the second most preferred destination for the Independence Day weekend for outbound travels, followed by Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya in Thailand, and Dubai.

Within India, Calangute in Goa secured the second place followed by pink city Jaipur, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Hotels.Com is a leading online accommodation booking website with properties ranging from international chains and all-inclusive resorts to local favourites and bed and breakfasts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Maithripala Sirisena has rubbished as "baseless" claims by supporters of his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa that had agreed to an Indian proposal to build a bridge linking the island to India.

"These are completely baseless claims. They have seized on what some Indian politicians had uttered during local elections in Tamil Nadu," Sirisena said addressing a gathering here last night.

Udaya Gammanpila, a Rajapaksa backer, had threatened to set the bridge on fire in a public statement.

"I heard him saying this, I ask him not to talk nonsense. There is no such bridge," Sirisena said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also in parliament yesterday denied moves to build a bridge.

The joint opposition has also mounted a stiff opposition to the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) between and India.

They dub it as a sellout to India which would deny Sri Lankans employment opportunities.
Actress Soha Ali Khan enjoys watching reality shows like "Bigg Boss" and "Roadies" as she feels they don't follow a script.

"I like watching reality shows as they are not scripted. I watch shows like 'Roadies', 'Spiltsvilla', 'India's Top Model', etc. I also like watching 'Bigg Boss', I admire this show," Soha told PTI.

Besides reality shows, the actress said she also enjoys watching American and British shows.

Soha will be hosting the "Great Indian Home Makeover" reality show to help re-create the living space at homes.

"I feel the concept of the show is very different, it's one of its kind. The team on the show is good and I have had a long relationship with Asian Paints so it has been a great working experience," she said.

The makers will show stories of eight families including a bachelor, newly married couple and an old joint family.

"People still struggle how to put their house together. Today people are open to experiment and they want to keep changing the look of their house," Soha said.

The 37-year-old actress revealed that one of the episodes will be on a makeover of the Pataudi Palace.

"My mother Sharmila Tagore has given inputs... Suggestions on how she wants the look," Soha said.

As a host, the "Rang De Basanti" actress has to get the reaction from those who are part of the show.

Hosted by Soha and designer extraordinaire Anjali Mody, the eight-week season premiers on NDTV Good Times starting August 12.

The concept of the show is that in a span of 48 hours, one will get to see innovative and inspiring makeovers in homes across the country.
Some bridges in Goa has been built by the state Public Works Department without necessary access roads, rendering them unapproachable and resulting in "unfruitful" expenditure, the CAG said in its report.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for fiscal 2014-15 was tabled in the state Assembly by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today.

"The PWD constructed a foot-bridge over Velus river (in Sattari taluka) at a cost of Rs 0.63 crore, without having any access or approaches, rendering the bridge unapproachable by the public," the CAG report said.

In yet another instance, the PWD spent Rs 3.16 crore on construction of Benaulim-Sinquetim bridge (in South Goa) across river Sal, which had to be abandoned due to lack of environmental clearance and stiff opposition from the local people, it said adding, "This bridge, too, doesn't have an access road."



The CAG also took a dig at State Transport Department for constructing bus stands without assessing their suitability.

"The Transport Department requested in May 2006 to Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) to take up construction of bus stands on priority at Shiroda (South Goa) and Honda (North Goa)," it reads.

"The bus stands at Shiroda and Honda were handed over to Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd for operation in January 2009. Our scrutiny revealed that the bus stands and facilities within were under-utilised in the past six years," it pointed out.

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Samajwadi Party in Lok Sabha today targetted the Centre and the BJP accusing them of not cooperating on the issue of development of Uttar Pradesh even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a member from the state.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Dharmendra Yadav said that neither the Prime Minister, nor any of the Union Minister were replying to letters from Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who is on a development spree and has dashed off over 100 letters to the Centre.

He said that despite the BJP and its allies having secured 73 of the 80 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, they are not cooperating with the government in Uttar Pradesh on the issue of development.

Amid protests from some BJP members, he said the Centre owed Uttar Pradesh Rs 60,000 crore in arrears towards various schemes.

Besides, he claimed the Centre has ignored demands for funds for issues like basic education, mid-day meal, drinking water and tackling drought in Bundelkhand.

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Steel Ministry today announced setting up of a special committee on issues related to the Stainless Steel Quality Control (QC) Order, 2016 and assured industry bodies to resolve the issue within next 10-15 days.

Various metal and stainless steel industry associations today met Steel Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh requesting him to intervene and to put quality control order at abeyance, a joint statement said.

The members of Metal and Stainless Steel Merchant's Association (MSSMA), All India Stainless Steel Industries Association (AISSIA) and Process Plant & Machinery Association of India (PPMAI) also urged the Minister to call an open house with industry representatives for discussions, it added.

Singh assured the delegation that he will not allow any kind of monopoly being created in the stainless steel flat products space, the statement said.

"The Union Minister announced setting up of a special committee to resolve this issue within next 10-15 days," it added.

In the meeting, the industry bodies put forth their grievances against the BIS order and urged the Minister to suspend the same till all the parameters are not fulfilled by BIS.

To check the sale of defective and sub-standard stainless steel products used for making utensils and various kitchen appliances, the Steel Ministry in June issued a Quality Control order to help filter imports of the metal.

The associations have also written to the Prime Minister to intervene and keep the quality control order in abeyance as well as convene an open house with representatives of the industry for discussion before implementing it.

According to the industry bodies, the QC order makes it mandatory to register with BIS and prohibits manufacturing, import, storage, sale and distribution of stainless steel products by trade and industry without such registration.

The order will lead to closure of thousands of SSI units throughout the country and leave lakhs jobless, they have feared.

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An Indian elephant was today rescued by a Bangladeshi forest department team after more than six weeks of frantic efforts since the female tusker was washed across the border by gushing flood waters to languish in swamps.

"We have succeeded in our efforts to rescue the giant elephant this afternoon," forest department's wildlife inspector Ashim Mollick told PTI.

He said forest department's veterinary Surgeon Syed Hossain shot the elephant with a tranquilising gun at Dhanata village of northern Jamalpur district.

The official, who was familiar with the rescue efforts, said the elephant initially appeared agitated after receiving the tranquiliser and moved indiscriminately for nearly an hour it fell unconscious.

"Losing its consciousness, the elephant fell in a ditch at Koira village, one and half kilometers off the scene where it was shot," an eyewitness said.

He said forest officials joined by enthusiast villagers tied up the elephant with ropes after dragging the animal, weighing about four tonnes, off the ditch.

"For the past several weeks the elephant travelled several thousand miles in a hostile situation since the flood waters drove it out from India's Assam state... It now needs some rest and good food to regain the health," chief forest conservator Yunus Ali said over phone.

Ali said for the next several days the giant wild animal would be kept shackled to be treated.

"We are yet to take a decision what we will do with the elephant.. We will let you know once the decision is taken," the forest chief said.

Last week, Ali said India can take it back if possible, "otherwise we will keep the elephant", as he pointed out two cases in 2004 and 2013 in which one attempt to return an elephant succeeded while another died on its way back.

An expert team from India led by a retired chief forest conservator of theirs on July 4 joined the Bangladeshi team in rescuing the elephant but left the scene three days later.

According to officials, the elephant was stranded in waters which disrupted the joint rescue mission as it could not be driven to a dry piece of land to be tranquilised for treatment and transportation.

Forest officials earlier said the elephant remained calm despite being tired though it showed some signs of abnormal behaviour as it was forced to live in swamps for weeks despite being habituated in hilly forest environment.

A huge crowd of people took makeshift refuge on higher lands at the scene leaving their homes inundated by flood waters.

The elephant crossed the common Brahmaputra River on June 27 and soon grabbed media attention as it was followed by hundreds of people in boats every day requiring police deployment to keep it undisturbed.

In the past 456 days, it roamed along the river shoals and swamps in three northern districts.

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Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today condemned the reported incident of sacrilege of the holy book of Sikhs, Guru Granth Sahib, in California and urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to take up the matter with the US authorities.

He also expressed concern over attempts to disturb communal harmony through acts of sacrilege in India and abroad.

In a statement, Sukhbir urged Swaraj to ask the US government to apprehend those behind the California incident and take steps for security at the gurdwaras.

Expressing concern over occurrence of such incidents in the recent past, he said he would discuss the matter with the Punjabi leaders of North America and share his apprehension about "attempts to cause communal tension" in Punjab.

Appealing to Sikhs all over the world to maintain peace and harmony, Sukhbir said, "We should not let anyone use us for their petty politics and should stand together as one to work for the betterment of the entire humanity.

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Telangana police have stepped up security for the 12-day 'Krishna Pushkarlu' starting tomorrow.

More than 13,000 police-personnel have been deployed along with eight IPS officers for supervision at various ghats, said Director General of Police Anurag Sharma in a statement here.

Of the total force, 6,754 police personnel have been deployed in Nalgonda district and the remaining 6,720 in Mahbubnagar district, according to the statement.

"Apart from the police-personnel, 8,878 volunteers from NCC and social organisations have also been taken up to support the police personnel on duty and 900 handsets have been provided for policemen for communication," the DGP said.

According to him, 57 Pushkar ghats in Mahbubnagar and 28 in Nalgonda districts have been erected.

Two integrated control rooms have been set up in addition to a control room at every ghat, the release added.

The DGP said 27 SHE teams and 80 anti-sabotage checks teams are also deployed.

Around 555 CCTV cameras have been installed in two districts, it added.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is expected to take a holy dip at Gondimalla ghat and visit Jogulambda temple in Alampur tomorrow.

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The Tamil Nadu government has offered about 400 acres of land for KIA Motors, a part of Seoul-based automobile manufacturer Hyundai Motors, Industries Minister M C Sampath said today.

Noting that KIA Motors has been scouting for locations for setting up a factory, Sampath said the government offered about 400 acres of land and was hopeful that the automobile maker would set up the manufacturing unit in the state.

"After visiting Tamil Nadu, they asked us about 400 acres of land, and we have offered about 390 acres. I am hopeful that they will set up factory in Tamil Nadu," he told the State Assembly today.

KIA Motors retails several models, Sportage, Optima, Cadenza, Soul, globally and has manufacturing facilities in Seoul, Mexico.

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Tamil Nadu government today proposed an integrated court complex at Tirupur at a cost of Rs 33.75 crore.

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa informed the state Assembly that the building would house 13 courts, adding that the said initiative was part of the government's efforts to ensure courts functioned from their own buildings.

In the last five years, Rs 511 crore had been allotted for construction of new court buildings and judges' quarters, she said, adding that about 90 per cent of courts functioned from own buildings.

The Chief Minister also announced allocating Rs 23.51 crore for the construction of eight judges' quarters and seven additional court buildings in Tiruvallore.

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A top militant of the insurgent outfit Thadaou People Liberation Army (TPLA) has been caught by the security forces in Manipur's Senapati district, officials said today.

Based on intelligence inputs last night, a joint team of 25 Assam Rifles and police arrested Nehmang Singist alias Mang from Keithelmanbi in Senapati district.

On questioning, he confessed to be the self-styled home secretary of TPLA who had joined the banned outfit in August 2015 and is involved in illegal extortion from government officials, businessmen and common people, officials said.

During search, security forces recovered one 9 mm pistol with three rounds. He also revealed that he was in possession of other war like stores.

Subsequently, one AK-56 was found from the backyard of his house in the area.

Later he was handed over to the Sekmai police station.

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The Tamil Nadu government today proposed setting up a 'Tree Park' near here at a cost of Rs two crore where about 300 varieties of plants will be reared.

The move is part of the state government's efforts to save about 230 types of plants, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa informed the state Assembly.

Making a suo motu statement in the House, she said the proposed park would come up along Vandalur-Kelambakkam stretch and the effort was to ensure protection of forest genetic resources.

The initiative would be implemented by the Forest Research Division, where the plant varieties found in Eastern and Western ghats would be reared, Jayalalithaa said, adding, the park would also be a 'haven' for experts in this field.

Jayalalithaa also announced setting up a Seed Centre in Tiruchirappalli to address to the needs of the state's Central and delta areas.

It would have modern facilities for collection, research, storage and distribution of quality seeds, which would, among others, cater to the needs of agricultural and industrial sectors in the supply of medicinal plants, she said.

Jayalalithaa announced installation of special cameras in 20 dwelling locations of animals in the nearby popular Arignar Anna Zoological Park to enable round-the-clock online broadcast.

This would help people in far off locations watch the animals online as well as allow officials monitor them, she said and proposed an allocation of Rs 50 lakh for this purpose.

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Three persons from Bihar who allegedly abducted a businessman from Mumbra here have been arrested, police said today.

Joint Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre told reporters here that the accused were arrested from Bihar on August 9 for kidnapping businessman Khalid Nurulla Kadri (49).

According to police, Kadri, who was into realty, was called to Bihar by the alleged accused under the pretext of a land deal.

It was on July 27, one Noor Alam called him to Patna for a deal. Accordingly the victim, on July 30, went by flight to Patna, where he was abducted by the alleged accused who called up his wife and made a ransom demand of Rs 40 lakh.

Subsequently, she filed a complaint on August 2 with Mumbra police, which registered offences under sections 387, 342 rw 34 of the IPC against the abductors.

Later on August 5, she went to Bihar and rescued her husband after handing over a ransom of Rs 30 lakh, police said.

Kadri told police he was taken to Nepal border after one of the accused who worked as a compounder in a hospital administered him an injection, which made him drowsy.

Based on the information provided by the victim, Thane police, with the help of Pancharanya district S P Vinaykumar raided the locality and arrested the trio--who were identified as Noor Alam (30), Safi Ulla Khan (45) and Irfan Khan (22).

Also, police seized Rs 29.89 lakh, three cell phones and the injections from the accused.

Officials of Thane Crime branch, who arrested the trio have obtained their transit remand from a court at Bihar.

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Donald Trump today repeatedly accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State group, refusing to take back a patently false allegation even when questioned about the logic of his position.

A day after lobbing the attack against the president during a rowdy rally, Trump pressed ahead during a round of interviews.

The Republican presidential nominee brushed off conservative radio commentator Hugh Hewitt's attempt to reframe Trump's observation as one that said Obama's foreign policy created the conditions in Iraq and Syria that allowed IS to thrive.

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do," Trump said, using another acronym for the extremist group that has wreaked havoc from the Middle East to European cities.

Hewitt asked Trump if he would acknowledge that Obama hates the Islamic State, noting that the president is "trying to kill them."

Over the past two years Obama has organised a broad coalition of countries and launched more than 10,000 U.S. airstrikes to defeat IS.

"I don't care," the billionaire businessman replied. "He was the founder. The way he got out of Iraq, that was the founding of ISIS, OK?"

In a later speech to home builders in Miami today, Trump said his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, would be given "the most valuable player award" by IS.

"Her only competition is Barack Obama," he said. He later added of Clinton, "Oh boy, is ISIS hoping for her."

Clinton's campaign accused Trump of "trash-talking" the US while failing to present any serious counter-terrorism plans of his own.

Jake Sullivan, Clinton's top policy aide, called Trump's accusation a "false claim" and drew a connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Once again, he's echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests," Sullivan said.

Dozens of frustrated Republicans, meanwhile, gathered signatures today for a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus that urges the party chief to stop helping Trump and instead focus GOP resources on protecting vulnerable Senate and House candidates.

A draft of the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, warns that Trump's "divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide."

At least 70 Republicans have signed the letter so far, according to Republican operative Andrew Weinstein, who said it included five former members of Congress and 16 former RNC staffers.
Turkey today called on Russia to carry out joint operations against Islamic State (IS) in Syria, after crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at ending a crisis in ties.

The comments by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came as a Turkish delegation was in Russia for talks aimed at coordinating actions on Syria and other bilateral issues.

"We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh (IS) operations together," Cavusoglu said in a live interview with the private NTV television, adding that the proposal was still "on the table".

Cavusoglu urged Russia to fight against the "common enemy" of IS jihadists in Syria.

"Let's fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible," the minister said, warning otherwise that the group would keep on expanding and spread into other countries.

Erdogan visited Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday -- his first trip abroad since the July 15 coup attempt.

It was also his first direct meeting with Putin since the shooting-down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish air forces on the Syrian border in November that caused unprecedented damage to relations.

NATO member Turkey was long criticised by its Western partners for not playing a full role in the fight against IS but upped its involvement last year by offering US forces use of an air base for raids against the group.

Turkey has also carried out air and artillery strikes against IS of its own although it it believed to have halted the operations in the wake of the Russian plane incident.

The three-person Turkish delegation in Moscow, made up of representatives from the military, intelligence and foreign service, is tasked with implementing decisions made at Tuesday's summit, Cavusoglu said.

"I believe the mechanism will contribute to this process," he added.

Cavusoglu said close cooperation between Turkey and Russia would help prevent incidents in the future like the plane crisis.

"Many countries are engaged in Syria actively. There could be mistakes," he said.

"In order to prevent that, we need to put into practice the solidarity and cooperation (mechanism) between us including sharing of real time intelligence."



Cavusoglu also said real time communication was also needed between the two presidents and the military officials of the two countries.

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Britain's senior-most Indian-origin Cabinet minister Priti Patel is set to meet the top Indian leadership during her three-day India visit starting tomorrow with a message of post-Brexit "golden era" for Indo-UK ties.

India is among Patel's first major overseas visits within weeks of assuming charge as the UK's international development minister under the new Theresa May-led government.

"I look at this (Britain's vote to leave the Europe Union) from a very optimistic point of view and it is very much about the art of the possible. We are entering a golden era effectively," Patel told PTI on the eve of her visit.

"It is business as usual. If anything, there will be new opportunities when it comes to trade, growing new relationships and taking the economic relationship to a new level," she said in reference to the message she wanted to convey in India following the EU referendum.

In New Delhi, Patel has meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

She will also be visiting Bhopal, where she will be hosted by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to review some of the work her Department for International Development (DfID) has been doing on the ground.

The 44-year-old Gujarati-origin minister, who had been one of the most vocal campaigners in favour of Brexit, believes that "strategic partners" like India would have a significant role to play within the new politico-economic order.

"This is now about Britain's place in the world and how we work with our strategic partners like India to look at the new growth opportunities that we can develop together. The point is 'together' because previously we were, and still are until we officially leave the EU, a voice at the table and the negotiating bloc," Patel said.

"Trying to get 28 countries to agree is pretty tricky. But when you are doing country to country, business to business it becomes a totally different proposition," she said.

The former Indian Diaspora Champion said while the title created by former prime minister David Cameron may not exist under the new administration, she plans to build upon all the ground work done in that role over the years.

"The clear point to make is that being of Indian-origin, I have spent many years building up the UK-India relationship. With a new administration, cementing some of those personal relationships with key government ministers will help to bring a degree of continuity and also drive additional energy into this space," she said.

"We are two great nations looking for a shared future and a strategic partnership that really delivers for the 21st century for both our countries in a fair and equal way," Patel said.

(Reopens FGN 33)



Britain's bilateral aid relationship with India underwent a transformation at the end of December 2015, when DfID ceased its financial aid for the country to focus on "technical assistance" programmes.

Patel said the shift reflected India's changing place in the world and highlighted the supporting role UK government and businesses are keen to offer.

"Prime Minister Modi's vision for India has been phenomenal. He has transformed India's reputation internationally in a very strong way, showing that India is not just a rising country but it is dynamic, innovative and out there to attract the brightest and best when it comes to overseas businesses, skills and capacity building.

"We have always been clear about the strength of the relationship; I have said on numerous occasions that we stand shoulder to shoulder with India. We have so many natural ties and synergies," she said.

Among some of the other plans before she returns to the UK on Sunday, Patel plans to involve British businesses already present in India in her meetings and discussions, including a "round table on skills and the role that British firms and British businesses can play".

"I will be picking the strands and synergies of the UK-India CEOs Forum to see how we can grow private sector partnerships to a new level across our two countries," she said.

India marks Patel's second overseas visit as international development minister, after a visit to Lebanon and Jordan last week to address the refugee crisis in the region.
Ukraine's security service today said it had blocked channels being used by jihadists travelling to fight with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq and detained an 'IS recruiter' from one of the former Soviet republics.

"The Ukranian security service, prosecutor's office, police and migration service have blocked several channels for the transit of foreign fighters to the IS international terrorist group through our state's territory," the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement.

The discovery was made in a wave of security sweeps across several major cities.

The SBU said an apartment in the government-held northeastern city of Kharkiv was being used as a temporary shelter by alleged IS members who intended to travel to both Syria and Iraq.

"This 'transit point' had four foreign nationals from Central Asian states," it said.

"Two of them had been earlier deported from Turkey in connection with their involvement in terrorist activity."



The SBU said they held several fake passports from various countries and two of them had been waiting to receive forged Ukrainian documents so they could enter Syria through Turkey.

The Ukrainian service said the four were being financed and assisted by foreign countries but did not reveal which ones.

"Two of the foreigners have already been expelled from the territory of our state," the SBU statement said.

"Investigations into the other two are continuing."



The SBU added that it had also detained an "IS recruiter from one of the former Soviet republics that was being sought by Interpol" pan-European police organisation.

It said that security agents had detained another "IS supporter" in the Kiev region who had undergone training in "Syrian terrorist camps".

The unnamed individual is facing a court hearing and has not yet been charged.

Ukraine has been riven by a 27-month pro-Moscow insurgency in its industrial east that has claimed the lives of more than 9,500 people and left around 400 kilometres of its southeastern border with Russia under rebel control.

The SBU previously said it detained four alleged IS fighters headed for Europe from Central Asia and Russia in January and June.

Ukraine's security service has been under pressure to show its strength as the pro-Western government in Kiev tries to meet President Petro Poroshenko's pledge to apply for EU membership by 2020.

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Ukraine today placed its forces around Crimea on high alert as tensions soared after Moscow accused Kiev of attempting armed incursions into the disputed peninsula.

Russia's FSB security service said yesterday it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea this week by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back armed assaults, but Kiev fiercely denied the claims.

The allegations ratcheted up the heat in a feud sparked by Moscow's 2014 seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine and raised fears of possible wider conflict.

The UN Security Council was to discuss the growing tensions later today at the request of Ukraine, a non-permanent council member.

Ukraine's pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko met his top brass and ordered forces along the frontier with Crimea and across the conflict-wracked east onto "high-alert level".

Russian President Vladimir Putin also held a meeting with security chiefs to discuss "additional measures for ensuring security for citizens and essential infrastructure in Crimea," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"Scenarios were carefully considered for anti-terrorist security measures at the land border, in the waters and in the airspace of Crimea," it said.

The FSB said one of its officers was killed in armed clashes while arresting "terrorists" on the night of August 6-7, while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with "sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian military on August 8.

An irate Putin accused Kiev of "practising terror" and warned that the deaths of the two Russian officers would have consequences.

"We obviously will not let such things slide by," Putin said. "This is a very dangerous game."



Poroshenko hit back, saying Moscow's claims were "senseless and cynical."



"Fantasies are only another pretext for the next military threats toward Ukraine," he said.

Two residents living on the Russian-controlled side of the Crimea-Ukraine frontier told AFP there had been an unexplained build-up of Russian military hardware in the area over the past few weeks.

Russia is holding nationwide legislative elections next month -- including in Crimea -- and the FSB said the alleged raids could be aimed at destabilising the situation ahead of the vote.

A senior Ukrainian security official told AFP that Moscow's claims were a "crude Russian provocation" and that Kiev was "getting ready for anything," including an invasion.

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The UN's agency tasked with defending press freedom has denounced the recent terrorist attack that killed over 70 people, including two journalists, in Pakistan's Quetta region, saying violence against civilians cannot be justified.

"There can be no justification for violence targeting civilians," said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

"The loss of these media professionals in the brutal terrorist attack in Quetta undermines citizens' ability to sustain informed debate that is the bedrock of good governance and dialogue," Bokova said.

Mehmood Khan, a cameraman for Dawn News, and Shehzad Ahmed, a cameraman for Aaj TV, were reporting at the time of the bomb blast on a gathering of mourners following the murder of president of the Baluchistan Bar Association Bilal Anwar Kasi earlier in the day.

While Shehzad died on the spot, Mehmood passed away in the hospital as doctors tried to save his life.

A third journalist working for Dunya News, identified only as Faridullah also sustained injuries in the blast.

A majority of those dead in the attack were lawyers as they had gathered into an emergency room of the hospital to mourn the death of their colleague.

Earlier, in a statement issued by his office, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attack, underscoring that the targeting of mourners made it "particularly appalling."



Condemning the terrorist bombing, Ban had urged the Pakistani government to do its utmost to ensure safety of the population and bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack.

At least 74 people were killed on Monday and over 100 injured after a suicide bomber struck the emergency ward of Quetta's Civil Hospital, where scores of people had gathered to mourn the death of Kasi in a gun attack earlier in the day.

The attack was claimed by Tehreek-i-Taliban splinter outfit Jamaatul Ahrar and the Islamic State militant group.
US military leaders painted an overly optimistic picture of American efforts to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, a damning government report released today found.

The interim report stems from a congressional task force investigating whistleblower allegations that intel bosses cherry-picked information that soft-pedaled the risk of IS while overstating US efforts to train local forces to fight the jihadists.

"From the middle of 2014 to the middle of 2015, the United States Central Command's (CENTCOM's) most senior intelligence leaders manipulated the command's intelligence products to downplay the threat from ISIS in Iraq," Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo said in a statement, using an IS acronym.

"The result: consumers of those intelligence products were provided a consistently 'rosy' view of US operational success against ISIS," he added, noting this "may well" have put US troops at risk.

Task force investigators surveyed dozens of CENTCOM analysts, with many viewing the leadership environment at the time as toxic.

"Forty percent of analysts respond(ed) that they had experienced an attempt to distort or suppress intelligence in the past year," the report states.

Additionally, CENTCOM disseminated press releases and gave public statements that were "significantly more positive" than reality, investigators found.

Further, senior CENTCOM leaders "violated regulations, tradecraft standards, and professional ethics" by modifying intelligence to present overly positive assessments of initial US efforts to train Iraqi security forces to fight IS.

The Pentagon's inspector general is currently running an internal investigation into the matter so officials could not comment directly on today's report.

"The intelligence community routinely provides a wide range of assessments based on multifaceted data related to the current security environment," Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Commander Patrick Evans said.

"These assessments and the expert analysts who develop them are absolutely vital to our efforts, particularly given the incredibly complex nature of the multi-front fights that are ongoing now in Iraq and Syria.

"Experts sometimes disagree on the interpretation of complex data, and the intelligence community and Department of Defense welcome healthy dialogue on these vital national security topics."



Congressman Brad Wenstrup said it remained unclear why the intel had been skewed.

"We still do not fully understand the reasons and motivations behind this practice, and how often the excluded analyses were proven ultimately to be correct," he said.

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The United States has urged the Democratic Republic of Congo to allow the return of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher forced to leave the country.

The State Department said yesterday it was "very concerned by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's decision not to renew the visa" of Ida Sawyer, who has worked for the US-based rights group in DR Congo since 2008.

"The forced departure of this researcher... Is incompatible with efforts to support greater transparency, accountability and democracy in the DR Congo," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.

The United States is urging the country's authorities "to allow the Human Rights Watch senior researcher to resume her important work... Without delay."



DR Congo announced on Tuesday that Sawyer's visa would not be renewed, giving no reason for a decision that effectively expels her.

Authorities had informed Sawyer on Monday that she had 48 hours to leave the country.

Sawyer has carried out research across the country as well as in parts of neighboring countries occupied by Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

Highly active in DR Congo, HRW regularly denounces human rights violations there.

Political tensions have risen as President Joseph Kabila nears the end of his term in December after 15 years in power.

Although the constitution bars him from standing for re-election, opposition leaders suspect he is maneuvering to cling to power, possibly by delaying presidential polls set for the end of the year.
All 282 passengers on board an Emirates flight from Thiruvananthapuram that survived a crash- landing here have been told by the airline that they will receive a compensation totalling USD 7,000 each, according to a media report today.

An Indian national, whose wife and two children were on board the Emirates flight EK 521 which was travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai, said he received the from Emirates via email.

"The mail came through on Tuesday evening, but I only saw it on Wednesday morning," the man, who was not identified was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times.

Flight EK521 had 282 passengers and 18 crew members on board. There were 226 Indians aboard the Boeing 777-300.

He lauded the airline for dealing with the issue "so quickly", but made a point of highlighting his family's lucky escape.

"It isn't possible to compensate for loss of life, and we are lucky this compensation is only for the small monetary loss we endured through losing our luggage."



Over 300 people had a miraculous escape on August 3 when the aircraft was involved in a landing incident in Dubai. The accident was the most serious to date for Emirates, it being the only loss for the airline since it started operations in 1985.

Since the accident, the Indian national said an Emirates representative has made it a point of calling him "everyday" to check on the welfare of his family.

"In the email, Emirates highlighted the fact that it wanted to solve the issue regarding compensation immediately, to avoid causing passengers anymore upset."



Though the specific date for compensation payout was not outlined in the email, he said he has filled out "all the formalities" necessary and has sent the claim forms back to the airline.

Tragically, one life was lost during the incident. It was that of firefighter, Jassim Eissa Al Balushi, who was part of the airport Civil Defence team.

To honour the martyr, the Dubai Civil Defence has now named a hall at its training academy after him, the report said.

Meanwhile, an investigation led by the General Civil Aviation Authority, supported by aircraft manufacturer Boeing and engine maker Rolls Royce, is under way and is expected to take up to a year to conclude, another local newspaper reported.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Facing flak over alleged brain washing of inmates and of forcing some to take to sanyas, Isha Yoga Centre near here has found support from about 100 villagers and students of the area, who termed the charges as totally false and done by some 'vested interests.'



They visited the District Collectorate in two batches today and submitted memoranda to the administration, citing the 'good work' done by the Centre and its founder, Jaggi Vasudev.

The memoranda said 400 families of Gandhi Colony, mostly Dalits, are sending their children to a school run by Isha, "which is providing quality education."



Besides, the villagers were getting good medical aid and also plenty of job opportunities were being provided, it said.

Terming as "totally false" the charges levelled by some 'vested interests' that the Centre was forcing the people to become sanyasins and they were being treated like slaves, they said the Foundation was behind the development, including in providing basic amenities, in the remote area.

The students and children held aloft placards and posters in support of Isha Yoga Centre.

A retired professor had accused the Centre of brainwashing and forcing his two daughters into becoming sanyasins and had filed a Habeas Corpus petition in Madras High Court.

Based on it's directive a three-member team, headed by Principal District Judge, R Pongiappan, had recorded the statement of the two daughters yesterday.

They had reiterated that they were living in the Centre on their volition and not held captive and that no pressure was being exerted on them to continue to stay there.

Somebody might have instigated their parents to file a complaint against the Centre, they had alleged, adding that they presented their views before the inquiry team.

On August 5, Isha Foundation had refuted the charges.

"We would like to clearly state on record that all the above allegations of holding captives, brainwashing, and forcing individuals into sanyas or brahmacharya are absolutely false," the Foundation, running the Centre, had said in a release.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy today said the country was "far, far away" from realising the ambition of developing smart cities, a flagship programme of the Narendra Modi government.

"Since we are far, far away from smart cities, I did not talk about it," Murthy said, when asked why he did not mention the smart city project during his one-hour lecture on 'City Systems' here this evening.

"I am a doer, I am not just a talker," he said and asked the audience to visit Infosys's campus in Mysore to have a taste of what a smart city can be.

Earlier in the lecture, organised by JSW Literature Live, Murthy also came down heavily on the lack of infrastructure in cities.

"Poor infrastructure can drive away investments and talent," he said, and pointed out how Mumbai has suffered due to this continued neglect.

"10 or 12 years ago, the desire was to position Mumbai as the Asian financial centre. We are nowhere near that dream for the very simple reason that investments are not coming in, talents are not simply available, productivity has gone down and growth has slowed down.

"We are still placing bandaids when there is a deeper cancer to be cured," he said.

The government should not compare our cities with those in the developed world, but should look at the emerging market peers like Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia which are taking great efforts to make cities better, Murthy said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Centre will undertake widest possible consultations with states to preserve the Western Ghats, Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave today said.

The Minister also indicated the draft on declaring the eco-sensitive zone in the region will be finalised within six months.

Noting that the "door is open for all noble ideas", Dave said there is a need to maintain a balance between ecology and development.

He said different states have problems of different nature and have to be addressed as such.

"The door is open for all noble ideas," the Environment Minister said after chairing a meeting with MPs from Western Ghats region while calling for maintaining a balance between ecology and development.

Dave said villagers and tribal people living in the region must have access to infrastructure, roads, power and drinking water.

"The Environment Minister also said that the Draft notification is likely to be finalised within six months," an official statement quoting the Minister said.

The statement added that the government has called for widest possible consultations with MPs and Legislative Assemblies on preserving the Western Ghats.

The Ministry had published a Draft notification for declaring Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) of Western Ghats, on September 4, 2015, with the objective to conserve and protect the unique biodiversity of Western Ghats.

The Western Ghat region comprises areas under Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Gujarat and Kerala.

The MPs who attended the meeting included Sharad Pawar, Shashi Tharoor, Tiruchi Siva, KS Prasad, A Sampanth, K Soma Prasad, Vinayak Bhaurau Raut, P K Shrimati Teacher and others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A South Korean company, which is engaged with state-PSU Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC), caused a stir after its management allegedly slapped a notice on an Indian employee for chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".

KEPCO Plant Service and Engineering Company Limited, a South Korean government enterprise operating and maintaining a GMDC-run Akrimota Thermal Power Station located at Nani Chher village in Kutch district, recently issued notice to a junior engineer in which, among other disciplinary issues, the company reprimanded him for chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Ji" on one occasion.

The matter reached the GMDC management which promptly issued a circular to all its affiliated companies stating that the slogan is a matter of national pride that any Indian is free to chant anywhere, a top GMDC official said today.

"During one of its departmental meetings held around two months ago, the company was reviewing its security measures. When employees were chanting safety slogans, one Dilip Shrimali shouted Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Due to language problem, Korean management could not understand the slogan and served him notice," said plant general manager A K Garg.

The employee tried to explain the slogan to the management. But the management on July 20 served him the notice, stating that the company's platform was not appropriate for shouting such a slogan.

The management also raised other disciplinary issue with the employee, like his talking over mobile phone "continuously" and not following safety measures while working in the plant.

The employees' union of the company approached the GMDC management which "immediately issued a circular", Garg said.

"We immediately issued a circular after the matter came up before us. We have issued the circular, saying anybody can chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Today even the company management chanted the slogan and said they respect India's patriotic zeal," Garg said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Zambians went to the polls today shaken by an election campaign of "unprecedented" violence that could threaten the country's relative stability and its democratic record.

Just 18 months after President Edgar Lungu narrowly won office in a snap election, he and his main rival Hakainde Hichilema face off again in a field of nine candidates.

Only 27,757 votes separated the two candidates in the 2015 ballot.

At least three people have been killed during the campaign, with regular clashes erupting between supporters of Lungu's Patriotic Front (PF) and Hichilema's United Party for National Development (UPND).

Ahead of the vote, the election commission issued an emergency statement describing the unrest as "unprecedented" and warning it had "marred Zambia's historic record of peaceful elections".

Last month, campaigning was halted in Lusaka for 10 days to reduce the violence.

But skirmishes continued until polling day, including fighting in the streets and vehicles overturned close to Hichilema's final rally on Wednesday in Lusaka.

UPND supporter Patricia Situmbeko, 50, blamed the violence on Lungu, who she said had failed to reign-in his supporters.

"Zambia was peaceful but the president got his cadres excited and they attack the UPND people," the mother-of-five told AFP at a voting station in the low-income Mtendere district of Lusaka.

"We voted UPND for real change... The youth are unemployed, there is too much violence and the cost of living is rising so fast. Sugar is nearly up by three times in price over recent years."



But accountant Tembo Mabvuto, 34, said the president needed more time to make a tangible difference.

"There have been a lot of promises and people are expecting a lot from this election, but I think that people might want to stay with the same president for now... I don't sense the people all demanding a new president yet," he said.

Constitutional changes mean that the winner must now secure more than 50 per cent of the vote, meaning a second round run-off could be held within weeks, raising the spectre of further hostilities.

"The PF government of President Lungu is starting to panic as the UPND campaign gains sustained momentum," said Robert Besseling, of EXX Africa consultancy.

"The probability of a contested election result is growing, which would undermine the credibility of the vote and trigger more widespread partisan violence."



Zambia, in contrast to some of its neighbours such as Angola and Zimbabwe, has escaped war and serious upheaval since independence from Britain in 1964.

It last held a peaceful transfer of power to an opposition party in 2011 when Michael Sata took office.
Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang today stressed on economic independence and urged the Naga people to comprehensively work towards achieving self-sufficiency, especially in agri and allied sectors.

The watershed development programme adopted by the state has a critical role to play in ensuring conservation and utilisation of natural endowments such as water, land, animals and human resources in a harmonious and integrated manner for increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing peoples' livelihood, he said addressing a state-level watershed conference here.

Zeliang emphasised the need for acheiving self sufficiency by 2025 while lamenting that Nagaland spends over Rs 200 crore annually on import of meat products alone and hundreds of crore for import of other food products.

Referring to the government declaring 2016 as the year of construction workers, Zeliang said Naga youths should be able to enhance their skills and be willing to take any job. It was due to the lack of construction skills among the local people that workers from outside come to make their living in the state.

He therefore asked the youngsters to engage themselves in construction and other works so that outsiders do not get employment.

Zeliang also released a book titled 'Best practices and success stories of IWMP.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Reuters) - U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating whether drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc defrauded insurers by hiding a relationship with pharmacy Philidor that boosted sales of its drugs, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Valeant's U.S. listed shares were down 12.2 percent at $24 in extended trading on Wednesday.

Neither Valeant nor the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan were immediately available for comment.

Lawyers in the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan are pursuing a theory that Valeant and Philidor Rx Services LLC allegedly defrauded insurers by concealing their ties, the WSJ said.

It is expected to be the most serious investigation that Valeant currently faces, and could lead to criminal charges against former Philidor executives and Valeant as a company, the Journal added, citing one person. (http://on.wsj.com/2aMvQwS)

Valeant cut ties with Philidor Rx Services last October after it was revealed that the speciality pharmacy used aggressive tactics to try to increase insurer reimbursement, mostly for dermatology drugs to help the Canadian drugmaker inflate revenue.

The probe revolves around whether the now-defunct Philidor made false statements to insurers about its ties to Valeant, and whether insurers thought Philidor was neutral rather than in the service of Valeant, the Journal reported.

The government lawyers are also looking at certain Philidor business practices, such as rebates and other compensation provided by the pharmacy to customers who used Valeant products, as well as Philidor's efforts to seek reimbursement from insurers, the WSJ said.

Political concerns about Valeant's drug price increases and investor scrutiny of its dealings with Philidor dragged down Valeant's shares last fall.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Matthew Lewis)
Giving a refreshing look to its Note series, South Korean giant on Thursday launched its flagship device Galaxy Note 7 in India with iris biometric scanner for enhanced security, upgraded S Pen and a dual-curved screen.

"Galaxy Note 7 is the combination of all our learnings to take smartphone experience to a whole new level and I am confident that the new edition will help Note loyalists to achieve more in life," H.C. Hong, President and CEO, Southwest Asia, told reporters here.

The company also launched a new wearable portfolio with new Gear VR, Gear Fit2 fitness tracker and Gear IconX earplugs.

"Our wearable portfolio comprising Gear Fit2, Gear IconX and Gear VR will further strengthen Samsung's commitment to a connected ecosystem strategy," added Manu Sharma, Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India Electronics.

Galaxy Note 7 comes with a 5.7-inch QHD super AMOLED dual-curved display protected by the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the first device in the Note family to be water resistant to a maximum depth of 1.5 metre upto 30 minutes.

The device is dust-proof and the display is 30 per cent stronger and 20 per cent more scratch resistant from its predecessor.

The new S Pen features a smaller 0.7mm tip and has an Air Command Translate feature that quickly translates any on-screen text with ease by simply placing the S Pen above the word. The feature also include functions like magnify and glance, etc.

The iris scanner provides an extra layer of security alongside the fingerprint scanner. The device has a "Secure Folder" to keep private information safe.

With Samsung Pass, the iris and fingerprint authentication is passed on to apps and services.

Equipped with 64-bit Octa core processor and 4GB RAM, Galaxy Note 7 delivers unprecedented performance with Vulkan graphics.

The Galaxy Note 7 has 64GB of internal storage which can be expanded by a 256GB microSD card. The battery has been increased to 3,500 mAh and one can set the quality of the display -- HD, FHD or QHD -- according to the need.

It comes with a 12MP camera with f/1.7 aperture and a 5MP front-facing camera.

In other devices, Gear Fit2 is fitted with sensors like GPS, 24/7 heart rate monitor and accelerometer. The Rs 13,990 device runs on Android 4.4 and comes with 1.5GB RAM.

With Gear IconX, one can control music by simple tapping or swiping. The Rs 13, 490 device comes with a real time voice-based workout input feature.

The new VR headset is available for Rs 7,290 from the first week of September.
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Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar are the only two billionaires from India in Forbes' list of the world's 100 richest people in technology, ranking in the top 20 ahead of Google boss Eric Schmidt and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.

The '100 Richest Tech Billionaires In The World 2016' list has been topped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates with an estimated fortune of USD 78 billion.

Premji ranks 13th on the list with a networth of USD 16 billion and Nadar comes in on the 17th spot with USD 11.6 billion of net worth.

Premji, who heads India's third-largest outsourcer, Wipro has been on a buying spree in the past year to boost growth, said Forbes

HCL is reportedly mulling a US listing, said Forbes adding that Nadar also owns HCL TalentCare, a skills-development firm that provides training to new graduates. His latest venture is a USD 500 million fund to invest in startups and US healthcare tech firms.

Two Indian-American technology czars Symphony Technology Group CEO Romesh Wadhwani and founders of IT consulting and outsourcing company Syntel Bharat Desai and his wife Neerja Sethi are also on the list.

Wadhwani comes in on the 67th position with a USD 3 billion net worth. A recipient of the 2013 Forbes India Non-Resident Philanthropist Award, Wadhwani announced in 2015 that he plans to commit up to USD 1 billion to fund entrepreneurship initiatives in India.

Forbes said despite a tumultuous year for the stock market, "it was a good time to be a tech billionaire".
August is here. In the Valley, around this time apples are plucked from orchards, carefully packed in wooden or cardboard boxes and then loaded onto trucks to be shipped to the rest of the country and abroad.

This year, though, the otherwise busy national highway from Srinagar to Jammu wears a deserted look and factories which make cardboard boxes for fruit sellers have been shut for over a month.

Bashir Ahmed Basheer, the chairman of Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, believes that the apple industry in Kashmir has suffered losses of around Rs 80-100 crore so far.

Apple growers in North Kashmir's Sopore area, which is famous for its early varieties of apples with a lower shelf life, have not been able to harvest and transport their produce.

The Valley has few cold storage facilities and most of these are in South Kashmir's Shopian and Pulwama area, which are at a distance of more than 80 kms from Sopore.

"These places have been reeling under curfew for the last several days, and such facilities (cold storages) should be available in Sopore and Srinagar," rues Basheer.

It's not just apples, fruit growers from Repora village in Kashmir's Ganderbal district have not been able to sell their famous grapes.

"Soon, pear season will start, we will face huge losses if the situation does not improve," he adds.

ALSO READ: Kashmir woos big hotels even as tourists fall



Last year, US-educated Khuram Mir became the Valley's first agri-entrepreneur to set up an orchard with eight different varieties of apples.

Spread over two hectares, the orchard was set up in Bamdoora village near the famous Kokernag springs.

Former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who inaugurated Mir's orchard last year, had spoken about the promising future of high-density farming in Kashmir.

"If only 20 per cent of our orchards take up high-density farming over the next five years, the Rs 3,000-crore industry would expand five times to a staggering figure of Rs 15,000 crore," he had said.

Sadly, the encounter in which Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed happened in the same village where Mir's orchard was located.

The orchard, which had opened to much fanfare, was razed to ground by an angry mob.

"Our men at the orchard begged them not to do any damage to the trees, but they didn't listen to anything. I was in New Delhi and was listening over the phone when my men were begging them. It is a huge loss," Mir had told The Tribune after the incident.



According to Horticulture Statistics Division of the Department of Agriculture, apple produce from Kashmir is nearly three times more than Himachal Pradesh. The total produce was expected to be around 20,03,000 metric tonnes for 2015-2016.

Summer of losses



Horticulture is just one of the many sectors that have taken a hit due to the ongoing tensions in the region.

Ever since July 8, the Valley has been in a lockdown and the unrest, during the peak tourist season, has affected livelihood of several people.

According to estimates by Federation of Chamber of Industries in Kashmir (FCIK), the local business community is bearing a loss of around Rs 120 crore a day.



"Due to the ongoing turmoil, shikara walas, pony walas, taxi drivers are left with no means to make their ends meet," says Shakeel Qalander, a member of local trade body FCIK.

"Entrepreneurs are paying wages to their idle employees, bank interest on their loans and bearing other sundry costs like electricity without earning anything," adds Qalander.

Rakesh Gupta, the president of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Jammu says that he doesn't expect the current situation to get normal anytime soon and the losses are likely to go up.

"As of now, there is total collapse of business here, goods worth crores of rupees are stuck on the way due to restricted movement of vehicles. The perishable stock will go rotten if the normalcy does not come. It's hard time for the business people in the state," he adds.

Tourism sector, the backbone of the state's economy, has been badly hit. According to Bashir Ahmad Bhat, the secretary-general of Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Federation, hotel industry has suffered a 100 per cent loss in the Valley.

"Earlier, people who would come for Amarnath yatra would stay in Srinagar, Pahalgam, Gulmarg for a couple of days. Now, pilgrims directly visit the holy cave and go back," says Bhat.

"No tourist has come here yet and most likely no one will. I think the whole season will be like this. Who would like to come here."
Reserve Bank's outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan , whose outspoken views have often been seen as being critical of the government, feels whatever he will say on Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be "problematic".

Rajan, whose tenure at RBI has been marked with several controversies triggered by his comments on issues ranging from tolerance debate to the government's flagship programme 'Make in India', was asked to describe Modi in a televised rapid- fire like interview with BBC.

"I think I will pass on that question. Whatever answer I give will be problematic, so I will just pass," said the on- leave professor of finance at Chicago University, who will return to academia after end of his three-year term at RBI on September 4.

After his decision to return back to academia, there have been voices suggesting that his candid public speeches were one of the aspects which made the government uncomfortable about reappointing Rajan for another term.

Some of the controversial speeches made by him include the one where he quoted American political philosopher Francis Fukuyama to question whether strong governments can really help a country or in defence of tolerance in the middle of a debate started by the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of storing beef, or questioning the premise of the high-octane 'Make in India' campaign.

Rajan, a former IMF Chief Economist, also ruled out joining politics.

"I think that is one place where my wife overrides everything and her answer is 'no'," he said on joining politics.

Asked how he feels about being on the list of India's 'most desirable men', the 53-year-old Governor quipped: "I wish they had done it when I was 25."

Rajan described himself as a "boring guy" and said he being described as 'Rockstar Banker' is an "overblown" statement.

In an earlier TV interview, Rajan had said he was open to staying a bit longer at RBI to complete the unfinished work of bank clean-up, but was perfectly happy to go.

Rajan, who announced in June that he would not serve another term at RBI, said the dialogue with the government did not reach a stage where he could have agreed to stay on.

In recent months, Rajan has faced a slew of personal attacks from BJP MP Subramanian Swamy who had alleged that the former IMF chief economist was "mentally not fully Indian" and sent confidential and sensitive financial information abroad.

Rajan has also faced criticism by some others for his controversial remarks on various occasions. At a select media interaction earlier this week after presenting his last monetary policy, he strongly defended his views saying they were "perfectly legitimate" ones and within the remit of a central bank head.

"In none of those speeches that I have made has there been an explicit criticism or an implicit criticism of the government. There are people who read the interpretation of what is the speech I have given," he said.

Rajan said his concerns on the Make in India campaign -- wherein he had pitched for 'Make for India' given the fragile economic conditions the world-over -- have come true.

In case of the post-Dadri speech at his alma mater IIT-Delhi, Rajan had reiterated the need to be open for ideas as a service-sector driven economy.

Defending these views, Rajan said, "That speech was about the fact that in order to grow as a country which is largely a service economy, we have to be open to ideas. Once you reach the frontier, the only way you can grow is by ideas. And in order to get those ideas, you have to have tolerance for unorthodox ideas because those unorthodox ideas is how we move forward."

"As a society which is developing, which in some places is near the frontier, we have to have an open dialogue," Rajan added.

"I haven't in a sense talked about (things like) dance and music. That would be exceeding my remit," he quipped.
A bill providing for enhancement of maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks was today passed by the Rajya Sabha, in a step aimed at benefitting about 1.8 million women in the organised sector and increasing the strength of the working women force.

Once the new law is enacted, India will jump to third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Norway (44) and Canada (50), said Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya while replying to a debate on the legislation.

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by voice vote by the House, even as some members sought norms for paternity leave also so that parents can share the responsibility of raising children.

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her full paid absence from work, to take care for her child.

The new law will be applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more people.

The Bill provides for increasing maternity benefit from 12 to 26 weeks for two surviving children and is aimed at benefitting about 1.8 million women in the organised sector.

Cabinet had yesterday given ex-post facto approval to the amendments made to the Maternity Benefits Act, that aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

"The very purpose of this Bill is to increase the working women force because in the work force, participation of women is decreasing day by day," Dattatreya said.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said her ministry had recommended raising maternity leave from 12 weeks to 8 months but it was considered too long for the employer.

The legislation will go a long way in ensuring that the future generations are healthier, she said as she noted that after giving birth, a woman's body needs to heal over a period of time. "It is a very stressful time for the mother, who should be with the child".

Highlighting that there are more nuclear families now, Gandhi said the bill has its roots in malnutrition, as breastfeeding the child is recommended which is not possible unless the mother is in physical proximity of the child.

She said the government is thinking of introducing direct benefit transfer for women and it is "under consideration".
As per a recent UN release, foreign investment in India in the year 2015 was $44 billion - 26 per cent more than in 2014. The interest from overseas investors and multinational companies has certainly increased, thanks to the significant liberalisation in foreign investment rules and the government's incessant emphasis on ease of doing business in India.

Several multinationals have committed to invest billions of dollars over the next few years in greenfield projects as part of the Make in India initiative.

As Indian operations of foreign businesses grow, multinationals grapple with best ways to finance these operations as well as repatriate some of the profits. Equity investments are not always the optimum method as shareholders do not want to lock in capital for inordinately long periods.

Repatriation of profits and equity capital also has certain restrictions under Indian foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations and company law, and is coupled with attendant tax leakages. Third party loans may either not be easily available or may be costly. Given this, here are some viable debt alternatives which foreign entities can explore to finance their Indian affiliates, earn some interest (which may be cheaper than the cost of third party borrowing) and receive back the money in due course.



External commercial borrowings



Under the guidelines framed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on external commercial borrowings (ECBs), a direct foreign equity holder with minimum 25 per cent direct equity holding in the Indian borrower, or an indirect equity holder with minimum indirect equity holding of 51 per cent in the Indian borrower, or a group company with common overseas parent is permitted to provide an ECB to an Indian borrower.

Depending on the business of the Indian borrower, the end use of the ECB proceeds, the currency of borrowing and the average tenure of the ECB, the borrowings may fall under any one of the three tracks available under the ECB guidelines.

If the ECB is being raised from the foreign equity holder without prior RBI approval, then the ECB liability to foreign equity ratio should not be more than 4:1. If the ECB is being availed with prior RBI approval, the ECB equity ratio should not be more than 7:1. However, this ratio is not applicable if total of all ECBs raised by an Indian entity is up to $5 million or equivalent.

In order to avail an ECB, the foreign equity holder and Indian borrower will need to enter into a loan agreement and obtain a loan registration number from the RBI. ECBs must have a minimum average maturity of at least 3 years.

Borrowers can pay interest and certain other fees and expenses of up to LIBOR plus 300 basis points on ECBs with an average maturity of 3 to 5 years, and LIBOR plus 450 basis points on ECBs with an average maturity of more than 5 years. If the ECB has an average life of 10 years or more, the Indian borrower can pay up to LIBOR plus 500 basis points on the ECB. ECBs can also be availed in rupees from foreign equity holders at market rates.

Ordinarily, ECBs availed in foreign currency with an average maturity of less than 10 years cannot be used for general corporate (including working capital) purposes. However, an exception is provided if the ECB is raised from direct or indirect equity holders or group companies as long as the ECB has a minimum average maturity of 5 years. This route can be considered in cases where the Indian subsidiary is unable to raise cheap credit from third party lenders and is in dire need of funds to keep the business running.

ECB lenders also have the option to convert the ECB into equity if agreed with the Indian borrower at a later stage. Therefore, they can retain the flexibility to convert into equity if either the Indian company's business is performing well or it does not have the money to repay the debt.



Masala bonds

In September 2015, RBI permitted Indian corporates to issue of rupee denominated bonds (colloquially nicknamed as Masala Bonds) under the ECB regime. The Masala Bonds regime is more liberal than the ECB one. The pool of lenders is increased and any person from a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliant jurisdiction can subscribe to such bonds. The requirement of holding a minimum equity percentage as per the ECB guidelines for foreign equity holders is not applicable and an equity holder with less than 25 per cent equity in the Indian company would also be eligible to subscribe to such bonds. Further, for the ECB: equity ratio also does not apply to a Masala Bond issue.

Issuers have been given the flexibility to privately place the bonds or even list them on overseas stock exchanges - if the bond is listed overseas, it may also provide liquidity to the foreign parent /equity holder. The minimum tenure of the bond is also only 3 years (irrespective of the end use) and therefore, the foreign equity holders do not have to wait for a long period to receive back their money. The interest payable on the Masala Bonds is also not capped at Libor plus 450 or 500 basis points, but can be what is commensurate with prevailing market conditions. However, this should not be excessive and in line with the general cost of borrowing for the Indian company from Indian lenders. The foreign exchange risk stays with the foreign investor, but which can be hedged through derivatives. The end use restrictions are also limited compared to those under the ECB policy and thereby offering greater flexibility to the Indian issuers. Foreign corporates have already started using this route for the purpose of funding their Indian operations.



Non-convertible debentures



Another avenue available is the corporate debt market. Under this route, a group company of a foreign equity holder can register as a foreign portfolio investor (FPI) under the SEBI's prescribed regulations. The registration process is straightforward and typically an FPI registration can be completed within a few weeks. An FPI is permitted to subscribe to or purchase rupee denominated non-convertible debentures (NCDs) that are listed or to be listed on a recognised stock exchange in India. The NCDs must have a minimum duration of three years at the time an FPI subscribes to or purchases the NCDs. The NCDs can be secured or unsecured. The issuer has considerable flexibility on how to use the proceeds and the amount of interest or redemption premium to be paid on such instruments. This route has been used amply, especially by foreign funds, to finance Indian portfolio companies.

However, an important point to note is that once the NCDs are listed, the Indian issuer will have to make several disclosures, including its financials, with the stock exchanges where the NCDs are listed. The Indian issuer will become a 'listed company' from a company law and securities law perspective, and therefore, various provisions applicable to listed companies would be applicable to the Indian issuer. While this may increase the compliance requirements, it provides an additional and more flexible route of raising funds from foreign shareholders.

While each of the above modes have their benefits and limitations, it will really depend on the facts and circumstances in each case to determine which route is best suited for a particular borrower. Also, given that each of these routes have various nuances that need to be kept in mind, it is advisable for the borrower and potential lenders to obtain appropriate professional advice before treading a particular path.

Aashit Shah is Partner at J. Sagar Associates.


Mahindra group is investing in the future of mobility with intentions to play a pioneering role in the development of driverless tractors and commercial vehicles, its Chairman Anand Mahindra said on Wednesday.

Amid speculations in the world whether conventional auto companies will survive in a transformed environment, he said the 'buzz' about the future of mobility is centered around three topics -- shared mobility, role of renewable energy- powered vehicles and autonomous vehicles.

"Mahindra is investing in the future of mobility by combining our innovative manufacturing capabilities with our investments in downstream platforms," he said while addressing the company's AGM here.

Stressing on the group's ambitions to be prepared for the future, Mahindra said: "Everyone in the world is speculating whether conventional mobility companies will survive in a transformed environment. I am not an astrologer and cannot provide guarantees on that score, but I did want to emphasise to you all today, that if anyone is preparing feverishly for a disruptive future of mobility, it is Mahindra."

The stress is on using the strength of telematics skills in the larger Mahindra Group and focus strongly on developing autonomous, driverless commercial vehicles, he added.

Citing example of tractor, he said: "I also believe that the most fertile ground - pardon the pun - for autonomy is in agricultural tractors... It is also an area where paranoia about accidents and collisions is virtually non-existent.

"Tractors that operate autonomously could change the future of food production. This is an area where Mahindra, as the largest tractor producer in the world, intends to play a pioneering role."

Commenting on shared mobility, he said: "While we have products in our stable today and in our pipeline that will appeal to the mobility-sharing companies, I also believe manufacturers need to take a share of the profit pool of these downstream platforms."

The group is doing that not just by investing in them -- as it has done in the US with Scoot networks - but also by incubating unique and differentiated platforms on its own.

For example, Mahindra said: "Our SmartShift initiative for LCVs enables people who want to transport cargo and transporters who have vehicles on offer to find each other, and work out mutually beneficial deals.

"Our Trringo business is revolutionising tractor industry by enabling farmers to hire tractors for short periods of time, bringing mechanisation within the reach ofevery small farmer. The shared economy is no longer in the future it is here."


The Flood Project Chairman of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), Padraig Joyce has today warned that the recently published CFRAMS Flood Risk Management Plan for the River Shannon and surrounding areas ignores the plight of farmers and rural dwellers who have suffered enormously from recent flood events.

Padraig Joyce also claimed that works that were proposed are in danger of not proceeding due to objection from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). He says it is up to the Government to ensure that the public good overrides all other considerations.

At a meeting in Longford with Independent TD Kevin Boxer Moran, who will assume responsibility for the OPW from current Minister Sean Canney during 2017, Padraig Joyce, along with IFA representatives from the Longford and Leitrim areas, warned that farmers are being "ignored at the expense of specific towns and villages."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
State Senator Lyle Hillyard says a mistake in a transportation funding bill that has greatly reduced the money Cache County and all its cities, including Logan, would get needs to be corrected.

Hillyard says he has offered to help to make that happen and he believes the State Association of Cities and Towns is working on the issue as well.

Hillyard says he has been told by Logan Mayor Craig Petersen that Logan is out about $300,000 in transportation money because of the error.

Its all part of a Hold Harmless provision, Hillyard explains. When we change the tax allocation we want to make sure no one loses money. The theory is that everyone gains money but by changing the basis we make some errors in that.

They are still working through it. If they can get an agreement I think the governor would be interested in putting that in a special session. Its easy to do if its an agreed-to solution.

He says if there is not that agreement, the issue will probably have to wait until the legislature meets in January.

Hillyard was also recently in Chicago where he talked about Utah at a National Association of State Legislators conference. He says he was part of a panel on rural America where he talked about what can be done in rural areas to help people find jobs.

He says that is important because when our children in rural areas graduate, if they cant find jobs in those areas then small cities will get smaller and large cities larger.

Secondly, our state also developed a program we called COBY, Hillaryd says. That allows every legislator, and now the public because its all on the internet, you can look at every state agency and look at their budget for the last five years, see how they spent the money, what the programs are.

For example, you could look at the Natural Resources Department, break it down to state parks and look at Hyrum State Park.

He says that makes it possible for legislators on committees to see very clearly what the incomes and expenses have been over the last five years.
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By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times

Texas A&M University-Kingsville received a $229,395 research grant from the National Science Foundation.

The grant recognizes A&M-K chemistry professor Christopher Hobbs' efforts to provide underrepresented students with research opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, said in news release Thursday.

"(A&M-K) encourages students to gain exposure to careers in STEM fields, and this grant will provide more young people with opportunities to conduct important research," Vela said in the release. "I congratulate (professor) Hobbs on his scientific achievements so far and commend his desire to assist students seeking rewarding positions in professions of the future."

The project aims to discover new industrial, biomedical and pharmaceutical applications and promote environmental-friendly chemistry, the release states.

Hobbs states in the release the grant will fund salaries for multiple undergraduate students to work in the laboratory, paving their way toward graduate and professional programs.

"Considering that most of our undergrads come from Kingsville (and the greater 34th District), this could have a big impact on many people in our community," Hobbs said.

Twitter: @CallerBetty
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By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

Check your wallets.

A U.S. Secret Service agent told Corpus Christi police Thursday "prop movie money" is being passed locally. However, this fake money is being legally sold online.

At a recent fraud prevention meeting, police, local bankers and credit union managers were told "Hollywood money" is readily available for sale on the internet. The prop bills are printed with disclaimers and warnings that read "For motion picture use only." But police said because the money is strikingly similar to real cash, it can easily be passed off at restaurants or stores.

A 17-year-old man was arrested July 25 in Portland on suspicion of forgery of a government instrument after attempting to use the fake money at a convenience store. Corpus Christi Police Lt. Chris Hooper said the store clerk called police when he noticed the fake money disclaimers.

Counterfeit money cases are handled by the federal government, Hooper said, and the U.S. Attorney General's office is taking the charges seriously.

"It's just like Monopoly money. It's not illegal to possess it, but the minute anyone attempts to use it, it's an illegal instrument," he said.

To distinguish between real money and "Hollywood money," check out SecretService.gov and search for "Know Your Money."

Twitter: @Caller_Jules
Here are former Hooks taking the field for the Astros in World Series

See which former Corpus Christi Hooks baseball players are taking the field for the Astros in the 2022 World Series.
Columnist Dave McNeely

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One Texan who knows the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, pretty well, and favorably, is state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.

Watson first met Kaine in April of 2000, while mayor of Austin, and Kaine of Virginia's capital city of Richmond.

Both were in a group of mayors from across America invited to Israel for a week by the mayor of Jerusalem, the State of Israel, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

They spent days together on a sightseeing tour bus, hearing speakers, and talking with other mayors and each other. Almost exactly the same age, both had celebrated their 42nd birthday just weeks earlier  Kaine on February 26, Watson on March 18.

"I was immediately struck by Tim," Watson wrote in Watson Wire, his periodic newsletter. "He's very smart. He has a deep spiritual sensitivity that he was very open about. He was funny with a quick ability to see the fun in something. And he looked for fun. He was a good, good guy.

"We joked, talked about our backgrounds, including his time as a missionary in Honduras," (where Kaine honed his fluency in Spanish, during a year off from Harvard Law School) "compared law practices and told stories about our families.

"We also discussed politics, being mayors, how we loved our cities, and what might lie ahead for our political futures," Watson wrote.

Kaine went on to be elected Virginia's lieutenant governor in 2001, and governor in 2005, Watson quit as Austin's mayor to become the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 2002.

Texas Democrats hoped for a comeback from losing every statewide race in 1998, but Republicans again had a complete sweep. Watson lost to Republican Greg Abbott  who 12 years later became governor.

Four years later, Watson won Austin's Texas Senate seat in 2006, and has been easily re-elected since.

Virginia limits its governors to a single four-year term. After leaving office, Kaine served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and taught part-time at the University of Richmond.

When Virginia U.S. Sen. Jim Webb decided not to seek re-election in 2012, Kaine was urged by Democrats, including his predecessor as governor, now-U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, to run. Kaine was unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and beat Republican George Allen, Virginia's former governor and U.S. Senator, in the general election.

Watson had stayed in touch with Kaine over the years. During that senate race, Watson and wife Liz hosted a fundraising reception for him at their Austin home.

On Tuesday, they co-hosted an Austin fundraiser for his vice-presidential run. Kaine also was scheduled for fundraisers on Wednesday in Dallas and Fort Worth.

Watson wrote that Kaine considers his creed to be "Do all the good you can."

"That's a shorthand version for the affirmation, 'Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can,'" Watson wrote.

"That sums up what I'd seen in him and sensed about him for years," Watson wrote. "It's really cool and exciting to see my friend running for Vice President. I'm proud for him and proud for our country."

Across The Aisle ... While Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has drawn some fire for speaking at the Republican National Convention but not endorsing Donald Trump for president, Republican Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is stepping up to help the New York billionaire.

He's about to be named a co-chairman of Trump's agriculture policy team, according to  well, Sid Miller.

Miller, who has raised Texas political eyebrows nearly off the heads of Texas political watchers, said on The Chad Hasty Show on KFYO-AM radio in Lubbock Friday morning that his new post should be announced this week.

The eyebrows are flapping because Miller has called attention to himself in so many ways:

Hiking state salaries for campaign workers added to his staff;

Texas Rangers investigating whether he was actually on state business on a Rodeo trip to Mississippi;

Changing the Ag department's gasoline pump inspection stickers, to increase the size of the commissioner's name, and move it to the top of the sticker;

Dramatically increasing fees for several industries his agency regulates;

Lifting a ban on deep fryers and soda machines on school campuses;

Comparing Syrian refugees to rattlesnakes on social media.

"Of course, my emphasis will be carrying Texas for the Ag industry for Trump," Miller said in the interview. "Personally, I think Donald Trump will be great for agriculture" and cut "good deals."

Contact McNeely at davemcneely111@gmail.com or 512-458-2963.
| BY Ricki Green |

Each week Bestads picks the very best advertising in the world, in every medium  which is reviewed by a top creative director or team to select their own personal favourites.

Winner: Olympic Champions Against All Odds. Now that the Olympics are upon us, pretty much every brand is screaming Faster, Higher, Stronger. But if theres anyone that needs our support now more than ever are the millions of refugees around the world. And this spot does it beautifully by telling the story of people who are not only running away from things gruesome, but also running towards things beautiful. READ MORE
| BY Ricki Green |

Initiative Sydney has hired Tony Woodward as implementation and investment director. He will join the agencys leadership team and report to Initiative Sydney managing director Marcelle Gomez.

Woodward is formerly group director of activation and investment at Mediacom Sydney where he led a large team working predominantly on the Volkswagen Group Australia account.

Prior to Mediacom Woodward was group business director at Carat, leading one of the teams within the Woolworths account. Before Carat he was group business director at Vizeum.

Says Gomez: Tony has outstanding experience in leading major media portfolios for clients as well as being a strong team leader. His skills will be a major complement to Initiative Sydney.

Says Woodward: Initiative Sydney is a dynamic agency and the opportunity to lead investment and implementation for all of the agencys clients is truly exciting. Im really looking forward to working with the great bunch of people at Initiative, as well as working alongside broader investment teams in the wider IPG Mediabrands group, including Magna.




Suspect who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband facing attempted homicide, other charges

Paul Pelosi, 82, suffered blunt force trauma to his head and body. The suspect was in search of the speaker, calling out "Where is Nancy?"
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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.

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74% students of class 6 cannot read a paragraph from Hindi textbook

46% students cannot read a simple story of class 2

8% students cannot identify letters in Hindi

67% children cannot do simple three digits by one digit division

These and many more shocking aspects were revealed when the education ministry of Delhi conducted a detailed survey of the government schools in Delhi. The survey was carried out under the programme named "Chunauti-2018". These are just a few of the many loopholes of the government schools in our country.

According to Zee News, the Education Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia mentioned a few more shortcomings of government schools through his tweets. As per the minister's tweets, 67% children could not do simple three digits by one digit division.

Whereas, 44% children were found to be unable to do two digits subtraction with borrowing and 5% could not recognise single digit numbers.

It is the same in case of English also. Sisodia said that 75% children could not read a story of class 2 in Basic English and 13% children could not identify English letters.

What is Chunauti 2018?

"Chunauti 2018" has been formed with the aim of training all class 9 students during the academic year 2016-2017, irrespective of their learning levels and they will be trained and mentored in order to help them to successfully appear for Class 10 examinations in the academic year 2018.

Soon after the launch of "Chunauti 2018" on June 27, all class 6-9 students of government schools were assessed for their learning levels. This intervention comes on time when determining the current learning level of children and keep track of their progress every now and then is quite essential.

The school teachers played a major role in this assessment by conducting it between July 14 and 16.

They went on to assess 2,01,997 students of class 6 from 1,011 government schools.

What are Nishtha and Pratibha groups?

Now, the students with low learning levels are being assigned to two groups namely, Nishtha and Pratibha.

Nishtha group will strive to build basic reading, writing and numeracy skills of the chosen children in the coming days. On the other hand, Pratibha will stay focused on the grade specified curriculum.

The purpose behind introducing Nishtha and Pratibha groups is to help the children of Nishtha group learn to read. Once they are capable enough to read, they will be moved to the grade specific curriculum in order to make them confident and ready to participate in learning activities.

Government schools need to upgrade themselves
IIM Bangalore is hosting a free Open House on the Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM). It is a master level diploma granting programme offered by IIMB. The PGPEM is designed for the need of high performing professionals from across industries who want to continue working even as they upgrade their management knowledge and skills.

The 22-month weekend residential programme that begins in April, is a unique opportunity for individuals to be a part of the IIM Bangalore learning experience.

During the Open House Session, addressed by IIMB Faculty and Alumni, individuals will meet the Programme Chairperson, the Admissions team, alumni, students from the present batch of the programme and the Marketing team.

For registrations please click: http://bit.do/iimbcomm and for further details please write to: pgpem@iimb.ernet.in

Event Start Date: August 27th, 2016 Saturday

Venue: IIM Bangalore Auditorium

Time: 4 PM onwards

For further details click on: http://www.iimb.ernet.in/pgpem
Sometimes its good to be reminded of just how good a car is by giving it go once more. In the case of the Mitsubishi Xpander, its the smal...
A major executive at The Hanover Insurance Group is moving on. Allied World picked a new head of its Malaysia operations. Great American promoted an executive on the rise.

***

The Hanover Insurance Group said its executive vice president and president, specialty insurance, will leave the company to pursue opportunities.

Andrew S. Robinsons resignation is effective Sept. 1, 2016.

In the short term, John Jack Roche, executive vice president and president, business insurance, will temporarily assume Robinsons responsibilities. During this period, the company will continue to evaluate its strategic and business needs.

Joseph Zubretsky, president and CEO of The Hanover, thanked Robinson for his contributions, and said that the insurer still hopes to both grow and expand its domestic specialty capabilities.

***

Allied World Assurance Company Holdings has chosen a new executive to help run its Malaysia operations.

The insurers Asia-Pacific arm appointed Ramesh Sivanathan as vice president, with the role of country manager in Malaysia. Hell be based in Kuala Lumpur.

Sivanathan has more than 3 decades of experience in the insurance industry. Previously, he was Asia RI manager for Financial Lines at AIG Singapore. He was also once the director of business development for Federal Insurances Labuan branch.

***

Great American Insurance Group promoted Andrew Kay to divisional senior vice president of its Public Sector division.

In his new role, hell continue to lead the Divisions production and operational efforts as well as product development

Kay joined Great American as a divisional vice president in 2012. He has more than 12 years of public entity experience in pricing, underwriting and operations.

Sources:The Hanover, Allied World, Great American
These images from the CivicX forums were taken at the Southampton docks in the UK and show the new 5-door Honda Civic completely undisguised, ready to get shipped over to the US.



The rear is a lot more visible than the front and is really reminiscent of the prototype we saw at the 2016 NY Auto Show back in March, when Honda senior VP Jeff Conrad said that this car would attract new enthusiast buyers to the Civic brand.

Other visual cues we can take away are the radios dorsal fin antenna (not present on the prototype) as well as the LaneWatch cameras, situated under each side mirror casing from where they provide drivers with information regarding objects entering their blind spot.

In 5-door guise, the Civic still shares its platform and interior layout with the current Sedan and Coupe versions that are already being sold in the US, however, unlike the two, the Hatchback model will be built exclusively at Hondas Swindon plant in the UK  from where it will ship to different markets all over the world.

Once the car reaches North American shores, customers will be able to choose between the 174 HP 1.5-liter turbocharged unit (mated to either a CVT or a 6-speed manual) and, eventually, a more potent 2.0-liter turbocharged VTEC engine as well. The 158 HP 2.0-liter naturally aspirated i-VTEC could also join the lineup if the Japanese automaker decides to lure customers with a lower price point.

While were still waiting for Honda to reveal the 2017 Civic hatchback in a proper, high-resolution type of way, these images do help shine a light on some of the differences between the final product and the previously mentioned prototype, which caused quite a stir in NY. The production-version model is obviously a little bit toned down aesthetically, yet all the angles and aggressive-looking body panels that were there on the concept are also present here.

Thanks to CivicX for the pictures!

PHOTO GALLERY
A New Jersey resident and Indian national is suing a local luxury car dealership for refusing to sell him a Mercedes-Benz GLS.



Surjeet Bassi is suing Prestige Motors for $1.26 million because when attempting to trade in his Mercedes-Benz ML for a GLS500 and paying the difference, the dealerships manager expressed concerns that Bassi would export the off-roader to the Taliban.

Record Online says the lawsuit reveals that Bassi negotiated a deal with a salesman, passed a credit check and was charged a $1,000 downpayment. Then, unexpectedly, he was called into the managers office and bluntly told Im sorry I cant sell you the car.

The manager at Prestige Motors claimed that Bassi came from a high-risk area, known for having residents who do export vehicles to the Taliban. Despite insisting on signing a document that he wouldnt export the car, the dealership still refused.

Bassis attorney, Michael Sussman, says that this case is just the latest in a large pattern of racial discrimination against immigrants.

PHOTO GALLERY
Back in 1996, General Motors launched one of its most controversial models ever, the EV1. Now, the Chief Engineer for Traction and Thermal Systems behind the project has found a new position at Faraday Future.



Since its inception, about two years ago, Faraday Future has been successful in convincing an impressive number of important auto execs to join the company; from Tesla manufacturing leadership to former CEO of Ferrari North America.

Electrek notes that Faraday Future managed to recruit electric propulsion expert Peter Savagian from GM, as the engineer confirmed the move on his LinkedIn profile. Savagian will be leading powertrain engineering operations at the California-based startup.

Moreover, the reports says that Faraday Future is rebuilding the EV1 team, as Savagian is joining several of his former EV1 colleagues, including Silva Hiti, Young Mok Doo, and Steven Schulz, who are building Faradays power electronics.

The EV1 was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle from the modern era of motoring. Back then, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passed a mandate that made the production and sale of zero-emissions vehicles a requirement for the seven U.S. major automakers to continue selling their products in California. But the EV1 was made available through limited lease-only agreements, being described as a real-world engineering evaluation.

Moreover, after CARB regulation was litigated the in court by the major automakers, GM repossessed all EV1 models and deliberately destroyed them. About 40 units were delivered to museums and educational institutes with their powertrains deactivated, under the agreement that the cars wont be fixed or driven on public roads.

This move determined various factions to accuse GM of self-sabotaging its electric car program to avoid potential losses in spare parts sale, and the oil industry for conspiring against electric vehicles.

PHOTO GALLERY
One of Fords hourly workers never made it home after the night shift, as he was shot and killed in the parking lot of the automakers Kansas City plant, shortly after 4 a.m.



By the time they arrived at the scene, paramedics pronounced him dead, despite his co-workers efforts to stop the bleeding. According to an eyewitness, cited by Fox4KC, the shooter pulled the trigger twice and then fled the scene in a green Jeep Cherokee.

Local police states that this is an isolated incident and remains confident that whoever is responsible for claiming the mans life, whose identity hasnt been disclosed, will be brought to justice: We have multiple solid leads to follow, and were going to follow them, and we will get this person responsible for it, said Captain Will Akin, with the Clay County Sheriffs Department.

Our hearts go out to the family and any of our employees that may have witnessed this horrible incident, and we are going to be here for them for they for whatever they need or whatever we can do to help them get through this tragic situation, said Todd Hillyard, UAW Local 249 spokesperson.

Following the incident, day shift employees at the Kansas City Plant were not allowed to enter the parking lot, as investigators were still on the scene. A description of the suspect has yet to be released.

This is the second known shooting incident this summer that involves Fords employees, as two UAW local officials, representing the manufacturers workers at the Chicago Assembly Plant, were wounded in June, outside Local 551 union hall. The 50-year old man believed to be responsible for pulling the trigger, after an alleged argument, is in custody, awaiting trial.

PHOTO GALLERY
Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios just keep adding to the list of vehicles for the latest edition of Forza. And this week its focusing on off-roaders. Headlining this newest expansion are the 1971 Meyers Manx, the 2011 Penhall Cholla, and the 1979 Toyota FJ40  all vehicles uniquely suited towards tackling the Australian Outback.



The Meyers Manx is the prototypical dune buggy  a bug-eyed, fiberglass-bodied plaything with a Volkswagen engine and enough suspension travel to soak up whatever the dusty trail can throw at it. The Penhall Cholla takes a rather different approach to off-roading, a competition buggy that won its class upon its debut in the Baja 1000 by four hours. And the Toyota FJ40 is a classic that should require no introduction  the prototypical Land Cruiser and inspiration behind the FJ Cruiser that would follow in its tracks decades later.

Of course these arent the only new vehicles added this week to Forza Horizon 3. Theyre not even the only off-roaders. Others include a race-spec 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, Polaris RZR XP 1000 and Ram Runner. There are rally classics as well like the Ford Escort RS Costworth and RS1600, Lancia Delta S4 and 1990 Subaru Legacy RS.

For those less inclined towards leaving the road, the list also includes classics like the 57 Chevy Bel Air, Jaguar XK120 SE, Maserati 300S, 67 Mercedes 280 SL, Lotus Carlton, and Plymouth Hemi Cuda; supercars like the Ferrari 575M, Lamborghini Aventador, Mercedes SL65 Black Series, Nissan R390, and TVR Sagaris; and hot hatches like the Ford Focus ST and Fiesta ST, Mini JCW GP, and Renault Clio Williams.

PHOTOS
It seems increasingly likely that a baby brother to the Honda NSX could be on the way, following confirmation that Honda trademarked ZSX with the European Union Intellectual Property Office on July 26.



While automakers trademark names all the time simply to protect them, rather than having the intention of bringing them to the market, the similarity between ZSX and NSX has certainly raised eyebrows and sent tongues wagging.

Interestingly, Honda has trademarked the name ZSX previously, albeit in the United States. That trademark however lapsed on December 10, 2012 but conceivably, may be snapped up by the Japanese company once again.

While speaking with French publication Automoto, a reported Honda engineer says that the company will launch the ZSX in concept guise at the Detroit Motor Show 2017 in January.

Apparently the car will debut as a hybrid coupe concept, utilizing the Civic Type Rs 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine coupled to two electric motors, each driving a rear wheel.

Opening Rendering Copyright Carscoops / Josh Byrnes

PHOTO GALLERY
Photo: Getty Images

Theres a white elephant in Kelownas proverbial living room.

In my first column, I asked you to send me your ideas for columns you think are noteworthy.

Surprisingly, I had more than one response asking me to write about the large number of single/divorced people and the dating scene.

While I tend to write about the challenges of raising kids, I also realized many of these single and divorced people are also parents.

Yet, this subject remains untouched, almost taboo. No one wants to discuss it even though the interest appears to be there. Thats why I decided to give it a try.

Im going to fumble through this as best I can. I went out and talked to people. I lurked in coffee shops, pubs, wineries and grocery store lineups.

I was surprised at how willing people were to talk to me about it, but also, how many felt almost embarrassed by their singlehood as if theyd failed in the relationship-and-love department.

Did you know theres something called the Kelowna Curse?

The Kelowna Curse is aptly named because of the number of couples who move to our fair town and after a few years, split up.

The other common scenario is one person moves here to be with the other person who already lives here, and shortly thereafter they break up.

Im interested in exploring the reasoning behind this.

Is it money? Greener grass? The excitement of the unknown? Or is it just too easy to stop working at being in a successful relationship?

Divorce and separation have become so normal that you can just print an agreement off the Internet  be it custody or division of assets. Sign it, and suddenly youre on your way to posting a profile on the dating websites.

So, with the seemingly large number of already singles and the new ones coming onto the market, youd think there would be a large pool of people to date, right?

Not according to the people I spoke to  males and females of all age ranges. The largest group was the 30-50 range, many of whom are parents.

Funnily enough, it didnt matter what decade I was talking to, the answers were similar on both sides.

The males biggest complaint was that the single women are looking for a free ride (the money theory). Someone to take care of them and their children financially and emotionally.

But since many guys have to take care of their own kids and ex-spouses, via child and spousal support, theyre tapped out and feeling used.

We hadnt even had our first date yet, but she texted me to ask what kind of car I drove, one of my subjects said. Why should that matter? Does she want to date me or my car?

There was also the fear that the females want instant In a relationship Facebook status. There appears to be a rush to be a happy couple for all the world to see.

History tells us that men dont like that, especially when kids are involved. The men were so cognizant of the fact that they needed to know someone was a good person before introducing her to the kids.

But the pressure to be serious right out of the gate was a major turn-off  for all the guys, whether they had kids or not.

One question I heard from so many of the guys was where are the normal girls in Kelowna? The ones who have jobs and homes, who dont expect to be wined and dined every night of the week.

And the women were very quick to respond with: Were right here!

All the women were very vocal about the men not knowing what they wanted in a partner.

The guys say they want stability with someone who loves, but doesnt smother. A partner to grow old with, who has a job and stable lifestyle.

In a few cases, they wanted a mother figure for their children.

According to the ladies, they all have the qualities the guys are looking for, but as soon as a hotter woman passes, their attention is captured by the sparkly object (this would be the greener grass conspiracy).

The guys disputed this.

As is usually the case, the women were all frustrated by the mens' lack of commitment and the feeling that they were going nowhere, even after months and sometimes years of dating.

In the case of single moms, this group felt strongly about the lack of understanding from the men if they had to cancel or change plans if their kids became ill or something came up.

These women also felt that many men were non-participants when it came to rearing her children, but expected full participation from her to help with his kids.

What I found interesting was how quick women were to introduce the other person to their children.

On average, the women were comfortable around the third or fourth date mark. Men wouldnt entertain the thought until the second or third month of dating. Thats a big span.

In an attempt to quell the backlash that could be generated from this column, no one disputed the sanctity of marriage, and both men and women were open to the possibility of re-marriage.

No one gets married intending to get divorced, and the reasons for those who were divorced were varied and vast.

The one constant though was that every single person I spoke to had the same desire to meet a lifelong partner and best friend.

Lots of disdain was expressed over online dating  there were a lot of comments about how one appears online not being who they are in person.

As well, a constant theme of where else does one go to meet someone with integrity and morals. And the fear was real when it was suggested they approach someone they find attractive in a social setting.

We seem to have lost our ability to communicate face to face  instead preferring the protection of our phones and laptops.

While doing this project, I was constantly challenged to keep my opinions out of it.

I felt some obligation to try to solve this Curse problem, but alas, the only thing I could solidly offer was the promise of writing about it.

Maybe even taking the perceived embarrassment out of being single for many. And I guess thats really it.

As for the Kelowna Curse, while I dont see a way to stop it, it may be helpful to those whove experienced it to know theyre not alone.

Thanks for reading.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: Strategic Development Group

Two political heavyweights have joined forces in an effort to promote construction of a new city hall and civic centre in West Kelowna.

Retired realtor Peter Wannop and former West Kelowna councillor Gord Milsom are co-chairing the 'Yes to the Civic Centre Committee.'

The group recently registered with Elections BC and tomorrow, will officially open a storefront office.

The office, in the Westridge Mall, will be staffed from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday to Saturday, beginning tomorrow.

"The Alternative Approval Process showed there were quite a few people out there that were opposed to it for a variety of reasons," said Wannop of his decision to get involved.

We started digging into it, and there, in our opinion, was a lot of misinformation being handed out about the city hall and civic centre. We thought we needed to get the facts out that, staying with the status quo and having the city hall where it is in a jammed, rat infested headquarters...was not good enough."

He said staff deserve better and the city needs the civic centre, and needs it in the downtown core.

"There have been numerous Westbank Centre revitalization plans done, which all point to having this located in the downtown core. We really believe it's the right time."

Wannop also said the city also deserves to get the Mount Boucherie Community Centre back.

The city has altered its original borrowing proposal, from the one defeated during the Alternative Approval Process.

Now, when voters go to the polls for the Sept. 17 referendum, they will be asked to approve borrowing up to $7.7 million for the new facility on Elliott Road.

The original bylaw asked for approval to borrow up to $10.5 million.

The No side has been out in force since the city announced it would try to get voter assent through the AAP.

While that campaign helped in getting about 15 per cent of the eligible electorate to vote no on the original proposal, Wannop believes not all of those people are against the new city hall.

Wannop believes some of those people just wanted to ensure their voice was heard during a full referendum.

Along with a storefront office, Wannop said the Yes side will also have a strong social media presence.

They have established a website, Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Photo: Contributed

Reaching your 90th birthday is pretty special. Being awarded the French Legion of Honour on your 90th birthday is even better.

Lee Brown, a Cranbrook Second World War veteran, will be awarded one of Frances highest honours in a ceremony at the Cranbrook branch of the Royal Canadian Legion on Saturday.

This is fantastic, being able to present this to him while he is still alive and here to enjoy it, says Cranbrook Legion president Clive Brown (whos not related to Lee Brown).

Clive first met Lee a few years ago, when he was looking for veterans who could speak with cadets about the war and their military experience. He says Lee warmed to the task, and has been opening up about his war experiences ever since.

He is a real down-to-earth fellow, he doesnt brag about his service, it took me a long time to get him to answer stuff, recalls Clive. To him, it was part of the past, something you did, and then you move on.

And Lee had a remarkable career in the war. With his parents permission, Lee joined the military in 1943 at age 17. He flew in the Canadian Air Force as a tail gunner in a Lancaster bomber, flying 33 missions over France and Germany.

After the war in Europe he returned to Canada, working with the Canadian Pacific Railway in Alberta and B.C. until he retired in 1986. He lives in a retirement home with his wife, who also turns 90 this year.

His family learned that the French government was honouring foreign veterans of the battle for the liberation of France and submitted the lengthy documentation needed to apply. Fortunately, Lee had kept his flight logbooks, and was able to detail his actions during the war.

Clive says he knows of only one other local vet, in the Okanagan, who has received the award.

The medal and a certificate were mailed to Brown in the spring, but the family and Legion are making a ceremony of it, and have invited local politicians and dignitaries to help present it on the weekend. They have been told a representative of the French consulate will be attending, Brown says.

We had to find a French flag and a copy of the French national anthem, it has to be played during the ceremony, Brown says of the arrangements being made.

Brown says Lee is overwhelmed by the honour, but its something everyone in Cranbrook can be proud of.

Its not just Lee getting the award, all of Cranbrook citizens are getting the medal in a way, he says. "Its an honour for all of us.

Brown says the Legion in Cranbrook has about 600 members, but as veterans age many stories of their sacrifice are being lost to time. Brown says Lees award has prompted other veterans to come forward to tell their experience.

Theyre not bragging, theyre just saying this is what happened to me. Its a good thing.

We need to recognize what our veterans did, adds Brown. Many of us have no idea what these people went through, they live in our communities and we never hear about their bravery. It is amazing when you hear their stories.
Photo: NewsKamloops.com

Rosy language in the absence of concrete action isnt inspiring confidence in a pledge by Ottawa to follow through on recommendations for sockeye conservation that gathered dust for four years.

Federal Fisheries Minister Dominique LeBlanc visited B.C. Tuesday, pledging to fully implement the recommendations of the 2012 Cohen Commission on Fraser River sockeye.

LeBlanc said Fisheries and Oceans Canada has already implemented more than 30 of the recommendations and is working in collaboration with the province, Environment and Climate Change Canada and other stakeholders and Indigenous groups to act on them.

We value the work done by Justice Cohen and the Commission and we will continue to act on their recommendations in our efforts to support the conservation and sustainability of Pacific salmon, LeBlanc said. We also look forward to consulting with Indigenous groups, other partners, and stakeholders on the Wild Salmon policy implementation plan as we continue our efforts to ensure the future of this vital resource.

A spokesman for the Watershed Watch Salmon Society said Wednesday he is not convinced of the Trudeau governments commitment after reviewing a portion of its update on the issue.

Im afraid it looks like DFO is providing an overly rosy picture of actions theyve already taken, but they dont provide any concrete evidence of the action, said Stan Proboszcz, a fisheries biologist with the society.

For years, the society tracked the Ottawas dismal progress in implementing the Cohen recommendations. The group was on hand for LeBlancs announcement Tuesday.

I think its just a slightly shifty language theyre using, Proboszcz said. That doesnt provide me with any confidence.

Ottawas promise arrives as test fisheries and daily escapements continue to track well below pre-season expectations for sockeye migration.

Proboszcz used the siting criteria for salmon farms as an example. The government claims to have implemented a recommendation calling for the criteria to be based on new scientific information. Critics of salmon farming say the industry has hurt wild stocks through exposure to disease.

But when the Watershed Watch Society and other NGOs engaged in the new process, they found it was flawed and lacking scientific basis.

Proboszcz said he is encouraged by the governments willingness to at least communicate on the issue, something not done by the previous government.

I do have hope, but we certainly need more than media releases and press conferences, he said.

The Liberal government has committed $197.1 million over five years to increase DFOs oceans and freshwater science program including research and monitoring to improve the health of fish stocks, understand the impacts of ecosystem stressors, and support sustainable aquaculture. Funding will add 29 more scientists, biologists, oceanographers and technicians in the Pacific region, who will be responsible for supporting Cohen recommendations, LeBlanc said.

Coen urged Ottawa to address what he considered a conflict of interest in DFO's responsibility for promoting salmon farming while protecting wild salmon stocks, but LeBlanc didn't accept that as a conflict.

"It's a concern within DFO that they promote the industry and that may impact on the status of wild salmon," Proboszcz said. "I think folks are going to have to hold this government's feet to the fire."

 NewsKamloops.com
Photo: Contributed

Kamloops newest air service is less than two weeks old, but already its beating expectations.

The response has been way exceeding what we forecast, Dean Dacko, the chief commercial officer for NewLeaf Travel said Wednesday.

Dacko had just met with Sun Peaks Resort officials to talk about the upcoming ski season and was getting ready to head down to Kelowna, but the companys immediate focus is on getting the travelling public here used to a new way of flying.

Early indications are it wont be a problem  the first few flights in and out of Kamloops since NewLeaf launched here July 30 have surpassed the 60 per cent occupancy target.

And, said Dacko, it will only get better  he expects traffic to double over the next year.

The key, he said, is to familiarize Kamloops air travellers with how ultra-low pricing  something this market hasnt previously seen  works. Its actually very simple, he said of NewLeafs add-on pricing system.

Airfares are currently advertised at $79 from Kamloops to Victoria and $99 from Kamloops to Edmonton but depending on the level of service customers need or choose, total cost goes up accordingly. Take luggage, for example. The fees vary according to whether its carry-on or checked, and whether you book ahead of time on NewsLeafs website or wait till you get to the airport. Booking ahead is cheaper. Additional and overweight bags cost more, and so on.

A seat in the front half of the aircraft will cost you more than one in the back, and a seat in an exit row with more legroom will cost still more. If you want a beverage, snack or a meal on the way, you can buy that at rates competitive with the full-price airlines, but dont expect a full hot meal, said Dacko.

A one-way trip from Kamloops through Edmonton to Hamilton might cost around $300 when you add the various costs together, considerably cheaper than you'd expect.

The business model calls for traffic to go up and fares to come down.

Were about lowering the prices, and what we want is to grow.

Dacko's experience in the airline industry goes back a long way, including several years as head of marketing for Malaysia Airlines and before that as director of marketing for Air Canada Vacations.

A lot of airlines have tried to come into Kamloops with lower airfares than Air Canada or WestJet but havent been able to put enough bums in seats as they say in the industry. Some lasted only a few weeks, others a season. What makes Dacko think NewLeaf will be any different?

NewLeaf, he said, will succeed where others have failed because its business model is based on operating costs that fit the low-fare structure, and because it serves a different market than the big guys. Its not taking business away from them but if they want to compete with NewLeaf head-on on ultra-low fares, Were saying bring it on.

As for ski season, he expects that to bring in a lot of new NewLeaf customers. The winter schedule, which starts Oct. 2, will be announced in a few days. And more flights will be added for the Christmas season.

The aircraft are 737s operated by Flair Airlines of Kelowna on behalf of NewLeaf, which also lands in Kelowna, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Moncton and Halifax. The Kamloops flights operate Wednesdays and Saturdays to Victoria and Edmonton, with easy connections elsewhere, Dacko said.

If you board a NewLeaf flight in Kamloops or Abbotsford right now you might see Canadian North written on the side of the plane because its being rented by Flair Air, but NewLeafs gold and blue emblem will eventually be painted on all the aircraft.

 NewsKamloops.com
Photo: Thinkstock.com

Before proceeding with its pot-legalization agenda next spring, the Liberal government is promising to tackle the issue of drug-impaired driving, which bureaucrats say could spike considerably if marijuana becomes legal.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was warned by officials in January of the risks, a classified briefing document obtained by The Canadian Press shows.

"The legalization of marijuana could lead to a significant increase in drug-impaired driving cases," the memorandum reads.

Bureaucrats say there is limited data as only two jurisdictions in the United States have legalized marijuana: Colorado and Washington.

"For example, in Colorado, in the year following marijuana legalization, there was a 32 per cent increase in marijuana-related traffic deaths," the memo reads.

Liberal MP Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief and now parliamentary secretary to Wilson-Raybould, says the issue is already a serious problem in Canada and that legalization could lead to more cases.

"That's why it's so important to do the work upfront to educate Canadians and to provide law enforcement and the justice system with the tools they need to control that illegal behaviour on our roadways," said the Toronto MP, who is the Liberals' point man on marijuana legalization.

"We recognize its urgency."

The Liberal government has promised to table a bill on legislating cannabis in the spring of 2017  a timetable deemed far too ambitious by the Opposition, which would rather see the government slow down the process rather than expose Canadians to risks.

Conservative public safety critic Alain Rayes said the danger is real and accused the Liberals of venturing "too far, too fast."

New Democrat Alexandre Boulerice said if the road safety issue is not addressed specifically, it would be a "major obstacle" to his party's support of any future bill.

Some groups, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), have called for Criminal Code amendments.

Marie-Claude Morin of MADD said the organization wants cannabis to be subject to the same laws that currently apply to driving under the influence of alcohol, but to have the two impaired-driving offences appear distinct in the code.

That could result in the addition to the Criminal Code of a legal limit of active tetrahydrocannabinol in the body.

In Washington and Colorado, the legal limit is five nanograms of THC per millilitre of blood. In Nevada and Ohio, the legal limit is lower  two nanograms per millilitre. Other states have opted for zero tolerance.

"There will be the discussion about what's safe," Blair said. "And that discussion will range from a total prohibition  so no use of drugs in driving  to determining a safe level."

Blair said any such changes to the Criminal Code could come before tabling legislation in 2017.

In 2013, 97 per cent of accidents in Canada relating to impaired driving were alcohol related. The other three per cent were linked to drug consumption.

The briefing document to Wilson-Raybould suggests the drug-impaired numbers are under-reported because it's more difficult for police to detect.

Blair, a police office for 40 years, concurred with that assessment.

"It's very difficult to identify and to prove a level of impairment by marijuana," Blair said. "We have good tools for alcohol. We do not currently have good tools for cannabis."

In Quebec, provincial police say they are satisfied with the current system  a patrol officer arrests someone who is believed to be intoxicated and another officer, trained in drug recognition, does a more extensive test.

Daniel Thibaudeau, a Quebec police spokesman, said between 2011 and 2014, 781 arrests were made for drug-impaired driving involving all types of substances.

MADD believes Canada should follow an example set in Australia and certain European Union countries, where police use roadside oral fluid drug-screening tests to detect the presence of THC.
Photo: CTV

Police in Milton, Ont., say charges could be laid against the mother of three young children who were found in a car that was parked in hot weather in a retail parking lot Wednesday evening.

Halton Region police say they were called at about 6:45 p.m. after someone noticed the children aged between 4 and 12 in the car as it sat in full sunlight in an "expectant mother" parking space.

It was 32 degrees Celsius outside at the time, although the humidity made it feel warmer.

Police say the car had its engine turned off and all four windows were opened about seven centimetres.

Officers persuaded the oldest child to unlock a door to get some air flowing through the car and say the youngest appeared to be sleeping but was sweating profusely. The children were checked by paramedics and appeared to be suffering no ill effects.

About 11 minutes after police arrived, the 38-year-old mother returned and explained why she left her children in the vehicle, although police have not revealed what she told them.

Police say they will review video surveillance to see how long the children were in the vehicle before they arrived, then determine what charges could be laid against the unidentified woman.
Photo: Contributed Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a Crown appeal in the extradition case of a mother and uncle accused in connection with a so-called honour killing in India.

Jaswinder (Jassi) Sidhu was stabbed to death in Punjab in June 2000; her mother, Malkit Kaur Sidhu, and uncle, Surjit Singh Badesha, are accused of murder and conspiracy in India.

In 2014, a British Columbia Supreme Court judge ordered them committed for extradition to India to face the charges, prompting the federal justice minister to issue a surrender order.

In a split ruling in February, the British Columbia Court of Appeal allowed an appeal and set aside the ministerial order.

That ruling found there was a basis for concern that the pair could subjected to violence, torture or neglect if surrendered to India.

As usual, the high court gave no reasons for agreeing to hear the case.
Photo: Twitter - NRPS

Police say a Niagara Region woman sexually assaulted her two young daughters and sold explicit photos of them as part of an alleged sexual exploitation ring that targeted children as young as four.

Investigators say the 33-year-old woman, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of the children, also made her four-year-old daughter available for others to sexually assault.

Five men are facing multiple charges in the investigation, which began last November and led officers to seize more than 60 electronic devices.

The men range from 27 to 38 years old, and the charges include sexual assault with a weapon against someone under 16 as well as child pornography-related offences.

One of the accused, a 29-year-old man, is charged only with attempted murder.

The woman is also charged with attempted murder in an alleged assault on the 38-year-old accused. Police say that incident took place in November and prompted the sexual exploitation investigation.

Police say they rescued six children, all of them known to the accused, as part of their investigation and no others are believed to have been at risk.
Photo: energyeastpipeline.com

Mi'kmaq communities in New Brunswick said Wednesday the Energy East pipeline project must have their consent in order to pass through their territories.

Chief George Ginnish, of the Eel Ground First Nation, told National Energy Board hearings in Saint John, N.B., that Mi'kmaq communities remain "deeply concerned" about the effect the proposed pipeline will have on their aboriginal and treaty rights.

Ginnish was speaking on behalf of a group of nine communities in eastern and northern parts of the province.

"We have to consider the impact that any projects will have on our next seven generations, it's our duty to our ancestors," said Ginnish.

He told the three member panel the Mi'kmaq are concerned about the impacts of the pipeline's construction and the effects of potential oil spills on watersheds and watercrossings as well as on traditional fisheries and species such as Atlantic salmon.

He said there are also concerns about increased tanker traffic in the Bay of Fundy. The tankers would be used to export crude oil from Western Canada that would be stored at a proposed marine terminal in Saint John.

"Unless all of these concerns can be meaningfully addressed, we cannot and will not consent to the pipeline in our territory," Ginnish said.

The chief said that through a series of peace and friendship treaties with the Crown the Mik'maq have never surrendered their aboriginal title to their lands.

"The Energy East pipeline will cross through our Mi'kmaq traditional lands . . . thus the project will require our consent," said Ginnish.

Bruce McIvor, a solicitor for the Elsipogtog First Nation near Rexton, N.B., said the energy board's mandate is limited in relation to the project because of the band's treaty rights. He said Elsipogtog expects a direct relationship with the Crown in dealing with its pipeline concerns.

"The board . . . cannot fulfil completely the Crown's obligations and we think it's important that's reflected ultimately in the board's report," MacIvor said.

Officials with Energy East said they are committed to ongoing consultations with First Nations groups in order to address their concerns.

Christian Matossian, manager of indigenous relations for the Energy East pipeline, said the company respects the legal and constitutional rights of aboriginal communities.

He said the company is operating under current Canadian law with respect to its engagement with aboriginal people.

"Energy East will strive to reach consent with First Nations and also seek to avoid and mitigate any potential effects that the project has on the community," said Matossian.

Mi'kmaq groups were not alone Wednesday in bemoaning a lack of specific consultation on the project.

Maria Recchia, of the Fundy North Fishermen's Association, said her group was upset by the company's application, which portrayed the fishery in the area nearest to the shipping lanes leading to Saint John harbour as being "insignificant."

Recchia pointed out that according to Department of Fisheries and Oceans data, the lobster fishery in the area is heavy in May and June and remains consistently high through the rest of the year.

She said about 75 fishing boats work around the area  not the 10 or 15 referred to in the company's assessment.

"To say that the fishing industry in this area is insignificant is very problematic for us," said Recchia.

Three days of hearings wrapped up Wednesday. The energy board will hold additional hearings in nine other cities with proceedings to conclude in Kingston, Ont., in December.

In his concluding remarks, Energy East president John Soini said he recognized the frustrations expressed by a number of interveners over a lack of information about aspects of the project.

Soini cautioned that the project was still in its early stages and that the company is committed to gathering the information it needs.

He said if approval is granted, construction won't begin until 2019 and full emergency response plans will be in place, including for the tank and marine terminal in Saint John.

"I can confirm that your views have been heard and will inform how we continue to develop the Energy East project in a safe and environmentally sound matter for the benefit of Canada," said Soini.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The son of Parliament Hill shooting hero Kevin Vickers is being commended for his part in saving a woman's life  again.

Const. Andrew Vickers of Miramichi police responded Tuesday morning to the city's Centennial Bridge, where a 19-year-old woman had climbed onto the outside girder and appeared to be getting ready to jump.

Deputy police chief Brian Cummings said on Thursday the woman was "about 15 feet above the roadway on one of the steel girders of the bridge hanging out over the water," which was perhaps about 100 feet below.

When Vickers arrived, he climbed out after her, Sgt. Dana Hicks said.

"Vickers got out onto the girder with the young lady to prevent her from falling or jumping off, at considerable risk to himself," Hicks said in a release.

A passing motorist saw what was happening, stopped his vehicle and climbed out to secure Vickers' ankles until Const. Bradley Gallant arrived, Hicks said.

"The second officer was a trained hostage negotiator, just as it happened, and he was able to engage in conversation with the female, and after about 10 minutes, I'm sure what seemed like an eternity, they were able to talk her back in," said Cummings.

"My understand is she's getting some treatment and that's a good thing."

Kevin Vickers, who famously shot gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau in 2014 while Parliament's sergeant-at-arms, commended his son on Twitter, saying that he was doing "God's work," and that he was proud of him. The elder Vickers is now Canada's ambassador to Ireland.

Cummings said the officers told him "it's just another day on the job." In fact, it wasn't the first time Andrew Vickers helped save a woman's life.

Vickers jumped into the frigid Miramichi river in October 2011 to rescue a woman after a car crash.

According to a description of that rescue from St. John Ambulance New Brunswick, which gave Vickers and two other people life-saving awards, Vickers saw the woman struggling in the river.

"With a rope tied to his waist, Const. Vickers swam to the woman with great difficulty, as the water was causing him to be hypothermic. Having reached the woman, Const. Vickers worked to tow her to shore even though he was feeling the extreme effects of the cold water. Somehow the rope became unattached," St. John Ambulance said in a Facebook post.

"At this point, off duty volunteer firefighter Stephen Gammon ran into the water with the rope now attached to him and secured by Sgt. Leslie Saunders. Stephen took hold of Const. Vickers and the woman and swam them to shore with the assistance of Sgt. Saunders and the rope."
Photo: The Canadian Press

Some neighbours of a terrorism suspect killed in a dramatic police takedown say they should have been warned the man had moved to the southern Ontario town while the Toronto Transit Commission said Thursday it had received only a "very general" alert from authorities about a terror threat.

A day after the standoff that led to Aaron Driver's death, several Strathroy residents said they were stunned to learn a man believed to be a terror sympathizer had been living in their midst.

"I think they should have (told us), just so that we're well aware of this, so that we can keep an eye out ourselves too," said Harry Denharton, who lives nearby and heard two loud bangs Wednesday afternoon but only later learned what had happened.

"We should have the right to know. I'm pretty sure they had close tabs on this guy...but living beside him, I would feel not safe."

As police cordoned off the Strathroy street where Driver died, some residents stopped by to peer down the street while others gathered on their lawns to discuss the previous night's high-stakes operation. The takedown was the talk of the town, they said, and many were still feeling uneasy.

"It's scary; it's scary for the kids," said Brenda Brown.

"I don't want it in my town, it's scary. You never think about it being so close, but it can happen, I guess. I think they should be telling people what's going on, they're scared."

Transit agencies in Toronto were warned of a security threat before the RCMP confronted Driver, who had been under a court order not to associate with any terrorist organization, in the town west of Canada's largest city.

Details on just what happened have yet to be released; the RCMP was scheduled to hold a news conference in Ottawa at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. The RCMP said it had received credible information of a potential terror threat in a major Canadian city, identified a suspect and taken action to ensure there was no danger to the public.

On Thursday morning, a spokesman for the Toronto Transit Commission said the agency was made aware of a terror threat investigation early the previous day, but noted that it had no specifics attached.

Brad Ross said that as a precaution a "vigilance notice" was issued to all staff encouraging them to say something if they saw something of concern. He said such notices are commonly issued after security incidents around the world or if the TTC is advised of threats closer to home.

"Every circumstance is different," he said when asked how serious threats must be to prompt warnings to commuters as well as staff.

"The response would be based on what those circumstances were. There's not a cookie cutter to how we do those things. After the ... events on Parliament Hill of a couple years ago, we did issue a public address announcement that played in the system reminding people that if they do see something, to say something."

He added the information the TTC was given Wednesday was "very general about a credible threat that was being investigated by police but it had no location, it didn't even say a city as far as I know."

A spokeswoman for Metrolinx, the Ontario government agency which runs the Greater Toronto Area's regional transit lines, says it was also advised of a security threat.

Anne Marie Aikins says the agency raised its level of vigilance and worked closely with national, provincial and local forces in response.

In Strathroy, a neighbour of Driver's said he couldn't recall ever seeing the man around town.

But he said Wednesday's incident  and the discovery that a terror suspect lived only a stone's throw away  hit "a little too close to home."

"For me, having two kids and my wife and a possible terrorist ... sympathizer down the street, it's kind of ... it's a little crazy."

Last year, federal authorities were so suspicious Driver might have ties to a terrorist group that he bounced in and out of jails and courtrooms for months, all without any actual charges ever being laid  and he had no criminal record at the time.

In June 2015, Driver was first picked up in Winnipeg. Published reports at the time suggested Driver posted messages on social media that praised terrorist activities, including the attack on Parliament Hill in October 2014 by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.

Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University who studies radicalization and terrorism, maintained in 2015 that Driver posted for several months on social media about disliking Canada and about a desire to move overseas.

Mounties applied for a peace bond that could impose limits on Driver's activities, alleging in provincial court documents that investigators believed he might help with terrorist group activities.

When Driver, who was in his mid-20s, was released later that month, he was ordered to comply with 18 different conditions, including wearing a GPS tracking device.

In an interview with the CBC in 2015, he described himself as a Muslim.

"And I believe everything that comes along with that," he said. "I don't think Muslims really belong in the West. Our ways of life aren't compatible. We can't ... practice our religion to the fullest extent here, living under Canadian laws or just western laws in general."
Photo: Contributed

More than three-quarters of Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo residents want a referendum on electoral reform, according to results of a riding survey released Thursday by MP Cathy McLeod.

The result reinforces Opposition insistence that only a vote by all Canadians would be an acceptable approach to changing how they vote, said McLeod. She said shes concerned the Liberal government is attempting to rig the process with the current approach of a special committee of Parliament.

Our survey found that 76.8 per cent of residents want a referendum on changing Canadas voting system, MP McLeod said in a news release.

An Ipsos-Reid poll in May 2016 had a similar result, she noted. That survey found 73 per cent of Canadians agree that Liberals should not make changes to Canadas election system without holding a national referendum to get the publics approval for the changes.

Throughout the national conversation on electoral reform, the Prime Minister has favoured a preferential ballot system, MP McLeod said. He has tasked former Liberal candidates to engage in what they are declaring a non-partisan process. Locally this is being led by a former Liberal Party candidate in our riding, who is also the former president of the Liberal riding association.

She said shes glad to see residents are discussing the issue, she added, alluding to community booths and a town hall planned over the next month.

However, Im concerned Liberals are trying to rig the process. All voters in Canada must have the opportunity to provide input, and the only way for every Canadian to be heard is through a referendum.

McLeod said shell be speaking directly with residents in forums, roundtables and community events  such as Overlander Days  throughout the riding, near the end of the month.

Well talk about electoral reform, but also Canadas economy and other federal issues.

The Prime Minister and his Liberal government are trying to change what a vote means  without giving all Canadians a say. Politicians and party insiders should not have this power. Only the Canadian people should determine how Canadians elect their governments, McLeod concluded.

 NewsKamloops.com
Photo: Okanagan Specialty Fruits

A third variety of apple produced through biotechnology in Summerland is closer to gaining regulatory approval in the United States.

Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. is petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture for regulatory approval of the non-browning Arctic Fuji variety.

The USDA granted similar approval to OSF's Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden last year.

The agency published a decision Wednesday, stating they had reached a preliminary decision to extend their determination of non-regulated status of the apple variety.

A public comment period will be initiated in the coming days, giving the public a chance to provide input for the agency's review.

OSF president Neal Carter said he is pleased with the decision reached by the USDA, stating success of the first two non-browning varieties shows they are of great interest to both the industry and consumer.

"We are confident we will see a similar response to Arctic Fuji, and many more non-browning varieties still to come," said Carter.

Carter said studies by the USDA have concluded these varieties are just as safe for consumers and the environment as conventional apples.



Over a decade of real-world field trial experience has assured us that Arctic trees have the same growing needs as conventional trees, and that Arctic apples are compositionally and nutritionally comparable to conventional apples, said Carter.

Its not until an Arctic apple is bruised, bitten or cut that the nonbrowning benefit becomes obvious.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A notorious video featuring late Toronto mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine has been made public.

The footage was released following the end of a court case involving Ford's friend and driver Alexander (Sandro) Lisi.

The so-called "crack video" made international headlines when it was first reported in May 2013.

Lisi had faced an extortion charge related to efforts made to retrieve the infamous footage.

Ford, a volatile, larger-than-life figure, died earlier this year from a rare form of cancer.

His "crack video" first came to the public's attention when American news site Gawker and the Toronto Star reported seeing the clip on which Ford appears to be smoking crack and making racist and homophobic comments.

The media outlets said the video was being shopped around by men allegedly involved in the drug trade.

Ford initially issued repeated denials of illegal drug use but eventually admitted in November, 2013 that he smoked crack cocaine about a year earlier while in one of his "drunken stupors."

Lisi was arrested after a large police investigation and had been scheduled to stand trial on the extortion charge in September.

But a Crown lawyer said a resolution had been reached with Lisi's lawyers on the matter in July, and has asked a Toronto judge for the extortion charge to be withdrawn.

As part of the resolution, Lisi has agreed to abide by certain conditions, which include keeping the peace, maintaining good behaviour and not having contact with certain individuals involved in his efforts to retrieve the Ford "crack video."

"Mr. Lisi, with this I take it that we have reached the close of a rather tumultuous chapter in the civic life of this city," said Justice Ian MacDonnell, as he closed the case on Thursday.
Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Osoyoos firefighters had a busy day Wednesday, dealing with an early morning campground fire, followed by an apartment fire in the afternoon.

According to Fire Chief Rick Jones, they were first called out at 1:40 a.m. to the Inkameep campground to deal with a fifth wheel trailer fire.

Both the fifth wheel and a motorhome that were in long term storage were destroyed in the fire.

The cause of that blaze remains under investigation.

On Wednesday afternoon, a call came in about 2:34 p.m. regarding a fire at the El Dorado Manor apartments on 89th Street.

The fire is believed to have been started by something left on a stove in a second floor apartment.

There was no one injured in the blaze, but residents have been displaced for now.

Jones said the fire was scary because it was in an older building, but drywall in all the suites held the fire back.

Neighbours said everyone came together to help out when the fire started. One man who lives nearby went into a third floor apartment to rescue a cat, while someone else brought a dog out.

The whereabouts of a ferret that lived in the apartment where the fire started remains unclear.

Later that night, firefighters also dealt with a campfire on the beach. People on the beach didn't realize that it was a problem and put it out.

"It was a very busy day for our volunteer fire department," Jones said.
Photo: NewsKamloops.com

Charged with the attempted murder of a Savona teen, Kristopher Teichrieb appeared briefly by video in Kamloops court Thursday.

Teichriebs next court appearance was set for Thursday, Sept. 15, when he will be arraigned on the charge.

The concrete contractor has remained in custody since June 19, when an early-morning altercation occurred with the teen. The incident left Jessie Simpson, who was 18 at the time, on life support at RIH.

The accused was denied a judicial interim release following a bail hearing last month.

A fundraiser in support of Jessie and his mother, who has remained at his side since the incident, is being held Saturday, Aug. 13, at the Doubletree by Hilton.

A limited number of tickets 150 tickets went on sale for $25 each on Friday, Aug. 5, at the Doubletree, Nu Leaf Produce Market, 740 Fortune Dr., or Kamloops This Week, 1365B Dalhousie Drive. If people wish to donate cash instead of purchasing a ticket, they can do that at the same locations.

 NewsKamloops.com
Photo: NewsKamloops.com

The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith wont be rocking Sun Peaks village, but their music will be centre stage.

This weekend, Aug. 12-15, the resort plays host to the 7th annual Retro Concert Weekend. The musical event features the legendary sounds of classic rock, performed by a collection of the best tribute bands from across the province.

This years lineup includes tribute bands playing the classics from the Stones, Aerosmith, Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, John Fogerty, Heart and Pat Benatar.

"This event has become a fan-favourite of residents and guests alike, said Connie Williamson, events manager. As one of our premier, free concert weekends, it has steadily been growing in popularity over the past six years, and is showing no signs of slowing down."

The free, live outdoor performances will take place on a stage positioned parallel to the carpet lift near the base of the Sundance Express Chairlift.

Schedule of performances:

Friday

7 p.m. - Johnny Cash performed by Big River

Saturday

Noon - Pat Benatar performed by All Fired Up

2 p.m. - Heart performed by Barracuda

4:30 p.m. - The Rolling Stones performed by Steelwheels

7 p.m. - Aerosmith performed by Aerosmith Rocks

Sunday

11 a.m. - John Fogerty and Bob Seger performed by American Rock Legends

 NewsKamloops.com
Photo: CTV

A wedding photographer has beaten back the federal Conservative Party, after the Tories used her picture of a shirtless Justin Trudeau in an attack ad.

It took photographer Marnie Recker days of bickering back and forth with the party before the ad was taken down.

"I haven't slept in days. I am waging a war on Twitter. I am demanding a public apology from the Conservative Party," said Recker on her Facebook page.

"It's the middle of a very busy wedding season. I have a business to run and clients that I care about. Please help me spread this controversy across our networks. I really believe that this is a positive platform for change and the time is now. Artist rights, integrity and justice are important. There will be more media released today."

The ad shows a blown up version of the picture Recker took when Trudeau inadvertently walked close to a wedding party on the beach in Tofino last week.

It says, "Canada lost 110,000 jobs recently. And the Prime Minister is still on vacation."

Recker further stated on Facebook, "Cory Hann, director of communications for the Conservative Party, has commented 'unfortunate that theres more interest in a shirtless photo of the prime minister than the number of jobs lost in Canada in the last two months.'"

"That may be the case," she said, "but what is to be said about the theft of my intellectual property to make their point?"

Recker said she felt the Conservative Party use of her picture disrespected her work.
Photo: Getty Images

A Vancouver-area man used a rock to battle a cougar during a recent wild animal attack on a remote logging road on Vancouver Island.

The attack has prompted British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service to remind residents to report wild cat encounters to the province's 24-hour hotline to help them keep track of cougars as they enter populated areas.

The man, who was not named, was treated for bite and claw wounds and released from hospital in Port Hardy, on northeastern Vancouver Island.

He was staying with friends in a cabin in a remote area when the attack occurred on the long weekend earlier this month, said Acting Insp. Ben York of the Conservation Officer Service.

"He was just out for a jog in the morning along the logging road and encountered a cougar that followed him for a short period of time and then attacked him," said York. "It was a smaller animal, around 100 pounds, and he's a big guy and he was able to fight it off with his hands and a rock he picked up."

But the man didn't report the attack to conservation services for at least a day and by the time officers and a tracking dog arrived in the area, it had rained and the cougar's scent was gone, he said.

York said it appeared the cougar was a younger animal, judging by its reported size and behaviour.

He said during the summer months when more people are outdoors cougar sightings increase.

There are estimates of as many as 800 cougars on Vancouver Island.

York said there appears to be an increase of Vancouver Island cougar sightings being posted on social media. The 24-hour cougar hotline, 1-877-952-7277, allows officers to monitor and track cougar activities.

A call to the hotline does not immediately mean conservation service officers will descend on the area with the intent to shoot the animal, York said.

"It really does depend on behaviour," he said. "We're not going to take out every cat that shows up and that's seen by a human being."

Last October, a full-grown cougar that ran wild through Victoria's James Bay neighbourhood near the B.C. legislature was tranquilized and tagged after an epic chase that had dogs howling and neighbours peering from their windows.

A tagged cougar was recently spotted in the Sooke area west of Victoria, but it's too early to determine if it was the same animal that was caught last fall near the legislature, York said.
CDC adds Cayman Islands to interim travel guidance related to Zika virus

Media Statement For Immediate Release: Thursday, August 11, 2016

Contact: Media Relations,

(404) 639-3286

CDC is working with other public health officials to monitor for ongoing Zika virus transmission. Today, CDC posted a Zika virus travel notice for Cayman Islands. CDC has issued travel notices (level 2, practice enhanced precautions) for people traveling to destinations with Zika. For a full list of affected countries/regions, visit http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information.

As more information becomes available, CDCs travel notices will be updated. Travelers to areas with cases of Zika virus infection are at risk of being infected with the Zika virus. Mosquitoes that spread Zika are aggressive daytime biters. They also bite at night. There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika virus. The best way to avoid Zika virus infection is to prevent mosquito bites.

Some travelers to areas with Zika will become infected while traveling but will not become sick until they return home and they might not have any symptoms. To help stop the spread of Zika, travelers should use insect repellent for three weeks after travel to prevent mosquito bites.

Some people who are infected do not have any symptoms. People who do have symptoms have reported fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes. The sickness is usually mild with symptoms that last from several days to a week. Severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon and the number of deaths is low. Travelers to areas with Zika should monitor for symptoms or sickness upon return. If they become sick, they should tell their healthcare professional when and where they have traveled.

CDC has received reports of Zika virus being spread by sexual contact with sick returning travelers. Until more is known, CDC continues to recommend that pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant take the following precautions.

Pregnant women

Should not travel to any area with Zika.

If you must travel to or live in one of these areas, talk to your healthcare provider first and strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.

If you or your partner live in or travel to an area with Zika, use condoms or other barriers*, the right way, every time you have sex or do not have sex throughout the pregnancy. Sex includes vaginal, anal, and oral sex.

*Barriers that prevent passing Zika through sex include male and female condoms and dental dams. Dental dams are latex or polyurethane sheets used between the mouth and vagina or anus during oral sex.

Women trying to get pregnant

Before you or your partner travel, talk to your healthcare provider about your plans to become pregnant and the risk of Zika virus infection.

You and your partner should strictly follow steps to prevent mosquito bites.

For additional information on preventing the sexual transmission of Zika, visit www.cdc.gov/zika/transmission/sexual-transmission.html.

Current CDC research suggests that Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is strongly associated with Zika; however, only a small proportion of people with recent Zika virus infection get GBS. CDC is continuing to investigate the link between GBS and Zika to learn more.

For more information on Zika, visit www.cdc.gov/zika .

###

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESexternal icon
Prevention efforts, such as promotion of effective use of prescription drug monitoring programs, are needed to reduce inappropriate prescribing and dispensing of opioids. Clinicians should follow recommended guidelines on appropriate prescribing of opioid medications and provide screening and treatment for opioid use disorder among pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age. Monitoring state-specific NAS incidence rates is important to ensure that adequate treatment and resources exist to address the effects of maternal opioid use and NAS within jurisdictions.

During 19992013, state-specific NAS incidence rates increased significantly in 25 of 27 states with at least 3 years of data, with annual changes in incidence rates ranging from 0.05 (Hawaii) to 3.6 (Vermont) per 1,000 hospital births. In 2013, NAS incidence ranged from 0.7 (Hawaii) to 33.4 cases (West Virginia) per 1,000 hospital births.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a postnatal drug withdrawal syndrome in newborns caused primarily by in utero exposure to opioids. In the United States, the incidence of NAS increased 383% during 20002012, and an estimated 80% of hospital charges for NAS are covered by state Medicaid programs.

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a postnatal drug withdrawal syndrome that occurs primarily among opioid-exposed infants shortly after birth, often manifested by central nervous system irritability, autonomic overreactivity, and gastrointestinal tract dysfunction (1). During 20002012, the incidence of NAS in the United States significantly increased (2,3). Several recent publications have provided national estimates of NAS (2,3); however, data describing incidence at the state level are limited. CDC examined state trends in NAS incidence using all-payer, hospital inpatient delivery discharges compiled in the State Inpatient Databases of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) during 19992013. Among 28 states with publicly available data in HCUP during 19992013, the overall NAS incidence increased 300%, from 1.5 per 1,000 hospital births in 1999, to 6.0 per 1,000 hospital births in 2013. During the study period, significant increases in NAS incidence occurred in 25 of 27 states with at least 3 years of data, with annual incidence rate changes ranging from 0.05 (Hawaii) to 3.6 (Vermont) per 1,000 births. In 2013, NAS incidence ranged from 0.7 cases per 1,000 hospital births (Hawaii) to 33.4 cases per 1,000 hospital births (West Virginia). The findings underscore the importance of state-based public health programs to prevent unnecessary opioid use and to treat substance use disorders during pregnancy, as well as decrease the incidence of NAS.

NAS is a postnatal withdrawal syndrome that comprises a constellation of symptoms in newborns, including central nervous system irritability (e.g., tremors, increased muscle tone, high-pitched crying, and seizures), gastrointestinal dysfunction (e.g., feeding difficulties), and temperature instability (1). Although other substances have been implicated, NAS is most often attributed to in utero opioid exposure. This exposure can result from maternal prescription opioid use, which has increased nationally in recent years (2,4), nonmedical opioid use, or medication-assisted treatment, which is long-term treatment with a longer acting but less euphoric opioid under medical supervision for opioid use disorder. Data on long-term developmental outcomes related to opioid exposure during pregnancy and NAS are limited.

The State Inpatient Databases include de-identified administrative data from all hospital inpatient discharges in a given state, regardless of payer. Data from State Inpatient Databases are compiled by state partners and then translated into a uniform format as part of HCUP, which is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This analysis includes data from 28 states* whose data for 19992013 were publicly available on HCUPs online central distributor (https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/tech_assist/centdist.jspexternal icon). Consistent with previous methodology (2,3), in-hospital births were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes V30.XV39.X ending in 00 or 01 (indicating single or multiple live born infants), among all hospital discharge records during 19992013. Discharge records that did not have a principal or secondary diagnosis code indicating a hospital birth, or that indicated a transfer from another acute care hospital or health care facility, were excluded. Cases of NAS were identified with ICD-9-CM code 779.5 (drug withdrawal syndrome in a newborn). Cases of possible iatrogenic withdrawal, resulting from complications related to prolonged neonatal intensive care stay and not exposure during the antenatal period (ICD-9-CM codes: 765.01765.05, 770.7, 772.1X, 779.7, 777.5X, 777.6), were excluded from the numerator.

Total incidence rates of NAS (cases per 1,000 births) were calculated for 1999 and 2013, using data available from 14 and 21 states, respectively. In addition, incidence rates of NAS were calculated for each state and year with available data during 19992013. Linear trends were assessed using logistic regression with NAS incidence as the outcome variable and infant birth year as the independent variable for the 27 states with at least 3 years of data. Annual incidence rate changes, which reflect average annual change in the incidence rate of NAS over time, were calculated from the beta coefficient of the infants birth year with a state-specific intercept for states with significant linear trends. P-values <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.

During 19992013, among 29,944,574 hospital births that occurred in the 28 states included in this report, 74,576 NAS cases occurred, reflecting an overall incidence rate of 2.5 cases per 1,000 hospital births. In 1999 (the first year), 2,419 NAS cases were identified among 1,610,733 births in 14 reporting states (1.5 per 1,000 births). In 2013, 8,270 NAS cases were identified among 1,385,371 births in 21 states (6.0 per 1,000 births).

Data for at least 5 consecutive years were available for 27 states (Table). In 1999, NAS incidence ranged from 0.3 per 1,000 births in Iowa to 7.6 per 1,000 births in Maryland. In 2013, NAS incidence ranged from 0.7 per 1,000 births in Hawaii to 33.4 per 1,000 births in West Virginia. During 20122013, three of 25 states (Maine, Vermont, and West Virginia), reported NAS incidence rates >30 per 1,000 hospital births (Figure). From 1999 to 2013, the incidence of NAS significantly increased in 25 of the 27 states with at least 3 years of data included in this report (Table). NAS incidence rates did not change significantly in California and South Dakota during 19992013. The annual incidence rate change over 19992013 was lowest in Hawaii (0.05 per 1,000 births) and highest in Vermont (3.6 per 1,000 births).
In 2011, the Public Health Accreditation Board launched the national, voluntary public health accreditation program as a strategy to advance the quality and performance of governmental public health departments. As of May 2016, 134 state and local health departments have been accredited. In addition, Florida, in which employees of all 67 local health departments are employees of the state, achieved accreditation for the entire integrated local public health department system in the state. Collectively, nearly 167 million persons, approximately half the U.S. population, are covered by an accredited health department.

In 2011, the nonprofit Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) launched the national, voluntary public health accreditation program for state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments. As of May 2016, 134 health departments have achieved 5-year accreditation through PHAB and 176 more have begun the formal process of pursuing accreditation. In addition, Florida, a centralized state in which the employees of all 67 local health departments are employees of the state, achieved accreditation for the entire integrated local public health department system in the state. PHAB-accredited health departments range in size from a small Indiana health department that serves approximately 17,000 persons to the much larger California Department of Public Health, which serves approximately 38 million persons. Collectively, approximately half the U.S. population, or nearly 167 million persons, is covered by an accredited health department. Forty-two states and the District of Columbia now have at least one nationally accredited health department. In a survey conducted through a contract with a social science research organization during 20132016, >90% of health departments that had been accredited for 1 year reported that accreditation has stimulated quality improvement and performance improvement opportunities, increased accountability and transparency, and improved management processes.

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine published a report on the future of the publics health in the 21st century. The report discussed the need to strengthen public health infrastructure, and recommended accreditation as a potential strategy (1). With support from CDC and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and participation by hundreds of public health practitioners and other technical experts, the first national accreditation program for health departments was developed (2). PHAB was incorporated in 2007. Its mission is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing and transforming the quality and performance of governmental public health departments,* of which there are approximately 2,500 in the United States. Drawing on existing public health standards, and using a consensus process (3), PHAB developed and tested a set of standards and measures organized around the 10 Essential Public Health Services. Health departments are encouraged to assess themselves against the standards and measures to identify and fill gaps before applying. The amount of time health departments spend in preparation for accreditation will vary based on their readiness. Once they determine they are ready, they submit an application, pay a fee based on the size of the population of the jurisdiction they serve, and provide documentation for each measure, including a community health assessment, a community health improvement plan, and an organizational strategic plan. Volunteer peer site visitors review the documentation and assess its conformity with the measures. The PHAB Accreditation Committee reviews the site visit report and determines whether the applicant will be accredited at that time or be required to develop and implement an action plan (4). Using this process, health departments in 45 states and the District of Columbia have applied for accreditation. (Figure). Working with CDC and other national partners, PHAB is widely disseminating the benefits of accreditation to health departments and the communities they serve, and working to raise awareness about technical assistance and other resources to support the pursuit of accreditation.

To identify opportunities to improve the accreditation process and to understand the impact of accreditation, in 2013, PHAB contracted with a social science research organization, NORC at the University of Chicago, to conduct an evaluation. Among other data collection and analysis strategies, NORC surveys health departments 1 year after they have been accredited. Most survey questions ask respondents to indicate whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with (or dont know about) a series of accreditation-related statements. Data in this report were obtained from surveys sent to health departments quarterly throughout October 2013January 2016. During this time, the survey was sent to 60 health departments, 52 (87%) of which responded. In addition to this survey, NORC conducted three focus groups and 18 interviews with health department personnel and stakeholders to gain additional insights about health departments experiences with accreditation and its perceived impact.

The overwhelming majority of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that accreditation stimulated quality and performance improvement opportunities within the health department (98%), allowed the health department to better identify strengths and weaknesses (96%), helped the health department document capacity to deliver the three core functions of public health (i.e., assessment, policy development, and assurance) and the 10 Essential Public Health Services (94%), stimulated greater accountability and transparency within the health department (92%), and improved the management processes used by the leadership team in the health department (90%) (Table). Most respondents also agreed or strongly agreed that accreditation improved the health departments accountability to external stakeholders (83%) and allowed the health department to communicate better with the Board of Health or governing entity (67%). Other accreditation benefits reported by accredited health departments that participated in focus groups and interviews include improved visibility, credibility, and reputation among their community partners, Board of Health, and public health peers within the state and nationally; improved identification and use of evidence-based programs and metrics; and increased cross-department collaboration.

Because quality improvement is an important focus of the accreditation process, the evaluation gathered additional information about health departments engagement in quality improvement. Among health departments that had been accredited for 1 year, 98% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that, as a consequence of the accreditation process, the health department had used information from quality improvement processes to inform decisions. In addition, 92% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that because of accreditation, the health department had a strong quality improvement culture (Table). In a focus group discussion with 12 accredited local health departments, participants described how accreditation provided an opportunity for their health department to evolve from one that only periodically used quality improvement to an organization that viewed improvement and data-driven performance management as part of standard operations.
Discussion

The first recorded outbreak of bubonic plague in Nyimba District, Zambia resulted in 21 suspected cases and three deaths, primarily among children, during March 26May 5, 2015. Although no cases were confirmed by culture (the gold standard), six patients tested positive for Y. pestis by PCR. The median age of cases in this outbreak was much lower than that in previous outbreaks in Africa (3,4). One possible explanation for the younger age distribution and absence of cases among adults was the practice of children sleeping on the floor, which might have brought children into closer contact with fleas, whereas adults generally slept on beds elevated off the floor. The identification of exclusively cervical buboes was unexpected, but it is not clear that examination of inguinal or axillary areas was performed consistently. A higher frequency of cervical buboes in plague cases in children compared with adults has been reported, although the inguinal region was the most common bubo location in all age groups (3).

A large proportion (57%) of cases, including all three fatal cases and all six PCR-positive plague cases, also tested positive for malaria. Malaria positivity might have delayed diagnosis and initiation of antibiotic treatment in some early cases in this outbreak, which might have contributed to poor outcomes. Malaria is often overdiagnosed in regions of Africa with endemic malaria, potentially delaying appropriate therapy for other bacterial illnesses (5). In areas where malaria is highly endemic, parasitemic patients can be acutely coinfected with another pathogen (6), including Y. pestis (7). Malaria parasitemia in Nyimba is high (21.2%) (8), so testing of febrile patients for malaria is routine. The availability of malaria RDTs in health facilities might influence a health provider to treat an RDT-positive patient for only malaria without considering bacterial coinfections. Malaria treatment guidelines published by the Zambia Ministry of Health* and the World Health Organization recommend antibiotics for all patients with severe disease. This recommendation could be strengthened by explicit guidance that antibiotic treatment of severely ill patients should be administered even if the patient tests positive for malaria. The antibiotic regimens that were given to the suspected cases were appropriate for the treatment of plague and might have reduced the possibility of developing worse outcomes.

PCR supported the plague diagnosis in Nyimba, because Y. pestis was not isolated from blood specimens or lymph node aspirates obtained from suspected cases. Bacterial isolation is difficult in rural Zambia because of the lack of local microbiology capacity, inexperience with specimen collection and handling, and transport delays to the reference microbiology and PCR laboratory, 217 miles (350 kilometers) away. Blood specimens from the first cases were improperly collected, and at least one culture was contaminated with skin flora, suggesting breaches in sterile specimen collection technique. Y. pestis grows on general nutrient-rich media, but at 98.6F (37C), its growth rate is slower than that of most other bacteria; therefore, organisms that replicated faster (9) might have masked its presence. Further, it is likely that most patients received antibiotics before specimen collection, although this was not documented. Under these challenging conditions, PCR testing might be more sensitive than culture, because it does not rely on detection of viable organisms. Microbiologic confirmation has been lacking in previous plague outbreaks in Zambia (10) and elsewhere in Africa (4). However, PCR is not considered the gold standard for plague, because false-positive results can occur with specimen cross-contamination.

The findings in this report are subject to at least three limitations. First, among 111 patients identified through active case finding, medical records of 29 (26%) were unavailable for review, which might have resulted in underascertainment of cases. Second, only 25 patients were available for examination during their acute illness, leaving investigators to rely on review of medical records to classify cases. Although follow-up interviews with patients or their parents allowed investigators to confirm symptoms, the number of actual cases might have been underestimated because of missing and incomplete data. Finally, the lack of a control group limited the ability to assess risk factors for illness compatible with plague.

Plague is probably underdetected in Zambia because of limited clinical recognition and laboratory capacity. Had the multiple subsequent cases not raised alarm, the initial cases in Nyimba would likely have been attributed to severe malaria, and plague might not have been recognized. PCR might improve detection, but will not influence clinical management given the long diagnostic delays. A point-of-care diagnostic test could improve early diagnosis and guide appropriate therapy. Efforts to increase awareness of plague among frontline health workers can improve early case recognition and treatment. Broad spectrum antibiotic treatment to cover other pathogens is recommended for all children with severe malaria, until a bacterial infection is excluded.
Jordan: Northern Cement 2Q16 profits drop

ICR Newsroom By 11 August 2016

Northern Cement Company have reported a 7.6 per cent decline in profits to JOD3.79m (US$5.4m) for the second quarter of 2016, compared to profits on JOD4.1m seen in the same period last year.

Profits for the first half of the year also fell, dropping 8.71 per cent YoY. Profits for the first half of 2016 were JOD6.8m compared to JOD7.4m in the first half of 2015.

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Nigeria: Lafarge Africa complains of inadequate gas supply

ICR Newsroom By 11 August 2016

Management at Lafarge Africas plants at Ewekoro and Sagamu, Ogun State, have voiced their concerns over the inadequate gas supply to their operations. Production managers at the two plants, Segun Shoyoye and Hannes Diedericks, disclosed that their plants had to cease production for the past six weeks over the matter.

Mr Shoyoye said, "The twin problems of non-availability of gas and foreign exchange are impeding full capacity production in the manufacturing industry. We can say we have some challenges, but the major issue is lack of gas supply because of the blowing up of oil and gas pipelines by militants in the Niger Delta region. We are now using a mixture of gas and black oil for our operations, which is highly costly, and also down rates our production from 100 per cent to 75 percent in the Ewekoro plant. This has been on since February.

"During the month of May, we had to stop production in the Sagamu plant for six weeks. Before then, we had been producing 3,000 tonnes per day, but now, we are doing about 1,000 tonnes per day because of the fuel issue. But, I want to say that we will soon get over it because of our investment in alternative source of energy in our plants," he went on to add.

According to Mr Shoyoye and Mr Diedericks, the situation began six months ago and has forced the plants to achieve production rates far below capacity and at times caused closures. Statements were made following an inspection by officials from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), led by Acting Director-General, Paul Angya.

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(TNS)  Republican Auditor Dave Yost opened Ohio's first statewide charter school summit today with a call to change the way the state pays online charter schools.Arguing that there is too much ambiguity in current law, he proposed paying e-schools based on what their students learn rather than attendance or time spent online."Learning-based funding  course completion  would mean schools get paid when they deliver a piece of education," Yost said at the Charter School Summit in Columbus hosted by his office."The unit could be as large as a year's work or as little as an approved unit  believe me, I understand the pressures of cash flow, and smaller goals may well be better."Yost's remarks come as the state's largest e-school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, is embroiled in a legal battle with the Ohio Department of Education over efforts to audit its attendance to ensure students are participating in the minimum 920 hours of "learning opportunities" required each year.A Franklin County judge rejected ECOT's request for a temporary order to block the audit, and last week ordered the school to turn over attendance records, including student computer log-in durations. A preliminary audit in March found that most ECOT students were logging in for only about an hour per day, education officials said.ECOT has argued that state law and a 2003 agreement it signed with the department say the state should rely on teachers certifying the hours of "learning opportunities" provided students, not log-in records."Traditional schools have long been funded on attendance," Yost said."When the time came to start brick-and-mortar charter schools, we imported that attendance-based idea of 'time in a chair.' And then  mostly because that's the way we've done it  we used it to fund blended learning and virtual learning, even though it's remarkably hard to count noses when the classroom is everywhere, and nowhere, anytime."Yost said state tax dollars should pay for what it's trying to buy, "a citizen who can read and write and do the math and, most of all, who can think, and that can't be produced just by time in chair."The Republican auditor asked the GOP-controlled legislature to take up the issue when lawmakers return to the Statehouse this fall.One charter-school supporter applauded the proposed e-school funding overhaul."Competency-based funding would place the emphasis on where it belongs  on student learning and mastery, rather than on whether a child is logged into a computer," said Chad Aldis, vice president for Ohio Policy and Advoacy for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.Yost has come under fire by Democrats for not taking a closer look at Ohio's online schools to justify state payments. The auditor left e-schools out of his recent charter-school attendance review, saying it was too difficult to to do a headcount. He found widespread over-billing in brick-and-mortar charters.Last week, Yost said that ECOT's 2003 agreement effectively tied state auditors' hands, allowing financial audits to check only that ECOT teachers had verified students' "learning opportunity hours," and not hours students actually spent learning.Millions of tax dollars are at stake as schools are paid based on their number of students. ECOT, with an enrollment of about 17,000, received $106 million in state aid last year.Following a similar attendance audit last year, Provost Academy, a smaller online school, was told to repay $800,000, about 80 percent of its funding. That audit, like the one the department is attempting to conduct for ECOT, examined log-in durations to help determine if students are meeting the minimum 920 hours of "learning opportunities" required by the state.
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Tennessee Oncology Hixson-Memorial is in a new suite at CHI Memorial Hospital to deliver an improved cancer care experience for North Hamilton patients.

Everyone has been excited about Tennessee Oncology Hixson-Memorials new office, said Dr. Ted Arrowsmith, Tennessee Oncology's southeast Tennessee managing partner. More patients can be evaluated and receive chemotherapy. The space meets the needs of patients receiving state-of-the-art therapies in a warm, healing atmosphere.

The new suite is 1,200 square feet larger than the clinics previous office to accommodate growing patient numbers. Additional infusion chairs and a new injection room save patients time. Extra pharmacy and lab space delivers patient satisfaction. An improved waiting room design and breakroom area addition, plus more windows, creates a comfortable, welcoming spot for both patients and providers.

Tennessee Oncology Hixson-Memorials Drs. Michael Stipanov and Mark Womack care for patients with the assistance of 10 staff.

For more information about cancer care at Tennessee Oncology Hixson-Memorial, call 423-698-1844,
Les Roddy is joining First Tennessee as the manager of Private Client/ Personal Trust. With more than 35 years in banking, Mr. Roddy most recently served as senior vice president and senior credit advisor for State Of Tennessee Private Wealth Group for SunTrust.



Mr. Roddy brings strong expertise in wealth management, private client service and personal trust to his new position at First Tennessee, officials said. He has a BS in business administration/ finance from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking from the University of Delaware.



Mr. Roddy serves as the board chairman of BrightBridge, a not for profit SBA certified development corporation as well as advisor to the local Housing and Urban Development loan program (HUD 108 program) that specializes in advising and providing capital for start up businesses that are otherwise non-bankable.



Chattanooga Market President Jeff Jackson said, Les is going to be a tremendous asset to our First Tennessee team. We look forward to putting his expertise and experience to work for our clients.
Governor Bill Haslam, Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd and Tenneco officials on Thursday announced the global manufacturer will open a new facility in Spring Hill and create up to 200 new jobs during the next three years.

Tennecos new Clean Air manufacturing plant will support programs for General Motors. The 117,000-square foot facility, located near GMs Spring Hill assembly plant, is scheduled to begin production in late 2016. It will be Tennecos second facility in Tennessee, joining the companys Clean Air plant in Smithville, which employs 650 people.



We want to congratulate Tenneco on its new operations in Spring Hill, which has long been a hub for automotive innovation and a crucial engine for Tennessees economy, Governor Haslam said. Tennecos investment speaks to the highly-skilled workforce and business-friendly environment we offer global companies that are making the latest strides in automotive engineering, and brings us another step closer to our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.



Tenneco is already one of roughly 930 suppliers that help fuel Tennessees automotive sector, which accounts for more than one-in-three manufacturing jobs in the state, Commissioner Boyd said. Tennessee has been fortunate to have a Fortune 500 company of Tennecos caliber employ more than 600 Tennesseans in Smithville. On behalf of Team Tennessee, I want to thank Tenneco for choosing to expand further in Tennessee with a new Spring Hill facility that will provide around 200 high-paying jobs in the heart of GMs supplier park.



The new facility will employ approximately 20 people when it opens, but will gradually grow to employ up to 200 by 2019.



Tenneco is one of the worlds largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of clean air and ride performance products and systems for the automotive, commercial truck, off-highway original equipment markets and the aftermarket. Tenneco is an $8.2 billion global manufacturing company with headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill. and approximately 30,000 employees worldwide.



Were very excited to continue providing exceptional products and service to GM from our newest facility in North America, Mike Seurynck, Tenneco vice president and general manager North America Clean Air, said. We are equally excited to help bring new jobs to the state of Tennessee and thank both the state and the city of Spring Hill for their support.



The Spring Hill facility will be Tennecos 65th global Clean Air manufacturing facility and the 16th in North America.



Spring Hill, Maury County and Tennessee Valley Authority officials applauded Tennecos investment in the new Clean Air manufacturing plant.



I am very pleased to welcome Tenneco to Maury County. We appreciate the excellent jobs they are creating and their selection of Maury County as a place to do business, Maury County Mayor Charlie Norman said. It is an exciting time as Maury County continues to move forward. We greatly appreciate Tenneco being an important part of that progress.



We are thrilled to see the strong results of what has been a successful economic development effort by all agencies involved, Spring Hill Mayor Rick Graham said. I cant overstate how proud we are to have a third auto part manufacturer choosing to locate its facility in Spring Hill. These are good-paying jobs that will contribute to the city of Spring Hills goal of continuing to move away from being a commuter city, allowing more people to live where they work, and spawning more local economic growth.



We are elated to welcome Tenneco to Maury County. The high quality jobs created by such a great company will further enhance the positive momentum our community is experiencing, Wil Evans, president of the Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance, said. Id like to thank our regional economic development partners, the Industrial Development Board of Maury County and the Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Alderman for their work on this project. NorthPoint Development has also played a critical role in this project. The facility they are constructing for Tenneco will be world class, just as the others they have built in this supplier park.



TVA and Columbia Power & Water Systems congratulate Tenneco on its latest announcement to open operations and create quality job opportunities in Spring Hill, Tennessee, TVA Senior Vice President for Economic Development John Bradley said. We are privileged to partner with the Maury Alliance and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to help facilitate Tennecos growth in the Valley.



Currently, Tenneco is searching for qualified candidates to fill positions including area manager, materials manager, quality engineer and welding engineer as well as qualified welders and team leaders. Interested candidates can apply at www.tenneco.com. Applications are also being accepted at Office 1 Time, 2547 Nashville Highway, Columbia, TN 38401. For more information, candidates may also contact Jacelle Stevens at jstevens@tenneco.com.



Spring Hill and Maury County are represented by Sen. Joey Hensley (R  Hohenwald), Rep. Sheila Butt (R  Columbia), and Rep. David Shepard (D  Dickson) in the Tennessee General Assembly.


It was only a matter of time before the federal government made a move to address the marijuana legalization push happening in states across the country. Voters in four states have passed legalization laws so far, with several others prepping for other ballot initiatives during this Novembers election. So far, the feds have been willing to sit by and let the experiment continue, which has given hope to marijuana backers nationwide that attitudes on Capitol Hill were shifting, along with just about everyone elses.

But the DEA just levied their decision, and for marijuana advocates, it couldnt be more disheartening.

Despite rumors that the federal government might reclassify marijuana and cannabis, the Drug Enforcement Agency has announced the drug will remain federally illegal as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. In an announcement denying a 2009 petition asking to reschedule it, the DEA said cannabis will remain prohibited due to the inherent dangers the drug possesses  despite evidence to the contrary.

That original 2009 petition asked that the government reclassify cannabis based on the fact that 1. Marijuana has accepted medical use in the United States; 2. Studies have shown that smoked marijuana has proven safety and efficacy; 3. Marijuana is safe for use under medical supervision; and 4. Marijuana does not have the abuse potential for placement in schedule I.

But, in response, the DEA and Department of Health and Human Services responded by saying the following:

After gathering the necessary data, DEA requested a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS concluded that marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use in the United States, and lacks an acceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision. Therefore, HHS recommended that marijuana remain in schedule I.

DEA: Marijuana to remain a Schedule 1 drug

Its a disappointing and confounding response to the petition.

As many are aware, there are plenty of people who use cannabis in a medicinal capacity, and many medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies are championing the drugs effectiveness against certain health problems. The federal government has even published research backing up cannabis ability to fight certain cancers.

As for the safety aspect of the DEAs response, thats still up in the air as well. While were still learning about the effects of marijuana use on adolescents, its obvious that using cannabis as a recreational drug is far less dangerous than using other, perfectly legal alternatives like alcohol or tobacco. To date, no one has been killed as a result of overdosing on marijuana, for example.

And when it comes to the potential for abuse, thats another gray area that is still being untangled. Again, we know that other legal substances are addictive and readily abused by millions of people, but for some reason, this is a concern only being taken into consideration, it seems, when it comes to cannabis.

Clearly, there are a lot of issues with the DEAs decision not to reclassify marijuana and remove it from the list of Schedule 1 drugs. But its not all that surprising. Prohibition has been in place for a long time and negative connotations with cannabis are deeply rooted in many Americans psyches. Though the numbers, however, do show that is changing fast.

Whats next for the cannabis legalization push?

The real question is this: What does it mean for the cannabis legalization push happening in states nationwide? That is unclear, but the DEAs decision surely doesnt inspire confidence. All the states that have legalized cannabis for recreational use so far  those being Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska  are still allowing their markets and industries to operate in defiance of federal law.

That also goes for all medical cannabis operations nationwide, of which half the states have allowed in varying capacities.

The simple fact is that we still dont know how things are going to turn out. Though the Obama administration has allowed legalization efforts to push ahead at the state level, the next president could pull the plug on all state laws and use federal agencies to shut down any operation working with or in the cannabis trade. That would cost states millions in tax revenues, entrepreneurs and business owners millions in losses, and of course, leave tens of thousands without jobs.

If there is one good thing to come out of the DEAs announcement, its that there will be a relaxing of laws related to research. Soon, more institutions will be allowed to grow and study cannabis for scientific research purposes, which should help address some of the DEAs major concerns outlined in its brief.

Even so, the feds denial of the reclassification petition is a tough break. But attitudes are quickly changing the other way. What happens in November will have some serious sway, and well have to wait and see what role the DEAs decree ultimately has on the legalization effort.

Follow Sam on Facebook and Twitter @SliceOfGinger

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A NEW route is being considered which would take the proposed 5.6 billion Central Railway line and its freight trains away from the High Wycombe area.

Consultants have been commissioned by the South East England Development Agency (Seeda) to draw up an alternative line for the southern end of the north-south route. This would go east of London, not west. Its report should be ready in about three months.

The decision to reconsider the Central Railway route was taken after a meeting of county council leaders and officers at Gerrards Cross a few weeks ago.

It was hosted by David Shakespeare, leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and chairman of the South East Regional Assembly, and Seeda chairman Allan Willett.

They realised they must support the strategy of getting heavy freight traffic off roads and on to rail, but if they were not to have a route they didn't like they would have to come up with their own.

The current proposed route travels through the middle of Buckinghamshire and along the Chiltern Line through Haddenham, Princes Risborough and High Wycombe. The proposal created an outcry from people along this part of the line, who say they gain no immediate benefit, only noise.

After the Gerrards Cross meeting, Cllr Shakespeare told the Free Press the feedback he had from it was that the line went round the wrong side of London. It should go through Milton Keynes and via the area known as Thames Gateway a growth area.

Regional assembly leaders in the north of England are in favour of the Central Railway project with only the south-east region against it.

Central Railway wants the Government to introduce another bill in the Commons. People would give evidence at the committee stage and there would be no need for two or three years of planning inquiries.

Chris Williams, the council's chief officer, said there was lots of pressure for the scheme from northern regions. "They get lots of benefits from it, which is the opposite of the south, which gets disbenefits," he said.

County councillor David Rowlands, vice-chairman of a consortium of county councillors looking at public transport, said he had discussed the idea with members.

"I am pleased that Seeda has commissioned W S Atkins to review the route," he said. But he said leaders in the north wanted it to go west of London so that there would be good links to the M25 and the motorways to the west of the country.

A Central Railway spokesman said: "Central Railway has undertaken extensive engineering studies using international consultants, and the route to the west of London emerged as our preferred route."
Cards Against Humanity is voting for Hillary Clinton with its latest offering: custom campaign-themed expansion packs for its irreverent card game.

The Chicago-based game company released the two limited-edition packs, which cost $4 each and include 15 cards, on Thursday. It invited customers in a marketing email to "vote with your dollar," by buying up to three packs apiece in support of either Clinton or Republican candidate Donald Trump.

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By Thursday afternoon, the Hillary pack had raised nearly $93,000. The Trump pack lagged with just more than $80,000.

"At the end of this promotion, Cards Against Humanity will tally up the sales of both packs, and depending on which pack gets more support, we will donate all the money in support of Hillary Clinton's campaign," the company wrote on the products' landing page.

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It further specified that the funds would go toward Clinton's political action committee, groups opposing Trump and programs to encourage voters in swing states.

This is Cards Against Humanity's second swing at Trump. In May, it introduced a $25 "survival kit", whose 10,000 sets promptly sold out. That came about two weeks after unrelated game companies introduced similar fill-in-the-blank games with names such as "Trump Against Humanity" and "Humanity Hates Trump."

Cards Against Humanity representatives did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

aelahi@tribpub.com

Twitter @aminamania
Entrepreneurs in two Chicago neighborhoods will get a shot at funding from a new organization founded by Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco and Google executive Di-Ann Eisnor.

Through their Neighborhood Start Fund, they're scouring communities overlooked by Silicon Valley investors to find ideas that could generate $100 million in revenue  and also as a way to encourage diversity among entrepreneurs and spur neighborhood development.

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"From an innovation standpoint, we're missing out on great ideas and opportunities for problems to be solved," Eisnor said.

Englewood and Lawndale were part of the June expansion of the Neighborhood Start Fund, which identifies startups for investment in specific neighborhoods, and then reinvests profits into funds to fuel more startups from those communities.

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Eisnor, head of growth for Google's Waze traffic and navigation app, and Chicago-native Fiasco will be presenting along with venture capitalists and startup professionals at an hour-long workshop on ideas and pitching Saturday, Aug. 13, at Englewood Accelerator (formerly EnglewoodBlue), 815 W. 63rd St., at 10 a.m. and in Lawndale at Firehouse Community Arts Center, 2111 S. Hamlin Ave., at 2 p.m.

Participants, through Sept. 2, can submit entries online to move to a pitch competition where $5,000 in funding is on the table to build a prototype. From there, the Neighborhood Start Fund could offer investments from $25,000 to $100,000.

The program also provides access to networks workshops and mentoring.

Ideas can range from the next indispensable gadget to a slamming mac-and-cheese recipe  as long as it has the potential to generate cash, organizers said.



"We're looking for very big good ideas. We want companies that can generate at least $100 million," Eisnor said, "We want to create a real change, and to do that, we need some super-successful companies."

She and Fiasco (whose real name is Wasalu Muhammad Jaco) met in 2014 as the Aspen Institute's Henry Crown fellows, young entrepreneurs charged with creating initiatives to better conditions in communities. They bonded over conversations about marginalized communities and opportunities in innovation.

They thought many good ideas were available but didn't get the chance for development, and partnered on the $1 million fund.

The fund began with the Brownsville neighborhood in New York in October before expanding to Chicago. They're also in New York's Jamaica neighborhood, Miami's Overtown/Wymwood/Allapattah community, South Central Los Angeles, Roxbury in Boston and Anacostia in Washington, D.C.

Half of the money in the fund makes from a successful venture goes back to the neighborhood-specific fund from which the startup sprang, they say.

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The New York pitch competition of 10 finalists yielded three startups that got $5,000 funding. Two of those  a digital on-demand mental health services and resources connector and a marketplace for discovering and booking unsigned artists  each got an additional $25,000 investment and will accompany Eisnor on a trip to Silicon Valley to pitch to other investors.

Cheryl V. Jackson is a freelance writer.

Twitter @cherylvjackson
(Companies) have become much more hard-nosed about the return on their investments, said Krishna Erramilli, associate dean at Illinois Techs Stuart School of Business. Theyre saying, Whats in it for me? (Illinois Tech photo )

When Bain & Company's consultants go back to school full-time for an MBA, jobs are waiting for them when they return. And graduation comes debt-free, since the consulting firm covers all of their tuition.

But Bain's all-in support seems to be more of an anomaly these days.

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Before the Great Recession, many companies would at least help pay for employees' MBAs. The support dropped markedly after 2011, according to data from the Graduate Management Admission Council, the nonprofit organization that owns the widely administered Graduate Management Admissions Test, or GMAT.

Sixty-eight percent of companies responding to a GMAC survey helped pay for employees' part-time MBAs in 2011, and 57 percent helped pay for executive MBAs. By 2013, that had dropped to 30 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

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(GMAC )

Although data indicates those numbers may be rising, university experts say sponsorship looks a lot different than it used to.

"(Companies) have become much more hard-nosed about the return on their investments," said Krishna Erramilli, associate dean at Illinois Tech's Stuart School of Business. "They're saying, 'What's in it for me?'"

Illinois Tech is usually able to work something out with those companies  that's a perk of having a smaller MBA program, Erramilli said. The school can craft student projects around a problem the company is facing, and it's looking into creating independent studies in which students can focus on topics more relevant to their sponsoring company.

It's also launching an accelerated MBA this year. Classes are strictly held on Saturdays, to accommodate students who can't get out of work in time to make evening MBA classes, Erramilli said.

DePaul University is adapting by taking its MBA program straight to Chicago-area businesses' own conference rooms.

The university's Corporate and Employer Outreach initiative lets companies offer MBA courses to employees on-site after work, said Suzanne Depeder, associate vice president of enrollment marketing and management at DePaul and head of the initiative.

"To retain those high-potential employees, (companies) have to figure out what are those incentives or those benefits in order to keep them there," Depeder said. "(This program) is saying, 'We're offering you an MBA in our conference room down the hall after you get done with work at 5 p.m."

The program launched two years ago and has 22 Chicago-area partners, including Walgreens, Fifth-Third Bank and medical supply company Medline. It's not just the flexibility that attracts companies to the program, Depeder said, it's the financial assistance that comes with it.

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DePaul offers scholarships to the students in the MBA cohorts. Add that to the tuition reimbursement most of the partner companies provide their employees, and students are able to significantly reduce the $72,000 it typically costs to get an MBA from DePaul.

One banking partner even stretched the MBA out for three years (it usually takes two), to spread out the cost and cover more of employees' tuition, Depeder said.

"Every company's achievement is ultimately from their human resources," she said. "It's never been more critical for them to attract and motivate and be able to keep these bright and talented people."

That hanging-on-to-talent aspect has become especially challenging, since younger workers are gaining the reputation of switching jobs and industries more willingly, said Nathan Allen, staff reporter at Poets and Quants, an Oakland, Calif.-based news site that covers business schools.

"Companies don't want to spend that type of money if they think that a person is just going to be gone in a year or two," he said. "The stereotypical millennial  is not one to stick in the same place for too long."

amarotti@tribpub.com

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Network cables are plugged in a server room on November 10, 2014 in New York City. In a federal court decision Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission was told that it doesn't have the power to block state laws that critics say hinder the spread of cheap, publicly run broadband service. (Michael Bocchieri / Getty Images)

Federal regulators just suffered a major setback in their efforts to help cities build Internet services that compete with large providers such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

In a federal court decision Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission was told that it doesn't have the power to block state laws that critics say hinder the spread of cheap, publicly run broadband service.

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The ruling marks a significant defeat for a federal agency that for the past several years has turned "competition" into an almost-literal mantra, with its chairman, Tom Wheeler, repeating the word at almost every possible opportunity.

Under the court decision, large Internet providers will continue to enjoy certain benefits that insulate them from the threat of popular city-owned broadband operators such as the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, Tenn., and the city of Wilson, N.C.

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Through EPB, residents of Chattanooga have access to download speeds of 1 Gbps at rates of about $70 a month. People outside of EBP's service area have "repeatedly requested expansions" from the public utility, according to Wednesday's ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, but due to a geographic restriction put in place by the Tennessee state legislature, EPB is prohibited by law from reaching more customers.

Last year, EPB and other so-called municipal broadband providers asked the FCC to intervene on their behalf, and the agency agreed. Invoking a part of its congressional charter that it said would allow it to act against the states, the FCC tried to neutralize those state laws. The states responded by suing the agency, claiming it had no right to come between the historical relationship between states and the cities lying within their jurisdiction. This week's ruling, then, rolls back the federal government's attempt to intervene.

Wheeler, a Democrat, said Wednesday that the outcome of the case "appears to halt the promise of jobs, investment and opportunity that community broadband has provided in Tennessee and North Carolina. In the end, I believe the Commission's decision to champion municipal efforts highlighted the benefits of competition and the need of communities to take their broadband futures in their own hands."

Wheeler's opponents, including from within his own agency, said the outcome was an obvious one.

"In my statement last year dissenting from the Commission's decision, I warned that the FCC lacked the power to preempt these Tennessee and North Carolina laws, and that doing so would usurp fundamental aspects of state sovereignty," said Republican FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. "I am pleased that the Sixth Circuit vindicated these concerns."

Berin Szoka, president of the right-leaning think tank TechFreedom, said the issue was "federalism 101."

"The FCC was unconstitutionally interfering with the division of power between state legislatures and municipalities without a 'clear statement' from Congress authorizing it to do so."

The court ruling represents a turning point for the legal tool the FCC tried to use as a weapon against Internet providers. First deployed in earnest by the FCC as an attempt to justify its net neutrality regulations on Internet providers, Wheeler again invoked Section 706 of the Communications Act to defend his moves against state limits on municipal broadband.

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Section 706 calls on the FCC to promote the timely deployment of broadband across the country. The state laws targeting EPB and Wilson, N.C., Wheeler argued, amounted to a legal roadblock to meeting that goal, so preempting those state laws was consistent with Congress' marching orders.

In rebuking Wheeler's FCC, the Sixth Circuit has now effectively put some new constraints on what Section 706 may be invoked to accomplish. That is a significant step: Not long ago, policy analysts were saying that there were so few limits on the relatively vague language of Section 706 that the FCC could in theory use it to justify almost anything Internet-related. In effect, the court took what some analysts viewed as an unbounded grant of legal authority and imposed some bounds on it.

There are signs, however, that municipal broadband proponents were anticipating Wednesday's outcome - and are already moving to adapt. One approach? Focus on improving cities' abilities to lay fiber optic cables that then any Internet provider can lease; so far, only one state, Nebraska, has banned this so-called "dark fiber" plan, said Christopher Mitchell, who directs the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Community Broadband Networks Initiative.

"We're pursuing strategies that are harder for the cable and telephone companies to defeat," said Mitchell.
This Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, photo, shows the marquis signs for the Chipotle restaurant in Pittsburgh's Market Square. Chipotle will pay a former worker $550,000 after it was found the chain discriminated against her for being pregnant. (Keith Srakocic / AP)

Chipotle Mexican Grill was ordered to pay $550,000 to a former employee of one of its stores in downtown Washington, D.C., after a jury ruled that she had been discriminated against, and ultimately fired, for being pregnant.

Doris Garcia Hernandez, 31, says her supervisor began restricting access to drinking water and forbidding routine breaks after she informend him that she was pregnant in November 2011, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was fired a few months later, after leaving work early to go to a prenatal doctor's appointment.

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A jury of eight deliberated for three hours before issuing its decision last week. The award includes $50,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.

"This is a victory for working women," said Christine Tschiderer, an attorney for the Washington Lawyers' Committee who helped represent Hernandez. "It sends a clear message to employers that pregnancy is not incompatible with the workplace."

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A spokesman for Chipotle said the company does not plan to appeal the court's decision.

"We maintain that Chipotle's actions in this case were legal and appropriate, but we are moving on from this issue," Chris Arnold said in an email.

Hernandez says her supervisor, identified as just "David" in the complaint, harassed her in a variety of ways. When she needed to use the bathroom, for example, she was required to tell each employee in the store where she was going, and then wait for permission to leave her post. There were no such rules in place for non-pregnant workers, according to the complaint.

Hernandez was fired in January 2012. In her complaint, the mother of three says she told her supervisor days in advance that she would need to leave early. He ignored those requests and on the morning of the appointment, told her she couldn't go. She did anyway.

The next morning, the manager fired Hernandez in front of other employees in the store's lobby. Prior to announcing her pregnancy, Hernandez had received positive performance reviews for her work at the store, where she made tortillas and salsa, rolled burritos and prepped vegetables, the complaint says.

The superviser, who voluntarily left Chipotle shortly after firing Hernandez, testified on behalf of the company during the four-day trial, according to court documents.

The outcome of the proceedings comes as yet another blow for the fast-casual chain, which has been scrambling to recover after a series of E. coli and norovirus outbreaks link to illnesses late last year. In February, Chipotle was ordered to pay three former general managers roughly $600,000 after a federal grand jury determined the company had discriminated against and fired the women because of their gender. And earlier this summer, a top executive at the company was charged with drug possession as part of an alleged cocaine ring.

Hernandez's troubles at Chipotle have already spurred new laws in District of Columbia. Upon reading her complaint, filed in 2014, the D.C. Council passed the Protecting Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which requires employers to provide pregnant workers with basic accommodations, such as access to drinking water and more frequent bathroom breaks.

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The new law - and last week's verdict - are particularly important in helping low-wage workers and immigrants fight gender and pregnancy discrimination, said Jonathan Smith, executive director of the Washington Lawyers' Committee.

"Our client was particularly vulnerable to this kind of exploitation and abuse," Smith said. "No woman should be forced to choose between a prenatal appointment and her job."
Goorin Bros. shopkeeper Corey O'Day explains the difference between fedoras and trilby hats. The Cubs are giving away a hat they say is called a fedora, but hat enthusiasts might also know it as a trilby, trilby fedora or stingy brim fedora. (Lauren Zumbach / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

It's no secret that Chicago Cubs fans who arrive early to games at Wrigley Field can score free promotional items ranging from bobbleheads to ball caps.

But Friday's giveaway has some fans, well, brimming with both anticipation and debate.

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Up to 5,000 adult fans sitting in the bleachers at Friday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals will receive a blue hat with a red, white and blue plaid band sporting the Cubs and Budweiser logos.

The Cubs are giving away fedoras - or are they trilbys? - before the Friday, Aug. 12, 2016, game against the Cardinals. (Chicago Cubs)

According to the Cubs, it's a fedora. But hat aficionados might also know it as a trilby, trilby fedora, or stingy brim fedora with a snap brim, according to Corey O'Day, shopkeeper at Goorin Bros. Hat Shop in the Wicker Park neighborhood. At issue is the width of the brim.

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It's not incorrect to call the hat a fedora, O'Day said. Although the term might make you think of the wide brim look favored by Indiana Jones, it's a catchall for a range of styles including the trilby fedora, which has a shorter brim.

There's no hard cutoff, but a trilby fedora's brim would typically be less than 2.5 inches wide, O'Day said.

The Cubs first gave away fedoras in 2014 with a logo commemorating Wrigley Field's 100th anniversary, Cubs spokesman Kevin Saghy said in an email. It was popular enough that you can still spot the hats at games, so they decided to bring back a new version this year, he said.

Corey O'Day of the Goorin Bros. Hat Shop displays a trilby fedora hat Aug. 10, 2016, at her store in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. The Cubs are giving away 5,000 hats the ballclub is calling fedoras at Friday's game, but O'Day said while it's not wrong to call the free hat a fedora, hat aficionados might know it as a trilby. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

A team in the Cubs' marketing department selects and designs the promotional giveaways, often working with the corporation providing the item.

"With 'fedora' being the most common name for the style of hat, we decided to stick with that term for broad promotion to our fan base," Saghy wrote.

Hats have risen in popularity with a broader audience in recent years, and O'Day estimates about half of her customers are first-timers or relatively new to wearing hats. They'd likely know to ask for a fedora, but probably not a trilby, even if they had a shorter brim in mind, she said.

"People might know just the main term, but not the specifics of the shape," she said.

Lately, wide brim fedoras  with "a lot of good drama"  seem to be the more popular of the two, O'Day said.

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But the trimmer trilby fedora has a steady appeal as a more versatile, everyday look, she said.

"It's less like 'woah, I'm wearing a hat,'" she said.

lzumbach@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @laurenzumbach
Delta passengers stand in line as the carrier slogged through day two of its recovery from a global computer outage, on Aug. 9, 2016, in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer / AP)

New York  We don't cancel flights.

That's been the message for the past two years from Delta Air Lines. Double decker buses roamed the streets of New York, wrapped in ads proclaiming "canceling cancellations." Delta executives boasted about the number of days without a single flight scrapped.

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That all literally ground to a halt Monday when a system-wide computer outage led to the cancellation of more than 1,500 flights. Passengers were stranded around the globe with many spending the night in the airport.

Until this outage, Delta had an impressive record, envied by other airlines. By June 9 of this year, Delta had already notched up 100 days where none of its own jets canceled flights  more than all of its major competitors' no-cancel days combined. And the cancellations during the other 61 days were mostly related to weather, not maintenance issues.

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"Our people are hitting it out of the park, delivering on our promise to be a safe and reliable airline and making canceling cancellations a reality," Gil West, Delta's chief operating officer, said in a news release at the time trumpeting its record.

Sometimes, Delta took extreme measures to preserve that record such as letting delays roll on throughout the day instead of canceling. But the lack of cancellations and the airline's mantra of "keep climbing" won over business travelers willing to pay extra for flights that arrive on time.

A decade ago, Delta was getting 90 cents for every dollar charged by its competitors. Today, it gets 110 cents, Delta's new CEO, Ed Bastian proudly noted in a May interview with The Associated Press.

But Monday's outage threatens to wipe away all that trust that Delta has worked to build. It took Delta more than 24 hours to explain what happened: a power control malfunction that led to a power surge and loss of electricity. When the power came back some systems switched to backups, others didn't and that, Delta said, caused "instability in these systems."

"Obviously this is a public relations disaster. But they're not unique. This has happened to pretty much every major airline," said Jim Corridore, of S&P Global Market Intelligence. Since this is the airline's first major outage  and as long as there isn't another one  Corridore said "Delta may get a pass here."

Repeated problems can scare passengers away. When United Airlines had a series of computer meltdowns in 2012, loyal business travelers abandoned the carrier. There are only so many meetings  or chances to tuck your kids into bed  that road warriors will tolerate missing. Four years later, United's revenue still lags behind its competitors.

Fitch Ratings analysts Joseph Rohlena and Craig D. Fraser noted Monday that Delta can withstand one meltdown but  citing United's troubles  said Delta could be harmed if the issue spreads or is indicative of bigger problems.

Delta did some things right, like posting a video of Bastain apologizing to customers at 1:30 p.m. Monday  a fairly quick response for an airline.

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The airline also offered anybody delayed three hours or more a $200 voucher toward a future trip.

But there were also stumbles.

It didn't help that Delta wasn't upfront, telling passengers what happened. Instead the airline initially blamed it on a power outage. But the local utility company, Georgia Power, was quick to fire back saying it was actually Delta's equipment that had failed.

While rare, airlines do have computer outages from time to time. Last month, Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights over four days after an outage that it blamed on a faulty network router.

But nobody has attached as much importance to never canceling flights as Delta.

Sometimes, though, that can lead to measures that passengers might not prefer. Instead of canceling a flight, Delta will just delay and delay and delay.

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That happened Monday night to Megan Milan who was on an 8:45 p.m. flight from Atlanta back home to Denver.

"I had about four different notifications that my flight was pushed out, pushed out, pushed out and then at midnight I got the notification that it was cancelled," Milan said. "I would have rather received a cancellation yesterday instead of waiting around all night."

That philosophy of delaying, but not canceling, isn't unique to this computer outage.

Back on July 1, a massive thunderstorm caused giant delays in New York. Other airlines proactively canceled flights to give the few remaining ones a better chance of getting out of the airport.

Delta didn't.

One flight after another was delayed and delayed but not canceled.

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Albert Choi was heading to Iceland with some friends for his birthday celebration.

Their 9:15 p.m. flight kept getting pushed back an hour or two at a time. At 4 a.m., the gate agent offered an apology but no further update.

"We couldn't sleep because we thought we were going to board at any time," Choi recalled on Tuesday.

Finally, the flight departed around 1 p.m. It might have been 16 hours late, but it was never canceled.

Choi says he would have preferred a cancellation so he could have gone home, slept in his own bed and then returned to the airport to catch a rescheduled flight.

"It was just a bad experience and left a bad taste in my mouth," he said.

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Associated Press
Macy's will be closing about 100 stores in an attempt to trim its footprint as more customers shop online, the department store announced Thursday.

"This country is overstored given evolving customer shopping habits," Macy's Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet said during a call with analysts discussing the company's second-quarter financial results.

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Sales at Macy's stores open at least a year were down 2.6 percent compared with the second quarter of 2015, the sixth consecutive quarter in which comparable sales dropped.

People walk with Macy's bags near the Macy's story on State street on Thursday, August 11, 2016, in Chicago. Macy's will be closing about 100 stores in an attempt to trim its footprint as more customers shop online. (Brandon Chew / Chicago Tribune)

It wasn't immediately clear how many Illinois stores would be affected or how many jobs might be cut as Macy's has not finalized the list of locations that will close, said spokeswoman Andrea Schwartz. Macy's has 24 stores in Illinois, including 18 in the greater Chicago area.

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The 100 stores, most of which will close early in 2017, represent about 15 percent of all of Macy's full-line stores.

They "often don't represent the customer shopping experience that reflects our aspirations for Macy's brand," Hoguet said.

Shutting down less-profitable stores will let Macy's focus on improving its top stores and growing online sales, she said.

While most of the closing stores are unproductive or in less-desirable locations, a handful will be shut down because they could be more valuable if redeveloped other than as a retail store, Hoguet said.

Macy's is examining its portfolio of real estate in big cities. The company said in a news release Thursday it is in negotiations to sell its men's store on Union Square in San Francisco.

The downtown Chicago store at 111 N. State St. "is still in the mix of our flagships to lease or sell portions of the building," Schwartz said in an email.

Last fall, Macy's said it was looking at how to redevelop underused space in the State Street store but had no plans to leave.

Macy's still is considering options for the upper floors of the State Street store, Hoguet said.

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lzumbach@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @laurenzumbach
The state is looking at the possibility of adding an express toll lane to the Stevenson Expressway, from I-355 to the Dan Ryan Expressway. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

The state is pursuing a plan to add an express toll lane to the Stevenson Expressway  with some help from private developers.

The Illinois Department of Transportation put out the call Thursday morning for private partners to help develop the Interstate 55 managed lane project  new toll lanes from Bolingbrook to Chicago designed to alleviate congestion.

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"This is an important step for a project that can serve as a model for how to rebuild our roads and bridges," Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn said in a news release. "Working together with the private sector, we can learn about best practices for projects like this, potentially saving taxpayers time and money."

The project, which recently received federal environmental approval, would add a tolled express lane to the existing median between Interstate 355 and the Dan Ryan Expressway, essentially the final leg of I-55 heading into Chicago. The 25-mile stretch of road handles about 170,000 vehicles a day  15 percent of which are trucks  making it one of the most important commuting and freight corridors in the state, according to IDOT.

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Enlisting private developers would help defray the estimated $425 million cost of the project, an IDOT representative said Thursday. Private partners would have a hand in designing, building, operating and managing the toll lanes.

Private firms need to submit their ideas by Sept. 8, with a public forum scheduled for Sept. 20 at the Holiday Inn O'Hare. IDOT needs approval from the General Assembly for the I-55 toll project.

If all goes as planned, construction could start as early as next year and wrap up in 2019, officials said.

Last month, the state gave the green light to a similar project  a public/private toll bridge linking Interstate 80 to the CenterPoint intermodal facility in Joliet and Elwood. The Houbolt Road bridge will cost $170 million to $190 million, with CenterPoint building and operating the toll bridge over the Des Plaines River. IDOT is covering $21 million of that cost.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertChannick
This screengrab of a video released by animal-rights group Compassion Over Killing alleges to show mistreatment of chickens at a Tyson facility. (Washington Post)

An animal rights group has released graphic video that appears to show the mistreatment of chickens by Tyson Foods employees in Virginia, leading to at least two Animal Control investigations.

Compassion Over Killing, a Washington-based animal-advocacy organization, said the video was taken by an undercover investigator for the group in May and June at four facilities where Tyson employees process chickens. The video depicts Tyson employees throwing, punching and kicking chickens as well as sticking plastic rods through their beaks in a process known as "boning."

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Workers also wrung birds' necks, ran over them with forklifts and left injured birds in "dead piles," as the video's narrator put it, to die.

One worker, discussing standing on a chicken's head and letting it suffocate, mentioned that the behavior would look bad if caught on tape.

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"You can't let nobody see you do that," the man said, describing the act as "inhumane." "A stranger ... you don't know if he's working for the Animal Rights."

Compassion Over Killing, which says it "focuses on cruelty to animals in agriculture and promotes vegetarian eating," has undertaken undercover investigations before. On Wednesday, it condemned the workers' behavior.

"This level of violence and abuse is so egregious, it violates Virginia state animal protection laws," Erica Meier, the organization's executive director, said in a statement. "The company should be held accountable  and consumers deserve to know the truth about the horrors inflicted upon these animals." She added: "Tyson, the titan of this industry, is literally crushing the life out of birds."

Two of the facilities shown in the video are in Virginia's Mecklenburg County, one is in Buckingham County and one is in Lunenburg County. Animal Control officials in Mecklenburg and Buckingham counties confirmed that they were investigating the allegations but said they couldn't comment further. An Animal Control official in Lunenburg County did not return a request for comment on Wednesday.

In a statement, Tyson, the largest chicken-processing company in the United States, called the behavior "inexcusable" and said that it fired 10 people who were members of the crew depicted in the video.

The company also said it discontinued the process of "boning"  which it described as "a historical way the industry has used to keep males from eating food intended for females"  at two of the facilities in the video after its release. The process already had been ended at the other two facilities.

"I'm disgusted and outraged by what's shown in this video," Christine Daugherty, vice president of sustainable food production for Tyson Foods, said in a statement. "We do not tolerate animal abuse. ... The people shown in the video by Compassion Over Killing were all trained in proper animal handling, yet chose to ignore it and failed to alert management about the despicable treatment on these farms."

Daugherty added: "Animals in our care deserve to be treated humanely."

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The Compassion Over Killing employee who filmed the video while working for Tyson said the company's processing facilities are part of a system that desensitizes people to suffering.

"They are not building a system to ensure animal welfare is a top priority. Or employee welfare," said the worker, who asked to remain anonymous.

News of the mistreatment comes weeks after Perdue, the nation's third-largest chicken producer, announced plans to kill chickens using carbon dioxide or argon gas - a method some hailed as more humane.

Compassion Over Killing questioned whether there is any way to humanely kill and eat animals.

"The best way we can protect chickens and all animals is simply to leave them off our plates," the video's narrator says.
Our weekend to-do list will keep you happily full.

1. Drink, dine and shop in Pilsen

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Free coffee, drink discounts and more are on offer at Pilsen spots, including Bow Truss, Harbee Liquors and Dusek's this weekend, thanks to a neighborhood crawl organized by Timberland and Brooklyn Brewery. Stop by the duo's bar-meets-shoe-store pop-up to shop and drink, then pick up a book of coupons luring you to other deals, discounts and classes throughout the neighborhood. $25. Starts at noon Sunday, Aug. 14, at 643 W. 18th St., www.brooklynbrewerymash.com

2. Attend a dinner pop-up so secret that we don't even know where you're going

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Band of Bohemia chef Matt Dubois, right, will host an off-site dinner in a secret location. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Traveling pop-up Place Invaders returns to Chicago to partner with the team behind Ravenswood restaurant and brewery Band of Bohemia. The result: a series of brunches and dinners at a secret location in Wicker Park. All we know is that diners are headed to a private residence that used to be a Prohibition-era distillery. Band of Bohemia chef Matt DuBois will steer the five-course ship, while beverage gurus Michael Carroll and Craig Sindelar will curate the beer, wine and cocktail pairings. Tickets for Friday are already sold out, but Saturday and Sunday are available as of this writing. $85 brunch, $130 dinner. Noon and 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13; noon and 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14. www.placeinvaders.co

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

3. Clink glasses at a wine festival

Sample wines from all over the world in Naperville. (Fotolia / TNS)

Sample more than 300 wines at the 14th annual Naperville Wine Festival, where the likes of Wente Family Estates, Cream Wine Co. and Pasternak Wine Imports will pour selections hailing from California, Italy, France and more. Food by Empanadus, Windy City Paella and more will be served. Admission nets you 12 tastings, a souvenir wine glass, a pint of beer and discounts on wine purchases. $32 in advance, $40 at the door. 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 2155 City Gate Lane, Naperville, 847-382-3270, www.napervillewinefestival.com

4. Explore the many tastes of Japan

Teriyaki chicken is one the specialties at the Midwest Buddhist Temple's Ginza Holiday Festival. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

A cultural fest borrowing its name from the popular district in Japan, the Ginza Holiday Festival  hosted by Old Town's Midwest Buddhist Temple  celebrates its 61st year with colorful crafts from 100 different artisans, lively taiko drumming performances, kendo (Japanese fencing) and martial arts, and, of course, an abundance of Japanese food. While you tour the temple or browse bonsai exhibits, snack on treats like spam musubi, chicken teriyaki and kintoki, a snow cone topped with sweet azuki beans. $7 donation ($6 for seniors and students). 5:30-9 p.m Friday; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m Sunday at 435 W. Menomonee St., www.ginzaholiday.com

5. Sharpen your knife skills

Hone your knife skills at Sur La Table. (David Smith / iStock)

Reading a recipe is one thing, but keeping your fingers is another. Brunoise, batonnet, julienne  these terms and more are part of the everyday language of the kitchen, and after Sur La Table's Knife Skills 101 class, you'll know what they are and, more importantly, how to execute them. This small-format fundamentals course will serve as a strong foundation for beginner and amateur home cooks alike. $59. 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at 900 N. Michigan Ave., 312-204-6012, www.surlatable.com

jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @joeybear85






Have you heard? We only have three seasons now: fall, winter and rose. At least that's what one would think after scrolling Facebook or Instagram, where the #roseallday hashtag is pretty much the only thing you see between April and September.

But while the world is all #yeswayrose, the city's sommeliers, beverage directors and restaurateurs are, frankly, a little tired of it. They've been drinking the stuff since at least January, when they were building their spring and summer wine lists. For some of them, the rose rut is real.

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"They're great, but you can get a little bored with them," says Michael Nahabedian, co-owner and head of front of house operations of Naha and Brindille in River North. "There are times that I just want something else."

Hear hear. Escape your own rose rut with help from these Chicago pros, who recommend four other styles to fill your glass.

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Island whites

More than one somm I spoke with sang the praises of "island wines," those bottles coming from vineyards scattered throughout the Mediterranean.

"Naha is Mediterranean," Nahabedian says, "so I do a lot of Greek wine, like moschofilero and assyrtiko." Native to Greece, both grapes are known for their light, thirst-quenching acidity and aromatic profiles. Since they're low in alcohol, they pair well with food, and both  especially the assyrtiko  have a nice saltiness, he says.

At Ema, switch up your drink with island white wines like Bodega Tajinaste from the Canary Islands and Terrazze dell Etna's Ciuri from Sicily. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

These Greek grapes are simple and made for sharing around the table, he adds, but don't confuse that for lack of flavor: "These are very versatile wines and have interesting textures and flavor profiles." His pick? Domaine Sigalas' Santorini assyrtiko, with tastes of lemon peel, grapefruit, sea salt and white peaches. "It's all about tasting the sea."

Ryan Arnold, divisional wine director for Lettuce Entertain You restaurants, had island wines specifically in mind when he created the wine list for the group's newest concept, Ema, also in River North. The bottles featured under the "Islands" section of the list hail from places like the Canary Islands, Sardinia and Santorini, among others. Light and fresh, these wines have increasingly become available in the U.S. and pair perfectly with chef C.J. Jacobson's California take on Mediterranean fare.

"Check out Bodega Tajinaste from the Canary Islands, which focuses on the varietal listan blanco," says Arnold. Made from native grapes, the wine is nutty and dry, with a squeeze of lemon zest and a dry finish. Arnold also recommends Terrazze dell Etna's Ciuri, a white wine from Sicily made from the red grape nerello mascalese. (Grape juice, whether extracted from red or white grapes, is clear; red wines get their hue from contact with the grape's skins. Avoid that skin contact, and you can make a white wine from red grapes.)

"It is one of my favorite whites by the glass," says Arnold, noting the wine's minerality and freshness. "It just might be the closest thing to Chablis you'll find in southern Italy."

Orange wines

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For Charles Clark, head bartender of Mott Street in Wicker Park, the rose rut "definitely hits close to home." Rather than simply switch up roses for white wine, he is more interested in exploring production methods and interesting winemaking.

"It's not wildly original, but orange wine really excites me," he says. "It's white wine that's treated like red, with skin contact." This time, it's skin from white grapes that stains the wine, turning it an orange-ish hue.

Charles Clark, head bartender at Mott St., pours orange wine as an alternative to rose. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

"I've been really featuring the Pullus 2015 pinot grigio from Slovenia," says Clark. "It has a salmon-colored hue from 72 hours of skin contact. The skins impart bitterness and tannin, but since it's still pinot grigio, it is still lighter-bodied with savory strawberry notes. It's great with our kimchee dishes, like the stuffed cabbage, and it represents the restaurant's philosophy. Classic but experimental and playful."

Lula Cafe's former beverage director, Diana Hawkins, also reaches for orange wine in lieu of rose. "It's hard to imagine getting totally sick of rose, but people are also looking for refreshing whites," she says. "It's going to sound nerdy, but I like introducing them to something new, like orange wines." Specifically, she does not seek out orange wines that have been amphora-aged, an ancient method that can impart funky, very savory flavors. Like Clark, she reaches for an orange pinot gris, but one created by New Zealand's Supernatural Wine Co. "Aged for a few weeks on its skins, this wine is not your mom's pinot gris," she says. "It's something else entirely, fuller bodied and more complex."

Bubbles

When not sipping orange wine, Hawkins indulges in another wine-geek pour du jour. "I'm a sucker for pet nat," she says. Short for "petulant natural," pet nat is a cousin to modern Champagne. Fermented once in bottle (as opposed to twice) with naturally occurring yeast and little to no aging, it's a rustic bubbly wine full of friendly, fruity flavors. It's low-alcohol, and meant to be drunk young. Hawkins recommends Belle Casale Cofundo's prosecco, which is unfined and unfiltered  that is, the winery does not clarify the wine, yielding a pleasant cloudiness in the glass. "It has this super sour apple note. It tastes like a very tart apple pie, even pie crust. It's fun."

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"I'm more of a red wine girl," says Kim Hrejsa, beverage director of Old Town's The Vig. "I love Lambrusco, because it's unexpected. Is it red, is it a bubbly? It has a softer bubble than other sparkling wines, but you get more complex layers of flavors, darker flavors like red berries and dark cherries." She recommends Fiorini's 2015 Becco Rosso lambrusco grasparossa di Castelvetro. "Red drinkers can bond with their bubbly- and white wine-drinking friends but still enjoy a dry, tannic wine with hints of rich, dark fruit."

Classic whites

"I think, at its lowest, rose is just a tutti-frutti thing," says Belinda Chang, director of wine and service at fun-loving Gold Coast steakhouse Maple & Ash. "But Americans get it now, and they're asking for dryer wines."

For Chang, roses are great for lighter foods, but considering Maple & Ash's beef-focused menu, they don't hold up. "We know that people love rose, and it's refreshing. And what looks prettier in a sweating wine glass than something bright and pink?" she says. "But we have a menu of richer stuff, and you need something to stand out, to go with the steak or the seafood. Rose can feel wimpy."

She recommends a white burgundy: Domaine Matrot's 2013 "Les Chevalieres" from Meursault. "It's my happy place. Besides, I try not to eat heavy during warm weather. White Burgundy has weight to it, and with cheese or crudites, it's basically a meal in a glass."

Lisa Fosler Kelly, co-owner and wine director of Bread & Wine in Irving Park, is in the same camp. "When I begin to yawn in the face of my glass of rose midsummer, I opt for really cold white varietals that have notes of summer fruit, nice minerality and balanced acidity," she says. "My favorites are chenin blanc, a nice Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc without the heavy green-grass notes), pinot blanc and gruner veltliner."

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In particular, she recommends Domaine des Baumard's 2012 chenin blanc from Savennieres, a storied region in France's Loire Valley, for its "notes of quince, fresh citrus and pear. (It has a) pure, mineral-framed finish and nice acidity and length." Also seek out Patient Cottat's 2014 old vine Sancerre, which is "complex and intense, with modest acidity and notes of red currant and citrus."

The rose trend isn't going anywhere any time soon, and that's not a bad thing. It's just nice to shake up your palate once in a while. "Summer is a great time to venture out of your comfort zone," urges Hrejsa.

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Ema, 74 W. Illinois St., 312-527-5586, www.emachicago.com

Lula's Cafe, 2537 N. Kedzie Ave., 773-489-9554, www.lulacafe.com

Maple & Ash, 8 W. Maple St, 312-944-8888, www.mapleandash.com

Mott Street, 1401 N. Ashland Ave., 773-687-9977, www.mottstreetchicago.com

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Naha, 500 N. Clark St., 312-321-6242, www.naha-chicago.com

The Vig, 1527 N Wells St., 312-982-2186, www.thevigchicago.com

jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @joeybear85






Mayor Rahm Emanuel should have been more compassionate in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer, Chance the Rapper said in a new interview with Billboard magazine.

"In a time of crisis he tried to be strategic, and he should have been more compassionate," Chance said about Emanuel's response to the 2014 shooting by Officer Jason Van Dyke. "There's a larger conversation we need to have about the role of police officers, their relationship to the people as enemy or executioner, when they're not supposed to be either. There's also not enough pressure on internal organizations that are supposed to police the police and on judges in the justice system who are supposed to make reasonable decisions."

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This is not the first time Chance has spoken out against the mayor, but his comments come as Chance's father, Ken Bennett, left his post as director of the mayor's Office of Public Engagement for a senior adviser role at Choose Chicago, the city's tourism arm. Mayoral spokesman Adam Collins said in an email that the "mayor appreciates Chance's music, and more importantly the mayor respects his passion and commitment to the city we all love."

Chance's remarks are part of Billboard's cover story on the 23-year-old South Side rapper for its Aug. 20 "new pioneers" issue. In the interview, Chance discusses his relationship with the mother of his child and his upcoming Magnificent Coloring Day festival at U.S. Cellular Field.

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The rapper seems to be everywhere these days, both in Chicago and on the national stage. Nike posted an Olympic ad this week featuring lyrics by Chance. The rapper performed at Taste of Chicago, made surprise appearances at Lollapalooza and is hosting a festival Sept. 24 at White Sox park that features John Legend, Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys and other acts.

"It's bigger than me (expletive) with the Sox and bigger than me being a rapper," Chance told Billboard about organizing the sold-out festival. "I think the city needs some happy moments."

Chance, who was born Chancelor Bennett and grew up in the Chatham area, told Billboard Chicago hasn't always been his home base. He said he moved to Los Angeles in 2014, but developed a Xanax habit and realized he belonged back in the city.

"I missed a lot of weddings and funerals," he said.

Since his return, Chance has become a father. Kirsten Corley gave birth to his daughter in September 2015 and they live together, according to Billboard. Attorneys for Chance and Corley recently worked out a parenting agreement in Cook County court, records show.

"I understand how black women are represented in rap music, how being a baby mama is perceived," Chance said. "My girlfriend and I are very conscious of how many people in our situation don't think it can work out, when it can."

Corley joined Chance in the studio during the Billboard interview. She sat sidesaddle in his lap and held a blunt to his lips, according to Billboard, which noted that Chance has become less open with his drug and cigarette use.

"Kids would tell me they tried acid for the first time listening to (2013 mixtape) 'Acid Rap,' asking me if I wanted some. I realized the responsibility of being a popular artist," Chance said.

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Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
One of the great pleasures in modern movies is watching Jeff Bridges peer a long, long way over a pair of reading glasses, chew on a private thought for a second or two and then roll the next line of dialogue out of his mouth, like an Atomic Fireball. He's a paradox: a joyously authentic hambone. And he's one of many successful elements of the sentimental, violent, irresistible new crime thriller "Hell or High Water."

If you like, call it a Western. It's a Western old-fashioned enough to risk cliches about honorably lawless men. It's also modern enough to know these folks' time and place cannot last forever, and that the movie itself is already a thing, a very entertaining thing, of the recent past.

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"Hell or High Water" harks back to 1970s elegies for the Old West: "The Last Picture Show," "Fat City," "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot." In broad terms, progress is the enemy, and fairness is the casualty: The banks and America's financial near-meltdown of 2008 loom large in the story's background. The message, if there is one, is what you might call inoffensively political. Who doesn't think ill of Big Money?

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Yet like a lot of good Westerns it plays with all sorts of audiences, right, left and center. If moviegoers find this film, set in West Texas and co-starring Chris Pine and Ben Foster as a couple of sympathetic bank-robbing brothers on a righteous spree, it may turn into one of those rare uniters, not dividers, of the 2016 movie landscape.

Like "No Country for Old Men" and the remake of "True Grit," both made by Joel and Ethan Coen, this tale of dusty, grubby pursuit and evasion was directed by a conspicuous geographical outsider, the British-born David Mackenzie, now based in Scotland. The script comes from actor-turned-writer Taylor Sheridan, who wrote "Sicario." The story takes place in the economically strapped small towns and spacious vistas of Texas and Oklahoma, shot by cinematographer Giles Nuttgens, Sheridan's longtime collaborator, in eastern New Mexico.

The brothers, volatile Tanner (Foster) and the more circumspect Toby (Pine), have a plan to hit a series of Midland Bank branches in the early morning hours, and then bury the getaway vehicles, one at a time, on their land back home. Tanner is a career criminal, not long out of prison. Toby is the taciturn one, with an ex-wife and two boys who don't really know their father, and what they've heard isn't good.

There's oil on the family land, waiting to be slurped up. The bank threatening foreclosure doesn't know it yet. Toby and Tanner have little time to get the money needed to pay off a reverse mortgage and the back taxes. (I got a little lost in some of the exposition, but that may say more about me than it says about the script.) "Hell or High Water" charts the progress, the detours and the costs of the brothers' scheme, both to themselves and to the Texas Rangers on their tail. Marcus, three dramatically convenient weeks from retirement, is played by Bridges. His half-Comanche, half-Mexican partner, Alberto, endlessly patronized, in a role one or two key scenes shy of full impact, is played by Gil Birmingham.

Originally titled "Comancheria," the Comanche name for much of the region depicted here, Sheridan's script respects the wiles and street smarts of most every character, major and minor, mostly males. In one exception to that rule, a hilariously foul-tempered waitress delivers a monologue about the perils of not ordering the T-bone in her establishment, and simply for the way this speech deploys the word "trout," as the worst kind of epithet, it's a gem. There are times in "Hell or High Water" when the roiling resentments against the banking industry start sounding a little speech-y in a less effective way. Throughout the story you're well aware of everything Sheridan and director Mackenzie do to keep the brothers in our good graces.

But the actors are terrific. Pine shifts keys very shrewdly for this man of tamped-down regrets, and he does the least conspicuous and the best acting of his career. Foster delineates both sides of his live-wire role, the troublemaker and the brother who knows his screw-ups cause his family no little grief. Like Sheridan's "Sicario" script, "Hell or High Water" has one foot in pulp conventions, and the other in some stimulating, morally tricky contemporary answers to those conventions. What the movie has, above all, is a dramatic line, clean and straight. In its faces, its scenery and its plain satisfactions it makes us feel like we've been somewhere, when we get to the end of that line.

Michael Phillips is a Chicago Tribune critic.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @phillipstribune

"Hell or High Water"  3.5 stars

MPAA rating: R (for some strong violence, language throughout and brief sexuality)

Running time: 1:42

Opens: Thursday evening

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Toby Keith, who plays the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park on Friday, said of the presidential race: "I can't believe there's 300 million Americans in this country, and we've got these two as our final two." (Richard McLaren photo)

Last month, 23 years after Toby Keith landed his first hit, "Should've Been a Cowboy," one of the biggest country songs of the 1990s, he released its unofficial sequel, "A Few More Cowboys." Keith, 55, was wrapping up production on an as-yet-unscheduled new album, and "I just grabbed the first thing that sounded like a hit," he says.

Keith, who has had 20 No. 1 hits, is equally known for rowdy, barroom staples ("Red Solo Cup") and patriotic anthems ("Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue"). He's tough to figure: He's a politically outspoken firebrand (his Iraq War-era public feud with the Dixie Chicks is the stuff of legend) beloved by many Republicans, who might be surprised to know he's an Independent.

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He's also ridiculously rich, with earnings that Fortune magazine estimates at half-billion dollars (an early investment in Taylor Swift's label didn't hurt). But Keith, born and raised in Oklahoma, isn't immune to the vicissitudes of the record industry. His last album, "35 MPH Town," only sold well, not really, really well, and he recently downsized his label.

In a recent phoner, Keith, who plays Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre on Friday, talked party politics and Swift-ian economics. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation:

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Q: The new single is really topical.

A: Timingwise it is, but it's a little bit all over the place. People only want to hear what they want to hear about it. The first line says, "If the White House was in Texas, we could get a straighter answer." The second says, "If they'd let us smoke what we want to smoke, there'd be a lot less cancer." It depends which side of the fence you're on.

Q: Are audiences responding to it when you play it live?

A: No question. It's probably the biggest first listen impact song I've had since "Red Solo Cup." It's really difficult to get a song up the chart since the music industry has changed so much. The only country format we have anymore is where they play, like, the '90s and 2000s hits. They don't really have a new market for rock or country. It's really changed.

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Q: Rock and country both seem to be suffering right now.

A: Yeah, I think hip-hop just took over, and if you don't want to go make an album of that, you've gotta have a really, really, really special record to bust through the mass. I'm not gonna go do that stuff, but I've had a great run. I don't care one way or the other. And people say, "Oh, yeah you do," but I know what a hit sounds like. I've had a lot of success at picking singles.

Q: So you could write a huge hit like that, but it wouldn't feel right.

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A: I couldn't say  I could try, I guess, but it wouldn't feel right. I don't write those kind of songs.

Q: You played a party for the RNC. How was it?

A: It was just a paid party for the sponsors, just a private party for 1,200 people. When I start catching s--- about it, I just say, "Look, I'm not a registered Republican, and they paid me a buttload of money to play this thing. And if the other side calls, I'll go play theirs for that much, too."

Q: Would you lose fans if you played the DNC?

A: No! I wouldn't lose fans.

Q: Do your fans think you're more to the right than you are?

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A: Oh, they know I'm right of center. They know I'm in the middle, which makes you right of where the center is today. Twenty years ago, where I'm at would have been in the middle. It's pretty much just a sparring match all the time. I just sit back and laugh. It's almost like we subconsciously mess with them, you know what I mean?

Q: It's human nature to want to put people in boxes.

A: Right. I was a Democrat my whole life. They kind of disowned me when I started supporting the troops, then I went and registered Independent. I've never been a registered Republican. It just keeps people off balance. They don't know what to think. They see you hanging out with Willie Nelson or Sammy Hagar, they go, "What the hell are these people thinking?" They don't know you. They just want to label you.

Q: I'd never ask anybody who they're voting for, but if you want to make any news ...

A: This election, I don't think it makes a difference. I can't believe there's 300 million Americans in this country, and we've got these two as our final two. It's absolutely crazy.

Q: (2011 anti-import hit) "Made in America" would be at home at a Trump rally. Are you prepared for (that possibility)?

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A: I don't care who adopts it. I hear all these people fussing and fighting over who can play their music politically. Anybody who wants to play my music, I just say play it. I don't care.

Q: You mentioned Sammy Hagar. You two seem very similar, both (good time) party musicians who've quietly built empires. I'm not sure if you're close 

A: Oh, we're really close. We're best friends. I've known him about 14 or 15 years, we're really tight. We've recorded together, we jam down in Mexico a lot. My people don't care that he's my buddy, but his people care that he's mine. It's that political hate that they got going on.

Q: If you never made another album and never got another royalty of your own, could you live off Taylor Swift money?

A: Yeah. Oh, yeah. No question. I own a piece of the label she's on. If I just took the royalties I had off of that, I wouldn't have to do anything else. A bunch of people could live off that.

Allison Stewart is a freelancer.

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onthetown@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @chitribent

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland Ave., Tinley Park

Tickets: $25.25-$89; 708-614-1616 or www.livenation.com

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)
The gazebo where 12-year-old schoolboy Tamir Rice was killed by Cleveland police is getting a new home  and it's likely to be on Chicago's South Side.

Artist Theaster Gates is close to finalizing a deal to display this symbol of American tragedy at his Stony Island Arts Bank in the South Shore community, the Rice family's attorney, Billy Joe Mills, tells Chicago Inc.

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Seen by millions in a closed-circuit video of a Cleveland cop fatally shooting Tamir as he played with a toy gun in a park in November 2014, the gazebo is being moved from the grounds of the recreation center where it stood at the request of neighbors and the Rice family.

But Rice's mother, Samaria Rice, hopes that it can become a place of "mediation and reconciliation" in Chicago, Mills said.

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The Cleveland City Council this week approved a deal to dismantle the gazebo  likely next month  and give it to the nonprofit Tamir Rice Foundation, said former Cleveland Councilman Jay Westbrook.

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Mills and Amy Schachman, a spokeswoman for Gates' Rebuild Foundation, confirmed Thursday that discussions are underway to bring the gazebo to South Shore. While Schachman and Gates declined to comment further, Mills said it has yet to be decided if the gazebo will be temporarily or permanently housed at the Stony Island Arts Bank.

Either way "it's the most likely destination," Mills said, adding that the goal is for the gazebo to "become a place for peace rather than the violence it witnessed." The fact that Tamir was an "innocent 12-year-old boy imbues the space with a rare power" that should be used for good, such as discussions between police and the community or between warring gang factions, Mills added.

The display would appear to be a good fit for Gates, who has a track record of using the arts as a tool for development and promoting difficult conversations.

Mills said he hopes the exhibit will have a deeper lasting impact than a controversial sculpture by artist Ti-Rock Moore, shown at a Bronzeville gallery last year, that depicted Ferguson, Mo., police shooting victim Michael Brown's lifeless body.

And Westbrook added that, while Cleveland residents want the gazebo gone, the arts are "a more humanistic and appropriate way to express deep human emotions."

kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews
Storm clouds roll past the Chicago skyline at sunset after a thunderstorm, seen from 31st Street Beach on July 24, 2016. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Sometimes we forget how beautiful Chicago is in the summer.

Many of us who live here don't often stand at the edge of the lake on Solidarity Drive on the Museum Campus and gaze at the breathtaking city skyline. Rarely do we take a boat ride along the river and bask in the splendor of the pioneering architecture.

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We tend to take our treasures for granted.

This week, though, I served as an unofficial tour guide for my out-of-town relatives. And the experience left me in awe.

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For seven days, I shuffled my cousins from Long Island, N.Y., Atlanta, Norfolk, Va., and Charlotte, N.C., around Chicago. We traveled from the North Side to the South Side, from the lakefront to the Near West Side. But Chicago has so much to offer, we barely scratched the surface.

Some of my older female cousins visit every summer, having fallen in love with Chicago years ago. But for their daughters, this was the first time. Like many visitors who have never been to Chicago, they arrived somewhat wary.

Much of what they knew about Chicago, they had heard on the news. And none of it is good.

I quickly realized what many residents undoubtedly already know. Being a tour guide these days entails more than a stroll along the Magnificent Mile and a stopover at Navy Pier. It requires us to become ambassadors for our city.

Before my cousin Marina left home in New York, her teenage son warned her to "watch her back in Chiraq." Surely, they would hear gunfire and see people walking around with their heads hung low. This is the Chicago outsiders think they know.

So from the moment my relatives stepped off the plane at Midway Airport, I embarked on a public relations campaign. We took the scenic route home, along the lakefront, where families picnicked on the grass, young people rode bikes on the path and where children splashed in the shallow water at Oak Street Beach.

I wanted them to know that they didn't have to be afraid to take a bus from Edgewater to Michigan Avenue. That there was no need to pass up the fireworks at Navy Pier so they could get home before dark. And they didn't have to walk around in fear that a stray bullet would come out of nowhere and strike them in the chest.

Chicago is safe, I told them, so they could just relax and enjoy. What they didn't know is that Monday was the deadliest day in Chicago in 13 years. Nineteen people were shot, nine of them fatally. Among the injured was a 10-year-old boy who was shot in his back while playing on the porch of his West Side home.

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That Monday afternoon, we were sitting on an air-conditioned tour bus making its way through Hyde Park, Kenwood and other nice South Side neighborhoods. We were taking in the scenery of the sprawling University of Chicago campus and taking pictures of places that President Barack Obama once frequented.

We got a glimpse of his stately home through the trees that block its view. We saw the back of his first apartment in Chicago; the spot where he and Michelle Obama had their first kiss; and the park where he will build his presidential library. We passed by the diner where he used to go for breakfast and the barbershop nearby where he has a special chair.

This was not the South Side my cousins had heard so much about.

My cousin Jasmine admitted that the picture she had in her mind of Chicago was dark and bleak.

"You forget that the sun still shines here," she told me.

Now, she thinks she would like to live here someday. It's easy to get around the city here. It's less expensive than New York, but it is also a thriving urban area that doesn't seem as congested, she said.

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Both Jasmine and Marina, who are sisters, and their cousin Marisa noticed a glaring omission though. While the Near South Side areas seemed more integrated, they saw far fewer blacks in the trendy areas of the North Side.

That, I explained, was among the city's greatest flaws.

Chicago's economic disparities have set up an invisible barrier that allows whites to enjoy all of the amenities Chicago offers. But some children in poorer areas of the South and West sides, have never even seen the lakefront.

In Lawndale, where 10-year-old Tavon Tanner was shot, some children have no idea what lies far beyond their neighborhood borders. The Chicago they know is more like the one my cousins expected to see. But we would never take them there. Most of us would never venture that far south or west ourselves.

Instead, we took in the Gordon Parks photo exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, saw a musical at the Black Ensemble Theater and made our way to see Sue and the Terracotta Warriors exhibit at the Field Museum. We ate at nice restaurants, drank frozen margaritas and laughed ourselves to tears.

Marina took pictures of the boats cruising Lake Michigan, the view from the ledge of Willis Tower and our distorted bodies in the glare of the Bean. She will take the photos back to her son in Long Island along with stories of how wonderful this city is.

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And she will be right.

The residents who get to take Chicago's beauty for granted are lucky, I suppose. Much luckier than the Chicagoans who never get to see it at all.

dglanton@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @dahleeng
Mary Antolak Janikowski talks about her brother, Andrew Antolak, and his girlfriend, Teresa Masnica  the two drowned at Wilmington dam in 2000. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune) (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

After her brother drowned at a dam in rural Wilmington in 2000, Kathryn Pietraszek thought officials would do something to end the series of deaths there.

Her brother, Andrew Antolak, had been paddling down the Kankakee River in a rented canoe with his girlfriend, Teresa Masnica. Unfamiliar with the area, they got pulled over the waterfall and caught in a powerful undertow at the base of the dam from which they could not escape.

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The Chicago couple  he was 33, she 22  were among at least 18 people who have died at the dam since 1984, city officials said. The man-made structure about 60 miles southwest of Chicago has become a graveyard for curious children, fishermen who got too close, elderly people who fell in and good Samaritans who gave their lives trying to save others from drowning.

A family photo of Andrew Antolak and his girlfriend, Teresa Masnica, who both drowned at the Wilmington dam in 2000 while paddling the Kankakee River in a canoe. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

The Antolak and Masnica families sued the city and others, and local officials put up warning signs. Yet years later, no structural changes have been made to the dam to try to reduce the danger. This past spring, it claimed two more children, continuing its legacy as what critics have called a "drowning machine."

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"This should never happen anymore," Pietraszek said. "It seems like they don't care. If it happened to their family, maybe they would do something and remove it."

The latest victims, 12-year-old Eder Arroyo and his 13-year-old sister, Abigail, from Joliet, drowned on Memorial Day  the same holiday as Antolak and Masnica  after the boy tried to touch the waterfall and his sister tried to save him.

In addition to the deaths, at least 23 other people have had to be rescued at the dam, according to the city's count.

Such low-head dams, so-called because they're low enough to let water flow over them and difficult to see from upstream, are considered a nationwide menace by many river regulators and enthusiasts. Even strong swimmers and people wearing safety vests can drown in one. The only escape is counterintuitive: to drop to the bottom and use one's legs to move along the riverbed far enough away to escape the churn before trying to resurface.

Last year, 25 people drowned and at least 10 were seriously injured at dams across the country; 26 more have drowned this year, according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials.

(Tribune Graphics)

The effort to remove the dams is part of a broader movement that has eliminated hundreds of them nationwide that were considered obsolete, according to American Rivers, a conservation group that advocates for dam removal. Small dams in Illinois were typically built to provide power for mills, river crossings or irrigation, but critics say they have outlived their original purpose and now cause silt buildup, stagnant water and algae blooms.

"Communities are consistently surprised at how fast the rivers and fish come back after a dam is removed," American Rivers spokeswoman Amy Kober said. "It's a healing process."

But dam removal has also prompted a backlash in some cases by local residents, particularly when they remove hydro-electric power or reservoirs, which are more common in western states with much larger dams.

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In Illinois, prompted by safety concerns, Gov. Pat Quinn's administration embarked in 2012 on a project to remove low-head dams. The state identified 25 hazardous low-head dams  including Wilmington's  and spent $10 million to remove at least nine of them, including several on the Des Plaines River.

But when Democratic lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner got mired in their yearlong budget stalemate, the state ran out of money to continue the project.

And in Wilmington, proposals to remove the dam have met resistance. As recently as 2013, there was talk of transferring ownership of the dam from the city to the state, but since the state proposed removing the structure, local leaders are trying to save what they consider a defining feature of their small town. Its main park sits on an island in the Kankakee next to the dam. Wilmington is known as "The Island City," and a river runs through its logo.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 10 Abigail Arroyo, 13 and her brother, Eder Arroyo, 12, both died from injuries they suffered after going into the Kankakee River near the Wilmington dam. Eder swam into the water to try to touch the waterfall and was pulled under. Abigail died after trying to save him. (Family photo)

Because of the dam, people come from around the Chicago area to fish and picnic at the park. But when a chunk of the dam broke in 1990, the river gushed out and left the riverbed bone-dry. So locals want to improve safety, City Administrator Tony Graff said, but dread the thought of losing their defining feature, despite assurances from state officials that the river would continue flowing, just as it does now downstream from the dam.

"Our island is the jewel of Wilmington," Graff said. "A lot of people from the area come down to enjoy nature here. We're proud of it."

This past spring, the city hired an engineering firm to study the hydrology of the site to see if cutting notches in the top of the dam would reduce or eliminate the force of its undertow.

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"We're all in agreement, we need to do something," Graff said. "We're trying to maintain the character of the river without removing the whole dam."

A related aspect of the dam site is the mill race, a narrow channel that divides the island from the city. One proposal would turn the mill race into a kayak and canoe run.

If implemented, that plan would resemble changes made to a dam in Yorkville, where Graff used to be city administrator and police chief and oversaw plans to tame a similarly notorious dam.

In Yorkville, the mayor had asked state authorities to review the Glen D. Palmer Dam's structure because of drownings there. Regulators put in rubble to fill in a hole and reduce the undertow at the downstream base of the dam, but the problem returned.

Eventually, after the dam had claimed several more lives, regulators built concrete steps onto the dam's downstream base and added turbulent chutes through which canoes and fish can go around the dam. That solution preserved the deep water upstream that's used by fish, fowl and outdoor enthusiasts.

Graff said he started planning for that fix in 2001, and the project wasn't completed until 2010, showing how long it can take to get such projects done. It also cost more than $4 million.

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Simply removing a dam, by contrast, can be accomplished in a few weeks and would cost less, said Daniel Injerd, director of water resources for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

"This has to be one of the most dangerous dams in the state," Injerd said. "It's an almost ideal site for looking at dam removal."

Despite fears about the impact on fishing, state biologists believe that removing dams improves the fish stock by returning rivers to their natural state and letting fish migrate freely.

But as long as Wilmington owns the dam there, the decision is up to city officials.

Some online commenters on the subject have said people should use common sense and stay away from the dam. But attorney Michael Rom, who helped represent the Antolak family in its suit against the city, said he couldn't believe the problem hadn't been fixed, adding that fencing could help prevent people from falling into the water there.

"How they allow that to happen every couple of years is insane to me," he said.

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The results of the engineering study of the dam is expected to be presented to the City Council in the coming weeks. If the proposal to modify the structure with notches to reduce undertow gets the go-ahead, the city will then have to undertake an environmental assessment that could take from six months to two years.

Then it would need to draw up specifications and seek bids before construction could begin.

Officials hope to work with the state and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as with a couple of homeowners west of the river whose ownership claims extend halfway into the river. Federal regulators are leaving it to local officials to decide what to do. The Army Corps may regulate modifications through permits, but officials said they have no position on the debate.

Cutting notches into the dam could cost around $1 million. The state estimated that safety modifications, such as adding steps or rocks to the backside of the dam, could cost $2 million to $5 million. The city doesn't have the money, so officials hope to get state or federal funding.

Meanwhile, the river remains a draw for anglers, boaters and bathers. Mike Casagrande, a fisherman who has spent years canoeing in the area, said the slow-moving water near the dam lulls people into a false sense of security.

"It's very deceiving," he said.

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This summer, the U.S. Department of the Interior named the Kankakee River a National Water Trail, which recognizes its recreational and ecological value, but does nothing to change the dam.

Among the long list of drownings around the Wilmington dam, one particularly tragic accident occurred in 2006, when a 4-year-old boy fell into the river near the dam. Several relatives jumped in to save him, and the boy was rescued, but three rescuers drowned: the boy's 27-year-old mother; his uncle, an ex-Marine; and a passerby who tried to help.

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One survivor who was pulled out with a rope said the water was swirling in circles and sucking him down like a vacuum cleaner.

The Wilmington police chief at the time, Wally Evans, told the Tribune, "I'm telling you, it's terrible here, it's really terrible."

The boy's family sued and reached a confidential settlement with the city's insurer.

After repeated horror stories like that, Antolak's family members would prefer the dam be removed. They would like to see a memorial to all those who have died there, which would also serve as a warning of how deadly the dam can be.

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Mary Janikowski, another of Antolak's sisters, said, "We wanted this to stop when Andrew died."

rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertMcCoppin
A woman filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Thursday against the city of Chicago and six of its police officers after she said the officers profiled her based on her religious garb and assaulted her outside a CTA train station last year.

On July Fourth, Itemid Al-Matar, who was observing Ramadan, was trying to catch the train home so she could break fast at sunset. As she was walking up the stairs to the CTA "L" stop at State and Lake streets, police officers grabbed her, unprovoked, and threw her down on the landing, the suit alleges.

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According to court records, Al-Matar, 32, moved to Chicago from Saudi Arabia two years ago to study English.

A CTA surveillance video shows Al-Matar climbing the stairs alone toward the platform when a group of five officers approaches her from behind. One of the officers grabs her by the shoulder and brings her to the ground, where the police huddle around her and appear to search her.

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At a news conference Thursday, Al-Matar's attorney, Gregory Kulis, claimed police ripped off her religious headwear, a hijab and niqab. He said they exposed her midriff while she was handcuffed on the ground.

Al-Matar was arrested and charged with reckless conduct and several counts of obstructing justice. In June, a Cook County judge dismissed the first charge and found Al-Matar not guilty of the other counts.

Itemid Al-Matar's attorney Gregory Kulis and Ahmed Rehab, executive director of Chicago's Council On American Islamic Relations speak at a news conference to announce Al-Matar's federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Chicago on August 11, 2016. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune) (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

"If they felt that there was some concern, the initial approach would be like every one of us on the street: 'Excuse me, sir, excuse me, ma'am, can I just ask you a question  what's your name and where are you going?'" Kulis said.

A Chicago police spokeswoman said the department does not comment on pending litigation.

The suit cites Mayor Rahm Emanuel's acknowledgment in December of a prevailing "code of silence" among police and claims the department's failing to investigate and discipline officers is a contributing factor in Al-Matar's incident.

Kulis said the police incident report included information that somebody indicated she was a "lone wolf suicide bomber."

"It's unfortunate that in Chicago this incident reflects ingrained prejudice that some people still have," Kulis said.

He said he expects police Superintendent Eddie Johnson to hold the officers involved accountable.

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The suit  which alleges use of excessive force, false arrest, unlawful search, malicious prosecution and violation of Al-Matar's right to freedom of religious expression  will continue conversations about Islamophobia in the U.S., said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of Chicago's Council On American Islamic Relations.

Siham Naser, left, and Lana Kashkeesh, center, both interns at Chicago's Council On American-Islamic Relations, listen to Itemid Al-Matar, right, at a news conference Aug. 11, 2016, announcing Matar's federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Chicago. The suit claims she was searched and physically assaulted by Chicago police July 4, 2015. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Rehab said the incident demonstrates the Chicago Police Department still needs to devote more time to sensitivity training.

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"Policing ought to protect us from unlawful activity and crimes. It should not be in the business of attempting to protect us against people who look different," he said.

Rehab noted that because Al-Matar was jailed the night of the incident, she was unable to break her fast for another day.

"There is a human at the center of this case. ... under this simple piece of cloth is a full and complex heart-beating human," said Rehab. "We understand that for many people she may look like someone they that they are scared of. But that does not excuse dehumanizing or demonizing her."

Because of the pending litigation, Al-Matar  who goes by the name Angel  spoke only a few sentences at the news conference Thursday. She said she did not leave home this Fourth of July, her second in the U.S.

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"I don't want that nightmare to happen again," she said.

mrenault@chicagotribune.com

twitter @marionrenault
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson met with the nations top cops to discuss violent crimes affecting major cities throughout the country. Aug. 10, 2016. (WGN-TV / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

Chicago was not alone when it came to spikes in homicides last year.

About 40 other cities across the country also saw increases in killings after going years with record-breaking drops in violent crime.

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This has caused alarm for police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and several other police chiefs throughout the U.S. who met in Chicago on Wednesday to talk about how to tackle the violence problem.

They spoke to reporters about how much of the violence in these cities happens in impoverished neighborhoods with poor infrastructure, and how the people who carry guns illegally are driving much of the bloodshed.

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"We're intrinsically connected with the problems of the poor," Milwaukee police Chief Edward Flynn said of law enforcement. "Indeed, despite what our critics say, we are the most powerful advocates for the poor who are most affected by violence and turn to us for a solution."

Chicago saw double-digit spikes in shootings and homicides at the end of 2015, a trend that has continued into this year.

Through Sunday, homicides in Chicago were up 43 percent this year with 396, up from 276 a year earlier, statistics show. Shooting incidents were up from 1,380 to 2,040, a 48 percent spike. And on Monday, nine people were fatally shot in Chicago, the worst homicide toll for a single day in the city since July 5, 2003.

Other cities like Milwaukee and Washington, D.C.  both much smaller than Chicago in population  also have had homicide spikes that they haven't seen in years.

During Flynn's first seven years in Milwaukee, the city enjoyed six years' worth of its lowest homicide totals in more than two decades, reflective of a national trend. But at the end of 2015, the city saw its highest homicide total in 25 years.

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In Washington, D.C., homicides increased for the first time in a decade at the end of last year.

"We can't allow our cities to go back where we were in the early '90s," said Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier. "We refuse to do that."

In Chicago's case, Johnson believes, the spike in violence so far this year was caused, in part, by the amplified distrust between the police and the African-American community following the release of a video showing a white officer killing black teen Laquan McDonald, shooting him 16 times.

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Johnson also blamed Chicago's "rocky year" on a new state law and agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union that created confusion among cops about stopping potential criminals on the street, particularly minorities, without risking violations to their constitutional rights.

"We recognize as a collective group that distrust of police is real right now," Johnson said, referring to himself and other police chiefs at Wednesday's meeting. "But look, we all took an oath to serve and protect and that's what I expect officers of Chicago to do and nationwide."

Johnson and Flynn also talked about their belief that light sentences for felons convicted of carrying guns illegally is a huge obstacle to stemming violence for some cities.

"Right now our criminal offenders find it more risky to get caught without their gun than to get caught with their gun," Flynn said. "Because the penalty on the street is more severe than anything we can marshal to deter them from carrying guns illegally."
Nearly 100 people have been shot in Chicago in less than a week, pushing the number of shooting victims so far this year to more than 2,500  about 800 more than this time last year, according to data kept by the Tribune.



Between last Friday afternoon and early Thursday, at least 99 people were shot in the city, 24 of them fatally. At least nine people were killed on Monday alone, the deadliest day in Chicago in 13 years, according to Tribune data. Among the wounded that day was a 10-year-old boy shot in the back as he played on his front porch in Lawndale.



The number of shooting victims in Chicago stood at 2,514 Thursday morning. At this time last year, 1,725 people had been shot. The city has not seen this level of gun violence since the 1990s, a trend the Police Department has blamed on lax gun laws and feuding gang factions.



Over eight hours from Wednesday evening through early Thursday, three people were killed and at least 10 others were wounded in the city.



A 50-year-old man was killed and two others were wounded when someone walked up to their van in the Gresham neighborhood around 1:55 a.m. Thursday, yelled "Hey" and started shooting, police said.



The three  two men and a woman  had been stopped at a stop sign in the 8000 block of South Marshfield Avenue when the gunman opened fire, police said. The van took off, made a left turn on 78th Street and stopped, police said.



The 50-year-old man was shot in the back and forearm. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and was pronounced dead, police said. The man was later identified as Winston Delaney, 50, of the 8100 block of South Justine Avenue.



The other man was shot in the right forearm and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. The woman was struck in the hip and back. She was also taken to Stroger, where her condition was stabilized, police said.



About 10:20 p.m. Wednesday, a 22-year-old man died after being shot in the head in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side, police said.



Officers responded to a call of shots fired and found Stephan Triplett lying on the parkway in the 12400 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:13 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.



Triplett, who also spelled his Stephon in some public records, lived two blocks away in the 12400 block of South Emerald Avenue, the office said.



The third fatal shooting occurred around the same time, at 10 p.m., in the Near West Side neighborhood, police said.



A 22-year-old woman was in a car traveling west on Adams Street near Oakley Avenue when a black Hyundai sedan pulled up and someone got out and fired shots, police said. The gunman ran away as the Hyundai sped away, police said.



The woman was hit twice in the chest. She was driven to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

She was identified as Jamie Williams, of the 10600 block of South LaSalle Street, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. She was pronounced dead at 10:19 p.m. after suffering a gunshot wound to the chest, the office determined following an autopsy Thursday.



Other shootings:



 Around 4 a.m. Thursday, a 31-year-old man was wounded in the 5200 block of West Quincy Street in the Austin neighborhood, police said. The man was shot in the lower back, and he was taken in fair condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.



 Around 12:20 a.m., a 34-year-old man was critically wounded in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, police said. The man was shot five times in the 4200 block of West Grenshaw Street. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, police said.



 About 11 p.m. Wednesday, a 27-year-old man was wounded in the Marquette Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side, police said. The man was in the 7200 block of South Artesian Avenue when he was shot in the right foot. He was taken to a hospital but his condition was not known.



 About 10 p.m., a 20-year-old woman was wounded in the Longwood Manor neighborhood on the Far South Side, police said. The woman was in the 9600 block of South Wentworth Avenue when she was shot in the right foot. She was taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where she was listed in good condition, police said. Police said the woman was being uncooperative.



 About 9:20 p.m., a 24-year-old man was grazed in the South Chicago neighborhood on the South Side, police said. The man was walking in the 2400 block of East 82nd Street when someone sitting on a park bench took out a gun and fired, police said. The man was grazed and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in good condition, police said.



 Paramedics were called to the 5600 block of South Wolcott Avenue about 8:55 p.m. and found two shooting victims, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Jeff Lyle. One person was shot in the arm, the other was shot in the leg, Lyle said.



One of them was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, and an ambulance remained to treat the other person, Lyle said.



 About 8:25 p.m. on the Far South Side, a 32-year-old man was shot in the back in the 700 block of East 105th Place in the Roseland neighborhood, said Officer Thomas Sweeney, a police spokesman.



The man went to Roseland Community Hospital, Sweeney said.
In a warehouse in Joliet, hundreds of marijuana plants sway under high-intensity lights, taking in carbon dioxide-rich air, sucking up a constant feed of nutrients and bristling with buds.

Like Olympic athletes, the plants are rigorously trained and intensively pampered. Tiny predator bugs patrol the surface of the vegetation, hunting down any pests. Workers prune stems and leaves to put all the plants' energy into buds that produce the drug's euphoric and medicinal effects. The process churns out 200 pounds of high-grade pot every month.

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The grow house at Cresco Labs is one of 19 cultivation centers in Illinois authorized by the state to produce medical cannabis. The facilities generally had been closed to the media until Wednesday, when reporters were allowed an unprecedented tour of the growing operation.

The look inside the state's secretive program comes as the struggling medical marijuana industry in Illinois is poised to grow. Last month, for the first time, the state added two new medical conditions  post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal illness  to the list of about 40 that qualify patients to buy the drug.

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 13 Jessica Ryan skirts marijuana plants in the flowering room at Cresco Labs. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

To address doctors' concerns that federal law still prohibits the distribution of marijuana, lawmakers also changed the statute to allow physicians to certify patients as having a qualifying medical condition without having to risk their licenses by vouching for the drug's medical benefits.

And in court, recent rulings are forcing state officials to reconsider adding other new conditions such as migraine headaches and chronic post-operative pain.

Though Illinois has one of the most restrictive programs in the nation with only 9,000 patients, they spent about $3 million on the drug last month.

Industry leaders are hopeful that expanded access will translate into more patients and a more sustainable program.

Charles Bachtell, founder and CEO of Cresco Labs, said a consultant estimates there will be more than 100,000 patients in Illinois, comparable to Colorado's medical cannabis population, by year three of the pilot program that began when the first licensed dispensaries opened in November.

"The program is seeing significant growth month to month," Bachtell said. "It's changed patients' lives. There's a great energy out there."

The legalization of marijuana  be it medical or recreational  has progressed steadily in recent years. Half the states in the union have authorized medical marijuana. Four allow sales to all adults and five more may have ballot initiatives this year. In Illinois, Gov. Bruce Rauner recently signed a law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the drug.

But organizations such as the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and American Academy of Pediatrics remain skeptical of medical marijuana, preferring that it be studied more and go through the same federal regulatory process as other legalized drugs.

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So the tour, authorized by Jack Campbell, a former police officer who is the new director of the state medical cannabis program, was meant to take the lid off the pilot program in Illinois and let the public see how the drug is produced and monitored.

Campbell said there have been no major criminal incidents associated with the program, such as theft of medical marijuana or sales to people who aren't certified.

Because of the state's harsh winters and the law's security requirements, almost all the medical marijuana grown in Illinois comes from warehouses. Besides Joliet, Cresco owns growing facilities in Kankakee and Lincoln. The facility in Lincoln is a hybrid greenhouse with solid walls but a translucent roof.

The Joliet facility has 144 security cameras monitoring its 40,000 square feet, with a feed to Illinois State Police. Every plant is tagged with an identification number to track it from seedling to sale.

All the plants begin in the so-called Mother Room, where about three dozen strains are chosen for their potency and growing ability. Stems are cut from the female plants to propagate clones.

As the small seedlings grow, they are moved into different rooms to provide optimal conditions for each stage of life. At first they are vegetative, growing like a bush, but eventually they begin to flower, growing thick clusters of buds. The stems and leaves have relatively few active components and are chopped up and thrown away.

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The buds are cut off, dried for a couple of weeks, then processed into either dry flower used for smoking, or distilled into an oil, which can be vaporized in electronic pens or infused into chocolates, tinctures, lotions and solid wax.

The warehouse is filled with aromas from the plants that range from licorice to fresh-cut grass, and chocolate from the in-house bakery.

Thirty-five people work at the warehouse, tending the plants, processing them and baking them into deserts designed by acclaimed chef Mindy Segal.

A bank-style vault holds the finished products until they are released for sale under names for strains such as DJ Flo and Kandy Kush. Monitors keep the grow rooms about 75 degrees with 50 percent humidity.

The whole process takes about six months. Every two weeks, workers start the procedure all over.

Drivers deliver the products in locked boxes to any of 40 state-authorized dispensaries. Each time, workers at the retail stores must call Cresco to get a special code to open each box.

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Marijuana is generally divided into two main subspecies: sativa, which is considered more stimulating, and indica, said to be more relaxing and sedating. Hybrids combine qualities of both.

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Potency is generally measured in terms of the percentage of THC, the component that gets users high, and CBD, which studies have shown may help reduce seizures and muscle spasticity. Cresco's flower products range in THC from 17 to 30 percent, and extracts run from 65 to 90 percent. Edibles are dosed with specified amounts of THC, generally 10 to 25 milligrams per serving.

By state law, independent labs must test samples of all marijuana sold in the state to verify potency and freedom from pesticides, molds or other contaminants.

The man directing cultivation for Cresco is 35-year-old Jason Nelson, who has degrees in horticulture and agronomy. He has worked in the industry in Colorado and Washington.

Despite the risk of working in a federally illicit industry, Nelson said it's satisfying hearing from patients with serious illnesses who've been helped to relieve pain or other symptoms.

"That's more than enough of an inspiration for me," he said. "It's very satisfying."

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rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertMcCoppin
Trevon Sykes, left, and Dewyone Childress, will be roommates in Northeastern Illinois University's first-ever on-campus residence, where they are seen on Aug. 2, 2016. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

For the first time in Northeastern Illinois University's history, the lead-up to the first day of classes this fall includes a ritual commonplace at other universities: move-in day.

The Northwest Side college plans to open its first on-campus residence hall  a six-story, 110-unit building called The Nest, on Aug. 19.

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Building a dorm is a big move for Northeastern, which was the state's only public, four-year institution that did not have on-site student residences. But other city schools that started out with very few or no dorms have boosted student housing significantly in recent years.

It is a shift away from the template of the urban commuter university, where students pop onto campus for a few hours then leave. While the majority of students at Northeastern and similar schools will still live off campus, administrators say student housing is the linchpin in creating a more comprehensive college experience for all students.

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"I think it's just an evolution of the university," Northeastern President Sharon Hahs said. "As we have grown and changed, we've realized that it's time."

The $34.2 million Northeastern dorm can hold 440 residents, including eight live-in staff members. It has 90, four-bedroom/two-bathroom units and 20 two-bedroom/two-bathroom suites. It also includes a public community area on the first floor, game room, exercise room, computer lab, lounge, laundry rooms and study spaces throughout.

Texas-based developer American Campus Communities led the construction and is leasing the land from the university. Its staff will manage and operate the building. Northeastern spent $3.5 million on the project and worked with Alabama-based Collegiate Housing Foundation to secure another $40 million in bonds from the Illinois Finance Authority.

Northeastern Illinois University has built its first-ever on-campus residence, which will have a game room, still under construction, seen on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Hahs said about 200 students have signed leases to live at The Nest this year, in line with financial targets. Two-bedroom leases run $8,100 per person for the school year and four-bedroom leases are $10,188. All the rooms are furnished.

Dewyone Childress and Trevon Sykes of suburban Dolton are among the first residents. Both are new to Northeastern. Childress is transferring from South Suburban College and Sykes is an incoming freshman.

Childress, 21, and Sykes, 18, will share a two-bedroom unit and recently toured the building. Furniture and equipment had yet to be moved in, but the two said they were thrilled with what they saw.

"I've done the commuter thing before and it wasn't for me," said Childress, who plans to study computer science. "I don't like feeling drained before I get to school. Staying on campus was my No. 1 requirement, something I can afford. I feed off of energy and I feel like there will be a nice energy here."

Sykes said the dorm helps contribute to the sense of intimacy on campus, along with other components like small class sizes.

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"It's very vibrant and feels homey," said Sykes, who will major in psychology. "I think it will be easier for me to transition here because it makes me feel like home."

School leaders say the chorus of students saying they wanted the option to live on campus grew to a crescendo. Administrators added residential life as a goal in its 2008 strategic plan then did a market feasibility study, which showed dorms would boost recruitment and retention.

"It's to enhance the experience of students who traditionally come to Northeastern but also to invite a new set of students from farther away," Hahs said.

Columbia College Chicago in the South Loop and the University of Illinois at Chicago on the Near West Side are relatively recent converts from commuter to residential campuses.

Two decades ago, just a few hundred Columbia students lived on campus, according to Mark Kelly, vice president of student success. Now, more than 2,500 students live in five residence halls, and thousands more live nearby, in privately owned student housing.

Kelly said on-campus housing became imperative as Columbia drew more students from farther outside the Chicago area. The addition of those dorms  four in the past 12 years  has transformed the institution.

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"Twenty years ago, there were some student organizations, but they were not very vibrant. There was a modest number of student events, but they weren't well attended," Kelly said. "There was no clear sense of campus, there was no buzz. Now we have six student galleries, we have student performance spaces every night during the academic year, there's student-produced events. In a commuter campus, it's not like that can't happen, but it's hard to create."

Northeastern Illinois University has built its first-ever on-campus residence, a decided shift for the historically urban/commuter school. It is seen on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

UIC began a similar overhaul in the late 1980s, a few years after the medical center and old Circle campuses merged.

"Prior to the residence halls coming on campus, there were literally brick walls and gates around the campus," said Mark Donovan, UIC vice chancellor for administrative services. "The campus really shut down at about 6 on Friday night and reopened at 6 Monday morning. There might be an occasional concert or some activity in the student center, but it was really a ghost town."

UIC's first dorm went up near Harrison and Halsted streets in 1988 and the development culminated in the aughts, with three new dorms opening in six years. The most recent, Stukel Towers, welcomed students in 2007.

Around 20 to 25 percent of all UIC students and 40 percent of freshmen live on the University Village campus now, according to J. Rex Tolliver, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and director of campus auxiliary services.

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Like at Columbia, Tolliver said dorms helped spark a social scene at UIC that did not exist before.

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"This past year, we had homecoming activities for the first time in more than a decade," Tolliver said, noting those events drew hundreds of participants. "What UIC seeks to do is to provide a vibrant campus community regardless of the type of student that we have. We want to make sure that those students who are seeking a more residential, traditional campus environment, that they have that and have all the resources there."

The Nest was in the works for almost all of Hahs' nine-year tenure as president, but the task of boosting its popularity will fall to her successor. Hahs is retiring at the end of September. Provost Richard J. Helldobler will take over as interim president until April 2018.

Northeastern reached its dorm occupancy goals for the fall but significantly more students will need to move in to make the building financially sustainable in upcoming years, officials said. Longer term, the aim is to house about 10 percent of the student body on campus, Hahs said.

"It is just delightful to be here to cut the ribbon and to welcome our students," Hahs said. "It's very special to do this as I'm retiring."

cdrhodes@tribpub.com

Twitter @rhodes_dawn
The mayor of Rosemont has been cleared to get a 53 percent raise to $260,000 next year.

Village trustees approved the hike Wednesday for Brad Stephens to take effect in May, if he is re-elected in April, as expected.

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Though Stephens is an elected official, he works like a full-time village administrator, Rosemont spokesman Gary Mack said. In a community of about 4,200 residents, Stephens oversees a staff of more than 200 full-time and 500 part-time employees, with a budget of $182 million, the village reported. He also serves as de facto economic and community development director, traveling nationwide to attract hotels, restaurants and other businesses to the village, Mack said.

"Rosemont is an anomaly in terms of its economy and the size of the village and what it does," Mack said. "His job goes far beyond mayor."

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The new mayor's salary includes $25,000 the town leader earns for also being the local liquor commissioner  a figure that remains unchanged from the current pay.

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Including the liquor commissioner stipend, Stephens currently makes $170,000, similar to the average salaries of village administrators in 39 comparable municipalities, according to a 2012 study by the village. A village committee had recommended a raise in 2012, but Stephens declined, Mack said. A village committee recommended the raise and said it concluded that Stephens was "substantially under-compensated" when all his duties were considered.

The increase will make the mayor more highly paid that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who city records show earns $216,210. Among other high-paid elected officials in Illinois, state Supreme Court justices earn about the same as Emanuel. Gov. Bruce Rauner, after taking office, announced he would accept just $1 a year for his service; Pat Quinn before him earned about $179,000 in his last year in the governor's office.

Stephens is the son of Donald Stephens, who was Rosemont's mayor for more than 50 years and established the village as an economic powerhouse with a convention center, stadium, hotels and restaurants next to O'Hare International Airport. Several other family members are on the village payroll: Brad Stephens' nephew Chris Stephens earns $250,000 as head of the convention center, and Donald Stephens III, another nephew of the current mayor, makes $180,000 as head of the police and fire departments.

Earlier this year, the village erected a statue of Donald Stephens atop a fountain, which cost it about $800,000.

Mack said the village also generates a property tax refund to residents worth about $4,200 per property owner this year.

rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertMcCoppin
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, flanked by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and Federal Security Service Chief Alexander Bortnikov, right, arrives on a boat after inspecting battleships during a navy parade marking the Victory Day in Sevastopol, Crimea. (Ivan Sekretarev, AP)

MOSCOW  Ukraine's president put his army on combat alert Thursday along the country's de-facto borders with Crimea and separatist rebels in the east as a war of words between Russia and Ukraine threatened to heat up the largely frozen conflict over the Black Sea peninsula.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending in "saboteurs" to carry out attacks in Crimea.

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Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, a move that sparked fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. The conflict in the east has killed over 9,500 people and is still ongoing.

The Russian intelligence service FSB issued a statement Wednesday, saying one of its officers was killed over the weekend a few kilometers (miles) from the de-facto border between Crimea and Ukraine after a gun battle with a group of "saboteurs" from Ukraine.

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The FSB said the intruders carried an arsenal of bombs, ammunition and mines. They also reported another alleged incident in which two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armor. One Russian army soldier died in that clash, the FSB said.

Ukraine rejected the claims as "fantasy" and "a provocation."

Russian President Vladimir Putin upped the ante Thursday morning when he directly accused the Ukrainian government of plotting the attacks and called a meeting of the country's top brass to discuss boosting security in Crimea following reports of the foiled attacks.

Within hours, Poroshenko ordered the Ukrainian army to go on combat alert not only on the de-factor border with Crimea but also along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, where both sides were supposed to have withdrawn heavy weaponry but have been sporadically using them, according to international monitors.

The reports by Russian intelligence about foiled attacks in Crimea suggest the Kremlin is looking for a pretext to up the ante in its largely dormant confrontation with Ukraine. While local media and social media users have largely corroborated reports of a shootout at the Crimean border, there seemed to be no independent accounts of the second incident reported by the FSB, in which the Ukrainian army allegedly used artillery to cover saboteurs who tried to enter Crimea.

"A pretense of an anti-terrorism operation staged by Russia is more plausible than an actual Ukrainian attack on Crimea," prominent Russian journalist Oleg Kashin wrote Thursday on Slon.ru. "Russia deliberately pushes for an escalation and ignores the opportunities it has to preserve the status quo."

Peace talks in the Belarusian capital of Minsk in 2015 helped ease the fighting in eastern Ukraine but did not solve the crisis. While the separatists never allowed Ukrainian forces to regain control of the border with Russia as agreed, Ukraine has also not adopted legislation to provide broad autonomy to these territories. However, neither side has recently raised any alarm about the Minsk peace accords not being implemented, showing that both Russia and Ukraine find the current stalemate acceptable.

Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer says if the Kremlin wanted to make gains or solidify its positions in Ukraine, now would be a good moment because the world's attention is elsewhere.

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"The temptation is high to try and use this occasion to solve the Ukrainian problem once and for all," he said. "While America is right now not very operational because it's in a midst of a divisive election campaign, Europe is also divided  on Brexit, on refugees, on sanctions against Russia."

As soon as Russia forced the last Ukrainian troops based in Crimea to leave in 2014, Moscow began setting up fortified border crossings and sending weapons to the peninsula  from cutting-edge fighter jets to the newest missile defense systems.

Up until now, the de-facto Crimean border and personnel bore no resemblance to the trigger-happy fighters on both sides of the front line in eastern Ukraine. Hardly any disturbances or let alone cross-border shootings have been reported in Crimea since the annexation.

In an odd detail, Putin on Wednesday referred to Ukrainian authorities as "the people who seized power." In 2014, Moscow rejected recognizing the Ukrainian opposition's interim government, which came in after Ukraine's pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych, fled to Russia, saying instead that was a coup. But after Poroshenko was elected in May 2014, Putin began to call the Ukrainian government "partners."

The change of language could be a signal for a Russian change of plan regarding Ukraine.

"The main issue is what is going to happen to the Minsk talks  whether Russia will stop them or start asking for more concessions," respected daily Vedomosti said in an editorial Thursday. "In his rhetoric, Putin has returned to 2014, when he did not consider the Ukrainian government legitimate."

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Steve Knowlton wipes his eyes as he talks about his mother, Mary Knowlton, during an interview Aug. 10, 2016, in Punta Gorda, Fla. (Chris O'Meara / AP)

It wasn't supposed to be Mary Knowlton.

When it came time for the live role-play portion of the citizen police academy Tuesday night, organized by the local chamber of commerce at the Punta Gorda Police Department, another woman volunteered first.

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But she wasn't ready, a witness told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, so Knowlton, 73, stepped up instead.

Before Knowlton walked into the theatrically staged scenario, where she would experience firsthand the pressure officers feel when they're deciding whether to use lethal force, she turned to a friend and said: "I'm going to give them hell."

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Soon, she was dead.

Before she was known as the woman who was shot, Mary Knowlton was a civil servant, mother of two and wife of 55 years.

She spent her career as a librarian, advocating for books and children in Minnesota. When she moved to Punta Gorda, Fla., she did the same, working, even in retirement, with at-risk kids, the local library and the Chamber of Commerce. She often baked cookies for new neighbors.

On Sundays, she and her husband, Gary, would sit in the same row each week at church, reported WINK News. Photos show them reading on the beach, side by side. And it was together that they attended the citizen police academy Tuesday night, where an officer fatally shot her while dozens watched.

A "horrible accident," authorities called it.

During an interview at the Knowlton's home Wednesday, family told the Associated Press Gary had not seen his wife since. He was "devastated," they said.

"This killed our family," their son, Steve Knowlton, told WINK News. "I don't know if I'll ever get over this."

What he has been able to do is forgive the man who shot her.

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"My mom taught us never to hate," Knowlton, 50, told NBC News. "I can't harbor hate."

Wednesday night, Punta Gorda police identified the man who pulled the trigger as Officer Lee Coel, 28. He has been with the department since March 2014, where he worked as a K-9 officer and moved frequently throughout the community, providing presentations at "youth and neighborhood events."

Often, those presentations included the same lethal force role-play scenario that Knowlton volunteered for at the two-hour academy course Tuesday night, the statement said. It was during the scenario, where Coel was playing a "bad guy," that Knowlton was mistakenly shot with live ammunition instead of blank rounds.

Photos taken by Sue Paquin, a Charlotte Sun photographer who was covering the academy event and witnessed the shooting, show Police Chief Tom Lewis and another officer preparing Knowlton for the role-play. In one frame, she is reaching for a fake blue training gun.

Another photo shows Coel dressed as a stereotypical armed robber -- black pants, a black ski mask, a gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. In his hands is not a colored training weapon, like the one Knowlton had, but a small, silver gun.

At a press conference Wednesday, Lewis told reporters it was a real revolver.

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"There are certain details that I can't release, but what I can tell you is that we were unaware that any live ammunition for this particular weapon existed," Lewis said. "We believe the particular caliber of the weapon used, that there were only blank rounds available to the officer."

"How does that happen?" a reporter later asked. "How do you go unaware?"

"It's a great question," Lewis said. "And the investigation is going to detail how all those details were missed."

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting an independent investigation.

At the press conference, Lewis would only confirm that there are safety protocols in place for that particular weapon, but refrained from offering specifics, like who is responsible for checking the revolver chambers and by how many people it is inspected. Lewis said his staff had used that revolver many times - without injury - in the numerous role-play scenarios they had conducted in the last two years.

Not all officers had access to the revolver, but Lewis would not say specifically who could have loaded the gun with real bullets. In past demonstrations, like the one an NBC2 reporter took part in last December, the revolver used was filled with fake bullets containing soap, the TV station reported.

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After Tuesday's tragic shooting, the chief said his department will "absolutely not" use real weapons at future demonstrations.

Alongside dozens of people, the chief watched Tuesday's shooting unfold.

"It's just a horrific time for all of us," Lewis said.

He described Knowlton as a "phenomenal person" in the community.

Coel, Lewis said, was "very grief-stricken."

Officer Coel had made headlines in recent months, after video of his K-9, Spirit, was posted on YouTube, showing the dog attacking a shirtless man on a bicycle for nearly two minutes during an arrest last October. An outside expert determined Coel's use of force was justified, but the Punta Gorda Police Department did change its K-9 policies after the incident. The bicyclist in the case is preparing a civil lawsuit against Coel, the man's lawyer said.

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Coel previously worked at the Miramar Police Department, near Miami, but was given the option to resign after two excessive force complaints were brought against him, documents show. He was later cleared of those accusations, he wrote in his application to the Punta Gorda Police Department. He did, however, commit two policy violations, he wrote. The News-Press reported that he left for failing to complete an agency field training program, according to the FDLE.

Coel is being monitored by officers for his psychological health, Lewis said, and is receiving assistance from the Police Benevolence Association. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday by reporters at the News-Press.

After Knowlton fell to the ground after being shot, witnesses said Coel was seen kneeling beside her, giving the woman chest compressions, reported the Herald-Tribune. At first, those watching the demonstration just thought Knowlton was embracing her role as a shooting victim, the local chamber of commerce president John Wright told the newspaper. She paused for 10 to 15 seconds, Wright said, and collapsed on the ground.

Witnesses thought perhaps she was having a cardiac episode. But then they saw the blood.

"I know this officer didn't mean for this to happen. And I'm sure he's in a living hell right now," Steven Knowlton told WINK News. "We all forgive him."

Tuesday's citizen police academy event was supposed to be a "fun night," Steve Knowlton told the AP. His parents had experienced two recent break-ins in their neighborhood, NBC News reported, which was partly responsible for their attendance. But Knowlton, aware of the recent deadly attacks on officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, also wanted to show support for police.

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"She always fought to lift me up, to lift everybody up," Steve Knowlton told WINK News. "I want her to be remembered as that person, not the person that got shot."
The Muslim ban, the David Duke denial, the "Mexican" judge flap, the draft dodger denigrating John McCain's military service, the son of privilege attacking an immigrant Gold Star mother and the constant revisionism and lying about past political positions taken are but a few of the lowlights that have punctuated Donald Trump's chaotic chase for the presidency.

Any one of these offenses would have disqualified any other candidate for president. But the Republican nominee remained competitive against a historically weak Democratic nominee on the promise of bringing radical change and dramatic disruption to Washington.

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That appears to be changing. Post-convention polls show Trump falling behind by double digits both nationally and in must-win swing states like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Virginia.

And the political ride will only get rockier for Trump in the coming days after he suggested that one way to keep a conservative Supreme Court after Hillary Clinton got elected would be to assassinate her or federal judges. Trump and his supporters have been scrambling wildly all day to explain away the inexplicable, but they can stop wasting their time. The GOP nominee was clearly suggesting that some of the "Second Amendment people" among his supporters could kill his Democratic opponent were she to be elected.

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The presidential candidate that House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed tried to explain away his suggestion of an assassination by telling Sean Hannity his comments were meant to unite supporters before the election. It's too bad for Trump and his supporters that his comments related to what Hillary Clinton would do after being elected and nominating Supreme Court justices that gun owners would not like.

We are in uncharted waters but that does not mean that the way forward is not clear. It is.

The Secret Service should interview Donald Trump and ask him to explain his threatening comments.

The Secret Service is aware of the comments made earlier this afternoon.  U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) August 9, 2016

Paul Ryan and every Republican leader should denounce in the strongest terms their GOP nominee suggesting conservatives could find the Supreme Court more favorable to their desires if his political rival was assassinated.

Paul Ryan and every Republican leader should revoke their endorsement of Donald Trump. At this point, what else could Trump do that would be worse than implying the positive impact of a political assassination?

The Republican Party needs to start examining quickly their options for removing the Republican nominee.

A bloody line has been crossed that cannot be ignored. At long last, Donald Trump has left the Republican Party few options but to act decisively and get this political train wreck off the tracks before something terrible happens.

Washington Post
Carter Henry Harrison Jr. served as the 30th mayor of Chicago from 1897 to 1905 and 1911 to 1915. One of Harrison's biggest enemies was Charles Tyson Yerkes, whose plans to monopolize Chicago's streetcar lines were vigorously attacked. (Chicago Tribune)

Donald Trump's loose talk about the Second Amendment has gotten a lot of people worrying that he was not so subtly calling for armed violence, or even assassination.

More than a century ago, Chicago reformers weren't so delicate. In what might be called "good government terrorism," they actively talked about a mob stringing up a businessman widely hated for his power and corruption  the streetcar-elevated line magnate Charles Tyson Yerkes.

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As the 19th century neared its end, Yerkes was attempting to vastly improve the value of his streetcar lines by obtaining franchise agreements extending for 50 or, even better, 99 years. However, while he'd been able to win most such battles in the past, this time he found himself up against an increasingly organized coalition of reformers who, to their own surprise, were working hand in glove with some of the same corrupt politicians formerly in the financier's pocket.

Indeed, in 1897 and 1898, Yerkes was the target of an unprecedented campaign in which he was routinely and publicly threatened with violence.

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Consider these statements:

Ald. John Harlan, a reformer, speaking before a crowd of 3,500, issued a warning to "that proud and haughty bandit, that great highwayman  arrogant Charles T. Yerkes" that he was in danger of "decorating a lamp post."

Lawyer Charles Shackleford told a meeting of fellow Democrats, "I am opposed to mob law, but there are occasions in the history of every community when appeals to moral sense are in vain."

Former Illinois Gov. John Peter Altgeld told a group of 5,000 people: "I do not believe in capital punishment on general principles, but I want to say to you that, if those enthusiastic gentlemen who recently talked about lampposts should carry their measures into execution, it would have more effect at Springfield than a million bills."

Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison Jr., whose father had been assassinated during his fifth term as the city's chief executive, said: "I will not be surprised to see some hanging done in the streets of Chicago. I don't mind saying, too, that I shall not send in a riot call when it starts."

Yerkes wasn't the only target of such warnings. Aldermen, state legislators and prominent Chicago businessmen allied with Yerkes, and even their wives and children, were threatened. But Yerkes was, in the public mind, the embodiment of all that was corrupt, rotten and evil.

It was astonishing. For two years, a violent hysteria gripped officeholders, protesters and Chicago's newspapers. Even as they sought to cleanse the city's politics of corruption and bring good government to Chicago, Harlan, Harrison and other reformers were borrowing the lurid language of anarchist revolutionaries and Wild West vigilantes. They were playing with fire.

Like Trump, the reformers would have explained away their comments about lamp posts and lynching as jocular exaggerations. Yet, such talk stirred angry crowds to the edge of mob havoc. "Hang 'em! Hang 'em!" thousands of voices shouted at mass meetings, and it wouldn't have been difficult, even inadvertently, to push the hordes over that edge.

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During the height of the anti-Yerkes uproar, the central business district was filled with men sporting on their lapels a "noose badge" made of black satin and featuring the image of a gallows.

The Chicago Chronicle even published this advertisement in December 1898: "WANTED: 10,000 Strong-limbed and fearless men. Apply at the council chamber, with ropes, the night the aldermen attempt to pass the 50-year franchise robbery. Come prepared to do business."

At the City Council meeting later that month, the anti-Yerkes efforts came to a crescendo in a series of turning-point votes. Tough-looking men seated themselves along the front rows of the galleries. Each dangled a noose over the railings.

The threats worked. Yerkes was defeated by the reformers and their less-than-pure allies, including the infamous boodlers, Ald. "Bathhouse" John Coughlin and "Hinky Dink" Mike Kenna of the 1st Ward. Soon after, Yerkes sold off his Chicago holdings, reaping a large fortune, and then went to London where he was influential in the creation of that city's subway system, the Tube.

In the end, no one was hanged. But maybe Chicago just got lucky.

Such talk is a lot scarier today.

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Patrick T. Reardon, who covered urban affairs during much of his 32-year career with the Chicago Tribune, is writing a book about the city's elevated Loop, which was built by Yerkes.
Hopkins Ridge Farms is a hog confinement operation in Iroquois County where more than 8,000 pigs are raised to market weight. A July 2012 pig waste spill tied to Hopkins Ridge polluted more than 20 miles of Beaver Creek, state officials allege. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune) (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

If you've ever been to a pig farm, or near one, you won't forget the aroma. No, not the smell of frying bacon  the foul, ammonia-laced stench of hog waste.

The U.S. produces $21 billion of pork a year, including $6 billion for export. Illinois is the fourth-largest producing state, behind Iowa, North Carolina and Minnesota. That's a lot of pigs raised for slaughter downstate. And a lot of manure.

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The swine business is unavoidably filthy, but it shouldn't be poisonous to the state's waterways. A Tribune series, "The Price of Pork," details how the muck and yuck of pigs represent an under-regulated pollution threat. When farmers raising thousands of pigs mismanage their waste storage systems, harmful effluents can leach into creeks and rivers. In some cases, farmers overwhelmed with the stuff recklessly dump excess manure into streams or over-fertilize fields with it, creating a runoff risk.

The four-part Tribune report, by David Jackson and Gary Marx, examines the industry from snout to tail. Anyone whose relationship with pork is limited to supermarket shopping and backyard grilling should read it to understand where their packages of brats and chops come from. Industrial pig farming helps feed the country and provides jobs, but sometimes at an unanticipated cost: There are issues with the humane treatment of animals as well as the waste products.

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As the series explains, the state's pork business is concentrated on 484 massive farms, known as hog confinements. They raise more than 5,000 pigs at a time and account for much of the state's estimated $1.5 billion in annual sales.

The system is about as efficient as it can get: Pigs spend their entire lives in these massive shed-like facilities. Automated machines dispense food and water. And after the pigs have digested their food? In a typical design, the pigs stand on a slotted concrete floor that allows waste to fall below into an eight-foot-deep storage pit. That waste is then transferred via pipes to a storage lagoon, where it eventually becomes fertilizer to be spread on fields ... to grow the crops to feed more pigs. It's a virtuous cycle when the system works properly.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 9 Jeff Seabaugh walks through a pig shed at his confinement operation in Montgomery County in southwestern Illinois. Contract farmers like Seabaugh own the confinement buildings, raise the thousands of pigs inside and manage the millions of gallons of waste produced. But the animals are the property of larger companies. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

When things go wrong, it creates an environmental hazard. Pipes can break and lagoons can overflow, allowing pig waste to escape into rural waterways. Leaks and spills destroyed hundreds of thousands of fish in 67 miles of Illinois waterways over a 10-year span, the series reports: "No other industry came close to causing that amount of damage."

While the series documents fewer than 80 of these events among 900-plus swine facilities during the past decade, they shouldn't happen at all. When they do, operators should know they will face quick, significant sanctions. But that's where the breakdown occurs, the series reports: Illinois has weak oversight.

The state Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for promoting livestock production and regulating it, has little authority to deny permit applications for hog confinements, the series says. When the big farms have spills, they typically pay small fines. Even keeping track of these farms is problematic: Unlike other large pork states, Illinois protects the privacy of producers. There is no public database of hog confinements, which prevents local residents from determining how many are in their area.

Contrast Illinois with Iowa, for example, which operates a confinement database. Minnesota, which publishes addresses on websites, has a strong system of county and state approvals, Danielle Diamond of Illinois Citizens for Clean Air & Water tells us. These seem like logical fixes for Illinois. The more regulatory authority there is in place, and more visible it is, the more likely farmers and business owners will be to act responsibly.

Illinois needs agriculture jobs and exports, and should find ways to encourage pork production, now a global industry. But that growth shouldn't leave a stench.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
Relatives take pictures of kidney donor Justin Maduena (left) and recipient, Stewart Botsford of Arlington Heights, during their first time meeting before their transplant surgery next week, at the University of Chicago Hospital in Chicago Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (Kevin Tanaka / Pioneer Press)

When Justin Maduena's wife forwarded him a Facebook post showing a car window bearing the plea, "Dad Needs Kidney," the 42-year-old father of six from downstate Illinois stopped what he was doing and fired up his cellphone.

"I called the phone number on the sign, and lo and behold, Stewart answered the phone, so I asked, 'how can I help?'" recalled Maduena, who, accompanied by his wife, Melinda Maduena, and the couple's two oldest children, drove roughly 200 miles from their home in tiny Dawson on Thursday to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where for the first time, he was united with Arlington Heights resident and kidney recipient Stewart Botsford, 54.

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"There's all this bickering going on in our country right now, with people saying, 'I want, I want, I want,'" Justin Maduena said. "But I just want to get the word out that people can help other families by being kidney donors."

"There's a lot of negative stuff happening in the world right now," added Botsford, who along with Maduena, is scheduled for surgery at the Chicago hospital on Aug. 16.

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"Everyone thinks that things are really bad out there these days, but my wife has always told me, 'Stewart, there are a lot of nice people, too,' and it's turned out to be true," Botsford said.

The serendipitous connection linking the Botsford and Maduena families was sparked in April, when Botsford's wife, Laura Botsford, 51, launched a grassroots road campaign, searching for an organ donor for her husband by posting signs on the family's three cars.

The Botsfords' search for a kidney donor was preceded by years of Stewart Botsford struggling with health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure.

Despite losing 100 pounds after gastric bypass surgery, which eliminated the diabetes, Botsford, a custodian for the Illinois Tollway, said years of hypertension led to him being hospitalized with renal failure in 2015. Just a few months later, he was undergoing dialysis treatments three times a week.

After conducting a bit of online research on how to seek organ donors via social media, Laura Botsford, a pastry chef, decided her best bet in finding a kidney donor that was a match for her husband would be taking her message to the streets  literally.

With the Evanston Awning Co., a family-owned business, creating and printing up the car window signs free of charge, after just two weeks, the Botsfords had attracted at least 10 potential donors, including Andrea Krauss, 45, of Algonquin.

Krauss, who said she learned of the Botsford family's search for a kidney while listening to the radio in her car, said though her kidney was not a match for Stewart Botsford, doctors at the University of Chicago Medical Center discovered it was the perfect organ for a 10-year-old child on dialysis, who was awaiting a kidney transplant at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

"The surgery was two weeks ago, and I'm feeling fantastic," said Krauss, adding that her husband, Tom Krauss, and their two teenagers, supported her decision to become a kidney donor.

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"I remember sitting at the table and praying to God, asking, 'is this insane?'" Krauss said. "But I've been blessed with good health, and I'm humbled to have been given this opportunity."

Krauss said she was also excited to learn that the donation of her kidney sparked a five-person chain of transplant surgeries, which included a recipient who had been on a waiting list for five years.

As with all kidney donor cases, doctors must review each potential organ donor independently, ensuring that a donor's blood type and tissue "markers" match with those of the recipient's.

In addition, doctors need to make sure the donor is aware of the potential health risks involved with the procedure, officials said.

There are currently 121,011 people waiting for a lifesaving transplant, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a private, nonprofit organization that manages the nation's organ transplant system under contract with the federal government.

While the demand for organs still far exceeds the number of donors, Dr. Adam S. Bodzin, a transplant surgeon at the University of Chicago Medical Center said the prevalence of social media is providing "a different segue for donors."

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"Between Facebook and all the other social media outlets, it's helping recipients connect with living donors," Bodzin said. "It's a wonderful experience to be a part of these living donor chains."

Indeed, as the Botsford and Maduena families met for the first time at the Chicago hospital Thursday, hugging and chatting before the two fathers were whisked away for an array of medical tests, Laura Botsford described the brief encounter as "amazing and surreal."

"Justin walked up, and the first thing he said to us was, 'who ordered a kidney?'" Laura Botsford said. "I wish we could get our families together later today, but they still have a four-hour drive back home."

"Our daughter, Samantha, is only 19, and I want to be healthy enough to walk her down the aisle someday," Stewart Botsford said. "Justin is my angel. He's a great guy, and I only wish there were more people like him out there."

kcullotta@tribpub.com

Twitter @kcullotta
Waubonsee Community College English as a Second Language teacher Marilyn Rockstroh (center) with students Areli Sanchez (left) and Irina Eremina (right). (Tom Strong / The Beacon-News)

Aurora has had some top-notch educators over the years, but not many have been as versatile as Waubonsee Community College English as a Second Language teacher Marilyn Rockstroh.

After earning a master's degree from Indiana University, she arrived to work in West Aurora District 129 as a speech and language pathologist in the 1970s.

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In a communication disorders class, she remembers working with some kids who were almost non-verbal.

"In that small group with someone who knew what language was about, some began to bloom and started talking," Rockstroh said. "It was very fulfilling."

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But as a teacher in a specialized area, she also needed to be an advocate for students, and Toni Vaughan, parent of a student with whom Rockstroh worked, remembers her being exactly that.

"She went to bat for my son when he was struggling," said Vaughan. "She stood up to administrators and didn't back down. She went to bat when nobody else would, and did it for all of her kids. She was tenacious and wanted to do what was right."

Rockstroh agreed that specialized education had its challenges.

"It was frustrating because there were district guidelines, but sometimes you had to look at the child and the instincts of the teacher and parents," she said. "It was different from a traditional classroom and I cared.

"There was also a wonderful lady named Wilma Fitzpatrick who was our coordinator and also was very 'pro-student.' But our whole group of speech and language pathologists was incredible, creative, and smart. They were amazing," she said.

She sees some of her West Aurora students occasionally, and says that "it's nice to see those who are successful and to think and hope that I had just a little something to do with it."

During the 1990s, Rockstroh had a district colleague who was teaching English as a Second Language at Waubonsee Community College, and she became interested in that as well. It was a spark which led to a different, but no less important, second career which began in 2000.

"I was taking Spanish classes, and of course was already interested in language," she said. "When there was an opportunity to teach non-English speakers, I thought that I'd love to help."

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For several years, Rockstroh blended her District 129 career with teaching ESL in the evening, but she remembered that in spite of the long days, working with ESL students was always energizing.

She recalled that, during those years, there were only about two times when she thought "I'm too tired  do I have to go?"

Also during that time, she attended multi-cultural seminars during two summers in Costa Rica, and spent time in Mexico during several more summers in a continuing effort to learn Spanish well.

"You're exhausted at the end of the day, and your brain is tired from thinking every minute," Rockstroh said of her times in Mexico. "It gave me a big appreciation of what it's like as an adult to try to learn another language."

She retired from District 129 several years ago, but has continued as an ESL teacher at Waubonsee.

The Waubonsee ESL program, which is free for students, is a grant-funded program. It is smaller now, partly because of the state budget problems, but Rockstroh looks forward to continuing to teach in it.

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"It's very important that we facilitate learning English for the people who want to do it," she said. "The students in your classes know the only way to succeed in a country is to speak the language."

Tom Strong is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
Nine properties along this section of Bilter Road, just east of Chicago Premium Outlets mall in Aurora, are for sale together, as a sign to the right indicates. The property owners want to clear up drainage issues on the properties relating to construction of the parking lot for the outlet mall addition. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News)

How many engineers does it take to fix a drainage situation?

There may be no easy answer to such a rhetorical question, but city of Aurora officials said they might try to find out.

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Bill Wiet, the city's chief development officer, said this week he will put as many engineers together as is appropriate to meet with nine property owners along Bilter Road, east of Chicago Premium Outlets mall in Aurora.

Those property owners have banded together to try to sell about five acres of properties as one unified development, and they want to resolve possible drainage issues they might have as a result of the outlet mall development.

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"I want to do a face-to-face with the residents, to get everything on the table," Wiet said.

The engineers would be from the Outlet Mall development, the city, the state  whoever should be at the meeting, Wiet said.

The issue came up when Willie Cox, one of the property owners, appeared at a City Council meeting to plead his case to aldermen.

Cox has argued his case before, saying for years his land and others along Bilter have been drained by three, 8-inch tiles that were disconnected when the new Outlet Mall parking lot was built. Only one of the tiles was reconnected, he said.

"Someone said someone would come up and take a look," he said. "Someone did. I could tell because they left little red flags there. But no one has said anything to me."

The nine properties along Bilter are long and thin. They are an island of unincorporated properties surrounded by the city of Aurora.

The city owns one of the lots along Bilter, which it purchased and annexed as a possible second back entrance to the outlet mall.

Because the properties are unincorporated, they are governed by state of Illinois drainage laws, "which says no one can build anything to impede" the drainage on the properties, Cox said.

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Wiet said he would try to organize the meeting in the next week, and Mayor Tom Weisner told Cox the city would try to get back to him "in the next couple days."

slord@tribpub.com
An 18-year-old Aurora woman was shot in the arm Tuesday night as she sat in a car parked on Aurora's West Side.

The woman was talking with several other people who were outside the car at about 10:38 p.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of Woodlawn Avenue when a man walked by the group, northbound on the sidewalk, and opened fire, according to the police department's preliminary investigation. The woman was the only person hit, but a 15-year-old boy with the group was cut by flying glass, according to an email from police spokesman Dan Ferrelli.

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The boy was treated at the scene. Fire department paramedics took the woman to an Aurora hospital, where she was treated for a non-life threatening wound to one of her arms, Ferrelli said.

Police say they do not know the motive for the shooting. The suspect appeared to be between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall and between 120 and 140 pounds and was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and green hat, Ferrelli said. He was last seen running westbound on Garfield Avenue.

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Police ask anyone with information about the incident to call Aurora police investigators at 630-256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and qualify for a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to any arrests.

People also can submit tips through the Aurora Police Department's free My PD app available through iTunes, the Android Market or Amazon App Store.

hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
Two masked men smashed several windows, broke through the front door of a Buffalo Grove home and then stabbed four people and a dog, authorities say. Aug. 10, 2016. (CBS Chicago)

Two masked men smashed several windows, broke through the front door of a Buffalo Grove home and then stabbed four people and a dog, authorities say. Aug. 10, 2016. (CBS Chicago)

Buffalo Grove police on Thursday morning arrested one of three "persons of interest" in the home invasion and stabbing of four people as officers wait for the Cook County state's attorney's office to file charges against the suspect.

Officers released the other two they brought into custody Wednesday and questioned about the home invasion, said Deputy Chief Roy Bethge. The department is not releasing the identity of the suspect until charges are filed, he said.

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The state's attorney's office declined to comment Thursday morning.

Police now suspect one man broke into the single-family home in the 400 block of St. Marys Parkway about 12:05 a.m. Wednesday and used a hunting knife to stab four of the five people in the house, as well as a German shepherd.

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The homeowner was "repeatedly stabbed," according to police, and remains hospitalized in serious condition Thursday. The three other victims were treated and released from nearby hospitals Wednesday.

The initial police report indicated the homeowner grabbed his handgun and fired a single bullet, prompting the intruder to flee. The owner had a registration card for the weapon, Bethge said.

Bethge said he was "hoping" for prosecutors to file charges against the suspect Thursday, but he noted that his officers have a lot of work yet to do.

"Our investigators are still following up on a mountain of information," he said.

Wheeling officers took three men into custody in the early morning hours Wednesday, and police reports indicated one of them possessed "a large, blood-stained hunting knife." Buffalo Grove released two of the persons of interest without charges later that afternoon, Bethge said.

Buffalo Grove police said Thursday the injured dog is in good condition after undergoing surgery.

Amanda Busch, a neighbor to the family injured in the attack, started a GoFundMe page for the dog, asking anyone to donate and help cover the medical costs of the family's German shepherd named Piston. Its shoulder was injured in the attack.

She said Piston is expected to recover following the surgery. The family has asked her not to speak about anything else related to the incident, she said.

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"The family would appreciate that their privacy be respected at this time," Busch said.

The page is looking to raise $6,000 for the dog. People so far have donated more than $3,200.
Two teens have been charged with armed robbery at the Harvey Metra station in April after the alleged victim recognized the pair this week while marking a service call for his job with Comcast, authorities said.

Bail for one of the two, Damareea Lindsey, 18, of Park Forest, was set at $20,000 Thursday by Cook County Judge Darron Bowden at the Markham courthouse. Lindsey is charged with aggravated robbery along with a 15-year-old boy, also from Park Forest. Authorities said the 15-year-old was taken to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago after he and Lindsey were arrested Wednesday.

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Lindsey and the juvenile are two of four people believed to be involved in the armed robbery, which took place about 9 p.m. April 18 at the Harvey station of the Metra Electric Line, Metra police said.

The victim said he heard a "clicking noise" and turned to see two of the offenders displaying handguns, which later were determined to be BB guns, authorities said. They took the victim's cellphone, two money clips and a backpack before fleeing.

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On Wednesday, the victim went to a home near West 154th Street and Honore Avenue in Harvey for a service call and spotted Lindsey and the other teen on the front porch of the house, prosecutors said. He called the police, who took three people into custody. Only Lindsey and the juvenile have been charged at this time.

Lindsey and the juvenile were arrested following a short foot chase after officers arrived in the area of the home, Metra police said.

Arrests are pending on the other two offenders, Metra police said.

Lindsey is due back in court Sept. 1.

Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter.
Emmanuel Joseph finished high school in Nigeria before moving to the United States with his family in October of 2013. But like other immigrant students and even graduates, he fell into a logistical quagmire: His native high school credentials did not meet requirements needed to enter certain American universities and colleges.

So while he was taking general education classes at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, he signed up for the high school equivalency program.

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"I thought, you know, I'm a high school grad, this should be smooth sailing, but it wasn't," said Emmanuel, who lives in Oak Lawn.

Though he opted to self-study instead of attending GED classes, he often brought his questions to work with him. As a student worker in Moraine's Adult Basic Education office, Emmanuel said he relied on fellow students, teachers and staff to get him through the toughest parts of the preparation, namely the social studies.

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"It was my first time in the U.S. I knew nothing about the U.S. government. And you have to take the Constitution test to pass," he said. "Believe it or not, all those little pieces  all that help  came together."

Emmanuel graduated summa cum laude from the community college this past spring, around the same time he passed the GED. This fall, he starts as a junior biology major at the University of Illinois at Champaign. His sister, Janet, who followed a similar path, also begins studies in microbiology at U of I this semester.

Both hope to become doctors one day.

Emmanuel Joseph recently graduated from Moraine Valley Community College's GED program. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

Falling off track

Although immigrants have a set of issues all their own when it comes to acquiring the necessary documentation to advance to college-level coursework here in the United States, many of the other people who enroll in GED preparation classes are there because they dropped out of high school.

And the reasons for that are myriad, said Michael Morsches, dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness at Moraine.

They range from learning disabilities to complicated family situations to health problems to a misperception that it's somehow easier to get a GED. That latter reason is more common in urban areas, where students think they can just pass the test and get out, Morsches said.

"You can come into a GED program when you're 16. So some think, 'Why sit through school for two more years?' The perception is that it's faster and easier to do it on your own," Morsches said. "It's not, but how seductive is that to a student who isn't doing well in school?"

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He said over the years, he has counseled kids to stay in school.

"Even though you get the GED, it is never preferable to a high school diploma," he said.

Morsches said about a third of the 450 to 650 students who enter the GED program at Moraine each year have learning disabilities, which likely contributed to the reason they dropped out and which is why the school also offers developmental education. The catch-up classes are the same kind of courses available to high school graduates who aren't quite prepared for college-level material.

Michael Morsches, dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness, talks about the college's GED program on Aug. 2, 2016. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

And then there are the senior citizens who never graduated, perhaps because they found work or started a family. Now, because they want to advance in the working world or maybe find a new career path, they are back in school to tend to unfinished business.

Joining Emmanuel in the graduating class of 2016 was Bertha Condra, who came back to school after 40 years. It took her a couple of attempts, she finally achieved her goal and ended up delivering a motivating speech at the ceremony.

"She's a real cheerleader for Moraine," said Nina Shoman-Dajani, assistant dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness.

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Eleven people who signed up for GED prep classes at Moraine's three campuses last year were over the age of 60, education specialist Carolyn Markel said.

Though the free preparation classes, offered both in the morning and evening, are filled with students of all ages, the majority at Moraine are between 25 and 45. All are given placement tests upon entry to the program. Many are simultaneously enrolled in English as a Second Language classes.

Morsches said: "A lot of people come here who were housewives or who had blue collar jobs in Europe. When they get here, this is part of the American dream but have to get the GED. They have absolutely no learning impairments but second language issues."

Katarzyna Kocach came to the United States when she was 19. She had not finished high school in her native Poland, but saw language as an immediate barrier to success so she enrolled in ESL classes. She was also able to find work as a caregiver for several years, during which time she married and started a family.

When the woman she was tending to passed away, Kocach said, she decided to pursue a career in healthcare. She enrolled in Moraine's GED program in 2014. When her husband fell ill, she had to stop attending classes but she continued to study on her own, she said.

In March, she passed the GED exam.

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"Then I enrolled in a bridge to healthcare program over the summer. It was for English second language speakers," she said. "I will take medical terminology in the fall."

The Palos Hills resident now has her sights set on a career in phlebotomy.

Shoman-Dajani said there are students who have come to the United States in crisis, refugees or asylees who've fled quickly, unable to collect documents. Some have advanced degrees or are professionals but are just kind of starting over.

Some are able to begin bridge programs, which introduce them to different careers, while studying for the GED.

"We have a whole other unit of international students, like Emmanuel, who can't get their high school work articulated here," she said. "Sometimes you have to pay a lot of money to find out if it meets criteria at an American university. It's easier for them to get their American GED. Plus it's a chance to learn the language."

Nina Shoman-Dajani, assistant dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness at Moraine Valley Community College, talks about the GED courses the college offers on Aug. 2, 2016. (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

For those who enroll in the classes and remain committed to attending and completing the work, Morsches said, the odds of passing the test are high.

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Of the 1.6 million people in Illinois who did not have a high school credential in 2013, about 32,500 completed the GED program. Of those, more than 22,000 passed the test, according to the annual statistical report on the GED test by the GED Testing Service. Illinois ranked third in the number of students who opted to take the Spanish language version of the exam that year.

Comeback heroes

Among the more challenging obstacles in a prospective test-taker's path are the emotional ones, Morsches said.

All students carry some degree of self-consciousness, he said. "There are actually levels of that phenomenon.

"If you only don't do well in the math, that's OK in America. Americans can be terrible in math but if you're not doing well in reading and language, there's a real stigma out in the community. That's directly correlated to intelligence in a lot of people's minds," he said.

That said, he added, it is much harder to remediate and move a student up in reading than it is with math.

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"People who don't do well with reading, yeah, they've been pounded their whole lives," he said.

One thing all returning students tend to have on their side is increased maturity, Morsches said.

"When they come back they're ready," he said. "Adult learners are very pragmatic."

Shame at not having finished high school, he said, is often unwarranted.

"Anecdotally, there is a higher percentage of students who have a high school degree that end up testing into developmental college courses than those who get their GED, mainly because GED students have not been dumped out at the lowest level. They left for different reasons and they're coming back more mature and ready to learn," he said.

"Granted, they're not ready for calculus after the GED but they're ready for an introduction to algebra course," he said.

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The most important thing for GED candidates, Morsches said, "Is knowing this curriculum and personnel are not going to be a repeat of what they've had. Secondly, we have a group of really caring individuals who've dedicated their lives for this very spot in American curriculum. They're here to help."

"It's never too late," Shoman-Dajani said. "Come to our graduation ceremony and see  the audience is filled with kids."

Emmanuel said even his mother, who had attended the University of Nigeria, signed up for the GED program when she came to the United States.

"It's just an easier path," he said. "It was beneficial, I got to tell you, to take government. When people talk about politics now, I know what they're talking about. I get it.

"I'm thankful for getting my GED, because it forced me too look into things that make you a better member of society."

dvickroy@tribpub.com

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The Park Forest Summer Camp program has been providing activities for youth for more than two decades. (Village of Park Forest) (Village of Park Forest)

When two girls, both under age 10, complained to Kenny Hill that they had been bitten by another boy in the pool at the Aqua Center in Park Forest, Hill wasted no time in resolving the situation.

Hill, a leader for the Park Forest Summer Camp program, "respectfully" sought out the mother of the young offender who eventually offered a sincere apology.

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The two girls strolled away apparently comforted and hopped back into the pool.

"Well, we certainly do try," replied Hill when a bystander complimented Hill's handling of the situation.

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In the three hours that Hill supervised his group of 5-year-old day campers on a recent Tuesday he had resolved half a dozen situations not uncommon for this age group.

"Kids are going to make mistakes," he said. "That's only natural. My job is to redirect them to an appropriate behavior."

Hill is one of 28 young adults charged with the responsibility of supervising the approximately 150 campers enrolled for either the full day or the half day summer camp program, according to Anna Soloff, supervisor of the Recreation Department in Park Forest.

The camp has been operating for more than two decades. This year's camp ended last Friday.

Recruiting the right people for the responsibility of supervising children ranging in age from five to 15 is a serious task, Soloff said. Several counselors return summer after summer to work the camp and many are college students or teachers.

When she does have a need to hire new counselors, candidates undergo both a background and a fingerprint assessment and take part in an interview consisting of "situational questions." Soloff said she knows the qualities she seeks in counselors and she closely monitors their interactions with campers throughout the eight-week program.

On this day, Soloff spent several hours at the pool with the campers and counselors.

"Our counselors are great and so diligent in monitoring and following up on the behavior of our campers," she said. "I consistently observe the positive reinforcement our counselors provide."

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Yarkona Hall, mother of 7-year-old Jordan Hall, gives the Park Forest Summer Camp program and its counselors nothing but gold stars.

"It is the right amount of discipline and fun," Hall said in a recent interview. "It is well organized, yet not regimented."

Hall, who lives in Matteson, said she tried other camp programs in previous summers, but none proved to be the "perfect fit" for her son whom she acknowledged is "a bit hyper and over the top at times."

Hall said she credits Hill in particular for his "patience" with Jordan.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

In addition, she is appreciative of the personal communication she receives from the counselors regarding the events of the day.

"It is not unusual for them to recommend what we can work on at home," to reinforce her son's positive behavior, Hall said.

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Hill has been a year-round employee for the village for five years and serves as a facility supervisor for the gym and recreation center at Forest Trail School when summer camp is not in session.

Among the disruptive behaviors he encounters at summer camp are excessive splashing, occasional cursing, kids taking what does not belong to them, and sometimes a minor scuffle over a toy.

A discussion about the behavior and a five-minute time- out works wonders, he said.

"Kids are going to have mental lapses; they just need to be redirected," Hill said flashing a wide smile. "My goal is to let these kids have an amazing summer but with the appropriate behavior."

Barbara Dargis is a freelance reporter at the Daily Southtown.
Kirby Atwell retired from the Army in 2011 and now runs a home remodeling business that helps give homeless veterans a place to live. (Kirby Atwell)

Army veteran Joe Stephens spent nearly 1 years living in his car, parking at night near an Interstate 294 suburban Chicago rest area.

The 59-year-old auto mechanic who grew up in the south suburbs had fallen on hard times when he was hospitalized for two months at the Hines Veterans Hospital in Maywood after undergoing surgery to repair a twisted colon. During that time, he said he lost his job and his home.

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"All it takes is one bad incident like that and it puts you upside down," said Stephens, who now lives in a remodeled Oak Lawn condominium, partly thanks to a fellow veteran.

Stephens is living in a house remodeled by Kirby Atwell, a former Army officer from the south suburbs who wants to change the lives of fellow veterans by helping them into affordable homes.

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Atwell, who grew up in New Lenox and graduated from Lincoln-Way High School in 2000, in June officially launched Green Vet Homes.

Atwell, a graduate of West Point Academy, left active duty in 2011 after serving overseas in Japan.

Once home, he partnered with longtime friends, John and Janelle Swiercinsky, to form iCandy Homes, a Mokena-based real-estate investment company that flipped more than 70 homes in the Chicago area over the last four years.

But earlier this year, Atwell began thinking about selling his portion of the business and pursuing his own, one with "more purpose than just flipping homes."

"I wanted to help in a bigger way," Atwell said.

He and his wife, Taryn, who works as the community relations director at Lincoln-Way District 210, had talked at length about the possibility of Atwell pursuing his own operation.

"It was something we talked a lot about. We both felt it was right. She's an awesome supporter of mine," Atwell said. "I knew that I would eventually want to run something of my own."

Green Vet Homes rehabs homes by creating as little waste as possible and using sustainable fixtures when possible, Atwell said. It also is providing housing for those who served in the military.

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Atwell is working with HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, which provides rental assistance for homeless veterans, to find ex-soldiers who are in need of an affordable place to live.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

The condo in Oak Lawn had belonged to a hoarder who was kicked out after Village of Oak Lawn officials were forced to step in, Atwell said. The hoarder then sold the property to him.

Atwell has another project in Country Club Hills and potentially will have a third in Richton Park.

Stephens, the first person to live in a home remodeled by Atwell, said Atwell is "such a good guy."

Stephens said he is "still pinching himself" over the beautifully-remodeled home, which he is renting and plans to stay in indefinitely.

The home features some amenities, including a dishwasher, which he has never had before, Stephens said.

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"It's been wonderful, now," he said.

Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Parents are protesting after Burlington Central Community Unit District 301 canceled school bus service for some Elgin students a few weeks before classes are scheduled to begin.

Residents of the Meadows Edge and Graystone neighborhoods of the Highland Woods subdivision in Elgin received a letter dated July 26 from Central Community Unit School District 301 informing them that bus service would no longer be offered because they reside within 1.5 miles of school.

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"The students in my neighborhood have been bused to Country Trails Elementary School since it opened, which I believe is about 10 years," said Erin Komacki, mother of two. "So this long-standing practice was ripped away from our community with only 20 days of notice. This is unacceptable and utterly disrespectful to the families in this community."

The letter, which parents said arrived in the first week of August, stated that the district does not receive funding for the busing and the district does not provide transportation to those who live in a walk zone, according to the letter.

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"When a student resides within 1.5 miles from school, the district is not responsible to provide transportation," according to the letter. The letter also referred families to the www.walkbiketoschool.org website to make sure children learn pedestrian safety skills."

The school code allows reimbursement from the state for busing less than 1.5 miles when walking constitutes a serious hazard. State guidelines list four basic types of serious safety hazards: walking along a roadway, walking on a roadway, crossing a roadway, and crossing railroad tracks. Age also is a factor.

A path travels through a wooded area in Highland Woods. (Denise Moran / The Courier-News)

District 301 Superintendent Todd Stirn said that the new director of transportation, Tracie Duffield, visited all busing areas in the district, assessed them on a point system and filed a report.

"We received the information in late July that certain bus students should be walkers," Stirn said. "Tracie has reached out to both the state and regional offices to verify the assessment. Based on what we hear from them, a determination will be made. The changes were not brought about due to staffing or budget cuts. The bottom line is students who are deemed eligible will receive bus service. We want to ensure equitable treatment for all students across the district."

However, parent Patty Joseph said more thought should have been given to the decision.

"There have been no accommodations made or even attempts to contact the responsible people regarding crossing guards, safety patrols, or the removal of snow and ice during the winter as homes do not sit on Highland Woods Boulevard or the bridge area," Joseph said. "In addition, some of the sidewalks are not completed in the area which would force children onto the street to get to school."

According to the district, a study would have to be completed before the City of Elgin could provide crossing guards for the affected area.

One parent said a pond in the Highland Woods subdivision of Elgin poses a potential hazard for children walking to school. (Denise Moran / The Courier-News)

Komacki also challenges the ruling that the homes are within the walking distance and said there are six kindergarten students on her street. She said she recently walked to the school on the route she thought her daughter might use and said it took 40 minutes one way.

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"There are major safety concerns," Komacki said. "My daughter would have to walk by construction sites, areas with no sidewalks, uneven lots that have yet to be sold that are filled with rocks and other objects that could cause her to fall, and a large pond. She has been in swimming lessons for three years and is still unable to fully swim without flippers or swim gear. All these hazards are just on the beginning of her trek to school."

There is a path in Highland Woods that goes toward the bridge that leads to the school grounds. The path cuts through a wooded area with trees and tall grasses that can block walkers on the path from view.

Stirn said that an update on the bus situation will be given during the next district board meeting beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 15, at Central High School, 44W625 Plato Road in Burlington.

Students might have to cross the intersection at Highland Woods Boulevard and Goodfield Landing on their walk to school. (Denise Moran / The Courier-News)

Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
A small group of arts supporters believe Elmhurst is ready for a new performing arts center and are working to raise awareness and money for the project, including commissioning a study to identify community needs.

The Elmhurst Centre for Performing Arts was established in April as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization with a four-member board to explore the demand and the financial feasibility of putting up a multistory building to house space for live performances, associated activities and community gatherings.

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At an information meeting Wednesday that drew more than a dozen people, board chairman and architect Jeff Budgell, who heads Architects' Studio in town, acknowledged that the nascent organization is working to answer a number of questions, including how big the new building should be and how to pay for it.

As part of its fundraising effort, the new group hopes to draw 200 or more people to a gala at the Elmhurst Art Museum on Oct. 14. The party will include a headline performer along with local talent, according to Laura Michaud, treasurer of the new group.

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Budgell said an informal survey of existing arts groups in town has answered one question about the new center  where it should be located.

"It was unanimous," said Budgell, who is also president of the Elmhurst City Centre organization. "The groups want to be in the center of town."

That still leaves open decisions on the number of seats in the main theater, financing and an exact location for a new building. Budgell, whose office has prepared renderings and drawings of the space, said the footprint of the proposed building could be smaller than the Plass Building, recently demolished at York and Schiller streets. He suggests 77 to 180 feet deep, and about 44 feet tall.

"It's designed to be a compact building that has a lot going on in it," he said.

Michaud, who is a co-founder of Stage 773, a performance complex in the Belmont Theater District of Chicago, said many of the questions about the new center will be answered by the feasibility and financial impact study to be completed on a pro bono basis by the Arts & Business Council of Chicago. Michaud said consultants are being lined up for the study, which is expected to take about four months to complete.

Michaud and Budgell compared the proposed new space to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights, a facility they said has brought millions of dollars of revenue to that town.

Both said Elmhurst officials have been receptive to the idea of the new center, although there has been no city commitment for participation in the project. Michaud said Metropolis gets some support from a small portion of the village's food and beverage tax.

More information is available on the group's website, ecpa-elmhurst.org/

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Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
At 96 years old, Elmwood Park resident Alterigio Arthur Santangelo is the oldest participant in a fitness class for those 50 and older. (Maryann Pisano / Pioneer Press)

At 96 years old, Elmwood Park resident Alterigio "Arthur" Santangelo is the oldest participant in a fitness class for those 50 and older. Though he must use a wheelchair, he attends the senior fitness exercise class three days a week and is called "an inspiration" by the village's director of parks and recreation.

Santangelo is a U.S. Army veteran who fought during World War II. He was born in Raiano, Italy, and said he moved to the United States at age 8. He joined the Army in 1942, when he was 22 years old, and served in World War II.

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"My friend and I volunteered," Santangelo said.

Since Santangelo spoke Italian, he said he was put in a unit that translated for prisoners of war. He said he traveled to France, England and Belgium with German- and French-speaking American soldiers. Santangelo said he fought in some World War II battles. He came home from the Army in 1946, moving to Elmwood Park in 1959 with his wife, Tina. He said that he started working for Kodak and retired in 1982.

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"He's an inspiration to other people," said Alan Schmidt, the village's director of parks and recreation and lead instructor. "World War II veterans are a special breed. They grew up with the mentality, 'what can I do for my country, not what can my country do for me?' "

In 2002, Santangelo had open-heart surgery, and said he knew he needed to find a place to exercise. This led him to the senior fitness exercise class.

"I tried this [class], and I've been here ever since," he said.

Schmidt said that Santangelo is the oldest person in the group and is the only participant who comes in a wheelchair. Schmidt said the class consists of cardiovascular exercise, stretch strength training and mobility.

"Arthur will do the upper-body work," Schmidt said. "He stays in his wheelchair."

Santangelo said he enjoys the class because it keeps him healthy and helps him get out of the house. He said that everyone should take the opportunity to stay active and not just sit on the couch.

"I like this class because you can come out and socialize and keep your mind active," Santangelo said.

Santangelo's children are Marisa, Angela, Lou and Dominic. He has three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

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Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Reyna Ocampo wears a happy smile after she was able to rescue a small bird entangled in a birdhouse outside the Ridgeville Park District Community House in Evanston Tuesday, Aug. 9. (Anna Christina Nelson / Handout)

Three young children and their babysitter playing on the grounds of the Ridgeville Park District Community House on Tuesday morning got to witness a dramatic bird rescue, and received a lesson in ecology and environmentalism, too.

Daisy Hernandez, the babysitter, who lives in Chicago, and the children she was caring for  Barak McKay, 5, Brook McKay, 4, and Brylee McKay, 2, all from Evanston  were playing on the front lawn of the park district's Community House when Barak called attention to a small bird dangling from the entrance of a small birdhouse on the park district lawn.

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Hernandez' mother, Reyna Ocampo, also from Chicago, had just joined the group, bringing her son Leo Hernandez, 7, to the park. She was going to spend part of the time with her daughter and son in the playground behind the Community House.

The bird's "little leg was tied to a string," Ocampo said. The string was attached to something inside the birdhouse that was preventing the bird, with tufted hair and barely three inches from tail to yellow beak, from breaking free, she said.

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The group enlisted the help of Anna Christina Nelson, Ridgeville's office manager and secretary, who had just arrived for work, at around 9:40 a.m.

When Nelson pulled up, she saw the concerned group waiting for her, she said. Her boss, Brian Rosinski, Ridgeville's parks and recreation director, had suggested she get maintenance, she said, but Nelson, with some previous experience rescuing animals, joined the group first to see what she could do.

Ocampo, using the flashlight on her iPhone, peered inside the bird house where the bird had retreated.

She tried clearing the debris inside, but the box was so jam-packed, Nelson said, that Nelson volunteered to run back into the community house and bring out some tools.

She brought out two sets of tweezers, manicure scissors and also some plastic gloves. Besides an animal rescue, the situation presented a teaching moment, she said.

"You don't grab wild animals, we have to put on gloves. We're very careful," Nelson emphasized.

Even with the tools, Ocampo worked carefully.

"If we pulled too much at a time, it would kill him or hurt him more. So we were very gentle," she said.

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When she was finally able to free the bird, "his little leg was tied to a string attached to a bunch of debris," she said.

Nelson and Ocampo made sure the children looked at the tangle of plastic bags and debris, which birds had picked up to put in their nest.

"This is litter  birds find on the street," Ocampo said.

The bird, taking little sips of water from her, chirped and appeared to be in good condition.

"He's a happy guy right now," said Ocampo, still cradling him.

Entanglement "has a serious and tragic effect on birds of all kinds in the urban environment," said Annette Prince, director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, a conservation group dedicated to the protection of migratory birds. "Responsible disposal of materials and clean-ups of lands and waterways are critical to protecting wildlife."

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Prince said in an email that "young birds often get tangled in nest materials  more so, if the parents have built nests using materials such as plastic, string, fishing line or netting.

Describing birds as opportunists, Prince said some man-made materials might be attractive to birds because of their durability, but can also be harmful to their young.

"We've seen young birds that got tangled with each other or some that were hanging by their legs from nests," she said.

In such cases, "it is always best to get any bird (adult or young) captured after cutting the entangling material loose. [Ideally], they should go to a wildlife rehabilitation center such as Willowbrook Wildlife in Glen Ellen, to be evaluated for any injuries  nerve damage, fractures, lacerations  that occurred while they were entangled," Prince said.

With a clean bill of health, they can be returned to where they came from or be kept for further care as needed, she said.

bseidenberg@pioneerlocal.com

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The companys Art Deco-style storefront and BUS sign are still prominent landmarks on W. Huronbut theyre now just a skin on a new Residence Inn. Behind the facade, Zingermans is building an events space called the Greyline.

Greyhound suffered strikes and bankruptcies after the bus business was deregulated in the 1980s, but lately has been rejuvenating its image with a refreshed logo and a new navy blue and dark gray color scheme. Riders on its refurbished buses enjoy wireless Internet, power outlets, and leather seating.

Waiting for the bus, though, isnt nearly so comfortable. In July 2014, Greyhound signed a two-year contract with the Downtown Development Authority for a tiny office tucked beneath a ramp in the Fourth and William parking structure. Its not always staffed, and when it is, tickets are sold from a bunker-like window facing the sidewalk. Passengers wait at the curb with no protection from the elementseven the metal seating previously installed for AAATA passengers has been removed.

Sharing the AAATAs Blake Transit Center across the street seems like the obvious solution, but an AAATA spokesperson explains that schedules could clash and we wouldnt have enough room. A Greyhound spokesperson emails that the company is considering multiple relocation sites in Ann Arbor but nothing has been solidified.

At least Greyhound has its hole in the wall a little longer: in July, the DDA extended the lease till the end of the year.
Daniel J. Dion, 18, of Des Plaines, is charged with attempted murder and three counts of aggravated battery. (Courtesy of Lake County Sheriff's Office)

A man accused of stabbing a Vernon Hills woman 20 times outside a northwest suburban movie theater in 2015 will not be able to use the phone or send mail from the Lake County Jail after prosecutors said he sent the victim a letter attempting to bribe her into not coming to court.

Daniel J. Dion has pleaded not guilty to one count of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery for allegedly stabbing his date, Katherine King, in her car outside the movie theater.

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Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes decided Wednesday to revoke Dion's telephone and mail privileges while in jail, where he is being held without bail. Assistant Lake County State's Attorney Lauren Kalcheim Rothenberg said King received a letter signed by "your past companion D" that talked about the January 2015 attack and attempted to bribe her into not coming to court.

Dion will still be able to send mail to his attorney, Shanes said.

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Rothenberg declined to expand on the nature of the bribes.

The letter does appear to be sent from the Lake County Jail, but has a return name different than Dion's, said his defense attorney, Ian Kasper.

"I don't know if it is or isn't from him," Kasper said.

Kasper requested that if the judge decided to suspend Dion's mail privileges, he leave him the phone privileges "for the sake of his sanity, for the sake of his family and for the sake of his elderly grandmother."

Shanes decided to revoke both, noting that if Dion was willing to violate a judge's order not to contact the victim through one means of communication, he might be willing to do so through another.

"Privileges are exactly that  privileges," Shanes said.

Dion, a Des Plaines resident, was arrested shortly after officers arrived at Century Theater in Deer Park, 21600 W. Field Parkway, about 8:45 p.m. Jan. 8.

Authorities said Dion admitted to police that he attacked the woman and stabbed her multiple times while inside her vehicle. He told investigators "he woke up in the morning with the intent to kill her because she annoyed him," according to a Lake County Sheriff's news release following the stabbing.

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Officials said Dion arranged to meet with King under the "guise" of going on a date to the movie theater.

King, who suffered punctured lungs as well as cuts to her face and neck, was taken to the intensive care unit at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. She had been in critical condition prior to and after surgery, but has since recovered.

Attempted first-degree murder has a sentencing range of six to 30 years, which can be extended up to 60 years under certain aggravating circumstances.

Dion won't be going to trial until at least October because a key witness for the defense will not be available for eight weeks because of a scheduled surgery, Shanes said.

emcoleman@tribpub.com

Twitter @mekcoleman
Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd is confident residents will be able to vote for him this November.

Judge Diane Winter will issue a written opinion by Thursday on whether the county electoral board erred when it decided Rudd could not run as an independent after he withdrew from the Democratic primary.

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Rudd said if an unfavorable decision comes back, he plans on taking the issue all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court, and if he's ultimately unsuccessful, he will run as a write-in candidate.

The Republican Party "fear me because of my honesty and my ability to run this office professionally," Rudd said.

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Rudd's candidacy has been challenged by Democratic candidate Michael P. Donnenwirth, a former coroner's office employee fired by Rudd. Donnenwirth argued a 2012 state statute says a candidate cannot run as an independent or for another party after already filing with one party.

Rudd, who had to collect more than 10,000 signatures to file as an independent, claims the statute is clear that someone who lost in the primary cannot run as an independent or for another party in the general election, but it does not specifically address a candidate who voluntarily withdrew prior to the primary election.

A restriction on a candidate's ability to disaffiliate from a political party would violate that candidate's First Amendment rights, Rudd's attorney, Ross Secler, argued in court Thursday. He added that if the law is interpreted the way Donnenwirth's attorney has proposed, it would also violate the 14th Amendment by treating independent candidates and candidates of new parties differently.

Burton Odelson, Donnenwirth's attorney, said that argument is a "red herring" because states have the ability to regulate candidate behavior to a greater degree than voting behavior.

"Once you affiliate, you are locked in and cannot" run as another party's candidate until after the general election, Odelson said. Rudd "clearly affiliated" himself with the Democratic Party, Odelson said, when the incumbent coroner filed a sworn declaration of party membership as part of the paperwork he submitted with his coroner and precinct-committeeman candidacy filings.

Rudd, of Lake Forest, has been a controversial figure since taking the coroner's post in 2013, raising the ire of some Lake County Sheriff's Office officials during the investigation into the death of Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz by saying early in the process that the death might have been suicide.

He has also criticized the investigation of Melissa Calusinski, a day care employee convicted in 2011 of murdering a child. Calusinski is now seeking a new trial after Rudd changed the cause of death from homicide to undetermined based on what he has described as evidence not aired at trial.

Last fall, Rudd fired Donnenwirth, a former police officer and deputy coroner, after an incident at the Genesee Theatre where Donnenwirth allegedly sold beer without a license, was drunk and used "offensive language," according to Rudd, Genesee Theatre management and documents released to the News-Sun after a Freedom of Information Act request.

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Keith Turner, a Waukegan activist who previously lost a state representative campaign, is listed with Donnenwirth on the complaint that brought Rudd's independent bid before the electoral board.

emcoleman@tribpub.com

Twitter @mekcoleman
"Spooked by Brexit, Mr. Bond?"

That is the caption under a photograph of actor Daniel Craig, our current James Bond, pistol in hand, looking concerned. The picture appears in a May issue of "The Economist," published in London, accompanying an article on defense and security implications of the narrow but clear decision by British voters to depart the European Union.

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As usual, Bond is on to something. Uncertainty is right regarding such a momentous political as well as economic move. Moreover, the defense and military security dimensions of the EU are generally overlooked. After all, that coalition of nations is focused primarily on business, commerce and finance.

While the great bulk of media and political commentary about Brexit  the shorthand label for Britain leaving the EU  focuses on economic anxieties, there are significant defense and security implications as well. Predictions of dire results from the British vote to leave the EU clearly were overstated, at least regarding short-term impact on global financial markets.

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However, beyond business, the EU facilitates defense collaboration. The organization has undertaken limited military missions, ranging as far beyond Europe as Indonesia. Bloody incidents in Europe underscore the contemporary life-and-death challenge of Islamic terrorism.

"The Economist" article contains comments by British officials. Theresa May, at the time Home Secretary and now Prime Minister, noted that the European Arrest Warrant and access to intelligence data are among EU membership benefits.

Jonathan Evans and John Sawers, former heads respectively of MI5 and MI6, Britain's intelligence agencies, stated that loss of shared data and general collaboration are strong arguments against Brexit. Pauline Neville-Jones, a former national security adviser, warned leaving the EU would weaken police cooperation and border control.

Lake County News Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

They were reacting to a controversial statement by Richard Dearlove, another retired MI6 head, who observed that "the truth about Brexit from a national security perspective is that the cost to Britain would be low." NATO provides a durable continuing structure for defense cooperation, including in the field of intelligence. Additionally, there is the more informal but important "Five Eyes" intelligence network, which includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand, along with the United Kingdom and the United States

In fact, departure of Britain from formal EU membership provides an opportunity to re-energize the NATO alliance and transatlantic cooperation more generally. After World War II, Britain played an important role in effecting military as well as economic partnership among European powers, facilitating formation of NATO, which includes the U.S. and Canada. Former World Bank head Robert Zoellick proposes including Britain in NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The British approach to foreign policy is characterized by evolution and instrumentalism, while Americans are given to dramatic policy shifts and reversals of strategic paths. During the Cold War, American foreign policy planners and decision-makers oscillated for many years between alarm about Soviet bloc military power and a desire drastically to reshape the international order.

By contrast, in defense and strategic policies, as in diplomacy generally, the British try to maintain the traditional approach of working within and adjusting to the global status quo at the margins. The contrasts in the approaches of London and Washington to national defense and security policies reflect basic if subtle cultural contrasts.

Above all, the British have given extremely high priority to human intelligence, using people rather than impersonal electronic means. The Obama administration overwhelmingly favors high-tech, represented by the vast escalation of killings by drone strikes.

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Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War."

acyr@carthage.edu
The Bacon Brothers, Kevin and Michael, perform at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. (Timothy White)

There aren't six degrees of separation between Kevin Bacon and his older brother Michael.

Actor Kevin, whose prolific career has led to an informal party game  creating a pyramid of actors and their movies that leads to Kevin within six steps  and his Emmy Award-winning composer older brother Michael are in perfect harmony.

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That's particularly true when they perform as the Bacon Brothers. They will be sharing the stage at Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 17 and 18.

Kevin loves performing with Michael because, "We get to hang. We are both very busy in our other lives and might not be as able to carve out the time."

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That's probably because Kevin has appeared in 80 films plus on TV and stage. Michael has written many original scores for film and television. His four movement, "Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra" premiered in New York in March.

Michael noted that The Bacon Brothers band is also a business. "And it's a good feeling to share this with a family member because of the imbedded trust," he said.

The brothers grew up in Philadelphia, where Michael began his musical career in the 1960s. He later moved to Nashville to pursue songwriting.

Kevin also loved music from an early age but focused on his acting career.

Kevin calls their style Forosoco, which happens to be the title of their first album, which was released in 1997  two years after they formed the band. That's an acronym for folk-rock-soul-country.

Their seventh album "36 Cents" was released in 2014. (Kevin indicated that the amount in that title song has no particular significance. "The rhythm just kinda sat nicely in my mouth," he said.)

In addition to Michael (vocals, guitar and cello) and Kevin (vocals, guitar and percussion), the band includes Paul Guzzone (bass guitar and backing vocals), Joe Mennonna (keyboards and accordion), Ira Siegel (lead guitar, mandolin and backing vocals) and Frank Vilardi (drums).

The brothers' influences are as diverse as their musical style, including the Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, Tom Petty, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen for Kevin; The Band, James Taylor, Pete Seeger and the Beatles for Michael

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"We play rowdy bars and elegant Victorian opera houses, and everything in-between," Michael said.

Kevin said they have a set list, but that it often changes, "depending on the night. It's a complicated show because everyone in the band changes instruments so often. We have to have some idea what's next."

Both brothers are songwriters. "We try to balance the set between songs that Mike wrote and songs that I wrote," Kevin said. "The primary writer sings lead."

The band is on a lengthy tour. The upside of traveling, Kevin said, is "everything you do so you can get to the moment when you play together. That's the fun part."

Michael, on the other hand, said, "I love looking out the window as we're traveling." He also enjoys going to places "that I probably would never see without our gigs."

Both brothers have plans for their upcoming visit to this area.

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"I love the architectural tour from the river," Michael said.

"I love Chicago," Kevin said. "I think I've done four movies there. I love to run near that big lake you have. But most of all I'm looking forward to playing."

The Bacon Brothers

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 17 and 18

Where: Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights

Tickets: $70; $80 stage tables

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Information: (847) 577-2121; www.metropolisarts.com
A 33-year-old man who has already served three prison terms will serve a fourth for failing to register with Naperville police as a convicted sex offender, according to reports.

Keith A. Patterson last lived in the 1300 block of Crab Apple Court, pleaded guilty in DuPage County Circuit Court Wednesday to a felony count of failing to register as sex offender with police within three days of moving to a new residence, court records showed.

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Judge Brian F. Telander sentenced Patterson to 2 1/2 years in prison. In exchange for his plea, charges of being a sexual predator or child sex offender loitering in a public park and failure to provide notification of having no fixed address were dismissed.

Naperville police arrested Patterson at 8:35 p.m. June 28 after finding him within 500 feet of Brush Hill Park, 203 N. Whispering Hills Drive. That was the second time in 18 months that Patterson had been charged with being a child sex offender loitering in a public park, court records said.

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Patterson was arrested in 2000 by DuPage County Sheriff's Office investigators on felony charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a handicapped person and aggravated battery of a physically handicapped victim. He was found guilty in the case and in October 2002 was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison and placed on the state's sex offender registry.

He was arrested again in July 2010 in Naperville on two felony counts of aggravated DUI for the fourth time, as well as four other charges. He pleaded guilty in December 2010, and sentenced to five years in prison.

Patterson was arrested again in late 2014 and charged with living too close to Brush Hill Park as a sex offender and failing to register with police as a sex offender. He was sentenced in March 2015 to a year in prison, according to records.

wbird@tribpub.com
Marty Warrick, a nurse in Edward Hospitals cardiac/neuro intensive care unit, received Edward Hospitals 2016 Community Service Award. She is seen here with Pam Davis, CEO of Edward-Elmhurst Health Systems. (Edward Hospital / HANDOUT)

Naperville man wins nature photo contest

The Forest Preserve District of Will County selected Naperville resident Alan Keahey's photo as the July winner of its photo contest.

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The photo features a great blue heron strutting at Whalon Lake in Naperville. Keahey said his picture stood out because of the heron's confident stride that seemed human-like.

Almost 150 photo entries were submitted in July for the district's Preserve the Moment photo contest. Entries can be found at www.flickr.com/willcoforests. Monthly winners from June through December will be judged online by members of the public to determine overall contest winners.

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Alan Keaheys photo of a great blue heron strutting at Whalon Lake in Naperville was chosen the July photo contest winner by the Forest Preserve District of Will County. (Will County Forest Preserve District / HANDOUT)

Edward nurse recognized for service

Wheaton resident Marty Warrick, a nurse in Edward Hospital's cardiac/neuro intensive care unit, received Edward Hospital's 2016 Community Service Award.

Warrick was recognized for her volunteer efforts with Honor Flight Chicago. Warrick is a Medical Guardian Volunteer for the program, which flies World War II and Korean veterans to Washington, D.C., for the day as a thank you for their service and to see the war memorials.

Edward-Elmhurst Health each year recognizes an employee at both Edward and Elmhurst hospitals who volunteers to support a worthy cause in the community.

As part of the award, Edward-Elmhurst Health donated $500 to Honor Flight Chicago.

Dr. Alyssa Papuga (Edward Medical Group / HANDOUT)

Papuga joins Edward Medical Group

Dr. Alyssa Papuga, a board-certified family medicine physician, has joined Edward Medical Group's office at 1247 Rickert Drive, Naperville.

Papuga received her medical degree from Midwestern University in Downers Grove and completed her residency at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

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Her clinical interests include chronic disease management, women's health, pediatrics, and osteopathic manipulation and procedures. She is a member of the American Osteopathic Association and American Academy of Family Physicians.

Spurlock completes military training exercise

Private 1st Class Benjamin Spurlock, of Naperville, completed military training as part of the 325th Military Information Support Operations Team.

The troops, with more than 5,000 participants from more than 30 states, spent nearly the month of July at Fort Polk as part of the training rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center.

The Joint Readiness Training Center allows Army units to conduct combat training in a realistic environment.

Kane completes research for Cornell

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Naperville resident Bradley Kane finished a 10-week intensive research program for the Cornell Summer Research Institute conducted by professors at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

He participated in a project that researched the history of 10 significant college buildings to compile an online video and audio tour for the public.

As part of the summer institute, about 40 students and 20 faculty members collaborated on various liberal arts research projects. Students worked one-on-one with the college's professors on more than 20 research projects that have real-world impact.

Perez spends semester abroad

Naperville resident Alexis Perez, a marketing major at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, spent the spring semester in Spain as part of a study abroad group.

Perez is one of about 38 percent of Miami students studying abroad for credit before graduation.

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Sterling to study in Namibia

Naperville resident Kristi Sterling, a master's student in the Advanced Inquiry Program from Miami University's Project Dragonfly, will travel to Namibia this month.

Sterling will study ongoing research projects such as radio tracking, cheetah conservation and ecosystem management as well as the design of school and community programs.

Sterling is a high school science teacher at Riverside Brookfield High School.

Naperville residents graduate Pratt

Two Naperville residents were among nearly 1,000 graduates at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Nathan Reinke received a degree in humanities and media studies, and Samantha Wladis received a degree in fashion.

Melgoza earns Dean's Award at Colgate

Naperville resident Sofia Melgoza, a political science major, has earned the spring dean's award for academic excellence at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.

The Dean's Award at Colgate is awarded to students with a 3.30 or higher term grade point average.

Grand Valley graduates, dean's list announced

Several Naperville residents graduated in April from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.

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Nicholas G. Ciliak earned a bachelor of fine arts degree. Rachel A. Deppe earned a bachelor of arts degree.

Sarah K. Koeber and Natalie Q. Seik both earned a bachelor of science degree.

Several Naperville residents also made the dean's list at Grand Valley, maintaining a 3.5 grade average with a course load of 12 or more hours in the winter 2016 semester.

Dean's list recipients include Rachel A. Deppe, Avery A. Eriksen-Russo, Cassandra L. Polsen, Carlyn R. Shisler and Kathryn C. Williams.

Locals make Creighton dean's list

Three Naperville residents were named to the spring dean's list at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., for the 2015-16 academic year.

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Bradley Dawson, Teresa Matibag and Madison Wolfe earned dean's list honors.

Full-time students who earn a 3.5 grade-point average or better on a 4.0 scale are eligible for the dean's list.

Dean's list at University of Dallas

Naperville resident Margaret Schuhriemen was named to the spring 2016 dean's list at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas for earning a semester grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

Schuhriemen is a philosophy major.
One or more car theft crews have hit the Chicago area hard, and cars are disappearing from places where such crimes are rare.

In Riverwoods, two cars were reported stolen in the early morning hours of Aug. 9, police Chief Bruce Dayno said, and it was the first time any car has been stolen in the town of about 3,700 people in four years.

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The Riverwoods thefts, like the vast majority of the thefts elsewhere, are probably preventable, he said. Most of the cars were left with doors unlocked. And most of those had keys inside.

"People I've spoken with, they say it's not just their cars they're leaving unlocked, but also their houses," Dayno said . "They feel like they're living in the northern suburbs, so they're immune to crime, but it's just not the case."

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At about 4 a.m. Aug. 9, dogs were barking on the 300 block of Portwine Road, and one resident looked out the window to see the family car, a 2012 BMW, heading out of the driveway, Dayno said.

A little over three hours later, a resident of the 3100 block of Duffy Lane found that a previously occupied spot in the unlocked family garage was empty. The 2013 Lexis that had been left there, unlocked and with keys inside, was gone.

Dayno said that a Northbrook police officer got a glimpse of the BMW on southbound Interstate 294, but the driver took off at high speed, and got away.

Northbrook has had several recent thefts of cars, including a pair the night of Aug. 2. Gone are a 2014 Porsche Cayenne worth more than $40,000, left unlocked in a driveway in the 600 block of Driftwood Lane, and a 2013 Volkswagen, left unlocked, with keys inside, in a driveway on the 300 block of Sunset Court.

"It's happening almost every night, in the north suburbs, the west suburbs," Northbrook police Cmdr. Mike O'Malley said. "They sneak in, sneak out. It's not hard."

On the same night, cash and other items were stolen from another unlocked car, a 2011 Volkswagen, on the 600 block of Driftwood. And in Riverwoods, laptops were stolen from two cars parked unlocked, on the 3100 block of Kenilwood Lane and the 2800 block of Blackthorn Road.

O'Malley said it's apparent that the crew is looking to steal the cars, but when there's no way to start the ignition, valuables are grabbed. He said it's obvious that car theft is the principal target, "otherwise, we'd be seeing 35 car burglaries."

Northbrook police Chief Chuck Wernick asked residents to lock their cars and pocket their keys, a request he's made several times before.

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The unlocked car problem has persisted, Northbrook police spokesman Dan Petka, in the more than 30 years he's served as an officer and civilian police department employee.

"They think it's safe," he said. "That's why they spend all that money to buy houses in Northbrook."

Ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @IrvLeavitt
The owners of the Drake Hotel, seen here March 1, are interested in building luxury condominiums on the property. (Chuck Fieldman / Pioneer Press)

The owners of the Drake Oak Brook Hotel are hoping to build 55 luxury condominium units on their property.

Scott Day, an attorney representing Drake owners Jim and Tely Nagle, made a planned development concept presentation at the Aug. 9 Village Board meeting to express interest by the Nagles in the development and share some conceptual plans..

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The next step in the process will be meetings of hotel representatives with village staff and with homeowners in the York Woods area of the village, which is nearby the hotel property at 2301 York Road.

From there, plans for the condo development will be taken to Oak Brook's Planned Development Commission, which will hold public hearings on the matter and make a recommendation on the project.

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"I welcome the development," said Don Adler, a Village Board member who lives in York Woods. "It's a positive development for Oak Brook, overall, and a positive development for the east side of Oak Brook."

Keith Katsis, who grew up in York Woods and now lives there as an adult, spokes enthusiastically about the proposed project.

"If the new proposal is anything like what they've done with the hotel and supports an increase to our properties in York Woods, I don't see any reason not to do this," he said.

The presented planned development concept included sample floor plans showing one-bedroom units of 1,638 square feet, two-bedroom units of 1,448 square feet and three-bedroom units of 2,017 square feet.

Hotel services, such as maid, food, bellman and concierge would be available to condo residents as would pool facilities and the fitness center.

"You'd have the option of having the amenities of a luxury hotel with the ownership option of a condominium," Day said.

The Nagles opened the 84-room Drake hotel in 2015. They purchased the 10-acre property for $6.5 million in December 2013, renovated it, and brought it back to life after it had closed in 2009. The hotel originally was built in 1962.

Jim Nagle said earlier that building condos on the property wasn't part of the plan when he and his wife bought the Drake.

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"There are quite a few empty nesters in Oak Brook and nearby who don't want to stay in a big house anymore, but also don't really want to move out of the area," Nagle said. "We've met a lot of really good people in Oak Brook, and it would be shame to lose them because there's nowhere here for them to move."

Bob Kallien, the village's community development director, noted that the Village Board over the past few years has expressed interest in seeing development of condominiums or town houses.

"It will come down to a plan that is presented and, ultimately, whether the board thinks this is a good location, or not," he said.

cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @chuckwriting
WIld West re-enactor Charlie Graham used a pretend straight razor to shave parks volunteer Coleman Wells of Portage. Visitors were treated to history lessons of the early 1900s as they traveled through the Buckley Homestead during the barn's 100 year birthday party. (Sue Ellen Ross / Post-Tribune)

It was all about the barn.

The oversized, well-worn structure that greets visitors to Buckley Homestead is officially one century old.

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And the Lake Co. Parks Department, which owns the property, recently celebrated with a public, two-day, jam-packed event, Cheers to 100 Years.

"I never heard of a birthday party for a barn," said six-year-old Hammond resident Jimmie Leaf with a laugh. "They said we will have cake and see animals, so I guess I'll have a good time."

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Despite the hot, muggy weather during both days of the event, dozens of families braved the heat index to hear stories of life in the early 1900s, peruse wares from vendors and tour the old barn.

Re-enactors dressed in historical garments discussed the century-long history of the barn.

The plank-and-truss, "bank style" wooden structure, built in 1916 to replace one built in 1913 that had burned down, has withstood the test of time and still is functional.

The Buckley farm's animals are housed in a portion of the barn, and the parks department offers many events, classes and programs there throughout the year.

Linda Jackson, of Crown Point, remembers bringing her son's Boy Scout troop for a field trip to the homestead a few years ago.

"Some of them had never seen a farm, so it was an eye-opener for them," she said. "The kids still talk about it, especially the spacious barn and animals."

The current barn was constructed by the Buckley family the same year Mrs. Buckley wanted a kitchen added to the main house, according to Megan Faulkner, Lake County Parks volunteer coordinator.

"We're lucky to have had this barn for 100 years," Faulkner said. "Mr. Buckley was kind enough to build this structure that also will serve future generations.

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Music performances were offered throughout the day, compliments of Tom Bohling of Burnham, Illinois and Will Fought of Midlothian, Illinois.

The barn's birthday party event offered several lessons to young people, according to Bohling, including showing that all food did not come form the grocery story in 1916.

"Some people don't know what a farm looks like  or what it took to keep it running," Bohling said. "When you visit here, you see the reality of farm life and realize there were many hard times."

Erica Mehal, of Crown Point, attended the party with her children Michael 2, and Quinn 9, as well as six additional relatives.

The barn tour was a highlight for the family.

"The adults are getting lessons as well as the kids," Mehal said as inside the barn. "It's all so interesting."

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The two-day event also offered an evening celebration for those over 21 years old.

The Buckley Brew, a program sponsored by Route 2 Brews, of Lowell, was designed for this History on Tap event.

Performing was the Tom Stober Band, featuring Tomiko Dixon, granddaughter of historic blues legend Willie Dixon.

Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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How Wendy Williams Went From Being a College DJ to Having Her Own Talk Show and More About Her Divorce Wendy Williams is a former radio personality, now talk show host, who is known for her outspokenness and brash no-nonsense attitude. She gained fame and notoriety for her on-air clashes with celebrities before moving on to host her own talk show. Since 2008, Williams has hosted the nationally syndicated television talk show, The Wendy Williams Show. ...

Who is Sunny Hostin? Her Husband, Family & Net Worth Sunny Hostin is no ordinary Latina  American lawyer but also a successful columnist, multi-platform journalist, and social commentator. A happily married woman and mother of two, Hostin is the Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst for ABC News and co-host of ABCs popular morning talk show, The View. She is a legal expert popularly known as a former ...

Who Is Robert Costa and Is He Married, Who Is His Wife? Robert Costa is a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC who is regarded as being part of Americas next generation of journalists. The University of Notre Dame graduate, who is of Italian/Portuguese descent, has been lauded for his fresh political perspectives in an industry full of old heads. In addition to his work listed above, Costa ...

Team Valor Pokemon Go  7 Key Facts You Need To Know Team Valor Pokemon Go  The craze of the new game Pokemon Go is one that took the gaming world by storm sending teenagers and adults alike into a frenzy and one of its teams Team Valor, has proven to be instrumental in making it so. Before the game was created, Pokemon was a cartoon ...

Sheryl Underwood  Husband, Family & Net Worth She is known for her trademark smile which can be described as the brightest and broadest smile ever seen on planet earth. She is none other than Sheryl Underwood the comedian, actress, and TV host whose funny wits has left America in great awe. Although Sheryl has risen to become an important personality in the industry, ...

Team Mystic Pokemon Go: 7 Facts You Need To Know And Signs You Are One Team Mystic of the break out game Pokemon Go is a team that is full of sass and chivalry. With an enchanting monicker, Team Mystic stands out from the rest of its counterparts and deserves to take the crown as champion in the Pokemon gaming-verse. To be a member of this exceptional team of Pokemon battle ...

Exploring Guy Beahms Dr Disrespect Persona, Wife and Why He was Banned Permanently From Twitch Guy Beahm who is popularly known by his online alias  Dr DisRespect, is an award-winning Twitch.tv streamer. He has leveraged on the Twitch platform to become an internet personality that is quite widely known. His online success is just more proof that anyone who is good at what they do can attain celebrity status ...

Critical Facts About Lee Ann McAdoo  The Infowars Anchor Lee Ann Mcadoo is a conservative journalist and television host whose interests in conspiracies and astrology has established her as a famous American reporter. Often referred to as Wonder Woman, McAdoo is a reporter who works for InfoWars.com, a controversial right-wing website run by radio show host, Alex Jones. Who Is Lee Ann McAdoo? Lee Ann McAdoo was born on 7 ...

Millie Weaver  Age, Husband & Infowars Career Millie Weaver is an American model, journalist, political activist, and social commentator. The young and beautiful journalist rose to fame working as a reporter for a controversial right-wing website InfoWars.com. Also known as Millennial Millie, Weaver is a social media influencer with over 100,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel and over 35,000 followers on Twitter. Who Is Millie Weaver and What Is ...

Is Jessica Tarlov Married? What Are Her Height & Weight? Jessica Tarlov is an American political consultant, strategist, and analyst whose influential and regular TV presence has made a popular figure. A good example of beauty with brains, Tarlov has appeared on various TV networks, mostly the FOX News Network where she is known for her liberal views on political analysis and insights. She is also the senior director ...

Who Is Kelly Rebecca Nichols  Alex Jones Ex-Wife? Kelly Rebecca Nichols is the ex-wife of controversial American radio show host, Alex Jones. She got nationwide attention following her divorce and subsequent custody battle with her estranged husband. Nichols, who worked with PETAs public relations department, was herself no stranger to controversies as she was involved in several publicity stunts of the non-profit animal rights ...

Who Is Bree Morgan  Cole Sprouse Ex-Girlfriend And What Is She Up To Now? Although Bree Morgan became famous through the Instagram, she also sapped some dose of popularity from Disneys sweetheart, Cole Sprouse of the Sprouse brothers. She is not only an Instagram star but also a YouTube vlogger whose popularity has long exceeded the ordinary level. Bree is conspicuously prominent on the internet and has her digital savviness ...

Does Vanna White Have Husband or Children, What Is Her Net Worth / Salary? For over three decades, Vanna White has been a household name, famous as the co-host and letter turner of the iconic NBC game show Wheel of Fortune. The talented and beautiful television personality is also an actress with several TV series and films to her credit. Since making her Wheel of Fortune debut in 1982, she has become one ...

Liz Wheeler  Biography, Husband & Net Worth Liz Wheeler is the kind of girl who sets the room on fire whenever she comes around. In this situation, however, she sets our screens on fire each time she appears as the host of One America News Tipping Point. She is, therefore, a presenter, publisher, consultant and a member of the Board of Zoning ...

Betty White  Net Worth, Children & Husband The entertainment industry will remain indebted to personalities like Betty White who brought something extra to the table and kept the world entertained for donkey years. The comedienne, actress, and writer graced the big screens in the early 50s as a show host and has been a delight since then. She is the queen of ...

Is Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Dead or Alive, What Are His Net Worth & Education? Everyone will always remember Bill Nye as the Science Guy. Besides his TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy, he is well-known for his Netflix show Bill Nye Saves the World which started airing in 2017 as well as his appearances in many famous media projects as a science educator. The star studied mechanical engineering ...

Is Cesar Millan Dead, Who Is The Wife & What Is His Net Worth? Cesar Millan is the famous dog whisperer who often stirs up mixed emotions. The Mexican-American is precisely speaking, a dog behaviorist; he has been in the game for over 25 years. His Emmy-nominated television series, Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan further pushed his method and tactics into the limelight. The series was produced from 2004 ...

Is Thomas Sanders Gay and Does He Have A Boyfriend? By the time Vine was shut down in January 2017, Thomas Sanders was already popular within and beyond the internet community for his heavy involvements on the online video hosting platform. After the tragic shutdown of Vine impacted on the growing career of the multi-talented personality, he immediately switched over to YouTube where he continued to upload ...

Is Shepard Smith Gay, Who Is The Boyfriend & What Is His Net Worth? There are only a few media personalities who are as bold and confident as Shepard Smith. Apart from his impressive stint at Fox News Channel which includes but not limited to his classic news delivery, upfront stance on virtually every issue and much more; he loves his job as much as he loves his personality. Smith ...

Is Milo Yiannopoulos Gay? His Husband and Net Worth Milo Yiannopoulos is a popular writer, journalist, polemicist, public speaker, and political commentator who is also known as the founder of The Kernel, an online blog. He has been said to be among the list of 100 weird and influential people in the United Kingdom. He appeared on this list as a result of personal beliefs and ...

Does Ryan Seacrest Have A Wife Or Girlfriend, What Is His Net Worth? From radio to television, Ryan Seacrest is a household name and a force to be reckoned with in showbiz. The radio personality, television host, and producer is best recognized as the host of the popular TV talent search contest American Idol. Heres how the media personality who always knew what his lifes ambition was and diligently pursued ...

Is Anderson Cooper Gay, Who is The Boyfriend or Husband? For many, the thought of becoming a millionaire by writing and talking about other people appears unachievable but this is the reality of the prominent American journalist Anderson Cooper who gathered millions of dollars for conducting accurate political analysis and other vital reports on TV. He is the main anchor of the CNN news show Anderson ...

Is David Muir Gay or Does He Have A Wife, What Is His Salary? David Muir is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works for the ABC broadcast-television network and anchors the ABC World News Tonight with David Muir program while also co-anchoring the magazine program 20/20. The Ithaca College graduate, whose show has become the most-watched newscast in America, has covered stories from all across America and the world; reporting ...

Joel Osteen  Divorce Rumors, Net Worth & Family Members Joel Osteen is an American Televangelist, Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church based in Houston, Texas, a husband and a father of two. He is an author of many books, seven of which are New York Times Best Sellers and his televised sermons capture more than 7 million viewers per week and 20 million every month ...

Who Is Todd Chrisley? What To Know About His Children, Gay Rumors & Net Worth Premiered on the USA network in 2014, Chrisley Knows Best is one of the most watched family reality TV shows in the U.S. The series which is currently in its sixth season is centered around U.S real estate mogul Todd Chrisley and his family. The show reveals Todd the patriarch of the Chrisley family as a strict dad who rules ...

Who Is Shannon Bream Of Fox News? Her Husband, Children & Net Worth Shannon Bream who hosts the iconic primetime program started her journalism career in the late 1990s debuting as the evening and late-night news reporter for the CBS affiliate, WBTV. The beauty from America currently works for the Fox News Channel and she is best known for anchoring the primetime program. She also hosts Americas News ...

Is Troye Sivan Gay, Who Is His Boyfriend and What Is His Net Worth? Troye Sivan is an Australian singer and songwriter best known for songs like Happy Little Pill, Youth, Heaven (with Betty Who) and The Boyfriend Tag (with Tyler Oakley) which have all garnered him different awards and ranked on the Billboard Charts. Sivan, who was born in South Africa but now resides in the United States, is ...

Did iDubbbz Have Cancer, Is He Gay and Who Is His Girlfriend Now? iDubbbz is one YouTuber who has made a career out of courting controversy. Renowned for his absurdist channels and comedy video series, the Los Angeles based personality is the owner of two channels, iDubbzTV, and iDubbzTV2, as well as the brains behind comedy video series such as Content Cop, Kickstarter Crap, Gaming News Crap, and ...

Inside Greg Gutfelds Love Story With Wife Elena Moussa and Why Fans Thought He Was Gay Greg Gutfeld is a seasoned American television producer whose career in the media industry has spanned over a decade. He is a man of many talents who makes extra income through comedy, journalism, and editorial works. Gutfeld regularly appears on Fox News Channel as a panellist and co-host of the political talk show The Five ...

Works That Made Bo Burnham A Household Name and How Much He Is Worth Now One of YouTubes first viral stars and the worlds most exciting young comedian, Bo Burnham, has always amazed critics and comedy aficionados alike. Often regarded as the Justin Bieber of comedy, thanks to his fresh looks, floppy blond hair and hoodies, he has a multi-faceted career bigger than many comedians twice his age. It wouldnt ...

Is Louie Anderson Gay And What Is His Net Worth? Louie Anderson has one of the most abstract faces in the industry and equally knows how to use it to his advantage. He is not only a stand-up comedian but also an actor and television host who is known for his distinctive comic wits. Some of his notable projects include Family Feud, where he was ...

Is Don Lemon of CNN Gay, Who is His Partner and What Is His Salary? Don Lemon has risen to become one of the most recognizable faces on CNN over the past few years. The fiery journalist, who anchors CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, is liked and somewhat disliked for his strong and candid opinions on a variety of matters that do not just include politics but also race, significantly, matters that ...

Is Rachel Maddow Gay, Who is the Wife and How Much Does She Earn in Salary? Rachel Maddow is an award-winning American journalist, political commentator, and television news anchor. She is best known for hosting the popular nightly TV show The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Prior to this, she hosted a talk radio program on Air America Radio from 2005 to 2010. As of now, the TV sensation co-anchors MSNBCs ...

Demystifying Pokimane  Her Real Name, Ethnicity & Boyfriend Like most social media celebrities in this digital era, Pokimane Thicc is one of those stars who took advantage of the internet to make a name for herself. Given the unlimited potentials which the social media space offers, many people have been instantly propelled to fame just by posting creative online contents. Not only has ...

A Breakdown of Kris Jenners Net Worth, Sources Of Income and Relationships Over The Years Standing outside and looking in, Kris Jenner looks like the oil that greases the wheels of the entire Kardashian/Jenner machine. She has been dubbed a momager and rightfully so because she seems to have had a part to play in the trajectory of each and every one of her daughters individually and the Kardashian brand ...

Pursuits That Brought Liza Koshys Fame To its Zenith and Her Love Life Since David Dobrik Liza Koshy is an American actress who has leveraged YouTube as a platform to promote her comedy while also serving as a television host on occasions. She is talented and funny and has gathered a lot of fans from around the world. Koshy started on Vine in high school and was able to get millions of ...

Alex Aiono Biography  Inside The Life Of The American Singer Not everyone who started from the streets has attained the heights where Alex Aiono is currently. His story could be referred to as the perfect definition of rising from Grass to Grace. He came into the limelight after he started out as a YouTuber, singer, and producer. One fascinating thing about the young YouTuber is ...

Virginia Vallejo Biography And Her Love Story With Pablo Escobar Virginia Vallejo can be referred to as one of the oldest whistleblowers in history after her involvement with Pablo Escobar which made her famous. Over the years, many questions have been raised about her relationship with the drug lord and why she endangered her life to be with him despite his notorious acts. The death ...

Princess Love Bio  Ethnicity, Real Name & Parents For many people, Princess Love is simply Ray Js wife but there is so much more to this feisty lady than meets the eye. She is a star in her own right and has many feathers on her cap. Princess Love is a reality TV star, a model, video vixen, and fashion designer. She and her ...

Who is Papa Franku Also Known As Filthy Frank or Joji, Where is He Now? The social media as we all know today has given people the opportunity to be creative and innovative and at the same time, make something of themselves. YouTube is one of the known social platforms we have today that makes it possible for people to express their God-given talents and post videos they created to ...

Who Is Molly Qerim, How Did She Become a Famous Sports Anchor and Who Is Her Husband? Molly Qerim is an American sports anchor popularly known for moderating First Take, a highly rated sports talk show, on ESPN. Prior to joining ESPN, Qerim hosted Fantasy Live and NFL AM on NFL Network. It is quite obvious that the widely acclaimed television personality is in a class of her own when it comes ...

Safiya Nygaard  Height, Parents & Net Worth Safiya Nygaard is an American YouTuber, writer, content producer, and director who is popular for posting makeup, beauty and fashion videos on YouTube. Her videos regularly top at least one million views, thanks to her lively character as well as her willingness to experiment with outrageous outfits and different beauty products. Here are the things to ...

The Rigors of Sunlen Serfatys Career Journey Until CNN and Fun Facts About Her Personal Life CNN correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty is an Emmy Award-winning journalist known for covering a broad range of breaking news stories, national news, and Washington politics. She has been able to garner widespread recognition for herself which even goes beyond the sphere of her work. Her profile also increased with the extensive work she did in covering ...

Demystifying Jazz Jennings Real Name, Boyfriend & Family Of One The Youngest Transgenders Jazz Jennings is an unusual personality who became famous as a transgender activist and was recorded as the youngest documented public figure to be seen as transgender. She is also a YouTube personality and spokesmodel for brands, her fans, and other transgenders. She fought for acceptance in her high school with her super supportive family for over ...

Inside Fred Armisens Life  Ethnicity, Romantic Relationships and Gay Rumors Fred Armisen is an award-winning American comedian, he is also a writer, an actor as well as a musician. He was a cast member of the legendary comedy show, Saturday Night Live for 13 years and also one of the brains behind the successful satirical show Portlandia. Find out more about this incredibly talented guy ...

Ed and Lorraine Warren Biography: Cases, Kids, and Family Life Have you ever woken up with fear you could not explain, or felt a strange presence that made the hair at your nape rise or even experienced strange occurrences around you? Well, these were some of the promptings that made the well-known paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren delve into trying to explain the ideas ...

Truth About Tony Romos Wife, Kids and Life Since His NFL Retirement Tony Romo grew from the field as a quarterback to the screens as an American Football Analyst. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the richest football league in the world (NFL) before retiring. As a junior, he was honored as an All-Ohio Conference Member, an Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and ...

Who is Brittany Venti, The Controversial Game Streamer and YouTuber? In recent times, many people live stream themselves playing video games. This has become a popular pastime on the internet and many highly skilled gamers have become internet celebrities through this means. However, some of them rather than becoming renowned for their gaming skills and great commentary, have become controversial and infamous. A good example ...

Rob Dyrdeks Family: His Kids And Relationship With Wife Bryiana Noelle Flores A multi-talented star and an elite pro skateboarder, Rob Dyrdeks success story began at a remarkably young age. Yet another proof that schooling doesnt always correlate with success, Rob has established himself not just as a phenomenal sportsman but also as a successful entrepreneur. Besides perfecting his skill as a natural talent on the board, ...

xChocobars  Biography and Everything You Should Know About Her Having distinguished herself and recorded massive successes in an industry notably dominated by men, it is very safe to say that Xchocobars deserves all the attention and cash she makes from her career. A household name on Twitch (a smart live streaming video platform), the online-gamer is popularly known for streaming classic games such as Stardew ...

Everything To Know About Mary Padian, Her Boyfriend and Net Worth Mary Padian is a famous American television reality personality best known for her involvements on the Reality show Storage Wars. She also has her own shop called Mary finds where she displays her antique collections. Since her childhood, Padian has been a creative learner. At the time, she used to create new items out of reusable ones and ...

Betsy Woodruffs Family Life: Is She Married or Related To Bob Woodruff? An old name in the world of journalism, Betsy Woodruff has warmed her way into the hearts of many with her impressive talents. Through hard work, Woodruff has carved a niche for herself in a very competitive field. Betsy has strong family and work values and is also an advocate for equal opportunities for everyone ...

Matpat (Matthew Patrick)  Wife, Height & Net Worth As far as internet business is concerned, Matpat remains one of the most dynamic and seasoned figures. He boasts a wealth of experience that has helped him in growing his business from one level of greatness to another. Like most successful people, MatPat started out small but today, he makes millions of dollars from his ...

Facts About Ricegum  His Girlfriend, Real Name & Net Worth Ricegum is an online gamer and YouTube sensation who ditched college; took advantage of the digital era, and made a name for himself on the internet. Though he began as a gaming YouTuber, Ricegum soon gained recognition as a controversial internet star following his many diss tracks. Here is everything you need to know about the youngster ...

Joy Taylor Once Married MLBs Richard Giannotti  Inside Look At Her Love Life and Family The erosion of the sexist idea that women have no business in sports broadcasting created a host of women celebrities who attained fame outside of modeling and acting. One of them, Joy Taylor, a radio personality and TV host for Fox Sports 1, has been in the industry since 2009, becoming one of the most ...

What To Know About Conan OBriens Wife, Kids & Family Today The name Conan OBrien is one that jumps right at you almost immediately you start talking about the most popular television hosts in the USA and this is no surprise because the man behind that name has risen to become one of the most admired men in the business. Known for hosting the late-night talk ...

David Letterman  Net Worth, Wife & Son In all of American, one man whose face has been seen frequently by late night TV talk show lovers is none but David Letterman. The comedian and TV show veteran has been hosting late night talk shows for more than three decades. His Late Night with David Letterman show began on February 1st, 1982 aired ...

Demystifying Sssniperwolfs Family Background And The Boyfriends Shes Had Since she launched her eponymously named channel in 2013, Sssniperwolf has been on the rise when it comes to video game influencers. She is one of the biggest names in the online gaming subgenre of YouTube videos. Real name Lia Shelesh, she started with Call of Duty: Black Ops II but has diversified with other ...

Lester Holt  Wife, Family & Net Worth Lester Holt is a multiple award-winning journalist, newscaster, reporter, and actor who has worked for notable media houses like WCBS TV, CBS, MSNBC and among others. His remarkable feat in journalism has endeared him to the hearts of many and earned him some awards and recognitions. Read on to get acquainted with his biography, ethnicity, ...

What Is Louis C.K. Doing Now, Where Are His Family And How Much Is His Net Worth? It is not easy to make it in comedy. It takes more than a funny bone and the ability to elicit a few giggles from a listening audience. For all the complexities that go into making a successful career in comedy, Louis C.K, the Washington D.C-born comedian, did it. For years, he was at the ...

The Progression of Hoda Kotbs Career, Her Ancestry and Family Life Hoda Kotb gained fame as a television host and news anchor for NBC. She anchors the shows signature show Today, and it has been an excellent vehicle for her skills in front of a camera. Kotb has won several awards, including Daytime Emmys and Peabody Awards. Simply put, she is one of the most successful ...

Jerry Seinfelds Family: All About The Amazing Comedians Wife and Kids Apparently one of the highly important entertainers in America, Jerry Seinfeld is a man of many talents. A very funny man, he is considered to be one of the most successful comedians in the USA who has been in the business as a professional rib-cracker for more than 40 years. As an actor, he has ...

The Rigors Of Sarah Silvermans Rise To Prominence And Rundown Of The Men She Has Dated A comedian, writer, and actress, Sarah Silvermans art and craft is as unique as you would ever find. Her poignant use of comedy to discuss social issues such as race, sexism, politics, and religion has gained her an impressive following. As unorthodox as her style is, so is her life experiences. She previously suffered from epiglottitis ...

Who Is Hannibal Buress, Does He Have A Wife or Girlfriend & Why Was He Arrested? Making people laugh when they are tense or not in the mood is a tough order and to ply the trade, it must indeed take some guts and expertise, this is what the humor maker, Hannibal Buress has been able to achieve and sustain after his inital teething process. The African-American is a screen writer, stand-up ...

The Success of John Mulaneys Career Efforts Since His Work On Saturday Night Live and Facts About His Wife John Mulaney had been working as a professional comedian for years before Saturday Night Live changed his status for life and like many who are now his fans, you probably did not know of him then. However, that changed when he joined the sketch comedy show in 2008. Since then, he has been one of ...

Jeff Dunham  Wife, Children and Net Worth Ventriloquism is a very subtle method of making an inanimate object (like a puppet, doll or dummy) appear to be saying words which are actually coming from the person (holding the inanimate object). In effect, the individual throws his/her voice to the puppet and can even appear to be having a conversation with it. Not ...

Ellen DeGeneres  Net Worth, Wife  Portia de Rossi & Parents Ellen DeGeneres is an American female standup comedian who has proven that whatever a man can do, a woman can also do. Since her journey as a standup comedian started in 1981, she has held swirl as one of the finest comedians America and the world at large has seen. She is often referred to ...

Revisiting Joan Rivers Death  The Daughter, Husband & Net Worth She Left Behind Joan Rivers was a renowned American comedian, TV host, writer, and actress. Her brand of comedy consisted of scathing one-liners and no individual or topic is spared. She hosted her own talk shows in the 80s and 90s and was a pioneer for women in stand up comedy. She was the first woman to host a late night ...

The Struggles of Margaret Chos Childhood, How It Influenced Her Career Growth and Love Life Margaret Cho is best described as a comic star who knows how to maneuver everything related to life into a rib-cracking joke. She is also known to criticize every social and political problem, especially those involving race and sexuality. Apart from her talents as a comic actress, she does amazingly well as a singer and ...

Where Is Eric Bolling Today? Who Is His Son & What Is His Net Worth? Eric Bolling who was once a notable figure on Fox News, is an American TV personality, an author, and versatile Journalist. As a political and financial analyst/commentator, he anchored discussions bothering on finance for Fox Business Channel. Here is everything there is to know about his career, family, and allegations that led to his exit ...

Who Is Chelsea Handler and Does She Have A Husband or Boyfriend? Chelsea Handler is one of Americas top female comedians. She is also an actress, writer, television host, producer, and activist. She is known to be very outspoken even with things that are very personal. In separate interviews with The New York Times, Handler revealed that she had an abortion twice when she was 16. She has authored five books ...

How Did Laura Lee Achieve Fame, How Much is She Worth and Who is Her Husband? Laura Lee is a popular American YouTuber, make-up artist and beauty blogger. From posting videos of her makeup routines on Instagram, Lee has transformed into a beauty influencer and a YouTube sensation. Today, her YouTube Channel has over 630 million views and 4.5 million subscribers. Asides having millions of followers across all social media platforms, ...

Madison Gesiotto Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Measurements Madison Gesiotto is no ordinary woman; although she excelled in quite a number of pageants and competitions while she was in school, it is her views on politics and issues in America that has made her name known to most people. She possesses beauty and intelligence in a seemingly equal measure and has been able ...

Who Is Lil Tay? Parents, Brother, Sister, Age, Net Worth, Ethnicity Child stardom is nothing new in the entertainment world. With the advent of social media, we have seen more stars made from the internet than ever before, and Lil Tay is one of them. Her uploaded rap videos trademark is cursing, swearing, cash-throwing, and use of obscene languages. Her fame went wild after she dropped ...

What To Know About Tig Notaros Wife, Kids and Family Today Tig Notaro is an American stand-up comic star, writer, actress, and radio analyst. Since she started her career in 2001, she has become one of Americas best comedians, particularly when it comes to observational comedy. One prominent aspect of her routine involves her family, which includes a wife and two children. Interestingly, Tig Notaro is part ...

Who Is Chantel Jeffries? What To Know About Her Age, Ethnicity & Net Worth Chantel Jeffries is a lady of many talents. Beyond being celebrated as a DJ, she has fared well as a model, an actress, musician, and as an artist. She first rose to fame on Instagram where she has a large following. However, in recent times, she has hit the spotlight for her rumored relationships with some ...

Is Ellen DeGeneres Married, Who Is The Brother  Vance DeGeneres and Family Members? Ellen DeGeneres is one of a kind celebrity in todays world as she has used her wealth for the greater good for many people. She has served a host of famous awards shows like the Grammy, Primetime Emmy and Academy Awards. Moreso, she is probably one of the most decorated entertainment personalities around the world and ...

Carli Bybel Bio  Height, Boyfriend & Net Worth Video blogging is now on the rise and YouTube is the place where most of it happens. If you are a lady who cares about her looks or a guy who likes to help his woman out with her looks, then one person whose name rings a bell when it comes to giving beauty tips ...

Who Is Lexy Panterra? What To Know About Her Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth Lexy Panterra is one of the YouTube personalities whose breakout came through the Twerk dance videos she posted on her social media handles and YouTube which has so far generated over 13 million views for her. From there on, she created her LexTwerkOut workout program in 2014. She is sure very talented as she as moved ...

Who Is AnneMunition? What Is Her Ethnicity & Does She Have A Girlfriend or Boyfriend? AnneMunition is a professional gamer and content creator of American origin. She is one of the most sought-after streamers on Twitch  a popular online platform for watching and streaming videos, especially video games. AnneMunition has almost half a million followers on Twitch and her channel has accumulated at least 13 million views. Her favorite games ...

Norm MacDonald  Former Wife, Son & Net Worth Recently, 59-year-old former Saturday Night Live stand-up comic Norm MacDonald caused a not-so-funny stir when he expressed his personal opinion about the #MeToo movement speaking in defense of Louis CK and Roseanne Barr. Following the backlash of his actions, he is diligently doing damage control for his questionable opinion by posting a public apology on ...

Inside Iliza Shlesingers Life With Husband and How Much She is Worth Now Witty, spontaneous, and truly humorous, Iliza Shlesinger is an American comedian who is clearly proving that the stereotypical claim that women are not really funny is not only incredibly wrong but completely outrageous. Having been in the game for more than 10 years, Shlesinger has grown bigger with each step, stunning fans with her incredible ...

Who Is Nessa Diab? Details of her Parents, Ethnicity & Relationship With Colin Kaepernick Nessa Diab has gained more fame as the girlfriend of different footballers than in her career. She is currently with the popular National Football League (NFL) player, Colin Kaepernick, and has stood by his side during his most trying times. Also known for her mononym, Nessa, she recently engaged in a tweet battle with the ...

Samantha Bee  Inside the Life of Full Frontal Comedian and Presenter We have over the decades seen various brands of humor and personalities who have walked the ropes. One of the formidable forces in the world of comedy is no other than the iconic Samantha Bee of the Daily Show who now runs her own television show on TBS channel. She is a Canadian-American political commentator, ...

What Happened To Jessica Williamss Boyfriend And Which Are Her Best Works? Jessica Williams is a woman who has a lot of feathers in her cap  and keeps acquiring more. The former senior political correspondent of the comic Daily Show, who is also a comedian and actress whose recent movie appearance include starring as a playwright just recovering from a recent split with her boyfriend, Damon, and ...

Who is Nicole Byer? Here are 5 Facts You Need To Know About The Comedian Nicole Byer, an American comedian, actress, and writer, made a name for herself after she played supporting roles on MTVs prank show Ladylike and the reality show Girl Code. The latter was a series that featured comedians who analyzed in minute details, all the issues that young women deal with daily, from period to dating, to weird friendship dynamics and questions about sex. Currently, ...

A Closer Look At Bart Kwans Ethnicity, Height & Personal Life Bart Kwan is one of few Asians who is known for being successful in the comic industry at an international level. His fame broke out after the YouTube channel which he created with his close pal Joe Jo garnered up massive followings. The talented duo has been running the channel since 2007 and their success ...

Heres How VanossGaming Achieved Fame Online, His Worth and Other Facts About The Gamer For many years, the decision to drop out of college to pursue an online career was considered to be foolish and self-destructive by conventional wisdom. It was no different when Evan Fong, popularly known as VanossGaming, dropped out of college to pursue a YouTube career. However, that radical move paid off, and he stands shoulder to ...

Desi Perkins  Ethnicity, Net Worth & Husband YouTube is littered with videos of makeup tutorials by different people but if you are interested in learning how to do your makeup like a pro, there is just one person on that platform who you must follow. She is none other than Desi Perkins! She is a popular make-up artist, Instagram star, and vlogger. Desi, ...

The Phases of Casey Neistats Pursuits and His Love Story With Candice Pool YouTuber, vlogger, filmmaker, and creator extraordinaire; these are just a few hats that Casey Neistat wears and the story of how he got here is incredible. A native of Connecticut, Neistat started out by making refreshingly-authentic short films and videos that featured content that was based on everyday life and called attention to serious issues. He ...

Connor Franta  Inside The Life of American YouTuber YouTube has produced a lot of young celebrities in modern times and Connor Franta happens to be one of them. Apart from being a YouTuber, the young American is also an entrepreneur, entertainer, and writer. His journey to fame began almost a decade ago when he started a self-named YouTube channel where he uploads content ranging ...

Rhett and Link  Bio, Who are Their Wives, Net Worth and Family Facts Rhett and Link refer to an American comedy duo who are very popular on YouTube. They are known for their comic songs, viral commercials, skits and the daily show, Good Mythical Morning. Good Mythical Morning is the most watched daily show online, averaging 100 million views in a month. The show has featured guests such ...

A Walk Through The Maze of Ryan Higas Career Pursuits And Relationship With Arden Cho Ryan Higa is not only celebrated as a YouTube star, but he is also famed for appearing on television screens as an actor and comedian. Nigahiga, his Youtube channel, has gathered over 20 million subscribers and billions of views with his different comic acts, short films, and music videos uploads. With the rise in his career, ...

What to Know About The Shows That Made Craig Ferguson a Star and His Family Ties Rising to the top of your profession can sometimes be a hard and difficult process. It requires days and nights of working consistently hard to be better than what you were yesterday. It requires not giving up when all of your experiences seem to be pushing you to quit. It is because of these challenges ...

David Dobrik Married Liza Koshy for One Month  Inside His Family and Relationships David Dobrik is a YouTube sensation who has garnered fame not just for his vlogs but his love life too. Given his career as a YouTuber, his channel is one place where he shares his romantic escapades. With a cute boyish look like his, this Slovakian young man is definitely a good catch, and not ...

Merrell Twins Bio  Ethnicity, Parents & Boyfriend One of the beautiful things about modern life is social media. As rudimentary as it might seem, it could turn out to be the greatest thing that would be invented in the next 50 years because of its impact on human life. Very few tools have revolutionized human behavior and culture as much as social ...

Who Is Bunny Meyer, Is She Married & What Is Her Net Worth? Bunny Meyer is a YouTube celebrity who has amassed over 8.8 million subscribers with 1.5 million viewers on her channel. She is popularly known as Grav3yardgirl and is one of the highest-paid YouTubers in the world. She initially started out as a fashion designer and later chose the path of a YouTuber. Grav3yardgirl has used her knowledge on fashion, makeup, ...

Ninja  Inside The Life of The American YouTuber and Internet Personality Ninja is a talented video game player known for his mastery of Fortnite and other seemingly difficult games he plays with ease. The video gamer made a career out of what is ordinarily the hobby of many people and has since then amassed a huge online following. Find out about him here, including the controversies that ...

What Is Eva Gutowskis True Sexuality and How Did She Rise So Fast As an Influencer? Ever since Eva Gutowski joined YouTube in 2011, it has been an interesting journey for her, moving from one milestone to the other. Backed by an army of young women and teenage girl fans known as Evanators, she has risen to become one of the most-talked-about personalities in the digital stratosphere. She has also leveraged ...

Emma Chamberlain Biography  Age, Height & Net Worth Before now, people in the entertainment industry could only achieve popularity after many years of dedication and hard work but since social media came into the scene, massive success and overnight popularity became possible. That is the story of Emma Chamberlain who encountered fame as a fifteen-year-old. Emma is one of the many young people who became ...

Anna Akana  Ethnicity, Boyfriend & Net Worth There is a new crop of YouTubers known by their different contents with a very strong uniqueness that stands every one of them out, some upload video games, some fashion while some others have comedy video contents to showcase on their channels. Anna Akana has used her platform to showcase her comedy contents to the ...

Revealing Truths About Lilly Singhs Ethnic Background, Family and Her Relationship With Yousef Erakat Lilly Singh is an Indian-Canadian YouTube personality, actress, and comedian also known as Superwoman. She kicked off her YouTube career in 2010 with the launch of her channel IISuperwomanII and followed it up with a vlog channel in 2011. This paved the way for her fame and success which led to a world tour. The ...

Who Is Andrea Constand, Is She Married and What Is Her Connection With Bill Cosby? Many people got sexually molested but could not voice out due to the stigma victims suffer and what will become of them thereafter. Very few of the victims danm every consequence to seek justice and bring the perpetrator to the book, like Andrea Constand. She never got any media buzz, not until her friend cum molester; ...

Who Is Lazarbeam (Lannan Eacott)? Here Are Facts You Need To Know Lannan Eacott became a person of interest after his YouTube channel, LazarBeam pulled him to the limelight. Initially, he started with uploads of Madden Challenge videos before deciding to build his own channel in January 2015. Within the space of three years, his YouTube channel had gathered over 7 million loyal subscribers. Today, he has not ...

Puzzling Facts About Wengies YouTube Success and More About Her Fiance Among the many YouTubers who have succeeded in winning the hearts of millions of people is Wengie. She is a Chinese-Australian YouTube personality, vlogger, singer, and voice actress. Wengie is famous for a lot of things, from her simple life hacks, DIYs, craft ideas to fun experiments, tricks and pranks. Her content portfolio also includes hair tutorials, diet & fitness tips, lookbooks, ...

Is Jeffree Star A Billionaire and How Much Does He Make On YouTube? If looks can be deceptive then theres no other person who proves this maxim better than Jeffree Star. A quick look at Stars pictures would likely leave you wondering whether or not to tag him a male or female. But who says being controversial has to be a curse? For Star, his looks have caught ...

The Place of Rosanna Pansinos Career Hats In Her Rise To Fame and Facts About Her Personal Life There are a few phrases that could summarize Rosanna Pansinos rise to fame. None of them can do it better than the famous axiom, no knowledge is lost. Her popularity YouTube comes out of her foray into other professions, specifically acting. Although acting now occupies one of the major professional hats in Rosannas resume, it was ...

Muselk (Elliott Watkins) Biography  Age, Girlfriend and Net Worth The new and best in-thing in terms of career is video gaming and we have over time seen young men and women make massive income from an activity that was purportedly designed to serve as a hobby or a relaxation activity. One of such individuals is the Australian-born YouTube Celebrity and Twitch streamer, Muselk, whose ...

PopularMMOs Biography: 5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know We have over the years seen social media millionaires, especially on the YouTube social platform. These celebrities cum millionaires have made names for themselves after carving out niches on the internet, and a typical example of one of such exciting media personality on the YouTube is American Minecraft gamer and YouTube star, PopularMMOs whose channel ...

Jason Nash Once Married Marney Hochman  What To Know About His Ex-Wife and Kids The now-defunct video-sharing app Vine was the path that led Jason Nash to fame. With it, he built an audience of over two million followers, which he parlayed into a significant YouTube career. That move has seen him become one of the most popular personalities on the internet, with the cash income to go with ...

Where Does Dantdm Live? What Do We Know About His Net Worth, Wife and Brother? Most parents buy video games for their kids to occupy their time leisure, while other parents frown at their kids when they play video games. Despite the disparity, every parent would be proud of their child if he/she eventually turns a celebrity or millionaire through playing video games like Dantdm. Biography of Dantdm Dantdm was born Daniel ...

LaurDIY  Biography: 5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTuber LaurDIY is the YouTube channel of Lauren Riihimaki which she created on December 1, 2011, when she was still a college undergrad with the sole aim of giving Do It Yourself (DIY) as well as practical fashion and beauty tips to her followers. She has used the channel to establish herself as a YouTube personality ...

Lachlan Ross Power  Bio And Family Life Of Australian The YouTube Star It is amazing the varied sources of income that the internet has made possible in this day and age. Internet fame can get its holder a whole lot of monetary and social benefits, but it must be noted that it does not come easy or cheap. For those who desire fame, content is the sacrifice ...

Alfie Deyes  Bio and Net Worth: Everything You Need To Know Alfie Deyes is one internet personality you definitely would like to know about. He boasts of over 10 million subscribers on three of his YouTube channels and has three bestseller books to his name. He is probably the most renowned young personality on YouTube today and his vlogging empire continues to grow by the day. ...

Colleen Ballingers Love Story With Husband Erik Stocklin and How Much She Is Worth Now Colleen Ballinger is an American comedian and YouTuber who is a very funny, adventurous, and highly talented woman. She is also an actress, singer, and writer. Collen is widely known for her work on YouTube where she posts content on her channel, Miranda Sings. The comedian has gained many subscribers over the years and has ...

Who Are The Dude Perfect Members and How Much Are They Worth? Entertainment in the 21st century can be digested in many forms and with platforms like YouTube, the creators and purveyors of entertainment have been democratized. Today, one of the most popular platforms to exhibit ones creative talents is YouTube, even though there are other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, who suffer in comparison to YouTube because ...

Who Is Rudy Mancuso, What Is His Earning Power and What Do We Know About His Girlfriend? Rudy Mancuso started his internet journey on Vine. He would later transition to YouTube where he solidified his place among the internets most beloved comedic creators. He is now regarded as one of the renowned internet personalities in the world, with a presence in mainstream TV and film projects like Comedy Centrals Drunk History and ...

Vsauce (Michael Stevens) Biography and Net Worth: All You Need To Know The advent of YouTube and the internet as a whole revolutionized how human beings consume information. With each passing year, the percentage of learning that is done in a traditional classroom decrease as a seismic shift to internet-based learning happens in our education industry. From open courses online to YouTube classes and videos, there are ...

How did Jake Paul Make His YouTube Big Break and Who is His Wife? One of the most interesting Social Media personalities of the 21st century is the young and popular Jake Paul whose elder brother is the famed Vine star, Logan Paul. Jake has utilized the power of the internet to bring himself to the limelight with a channel named JakePaulProductions that has amassed up to six billion ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About Reaction Time (Tal Fishman)  The American YouTuber Before 2015, the leading meaning of reaction time was the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, until Tal Fishman started his channel, Reaction Time on YouTube and the dominant meaning changed. Today, a google search of Reaction Time would deliver Tal Fishmans videos and YouTube channel link with a few physics ...

Grace Helbig  Net Worth, Boyfriend and Family Life of The YouTuber Grace Helbig is an American internet personality, comedian, actress, and writer. She became popular due to her daily vlog series, DailyGrace, which ran on My Damn Channel from 2008 to 2013. Helbig is also popular for her own indie series on YouTube, ItsGrace, which she launched in 2014. Her vlogs which feature random stuff such as ...

Mark Wiens Bio  Ethnicity, Wife and Parents Food is a great way to connect with people. We all love to eat, if not for the pleasure of food, the satisfaction of quenching hunger, and the very process of providing and sharing that food is part of the strongest bonds that bind humanity together. Maybe it is our historical connection to food, where ...

Is Filthy Frank Dead, What Happened To Him and How Much Is He Worth? As George Kusunoki Miller, he was a nobody. However, as Filthy Frank, George was one of the most famous internet personalities on the planet. The Filthy Frank Show, a sketch series on his YouTube channel, TVFilthyFrank, was one of the platforms most influential creations. He is the reason a crazy dance song, Harlem Shake, made it ...

CaptainSparklez Bio  Net Worth, House and Cars of The Famous YouTuber Sometimes, what society wants from its citizens is quite different from what the citizens want for themselves. This is evident in the life and career of video blogger and American YouTube personality, Jordan Maron famous for his YouTube channel CaptainSparklez. He dropped out of school after discovering his talent in playing an online game called Minecraft. ...

Who is Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg)? Here are Facts You Must Know Canadian Youtube personality, Simply Nailogical (Cristine Rotenberg) originally started out polishing and designing nails even before it became a trendy culture in the social media. Simply Nailogica started out her showbiz career in her early days as a child actress, acting in commercials for game and toy companies. Aside from acting, she is blogger, vlogger, specializing ...

5 Interesting Facts You Need To Know About Huda Beauty In the world of entrepreneurship, it is interesting when an individual has a mentor who he/she looks up to, this yield more productivity on the part of the individual. The iconic and rich American beautician and makeup artist Huda Kattan nicknamed Heida is the founder of the Huda Beauty blog which is number one Instagram beauty blog ...

Is Dino MasterChef Gay? Details About His Ethnicity, Girlfriend, Where He Is Now Food, for the better part of the early years of human life, was nothing more than what we needed for survival. There was no artistry or curation to the method of cooking. The scarcity of food left no room for artistic expression until we figured out agriculture and we could make as much as we ...

Who Is Gabbie Hanna And How Did She Become Famous? As the world shifts to digital media and depends more and more on streaming services for its news and entertainment content, YouTubers have become one of the leading creators in the new media world. Their understanding of the online audience: how to create, maintain, and increase followers, are all handy skills that have primed them ...

Jacksepticeye  Height, Girlfriend & Net Worth Jacksepticeye is a YouTuber and actor who gained popularity with a series of gaming videos he uploads on his channel to the delight of millions of his subscribers. He is Known primarily for his comic video game series titled Lets Play and his vlogs. His channel was formerly ranked 46th in the list of most subscribed ...

Chris Heria Personal Details: About His Wife, Height & Ethnicity Background In this generation, keeping fit has become one of the major criteria for being hale and hearty. In fact, most occupations these days are majorly concerned with ones body mass, weight and looks. Unlike the past where most people have to register in a gym to keep fit, social media has made it quite easy ...

Everything You Need To Know About Game Grumps Gaming is becoming incredibly popular on YouTube these days with game vloggers make millions of dollars out of them yearly. One of the most popular up-coming gaming YouTube channels is Game Grumps. The Lets Play series was created in 2012 and celebrated its fifth anniversary on July 18th, 2017. In six years of its existence, the ...

Daithi De Nogla Biography, Girlfriend and Net Worth YouTube has created an avenue for many to make wealth and become famous from the comfort of their homes while having fun. Many have built a career out of the platform, uploading numerous videos that have earned them the admiration of viewers across the globe. For Daithi De Nogla, he is loved for his humorous commentary on ...

Does Phoebe Robinson Have A Boyfriend or Husband and What Do We Know About Her Family? Phoebe Robinson is a New York-based comedian, writer, and actress. She is best known as the co-creator and co-host of the WNYC Studios podcast 2 Dope Queens. Just like some other female comedians, she never had any original plans of becoming a stand-up comedian even though, according to her, she took a class on a whim at Carolines on Broadway. After ...

Who Are Lex and Alana from Listed Sisters? What Is Their Ethnicity & Is the Show Cancelled? America is a country built on diversity. Everywhere you look all over the country, a countless number of immigrants or children of immigrants have become an integral part of the fabric of the country. From entertainment to business, immigrants are creating a niche for themselves and climbing to the summit of their respective professions. One ...

Riveting Facts About Danielle Lombard And What She Is Best Known For The American entertainment industry is one that provides many avenues for aspiring hopefuls to express their talents and become famous. From films to television shows and game shows, there is no shortage of ways for men and women who desire fame to pursue and earn it in the United States of America. Another tested medium ...

Unearthing New Details About The YouTube Success And Personal Life of Alex Burriss of Wassabi Productions Wildly hilarious and truly audacious, Alex Wassabi is an American YouTuber who has become a very popular face on the video-sharing platform after having garnered millions of subscribers over the years by keeping people glued to his channel with his witty parody video releases. If you have always loved parody videos, there is every chance ...

Everything You Need To Know About H2O Delirious H2O Delirious whose full birth name is reported to be Jonathan Gormon Dennis has successfully kept himself mystified by hiding his face behind the masks leaving his loyal fans speculating who he really is for many years. The American YouTube star is easily identified by the Jason Mask Style with make-up which he wears on his ...

Who Is HolaSoyGerman and What Happened To Him? German Garmendia has certainly seen it all when it comes to internet success. His channels, HolaSoyGerman and JuegaGerman are in the top twenty most subscribed channel on YouTube. The Chilean YouTuber found a way to tap into one of the worlds greatest inventions and make a living from it. He has been able to build ...

Who Are Glenn Becks Family, What Is His Net Worth And What Happened To Him? The American political commentary space is filled with different personalities. A few of them, through their rhetoric, charisma, and resources have been able to build a large following of men and women who listen to them for insight and direction for various political and social issues in the United States. For Conservatives, the story is ...

Following Charissa Thompsons Rise Through The Ranks Of Sports Casting and All About Her Boyfriend Superstar TV host and sportscaster, Charissa Thompson, has been hailed as one of the highest-profile women journalists in America, and the reason is there for all to see. She has worked for popular establishments such as Versus, Yahoo! Sports, ESPN, GSN, and Big Ten Network. She currently hosts the popular pre-game show, Fox NFL Kickoff, ...

Is Chris Kattan Gay or Does He Have A Wife? What Is His Net Worth? Chris Kattan is a popular American comedian and actor. He has appeared in several comic movies and TV series such as The Middle, A Night at the Roxbury and Bunnicula. Kattan is, however, most popular for his six-year stint as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. During his time on the legendary show, he ...

Everything You Should Know About the Rise of Insta Star Claire Abbott and Why She Gave It All Up A lot of young Americans have shot into the limelight for uploading different kinds of videos on YouTube. Some of these young stars include Connor Franta, Desi Perkins, Emma Chamberlain, the Dolan Twins (Ethan and Grayson), and Claire Abbott. The latter became a social media celebrity for uploading sexy bikini pictures of herself on social media. Apart from ...

5 Facts You Need To Know About The YouTube Channel  h3h3Productions H3h3Productions is a YouTube channel that specializes on Comic responses or reactions of other contents or trendy stories. The celebrity couple that created the channel has over time racked up sizable views for their commentaries and contents. Even though they had their own fair share of copyright cases, thankfully they scored an unprecedented victory in all ...

Lilypichu Bio  Height, Brother and Love Story With Albert SleightlyMusical Chang Like most popular internet celebrities, Lilypichu is one of those Twitch streamers who spend their lives on camera. From daydreaming about the possibility of becoming a full-time professional streamer, she grew to live out her dreams on the popular live streaming platform where people play games, make crafts, and showcase their day-to-day activities. Given the rise of ...

KSI  What To Know About His Girlfriend, Brother  Deji Olatunji & Net Worth Assuredly, when Internet inventors Vint Cerf and Bob Khan created the technological masterpiece, they probably did not know how massive the creation will be harnessed by many for different purposes including as a platform for earning money through content creation. One of such person who smiles to the bank regularly today for spending time creating ...

The Interesting Progression and Highlights of Carrie Keagans Career as a Host and Actress Carrie Keagan has garnered huge fame through her various stints on television. She is not just your regular TV host but one with a difference. Keagan has hosted several high profile events and TV shows, including VH1s Big Morning Buzz Live and Fox News Channels Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld. However, not many know she ...

The Gist On Elise Jordans Marriages And Her Rise To Prominence Political commentaries tend to be boring when it is handled by someone who does not have a knack for it. However, when you see the likes of Elise Jordan run the same commentary, you will have a lot of reasons to look forward to watching her again as the journalist is well-versed in the field ...

What Is Timmy Thick Best Known For and How Successful Is The Star? Thanks to the internet, many people whose talents would have ordinarily gone unnoticed have become famous. A very good example of this modern-day internet celebrity is Timmy Thick, an American social media star. He became popular on Instagram due to his penchant for posting raunchy pictures of himself. He also often posted videos of himself ...

What Does Heather Storm Do For a Living and Who Is She Dating? Reality Television is a great way to make a name for oneself as well as amass a fortune. Heather Storm can attest to this as she is one of those who have made a name and earned a lot from reality TV. She made her name appearing on shows like Car Fanatics, Awesome Autos, and, ...

Matt Carriker Biography  Net Worth, Wife & Height Unlike your regular veterinary doctor next door, Matt Carriker chose to spice up his noble profession with the unusual. Though he is known to many as a medical practitioner, Carriker is better renowned as a YouTube star and an animal lover. Having recorded huge successes on his various YouTube channels, the vet doctors name and ...

Jillian Mele of Fox News Career Achievements, Husband & Measurements There are quite a good number of presenters on radio and television who listeners and viewers may never wish to miss any of their shows because of their sensational golden voice, beauty or the special way or artistry they anchor their shows. Jillian Mele is one of such. She has been at the top of ...

Who is Gillian Turner of Fox News? Her Fiance or Husband and Net Worth Gillian Turner is well-known as a news correspondent for Fox News Channel but before she became a TV personality, she built an intimidating resume working for different institutions, including the American government. She served in different capacities at the White House National Security Council during the administration of former US Presidents  George W. Bush and Barack Obama. ...

Gloria Govan Bio  Age, Ethnicity & Height Even as Gloria Govan is famous as an American actress, author, a TV host, and reality television star, shes more popular as the wife of the former NBA player, Matt Barnes. She became known after appearing on the Florida version of the reality television series, Basketball Wives and later, Basketball Wives: LA  after Matt was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sadly, ...

Michael Fishmans Interesting Start as an Actor and Why He Divorced His Wife of Many Years When one door closes, another one opens. As silly as that axiom may seem, it is the story of the resurgence of Michael Fishman, who plays D.J Conner on the popular show, Roseanne. Having played the character for several years as a child actor into his teenage years; when the show originally ended, Michael did ...

Who Is October Gonzalez  Tony Gonzalezs Wife? All You Need To Know October Gonzalez is a popular American TV host and media personality. Additionally, she is also a model. Gonzalez has hosted several TV shows such as Beat Shazam, Entertainment Tonight, and Rachel Ray. She has also featured in several reality TV shows. Gonzalezs fame is not just due to her profession but also because of her ...

Who Is Tony Berlin  Harris Faulkners Husband: His Children and Family Facts Tony Berlin is a popular American media guru. He has variously worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer for some of the biggest TV networks in America. They include CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC (where he hosted the popular Good Morning America). Berlin has now diversified into public relations and owns his own PR firm. ...

The Progression of Gianna Tobonis Journalism Career and Details About Her Marriage to Kyle Buckley Gianna Toboni may not be your ideal newscaster but her unusual reporting is what made her a household name. The American journalist is renowned for her hard-hitting and authentic reportage. A motivator and activist for total press freedom, Gianna loves to explore pervasive cultural issues. Not only does this unique and ambitious journalist call for all ...

Dog The Bounty Hunters Family Including Details of His Late Wife and Kids Popularly known as Dog, a name which he got from the television series, Dog The Bounty Hunter, Duane Chapman, an American bounty hunter, and one-time bail bondsman, went from being convicted for a felony to being a reality TV star. He was brought to the limelight following the capture of the convicted criminal, Andrew Luster in 2003 and this eventually made ...

Vicky Karayiannis, Chris Cornells Wifes Bio, Children and Family The world of showbiz is made up of different people who serve different roles, and function in a variety of capacities, and one of the most important people are those in the background. Publicists are undoubtedly one of these background people yet they are vital to the life and fame of most of our favorite ...

Joe Rogan Has A Step-Daughter and 2 Other Kids With Wife Jessica Ditzel  Meet His Family Joe Rogan is a popular American stand-up comedian and TV host. His journey to stardom began in the late 80s and has seen him host several shows, the most popular is the game show titled Fear Factor. The exciting show dares contestants to face some of their greatest fears and embark on challenging stunts. The ...

Josh Gates and Wife Hallie Gnatovich Have 2 Kids But Who Has the Higher Net Worth? Best known for his explorations and adventures, Josh Gates, is a television presenter with a voracious appetite for seeing the world and the beauties in it. Some of that beauty, however, is in his home, in the form of two children he shares with his wife, Hallie Gnatovich. Not excluded is their marriage which has lasted ...

Holly Sonders Wiki, Plastic Surgery & Why She Divorced Her Husband  Erik Kuselias After trying everything within her capacity to have a low key wedding, Holly Sonders was drawn to the public because of her husbands controversy at his workplace. Well, the two are rumored to be divorced but the article below will give more light on how true these rumors are. Meanwhile, Holly Sonders is yet to ...

Nadeska Alexis Bio  Age, Boyfriend & Net Worth Journalism is one diverse profession that allows the practitioners to choose their area of specialty, build a career on it by reporting the truth and facts which in the long run will distinguish them as deserving commendation and recognition among their peers. Some choose to specialize in political journalism, while to others it is sports ...

Media Platforms Charlamagne Tha God Has Explored and All The Controversies He Has Courted Charlamagne Tha God is an American on-air personality, radio presenter, and more recently, author. He is popularly known as a co-host on New York radios nationally syndicated show, The Breakfast Club, a program he has been hosting alongside DJ Envy and Angela Yee since 2010. However, his early years had no connection to his current career ...

A Look At Jimmy Fallons Net Worth and Family Including His Wife & Kids Sometimes, a childs passion for something is a pointer to what he/she would become in the future. As a child, Jimmy Fallon was literally obsessed with watching the late-night comedy program, Saturday Night Live (SNL). Then, his parents would tape the clean parts for him to watch and later, he and his sister would re-enact sketches from the ...

Kay Adams Biography  Does The Sportscaster Have A Husband or Boyfriend? When you hear the phrase sports enthusiast, women are hardly the first group that comes to mind. Well, thats changing pretty fast. Especially with the rise of female sports analysts and broadcasters like Kay Adams who is famed for knowing more about sports than most men do. And why not, shes paid handsomely for it ...

Ben Shapiros Family  Meet His Wife, Kids and Sister Who is Popular for the Wrong Reasons A multi-talented man, Ben Shapiro is a man of controversial nature, an attribute that has made him an unusual public figure. An intellectual whose career path was clearly defined even before he became a man, the Jewish conservative commentator has always had his way with words. He became popular by sharing his critical and often ...

QVC Shawn Killinger Bio  Husband, Net Worth & Facts To Know Shawn Killinger is a prominent TV personality who has worked her way to the top. Though not initially a journalist by training, she defied the odds and today has established herself as a household name, as well as, worked alongside some industry legends. More than just being a reporter, newscaster, and anchor, heres all you ...

Liv Lo  Dissecting the Ethnicity, Parents and Personal Life of Henry Goldings Wife While many are aware that Liv Lo is the better half to Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding, only a few understand why his beautiful wife appears increasingly endearing to fans. A former model turned TV personality, and fitness star, Liv has an impressive resume which when combined with that of her statuesque spouse is considered a perfect ...

Stpeach Age, Husband and Other Facts About The Twitch Streamer Lisa Vannatta, famously known by her online alias, STPeach is a Canadian video game streamer cum vlogger who has garnered fame through her appearances on different video-sharing/social networking platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, Twitch, Reddit, and Twitter. The beautiful lady got her career to a start in August 2015 when she joined the live streaming video platform, Twitch. She rose to ...

Insights into Seth Meyers Wife, Family and What His Net Worth Is Celebrities are mostly remembered and known for the work they do. For Seth Meyers, his career as a comedian, writer, actor, TV host, and producer is his biggest identifier. He was on Saturday Night Live SNL show as a head writer and cast member for more than ten years during which he built a reputation ...

Who Is Jessica Gadsden  Age, Net Worth & All About Charlamagne tha Gods Wife Jessica Gadsden is an American fitness coach as well as a personal trainer. She is better known as the spouse of popular American media personality, Charlamagne Tha God. Charlamange Tha God is a well-known TV and radio personality in the U.S. He has featured in several shows (both on the radio and TV) and is ...

Who Is Collins Tuohy  Michael Ohers sister ? Her Wedding, Husband & Net Worth Collins Tuohy is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, blogger, and social media personality. She is also better known as the adoptive sister of NFL player, Michael Oher, whose life story inspired the Hollywood blockbuster The Blind Side. The Blind Side tells the true life story of Oher who grew up in an impoverished background consisting of a ...

Eye-Popping Facts About The Personal Life And Career Success Of Sportscaster Heidi Watney Heidi Watney is a media personality who has created a niche for herself as a sportscaster. Starting out as a radio presenter, the brilliant young lady has gone on to work for several prominent sports networks, and currently, she is with the MLB. The sportscaster is also known to have been an avid sports lady right ...

Marty Lagina Bio  Siblings (Martina and Rick Lagina), Net Worth and Wife Marty Lagina is an American engineer and businessman who has risen to fame as a reality TV star. This is thanks to his involvement in the adventure TV series, The Curse of Oak Island. The Curse of Oak Island is a long-running TV series which airs on the history channel. The show aims to solve ...

Is Jordan Schlansky Just A Character or a Real Life Person and What Does He Do? The world of late-night television is an interesting one. Shows during that time are geared towards giving viewers comedic relief from a long day at work through interviews and comedy sketches. The often charismatic host of this show requires the balancing talent of a producer whose primary job is to deliver great episodes. It is ...

Heres How Wealthy Jimmy Kimmel Is From All The Phases of His Career, Marriages and Sons Health Jimmy Kimmel is a renowned late-night talk show host known for his charm, wit, and the A-list guests he features on his show. As the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! On ABC, Jimmy has been serving comedy to television viewers for years which played a pivotal role in launching him into mainstream fame and enabled ...

Natasha Bertrand Biography  Is She Married? Who Is the Husband & What Is Her Age? Natasha Bertrand is not just a young prominent journalist but a first-rate investigative reporter. With her natural beauty and smile, Natashas sharp, insightful political commentary also makes her a thorough reporter. Her sound political perspective and coverage in the country have made her a force to be reckoned with in the profession. Renowned for her ...

What Happened to Shane Kilcher? His Injury Update, Net Worth and More Shane Kilcher is well-known thanks to the Discovery Channel series Alaska: The Last Frontier. It is a show that documents the daily lives of the extended Kilcher family, people who live without plumbing or modern heating. The episodes follow their routines as they rely on hunting and farming for their nutritional needs as well as ...

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Aliana Bravo, 5, of Dyer, wants to make sure the dollhouse she is interested in has all its parts and works well. (Sue Ellen Ross / Post-Tribune)

It's not every weekend that youngsters have an opportunity to sell unwanted items, learn how to make deals and close the sale, and put the profits in their own pockets.

The recent fifth annual Kids Garage Sale, sponsored by the Dyer Parks and Recreation Department, offered the opportunity for all of the above  and then some. The event took place at the north end of Walt's Grocery Store parking lot.

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"I sold almost everything I brought here, about two-thirds," Daniel Nebel, 11, of Dyer said, as he checked his change box toward the end of the event. "I had just about everything  games, toys and other things."

Along with Nebel, 27 additional area youngsters spent three hours that Saturday morning selling their stuff they'd outgrown. The time frame was more than adequate, according to the vendors and the visitors, because the temperature was rising steadily toward to the 90 degree mark.

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"I was shopping in the (grocery) store and had to see what was going on out here," said Kathleen Martin of Dyer. "How wonderful that the parents are letting the children get rid of things they don't want in this manner. They do learn when they're given the opportunity, I believe."

Dyer resident Sydney Palmer, 8, set up his display of shoes, clothes, books and other items at the far end of the selling area.

"I was here last year, too," he said as he straightened his book inventory in neat rows on a long table. "It's a lot of fun. I get to talk to people and make money. I'm doing very well today."

His mom, Yvette Palmer, said the kids are gaining quite a bit of experience, in addition to taking home some cash.

"This is a great way for them to give someone else a chance to have these (still usable) things they don't want anymore," she said. "And the ones who buy are learning how to spend their money wisely."

Dyer Parks and Recreation Supervisor Andrea Daliege agreed.

"This experience also gives them confidence, something they can build on," she said.

Potential customer Lawrence Harris, 12, of Hammond was browsing the various items when he heard two of the shopkeepers discussing their day's sales. He was impressed.

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"I have a lot of things to sell, I wonder if Hammond could have one of these for us kids," the youngster said while looking over a locked storage box offered on Daniel's table. "I know I could do this  price the things and talk to people. That's easy for me, I know I could do good."

Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Summer reading program participants Victor Hernandez, Xander Lopez and Annabel Diaz perform for the audience at the Hammond Public Library. (Sue Ellen Ross / Post-Tribune)

By Sue Ellen RossPost-Tribune

Ariana Hernandez, 5, is one year away from participating in the Hammond Public Library's Summer Readers Theater Group, but that didn't deter her from attending their recent performance of "Mary Poppins" in the library's community room.

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"My two brothers and my sister are with the show and I came to see them," she said as she waited with her mother for the doors to open. "And next year, I can be in it too."

Victor and Adam Hernandez filled two acting positions and Jocelyn Hernandez, a college student and library volunteer, assisted with the coordination of the show.

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This is the fifth year the Readers Theater, an end-of-the-summer reading program, has been offered, according to Sally Opolski, the library's youth services director.

"We started with the older children, but added the younger ones last year," she said. "This current performance involves 12 readers of all ages and grades, from kindergarten to 12th grade."

Dale and Sherri Nowak of Mount Rose, Michigan were in the audience.

The couple made a special trip to northwest Indiana  a four-hour drive  to watch their grandson Xander Lopez, 8, play four characters in the show.

"We wouldn't miss this. We're so proud of Xander," Dale Nowak said. "These kids are doing a fabulous job, learning how to be in front of an audience and working together."

Mom Danielle Lopez said Xander did not want to participate at first.

"He was very shy and didn't want to be in the show," she said. "But once he started practicing with the others, that went away and now he has much more confidence."

Among audience members were families of the performers, library staff , and community members.

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"My two sons are grown, but I used to bring them to all the library programs. They do such great things here," Christy Jamison of Hammond said, as she watched this year's show. "It's great that the kids are given the chance to break out of their same old routines and learn something new. Bravo to all of them."

Lawrence Grady of Hammond was checking out library books when he heard about the performance, so made a detour to the Community Room.

"It's amazing what the young people can do when they put their mind to it," he said, as the show began. "I always like to watch them blossom in front of a group of people  everyone in this audience feels that way too. You can tell by the smiles on their faces.'

Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
EAST CHICAGO  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $175,000 grant to the city of East Chicago.

The city will use the money to install green infrastructure at Jeorse Park to reduce stormwater runoff and to filter chemicals, bacteria and other contaminants before they reach the beach and Lake Michigan.

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The EPA says the improvements will prevent more than 290,000 gallons of unfiltered runoff from reaching Lake Michigan.

East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland has called Jeorse Park Beach one of the most polluted bodies of water in the nation.

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The $175,000 grant was part of more than $2 million grants to 13 cities in Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin aimed at improving public health and water quality at municipal swimming beaches.

Associated Press
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson speaks during a hearing in Gary, on Beveridge Elementary School, a school that has been placed in the lowest category or designation of school improvement for five consecutive years on Wednesday, August 10, 2016. (JOHN SMIERCIAK / Post-Tribune)

With five consecutive years of failing in academic performance and a State Board of Education decision looming over its future, Gary's mayor and educators appealed Wednesday to make changes to how Beveridge Elementary School operates.

School Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt recommended allowing Beveridge Elementary School, 1234 Cleveland St., to become an innovation network school.

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The three-year plan outlined for Beveridge would place control of the school at the local level with the Beveridge School Innovation Network Team, principal, Cheryl S. Ramsey said.

The team would customize its program based on best practices, and it would have full operational authority to manage the 550-pupil school with approval of the local and state school boards.

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These changes would permit the school to have flexibility to implement practices similar to charter schools, including exemptions for some mandates for a designated period of time.

The plan calls for flexible class enrollment to enable small group instruction, a flexible school day, robust, relevant curriculum, creative budgeting, blending of subjects to increase relevance, incorporation of virtual education, and a waiver of approved restrictions and policies.

Ultimately, the state board's determination will be based on measured performance and academic growth.

Kelly Fair, of Polished Pebbles girls mentoring, speaks during a hearing in Gary, on Beveridge Elementary School, a school that have been placed in the lowest category or designation of school improvement for five consecutive years on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (JOHN SMIERCIAK / Post-Tribune)

The 2015-16 data is not yet available, but if the school receives another F, it could be designated as a turnaround academy under state intervention. If it moves out of its F status, the state will not have the authority to apply the intervention.

Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson talked about the challenges faced in the school district.

"I would suggest you can't do this in a vacuum," Freeman-Wilson said. "I am talking about the surrounding community and the challenges. There is a high vacancy rate, a high poverty rate and a high transiency rate among the students. That makes it harder for the students to excel. The good news, the community is not willing to give up. This is an opportunity for Beveridge to hit the reset button in a way to serve students well."

State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, attended the hearing and said she has heard the innovation network has had good reviews.

"There's an opportunity for teachers to have more input and that's attractive to teachers," Rogers said after the meeting. "I think that certainly the mayor's interest in this school can be an asset. She talked about vacant buildings. That might be encouraging for her to designate the buildings for demolition and additional city services. Safety and how (the neighborhood) looks is extremely important."

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About 45 people attended the hearing.

"We've been having dialogues with the state board and with Indianapolis (innovative network) to see what works there, and I feel we can make this transition and do what is best for the students and staff," Pruitt said.

If the plan is approved, there will be a period of planning and selection of partners, she said.

Proposed strategies for the school include providing a framework for 90-minute reading and 60-minute math blocks; developing instructional calendars; need-based professional development for teachers; infusing international experiences related to China and Africa; and exposures and use code with computer science for all.

"We have worked to improve the culture and climate of the school," Ramsey said.

Problems addressed include suspensions and student tardiness. Conflict resolution training was provided to older students, and there was an increase in parental involvement.

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Beveridge Elementary School principal Cheryl Ramsey speaks during a hearing in Gary, on Beveridge Elementary School, a school that has been placed in the lowest category or designation of school improvement for five consecutive years on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (JOHN SMIERCIAK / Post-Tribune)

Ramsey said there has been a decrease in the number of suspensions. The school instituted lunch-hour detentions, and as a result, it saw a 27 percent decrease in morning tardiness.

Beveridge teachers at the hearing also expressed their support for the innovation network during public comment.

The State Board of Education has already approved a transformation zone in the Gary Community School Corp., and according to Glenda Ritz, state superintendent of public instruction, "to put Beveridge in it seems like a natural fit."

Ramsey sees the innovation network as a way to transform learning at the school.

"Today, the Beveridge staff stands as one to improve student performance," Ramsey said. "We support the innovation network school. We believe we can be excellent and a role model for other schools. We are looking forward to having the opportunity to restart as an innovation network school."

Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Teacher Diana Schmidt is beginning her 15th year at Old Orchard Junior High School in Skokie. She recently published a book inspired by her grandmother's fight against Alzheimer's disease. Through "Remember For Me" (www.open-bks.com/library/moderns/remember-for-me/about-book.html), she said she is hoping to raise awareness and funds.

Q: Where did you grow up?

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A: Lake Forest, and I have been working in Skokie since I was 21.

Q: Pets?

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A: I am a huge lover of dogs, but work too far from home to have one. So, we have fish. Lots of fish  guppies that continue to keep the tank full. And recently we added a couple of snails into the mix.

Q: What book are you currently reading, and what book would you like to read next?

A: I am a Kristen Ashley fan and am currently getting my mindless story consumption from her. I am also reading "The Collapse of Parenting" by Leonard Sax.

Q: First job?

A: My first job was working in my dad's grocery store, which was in Skokie  Happy Food  when I was a teenager. He'll tell you that I refused to answer phones, stressed when customers came near and didn't leave the office much. He'd be right.

Q: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A: I wanted to be a teacher from an early age. But, there was a time marine biology interested me until a jellyfish stung me on the lips, and I removed myself from the water expeditiously and pretty much refused to go back.

Q: Do you have children?

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A: I have two infinitely entertaining and thoughtful children. Logan is 7, and Cora is almost 6.

Q: Favorite charity?

A: Because of my novel and grandmother, the Alzheimer's Association is currently my favorite charity. However, I had the greatest experience years ago raising money with students and helping refugees move into apartments in this area through Exodus World Service. Feed My Starving Children is pretty amazing, too.

Q: Words of wisdom?

A: Not sure it is wisdom or a necessity, but find what makes you happy and fight for it. Then help others find their happy, too.

Q: What song best sums up Skokie for you?

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A: "What a Wonderful World" because this town encompasses a microcosm of diversity and respect.

Q: Favorite local restaurant?

A: My favorite restaurant here is probably Taboun Grill. It offers the best post-meeting meal.

Q: What is an interesting factoid about yourself?

A: My students ask me things like this all the time, and I am sure my answer changes. Clearly, I am not that interesting. I was teaching on an American military base in Germany on Sept. 11, 2001.
"For me, Egypt is the most beloved and beautiful of all. I love her when she owns the world's east and west. And I love her when she is down, wounded in war... "

With these verses, Egyptian well-known actor Mahmoud Masoud opened his one-man poetic stage performance entitled "In Egypt's Name," written by late renowned poet Salah Jahin in 1971, with a background screen displaying historic and modern photos of Egypt for few attendees at the country's national Cairo Puppet Theater.

"The audience today are different. In the past, a spectator used to go to theater to enjoy art and poetry, but today they have neither patience nor energy. Therefore, I didn't perform the whole poem but only parts of it," Masoud said following the performance, lamenting the deteriorating conditions of the theater art in the most populous Arab country.

"I had the same stage poetry experience in Alexandria Bibliotheca and other places, and I just hope it will become a popular theater trend. I don't care about fees or revenues, because I see that the artistic and literary returns are much greater than millions of pounds," the actor continued.

Theaters in Egypt used to be in the lead decades ago, and the art gradually weakened and vanished over the past few years despite attempts of revival launched by some private and public theaters to maintain the valuable art regardless of financial returns.

The actor said that Britain, France, China and other countries pay much more interest in theatre, hoping his attempts and those of other artists can start "a new era" for the revival of theatre in the country.

Although the audience weren't many, Mahmoud Nasr, a young man in his 20's, went backstage to shake hands and take a picture with the sole actor, saying he came from the Suez province to the capital Cairo to enjoy the show.

"I love this poem so much as it narrates parts of Egypt's history and stirs up patriotic sentiments. Also the background screen display and the dark and colorful lighting provided a suitable, calm mood for enjoying the show," the young man said.

At the Opera House in downtown Cairo, Egypt concluded Tuesday evening the 9th session of the Egyptian National Theater Festival that included 41 shows for free over two weeks, which is a constant national attempt to maintain the popularity of theater, known in Egypt as "the Father of Arts."

"We cannot follow the degrading public taste for arts. I believe it's not the public taste to blame but some opportunists, who want to make fast money and have ruined the public taste, using cinema and theater for trade," said Nashwa Moharram, a philosophy professor who won best playwright award for her play "the Zombie and the Ten Sins."

"I have seen people overwhelmed by the show although it is in classical Arabic," the playwright said at the Opera House, noting that the work fits all levels of audience from cultured ones to ordinary people.

Moharram added that it is a dream for each artist to provide a serious and honest work that also achieves a financial success. "However, it's a far-fetched dream and in most cases a true artist gives up the financial part."

Mahmoud Gamal, a young writer as the Egyptian National Theater Festival's best playwright in 2013 and 2015, believes that an artist should not look for financial gains when trying to create valuable art.

"Money can be gotten elsewhere. But when you create real art, do not expect money," Gamal said, adding Egyptian theater's popularity is on the rise.

The best costumes award of the festival went to the staged classical Arabic version of Russian novelist Maxim Gorky's "the Lower Depths," starring a group of young actors mostly university students.

"The Lower Depths talks about the people of the lowest bottom of the society. Through our performance, we tried to illustrate that those people are the same everywhere in the world, sharing the same sufferings, worries and aspirations," said Mohamed Hassan, one of the actors.

He explained that every piece of work in Egypt has its own fans, from low-level movies to sophisticated classical plays. "However, unlike what's circulated in the media, people really seek valuable arts."

His co-star Ismail Ibrahim said that they do "art for art's sake," adding this kind of art mainly targets the audience, neither the awards nor the funds. "Thus, it appeals to the audience and gradually gains more fans."

The actor, also an engineering university student, argued that university theater is one of the factors that help to revive theater art in Egypt.

"The choice is made in the beginning. Does the artist take it as a source of income by accepting low level works for money or as a source of enjoyment through providing valuable and elegant art?" he added.
Evergrande, China's second biggest property developer, is in the spotlght over information disclosure in the country's most high-profile boardroom fight in years.

The highly-leveraged developer said last Thursday night that it had bought a 4.7 percent stake in China Vanke, the country's largest property developer, for around US$1.4 billion, but a number of media outlets quoted sources within Evergrande on Thursday afternoon,categorically denying that the developer was buying any stake in Vanke.

This led the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where Vanke is listed, to question why Evergrande had denied buying Vanke's publicly-traded shares, when it was doing exactly that.

On Tuesday night, Evergrande said neither the company nor its senior management ever said, nor authorized anyone to say, that the company was not buying stakes in Vanke.

The statement effectively said that Thursday afternoon's media reports were untrue. However, Caixin, one of China's leading financial publications, reported, after Evergrande's Tuesday night statement, that "it and other media organizations" had received denials from Evergrande that it was buying a stake in Vanke.

Shareholders and senior management of publicly-traded companies cannot be allowed to disseminate false information to manipulate the market for its own interests, said Sun Lijian, vice dean of economics at Fudan University.
Ships are docked at Piraeus port in Athens, Greece on Feb. 17, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Marking a milestone agreement for Sino-Greek collaboration, China Cosco Shipping on Wednesday acquired a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) through the Athens Stock Exchange, it was reported Wednesday.

The Chinese company signed a memorandum of understanding at the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), formally completing the transfer of a 51 percent equity holding in PPA and the custody of an additional 16 percent stake.

Cosco Shipping Hong Kong, wholly owned by Cosco Shipping, thus officially became the controlling shareholder of the port, and took over its management and operation.

President of Cosco Shipping Wan Min visited the Athens Stock Exchange, accompanied by HRADF chairman Stergios Pitsiorlas, and rang the bell at the opening session, marking the debut of a new era at Greece's largest port.

Gao Wenqi, Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Greece, Charalampos Gotsis, chairman of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission and other Greek and Chinese officials attended the ceremony.

"I was delighted and honored to represent Cosco Shipping and ring the opening bell at the Athens Stock Exchange," Wan said addressing the ceremony.

The Piraeus project represents a key milestone in the Belt and Road initiative, and the port's growth and prosperity will boost economic development both in China and Greece, ushering in a new era of trade cooperation and cultural exchange between east and west, he said.

Wan stated Cosco Shipping will embark on a new series of operational investments that will streamline the port's performance as well as improve its international position, and help PPA reach its full potential to become one of the leading ports in Europe. "Cosco Shipping will not only operate a state-of-the-art port that will boost trading links between Asia and Europe, but will also help create jobs and invigorate the Greek economy," he added.

HRADF's chairman Pitsiorlas said the deal was "an important moment."

"The cooperation at Piraeus port is not just an economic collaboration but has strategic characteristics. Greece, via the Piraeus port, can indeed become China's gateway into Europe to the benefit of China and Greece," he told Xinhua.

Athens Exchange Group chairman Iakovos Georganas said the day may prove a historic one for the Athens Stock Exchange. "It is more important to underline that the Greek economy is approaching the recovery stage. Next year, the Greek economy will achieve growth after seven years of recession. This important transaction is a potential beginning for the recovery," he said.

The majority of PPA shares were sold to Cosco Shipping. A total of 12,750,000 shares were sold for 22 euros per share, totaling 280.5 million euros (US$313.52 million).

Wednesday's deal is the first overseas acquisition transaction signed by Cosco Shipping following its establishment, a landmark initiative for the group to expand its global network, the firm said.

According to the concession contract, Cosco will acquire the 67 percent stake in PPA for 368.5 million euros in two stages.

Cosco Shipping will also invest 293.8 million euros in a series of mandatory projects in the next five to seven years, including the expansion of the cruise port, the upgrading of the ship-building zone, and the construction of a multi-storied garage in the Ro-Ro vessel port.

In the future, the group plans to step up its investment to develop the Piraeus Port into one of the largest container transit ports in Europe, one of the biggest home ports for cruise operators in the world and the logistics distribution center in the Mediterranean.

Cosco Shipping will improve supporting facilities, so as to boost the ship repairing capacity and seek opportunities for repairing offshore equipment. The group will also reform the Ro-Ro vessel port, which will make the port the largest auto terminal in the Mediterranean.

Furthermore, it plans to accelerate the construction of the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line to boost economic growth in eastern and southern Europe.

According to HRADF, the total value of the agreement amounts to 1.5 billion euros and includes among others the offer, the mandatory investments over the next decade and the expected revenues from the concession agreement for Greece, amounting to 410 million euros.

The total amount takes also into account the expected dividends and interest receivable by HRADF as well as the estimated investments (apart from the mandatory) until the expiration of the concession in 2052.

Cosco Shipping was declared in February preferred investor for the sale of the controlling stake in Piraeus port after winning an international tender.

On June 30, the deal was ratified by the Greek parliament shortly before Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' visit to China.

Greek and Chinese officials and entrepreneurs as well as independent analysts have welcomed the acquisition as a win-win cooperation step.

The privatization of PPA is expected to help debt-laden Greece boost growth and exit the debt crisis through the transformation of Piraeus into a leading transit hub for products and services from Asia to Europe.

PPA's privatization will help create 125,000 jobs, according to a survey of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research, one of Greece's leading think tanks.

The ground to reach the landmark agreement was paved by the remarkable results of Cosco Shipping's presence at Piraeus in recent years.

Since 2010, Cosco Shipping's subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal has been operating Piers II and III at Piraeus port under a 35-year concession agreement. The international financial crisis and the Greek debt crisis seem to have cast no shadow over the Mediterranean port.

Its cargoes loaded and unloaded totaled 3.36 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in 2015 compared to 880,000 TEUs in 2010. The port is now ranked 39th globally up from 93rd in 2010 in terms of container capacity.
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China will continue anti-dumping duties on a commodity chemical imported from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Thailand.

The tariffs on pure terephthalic acid will become effective for another five years on Thursday, with rates ranging from 2 percent to 20.1 percent, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday in a notice posted on its website. The chemical is used to make clothing and plastic bottles

Products from companies including ROK's Hyosung Corporation and Thailand's Indorama Petrochem Ltd. will continue to be subject to the tariffs.

The ruling was made after official surveys showed that damage to the domestic industry would reoccur if the tariffs were terminated, the notice said.

The ministry started imposing anti-dumping duties on the industrial organic compound in 2010.
Electric vehicle charging companies are calling for independent oversight of the US$2 billion Volkswagen AG is required to invest in clean car infrastructure, saying VW should not have the power to shape the nascent electric car charging space.

The German automaker agreed to invest the money, which includes US$1.2 billion nationally and US$800 million in California, as part of its penalties for equipping hundreds of thousands of its diesel vehicles sold in the United States with software designed to cheat tailpipe emissions tests.

While charging station companies called the money a potential "game changer," they worry that if it is misspent, it could hurt competition.

"The agreement shouldn't pick winners and losers, especially given that this emerging market transition will in no small part define 21st century transportation," 28 companies, including ChargePoint, EV Connect and Electric Vehicle Charging Association, said in a letter to the US Justice Department on Friday.

The letter, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, said an independent administrator is key to ensuring that the program treats all industry participants, regardless of business model and technology, fairly.

VW did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The program should be structured to benefit drivers in California and across the nation, not enable the settling defendants to enter or influence the markets for (zero emission vehicle) charging and fueling equipment and services," the letter said.

It said regulators should earmark some of the funds for a rebate program to incentivize employers, apartment owners, workplaces and other facility managers who want to install EV charging stations.

A shortage of charging stations at workplaces and multi-unit apartment dwellings is seen as a key hurdle to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

VW's plan for spending the US$2 billion, which has yet to be released, will be overseen by the California Air Resources Board and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
China's mobile market saw its shipments hitting 304 million from January to July with an 8.1 percent growth rate year-on-year. [File photo]

China's mobile market saw its shipments hitting 304 million from January to July with an 8.1 percent growth rate year-on-year, according to the latest statistics published on August 10 by the China Academy of Telecommunication Research (CATR), a subsidiary institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

According to the data, domestic smart phone makers, including Huawei, Xiaomi and OPPO, shipped over 273 million smart phones in the Jan.-July period, up 18.7 percent compared with the previous year, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the total volume.

In July, the shipments of domestic smart phone makers accounted for 93.6 percent of the total number in China's mobile market.

In the past year, Chinese smart phone makers have enjoyed a spring-up, especially OPPO and vivo. vivo's shipments increased 80.2 percent compared with last year, making it one of the most popular mobile brands across the world.

Statistics of International Data Corporation (IDC) show that Samsung, Apple, Huawei, OPPO and vivo ranked top five in shipments of the global mobile market in the first half of the year. IDC believes that Huawei, OPPO and vivo have already made a strong impact in China's smart phone market, and will maitain their comeptitive edges in the future.

On the contrary, Apple and Samsung suffered setbacks in China. In the newly released fiscal report on June 25, 2016, revenues of Apple Inc. in China dropped by 33.1 percent year on year to US$8.85 billion in the third quarter of the fiscal year.

Samsung has already been knocked out of the top five smart phone sellers in China this year.
The guns bought by Liu Dawei. [CNS photo]

The fate of Liu Dawei that would lead him to a life sentence conviction began on July, 2014. Then 18-year-old, gun enthusiast Liu placed an online order to purchase 24 replica firearms from a Taiwanese website at a cost of 30,540 yuan (around 4602.07 USD). But his parcel never arrived at his home in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian province. Two months later, on September 29, 2014, Liu was arrested for arm trafficking. Police have identified 20 out of the 24 "replica guns" as real guns. On April 30, 2015, Liu has been sentenced to life imprisonment. In the courtroom, Liu Dawei yelled out at the top of his lungs, "Please shoot me with the guns I bought! I'll admit guilty if I could be killed!"

The judge evoked Article 151 of PRC Criminal Law: "Smuggling arms, ammunitions, nuclear materials, or counterfeit currency notes shall be sentenced to imprisonment of over seven years, with a fine or forfeiture of property. Offenses of an extraordinarily serious nature [...] should be punished with life imprisonment or death penalty, with forfeiture of property." The judge said, based on the law, smuggling over 20 firearms should be given death sentence. However, the judge added that considering Liu's young age at the time when the crime was committed, the court thus handed down a life sentence instead. In Dawei's defense, the reason why he bought such a large chunk of "replica guns" was that the Taiwanese online store would not accept an order under 20 pieces.

Liu Dawei [File photo]

The crux of the controversy thus lies in the question of where a replica gun is counted as a real weapon on the spectrum. According to "Regulations on evaluating firearm and ammunition performance by Public Security Organs" decreed in 2010, "[the object] should be identified as a firearm when the kinetic energy of firearms muzzle is over 1.8 j/cm2."

The terminologies in the definition may be obscure for most people who lack expertise in the field. Liu Dawei's lawyer used a metaphor to clarify, "We are sitting across the table, and I dash a handful of beans onto your face; the force of these beans would be about 1.8j/cm2." Similar standard in Hong Kong goes up to 7.077 j/cm2, and 20 k/cm2 in Taiwan. Even in mainland China, the number was set at 16j/cm2 before 2008.

Liu's mother, who never thought she would lose her son for a kind of toy he's been playing with since child, said Dawei was ignorant to the existence of such a law. "Dawei never knew such regulation before he was arrested," said Liu's mother.

Liu Dawei is not alone. There are more and more similar cases in recent years. Cai Xue'en, deputy to the National People's Congress, said that there has been an increase of 30 percent of similar cases in Hubei province alone after the new regulation in 2010.

There are efforts made in recent years, dedicating to raising the threshold of the definition of firearm. There are reports submitted both to the Two Sessions this year, appealing for an amendment in the appraisal of replica guns. Those appraisal standards that "go against scientific recognition and common sense" should be stopped, said Zhu Zhengfu, a deputy in the Two Session this year.

There perhaps still is hope for a turnaround in Liu Dawei's case. On April 11, 2016, Higher People's Court of Fujian Province has accepted Liu Dawei's appeal. Liu and his family are now eagerly waiting for the final results.
Some Siberian tigers wait for the feeders to deliver food in the Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. [File photo]

Conservationists have applauded the rebound in China's Siberian tiger population, but villagers who count the cats as neighbors are not so happy.

In late July, life in a small mountain village in Hunchun City, Jilin Province, was disrupted when a wild Siberian tiger cub was found in the village.

The cub was seen wandering in a corn field by several villagers, and many found its footprints in their courtyards.

Hunchun, near the Russian and DPRK borders, is near the wild tigers' natural habitat. Zhou Yamei, 62, said it is the first time she has seen a tiger enter the village.

"I'm so afraid that I don't dare go to the field," she said. For almost two weeks, her family has not touched any farm work.

A police car was parked on a road connecting the village to a mountain. Police said the tiger cub is probably in the mountains and they were there to dissuade villagers from heading into the hills.

According to the provincial forestry department, forest covered some 9.4 million hectares in Jilin, or about 43.9 percent of the province, in 2016. The wild Siberian tiger population in the province has grown from nine or fewer in 1998 to the current 27, thanks to conservation measures.

Some villagers are considering moving. Zhang Yujie has been living in the village for some 20 years. "I want to move away, but it is hard for me to leave the village where I have so many relatives and friends."

Not far from the village is a pasture that has been haunted by the ferocious felines since May.

Yin Zhaohai rents the pasture, where he raises more than 100 cows for the villagers. "So far, six cows have been bitten by tigers and died, and another 20 have gone missing," he said, sighing.

"We are not allowed to kill tigers since they are a rare animal, but our own safety is really in danger," he said.

According to the forestry department of Jilin, injuries and economic losses due to wild animals have been on the rise. Last year, over 5,400 cases of injuries or loss were confirmed in the province, compared to around 2,600 in 2009.

In 2006, the province issued a document stipulating compensation for people who have suffered injuries or economic losses caused by wild animals. By the end of 2015, a total of 120 million yuan (US$18 million) in compensation had been granted.

Xiao Wanjun, an official with the department, said a planned national forest park for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards may help solve the problem.

The park will include tiger and leopard habitats in Jilin and neighboring Heilongjiang Province. The government will relocate residents and industries in designated areas to ensure safety and protect the animals, Xiao said.
The 15th Chinese Bridge-Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students comes to an end in Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province on August 10. [Photo/China.org.cn]

The 15th Chinese Bridge-Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students came to an end in Changsha City, central China's Hunan Province on August 10.

About 146 candidates from 108 countries qualified to participate in the fierce contest. There were five candidates from five continents in the final, with An Delie winning the champion's title.

With the theme "dreams enlighten the future," the competition has helped the Chinese language develop as not only a tool for easy communication, but also a strong catalyst for a better life, romantic relations, and self-value.

Han Jiajia (Burmese candidate), sharing her story in the first part of the final, said, "There is a large number of Chinese factories in my hometown. Having a good knowledge of the Chinese language means a satisfying job opportunity," she said. So it is no wonder her parents keep giving her financial support, even if the fee for learning Chinese makes up a third of her family's income.

Lucky Da Wei (Egyptian candidate) triggered a romantic relationship with a Chinese girl when he visited China for the first time, which proves that true love is not obstructed by boundaries.

Also because of love, Australian candidate Hu Xiao has spent years contributing to Chinese charities alongside his Chinese mum. "I would like to express great appreciation to my mum, because her generosity and care for those in need taught me that love is not about how much you gain but how much you give."

Established in 2002, Chinese Bridge has attracted millions of non-Chinese youngsters to participate in its annual event. Whether it's a simple Chinese greeting, memorizing Tang poetry, displaying calligraphy or performing opera, Chinese audiences are always impressed. It is their experience and stories from China that make cultural exchange a real form of interpersonal communication.

Zeng Ziru, a Ukrainian candidate, planned to participate in this year's competition when he was at a Chinese summer camp. "I made lots of friends in China and had so much fun. I also shared those happy moments with my family. They are very glad to see me standing on the stage."

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Photo taken by cellphone on Aug 11, 2016 shows the explosion site at a power plant in Dangyang, central China's Hubei province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Twenty-one people died and at least five others were injured, most of whom critically, after a broken steam pipe caused a huge explosion at a power plant on Thursday in central China's Hubei Province.

The blast occurred at Madian Gangue Power Generation Co. Ltd. in Dangyang City around 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, when workers were testing thermo-power facilities.

The high-pressure steam pipe burst and caused the blast, a preliminary investigation showed.

Du Qiuxin, a villager who lives about one kilometer from the plant, said there was a loud bang when the blast occurred.

"I rushed out to check what happened. The area was quickly sealed off and many police and firemen came," she said.

The plant only started operation this year and its facilities are still undergoing testing, local authorities said.

The power plant was built by the Huaqiang chemical plant along with other companies, according to an employee of the Huaqiang chemical plant, who declined to be named.

The fatal blast left a scene of destruction, with distorted pipes, wires and window panes, shattered computer screens in the control room, and a few helmets of workers and their clothes strewn on the ground.

A total of 21 people died and five others are injured, three of whom are critically wounded, with burns and internal organ damage.

One of the critically injured, surnamed Liu, 32, is receiving treatment at the Dangyang People's Hospital. He had worked for the Huaqiang chemical plant for nine years.

"He began the work at the power plant just a month ago. It is a huge blow to the family. His father died last year and his daughter is only eight years old," said Liu's uncle.

The State Administration of Work Safety has sent a work group to oversee rescue operation and investigation.
As a multilateral coordination and consultation mechanism, it is vital for the G20 summit in Hangzhou to achieve tangible results.

Twenty years ago, when the G7 - the G20's predecessor - was founded, China was still kept outside the gate of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Now, China has become the presiding country of the G20, playing a leading role in global economic governance and in the reconstruction of the international order. The fact that China has made such a leap in international status is not accidental. It is the inevitable result of Chinas continual integration into the international community, its participation in global governance, and its contributions to world development since it implemented the reform and opening-up policies in the early 1980s.

So, as the presiding country and now the host of the G20 summit, what special role can China be expected to play?

First, it will be a representative of - and bridge for - developing countries to participate in global governance.

The G20 is not a "rich country club, despite accounting for 90 percent of overall global trade and 80 percent of overall global economy. Its mission is to coordinate state policies, influence global economic trends and achieve win-win situations for all countries.

China is the world's second largest economy, a member of the BRICS group and the world's largest developing country. This unique "three-in-one" status enables China to have a more profound understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by countries at different stages of development. It also means that China is well suited to play the role of a bridge in global governance.

Second, China's 30 years of rapid development have provided it with useful experiences for global economic governance.

Since implementing reform and opening up in the 1980s, China has had rapid economic development for 30 consecutive years, its GDP rising from the 10th to second place in that same time span. Throughout its development process, China has solved the problem of providing food and clothing for its 1.3 billion people. Particularly after the outbreak of the global economic crisis in 2008, its economy has remained sound, becoming a pillar of strength and making great contributions to help the world economy shake off the crisis. Of course, this development has led to some problems, including environmental pollution, structural imbalance and overcapacity. Facing such problems, common in economic development, China can make its own adjustments by referring to the practices of developed countries. At the same time, China's experiences are a useful reference for developing countries.

Third, the development strategy China is implementing is providing strong support for global governance.

With its economic development and increasing national strength, China has been moving faster and faster towards the center of the world stage while assuming the responsibilities expected of a great country.

Since 2008, China has hosted the Beijing Olympic Games, the Shanghai World Expo, the World Internet Conference and other large international events. Its national development strategy has increasingly been geared towards international collaboration and cooperation. Take the "Belt and Road initiative as an example, these economic corridors, initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping - which span Asia, Africa and Europe, and are dedicated to "jointly building, owning and sharing" - are entirely consistent with the G20's goal of seeking cooperation and promoting development. According to an assessment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the implementation of the initiative will enable China's contribution to world economic growth to reach 30-40 percent.

Similar national development strategies include the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the economic growth philosophy of "innovation, coordination, green development, openness and sharing," which was put forward at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). All these will supplement and enrich the G20's goal of improved global governance.

Fourth, oriental wisdom will provide Chinese solutions to the issues faced by global governance.

As a multilateral coordination and consultation mechanism, the G20 covers political, military, trade, security and energy issues that concern everyone. To achieve tangible results and avoid empty talks and discussions seen in the G7 era, the G20 summit must not only see sincere efforts from all participating parties, but also the use of wisdom when tackling differences and the ability to seek common ground, focus on the overall situation, seek the truth and deal with concrete matters.

The theme of the forthcoming G20 Hangzhou Summit is "building an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy." In order to facilitate discussion, China has concisely and clearly proposed four key priorities, namely "forging a new path for growth, more effective and efficient global economic and financial governance, robust international trade and investment, and inclusive and interconnected development." This is what the Chinese people call open the door and see the mountain - getting straight to the point.

Each year, before the G20 summit, there are many rounds of coordinators' meetings, central bank governors' and finance ministers' meetings, ministerial meetings, working groups' meetings and various other support forums. This year, in addition to these regular meetings, China has arranged G20-related supporting activities, such as the Think 20 (T20) Summit, the Youth 20 (Y20) Summit, the Womens 20 (W20) Summit, and the Business 20 (B20) Summit, making preparations for the summit from different angles and fields. By the time the Hangzhou gathering starts, conditions will be ripe for success, just like a Chinese proverb goes: where water flows, a channel has been built.

In three weeks, the G20 Hangzhou Summit will officially open, and the famous West Lake will welcome more than 30 leaders from around the world. With a reputation as a "paradise on earth," Hangzhou will present the world a G20 summit with plentiful and meaningful results. We are looking forward to this with great anticipation.

The author Wang Xiaohui is editor-in-chief of China.org.cn.
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Over 1,000 people have signed up for a tour that will take them to watch the moon on Taiping Island. The tour, which lasts just one day, is organized by TaiwanXing under Taiwan's 1111 Human Resource Bank. The organizer said the planning of the tour has already been finalized, and that they are just awaiting approval from relevant departments.

In addition to viewing the island's tourist sites, those who go on the trip get the added bonus of defending the island on China's behalf, according to Li Qiyue, an adviser to TaiwanXing. Li believes that one reason the tour is so popular is that the public is eager to do just that.

The agency has chosen to launch the tour during Mid-Autumn Festival. Tours will be offered from Sept. 9 to 18. Tourist will head to the island by airplane and take a tour around the island, exploring its history and culture. They will then enjoy a special dinner and moon cakes under the night sky before flying home at 8 p.m.

Chen Guisong, head of the Association of Taiwan Travel Agencies, said he is very supportive of the tour. Exploring Taiping Island will increase the content and diversity tours available in Taiwan.

Taiping Island, which is 1,420 meters long and 402 meters wide, is the largest natural island within the Nansha Islands. The Chinese army took it over from Japan and renamed it Taiping Island after China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1945.
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About 1,900 herdsmen in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno were killed in separate attacks by terror group Boko Haram in the last four years, an official said on Wednesday.

President of the local Al-Hayah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Ibrahim Mafa, told reporters in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, that more than 169,000 cows and 63,000 sheep and goats were also lost in various attacks.

The herdsmen also lost landed property estimated to the tune of 26 billion naira (over 92 million U.S. dollars) to Boko Haram attacks, Mafa noted.

The local districts, in which herdsmen belonging to this association, were mostly affected by Boko Haram attacks include Kala Balge, Marte, Mafa, Munguno, Bama, Konduga and Gwoza, he said.

Nigeria has made progress in the fight against Boko Haram in the past year, with the army retaking most of the areas previously under the terror group's control.
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Somalia security forces on Wednesday arrested five Al-Shabab militants, including a foreign jihadist commander in central Somalia.

Somali National Army Commander Ali Bashi Mohamed said the foreigner fighter, Said Abdullahi Abubakar (Al-Sudani) who is from Sudan, has been leading major attacks at the Somali government and Africa Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) bases in the Horn of Africa nation.

"The foreigner commander, Abubakar (Al-Sudani) from Sudan was arrested along four other militants in Galkayo town," Mohamed said.

He said the jihadist is being interrogated by the security forces. "He will also provide the investigators with photos and more information on his terror activities in Somalia," said Mohamed.
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Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that China is Kenya's trustworthy partner as the East African country endeavors to achieve economic prosperity.

Wang made the remarks while meeting with his Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed, and both sides pledged to further deepen bilateral practical cooperation.

China and Kenya have enjoyed the advantage of high-level political mutual trust and strong economic complementarity, said Wang.

And as a next step, he said, the two countries should take the opportunity of fully implementing the important consensus reached by the two leaders and the fruitful outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in Johannesburg, to further promote bilateral cooperation and development and achieve practical results that are beneficial to the two peoples.

Kenya is one of the leading African countries that are deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with China, said Wang. The two countries have already defined a cooperative framework in five major fields -- industrialization and infrastructural construction, agriculture and green environmental protection, cultural and educational exchanges, peace and security and justice and police affairs, and international and regional affairs, he said.

China is willing to work with Kenya to further enhance political mutual trust and dovetail development strategies so as to make headway with the three projects of Mombasa-Nairobi railway, Mombasa port and Mombasa special economic zone, said Wang.

Besides, China will cooperate with Kenya in the construction of an industrial economic corridor that is connecting roads and ports, and help Kenya develop into the center of manufacturing and logistics in East Africa and become a regional development hub, he said.

China is Kenya's most trustworthy partner while the East African nation strives to realize the Kenya 2030 Vision, Wang added.

For her part, Amina said that with a strong bilateral friendly relationship and frequent high-level exchanges, Kenya and China share broad consensus on further promoting bilateral cooperation.

Kenya is willing to enhance cooperation with China in areas such as infrastructural construction, industrialization, special economic zone, agricultural modernization, energy and environmental protection, technical training, she added.
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China emphasized its opposition on Wednesday to Vietnam's military deployments on islands that the country has illegally occupied in the South China Sea, following the reported deployment of rocket launchers by Vietnam on several of the Nansha Islands.

The move, which shows a further stage of Hanoi's militarization of the Nansha Islands, will have a negative impact on regional peace and stability, observers said.

Intelligence shows that Hanoi has shipped the launchers to five bases in the Nansha Islands in recent months, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The launchers have been hidden from aerial surveillance and have yet to be armed, but could be made operational with artillery rockets within two or three days, it said.

Foreign officials and military analysts told Reuters that they believe the launchers form part of Vietnam's state-of-the-art EXTRA artillery rocket system, which was recently acquired from Israel.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their surrounding waters," the Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson's Office said in a written reply on Wednesday.

"China has always firmly opposed the illegal occupation of parts of China's Nansha Islands and reefs by certain countries and their illegal construction and military deployments on these islands and reefs," it said.

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said the information was "inaccurate" but did not elaborate.

Vietnam has illegally occupied 29 of about 50 islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

It has conducted construction and reclamation work on more than 20 of them since the 1980s, and the scale of the reclamation has increased in the past two years.

It also has built infrastructure, including runways and barracks, on the islands and reefs.

Jia Duqiang, a senior researcher on Southeast Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it is Hanoi's latest effort to tighten its hold on islands in the South China Sea.

"By fortifying the islands with rocket launchers, Vietnam is keeping up its militarization of the region in a more aggressive way," he said.

Xu Liping, another Southeast Asian studies researcher with CASS, said Hanoi is trying to emphasize its determination to strengthen its illegal occupation of the islands.
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The Chinese Mission to the European Union (EU) on Wednesday expressed its strong dissatisfaction over a statement issued recently by the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the conviction of Chinese Citizens on charges of state subversion.

"China enshrines the principle of rule of law. In China, all people are equal before the law. Anyone who breaks the law shall be brought to justice, regardless of his/her occupation," said a spokesperson when responding to the statement issued on Aug. 5 by the EU side.

The spokesperson said that China's judicial authorities handle cases in accordance with the law, while protecting every legitimate right of the suspects, noting that as proved by sufficient evidences, the persons in the case mentioned by the EEAS' statement have violated the Chinese law, and they have acknowledged that in public.

"By making irresponsible accusation against the normal operation of Chinese judicial authorities, the EU actually goes against the spirit of the rule of law. The EU's statement constitutes serious intervention into China's judicial sovereignty. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to and will not accept this kind of accusation," said the spokesperson.

"We urge the EU side to stop meddling in China's judicial sovereignty and domestic affairs, and to work with China to ensure the healthy development of China-EU relations," said the Chinese side.
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President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would take additional measures to ensure safety in Crimea after it has succeeded in preventing a series of terrorist attacks on the peninsula.

"We will certainly do our utmost to ensure safety of infrastructure and citizens...(and) those will be serious additional measures and more than that," he told a news conference after meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Moscow.

The Russian leader also vowed to bring to justice the murderers of two Russian service members who died in the campaign to thwart the terrorist attacks in Crimea that Moscow said was planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service.

Putin accused the Kiev authorities for turning to "terror" instead of solving problems through negotiations, while calling for attention from Western countries.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said that Russia has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service.

An Ukrainian military intelligence officer and a group of Russian and Ukrainian citizens who were suspected to be Ukrainian military intelligence agents and assisted in preparing of terrorist acts were detained and interrogated, the FSB said in a statement.

The claims made by the FSB were immediately rejected by the Ukrainian side.

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said the claims were "hysterical and false," and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry termed the allegations as Moscow's attempt to justify its redeployment and actions in the region.

Crimea, which was previously part of Ukraine, was incorporated into Russia in 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Ukraine and Western powers.
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At least 12 people were killed Wednesday by renewed rebel shelling on government-controlled district in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

The shelling targeted the sprawling Hamadaniyeh district in the government-controlled western part of Aleppo city, said the report.

The relentless shelling lasted all day Wednesday as ambulances were franticly speeding to transfer the wounded to hospitals.

According to the report, over 40 wounded people were hospitalized, as some bodies of civilians were found charred due to the intensity of the "random" shelling.

The report said the targeted areas are all civilians with no military presence, adding that the death toll is not final as the shelling is still ongoing and ambulances were still wailing in that part of the city.

The TV aired live footage from near a hospital in Hamadaniyeh district, showing many families crying and waiting for the destiny of their wounded relatives.

Earlier in the day, a military source told Xinhua that up to 142 civilians have been killed in rebel attacks in Aleppo since July 31.

An array of extremist groups unleashed what they called "Aleppo's Large Epic" battle on July 31, the source said on condition of anonymity.

A total of 48 children, 31 women, and 63 men have been killed, in addition to 672 injuries, mostly women and children, the source added.

The rebel attacks, which included firing mortar shells and improvised rockets, targeted several districts in the government-controlled part of western Aleppo.

Meanwhile, al-Mayadeen TV put the death toll among civilians over the past week at 162, adding that over 662 others were wounded.

The rebel groups that unleashed the attacks are mainly Jaish al-Fateh rebels, in coordination with Ahrar al-Sham, Nour Addien Zinki, the Islamic Turkestan Party, Failaq al-Sham, and Jabeht Fateh al-Sham.

Jaish al-Fateh, an alliance of several rebel factions, was reportedly formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordination of Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini.

Some of its factions are active in the provinces of Hama and Latakia. The group, reportedly supported by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, has seized most of Idlib province in northwestern Syria last year.

The Jaish al-Fateh rebel group earlier claimed that it had broken the siege of the Syrian army on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city after six days of strenuous attacks.

The group said that key areas have been captured include the military college and the southern town of al-Ramuseh.

Aleppo, the country's previous top commercial hub, has been divided since 2012 between a government-held west and a rebel-controlled east. Many observers believe that whoever controls Aleppo will gain the upper hand in any potential settlement in Syria.

Battles in Aleppo flared up last month, when the Syrian army, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Russian airstrikes, made sweeping progress in the northern countryside of Aleppo, severing the last supply route for the rebels in eastern Aleppo.

The move triggered violent responses by the rebels, which fired mortars and rockets continuously on the government-controlled western part of the city.
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Libyan government forces fighting the Islamic States (IS) in Sirte announced on Wednesday that they have taken over the city's Ouagadougou convention center, central hospital and university.

"Ouagadougou Congress Hall and Ibn Sina hospital are now under our control," the media office of the government forces tweeted, saying the IS is completely breaking down and "it is time of victory."

The military operation was launched in May by the forces allied with the UN-backed unity government to fight against the increasing dominance of the IS in Sirte, some 450 km east the capital Tripoli.

A military source said that a war plane of the government's forces has fallen on Wednesday morning while launching airstrikes on the IS sites.

"We have no contact with the fighter jet for over four hours after it launched the strike this morning. It has definitely fallen without refueling for such a long time, leaving the fate of the crew so far unknown," the source added.
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The Syrian army carried out a pre-emptive strike against a rebel position in the countryside of Aleppo on Wednesday evening, inflicting hefty losses among the opposition militants, a military source told Xinhua.

The military forces targeted gatherings of the rebels' Jaish al-Fateh group in the Project 1070 area, one of the several areas that have recently fallen to Jaish al-Fateh, in the southern countryside of Aleppo.

The source noted that the rebels were preparing to unleash an all-out offensive in Aleppo.

The army struck the rebel positions in southern Aleppo, destroying an explosive-laden vehicle, whose blast triggered a series of explosions in other vehicles.

The pre-emptive strike caused big losses among the rebels, which was conducive in hampering the rebels' planned attack.

Meanwhile, the state news agency SANA said the Syrian and Russian air forces dealt "decisive strikes" on the positions of Jaish al-Fateh in southern Aleppo Wednesday.

Citing a military source, SANA said the airstrikes targeted the gatherings of the rebels, killing "large numbers of them and destroying armored vehicles outfitted with machine guns."

The strikes destroyed four command centers, three booby-trapped vehicles and tens of armored vehicles, SANA added.

It said the Russian and Syrian air forces had killed hundreds of terrorists a day earlier in Aleppo, isolating the battle areas from the rest of the province.

Jaish al-Fateh announced last Monday that the next phase of battles in Aleppo will be a wide-scale offensive to "liberate the entire city" from the government forces.

Since then, reports emerged that the Syrian army and the rebels are sending reinforcement in anticipation to the all-out offensive.

Jaish al-Fateh, an alliance of several rebel factions, was formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordination of Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini.

The group seized most of Idlib province in northwestern Syria last year.

Military experts said that the group received military aid from Turkey, which explains the sudden rise and success they had achieved in southern Aleppo.

Aleppo is strategic for all warring parties due to its key location beside the Turkish border and role as Syria's industrial capital.

The battle of Aleppo is decisive, as observers declared that whoever controls Aleppo will gain the upper hand in any potential settlement in Syria.
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Recently returned from a three-day visit to South Sudan, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien Wednesday painted a grave picture of the enormous humanitarian crisis facing the world's newest country and the devastating impact of the ongoing violence on its people.

"Let me be clear: people in South Sudan are not just fleeing their homes because they need food, shelter or medical care and school for their children. They are fleeing [because they] fear for their lives," Mr. O'Brien told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

"We must protect them, and we must save their lives," he stressed.

The humanitarian situation in the country has witnessed significant deterioration, including in areas that were once relatively stable. Since December 2013, over two million people have fled their homes. Some 1.6 million are displaced within South Sudan and more than 900,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries.

The situation has worsened since clashes between rival forces  the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) loyal to President Salva Kiir and the SPLA in Opposition backing First Vice-President Riek Machar  erupted in and around the capital, Juba, on 7 July, close to the fifth anniversary of the country's independence.

UN compounds and civilian protection sites managed by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) were attacked during the fighting, and, according to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, a preliminary UN investigation into the recent fighting and its aftermath revealed that Government security forces carried out killings and rapes, and looted and destroyed properties.

Over the last month alone, some 70,000 South Sudanese crossed the border into Uganda as refugees.

Moreover, some 4.8 million people across the country are facing severe food insecurity and 250,000 children are severely malnourished. To add to the suffering, the country is also battling a cholera outbreak.

In this course of his visit, Mr. O'Brien travelled to Wau and Aweil, two places that were not long ago considered as beacons of hope for their prospects for development.

Now, Wau is mired in severe conflict and Aweil is suffering its worst food insecurity in years. "The situations that I saw in Wau and Aweil are [] emblematic of the devastating fate that has befallen this country," noted Mr. O'Brien.

While in the country, Mr. O'Brien who is also the UN Under-Secretary-General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs met with President Kiir, as well as other top Government officials.

"I expressed in clear terms my shock and dismay at the appalling reports of violations committed against civilians during fighting in recent months, including in Juba," said Mr. O'Brien adding that, in particular, he condemned the heinous acts of sexual violence carried out against women and girls, including by members of the armed forces.

Recalling that 57 aid workers have been killed in the country since December 2013, Mr. O'Brien stressed, "This is unacceptable and unconscionable. I urged the President to take immediate action to end the impunity that has prevailed to date."

Underscoring the extremely difficult conditions for humanitarian workers, the UN relief chief reiterated that they should be granted free, safe and unhindered access to all people in need, wherever they may be, and that they, themselves, and their assets must be respected.

"Humanitarians are in South Sudan to save lives and for no other reason," he said.

"[They are] risking their own [lives], and I am appalled that they continue to be harassed, targeted and killed."

Mr. O'Brien also thanked the international community for its continued support to South Sudan, including more than half a billion dollars donors provided to the Humanitarian Response Plan, the UN humanitarian chief pointed out that a gap of $700 million still persists, and that this will increase once the appeal is revised in the coming weeks to reflect the needs that have arisen since the beginning of 2016.

"I call on the international community to make sure together we can avert an even worse humanitarian tragedy in South Sudan," he urged.

In South Sudan, Mr. O'Brien also met with the leadership of UNMISS and discussed the challenges facing the African country and efforts underway by the UN to better protect civilians both inside its bases and beyond.

"The scale, breadth and depth of humanitarian needs in South Sudan continue to grow, and the plight of the people demands the world's attention," he concluded.
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Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been escalating as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Kiev of plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea and vowed to take additional measures to ensure the safety of infrastructure and citizens there.

"The people who seized power in Kiev ... have switched to terror tactics instead of searching for ways for a peaceful settlement," Putin told a news conference.

"The attempt to provoke an outbreak of violence, to provoke a conflict is nothing other than a desire to distract (Ukrainian) society from its problems," he added, calling Ukraine's actions "criminal."

"We will certainly do our utmost to ensure safety of infrastructure and citizens...(and) those will be serious additional measures and more than that," he said.

Earlier on the same day, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said the country has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service.

One officer died on the night between Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 during a clash with saboteurs and another serviceman was killed on Aug. 8, as Russian forces prevented two attempts of the special units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to penetrate Crimea from Ukraine which was covered by heavy shelling from the Ukrainian side, the FSB said in a statement.

However, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said "Russian accusations towards Ukraine of terrorism in occupied Crimea sound as preposterous and cynical as the statements of the Russian leadership about the absence of the Russian troops in Donbass (region of Ukraine)."

Crimea, which was previously part of Ukraine, was incorporated into Russia in 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Ukraine and Western powers.

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said the claims were "hysterical and false," and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry termed the allegations as Moscow's attempt to justify its re-deployment and actions in the region.

Ukraine will ask the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting if tensions continue to rise over Russia's accusations, Ukraine's Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko on Wednesday told reporters at the UN headquarters.

"The convening of the Security Council is being considered," he said. "As soon as it comes to the point, we will do it immediately."

As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Ukraine has the right to call a meeting on any matter considered to be a threat to international peace and security.

Since Ukraine joined the council in January, it has held only one meeting on the crisis in the country.

Ukraine, the United States and European governments have long accused Russia of arming and encouraging pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst has said Ukrainian security forces have strengthened their military lines in eastern Ukraine and to the north of Crimea.

A ceasefire was signed in Minsk in September 2014 and then in February 2015, with representatives from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany reaching a new agreement in the Ukrainian capital.

However, fighting in the east between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels continues despite the peace deal.
I don't know how many young women come to this blog or how many are parents of teenage or young adult women, but here are some safety tips from Kelsey's Army:

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P

S

1. Trust your instincts - If something feels wrong then something probably is wrong.2. Know your surroundings - know who and what is around you.3. Always have a plan for where you would go and what you would do if a situation arises.4. Be willing to make a scene in order to be noticed.5. Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back.Remember the acronym TIPS:ake Chargenform others of your whereaboutsrepare for any situationurvival Mentality (role play situations so you will respond should they happen)For more information, go to Kelsey's Army
Warning: May contain traces of soy, wheat, lecithin and tree nuts. That you are here

strongly suggests that you are either omnivorous, or a glutton.

And that you might like cheese-doodles.

Please form a caseophilic line to the right. Thank you.
Democratic candidate Jermaine Bagnall-Graham received two endorsements this week in his bid to unseat state Sen. Jim Seward in the 51st Senate District.

Bagnall-Graham, D-Sherburne, announced the support of the state Women's Equality Party, a minor party line that was created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014.

"I'm honored to be endorsed by the Women's Equality Party and to appear on their ballot line this November," Bagnall-Graham said in a statement. "In the state Senate, I'll fight for women every single day. I'll support common sense measures such as increased child care funding, equal pay for equal work and I will not tell a woman what she can or cannot do with her body, no matter my personal beliefs."

Bagnall-Graham also received the Fighting for Children PAC's endorsement in the 51st District race.

The political action committee founded by Gary Greenberg, a New York businessman, has one goal: To advocate for the adoption of the Child Victims Act.

The legislation would eliminate civil and criminal statutes of limitation for child sexual abuse cases. It would also give victims a one-year window to revive claims that previously denied due to the state's existing statute of limitations.

Bagnall-Graham pledged to support the Child Victims Act if he's elected to the state Senate.

"We are always seeking out strong political allies like Jermaine Bagnall-Graham who are committed to reforming the state's statute of limitations when it comes to child sex abuse to better protect the children of New York," said Gary Greenberg, Fighting for Children PAC's founder.

"The number of child sexual abuse victims in the state is stunning, where about one out of five kids are abused. With the help of candidates like Jermaine Bagnall-Graham, we are working together to make the statistic a thing of the past."

The 51st Senate District includes all of Cortland, Otsego and Schoharie counties, plus parts of Cayuga, Chenango, Delaware, Herkimer, Tompkins and Ulster counties.

Bagnall-Graham will appear on the Democratic and Women's Equality party lines. Seward, R-Milford, will run on the Republican, Conservative, Independence and Reform party lines.
China Aviation Daily | Aug. 11, 2016

Severe flight delays that have plagued airports all over China have given rise to a new breed of services aimed at providing flight status to passengers. China's flight information field has formed a situation of tripartite confrontation featuring the three brands, Hangbanguanjia, VariFlight and TravelSky in less than eight years.

Any traveler who has experienced a flight delay or cancellation might get a frustratingly vague explanation from airlines, explaining that the problem is with local weather or air traffic control. However, few are aware of the fact that one of the reasons for they being stuck at the airport has something to do with airport ground operation efficiency.

Well, that surely does not include the CEO of VariFlight, Zheng Hongfeng. He invited Xiao Xia, a journalist from 21st Century Business Herald, to visit Guiyang Airport in late July, witnessing a new phase of airport upgrade. VariFlight, with over 800 million users, is now expanding its service to metropolitan airports in China.

Though China's aviation industry has seen huge growth since its beginning, there still remains the problem of data collection, let alone information integration among airport, airlines and ATC, which lowers the operational efficiency in the aviation industry as a whole. Zheng has a clear vision to reverse rising trend of flight delays based on the comprehensive and accurate data VariFlight possesses.

It's Time to Step Up Airports' Technology Game

A new system developed by VariFlight is at its trial operation stage, as showed on a two-storey high screen at the AOCC (Air Operations Coordination Center) of Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport.

This system is called A-CDM(Airport Collaborative Decision Making), aiming at improving the overall efficiency of airport operations and the predictability of events by integrating and processing data from multiple chain players, e.g. ATC, airlines etc. Besides, it also displays the real-time airport departure volume, weather, and the status of each scheduled flight. For a metropolitan airport, it is crucial to automatically collect these information, which help make proper assignments to parking locations, airport vehicles and ground handlers, optimize the use of airport resources and ultimately ease the severe flight delays in China.

Methods that are used to collect information at airports are surprisingly traditional. "At some airport, including some of the largest, employees even write those numbers on a piece of paper," Zheng said.

Kunming Changshui International Airport is one of the nine airports that has a capacity of over 300 million passengers annually. Information such as flight status, weather forecasting and parking allocation are not shared across different departments prior to working with VariFlight, leaving them vulnerable to massive flight delays. The story of Kunming Airport suffering another significant delay is constantly on the front page of major newspapers. And the frequent delays often lead to passenger complaints, protests and occasional acts of violence against airline staff in China. It was a nightmare for both passengers and airlines, so to speak.

Kunming Airport started to work with VariFlight about two years ago. VariFlight is in responsible for developing a brand new airport ground operation system for Kunming Airport and other provincial airports. According to CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China), Kunming Airport is ranked top in the flight departure rate among airports with a capacity of 100 million passengers annually in China.

Guiyang Airport still has a long way to go, especially when compared to Kunming Airport. However, for a metropolitan airport with a capacity of more than 130 million passengers like Guiyang, there was apparently pressing need of data integration. Guiyang Airport, the first portal of Guizhou Province, is determined to make some progress as Guiyang is doing so well in the booming Big Data industry in the past two years. But there is no shortcut to success. It takes a lot of time to collect all the information we need due to the airport's low informationization level.

The entire pre-departure process is divided into 38 touchpoints to have a more accurate takeoff time, as Zheng points out. The exact start and end time of each step, such as catering replenishment, aircraft cleaning, loading of passengers and baggage, is requested, in that the actual takeoff time is relevant to every step of the way.

VariFlight-It - All About Data

VariFlight, established in 2005, is dedicated to provide incomparable solutions and technologies for China's civil aviation industry. It has three major strategic business units which are tailored specifically to airports/ATC/airlines, businesses and customers.

Today VariFlight has covered more than 30 industries such as travel, logistics, car-rental and insurance. And over 1,000 entities are using its flight status data and industry solutions-including some of the most innovative companies in China and class-leading airports around the world.
Visitors take photos of smart jewelry at the launch of the Totwoo brand in late July in Beijing. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Necklaces, bracelets aren't just status symbols, fashion accessories, hedging toolsnew brands give them the high-tech, multipurpose edge

Beijing-based Totwoo, China's first smart jewelry maker that started mass production in June, has gone digital with a store on online marketplace JD.com in late July.

By marrying precious metals with high-tech wearables, Totwoo has come up with what promises to be a whole new category of fashionable technology products.

Jing Jing, a jewelry expert and editor of Harper's Bazaar Jewelry in China, said: "Chinese consumers have started to change their mindset. From buying jewelry as hedging tools, they are now buying them as fashionable decorations. Smart jewelry with rich aesthetic values and high-tech functions could become a brand new category."

To be sure, Totwoo is bullish on the growth potential of smart jewelry in China.

For the uninformed, here's how smart jewelry works: a tap or a shake will make a gold-plated silver necklace or a Swarovski crystal-studded bracelet with embedded circuitry double up as a pedometer.

Necklaces and bracelets are shown on Totwoo's official website. [Photo/totwoo.com]

Tap, tap, tap ... shake, shake shakeand, presto, the smart jewelry piece multitasks as a calorie consumption calculator, a reminder of your sedentary state (like prolonged desk work or TV-viewing) and a monitor of harmful ultra violet rays.

That's not all. You can switch on the 'shining mode' to make the jewelry flash continuously, which will likely make you the cynosure of all eyes.

Each piece of smart jewelry now retails in the price range of 1,000 yuan ($150) to 2,000 yuan.

But there is still a long way to go. For, although the overall jewelry market in China is estimated at 500 billion yuan, Chinese per-capita expenditure on jewelry is only 10 percent that of Americans'.

Compared with clothing, bags and cosmetics, jewelry in China lacks in branding power. Well-known brands account for only 25 percent share of the overall jewelry market.

A bracelet with built-in pedometer, calorie-consumption meter, UV monitor and sedentary state detector. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Besides, the jewelry sector does not have a strong digital footprint. E-commerce platforms generate less than 10 percent of jewelry sales.

This provides significant growth space for newcomers, according to a survey by Luxe Co, a Chinese website on luxury products and associated lifestyles.

One such newcomer is, of course, Totwoo. Co-founded by Wang Jieming, a Chinese internet entrepreneur, and Italian designer Marco Dal Maso last year, it received nearly 10 million yuan from angel investors towards capital.

The company said it would soon launch more smart jewelry collections, with some for men. A few pieces will have upgraded functions, and will likely incorporate popular technologies like augmented reality (or AR, which uses computer simulation to overlay virtual objects and characters on top of real life environment).

A reporter takes photos of smart jewelry at the launch of the Totwoo brand in late July in Beijing. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

"It's difficult to combine jewelry and smart hardware. The two are totally different, but the challenge is to retain the features of each one. Products similar to Totwoo's are being planned in other countries, but most of them are at a conceptual stage. Totwoo is the first smart jewelry brand that has achieved mass production," said Wang.

Mass production does not necessarily mean hordes of buyers are making a beeline for smart jewelry. Some consumers said they still prefer traditional jewelry with various exquisite designs.

For instance, Du Ni, a 27-year-old office worker in Beijing, said: "I might not buy smart jewelry as I'm not that into doing sports. Those high-tech functions are unnecessary for me, and the designs available now are limited."

Mei Tao, deputy director of the China Wearable Computing Innovation and Strategic Alliance, said: "The smart wearables sector is one of the hottest business areas now. A combination of wearable technologies and jewelry would meet customers' needs. Companies should encourage buyers to accept smart jewelry as consumer goods first, and then strive towards viable business models."
Logos of Vanke and Evergrande are seen in this photo. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - Evergrande, China's second biggest property developer, is in the spotlight over information disclosure in the country's most high-profile boardroom fight in years.

The highly-leveraged developer said last Thursday night that it had bought a 4.7 percent stake in China Vanke, the country's largest property developer, for around $1.4 billion, but a number of media outlets quoted sources within Evergrande on Thursday afternoon, categorically denying that the developer was buying any stake in Vanke.

This led the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, where Vanke is listed, to question why Evergrande had denied buying Vanke's publicly-traded shares, when it was doing exactly that.

On Tuesday night, Evergrande said neither the company nor its senior management ever said, nor authorized anyone to say, that the company was not buying stakes in Vanke.

The statement effectively said that Thursday afternoon's media reports were untrue. However, Caixin, one of China's leading financial publications, reported, after Evergrande's Tuesday night statement, that "it and other media organizations" had received denials from Evergrande that it was buying a stake in Vanke.

Shareholders and senior management of publicly-traded companies cannot be allowed to disseminate false information to manipulate the market for its own interests, said Sun Lijian, vice dean of economics at Fudan University.
A clerk of Bank of China counts US dollars at a domestic branch.XINHUA

Chinese banks are increasing their clout in financing international mergers and acquisitions. The nation's lenders were mandated lead arrangers on $19.9 billion of global syndicated loans for M&A this year, raising their share of that market to 4.4 percent from 0.9 percent in 2015, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

While Bank of China Ltd led, second-tier lenders have increasingly joined the fray. China CITIC Bank International Ltd helped helm a $12.7 billion loan in June backing China National Chemical Corp's purchase of Syngenta AG. China Merchants Bank Co led a $3 billion loan in July for the privatization of formerly New York-listed Qihoo 360 Technology Co, Bloomberg data showed.

With investment opportunities sparse amid the country's weakest economic expansion in a quarter century, Chinese banks are focusing more on cross-border lending.

"Before it was only top-tier banks active in underwriting outbound M&A financing deals, but now the second-tier lenders are also competing for the business," said Jack Chan, a financial services managing partner at global auditing firm EY.

"It has everything to do with the recent government policies encouraging the nation's firms to go abroad," Chan said.

Big Chinese companies face few opportunities for domestic investment at the moment, spurring demand for overseas M&As, according to Wei Hou, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong. Financing such deals overseas offers smaller Chinese banks an opportunity to grow, Wei said.

"Second-tier Chinese banks want to build up their investment banking arms," said Jimmy Leung, China financial services leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Shanghai.

Bloomberg
Hinkley Point A and B nuclear power stations are seen behind the site where Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will be constructed in Bridgwater in south west Britain, in this file photograph dated October 24, 2013.[Photo/Agencies]

China's desire for the United Kingdom government to quickly approve the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant project attracted widespread attention from the UK media and nuclear industry experts, who hope the deal will go ahead.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming warned that bilateral ties stand at a "crucial historical juncture" over the deferral of an 18-billion-pound ($23.45 billion) nuclear project.

"I hope the UK will keep its door open to China and that the British government will continue to support Hinkley Pointand come to a decision as soon as possible so that the project can proceed smoothly," Liu wrote in a commentary in the Financial Times on Monday.

In response, the British government reasserted its intention to maintain close ties with China.

"As we've already made clear, this decision is about a huge infrastructure project and it's right that the new government carefully considers it," the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We cooperate with China on a broad range of areas from the global economy to international issues and we will continue to seek a strong relationship with China."

The plant was approved in July by the board of France's EDF, its main investor after a number of delays. If it goes ahead, China General Nuclear Power Corporation is set to invest 33 percent in the project.

Sir Keith Burnett, vice-chancellor of the University of Sheffield, which is involved with the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Center, said it is "not the right way to do diplomacy" to "defer, wobble, delay and review indefinitely".

Liu's article also attracted widespread attention from the British media.

Simon Jack, business editor of the BBC, wrote in a commentary that if the British government backed out of the Hinkely deal, it "will clearly take the shine off the 'golden era' of collaboration between the two countries".
Shenhua Group Corp employees check facilities at a substation in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

China Shenhua Group Corp Ltd, the biggest coal company in the country by output, posted net profit of 9.8 billion yuan ($1.48 billion) in the first half of 2016 on Tuesday, down 18.6 percent from the same period last year.

Shenhua's revenue in the first six months stood at 78.7 billion yuan, down 12.5 percent from the same period last year. The company said that low coal prices were the major reason for the decrease.

Its average coal price was 271 yuan per metric ton in the first half of the year, down 14 percent from the same period last year.

Another reason was the falling power price, which has affected the company's electricity generation sector.

"In spite of the decreasing profit, Shenhua is one of the few coal companies that has been making profits as coal prices keep falling," said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University.

Domestic coal prices have fallen from 870 yuan per ton, the highest level in 2011, to 370 yuan per ton in 2015.

According to the China National Coal Association, the capacity of coal enterprises in China by the end of 2015 was 5.7 billion tons. However, coal consumption in 2015 was only 3.7 billion tons.

"The company uses its own coal to generate power. Lower coal prices have actually contributed to the profits in the power sector," said Lin.

As most coal enterprises reported losses in 2015, Shenhua achieved net profit of 16.1 billion yuan, though it fell by 56.9 percent compared with the end of 2014. Power generation contributed 17.6 billion yuan, or 53 percent, to the net profit.

By the end of 2015, Shenhua's total installed power generation capacity was 54,128 megawatts, up 19.2 percent year-on-year. The average utilization time of its coal-fired units was 4,631 hours in 2015, 302 hours more than the national sector average.

Zhang Yuzhuo, president of Shenhua, said the company's main goal in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) was clean production of coal, clean coal-fired power generation and clean transformation of coal.

The company has set a goal that by the end of 2017, its coal-fired power generation units, in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, the Yangtze Delta region and the Pearl River Delta region, will achieve ultra-low emissions. In other words, its smoke dust, sulfur dioxide and oxynitride emissions will be 50, 30 and 50 percent lower respectively than the national standards.
Homebuyers learn about a commercial property project at a real estate expo in Handan, North China's Hebei province, April 23, 2016. [PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY]

Continuing trend, with records set for prime sites, expected to squeeze developers

Surging land prices in major cities will probably squeeze real estate developers' profit margins in the second half of the year, said industry analysts on Wednesday.

Land sales in the first half of 2016 exceeded 1.32 trillion yuan ($199 billion), jumping 24.8 percent on a yearly basis, according to statistics from the Ministry of Land and Resources.

In July, the number of the "land kings" - companies winning auctions by bidding record prices for prime sites - rose to 31, hitting a new high.

Experts predicted that land prices will continue to rise in the second half, though the National Development and Reform Commission urged local governments earlier in August to boost the land supply and control the prices.

"Land prices will see a moderate increase in the second half. As the national real estate policies remain unchanged, strong demand is the driving force for property firms to buy land at premium," said E-House (China) Holdings Ltd Executive President Ding Zuyu in a research note on Wednesday.

A resident looks at the model of a high-end residential building at an expo in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, May 13, 2016. [PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY]

The prices of some land parcels have exceeded that of sites with existing homes in some cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

"Given the high land prices, developers may face growing risks of a falling gross profit in the coming years," said a real estate analyst at a local securities company, who declined to be named.

Sixteen listed property developers that have released their interim financial reports, showed total revenue of 213.7 billion yuan ($32.15 billion) in the first six months, demonstrating a year-on-year growth of 31.5 percent, fueled by robust sales and surging home prices.

According to Wind Information, their net profits in the half year grew 18 percent year-on-year.

Zhong Zhou Holdings Co was the only one among the 16 listed developers to post a profit fall.

Its 92.7 percent plunge in profits was due partly to soaring land costs at its projects in Shanghai and Chengdu, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement.
Baby formula products of Junlebao Diary Co Ltd on display at an expo in Beijing, July 17, 2014. [Photo/VCG]

Junlebao Dairy Co Ltd, a leading yogurt producer in northern China, said it started selling its baby formula product in Hong Kong on Monday after two years of sales in the mainland's market.

Its Baijinzhuang baby formula will be sold in the city at the price of 176 yuan ($26.42) for each can, the same as in the mainland, the company said.

At the beginning, the formula will be sold only in pharmacies, according to Liu Senmiao, head of the company's infant formula milk powder department.

"We haven't set a goal for our sales levels in Hong Kong," Liu said.

He said Junlebao wanted to test the waters there since Hong Kong's market had so many competitive international milk powder brands.

At present, the company's milk powder only has a small slice of the mainland market.

A report by Beijing Business Today estimated total sales revenues of all milk powder in China hit 80 billion yuan last year, while Junlebao sold less than 1 billion yuan.

Analysts said barriers to entry for newcomers were higher in Hong Kong. Beijing analyst Song Liang said it was harder for a newly growing milk powder brand to compete in the more sophisticated market.

Junlebao, founded in 1995 and based in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, owns nine factories across China and had sales of 6.5 billion yuan in 2015.

The dairy company started to make baby formula two years ago, the sales of which amounted to 11 percent of its total sales revenue last year, according to Liu.

"Though Junlebao still can't compete with other mature formula brands from home and abroad, the growth rate of its sales over the past two years is unprecedented," Liu said.

For the first six months, Junlebao baby formula brought in 550 million yuan of revenue, a 48 percent increase on the same period last year.

According to Liu, the current production capacity of Junlebao, which yielded a total of 720 million yuan last year, cannot keep up with domestic demand.

Adding to its capacity, on Monday a milk powder factory was put into operation near the company's headquarters in Shijiazhuang.

Liu said with the new factory, the production capacity of milk powder could reach 60,000 tons each year, which could expand its sales revenues substantially.
A way to help develop a multilateral trading system, promote green financing and build a global e-commerce platforma proposed electronic world trade platform, or eWTPis the main initiative of a policy advice report going to the G20 summit to be held in Hangzhou next month, said China's B20's chief representative on Wednesday.

After the earlier B20 meetings, involving a group of companies advising the G20, the policy report was completed that will now be discussed by the G20 leaders, said Yu Ping.

Yu is China's B20 sherpa, a post defined as the representative of the government at the international summit. All of the G20 participating states have representative sherpas.

"With a strong economic foundation and political influence, G20 countries are capable of reaching more major breakthroughs in terms of reducing trade protectionism," Yu said.

He said members are also capable of making progress toward signing the World Trade Organization's trade facilitation agreement as early as possible and encouraging G20 countries to demonstrate a strong leadership in the process, amid the current global business settings.

Concluded at a WTO conference in Bali in 2013, the facilitation agreement aims at easing customs procedures internationally to boost commerce. Countries have since been signing up to it and India formally ratified it in April this year, becoming the 76th WTO member to accept the TFA.

G20 states represent over 80 percent of the world's total economic output.

The B20 summit this year had six issues on its agenda: financing growth, trade and investment, infrastructure, small and medium-sized enterprise development, employment and anti-corruption.

Among the priorities set out in the report, was the construction of an eWTP, a global alliance for infrastructure development, as well as promoting sustainable innovation.

The next step for the B20 will be to introduce the report's content to different foreign governments, international trade and commerce chambers and academic institutes. It will then provide the policy recommendations to the G20 Summit next month, contributing to the G20 leaders' decisions.

A spokesman for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Feng Yaoxiang, said the B20 members also reached consensus on helping SMEs to integrate into the global economy through a global trade electronic platform, multi-channel financing and improvements to the regulatory environment.

Economists said the proposed e-platform could provide a key role in future global growth.

"As e-commerce and e-trade become the key enablers of global economic growth, as well as helping SMEs to find more market growth points, the key goal of eWTP is to improve 'inclusive' trade," said Wang Tongsan, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the government's think tank.

He said improving inclusive trade referred to reducing barriers faced by SMEs to their participation in cross-border e-trade.

"It is not just trading out of China or trading into China, it is about being capable of doing trade anywhere in the world," Wang said.

Mu Sai contributed to this story.
For long, sex toys have been perceived as vulgar playthings of hypersexed beings outside the mainstream. Newly launched Monster Pub, made in China, will likely change all that and more.

It is an intelligent women's sex toya multipurpose smart device, if you will.

Xiao Xue (not her real name), 26, a designer at an advertising company, liked the toy and said it can be "concealed", which makes it "exciting".

Priced 399 yuan ($60), it packs in a load of feminine health applications that even the most conservative and shy women will find hard to resist.

There are signs to that effect already. Nearly 450 units of Monster Pub were bought last month on Taobao.com, Alibaba Group's online marketplace.

Reasons are not far to seek. The product's sophisticated sensor system accurately detects fluctuations in a woman's body temperature during menstrual cycles and ovulatory period.

It enables users to make sense of the measurements by linking with a smartphone application.

Liu Bo, founder and CEO of Sistalk, maker of Monster Pub, said: "We help working women find a balance between sexual pleasure and health."

Sistalk tapped crowdfunding platform JD Finance, which is affiliated to online marketplace JD.com Inc, on March 8. Within 72 hours, it reached its target of 100,000 yuan. And in 120 hours, it raised more than 1.5 million yuan or 15 times its target, well beyond its wildest dreams.

Encouraged by investors' unstinted support and consumers' positive feedback, Sistalk is nursing big plans for future. "We plan to launch more women's health monitoring products," said Liu.

Such business expansion may well dovetail with China's sex toys market, which has grown rapidly and is still showing potential for enormous growth.

Consultancy Analysys International said that the business-to-customer sex toys market in China is expected to increase to 8.55 billion yuan this year and 13.25 billion yuan next year from 5.41 billion yuan last year. That's a growth rate of 55 percent year-on-year. Clearly, the Chinese sex toys market has entered a relatively mature period.

Analysts estimate the global intelligent wearables market will be worth up to $50 billion in the next two to three years.

Wearable devices, homes, healthcare products, sex toys... all will go smart.

But Ma Xiaonian, vice-chair of the China Sexology Association, strikes a note of caution and provides a proper perspective.

"The intelligent toy is just an auxiliary tool for enhanced sexual life. It can't replace the emotional input and psychological connect that human beings alone can provide."
For Craig Pagnotti, a Wayne County sheriff's deputy, May 28 was an eventful day.

That morning, he responded to a domestic complaint in Lyons. When he arrived at the scene, the suspect fled on foot.

Pagnotti chased down the suspect, who was wanted on other charges. While making the arrest, he pulled a tendon in his arm. He went to a local hospital for a treatment and received a cast for his arm.

After leaving the hospital, Pagnotti continued his shift.

It wasn't long before he was involved in a traffic stop. He pulled over a vehicle for speeding outside of Arcadia. When he found drugs in the vehicle, the suspect, Robert Hampton, attempted to flee the scene. Hampton attacked Pagnotti, hitting him in the arm and face.

After Hampton was arrested, Pagnotti went to the hospital again. He had a broken left arm from the attack.

Pagnotti's work didn't go unnoticed. He was honored by U.S. Rep. John Katko at a ceremony Thursday in Lyons.

"Our brave men and women in law enforcement put our lives on the line to defend our communities each and every day," Katko, R-Camillus, said. "(Pagnotti) acted selflessly earlier this spring, risking his own safety to ensure the safety of Wayne County residents. His own injury did not stop him from performing his duties."

Katko recognized Pagnotti by submitting a statement for the Congressional Record detailing the deputy's actions on May 28. He presented a copy of the statement to Pagnotti at Thursday's ceremony.

Here is the text of the statement:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Deputy Craig Pagnotti of the Wayne County Sheriff Department. On Saturday, May 28, 2016, Deputy Pagnotti apprehended two different suspects,each on a separate felony charge, over the course of the day.

On May 28, around 9:00 am, Deputy Pagnotti responded to a domesticcomplaint in Lyons, New York. Upon arrival, the suspect, who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, fled the scene on foot. Without hesitation, Deputy Pagnotti, pursued and apprehended the suspect, pulling a tendon in his arm while taking the suspect into custody. Deputy Pagnotti was admitted to the hospital, where he received a cast for his injured arm.

Shortly after being discharged from the hospital, Deputy Pagnotti continued with his shift and pulled over a vehicle for speeding, just outside of Arcadia, New York. After Deputy Pagnotti discovered drugs in the vehicle, the suspect fled on foot, striking the Deputy in the face and arm. Shortly after the suspect was apprehended, Deputy Pagnotti was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with abroken left arm.

I am honored to recognize Deputy Pagnotti for his heroic actions on May 28, 2016. Deputy Pagnottis efforts in this situation exemplify the commitment and dedication of the Wayne County Sheriffs Department. I want to than Deputy Pagnotti and all those serving in law enforcement in Wayne County and throughout the 24th District.
A promotional sign adorns a stage at a BHP Billiton function in central Sydney, August 20, 2013. [Photo/VCG]

City widely recognized as a global center for mobile application development

BHP Billiton Ltd, one of world's largest mining companies by market capitalization, has launched its new Mobile Applications Hub in Shanghai, in order to help its global operations enhance their productivity, increase efficiency and reduce costs.

Diane Jurgens, BHP Billiton chief technology officer, said the new hub is one example of the potential for technology innovation to improve the way the company works and benefit people and the company.

BHP Billiton's mobile apps hub in Shanghai will also support the company to work closely with its China partners, such as steelmakers, to improve visibility of the entire supply chain.

"About 70 percent of BHP Billiton's iron ore is exported to the Chinese market, so it is important to stay connected with Chinese clients, particularly the visibility of supply chain, from pit to railway, from ports to yard. Now we have technology team in China and we can stay better connected to our marketing team to meet clients' demands," said Jurgens.

One of the key issues for enterprises that want to move up the value chain is to attract talent to develop automation and innovation to improve proficiency, she said.

The company's $5 million apps hub will initially employ 50 technology applications designers. Shanghai is an ideal location for the hub as it is widely recognized as a global center for mobile apps development and has highly experienced, skilled workers and leading universities offering excellent programs in technology and engineering, she said.

Mobile apps in the field have helped the company reduce its costs.

A solution that allows files and data to be managed securely on a shared device in mines located in South America and Australia with 350 users sharing 85 devices and another 1,000 devices deployed to 5,000 workers will help BHP Billiton save $6.5 million.

Analysts said as prices of commodities such as iron ore and gasoline have been experiencing wild fluctuations in recent years, players in the resources sector have been making various efforts to reduce costs and improve productivity by using better technologies, a key move for companies to survive difficulties and grow.

"Many players have suspended investments to open new field. Instead, they seek to exploit potential by using better exploration technologies to increase productivities, or optimize the supply chain, manufacturing flows, or human resources deployment to reduce costs," said a research note from Guolian Securities Co Ltd.

BHP Billiton has not approved new investment in iron ore since 2011, while resources will be deployed more extensively in copper mining, according to the company's disclosure materials.

Jurgens said technologies will not only help reduce costs but also will significantly boost productivity, such as by using sensors to identify copper from waste in mines. Big data emerging from the process will help geoscientists better analyze information and improve exploration results.
Dave Ulrich, HR management guru and professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, speaks at the Talent Economy Forum in Beijing, August 10, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Human resources (HR) managers shared their insights on HR transformation in the digital era at the second Talent Economy Forum held on Wednesday in Beijing.

The era of mobile internet, with its new technologies and business models, has brought new challenges and opportunities to business in all sectors, said Hao Jie, general manager of Beijing Foreign Enterprise Human Resources Service Co Ltd (FESCO), which co-organized the forum with Harvard Business Review.

He said companies from various sectors should form partnerships and create a sharing economy platform to meet the challenges and better manage the unpredictable future.

Create value for business: Dave Ulrich

Dave Ulrich, HR management guru and professor at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, emphasized the need to shape HR to create value for business in a keynote speech delivered to the forum.

"HR is not just about HR. Everything we do in HR is important because it builds value to business," he said.

Digital transformation for HR managersHRsis not about the technology such as the digital system, or the cloud, but about the information HRs bring inside from the customers that allow the employees to connect with customers, Ulrich said.

He suggested HRs to change their perspective, think outside in, connect to investors and customers, and look beyond strategy.
A residents shows China's yuan and US dollar banknotes in Qionghai, South China's Hainan province, Jan 7, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's central bank is expected to choose a Chinese lender to clear yuan transactions in the United Arab Emirates by the end of this year, which would strengthen the growing economic ties between China and the Middle East, Reuters reports.

Middle East's first yuan clearing center was opened in Qatar last April, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) becoming the clearing bank, handling 350 billion yuan ($52.6 billion) in transactions since it launched, Zhou Xiaodong, general manager of ICBC's Dubai branch, told Reuters.

The launch of a clearing bank in the UAE could influence trade and investment in the Gulf, where Dubai acts as the region's top business center, handling flows of money and goods to countries in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and beyond, Reuters reports.

Fang Min, senior executive officer of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), told Reuters: "In this region everyone thinks of Dubai as the hub for the whole of the Middle East".

"From an economic and financial center point of view, Dubai is the most appropriate (place) to set up an offshore renminbi market," Fang said.

The yuan clearing bank in the UAE will be chosen among Agricultural Bank of China, ICBC, Bank of China and China Construction Bank, according to Fang.

The trade between China and the UAE was estimated at $60 billion last year, up from $47.6 billion in 2014, according to Dubai International Financial center (DIFC).

In addition, as the UAE is the most active country in the Middle East in using yuan for direct payments to China, yuan was used for 74 percent of payments by value from the UAE to Chinese mainland and Hong Kong on the SWIFT international transactions network last year.

Fang said he expected the UAE's ratio for SWIFT direct payments in yuan could increase to 80 or 85 percent by 2020.
A view of Zeshuipai village, Shaoxing city, Zhejiang province, on August 3, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

Zeshuipai is a fishing village with 2500 years of history in Shaoxing city, Zhejiang province. In past years, the village has become an enviable place due to its rich abundance of fish and rice. However, amid rapid urbanization and industrialization, the once flourishing village has been fading away.

The polluted water from factories along rivers have hurt the village's fishery resources, and more and more young people are leaving the village to search for new job opportunities in cities. Now, more than 60 percent of people who live in the village are migrant workers, and most of the natives are elderly people waiting for their children to see them.

According to the latest reports, the village is undergoing large-scale relocating and reconstructing.
Logos of online food-delivery platforms Baidu Waimai, ele.me and Meituan on a mobile phone. [Photo/VCG]

The Beijing Food and Drug Administration has urged online food-delivery platforms to make aggressive efforts to clear out unlicensed restaurants, the Beijing News reported.

The newspaper disclosed that many illegal restaurants lacking necessary hygiene and safety approvals offer takeout services via online platforms such as Baidu Waimai and Meituan.

Following the report, the food and drug watchdog published information on 60 restaurants that failed to provide licenses, with 20 each on Meituan, Baidu Waimai and ele.me.

Those restaurants were asked to suspend services immediately, and by Oct 1 all restaurants on the three food-delivery platforms must publish their licenses, according to the administration.

Tang Yunhua, spokesperson for the administration, said it will provide information on unlicensed restaurants to the media every week and strengthen supervision through cooperation and technical means.
No 10 The Philippines

People walk on the beach on Boracay Island in the Philippines, Nov 9, 2015. [Photo/VCG]

As China continues to witness more tourists heading abroad, visa applications to favorite destinations are increasing.

According to leading online travel agency Ctrip, Thailand recorded most visa applications in the first half of the year.

Singapore and South Korea ranked second and third respectively, while visa applications to Pakistan surged by 37 times, the most, thanks to friendly ties between the two countries.

Ctrip data also showed that the number of visitors applying for multiple entry rose substantially, implying a trend of more frequent overseas travels by Chinese. Multiple visa applications to Malaysia doubled from the same period last year, and those to South Korea soared 76 percent.

Let's take a look at the countries that received most visa applications from Chinese tourists.
An employee works inside a black TX4 Euro 5 London taxi cab as it moves along the production at the London Taxi Company's assembly plant, a unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding Co, in Coventry, UK, March 13, 2014.[Photo/VCG]

Three years ago, London Taxi Co was bankrupt and Londoners faced losing their familiar black taxicabs. But thanks to Chinese automaker Geely, the re-energized company is about to introduce a radical change on the streets of London.

Geely's London Taxi unit will reintroduce the cab in the middle of next year. It will be more environmentally friendly, shifting from diesel to electric power, and more spacious, holding one more person than the previous car.

The new taxicab also features a wheelchair position that faces forward.

The prototype of the vehicle was unveiled in October during the state visit of President Xi Jinping to the United Kingdom.

Black TX4 Euro 5 London taxi cabs move along the production at the London Taxi Company's assembly plant, a unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding Co, in Coventry, UK, March 13, 2014. [Photo/VCG]

"The model is designed to take on the challenges faced by many major cities, such as air pollution and over-crowdedness," Chris Gubbey, CEO of London Taxi, said on Wednesday.

Adam Soller, co-partner of London Photo Taxi Tour, a company that offers tourists a customized service in black cabs, said, "I really like that they kept the iconic design and can take on an extra passenger."

Soller added that, as a cab-driver, he is looking forward to buying the electric vehicle, although it will depend on the cost.

The company hasn't given details on the price of the new model.

Although Londoners know them as black taxis, since black was the only color used for many years, all colors are now available.

The project began in 2013, right after Geely acquired the then-distressed LTC for 11.4 million pounds ($14.8 million).

"It's extremely lucky that Geely became involved," said Gubbey.

Visitors try out a Geely Englon TX4 taxi with the logo of The London Taxi Company on it during the 13th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, also known as Auto China 2014, in Beijing, 20 April 2014.[Photo/IC]

Geely, whose headquarters are in Hangzhou and whose name literally means "auspicious" in Chinese, announced previously that it is investing 300 million pounds in LTC's new research and production facility, marking the largest such investment by a Chinese company in UK's green field.

The site under construction, at Ansty Park near Coventry in the English Midlands, includes about 30,000 square meters of production space and 6,000 square meters of office area. It will be the first new auto plant built in the country in more than 10 years.

Gubbey said LTC's relationship with Geely was more like a partnership. "Even if the company owns Volvo and LTC, it feels like you are in a partnership, instead of having a controlling entity."

A Geely EC Cross concept car is displayed at Auto China 2014 in Beijing in this April 20, 2014 file picture.[Photo/Agencies]

According to LTC, production of the new car will begin in the middle of next year, with low volume initially and ramping up in September.

Gubbey said LTC is aiming for aggressive expansion outside the UK.

However, some London cab-drivers expressed a reluctance to share their icon.
A tenant checks the kitchen in a rental apartment in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

During my vacation in May in Europe, I had my first experience of peer-to-peer accommodation, an important component of the now trendy sharing economy, and found it pretty cozy.

In Bordeaux, we stayed in a centuries-old apartment right at the center of the city, with convenient access to its tram system, while in Madrid, we chose a modern apartment near the Acacias metro station. They were all clean, tidy and comfortable, and provided us with virtually all the amenities that a hotel could offer.

What really lured us to stay at the privately-owned apartments was they are cheaper. For the Bordeaux room, the charge was 100 euros ($110) per day, and the rate for the Madrid apartment was almost the same, with parking fees included.

With all conveniences and low costs, it is no surprise that P2P accommodation has developed so fast in recent years in China and across the world, given the advantage of the growing internet and mobile internet penetration rates.

P2P accommodation is a business model in which private homeowners list their idle but furnished and decently-equipped apartments on third-party platforms for short-term rental, and through which the owners turn their idle property into money spinners and tenants can save money while enjoying comfortable stays.

A survey, conducted by the government think tank State Information Center and the Internet Society of China, showed that the size of China's sharing economy amounted to 1.95 trillion yuan ($294 billion) in 2015, and about 50 million people were involved in the business, directly or indirectly, as service providers. It predicted the sharing economy will maintain a 40 percent annual growth in the coming five years, and its scale is expected to account for 10 percent of the country's GDP by 2020. P2P accommodation should constitute a big chunk.

That's pretty encouraging.

Considering the sharing economy as part of the solution to boost growth and develop the services-driven economy, both the central and local governments have thrown their weight behind it.

Premier Li Keqiang stressed developing the sharing economy in the Government Work Report earlier this year. And in March, 10 ministry-level departments including the National Development and Reform Commission issued guidelines for encouraging green consumption, which underscored the development of short-term housing rent and homestay services.

Airbnb Inc, a US-based services provider between homeowners and tenants, is an example of the success of peer-to-peer accommodation. It now has more than 2 million listings in more than 34,000 cities across the world. This nine-year-old company can now offer as many rooms as Hilton Hotels & Resorts, which has taken about a century to grow to its current scale. At the same time, accommodation sharing is also redefining the traditional travel and hospitality industry.

And Airbnb's Chinese peers, including Zhubaijia and Xiaozhu, are catching up quickly and are also cashing in on the trend and have reaped their sweet harvest in the past few years while helping drive the growth of Chinese accommodation sharing.

For tenants like me, however, we need also to consider the other side of the coin - risks when deciding to stay in other people's homes, which include safety, hygiene and dispute settlement.

As the sector grows by leaps and bounds, the government has to work out rules to regulate the business in order to ensure its sustainable development and a level playing for all participants. Governments have taken notice of the problems and are working on them.

Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said in mid-July at the G20 meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors in Chengdu, Sichuan province, that the government will work to provide a level playing field for the sharing economy to ensure its healthy development and fair competition with traditional players in the sector.

After my first experience of peer-to-peer accommodation in France and Spain, I'm looking forward to trying the Chinese P2P accommodation market when I travel to other cities sometime soon.
A app of Alipay, China's biggest third-party payments platform, on a mobile phone. [Photo/VCG]

Jack Ma opens his wallet to Europe, but not to Europeans

Jack Ma will set a bag aside for you at your favorite Paris store or hail you a ride in Romejust as long as you're not European.

China's biggest third-party payments platform Alipay, an affiliate of Ma's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, is signing deals with brick and mortar retailers in Europe to bulk up its offering for Chinese tourists and expats.

It's seeking to add extras to its mobile wallet app for Chinese travelers in France, the UK, Germany and Italy, though it has no plans to offer its services to consumers who aren't from China.

"Europe is a popular destination for our Chinese customers, so it's an important market for us," Rita Liu, head of Alipay Europe, Middle-East and Africa, said in an interview. "We're actively looking for partners across Europemerchants who want to cater to Chinese tourists or technical providers on the payments side. But we have no plans to target European customers."

Alipay held talks with retailers in the French capital including Printemps, one of the city's biggest department stores; it unveiled a deal last week to sell travel insurance from Axa SA to its users; and it's working with Germany's Wirecard AG to support the mobile wallet service in as many as 69 stores at Munich Airport. Alipay is in talks with other technical, retail and payment partners in France and Germany, as well as the UK and Italy, Liu said.

The cross-border strategy mimics one Alipaywith 450 million usershas deployed with US partners. It has cut deals with the likes of Uber Technologies Inc, Airbnb Inc and Macy's Inc to let Chinese customers pay with the Alipay wallet, either by tapping their phone on a contactless register or having a cashier scan a bar code on the mobile screen to charge a registered account.

It highlights how in payments, as with other tech sectors, Europe and the US need Chinese customers more than the other way around, echoing Uber's humbling lesson from selling its Chinese operations to local rival Didi Chuxing.

Bloomberg
AUBURN  A man wanted on several felony charges in Auburn pleaded guilty Thursday in two separates cases in Cayuga County Court.

Walter C. O'Conner, also known as Bobby Fingers, admitted to two charges: felony third-degree grand larceny and attempted assault.

In April, the Auburn Police Department sought the public's help in tracking O'Conner down, issuing a statement warning that members of the public should not try to apprehend him "and to use caution due to his history of violent charges." The U.S. Marshals Service captured O'Conner in Rochester in June, two months after Auburn police issued five warrants for his arrest.

O'Conner, of 52 Loderdale Road, Rochester, was charged with three felonies  second-degree assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree grand larceny  and two misdemeanors  fifth-degree welfare fraud and misuse of food stamps.

According to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, the court agreed to amend the original charge of felony second-degree assault and dismiss the weapons charge in exchange for O'Conner's plea Thursday. There was no update on O'Conner's welfare and food stamp charges, which stemmed from a January arrest.

The 41-year-old admitted that he had intent to cause physical injury in April 2015 when he hit a man in the head with a curtain rod. Then, two months later, O'Conner stole more than $7,000 from a residence.

"I did work for someone and they tried to stiff me so I took money from their house," he said.

A defendant would typically serve a maximum of seven years in prison for the felony. However, Budelmann said O'Conner is eligible for persistent felony offender status, meaning he could face life in prison.

Judge Thomas Leone will likely sentence O'Conner to three to six years in prison for grand larceny and one to three years for attempted assault. Still, if he pays $1,000 in restitution, that sentence could be reduced, Leone said.

O'Conner will be sentenced Oct. 6.
She has no regrets, but for Qing Feng divorcing her husbanda gay manand losing her son and money, was no easy process. Qing, from Guizhou province, ended her sexless, loveless marriage months ago, after an arduous negotiation with the man who had constantly belittled her throughout their 13-year relationship.

"He said I wouldn't get a penny or the custody of my son because I asked for a divorce without evidence to show he was wrong," said Qing, who is in her 40s.

"He was well prepared for the day of the divorce. He had transferred all our assets to his parents."

Qing is one of many women in China known as "gay wives", or tongqi, who unwittingly marry closeted gay men. For these women, the road to a successful divorce is often rocky because of obstruction from their husbands and a lack of clear legal support.

The names of the women who are married to gay men in this article have been changed to protect their privacy.

In a country where gay marriage is illegal, a gay man may choose to marry a woman and have children because of pressure from parents and society. Many Chinese believe continuing the family bloodline is an inescapable male duty and that not having children constitutes a failure.

No easy way out

At a seminar on protecting women married to gay men that was held in Changsha, Hunan province, in late July, Qing shared her story and encouraged other women in her situation to pursue their happiness with courage.

Two years ago, a TV program focusing on the tragedy of "gay-straight" marriages helped Qing overcome doubts she had about divorcing her husband, who she said recoiled from physical contact after their son was born and seldom showed her any care.

"He repeatedly told me, 'Don't laugh. You look ugly when you do that.' He liked nothing about me, so I kept trying to change myself to please him," she said.

When she finally questioned her husband about his sexual orientation, he confessed, but he refused to divorce because he feared it would ruin his reputation.

Because she attended last year's seminar, Qing said she was insulted by her husband and his family. She finally had enough and made up her mind to insist on divorce, despite hesitating for the sake of her son.

A lawyer told Qing that even if she filed a divorce lawsuit, it might not go in her favor.

Many Chinese gay men conceal their homosexuality, which makes it difficult for women to collect evidence of their husband's sexual habits and orientation, said Yang Shaogang, a Shanghai-based lawyer who is experienced in gay-straight divorce cases. As a result, judges often do not grant the divorce, and the women need to file again at a later date, Yang said.

In addition, Chinese law does not make a gay man culpable for the marriage breakdown, meaning it's possible that no compensation will be awarded to the woman. Further, the law offers no privilege for such women to obtain custody of their children.

Yang has called for legal changes regarding the distribution of property and child custody in such divorce cases to encourage tongqi to break free.

Three of the 15 tongqi who attended that first seminar last year are now divorced.

"It shows huge progress that these women were able to stand up to protect their rights," said sexologist Zhang Beichuan.

Disease, violence

A 2013 survey conducted by Zhang and her team sampled nearly 150 women who had either married or divorced gay or bisexual men or who were currently dating such men.

Seventy percent of the respondents said they had suffered long-term emotional abuse from the men, often characterized by sexual apathy.

In addition, 90 percent of the women developed symptoms of depression and 20 percent of them reported beatings.

Nearly 40 of those surveyed also reported symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases. Of the 30 who were tested for HIV, two found themselves infected.

Su Yun, 60, recently divorced her gay husband. She became deaf in one ear after enduring beatings. A day after the divorce, she said her ex-husband and his boyfriend barged into her home.

"I didn't dare call the police. I thought he might strangle me. He tried once and I almost died," said Su, in Shandong province.

Divorced women are often discriminated against in China, and not everyone trapped in an unhappy marriage wants to get out, said Li, the seminar founder.

In general, the tongqi are an invisible group. A large number women are even unaware that their husbands are gay, due to conservative attitudes toward sex. Li said: "Many never even wonder why they have no sex life in their marriage."




A tour bus catches fire on highway to the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan, July 19, 2016. [Photo by China Times/Asianewsphoto]

The driver of the tour bus in which 26 people died on July 19 might have set fire to the vehicle after quarreling with his wife who had decided to return to Chinese mainland as the driver was involved in a sexual assault case, Taiwan media reported.

Investigators claim the quarrel might have led the driver to vent his anger on the mainland tourists.

The driver drank lots of liquor while driving to the Taoyuan International Airport on July 19, and poured gasoline on the water fountain and the panel board.

After the accident, the driver's father said that the daughter-in-law has gone back to mainland with three children, and "will never come back."

In the worst ever road accident for Chinese mainland visitors to the island, the entire tour group of 23 tourists and a guide were killed. The driver and another tour guide from Taiwan also died.

On Monday, a tour bus crash in Macao injured at least 32 mainland tourists. Macao police said the accident occurred when the bus was going downhill close to the Ruins of St. Paul, a well-known tourist attraction.

A white van rear-ended the bus, and the bus driver got out to check the situation.

The bus started rolling down the slope without the driver and rammed into a roadside clinic.

Macao's Health Bureau said 10 people remain hospitalized.


Chinese biologist Han Chunyu has provided his experimental data to Nature as requested to help peer researchers replicate his work, but the controversy has not gone away, according to the journal's website.

Meanwhile Han has been working to replicate his own work.

The incident now is evolving into a battle between the widely recognized gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 and a potentially better substitute called NgAgo, presented by Han, a geneticist at Hebei University of Science and Technology.

Three months ago, Han reported that the enzyme NgAgo can be used to edit human genes, and an article was published in Nature Biotechnology. However, some researchers said they had been unable to replicate Han's work.

The journal, in response, initiated an investigation and asked Han last week to submit his experimental protocols and original data. The investigation is still underway.

One of the protocols warned that the magnesium level in cells needed to be maintained.

Gaetan Burgio, a geneticist at Australian National University in Canberra, told Nature there was little new in the protocol Han shared.

"That doesn't make any sense tome," he said. Burgio reported on his blog that he had failed to replicate Han's results, which further pushed the controversy into the worldwide spotlight.

A Chinese biology researcher in Beijing who asked for anonymity told China Daily that Han's updating of his protocol is a good start.

"Science and research is hard and takes time. We should allow for more time and patience," the researcher said.

Lluis Montoliu, a geneticist at the Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology in Madrid, previously recommended in an email to colleagues at the International Society for Transgenic Technologies that any project involving the use of NgAgo for gene editing should be abandoned.

It's to "avoid wasting time, money, animals and people", the email said.

The Beijing researcher, however, said efforts to push science ahead should never stop. "It's still too early to give a death sentence to NgAgo," the researcher said.

Han is known for focusing on his research and maintaining a low-key lifestyle. The article about him on Nature's website said he didn't like to travel, and a trip to visit a collaborator in Hangzhou in March was the first time the 42-year-old had ever boarded a plane.
Soldiers learn the history of the company. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The "Red Third Company" is a unit of the 12th Army of the ground force of the People's Liberation Amy (PLA), which originated from the Huangma Uprising in 1927. The company has fought in more than 350 battles since establishment and has had 30 generals and a host of other heroes in its ranks.

This year marks the 95th anniversary of the Communist Party of China; the 80th anniversary of the Long March; and the 10th anniversary of the Red Third Company to be established as a model of party branch construction. A reporter of chinadaily.com.cn embedded with the company in August, the month in which Army Day is celebrated, and discovered its past, present, and future, as well as its traditions and innovations. The facilities, equipment, training and learning methods have changed over the years; however, the loyalty to the party and people, the high standards and strict requirement, as well as the "fight for first" spirit has remained the same.

Tradition one: Fearless spirit

Yi Ke, a soldier of the "Red Third Company", kept a diary during the Korean War in 1952 and the diary was sent back to the Third Company in 2011. "Better a glorious death than a shameful life," Yi wrote in his diary. And the fearless spirit carries out in the company with party members as active practitioners.

Soldiers undergo training. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wu Baoshi, a squad leader and also a party member, saved the life of another soldier during a rope climbing competition in Sept 2014. Wu grabbed the arm of the soldier to prevent him from falling off from the 8m high rope but dislocated his own left arm and broke his right arm in the process. As the soldier thanked him with tears in his eyes, the squad leader shook his head gently and dismissed his selfless act.
Item from Aug 11, 1999, in China Daily: A member of the Beijing Red Cross Society teaches teenage students how to take care of themselves. Some 400 students received tips on self-protection at a middle school in suburban Beijing yesterday.

China has initiated a nationwide program that aims to teach teenagers how to protect themselves when harassed or attacked. ... Ever since a 14-year-old girl was kidnapped and murdered near her home in Beijing recently, increasing attention has been given to protecting teenagers.

Bullying and sex assaults are on the rise at schools across China.

Courts in the capital alone have heard about 200 criminal cases related to school violence in the past five years, according to the High People's Court in Beijing. Almost 14 percent of these cases involved verbal and physical assaults. While some victims were insulted, others were slapped on the face, burned with cigarettes, or stripped naked for photos.

From 2013 to 2015, at least 968 incidents of sexual assault against minors, involving 1,790 victims, were reported by Chinese media, according to the activist group Girls' Protection Foundation.

In May, the central government launched a campaign to raise awareness about bullying.

Under the program, which ends in December, police and judicial staff are invited to schools to give lectures. Education institutions have also been asked to improve measures to prevent bullying, and to establish a system to deal with emergencies.
Photo taken by cellphone on Aug 11, 2016 shows the explosion site at a power plant in Dangyang, central China's Hubei province. [Photo/Xinhua]

YICHANG - A preliminary investigation has shown that the explosion which killed 21 on Thursday in central China's Hubei Province was caused by a broken pipe, local authorities said.

A high-pressure steam pipe exploded at Madian Gangue Power Generation Co. Ltd. in Dangyang City around 3:20 p.m. At least 21 people were killed and five others injured. Three of the injured are in a critical condition.

The pipe broke during testing, according to the Dangyang city committee of the Communist Party of China.

The investigation is continuing.

Xinhua reporters saw a dozen emergency vehicles parked at the factory gate. A road leading to the area has been blocked off, some ambulances are still arriving at the plant.

The house of villager Du Qiuxin is some one kilometer away from the plant. "I was taking a nap, and was awaken by a loud bang. The sound lasted several minutes," she said.

A nurse with the ICU of Dangyang People's Hospital said that several injured people are in the ICU, all suffering from large-area burns, some with internal injuries.
State counselor likely to be treated like a head of government on second trip to China, experts say

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi will take her first trip as state counselor outside the ASEAN region next week when she visits Beijing, where experts believe she will be received as a head of government.

The four-day China visit will begin on Wednesday, Thailand-based magazine The Irrawaddy quoted Zaw Htay, spokesman for the Myanmar President's Office, as saying.

This will be Suu Kyi's second trip to China. The first time, in June last year, she met with President Xi Jinping as leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy.

In Myanmar's general election in November, the NLD won an absolute majority of seats in both houses of parliament.

China's ties with Myanmar, which gained independence in 1948, have developed steadily. Beijing said earlier that it would not seek to change its policy toward the country, no matter who heads its government.

Suu Kyi will meet with Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, according to Efe, the Spanish international news agency.

Since Suu Kyi is widely respected in the international community, observers said, and her visit to China will attract attention from all sides about her personal career and political acumen, as well as about the China-Myanmar relationship in the new era.

China is likely to treat Suu Kyi with the etiquette afforded to a prime minister, said Jia Duqiang, a senior researcher of Southeast Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Treating her with such etiquette is understandable, Jia said, because Suu Kyi ranks as the country's second figure after the president. Additionally, it is widely acknowledged that she works as the head of the government, Jia said.

"The Chinese government will show due respect to her, and to her domestic political influence," he added.

Since the new Myanmar government was formed at the end of March, Suu Kyi has made two foreign trips: to Laos in May and to Thailand in June. She has also accepted an invitation from US President Barack Obama to visit the United States before his presidency ends.

Jia said the Chinese leaders' meeting with Suu Kyi will be a milestone of China-Myanmar relations and lay a foundation for future bilateral cooperation.

The leaders also might touch on sensitive issues including security concerns regarding the two countries' border area, he said.

Jin Yong, deputy chief of the School of Foreign Studies at Communication University of China, said he expected Suu Kyi's China visit to result in stronger economic ties between the two countries.

In a policy paper last month, the Myanmar government vowed to develop agriculture, industry and infrastructure. China has experience and capital in these areas that Myanmar could use to benefit its development, Jin said.

Zhang Yaozhong contributed to this story.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
Born in China, a Sino-US production directed by Lu Chuan, will be released on the Chinese mainland on Friday.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A Disney-backed film on pandas, monkeys and snow leopards in China will hit theaters soon, Wang Kaihao reports. It is like Zootopiabut real.

Born in China, a production of Disneynature, an independent film unit of Walt Disney, and Shanghai-based SMG Pictures, is ready for release on the Chinese mainland on Friday.

The Chinese-language Sino-US production is directed by Lu Chuan.

"I am an animal lover, and I'm always ready to try something different," Lu, 45, said at a promotional event for the film in Beijing last week.

The film follows the daily lives of a panda and her daughter in Sichuan province's Wolong National Nature Reserve; a snow leopard family in Yushu county, Qinghai province; a group of golden snub-nosed monkeys in Hubei province's Shennongjia National Nature Reserve near the Yangtze River; and members of several other species.

Though the film is being called a documentary, perhaps it is better to describe it as a real-life adventure film based on its vivid narration and the use of voice-over.

Lu began directing in 2002 with the thriller The Missing Gun and went on to direct City of Life and Death, a 2009 film on the Nanjing Massacre. Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004), his film on the conflict between rangers and poachers in Qinghai's Kekexili, is still considered among the best Chinese films on environmental protection.
My Chief and My Regiment, one of Wu Yi's best-known productions, tells the story of a troop of Chinese expeditionary soldiers, who defend the front line against Japanese invaders in Myanmar in 1942.[Photo provided to China Daily]

China's most-popular military TV series' producer is fighting for big changes in how the genre is presented on the small screen.

He's arguably the man who brought China its answer to Band of Brothers.

When TV producer Wu Yi brought the 30-episode series Soldiers Sortie to the small screen in 2006, he had little inkling it'd become one of the Chinese mainland's most-celebrated military dramas. It's still widely acclaimed as such.

Soldiers Sortie follows Private Xu Sanduoa shy village boy sent to the army by his father in order to make a man out of him. He grows through perseverance from his entry into a People's Liberation Army mechanized-infantry unit until he becomes a core member of an elite force.

"I'm not boasting," Wu says, sighing.

"I regret no other military drama has reached this level over the past decade."

Soldiers Sortie has 9.1 out of 10 points on China's major film-and-TV criticism website, Douban.com, making it the highest-ranking Chinese military TV series ever. It has 8.1 points on Douban's US-based equivalent, iMDb.com.

Wu adores military themes, although most of his ongoing projects are about urban romance or Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) legends.

"Attitudes decide what's produced," he says.

"We must venerate our audiences."

Wu is calling for a rejuvenation of the genre. He's president of the Tianyi Media group behind many military dramas.

He's bothered by how the genre is often presented. For instance, the proliferating productions portraying the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) seem to exaggerate Chinese fighters' bravery while depicting Japanese soldiers as buffoons.
MIAMI (AP)  Donald Trump repeatedly accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State group on Thursday, refusing to take back a patently false allegation, despite the urging of some of his allies to do so.

A day after lobbing the attack against the president during a rowdy rally, Trump pressed ahead during a round of interviews. He brushed off conservative radio commentator Hugh Hewitt's attempt to reframe Trump's observation as one that said Obama's foreign policy created the conditions in Iraq and Syria that allowed IS to thrive.

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do," Trump said, using another acronym for the extremist group that has wreaked havoc from the Middle East to European cities.

Hewitt asked Trump if he would acknowledge that Obama hates the Islamic State, noting that the president is "trying to kill them." Over the past two years Obama has organized a broad coalition of countries and launched more than 10,000 U.S. airstrikes to defeat IS.

"I don't care," Trump replied. "He was the founder. The way he got out of Iraq  that was the founding of ISIS, OK?"

In a later speech to homebuilders in Miami on Thursday, he said Clinton would be given "the most valuable player award" by IS. "Her only competition is Barack Obama," he said. He later added of Clinton, "Oh boy, is ISIS hoping for her."

Clinton's campaign accused Trump of "trash-talking" the U.S. while failing to present any serious counter-terrorism plans of his own. Jake Sullivan, Clinton's top policy aide, called Trump's accusation a "false claim" and drew a connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Once again, he's echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests," Sullivan said.

In the interview with Hewitt, Trump did acknowledge the root of his argument was that if Obama "had done things property, you wouldn't have had ISIS." But he then added, "Therefore, he was the founder if ISIS."

Trump had previously said Clinton founded the militant group, but shifted the blame to Obama on Wednesday during a rally in Florida.

"In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama," Trump said Wednesday during a raucous campaign rally outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "He is the founder of ISIS," he said, repeating the allegation three more times for emphasis.

Trump also pointedly referred to the president by his full legal name: Barack Hussein Obama. The accusation  and his use of the president's middle name, Hussein  echoed previous instances where he's questioned Obama's religious faith? and loyalties to the country.

In June, when a shooter who claimed allegiance to IS killed 49 people in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, Trump seemed to suggest Obama was sympathetic to the group when he said Obama "doesn't get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands."

In the past, Trump has also falsely suggested Obama is a Muslim or was born in Kenya, where Obama's father was from. The president, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

As he works to keep his campaign message on track, Trump in recent days has sometimes tried to clarify controversial statements by arguing he was being misinterpreted. But given the opportunity Thursday morning by Hewitt and others to take back the claim that Obama founded the terror group, Trump did the opposite.

"He was the founder, absolutely the founder," Trump said on CNBC. "In fact he gets the  in sports, they have awards. He gets the most valuable player award."

Trump has long blamed Obama and his former secretary of state  Clinton  for their Mideast policy. Republicans believe that the U.S. decision to leave Iraq in 2011 created a power vacuum that allowed al-Qaida in Iraq, a subsidiary of the larger terror group al-Qaida, to morph into the 30,000-strong Islamic State group that in 2014 seized a third of Syria and Iraq.

The U.S. has led a coalition of a dozen Western and Arab countries in a sustained airstrike campaign  backed by Iraqi ground forces  that have cut the group in half and cost it 45 percent of its territory. Yet, the group still inspires or backs terror attacks around the world.

The White House declined to comment on Trump's accusation.

The Islamic State group began as Iraq's local affiliate of al-Qaida, the group that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. But the group carried out massive attacks against Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, fueling tensions with al-Qaida's central leadership, which blames its grievances on the West. The local group's then-leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in 2006 in a U.S. airstrike but is still seen as the Islamic State group's founder.
Author Han Dong (left) will make his directorial debut among projects launched by Jia Zhangke (right).[Photo provided to China Daily]

Another writer has chosen to step into the booming film market. This time, it is Han Dong, a 55-year-old poet and novelist based in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province.

He recently announced in Beijing that shooting of his directorial debut will begin next week.

As a newcomer to the industry, he is lucky to have Jia Zhangke, an art-house film veteran best known for the award-winning Still Life, backing him as executive producer.

The screenplay for the upcoming film Zai Matou (On the Pier) is adapted from Han's 1998 novella of the same name, which depicts poets' disputes with hooligans with a touch of black humor.

"It was not only me. Others, too, wanted to turn the novella into a movie after they read it," says Jia.

"I even found a German producer who was prepared to fund the film. But he went bankrupt before the shooting began."

But Han says: "I had three choices: To maintain my fame as a poet, to retire, or to try something new.

"I preferred the third option. A person today can experience different things within a lifetime.

"I am walking on thin ice. But I have confidence."

Han first gained a reputation as a pioneer in the 1980s' poetry movement with his exploration of poetry theory. Then, he advocated the importance of being colloquial in poetry. After 2000, he switched his focus to novels.

Though Han's only previous link with cinema was being a guest star in films, including Jia's A Touch of Sin in 2013, Jia does not consider his lack of experience as an impediment.

Jia says: "Han is good at capturing trivial moments in daily life with a poetic touch.
Pop star Rihanna along with actresses Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter are in talks to join Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett in a female-driven spinoff of the "Ocean's Eleven" crime caper franchise, Hollywood trade publications reported on Wednesday.

News of the movie comes a month after the release of the all-female remake of the beloved 1980s action comedy "Ghostbusters," this time starring Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, that prompted a hate-filled backlash on social media.

Production of on the Warner Bros. movie, to be called "Ocean's Eight," is expected to start in October, with director Gary Ross, Hollywood websites Deadline and Variety reported.

Warner Bros. declined to comment.

Ross told movie website SlashFilm in June that the movie would continue the "Ocean's Eleven" trilogy starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, as well as having a similar light-hearted tone.
Traditional Uygur embroidery. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

A series of exhibitions and fashion shows featuring traditional Uygur embroidery and handicrafts will be held in Hami, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region from August 17 to 19.

The Ministry of Culture will hold a meeting discussing the promotion of traditional culture and preservation in the city during this period.

Being listed as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008, traditional Hami Uygur embroidery has a history of hundreds of years. It is a necessary decoration in the daily lives of Uygur people in Hami, with exquisite patterns and skillful knitting.

Its birthplace, Hami, is an important city on the Silk Road, and is home to diverse ethnicities and cultures. In 1978, archaeologists found a large quantity of colorful woolen clothes with delicate embroidery in a late Bronze Age tomb in Hami. Many craftsmen and craftswomen who specialized in Suzhou embroidery were invited to Hami to give training to the locals on embroidery in 1699.

The Ministry of Culture established the first traditional culture work studio in Hami in March this year. Atron, the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University and the local government reached an agreement to promote the traditional Hami Uygur embroidery through the market and create a brand named Mi Zuo, which translates literally into "made in Hami", for the embroidery.

At present, there are 21 Uygur embroidery inheritors and 4,000 skilled female embroiderers in Hami.
Beijing's CBD area is even brighter at night than during the day, Mar 25, 2014. [Photo/IC]

In Beijing, changes take place fast, either for better or for worse. So overnight, a bustling section for businesses of all kinds has been shut down and turned into a messy construction site.

What I am talking about is a street hundreds of meters to the north of where I work. A dozen years ago, owners of the apartments on the ground floor of frontage residential buildings, mostly native Beijingers, started to rent out their spare rooms to businesses, which are often run by those from outside the city.

Within years, restaurants, property brokerages and stores that sell cigarettes and wine, as well as clothes and stationery began to line the street, providing lots of convenience to people in the neighborhood, myself included.

As I passed by each day on my way to work, and saw how one store would close down, only to be followed by another opening under a new name or for a different business, I could not but admire those entrepreneurs for their hard work, resilience and ability to adapt.

Actually, I often wonder how they could have made any profits given the high cost of living and doing business in Beijing. How many bowls of noodles or blue jeans would they have to sell to cover rents that could easily go above 10,000 yuan ($1,510) each month, in addition to other costs such as that for labor?

Such businesses are often short-lived because many of them have not registered with local industry and commerce agencies, or do not possess certificates for firefighting, safety or hygiene as required by authorities. Actually that is the official reason why they are being wiped out on such a large scale across the capital city, as is declared in notices put up on the sites where street-side businesses are meeting their demise.

Beijing officials have reportedly promised to restore all residential buildings to their original shape within this year, in a quest to build a "world class" and most livable city.

With many of its streets clean of business activities and the vigor that is associated with them, it is hard to imagine the city will meet the goal of having a lively essence.

It actually reflects poor governance, if not malicious intentions, in terms of how the problem is solved, given that those street-side stores have emerged and thrived under the gaze of those in charge for so many years.

Whatever pretext officials use to justify the ongoing overhaul of the streets, it cannot cover up the real intentions behind the move: to curb Beijing's population growth, which was already at 21.7 million at the end of 2015.

The small businesses provide many jobs, mostly to people from outside the city. By shutting them down, officials are striving to meet the goal of keeping Beijing's population below 23 million by 2020, as drafted in the city's development plan. Some experts have reportedly called the effort "sweeping away 'low-end population' through policies", referring to those manual laborers with neither capital nor education.

Actually the move has been going on for years, "to ease the population, traffic and environmental pressure" on Beijing. So rooms for rent in the basements of apartment buildings have been sealed; schools for migrant children closed; and wholesale markets of clothes and daily necessities in downtown areas relocated to neighboring Hebei province.

A US friend, who visited Beijing many years ago for the first time, told me one of the most memorable sights he caught on Beijing streets was peddlers selling jianbing - a kind of pancake - on tricycles. He called it "a best example of entrepreneurship".

Yet nowadays such entrepreneurship is finding it increasingly difficult to take root in Beijing, where the astronomically high property prices have driven half its population to its verges outside the Fifth Ring Road.

In a society ruled by law, where ideas of harmony and people-oriented policies have been trumpeted, there should be a better way to strike a balance between keeping the city clean and functional while giving those on the lowest rung of social ladder a chance to move upward.

For many, this is a Chinese dream.

Contact the writer at huangxiangyang@chinadaily.com.cn
Emperor Akihito delivered a 10-minute televised address to the Japanese people on Monday, in which he hinted that he wished to abdicate due to his failing health.

The 82-year-old emperor said that following two surgeries within the past few years, he began to feel the pressure of undertaking his official duties, and noted this had caused him to think about the future direction of the Imperial Family. He hinted at a possible transition in the future that would be in line with "the will of the people" and cause as little disruption to the nation as possible.

"When I consider that my fitness level is gradually declining, I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being as I have done until now," said the Japanese emperor.

Analysts believe that the speech shows the Japanese emperor has a clear sense of crisis, mainly rooted in the moves by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the political conservatives he leads to amend Japan's Constitution.

At least two major changes in the new draft Constitution announced by Abe's Liberal Democrats defy Emperor Akihito's long-time commitments.

Re-arming Japan challenges the emperor's consistent support for an in-depth reflection on the war, while upgrading the emperor to the head of state contradicts his devotion over the past 28 years to his role being ceremonial, particularly as phrase "symbol of the state" is used in the title of the published text.

Since Abe's constitutional changes would revise the status of the emperor, Emperor Akihito's message can be seen as a defense of the existing Constitution.
File photo taken on April 27, 2016 shows an aerial view of the West Lake in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. Hangzhou is the host city for the 2016 G20 summit on Sept 4 and Sept 5. With one month to go, Hangzhou looks forward to G20. [Photo/Xinhua]

In September, China will host the G20 Leaders' Summit for the first time. It could not have chosen a more opportune moment to assume the G20 chair. And President Xi Jinping should seize the occasion to push China's ambitious development agenda globally. Specifically, Xi should make the case that development done right benefits everyone, and he should launch discussions on a multilateral investment agreement to be developed next year.

This is an achievable goal for the summit: the G20 has a record of relative success in coordinating multilateral efforts, such as in its response to the 2008 global financial crisis. Moreover, the ingredients of successful development are well known. They include constant technological improvement, which is critical for sustained growth and employment; a focus on maximizing human and physical capital; and infrastructure investments geared toward reducing transaction costs and increasing efficiency.

We also know the current gaps that exist in development. Developing countries today are constrained by low levels of human and financial capital, and by low reserves of or access to foreign exchange, which limit their ability to import the raw materials and equipment needed to ascend global value chains.

The best way to close the gaps in human and financial capital, and to increase access to foreign exchange is through foreign direct investment. FDI should not be difficult to attract, because the potential returns are higher in developing countries, where capital is scarce relative to labor.

But as economics Nobel Prize winner Robert Lucas has noted, capital has been flowing in the wrong direction, from low- to high-income countries. This trend is depleting developing countries' available capital, limiting development and widening the global income gap. And as Laura Alfaro, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Vadym Volosovych pointed out in a 2008 study for the Review of Economics and Statistics, poorer countries are deprived of capital flows partly because they lack the institutions needed to receive and facilitate investments. In a sense, these countries are trapped, because they need capital to develop these necessary institutions in the first place.

A multilateral investment agreement could fix this problem by making it easier to invest in developing countries. It could also strengthen the economic foundation for growth in developing countries by establishing investment protections and incentives, dispute-resolution procedures, corporate social responsibility benchmarks, and regulatory frameworks for investments made by state-owned enterprises and sovereign funds.

The World Trade Organization is the natural place to negotiate this agreement, but past efforts have failed partly because negotiations were seen as heavily favoring developed countries over developing ones. With the global investment environment having changed dramatically in the past decade, such negotiations should be restarted. Developing countries now account for a growing share of global outward direct investment, which means some emerging market economies themselves are becoming a source of capital and thus have a role to play in any future investment framework.

China is the prime example, because it has benefited so much from FDI that it is now increasing its own ODI. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, in 2013 China became the third-largest source of other countries' FDI and is expected to become a net capital exporter for the first time in 2016. This trend can only continue considering the combined impact of China's "go global" policyurging domestic companies to invest overseasand it's Belt and Road Initiative to build intercontinental trade infrastructure.

In time, China will likely be the world's largest source of FDI. Having gone from being a recipient of FDI to a net contributor in recent decades, China is perfectly positioned to lead G20 discussions on global development.

It should do so by setting a concrete goal for a workable development framework with a clear timeline for reaching specific milestones. An early milestone should be to establish a non-binding investment facilitation framework for developing countries. And, more generally, the agreement should emphasize inclusiveness and honest dealing to foster economic growth for developing and developed countries alike.

The author, a former chief economist at and senior vice-president of the World Bank, is a professor at and honorary dean of the National School of Development, Peking University, and the founding director of the China Center for Economic Research.

Project Syndicate
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida gestures during a press conference at the International Media Center in Hiroshima, Japan on April 11, 2016 after Foreign Ministers meeting of G7 countries visit the Peace Memorial Museum. [Photo/IC]

Both Beijing and Manila have kept a low profile over the visit of former Philippine president Fidel Ramos to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the past couple of days, but his mission has been evident: to seek the possibility of easing the strained bilateral relations.

Instead of helping to disentangle the increasingly complicated knot in the South China Sea, the award made by the arbitral tribunal in The Hague, which China does not recognize as legal and binding, has rendered things even more thorny.

A breakthrough is undoubtedly needed for an end to their impasse, at least by agreeing to shelve their disputes, so that exchanges and cooperation can continue.

Yet, at this critical moment, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is paying a visit to the Philippines. It couldn't be any clearer what his mission is: to sabotage the ongoing efforts between China and the Philippines to try to end the deadlock.

It is quite likely that Kishida, as some Japanese media reported, will express Japan's support for the arbitration ruling against China and will try to convince Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that Japan will stand firmly with the Philippines.

What the Japanese government has said about the arbitration result upon its release and what it has been doing to estrange the Philippines from China speaks volumes about what it wants to see in the South China Sea: escalated tensions, or even a conflict between the Philippines and China.

However, that would not be in the interests of any country in the region. It is only wishful thinking for Japan to believe it could benefit from worsening relations between China and the Philippines.

And the Philippine government should know that a protracted brawl with China in the South China Sea will not serve its own interests. It will also become increasingly evident to the Philippine government that those countries that are instigating it to be tough with China actually have their own axes to grind.

To outsiders, it should be clear by now which countries are pulling the strings behind the scene. They want to see China's relations with its neighbors around the South China Sea deteriorate, as they hope that will compromise China's rise in the world as another major power.

It should also be clear by now that China is sincere when it expresses its willingness to solve disputes with its neighbors through dialogue and peaceful means.

That will remain the same, no matter what Kishida may say.
Graduates from normal universities in Hunan province interact with their potential employers at a job fair in Hengyang in March. More than 4,000 graduates participated in the event.[Peng Bin/For China Daily]

A FEMALE PHD STUDENT from China Communication University in Beijing complained of gender discrimination after attending a job fair. China Youth Daily commented on Wednesday:

Companies will not sacrifice their profits, so the more the government promotes extending maternity leave and other benefits to encourage more women to have babies, the more businesses will resort to an "invisible threshold" in their recruitment.

As a result, State-owned enterprises or government institutions find female graduates flooding to take their entry examinations and interviews. It has long been the case that the number of female civil servants surpasses the number of male ones.

The overwhelming number of female employees burdens the State-owned enterprises so much that they cannot even allocate properly some tasks that should be given to male employees.

It is estimated that the different recruiting practices between private enterprises and SOEs will continue. For individual women, the ability to enter a relatively stable workplace is conducive to childbearing and domestic commitments. But in the long term, female employees becoming too concentrated in one place will affect the normal functioning of the work unit.

Rather than letting SOEs take the responsibility of hiring more women, we may wish to learn from the lessons of Russia and New Zealand which support and encourage fertility practices by offering maternity incentives, while bearing the costs for enterprises.
Local residents donate blood at a blood bank in Kunshan City, east China's Jiangsu province, Aug 2, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

SOME SO-CALLED BLOOD BROKERS in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, have reportedly established an underground blood exchange network. Beijing News commented on Wednesday:

It is no secret that blood transfusions play a vital role in modern healthcare, which explains why the medical authorities have imposed restrictions on the use and storage of blood donations.

As of now, all the blood used for transfusions should come from official blood centers. However, this to some extent limits the blood supply, because blood can only be stored for a short time and thus cannot be stored in large quantities.

To reduce the possibility of a severe blood shortage, many Chinese hospitals encourage a patient's relatives to donate their blood if a transfusion is needed.

This has worked well in increasing the number of successful transfusions, but its limitations are still worth noting. Some patients need more blood than their relatives can provide, and some have no relatives who can or will donate blood.

The demand of these patients has been exploited by some illegal "blood brokers" that match patients in need of blood with potential donors. They use social network tools to run their business, and make patients pay a high price for their service.

Such unlawful activities should be banned. But information-sharing online platforms, which allow volunteers to donate their blood to those who are badly in need, could be a feasible alternative to meet the demand.

However, fundamentally, the key to alleviating the occasional blood shortages and putting an end to illegal exchanges still lies in increasing the willingness of people to donate blood.
A woman with a baby selects imported infant formula in a Beijing supermarket. [Photo/China Daily]

GUO LI from South China's Guangdong province was sentenced to five years in prison in 2010 for trying to allegedly "extort" money from two companies to help his daughter whose kidneys were damaged after eating their melamine-containing dairy products. On his release he appealed to clear his name. On Aug 1, after a review of the case, he was declared innocent. China Youth Daily commented:

When his child suffered, Guo asked the companies for compensation, and signed a document relinquishing his right to any further claims. But since his child continued to suffer, he asked for more money to help pay for her treatment, at which point the companies called the police.

In court he was found "guilty" of extortion and sent to prison.

But extortion means to threaten other people for personal gain, yet in the whole case there is no evidence showing Guo, an ordinary citizen, tried to threaten the two powerful companies.

The court said that Guo threatened the companies by saying he "might tell his story to the media", but it is Guo's legal right to do so. He has the right to tell the media what happened to him.

If that is a crime, many people would be guilty of it and there would hardly be any journalism.

More importantly, people extort for profit. Guo was seeking help because his daughter suffered kidney problems after taking dairy products produced by the two companies that contained melamine. When the court sentenced him to five years in prison, did it mean to discourage people from defending their legal rights?

Some argue that Guo signed an agreement giving up his right to further compensation. Yet whether such an agreement is legally binding is still being debated. Even if it is, that is a civil dispute over the breaking of a contractual agreement between Guo and the two companies, not a criminal case.

The law is to protect people's legal rights. If the police and judiciary punish individuals for defending their legal rights, that is against the spirit of law and will only hurt social justice.
CYBERSPACEToday is Trenton Ducatis birthday, and together with business partner Anthony Duran, hes given himself a heck of a present: the brand-new membership site NastyDaddy.com. The two men both talked with AVN today about their new project, and how they came to work together.

Ducati, a well-known adult star, went into business with director/photographer Duran a couple years ago. We co-own Ducati Studios, which is a production company, and Ducati Studios owns GentlemensCloset.com and NastyDaddy.com now, so we have two sites, Ducati said.

He elaborated, Basically what we have is one website that is fetish-based, and we really listen to our customers and basically shoot what they tell us theyre into. And NastyDaddy is completely the oppositeits sex-driven, all about sex, men having sex, bareback.

Duran added, We work together on production, castingwe do it all in house. We definitely co-direct. Trenton has the crazy ideas and I make it happen.

In the business for more than six years, Ducati did his first shoot on a big Titan Media title: Incubus, which was released in 2011. Since then his resume has grown to include movies shot by just about every major adult gay studio. He says modestly, Im lucky, I think.

Duran, on the other hand, has been shooting for 20 years. I started with Catalina, as a cameraman. And I directed for them for eight years under the name Peter Romero. And then I started directing for Falcon for three yearsI directed the Jocks line. I was mainly a still photographer, so I freelanced throughout the industry, working for all the studios.

Their joint venture started a couple years ago, Ducati explained. We bought GentlemensCloset.com, which was already a successful fetish site, from Fernando, who was the previous owner. I was a model for the site, which is how that happened. ... Anthony and I became partners and we went 50/50 on the site. And then GentlemensCloset became more successful than it already was, thank god.

Next they set their sights on a genre that, coincidentally, has been red-hot of late.

Anthony had a site called NastyDaddy years ago, Ducati said. It had wonderful videos and photos from the past, and we started shooting current content and merged it together and built a really killer, user-friendly site, so its easy for people to access.

Duran explained, I started NastyDaddy six years ago by myself, and I started shooting daddies because thats what got me going, and now all of a sudden theyre trending. We keep hearing that in the industry. Daddies are trending. OK, we have a whole shitload of daddies.

Asked whether the focus will be on older men or on daddy/twink match-ups, Ducati said, The idea is going to be a combo [of daddies and twinks]. He even threw out the possibility of daddy boystwo young guys doing daddy-flavored scenarios.

Duran concurred: Itll definitely be a combo of whatever were feeling that week. The daddy might want to be with a younger guy, or with a same-aged guy.

As for the performers theyre casting, Ducati said, Were really trying to find quality guys who fit our ideastheyre bearded, or theyre a little older. And we also have Angelo Marconi. Hes a really famous Falcon superstar.

He paused, savoring the revelation: He did his first bareback scenes for us. So thats a big story. They were really amazing scenes.

Ducati added, Thats already on the site right now. And I myself have some things that will be coming up soon. I will be doing bareback scenes exclusively for NastyDaddy.com.

Duran mentioned another hot bit of news: the debut of brand-new performer Hoyt Walker, who has not even shot a video but has the NastyDaddy lookbeard, piercings, ink. Hes all tattooed and rough-looking, but he really takes care of his appearance. He really cares about the way he looks, Duran said, adding that he takes care of himself, he works out every day, he eats right, hes drug-free, he looks great. That scene will be going up in the next couple of weeks.

As a team, these men are truly a two-man show. Were a great match, Ducati said. And the reason were a good company, I feel, is most of the production is done in house and weve learned how to do most aspects of it, from photography, videography, editing, photo editing, casting, directing, newsletters, the whole thing. We do have a great graphics guy that I have to mention. His name is Mike. Hes amazing and hes really helped us. Before Mike I was literally YouTubing how to blend pictures together for our site. So wed stay up all night doing that. But our success comes from being in house, I believe.

He added, We have some people who are helping us. Kink.com is a partner of ours, basically. Youll notice their banner on the bottom [of the home page]. ... Theyre helping us with the email newsletterthey have a large mailer that goes out. So theyve been really good to us.

In turn, Ducati Studios is looking to be good to the people who work for them. Duran said, We feel that if you come to shoot with us, work with us, youre part of the family, youre part of the team. We try to respect everyone and treat everyone with respect.

Also a high priority for both men is listening to fans, which was vital in their first venture. GentlemensCloset is built by our members because we listen to them, Ducati said. In particular, the outfits, the look and the feel has been driven by fans. Literally, we have had one of our strongest supporters fly here to the studio. ... He came from Florida, was on set, brought the outfitsin fact, he wanted a model to be in it and he flew that model in from Europe.

Duran said they already have gleaned some insight about what NastyDaddy fans will want. Customers on Twitter really let us know what they want. We want guys in suits, we want guys with sheer socks. Some of the fans on NastyDaddy dont want the story. They just want the setup, the look of the video, to be the story, whether it was shot in a garage or with workmen, blue-collar guys, truckers. Theyd rather have the look be the story instead of a bunch of b-roll. Im not knocking b-rollI love itbut ...

Asked about how he likes working on the other side of the camera, Ducati said, I am so thankful that the transition from performer to business owner is going so well. We have been working really, really hard to make this happen and it was always my goal to make the transition and stay within the industry, and its been really good to me. I like the creative side ... Im really into it; Im kinda tech-y.

Duran underlines that statement with an anecdote: When Trenton approached me about working together ... I was kind of wary about pairing with an adult performer because they dont really like to do the workthey like to be in front of the camera. I worked with a couple of other ones ... they would just sit there and tweet and do nothing and take selfies while I was doing all the work. On our first day on a shoot, I literally just left the room and Trenton had set up the lights ... And I was, like, Thank god. This guy is hungry. He even had questionsWhy is this exposure dark, and how do I fix that? He was so in there. And then I left the room again to get some water, go to the bathroom after the shoot was over, and all the equipment was down and wrapped up. So I knew it was a good match.

Ducati laughed, Im pretty over the top with business and creating stuff, and Anthony is a little more mellow. The combination has been really good, I think, because I have about nine million ideas a day and its good to have a balancing act.

And I do yoga while hes doing his nine million, Duran joked.

Find the new site from Ducati Studios at NastyDaddy.com. And follow Ducati and both studios on Twitter: @NastyDad, @GentlemensClost and @TrentonDucati.
ROK residents watch a television broadcast reporting the deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) at the Seoul Railway Station on July 13, 2016 in Seoul, the ROK. [Photo/VCG]

Public opinion in the Republic of Korea is divided over whether the deployment of the United States' Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system is in the national interest.

Many of those in their 20s, 30s or 40s disagree with the decision. And anti-THAAD lawmakers have demanded an open debate in the National Assembly to discuss whether the THAAD is really in the ROK's interests militarily, diplomatically and economically.

THAAD is incapable of defending against the potential missile threat from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the DPRK's missiles travel at a lower altitude than those THAAD is designed to intercept. Even if that was not the case, one THAAD battery would not be able to provide protection against all the DPRK missiles. The capital Seoul and its adjacent metropolitan area, the country's most populous regions, are even outside the protection range of THAAD.

However, the system's X-band radar has a range of at least 2,000 km, which is the real reason the United States wants it deployed in the ROK as it will be able to snoop deep into Chinese and Russian territories.

Seoul claims that it will adopt the radar with a detectable range of 600-800 km, but the mode change can be made at any time in accordance with the needs of the US military that will operate the THAAD battery in the ROK.

If THAAD is deployed, it will sour the ROK's relations with China and Russia, trigger an arms race and damage trade. It will make it difficult for the country to seek cooperation from China and Russia in denuclearizing the peninsula.

Seoul should heed the voices saying the only way to denuclearize the peninsula is through peace talks and changing the armistice treaty after the 1950-53 Korean War into a peace treaty.
NAIROBI - Railway lines built by Chinese firms in African countries are becoming a model of China-Africa cooperation in industrial capacity, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during his visit to Kenya on Wednesday.

Wang cited the Nairobi-Mombasa railway line as an example during a joint press conference with his Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed after their talks and a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The railway line, funded by China and being built by a Chinese company, will run from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, and a new deal has been signed to extend it to the country's western border.

Construction of the modern rail is being carried out in line with Chinese standards with Chinese equipment being used, Wang said.

"Once completed next year, it will be one of the railway lines with the highest standard, quality and cost effectiveness in Africa," he said.

Wang said the railway suited the requirements for Kenya's development and was part of the fruits of China-Kenya cooperation.

Construction of the railway line has created more than 40,000 jobs for locals, with some 20,000 local employees having received training in related skills. It has contributed to about 1.5 percent of Kenya's gross domestic product (GDP), Wang said.

Along the railway, fourteen wildlife passes have been designed to address concerns over the animals' free movement, he added.

Wang said the Chinese-built railway lines had established themselves in many African countries, citing those in Nigeria and Angola and one linking the Tanzanian commercial hub of Addis Ababa with the port of Djibouti.

The Chinese-built railway lines were also entering countries in Asia, Europe and Latin Africa, he said, adding that Chinese standards and Chinese equipment were gaining recognition in more and more countries.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Wednesday that the country welcomed more Chinese investment, and that Kenya would like to become the portal of Chinese products into Africa.

The president made the remarks while meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nairobi.

"China is a true friend and important partner to Kenya. We have been supporting each other for a long time, " Kenyatta said, adding that Kenya's economic and social development was growing at a rapid pace with investment from China.

Kenya would like to further strengthen the bilateral economic cooperation and political ties through high-level visits and party exchanges, he said.

Kenyatta also showed great interest in China's Belt and Road Initiative, hoping to promote joint construction of the East African Railway in order to make mutual benefits between China, Kenya as well as others East African countries.

Wang first conveyed President Xi Jinping's greetings to Kenyatta. "By the direct driving of the two heads of state, present Sino-Kenya relations are in the best period of history. We have strong confidence in prospects of the relationship of the two countries," he said.

China hopes to took Mombasa-Nairobi Railway construction as a hook to construct a new pattern of cooperation with railway, seaport and economic zone, said the minister.

China is also willing to take advantage of its own power to promote Kenyan industrial corridor in a bid to speed up the industrialization process, he added.

Zhang Yaozhong contributed to this story.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
Opening ceremony of the Silk Road Economic BeltXinjiang Karamay Forum is held in Karamay, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Aug 9, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.con.cn]

Cooperation between China and Pakistan under the framework of China-Pakistan economic corridor has been further strengthened during the on-going Silk Road Economic BeltXinjiang Karamay Forum held in Karamay of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"The China-Pakistan economic corridor is the flagship project of the 'One belt and one road' Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping. And it will benefit people of both China and Pakistan."said MushahidHussainSayed, senator of Pakistan and chairman of coordination commission of China-Pakistand economic corridor.

The China-Pakistan economic corridor, initiated by Premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Pakistan in May 2013, is built to enforce mutual communication and promote joint development of both countries.

Speaking highly of the "Belt and Road" Initiative, Sayed places high hopes on the prospect of his country's cooperation with China.

"The balance of the economic and political power has shifted from the west to the east and the 21st century is Asia's century. The 'Belt and Road' Initiative will change the fate of Asian people."he said, hoping this year's forum could offer a bigger cooperation platform for both countries to strengthen the win-win relations.

Sayed also expressed his gratitude to the Research and Development International, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS-RDI) for providing substantial services to enterprises and organizations participating in the construction of the economic corridor.

According to Zhao Baige, chairwoman of the Advisory Committee of CASS-RDI, a total of 73 cooperative projects have been dealt between her organization and Pakistan, involving areas from infrastructure, energy, agriculture to trade and finance.

"As a major organizer and promoter of the forum, RDI is aimed to push forward practical cooperation among countries along the Belt and Road by integrating resources of government, parliament, social organization, think tank, enterprises and media."said Zhao.

Sponsored by the government of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Karamay Forum has attracted around 500 leading figures from the Chinese, Pakistani, Iranian and Kazakhstan governments, enterprises and think-tanks.
TOKYO - New reconstruction minister of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet visited the war-linked notorious Yasukuni Shrine here on Thursday.

Masahiro Imamura, minister in charge of comprehensive policy coordination for revival from the nuclear accident at Fukushima, is a regular visitor to the notorious shrine, which honors millions of war dead as well as 14 convicted Class-A war criminals of World War II.

He routinely visits the shrine during its spring and autumn festivals, according to Kyodo News.

Imamura's visit came just days prior to the Aug 15 anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

The 69-year-old lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is a former railway man who had worked on agricultural issues after being first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996.

A native of Saga prefecture in southwestern Japan, he had served as senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Imamura took office as minister for reconstruction last week following Abe's cabinet reshuffle on Aug 3.

Yasukuni Shrine is regarded as a symbol of the past Japanese militarism. Visits to the infamous shrine by Japanese leaders and officials have sparked strong criticism from China and the Republic of Korea.
Executives of Chinese shipping behemoth Cosco Shipping Co. Ltd ring the bell for the formal start of trading on the Athens Stock Exchange after signing the agreement that made Cosco the 51 percent owner of Greece's biggest harbor in Athens, Greece, Aug 10 2016. [Photo/Provided to China Daily]

Executives of Chinese shipping behemoth Cosco Shipping Co. Ltd rang the bell for the formal start of trading on the Athens Stock Exchange on Aug 10, signifying hopes that one of the biggest foreign investments in recent years will mark a new start for Greece's lacklustre economy.

Wan Min, board president of Cosco Shipping, and the new president of the board of Piraeus Port Authority SA, rang the bell shortly after signing the agreement that made Cosco the 51 percent owner of Greece's biggest harbor.

The deal on the transfer of the majority stake is the first overseas acquisition by the China group since its reorganization, and the first successful sale by the Greek government required under the terms of a third financial rescue to keep the country in the euro area.

Cosco paid 280.5 million euros for 51 percent of Piraeus Port, the first step in a series that will include investments and a further acquisition of shares in the port that will be China's beachhead to Europe. The value of the entire investment, Greek officials said in April, is about 1.5 billion euros.

Wan Min was named chairman of the board of Piraeus Port and Fu Chengqiu as chief executive officer of the Greek company. Cosco will make investments of at least 300 million euros to streamline operations at the port and then pay an additional 88 million euros to bring its stake up to 67 percent over the next five years.

Projects for the port  Europe's biggest passenger terminal  will include expanding the cruise port, an upgrade of the ship-building zone and the construction of multi-story garage in the RO-RO (or "roll-on, roll-off") vessel port.

The group will aims to make Piraeus "one of the largest container transit ports in Europe and one of the biggest home ports for cruise operators in the world," according to Greece's state asset sales fund, which managed the transaction.

Cosco has been operating at Piraeus since 2009, boosting operations at the harbor by operating one of the ancient port's container terminals.

Buying a majority stake in Piraeus Port, which the Chinese have already made one of the fastest-growing harbors in the world, ensures control over a key thoroughfare in Beijing's Belt and Road initiative to recreate a commercial empire pumping Chinese goods throughout the continent, as well as trade heading for China.

For Cosco, Piraeus is the point at which China nudges into Europe as part of President Xi Jinping's vision of the Belt and Road , a modern-day Silk Road, as China's gateway to Europe.

The Athens-based Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research estimated in March that the deal would add 0.8 percentage point to GDP growth by the end of 2025, create more than 31,000 jobs - in a nation with the EU's highest unemployment - and reduce public debt by 2.3 percentage points of GDP. It could draw 867 million euros in investments from other companies in the next 10 years.

Maria Petrakis is a freelance journalist based in Athens. She contributed this report to China Daily.
Toby Basey-Fisher, CEO of EVA Diagnostics, presents the winning pitch at the Shanghai International Innovation Competition-UK in London, Aug 11, 2016. [Photo by Angus McNeice/China Daily]

British startups gathered at the Google Campus in London on Thursday and competed head to head for a chance to fly to Shanghai and join China's growing innovation industry.

At the Shanghai International Innovation Competition-UK, eight young companies pitched to a panel of tech experts who quizzed them on their products and their viability for entry into the Chinese market. The competition plays into China's plans to transform Shanghai into a startup hub to rival those in Europe and the United States.

"Shanghai wants to become a leading innovation center  like Silicon Valley  in China. London plays that role in Europe, so we are connecting the two cities," says John Zai, CEO of Cocoon Networks, a company that bridges the Chinese and European startup communities that hosted the contest.

"The people who joined this competition see the future  they see which market will be the biggest market, the market that gives them the most potential to expand, and that's China."

EVA Diagnostics, presenting their AnemiPoint device that performs at-home blood tests, took first prize. They will now fly to China's Shanghai Bay Valley in September and take part in the competition's global finals against local startups as well as fledgling tech companies from Singapore and Korea. The overall winner will receive a cash prize, investment resources and three months free working space at a tech incubator in China.

"We're delighted and honored to have the opportunity to go out to China and start building partnerships and engage in the investment community out there," said Toby Basey-Fisher, CEO of EVA Diagnostics. "We see China as a very big growth opportunity for us."

The Chinese government identified entrepreneurship and innovation as key drivers for economic diversification in a 2015 development report.

"Mass entrepreneurship and innovation in itself is a major reform endeavor," Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said last March.

The government has established over 1,600 incubators for startups across the nation, and is armed with the world's biggest war chest of venture funds. Through state and enterprise funding, about $231 billion was raised in 2015 alone, and by April 2016 almost $340 billion was available for tech investment, according to consultancy Zero2IPO Group.

Jeffrey Tijssen, co-chair of the China Working Group at Tech London Advocates and one of the judges on the panel, says that companies like Cocoon act as important conduits for startups in Europe wishing to exploit the Chinese market.

"A lot of startups look at China as the next big frontier," says Tijssen.

"China is moving in the right direction but quite a few startups underestimate how difficult it can be to be successful in China. You've seen it recently with a lot of big technology companies. Whether it's a Google or an Uber, they can spend an absolute fortune and really struggle. From a startup's perspective you need to have an understanding of how to do business in China  you can read a lot, you can speak to lots of people, but you have to go and visit those markets. This is where Cocoon comes in, they are doing a great job to make it easier for startups that are based in the UK to set up a company in China."

Along with EVA Diagnostics, the startups that made the competition's shortlist include: Combat Medical that makes cancer-fighting thermotherapy devices; Cupris, whose clinical imaging smartphone software allows patients to remotely share diagnostic information with healthcare professionals; FreshCheck whose adhesive stickers indicate if food products have spoiled; Lightvert, that makes projector and reflector technology allowing for large scale advertising displays; Podaris that makes in-browser urban planning software; SayYeah whose technology allows users to video chat while live streaming TV online; and Shindo that creates investment and trading software.

Only EVA Diagnostics will go to Shanghai.

To contact the reporter: angus@mail.chinadailyuk.com
PHILADELPHIAIn a ruling handed down Aug. 11, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied the U.S. Department of Justice's petition for a rehearing, or rehearing en banc, regarding the three-judge panel's decision in the appeal of the trial court's ruling in the federal record-keeping and labeling law case, known as the "2257 case."

In late July, the Justice Department filed its petition for rehearing, but as plaintiffs' attorney J. Michael Murray noted at the time, "This is nothing more than a rehash of what they've already argued, and what was already rejected by the panel, or at least a majority of the panel ... The decision by our panel was based upon the new Supreme Court case, Reed v. Town of Gilbert, which was not available and was obviously not considered by those other courts [the D.C. and Sixth Circuits], so there's no conflict."

According to the decision issued by the circuit's chief judge and 12 of its judges, "The petition for rehearing filed by appellee in the above-entitled case having been submitted to the judges who participated in the decision of this Court and to all the other available circuit judges of the circuit in regular active service, and no judge who concurred in the decision having asked for rehearing, and a majority of the judges of the circuit in regular service not having voted for rehearing, the petition for rehearing by the panel and the Court en banc, is denied."

The decision, authored by Judge D. Brooks Smith, the panel member who wrote the original panel decision, noted that one judge would have granted a rehearing en banc, and that Smith's two fellow panelists, Marjorie O. Rendell and Anthony J. Scirica, took part only in voting down a panel rehearing.

Unless the Justice Department files a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, the next stop for this lawsuit will be the trial judge, Michael M. Baylson, who may issue a second ruling based on the Third Circuit panel's June 8 decision based on the evidence given at trial, or he may ask for additional arguments and/or additional evidence.
Animal lovers of all kinds will get a chance to see Bearizona Wildlife Parks first big cat beginning Sunday when the exhibit of Serafina, a 2-year-old black jaguar opens to the public.

Serafina and her brother were given to Bearizona from a zoo in Alabama about a year and a half ago, Dave OConnell, the supervisor of training at Bearizona said. OConnell said he and the other trainers have been working with them for the majority of the jaguars lives, teaching them to be calm around trainers and make their own health care easier, like opening their mouths and showing trainers their paws in order to be examined by a trainer or veterinarian.

In the past we were always able to look at their teeth and paws, but we had to anesthetize them, OConnell said. With training, we can just ask them to do what we need, so its less stressful for the animal and for the trainer.

OConnell said Bearizona uses the same training principles for all the animals, which only include positive reinforcement. OConnell said the trick to getting the animals to like training is to learn what the animals like, and reward them with those things. He said Serafina loves to eat trout, play with toys and lie in her bed, so when she completes a behavior, she is rewarded with those things.

Theyre excited when they see us because they want to know what theyre going to get, he said.

While the training philosophy is the same for all animals at the park, OConnell said knowing the basics of animal biology helps trainers know which animals will excel at various tasks. For example, he said with the jaguars, trainers emphasize jumping, a natural movement that is not common in the parks other animals.

OConnell said the park will continue to train Serafina while shes on display, and said it benefits the public to see that the animals like training and learn what goes in to training a dangerous animal.

Trainers never come into physical contact with the jaguars, OConnell said. Instead, they stay behind a metal fence and interact with the jaguar through it. Exercises include having the jaguar touch a target that is held on a pole and teaching them to open their mouths on command.

While Serafina will be the only jaguar on display at Bearizona at first, she will not be at the park permanently, Bearizona spokeswoman Jocelyn Monteverde said.

Monteverde said Serafina will eventually be given to the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium in the Valley, and Bearizona will get another female jaguar.

The new female jaguar will be part of a breeding pair with Serafinas brother, who will go on display after his mate arrives from Texas. Monteverde said the park has no set timeline for the change to take place.

The jaguar exhibit has been under construction for over a year, and includes a waterfall, stream and pond for the animals. The exhibit is located in the walk through portion of the park, near the gift shop. The exhibit is designed to look like Native American cliff dwellings.

Monteverde said most wild jaguars live in the Amazon, and have only been seen in the United States in southern Arizona and southern New Mexico. Jaguars are the third largest feline on earth behind lions and tigers.

At Bearizona, the jaguars will have a heated area in their enclosures where they can go if they want to stay warm in the winter months. Monteverde said they will have the choice if they want to stay outside or go into a warmer area.

Jaguars are the first big cats at Bearizona, but Monteverde said the park hopes to expand to include other varieties, like mountain lions, in the future. However, she said the park does not have the space in place yet to allow the expansion to other cats.

Bearizona season pass holders will get a chance to see Serafina a day earlier than the general public, Monteverde said. Pass holders will be admitted Saturday to get a sneak peek before the exhibit opens to the general public Sunday.

To celebrate the arrival of the black jaguar, guests are encouraged to wear black Sunday. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and visitors coming to see Serafina can also take part in the drive through portion of the zoo and watch the birds of prey show.

Monteverde said Bearizona is on track to see 350,000 visitors this year, up from about 300,000 last year.
On Dec. 11, 2009, Lori McJohnson's 5-year-old son, Nathan, stepped off a school bus in Laurel, Miss. It was the last thing he would do.

As he walked past the front of the bus and crossed the street, a vehicle hit and killed him. The driver didn't stop when the school bus sign was pulled out with flashing lights. After hitting Nathan, he kept on driving.

It could have been prevented, McJohnson told bus drivers in the Pascagoula-Gautier School District on Tuesday before their annual safety meeting.

And as tragic as McJohnson's story is, it is one she wants everyone to know.

And with the start of the school year bringing the bustle of school traffic across South Mississippi roads, McJohnson's message couldn't be any timelier.

"The parents give us the most important part of themselves -- their children," district transportation director Lance Bolen said. "They are in our care. We need to do everything possible to make sure they return home safely to them."

Not long after Nathan was killed, McJohnson said she was surprised to hear from state Sen. Chris McDaniel. He had attempted to get a tougher law passed regarding school bus safety, but it died in legislative committee. So the two teamed up and fought to get "Nathan's Law" passed. It worked.

Drivers must stay 10 feet away from school buses and cannot pass a bus with flashing lights and a stop sign. First-time fines have gone from $200 to $350. If a driver does it again, the fine jumps to $750. Penalties can include a revoked driver's license and jail time.

The law has been so effective, other states have modeled similar legislation after it. It's importance is vital, said McJohnson, who showed video from inside the bus immediately after Nathan was hit.

The bus driver can be heard repeating, "Please no. Please no. Please God no." The students appeared shocked and remained silent for about a minute.

"These kids now have to live with what they saw," McJohnson said. "The bus driver has to live with it. You don't want to live with that," McJohnson told the staff.

McJohnson said she doesn't expect violations to completely stop. She said about 3,000 to 5,000 vehicles in Mississippi pass a stopped school bus in a day.

"We're not suggesting that this will stop people from passing stopped school buses," she said. "It's more of a thing where the severity of the fine spreads among the public, so that it becomes something they don't want to risk."

She advised school bus drivers on steps they can take.

"One thing you can do is to tell your kids not to cross the road until you give them a hand signal that the road is clear," she said. "If a student violates that, you need to let somebody know."

In Nathan's case, a city utility employee who witnessed the hit-and-run followed the vehicle, caught up with it and held the driver until the police arrived. He's now in prison.

"If we can't get them to school and home safely," McJohnson said, "we're not going to need math or science or reading. The student is not going to be here."
(Photo : CCTV) China's Sunway TaihuLight, the world's fastest supercomputer

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Better known to some in the West for its penchant for stealing other people's technologies, China plans to use its home grown brains to account for 20 percent of its flagging GDP by 2020.



China's State Council, the equivalent of a governmental Cabinet, has released a new blueprint for domestic technological innovation development in the 13th Five-Year Plan from 2016 to 2020 where the country's knowledge-based industries are expected to contribute a fifth of GDP.



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Li Meng, vice minister of Science and Technology, said one of the plan's targets is to lift China's world ranking in comprehensive innovation abilities from 18th to 15th.



"What does ranking 15th in the world mean? It means stepping into being a globally recognized innovative country. We are not there yet," he said.



"Our science and technology contribution ratio needs to be improved from the current 55 percent to 60 percent. The knowledge intensive business services should be able to contribute 20 percent of the GDP, up from this year's 15.6 percent. This is a key index to evaluate if a country is moving up on the value chain."



By 2020, China aims to increase expenditure on scientific research and experiments to 2.5 percent and expects its comprehensive innovation capabilities to be ranked among the world's top 15. This compares to the 2.1 percent of total national expenditures amounting to over S211 billion in 2015.



Also by 2020, total factor productivity should account for up to 60 percent of the country's economic growth.



The communist party wants the number of China's patent applications to double over the next five years. It also wants 60 out of every 10,000 workers engaged in research and development.



The plan also calls for 15 major projects with a focus on sectors such as quantum telecommunications, advanced manufacturing, cyberspace and deep space.



China will also spend more resources in research areas key to its national strength and security such as computer chips, integrated circuit equipment, broadband mobile telecommunication, genetic modification and water pollution control.



Xu jing, head of the innovation department in Science and Technology said the manned space programs and deep-sea exploration are also priorities.



"During the 13th five-year-plan period, we are also considering the start of a Mars exploration program as well as a study on the overall development and utilization of aerospace, including the on-orbit service and the Space-Air-Ground network," he noted



"As for deep-sea resources exploration, there are still lots of key technology challenges waiting to be solved. Establishing a deep water station is also on the agenda."



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TagsState Council, china, knowledge industries, Li Meng
The Marquis de Sade, Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade.

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The lingering question as to whether sadism should be added to the three malevolent qualities in the "Dark Triad" has led psychologists to develop a test that seeks to uncover traits linked to sadism, otherwise known as the love of cruelty or the love of inflicting pain on other people.



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"The Assessment of Sadistic Personality: Preliminary psychometric evidence for a new measure" developed by researchers at the Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario in Canada seeks to assess sadism as a human trait. To address this, the researchers developed a new self-report measure, the Assessment of Sadistic Personality (ASP).



Researchers believe sadism should be included in the "Dark Triad." The Dark Triad is a clinical term that consists of these three harmful personality traits: narcissism (intense self-love); Machiavellianism (a penchant for manipulating other people) and psychopathy (a lack of empathy for other people). The term "dark" implies people with these traits have malevolent qualities.



Psychologists note any one of these traits makes a person a source of intense discomfort and stress. While science can't say if people in are good or evil, per se, it has gotten better at determining if people enjoy hurting other people.



A growing number of studies over the last few years reveal that sadism correlates specifically and strongly with cruel behavior such as trolling and cyberbullying. ASP is an attempt at better determining a person's proclivity for sadism.



Researchers began with a 20 question test they found was good at measuring sadism and Dark Triad traits. The results also suggested there are specific and interpretable patterns in people's misanthropic personalities.



The test, however, wasn't as accurate as researchers had hoped in identifying sadism as separate from psychopathy and the rest of the Dark Triad. The revised the test and came out with a nine-question version.



The new test was given to 202 students and the results were better than the previous test. It did a better job of showing that sadism is a separate category, suggesting it might be added to the Dark Triad.



Unsurprisingly, men scored much more highly than women for the negative traits in the test. These results were published the journal Personality and Individual Differences.



Researchers acknowledge they still have to improve ASP. They're hopeful ASP will play a significant role as they better understand sadism in clinical terms.



Here are the nine questions the test used to measure how sadistic someone is:



* I have made fun of people so that they know I am in control.



* I never get tired of pushing people around.



* I would hurt somebody if it meant I would be in control.



* When I mock someone, it's funny to see them get upset.



* Being mean to others can be exciting.



* I get pleasure from mocking people in front of their friends.



* Watching people get into fights excites me.



* I think about hurting people who irritate me.



* I would not purposely hurt anybody, even if I didn't like them.



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Tagssadism, Assessment of Sadistic Personality, Dark Triad, Narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy
(Photo : Getty Images.) Canada is trying to convince China to back off from its plan to toughen its quality standard on canola shipments from the country.

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Officials from the Canadian government are currently in Beijing to persuade China to reconsider its plan to toughen its quality standard for canola shipments from Canada, CNBC.com reported.



China's quarantine authority AQSIQ informed the Canadian government earlier this year that it would enforce stricter inspection standards for canola shipments starting from April 1. The date was later postponed to September 1. Canada is one of the biggest exporters of canola, which is mainly used to produce vegetable oil.



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On Friday, AQSIQ will hold a meeting with Canadian officials including representatives of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Canada's agriculture and trade departments, said Patti Miller, President of industry group Canola Council of Canada.



"It's a pretty difficult time right now," Miller said. "Both sides have been very open in expressing their desire to find a resolution, but there is a significant difference in opinion."



China, in recent years, has expressed concern over blackleg disease spreading from Canadian canola into Chinese crops of the oilseed. However, traders claim that real reason for China's tough stance on Canada's canola is overproduction in its domestic rapeseed oil stocks.



China is the biggest canola market for Canadian exporters including Viterra Inc. and Cargill Ltd. If China imposes stricter quality checks, it would mean a huge loss for Canada's canola industry. The canola controversy may equally hurt China's pursuit of a free trade deal with Ottawa.



"There's an expectation from all that we meet in the middle here," said Guy Gallant, spokesman for Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay.



Earlier this month, China's AQSIQ imposed stricter quality inspection on kiwifruit products export from New Zealand, which led to Zespri temporarily halting its kiwifruit shipments to China.



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TagsCanada, Canada and China, Canola, china
(Photo : Getty Images) The United States has said it is prepared to defend Japan against China's incursion in the East China Sea

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The United States is ready to defend its ally, Japan, against any military threat that may erupt in Tokyo's controlled islands, the Senkaku, in the East China Sea, as stipulated in a security treaty signed by both countries.



US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau, during a press briefing on Wednesday at the White House, said the US vehemently opposes any party that would threaten Japan's hold on the Senkaku Islands after more than 230 Chinese fishing vessels, including seven Coast Guard ships sailed near the group of islands over the weekend.



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"We oppose any unilateral action that seeks to undermine Japan's administration of the Senkaku Islands," Trudeau said.



US-Japan security treaty



Trudeau pointed out that although the US is not taking any sides in the ownership dispute over the islands, it is, however, obligated to defend Japan if any incident happens in the area, which is also being claimed by China based on the 1960 US-Japan security treaty.



"The Senkaku Islands have been under Japanese administration since the reversion of Okinawa in 1972. They fall within the scope of Article Five of the 1960 US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security," she said.



Last Saturday, a swarm of more than 230 Chinese fishing vessels and seven Coast Guard ships entered Japanese waters and sailed near the Japanese-controlled islands, the Senkaku, angering Tokyo.



Diplomatic protest



Tokyo has lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing over the Chinese incursion demanding that the vessels leave the area immediately.



Meanwhile, China has justified the move saying the area has been part of its territory since the ancient times and that no one can stop the Chinese vessels from operating in waters within their country's jurisdiction.



Trudeau emphasized that US forces have been in touch with their Japanese counterparts following China's incursion into Tokyo's waters and have expressed concern over the growing number of Coast Guard vessels sailing near the disputed islands.



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TagsSenkaku/Diaoyu Islands, East China Sea, Washington, US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, Japan, china
(Photo : YouTube Screenshot) Jollibee experienced sales decline in China in the second quarter this year.

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Sales of Jollibee Foods Corporation, Asia's biggest food service company, in China plunged by 5.7 percent in the second quarter of this year due to the competitive pressure faced by the company's largest brand Yonghe King.



On Tuesday, Jollibee admitted that the dismal second quarter followed a first term where it barely grew due to stiff competition. The fast food giant revealed that China contributed 12 percent of its overall sales in 2015. Its two other established brands in China, namely, Hong Zhuang Yuan and San Ping Yan, are going strong, GMA News reported.



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According to Nikkei Asia Review, Jollibee's overall sales from its foreign markets increased by just 3.7 percent, nearly six times lower than its earnings in its home base in the Philippines at 17.9 percent. Its sales in other countries, however, managed to compensate for its struggles in China. Sales jumped by 37 percent across Southeast Asia, 56 percent in Singapore, 49 percent in Vietnam, 17 percent in the Middle East, and 11 percent in the United States.



"Our established brands in China, Hong Zhuang Yuan, and San Ping, continued to perform strongly. We look forward to a strong recovery of our Yonghe King business in the months ahead with the launch of new products with high value and taste scores supported by strong marketing campaigns and continuously building a significant business in the People's Republic of China and other parts of the world," Ernesto Tanmantiong, Jollibee's CEO, said.



Currently, Jollibee has 321 Yonghe King branches, more than three-fourths of its 424-store network in the country. It also owns more than 3,000 outlets across the world as of the first half this year.



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TagsJollibee, Jollibee Foods Corporation, Yonghe King, fast-food chain
(Photo : Getty Images/ Paolo Nespoli - ESA/NASA) In this handout image provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, the International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour orbit Earth during Endeavour's final sortie in Space.

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China launched a new synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellite called Gaofen-3 on Wednesday at 6:55 p.m. (Eastern Time) from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province.



According to Xinhua, the satellite, which was launched on a Long March 4C, is equipped with a radar payload that can produce high-resolution images of one meter. It will be used for civil applications such as 24-hour environmental monitoring, weather forecasting, disaster monitoring, and water resource assessments.



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"The launch of Gaofen-3 is expected to reduce dependence on data provided by foreign microwave imaging satellites," Jiang XIngwei, deputy chief engineer of Gaofen satellite application system, said.



IBTimes reported that Gaofen-3 would also be utilized to protect China's maritime rights interests especially with the growing tension in the South China Sea. "The satellite will play an important role in monitoring the marine environment, islands and reefs, and ships and oil rigs," Xu Fuxiang, head of Gaofen-3 project, said.



The new satellite was developed by Beijing-based China Academy of Space Technology and has a lifespan of eight years. Boasting of its 12 imaging modes, Gaofen-3 is the best player among the SAR family as it can easily switch into different settings, with the ability to take photos on land or water and detailed photos of particular locations.



Gaofen-3 also features spatial resolution ranging between 1 meter and 400 meters, and its broadest viewing spectrum could reach up to 65- kilometers. It can reportedly produce clear photos of all roads, buildings, and boats, Shanghai Daily reported.



This is the first Chinese satellite that will cater to civilian users and would "serve many different needs of many different users," Professor Wu Shunkin, a radar technology expert from the National Lab of Radar Signal Processing in Xidian University, told the South China Morning Post.



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TagsGaofen-3, high resolution satellite, radar imaging satellte, synthetic aperture radar, Orbit, Satellite
(Photo : Getty Images/ Petar Kujundzic) China's Premier Li Keqiang (L) meets with Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper (3rd R) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China.

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The Canadian government is petitioning Beijing to add more offices where Chinese netizens can apply for Canadian visas to woo not only students and tourists but also highly-skilled workers.



Canada's Immigration Minister John McCallum visited Beijing on Sunday and met with senior Chinese officials at the Foreign Affairs and Public Security ministries. He sought approval to open at least five visa application centers in secondary Chinese cities including Chengdu, Jinan, Nanjing, Shenyang, and Wuhan.



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"Canada needs to take advantage of a great economic opportunity to capture this market and the opening of more visa application centers throughout China would facilitate travelers seeking to come to Canada," a government official who refused to be named, told CBC News on Wednesday.



The visa centers could be opened as early as next year. At the moment, Chinese citizens can apply for Canadian visas at five offices, including Hong Kong.



The request comes ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to China at the end of the month, before the G20 summit scheduled for early September in Hangzhou, Globe and Mail reported.



Trudeau has tasked Canada's International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland to widen Canada and China's economic relationship as it attempts to lure students to increase university enrolments in the country, employ foreign talent in high-tech jobs, and attract new cash investments.



"We want to facilitate the entry of people who can make some great contributions to Canada while they are here, and hopefully be able to retain them," the official said.



Currently, Chinese citizens are Canada's biggest group of temporary visitors, including about 120,000 students.



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TagsCanada, china, Chinese Tourists, Canadian visa, visa, visa application centers
(Photo : YouTube) The Android Marshmallow update is now available for the Ulefone Vienna.

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When the Ulefone Vienna was released, the smartphone ran on the Android 5.1 Lollipop mobile operating system. However, this would change with the latest update from Ulefone which will upgrade the Vienna's operating system to the Android 6.0 Marshmallow.



According to Giz China, the new firmware version 20160802 will introduce all the interesting features of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow platform to the Ulefone Vienna. Along with the latest operating system upgrade, the update released by Ulefone will also patch some bugs to improve overall user experience.



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The Android Marshmallow update for the Ulefone Vienna can be downloaded over the air. The update is quite a massive one, so users are advised to use Wi-Fi connection to avoid overcharge when mobile data exceeds the limit. Moreover, users are also advised to fully charge their phones before downloading the update to avoid corrupting sensitive files while the installation is ongoing and the battery suddenly runs out.



The Ulefone Vienna is branded as a true music phone. Powering the device is the 64-bit MTK6753 chipset from MediaTek with an octa-core processor and 3GB of LPDDR3 memory. It has 32GB of storage space which is expandable up to 64GB.



The Ulefone Vienna has a 5.5-inch Full HD display with 1920 x 1080 resolution. It has a 13-megapixel rear facing camera sensor from Panasonic and a 5.0-megapixel front facing camera for selfie shots. The smartphone supports dual-SIM functions and 4G LTE networks.



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Tagsulefone, Ulefone Vienna, Ulefone Vienna update, Ulefone Vienna specs, Ulefone Vienna Android Marshmallow, android marshmallow
Iraqi Christians who have remained in the country despite persecution say they will stay and help rebuild places that have been ravaged by terrorism.

According to The Christian Post, Christians continue to have hope despite hardships and persecution.

Zoe Smith, with persecution charity Open Doors, said that Christians in Iraq who are choosing to stay are an asset to society:

"[Christians are] really recognised for reconciliation, they've been referred to as the glue that holds society together in the Middle East. ... We've been telling the persecution side for a long time, but we've not been telling so loudly the story of those who have chosen to stay," Smith said.

One Iraqi Christian woman told Open Doors, "I want my fellow Iraqis to know that we are not guests in Iraq. Our ancestors built this country. Treat me as a sister, not as a guest."

ChristianHeadlines.com recently reported on one example of Christians choosing to remain in their home country and work to rebuild society.

Fr. Roni Salim Momika, along with three other priests, have decided to stay in a refugee camp in Erbil, Iraq, and minister to the people there who have fled their home city of Qaraqosh due to ISIS violence.

We left Qaraqosh during this time two years ago," Fr. Momika told Catholic News Agency. "Before it was a bad day because we became refugees and ISIS entered to Qaraqosh, but now this day became a good day because it's our ordination and we give hope to our people.

Publication date: August 11, 2016
The US State Department released the religious freedom report for the year 2015, and expressed grave concern over the state of religious freedom in a majority of countries around the world.

"No one region, country or religion is immune to the pernicious effects of such legislation," said David Saperstein, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, referring to laws on blasphemy and apostasy that restrict religious freedom.

The report said that groups like Islamic State and other terrorist organizations threatened religious liberty by perpetrating violence. At the same time, governments of several countries were also violating international human rights norms.

The Annual Report on International Religious Freedom surveyed about 200 countries, and cited heinous acts of crimes against individuals by intolerant governments.

A woman identified as Farkhunda by the report was brutally killed by a mob on false charges of burning a Koran in Afghanistan, the report said. She denied the allegations but the crowd became uncontrollable and started beating her with sticks and boards before running her over with a car. She was thrown into a dry riverbed, stoned, and set on fire by people. The medical examiners said that she died before the attack ended even as the crowd continued to abuse her lifeless body. The police initially tried to intervene but gave up shortly afterwards and watched the atrocity from a distance.

The attack was condemned by President Ashraf Ghani and an investigation was ordered. The incidence sparked widespread outrage, and memorial was erected for the Farkhunda on the site.

In Pakistan, over 40 people remain on death row for blasphemy, and 62 have been killed by mob violence since 1990.

Twenty-seven Muslims were arrested in Sudan on charges of disturbing public order and apostasy, because they belonged to a school of Islam which says that Quran was the sole source of religious authority but hadiths were not. The detainees were released and proceedings against them were suspended, but the charges against them still stand.

The report also criticized China for demolishing Christian churches and over 1,500 crosses since 2013, and imprisoning religious leaders and lawyers who protest demolitions.

"Over this past year, there continued to be reports that the government physically abused, detained, arrested, tortured, sentenced to prison, or harassed adherents of both registered and unregistered religious groups for activities related to their religious beliefs and practices," the report states.

Media and human rights organizations in China said that police killed Uighur Muslims in house raids and during protests for "ethnic separatism, religious extremism, and violent terrorism," according to the US report.

Seven Tibetans, which included monks, nuns, and laypersons, immolated themselves to protest government policies restricting freedom of religion last year.

North Korea was again among the worst offenders of human rights in the year 2015, as "the government continued to deal harshly with those who engaged in almost any religious practices through executions, torture, beatings, and arrests."

About 80,000 to 120,000 people are expected to be held as political prisoners in North Korea, and kept under dismal conditions in remote areas of the country. Many among the detainees are religious dissidents.

Religiously motivated killings and assaults were reported from India in the year 2015, the US State Department noted.

"Minority religious groups expressed concerns about government discrimination and suggestions by government officials that Hinduism should be taught in public schools. Government officials at the federal, state, and local level made discriminatory statements against members of religious minority groups," the survey said.

Local police was found to be complacent in religiously-motivated violence, when they failed to lodge complaints against the attackers or incriminated the victims instead.

"Members of minority groups who were victims of religiously motivated violence or other animus complained of police inaction regarding such incidents. Attackers frequently acted with impunity, and, according to some victims, police resisted filing criminal complaints and in several instances threatened to falsely incriminate the victims."

Vietnam was one of the countries where religious freedom was on rise. The government has expanded national-level recognition of religious organizations such as the Church of Latter Day Saints, while cooperative local authories are reporting an increase in local church registrations. Fewer cases of legal persecution was encountered by religious organizations in major cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.
On January 25, I settled into the balcony of the Eccles Theater at the Sundance Film Festival, next to another critic. We'd already seen two movies that day and were getting ready for the third, but before the film even began the crowd gave it a standing ovation. By the time it was over, most of the audience was in tears, and the film received another standing ovation after the credits rolled. We all had a sense that something historic had happened that afternoon.

The film was The Birth of a Nation (read my Sundance review), the story of slave preacher Nat Turner and the 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia. In the film, Turner is (illegally) taught to read the Bible as a child by the mistress of the plantation on which he lived as a slave; as an adult, he becomes a preacher, and his study of Scripture as well as his observation of cruelty on the plantations he visits as a preacher leads him toward violent action. (The film has a great deal, thematically, in common with Braveheart.)

Nate Parker, who wrote, directed, and stars in the film as Turner, spoke on stage at Sundance after the film about the use of Scripture in the film and how his perseverance during the years-long struggle to get the movie made was partly fueled by his own Christian faith.

I spoke with Parker by phone last week, and he had a lot more to say about his faith, racial relations in America, the ways the Bible is used to both oppress and liberate, and the church. (This interview is lightly edited for clarity.)

How did you get interested in the story of Nat Turner?

It started from being young, growing up in Virginia, and not really having a lot of history that was being presented to me that included me. I was growing up as a Christian, growing up in the church, ...

1
A new documentary by Deidox Films tells the true story of church communities rising to protect the poor from predatory loans. The Ordinance documents an unprecedented battle in Texas towns to protect their citizens from predatory lenders. In a time when political disillusionment is growing, this story serves as an important example of how the best, and worst, of our political system can unite a community.

Christianity Today is proud to partner with Deidox Films to provide this exclusive free debut of this fascinating documentary about the power of the local church to combat injustice and stand for the poor and vulnerable in their communities. When state and local governments stepped aside, Texas churches and faith-based organizations stepped up to defend the vulnerable in their communities from predatory payday loans.

You can rent, buy, or purchase a screening kit here.

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I had the privilege or reading a pre-release version of "God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church." Here are 20 quotes from the book, which you should pick up.
When Brent Gudgel was a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, he already had the makings of the filmmaker hed later become. Looking back now, he recalls watching reruns of The A-Team, MacGyver, and Knight Rider and thinking, I want to be in stories like that with my friends. With his VHS camera, he would channel his favorite shows by enacting and shooting stories about himself and his friends trying to protect their neighborhood from Columbian drug lordsbringing justice to evildoers and defending the helpless from harm.

Nowadays, Gudgel may not be an A-team member or a superstar director of action blockbusters, but in many ways, his present work recalls the justice-seeking spirit of those first creative endeavors. As CEO and co-founder of the non-profit documentary film company Deidox, Brent has directed more than 250 short documentaries, many of which examine social issues affecting the poor and marginalized in more than 20 countries. Hes also the co-founder of Chronicle Project, a production company that specializes in marketing and fundraising videos for nonprofit organizations while helping to fight against AIDS, poverty, deforestation, sex trafficking, homelessness, and persecution in closed countries.

Most recently, though, Gudgel has been screening and promoting Deidoxs newest film, The Ordinance, which tells the story of how Texas citieswith the help of local churchesare working to bring an end to predatory payday lending businesses. In a recent conversation with CT, Gudgel had the opportunity to reflect on what working on films like The Ordinance has taught him about how churches can share their experiences:

Churches in general struggle to even know ...

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Satanic Black Mass Still Scheduled at Public Venue Despite Protest

OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 11, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Amid growing protest Satanists plan to stage a second Black Mass at the public Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City on August 15, 2016. The public sacrilege against God and the Catholic Mass will include the desecration of a statue of the Virgin Mary whose Assumption into Heaven is celebrated that day.

Satanist and registered sex offender Adam Daniels announced that he will invoke Satan through a blasphemous Black Mass followed by a bloody ritual called "The Consumption of Mary," all performed on city property.

"Every American should oppose this hateful attack against God," said TFP Student Action Director John Ritchie, who hopes to collect 200,000 petitions against the Black Mass by the end of the week.

"So many good people are standing up in peaceful protest," Ritchie said. "More than 146,000 people have already signed the petition to Governor Mary Fallin and Mayor Mick Cornett, urging them to cancel this act of hatred against Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother. Every single voice counts in this spiritual battle."

See the online petition here.

"Satanism is about spiritual destruction, falsehood, and darkness," Ritchie explained. "When we say 'God bless America' we really mean it. We only love God. Satan is not welcome. Satan is excluded from our land. Because a nation can only prosper and flourish in the measure that it embraces truth, goodness and beauty."

"But -- unfortunately -- there is a twisted understanding of free speech which grants evil the license to undermine our beloved Nation Under God," Ritchie continued. "And darkness wants nothing more than to dethrone God in our culture. But we cannot let that happen or just sit on our hands and watch this attack against God unfold before our eyes without a prayerful response."

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) will be holding a peaceful prayer rally of reparation at the Civic Center of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, located at 201 N. Walker Ave, on August 15 at 5:30 PM.

"The Black Mass is a public attack against God, so the reparation will be public," said Ritchie. "God's light will forever overcome Satan's darkness."
home US Caleb Schwab attended Sunday church with family before fatal VerrAckt accident at Schlitterbahn Water Park

The 10-year-old Caleb Thomas Schwab and his family attended church Sunday before his fatal ride on the world's tallest water slide in Kansas City.

According to The Kansas City Star, sources close to Congressman Scott Schwab's family said the family attended the morning Sunday service at LifeMission Church in Olathe and hesitated on going to the Schlitterbahn waterpark because of the gloomy weather. However, when the sun shone out, the 44-year-old lawmaker took his wife, Michele, and their four boys to the water park which declared that day an "Elected Officials' Day" and gave free admission and lunch to the lawmakers and their families.

"As you can imagine, it's been devastating," said Rev. Clint Sprague, the church's lead pastor and Schwab's family friend, during a news conference Monday evening.

"It's been devastating at every level," continued the pastor. "You know, you leave church, you go to a water park to be with family and to enjoy. And then you hit tragedy. There is just no way to prepare for this."

Rev. Sprague talked about how the Schwab's second oldest son, who died of a fatal neck injury while on the VerrAckt water slide, loved Jesus and how the boy's mother described her son as someone who always came first on praying for anyone who needed it.

"He loved Jesus," attested the pastor. "He loved to talk about Jesus. He loved to pray."

"Caleb was a 10-year-old child, but in many ways he was a man of God," he added.

The boy's parents also asked the pastor to deliver a statement on their behalf to thank the community for the compassion they received as the family mourn for their loss.

"We are comforted knowing he believed in his Savior, Jesus, and they are forever together now," read the parents' statement.

The pastor announced the funeral Friday in their local church at 16111 S. Lone Elm Road and that a GoFundMe account set up for the family's funeral and other expenses already exceeded its goal of $15,000.

According to the KSHB-TV, witnesses saw the boy thrown airborne and hit the slide's safety net while others mentioned that the harness device didn't work properly that day. Two women unrelated to the Schwab boy, who rode the water slide with him, also reportedly suffered injuries and were hospitalized.

The Kansas City waterpark closed Monday and reopened Wednesday while VerrAckt remains shut down as the investigation continues.
home World Archbishop says Philippine president's drug war is turning country into 'killing fields'

Archbishop Socrates Villegas likened the state of massive killings that resulted from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs to that of a "killing fields."

According to the Associated Press, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines expressed his fierce disavowal on the summary executions of more than 400 suspected drug dealers and pushers in a nationwide campaign against drugs that rattled the country.

The 55-year-old archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan in Pangasinan decried that the violent drug war's turning the country into a "killing fields nation."

"Is not humanity going down to the dregs when bloodthirsty humans encourage the killers and ask for more blood?" asked Archbishop Villegas in a statement read in the churches of the Southeast Asian country's northern district on Sunday.

He added, "From a generation of drug addicts, shall we become a generation of street murderers? Can the do-it-yourself justice system assure us of a safer and better future?"

Duterte himself admitted during a speech Thursday that while most of the dead had put up a fight against authorities, he acknowledged that some were "salvaged" or were part of extrajudicial killings.

"They really fight back, I know that," AP quoted the 71-year-old president as saying. "I'm sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that."

He vowed that the government will investigate these cases.

Authorities already made more than 4,400 drug-related arrests while almost 600,000 people chose to submit themselves to authorities in the light of the massive deaths. Duterte, who took the presidential seat on June 30, centered his presidential campaign on a promise to wipe out the drug problem in only six months.

"My order is shoot to kill you. I don't care about human rights, you better believe me," he told reporters Friday.

He added, "I'll really have you killed. Look at what you're doing to the Philippines and I'll forgive you?"

The U.S. already added its voice to the Roman Catholic leaders, human rights groups, and other local politicians in condemning the extrajudicial killings and urged the Philippine government to observe the rule of law and respect human rights.
home World China criticized for trial against house church leaders and activists

China draws criticism for sentencing in highly suspect trials two house church leaders and two other activists detained from last year's nationwide political crackdown.

The United States and several human rights advocates blasted China for convicting house church leaders Hu Shigen and Gou Hongguo, as well as human rights advocate Zhai Yanmin and human rights lawyer Zhou Shifeng on charges of subversion in surprise trials last week.

Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court handed Hu, a 61-year-old church elder, with seven and a half years imprisonment Wednesday while Gou, a 55-year-old Christian activist, received Friday a three-year suspended sentence.

The court also gave 55-year-old Zhai with a three-year suspension sentence Tuesday while Zhou, the 52-year-old director of Fengrui law firm, received a seven-year sentence.

The communist state arrested more than 200 activists and lawyers, including the four convicted individual, in its nationwide political clampdown in July last year.

"After more than 12 months of arbitrary arrest and detention in 'black jails' without any legitimate legal representation or family visitations, these rushed trials and harsh sentences are clearly nothing but political and religious persecution," said Bob Fu, China Aid president, in a statement Friday.

Fu also cited U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Christopher Smith, the two co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), for undermining the trials as a "mockery of justice."

Smith described the court proceedings as "the charade of forced 'confessions' and show trials." He warned that this only erodes China's global standing as well as the confidence in President Xi Jinping's compliance with the rule of law. Rubio added that the situation in China "continues to deteriorate, and no one is held to account" a year since the political crackdown.

Both Fu and Smith urged the U.S. and world leaders to express these concerns during the G-20 Summit to be held in China next month.

Mark Turner, the spokesman for the U.S. state department, also condemned the charges as "vague and apparently politically motivated."

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying to rebuff the U.S. accusations as "groundless."

"Chinese judicial authorities deal with related cases in accordance with law so that the legitimate rights," Xinhua quoted Hua as saying on Saturday, according to The Guardian.
home World China revokes welfare for Christians

Chinese authorities in the Guizhou province revoked state-sponsored welfare for Christians in an act reminiscent of its persecution against an ethnic minority two years ago.

According to China Aid, a publication that exposes and monitors Christian persecution in the Communist state, the local authorities from the central province issued its new directive in an ongoing clampdown against Christians and their churches.

"[Officials verbally] announced on July 2 that Christians could not have welfare or any old-age insurance ... Now, the county [government] called on the government in the towns and villages to order believers to sign [a guarantee], stating that if they gathered again, their welfare would be cut off," said a house church member identified only as Mou.

Authorities employed the same intimidation against the Miao Christians, an ethnic minority in the Sichuan province, which led to the arrest of at least 36 of its members on Sep. 28 two years ago. Although the government gradually set them free after five to 11 days, it also ended the Miao Christians' welfare allocations.

"Not long ago, I went back to my hometown and asked my parents about [the welfare payment cancellation]. They told me that they still hadn't received their welfare. [Authorities] only arrested my mother last time, but they canceled the [welfare] of [both of my parents]," reported Miao Christian Zhang Shucai last month.

The attack on the Christians' welfare benefit only adds to the surmounting methods authorities use to pressure Guizhou's house churches, which refuse to join its state-controlled Protestant church called Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM).

Guizhou's local officials also announced two months ago a regulation to ban Christian minors, who continue to attend such house churches, from taking college entrance exams or from entering the military academy. The atheist state considers it a form of brainwashing to share one's religious belief with those under 18 years old.

Officials also followed up the regulation by forcing house church members to agree by signing a document.
home US Christian publication deplores 'awful choices' in 2016 U.S. presidential election: 'Crooked Hillary Clinton' vs 'Scam Artist Donald Trump'

Leading Christian publication, The Christian Post, has weighed in on the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and has deplored the options for voters in having to choose between Hillary Clinton, a former Secretary of State whose critics accuse of having a blatant and unrepentant history of lying, or Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman whose opposers slam for his often unfiltered and outrageous comments, and who is criticized for his questionable moral character.

The editors of the Christian publication released an op-ed this week that considered both Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump, as well as the Libertarian Party's presidential contender Gary Johnson and Green Party's Jill Stein as all "awful choices" for this fall's presidential elections.

On Hillary Clinton, the CP editors explained how Evangelicals should find it extremely difficult to vote for the former Secretary of State as she "has repeatedly not told the truth," and also because of her unflinching support for abortion. Even Clinton's vice presidential pick, Sen. Tim Kaine, reportedly submitted to abandon his long-time support for the pro-life Hyde Amendment. Cecile Richards, CEO of Planned Parenthood - the largest abortion provider in the United States, which is often the target of pro-life advocates - spoke during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last month to pitch for the two Democratic politicians.

The editors also dismissed Johnson for not being a "true libertarian" after he categorized religious freedom as a "black hole" while they thought Stein as "too liberal on a host of issues that should concern Evangelicals."

"We believe the only options Evangelicals should consider are to vote for Trump or to cast a protest ballot," wrote the CP editors.

They referred to the protest ballot option as morally valid and one that protects Evangelical voters from being cast off by politicians as a "cheap date."

"If you don't want politicians who woo you before the election only to ignore you after the election, you must signal your willingness to walk away," they said.

They also considered the real estate businessman-turned-politician as the only candidate who is at least offering a tempting "transactional" offer.

"Vote for me," they interpreted Trump as saying, "and I will give you Supreme Court picks and abolish the Johnson Amendment."

Trump promised to appoint pro-life Supreme Court Justices - a major topic that has concerned Evangelical leaders - and also vowed to back the Evangelical community during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last month.

However, despite touting Trump as the best of a host of bad options, they also did not hold back in casting strong doubts on Trump's moral character and even on his preparedness for the Oval Office.

"Still, if not Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton will be our next president. That's what makes this decision so difficult," they said.

"God help us," they concluded and urged American voters to pray for the nation.
home US Transgender bathroom debate: 'OK for Ivanka Trump to share bathroom with Jesse Jackson and Dennis Rodman?' - Church sign asks Donald Trump

A controversial church sign in Harlem, New York raised a question on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who expressed support for the transgender bathroom policy.

"Should Jesse Jackson and Dennis Rodman go into same bathroom with Chelsea Clinton, Malia and Sasha Obama and Ivanka Trump?" read the marquee sign of ATLAH World Missionary Church last week.

Pastor James David Manning, the 69-year-old chief pastor of the church in Harlem, revealed that the sign post came about in reaction to what the Republican presidential hopeful said on NBC's "Today Show" in April.

"When Mr. Trump said Bruce Jenner can go into any bathroom, I can't imagine why he would discriminate against Dennis Rodman," said Pastor Manning on his online series "The Manning Report" posted July 27 on YouTube.

"I'm just pointing up what the man said," he went on. "I'm just telling you what's going on in America today. And I am asking a question."

The pastor referred to President Barack Obama's transgender bathroom policy that mandates all American public schools to allow students to use the bathroom based on their gender identification rather than their biological sex as "sodomy." He also accused politicians who support the policy as only doing so for the sake of popularity.

The 70-year-old business mogul turned presidential hopeful expressed his support for the transgender community during a live town hall at TODAY Plaza in April.

"If Caitlyn Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and want to use the bathroom, you would be fine with her using any bathroom she chooses?" asked host Matt Lauer.

"That is correct," answered Trump.

Trump reiterated his support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community during his nomination acceptance speech last month in Cleveland, Ohio. The former host of "The Apprentice" vowed to protect all LGBT citizens, which became the target of the deadliest mass shooting tragedy in the U.S., from hate-driven violence.
home World 'Don't pray for the persecution to stop,' says Middle East Christian woman

A Middle Eastern Christian woman tells Western Christians not to pray for persecution's end but for God to endow them with the spirit to stand as God's witnesses.

The woman, identified only as "Maryam" for security purposes, visited Sunday the MeadowBrook Baptist Church in Gadsden, Alabama, where she asked the congregation to continue praying for the Christians suffering persecution in Muslim states, but "to pray a different prayer."

"Don't pray for the persecution to be stopped. ... But pray for the Christians there, for their boldness, their encouragement, for their faith and that they can all be witnesses for God's work and for God," said the woman, as reported by The Christian Post.

Maryam came upon the invitation of a group of six American pastors and ministry leaders and would be visiting eight more churches across the U.S. in the next two weeks.

The woman also asserted that the worsening state of persecution only worked to encourage Christians because they've seen how the Church increased in their area as a result. She described how the atrocities carried out by Muslim extremists in the name of Allah only led many Muslim people to question their faith.

"A lot of them are asking, 'Who is this God whose name is Allah, who orders people to slaughter?'" she shared. "They are confused and they are asking and wondering now days about ISIS and about what is going on."

She reported more than a million Christians in her home country alone and that one priest Christianized more than 6,000 Muslims in the past five years.

Apologist and bible scholar Jeremiah Johnston also believes that Jesus appears to Middle Eastern Muslims and underground Christians in China. He recounted a chance meeting with an underground Christian missionary who told him that "everything you read about in the book of Acts is happening in China right now."

The Communist country might just produce the world's largest Christian population by 2030, reported OMF International.

"According to the Bible, the church grows even faster under persecution," an anonymous Christian member of a persecuted house Church in China told China Aid in May.
home US Evangelical leaders Russell Moore, Rick Warren join interfaith coalition to denounce California Bill

Evangelical leaders Russell Moore and Pastor Rick Warren united in an interfaith coalition to denounce the widely criticized California legislation SB 1146, which they deemed as an attack on religious freedom.

Two prominent leaders of the evangelical community joined forces with other Christians, Muslims, and Jewish personalities in condemning the California bill which they deemed "harmful to the free exercise of religion in higher education."

They called on the California Assembly to abandon a legislation that "would severely restrict the ability of religious education institutions to set expectations of belief and conduct that align with the institution's religious tenets."

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) released Tuesday on its website the coalition's joint statement "Protecting the future of religious higher education."

"Legislation of this nature threatens the integrity not only of religious institutions, but of any viewpoint wishing to exercise basic American freedoms, not least of which is the freedom of conscience," read the statement.

The signatories pointed out that they themselves do not agree on one another's religious views but that they stand unified in resisting the "government harassment" on the free exercise of religion.

Aside from the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's ERLC and the senior pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, signatories also include Barry Corey of the Biola University, Hamza Yusuf Hanson of the Zaytuna College, Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik of Yeshiva University, Imam Faizul Khan of the Islamic Society of Washington Area, and former U.S. representative Frank Wolf of Virginia.

SB 1146 prohibits state-funded postsecondary education institutions from any acts of discrimination on the basis of specified attributes, including sex. It requires colleges granted the Title IX exemption to disclose its status to students and faculty. Title IX disallows discrimination by the state-funded colleges on the basis of sex.

"All students deserve to feel safe in institutions of higher education, regardless of whether they are public or private," said the bill's proponent and Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara.
home Life Pedophilia & adult-child sex touted as morally acceptable by academic professor; Social conservatives outraged

Social conservatives have been left outraged and disturbed after an academic professor's new book questioned whether adultachild sex, and pedophilia should be considered immoral.

Social conservatives took to social media on Sunday after they discovered an academic book questioning whether sexual relationships between an adult and a child should be considered acceptable by society.

Stephen Kershnar, a professor at Fredonia's State University of New York and head of its philosophy department, wrote the 168-page book "Pedophilia and Adult-Child Sex: A Philosophical Analysis" released last year that only recently became the subject among social conservatives.

Publishing company Rowman & Littlefield described the book as a philosophical analysis of adult-child sex and pedophilia. It added that while many people regard these sexual activities as "sick, disgusting and wrong," the book maintains that "it is not clear whether these judgments are justified and whether they are aesthetic or moral."

The book also tried to analyze the moral and legal aspects of adult-child sex and tried to determine whether those committing such sexual activities "have a disease, act wrongly, or are vicious."

Social conservative activist Peter LaBarbera blamed the successful legalization of same-sex marriages as only encouraging other sex radicals. The president of the organization Americans for Truth About Homosexuality warned that sex radicals might already be testing the waters and might be on what he called the "study phase."

"Kershnar is injecting nuance and situational ambiguity to chip away at the near-universal understanding that sex between adults and kids is always wrong," LaBarbera told The Christian Post in an interview Monday.

He cautioned that discussing Kershnar's book only "legitimize[s] this as an issue worthy of debate" and contributes to the idea "that there are two legitimate opinions on pedophilia."

Yet, LaBarbera called on social conservatives to sound the alarm and combat efforts among sex radicals to legitimize adult-child sex. He added that pedophile advocates "must be exposed and rebutted."

LaBarbera also stressed that sex with children is "inherently exploitative and immoral."

"It corrupts and victimizes kids, who often grow up to have perverse desires toward children themselves," he added.
home World Iraq priests ordained in refugee camp give hope for people to stay in war-torn country

Three priests ordained in the Iraqi refugee camp of Erbil gives hope to thousands of Christians to stay in the war-torn country despite threats of imminent danger.

A Syriac-Catholic Church in Aishty 2 refugee camp in Erbil marked Friday a a day before the second year anniversary since the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS or Daesh) militia raided most parts of Iraq and Syria and forced about 5,500 people to take refuge in the camp a as a day of ordination for Fr. Roni Salim Momika, Fr. Emad and Fr. Petros.

Fr. Momika expressed his desire "to stand with the refugees" and to bring them closer to Christ. He added that he desired to give them "power, hope, and courage to continue their lives and stay with the poor people." He also said that their ordination gave the Iraqi Christians renewed hope "to stay here."

"Before it was a bad day because we became refuges and ISIS entered to Qaraqosh, but now this day became a good day because it's our ordination and we give hope to our people," the newly-ordained young priest told Catholic News Agency (CNA).

The notion of whether Iraqi Christians should stay behind their home country or flee for safety remains a contention among church leaders. On one hand, Patriarch Louis Sako, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, insisted that Christians should "live and die in the place where God calls us."

On the opposing end sits the faction of Bishop Sarhad Jammo, who supports the resettlement of the Chaldean Christian communities in the Iraq and Syria.

"You cannot preserve a culture when the people are being systematically exterminated," Mark Arabo, national spokesperson of the American-Chaldean community, told Fox News.

In another heavily conflicted area, Carmelite nuns in Aleppo, Syria chose to stay behind with the remaining 40,000 impoverished Christians.

According to the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Sister Anne-FranAoise of Discalced Carmelite Sisters described the situation in Aleppo as one that's deprived of basic necessities such as water and electricity and only has incessant fighting and bomb-shelling.

She added that "the bombs are falling all around us, but we are not going to leave the people in their suffering."
home World Turkey fires 2,500 religious staff in post-coup purge

Turkish authorities removed from office more than 2,500 religious staff in a continuing hunt against supporters of Islamic cleric Fethullah GAlen, allegedly the mastermind behind the botched coup last month.

According to the AFP, Turkey's powerful religion agency known as the Religious Affairs Directorate or Diyanet said in a statement that "the commission created for this purpose (to find Gulen sympathisers) continued its rigorous work" and suspended 2,500 of its employees.

The agency also fired 492 religious officials for charges of "terrorism" links only a few days after the aborted military coup on the night of July 15.

Authorities already sacked about 9,000 police officers, almost 3,000 judges, 15,200 teachers and others in the education realm, 1,577 university deans, 8,777 interior ministry officials, 1,500 finance officials and 257 employees of the prime minister's office.

Turkish strongman and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan charged GAlen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S., for instigating the armed coup. GAlen denied the allegations and shot back with the possibility that Erdogan orchestrated the coup in order to clamp down on political dissidents.

"There is a slight chance, there is a possibility that it could be a staged coup. It could be meant for court accusations and associations," the Daily Mail quoted the 75-year-old former imam as saying.

Erdogan has since strongly demanded that the U.S. extradite GAlen immediately.

"I say if we are strategic partners then you should bring about our request," he said.

However, GAlen still remains in his Pennsylvania home, and the European Union's rebuke on the post-coup arrests did not sit well with Turkey.

Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at St. Petersburg on Tuesday as a sign of renewed relations between the two countries after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter plane that strayed on the borders of Syria and Turkish airspace last year.

According to CBC News, foreign affairs analyst Tony Brenton said that the West should not be surprised with the steps taken by the two countries as international relations remain to be "a pretty pragmatic business."

Yet, he added, "It does raise questions about if we are tough with these countries, tough with China, and we do therefore push them into the same corner, is that actually advantageous for us in security terms?"
Catholic editor flees Bangladesh for US in fear of her life

The Catholic editor of a Bangladeshi newsletter critical of the government has fled to the US in fear of her life, the Catholic News Service (CNS) reported.

Rosaline Costa, 67, has for 30 years been editor of Hotline Bangladesh, a monthly publication which chronicles corruption, crime, terror and religious violence in the country.

Now living in New York City, Costa is reported to be working out how to keep the newsletter going remotely.

Since July, Costa has been staying with two nephews and a niece, both of whom themselves left Bangladesh after threats and harassment.

The journalist told the CNS that her niece's Muslim uncle was trying to force her into marrying him, and that one nephew was taken to a mosque and told to convert to Islam under fear of death.

The other nephew, an art student, was followed by Muslims and told to convert and then join in trying to recruit others to Islam. Costa said: "After that, I did not allow him to go to the university any more for classes".

Bangladesh has seen a rise in religious violence in recent years.

Recently, Islamist terrorists have been stepping up their persecution of Christians in Bangladesh after a rapid rise in converts.

In July, more than 20 people were murdered in an Islamist terror attack on a restaurant in the diplomatic zone in Dhaka, the country's capital.

That month, new figures showed numbers of Muslims converting to Christianity in Bangladesh are on the rise. The human rights organisation Christian Freedom International reports that there is a growing number of Muslims who have been pledging their lives to Christ. It is estimated that as many as 91,000 Muslims all across Bangladesh have converted to Christianity in just six years, in spite of knowing it could cost them their lives

In May an Italian priest was shot in Dhaka.

An Italian aid worker was shot dead in Dhaka in September and a Japanese farmer was killed in the north of Bangladesh days later. Both attacks were carried out by three gunmen riding a motorcycle and have been claimed by ISIS. The Government of Muslim-majority Bangladesh reject the claims, insisting that there is no ISIS presence in the country.

Costa said "I made several editorials in the newsletter" about religious violence, adding: "In the last two and a half months I could not go out of the house."

She told of a woman who had been attacked with a knife and badly beaten. "But she would not let me visit her in the hospital," Costa said. "She did not want to be identified. Second, she feared for my safety."

The editor added that he had received a series of anonymous phone calls, but that the police refused to act. "I went to the police and they did not want to take a report," she told CNS.

Asked if she felt she might never be able to return to her country, Costa said, "I don't want to go back" in the present circumstances.

More than 163 million people live in Bangladesh, where nine in ten are Muslim. There are fewer than 830,000 Christians and Islam is the state religion.
Charity that took on SPCK Christian bookshops strongly criticised by Charity Commission

A Christian charity has been strongly criticised for serious mismanagement and misconduct by the Charity Commission.

An inquiry published today into the Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust - whose main purpose was to acquire Church of England churches for use by Orthodox Christians - began when the charity filed for bankruptcy in the US in 2008.

It found conflicts of interest linked to the trust's administration, along with poor record keeping and governance.

The trust's problems reportedly began when, in November 2006, it agreed with the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) that SPCK would transfer 22 Christian bookshops to the trust.

The Charity Commission received complaints about the administration of the company and trust and opened a statutory inquiry into Saint Stephen the Great Charitable Trust and the Saint Stephen the Great companyin September 2008.

The Commission appointed an interim manager to take over the management of the trust and consider its future viability. It took on the handling of 34 redundancy claims and reached an agreement with SPCK, who said the trust had breached the terms of their agreement.

The Commission says that trust assets of 3,226,100 were safeguarded from exposure to significant liabilities; multiple complex claims totalling 4,171,710 were managed and 1,928,853 was disbursed in settlement of claims; the trust's charitable objectives were also furthered as sale proceeds of 144,486 from the trust's church at Bradford were passed to Orthodox communities; and the trust's church at Poole in Dorset was transferred to another charity so that it could continue to be applied for charitable purposes.

The inquiry, based on the interim manager's findings, found that "there were unmanaged conflicts of interest intrinsically linked to the trust's administration and transactions committing charitable funds to connected entities appeared to constitute self-dealing".

It found that after the company had filed for bankruptcy "both charities were exposed to substantial financial liabilities as a result of redundancy claims and other issues" and "the trust could manage the churches' ongoing operational costs but could not meet the claims from SPCK, ex-shop employees and others".

The report also found that "the trust had failed to keep proper records since 2008 and there was a failure on the part of the trustees to undertake due diligence before entering into the agreement with SPCK".

Further, it found that "there was poor governance, lack of due diligence and inadequate record keeping on the part of the trust's trustees and the company's directors".

The inquiry concluded that "there had been serious mismanagement and misconduct of the trust's and company's trustees".

The interim manager concluded that it was in the trust's best interest for it to be wound up with surplus assets transferred to charities with similar objectives. The trust was subsequently removed from the register in March 2014.

Michelle Russell, the Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement at the Charity Commission, said: "This has been a long investigation that has been hampered by poor record keeping and complicated by the number of claims and connected party companies and transactions. However, we are pleased to be able to conclude this investigation and ensure that significant charitable funds that were at risk can be used for their original purposes. This case is a clear reminder for charities of how difficult it can be to manage its business and deal with conflicts of interest properly where there are number of different companies involved in running different aspects of the charity's activities and there are a number of related and/or conflicted trustees."

She added: "Charities should be clear about which body has what role - especially when contractual liabilities are created. Trustee boards should ensure that there are an adequate number of un-conflicted trustees who properly scrutinise third party transactions and appropriate policies and procedures which are followed to actively manage any potential situations in which their personal interests could conflict with their duties as trustees."

Sam Richardson, the chief executive of SPCK, said that SPCK regrets the fact that the bookshops were mismanaged by the trust.

"The people in charge of SPCK at the time did all the due diligence you would expect but obviously - as the Charity Commission has found - the shops were badly mismanaged by the subsequent owners, and SPCK regrets that a lot," he said. "SPCK was among those who alerted the Charity Commission to this mismanagement, and worked closely with the Charity Commission on the recovery of charitable assets and the best possible settlements for former staff. SPCK could not have kept the bookshops going as they were, because the losses were unsustainable. We are sorry for the impact it had on the former staff and the wider trade but if the SPCK had retained the bookshops then SPCK as a whole would not be around now. SPCK has since refocused on its publishing work, and has grown to be the UK's leading publisher of Christian books."
Christian refugees in Germany hiding their Bibles from Muslim extremists in migrant camps

These Christians fled persecution in the Middle East, thinking Germany would be a great country to restart their lives, where they can finally be free to practice their faith.

Imagine their utter dismay when they found out that after all the hardship and trauma of abandoning their homes and venturing into a new land, terror simply followed them.

Now, these Christian refugees seeking asylum in Germany are facing daily threats from Muslim extremists who are also temporarily housed in their camp near the city of Schlo Holte-Stukenbrock, the Daily Express reports.

According to religious sources, Christians in the camp have been forced to hide their Bibles as fundamentalist Muslims living among them have threatened to seize and rip the pages of the Scripture.

Sporadic outbreaks of violence have already occurred in the camp which houses some 1.1 million refugees, according to sources.

Reports said around 14 Iranian Christian men were recently removed from the camp after they were threatened with death for refusing to abandon their faith.

During the recent Ramadan, Christians were reportedly forced to eat leftover food in the camp after the meal times were changed to accommodate Muslims who fast and don't eat during daylight hours during the Islamic holy month.

Pastor Mahin Mousapour of the Persian Father House community in Frankfurt, who converted to Christianity more than 25 years ago, said many Muslims in the camp regard their fellow Christian migrants as "unclean" and "more impure than dogs."

The pastor said Christians who have been victimised by their fellow Muslim migrants are opting to keep quiet since they are "afraid of revenge or of losing their asylum status if they complain."

She urged German government authorities to do something to protect the Christian migrants. "It cannot be that someone seeks shelter with us because of his faith and we then don't protect him here," she said.

She said trouble is spreading even outside the camp and that she herself has been threatened on the street by a knife-wielding Muslim migrant.

"We are here in Germany, in a Christian country. We must not allow others to make the rules," Pastor Mousapour urged the authorities.
Clinton blasts Trump for 'casual inciting of violence', Republicans in turmoil

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Wednesday accused Republican opponent Donald Trump of inciting violence with his call for gun rights activists to stop her from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices.

Clinton's comments added to a growing outcry over Trump's remarks on Tuesday at a North Carolina rally, which some interpreted as a call for violence against his White House rival. His remarks also fuelled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track.

"Words matter, my friends," the former US secretary of state, who rarely engages in direct back-and-forths with her Republican rival, said at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. "And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences."

"Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line," she said, citing "his casual inciting of violence."

Trump insisted in an interview with Fox News that his remarks were a call for political, not physical, action.

"There is tremendous political power to save the Second Amendment, tremendous," the New York businessman said. "And you look at the power they have in terms of votes and that's what I was referring to, obviously that's what I was referring to, and everybody knows it."

The US Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms.

"I can't think of anything remotely comparable to it. No one tells a joke about the opponent getting shot. I've never heard it," said Bob Shrum, a top aide for Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000 and John Kerry's in 2004.

Republicans shaken

High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters appeared shaken on Wednesday after a string of Trump misfires, struggling with how to best reject his divisive candidacy. Some pledged to withhold their endorsement and others backed Clinton.

Some, including MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, called for party leaders to replace Trump on the ticket.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken August 5-8  before Trump's latest controversy  showed that nearly one-fifth of 396 registered Republicans said they want Trump to drop out of the race and another 10 pe rcent said they "don't know" whether the Republican nominee should or not.

Clinton's campaign, seeing an opening, has moved to bring disenchanted Republicans into the fold by announcing an official intraparty outreach effort on behalf of the Democratic nominee.

Clinton's campaign now has a website for Republicans and political independents to sign up to pledge their support, listing 50 prominent Republicans and independents who have endorsed her.

On Monday, 50 Republican national security officials signed an open letter questioning Trump's temperament, calling him reckless and unqualified to be president.

Other top Republicans, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine this week, have disavowed Trump but said they cannot back Clinton.

James Rohrscheib, 74, a registered Republican and retired US Navy officer from Washington state, told Reuters the reality is the November 8 election will be a "tough one".

"I'm in a quandary as to who I am going to vote for," Rohrscheib said.

Trump has dismissed the defections and criticism as an unsurprising reaction of the so-called Washington elite to his drive to change the status quo.

One group that appears unswayed is Trump's donors. Reuters interviewed nine major Trump donors on Wednesday, and not one said his Second Amendment comment had given them pause.

Trump Texas fundraising co-chair Gaylord Hughey called the interpretation of his remark as condoning violence "ridiculous" and "ludicrous".

"It's just another issue the press has really twisted to make headlines," Hughey said.

But Mike Smith, a Republican voter and Reuters/Ipsos poll respondent, said the support Trump is still receiving from Republicans "almost seems obligatory rather than voluntary".

"I'm almost at the point where I think I'm going to vote for Hillary. I don't like her," said Smith, a 74-year-old retiree who lives in Clearwater, Florida. "But Mr Trump is making me very nervous."

Reset abandoned

Republican strategist and Trump supporter Ford O'Connell said Trump has "dug himself a deep hole" with voters and to win the election he will need to "make it a referendum on Hillary Clinton and the 'rigged system'".

Trump sought to do just that by using an economic policy speech in Detroit on Monday to correct a series of missteps that included a prolonged clash with the parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier. But his remarks Tuesday undermined that effort.

"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," Trump said at the rally in North Carolina. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know," he continued.

A federal official familiar with the matter denied a media report that the US Secret Service, which investigates threats against presidents and candidates, had formally spoken with the Trump campaign about his remark.

Trump's comment and the resulting backlash occurred as Reuters/Ipsos polling showed some 44 per cent of 1,162 registered voters believe Trump should exit the race, and that as of Tuesday, Clinton led Trump by more than seven percentage points, up from a three-point lead late last week.

Strategists and Trump detractors agreed that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove Trump from the Republican ticket.

"It's wishful thinking to believe the Republicans are going to replace its nominee after the convention. People are grasping at straws," Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with Trump, told Reuters.

A more likely scenario would be a replay of the 1996 presidential race, when the Republican Party essentially deserted nominee Bob Dole, who was badly trailing President Bill Clinton, to focus on congressional races.
Dozens of Chinese Christians apply for 'religious persecution' asylum in Czech Republic

Religious freedom violations in China have once more been thrust into the public eye after 60 Chinese Christians applied for political asylum in the Czech Republic.

According to Czech newspaper Hospodarske noviny, the Christians  who are from 10 different denominations of the church  say they face persecution in China because of their faith. They represent the largest group of Chinese refugees to have ever sought political asylum in the Czech Republic.

Having arrived between February and May this year, they are now being held in two detention facilities.

Chinese media has cast doubts on the beliefs of the asylum seekers  claiming that they are illegal immigrants using religion as a cover.

According to Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent for Asia Today, if the Czech Republic accepts the seekers' claim, "it would be a big blow to China who already faces criticism from Western countries including the United States over its human rights issues".

The Czech Republic has only granted asylum to six Chinese citizens in the past five years, and has since improved relations with Beijing. Offering asylum to the latest claimants would mean risking increased tensions once more.

Radio Prague reports that Martin Rozumek, director of Aid to Refugees, told Hospodarske noviny that he does not expect the applicants to be successful.

Whether the asylum seekers have a valid claim or not, Christians in China are facing increased restrictions. Under President Xi Jinping's rule the government has introduced a hard-line approach to various parts of civil society, including religion.

Xi has called on China to return to traditional beliefs, such as Confucianism, rather than 'Western' religions and the Communist Party is believed to be becoming progressively more suspicious of the influence of Christianity in particular, though Muslims, too, are suffering.

With more than 1,500 churches having had their crosses removed or demolished in Zhejiang province alone, there's no doubt that Christianity is being targeted by Xi's regime.

As John Allen Jr reports for Catholic website Crux, it is "revealing that they [the aslym seekers] chose Christianity as their rationale for requesting asylum. It suggests that when many Chinese think 'persecution' these days, they think of the country's rapidly growing Christian minority."
Evangelicals form new group within United Methodist Church over homosexuality

A new evangelical grouping is set to form within the United Methodist Church. The group  the Wesleyan Covenant Association  is being formed in response to the ongoing debate within the denomination about sexuality.

The UMC is one of the biggest mainline denominations in America, with around 7 million members, and 4 million more worldwide. A special commission of the UMC is working on the issue of homosexuality at the moment. It is expected to report back soon and may recommend some changes to church rules on same sex marriage and gay clergy.

The Wesleyan Covenant Association says that it is forming at a time of "great uncertainty about the future of The United Methodist Church, the Wesleyan Covenant Association stands together as an alliance to advance vibrant, scriptural Christianity within Methodism."

The group's website answers reports which have claimed that it is looking to found a new denomination  especially in response to the appointment of a lesbian Bishop. It says, "That is not the association's intent. The WCA hopes the UM Church can remain united. We pray we can all find ways to live as Jesus' joyful and obedient disciples in covenant with one another."

The disharmony in the UMC mirrors that in other mainline denominations in America which have split or ruptured over issues of sexuality and the interpretation of scripture. The Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church have all suffered from splits in recent years owing to differing approaches within their ranks.

The first gathering of the Wesleyan Covenant Association takes place in Chicago in October.
Four countries where it's dangerous to criticise religion

The US State Department on Wednesday released its annual report on religious freedom around the world. One of the main concerns highlighted is laws against blasphemy and apostasy, which it says "conflict with and undermine universally recognized human rights".

In many Islamic societies, "societal passions associated with blasphemy  deadly enough in and of themselves  are abetted by a legal code that harshly penalizes blasphemy and apostasy," the report said.

"All residents of countries where laws or social norms encourage the death penalty for blasphemy are vulnerable to attacks... This is particularly true for those who have less power and are more vulnerable in those societies, like women, religious minorities, and the poor.

"False accusations, often lodged in pursuit of personal vendettas or for the personal gain of the accuser, are not uncommon. Mob violence as a result of such accusations is disturbingly common. In addition to the danger of mob violence engendered by blasphemy accusations, courts in many countries continued to hand down harsh sentences for blasphemy and apostasy, which were used to severely curtail the religious freedom of their residents."

Around a quarter of the world's countries have blasphemy laws, and more than a tenth penalise apostasy. Ambassador at large for international religious freedom, David Saperstein, said these laws are often used by governments "to intimidate [and] repress religious minorities".

He criticised the failure of governments to "prevent societal violence sparked by accusations of blasphemy and apostasy", and to hold perpetrators to justice.

"These government failures weaken trust in the rule of law, creating an atmosphere of impunity for those who would resort to violence or make false claims of blasphemy," he added.

The following four countries are highlighted in the report for their anti-blasphemy laws:

Pakistan

At least 95 per cent of the Pakistani population is Muslim, and Islam is enshrined in the constitution as the state religion. The US Commission for International Religious Freedom last year said the country represented "one of the worst situations in the world for religious freedom" and accused the Pakistani government of failing to provide adequate protections for faiths other than Islam.It argued that repressive blasphemy laws in particular are used to target religious minorities.

These laws prescribe life imprisonment for the desecration of the Qur'an and the death sentence for "defiling" the Prophet Mohammad, and accusations of incidents have often prompted mob violence. According to the Centre for Research and Security Studied in Pakistan, more than 62 people have been killed in such incidents since 1990. More than 40 people are currently on death row for blasphemy, the majority of whom are members of religious minorities.

Sudan

Sudan's criminal code criminalises apostasy, blasphemy, and conversion from Islam to another religion. Its law states that "whoever insults any religion, their rights or beliefs or sanctifications or seeks to excite feelings of contempt and disrespect against the believers thereof" will besentenced to up to six months in prison, flogging of up to 40 lashes, and/or a fine.

However, according to the State Department, the Sudanese government has only enforced this law against those it has found to be blasphemers of Islam.

In January 2015, amendments to the law meant that any non-Muslim who blasphemes against the Prophet Mohammad can now be given a prison sentence of up to five years and 40 lashes.

Saudi Arabia

The official religion of Saudi Arabia is Sunni Islam, and freedom of religion is not addressed by the law. "Calling for atheist thought", "calling into question the Islamic religion" and "sowing discord in society" are all illegal, and blasphemy against Sunni Islam is punishable by death. The government last year imprisoned a number of citizens accused of apostasy and blasphemy, violating Islamic values, insulting Islam, black magic, sorcery, and so-called "immoral activity."

In January 2015, Saudi citizen Raif Nadawi was publicly lashed 50 times on charges of "violating Islamic values, violating Sharia law, committing blasphemy, and mocking religious symbols on the internet", the State Department said.

At least two individuals were last year sentenced to death for apostasy and blasphemy in Saudi Arabia, though neither sentence has yet been carried out.

Mauritania

Of Mauriania's 3.6million population, nearly all are Sunni Muslims and Islam is designated the sole religion of both citizens and state. The tiny country situated in the Maghreb region of western North Africa criminalises apostasy, which is punishable by death.

Anti-blasphemy legislation is bound to the apostasy law, which says that Muslims may be "guilty of the crime of apostasy, either by word or by action... apparent or obvious".

Blogger Mohammad Ould MKheytir was handed the death sentence in 2014 on charges of apostasy after uploading to the internet an article considered by authorities to be blasphemous. His charges were later downgraded to that of being an "infidel" after Mkheytir apologised and said he had not meant to insult the Prophet Mohammad. His death sentence was upheld in April this year, but his case has been referred to the Supreme Court which may pardon him if his repentance is considered to be sincere.
Heart over head: How encountering Christ changed the lives of three Bible scholars

Some Christians tend to be suspicious about scholarship and distrust what they disparage as "book learning". Real religion comes from the heart, they say. The more books you read the more likely you are to fall into error. Just stick to the Bible, it's all you need.

This is a sad limitation to put on the grace of God, who gives insight and wisdom to scholars through the books they read and the conversations they share. Study enriches the whole Church. A pastor who doesn't read widely when the opportunity to do so is there will probably preach dull and uniformed sermons  and wide reading includes things you don't agree with as well as things you do.

But learning isn't a substitute for faith, though it can enrich it immeasurably. Sooner or later, even the wisest scholar has to answer the question: what does Christ mean to me?

Here are three scholars who did that and expressed their deep faith in God.

1. Blaise Pascal

Pascal was a 17th-century French scholar. He had an amazing mind: he was a mathematician, a physicist, an inventor and a brilliant writer. Religiously, he was nothing in particular until he had a strange, mystical experience when he was 31 years old. He died only eight years later, having never told anyone about it, but on the night it happened he wrote it down and sewed it into the lining of his coat. His servant found it after his death. He wrote: "God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of the philosophers and scholars... Forgetfulness of the world and of everything, except God...Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy...This is life eternal that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

It's as though having spent his life among the philosophers and scholars, he'd suddenly been given a vision that made all of those arguments, all the books and letters and degrees and papers seem trivial.

2. Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas was an Italian who lived in the 13th century. He was one of the greatest theologians and philosophers the Church ever produced. Philosophers still use his work as a building block today. He taught at universities in Cologne and Paris; he was a special adviser to to the pope, he wrote dozens of books and engaged in tremendous academic battles with other scholars.

After a long, glittering career, he suddenly stopped. When his secretary urged him to continue, he said: "The end of my labours has come. All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me." He said: "I can write no more. I have seen things that make my writings like straw."

It's said he had a vision in which Christ spoke to him and said, "You have written well of me, Thomas." But his writing became trivial to him compared to the revelation of God he'd received.

3. Karl Barth

Barth is a modern theologian who died in 1968. He's often regarded as the greatest theologian of the 20th century. He wrote and spoke courageously against the Nazis. Barth wrote dozens of books and millions of words. He became rather famous and was pictured on the front of Time magazine. People flocked to his lectures. Towards the end of his life, someone asked him after a lecture if he could summarize his whole life's work in one sentence. He said, "Yes, I can. In the words of a song my mother taught me: "Jesus loves me, this I know/ For the Bible tells me so."

These three men were all great scholars. But they found their way to the heart of faith, which is belief and trust in a risen Saviour.

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
Holy Spirit over Latin America as tens of millions of Catholics embrace Pentecostal Christianity

The Holy Spirit is raining down on Latin America with tens of thousands of people either laying prostrate on the ground or standing with hands raised as tears stream down their faces.

Jennifer LeClaire, senior editor of Charisma, says she personally witnessed one such astounding revival during a Sunday service led by Pastors Ricardo and Patricia Rodriguez, founders of Central Mundial de Avivamiento (World Headquarters of Revival) in Bogota, Colombia.

"It was as if I stepped into a river of Holy Ghost fire," she writes. "In one accord, over 25,000 people worshipped Jesus with all that was within them."

She says she personally saw miraculous healings. When she spoke with members of the congregation, they shared with her testimonies of deliverance from demonic possession, financial prosperity and numerous verified healings and miracles.

LeClaire says similar revivals are taking place in other Latin American countries such as Brazil, Peru, Uruguay and Ecuador.

According to a Pew Research Study, tens of millions of Latin Americans have left the Roman Catholic Church in recent decades to embrace Pentecostal Christianity. The study projects that by 2025, the number of Pentecostals and charismatics in Latin America will surpass 202 million.

Indeed, Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), told LeClaire that majority of Christ followers worldwide are now Latinos.

"Even here in America, the majority of Christ-followers will be of Latino descent by 2030," Rodriguez said. "This is our reformation. Seventy years ago, the majority of Latin Americans were Catholics."

C. Peter Wagner, president of Global Harvest Ministries and a former missionary to Bolivia, also underscored the emergence of an overwhelming number of Pentecostal and charismatic ministries, which he attributes to a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit.

"Many were never trained in seminary; a lot come from the business world," Wagner said. "These people have multiplied megachurches in every metropolitan area. Many number in the tens of thousands; few are led by people who have gone to theological school."

Evangelist Lee Grady, who is a former Charisma editor, says "there is a move of God sweeping so many parts of Latin America that nobody can claim they have a corner on that."

"I have yet to go to any place in a major metropolitan area there where there's not an outpouring of the Holy Spirit," he says.
India: 15 Christian clerics donate kidneys after priest leads the way

Fifteen Christian clerics in Kerala, India have donated organs since 2009, when a Catholic priest set an example by giving his kidney to a patient in need.

Fr Davis Chiramel founded the Kidney Federation of India after donating to Thekkemadathil Gopinathan, a poor electrician.

The Times of India (ToI) reported that since then, 15 clerics, including a Bishop and a nun, have donated their kidneys and Kerala is now the only state in India where hundreds of people have volunteered to become live kidney donors.

The Kidney Federation of India is reportedly receiving numerous calls with people expressing interest in donating organs.

Unprecedentedly, Chiramel has also offered to donate his body for the students of the Thrissur Medical College Hospital in Kerala after his death.

"I believe paradise is realised when you offer whatever is in your possession while alive, and not when you ensure your body is laid in a nicely built tomb,'' Chiramel told ToI.

Jacob Murickan, the auxiliary Bishop of Pala diocese, donated his kidney to a 30-year-old youth named Sooraj. A Catholic nun, Sister Chaitanya has also donated her kidney to a 40-year-old man.

The News Minute noted that most of the organ recipients are not Christians.

Chiramel, 56, said: "I had gone through the medical history of at least ten people who had donated kidney[s] earlier, and had seen the downloaded videos of transplant surgeries. I was fully convinced that kidney donation does not cause any health issues".

Gopinathan was initially reluctant to accept kidney from Chiramel. "How can I make a priest, who is engaged in many other social service activities, suffer for me? This was my thinking then. But Fr Chiramel was determined and my friends persuaded me to accept,'' Gopinathan said.

Gopinathan is now leading a normal life and goes to work regularly. "I' m completely happy now," he said.

In the UK, the NHS has in the past appealed to faith communities to donate organs.
Pope Francis hosts Syrian refugees for lunch at his private residence

Pope Francis today shared lunch at his residence with the group of 21 Syrian refugees now living in Rome.

The Pope shared gifts with the refugees, who are staying with the Community of Sant'Egidio inside the Vatican.

Greg Burke, the Director of the Holy See press office, said: "Both adults and children had an opportunity to speak with Pope Francis about the beginning of their lives in Italy. The children presented the Holy Father with a collection of their drawings, and the Pope presented them with toys and other gifts."

The Pope hosted the refugees at Casa Santa Marta, his private residence.

The families arrived in Italy after the visit by Pope Francis to the island of Lesbos in Greece. The first group of refugees flew back with the Pope on 16 April and the second arrived in mid-June.

Pope Francis and his Syrian guests were joined by the Substitute Secretary of State, Archbishop Angelo, Becciu, Professor Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio, Dr Domenico Giani, Commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie, and two gendarmes who assisted with the transfer of the families from Lesbos to Italy.

Pope Francis's trip to Lesbos was organised after the Pontiff said he wanted "to shed light on the major humanitarian problem" presented by the refugee crisis.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, he said the three families were selected because they had their papers ready.

Two Christian families were also originally meant to be taken in by the Vatican, but their documents had not been prepared in time.

"I have always said that building walls is not a solution," the Pope added. "We saw walls during the last century and they did not resolve anything. We must build bridges. Bridges are built with intelligence, with dialogue, with integration."

In Lesbos, he greeted hundreds of refugees. "I want to tell you that you are not alone," he told them.

"In these weeks and months, you have endured much suffering in your search for a better life. Many of you felt forced to flee situations of conflict and persecution for the sake, above all, of your children, your little ones."
Religious freedom severely restricted for 75 per cent of global population

Three-quarters of the world's population suffer from severe restrictions on religious freedom, the US State Department said on Wednesday.

The 2015 International Religious Freedom Report released on August 10 said that a quarter of countries around the world, which account for about 75 per cent of the global population, curtail religious liberty through "government policies or the hostile acts of individuals, organizations, or societal groups."

"Around the world, governments continued to tighten their regulatory grip on religious groups, and particularly on minority religious groups and religions which are viewed as not traditional to that specific country," the report, which is released annually, said.

Researchers found that the number of countries that require "some kind of registration" has increased significantly over the last 20 years, to nearly 90 per cent of all countries. They found "a strong link between increasing registration requirements and an overall deterioration in the status of religious freedom in many countries," the report said. "They also found that members of minority religions, or religions that are new to a country, are disproportionately discriminated against by this increasing regulation of the religious space."

The report placed particular emphasis on blasphemy laws around the world, which Ambassador at large for international religious freedom, David Saperstein, said had a "chilling, sometimes deadly effect".

"Roughly a quarter of the world's countries have blasphemy laws, and more than one in 10 have laws or policies penalizing apostasy, and the existence of these laws has been used by governments in too many cases to intimidate, repress religious minorities, and governments have too often failed to take appropriate steps to prevent societal violence sparked by accusations of blasphemy and apostasy," Saperstein said.

"And when these claims turn out to be blatantly false accusations made to pursue other agendas, governments will often fail to act to hold perpetrators accountable. These government failures weaken trust in the rule of law, creating an atmosphere of impunity for those who would resort to violence or make false claims of blasphemy."

The State Department highlighted Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Mauritania as giving particularly harsh punishments for blasphemy and apostasy. "Such laws conflict with and undermine universally recognized human rights," it said.

The report also said Islamic State and Boko Haram "continued to rank amongst the most egregious abusers of religious freedom in the world" last year.

It condemned ISIS' "brutal strategy" against minority groups such as Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims, and Boko Haram's "indiscriminate, violent attacks targeting both Christians and Muslims who spoke out against or opposed their violent ideology".

It also said the Syrian government was responsible for the abuse of Sunni Muslims and members of other religious minority groups.

Specific countries where citizens were found to be denied religious freedom include North Korea, where the exercise of religious freedom "continued to be nearly non-existent", Eritrea, Burma, Vietnam and the Central African Republic.

Russia's anti-extremism measures have been used by authorities to "revoke the registrations of minority religious groups and impose restrictions on their religious practices, and their ability to purchase land and build places of worship," the report said.

However, the State Department also noted some positive trends in religious freedom. It praised European measures to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred, and said the Kenyan Muslims who shielded Christians from an al-Shabaab attack in December 2015 were an example of improved interfaith relations.

It also pointed to Pope Francis' trip to the Central African Public in November last year, which religious leaders said "helped restore a significant degree of trust between religious communities".
Scott Lively: Why he's wrong about absolutely everything

Scott Lively isn't everyone's cup of tea. The conservative anti-gay activist is facing a lawsuit for his support of Uganda's draconian anti-homosexual legislation and regularly ruffles feathers because of his fairly extreme positions.

Judging by an article for WND.com entitled The Christian Solution to Jihad, he's at it again. He says he's returned to the US from touring Europe, trying to find out about the two primary threats to Christianity in the world today: the "LBGT agenda and Islamic jihad".

Who's responsible? Barack Obama, of course, who is a "megalomaniac". What's the solution? To "reclaim a more masculine perspective of Christianity and the courage to assert it forcefully".

Lively gives as his role models Ronald Reagan and ("with important reservations") Vladimir Putin. He repeats the (false, but very popular in some circles) view that the US was founded on the King James Bible and the slogan "No King but Jesus" and says the Church is "wussified". And, he says: "What's missing today in the church, in far too many homes and communities, and in the governments of the Western world is strong male leadership grounded in the "whole Bible" worldview, even if not modeling a perfect moral example."

So, granted that Reagan is dead and Putin is Russian, who's the best candidate around? Yes  it's Donald Trump. "The Bible does not teach the sort of moral perfectionism some have demanded of Trump as a prerequisite for their support, but on the contrary offers many examples of morally flawed men placed in leadership of civil government by God Himself. "

So, he concludes: "What will make America (and Europe) great  and safe  again is assertive, resolute, paternalistic and decidedly masculine Christianity. It's time for the church of Jesus Christ to 'man up', throw off the shackles of political correctness in all of its forms, take back the culture from the atheists, libertines and radical feminists, and set an example of strength and order."

So, does Lively have a point? Certainly, if he says Americans are not electing a saint but a president. Someone could be a very good president while not being a shining example of Christian virtue  though someone with Trump's well-documented character flaws is unlikely to be either.

But on every other level, Lively is just wrong. Here's why.

1.The primary threats to Christianity are not homosexuality and Islamism.

These are the primary preoccupations of right-wing conspiracy theorists. The primary threat to Christianity is  as it's always been  Christians who aren't living up to their calling to be Christlike. Lively should go figure.

2. The Church is not "wussified".

A 'wuss' is meek, mild and timid. But the Church today is growing Christians who are strong, courageous and dedicated. They preach, they teach, they sacrifice. They aren't wusses because they don't hate people who are different and don't talk the language of judgment or exclusion.

3. Taking Putin and Trump as role models is horrific.

Admiring someone because they're strong is beyond wrong. The question is, what do they do with their strength? There are plenty of strong rulers in the Old Testament who are condemned for their evildoing. Leaving Trump aside, because he's never yet been able to exercise power, Putin has been responsible for thousands of deaths in Crimea and Ukraine and in Syria. Isaiah 5:20: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil."

4. He has the wrong idea of masculinity.

Has Scott Lively has been watching too many old Westerns? Masculinity doesn't mean aggression, violence and paternalism. Not all problems are solved by gunfire. Women are not frail, fainting little creatures who just need a man's protecting arm around them. That's the shadow-side of maleness which real men learn to discard. They treat women as equals, because they are. God preserve us from spiritual Putins in charge of churches  or in charge of nations.

And God preserve us from Scott Lively and people who think like him.

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
The Gospel Coalition removes controversial 'black husband' blog

The Gospel Coalition has removed a controversial blog from its website in which a woman shared her reaction when her white daughter married a black man.

Author Gaye Clarke said when she prayed for a "godly, kind" husband for her daughter, she "hadn't counted on God sending an African-American with dreads named Glenn".

She went on to offer an eight-step guide of how to deal with the situation, including advice to "rejoice in all things".

Clarke was widely criticised online, with commentators saying she had failed to understand her prejudices against the black community.

However, upon Clarke's request, The Gospel Coalition (TGC)  a "fellowship of evangelical churches" founded by Tim Keller and DA Carson  has now removed the article from its website.

In a tweet, Clarke said she was "profoundly grieved over the hurt and harm" her post had caused, and asked for prayers.

I have asked TGC to remove my article from their website. I am profoundly grieved over the hurt and harm it has caused. Would covet prayers.  Gaye Clark (@ClarkGaye) August 10, 2016

TGC has since posted an audio conversation in which three African American leaders, including TGC editor Jason Cook, reflect on Clarke's article, "the ensuing backlash, and lessons to be learned".

"An article intended to celebrate God's work in this family's life also became an occasion for hurt and pain. Understandable frustration and constructive concern was not the only response. Sadly, white supremacists have threatened the author and her family," TGC said.

"We invite you to listen to the conversation to understand TGC's editorial process, what we could have done better, what we can learn going forward, and more."
Theresa May's anti-extremism strategy 'significant source of tension' among Muslims

A senior Conservative MP has warned that the Government's flagship 'Prevent' strategy against Islamic extremism is "a significant source of tension" among Muslims living in Britain.

The strategy, devised by Theresa May when she implemented the Counter Terrorism Act a year ago as Home Secretary, is criticised in a new report into job prospects among Muslims by the cross-party women and equalities committee in Parliament.

Maria Miller, the group's Tory chair, said: "The challenges that the government faces in tackling extremism cannot be underestimated but in the course of this inquiry we came across individual Muslims who were reluctant to speak to us for fear that our inquiry was part of the Prevent programme. The Prevent strategy was cited as a significant source of tension by a number of participants."

The report, titled 'Employment Opportunities for Muslims in the UK', points out that there is a 12.8 per cent unemployment rate among the UK's 2.7 million Muslims, compared with 5.4 per cent for the general population.

It says: "In the course of this inquiry we came across individual Muslims who were reluctant to engage with us for fear that our inquiry was part of the Prevent programme. During our visit to Luton, Muslim participants told us Government interventions made them wary and that they felt they were being treated as a suspect community. The Prevent strategy was cited as a significant source of tension."

Haras Rafiq, of the Quilliam think tank which focuses on counter-extremism, defended the Prevent strategy. "Prevent was not set up to deal with social cohesion and inequality. It was set up purely and simply to prevent further terrorist attacks after July 7 [2005]," he said. "In the purest sense, it has done what it was set up for."

Rafiq added that Prevent needed to be better presented. "It needs better explanation from government to explain what it is and what it isn't. People think that it's about spying or social cohesion, and it is not."

The report does not call for the Government to abandon the Prevent programme. Instead, it makes 19 recommendations for ways to overcome discrimination at work and improve the job prospects of Muslims. These include making sure that employers are made aware that discrimination against an applicant on the grounds of religion is illegal.
Trump in fresh controversy after calling Obama and Clinton 'co-founders' of ISIS

Donald Trump today called President Barack Obama and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton "co-founders" of Islamic State, igniting fresh criticism of his inflammatory campaign style.

The Republican presidential candidate has previously attacked Obama and Clinton, who was Secretary of State from 2009-13, for the way in which the US withdrew from Iraq after the war, saying it left a power vacuum which helped create the militant Islamist group that has seized parts of Iraq and Syria.

But at a campaign rally in Florida on Wednesday night, Trump first made the assertion that Obama was the "founder" of ISIS, and repeated the claim about the President and Clinton in an interview on Thursday morning with CNBC.

"He [Obama] was the founder of ISIS. And so was she. I mean I call them co-founders," said Trump, who claims to have opposed the Iraq war. "He shouldn't have gotten out way he got out. It was a disaster, what he did," he told CNBC.

Obama opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and campaigned for the White House in 2008 on a promise to end the war. The US pulled out combat troops in 2011. In 2014, ISIS declared an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

Reacting to the comments, a spokesperson for Clinton, Jesse Lehrich pointed to US advances against the militant group in Libya this week. "FYI  US-backed militias retook ISIS's stronghold in Libya today thanks to Obama-authorised air strikes," he said in a tweet on Wednesday night.

Trump refused to back down, asking on CNBC: "Is there something wrong with saying that? Why...are people complaining that I said he [Obama] was the founder of ISIS? All I do is tell the truth, I'm a truth teller."

Trump drew criticisms from his own party. Senior Republican Sean Duffy said Obama and Clinton did not found Islamic State and urged Trump to stay on message.

"Stay on script. Don't go off script. Read your teleprompter and you're going to be fine," Duffy said on MSNBC.

Trump denied that he had made many mistakes. "I don't think I've made too many errors," he told CNBC. The businessman added that if he loses he can return to a comfortable life.

"It's not what I'm looking to do - I think we're going to have a victory but we'll see," Trump added.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
Victory for religious freedom campaigners in California Christian colleges struggle

The sponsor of a California Senate bill that would have removed the exemption of religious colleges from anti-discrimination laws is dropping the provision following furious opposition.

Senator Ricardo Lara faced a wave of protest from senior evangelical leaders including Rick Warren and Russell Moore, with many from other traditions and faiths, over Senate Bill 1146. They argued it would dramatically curb the religious freedom of private academic institutions.

The bill would have allowed lawsuits from students who face discrimination because they are in same-sex relationships or because they are transgender and are required to use toilet and other facilities that do not correspond to their new gender. Many Christian institutions regard a prohibition on homosexual relationships as biblical faithfulness and do not accept the validity of gender reassignment.

Lara's amended bill will require religious colleges to disclose whether they have an exemption and report to the state when students are expelled for violating morality codes.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Lara said: "The goal for me has always been to shed the light on the appalling and unacceptable discrimination against LGBT students at these private religious institutions throughout California.

"I don't want to just rush a bill that's going to have unintended consequences so I want to take a break to really study this issue further."

He said he would pursue other legislation next year and may return to the controversial provision dropped yesterday.

The statement signed by Moore and Warren said the bill was "harmful to the free exercise of religion in higher education" and says that if enacted it "would severely restrict the ability of religious education institutions to set expectations of belief and conduct that align with the institution's religious tenets".
We need to learn our history  otherwise our country will make the same mistakes again

It's never been easier to find things out and to learn. The power of the internet means that information is at our fingertips in a way that would have astounded our ancestors less than 100 years ago. But the internet also offers us a window into just how many people seem to have much to learn.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," George Santayana is supposed to have said. Though it may be a well-worn cliche we'd do well to pay attention to it now more than ever. In the UK and the USA there are countless examples of historical ignorance affecting the national debate.

Let's start in the USA, with the Trump phenomenon. While there are elements of Trumpism which are clearly unique  his absurdly self-aggrandising answers to questions, his independent wealth allied to his demagoguery, his never having held elected office  there are many echoes in Trumpism of some features of American history.

His nativist rhetoric is based on an imagined America of White Anglo Saxon Protestants (and no-one else). In the 1850s, as the country fissured ahead of the Civil War, the American Party and the Know Nothings engaged in what we can now call proto-Trumpism. "The Know Nothings were rabidly xenophobic," writes Laura Reston. "This was the first time that Americans had to confront an immigrant class whose origin stories, last names, and religious beliefs set them apart from the British settlers who had cleared her forests and populated her first towns centuries earlier. The Know Nothings claimed that Catholic immigrants owed their allegiance, not to the burgeoning American government, but to the Pope, whose autocratic ruling style was antithetical to American democratic values." It isn't hard to see the obvious parallel with Trump.

"Nativists champion the purported interests of American citizens over those of immigrants," writes Donald Brand, "justifying their hostility to immigrants by the use of derogatory stereotypes: Mexicans are rapists; Muslims are terrorists."

We can go on and compare Trump's outrageous campaign with those of Huey Long  the populist Louisiana Governor in the 1930s. There are obvious links to Ros Perot's insurgent campaign in 1992 (and 1996). The signs were there, but were we looking to history?

The promises Trump makes can't be kept. He can't build a wall. He can't ban Muslims. If he tries these absurd policies he'll bankrupt the country, cause the economy to collapse and fracture an already deeply divided populace. But his rhetoric has an appeal to those who've been cut adrift from the success of American capitalism  and who don't know enough history to realise that demagogues never deliver.

Let's look at the UK  specifically the deep hole in which the Labour Party finds itself.

In the midst of a chasm in the party over who the next leader should be and which direction the party should take, there have been some, at best, baffling views on display. One of the hot button issues is Britain's independent nuclear deterrent  Trident. Some in Labour think it should be scrapped on moral and cost grounds. Others consider it a vital part of the national defence. It's hardly a new debate  it goes back a long way in the Labour Party.

Both are legitimate positions within the Labour Party. But the idea, espoused by some supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, that Labour MUST oppose Trident or that backing Trident is a uniquely right-wing position is historically laughable. It was Labour's most successful and arguably most left wing government (1945-51) under Clement Attlee which developed Britain's first nuclear deterrent.

Over on the other side of the Commons, the Conservatives seem to have their own version of historical myopia. As I've written before, Conservatives seem to have forgotten how to conserve things. Under the current Conservative government, British institutions seem to be under almost perpetual threat. Far from being conserved, they are run down.

The NHS, once the envy of the world, is in a deep funding crisis. The legal aid system  of which the UK should be rightly proud, and which enables the most fundamental British value, equality before the law  has been reprieved from the most drastic cuts, but remains vulnerable. The bedroom tax, meanwhile, is a policy which breaks up communities also a result of the ending of lifetime tenancies.

When their policies are described as being "damaging to family life and to communities" we have to ask whether the Conservatives remember any more of their history than Labour does.

A lack of historical knowledge also deprives us of knowing about our faith as a country. While we are now obviously a much more secular country than we once were, that doesn't mean we can forget our historic faith. In fact, we can only understand how we became the kind of country we are by understanding the Christian faith. But the head of religion at the BBC says many people don't even understand some obvious Biblical references.

So what is the answer here? Personally encourage as many children as possible to study history. I'd also broaden the curriculum. In my experience, children spend too long studying The Nazis and Henry VIII. These are both important historical topics but they aren't sufficient for a working understanding of our history. Politics lessons should also be more widely available at school.

It isn't just down to the education system, though. We have a responsibility as citizens to become more au fait with our history and by doing so, to unlock the keys to understanding the present. The future depends on it.

Follow Andy Walton on Twitter @waltonandy.
Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral to be flood-lit red to highlight persecuted Christians around world

Both Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral are to be flood-lit in red by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in November this year to highlight the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

The move was announced by the campaigning peer Lord Alton in an article for the Catholic Truth Society. "In November, ACN is arranging for Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey to be floodlit in red to commemorate the persecuted," Lord Alton wrote. "If every parish in the country did the same it might at last wake up our political classes to the scale of the suffering."

On 29 April, Rome's Trevi Fountain was also dyed red by ACN to highlight the plight of persecuted Christians.

Lord Alton added: "In more than 100 countries Christians are persecuted...In Parliament I hosted a meeting of the charity, Aid to the Church In Need (ACN). We heard of how a Christian pastor in a village of Aleppo was told to convert or die. He was forced to watch as his 12-year-old son was tortured: the boy's fingers cut from his hand. Neither the father or son renounced their faith, and both were executed. Despite Resolutions being passed in the House of Commons, the American Congress, the European Parliament and the Australian House of Representatives, the British Government still fails to name these events for the genocide that they are  or to lay a Resolution before the Security Council."

He highlighted examples of atrocities committed against Christians, especially in the Middle East. "It's high time we stood with those who are suffering or dying for their beliefs  with the Christians of the Middle East; with the Iranian, Saeed Abedini, who was imprisoned for 10 years for 'undermining national security' by hosting Christian gatherings in his home; with Chinese Catholics like the late Bishop Cosmas Shi Enxiang, who died last year at 94 years of age, having spent half his life in prison; with the Chinese Christians who, since the beginning of 2016, have seen 49 of their churches defaced or destroyed, crosses removed and a pastor's wife crushed to death in the rubble as she pleaded with the authorities to desist; with the Christians targeted by groups like ISIS, the Taliban, Al Shabab, and Boko Haram," Lord Alton wrote.

A 2013 report by ACN, entitled 'Persecuted and Forgotten' presented testinomies from persecuted Christians and investigated 30 countries where Christianity is under threat, concluding that in some areas the faith is at risk of being completely wiped out.

There is especially severe persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria where ISIS thrives and subjects believers to forced conversions, violence, enslaving, and displacement. Christians in Nigeria are also being subjected to constant attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Other countries where Christians experience hardship for their faith include in North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Eritrea.
Why this professor of religion thinks Donald Trump's values are in stark contrast to Christian beliefs

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump seems to be the favoured choice of evangelical leaders because of his stance against abortion. But Greg Snyder, professor of religion and chair of the religion department at Davidson College, thinks this should not be the case since Trump's values are actually in stark contrast to Christian beliefs.

Trump once said that he does not deserve the support of evangelicals, and Snyder cannot help but agree.

"He does not deserve the support of Christians, not simply for reasons of lifestyle, but because his values are fundamentally opposed to Christian commitments  commitments that Jesus urged in word and deed, principles for which he laid down His life. These values constitute the Kingdom of God, the heart of Jesus' message," Snyder writes for The Charlotte Observer.

Snyder says God condemns those who "trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way." Trump showed disregard to those in need when he proposed a ban on Muslim immigrants in the United States, citing terrorism as a reason, he says.

During his time on earth, Jesus told a rich man who wanted to follow Him: "Sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me." But Snyder wonders what Trump is doing with his wealth, and if his business practices even align with the ideals laid down by Jesus.

Jesus also said that "those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." But Trump, who constantly promotes his self-interests, does not seem to reconcile with the teachings of Jesus, Synder says.

"Many Christian voters object strenuously to abortion, and support Trump in the hope that he will appoint Supreme Court justices sympathetic to their cause. The weight of this real and persisting moral issue cannot be denied. But should this one issue, important though it may be, cause Christians to jettison the manifest teaching of Jesus on all other subjects?" Snyder asks.

He says there will never be a perfect candidate, but he hopes Christians would decide now which imperfect candidate is the better kind of politician, and which is worse.
Willie Robertson on why people should vote for Donald Trump: 'He will always tell you the truth'

"Duck Dynasty" star Willie Robertson has been trying to use humour to win people over to the presidential candidate of his choiceRepublican nominee Donald Trump.

Before promoting Trump during the Republican National Convention's opening night in Cleveland, Ohio on July 18 this year, Robertson bashed the media and lauded "regular folks like us." He then said he identifies with Trump because they share a lot of similarities, according to The Daily Mail.

"Me and Mr. Trump have three things in common  we're both successful businessmen, we both have had hit television shows, and we both have intelligent wives who are much better looking than we are," he jokingly said.

Robertson added that Trump delivers the hard truth, and a lot of people don't like it. "Now, he may not always tell you what you want to hear, and it may not always be politically correct," Robertson said, "but when your father is Phil Robertson, I'm used to that!"

On a more serious note, the CEO of Duck Commander said that Trump's honesty is something that Americans should appreciate. "Donald Trump will always  always  tell you the truth as he sees it," he said.

Meanwhile, Robertson said Trump is a real leader who represents success and strengthtwo things the country sorely needs. He added that America is in a really "bad spot," so they need a president who can fix their current predicament and steer them towards the right path.

"If you're looking for a job, or trying to grow a business like I am, Donald Trump will have your back," Robertson said. "If you're a serviceman fighting overseas, or a cop who is risking their lives to help keep us safe at home, Donald Trump will have your back."

"If you're an average American who feels like you've been forgotten, neglected by far away leaders, that the deck is stacked against you, and you just can't win, Donald Trump will have your back," he said.
The inside track on Outsider Art  the artists to know

Head of Outsider Art Cara Zimmerman profiles the artists every aspiring collector should know about  with selected works from the Outsider Art sale on 3 February 2022 at Christies in New York

First coined by the critic Roger Cardinal in 1972, the term Outsider Art was originally employed as a synonym for Art Brut. That label was created by Jean Dubuffet in the 1940s to describe works produced beyond the boundaries of the mainstream art world. In the ensuing decades the label has broadened to encompass work by artists who have not had any formal training, and who have never been part of the art establishment. Some of those described as outsiders have come from difficult circumstances, having experienced poverty or mental illness. In recent years the popularity of Outsider Art has increased among both collectors and curators, with countless examples appearing at auction and in international exhibitions. Given its raw, democratic origins, Outsider Art has a universal appeal. Not only does the work transcend genres, it also serves as a powerful mirror of the artists state of mind and of the time in which he or she lived. It is impossible to get Outsider Art that is removed emotionally and personally from its maker, says specialist Cara Zimmerman. Here, Zimmerman highlights the artists for collectors to look out for, with selected works from Outsider and Vernacular Art on 21 January in New York, and previous standout pieces offered at Christies.

1

Henry Darger

Of all of the artists mentioned by Zimmerman, Henry Darger is the one whose story reads most like a fairy tale. Born in Chicago in 1892, Darger spent much of his childhood at the Lincoln Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children. After leaving at 16, he found work as a janitor.

By the time he died, in 1973 at the age of 81, his landlord had discovered In the Realms of the Unreal, an epic 15,000-page typed manuscript of text, accompanied by large-scale watercolour drawings that Darger had been working on for almost six decades. Telling the story of a child-slave rebellion on an imaginary planet, the drawings that accompany In the Realms of the Unreal are an incredibly complex body of visual work, using collage, assemblage, tracing, photo enlargement and drawing. The drawings themselves are phenomenal, says Zimmerman. They can hold up anywhere. They show an incredibly sophisticated understanding of composition, as well as a bright and interesting use of colour. Its tempting, she notes, to focus on Dargers personal history when considering the work. But, as with most great Outsider artists, the quality of Dargers art transcends his narrative.

2

Bill Traylor

Born into slavery in 1854, self-taught artist Bill Traylor (1854-1949) only began to make work in 1939, around the age of 75. Having spent his entire working life on an Alabama plantation, in 1928 he moved to the state capital of Montgomery, where he would begin to draw for the first time. When he reflected on the move in later life, Traylor  who estimated he had raised 20-odd children in his lifetime  reasoned: My white folks had died and my children had scattered.

Life in Montgomery, however, proved difficult. Although he sought employment, painful rheumatism left Traylor unable to work. With no income except a small public stipend, he became homeless, sleeping in the back room of a funeral parlour at night, and spending the day camped out on the city's Monroe Avenue.

Daily life on Monroe Avenue, and his memories of the plantation, inspired Traylors art. He worked in pencil, on cardboard or other scraps of material, and his subjects included people he saw on the street, animals and found objects. In the spring or summer of 1939, Traylor met the artist Charles Shannon, who began to provide him with materials and to preserve his older drawings. In 1940 his first exhibition opened, entitled Bill Traylor: Peoples Artist.

3

William Edmondson

Open a larger version of this image William Edmondson (1874-1951), Lady, 1930s. Limestone. 15 in (38.1 cm) high, 4 in (11.4 cm) wide, 8 in (21.6 cm) deep. Sold for $237,500 on 18 January 2019 at Christies in New York

Born to former slaves on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee, William Edmondson (1874-1951) moved with his family to Nashville proper in around 1890 after urban expansion obliterated his childhood home. He held two jobs for much of his adult life: from 1900 to 1907 he worked for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway, and from around 1907 to 1931 he served as a janitor at the Nashville Womens Hospital. In the early 1930s, Edmondson established a stonecutting business next to his home to create tombstones for his community. There he began to carve the freestanding limestone sculptures of religious figures, people and animals for which he has achieved international acclaim.

Open a larger version of this image William Edmondson (1874-1951), Boxer, circa 1936. Limestone. 17 in (43.1 cm) high, 7 in (18.4 cm) wide, 9 in (23.5 cm) deep. Sold for $785,000 on 22 January 2016 at Christies in New York



Edmondsons yard quickly attracted the attention of art lovers. In 1936, Vanderbilt University affiliate Sidney Hirsch came across it, and he introduced his friends Alfred and Elizabeth Starr to the artist. The Starrs in turn brought Harper's Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe to the yard, and she photographed the artist and his work multiple times between 1936 and 1937. After seeing the Dahl-Wolfe photographs, Alfred H. Barr, Jr., then director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, authorised a 1937 exhibition of works by the sculptor, making Edmondson the first African American to have a solo show at MoMA. Christies set a world auction record for a piece of Outsider Art with Edmondsons Boxer, which sold for $785,000 in January 2016.

4

William Hawkins

Open a larger version of this image William Hawkins (1895-1990), Indian Landing. Enamel on masonite. 24 x 47 in (60.1 x 119.3 cm). Sold for $12,500 on 21 January 2021 at Christies in New York

African-American artist William Hawkins (1895-1990) is known for his graphic, large-scale images depicting animals, architecture, religious scenes and historic events. He was raised on a farm in Kentucky and attended school up until third grade. After moving to Columbus, Ohio, in 1916, he held jobs ranging from plumber to truck driver to brothel manager. Although Hawkins began creating art in his thirties, he did not earn public recognition until 1981, when Columbus artist Lee Garrett first noticed and promoted his work.

Open a larger version of this image William Hawkins (1895-1990), Two Dinosaurs Wrestling, 1989. Enamel, cornmeal and collage on Masonite. 48 x 56 in (122 x 143.5 cm). Sold for $45,000 on 17 January 2020 at Christies in New York

Hawkins painted borders directly on his pieces to save his patrons the expense of purchasing frames. He also took great pride in his role as an artist, and as such always signed his work in large block lettering, including his birth date alongside his name. While the artist used magazine images and photographs as source material, his paintings were organic and often free-form. He would tilt his surfaces after applying his signature semi-gloss enamel paint, allowing the artwork to make itself before he finalised his imagery.

5

Thornton Dial and Ronald Lockett

What sets Thornton Dial and Ronald Lockett apart from other Outsider artists  besides the fact that they were cousins  is that they worked in a particular landscape of the African-American South. Living close together in Bessemer, Alabama, they both produced work that deals, in different ways, with poverty, racism and environmental degradation.

Open a larger version of this image Thornton Dial (1928-2016), Fishing for Love, 1992. Reverse graphite, charcoal and watercolour on paper. 30 x 22 in (76.2 x 57.1 cm). Sold for $8,125 on 21 January 2021 at Christies in New York

The work of Dial, who was born in 1928, was first informed by his employment as a steelworker at the Pullman Company, which produced railway carriages. Using materials such as rusted metal, he created sculptures that he then buried in his backyard. When he retired from his day job in the 1980s, he began making art full-time. As he became more famous, his work was shown at the Whitney Biennial in 2000, in a major solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston in 2005-06, and in a massive touring retrospective organised by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. He used found materials from his neighbourhood to create dense, layered paintings and drawings redolent of Rauschenberg and Pollock. His work reflects his culture and his community, Zimmerman says. The found objects that are incorporated into the artworks are laden with information. The finished pieces would have entirely different meanings without the incorporation of these materials.

Open a larger version of this image Thornton Dial (1928-2016), Representative, 1994. Mixed media on canvas mounted on board. 65 in (165.1 cm) high, 58 in (147.3 cm) wide, 17 in (44.5 cm) deep. Sold for $37,500 on 21 January 2021 at Christies in New York

Much younger than his cousin, Ronald Lockett was born in 1965 and grew up observing the art being made around him. When he began creating his own work, it manifested itself in dark, complex assemblages that used materials including rusted metals and nails to explore dark moments in human history  the Holocaust, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and the plight of Native Americans. After Lockett contracted HIV in the early 1990s, death became a central theme in his work. He began to use found objects that related to themes of regeneration  a repurposing of the discarded. He had access to pain, and he used it, says Zimmerman. In 2014, major works by both Dial and Lockett were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

6

Martin Ramirez

Born in 1895 in Tepatitlan, Mexico, Martin Ramirez emigrated to the United States in the 1920s to find employment on the railways. Six years later he was diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia, and institutionalised until his death in 1963. After being transferred to DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn near Sacramento in 1948, he met Tarmo Pasto, a visiting professor of psychology and art, who began saving the large-scale works Ramirez was making out of materials including brown paper bags, mashed potatoes and saliva.

Open a larger version of this image Martin Ramirez (1885-1963), Untitled (Tunnels and Train), 1950s. Graphite and crayon on two sheets of joined brown paper. 67 x 38 in (170.2 x 96.5 cm). Sold for $187,500 on 21 January 2021 at Christies in New York

Pasto provided Ramirez with the paper and drawing implements he would use to create many works. These pieces explored themes such as the railroad, the Virgin Mary, and his native country. He had the ability to create depth and perspective using really sophisticated rendering techniques, observes Zimmerman. Although he remained largely unknown during his lifetime, since his death he has been the subject of international art exhibitions at institutions such as the American Folk Art Museum in New York. In 2015 the United States Postal Service honoured his work by featuring five of his drawings on a series of limited-edition stamps. What makes Ramirezs work great, according to Zimmerman, is that it completely transcends collecting genres. Ive seen it in great collections of Americana, Post-War, Contemporary and Old Masters, she says. His art holds its own alongside works of any genre.

7

Adolf Wolfli

Although Outsider Art comes from around the world, Zimmerman notes that Art Brut was originally used to describe work made in Europe, such as that by Adolf Wolfli. Wolfli was the subject of a 1921 book, A Mental Patient as Artist, by psychiatrist Dr Walter Morgenthaler, and later captured the attention of Dubuffet and Surrealists such as Andre Breton in the early 1940s.

Open a larger version of this image Adolf Wolfli (1864-1930), Maggingen/Lembinger (double sided), 1927. Coloured pencil and graphite on paper. 11 x 20 in (28.9 x 51.76 cm). Sold for $25,625 on 17 January 2020 at Christies in New York

Born in 1864, Wolfli was institutionalised for the entirety of his adult life until his death in 1930. He considered art as his bread, and traded it with other patients for cigarettes and food. He is best known for a semi-autobiographical epic he began in 1908, which grew to encompass more than 25,000 pages with 1,600 illustrations. A heavy layering of details that betrays a horror vacui, or fear of empty space, marks his compositions. Its incredibly exciting and dense, says Zimmerman of his work. He created an entire body of work around an imagined life.

8

Judith Scott

Fibre artist Judith Scott (1943-2005) is renowned for her intricately wrapped sculptures that transform everyday found objects into cocoon-like, abstracted forms. From 1987 until her death in 2005, Scott worked at the Creative Growth Art Center, Oakland, California, where she developed her singular artistic voice.

Open a larger version of this image Judith Scott (1943-2005), Untitled (Heart), 1993. Yarn and canvas strips over mixed media supports. 34 in (86.4 cm) high, 16 in (40.6 cm) wide, 14 in (35.6 cm) deep. Sold for $52,500 on 21 January 2021 at Christies in New York

Delicately and carefully enveloping her chosen supports with layers of yarn, cloth and other fibres, Scott engages in a painstaking sculptural process through which she engages with the world around her. The artist was extremely close to her twin sister, and many of her works feature pairs or variations on themes of duality. Scott was born with Downs Syndrome and lost her hearing early in life; art became her main method of communication, and her lasting legacy. Scotts art was the subject of a major retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, in 2014-15, and is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the American Folk Art Museum, both in New York, and the Museum of Everything in London.

9

George Widener

Open a larger version of this image George Widener (b. 1962), Megalopolis 181, 2007. Paint and ink on pieced paper. 53 x 30 in (134.6 x 77.5 cm). Sold for $40,000 on 18 January 2019 at Christies in New York
Houston-based Hartman Income REIT Management has cashed in on one of its Dallas buildings.

Hartman sold the 127,913-square-foot, Park Central office building at 7616 LBJ Freeway to Watermark Community Church for "a significant gain over the purchase price" 12 years ago.
A Texas beef company recalled 60,350 pounds of ground beef distributed to H-E-B because of fears it could be contaminated by metal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service said.

Corpus Christi-based Sam Kane Beef Processors recalled the 3-, 5- and 10-pound packages of 73-percent-lean beef produced July 26, after a customer found a small piece of metal in a package.
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A teacher and a former school board member in a Tennessee school district are facing multiple charges after being accused of having sex with the same 15-year-old female student.

According to WSMV in Tennessee, Richard Tyson, 43, and Ernest Beechum, 70, are both charged with sexual battery by an authority figure, sexual exploitation of a minor by an authority figure and solicitation of a minor by an authority figure.
One of the state's 10 most wanted sex offenders has been captured in Houston.

Jerry Wayne Adaway, 58, was taken into custody Tuesday without incident in southwest Houston, according to the Department of Public Safety. He was wanted for failure to register as a sex offender.
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Dave Ward, the longest-running news anchor in TV history, will be leaving Channel 13 at the end of the year. But he says he is not retiring.

"My contract with Channel 13 expires at the end of this year, and that's when I'll say goodbye," Ward said. "But, no, I am definitely not retiring."

Channel 13 management had invited him to stay with the station through 2017, but he would have been hosting the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Parade and the Freedom Over Texas July 4th fireworks, Ward said.

It was an offer he couldn't accept. "That just didn't interest me at all," he said.

"They took me off the 10 p.m. newscast two years ago. They were taking me off the 6 p.m. news at the end of this year. So I would not have an anchor role anymore."

With no anchor duties, Ward said it was time to leave.

Channel 13 president Henry Florsheim said he still hopes an agreement can be reached for Ward to stay with the station beyond this year.

"Dave is always welcome at the station, and there is always a role for Dave on the air," Florsheim said. "We can't wait to celebrate his 50 years of service with us. I don't know if anybody has ever done that, and we want to celebrate his success."

Ward, 77, joined Channel 13 as a street reporter in 1966. Earlier this year, Guinness World Records honored him "for the longest career as a television news broadcaster."

Ward said he will be free to join another TV station after his current contract expires Dec. 31.
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The Friday Morning Continuing Education series kicking off this fall at University of Houston-Clear Lake is offered through the university's School of Human Sciences and Humanities.

It will be introduced through a mixer from 9-11 a.m., Aug. 26, at the university's Patio Cafe, Bayou Building, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston.

From vampires to astronauts, the Civil War to the Amazon, each session in the Friday Morning Continuing Education series will offer a choice of topics presented by expert speakers, said Director of the UHCL Foreign Language Program and Continuing Education Programs Christine Paul, who is organizing the series.

"People want these classes to expand their consciousness and awareness," she said. "We want to build a community of people who establish relationships in an academic framework.

Membership for the fall series of Friday Morning Continuing Education costs $26 plus an additional $18 course fee for each individual session participants select to attend.

In addition to access to the courses and course materials, membership also grants borrowing privileges at Alfred R. Neumann library, discounts at the UHCL bookstore and other benefits designed to enhance the educational experience.

Offerings in the new Friday Morning Continuing Education series are based on responses to surveys about the types of events that community friends want, said Paul.

Of the 256 respondents to a survey distributed about continuing education opportunities in general, Paul said 86 percent wanted continuing education opportunities on campus.

Friday Morning Continuing Education is the latest in continuing education offerings from the university. Earlier this spring, UHCL's School of Human Sciences and Humanities hosted its first Administrative and Office Professionals Summit, a successful event also coordinated through Paul's office, and showed office professionals from throughout the Houston area ways for improving communication, efficiency and productivity in the workplace. The summit is already set to be held again in 2017.

For a full schedule of upcoming Friday Morning Continuing Education sessions or to register, visit www.uhcl.edu/continuing-education or call 281-283-3033.

Church to host 'Back to School Bash'

First Presbyterian Church in Alvin at 302 South Johnson St. will host a "Back to School Bash" at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, including waterslides, popcorn, cotton candy, snow-cones, prizes, food, and many more things to help families get ready for "Back To School."

Art School for Children announces next session

Registration is open at University of Houston-Clear Lake's Art School for Children and Young Adults, with classes beginning Sept. 17.

Costs range from $100-$140, depending on the topic, and a $10 discount will be applied to registrations received by Sept. 10. To learn more, visit www.uhcl.edu/ArtSchoolforChildren.

UHCL fall registration underway

Students can register for fall 2016 classes at University of Houston-Clear Lake until 5 p.m. Aug. 19.

Late registration will be available Aug. 20-29 for an additional fee.

Fall classes begin Aug. 22. To learn more or to register, visit www.uhcl.edu/academics.

Head Start recruits for free childcare

Harris County Department of Education is accepting applications from families of children 3 and 4 years old for the 2016-17 school year at its 15 Head Start centers in Harris County, including La Porte.

Early Head Start services for children 6 weeks to 3 years of age also are available at the Baytown Head Start Center.

For information, call 713-672-6393.

Pearland youth named 2016 Davidson Fellow

The Davidson Institute of Talent Development has announced three 2016 Davidson Fellows, including a Pearland student.

Jaelynn Walls, 17, of Pearland won a $25,000 Davidson Fellows Scholarship for her project, "Humanity On-Screen: Engendering Positive Self-Perception and Political Activism in Persons With Marginalized Identities." Walls submitted a portfolio of writing portraying positive depictions of young people of marginalized identities based off racial, gender and cultural markers. A lifelong lover of literature, Walls grew up reading only about characters that she couldn't identify with. She was inspired to present characters of marginalized racial and cultural backgrounds in a positive light to correct the Eurocentric treatment or omission of characters that are not white or male.

"Being a Davidson Fellow means joining the ranks of an amazing community of incredibly talented young people," said Walls. "It means being enabled to pursue what I'm passionate about in a scholarly fashion."

Among the honorees is 16-year-old Kavita Selva of Houston and 17-year-old Michael Du of Houston. Each student won awards ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.

The 2016 Davidson Fellows will be honored at a reception in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 21. Visit www.DavidsonGifted.org for information.

Foundation gives scholarships to Alvin, Galveston students

Three students from Alvin and three from Galveston County each have been awarded $2,000 scholarships from the Ascend Cares Foundation.

The Alvin winners are Shalini Lakshmi, 18, a graduate of Alvin High School; Olivia Simpson, 20, a student at Alvin Community College; and Meredith Manis, 18, a graduate of Alvin High School.

Lakshmi's parents are Giri and Vani Lakshmi. Giri Lakshmi works in operations at the Ascend Performance Materials plant in Alvin.

Simpson's parents are Mary and Jon Simpson. Jon Simpson works as a processor at the Alvin plant.

Manis' parents are Debra and Brian Manis. Brian Manis is a research assistant at the Alvin plant.

The Galveston County winners are Alexis Hudson of Friendswood, 18, a graduate of Friendswood High School; Kate Kaiser of Santa Fe, 18, a graduate of Santa Fe High School; and Stephanie Pulley of Santa Fe, 19, a graduate of Santa Fe High School.

Hudson's parents are Diane and Kenneth Hudson. Diane Hudson is an electrical engineer at the Alvin plant.

Kaiser's parents are Jill and Scott Kaiser. Scott Kaiser is a process technician at the Alvin plant.

Pulley's parents are Kristine and Stephen Pulley. Stephen Pulley is a processor at the Alvin plant.

The nonprofit foundation, managed and funded by Ascend Performance Materials, awarded 23 scholarships to children of employees in Alabama, Florida and Texas. Applicants were required to have earned at least a 3.0 grade-point average and have demonstrated a record of community service.

Ascend Performance Materials produces chemicals and nylon resin. Headquartered in Houston, the company has approximately 925 employees in Alvin.

Lee expansion impacts parking, traffic

Due to expansion of the McNulty-Haddick Nursing Center, parking in front of the facility and adjacent to the east side of Lee College's Performing Arts Center will be inaccessible until construction is complete, sometime in late 2017.

To accommodate PAC event patrons, Lee College will offer shuttle service from parking lots 11 and 13. PAC parking on the west side of the building will remain available.

Visit www.lee.edu to learn more.

PISD has free, reduced-price meal applications

pearland Independent School District is accepting applications for free and reduced-price meals for the 2016-2017 school year.

Meals are served under the National School Lunch Program and Breakfast Program.

Online applications may be accessed at https://freeandreduced.pearlandisd.org. Paper applications are available at the food service office, 1928 N. Main, or by calling 281-412-1244.

San Jac offers maritime courses

The San Jacinto College maritime program is offering engineering courses to help mariners meet U.S. Coast Guard regulations that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2017.

The courses include: Engine Room Resource Management, Leadership and Teamwork, Leadership and Managerial Skills, Designated Duty Engineer 4000 Horsepower, Qualified Member of the Engineering Department and Management of Electrical and Electronic Control Equipment. Additional courses are under development.

Classes take place in the new Maritime Technology and Training Center, 3700 Old State Hwy. 146 in La Porte. For information, visit www.sanjac.edu/maritime.

ACC receives grant for industry training

The Texas Workforce Commission has presented a $501,882 grant to the Alvin Community College Continuing Education/Workforce Development Division to provide training for Ascend Performance Materials employees.

The grant will pay for 14,124 hours of training in 39 courses to 282 Ascend employees. The courses will cover process control and computing.

For information, visit www.twc.state.tx.us/partners/skills-development-fund.

Pasadena student going to study, live in Taiwan

Houston Community College graduate Arturo de Jesus Velazquez Cortes of Pasadena is heading to Taiwan in September for a year.

The opportunity comes through The Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston in conjunction with HCC Asian Scholarship Program Inspiring Results and Excellence.

The Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Huayu Enrichment Scholarship 2016-17 will provide Cortes with money for classes and living expenses.

Cortes attended the HCC Eastside Campus and recently received an associate of science in engineering science with a 3.9 GPA.

While at HCC, Cortes served as a math/science tutor, vice-president of the Health Club, and helped established the first Engineering Student organization at Eastside. In 2015 he received an invitation to participate in the International Air and Space Program and his team, Hybrid Inc., won first place.

When he returns from Taiwan, Cortes plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin to pursue a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering.

Pearland ISD names teachers of the year

Two Pearland Independent School District educators recently claimed the district's 2016 elementary and secondary Teacher of the Year awards.

Alexander Middle School's Kristine Holland was named Elementary Teacher of the Year. Pace Center's Ann Lowrey Merrill was named Secondary Teacher of the Year. Holland also was named a finalist for Region IV Teacher of the Year.

Both will advance to the Texas Teacher of the Year competition.
It opened last December, but Yard House at Baybrook Mall in Friendswood is already adding 21 new beers to its roster of regional and local brews.

The new beers are a result of Yard House's recent Beer Review, conducted by the restaurant's beverage team and beer experts. It took approximately three months to complete. The process was intense and "very thoughtful," said Gregory Howard, beverage manager for Yard House, in a news release.

"During this time we talk to local distributors, our own server and bartender teams as well as the brewers themselves to find out what is new and what is being called for in each location," he said.

Yard House opened in Long Beach, California, in 1996. The company operates 65 restaurants nationwide, including its Baybrook Mall location. Each site has its own distinct beer lists and reserves a handful of taps for local and regional brewers along with an offering of seasonal and small-batch selections that rotate throughout the year.

The restaurant chain's guests also provided feedback for the Beer Review. Howard said there was a huge call for the company to bring in local brews.

"What you'll find is a much more interesting and defined beer menu and each location having its own distinct list of the best local, regional and imported brands available," he said.

Howard said Indian Pale Ales remain popular, although sour beers are increasing in popularity. The style is based on European brewing traditions. Each location will feature both European sour offerings as well as some American craft beers.

Yard House at Baybrook Mall has 130 taps of beer. Among the new brews at the Friendswood location are Anchor Mango Wheat, Boulevard Tell Tale Tart, Buffalo Bayou More Cowbell, Firestone Nitro Merlin Milk Stout, Galveston Island Tiki Wheat, New Holland Dragon's Milk, Rahr and Sons Texas Red, Stupid Silly Sour and Viven Imperial IPA.

Once the Beer Review was finished, servers and bartenders at Yard House at Baybrook Mall had to be trained. The restaurant began serving the new beers July 25. Beers are served in a traditional pint or goblet. Yard House also offers beer in 9-ounce glasses known as shortys as well as its signature 32-ounce half yard.

Yard House is located at 700 Baybrook Mall. It opens daily at 11 a.m. For more information, visit www.yardhouse.com.

Bay Area Pools and Spas named 'Business of the Month'

Bay Area Pools and Spas was selected as the "Business of the Month" August by the Friendswood Chamber of Commerce.

Bay Area Pools, located at 4890 W. Main St. in League City, is owned by Bob and Lee Brock. The Brocks have been in business since 1978 and have been members of the Friendswood Chamber since then.

Bob Brock is active in the Friendswood Rotary Club, and Lee Brock works with animal rescue organizations. All four of their children have worked in the family business during high school, college and are still involved in the business.

Visit www.bayareapoolsandspas.com for more information.
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In an effort to help victims of sexual assault, Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital employees recently donated dozens of scrubs to Katy Christian Ministries.

Victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault often must leave their clothes at the hospital as evidence. Katy Christian Ministries collected the scrubs for victims to wear following a hospital examination.
Area attorneys are invited to the Tuesday, Aug. 23, lunch meeting of the Katy Bar Association at 11:30 a.m. at the Salt & Pepper restaurant, 811 Ave. D, Katy.

Guest speaker Teresa Messer will talk about "Refugee and Asylum Law."
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 Read the search-and-arrest warrant here

 Read an attorney's response

  

The reputed Memorial Madam and her husband accused of running a Houston escort service that catered to the wealthy, didnt flash cash and kept their business a secret.

In fact, Deborah Dawkins Turbiville, 33, and her husband, Charles Turbiville, 31, so carefully concealed their alleged occupation that few suspected they were anything other than average working parents  not the neighbors, not even the nanny who cared for their children.

I was very surprised by this because of the way they conducted themselves, said the nanny, who asked not to be identified by the Chronicle because she is now looking for a job. They were good people to me and to their babies.

The couple lived a simple life, with few signs of significant wealth, and cared greatly for their daughters, ages 1 and 3. They rent their west Houston home. Both drove 6-year-old cars  she a Lexus sedan and he a Chevrolet Tahoe.

Nearly two weeks ago, that seemingly quiet existence fractured when police arrested the couple and charged them with promoting prostitution. They allegedly ran a brothel and call-girl operation based in hotel rooms and on Memorial Drive.

Getting to know them

Vice squad investigators said the Turbivilles escort business was the largest they had encountered based on the number of customers who used their services. Customers are said to number 700 to 1,000 and included white-collar executives, at least one doctor and at least one lawyer, whose names have so far been kept secret.

Friends and family have stayed tight-lipped about the Turbivilles, but bits of their story are trickling out.

Deborah Turbiville is a Belize native, who was raised in England. She speaks with a British accent, and is just under 5 feet tall.

She attended college and graduate school before coming to the U.S., earning a masters degree in psychology, according to a statement released by the couples attorneys, Keisha Smith and Joe Owmby.

Charles Turbiville, who is from College Station and is the son of a radio sportscaster there, graduated from Texas A&M Consolidated High School.

They met in 2001 and married in Brazos County in 2004, the year she became a permanent resident of the United States.

Their Facebook pages, which have recently been taken down from the Web, included a portrait in which he adoringly gazes at her. Both are dressed in suits, she wearing pearls. Their look is far removed from the mug shots taken after their arrest.

According to the Facebook page, Charles Turbiville is a Democrat and his musical tastes range from Willie Nelson and Radiohead to Frederic Chopin.

The Turbivilles have lived in Austin, College Station and Round Rock, where in 2005 they bought a 2,000-square-foot home that they still own. Neighbors in their Round Rock neighborhood said they never noticed anything unusual about the couple or any of the people coming and going from the house.

I never would have guessed anyone in this neighborhood was associated with anything like that, Sarah Ochoa said. If they were, I saw no signs of it.

Seemingly normal lives

The couple appears to have arrived in Houston in 2005.

In is unclear how the Turbivilles would have first delved into the world of prostitution or where they would have learned how to run a business that apparently was as successful as it was secretive. Neither appears to have a criminal record in the U.S.

Police note that the couple are managing members of Wazala.com LLC, according to records on file with the Texas Comptrollers Office, but they didnt report earning any money.

The nanny recalled that Charles Turbiville left the familys home every day to go to work, while Deborah Turbiville spent most days at home, occasionally leaving to shop at the grocery store or claiming she was going to help her husband at the office as his secretary.

She was at the Turbivilles home March 10, when they were arrested.

Nanny witnessed arrest

The morning started like any other, she recalled, with Charles Turbiville leaving the house with his oldest daughter. The nanny said she assumed he was taking the child to school.

Deborah Turbiville stayed in the living room, while the nanny took the couples 1-year-old into the playroom.

About an hour later, the doorbell rang.

She said when she walked out to investigate, she saw an ashen Charles Turbiville handcuffed and surrounded by police.

Charles Turbiville asked the nanny to stay with his children until his mother could arrive from out of town to care for them.

She agreed. She said she later saw Deborah Turbiville led away in handcuffs as well.

I feel so sorry, especially for the little babies, the nanny said tearfully. Theyre very good parents. I cant say anything bad about them because I never saw anything bad.

peggy.ohare@chron.com

roma.khanna@chron.com

dane.schiller@chron.com
The Tomball Independent School District board of trustees has unanimously approved its fiscal year 2016-17 budget, which will include a slight salary increase for starting teachers and a 2 percent increase for all staff.

The $121.7 million budget includes $108.6 million in payroll costs, $28.5 million in debt service, $5.6 million for food service, with a tax rate of $1.34 per $100 valuation.

However, it also includes a $2 million deficit.

"We've had two years of opening four schools, and that's pretty substantial for this district," said Tomball ISD finance director Jim Ross. "It was a planned deficit and we set aside money"

Proactive approach

It is the second year in a row that Tomball ISD has started the budget year in the red, and the second year in a row that the district has opened new campuses.

Last year, Tomball started with a $3.6 million deficit after opening two elementary campuses, and one intermediate campus.

Tomball ISD hosted three budget workshops between May and July before approving the budget this month.

"We took a proactive approach by setting aside funds five years ago in preparation for a potential budget deficit," Tomball ISD Superintendent Huey Kinchen said during budget discussions last year.

'Enjoying the ride'

Tomball ISD will open Creekside Park Junior High School in The Woodlands on Aug. 22 to students in grades 6-8.

Creekside Park Junior High will funnel sixth-graders from Creekside Forest and Timber Creek, which were both initially K-6th grade campuses, until the end of this year.

Chris Scott, who will serve as the first principal at Creekside Park Junior High, is working hard to make sure the district's newest campus is ready to go for the start of the 2016-17 school year.

"We are continually talking about the new school and planning for the upcoming year," he said. "The excitement is contagious. You can't help but be excited and filled with anticipation about the great things happening at CPJH. This is a fantastic journey and I am definitely enjoying the ride."

Meanwhile, the need for those campuses is spurred by the steady growth the district has experienced since 2007, and that is expected to continue.

By 2022, the district is projected to grow from its current student population of 14,092 to 19,288 students.

"Over the past four years, our school district has grown by 27 percent," Kinchen said. "Based on a yearly demographic study, the district is projected to experience a 19 percent growth rate over the next three years."

The growth has also been seen in the district's taxable value.

'Substantial' growth

In 2014, the Harris County Appraisal District calculated estimated taxable values at $7.67 billion, while last year the values were calculated at $8.97 billion.

This year, the certified estimate for taxable value is at $9.91 billion, a 10.4 percent increase from 2015.

Last year, the district lowered its tax rate from $1.36 to $1.34 per $100 valuation.

"This is very substantial growth that we've seen over the last five years," Ross said.

Since 2013, the taxable value in Tomball ISD has increased 67 percent.

Much of the increased taxable value is a result of residential growth and development, which has increased by 11 percent over the past year.

Wealthy district

Because of some of that growth, Tomball ISD will be classified as a wealthy district in the next budget year, and subject to recapture, Ross said.

Recapture is a mechanism within the Texas school finance system in which school districts classified as wealthy support poorer school districts as a way of providing education equality to all Texas schoolchildren.

Tomball ISD is almost solely locally funded with 86 percent of district revenue coming from property taxes.

The shift in the tax rate last year helped ease the financial burden of opening three new campuses and will have the same effect for recapture this next budget year, Ross said.

"This worked just fine. We will get the same revenue per pupil that we did before. The difference is that taxpayers are helping fund other districts," he said.
In 2015, Texas' 1.2 million licensed hunters set records giving the state's hunting community important goals toward which they can aim as they prepare for the start of 2016 autumn hunting seasons that begin in three weeks.

They can go a long way in reaching those goals - continuing a decades-long decline in hunting-related injuries and accidents that this past year saw record-setting lows in hunting-related accidents and fatalities - by paying close attention to where they aim their shotguns and rifles.

"Understanding and following basic safe hunting practices, especially knowing your safe zone of fire and keeping your gun's muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times, would prevent a very large percentage of the accidents we see," said Steve Hall, who heads hunter education programs for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "Those were the most common causes of hunting-related accidents last year."

Hitting the mark

The good news - and it's very good news -is that those types of accidents and all hunting-related accidents resulting in injury or fatalities are significantly much less common than they were just a couple of decades ago. This past year, Texas hunters set records for the lowest number of hunting-related accidents in the 50 years since the state began standardized gathering of such data. Texas hunters also set records in 2015 for the lowest rate of fatal accidents and lowest rate of total accidents per 100,000 licensed hunters since standardized record keeping began in 1966.

This past year, Texas saw 20 hunting-related accidents, with two of those proving fatal. That's the state's lowest accident total and lowest number of non-fatal accidents in the half-century of compiling accident data.

While the two fatal incidents are not the lowest on record - the number ties with six other calendar years that saw two hunting-related fatalities - they do represent the lowest rate of fatalities (0.17 fatalities per 100,000 hunting licenses) since TPWD began compiling the data.

Also, the overall rate of hunting accidents in 2015 (1.7 per 100,000 hunting licenses) is the lowest on record.

To put the safety of hunting in perspective, the motor vehicle accident fatality rate in Texas is about 13 per 100,000 population. The drowning rate in Texas over a three-year period earlier this decade averaged 1.3 per 100,000.

"Hunting is a very safe activity," Hall said. "But we can always do some things to make it safer."

One of those things is focusing on educating hunters about safe hunting practices, raising the profile of safe hunting behaviors and making such behavior almost automatic and subconscious among the state's million-plus hunters.

Such focus has been the target of hunter education efforts over the past half century, and anecdotal and empirical evidence indicates those efforts have effected a social, cultural and behavioral shift in hunters' attitudes toward safe hunting behavior.

The numbers speak for themselves.

Over the past 50 years, hunting-related fatalities in Texas, almost all of which involved firearms but often other causes such as falls and other incidents, have declined by more than 80 percent. Over the same period, non-fatal hunting accidents have declined in number by more than half.

Steady decline

Over the 10-year period of 1966-1975, Texas averaged a sobering 23.4 fatal hunting accidents and 61.1 non-fatal incidents involving significant injuries. The state saw as many a 37 fatal hunting-related accidents in a single year, 1968.

Over the past decade, 2006-2015, those numbers had fallen to an average of 3.5 fatalities per year and 23.4 non-fatal incidents.

When gauged by rate of accidents per 100,000 hunters, the decline has been even more impressive. The 1966-75 average was 2.65 fatalities per 100,000 hunters. During 2006-15, it was 0.33 per 100,000 hunters - this, despite the number of licensed hunters doubling between 1966 and 2015.

What changed?

A lot. Wildlife agencies, private hunter-based organizations and other groups pushed major education/advertising programs aimed at improving safe hunting practices, educating hunters about safe hunting practices as well. In 1972, Texas began a voluntary hunter education program that blended instruction on safe hunting practices with insights on wildlife conservation, hunting ethics and regulations. In its early days, the program, taught by volunteer instructors, annually certified about 10,000 students.

Beginning in 1988, hunter education certification became mandatory for all Texas hunters born on or after Sept. 2, 1971.

Texas hunter education program has certified more than 1.2 million hunters since 1972, and in recent years has annually averaged certifying about 65,000 students, Hall said. Safe hunting practices are crucial parts of the program.

Admittedly, Hall said, it's tough to come up with empirical evidence that Texas' mandatory hunter education program played a role in the steep, steady decline in hunting-related accidents. But there's compelling anecdotal evidence supporting that theory. For example, the number of hunting-related accidents per 100,000 hunters in the years since Texas imposed mandatory hunter education certification is half what it was during the 16 years the program was voluntary.

"You can draw your own conclusions from that," Hall said.

Accidents remain

While hunting accidents have steeply declined, they haven't disappeared. And a handful of issues are behind most of those accidents.

In recent years, a high percentage of accidents involved dove hunters. In 2015, 60 percent of the hunters involved in non-fatal accidents were hunting doves. In almost all of those incidents, the victim was struck by pellets fired when another dove hunter swung on a bird and fired without taking into account, or even knowing, the location of other hunters.

"It's every hunter's responsibility to know their safe field of fire, and all hunters' responsibility to let other hunters know where they are," Hall said.

Also, fatigue can play a role in poor judgment during dove hunts, Hall said. A large percentage of hunting-related accidents occur in late afternoon, after many hunters have been afield for hours. During dove season, add the draining heat and bright sunlight of a September day, and you have the ingredients for poor decision making, Hall said.

(If you are thinking alcohol plays an outsize role in such incidents, you'd be wrong. The stereotype of hunters as booze-swilling louts with guns, dangers to themselves and others, is not supported by the facts. TPWD investigators determined alcohol was a factor in only 10 percent of hunting accidents in 2015, about what recent years have averaged. Today, mixing alcohol and hunting is as socially and culturally taboo among hunters as drinking and driving is among the general public.)

With the Sept. 1 opening of dove season in most of Texas just three weeks away, wingshooters soon will get to put into practice the safe hunting behaviors most have been taught and had reinforced since they first went afield. The value of abiding by those lessons is obvious, as is the hard evidence that Texans are, increasingly taking those messages to heart.
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Three Houston smoke shops believed linked to the recent mass overdose of a synthetic cannabinoid known as Kush have been ordered to stop selling the colorful packets and two owners have been arrested, law enforcement officials announced Thursday.

The concentrated crackdown on Kush - which sent 16 people to the hospital from overdoses in an area of Hermann Park known as Kush Corner - is part of a combined effort to control the synthetic drug, also known as Spice or K2.

In all, six people were arrested and two others are being sought by authorities, Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a press conference Thursday.

READ MORE: Narcotics task force arrests 11 in drug operation

Thirty gold bars and $230,000 were also seized, and eight civil injunctions were issued, Turner said. Business bank accounts with about $450,000 were also frozen while the court actions proceed.

The mayor was joined in announcing the sweep by Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson, Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan, the Texas Attorney General's office and local law enforcement.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the county attorney's office are seeking a permanent court order to shut down the three stores, known as Spice Boutique and Spice Inc.

Owners Minh A. Dang, 42, and Tuan A. Dang, 46, who were identified as brothers in court records, were arrested on charges of engaging in organized crime in the sale of the illegal controlled substance.

"The mass overdose in Hermann Park in June is a dramatic example of why we must re-double our efforts in the fight against these dangerous substances," Ryan said in a written statement. "My office will continue to work with law enforcement, the mayor and city officials to send the messages that businesses that choose to sell these substances will face the consequences, including shutting down their business if necessary."

READ MORE: Synthetic drug use at Hermann Park sends 16 to hospital, authorities say

A Chronicle investigation into Kush found growing use of the synthetic drug clustered in known "hot spots," particularly in and near downtown. You can read the full investigation on HoustonChronicle.com.

The mayor pledged to beef up efforts in June to combat use of Kush after more than a dozen people overdosed at Hermann Park. He said he would bulk up police presence in city parks and other key areas of the city.

"Several parks, the downtown library, MetroRail stations and other areas are being taken over by drug users," Turner said at the time, announcing that 175 police officers would be moving from desk jobs or other postings to beat patrols.

Kush Corner and other hot spots Weeks after a mass Kush overdose sent 16 people to area hospitals, a sweeping undercover operation netted six arrests, court injunctions and the seizure of hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets. Below, get a look at hot spots (in red) and stores that face possible closure due to the arrest of their owners (in green). Source: Houston Chronicle research | Created by Rachael Gleason/Houston Chronicle.

By the end of June, officials said, nearly 1,400 of the 3,000 overdose calls that city paramedics responded to since September were attributed to synthetic cannabinoids, also known as Kush, Spice, K2 or synthetic marijuana.

READ MORE: Houston professor, 15 others nabbed in federal sting on 'kush' operation

At the Thursday, Turner said the heightened efforts are paying off.

"The stepped up patrols are having a positive effect," he said. "More progress needs to be made."

Synthetic cannabinoids are considered "new psychoactive substances, which are unregulated psychoactive substances that are intended to copy the effects of illegal drugs, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal government research institute.

The brothers have prior brushes with the law in Harris County.

According to court records, the brothers have been arrested on a misdemeanor charge of an adult video arcade without obtaining a proper permit. The arcade was operating out of the Spice Boutique in southwest Houston, investigators said.
Thrice-married playboy millionaire real estate developer and Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump will meet with 700 evangelical leaders Thursday to explain how he can make the United States a more godly nation.

Religion News Service reports the candidate will face a largely friendly crowd when he appears at the Florida Pastors and Pews session sponsored by the American Renewal Project. But, observers said, Trump can expect to face some pointed questions.

Trump's biggest plum for conservative Christians is his pledge to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which bars tax-exempt churches from endorsing political candidates. Corralling the evangelical vote has been a major concern for candidates, both in the party primaries and as the G.O.P. lumbers toward November's general election.

American Renewal Project founder David Lane commended Trump on his Johnson Amendment promise, calling it "a good first step."

"But what about the religious liberty of Christian photographers, Christian bakers, Christian retreat centers and pastors who believe same-sex intercourse and marriage is sin?" he said. "These Christians were simply living out their deeply held convictions of their Christian faith when they politely refused to provide services for a same-sex wedding. Doesn't the First Amendment give us all a right to our beliefs?"

While vying for the conservative Christian vote, Trump also has singled himself out as one of this year's more liberal Republican leaders on homosexual issues. He has claimed "tremendous support, tremendous friendship" from gays, and largely refrained from opposing gay issues.

You can read more about Trump's standing among evangelicals here.

And you can read the Washington Post's account of Trump's June meeting with evangelicals in New York here.
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One of several men wanted for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl is now in custody, according to Harris County Sheriff's records.

Jonathan Benitez was booked into the Harris County Jail on Wednesday. He is being held on three counts of sexual assault of a child with bond set at $100,000 for each count. Jonathan Benitez is expected to be in court on Thursday.

According to court documents filed Friday, five men raped the girl after taking her to an unoccupied apartment in southwest Houston. They forced her to have sex under the threat of violence and took advantage of her after they smoked marijuana.

Jose Edgar Vazques-Mejia, 20, Kevin Benitez, 19, and Jonathan Benitez, 19, are each charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and are sought by police. Kevin and Jonathan are twin brothers.

ORIGINAL STORY: Police searching for three men accused of raping 13-year-old girl

The girl had an abortion after being forced to have sex with the men for nearly a month under the threat of violence. She told Houston police that, on Feb. 23, she was picked up by Vazquez-Mejia, the Benitez brothers and two other men she identified as Emerson and Eliseo in a car from her apartment. Emerson and Eliseo have not been charged.

After getting the girl, the men got beer, cigarettes and pills and looked for a place to have sex with the girl, the documents state. The men also had marijuana.

The men drove the girl to a southwest Houston apartment complex where there were vacant units, according to court documents. The men started drinking, smoking marijuana and ingesting pills, the girl told police. The men offered her drugs, but she said she declined.

The court filings state the girl started to feel dizzy after the men were blowing marijuana smoke in one of the rooms.

Vazques-Mejia then took the girl into a bedroom of the vacant apartment, taking off her clothes and allegedly sexually assaulting her, state the court documents. After he left, Kevin Benitez then sexually assaulted her, the girl told police.

Following that, the other three men each allegedly sexually assaulted the girl in the same room, the court documents state.

The girl told police she was hurting and could hardly walk when the men later dropped her off at her apartment complex.

According to court documents, Kevin Benitez threatened to kill her or family members if she ever "did him wrong or his boys." She told police that Vazques-Mejia always had a gun in the back seat of the car while the men continued to sexually assault her.

According to court documents, Vazques-Mejia and the Benitez brothers each sexually assaulted the girl about four to five more times within a month after the Feb. 23 incident. The documents state that Eliseo and Emerson sexually assaulted her two more times after Feb. 23.

The girl told police the men would wait outside of the car while one of them had sex with her inside the car.

On April 20, the girl learned she was two months pregnant, according to the court documents. Her parents went with her to terminate the pregnancy.

Anyone with information about the men is urged to call the Houston Police Department's sex crimes unit at 713-308-1180.

Mike Glenn contributed to this report.
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Harris county's four commissioners said Wednesday they could support either a property tax increase or reallocation of funds in the county budget to better fund flood control projects after a series of storms and floods this spring destroyed property and claimed the lives of more than a dozen people.

On a conservative county court dominated by Republicans, the sentiment for more spending comes as the public is increasingly wary of damage wrought by the floods.

Anger has been growing in neighborhoods across the county where civic leaders say flood control efforts have not kept pace with development, and attorneys representing one neighborhood have gone so far as to sue the city.

FROM ABOVE: Astronaut photo shows Brazos River flooding

Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack said he would support a tax increase if there was a concrete plan on what to do with the extra revenue, and Gene Locke of Precinct 1 said through a spokeswoman he could likely get behind such a measurebut also would want the federal government to help pay more for flood control projects.

The two other commissioners - Jack Cagle in Precinct 4 and Jack Morman in Precinct 2 - said they would not support increasing the tax rate but could support reallocating funds to tackle flooding problems.

County Judge Ed Emmett declined to comment, but said through a spokesman he would not weigh in before a specific proposal was on the table.

BIRD'S EYE: Drone footage shows flooding in The Woodlands near Houston

The discussion about a possible property tax rate increase was sparked by recent comments Radack made at a meeting with a civic group in Cypress, which was recently hard-hit by flooding.

"I will tell you right now, I will vote for a tax increase for the Harris County Flood Control District," Radack said to dozens in the audience last week, noting that he's the only commissioner on court who has ever voted for a property tax increase. "But I'm one person. I'm not criticizing my colleagues. I'm just telling you this. That's the way it is."

On Wednesday, Radack reiterated his support for a tax increase, but qualified his position somewhat saying he would want to see a list of projects vetted by the public and by county government and would want to involve the city of Houston and the federal government in helping fund the projects.

He said he would want to have county voters weigh in on a potential bond issue that outlined that list of projects.

"I would support a tax increase for flood control, I would support it," he said. "Now bear in mind, you don't just have a tax increase without a plan."

Reports: Victim posted heartbreaking photo before he went missing in floods

The Harris County Flood Control District receives about $160 million each year, with roughly $40 million tied to previous debt service and another $60 million for maintenance and operations, said county budget officer Bill Jackson.

That leaves about $60 million each year for new capital projects. But the amount recommended for several recent years has been something close to $200 million, said Mike Talbott, the district's executive director.

"That's just trying to be all things to all people," Talbott said.

Talbott said the wish list could include helping the 100,000 households currently in the flood plain and which are in danger of flooding, among other projects including flood reduction on the area's waterways and their tributaries.

"How do you prioritize and how do you get the funding to be all things to all people?" Talbott said. "The practical matter is how do we best utilize the funds we do get and try to keep a lot of things moving at the same time?"

The tax rate for the flood control district is currently about 4 cents per $100 of assessed property value, Jackson said. That includes the amount designated directly for the flood control district - 2.7 cents per $100 - as well as a chunk that's being used by the county to pay down debt.

The flood control district's property tax rate can be raised by commissioners to no more than 30 cents per $100, Jackson said.

Morman was adamant, however, that he would not support an overall tax increase to solve the problem.

"I'm a homeowner, most of my constituents are homeowners, we already pay enough property taxes," Morman said. "It's kind of like enough is enough at some point."

Morman said he could also support reallocation of funds, but did not know exactly where that money would come from.

Locke could in theory support a tax rate increase, though he would need to see the final plans and would want the federal government to help pay for more flood control projects, spokeswoman Mary Benton said.

Cagle said he would not support an overall tax increase, but would support reallocating funds toward flood control from the county's public hospital district. In the past, they had been reallocated toward the hospital district and away from flood control, he said.

"I believe the taxpayers are interested in a reallocation of the tax base back to making flood control the priority that it once was," Cagle said.

Radack, a Republican and 28-year veteran of the county commissioners court, raised the issue of a tax increase while describing the pinch declining federal funding has put on the flood control district as well as the more than $1 billion the county directs toward the criminal justice system and the public hospital system.

Radack also stirred controversy by saying last week some flood victims may have liked being flooded.

"There are some people, frankly, over the years, many years I've been doing this, that frankly enjoy floods," he told the audience. "They like to see a flood about every seven years because they want new cars, they want their homes redone."

Residents, including many flood victims, took to social media criticizing Radack's comments as indifferent toward the impact floods have had on the region.

Radack said Wednesday his comment was "misinterpreted" and that he was describing how some people take advantage of federal aid and insurance payouts, filing fraudulent claims and possibly causing flood insurance rates to increase.

"I resent that for the people who really need the money and deserve the money," he said.
Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call, Getty Images

WASHINGTON  The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday that it has decided to extend its review of an independent agency's probe of Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas.

The probe by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics followed a complaint in November by the Campaign Legal Center. The watchdog group alleged a conflict of interest for Williams, the owner of a Ft. Worth auto dealership, involving legislation he proposed easing restrictions on renting or loaning vehicles subject to safety recalls.
AUSTIN  Texas plans to use a court-ordered voter ID education program for November's election designed by an international public relations firm that recently helped Russia spin a doping crisis and Chipotle rebound from an E. coli outbreak.

Lawyers for Texas have disclosed that Burson-Marsteller, a public relations giant and global strategic communications firm with an Austin office, is under contract with the state to develop voter outreach efforts for the current year.

That includes a roughly $2.5 million plan Texas agreed to put in place after a federal appeals court last month found its voter ID measure discriminates against minorities.

Burson-Marsteller is no stranger to helping Texas with voter education plans, contracting with the state as far back as 2006. But Texas' outreach efforts focused on the controversial photo ID law have been cast as lackluster by minority groups and federal courts, including a plan designed for the 2014 elections by Burson-Marsteller in which the state spent $2 million on an education campaign.

In a court filing last week, Texas said Burson-Marsteller and a subcontractor, Austin-based TKO Advertising, have already consulted with the state to design a "multi-faceted strategy to reach and educate voters" about changes to the voter ID law for the upcoming election. Texas says that plan is ready to be executed.

However, lawyers suing the state said they remain concerned about Texas' willingness to reach out to voters and to train poll workers  and Burson-Marsteller's involvement doesn't help that perception.

"It gives us less confidence," said Jose Garza, a lawyer for the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, which is a plaintiff in the case. "The state's historical track record is not a very good one on this issue."

Minority groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, are asking a federal judge in Corpus Christi to allow them to essentially supervise Texas' voter education campaign as it unfolds in the coming weeks.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos is expected to sign an order this week with a deal worked out by both sides that weakens the photo ID law for November by allowing several forms of alternate identification and an affidavit to cast a ballot. A roughly $2.5 million Texas voter education plan is also part of that deal.

The proposed supervision of that campaign, however, was one of the few items the two sides did not agree on. Ramos will hear arguments on the issue Wednesday.

In court documents, lawyers for the minority groups say Texas "has up to this point demonstrated a well-documented disregard for education and training" when it comes to the voter ID law. But the state has shot back, saying too much interference with its plan will lead to an inefficient and "hodge-podge approach."

"Objections raised by Plaintiffs to initiatives by the State would require costly changes to outreach efforts already underway and delay the implementation of educational measuresthe end result being less money to educate voters and ultimately less voter education," the state argued in a court filing.

The Texas secretary of state's office is using the remaining portion of a $4 million legislative appropriation to fund its proposed voter ID outreach program for November's election. As part of the plan designed by Burson-Marsteller, radio and television spots will start airing in the first week of October and digital toolkits to engage community organizations are expected to be distributed within a week of Ramos signing an order.

Texas' lawyers also boasted in the filing about the PR firm, saying it has "extensive experience in, and seasoned practitioners devoted to, executing effective public education campaigns involving public affairs, digital media and advertising." The firm recently garnered national headlines for its work on behalf of Chipotle and Russia and was the go-to source for a Dallas hospital at the center of an Ebola crisis in 2014.

House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has also used Burson-Marsteller since 2009 as a "communications consultant," according to campaign finance reports.

Texas has contracted with Burson-Marsteller to help design voter education plans in several recent elections cycles, according to the Texas secretary of state's office.

However, Texas' decision to hire Burson-Marsteller to design a voter education campaign during the 2012 election was met with skepticism by lawyers representing the minority groups. In a deposition, lawyers prodded state officials to explain why Burson-Marsteller was hired and what kind of plan the firm had for reaching minority voters.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Texas secretary of state declined comment, and it's not immediately clear how much Burson-Marsteller is being paid by the state. A spokesman for the PR firm said: "Burson-Marsteller is proud to work for the Secretary's office in helping voters understand the process and requirements for voting in Texas."

Chad Dunn, a Houston lawyer representing U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, in the case, said the state and its contractors have done a "woefully inadequate job" of educating voters and training poll workers in recent years.

"I don't know that I can pin it on the PR firm one way or the other," he said. "The secretary of state used to do a much better job at public outreach and education. But now it's just not a priority."
AUSTIN -- Texas will offer credit monitoring to 1,500 people whose personal information was included in a book of birth records that went missing at least four years ago.

The early 1993 birth records include Social Security numbers of some 500 millennials and their parents, along with dates and places of birth.

Two officials in the state's Vital Statistics Unit lost their jobs over the missing book, and a third was suspended for three days without pay, according to Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The missing book was "Volume 45" of an 800-book collection of birth records state officials say are kept in a vault guarded by security cameras and accessible by special key or swipe cards. The state health department says officials were not informed of the missing text until early June.

Letters will go out to affected individuals next week, Williams said.

The Office of Inspector General in July investigated the missing text. State registrar Geraldine Harris was fired July 29 for failing to notify leadership at the Department of State Health Services, the office of inspector general or the privacy office of Texas Health and Human Services, or the Social Security Administration, according to her notice of dismissal.

"I disagree and will ... seek appeal," Harris wrote next to her signature on her dismissal letter.

Lonzo Kerr, Jr., deputy state registrar, told the inspector general he knew in late 2012 or early 2013 that the birth record book was missing, according to state documents. According to his notice of possible disciplinary action written by Chief Operating Officer Ed House, Kerr "assumed the book had been found" and "admitted that birth record books go 'missing frequently'" in the Vital Statistics Unit, the letter said.

Kerr offered a rebuttal and said missing books are constantly in use and often found later.

"VSU has more than 60 million records with approximately 120,000 volumes containing birth and death records. On a daily basis VSU staff pulls and return approximately 600 records from hundreds of these volumes daily," Kerr said in a rebuttal dated Aug. 1. Kerr rejected allegations he did not report the missing book and said teams have conducted several searches for it. Kerr was fired later that day.

Three books currently are missing, he said: two from before 1970 and the 1993 volume. He said the department lacks a written procedure for handling missing vital records.

State officials say the delay in notifying officials of the potential breach of information prevented the state from sending required immediate notification the U.S. Social Security Administration and people potentially at risk for identify theft.

A third employee, Anna "Chris" Guerrero, was suspended for three days without pay. Guerrero informed her supervisor, Harris, the book was missing in 2013, but failed to report the missing text to other officials at DSHS or HHSC until she was in a meeting with State Health Service's deputy general council to complain about her boss.

"The fact that you kept documentation pertaining to this incident in your desk drawer for three years indicates that you knew this was a serious matter, and suggests that you were keeping it in reserve to use when it might best suit your interests," read a letter of discipline from House.
Meet the oldest living vertebrate: a shark you've probably never heard of.

Greenlanders consider their local shark species - Somniosus microcephalus - to be something of a nuisance. The carnivorous creature, nearly the same size as the Great White when fully grown, has a habit of getting tangled up in long fishing lines designed to catch halibut. If caught and killed, the shark must be dried out before its meat can be eaten or given to sled dogs, as high quantities of toxins in the animal's muscle cause something like drunkenness.

When he traveled to Greenland for research, Peter G. Bushnell of the University of Indiana South Bend would hear all of these grumblings. But he and his fellow scientists heard one slightly more intriguing rumor about the sharks over and over again: They lived to be incredibly old.

In a study published Thursday in Science, Bushnell and his colleagues report that the species actually has the longest known lifespan of any vertebrate on the planet. While their dating methods have a wide margin of error, they estimate that the sharks may live for four centuries or more. Even their most conservative estimates for lifespan - around 272 years - puts the species well ahead of the current record of the bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), which has an estimated longevity of 211 years. The Greenland shark may be surpassed only by a 507-year-old clam.

"Great whites are up in the order of 80 or 90 years," Bushnell told The Post. "Which is impressive, but . . . well, hey, this isn't a contest."

The secret to the Greenland shark's longevity is pretty straightforward: These fish are very big and very cold.

"If you remember your basic high school chemistry, you know that temperature has a profound effect on chemical reactions," Bushnell explained. The hotter things get, the more quickly reactions happen. Greenland sharks live in waters that hover just above freezing. Their tissues are cold, and so are the chemical reactions occurring therein - including all the metabolic processes that turn food into fuel and run the body. Big animals are also known to have slower metabolisms than small creatures: A mouse has a much higher metabolic rate than an elephant. If your metabolic rate is slowed, everything in your body is slowed - including the process of aging.

Preliminary data on the metabolic rate of the shark shows that it's "way down there," Bushnell said.

George H. Burgess, an ichthyologist and fisheries biologist with the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida who wasn't involved in the new study, agreed that these qualities make the Greenland shark a likely candidate for superlative vertebrate age.

"I suppose if I had to pin my thoughts on the single species of shark that would live the longest, intuitively, the Greenland shark would be right up there at the top," Burgess said. But the maximum age suggested in the Science paper, he added, is higher than most scientists would expect. That doesn't mean it's necessarily incorrect, but more data is needed - especially since the researchers used a novel technique to date their shark specimens.

When you want to date a Greenland shark, the first thing you do is go looking for signs of nuclear bomb testing. No, really: Unlike bonier fish, Greenland sharks lack distinctive growth rings for researchers to count like those in a tree. So instead, they carbon date them by looking for the isotopes left behind when nuclear testing was in its heyday.

"That spike in radiocarbon isotopes in the atmosphere got incorporated into virtually all the food webs on the planet, and so into all of the tissues of living things," Bushnell said. In this case, the researchers looked for signs of these isotopes in the center of the lens of the eye of the sharks they studied. After being laid down early in fetal development, this tissue has little interaction with the outside world. In theory, it provides a snapshot of the isotopes in the atmosphere when the shark was first conceived.

Of the 28 female Greenland sharks studied, only the very smallest ones showed signs of having been gestated during the bomb pulse - which meant anything larger was at least 75 years old.

After that, Bushnell readily admits, the dating gets dicier. The researchers can use the same dating technique to trace changes in background levels of radioactive isotopes, but those changes happen slowly when you don't have a big "boom" to look for. When measuring time periods spanning just a few hundred years, the trend line becomes nearly flat.

By adding other factors into their mathematical model - the fact that a longer shark is bound to be older, for example, and that growth rates slow down over time - the researchers believe they've found reasonably accurate ages for all 28 of their sharks. They can say with 95 percent certainty that the oldest shark they found was between 272 and 512 years old, but they suspect it lived to be about 390.

The method, Burgess said, needs to be confirmed with further study just as much as the results themselves do.

"In the end, the proof is in the pudding, and we'll see how the technique works when it's used on other critters," he said.

If these age estimates are correct, then an average Greenland shark doesn't reach the size of sexual maturity until around 150 years of age. For Burgess, that's the real takeaway of the study.

"The business of whether it's got another hundred years here or there is almost irrelevant," he said. "What matters is that this animal is around for a very long time."

Because of the cold waters of the deep ocean, many deep sea fishes and other animals have similarly long lifespans - and must reach a similarly ripe age before they can reproduce. The Greenland shark, despite having few local fans, isn't in any immediate danger of extinction - no one goes fishing for them specifically. But to Burgess, the results of the study - while exciting - are a reminder of how fragile life is in the deep ocean.

"The bottom line is, of course, that this makes the animals extremely vulnerable," Burgess said. "In an age where our technology is so good that we're able to move into the deepest parts of the sea, and in fact are forced to do so, because we've done such an efficient job of depleting fish in more shallow waters. . . the animals there live on a very precipitous edge, and there's not a lot of margin for error."
-- Judge OKs affidavit process to get around Texas' voter ID law in November, by the San Antonio Express-News David Rauf

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos agreed to terms worked out between Texas and several minority groups, which requires the state to spend $2.5 million on a voter education campaign. Ramos also ordered that Texas allow the groups suing have input on the state's outreach efforts.

-- Touring Texas, Ted Cruz Calls for "Return to Common Sense," by the Texas Tribunes Patrick Svitek

"It's a strange political season right now," he said. "I don't know what's going to happen nationally in the political season, but I do know as a country, we need a return to common sense. We need a return to the common-sense values that have built Texas, that have built San Antonio."

>> Texas Take on HoustonChronicle.com: Whether Trump wins or loses, nobody really knows yet what the GOP will look like after November  and that may soon be Cruzs problem, a kind of parting gift from Trump after their bruising primary history. The weeks of endless appeals to the Republican National Committee to remove Trump from the ballot havent moved the needle even a little bit. The case of the #NeverTrump crowd has been, essentially, that Trump and his team have no clue what theyre doing and, as a result, are setting the whole party on fire  making it a toxic brand among Latino, African-American, and suburban white women voters. Cruz may well be vindicated now for the decisions he made this year, but much is left unsettled until there is a full accounting of Trumps shadow.

-- Clinton and Trump are Night and Day, so Why are Some Texans Still Undecided?

Hillary Clinton declared her candidacy on April 12, 2015. Donald Trump threw his Make America Great Again hat down the golden escalator of Trump Tower and into the ring two months later. Since then, each has spent tens of millions of dollars on ads, endured thousands of hours of television coverage and elicited millions of words from print outlets. What more information could a voter be waiting for? To many undecided voters in Texas, that question misses the point, per The Tribs Kirby Wilson.

>> State Bar throws out complaint about Paxton's same-sex marriage opinion, by the Houston Chronicles Andrea Zelinski

-- In Dallas, Trump's favorite general can't see him as Republican or Islam as a religion, by the Dallas Morning News Hannah Wise

He acknowledged that Trump has made "all kinds of mistakes out there," and chalked it up to Trump not being a seasoned politician. He deeply believes, like I do, in the future of this country, Gen. Flynn said. Islam is a political ideology. It definitely hides behind being a religion.

-- $1.6 million Texas womens health care grant raises questions, by the Austin American-Statesman Julie Chang

We are surprised to see an award made to an entity before they appear to have any doctors or clinics ready to serve women, and we would be concerned about any awardee that that doesnt have expertise in providing family planning services specifically, said Stacey Pogue, senior policy analyst for the Center for Public Policy Priorities.

The Heidi Group received $1.6 million, the second-highest grant amount among 31 recipients. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is awarding $18 million in grants annually to provide services for the states new Healthy Texas Women program, a subsidized health program for poor women to receive family planning, contraception and health screenings among other services.

-- This Time, Its a Progressive Lawmaker Derailing an Affordable Housing Project, by the Texas Observers Patrick Michels

According to one of Riddles campaign mailers: [B]y pushing low-income apartment housing into our neighborhood, Obama and community improvement developers believe in the redistribution of poverty among American neighborhoods in the name of diversity.

That same law is at the heart of a new conflict in Austin, where a lack of support from Celia Israel, one of the Houses most liberal members, derailed a plan to add 83 units of affordable housing in a city that desperately needs them.

>> Cecile Richards makes Half True claim about Obama winning with record gender gap, by the Statesman's Gardner Selby

SPEED READ

Alabama investors say they were swindled by Collin County company tied to Ken Paxton indictments, The Dallas Morning News

Houston housing market takes summertime hit, Houston Chronicle

More money approved for proposed security enhancements at Dallas police buildings, The Dallas Morning News

County attorney files suit against embattled DA Jana Duty, Austin American-Statesman

Is Hillary Clinton contesting Texas? Not really, but she is trying to expand Democratic influence into deep-red territory, The Washington Post

State has become Health Care Texas, San Antonio Express-News

Battle lines drawn in professors suit over handguns in UT classrooms, Austin American-Statesman

Group fighting $1 billion stadium files state ethics complaint, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Public gets a closer look at proposed high-speed train link to San Antonio, San Antonio Express-News

Jeff Wood Never Killed Anyone, But Texas Plans to Execute Him, The Texas Tribune

CAPITOL DAYBOOK: No meetings scheduled

RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

-- One Ally Remains Firmly Behind Donald Trump: The N.R.A., by The New York Times Nick Corasaniti and Alexander Burns

Were going to help the N.R.A., who are great people, Trump said on Tuesday in Fayetteville, N.C. Theyre fighting hard, theyre fighting hard. Chris and Wayne and all their people at the N.R.A., these are people that love our country.

The N.R.A. has spent nearly $6 million this year on advertising supporting Mr. Trump, focusing its latest efforts on the swing states of Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Mr. Trump and his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, have been campaigning heavily. That sum  a tiny fraction of what has been spent on commercials backing Mrs. Clinton  is the largest expenditure for ads helping Mr. Trump in the general election.

-- Newly released Clinton emails shed light on relationship between State Dept. and Clinton Foundation, by CNN

Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, released 296 pages of emails from the Democratic presidential nominee, including 44 that Judicial Watch says were not previously handed over to the State Department by Clinton. The emails, many of which are heavily redacted, raise questions about the Clinton Foundation's influence on the State Department and its relations during her tenure.

-- Trump pleads innocence in Second Amendment scandal, by Politicos Louis Nelson and Tyler Pager

Trump accused Clinton of engaging in illegal favor-trading but predicted the media  whom he accused on Tuesday of twisting his Second Amendment comment  would give Clinton a pass.

>> As voters talk, the collapse of Trump's support becomes clearly audible, Los Angeles Times

>> Even under oath, Trump struggled with the truth, The Washington Post

>> Clinton wrestles with a stubborn swing state, Politico
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
At 10:20 PM on Sunday, September 2, 1990, 22-year-old Utah resident Brian Watkins, accompanied by his parents, brother, and sister-in-law, entered the New York City subway system in midtown Manhattan, intent on a short D-train trip uptown for dinner at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. They never got there. A group of teenagers surrounded Watkins and his family on the subway platform. They attacked Watkinss parents, slashing his fathers pants open and hitting and kicking his mother. When Brian and his brother tried to defend them, the muggers plunged a knife into Brians chest, killing him. The murderers then fled to the nearby Roseland Ballroom, using money they had stolen from the Watkins family to buy tickets.

Watkinss killing made national headlines. Time ran a cover story on The Rotting of the Big Apple, with its soon-to-be-famous image of the I  NY logo with the heart split asunder. The event summoned forth horror and soul-searching in a city that has already known too much of both, People noted. Coming in the first year of David Dinkinss mayoralty, the murder would help propel Rudolph Giuliani into the mayors office three years later, as Democratic voters turned to a Republican prosecutor to get a seemingly ungovernable city under control.

Yet Watkinss death was not so unusual. His was the 18th killing in New Yorks subways in 1990, and eight more would follow by the end of the year. The year before, underground assailants killed 20 people. Indeed, such violence was familiar already in 1981, when 14 lost their lives in the subways. Many considered these deaths an inevitable part of living in the big city. In 1985, for example, the New York Times blithely reported that the subways were safe enough, at least for those who avoided the most dangerous stations, the ones with all the ramps and posts and connecting passageways in Midtown.

By contrast, more than three decades later, New York really does have a safe subway system. Last year saw two subway murders, the same as the year before. Over the past 11 years, 26 people have been killed waiting for or riding on trainsmatching the number killed just in 1990, the year of Watkinss death. Today, few would worry that it might be unsafe to ride a train at 10:20 PM on the weekend. Trains at that time of night are packed with passengers.

Policing played a huge role in making Gothams subways safe, as it did in reducing crime throughout the city. In fact, the New York crime turnaround began in the subways, and what the police discovered about violence underground would prove essential to the broader battle for the citys streets. The police could not have done it alone, though: in the decade before 1990, New York was already taking the first halting, yet critical, steps toward saving its subway system.

When I was eight years old, I used to ride the subway by myself, recalls Ray Kelly, New Yorks police commissioner under Dinkins and later again under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. That was just after World War II, when subway crime was negligible. Kelly remembers, too, the feeling of danger and disorder that set in during the early 1970s.

By then, the whole system seemed to be crumbling into ruin, as budget-crunched state and city officials slashed maintenance costs. In 1974, the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the city subways, even stopped doing routine track inspections in an effort to save moneythus ensuring derailments, which began happening regularly. The trains were ever more decrepit, with 10 percent of the cars out of service every day, resulting in constant delays. It was horrendous, says David Gunn, who headed the subway system from 1984 to 1990. The thing was a physical wreck, he adds, with each car breaking down every week. In a recent speech to a Chicago audience, Tom Wright, president of New Yorks Regional Plan Association, observed: For folks who werent in New York back then, its hard to imagine today what the system was like. I was a kid in New York. Cars derailed on a daily basis, caught fire; youd pull into the station and the doors wouldnt open. Of course, everything was covered with graffiti.

Violent crime began its seemingly inexorable rise. As late as the mid-1960s, subway murder was rare; during one stretch, only two people died over more than a year. In 1973, however, nine were killed. A year later, reacting to public alarm at higher violence, New York mayor Abe Beame decided to close the rear cars of subway trains, seeking to keep riders nearer to the conductors car, and presumably safer. Ceding space to robbers and killers proved an ineffective crime-fighting strategy, and the body count climbed. Most victims, like Watkins, were civilians, including Eric Kaminsky, a 22-year-old music student stabbed to death waiting for a train in Manhattan, and 32-year-old Jose Hugo Martinez, pushed to death from a platform in Queens. Transit workers and police lost their lives as well: in 1979, clerks Venezea Pendergast and Regina Reicherter burned to death when teens firebombed their Broad Channel (Queens) token booth; in separate incidents in 1980, transit cops Joseph Keegan and Seraphin Calabrese were murdered with their own guns at the busy Columbus Circle station when trying to apprehend lawbreakers.

By the time Bernhard Goetz made national headlines in 1984 for shooting four teenagers whom he claimed were menacing him on a Manhattan subway train, the public was on his side: a grand jury at first refused to indict him for attempted murder. Yet the growing outrage didnt translate into safety gains. Gunn remembers another token-booth clerk killed when he was in chargeMona Pierre, burned to death in 1988, in the third robbery attempt at her Bushwick station that year.

New Yorkers started shunning the subways. Between 1970 and 1980, annual ridership fell from nearly 1.3 billion trips to just over 1 billion, a percentage drop more than double the citys 10 percent population loss. With no safe way to get around a dense city via public transportation, the New Yorkers who stayed began using their cars more, increasing congestion and pollution in a city getting harsher by the day. Richard Ravitch, who chaired the MTA from 1979 until 1983, recalls telling a reporter in 1980 that he wouldnt let his 12-year-old son ride the trains at night; he came home to the preteen complaining, You humiliated me.

Even as subway violence intensified, the city and state had been putting conditions in place that would later prove crucial in the fight against crime. In 1984, Gunn and his boss, MTA chief Bob Kiley, made the decision to go after graffiti, which they saw as a symptom of the citys disorder. For years, Mayor Ed Koch had urged transit bosses to clean graffiti from their trains. In 1981, the MTA had even deployed two guard dogs to scare potential taggers away from a train yard. New York also launched a public-service campaign, telling would-be train defacers to make your mark in society, not on it. The MTA repainted some train cars white, Gunn says, but it was a stupid idea. Transit officials would mix the clean white cars with dirty cars on the same train, so you would have a pair of clean cars in the middle. You might as well have a sign that says, Paint me next. 

In 1979, two clerks burned to death when teens firebombed their Broad Channel (Queens) token booth.

Kiley and Gunn nevertheless sensed an opportunity. In the early 1980s, MTA chairman Ravitch had won over the citys business community to support new taxes to fund investment in the MTAinvestments that were necessary to regain control over the subway system. Badly needed new train cars were now coming online. Yet, notes Gunn, there were no plans to keep the new cars clean. They were just going to send the new fleet out and it would be covered with graffiti.

Subway managers came up with a strategy: start with just two linesthe Number 4 and the Number 7and clean the trains on those lines. And then keep them clean, washing and repainting to get rid of any new graffiti before trains could go out again, even at the expense of delays. This sent a clear message to vandals: spraying trains would no longer be worth the effort, since the MTA would never let customers see new graffiti. It took 40 cans of paint and as much as 12 hours to complete a mural, the New York Times reported a graffiti expert as saying. Now it is hard even to snap a photograph before the work is cleaned off.

Police also began cracking down on the vandals. Steve Mona was a train buff growing up, he says. He took the police exam and fortuitously wound up in transit in 1985, and soon had a new beat: keep tabs on the subways and see which graffiti tags appeared most frequently. I would stop kids, and ask, What does that say? Who is Jon156?  He also started subscribing to graffiti zines. The citys transit police (a separate force from the NYPD until 1995) eventually learned who was responsible for a disproportionate amount of the tagging and went after those people. The narcotics mentality of grab everyone, shake the net  didnt work in this context, Mona says. Instead, the vandal squad that he headed would stake out homes, art shows, looking for specific targets.

As Mona explains, the MTAs new interest in combating graffiti made the police effort more effective. The district attorneys office now had a graffiti victim, willing to testify: the MTA regularly sent witnesses to court, tallying up the damage from vandals so that prosecutors could pursue felony charges. We had a built-in complainant, Mona says. The court could not look away from it.

The law-enforcement goal was not to put small-time graffiti artists behind bars for years. In fact, the police and the MTA established a restitution program for taggers. I guess you could say were making our mark in society instead of on society, quipped one 19-year-old vandal, repeating the line from Kochs PR campaign as he spent a day scrubbing subway cars. I guess its fair that we pay for what weve done. Often, Mona says, visits to vandals parents houses were enough to get the tagging stopped. Parents would say, My kid does graffiti only at home,  but officers would find notebooks in the house with tags identical to those found in the subways. Still, hard-core recidivists did face real prison time. By 1990, many said, Thats it for me, according to Mona. They found out this was a kind of badge-of-honor scrutiny you didnt want.

The culture surrounding graffiti changed, too. Mona spoke to high school groups; at first, the kids would reject the idea that graffiti was a crime. After he explained that their parents would have trouble buying groceries in vandalized neighborhoods because no one would want to open stores there, however, two-thirds of the class would get it.

By 1989, the trains were clean. These days, theyre so clean that people will go up to police officers and say, This train car has graffiti on it, says Vincent Coogan, the current assistant chief of the transit police. No one would have done that back in the 1970s or early 1980s, when graffiti was everywhere.

As the MTA worked to solve its graffiti problem, it also began to improve the transit system. Slowly, and with an infusion of state cash, workers repaired tracks, stations, and turnstiles. Service grew more reliable, and people started to use the system again, albeit slowly. Annual ridership rose, in the 1980s, by 19 million. That represented a modest increase of 2 percent, but the hemorrhaging had stopped.

The newly clean and better-functioning trains set the stage for the fight against violent subway crime. As Joseph Fox, chief of the NYPDs transit bureau, observes: Its a simple correlation; the defaced trains and dilapidated system gave the appearance that no one was in charge. This demoralized not only the public but also the police. When he started at the NYPD in 1981, Fox says, there was really no focus on violence. Nobody was giving us direction.

The turnaround in the transit system accelerated in 1990, the year that William J. Bratton came to New York to head the transit cops, armed with sensible ideas from criminologist George Kelling. At the time, Kelling recalls, Kiley and Gunn, fresh from their graffiti victory, wanted to make the subway a safer, more welcoming place. They were frustrated by disorderly behavior such as aggressive panhandling, turnstile-jumping, and public urinationand frustrated, too, that the police seemed uninterested in doing anything about it. The police would say, We tried this and this, it didnt work,  says Kelling, and Kiley blew up. He said, We just invested $8 billion in new train cars and tracks. He was just sick. He couldnt get any answers.

Kelling was worried that the police, without the right strategy, would resort to dirty workoverly aggressive and perhaps illegal action to kick undesirable people out of the subways. Bratton and Kelling, who was consulting with the transit police, made clear that the cops would take the moral high ground, focusing on reducing illegal behavior underground and not on conditions. Homelessness was not a crime; jumping over a turnstile to avoid paying fare was. Going after illegal disorderly actswhat came to be known as Broken Windows or quality-of-life policingwould improve the lives of all New Yorkers who had to ride the trains to get around the city.

But before the laws against disorder could be enforced again, the public had to be warned. Every day, 250,000 people were beating the fare, Kelling notes, and there were not 250,000 criminalsgood people had got into bad habits. They thought that the ride was not worth the money or they had gotten used to broken turnstiles, frequently disabled by thieves trying to take the valuable tokens. You dont want to arrest people, but the thing is to get them to stop, says Kelling. The MTA launched a PR campaign to warn people, educate people, he adds.

The transit police had an advantage that aboveground cops usually lacked: you had to pay to get into the subway. That meant that the police could stop lawbreakers at subway entry points, whenever fare-beaters broke New Yorks theft-of-services law. The transit system has its own set of rules, including prohibiting walking between cars or taking up two seats, and breaking these rules will invite police attention. And then police made an important discovery: the fare-beaters and other bad actors were disproportionately criminals wanted for other crimes, often violent ones, and they often carried weapons. (The muggers who killed Brian Watkins had entered the system illegally, by not paying their fare.) Stopping turnstile-jumpers, in other words, helped prevent bigger crimes. By cracking down on fare evasion, we have been able to stop serious criminals carrying weapons at the turnstiles before they get on the subways and wreak havoc, Bratton told Newsday in 1991.

Toward the end of Brattons first year as transit police chief, misdemeanor arrests were up by 80 percentand felonies began to fall. In 1990, transit riders were victims of 17,497 feloniesmurders, robberies, rapes, assaults, and thefts. Two years later, the number had dropped to 12,199. As proactive policing continued, the subways got safer and safer. By 2000, felonies had plunged to 4,263, and in 2015, the figure was 2,502. New Yorkers once endured 48 felonies a day in the transit system; now, its fewer than seven. The last time that more than two people were murdered in one year on the subways was 2007, when four lost their lives.

New Yorks subway system now has more users than at any time since just after World War II, when Ray Kelly was riding the trains as a child. New Yorkers, visitors, and workers take nearly 1.8 billion annual tripsnearly double the number who did so in 1980. New York wouldnt be able to cope with its record population of 8.5 million peoplea 21 percent rise since 1980without a safe, operable subway system. But then, New Yorks population wouldnt have reached its record level without that improved system.

People now feel so safe on the subways that theyll sit with a $600 piece of electronic equipment on their lap. Snatches and runs are 50 percent of grand larcenies, says transit police chief Fox. He adds that half of the theft victims are asleep. Plainclothes cops patrol the subways based on reported crimes, looking for suspicious behavior: people who wait for a few trains to go by, perhaps looking for a potential victim sitting near the door with an iPhone, or riding a train from Grand Central Station to Union Square and then back again. Women are reporting more subway sexual assaults, particularly groping and grinding. Thats likely due to several factors: more crowded trains, victims and witnesses getting cell-phone pictures of assailants, and a greater willingness on the part of victims to come forward. Further, with the most violent crimes down, officers now have more time to go after lesser offenses. The NYPD puts wanted posters up now for people who have allegedly committed lewd behavior; only violent criminals would have merited such treatment three decades ago. Just as people felt helpless in reporting graffiti to the police three decades ago, who, back in those days, would have bothered to report that an underground pervert groped her, knowing that the cops would likely never catch him? In focus groups of the time, Kelling points out, women would complain about being insulted. He suspects now that they may have been referring to groping and didnt want to say so outright.

Technology plays a key role in keeping transit safe. Its hard to commit a crime today without someone catching it on camera. In early June, for instance, two Brooklyn teens allegedly beat up an elderly lady following a verbal dispute, and police arrested them after their mothers saw a video of the incident and reported it. The technology-driven MetroCard also means no valuable tokens to steal from booth clerks.

New Yorks subways face one threat that they didnt have to confront to the same degree in the 1970s and 1980s: terrorism. Kelly notes that 40 percent of global terror plots targeting Western cities involve transit systems, including the July 2005 London bus and Tube bombings, which killed 52 people. He can rattle off the names of terrorists who have unsuccessfully plotted against New York since 9/11. These include Queens resident Najibullah Zazi, born in Afghanistan, who plotted with two coconspirators in 2009 to suicide-bomb the subway. After undergoing training in Pakistan, Zazi drove from Colorado to New York with explosive charges. The FBI and the NYPD thwarted him as he made his final preparations to bomb crowded trains during the week of the 9/11 anniversary. The fact that the subways are a closed system makes them a prime target for terroristsbut it also helps in counterterrorism, just as it helped in the fight against crime. Cops can search patrons bags before they enter, and the cops who watch for fare-beaters also know how to keep an eye out for hostile surveillancepotential terrorists who may be plotting, planning, or waiting to carry out an attack.

Technology plays a key role in transit safety. Its hard to commit a crime today without someone catching it on camera.

The relentless need to police the transit system for criminalsand their guns and kniveshasnt changed. In May, a criminal stabbed Efrain Guaman in Brooklyn, stealing his phone and badly injuring him; the attack was one of a spate of slashings and stabbings over the past year. In 2015, the NYPD took 40 illegal handguns and 597 knives out of the hands of fare-beaters, weapons seizures that likely prevented other crimes. When cops nabbed 26-year-old Trevale McCall in the Bronx after he tried to jump the turnstile, they allegedly found a loaded nine-millimeter handgun in his bag. It turned out that McCall was also wanted for questioning in a murder case. In May, an officer in a Greenwich Village subway station arrested Anibal Vargas for manipulating the turnstile in an attempt to ride for free. Vargas, who had been living under an assumed name for 26 years, was wanted for an attempted murder in Massachusetts in 1990. The only transit murder of 2016, so far, stemmed from fare-beating. In March, police say, Herbert Burgess was illegally selling MetroCard swipes when he fought with a woman, perhaps trying to snatch money from her. The womans father stabbed Burgess to death. Though swipe-selling is not by itself a violent crime, it causes serious damage, constituting a big part of the $17 million in annual costs that the MTA incurs in vandalism and fraud at its MetroCard machines.

With crime near record lows in the city, cops and prosecutors feel growing pressure to ease up. Last year, New Yorks city council floated the idea of decriminalizing fare-beating. But more than 70 percent of the nearly 85,000 people caught beating the fare last year werent even arrested; they were summoned to appear in court on misdemeanor charges. The other 30 percent were arrested because they were transit recidiviststhat is, they had been caught jumping the turnstile before or had outstanding warrants or were on parole or probation alreadyor were breaking other laws at the same time. Under a policy recently implemented by Bratton, now in his second stint as NYPD commissioner, anyone caught beating the fare who cant produce identification can call someone to bring his ID to the police station. An unknown number of people get off with warnings. Of course, the NYPD doesnt get everything right. Mona retired in the mid-2000s because he sensed that falling crime was leading to pressure on cops to make more arrests and issue more summonses. But New York City isnt throwing mischievous schoolkids in jail for sneaking rides on the subway.

With crime under control, the subways are more crowded than ever, giving New York a different challenge: how to fit everyone in. Kelling notes that people now stand on the far ends of train platforms, looking at their iPhones, and women often stand alone. They would never have done that in the old days, he says. They would have been targets. Now, theyre just hoping to squeeze on to the next train.

Top Photo: A gleaming car illustrates how far the transit system has come from the squalid conditions of decades ago. (DAVID M. GROSSMAN/THE IMAGE WORKS)
The technology website CNET this summer sent about a dozen journalists to report on the refugee crisis from 10 countries around the globe. Theyre producing in excess of 60 stories exploring the ways technology helps refugees navigate the long journey from their home countries to asylum abroad. The stories range from in-depth, long-form feature articles and opinion pieces, to photo galleries, videos, and podcasts.

The effort, motivated in part by an image of a dead Syrian boy that went viral last year and has come to represent the refugee crisis, is something of a departure from CNETs usual bread-and-butter desk reporting of tech news and product reviews, a strategy that has netted them more than 30 million monthly readers. Road Trip 2016: Life, Disrupted is the latest and most ambitious project in a larger effort by CNET News Editor in Chief Connie Guglielmowho joined the company from Forbes in March 2014to incorporate more in-depth analysis about the cultural impact of technology into CNETs coverage.

The expansion of their editorial purview comes at a time when many traditional newsrooms, including The Los Angeles Times and Newsday, have pulled back on foreign reporting. The shift puts CNET among other digital-first media organizations, such as Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post, which have made unexpected investments in the kind of in-depth, on-the-ground journalism many feared could become a thing of the past. CNET declined to disclose how much it invested in the refugee reporting project.

Thousands of refugees and migrants are stranded in Greece. Activists in Athens are helping a few find decent shelter, while others live in makeshift camps.

Life, Disrupted launched August 3 with a multimedia package of stories about the refugee situation in Greece. CNET plans to post a new package each week until mid-September covering the crisis in countries far and wide, including France, Australia, the UK, Sweden, Finland, Germany, as well its effects on cities across the US.

CNET has unearthed some surprising findings that get to the heart of technologys dual role as both a positive and negative force in peoples lives. For example, an upcoming story about a government-run camp in France details how fingerprint scanners that monitor access to the camp are a deterrent for refugees who are required to apply for asylum in the first country they arrive at in Europe. Many refugees have a particular country they are trying to reach and dont want a record in the system until they get there. Some people were opting to live in squalid conditions down the road [rather] than in the more secure, better-equipped camp because they feared that particular technology, says Guglielmo.

CNETs reporters describe how, in camps with limited electricity, charging stations become gathering places and smartphones have gone from a luxury to a tool of survival. One refugee we spoke with in a detention center off the coast of Australia sold his clothes to buy a phone through the black market, says Guglielmo. The phones are also time capsules, storing memories of a previous life, as well being an important repository for identity documents, and a way to stay connected to family left behind. In a camp in Calais, France, a bus operated by a charity group delivers mobile Wi-Fi to residents in a place where most people cant afford a data plan for their phone.

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Not surprisingly, technology also played a key role in the reporting process. The team bound for Athens began to connect with refugees on social networks, messaging groups, and underground websites prior to their arrival on location, but it wasnt until they were on the ground that they realized how significant a role these sites played in the way refugees connected with each other, and with charity agencies, to organize shelter. One Facebook group led us to another and that led to another, which is why were were able to do one of the earliest detailed reports about squats in Athens, says Guglielmo.

Social networking apps and Google Translate are standard fare for most refugees.

Reporters were equipped with all the usual gadgets essential for modern storytellinghigh-end smartphones for taking photos and videos, laptops and Wi-Fi modems for backing up materials to Google Drive, and a Samsung 360-degree camera. One essential was Google Translate, which aided communication between reporters and refugees, who spoke a myriad of languages. Reporters Ben Fox Rubin and Richard Nieva describe it as a lifeline. We type out full sentences in English so [our source] can read them in Arabic, they write. For him, though, its an occasional crutch. He speaks English as much as possible, only relying on the app to summon a few words when he cant think of them.

The stories are peppered with reflections and anecdotes about the process, and several stories have a behind-the-scenes feel. In this piece, CNET photographer James Martinwho snapped more than 5,000 photos while he was in Greecerecounts his journey to create a photograph of a pile of abandoned life jackets, known as the life jacket memorial, left by refugees who landed in Lesvos. In another piece, Ben Fox Rubin discusses the emotional impact of meeting a child whose father was killed in Syria. That was a concerted decision by Guglielmo. Were people, we live in this world. We interact, we have thoughts, we have opinions. Our goal is to try to temper all that when we tell a story and be as complete and as straightforward as we can, but I did want the reporters to share that to humanize the reporting experience.

A view of the life jacket memorial on Lesvos at sunset, with Turkey in the far distance.

Life, Disrupted is the culmination of a long-running, annual CNET series that was originally the work of a single journalist, Daniel Terdiman (now a senior writer at Fast Company), who toured a region of the US for CNET every summer to report on regional tech developments. Last year, Guglielmo decided to experiment with the format by framing the 2015 project around a big idea rather than concentrating on a particular region, by sending a team of reporters to document tech hot-spots outside Silicon Valley. It was an experiment in seeing what kind of reporting we could get, what kind of stories we could tell, the access that we could have, she says. Guglielmo wouldnt share numbers, but she says it was one of their most successful news projects last year.

The harrowing photo of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, who washed up on the beach in Turkey in September 2015, after trying to make the crossing to Greece, was part of what prompted the decision to chronicle the role technology was playing in the refugee crisis. I wanted to see what it was like a year after it exploded on the scene. Things take time to sort out. We were not anticipating [finding] as little movement in some areas, and tech being as problematic in some areas, as its turned out to be, she says.

How the Aylan Kurdi image fits into the history of world-changing photos https://t.co/VQgmM6p3Tw pic.twitter.com/Ct7OhG04H3  Newsweek Europe (@NewsweekEurope) September 23, 2015

Since she joined CNET, Guglielmo has been gauging reader response to the special reports she has initiated into topics such as women in tech, net neutrality, and an inside look at Brendan Eichs controversial exit from his role as CEO of Mozilla. Original reporting is meaningful and valuable to our readers, she says. Ive seen it. Ive been able to quantify it. It wasnt only readers, staff too were excited about the shift. Life, Disrupted was created entirely by staff journalists, who include both US-based reporters who traveled abroad and staff journalists in London, Sydney, Singapore, and other smaller satellite offices. They were fascinated and without a single exception all of them wanted to work on this project, she says during a phone interview.

Guglielmo paired knowledgeable senior reporters with younger staff members and coordinated schedules to put together a team that could cover the story while also continuing on regular beats related to mobile, social media, security, and virtual reality. The team relied on coverage from parent company CBS, which covers the refugees crisis as part of its world news efforts, to help them plot their report.

Charging stations have become gathering places for refugees and migrants, who talk and smoke while their devices power up.

Guglielmo acknowledges that on-the-ground reporting is becoming scarcer in the media landscape due to staff cuts and the need to follow popular stories that will draw traffic. Indeed, CNET, which recently posted extensive coverage of Pokemon Go, will continue to cover tech news and product reviews. This movement towards more in-depth features is meant to complement the tech stories that we produce every single day, she says. But that doesnt mean travel abroad is always on the cards. Were looking at everything through the filter of tech: What do we want to look at? Where will that take us? How expansive do we want to be in our reporting?

And deeper dives arent the only type of experimentation CNET is doing. Soon after Guglielmo joined the company, CNET launched a quarterly print publication titled CNET Magazine as another way to reach readers. The publication was conceived prior to Guglielmos arrival and is co-edited by Guglielmo and Lindsey Turrentine, the editor in chief of CNET Reviews. Although largely original content, the magazine will contain extracts from Life, Disrupted.

The Life, Disrupted series demonstrates how technology has helped attract attention to the refugee crisis and made life easier for those on the ground, but it also highlights that it isnt a fix-all solution. Guglielmo reiterates a point her reporter, Richard Nieva, makes in one of his stories. This is the most covered, Tweeted, Facebooked, YouTubed, blogged refugees crisis the worlds ever seen. Even so, tens of thousands of people remain in limbo, waiting for the help they need to get settled and find a safe place to live.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Shelley Hepworth , formerly a CJR Delacorte Fellow, is Technology Editor at The Conversation in Australia. Follow her on Twitter @shelleymiranda.
One of five people charged in a deadly house explosion that devastated an Indianapolis neighborhood has reached a plea deal weeks before his scheduled trial, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Gary Thompson, 45, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit arson resulting in serious bodily injury in a plea agreement that calls for a 30-year prison sentence, with 10 years suspended and two years of probation.

Court documents detailing Thompsons plea, which a judge still must accept, will be filed later Tuesday, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said. He informed residents of the neighborhood rocked by the Nov. 10, 2012, natural gas blast about Thompsons plea deal Monday night.

As we explained to the residents last night we felt this was an appropriate resolution, he said. A significant consideration always for me in a resolution is when a defendant is willing to acknowledge their involvement and accept responsibility for the crime.

Thompsons attorney, Heather Dean Barton, called the plea agreement a fair disposition for all the parties involved but said she could not comment beyond that until a judge accepts it.

Thompson had faced a September trial on two counts of murder and other charges in the explosion that killed a couple who lived next door and damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes.

Prosecutors alleged Thompson knew of plans to tamper with the natural gas flow of the home of co-defendant Monserrate Shirley and ignite the gas using a microwave on a timer. Court documents allege the house was destroyed in a scheme to collect $300,000 in insurance and there were two unsuccessful attempts to burn it down before the blast.

Curry said prosecutors have believed all along that Thompson and another co-defendant, Bob Leonard, entered Shirleys house when Leonards half brother, Mark Leonard, was out of town with Shirley, his then-girlfriend. But prosecutors arent sure who actually tampered with the homes gas line and set the microwave timer, Curry added.

Shirley pleaded guilty in January 2015 to two counts of conspiracy to commit arson. Her cooperation led to charges against Thompson and another alleged co-conspirator, Glenn Hults.

Authorities said Mark Leonard was the mastermind behind destroying Shirleys home and enlisted the four others. He was convicted in July 2015 of murder, arson and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and sentenced to two life sentences without parole plus 75 years. Bob Leonard was convicted in February of murder, arson and other charges and also sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole, plus 70 years.

Curry said Thompson will likely appear in court Friday for a change of plea hearing before being sentenced in a few weeks.

Hults, the last of the five, is scheduled to stand trial in November on a charge of conspiracy to commit arson. Curry said that when Hults trial is concluded, he expects Shirley, who faces 20 to 50 years in prison, will be sentenced in December, and once that occurs everything will be resolved by years end.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The state of Louisiana has spent more than three years and over $1 million in taxpayer money to fight a lawsuit that claims three death row inmates are exposed to dangerous heat levels in their cells.

A possible low-tech solution costs less than $2,000 and would avoid the need to install a more expensive air conditioning system inside Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, according to court testimony Monday for the long-running litigation.

A court-appointed special master told U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson that the three inmates have been moved to new cells where cool air is piped in through a vent from a guard station. Prison officials also recently installed a plastic curtain to trap the cool air and equipped each inmates cell with Cajun cooler systems, described in a court filing as an ice chest, a fan and a duct that emits cool air.

The special master, Paul Hebert, said temperatures in the inmates new cells are now well within a normal condition since the state began experimenting with the new heat control measures in late June.

Jackson is ordering an independent air conditioning systems expert to inspect the inmates new cells. He scheduled an Aug. 22 hearing for expert testimony before he decides whether the new measures could be a permanent solution.

More than two years ago, the judge ruled that Louisiana imposes unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment once the heat index on death row exceeds 88 degrees. Hebert said the heat indexes in the inmates cells are hardly approaching 80 degrees since the prison implemented the new measures, which he described as very effective.

Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said any remedy should be limited to the three plaintiffs, not all 85 death row inmates, and invited the state to provide relief without installing air conditioning.

Although the states attorneys dispute that the new measures should be a permanent fix, the judge expressed frustration that it has taken years for the state to employ a possible remedy that is so simple and cheap. He also noted that politicians have seemed reluctant to make the tough decisions that could have resolved the case long ago.

Jackson also said it was maddening and very troubling that attorneys for both sides waited weeks to inform him that they began experimenting with the new remediation measures.

I am convinced that there were efforts to conceal information from the court, he said. I wont ascribe reasons or motives to anyone at this point.

Mary Roper, an attorney for the state, said officials never intended to withhold information from the judge or do something underhanded.

Before the prison implemented the new measures, the three inmates received one cold shower a day, ice chests in their cells and fans outside them. The state has argued those measures adequately protected the plaintiffs, all of whom have medical problems that can be exacerbated by the heat.

Roper suggested that the new measures shouldnt be a permanent solution, due to concerns about mold growing in the prison and rising temperatures in the guard station that pipes cool air into the inmates cells.

Mercedes Montagnes, an attorney for the three inmates, said the conditions in their new cells are far superior to those in their previous cells. But she urged the judge to consider a way to continue monitoring the conditions if the case is resolved by the new measures.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press through public records requests showed the states corrections department and attorney generals office have accrued at least $1,067,000 in expenses fighting the inmates lawsuit. Most of the money has gone to private attorneys on both sides of the case. The state had to cover inmates attorney fees under a settlement with Attorney General Jeff Landrys office.

A plaintiffs expert has estimated it would cost about $225,000 to install air conditioning on death rows six tiers.

During an interview in June, state Department of Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc said the states refusal to install air conditioning on death row isnt politically motivated. LeBlanc said installing air conditioning there could open a Pandoras box and possibly force his department to make the same accommodation for many other prisoners.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Workers are building a stone wall around a Walt Disney World lake where an alligator killed a toddler earlier this summer.

Disney officials told the Orlando Sentinel for a story published Sunday that the barrier wall is part of the new security plan following the death of 2-year-old Lane Graves of Omaha, Nebraska. The boulder wall is going up along the beaches of the Seven Seas Lagoon where several resorts are located.

According to a Fox News report last month, five alligators were killed during the search for the missing boy. The Statewide Nuisance Alligator Programs website states that it is difficult to relocate alligators since they often try to return to their capture site.

Disney also put up warning signs and ropes after Graves was dragged by an alligator into the lake on June 14. The boys body was found 16 hours later and an autopsy showed he died from drowning and traumatic injuries.

The family decided not to file a lawsuit against Disney.
The U.S. government, facing rising firefighting costs as blazes rage more frequently and with greater intensity across the West, wants Montanas largest utility to compensate it for a 2010 wildfire near Canyon Ferry Lake east of Helena.

Over three days in July 2010, the Lakeside Fire burned nearly 900 acres of federal, state and private land. It destroyed a cabin and two other structures and forced the evacuation of residents north of the lake. More than 200 people from various agencies and led by the U.S. Forest Service responded to the fire.

NorthWestern Energys negligence of a power line caused the fire, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. A Forest Service investigation concluded the fire was started after the power line malfunctioned, severed and ignited the grass and timber on the ground.

The power lines poles and insulators had not been properly maintained by NorthWestern Energy, the lawsuit said.

The Ward Ranch Line would not have malfunctioned, snapped and caused the Lakeside Fire if defendant had exercised reasonable care in the maintenance and operation of the line, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mgean Dishong wrote in the lawsuit.

The government seeks $485,855  the cost of fighting the fire  plus interest and an unspecified amount in penalties.

NorthWesterns attorneys filed a response Monday in which the company denies any liability. Attorney Chad Adams submitted a number of possible defenses, including that the damage caused by the fire was an Act of God, the fault of others not named or caused by the government itself.

Adams and NorthWestern spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday.

Fighting and preventing fires now consumes more than half of the Forest Services annual budget, and the agency estimates the costs could jump to two-thirds of the budget by 2025 unless changes are made. The costs have risen as fire seasons have grown longer and the size, frequency and severity of fires have increased, agency officials said in a report released last year.

But lawsuits such as the one filed against NorthWestern Energy are not part of any new strategy to cut down those costs, said Forest Service spokesman David Smith.

If a responsible party has been identified, the government seeks to recover costs, Smith said. Weve collected from energy companies, mines, and individuals over the years.

It may not be uncommon for the U.S. government to sue to recover firefighting costs, but the government should be doing more of it, said J. Curtis Varone, a Rhode Island attorney who runs a blog called Fire Law.

In the US we have historically looked at fire as an accident for which no one is really responsible, Varone said in an email to The Associated Press Tuesday. Many other countries look at it a bit differently: negligently causing a fire is a criminal act.

Some states also have turned to the courts to recover firefighting costs. The Wyoming Supreme Court last year ruled the state could recover money from Black Hills Power Inc. that was spent fighting a 2012 wildfire on state land near Newcastle.

Three landowners previously sued NorthWestern Energy over the Lakeside Fire, making similar claims to those contained in the governments lawsuit. One of the landowners settled with the utility for terms that plaintiffs attorney Thomas Budewitz declined to disclose.

One of the other lawsuits was thrown out earlier this year and the other has been suspended, according to court records.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
How a DNC Staffer's Murder Unleashed a Perfect Storm of Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories

The "Clinton body count" is back.

The July 12 shooting of Seth Rich, a 27-year-old staffer at the Democratic National Committee, was likely a robbery gone wrong, according to Washington, DC, police. But to the dismay of Rich's family, his death has become fodder for dark anti-Hillary Clinton conspiracy theories that have been circulated widely on social media and amplified by longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone.

The main theory speculates that Rich was murdered because he was a source for WikiLeaks, which published nearly 20,000 of the DNC's hacked emails and other files last month. That theory has brewed on the internet, including in a popular pro-Trump subreddit, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange lent it credence on Tuesday when he hinted during an interview on Dutch television that Rich might have been a WikiLeaks source. Yet he refused to confirm whether Rich had any links to WikiLeaks, saying only, "I am suggesting that our sources take risks and they become concerned to see things occurring like that." The site offered a $20,000 reward on Tuesday for any information that would help solve Rich's murder.

Assange said during the interview that the shooting was a "concerning situation" and stressed that the motive was still unknown, but police say there is no evidence that Rich's death was politically motivated. "At this time, there is no indication that Seth Rich's death is connected to his employment at the DNC," the DC Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement on Wednesday to Mother Jones.

The statement also said the police "are pleased when any outside contributors help us generate new leads." But Rich's family has criticized Assange for his comments. Brad Bauman, a spokesman for the family, told Business Insider on Wednesday that the family wanted talk of conspiracy theories to stop. "For the sake of finding Seth's killer, and for the sake of giving the family the space they need at this terrible time, they are asking for the public to refrain from pushing unproven and harmful theories about Seth's murder," Bauman said.

Assange is not the only person to float wild theories about Rich's killing. Stone, a longtime Republican strategist and close ally of Trump, has used the death to promote the right-wing "Clinton body count" theory that claims the Clintons have been responsible for numerous political murders dating back to the 1980s.

 @ RogerJStoneJr

"Four more dead bodies in the Clinton's wake. Coincidence? I think not."

Stone, who has admitted to communicating with Assange, spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday tweeting links to Assange's "confirmation" that Rich was a WikiLeaks source, as well as other messages in support of the body count theory. Others on the right have been pushing the conspiracy talk in recent weeks, claiming that recent deathsincluding those of Rich, a Tim Kaine aide named Joe Montano, and even anti-Clinton and Holocaust-denial author Victor Thornwere orchestrated by Clinton.

Rachel Alexander, a columnist at the right-wing website Townhall, wrote a piece on Tuesday laying out the theory. "What is comes down to is this: how many other politicians have you heard of who have had so many mysterious deaths associated with them?" Alexander wrote. "You don't hear of a Bush body countnot even an Obama body count." Jared Wyand, who runs a popular pro-Trump Twitter account called Watch Clinton Cash, tweeted a video roundup of alleged Clinton murder plots. Even Curt Schilling, the former Red Sox pitcher turned right-wing internet celebrity, got in on the act.

Link:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/seth-rich-murder-dnc-anti-clinton-conspiracy-theories
Explorys Cleveland

Explorys co-founder Dr. Anil Jain leads a stand-up meeting at the company in 2013. The Cleveland Clinic spinoff was purchased by IBM last year and has outgrown its current digs at the former Cleveland Play House complex on the Clinic's campus. Now plans for a new office building are in the works.

(Lisa DeJong/Plain Dealer file)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Plans for a new office building to house a division of IBM Corp. jumped a huge hurdle Wednesday, when Cleveland City Council approved a financial package to aid the $11.1 million project.

Council members signed off on legislation allowing the city to provide a low-interest loan and partial property-tax abatement for the building, slated for a Cleveland Clinic-owned parking lot at Cedar Avenue and East 105th Street. The offices will accommodate Explorys, a Clinic spinoff that IBM bought last year as an anchor for the tech giant's Watson Health division. Construction could start in the spring.

Founded in 2009, Explorys is a health care data analytics company that sifts anonymized patient data to find patterns related to drug safety, diseases, treatments, costs and results. The company works with health care providers and major hospitals, including the Clinic.

Explorys actually is leaving its current home, the Clinic-owned former Cleveland Play House property on Carnegie Avenue, this month for downtown Cleveland, where the company will occupy leased space on the upper floors of the former Eaton Center building at 1111 Superior Ave. But that downtown office seems to be a short-term landing pad, to manage growth until a new building is ready in the Clinic's back yard in late 2017.

"Cleveland Clinic has had a longstanding requirement that when they're working with a company closely, they want that company on their campus ... adjacent to their campus," Tracey Nichols, the city's economic-development director, said during a council committee hearing on Wednesday morning.

The Clinic will continue to own the land, which will begin generating property taxes when it is developed with for-profit offices. Hemingway Development, an offshoot of the Geis Cos. of Streetsboro, will rent the land from the Clinic and will construct and own the 43,000-square-foot, two-story building. IBM has agreed to a 10-year lease, according to documents presented to council.

In exchange for that commitment, the city will provide a loan of up to $4.9 million, using federal money through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program. The city also will forgo 60 percent of the new property-tax revenues generated by the construction for a decade. Those incentives will flow to Hemingway Development and filter through to IBM in the form of lower rent.

Explorys has 170 employees, according to a project summary presented to council. And the company expects to add at least 125 more jobs by the end of 2018.

Brian Smith, the Clinic's director of strategic project development, told council members that it's a challenge to find homes for start-up companies as they grow and emerge from incubators like the Clinic's Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center. The Clinic talked to an array of developers about constructing offices at Cedar and East 105th, across the street from a new, 3,000-car Clinic garage set to open later this year.

"Out-of-town developers looked at this site and kind of scratched their heads," Smith said of the property, in the city's Fairfax neighborhood.

Fred Geis, a Hemingway principal, pointed out that the IBM building will be a significant construction project at the northern terminus of Opportunity Corridor, a $331 million boulevard being built to link the highway system at East 55th Street to the employment hub of University Circle.

Before the Clinic site popped up, Geis approached Explorys and CEO Stephen McHale about moving to other properties, including projects in Midtown, to no avail. "I've been trying to romance Steve away from the Cleveland Clinic for every bit of seven years because I needed tenants," Geis said.

McHale said building a long-term home near the Clinic will give the company better opportunities to expand and to participate in the growth of the city's health care sector. "It's critical that we stay close to the Clinic," he said, "because it's really how we accomplished what we have. ... There are other areas within IBM in other cities that we could end up within, and we want to prevent that."

That message frustrated Steve Rokowsky, the property manager at 1111 Superior, where Explorys just started shifting workers into the spruced-up former Eaton Corp. executive offices. Rokowsky said IBM signed a 5-year lease, with extension options, on 42,000 square feet at the downtown building and carved out enough room for more than 300 workstations.

He questioned whether IBM really would have pulled up stakes, shifting the company and hundreds of jobs to another city like Cambridge, Massachusetts. And if a business already is here, and growing, he said, there's no sense in providing incentives for it to move a few miles.

"From the city of Cleveland's perspective, it makes absolutely no sense to move them away from investing in downtown Cleveland," Rokowsky said, protesting the city's hand in a project that will take a marquee tenant from his building, where landlord American Landmark Properties has been trying to fill a large void left by Eaton's 2013 departure for the suburbs.

"We've invested tremendously, and we're a partner with the city," he added during an interview. "Don't slap us in the face."

IBM's deal at 1111 Superior does allow the company to break its lease early and pay a penalty. Nichols said during Wednesday's council hearing that it made sense for the city to provide the loan and abatement to get a firm commitment from IBM for a decade - with a lease likely to start in 2018 - instead of only five years.

"I come before you today to make sure that Explorys is here for a 10-year period," she told council members. "Mind you, with a claw-back. If they don't stay, we get the money back."
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Key Tower, the tallest building in Ohio, is under contract to be sold to a local developer who made his name in the subsidized apartment business.

Frank Sinito, chief executive officer of the Millennia Companies of Valley View, confirmed in an interview late Wednesday that he has a deal to buy downtown Cleveland's loftiest skyscraper and the attached Marriott hotel and parking garage. The seller is Columbia Property Trust, Inc., a publicly traded company that put Key Center on the market last year.

"We feel very good about it," said Sinito, who inked the purchase contract last month and expects to finish due diligence in late August and close before the end of October. "We believe we're going to come out of due diligence, and we're going to go hard."

He wouldn't discuss the purchase price for the property, which has attracted offers in the $286 million range, according to research reports from real estate brokerages.

The potential deal marries an unlikely buyer with downtown's biggest trophy.

Millennia is, at its core, an apartment business, with more than 20,000 units and almost 1,000 employees spread across the country. The family of companies has a hand in development, financing, construction and property management.

Strapped for space for his workers in the suburbs, Sinito has kicked the tires on half a dozen downtown buildings during the last few years as a potential place to put Millennia's new headquarters. But most of those properties are older buildings, many of them candidates for mixed-use redevelopments involving housing and retail.

Key Tower, which opened in 1991, is a pure office play.

And that's how Sinito plans to treat the 57-story building, by trying to fill vacancies created through downsizing by Cleveland-based KeyCorp and other companies and sprucing up the lobby and the plaza outside.

"It's one of the trophy, class A assets," David Browning of the CBRE Group, Inc., brokerage said of Key Tower. "It's got vacancy, which means it has upside, the way that we see the market. We think that space is going to lease within the near term, the next 12 to 24 months, at decent rents, because there's just not a lot of class A availability."

Millennia would move its headquarters into the tower, a 1.3 million-square-foot building that is just over 80 percent leased. And the new landlord would compete against other property owners and developers to land big downtown tenants who are considering a move - such as Medical Mutual of Ohio and Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. - or are the subject of ceaseless rumors in the market - the Sherwin-Williams Co., for example.

Sinito wouldn't name names.

"We are in discussion with some very large tenants," he said. "I can't talk about it because of confidentiality."

A Columbia spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. During the company's recent second-quarter earnings conference call with analysts, CEO Nelson Mills mentioned that Key Tower was under contract to a local buyer.

"Key Tower in Cleveland ... has been out there in the market for a while," Mills said, while running down a list of Columbia's pending and planned property sales for 2016. "We've awarded that to a very credible buyer, as well. The due diligence period doesn't expire for a few more weeks. We feel pretty good about that one, but the buyer is still finishing due diligence, pulling together capital and so forth. So we're not as certain about that one but we're fairly hopeful about it. That's why we awarded it to that particular buyer."

Columbia, a real estate investment trust based in Atlanta, has been sole owner of Key Center since 2008. The original developer, the Richard E. Jacobs Group of Westlake, previously held a 50 percent stake. A Jacobs affiliate, Jacobs Real Estate Services, still manages the property.

The complex includes a 400-room hotel and a 900-space underground garage. Columbia has focused on selling the whole package rather than breaking it into pieces to appeal to buyers interested in only one type of real estate.

Sinito said he started looking at the acquisition as a potential participant in a group led by Scott Wolstein, a local developer and real estate executive who tried putting together a deal early this year. In an April email, Wolstein wrote that he couldn't drum up enough interest from local investors to assemble the necessary cash on Columbia's timeline.

American Landmark Properties, the Illinois-based owner of the 1100 Superior and 1111 Superior office buildings downtown, also considering buying Key Center but didn't proceed. As possible suitors sniffed around, they approached Sinito to find out whether Millennia, which has been looking for roughly 40,000 square feet of space, would consider being a tenant in Key Tower.

"I became very familiar with the numbers and the asset and just really liked the asset for a Millennia headquarters and really thought there was tremendous upside," Sinito said. "The hotel needs some work and the [Club at Key Center fitness and business club] needs some work. The vision for the property started to really crystallize for me."

Publicity-averse and traditionally quiet about his acquisitions, Sinito wouldn't identify his partners in the potential deal. "I will be making a significant investment," he said.

He doesn't expect to sell other Millennia properties to help pay for the blockbuster purchase.

Millennia is renovating the historic Garfield Building on Euclid Avenue as apartments, which are scheduled to open next year. The company also owns 75 Public Square, but Sinito said that property is under contract to an unidentified buyer who hopes to transform the small office building into a hotel.

Browning said Millennia is an unexpected buyer, but one that has had great success in other areas of the real estate business.

The emergence of a local purchaser - on the heels of other prospects with local ties - for a banner office building shows that major, institutional investors still aren't quite comfortable putting their money here. Or placing bets on hotels, in a city that saw a flurry of construction leading up to the Republican National Convention last month.

"Even though we've come a long way as a market, the primary institutions are still focused on the tier one, gateway markets," Browning said. "With Key Tower, you've got one of the best assets in terms of an office building. But the fact is, included with that is a hotel. And there just is this uncertainty about the demand side of the equation, given all the hotel product that has been brought to the market. We've got to get past the aura of the RNC moment and figure out what the supply-demand factor is in that sector going forward."
11DARCY-TRUMP1.jpg

At a campaign rally Donald Trump appeared to insinuate that 'Second Amendment people' could shoot Hillary Clinton.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With his comment about 'Second Amendment people', Donald Trump insulted gun-rights advocates and assassinated presidential campaign decorum.

For the NRA, "Second Amendment people" are God-fearing, law abiding, patriots. To hear Donald Trump, they could also be potential political assassins.

At a rally in North Carolina, Trump infamously said, "Hillary want's to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people -- maybe there is, I don't know. But I tell you what, that'll be a horrible day."

What will be a horrible day? The day Hillary Clinton selects Supreme Court justices? Or the day Hillary Clinton is shot by an angry, unhinged Trump supporter incited by Dangerous Donald's inflammatory language?

It's a horrible day when a candidate for President of the United States escalates already inflammatory rhetoric by recklessly implying an opponent may be shot.

It was horrible when Hillary Clinton did it herself back in 2008. With Obama having virtually locked up the nomination, Clinton defended staying in the race saying, "We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California."

Unlike Trump, Clinton apologized the day she made the comment. Instead of apologizing about how his remarks were interpreted, Trump insisted he was merely suggesting gun-rights advocates could stop Hillary Clinton from becoming president as united voting bloc.

The problem with that explanation is that in his comment Trump was talking about what could happen after Clinton was elected president, not before.

Darrell Vickers, a supporter sitting behind Trump at the rally, told CNN he thought at the time Trump had made a bad joke that he deserved to be taken out to the wood shed for. Vickers is the white haired man wearing a red shirt sitting to the right who can be seen going slack-jawed when Trump made the remark.

Trump has been leading a populist pitchfork revolution. It doesn't matter what he claims he was saying. What matters is what the unhinged among his supporters, who are carrying more than pitchforks, thought they heard him say.

The presidential candidate turned pyromaniac, poured more gas on the fire Wednesday telling a rally crowd that Obama and "Crooked Hillary" were co-founders of ISIS, as the crowd chanted "Lock them up."

With Trump's incendiary language, the anger of his supporters and the propensity for violence in American culture, it's easy to see how the "lock her up" could quickly escalate to "shoot her down."
UPDATE 8/16/2016: The opening of Ipanema has been delayed due to a procedural delay on an occupancy license. "Everything is ready to go, we're just waiting on the license," says co-owner Carla Batista. ""We've been told that at most it will take four weeks, but we're hoping it will be sooner."

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- More than a market or a cafe, it's about bringing a piece of the old country to Cleveland.

"You can't find these things anywhere," says Carla Batista, as she surveys the Brazilian cookies, preserves, cheeses and meats at on the shelves at Ipanema Market. "We're building a Little Brazil here."

Here, of course, is Cleveland's Larchmere neighborhood, which also houses the Brazilian bistro-bar that Batista opened last year with her partner, Gustavo Nogueira.

Located in a restored home and boasting plenty of homey vibes, Batuqui has attracted devotees of Brazilian cuisine to the area. It has also filled a vacancy in the culinary scene that coincided with the closing of beloved Brazilian spots Sarava and Sergio's.

Batuqui's popularity reflects the popularity of Brazilian food and culture in the area, which boasts an emigre population numbering around 400. But it also underscored a problem.

"People coming to Batuqui kept on telling us that they can't find Brazilian food or cooking materials and would ask if they could buy yucca flour from us," says Batista, referring to the Brazilian food staple.

"You would have to travel two hours to Columbus for the nearest Brazilian market," adds Nogueira.

No more come Tuesday - when Ipanema opens its doors.

The market, located at 12602 Larchmere Blvd., is owned by Batista, Nogueira and their partners, Matt Quinn and Artur Silva. It will stock many of the items used in making Brazilian cuisine - along with passion fruit, frozen salgadinhos, Brazilian steaks and a wide selection of coffees.

"Brazil loves its coffee," says Batista. "So we'll be also doing a coffee shop and selling desserts here once we get going."

Batista also imagines Ipanema as a cafe hangout, eventually - where you can sip coffee and listen to the bosa nova ditties she had playing in the place on Tuesday. (Of course, Ipanama - the Brazilian neighborhood and beach, that is - received international fame with the 1960s bossa nova hit, "The Girl from Ipanema.")

They could also come to have some Catupiry, one of many Brazilian cheeses at Ipanema.

"It's a processed cheese people use as a spread back home," she says. "Honestly, I'm not crazy about it."

"I love it," interjects Nogueira. "I grew up with it."

He also grew up with a number of the preserves stocked on the shelves.

"My mom would make these," he says, picking up a jar of banana preserves. "All of this reminds me of home."

"That's a big part of why we are doing this," adds Batista, who grew up in a tiny town of 700 people outside of Salvador. "We love Cleveland, but there are things about home that we miss, so we're creating our own Little Brazil here on Larchmere."

For more info, go to facebook.com/ipanemamarket or call 216-465-1422.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Less than 12 hours after Cleveland City Council voted to reject a proposal to set the city's minimum wage at $15 an hour, backers of the initiative gathered on the steps of City Hall Thursday morning to declare that they are taking their fight to the ballot.

During the rally, Cleveland NAACP President Mike Nelson chastised the council members who voted against the measure, "with their backs turned" to avoid looking at the dozens of supporters who had packed council chambers.

And Rev. Kyle Earley, spokesman for Raise Up Cleveland, the group behind the initiative, said council members can never again claim to care about their city's poor.

"I say to City Council please, please do not come out in public and say you care about the poor," Earley said. "Do not knock on the doors of our residents and say you care about the poor. Do not ask to come to our churches and say you care about the poor, when at the end of the day you voted against the poor and you chose not to stand with the people."

Earley called on activists, organizers and faith leaders to join the campaign. And he assured members of the business community that Raise Up Cleveland is not trying to hurt them, but rather, "we just want you to take care of our people."

"And for everyone in this community who thinks that these workers don't deserve it, shame on you," Earley said. "Just because you struggled doesn't mean everyone else has to struggle. And I'm sorry that leaders didn't step up and fight for you the way we're fighting for these. But we're doing this for generations we will never see."

Only one councilman, Jeffrey Johnson, voted in support of the voter-driven initiative Wednesday night. Many of his colleagues have expressed their belief that a minimum wage hike in Cleveland alone, while the rest of the state remains at $8.10, will kill jobs and spur an exodus of business from the city.

Under the City Charter, petitioners now have the option of putting the original language on a future ballot for Cleveland voters.

The group also could opt to include any of the amendments that were introduced during council's weeks of deliberating over the issue. Among them is a proposal Johnson submitted Wednesday that would phase in the $15 wage over three years, beginning with $12 an hour in the January after the measure passes.

It's undetermined whether the issue will make it onto the general election ballot in November.

Raise Up Cleveland has 10 days to finalize the ballot language and return it to City Council.

Then, council must certify the issue to the board of elections. The charter-prescribed deadline to make the November ballot is Sept. 9 -- 60 days before the election. However, council isn't scheduled to meet again until Sept. 12.

The City Charter might offer another remedy for the petitioners: Collecting an additional 5,000 signatures, as the petitioners say they have done, could force a special election.

At a council hearing July 13, members of Raise Up Cleveland - anticipating that council eventually would reject the initiative - delivered to Council Clerk Pat Britt's office several boxes containing thousands of additional signatures in support of putting the issue on the November ballot.

Britt rejected them, however, contending that she could not accept the signatures before council made its final decision on the matter.

Late last month, members of Raise Up Cleveland filed a lawsuit against City Council with the Ohio Supreme Court, accusing Britt of unlawfully refusing to accept the signatures. The case is pending.
Rallies set today on minimum wage Advocates put focus on the fact that it's a year before presidential election

Cleveland City Council on Wednesday voted to reject a proposal to set the city's minimum wage at $15 an hour. But backers of the initiative say they're not done fighting yet.

(Thomas Ondrey, Plain Dealer file)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - After months of contentious debate and public hearings, Cleveland City Council officially has rejected a proposal to set the city's minimum wage at $15 an hour.

But the "Fight for $15" movement still has a lot of fight left in it, as organizers now turn their attention toward their remaining options for getting the issue on the November ballot.

Council members on Wednesday night voted down the proposal, with only Councilman Jeffrey Johnson supporting it.

Councilman Zack Reed received thunderous applause from the initiative's backers for his comments on the floor, seemingly in favor of the $15 minimum wage. But he ended up voting with the majority of his colleagues, who believe a minimum wage hike in Cleveland alone, while the rest of the state remains at $8.10, will kill jobs and spur an exodus of business from the city.

After the vote, dozens of representatives from Raise Up Cleveland, an organization backed by the Service Employees International Union, filed out of council chambers, chanting, "See you in November!" -- alluding to the possible next stop for the piece.

Under the City Charter, petitioners now have the option of putting the original language on a future ballot for Cleveland voters.

The group also could opt to include any of the amendments that were introduced during council's weeks of deliberating over the issue. Among them is a proposal Johnson submitted Wednesday that would phase in the $15 wage over three years, beginning with $12 an hour in the January after the measure passes.

Another alternative Johnson offered would reach $15 more slowly for people employed at grocery stores. Johnson said the proposal would mitigate the adverse impact on grocers, who have testified that a $15 minimum wage would force them to close their doors - a prospect that could create food deserts in low-income neighborhoods.

Whether either of those amendments passes muster for Raise Up Cleveland is unclear. The group says it will announce its next steps Thursday morning at a news conference outside council offices.

It's also undetermined whether the issue will make it onto the general election ballot.

Raise Up Cleveland has 10 days to finalize the ballot language and return it to City Council.

Then, council must certify the issue to the board of elections. The charter-prescribed deadline to make the November ballot is Sept. 9 -- 60 days before the election. However, council isn't scheduled to meet again until Sept. 12.

The City Charter might offer another remedy for the petitioners: Collecting an additional 5,000 signatures, as the petitioners say they have done, could force a special election.

At a council hearing July 13, members of Raise Up Cleveland - anticipating that council eventually would reject the initiative - delivered to Council Clerk Pat Britt's office several boxes containing thousands of additional signatures in support of putting the issue on the November ballot.

Britt rejected them, however, contending that she could not accept the signatures before council made its final decision on the matter.

Late last month, members of Raise Up Cleveland filed a lawsuit against City Council with the Ohio Supreme Court, accusing Britt of unlawfully refusing to accept the signatures. The case is pending.

In the meantime, Raise Up Cleveland seems to have found a powerful ally -- the AFL-CIO.

During city council's Committee of the Whole meeting before the vote Wednesday -- in what can only be described as a mic-drop moment for backers of the initiative -- Harriet Applegate, executive secretary of the Cleveland AFL-CIO, delivered a rousing speech in support of them.

She encouraged council members to put the needs of impoverished residents ahead of those of business owners. She said city leaders should take this rare opportunity to fight poverty directly and serve as an example for the nation, rather than vilify those involved in the movement.

Applegate said many of the business owners who have testified before council this summer, denouncing the initiative, are good corporate citizens and "good friends of labor." But their interests should not override those of the voiceless and powerless workers living in poverty, she said.

The uprising of Cleveland's working poor won't ruin Cleveland, Applegate said. What's ruining Cleveland are "corporations that don't pay their fair share of taxes or when hospitals, making millions, hide behind their nonprofit status, or when companies move their corporate headquarters overseas to avoid taxes."

Applegate said that if the minimum wage issue goes to the ballot, the AFL-CIO - which represents workers in 88 unions - will launch a campaign in support of it.

"You need to ask yourself whose interests you're serving," she told council members. "The fact that Cleveland is the poorest city in America answers that question. ... The proverbial pigs at the troughs got too greedy. Now the rest of us are the proverbial mad-as-hell, and we're not going to deal with it anymore."
Men dressed in Union and Confederate uniforms. The sound and scent of gunpowder wafting through the air. "President Lincoln" stopping by for a visit.

That and more is in store when Hale Farm & Village in Bath, Ohio, hosts its annual Civil War re-enactment on Saturday, Aug. 13 and Sunday, Aug. 14. (See photos here from previous re-enactments).

Things get going Friday, Aug. 12 with "Civil War Education Day" in partnership with the 6th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. Education day offers a sneak peek into the making of a re-enactment. Children will get to see Union and Confederate camps, meet soldiers and civilians in period dress and enjoy Hale Farm in general, said Catherine Sterle, Hale Farm & Village director of sales and marketing.

Reservations are required for education day. For more information, go to wrhs.org/events/civil-war-education-day-2.

On Saturday, Aug. 13, about 700 re-enactors are expected on the historic grounds, along with hundreds more who don period dress, cook over open fires, wash clothes in basins and dance to music of that era. They'll be joined by those who don't dress up but still come to enjoy the historic atmosphere.

"It's really something to see," said Sterle. "It's almost like you've stepped back in time.

Hale Farm is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday, Aug. 13 at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 14 at 2 p.m., visitors can experience the Battle of Big Bethel.

The battle fought on June 10, 1861, was one of the earliest of the Civil War, said Sterle. In terms of troops, it was small compared to the later and more famous Gettysburg, Antietam and other battles. Big Bethel would later be termed a "skirmish" compared to those battles. But it was significant in that it showed federal authorities that the Confederacy was ready to retain its independence.

Big Bethel pitted 3,500 Union troops under the leadership of Benjamin Butler and Ebenezer Peirce against 1,400 Confederate troops under John Magruder and Daniel Hill. Losses were minimal but the Union forces suffered a tactical defeat in the action.

Hale Farm is located at 2686 Oak Hill Road in Bath in Summit County. Ticket prices for the re-enactment are $15 for a two-day adult pass; $7.50 for a two-day youth pass ages 3-12; $10 for Saturday adult pass; $5 for a Saturday youth pass; $10 for a Sunday adult pass; and $5 for a Sunday youth pass.

Re-enactors can register the day of the event or call 330-666-3711, ext. 1720.
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Hillary Clinton has come out with an eight-point lead over Donald Trump from the conventions of the two major parties and their aftermath. ADVERTISEMENT

However, despite the Democratic candidate leading among registered voters, murder mysteries related to the Clintons are emerging at the same rate. The body count increases. Heres a list of people related to Hillary Clinton who were found dead less than a month apart.

Shawn Lucas

It was earlier reported that Shawn Lucas and filmmaker Ricardo Villaba had filed a lawsuit against DNC Services Corp. and Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz at DNCs headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to What Really Happened.

It was a fraud class action suit against the Democrat Party on behalf of Bernie Sanders supporters. On August 2 2016, Lucas girlfriend found him dead in his bathroom. As of now, no cause of death has been officially released by authorities.

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ALSO READ: Murdered DNC Staffer Seth Conrad Rich Divulging Election Fraud?

Seth Rich

Seth Conrad Rich was a DNC Voter Expansion Data Director. On July 10, 2016, he was was shot several times in the back a block away from his home. According to police, it was a robbery gone wrong. However, he still had his wallet, watch, and cell phone. Nothing was taken.

The murder took pace after WikiLeaks released 20,000 DNC emails, which proved that the DNC was manipulating the primaries to favor Hillary Clinton. While DNC said that the dump was hacked by Russia, WikiLeaks denied such by stating that it was an internal leak.

Heat Street stated that Seth was in a good position to acquire the data. If he was responsible for the leak, getting rid of him could be a way to warn potential whistleblowers inside the DNC. After his death, claims were made that Rich was on his way to meet FBI special agents the morning of his murder. He was going to talk to them about a court case involving the Clinton Family.

Victor Thorn

On August 1, 2016, Victor Thorn was found dead due to a gunshot on top of a mountain near his home. Thorn had been writing against Clintons for decades, mainly in his books and articles for American Free Press.

The writings had exposed many of the Clintons dark secrets, including the drug operations out of Mena, Arkansas, reported The Political Insider.

Thorns death was officially declared a suicide. The most surprising part was that Thorn was at the peak of his success. He had a long line of bestselling books, including Crowning Clinton: Why Hillary Shouldnt Be in the White House and the Hillary (And Bill) trilogy. The trilogy had just been bought for translation and foreign distribution.

Joe Montano

Joe Montano allegedly died of a heart attack on July 25, 2016. He was the Chairman of DNC before Debbis Wasserman Shultz. He also worked as Regional Director for Tim Kaine.

The dead occurred after the WikiLeaks email dump. Montano was 47, with no history of heart problems.

Berta Caceres

Human rights activist Berta Caceres was also killed sleeping in her home in La Esperanza, Honduras. According to reports, she said that the former First Lady was responsible for the Honduran coup, which toppled President Manuel Zelaya, the democratically elected leader.

After the coup, Honduras had become one of the most dangerous countries, and the former First Ladys role in the coup is public knowledge.

John Ashe

John Ashe was the former United Nations General Assembly President. He died from a heart attack; however, according to CNN, his throat had obviously been crushed.

Ashe was about to begin trial for a bribery charge involving Chinese businessman Ng Lap Seng, of the 1996 China-gate scandal. It was reported that Seng had made illegal donations to Bill Clintons re-election.

Supposedly, Ashe was going to testify about Hillary Clintons links to Seng; later the same day, he died.

ALSO READ: Hillary Murdered John F. Kennedy Jr: I Am JFK Opens Pandora Box Of Conspiracy Theories

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Andrea Hogben, the former president of what is now Advance Ohio, has been named to a top position at Medical Mutual of Ohio.

Hogben will become senior vice president of strategic communications beginning Aug. 29, Medical Mutual announced today. She will report to Jared Chaney, executive vice president and chief communications officer, who earlier this year announced he will retire in August 2017.

"I am ecstatic that Andrea is joining us and will lead our communications areas once Jared retires next summer," said Rick Chiricosta, chairman, president and CEO of Medical Mutual. "She will be a great addition to my executive team."

Hogben, who turns 44 today, has taken an active role in the community, serving on the boards of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the United Way of Greater Cleveland.

Most recently she was a co-chair of the marketing and content committee for the Republican National Convention Host Committee. The committee worked to leverage the convention and promote Cleveland as a great place to live, work and build a business.

Hogben, who holds a bachelor's degree in both business and communications and a master's degree in business administration from Baldwin Wallace University, is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Cleveland.

She began with The Plain Dealer as an intern. During nearly 22 years with the newspaper and cleveland.com she rose to top executive positions.

She was senior vice president of sales and marketing at The Plain Dealer.

In 2013, Hogben was named the first president of a newly minted company -- now called Advance Ohio -- responsible for multimedia sales, marketing and content for cleveland.com, The Plain Dealer and Sun News.

The goal was to usher in a sustainable business model that would align three of the region's media brands and accelerate the growth of cleveland.com's audience and digital revenue. During Hogben's tenure, Advance Ohio expanded its team of reporters and photographers, added new features to cleveland.com and introduced mobile apps to meet the needs of a growing audience.

When Hogben announced last August she would leave Advance Ohio, she drew praise for her leadership during a period of incredible change. She said then that it was "time to pursue another chapter."

The new chapter with Medical Mutual begins later this month.

"I've always been impressed by the impact Medical Mutual has in our community and I have a tremendous amount of respect for the leadership team," Hogben said. "It's an understatement to say that I'm thrilled to become part of it."
COLUMBUS, Ohio - State Auditor Dave Yost joined a growing call for the state to fund online schools differently - for when students make progress, not just for having students enrolled.

Yost told charter school advocates gathered this morning for a charter school "summit" he organized that the state should no longer fund online schools by their enrollment, as traditional schools are.

Online schools received $267 million from the state last year.

He called on the state legislature to instead propose and pass a new plan this fall that better reflects the very different approaches of e-schools to traditional ones.

That could mean paying e-schools when students complete a school year, or complete courses or even units within courses, Yost said, but paying online schools based on "time in a seat" does not make sense.

"It's remarkably difficult to count noses when the classroom is everywhere and nowhere," Yost said.

His call for a performance-based system matches the same push from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the nation's largest charter school advocacy group, which recently recommended that change nationwide.

Students at online schools don't take classes on a fixed schedule like at most schools and make progress at their own pace, that group noted in a report.

The group suggested that states look at how Florida, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Utah have created performance-based funding systems that allow flexibility but base funding on results.

Click here for a Plain Dealer look at how that works in New Hampshire.

That report echoes recommendations of the main advocacy group for online schools, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL).

Yost cited several of those states in his speech this morning, saying that Ohio law is focused on how much time students spend in class or online, not on what the goal of schools are - to help educate students.

"Ohio should follow their lead," he said.

His remarks also come as the Ohio Department of Education is locked in a court battle with the state's largest charter school, the online giant Electronic Classroom Of Tomorrow. The state is trying to audit the attendance of the 15,000 students at that e-school to see if the school should have received all of its $108 million in state funding last year.

Yost did not address ECOT in his talk.

He insisted, however, that he would not leave it to schools to decide when students make enough progress for the school to be paid. He said any new plan must leave that decision to a neutral third party, either the Ohio Department of Education or a new panel of peers.

"It needs to be objective and independent of the school seeking to be paid," he said.

Chad Aldis of the Fordham Institute, a supporter of school choice and higher standards for charter schools, said Yost's call is a solid start toward helping students that are often falling behind.

"As Auditor Yost points out, online students can learn anytime, anywhere," said Aldis, Fordham's vice president for Ohio policy and advocacy. "Unfortunately, seat-time funding policies are not well-aligned to online learning. Competency-based funding would place the emphasis where it belongs--on student learning and mastery, rather than on whether a child is logged into a computer."
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San Francisco Superior Court judges are using a new bail-setting tool proven to accurately predict the likelihood that defendants will commit crimes or skip court if they're released from jail before trial.

(Alan Kotok, Creative Commons CC BY 2.0)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As Cuyahoga County takes steps to build a fairer bail system, dozens of courts across the country are also making changes to prevent bail from discriminating against people who can't afford it.

Read about recent bail-reform news below as part of Impact 2016: Justice For All, a cleveland.com series that examines Cuyahoga County's bail system and how it could be more equitable and cost-effective.

San Francisco begins using crime-predicting tool: The San Francisco Superior Court is the latest to adopt a computer algorithm that helps judges decide which defendants they can safely release while their cases are resolved, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

San Francisco adopted the risk assessment tool, developed by the Houston-based Laura and John Arnold Foundation, after critics complained that the bail system had a disparate impact on people who could not afford to pay for their release.

The tool weighs factors including the pending charges, the person's age and criminal history to determine who is likely to skip court and commit crimes and who can be released from jail pending trial.

Cuyahoga County is also considering changing its bail system to be more fair to poor defendants, while Cleveland Municipal Court hopes to adopt the Arnold Foundation risk assessment.

Bail reform advocates push for change at American Bar Association annual meeting: Bail reform advocates shared solutions at the American Bar Association's annual meeting last week for fixing bail systems that force innocent people to stay behind bars simply because they cannot afford to pay their way out, the ABA Journal reports.

Unconvicted jail inmates account for 77 percent of the increase in the national jail population since 1990, said Cherrise Fanno Burdeen, chief executive officer of bail reform advocacy organization the Pretrial Justice Institute, in a presentation at the meeting.

People who are held in jail before their trials are more likely to plead guilty to crimes, even if they're innocent, Burdeen said. She cited a July study by the University of Pennsylvania of inmates in Harris County, Texas, that showed detained defendants are 25 percent more likely to plead guilty than released defendants.

Risk assessments, like the Arnold Foundation tool, can help resolve that and other problems that arise from bail.

"When jurisdictions use a risk assessment instrument with all judges, and [set] conditions or detention based on an agreed-upon transparent system, not individual judges' discretion, you can help protect each other," she said.

'Justice system too costly for unconvicted': Nearly half a million people, who account for 60 percent of the U.S. jail population, are behind bars in connection to crimes they haven't been convicted of, Burdeen and former District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Bruce Beaudin wrote in an August 5 column for USA Today.

"That means, on any given day, most people are stuck there, not because they have been found guilty of a crime, but because they simply can't afford bail," they wrote. "Jailing them comes at great cost -- to them and our country. That's why it's time to replace money bail with common sense policies that are fairer and more cost-effective."

Research shows even three days in jail can increase the chances that someone will commit crimes, drop out of school, lose their homes, jobs or custody of their children, according to the authors.

An increasing number of jurisdictions are making changes to solve these and other problems that result from unfair bail-setting practices. Some courts are using risk assessments and others are monitoring released defendants to make sure they show up for court and stay out of trouble while they're awaiting trial.

Washington, D.C., Kentucky and New Jersey have all taken steps to improve their bail systems, Burdeen and Beaudin write.

St. Louis-area attorneys urge judges to fix bail system: St. Louis-area attorneys are pushing St. Louis County's chief judge to reform bail and other practices that are unfairly harming poor people and minorities accused of minor misdemeanors.

"Poor black men and women [are] being arrested by a largely white police force, pulled off the street and jailed, thrown in a cage and told if you come up with $500 in cash we are going to let you out and if you don't we're going to keep you here indefinitely," local defense attorney Thomas Harvey told St. Louis Public Radio Tuesday.

Protests in the wake of Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Mo., shone a spotlight on the inequitable practices of St. Louis-area municipal courts after dozens of protesters were arrested and slapped with bails they couldn't afford. But little has been done to improve the system in the two years since Brown died, Harvey and other attorneys said, and they want St. Louis County Presiding Judge Maura B. McShane to lead the charge to fix the bail process.

"Fundamentally we haven't changed from wanting to punish poor people for being poor ... if you are charged in a municipal court you are by definition not a threat to the community, so why would this ever end in jail?" Harvey said. "We're talking about traffic tickets. These aren't crimes. We're not talking about rape, murder and robbery."
police tape.jpg

A 28-year-old man wanted in a suburban Atlanta homicide was arrested Thursday on Cleveland's West Side.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A man wanted in a January suburban Atlanta homicide was arrested Thursday afternoon in Cleveland.

Jeffrey Smith, 28, was captured about noon Thursday after he was seen leaving a house on the 3200 block of West 43rd Street, according to a news release from the U.S. Marshals.

He was arrested without incident during a traffic stop.

Smith was wanted in a Jan. 22 homicide that happened in Stone Mountain, Georgia, the release says. Smith and the victim were arguing outside a house, and shortly after the fight, the victim was found shot dead.

The Marshals fugitive task force in DeKalb County, Georgia learned that Smith might have been hiding out in Cleveland. The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force discovered Thursday that Smith was hiding out on the city's West Side.

Smith was booked into Cuyahoga County Jail, where he will stay until he is extradited back to DeKalb County, the Marshals said.

"Fugitives should know that Cleveland will not be their hiding spot," U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said in the release.

If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section.
Cleveland police SWAT

Cleveland police on Wednesday arrested two people accused of shooting into a home on Elmarge Avenue and fleeing into a home at Harvard Avenue and East 103rd Street.

(Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Three people broke into a house in the city's Union Miles Park neighborhood Wednesday, attacked a woman and then shot at the house as they ran away, police said.

Two of the suspects, a 23-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy, were arrested as they tried to hide inside a house on Harvard Road near East 103rd Street. They face multiple charges, including felonious assault and aggravated burglary.

A third suspect remains at large, police said.

The incident started around noon Wednesday, when the suspects went to the home of the teen's ex-girlfriend on Elmarge Avenue, south of Miles Avenue.

The teenager attacked his 17-year-old ex. He slapped her, kicked her and threw her to the ground, Cleveland police spokesman detective Reginald Lanton said.

The teenager pulled out a gun and fired two shots at the house as the three ran away, police said.

The trio ran across Miles Avenue and north on East 104th Street. Two of them tried to hide inside a run-down house on Harvard Road. The man who lives in the house was home at the time and ran outside.

He flagged down a passing police car. Officers arrested the two without incident, police said.

A Cleveland police and Cuyahoga County SWAT team swept the home after the arrests to make sure no other suspects were in the house, police said.

The suspects have not been formally charged.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section.

Update: This post has been updated to reflect new information provided by Cleveland police.
Hillary Clinton

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gives a speech on the economy after touring Futuramic Tool & Engineering, in Warren, Michigan Thursday.

(Andrew Harnik, Associated Press)

Clinton talks jobs in Michigan: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, in a speech in Warren, Michigan Thursday, said her economic plan would bring jobs back to America, and she criticized Republican rival Donald Trump for failing to offer "any credible solutions," the Detroit Free Press reported. "Contrasting her own upbeat message with Trump's, she said, 'He is missing so much about what makes Michigan great. He describes America as an embarrassment. He says we're becoming a third world country. Look around you, my friends,'" the Free Press reported.

Pence eyes his future: Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence "has emerged as the Republican ticket's cleaner-up in chief," who is cast in the role of trying to explain the controversial comments of the man at the top of the ticket, Trump, the New York Times reports. But Pence and his supporters also are "hoping to position him as a compelling national politician for a post-2016 landscape. Even if the Republican ticket fails in the battle for the White House, Mr. Pence wants to preserve his future viability, a goal that has created a delicate dance for him," the Times story says.

No Trump taxes? It's quite possible that Trump pays no federal income tax, New York Times columnist James B. Stewart writes. Stewart reported interviewing "numerous real estate and tax professionals" who said the wealthy real estate developer could legally pay little or no taxes. "That's because Mr. Trump, as a prominent and active developer, can take advantage of some of the most generous tax breaks in the federal tax code to reduce his reported income to near zero, or even report a loss," Stewart reported.

Kaine talks about faith: Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine delivered a sermon-like speech Thursday to the Progressive National Baptist Convention. The Washington Post described the hourlong talk as "perhaps the most extensive religious speech of the campaign season, which doubled as a plea to black voters." Post religion reporter Michelle Boorstein noted that "Kaine's impassioned speech about how his Catholic faith was built and tested was especially detailed for a candidate of the Democratic party, the home in 2016 for most of the country's religious minorities as well as the massive slice of religiously unaffiliated voters."

Trump won't back down on ISIS remark: Trump on Thursday doubled down on his accusation -- widely criticized as a false claim -- labeling President Obama and Hillary Clinton as "the founders of ISIS," Politico reported. "The Manhattan billionaire bristled at the notion that referring to the president and his former secretary of state as the co-founders of a terrorist group intent on killing Americans was somehow inappropriate," the Politico story said.

Neck and neck in Iowa: Trump and Clinton are nearly tied in Iowa, a new poll shows. "Mr. Trump was at 41 percent support and Mrs. Clinton was at 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup with 17 percent undecided, according to the Suffolk University poll of likely voters conducted Monday through Wednesday," according to the Washington Times, which noted that the state has supported Democrats in six of the last seven presidential elections.

In other Iowa intrigue: In a speech at the Iowa State Fair, conservative Republican Rep. Steve King called Clinton "somebody I can work with," the Des Moines Register reported. The speech was otherwise "full of praise" for Trump and Pence, and King made it clear he was voting for the GOP ticket.

Dear Reince: More than 70 Republicans signed a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus urging that the party devote its resources to U.S. House and Senate races rather than to electing Trump president, Politico reported. The Politico story quoted a draft of the open letter as saying: "We believe that Donald Trump's divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide, and only the immediate shift of all available RNC resources to vulnerable Senate and House races will prevent the GOP from drowning with a Trump-emblazoned anchor around its neck."

Bumbling, stumbling: Because of his pattern of gaffes, Trump has squandered "prime opportunities to hammer Hillary Clinton over her own campaign controversies," CBS News reports, offering this chronological guide to Trump's stumbles.
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Attorneys may not help clients establish, operate, or do business with a medical marijuana business in Ohio, according to an Ohio Supreme Court board, even though medical pot is about to become legal in the Buckeye State.

(Glen Stubbe, Minneapolis Star Tribune)

COLUMBUS, OHIO--Lawyers cannot provide legal services to establish, operate, or help someone do business with a medical marijuana business in Ohio, even though the state is about to legalize its use, according to an Ohio Supreme Court board.

That's because marijuana is still banned under federal law, according to an advisory opinion released last week by the Supreme Court's Board of Professional Conduct.

The board also asserted that any lawyer who uses medical marijuana personally or owns or is employed by a dispensary may face possible federal prosecution, and such activity "may adversely reflect on a lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, and overall fitness to practice law."

Attorneys are allowed to explain Ohio's medical marijuana law and give advice about the legality and consequences of operating under it and federal law, according to the advisory opinion.

The board's opinion conflicts with Ohio's medical marijuana law, which grants immunity to attorneys doing business with the medical marijuana industry. While the opinion is non-binding, it asserts the Supreme Court's power to discipline lawyers who become involved with medical marijuana businesses.

Westlake attorney Thomas Haren said he believes the board's opinion leaves lawyers in a quandary, as it prevents them from providing basic services that they can provide for any other business in Ohio.

Haren said he expects the Supreme Court will have to amend its rules to address the issue.

If it doesn't, he said, the advisory opinion will become a significant hindrance to anyone who wants to be involved in the medical marijuana industry -- such as opening a dispensary business -- or anyone who wants to do business with someone associated with the industry -- such as a landlord leasing space to a business.

"It's disappointing - to lawyers and to clients who want to be involved in the medical marijuana industry," Haren said.

Ethics panels in most of the other 24 states to legalize medical marijuana have permitted attorney involvement in the marijuana industry, including Connecticut and Washington state.

Hawaii's disciplinary board, however, issued an opinion last year stating that attorneys could not provide counsel to help establish a marijuana business, as they would be considered to be assisting a federal crime.

Cleveland.com reporter Robert Higgs contributed to this story.
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U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, left, has a 9-point lead over former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. It's the largest lead the Republican incumbent has seen in a survey since polling began in Ohio's U.S. Senate race.

(Left: Alex Brandon, AP Photo; Right: J. Scott Applewhite, AP Photo)

COLUMBUS, Ohio--U.S. Sen. Rob Portman has opened up a sizable 9-point lead over Democratic rival Ted Strickland, according to a new poll released Thursday.

The Quinnipiac University poll showed the Republican incumbent with 49 percent support, compared to 40 percent for Strickland. It's the largest lead Portman has received in a poll since the Senate race began.

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, noted in a statement that while the two candidates each have 44-percent support among likely female voters, the survey shows Portman with a 19-point lead among likely male voters.

"The gender gap strongly favors Sen. Portman," Brown said.

Portman is polling ahead of his party's presidential nominee, Donald Trump, whom recent surveys show is tied with or losing to Democrat Hillary Clinton in Ohio.

"If Trump continues to lag behind in the presidential race, that will make it more difficult for GOP candidates, logic holds, up and down the ballot," Brown said.

But, he added, "Sen. Rob Portman in Ohio may have a strong enough lead to escape the Trump effect."

Portman's campaign, not surprisingly, reacted happily to the poll results.

"Momentum continues to grow behind our campaign as we highlight the results Rob is delivering for Ohio families and as we've gained multiple union endorsements and contacted over 3 million voters through our unprecedented door-to-door and phone programs," said Portman campaign spokesperson Michawn Rich in a statement.

Strickland's campaign spokesman David Bergstein stated in an email that "polls will go up and down," noting that an NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll from earlier this week showed Portman only leading by 3 percentage points among definite voters (the poll found Portman had a 5-point lead among registered voters).

"But what all the polls consistently show," Bergstein stated, "is that after Senator Portman and his allies have spent over $30 million against Ted they've failed to put this race away."

The Quinnipiac poll was conducted from July 30 to Aug. 7 among 812 Ohio voters. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
strickland-portman.jpg

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Ted Strickland (left) and incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman have each been criticized for their private-sector activities. But the fairness of each of the attacks is disputed.

(AP, The Plain Dealer file photos)

COLUMBUS, Ohio--The Ohio Democratic Party and Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman's campaign are trading questionable claims about private-sector work done by Portman and Democratic rival Ted Strickland.

Ohio Democrats have renewed attacks against the Republican incumbent that insinuate -- incorrectly -- that he worked for former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier while at a Washington, D.C. law firm in the 1980s.

Portman's campaign shot back with a disputed allegation that Strickland "mediated against" the victims of Fair Finance, an Akron financial services company whose leaders were convicted of defrauding some 5,200 investors of more than $200 million.

Let's examine these attacks one at a time.

Portman and Haiti

In a public memo and web video released this week, the Ohio Democratic Party highlights that Portman, while working for the Patton Boggs law firm in 1985, listed "Republic of Haiti" on his lobbying registration form as a client for whom he "may be engaged in performance of legal and related services."

Lobbyists at firms with foreign clients frequently list such clients on their registration forms, just in case they end up working on the account. But in Portman's case, he "never billed a millisecond of time" to Haiti, according to Stuart Pape, Portman's supervisor at Patton Boggs.

In 2005, shortly before Portman was named U.S. trade representative, Pape signed an affidavit attesting that "at no time did Mr. Portman do any work for any foreign government or entity of a foreign government."

Portman has been dogged by similar accusations throughout his political career that he was a "lobbyist" for the governments of Haiti and Oman, another Patton Boggs client. The newest Democratic attack is carefully worded to try and tie Portman to the brutal Haitian dictator - and portray him as a "D.C. insider" - without specifically claiming that Portman actually did anything to help Duvalier out.

"Senator Portman can string together all of the Washington-insider excuses he wants to try to distract from his D.C. lobbying career, but the fact remains: Portman was a registered foreign agent for the brutal Haitian dictator 'Baby Doc' Duvalier," said Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Daniel van Hoogstraten in a statement. "It begs one simple question: why would Rob Portman sign up to represent a brutal dictator?"

Portman campaign spokeswoman Michawn Rich stated in an email that "the level of desperation coming from Ted Strickland and his allies is embarrassing.

"Ted has nothing left to do except recycle disproven personal attacks because his campaign has no traction, no money, and no grassroots support," she wrote.

Van Hoogstraten defended the party's criticism of Portman, saying the senator shouldn't have even opened himself up to the possibility that he might do work for Duvalier, who brutally oppressed political opponents during his 15-year rule over one of the world's poorest countries.

Strickland and Fair Finance

Portman's campaign, in a release, claims that Strickland "took money to represent the benefactors" of Fair Finance, whose leaders were handed prison sentences for operating a Ponzi scheme.

But that claim was disputed by Michael Wager, a Cleveland attorney for Taft Stettinius & Hollister who served as legal counsel for Fortress. (Wager is currently a Democratic congressional candidate who previously worked with Portman at the law firm Squire Sanders).

Strickland didn't play a direct role in the scandal itself. Rather, Wager said, Strickland was brought in to help resolve a side dispute between Fortress Investment Group (whose subsidiary, Fortress Credit Corp., provided financing to Fair Finance) and Fair Finance's bankruptcy trustee about how much money Fortress should recoup from the Fair Finance estate.

Fortress, in an unusual move, suggested avoiding a court battle by bringing in a high-profile public figure to act as an "honest broker" between the two sides, Wager said.

Strickland agreed to serve in that role, attending meetings and researching the case, according to Wager.

But after a few months, the Fair Finance trustee, Cleveland attorney Brian Bash, rejected the idea of alternative dispute resolution, and the case went to court, according to Wager.

Strickland was paid $25,000 for his efforts by Fortress, which routed the money through Wager's law firm.

Wager strongly disputed the Portman campaign's characterization of Strickland's role in the case, calling their allegations "a complete distortion.

"He had nothing to do with the people who propagated, perpetuated the Ponzi scheme," Wager said of Strickland. "I think you're talking to a lot of people, perhaps, in Portman's camp who either are so politically charged that they don't really see this - or don't want to see it -- for what it is, but also probably don't understand it."

Bash didn't return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment.

Bergstein confirmed in an email that "Ted was hired by a law firm to potentially serve as an impartial mediator, but mediation never actually happened." The spokesman declined to confirm or deny further details of Wager's account about what happened.

"This is a pathetic attempt by Senator Portman to distract from his record as a registered 'foreign agent' for a Haitian dictator," Bergstein said.

Rich, Portman's spokeswoman, cast doubt on Wager's reliability, noting that the Democrat donated money to Strickland's campaign. She also stated in an email that Strickland has refused to talk about his role in the case for months.

"The facts could not be more clear: Ted Strickland pocketed more than $25,000 from a New York City hedge fund who didn't want to repay Ohioans burnt by a Ponzi scheme they financed," Rich stated. "Ohioans who lost their life savings deserve more than excuses from both of these politicians."
Ted Strickland

In this June 21, 2016, file photo, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Ohio, speaks at a rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center in Columbus, Ohio.

(Jay LaPrete, AP Photo)

Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland apologizes for "insensitive remarks." His opponent, Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, courts Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's voters. Read more in the Ohio Politics Roundup.

Strickland says sorry: Ted Strickland apologized for saying the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia came at a "good time," cleveland.com reporter Henry J. Gomez writes.

"I mean, the death of Scalia saved labor from a terrible decision," the Democratic former governor said Monday at an Ohio AFL-CIO event in the Cleveland area. Strickland is trying to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman. "And I don't wish anyone ill, but it happened at a good time, because once that decision had been made it would have been tough to reverse it."

"The Scalia comment was another unforced error for Strickland, who has gotten himself in trouble before with clumsy remarks," Gomez writes. "During a February meeting with cleveland.com reporters and editors, Strickland acknowledged that his record on gun control was 'mixed and spotty' - a line that Portman allies have used relentlessly against Strickland, sometimes unfairly."

Strickland called the Scalia remark "insensitive" in his apology.

The former governor's gaffe was timed badly.

The candidate began airing his first television ad on Wednesday, cleveland.com reporter Jeremy Pelzer writes.

The ad is a "a one-minute spot that highlights his working-class upbringing and stances on blue-collar issues," Pelzer writes.

Portman courts Clinton voters: Portman, meanwhile, is hoping to win over some unlikely voters: Hillary Clinton supporters, Washington Post reporters Karen Tumulty and Mary Jordan write.

"Portman is betting that a significant number of Ohioans in this turbulent election season might do something voters have not done in a long time: divide their preferences between the two parties as they work their way down the ballot," Tumulty and Jordan write. "Breaking that pattern may be key to the survival of some endangered Republicans and possibly to the GOP's hopes of holding onto its control of the Senate. It's a clear acknowledgment of the fear that Donald Trump is pushing some voters away -- and of the threat he poses to the rest of his party."

Deep look at Ohio polling: Clinton is narrowly winning Ohio, according to separate polls released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University and Marist College (sponsored by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal).

But a deep dive into the Quinnipiac poll, which was more detailed, showed problems for the Trump campaign, cleveland.com reporter Andrew J. Tobias writes.

"Of Republicans who said they'd vote for Trump, only 26 percent said the main reason was because they 'like Trump.' Meanwhile, 61 percent said they supported Trump primarily because they oppose Clinton.

"This suggests many Ohio Republicans begrudgingly support Trump, united only in their dislike of Clinton," Tobias writes.

Talking taxes: Trump isn't the only politician touting a new tax plan. U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, a Republican representing Wadsworth, is working on his own proposal that he believes would encourage more foreign investment in the United States, cleveland.com reporter Sabrina Eaton writes.

"Because other countries have cut their corporate taxes since 2000, Renacci says the United States now has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, which makes businesses balk at U.S. investments and hiring.

"Renacci's plan, which he calls Simplifying America's Tax System, or SATS, would repeal the nation's corporate income tax and replace it with a 7 percent value-added tax, or VAT, where goods and services are taxed at each stage of the production process, instead of on profits at the point of sale," Eaton reports.

Renacci has spoken to Trump about tax reform. The congressman also has provided the Trump campaign details of his plan.

Read more about Renacci's plan here.

Mike Pence visits the Buckeye State: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump's vice presidential running mate, made stops Wednesday in Dayton and Cambridge, Ohio.

Pence emphasized Ohio's importance in the presidential election during an appearance outside of Dayton, Columbus Dispatch reporter Darrell Rowland reports.

"Ohio will loom large in this election, as you always do," Pence said.

And he attacked Clinton and President Barack Obama.

"He urged Republicans - who he said are united behind Trump - to spread the word how 71/2 years of President Barack Obama and Clinton 'have weakened America's place in the world' and 'emboldened the enemies of freedom,'" Rowland reports.

Trump and Ohio: The Trump campaign is "scrambling to set up the basics of a campaign" outside of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Jeremy Fugleberg writes.

"Even campaign materials, such as signs and stickers, aren't yet available," he writes.

American goods delivered via Russia: A common political narrative suggests that Americans should view Russia with suspicion.

"But guess what, America?" cleveland.com reporter Stephen Koff writes. "A Russian company has become our Uber for oversize, point-to-point cargo delivery within the United States, exempt or immune from all the geopolitical turmoil and talk. It carries oversize jet parts, components for America's electric infrastructure, parts that propel U.S. satellites into space."

For example, a Russian plane recently flew a load of jet engines from Columbus to Washington state.

Why?

It's pretty simple: Russian carriers have bigger planes than American carriers.

Buckeye campaign stop: Secretary of Labor Tom Perez will campaign in Ohio for Clinton on Thursday. Perez will stop in Lorain and Lakewood, and also tour a small business in Toledo. Perez is expected to tout Clinton's economic plan, and explain how it could create jobs for Ohioans.

Redfern shows support for tax evader: Former Ohio Democratic Party chairman and state Rep. Chris Redfern wrote a letter of support to a judge for his friend Thomas Klocker, a Lakewood businessman who will be sentenced next week after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

According to Klocker's sentencing memo, Redfern, who now runs a winery in Marblehead and is running to be an Ottawa County commissioner, wrote to U.S. District Judge James Gwin, vouching for his friend as "a respected and widely admired member of the Greater Cleveland Community."

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Beatrice pharmacist Mitch Deines was recognized earlier this summer for stellar performance in his field.

Deines, one of the founders of Deines Pharmacy, was named a national advisor to Good Neighbor Pharmacy at the AmerisourceBergen Trade Show. AmerisourceBergen has a loose affiliation with 3,200 individual pharmacists throughout the nation. Every three years, 13 advisors are picked as a liaison between store owners and Good Neighbor. This year Mitch Deines was one of the 13 selected.

Every July AmerisourceBergen holds a trade show to bring individual pharmacists together, Deines explained. I was named a national advisor in early July and Im looking forward to it. I had spent five to six years as a regional advisor.

Deines said he was absolutely pleased to be selected to the national advisors committee this year.

Just to be selected with the other forward thinking leaders in my industry is a humbling experience, he added. This will allow me to build better relationships with other pharmacies in the region. It should be a great way to build relationships and network.

As a national advisor, Deines will meet with leadership three times a year to learn about the new programs and advances. He will be able to provide input and learn about the ins and outs of the industry as he never has before.

It will be really interesting to sit at that level and see what gets implemented before it comes out, he said. People in my business are here because they want to help people.

This is not the first time the pharmacy has been recognized nationwide. In 2014 Deines Pharmacy finished in the top three for Pharmacy of the Year as selected by Good Neighbor Pharmacy. Deines Pharmacy also just celebrated its 25th anniversary in March.

I think my willingness to be forward thinking made me a good pick, Deines said of being a national advisor. Im not afraid to reach out and do whats best for my patients. It can be easy to get complacent, especially in health care.
Hillary Clinton

On Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa, a man holds a sign that reads "Mr. Trump Have You No Sense of Decency Sir" as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes a photograph with a member of the audience. The Editorial Board Roundtable examines the controversy over Donald Trump's comments about 2nd Amendment gun advocates and Clinton.

(Andrew Harnik, Associated Press)

On Tuesday, campaigning in North Carolina, Donald Trump warned 2nd Amendment gun rights supporters that those rights would be threatened if Hillary Clinton were elected president.

Nothing new there.

But then Trump said, "By the way, if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."

Trump then added: "But I tell you what, that will be a horrible day, if Hillary gets to put her judges in, right now we're tied" -- that last, apparently his take on polls.

The remarks provoked a furor, and a series of explanations. Trump said he was just trying to get gun-rights supporters to turn out to vote for him, even though what he said seemed to refer to a scenario in which Clinton was already in office. Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, called it "a joke" and a way to unite 2nd Amendment advocates behind the Trump candidacy.

But former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden told CNN, "If someone else had said that said outside the hall, he'd be in the back of a police wagon now with the Secret Service questioning him."

Hayden added: "You're not just responsible for what you say. You are responsible for what people hear."

CNN reports today that Trump's comments did prompt a conversation between the Secret Service charged with protecting presidential candidates and the Trump campaign.

In 2012, the Los Angeles Times compiled a list of 17 separate assassination attempts or assassinations of U.S. presidents, including an unsuccessful attempt on former President George H. W. Bush's life after Bush left office. Most troubling and telling was that every single U.S. president since Jimmy Carter has been targeted by assassins. The perpetrators included disturbed and angered citizens, foreigners and terrorists.

Even if Trump didn't mean to incite anyone to violence, or spoke the words in jest, all it takes is for one supporter to hear it as a call to arms.

On Wednesday, in what may have been a diversionary move, Trump told cheering supporters in Florida that President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were "co-founders" of the Islamic State terrorist group.

"In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama," Mr. Trump said of the terrorists, adding Obama "founded ISIS" and "the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton." This was an apparent reference to the fact the terrorist group emerged and flourished during Obama's time in office, including his first term, when Clinton was secretary of state.

Are Trump's latest comments yet another indicator that his tongue is dangerously out of touch with reality? Or are they examples of Trump's blunt non-PC talk that his supporters see as a refreshing departure from politics as usual?

Our editorial board roundtable checks into the debate and we welcome your thoughts in the comments that follow.

Sharon Broussard, chief editorial writer, cleveland.com:

Anyone else might get the benefit of the doubt on Trump's 2nd Amendment statement, but Trump has used up all of his grace periods for alarming off-the-cuff remarks -- including his latest cryptic statement that Obama and Clinton co-founded the Islamic State. Maybe he meant that their policies led to the rise of the Islamic State, maybe he meant they actually founded it. I give up on Trump -- and so should the rest of America.

Ted Diadiun, editorial board member:

It was a graceless and intemperate thing to say, but much of the reaction from the other side is just phony outrage. People who say Donald Trump was advocating assassination have lost touch with reality. There are too many more important things to be concerned about regarding the Trump candidacy instead of indulging in a lot of arm-flapping over something that was clearly a throwaway line meant as a joking rallying call.

Thomas Suddes, editorial writer:

There was never much doubt about Mr Trump's unfitness for the presidency. There is absolutely no doubt now.

Kevin O'Brien, deputy editorial page editor, The Plain Dealer:

Donald Trump talks irresponsibly, but obliquely, about getting somebody killed. Hillary Clinton actually gets people killed. Come on, America! Do you want a talker or a doer?

Elizabeth Sullivan, opinion director, cleveland.com:

Trump's oblique threat against Clinton was dangerous and reckless, no matter what his intent. Words matter, and intemperate, irresponsible, ill-considered and ill-informed words uttered by a presidential contender risk direct harm not just to the candidate and his (or her) reputation, but also to this nation's interests.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- There's going to be some drama before Ohio State is done assembling its 2017 recruiting class.

Though that's basically true for every fall in the new world of recruiting, it could be especially true for the Buckeyes this year because only five of their remaining targets have decision dates.

Ohio State's class, which currently ranks No. 1 overall in the country and has 16 verbal commitments, will likely take six or seven more pledges. But here are commitment days we know for sure:

* Five-star WR Trevon Grimes of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas: Rated the No. 3 wide receiver in the 2017 class in the 247Sports composite rankings, Grimes is announcing his decision Aug. 24. He recently visited Ohio State for Friday Night Lights in late July and he's basically considered a Buckeyes lock.

* Five-star WR Tyjon Lindsey of Corona (Calif.) Centennial: Lindsey will announce on Aug. 22 and he's down to nine schools: Auburn, Nebraska, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, USC, Oregon and Alabama. Ohio State is considered one of the favorites for the 5-foot-9, 180-pounder who is rated the No. 5 wide receiver in the 2017 class.

* Five-star LB Baron Browning of Kennedale, Texas: Rated the No. 2 outside linebacker in the 2017 class, Browning is one of Ohio State's top-remaining targets. He'll be announcing on Nov. 28, two days after Ohio State's game with Michigan in Ohio Stadium. Browning is closely considering the Buckeyes, Michigan, Alabama, Texas and TCU.

* Four-star CB Lamont Wade of Clairton, Pa.: Rated the No. 6 cornerback in the 2017 class, Wade has plans on officially visiting Ohio State before making an announcement on Dec. 16. Wade has a top eight that consists of Ohio State, Tennessee, Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, UCLA, Alabama and Mississippi State. He plans to enroll in college early, so it's fitting that his decision date is his last day of high school.

* Four-star DT Jay Tufele of South Jordan (Utah) Bingham: Ohio State is looking to add another defensive tackle to its 2017 class, and the 6-foot-3, 297-pound Tufele is a prime target. Rated the No. 3 defensive tackle in the class, Tufele isn't planning on making his college decision until National Signing Day on Feb. 1, 2017. His top three are Ohio State, Michigan and Utah.

* Four-star CB Jamyest Williams of Loganville (Ga.) Grayson: Rated the No. 8 cornerback in the 2017 class in the 247Sports composite rankings, Williams posted on his public Twitter account that he'll be announcing between those five schools Aug. 27. He's down to a top five that consists of Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Clemson. The Buckeyes likely won't be the pick in this recruitment.
Prince Fielder

Texas Rangers' Prince Fielder, left, wipes his eyes as he sits by his son Haven during a news conference before a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Wednesday Aug. 10, 2016, in Arlington, Texas. The 32-year-old slugger won't play baseball again, unable to come back after his second neck surgery.

(Tony Gutierrez/AP)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When Prince Fielder landed on the sideline with another neck issue, the Rangers scanned the trade market for a replacement.

They ended up with veteran Carlos Beltran, one of their two trade-deadline splashes. Beltran and new catcher Jonathan Lucroy -- who first vetoed a potential trade to the Indians -- have fortified Texas' lineup. The Rangers now boast the best record in the American League, with the Indians trailing behind by three games (by one in the loss column).

At an emotional press conference on Wednesday, Fielder announced the termination of his major-league career. Doctors won't clear the 32-year-old to return to the diamond following a second neck surgery. He sported a brace and reflected on a career that included 319 home runs, the exact same number his father, Cecil, produced in the big leagues.

Fielder had plenty of opportunities to face Tribe pitching during his major-league tenure. In 51 games against the Indians, he posted a .294/.395/.510 slash line, with 15 doubles, nine home runs and 44 RBI.

Fielder made his sixth All-Star team in 2015, but he struggled this year. He batted .212 with a .626 OPS in 89 games.

The Rangers acquired Fielder in exchange for second baseman Ian Kinsler after the 2013 campaign. Detroit had signed Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract just two years earlier. He hit .269 with 34 homers in 289 games with Texas. Kinsler, who is signed only through next year (with a team option for 2018), has been worth 13.6 WAR (wins above replacement) in his time in Detroit. Fielder was worth minus-0.5 WAR in his time with Texas.

Beltran, an All-Star this season, has hit .310 with an .872 OPS in nine games with Texas. He has batted third and served mostly as the designated hitter. The 39-year-old owns a .332/.441/.674 slash line with 16 home runs in 52 career postseason games.

The Indians and Rangers, a pair of division leaders, will square off four times in Arlington, Texas, in two weeks. Cleveland dropped two games to Texas at Progressive Field at the end of May before the Tribe captured the series finale in 11 innings.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Thousands of FirstEnergy customers are without power in the west suburbs of Cleveland due to severe thunderstorms.

About 55,000 customers in Cuyahoga County are currently without power, according to the FirstEnergy power outage site.

Parma has the largest number of customers without power at just over 10,000, the outage site shows.

Over 7,700 customers in Fairview Park, about 91 percent of the city's customers, are without power, according to the outage site. The power is estimated to be restored in most affected communities by between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Other affected suburbs include Rocky River, which has about 8,600 customers without power and Westlake, which has about 7,700 customers without power. Bay Village also has about 2,200 customers without power, and about 6,100 customers are without power in Lakewood.

A downed tree is blocking traffic on Detroit Road, east of Bassett Road, according to a trained storm spotter from the National Weather Service.

On Cleveland's East Side, a downed tree is blocking Kinsman Road between East 55th Street and Grand Avenue, according to traffic site Sigalert.com. It's unclear when the tree will be removed.

FirstEnergy spokesman Mark Durbin said that the number of reported outages may rise as people return home from work and realize their homes are without power. He also asks individuals to watch out for and report any downed power lines.

FirstEnergy employees are currently assessing the damage, Durbin said, and more accurate restoration times will become clear within the next several hours. However, if storm damage on the West Side is similar to the damage seen in Cleveland Heights, it may take a couple of days to restore power, he said.

This story will be updated.

See cleveland.com meteorologist explain the storms.
Wickliffe crash pants.JPG

Tire marks can be seen on the pants worn by a 27-year-old pedestrian seriously injured in a Saturday crash near the Town Square Shopping Center in Wickliffe.

(Wickliffe police)

WICKLIFFE, Ohio - Detectives are searching for a driver who seriously injured a pedestrian in a hit-and-run crash in Wickliffe.

The 27-year-old pedestrian suffered multiple broken bones in the Saturday crash near the Town Square Shopping Center. He remained hospitalized Wednesday in serious condition, police said in a news release.

The preliminary investigation revealed the man was crossing Drenik Drive near Euclid Avenue when the driver struck him. The man lay injured until a resident found him just after 7 a.m., police said.

Investigators said it might have taken longer to find the man because the area is sparsely traveled at night and because the man might have crawled away from the crash site.

Detectives are reviewing security footage from nearby businesses in an attempt to identify the driver. The driver's car is believed to have front-end damage, police said.

Detectives also released a photograph of the man's pants. Tire marks can be seen on the pants.

Anyone with information is being asked to call the Wickliffe Police Department at 440-943-1234.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit our crime and courts comments section.
Following my request in May for nominations for the Third District Excellence in Economic Development Award, more than 50 nominations from nearly 30 communities came pouring in. This award celebrates individuals and businesses strengthening the Third District through innovation, hard work, and entrepreneurship.

The following eight honorees demonstrate an ongoing commitment to creating opportunity and attracting greater investment in our state. It is a privilege to highlight these leaders and to thank them for the many ways they enhance our economy and our communities.

Aulick Industries in Scottsbluff, owned by the Aulick family for three generations, employs approximately 100 people in welding, fabrication, tire installation, laundry, auto body tech, decal design, and administration. The company is also involved in Scottsbluff Public Schools Every Child, Every Day, Everywhere initiative with a goal of introducing students to opportunities in manufacturing and technology careers in the region.

Brent Comstock of Auburn has owned BCom Solutions since middle school. His technology business has grown to include computer repairs, IT management, software development, and web design. Brent headquartered BCom Solutions in a previously vacant storefront in Auburn and encourages his staff to give back to the community through nonprofit and community board involvement. He donates thousands of dollars in design and digital marketing services to nonprofits and offers free workshops and consultations for businesses.

Bruning Grocerys commitment to hard work, small-town values, and providing exceptional service and quality products has made the store a cornerstone of Bruning, a community of approximately 280 people. Its competitive prices draw many customers from surrounding towns, encouraging more Nebraskans to shop local. Owned by the Philippi family for more than 40 years, Bruning Grocery serves as a leading food supplier for local events and a major contributor to the vibrancy of Brunings Main Street.

Chais Meyer of Kearney co-owns 24 Hour Tees, an innovative shirt shop known for its responsiveness to local customers while selling products across the country and around the world. Chais is an advocate for e-commerce as a way to grow rural economies. He is also a member of Kearneys Downtown Improvement Board to help advance the future of retail and the community.

Jody Augustyn is the owner of Shanti Yoga by Jody Augustyn, ERYT, based in Loup City and Kearney. In her five years in business, Jody has become known by many as a committed and passionate teacher. In addition to leading her own classes, she also certifies new instructors.

Landmark Snacks, founded in April 2016 by Nebraska natives Chad and Courtney Lottman, is a jerky and meat snacks production facility in Beatrice employing 50 people. In 1994, at the age of 19, the Lottmans started out as grocery store owners and have grown their business to also include C&C Processing in Diller. Landmark Snacks surpassed its three-year growth plan in a matter of months.

Pacha Soap, headquartered in Hastings, is owned by Hastings College graduates Andrew and Abi Vrbas. Founded in 2012, Pacha Soap employs 16 people in the Hastings area and sells handcrafted products throughout the country. For every bar of soap purchased, they give a bar to someone in need. The company also sets up small soap shops in developing nations to encourage entrepreneurship while supporting WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) efforts through education and donation.

Sand Creek Post & Beam in Wayne is the leading manufacturer of custom-designed wood barn and barn home kits. This family-owned company employs about 50 Nebraskans and has served thousands of customers in 48 states, helping them design their dream barns. Sand Creeks production plant was destroyed by an EF4 tornado in October 2013, but owners Jule Goeller and Len Dickinson never wavered in their commitment to rebuild. The company operated out of temporary quarters until its grand reopening in summer 2014.

Each of these deserving honorees represents many more Third District entrepreneurs working tirelessly every day. I will continue to support their efforts through policies which reduce regulatory burdens and encourage economic growth.
Photographer | Collection | Getty Images

China's relationship with Germany has evolved a lot in the past few years. A strategic partnership in 2004 evolved into a "comprehensive" strategic partnership at the end of 2014. Politically, Germany views China as a key partner and important elements of their bilateral trade negotiations include high-level coordination on policy, dynamic trade relations, investment, the environment, culture and science. CNBC highlights the major trading connections between the two countries and how that could change over time.



Trading partners

China is one of Germany's largest trading partners in the world. According to data from the German Chamber of Commerce, bilateral trade reached a record high of 154 billion euros ($169.3 billion) in 2014. The report also shows that German exports to China have been growing strongly with a total of 5,200 German companies operating in China as of 2015. While Germans have on many occasions complained of bureaucratic hurdles such as corruption in the Chinese system, the economic relations between the two countries has still grown over the years. According to official data, German exports are dominated by automobiles and machinery, which together account for more than half of Germany's total exports to China. Other items such as electrical products, optical equipment and airplanes make it to the top five product categories totaling nearly 75 percent of the total export volume. Meanwhile, electrical products and machinery dominate Chinese products exported to Germany. According to data from the Federal Statistics Office of Germany, China was the largest trading partner for imports. In exports, China was ranked fifth after United States, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Analysts have pointed out that trading relations between the two countries has steadily increased by an average of 14.2 percent annually, doubling nearly every five years. "Despite China's economic slowdown as well as Germany's low GDP (gross domestic product) growth, trade volume hit another record, reaching 154 billion euros in 2014. Notably, German exports to China have been outperforming imports from China, reducing the current account deficit," according to the latest business consumer confidence survey conducted by the German Chamber of Commerce in China. The survey conducted with nearly 500 German companies in China showed that they remain positive about future investment potential in the region despite market speculations of an economic slowdown.



Foreign direct investment

Official government data show that foreign direct investment (FDI) into China from Germany continues to be strong and Germany has consistently been among China's top ten foreign investors. The FDI flows have nearly doubled from its value in 2010 to $2.1 billion in 2013. This level has since been maintained. Furthermore, German companies employ close to an estimated 1.1 million staff in China, thus providing a boost to the country's economic reforms. German businesses have translated the ongoing relationship with China into a steady flow of investment. However, China and Germany have occasionally had uncomfortable discussions over trade. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang recently told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that he did not want trade tensions with the European Union on the status of China in the World Trade Organization. The EU is currently debating whether to grant China a "market economy" status, which China says is important and was promised 15 years ago when China joined the WTO. Merkel, during her ninth trip to China assured the government that a solution would be found soon.



M&A deals

According to a report from Ernst & Young from February this year Germany was the most attractive destination in Europe for Chinese investment last year, with 36 acquisitions. The United Kingdom came second with 34 and France third with 20. In a research note, Louise Gong, associate at law firm Chadbourne & Parke believes German companies are looking to Chinese investors to provide the capital they are seeking, amid the euro zone's current woes. "M&A (mergers and acquisitions) is attractive for Chinese investors in Germany as they can enter the EU market and diversify globally, access (the) euro currency, acquire strategic assets and management knowhow, and acquire technical expertise and intellectual property."



What lies ahead?

Relations between both the countries are not just limited to trade. According to data from the German Federal Statistics Office, China is the top destination for German airline passengers. Data from 2014 saw an increase of 1.47 million travellers to China from Germany, as compared to 2013. On the cultural front, both Germany and China are seeing an increasing number of private cultural exchanges. According to the German foreign office, in recent years numerous outstanding German orchestras, operas and ballet companies have toured China. Similarly, a number of German cultural intermediaries are active in China, including eight German language learning centers.



Challenges
Matthieu Alexandre | AFP | Getty Images

When China sneezes, the rest of Asia catches a cold. Tour operators in Taiwan and television actors in Seoul are learning this the hard way. As the Middle Kingdom moves to expand its influence, President Xi Jinping is steering China to the top of the global powers with an emphasis on the key signals of an empire: Controlling territory well beyond one's borders either through soft or hard (military) power. "Xi's 'China Dream' to 'rejuvenate the Chinese nation' symbolizes his ambition for the nation's future place in the world," Natixis economists Alicia Garcia Herrero and Trinh Nguyen wrote in a recent report. "Such longing for an empire can be explained by a nostalgia for a period (in history) when the Asian kingdoms  Burma, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, the Ryukyu Islands and Korea  had traditionally paid annual 'tribute' to Beijing in exchange for trade rights and diplomatic protection."

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While in the past the world's second-largest economy has extended its clout by being the most influential buyer of commodities and supplier of everything from cars to electronics, it has now found a new weapon: The millions of Chinese who travel overseas or gobble up imported soap operas. China already wields enormous power in the form of jet-loads of tourists who boost the economies of the countries they visit. In 2015, China outbound departures reached 128 million, 9.7 percent higher than a year agoand there's plenty of scope for the number to increase since just 5 percent of China's population holds a passport, said the Natixis analysts. "In an environment where global consumption of material goods is declining, exponential growth of mainland Chinese demand for fun, especially for a life less ordinary through travel, is a welcome respite to subdued global trade." The tourists spent about $235 billion last year and the boisterous pace persisted in the early part of this year. Spending by Chinese tourists abroad rose 20 percent on-year to $80.3 billion in the first quarter of 2016.



The New China under Xi Jinping is no longer in full acceptance with the status quo but, rather, more of a revisionist of the existing sharing of powers. Alicia Garcia Herrero, Trinh Nguyen Natixis
In light of continued developments, primarily since 2008, there exists in these United States a Legal System which operates on a proved Two Tiered approach to justice rendered, which primarily benefits Democratic Elites and Woke Ideological Virtue Signalers, representing their co-dependent wards, to the expressed exclusion of normal hardworking American citizens: What is your suggestion in remedying this widespread injustice and, if not corrected, its existential outcome for our Constitutional Republic?

Complete overhaul of the Department of Justice and their enforcers - the FBI - to reflect a far more honest justice system to keep patriots remaining calm.

Disband the FBI, and request that congress investigate all unethical and non patriotic practices to partially right the wrongs of a distrusted and politically weaponized "Department of Justice."
Jason Ballard has found Austin, Texas, to be very hospitable to his retail store TreeHouse, a sustainable home-improvement store. The 25,000-square-foot facility stocks eco-friendly items such as bamboo flooring, and thermostats that allow users to turn down the heat when they are away. Since opening in south Austin in 2011, TreeHouse has grown to 50 employees and a reported $10 million in revenue. "If you're in the home-remodeling or homebuilding business, a growing, thriving city is obviously really, really appealing," said Ballard. "As a community, Austin is just very supportive of new and interesting things," a key factor driving the city's rich arts and music scene.

Plus, with large Silicon Valley tech firms such as Amazon, Google and Facebook running offices in the area and Whole Foods headquartered in the city, he adds, "There's a ton of tech talent  and retail talent." The store has been so successful, he is preparing to open a second one, in Dallas, in 2017.

Jason Ballard, founder of TreeHouse, in his sustainable home-improvement store in Austin. Source: TreeHouse

Ballard isn't alone in finding Austin to be an ideal place to run a business. Austin scored No. 1 in the CNBC Metro 20: America's Best Places to Start a Business. The ranking looks at how cities fair in categories such as environment for small-business success, the cost of doing business, quality of life, labor force and diversity. With a population of 885,400, this city in central Texas punches outside of its weight class when it comes to entrepreneurship, leading the pack in areas such as its labor force, the net company creation rate and speed of population growth. "Texas is a very business-friendly state, with a good lifestyle and good weather," said Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, which contributed to the research. "That is attracting a lot of young people to move there." The city is also diverse, he noted. "University of Texas at Austin is one of the very good schools," he said. "It attracts a lot of foreign students." Thanks to the presence of University of Texas at Austin and other universities, the city is known among employers for having a well-educated workforce, a big draw for employers and engine of growth. Austin grew its start-ups faster than every city except Washington, D.C., according to the 2016 Kauffman Growth Entrepreneurship Index, with its start-ups growing by 81.2 percent. The index, which brings together the latest data available on the entrepreneurial trends of the 40 largest metro areas in the United States, claims that the greater Austin area is breeding the highest rate of new entrepreneurs in the country, with 0.55 percent of the adult population becoming entrepreneurs in a given month in 2015, up from 54 percent in 2014.

Austin's start-up scene

Big drivers are low taxes and a cost of living that is low relative to major metro areas such as New York, Boston, Chicago and Silicon Valley. Many small-business owners, who often pay taxes at the individual level, appreciate the fact the state has no personal income tax. The state also has a corporate tax rate of zero. Combined, these factors point to free money that business owners can invest in their ventures. "It's a great place to hire businesspeople, salespeople, marketing people, product people and designers," said Ryan Farley, CEO of Austin-based LawnStarter, a company that connects homeowners with lawn-service providers. William Hurley, co-founder of Honest Dollar, an Austin-based provider of retirement plans to freelancers and small businesses that Goldman Sachs acquired earlier this year, says creative talent is abundant. "It's got the music, the university scene, the hippies and the rule-breakers," said Hurley. "It's very easy to hire people who want to push the limits. It's an incredibly innovative city."

Shelley Delayne, founder of Orange Coworking in Austin. Photo: Philip Arno

FATHOM, a 150-person software provider to water utilities headquartered in Phoenix, chose Austin when it last year opened a 30-person outpost called FATHOM LAB, which fosters innovation in water conservation. The company had looked at other locales, such as Silicon Valley and Chicago, but found Austin more attractive. "One of the things that really drew us to that particular community was the longevity that software developers and tech folks have," said Jason Bethke, president and chief growth officer. "They tend to stay at companies way longer in Austin than in Silicon Valley." But given the fast-growing tech scene, competition in hiring is heating up. "It's extremely hard to find technical talent  namely, engineers," said LawnStarter's Farley. Austin's uniquely friendly entrepreneurial ecosystem also gives it an edge, by many accounts. "People really get what it means to support each other and be connected to each other  and how much that's helpful," said Shelley DeLayne, founder of Orange Coworking, a membership-based workspace for entrepreneurs, freelancers, small businesses and telecommuters based in south Austin. Says TreeHouse's Ballard, "People love batting ideas around and examining things. It's a very intellectually stimulating environment."

It's got the music, the university scene, the hippies and the rule-breakers. It's very easy to hire people who want to push the limits. It's an incredibly innovative city. William Hurley co-founder, Honest Dollar

Josh Hare, founder of craft brewer Hops and Grain, didn't plan to stay in Austin indefinitely when he moved there from Boulder, Colorado, in 2005. But the city grew on him as he transitioned from an early foray in specialty retail into brewing in 2011. Active in a local brewer's guild, Hare found the small but growing community of craft brewers to be incredibly supportive and helpful when it came to perfecting his product. "Everyone is blown away by how collaborative we are," said Hare, whose business recently raised more than $787,000 to open a new brewery on Wefunder, an equity crowdfunding platform. By many accounts, the public is also very receptive to the innovation coming out of Austin's many new businesses, among them successful products such as Epic Bars, made from grass-fed beef, bison and other meats. "In Austin, word of mouth spreads very fast," said Dan Gillotte, chief executive grocer at Wheatsville Food Co-op, a full-service natural-foods cooperative grocery store that has served Austin since 1976. "People use social media and talk about stuff on Yelp a lot of times. Every city has these things, but in Austin they are extremely vibrant. Even on Reddit the latest taco truck gets enthusiasm." And while the cost of living in Austin is rising, it's still more affordable than tech hot spots like Silicon Valley and New York. The potential to keep costs lean wasn't lost on Sarah Ware, CEO and co-founder of Markerly, who with husband and co-founder Justin Kline moved her 20-person marketing technology start-up, founded in 2012, from Silicon Valley to Austin in 2013. "Because housing is lower and the cost of living is lower, you don't have to pay your employees the same amount you would in New York City," said Ware. "Texas is really tax-friendly for businesses," she added. Austin also has a rich entrepreneurial ecosystem, including hubs such as Austin Technology Incubator, located at University of Texas at Austin; the prestigious Techstars Austin accelerator; and a start-up density that puts it in the top 10 for the country, according to the Kauffman Foundation.

But even Austin's biggest fans have to admit it has drawbacks. By all accounts, the venture capital scene, though percolating, has a long way to go before it rivals hubs like Seattle, Boston, New York and Silicon Valley. "The funding environment is what a lot of people complain about here. It not close to the Bay Area," said LawnStarter's Farley. Paul O'Brien, an Austin-based consultant who develops funding sources for venture capital firms, says a handful of firms  Silverton Partners, LiveOak Venture Partners, S3 Ventures and the Mercury Fund from Austin and Dallas  dominate that action currently. However, Austin Ventures, once the largest venture capital firm in Texas, has left the market, with some of its partners now focused on a middle-market buyout fund. That has left a void. Many new firms are starting up, but they are still in the early stages, said O'Brien, who relocated to the city from Silicon Valley about six years ago. "Dozens are developing their thesis, raising capital," he noted. Still, there are encouraging signs of growth on this front. In 2015, 101 Austin-area deals raised more than $748 million in venture capital funding compared to 2014, when 111 companies attracted more than $582 million, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. So far in 2016, 46 deals attracted more than $276 million in venture capital, the NVCA found. In June alone, seven Austin start-ups raised a combined $64.6 million  among them rocket maker Firefly Systems, which raised $19 million, and investment firm Serve Partners, which attracted $20.3 million.
Brazil is not only a hot spot for athletes right now. It's also attracting a growing number of people seeking more affordable options for cosmetic surgery.

Despite the country's recession, the number of surgeries has increased 10 percent each year since 2010, according to the Brazilian Society for Plastic Surgery. Brazil is second to only the United States in the number of cosmetic surgeries performed.

For 42-year-old Gennifer Williams from Nashville, Tennessee, a medical tourism trip to Brazil has been life changing.

Williams said she lost 95 pounds via lap band and was looking for a way to remove her extra skin. She did research and ultimately picked Brazil to have her procedures done because she wanted a country that was comfortable dealing with brown skin.

Williams had a tummy tuck, a Brazilian butt lift, a breast augmentation and liposuction. Not only did she pay thousands less than she would have in the U.S. but she said she received incredible care.

"I had a nurse and a companion with me at all times. They grocery shopped, they cooked for me, they gave me my medicine. They did everything for me," she said.

Brazil's cosmetic surgery industry is seeing a big boost by patients like Williams. So-called medical tourists, who travel to another country for medical care, are coming in droves. And Brazil is catering to them.
The report, released Thursday, projects big gains in residential revenues for the U.S. cable industry over the next decade. But it's not because more people will sign up for pay TV packages, rather from a big uptick in broadband subscriptions.

Investors concerned that the rising trend of cord-cutting could cut into cable industry profits can breathe a sigh of relief, according to a new report from SNL Kagan, thanks to a rosy outlook for one particular segment of the industry.

The analysis comes amid a sea change in the industry, as consumers' viewing habits shift from watching traditional television to consuming media over the internet on streaming and mobile devices.

While cord-cutting is still happening across the nation, research firm MoffettNathanson notes that in the most recent quarter "the rate of decline stayed about constant versus the past couple of quarters," and that "while individual network numbers appear to be getting worse, industry aggregate cord-cutting numbers are not."

And as cable companies look to benefit from a flattening pace of cord-cutting and a projected broadband boost of 8 million subscribers over the next 10 years, media companies are quickly shifting the way their content gets delivered to consumers.

Last week, media giant Time Warner announced that it had acquired a stake in streaming TV service Hulu, which plans to offer a streaming bundle next year. Other Hulu investors include Disney , 21st Century Fox , and CNBC parent Comcast .

And Disney made news this week with its $1 billion investment in streaming technology company BAMTech, and a deal to bundle channels  including ESPN, which has lost millions of TV subscribers  within a new upcoming DirecTV over-the-top package.

In an interview with CNBC, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the BAMTech investment is a way for the company to hedge itself should the traditional TV bundle deteriorate. According to Iger, "if the business model that is supporting these great media properties starts to fray in any significant way, we have the ability to pivot quickly and put out a direct-to-consumer product that could either replace or supplant it."

If SNL Kagan's projections play out, moves by Disney, Time Warner and others to deliver content over the internet could prove to be wise as more consumers connect to broadband and gain the ability to stream.

Devour the full season of "Binge" with Carl Quintanilla here.
Following are excerpts from a CNBC interview on Squawk Box Europe, with Geoff Cutmore and CEO of Zurich Insurance, Mario Greco.



GC: You have a 1 billion dollar cost saving target at the moment, that's the current programme. We'll get an update in November, I know, but as you look at the programme at the moment, is your, perhaps, inkling or desire to take that cost reduction number up?

MG: There is definitely cost issue in the insurance industry and Zurich is not outside of this issue. So our target of 1 billion is something that we have to achieve and we're looking at ways in which we can exceed the target.



GC: And what were those ways of exceeding the target be? You've already been involved in a disposal programme. You've talked about head count reduction. What other areas might you be looking at inside the business?



MG: We're trying to simplify as much as we can our business, our organization, in order to be readier with the customers but also, in order to be more competitive and more efficient.



GC: Can I ask you then in terms of the disposal programme that you've implemented so far, what has been the driver for the sales that you've made and how are you assessing other business units for their prospects?



MG: We have a very wide franchise, Zurich is a global organization and we will remain a global organization. But this doesn't mean that we can be committed equally to every country, every place in the world. So we've decided to step out of some markets where we could not have the same commitment and the same desire to develop these markets that we have in other ones. And that's the way we look at the markets. Wherever we feel that this is not a place where we can throw capital, where we can throw resources, where we can commit Zurich resources there, we'll look for opportunities to exit their markets.



GC: Is it as simple as saying: we need to be in the top 5 insurers in this country, or in this segment, otherwise we don't feel that we can ride profitable enough business to stay there?



MG: Not necessarily. I don't think it's just about how big we are, but it's also about how connected the markets where we are, among them, and we decided to step out of some markets which were not critical for the rest of our business.



GC: The combined ratio in the general insurance business, moving in the right direction here, I'm sure investors are very happy to see that. How much more progress do you think you'll be able to make before the end of the year?



MG: This is a very difficult question. I wish I have the knowledge of it, but we're committed to make further progress, we're very pleased with improvements. This has been the best quarter over the last two years, so we look with optimism to the rest of the year but of course, we will also have to see the weather and the natural catastrophes in the second part of the year.



GC: And can I ask you about the life business. One of the challenges at the moment as we know is these incredibly low returns that we're seeing on businesses. We've also had a lot of volatility in markets. What's your view on markets from here and how do you feel about the actions that central banks have taken, that have driven down these yields?



MG: The life market is of course hit by these very extreme financial conditions. First of all, Zurich has very special life portfolio because we stopped years ago, selling guaranteed products. Our current life portfolio is mainly protection business which is pure risk or unit link business. So we feel, I cannot say good, but we feel quite safe even in these market conditions. I think the financial authorities are trying to do their best to revamp the world economies. The issue there is that the restart of the world economies cannot just be on their backs and it also needs fiscal policies, political actions which have been not effective so far.



GC: That issue of reform is fascinating, and having come out of Generali and the Italian situation Prime Minister Renzi is staking his reputation on a very critical referendum in October. How important you think this could be for Italy and for achieving the reforms that that country needs to get growth back?



MG: Italy needs thorough reforms. Everybody agrees on that, and I think the government has tackled it and the Prime Minister has been incredibly energetic and decisive on taking these reforms. The referendum is an important step and definitely, to stop the process, would not be good news for Italy.



GC: Do you think he should have staked his job on the right referendum outcome? He seems to have been stepping back in recent days and suggesting maybe he won't need to resign if the referendum doesn't go his way. But do you think he may have overstepped the mark initially by suggesting it was a positive outcome or his future?



MG: I think Mr Renzi is an extremely good politician and I don't dare to consider if I can give him any advice on these things. I just stay on my duties to run Zurich, to improve the business, but I do hope that Italy continues fast and decisive on reforms. This has improved the situation of the country in the past two years and if this continues we'll have a chance to see Italy coming back as a strong European economy.



GC: The politics has been important around the European economy. We obviously have seen the Brexit result in the referendum in the UK, what impact do you think that's going to have on your business going forward. How concerned are you about the downstream knock on effect from Brexit?



MG: Brexit, of course, has introduced a new risk and a new volatility in the European scenario. We don't know exactly what's going to be the consequence of Brexit, actually the process hasn't even started yet. For us, we have a good business in the UK and that business has no risks after Brexit, but in broader context we need to understand that this is just a simple country's decision to get out  and a special country like the UK was in Europe  or if there will be a broader impact on the European set up and on the European agreements.



Definitely we hope that Europe stays as it is, we hope that Europe grows and that continues to strengthen the ties and develops in to a stronger region of this world. But we will have to see later what the political process brings to us.



GC: Do you think it makes insurance assets in the UK look less attractive at this point?



MG: I'm not sure of this, really. We need to see through the process. We're interested to keep growing our business in the UK. UK is a very important market, the UK economy is a strong economy and we grow our business and we're very pleased with our business there. I hope that there will not be a recession in the UK, which is what's being debated now among the macro economists; I hope that the central bank and the finance minister can take the economy back on growth soon and I hope that the UK will remain as a very interesting country to invest.



GC: And just a last question really on capital position, let's just return to the business for a moment, a lot of analyst speculated when you came in that you may kitchen sink the business and top up reserves. Neither of those things have really happened at this point. Should we then take it as read that you are happy with the direction the company is moving in, you are also not likely to top up reserves at any point in the near future?



MG: Of course, yes. Thanks for this question, that's an important clarification. Zurich is a great company. Zurich has a very solid capital position and Zurich is adequately reserved. There are things to fix and we're fixing these things and we will continue fixing what needs to be done. But it's not about capital and it's not about reserves caps. The company is in a very good shape and will get much better soon and these results show that we're right in having confidence in the company.



GC: Mario, real pleasure, thanks for giving us so much time this morning.



Contact:

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Sarah.Whiteacre@cnbc.com

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Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Kohl's  The retailer beat estimates by 18 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.22 per share. Revenue was above forecasts, as well. Comparable-store sales were down by 1.8 percent, matching estimates. Kohl's cut its full-year forecast, but its projections remain above Street estimates.

Alibaba  Alibaba reported quarterly profit of 74 cents per share, beating forecasts by 11 cents a share. Revenue was above forecasts, as well. Alibaba also saw gross merchandise volume jump 24 percent, with an 18 percent increases in active buyers and a 39 percent rise in mobile users.

Amarin  The biopharmaceutical company announced plans for a secondary stock sale of an as-yet undetermined size.

Middleby  The maker of food service equipment reported quarterly profit of 85 cents per share, beating estimates by 10 cents a share. Revenue was also well above analysts' forecasts. The company said it faced some challenges during the first half of this year, but is seeing strong demand from its restaurant chain customers.

Shake Shack  The restaurant operator reported adjusted quarterly profit of 14 cents per share, beating estimates by 1 cent a share. Revenue also beat forecasts, but same-store sales rose just 4.5 percent compared to analysts' forecasts for a 5.4 percent gain. During the prior quarter, same-restaurant sales had jumped nearly 10 percent.

Blue Buffalo Pet Products  Blue Buffalo beat estimates by 2 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly earnings of 19 cents per share, while the pet products maker saw revenue come in ahead of estimates. The company also raised its earnings guidance for the full year.

Alphabet  The company's Google Ventures unit saw Chief Executive Officer Bill Maris resign, according to multiple reports, to be replaced by managing partner David Krane. Maris was the founder of the unit, which is the company's venture capital arm.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals  Valeant is the subject of a criminal probe, according to The Wall Street Journal. The drugmaker is being investigated by federal prosecutors over whether it defrauded investors by masking its affiliation with mail-order pharmacy Philidor, according to the paper.

Chesapeake Energy  The pipeline operator is selling its Barnett shale property in Texas to private-equity firm Saddle Barnett Resources, and has also renegotiated a pipeline contract with Williams Partners. The two moves are estimated to save Chesapeake more than $1.9 billion in future costs.

Boeing  Boeing does not plan to increase production of its 787 Dreamliner and is also holding out the possibility of cutting 777 jet production. Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith told reporters that the jet maker will respond as market demand indicates.

Newmont Mining  Chief Executive Officer Gary Goldberg told Reuters that the gold producer will likely review its dividend policy at the end of the year. Gold producers had cut dividends as gold prices tumbled.

Facebook  Facebook is running into resistance from TV content owners like Walt Disney , and NBCUniversal and CNBC parent Comcast , on deals involving Facebook's video features, according to The Wall Street Journal. The paper said the companies are reluctant to turn control over content to Facebook.

Amazon.com  Amazon is not trying to replace third party shippers like FedEx and UPS in the near term with its own delivery operation, according to The New York Times. The paper said Amazon is seeking to build up its own shipping capabilities without dropping those partners.

Wal-Mart  The retailer's Mexico unit is selling its Suburbia clothing chain to Puerto De Liverpool for about $852 million.

Macy's  Macy's reported fiscal second-quarter sales and earnings that topped expectations, as shoppers responded to steep discounts. Yet with sales still on the decline, the retailer said it will shutter 100 locations.
Ecuador will allow Swedish prosecutors to interview Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in its London embassy, where Assange has been living since June 2012, Ecuador's foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Swedish authorities want to question Assange, 45, over allegations that he committed rape in 2010. He denies the allegations. He avoided possible extradition to Sweden by taking refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London.

"In the coming weeks, a date will be established for the proceedings to be held at the Embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom", Ecuador's foreign ministry said in the statement.

In late May, a Swedish lower court upheld the arrest warrant for Assange, saying the stay at Ecuador's London embassy did not equal detention

Last year, Sweden's Supreme Court rejected a previous appeal by Assange to revoke a detention order.
Non-farm labor productivity was down for a third straight quarter, according to Wednesday's numbers. Such consecutive drops in productivity have not been seen since 1979, the Wall Street Journal reported. In fact, this is a pattern we would normally see only during economic recessions. So, what is behind the recent weakness in productivity and should we be concerned about this key driver of income growth and living-standard improvements?

First of all, the weakness shouldn't come as a huge surprise given the sluggish pace of economic growth we've been enduring. GDP growth has averaged less than 1 percent over the past three quarters, with relative strength in personal consumption (consumer spending) more than offsetting weakness in other areas.

Private investment, which accounts for only about 17 percent of total GDP, has been the biggest drag. This category includes business investment in things like facilities, equipment, software and inventories. Companies, in the aggregate, have largely been foregoing, or at least deferring, capital investments even as they have been hiring new workers at a pretty solid pace.

The improvement in the labor market, in turn, has provided consumers with the means and willingness to spend more. In fact, the Personal Consumption component of GDP has grown at an average pace of 2.7 percent over the past three quarters  well above the average of 1 percent for the economy overall. Fortunately for us (for the time being), consumer spending, at nearly 70 percent of GDP, is a much larger component of GDP than private investment.

So, we have dodged a recessionary bullet thanks to the consumer's continued willingness to spend. But, second quarter the spending growth was fueled by raiding the cookie jar. Spending growth well outpaced income growth in the quarter, leading to a drop in the savings rate to 5.5 percent in the second quarter from 6.1 percent in the first quarter. This is quite a dramatic drop in one quarter. In any case, as long as the consumer keeps spending at a pretty good clip and offsetting the weakness in business investment, we shouldn't be at risk of recession, right? Not so fast.

What, if anything, does the recent weakness in labor productivity portend for the future pace of consumer spending and economic growth? First let's look at how productivity is measured. Productivity is simply aggregate economic output dividend by aggregate hours worked. This metric simply tracks how much the average worker contributes to the economy per hour of work.

Changes in productivity can be driven by a variety of factors. According to the web site Investopedia, growth in labor productivity "is directly attributable to fluctuations in physical capital, new technology and human capital. If labor productivity is growing, it can be traced back to growth in one of these three areas." So, growth in labor productivity would generally be associated with increases in business capital investment, improvements in technology and innovation, and improvements in education. Intuitively, this makes sense. Each of these factors should help workers produce more goods and service in the same amount of time.

Alternatively, decreases in labor productivity can be attributable to corporate America's unwillingness to invest in the things that improve worker productivity, like new facilities, equipment, software, training, and research and development. The drop in business investment we've been seeing within the private investment sector of recent quarterly GDP reports is proof that companies are not investing in productivity-enhancing initiatives.

Instead, it appears as though companies have opted to add more workers rather than investing in the productivity of the ones they already have. They have done so, in part, because the supply of labor had been abundant and cheap in the wake of the biggest recession in decades. But they have also done so because they have not seen enough demand for their products and services to justify major investment outlays.

And finally, many companies have foregone capital investments because investors have been rewarding stock buybacks, dividend increases and, in some cases, acquisitions more highly than anything else. When it's all said and done, corporate management teams do whatever makes their stock price go up.
Here's how we did it: First, we used the established list of 389 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), published by the Census Bureau, to define metro areas. Then we pinpointed 107 areas that had a population of 500,000 or more. New York is the largest of these, with a population of more than 20 million; Lexington, Kentucky, is the smallest city to make the cut, with an estimated population of 500,535.

That's the question we set out to answer in the first-ever CNBC Metro 20: America's Best Places to Start a Business. Using private and government data, we looked at the 20 key criteria business owners should evaluate before choosing a business location, including tax and regulatory climate, workforce strength, access to capital and the cost of living.

Imagine having a business plan, the secured funding to start your own business and the option to choose anywhere in the country to set up shop. Where would you go?

To source our information, we turned to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Energy Information Administration, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Biz2Credit, BizEquity and REIS. We also used CNBC's America's Top States for Business 2016 study for state-level scores on quality of life and business friendliness.

Some data was available only at the state level and not at the MSA level. This means in some categories, metro areas may have been helped or harmed by the business climate within their state. State-level data probably hurt cities in California, like San Francisco and San Jose, for example, while it improved the score of Texas cities, like McAllen and El Paso. In cases where the metro area was made up of territory in more than one state, we used a proportional weighted average of the different state scores (for example, the Washington, D.C., metro area includes the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia).

Data was collected and each criterion was then weighted using the results of a survey of U.S.-based members of YPO  a chief executive leadership organization with more than 24,000 members (CNBC and YPO have an exclusive editorial partnership). Members there cited quality of life, taxes and regulation as among the most important factors for choosing a place to start a business.

The criteria were sorted into five categories, which themselves were weighted in order of importance. Each MSA was assigned points depending on where it ranked in each individual criterion, and each category was valued between 100 and 500 points, for a total of 1,500 points possible. The metro areas with the 20 highest overall scores made the list.
Hillary Clinton will release her 2015 tax returns this week to put pressure on Donald Trump to do so, sources told CNBC.

Clinton's effective tax rate reportedly is around 35 percent, while her charitable donations make up 10 percent.

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine is also expected to release 10 years of tax returns.

 CNBC's John Harwood contributed to this report.
A top U.S. military commander said that the militant group that calls itself Islamic State is on the retreat "on all fronts" as the number of its combatants at its disposal declines.

Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland, the outgoing commander of the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, told a Pentagon press briefing on Wednesday that the number of IS fighters had fallen as a result of international military efforts against the group, also known as "Daesh."

"We estimate that over the past 11 months we've killed about 25,000 enemy fighters. When you add that to the 20,000 estimated killed prior to our arrival, that's 45,000 enemy taken off the battlefield," MacFarland said, adding that Islamic State's territorial power in Syria and Iraq was starting to decline.

"I only tell you this number to provide a sense to the scale of our support and perhaps explain why enemy resistance is beginning to crumble," he added.



MacFarland was giving his last briefing as he prepares to leave the commanding post of the coalition, known in full as the "Combined Joint Task Force  Operation Inherent Resolve"- a joint task force set up by the U.S.-led coalition to fight Islamic State.

He was reluctant to give a figure of the estimated number of ISIS fighters remaining, however. Estimates put the number of current ISIS forces around 20,000, however.

"I do believe is that the number of fighters on the front line has diminished. They've diminished not only in quantity, but also in quality. We don't see them operating nearly as effectively as they have in the past," MacFarland said.

'Retreat on all fronts'

ISIS took control of swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014, taking advantage of sectarian divides and popular dissatisfaction with the ruling regimes in both countries.

But MacFarland said the coalition had made advances on the field over the past year, regaining control over ISIS strongholds like Ramadi and making advances elsewhere.

"Whatever the true number of enemy casualties may be, there's no question that our strikes have enabled the liberation of more than 25,000 total square kilometers from Daesh. That's nearly half of what the enemy once controlled in Iraq and 20 percent of what they once controlled in Syria," he said.

Looking back to when he took up the role as commander last September, MacFarland said that "eleven months ago, there were questions about our strategy, the capacity and the will of our partners" but that since then, "all these questions have been answered, not by words, but by deeds."

"Our approach is paying off. The enemy is in retreat on all fronts," he told the briefing.

"You don't hear the word 'stalemate' anymore. That's because over the past year with our partners, we were able to seize the initiative. We now talk about maintaining the momentum of the campaign in both Iraq and Syria. In other words, we spend more time thinking about what we will do to the enemy than we spend thinking about what the enemy might do to us," he said.

Beginning of the end?

ISIS' roots can be traced back earlier, however, with the U.S.-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s prompting the rise of the Islamist, anti-Western terrorist group now known as Islamic State.

The long-drawn-out conflicts  and tangle web of political, social and sectarian consequences  experienced by the U.S. and its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan a decade ago have acted as a cautionary tale for the current international coalition against ISIS, making it far more wary of appearing to be a foreign, occupying power in charge of combatting the group. As such, it has focused far more on training and assisting Iraq's Security Forces (ISF) in combatting the group.

MacFarland said on Wednesday that the coalition had trained more than 13,500 members of the Iraqi security forces including over 4,000 Iraqi Army soldiers, 1,500 counter terrorism service solders, 6,000 Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq), almost 1,000 Federal police and 300 border guards in how to combat the insurgency effectively.

He said the ISF had "proved they can conduct complex and decisive operations" and that a turning point in the fight against Islamic State had come with the liberation of Ramadi. This had, in turn, cut off another of the group's strongholds, Fallujah, which was recaptured from ISIS by Iraqi forces, assisted by the coalition, in June.

Now, the coalition has its eyes set on Mosul, one of the last bastions of Islamic State-rule in Iraq and has to turn its attentions to Syria where ISIS still holds Raqqa.

"To paraphrase Winston Churchill, the liberation of Ramadi was the end of the beginning of the campaign against Daesh," MacFarland said. "The beginning of the end will be the liberation of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. Once it is recaptured, the enemy in Iraq will be reduced to scattered pockets of resistance and that is now our focus," he said.

MacFarland said the U.S. had also supported forces across the border in Syria where the U.S.-backed fight against ISIS is complicated by a complex civil war and power play between rebel groups, ISIS and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Still, MacFarland said he was "100 percent certain that Daesh will be eliminated as a governing entity in Iraq and Syria. As far as how far away it is, I'm reluctant to make estimates of how long it can take."
Corn is harvested Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

On the eve of a key government crop report, corn futures remain at depressed levels as generally favorable crop conditions and analysts' forecasts point to potentially bin-busting harvests by American farmers. Nonetheless, industry watchers have been trying to figure out if July's heat wave conditions may have hurt corn yields  and therefore production  since it happened when the crop was in pollination, a sensitive stage when the plant is susceptible to harsh summer weather.

The U.S. Agriculture Department will release the report Friday at noon and it could provide some answers that will move financial markets and help determine corn and soybean prices. The August World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, a monthly report known as WASDE, is USDA's first survey-based estimate of the U.S. corn and soybean yields for this season.

"As long as USDA doesn't give us a shockingly bearish report  i.e., they give us average yield that is well above what the trade is expecting  I do think there's a good chance that we find a low in here very soon and start to bounce back for corn and soybeans," said Ted Seifried, an analyst at the Chicago brokerage Zaner Group.



The weather bet

Some are betting the July weather opened the door to yield reductions in the corn crop, although at this point, it appears to be a modest hurt.

"Corn and soybean prices are actually implying a farm economy that may be showing signs of a bottom after marked declines the past three years," Feltl & Co. analyst Brent Rystrom said in a report earlier this month. He added that "historical analysis would suggest that excessive heat in July modestly hurt yields, especially in states like Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska."

There's definitely room for these markets to go lower. Joe Lardy Research manager, CHS Hedging

At the same time, global demand also may help support ag commodity prices, particularly for the major cash crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat. Indeed, recent export sales of U.S. soybeans to China and other locations helped provide some support for beans during August. The value of ag exports in June reached over $10 billion, and the WASDE report will provide more information on export expectations. "We expect a bullish demand-driven market for U.S. grains and oilseeds between September 2016 and March 2017, which should facilitate a recovery in prices," Societe Generale analyst Rajesh Singla said in a note Wednesday. "However, we do not expect a runaway rally in prices, as the exports/demand-driven market is usually less exciting than the supply-driven market."

The bears' case

And yet, others counter there could be more downside in the market.

"There's definitely room for these markets to go lower," said Joe Lardy, research manager for CHS Hedging. He explained that there's a bigger threat for soybeans than corn since beans pollinate more in the middle of August. The corn crop's pollination ran into July, and while there were excessive heat conditions, he still believes the crop is in good shape. USDA's weekly Crop Progress report released Monday showed soybean conditions were essentially unchanged week over week but corn conditions deteriorated slightly. The government estimated that 74 percent of the corn crop was "good" or "excellent," which was down from the 76 percent the prior week. At the same time, the report showed 7 percent of the corn crop was considered "poor" or "very poor," up from 6 percent in the prior week. "WASDE data will solidify the picture that the adverse weather bet was wrong, and North America will have large crops in corn, soybeans and wheat resulting in materially weaker commodity prices in 2017," Longbow Research analyst Eli Lustgarten said in a note Thursday.

Low crop prices, which are pinching farm incomes, have already severely cut demand for major farm machinery companies such as Deere and AGCO , both in the U.S. and abroad. "The outlook is deteriorating for Deere and other participants in the Farm Belt, suggesting an extremely tough operating environment over the next 12 to 18 months," Lustgarten said. Deere is scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter earnings Aug. 19, and analysts have been lowering their earnings estimates for the July quarter and full fiscal year over the past 90 days, according to Thomson Reuters. Based on consensus estimates for the quarter, Deere is expected to report an EPS decline of 38 percent from a year ago on a revenue drop of 11 percent.



Main Street feeling ag woes

Disappointing farm incomes also are starting to show up in the broader economy and repayment rates on farm loans are softening, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's second-quarter survey of agricultural credit conditions released Thursday.

"Weaker farm income has continued to have an adverse effect on the District's Main Street businesses," said the Tenth Federal Reserve District, which includes a seven-state region (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico). "For example, at the end of July 2016, corn and soybean prices were 47 percent and 24 percent less, respectively, than the same period in 2013. Cattle and hog prices also were lower than a year ago and remained lower than in 2013," the report said. On the Chicago Board of Trade, the benchmark corn for December was down fractionally at $3.32 a bushel on Thursday. The November soybean contract was up fractionally at $9.8625 a bushel. Corn has fallen about 23 percent in the past two months; soybeans are down 15 percent in the past two months but up 3 percent in the past week.

Sub-$3 corn possible before harvest

In the last WASDE report released July 12, the USDA lowered its 2016/2017 season price range forecast for corn to $3.10 to $3.70 a bushel from its previous estimate issued in June of $3.20 to $3.80 a bushel. That is still well below mid-June levels when December corn was around $4.48 a bushel. "Our outlook is that prices for corn could get as low as $3 on the Chicago Board of Trade or even dip below $3 before harvest is completely done," said Sterling Liddell, a food and agribusiness analyst with Rabo AgriFinance in St. Louis. Friday's WASDE report will include any changes in the government's price forecast for major crops. However, analysts say the corn and soybean yield per acre and production estimates will be among the most watched parts of the report.

Stack of corn Sergio Flores | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"There are analysts that are estimating 175 bushels per acre (for corn)," said Liddell. "That could have a very negative effect on prices." USDA's last forecast was for a national corn yield of 168 bushels an acre and current consensus among analysts is for 170.6 bushels an acre. The all-time high of 171 bushels an acre was set in 2014/2015. Citi's commodity team said in a research note Thursday that "record yields could be in play," and the firm recently lifted its own yield estimates. Citi forecasts an average corn yield of 170 bushels an acre, and the firm "sees prices trading under $4 for the next few quarters with downside potential to $3.10 to $3.20/bushel." "We think a large harvest may extend the pressure seen in crop input industries into next year," Citi said. The most common "crop inputs" used are fertilizer, ag chemicals, seeds and equipment.

Upside for livestock producers
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A major pipeline project that could open a new route for Russian gas in Europe is back on the table as relations between Moscow and Ankara begin to thaw. Plans for the TurkStream gas pipeline were suspended late last year after Turkish forces shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border. However, a sit-down meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week has opened doors for renewed cooperation. Speaking to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency, the country's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu cited Putin, saying additional agreements would be signed to make sure the TurkStream gas pipeline moves forward, according to Reuters on Wednesday.



TurkStream itself, though, is not the end goal, Richard Mallinson, a geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, told CNBC in a phone interview. The proposed pipeline route runs from the Russian shore, across the Black Sea, to surface in the northwest Turkish village of Kiyikoy, through Luleburgaz and finally to Ipsala - a town near the Greek border that is expected to serve as a future delivery point for Europe. "For Russia it's not just about sending gas to Turkey. They can already do that through the Blue Stream pipeline, and they already provide about 60 percent of Turkey's gas. Russia is seeing TurkStream as a route to go on and build a pipeline into Europe," Richard Mallinson, a geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, told CNBC in a phone interview. Officially announced during Putin's state visit to Ankara in December 2014, TurkStream would rely on infrastructure already built for the since-abandoned South Stream pipeline, which was set to run from Russia through to Europe via Bulgaria, but was cancelled for violating European Union competition regulations. "Russia spent a lot of money on what was due to become South Stream, and is now looking for an alternative," Mallinson said.

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America's fast-food and fast-casual burger chains number more than 45,000, so new entrants to the burger wars better stand out. Some are relying on a surprising recipe for success. It's not a secret ingredient so much as it is a key ingredient they are leaving out. "I would say the big differentiator with us is over half of our sales are actually non-beef," said Ashley Sawyer, director of Burger 21 franchise development.

Burger 21s Ahi Tuna burger includes sushi-grade tuna, sriracha aioli, caramel soy and avocado. Source: Burger 21

The chain, with 24 locations concentrated in Florida and Georgia, offers 21 different patties, with only 10 beef options permanently on the menu. Non-beef options include seafood, veggie, chicken and turkey patties. The tuna burger, for example, contains sushi-grade ahi tuna, sriracha aioli and caramel soy and avocado, combined with more traditional burger toppings, like lettuce and tomato. The Greek is a veggie burger with roasted peppers, a feta spread and pickled cucumbers. The 21st burger on the menu rotates on the 21st of each month, allowing the company to test out new ideas. "We're not just checking another box off the list," Sawyer said. BurgerFi is a good place to examine the existential crisis of the classic beef patty. The Florida-based chain, with 88 locations (it owns 20 percent of them), is trying to cover every potential burger customer, and that includes a very small customer niche that it is more or less in the process of inventing.

Its classic BurgerFi cheeseburger is the chain's most popular. It also offers a veggie burger, called the VegeFi burger, made with quinoa, lentils, carrots, zucchini, sauteed mushrooms and onions. It accounts for close to 15 percent of sales.

But for a small group of customers who can't decide between the beef or veggie patties, BurgerFi features the Conflicted Burger, which contains both a natural Angus burger and veggie burger. It generates about 3 percent of burger sales.

BurgerFi's Conflicted Burger includes both a beef and veggie patty. It generates about 3 percent of burger sales for the company. Source: BurgerFi

"It's not a gigantic seller. It's a little popular, but it's one of those ones where people talk about it quite a bit. They get a big laugh out of the name," said Steve Lieber, BurgerFi's global brand ambassador.

Burgerim, a new fast-food franchise import from Israel, boasts turkey, lamb, chicken, salmon and veggie patties in addition to its beef burgers. This summer its first U.S. location opened in Los Angeles, and close to 30 will be open by the end of the year. But Burgerim is also making a play for the traditional burger eater, boasting about the quality of its beef patties and recommending customers leave out other key ingredients  namely, cheese and ketchup.

"It's kind of like the idea if a steak is good, you shouldn't need to put ketchup on it. It's kind of the same idea. The natural flavors are so good, you don't need to put cheese or all these sauces on it, even though we have a variety available," said Jesse Crow, the chain's national corporate success manager.

I would say the big differentiator with us is over half of our sales are actually non-beef. Ashley Sawyer director of Burger 21 franchise development

The number of new entrants in the burger niche is concerning, since it's the largest fast-food category and overall growth has slowed. McDonald's same-store sales in the United States didn't quite stack up to analysts' expectations in the second quarter, rising by only 1.8 percent  half the analyst estimate  and it remains in the midst of a multiyear turnaround effort. Newer burger darling Shake Shack has been pummeled. Shares are down more than 40 percent in the past year, and its latest earnings report after the close on Wednesday led to shares being slammed again. Same-store sales growth was one-third of last year's level, and average weekly sales were flat. Shake Shack isn't expecting same-store sales to improve over the rest of the year, either.

Which fast-food burger do you think is America's best?

Make your fast-food aficionado voice heard with a yea or nay. At the end, you'll see how all the burger chains are stacking up across every burger lover's votes.

Is a burger bubble near?

Warren Solochek, president of market research firm NPD Group's Foodservice Practice, said the lack of growth in visits to quick-service restaurants has persisted over the past four to five years. Visits to hamburger restaurants were up by 1 percent, while servings of burgers ordered were down by 1 percent in the past year. "It's probably not oversaturated yet, but I would say we are quickly approaching that point where the supply of restaurants, the supply of hamburger restaurants, is going to outstrip demand. And that's when the bubble bursts," Solochek said. BurgerFi's Lieber said it does concern him. "I think the difference between BurgerFi and the other brands is we really, really, really focus on families and millennials, but families in particular," Lieber said, pointing to its introduction last year of healthy kids meals. Offering healthy options isn't a guaranteed defense, Solochek said. "I think it's differentiating that group of chains as a whole from the established quick-service burger guys," he said. "Whether each one of them is differentiated from each other, I'm not sure."

Some of the most successful fast-food chains in the country are overlapping each other's traditional menu territories as they seek growth.

Chipotle is betting that the traditional burger model just needs an update. Its first Tasty Made burger restaurant is set to open this fall. "We think there's great strength in that original fast-food model," CMG Group CEO Steve Ells said in a statement. Solochek said the million-dollar question will be whether Tasty Made can differentiate its offerings from other fast-casual burger chains. Its first location isn't even open and it's already struggling to do just that with its logo and trademark.

Burger King is rolling out its Tex-Mex version of The Whopper, the Whopperrito, nationwide. The launch comes after the chain's second-quarter same-store sales missed analyst expectations by a wide mark.

"I think what the fast-casual players are doing is, they are forcing the older, larger brands to change their menu," Solochek said. There's an even bolder business strategy for rethinking reliance on the burger. Inspired by European and Canadian fry platters (known as poutine), French Fry Heaven loads up fries, potato chips and baked potatoes with toppings that range from taco fixings to shepherd's pie and breakfast favorites.



Loaded Spuds Cheeseburger platter at French Fry Heaven Source: French Fry Heaven
Nordstrom joined the department store rally Thursday, solidifying the feeling that less bad is good enough for investors when it comes to this group of retailers.

The Seattle-based company's shares shot 11 percent higher in after-hours trading, extending the 7 percent gain it logged earlier in the day. That bounce was led by better-than-expected results from competitors Macy's and Kohl's .

Nordstrom said it earned 67 cents a share in the fiscal second quarter, better than a Thomson Reuters estimate that predicted earnings of 56 cents a share. The company's revenue fell just shy of expectations, coming in at $3.65 billion compared with the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion.

Though the company's same-store sales dropped 1.2 percent, that beat a FactSet forecast of a 3.1 percent decline.

In the prior-year period, Nordstrom earned 93 cents a share on $3.7 billion in revenue.

"Over the past several quarters, our team has been actively addressing our inventory, expense and capital, and in the second quarter, made substantial progress by bringing down inventory in-line with sales," said Blake Nordstrom, co-president.

"Those efforts, along with the strength of our anniversary sale and a great response from customers to that event, drove better than expected results for the second quarter."



Comparable revenues at the company's off-price Rack brand rose 5.3 percent. Same-store sales at its traditional locations fell 2.3 percent. But a shift in timing for its anniversary sale will move some of the event's revenues into the third quarter. Without that shift, the company's comparable sales would have been up 1.3 percent.

Nordstrom said the annual event beat plans and reached an all-time high for sales volume. Lean inventories likewise helped the company reduce the amount of markdowns it offered. The company exited the quarter in "one of the best inventory positions" it's had in many years, management said.

In wake of the earnings beat, Nordstrom raised its forecast for fiscal year 2016. It now expects to report adjusted earnings in the range of $2.60 to $2.75 a share. Previously, the company expected earnings per share in the range of $2.50 to $2.70 a share.

The company reiterated its expectation that sales this year will rise between 2.5 percent and 4.5 percent.
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Barring something crazy happening, Donald Trump is going to lose in November  probably quite badly  and it appears Trump may be starting to realize this. He still offers up the usual argument that all polls showing him getting crushed nationally and in swing states are bogus and don't count the secret people who will emerge from the shadows and vote for him over Hillary Clinton. But a bit of fatalism has also crept into his usual bluster. On CNBC on Thursday, Trump twice mused on what his future might hold. Both times he seemed totally fine with the idea of losing. "If at the end of 90 days I fall in short," Trump said, "it's OK. I go back to a very good way of life. It's not what I'm looking to do. I think we're going to have a victory, but we'll see." Later, asked what he might do to turn around his crashing poll numbers, Trump basically said he wouldn't change a thing. "Just keep doing the same thing I'm doing right now. At the end it's either going to, you know, work or I'm going to have a very, very nice long vacation."

Elsewhere on Thursday, Trump sounded like a man with absolutely no interest in stopping his freefall. Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who so badly wants to convince himself that Trump is acceptable, offered the GOP nominee an easy way to fix up his ridiculous claim that President Barack Obama "founded" ISIS. "You mean that he created the vacuum, he lost the peace," Hewitt kindly offered. Trump was not interested. "No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS, I do. He was the most valuable player." Evidence that Trump has no intention of actually running a serious race for president is everywhere and has been for months. Someone whose goal is to actually win does not fight with the family of a fallen U.S. solider for days, or pick endless fights with members of his own party, or ignore terrible economic reports he could use to rip up his opponent, or suggest his opponent be assassinated and then refuse to fix it, or fail to run any serious TV campaign or set up a legitimate ground game in any swing state. Trump wants to be Trump. And that means saying whatever he wants whenever he wants, not doing any real work, blaming any failures on other people (mainly the evil press) and going back to his nice airplane at the end of the day to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken with a knife and fork and blast angry tweets at people.

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The U.S. Border Patrol agents' national union, after more than 7-years of being marginalized by President Barack Obama, is now similarly being handcuffed by presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's plan to keep America's borders open and grant amnesty to illegal immigrants already living in the U.S.the National Border Patrol Council said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday, just hours before Clinton formally accepted the Democratic party's presidential nomination at the Philadelphia convention.Congressman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, issued a statement this week in the midst of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia criticizing the Obama Administration's latest over-reach of its executive-branch powers.The statement blasts President Obama for expanding his policy allowing certain aliens, including those who have received his own brand of executive amnesty, to have their relatives living in Honduras, Guatemala, or El Salvador brought to the United States to live.said Rep. Goodlatte.According to the congressman, tens of thousands of illegal immigrants continue to pour across the U.S. Southwest border and are benefiting from Obama's lax immigration enforcement. This latest surge creates another category of immigrants who can simply use this Obama government program to enter and stay in the United States at taxpayer expense.stated Goodlatte.The State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Tuesday had announced an expansion of a program that allows certain aliens - lawful permanent residents and those with temporary protected status, parole, withholding of removal, deferred action, and deferred enforced departure - to petition for relatives in Honduras, Guatemala, or El Salvador to come to the United States.The program currently allows these aliens to petition for their unmarried children under the age of 21 and their current spouse (if they live with the child) to be considered for in-country refugee processing. The program is now expanded to their children over the age of 21; their parents; and caregivers of their minor children who are related to them, such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, according to the statement.If these relatives do not meet the refugee requirements under the law, they can then be considered for parole into the United States, a tool that is, even according to the Administration itself, meant to be used sparingly on a case-by-case basis President Obama has boasted that his administration has deported more illegal aliens than any previous administration, but his claim met with an abundance of pushback by Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who complain this administration is "cooking the books."One method is to count those illegal aliens who are caught attempting to enter the U.S. - and who are quickly sent back - as deportations even if it's the same person attempting illegal entry several times. Each attempt is logged as a deportation, according to agents.
It's no secret that I think the so-called mainstream media is largely in the tank for Democrats and liberals. After all, I have discussed examples of that phenomenon every month.Many journalists and J-school academics scoff at the notion of left-wing bias in the media. They say it's not really bias; it's "news judgment." They don't explain, though, how "news judgment" always seems to redound to the benefit of liberals and Democrats.As someone who has been harping on this issue since the early '90s, it's heartening when somethinghappens that validates everything I've written about the collusion among Democrats, liberals, and the mainstream media. The most recent example is the leak by WikiLeaks late last month of Democratic National Committee emails.The initial "news" from these emails was that the Democratic National Committee had been working with the Hillary Clinton campaign to torpedo the campaign of Bernie Sanders. But hidden in the leaks, and almost completely ignored by the media, were emails attesting to a relationship between Democrats and the media that goes far beyond cozy and borders on the downright obscene.Very quickly Democrats and the media mobilized to change the subject from the content of the emails to who had hacked them. Russia and Vladimir Putin quickly became the story as the media anxiously covered up its own sordid complicity betrayed by the leaks.One email showed that The Washington Post and the Democratic National Committee held a joint fundraiser, but only after an email discussion as to how to hide the Post's involvement. Another showed that Politico reporter Ken Vogel sent a story about Hillary Clinton's fundraising to the Democratic National Committee before the story's publication and even before it had been seen by his editors.For those whowonder why this is an issue, this is something that simply is not done by reputable journalists. Politico later announced lamely thatafter it was vetted by the DNC.Other emails show that then-DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz pelted MSNBC executives with complaints about criticism of Hillary Clinton on "The Morning Joe" program. Ironically, the comments were critical of Clinton and her people for rigging the system against Bernie Sanders, something the leaks definitively confirmed.Another DNC staffer wondered in an email "if we want to offer Jake Tapper questions to ask us." There is no indication that CNN's Tapper accepted any questions from the DNC, but the email makes clear the DNC didn't think that was outside the realm of possibility for CNN.In case you were wondering, no emails surfaced of the media colluding with any conservatives or Republicans. Funny that.
Some OPEC members, particularly Venezuela, have been pushing the idea of production limits for months, but Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said it would go along only if all producers agreed. Iran, however, has steadfastly refused to accept limits, and it has been aggressively returning oil to the market in an effort to grab back the market share it lost while it was under sanctions for its nuclear program. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia turned up the taps, and its production in July jumped to a record 10.67 million barrels a day.

Word that the cartel will meet on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria in late September had already stirred up the oil market this week, but confirmation Thursday from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih gave much more credibility to the idea that OPEC will consider action if oil prices remain low. West Texas Intermediate futures soared as much as 5 percent in trading Thursday after the Saudi comments, and later settled at $43.49 per barrel, up 4.3 percent.

Saudi Arabia just made it much more likely that OPEC and other oil producers will take action if crude prices weaken.

Saudi Arabia has been feeling the pinch of low oil prices, but it is better-positioned than most other producers, based on its cheap production costs and strong market presence. But it now has a new reason to cooperate with OPEC  the economic transformation plan announced by Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this spring.

At the heart of that plan is the IPO of state-owned Saudi Aramco in 2017 or 2018, which is key to a move to diversify the economy and turn its Public Investment Fund into a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund.

Even though the IPO could be well into the future, it is in Saudi Arabia's interest to have a more stable oil price with the high volumes it is producing, analysts said.

"Thirty dollar oil isn't great if you're talking up the prospect of your IPO. Mohammed bin Salman is positioning himself as the young leader of the Arab world. He's really staking his reputation on his tremendous economic transformation, and he's put the IPO at the center of that. He will try to make the IPO go well. ... This is his initiative. This is not a collective initiative. This is being driven by one increasingly ambitious man. He's the great disruptor and he literally sees himself as the future king," said Helima Croft, head of commodities strategy at RBC.

Al-Falih was named energy minister earlier this year by bin Salman, whose role is to oversee the military as well as energy and the economy. Bin Salman, 31, is the youngest son of King Salman.

"There is an opportunity for OPEC and major exporting non-OPEC ministers to meet and discuss the market situation, including any possible action that may be required to stabilize the market," al-Falih was quoted as saying.

Michael Wittner, global head of oil market research at Societe Generale said a report Thursday morning from the International Energy Agency was a factor in the market, but the biggest driver was al-Falih's comment. "The key phrase there is 'including any possible action that might be required to stabilize the market.' That indicates a willingness ... to perhaps do more. It's not even limited to a freeze. Hypothetically, any action is possible," he said.

Wittner said it's hard to say if there's a trigger price that would get OPEC to drop its Saudi-driven strategy of letting market forces move oil prices, rather than production quotas. But $40 oil could be a "wake-up call" that might bring the parties together, he said.

"It comes down to the core four  the Saudis, Iran, Iraq and Russia. If you're talking freeze, it's not going to make a damn bit of difference for real crude supply. Russia is maxed out. Iraq is maxed out or close. Iran is maxed out or close to it, and the Saudis are out with a big number in July but that's seasonal, and they'll be coming down. The freeze would solidify the status quo, and it wouldn't do anything but give a boost to market psychology," said Wittner. Russia will be in attendance at the energy conference in Algeria.

Wittner said there's been no public indication Saudi Arabia is concerned about the oil market because of its IPO. "It's at least in the back of their minds. It's a very reasonable assumption. It would be stupid if they were not thinking about it, and they are not stupid," he said.

Venezuela has been an ardent proponent of OPEC action, since lower oil revenues have exacerbated its economic and political crisis. Croft said it is possible the cartel will consider a Venezuela proposal on production bands, which means each producer would have a range of output levels and they could move within the range based on market price.

OPEC and producers outside of the cartel met in Doha, Qatar, in April and failed to reach an agreement. Reports at the time put the blame on a last-minute decision by bin Salman, but Saudi Arabia had also said it would not agree to a deal unless all producers went along. OPEC also met in June.

What's changed is the market is closer to being balanced. Iran has also returned oil to the market so quickly it is close to its past production level.

"The last go-around, I was utterly convinced the meeting would end in failure. This time I'm not. I think you have to be more cautious on this one, with these Saudi statements and the Iranians closer to full strength," said John Kilduff of Again Capital.

Al-Falih said in his comments that the oil market is rebalancing but it will still take time to clear both oil and refined product inventories. "We are on the right track, and prices should reflect that. But the large short positioning in the market has caused the oil price to undershoot," he said.


Strong winds helped wind turbines produce the equivalent of all of Scotland's electricity needs last weekend, according to new data.



The figures, provided by analysis firm Weather Energy and analysed by WWF Scotland, showed that last Sunday Scottish wind turbines sent 39,545 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity to the National Grid.

Total electricity consumption in Scotland on Sunday was 37,202 MWh, meaning that wind power "generated the equivalent of 106 percent of Scotland's entire electricity needs on the day," WWF Scotland said.

"While Sunday's weather caused disruption for many people, it also proved to be a good day for wind power output  This major moment was made possible thanks in part to many years of political support, which means that across the year now renewables contribute well over half of our electricity needs" Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said in a statement.

Banks went on to add that political support for renewables had to continue if Scotland wanted to reap the benefits of being a low carbon economy.

"We also need the Scottish Government's forthcoming energy strategy to set a goal of securing half of all of our energy, across electricity, heat and transport, from renewables by 2030," he added.

Scotland is becoming a big player when it comes to wind energy. In May, it strengthened its credentials as a world leader after a 2.6 billion ($3.37 billion) offshore wind farm got the go ahead.

SSE , the FTSE 100 energy company behind the wind farm, forecast it would power 450,000 homes and described the project as "one of the largest private investments ever made in Scottish infrastructure."

The Beatrice Offshore Windfarm will consist of 84 turbines, provide 588 megawatts (MW) of power and hopefully go online in 2019, SSE said. The project's owners are SSE, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and SDIC Power.
Starbucks may have won favor with lactose intolerant customers by adding almond milk to its menu, but it may have alienated another consumer base: those with nut allergies.



The company revealed this week that starting Sept. 6 the non-dairy alternative will be available in select, regional locations. A wider roll out to its 4,600 stores nationwide is targeted for the end of the month.



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While customers with dairy allergies have rejoiced at the addition, those with nut allergies are concerned about cross-contamination behind the counter.



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Food Allergy Research & Education, an organization that provides information about food allergies to the public, estimates that between 0.4 and 0.6 percent of Americans are allergic to tree nuts, or about 1.3 million to 1.94 million people.

"Any time new food allergens are introduced, or there is a presence of food allergens where meals or beverages are being prepared, there is a chance of cross-contact," Dr. James Baker, CEO and chief medical officer of FARE, told CNBC. "People with food allergies have to be vigilant at all times to safeguard against an allergic reaction. That means asking questions in restaurants and coffeehouses to ensure that servers and baristas understand the severity of food allergy and are able to take the measures necessary to avoid cross-contact."



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Starbucks currently handles several allergens in its stores including dairy, soy, tree nuts, eggs and wheat, among others. The company noted that while it takes precautions to keep these ingredients separate, it cannot guarantee that its beverages and foods are allergen free because baristas use shared equipment to store and prepare its products.



"When we launch almond milk in September, we will take the opportunity to remind customers through in-store signage, including an allergen disclaimer on our menu boards and we will display a temporary statement at our counter near the register," a Starbucks spokeswoman told CNBC.


"So my message to every worker in Michigan and across America is this: I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages  including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I oppose it now, I'll oppose it after the election, and I'll oppose it as president," Clinton said about the TPP from Warren, Michigan on Thursday.

In speeches in Michigan, a state hit by slowing manufacturing and departing jobs, both presidential candidates this week pledged to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. Clinton backed the pact with Pacific nations as secretary of state, but changed her tune amid pressure from some Democrats and her primary challenger Sen. Bernie Sanders .

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump may not agree on much, but they now use some similar rhetoric on trade issues.

In his speech in Detroit on Monday, Trump called the TPP a "disaster" and said "a vote for Clinton is a vote for the TPP." He latched on to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's statement last month that he believes Clinton would support the TPP if elected. The Clinton campaign has since disputed that characterization.

"Just imagine how many more automobile jobs will be lost if the TPP is actually approved. That is why I have announced we will withdraw from the deal before that can ever happen. Hillary Clinton will never withdraw from the TPP," Trump said in Detroit on Monday.

Clinton did make a key distinction on their trade views. She said the U.S. could benefit from well-structured trade deals, contending Trump's opposition to trade agreements is based on "fear."

Her continued opposition to the deal is a key policy stance for some in the Democratic Party who supported Sanders, an ardent critic of the agreement. Her opposition puts her in contrast to President Barack Obama, who has been a key backer of the TPP.

Trump has tried to court disillusioned Sanders supporters with his trade stance. He has also repeatedly criticized Clinton because her husband, former President Bill Clinton, signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law.
Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals fell nearly 10.4 percent on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported the pharmaceutical company is under federal investigation for allegations it defrauded insurers by hiding its ties to Philidor, a mail-order pharmacy unit.

The Journal report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said the investigation is looking into whether Philidor, which is now defunct, falsely described its relationship with Valeant and it could be the most serious charge Valeant faces to date.

According to the report, the investigation could lead to criminal charges being filed against management at Philidor and Valeant.

Valeant released a statement Wednesday saying it had previously disclosed in October 2015 an ongoing investigation and it said it is cooperating, and will continues to cooperate, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

"We do not comment on rumors about investigations," Valeant said in the statement, "and cannot comment on or speculate about the possible course of any ongoing investigation."



David Maris, a senior analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, said the investigation by state attorney generals, the IRS, SEC and others hold "significant risk factors" for Valeant's stock. Thursday he reiterated his "underperform" rating on the stock.

"We believe Valeant shares currently carry too much risk for us to be comfortable recommending them as an investment," he said in the report. "Our concerns stem from a number of factors, including opaqueness related to accounting issues, what we see as balance sheet risks, unanswered questions related to business practices, and confusion over how the Walgreens deal actually benefits Valeant."



Valeant's stock has dropped significantly this year, falling almost 76 percent.

VRX 2016 Chart
Donald Trump's assertion that President Barack Obama is the "founder" of ISIS runs counter to reality.

"He was the founder of ISIS, absolutely," Trump told CNBC on Thursday, a day after he repeatedly made the claim.

The terror quasi-state that is variously called Islamic State, ISIS, ISIL or Daesh was founded by a bloodthirsty religious zealot named Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2004. The native Jordanian moved to Iraq, along with thousands of other insurgent volunteers, to fight the American and British forces that had invaded that country in 2003.

At the time, Barack Obama was serving as a state senator for the 13th District of Illinois, spending most of his time shuttling between Chicago and Springfield.



The United States smashed the Iraqi military in March 2003 and took over the country. On May 23, 2003, under the orders of the Bush administration's designated administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, the United States disbanded the Iraqi Army and fired thousands of other government workers. As a result, many thousands of Iraqis were put out of a job within a country with a wrecked infrastructure and an economy that had ground to a near-total halt.

Al-Zarqawi entered Iraq either during the invasion or just after it, with funding from Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, whom the United States had already tried kill in Afghanistan. Al-Zarqawi started funneling foreign fighters into the country through Syria. He also had little difficulty attracting fighters from disaffected Sunni tribes in Iraq, most of whom had little money or means of acquiring it, but many of whom had arms they had either stolen or bought from the collapsed national army.
Press Release:

Tom Reeder

Assistant Secretary for the Environment

Department of Environmental Quality

Randall Williams, MD

Deputy Secretary for Health Services

Department of Health and Human Services

After news reports and editorials inaccurately and unfairly characterized the state's efforts to protect drinking water, the North Carolina departments of Health and Human Services and Environmental Quality release the following open editorial:Recent media stories and editorials have given support to the questionable and inconsistent scientific conclusions reached by toxicologist Ken Rudo and have created unnecessary fear and confusion among North Carolinians who are concerned about the safety of their drinking water. Scientists do and should continuously question the status quo, and disagreement among them is to be expected. But both media and scientists should also be expected to recognize facts.At issue is how much Chromium 6 and Vanadium, both naturally occurring compounds that can also be found in coal ash, is considered safe in drinking water. Rudo doesn't just disagree with other scientists on this subject - he has even contradicted himself. The federal safe drinking water standard for Chromium is 100 parts per billion and, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, "assumes that a measurement of total chromium is 100 percent Chromium 6." Rudo himself recognized this fact in November 2014 when he advised well owners near coal ash ponds that their water was safe to drink because "your well water meets federal drinking water standards."Just a few months later, Rudo reversed course and advised the same well owners not to drink their water. Rather than relying on the federal standard he said was safe just months before, he used his own threshold, which was 1,400 times lower than the federal standard.We realize that this is a dynamic science and there are differing viewpoints. For example, the original recommended level in well owners' letters for Vanadium was set 33 times lower than what's found in daily multivitamins. For Chromium 6, Rudo's analysis is out of step with the federal government and 49 other states. If one followed the threshold he proposes, every state would have to issue "do not drink" orders to tens of millions of people. Many cities and states recognize that Chromium 6 represents some risk at levels below the federal drinking water standard, but none issue "do not drink" orders under those circumstances.Despite these inconsistencies, the disagreement among staff at the state environmental and health and human services departments was about how best to advise North Carolinians about the safety of their drinking water. Staff at the state environmental department found untenable that he limited his threshold to only those well owners near the coal ash ponds. He refused to apply the same recommendation to the other 900,000 North Carolinia wells or the 2.5 million people who consume well water that measures above his threshold.When pressed during a deposition, Rudo was not able to explain the inconsistencies in his scientific conclusions. Rudo's unprofessional approach to this important matter does a disservice to public health and environmental protection in North Carolina. It doesn't help that political special interest groups perpetuate his exaggerations and fuel alarm among citizens for their own purposes.
A Messenger box pops up, after which a user clicks "Let's go!". A message then asks "Great! Now, what would you like to say to President Obama?".

Just like you'd send a message to a friend, users can now contact Obama by going to The White House's Facebook Page and hitting the "message" icon.

The public can now send messages to U.S. President Barack Obama via Facebook Messenger, the White House announced on Wednesday.

The Messenger bot then asks you to check your message and asks for a U.S. address. If you are not in the U.S, the White House bot accepts a user providing an email address.

In an online post, the White House chief digital officer Jason Goldman said that Obama reads 10 letters a day that come in via physical letters or email. Now Facebook messages will form a part of that.

"To make sure that in all the hustle and bustle that's taken place here, we don't lose sight of why we're here  which is a bunch of citizens all across the country, needing our help, seeking advice, more than occasionally being angry, wanting to be heard," Obama said in a statement.

"And what's interesting is not only do these letters help me to stay in touch with the people who sent me here, or the people who voted against me, but a lot of times they identify problems that might not have percolated up through the various agencies and bureaucracies. And more than once there have been occasions where these letters inspired action on real problems that are out there."

It's the not the first time that the White House has looked to stay connected via social media. Obama joined Twitter in May last year, while in June, Michelle Obama launched her own Snapchat account.
SYRACUSE, N.Y.  The Central New York Community Foundation announced it has promoted Frank Ridzi to VP of community investment.

Ridzi first joined the Community Foundation in 2008 as program officer, after which he served as director of research and community initiatives beginning in 2012. He has been a driving force behind the successful work of the Onondaga and Madison County literacy coalitions, the introduction of our CNYVitals community indicators project, and the Community Foundations Performance Management grants program and learning community, the foundation said in a news release.

In his new role, Ridzi will oversee and monitor the foundations grantmaking process, conduct research on issues or concerns of importance to the Community Foundation, share expertise with donors, and manage special projects.

Ridzi is a graduate of Le Moyne College and received his Ph.D. from Syracuse Universitys Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He is a tenured associate professor in Le Moynes Sociology Department. In addition to his local work on behalf of the Community Foundation, he serves as chair of the national Literacy Funders Network and is a member of the board of the Community Indicators Consortium.

The Community Foundation says its the largest charitable foundation in the region with assets of nearly $193 million. It awarded $11 million in grants last year to nonprofit organizations.

Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com
Scott Schechter from Numismatic Guaranty Corp. accepted the PNG Art Kagin Ambassador Award on behalf of the 2016 recipient, professional numismatist Anthony Swiatek.

Numismatic News Editor David Harper accepts the PNG Abe Kosoff Founders Award that was presented posthumously to the newspapers founder, Chet Krause.

Jerry Jordan, Michael Fuljenz and Doug Davis were the joint winners of the PNG Sol Kaplan Award for combating crimes against the numismatic community.

News release from the Professional Numismatists Guild:

Gary Adkins of Minneapolis, Min., who served as President of the Professional Numismatists Guild from 2007 to 2009 and is the current vice-president of the American Numismatic Association, is the recipient of the PNG 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. Adkins received the award during the PNG annual banquet on August 8, 2016, in Anaheim, Calif.

Gary has been actively involved in numismatics for a half century as a collector, as a dealer, as an educator and mentor and as a dedicated, forward-thinking leader of the Professional Numismatists Guild, the American Numismatic Association and the Industry Council for Tangible Assets, said PNG President Dana Samuelson who presented the award to Adkins.

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Gary created the Professional Numismatists Guild Collectors Bill of Rights,' the pledge that PNG members must follow regarding consumer protection and education. He also was a hard-working leader in the recently successful fight to rescind some of the onerous tax policies and regulations in his home state of Minnesota, added Samuelson.

A half dozen other major awards, honors and recognitions were also announced at the annual banquet.

The Abe Kosoff Founders Award for steadfast dedication to the entire numismatic community was presented by PNG Vice President Barry Stuppler posthumously to Chet Krause of Iola, Wis., founder of Numismatic News and numerous other publications. Krause passed away on June 25, 2016. Numismatic News Editor David C. Harper accepted the award on Krauses behalf.

The Sol Kaplan Award for efforts in combating crimes against the numismatic community was presented by PNG Executive Director Robert Brueggeman jointly to Doug Davis, Michael Fuljenz and Jerry Jordan.

Davis, Fuljenz and Jordan worked for nine months to provide valuable assistance to law enforcement agencies in four states that helped detectives coordinate their investigations into a series of numismatic-related crimes. Their persistent work successfully led to the arrests earlier this year of three suspected con artists who allegedly targeted elderly victims and their coin collections in California, Colorado, New York and Texas, explained Brueggeman.

Davis, the City Manager and former Police Chief of Pantego, Texas, is founder and president of the Numismatic Crime Information Center, and previously received a Kaplan Award in 1988. PNG member Fuljenz is President of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont, Texas, and Jerry Jordan is Editor of SETinvestigates.com, an online investigative news organization in Southeast Texas.

The Robert Friedberg Award that recognizes outstanding literary achievement in numismatics and is not automatically given each year was announced by PNG Secretary James Simek. The 2016 recipient is author Hugo Vanhoudt for his reference book, The Coins of the Burgundian, Spanish and Austrian Law Countries and of the French and Dutch Periods, 1434-1830 (published in Belgium, 2015).

The Art Kagin Ambassador Award for distinguished service as an advocate of numismatic goodwill was presented by PNG Board member John Maben to Anthony Swiatek of Saratoga Springs, N.Y, a former ANA president (1997  1999).

The Significant Contribution Award for years of dedication and significant contributions to numismatics was presented by PNG Board member James Sego to Paul Whitnah of Arlington, Texas. Whitnah, who assists dealers and collectors nationwide with travel arrangements through M&M Travel, provides on-site communications services at the PNG/ANA Numismatic Trade Show and was a volunteer at ANA conventions for over 30 years.

PNG leaders recognized Dean Oakes of Iowa City, Iowa for 50 years as a member of the guild.

Eight other members were saluted for reaching 25 years of membership: Daniel Avena Jr. of Vineland, New Jersey; Sheridan Downey of Oakland, Calif.; Bret Leifer of Wayland, Mass.; Warren Mills of Milford, N.H.; Donn Pearlman of Las Vegas, Nev.; Thomas Schell of Lancaster, Pa.; David Sundman of Littleton, N.H.; and Anthony Swiatek of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The Professional Numismatists Guild is a nonprofit trade association composed of the country's top rare coin and paper money dealers who must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics in the buying and selling of numismatic merchandise. Members of the PNG Accredited Precious Metals Dealer (APMD) program must follow strict code in the buying and selling of numismatic bullion items.

For additional information about the awards, the PNG or APMD, contact Robert Brueggeman, PNG Executive Director, 28441 Rancho California Road, Suite 106, Temecula, CA 92590. Phone: 951-587-8300. Email: info@PNGdealers.org. Online: www.PNGdealers.org.
Selfless dedication is the theme of four 2016 coins from the Royal Canadian Mint, and police officers are the latest subject in the series.

The RCM on Aug. 2 released the third $15 coin in the National Heroes silver series, honoring police officers.

The reverse design by Canadian artist Ken Ryan uses selective color over detailed engraving in a rendition of a police officer in action.

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A police car parked on the side of a paved roadway appears in the background.

Selective color brings to life the dark blue uniform of the police officer in the foreground, along with the red striping on the pants and the band around the peaked police cap. Responding to a crime in progress, the officer sprints into action with right hand stretched toward the equipment belt, while the left hand brings a whistle to the officers lips.

The Proof .9999 fine silver $15 coin weighs 23.17 grams, measures 36.07 millimeters in diameter and has a mintage limit of 10,000 pieces.

The Police Officers coin follows the May 3 launch of a coin for firefighters, and a June 7 coin for paramedics.

The final coin in the set, honoring military members, is due for release Sept. 6.

The National Heroes coins have a release price of $69.95 Canadian.

Distributor Talisman Coins offers the coin for $52.95 U.S. Earlier issues remain available at varied prices. To order, visit the distributor website.
MU swine center to double its space for modified pigs

An $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow the swine center to double its space for animals.
A fire at a computer center sparked the Delta Airlines flight outage on Monday.

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By Scott Mayerowitz, Associated Press

As flight cancellations and delays move into their fourth day, Delta Air Lines isn't providing details on a "small fire" Monday at its data center and whether that fire  or attempts to extinguish it  compounded the airline's troubles.

Delta's problems started early Monday morning when a piece of electrical component at its Atlanta headquarters failed, chief executive Ed Bastian told The Associated Press.

That led to a shutdown of the transformer providing power to the airline's data center. The system moved to backup power but not all of the servers were connected to that source, which caused the cascading problem.

But that initial failure also caused a fire. The airline is refusing to detail the extent of that fire  and the damage it caused.

"The equipment failure sparked a small fire. It was put out immediately and there was no need to call the fire department," Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said via email Thursday.

The airline would not say how the fire was extinguished or if the means of putting it out damaged any other electrical equipment or any of the computer servers.

Delta has canceled more than 2,100 flights so far this week, the most of them happening Monday and Tuesday. But Thursday morning still had some headaches for travelers, with FlightStats.com reporting at least 30 Delta flight cancelations and nearly 300 other delays. Some were due to the computer problems and others were due to bad weather, the airline said.

Bastian, on Wednesday, said that Delta knew it had to make technology upgrades "but we did not believe, by any means, that we had this type of vulnerability" regarding its flight operations and reservations systems.

. Bastian said this week's problems do not reflect his airline's longtime track record. "We're going to do everything we can to make certain it does not ever happen again," he said.
SHARE Memphis International's Charlie Rich tribute album will be out in October. Local musician J.D. Reager presents a tribute to '60s pop favorites the Monkees on Sunday at Lafayette's. submitted photograph

By Bob Mehr of The Commercial Appeal

Memphis International Records will be enjoying a rebirth this fall.

The long-running Bluff City record label  founded in 2001 by Memphian David Less and West Coast PR muckety-muck Bob Merlis  was sold late last year to Jeff Phillips. Phillips is a third-generation member of the preeminent Memphis music family and a longtime employee of the Phillips-owned Select-O-Hits record distribution company.

In 2015, Jeff Phillips' father, Johnny Phillips, himself a longtime Select-O-Hits executive, became aware that Less was looking to sell the label, initially to a Munich, Germany-based group.

"Our big thing was to figure out how to keep the label in town," says Johnny. "I contacted two or three people about trying to buy it. Finally, Jeff and I were talking, and he said, 'I can do it.' He basically borrowed on his 401(k) to buy the label."

"I had to do it," Jeff Phillips says. "We all felt like, you can't have Memphis International based in Germany."

The sale  which included the purchase of all the label's assets, catalog (nearly 30 albums by Jim Dickinson, Carla Thomas, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and others), unreleased material, and website  was finalized in November. The first few months of Phillips' ownership have seen the label tending to overall housekeeping, starting with switching their U.S. distribution from Sony to Select-O-Hits.

"We went through and lowered the list prices on everything, physically and digitally, to where it needed to be," Johnny says. "We also set up European distribution, all that type of stuff."

Having solidified things, Jeff Phillips began looking to the label's first project under his ownership. "We didn't buy the label just to live off the catalog," he says. "We want to keep it going; we want to have an active Memphis label. Bob and David did a great job with that, in terms of preserving the history but creating new history as well."

Johnny Phillips seized on the idea of doing a tribute to the Silver Fox, Charlie Rich  the onetime Sun label artist and later country hitmaker who died in 1995. "I'm a huge Charlie Rich fan  the whole (Phillips) family is," he says. "Uncle Sam (Phillips) always said that Charlie and Howlin' Wolf were the two most talented people he worked with."

At last year's Memphis Music Hall of Fame ceremony, during which Rich was inducted, Johnny, his cousins Knox and Jerry Phillips, and Charlie Rich Jr. "began talking, trying to figure out if we could do this," says Johnny. Those discussions quickly snowballed, and by January, "we finally were able to start working on the project and wrapped up work on it last month."

On Oct. 14, Memphis International will release "Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich." The 13-track tribute features performances by Rich Jr., Jim Lauderdale, Shooter Jennings, Keith Sykes, Will Kimbrough, the Malpass Brothers and Susan Marshall, among others. "Every artist on there jumped right on it," says Johnny. "People love Charlie Rich; he was a musician's musician."

The bulk of the record was tracked locally at the Phillips Recording Service, with some overdubs done in Nashville and Boston. The project was produced by Michael Dinallao (who has worked with Stax star Eddie Floyd among others), but the Rich tribute effort is very much a family affair, with liner notes penned by Knox Phillips and Johnny Phillips, and label and production work by another generation of Phillips kids: "The album is kind of a full circle for the Rich and Phillips families," Johnny said. "Uncle Sam recorded Charlie's first recordings and now the third generation of Phillipses, Jeff, and Jerry's daughter Halley, helped record the tribute. Halley produced one track as well."

Although plans are not final, Jeff Phillips hopes to do some promo events for the album in the fall, including a Memphis listening party and a possible concert event in Nashville for Sirius XM.

As to the future of the label, Phillips notes he'd like Memphis International to release between two to four albums a year. "We're talking to some artists about recording for us," he says. "We want to keep the tradition of Memphis International going, and we feel like the Charlie Rich record is a great way to start."

Simian Sounds

This past weekend, the three surviving members of The Monkees shared a stage in Monterey, California. The buzzed-about performance  featuring Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz and Peter Tork  culminated what has been a successful 50th anniversary celebration for the group, including the release of a critically acclaimed new album.

Locally this week, musician J.D. Reager will pay homage to the band with a show Sunday night at Lafayette's Music Room. "If you know me, you know that the Monkees are my all-time, desert island favorite band," says Reager. "Doing this show with my band the Cold-Blooded Three is a longtime dream."

Joining Reager for the concert, billed as "A Tribute to the Monkees," will be fellow Monkee-phile Jeremy Scott, whose band the Subtractions will also perform. "Additionally, we've have a few special guests  Mark Akin of the Subteens, Chris Davis of Papa Top's West Coast Turnaround, Jason Pulley of Glorious Abhor and others  set to get up and do songs with us," says Reager.

Showtime is 8 p.m. at Lafayette's (2119 Madison). Cover is $5.
By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

A 28-year-old former Memphis police officer who resigned in January was indicted on charges of stalking and installing a tracking device on a woman's car, according to a news release from the office of the Shelby County District Attorney General.

Joshua Barnes is being held in the Shelby County Jail on $100,000 bond on charges of stalking and violating an order of protection.

"The victim told investigators in January that she feared for her safety because of several stalking incidents involving Barnes," according to the news release. "She then went to an automotive shop where a tracking device was located under her vehicle. When the victim took the tracking device to police investigators at the Union Extended office, Barnes was seen sitting in his truck in an adjacent parking lot."
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By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Bobby Carter sentenced a 35-year-old Memphis man to 35 years in prison in a child sex case this week.

Dewayne Anthony Jones was convicted in July of raping an 11-year-old girl.

Jones was sentenced to 25 years for rape of a child plus 10 consecutive years for aggravated sexual battery.

According to an affidavit, on Feb. 6, 2013, officers responded to the 1300 block of Marygene in the area of Elvis Presley and Finley Road, where a woman reported she found the child's diary which described the crime.
Brenden Burns, center, appeared in Madison County General Sessions Court on Thursday on a charge of failure to appear. Bond in this case was set at $750,000. Burns is also charged, in an unrelated case, with murder in the death of TBI Special Agent De'Greaun Frazier. (Kenneth Cummings/The Jackson Sun)

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By Maranda Faris, USA TODAY NETWORK  Tennessee

JACKSON, Tenn.  Brenden Burns, charged earlier this week in the death of a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent, appeared in court on an unrelated matter Thursday, this time facing a felony failure to appear charge after missing a May court date in a drug case.

But the actions of Burns, 23, since he didn't show for the May appearance  particularly allegations of his involvement in the death of Special Agent De'Greaun Frazier  didn't go unnoticed during his appearance Thursday before Madison County General Sessions Judge Hugh Harvey.

"Since you were arraigned here in March, it appears you have become a danger to the community," Harvey told Burns during the hearing in which the judge set a $750,000 bond for Burns.

Burns already was in custody without bond in connection with a charge of murder in the perpetration of attempted robbery in Frazier's death.

Also on Thursday, the TBI announced Frazier's visitation is set for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Bellevue Baptist Church followed by a Sea of Blue. Services for the fallen agent will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, also at Bellevue, with burial at Memorial Park.

Burns initially faced charges of possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, evading arrest and other driving offenses from January. Court documents say he ran from the car he was in when Madison County Sheriff's Office deputies attempted to stop him, and investigators found cocaine in the floor of the car and a digital scale in the center console.

Burns' license was suspended when he was stopped, and he did not have proof of insurance, according to court documents.

Burns does not have an attorney and told Harvey he did not expect to be able to retain one. He is scheduled to reappear in General Sessions Court on Aug. 25.

He is scheduled to return to Jackson City Court for a preliminary hearing in the murder case on Aug. 18.

Court documents in the murder case say Frazier and an informant arranged to buy cocaine from Burns in an undercover drug operation, and Burns shot Frazier in the back while attempting to rob the agent Tuesday afternoon. Court documents say Frazier fired back at Burns, but Burns was not hit by the agent's gunfire.

Frazier, 35, of Cordova, was pronounced dead Tuesday at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital shortly after the shooting. He joined the TBI in February after working with the Millington Police Department.

The TBI has confirmed Burns is a known gang member and participated in activities under investigation by Jackson-Madison County Metro Narcotics and TBI agents.

Burns has prior charges for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, as well as robbery and burglary, in Madison and Carroll counties, according to the TBI.

His prior charges also include violations of probation and failure to appear charges from Huntingdon police, Carroll County Sheriff's Office, and Madison County Sheriff's Office.

Burns violated his probation in November 2015 on a sentence he received after being charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a canceled license in July 2015, according to records.

Court documents show he did not contact his probation officer as scheduled, appear for meetings, take his drug and alcohol rehabilitation classes, or pay his court costs and fines.

He told Judge Blake Anderson in Jackson City Court that he was on probation at the time of his arrest Tuesday.
August 9, 2016- Wiseacre Brewing co-founder Frank Smith has presented plans to the city for Wiseacre to lease out 60,000 square feet on the first floor of the Mid-South Coliseum. (Nikki Boertman/The Commercial Appeal)

By David Royer of The Commercial Appeal

A day after Wiseacre Brewing made a public pitch to move its operations into the vacant Mid-South Coliseum, reactions from residents and stakeholders around the Fairgrounds ranged from "absolutely" to "absolutely not."

Among the "absolutely" camp was the owner of one of Wiseacre's competitors, Drew Barton of Memphis Made Brewing, a mile west of the Coliseum on Cooper. Barton sees another brewery nearby as a potential lure drawing more visitors to the neighborhood.

"I wish another brewery would open up across the street," said Barton, who opened his small, locally-focused craft brewery in 2013. "It would be nothing but beneficial for the community."

He tempered his support, however, by saying no city money should be used to renovate the Coliseum for Wiseacre.

Wiseacre co-founder Frank Smith outlined an unorthodox plan to the City Council on Tuesday that would see the Broad Avenue-based brewery move into 60,000 square feet of leased space on the first floor of the Coliseum, as the company ramps up production from 22,000 barrels a year to a projected 100,000. Businesses including restaurants, a bowling alley and other uses would rent the remaining space.

Kristen Schebler, executive director of the Cooper-Young Community Association and an East Parkway resident, said she's heard from 15 or 20 neighbors, either in person or on social media, and hopes to organize a meeting between Smith and residents to gather feedback on the plan.

So far, though, reaction has been positive.

"I've not had a single community member say they were concerned that it wasn't a good use," Schebler said.

In an unscientific online poll on commercialappeal.com, 87 percent of more than 1,200 respondents by Wednesday evening favored Wiseacre's proposal. But it also has some strong detractors among those who want to return it to its original use for concerts and community events.

"Absolutely not," said Fred Jones, a founder of the annual Southern Heritage Classic game at the Liberty Bowl next door to the Coliseum said of the Wiseacre plan.

Jones, a music promoter who used to book shows at the Coliseum, Jones staged the last major concert at the venue  a Sept. 15, 2006 show with Frankie Beverly and Maze and the O'Jays. Since then, he said, many midlevel concerts have moved to the Landers Center in Southaven because Memphis lacks an indoor concert facility that seats between 2,500 and 5,000.

"That's where most of the concerts are" in terms of size, he said.

Jeff Droke, an accountant who runs the Mid-South Coliseum Facebook page, said the city shouldn't be swayed by short-term gain at the expense of the long-term economic impact of having a centrally-located event venue. The 60-year-old Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina was renovated for events, he said, and he thinks the same could be done in Memphis.

"It's a building that's built for music," Droke said. "I just think there's other places to put the brewery. Because once you put it there, once you tear it up, it's done."
Press Release:

2001 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-2001

news@dhhs.nc.gov (919) 855-4840

RALEIGH, N.C. State health officials continue to encourage North Carolinians to take preventive measures against mosquito bites and to stay informed of the risk of Zika virus infection before traveling to areas with local, active transmission, now including Miami, Fla.On Aug. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued travel, testing and other recommendations for people who traveled to or lived in a Miami, Fla. neighborhood after June 2016, when health officials discovered local transmission of the virus by mosquitoes.Zika virus is primarily transmitted through the bite of an infectious Aedes aegypti mosquito. This mosquito, to date, has not been identified in North Carolina, according to a statewide survey of mosquito populations being conducted in conjunction with researchers at East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, Western Carolina University and experts at local health departments. Currently, 33 travel-related cases of Zika virus have been confirmed in North Carolina.said State Public Health Veterinarian Carl Williams, DVM.The General Assembly allocated $477,500 to develop an infrastructure to detect, prevent, control and respond to the Zika virus and other vector-borne illnesses. The North Carolina Division of Public Health is using the funds to hire entomology and laboratory experts, and provide aid to counties across the state. Additionally, North Carolina has been awarded more than $1 million in grant funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address Zika, including surveillance, tracking and reporting of Zika pregnancy outcomes.Symptoms of Zika virus include rash and red eyes. Less common symptoms include fever, joint pains and muscle aches. Only about one in five people infected with Zika virus will show symptoms. Sexual transmission of Zika virus is possible, and is of particular concern during pregnancy.A pregnant woman infected with Zika virus can pass the virus to her unborn baby. A serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly, and other adverse pregnancy outcomes have been reported in some mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a travel advisory recommending pregnant women consider postponing travel to any area with active Zika virus transmission. Women who are trying to become pregnant should talk to their doctors about the risk of Zika virus infection before traveling.While the primary mosquito that carry Zika virus are not believed to be widespread in North Carolina, individuals are always encouraged, as a routine precaution, to take steps to prevent mosquito bites by:Wearing insect repellent registered with the Environmental Protection Agency.Wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants.Using air conditioning or make sure window and door screens are in place.For more information about Zika virus for patients and health care providers, please visit http://epi.publichealth.nc.gov/cd/diseases/zika.html or www.cdc.gov/zika NC Department of Health and Human Services
An ordinance proposed by three Nashville Metro Council members seeks to decriminalize possession and the casual exchange of marijuana of one-half ounce or less. (Photo: Getty Images / iStockphoto)

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By Joey Garrison/USA TODAY NETWORK  Tennessee

A legislative push has mounted in Nashville that seeks to reduce the penalty for individuals who are found possessing or casually exchanging small amounts of marijuana to allow them to avoid a criminal record.

A newly filed ordinance sponsored by three Metro Council members would lessen the penalty for people who knowingly possess or exchange a half-ounce of marijuana (14.175 grams) or less to a $50 civil penalty. A court also could choose to suspend the civil penalty and instead mandate 10 hours of community service.

Under Tennessee law, violators of this offense face a misdemeanor charge that is punishable of up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Metro Councilman Dave Rosenberg, a self-described libertarian who is among those who have introduced the Nashville ordinance, said his bill would simply create a local parallel ordinance to the state law.

He argued it would work within the confines of state law, likening the decriminalization measure to Metros law for littering, which he said has penalties not as severe as what is outlined in state law.

This would allow the police to just write a ticket, said Rosenberg, who called it needlessly expensive and time consuming for police to arrest people over the marijuana misdemeanor and misguided to give offenders criminal records.

He said that someone who makes a mistake as a kid can be haunted his entire life because of the criminal offenses he could face under the current marijuana law here.

Its very unproductive, he said. This has been an issue that has been moving nationwide from Florida to Washington as our society has come to understand that the most harmful effect of marijuana is marijuana laws.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry's press secretary, Sean Braisted, said in statement Wednesday evening that "the mayor is still reviewing the proposed ordinance and its implications but is generally supportive of efforts to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and looks forward to hearing more about this specific proposal."

But Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said the police department opposes the ordinance in its current form.

He said a major reason for the department's concern is language in the ordinance that says violators "shall" be issued a citation for a civil penalty of $50. He said use of the word "shall" removes discretion from police officers.

"There are situations where discretion is needed for law enforcement purposes," Aaron said. "There may be circumstances where an officer needs to keep something in the criminal realm."

The council will consider the ordinance on a first of three votes next week. The bill is co-sponsored by council members Freddie OConnell and Russ Pulley.

O'Connell said Metro is limited by state law on the issue of marijuana decriminalization but believes the local ordinance does not conflict with the state law.

"The whole thing here is, can we keep somebody from starting down the road of having a criminal record just for small possession where they're clearly not dealing?" O'Connell said. "If we look at our prison system, this is one of the greatest travesties, in my opinion, of criminal justice practice over the past generation."

Rosenberg said the ordinance is similar to a host of local measures recently approved in Florida. That includes Tampa Bay, which passed a law in March to allow people in possession of three-quarters of an ounce to pay fines instead of being charged criminally.

The Nashville ordinance comes more than a year after a petition drive for a public referendum for a Metro Charter amendment on prosecution of marijuana possession stalled after falling short of the number of required signatures.

The proposal, led by the Tennessee chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, sought to prevent Metro government from using financial resources on the criminal prosecution of an adult for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana. The group collected a few thousand short of the 6,845 signatures it needed to force the measure to be on the ballot of the Metro general election last August.

During the most recent legislative session, the Tennessee General Assembly eliminated a requirement that had previously made third-time convictions of possession of small amounts of marijuana an automatic felony. The change in law therefore reduced the penalty for third-time possession.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-826 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.
The Commercial Appeal files Mrs. Leo Buchignani (left) offers tasty fried chicken to (from left) Judge Floyd Henderson, Mrs. Thomas R. Prewitt, Mr. Prewitt and James R. Younger at the annual Summer picnic of the Junior Bar Conference on August 11, 1951, at "Duntreath Farms," country home of Mrs. Buchignani's father, Dr. J.A. Crisler Jr. Mrs. Buchignani is the former Betty Crisler.

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Aug. 11

25 years ago: 1991

The year: 1956. Life in black and white zeroed in on Elvis Presley. His swivel and song met network television. Frenzied teenagers rallied nationwide. And when they did, photographer Alfred Wertheimer was there. Elvis, the heartthrob who would rock American music, also helped create a lifetime reputation for Wertheimer, then a 26-year-old New York freelancer for RCA, Elvis's record label. For a total of about three weeks spread over four months of that magical year, Wertheimer virtually lived with Elvis. On black-and-white and on color film, he framed the 21-year-old Memphian Who Would Be King. The images are among the most candid taken of the early Elvis.

50 years ago: 1966

America's camera-carrying Lunar Orbiter spacecraft, its complex systems operating flawlessly, dashed along a near-perfect quarter-million-mile course through space Wednesday, heading for an intended orbit about the moon on Sunday. Its goal: Beaming to Earth during the next 36 days nearly 400 pictures taken from 26 miles above the moon's surface which show nine potential astronaut landing sites, the downed Surveyor 1 spacecraft and portions of the moon's hidden backside.

75 years ago: 1941

A Citizens' Committee, composed of prominent Forrest City, Ark., residents, found gambling dens flourishing openly and abundantly throughout St. Francis County night before last.

100 years ago: 1916

Beekeepers from all parts of the Memphis territory will come to Memphis today to attend a meeting of the Tennessee Beekeeper's Association on the Tri-State Fair Grounds.

125 years ago: 1891

John Raiford, the young Mississippian who struck Memphis a few days ago with a scant wardrobe and proceeded to equip himself with a complete new outfit by stealing pants, coat, shoes, shirts and socks at different places, was before Squire Blackwell again yesterday.
Algerina Perna/Tribune News Service files Baltimore officers stand watch after riots sparked by Freddie Gray's death. A federal report criticized Baltimore police for discriminating against black residents and using excessive force.

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By Juliet Linderman And Eric Tucker, Associated Press

BALTIMORE  With startling statistics, a federal investigation of the Baltimore Police Department documents in 164 single-spaced pages what black residents have said for years: They are routinely singled out, roughed up or otherwise mistreated by officers, often for no reason.

The 15-month Justice Department probe was prompted by the death of Freddie Gray, a black man whose fatal neck injury in the back of a police van touched off the worst riots in Baltimore in decades. To many people, the report issued Wednesday was familiar reading.

Danny Marrow, a retired food service worker, said that over the years, he has been stopped and hassled repeatedly by police.

"It started when I was 8 years old and they'd say, with no probable cause, 'Hey, come here. Where are you going?' " he said. "No cause, just the color of my skin."

"Bullies in the workplace," he said. "They don't want you to get angry or challenge their authority, so they'll use force, they'll put the handcuffs on too tight. And if you run, they're going to beat you up when they catch you."

The Justice Department looked at hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, including internal affairs files and data on stops, searches and arrests.

It found that of 410 people stopped at least 10 times from 2010 to 2015, 95 percent were black.

With the release of the report, the city agreed to negotiate with the Justice Department a set of reforms over the next few months to fend off a government lawsuit. The reforms will be enforceable by the courts.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Police Commissioner Kevin Davis acknowledged the problems and said they had started improvements even before the report was completed. They promised it will serve as a blueprint for changes.

"Fighting crime and having a better, more respectful relationship with the community are not mutually exclusive endeavors. We don't have to choose one or the other. We're choosing both," said Davis, who was appointed after the riots in April 2015.

The report found officers make a large number of stops, mostly in poor, black neighborhoods, with dubious justification and unlawfully arrest citizens when officers "did not like what those individuals said."

Federal investigators interviewed residents, police officers, prosecutors, public defenders and elected officials, rode along with police on duty and reviewed documents and complaints.

"Nearly everyone who spoke to us ... agreed the Baltimore Police Department needs sustainable reform," Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, said at a news conference.

Among other findings: Blacks account for 63 percent of the city's population and roughly 84 percent of all police stops. From 2010 to 2015, officers stopped 34 black residents 20 times, and seven African-Americans 30 times or more.

In addition to pat-downs, officers perform unconstitutional public strip searches, even of people not under arrest, the report said. It said officers routinely use unreasonable force, including against juveniles and people who aren't dangerous.
August 4, 2014 - Students gather for the first day of classes at Bartlett High School. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Grace Tatter, Chalkbeat Tennessee

For almost all public school students in Tennessee, the dog days of August aren't spent at the swimming pool or summer camp, but back at school.

Many Tennesseans remember school days when they returned to class on the first day after Labor Day. But beginning in the 1980s, the average start date has crept from early September to closer to July as districts search for ways to boost academic outcomes, as well as to address educational inequity.

This year, nearly all Tennessee districts kicked off school in early August, with the earliest start being July 25 and the latest Aug. 17. In Nashville, school started this year with a half day on Aug. 3, while students in Memphis went back Monday. State law prohibits school starts before Aug. 1 unless the local school board votes to start earlier  an option taken this year by 14 districts.

While schools in the Northeast generally start school in early September, those in other regions increasingly are returning to class in August. National experts attribute the shift in school calendars to testing. An earlier start date means students have more time to prepare for end-of-year state tests and Advanced Placement exams  and that testing for the first semester can end before students' winter break.

"Tennessee testing is the first week in May," explains Joe Bass, spokesman for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. "Having as many instructional days before that is going to be a benefit."

There's no research on whether Tennessee districts with earlier start dates have consequently higher test scores. But studies do show that the more time kids spend in school in general, the better their chances of academic success.

In a few cases, the shift to an early August start has been aimed at giving students more than the requisite 180 days in school.

Some districts such as Oak Ridge, Alcoa City and Maryville in East Tennessee operate on a "balanced calendar," with a summer break of eight weeks instead of 12, giving students more short breaks throughout the year. Schools can use some of those breaks as "intersessions" to offer remedial coursework or other academic programs.

District leaders hope this approach protects kids from "summer slide," learning loss that hits low-income kids especially hard during summer breaks. When Metro Nashville moved to a balanced calendar in 2012, it moved up the district's start date by a little more than a week, to the first week of August.

Nashville officials emphasized the potential positive impact of the change on the district's large population of English language learners, whose language skills recede when they're not at school speaking English. Kids who don't have regular access to food also benefit from shorter breaks. When federal funds ran out to pay for intersession for Nashville students, the district abandoned its "balanced" calendar. But the early start date stuck. Nashville's school board has set its annual start date for the Wednesday on or after Aug. 1.

The encroachment of class time on summer days have led to several campaigns from Tennessee's tourism industry to set a statewide uniform start date after Labor Day. In the 1980s, the owners of the now-defunct Opryland USA theme park in Nashville helped to lead the charge  both because of the tourism revenue lost when kids spend August in school and the teenage labor lost when older students go back to school. However, district leaders balked at the proposed state mandate, successfully arguing that the start of school should be a local matter. Similar unsuccessful campaigns raged as recently as 2013.

But more and more, Tennessee kids can't imagine August any other way.

Zekiyah Brown, a fifth-grader at East Nashville Magnet Middle School, said she didn't mind returning to school on Aug. 3. Her mother, Adrienne Hockett, who attended Nashville schools when the school calendar started later in August, doesn't mind either.

"I was excited," recalled Zekiyah as she was finishing her school day on Wednesday, "because I get to go to a new school and meet new people."

Chalkbeat Tennessee is a nonprofit news organization covering educational change in public schools. Read more about Tennessee education news at tn.chalkbeat.org.
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By Joe Scarborough

The Muslim ban, the David Duke denial, the "Mexican" judge flap, the draft dodger denigrating John McCain's military service, the son of privilege attacking an immigrant Gold Star mother and the constant revisionism and lying about past political positions taken are but a few of the lowlights that have punctuated Donald Trump's chaotic chase for the presidency.

Any one of these offenses would have disqualified any other candidate for president. But the Republican nominee remained competitive against a historically weak Democratic nominee on the promise of bringing radical change and dramatic disruption to Washington.

That appears to be changing. Post-convention polls show Trump falling behind by double digits both nationally and in must-win swing states like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Virginia.

And the political ride will only get rockier for Trump in the coming days after he suggested that one way to keep a conservative Supreme Court after Hillary Clinton got elected would be to assassinate her or federal judges. Trump and his supporters have been scrambling wildly all day to explain away the inexplicable, but they can stop wasting their time. The GOP nominee was clearly suggesting that some of the "Second Amendment people" among his supporters could kill his Democratic opponent were she to be elected.

The presidential candidate that House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed tried to explain away his suggestion of an assassination by telling Sean Hannity his comments were meant to unite supporters before the election. It's too bad for Trump and his supporters that his comments related to what Hillary Clinton would do after being elected and nominating Supreme Court justices that gun owners would not like.

We are in uncharted waters, but that does not mean that the way forward is not clear. It is.

The Secret Service should interview Donald Trump and ask him to explain his threatening comments.

Paul Ryan and every Republican leader should denounce in the strongest terms their GOP nominee suggesting conservatives could find the Supreme Court more favorable to their desires if his political rival was assassinated.

Paul Ryan and every Republican leader should revoke their endorsement of Donald Trump. At this point, what else could Trump do that would be worse than implying the positive impact of a political assassination?

The Republican Party needs to start examining quickly its options for removing the Republican nominee.

A bloody line has been crossed that cannot be ignored. At long last, Donald Trump has left the Republican Party few options but to act decisively and get this political train wreck off the tracks before something terrible happens.

Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, hosts the MSNBC show "Morning Joe." He wrote this for the Washington Post.
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By John Lott

Was Donald Trump calling for Hillary Clinton's assassination when he spoke on Tuesday in North Carolina? The New York Times sure seems to think so.

This was Trump's apparently offensive quote: "Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don't know."

Suppose the phrase Second Amendment people had been replaced with any other special-interest group. Would there be any claims that Trump was threatening assassinations?

In a Newsweek interview on Monday, Hillary Clinton excoriated the lobbying power of these very same Second Amendment people. "We need to elect leaders with the courage to stand up to the gun lobby," she declared. It is a remark that she has made time and again. But presumably Clinton isn't suggesting that standing up to the gun lobby takes a special kind of courage because this lobby has a particular capacity for violence?

Based on her stand, shouldn't Clinton's response be that Trump is encouraging Second Amendment people to lobby to block her appointments? Why would anyone claim that he is encouraging her assassination?

The reaction to Trump's statement comes across as a type of political Rorschach test for liberals, revealing their own biases more than anything else. Are people up in arms over Trump's statement because the right to self-defense has been conflated with being able to go around shooting people? Have people been conditioned to take everything literally?

Let's take a brief test.

During his 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama said, "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun." Were you really worried that Obama was talking about real weapons being brought into the U.S. Capitol?

Trump said in January, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters." Do you think that the police should have surrounded Trump to make sure that he didn't start shooting people?

In 2008, Hillary Clinton justified staying in the Democratic nomination contest past the end of May because "we all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California." Was Clinton really suggesting that someone assassinate Obama?

Does anyone seriously believe that Obama or Trump or Clinton were literally threatening actions with a gun?

For those who argue that Trump should have been more careful in making his statement on Tuesday, did Obama and Trump need to specify that they weren't literally talking about real guns being used? Should Clinton have made it clear that she wasn't claiming that NRA members have been actually physically threatening politicians with violence?

Trump was clearly right about what a Clinton presidency would mean for the Second Amendment. Until 2008, Washington, D.C., had a complete handgun ban. It was also a felony to put a bullet in the chamber of a gun. This effectively constituted a complete ban on guns. In District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down these laws.

In June, ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked Clinton about the Heller decision. She said: "I think that for most of our history, there was a nuanced reading of the Second Amendment until the decision by the late Justice (Antonin) Scalia and there was no argument until then that localities and states and the federal government had a right, as we do with every amendment, to impose reasonable regulation."

Clinton went on to talk about her push for expanded background checks, as though the Heller decision was a natural segue. But Heller only concerned complete gun bans. Clinton needs to explain what made those bans "reasonable." Why was it reasonable to imprison someone for five years for defending his family?

If Trump had referred to a group other than Second Amendment supporters on Tuesday, it's unlikely that anyone would have taken these extreme interpretations seriously. But the media mischaracterize Trump's statements at every opportunity and malign individuals who believe in the right to self-defense.

John Lott is the president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and the author of "The War on Guns." He wrote this for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Contact him at johnrlott@crimeresearch.org.
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By Noah Feldman

A century ago, Donald Trump might have gone to prison for suggesting that "the Second Amendment people" might find a way to stop Hillary Clinton's agenda as president. Today, the First Amendment protects him  barely.

It's still a federal crime to threaten the life of the president, and people go to jail for it all the time, despite the apparent abridgment of free speech. But while Trump's words would probably get him a Secret Service visit if he were an ordinary crazy person, they wouldn't lead to prosecution.

The law here is 18 U.S.C. Section 871(a). First passed in 1917 and used to punish threats to Woodrow Wilson's life, it makes it a felony to utter a threat of bodily harm against the president "knowingly and willfully."

Originally directed only against the president, vice president or others in line for the office, the law was subsequently expanded to include "a major candidate for the office of President or Vice President, or a member of the immediate family of such candidate." So Clinton is covered by the law, even though she isn't president.

The U.S. Supreme Court has considered the meaning of the law just once, in the 1969 case of U.S. v. Watts. In a short, unsigned per curiam opinion, the justices said the law was constitutional because "the Nation undoubtedly has a valid, even an overwhelming, interest in protecting the safety of its Chief Executive."

But invoking the First Amendment, the court also said that "a threat must be distinguished from what is constitutionally protected speech." And it reversed the conviction of an 18-year-old who, at a Washington Monument rally, said that if drafted he was "not going. If they ever make me carry a rifle, the first man I want to get in my sights is LBJ." His comment, the court held, was "political hyperbole," not a "true threat."

Was Trump's comment political hyperbole or a threat? It was certainly the former  but whether it was also a true threat is difficult to determine. That's where more recent interpretation of law comes in.

In the 2011 case U.S. v. Bagdasarian, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said that the government must prove two things to get a conviction under the statute. The first is that people hearing or reading about the statement "in context" would consider it "a serious expression of an intent to kill or injure a major candidate for President." This is what lawyers call an "objective" test: It asks in essence what a reasonable person would think the statement means.

This component is a close call when it comes to Trump. Some reasonable people would probably consider his comment about the Second Amendment people a joke; others would consider it a true threat. In criminal law, ties go to the defendant, and Trump probably wouldn't be convicted. But it's conceivable that a jury might think the threat was real.

The second requirement according to the 9th Circuit is that the defendant actually intended "to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual." It's hard to prove such a subjective intent, and that alone would suffice to get Trump off the hook.

There's also the technicality that Trump didn't threaten to kill Clinton himself; he suggested that others might want to "do something." There's a district court case from 1945 that says the law "does not penalize the imagining, wishing or hoping that the act will be committed by someone else." Trump could certainly defend himself by saying that, at the most, he speculated that others might act  although that wouldn't necessarily protect him against a charge of inciting violence.

To be sure, the fact that Trump's words are likely protected political speech doesn't mean that they would have no consequences, at least if they had been uttered by someone else.

The Secret Service investigates a huge number of threats against presidents  although it doesn't disclose exactly how many. Prosecutions go forward even without very much proof that the defendant was really going to do anything. Just this past January, a Wisconsin man was convicted of threatening President Barack Obama's life even though the only weapon he owned was a slingshot.

When the law was first passed, Trump could have gone to jail. In 1918, a federal appeals court sustained a conviction against a man who said, "Wilson is a wooden-headed son of a bitch. I wish Wilson was in hell, and if I had the power I would put him there."

And in those days, prosecutors were happy to go after presidential candidates. Eugene V. Debs, the Socialist candidate for president, was convicted of encouraging resistance to the draft in violation of the Espionage Act. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, and he served time in jail.

It's a good thing that free-speech law has progressed over the last hundred years. But it's genuinely worrisome that we even have to discuss the question in connection to the comments of a major party candidate for president.

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg View columnist.
Press Release:

Contact: Daniel Keylin

Daniel Keylin daniel_keylin@tillis.senate.gov

The current Supreme Court vacancy is incredibly unique. It was created in February of an election year as Americans were casting ballots to elect the next president. It's a vacancy that will determine the direction of the court for decades.Given that rare set of circumstances, the Senate Republican majority made a promise to use the vacancy as an opportunity to let the American people have a voice. Voters - not a lame-duck president - should decide the composition of the highest court in the land.President Obama, Democratic leaders and left-leaning editorial boards aren't thrilled with giving the American people a say. They have gone so far as to claim, falsely, that the Senate has an obligation to fill the vacancy before the next president takes office.They should pick up a copy of the Constitution and read it. While the president is given the authority to nominate a potential justice, our Founding Fathers gave the Senate advise and consent authority. The Senate has several options on how to act - including withholding consideration of a nomination altogether.While Democrats express outrage over the Senate's decision to give the American people a voice, they ignore their own double standard.It was former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Joe Biden who, in the midst of the 1992 presidential election, declared that the Senate should not hold hearings or votes if a Supreme Court seat opened up during the campaign.He predicted thatBiden's remarks may have been made decades ago, but they're entirely applicable to the current vacancy.When Americans vote in November, they not only will elect the next president and Congress. They also will determine the direction of the Supreme Court, an institution that has a dramatic impact on the lives of every single American.This is about principle, not the person whom President Obama has nominated to fill the vacancy.That is why the Senate will be keeping its promise to give the American people a voice.
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Donald Trump talks about the H-1B visa program on the campaign trail and calls for changes; Hillary Clinton does not.

And yet, even with that kind of attention in a presidential election year -- and two different reform bills floating around Congress -- the H-1B visa program is unlikely to see any significant changes anytime soon.

That's how national correspondent Patrick Thibodeau, who covers the hot-button issue for Computerworld, sees it. He would know: he's written extensively about how Disney and Southern California Edison used visa-holding workers to replace their U.S. counterparts.

Thibodeau joined Executive News Editor Ken Mingis and Senior News Editor Johanna Ambrosio for a lively look at what's going on with the program, how outsourcing is affecting IT jobs and what other changes are buffeting the IT industry.

Oh, and he's got blunt advice for Congress on how to turn things around.

For an audio podcast only, click play (or catch up on all episodes) below.

Happy listening, and please, send feedback or suggestions for future topics to us. We'd love to hear from you.
If you've been following Android for long, you probably have pretty pleasant memories of the original Motorola Droid.

The 2009 device was by no means the first Android phone to come out, but it was arguably the first one that mattered. Up until its arrival, Android was a small-scale project known mostly by techie-type folks (you know, like us). The Droid rocketed into America with a massive marketing campaign that took on the then-untouchable iPhone in a then-unthinkable way -- and boy, did it ever deliver.

Suddenly, Android (or "Droid," at least) was a household name. Suddenly, Android device sales were something worth watching. Suddenly, Android itself was a gold mine waiting to be tapped.

As one strikingly handsome prophet wrote at the time:

In the grand picture, the Motorola Droid is only a tiny part of the equation. Its relative success signals the beginning of Android being a serious contender in the smartphone market -- and that's something bigger than any iPhone-crushing ad can convey.

Man, that guy was good.

So why the huckleberry am I telling you all of this now? Good question, Myrtle. You see, I was determined to move back into my original Motorola Droid for a little while this week. No joke: After spending a few days revisiting my 2013 phone for perspective last week, I thought it'd be interesting to take things a step further and see what it'd be like to use the ancient-seeming first-gen Droid in 2016.

With the release of Verizon's 7,427th Droid-branded device this summer (I think that number's right, anyway -- I lost track somewhere between the Droid X2 and the Droid Razr HD Maxx 4G 0.7), now seemed like the perfect time for such an experiment. I charged the phone over the weekend, charged myself as much as possible Sunday night, and started the week full of energy and ready to explore.

There was just one problem: No matter how many times or for how long I pressed the Droid's power button, the damn thing wouldn't turn on. And nothing I tried, including various button-pressing combinations and more hours on the charger, made any difference. Yes, indeed: My dear old friend appears to have blinked its menacing red eye at me for the final time.

But hey, I've never been one to let a minor challenge stand in my way. Let's do this, shall we?

What it's like to use a (nonfunctional) original Motorola Droid in 2016

Goodness gracious, does this phone feel tiny. Well, tiny and chunky at the same time, really. Kind of like me during my awkward middle school phase.

The Droid's 3.7-in. screen seems downright miniscule by today's standards. It's also rather dark -- much darker than I remember. In fact, I can't make out much of anything on it beyond a few fingerprint smudges. I guess that 854-x-480 resolution really doesn't hold up in a world filled with super-quadra-fragilistic HD expectations.

The Droid's slideout physical keyboard is a nice surprise. I used to love this thing back in the day. It still feels great to type on, though I must say I'm rather disappointed with its accuracy. No matter what I type, nothing ever shows up on the screen.

Typing on the (nonfunctional) phone's keyboard proved to be quite frustrating

I feel that same sense of befuddlement when revisiting the phone's camera: The Droid's 5-megapixel shooter seemed wildly impressive for its time. Now, though? I've tried to take tons of pictures with this phone -- aiming it at everything from flowers to falafels and pressing the physical shutter button until my fingers felt fatigued -- but every single image puts nothing but blank grayness on the device's perpetually dark display.

A sample of what I saw when trying to take photos with the (nonfunctional) original Motorola Droid

As for the software, Android 2.2 Froyo is far less colorful than I remember -- though it appears in hindsight, I was wrong about one thing: People always used to say you couldn't find any apps on Android, and I always said that was a load of hooey. But now, on this 2009 phone, I can't find any apps at all. In fact, I've spent the past 17 minutes swiping and tapping wildly on its screen, and absolutely nothing has happened.

Maybe it's just the phone's limited power; after all, this was back when cores were single (gasp!), RAM was less than a gig (gulp!), and G's were only 3 (wheeze!). But I've gotta tell you, looking at it now, this device is just not responsive. At all. Sheesh.

All in all, it's safe to say my experience using this (nonfunctional) original Motorola Droid has made me appreciate just how far mobile technology has evolved. Current Android phones are so much more advanced and effective -- in terms of display visibility, photo quality, responsiveness, you name it. The difference is almost unreal.

We sure have come a long way, gang. We sure have come a long way.
Data scientists have a lot of tools at their disposal, but not all of them are equally accessible. Aiming to put IBM's Watson AI within closer reach, analytics firm Columbus Collaboratory on Thursday released a new open-source R extension called CognizeR.

R is an open-source language that's widely used by data scientists for statistical and analytics applications. Previously, data scientists would have had to exit R to tap Watson's capabilities, coding the calls to Watson's application programming interfaces (APIs) in another language, such as Java or Python.

Now, CognizeR lets them tap into Watson's so-called "cognitive" artificial-intelligence services without leaving their native development environment.

"Data scientists can now seamlessly tap into our cognitive services to unlock data that lives in unstructured forms like chats, emails, social media, images, and documents," wrote Rob High, vice president and CTO for Watson, in a blog post.

Watson services for language translation, personality insights, tone analysis, speech-to-text conversion, and visual recognition are among the first to become available through CognizeR.

The new tool is now available for download from Columbus Collaboratorys GitHub repository.

"What's really interesting is that people will now be able to take their preexisting R models and embed them in Watson," said David Schubmehl, a research director with IDC. "This will give data scientists a leg up, since they don't have to restart what they've been working on."

In particular, the new extension will open Watson up to data scientists who have been working with predictive analytics models -- "a category of folks that previously haven't been able to work with it as easily as other tools on their plate," Schubmehl said.

"IBM is putting a huge emphasis on its analytics portfolio, and applying Watson is one of their anchor offerings," added Nik Rouda, a senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group, via email. "The goal is to use 'cognitive' computing to combine machine learning with assessments of confidence and human wisdom for feedback."

Given that R is one of the most popular languages for data science today, including machine-learning applications, "this fills a prior gap in which many data scientists couldnt directly use their preferred analytics tools with Watson," Rouda said.
Wheels turning and forklifts filledthats one measure of success in any warehouse. If you can increase the amount of product picked up and put away, the more productive and cost efficient you are.

For Pittsburgh-based retailer Giant Eagle, the key to making that happen is to operate vision-guided, autonomous vehiclesrobotsin its distribution centers.

+ Also on Network World: How IoT helps transplant surgeons track organ shipments +

By eliminating manned travel of pallet trucks in its Pittsburgh and Cleveland grocery distribution centers, Giant Eagle increased productivity between 10 percent and 30 percent, said Joe Hurley, senior vice president of supply chain at Giant Eagle.

The company operates between two and four Seegrid vision-guided vehicles in each facility per day, per shift. Theyre used to haul freight from the front dock (inbound freight) to the particular aisle where a manned high-lift vehicle then puts the product into a reserve rack. And they do this continually 24/7.

Each warehouse is like a mini city, Hurley explained, with robots, manned vehicles and pedestrians (105 to 120 workers, depending on the shift) all working in the same space.

In Pittsburgh, its a 440,000-sq.-ft. distribution center that has 28 aisles, about 32,000 pick and reserve slots and holds about 8,000 stock keeping units, he said. And the robots are integrated with our different team members. There are no segregated aisles. Theyre integrated into the workflow with the team members operating double-pallet jacks, single-pallet jacks or high-lifts.

Further, each center does outbound distribution the same time it does inbound. It does not have dedicated receiving shifts or dedicated selection shifts.

Its almost like controlled chaos, Hurley says.

Controlling the chaos while maximizing productivity

The functionality of the Seegrid vehicles helps keep the order and allows for maximized productivity, said Jeff Christensen, vice president of product and services at Pittsburgh-based Seegrid. Unlike traditional, automated guided vehicles that use in-ground guide wires, paint on the floor, or reflectors and are restricted to specific paths, Seegrids vehicles can travel anywhere in a warehouse. Companies do not have to modify their infrastructure to operate them.

Weve taken a different approach. We take pictures, he said.

Each vehicle has five stereo-pair cameras that operate similar to human eyes. With each pair, the cameras are a known distance apart from each other, and they take pictures at the exact same time. The slight differences between the two cameras (its eyes) tells the vehicle how far away something isgives it depth perception.

Taking pictures from these five pairs of cameras allows us to have thousands of points in three-dimensional space at every moment along the way as the vehicle drives, Christensen said.

In a vehicles initial use, a worker guides the truck through the facility and the vehicle takes pictures all around it, including the floor and ceiling. It finds data from those images and records it. It maps the facility.

Theres nothing you have to put in the facility. You dont have to change the infrastructure at all. You just take pictures, Christensen said. Then when you effectively hit play, from what youve recorded, it takes those pictures again and compares what the camera sees to what the cameras saw earlier. And that is how it can navigate and drive autonomously.

This video shows how Seegrids autonomous, vision-guided vehicles operate in one of Giant Eagles distribution centers:

Because of the amount of data the cameras pull in, the vehicles are able to adjust to most changes, Christensen said.

We have sufficient data that allows us to be very robust to a lot of changes in the environment, he said. On average, half of everything in an environment can change, and we can still navigate.

If an environment changes enough that the robot wont work, customers can retrain the vehicle in the segment where the change is and the vehicle rebuilds the map from there.

Maximizing productivity and reducing costs

Each vehicle has sensors to gather data. And all of the datasuch as the size of the load picked up, how long it takes to deliver the load, where the vehicle is in the facility, vehicle downtimeare uploaded to the Seegrid Supervisor application. Hosted on site or in the cloud, the app allows customers to track metrics, issue alerts if theres a problem with the vehicle and adjust the environment if needed.

For example, factory managers need to know how many items vehicles moved. They use takt times, such as The loop to move from my warehouse to the start of the assembly line and back needs to be completed every 43 minutes to keep my production standard. Managers need to know if the vehicle is within that accepted timeframe. The Seegrid Supervisor can help them track that.

Those operation metrics are really important, Christensen said. Once you go from manual movement and manual driving to autonomous, you gain in predictability of whats being moved when. Its a huge economic benefit.

Hurley confirmed that his facilities have seen improved productivity using the vision-guided vehicles and the data they gather.

We know everything about what the robots are hauling, how theyre hauling it, the number of routes they do per day, he said. We know that when wheels are turning and forks are filled, were taking manned travel out of the facility. Our high-lifts alone travel about 600 miles a day. So, as much as we can take that 600 miles and make them automated miles, with improved productivity, its good for us.

The data also helps ensure the robots operate in the most efficient ways possible.

You dont want to flood the robot, nor do you want to starve the robot. So, for example, the data taught us how to  keep the robot fed in a steady pace to prevent downtime, Hurley said.

Hurley was also able to prevent congestion in aisles.

We did that with our high-lifts because you dont want to have 10 high-lifts in a certain aisle because youre receiving paper all day, he said. The robots allow us to define that even more.

Preventing accidents

Sensors on robots also prevent accidentssomething Giant Eagles workers were particularly concerned with when the company decided to bring in the vision-guided, autonomous vehicles, Hurley said.

They have a laser-based sensorthe failsafe sensor near the floorto detect personnel. And another laser-based sensor specifically for other obstructions that come into play.

We call it a light curtain, Christensen said. We bounce a laser off of some mirrors to bend the light down, creating a curtain around the truck, so it sees other obstructions in addition to a person who is walking to it.

The vehicles also sound a horn at the end of an aisle to alert workers that it is entering the main aisle of the warehouse.

Hurley said Giant Eagles workers, which are part of the Teamsters Union, needed convincing that the freely roaming vehicles were safe. The company had previously used a system in which guide wires were put into the concrete floor and vehicles traveled a specific path.

We had to make the workers feel comfortable working with unmanned vehicles that werent in a tight environment, Hurley said. We had to get the workforce to understand that the safety curtains would work."

Workers had to get comfortable knowing that if a person gets into that zone, or if the vehicle is programmed to take a turn, it will reduce its speed. And if anything gets into the vehicle's path, it will stop.

Hurley said the robots are very predictable, and their controlled features make them safer than human-operated vehicles.

The robot doesnt make decisions like a human where it will veer off path to pass someone or take a shortcut to beat the labor standard, he said. When something gets in front of it, it will stop. It wont try to think and make an alternative move that may hurt someone.

After thousands of hours operating the Seegrid vehicles, Giant Eagle hasnt had one injury caused by them, Hurley said.

Future-proofing their environment

Its a six-figure investment to purchase a Seegrid vehicle, but the economic payback in large factories and warehouses is well under two yearsoften under one year, Christensen said. Its flexible automation that reduces the cost of materials handling and allows customers to keep using the vehicles should their manufacturing process and facility change.

If you are investing in a tool that could be used in the process today and could be used for the process tomorrowwhatever that isthen you are future-proofing automating your environment. Thats another future economic benefit, he said.

The vehicles also help reduce costs for things that are considered non-value-added, such as material handling, Christensen said.

If manufacturers can be more cost-effective in their material handling, then that is healthier for the whole plant, he said.

Hurley said some workers were initially concerned their jobs might be replaced with automated vehicles. But they saw what the robots were doing to protect the interest of the company in the long term. Also, they have learned new skills, such as how to maintain the robots.

We have an interesting workforce, Hurley said. Were a large regional player, but our folks understand if we dont introduce new technology, well go by way of the dinosaurs.

This story, "Self-driving warehouse robots give Giant Eagle a lift" was originally published by Network World .
Microsoft today repudiated an early retirement date for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 support, saying that it will patch those operating systems on PCs running Intel's Skylake silicon until 2020 and 2023, respectively.

The move was a complete rollback of a January degree that Microsoft called a "clarification" of its support policy. Under the January plan, Microsoft would have ended most support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 on July 17, 2017, if the operating systems were powering machines equipped with Intel's now-current Skylake processor family.

At the time, Microsoft attributed the decision to Windows 7's age and the hassle that Microsoft and OEMs would have to go through to ensure the 2009 operating system ran on Intel's latest architecture.

In March, Microsoft retreated from the original mandate, saying then that it was extending the support drop-dead date by a year, to July 18, 2018. After that date, Microsoft said, it and its computer-making partners would not guarantee that they would revise device drivers to support Windows 7 and 8.1 on newer hardware.

Under both original and revised plans, Skylake-powered PCs that were on a Microsoft-curated exempt list would receive only "critical" security updates -- those patching the most serious flaws -- after the deadlines. Skylake devices not on the exempt list would get nothing.

Today's announcement invalidated the entire proposal from January, with Microsoft essentially saying "Never mind."

"We have extended the support period from July 17, 2018 to the end of support dates for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1; and we will provide all applicable security updates," wrote Shad Larsen, a director of Windows business planning, on a company blog.

Those end-of-support dates have been set in stone for years: Jan. 14, 2020 (for Windows 7) and Jan. 10, 2023 (Windows 8.1).

Notably, Microsoft not only retained the original retirement dates for Skylake PCs running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, but promised that the idea of delivering only critical updates is also dead. "6th Gen Intel Core devices [that's Skylake] on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be supported with all applicable security updates until the end of support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1," Larsen said [emphasis added].

The one support rule that Microsoft did not reverse was its decision to support only Windows 10 on Intel's Skylake successor, an architecture dubbed "Kaby Lake;" and on AMD's next-generation "Bristol Ridge." That remained in place today.

Microsoft obliquely acknowledged that the retreat had been prompted by customers. "We recognize that, in some instances, customers have a few systems that require longer deployment timeframes [to Windows 10]," Larsen said.

But some computer makers -- OEMs, or "original equipment manufacturers" -- had also criticized the shortening of support. In March, for example, Lenovo implied that it disagreed with Microsoft, likely concerned about losing sales if customers were uncertain whether they could complete migrations from Windows 7 to Windows 10 by the initial 2017 deadline.
Intel's Atom chips are on their way out of mobile devices, and the next generation of the chip line will instead be targeted toward drones, self-driving cars, and IoT devices.

The new Atom chips will retain the line's focus on low power consumption, with an emphasis on graphics and visual computing. The chip line, to be announced next week at Intel Developer Forum, will be used to maneuver cars, drones, and robots and to also help them recognize objects.

Many Atom mobile and server chips have been on Intel's chopping block. The troubled chip's future now is in the growing markets of IoT and virtual reality.

The chips will integrate into devices with the company's 3D RealSense cameras, according to a technical session description at IDF. That points to the chips also being used in low-power virtual reality headsets.

Intel will lay out its VR and augmented reality strategy at the developer show, and RealSense is expected to be at the center of many announcements. Intel will show off its own version of Microsoft's HoloLens called Remote EyeSight, a set of head-worn AR smart glasses for remote collaboration.

Expect the bread-and-butter products for the new Atom chips to be smart home and industrial IoT devices. The chips, according to the technical session page, will also work in devices with "advanced displays," which could refer to information kiosks or digital advertising displays.

Intel declined to comment on the next-generation Atom chips, the details, or the underlying architecture. The chips could be based on the Broxton architecture, conceived by Intel originally as a way to quickly design and release new Atom chips to catch up with market leader ARM in smartphones and tablets.

The new chips ensure the survival of the Atom product line, which had an uncertain future. Atom chips for mobile devices were the first on the chopping block after Intel announced plans earlier this year to lay off 12,000 employees and restructure operations to focus on servers, connectivity, IoT, and other areas.

However, Intel is still using Atom chips like Sofia -- which it was supposed to cut -- for point-of-sale systems and industrial IoT devices.

The Atom architecture called Goldmont will be used in upcoming Celeron and Pentium PC chips code-named Apollo Lake. Those chips were originally based on the same architecture used in high-end Core PC processors.

The new Atom chips could go into AC power-connected devices for digital signs, cash registers, and casino gaming machines, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

"It won't be for small, battery devices," McGregor said.

Intel's done a good job of scaling down the size and power consumption for x86 architecture with Atom, but the chip isn't as power efficient as ARM or MIPS for low-power devices, McGregor said.

Atom, in a way, is coming back to embedded devices -- which it was originally designed for -- but an ill-advised mobile route has given the chip a bad name, McGregor said.

"They have to rebrand it. There's so much failure around it," McGregor said.

The Atom chips were at the forefront of the netbook explosion from 2007 to 2010, then were tweaked for tablets and smartphones. Atom smartphones never really took off, and in a desperate move, Intel in 2014 said it would ship 40 million tablet chips, then hit 46 million chips. But by the time Intel found its groove in tablets, that market started declining.
Tom Campbell

With fewer than 90 days before the November 8th elections it is fitting to consider who can and will vote and what can be done to encourage voter turnout.Article VI of the North Carolina Constitution speaks to who can vote. Any natural born or naturalized citizen over 18 who has resided in our state for more than one year and in the voting district 30 days prior to an election is entitled to vote in any election in our state. The Constitution further stipulates that the General Assembly can enact laws governing the registration of eligible voters, providing that they must be able to read and write any section of the Constitution in the English language. It disqualifies convicted felons from registering.Our legislature passed sweeping election reform laws in 2013 requiring, among other things, voter identification. It eliminated same-day voting, out-of-precinct voting and reduced the number of days for early voting. Legal challenges to these reforms are ongoing, however recent federal court rulings overturned most of them on the grounds they restricted voting, especially among minority groups.Who will vote is another matter. In North Carolina only 65 percent of registered voters have cast ballots in recent presidential election years, far better than the national average, where only 53.6 percent of eligible citizens voted in 2012. Those who vote in lower percentages tend to be younger, earn lower incomes and are immigrants and minorities.In the most recent CNN program, Fareed Zakaria Global Public Square, Zakaria reported Turkey has an 84 percent turnout, Belgium scores 87 percent and 90 percent of eligible citizens in Australia vote. They are among the 26 nations where voting is compulsory; those failing to cast ballots are subject to fines. Research indicates citizens in these nations are better informed about candidates and issues.Zakaria postulated that perhaps it is time to consider compulsory voting in America. The backlash to this proposal was immediate and negative from those saying the last thing our country needs is another government mandate. While compulsory voting might improve participation it is problematic that Congress would ever pass such a proposal. Nevertheless, we should consider what could be done to improve voting percentages.One simple first step would be to follow Oregon's example by automatically registering someone to vote when they obtain a driver's license, register for government assistance or get a state ID.Why do we vote on Tuesdays, when most have to work? This archaic 1845 law ruled out Sundays because it was the Sabbath day and Wednesdays because it was market day. In that era it took most of a day to travel to and from polling locations so Tuesday was chosen. Why not change Election Day to Saturdays when more people aren't working? We could experiment with options like allowing workers a half day off from jobs, providing free transportation to the polls or even giving incentives, like a tax credit. We could try online voting and other innovations.There are some who appear to want to keep others away from the polls but we fought to get the right to vote and we should fight just as hard to encourage maximum voter participation. The best choices are made when the most voices are heard.
Garvan Walshe is a former national and international security policy adviser to the Conservative Party.

Controllers at Holborn tube station in London have made an surprising discovery: that if everyone is made to stand on the escalators, instead of having people stand on the right and walk on the left, more people can be got through the escalators (because there are usually big gaps between people walking).

Theres a word for this kind of thinking: socialism. It deprives people of freedom  in this case, to choose to walk up if they want to get somewhere more quickly, or to stand if they cant or dont want to or cant. On Holborns socialist escalators, everyone stands.

In the narrow world of escalator operation, this achieves its goal: putting more people on the escalators, at a cost of nobody being able to get out quickly. In this, its like comprehensive education: sure, nobody is left to rot in a secondary modern, but nor is anyone stretched like they are at a grammar school. Actual schools, of course, depart from this caricature  yet this is, or should be, a basic philosophical difference between the parties: does the school system exist to equalise opportunity, or maximise it?

By hinting she is open to new grammar schools, Theresa May has allowed the debate about school selection, stifled since David Cameron ruled out building new ones, to revive. To have this debate properly, some myths have to be dispelled.

First, all schools that are oversubscribed cant avoid selecting pupils, and the school admissions code prescribes in considerable detail how it is to be done. The academy movements soundbite that we dont want schools to select pupils, we want pupils to select schools doesnt work without significant over-capacity, and is plainly impractical in rural areas where there is usually only one secondary school around.

Nor should the grammar school system of the 1950s, designed for a very different society and economy, simply be replicated now. To take a few obvious flaws: when 50 per cent of a generation is supposed to go to university, selecting just ten per cent for an academic schooling doesnt make sense. We now know that pupils develop at different rates, and a one-off exam at age eleven could be replaced by a series of tests, as it is in the Netherlands. Nor need there be a two-way division into academic and technical school systems. The curriculum is far more varied than it used to be, so there is no reason for all schools to select on the same criteria.

Assuming that we are not to recreate a system in which academic tests define who gets into which schools, this shouldnt none the less be almost the only factor excluded. It should still be possible to make it part of what is now. rightly. a much more complex admissions process (because schools have taken on a lot of the work that used to be done by extended families and stay at home mothers).

Indeed, schools are more than just exam factories; theyre social institutions. Parents naturally worry about getting the best grades and opportunities of their children, but they are also anxious, often with good reason, that other parents wont nearly care as much as they do, and will bring up their kids badly. They want to be sure their children will be safe from bullying and violence. Theyre scared that they will fall in with the wrong crowd, and end up pregnant or in prison.

Even if, from the abstract perspective of a specialist in social policy or the parent who sends their children to an independent school, badly-behaved children from difficult backgrounds are more in need of the states attention, it is difficult to explain to other parents why their child should suffer as a result because simply they cant afford the fees, or a house in leafy area. An element of academic selection provides both an incentive to play by the rules that will stand children in good stead in later life  and a means of escaping those who dont.

The comprehensive monopoly on admissions has done so much to impede opportunity in the name of an equality that levels down. Its time to bring it to an end.
In June Paul Goodman, our editor, argued that the UK needed a general election as well as a new Prime Minister, in order to refresh the Governments mandate in light of the seismic Brexit vote.

This mornings Times () sees Tim Montgomerie, formerly of this parish, taking up that call.

He argues that the Prime Minister faces an open goal, in electoral terms, and an enhanced majority would both help her deliver an ambitious Government agenda and provide some much-needed shock therapy to a Labour Party that currently looks set to re-elect Jeremy Corbyn as its leader.

Other commentators, such as John Rentoul, are also sceptical of the Governments no early election chatter  May will be aware of the Gordon Brown lesson that once youve hinted that an early election might happen, you pretty much have to hold one.

But Rentoul is sceptical of the mechanism Tim has advanced, and there is some debate about the best way that the Prime Minister might circumnavigate the FTPA. Below are four possibilities, in descending order of realism. We leave it to the reader to decide whether, regardless of the merits of an early election, it is practical to hold one.

Vote of No Confidence

Rentouls preferred course, and probably the one least dependent on the good graces of the Opposition.

May could engineer a vote of no confidence in the present administration, and as the Tories have a majority no alternative Government would have even a technical possibility of commanding the House.

The obvious problem with this is that it involves the Tories voting themselves out of office, which could be awkward to explain on the doorstep to the huge majority of voters who wont be up to speed on the technical details.

However, it is the surest route to an early election available.

Two-thirds vote to dissolve the House

The FTPA does have provisions for un-fixing the term, but requires a two-thirds majority to dissolve Parliament early. This was intended to provide a cage to hold the Tories and Liberal Democrats together.

Could the Government get that many votes? They could probably corral Tory MPs with the enticing prospect of an election held prior to the boundary review, although that isnt certain.

It also depends on what Labour do. The Opposition seem unlikely to vote for an election in which all the polls suggest they face annihilation.

On the other hand, it would also be politically difficult for Labour MPs to vote to keep the Tories in office. If Corbyn voted for an election and moderate/right-wing MPs voted to keep May in power, their position inside the party could completely collapse.

Provided the Opposition were willing to cooperate, this would be the most straightforward way forward.

Amend the Act

This is the mechanism Tim proposes: pass an amendment to the FTPA allowing for an election in, say, 2017. Yet this requires pretty much the same process as repealing the Act does, including  crucially  affirmation by the House of Lords.

One might argue that it would be astonishing for the upper house to vote down a motion for a democratic election which had passed the Commons  but it would be bold to bet so heavily against the shamelessness of opposition peers at the moment.

Rentoul certainly believes that the Lords would do all they could to delay it  and if the amendment were held up until within a month of the date it mandates an election for, it is effectively vetoed.

Repeal the Act

There is a strong case to be made that whilst a fixed-term Parliament was a political necessity during the Coalition, it is not a good addition to our constitution on a permanent basis.

Even during the one Parliament in which it was needed, we saw how it broke the UKs organic processes of political renewal, leading to a year of stagnation as the parties sat out the gap between the natural conclusion of the Coalitions term and its legally-required one.

Yet like any reform that places so high a value on tidiness the Act has plenty of support too, and any repeal effort would be controversial and time consuming. With it coming up for review in 2020 anyway, this must be the least likely route by some distance.
The Yellowstone Art Museum is presenting "Jill Brody: Hidden in Plain Sight," a new exhibit that examines an often-misunderstood rural community, the Hutterites.

The show opens Sept. 1 and is up through Dec. 30. The photographs reveal everyday moments from life in Liberty County Hutterite communities through Brody's large-scaled photographs. An opening reception is set for Sept. 1, and an artists talk is scheduled for Sept. 22 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Members of the centuries-old Hutterite group live among us, yet separately. We see them, know of their unique colonies, and occasionally do business with them, yet we understand little of their history and the nature of the way of life they follow.

Like so many minority groups, the Hutterites have suffered persecution and hostility throughout their history, from their earliest days in the 16th century to the present. Theirs is a group that is both ethnic and religious in its origins, yet their essential human kinship with those of us who live in the contemporary, technology-driven world is not evident to everyone.

People think we are ignorant because we only go to school through eighth grade, and because we dont go out of the colony very much," a young Hutterite woman told Brody. "But here we learn from the time we are little children to care for each other and live in peace. So why would we go out when we already have what other people want?

If anything is commonly known about Hutterite colonies, it is their reputation for being self-contained and private. So much more is the privilege, then, to be able to view this selection of photographs by Brody, a photographer who earned the trust and support of the Hutterite colonies to the degree that they allowed her to document their daily lives and share her photographs with audiences who wish to build their understanding of the broad diversity of ways of life among people.

Brody has a long history of photo-documentary work in Montana. She is a professional whose attention to detail and thoughtful composition have earned much praise. Brody approached her work with the Hutterites as she had her previous projects  with careful observation, patience and empathy.

As former senior curator at the Missoula Art Museum, Stephen Glueckert, has stated, Brody is a genuine artist, true to herself and to her audience. Her work helps clarify ideas, concepts and imagery that have emerged from the isolation of the West.

"Hidden in Plain Sight" was originally organized by the Missoula Art Museum and traveled the state under the auspices of the Montana Art Gallery Directors Association. The presentation at the YAM is under special arrangement with the artist and is sponsored by an anonymous donor, Dr. Stephen and Marilyn Kramer, Dave and Cynthia Hummel, and the Stapleton Gallery.

For more information, visit the museums website www.artmuseum.org.
One of the most recognizable voices in rock music, Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down, is sitting on his back porch in Nashville with the country tune Meet Me in Montana running through his head.

Then he starts to sing the Dan Seals song over the phone.

I love Montana, Arnold told The Billings Gazette. I cant even think of a prettier place.

The hard rock band 3 Doors down is playing MontanaFair at 7 p.m. on Aug. 14 with Theory of a Deadman opening the show at Rimrock Auto Arena.

Arnold promises they will perform four or five new songs off the 2016 album, Us and the Night.

Some bands establish what they are going to play and play the same set every night. Were not that band. We play some songs that people arent used to hearing and that people who see us multiple times on the tour havent heard yet.

But they also play the hits, including "When I'm Gone" and "Kryptonite."

Arnold said a group of about 75 hard-core fans tends to follow the tour. He sees them in the crowd and always appreciates a friendly face up front.

Thats one of my favorite things about touring  the fans. But I have a hard time calling them that because they are more like our friends.

A native of Mississippi, which is where the band formed in 1996, Arnold likes kicking back on his 56-acre spread outside Nashville. His American bulldog, Harley, is sitting beside him during his morning of phone interviews and Arnold is looking out at a huge tree that fell over in a storm.

I was going to the beach, but instead Ive been sawing up that tree. Theres always something that needs done here, and if there isnt, you can always cut grass.

Arnold said he is inspired by life and tries to convey real-life stories in his lyrics.

"I don't think people like to hear happy songs all the time."

When people connect with a song, its a big deal for Arnold.

"I've had multiple people over the years come up and say, a song meant something to them. It's usually 'Away from the Sun.' I had one guy tell me he had a gun in his hand, listening to that song and decided he didn't want to do it."

Arnold and 3 Doors Down created The Better Life Foundation in 2003 as a way to help give children in need a better life. Each year, 3 Doors Down hosts a show to raise money for the charity, inviting acts like Shinedown and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Music is definitely medicine, he said.
A move to divest itself of management over Ackley Lake State Park is one of the topics that the Montana State Parks and Recreation Board will consider next week.

The board is meeting at First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will be held in the park visitor center in Ulm.

Other items on the board's agenda are: the North Shore Flathead Lake WMA/State Park agricultural lease, a proposed biennial fee rule to raise park rates, Lewis and Clark Caverns concession lease terms, capital improvements over $5,000 and Recreational Trails Grant awards.

Public comment for items not on the agenda is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.

To view the board's entire agenda, go to http://stateparks.mt.gov/about-us/parksBoard.html
Though the Barbasol at least saved us from having to watch Newman cram dinosaur embryos up his ass.

And the latest entry in the franchise, Jurassic World, is no different. We've talked before about how this film makes no sense, and also how it almost contained a provocative shit-slathering scene, but we haven't yet mentioned its devotion to the art of shilling. There's a Starbucks in the park, and a Brookstone, and an IMAX theater. Also, many scenes feel like they were shot by a parent whose kid is playing the Mercedes-Benz logo in a school play.

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"You stole the show, Mercedes."

But there's one aspect of the Jurassic Park franchise you'd expect companies wouldn't want their products featured: as the technology. You know, since the only thing we really expect from a Jurassic Park movie is to see technology fail and the resulting dinosaur calamities. And yet, despite that, Samsung still really wanted to be the ones supplying phones for all the park employees, the ones that seem great at first ...

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... until they start dropping calls, which leads to two kids almost being eaten.
What's the worst thing your school has ever done? Removed the vending machines? Canceled Taco Tuesday? Went with "Tropical Paradise" for a prom theme, instead of your suggestion, "Mad Max World"? Consider yourself lucky: "Jessa," a student at Kenya's Strathmore University, wishes she had those kinds of problems. Her school ordered security forces to open fire on campus in order to simulate a terrorist attack back in November 2015. Sadly, while the attack itself was fake, the dozens of injuries and one fatality it caused were all too real. We asked Jessa to tell us more about what happened on that day. She said that ...

5 There Was Basically No Warning That It Was A Drill

"On the day of the attack, I had just left the Students Centre to go for lunch when a friend I was with received a call from someone at the school," Jessa recalls. "The caller was running out of there because there were gunshots coming from the Students Centre, where I'd been just a few moments ago. A couple of armed masked men wearing white overalls were shooting going up the stairs. ... We decided to check Twitter, which is where we finally found out what was going on: It was a security drill."

That's right, Strathmore decided to announce their drill on Twitter after it already began, which was possibly the least helpful thing ever. They might as well have announced it through MySpace.

And you might be thinking: "Well, duh, you have to keep these sorts of drills a surprise" but ... do you? Do you really? We don't conduct fire drills this way, so why keep a fake terrorist attack a secret? Doesn't that make it more of a terror test than a drill? And if so, what's the point of that? Actually, the better question is: why didn't Strathmore at least tell the staff about it?
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This past week the International Federation of Fly Fishers held its annual fly-fishing fair in Livingston. The fair had all sorts of presentations: casting instruction, fly-casting competition, fly-casting instructor certification, fly-tying seminars, fly-tying contests, seminars, on-stream workshops and a host of other activities.

Exhibitors touting their wares were scattered about the Livingston High School gymnasium. Bamboo rod makers, fly-tying material vendors, fly-fishing paraphernalia, fly-fishing jewelry, clothing manufacturers, conservation groups, and lots of other fly-fishing related booths were in evidence.

Several of the workshops were on-stream, but hoot owl closures limited the workshops to fishing the waters until 2 in the afternoon or going higher up the streams to where the closures weren't in effect. Still, the classes on small streams tactics went well on Mill Creek.

At the awards banquet Yvon Chouinard gave the keynote address. He said that the world was becoming less habitable due to climate change and that trout streams were in peril. Paraphrasing he said, Any politician who denies global warming and disregards 99 percent of the world's climatologists is either ignorant or a fool.

Chouinard also called upon fly fishers to live more simply and to realize that we all make an impact on this world. He urged people to buy clothing that lasted and to use clothing that doesn't rely on toxic chemicals in their manufacture. He also pointed out how some famous trout streams like the Henry's Fork were being heavily used for irrigation and that the runoff from the irrigated lands was laden with fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides and degraded the water quality markedly.

While the Yellowstone River was on hoot owl closure below Carter Bridge all the way to Laurel, there was a lot of the river that was open upstream from Carter Bridge. Many fly fishers availed themselves of the opportunities in the upper stretches of the river and found that the dry fly fishing with caddis patterns worked well. Nymph fishers found that black double-beaded stoneflies did pretty well, as did pale morning dun nymphs.

Perhaps the nicest stretch of water to fish was DePuy Spring Creek. It has some of the most productive water in the state of Montana. It teems with wily browns and rainbows that thrive in the nutrient rich creek. The water is gin clear and there are myriads of aquatic invertebrates inhabiting it. I would rate the fishing on the creek as the most demanding of any stream I have ever fished, and yet I love to come back to it for the challenge and the ambience.

When an angler fishes DePuy Spring Creek he/she has lots of company: muskrats, deer, kingbirds, swallows and swans. The trumpeter swans on DePuy are fairly oblivious to anglers plying the waters. The swans will swim right through your fishing area with barely a nod of recognition. They seem to own the creek and they will go anywhere they dang well please. Still, there is something to be said about having these magnificent, big, graceful white birds casually glide by a mere 15 feet away.

DePuy Spring Creek provided novices and experts alike a great chance to connect on some of the wariest trout in the world. Most anglers came away shaking their heads in amazement that trout could be so picky. I guess it does us all good to be humbled once in awhile.

The Fly Fishing Fair enabled anglers from all over the United States, Canada and Great Britain to gather and exchange techniques, ideas, equipment and materials. It also allowed folks to gather and tell the many fishing tales that make fly fishing so interesting. In the four or five days folks were there, there were a heck of a lot more fish caught at the bar in the evening or around the coffee table in the morning than any fish that were caught in the nearby waters. That is probably the most satisfying aspect of the fly fishing fair: Through the common bond of fly fishing people share their fishing stories, their lives and adventures and create friendships that will result in more great stories.

In case you are wondering, the fly fishing fair will be held in Livingston next year. Make plans to attend and learn more about the great sport of fly fishing in 2017.
Central Montana anglers and campers have started a petition denouncing Montana State Parks for proposing to drop its management of Ackley State Park, located south of Hobson.

The agency has scheduled a meeting set for 4 p.m. on Monday at Stanford City Hall to discuss the issue with the public.

Ackley has been rated a Class 4 site under the park's classification policy meant to focus the agency's resources on its most valuable and visited sites.

The Class 4 site designation requires Montana State Parks to: Re-evaluate current management approaches, seek partnerships or consider potential transfer to other public managers, where possible reallocate resources to more significant sites, the agency said in a press release.

The petition circulating says those who sign do "not support State Parks withdrawing from Ackley Lake management and (Department of Natural Resources and Conservation) lease UNLESS the lease is continued with manpower and funding provided through the Fishing Access Site Program ... "

The petition says that users would also support a "minimal camping fee" to help support "management of Ackley."

The plan is to present the petition to the State Parks and Recreation Board at its Aug. 18 meeting at First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park in Ulm.

The board has already faced similar discontent over its proposal to not renew its lease for Hell Creek State Park on the shores of Fort Peck Reservoir in 2021 unless a new funding source can be found. Hell Creek was also rated a Class 4 park in the review.

The no-cost lease of the park from the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation expires at the end of the year. State parks will continue management through 2017 while working with DNRC during the changeover.

" ... We are looking for alternative management strategies and interested groups in managing these sites going forward," Pat Doyle, marketing and communications manager for parks, wrote in an email.

This Stanford meeting will be an opportunity for the public to learn about the local implications regarding the expiration of the park lease; to ask questions of staff; and to propose solutions for future management of the site.

Ackley is a 290-acre lake located in the valley between the Little Belt and Big Snowy mountains that has been stocked with rainbow trout. The land surrounding the lake has 15 campsites and two boat launches.

In 2015 Ackley recorded almost 32,700 visits, a 10 percent increase over 2014. Ackley was the fourth most-visited park out of the nine that are located in the north-central region.

For more information about the Ackley Lake State Park meeting, contact John Taillie at 406-454-5859 or jtaillie@mt.gov.
This year we are forecasting a 30 percent increase of calls, from 96 to 125 for a total of about 130,000 passengers, said Doni Stambuk, assistant general manager at the Port Authority of Zadar. In 2012 we had 21,000 cruise passengers, so its an increase of 100,000 in just a few years.

The new port area in Gazenica has a total of seven berths for local traffic, and five for international calls from cruise ships with the longest pier being 375 meters with a draft of 13 meters.

Enough to accommodate the new generation of cruise ships, said Stambuk.

The port area is roughly 3.5 kilometers south of the city center, with a highway connection.

The new port, with a temporary terminal building, has been opened for all types of ferry and cruise traffic since April of last year. The port also operates the so-called Old Port, which is in the heart of Zadar, but is now only use by small cruise ships due to size limits.

A new terminal building for international ferry traffic and homeport/transit operations from cruise lines should be open by the 2018 season, said Stambuk, who noted a mild climate, airlift and security as strengths of Croatia.
BRIDGEPORT - It looked like a college lecture.

But the more than 50 Sacred Heart University students that filled the third-floor courtroom on Golden Hill Street Thursday morning appeared much more attentive, as Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Margaret Kelley offered them a deal.

It probably helped that many were seated with stern-looking parents.

The students had been arrested on charges of using fake IDs to drink at the Golden Star Cafe on Main Street in Bridgeport on April 5.

The deal: They would each plead guilty to being a minor in possession of alcohol and pay a $200 fine. Their drivers licenses would not be suspended.

The words were barely out of Kelleys mouth when the students were hurrying forward to plead guilty.

I think it was fair to do it that way, said local lawyer Frank Riccio Jr., who represented a young woman from New Jersey. She had to make the trip here with her father, and believe me, it wasnt a comfortable trip for her.

Attorney Eugene Riccio (no relation to Frank) represented a young man from Massachusetts who decided not to take the deal and whose case was continued for a hearing.

Im sure this has been an educational experience for all the students involved, he said.

The situation had been made because of an error by city police officers, which was compounded by an action by the states Judicial Branch.

On the night in question, about 100 Sacred Heart students were in the Golden Star for Student Night when the cafe was raided by police.

Despite the fact that two off-duty Bridgeport officers were working security there - in violation of department rules - police said most of the students were found to be underage and drinking alcohol beverages.

Police said more than 80 of the students had gotten into the bar using fake or altered drivers licenses from other states. Police Chief Armando Perez later showed Hearst Connecticut Media a stack of the phony licenses officers had seized.

At the time of the raid, police issued the students tickets listing the state law violated as 30-88  misrepresentation of age  with a $200 fine.

Many of the students who received the tickets promptly sent in their $200, according to court records, many probably hoping their parents would never learn of the incident.

After all, at a press conference, Perez had assured the students he didnt want them to have the stigma of a criminal record.

The problem was, state statute 30-88 had been repealed in 2012.

When the tickets and fine payments arrived at the Judicial Branchs Centralized Infractions Bureau in Wethersfield, it was determined by employees there that the tickets had the wrong charge.

Branch personnel then updated to the replacement charge to 30-88a, misrepresenting age to procure liquor  a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both  according to court records.

Ultimately the prosecutor agreed to modify the charge, Frank Riccio said. I think it was handled very fairly.

The state Department of Consumer Protection closed down the Golden Star Cafe for numerous liquor violations following the raid.

And there had been other problems Gold Star. On March 30, police said, a 19-year-old Sacred Heart student was raped by a man she thought was an Uber driver outside the bar.

Alfonso Reid, a felon with prior convictions for attempted murder, assault and gun possession, is awaiting trial in the case.
POLSON  Approximately 40 protesters carried signs, some shouted at the older couple and one hit their car with his sign after Larry and Nadene Latzke made their initial appearance Wednesday morning in Lake County Justice Court.

The Latzkes, who operate LDR Kennels between Charlo and St. Ignatius, are charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals.

Both requested public defenders during their appearance in a packed courtroom before Lake County Justice of the Peace Randal Owens. Owens told the couple the felony charges would be transferred to District Court within the next 30 days, and released them on their own recognizance as recommended by the Lake County Attorneys Office.

When Larry Latzke asked if he could say something, Owens answered, I would prefer you didnt say anything without an attorney present.

Latzke later ignored reporters as he and his wife, who used two canes to walk, left the courthouse.

Regulating breeders

Protesters carrying signs that read things such as Puppy Mill Horror Show and Animal Cruelty is Not a Montana Value shifted from their position outside the courthouses main doors as word came the Latzkes were using an elevator to access a disabled-accessible entrance on the side of the building.

I hope they throw you in jail and throw away the key, one man shouted at them. You people are horrible  horrible.

As the Latzkes drove out of the parking lot, their car came within inches of the man, and he hit the rear window of their car with his cardboard sign.

Several of the protesters indicated their goal Wednesday was to use the case as an example of why they believe Montana legislators should adopt laws regulating dog breeders like the Latzkes. Montana is one of 16 states with no such regulations.

Late last month authorities seized 11 of the 120 or so dogs at LDR Kennels after receiving a complaint that there was a terrible smell coming from the kennel and that the person who filed the complaint had seen one dog with its hair matted and smelled like urine, and the dog did not look in good health, Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said at the time.

Deputies, who learned the Latzkes had refused to allow authorities to inspect their dogs when previous complaints had been received, obtained a search warrant this time.

At least seven of the dogs have since been returned to the Latzkes after receiving veterinary care.

Restraining order

Deputy Lake County Attorney Molly Owen also asked the justice of the peace to keep a restraining order in effect. It orders that the Latzkes not tamper with evidence at their kennels.

Protesters worried that could adversely affect the treatment the animals are receiving, but Owen told the Missoulian later that the restraining order also contains language requiring the Latzkes to maintain a superior level of care for the dogs.

The LDR Kennels website says it sells Chihuahua, Maltese, Yorkshire terrier, Havanese and Shih Tzu breeds, and that its puppies are raised in the most loving, humane, clean environment possible.

Missoula veterinarian Patti Prato, who attended the court hearing and protest, said animal rights activists have been aware of LDR Kennels for more than a decade.

Proposed legislation

When one of her clients said dogs there were being raised in an unhealthy environment after purchasing a Bernese mountain dog puppy from LDR Kennels, Prato said she bought a puppy from the Latzkes too, back in 2005.

I was surprised they were willing to sell a sick dog to a veterinarian, Prato said. They even dropped it off. They were on their way to a puppy mill auction in the Midwest, and showed up in a toy hauler stacked with dog crates.

They offered Prato the puppys mother as well, she said, and she bought both.

The puppy died within two weeks, and the mom had severe emotional problems  you could barely touch her, Prato said. She died at 4. It was horrendous then, and its been that way for a decade.

Prato said she and others have tried since 2006 to get legislation passed regulating such operations, to no avail. Opponents have called such attempts government overreach. There are concerns that the laws, written for pets, could affect livestock breeding, and people who describe themselves as hobby dog breeders who run clean operations have said the proposed laws are so broad they could be put out of business.

I think weve made it out of committee one time in the past 10 years, Prato said. Thats as close as weve gotten. If emotions stay fresh after incidents such as the Latzke case, maybe it will finally happen.

Just days after the search warrant was served on the Latzkes, Lincoln County officials seized more than 120 animals  including donkeys, parakeets, canaries and poodles  from a suspected puppy mill in Libby. The dogs were underweight and had eye, ear and dental infections, Sheriff Roby Bowe said.
Yellowstone Countys two Republican commissioners agreed Thursday to appoint state Sen. Robyn Driscoll, a Democrat from Billings, to the commissions third seat.

Commission Chairman John Ostlund and Commissioner Jim Reno each welcomed Driscoll to the board by giving her a hug.

Im super excited to do public service full time, Driscoll said.

Once shes sworn into office, Driscoll said she plans to jump into county issues such as the jail expansion project and preparing for the 2017 Legislature by working with others to identify county priorities.

Driscoll said she expects to take the oath of office in about two weeks, after giving notice to Billings School District 2, where she works as a secretary in facilities services.

She also said she will be leaving her District 25 Senate seat, where she is in her first term and was seeking re-election. Prior to the Senate, Driscoll spent 12 years in the Montana House as a representative.

Driscoll said she will meet with Democratic Party members to see what will happen with her Senate race. The Democrats will have until Aug. 24 to replace Driscoll on the ballot. District 25 includes downtown and central Billings.

Earlier in the process, Driscoll said that if appointed to the commission, she would run for election in 2018, when Kennedy's term expires. The commission seat is a six-year term and pays a base salary of $70,354.

Ostlund and Reno said Driscoll was their choice during a discussion meeting attended by local Democrats, candidate supporters, other county officials and the two other finalists interviewed for the job, David Wanzenried, a former state legislator, and Chuck Tooley, a former Billings mayor.

The seat was vacated by Democrat Bill Kennedy, who resigned effective Aug. 1 to become executive director of the Montana State University Billings Foundation.

Ostlund and Reno interviewed all three finalists during a public interview on Tuesday. Thursday's discussion meeting was the first time the commissioners revealed their preferences.

Ostlund opened the discussion by thanking all three candidates for participating in the process then deferred to Reno.

Reno identified Driscoll as his choice saying she's current on issues facing the county and the state. He also received calls statewide from other legislators and from Harold Blattie, the executive director of the Montana Association of Counties, all recommending Driscoll for the post, he said.

Driscoll, Reno noted, is giving up her career with SD2 and a state legislative office to become a county commissioner.

And, Reno added, having a woman on the board "is not lost on me."

The only other woman to serve on Yellowstone County's commission was Grace Edwards, a Democrat, who served one term, from 1984 until 1990.

Ostlund agreed. He said he liked that Driscoll in her county interview indicated she was committed to getting additional district judges for the county and to working on the jail expansion.

And Driscoll, during her interview with the Yellowstone County Democrats, had good things to say about Colstrip, which is facing concerns related to coal mining, Ostlund said.

Driscoll will represent both sides and received the most votes of the three finalists from the Democrats, he said.

Both Ostlund and Reno commended the Yellowstone County Democrats for being open and transparent in selecting finalists for the job. Both commissioners attended a public meeting at the Billings Public Library in which the Democrats interviewed five candidates before voting for the three finalists.
With help from a few writing prompts  strawberries, wrapped chocolates, flowers and a small bunch of sage  Billings poet and writer Anna Paige helped a group of a half-dozen youngsters use their senses to discover their inner poet Wednesday afternoon.

Everyone is a poet, she said during a break in the Wild Words program she was leading Wednesday afternoon. The disconnect often happens when they are young.

The families of Wild Words students are served by the Housing Authority of Billings. Executive Director Lucy Brown said AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers, including Sam Heaps, help run the program at a South Side home owned by the Housing Authority.

Heaps and other AmeriCorps VISTA workers painted the interior of the home on Bunting Street, outfitting it with child-sized furniture as well.

The program, Heaps said, is designed in part to combat the summer slide that many children experience when theyre not actively writing or reading during the summer months.

A miniature lending library was installed on the homes front lawn. Its put to good use during the summer months, Heaps said.

The population we serve often has educational needs, Brown said. We and other housing authorities across the nation assist with these programs, even when theyre unfunded, because the students are trying to improve.

Heaps, whos taught both in Philadelphia and Vietnam, added Wild Words to a summertime enrichment program that also includes drama, music and art.

Her students look at things in ways I had not considered, she said. Theyre so honest, and I can be honest with them.

Paige asked students to use their five senses to describe the prompts. Whats that feel like? she asked, passing around an unwrapped Hersheys Kiss. What does it look like?

It feels like a river stone, one child said.

It looks like a trumpet, said another.

One girl told Paige that the sharp smell of sage reminded her of visiting her grandmothers house at Crow Agency.

After using their senses to describe some other prompts, Paige had each student write a poem based on their sensory observations. Heaps plans to publish the poems in an anthology later this summer.

This is more fun than school, said Ian Shaffer, who will be a fourth-grader at Orchard Elementary School this fall. If he weren't attending Wild Words, Id probably be sitting at home doing nothing, he said with a grin.

One of the most enthusiastic leaders of Wild Words is 77-year-old Gaye Anderson, a volunteer foster grandparent. Shes there to read to some children, listen to others read to her  and refresh some of the math skills students learned during the school year.

First I raised my family; then I was a credit counselor, she said. This is my third career.

During the school year, Anderson puts in a few hours each day with second-graders at Miles Avenue Elementary School  reading, math or wherever they need help, she said. I enjoy this program, because it means theyre learning year-round.

They are nice little kids, she added. Its peaceful, and they laugh a lot.
Section of GAP closed during bridge work

"The last time the bridges were re-decked was in 1995. They have become almost unsafe to be used," said Lindsay Baer.
Additional crew members arrived Thursday to join the 125 people fighting a growing fire in northwest Wyoming.

The Hunter Peak fire was mapped at 1,347 acres, located 30 miles northwest of Cody and south of Cooke City.

While an estimated 95 structures were threatened by the fire, crews planned to assess the danger. The areas along County Road XUX at Squaw Creek were evacuated, according to information from the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.

Crews also started working on constructing lines around the developed areas. Additional personnel were assigned to start containing the fire. There was zero percent containment on Thursday.

Trails in that area of the Shoshone National Forest were closed, as well as parts of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. The waterway was previously closed for another fire closer to Cody. The speed limit for roads along the reservoir was limited to 45 mph.

Whit fire

Crews are working to secure the area and begin closing the line around the Whit fire, which was 84 percent contained Thursday.

The fire has burned 12,387 acres just 12 miles west of Cody but no evacuations remain in place. The Green Creek, Twin Creek and Sheep Mountain Trails were still closed Thursday.

Aircraft use of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir caused its closure west of the line between Eagle Point and Spring Creek.

On Thursday, crews expected to clean and patrol the hand lines from Whit Creek south toward Cow Camp, as well as residential areas in the Slack Creek Drainage, Bear Creek Drainage and South Fork. They also kept watch on structures from Timber Creek to Cow Camp.

Yellowstone National Park

Officials were watching two lightning-caused fires in the park on Thursday. The Fawn Fire has burned 930 acres south of Gardiner. It has caused the closure of backcountry trails and campsites in the area.

The Maple fire was estimated at 10 acres and is located a mile east of the Gneiss Creek Trail, just inside the park's western boundary.

It started on Monday and has not caused trail or campsite closures.

The Fawn and Maple fires don't pose risks to visitors, and all roads remain open, park officials said.

Three smokejumpers were called in on Wednesday to battle a new, smaller fire that started between Pocket and Shoshone Lakes. Dubbed the Pocket fire, it sparked about five miles southeast of Old Faithful.

A helicopter assisted the smokejumpers with water drops for a full-suppression effort, according to park officials. On Thursday, three more smokejumpers were summoned to assist.

The fire is less than an acre.
Check it out: Fun things to do this weekend in Lake County
GREAT FALLS  A former Great Falls chiropractor who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an employee has been sentenced to 5 years in prison.

District Judge Dirk Sandefur sentenced 48-year-old Reese Riggin on Thursday after expressing frustration with the binding plea agreement that he felt was too lenient.

The Montana Board of Chiropractors revoked Riggin's license two years ago after former employees reported he touched them inappropriately during adjustments he required under the terms of their employment.

He was charged in October 2014 and pleaded guilty in March to sexual intercourse without consent. The agreement called for a 20-year sentence with 15 suspended.

Riggin lost his chiropractic license in Idaho over similar allegations in 1997. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual exploitation by a medical care provider.
HAMILTON  As the firefighting effort begins to wind down on the Roaring Lion fire southwest of Hamilton, people are starting to get an idea of what the flames have left behind.

Near the popular trailhead where the fire is suspected to have started, there isnt a whole lot of green left to see.

People are going to be pretty shocked when they finally get to go up to the trailhead, said Forest Service Public Information Officer Mike Cole. It was pretty much a crown fire that went through there. On both sides of the canyon, it did get up into the trees. The south side of the canyon is just black snags.

Cole and several others with the Forest Service ventured up to the trailhead for the first time since the fire started on July 31.

From the trailheads parking lot, Cole said the forest was black as far up the mountain as he could see.

We were lucky there werent a lot of people up the canyon that day, he said. That was one hot and fast moving fire that moved through there. Its the type of fire that would trap animals. Even animals wouldnt be able to get out of the way fast enough in that kind of fire.

What needles on the trees that didnt burn were frozen in the direction of the high winds that must have blown down through the canyon that first night.

You could tell which direction the fire was coming from by looking at the needles, Cole said. All of the needles were pointed east. Its something called needle freeze. Its really unique  the fire was burning through so fast and so hot and it flash-froze the needles.

The only thing that survived on the trailhead sign was the metal that framed it.

Even with the recent rain, Cole said there was a still quite a lot of smoke coming from tree trunks and downed logs in the area.

That little bit of rain that we got was nice, he said. Its slowed things down for a few days, but by this weekend it will be hot again and well see more fire activity occur.

When firefighters do their mop-up work, they focus their efforts on the first 200 feet in from a fire line. Beyond that, Cole said people are going to notice that theres quite of bit of material still smoldering.

When we were at the trailhead today, around us 360 degrees, we could see stumps burning and other material smoking, he said. Its going to take a season-ending event to put this out. I think people may have a false sense of hope right now. They might think that this fire is out. While that would be nice, its not true.

A Hotshot crew has spent the past couple of nights camped out high on the southwestern edge of the fire in order to get an early start each day extending the fire line higher up the mountain.

They want to hang that fire far up on the side of the mountain so it cant come back down and get into the stands of heavy timber in Camas Creek, Cole said. We dont want to allow it to blow out into the valley again.

On Wednesday, a feller buncher was used to take out trees to help widen fire lines on the southwestern edge of the fire. The trees were limbed and the logs hauled out by trucks on FS Road 496 down to the Lost Horse Road.

We have some logging truck traffic coming out of there that people need to be aware of, Cole said.

On Wednesday, the management of the fire was turned over by the Northern Region Type 1 Incident Management Team to a smaller Type 3 team as the resources tied to fighting the fire continue to be released.

The new incident commander is Drew Daily, who has served as operations manager with the larger Type 1 team.

This is the best-case scenario, Cole said. He knows the whole fire and all of its moving parts. That should make the transition really smooth.

There are 518 people assigned to the fire. Cole said those numbers will continue to drop over the next few days.

The fire received a little bit of rain Tuesday.

Over the past four days, a portable weather station just south of the fire recorded a half-inch of precipitation.

That doesnt mean the fire got a half-inch, Cole said. It did get a good shot of moisture yesterday (Tuesday). We a little bit of a chance for a thunderstorm today and then the system will be moving out of here. Then well be back to typical August weather.

Farther south, firefighters have made good headway around the eight-acre Lost Trail fire.

They are doing mop-up right now, said Bitterroot Forest spokesman Tod McKay. They havent called it contained, but they have de-mobed a lot of resources from it. Its looking pretty good at this point.

Firefighters, local law enforcement and Forest Services made a video to offer their thanks to the community through this trying time. It can be found at facebook.com/DiscoverBitterrootNF.
Opinion Wordle

The next day I woke to find myself in a WhatsApp group titled Quordle is Awesome!! A small group of three. There was no getting out of it now.
Isnt the trouble with Lord Mandelson that hes so secretive about his global business and political connections we can never be sure for whom he speaks?

Posing as an elder statesman, rather than a man sacked twice for dishonesty by a Labour Government that was itself pretty dodgy, Lord Mandelson warns of grave consequences for trade with China if we pull out of the Hinkley Point nuclear power project.

Not for the first time, this paper wonders exactly whose interests this slippery former spin doctor has at heart. Indeed, is it just coincidence that his warning yesterday precisely echoed the ugly threat issued by Beijing only the day before?

Leave aside Lord Mandelsons sneer that post-Brexit Britain has become less relevant (hardly the words of a patriot)  and his claim that we now need China more than China needs us.

Why does he so airily dismiss fears that Chinese involvement in Hinkley Point might pose a security threat? After all, Beijing has an appalling record of espionage and computer hacking.

Isnt the trouble with Lord Mandelson  as with his former boss, Tony Blair  that hes so secretive about his global business and political connections we can never be sure for whom he speaks?

We do know he has had links with China, Kazakhstan and Mugabes Zimbabwe, has worked for rapacious American banks and Russian oligarchs and has clients from Switzerland to Singapore.

This paper has a suggestion. Next time this money-grubber appears on TV, posing as a statesman, he should dress like a Formula 1 driver, covered in the business logos and national flags of his sponsors.

Then, at least, we would know whose interests he serves  apart from his own.

Politics, Corbyn-style

As a handful of handsomely paid Eurostar staff vote to wreck holidaymakers plans, there are disturbing echoes of the 1970s about the strikes orchestrated by a clique of militant union barons.

Now, as then, the motives are blatantly political, having precious little to do with the work-life balance of the 45,000-a-year train managers, who seem to be glorified conductors.

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour movement is increasingly rejecting Parliament as an engine of change, turning instead to direct action

As with the strikes on Southern and ScotRail, and the threat to Virgin East Coast, the aim of the RMT  whose deputy leader has said Tories should be shot  is clearly to destabilise the Government by causing maximum disruption.

Indeed, under Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour movement is increasingly rejecting Parliament as an engine of change, turning instead to direct action.

This country has been there before  and, as ever, it will be poorer working people and their families dependent on trains who pay the highest price.

Champions of Mr Corbyn present him as good-natured and principled, if lacking in leadership skills. But there are ugly forces gathering behind him. He should be judged by his refusal to condemn them.

An Orwellian irony

George Orwell would have been the first to appreciate the irony that he is to be commemorated in bronze outside the BBCs London headquarters.

So oppressive did he find the Corporation, from which he resigned in 1943, that he is said to have named Room 101  Nineteen Eighty-Fours torture chamber  after a conference room at Broadcasting House.

Orwell might also have been wryly amused by the inscription from his work, to appear next to his statue: If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

Hasnt the BBC spent decades denying the right to express opinions, on such issues as mass immigration and the EU, which it does not want people to hear?
A summer of discontent has arrived with a vengeance on crucial parts of Britains rail network, bringing misery to the travelling public and serious damage to the economy.

For months, the lines operated by Southern services across the South-East of England have been badly disrupted by irresponsible trade union action, whose main feature has been a cynical, deliberate campaign of mass absenteeism to cause severe staff shortages.

And then, on Monday, the dispute escalated into an all-out strike. Unions planned that the stoppage on a network that has 156 stations and 620,000 passenger journeys a day would last until Friday, making it the longest rail walkout in this country since 1968.

Led by Left-winger Mick Cash, (pictured) who succeeded the strike-happy Marxist, the late Bob Crow, the RMT has displayed contempt for the public in its selfish determination to defend anachronistic vested interests

Since Monday  until it was suspended yesterday to allow fresh talks with management  more than 940 trains had been cancelled every day, around 40 per cent of the services operations.

Disturbingly, the contagion of militancy has spread. Its air of reckless grievance seems to be gripping other parts of Britains rail workforce.

Collapse

Yesterday, Eurostar rail workers from two unions announced they will strike for two periods  from tomorrow until Monday and three days over the August Bank Holiday weekend  in a dispute over their work-life balance. This will mean disruption to services between London and Europe.

Meanwhile, Great Western and Scotrail employees are in dispute with management over changes to working practices.

And the notoriously strike-happy personnel on the London Underground seem to have elevated industrial unrest into a permanent part of their daily routine.

Understandably, many commuters, who have been terribly inconvenienced by the collapse of a normal service, are keen to blame the management of Southern, which is run by Govia Thameslink Railway (a joint venture owned by FTSE 250-listed Go-Ahead and French firm Keolis.)

Certainly, the bosses have proved inept with their negotiating skills and failed to offer a robust challenge to the union.

Indeed, they committed an appalling blunder when, instead of dealing with the problems caused by staff shortages as a result of orchestrated sabotage by drivers and guards who walked out on unauthorised and questionable sick leave, they simply introduced an emergency timetable to cope.

Many travellers saw this as a cynical ploy by management to avoid paying passengers compensation for endless disruptions and cancellations.

For months, the lines operated by Southern services across the South-East of England have been badly disrupted by irresponsible trade union action

It should also be said that the Government, for all the noisy rhetoric by ministers about taming unions and supporting ordinary working people, has not played a forceful role in trying to bring about a settlement.

But the real culprit is the RMT union, which seems to be trapped in a time warp from the Seventies, when hardliners delighted in the exercise of raw  but monopolistic  industrial muscle.

Led by Left-winger Mick Cash, who succeeded the strike-happy Marxist, the late Bob Crow (who had a bust of Lenin in his office), the RMT has displayed contempt for the public in its selfish determination to defend anachronistic vested interests.

The concept of service and respect for commuters appears to mean nothing to this gang of trouble-makers, who seem to be following the strike handbook devised by Arthur Scargill and Red Robbo, the bolshie, Seventies British Leyland shop steward.

In the buck-passing language so typical of militant trade unionism, Mick Cash said: This action has been forced on us by Govia Thameslink and the Government, who have made it clear that they no interest in resolving this dispute or tackling the daily chaos on Southern.

Control

But this tone of victimhood could hardly be more misplaced. It is the RMT that has brought about the daily chaos through its unwillingness to embrace even the most minor change in working practices.

The cause of the strike could hardly be more mundane. In a welcome push to improve its services, Southern decided to upgrade carriages, with the result that conductors will no longer be in control over opening and closing the doors. Instead, this task will be handed to drivers.

To obstruct such an obvious and sensible move shows just how detached the RMT has become from reality.

Great Western and Scotrail employees are in dispute with management over changes to working practices

Most commuters have put up with far bigger changes in their working lives without making any complaint  from the abolition of final salary pension schemes to the introduction of new technology.

For their part, RMT members might like to pretend they are the oppressed members of the proletariat, but a vast swathe of commuters have nothing like their perks, job security, flexible hours and holidays.

Yet these union dinosaurs seem to think the travelling public should be serially punished as part of their campaign to stop drivers being responsible for closing train doors  a reform introduced on the London Underground years ago with out any major mishap.

It would be laughable if it were not so aggravating.

The RMT militants have two justifications for their opposition to the new door routine, both of them absurd.

First, they say that conductors will be devalued under the new conditions, whatever this means.

Second, they are using the tried-and-tested technique of blackmail  namely, passenger safety. That is very similar to the argument promulgated recently by the British Medical Association to justify industrial action by junior doctors opposed to a 24-hour, seven-day health service.

The fact is there is no extra risk to passenger safety from the proposed door-closing change, as confirmed by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch which last month said it had found no evidence to suggest that driver-only operated trains work less safely.

What makes this dispute especially offensive is that so many passengers have been held to ransom by such a tiny group.

It is estimated more than 120,000 commuters have been affected by the strike, yet the number of RMT members who took part in the strike ballot in April was just 393, with 77 per cent of them voting for action.

Although this ballot was legal at the time, the Government has since reformed strike laws  stipulating strikes are illegal unless at least 50 per cent of the total union membership votes in a ballot and a minimum of 40 per cent backs the stoppage.

This kind of abuse of power by the rail unions was supposed to be finished, not just by the reformed ballot legislation, but also by privatisation. The transfer of the railways from public sector was meant to liberate management, introduce innovation and end the unions power to halt services.

But it has hardly worked out like that.

Yes, privatisation has led to some improvements, including greater punctuality, a big increase in passenger numbers and better rolling stock. The irony is that Southern has 2 billion of new trains which were due to be rolled out, but have been mothballed because of the current dispute.

But that failure sadly demonstrates how union power has not been broken. Organisations such as the RMT remain a reactionary force against progress and enterprise.

The reason is simple. Privatisation failed to introduce real competition. Instead, the infrastructure remains in the hands of the state while each train operating company has a monopoly on its own lines.

Whenever there is a monopoly, there is ruthless exploitation by the unions. We see this across the public sector, where more than 80 per cent of strikes occur. From the NHS to schools, powerful trade unions block attempts at reform.

Malignant

That is why it is nonsense to pretend that renationalisation of the railways would be the solution, as some, like the Labour Party, advocate.

In truth, this would be a disastrous step backwards, giving the unions even more power.

The idea British Rail represented a golden age of rail travel is empty, nonsensical nostalgia. BR was plagued by far more disputes than todays train operators are.

The answer to this current madness is to end the malignant influence of the unions, and that could be done at a stroke, if only we had a government with the political determination to do so.

What needs to be done  and urgently  is to end the unions legal immunity from damage arising from strikes.

At present, unions enjoy a uniquely privileged status in British law, whereby, unlike all other corporations, companies and individuals, they cannot be sued for the financial consequences of their actions.

This immunity stems from the 1906 Trade Disputes Act, introduced by a Liberal Government anxious for support from the labour movement.
Some stories make you laugh, some make you cry and others leave you simply amazed - this is one of the latter.

Under one roof on the Central Coast in New South Wales live nine people.

There are four children with autism, a middle-age woman with severe brain injuries, an elderly man with dementia and an elderly woman with a heart condition.

And then there's Kate and Neil Atchison, the couple who care for them all.

Family: Kate Atchison (pictured front) and husband Neil (pictured middle) care for their four children who all have autism

Unlucky: The parents first became aware in 2001 that one of their children had autism. By 2007 all of Chris, Grace, Theresa and Issac had been diagnosed with the condition

Kate asks not to be called a supermum, but when the 39-year-old from Umina Beach, explains what she faces on a daily basis, it's hard to see her as anything but a hero.

The couple's horrendous run of luck - if it can be called that - began in 2001 with the birth of their second child Theresa.

'When Theresa was born she was sick from the get-go,' Kate told Daily Mail Australia.

'She wouldn't play with you like other babies would, but we weren't sure what was wrong.

'Theresa was diagnosed with autism and also Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID), and then I had Grace and the immunologist said she had them both as well.'

By this stage devastated, the couple faced the cruel reality that their two daughters would never grow up 'normal' - but that was only the start.

Hard work: The Atchison family were forced to move out of their rental property because their children were causing too much damage. As a result they moved in with Kate's parents

In 2004, eldest son Isaac - who had been trouble free - began school and it didn't take long for Kate to know something was wrong.

'I started to notice that kids didnt want to play with Isaac, that he didnt get invited to birthday parties and teachers would tell me that "Isaac was very angry today at school and he snapped all pencils in the tin",' she said.

'I remember saying to Neil, "Surely not autism, it couldnt happen again?".'

But it had.

Breaking the bank: Ms Atchison estimates that she has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on treatment for their four children

No let up: In addition to having four sick children, Kate was also forced to care for her 67-year-old father with dementia and her 69-year-old mother with a heart condition

Three years later youngest child Chris was born, and it took Kate just six months to know he was her fourth child with autism.

'I knew what was coming but I still cried when it was confirmed because people talk about normality and what's 'normal'... and now I didnt have one 'normal' kid,' she said.

'To me they're all normal, but not to the rest of society.'

With an estimated $200,000 plus worth of medical bills piling up, Kate was unfortunately forced to leave her job as a train conductor, leaving husband Neil - a train driver - as the only bread winner.

To make matters worse the family were evicted from their home because of the damage caused by their children to the property.

But after all their bad luck things looked like they were finally taking a turn for the better when Kate's parents bought a new home, big enough for all of them to live in.

Special meeting: Kate and eldest son Isaac are pictured here with singer Guy Sebastian

Hard work: Kate remembers asking her husband Neil (pictured centre) how they would cope when they were evicted from their home

'I said to my husband "How are we going to cope?", and then we were lucky that mum and dad could help us look after the kids,' Kate said.

Yet, what appeared to be a lifeline soon turned out to be anything but.

After suffering two strokes her father, 67, was diagnosed with dementia.

To make matters worse Kate's mother, 69, also discovered she was suffering from a severe heart condition shortly after.

By this stage, Kate had six family members in her full-time care, but there was one more twist in the tale.

Kate's sister Kelly suffered a neurological condition, leaving her with a severe brain injury and 10 per cent of vision.

Final twist: To make matters worse Kate's sister Kelly suffered a neurological condition and was left with a severe brain injury

Unbelievable strength: When asked how she manages to soldier on through all the unfortunate circumstances that have faced her Kate replied, 'I love my kids. My kids are my world.'

That took the total number of family members suffering some sort of disability to seven, with the mother, daughter and sister required to care for them all.

When it's posed to the mother-of-four that many would have understandably walked away from the responsibilities long ago, Kate says she is aware.

But regardless of the 'bad luck' or whatever has caused this treacherous run of events, she says she won't give up.

'Im just doing what a mum does. I dont have a choice but to keep going on, I just have to do so,' she said.
A successful fashion blogger has revealed how she went from living in one of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe 'with no shops' to moving to London to forge her dream career.

Today Doina Ciobanu, 22, has more than 155,000 Instagram followers, works with some of the biggest fashion brands and has a successful blog, but her life wasn't always so luxurious.

Doina grew up in Moldova, a country far away from the style hubs of Paris, Milan and London and says she had to go to a different country just to go shopping.

Doina Ciobanu, 22, has more than 155,000 Instagram followers, works with some of the biggest fashion brands

Forged her own career: Doina Ciobanu grew up in Moldova in Eastern Europe but now lives in London as an influencer and blogger

'There were no shops there, if I wanted to buy clothes I went to Romania there was a H&M and a Zara there,' she explained.

But after being criticised for her sense of style at 16 Doina decided to create a blog The Golden Diamonds, to connect with other people with similar interests.

Speaking about her childhood Doina explained: 'Moldova became a country when the USSR was dissolved and living there as a child we had very little access to western clothes.

'Slowly people began to be able get all these things they couldn't before but the fashion was very bad. People would wear training suits with evening shoes. It was awful. '

Speaking about her childhood Doina explained: 'Moldova became a country when the USSR was dissolved and living there as a child we had very little access to western clothes'

Throwback: Diona, now 22, started her blog aged just 16 (pictured left) after bring criticised for her style. Now she is invited to fashion shows around the world

Living the dream: Doina dresses in designer clothes and works with lots of luxury brands. Pictured in a Zuhair Murad dress during Paris Couture Week

'I started my blog at 16 because no-one ever really understood my style. After I went through a Gothic phase in my early teens I started to dress quite mature for my age and I used to get criticised for it a lot.'

'I read fashion blogs like The Cherry Blossom Girl and decided it was a really great way to connect and communicate with the outside world - no-one at home understood my style. I started with Blogspot but was a total beginner, I didn't know anything about digital.'

After gaining a small following at 19 Doina had to make a difficult decision - to pursue her passion, or to head to university.

Snap happy: While Doina works with different photographers her boyfriend often takes her pictures

'I had a place at University in Paris to study politics as I wanted to be a politician but I gave it up to blog full time. Moldova had become to small so I moved to Bucharest and began working with brands and magazines there,' Doina, who is signed by Next Model Management, explained.

'After just eight months even Bucharest felt too small, my boyfriend was living in London so it made sense to move. Plus all the big fashion brands have headquarters in London.'

'It was a difficult transition. I didn't know anyone and I didn't know how to get into the industry. I was signed to Milk Management and with their help I began going to events. From then brands started reaching out to me and it was at this point I thought that this could be something quite big.'

The blogger and model, who has just completed a Political Science and History degree through long-distance learning, revealed that she's hoping to shift her focus from fashion to bigger issues in the future

Now Doina and her boyfriend travel the world and she works for some of the biggest fashion brands.

Her best experience so far? 'Cannes film festival was incredible. I went with Degrisogno and we shot a campaign for them. I was ambassador and every day we would have events where there were so many celebrities. It was amazing to be part of that world but it's very different when you go home.'

The blogger and model, who has just completed a Political Science and History degree through long-distance learning, revealed that she's hoping to shift her focus from fashion to bigger issues in the future.

'I'm known for being in fashion so I can't just start writing about environmental issues but I definitely want to make that sort of topic trendy. I want to inspire people to take actions to protect the planet and how to help women.'

Now Doina travels the world and she works for some of the biggest fashion brands

While Diona enjoys a luxury lifestyle travelling the world there is one downside to her job.

She said: 'At the moment I cant have so many friends, I'm just so busy. I see people at events and I've met some of the nicest people but I always travel and people get upset when you can't see them.

'So I've learnt to just be friends from the distance.'

Doina credits her parents for her success revealing that they always encouraged her to persue her dreams.

'Ive always been lucky with my parents they've always encouraged me to dream bed.
For the last 13 months, Petrina Thong has been making her way from Sweden to Malaysia by hitchhiking.

The 29-year-old flew to Stockholm in June 2015 with only US$200 to her name, planning on seeing how far she could go.

She ended up arriving back in her hometown of Kuala Lumpur over a year later, in July 2016, after travelling through 22 countries.

Independent woman: Petrina Thong (above) hitchhiked from Stockholm to Kuala Lumpur over the course of 13 months

World traveller: She visited 22 countries in all in Europe, the Middle East and Asia

Wow: She had only $200 when she flew to Sweden, so Ms Thong relied on the kindness of strangers like the skipper of a boat in Dubrovnik who took her island hopping (above)

PETRINA'S ROUTE FROM SWEDEN TO MALAYSIA Sweden - Denmark - Germany - Poland - Lithuania - Latvia - Lithuania - Poland - Slovakia - Hungary - Croatia - Slovenia - Italy - Slovenia - Croatia - Bosnia - Montenegro - Albania - Kosovo - Macedonia - Bulgaria - Turkey - Denmark - Netherlands - Belgium - Denmark* - Turkey - Iran - Pakistan - India - Thailand - Malaysia *From Turkey, Petrina travelled back to Denmark because a friend gifted her with flights to Copenhagen so that they could meet again. She then returned to Turkey and resumed her journey. Advertisement

The freelance scriptwriter describes the adventures as a 'self challenge'.

'When I flew to Stockholm last year I went with the intention of experiencing hitchhiking, simply because I couldn't imagine doing it,' she told Daily Mail.

'I figured I might as well try it out, thinking I would travel about three to six months, depending on how long I can survive with a budget of $200.'

Her $200 was gone in three months, and then Ms Thong decided to try a new challenge: travel with no money and no plans.

'I would stand by the road, thumb out, wherever the car went, I'd go.

'Only upon arrival I'd allow the Universe to reveal where I would be sleeping and eating,' she explained.

First time for everything: The freelance scriptwriter said that she wanted to challenge herself because she had never been hitchhiking before

Nothing left: Her $200 ran out after three months, so for the remaining time Ms Thong had no money and no plans

Beautiful: She got to see some incredible sights and meet people, all without spending any money

'For food, I'd be digging out food from the trash, hanging around eateries and pouncing on people's leftovers, asking markets for fruits that can't be sold anymore.

'Once evening came, I'd look for places to camp or get invited home by randoms.'

Ms Thong said that although many people are scared of hitchhiking, especially as a woman alone, that she met amazing, kind people who were more than willing to help her.

Frugal: The 29-year-old would go dumpster diving for food (above) or eat people's leftovers at cafes and eateries

Beautiful Bosnia: Many of her travels involved seeking out places in the wilderness and nature

'From the Iranian border, I got into a police car, trailed by 2 more gunmen on a bike': She said one of the most frightening moments was crossing the border from Iran to Pakistan (above)

There were, however, some frightening moments. She had to cross the border from Iran to Pakistan through Balochistan, which can be quite dangerous.

'Due to cases of travellers getting kidnapped, I wasn't allowed to travel by myself,' Ms Thong explained. 'From the Iranian border, I got into a police car, trailed by 2 more gunmen on a bike.'

'We got to the first check point, then I got chucked onto a police truck. Went to another check point. Waited for ages, then got handed over to an Army guy and he hitchhiked with me to get to another check point. From there, I got onto three more Army trucks.'

It was 'quite an experience' she said, and the most stressful of the trip. She wasn't even allowed to stand out in the open during the crossing and had to jump from truck to truck.

Seculded: Sometimes she would spot a photo online, like of Blagaj in Bosnia, and decide to track down the location

Urban camping: To sleep, Ms Thong would either sleep in her tent or be invited to stay at people's houses

'I would stand by the road, thumb out, wherever the car went, I'd go': She said that it was exciting to have no plans

She cites one of her favourite moments when she she found the elusive Rainbow Gathering, a counterculture gathering in the mountains of Lithunania.

With roots that came from the Burning Man festival in the United States, the Rainbow Gathering brings together people for weeks at a time to form a 'utopia'.

'Money has no value, food is equally shared amongst all, everyone is family,' MS Thong said. 'There is no hierarchy, no alcohol or drugs allowed, so one can only be high on life. It's very back to basics.'

'I found myself falling in love with this bizarre community. With no contact to the outside world, all one has is reconnecting with nature and building relationships with once strangers as you're huddled around a shared fire trying to keep warm or rejoicing at the sight of sunshine after days of endless rain.'

'I found myself falling in love with this bizarre community': One of her favourite memories is spending time at the Rainbow Gathering in Lithuania

'It's very back to basics': At the Rainbow Gathering, money has no value and everything is shared

'With no contact to the outside world, all one has is reconnecting with nature and building relationships': She said she fell in love with the 'bizarre community' of the Rainbow Family

In the end, Petrina's route took her from Sweden across Europe, via Denmark, Germany, Poland, and then across to the Baltics. She then traveled through Albania, Kosovo and Bulgaria to Turkey.

From Turkey, she went to Iran, Pakistan, India, Thailand, and then finally home to Malaysia.

When she got out of Europe and to the Middle East and Asia, she said that a lot of people questioned why she was traveling alone.

'I was constantly questioned, "Why are you alone? Where is your husband/brother/boyfriend/parents?" "Aren't you scared?" "Don't you get lonely?"' the young woman said. 'In Asia, it's not common for people to solo travel, especially women.'

Woman alone: When she was in Asia (above) and the Middle East, Ms Thong was constantly questioned about where her husband or boyfriend was

Crossing continents: After she traveled around Europe, the 29-year-old went to Turkey (above) and then through Iran, Pakistan, India, Thailand and home to Malaysia

Community: She said that the people she met along the way showed her that humanity is generally good

Despite the occasional setbacks, Ms Thong would recommend other single women travel and hitchhike along.

'I expected it to be an insanely difficult journey, but in retrospect, it doesn't seem all that bad,' she said. 'Of course I had many moments of wondering what the hell I'm doing and questioning why I am putting myself through such ordeals, but I have comforting new outlook on the world.'

'My greatest lesson is that the world or the unknown isn't as scary as you make it out to be. People everywhere are unbelievably kind and willing to help. Now I know that even if I'm lost in a country where I can't speak the language and I have no money, I will still be alright.'

'In retrospect, it doesn't seem all that bad': Ms Thong said she expected the journey to be much more difficult than it was

'People everywhere are unbelievably kind and willing to help': Everywhere she traveled people opened their hearts and home to her
As the two women sitting two rows behind her on the aircraft continued to talk and laugh at the top of their voices, Holly Lee felt her blood begin to boil.

It was nearly 11pm and the lights had been dimmed in the cabin of the 90-minute flight from Frankfurt in Germany to London.

Everyone was trying to doze but were, instead, being disturbed by the passengers in seats 11A and B.

Holly, 30, a former nanny from North London, had managed to get her three-month-old son Alfie off to sleep soon after take-off and wanted a quick nap herself before landing

Holly, 30, had managed to get her three-month-old son Alfie off to sleep soon after take-off and wanted a quick nap herself before landing.

But all I could hear were these womens really loud, bracing voices, says the former nanny from North London. They had been chatting non-stop since getting on.

I couldnt hear a thing throughout the safety briefing and the flight attendant had told them to be quiet, but they had started up again the minute it was over.

For about ten minutes I sat there trying to stay calm, planning in my head what I was going to say. Something polite like: I have a sleeping baby; would you mind keeping the noise down a bit please? But I dont know why, I went mad.

There was no particular trigger, I just suddenly thought: Ive had enough, gave my baby to my husband, stormed over to them and just exploded. Do you realise all we can hear are your voices? I shouted.

I have a baby and its a night flight. Have you no respect for other people? This isnt a private jet. Everyone would appreciate it if you could just stop talking!

She shouted at women who were chatting loudly on the plane as she feared they would they would wake up her then three-month old son Alfie (both pictured)

They looked at me, scared. Everyone else was looking at me and my husband was cringing. We didnt hear a peep out of either woman for the rest of the flight.

Back on terra firma, Holly is embarrassed: I dont know why I did it. Its so out of character. Im normally calm, rational. I never have a go at anyone but airports and flying make me see red.

I thought my anger was justified but once Id calmed down I realised it wasnt. There are much more polite ways of dealing with this situation and they were probably just excited about their trip.

Serious air rage on UK airlines and on foreign airlines operating in UK airspace has nearly trebled in four years

Holly is not alone. Which of us can honestly say we have never been close to losing our temper at an airport?

Few of us wont have witnessed an altercation of some sort - an argument over seating at check-in, a row about hand luggage at the gate or a spat on the plane.

It seems even the most gentle of souls can find themselves pushed to the limit by the stress of a gruesomely early start, getting to the airport, the queues, the jostling, the security checks and then you get stuck in a tin can, cheek-by-jowl with hundreds of strangers at 30,000 ft.

HIGH SOCIETY At any given time, there are almost one million people flying in aeroplanes around the world. Advertisement

Serious air rage on UK airlines and on foreign airlines operating in UK airspace has nearly trebled in four years. In 2011, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reported 39 incidents of unruly passengers compared to 114 in 2014.

Add alcohol to the mix and the picture is even worse - drunken incidents increased by 40 per cent from 190 in 2013 to 271 in 2014.

Barely a week goes by without a report of air rage and police being called to meet passengers when the plane lands.

Last month, Joshua McCarthy, 21, from Kent, was given a suspended sentence after threatening a stewardess and biting a passenger on a flight from Dubai to Britain.

Suzanne Baum, 42, is such a nightmare when flying that her two eldest teenage children refuse to sit with her

Little research has been done on the phenomenon but a study by U.S. experts earlier this year revealed air rage is four times more likely on a plane that has a first-class section.

They found that seeing the luxury afforded first-class fliers made economy passengers resentful and increasingly likely to kick off. Astonishingly, they found those in first class were much more likely to lose their temper as it reinforces their feelings of superiority.

So what is it about plane journeys that turn even the most mild-mannered into monsters? The problem is, when were flying, were often tired, says chartered business psychologist Ros Taylor.

Only her husband Lewis, a 42-year-old lawyer, will put up with Suzanne's behaviour on a flight

That tiredness has an effect on the part of our willpower that deals with politeness. This causes us to become disinhibited and more likely to say what comes into our heads.

On top of that is another disinhibitor - stress, the general hanging about, layer upon layer of queues, being told what to do by jobsworths, delays. Were not in control and thats stressful.

I thought my anger was justified but once Id calmed down I realised it wasnt. There are much more polite ways of dealing with this situation and they were probably just excited about their trip

Add to that trying to deal with bored children and the whole system of security checks. They make us take off clothing, they examine us; its undignified!

If you look around at an airport you can see many people remaining under control with great difficulty. The hot, airless conditions dont help either.

Ros, who used to run fear of flying courses for BA, says a demob holiday feeling also plays a part: When youre travelling, its an escape; it feels unreal as if you can be vitriolic about others and get away with it. After all, youre never going to see them again.

On top of this is the fear that many people have of flying and nowadays the very real threat of terror attacks.

When you feel out of control, you act out of control, says Ros. When youre flying, everything is in other peoples hands; the only experience you can liken it to is being locked up for a crime you havent committed.

The writer and TV producer from North-West London is scared of flying and says that terror threats have exacerbated her fear

However, it is sometimes our nearest and dearest who suffer.

Suzanne Baum, 42, is such a nightmare when flying that her two eldest teenage children refuse to sit with her, leaving her husband Lewis, a 42-year-old lawyer, to put up with her behaviour.

He has to mentally prepare himself before we fly because I turn into an epic b****, lashing out at him, says the writer and TV producer from North-West London.

Ive always been like it but its getting worse as I get older. Im scared of flying and terror threats have made it much worse.

Her older sons Zack, 15, and Leo, 14, have learned to ignore Suzanne when she gets neurotic during a flight

During take-off I listen to music on headphones. Then I start to get sweaty palms and turn to him shouting things like why are you so calm? over and over. The calmer he is, the worse I get and I start hissing really nasty things at him! Once in the air, Im OK for a bit but any turbulence will have me screaming: Were going to crash! If he tries to fall asleep I tell him off because he should be looking after me.

Anything that takes me out of my comfort zone sets me off, too. If any strange-looking person walks past, I have to check them out then get Lewis to as well, saying Oh my God, whys he on his own? He doesnt look right. 

Im scared of flying and terror threats have made it much worse. During take-off I listen to music on headphones. Then I start to get sweaty palms and turn to my husband shouting things like why are you so calm? over and over

Nothing and no one escapes Suzannes wrath: Im so neurotic even the cabin crew talking bothers me. What are they talking about? I hiss to my husband. Is something wrong?

The thing he finds most irritating though is that, because I have a fear of plane toilets, when I go to the loo, I have to leave the door slightly open so he has to come with me to stand outside it.

On one trip, the flight attendant accidentally closed it as he passed. I screamed at him thinking he was my husband. How dare you? You know Im terrified! I had to apologise profusely to the poor man.

Her older sons Zack, 15, and Leo, 14, have learned to ignore her. But recently my seven-year-old son Jake looked up from his iPad on a flight and said: Mummy, shut up. I had a go at my husband for letting him talk to me that way.

I know Im being unreasonable, but cant stop. Next time, Im thinking of asking the doctor for anti-anxiety drugs.

Short of taking pills, what should you do to stop yourself erupting when the security guard confiscates your bottle of water or the five-year-old behind you keeps kicking your seat?

Do breathing exercises, says Ros Taylor. Slow your breathing down until youre taking only six to ten a minute.
Need to cool off? Go food shopping.

You see, while temperatures across the UK last month were hotter than the Med, in our supermarkets its a different story.

Venture into some and youll find its more bracing than parts of the Arctic Circle, where it was 6C (42.8F) a week ago, compared with 5.4C (41.7F) in the meat aisle of my Sainsburys.

Venture into some supermarkets and youll find its more bracing than parts of the Arctic Circle, where it was 6C (42.8F) a week ago, compared with 5.4C (41.7F) in the meat aisle of my Sainsburys. Claire Coleman, pictured, took temperature readings in Britain's major supermarkets to discover which was the coldest

So why do supermarkets feel the need to super-chill the aisles? Theres a theory that when were colder and our bodies are burning more calories to stay warm, we may subconsciously think we need more food - so cranking up the air con is simply a cynical bid to make us spend more.

But this approach does more than just give us goosebumps - the impact on the environment is staggering.

Retail food outlets in the UK are responsible for around 3 per cent of all electrical consumption, and open freezers and chiller cabinets are incredibly inefficient. Can you imagine how much your electricity bill would rise if you left your fridge or freezer wide open all day?

Research shows that fitting doors on fridges and freezers in supermarkets could reduce energy consumption by as much as 50 per cent. And, in France, some supermarkets have signed an agreement to install doors on all cabinets in new stores, saving enough energy by 2020 to keep the whole UK running for two entire days.

But according to Dr Richard Bull of De Montfort Universitys Institute of Energy, supermarkets are reluctant to change. They want produce to be open and accessible, he says. They think thats what consumers want and this encourages them to buy.

And its not just open fridges and freezers that keep the mercury low. The air conditioning throughout these stores is set to Arctic levels, and according to Dr Bull, theres a reason for that.

Very often supermarkets dont take a long-term view when investing in shops, he says. The fabric of the buildings tend to be poor with very little insulation, so they just air condition the whole building - its very inefficient, but its an easier approach.

Why do supermarkets feel the need to super-chill the aisles? Theres a theory that when were colder and our bodies are burning more calories to stay warm, we may subconsciously think we need more food - so cranking up the air con is simply a cynical bid to make us spend more

The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers recommends shops have a minimum of 18C (64F), but to find out just how chilly our supermarkets really are, I took an infrared thermometer to seven of our High Street supermarkets, from upmarket Waitrose to budget Lidl.

I took three readings in each store - one by the cabinets in the fruit and veg department, one by the fridges in the fresh meat aisle, and a third by the freezer cabinets.

Heres how they measured up - and which ones left me shivering...

TESCO

The temperature in Tesco isn't too bad and hits a low of 10.5c. However one customer still thinks it's too chilly (stock photo)

The veg department looks lovely and fresh, but the temperature is closer to London in February. Its even colder in the meat section, but the problem isnt just in the areas where chilled produce is sold.

I encounter cold spots which are clearly where chillier air is being pumped into the store. I cant understand why anyone would think that loo rolls or baked beans needed to be kept cold, so it seems they just cool the whole place and dont care what the impact is.

Sue Jackson, 58, shops at Tesco in Falmouth. Its freezing, she tells me. I suffer from Raynauds Disease (a condition which causes hands and feet to become very cold very quickly) so I either have to avoid it, wrap up, or dash round.

Fruit and veg: 11.3C (52.3F)

Fresh meats: 10.5C (50.9F)

Frozen: 17.5C (63.5F)

Shiver factor:  

Tesco say: We control the temperature of our stores between 18C (64.4F) and 24C (75.2F). The air conditioning kicks in if the temperature rises and we heat stores if it falls. We maintain this to make sure our stores are comfortable for customers and colleagues whilst using a responsible amount of energy.

SAINSBURY'S

Sainsbury's is very cold - the meat section is as cold as London was on Christmas day

When I was talking to my friends about over-air-conditioned supermarkets, the same shop was mentioned over and over again: Sainsburys. In mine, the fruit and veg aisle was cold but not Arctic. But it was the temperature in the meat section that shocked me: the reading of 5.4C makes it as cold as it was in London on Christmas Day.

And, while some of the freezer cabinets had doors on them, two long aisles of open chest freezers meant it was icy in the frozen section. Nadia Marsh, 42, a mother of eight-year-old twins, says: Its a lovely respite from the heat when the children are whining and crying. Its a far less messy than turning the hose on them!

Fruit and veg: 9.6C (49.3F)

Fresh meats: 5.4C (41.7F)

Frozen: 10.5C (50.9F)

Shiver factor:     

Sainsburys say: We regularly check the temperature, which will vary between different aisles.

MARKS & SPENCER

While the hot temperature last month meant that the chilliness inside M&S was welcome, the air conditioning inside the supermarket may not be environmentally friendly (stock photo)

As I walk into the food section of M&S in Clapham Junction, the temperature drops a lot. An elderly gent in front of me turns to his wife and says: Lovely, shall we stay all day?

Im quite sensitive to the cold so I really notice it, Cleudi Gossage, 23, tells me. I know some supermarkets put doors on fridges and freezers and if they all did that, it would limit the amount of energy they waste.

In M&S some of the frozen goods are behind glass, but its still not enough to stop the place feeling very cool, with a low of 7.7C in fresh meats - like Manchester in March. A bit of a surprise, given that the company has vowed to be greener.

Fruit and veg: 9.2C (48.6F)

Fresh meats: 7.7C(45.9F)

Frozen: 16.4C (61.5F)

Shiver factor:    

M&S say: We monitor our stores to ensure that the ambient temperatures are comfortable for customers and employees.

WAITROSE

High-end Waitrose was certainly cool - while the fruit and veg area wasnt staggeringly cold, the frozen section was one of the coldest that was tested (stock photo)

One of my friends has a theory that the posher the shop, the colder it is. Consumers equate air conditioning with luxury, because maintaining low temperatures is expensive.

High-end Waitrose was certainly cool - I noticed a lot of yummy mummies throwing cardigans on - but while the fruit and veg area wasnt staggeringly cold, the frozen section was one of the coldest that we tested.

At the moment I take twice as long shopping as its so refreshing, admitted Jeane Trend-Hill, 48, a Waitrose regular. Although in winter I tend to move around the freezer aisles a lot quicker!

Fruit and veg: 14.8C (58.6F)

Fresh meats: 8.5C (47.3F)

Frozen: 10.6C (51.1F)

Shiver factor:    

Waitrose say: Our shops are regularly checked to make sure temperatures are at the right level to keep our customers comfortable, whilst also ensuring our food is kept fresh.

ASDA

It was so cold inside Asda that some of the workers were wearing fleeces and gloves - in summer (stock photo)

The Asda in Clapham Junction is a vast hangar of a place and must take a staggering amount of energy to cool, so it was a surprise to find that the huge front doors seemed to be fixed open, meaning their air con needs to work extra hard.

As I stepped across the threshold, I was hit with a blast of icy air. Some of the staff in fruit and veg were wearing fleeces and gloves.

However, it was in meat that things got really cold - a staggering 7.6C (45.7F). On the plus side, in the freezer aisle the temperature is a pleasant 18C (64.4F), thanks to doors on the freezers.

As I stepped across the threshold, I was hit with a blast of icy air. Some of the staff in fruit and veg were wearing fleeces and gloves

Emily Davies, 31, from Kent, has a newborn and shops regularly in her local Asda. It was about 30C outside so he was just in a vest but inside it was so cold that his poor little legs started going a bit blotchy so I panicked and ran back out. Im sure nothing was seriously wrong, but it cant have been very comfortable!

Fruit and veg: 14.3C (57.7F)

Fresh meats: 7.6C (45.7F)

Frozen: 18.0C (64.4F)

Shiver factor:  

Asda say: Our stores are carefully temperature controlled for our customers to shop in a comfortable environment, while ensuring our products are in the best condition.

CO-OP

At least at the Co-op, their sliding doors were working which gave me hope that it wouldnt be quite as cold. But their fruit and veg aisle was one of the coldest I came across.

Justine Walker, 37, has a two-year-old and a three-month-old. In general supermarkets are too cold, she tells me. I really dont understand why they have to be quite so cold.

With doors on the freezers, the frozen aisle wasnt quite so Arctic, but still below the 18C recommended.

As Co-Op had doors on the freezers, the frozen aisle wasnt quite so Arctic, but still below the 18C recommended

Fruit and veg: 9.3C (48.7F)

Fresh meats: 8.2C (46.8F)

Frozen: 17.5C (63.5F)

Shiver factor:   

Co-op say: We keep our stores at a suitable temperature so our customers enjoy shopping with us and our colleagues are comfortable too.

LIDL

I dont feel dramatically chillier the second I step through the door. A lot of the less perishable fruit and veg, such as tomatoes, melons, cherries, cucumbers and whole lettuces, isnt refrigerated at all - and all of the fresh meat is in chest fridges with closed lids. It feels like an average day in May. Why cant every supermarket do this?

Fruit and veg: 14.2C (57.6)

Fresh meats: 17.2C (63F)

Frozen: 14.6C (58.3F)

Shiver factor: 
Maria Hopkins was diagnosed with breast cancer on the day she had her 12-week pregnancy scan. Fate, it seems, really can be that cruel.

My husband Rhys and I went for the scan in the morning and we were so nervous, says Maria, 33, a former home economist from South Wales.

After four years of trying for a baby I thought Id never get pregnant. But as the sonographer scanned my stomach and there was a perfectly healthy baby doing somersaults, we were both so happy.

Maria Hopkins, 33, was diagnosed with breast cancer on the day she had her 12-week pregnancy scan. Devastated by the news, Maria and Rhys, 34, a civil servant, assumed that she would have to terminate the pregnancy

Their joy was soon cut short.

That afternoon, we returned to the hospital for biopsy results on a suspected cyst in my left breast, says Maria.

Id discovered it just before I found out I was pregnant and the consultant was confident it was nothing to worry about, although cancer did cross my mind.

When we were told it was a tumour, I went into shock. Rhys was deathly pale and silent. My mind shut down and it took several moments before we could take it all in.

A cancer diagnosis at any time in a womans life is traumatic. To hear those dreaded words when youre pregnant must be devastating.

Yet according to new research by the Breast Cancer Care charity, which surveyed nearly 500 younger women, one in ten who developed breast cancer first spotted the signs while she was pregnant or breastfeeding.

She had a mastectomy when she was 13 weeks pregnant, then started chemotherapy at 18 weeks. Despite fears Maria was able to carry her baby to full term and little Jack arrived naturally in March 2013

The number of women aged 45 and under with breast cancer is said to be on the rise, with an estimated 5,600 cases in this age group each year.

Studies suggest that the longer women delay motherhood, the higher the chance they will develop cancer in their lifetime. The average age of mothers in 2014 rose to 30, about four years older than in the Seventies.

Women who have their first child after the age of 35 are 40 per cent more likely to get breast cancer than those who have one at 20 or before, says consultant obstetrician Shazia Malik at Londons Portland Hospital.

Amanda Maclean, 42, a programme director from Ashford, Kent, who is married to Jamie, 43, a business manager. She was told she had breast cancer at 22 weeks pregnant

Why there is this increased risk is not absolutely clear, but it is likely to relate to increased hormone levels in pregnancy which stimulate rapid breast growth.

If youre older, the cells are more likely to have genetic defects and this then gets replicated. The increased genetic damage in the cells can lead to breast cancer.

Devastated by the news, Maria and Rhys, 34, a civil servant, assumed that she would have to terminate the pregnancy.

And she winces with guilt when she remembers how her first instinct was not for her unborn baby but for herself.

Amandas chemo failed to shrink the tumour, though, and she needed a mastectomy and yet more chemotherapy. At 34 weeks, the doctors decided to deliver baby Aengus by Caesarean. She had a mastectomy six days later

Of course, I didnt want to lose this baby but if Im completely honest, my first thoughts were about surviving. Its only recently that Ive felt any guilt about that. But at the time my focus was on getting through it, even if that meant losing the pregnancy. I said to Rhys: What if the treatment harms the baby? and he replied: Whats a baby if it hasnt got a mother?

Luckily, their consultant said it wouldnt be necessary to abort and that Maria could be treated while the pregnancy progressed. But there would be risks.

She had a mastectomy when she was 13 weeks pregnant, then started chemotherapy at 18 weeks.

They let me listen to the babys heartbeat and I was so grateful each time. Initially, the doctors said they might deliver him at 30 weeks but as that time approached, he was doing so well, that they decided to keep him in there longer

Every time I went for chemo I had to sign a consent form to acknowledge that I might miscarry the child. It was awful, she says. While other mums-to-be were shopping for their baby and decorating nurseries, I couldnt because I thought I could lose the baby at any point.

Mum would come with me to the hospital and I saw the horror on peoples faces when they realised that it was me - the lady with the baby bump, not my mum in her 60s - going through chemo. Id see the fear in their eyes and think: Please dont look at me like that.

Plus, I looked and felt dreadful. I had mouth ulcers, my hair fell out, I had thrush, I was exhausted. By this point we knew it was a boy and he had started moving inside me. I was so worried the chemo could kill him but I thought, Ive got to do this.

The thought of pumping toxic drugs into a pregnant woman may go against doctors every instinct but according to consultant medical oncologist Dr Medy Tsalic, at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, the risks of cancer treatment to the unborn baby are small, depending on how advanced the pregnancy is.

Police officer Andrea Roberts discovered a pea-sized lump in her left breast in November 2013, the day before her 20-week scan, which turned out to be cancer

She says: Pregnant women with cancer are treated in exactly the same way as other breast cancer patients. Often this means surgery first, either lumpectomy or mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy four to six weeks after surgery and possibly radiotherapy, although wed wait until the baby was born before we started radiotherapy, as we assume that can harm a foetus.

Although the chemotherapy drugs do pass through the placenta to the baby, the general consensus is that its safe in the second and third trimester, when the risk of foetal malformation is less than 2 per cent, the same as for those not exposed to chemotherapy. However, chemo during this period may increase the risk of low birthweight and stillbirth.

Maria had a foetal scan once a month. They let me listen to the babys heartbeat and I was so grateful each time. Initially, the doctors said they might deliver him at 30 weeks but as that time approached, he was doing so well, that they decided to keep him in there longer.

Andrea had a mastectomy while 31 weeks pregnant and her daughter Matilda (pictured) was born safely via Caesarean four weeks later

In fact, Maria was able to carry her baby to full term and little Jack arrived naturally in March 2013.

He was absolutely perfect, weighing 6lb 3oz, says Maria. Id lost all my hair but he had a full head of red hair - we joked it was from the red drugs in the chemo - and perfect nails. I held him and said: I would go through chemo 100 times again for you. Its all fine now and its going to be OK.

Today, Jack is three years old and, according to his mother, an absolute character.

Maria, meanwhile, had to have radiotherapy and the drug Herceptin - which helps to stop uncontrolled cell growth - after the birth, and is on Tamoxifen, which decreases the risk of recurrence for the next seven years.

She now wonders if the pregnancy might have saved her life.

Andreas husband Guy was able to take several weeks paid leave from the Army to take care of his family while Andrea underwent four courses of chemo (pictured, the family on Matilda's first birthday with her sisters)

When I found the lump it was so large and obvious, and the doctors say its possible that with all the hormonal changes going on in my body because I was newly pregnant, it suddenly became more noticeable. Who is to say I would have discovered it soon enough, or at all, if I hadnt been pregnant? Well never know.

While Maria thinks pregnancy may have helped to reveal her cancer, many women only discover a lump when it is fairly advanced because they mistake it for a symptom linked with pregnancy

As for having another child, I thought the chemo would kill off my eggs but the doctors say there is a small chance I could get pregnant again. Im very maternal and would love another.

But the fear of carrying a second baby after everything that happened feels very real. For now Im so grateful that Im still here for Jack.

Yet while Maria thinks pregnancy may have helped to reveal her cancer, many women only discover a lump when it is fairly advanced because they mistake it for a symptom linked with pregnancy.

That was the case for Amanda Maclean, 42, a programme director from Ashford, Kent, who is married to Jamie, 43, a business manager.

When I discovered a lump in my left breast in December 2014, three months into my first pregnancy, I wasnt unduly worried because Id suffered from lumpy breasts and mastitis before, she says.

Andrea said: If I have the occasional niggle, such as in my knee, I cant help but think: Has it come back in my bones? But all I can do is keep as fit and healthy as I can'

My GP thought it could be mastitis again and prescribed antibiotics. When they didnt help I was referred for an ultrasound, then a biopsy, but cancer never crossed my mind.

It was only when a breast cancer nurse came to talk to me at the follow-up appointment that I thought: This cant be good.

I was right. I had whats called a metaplastic triple negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive and quite rare form of the condition, affecting less than 0.02 per cent of breast cancer sufferers.

The news took a while to sink in. By then I was 22 weeks pregnant and I became racked with fear and guilt over how my treatment would affect my baby. I also became very scared that I might not be there for him as he grows up. I still have waves of terror about this.

Andrea is now the mother to Matilda and her twin daughers

Amanda was referred to a doctor in London who specialises in cases such as hers.

My new oncologist told me that the tumour was aggressive and growing rapidly and wed need to start chemotherapy straight away. That left me shellshocked.

I had my first round of chemotherapy at 26 weeks and suffered the side-effects: hair loss, nausea, joint pain and fatigue. This didnt go very far in reassuring me that the baby would be OK. How could he be healthy when I felt so wretched?

I panicked with each round of treatment and every change in the babys behaviour.

On one occasion, after a round of chemo, I couldnt feel him moving at all. I dashed to the hospital in a panic, but they scanned me and he was fine.

I cry every time I think about leaving my little girls without their mum. I had to do whatever it took to get through this for them. That night, I kept waking in a panic, feeling like Id been punched in the face when I remembered the consultants words

Amandas chemo failed to shrink the tumour, though, and she needed a mastectomy and yet more chemotherapy. At 34 weeks, the doctors decided to deliver baby Aengus by Caesarean. She had a mastectomy six days later.

Aengus was born weighing 5lb 5oz and was absolutely gorgeous. Fortunately I was able to breastfeed him for the two weeks between the mastectomy and the second course of chemo, which felt like a small victory.

Today the doctors keep a very close eye on me. I have been told the chances of the cancer recurring are highest in the first two-and-a-half years and if it does recur, it could kill me within six months.

Despite this I remain positive most of the time. We have a lovely, bubbly baby boy who fills us with optimism and joy.

Police officer Andrea Roberts discovered a pea-sized lump in her left breast in November 2013, the day before her 20-week scan.

I was in the bath and felt something like a ball bearing, says Andrea, 40, who already had twin daughters Amelia and Francesca, now four, with husband Guy, 40, a colour sergeant in the Parachute Regiment.

I was advised to see my GP and both she and a nurse reassured me that it was probably only a cyst.

She is now on Tamoxifen for the foreseeable future, has yearly mammograms and, with three healthy daughters, is looking forward. But she admits there are days when it can be a struggle.

But by the time I had my biopsy at 24 weeks, I had convinced myself it was bad news. The surgeon said he was 95 per cent certain it was cancer and my first thought wasnt for the unborn baby but for Amelia and Francesca, who had only just turned two.

I cry every time I think about leaving my little girls without their mum. I had to do whatever it took to get through this for them. That night, I kept waking in a panic, feeling like Id been punched in the face when I remembered the consultants words.

Andrea had a lumpectomy in January 2014. I woke up from the anaesthetic and my first thought was for the baby. Someone from the maternity unit immediately checked the heart rate and everything was fine.

Amanda's son Aengus was born weighing 5lb 5oz and was 'absolutely gorgeous'

But Andrea then faced a dilemma. The tumour had been aggressive and doctors wanted to buy more time for the baby - so they suggested a full mastectomy on the affected breast, to be 100 per cent sure that the disease had been eradicated.

That was a shock but I realised I had no choice, she says. I had to have the operation to ensure it was completely gone. Its a decision I regret now because there was no sign of cancer but we couldnt have known that at the time.

Andrea had her mastectomy while 31 weeks pregnant and her daughter Matilda was born safely via Caesarean four weeks later.

She was so tiny at 5lb 4oz and I was scared to hold her at first, she says. But she was perfect and my overwhelming feeling was relief that she was finally here.

The worst part of the whole thing was not being able to breastfeed her. I tried but I couldnt get her to latch on, so I expressed for a couple of weeks before chemo started. But I still felt guilty about that for a long time.

Today, Jack is three years old and, according to his mother Maria, an absolute character

When I started chemo, a lady in the waiting room saw me bottle- feeding Matilda and said: Oh, we didnt need bottles in our day. I felt like saying: No, but with all the drugs in my body, do I want to be feeding her my breast milk? You shouldnt nurse babies while on chemo and I wish people would think before being so insensitive.

Andreas husband Guy was able to take several weeks paid leave from the Army to take care of his family while Andrea underwent four courses of chemo.

She is now on Tamoxifen for the foreseeable future, has yearly mammograms and, with three healthy daughters, is looking forward. But she admits there are days when it can be a struggle.

If I have the occasional niggle, such as in my knee, I cant help but think: Has it come back in my bones? But all I can do is keep as fit and healthy as I can.

My aim is to be around for my girls as long as possible. Some mothers arent as lucky.
Do you have a back to school shot? Email FemailAU@mailonline.com

Other mothers in the past have shared their back to school shots

The photo has been shared more than 250,000 times on Facebook

The snap shows her leaping through the air, with the kids behind her

A photo uploaded to Facebook of a mother's joy has swiftly gone viral

It's the moment every frazzled mother looks forward to after several weeks of trying to keep bored children entertained with daily activities during school holidays.

But some are more expressive about their feelings than others.

Like this mother, Keshia Leeann Gardner, from Alabama, whose jumping for joy photographs as she waves her children off back to school have swiftly gone viral.

Delirious: A photograph of a mother from Alabama has gone viral, thanks to the fact that she is jumping for joy at sending her children back to school

Back to school blues: The mother, Keshia Leeann Gardner, captioned the post: 'Happy first day of school, kids'

'Happy first day of school, kids. I'm gonna miss y'all [sic],' the mother of five captioned her witty Facebook post uploaded last week.

'Please help me share this with other parents that need a good laugh!'.

The photo shows the mother springing across the camera screen with glee, eyes delirious with happiness, while her children stand behind her with mixed emotions.

One of the boys has his head in his hands, while two stand with their arms folded, smiling. The only girl bends down to the height of her youngest brother in one photo, and stands up in the other.

Good laugh: At present, the mum's hilarious snap has been shared more than 250,000 times, and nearly 10,000 people have chimed in to comment with their own experiences

At present, the mum's hilarious snap has been shared more than 250,000 times.

And nearly 10,000 people have chimed in to comment with their own experiences.

'The first day back at school in our house is referred to as Mother's Day,' one fellow mum wrote.

'You did what all parents are thinking,' someone else added.

Mother's day: Of course, Ms Gardner isn't the only parent celebrating the return of her disgruntled offspring to school - this snap from Dublin went viral earlier this year

Of course, Ms Gardner isn't the only parent to celebrate the return of her disgruntled offspring to school.

Another mother, believed to be from Dublin, posted a photo on Imgur back in March which was viewed more than one million times.

That photo showed two girls, of secondary school age slouching by the wall, looking extremely grumpy with their hands dangling by their sides and their shoulders drooping.

A younger sister looked slightly more cheerful, standing to attention and giving the camera a cheeky grin.

One of the girl's brothers firmly fixed his eyes on the mother while she was mid air, while the other appeared to be smiling through gritted teeth.
Many wear eye-popping make up to help them portray emotions

On Sunday the Barra Aquatics Centre in Rio will be hit with all the glitz and glamour that is the synchronised swimming.

More than 100 athletes will have the chance to perform the challenging routines that they have spent years refining their flexibility and endurance for.

Known as the 'aquatic ballet,' the disciplined teams not only have to ensure their grace and rhythm is perfect, they also need to learn a strict beauty routine.

Striking: On Sunday the Barra Aquatics Centre in Rio will be hit with all the glitz and glamour that is the synchronised swimming

Ready to go: More than 100 athletes will have the chance to perform the challenging routines that they have spent years refining their flexibility and endurance for

Many of the teams choose to wear make up for their routine so that their expressions and emotions are portrayed clearly to the judging panel.

To do this, the teams are often briefed on how to apply waterproof make up and other vibrant products.

According to make up artist Melissa Nicholl, Make Up Forever introduced a line of make up inspired by the synchronised swimmers in France.

How do they do it? Known as the 'aquatic ballet,' the disciplined teams not only have to ensure their grace and rhythm is perfect, they also need to learn a strict beauty routine

Bold: Many of the teams choose to wear make up for their routine so that their expressions and emotions are portrayed clearly to the judging panel

Special ingredient: The athletes use gelatin on their hair to set it - most of them saying their hair feels like cement afterwards

'The products are using a special thing called volatile silicone oil which makes all of our waterproof products waterproof,' she said in a video.

'It just means it evaporates to leave it permanently on your skin until you remove it with a remover.'

In the same video, former Olympic Canadian synchronised swimmer, Erin Wilson, said make up is an important part of their regime.

'We are a very artistic sport so the whole look is important. You have to have the perfect hair, the perfect suits and the perfect bodies,' she said.

Secret ingredient: Waterproof make up products products use a special thing called volatile silicone oil which makes all of the Make Up Forever waterproof products waterproof

Perfect: Some teams choose to have a make up artist draw up an atelier to show them how to do the look themselves so their overall presentation reflects the precision of their routine

'Everything needs to be perfect and make up is one of those things you need to have.'

The line includes entirely waterproof products and an Aqua Seal product that can turn all types of eye make up and pencils into waterproof textures.

Some teams choose to have a make up artist draw up an atelier to show them how to do the look themselves so their overall presentation reflects the precision of their routine.

Those who don't use waterproof make up layer on regular high-end make up brands and rely heavily on the use of primers to get them through - some even wearing chapstick as an eye make up primer.

Determined: Those who don't use waterproof make up layer on regular make up brands and rely on the use of primers - some even wearing chapstick as an eye make up primer

When it comes to the hair, the secret ingredient is unflavoured gelatin, known as Knox.

Ana Synchro detailed their routine for creating the perfect 'Knox bun' - the routine starting with a tight ponytail and a twisted bun.

They then secure the bun with bobby pins and add a hair net.

Afterwards they boil water and mix it into the gelatin before they comb and paint layers of it into the hair and work it to the ends.

The Make Up Forever team also spoke to May from the French synchronised swimming team who said the gelatin left their hair feeling like cement.

Preparing: The Australian team competing in Rio (pictured) were inspired by Australia's greatest tourist attractions including the Great Barrier Reef and will compete next week

Ready: 'For the team free routine, an Australian outback theme has been chosen which takes us on a journey through the unique flora and fauna of our land,' captain Bianca Hammett said

'You could leave it on for a week. It nourishes the hair, too. Every country does the same thing, even if they add some secret ingredient to it that we dont know about,' she said.

The Australian team competing in Rio were inspired by Australia's greatest tourist attractions including the Great Barrier Reef and will compete next week.

'For the team free routine, an Australian outback theme has been chosen which takes us on a journey through the unique flora and fauna of our land,' captain Bianca Hammett said.
They say it's the 'happiest place on earth' and for one little girl, a trip to Disneyland proved to be just that.

Summer, a deaf girl form Wales, recently paid a visit to the Paris theme park alongside her mother where they were greeted by a real life prince and princesses.

'Ariel' - from the Little Mermaid - 'Belle' and 'the Beast' - both from Beauty and the Beast - approached the youngster, seemingly expecting her to talk excitedly to them.

However, the trio quickly realise Summer is unable to hear them, with the heart warming moment that happens next captured on video by the girl's mum.

Scroll down for video

Amazing! Deaf girl Summer (pictured) was greeted by Ariel from the Little Mermaid on a recent trip to Disneyland, in Paris, with the princess helping her communicate to other characters using sign language

After seemingly noticing that both Beauty and the Beast are unable to communicate with Summer, Ariel rushes over to ensure the youngster isn't left out.

Impressively the princess offers her help through her knowledge of sign language, enabling the girl to talk to her favourite characters.

Princess Ariel first spells out her name for the young girl, who is clearly shocked that a Disney princess knows sign language.

Not content with Summer only being able to communicate with her, Ariel teaches her two others how to spell their name using sign language.

'B-e-l-l-e,' Ariel taps out with her fingers as princess Belle follows along.

Next it's on to the Beast, whose is Summer's favourite character according to her mother.

Helping hand! Ariel (pictured in blue) assisted characters from Beauty and the Beast talk to the young girl

Incredible: Summer's mother captured on video the heart warming effort of Ariel to help her young daughter. Video of the meeting has had more than 200,000 views on Facebook

'It'd be B-e-a-s-t,' Ariel says as the reclusive animal-man follows along.

Looking amazed as her favourite characters are able to communicate with her, Summer's mum explains the look on her daughter's face.

'I think she's a bit baffled that you know,' the mother said.
Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans to reintroduce grammar schools to Britain.

But would you be able to pass the 11-plus exam to qualify for a place?

Now you can find out with an online quiz based on previous tests taken by 11-year-old children to win a place in a grammar school.

Would you be able to pass the selective exams to qualify for you for the schools? Would you pass? Take the test and find out. Above: The correct answer is 1435

Professional services marketplace, Bidvine, has created the mock entry exam.

The recent news of the PM's decision has been met with a strong reaction from those who disagree with bringing them back.

Grammar schools were banned in 1998 by Tony Blair to moderate education levels and stop social bias.

Would you pass? Take the test and find out - answers are in the captions below

Answer: 4235

Answer: Wear

Correct answer: Fiona came third

Correct answer: Lamb

Correct answer: Lame

Correct answer: Card

Correct answer: A

Correct answer: D

Correct answer: A

Correct answer: Was

Correct answer: We'd do

Correct answer: Had to

Correct answer: 27

Correct answer: B
Helen Skelton's father has leapt to her defence following days of criticism over her outfit choices.

Richard Skelton was invited onto This Morning today to discuss the Twitter storm surrounding her wardrobe - and said he found the whole debate 'quite sad'.

'It's more about what women do,' he told hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes. 'Why do we always have to comment on women's clothes?'

Elegant: Helen Skelton opted for this all-black trouser outfit for the fifth day of Olympic coverage - which, as one social media user noted, would not 'upset the underwear police'

When Ruth asked whether it annoyed him that male presenters don't suffer the same scrutiny from viewers over their outfit choices, Richard blasted: 'It's a bit sad. I thought we'd moved on from this.'

His comments come after Helen settled on a more demure choice on Wednesday. The BBC host went for an elegant all-black number for the fifth day of coverage at the pool.

As one social media user wryly commented, it was an outfit which would definitely not 'upset the underwear police'.

Another pointed to the irony of Helen possibly feeling forced to cover up for flashing too much flesh when 'she's presenting a job with half naked people'.

Controversy: Helen has been turning heads with her risque outfit choices

Helen has found herself at the centre of a social media storm this week, as people flooded Twitter to criticise her choice of outfits.

It started on Saturday night when Twitter went into meltdown after she wore a navy dress with a short skirt in the warmth of the Rio swimming arena, which many pointed out offered more than a glimpse of her enviably long legs.

Then there was a stunning orange number, which was criticised for making her look like she was about to go clubbing.

And a gorgeous white playsuit worn on day four showed off her bra, which was apparently more than some could cope with.

Others, however, have tuned into the swimming - on in the early hours of the morning - just to see the stunning presenter.

Happy families: Sadly for Helen's fans, the former Blue Peter star is well and truly taken, having tied the knot with rugby league player Richie Myler (pictured with their son Ernie)

In a thinly-veiled reference to the furore caused by some of Helen's outfits, Richie recently wrote on Instagram: 'I wonder if Ernie will make the front page with this outfit on'

But sadly for Helen's fans, the former Blue Peter star is well and truly taken, having tied the knot with rugby league player Richie Myler two years ago.

And Richie, who decided to stay at home with their son Ernie due to fears over the Zika virus, has been supporting her all the way.

In a thinly-veiled reference to the furore caused by some of Helen's outfits, he recently wrote on Instagram: 'I wonder if Ernie will make the front page with this outfit on.

'Your doing great keep up the good work! we are both very proud #yummymummy (sic.).'

Helen enjoys a spot of swimming with her husband Richie and their son Ernie, 14 months

The couple are completely loved-up, if their social media accounts are anything to go by, and with their sizzling holiday snaps they could give Posh and Becks a run for their money

Helen has some 25,000 devoted followers on social media, as well as countless fan pages on Facebook - and more than 10,000 people have been discussing 'Helen Skelton's legs'

The good-looking couple are completely loved-up, if their social media accounts are anything to go by, and with their endless stream of holiday snaps they could give Posh and Becks a run for their money.

Helen has some 25,000 devoted followers on Instagram, as well as countless fan pages on Facebook - and a quick search shows that more than 10,000 people have been discussing 'Helen Skelton's legs' on the site in recent weeks.

Last summer, the couple welcomed a third member of their family - a little boy called Ernie - and he is every bit as adorable as you'd expect.

Last summer, Helen and Richie welcomed a third member of their family - a little boy called Ernie - and he is every bit as adorable as you'd expect (pictured)

The family are melting hearts on social media with their endless stream of family snaps, showing them doing everything together from shopping trips to sun-kissed holidays

They moved to the south of France last year, after Richie, 26, signed with the Catalan Dragons club.

Now the inseparable trio are melting hearts on social media with their family snaps, doing everything from shopping trips to sun-kissed holidays together - with Helen's 'boys' following her to locations all around the world as she films Countryfile.

And Richie has proved himself quite the doting husband, posting motivational messages to his wife on Instagram along with adorable snaps of 14-month-old Ernie.

Richie has proved himself quite the doting husband, posting motivational messages to his wife on Instagram along with adorable snaps of 14-month-old Ernie

Devoted: Helen's 'boys' have been following her to locations all around the world as she films Countryfile, but stayed at home during the Olympics due to fears over the Zika virus

In a recent interview, Helen recalled: 'He was going to come with me until a couple of weeks ago when my husband sat down and was like, "Helen, the Zika virus"'

Helen's family have been forced to watch from afar as she heads up Rio, with them pulling out of joining her due to fears over Zika.

She told the Mirror: 'He was going to come with me until a couple of weeks ago when my husband sat down and was like, "Helen, the Zika virus"

'And he can get where water couldnt now, so what would he be like holed-up in a hotel room in Rio?

'Its hard because its 20 days and Ive never been away from him for one night. But you cant not do the Olympics.'

Speaking of leaving her family at home, Helen said: 'Its hard because its 20 days and Ive never been away from him for one night. But you cant not do the Olympics'
The King ascended the throne in 2006 after his father, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, abdicated and introduced democracy to the country

The little boy, who was born in February, looked adorable and was sporting a full head of hair

The royals brought their son, Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, for his first trip to the area

The new son of the King and Queen of Bhutan is just about to turn six months old  but when you're a royal, you're never to young to start greeting your subjects.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, 36, and Queen Jetsun Pema, 26, made two public appearances this week in Bhutan's Bumthang district, bringing along their little boy, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, His Royal Highness The Gyalsey.

The sweet prince has already grown so much since his last public outing in June, when he visited the ancestral home of the Wangchuck Dynasty.

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Family trip: The King and Queen of Bhutan took their young son out to the Bumthang this week

Hey, baby! The six-month-old prince was introduced to his mom's ancestral home

On Tuesday, the family arrived in Bumthang  the Queen's ancestral home  where a crowd welcomed them.

'Their Majesties met the people of Chamkhar, gathered in thousands to meet their King, Queen, and Prince,' the palace wrote on the King's Facebook page.

In images from the appearance, the Druk Gyalpo, or Dragon King  so named because Bhutan translates to 'Land of the Dragons'  is seen wearing a red, blue, and green plaid outfit while carrying his baby.

The tiny Prince wore an adorable yellow robe, white socks, and formal little white shoes  which at some point he kicked off to go barefoot.

He also has a full head of hair, and has had one since he was born. A few months after his birth, official images showed the baby with long, combed-over locks.

What a cutie: The proud parents showed off their son's full head of hair

New royal: The King was quite affectionate with his son as thousands of people turned up to greet them

On Wednesday, the little Prince was presented to the people of Chumey. Thousands showed up again, and the King offered tokha, a food offering, to the people.

For the second day in Bumthang, the King wore a striped robe while the Queen stood by in a purple dress. Their son had on a robe as well, and seemed quite calm despite the crowds.

The Himalayan monarch and his wife announced the birth of their son, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, on February 19.

'Their majesties and members of the royal family are filled with profound joy on the birth of His Royal Highness,' read the statement.

Sheltered: The Prince was born in February and has only been out a few times since then

During the official presentation, the King gave a food offering to the people

'With the blessings of the guardian deities of Bhutan and protectors of the dharma (divine truth), and the prayers of the Bhutanese people, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness The Gyalsey (prince) are both in perfect health.'

The prince's birth was marked by sacred Bhutanese traditions with the Je Khenpo, the chief abbot and spiritual leader of the majority Buddhist nation, presiding over religious ceremonies, the office said.

The young King is now celebrating ten years in the position, having ascended the throne in 2006 at the age of 26, after his father, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, abdicated so that he could take his place. The progressive former King also introduced democracy to the country.

What a 'do! Desktop calendar images featuring Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck have been released on the state's official website and social media pages

Welcome to the world: In April, King Jigme and Queen Jetsun, revealed his name in a public ceremony

Touch-ups: Ahead of the ceremony, the Prince's proud grandfather, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, was seen lovingly tidying his mop of dark hair with a soft white brush

On October 13, 2011, the new King married the Dragon Queen, who at the time was an international relations student at Regent's College in London.

The match made headlines at the time because the young King was more openly affectionate with his wife than citizens, who had no legal access to television until 1999, were used to.

However, his very public displays of affection - which included kissing his wife on the cheek and holding her hand - was well-received by young people, who News.com.au reports started following suit.
When shih tzu owner Josh Pitruzzella allowed his father to take his beloved Mimi to the grooming parlor he thought she was going for her usual 'trim'.

But when the Niagara University pre-med student from Wheatfield, New York, went to collect her, he was horrified to find that the normally shaggy dog had been left with almost none of her hair.

Comparing the outcome to 'a rat on meth', Josh shared a picture of 11-year-old Mimi on Twitter where she has become the brunt of numerous jokes from people who think her new look is funny.

New look: Shih tzu Mimi, 11, pictured left before her haircut and right after, looked dramatically different after returning from the grooming parlor

In shock: Her owner Josh Pitruzzella, a student from Wheatfield, New York, was so surprised by her appearance that he compared her on Twitter to a 'rat on meth'

Thrifty: Josh, pictured with Mimi, said his father, who took Mimi to the groomer, had tried to cut costs by asking them to 'shave everything but the ears and tail'

Downcast: After Josh posted before and after photographs of Mimi, pictured, online, she has become the brunt of numerous jokes

Josh said the error was the result of a cost-cutting measure by his father who had instructed the groomer to 'shave everything but the ears and tail', he told BuzzFeed.

Normally, he said a 'nice' cut would set the family back approximately $150. But this hairstyle only cost $35 because it was charged as a 'trim'.

Josh said his father had failed to inform him of his new money-saving tactics, leaving his son 'speechless' and 'in awe' when he saw the results.

'My dad never told me he was going to save money and just shave my dog,' he said. 'But the groomer told me what happened, so she was just doing what she was told.'

Cute: Normally, Josh said a 'nice' cut would set the family back approximately $150. But Mimi's latest hairstyle only cost $35 because it was charged as a 'trim'

Talking point: Mimi, pictured left, has caused amusement online where she was compared by one Twitter user to Frank from television show Shameless, pictured right

Threatening? One Twitter user joked that Mimi, pictured, is 'already planning her revenge'

The dog has become a laughing stock online where she has been subjected to cruel jokes and compared to Frank from television show Shameless.

Josh's tweet has been re-tweeted more than 12,000 times, liked more than 18,000 times and prompted hundreds of amused comments. One user joked that she is 'already planning her revenge'.
Snake fruit has scales to match its name and is only 82 calories

Miracle berries have almost no calories and turn food from sour to sweet

The strange 'fingered citron' looks like a hand but tastes like a lemon

Weird and wonderful: can you tell your rambutan from your snake fruit?

Just a few years ago, you may never have even heard of superfoods like goji and acai berries.

Now, of course, these celebrity favourites are a staple of the 'eat clean' food scene, with stars like Matthew McConaughey and Gwyneth Paltrow raving about the nutrient-packed wonder berries.

But would you be able to recognise them at first glance?

With ever more weird and wonderful fruit from around the world hitting supermarket shelves, it's worth knowing your Buddha's hand from your snake fruit before your next trip to the grocers.

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Celebrity favourite goji berries are only 32 calories a serving and are packed full of vitamins including vitamin C, vitamin B2, vitamin A and iron

GOJI BERRIES

A favourite of celebrities from Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow to Miranda Kerr and Fearne Cotton, these bright red berries are often sold dried and are only 32 calories a serving.

Used in Chinese medicine for more than 6,000 years, they're packed full of antioxidants and vitamins: including vitamin C, vitamin B2, vitamin A and iron.

But not everyone thinks these strong, bitter berries deserve their superfood label.

NHS Choices says evidence the berries can help prevent cancer and aid digestion are based on small studies with high concentrations of berries.

They're widely available, but on the pricey side - a 225g bag is on sale for 7.99 at Holland and Barrett.

Sometimes called the 'fingered citron', the peculiar-looking Buddha's Hand is segmented into long fingers. It has no juice or pulp and a teaspoon of rind is only three calories

BUDDHA'S HAND

Otherwise known as the 'fingered citron', this strange Chinese fruit creepily resembles a human hand, as it's segmented into long fingers.

A zingy citrus fruit that's related to the lemon, it has no juice or pulp so it's most commonly used for zest, rind and candied peel.

One teaspoon of the rind is only three calories and it's free from fat and sugar. Like lemons, it's full of vitamin C.

It's not readily available in the UK as yet but try specialist grocers and Chinese and Japanese supermarkets for this elongated yellow fruit.

Rambutan is red and spiky on the outside, yet smooth and white in the middle. Its name is derived from the Malay word for hairy. Ten fruit add up to just 68 calories

RAMBUTAN

This red and spiky southeast Asian fruit hides white flesh inside and its name is, appropriately, derived from the Malay word for 'hairy'.

Only 68 calories for every 10 fruit, it's also full of fibre - which can aid digestion.

It's a mixture of sweet and sour but is closest to the flavour of a grape.

They're rare but can be found in the UK if you look hard enough - though they're not cheap. Thai Food Online sells a 500g bag for 7.99.

They may look like blackcurrants but these are in fact acai berries. They're touted as a superfood which can help with weight loss and aging, and packed with antioxidants, fibre, and vitamins

ACAI BERRIES

They may look like blackcurrants but these Brazilian berries taste very different.

The tart fruit is a favourite of Victoria Beckham and Dallas Buyers Club star Matthew McConaughey, who reportedly likes to sprinkle the berries on his granola in the morning.

They are a true superfood, jam-packed full of vitamins, including A, B, C and E, as well as zinc and essential fatty acids.

They're readily available in powder or capsule form in the UK, but come at a cost: Greens Organic sell a 50g 265-calorie pouch for a whopping 9.99.

The African horned cucumber, or horned melon, is native to South Africa. It has plenty of health benefits as it's packed with antioxidants, and is supposed to help with weight loss, stress, and anxiety. It has even been linked with slowing down the progress of Alzheimer's Disease

AFRICAN HORNED CUCUMBER

This has to be one of the strangest on this list - and that's saying something.

Also called a kiwano, the weird horned fruit is native to South Africa and has only been introduced to other parts of the world very recently.

It's packed with antioxidants, and is supposed to help with weight loss, stress, anxiety. It has even been linked with slowing down the progress of Alzheimer's Disease.

Only 42 calories per 100g, it tastes like a cross between a cucumber and a melon - but more like a banana when it ripens.

It's not readily available in the UK yet - but if you really want to try it, you can buy nine pieces for 32 from Fruit for the Office.

The speckled brown wood apple is 140 calories per 100g serving and is native to India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It's hard to find in the UK

WOOD APPLES

The speckled brown fruit is also sometimes called an elephant apple and is native to India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where they're almost ubiquitous.

It's very sweet - yet it's only 140 calories per 100g.

They're hard to find in the UK - but you can try it in jam form for 2.99 from The Asian Cookshop's website.

The monstera deliciosa is not too monstrous as it tastes like fruit salad. It's native to the tropical rainforests of southern Mexico

MONSTERA DELICIOSA

This peculiar-looking fruit hails from the tropical rainforests of southern Mexico, and tastes like a lively fruit salad - in fact, it's often called the 'fruit salad plant'.

Loaded with Vitamin C, a 100g serving is only 40 calories.

You can't buy the fruit on its own in the UK yet - but why not try growing your own monstera deliciosa plant instead? You can buy a 160cm plant from House of Plants for 75.

Snake fruit lives up to its name with its rough, scaly skin. About the size and shape of a fig, it's relatively unknown here but in Indonesia, it's everywhere

SNAKE FRUIT

The fig-shaped fruit is covered in rough, brown scales - fittingly.

Here it's relatively unknown, but in Indonesia, it's very common, and tastes like a diluted pineapple.

Due to its high levels of potassium and pectin, it's often referred to as the Fruit of Memory, but has other health benefits too. It's the opposite of a laxative, so it can help stop diarrhea.

Five-hundred grams of the 82-calorie fruit are available at Thai Food Online for 7.15.

The dull-looking sapodilla has bright orange flesh. It prefers a sunny climate, and tastes a bit like a pear

SAPODILLA

The dull-looking fruit prefers a sunny climate to match its bright orange flesh, and tastes a bit like a pear.

Native to southern Mexico, it's thought it could help prevent some types of cancer because of its high fibre content.

Good luck trying to find this one on sale in the UK - but wholesaler MS Fruit and Veg UK seem to stock the rare fruit for an undisclosed price.

Inside the tough, dark purple exterior of the mangosteen lies juicy, soft white flesh. It was used as a traditional remedy in its homeland of Indonesia

Miracle berries are so called because when eaten, everything sour will miraculously taste sweet

MANGOSTEEN

The purple fruit hides juicy, soft and fibrous white flesh.

A study found that its juice could help prevent heart disease and diabetes in obese people, as it has anti-inflammatory properties, according to BioMed Central's Nutrition Journal.

It tastes extremely sweet - almost like ice cream - and yet is under 80 calories for a 100g serving.

You can pick 500g of mangosteen up from Amazon for 9.99.

MIRACLE BERRIES

These red berries are true to their name. When eaten, all sour foods will suddenly taste sweet as if by magic.

It's due to the effects of miraculin, a natural sugar substitute. The effects lasts about an hour.

But you can also use the berries as a healthy alternative to sugar to sweeten drinks as they have almost no calories.

You can buy a packet for 15.99 from Mymberry.co.uk - it's a great trick for a dinner party.

It may be vicious on the outside, but inside, the prickly pear fruit is very sweet. You can eat the leaves, stem, fruit, and flowers of this fruit

PRICKLY PEAR FRUIT

It's a little known fact that some cacti bear fruit, and this one tastes like watermelon or dilute raspberries. You can eat the leaves, stem, fruit and flowers of this fruit, but requires a lot of preparation to make it edible.

Rich in vitamin C and fibre, they're also low calorie, at 61 calories per 149g serving.

It's most commonly turned into jam or other preserves, but you can buy 10 whole from Fine Food Specialist for 19.95.

The luminous pink casing of the dragon fruit hides speckled white and black flesh. But it tastes much more mild than its appearance or name might suggest, and is often likened to a kiwi or melon

DRAGON FRUIT

Its taste is more mild than its appearance or name might suggest, and it's often compared to melon or kiwi.

The fruit is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C and is great for anyone who's calorie watching as one 198g dragon fruit has only 60 calories.

These are much easier to find in the UK than many exotic fruit - you can even get them from Sainsbury's for 2 a pop.

You may have seen durian fruit on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, but despite being the world's smelliest fruit, it's creamy like avocado and supposedly tastes heavenly

DURIAN FRUIT

Last but not least, perhaps the most 'famous' of the exotic fruits and one of the stars of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

Often nicknamed the vomit fruit for its, ahem, 'pungent' smell, it's as creamy as avocado and is a very odd, but supposedly heavenly, mixture of savoury and sweet.

Rich in potassium, fibre, iron, vitamin C and vitamin B, it's one of the more calorific options here at 147 calories per 100g.

Try it out for 20.50 a box from Malaysia Kitchen.
The Hunter Peak wildfire burning in the Clark Fork Ranger District of the Shoshone National Forest northwest of Cody, Wyo., is estimated to be more than 1,000 acres in size, and a Type 1 Incident Command Team is scheduled to take control of the firefighting effort Thursday morning, according to a press release from the U.S. Forest Service.

Type 1 incident command teams are dispatched to more complex fires, according to U.S. Forest Service public affairs officer Kristie Salzmann.

"We just felt like with all the structures that are in the area and the topography and the span of control with all of the resources that are being brought in, it definitely increases the complexity above a Type 3 team," Salzmann said. "We were lucky enough to have a Type 1 team coming off the Whit Fire, and we asked them if they'd stay around a little longer."

The 12,276 acre Whit Fire burning 12 miles west of Cody was 84 percent contained as of a Wednesday afternoon update to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group website InciWeb.

It's possible that were the Type 1 team already not in the area, there might have been difficulties getting one assigned to the area Salzmann said. "Primarily because fire season is really starting to ramp up in the West and Northwest, so (Type 1) teams are getting spread thin, there aren't tons of them around the country," Salzmann said. "I'm sure if we needed one and we didn't have one here, I'm sure we could have gotten at least a Type 2 team, which could have sufficed as well."

The Hunter Peak fire is located about 40 miles northwest of Cody "as the crow flies," Salzmann said. A quick location estimate on Tuesday had placed the fire 20 miles northwest of Cody, Salzmann said. The 1,000 acre Wednesday night estimate for the Hunter Peak fire was the result of its continued activity and growth, Salzmann said.

Evacuations are in effect for County Road XUX and the Squaw Creek area, according to the press release. National Shoshone National Forest trail closures are in effect for the North Crandall Trail (Trail 609) and the Squaw Creek Trail (Trail 610) due to safety concerns for both the public and firefighters, according to the press release.

A 45 mph speed limit has been posted along the North Fork Highway, and vehicles are ordered not to stop, according to InciWeb. The Buffalo Bill reservoir is being used by super scooper amphibious aircraft and is "closed west of the line running between Eagle Point and Spring Creek," according to InciWeb.

The fire had not destroyed any structures as of 7:30 p.m., according to an update on InciWeb. Fueled by timber, the fire is threatening 95 structures, according to InciWeb. Those structures sit on a mixture of private inholdings and U.S. Forest Service land, Salzmann said. More than 150 personnel are assigned to the fire, Salzmann said.

Firefighters primarily worked on Wednesday to try and assess area structures and increase defensible space around them, Salzmann said. Temperatures and winds were expected to taper off overnight, allowing humidity to increase, Salzmann said. "The fire activity will likely decrease overnight," Salzmann said.

Cooler temperatures could be seen Thursday, Salzmann said.

The fire is located three miles west of Hunter Peak and three miles south of Squaw Creek, according to InciWeb.

The fire began at roughly 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and its cause is under investigation, according to InciWeb. Conditions were such that it was not safe for fire investigators to work on Wednesday, Salzmann said.

An infrared flight was scheduled for Wednesday night to produce a more accurate estimate of the fire's acreage, according to the press release.
Life-saving drugs that cost just a matter of pence are now being rationed by the NHS in a desperate bid to save cash.

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommends statins should be offered to all patients assessed as having at least a one-in-10 chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke within a decade.

The pills are taken by more than seven million people in the UK and have been credited with cutting the risk of heart attacks and strokes for those with high cholesterol.

The cholesterol-busting drugs are said to cost the NHS less than 10p per patient per day and have been credited with saving around 7,000 lives annually.

Statins are taken by more than seven million people in the UK and are credited with saving around 7,000 lives annually

But one clinical commissioning group - a panel of doctors and managers that decide which NHS services should be funded in their area - has said it is restricting prescriptions to those at greatest risk.

Stockport CCG has ordered GPs to ignore the official advice and cut back on doling out the drugs.

Health watchdogs have criticised the decision to restrict the drugs and warn wider prescribing of the medication had been recommended to stop lives being destroyed'.

The decision to ration statins is the latest cost-cutting move in the NHS.

Earlier this week it emerged restrictions are being put on non-essential surgery and non-urgent referrals.

St Helen's Clinical Commissioning Group said it was considering pausing 'non-vital' referrals for four months in an effort to claw back cash.

The CCG is facing a 12.5 million funding gap over the coming year and said it simply cannot afford to offer a full range of services.

Clinically urgent referrals, suspected cancer and referrals for sick children will still go ahead - but GPs will be banned from sending anything not considered vital to hospital.

As a result, there are concerns that growing numbers of patients will be left to endure crippling pain due to operations being postponed.

GPs in Stockport have been advised to restrict prescribing statins to those 'most at risk' as they look to cut back on costs amid the worst financial crisis in the history of the NHS

Stockport CCG said it needed to ration statins to make ends meet in the long run.

In a statement, it said: The CCG was required to make some decisions on savings to achieve financial balance and long-term financial health.

The plan included a decision to not implement Nice lipid modification guidelines for primary prevention in full.

NICE has criticised the CCGs decision, warning that one in three people are killed through heart disease, peripheral arterial disease and stroke.

Professor Mark Baker, director of the centre for clinical practice at Nice, told The Telegraph the decision to reduce statin prescribing would put patients at risk.

CRUNCH TIME FOR THE NHS NHS bosses warned yesterday that many hospital trusts are in financial crisis and cannot recruit enough medics to provide safe healthcare. With a growing and ageing population and after years of efficiency savings, the NHS now faces its biggest deficit in history - and cracks are beginning to show. This week one NHS body in Merseyside said it would pause 'non urgent referrals' over winter to make ends meet. Another said it would be forced to close an A&E at night because it couldn't recruit enough emergency doctors to run it. Experts say these were the tip of the iceberg - with similar examples across the country - and warned the problem needs to be addressed urgently on a national level. Advertisement

He said: 'Cardiovascular disease maims and kills people through coronary heart disease, peripheral arterial disease and stroke. Together, these kill 1 in 3 of us. This decision amounts to denying patients access to the most effective means of reducing that risk.'

He added there was an 'overwhelming body of evidence' to support the recommendation in 2014 to prescribe the drugs more widely.

Our guidance is intended to prevent many lives being destroyed and it offers a major shift in public health outcomes at relatively low cost.'

And Dr Andrew Green, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) committee on prescribing, recently told Pulse magazine: So many CCGs are in deficit due to underfunding, and the pressure on them to achieve financial balance is so great, that we are beginning to see some very strange decisions born out of desperation.

The Department of Health said restrictions are vital for efficient use of the NHS - but it is important decisions are taken wisely.

A spokesman said: Doctors should make decisions about prescribing statins based on clinical evidence  there should be no blanket restriction.
A personal assistant who blamed her swollen belly on bloating after eating was horrified to discover she actually had a tumour.

Shorntay Allen, from London, was told she had a fibroid - a benign growth in the lining of her womb - making her look four months pregnant.

The 31-year-old had noticed her stomach was looking larger than normal for around three months but assumed it was because she had eaten too much.

In September 2014, she went to the doctor about her stomach - and was stunned to be told she had a huge fibroid the size of a grapefruit.

Shorntay Allen, 31, thought her swollen belly was due to a food baby - but was shocked to be told it was a benign tumour in her womb. After having it removed she entered into a lingerie modelling competition - and has just found out she is in the final 10

She noticed her belly swelling for three months - but thought it was just due to overeating

Around one in three women develop fibroids - benign growths in or around the womb - most often between the ages of 30 and 50.

She was devastated when doctors said she may have to have a hysterectomy - which would mean she could never carry children and could bring on an early menopause.

But thankfully she was able to have a less drastic operation called a myomectomy, in which the fibroid, but not the womb, is removed.

And after the operation the swelling in her stomach went down - and two months later she had the confidence to enter into a lingerie modelling competition.

She has just found out she is in the final 10 - and is awaiting news on the winner.

Recalling being told her 'food baby' was a tumour, Miss Allen said: 'When I was told of the tumour I literally just said "okay", I didn't show how I really felt to anyone.

'When I was on my own I was really upset but I didn't want to worry my family.

She continued: 'It was a big shock when the doctor talked about the impact the tumour could have and it scared me.

Doctors said she might need a hysterectomy - a prospect which left her devastated as it would mean she could never have children

Thankfully Miss Allen was able to have a less drastic operation to remove only the tumour - which was as big as a grapefruit

'I was worried at the fact they were using the word hysterectomy, I was only 29 at the time and I thought I was way too young.

'I want kids, I was really worried whether I would be okay or not.'

Around 40 per cent of women develop fibroids  most often between the ages of 30 and 50.

WHAT ARE FIBROIDS? Around one in three women develop fibroids  benign growths in or around the womb - most often between the ages of 30 and 50. The exact cause is unknown, but they are linked to the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which are at their highest levels during a womans reproductive years. (After the menopause, fibroids often shrink and symptoms ease or disappear.) There is a strong genetic predisposition, says Isaac Manyonda, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at St Georges Hospital NHS Trust, South-West London and the Newlife Fertility Centre in Epsom, Surrey. If your mother had them, you are likely to, as well. But in 50 per cent of women who have them, fibroids do not cause symptoms: they may shrink and disappear without treatment. However, the other half experience pelvic pain (from the pressure caused by the fibroids) and heavy and/or extended periods. They are thought to develop more frequently in women of African- Caribbean origin. It's also thought they occur more often in overweight or obese women because being overweight increases the level of oestrogen in the body. They can be treated with medication or surgery. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

The exact cause is unknown, but they are linked to the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which are at their highest levels during a womans reproductive years.

After the menopause, fibroids often shrink and symptoms ease or disappear.

Some women experience no symptoms, but for others the growths leave them in agony, causing symptoms such as heavy periods, pain in the abdomen, back pain and a frequent need to go to the toilet.

Because of the large size and strange placing of her tumour, doctors initially said she might need a hysterectomy, before suggesting a myomectomy instead.

This major surgical procedure involved making an incision on the lower abdomen and removing the fibroids from the wall of the uterus.

She tried to make light of the situation - calling the tumour Humphrey - but felt anxious about the upcoming procedure.

She said: 'I was generally fit and healthy and I had never had any kind of surgery before, I wasn't sure what was ahead and it made me very anxious.

'Recovering was really tough, the pain was horrible, it had felt like I had been stabbed repeatedly in my stomach, I'd never felt anything like it.'

After the operation, Miss Allen's doctor said it had been success - though the team had difficulty cutting off the blood supply to the tumour.

She was left with a scar, but was delighted her chances of being a mother had not been hampered.

She said: 'If the worst had happened and I couldn't have had children, saying I would have been devastated is an understatement, I would have been crushed and it would have been the end of a dream.

'I think I would have been seriously depressed, I didn't know if I would wake up from the operation with my womb gone or not, I just hoped it would still be there.

Recovering from the operation was touch, Miss Allen said. She said: 'It had felt like I had been stabbed repeatedly in my stomach, I'd never felt anything like it'

She continued: 'It was one of the first things I asked when I woke up, I would have had a full on break down.

'I'm a massive family person and I treat my nieces and nephews like their my own children, my family means the world to me.

'When I was told the good news I thought, "thank god", I was so happy that I could still be a mother, I was over the moon.'

Two months after her operation she entered the Curvy Kate lingerie competition and told the story of how she nearly lost her womb

Now, she has plans to start her own family, and says she wants five children.

'My mum says that's unrealistic at my age and that I should settle for three, but you never know, I could always have quintuplets,' she said.

'I was really relieved and it helped with the healing process because I knew it could have been much worse, but at the same time I felt like after putting my body through that pain and having my scar, I wanted a baby to make it worth it.'

And two months after the procedure, Miss Allen came across a lingerie modelling competition called Curvy Kate and decided to enter,

'I'm quite self-conscious after my surgery, with my scar and I've found it quite difficult being intimate with someone but I try to act confident,' she said.

When Miss Allen arrived at the auditions, she was relieved to see women of different shapes and sizes but then she had to reveal something she had to overcome.

She said: 'I told the story of my tumour, I hadn't talked about it much so it was quite emotional but I love my womb, it's been through a lot and it's still here.'

Now she hopes talking about her tumour in public will help others with fibroids. She said: 'I'm hoping that by me sharing my story it will help and reassure other women who are going through it too.'

And her honesty paid off as she has since been told she has made it into the final 10.

Now, she hopes she can go further in the competition in order to help other women with fibroids.

She said: 'I'm not sure why I've got through, I'm just your "average Joanna", and I don't think there's anything '"wow" about me.
In a bid to boost their body confidence, more and more men are opting to have cosmetic procedures to make their manhood wider

The debate over whether size matters has raged for centuries.

And when it comes to dimensions, it appears that penis girth, rather than length, is what troubles men most.

Now, in a bid to boost their body confidence, more and more men are opting to have cosmetic procedures to make their manhood wider.

A new study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, claims the reason is not only to improve appearance, but to 'improve the satisfaction of female partners'.

Its author, Dr Luis Casavantes, who runs a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, claims demand is growing and he now treats hundreds of men each year.

'Patients come from all over the world with a strong desire to change the diameter of their penis.

'The phrase "bigger is better" sticks in the heads of many men worldwide.'

The dissatisfied men had an average penis length (when flaccid) of 3.6 inches (9.2cm) and girth of 3.6 inches (9.3cm), he added.

These values almost exactly matched the average penis lengths and girths reported in medical literature.

Dr Casavantes' treatment involves injecting a pocket between the penis shaft and the skin with gel.

The injections are made from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) microspheres - a dermal filler also known under brand names including MetaCrill.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE PENIS SIZE? For years, men the world over want to know if their manhood measures up compared to others. So, a team of researchers sought to find out the global average for penis size. Their work revealed the mean length of an erect penis is 5.2 inches (13.12 cm), scientists found. Meanwhile, the average length of a flaccid penis is 3.6 inches (9.16 cm) and 5.2 inches (13.24 cm) when flaccid but stretched. And when it comes to girth, the average erect circumference was 4.6 inches (11.66 cm) and 3.7 inches (9.31 cm) when flaccid. The research, carried out by Kings College Londons Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, also found there was a small correlation between the erect length of a penis and a man's height. The team looked at 17 studies of 15,521 men worldwide who underwent penis size measurements by health professionals using a standard procedure. The paper was published in the British Journal of Urology International. Advertisement

It has been injected to smooth out wrinkles and plump up the skin since 1989 - but less commonly to enlarge the penis.

He insists penile augmentation with PMMA microspheres 'appears to be a natural, safe, and permanently effective method'.

Indeed, he claims the overall satisfaction rate was 8.7 on a scale of 1 to 10. After one to three injection sessions, average girth increased by 1.4 inches (3.5 cm), or 134 per cent.

And not only men have increased confidence, the procedure avoids men i njecting themselves with mineral oils, paraffin, fluid silicon or thickening gel, which cause dire side effects and complications, he said.

But other doctors warn against having the procedure, cautioning the jabs can cause fat in the penis to die, potentially fatal blood poisoning and damage to the delicate blood vessels to the penis.

Raj Persad, a consultant urologist at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, told MailOnline: 'My fear with procedures like this is that they prey on mens insecurities.

'It's generally men who have a distorted body image who go for it.

'What these patients need is psychological support, for example they become convinced their wives have left them because of their penis size.

'This is not the type of treatment I would recommend.'

'If it worked so well - why wouldn't it be recommended here in the UK by Nice?.'
Further evidence the NHS is in meltdown emerged today as figures revealed A&E waiting times have soared and emergency staffing has reached crisis levels.

Nearly 15 per cent of people in larger A&E departments and one in ten patients in all hospitals are not being treated within four hours, according to figures for June.

Waiting-times for planned operations, ambulance response times and delayed discharge targets were also missed.

This June was recorded as the busiest since current NHS records began.

Hospitals saw an increase in the number of patients attending A&E in England, with 1,951,000 people treated. This was a 2.1 per cent increase on June 2015.

Emergency admissions were also up year on year, rising 4.7 per cent to 480,210.

About 15 per cent of patients are not being treated within four hours of arriving at A&E, NHS figures for June have revealed today

The target of seeing 95 per cent of patients within four hours has not been hit by an A&E at any major hospital since July 2013. Today's figures include:

There were 35,300 four-hour delays from decision to admit to actual admission this month, compared to 19,100 in the same month last year

A record 84 patients were forced to wait at least 12 hours on a trolley

90.5 per cent of A&E patients were seen within four hours - below the 95 per cent target

6,000 patients experienced delays to their discharge because of lack of onward care with 115,425 bed days lost - and up 23 per cent on last year

Ambulance service missed its target for responding within eight minutes for most serious cases for the 13 month in a row

Ambulance response times again failed to meet the required standard for the most serious calls in the nine ambulance trusts which provided data.

Calls for heart attacks or when someone stops breathing were only responded to within eight minutes 69 per cent of the time - missing the target of 75 per cent for the 13th month in a row.

Similarly, other life-threatening emergency responses only hit the same target on 62 per cent of occasions.

The service has missed the standard since January 2014.

It comes the day after the Royal College of Emergency Medicine warned that a gap between supply and demand for emergency doctors is leading to a 'real crisis'.

A national shortage of emergency doctors also led the Grantham and District Hospital in the East Midlands to announce it was to temporarily close its doors at night.

The table shows the top 10 and bottom 10 performing trusts for the four-hour target. Luton and Dunstable came top, meeting 98.4 per cent of type 1 - major A&E services. Meanwhile, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS trust in Essex came bottom with 69.8 per cent

The chart shows the rise in A&E attendances by type, with type 1 being the most major type of emergency to type 4 which ranges from a walk-in centre to a minor injuries unit

Today it emerged some parts of England are now rationing lifesaving drugs in a desperate bid to save cash.

'Cholesterol-busting statins are said to cost the NHS less than 10p per patient per day and have been credited with saving around 7,000 lives annually.

UK'S NEW EYE SURGERY SHAME Cataract sufferers in Britain are much less likely to have vital surgery than patients in most other Western countries. The NHS performs fewer of the life-changing operations per head than Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Portugal. The Mail has already revealed that three in four hospitals are rationing the procedures, despite them costing as little as 800. Desperate patients have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to prove they need the operation. Others are encouraged by hospitals to go private  paying around 3,000. Patients say they have been told to eat more green veg or to wear dark glasses by doctors who have refused them surgery. And yesterday it emerged that one NHS trust is threatening to suspend all cataract operations for four months to save money. Advertisement

But a clinical commissioning group in Stockport - a panel of doctors and managers that decide which NHS services should be funded in their area - has said it is restricting prescriptions to those at greatest risk.

Despite the dire figures, NHS England defended the performance, saying it showed 'another improvement in performance' at a time when 'frontline services continue to come under intense pressure'.

Stephen Dalton, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the figures revealed the 'strain' being placed on the health service.

He said: 'These figures once again illustrate the strain the NHS is under to maintain timely access to high standards of care in the face of huge financial pressures.

'Our staff on the front line are working flat out and deserve recognition for the dedication they display day in, day out.

'But unless we break the cycle, performance results will continue to follow this downward trend.'

Further proof the nation's health service is creaking at the seams comes as hospitals report being blighted by disrupted services in the wake of funding cuts.

At the time these figures were recorded, Chorley Hospital in Lancashire was forced to downgrade its A&E to an urgent care centre because it did not have enough medics.

On Tuesday, St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group caused outcry after suggesting financial demands could lead it to ban all non-vital operations for four months.

Yesterday, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the A&E at Grantham and District Hospital as well as two others in the region, said that it had been 'seriously affected' by a 'national shortage of appropriately trained doctors to work in A&Es'.

Grantham and District Hospital in Lincolnshire announced yesterday it was considering reduce its A&E's opening hours because it was facing a 'severe shortage of doctors'

But the Department of Health said that despite shortages in specific A&Es, there were 1,250 extra doctors working in emergency departments compared with 2010.

A spokesman said: 'The NHS had its busiest June ever, but hospitals are performing well with nine out of 10 people seen in A&E within four hours - almost 60,000 people per day seen within the standard.

'We are committed to delivering a safer seven-day NHS which is why we have invested 10 billion to fund the NHS's own plan to transform services in the future.'

Labour leadership candidate Owen Smith rebuked this, adding today's figures were further proof the NHS was in 'terminal decline'.

'With Jeremy Hunt in charge, hospitals lurch from one crisis to another - and it is patients who are left to suffer,' he said.
Demanding bosses who expect employees to check their emails outside of work are causing exhaustion and damaging family life, a study has found.

Soaring numbers of workers are complaining of burnout because they are unable to disconnect from the stress of the office.

Rather than resenting the additional time working, being forced to stay alert is causing the stress, according to researchers.

It means rather than spending time unwinding once out of the office, people feel the need to be 'switched on' hours after they have officially clocked off.

Checking emails from home is leaving soaring numbers of workers suffering from stress and burn out as well as getting in the way of quality family time, a study has found

It comes after France passed a labour reform law earlier this year, banning the checking emails on weekends.

The new research, led by Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, suggests other countries might do well to follow suit for the sake of employee health and productivity.

Using data collected from 297 working adults, researchers looked at the role of organisational expectation regarding 'off' hour emailing.

They found it led to a diminished work-family balance - deemed essential for a person's health and well-being, they said.

The joint study, which also involved researchers from Virginia Tech and Colorado State University, claims to be the first to identify email-related expectations as a stress in itself.

It causes stress levels comparable to having a high workload, being in conflict at work, environment or time pressure.

Researchers said employers were effectively 'stealing resources' from people - by draining their energy outside their contracted hours of work.

The stress of having to be constantly 'switched on' is comparable to high workload, conflict at work and time pressure, a study found

'Organisational expectations can steal employee resources even when actual time is not required because employees cannot fully separate from work,' they wrote.

Previous studies have shown employees must be able to detach both mentally and physically from work to recover ready for the next day.

So with nearly everyone having 24/7 access to email and internet, technologies designed to help employees are actually doing more harm than good, the researchers suggest.

Labelling it 'anticipatory stress' - the study said being permanently on call leaves employees unable to detach and feel exhausted regardless of the time spent on after-hours emails.
Government-funded school meals are driving the obesity epidemic, a new study warns.

Millions of low-income families rely on subsidized breakfast and lunches at public school to feed their children.

But a landmark paper has concluded these fat- and meat-heavy dishes are putting children at risk of being overweight.

It is a damning indictment of Michelle Obama's years-long meal program.

Not so healthy? A new study claims government meal plans - which have been the pet project of First Lady Michelle Obama - are fueling the childhood obesity epidemic

'While well-intentioned, these government funded school meal programs that are aimed at making kids healthy are in fact making participating students more at risk of being overweight,' said Wen You, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

'This study identifies the hardest battles in crafting policy to alleviate children in low-income populations being overweight.'

The study, published in the journal Health Economics, found that children are more likely to be overweight if they participate in both the school breakfast and lunch programs throughout their schooling years.

That means half their nutrition comes from college kitchens.

The longer children participated in school meal programs, the more likely they were to be obese.

TYPICAL FOOD MENU IN NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL MONDAY Breakfast Yogurt and granola + fruit juice Lunch Pizza + green beans TUESDAY Breakfast Bacon, egg, cheese toastie + fruit juice Lunch Cheeseburger + fruit juice + fries WEDNESDAY Breakfast Croissant with jelly + fruit juice Lunch Cold deli sandwich + chips + cucumber THURSDAY Breakfast Cheese omelet wrap + salsa + fruit juice Lunch BBQ chicken + mac & cheese + beans FRIDAY Breakfast French toast sticks with syrup and turkey sausage patty + fruit juice Lunch Cheese calzone + fruit juice + cucumber slices + ranch dipper Advertisement

'We found that the longer children were in the programs, the higher their risk of being overweight.

'We also saw the most negative effect of the government-funded school meal programs in the South, the Northeast, and rural areas of the country,' You said.

'The question now is what to do in order to not just fill bellies, but make sure those children consume healthy and nutritious food - or at least not contribute to the obesity epidemic.'

They found that long-term participation posed the largest risk of being overweight.

The study utilized a nationally representative longitudinal data of 21, 260 students who were followed from kindergarten to eighth grade and controlled for the self-selection and income effects to examine school meal programs' influence on student's body mass index z-score changes.

A boy picks up his lunch in a Los Angeles school in 2010 during a publicity event for Michelle Obama's healthy food program

The study utilized statistical methods to match students who were eligible and chose not to participate in the school meal programs with students who chose to participate to ensure comparability.

The team also examined a subgroup of students who changed their program participation status along the way and confirmed the short-term risk of being overweight imposed by the school lunch program.

The study reveals the need for improving the school meal programs' effectiveness at promoting better nutrition among school-age children.

Although the research is limited at looking at the school meal programs as a whole, it uncovers the need to go beyond merely raising nutrition standards.

The authors say policymakers need to comprehensively design programs to enable schools to provide healthy food that meets standards and is appetizing to children.

'Policymakers need to consider all the aspects of school meal programs - from availability and affordability to nutritional content and tastiness.

'It is important to have extra policy support that will allow funding for programs such as chef-to-school and farm-to-school, as well as culinary training for cafeteria staff so kids actually enjoy eating what is ultimately prepared for them,' said You.
Scientists have identified the two proteins in the Zika virus that cause crippling birth defects in infected fetuses.

The proteins hammer at the brain's 'gatekeeping' system until they gain entry and hijack cells, using up all their energy so they don't have scope to grow, according to research by the University of Southern California.

It is the most significant step towards understanding the infection amid widespread confusion about how it inflicts life-threatening conditions in babies.

The study released on Thursday emerged hours before Miami officials announced another three infections from local mosquitoes, bringing the total number of cases to 25.

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A study has identified how Zika shrinks a fetus's skull. It is the most significant step towards understanding the infection amid widespread confusion about how it inflicts birth defects

HOW DOES ZIKA GIVE BABIES MICROCEPHALY? BREAKING DOWN DEFENSES The two Zika proteins smack a 'gatekeeper' cell on the brain until it is disoriented. Eventually that gatekeeper can no longer protect the brain's signaling region to let it develop. GAINING ENTRY Once Zika has infected the cell it destabilizes the brain's bacteria-killed network called autophagy. Normally autophagy digests and kills pathogens. But when Zika (or related flaviviruses like dengue and hepatitis C) infects the cell, that network is manipulated into helping the virus to spread. WEAKENING CELLS INSIDE Zika is so hyperactive, using all the energy of the autophagy to proliferate, that the other cells do not have scope to flourish. The cells are left with metabolic deficits. It means they do not have the chance to differentiate and mature into neurons and other brain cell types. THE RESULT By hijacking fetal neural stem cells, Zika caused the size of brains to half. Advertisement

In a desperate bid to assist, the CDC is now funneling more than $240 million into state funding to control the virus.

But experts fear the financial support means nothing until scientists fully understand how Zika works.

The medical community is still baffled by many elements of the virus: how long it survives in the human body, what its direct link is to birth defects, and how it is spread.

Thursday's report, however, has been hailed as a breakthrough.

USC researchers have tracked down two Zika proteins potentially responsible for thousands of microcephaly cases in Brazil and elsewhere.

Microcephaly is a crippling birth defect that stunts growth of a fetus's brain in the womb, meaning the baby is born with an abnormally small head.

The study is the first to examine Zika virus on the molecular level, said Jae Jung, chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

'This field moves so fast; however, no one has examined the viral proteins in Zika before,' said Jung, holder of the Fletcher Jones Foundation chair in molecular microbiology and immunology.

'The scientific community knows what the Zika virus does but not who is responsible.

'It's the difference between saying this nation's Olympic team earned a gold medal or saying the swim team won the gold medal.

'My lab is scrutinizing the jobs Zika proteins have in the creation of disease.'

Jung's team discovered that, although the Zika virus contains 10 proteins, only NS4A and NS4B matter when it comes to microcephaly.

These miscreant proteins, researchers discovered, have two shared life goals: to handicap fetal brain formation and to mobilize their malevolent forces.

'We now know the molecular pathway, so we made the first big step toward target therapy for Zika-induced microcephaly,' Jung said.

'Years from now, one shot or a series of shots could target the proteins NS4A and NS4B or their collaborators.'

The finding will help doctors get closer to identifying exactly how Zika infects fetuses and how to stop it.

Earlier this week a new study revealed the virus could lead to severe joint abnormalities in babies.

Pregnant women carrying the virus do not always show symptoms, and some therefore can go un-diagnosed. And not all Zika babies are born with shrunken heads

The condition known as arthrogryposis freezes up joints, often leaving their hands, arms, legs, feet, or fingers frozen in a contorted position.

In most cases, this condition extends to impaired function of the heart muscles.

It is the latest birth defect added to the growing list of conditions doctors are being told to look out for in newborns.

Pregnant women carrying the virus do not always show symptoms, and some therefore can go undiagnosed.

And not all Zika babies are born with shrunken heads, the most widely-discussed condition - some may suffer less obvious motor neuron impairments or brain disorders.

But it is essential that doctors identify a Zika infection early on in a newborn to start potentially life-saving treatment as early as possible.
App-based cab firms in Delhi may soon be forced to abandon their GPS-based meters and replace them with the digital meters currently used by autos and kaali-peeli taxis.

The change in policy proposed by the Delhi government will ensure that app-based companies will not be able to set surge-prices over an agreed-upon limit.

The draft policy will be uploaded on the website within 48 hours, and will be made available for public consultation.

App-based cabs firms in Delhi may soon be forced to abandon their GPS-based meters and replace them with digital meters

According to a senior official in the transport department, the proposed rules include obliging all drivers to get a government taxi licence.

The official also told Mail Today that aggregators will be instructed to have a call-centre operator available for customers 24x7, and a GPS tracking system in all their cabs.

Transport minister, Satyendra Jain told reporters: "To regulate the app-based cab services, we have prepared a policy.

"Cab operators will be able to give discounts to customers, but they cannot charge more than the fares prescribed by the transport department. All app-based taxi services will be regulated through this policy."

Since the government will set prices, surge-pricing practiced by existing app-based cab operators will end, said Jain.

The new draft policy will make it mandatory for cabs to operate with digital meters capable of printing receipts.
With two BJP-led governments striving to make traditional brews (feni in Goa and tribal drinks in Assam) heritage spirits, we have a good reason to raise a toast to good times.

All alcoholic drinks in this world, even those that command a social cachet, had humble origins in popular beverages.

They got elevated because of the continual refinement of the production process and the marketing war chests backing them.

Goas Chief Minister has piloted a Bill to give heritage status to pheni (above). Assam has proposed a similar position for tribal brews, while the case for Jharkhands mahua and Rajasthans royal drinks is getting stronger.

After all, whether its triple refined, or quadruple refined, or passed through diamonds, a vodka essentially comes from the fermentation of potato, rye or wheat.

I had cashew feni (it is extracted from the juice of the bright orange, pulpy cashew fruit in the most rustic circumstances) in its birthplace Goa a year or so back, that too at a la-dee-da sit-down dinner at the Park Hyatt, which organises a hugely popular annual festival dedicated to the drink.

There was nothing desi about it - I had it neat and it reminded me of grappa (the Italian post-prandial spirit); I had it with cocktail mixers, and I just love it with fresh pineapple juice.

The brand I was imbibing was Big Boss, the much-exported cashew feni brand nurtured by Valentino Vaz and now his son Mac at the Madame Rosa Distillery.

If the world can drink feni, why do we shy away from it? Why do we not take back a bottle or two of feni in the same way as we treasure the misleadingly-labelled Goan Port Wine?

The feni I drank did not have the off-putting stench that the beverage is notorious for. It had been refined like a good vodka would be, and it was backed by a marketing machine, as well as finding support from a luxury hotel - an association that at once edified it.

The problem with us is that we do not romanticise our heritage products in the way the French and the Italians have done so successfully.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, in her previous stint in the office she holds, got the state government-run Ganganagar Sugar Mills to secure the recipes and produce eight varieties of spice-infused royal heritage liqueurs.

These liqueurs are as old as royal families of the state, and their recipes are centuries old, but they are barely known outside a circle of connoisseurs.

What prevents the Rajasthan Government from going to town with these liqueurs?

Mahua is another alcoholic beverage waiting to be gentrified and discovered by the world. It is very much a part of our national heritage, isnt it?

The Jharkhand Chief Minister, given that his state is the biggest producer of mahua flowers, would do well to follow in the footsteps of his Goan compatriot and the Assam Finance Minister and take up the cause of mahua.

Ironically, the state has the only distillery designed to refine the drink.

Based on the pot still method used to produce Scotch whisky, the distillery has been around since 1875 - but because theres no push from the government, its busy producing extra neutral alcohol from molasses, which is what goes into making domestically produced whisky and rum.

India can learn a lot from how South Korea has made soju - a vodka-like local drink produced after fermenting rice, wheat or barley, and sometimes even sweet potato and tapioca - the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the world.

Jinro, South Koreas premium soju, is the worlds most consumed alcoholic beverage brand at 65.2 million cases (this is the figure from alcohol data analysts IWSR; Drinks International pegs it much higher, at 71 million cases).

In IWSRs much-quoted Real 100 List - which lists locally popular drinks, which sell many more times than the Johnny Walkers and Smirnoffs of the world - six soju brands make an appearance. Three of them are Jinro, Chum Churum (No. 7, just below our own McDowells) and Good Day (No. 9, just above Johnnie Walker).

Koreans drink soju like the French and Italian quaff wines (with their meals), and thanks to the Korean Diaspora, youll find soju cocktails in all upscale restaurants around the world. And Jinro is now being bottled in India - go to Akira Back at the JW Marriott, New Delhi Aerocity, and ask for a Soju 24.

Why cant all this happen to our feni, or mahua, or the heritage alcoholic drinks of Assam and Rajasthan? To make it happen, we have to discover them first.

A Maggi twist and butter chicken tango

There's something so subliminal about our national snack Maggi that restaurateurs and chefs keep wanting to play around with it to make us travel back to our childhood on the wings of memories.

The latest expression of this passion is the way Gastronomic Kitchen and Bar, a popular restaurant at M-Block Market, Greater Kailash-I, has rolled out a burger where the traditional buns have been replaced by what can best be described as lightly fried Maggi nests.

The crunch of the bun replacements provides a counterpoint on the palate to the soft filling - a melange of grilled vegetables and melting cheese.

Neighbourhood restaurant menus are getting adventurous with dishes like the Butter Chicken Kulcha (above)

Theres also an element of surprise and the familiarity of Maggi ensures that we dont really miss the traditional buns.

All this may seem gimmicky, but innovations such as these ignite conversations on the table and make restaurant visits worth the money and the effort.

The other item to take me by surprise was the Butter Chicken Kulcha. Innovative kulchas are nothing new - they were introduced into our gastronomic landscape by Vineet Bhatia (the first Indian chef to win a Michelin star) and then Manish Mehrotra of Indian Accent fame took the idea to another orbit altogether.

Before them, Hemant Oberoi, recently retired from the Taj, invented the Butter Chicken Nanzza, replacing the traditional pizza base with karari naan.

Gastronomicas Butter Chicken Kulcha comes with a generous layer of Delhis favourite dish on a kulcha stuffed with minced chicken meat cooked in the butter chicken style.

At the centre of the kulcha, standing like a beacon of gluttony, is a dollop of butter, which I politely avoided.

The dish is irreverently calorie-intense, which makes it all the more attractive.

And even the standard onion rings coated with a tangy red chilli masala, in the style of the ageless Anand Restaurant thats been ruling the by-lane behind Scindia House for as long as I can remember, seems to have a story to share.

Can we have more such palate ticklers on the menus of our friendly neighbourhood restaurants?

Now Indian whisky is the worlds second favourite booze brand

In my lead feature in this column, I have mentioned IWSR, the global benchmarking service for the alcohol industry, and its much-followed Real 100 List.

The purpose of this list is to introduce the world to drinks that are popular in particular societies, thereby giving us an overview of how people imbibe alcohol in different parts of the world.

The list throws up interesting numbers, such as the fact that two Indian whiskies, propelled by the domestic market of course, are way ahead of popular prestige brands such a Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal, and our own Old Monk, whose numbers dont match up to the abiding love of its fan following.

Indian whiskies such as Officer's Choice (left) are higher on the list than popular prestige brands such as Chivas Regal

Topping the list is Officers Choice whisky, whose sales between 2011 and 2015, according to IWSR, almost doubled from 17.1 million to 34 million nine-litre cases.

A brand owned by Kishore Chhabrias Allied Blenders and Distillers (ABD), Officers Choice was created in 1988, so it is younger than its 1968-born rival McDowells No. 1 (which is sixth on the list with with 26.2 million nine-litre cases, a notch below Smirnoff, which sold 26.45 million nine litre cases).

In the nearly 30 years it has been around, Officers Choice has expanded its market, according to the company website, to 18 countries outside India and straddles 40 per cent of the domestic market.

Officers Choice seems to have become Indias number one choice.




The burden of being Manipurs Iron Lady weighs heavy on Irom Sharmilas frail shoulders.

I dont want to be seen as some Goddess. They want me to be a statue without a voice. It hurts, Sharmila said after breaking her fast on Tuesday.

But moments after her historic decision, murmurs of dissent grew louder on the streets of Imphal.

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Iron Lady Irom Sharmila is facing a growing chorus of dissent after ending her 16-year hunger strike on Tuesday

Sharmila, one of India's most prominent political activists, ended her 16-year hunger strike on Tuesday by licking honey from her hand and declaring, "I will never forget this moment."

However, Sharmila knew that ending her strike would be an unpopular decision -and the backlash against her was instant.

Many people in the state feel let down by Sharmila abandoning her strike before beating the state government on an act described by the Human Rights Watch as, "a tool of state abuse, oppression and discrimination".

Sharmila, one of India's most prominent political activists, ended her 16-year hunger strike by licking honey from her hand and declaring, "I will never forget this moment."

Reenu Takhellambam, who lost her husband in police firing nearly a decade ago, told reporters: If she marries or becomes a politician, its her personal decision. But we are really hurt today".

Even though she ended her hunger strike, Sharmila continues her vow not to meet with her mother until she achieves her goal - to get AFSPA repealed from Manipur.

I miss her (mother) a lot, she says.

But despite being released on bail, she does not want to stay at her home.

Soon after she concluded her press conference outside the JNIMS hospital special ward on Tuesday, she was whisked away by Manipur police commandos.

She was first taken to the residence of Dr Thiyam Suresh, the former state health director who is known to be close to Sharmila.

But locals protested against her and did not allow her to see the doctor.

Dejected, the 44- year-old went to the local ISKCON temple, escorted by security personnel.

Hero: Sharmila started her fast after the killing of 10 civilians in a village near Imphal, allegedly by an Assam Rifles battalion

She was then taken to the Imphal City police station for security reasons before eventually being brought back to the hospital where she had spent the last 16 years.

So despite walking away from 16 years of pain, Irom Sharmila has been disowned by her own people, and is back where she started.
Thomas Craig Pfeifle, 19, of Rapid City, S.D., was still in critical condition Wednesday after falling at least 20 feet on Granite Peak earlier this week.

Pfeifle was rescued by helicopter Monday afternoon after falling near the summit of the 12,808-foot peak. He was taken to a hospital in Billings before being transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg said Pfeifle remains in the intensive care unit.

Granite Peak is the highest point in Montana.

George Crain, 57, from Highland, Utah, was climbing Granite Peak on Monday with his son-in-law when they came across Pfeifle a few minutes after it happened.

"Thomas' jaw was badly dislocated, and the side of his face was badly gashed," Crain said.

One of the people in the group Pfeifle was with told Crain the teenager had been descending the mountain in a section dubbed the "Ramp" by the peak's climbers.

"It's a really steep section on the face of the mountain, stretching probably 600 to 700 feet, with a decent amount of obstacles," Crain said. "We were told that he fell probably 20 feet and then tumbled down the rocks until he came to a rest."

Crain said he offered his cellphone to the group of climbers, but that one of Pfeifle's friends was already speaking with emergency services from his cellphone. A man from Colorado also offered his satellite phone to the group.

By the time rescue crews arrived, Pfeifle's breathing was "raspy" and had a gurgle to it, Crain said. He watched a helicopter lower a paramedic onto a safe spot on the peak and scramble over to Pfeifle.

Pfeifle was strapped onto a special board before he and the paramedic were hooked up to the helicopter and lifted up in a "spiderweb of straps," Crain said.

Emergency Call

A call came through Sweet Grass County at about 11 a.m. Monday from one of Pfeifle's climbing partners requesting rescue, Park County Undersheriff Clay Herbst said Tuesday.

Pfeifle was climbing with at least four others, and one of them was able to get cellphone service for the first emergency call, Herbst said.

The climbers borrowed a satellite phone from another climbing group to stay in contact with authorities throughout the rescue, Herbst said.

Rocky Mountain Rotors Co-owner Mark Taylor said his company, based out of Belgrade, was involved in the rescue of Pfeifle on Monday afternoon.

He was rescued by a Gallatin County high-angle rescue team and flown by helicopter to a separate landing zone near Sky Top Lakes. A medical helicopter from Bozeman then landed to provide medical treatment before he was flown to Billings.

Pfeifle is the son of South Dakota Seventh Circuit Court judges Craig Pfeifle and Jane Wipf Pfeifle.
Scratch beneath the surface of the beautiful Kashmir Valley and you will find many layers of deception.

For decades, the Valley has been used and abused. It has helped amass the fortunes of many: Pakistani generals, Hurriyat separatists, political dynasts and local bureaucrats.

The only people who havent benefited from Kashmir, are the Kashmiri people.

Scratch beneath the surface of the Kashmir Valley and you will find many layers of deception

On Wednesday Parliament debated the violence in the Valley but fell short of un-peeling the layers of cause and effect in this great betrayal.

Breaking his long silence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that young Kashmiris who should be holding books and laptops in their hands, were instead given stones to hurl.

Metaphor

Just as India has azadi, the Prime Minister added - so does Kashmir.

He used the word azadi, which resonates strongly in the Valley, as a metaphor: Kashmiris are as free as other Indians.

It was a call to all Kashmiris to join the Indian mainstream and reject the false narrative of those who wish to damage the plural and pacifist Sufi culture in which Kashmir has been immersed for centuries.

For decades Kashmir has been used and abused, and now PM Modi has called for Kashmiris to join the Indian mainstream

When I first visited Kashmir in the summer of 1978, the Valley was still a paradise on earth.

We stayed in a houseboat on Dal Lake and went on gentle rides in shikaras rowed by silent but smiling local Kashmiris.

The lake today has shrivelled to nearly half its size. The shikaras are often empty, their owners surly. All development has seemingly passed Kashmir by.

Kashmir has been described as a paradise on earth, although it remains under-developed

In 2004, I interviewed then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at his home.

The roads were as narrow as they are today, the security as omniscient.

An unsmiling Mehbooba joined us for lunch in the modest living room. The uneasy 2002-2008 PDP-Congress alliance government was already feeling the strain.

Four principal players have ensured that the Valley stays backward and violence-prone: the Pakistan army, Hurriyat separatists, political dynasts and local officials

Ghulam Nabi Azad would soon take over as chief minister. But neither the Mufti nor Azad did much for Kashmirs infrastructure, development or jobs. Militancy was on the rise.

In 2010 under Omar Abdullahs chief ministership, the Valley came to a boil. Over 110 people died in stone-pelting fury.

Four principal players have ensured that the Valley stays backward and violence- prone: the Pakistan army, Hurriyat separatists, political dynasts and local officials.

The Hurriyat was created by the Pakistan ISI in the early 1990s to be the voice of the Kashmiri people. It was, of course, a failure and a fraud.

The Pakistani ISI pays the Hurriyat separatists in cash every month. The Hurriyat separatists use Kashmir as commerce.

They have rapidly become wealthy landowners, moving into large bungalows and making a lucrative career out of damaging the centuries-old plural character of Kashmir.

Omar Abdullah and the two generations of Muftis, the late Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba, have worked with the Congress and the BJP

Pakistan has no interest in Kashmir beyond fulfilling two objectives.

First, to wage a proxy war against New Delhi with Kashmir as a pretext to slow down Indias rise as a global power.

Second, to use the dispute over Kashmir to prise billions of dollars from the United States.

If Pakistan cared about the Kashmiri people, it would have made Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) a heaven rather than the hell it is.

POK has few airports or railway stations. Its people have no freedoms or voice.

If Pakistan cared about the Kashmiri people, it would have made Pakistan-occupied Kashmir a heaven rather than the hell it is

Separatists

The Hurriyat separatists use Kashmir as an ATM. Paid agents of Pakistan, they have enriched themselves while causing misery and suffering to fellow Kashmiris.

Their children study in universities in the US and Europe, while they instigate impoverished Kashmiri boys to wage jihad in the Valley.

Over 55 young Kashmiris have died in the recent violence. Hurriyat separatists stay far away in the safety of their opulent bungalows.

Kashmir to them is about commerce, not ideology.

The third culprit in this quadrilateral of deceit are political dynasts who have controlled Kashmirs governance for nearly 70 years.

The Abdullahs (for three generations) and the Muftis (for two) have played poker with the people of Kashmir.

The crisis continues: Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti

Sheikh Abdullah had a tempestuous relationship with Jawaharlal Nehru.

Farooq Abdullah enjoyed a quieter one with Rajiv Gandhi, though the rigged 1987 J&K election is a black mark on them both.

Omar Abdullah and the two generations of Muftis, the late Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba, have more recently flirted with the Congress and the BJP, in the state and at the Centre.

All through this period, Kashmir has remained as backward as ever, kept afloat by an annual grant of nearly Rs 25,000 crore from New Delhi.

That amounts to Rs 1 lakh a year for each of J&Ks 25 lakh families (assuming five members per family in the states population of 125 lakh).

Violence

The fourth angle in Kashmirs quadrilateral of deceit is the cabal of local officials. They are often corrupt and poor governance is rampant.

Violence instigated by separatists ensures little or no accountability in the local bureaucracy.

On a visit to the Valley, I asked a senior executive of a mobile telecom firm why the private sector doesnt invest in the Valley.

Breaking his long silence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that young Kashmiris who should be holding books and laptops in their hands, were instead given stones to hurl

BPOs, IT services companies and infrastructure firms have tried, he said, but the local administration is corrupt and incompetent. And there is the ever-present threat of violence.

Beyond parliamentary debates, farsighted governance is needed to pull the Kashmir Valley out of its self-perpetuating cycle of violence.

The BJP must build a counter-narrative in the Valley by focusing relentlessly on development.

Without lifting Kashmir out of its economic isolation and integrating it fully into a rapidly modernising India, insaniyat (humanity) will remain a noble but hollow concept.

The Hurriyat and Pakistan have a single-point agenda: instigate terrorism in the Valley.

Insaniyat is the last thing on their fevered minds.
Security personnel keeping watch over the Amarnath Yatra route in J&K will spill into the Valley when the pilgrimage ends on August 18, in a bid to tamp down violent protests that erupted last month after the killing of a Hizbul Mujahideen commander.

Curfew-defying demonstrators have clashed with government forces leading to dozens of civilian casualties since the death of 22-year-old Burhan Wani, who had a large social media following and was credited with reviving militancy in Kashmir.

Things are quieting now and we are more in control. Number of protests has reduced and I am confident that after August 15 the situation will return to normalcy, said Atul Karwal, IGP of CRPF in Srinagar.

Senior police and security agency officers say they hope Kashmir will return to normal by the end of August. (File picture)

He said 40 additional companies from the central security agencies would be deployed in the state after consultations with the local police.

The IGP confirmed that 20 more companies of the CRPF on duty at the Amarnath Yatra will fan out into Kashmir after August 18.

The J&K polices armed forces battalions on the pilgrimage route will also be redeployed. The 45-day trip to the holy cave 3,888 metres above sea level began on July 2 and is going on peacefully.

It is neither required nor desired to deploy security forces in villages and everywhere in Kashmir. We will only deploy them at critical points to plug the holes, Karwal said.

The government has urged security personnel to act with restraint in the Valley while trying to control protesters who often block streets and throw stones, even as some observers have accused the troops of using excessive force.

Doctors at the state-owned SMHS Hospital in Srinagar say they have received several patients since Saturday who have been hit by pellets fired by the forces.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh hit out at Pakistan for fuelling the ongoing violence in the Valley

The flow of pellet injuries has never stopped and that is the problem, said a senior doctor.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had cautioned security personnel to minimise the weapons' use because of serious eye injuries to protesters, some of whom have been blinded.

He hit out at Pakistan on Wednesday for fuelling the violence in the Valley, while adding that an all-party meeting will be held on the Kashmir issue on August 12, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kashmir is an inseparable part of India. No power on earth can separate it from India, he told Parliament.

The IGP said the situation is expected to remain peaceful during Independence Day, but advised people to ignore strike calls from separatists. He said security forces have taken control of the highways and vehicles are plying even during the day.

However, the army convoys are only moving overnight.

For the first few days following massive public protests in July, the military vehicles were completely halted on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, Kupwara-Srinagar highway and Bandipora-Srinagar road.

We move during the day but our movement is very limited. We prefer to move these days at night, an army official said.

Kashmir police chief Javaid Mujtaba Gillani says the situation has improved considerably and incidents of violence have come down.

We face problems on Fridays as people come out in large numbers after separatists ask people to protest. But we are going to take all precautions, he said.

State police have arrested more than a thousand protesters over the past three weeks in an attempt to end the unrest.

Although restrictions under section 144 of CrPC (that prohibits unlawful assembly) remained in force in the Valley, curfew was imposed in some parts of Srinagar and Anantnag town only, a police spokesperson said.

Gillani said they would consider deploying more paramilitary forces only after studying the ground situation.

Police sources said the fresh companies will be placed in areas that have seen fierce battles between stone-throwing protesters and security personnel.

They said most of the government forces in these areas are tired and need replacements.

(With agency inputs)

Three voices from the Valley echo in Parliament

Three voices from Kashmir were heard in Parliament on Wednesday during the debate on the fresh cycle of violence unleashed over a month ago.

Minister of state in the PMO Jitendra Singh, who represents Udhampur in Lok Sabha, came down heavily on the separatists for sending their children to safe havens in other parts of India or abroad and leaving the poor kids for jihad.

If jihad is a sure shot way to jannat (heaven) then why dont they send their kids in safe heaven? asked Jitendra Singh.

Parliament saw a debate over the violent protests in Jammu & Kashmir on August 10

While dismissing suggestions by a large section of the Opposition to send an all-party delegation to the Valley, Singh said the current cycle of violence was not unusual as even worse unrest has broken out in the past. He added that it would be wrong to link it to the formation of the state's BJP-PDP government.

Congress MP Karan Singh, son of the last king of the state, welcomed PM Narendra Modis assurance on the economic development of the state but said the need of the hour was a political solution.

He asserted that Kashmir is not an internal matter only, as half of the state is with Pakistan and the other is under Chinese occupation. He also said it would be futile for MPs to visit Kashmir without adequate groundwork by the government.

PDP member Nazir Ahmad Laway said Kashmir had defied the two-nation theory and why the nation remembers the nation only when it is burning.
Terrorists from Pakistan waging jihad against India may not be well-educated but are highly trained in using hi-tech gadgets, which suggests the support of military experts.

This is the finding of investigators who grilled alleged LeT operative Bahadur Ali.

Ali, 21, was arrested on July 25 in Kupwara district of Kashmir. He allegedly revealed during his interrogation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that after infiltrating into India he communicated with his handlers in Pakistan using Japanese-manufactured ICOM wireless sets, which need some degree of technical knowledge.

Arrested Pakistani LeT operative Bahadur Ali was in touch with his handlers using sophisticated wireless technology

The agency has contacted the Japanese company to establish the distributing channels for these wireless sets.

Ali also had an Android mobile that could have been used for sending text messages without a SIM card through a mobile app.

Officials said such wireless sets are not easily available and their handling requires some expertise.

The NIA said: The engineering modification done on ICOM RT sets to cover [a] whole range of frequency requires [a] high degree of precision engineering in electronics.

"Providing the terrorists with specific grid references for the route to be followed and use of GPS, compass and topographical sheets during movement also establishes that these LeT terrorists were trained and mentored by military experts.

NIA Inspector General of Police Sanjeev Kumar during a press conference on arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Bahadur Ali

Ali was launched along with two others from Mandakuli in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on June 12. While Ali was arrested, the whereabouts of the two others remain unknown.

They were given directions not to store any data on the GPS device that could leave behind a trail. The information regarding the movements was deleted, said Sanjeev Singh, Inspector General of the NIA.

Singh claimed that while Ali is not well-qualified and is a Class 8th passout, he is well-trained and has acquired a certain degree of expertise in handling high-tech gadgets.

The agency made Alis alleged disclosure public in Punjabi during a press briefing on Wednesday, a day after India issued a demarche to Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit.

Alis disclosures have once again exposed the role of LeT along with Pakistani agencies in sending men to India to carry out terror strikes.

It is unusual for Indian agencies to show the videoed disclosures of terrorists.

This also happened a day after the blast in Quetta, Pakistan, that killed over 70 people.

Even though ISIS and the Taliban claimed responsibility, there was propaganda in Pakistan blaming Indian intelligence agency the R&AW for the terror strike.

The NIA said Bahadur Ali was constantly guided and directed by the LeT control centre Alpha-3, which was available on a prefixed frequency on the ICOM handsets carried by the terrorists.

Sanjeev Kumar addresses the media, holding pictures of the technology in question

As per Bahadur Ali and other available evidence, control centre Alpha-3 is a fixed communication centre, established at a high-altitude peak in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which is operated with support from Pakistani forces, the NIA said in a statement.

Investigators said that once the terrorists are inside Indian territory, handlers from the control centre guide and control their operations.

Whenever required, Alpha-3 arranges tactical and material support through previously identified contacts.

The NIA also claimed that Ali got instructions to fuel unrest during the ongoing turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir, as LeT handlers in Pakistan told him to hurl grenades at the Indian forces during mob protests.

Following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani, stone-pelting protesters have clashed with security forces leaving several injured on both the sides.

The NIA claimed that the LeT has been pushing heavily-armed terrorists into India this summer with the help of Pakistani forces deployed on the border. They are directed to mix with local people, create disturbance, and attack police and security forces.
When the Nobel Committee announced the Nobel Peace Prize for US President Barack Obama, most analysts shrugged their shoulders and exclaimed: Why Obama? What has he done?

The President himself was surprised. He said so in his acceptance speech, and felt that there were other more deserving candidates.

Seven years later, as his second term inches towards its finishing line, historians are looking for an appropriate epitaph for his presidency.

President Barack Obama himself was surprised when the Nobel Committee awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize

Had he retired in early 2014, he would have joined the rank of Presidents who completed their terms without any major mishap, but achieved nothing much to write about.

But what he has achieved in the last 1,000 days of his second term has vindicated the faith of the Nobel Committee. He has not only proved to be worthy of the Nobel Prize, given somewhat prematurely, but taken bold steps in pursuing American foreign relations which are rewriting history.

Diplomacy

He has given dialogue and diplomacy a new chance, opened doors of friendship and normalcy with countries long perceived in the US as hostile and inimical, and refused to put American boots abroad.

This is reducing tension, resolving long-standing conflicts, and making the world a more peaceful place to live in.

Not a small achievement by any yardstick. Iran is indeed his most lasting legacy.

President Obama has opened doors of friendship and normalcy with countries long perceived as hostile in the US

A decade ago, the media was buzzing with speculation about an imminent pre-emptive US/Israeli strike at Irans nuclear facilities.

The Islamic Republic of Iran was not very long ago branded as a member of the Evil Axis by George W Bush, and accused of pursuing a programme of nuclear weapons, promoting international terrorism, and supporting terrorist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Buoyed by the increase in its influence in Iraq following the fall of Saddam, Iran began propping up the beleaguered regime of Bashar Assad in Syria with material and military support - notwithstanding Obamas public demand that Bashar should step down.

Resisting the temptation to strike against Iran, as was urged by Pentagon hawks and the Israeli lobby in America, Obama resolutely supported the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the UN Security Council's permanent members.

Sometimes, seemingly simple gestures convey historic symbolism. Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis Jewish New Year greetings on his Twitter, and Obamas handshake with the Iranian Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the UN in September 2015 - the first since the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 - proved to be game-changers.

Since Rouhanis election, the pace of negotiations has picked up. He and Obama showed great foresight, pragmatism, and flexibility to accommodate each others concerns, which eventually resulted in the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and UN Security Council's permanent members on July 14, 2015.

In one stroke, Irans nuclear research was put in the deep freeze for at least 10-15 years. The UN, US and EU sanctions were partially lifted, Irans frozen assets were released, and its crude oil was available in the market.

The thaw in the US-Iranian relations not only facilitated Irans international rehabilitation, it also ensured Tehran wasnt a pariah anymore. It is suddenly perceived as a stabilising factor in conflict zones in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

History

Cuba is another significant legacy. Since the Bay of Pigs invasion/missile Crisis in Cuba (1961-62), when the US and the erstwhile USSR pulled back from the brink of a nuclear war till 2016, Cuba claims to have suffered economic losses to the extent of $300 billion thanks to the US economic blockade.

Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US retained its sanctions against Cuba and kept it on the list of states sponsoring terrorism.

The USs strong Hispanic community, which plays an important role in its electoral politics, was a major stumbling block in normalising Americas relations with Cuba.

But in his second term, no longer needing Hispanic votes for re-election, Obama authorised secret negotiations with Cuba, leading to the famous handshake between him and Cuban President Raul Castro in Panama on April 10, 2015.

Besides creating history, it is a win-win situation for both. US companies hope to rake in billions of dollars in business in the infrastructure, ITC, and hospitality sectors, while Cuba will find a lucrative market for its products in the US.

Above all, families affected by the estranged relations will now be able to meet each other with ease.

Partner

Obama also visited Vietnam. This tiny, impoverished nation not only survived Americas napalm bombs, whose debris are still littered across the country, but also inflicted a humiliating defeat on the mightiest power in the world.

While the normalisation process was initiated by President Bill Clinton, Obama, with an aim to counter an assertive China, lifted the arms embargo during his visit to Vietnam in May 2016.

Incidentally, the US is now Vietnams major trading partner.

Equally momentous was Obamas Hiroshima visit. Visiting Hiroshima in May 2016, where on a bright cloudless morning death fell from the sky and the world was changed, must have been Obamas boldest decision.

He didnt offer an apology, but in his sombre speech expressed empathy with the families of the victims and stressed the need for a moral revolution and the end of nuclear weapons.

Last but not least, there is his work on climate change. The global impact of climate change is too obvious to miss; it poses the gravest threat to humanity.

The US never ratified the Kyoto Agreement. For years it demanded drastic reductions in carbon emissions by emerging economies like China and India.

But at the COP 21 Paris Summit in November 2015, Obama became a consummate deal-maker, using diplomatic pressure and persuasion to nudge 190 countries to come on board.

Without Obama, there would have been no agreement.
The Union Textile Ministry has come up with a novel way to mark India's 70th Independence Day in a way that also boosts the indigenous clothes industry.

Textile Minister Smriti Irani wrote a message on Twitter, saying: Celebrate #Aazadi70Saal through #AazadiKeRang by sending a message for the jawans expressing your gratitude to them.

The ministry has identified 70 locations across the country where people will be invited to write a message for members of the three armed forces. The sites include all the state capitals and others associated with the history of the freedom movement against the British Raj.

Smriti Irani will also be visiting Indian soldiers at the Siachen Base camp on August 18

The message board, according to ministry officials, will be an eight feet by seven feet khadi cloth flanked by a border of flex - making the overall measurements 12 feet by nine feet.

People have been invited to write messages for the countrys soldiers manning the borders, or leave an imprint of their palm in the three colours of the Tricolour.

The board will be kept on public display till August 23.

The Defence Ministry has also come up with a video of the Azadi Ke Rang campaign that celebrates the courage of the armed forces in a high-adrenaline display where Prime Minister Narendra Modi also figures.

Irani will also be visiting Indian soldiers at the Siachen Base camp on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan on August 18.
The Rajya Sabha has passed a Bill seeking to extend maternity leave for women from 12 to 26 weeks.

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was moved for consideration and passage by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, was passed by a voice vote.

The changes include increasing maternity leave to 26 weeks for women who have two surviving children. For women with more than two, it will be 12 weeks.

The Rajya Sabha has passed a Bill seeking to extend maternity leave for most women from 12 to 26 weeks. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill will benefit 1.8 million working women.

Twelve weeks' maternity leave will also be guaranteed for adoptive mothers and "commissioning mothers" - defined as a biological mother who donates her egg to create an embryo implanted in another woman.

Businesses with more than 50 employees will be obliged to provide creche facilities.

Bandaru Dattatreya told the media: The measure would benefit about 1.8 million women in the organised sector. The very purpose of this Bill is to increase the working women force because participation of women is decreasing day by day. The law is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons".
A senior Air India official has accused a director in the national carrier of sexual harassment, and the complaint has been sent to the ministry of civil aviation.

The allegations follow several instances of women being sexually abused at work by their seniors, which have sparked outrage in India.

The woman says in the complaint that her boss asked her to go to the rooms of VIPs alone with gifts - and blew his top if she didnt comply.

The female official alleged in her complaint that her senior created barriers to her promotion, and that his behavior towards her was rude and aggressive

Being a single woman, she couldnt afford to wine and dine him and he never harassed those who did, she wrote.

Last year, a 29-year-old woman who worked as a research analyst at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) - a non-profit - lodged a complaint against its then chairman RK Pachauri for alleged criminal intimidation and sexual harassment. He was forced to step down and is out on bail.

A high-level committee will be probing the case as a very senior female official has levelled allegations against a director-level official, which is second highest post in Air India, a senior official with the airline told Mail Today.

The woman complained to Air Indias chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani on July 25 and he forwarded it to the ministry.

On 8th September 2012, when the first Dreamliner aircraft came, he shouted at me in public for his not being able to enter the secure airport area, she said in the complaint, arguing that the man's behaviour fits the legal definition of sexual harassment.

Often he would call up to ask me to facilitate travel of his niece and family to Singapore and ask me to also inform the Singapore office.

Lohani declined to comment on the issue.

Sources say he wrote to the official facing allegations on July 27, seeking a reply on the complaint. The four-page response that came on August 1 rejected the charges, calling them frivolous.

The complainant has alleged that in the Annual Performance Appraisal for 2013-14, she was downgraded by the officer in question, creating hurdles in her promotion, and that his behaviour towards her was rude and aggressive.

She has also said that the director didnt appreciate her work and termed her populist.

The woman has said the officer called her and harassed her in the presence of other male staff.

In his reply to the department, the director termed the allegations distorted and malicious, and an attempt to malign his reputation.

She wrote in her complaint that I sexually harassed her but didnt mention even a single incident where I harassed her sexually, he told Mail Today, quoting his response.

The director also made counter allegations, stating that the complainant once managed a sexual harassment report filed by a female employee against a senior Air India official.

Her responses to the issues were erratic, without proper study and application of mind, and it is correct that I did indeed counsel her on several occasions to be professional in her approach and work without fear or favour and avoid populistic responses and keep the best interest of the organisation in mind, the director stated in his reply.
Vodafone has removed the 18 line rental charge for its new and existing fibre optic broadband customers, it announced today.

It says it has scrapped the 'hassle of paying for line rental' but instead of the price dropping, customers instead will now see one combined price for broadband and line rental.

This comes as new rules from the Advertising Standards Agency are due to be enforced from the end of October which ban broadband companies from excluding the price of line rental in their headline rates.

An end to line rental? Vodafone announces it has axed the charge in an industry first

Broadband providers have until now been allowed to exclude the line rental price in headlines, which typically costs around 20 per month.

But in a move to promote transparency and make the pricing of broadband clearer to consumers, providers will need to include the line rental change by October 31st.

Vodafone became the first telecoms provider to make the change today, well ahead of the deadline. The move lays down the gauntlet to its rivals to do the same.

Glafkos Persianis, commercial director at Vodafone UK, said: 'Giving our customers the opportunity to break free from hidden line rental charges is our way of letting our customers know that we are listening and that we are serious about providing them with the Unlimited Home Broadband experience that they deserve.

'We know our customers depend on us to stay connected, and now we can satisfy their needs both at home and on the go whilst also putting an end to line rental charges.'

Customers who sign up, or upgrade to, the fibre optic broadband service will still receive a home phone, but it says there will be no separate charge for the line rental.

But Ewan Taylor-Gibson, broadband expert at uSwitch, said: 'To be clear, Vodafone isn't really abolishing line rental charges, it's simply combining the charge into its fibre pricing.

'This is because broadband providers are under pressure from government and Ofcom to change advertised pricing so customers see a cost per month that includes line rental, so Vodafone is stealing a march on its rivals.'

A spokesperson from BT said: 'BT and other ISPs across industry will be introducing broadband prices that include line rental shortly.

Rival broadband provider BT says Vodafone has not abolished its line rental charge, just combined it with other costs

'Vodafone has not abolished line rental charges, just combined the prices. In fact, as recently as June 5 they were charging 26.99 for unlimited 38Mbps broadband and line rental, so a drop to 25 a month is not particularly generous, especially since their upfront charge has increased by 19 a year.'

Vodafone launched its home broadband service in June 2015 and it says the 18-month package, priced at 25 for new customers and 22 for existing customers, is the cheapest on the market when compared to the other major players.

Dan Howdle, spokesperson for Cable.co.uk, added: 'Some might argue that the expense of Vodafone's offering prior to line rental being cut points to a knowingly high price preceding it - a sort of anchor to make the new price look like an amazing deal.

'Couple that with the PR win of being the first to cut line rental and it becomes fairly obvious that this is more a marketing strategy than a move to abolish.

'More a different way of slicing the pie than an eradication of annoying line rental charges.'

The change of rules to broadband advertising has been introduced because the way it is currently priced can be misleading and confusing to customers.

In fact only 23 per cent of participants in a poll by Ofcom and the ASA earlier this year could correctly identify the total cost of a broadband package after the first viewing, while 22 per cent were still not able to identify the correct cost after a second viewing.

It also meant some broadband providers are able to use eye catching prices of just a few pounds to attract new customers who will then have to pay an extra 20 per month in line rental.

We at This is Money have been campaigning for the landline price to be included for some time as we argued if a cost was compulsory then it should not be excluded from the headline price.

Broadband providers will have to change the way they advertise landline costs from October

Today's move from Vodafone follows on from TalkTalk which was the first provider to confirm it would axe its line rental charges in October. The other broadband providers are likely to follow suit in the next few months.

Vodafone has had a turbulent year with its mobile phone businesses receiving a deluge of complaints from customers which it blamed on a new IT system.

In June Ofcom revealed it had cause to believe Vodafone had failed to properly handle customer complaints over a near two-year period between January 2014 and November 2015.
by Daily Mail Online in a newly filed lawsuit reveal that he could have been stopped years earlier

A pervert fourth-grade school teacher who was jailed for nine years after he admitted molesting eight of his students could have been stopped years earlier, bombshell letters reveal.

Child molester Robert Keith Bryan, 63, pleaded guilty in May to four of 12 felony counts of lewd acts on a child along with four of five misdemeanor counts of molesting a child.

Bryan was arrested in 2012 after a ten-year-old girl was the first to allege that Bryan touched her private parts over her clothes while she was in his classroom at the Gerald Ford Elementary School in Indian Wells, California.

An investigation unearthed several more victims - all girls aged around ten or 11 - and shocked the desert community.

Child molester Robert Keith Bryan (pictured left in his mugshot and right in an undated photo with his wife), 63, was sentenced last month to nine years in prison for molesting eight of his students

Bryan was arrested in 2012 after a ten-year-old girl was the first to allege that Bryan touched her private parts over her clothes while she was in his classroom at the Gerald Ford Elementary School in Indian Wells, California (pictured)

Now, in a lawsuit just filed by one of the students he abused - and seen by Daily Mail Online - three damning letters sent by the school board reveal Bryan had been red flagged as a potential threat to young girls as far back as 1992.

The suit, filed by the law firm of high profile Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, against Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD) and former school principal Theresa Kachiroubas, accuses them of failing their students 'in the most horrific way' and throwing them into the 'lion's den' with a known child molester.

The suit, which represents a victim known only as L.F., also targets Bryan and raises the chilling prospect that the teacher may have hundreds of other victims who have been silenced by DSUSD's alleged cover-up.

The document states that in spite of repeated incidents of 'molestation' and 'inappropriate touching' of female students the school district, instead of firing Bryan, transferred him to two other schools.

Geragos (pictured) accuses theDesert Sands Unified School District of throwing students into the 'lion's den' Robert Bryan

Daily Mail Online has learned that Bryan had even been quizzed by the police over lewd conduct claims but due to lack of evidence was allowed to continue to teach.

What's worse, while at Gerald Ford Elementary Bryan was allowed to take on 'extra curricular teaching responsibilities' that meant he was regularly alone with female students.

He ran early morning math club and spelling bee competition where he hand-picked female students to join, including those who would become victims.

He was allowed to supervise students on field trips and was even put in charge of taking photos of students for the school yearbook.

Not once did the school principal Kachiroubas think to check his personnel file for any prior issues with his teaching record, it is claimed in court papers.

Shockingly, in a letter dated September 30, 1994, DSUSD wrote to Bryan stating: 'You have been repeatedly told to not touch female students, but by your own admission state that it is so much part of your personality that you are unaware that you are even touching your students.'

In an earlier letter of reprimand dated March 6, 1992, Bryan was directed to 'cease and desist' from touching his students including touching them on the 'shoulders, thighs, posterior, back and/or chest and any form of hugging'.

He was also told that he must not call students back to his desk while the lights are out during film screenings.

Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos filed a lawsuit against Desert Sands Unified School District and former school principal Theresa Kachiroubas (pictured left), accusing them of failing their students 'in the most horrific way' by continuing to keep Bryan as a teacher

Bryan (pictured with his wife and two unidentified minors) started working for the Desert Sands Unified School District in 1986 and retired from the district in August 2012

Bryan was issued with a warning, threatened with unprofessional misconduct charges and told the letter would be place on file.

But less than two years later Bryan was at it again and hauled up before the school district after a parent expressed concern over him touching a student.

This time the bungling DSUSD merely wrote to Bryan again issuing him with a warning and asking him to refrain from touching students and eliminate circumstances in which he's alone with one or a few children.

The letter was signed by Dr Carol McGrew, Assistant Superintendent - the same woman who signed the warning letter two years earlier.

But it wasn't until six months later that Dr McGrew wrote the third letter recommending Bryan be disciplined and suspended for ten days without pay for the 'inappropriate rubbing of a female student's back' which was witnessed by four other students on the playground.

The letter stated that it was the third incident of 'inappropriate behavior' toward female students in the prior three years.

But astonishingly, according to the lawsuit, Bryan was allowed to continue on as a teacher following his suspension and was simply transferred to another school - Gerald Ford Elementary.

This is where the blunders continued and Bryan was allowed to continue abusing students unchecked.

The suit accuses Gerald Ford Elementary and former Principal Theresa Kachiroubas of showing a 'shocking indifference to student safety'.

The suit quoted from Kachiroubas' under oath testimony in connection with a previous lawsuit in which she stated she believed she had 'no obligation to investigate teachers', 'did not concern herself with prior disciplinary actions against Mr. Bryan', was aware that Bryan was transferred from other DSUSD schools to Gerald Ford, but 'was not concerned why'.

Kachiroubas, 68, retired from teaching in 2012 after Bryan's arrest and lives in a gated community in Indio, Claifornia.

But three damning letters sent by the school board reveal Bryan (pictured with his wife) had been red flagged as a potential threat to young girls as far back as 1992

MOTHER OF ROBERT BRYAN'S VICTIM 'L.F.' SPEAKS OUT The mother of victim L.F. has spoken out and revealed the trauma convicted child molester Robert Bryan put her family through. The mom, who we are calling Beverly to hide her and her daughter's identity, says Bryan 'groomed' her daughter, a fourth grade student at Gerald Ford Elementary in Indian Wells, California, because she fitted his 'mold'. 'She was just a little timid school girl, blond hair, blue eyes, didn't raise a fuss, very willing to please, very quiet,' Beverly said. 'Bryan groomed her for a year and would ask her to pose for photographs. There was one picture of her hanging over some bars in the playground. There was no cleavage, just a hint.' Bizarrely, Beverly said Bryan would even send her dozens of photos of L.F., presumably to cover his tracks. 'When I'm looking at them I'm not thinking of a pervert's mind, I'm thinking this is what's happening in school but he was keeping the rest for himself,' she said. Beverly says Bryan would call his daughter to his desk and reward her with gifts for her academic work and then he'd touch near her 'butt' and near her 'breasts'. She recalls: 'School had always been extremely difficult for her and we were trying to get her some kind of additional resource, extra reading and math. 'So when she got to fourth grade and her teacher (Bryan) was the one to get her tested and get her help from the very, very beginning, we were thrilled.' 'She was coming home and she was saying she can't believe a teacher is actually paying attention to me and is going to help.' She added: 'I knew Robert Bryan very well, he brought me alongside and I was always in the classroom. 'He was very confident, he was that one stand out teacher for her, unfortunately he made a difference in a negative way. 'So she would come home with these tickets and erasers and all these extra things.' Beverly said L.F's confidence began to improve and she began to believe she wasn't 'stupid' like other teachers had made her feel. But what she didn't know is Bryan had a sinister plot to groom her to gain her trust so he could 'touch' her without suspicion. 'He would always call her to his desk and when she was standing there he would put his arms around her so he was able to touch her stomach and go up a little bit to the breasts. That's when she would get rewarded,' she recalls. Beverly became aware of what Bryan did to L.F. when another student, aged ten, came forward a few years later in 2012 claiming he touched her between her legs. Bryan was arrested, convicted of sexual assault on eight female students and jailed for nine years. 'I took her to our family psychologist,' she recalls. 'She took a full CPS report and took all the information and then we took it to the police.' Beverly's daughter moved schools and child psychologists told the family that abuse might not manifest until much later. 'It was only at the beginning of this year that we have seen it affect her,' she said. 'She sunk into a pretty big depression, she failed two classes, school has even gotten harder.' Beverly said the family is coping as best it can, but were relieved when Bryan was sent to prison. But her and her husband are still 'very angry'. She said: 'The main thing is just the innocence that was lost and the whole trust factor. 'We were violated not by just the school, but the whole school district.' She added: 'I just want this to stop, it's happening too much in too many school districts, it's like the whole (Catholic) priest scandal, you know, you just move them around in the hope they don't touch again.' Advertisement

When Daily Mail Online approached her for a response to the claims she simply replied: 'I have got nothing to say, You need to speak with the school district.'

Kachiroubas has attempted to delete all photos of herself from online social media profiles since the scandal erupted, but we found several pictures of her at the Desert Sands Educational Foundation's Spring mixer and fundraiser event in 2014.

Bryan was sentenced to nine years in state prison for his crimes last month.

According to Riverside County Sheriff's Investigator Michael Gaunt, seven other female students also told authorities Bryan touched their bodies in a manner that made them feel 'uncomfortable' or 'weird', such as patting them on the buttocks and stomachs or rubbing their lower backs.

When authorities served a search warrant at Bryan's classroom in July 2012, they found a photo of a topless girl that had been downloaded four times on his computer and several other 'suggestive' images of girls.

The computer also contained 'several thousand' images of children, according to the investigator.

Students in Bryan's class during the school year claimed he took 'numerous' photos and videos of them during school hours, according to Gaunt.

Bryan started working for the Desert Sands Unified School District in 1986 and retired from the district in August 2012.

He is married to Claudia and they have at least two grown up children together and several grandchildren.

A Facebook profile under the name Keith Bryan, which appears to have been updated recently, shows off what appears to be a happy life with family and friends. There's no mention of his imprisonment.

In a letter dated September 30, 1994, DSUSD wrote to Bryan stated that he had 'repeatedly told to not touch female students' and had even been sent an earlier letter on the same topic

Dr Carol McGrew, Assistant Superintendent said in her third letter that Bryan (pictured with his wife and an unidentified child) be disciplined and suspended for ten days without pay for the 'inappropriate rubbing of a female student's back'

But following his suspension, Bryan was allowed to continue on as a teacher following his suspension and was simply transferred to another school - Gerald Ford Elementary

Bryan is seen posing with his two young grandchildren in a post as recent as March.

Daily Mail Online spoke to Bryan's wife Claudia, 62, at their home in Palm Desert, California.

She was reluctant to discuss her husband or his crimes but admitted that his actions had turned her life upside down and had had a 'huge impact' on their family.

She said she has limited contact with him since he was jailed, adding: 'He's on his own journey now, though the prison system.'

Ben Meiselas, attorney, Geragos & Geragos, APC, told Daily Mail Online: 'We are grateful that our litigation efforts helped put this child molester behind bars for 9 years.

'Through our previous litigation, we unearthed the unthinkable, and one of the Deserts most despicable secrets that the School District, whose parents trusted it with the safety and well-being of their children, was directly involved in assisting and supporting a child molester to target, groom, and sexually assault dozens and potentially hundreds of 4th grade victims.

'Not only did the School District move this criminal around from elementary school to elementary school to conceal his admitted uncontrollable urges to inappropriately touch female students, but the School District gave him preferred and priority access to his victims, making him the leader of clubs and organizations where he could meet with his victims in private and commit his acts.

'Although much has been accomplished, our law firm's work is far from done as we begin prosecuting claims on behalf of L.F. and others who had their childhood and innocence stolen by a criminal sex offender and the school district which promoted his criminal conduct and sexual perversions for decades.'

A spokesperson for the school district said: 'While Desert Sands Unified School District appreciates the opportunity to provide a comment, we are bound by both state and federal law.

'The privacy of our students is of utmost importance and we must refrain from specific comments during pending litigation.

'Our students deserve our protection and the privacy of both the students and staff prevent us from making further comments.'
An Arkansas man who wanted to cause a 'ruckus' ahead of a court hearing shot and killed a sheriff's deputy on Wednesday.

Billy Monroe Jones, 34, also shot at and wounded a small-town police chief, before surrendering to law enforcement officers who had surrounded his rural home, a sheriff said.

Sheriff Deputy William 'Bill' Cooper of Sebastian County Police Department died after a shootout with a man who said he wanted to 'cause a ruckus' before a court appointment

Cooper was killed in a shootout on Wednesday afternoon with suspect Billy Monroe Jones and several police officers in Hackett, Arkansas

Billy Monroe James, 34, has been arrested in the shooting death of Deputy Bill Cooper and the shooting injury of Police Chief Darrell Spells

Sebastian County Deputy Bill Cooper, 65, was pronounced dead about 1:15pm after being shot in the neck, Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said during a news conference.

He added that Cooper was 'about ready to retire' before he was killed. He also served with the United States Marine Corp.

Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells suffered superficial wounds after apparently being grazed by a bullet.

Jones had gone to his father's house earlier Wednesday to take some tools, Hollenbeck said.

According to the sheriff, Jones pointed a gun at his father, who called 911. Cooper and Spells were among officers who found Jones with a rifle and body armor when they went to his home east of Hackett, near the Oklahoma border.

Spells, above, was injured by gunfire when he was likely grazed by a bullet while in a shootout with suspect Jones

'Jones wanted to cause what was told to us as a 'ruckus' and he was due in court in Fort Smith regarding a petition to revoke a suspended sentence charge,' Hollenbeck told reporters.

Court records show Jones has had a drug conviction in state court along with a handful of minor charges, such as speeding and public intoxication, in nearby Greenwood.

After the shooting, the suspect barricaded himself inside his house for more than four and a half hours before being arrested.

Dozens of police vehicles clogged Arkansas 253, a two-lane road that runs through a mix of woods and fields east of Hackett. The town, which is about 115 miles west of Little Rock, has around 800 residents.

James Markward, 72, who lives nearby, said he heard the commotion early Wednesday.

'It woke me up this morning, the gunshots. Of course I didn't know what was going on,' Markward told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. 'My neighbor called me and asked if I was shooting, and I said, 'No, not me.''

Markward said Jones once helped him split wood, but said he hadn't seen the man in a few years.

'As far as I know, he was all right,' he said.

During the encounter, Jones shot at and damaged a police robot providing surveillance to the responding officers, Hollenbeck said. In the commotion, a police dog was shot and ran into the woods and remained missing later Wednesday.

Hollenbeck said the sheriff's office was 'certainly looking into' whether the shooting was a planned attack.

'The investigation is ongoing. It certainly was an extremely violent situation that came out of nowhere,' the sheriff said.

Law enforcement block an intersection during a stand off after two officers where shot in Sebastian County in Western Arkansas on Wednesday

Governor Asa Hutchinson mourned the loss, which comes after the deliberate shootings this summer of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

'Today's shooting incident ... tragically illustrates the dangers our law enforcement officers face each and every day to keep us safe,' Hutchinson said in a statement.

'He was a perfect example of how we all want our law enforcement officers to be when it comes to relationships with our community,' Hollenbeck said.

GOP nominee Donald Trump offered his condolences on Twitter, saying, 'My thoughts and prayers are with the two police officers shot in Sebastian County, Arkansas.'

The Sebastian County Sheriff's Office released a statement saying, 'It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Corporal William Cooper.

'Corporal Cooper was shot today in the line of duty responding to a domestic disturbance call. Corporal Cooper has been employed with the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office since 2001 and served five years with the Fort Smith Police Department. Corporal Cooper also served with the United States Marine Corp.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said the protesters were not staying within bounds set by law enforcement and getting in the way of surveyors working on the pipeline.

"We are working with local law enforcement on this situation to ensure the safety of our employees and the safety of those who live and work in the area. To that end, we will press charges against anyone who interferes in the construction of the pipeline. Construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline will continue across all four states along the route," the developers of the pipeline said in an emailed statement.
A 6-year-old girl in Tennessee remains fighting for her life in critical condition two days after she was tipped out of a Ferris wheel and fell 30 feet to the ground.

Briley Jay Reynolds, 6, is breathing with assistance from a ventilator after she plunged from the Greene County Fair Monday alongside her sister, 10-year-old Kayla, and another girl, 16.

Briley suffered the worst injuries  a concussion and small brain bleed. She also had seizures en route to the hospital.

Briley Jay Reynolds, 6, (left) is breathing with help from a ventilator after she and her sister Kayla, 10, fell 30 feet to the ground from a Ferris wheel at the the Greene County Fair

Kayla (pictured) had a broken arm and is in 'lots of pain,' her mother said

'She is not currently breathing on her own,' said Kimmee Reynolds, the girls' mother, in a Facebook update Wednesday.

'She is on a vent but she is fighting. She's trying to breathe over it, but earlier when they tried to remove the tubes and all she couldn't do it. Her tongue kept rolling back and it wouldn't let her.'

The older sister, Kayla, had a broken arm and is in 'lots of pain,' the mother said.

'She isn't resting well and she's uncomfortable right now,' Reynolds said of the 10-year-old girl.

'But she's able to talk and smile and paint and do sand art and play on the iPad.'

Briley, however, has on occasion moved her feet and squeezed hands, but barely.

'I know she's in there and I know she hears us,' Reynolds said. 'She doesn't have good control of her right hand and wrist yet but we are thinking it will improve.'

Doctors are keeping the 6-year-old girl sedated until she heals more.

'Now it's a waiting game,' the mom said. 'Let her stay on the meds to keep her sedated and unaware and not in pain to heal more. [Doctors] said they won't be in such a hurry to wean her again.

Doctors are keeping the 6-year-old girl Briley (right) sedated until she heals more. Kayla (left) can talk and move around somewhat, despite her overall pain and discomfort

Briley (left) suffered the worst injuries  a concussion and small brain bleed. She also had seizures en route to the hospital. Her sister, Kayla, (right) had a broken arm

'They wanna give her more time and as much as I want her alert and dancing and being feisty,' Reynolds added. 'I want her to rest and feel better. One minute at a time.'

The third girl who fell from the Ferris wheel has not been identified. She does not appear to be related to the Reynolds girls.

The 16-year-old was hospitalized in critical condition but has since improved, according to local media reports.

Law enforcement cordon off the area surrounding the Ferris wheel that dropped three girls

Police cited a mechanical failure in the accident at Tennessee's Greene County Fair.

Greeneville Police Capt. Tim Davis said at a news conference late Tuesday that the failure caused the basket to overturn and dump the girls some 30 to 45 feet to the ground.

Davis said police had not confirmed reports that the basket the girls were riding in was rocking before the accident.

Members of the Greeneville Fire Department help people off the Ferris wheel

Emergency crews unload the Ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair after the incident

The fall sharpened the focus on how carnival rides are regulated.

After a 2014 audit found shortcomings in Tennessee's regulatory program for rides at fairs and amusement parks, state officials decided to get out of the inspection business altogether.
Partial skeletal remains were found on the Big Island of Hawaii last month, near belongings marked with the name of missing woman Jessica Urbina (pictured)

Police on Hawaii's Big Island are trying to identify human remains that were found near personal items belonging to a Canadian woman who has been missing for about 15 years.

Local hunters found partial human skeletal remains last month in a remote area of the island's Puna district, about a half-mile from a subdivision called Hawaiian Paradise Park.

The remains have been sent to a mainland forensic laboratory and it could be a month or two before an identity is confirmed, Hawaii Police Department Lt. Greg Esteban said Wednesday.

Esteban did not specify how long it appears the body had been decomposing, and said all identifying features - including the person's sex - were impossible to ascertain.

He told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald that there was no 'obvious indicators on the remains that would tell us a cause or manner on how this person died.'

When police went to investigate the remains, they found weathered clothing and what appeared to be a sleeping bag. One of the items had a name on it: Jessica Urbina.

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Urbaina traveled to Hawaii in November 2000 and her family reported her missing a year later. The remains were found near the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision

The name led police to a missing person's report for her from 2001 at the Honolulu Police Department.

Urbina, of Montreal, Quebec, traveled alone to Hawaii on vacation in November 2000 when she was 21 years old and her family reported her missing a year later. At the time, she was described as being 5-foot-1 and 100 pounds with long black hair, brown eyes and fair skin. She would be 37 now.

A family friend told CTV that she traveled on an open ticket, and that the last person Urbina talked to on the phone was her mother. Urbina's mother noticed 'something wasn't quite right' during their conversation and that's when the family began to worry and reported her missing.

While Urbina has a living sister, both of her parents have since died of cancer.

Police are getting DNA samples from her family, he said. Hawaii County police have also opened a missing person case.

'We just want to emphasize: Until a validation is made, these are two separate investigations,' Esteban said.

'The picture is there and were hopeful that somebody will see it and go, "I remember her from several years ago" and contact us with any historical information they may have,' Esteban said.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Lieutenant Esteban at 808-961-2252 or email him at gregory.esteban@hawaiicounty.gov.
Hillary Clinton made the mecca today to a popular hipster business in the Midwest - the snarky, Millennial-owned Raygun t-shirt store in downtown Des Moines.

The printing shop, owned by 34-year-old Iowa native Mike Draper, calls itself 'The Greatest Store in the Universe.' After touring it today, Clinton agreed.

'Not a bad description, right,' she said of the flagship location that's been visited by the likes of Tom Brokaw and Labor Secretary Tom Perez.

At the stop Draper presented her with a blue tee the company designed specially for her visit that said in white lettering 'AMERICA: HILL YES.'

Hillary Clinton made the mecca today to a popular hipster business in the Midwest - the snarky, Millennial-owned Raygun t-shirt store in downtown Des Moines, where she received her very own Hillary tee

The printing shop, owned by 34-year-old Iowa native Mike Draper, calls itself 'The Greatest Store in the Universe.' After touring it today, Clinton agreed

Clinton looks on as owner Mike Draper demonstrates the screen printing process while visiting Raygun this afternoon

Clinton watches as owner and founder Mike Draper, right, shows her how they silk screen shirts. She commented several times that the small business reminds her of the one her father owned

Draper told DailyMail.com he played it safe with the Clinton tee because he didn't want to cause a problem for the Democratic presidential nominee, whom he heartily endorsed

Draper said today: 'As a business person you just need a steady hand at the wheel in terms of you don't want ups and downs and peaks and valleys'

He and several of the employees were also wearing the shirts that Draper said they would be available for purchase for staff and other Clinton supporters who requested them at the store's regular price of $21 a piece.

Draper began the business in 2005 when he was 22. It has since expanded from a single store in Des Moines to three stores throughout the state and one in Kansas City, three hours south, with 50 full and part time employees.

'I'm one of the few business owners whose dad didn't give them a small $1 million loan,' he told DailyMail.com, a dig at Donald Trump.

The brand is known for its mouthy prints that mock the regional culture, as well as the politicians and journalists who descend on the state every four years for its famed caucus.

Ahead of voting this year - Iowa is the first to go in the nomination process - Raygun printed tee, stickers and other items bearing the statement: 'Trump Begs for Our Big Caucus.'

Draper told DailyMail.com he played it safe with the Clinton tee because he didn't want to cause a problem for the Democratic presidential nominee, whom he heartily endorsed.

'We're definitely backing her,' he said.

The small business owner said in his circumstances it's 'hard to line up exactly with either party.'

'As a business person you just need a steady hand at the wheel in terms of you don't want ups and downs and peaks and valleys.'

He said, 'With somebody like Trump it's just...the unknowing of...what he will say or he will do, it's really tough to get a feel for him. So we are definitely supportive of Hillary, personally.'

The Iowa business does more than silkscreen printing, though its shirts are its bread and butter. It also sells postcards and coffee mugs with its humorous sayings

Like its shirts, the postcards are also made in the USA. Draper told Clinton today that 90 percent of their products are made inside the country

Clinton laughs at a shirt that owner Mike Draper holds while visiting Raygun. It says, 'I grew up in Kansas...that's about as America as it gets- superman'

Draper said his decision to endorse Clinton was not just about his own economic prospects - 'on the other side of it, we always want to tip the scales more toward equality.'

When Trump says he wants to 'make America great again,' Draper said, it makes him wonder, 'What year are you going back to.'

'When you employ people of...multiple races, genders, transgender, sexual orientation, a vast majority of Raygun would probably not want to go back to the '60s...we are first and foremost for that kind of stuff,' he said.

Despite his endorsement of Clinton, Draper told reporters as he awaited Clinton's arrival that if Trump asked to visit the store, he'd consider it.

Clinton's team he said, called the store on Monday and asked if she could stop by and they were happy to oblige.

'It's pretty neat that something that was...started here and has slowly grown over time, supported by the community, has become big enough to attract somebody running for president,' Draper said in his interview with DailyMail.com.

The Iowa business does more than silkscreen printing, though its shirts are its bread and butter. It also sells postcards and coffee mugs with its humorous sayings. Like its shirts, those are produced in the USA.

The Iowa business does more than silkscreen printing, though its shirts are its bread and butter. It also sells postcards and coffee mugs with its humorous sayings. Like its shirts, those are produced in the USA.

Draper told Clinton today that 90 percent of their products are made inside the country as she toured the store and learned about the businesses' operations.

She made note of the fact later as she spoke to employees and their families and said, 'I also want to make clear that if you decide you want to start a business in the United States, and this business is a perfect example, theres a lot you can buy and you can source in the United States.

'So this is one of the big differences that I have with Donald Trump,' she said, as an aside adding, 'I have many big differences with him. But one of them is that he makes all these things, but he doesnt make any of them in the United States. '

Clinton took a team photo with Raygun's staff after she finished her remarks

Trump could make his ties in Denver and his suits in Ohio, she said, deriding her opponent as she does on a near daily basis for producing his clothing lines overseas.

'He could make furniture in North Carolina. You can build it in America. And I am determined that were going to build more, and were going to be able to create more businesses and more jobs by doing so,' she said.

Clinton spent a half hour at Raygun this afternoon before her rally at a local high school.

'This is great! ' she declared as she walked in.

Throughout the brief visit and remarks afterward Clinton fondly recalled that her father used to own a small silkscreen printing business.

'My dads screens were much bigger, he was doing bigger fabrics,' she told Draper, adding a little later, 'I was saying, my dad printed drapery fabric, but it was nothing as nice as this.'

Afterward, she made a quick drop-in to the nearby Scenic Route coffee shop to get her caffeine fix before making her way across town to her mid-afternoon rally

'Do you still have that fabulous honeybee? I'm so excited! I've been thinking about it!' she told the cashier

Receiving her drink, a mix of coffee, honey and cinnamon, she said, 'This is good for a hot day like this'

As she addressed staffers of the Iowa-based business later, she said, 'Mike and I were talking about my dad, who ran a really small business, where he printed, with silkscreens, drapery fabric.

It was his business that 'provided us with a good, solid, middle class life,' she said, 'I remember going there to help him when I was old enough.'

She described her father's set-up and told them, 'This is really a treat for me to see what you're doing here.'

Afterward, she made a quick drop-in to the nearby Scenic Route coffee shop to get her caffeine fix before making her way across town to her mid-afternoon rally.

'Do you still have that fabulous honeybee? I'm so excited! I've been thinking about it!' she told the cashier.

Receiving her drink, a mix of coffee, honey and cinnamon, she said, 'This is good for a hot day like this.'
Town inspired the creation of the Godfather and fictional

An Italian town which inspired the creation of the fictional Godfather crime family has disbanded its local council after fears it has been over-run by the Mafia.

The country's prime minister Matteo Renzi has ordered the local administration of Corleone in Sicily to be dissolved and have its City Hall put under temporary control of the interior ministry.

Corleone, which means 'heart of the lion' in local dialect was the hometown of Mario Puzo's fictional 'Godfather' Don Vito Corleone.

The Italian town of Corleone, which has had its local government disbanded over fears it has been infiltrated by the Mafia

Corleone, which means 'heart of the lion' in local dialect was the hometown of Mario Puzo's fictional 'Godfather' Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, pictured, in the fil

It is also the real birthplace of Bernardo Provenzano and Salvatore Riina, two mafia chieftains who took control of Sicily's Cosa Nostra in the 1980s after a bloody mob war that some historians estimate left 1,000 people dead.

Riina and Provenzano, dubbed 'The Beasts' for their brutal violence, were eventually tracked down and jailed for life.

Provenzano died at age 83 last month, while the 85-year-old Riina remains in a high-security prison.

From 1991 through June of this year, 212 city governments had been dissolved in Italy for mafia infiltration.

Using intimidation, Sicily's Cosa Nostra frequently influences decisions and public contract bidding or backs local politicians sympathetic to the Mafia's economic interests.

This is the first time Corleone's administration has been dissolved.

The town is also the real birthplace of Bernardo Provenzano and Salvatore Riina, two mafia chieftains who took control of Sicily's Cosa Nostra in the 1980s

Cities are then managed by a government-appointed commissioner until new elections are held. T

he administrations of Arzano near Naples, and two Calabrian towns, Bovalino and Tropea, also were disbanded this week.

City halls in Italy's south, and, lately, increasingly also in the north, are sometimes put under Rome's control to wrest them from mobsters' influence.

The criminal power of Sicily's Cosa Nostra has declined markedly over the past two decades as a result of a sweeping crackdown after the assassination of two prominent anti-mafia jurists in 1992, which shocked Italy.
It wasn't a record breaker, but it was still a helluva halibut.

Fishermen Brian Mattson and Doug Corl hauled in the catch of a lifetime Sunday with a 396-pound, 8-foot-long halibut in southeast Alaska, KFSK reported.

They used a winch to bring the fish up onto their vessel, the Day Spring. Mattson said it 'just kept coming and coming, and then we knew it was big.'

'Didn't even know it was on until we saw it from the surface,' Mattson told KFSK.

'Put the shark hook on it, used the winch to bring it up and didn't even make a move whatsoever, it just came right in nice and easy.'

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Fisherman Brian Mattson takes a look at the the nearly 400-pound halibut he and Doug Corl caught in southeast Alaska

Fishermen Brian Mattson and Doug Corl work on the nearly 400-pound behemoth

The humongous halibut was caught by Brian Mattson and Doug Corl in Petersburg, Alaska

A large crowd came down to the dock to see the 396-pound fish when they delivered the halibut for processing at Petersburg Fisheries Inc.

Even Levy Boiter with the International Pacific Halibut Commission went to get a gander.

RECORD HALIBUT The largest-recorded halibut was caught in 1996 by Jack Tragis in Dutch Harbos, Alaska. It was a whopping 459-pound. Advertisement

Boiter says, 'This is definitely not the average fish.'

Mattson has fished since he was a teenager but never caught anything quite this large.

'I think in the low 300s we got  but this is definitely the biggest Doug and I has ever caught,' Mattson told KSFK.

Luckily, Mattson' boat was equipped to pull in such a large beast.

'A lot of guys go out in the smaller boats and don't have the winches and stuff to do it,' Mattson told KSFK.

'And that would be tough to get on board.'

Locals watch as the two fishermen bring up the 8-foot halibut they caught in Alaska

The fishermen at first thought the halibut may be even larger.

'Last night it measured out to 92, 93 inches, and in the tide book it said it was like 435,' Mattson told the radio station.

'The NOAA observer measured and looked it up, he thought it was 450, 470. But it all depends on how thick they are.'

The record catch came in 1996 when Jack Tragis brought in a 459-pound halibut in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
A 22-year-old Colorado man has died fighting against Islamic State terrorists after joining Kurdish forces to 'fight the evil that is ISIS,' his parents said.

Jordan MacTaggart was believed to be killed on Aug. 3 while fighting in a squad that included two Americans and a Swede in Manbij, Syria, said his father Robert MacTaggart Wednesday.

The elder MacTaggart said those fighting with his son told him by phone that he died while helping a soldier wounded by an improvised explosive device.

MacTaggart said his son was shot in the chest.

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Jordan MacTaggart, 22, was killed recently in Syria while fighting alongside Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group, his family says

MacTaggart's family says he died, shot in the chest, while helping a soldier wounded by an improvised explosive device

MacTaggart went to join the fight after hearing about beheadings, stabbings and sexual assaults reportedly committed by ISIS forces,' his family says

Details of Jordan MacTaggart's death were not released by the U.S. State Department, which said it was working to confirm it.

His family said Jordan MacTaggart went to join the fight after hearing about beheadings, stabbings and sexual assaults reportedly committed by ISIS forces.

'He had a huge heart and he was always affected by any injustice,' said his mother, Melissa MacTaggart. 'It would hurt him, probably more than other people, like he couldn't let it go.'

MacTaggart's father first told KMGH-TV on Tuesday that a group called the People's Protection Unit contacted his family to tell them their son was killed.

MacTaggart is the second Coloradan reported killed while fighting with Kurdish forces. The first American believed to have been killed fighting ISIS had no military training and died alongside Kurdish forces in 2015. Keith Broomfield of Massachusetts had joined the People's Protection Units known as the YPG under the nom de guerre Gelhat Rumet.

The YPG is the main Kurdish guerrilla group battling ISIS in Syria.

This photo of MacTaggart posted on Twitter says he has been 'martyred' fighting with a Kurdish militia

Jordan MacTaggart's friends and family have been memorializing him with photos on social media. On the right, he appears with sister Amanda

Robert MacTaggart said his son (pictured) fought in Syria for most of last year, was wounded, returned home in October and headed back in January

Susan Shirley of Arvada, Colorado, said the U.S. Consulate in Turkey called her to tell her that her son Levi Shirley, 24, was killed July 14 by a land mine. Robert MacTaggart said the Shirleys have reached out to him and are helping the family.

Robert MacTaggart said his son fought in Syria for most of last year, was wounded, returned home in October and headed back in January. MacTaggart said before the first tour that he tried steering his son toward school or the U.S. military.

Robert MacTaggart said his son had done his research and joined the YPG, a Kurdish militia that includes men and women.

'Their cause became his. Without regret or remorse, he was in Syria to do his best to help them,' the statement said.

Jordan MacTaggart's dad says those fighting with his son told him by phone that he died while helping a soldier wounded by an improvised explosive device. He was shot in the chest, the father said

Robert MacTaggart said he followed the battles of the Kurdish forces on the internet and had contact with fighters in Syria in order to track the well-being of his son.

His last message exchange from his son on July 21:

'No news is good news. Sorry it's short but I have to go back to work.'

MacTaggart messaged back that he was proud of his son.

'We support him completely and our sincerest wish is that no one turns a blind eye to this ongoing Kurdish revolution,' the family said.

His parents said Jordan MacTaggart danced in a cape to lighten the mood for fellow soldiers on the Syrian front. As a teenager sporting black clothes and a mohawk, Melissa MacTaggart said her son befriended an elderly neighbor from across the street, stopping by occasionally to have coffee.

He also occasionally bought a loaf of bread and peanut butter to make sandwiches for homeless youth living along the 16th Street Mall in Denver.

Jordan MacTaggart planned to join the military after this latest tour.

'I wish I could make this go away and it wasn't true,' said Melissa MacTaggart. 'He would go weeks without messaging us and it's like he's just away and this is one of those times he can't message us.'

MacTaggart's dad, Robert, said he tried steering his son toward school or the US military
It didn't take long for Justin Gatlin's name to get dragged into the doping drama swirling at the Olympics.

No big deal to Gatlin.

The sprinter considered the best threat to stop Usain Bolt in the 100-meter final Sunday told The Associated Press he's not paying attention to what people are saying about him, and is not concerned with those who think he doesn't belong here.

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Sprinter Justin Gatlin has hit back after being criticized for his inclusion in Rio despite doping claims

Controversy surfaced in Rio in the wake of Lilly King's (left) finger-wagging display toward Yulia Efimova (right), the Russian who was allowed to compete despite a doping scandal

'At the end of the day, the time has been served. I've served that time,' the 34-year-old Gatlin told AP on Wednesday.

'I've dealt with that punishment. I've moved forward.'

Not everyone else has.

Gatlin, who won gold at 100 meters at the 2004 Olympics, has been caught using banned substances twice.

The first was for amphetamines, though arbitrators determined he didn't use them for doping but to treat attention deficit disorder. The second came for excessive testosterone in 2006 and resulted in a four-year ban.

His name almost always comes up in the debate over how past dopers should be treated.

In Rio, it surfaced in the wake of American swimmer Lilly King's finger-wagging display toward Yulia Efimova, the Russian who was allowed to compete after a last-minute appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Like Gatlin, Efimova has served a doping ban but was reinstated.

But in refusing to bar the entire Russian team from the Olympics after investigations detailed state-sponsored doping in the country, the IOC put in a special caveat: Any Russian who had been previously banned for doping was not welcome.

That rule was overturned by CAS, which had made similar decisions in previous cases, saying athletes can't be punished twice for the same offense.

King's criticism of Efimova  and her icy stares toward the Russian before the two squared off in the pool  instantly made King a voice in support of clean athletes everywhere.

After winning her latest gold, Lilly King (right) once again called out silver medalist Yulia Efimova, saying 'we can still compete clean and do well in the Olympic games'

The dispute led to King, and many others, being asked if it was fair that Gatlin was competing.

'Do I think people who have been caught doping should be on the team? They shouldn't. It is unfortunate we have to see that,' King said.

But, King said, she had to respect the rules.

Same with sprinter Michael Johnson, the four-time Olympic gold medalist, who was asked whether Gatlin should be here.

Olympians Usain Bolt (left) and Michael Phelps (right) have both been open about the importance of competing clean  and that winning is all that matters

'The issue people need to understand is that you're not going to solve the problem by pointing the finger at an athlete and making that athlete the villain,' Johnson said, talking in general about athletes with violations.

'The athlete has been a villain and certainly has done damage to the sport. ... I don't appreciate that. But the athlete's not the one that's making the rules that allows him to get back on the track or back in the pool, or back on the field.'

Gatlin does not see himself as a villain  and does not buy into the now-hackneyed portrayal of him vs. Bolt as track's version of 'Good vs. Evil.'

'People want to label people and that's all they want to do,' Gatlin said. 'They don't want to get to know them, they don't want to understand the story, in-depth.'

Though many of the headlines deride him, Gatlin insists he's popular in the athletes village.

Many athletes have asked if it is fair that Gatlin is competing in the Olympics despite having being caught in a doping scandal

'So many people have come up to me in the village and the cafeteria, showing me love, wanting me to go out there and do the best, be the best,' he said. 'Taking pictures and everything. I get love, man.'

How will the fans  and media  react when he hits the track Saturday for the start of the men's 100?

He's not concerned.
A rodeo promoter is suing two star calf ropers, accusing them of rigging a Texas event last year so that they could get a cut of a possible $1 million prize.

RFD-TV Events made the allegations in a lawsuit Tuesday against three-time world champion calf roper Tuf Cooper and the world's current top-ranked roper, Timber Moore.

The alleged scheme surrounding the American Rodeo at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, in March last year centered on a bonus reward for those who qualified for the event rather than being invited, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Reese Riemers is presented with the winner's check at the American Rodeo in Texas last year

Riemers actually won $517,000 but the event organizers later stopped the check after learning of his alleged arrangement with Timber Moore and Tuf Cooper

Qualifiers could earn up to $1 million from a 'side pot' for winning any of seven competitions at The American Rodeo on March 1, 2015.

The lawsuit alleges Cooper and Moore struck a deal to intentionally perform poorly so fellow competitor Reese Riemer would win, and the three would split Riemer's monetary award.

Riemer, the qualifier, won the calf roping event, with Cooper finishing second and Moore third.

And all three were to split the winning check of $517,000  $100,000 for the first-place finish and $417,000 from the 'side pot,' the lawsuit alleged.

However, rodeo organizers soon learned of the scheme and stopped payment on the check, the lawsuit said.

Riemer sued RFD-TV earlier this year for breach of contract after they stopped payment of his $517,000 in winnings, according to WFAA News 8 television station.

Tuf Cooper was alleged to have been part of a scheme to win more prize money at the American Rodeo last year by letting Riemer win a calf roping event

Timber Moore is alleged to be the other participant in the scheme which let Riemers win

Another cowboy was allegedly invited to participate in the deal but declined and blew the whistle on the arrangements, it was reported.

But RFD-TV Events now wants to recover other prize money earned by Cooper and Moore of up to $100,000.

The cowboys had not been able to be contacted but Gregory Shamoun, attorney for RFD TV, told WFAA the cowboys should apologize to the co-competitors of the event.

'We are greatly disturbed by this illegal act, and feel it's our duty to assure the upcoming American Rodeo events are not fraught with this type of unprofessional and illegal conduct,' Shamoun told the network on Wednesday.

A telephone message left by The Associated Press for Cooper at Elite Rodeo Athletes, of which he is a member, was not returned Wednesday.
The U.S. Air Force is struggling to fill a shortage of 700 fighter pilots by the end of the year, even as the U.S. battles in three air wars against the Islamic State group in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James also told Pentagon reporters Wednesday that she is planning to pay drone pilots a $35,000 a year retention bonus to encourage them to stay in the service.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James says there is a shortage of 700 fighter pilots, even as the U.S. battles in three air wars against Islamic State terrorists in Iraq, Syria and Libya

The pilot shortage could grow to 1,000 in a couple years, a potential crisis as the US continues to fight abroad

The 35,000 a year retention bonus would be an increase over $25,000 bonus the service has been allowed to provide. And all drone pilots would be eligible once their service contract is up.

She added that Air Force needs the authority to increase bonuses for all pilots in order to address the shortage.

The Air Force has grappled with pilot retention for some time, particularly as airlines look to hire them, promising higher salaries and benefits. James said the pilot shortage could grow to 1,000 in a couple years.

'The airlines are forecast to be hiring a lot more,' she said, adding that the Air Force also needs to increase its training of new pilots.

She and Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force Chief of Staff, said they want to improve pilots' quality of life and their military service conditions, including training and housing.

'It is a crisis,' said Goldfein. 'Air superiority is not an American birthright, it's actually something you have to fight for.'

Drone pilots will be paid a retention bonus of $35,000 a year to encourage them to stay in service longer

He said fighter pilots are leaving at a higher rate, and that improving their quality of service as well as beefing up the retention bonus will help address the problem. Fueling that problem, he said, has been the persistent overseas deployments as the U.S. has been engaged in air wars for more than two decades.

'If we take a balanced approach, we're hoping that we can get these folks to stay,' he said.

Goldfein said that so far the pilot shortage isn't affecting air operations over Iraq, Syria and Libya.

But the ongoing deployments continue to affect pilots' decisions on whether to stay in the service.
Daniel Messel (pictured) has been convicted in the beating death of a 22-year-old student

A criminal who advertised himself on a 'sugar daddy' website as seeking a 'special student' has been found guilty of beating an Indiana University senior to death.

Daniel Messel, 51, of Bloomington, was convicted by a jury in the beating death of Hannah Wilson, 22, of Fishers, about five hours after they began deliberations.

Messel looked down as the judge polled the jury, each member of which responded that he or she had voted 'guilty'.

The jury also convicted Messel of being a habitual criminal, which could add six to 20 years to his possible 45 to 65-year sentence for the murder conviction.

He's due to be sentenced on September 22.

Wilson was last seen alive getting into a taxi after a night drinking with friends in April last year.

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Hannah Wilson (pictured) was last seen alive getting into a taxi after a night drinking with friends in April last year. Her body was found hours later in a vacant lot

Her body was found hours later in a vacant lot about 10 miles from the Bloomington campus. Messel's cellphone was found under the body.

Prosecutors said she sustained cuts and bruises to her body as well as repeated blows to the head that were fatal, CBS4 reported.

During the trial, Messel's defense attorney Dorie Maryan had argued that the case wasn't fully investigated by police.

She said Messel was the first suspect identified by police and quickly arrested, and that investigators ignored other possible suspects.

However, she conceded that Messel and Wilson had encountered one another on the morning of the slaying, but suggested someone else was present as well.

'Her friends will tell you that intoxicated or sober, Ms Wilson would not have gotten into a car with a stranger, but maybe if she was with someone she knew she might have,' Maryan said.

Messel (pictured above outside court) was also convicted of being a habitual criminal, which could add six to 20 years to his possible 45 to 65-year sentence for the murder conviction

But Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams said a multitude of evidence points toward Messel's guilt: His cellphone was found near Wilson's body, her blood and hair was found in his SUV, and Messel was carrying a bag of his clothes spotted with Wilson's blood when he was arrested.

'She was two weeks from graduation. She was a psych major, bubbly, fun,' Adams said. 'She was a fun person with fun friends.'

But authorities haven't said how or when they believe Messel and Wilson came into contact.

However, after his arrest, it emerged that Messel had posted an advert on website sugardaddyforme.com seeking 'that special IU coed'.

He wrote that he was a 'Bloomington male looking for that special IU coed,' someone aged between 18 and 40, the Indy Star reported.

Messel described himself as 'cuddly' and earning between $100,000 and $200,000.
A number of maintenance projects going on in East Sibley Nature Park have caused some visitors to the wooded area to question whether Bismarck Parks and Recreation is planning to sell or develop that land. But the prime walking and birding ground isnt going to leave public hands anytime soon.

East Sibley Nature Park, located along a bend of the Missouri River south of Bismarck, includes dense woods. It has no picnic shelters or playgrounds.

Dave Mayer, Bismarck Parks and Recreation operations director, said his office has fielded a number of calls about survey markings, clearings and tree pruning. But he explained that nothing out of the ordinary is going on.

First, the U.S. Forest Service had some time available to help clean up some nuisance plant materials, Mayer said. He said the Forest Service occasionally helps with such projects when it's not fighting fires.

Second, city crews will be cleaning up plants and trees damaged by the 2011 flood. The massive flood, the largest since the building of Garrison Dam, has caused accelerated decline in trees in many parks along the river. He isnt sure whether any of the massive cottonwoods in the park will have to be taken down, but some trimming and pruning definitely will be done.

Finally, Lincoln Oaks Nursery, owned and operated by the North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts, is investigating whether it can run an irrigation line through the park to provide river water to the nursery, Mayer said.

Given the parks natural state, work by humans has drawn some attention. But Mayer said its nothing alarming.

Its mainly routine maintenance out there, he said.
A man with cerebral palsy which has left him unable to speak or walk has been banned from going into any Westpac bank branches.

Brandon Tomlin, who has been a customer of Westpac for upwards of 15 years, has been accused of abusing and acting violently towards staff at one of the bank's central Melbourne branches, The Age reported.

A letter from Westpac came and he was barred from entering any branches as well as those of its affiliated banks after he tried to speak with bank staff about their treatment of him.

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Brandon Tomlin (pictured), who has been a customer of Westpac for upwards of 15 years, was accused of abusing and acting violently towards staff at a central Melbourne branch

Mr Tomlin said they treated him as if he was mentally ill or challenged.

He brought it up with a manager via one of his special communication methods where he uses his eyes to gesture at letters attached to a plastic sheet to spell out words.

This was how Mr Tomlin had communicated with staff before, but security was alerted and he was told to exit the premises.

He then received a letter from Westpac which labelled his behaviour 'unacceptable' and said staff should expect to conduct their jobs 'without fear of abuse or violence'.

A letter from Westpac came after he tried to speak with bank staff about their treatment of him. Pictured is the Melbourne branch on the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets

Mr Tomlin denied he had become violent but said when he was distressed his lack of muscle control would worsen.

He attempted to speak to the branch staff about the letter but instead police were contacted.

Mr Tomlin has since submitted a complaint to Australia's Human Rights Commission.

A Westpac spokesperson said they were taking the allegations made by Mr Tomlin 'very seriously' and they would work with the commission to resolve the issue.

WHAT IS CEREBRAL PALSY? Cerebral palsy is a disability that impacts on a person's movement and posture. It is caused by damage done to a developing brain during a mother's pregnancy or after the baby is born. The disability can affect a person's body movement, muscle control and tone, reflex and balance. A person with cerebral palsy may not be able speak, hear or see. The disability can also have an effect on their ability to learn and comprehend information. *Source: Cerebral Palsy Alliance Advertisement

'This is a new matter which has been raised with the Australian Human Rights Commission and a full investigation is underway,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'We understand that this is a very sensitive situation, and are we concerned to hear that this customer feels he was treated unfairly.

'We had offered Mr Tomlin a range of banking alternatives to assist him to make his banking arrangements easier.

'Westpac believes that all people are entitled to basic rights and freedoms regardless of where they are from, their religion, gender, race or any other status.

'We serve millions of customers each year, and have policies and practices in place to respect the rights of all our customers and employees.

'This is supported by employee awareness and training programs. We will continue to review our practices to ensure we provide necessary assistance to people with disabilities.'

In his complaint to the commission, Mr Tomlin is seeking an apology and compensation from Westpac.

'In relation to be "abusive" or "violent", I cannot speak, I cannot control my voice, I cannot control my limbs - particularly when upset - and I cannot leave my chair,' Mr Tomlin told The Age via a computer.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Tomlin for further comment on the matter.

Mr Tomlin is an active advocate for disability rights and has also campaigned for free press in support of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

A friend of Mr Tomlin spoke out in support of him after she heard of his story.

He brought it up with a manager via one of his special communication methods but security was alerted and he was told to exit the premises

'OMG, WTH? This is our friend, I have never seen him being aggressive in any way,' she said.

'I can't believe what I'm reading. Has the world gone completely mad?'

Disability rights advocate Jax Jacki Brown said the treatment of Mr Tomlin was 'abhorrent'.

'I have cerebral palsy so I identify with Mr Tomlin,' Ms Brown told Daily Mail Australia.

'I have friends who have the type of cerebral palsy where they cannot control their limbs.

'I just think it's abhorrent that the bank has banned him.

'He went in there to do his banking and they've said to him, "The way your body moves uncontrollably is not acceptable, and you have been abusive and assaulted people".

'All he was asking was for them was to get some disability training and stop treating him like a child and speak to him like an adult so he go about his business and do his banking.'

Ms Brown said she also hoped to see his complaint be upheld as she wanted to see Westpac 'held accountable'.
Andrew Denton has targeted two MPs during a passionate speech about voluntary euthanasia laws in Australia after his late father spent 'all day, everyday fighting for breath'.

On Wednesday, the broadcaster addressed the National Press Club in Canberra, blaming Liberal MP Kevin Andrews and Labor MP Tony Burke for engineering the repeal of the brief legalisation of assisted euthanasia laws in the Northern Territory in 1995.

Denton said the 'God squad' gained significant parliamentary support from 'well-connected' Catholic businessmen.

'Looking back now two things are striking. First, is that on the questions that are most fundamental to how we live, love and die, religious belief trumps everything,' he said.

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Denton's father Kit (both pictured) passed away in 1997 after a long battle with heart failure

Andrew Denton has targeted two MPs during a passionate speech about voluntary euthanasia laws in Australia after his late father died in pain in 1997

On Wednesday, the broadcaster addressed the National Press Club in Canberra, blaming Liberal MP Kevin Andrews (right) and Labor MP Tony Burke (left) for engineering the repeal of the brief legalisation of assisted euthanasia laws in the Northern Territory in 1995

'This is the theocracy hidden inside our democracy.

'Second is what Kevin Andrews and Tony Burke engineered was an outright denial of the will of the people of the Northern Territory, as expressed through their elected representatives.'

Denton's father Kit passed away in 1997 after a long battle with heart failure.

He described watching him die as the 'most profoundly shocking experience of [his] life,' saying the 67-year-old was only allowed sedatives and morphine for the pain.

'When your heart fails, fluid backs up in your lungs and you spend all day, everyday fighting for breath - it's like waterboarding,' Mr Denton said.

'[It's like] trying to suck air through a damp mask - drowning and being revived again'.

Denton says polls consistently show at least 70 per cent of Australians want assisted dying laws but lawmakers have been 'derelict in their duty'.

Denton said the 'God squad' gained significant parliamentary support from 'well-connected' Catholic businessmen

Denton's (pictured with wife Jennifer and son Connor in 2008) father Kit passed away in 1997 after a long battle with heart failure

He has travelled to places where such laws have operated successfully for years with strong safeguards to protect the vulnerable.

He says Australian politicians, reluctant to look closely into what is confronting and complex material, are being too easily persuaded by vocal lobby groups, mainly Christian groups.

Denton said a 'subterranean' Catholic network of politicians and businessmen was blocking the passing of the voluntary euthanasia laws.

'They are often persuaded by myths,' he told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.

'By failing to properly examine the claim that `no safeguard can be devised to protect the vulnerable', our politicians have failed, instead, to protect the people they represent.'

Mr Denton (pictured with his wife) said Australian politicians, reluctant to look closely into what is confronting and complex material, are being too easily persuaded by vocal lobby groups, mainly Christian groups.

Mr Denton has launched a new organisation, Go Gentle Australia, to give those suffering a voice

Denton says politicians and doctors are unaware of the scale of the problem.

He pointed to a recent Victorian parliamentary inquiry which heard evidence from state coroner John Olle about how elderly Victorians - one a week - are killing themselves in horrific ways like shooting themselves with a nail gun to escape their suffering.

The inquiry found assisted dying already happening in Australia but 'without regulation ... sometimes without consent'.

Denton has launched a new organisation, Go Gentle Australia, to give those suffering a voice.

'I hope what will change is that the politicians no longer feel comfortable to just step away from a solution to this kind of suffering.'
Families fear a new test for Downs syndrome will spark an increase in abortions.

Set to become available on the NHS, the technique is 99 per cent accurate at telling pregnant woman how likely their baby is to have the condition.

But scores of parents of Downs children have demanded a halt to the programme.

Branding the test a form of eugenics, they said Downs was not a disease that needed to be eradicated.

Families fear a new test for Downs syndrome will spark an increase in abortions. Set to become available on the NHS, the technique is 99 per cent accurate

One in every 1,000 babies in the UK is born with Downs syndrome. The condition causes learning disabilities and health problems.

As well as Downs, the test can pick up Pataus and Edwards syndromes and could be used to detect all known genetic abnormalities.

Supporters of the technique  Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing  say it will give women more choice and see fewer of the miscarriages associated with the more invasive amniocentesis tests.

NIPT is already available privately for 400 to 900 and government advisers have recommended it be introduced on the NHS.

It involves a simple test of the mothers blood, at about ten weeks, which shows up fragments of any rogue DNA from the baby.

Whitehall sources said yesterday the Government was poised to approve the programme. Screening will cost the NHS 280 per woman tested, compared with 650 for amniocentesis.

And Tom Shakespeare, who is chairing a group at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics examining the ethical consequences, said: It is an open secret that any day now NIPT will be offered as an additional test for Downs syndrome and other conditions.

He called for a public debate on whether couples had a right to know everything about their unborn child.

The advisory body, the UK National Screening Committee, found that, under NIPT, 102 extra babies a year would be confirmed as having Downs.

Since an estimated 90 cent of women with an unborn Downs baby opt for an abortion, campaigners claim it would lead to an additional 92 terminations a year.

Since an estimated 90 cent of women with an unborn Downs baby opt for an abortion, campaigners claim it would lead to an additional 92 terminations a year

In a letter to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the campaign group Dont Screen Us Out says the NIPT programme is projected to result in a profound increase in the number of children with Downs syndrome screened out by termination.

It added: This would have a profound long-term effect on the community of people with Downs syndrome. These concerns are being constantly ignored by the Government. This must stop.

Dr Elizabeth Corcoran, of the Downs Syndrome Research Foundation, said: We demand Jeremy Hunt halt the roll-out of NIPT and listen to the views of people with Downs syndrome and their families.

Make no mistake, this is will not be to the benefit people of with Downs syndrome, born or unborn.

Anyone with a detectable genetic condition can expect the same fate for research into their condition when NIPT rolls out.

NIPT will affect the future of humanity, it is a powerful technology with a potential for abuses.

The campaigners are not calling for an end to testing, or for women to be denied the choice of having an abortion, said a spokesman.

But they claim mothers whose test results indicate Downs should be given more balanced information about the pros and cons of keeping the baby.

Presently, they argue, a Downs result is presented as bad news.

They want the Government to consult people and families living with Downs, and to reform the counselling given to prospective mothers who are considering an abortion, before any new testing regime is brought in.

But supporters of the test say it gives women more choice. Professor Lyn Chitty, who led the NIPT trial at Great Ormond Street Hospital, has said: Introducing NIPT into NHS maternity care means that more women can be safely reassured about the health of their baby without having an invasive test which increases the risk of miscarriage.

'HAZEL'S DOWN'S SYNDROME DID NOT STOP HER ENJOYING LIFE TO THE FULL' Life-enriching: Alison Morley with four-year-old daughter Hazel Alison Morley was given a Downs diagnosis when pregnant in 2011  and told that her daughter was unlikely to survive in the womb. We were immediately offered a termination and told that, if we wanted to, we could abort her right up until the moment of delivery, said the 46-year-old from Cheltenham. Hazel survived and, although she had some problems early on, she is now a happy, lively four-year-old girl who brings enormous joy to us and those she meets. Hazel leads a full and active life. She loves horse-riding, swimming, music and being outdoors. She has a wicked sense of humour and makes us laugh so much. She adores her older sister and the feeling is mutual. Its no exaggeration to say she has brought more joy to our lives than we could ever have imagined. Hazels Downs syndrome does not stop her from enjoying life and living it to the full. And, if anything, she has enriched our lives for the better. We could not imagine life without her. This new screening may be the most accurate ever, but it wont tell you, for example, how much joy your baby will give you or how happy they will be. I am deeply concerned that the Government may wish to roll out NIPT whilst they appear to have a blindness to the ethical implications. These implications affect the whole of society, not just people with Downs syndrome and their families. Its a question of values and ethics. What sort of a society do we want to live in? Why would extinction or eradication of Downs syndrome be a positive thing? Ultimately, I think society will be worse off for everyone if we cease to make room for people who are in some way different. Advertisement

And she added that her research suggested there would be fewer abortions, not more. In her trial, 30 per cent of women who were carrying a Downs baby decided to keep it  compared with just 6 per cent under the current system.

Professor Chitty said: If we look at women who go straight for invasive testing, compared to NIPT, there was a much higher termination rate among those that went straight for the invasive test.

One of the fears of NIPT was that we may reduce the number of Downs syndrome children who are alive  but actually 30 per cent continued with the pregnancy.

Roughly 15,000 women have amniocentesis in Britain each year, causing between 75 and 150 miscarriages annually. Doctors hope that rolling out the NIPT test would drive down use of the amniocentesis test, reducing the numbers of miscarriages.

Last night a Department of Health spokesman said: We are listening to everyones views on this important issue, and want women to make informed decisions and access safe and appropriate tests.

We are considering this carefully and will make an announcement in due course.

For more information, visit the Don't Screen Us Out website.

How pregnancy screening could be shaken up

By Ben Spencer

A more accurate testing regime for Downs syndrome is set to be rolled out by the Government. Here is how the current system works  and what is likely to happen in the future:

WHAT HAPPENS NOW

All pregnant women are offered a rough screening for Downs and other congenital disorders at their 11-week scan.

This involves an ultrasound to measure fluid at the back of the babys neck and a basic blood test to pick up broad genetic traits. Together these tell doctors with 85 per cent accuracy whether a women is likely to carry a baby with Downs.

Those at high risk  greater than a one in 150 chance  are offered a far more accurate amniocentesis test, in which a long needle takes a sample of the placenta.

However this carries a 0.5 per cent risk of miscarriage and only 65 per cent of women take it up.

Some 15,000 amniocentesis tests are carried out each year, leading to between 75 and 150 miscarriages. One in 11 women who have amniocentesis are told they have a Downs baby; 94 per cent of these decide to terminate their pregnancy.

THE PROPOSED CHANGES

The Government is on the verge of adding the very accurate Non-Invasive Prenatal Test to the screening system.

It is 99 per cent accurate, the results are delivered within five days, and there is no increased risk of a miscarriage.

Experts want the test to be offered after the initial combined screening, but before any amniocentesis. They hope its extra accuracy will reassure women their baby does not have Downs  and reduce the incidence of amniocentesis.

The shake-up would lead to 4,870 fewer amniocentesis tests in England and Wales each year, Government advisors say.

This, they say, will drive down the number of miscarriages by about 25 a year. It will also save the NHS about 337,000 a year because NIPT costs 280 and amniocentesis 650.
to four years in jail but will be eligible for parole in 2018

He then threatened to hurt her family if she told anyone about the

wife as their son, 3, slept in the same room

A man raped and assaulted his wife while their three-year-old son slept in the same room.

The Canberra man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of rape, assault and an act of indecency by an ACT Supreme Court jury.

The man assaulted his wife before raping her as their three-year-old son slept in the same room in January 2015, ABC News reported.

A man raped and assaulted his wife while their three-year-old son slept in the same room (stock image)

The Canberra man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of rape, assault and an act of indecency by an ACT Supreme Court (pictured) jury

Prior to the rape a fight between the two was witnessed by their nine-year-old son at about 11pm.

The man entered the room where his wife slept and tried to have sex with her, despite her saying no, the court heard.

He then slapped her across the face, the Canberra Times reported.

The woman called out for her nine-year-old son, who came in and asked what was happening before leaving the room.

During the argument the man threatened to hurt the womans family if she told anyone about the assault.

The man left the room but returned at about midnight and forced the woman to have sex.

Prior to the rape a fight between the two was witnessed by their nine-year-old son (stock image)

The next morning the man sent his wife a text message to apologise, according to court documents.

'I am feeling very bad and sad so so sorry,' the message said.

Acting Justice David Robinson said the attacker had not taken responsibility for his actions.

However he believed the man had good prospects of rehabilitation.
Tory backbenchers last night urged Theresa May not to betray the electorate by abandoning plans to scrap the Human Rights Act.

Whitehall officials expect the Prime Minister to shelve her predecessors proposals to replace the HRA with a British Bill of Rights.

Insiders said they had been told that Mrs May had more pressing priorities and did not want to pick a fight with Parliament that she may not win  and would not make a huge difference even if she did.

Whitehall officials expect the Prime Minister to shelve her predecessors proposals to replace the HRA with a British Bill of Rights

They added that pressing ahead with the Bill of Rights would also trigger a new constitutional clash with Scotland  which wants to keep the Human Rights Act  and imperil Mrs Mays own flagship Extremism Bill.

However, MPs on the right of the Tory party warned Mrs May against making an utterly unacceptable mistake.

Tory MP Philip Hollobone said: Not only was the Bill of Rights in the manifesto, it was a key part of it and many of my constituents voted Conservative because of its prominence.

This is not good news and displays an unfortunate sense of priorities.

This was a key Conservative policy and it should remain so. Reform of our human rights legislation needs to be prioritised and any attempt to water down or delay that would be a bad thing.

It was the Liberal Democrats that were the problem in the last Parliament. There is no such excuse now.

Fellow backbencher Philip Davies said: I am not bothered about a British Bill of Rights but the one thing she must do is scrap the Human Rights Act.

Tory MP Philip Hollobone said: Not only was the Bill of Rights in the manifesto, it was a key part of it and many of my constituents voted Conservative because of its prominence'

If she ditched that (commitment), it would be a complete and utter betrayal of millions of people who voted Conservative at the last election. Many of them voted Conservative because we promised to get rid of the Human Rights Act.

He added: As Home Secretary, she should know better than anybody the damage that the Human Rights Act does. It would be completely and utterly unacceptable to abandon this policy.

The plan for a Bill of Rights was included in David Camerons final Queens Speech - but stopped short of original plans for Britain to quit the European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg.

Instead, it was based on a compromise devised by then Justice Secretary Michael Gove.

The UK would have remained a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and foreign criminals and terrorists would still have their cases heard by Euro judges.

But when there was a clash between British judges and their counterparts in Strasbourg, the final decision would have rested with the UK.

Whitehall officials said this plan stopped short of what Mrs May believed was necessary  which is a full withdrawal from the ECHR.

Yet, they said, Mrs May had accepted this would not get through the House of Commons. As a result, she is said to have deep reservations about pressing ahead with a watered down Bill which would still trigger a huge row.

The Bill of Rights is opposed by Labour , the Lib Dems and the SNP.

The legislation would apply in Scotland  where the Scottish nationalists are expected to argue that introducing it against their will would be an outrage. They were expected to argue it would bolster the case for a second referendum.

Mrs May is also determined to push ahead with her own extremism bill, which will slap Asbo-style banning orders on preachers of hate.

This legislation will itself prove hugely controversial because it broadens the definition of what is classed as extremism.

May is said to have deep reservations about pressing ahead with a watered down Bill which would still trigger a huge row

One insider said: The PM can only have so many fights at once. She also needs to deliver on her priority that Brexit means Brexit.

Earlier this year, Mrs May said she believed the only way to end the abuse of human rights was to leave the Convention altogether.

Mrs May declared: The ECHR can bind the hands of Parliament, adds nothing to our prosperity, makes us less secure by preventing the deportation of dangerous foreign nationals.

So regardless of the EU referendum, my view is this. If we want to reform human rights laws in this country, it isnt the EU we should leave but the ECHR and the jurisdiction of its Court.

But, during the Tory leadership campaign, she dropped the idea. She said it was clear that leaving the Court would not pass through Parliament - where the idea is opposed by Labour, the SNP, Lib Dems and a raft of senior Tory MPs.
It prevented millions of people from completing the compulsory census

There will be 'serious consequences' for those who failed to prepare and prevent cyber attacks which halted the census website on Tuesday, a frustrated Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has warned.

A clearly frustrated prime minister admits there were 'serious failures' with the national survey, which was conducted on an opt-out online basis for the first time by the Australia Bureau of Statistics, costing taxpayers $272 million in operational costs.

'There is time for a review and an inquiry. There are lots of people out there trying to find out who's to blame and which heads should roll and so forth,' Mr Turnbull told 2GB on Thursday.

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There will be 'serious consequences' for those who failed to prepare for cyber attacks which halted the census website on Tuesday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) has warned

About 16 million residents were expected to log on to complete the compulsory Census on Tuesday night, but were met with error messages

'My calm demeanour on your radio program is disguising the fact ... that I too am very angry about this. I am bitterly disappointed about this.'

The 'denial of service attacks' that caused the census website to crash were 'absolutely commonplace, highly predictable' and inevitably going to happen, Mr Turnbull said.

'Measures that ought to have been in place to prevent these denial-of-service attacks interfering with access to the website were not put in place. That is a fact.'

The failure of prevention measures was compounded by hardware problems, he said - pointing to 'big issues' for the ABS and IBM - which was contracted to carry out the census.

ABS boss David Kalisch (pictured) has conceded the system suffered four attacks which forced them to shut down the website

'A 'denial of service attack' is as predictable as the rain will fall one day or the sun will come up,' Mr Turnbull said.

The website is expected to be back up and running on Thursday, as a review is undertaken by the government's cyber-security advisor Alistair MacGibbon.

Mr MacGibbon claims all the talk about the security of the census caused the national survey became a big target.

'There was a lot of conjecture around the security and the preparation around this site, so it had a big birthmark on it that was shaped like a target,' Mr MacGibbon told Sky News.

Census Minister Michael McCormack has denied Australians' personal data has been hacked after an attack on the ABS website overnight

Mr Turnbull's comments come after it was revealed the census hacking disaster was covered up for up for nine hours while the government advised Australians to continue lodging their forms online.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics was aware its computer system crashed for five minutes at 10.08am on Tuesday, but held off on announcing the attack until Wednesday morning.

ABS boss David Kalisch conceded on Wednesday the system suffered three 'denial of service attacks' before a fourth 'malicious attack' forced them to shut down the website.

The ABS initially argued that moving the census online would save taxpayers $100 million. The total budget for the survey is $470 million.

It was revealed this week Mr Kalisch receives a salary of $705,030 - $200,000 more than Mr Turnbull.

Speaking with radio station 2GB earlier this week, Mr Turnbull claimed the ABS, the ASD and IBM had offered 'unequivocal advice that the Australian Census data is safe, it has not been compromised'.

The website is expected to be back up and running on Thursday, as a review is undertaken by the government's cyber-security advisor Alistair MacGibbon

'The site has not been hacked, it has not been interfered with, their data is safeThere were some failures in the equipment ... the so-called geo-blocking protections and obviously that will be the subject of examination.'

He urged the public not to panic and said it was the ABS decision to shut down the website was taken 'out of an abundance of caution'.

The Australian Privacy Commissioner has nonetheless launched an investigation into whether any confidential information was compromised.

Mr McCormack explained the foreign hack was an 'attempt to frustrate the collection' of Census data on the website, forcing the ABS to shut down the website as a safeguard




The mother of a schoolboy murderer who shot his classmate said she blamed herself 'every f****** day' during an emotional outburst in court.

Adelaide teen Liam Humbles was drunk and high on drugs when he murdered Lewis McPherson, 18, while walking to a New Year's Eve party in 2012.

'I blame myself, of course I f***ing do,' mother Elizabeth screamed at lawyers during an inquest into the murder.

'It's done, it's over, the boy is dead for f***'s sake.'

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Liam Humbles (pictured) was just 17 when he murdered classmate Lewis McPherson on New Year's Eve in 2012. Humbles is pictured during his arrest

Lewis McPherson (pictured) was shot dead as he walked with two other friends to a party

Humbles was jailed for at least 24 years for killing Mr McPherson and trying to shoot dead two other teenagers.

The trio were walking to a party in Adelaide when they came across Humbles, 17 at the time, who shot at them in a drug and alcohol-induced stupor.

Ms Humbles spoke about her volatile relationship with her son when she appeared at the South Australia Coroner's Court on Wednesday.

She said she kicked her son out after a series of violent outbursts, including an incident where a SWAT team was called after he threatened his father with a knife.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Amy Cacas, asked Ms Humbles about her reaction to her son's arrest on the night of the shooting.

Ms Humbles confirmed that she had lashed out at police with words to the effect of: 'It's all your fault this happened. You know he had a gun and did nothing about it.'

Elizabeth Humbles (right) screamed at lawyers during an emotional inquest into the death

Mrs Humbles said she kicked her son Liam (pictured) out of home before the murder because he threatened his father with a knife

But asked whether she had in fact known if her son was in possession of a gun prior to the shooting, Ms Humbles said she had 'no idea'.

'I said to you before, I have no memory,' she said.

'I have lost hours and hours and hours of work time to depression (and) anxiety.

'Who knows what I said that night?'

The response prompted deputy coroner Anthony Schapel to remind Ms Humbles that she was required to answer truthfully to the best of her ability.

Questioned about Mr McPherson's (centre) death, Ms Humbles screamed: 'It's done, it's over, the boy is dead for f***'s sake'

Former law student and drug dealer Charles Alexander Cullen was jailed in 2014 for supplying Humbles with the .22 semi-automatic pistol (pictured)

Ms Humbles said she had learned of the shooting through Facebook and initially thought her son may have been the victim.

She admitted she had grown to fear her son who she described as a 'ticking time bomb' but insisted she would have told police if she knew he had a gun.

'I'm stressed too. It's not just their family,' she said, indicating Mr McPherson's parents who were present for her evidence.

'I've been through hell as well.'

Former law student and drug dealer Charles Alexander Cullen was jailed in 2014 for supplying Humbles with the .22 semi-automatic pistol.

Humbles was found to have a blood alcohol reading of between 0.252 and 0.284 on the night of the shooting.
Insurers have finally been ordered to come clean over the stealth price hikes they inflict on loyal customers.

Renewal letters will now have to tell clients what they paid last time. Customers will then know whether the next 12 months will cost them more.

Announced by City watchdogs yesterday, the rules cover car, home, pet, health and travel insurance.

The Financial Conduct Authority said the initiative could save customers up to 103million a year through switching firms. Experts put the figure at 1billion. It is a major success for the Money Mail campaign that exposed the renewal racket.

Insurers have finally been ordered to come clean over the stealth price hikes they inflict on loyal customers (File photo)

Motorists lose out most because so many roll over their policies without realising their premium has risen.

In a further move, the FCA has blocked insurers from raising their prices to thwart the crackdown.

This is great victory for Money Mail, said James Daley of the consumer group Fairer Finance. Now it will finally be clear to customers when insurance prices start to spiral upwards and they will be more likely to take action.

Mr Daley said the elderly would gain the most because they use price comparison sites less.

Many older people grew up in an era where loyalty was rewarded, something that is definitely not the case today, he added.

Most insurers raise premiums for their repeat customers, saving the best deals for new clients.

Figures from Moneysupermarket, a comparison website, show that motorists can save as much as 251 by shopping around for a car insurance and 59 for home insurance.

Often families fail to realise they have been hit by extra costs because most major firms would not print last years price on renewal quotes.

Money Mail called on insurers to make both the new and old price clear on renewal forms but the insurance giants refused, saying it would confuse customers.

George Osborne, the former chancellor, asked the City watchdog in July last year to investigate the issue.

Last December the FCA said its research had found that highlighting annual price changes had a major impact. Almost one in five switched insurer or negotiated a cheaper deal with their existing provider after they were shown this information.

In a report published yesterday, the watchdog said it was concerned that insurers were increasing prices in a way that is not transparent at renewal and that longstanding customers [are] paying more than new customers for the same insurance product.

From April 2017 insurers will have to put the previous years price in a prominent position in renewal quotes, such as on the first page of the letter, the FCA said.

Insurers will have to include a succinct and simple message in the letter, encouraging customers to shop around and check their cover.

Motorists lose out most because so many roll over their policies without realising their premium has risen (File photo)

When a customer renews four times in a row with the same firm the insurer must alert them to this the following year, which should stop them making a series of small increases that might go unnoticed.

Consumer groups raised concerns that insurers might try to hike their prices before the new rules take effect, which would make the difference between customers new premiums and old premiums seem smaller.

But the regulator has warned the industry that it will not tolerate these tactics.

In its report, it said: We want to be clear that any attempts to undermine the remedy by artificially increasing prices prior to implementation would not be in the spirit of the new rules, and we will take action as necessary.

Kevin Pratt of Moneysupermarket called on the regulator to go further.

He said: It should be much clearer to consumers when they take out a policy that they are giving their permission to be auto-renewed. And cancelling auto-renewal should be much easier.

Mr Daley said: Not everyone opens letters, so insurers should be forced to text and email customers too.

James Bridge, of the Association of British Insurers, an industry body, said: Showing this information should help customers better understand what they are being offered and decide whether to shop around or stay with their existing provider.
The former Harley Street home of legendary society hostess Jacqueline, Lady Killearn, who died last year, is on sale for 10million

The former Harley Street home of the legendary society hostess Jacqueline, Lady Killearn, who died last year aged 105, is on sale for 10million.

While the house was transferred to a family trust before she died and the proceeds are to be divided between her son Victor, 3rd Lord Killearn, and her two daughters, some of her friends are anxious that Robert Hay, Lady Ks executor, might be entitled to stake a claim.

Hay, a flamboyant property agent, was involved in a bitter battle with Lady Killearns son and grandson over the sale of another of her properties, 13-bedroom Jacobean Haremere Hall in East Sussex, which endured until her death.

So rancorous were relations between them that two funerals were held last December for Lady K. One was organised by Hay in Devon and a second funeral was held later that month in London.

The sale of Haremere Hall was initially blocked following High Court action in 2011 by Jacquelines son.

He successfully argued that Haremere, which had been on the market for 4million in 2004, was undervalued at 1.65million.

This victory proved short-lived, however: three months before Jacquelines death, Haremere was sold for 2.4million.

Her fortune: Lady Killearn's 10million Harley Street mansion is on the housing market

The buyer was a friend of Hay, who is believed to be in his late 60s.

Robert Hay, a flamboyant property agent, was involved in a bitter battle with Lady Killearns son and grandson over the sale of another of her properties, 13-bedroom Jacobean Haremere Hall in East Sussex

Jacqueline lived in a ground-floor flat in Harley Street, in the company of her loyal secretary, Lydia Skerry, and Hay. The remainder of the six-storey building was let, part of it as medical consulting rooms.

Hay, now living in Devon, declines to comment on the sale.

He witnessed some lively exchanges at the Harley Street house, which was bought by Jacquelines Italian father, Aldo Castellani, an acclaimed doctor whose patients included Mussolini.

Lady Killearns butler, Paolo Sclarandis, successfully sued her for unfair dismissal, and subsequently declared Lady Killearn had been ruled by Mr Hay, who had an adjoining room to hers.

The butler claimed she had treated him like a slave, repeatedly digging her fingernails into his forearm, and throwing her walking stick at him.

BBC stars' battle of the egos over pay

Andrew Neil said he was happy for his salary to be made public

Who is the BBCs hardest-working presenter?

Andrew Neil claimed the mantle when he said he was happy for his salary, north of the 143,000 earned by the Prime Minister, to be made public, since the prolific political broadcaster presents 180 shows a year.

That prompted newsreader Huw Edwards to weigh in with a little one-upmanship. And as someone who presents 350+ programmes a year, I seem to be in good company with Andrew Neil, he tweeted his Scottish colleague.

The BBC has agreed to publish the names of all stars paid more than 450,000 from next year and the list is thought to include Welsh windbag Edwards.

Will Andrew Marr, reputed to take home 580,000 simply for presenting his BBC1 Sunday show and Start The Week on Radio 4, dare enter the fray?

Who would begrudge James Palumbo, the club impresario and Lib Dem peer said to be worth 300million, a little extra pocket money?

Sony yesterday acquired the Ministry Of Sound record company, launched by Palumbo in 1993, which has sold 70 million albums.

The windfall should help replenish the 30 million that James accuses his father Peter, in a bitter legal dispute, of plundering from the family trust.

Do you know how to launder items? Then Eton College has a job for you.

Not in the finance department of the 37,000-per-annum school, but making pupils collars whiter than white in Etons laundry department, which can process up to 50,000 items of dirty washing every week.
Rail union bosses have been slammed after posting a picture of showing them enjoying a holiday while thousands of commuters face travel misery due to strikes.

On Monday Rail, Maritime and Transport chief Sean Hoyle posted a picture of himself with the union's senior assistant general secretary, Steve Hedley, on Facebook.

In it they both grin broadly at the camera and appear to be tanned and relaxed on their break at the Turkish resort of Didim.

On Monday Rail, Maritime and Transport chief Sean Hoyle posted a picture of himself with the union's senior assistant general secretary, Steve Hedley, as they enjoy a break in Turkey

The picture was taken on the same day that members of the RMT union walked out - and were due to stay out until the weekend, causing travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

They also posted a picture of them posing outside a Turkish petrol station with the caption: 'Taking the demo to Turkey.'

They also posted a picture of them posing outside a Turkish petrol station with the caption: 'Taking the demo to Turkey'

The Sun reports that Hedley, 47, earns 76,613-a-year in pay and benefits while Hoyle, 51, is RMT president.

Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir Eric Pickles, told the paper the men should have 'shown a bit of solidarity' with their striking workers.

He said: 'You can't have one rule for rich union barons and another for the suffering commuters.'

Following an offer from the RMT to suspend the action if Southern returned to talks without any preconditions, Acas announced that new talks will be held today.

Yesterday it was announced that strikes by Southern Railway workers today and Friday have been called off - but services will still be disrupted even though fresh talks are to be held in the bitter row over the role of conductors.

But Southern, part of the giant Govia Thameslink Railway franchise, said Thursday's service will be based on the present strike timetable, although it will try to add services.

And the RMT is pressing ahead with four days of strike action from Friday on Eurostar in a separate row over the work/life balance of train managers.

Hedley, 47, (pictured) earns 76,613-a-year in pay and benefits while Hoyle, 51, is RMT president

Eurostar has cancelled a London to Brussels train and a Brussels to London service on Friday but expects to run a normal service on Saturday.

Further strikes are planned over the August Bank Holiday weekend by the RMT, and the TSSA union.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said he had contacted Southern with a way forward to resolve the dispute.

'Please be advised that I have now received communication from the conciliation service Acas informing me that the company will now enter into negotiations with our union officials without any preconditions,' he said.

'You and your colleagues are therefore instructed to return to work for all shifts commencing from 22.00hrs tonight.'

Steve Hedley, Senior Assistant General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union takes part in a demonstration outside ScotRail HQ in Glasgow

A Southern spokesman said: 'We are encouraged that the RMT has accepted our offer to resume talks at Acas and has agreed to call off its strike action.

'For our passengers' sake we truly hope these talks will be productive and bring this long-running dispute to an end.

'At present, the strike timetable is still in the industry train planning systems for Thursday and Friday. Regrettably, this means tomorrow's service will be based upon the present strike timetable, but we will do our very best to add services in and extend the hours of operation wherever possible.

'On Friday we plan to revert to the revised timetable operating before the strike. We will update our website www.southernrailway.com as further information becomes available.'

Acas announced that new talks will be held on Thursday

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: 'This is good news for passengers. This strike has inconvenienced people needlessly and I am glad to see RMT sitting round the table as I called for yesterday.

'It's important now to leave the union and the train operator to undertake these necessary talks. I hope they reach a positive conclusion as quickly as possible.'

On the Eurostar dispute, Mr Cash said: 'Our train manager members at Eurostar have a heavy commitment to shift work and unsocial hours and are sick and tired of the company's failure to honour agreements.

'Our members have every right to have a fair work/life balance that fulfils the operational needs of the company while guaranteeing quality time off for friends and family.'

A Eurostar spokesman said: 'We are aware of the plans for strike action and our focus has been seeking a joint resolution whilst planning to provide a good service for our customers.

'On the days of the strike we have made some small changes to our timetable to ensure that all passengers booked to travel will be able to on those days. Passengers affected will be notified in advance.
A diverse panel made up of lesbian, gay, and transgender people hosted a discussion Wednesday on how domestic violence and rape centers in North Dakota could become more LGBTQ friendly after the results of a survey last year showed that 30 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who sought help at these centers felt unwelcome.

The survey was administered by the LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, a 12-member group formed in 2014 by the North Dakota Department of Health and the North Dakota Women's Network to improve the response of domestic violence and rape crisis agencies. The advisory committee hosted Wednesday's panel at the Health Department's conference on injury prevention and control at the Radisson in Bismarck.

There are some centers that are doing good work, that needs to be said, and there are some centers that want to do better work," said Zach Packineau, chair of the advisory committee.

The committee held the panel to discuss responses from the survey, and to lead a conversation among committee members on what more could be done to make domestic violence and rape centers more inclusive. Three members, who all identify as female, spoke about their work in the LGBTQ community where they live, and they also shared their own stories about growing up being LGBTQ in North Dakota.

AnnMarie Kajencki, an English professor at Bismarck State College who identifies as lesbian and queer, said support and resources have improved drastically over the 24 years she's been teaching here, but the fear of discrimination is still "quite prevalent" in the state.

"That's one of the reasons our young people move away from North Dakota," she said. "In fact, that fear is one of the reasons some people I know, who have recently retired, have moved away from the North Dakota home."

The advisory committee's survey found that a common concern among LGBTQ people seeking services was being outed.

Hannabah Blue, a Dine (Navajo) who identifies as lesbian and queer, spoke at the panel about being Native American and queer, as well as the native tradition two-spirit, in which being native and gay or a lesbian is part of a person's identity that connects to their culture. Blue is also a public health services project manager at North Dakota State Universitys American Indian Public Health Resource Center.

"Two-spirit and LGBT youth are particularly affected by these issues," she said of domestic violence and sexual assault.

In addition, there are no statewide protections against LGBTQ discrimination, which Packineau says may make it difficult for LGBTQ people who haven't formally come out to want to seek help.

Through the survey, the committee learned there was a desire for more training and more education for people who are working with survivors, which includes centers, law enforcement and court systems.

They also learned that anti-LGBTQ attitudes presented a huge barrier to people seeking services.

"When you live in an area where people aren't accepting and welcoming of you and your community in general, guess what? When you're in a crisis it's harder for you to seek services," said Caitlin McDonald, a member of the committee and program assistant for the North Dakota Women's Network.

Darcy Corbitt-Hall is transgender and a graduate student at North Dakota State University, who spoke on the panel Wednesday.

"The one thing that (North Dakota) lacks is discussion about LGBTQ people," she said.

In June, Packineau and McDonald attended training with crisis center advocates and providers who said they'd like to be more inclusive of LGBTQ people.

Theres a definite strong desire for the crisis centers to want to help LGBTQ people," Packineau said. They want LGBTQ people to know that services are available.

And some centers are already doing the initial work of becoming more inclusive, he said. This includes updating the language on intake forms, using inclusive language or non-gendered language. For example, this could simply mean instead of a crisis center employee asking, Can you tell us why he or she hit you? they can just say, Can you tell us what happened?

Its using that non-gendered language and having those open-ended questions and allowing the victim to tell their story," Packineau said.

Some centers would like to update language and have inclusive photographs on their websites. The Rape and Abuse Crisis Center in Fargo has a decal on their window saying they support diverse and inclusive communities, Packineau said, which has proven to be helpful for LGBTQ people seeking help.

And this could be especially helpful for rural centers where some victims may have to travel far to a crisis center, he said.

In addition to the results from the survey and after attending training with centers in urban and rural North Dakota, Packineau said the centers have asked the advisory committee for help.

The committee will be partnering with CAWS North Dakota to determine how to best serve the needs of the centers, too.
To thunderous roars in Rios aquatic centre yesterday, Michael Phelps cemented his title as the greatest Olympian of all time, winning two golds to take his remarkable Olympic medal tally to 25.

In 60 minutes of sporting drama and brilliance, the freakish 31-year-old American swimmer  competing in his fifth Olympics  won his 20th and 21st gold medals with the chance of three more to come this week.

What makes the achievement even more remarkable is that the former party animal was in rehab for substance abuse only last year, had been banned from swimming and came out of retirement to compete in Rio.

Michael Phelps has cemented his title as the greatest Olympian of all time, winning two golds to take his remarkable Olympic medal tally to 25

The glowing headlines which will greet him today will be in marked contrast to those telling the sordid story of his marijuana smoking and champagne-fuelled binges.

On one occasion, he was pictured taking a deep breath as he clutched on to a bong, used to smoke marijuana, before inhaling the class B drug.

On another, he was arrested after leaving a casino and racing home at 85mph in a 45mph zone in his Range Rover  almost two times over the legal limit.

The incident marked Phelpss second drink-driving offence in ten years and led to a stint in rehab, sessions with Alcoholics Anonymous as well as a six-month suspension from swimming.

The one-time American hero was close to going to jail and a judge warned him he was powerless over alcohol.

After walking free from court, as if foreseeing what was to come, Phelps said: Im looking ahead at a much better, brighter future than what Ive had in the past.

That future, he was determined, would include the chance to avenge a rare Olympic defeat  South African Chad Le Closs fingertip victory in the 200m butterfly in London four years ago.

Everyone at the Rio poolside and many of the estimated 100 million-strong TV audience knew that for the man dubbed the Baltimore Bullet, last nights race was special. It had been billed as the showdown in Rio and was the hottest ticket in town.

Just 1min 52.36secs later, Phelps had once again proved unbeatable, using his massive 6ft 7in wing-span to power to victory and leaving Le Clos out of the medals in fourth.

The best by a wide margin: Michael Phelps's enormous 'wing-span' has powered him to 25 Olympic medals

As Phelps touched first after leading throughout, there was a deafening roar and then a collective intake of breath from spectators at the brilliance of the win.

He sat on a lane rope, egging on the roaring crowd with both hands, before pumping his fist in the air. There was so much emotion and so much build-up for that race, Phelps said.

I dont want to say its revenge, but thats what it was. He has apparently never forgiven Le Clos for prizing away his title by five-hundredths of a second in one of the most memorable races of the London Games.

That event is kind of like my bread and butter, he said. That was the last time Ill ever swim it. There wasnt a shot in hell I was losing that race. And if I did, I was leaving everything in the pool.

His celebrations and obvious relief added to the theatre as he kissed his son Boomer, fiancee Nicole Johnson, a former Miss California, and mother Deborah.

Phelps celebrated his win with his fiancee and newborn son, Boomer, who also followed his progress through the Olympic trials earlier this summer

With tears running down her cheeks, Miss Johnson, with whom Phelps has been in an on-off relationship since 2007, passed the baby over to his father while the Olympians mother leaned over the railings weeping with joy.

Remarkably, just an hour later Phelps was back in the pool to anchor the USA team in the 4x200m freestyle relay, winning his 21st gold and consigning Team GB to silver.

If Phelps were a country he would be 40th in the all-time gold medal winners table  above the likes of Jamaica, Argentina and Austria. By the end of the week he could be above hosts Brazil.

The 6ft 4in Phelps, who has size 14 feet and was once so scared of putting his head in the water that instructors allowed him to float on his back, was the youngest American male swimmer to appear at an Olympics in 68 years when selected as a 15-year-old for Sydney in 2000.

At Athens in 2004, his haul of six gold and two bronze medals was hailed as one of the most amazing performances in Olympic swimming history. Four years later in Beijing he was even better, winning all eight events.
The leader of hard-Left group Militant Tendency expects to be readmitted to the Labour Party if Jeremy Corbyn remains leader, it emerged last night.

The organisation was kicked out by Neil Kinnock more than 30 years ago in a purge of Trotskyite radicals.

Any move to readmit it would plunge the party into chaos and be seen by moderates as a return to the dark days of 1980s division.

But last night Peter Taaffe, the veteran activist behind Militant, said he believed Mr Corbyn was prepared to open the party up to all strands of socialist and working class opinion if he defeats Owen Smith in the leadership election.

Comrades: Peter Taaffe, left speaks with Labour Party councillor Derek Hatton in 1985

The claim stoked the row between Mr Corbyn and Tom Watson, his deputy, who this week warned about the infiltration of Labour by Trotskyite entryists.

Yesterday Mr Watson demanded the party leader rule out changing the rules to allow banned groups from re-joining.

He published what he said was evidence of Trotskyite infiltration and pointed to the circulation of an instruction manual by Momentum activists linked to Mr Corbyn on how to take control of Labour constituency parties.

On Tuesday, Mr Corbyn accused Mr Watson of peddling baseless conspiracy theories and patronising party members.

But yesterday, in a letter to his leader, Mr Watson wrote there was no denying that tightly-organised factions are organising within Momentum and the party.

There has been an increase in members of proscribed organisations attempting to join the party, in particular members of the Socialist Party (formerly Militant) and the Alliance for Workers Liberty (formerly Socialist Organiser).

Any move to readmit Militant Tendency would plunge the party into chaos and be seen by moderates as a return to the dark days of 1980s division. Here, Tony Benn speaks at a rally to celebrate the organisation's 20th anniversary

On Tuesday, Mr Corbyn (pictured) accused Mr Watson of peddling baseless conspiracy theories and patronising party members

Its not a conspiracy theory to say that members of these organisations are joining Labour. Its a fact.

'EMBRACE CIVIL WAR': THE TROT KICKED OUT BY KINNOCK Hard Left activist Peter Taaffe was born in Birkenhead, one of six children of a metalworker. He was the founding editor of the Trotskyist Militant newspaper in the 1960s and became a leading member of its group inside Labour until he and four others were expelled from the party in 1983. Taaffe, now 74, was a close associate of Derek Hatton, the Marxist deputy leader of Militant-dominated Liverpool Council in the mid 1980s. In a rebellion against the Thatcher government in 1985, the council set an illegal deficit budget committing the council to overspending by 30million  saying the excess was money stolen by government cuts. Militant was expelled from Labour in a purge of Trotskyite radicals by Neil Kinnock. After Tony Blair won the 1997 general election, Militant changed its name to the Socialist Party. Taaffes wife Linda, a teacher, has been a leading light in the Trotskyist faction of the hard Left NUT union, while his daughter Nancy is an activist in the Socialist Party. Advertisement

I attach a document, drawn up using publicly available information, which shows this to be the case.

'I assume that you still support the proscription of other political parties. If the position had changed, please just let me know because I think it would be useful to discuss this within the party.

After it was banned from being part of Labour, Militant renamed itself the Socialist Party and has since been stuck on the political fringe.

But Labour has seen an influx of thousands of Left-wing activists under Mr Corbyn.

Members of Militant have reportedly attended meetings of Momentum, the radical organisation behind the Labour leader.

Mr Taaffe said he had made indirect attempts to push for an end to the ban, passed in 1982, and believed Mr Corbyn would respond.

He said some in Labour would welcome him back.

People say: you were a long time gone, welcome back, he said. I know Jeremy, hes a good bloke. Hes principled. Hes on the Left.

He added: The lava of this revolution is still hot.

On Tuesday the Socialist Party called for Labour to split and embrace civil war.

In an editorial in the Socialist magazine, it said: The worst response to Jeremys re-election would be to attempt to make peace with the Blairites. Many Labour supporters will fear that a split would weaken the Labour party. In fact the opposite would be the case.

One of Britains biggest trade unions was accused of being Right wing by allies of Mr Corbyn last night after backing Mr Smith.

Nearly two thirds of GMB members who voted support Mr Smith in what was seen as a significant blow to the Left-wing Labour leader.
Lloyds Bank chiefs are investigating if an insider plot to undermine Antonio Horta-Osorio (pictured with wife Ana) was behind revelations that he allegedly spent a weekend with a mistress on a business trip to Singapore

Lloyds Bank chiefs are investigating if an insider plot to undermine Antonio Horta-Osorio was behind revelations that he allegedly spent a weekend with a mistress on a business trip to Singapore.

There are fears that sources within the chief executives inner circle leaked embarrassing claims that the married father of three has been conducting an affair.

Packages of private information from his personal office are thought to have been sent anonymously to the Press as part of an alleged smear campaign.

Although Mr Horta-Osorio has seen the bank return to profit after a bailout by taxpayers  who still own 9 per cent  at the height of the financial crisis, his leadership style is thought to have ruffled feathers.

Staff at Lloyds have frequently complained of a high pressure culture, with workers who failed to sell enough mortgages or fee-paying current accounts being ordered to sit knowledge tests.

It is claimed that the Portuguese banker, who earned 8.8million last year, met his alleged secret lover Dr Wendy Piatt in his room at the five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Singapore in June.

Witnesses are said to have seen former Tony Blair adviser Dr Piatt, 45, who is director general of the prestigious Russell Group of universities, entering and leaving his suite several times, even using her own key.

Mr Horta-Osorio, 52, racked up a bill of 3,276 during his stay, and 550 was spent on two visits to the hotel spa.

Last night a senior employee said he should be investigated over a possible breach of the banks integrity code which demands that staff maintain the highest reputational standards.

Lloyds also faced calls to come clean on exactly what Mr Horta-Osorio claimed on expenses during the Singapore trip.

The bank insists no rules were broken and all personal costs were paid out of his own pocket.

But Mark Bentley, director of investor group Sharesoc, said: We would like to see transparency. Companies have often been far from transparent with disclosures of expenses.

It is claimed that the Portuguese banker, who earned 8.8million last year, met his alleged secret lover Dr Wendy Piatt (pictured) in his room at the five-star Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Singapore in June

Lloyds stood by Mr Horta-Osorio in a memo to staff yesterday, saying there were no breaches of the groups policy and therefore no case to answer. A Lloyds spokesman told the Daily Mail the bank would not comment on personal matters.

Failure to investigate Mr Horta-Osorio thoroughly could leave Lloyds open to claims of hypocrisy.

Soon after his appointment in 2011, HR assistant Stephanie Bon was sacked from the Colchester branch of Halifax, part of the banking giant, after criticising his reported pay on Facebook.

New CEO gets 4,000 an hour. I get 7. Thats fair, she wrote. At the time, the bank said Miss Bon was given her notice because the work she was employed to do was coming to an end.
A chief constable paid more than 600,000 over three and a half years despite actually doing his job for just 16 months is to retire on a gold-plated pension.

Mark Gilmores time as head of West Yorkshire Police is finally ending despite misconduct claims still hanging over him.

For more than two years Mr Gilmore has been unable to do the job of chief constable because of criminal and misconduct inquiries against him, but he has been paid his full salary of around 170,000 throughout.

Mark Gilmore was paid more than 600,000 over three and a half years despite actually doing his job for just 16 months is to retire on a gold-plated pension

He was suspended for just under one year, and since May last year has been working on an internal project for the National Police Chiefs Council to keep him occupied until a misconduct investigation against him ends.

With the results of the probe expected soon, a brief statement was released on Tuesday evening announcing his intention to retire.

Mr Gilmore has been paid a total of 617,000 for being chief constable, although he was only able to do that job for 16 months.

His current basic salary as one of the countrys highest paid police officers is 174,492.

Believed to be in his early fifties, and having been a serving policeman for 33 years, he will be able to enjoy a lifestyle in retirement that most people can only dream about.

The terms of the police pension scheme mean he will be in line for an annual pension of around 115,000, unless he decides to take part of his bumper package as a lump sum.

It is the latest example of taxpayers getting poor value for money from the high pay of a senior police officer.

The Daily Mails investigations unit has revealed how forces have been secretly handing out huge allowances to senior officers and refusing to make details public. This latest case has prompted fresh calls for reform.

Mr Gilmore has been paid a total of 617,000 for being chief constable, although he was only able to do that job for 16 months

Tory MP Philip Hollobone said last night: It cannot be an effective use of taxpayers money to have anyone suspended for this long without a satisfactory conclusion.

There must be new rules on how long investigations are able to go on for and how much officers can be paid during that time.

He added: It is simply not right that an officer is able to escape from an investigation by leaving the force.

Commenting on the West Yorkshire situation, Harry Davis of the TaxPayers Alliance said: Questions will be asked as to why staff can stay on full pay through a protracted legal case.

But now that the chief constable is standing down, the force have an opportunity to negotiate a better contract so that taxpayers are not left on the hook when problems arise.

Mr Gilmore has made no comment himself, but his retirement was revealed in a statement issued by the local police and crime commissioner.

It said: The office of the police and crime commissioner has received notification from Chief Constable Mark Gilmore of his intention to retire from the service.

A recruitment process will begin in due course but in the meantime Dee Collins will continue in post as temporary chief constable of West Yorkshire.

Mr Gilmore, a former deputy chief constable of Northumbria, was hailed as an extremely enthusiastic and committed police officer when he took over as West Yorkshires chief in February 2013.

But in June 2014 he was suspended on full pay by police and crime commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson amid an investigation into the allegedly corrupt award of police vehicle contracts in his native Northern Ireland where he previously worked.

Mr Gilmore was cleared of criminal wrongdoing and his suspension was lifted in May last year. However, he was not able to return to his job because he still faced allegations of misconduct.

An independent investigation into his conduct was carried out by Lancashire Police who sent their report to Mr Burns-Williamson two weeks ago. A spokesman for the police and crime commissioner said it would be published as soon as practicably possible.

Mr Gilmore has previously insisted he had always acted with honesty and integrity.

Since May 2015 he has been working on a project to develop the intranet system of the National Police Chiefs Council.

He was given this task as an alternative to suspension.
Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour has weighed into the immigration debate and says as a Muslim he feels 'insecure' about the rise of Islamic extremism.

Mr Fahour said he could empathise with people who felt uncomfortable about the increasing presence of Islamic State after television personality Sonia Kruger sparked controversy when she called for a ban on Muslim immigration in Australia.

'Who are we to say, "you shouldn't feel insecure, you just suck it up". That's not right. They have a right,' he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

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Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour has weighed into the immigration debate and says as a Muslim he feels 'insecure' about the rise of Islamic extremism

'I feel insecure. I am a Muslim and I feel insecure about what Daesh is doing.'

Daesh is another name given to terror group Islamic State.

Mr Fahour said Islamic State had killed more people of his faith than those who were not and said they only wanted to spark 'chaos', adding: '[They] have no care who we are, what colour our skin is, what religion we follow.'

He also said banning Muslims was not practical and asked how it would be policed.

The Australia Post chief executive's comments come after television personality Sonia Kruger caused a social media storm when she called on a Muslim immigration ban

The Australia Post chief executive's comments come after Kruger caused a social media storm when she called on a Muslim immigration ban.

The Today Extra host argued there was a correlation between the number of Muslims in a country and the number of terrorist attacks.

'Personally, I would like to see it stop now for Australia because I want to feel safe as all of our citizens do when we go out to celebrate Australia Day,' Kruger said last month.

The television host said she had 'a lot of very good friends' who were Muslims and peace-loving, beautiful people before adding: 'But there are fanatics.'

One of her most outspoken supporters was One Nation leader Pauline Hanson. Hanson took to ABC program Q&A to defend Kruger

In response to the social media storm, Kruger said at time time 'it was vital to discuss these issues without automatically being labelled racist'.

One of her most outspoken supporters was One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

Hanson took to ABC program Q&A to defend Kruger.
The travel plans of tens of thousands of British holidaymakers were thrown into chaos last night by hard-line union barons and just 52 rail workers.

Eurostars train managers sparked fury by announcing seven days of strikes  split over two of the busiest weekends of the summer holiday season.

The walk-out is being orchestrated by militant bosses at the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, including one with a six-figure salary and another who has said Tories should be shot.

It is the same union that is behind this weeks strike on Southern Rail and a planned walk-out on the East Coast mainline. Together, the strikes represent the biggest outbreak of industrial disputes on the railways in more than 30 years.

Eurostars train managers sparked fury by announcing seven days of strikes  split over two of the busiest weekends of the summer holiday season (file picture)

However it emerged yesterday that just 52 Eurostar train managers out of 70 balloted RMT members had voted in favour of the action. They complain that their work-life balance is being disrupted by too many early morning shifts.

Last night furious MPs accused the union  particularly its 128,000-a-year general secretary Mick Cash and his firebrand deputy Steve Hedley  of dragging Britain back to the 1970s.

And Transport Secretary Chris Grayling launched a blistering attack on the union, branding the latest row over working conditions as an excuse to be militant. He said: Passengers should not be made to suffer like this. The unions should stop this and go back to work.

The Eurostar strike centres around claims that the company has failed to honour an agreement from 2008 over conditions for its staff. The RMT says that 78 train managers are having to work more morning shifts  starting as early as 3am  than their French and Belgian counterparts.

They have voted to walk out for a total of seven days, with the first stretch beginning at 0.01am on Friday and lasting until 11.59pm on Monday. A further three-day strike will take place over the bank holiday weekend starting on August 27.

The RMTs assistant general secretary Mick Lynch denied the strikes have been coordinated during the summer to cause maximum damage, but admitted the walk outs would cause fairly severe disruption for Eurostar passengers.

THE RMT MONEY THAT BUYS JEREMY CORBYN'S SILENCE Corbyn was under fire last night over a 25,000 donation he took from the RMT Jeremy Corbyn was under fire last night over a 25,000 donation he took from the RMT after failing to condemn the misery it is inflicting on commuters. The hardline union bankrolled his campaign to seize the Labour leadership last year  and is supporting him again in this years contest. Labour and Mr Corbyn have failed to criticise the RMT for inflicting chaos on the public, instead attempting to blame the Tory Government. The partys transport spokesman, Andy McDonald, claimed ministers are more interested in picking a fight with trade unions and poisoning industrial relations. Conservative MP Chris Philp said: Not content with causing chaos and misery for passengers going about their daily commute, Jeremy Corbyns union paymasters are now planning to disrupt people heading off on holiday with their vindictive and unnecessary strike action. Corbyn needs to condemn these strikes and hand back the 25,000 the RMT gave him for his leadership campaign. Every day he fails to do that just makes it clearer: he puts his own interests above those of ordinary families trying to get to work, see friends and family, or go on holiday. Mr Corbyn has promised to reintroduce the right for trade unions to call strikes in solidarity with workers in other industries. He also expressed support for flying pickets, which see workers join the picket lines of strikers in other sectors. Mr Corbyn has said in the past that he is very involved with the RMT. Advertisement

Meanwhile several Eurostar train managers are members of the TSSA (Transport Salaried Staffs Association). They have also voted to strike over four days  including this Sunday and Monday, as well as August 28 and 29.

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA, confirmed this month that action was being co-ordinated with sister unions to maximise impact.

However last night anger over the walk-out focused on the RMTs two most senior officials.

Mick Cash, a former Labour councillor, received a pay package of 128,437 in 2014 as the unions general secretary, just a few thousand short of Prime Minister Theresa Mays salary. He also received 48,316 in allowances, though the Union does not specify what this covers exactly.

Meanwhile his deputy Mr Hedley has previously posed with a rifle in his hand and once suggested that members of the Conservative Party should be shot during a radio interview.

Mr Cash yesterday said his unions members have every right to a fair work-life balance.

He added: Our train managers have a heavy commitment to unsocial hours and are sick of the companys failure to honour agreements.

His comments angered MPs who accused the RMT of destroying the work-life balance of commuters across the country who have struggled to get to work and return home to see their families in the evening.

The Eurostar walk-out is being orchestrated by militant bosses at the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (file picture)

MICHAEL CASH: THE LEOPARD WHO CHANGED HIS SPOTS General Secretary of the RMT Michael Cash When Michael Cash first rose to power in the RMT he tried to garner support as the antidote to his strike-happy rival Bob Crow. The lifelong rail worker  known as Mick  told supporters that unlike his firebrand union colleague he thought that repeated strike action was extreme. Likening Crow and his hard-Left cronies to drunks on a Saturday night, he added: They will fight anyone, anywhere, any time for any reason. We have had more strike ballots than weve had annual pay awards. Fast-forward 15 years and it appears the long-term Labour supporter, pictured, has forgotten his own principles. Indeed, since taking over from Mr Crow following his sudden death from a heart attack in 2014, some could argue that he is threatening to take the RMT back to the dark days of the 1970s. As he said when he became general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, he would not deviate from Mr Crows strategy for a fighting and militant union. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the bumper pay packet enjoyed by Mr Cash  a vocal supporter of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn  is not quite in keeping with the socialist principles supposedly at the core of the union. The former Labour councillor received a pay package of 128,437 in 2014, just short of Prime Minister Theresa Mays salary. He also received an enormous boost of 48,316 in allowances and expenses, though the union does not specify what exactly this bumper spending entails. The earnings are a far cry from his upbringing up as one of seven children in a family of Irish travellers in Basildon, Essex. Mr Cash, 56, joined British Rail as a junior railwayman in 1978 and has been a member of the Labour party since 1982. He now lives in a 400,000 home in Watford with his wife Dawn. The couple, who have two children Benjamin, 21, and Megan, 27, paid for the property in cash. Despite his support for Labour he flexed his muscles before the last general election by suggesting that unions may form a breakaway party. Advertisement

Will Quince, a Tory member of the commons Transport committee, said: It is high time the union bosses understood the damage caused to ordinary peoples work life balance before launching more strike action.

Robert Flello, a Labour member of the Transport committee, added: I cant remember the last time we had such bitter disputes. It almost reminds of the 1970s and 1980s.

Ministers have so far refused to take part in negotiations even as the crisis has escalated. Walk-outs by RMT staff on Southern Rail and ScotRail have already inflicted misery on passengers across the south-east of England and Scotland.

On Tuesday, the unions members also voted to strike on the Virgin East Coast line. Yesterday transport secretary Chris Grayling accused the RMT of wanting to hang on to practices that are out of date. He said: It is not to do with jobs because nobody is cutting jobs or pay. This feels like an excuse to be militant.

There was minor thawing in relations as the RMT agreed to call off strikes on Southern Rail that were due to take place today and tomorrow. Train conductors had initially planned to strike for five days, starting on Monday.

But following an offer from the RMT to suspend the action if Southern returned to talks without any pre-conditions, independent mediator Acas announced that negotiations will resume from this morning.

Eurostar yesterday said it has made plans to minimise disruption. It confirmed that two trains will be cancelled tomorrow, and said that passengers will be given seats on other trains.
The inmate who punched Dylann Roof in prison says the suspected mass shooter bragged about killing an 11-year-old girl in the Charleston massacre, even though she survived.

Roof is charged with killing nine black parishioners at the African-American Emanuel AME Church last year but the young girl, who has yet to be named, and two other women escaped with their lives.

Dwayne Stafford, 26, who was released on a $100,000 bond after brutally beating Roof in a prison shower, says the alleged killer was confused about the details of the June 2015 shooting.

He told the Black Collective: He [Roof] said something like, "I thought I killed the girl, the little girl, but they was like she didnt get killed."

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Dwayne Stafford (left), the black man who attacked Dylann Roof (right) in prison, says he mocked the accused shooter for leaving people alive in the Charleston church massacre

'And I was like, "No, you didnt get her. She played dead on you from what I heard."

Thats when I gave him the smart aleck, saying like you so bad but you let that child get off on you.

He also described the moment he ran out of his cell and beat Roof while he was in the shower earlier this month, leaving the 21-year-old with bruises as 'like in the movies'.

Roof and his attorneys did not press charges after the incident.

Stafford's bail was paid through donations after an anti-discrimination group urged people to donate to Stafford by depositing money into his online account.

Stafford (right) spoke out for the first time since he was released on bail from Charleston County jail last week about his interactions with Roof

Roof has been charged with killing nine black parishioners in an attack in June last year

Stafford went on to describe how he would regularly speak to Roof through his cell door in a bid to understand his twisted motives.

He said: I basically approached him in a way like, "Whats goin on with you?" like, "You couldnt find nothing else better to do?"

Stafford explained that their conversations were peaceful and that after they began to speak on a regular basis, the correctional officers realized he was not a threat to Roof.

But he described his encounter with Roof in the shower as like in the movies when a girl in the shower and she gets startled.

Roof was charged after the massacre at the Emanuel AME Church (pictured) last year

I cant say he deserved to die because Im not a judge but I had the power to bust his [expletive], Stafford said.

He was released on bail after donations were raised through a crowdfunding site to cover his legal fees.
Ten Australian Vietnam veterans will be awarded military honours 50 years after fighting in one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

Following a long fight with Canberra, soldiers who took part in the Battle of Long Tan on August 18, 1966, will finally have their heroism recognised ahead of 50th anniversary commemorations.

Veterans Affairs Minister Dan Tehan announced on Wednesday he would write to the prime minister and governor-general to recommend the 10 soldiers be awarded military honours or have existing honours upgraded.

Australian soldiers during the Battle of Long Tan in Vietnam on August 18, 1966

The Battle of Long Tan was the bloodiest involving Australian troops in Vietnam

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith, 83, was commander of Delta company during the Battle of Long Tan and was not satisfied with the level of recognition awarded to soldiers at the time.

He has campaigned for decades to rectify deficiencies in what he believed was a shambolic system for military awards.

'Justice has been done,' he said on Wednesday.

'I believe that the outcome has been excellent, compared with what has been done before.'

THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN The Battle of Long Tan on August 18, 1966, was one of the fiercest battles fought by Australian soldiers in Vietnam. A total of 105 Australians and three New Zealanders faced a North Vietnamese and Viet Cong force that exceeded 2000. Despite the odds, the Australian troops forced the Vietnamese to retreat. Eighteen Australians died and the enemy death toll likely exceeded 500. Advertisement

The Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal recommended the military honours or upgrades, but Mr Smith's bid for the late Jack Kirby to receive a Victoria Cross was rejected.

Mr Smith expressed some disappointment over the Kirby decision.

He said Kirby had run around under fire distributing ammunition to troops and joking with soldiers as they fought for their lives.

'Jack was a man who had no regard for his own safety,' he said, describing him as an inspiration.

Australian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Long Tan faced overwhelming odds.

A total of 105 soldiers of Delta Company, 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), plus three New Zealanders patrolled into the Long Tan rubber plantation, unaware that they would shortly bump into a force of some 2000 North Vietnamese and local Viet Cong soldiers.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith, 83, who fought in the Battle of Long Tan, has been campaigning for recognition of veterans that fought in the battle

The ensuing battle started at 3.40pm, was fought wholly in torrential rain and was all over by 7pm when the relief force arrived.

As waves of enemy assaulted scattered Australian positions, their ranks were shredded by almost 3500 rounds of artillery, fired with astonishing accuracy from the Nui Dat base about five kilometres away.

Grovelling in the red mud as enemy fire cracked low over their heads, the Australian soldiers of the besieged Delta Company fired more than 10,000,000 rounds from their rifles and machine guns.

'There were stages about halfway through the battle when the enemy seemed to have the upper hand. But eventually my soldiers got on top,' Mr Smith said.

An Australian soldier pictured crouching in a rubber plantation during the battle of Long Tan in Vietnam

Eighteen Australians died in the Battle of Long Tan - the enemy death toll likely exceeded 500

Eighteen Australians died - the enemy death toll likely exceeded 500.

The Vietnam conflict became increasingly unpopular as it stretched on, dominating and dividing Australian society in a manner only comparable to the bitter WWI conscription campaigns which started a century ago this year.

Much of the bitterness over Australia's involvement in Vietnam stemmed from the Robert Menzies government decision to re-introduce national service in 1964, resulting in young men fighting and dying in the Vietnam jungles.

A total of 521 died as a result of service in Vietnam, although actual battle casualties amounted to 414. Of those, 185 were national servicemen.

A total of 105 soldiers faced a Viet Cong force that exceeded 2000

Former Prime Minister Robert Menzies re-introduce national service in 1964, resulting in




Telstra will invest $3 billion upgrading its networks after a string of widespread embarrassing outages that have plagued the carrier this year.

It comes as the telecommunications giant reported a full-year profit of $5.78 billion - up 36.6 per cent from last year - and released details of a $1.5 billion buyback program.

Telstra chief executive Andrew Penn said they had let many customers down with poor service.

Telstra will invest $3 billion upgrading its networks after a string of widespread embarrassing outages that have plagued the carrier this year

'Work still needs to be done to improve our systems and processes that can cause customer frustrations and delay,' Mr Penn said.

'We know that customers expect more from us as their reliance on smart devices continues to grow. This is why improving the customer experience is paramount, and why network interruptions in the second half were particularly disappointing.'

Telstra was plagued by a series of outages that impacted its mobile and internet customers since January with the carrier forced to offer a number of free data days as compensation.

Telstra chief executive Andrew Penn said they had let many customers down with poor service

Telstra was plagued by a series of outages that impacted its mobile and internet customers since January with the carrier forced to offer a number of free data days as compensation

The boost in profits was buoyed by the $1.8 billion sale of Chinese car website Autohome.

Telstra also announced it would return $1.5 billion to investors through a share buy-back.

'Telstra's current level of capital is more than what we need in the short to medium term so the return of surplus capital to shareholders is considered appropriate at this time,' Mr Penn said.
Russian embassy in Britain chided the UK for sending forces to Syria

The PM's call to Putin came as relations between countries face strain

The two countries' intelligence agencies will share intel to fight terror

Britain's spies will co-operate with Russia to fight terrorism as Theresa May tries to build bridges with the Kremlin.

In her first phone call with Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister agreed UK intelligence agencies would work with his agents on aviation security.

Both leaders expressed dissatisfaction with UK-Russian relations and pledged to improve ties, the Kremlin said.

In their first phone call, May and Putin agreed that British and Russian spies will coordinate to fight terrorism

A statement said the leaders agreed to foster dialogue between intelligence agencies dealing with aviation security.

A Downing Street spokesman said: The prime minister and president agreed that British and Russian citizens faced common threats from terrorism, and that co-operation on aviation security in particular was a vital part of the international counter-terrorism effort.

It follows numerous incursions by Russian jets into Nato airspace and on the fringes of Britains skies.

There have also been concerns about the potential for Mr Putins warplanes crashing into US-coalition jets in Syria.

But on Tuesday, in a sign of the strained relationship between the two countries, the Russian embassy in Britain slammed the UK for deploying special forces to the country covertly.

A spokesman questioned the legality of sending ground troops to Syria after photographs emerged of them helping to defend against Islamic State and accused the British of helping to prolong the war.

Last year MPs voted to allow RAF airstrikes in Syria, but specifically said there would be no ground troops.

On Tuesday, the Russian embassy in Britain slammed the UK for deploying special forces to Syria secretly

However, the deployment of Britains special forces does not require parliamentary approval.

Crispin Blunt, the chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, slammed the current policy. The former justice minister said: The Government is saying special forces dont count as ground forces which is ridiculous.
Edie Ramstad runs a weaving supply business out of Ada, a small town in Minnesota near Fargo. And she relies on the postal service to ship her products around the country.

But Ramstad says the agency is failing her. Her local post office can't send overnight mail to all destinations, and priority mail can take four to six days to arrive. Recently, the office stopped collections at 2:15 p.m., making it tough to send a last-minute order.

"We don't want to take jobs out of the community," she told Postmaster General Megan Brennan at a roundtable in Mandan on Thursday. "Without the post office helping us, we don't know what to do."

Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp invited Brennan to North Dakota, after Heitkamp asked residents for feedback on their mail service and received more than 500 complaints.

"Rural America deserves the same quality of postal service as anywhere in the U.S.," Heitkamp told the group, which included several people who responded.

The head of the North Dakota Newspaper Association said she was losing subscribers due to slow arrivals and returns. A representative from the Verendye Electric Cooperative said the company accidentally shut off someone's power because a check took two weeks to arrive.

Brennan responded to the criticisms individually and asked District Manager Doug Stephens to help fix them.

"We acknowledge there are service issues," Brennan told the group. "We know we've got to get the service predictable and reliable."

The agency has struggled to keep up as email and online bill pay have replaced much of the need for first class mail, the agency's central product. Increasing package mailing has not made up for the decline.

A 2015 audit found the postal service in North Dakota "rarely met national service standards" as the population boomed with the Bakken. Delivery was not always timely and the agency was short-staffed.

Brennan told reporters she wanted to make the self-funded agency a better business and increase revenue. She wants Congress to give the agency more flexibility to set prices and offer new products.

Heitkamp suggested the agency could use its existing network and infrastructure to provide notary, banking and Internet services in rural areas.

"We have a lot of assets in very strategic locations," Heitkamp said. "How do we leverage that as we look at revenue?"
man avoids paying tram fare by climbing on to the roof

A fare evader has gone to great heights to avoid paying for his tram ride.

The Melbourne man climbed on top of a tram and snapped a selfie of his legs dangling over the front as it drove down Swanston Street in the heart of the city.

The alleged graffiti artist also appears to stand on the tram roof while he took photos of trams as they passed closely by, a caller told 3AW Breakfast on Thursday morning.

A Melbourne man climbed to the top of a tram to avoid paying his transportation fare and snapped selfies as it drove down Swanston Street in the heart of the city (pictured)

The alleged graffiti artist also appears to stand on the tram roof while he took photos of trams as they passed closely by (pictured)

Around six percent of travellers in Victoria do not pay for their travel, costing the Public Transport Victoria about $51 million a year, according to their website.

thats money we could use to improve the system for everyone.

The state organization now has more than 600 officers patrolling train and tram stations and buses to stop freeloaders.

Anyone caught travelling without a ticket could face a $223 fine.
The rationing of life-changing cataract surgery will get worse because the NHS is heading towards a 'financial meltdown', a former health minister has warned.

Norman Lamb MP said the existing situation with thousands being denied the basic treatment was 'indefensible' and 'intolerable'.

He said the UK's spending on health had 'fallen well behind' other European countries  and this is why our care was so much worse.

Only yesterday figures revealed that we perform proportionally fewer cataract operations than most other Western World countries including Hungary, Portugal and Slovenia.

Norman Lamb MP said the existing situation with thousands being denied the basic treatment was 'indefensible' and 'intolerable'

But Mr Lamb  former care minister under the Coalition  said that the situation would get worse as the population ages, and demand increases.

His warning was echoed by one of Britain's top surgeons who said the rationing of cataract operations and hip and knee replacements would become 'commonplace.'

Stephen Cannon, vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said he was 'deeply concerned' and warned of patients waiting 'two or three years for operations.'

A series of investigations by the Mail have exposed how tens of thousands of patients are being denied vital cataract surgery on the NHS even though their vision is extremely poor.

Three quarters of hospitals refuse to refer patients unless they score very badly in sight tests and some demand they fill in forms stating how often they fall.

Many elderly patients have been forced to give up life-long hobbies including bird-watching, going to the theatre or just reading and some are afraid to leave the home.

Mr Lamb, Lib Dem MP for North Norfolk, said the NHS was forced to ration the 800-an-eye operation because it was in the grip of a financial crisis.

'It's just indefensible given that we're a relatively wealthy economy to have a healthcare system that's on its knees

'It's (cataracts rationing) one demonstration of a much wider crisis.

'We will see crises popping up all over the place, cataracts is one very serious example.

Stephen Cannon, vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said he was 'deeply concerned' and warned of patients waiting 'two or three years for operations'

'We need to make sure we have a healthcare system that can deal with peoples' cataracts when its needed.

'It's a straightforward procedure and it ought to be possible in this day and age to do it.

'The NHS in my view is heading towards a crash, the finances are impossible.'

He said the UK spends just 8 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product  annual output on healthcare, compared to 11 per cent in France and Germany.

'We've fallen well behind.

'That's a massive difference and there are consequences to that.

'It does mean that people with cataracts, elderly people who need care and support aren't getting it.'

Around half of the over 65s suffer from cataracts and they occur when the lens in front of the eye becomes cloudy with age.

In the most severe cases patients are unable to read, watch television, recognise faces or drive at night as they see a glare.

The condition can be cured by a 30 to 45 minute operation to replace the affected lens with a plastic implant, which patients describe as 'life transforming.'

But many hospitals are rationing the procedure to save money and because they do not have the capacity to treat all those in need.

Since launching our campaign we have been inundated with emails from patients with desperately poor vision who have all been denied surgery.

Many are told they can only have one eye done at a time  even though both are extremely bad  or advised to wear dark glasses.

The health watchdog NICE is due to publish new guidelines on cataract surgery to stop hospitals making up their own rules but these aren't due until 2018.

Yesterday Professor Mark Baker, director of the centre for guidelines at NICE, said cataracts had not been given 'lower priority'.

'NICE has not given a lower priority to the development of its guidance on cataracts than it has to the development of its other guidance, including its guidance on condom distribution schemes to prevent sexually transmitted infections.

'The time it takes to develop an individual piece of guidance depends on a number of things, including what type of guidance it is.
Six in ten British voters think immigration is piling too much pressure on schools, hospitals and housing  well above the worldwide average.

A study conducted across 22 countries around the globe also revealed widespread alarm that terrorists may be posing as refugees to sneak through border controls.

Pollsters Ipsos MORI found that the UK is one of the countries most worried about the pressure placed on public services by rising immigration levels, with 59 per cent concerned.

Six in ten British voters think immigration is piling too much pressure on schools, hospitals and housing  well above the worldwide average (File photo)

This compares to an average of 50 per cent worldwide.

Some 49 per cent of Britons think there are too many immigrants in the UK, which is in line with most countries worldwide.

Almost four in ten also say immigration has made it harder for native Britons to get a job.

Just 31 per cent of those surveyed in Britain support closing our borders to refugees  but 63 per cent believe terrorists are pretending to be refugees.

Across all of the countries, four in ten say that their country should close its borders to refugees entirely.

Concern about migrants integrating into British society is in line with the global average, with 40 per cent agreeing that most refugees will integrate successfully, while 47 per cent disagree.

Half of Britons  51 per cent  think that refugees are actually economic migrants instead, while 37 per cent disagree.

On average worldwide, six in ten think terrorists are pretending to be refugees, with more than seven in ten believing this to be the case in Turkey, Russia, India, Hungary, Germany and the United States.

On average, more people say immigration has generally had a negative (45 per cent) rather than positive (20 per cent) effect on their country.

At least six in ten in Turkey, Italy, Russia, Hungary, France and Belgium say immigration has had a negative impact.

Half across the 22 countries say there are too many immigrants in their country.

When it comes to the economy, on average 44 per cent of those polled worldwide think immigration has made it more difficult for home nationals to get jobs.

Bobby Duffy, managing director at Ipsos MORIs Social Research Institute, said: Immigration is a global issue, with very few countries entirely at ease with current levels, control and the impact of the mass movement of people.

None of the 22 countries surveyed have a majority of people saying that immigration has had a positive impact on their country  although there are a very wide range of views within this.

A study conducted across 22 countries around the globe also revealed widespread alarm that terrorists may be posing as refugees to sneak through border controls (File photo)

The sense of pressure in countries like Turkey, Italy, Hungary and Russia is particularly clear from the survey.

He added: Britain has in fact become more positive about many aspects of immigration. This might seem surprising given that the desire to reduce immigration was undoubtedly a key reason for the Brexit vote.

But we need to bear in mind that the survey shows that on each individual measure there are still more people who are negative than positive about immigration.
From direction signs that point the wrong way, to parking spaces only big enough for someone driving a 12-inch long car.

These are some of the pottiest road markings in Britain.

On Cross Park Avenue, Plymouth, the parking bays are so wide there is barely room for a car to pass.

And at Much Birch in Hertfordshire a sudden bend in the central line could make you swerve.

And if you would like to see where workmen managed to spell 'Keep Clear' as 'Keep Claer', then go to Kingswinford in the West Midlands.

No through road: Parking bays in Cross Park Avenue, Plymouth, this week

A quick detour: Get ready to swerve in Much Birch, Hertfordshire

A load of cobbles: Markings were messed up when they relaid stones in York

Completely dotty: Clueless workmen painted around a parked lorry in Minehead, Somerset

Parking mad: Double yellow lines in Mossbury Road, South London, left, and in Wellington Street, Leicester, right, will foil anyone driving a 12in-long car who plans to nab these spaces

Hardly a cycle superhighway: The lane is just long enough for one bike in Kennedy Road, Shrewsbury

Clear as mud: Someone dropped a clanger in Kingswinford, West Midlands

You dunce! A bad example to pupils at Istead Rise primary school in Kent

The poor driver won't have a clue what to do at this bizarre bus stop

Something's not right here: Confused? You will be in Worksop, Notts
Katie Ledecky has continued her winning streak, giving Team USA their only gold medal win in what was an unusually disappointing night in the pool on Wednesday.

Ledecky anchored the women and crushed Australias lead in the 4x100m freestyle relay, helping the US win its second-straight Olympic gold in the event.

It was the first gold medal in Rio for Ledeckys teammates Maya Dirado, Leah Smith and Allison Schmitt.

Katie Ledecky has continued her winning streak at the Olympics, giving Team USA their only gold medal win in what was an unusually disappointing night in the pool on Wednesday

Ledecky and teammates (L-R) Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith and Maya DiRado pose with their new gold medals at the Olympis Aquatics Stadium in Rio on Wednesday night

Ledecky and her teammates share a sweet embrace after their big win

Ledecky anchored the women and crushed Australias lead in the Women's 4x100m freestyle relay

This is the second straight-gold for the United States in the event

United States' Katie Ledecky, bottom shakes hand with her teammates Allison Schmitt, Maya DiRado and Leah Smith, from left, after winning the women's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay

It will be the first gold medal in Rio for Ledeckys teammates Maya Dirado (center), Leah Smith (right) and Allison Schmitt (left)

Ledecky has already won gold in the Womens 200m freestyle and 400m freestyle, as well as a silver in the Womens 4x100m freestyle relay.

The sensational swimmer will have one more chance to win gold in Rio with the Women's 800m freestyle.

Nathan Adrian nabbed a surprising bronze medal as he fought to defend his top spot in Men's 100m freestyle, where he won gold in London four years ago.

Adrian came out behind Australia's 18-year-old Kyle Chalmers and Belgium's Pieter Timmers.

Nathan Adrian (congratulating winner Kyle Chalmers) nabbed a surprising bronze medal as he fought to defend his gold in the Men's 100m freestyle on Wednesday night

Adrian came out behind Australia's 18-year-old Kyle Chalmers (pictured)

Adrian nearly missed the final after qualifying 16th in the preliminary heat. But he seemed to be back on top after winning his semifinal heat with 47.83 seconds

Adrian nearly missed the final after qualifying 16th in the preliminary heat, but seemed to be back on top after winning his semifinal heat with 47.83 seconds.

He has already added one gold medal to his stash after racing with Team USA in the Men's 4x100 freestyle relay with Phelps, Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Held on Monday.

Adrian, 27, said he was still happy with his bronze medal on Wednesday night, and gave praise to Chalmers.

'I can't be upset with that, I just came away with a bronze medal,' he told NBC after the race.

'I wanted it, we all wanted it. That's what makes the Olympics special, there's eight guys there going for gold.'

'Kyle's a young guy, and he certainly has the closing speed.'

Josh Prenot was knocked to the second spot in the Men's 200m breaststroke by a little-known Kazakhstan swimmer who came out of nowhere from lane eight.

Dmitriy Balandin, 21, of Kazakhstan surged ahead from lane eight for a surprising victory in the Men's 200m breaststroke on Wednesday night (pictured with Russia's Anton Chupkov)

Balandin celebrated from the pool after he inched ahead of USA's Josh Prenot for the gold

Balandin came out from behind in what at first looked to be Yasuhiro Koseki of Japan's final to lose

The young swimmer couldn't hold back his emotion as he celebrated the surprising victory

Dmitriy Balandin, 21, surged ahead in the last lap, inching ahead of Prenot to grab the first ever swimming medal for his country.

Prenot, 23, nabbed silver while Anton Chupkov of Russia took home the bronze.

Balandin came out from behind in what at first looked to be Yasuhiro Koseki of Japan's final to lose.

The young swimmer beamed as he looked at the crowd, hugging Chupkov before waving his hands in celebration and slapping the water victoriously.

Balandin is bringing home Kazakhstan's first ever medal in swimming

Prenot, 23, was still happy to celebrate a silver medal as he came out just behind Balandin

Prenot was the top US qualifier for the 200m breaststroke final

He smiled alongside Balandin and Chupkov as they posed with their medals

Disappointment continued for Team USA at the women's 200m butterfly final, with neither Hali Flickinger or Cammile Adams landing a spot on the podium.

Adams took fourth, nearly ending what has been a 16-year-long medal drought for the United States in this event.

Team USA hasn't nabbed a medal in the Women's 200m butterfly final since Misty Hyman took gold in Sydney in 2000.

Mireia Belmonte took first for Spain in the event on Wednesday night, surging past Australia's Madeline Groves who held a steady lead for most of the event.

It is the first gold for Belmonte, who has already won a bronze in Rio in the Women's 400m individual medley. Natsumi Hoshi of Japan took the bronze.

Disappointment continued for Team USA at the women's 200m butterfly final, with neither Hali Flickinger or Cammile Adams (pictured) landing a spot on the podium

Adams took fourth, nearly ending what has been a 16-year long medal drought for the United States in this event

Spain's Mireia Belmonte Garcia took gold in the event, adding to the bronze she has already won in the women's 400m individual medley

Belmonte won her first Olympic gold on Wednesday night, adding to two silver medals from the 2012 London games

And Lilly King, fresh off her gold in the women's 100m breaststroke, failed to qualify the 200m event after falling to seventh in her semifinal heat

This means King will not get to compete once again against Yulia Efimova of Russia, who has fast become her rival in these games after King called out her past doping history

And Lilly King, fresh off her gold in the women's 100m breaststroke, failed to qualify for the 200m event after falling to seventh in her semifinal heat.

This means King will not get to compete once again against Yulia Efimova of Russia, who has fast become her rival in these games after King called out her past doping history.

Molly Hannis also failed to qualify, which means no American will able to defend Team USA's three straight gold medals in the event.

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte remained bright spots on the rare disappointing night for Team USA, taking the two top respective positions in their semifinal heat.

Phelps and Lochte will face off in the Men's 200m individual medley on Thursday.

The United States' Ryan Murphy and Simone Manuel also came first in their semifinal heats for the Men's 200m backstroke and the Women's 100m freestyle, respectively.

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte remained bright spots on the rare disappointing night for Team USA, taking the two top respective positions in their semifinal heat
They'd been left strapped in their car seats in 90-degree temperatures

The devastated mother of twin 16-month-old girls who died after their father left them in a hot car has revealed that she was incredibly overprotective of them after losing her first daughter at just 19 days old.

Ariel and Alaynah North died last Thursday after they were found unresponsive while strapped in their car seats in the back of an SUV outside their home in Carrollton, Georgia.

Police charged their father Asa North, 24, with manslaughter on Friday, alleging that he had been drinking before leaving them in their car seats in 90-degree temperatures.

The girls' mother Breal Ellis revealed that she was rarely apart from her toddler daughters, who were born several months premature.

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Devastated mother Breal Ellis revealed that she was incredibly overprotective of her twins after losing her first daughter at just 19 days old

Ariel and Alaynah North (pictured) died last Thursday after they were found unresponsive while strapped in their car seats in the back of an SUV

Her first daughter, who was also born premature in 2014, had lived for only 19 days, she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Ellis was devastated, but coped with her grief by going to church.

She was delighted to become pregnant a second time and vowed to be the best mother she could, she said. She was hardly ever away from them, she added.

Now, Ellis doesn't know how she'll cope with losing them too.

'Im so scared to go to the funeral,' she told the Journal-Constitution on Wednesday. 'I feel like God needed them more because they didnt have any sins.'

She added that she had 'always dreamed of being a mom'.

Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs said on Friday that North 'had been consuming alcoholic beverages' before leaving his toddlers in the car.

Paramedics took Ariel and Alaynah (pictured) to the Tanner Medical Center where they were pronounced dead after being left in their car seats in 90-degree temperatures

Police charged their father Asa North, 24, with manslaughter Friday, alleging that he had been drinking before leaving them in their car seats

Police took a blood sample for alcohol and are awaiting results to determine his blood alcohol content.

North has been jailed on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct.

'We do believe they were left in the car for a period of time,' said Captain Chris Dobbs of the Carrollton Police Department.

'Only he knows the answer about what happened today, but I hope and pray it was an accident,' Regina Cleveland, a family friend, told WSB-TV.

The twins' uncle, Donnie Holland, said he guesses the father 'forgot about the kids and left them in the car'.

'He should have took care of them kids better than that, what he did,' Holland said.

'He should have never been in the house asleep. He should have got the kids out of the car the time he got out of the car, you know.'

Neighbors said North was frantic after the girls were discovered in the car, although it was not immediately clear who found them.

North has been jailed on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct

'The neighbors heard some screaming  I guess coming from the father  and saw him running around back with the two children,' Dobbs told CBS 46.

When police arrived at the property on Tillman Drive North at around 6.30pm, North was desperately trying to revive the twins in a kiddie pool.

Neighbors also arrived with ice packs to try to get the water temperature down, Fox 5 reported.

Temperatures in Carrollton reached 90 degrees in the afternoon, but cooled down later due to a thunder storm.

Paramedics took Ariel and Alaynah to the Tanner Medical Centre less than five minutes away, where they were pronounced dead.

Authorities said they do not believe the deaths were intentional.

'It's just a tragic situation, a sad situation for the whole family and for the community,' Dobbs told CBS 46.

Police said the twin's mother was in Atlanta visiting her sister, who had been injured in a car accident.

She arrived at the Tanner Medical Center on Thursday evening, according to police.

Autopsies were being conducted at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab, and Dobbs said they may help determine how long the girls were left in the car.

However, experts say any length of time in a hot car can kill a child.

North was desperately trying to revive them in a kiddie pool when police arrived

The deaths of the twin girls come as prosecutors in another metro Atlanta county prepare for the murder trial of 35-year-old Justin Ross Harris.

Harris is accused of intentionally leaving his toddler son to die in a hot SUV for about seven hours on June 18, 2014.

His trial was moved to the coastal Georgia city of Brunswick after a judge agreed with defense lawyers that an impartial jury could not be found in the Atlanta area.

The trial is expected to begin in September.

Nationwide, the girls who died in Carrollton are the 25th and 26th children to die this year in hot vehicles, more than double the number who had died by this point in the summer last year, said Janette Fennell, president and founder of KidsAndCars.org, a group that tracks such deaths each year.

By this time last year, 12 children had died in hot cars, Fennell said.
A 32-year-old man is expected to be charged over the stabbing rampage

A third victim was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital

Two people who tried to

A man embarked on a frenzied stabbing spree which saw four people rushed to hospital after he attempted to carjack a car from a McDonald's drive-thru.

The man, 32, armed with a knife, allegedly rushed at the the customer waiting for his order at the McDonald's in Beenleigh, Queensland, at lunchtime on Wednesday and demanded he leave his car.

When he refused to move, he was stabbed, as were two other customers who rushed to the aid of the bleeding man.

The attack was sparked after the knifeman had a head-on collision with another driver just outside the McDonald's. Police have since arrested the man and are expected to charge him on Thursday.

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A man embarked on a frenzied stabbing spree which saw four people rushed to hospital after he attempted to carjack a car from a McDonald's drive-thru (pictured)

Four people were stabbed in a frenzied knife attack in Beenleigh, Queensland

A 32-year-old man allegedly stabbed the driver of a car he had a crash with before stabbing three more people at a McDonald's (pictured)

Just after midday on Wednesday two cars crashed at an intersection in Beenleigh. The two drivers then allegedly got into a fight which resulted in one of them stabbing the other.

The 32-year-old knife-wielding driver then fled the scene, running to a nearby McDonald's, Queensland Police told Daily Mail Australia.

In the drive-thru section of McDonald's it is alleged the man tried to steal a car from a motorist.

When the driver refused to give up his car he was stabbed. Two people who tried to help the victim were also stabbed, police said.

Two men were rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital in stable conditions. A third victim was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a stable condition.

A fourth person was taken to Logan Community Hospital in a stable condition.

'We have a total of four people who have received stab wounds,' Inspector Chris Ahearn said.

The alleged attacker was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital with cuts to his hands. He is expected to be charged when he is released from hospital.

Police are set to charge a man over a traffic accident near a McDonald's that escalated into the stabbing of four people (pictured)

'We have a total of four people who have received stab wounds' police said
Donald Trump claimed Wednesday night during a raucous south Florida campaign rally that President Barack Obama and his first secretary of state Hillary Clinton were the 'founder' and 'co-founder' of the ISIS terror army.

His stunning claim came at the end of a pointed lecture recounting the conditions that led the regional militant group called al-Qaeda in Iraq to grow its ambitions  and blaming the president for creating the power vacuum that terrorists rushed in to fill.

'In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama. ISIS is honoring President Obama,' Trump said, working himself into a lather at the end of a full day of campaigning in two states.

'He is the founder of ISIS. He is the founder of ISIS, okay? He's the founder! He founded ISIS!' he continued, always crescendoing.

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Donald Trump said Wednesday night in south Florida that Barack Obama deserves the blame for the creation of the ISIS terror army

Trump also blamed Clinton for co-founding ISIS saying: 'The co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder! Crooked Hillary Clinton! And that's what it's about!' He also unveiled new signs at the rally

Trump brandishes a number of signs during his speech including this one above showing the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the US

'And I would say,' Trump added more solemnly, getting to his election-year point: 'The co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder! Crooked Hillary Clinton! And that's what it's about!'

Trump has made claims before that Obama precipitously pulled U.S. forces out of Iraq on a predetermined date, giving ISIS room to breathe and expand.

But Wednesday marked the first time he has credited the current White House with the creation of the self-described 'Islamic State.'

Minutes later in what may be interpreted as a dog-whistle to his Islamoskeptic fans, Trump uttered another rarity, referring to the president with his Arab middle name.

TRUMP CLAIMS OBAMA FOUNDED ISIS 'In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama. ISIS is honoring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS. He is the founder of ISIS, okay? He's the founder! He founded ISIS! 'And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder! Crooked Hillary Clinton! And that's what it's about!' Advertisement

Trump holds up a chart that he said shows home ownership rates over the years as he speaks during his campaign event at the BB&T Center in Fort Lauderdale

Trump has made claims before that Obama precipitously pulled U.S. forces out of Iraq on a predetermined date, giving ISIS room to breathe and expand. He holds up a sign during the rally showing a comparison between himself and Clinton

Obama, seen briefing reporters on ISIS in April, has been blamed for creating a Middle Eastern power vacuum by pulling all U.S. troops out of Iraq in December 2011

As ISIS took hold and spread to Europe, its ringleaders have planned or inspired deadly attacks in France, Belgium and the United States

Responding to complaints that he had misinterpreted the recent geopolitics of Russia and Ukraine, he declared that the Crimea 'was taken' by Russian President Vladimir Putin 'during the administration of Barack Hussein Obama.'

Trump's figurative case that Obama 'founded' ISIS rests on his contention that the president disrupted a delicate balance of power between Iran and Iraq, two countries afflicted by more than eight decades of border disputes.

'We had a president who decided he would announce a date, and he was gonna get out by that date. The problem is, the enemy, which really turned out to be ISIS, the enemy was sitting back and actually didn't believe that this could be happening,' he said.

The ISIS terror army is a regional threat to Turkey, Syria, Greece and other countries, but was once a smallish militant group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq

Trump also said Hillary Clinton's mistakes managing Islamist threats in Libya were a contributing factor, calling her the 'co-founder' of ISIS. She is pictured above today while on the campaign trail visiting Raygun, a clothing store, in Des Moines, Iowa

Trump criticized Obama for failing to leave 'some small forces' behind in Iraq to keep order.

The result, he said, was predictable chaos with Iran the dominant aggressor but ISIS reclaiming dominance in broad swaths of Iraq.

'You know, for years and years these two countries fought,' he said. 'Decades and decades and decades they'd fight. That's what they did  they'd fight.'

'And they'd fight for four years and stop. Then they'd fight for four more years. Saddam Hussein would drop gas, everybody would complain. Tremendous, tremendous carnage. And they'd stop. Then they'd start.'

'It would never change,' in Trump's reading of history, 'because you had military powers of essentially the same strength.'

'And then,' he said, President George W. Bush invaded Iraq and 'decimated one of the powers, and we unleashed fury all over the Middle East. And it was a terrible mistake.'

'And then Obama came in,' he continued. 'And normally you want to clean up. He made a bigger mess out of it. He made such a mess. And then you had Hillary with Libya. So sad.'

During the rally he also unveiled a number of new signs including one pitting himself against Clinton showing how much of their campaigns were funded by hedge funders.

He also unveiled a chart showing home ownership rates plummeting over the years.

Trump's figurative case that Obama 'founded' ISIS rests on his contention that the president disrupted a delicate balance of power between Iran and Iraq, two countries afflicted by more than eight decades of border disputes

Supporters donned red,white and blue wigs and glasses to support the Republican presidential candidate
Attack came just one day after Trump's comments that Second Amendment proponents could take action against Clinton

On Wednesday, Atkinson said she was protesting because Clinton was supported by the likes of Costco

After that disruption she told the crowd the demonstrators were there to protest Trump because 'he and his kids have killed a lot of animals'

Secret Service agents have arrested an animal rights protester who tried to rush the stage at the Hillary Clinton rally.

Video shows the moment that demonstrator Kelsey Atkinson was tackled to the floor by agents after she tried to interrupt the Democratic presidential candidate's speech at a school in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday.

It was the second time in a week that animal rights protesters from far-left group Direct Action Everywhere have tried to disrupt a Clinton rally.

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Secret Service agents have arrested an animal rights protester who tried to rush the stage at the Hillary Clinton rally

Video shows the moment that demonstrator Kelsey Atkinson was tackled to the floor by agents after she tried to interrupt the Democratic presidential candidate's speech

Atkinson was arrested after she tried to rush the stage at the Hillary Clinton rally

U.S. Secret Service officers swiftly removed the protester from the rally at a southeast Des Moines high school

Last week, in Las Vegas, four agents rushed to the stage to protect Clinton and quickly surrounded her after a group of activists crossed the barrier near her podium shouting about animal rights, Washington Examiner reports.

'You're okay,' one agent had told Clinton. 'Keep talking. We'll handle it. We're not going anywhere. Keep talking, ma'am.'

Clinton has used the disruption as an opportunity to take a jab at her Republican rival Donald Trump, saying: 'Okay, we're going to keep talking.'

'Apparently, these people are here to protest Trump,' she added. 'Because Trump and his kids have killed a lot of animals, so thank you for making that point.'

Last week was the first time that Clinton's agents have had to rush to protect her, although agents from Trump and Bernie Sanders' details have had to step in earlier on the campaign trails.

Atkinson, who is an apparent Bernie Sanders supporter, from San Francisco, was sitting in the crowd before making a mad dash for the stage

In a statement, she explained she was protesting at the rally because Clinton takes money from companies such as Costco saying 'we need to stop funding animal torture'

Secret Service agents had spotted her running for the stage and stopped her before the steps

But less than one week later, Clinton's agents were forced to take action again after Atkinson, wearing an 'Animal liberation now' shirt, tried to storm the stage.

The protester was tackled to the floor and dragged out of the rally screaming 'animal liberation now!'

Clinton never paused in her speech.

Atkinson, who is an apparent Bernie Sanders supporter, from San Francisco, was sitting in the crowd before making a mad dash for the stage, the American Mirror reports.

In a statement, she explained she was protesting at the rally because Clinton takes money from companies such as Costco.

'If we're serious about animal protection, we need to stop funding animal torture and start the process of abolishing the systems that exploit them,' she said.

Clinton continued on with her speech as the commotion continued behind her, yelling over the rowdy audience

The Democratic presidential candidate did not even pause in her speech during the raucus

Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump's comments about her Tuesday that are being interpreted as an assassination suggestion 'cross a line'

The incident follows controversial comments from her rival Trump on Tuesday, who appeared to encourage 'Second Amendment supporters' to take action against her to stop her introducing gun control.

'By the way, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,' Trump told a North Carolina rally, saying Clinton would 'abolish the second amendment.'

'Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don't know. But  but I'll tell you what. That will be a horrible day.'

The Secret Service is reported to have had 'more than one conversation' with Trump or his staff about the statement.

Clinton hit back at the comments at the Des Moines rally, saying Trump's statement could be interpreted as an assassination which 'cross(es) a line.'

'His casual cruelty to a Gold Star family, his casual suggestion that more counties should have nuclear weapons, and now his casual inciting of violence,' she said, rebuffing her opponent.

Clinton told her supporters, 'Every single one of these incidents shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the United States.'

Clinton commented on the controversy involving Trump - who said Tuesday that Second Amendment advocates could 'maybe' stop her from appointing judges who would curb their gun rights - during a rally in Des Moines

Clinton greets a boy on the street after touring Raygun, a printing, design and clothing company, in Des Moines, Iowa, before the rally

Clinton was delivering a shortened version of her stump speech, after arriving late to the rally from two other stops at local businesses, when she commented on Trump's latest controversy.

'Let me say something about, what I think is a critical difference between my opponent and myself: words matter, my friends. And if you are running to be president or if you are President of the Untied States words can have tremendous consequences.'

Leading into counter-assault on Trump, she said, 'Yesterday we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald trump that cross the line.'

She bought up his spat with the Khan family, a topic she's been unwilling to die even as the news cycle has moved on, and alluded to his call to Second Amendment advocates to rise up against her.

Clinton said the behavior is a reminder that the 'stakes have never been higher' than in the current election.

Trump says he was not ordering a hit on her Tuesday when he said there's 'maybe' something gun owners could do to stop her from appointing liberal judges.

'Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment,' Trump said, as he often does. 'And by the way, if  if she gets to pick her judges, [there's] nothing you can do, folks.'

He added, 'Although, the Second Amendment people  maybe there is. I don't know. But I tell you what: That would be a horrible day if  if Hillary gets to put her judges [in].'

Clinton poses with a supporter after her speech in Des Moines - her first trip to Iowa since the February caucus

A Trump campaign aide said he was talking about the power of Second Amendment advocates to unify and keep Clinton from winning.

That's not how the Democrat and some Republicans have interpreted it, however.

'This is simplewhat Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the President of the United States should not suggest violence in any way,' Clinton's campaign manager, Robby Mook said Tuesday afternoon

Peter King, a Republican congressman from New York, told MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday that Trump should 'absolutely' take back the remarks.

'It was wrong. He shouldn't have said it,' the congressman said.

Speaker Paul Ryan said he hope Trump 'clears it up very quickly.'
A tapeworm never before found in humans in Australia has been discovered growing inside a three-year-old boy.

The boy, from Eyre Peninsula near Port Lincoln in South Australia, was infected with a Pacific Broad Tapeworm last year after regularly eating raw fish caught by his father, according to Murdoch University parasitologists.

Samples of the tapeworm, which can grow up to 12 metres, were sent to the university, which identified the species and released the results on Thursday.

A Pacific Broad Tapeworm (pictured), which has never been found in a human in Australia before, was discovered growing inside a three-year-old boy in South Australia last year

The tapeworm (pictured) is most commonly found in fish-eating mammals in the northern hemisphere but not people in Australia, although more cases can be expected

The pathogenic tapeworm is most commonly found in fish-eating mammals, like bears and seals, in the northern hemisphere but not people in Australia, although more cases can be expected, Professor of Parasitology Andrew Thompson said on the university's website.

WHAT ARE PACIFIC BROAD TAPEWORMS What: Pacific Broad Tapeworm, or Diphyllobothrium pacificum, is a species of tapeworm that infects fish and fish-eating mammals like bears, seals and humans. They can grow to be up to 12 metres long. How: It can infect humans through the consumption of raw or undercooked fish. Where: The tapeworm is typically found in people in the northern hemisphere. This is the first documented case in Australia. Symptoms: Diphyllobothriasis can cause diarrhoea, vomiting and B-12 anaemia. Treatment: A single dose of an antiparsitic drug called Praziquantel. Advertisement

'While symptoms are generally mild, and were not significant for this patient, our findings and reports from the last 90 years suggest these tapeworms are endemic in fish-eating mammals found off the Australian coast, and more human cases can be expected.

'People who eat fresh, raw marine fish are most at risk.'

It is possible to be infected with the tapeworm by eating sushi and sashimi, according to the US national Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.

'On an individual level, consumers should be aware of the risks of diphyllobothriasis [the disease associated with Pacific Broad Tapeworms] with consuming uncooked fish,' researchers with the NCBI said.

'Sushi and sashimi are now available not just in restaurants, but also in the deli sections of many grocery stores. Marketers should consider affixing labels to the packaging, assuring consumers that proper preparations have been completed to minimize risks of fish tapeworm.'

The boy was infected after regularly eating raw marine fish caught by his father and samples were sent to Murdoch University (pictured) in Perth, which identified the species this week

Diphyllobothriasis can cause diarrhoea, vomiting and B-12 anaemia because the tapeworm consumes about 80 percent of a person's B-12 intake.

Mr Thompson said climate change could be responsible for the tapeworm's presence in Australia.

'It is possible that temperate water currents off southern Australia are changing thus affecting the distribution of the fish hosts of the parasite,' he said.

The boy was taken to a medical clinic by his parents on July 29, 2015, after having a poor appetite and diarrhoea for one month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The child have never traveled overseas but had often eaten the spoils of his father's fishing trips

His parents had also noticed tapeworm organisms in his feces.

The child have never traveled overseas but had often eaten the spoils of his father's fishing trips, including southern bluefin tuna, spotted sillago and southern goatfish.

He was treated last year and has made a full recovery.

Some cases can go years because the person doesn't experience any symptoms, according to the CDCP.
Donald W. Helm, son of Fred G. and Bertha (Springer) Helm, was born Aug. 20, 1935, at Lincoln Valley. He died at Sanford Sunset Care Center in Mandan after a 4 1/2 year struggle with prostate cancer and was welcomed into the arms of his Lord and Savior, Jesus, on Aug. 7, 2016, at the age of 80, just 13 days shy of 81.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Grace Lutheran Church, McClusky. There will be no viewing as cremation has taken place. Visitation will be held one hour before the service. Lunch and a time of fellowship will follow the service. Burial will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.

Don was a life-long farmer/rancher. He loved traveling and being outdoors walking, hunting, fishing, trapping or bird watching. Indoors, he enjoyed listening to music, reading and doing word puzzles. He will be remembered for his great sense of humor.

Don served his country as a cryptographer in the Army from 1957-59. Speaking fluent German, he was fortunate to be stationed in Germany, where he traveled to many countries during his leave time, including attending the 1958 Worlds Fair in Brussels, Belgium.

Don married the love of his life and Best Buddy, Beverly Zwicker, on July 14, 1962, at Bethel Lutheran Church in rural Coleharbor, now located at Buckstop Junction. They have lived on their farm at rural Denhoff since then.

Don is survived by Bev, his wife of 54 years; his sister, Gloria Mueller, Jamestown; his brother, Milton, Denhoff; his sister-in-law, Helen Helm, Bismarck; and his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Arlyce and Mike Malarkey, Bismarck. He is also survived by numerous nephews and nieces, including three special nephews: godson, Brent (Kamelle) Helm and daughter, Brittany, Mandan; Jason (Brandi) Malarkey and daughter, Landra, Fargo; and Dave (Jenessa) Malarkey and daughter, Addison, Bismarck.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Floyd, Marvin, Ralph and infant Chester; his sister, Lilla Ackelson; his brothers-in-law, Peter Mueller and Richard Ackelson; his sisters-in-law, Mary Helm, Rose Helm and Beatrice Helm-Schauer; one nephew, Kim Ackelson; two nieces, Renee Helm Pape and Mary Helm; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Camp of the Cross, the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery or a charity of the donors choice. (Bismarck Funeral Home)
Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte both cruised through to the final of the 200m individual medley setting up a final clash between the American rivals on Thursday.

Fresh off a double-gold night, Phelps came first in Wednesday night's semi final recording a time of 1 minute 58.78 seconds with Lochte close behind on 1 minute 56.28, and Brazil's Thiago Pereira in third place.

Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, looks set to become a four-time champion in an event he first won at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

But Lochte, 32, a 12-time medalist himself, is sure to be determined to deny his compatriot a fourth gold in what is expected to be their last showdown.

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Michael Phelps (left) and Ryan Lochte fist bump each other after they both cruised through to the final of the 200m individual medley

Phelps (right) and Lochte (left) are set to face each for the final time in Thursday night's final

'I love racing him. I think, for me, he brings out the best in me,' Phelps said after the race.

Lochte agreed, adding: 'We bring out the best in each other. Any time I get up and race him, it's the best.'

The 200 individual medley is one of two races that Phelps can win for the fourth straight time in Rio, along with the still-to-come 100 butterfly.

Phelps didn't have much time to savor his double-gold night on Tuesday before he was back in the pool to resume his rivalry with fellow American Ryan Lochte.

But after just five hours of sleep, Phelps was back at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium and said he actually felt rather fresh for the afternoon preliminaries.

He cruised through his heat with the third-fastest time overall, 1 minute, 58.41 seconds, which trailed only Lochte (1:57.38) and Germany's Philip Heintz (1:57.59).

'It really wasn't that bad,' Phelps said, after clawing back the gold from South African Chad Le Clos in the 200m butterfly and winning the 4x200 freestyle relay late Tuesday night to bring his total gold medal haul to a staggering 21.

'I've been able to put my body through things like this over the years. Hopefully I can keep it rolling one more time.'

Phelps came first in Wednesday night's semi final recording a time of 1 minute 58.78 seconds with Lochte close behind

Phelps was back in the pool Wednesday after winning two golds the previous night

'Leaving everything in the pool one last time is what I'm going to do,' Phelps said on ending his career after five Olympics. 'If that's good enough to win, we'll see.'

Remarkably, while it appears Phelps has broken just about every Olympic records, his gold in the butterfly, his 12th in an individual event, only tied a 2,168-year-old record set by Leonidas of Rhodes in 152BC, according to Olympic historian Bill Mallon.

Runner Leonidas won three different events in four straight Olympiads to set the record, Mallon says.

Phelps' mother Deborah, his fiancee Nicole Johnson as well as their adorable three-month-old son Boomer have been firm fixtures by the Olympic pool, cheering on the 31-year-old in his fifth and final Olympic Games.

However, it appears they were absent from the stands on Wednesday evening.

After the medal ceremony for the 200 butterfly, Phelps broke ranks during the customary walk around the pool and bounded into the stand to plant a tender kiss on Boomer.

'You're going to bring tears to my eyes now,' the Olympian said when asked about the sweet moment.

'I wanted to be with him more,' he added. 'Being able to share that one moment that I had with him was definitely something very special.'

Thursday night's final could be the final time Phelps and Lochte race each other

Phelps and Lochte fist bump each other after cruising through to the finals of the 200m IM

Meanwhile, Lochte is being cheered on by his new Playboy model girlfriend Kayla Rae Reid.

But while the Phelps clan sit close to the TV cameras in the VIP section, Reid has remained largely out of sight because her seat is high up in the Aquatic Stadium.

And in an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Online, the 25-year-old all but confirmed that she met the handsome Olympian on dating app Tinder.

She described him as 'kind, humble and, of course, unbelievably good looking' - and insisted he has 'more depth than you could imagine.'

Phelps broke ranks after the medal ceremony on Tuesday to plant a kiss on his baby son
What do you do when the drive-thru of your favorite fast-food chain is closed?

You order inside, of course  or in the case of this Texas cowboy, you ride in on horseback.

Lathan Crump did just that after he competed in tie-down calf roping and went to Taco Bell for his traditional post-rodeo meal.

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Lathan Crump and his horse Hollywood (pictured) went inside a Taco Bell in Commerce, Texas, to order some food

Crump says he always goes to the restaurant after a rodeo, and usually rides his horse. This time, however, the drive-thru was closed

Crump, a third-generation cowboy, rode straight into the fast-food joint mounted on his American Quarter Horse named Hollywood.

He got a big round of laughs from the people inside the place as he ducked to fit through the tiny door, leading Hollywood into the restaurant.

'Well it's just kind of an everyday thing for us to do stuff like that,' said Crump, who breaks and trains horses,to FOX 4 News.

'It's not really a big deal, but I guess everybody else don't ever see nothing like that.'

Crump, a third-generation cowboy, rode straight into the fast-food joint mounted on his American Quarter Horse named Hollywood

Crump, who was in a rodeo in nearby Commerce, breaks and trains horses

The cowboy said he travels with Hollywood 'everywhere and everyday,' and hardly does anythying without his horse.

'Everybody got a big laugh about it and it's been blowing up big all over social media,' he told FOX 4 News.

Police told the station they will take no action unless someone complains about the incident.
A Sydney model and her former boyfriend accused of a running a drug ring from his eastern suburbs apartment are set to plead guilty.

Police allege Kirsty Dayment and Nicholas James Riganias were dealing drugs out of his apartment in Coogee.

Lawyers for the pair said their clients would be looking to plead guilty to a handful of their drug charges on Thursday at Central Local Court, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Police allege Kirsty Dayment (left and right) and Nicholas James Riganias were dealing drugs out of his apartment in Coogee

The former couple were charged after police say they uncovered just over a 100 grams of cocaine and 1.3 kilograms of ice that was concealed in a suitcase, and were expected to enter pleas on Friday before a date for their sentencing was set.

Ms Dayment faces a charge of supplying a large commercial quantity of drugs and four other charges.

If she is found guilty of the first charge, she may be sentenced to life in prison.

Her former boyfriend faces conspiracy to supply a large commercial quantity of a drug and supplying or knowingly taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug among a number of other charges.

On her talent page, Ms Dayment describes herself as an actor, model, dancer, film and stage crew member, and photographer.

'I have been in the industry for a long time. I'm sporty and competitive,' she wrote.

Lawyers for the pair said their clients would be looking to plead guilty to a handful of their drug charges on Thursday at Central Local Court (pictured)

On her talent page, Ms Dayment describes herself as an actor, model, dancer, film and stage crew member, and photographer

'This gives me the never say die attitude. I love to be pushed and have really high goals and expectations for myself.'

On her profile, Ms Dayment said she had featured in Ralph and FHM magazines, and she attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2000.

She said she had been acting for eight years, and can do an Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, English, Californian, New York, French and Indian accents.

Ms Dayment said she had speaking roles in Australian television series White Collar Blue and had been modelling for five years.
An ISIS fanatic is dead after Canada's national police force thwarted an alleged suicide bomb plot in Ontario.

Aaron Driver, 23, had planned to carry out a suicide bombing mission in a public area during rush-hour but was killed during a confrontation with police in a house in Strathroy, a senior police official said on Wednesday night.

He was shot by police in a dramatic raid after he detonated an explosive device, injuring himself and one other, CBC News reports. He reportedly had another device which he was going to detonate.

Driver, who was originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, was arrested last year for openly supporting Islamic State on social media.

He was not charged with a crime, but in February, he was placed on a peace bond, a court order that restricted his movement, required that he stay off social media and computers and not associate with any terrorist organization, including ISIS.

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Aaron Driver (pictured) was killed in a police operation and was allegedly plotting to carry out a suicide bombing mission, authorities said

Driver (pictured leaving court in February) was shot by police after he detonated an explosive device, injuring himself and one other

Driver's lawyer and the prosecutor agreed to the peace bond stating there are 'reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group.'

He was known to authorities for tweeting about his support for ISIS under the alias Harun Abdurahman, including urging the group to target the Canadian police and military as well as praising the attack on Parliament Hill in October 2014.

Police believed he acted alone in the alleged plot.

The incident on Wednesday stemmed from a new video Driver made in which he threatened an attack on a 'major city,' intelligence sources told Reuters.

Driver lives in Strathroy, Ontario, a small town about 140 miles (225km) southwest of Toronto.

On Wednesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it halted a possible attack after receiving credible information of a potential terrorist threat.

They said a suspect was identified and the 'proper course of action has been taken' to ensure there was no danger to public safety.

Police confer outside of a house in Strathroy, Ontario, where an operation continued well into Wednesday night

Canada's national police force says it has halted a possible terrorist threat, but it is providing few other details

However, the police operation inside the Strathroy home continued well into Wednesday night with authorities concerned about what may be inside.

An internal government memo obtained by CTV News, Driver had allegedly planned to use an IED to cause mass casualties by carrying out a suicide bombing mission in a busy public space.

Authorities have not released details about where Driver was intending to carry out his alleged mission, but they say there is no longer a threat.

Neighbors said they heard explosions and gunshots during the operation that involved SWAT teams and a bomb squad, the website reports.

Neighbors said they heard explosions and gunshots during the operation that involved SWAT teams and a bomb squad

Strathroy resident Irene Lee, whose parents own a convenience store near Driver's home, said police arrived on the quiet residential street shortly after 4pm ET and quickly surrounded the house.

At about that time, she said she was at her home close by when she heard a loud noise.

She said shortly afterward, a police officer came by to tell residents to stay inside their homes.

'I hear a bomb sound, like a bang - I was freaking out because this is a small and quiet town,' she told Reuters.

'All of a sudden the policemen were yelling, 'everyone get into your houses'.'

Lee said there were up to 25 marked and unmarked cruisers outside a home on a street right behind her parents' store.

Police raided a home in Strathroy, a town about 140 miles (225km) southwest of Toronto, after receiving credible information of a potential terrorist threat

One Strathroy resident said that police had been camped out near her parents' convenience store since about 4.15pm. Above, police cars at the scene

Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said he had spoken to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the events 'to confirm that public safety has been and continues to be properly protected.'

The RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other police and security agencies were involved in the operations, he added.

'These agencies conducted themselves effectively in the circumstances that developed today,' Goodale said in statement.

Taking all relevant information into account, the national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at 'medium' where it has stood since the fall of 2014, Goodale added.

A person using the alias Harun Abdurahman spoke to The Toronto Star last year.

According to the report, Abdurahman was raised in Ontario as a Christian in a military family, but converted to Islam at the age of 17.

He dreamed of joining ISIS and living under Sharia law.

In that interview, Abdurahman said the attack on Parliament Hill by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was 'justified.'

'I was listening to it very carefully,' he said. 'In some ways I was pretty excited because there was retaliation. It was shortly after Canada announced it was sending F-18s over to Iraq.
A survivor of the Grim Reaper serial killer told him off in court before he was sentenced to death for killing ten women in Los Angeles.

The serial killer known as the 'Grim Sleeper' was sentenced to death Wednesday for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. He is suspected of killing up to 25 women.

'You are truly a piece of evil,' Enietra Washington told Lonnie Franklin Jr. 'You're right up there with Manson.'

Washington was shot by Franklin, 63, but managed to survive him. Franklin shot her in the chest as she rode in his car to a friend's house 27 years ago. He raped her and took photos of her as she lay bleeding, according to the Los Angeles Times. Taking her for dead, he then pushed her out of the car.

'You are truly a piece of evil': Enietra Washington, above, a survivor in the 'Grim Sleeper' serial killings joins relatives of victims speaking to the media after the sentencing for Lonnie Franklin Jr

Justice: Relatives of victims from left, Kenneitha Lowe, Samara Herard, Tracy Williams, and far right, Margaret Prescod, founding member of the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders, gather after the sentencing for Lonnie Franklin Jr

A prolific serial killer known as the 'Grim Sleeper' was formally sentenced to death Wednesday for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years.

Franklin Jr. learned his fate in Los Angeles County Superior Court after 17 emotional family members of his victims spoke about the pain they had endured for decades.

Relatives of victim Mary Lowe, from left, Tracy Williams, Cameron Wright and Kenneitha Lowe, and Samara Herard, sister of Princess Berthomieux, far right, talk to the media after the sentencing for Lonnie Franklin Jr.

Cameron Wright, center, relative of Grim Sleeper victim Mary Lowe, breaks down during the penalty phase of the trial, while relatives Kenneitha Lowe (left) and Tracy Williams (right) show support

Mary Alexander, mother of Grim Sleeper victim Alicia Monique Alexander, asks Lonnie David Franklin Jr. to look at her as she asks him a question during victims impact statements

Judge Kathleen Kennedy, a 28-year veteran of the court, said she concluded Franklin preyed on defenseless women because of deep-seated hatred toward them.

'I can't think of anyone I've encountered in all my years in the criminal justice system that has committed the monstrous crimes that you have,' Judge Kathleen Kennedy told Franklin. 'All of these women were defenseless, they were not a threat to you in any way, shape, or form... This is not a sentence of vengeance, this is justice.'

The judge didn't buy the defense argument that California's death penalty was unconstitutional and should be set aside. She also rejected a motion for a new trial.

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Killer punished: Lonnie Franklin Jr, pictured in court in February 2015, was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl

Laura Moore speaks to Lonnie Franklin Jr. as she recalls being shot six times by him on May 5, 1984 during victims impact statements

Franklin was convicted in May of killing seven women between 1985 and 1988 and the 15-year-old girl and two women between 2002 and 2007. Their bodies were all found within a five mile radius of his house

Margaret Prescod, founding member of the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders holds a page of photos of missing women who may be Grim Reaper victims

'The defendant took my daughter, murdered her, put her in a plastic bag  a trash bag  like she was trash,' Laverne Peters, whose 25-year-old daughter, Janecia,was found in a dumpster in 2007, told the court.

The Los Angeles Times reported that in delivering Franklin's sentence, the judge read aloud the names of his victims, telling him after each one, 'You shall suffer the death penalty.'

Franklin was linked at trial to 14 slayings, including four women he wasn't charged with killing. Police have said he may have had as many as 25 victims.

The killings occurred over more than two decades during the crack epidemic, and community members complained that police didn't seriously investigate because the victims were black and poor and many were drug users and prostitutes.

He is a psychopathic, sadistic serial killer who takes joy in inflicting pain on women and killing them. Prosecutor Beth Silverman

Franklin, 63, avoided suspicion for decades, working as a city trash collector and onetime garage attendant for Los Angeles police

Franklin denied any role in the killings to investigators but didn't utter a word in his defense during his lengthy trial.

Prosecutors connected him to the crimes through DNA, ballistics, photos and the words of the sole known survivor, who managed to get away after being shot in the chest and thrown out of a moving car.

A Polaroid photo of her partly nude and bleeding from her wound was found in Franklin's garage after his arrest.

Nearly three decades after the attack, the survivor, Enietra Washington, pointed out her assailant in court, saying, 'That's the person who shot me.'

Police found over 1,000 pictures of women in Franklin's home - it is unclear if any of them are additional victims, but many were photographed asleep, unconscious, or possibly even dead

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said Franklin's motive was 'doing evil,' and his 'degrading, calculated and brutal' crimes had destroyed many lives.

'This defendant is completely irredeemable,' Silverman wrote in her sentencing brief. 'He is a psychopathic, sadistic serial killer who takes joy in inflicting pain on women and killing them.'

Franklin, who showed no emotion throughout trial and six years of court hearings, did exchange words briefly with the family members of two victims.

He silently mouthed something to the mother of one victim and then said he didn't recognize the sister of another who told him to turn around and face her.

'I've never seen you before in my life,' he told Vivian Williams, who said he knew who she was. 'It's a bald-faced lie.'

Williams, the sister of victim Georgia Mae Thomas, said she forgave Franklin for the 'horrible things' he'd done because that's what the Bible taught her.

'On the inside I know you're broken and you're hurting just like all of us,' she said, adding she would pray for him. 'We know that you really need to be delivered.'

Franklin was connected to the crimes after a task force that re-examined the old cases discovered that DNA from Franklin's son, which was in a database because of an arrest, showed similarities to genetic evidence found on some of the 'Grim Sleeper' victims.

THE TEN LA WOMEN LONNIE FRANKLIN JR IS ACCUSED OF MURDERING Debra Jackson, 29, on August 10, 1985 (left) and Henrietta Wright, August 12, 1986 (right) August 10, 1985: Debra Jackson - A 29-year-old cocktail waitress who went to take a bus home after visiting her friend. Her body was found three days later with three gunshot wounds to the chest. August 12, 1986: Henrietta Wright - The 35-year-old was found dead in an alley near West Vernon Avenue. She was shot twice and wrapped in a blanket and covered in a mattress. January 10, 1987: Barbara Ware - The 23-year-old had been shot once in the chest and her body had been dumped under a pile of rubbish. April 15, 1987: Bernita Sparks - 26-year-old went out to the shops but never returned. Her body was found in a bin, covered in rubbish. She had been shot, strangled and beaten. October 31, 1987: Mary Lowe - 26-year-old left home to go to a party, but never returned. Her body was found in an alley of Western Avenue. January 30, 1988: Lachrica Jefferson - Officers found the 22-year-old's body with a napkin over the face with the word 'AIDS' written on it. September 11, 1988: Alicia Alexander - Another victim killed while going to the shops. The 18-year-old's body was also found in an alley near Western Avenue. December 21, 2001: Princess Berthomieux - The end of the 14-year hiatus. DNA on the 14-year-old's body matched those of previous killings. July 11, 2003: Valerie McCorvey - The 35-year-old had been strangled and sexually assaulted. January 1, 2007: Janecia Peters - 25-year-old was shot in the back and her body was dumped in a rubbish bag. Advertisement

A detective posing as a busboy at a pizza parlor collected utensils and crusts while Franklin was attending a birthday party. Lab results connected him to some of the bodies and led to his arrest.

Investigators found a gun used in one of the killings and Polaroid photos of victims - including one of Washington, partly nude and bleeding - in Franklin's house after his arrest.

Nearly three decades after the attack, she pointed him out in court, saying, 'That's the person who shot me.'

Franklin killed seven women between 1985 and 1988 and a 15-year-old girl and two women between 2002 and 2007. Most were fatally shot at close range, though two were strangled. Their bodies were dumped and left to rot in alleys and trash bins.

The killer earned his moniker because of the apparent hiatus from 1988 to 2002, which police once theorized was due to him being imprisoned or laying low after Washington survived.

The killing of Thomas was later found to have occurred during that gap and police now say they don't think Franklin stopped killing until his arrest in 2010.

Franklin's conviction will be automatically appealed. The likelihood he'll be executed is slim because of challenges over the state's lethal injection procedure.

No one has been put to death in San Quentin State Prison since 2006 and there are nearly 750 inmates on death row.

Five of the jurors who decided Franklin's fate returned to court to support the victims Wednesday and to see if the judge would agree with their verdict.

Juror Michelle Mayne-Graves said the hardest part of the trial was viewing autopsy photos of decomposing bodies and hearing the anguish of family members speaking of their loss.

'You could feel their pain, it was palpable,' she said. 'That was awful.'
A breakfast buffet at a five-star hotel has given at least 50 people food poisoning, with some victims threatening to take legal action.

The number of guests struck down by salmonella after dining at the InterContinental Hotel in Adelaide on Sunday July 31 continues to rise, with at least 50 related cases, including 15 hospitalisations.

An eight-year-old boy and a man who had undergone a kidney transplant are among the sick.

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A breakfast buffet at the Intercontinental Hotel in Adelaide (pictured) has given at least 50 people food poisoning, with some victims threatening to take legal action

The number of guests struck down by salmonella after dining at the InterContinental Hotel (pictured) in Adelaide on Sunday July 31 continues to rise, with at least 50 related cases

Harry Hirniak, 55, was forced to spend a week in hospital amid fears he would need to go back on dialysis or lose his only working kidney.

'Anger was the least of my thoughts how can something like this possibly happen in a hotel that is so good?' his wife Jackie told The Advertiser.

Colin McCandless, Intercontinental Adelaide's general manager said the hotel was cooperating with authorities to determine the cause of the outbreak.

'We fully expect people to make claims and we're ready for it, but of course we are partnering close with SA Health and the City Council to determine the cause,' he told 9 News.

Mr McCandless said he is yet to receive a definitive result from the health department and he expects the investigation to continue into next week.

'We have maintained close contact with affected guests and will continue to assist in the investigations in any way we can,' he said.

He maintains the restaurant is still safe to eat at and said the incident was an 'isolated' one.

Colin McCandless, Intercontinental Adelaide's general manager said the hotel was cooperating with authorities to determine the cause of the outbreak (stock image)
A detention centre guard on Nauru has admitted throwing rocks at young asylum seeker children after 'losing his temper'.

Mohammad Mahdi Eskandarikhah, who was aged five at the time, was allegedly injured after one of the rocks hit him in the face, chipping his teeth and cutting his lip, according to rights organisation Save the Children.

A Wilson Security guard admitted to throwing the rocks on March 6 last year in an incident report, Fairfax Media reported.

A detention centre guard on Nauru has admitted throwing rocks at young asylum seeker children (stock image)

Asylum seekers kept on Nauru are first housed in these tents before being transferred into the community

The guard said he had 'lost his temper' when he was hit by a stone.

The incident follows publication of more than 2000 leaked incident reports by The Guardian detailing sexual assaults, child abuse and self-harm inside the Australian tax-payer funded detention centre on Nauru.

The majority of the victims are children, despite making up just 18 per cent of the asylum seekers at Nauru.

There are currently 442 people detained on Nauru, although the incident reports cover the period between 2013 and 2015.

Human rights groups say the documents show Australia's offshore immigration detention program is failing and should be shut down.

Dr. Anna Neistat, senior director for research at Amnesty International, said the leak showed the 'routine dysfunction and cruelty' of the system.

But Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has dismissed the revelations and accused asylum seekers on Nauru of making false claims to reach Australia.

'I have have been made aware of some incidents that have reported false allegations of sexual assault, because in the end, people have paid money to people smugglers and they want to come to our country,' he told 2GB on Thursday.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has accused asylum seekers on Nauru of making false claims to reach Australia

Refugees that try to reach Australia by boat are housed in cramped vinyl tents where temperatures can soar to 50 degrees Celsius

'Some people have gone to the extent of self harming. People have self-immolated to get to Australia.'

In the wake of the document leak, the opposition has called for the creation of an Independent Children's Advocate to oversee the treatment of children in detention.

Labor Immigration and Border Protection spokesman Shayne Neumann said the rights and interests of children need to be protected whether on shore or offshore.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released a report into living conditions on Nauru by last week.

Refugees and asylum seekers said they are being attacked, intimidated and harassed on a regular basis by Nauruans.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Wilson Security for comment.

An asylum seeker shows an injury that was allegedly sustained in an attack by a Nauruan local
But his mother Teresa Dominguez refutes the police's version of events

Loaded revolver was found near Romero which is being sent for analysis

Cops claim they heard gunshots and shot and killed the youth

They came across two teens, but Romero fled from the LAPD officers

Police were responding to reports of people writing gang

Los Angeles police say they shot and killed a 14-year-old boy suspected of writing gang-related graffiti after he opened fire on them with a revolver.

Jesse James Romero was fatally shot on Tuesday evening in Boyle Heights, LA after he fled from the LAPD's gang unit.

Police claim the teenager opened fire on officers with a six-shooter, and that they fired back, killing him.

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Jesse James Romero (left and right) was fatally shot on Tuesday evening after he fled from the LAPD's gang unit, who had been called out to deal with youths spraying graffiti

This is the six-shooter that the LAPD claims Romero used to attack officers, forcing them to kill him in self-defense

Teresa Dominguez (2R), the mother of Romero was joined by other mothers and family members of other men and boys killed by police, at a vigil on Wednesday

A loaded handgun was discovered near the scene which has been sent for fingerprinting and analysis to see if it was fired.

But Romero's mother Teresa Dominguez refutes the police's version of events, saying that her son was a 'good boy' who 'didn't do anything violent,' KPCC RADIO reported.

'That's a lie,' she said of the police's claims that her son had a gun and had shot at them.

'They are just saying that so they can cover themselves but that's not true.

'He wasn't a delinquent so he shouldn't have been killed that way,' she added.

The 14-year-old vandalism suspect was shot dead by the LAPD on August 9 in the Boyle Heights neighborhood , LA (pictured is the scene)

A handgun was discovered near the scene which has been sent for fingerprinting and analysis to see if it was fired

The LAPD say that their department's gang unit had been called out to reports of graffiti and vandalism around 5.35pm on August 9 when they came across two young teens.

One of the boys, Romero, ran off and the officers gave chase, according to a police report.

'According to a witness who saw the subject running from the officers, the witness saw the subject shoot a handgun in the direction of the pursuing officers,' said LAPD Deputy Chief Robert Arcos during a news conference.

However, another witness at the scene allegedly said that the gun had gone off after he tossed the gun and it hit the ground.

None of the cops were harmed but when they heard the gunshot, and officer fired back.

Romero's mother Teresa Dominguez refutes the police's version of events, saying that her son was a 'good boy' who 'didn't do anything violent'

Teresa Dominguez (2R), and fellow parents and family members of children killed by police protest on Wednesday

A man holding a child stands beside a sign that reads 'Stop Killer Cops' at a vigil for 14-year-old Jesse Romero

Romero was declared dead at the scene.

'While the loss of life is always tragic, it is particularly so when the loss involves a youth.'

The other teen was questioned and then released.

A family friend, Diane Covarrbuias, told the Times that Romero, who moved to the US from Mexico aged one, was enrolled in an anti-gang program.

A GoFundMe page set up by Romero's cousin called for justice.

'He was just like any other 14 year old boy always happy and never a trouble kid he was an innocent boy,' the page stated.

An old photo of 14-year-old Jesse Romero is seen at a vigil in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles

A photo of the 14-year-old is erected at his memorial. Romero, who was suspected of writing gang-style graffiti, was shot and killed after he bolted from police

Friends and family gathered at a memorial for Romero at the scene of the shooting.

Ramon Gomez, a former teacher of the boy, was stunned that the 'bright kid' had been killed, KTLA reports.

Acros said that the vandalism the police were investigating was linked to gang activity but he did not say that Romero was in a gang.

He added that it was still unclear exactly why the officer shot.

People leave candles at a memorial for 14-year-old Jesse Romero in Boyle Heights

Young boys stand near a memorial for 14-year-old Jesse Romero near where he was killed

Romero's family and friends gathered near the scene where he was shot for a vigil on Wednesday.

They were joined by relatives of other youths who have been shot by police.

Tensions remain high in America between police and citizens following several high profile shootings of minorities in recent years.

Most recently, massive protests broke out in Chicago after video footage emerged of the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of Paul O'Neal, an 18-year-old African-American teen.

A sign left near the scene where Jesse James Romero was shot after a short pursuit

People gather near the spot where the middle school student was fatally shot by a police officer August 9

O'Neal was gunned down by officers back in July after he stole a car and got into a chase with cops which ended in the city's South Shore neighborhood.

Last week, demonstrators in downtown Chicago blocked streets and traffic while protesting the shooting.

Many police departments have responded to extra scrutiny by having officers wear body cameras.
A masseur is accused of hiding surveillance cameras in his business to record female clients, including a child, as they got undressed.

Mark Robson, 41, recorded clients at his Albany massage clinic from 2014 to 2016, Western Australian police claim.

His clinic was raided in July after a client complained to police, who discovered the camera and data storage devices, according to ABC.

Masseur Mark Robson, 41, is accused of hiding surveillance cameras in his clinic in Albany, West Australia, to record female clients, including a child, as they got undressed (stock image)

Mr Robson has been charged with 10 counts of installing a surveillance device to record private activity, one count of possession of an optical surveillance device and one count of indecent recording a child under the age of 16.

Police said they have identified all female clients who were allegedly recorded.

Mr Robson appeared in the Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday and was granted bail, according to ABC.

He was ordered to return to court in September.

As part of his bail conditions, Mr Robson is not allowed to conduct any massages.
Shopkeepers and staff were asked to be prepared to defend themselves

Westfield Sydney staff have undergone security training to prepare them for a possible terrorist attack, six months after an al-Qaeda linked terror group issued a propaganda video encouraging followers to attack the shopping centres.

In a letter from centre management, staff members have been told 'prepare to defend yourself', reported the Daily Telegraph.

The letter outlines action plans for bomb threats and 'active armed offenders'.

In the event of a bomb threat, shopkeepers and staff are told to 'keep the caller on the line as long as possible, and don't hang up after the call'.

They are asked to request information from anyone who calls in with a bomb threat about the bomb itself, to establish if the threat is real or not.

The letter issued to staff at Westfield Sydney which asks shopkeepers and staff to 'be prepared to defend yourself'

Staff members underwent security training on Wednesday after security was heightened

The letter says callers should be asked what kind of bomb it is, what is in the bomb and what will make the bomb explode.

In February, a masked militant purportedly from the al-Shabaab organisation encouraged Islamic fundamentalists to strike at shopping centres around the world.

It referenced the shooting attack at Kenya's Westgate Mall in 2013, where more than 60 people died - an attack al-Shabaab took responsibility for.

'What if such an attack on the Mall of America in Minnesota or the West Edmonton mall in Canada or in London's Oxford Street. Or any of the hundred or so of the Jewish owned Westfield shopping centres,' the masked man said during the 76-minute propaganda video.

A masked man claiming to be acting on behalf of al-Qaeda linked terrorist group al-Shabaab told followers an attack should be carried out on Westfield shopping centres

He referenced the attack on Kenya's Westgate Mall in 2013

'Take the Westfield shopping centre in (London's) Stratford or White City for example, what would be the implications of such an attack, one can only imagine.

'All it takes is a man with firm determination, of which our Muslim ummah (community) has plenty of.

'So hurry up and hasten to Heaven and do not hesitate.'

One store owner told the Telegraph there had been extra security lately, and he believed it was due to recent overseas attacks and in response to the Sydney Siege at the Lindt Cafe in 2014.

'I've run this store for two years and no one has ever mentioned gunmen or bombs and today they came around and gave everyone this letter.

'They have also told us we need to look out for anything suspicious. I guess a lot of people come here so we would be a target.'

The Sydney Westfield store is home to 353 retailers and according to their website, 43,800,000 people walk through the centre a year.

Westfield have been contacted for comment.
When the oil boom exploded in North Dakota it was every man for himself. Companies jockeyed for the best sites, landowners pursued the most lucrative deals and government scrambled to improve infrastructure.

It was the Wild West.

Now, with falling oil prices, calm has prevailed on the region. Drilling continues, but at a less frantic pace. Highway traffic no longer seems like a racetrack and the number of wells in operation has declined.

Theres time to step back and evaluate the situation. Thats what the World Wildlife Fund hired the Covenant Consulting Group to do. Members of the World Wildlife Fund toured the Bakken region and they visited areas of the Badlands not impacted yet by the oil boom. They wanted to know how development, if it reached into new areas, could be handled better. They also wanted to know how things could be improved in the Bakken.

Rod Backman of Covenant Consulting Group has been explaining the study results. One thing he wants to make clear, none of the stakeholders in the Bakken want or expect oil drilling to go away. What they want is better planning and more reasoned development.

Backmans team found people appreciated the jobs and community revitalization that resulted from the boom. They also found widespread support for protection of surface assets. Backman put together a team of industry, conservation and ranching experts and interviewed 71 people -- 26 members of ranching and grazing associations, 21 state, local and federal government officials and 20 members of conservation groups. The team also contacted 11 oil companies and got responses from four officials.

The next step in the process involves the selection of five representatives from government, the oil industry, conservation and ranching who will meet six times over the next five months with the goal of developing salable solutions. Backman said the five North Dakotans are independent, charged with coming up with a plan for Badlands users by Badlands users. After five months the group can decide whether they want to continue to disband.

The wisdom of their plan will determine whether its adopted, in whole or part, or ignored.

Over the last few years there have been ideas floated about task forces or special committees to develop recommendations for oil development in North Dakota. Nothing came of the ideas. The World Wildlife Fund and Covenant have given the state a starting point. Its unlikely everyone will agree with everything that the group of five proposes. It will benefit everyone to consider their suggestions. So far theres nothing to indicate this project is guided by an agenda other than finding better ways for all stakeholders to work together.

The craziness of the early Bakken days resulted in outcomes unsatisfactory to all parties involved. We have a chance to improve the situation as we move forward. It will benefit residents and companies to pay attention to the proposals coming from the five. They should be given close scrutiny because of the potential impact on the state. Its also important to remember all stakeholders expressed interest in protecting surface assets.

Finding ways to do this, whether it's oil companies sharing roads or landowners working with companies to develop plans, will benefit us.

This study provides an opportunity for North Dakota and should be taken seriously.
A young Gold Coast lawyer who was arrested by police during a raid on her apartment last year will face trial for possessing the drug ice.

The decision handed down at her committal hearing is the latest setback for aspiring criminal lawyer Briana Ioannides, 26, who was also taken into custody in May for breaching bail conditions.

Ioannides is trying to get her life 'back on track', according to a report in The Courier-Mail.

Criminal lawyer Briana Ioannides (pictured) will face trial on drugs charges

Ioannides (right) has vowed to fight the drugs charges at her upcoming trial

Outside the court she claimed to be determined to fight the charges against her.

She was stood down from her role at a top firm on the Gold Coast.

Ioannides was arrested in May after police stormed an apartment at Broadbeach on Queensland's Gold Coast during a drug raid.

Ioannides' lawyer, Chris Hannay, had told the court at the time that his client was 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'.

She was granted bail then and ordered to attend rehab, but allegedly violated her bail conditions by staying out past her curfew and not reporting to police.

Ioannides has been stood down from her job at a top Gold Coast legal firm
Russian hackers may have breached more Democratic party insider emails than was first believed, reports say.

The FBI has broadened its initial investigation believing that the private email accounts of more than 100 party officials and groups were hacked, sources told The New York Times on Wednesday.

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Russian hackers appear to have compromised the private email accounts of more than 100 party officials and groups, said the New York Times

Last month, DNC Chair Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned after leaked emails showed some staffers seemed to be conspiring against Bernie Sanders

Emails of the Democratic National Campaign Committee, the fund-raising arm of the party, were compromised, as well as those of the Democratic National Committee, whose leaks led to the resignation of party Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz as DNC chairwoman after embarrassing emails revealed that she and some other members were conspiring to help Hillary Clinton win over rival Bernie Sanders despite the group's supposed neutrality.

But now sources say that the hacks went beyond those groups and that the Democratic Governors Association may have also been compromised.

What other groups may have been compromised is unclear.

DNC chief Amy Dacey also resigned in the wake of the DNC leaked emails scandal

The FBI briefed staff members of House and Senate Intelligence Committees last, said the Times, and more briefings are expected for other congressional committees.

A staff member told the outlet that the briefings had concentrated on intelligence agencies believing Russia is behind the hacks.

Donald Trump challenged Russia to find more of Hillary Clinton's emails and published them but later said he was being sarcastic

So far there appears to be no evidence that hackers sought to get into any computer systems used by Donald Trump.

Last month, Trump suggested that the Russians should publish Hillary Clinton's emails and encouraged them to break in. Many decried his call as being treasonous. He later said he was being sarcastic, according to the Times.

Clinton has continually denied that her personal emails have been compromised.

WikiLeaks, which published the DNC emails, recently offered $20,000 for any information pertaining to the murder of Seth Rich, a DNC staffer who was found shot outside of his Washington, DC home.

Police have not speculated that his death has anything to do with DNC leaked emails.

The emails scandal also claimed the jobs of DNC chief executive Amy Dacey, communications director Luis Miranda and chief financial officer Brad Marshall.
Shocking video shows the moment a Ferguson protester was run over by a speeding car while demonstrators blocked the street

This is the shocking moment a Ferguson activist was mowed down by a speeding car before his fellow protesters opened fire on the vehicle.

Video footage shows a vehicle plowing straight into a group of demonstrators who were blocking a street to mark two years since Michael Brown's fatal shooting by a white police officer.

People screamed as a man, named locally as Jacoby Thomas, was flung into the air and landed by the side of the road on Tuesday.

Ferguson police said several of the protesters chased the car and opened fire, shooting the vehicle numerous times but missing the female driver.

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This is the shocking moment a Ferguson activist was mowed down by a speeding car before his fellow protesters opened fire on the vehicle

Video footage shows a vehicle plowing straight into a group of demonstrators who were blocking a street to mark two years since Michael Brown's fatal shooting by a white police officer

Ferguson police said several of the protesters chased the car and opened fire, shooting the vehicle numerous times but missing the female driver

A man, named locally as Jacoby Thomas, is carried after being hit by a car during a demonstration in Ferguson

A second nearby car was also hit by gunfire, but again, no one was injured.

Thomas was seriously injured in the incident and was rushed to hospital where is condition is unknown.

Witnesses say the car had been traveling so fast that it ''knocked the shoes off his feet.'

'A lady came down and hit a protester,' said Sharon Cowan, who was at the scene. 'Hit him, and he rolled and he bounced.'

Heather De Mian, who was at the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, said she screamed when the man was hit.

The car sped off without stopping after hitting the protester, according to witnesses. Moments later, shots rang out at the demonstrations.

'Then when the bullets flew, I started screaming some more,' she said.

Demonstrations were held Tuesday to mark the anniversary that Michael Brown was shot dead by police

Gunfire broke out during protests in Ferguson on the second anniversary of Michael Brown's fatal police shooting on August 9, 2014

Protesters were seen cowering behind cars as shots were fired at the demonstration in Missouri to mark two years since the unarmed black teen was shot dead by police

Police have traced the driver, who they have not named, but say that they don't believe she intentionally hit the protester.

S pokesman Jeff Small told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch police don't believe the driver intentionally struck the protester.

'By all accounts, her version of what happened seems to fit the version of what happened to a person driving down a busy West Florissant Avenue and not seeing a person standing there,' Small said.

No arrests were made.

Citizen journalist Chuck Modi, who was at the scene, described the protests as an 'insane night' and claimed that a man in a wheelchair was tased during the confrontation.

Police responded to reports of gunfire but had found no evidence that anyone had been struck

A man, named locally as Jacoby Thomas, was also injured in a hit-and-run after a car sped through a group of protesters who were blocking a street

Witnesses say the vehicle hit the young man so hard that he flew into the air. He was rushed to hospital where is condition is unknown

A protest was held on the anniversary of the shooting death of Mike Brown Jr. by Ferguson police

By around 10pm, the protesters had disbanded. No arrests were made.

Earlier on Tuesday, hundreds had gathered for a memorial service and moment of silence.

The crowd met at the spot on Canfield Drive where the black, unarmed 18-year-old was shot by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014, after a confrontation.

The shooting led to months of protests not only in Ferguson, but around the country.

The teen's father, Michael Brown Sr., said in a brief speech that the anniversary is a sad day for him and his family, but for the world, too.

'My son built families up, opened the eyes of the world and let them know this ain't right,' he said.

'This color is not a disease. This color is beautiful. Black is beautiful.'

Anniversary: A couple hundred (above) people marked the two-year anniversary of Michael Brown's fatal shooting by a police officer in Ferguson, attending Tuesday's memorial service

Michael Brown, Sr. holds his daughter Mikelle Brown, 3, as he addresses the crowd during a memorial ceremony for his son on Canfield Drive on Tuesday

On Saturday, Walk for Justice was held in Brown's memory as participants walked along on Lucas and Hunt Roads in the city to where he is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery in Normandy.

Photos from the event show attendees uniting and reaching out their hands in support of the teen's father as they stood in front of the cemetery.

Another powerful photo from Saturday's walk showed Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, joining other mothers of people killed by police officers, including Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner.

Mama Fatou, 66, who brought her grandson and two other young children to the memorial service on Tuesday, and said she still feels sad, especially for Brown's parents.

'It hurts to see a mother lose her child,' Fatou said. 'Her pain is our pain.'

Brandy Shields, 19, went to school with Brown and remembered him as a kid who 'never got into trouble'. Shields comforted a little girl who was crying at the service.

Michael Brown, Sr. said: 'My son built families up, opened the eyes of the world and let them know this ain't right.'

Supporters reach out their hands on Saturday in support of Michael Brown, Sr., wife Cal (center left) and daughter Mikelle as they stand in front of the cemetery where the teen is buried

'It'll get better,' Shields told the child. 'We have to make it better, but it'll get better.'

A state grand jury declined to press charges against Wilson, and the U.S. Justice Department later cleared him, concluding that he had acted in self-defense. He resigned in November 2014.

Brown's death also was a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement, which rebukes police treatment of minorities and has grown following several other killings of black men and boys by police, such as Tamir Rice in Cleveland and Philando Castile in Minnesota.

More than 60 organizations affiliated with the movement released this month a list of six demands and 40 recommendations for how to achieve policing and criminal justice reforms.

The 2014 shooting also led to a Justice Department investigation that found patterns of racial bias in Ferguson's police and municipal court system.

The federal agency and the city agreed this year to make sweeping changes.

Emotional: Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, joins other mothers of people killed by police officers, including Gwen Carr (right), mother of Eric Garner, at the memorial site where Michael Brown was killed

The 2014 shooting also led to a Justice Department investigation that found patterns of racial bias in Ferguson's police and municipal court system. Above his gravestone is pictured

Most recently, around 25 protesters, holding signs that read 'Black lives matter' and 'Disarm the police', gathered in Salt Lake City to protest against the fatal shooting of a teenager in Utah.

Somali refugee Abdullahi 'Abdi' Mohamed, 17, was shot four times by police who were responding to an alleged assault outside a downtown homeless shelter on February 27.

He was critically injured but survived the shooting.

On Monday, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill had said that police were justified in shooting the teen because police believed he was about to harm a man with a metal broom handle.

But the ruling sparked protests in Utah on Tuesday night.

Members of the group Utah Against Police Brutality and other local activists called for a Utah prosecutor to resign after he cleared the two cops involved.

Protester Carly Haldeman said officials are not being transparent with the public by refusing to release body camera footage from the February 27 shooting.
to be released in coming days

He is recovering in ICU and is

was hit and killed by a car

The wombat named Digger was rescued from a road near

He was taken to Lort Smith Animal Hospital with a blocked bladder

A baby wombat whose mother was hit and killed by a car has survived life-saving surgery after being 'on the brink of death.'

The four-month-old wombat named Digger was rescued from a road near Kilmore, north of Melbourne and was living with carers when they noticed he was unwell.

Digger was taken to Lort Smith Animal Hospital with a suspected twisted bowel on Wednesday.

A baby wombat (pictured) whose mother was hit and killed by a car has survived life-saving surgery after being 'on the brink of death'

Digger was taken to Lort Smith Animal Hospital (pictured) with a suspected twisted bowel on Wednesday

During surgery (pictured) vets discovered the tiny wombat's bladder was the problem

During surgery vets discovered the tiny wombat's bladder was the problem.

'Digger was on the brink of death when he arrived at Lort Smith,' said surgeon Dr Tristan Rich.

'His operation was especially delicate as he only weighs 600 grams, we were very concerned for him as a blocked bladder is life threatening. He really was very ill.'

Dr Rich said the orphaned wombat is recovering well in intensive care and is expected to be discharged in the coming days.

'His prognosis is really good. When he's released from ICU on the weekend, he'll go back to his carer and eventually back into the wild when he's bigger.'

Lort Smith is Australia's largest not-for-profit animal hospital and treats 25,000 animals each year without any government funding.

The four-month-old wombat named Digger (pictured) was rescued from a road near Kilmore, north of Melbourne and was living with carers when they noticed he was unwell

Dr Rich said the orphaned wombat (pictured) is recovering well in intensive care and is expected to be discharged in the coming days
A young thug who terrified an elderly couple when he broke into their house along with six other Apex gang members will remain behind bars.

Bill Tang, 19, had his release appeal rejected by County Court Judge Philip Misso, despite strict conditions outlined on it, and was sentenced to 18 months in a youth jail.

On December 27 last year, Tang and six underage members went to the couple's home in Rosanna in Melbourne's north-east, according to the Daily Telegraph.

An Apex gang member (not pictured) has been jailed for 18 months over a home invasion

At least four of them entered the property, with one assaulting the homeowner, 70, and another waking his wife while threatening her with a knife.

'To wake from a deep sleep to find a man standing over me ... was just terrifying,' the grandmother said in a victim impact statement.

While the gang members were still at the house police arrived, however some of the offenders fled the scene.

Tang escaped after he drove over a footpath while officers were pursuing him. He later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving over this incident.

The court heard on Thursday the elderly couple, who had lived in their home for 44 years, were now too scared to sleep at night.

Since the attack they have spent $10,000 trying to improve security at their property, and Judge Misso described the circumstances as 'unacceptable'.

The gang leader (pictured) previously told Daily Mail Australia young teenagers have sought refuge in the group

Before the break-in the couple's son died, and the gang members stole a phone containing images of the 41-year-old during the invasion which has not been recovered.

While on bail Tang breached his bail conditions and stole another car, prompting the judge to deem his prospects for rehabilitation low.

After having already spent 125 days in adult prison, Tang was on Thursday sentenced to 18 months detention in a Youth Justice Centre on cahrges relating to theft and aggravated burglary.

The gang started in 2013 in Hamilton Park in Melbourne's south-east - not on Apex Street like the name suggests

He was also prohibited from driving for one year.

The Apex gang are responsible for a spate of robberies, car-jackings and home invasions across the Victorian state.
Heartbreaking photos have emerged of the rubbish-strewn resting place of missing mother-of-two Carly McBride.

The remains of Ms McBride, who was last seen in September 2014, were found on a property near Scone, in New South Wales' upper Hunter Valley, last Sunday and her death is still being treated as a murder.

Photos have revealed the 31-year-old was left in bushland surrounded by an old car tyre, discarded bottles and plastic bags.

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Heartbreaking photos have emerged of the rubbish-strewn resting place of missing mother-of-two Carly McBride

The remains of New South Wales mother-of-two Carly McBride were found on Sunday almost two years after she went missing

Police tape has been placed around the area Ms McBride was found and detectives were seen writing in notebooks as they scoured the site on Thursday.

Ms McBride, 31, was last seen on Calgaroo Avenue, Muswellbrook

Although police found the remains on Sunday, they waited for the results of a post mortem to confirm they were Ms McBride's, The Newcastle Herald reported.

Police had informed her family of the find and announced the discovery on Thursday morning.

A Facebook page dedicated to finding Ms McBride, set up by her mother, has been flooded with tributes and condolences since the discovery was revealed.

The last time the 31-year-old was seen, on Calgaroo Avenue Muswellbrook, she'd left her home to pick up takeaway food.

When she failed to return, the alarm was raised.

Photos have revealed the 31-year-old was left in bushland surrounded by a discarded car tyre, plastic bottles and other litter

Police tape has been placed around the area Ms McBride was found and detectives were seen writing in notebooks as they scoured the site on Thursday

Police Strike Force Karabi has been investigating Ms McBride's disappearance

Ms McBride's remains were found near Scone, in the upper Hunter Valley in New South Wales

Police Strike Force Karabi was set up and has been investigating since she disappeared

Police Strike Force Karabi was set up and has been investigating since she disappeared .

After she disappeared, someone deleted her Facebook account, and police were trying to locate that person, with the belief they could have information, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Police will hold a press conference about the discovery on Thursday.

Police said Ms McBride's remains were found on Sunday August 7

Ms McBride was a mother-of-two. She disappeared in September 2014

Ms McBride left this Belmont, NSW house on September 30 2014 and never returned
A suspected drug syndicate operating out of a notorious apartment complex in Sydney's inner-west known as the 'Ice Block' has been raided by police.

Police officers flanked by dog squads and specialist teams swarmed six properties in Camperdown, Leichhardt and Rosebery at 7am on Thursday morning.

Ten people were arrested and large amounts of ice, cannabis, heroin, cash, stolen mail and firearm ammunition were seized during the search warrants.

The drug raids, which all took place at the same time, were part of Operation Boyla, a police initiative targeting the alleged supply of crystal methamphetamine.

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Police have made 10 arrests after swarming six properties in Sydney's inner-west, including an apartment complex in Camperdown known as the 'ice block'

The majority of police activity took place in a single unit block on Pyrmont Bridge Road in Camperdown, where five men and three women (pictured) were arrested

The majority of police activity took place in a single unit block on Pyrmont Bridge Road in Camperdown.

Inside the complex, known by locals as the 'ice block' for its rampant meth dealing, five men (aged 25, 42, 56, 31 and 69) and three women (aged 21, 42 and 48) were arrested.

Ten minutes up the road on Beeson Street, Leichardt, a 57-year-old man was arrested after a search warrant was executed at a separate apartment block.

A 31-year-old woman was also arrested after police searched her Dunning Avenue, Rosebery, home. She was charged with multiple counts of drug possession and supply.

The others in custody are yet to be charged, but police say they are all expected to face multiple drug charges.

Local police officers were flanked by dog squads and specialist teams as they carried out six search warrants at 7am on Thursday morning

Ten people were arrested and large amounts of ice, cannabis, heroin, cash, stolen mail and firearm ammunition were seized during the search warrants

Leichhardt Local Area Commander, Detective Superintendent Paul Pisanos, said the drug haul was the result of months of hard work.

He said crystal methamphetamine, known as ice, was an 'insidious' drug that was 'ravaging lives' in the local Leichardt community.

'This insidious drug is ravaging lives right across NSW and unfortunately its impact has been felt here; however, this sort of criminal activity will not be tolerated.

'The money-hungry criminals who manufacture and distribute 'ice' have zero concern for those using this drug or the wider community affected by its spread.'

He stressed the important role members of the public have in helping police shut down drug-manufacturing syndicates and arresting drug suppliers.
A man will take the stand against his wife and teenage daughter over an alleged plot to feed him meatballs laced with sleeping pills and inject him with a syringe full of weed killer.

Melbourne woman Joanne Debono, 53, and her 19-year-old daughter Shannon Debono appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday for allegedly trying to kill Stephen Debono on March 12, 2016, The Age reports.

They have both been charged with attempted murder and intentionally causing injury, but will contest the charges.

Mr Debono will testify against the pair.

Joanne Debono (right) and her 19-year-old daughter Shannon Debono (left) have been accused of trying to kill Stephen Debono

Police say Joanne Debono mashed up 75 temazepam tablets and poisoned Mr Debono's meatball dinner.

When he passed out she planned to hit him over the head with a shovel and kill him.

But Ms Debono, who had been in a relationship with Mr Debono for 25 years, was unable to hit her husband with the shovel.

She then allegedly tried to kill Mr Debono by mixing up a syringe of weed killer, brake fluid and motor lubricant and injecting it into his arm while he was sleeping.

Mr Debono was injected with a non-fatal dose before waking up and demanding to know what she was doing, The Age reported.

Shannon Debono (pictured) charged with attempted murder and intentionally causing injury

Police say Joanne Debono (pictured) mashed up 75 temazepam tablets and poisoned Mr Debono's meatball dinner

Ms Debono and her daughter then fled the family home to stay with relatives. The mother then confessed, police say.

Ms Debono alleges she was the victim of prolonged abuse at the hands of her husband.

A police search of the family home found the materials Ms Debono allegedly used to try and kill her husband and a range of weapons, which police believe were owned by Mr Debono.

Police also found a mobile phone belonging to the couple's daughter which contained numerous voice recordings of the husband making threats to Mrs Debono, according to court documents.
Pulled from the icy ground at a diamond mine in Siberia, it looks like a creature from another world.

The mummified remains of what appears to be a carnivorous mammal were discovered encased in the sandy sediment at the diamond mine in Udachny, 1,160 miles north west of Yakutsk in Russia.

Miners who found the strange creature have been baffled by it, describing it as a monster mummy.

The weird 'monster mummy' has been found in Siberia by diamond miners, who have been left baffled by what it could be

THE QUEST TO CLONE THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH The fictitious resurrection of dinosaurs captured our imaginations at the cinema, but the quest to bring the extinct woolly mammoth back to life, has begun in real life. An international team of scientists has reached the 'initial stage' in efforts to clone the hairy beast, which last walked the Earth 10,000 years ago. That's according to a cloning expert who has also claimed Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is backing the Russian-South Korean bid to see the hairy monster tromp the Siberian ice once more. Controversial South Korean cloning guru Professor Hwang Woo-Suk, who is working closely with Russian experts, told The Siberian Times: 'As a result of tireless joint efforts, we have achieved what we call the 'initial stage' on our way to recovering the mammoth.' Advertisement

However, experts believe it may be a fox, pine marten or an otter.

The discovery has also sparked some wild claims among locals, including some who believe it is some kind of new species of dinosaur, according to the Siberian Times.

But with a long spine, paws and a mixture of canine and molar teeth, together with tufts of fur, the creature is more likely to a mammal that became preserved in the sands.

Other theories have suggested it could be a wolverine, a small dog or a fox.

The mystery animal is due to be taken from from Udachny - literally meaning 'lucky' - to Yakutsk for examination by scientists.

Udachny, which means 'Lucky', is famous for its pipe diamond deposit, where 1.5 million tons of gemstone ore is dug out of the sandy deposits each year.

First discovered in 1955, the site has been mined since the 1960s and is now one of Russia's biggest diamond mines.

In 1974, a 1.7 kiloton atomic bomb was detonated 98 metres (322 ft) underground to create the basin for the diamond mine.

The diamonds are found in a rock called kimberlite that form vertical pipe-like structures as a result of gas bursts through the crust.

The diamondiferous sands where the creature was unearthed are reported to date from the Mesozoic Era from about 252 to 66 million years ago.

However, it is likely the mummified creature is a more recent addition. The cold dry climate  which can reach -46F (-43C) in the winter, could have helped to preserve some of its body.
Miraculous: Neil Shanahan, aged two-and-a-half was with his family at the Stand Hotel in Limerick when he fell from the roof

A toddler who fell six storeys from the roof of a hotel has made a miraculous recovery - without a single scratch on him.

Neil Shanahan, aged two-and-a-half, was at a coffee morning with his family at the Stand Hotel in Limerick, Ireland, when he walked into a lift and somehow made it onto the roof.

A witness then claims to have seen the toddler hanging off the lettering of the hotel before he plummeted to the ground.

The tot was whisked away to hospital and spent three days in intensive care and five weeks receiving treatment before he could be released into the loving arms of his family.

Neil's mother Martina said she still cannot believe how lucky he was.

He spent time in a full body cast while he was treated by doctors but, a month later, bares little scars.

Neil sustained damage to one of his legs and is receiving physiotherapy to get him properly back on his feet.

His liver was also damaged in the fall, and he has to have his blood pressure checked daily

Martina said: 'I believe it was a miracle, I believe I got a dig out, I really do.'

Hayden Dillon, who said he saw the boy clinging to the hotels signage just beneath the balcony, described the incident as terrible.

He said: I saw it with my own eyes. It was terrible, never forget it.

Mr Dillon, from Limerick city, then described the horrific moment the boy fell.

Miracle: Neil Shanahan (far right) with his brothers Billy and Mairtin and mother Martina

He wrote on Facebook: The child was hanging off the Strand sign and couldnt hold on. [He] fell about 20 metres in front of me.

Martina and husband Michael said they were still trying to take in the emotional rollercoaster ride they had all been on since the terrifying accident.

She said: He spent 70 hours in a critical condition, Im just so delighted hes home.

'Im just so delighted I got my [boy] back. Hes my life. I would never have got over it if we had lost him.

Neil is now back playing with his two brothers Billy and Mairtin in their family home in Limerick.

Plummet: Neil fell from the roof-top balcony of the Strand Hotel in Limerick, after making his way into a lift during a family coffee morning

Mother-of-three Martina believes that it was the quick-thinking and skills of an American nurse, who was on a sight-seeing trip around Ireland, that helped save her boy.

The nurse performed CPR on Neil and revived the youngster while his distraught family waited by his side for an ambulance.

Martina said: 'When he coughed and when he moaned, I just knew he wasn't dead.

'It was an amazing thing that she was there, and that she was on site at that moment. I just feel so thankful to her.
A measure allowing people in North Dakota to purchase marijuana for treatment of nearly a dozen medical conditions will be placed on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Secretary of State Al Jaeger announced Thursday morning that a group of supporters of the North Dakota Compassionate Care Act 2016 had gathered enough signatures to place the initiative on the November ballot.

It really didnt come as any surprise to us," said Rilie Ray Morgan, chairman of the committee that gathered the signatures. We were quite sure that we were going to have the necessary signatures."

Under the law, in order to place a measure on the ballot the group needed signatures from 13,452 qualified electors. The group submitted 18,011 signatures, with 17,217 accepted as qualified.

We felt very comfortable with the margin there," said Morgan, who lives in Fargo and got involved in medical marijuana advocacy about three years ago when he had back surgery that went south. As a result, he has only about 30 percent use of his right leg below the knee. He also has severe neuropathic pain in both of his feet.

Two medical marijuana bills failed during the last legislative session. A House bill to legalize medical marijuana for those with a prescription failed by a 26-67 vote. A resolution for an interim study of legalization of medical marijuana for those with serious medical conditions failed by a 32-61 vote.

An effort to gather signatures for a separate measure that would have legalized the substance did not make the deadline to get on the November ballot. The group, which began gathering signatures in March, plan on submitting them within the one-year time limit to be placed on the June 2018 ballot.

Prior to his back surgery, Morgan said he "didn't think much" of using marijuana for medical purposes. But last year he became familiar with how the Schedule 1 drug benefits people with epilepsy, as well as other conditions.

If voters approve the measure, North Dakota will join 25 other states, the District of Columbia and Guam in having medical marijuana programs in place. The measure would allow people with prescriptions to purchase up to 3 ounces of marijuana every 14 days for medical purposes.

Now that the measure will be on the ballot, Morgan said his group will focus on voter knowledge. He and others in his group, including the 107 volunteers across the state who gathered signatures for the petition, will spend the next 90 days informing voters about the measure.

If we have to go door to door with our volunteers and have town hall meetings, well do that, he said. Hopefully we can persuade enough voters who are undecided to vote yes.

Morgan doesnt doubt that many North Dakota voters will be opposed to medical cannabis, but he thinks some have warmed up to the idea in recent years. In fact, he said, numerous people have called the group in the past week and asked what more they can do to help.

I really think that the attitude of North Dakotans has changed over the past three to four years, Morgan said.
A terrified giraffe who was caged and loaded on to a truck at a Taiwan zoo to be taken to mate has died after suffering a panic attack.

Seven-year-old giraffe Hsiao Chiu was due to be transported from the municipal Taipei Zoo to a private zoo when he began to struggle before he collapsed and died, officials confirmed.

An autopsy showed the animal was suffering from pneumonia and anxiety from the transportation, which triggered breathing difficulties and muscle damage.

The terrified giraffe, who died at Taipei Zoo is attempted to be comforted by staff before he died from a panic attack

He died of lung and heart failure before the truck had even left for the 44 mile journey .

In a statement, Taipei Zoo said: 'The zoo lost Hsiao Chiu in a painful accident', adding the trip had already been postponed from June so the sensitive animal could get familiar with the process.

Now the death of Hsiao Chiu has sparked angry calls from animal rights campaigners who say there needs to be tougher laws to protect animals in captivity.

Chen Yu-min, director of the Enivronement and Animal Soceity of Taiwan, said: 'This kind of negligence that leads to animal deaths should have been prevented - but it keeps happening.'

The giraffe's death also made the front-pages of some local newspapers, which also criticised the zoo for failing to detect its illness.

The zoo said it had not given the giraffe a blood test before the trip to avoid agitating it.

The incident came less than a week after hundreds of birds, two cats and a dog died of heat exhaustion from being left in a container on an airport apron in baking temperatures for two hours.

An autops, pictured, showed the animal was suffering from pneumonia and anxiety from the transportation, which triggered breathing difficulties and muscle damage

The animals, destined for Malaysia, were found dead after they were left in a container without air holes at Taoyuan International airport near Taipei two hours prior to takeoff.

In 2014, a male hippo famous for regularly performing at a private zoo in central Taiwan died after breaking a leg and sustaining other injuries during transportation, sparking a public outcry.

The two-tonne beast was apparently panicked when it jumped from a moving truck, crushing its diaphragm and breaking a leg.
A couple were taken by surprise when they spotted a bright red orb in the skies above Paris.

Having just left their vehicle, the pair looked up to see the red light hovering in the sky.

One of them was quick enough to take their camera out and zoom in to the unidentified flying object.

This was the strange red light in the sky that one couple captured on camera above Paris

What the UFO? The red orb was way above streetlight level in the French capital city

This quickly discounts any notion it could be a red traffic light, or other flying beacon.

No sooner has the lens honed in to the strange red light, it then disappears from sight.

The footage has since been shared on the 'Best UFO Sightings' YouTube page that aims to show the world 'UFO sightings channel and conspiracies'.

The person filming zooms in to discount any idea that it could be a 'traffic light'

The footage has since been shared on the 'Best UFO Sightings' YouTube page that aims to show the world 'UFO sightings channel and conspiracies

Don't blink: The mysterious red orb then disappears from sight, almost as though it knew it had been spotted

Last week MailOnline reported how Russians were left baffled by a luminous 'UFO' that was spotted moving across the sky.

The bizarre ball of bright light was spotted gliding low over a Siberian field.

A woman at the scene can be heard saying: 'Horror, hide away from it,' while another asks nervously: 'What is it there?'

At first glance on the shaky film, the shining object seems to be coming towards the camera, before veering off into trees near Novosibirsk, Siberia's largest city.
Maximum security prisoners will share open dormitories under a new 'rapid build' prison design being implemented to ease tension on the terminally overcrowded prison system.

The new prisons in NSW feature a panopticon design, with one central area and four 'wings', each divided into four pods. They will each house 400 inmates.

Within the pods are 25 open plan dormitory style beds and eight bathrooms.

The design of the new 'rapid build' prisons is similar to a panopticon, which features one central area and four 'wings'

The central and offsite areas will be used for education, employment, programs and activities. The Department of Justice believes the heavily structured days will help prevent reoffending

According to the New South Wales Department of Justice, the prisons will feature the highest level of security and safety in NSW through first floor corridors with windows overlooking the pods and infra-red cameras for night monitoring.

In addition, the bathrooms - the only closed off area for inmates - are also monitored. An alarm will sound if more than one inmate enters a toilet cubicle or spends too long inside one.

The Department of Justice believes the new prisons will help to reduce the reoffending rate through access to education, employment programs and activities.

Four 'rapid build' prisons will be built throughout the state in the next three years in combination with extensions to a number of existing jails. The project, worth $3.8 billion, will provide 4,635 beds in total.

With 12,550 adult prisoners counted in NSW prisons last month, accounting for one third of all prisoners in Australia, the rapid builds will be a huge relief on what is currently a hugely strained system.

NSW Corrective Services Minister David Elliott said in July that stronger policing and tougher bail laws had caused a huge rise in the prison population.

'The NSW Government has committed $3.8 billion over the next four years to addressing the increased prison population,' he said.

'It will boost prison capacity across the state by about 7,000 beds in the long term, with funding for more than 2,800 additional beds to meet the current demand.'

Steve McMahon, chair of the Officers Vocational Branch of the Public Service Association, says the open plan housing for high security prisoners has some 'major concerns' around it, though he is optimistic about the impact of the hi-tech security implements.

Four 'rapid build' prisons will open in NSW over the next four years, and older prisons will receive extensions in an attempt to deal with the current overcrowding

In the new design, the central area branches off into four wings. Each wing contains four pods, which sleeps 25 men. Guards will patrol the pods 24/7 through first floor balconies

'I had a good look at the plans, and I think it's a concept that's got merit,' he said.

Mr McMahon is delighted, however, that something is being done about overcrowding in the state's prisons, an issue that has put increasing strain on Corrective Services for the last five years.

'It's not going to help in the short term obviously, we're still making ends meet in the meantime, but as a plan, this is the first real piece of serious work that we've seen from this government around planning for the prison growth,' he said.

'Unfortunately for the people of NSW, the prison population has been booming, and it is of course one of those prices we must pay in response to having a hard on crime outlook.'

Mr McMahon says while the exact materials of the new prisons are being kept under wraps, he understands them to be ' high grade, high strength materials, selected to meet all of the specifications necessary for a prison'.

The first 'rapid build' prison will open in Wellington in June. So far, no work has commenced on the actual structure.

The department of Justice believes heavy staffing and hi tech security will make these the safest prisons in NSW, despite the open plan layout

The first 'rapid build' prison will open in Wellington in June 2017. Work has not yet begun on the structure of the jail (pictured: Wellington Correctional Centre)




Theresa May is heading to Switzerland for some serious hiking in her first break since entering Downing Street.

The Prime Minister is starting a 13-day holiday, leaving Chancellor Philip Hammond on duty in Westminster.

Mrs May and husband Philip are long-standing fans of hillwalking, and have been visiting the Swiss Apls for decades.

Theresa May and husband Philip are long-standing fans of hillwalking in Switzerland

The choice of destination will fuel comparisons to Margaret Thatcher - Britain's only other woman premier - who used to spend time in Graubunden.

Mrs May spoke of her love of holidaying in the country in a piece for the Telegraph in August 2007.

She said she and her husband Philip had 'discovered the joys' of Switzerland 'quite by chance'.

'We first visited the country about 25 years ago but spent most of the time in Lucerne,' she said.

'On a return trip, we decided to go walking, enjoyed it and gradually began doing more adventurous hikes.

'We have been going back ever since and have walked all over the country.'

Mrs May said in the piece that her two favourite areas are Zermatt and the Bernese Oberland, which are both 'fantastic for walking'.

Zermatt in Switzerland is a favourite with the Mays, who enjoy doing 'adventurous' hikes

She said: 'If you're a keen walker, Switzerland is a wonderful summer destination: the views are spectacular, the air is clear and you can get some peace and quiet.'

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: 'The Prime Minister will be taking a holiday in Switzerland and will be returning to the UK on August 24.'

Premiers are usually accompanied on holidays by No10 staff with high-tech communications equipment so they can keep in touch with what is happening at home.

A security detail will also be on hand - although it is not clear how many of the aides will brave the hills with the PM.

Mrs May became Prime Minister on July 13 after David Cameron quit in the wake of the UK's historic vote to leave the European Union.

Margaret Thatcher was also a fan of Switzerland

Since then the former Home Secretary has carried out a dramatic Cabinet clear-out, getting rid of her predecessor's closest allies including George Osborne, Michael Gove, Oliver Letwin and Nicky Morgan.

She then handed prominent jobs to key Leave figures including Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and David Davis.

Mrs May has also toured Europe as she starts to lay the foundations for Brexit, holding talks with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande among others.
Single drop of the 'extremely smelly' oil will linger for weeks

company was using the experimental oil for research

Car thieves got more than they bargained for when they accidentally stole an extremely pungent oil extracted from the anal glands of a weasel.

The burglars broke into the truck, owned by conservation company Goodnature, in New Zealand's Wellington on Sunday night and stole a box containing the 'extremely smelly' oil.

The company believes the burglars thought the box contained chemical for drug making, when in fact it contained 16 small bottles of stoat anal gland oil, reports NZ Herald.

Thieves broke into a ute (pictured) and accidentally stole an extremely pungent oil extracted from the anal glands of stoats

'Stoat anal gland oil is extremely smelly stuff and it lingers on any fabric or surface,' said Goodnature director Robbie van Dam.

He said the thieves would be in for a nasty surprise: a single drop of the oil will linger in a car or home for weeks.

'We're normally just trying to attract stoats, rats or possums, but I guess there are other kinds of opportunist pests in Roseneath.''

The company is using the experimental oil to research traps for stoats, a short-tailed weasel introduced to New Zealand to control rabbits.

Stoats have wreaked havoc on native bird populations, prompting conservation groups to research to curb their populations.

'We know a range of lures will be part of removing stoats from the whole of New Zealand.'
The grieving parents of murdered New York City jogger Karina Vetrano have revealed they were concerned about the park where she was killed but their daughter reassured them with the final words: 'It's OK, Daddy, I'll be all right.'

Her father, Phil Vetrano, reportedly said he had a bad feeling before and after his daughter, 30, went jogging through Spring Creek marshland at Howard's Beach, Queens, on August 2.

Mr Vetrano has spent his time in recent days putting up wanted posters offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of his daughter's murderer.

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Parents of Karina Vetrano, Phil and Cathy, open up about their search for justice during the interview about their daughter's murder

Investigators have revealed that DNA found on the body of murdered New York jogger Karina Vetrano, pictured, does not match anybody known to police

In a sit-down interview with Pix11, Mr Vetrano and his wife Cathy recalled the events leading up to the murder and possible sexual assault.

'I said, "I don't think it's a good idea that you go in there,"' Mr Vetrano said.

'And she said, "It's OK daddy, I'll be all right."'

A Gofundme account set up by the family has already attracted more than $175,000 of its $200,000 target.

The father said when Karina did not return he immediately felt like his daughter was 'talking to me'.

'I got a feeling. It came over me,' he said. 'She was talking to me then. And I got off that couch, and I went looking for her.'

Police were called but it was Mr Vetrano who made the discovery of his daughter's body during the search.

Cathy said the couple were still shocked about the death.

She added that she could never forgive their child's murderer.

'I am a very forgiving person,' she told the station.

'I believe in the lord. I believe in beautiful things. And I will never ever, ever, ever, ever forgive.'

Phil Vetrano puts up reward posters to try and find his daughter's killer

The reward poster showing a $100,000 payout is owed to the person who can help them

Her husband added: 'Peace? Peace to me, closure to me, is gonna come the day I see Karina. That's when peace will come. Up until that point, you talk about anger and rage... to think of her last moments, are indescribable.'

The interview comes after investigators revealed that DNA found on the body of murdered Karina did not match anybody known to police as they set up surveillance cameras around the park where she died.



When she was found, the caterer and speech pathologist's clothes were in disarray, indicating she may have been sexually assaulted, while an autopsy showed she had died from strangulation.

Detectives working on the murder case have investigated several leads but none have proved significant.

A law enforcement source told Newsday that a DNA sample recovered from Miss Vetrano's body has not proved a match with anyone known to the authorities.

Meanwhile at a public meeting at St Helen Roman Catholic Church, president of Queens Borough Melinda Katz announced there would be security cameras set up around the park where Miss Vetrano died.

Police search the Spring Creek Park in Queens, New York, where Miss Vetrano's body was found. It has been announced surveillance cameras are to be set up around the park

Miss Vetrano's body was found by her father Philip, a former firefighter with the FDNY

She explained: 'If you enter the park, if you leave the park you will be photographed.'

It comes after Miss Vetrano's mother warned that her daughter's killer must know the world is seeking justice.

Speaking outside the family home in Howard Beach, Cathy Vetrano said: 'The whole world will know what a pathetic, puny, weak piece of filth you are.

'I guarantee you - you will pay forever.

While her father Philip explained that the family is counting on the hard work by the NYPD to find the killer.

Yesterday the victim's mother Cathy warned that her daughter's killer would 'pay forever' for their crime

Mrs Vetrano also branded the killer 'a pathetic, puny, weak piece of filth' while speaking outside her home in Howard Beach

He said: 'Justice will be served.'

Miss Vetrano's parents spoke out just a day after laying their daughter to rest in her funeral held at St Helen Roman Catholic Church in Howard Beach, Queens on Saturday.

There was standing room only available at the service, which was broadcast on speakers to those who could not fit inside the church.

Reverand Francis Colamaria, who delivered the eulogy, said Vetrano was dedicated to health and fitness.

This parish, this family, this neighborhood, our city, is gathered here in prayer racked by grief by the loss of Karina,' he said.

On Saturday, Miss Vetrano was laid to rest after her funeral at St Helen's Catholic Church in Queens

Vetrano's coffin was draped in white and gold. Members of the FDNY lined up outside the door of the church as Vetrano's coffin was brought inside. Her father is a veteran of the force.

Vetrano's funeral comes just after police found the jogger's missing sneaker and earphones about 60 feet away from her battered body.

The blue and gold New Balance sneaker and the earphones were found in opposite directions of each other in the tall-weeded park.
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Beach-goers in northwestern Spain looked on in awe as a blaze raged across the Soutomayor village in Pontevedra, the site of one of several wildfires that spread across Portugal, Spain and France yesterday.

More than 2,500 firefighters from across France were called to the southern tip of the country to battle the blaze that spread across thousands of acres and destroyed homes - but spared the city of Marseilles.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Thursday four people were seriously injured: one civilian, a resident of the Marseilles region, and three firemen who succumbed to the flames.

The firemen were able to contain the fire before high southern winds spread it to the nation's second largest city, Marseilles.

Vice-Admiral Charles-Henri Garrier, the commander of Marseille's firefighter battalion, said: 'Today, at this time, the fire is, as we say, mastered. That means that it is not expanding anymore. There are no visible flames.'

More than 3,000 hectares of land were destroyed throughout the Marseilles, Herault and Pyrenees-Orientales regions.

A thousand residents from regions north of Marseilles such as Bitrolles and Pennes-Mirabeau had to spend the night in gymnasiums, and some woke up to see their homes destroyed.

Vacationers look across the Verdugo River at the fire raging in Ponteverdra's Soutomayor village in northwestern Spain

More than 1,500 firemen from all over the country were called to southern France to help extinguish a massive wildfire that spread throughout the region

Three firemen and one civilian perished in the fires, in addition to a yet unknown number of homes and buildings

The wildfires were fanned by the strong winds that threatened to draw the blaze to France's second city, Marseilles

Thankfully the firefighters were able to contain the flames before they spread to the city, which has a population of more than 850,000 people

A helicopter sprays fire extinguishing chemicals on a burning hillside near Marseille. The fires are the worst in the area for decades

A fire blazes at Les Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille. Whipped up by strong winds, the blaze took hold and has spread over 5,600 acres of scrubland, grass and some wooded areas

Stephane Poyau, from the French firefighters' union, SNSPP-PATS, told Mail Online: 'When it is so dry and the wind is 80 to 100 kilometres hour it is impossible to stop the fire. All you can do is slow it down and try to protect buildings and people.'

Mr Poyau, who advises on civil protection in Europe, said the only natural way a fire can start is through lightning strikes and in the absence of them the fires near Marseille could only have begun by accident or through a deliberate act.

He said there had been some speculation that terrorists could have been possible but he said that was 'highly unlikely'.

Stephanie Canovat, who lives in Vitrolles, told Mail Online: 'I think the fire is criminal because there were four outbreaks at the same time in Fos, Martigues, Vitrolles and Port St Louis.

'Many people have lost their houses, including my cousin, but fortunately nobody died. The fire is now out. Some roads are blocked but we are not too alarmed.'

Marseille's fire chief, Richard Mallie, told a local radio station: 'The drought of the last few months and the strong mistral winds worked like a powder keg.

'The fires spread at phenomenal speed, 2,500 metres an hour.'

Florian Aublanc tweeted: 'One can only applaud the courage and selflessness of the fire brigade to fires #incendiemarseille.'

Twitter user Julien Courbet agreed: 'Courage and congratulations for firefighters in the south and to all who live this drama!'

Marseille's Deputy Mayor, Julien Ruas, said firebreaks had been created to protect northern suburbs of the city.

More than 2,000 firefighters supported by helicopters and planes equipped with water tanks were being used to fight the flames, which have so far destroyed at least 25 houses.

The La Provence news website also showed pictures of extensive fire damage at a primary school in Pinchinades, near Les Pennes-Mirabeau.

Four firemen were injured when their lorry became trapped yesterday, but they managed to escape.

Two motorways and many minor roads have been shut, and some flights to Marseille airport have been cancelled.

Another lo cal fire chief Jean Rampon said: 'Three people have suffered burns, including one who is seriously injured.'

He said they had contained fires blazing on the northern outskirts of Marseille last night but said: 'Violent winds are exposing the area to the risk of new fires' and added the dry vegetation in the area was a 'matter of concern'.

The fires are the latest threat to the tourist industry in France which has suffered the impact of a terrorist attack in Nice, football violence at Euro 2016 in Marseille and strikes by various workers protesting at President Hollande's planned labour reforms.

People evacuate their horses from an area near Pennes-Mirabeau where the flames are out of control

Several buildings were destroyed in the town of Vitrolles, 20 miles north of Marseille, as thousands were evacuated from an area which is always popular with British tourists.

A spokesman for the local fire service said the area was 'still extremely dangerous, as the fires can take hold again in an instant.'

He said more very high winds were forecast, and aircraft were trying to douse flames on a hillside close to a motorway.

The mistral is a strong, northwesterly wind that blows across Provence and southern France.

The fires have devastated a large area in southern France and prevailing winds are threatening to send them eastwards towards Marseille and the historic city of Aix-en-Provence

He said discarded cigarettes or illegal barbecues were probably to blame for the fires and the hillsides were tinder dry this year after low winter rainfall and a particularly hot spring.

One man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with one of the fires.

There have been no serious injuries among locals or holidaymakers so far, but the emergency services said 20 firefighters had been treated for smoke inhalation and shock.

The Mayor of Marseille, Jean-Claude Gaudin, tweeted: 'The fire seems to be less intense than before, but is not yet under control.'

Driving towards Marseille the skies are filled with smoke from wildfires which have destroyed large areas of scrubland

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited firefighters in Aix-en-Provence and said: 'The situation has been complicated by the weather, with a strong wind and lack of rain for several weeks.

'The goal of our forces is to completely control the fire so that it does not reach the towns, especially Marseille.'

But France is not the only country suffering from wildfires this summer.

A Portuguese fireman hoses down flames in a residential area of the city of Funchal on Madeira. Three people are reported to have been killed

Portugal - and football star Cristiano Ronaldo's home island of Madeira in particular - have also been hard hit, with three people killed and 150 homes and a hotel destroyed.

Ronaldo wrote on Instagram today: 'I'm watching what's happening in Madeira (and everywhere else in the country) with a lump in my throat.

'Good luck to everyone and thank you to the firefighters for risking their lives to save others. I am with you.'

Cristiano Ronaldo posted an image of the fires with the flag of Madeira on his Instagram account and of course got 706,000 likes within hours. He thanked the firefighters for 'risking their lives to save others'

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of causing one of the fires on Madeira.

Civil protection official Rubina Leal said the temperature in Madeira was 38 degrees Celsius, the hottest recorded on the island - which is usually cooled by Atlantic breezes - while winds gusted to 55 miles an hour.

Portugal's EU partners have answered a call to assist with an Italian air tanker joining two Spanish water bombers which have already been deployed. Morocco has also offered to contribute two more planes.

The Spanish authorities are also dealing with five major fires raging in the northwestern region of Galicia, with 10 others under control.

This satellite image shows a plume of smoke blowing to the south-west from the intense fires on the island of Madeira

At Pontevedra in Galicia in north-west Spain, close to the border with Portugal, holidaymakers break off from swimming and sunbathing to gaze at the fires spreading across the hillside

In the south of France, residents watch the flames burning near Vitrolles as two men (right) go running, almost unaware of the danger

Firefighters - or pompiers as they are known in France - are risking their lives to staunch the flames. Here a fireman hauls a hose down a hillside only yards from an out of control fire

As darkness fell last night the firefighters continued to hose down forest areas in an effort to prevent the fire spreading

The night sky in Marseille is lit up by the flames on the hillside. Residents are terrified it will spread to the suburbs

A fireman appears to be almost walking on fire in this dramatic image

Motorists drive on the highway next to firefighters spraying fire extinguisher as part of an attempt to struggle against a fire that spread near Vitrolles, southern France

A man holds his head in his hands and a woman hugs her daughter as they gaze at the fires last night

More than 2,000 firefighters are working flat out and more are being drafted in to relieve the exhausted force

A fire blazes at Les Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille, southern France last night

A helicopter prepares to douse fires burning beside a motorway with special chemicals

The fire destroyed a number of cars and vans at a dealership in Vitrolles, near Marseille

Four firefighters were injured when their vehicle became trapped by flames but they managed to escape

French police stand at a roadblock as smoke fills the sky and blocks the sun as fires burn north of Marseille

The wildfires blazed across hillsides at Les Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille, last night, even endangering power lines

Much of southern France has become tinder dry after a winter with little rain and a scorching hot spring and early summer

When the sun came up the flames had burnt themselves out, leaving only twisted bushes and scorched earth

A gendarme leads a horse to safety from an area endangered by the flames

Smoke hangs low as it fills the sky while fires burn north of Marseille

Smoke has made driving hazardous on motorways in the area and high winds are set to make matters worse

Smoke from a fire near Fos-Sur-Mer drifts across the centre of Marseille, a large port city

High winds have exacerbated the problem and are set to make matters worse in the next few days

France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has flown to the south of France to support firefighters' efforts

Large parts of Europe are facing menacing fires after a dry spring and summer. This man in a village near Macinhata do Vouga in central Portugal uses a puny garden house to battle flames raging near his property

Nearby this Portuguese fireman waits for his hose to be connected as a huge fire blazes out of control behind him. There have been 100 separate fires in mainland Portugal, as well as several on the island of Madeira

Firefighters tackle a blaze at Boa Aldeia, Viseu, Portugal. Around 3,000 firefighters across the country are battling the flames which have decimated tinder dry woodland and shrubbery

A couple gaze at the gutted homes on the outskirts of Funchal, the capital of Portugal's Madeira island. More than 1,000 tourists have been evacuated as fires threaten resorts on the island

Firefighters prepare to tackle a forest fire at Calheta on Madeira. The fires on the island are now under control today but authorities fear a return of the flames with continuing violent winds

Firefighters fight a forest fire at Calheta on Madeira. Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who hails from the island, praised firefighters for 'risking their lives to save others'
Woman had complained to parents husband treated her like an animal

A man who shot his wife dead before killing himself made a chilling final request on Facebook, asking loved ones to look after the children he was about to leave as orphans.

'What would you do if you found out your wife of 10 years, has been cheating on you with a Muslim lebo?' the Sydney man wrote.

'To all our family and friends, I would like to request that those of you whom have met our children, to please assist in their well-being. The smallest gestures count most ... we will be watching from above.'

A man who shot his wife dead before killing himself made a chilling final request on Facebook, asking loved ones to look after the children he was about to leave as orphans. Stock image

In the Facebook post were links to documents the husband had gathered as evidence of his wife's infidelity, including a photo she had taken of herself wearing lingerie and high heels.

He signed off his message, which was posted on March 28, 2014, with a smiley face.

Two friends were so concerned that they raced to the couple's home in Sydney's southern suburbs, but the husband and wife - who cannot be named for legal reasons - were both dead by the time they arrived.

Near the couple's bodies was a handwritten and blood-spattered letter addressed to police in which the dead man accused his wife of carrying on a tryst with a co-worker, and of threatening to kill their young children if he revealed the affair to their family and friends.

He had purchased the murder-suicide weapon only the previous day.

Documents tendered to Glebe Coroner's Court on Thursday indicate the couple had been high school sweethearts and appeared to friends to have a loving relationship. But their marriage had become strained in the months leading up to their deaths.

Documents in the State Coroner's Court in Glebe, Sydney (pictured) indicated the pair had been high school sweethearts, but their marriage had become strained in the lead up to their deaths

Witness statements suggest that the woman, 36, had been involved in a sexual relationship with a colleague, but that the pair had broken off their affair at least a year before she was murdered.

According to court documents, the woman had confided to her parents that her husband 'treated her like an animal', and that she wanted to leave him, but her mother and father persuaded her to go back to her husband.

The dead woman's mother told police: 'My husband told (the husband) that in future, if (our daughter) does anything wrong he needs to inform him rather than assaulting her.'

She said her daughter had complained that her husband was 'very controlling and would not let her live her own life'.

By January 2014, documents suggest the woman had decided to divorce her husband and he had told friends as much.

Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee formally concluded the husband shot his wife and then took his own life.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
She concocted a plan to travel to Syria with her fiance and join the extremist group

Young converted to Islam in March 2015 and became radicalized by watching online videos promoting ISIS

Young's fiance, Muhammad Dakhlalla, 22, pleaded guilty in March to a terrorism charge and is awaiting

Parents of the former honor student and homecoming maid pleaded for leniency in court

Jaelyn Young, 20, tearfully said she was ashamed of her actions during her

Former Mississippi State University student Jaelyn Young, 20, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for seeking to join ISIS

A Mississippi college student who tried to disguise a trip to Syria to join ISIS as her honeymoon has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on terror charges.

Vicksburg native Jaelyn Young, 20, sobbed in court during her sentencing by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock on Thursday.

She pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization.

Young had faced up to 20 years in prison.

Her parents pleaded for leniency at Thursday's hearing. An emotional Young said she was ashamed of her actions.

Her fiance, 22-year-old Muhammad Dakhlalla, pleaded guilty March 11 to a similar charge and is set to be sentenced August 24.

Prosecutors have said Young, who converted to Islam while studying at Mississippi State University, had prodded Dakhlalla into the plan.

The two were arrested in 2015 before boarding a flight from Columbus, Mississippi, with tickets for Istanbul, Turkey.

'I found the contacts, made arrangements, planned the departure,' Young had written in a farewell letter to her family. 'I am guilty of what you soon will find out.'

Young and Dakhlalla were among several suspected ISIS sympathizers who were arrested around the country.

Like many, authorities said, they had developed views supporting the extremist group in part by watching online videos and were arrested after social media posts drew the attention of the FBI.

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FBI agents say her radicalization began after she left high school (pictured) and converted to Islam in 2015 and began watching terrorist propaganda videos

The daughter of a school administrator and a police officer who served in the Navy reserve, Young is a former honor student, cheerleader and homecoming maid at Vicksburg's Warren Central High School.

Dakhlalla graduated from Mississippi State University last May with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Young was enrolled until May as a sophomore chemistry major but had not signed up for any more classes since.

Young and Dakhlalla were arrested in August 2015 before they could board the flight from Mississippi with tickets for Istanbul purchased using her mother's credit card without permission, according to court records.

Prosecutors said Young prodded her fiance, Mississippi State graduate Muhammad Dakhlalla

Authorities said the couple had contacted undercover federal agents in May, seeking online help in traveling to Syria. Both remained jailed in Oxford since their arrests.

Court papers say Young announced her conversion in March 2015 and began wearing a burqa.

'After her conversion, Young distanced herself from family and friends and felt spending time with non-Muslims would be a bad influence,' prosecutors wrote.

A court statement said Young increasingly complained about the treatment of Muslims in the United States and United Kingdom. Prosecutors said that, after watching videos included pro-ISIS messages from a British Muslim preacher who faces criminal charges of supporting the group  she began to view the fighters as liberators.

'Young continually asked Dakhlalla when they were going to join (the Islamic State group) and began to express hatred for the US government and to express support for the implementation of Sharia law in the United States,' prosecutors wrote.

By May 2015, she had begun seeking advice online on how to travel to Syria, eventually making contact with undercover FBI employees, according to prosecutors.

Young told the undercover FBI employees that she and Dakhlalla would like to be medics treating the wounded. Dakhlalla, in online contacts, said he was good with computers and media and wanted to contribute to the Islamic State's struggle.

Court papers say Dakhlalla said online that he wanted to become a fighter and learn 'what it really means to have that heart in battle.'
A Belgian Olympic judo star was arrested after breaking into a Rio hotel and fighting with a martial arts expert receptionist, according to eyewitness reports.

Dirk Van Tichelt got a black eye in the brawl with the jujitsu trained receptionist, who he accused of hiding a woman at the hotel who allegedly stole his phone.

The 32-year-old had been out celebrating winning his bronze medal in the 73kg judo category on Monday.

It is claimed the thief then grabbed a mobile phone from his training partner and ran into the hotel.

Incensed, Van Tichelt chased the woman - and claimed she was hiding inside the Best Western Hotel in Copacabana in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

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Brawler: Dirk Van Tichelt, 32, appeared in front of media in Rio on Tuesday morning sporting a black eye after the hotel altercation

Scrap: On a night out celebrating his bronze in Rio, he got into a fight with a hotel receptionist who just happened to be a jujitsu expert

An unnamed member of hotel staff said: 'There were a group of people making a lot of noise down the road from the hotel.

'Then all of a sudden one of them, who turned out to be the judo player, started running after a woman. He came belting down the road chasing after her.

'The woman tried to get into the hotel but the doors were locked. The athlete didn't catch the woman but wrongly thought that she had entered our hotel.

'But our doors were already locked so she couldn't have come in. Even so, he broke the lock on the door and burst in making a lot of noise and making a lot of accusations.'

The hotel employee revealed that the receptionist tried to calm the situation down but the Belgian 'was very aggressive accusing the hotel of the woman.'

Theft: A woman had stolen his training partner's phone and he chased the woman to a hotel and accused the receptionist of harbouring her

Fracas: A hotel employee revealed that the receptionist at the Best Western Plus hotel tried to calm the situation down

He said: 'He thought that the woman was staying in the hotel and demanded the receptionist should give him her room number so she could return the phone.

'This was all totally untrue. Unfortunately, the Belgian athlete smelled of alcohol and looked very drunk.

'My colleague tried to get the man out of the hotel and this turned into a fight. They exchanged quite a few punches. As it happens the receptionist also practises jiu-jitsu so they were equally matched.'

The fight ended up on the street outside the hotel.

Police arrived and Van Tichelt was arrested and taken a hospital for a check-up.

He had suffered injuries. Van Tichelt sported had a bruise on his left eye. The receptionist was also injured.

Belgium's Olympic communications director Luc Rampaer said: 'The mobile phone of Dirk's training partner had just been stolen and he ran to try to catch the thief and ended up being hit in the face by another person.'

Fight: Bronze medallist Belgium's Dirk van Tichelt celebrates on the podium of the men's 73kg judo contest without a black eye on Monday

Arrest: Police stationed nearby the hotel where both men were arrested in the early hours of Tuesday morning

He added: 'The police were nearby so he made a formal complaint and then was seen by a doctor at the hospital as a precaution, although there was nothing serious.'

Police chief Deoclecio de Assis Filho confirmed the athlete had been arrested following a violent incident in Copacabana.

He said: 'The athlete attempted to throw a punch at the employee and the employee retaliated.'

The delegate said both men were arrested and have since been released. The incident had been registered as personal injury case and the crime depended on whether either party decide to press charges.

Filho added: 'The athlete has not expressed any interest in continuing with the procedure.'

However, he added that the case had been referred to the special criminal court and the matter was now with the judiciary.

The incident came to light on Tuesday when Van Tichelt appeared for press interviews with the bruise around his eye.

Celebration: The Belgian originally claimed the black eye was the result of his Olympic event

Hotel: Van Tichelt allegedly broke the lock on the hotel door to get inside and 'was very aggressive accusing the hotel of the woman'

Earlier Van Tichelt had tried to claim the black eye was the result of his Olympic event but pictures of him standing on the podium during the awarding ceremony showed the bruise not present after his win.

Globo News said Van Tichelt acknowledged that he had been drinking and partying until dawn as he celebrated his bronze with friends.
North Dakota voters will decide in November whether to raise taxes on tobacco products for the first time since 1993, including a fivefold increase in the cigarette tax that sponsors of the ballot measure hope will motivate adults to quit smoking and prevent young people from starting.

Secretary of State Al Jaeger announced Wednesday that 21,698 of the 22,840 signatures that sponsors submitted in early July were accepted as being qualified. Sponsors needed 13,452 signatures to place the proposed change in state law on the Nov. 8 ballot.

In addition to hiking the cigarette tax from 44 cents to $2.20 per pack, the measure also would increase the tax on other tobacco products  including liquid nicotine used in electronic cigarettes  from 28 percent to 56 percent of the wholesale purchase price.

Ten organizations partnering as the Raise it for Health North Dakota coalition are pushing the measure, including Tobacco Free North Dakota, the North Dakota Medical Association and the North Dakota Veterans Coordinating Council, which represents five military veteran groups.

Kristie Wolff, tobacco control manager for the American Lung Association in North Dakota, a coalition partner, said organizers are still planning the campaign. She declined to discuss their strategy but said it will be very grassroots.

Well definitely be ramping up the education across the state now that the measure is on the ballot, she said.

Backers estimate the tax hike would generate more than $50 million a year, which would be split between a community health trust fund and a new trust fund to support health care services and programs for military veterans.

North Dakota Retail Association President Mike Rud has said he expects the group will vigorously oppose the measure, saying supporters arent considering the impact on businesses and smokers. Rud couldnt immediately be reached for comment.

Wolff said reduced smoking rates will save millions in health care costs annually, and the additional tax revenue will provide money for behavioral health services and other areas hurt by recent state budget cuts. But the biggest reason for the measure is to prevent children from starting to use tobacco, she said.

This is about saving lives, she said.

North Dakotas current tobacco tax ranks 47th lowest among the states and hasnt been increased since 1993, despite several attempts in the Legislature, including two failed bills last year that were strongly opposed by retailers and distributors.
Images showing one of the earliest censuses in Australia reveal things were much different - and much simpler - in 1854.

The first census recording Australian people at their homes was held in New South Wales in November 1828, with each colony (state) holding their own individual until 1886, reported the Herald Sun.

In the first census in Victoria, which was held in 1854, the population of Victoria was 236,798, compared to almost 5.5 million recorded in the 2011 census.

Records from the Parliament of Victoria show statistics for the age, gender and total population of people throughout Victoria

In the first census in Victoria, which was held in 1854 (pictured), the population of Victoria was 236,798, compared to almost 5.5 million recorded in the 2011 census

In 1854 the largest community was people of British origin with 97, 943 followed by Ireland and then Scotland, with 155,876 men and only 80,900 women.

Census collectors reportedly had a difficult job collecting the results, with many people difficult to find in remote rural areas and hard to access on bad roads.

The results and the way censuses were operated are a far cry from the 2016 census, which was finally back online on Thursday, after cyber attacks caused the ABS to to shut down the census website on Tuesday night.

Millions of residents tried to log on and complete the compulsory survey on Tuesday night but were met with error messages.

It was later revealed four 'denial of service attacks' from overseas triggered a hardware failure.

The 2016 census (pictured) was described by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as 'a failure of the ABS' after the system was shut down due to cyber attacks

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull expressed his unhappiness at the events which he said had inconvenienced millions of Australians, described it as 'a failure of the ABS'.

'Which heads roll, where and when, will be determined once the review is complete," Mr Turnbull said.

'I made it very, very clear that what we needed to do was be absolutely straight and frank with the Australian people.'

Mr Turnbull (pictured) said the event had inconvenienced millions of Australians

Treasurer Scott Morrison told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday the census wasn't the federal government's fault, because it is run by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

'The results the other night were completely unsatisfactory, and make us, frankly, pretty angry. Damn angry,' he said.
This is the terrifying moment a senior judge's car in Pakistan was hit by a bomb blast that injured 13 people, just days after 73 were killed in a similar attack targeting lawyers.

The blast in the southwestern city of Quetta today came as judge Zahoor Shehwani travelled in his security escort vehicle.

CCTV footage shows the explosion and how the road where the blast happened became covered in a thick layer of smoke.

Pakistani security officials rush towards an injured colleague and put him on a stretcher after the bomb blast in Quetta today

The man had his head bandaged and he was put on a drip after the explosion, which injured 13 people

The explosion injured four police personnel as well as nine passers-by but no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack

The explosion injured four police personnel as well as nine passers-by but no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Akbar Harifal, the home secretary of the southwestern Balochistan province said: 'The bomb was planted on a bridge in the city, which went off immediately after the vehicle of an Islamic court judge passed by it.'

The attack comes three days after a devastating suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital killed at least 73 people, many of them senior lawyers.

The massive explosion was captured on camera as dozens of mourners are milling about outside a hospital in Quetta waiting for the body of prominent lawyer Bilal Kasi to arrive, who was shot dead earlier.

Blood stains run down the pavement close to a police vehicle that was damaged in the blast in Quetta

Paramedics load an injured policeman on to a stretcher and into an ambulance to get treatment

Security officials inspect the damage on a bridge where the blast took place earlier today

A crowd of nearly 100 including many solicitors had gathered at the hospital at after the lawyer was gunned down on his way to court earlier in the day.

ISIS have now claimed responsibility for the blast, which struck at the gates of the building housing the emergency ward on the hospital grounds.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast in Quetta and expressed his 'deep grief and anguish over the loss of precious human lives' in the attack, in which several senior lawyers were also killed.

'No one will be allowed to disturb the peace in the province that has been restored thanks to the countless sacrifices by the security forces, police and the people of Baluchistan,' he said in a statement.

Just three days ago another bomb blast in Quetta killed 73 people outside a hospital in the city

Many of the dead were lawyers and journalists who were waiting for the body of prominent lawyer Bilal Kasi to arrive, who was shot dead earlier

ISIS have now claimed responsibility for the blast, which struck at the gates of the building housing the emergency ward on the hospital grounds

Sharif asked the local authorities to maintain utmost vigilance and beef up security in Quetta.

Analysts said Monday's attack had left a vacuum in the close-knit legal community which is seen as a crucial force for justice in the country's most dangerous province.

Mineral-rich but desperately poor Balochistan is plagued by roiling insurgencies, hit by regular militant attacks, and run by political leaders who are widely seen as corrupt.
Szuhsiung Ho, a senior adviser to CGN, is due to appear in court next week

Britain's Chinese partner in the Hinkley Point nuclear plant deal is facing espionage charges in the United States.

The state-owned energy giant China General Nuclear Power is accused of plotting to steal US nuclear technology.

It led a conspiracy to find out industry secrets to speed up the development and production of Chinese reactor technology, it is claimed.

The plot allegedly threatened US security, The Times reported.

Szuhsiung Ho, a senior adviser to CGN, is due to appear in court next week. He is accused of recruiting US experts to obtain sensitive nuclear technology for China.

Assistant US attorney general John P Carlin said: 'Allen Ho, at the direction of a Chinese state-owned nuclear power company allegedly approached and enlisted US-based nuclear experts to provide integral assistance in developing and producing special nuclear material in China.

'Ho did so without registering with the Department of Justice as an agent of a foreign nation or authorisation from the US Department of Energy, Carlin continued.

'Prosecuting those who seek to evade US law by attaining sensitive nuclear technology for foreign nations is a top priority for the National Security Division.

Ho allegedly conspired with China from 1997 to April 2016, said the indictment that was unsealed in April.

An artists' impression of the planned nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, UK

Conspiring to unlawfully engage and participate in the development of nuclear material outside of the US carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of $250,000 (192,000). Conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government in the US carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

'The federal government has regulations in place to oversee civil nuclear cooperation, said Michael Steinbach, executive assistant director of the FBIs national security branch. 'If those authorities are circumvented, this can result in significant damage to our national security.

'The US will use all of its law enforcement tools to stop those who try to steal US nuclear technology and expertise.'

The revelation is likely to throw fresh doubt on the prospective Hinkley project, which has come under scrutiny after Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May put the 18billion scheme on hold just hours after the board of French energy giant EDF gave it the final go-ahead last month.

Experts have warned the terms of the project agreed by George Osborne when he was chancellor is a bad deal for Britain and would negatively affect consumers.

The pause has inflamed diplomatic tensions, and earlier this week the Chinese ambassador to London delivered a thinly veiled warning to Mrs May against cancelling the nuclear power plant, for which China is to provide a third of the funding.

He said mutual trust between the countries would be damaged if the huge project did not go ahead.

The court case against the Chinese firm follows an investigation by the FBI, and it is being prosecuted by the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.

The allegations raise the prospect that China could build a nuclear power plant in the UK using stolen American technology.

A decision on the Hinkley project, designed to supply 7 per cent of the UKs electricity, is expected in the autumn.

Earlier this week, China warned that its relationship with Britain was at risk unless the Government approved the new power station. Its ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, said any delay in giving the project the green light would put trust between the countries in jeopardy.

Theresa May has put the Hinkley Project on hold while the new government carries out a review of the deal

In an article for the Financial Times, the ambassador said: If Britains openness is a condition for bilateral co-operation, then mutual trust is the very foundation on which this is built.

Right now, the China-UK relationship is at a crucial historical juncture. Mutual trust should be treasured even more. I hope the UK will keep its door open to China and that the British Government will continue to support Hinkley Point  and come to a decision as soon as possible.
Due to this a number of lesbians have been rejected by their insurers

Three lesbian couples have been told they cannot get fertility treatment through their insurer - unless they have unprotected sex with a man.

In a landmark case, the women filed the complaint after being rejected insurance cover and argued the law discriminated against infertile gay women by forcing them - not straight women - to pay for procedures.

This means they must choose between 'starting a family and financial security', the lawsuit states.

Under New Jersey state's current legal statutes, infertility is defined as when a woman cannot conceive after a year or more of unprotected sex with a man.

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Marianne and Erin Krupa were forced to spend more than $25,000 on infertility treatment when their insurance claim was rejected under the law

Due to this, a number of lesbians have been rejected by their insurers, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, when seeking fertility treatment including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization.

Erin, 36, and Marianne Krupa, 34, a couple from Montclair, were forced to fork out more than $25,000 on infertility treatment when their insurance claim was rejected under the law.

They are joined in the case by two other couples, Sol Mejias and her wife Yanassa Hernandez, and Sarah Mills and her partner Gloria Torres.

Ms Mills said she was concerned about raising a child with debt from failed fertility treatments.

The 32-year-old teacher said: It's really affected me emotionally. I know it puts a strain on our relationship. I am so intense about this. I just worry every day that I can't get pregnant and about going into debt.'

The Krupas and the other plaintiffs are arguing the law discriminates against infertile gay women by forcing them to pay for procedures

The civil complaint filed in a federal court adds to an ongoing debate in the United States about the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The lawsuit reads: 'This civil rights case is about family and the right of all New Jersey women who dream of becoming mothers to access the reproductive healthcare they need to realize that dream on an equal basis, regardless of their sexual orientation.'

Grace Cathryn Cretcher, an attorney for the women, said she believed this was the first case of its kind with the women trying to change the legal definition of infertility to make it easier for future lesbian couples seeking to have a baby.

She said: 'These women are already going through what can be a difficult experience, and they have the added stress of affording it financially and the added insult of being treated like a second-class citizen.'

Susan Sommer, a spokesman for Lambda Legal, a New York City-based LGBT rights group, said insurance standards needed to be updated for same-sex couples to receive full equality.

'This lawsuit reflects the frustration and indignities lesbian and gay people endure because state laws and insurance rules continue to presume the only parents are heterosexual parents,' Ms Sommer said.

The opening of the law suit, which states that parenthood 'is essential to our most profound hopes and aspirations'

The women are seeking an order declaring the New Jersey insurance law is unconstitutional and discriminatory and also an injunction ordering the state to expand insurance cover for infertility to women in same-sex relationships.

Fifteen states, including New Jersey, require insurance companies to cover fertility treatment.

So far California and Maryland are the only states to have updated their definitions of infertility to include gay couples.

The lawsuit, filed in a Newark court last week, names the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance's commissioner, Richard J. Badolato, as the defendant.

A government spokesman said the department 'does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation'.

A spokesman for Horizon said the suit takes issue with the law and not the firm which covers 'infertility services equally, regardless of sexual orientation'.

The company eventually agreed to pay for infertility treatment for Krupa, the complaint said, but it was not successful.
Police are investigating reports of a near miss between a drone and a passenger plane.

The jet, carrying 62 passengers, was approaching Newquay Airport when it came across the drone this morning.

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police are investigating the incident and have searched the area but could not find anyone operating the drone.

The drone came across the path of a Flybe service that was inbound from London Stansted Airport (file photo)

It is not known who owned the drone or what it was doing at the time.

Inspector Dave Meredith of Devon and Cornwall police said: 'At 2.54pm a passenger plane containing 62 people was approaching Newquay Airport to land.

'The aircraft was travelling at around 900 feet and was approximately 2 miles from the airport, just south of St Columb Major when it reported a near-miss with a drone which flew alongside the aircraft.

'Police immediately conducted a search of the area but neither the drone nor its operator could be located.

'This is an incredibly concerning incident; the close proximity of the drone to the passenger aircraft shows a complete disregard by the operator for public safety and we are appealing to the public for information to help us track down this reckless drone operator.

'We view such incidents very seriously and the forces' specialist drone unit will be leading on the investigating into this incident.'

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police are investigating the incident on the approach to Newquay Airport (File photo, the plane involved is not pictured)

The plane involved in the drone near-miss was an ATR 72, a twin-engine turboprop which is popular on short-haul routes.

It can seat up to 78 passengers and crew.

A spokesman for Cornwall Airport Newquay said: 'The pilot of a landing scheduled air service sighted a drone being flown within the Newquay Air Traffic Zone and adjacent to the final approach to the airport.

'Although on this occasion there was no danger of collision, Air Traffic Control (ATC) reported this incident to the police as the drone should not have been flown in that area without ATC clearance and posed a potential danger to incoming flights.

Police are investigating reports of a near miss between a drone and a passenger plane on the approach to Newquay Airport (pictured)

'The aircraft in question was a Flybe service inbound from London Stansted.

A specialist drone unit is investigating a near-miss between a passenger plane and a drone on Tuesday.

Pilots warn that drones  which are too small to appear on air traffic control radar screens  could destroy an airliner's engine or smash a cockpit windscreen.
Bizarre footage has emerged of a man in China steering his car with his foot while he plays a game on his mobile phone.

At one point the man can even be seen honking the car's horn with the same foot as he continues to play the computer game.

Police in Puning, southern China's Guangdong province are investigating the footage claiming that the driver violated traffic regulations.

Odd: The man was filmed driving his car with his foot around Puining, southern China

Shocking: The man was steering the car while playing games on his phone

In the footage, the man can be seen in the driving seat of the vehicle.

He has his phone in his hand and is using one of his bare feet to control the vehicle.

The driver can be seen turning around corners and even honking the car's horn, all without stopping playing with this phone.

According to state-run Xinhua, the man was driving at around 80km an hour (49 miles per hour).

Reckless: The man is clearly playing with his phone in the unbelieveable footage

Police are now investigating the video and locating the driver of the car

Police in Puning, Guangdong province are investigating the case.

A police officer surnamed Xiao told CCTV News: 'The incident supposedly happened in Puning city in Guangdong province. The man in the video has violated the traffic laws and the case is being investigated.'

The video has been widely shared on the country's social media site Weibo.

One user wrote: 'He will regret it once he causes a car accident.'

While another said: 'I hope he does no harm to others.'

And one user commented: 'This male driver could really harm others.'
A three-year-old girl's head was split open by an electric ceiling fan - after a tragic accident while playing with her father.

Em Phoeykiln, 25, was making his daughter Oum laugh by picking her up and throwing her in the air in their living room in Rayong, Thailand.

But on one occasion he lifted her a fraction too high and her head collided with the spinning fan.

Oum suffered a deep gash on her forehead and needed an emergency operation to staple her head. She lost a lot of blood and is pictured here shortly after the op

The impact was so hard the metal blade bent and the toddler's skull could be seen underneath the gashed skin.

As blood gushed from the wound Em, who works as a driver, sped to hospital, where surgeons performed emergency surgery on Oum.

Her devastated father said: 'I was just playing with her at home like we do all the time.

The impact completely dented the fan out of shape (left). Em spent the night by the bedside of his daughter (right). Ceiling fans are commonly used in Thailand by those who cannot afford air conditioning

'Somehow when I was throwing Oum up in the air, her head hit the fan. I wasn't letting go of her and she was still in my hands. But she just hit the fan.

'She was in pain and blood was coming out everywhere. It was terrible, all I could think about was getting her to hospital.

'Seeing her in pain like that was hurting my heart a thousand times over.'

Healthcare is not free in Thailand so before the operation was carried out a doctor asked Em if he could afford the 70,000 baht (1,550) cost involved.

Em said: 'We don't have that money but the doctor said "Don't be slow to decide, as it could be too late".'

Oum's parents watch over her as she recovers in hospital. She has since returned home and is now back to her active self. But her parents have been left with a huge bill to pay

He told them to go ahead with the operation and now he and his wife are selling some of their possessions to pay the bill.

She has been so strong and we're proud of her. Now she's smiling again, but we won't be playing that game any more. Em Phoeykiln

Oum's four-inch cut was stapled together and she is now recovering at home after being released from hospital.

She will have a scar on her forehead for the rest of her life but is otherwise expected to make a full recovery.

Em added: 'Oum is better now and we're grateful to the doctors and nurses that helped her.

'She has been so strong and we're proud of her. Now she's smiling again, but we won't be playing that game any more.'
Veterans are demanding criminal action against revellers accused of urinating and being sick on a war memorial in Brighton.

Partygoers at Brighton Pride which took place in the seaside town at the weekend were accused of urinating, vomiting and littering at the Brighton War Memorial.

The president of the town's Royal British Legion said he was 'disappointed' and 'very sad' to hear what had happened.

The war memorial in Brighton where partygoers are said to have urinated and vomited

Dudley Button, president of the Brighton branch of the Royal British Legion, told the Brighton Argus, the memorial is a place that should be respected.

He said: 'Everybody wants to enjoy themselves but people should respect those who gave their lives to preserve their freedom to go out and get drunk.

'If they have committed an offence and it could be proved, obviously it should be reported and considered by the CPS.'

Crowds of more than 300,000 people attended the event with people gathering around the war memorial in Old Steine.

Labour councillor Michael Inkpin-Leissner, the council's armed forces champion, called the incident a 'disgrace' and called on Pride organisers to improve the protection of the war memorial in future events.

He said: 'I think it's more about being drunk, I think they probably didn't realise what they were doing which of course doesn't make it any better.'

Brighton and Hove Council's Cityclean staff collected more than 187 tonnes of rubbish from the streets and litter bins.

Brighton and Hove Council's Cityclean staff collected 40 tonnes more rubbish at the weekend than during last year Pride event

They said this is the most they have ever collected and 40 tonnes more than last year.

A council spokesman said street cleaning staff cleaned the war memorial on Saturday evening and again on Sunday.

Brighton Pride CIC director Paul Kemp said they are 'appalled' at any mistreatment of the war memorial.

He said: 'We have nothing but respect for all members of the Armed Forces who have fought for our country and the freedoms we have today.'

'To hear about this behaviour has really upset the entire Pride team.'
A hospitalised D-Day veteran who fought at Normandy has been flooded with 'get well' cards after his friend appealed for messages.

John Ainsworth, 95, was admitted to Beverley Community Hospital, in East Yorkshire, for a fortnight's bed-rest after problems with his legs.

John's pal and fellow Normandy veteran, Ernie Lornie, could not stand the idea of him lying in a hospital bed alone and miserable so he launched an appeal to put a smile on his face.

Army veteran: John Ainsworth (left), 95, was sent more than 200 cards (right) by members of the public after he spent time in hospital

The public answered the call and John was sent more than 200 cards wishing him a speedy recovery.

The former soldier, who has three children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild with wife Irene, said: 'It's just amazing - I never dreamt anything like this would happen to me.

'I don't know how to describe it.

'The response has been absolutely astonishing - when I saw all the messages I was overcome by it, and I didn't know what to say.

'I really think it helped me get better - I'm so grateful that people are so concerned about my state of health.

'I got cards from all over the world wishing me well, and a lot of messages online.

'I'm so grateful to Ernie for organising everything - but that's Ernie, he's a wonderful man and when he sets out to do something, he does it.

'It was a long two weeks in hospital, and I'm happy to be home now with my wife Irene - but it did give her a break from looking after me too!'

Service: John and his comrades during his days serving with Fourth Durham Survey Regiment Royal Artillery

Heartwarming: John looks at some of the heart-warming messages sent to him by members of the public after his friend Ernie's appeal

After John was admitted on July 17, he spent two weeks at Beverley Community Hospital before being transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary to deal with an infection.

He finally came home on August 3 - and has been moved to tears by the heart-warming messages he received.

John, who served with the Fourth Durham Survey Regiment royal artillery during his seven years in the army, said: 'It's absolutely fantastic - it just shows you how good people are, in this country and elsewhere.

'The good far outweighs all the evil that goes on.'

John joined up with the Territorial Army when he was 18, in May 1939 - and when war broke out four months later he was called up straight away.

He met wife Irene, 90, during the war when he was based in East Yorkshire, training for Normandy. The pair married in May 1946.

Happy couple: John with his wife Irene (left) and during his days of service with the Fourth Durham Survey Regiment

John said: 'I was very fortunate - when my unit was called abroad, they wouldn't take me because of my age.

'Then Dunkirk happened, and I was part of a special unit sent down to Kent to locate German gunmen on the other side of the channel.

'I was there for a couple of years, through the Battle of Britain.

'All these people sending cards call me a hero, and thank me for what I've done - but I'm no hero.

'I was one of millions - my generation as a whole fought the last war - it wasn't just the men, but the ladies and children too.

'Irene was only a girl when I left to go to Normandy, working in a clothes shop - but before long she was making air craft parts for the war effort.
Turkey has called on Russia to team up and carry out joint operations in a bid to crush ISIS in Syria following crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey has called on Russia to team up and carry out joint military operations in a bid to crush ISIS in Syria just one day after they threatened to leave NATO.

It came following crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusogu made the call as a Turkish delegation was in Russia for discussions aimed at co-ordinating actions on Syria and other bilateral issues.

Explaining that a proposal was on the table for Russia, Cavusoglu said in a live interview: 'We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh (ISIS) operations together.

He also urged Russia to fight against the 'common enemy' of ISIS jihadists in Syria.

Let's fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible,' the minister said, warning otherwise the group would keep on expanding and spread into other countries.

It came just 24 hours after Turkey said it could leave NATO due to a lack of support by other western nations and hostility toward President Erdogan.

Turkey is NATO's second largest military power after the United States and is a crucial ally as the West faces unprecedented conflict and upheaval across the Middle East.

Turkish president Erdogan visited Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday - his first trip abroad since the July 15 coup attempt.

It was also his first direct meeting with Putin since the shooting-down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish air forces on the Syrian border in November that caused unprecedented damage to relations.

NATO member Turkey was long criticised by its Western partners for not playing a full role in the fight against ISIS but upped its involvement last year by offering US forces use of an air base for raids against the group.

Turkey has also carried out air and artillery strikes against ISIS of its own although it it believed to have halted the operations in the wake of the Russian plane incident.

The three-person Turkish delegation in Moscow, made up of representatives from the military, intelligence and foreign service, is tasked with implementing decisions.

Turkish president Erdogan visited Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday - his first trip abroad since the July 15 coup attempt

Cavusoglu said close cooperation between Turkey and Russia would help prevent incidents in the future like the plane crisis.

He said: 'Many countries are engaged in Syria actively. There could be mistakes.

'In order to prevent that, we need to put into practice the solidarity and cooperation (mechanism) between us including sharing of real time intelligence.'
Uber and other ride-sharing services will be allowed to operate legally in Queensland from September.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed her government would legalise ride-sharing services from September 5, with 'sweeping reforms' that would create a level playing field.

Queensland taxis will be allowed to charge surge pricing and will receive $20,00 in compensation per licence.

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Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed her government would legalise ride-sharing services from September 5

WHICH STATES IS UBER LEGAL IN? ACT ACT: Legalised in October 2015 New South Wales: Legalised in December 2015 South Australia: Legalised in July Queensland: Legalised in September Victoria: State Government is discussing regulation Tasmania: State Government has tabled legislation for legalisation Western Australia: State Government is discussing regulation Northern Territory: State Government banned ride-sharing apps in February Advertisement

Queensland is the fourth Australian state to legalise Uber, with Victoria and Tasmania set to follow on their heels.

'We want to put a premium on passenger safety, and ensure all operators follow a new, fair set of rules, with the best interests of consumers at heart,' she wrote on Facebook.

Ms Palaszczuk said it was important to support the existing taxi industry while also embracing innovation.

She announced a $100 million industry assistance package, including over $4 million in waived taxi fees over the next year.

'Unlike some other states, including New South Wales, we will do it without imposing a new tax on passengers,' Ms Palaszczuk wrote.

Queensland taxis will be allowed to charge surge pricing and will receive $20,00 in compensation per licence

Queensland is the fourth Australian state to legalise Uber, with Victoria and Tasmania set to follow on their heels

'We had to find the balance between Queenslanders who make millions of ride bookings each year and their right to better affordability, choice of service and consistency in safety, and transitioning the taxi industry into the digital era.'

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe says the government will waive $4.3 million in fees over the next 12 months for limousine and taxi licence owners and 80 regulations will be cut.

An industry source said taxi owners will be given $20,00 in compensation per licence.

Under the changes, taxis will still have exclusive access to rank and hail jobs and the government will provide $5.6 million as an incentive for more wheelchair accessible taxis.

The move is likely to anger taxi operators who have campaigned strongly against the push to legalise ride-sharing.

Queensland has offered a $100 million industry assistance package, including over $4 million in waived taxi fees over the next year

The emerging industry has caused tensions to flare between cabbies and Uber drivers, with the taxi industry accusing Uber of undercutting its business with the unfair advantage of not having to pay significant licence fees.

In April, laws cracking down on Uber drivers came into effect and the following month it was revealed $786,405 in penalties had been handed out.
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This is the tender moment a stricken baby elephant was rescued after being severely injured in a poachers' trap.

And the footage shows the miraculous recovery of the animal after it was transported almost 200 miles from where it was found to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya.

The video shows just how far a trusty team of volunteers will go to, to help the magnificent beasts recover from some dreadful injuries.

This particular elephant was left with horrific facial and leg injuries after being caught in a trap and speared - but now it is filmed in recovery and even making some new friends.

The young elephants are constantly watched by their keepers who protect them with blankets when cold

The footage shows how rescue volunteers found a baby elephant in severe pain after being trapped by poachers

The elephant was carried up by the team and loaded onto a truck, where it was then transported onto a flight to the wildlife reserve in Kenya

The elephant's wounds were cleaned and treated with green clay, a natural remedy that speeds up the healing process

It is hoped that all the injured elephants recover from their wounds and grow into healthy, full-sized adults

Orphaned baby elephants are nurtured 24 hours a day by keepers at the Trust, which includes walking with them in the bush and co-sleeping with them at night.

With World Elephant Day on August 12, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust celebrates the occasion with a glimpse into the everyday lives of orphaned baby elephants.

Infant elephants are rescued by the Trust and often arrive at their Nairobi Nursery severely traumatised by the events that separated them from their mother and family and it is up to the Trust to hand rear them.

Executive Director of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (UK) Rob Brandford said: 'Aside from the trauma and often physical injuries from such events the infant inevitably enters a period of deep grieving for its lost loved ones, which can last for months.

'During this critical period survival hangs in the balance and not all calves can be persuaded to make the effort to try to live.

'Our Nairobi Nursery offers a secure base and a loving environment to nurture these orphans at a time of greatest need.'

How could they? The 15-month-old elephant had a horrific wound on its head that was also treated with the clay

This is the damage left on the magnificent animal by the trap the poachers had set up to snare it

The animals have a fantastic opportunity to fight their way back to full health at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Elephants are rescued by the Trust and often arrive at their Nairobi Nursery severely traumatised by the events that separated them from their mother and family and it is up to the Trust to hand rear them

Infant elephants are very fragile during the first months of their lives and our keepers must replace their lost family and stay with the orphans 24 hours a day.

Keepers even sleep with the calves on a rotational basis and use a special milk formula developed by the Trust's Founder, Dame Daphne Sheldrick DBE to feed new-born elephants to provide the nutrients they need to survive.

Keepers even sleep with the orphaned calves so they can get a sense of that family life they miss out on

The wound on the elephant's head is closing up somewhat thanks to the careful treatment by helpers

Playtime! The elephant found by volunteers in a poacher's trap is now making friends at the Trust

Rob said: 'To a baby elephant, who is emotionally very fragile, family is everything.

'The Trust's keepers look after their adopted infants as they would their own human babies, with gentle patience, exuding love and feeding the baby on demand, which is vital to the survival of the calf.

'Elephants are tactile and highly social animals, so our human family is always encouraged to be in physical contact with the babies as much as possible.'

The young elephants are constantly watched by their keepers who protect them with blankets when cold, provide them with rainwear when wet and an umbrella when exposed to sun during their first two months.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust cares for orphaned elephants that have been abandoned, or injured as a result of poaching in Kenya

A hardy team of workers provide the elephants with everything they need to make a recovery from any injuries

The aim of caring for the animals at the Trust is that one day they will be strong enough to return to the wild

Brandford said: 'Much like human children, baby elephants play games and need stimulation. Highly intelligent, with a giant memory, they duplicate our own children in many ways.

'The keepers accompany orphans on walks in varied surroundings with unlimited access to nature's toys.

'Cause for celebration is when a rescued baby elephant plays for the first time because, only then, can one be better sure of a reasonable chance of success as an elephant will only thrive if they are happy.'

When young elephants are psychologically and physically stable for relocation, usually around the age of three, they are transferred to either the Voi or Ithumba Stockades in Tsavo East National Park or the Umani Springs Stockades in the Kibwezi Forest where they will stay until they choose to return to a life in the wild, which can take up to seven years.

The Tsavo ecosystem, Kenya encompasses an area of 24,800 square miles - it is also home to Kenya's largest population of elephants, which is currently about 11,000 - and eventually becomes home for many of the Trust's hand-reared elephants.

When young elephants are psychologically and physically stable for relocation, usually around the age of three, they are transferred to either the Voi or Ithumba Stockades in Tsavo East National Park or the Umani Springs Stockades in the Kibwezi Forest

Open wide: The elephants are checked regularly to make sure their recovery is on track at the reserve
French teenagers are to be given lessons in how to survive a terror attack at school following a spate of ISIS atrocities in the country.

When pupils return to school following the summer holidays next month, all those aged 14 and over will be taught basic 'life-saving' skills as well as how to stay calm in the event of an attack.

French officials hope the lessons will improve the resilience of youngsters and also train them to have good reactions.

Armed police stand outside a secondary school in Strasbourg. It has now been revealed that French children are to be taught how to survive a terror attack at school

The new measures will also see schools have to hold three bomb threat drills throughout the academic year to ensure they are not 'taken by surprise' if an attack does happen.

These will be activated by text message, to ensure they are different from a fire alarm drill.

The new training for pupils and teachers was announced by the French government yesterday in a joint statement from the interior and education ministries.

It said: 'The recent attacks and the context of the terrorist threat means heightened vigilance is required.'

Meanwhile the statement also added how ISIS has previously said that schools are a 'top priority' target in a threat delivered last December.

The terror group said they want to remove children from French schools and kill teachers for being 'enemies of Islam' as they teach secularism.

The new training for pupils and teachers was announced by the French government yesterday in a joint statement from the interior and education ministries

The new measures for French schools will also see headteachers forced to hold special meetings with parents to inform them about what security measures they have in place.

Schools will also see surveilance stepped up in the roads around their buildings to make sure they are secure.

And teachers will also be urged to report any pupils to school authorities who they believe may be radicalised.

Earlier this year, several secondary school in Paris were evacuated after bomb threats, although these turned out be a hoax.

However, French authorities, who are already under pressure, do not want to take any risks when it comes to security.

France remains under a State of Emergency, which has been regularly extended since the November 13 attacks in Paris that saw 130 people gunned down or killed by suicide bombers.

Many had been enjoying themselves in tourist attractions including the Bataclan music venue, as well as bars and restaurants.

Last month, 85 people were killed in the French Rivieria resort of Nice, when an ISIS militant drove a 19-ton truck through a crowded promenade as people watched Bastille Day fireworks.
Road rage fatality: Gary Durham, 40, was shot and killed in Florida after getting into an argument with another motorist Wednesday

A Florida man who had recently been freed from prison after serving a decade for a road rage killing was shot dead when another road rage attack backfired on him.

Col. Donna Luscynski of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says the deadly confrontation took place at 7am Wednesday along Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard in Plant City when 40-year-old Gary Lynn Durham stopped his Mazda pickup truck, got out and approached a Ford SUV behind him.

What started as a verbal spat quickly escalated to violence.

Investigators say the driver of the SUV, 42-year-old Robert Padgett, warned Durham before he pulled out a gun and shot him at least once.

Paramedics arrived to find Padgett giving CPR to Durham, but Durham later died.

Luscynski says Padgett is cooperating with law enforcement and will not be arrested pending a review of the case by the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office, according to ABC Action News.

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Confrontation: Durham was shot after stopping his pickup truck and approaching the SUV of 42-year-old Robert Padgett along Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard in Plant City (pictured)

Padgett warned Durham before pulling out a gun and shooting him at least once

Officials tell Fox 13 they are looking at the incident as a possible 'Stand Your Ground' case or a self-defense case.

In an ironic twist, Gary Durham was gunned down 15 years after he killed 48-year-old Timothy Gibbs in another road-rage incident - a crime that landed him behind bars for more than a decade.

On October 24, 2001, Durham, then 26 years old, and Gibbs exchanged angry words after narrowly avoiding a collision in Tampa.

Durham then followed Gibbs to a nearby parking lot, where both exited their vehicles.

Durham, weighing 180lbs and stood at 6 feet, punched Gibbs once in the face. Gibbs was 160lbs and 5 feet 8 inches tall.

Prosecutors had said Gibbs' hands were at his side when he was hit. He fell and hit his head on the pavement, and was in the hospital for nine days before succumbing to a brain hemorrhage and skull fracture.

Sad irony: Durham's death comes 15 years after he killed 48-year-old Timothy Gibbs (right) in a road rage incident

Lenghy sentence: Durham, pictured in 2001, sentenced to more than 11 years after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge in Gibbs' killing

After Gibbs died, Durham turned himself in to authorities and said he threw the punch in self-defense and had not meant to kill Gibbs.

I'm just glad I don't have to worry about him or running into him somewhere. Widow Nancy Gibbs on Durham

In September 2002, Durham was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison followed by five years of probation after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge.

Prior to the road rage incident, he had served time for grand theft, aggravated assault and trafficking in stolen property.

When asked by the station WFLA to comment on the death of her husband's killer Wednesday, Timothy Gibbs' widow, Nancy Gibbs, called it 'poetic justice.'

Speaking to The Tampa Bay Times, Mrs Gibbs pointed out the irony of Durham's demise and expressed a feeling of relief.

'I'm just glad I don't have to worry about him or running into him somewhere,' she said.

New life: Durham was released from prison in 2012 and a year later met his future wife, Heather (pictured). The couple married last year

Durham was released from prison in 2012. A year later, he met his future wife, Heather, through mutual friends. The couple tied the knot only last year.

Heather Durham said of her husband that he was a generous man who would often help out his friends.
Death: Chairmain Adusah, 41, was found in the bath by staff at the hotel in Ghana where she had been staying with her husband, Eric

A pregnant British woman with no history of drug abuse died of acute heroin poisoning in a hotel room in Ghana, an inquest heard today.

Chairmain Adusah, 41, from Arbroath, Angus, was discovered in the bath by staff at Mac-Dic Royal Plaza Hotel in Koforidua, where she had been staying with her Ghanaian husband, Eric.

Mr Adusah, 28, a Christian pastor, was charged with his wife's murder in Ghana but the case collapsed due to lack of evidence - and an inquest has now been held at Essex Coroner's Court.

Mr Adusah was present at the hearing today along with Mrs Adusah's mother, Linda Speirs and stepfather Peter.

The court heard that the couple had checked into the hotel together after travelling to the country for work connected to Mr Adusah's church.

The pastor checked out of the hotel on March 18, 2015, and unverified allegations have since been made that Mr Adusah told staff not to disturb his wife, who was due to leave two days later. When Mrs Adusah failed to check out, hotel staff checked the room and discovered her body in the bathtub.

Authorities in Ghana discovered heroin, codine and morphine in her system. An interim autopsy report issued the week after she was found indicated a heroin overdose as a cause of death.

Authorities in Ghana discovered heroin, codine and morphine in Mrs Adusah's system

Pictured today: Mr Adusah (left) broke down in tears as he left the inquest, surrounded by parishioners. The woman's mother Linda Speirs (right) spoke outside the court

Doctor Charlotte Randall carried out a second post-mortem examination when Mrs Adusah's body was returned to the UK.

She told the court that she had found traces of heroin, codine and morphine but no evidence of assault or prolonged drug use.

Dr Randall said she could not ascertain the cause of death from her findings but did accept the findings from the earlier examination held in Ghana.

Mrs Abdusah's body had remained in Ghana while the case against husband was on-going but was later returned to Britain.

The pastor, a leader of Global Light Revival Ministries Church in North London, told the court: 'I have no idea what happened, I don't know how it got into her body, I never seen her do anything like that'.

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Smith from Essex Police confirmed that there was no drug paraphernalia found at the scene or signs of how it was administered.

Mrs Adusah was in Ghana with her husband Eric, who was arrested on suspicion of murder

The pastor checked out of the Mac-Dic Royal Plaza Hotel (pictured) in Koforidua, Ghana, and unverified allegations have since been made that Mr Adusah told staff not to disturb his wife

The attorney general in Ghana claimed there was no evidence connecting Mr Abdusah to his wife's death.

Mr Smith added: 'Mr Adusah was arrested and charged in Ghana and spent a number of months on remand there and on bail and they found no direct evidence linking him to the death of the deceased.

'In Britain we would call that insufficient evidence, I believe that it the correct decision.'

Senior Coroner for Essex Caroline Beasley-Muarry dismissed conclusions of unlawful killing, suicide or an accident due to lack of evidence.

She said: 'Because of the insufficient evidence for any of those conclusions I shall record an open verdict. We shall never quote know what happened there just is not evidence.'

Mrs Adusah's mother Linda Speirs, pictured with a photo of her daughter Mrs Adusah

Mrs Beasley-Muarry said this was a difficult and unusual case.

Addressing the family, she said: 'She [Mrs Adusah] clearly was a striking woman, attractive and with a bright future in front of her and was clearly much loved and I would again like to express my sympathies to you.'

Mr Adusah broke down in tears as he left the inquest, surrounded by parishioners. Mr and Mrs Speirs spoke outside the court following the conclusion.

Commenting on whether her daughter could have used heroine, she said: 'She would not have done it, we know that for a fact, she just would not have done it.'

Mr Speirs said the inquest was 'done well'. Mrs Speirs added: 'It didn't go into great details but we know, we know the rest.'
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Amazing pictures show the moment a couple's boat was swamped by curious saltwater crocodiles and sharks.

Marg and Keith Thomas were spending some time aboard a boat in the Hunter River System, at Porosus Creek, Kimberley, Western Australia, on June 17, when the predators were seen swimming curiously near the boat.

Shocked by the sight of crocodiles and sharks swimming together the couple captured the 'once in a lifetime' moment on their camera.

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Lemon sharks were pictured exploring the waters near an elderly couple's boat at the Hunter River System, at Porosus Creek, Kimberley, Western Australia

Crocodiles also decided to make an appearance near Marg and Keith Thomas's fishing boat on June 17

The lemon sharks were seen frequenting the back of the boat often during the day and night

'The lemon sharks frequent the back of the boat often during the day and night,' Marg said.

'On this day a cheeky salt water crocodile come in for a look see as well, they were not bothered by each other at all, they swam around each other for about a minute, no problems with each other, just interested in the boat.

'We have seen many crocs and lemon sharks on this trip but never together at the same time.

'We were on the deck at the back of our boat when I saw this unfold. They were about four metres away from us and it lasted for about a minute and then they disappeared off in their own directions.

'When this was over I thought that I can't wait to show my grandchildren this photo, they would love seeing a croc and a shark together.'

Grandparents Marg (right) and Keith (left), from Fremantle, WA, have spent over a year planning their trip sailing from Perth, WA, up and around Australia's far remote north

Marg and Keith who cheerily snapped pictures and video of their daily deadly visitors

Australia is famous for dangerous wildlife but also for hardy residents like Marg and Keith who cheerily snapped pictures and video of their daily deadly visitors.

Grandparents Marg and Keith, from Fremantle, WA, have spent over a year planning their trip sailing from Perth, WA, up and around Australia's far remote north.

The couple, who were on a 52-foot Maritimo boat named Ambition, left port on May 19 and are now about to begin their return leg from the Kimberley region of Australia.

Marg and Keith have been married for 44 years and have three children and five grandchildren. They are both in their early 60s and own a heavy earth-moving business in Rockingham, WA.

Marg and Keith's daughter Genene Daly and her husband Buster joined them on the trip by seaplane and couldn't believe it when her mum showed her the picture.

'To have the presence of mind to get that picture is amazing, it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. She just wanted to show her grandchildren and her children,' Genene, also from Rockingham, WA, said.

The 'cheeky' salt water crocodile was seen swimming with the sharks and according to the grandparents they did not seem bothered by each other

The couple, who were on a 52-foot Maritimo boat named Ambition, left port on May 19

The couple, who were on a 52-foot Maritimo boat named Ambition, left port on May 19 and are now about to begin their return leg from the Kimberley region of Australia

Fellow passenger Julie Tink managed to film extremely rare footage of the lemon sharks and salt water crocodile sharing the water together, apparently with each deadly predator unconcerned by one another.

'We are three boats traveling together and we don't have crocodiles in Perth so it was quite novel for us,'Julie, from Lesmurdie, near Perth, Western Australia, said.

'We have a healthy respect for them as they have caused many deaths. They are quite amazing creatures. There one minute and gone the next. When they sink below the service there is not even a ripple to show where they had been, and they can move at great speed.

'Quite early in our travels, in Dugong Bay we started to have lemon sharks circling our boats when we anchored. Initially it was a bit unnerving but we all got accustomed to having them around.

'As we moved further north we started to see crocodiles and once again as with the sharks it was quite unnerving when they first appeared around the boats. At times we definitely felt like we were being stalked.

'When the sharks and crocodiles were circling we were all waiting to see what would happen. The croc was cruising in, and the sharks just swam over and under the croc, one actually appeared to rub it's back on the underside of the croc with no reaction from the croc.

'As with the sharks we did get accustomed to having them around also, they are just a constant, wether you can see them or not. They are there.'

The crocodiles and sharks were seen withing close proximity off eachother with one shark appearing to touch the shark after it swam beneath it
TV presenter Sian Williams was left sore, swollen and bruised after being bitten by a dog belonging to her friends neighbour.

The 51-year-old married mother-of-four, who presents Channel 5 News, said the whippet was not on a lead and had a go at my knee for ages.

Williams was prescribed antibiotics and also used a gel to help the wound heal - and admitted that it was surprisingly painful even though it did not look that bad.

Injury: Sian Williams said the whippet was not on a lead and had a go at my knee for ages

Looking better: She was prescribed antibiotics and also used a gel to help the wound heal

She asked her 65,000 followers on Twitter: Grrr. Prescribed antibiotics after a dog had a go at my knee. No lead, wouldn't stop, lasted ages, v sore. Advice?'

London-born Williams later added: Thanks. All cleaned up. Yes had tetanus. Will follow course and get friend to talk to her neighbour (the dog owner!).

Yes - doesn't look much but it's surprisingly sore, swollen and bruised - will quote impressive Latin name for it.

Later Williams said that viewers of 5 News could ironically expect a report on dangerous dogs that evening on Tuesday, but added: Will not show the knee.

Red carpet: Williams has a ten-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter with husband Paul Woolwich, as well as two older sons aged 22 and 24 from a previous marriage

On screen: Williams, pictured with Bill Turnbull, presented BBC Breakfast for 11 years

Williams discovered she had breast cancer in 2014 before her 50th birthday and in May revealed how the diagnosis had made her children grow up very fast.

She has a ten-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter with husband Paul Woolwich, as well as two older sons aged 22 and 24 from a previous marriage.

The Welsh presenter told ITVs Lorraine: 'When you talk about the impact on the children you realise how vulnerable you were. I'm still vulnerable and that's OK.'
Chris Lynch, 20, returned from a holiday in Rhodes with his girlfriend Abbey Trudgett (pictured together) to find that his car was filthy and that he had a speeding fine

A driver who left his car with a 'meet and greet' parking company while he went on holiday came home to a police warning about speeding - even though he had been in Greece the whole time.

Chris Lynch, 20, left his car with Blue Star Parking in Crawley when he flew from nearby Gatwick Airport to Rhodes, Greece, for a two-week break with his girlfriend Abbey Trudgett.

But, when the pair returned, Mr Lynch - who paid 78 for the service - noticed that the petrol tank was almost empty and that there was an extra 150miles on the clock.

Days later, Mr Lynch received a letter from Sussex Police telling him that he had been reported for driving his Vauxhall Corsa at 37mph in a 30mph zone - on a date that he was still abroad.

Mr Lynch, of Poole, Dorset, said: 'It was about 15 minutes into our drive back home to Poole that I realised the car was covered in mud. I saw there was cigarette ash on the floor too.

'I found an empty Sapphire Blue cigarette pack and also noticed an Asda pay and display parking ticket that was marked for July 9 so they had clearly decided to use my car for a joyride.

'I then noticed the petrol was low and I had at least 150 miles extra on the clock.

'There was no sign of the bag and my Apple charger which had been plugged into my USB in the car was also gone.'

Mr Lynch, a customer consultant at Carphone Warehouse, was stunned to receive a letter a few days later about the speeding fine.

He said: 'It said my car had been caught speeding 37mph in a 30mph zone. The time was around half an hour after the Asda car parking ticket and on a day when I was still in Greece.

'Luckily it wasn't a fine but a report to police so I wasn't given points or a fine. But I got in touch with them to explain what had happened and that I had been away.

Mr Lynch received a letter from Sussex Police telling him that he had been reported for driving his Vauxhall Corsa at 37mph in a 30mph zone - on a date that he was still abroad

'They replied saying they had closed the case as a result but that my car had appeared on the automatic number plate recognition on July 7, 8, and 9.

'It's been really stressful. I have tried to contact the company numerous times but keep being passed from person to person, or told to call back another time.'

He added: 'Rhodes was fantastic and it was the perfect holiday but it's been tainted by this.

'When people have asked how the holiday was, all I can think about is this experience with the car as I'm still dealing with it now.'

West Sussex County Council confirmed they were investigating Mr Lynch's claims against Blue Star Parking amid more than 500 claims of rogue 'meet and greet' parking schemes.

Mr Lynch had left his Vauxhall Corsa (pictured) with Blue Star Parking in Crawley when he flew from nearby Gatwick Airport to Rhodes, Greece, for a two-week break

He said his car was filthy and there was a packet of cigarettes left scattered on the floor, which he had not smoked

He added: 'We are investigating into the owners of more than 500 cars currently, of which one is Mr Lynch.

'As part of the investigation we will be obtaining witness statements from various owners to support the case.'

David Barling, West Sussex County Council's cabinet member for residents' services, said: 'We take any reports of rogue trading, false advertising and damage to property very seriously.

There was also an extra 150miles on the clock, since Mr Lynch had left his vehicle

'As always our Trading Standards team are working hard to make sure those involved are held responsible for their actions.

'I would like to thank those consumers who have reported issues through to us and urge anyone booking airport parking to use the approved companies.'

West Sussex Trading Standards has urged holidaymakers to use official approved airport parking.

Richard Sargeant, Trading Standards team manager, said: 'When using airport parking consumers are handing over the keys to often the second most expensive item they own, but do little in research before they do so.

'Use a Buy With Confidence approved parking scheme to ensure your peace of mind when off enjoying your holidays this summer.'

Quality Parking was unavailable to comment.




A sickening new ISIS video has been released showing jihadis throwing a gay man to his death by pushing him off the top of a tall building.

The chilling video shows a member of the terror group preaching before a crowd of men and young boys who are gathered around the building in the ISIS-stronghold of Mosul in Iraq.

The extremist then tells them that the man has been found 'guilty' of being gay, which he claims means he should be sentenced to death under Sharia law.

The man balances on the edge of the building having being accused by ISIS of being gay

Eventually he is pushed by one of the extremists and he falls from the top of the tall building

The man plummets to his death following the 'trial' where he is accused of being gay

It comes after he was accused of 'corruption of thought' and 'homosexual acts' and the camera then pans to the top of the tall building.

The footage then shows a man perched on the edge of the roof with a group of ISIS members crowded around him.

Suddenly one of the men pushes the victim, wearing a blue T-shirt, and he plummets to the ground.

The video ends with the man falling to his death and several men running towards the man to retrieve his body.

A crowd of men and young boys gather around to watch the man be thrown off the building in Mosul

One militant who preaches to the crowd warns them not to take part in homosexual acts which he claims are 'forbidden in the caliphate'

The executioner then warns others not to take part in homosexual acts which he claims are 'forbidden in the caliphate'.

ISIS has previously publicly executed men in a similar manner for being found guilty of homosexuality.

In January, the terror group threw a teenage boy of a roof after they accused him of being homosexual.

After he falls several members of the terror group run over to retrieve the dead man's body

However, the Islamist accused of raping him was spared a death sentence.

The ISIS commander who raped him is believed to be Abu Zaid al-Jazrawi, who previously appeared in a video showing child soldiers executing prisoners in a sickening twist on the game of hide and seek.
This is the moment a cop dressed as a 'bad guy' shot a 73-year-old mother dead during a role play exercise - because he loaded live rounds instead of blanks.

Officer Lee Coel, 28, killed retired librarian Mary Knowlton by 'mistake' in front of 34 people, including her husband, during the demonstration in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Tuesday night.

The aim of the class was to teach people when not to shoot.

He fired the fatal round while dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt and black ski mask - in a bid to look like a 'criminal'.

Mrs Knowlton was picked from the audience to play the 'victim' during the scenario.

Coel then shot her in the shoulder and the chest, thinking he was firing blanks. But when those watching saw blood, they knew something was wrong.

Her husband Gary, who she had been married to for 55 years, watched as volunteers turned her lifeless body over to reveal the horrific injuries.

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Police officer Lee Coel was captured as he accidentally shot and killed community volunteer Mary Knowlton, because he loaded his gun with live rounds instead of blanks. He was dressed as a 'criminal' during the role play incident where the tragic incident occured

Mrs Knowlton is seen holding a gun just moments before she was shot dead during the 'shoot/don't shoot' exercise in Punta Gorda, Florida

An officer hands Mrs Knowlton a gun during the exercise as other members of the community watch. The aim of the class was to advise people when to shoot and when not to shoot

John Wright told NBC News: 'We all thought that this was part of the theater, we all thought it was expected.

'When she went to the floor I think we all realized the severity of what we'd all witnessed.'

Officer Coel, who has worked for the department since March 2014, has been been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

In a statement, the police department said: ' Officer Coel is frequently seen throughout our community providing department presentations and tours and specifically role-playing in these shoot/dont shoot scenarios as well as a police presence at youth and neighborhood events.

'Officer Coel remains on administrative leave while the investigation into this incident gathers more details into how this tragedy happened.

'Like the rest of our community, Officer Coel is devastated by what happened and is receiving assistance from our department and the Police Benevolent Association at this time.'

Mrs Knowlton's husband Gary (right), who she had been married to for 55 years, watched as volunteers turned her lifeless body over to reveal the horrific injuries.

On Wednesday, police identified Coel (left) as the officer who accidentally shot and killed Knowlton (right)

Officer Coel (pictured), who has worked for the department since March 2014, has been been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated

After the incident, p olice chief Tom Lewis said Knowlton had been chosen randomly from the group for a 'shoot/don't shoot' simulation during the Citizen Police Academy at the station headquarters.

Officer Coel, who was playing the role of a 'bad guy', was supposed to fire blanks at the 'victim' Knowlton, but live rounds were loaded in the gun instead.

Coel was hired in March 2014. He resigned from another job in a Florida police department after he failed a part of his field training.

Knowlton's son Steven said it was a devastating time for the family in a statement to CBS This Morning on Wednesday.

Heartbroken niece Jenny Tucker Christensen wrote on Facebook: 'She will be forever missed by all.'

Sue Paquin, a photographer covering the event for the Charlotte Sun, witnessed the accident and told the Fort Myers News-Press the officer fired at Knowlton, several times.

Knowlton was struck with the live round during the 'first scenario' and was rushed to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where she was later pronounced dead

Mrs Knowlton (center) is pictured with her son Steve (left) and husband Gary (right) outside the White House

Knowlton's son, Steven (left), said it was a devastating time for the family in a statement released on Wednesday morning

Knowlton's class met at the Punta Gorda Police Department around 5.30pm and the shooting occurred just before 7pm.

The demonstration 'used simulated lethal force' to teach the class about making critical decisions, WINK News reported.

Knowlton was struck with the live round during the 'first scenario', according to the department, and was rushed to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where she was later pronounced dead.

Chief Lewis called the shooting a 'horrible accident'.

'Our entire police department and all of our city leaders are absolutely devastated for everyone involved in this unimaginable event.

A woman is seen confronting a police officer during one of the simulated exercises

Blank rounds (left) have groves in the top, while live bullets have more rounded tops

'I am asking that if you pray, you pray for Mary's husband and family and for all the officers and witnesses that involved this incident.

'Everyone involved is in an overwhelming state of shock and grief,' he said during a press conference on Tuesday night.

In a statement, the Punta Gorda's City Leaders group said: 'Tuesday evening our Citys administration was notified of a tragic event that occurred at the Punta Gorda Public Safety Building located at 1410 Tamiami Trail, which resulted in the loss of life of one of our beloved residents.

'We want to express our deepest sympathy for the family and friends of Mary Knowlton. We are shocked by this horrific accident and are grieving deeply over Marys passing.

'We also would like to acknowledge the impact this has had on the other participants who were present during this tragedy.

Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis (pictured) called the shooting a 'horrible accident'

'We have taken special measures to support those individuals. Yesterday evening, one of our first priorities was to involve our Police Departments Chaplain to provide assistance and comfort.

'This tragedy also significantly impacted our public safety family, to include the officers on scene, police dispatchers, and firefighters. Chief Tom Lewis immediately contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to respond and begin an investigation into the events surrounding this incident.

'As your Mayor, City Council and City Manager we have complete faith in our Chief of Police to ensure that this outside investigation is conducted thoroughly.

'As your City leaders, we would like to express our gratitude for your continued support during this extremely difficult time. We are mourning and missing Mary, as she was a vital member of our community.'

The academy, where the shooting occurred, is a free eight-session course offered to 35 people at a time who are interested in learning local civics, Punta Gorda's website says.

Knowlton was chosen randomly from about 35 people in the class for a 'shoot/don't shoot' simulation during the Citizen Police Academy (pictured) at the station headquarters
A judge who called a racist thug a 'bit of a c***' has been hit with complaints over her bad language, but has found a legion of fans who are hailing her as a 'legend'.

Judge Patricia Lynch QC was sentencing John Hennigan at Chelmsford Crown Court for his ninth breach of an anti-social behaviour order in 11 years when he began hurling abuse at her from the dock.

The 50-year-old told the judge she was a 'bit of a c***', to which she responded: 'You are a bit of a c*** yourself. Being offensive to me does not help.'

Judge Patricia Lynch QC (left), who called thug John Hennigan (right), a 'bit of a c***' has been hit with complaints over her bad language, but has found scores of new fans who are hailing her as a 'legend'

Shouting back, Hennigan said: 'Go f*** yourself', to which the QC replied: 'You too.'

Her sassy response earned her praise from many social media users who were impressed with the comeback, but others were less pleased with her conduct and there have been complaints made to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO).

A spokesman from the JCIO, which handles complaints made about judges both inside and outside court, said: 'The JCIO has received complaints regarding HHJ [Her Honour Judge] Patricia Lynch's comment in court which will be considered in accordance with the Judicial Conduct [Judicial and other office holders] Rules 2014.'

Her sassy response earned her praise from many social media users who were impressed with the comeback, including Greg Stone who wrote: 'A nation salutes you'

Gemma Tomlinson was among the many Twitter users who offered to buy the judge a drink

The spokesman added that they 'never comment on how many complaints have been received'.

Judge Lynch jailed Hennigan for 18 months for insulting and making racist slurs to a black Caribbean mother and her two children in Harlow, Essex.

Hennigan, of Harlow, Essex, had also banged on the glass panel of the dock, performed a Nazi salute and twice shouted 'Sieg Heil' before starting to sing 'Jews gas them all....'

Scores of Twitter users praised her four-letter retort, with many calling her a legend

Speaking in a measured tone, Judge Lynch said: 'We are all really impressed. Take him down.'

After news of her four-letter retort circulated, scores of people took to social media to praise her reaction and choice of words - with many branding her a 'hero' and an 'idol'.

Stan Keaton tweeted: 'Judge Patricia Lynch QC has a cracking reply to a racist thug in her courtroom.'

David Duncan added: 'What a legend judge Patricia Lynch is', while Gemma Tomlinson wrote: 'I would like to buy judge Patricia Lynch a drink.'

Social media users said Judge Lynch was a 'hero', and even suggested she be made a dame

Greg Stone tweeted: 'Judge Patricia Lynch, a nation salutes you.'

Luke Farley said: 'Hats off to Judge Patricia Lynch. I think it was a reasonable response given the vile racist in front of her.'

Marc Thomas posted: 'It is a bit hard to give children role models nowadays but Judge Patricia Lynch QC is definitely one.'

Hennigan was handed an ASBO in April 2005, prohibiting him from acting in an anti-social way or from using racist language.

He pleaded guilty to breaching the order by using racist language towards mother Tanisha Ford and her two children, aged six and eight, as they shopped in Harlow on April 20 last year.

Prosecutor Lynne Shirley told the court that Hennigan stopped Ms Ford and asked whether she needed directions.

DISTINGUISHED JUDGE WITH RECORD OF LETTING PAEDOPHILES WALK FREE Judge Patricia Lynch QC was appointed to the bench in 2014 after 14 years as a Recorder, following a distinguished career as a criminal barrister in London which saw her appointed QC in 1998. As a junior tenant, she was appointed to the Attorney General's A-list, instructed to prosecute substantial drug importations and VAT fraud cases. In silk, she became recognised as one of the leading experts in matters involving children and other vulnerable witnesses and defendants. Last August Judge Lynch made headlines when she apologised to two teenage girls after sentencing guidelines prevented her from jailing a pervert who sexually abused them at his animal sanctuary. Judge Patricia Lynch QC admitted that it was with a 'heavy heart' that Michael Taylor, 75, was allowed to walk free from court despite abusing the girls, then aged 15 and 17. She has previously been criticised for allowing paedophiles off from jail. Advertisement

Ms Shirley said: 'It seemed a normal conversation and she walked off but as she did Hennigan said 'I don't agree with inter-racial relationships. I like natural'.

'She was shocked and surprised and asked what he meant. He said, 'I prefer white children'. She was shocked further.

'She said her children were natural and he said 'I'm just saying'. The incident made her feel very upset, hurt, out of place and distressed.'

Hennigan was arrested and police officers later said he made 'very unpleasant' comments while in custody.

Mitigating, Harry Warner urged Judge Lynch to spare Hennigan from immediate custody, saying he could benefit from working with probation.

Mr Warner said: 'He is a rather unfortunate man. He lives alone, is single and has been diagnosed and medicated for depression.'

Sentencing, Judge Lynch said: 'Your offence is thoroughly unpleasant and repeated breaches of this order using the most unpleasant of language and causing distress.

'It's said custody would be distressing for you but it seems you never learn. This is the ninth time you have breached this order, the same offensive, racist comments and you don't deserve another chance.'

Hennigan tried to argue with Judge Lynch before he started swearing and was sent to jail.

This is the latest in a string of breaches of Hennigan's ASBO. He has previously abused a bus driver, pub staff and raised a Nazi salute to a member of the public.

On another occasion he performed a Nazi salute in a central London pub and called black people 'n*****'.
Nursery nurse Katie Clack, 23, (pictured) jumped to her death from a car park roof

A nursery nurse who jumped to her death from a car park roof became depressed after she 'most likely' developed narcolepsy as a result of receiving a swine flu vaccination, a coroner has ruled.

Katie Clack, 23, from Peterborough had been stricken with the sleep disorder since 2009 after she was required to have the jab for her job.

Her narcolepsy had led to her sleeping for up to 19 hours per day on occasions and her mental health worsened before she jumped to her death from the top of a shopping centre car park roof in Peterborough in September 2014.

Recording a narrative conclusion, Paul Cooper, acting senior coroner for South Lincolnshire, said studies showed there were 'significantly raised odds of narcolepsy after (being given the) Pandemrix' vaccine in those aged 18 and above.

'On the available evidence on the association between vaccination with Pandemrix and onset of narcolepsy it seems most likely that receipt of this vaccine in December 2009 caused Miss Clack's narcolepsy,' said Mr Cooper.

He added that narcolepsy triggers depression, though he noted the case of Miss Clack was 'complex and very rare'.

The inquest was told that Miss Clack did not want to have the vaccine, but needed to because of her job.

A few weeks after receiving the vaccine, Miss Clack began feeling overwhelmingly sleepy, a defining symptom of narcolepsy.

By the time she was diagnosed a year later she was sleeping for 18 or 19 hours every day.

She left her family a note on the day she died, urging them to take up her legal case against GlaxoSmithKline, the firm who manufactured the drug and said she had been left with 'no quality of life'.

Miss Clack, from Peterborough had been stricken with the sleep disorder since 2009 after having the swine flu jab

She told them: It's very important to me that you pursue this.'

The day before her death she had seen clincial psychologist Dr Gemma Hendry. On that visit she did not express any suicidal intentions, but had admitted having suicidal thoughts during a previous session, on August 22.

Dr Hendry had told the inquest:' She told me she was having thoughts to kill herself and heard voices telling her to kill herself.

'She said she hated her job and did not get on with her colleagues. She admitted having the thoughts but said she did not have a concrete plan on carrying it out.

'She said her family and nieces are one of the factors why she hadn't taken action on it.'

Miss Clack had visited the car park on two previous occasions but was persuaded from not jumping after texting her sister, Emma Sutton, the court heard.

She also took an overdose at her flat on July 8, 2014.

Miss Clack's family was represented at the hearing by Peter Todd and Freya Colvin, of law firm Hodge Jones & Allen.

Miss Clack in 2012 with her nieces, Jasmine (left) and Lily-May. The inquest into her death was told she did not want to have the injection, but was required to for her job

A statement issued on behalf of the family said: 'Katie was an energetic young woman who had just discovered her passion working with children.

'Narcolepsy turned her life into a terrible daily struggle and drastically reduced her quality of life.

'We cannot believe she would have decided to take her own life had the balance of her mind not been disturbed.'

Ms Colvin added: 'The Clack family has waited a long time for this inquest.

'It is important that the coroner has recognised the causal link between the vaccine and narcolepsy and the devastating impact this had on Katie's short life.'

Earlier this year a boy who developed the sleeping disorder caused by the swine flu vaccine was awarded 120,000 in damages.

Josh Hadfield, 10, from Frome in Somerset, developed narcolepsy after receiving the Pandemrix vaccine six years ago.

Miss Clack with brother-in-law Ben Sutton, her father Bob Clack, sister Emma Sutton and nieces, Jasmine and Lilly-May

In 2013, lawyers launched a class action on behalf of 38 Britons - including 19 children - who developed narcolepsy after having the vaccine.

Scientists from the former Health Protection Agency (HPA) said there was evidence of a link between the Pandemrix jab - manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline(GSK) - and narcolepsy in children.

HPA figures suggested one in 55,000 children vaccinated - about 20 in the UK - are thought to have developed narcolepsy.

Josh was awarded the money after an appeal against the Government, which had initially refused to pay as he was not 'severely disabled' enough.

Speaking at the time, a spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline said: 'We remain committed to carrying out additional research into the potential role of Pandemrix in the development of narcolepsy.'

It was also supporting investigations into reported cases.

Across Europe, about 31 million people are thought to have received the Pandemrix jab.

Narcolepsy is a rare but serious neurological disorder that affects about 31,000 people in Britain.

The condition can cause massive disruption to sleep and daily life.

Miss Clack and her sister Emma as young girls. Her family said today that she was an 'energetic young woman who had just discovered her passion working with children'

A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactured Pandemrix, said: 'This is obviously a very sad case and our sincere condolences go to Miss Clack's family for their loss.

'Patient safety is our number one priority and we will continue to evaluate potential areas of research and how we can best contribute to the ongoing body of scientific research being done by others into the causes of narcolepsy.

'We hope these ongoing research efforts will enable us to provide more answers.'

Thespokesman added that the vaccine, used during the 2009 flu pandemic, was no longer commercialised.

'The doses that were manufactured have now expired and should not be used as part of current immunisation campaigns,' he said.

A Department of Health spokesman said: 'Katie's death was tragic and we offer our sympathies to her family. Pandemrix vaccine was used to prevent serious illness and deaths during the swine flu pandemic in 2009/10. At the time, the possible association with narcolepsy was not known.'
Austin Wilkerson, 22, was convicted of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman in May, but has avoided a jail term

A Colorado student who sexually assaulted a 'helpless' woman after St Patrick's Day celebrations has avoided jail in a hearing that bore similarities to the Stanford rape case.

Austin Wilkerson, 22, was convicted of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman in May.

He had initially denied the attack and claimed the sex was consensual but later admitted 'digitally and orally penetrating' the woman while he 'wasn't getting much of a response from her'.

The student was facing four to 12 years in state prison but the judge ruled he should not serve a jail term.

According to the Daily Camera newspaper, Judge Patrick Butler said: 'Do I put him in prison? I don't know that there is any great result for anybody.

'Mr Wilkerson deserves to be punished, but I think we all need to find out whether he truly can or cannot be rehabilitated.'

Instead, he ordered Wilkerson to serve two years of so-called 'work release' and 20 years to life on probation.

Boulder county court heard how Wilkerson's victim had drunk too much while out celebrating St Patrick's Day.

Wilkerson told her friends he would 'take care of her'. Instead he took the 'half-conscious' victim back to his room and raped her.

He admitted to investigators he had made advances to her that night, 'but that she rebuffed him each time' so he felt 'p***ed off' and called her a 'f****** b****', according to court documents.

He initially admitted to friends that he had 'fingered a girl while passed out' and 'let his hands wander' but then changed his story and told the jury they had engaged in consensual sexual activity.

His defense team argued she had lodged the rape claim 'to avoid anger from her parents about her grades in school'.

After his conviction in May, Wilkerson then backtracked and admitted the sexual assault, saying: 'I sexually assaulted (the victim)  No words I can say could ever take away the pain and fear that I have caused. Nothing I say can make it better, but I am so sorry.'

The victim, who was present at the hearing but left before the defense addressed the court, asked Judge Butler to send Wilkerson to prison.

'Have as much mercy for the rapist as he did for me that night,' she told the judge.

The judge's decision means Wilkerson, who was suspended from the public university, (pictured) will be able to work or go to school during the day and will have to return to a county jail at night

The judge's leniency drew a furious response from campaigners who said privileged students were being treated favorably in the courts.

Lisa Saccomano, deputy district attorney, said: 'These young, college-age offenders who perpetrate rape on campus are getting some sort of privileged discount  compared to other violent offenders.

Brie Franklin, executive director of the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, told the Huffington Post: 'We are disappointed to see, yet again, that the impact on the perpetrator, who chose to commit a crime against another person, is being considered over the impact on the victim, who did not have a choice in the matter.'

Brock Turner, a former Olympic swim team hopeful, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman on the Stanford university campus but only got a six month jail term

The case bore hallmarks to the Stanford University student Brock Turner case.

Turner, a star swimmer, was given a six-month jail term despite being convicted of multiple felonies, including assault with intent to rape a drunken woman.

In a statement to the court following his conviction but before sentencing, Turner blamed a 'party culture' of 'drinking', and refused to acknowledge the assault.

Astonishingly, his father also claimed his son was paying a steep price for only '20 minutes of action'.

The victim's powerful statement - which described the trauma of the trial and her anger at Turner's lack of remorse - went viral in June.

Judge Aaron Persky was heavily criticised for the sentencing and more than one million people have signed a petition calling for him to be removed from the bench.
A high school teacher and former school board member in Tennessee are accused of having a sexual relationship with the same 15-year-old student.

Houston County sheriff's deputies say 43-year-old Richard Tyson and 70-year-old Ernest 'Tommy' Beechum were arrested on multiple charges including sexual battery by an authority figure.

Houston County Sheriff Kevin Sugg told WSMV that Tyson and Beechum abused their power to have sex with the underage student.

He says both men are accused of having independent sexual relationships with the girl and that they did not know about each other.

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Arrested: Richard Tyson (left), 43, and Ernest Beechum (right), 70, were arrested on multiple charges including sexual battery by an authority figure

Houston County Sheriff Kevin Sugg (above) said Tyson and Beechum abused their power to have sex with an underage female student at Houston County High School

Tyson taught history at Houston County High School while Beechum retired as chair of the county school board (above) after 24 years. Police say the men did not know each other

Sugg says Beechum's relationship with the teen had been ongoing for nearly a year and they believe Tyson started a relationship with the student sometime earlier this year.

Police say Beechum recently retired as chair on the county school board after working for 24 years and would shake students' hands at graduation.

'Mr. Beechum and the juvenile went to church together and it's from my understanding that's how they met,' Sugg told WSMV.

They say Tyson was hired as a history teacher at Houston County High School two years ago and worked as an educator in Stewart county prior to that.

Investigators believe Tyson (above) started a relationship with the student earlier this year, as he taught her history at the high school

Sugg says Beechum's (above) alleged relationship with the teen had been ongoing for nearly a year

Sugg says an anonymous letter was sent to the sheriff's office on August 5 accusing Beechum of having sex with the student, who was a freshman.

They brought in the alleged victim to interview her and found the same number showing up in her phone records on August 8.

That number reportedly belonged to Tyson, who taught the girl history.

'It was a twist. You go on one and you discover you've got two,' Sugg said.

'She knew Mr. Tyson when she was at school. She had ties with Mr. Beechum as well, all at the same time.'

Sugg said that the men communicated with the teen via Facebook Messenger, text message and phone calls.

Tyson and Beechum bonded out of jail Wednesday and are not allowed on any school property (above) within Houston County

They used certain code words in their conversations in an attempt to keep their alleged relationships private.

'There was a lot of thought put into this,' Sugg said.

Tyson and Beechum have been charged with sexual battery by an authority figure, sexual exploitation of a minor by an authority figure and solicitation of a minor by an authority figure, WSMV reported. 'This won't be a toleration in this county. We're not going to have it,' Sugg said.

On Wednesday, Tyson was released on $75,000 bond and Beechum was released on a $100,000 bond.

They both are not allowed on any school property within Houston County.

It's unclear if either men are married or if they have children.
A California woman welcomed her third child into the world in an unexpected way by accidentally giving birth to the baby girl while in a hospital toilet.

Andrea Whalen and her husband, Joshua, welcomed their healthy daughter Tessa on Monday, weighing eight pounds and three ounces.

The newborn certainly made a splash when she arrived after her parents had rushed to Torrance Memorial Medical Center just before 4am as the mother went into labor.

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Tessa Whalen (pictured) certainly made a splash when she arrived into the world on Monday morning

Her parents, Joshua and Andrea Whalen (pictured) welcomed thier third child in an unexpected way after the mother accidentally gave birth in the toilet of California hospital

While waiting for her natural delivery to progress, Andrea Whalen needed to go to the bathroom and was given the green light by hospital staff, KABC reported.

At the time, the parents said Andrea's water had not broken but she had really bad contractions and was seven centimeters dilated.

While in the restroom, Joshua Whalen, who is a pastor at The Harbor Church in Lomita, said his wife let out a loud scream as she sat on the toilet, which was when he suspected something had gone wrong.

'All of a sudden, she's grabbing onto me there's water, blood going everywhere, next thing you know, baby's in the toilet,' Joshua Whalen told KABC as he recalled the story of the incredible delivery.

'It all happened very fast,' Andrea Whalen told the station.

'My water broke, the pressure got worse and worse and worse and worse, and I wasn't intending on pushing or anything, everything just came out.

'I turned around and there she was in the toilet.'

While waiting for her natural delivery to progress, Andrea Whalen (pictured) needed to go to the bathroom and was given the green light by hospital staff when her water broke

Her husband, Joshua Whalen who is a pastor at The Harbor Church in Lomita, said all of a sudden his wife's water broke and their newborn child was there in the toilet

The parents said Tessa was born weighing eight pounds and three ounces, and with a head full of hair

She added: 'Her little face was just there outside of the water, and I can just see her balled up still, very safe.'

Joshua Whalen told the church that Tessa slid into the toilet head first.

He noted that if his wife had been standing slightly to the left or right while she hovered over the toilet, Tessa could have fallen onto the floor.

After the birth, the father grabbed the baby girl from the water while relatives who could hear the commotion inside the bathroom got nurses who came in to help.

With the umbilical cord still attached, the mother and crying baby were walked back to the hospital room where the father cut the cord.

However, at the time the shocked parents remembered how the nurses and doctors had no clue the baby had been born in the toilet.

'I came out of the bathroom and the nurses started asking around, "Who delivered the baby? Who delivered the baby?" and I said, "Well I did,"' the father recalled.

'They said, "You delivered the baby?" And I said, "Well I picked her up out of the toilet,"' he said.

'They said, "You picked her up out of the toilet?" and then at that point they called NICU [neonatal intensive care unit] and "Code Blues" were going off all over the place, which kind of freaked me out a little bit more,' he continued.

The couple pictured with their third child as they recall the dramatic delivery

Following the delivery, Tessa and her mother are doing fine and both parents are still reeling from the crazy experience

Joshua Whalen said nurses were really professional and got everything taken care of.

'God had a plan, everything worked out. She's okay, the baby's okay, everyone's okay,' he said.

Andrea added: 'God made it happen. Everything was perfect. We were just so thankful that all of them [nurses] kept saying "She's perfect, you're good"' because I thought I did something wrong because who has a baby in the toilet?'

'Everything's great,' she said.

Following the dramatic delivery, Andrea Whalen and Tessa are doing fine, and the parents both described the experience as crazy.

'Most traumatic thing that I could ever imagine, but it's all worth it in the end,' Joshua Whalen told the station.

'So you get to hold your baby girl - from the toilet or not the toilet - she's healthy, she's clean, beautiful, and that's all that matters.'

The couple pictured with their two other children. They said they are thankful nurses said their daughter was perfect after she was born in the bathroom
He said he warned senior police officers he would kill someone

The lawyer, Scott Weinberg, said Coel should have never been a cop

An attorney acting on behalf of the man is now trying to

The officer who shot and killed a 73-year-old retired librarian during a safety demonstration has a history of excessive force complaints and was forced out of another police agency for failing to satisfactorily complete his training.

Officer Lee Coel, 28, was put on administrative leave as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after he shot Mary Knowlton.

Officials are now investigating how he put live rounds into the gun instead of blanks in the Gulf Coast city of Punta Gorda.

Coel has worked for the department since 2014 and frequently gave department presentations and tours, 'specifically role-playing in these shoot/don't shoot scenarios,' police spokeswoman Lt. Katie Heck said.

He had worked in Miramar, but was forced out after developing a troubled record and a high ratio of closed cases.

Coel was not fired, but was asked to resign.

Officer Lee Coel, 28, who shot and killed a librarian during a training exercise in Florida, resigned from another agency for not completing training and has been accused of using excessive force at least three times

Despite the complaints made against him, the Punta Gorda Police Department gave him a job.

On October 30, 2015, Coel's K9 mauled Michael Schumacher while he was arresting him in Puna Gorda.

The cyclist was left with horrific injuries that left him hospitalized.

Attorney Scott Weinberg took the man's case in June, and that's when he viewed Coel's dashcam video of the arrest and informed local media about the case.

He has said Coel should never have been allowed to become a cop.

Weinberg told Daily Mail Online he warned police chiefs he was going to kill somebody - but they didn't listen.

Schumacher was left with horrifying injuries after Coel's K9 attacked him during an arrest in November. An attorney saw the dashcam footage and is now looking to sue the Punta Gorda Police Department

According to his calculations, 37 per cent of Coel's arrests have been closed before going to trial - a very high ratio for a police officer.

He added that Coel had three excessive force complaints against him.

The lawyer also believes police bosses chose him to be a part of the community classes in a bid to rebuild his tarnished image.

Weinberg took Schumacher's case in June, and that's when he viewed Coel's dashcam video of the arrest and informed local media about the case.

'I told everyone that this officer was dangerous and he needed to be fired.

'If he had been fired like he should have been when he ordered that dog to maul my client for a minute and 47 seconds, then this wouldn't have happened.'

Punta Gorda police have insisted he did not violate any of the department's policies during the canine arrest.

The department did not make Coel available for comment Wednesday.

A woman who answered a phone listed for Coel said she didn't want to talk and hung up.

The chief said the officer is grief stricken and other officers have been assigned to him to make sure he's psychologically stable.

Coel has worked for the department since 2014 and frequently gave department presentations and tours, 'specifically role-playing in these shoot/don't shoot scenarios'

He shot and killed Mary Knowlton (pictured left with her husband of 55 years Gary) after loading his gun with live rounds instead of blanks

On Tuesday night, Mary Knowlton, a well-known community volunteer, assumed the role of the officer during the 'shoot/don't shoot' exercise, Heck said.

During such an exercise, the citizen 'assumes the role of the officer, and is confronted with situations in which they must make a decision about whether to use force on the role-player,' Heck said. 'The situations escalate quickly, forcing fast decisions. Historically, it fosters a better understanding for what officers face during an intense situation, and leads to informative dialogue between the community and officers who act as role players.'

Both the citizen and the officer have a firearm during these scenarios.

But the guns are either supposed to be loaded with blanks or 'simunition guns,' which are real-looking weapons that fire a non-lethal projectile with reduced force. Knowlton was mistakenly struck with a live round.

The police chief said his department has been doing the exercise for about two years.

This is the moment Coel drew the gun, which he didn't think was loaded, and shot Mrs Knowlton dead

Mary Knowlton attended the class with her husband and it was supposed to be 'a fun night,' her son said Wednesday.

Coel left the Miramar Police Department after 14 months of service in the Broward County agency.

Tania Rues, Miramar police spokeswoman, said Coel resigned, but could not comment on the reasons why.

Coel wrote a resignation letter saying he was resigning for 'personal reasons;' the News-Press reported that he failed to complete an agency field training program.

Coel is said to be 'grief-stricken' by the tragic incident. He is now on administrative leave as officials investigate what happened

Punta Gorda officials aren't saying how a gun with a live round came to be used at Tuesday evening's demonstration, noting blank rounds are typically used in such classes.

The victim's son, Steve Knowlton, said in an interview at his parents' home that, on his mother's behalf, he was forgiving the officer who fired.

Mary Knowlton moved to Florida after living for years in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Books and magazines lay scattered on tables of the home she shared in Florida with Gary, her husband of 55 years. The couple split their time between Minnesota and the small Gulf Coast community. She had two sons.
A man has been jailed for eight years for killing his partner in a 'brutal and sustained' attack.

Rhys Hobbs, 44, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Andrea Lewis, 51, who was found covered in bruises on the kitchen floor of his home in Tonna near Neath, Wales, in January.

The court heard that the mother-of-two was viciously attacked before being dragged outside and left to die, but Hobbs has no recollection of what happened due to his 'extreme' intoxication.

Rhys Hobbs, 44, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his partner Andrea Lewis, who was found covered in bruises on the kitchen floor of his home

The next morning, Hobbs woke and found his partner outside. He dragged her into the kitchen and called 999.



Swansea Crown Court heard that Miss Lewis had suffered a fractured skull and broken ribs, and had 43 separate areas of bruising on her body, including what was likely a stamp mark on one arm.

The mother-of-two was found to be 'soaking wet and cold to the touch' when paramedics and police arrived on the scene.

Roger Thomas QC, prosecuting, told the court how Hobbs and Miss Lewis had been in a turbulent and violent relationship for the past four years.

Hobbs, Miss Lewis and their friend Keith Thomas had been drinking in the St Ives pub in Neath before going back to the house Mr Thomas owned, and where Hobbs was a lodger.

The prosecution barrister said the fatal attack on Miss Lewis had been the 'culmination of many months and years of assaults' she had suffered at the hands of her partner.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Miss Lewis had suffered a fractured skull and broken ribs, and had 43 separate areas of bruising on her body

Following the sentencing, Inspector Rob Cronick of the South Wales Police Major Crime Investigation Team, said: 'As always, our thoughts are with the family and friends of Andrea Lewis who I hope have been given some comfort by the conviction and sentencing of Rhys Hobbs.

'The tragic death of Andrea brought shock and sadness to the community of Neath as she was the victim of domestic abuse which ultimately led to her death.

'Tackling domestic abuse is a priority for South Wales Police. I urge anyone who is a victim to seek help and support from the excellent organisations that provide assistance and expert advice.

'Equally as important is for anyone who has information on those suffering domestic abuse to report it to us in confidence.

'This case has highlighted the devastating consequences that domestic abuse has on victims and their families.'

The court heard a victim impact statement from Miss Lewis' family in which they said they had been lucky to have a daughter, sister and mother like Miss Lewis.
An elderly woman in Dallas who had spent seven months waiting for a transplant liver gave it up to save the life of a 23-year-old.

Brenda Jones, 69, had made it to the top of the transplant list and was waiting for surgery when her doctors made the unusual request on July 18: would she give the organ to a young woman who was hours away from death?

'I had time to wait and she didn't have any time to wait, so that was just common sense,' Jones told NBCDFW.

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Big heart: Brenda Jones (left), 69, had waited months for a transplant liver, but gave it up in a heartbeat once she learned Abigail Flores (right), 23, needed it and had just hours to live

Had to do it: Jones, who got a transplant four days after her incredible gift, says it was what she 'had to do'. Flores, who had just got married, is grateful to the great-grandmother

Jones, who is a great-grandmother, had been diagnosed with liver failure a year before, but was struggling on.

However, the situation for Abigail Flores was critical: Her liver had totally collapsed, she was being airlifted to hospital and she had just hours to live.

Jones's transplant surgeon at Baylor University Medical Center, Dr Greg McKenna, called her at 3:30am to ask if she would be willing to give up the organ.

'All I could think about was that I had more time to wait a little longer on a liver and she didn't have any time, Jones said.

She added: 'I just knew that's what I had to do.'

Flores's transplant was a success, and she remains hugely grateful to the woman who saved her life.

'It makes me feel good because my husband and I, we just got married and we want to have kids,' she said.

'She gave me the opportunity to be able to do that later on in life.'

And Jones had good news of her own - she was put back to the top of the waiting list and was able to receive a transplant just four days later.
Boris Johnson has told his counterpart in the Kremlin he hopes for a 'normalisation' of relations between London and Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry revealed today.

Mr Johnson spoke to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the phone this morning.

Both the Foreign Secretary and new Prime Minister Theresa May have been involved in a series of calls with world leaders as Britain's new government introduces itself.

In its own account of the call, the Foreign Office said Mr Johnson highlighted 'significant differences' between Britain and Russia but told his counterpart he wanted to 'continue to build a constructive dialogue'.

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Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson spoke to his counterpart in the Kremlin today as the first step toward increasing 'political dialogue' between Britain and Russia

British-Russian relations have been in a deep freeze for several years amid concern over Russian aggression in Ukraine and the conclusions of the inquiry into the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, which blamed Mr Putin.

The Russian foreign ministry said: 'Both sides expressed hope for a normalisation in Russian-British ties and underscored the desire to step up political dialogue.

'The intent to increase political dialogue was underlined despite the remaining problems in bilateral relations, in order to realise their considerable potential in areas such as the economy, humanitarian ties and foreign policy cooperation.'

The call also touched on the on-going civil war in Syria, in which Russian forces have been involved, and the wider threat from terrorism.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'The Foreign Secretary made clear that while we have some significant differences with Russia, we need to continue to build a constructive dialogue on issues of mutual concern as well as on points of disagreement.

'They discussed Syria, with the Foreign Secretary expressing his deep concern about the situation in Aleppo, and emphasising the urgent humanitarian need for all parties to put an end to violations of the Cessation of Hostilities.

'They agreed to take forward discussions in person at the UN General Assembly in September.'

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed with Mr Johnson on the hope for 'normalisation' in a call which also touched on Syria and terrorism

In a call with Mr Putin on Tuesday, Mrs May said she hoped the nations could push forward in an 'honest' way despite their differences.

The pair will meet at the G20 summit of world leaders in China next month.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the leaders discussed common security threats faced by both countries when they spoke on the phone on Tuesday afternoon.

She said: 'The Prime Minister noted the importance of the relationship between the UK and Russia and expressed the hope that, despite differences on certain issues, they could communicate in an open and honest way about the issues that mattered most to them.

'The Prime Minister and president agreed that British and Russian citizens faced common threats from terrorism, and that co-operation on aviation security in particular was a vital part of the international counter-terrorism effort.

'They looked forward to seeing each other at the G20 summit in China next month.'

The pair agreed to develop a dialogue between their security agencies over aviation security, the Kremlin added.

The Russian government said Mrs May also confirmed Britain's intention to participate in the 75th anniversary of the first arrival of vital aid by British wartime convoys to the Russian city of Arkhangelsk, later this month.
Two men have denied swiping more than 360,000 worth of jewellery during a raid on an Indian tycoons 14.5 million Mayfair mansion.

David Bain, 51, from West Kensington, and Rightous Garnett, 48, from West Kilburn, allegedly stole bracelets, rings, earrings and watches during a burglary at the five bedroom townhouse on Chesterfield Street on 1 November 2014.

The house belonged to Neeraj Kanwar, who is the managing director of Indian manufacturing giants Apollo Tyres Ltd which had a revenue of more than 1.2 billion in 2011.

Indian tycoon Neeraj Kanwar's house in Chesterfield Street, Mayfair, was burgled in November 2014

David Bain (pictured), 51, from West Kensington and Rightous Garnett, 48, from West Kilburn appeared at Southwark Crown Court today in relation to a burglary at Mr Kanwar's home

Both men appeared at Southwark Crown Court today and spoke only to confirm their names and deny the charges against them.

Bain and Garnett are also accused of an attempted burglary at an address in Culcross Street, Mayfair on 17 November 2015.

Garnett also allegedly raided the same house nine days earlier and attempted a further burglary on the same street on November 10 last year.

Properties in the street are valued at more than 18million.

The duo will face trial within two weeks of November 14

Bain denies one count of burglary and one of attempted burglary with intent to steal.

Garnett denies two counts of burglary and two of attempted burglary.
Three Foxtons estate agents have been sacked after brawling with class war activists outside the London home of Boris Johnson.

The men were seen exchanging punches and grappling with hooded activists on the street in Islington as they became wrapped up in a protest.

It is believed the men, seen wearing dark fitted suits, were on their way back from a nearby pub after shutting the Islington branch of the firm early.

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Fracas: Police officers tussle with protesters outside Boris Johnson's Islington home

Melee: Foxtons' estate agents brawl with Class War activists as they get wrapped up in a protest in north London

Foxtons had decided to close the doors of the office earlier than usual as there were concerns that it could be a target for protesters.

Do you know the estate agents? Email keiligh.baker@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

In a shocking video one of the men can be seen grappling with a protester and launching punches at the back of his head during the melee before police officers pile in.

At the beginning of the footage one of the agents, who appears to be drunk, can be heard shouting 'Oh Boris I love you' before wading through the crowd.

The camera then cuts to two men, one estate agent and a protester, scuffling before falling to the ground.

Foxtons' employee Patrik Aghabeh, 28, pictured, was charged with assault by beating

Both sides are then seen attacking each other as officers try to separate them.

Activists can be heard chanting that the men are 'women beaters' although it is not made clear why.

The footage ends with then estate agents being surrounded police as the baying mob, which has let off a purple flare by this point, is dispersed by officers.

It is now believed that the Foxtons employees involved in the fracas have been sacked by the firm.

A spokeswoman told the Evening Standard: 'We were extremely disappointed to learn of this incident.

Grip: One of the agents grabs a protester's neck as he brawls with him during the clash

Clash: A man swings a punch during the fight as police officers try to break up the violence

Dispute: A Foxtons employee gestures to protesters as he is guarded from the mob by police

Disruption: Activists let off a purple flare as police swoop in outside Boris Johnson's home

'Foxtons absolutely does not condone this sort of behaviour.

'We pride ourselves on the professionalism of our agents and this isolated incident was treated with the utmost severity.

'Following an internal investigation, those employees found responsible are no longer working for the company.'

Patrik Aghabeh, 28, from Drayton Park, was charged with assault by beating and bailed to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Monday, August 15.

Ian Lewis, 68, from south Norwood, was charged with assaulting a constable in the execution of his duty.

A 49-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault on police and has been bailed until later this month.
Twenty-two hoarded dogs which had been living in an SUV have been saved.

Bruno, a German shepherd, and twenty-one puppies had been in the vehicle with a mentally ill female veteran, NBC New York reported.

The animals were saved in the Throggs Neck area of the Bronx this week, the report said.

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Twenty-two hoarded dogs which had been living in an SUV have been saved

Bruno, a German shepherd, and twenty-one puppies had been in the vehicle with a mentally ill female veteran

Adore-a-Bullie Rescue's Regina Galente told the TV station in an interview: 'Well, she had the German shepherd kind of crated really to the back.

'And the rest of them were just loose, all over the place.'

Galente said: 'Bruno is just awesome. He cried for everyone that we were handling.

'He was like the papa bear to all of them.'

The NYPD's 45 Precinct tweeted this photograph showing the dogs inside

A NYPD officer is pictured looking at Bruno. Police did not release the woman's name and said she has not been arrested

Bruno and the puppies were living together inside a Mercedes SUV, it's been reported. Pictured are the rescued animals

Rescued dogs are seen in these photographs from Adore-a-Bullies Paws and Claws

Adore-a-Bullie Rescue's Regina Galente says: 'Well, she had the German shepherd kind of crated really to the back. And the rest of them were just loose, all over the place'

Galente said: 'Bruno is just awesome. He cried for everyone that we were handling. He was like the papa bear to all of them.' Dogs are pictured left and right

According to Galente, 'One was bleeding out, lethargic and in big trouble.'

Adore-a-Bullies Paws and Claws wrote on Facebook Tuesday: 'MEET BRUNO! He is a full bred German Sheperd! He is 4 yrs old and the sweetest dog I ever met!

'He is excellent with all humans and other dogs. I don't think cats!'

The animals are expected to live, according to local media

A black dog is seen on the ground (left), while a light-colored animal is held by a human friend (right)

A shelter called Bobbi and the Strays wrote on Facebook Wednesday that it took in 11 dogs.

The animals are expected to live, according to NBC New York.

Police did not release the woman's name and said she has not been arrested.

If you are interested in adopting the animals, visit the Facebook pages for Bobbi and the Strays and Adore-a-Bullies Paws and Claws for more information.

Police officers are pictured with crates in this image posted to Twitter on Thursday

Bruno is pictured with some of the rescued puppies




A married policeman has been sacked after having an affair with a murderer's lawyer as he supported the victim's grieving family.

Detective Constable Peter Surgay, 42, was appointed family liaison officer after Clifford Collinge, 61, was beaten to death with a guitar and metal clamp at his home in Warsop, Nottinghamshire, in 2011.

However, his relatives did not know that he was in a 'volatile' sexual relationship with solicitor Deborah Bell, who was representing killer Stephen Shreeves.

Clifford Collinge, 61, was beaten to death with a guitar and metal clamp at his home in 2011

Detective Constable Peter Surgay, 42, was appointed family liaison officer following the murder, which took place at Mr Collinge's home in Warsop, Nottinghamshire (pictured)

Shreeves, 44, was one of two men found guilty of murder in July 2012 and was jailed for life at Nottingham Crown Court.

Surgay was sacked from Nottinghamshire Police after he was found guilty of gross misconduct by failing to notify his superiors about his relationship with Ms Bell.

A police misconduct panel heard the relationship was kept secret as Surgay's wife also served with the same force.

During the two-day hearing at Nottinghamshire Police headquarters, the panel was also told Surgay and Ms Bell had been on holidays to California, Cornwall and Dublin together during the affair.

Delroy Henry, chairman of the police misconduct panel, said: 'His dishonourable conduct is serious.

'What we are looking at here was a course of conduct not for one day, for one week, but years.

Stephen Shreeves (left) was one of two men found guilty of murdering Mr Collinge in July 2012 and was jailed for life. The victim's wife Charlotte Collinge (right) was at first convicted of murdering her husband in 2012 but later acquitted following a retrial last year

A sash clamp which was one of the weapons used in the murder of Mr Collinge

'A failure to be open and honest is clear - his conduct was so serious as to warrant dismissal.

'Det Con Surgay knew there was potential compromise or conflict of interest.

Mr Collinge suffered 46 injuries including a fractured skull when he was murdered

'It is the covert nature of the relationship and the desire to keep it such which is the potential compromise or conflict of interest.'

Surgay told the panel that they met over drinks with colleagues but insisted work was 'not a subject we discussed'.

He said: 'She said to me, 'Oh yes, I've got one of the suspects' and I just said, 'Oh right'.

'For the 90 per cent of the time we were friends, not sexual partners.

'The times that it did happen we were both intoxicated. It changed our friendship into something that caused arguments.

'Sex wasn't a thing that happened a lot between me and Deb. There were times when we were alone together and advances were made by Deb.

'We often made the agreement that we would continue as friends but that line would sometimes be blurred.'

Mr Collinge suffered 46 injuries including a fractured skull when he was murdered in his home in Warsop, Nottinghamshire, in October 2011.
He then dragged her to surface and saved her life with seconds to spare

Her friend tried to put regulator back in her mouth as she gulped water

She suffered a panic attack and suddenly removed her

This is the terrifying moment a woman very nearly drowns after she suffers a panic attack while scuba diving at 50 feet.

The woman, who has not been identified, was under water in Cape Town, South Africa when she was unable to ascend with the rest of the group.

The horrifying footage shows her throwing her arms around and kicking her legs in panic before the situation suddenly gets even worse.

The woman could be seen flailing her arms and legs while having a panic attack under water

The amateur scuba diver pulls her breathing equipment and goggles from her face and can be seen taking huge gulps of water.

Her friend, who stays remarkably calm throughout the terrifying ordeal, then grabs hold of her in a bid to save her life.

He attempts to put her regulator back in her mouth - a device which reduces pressurised breathing gas and delivers it to the diver.

But the woman struggles with the man, who is unable to get the breathing mask back on her face.

Horrifying footage shows the woman 50 feet under the surface with no breathing mask

Her friend, who stays remarkably calm throughout the terrifying ordeal, tries to put her breathing regulator back in her mouth

Switching to Plan B, the man then begins dragging the scuba diver to the surface of the water as quickly as her can.

And after what feels like forever, the pair finally reach the top, where the woman takes a gulp of fresh air.

The video concludes with the scuba diver having regained her composure following the terrifying ordeal.

The footage was posted to YouTube by user Steve Gerber, who witnessed the woman suffering a panic attack in the water.

A man suddenly grabs hold of the drowning woman and drags her to the water's surface

The woman pulled off her breathing mask after suffering a panic attack and began gulping water

He said: 'She would have drowned as her buddy was just as inexperienced as she was.

'Due to the bad visibility we got separated from the dive master. I just tried to keep everyone together and decided to ascend.

'After communicating this through to all the members and starting the descend I noticed that she was not ascending and could see she was starting to panic.

'I actually started to swim towards her before she ripped off her mask and regulator.'

A witness, who posted the footage online, said the woman started to panic after she failed to ascend with the rest of the group
A teenager who is one of three charged with the manslaughter of Queensland toddler Mason Jet Lee, has said he is 'petrified' of jail and worries about being assaulted.

Ryan Robert Barry Hodson, 17, is charged with the manslaughter of the 21-month-old, along with Mason's mother Anne Maree Lee and stepfather William Andrew O'Sullivan, reported the Brisbane Times.

The toddler was found dead at his stepfather's home in Caboolture, north of Brisbane, in the early hours of June 11, covered with injuries.

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A teenager who is one of three charged with the manslaughter of Queensland toddler Mason Jet Lee, (pictured) has said he is 'petrified' of jail and worries about being assaulted

Mother Anne Maree Lee (pictured) has also been charged manslaughter over her son's death

Mr Hodson has applied for bail for the second time in two weeks, asking to be released while he awaits further proceedings over the death.

When Mr Hodson made his initial application for bail, the court heard he had refused to get medical help for Mason on numerous occasions, telling one person who had suggested a doctor 'f*** your mouth up, it's not our business, it's not our problem".

While there were no allegations Mr Hodson had physically abused Mason, he showed 'no care, compassion or consideration in any way'.

Police prosecutor Aaron Murray said the teenager should remain in jail for his own protection.

In Supreme Court documents ahead of his bail application on Friday, Mr Hodson wrote: 'I am petrified of going to jail.'

'I am informed and verily (sic) believe that there have been Facebook messages that people are waiting to assault me in jail.'

Ryan Dodson (pictured), 17, has applied for bail twice in two weeks and wants to go home

The toddler (pictured) was found dead at his stepfather's home in Caboolture, north of Brisbane, in the early hours of June 11, covered with horrific injuries

Mr Hodson is currently in the Brisbane Correctional Centre at Wacol.

He asked to return to his parent's house in Morayfield, where he said he was living at the time of Mason's death.

This contradicts police claims he was living at the house in Caboolture.

Court documents revealed Mr Hodson said he knew nothing about rearing children and was never Mason's carer.

Mr Hodson faces charges of manslaughter for the 21-month-old's death along with his mother Anne Maree Lee (left) and stepfather William Andrew O'Sullivan.

The boy's stepfather William Andrew O'Sullivan has also been charged

CCTV allegedly shows Mr Hodson verbally abusing Mason on three separate occasions before his death, where is is said to have told him 'you walk like a spastic, hurry up and grab your f***ing bottle' and 'shut up c*** or I'm going to hit you in the head'.

The prosecution claims an officer saw Mr Hodson and his co-accused at a shopping centre with Mason looking 'unwell' about three days before his death, to which Mr Hodson has said to officer did not tell him to get Mason any care'.
An Iranian-born German politician has claimed Christians living in asylum centres in the country are being forced to hide crucifixes and Bibles or face death threats from Muslims.

Mahin Mousapour, a pastor in the Evangelic Free Church, who converted Christianity more than 20 years ago, told a press conference that Christians living in migrant accommodation are being constantly persecuted.

She was joined by colleague Erika Steinbach who urged the government to deport migrants who insult or attack Christians.

An Iranian-born German politician has claimed Christians living in asylum centres in the country are being forced to hide crucifixes and Bibles or face death threats from Muslims (file picture)

More than 1 million migrants arrived in Europe last year with many travelling to Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel said they would be welcome

And the pair criticised the German government for granting Islam 'too much respect'.

According to Breitbart, Ms Mousapour said: 'Toys of Christian children are being destroyed, Christian asylum seekers are told not only to wash their dishes after eating but also that they must clean the entire kitchen as it would otherwise be unclean.

Erika Steinbach, claimed that Christians in the temporary accommodation are only given leftovers as meals are catered to Muslim eating schedules

'Many Muslim asylum seekers call all Christians unclean. Church services are held in secret, bibles and crucifixes have to be hidden.'

'We are here in Germany, in a Christian country! We must not allow others to change that.'

Meanwhile Ms Steinbach, claimed that Christians in the temporary accommodation are only given leftovers as meals are catered to Muslim eating schedules.

She called for the system to be overhauled and for breakfast, lunch and dinner to be served as usual.

More than 1 million migrants arrived in Europe last year with many travelling to Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel said they would be welcome.

Ms Steinbach has been a vocal opponent of Mrs Merkel's 'open door' policy on migrants and urged her to change her stance.
The latest national poll has Hillary Clinton only three points up against Donald Trump after several post-Democratic National Convention surveys had her beating her Republican rival by double-digits.

The new Rasmussen Reports four-way poll has Clinton leading the pack with 43 percent of likely voters supporting her, compared to Trump's 40 percent, which is within the poll's plus-or-minus 3 percent margin of error.

Additionally, Libertarian Gary Johnson stands at 8 percent, Green Party hopeful Jill Stein receives the support of 2 percent, while 4 percent of likely voters prefer some other presidential candidate and 3 percent remain undecided.

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Hillary Clinton (left) still leads in the most recent Rasmussen Reports survey, but her advantage is now just three points over rival Donald Trump (right)

The latest national polling has Hillary Clinton only ahead of her rival Donald Trump by three points, while a number of surveys had her ahead by double-digits last week

It's true that these numbers show Clinton with a slimmer lead, though the Bloomberg Politics poll that was released yesterday showed the Democrat in a similar position once Johnson and Stein were added in.

In that poll, while Clinton was ahead of Trump by six points when just the two faced off, the four-way race had her only up by four points, with Johnson and Stein's arrival chipping off several percentage points from both Clinton and Trump's columns.

Generally speaking, the four-way race is slightly tighter, with the Real Clear Politics polling average showing Clinton ahead by 7.7 points when she's only up against Trump and then ahead by 7.2 points when all four candidates are accounted for.

Last week, directly after the Democratic National Convention, Rasmussen's standings had Clinton up by four points  her largest lead over Trump since June.

Trump had reached his peak support a month later, in July, earning 44 percent of the vote, while Clinton received 37 percent, for a seven point difference.

Clinton's lead is helped by the fact that more of her party's voters are supporting their nominee than Republican voters are selecting Trump.

Eighty-two percent of Democrats polled said they plan to support Clinton while 74 percent of Republicans plan to vote Trump.

However, non-affiliated voters are tiling toward Trump with 37 percent saying they'll vote for the Republican, while 32 percent said they'll vote Democratic.

Both Clinton and Trump are drawing the support of just over 10 percent of voters from the opposing party.

There are no big surprises from the demographic breakdown of the Rasmussen survey with women, African-Americans, young people and minorities supporting Clinton. She also gets more support from government workers, while Trump attracts voters from the private sector.

Trump's voting bloc is more male, more white and older than Clinton's.

Johnson, the former New Mexico governor, needs to improve his national standing by a couple more points so that he can get on the general election debate stage.
The world has become a ticking time bomb and every year more and more countries are reaching the tipping point where people over 65 outnumber children.

New research suggests there are now 30 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada, who have more old people than youngsters and they are all facing a pensions crisis.

Joseph Chamie, an independent researcher who studied population for 25 years for the United Nations, told the Inter Press Service the number of countries would jump to 56 by 2030.

Italy was the first country to reach the demographic milestone but every year more countries are joining it, with Britain, the US, China and Australia set to join the 'club' soon

Italy was the first country - in 1995 - to join this distinct club, followed shortly after by Japan, Germany and Spain.

All these countries noticed a rise in longevity due to their high levels of affluence and excellent health services but they also spotted a dip in birth rates.

Japan went so far as to introduce, in 2009, cash incentives worth up to 2,500 a year to encourage more couples to have children. They also offered state-supported childcare and subsidised university tuition.

A group of elderly Germans stroll towards the sunset at the Baltic resort of Kuhlungsborn. Germans are one of many countries who are living longer, putting pressure on health services and pension funds

But it is not just wealthy countries who are noticing the grey hair boom.

Some of the earliest nations to join the list were the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia and in 2020 Cuba is expected to tip over too.

In 2025 Thailand and Barbados are predicted to join the club, followed in 2030 by Russia, Armenia and China, which last year scrapped its one-child policy because of growing fears about its ageing population and a lack of future earners to pay into its pensions pot.

By 2075 Mr Chamie estimates the world's population will be around 10 billion and globally more people will be over 65 than children. This point is known as the historic reversal'.

THE COUNTRIES WITH MORE OLDIES THAN YOUNGSTERS 1995 - Italy 2000 - Germany, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria 2005 - Belgium, Austria, Ukraine, Croatia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia 2010 - Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Lithuania, Czech Republic 2015 - France, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Netherlands, Malta, Bosnia-Herzegovina 2020 - UK, South Korea, Cuba, Singapore, Slovakia 2025 - US, Thailand, Norway, Cyprus, Montenegro, Barbados, Macedonia 2030 - Australia, China, Russia, Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Chile, Georgia, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Moldova, New Zealand Advertisement

In the 1950s there were an estimated 10 people of working age per each pensioner but that figure has shrunk and in Italy today there are only three workers per retiree, which is putting a massive strain on the pensions pot.

That partly explains why some countries, including Italy and Germany, are happy to welcome migrants who tend to be of working age and either have children or are planning to have children.

Migrants in Europe also tend to have a higher birth rate than indigenous populations.

American workers pour concrete at a construction site in Massachusetts. But the number of people of working age has fallen considerably in the US in comparison to retirees

The only continent which is not expected to pass the demographic milestone in the 21st century is Africa.

In 2100 it is estimated there will be 1.5 children per elderly person in many African countries and two children per old person in Nigeria and Somalia.

Mr Chamie said: 'Population ageing presents a major challenge to government old age pension systems with more elderly beneficiaries and relatively fewer workers contributing to support them.

Children play in a nursery. But the number of people having babies has not kept up with the number of individuals who are ageing, largely because of improvements in healthcare

'To sustain pension programs for the elderly, countries have a number of options at their disposal.

'Governments may choose to increase taxes, redirect government revenue, reduce benefits or privatise old age pension schemes.
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Heartbroken parishioners came together today to pay their final respects to the Catholic priest who waved a blood-stained white handkerchief and guided the body of a dying teenager through army gunfire during the Bloody Sunday shootings.

Bishop Edward Daly, 82, famously brandished the rag as a symbol of ceasefire as he attempted to help a fatally injured demonstrator in Londonderry in Northern Ireland in January 1972.

The fearless peace builder was lauded as a hero and went on to lead the church in the city through some of their darkest hours.

Heartbroken parishioners came together today to pay their final respects to the Catholic priest Edward Daly who waved a blood-stained white handkerchief and guided a dying teenager through army gunfire during the Bloody Sunday shootings

The mass took place today at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry. Dozens of mourners surrounded the coffin before the service took place

Bishop Edward Daly, 82, famously brandished the rag as a symbol of ceasefire as he attempted to help a fatally injured demonstrator in Londonderry in Northern Ireland in January 1972. Mourners came together today to bid him farwell

Today, well-wishers congregated at requiem mass to pay their respects to the late retired Bishop, days after he died at the age of 82 after a long illness.

The service, which was held at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry, attracted a large crowd from across Ireland and beyond.

Among those who attended the service at St Eugene's were former SDLP leader John Hume and Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. Former Stormont MP Ivan Cooper and Irish musician Phil Coulter also came to pay their respects.

Dr Daly's symbolic actions came after paratroopers opened fire on Bloody Sunday and killed 13 people.

Fourteen were injured, and another was to die later. It has been described as one of the catalysts of the IRA and the 30-year conflict, which left more than 3,000 dead and many others injured.

The incident unfolded when civil rights demonstrators seeking one man, one vote and other concessions from the unionist-dominated government of Northern Ireland had gathered for a march in Londonderry.

Many well-wishers and old friends have already visited St Eugene's to see his body lying in repose. The 82-year-old died earlier this month after a long illness

A mourner pays her final respects before the funeral today. Dr Daly went on to lead the church in the city through some of their darkest hours and was lauded as a hero and fearless peace builder during the Troubles

At the time Dr Daly was a curate aged 39 from Belleek who served at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry.

He joined the march as it passed the cathedral en route to the city centre.

The priest was near John 'Jackie' Duddy, 17, when he was shot by soldiers. He anointed him and gave him the Last Rites.

Dr Daly and other marchers attempted to bring him to safety and the priest led the way with a handkerchief in his hand.

Former SDLP leader John Hume (left) and Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (right) were both among the mourners at the funeral this afternoon

Former Stormont MP Ivan Cooper was on of those who attended the funeral of Dr Edward Daly in Londonderry

Musician and songwriter Phil Coulter looked sombre as he attended the service today alongside scores of other mourners

After it happened, Dr Daly said: 'I felt a responsibility to tell the story of what I saw and what I saw was a young fella who was posing no threat to anybody being shot dead unjustifiably.'

Dr Daly had served in the city since 1962, walking its deprived streets whose inhabitants suffered decades of underinvestment amid violence and political manoeuvring.

A man and boy look up at the mural on Free Derry Corner which depicts Bishop Daly waving the white flag in 1972

He was Bishop of Derry from 1974 until 1993, stepping aside after suffering a stroke. In recent years he has battled a long-term illness.

The clergyman was awarded the freedom of the city last year alongside his Church of Ireland counterpart and close friend Bishop James Mehaffey, hailing the rich 'tapestry of cultures' which made up his adopted home.
Martin Johnson, 56, was jailed after threatening to stab an easyJet pilot

A drunk passenger who downed two bottles of wine before threatening to stab an easyJet pilot has been jailed.

Martin Johnson, 56, bought two bottles of duty free wine at Bristol Airport and downed one before getting on the plane to Malaga.

Once on board he disappeared into the plane's toilet for nearly 10 minutes and the crew later found the empty bottle in the bin and urine all over the room.

Stewards alerted the captain who announced that the plane with 153 people on board was turning back after flying as far as Guernsey.

With that, Johnson threatened to stab the pilot and kill everyone on board to the terror of passengers sitting near him.

The plane safely got back to Bristol and Johnson was arrested and then sent before magistrates who freed him on bail - only for him to disappear.

He was eventually arrested in Glasgow on July 2 and remanded to Bristol Crown Court where he was jailed yesterday.

He had defended himself and denied being drunk or threatening on the April flight but was convicted by magistrates in his absence at an earlier hearing.

Janine Wood, prosecuting, said Johnson was in seat 14D on the 9pm flight and took a sip from his second bottle as soon as he sat down.

She said: 'He placed it in a bag under his seat.

'He was asked by cabin crew to put the bag in the overhead locker. He declined. He said he didn't have anything in it.'

She said the plane took off and Johnson visited the toilet for seven minutes.

Mrs Wood added: 'When he returned an empty bottle was in the bin and someone had urinated all over the toilet and it was rendered unusable.

'Paula James had the misfortune to sit next to him and saw him drinking some wine.

'She was concerned and she spoke to the cabin manager, James Brown.

Johnson's antics made staff turn the flight to Malaga around, with his behaviour causing 'untold inconvenience' to his fellow passengers (file photo)

'He contacted the flight deck and a decision was made to divert to Bristol, 25 minutes into the flight around Guernsey.'

The pilot announced the redirection was due to an intoxicated passenger and Johnson was heard to say: 'If the pilot turns it around I'm going to stab him. I'll have him.'

He then added he would stab an air hostess and kill everyone on the aircraft.

Miss James told police she felt petrified but had to keep calm as there were children sat in the next row.

Johnson, of Harlow, Essex, was arrested in Bristol and said he had poured his second bottle of wine down the toilet.

He told Judge Michael Longman: 'I've been out of trouble for a long time and I wish there was an alternative to prison.'

But the judge said drunken behaviour took on a different character in the air and was always taken seriously as it causes fear and alarm.

Johnson, who denied being drunk during the journey, was jailed for eight months at Bristol Crown Court (pictured)

He told Johnson: 'The diversion would have caused untold inconvenience to passengers, including children, whose holidays and trips would have been delayed and meetings missed.'

The judge declined to make a restraining order for Johnson to be barred from flying easyJet, saying if they wished to bar him it was up to them.

No figure for compensation was given or awarded - though it is thought it could have run into tens of thousands of pounds.

Johnson initially appeared in North Somerset Magistrates court in April and was released on bail - but failed to reappear for another hearing on July 13.

In his absence he was found guilty of being drunk on an aircraft and police tracked him down in Glasgow before arresting him on July 2.
ABA Area Big Year Update: August, and Four over 700

This year has been exceptional for Big Year birders. Not only have two birders broken the previous ABA Area Big Year record set by Neil Hayward in 2013, but this year also marks the first in which four birders have cracked 700 in the ABA Area. By all objective standards, 2016 has been a very very big year.

In another relevant piece of news, the Florida Ornithological Records Committee has recently voted to accept as valid the Cuban Vireo discovered in Key West in April of this year and seen by three of the four birders. The ABA Checklist Committee will now take up the record which, depending on that decision, could be officially added to the ABA list before the end of the year.

Well start off with the current pole position holder John Weigel who, after a Blue-footed Booby on the Farallon Islands this week, comes in at 758. Since we last checked in, Weigel has added four species in four states: Nevada, Nebraska, Minnesota, and the booby in California. It hasnt all been easy, however, Weigel notes on his blog that Craveris Murrelet eluded him on four consecutive pelagic trips out of San Diego at the end of July. With few, if any, remaining ABA Area breeding species left for him, whether or not he reaches the heretofore unthinkable total of 770 depends on how many vagrants turn up in the ABA Area this fall.

You can follow John at Birding for Devils.

After a hot start, Olaf Danielson has cooled down this summer, though he still sits at 752, also having passed Haywards mark after some time on St. Paul Island. Danielson broke the record with Wood Sandpiper and added a handful of other Bering Sea species, the last of which was Gray-tailed Tattler. A Big Year is a huge logistical effort and Olaf had some frustrations to that end at the ed of July, dealing with airline difficulties that led to him missing some west coast pelagics. Like Weigel, Olaf looks to be keeping a lower profile in the beginning of August, sitting tight during this period of relative calm before the rush of fall.

You can follow Olaf at his blog, The Bad Weather Big Year.

We briefly mentioned Laura Keene in the last update, but she has made a significant push past 700 in the last month, currently sitting at 713 after some time in California both on and offshore. Laura reports that she hopes to pick up Himalayan Snowcock in Nevada in the coming days (in fact, by the time of publication she may have already added it). Laura becomes the second woman to pass 700 in one year, after Lynn Barbers 723 in 2008. She looks certain to eclipse that mark and has an outside shot at cracking Haywards record as well.

Christian Hagenlocher also topped 700 at the end of July, with a Great Gray Owl in northwest Wyoming. This makes him the youngest ever to break 700 in one year. He is currently sitting at 710 (including Cuban Vireo and Pine Flycatcher) and looking for ways to add to that total this year in Alaska and North Carolina. As weve mentioned before, his Big Year is as much about his project of interviewing birders as much as it is about seeing lots of birds. Hes raising funds via GoFundMe and you can contribute to him if youre so inclined.

You can read Christians blog at The Birding Project.

Best of luck to all Big Year birders. Its been a fascinating year to watch.
Health officials in Massachusetts are investigating a serious allegation that a surgeon operated on the wrong patient.

A kidney was allegedly removed from the wrong patient at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester.

The Massachusetts Department of Health said in a statement they are aware of the 'serious allegation' and are investigating with both state and federal authorities.

The name of the surgeon and patient have not been released.

Health officials in Massachusetts are investigating after a kidney was allegedly removed from the wrong patient at St. Vincent Hospital (above) in Worcester

The Massachusetts Department of Health said in a statement they are aware of the 'serious allegation' and are investigating with both state and federal authorities (file above)

Saint Vincent Hospital declined to comment on the allegation citing patient privacy laws and it's unclear when the alleged incident happened.

A statement from the Massachusetts Department of Health reads: 'We are aware of this serious allegation, and are investigating in line with our state and federal authority.'

'This is a deeply unfortunate situation involving a patient misidentification that took place outside of our hospital and did not involve our employees.' according to a statement from Tenet Health, which owns St. Vincent.

'Our staff followed proper protocols in preparing for and performing the surgery, which was scheduled by the patient's physician at our hospital.

'Saint Vincent Hospital is committed to providing safe, high-quality care to every patient who enters our doors.

'We are saddened that this incident occurred and our leadership continues to assure the affected patient receives the support and care needed.'

The name of the surgeon and patient have not been released. Saint Vincent Hospital declined to comment on the allegation citing patient privacy laws (file above)

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, surgery performed on the wrong patient is 'described as a never event' and a mistake that should never happen. It also indicates serious underlying safety problems.

The agency states that this type of 'vivid and terrifying' surgical mistake is 'relatively rare.'

According to CNN, a study found that 'such errors occur in approximately one in 112,000 surgical procedures, which means an individual hospital would have such an error every five to 10 years.'
The cyber-attacks which halted the census website on Tuesday were the work of by amateur 'hacktivists', rather than advanced organisations, experts believe.

Cyber security insiders have formed theories about the origin of the 'denial of service' attacks which prompted authorities to shut down the website.

Others have suggested an organised cyber-crime gangs which offer attacks for payment were using Australia's census to showcase the havoc they can wreak, reports Sydney Morning Herald.

About 16 million residents were expected to log on to complete the compulsory Census on Tuesday night, but were met with error messages

Tobias Feakin, a cyber-security expert with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the crises indicated a lack of preparation from the ABS.

'My gut instinct is it's some sort of hacktivist group not at a terribly high level. The most serious issue in my view is there was an apparent lack of strategies in place. This is all about Australia raising their game.'

Gideon Creech, a lecturer with the Australian Centre for Cyber Security at the University of NSW, said they could be using the attack as a testament to their cyber attacking power.

'It shows everybody they've got this massive weapon. The world's talking about it.'

On Thursday Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned there will be 'serious consequences' for those who failed to prepare and prevent cyber attacks which halted the census website on Tuesday.

Mr Turnbull admits there were 'serious failures' with the national survey, which was conducted on an opt-out online basis for the first time by the Australia Bureau of Statistics, costing taxpayers $272 million in operational costs.

There will be 'serious consequences' for those who failed to prepare for cyber attacks which halted the census website on Tuesday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) has warned

'There is time for a review and an inquiry. There are lots of people out there trying to find out who's to blame and which heads should roll and so forth,' Mr Turnbull told 2GB on Thursday.

'My calm demeanour on your radio program is disguising the fact ... that I too am very angry about this. I am bitterly disappointed about this.''

The 'denial of service attacks' that caused the census website to crash were 'absolutely commonplace, highly predictable' and inevitably going to happen, Mr Turnbull said.

'Measures that ought to have been in place to prevent these denial-of-service attacks interfering with access to the website were not put in place. That is a fact.'

The failure of prevention measures was compounded by hardware problems, he said - pointing to 'big issues' for the ABS and IBM - which was contracted to carry out the census.

Mr Turnbull's comments come after it was revealed the census hacking disaster was covered up for up for nine hours while the government advised Australians to continue lodging their forms online.

ABS boss David Kalisch (pictured) has conceded the system suffered four attacks which forced them to shut down the website




An accused Albanian double killer who gouged out the eyes of one of his victims claims he cannot be sent home as it is too dangerous and 'corrupt'.

Avni Metra, 53, faces 25 years behind bars for the murder of two brothers in 1997 following his conviction by an Albanian court in 2001.

Metra, who will be retried if he is returned to his home country, is said to have carried out brutal violence during his crimes and sliced off the ears of one of his victims, the court heard at an extradition hearing.

Accused killer: Avni Metra, 53, (pictured) faces 25 years behind bars for the brutal murder of two brothers in 1997 following his conviction by an Albanian court in 2001

Metra, who had lived quietly in suburbia n Borehamwood for the past 18 years was confronted by the Daily Mail in June, after an international investigation tracked him to his Home Counties lair.

The former gang henchman has invoked human rights laws in a last-ditch bid to prevent extradition, claiming he would not receive a fair trial in Albania.

Wearing a light blue shirt and chinos, Metra told Westminster Magistrates Court he fled from Albania after being warned he would be killed.

He said: I left because my life was in danger. My friend was killed.

A police friend told me to leave otherwise I was going to get killed, whether its the government, the authorities, or someone else.

Asked by Susan Bryant, defending, if had any knowledge of the murders, Metra insisted he had nothing to do with them.

He said: I dont know much about it. I only heard about it from word of mouth.

Metra told the court he would be denied a fair trial in Albania because of corruption.

He said: There is no justice in Albania, there is only corruption.

An MP was killed on their doorstep, a prosecutor is in prison for corruption.

There is lots of turmoil, corruption rules.

Metra said he came to the UK under the fake name Abdul Mekra due to the language barrier.

Detectives did not realise that Metra, using the bogus name Avdul Mekra, was in fact a notorious fugitive. Pictured: his UK passport

I didnt speak any English or anything, other people filled in my paperwork for me.

Metra is now entitled to a retrial because he was convicted in his absence in Albania.

Howeber, the Albanian claims he would not be entitled to legal aid and would have to defend himself if extradited.

Metra then told the court he should be allowed to stay because of his four children living in this country.

But Hannah Hinton, for the Albanian Government, told the court: He has been estranged from his family for some time.

He has been convicted in 2011 of assaulting his wife, for common assault, and a restraining order was made.

He has no substantive contact with them, he is not their carer and not an active parent.

Hideout: Metra's home Borehamwood, Hertfordshire where he was tracked down after an investigation by the Daily Mail

A family court order meant he cant contact his children without the courts consent.

Ms Hinton said Metra should be extradited because of the serious nature of the offences.

She added: The offences for which he is sought are of the most grave kind.

There is a great public interest in extraditing him to Albania to face justice.

District Judge Margot Coleman will now rule on whether Metra should be extradited to Albanian on August 19.

Albanian prosecutors have launched a number of extradition requests for murderers said to have killed people as the country descended into civil war following an economic collapse in 1997.

Metra was convicted in absence of two counts of murder and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm on 12 February 2001, and has also been under investigation for an alleged rape offence.
An adorable female polar bear born at a central Ohio zoo and hand-reared by staff will move to the Oregon Zoo this fall.

Nine-month-old Nora will join a female bear named Tasul in Oregon, according to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

The move was approved so the Columbus Zoo can provide a good environment for more cubs to be born if other bears become pregnant, officials said.

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Nora, an adorable and beloved female polar bear born and hand-reared by staff at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio will move to the Oregon Zoo this fall

They said would-be mother bears need quiet, which would not be possible with Nora's habitat-sharing schedule.

Zoo staff raised the cub, born last November, after her mother started leaving her unattended in the den for prolonged periods of time.

She has grown to 150 pounds from when she weighed only a pound at birth. She has also developed a big group of fans.

'We are overjoyed to share this important milestone in Nora's life with the fantastic care team at the Oregon Zoo,' Columbus Zoo President and CEO Tom Stalf said.

'To think back to that first week of her life, when there was such a high chance that she would not survive, we cannot be anything but happy to see her grow into the strong, playful and intelligent bear she has become.'

Nora will be introduced to her Oregon Zoo care team while in Ohio, according to officials.

Nora has grown to 150 pounds from when she weighed only a pound at birth (pictured left). Zoo staff raised the cub, born last November, after her mother started leaving her unattended in the den

Nora pictured above. The move was approved so the Columbus Zoo can provide a good environment for more cubs to be born if other bears become pregnant, officials said

She along with her Columbus Zoo care team will then travel with her to Oregon to help facilitate her transition.

Nora's last day on view in Columbus is September 5.

She will be in quarantine before her Oregon debut, which has not been scheduled, and visitors may be able to see her in her new home as early as mid-October, zoo officials said.

Nine-month-old Nora will join a female bear named Tasul (pictured) in Oregon, according to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
The Clinton campaign is expected to release more years of tax returns this week in an effort to shame Donald Trump into releasing his own.

Hillary Clinton will make public her 2015 return, while 10 years of running mate Tim Kaine's returns will come out, according to reporting from CNBC's John Harwood.

While presidential candidates aren't mandated to release their returns, it's become an expected rite of passage if you're a major party nominee.

But so far, with Trump being an unconventional candidate, he's bucked this tradition.

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Hillary Clinton's (left) campaign will release her 2015 tax returns, according to CNBC, while Donald Trump (right) won't release any tax returns his campaign has said

The Clinton campaign will also be releasing 10 years worth of tax returns from Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (pictured), Hillary Clinton's running mate

Meanwhile, Clinton released eight years of tax returns last July, three months into her presidential bid.

The statements covered the years 2007 to 2014, which showed the income the Clintons had brought in since her original run for the White House, through her years as President Obama's secretary of state.

Adding the 2015 return to the pile, the Clintons will have released 38 years of their tax returns  dating back to 1977  to the public, thanks to Bill Clinton's political career and then Hillary Clinton's own.

The 2014 return gave voters a glimpse of the political dynasty's vast wealth, with the Clintons bringing in $28 million that year.

They paid about $10 million in taxes with a tax rate of 36 percent.

Hillary Clinton tried to play down the eight-figure earnings that she and Bill Clinton were bringing in annually by talking about her middle class roots in a statement that coincided with her tax returns.

'We've come a long way from my days going door-to-door for the Children's Defense Fund and earning $16,450 as a young law professor in Arkansas  and we owe it to the opportunities America provides,' Clinton said.

'I want more Americans to have the chance to work hard and get ahead, just like we did. And reforming the tax code can help,'

She had previously taken heat for saying in June 2015 that she and Bill Clinton were 'dead broke' when they left the White House in 2001 because her husband's legal bills had put them in debt.

That claim, rated 'mostly false' by Politifact, didn't take into account the two large real estate assets  the Clintons' houses in New York and Washington, D.C.  and the couple's earning potential from Bill Clinton being a former president, the website noted.

As for Trump, his returns showing vast wealth wouldn't be a political problem.

Instead the returns would be an issue if he wasn't as wealthy and successful of a businessman as he's claimed.

Already voters have become skeptical of his big business boasts, with 61 percent telling Bloomberg Politics pollsters, for a survey that was released yesterday, that they're less impressed with Trump's business savvy than they were when he started his campaign last summer.

It's probably not helped by the fact that The Donald has dragged his feet on releasing his tax returns and now doesn't plan to do so until after the election.

During the Republican primary debates, Trump explained that several years of returns were under an Internal Revenue Service audit, using that as an excuse not to hand them over to the public.

Since then, the campaign doubled down on that position, saying in late July that Trump wouldn't release his returns until after Election Day.

Clinton surrogate, Billionaire Warren Buffett, challenged Trump to a tax return show-and-tell at a campaign stop earlier this month.

'Now, I've got news for him  I'm under audit too!' Buffett told a crowd gathered to see Clinton in Omaha, Nebraska, his home.

'And I would be delighted to meet him anyplace, anytime between now and the election. I will bring my tax return. He can bring his tax return. Nobody's going to arrest us.,' Buffett said, pushing back at the perception that somehow being under an audit means the documents cannot be publicly seen.

Buffett's challenge did nothing to budge Trump to release his returns.
A man who held a siege called 000 demanding to speak to a negotiator before claiming he does not go on dates with police when the operator asked for his number.

Daniel Ashley stormed into a Mosman Park house, took five people hostages including his ex-girlfriend during a three-hour standoff that was believed to be sparked by a failed relationship in June last year, reported Seven news.

During the emergency call made to police, Ashley is heard threatening to shoot a hostage if police did not put him in contact with a negotiator.

Daniel Ashley, 28, contacted police during a siege where he held five people hostage and demanded to speak to a negotiator

'Hi, um, I've taken some hostages in Mosman Park. You guys are already here. I'd like to speak to a negotiator,' he told the operator at the time.

The operator told Ashley someone would call him back  a response which irritated the 28-year-old.

'You're making me angrycall back in five minutes with a negotiator, or else,' Ashley responded.

After the police failed to call him back, Ashley contacted the police again.

'Can I take your name and telephone number, and I'll pass it on and get somebody to contact you, sir?' the operator said after receiving a call for the second time.

'F***ing serious? You want my name and number?'

'Yes please,' the operator said.

'Sorry, I don't go out on dates with policeit's not my thing,' he said.

One the operator asked for his number he said 'sorry I don't go on dates with police'

Police later shot Ashley who was later found to have been armed with a fake gun.

As a result he is now blind in one eye and a paraplegic.

He has since pleaded guilty to eight charges stemming from the kidnap as his lawyer claims he should receive a suspended sentence because he was not planning to injure anyone but himself.
Mr Scipione called for the retrial of Jay Hart, who was previously accused

Girl, 4, a 16-year-old boy, and an another girl, 16, murdered in NSW town

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has apologised for failing the families of the victims of the unsolved Bowraville murders.

Four-year-old Evelyn Greenup, Colleen Walker-Craig and Clinton Speedy-Duroux, both 16, were murdered in the NSW north coast town in 1990 and 1991.

Inquires found flaws in the way police investigated the infamous murders and Mr Scipione apologised to the victims' families in Bowraville on Thursday.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has apologised for failing the families of the victims of the unsolved Bowraville murders. Above, 16-year-old victim Clinton Speedy-Duroux

Inquires have found flaws in the way police investigated the infamous murders. The body of 16-year-old Colleen Walker-Craig (pictured) was never found

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione apologised to the victims' families in Bowraville on Thursday (file photo)

'We could have done more for your families when these crimes first occurred. We should have done more. I know this has added to your pain,' he said, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The NSW Police Commissioner apologised on several occasions during a brief speech addressing the families of the victims.

'Can I say to you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you've had to endure that. No one should have to endure that,' he said.

'It's important that you understand that I'm looking you right in the eye and saying I'm sorry.'

After a series of failed police investigations and unsuccessful prosecutions, the cases remain unsolved.

Clarice Greenup (centre), aunt of Evelyn Greenup, one of the victims of the Bowraville murders, is comforted by Raymond Robinson in 2013

Helen Duroux, the aunt of Clinton Speedy-Duroux, speaks at press conference at the NSW Parliament House in Sydney

In 1991, Bowraville local Jay Hart was charged with the murder of Clinton and Evelyn, but was acquitted of murdering Clinton in 1994.

Prosecutors later dropped the charges relating to Evelyn.

After an inquest into Evelyn's death in 2004, Mr Hart was again charged with murder, but once more acquitted.

Due to technicalities in NSW legislation, key pieces of evidence were excluded from the trials and the three murders were never considered in a single trial.

In May this year, Mr Scipione sent a submission calling for Mr Hart's retrial to the attorney-general.

It came after The Australian revealed Mr Hart confessed to the crimes in jail to a fellow inmate as he awaited trial.

Transcripts from a 2004 hearing into the deaths include testimony from another person, identified as 'Witness X', who claimed Mr Hart explained how he killed Clinton and dumped his body.

The transcripts said Mr Hart allegedly explained how he wrapped his victim's body in a blanket and dumped him in a 'marijuana patch'.

In May this year, Police Commisioner Andrew Scipione sent a submission calling for the retrial of Jay Hart (pictured) to the attorney-general

The three murdered children disappeared from the Bowraville community on the NSW north coast over five months from 1990 to 1991

'Clinton had pulled a knife on him and he took the knife off him and, yes, he dealt with it  gave it to him about the head,' the transcript reads, according to the newspaper.

Clinton's body was found near a field where marijuana was grown just outside Bowraville and Evelyn's body was found nearby. Colleen's remains have never been found.

According to The Australian, 'Witness X' also told the hearing Mr Hart spoke about a young girl who died from having her head 'smashed against a wall', and a '15, 16-year-old white girl  (a) young girl. Woolgoolga. Maclean, something or other.'
Other soldiers are carrying rifles near city of Dokuchaevsk in the east

Two soldiers seen walking around with their phones out on front line

This is the amazing moment that army soldiers were caught on camera playing Pokemon GO in a war zone.

Gun-toting Ukrainian army soldiers were filmed playing the virtual game on their smartphones on the front line in Eastern Ukraine.

Two young soldiers are seen glued to their phones as they wander around in search of Pokemon characters as two colleagues, armed with machine guns, keep watch.

Ukrainian soldiers fighting pro-Russian forces have been filmed playing Pokemon Go

They were taking a break from the fighting near the city of Dokuchaevsk in the east

One of the soldiers, identified as Nikolay Nagornyi, says on camera: 'Rare and unique species of Pokemon have been found here in the Dokuchaevsk area.

'We even saw Pikachu here yesterday. We invite everyone to join us and take part in searching and hunting for these rare Pokemon.'

And the soldier promised that adventurous Pokemon hunters would be provided with everything they needed, including 'cheap mine detectors and protective gloves'.

He added: 'Some Pokemon bite, you know...'

One soldier is heard talking in his native language saying 'everyone saw Pikachu here'

The clip has gone viral online and has even been shared by a Ukrainian MP

The video was filmed near the Eastern Ukrainian town of Dokuchaevsk in the Donetsk Oblast region which is occupied and controlled by pro-Russian militants.

The clip, recorded by another soldier, quickly went viral after it was uploaded to social media and local internet forums.

And it became even more popular after Ukrainian MP Igor Lapin posted it on his social media page.

One unnamed citizen said: 'This video was a brave but dangerous joke. They risked their lives to film this, but was it really worth it? What if somebody got killed?'

But others have criticised them, claiming they were 'risking their lives' to film the game

Pokemon GO is a free-to-play, location-based augmented reality game which has become a global sensation since its release earlier this year.

Players use their mobile device's GPS to locate, capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokemon, who appear on the screen as if they were really there.
A Malibu couple are suing one of the city's top realtors for $3.3million after he allegedly swindled them out of their Malibu dream home.

Zare and Seda Baghdasarian were forced to put the property, based in iconic Watkins Cove, on the market in 2011, after Zare, 56, lost heavily in stocks.

But they say broker Chris Cortazzo, 50, deliberately blocked the sale so he could snap it up for just $5.8million - half its original valuation - in 2012 and sell it for $15million last year, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed.

'Heaven': This is the house that Zare and Seda Baghdasarian say their realtor, Chris Cortazzo, swindled them out of in 2012. They claim it was valued at $12m, but he bought it for $5.8m

Miserable: Zare (left) and Seda (right) are miserable that Cortazzo renovated and resold the home in 2015 for $15m. They were forced into selling it after Zare's stock portfolio tumbled

Realtor: Cortazzo (right, with actress pal Shannen Doherty) bought the house after it laid unsold for 14 months - but they say he deliberately didn't sell it to lower the price

The stunning property, designed by star architect Harry Gesner, overlooks Watkins Cove, a tiny beach that has been featured in 'Baywatch' and Tag Heuer ads, among other media.

With just five neighboring homes, it's not hard to see why the cove has attracted the likes of George Harrison and Neil Diamond.

Nor is it hard to understand why Zare and his wife, now 54, snapped up their 2,450sqft home - and its 100ft of beach frontage - for $4.7million in 2003.

But the 2008 recession hit Zare - who made his fortune selling a pioneering wavelength router to Cisco Systems - hard, and his stock began to stumble.

With money draining away, the couple put the property on sale in 2011 through Chris Cortazzo, who was recommended by the realtor who sold them the house.

They say it was valued at $12million in 2008, and they had wanted to sell for $10million, but that Cortazzo persuaded them to put it on the market at $8.995.

Over the next 14 months, they say, the house was visited by plenty of potential clients - some of whom were celebrities - but nobody bit.

The price dropped and dropped and dropped again, eventually hitting rock bottom at $6.45million.

At this point, they say, Cortazzo offered to buy it, eventually paying the couple $5.795million in the spring of 2012.

And last winter - after the house had undergone an extensive renovation - he sold it for $15million.

Idyllic: The house (circled) is one of just six on Watkins Cove beach. Cortazzo's lawyer says his client renovated it, adding to its value, and that the property market boomed in 2014

'When my son found out that the house was sold for $15 million,' Zare told The Hollywood Reporter through tears, 'he goes, "Dad, one day I'm gonna make my own money and buy that house back. I promise you that!"

'It was his childhood. It was our heaven. It was stolen.'

The Baghdasarians are now taking Cortazzo to court, saying he didn't sell the property because - being aware of their dwindling funds - he knew he could snap it up from them once they got desperate.

They also say that he let other, less talented agents handle most of the visits, and that he didn't play up the Cove's natural beauty - but then used that feature as a selling point once he owned the property.

In the words of their lawyer, they feel that Cortazzo is culpable of 'self-dealing and (a) breach of his fiduciary duty by having his interest in mind rather than (his) clients'.'

Breach: The couple's lawyer said Cortazzo breached his fiduciary duty in buying the home and is demanding $3.3million in compensation

Cortazzo declined to comment, but his lawyer assured that his client 'adamantly denies any allegation of wrongdoing.'

He also said that Cortazzo had put money into a major renovation and that in April 2012 a document from Wells Fargo Bank listed the appraised value as $5.8million.

However, the Baghdasarians also say that Cortazzo told them improvements to the home weren't necessary.

Other realtors interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter were divided, with some saying Cortazzo just recognized 'an opportunity and took a risk'.

But many more said he had crossed a line, with one describing the deal as 'fishy'.'

Zare told the Hollywood Reporter that Cortazzo had asked him if he wanted to see the house after it was refurbished.

'That really hurt me,' he said. 'I said, "You enjoy it." He goes, "I do."
The friend of Carly McBride's boyfriend could hold the key to her murder as police revealed she argued with her ex-partner moments before she vanished.

A murder hunt has been launched after the remains of the mother-of-two were discovered in bushland two years since she went missing.

The 31-year-old, who was last seen in September 2014, was found on a property near Scone, in New South Wales' upper Hunter Valley on Sunday.

Police investigating the case have spoken to James Cuneen, who is currently behind bars after drugs and weapons were seized at his property following a search for the missing woman, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The man in question is a friend of Salye Newson, Ms McBride's boyfriend of three months, who reported her missing when she failed to return to her home.

There is no suggestion Mr Cuneen was involved with Ms McBride's murder.

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The remains of Carly McBride were found almost two years after she went missing

Heartbreaking photos have emerged of the rubbish-strewn resting place of Ms McBride

She was dropped off at her ex-partner's Muswellbrook property, northwest of Newcastle, to visit her then-three-year-old daughter.

Mr Newson told police he returned to the property later that day to pick Ms McBride up but was told she had stormed off after a dispute with her ex-partner.

She was thought to have gone to McDonald's, just a four minute drive away, but police believe she never made it there.

'One theory is Ms McBride met her killer after leaving the home where her daughter was while en route to the McDonald's,' Detective Sergeant Ian Wright told the newspaper.

Her remains were found on a property on August 7 following a tip-off to police, who carried out large searches of the area.

Detective Wright said police have received new leads that could help assist with their investigation after interviewing several persons of interests.

'We've been looking closely into Carly's background and people involved in Carly's life, including the people involved with Carly around the time of her disappearance,' Sgt Wright said.

'Nothing has changed in that regard but obviously we are keeping an open mind to all possibilities.'

She was believed to have headed to this McDonald's but police believed she never made it

Police believe her death is suspicious and say the discovery of her remains will reinvigorate their investigations.

Ms McBride, 31, was last seen on Calgaroo Avenue, Muswellbrook

'We don't believe this was a random act,' Superintendent Guy Guiana said.

'We believe someone who knew Carly has some information for us and we want that person to come forward.'

Supt Guiana's voice cracked as he spoke of the determination of police to get to the bottom of the case.

'Carly has two young children, four and eight, and they are going to want to know what happened to Mum,' he said.

'We've put a lot of work into this in the last two years and the team here is pretty keen to solve this for Carly's family.'

Supt Guiana said the family's reaction to the news her body had been found had been mixed.

'(They reacted) with sadness, but I think there is also a sense of relief they can finally lay her to rest,' he said.

Police Strike Force Karabi has been investigating Ms McBride's disappearance

Photos have revealed the 31-year-old was left in bushland surrounded by a discarded car tyre, plastic bottles and other litter

Ms McBride left this Belmont, NSW house on September 30 2014 and never returned

The revelation comes after heartbreaking photos emerged of the rubbish-strewn resting place of the missing woman.

Photos have revealed she was left in bushland surrounded by an old car tyre, discarded bottles and plastic bags.

Police tape has been placed around the area Ms McBride was found and detectives were seen writing in notebooks as they scoured the site on Thursday.

Although police found the remains on Sunday, they waited for the results of a post mortem to confirm they were Ms McBride's, The Newcastle Herald reported.

Police tape has been placed around the area Ms McBride was found and detectives were seen writing in notebooks as they scoured the site on Thursday

Ms McBride's remains were found near Scone, in the upper Hunter Valley in NSW

Police had informed her family of the find and announced the discovery on Thursday morning.

A Facebook page dedicated to finding Ms McBride, set up by her mother, has been flooded with tributes and condolences since the discovery was revealed.

Police Strike Force Karabi was set up and has been investigating since she disappeared.
Questions about what makes a good or a bad leader dominate many conversations as we approach the 2016 presidential election. Real leadership happens all around us, not just in the Oval Office. As we pulled together the various pieces for this Summer 2016 issue of Religion & Liberty, the informal theme of leadership seemed to connect all the content. For the interview, I was able to sit down with the CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Cheryl Bachelder, to discuss her unique approach to leading the casual fried chicken corporation. Rev. Robert Sirico also addresses leadership in his column as he asks the question, Where are the leaders? He reflects on the legacies of Reagan, Thatcher and John Paul II, and contemplates the qualities that make for a truly great leader.

Sam Webb reviews Eric Metaxas latest book, If You Can Keep It. Metaxas returns, albeit with seemingly rose-colored glasses, to Americas founding. The American experiment is exceptional, Webb writes, and must be kept for future generations.

Rev. Johannes Jacobse, disappointed that so many millennials chose Bernie Sanders as their ideal political leader, argues in a new essay that this generation should read Solzhenitsyn. People, especially young men and women, are too ignorant when it comes to basic economics and the destruction that socialism ultimately causes.

For the final review, Stephen Schmalhofer examines George Gilders The Scandal of Money: Why Wall Street Recovers but the Economy Never Does. Theres plenty of misunderstanding when it comes to money policy, but Gilders new book helps clear a few things up. Fortunately, we have George Gilder, Schmalhofer argues, to help us separate the signal from the noise. Thinking, again, about servant leadership, this issues Double- Edged Sword highlights Mark 1 and the calling of several disciples. Christ called everyday and seemingly unimportant individuals to be his disciples, and this fact reinforces the humility and importance of ordinary leaders in Gods church.

You can expect some changes very soon at Acton.org. Kris Mauren explains why Acton is overhauling its website in the latest Acton Frequently Asked Question. In the Liberal Tradition summarizes the life and work of writer Jeremias Gotthelf, who is not widely known to English readers but is an influential author in his homeland of Switzerland. Gotthelf began writing on political topics for newspapers but eventually wrote novels and novellas that dealt with serious subjects, such as rural alcoholism, the need for education reform and the dangers of an overreaching secular state.
lost her life when her hospital ship was torpedoed

Nurse Katy Beaufoy's accounts of life in World War One military hospitals are regarded as among the most vivid of their kind

The poignant and compelling diary of a volunteer nurse who showed courage, compassion and dedication to duty during World War One goes for auction next month - and is expected to create worldwide interest.

Nurse Katy Beaufoy's accounts of life in the Great War's military hospitals are regarded as among the most vivid of their kind, covering fascinating subjects from gruesome injuries to the incredible sights of Egypt.

Tragically Beaufoy lost her life when the ship she was sailing on was torpedoed by a German submarine, despite the vessel being clearly marked as a hospital ship.

Commenting on the find, Charles Hanson, manager of Hansons Auctioneers said: 'The archive is so important for what it tells us about the life of a World War One Matron and Nurse Miss Katy Beaufoy, whose bravery and final demise is captured in the collection.'

Beaufoy was one of only 300 nurses to lose their lives in the conflict making this one of the most comprehensive collections relating to such a woman.

Her fascinating story is told from May 10, 1915 to Sept 9, 1917 and is her account of service as sister and matron in the First World War.

Beaufoy, born in Aston Birmingham in 1868, trained as a nurse in Devon. After being rapidly elevated to the role of Sister in charge of operating theatres, she took the courageous decision to volunteer for service in the Boer War in the late 1890s.

Nursing was still in its infancy at this time and the value of nurses' contribution had yet to be fully appreciated.

She witnessed horrific injuries during this time, In her diary she notes from 24 May 1915: 'I had a ward of about 50 beds, such bad, bad wounds, frightful head ones, legs and feet blown off and arms wounded of all sorts...'

The rather formidable daughter of Queen Victoria, having been impressed by the endeavours of Florence Nightingale, introduced Princess Christian's Army Nursing Service Reserves which gave some status to the nurses as it operated under the direction of the War Office.

It was this organisation Beaufoy joined and her badge, numbered 689 is to be included in the sale.

Following the war, after some time working in private practice in Italy and being decorated by the Queen of that country for her services, Beaufoy was accepted in to Queen Alexandria's Imperial Military Nursing Service and bravely volunteered once again to face further perils at the outbreak of the Great War in 1914.

Beaufoy was posted to serve on board the 'Ionian' during the infamous Gallipoli Campaign.

She witnessed horrific injuries during this time, In her diary she notes from 24 May 1915: 'I had a ward of about 50 beds, such bad, bad wounds, frightful head ones, legs and feet blown off and arms wounded of all sorts... Have some very bad cases, two shot through the lungs, pouring out pus. One amputee had his foot blown off and part of his leg.'

On 18 December, Beaufoy relates that she 'felt almost demented with tiredness,so much to do.'

Beaufoy's hand-written diary, which is a remarkable survivor, shows she did have some opportunities to escape the brutality of war, visiting the Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza.

Beaufoy joined the Princess Christian's Army Nursing Service Reserves and her badge, numbered 689 is to be included in the sale

'We went to the pyramids...had our photos taken on the camels as we sat in front if the sphinx,' she wrote.

'It was a wonderful antiquity, it used to be buried in sand up to the neck, but it is now cleared and so the rock bust stands forth.' The original photograph of this excursion is included in the collection.

Hansons Militaria expert, Adrian Stevenson commented on the contents of the diary: 'It is fascinating to read how Katy was able to maintain her interest in the beauty of her surroundings despite her exposure to the shocking condition of the casualties she was obliged to tend.

Beaufoy's fascinating story is told from May 10, 1915 to Sept 9, 1917 and is her account of service as sister and matron in the First World War

'She regularly comments on the architecture, the attire of the various people she encounters and her love of plants and flowers are very apparent.

'This makes for an unusual and telling juxtaposition with her description of the suffering of the soldiers and so gives an insight in to the thoughts of this remarkable woman.'

Beaufoy narrowly escaped death when the hospital ship 'Dover Castle' to which she had been assigned in June 1916 was torpedoed and sunk on May 26, 1917.

The diarist had been forced to leave the vessel and return home for a while due to ill-health and so escaped with her life, unlike many of her colleagues.

Her fate however was merely postponed as, on returning to work as Matron on HMHS 'Glenart Castle' in September 1917, she was lost, presumed drowned, in February 1918, when the vessel was torpedoed by German Submarine U56.

Charles Hanson said of the collection: 'This outstanding group has been really moving to handle'

It sank within a matter of a few minutes with only 32 survivors of the 182 on board.

The sinking of the ship was considered a war crime as the vessel was clearly marked as a hospital ship though the Captain of the U56, Kapitanleutenant Wilhelm Kiesewetter escaped justice and returned to Germany.

Charles Hanson said of the collection: 'This outstanding group has been really moving to handle.

As well as the hand-written diary, personal photographs and all her medals, including South Africa medal, British War and Victory medal and 1914-15 Star, her Death Plaque and Dedication Scroll have also been preserved.

'I feel privileged and excited to offer this group for auction.

'We are anticipating worldwide interest in this very special lot and I expect bidding to be brisk.'

The archive is estimated to fetch between 4,000 and 6,000.

During the First World War some 300 hundred British Nurses gave their lives in service to King and Country.

As a result of this relatively small number of female casualties, any items belonging to women rarely come onto the market and as a result are eagerly sought after.

Beaufoy's story is one of service, compassion and dedication to duty which ended on a dark winter's night in the Bristol Channel in February 1918.

Personal photographs and all her medals, her Death Plaque and Dedication Scroll (pictured) have also been preserved

The vendor of the archive, Mrs Sue Wood, from Warwickshire, a great niece of Katy Beaufoy, said: 'It's time to let another collector or museum enjoy the archive which my family has kept safe for many years.'

In February 2002 a memorial was erected at Harland Point, close to the sinking of the 'Glenart Castle' to commemorate those who died. Miss Beaufoy's family were a major driving force behind the fundraising efforts.

Hansons specialist Militaria auction is to be held at Hanson Auctioneer, Etwall, Derbyshire, on Monday 23 August at 10.30am.
The mother of a six-year-old girl said a Chicago Public Schools security guard handcuffed her daughter and now she is planning to sue the district.

Marlena Wordlow said the incident occurred back in March when a security guard at Fernwood Elementary disciplined her daughter for taking a piece of candy.

She said the guard handcuffed her daughter, Madisyn Moore, and left her alone for more than an hour under stairs near the school's boilers, according to WLS-TV.

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Marlena Wordlow (pictured) is suing Chicago Public Schools after she said a security guard at Fernwood Elementary in Chicago disciplined her daughter for taking a piece of candy by handcuffing her

Wordlow said the security guard left her six-year-old daughter, Madisyn Moore (pictured) alone for more than an hour under stairs near the school's boilers

'You can't treat children like that,' the outraged mother told the station.

The mother said the security officer had handcuffed her daughter to teach her a lesson after the first grader allegedly took a piece of candy from a teacher's desk.

Wordlow's attorney, Jeffrey Granich, who was set to file the lawsuit on Thursday said it alleges excessive force, false imprisonment and emotional distress.

Following the incident, Wordlow said her daughter is afraid of the dark and scared of anyone in a police uniform, according to WLS-TV.

Following the incident, Wordlow said her daughter is afraid of the dark and scared of anyone in a police uniform

Madisyn displays how she was handcuffed following the incident in March

However, she noted it is not about the lawsuit but about letting people know children cannot be treated that way.

'I can't imagine where anybody working in a school would ever conceive that this is an appropriate way to behave, an appropriate way to discipline a child,' Granich told the station.

Wordlow has since removed her daughter from the school and Chicago Public Schools has reportedly not yet offered to enroll the child in a different school.

Wordlow's attorney, Jeffrey Granich (pictured), who was set to file the lawsuit on Thursday said it alleges excessive force, false imprisonment and emotional distress

In a statement to The Associated Press, the district said the guard has been fired and a 'do not hire' note was placed in his personnel file.

The district also said it took immediate action.

'The safety and well-being of our students is vitally important to the District, and we take these allegations seriously,' the statement said.

'Once the incident came to light, the District immediately took the appropriate steps to address this situation and ensure our students' safety.'
One woman has died and at least 20 people have been injured after two bombs exploded in a popular Thai tourist resort.

The explosives, believed to have been placed in plant pots, went off in the Hua Hin resort earlier today.

Reports on social media have suggested two British people are hurt, among nine injured foreign tourists.

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One person has been killed and 20 injured in a twin bombing in Hua Hin, Thailand, today

It is thought there are eight or nine foreign tourists among the injured, pictured, who have been taken to a local hospital

The bombings killed one Thai woman, who was believed to be a street vendor at the resort, pictured

Emergency services were quickly on the scene, helping carry the wounded away on stretchers, pictured, with two British women thought to be among the injured

The second bomb exploded near a bar at about 10:20 p.m (1320 GMT), killing a Thai woman and injuring eight foreigners and one other Thai person, local deputy police chief Samer Yousamran said.

The injured are being treated at a local hospital, he said.

Writing on Twitter, charity founder Edwin Wiek said: 'At #HuaHin hospital. Seems 5 foreigners injured, 2 british, 3 of unknown nationality.'

He later added: ' Latest update: #Huahin #bomb total 23 injured, 1 dead. At least 9 foreigner under the injured.'

It is believed two of those injured are Dutch, while another is a German woman aged in her 20s.

The first bomb went off about twenty minutes earlier about 55 yards away from the second bomb, he said. Nobody was injured in the first explosion.

Emergency services, pictured, rushed to the scene to take the injured to a local hospital

The attacks took place a day before the Queen of Thailand's birthday - a public holiday

Hua Hin is located in south Thailand where there is a long-running conflict between the government and insurgents

Police are investigating and as yet do not know the motive or the identity of the bombers, he said.

The timing suggested it might be an effort to embarrass the military government that took power two years ago.

Junta chief and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Wednesday night took credit for bringing stability back to Thailand after an extended period of unrest.

In a separate incident earlier on Thursday, a bomb exploded at a market in the southern Trang province in Thailand, injuring six people, police said.

Police believe that explosion was related to a local dispute.

Emergency services are at the scene at the Hua Hin resort in Thailand after two explosions

Two bombs are believed to have been placed in plant pots, pictured, and went off within around 30 minutes of each other

Reports on social media suggest one woman has died while 10 people, including foreigners, have been injured

Police say no one was injured in the first explosion but the second killed a Thai woman

Edwin Wiek wrote on Twitter he had been told two British people were among the injured

Thais voted less than a week ago in a referendum to adopt a military-backed constitution, the first test of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha at the ballot box since he seized power in a coup in May 2014.

Thailand's 88 year-old King Bhumibol Adulayadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, and his wife Sirikit are in hospital in Bangkok but have resided in recent years in Hua Hin at the Klai Kangwon Palace royal palace, which translates as "Far from Worries Palace".

King Bhumibol has received treatment for an infection over the past month in a Bangkok hospital, the Royal Household Bureau said on August 1.

Reports on social media have suggested a foreign couple with a child were badly injured, with 'bones left sticking out of their legs'.

Police officers have been spotted examining the scene with torches as they carry out investigations, left and right

Another report on Twitter suggested a woman selling salad has died in the explosion

What appears to be the charred remains of a plant pot that one of the bombs was placed in

Concerned locals have been seen gathering around the scene as police stand guard

Another Twitter user claimed a woman selling salad in the area was killed.

The explosions occurred within around 30 minutes of each other and the pots were said to have been around 55 yards apart.

A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said: ' We are seeking further information following the incident in Hua Hin, Thailand, and stand ready to provide assistance to any British nationals.'

It is thought more than 6,500 people, including Buddhist monks, teachers, troops and separatist insurgents have been killed since 2004 in the long-running conflict, although tourist destinations have rarely been affected.

Police are currently conducting forensic investigations at the site, using torches to examine the scene.

The resort is popular with both foreigners and locals, and hosts international jazz, car and kite festivals every year.

It is also famous for its fishing opportunities while its shallow and warm waters provide good conditions for kite boarding and surfing.

The scene remains chaotic as darkness descends over the resort, pictured

Much of the site has been cordoned off, including this motorbike modified to sell food
A young boy has been airlifted to hospital after falling from a wooden roller coaster at a Pennsylvania amusement park.

The boy had been on the Rollo Coaster ride at the Idlewild and SoakZone amusement park near Ligonier with his brother on Thursday afternoon when he fell, a spokesman for the park said.

He has not been identified, but is three years old, according to WPXI.

It is the third major accident at a US amusement park since Sunday - Caleb Schwab, 10, died on a giant water slide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City and on Monday, three children fell from a Ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair in Greenville, Tennessee.

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A young boy has been airlifted to hospital after falling from a wooden roller coaster at a Pennsylvania amusement park. Above, the Rollo Coaster ride

In the Rollo Coaster accident, the boy was conscious and airlifted to a hospital, a Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said.

Park spokesman Jeff Croushore says he can't say whether the ride malfunctioned.

'He was talking, he was alert with his family,' he said.

Croushore did not confirm the extent of the child's injuries.

He said the accident occurred at the middle section of the ride, but did not elaborate on the height the boy fell from.

The ride has been shut down by the Pennsylvania Amusement Ride Safety Decision and an investigation is underway, according to NBC News.

The boy had been on the Rollo Coaster ride at the Idlewild and SoakZone amusement park near Ligonier with his brother on Thursday afternoon when he fell

The ride has been shut down by the Pennsylvania Amusement Ride Safety Decision and an investigation is underway

Hospital spokesman Marc Lukasiak says he can't release any information about the boy's condition.

The Rollo Coaster opened in 1938 and takes riders up, down and around a wooded hillside.

It doesn't require seat belts, but has a height restriction of 48 inches (or 4ft), or 36 inches if a child is accompanied by an adult.

The average height of a three-year-old boy is 37.5 inches.

It's not the first such incident at the park.

A woman sued Idlewild alleging she was hurt on the Wild Mouse roller coaster after being thrown forward in 2009, according to WPXI. The case was settled in 2013.

Schwab died while riding an 168-foot-tall waterslide - the world's tallest - at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City, Kansas.

Witnesses say the son of a Kansas state legislator was decapitated after he flew off raft and hit safety nets.

On Sunday Caleb Schwab, 10, pictured died on a giant water slide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City

The Verruckt waterslide at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City where Caleb Schwab, 10, died

In the Ferris wheel accident, Briley Rae Reynolds, six, suffered a traumatic brain injury and her sister Kayla, ten, broke her arm in the fall at Greene County Fair in Tennessee on Monday after they fell more than 30 feet when their basket overturned.

The third injured girl has not been identified. The Greeneville Sun reported the 16-year-old was admitted to hospital in critical condition but has improved to stable condition.

Briley remained in critical condition Thursday and the rides at the fair were being dismantled.

Law enforcement cordon off the area surrounding the Ferris wheel Monday, after three children fell from the ride during a county fair in Greenville
Team GB canoe stars David Florence and Richard Hounslow have won silver in Rio after their Czech rivals capsized just metres from the finish line.

The British pair - who took the silver medal in the same event together four years ago - came second in a dramatic final.

The Brits' second place finish came only two days after Florence blew his chances of individual gold following a disappointing run in the one-man canoe slalom final.

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Team GB canoe stars David Florence and Richard Hounslow have won silver in Rio

British heroes: David Florence and Richard Hounslow celebrate with their silver medals on the podium

The British pair - who took the silver medal in the same event together four years ago - came second in a dramatic final

Florence, from Aberdeen, and Hounslow, from Harrow, claimed another canoeing medal for Team GB, following in the footsteps of Joe Clarke, who won gold in the individual kayaking event last night.

Slovakian pair Peter and Ladislav Skantar won gold, with French pair Matthieu Peche and Gauthier Klauss taking bronze.

There was drama at the end of the time trial event as Czech pair Jonas Kaspar and Marek Sindler - who had been tipped to claim a medal - capsized.

They managed to right the boat and scramble to the line, but finished last.

The British pair - who took the silver medal in the same event together four years ago - came second after their Czech rivals capsized (pictured)

Florence, from Aberdeen, and Hounslow, from Harrow, claimed another canoeing medal for Team GB

Florence blew his hopes of a gold medal in the individual kayak final on Tuesday after he crashed into a barrier and finished in last place.

World champion Florence eased into the final and was among the favourites to win the individual gold, but a series of errors saw him finish 14 seconds behind the winner.

Team GB's gold medal hopeful - who won silver four years ago - started the final well, but collided with a barrier halfway through his run and appeared to lose his focus from then on.

He hit a gate on the way down and looked distraught as he glided across the line in 10th and last place.
A neighbor said she once found the toddler standing alone in the street

Amick initially claimed this was the first time she had left her son alone, but later she admitted to leaving him on 'occasion'

Officers saw a small terrier jump on the toddler to get to the chicken

A mother has been charged with child endangerment after police say her two-year-old son was found home alone grappling with the dog over who got to suck on a frozen chicken breast.

Hallie Amick, 30, of Des Moines, Iowa, was arrested after police were called to her home in response to a report about a child left unattended.

Officers found Amick's son in the back yard wearing a full, sagging diaper and a T-shirt, and sucking on a piece of uncooked chicken.

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Hallie Amick, 30, of Des Moines, was arrested Monday after police were called to her home after reports she left her child unattended

Amick's son was found in the backyard at 10.15am, wearing a full and sagging diaper and a T-shirt, sucking on a piece of uncooked chicken

Amick posted photographs of herself with her son on social media

A small terrier that was in the yard was seen jumping on the toddler to grab the meat out of his hands, reported WHO-TV.

Police found the child at 10.15am on Monday. The diaper he was wearing was so full, it sagged to his knees.

Police became aware of the situation when they pulled over Amicks boyfriend, James Robinson, for speeding and he told them that he was rushing home because there was a child alone, KCCI reported.

Investigators interviewed a neighbor who told them that the boy would often be left without supervision.

'This is the first time he got out of the house, but ever since they moved in they (left) him alone, said Deborah Snyder, who observed in an interview with Des Moines Register that the boys diaper was down to his knees when she saw him in the yard Monday.

Another local resident recounted how she once found the boy in the middle of the street.

Police responded to Amick's home in Des Moines (pictured) after they stopped her boyfriend for speeding, and he told them he was in a hurry because there was a child home alone

Officers observed a small terrier jumping on the toddler, trying to grab the frozen chicken

Parenting fail: Hallie Amick, 30, of Iowa, has been charged with child endangerment after police found her 2-year-old son home alone, sucking on a frozen chicken breast

According to police, Amick returned home more than two hours after their arrival, and at first she insisted that this was the first time she had left her son home alone.

But after learning of what her neighbors had told police about her conduct, Amick allegedly admitted to leaving her son on his own on 'occasion.'

Caseworkers from the Iowa Department of Human Services were called to the scene.

A search of Amick's home yielded marijuana and drug paraphernalia, as a result of which she was charged with drug possession.

Amick was booked into the Polk County Jail and was released a day later after posting bail.
Anthony Weiner's former paramour Sydney Leathers is 'certain' the disgraced Democratic politician is still sexting, even after two scandals ended his US Senate career in 2011 and torpedoed his New York City mayoral campaign in 2013.

In a column for Washington Babylon on Thursday, Leathers, 26, said she has recently been in touch with one of Weiner's alleged cyber hook-ups, who contacted her looking for advice.

'I am certain his behavior continues to this day because a woman who claims to be one of his current sexting partners has reached out to me for advice,' wrote Leathers, in a movie review for the documentary Weiner, which was published by the news site on Thursday.

Sydney Leathers says she is 'certain' that Anthony Weiner is still sexting, claiming she has recently been in touch with one of Weiner's alleged cyber hook-ups, who contacted her looking for advice

Weiner, co-directed by Weiner's former chief of staff, follows the 51-year-old former senator's failed bid for New York City mayor, which was derailed in the primary by revelations that he had been exchanging graphic texts and photos with Leathers in 2013.

Just two years earlier, Weiner - who is married to top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin - was forced to resign from the senate due to another sexting scandal, in which he admitted to sending messages to at least six women.

He apologized at the time and claimed to have gone into therapy.

In her movie review, Leathers blasted Weiner as a 'practiced liar and 'nationwide laughingstock' who sounds 'more like [Abedin's] pimp than her husband' during a fundraising scene in the film.

'Watching Weiner practice an apology speech comes off about as authentic as my fake orgasms making a porno,' wrote Leathers, who has starred in about 25 adult films since the 2013 scandal, including one mocking the Democratic politician called 'Weiner and Me'.

'There are several points in the film where you can see how truly delusional, naive and narcissistic Anthony is, but few are as funny as when he declares that all scandals only have a 72 hour shelf life,' she added. 'Poor Anthony didn't know I'd be making the most of it and doing multiple interviews.'

Leathers also said Abedin is 'taking a page out of [Hillary] Clinton's handbook' by continuing to stay with Weiner despite his repeated dalliances.

Leathers revealed she'd been contacted by another hook-up in a movie review for the documentary Weiner. In the review, she calls out Weiner's 'stunning narcissism' and criticizes Huma Abedin (pictured above with Weiner) for staying with her disgraced husband

'I've read speculation that Huma only stays with Weiner because she's Muslim, as if you have to be Muslim to stay with a cheating husband,' wrote Leathers.

'Is Hillary Clinton Muslim too? No, this has nothing to do with her religion and everything to do with her ambition,' she added. 'She's taking a page out of Mrs. Clinton's handbook.'

'Some people think I'm the loser in this situation, but the real loser is Huma,' Leathers wrote. 'She's the one married to this guy.

'It's amusing to listen to her fundraising calls for him where it's clear that their marriage is more about business than it is about love.'

In 2012, Leathers, then 22, and Weiner struck up a relationship after she messaged him on Facebook to tell him she was disappointed by his behavior in the sexting controversy a year prior.

They began exchanging flirtatious messages, which soon became overtly sexual.

Leathers' messages and identity were leaked to the press in the middle of Weiner's mayoral campaign.

The ensuing scandal caused his poll numbers to collapse, and the one-time frontrunner lost the Democratic primary race in a landslide, garnering just 5 per cent of the vote.

In 2012, Leathers, then 22, and Weiner struck up a relationship after she messaged him on Facebook

Weiner later acknowledged that he had continued to send sexual messages to multiple women after his 2011 resignation, some using the online alias 'Carlos Danger'.

In her Washington Babylon column, Leathers calls out Weiner's 'stunning narcissism', which she said was on full display when he was videotaped getting into a yelling match about his sexual affairs with a man in a Jewish bakery.

'[I]nstead of worrying about how insane he looks, [Weiner's] worried that his bald spot is visible in the clip,' wrote Leathers. 'Don't worry, Anthony, no one has ever liked you for your good looks or personality. Including me.'

Leathers also described a 'bizarre scene' in the documentary when Weiner is told that his former sexting partner might crash one of his campaign rallies. He tells his staff to gather groups of supporters who can surround Leathers and 'chant the shit out of her' if she shows up.

'Like Hitler from the bunker in 1945, calling for imaginary battalions to protect Berlin, there wasn't a single supporter there to do that,' said Leathers. 'By this point, the entire campaign knew it was over, other than Weiner himself.'
Fifteen police officers brandishing submachine guns smashed their way into the wrong house during a raid leaving a mother and her six-year-old son terrified.

Officers dressed in flak jackets, stab vests, helmets and carrying Heckler & Koch MP5 guns - which can fire up to 800-rounds a minute - surrounded the house in Clayton, Manchester.

Footage shows the officers pointing their weapons at the windows and banging on the door before using a battering ram to smash their way in.

But it has now emerged they targeted the wrong house - and instead should have raided a nearby property instead.

Fifteen heavily armed police officers smashed their way into the wrong house in Manchester

The officers, carrying submachine guns, were carrying out an 'intelligence-led operation' in relation to previous shootings in the area

But instead they terrified Mustapha Montunrayo and her six-year-old son, pictured, who were in the house at the time

Mustapha Motunrayo, 45, was in her living room with her six-year-old son when the 'ten to 15 officers' started banging on the door.

Police have apologised for the mix-up and say they will make good the damage.

Still visibly shaken by what happened, Mustapha described how she ran in terror and shut herself and son in the bathroom.

She said: 'We heard the police banging and I'm just here with my son. There was so much banging and I was so scared.

'I looked out of the window and saw 10 or 15 men with guns and I was so scared.

'I was online talking to my husband and I said to him I wasn't that sure it was the police.

'I ran into the kitchen, I didn't know what to do. I then went to the toilet with my son and locked the door.

'The house was surrounded. They just kept banging so I just held my son. Then they smashed the door and came in.

'They said 'Is anybody here?' and they were scattering everywhere, they went upstairs and scattered there.

'I asked them, 'what's happened?' and they began to search everywhere. Then they got me and my son to sit in the car outside for protection.

'They later told me it was the wrong information that they had.

The police have since apologised and taken responsibility for repairing the damage, pictured

Officers, pictured outside the house, also executed a warrant at another Clayton property where they arrested two men on suspicion of drugs offences

'I'm feeling ok but I can't sleep here with my son, I can't stay here. Without the door being fixed I will have to go to a friend's house. It's scary.'

After leaving her house officers turn their attention to a nearby garage and it is understood they should have raided a flat nearby.

An eye-witness said: 'I was on my phone in my car and heard all this banging.

'I looked up and saw officers with guns running to the house. They had their red dots trained on the windows.

'I did not know what to do but then they smashed down the door and shortly after a woman and child came out.

'They were led to a police vehicle and put in the back.'

It's understood that no arrests were made at the address while a senior office has apologised for the mix-up.

Chief Inspector Mark Dexter of GMP's Specialist Operations Branch said: 'This morning, Thursday 11 August 2016, police led a dynamic, intelligence-led operation to locate and disrupt those responsible for a series of recent firearms discharges in Harpurhey and Crumpsall.

'As a result of intelligence received, officers executed warrants at two addresses in the Clayton area.

Mrs Montunrayo, pictured, said she looked out of the window and saw '10 or 15 men with guns'

'When officers entered one address it was discovered to be unconnected to the investigation and officers have apologised to the occupants and will ensure any damage to the property is repaired.

'Two men were arrested on suspicion of production of class B drugs at the other address.'

Eye-witnesses say armed officers had detained a man in the middle of a busy road in Harpurhey less than an hour earlier.

One witness sent a photo of officers on Factory Lane carrying automatic weapons and appearing to show a man on the floor.

Three armed police cars are said to have come 'screeching round the corner' before officers carrying guns 'jumped out' and shouted for a man to get on the floor.

Another witness said: 'They dragged a young lad about 25-years with grey jogging bottoms, a white t-shirt and black hair on the floor, they all had guns pointed at him.

'He was shouting back I think and was on the floor for about 20 minutes and then more police came.'

It's believed the suspect was in a silver BMW which was driven out of the road by a police officer, while other police cars blocked off the road.

Harpurhey councillor Pat Karney confirmed the operation was in connection to the shootings earlier in the week.

He said that he has been in regular contact with police since the shootings on Rochdale Road and Derville Walk earlier in the week and was given notice of today's operation.

Coun Karney said: 'Members of the public in Harpurhey should be aware that there will be police action and presence for the next week.

'GMP are working hard to arrest those responsible.'

A GMP spokesman confirmed six arrests had been made in connection with the shootings.

Pictured: The damage caused to the door of the Manchester home by the police officers

The home, pictured, has since been boarded up after officers were satisfied it was 'unconnected' to the investigation

GMP said that a 27-year-old from Longsight and a 22-year-old from Harpurhey, have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was blasted in the leg and torso at a Chinese takeaway on Rochdale Road in Harpurhey on Sunday night.

The man was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and underwent surgery.

He is now in a stable condition and both suspects have been bailed pending further enquiries.

Less than 24 hours later, three bullets were fired through a child's trampoline at the front door of a house on Derville Walk, also in Harpurhey.

Luckily no one was injured, and a 32-year-old man from Moston has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

He remains in police custody for questioning.

Police say that a third incident, which happened at around 8pm on Monday night in Crumpsall, is not connected to the other two.

Officers were called to reports of gun shots on Crescent Road and recovered a sawn off shotgun and pistol at the scene.
A Royal fanatic caught with three knives 100 metres away from Buckingham Palace claimed he was working for the Monarch, a court heard today.

John Bolton, 47, was found by police in his car with his dog under Wellington Arch next to Hyde Park Corner, days before the Queen's Birthday in June.

He was wearing a beret with an SAS badge and had three lock knives.

John Bolton, 47, was found by police in his car with his dog next to Hyde Park Corner in June. He was wearing a beret with an SAS badge and had three lock knives

But the fantasist - who towers at 6ft 9inch - told officers was working for Her Majesty and Prince Phillip and had been in the area for five days.

Prosecutor Edward Aydin spoke to Westminster Magistrates Court about the arrest which took place at 9.30am on Thursday June 9 when Bolton was spotted in his blue Citroen wearing an army beret with an SAS badge.

Police had been drawn to the vehicle due to the bizarre action of parking under a monument.

'Mr Bolton tried to move away,' Aydin narrated, 'He said he was serving Prince Philip and was there for Queen's birthday and he had been around for five days.

'He said he was serving the Queen and he had been there for Trooping of the Colour and they allowed him to stay at the Buckingham Gate Hotel.

'He said he had been in the army for 35 years.'

Officers searched his car and found three lock knives, one in the pockets of a door and another two in his rucksack.

Aydin said: 'He has a fixation for the Queen, all the matters he has stated regarding what he was doing are pure fantasy.

'He was 100 metres from the back of Buckingham Palace. This is a very serious matter.

'To be found with three knives in 2016, it could have been mistaken for an act of terror.'

When found near Buckingham Palace Bolton he was serving Prince Philip and was there for Queen's birthday and he had been around for five days

Bolton had been due to appear at court to face the charges last week but skipped bail and an arrest warrant was issued.

He was tracked down and arrested in Dorset yesterday, claiming the reason he had not turned up at court was because he had been in hospital.

Today he pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of a bladed article in a public place.

It was revealed he was also caught with a commando knife in Parliament Square on the day of the Remembrance Sunday parade last year.

The court heard he had previously pleaded guilty to possession of the knife on November 8 last year.

Aydin said: 'He was found walking around Parliament Square with a sheathed knife.

'He said it belonged to his father, who was in the war. He said he was there to march with the parade.

'That may have been in reference to the Remembrance Day celebrations.'

Bolton previously pleaded guilty to possession of a knife and is due to be sentenced for that offence at Southwark Crown Court at some point this week.

Bolton pleaded guilty today to three counts of possession of a bladed article in a public place at Westminster Magistrates Court

The court was also told he did serve in Grenadier Guards from 1985, but was dismissed after he was jailed for an assault in Munster, Germany five years later in 1990.

He was also jailed for nine weeks for possession of a knife in 2011.

Sona Uppal for the defence requested an adjournment for the hearing to give more time for a full mental health report to be carried out.

She also requested he be bailed with strict conditions to protect the Royal Family and to allow him to receive treatment in his home town of Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Uppal said: 'Mr Bolton does have mental health issues that need to be looked at.'

In response to the bail application, Aydin said: 'The police have told me they are not concerned about the Queen, she is safe.

'In this matter he has said he is there to guard the Queen as a sentry. He has obviously got access to a number of knives.

'If he attends that area the police have informed me that they fear for Mr Bolton's own safety, because if he is seen walking around with weapons in 2016, he is likely to be shot.

It was revealed he was also caught with a commando knife in Parliament Square on the day of the Remembrance Sunday parade last year

'It is not the Queen they are worried about.'

District Judge Timothy King said: 'You have pleaded guilty to these offence, I am going to commit this for sentencing to the crown court.

'The sentencing powers of this court are not sufficient.

'While the weapons were nor brandished, these offences were being committed in dangerous circumstances, and you committed the offences while on bail.

'I commit these matters for sentence at Southwark Crown Court.

He refused bail as he said there was a chance Bolton could commit further offences.
A subdued Donald Trump spoke to a group of 700 Florida pastors on Thursday, urging them to convince their congregations to vote for him in November.

'Go out and spread the word,' he said at the Orlando Convention Center. 'And once I get in I will do my thing that I do very well.'

'And I figure it's maybe the only way I'm going to get to heaven, so I'd better do a good job.'

Trump spoke for 38 minutes with just a few notes. He didn't quote scripture  no mention of 'two Corinthians'  or talk at length about his Presbyterian church upbringing.

But he drew applause when he said he had had a pair of pre-set teleprompters removed from the stage.

COME UNTO ME: Donald Trump asked pastors to help him get out the Christian vote as he promised to repeal a section of the tax code that forbids churches from participating in political elections

'PRAY FOR ME': Trump spoke softly and asked pastors to stand with him in November

'I had a long beautiful speech written,' he said, 'and I read it. And I said, "Boy, this is boring!"'

'I said, "Take down those teleprompters. Let's talk".'

Trump spoke mainly about repealing a 1954 patch in the U.S. tax-code pushed by then-Senator Lyndon Johnson, which forbids tax-exempt groups from endorsing or opposing political candidates, or contributing to their campaigns.

The measure, which passed without debate, covers every recognized church in America  but also universities, social welfare groups and other charities.

Trump has framed the issue exclusively as a crisis of religious freedom in order to attract support from evangelical Christians.

'Without religious liberty you don't have liberty,' he said Thursday.

Johnson 'silenced the ministers and the pastors and the rabbis and the priests, and the people of religion.'

GO AWAY LBJ: Trump spoke at length about a legislative amendment championed by Lyndon Johnson, which forbids churches and other tax-exempt organizations from openly politicking

He noted a steady slide in church attendance nationwide and attributed it partially to a political muzzle hampering religious organizations' ability to weigh in on public policy.

'A lot of it has to do with the fact that you've been silenced,' he said. 'You've been silenced like a child is silenced.'

In contrast to his Republican National Convention acceptance speech and the countless public rallies he has headlined, Trump delivered a soft-spoken speech, as though illustrating a less than full-throated manner of speech.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a one-time presidential primary rival of Trump and a Baptist minister himself, introduced his party's presidential nominee, smoothing the waters for pastors who can't see a non-evangelical as the leader of the free world.

'He may not sit in the front of a church like yours every Sunday,' Huckabee granted. 'He may not be as expressive or as loud about his own faith.'

But Trump is pro-life, Huckabee proclaimed. 'If he wasn't, I wouldn't be here today.'

PREACH! Trump held his childhood Bible while speaking at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Forum in Des Moines, Iowa last September

He called Trump 'a person who sometimes tells the truth so blunty that some people can't handle it,' and said the Clintons 'don't know how to tell the truth  and worse, don't know how to tell the difference.'

He did seem, however, to ignore the underpinnings of the First Amendment  its lack of distinction between popular and unpopular speech.

'They took away the voice of people that want to see good things happen,' he said of the 1950s-era Congress.

'It's not like they took away a bad voice, and evil voice.'

Were the Johnson amendment to be repealed, Satanists would find themselves unfettered in the same wasy as Presbyterians.

Trump said the insight into the Johnson amendment came during a meeting earlier this year at Trump Tower in New York City, when he was stunned to find out why a group of pastors were reluctant to pledge their political endorsements.

'[If] you like somebody, you should be able to support that person and stand on the stretcorner, and say, "Trump is the best, he's representing us the best"  or whoever you want,' he said Thursday.

'And I really mean it. Whoever you want. But you can't do that now!'

And in a momentary return to his plainspoken street-tough manner, he added: 'I know you're not going for Hillary. That I know anyway.'

Trump's sales-pitch persona made an appearance before he left the podium, telling the pastors gathered by the American Renewal Project that they had 'a one-time shot' to elect someone who would change the law that has left them afraid to engage in the political process.

He predicted that if they mobilized worshipers in their communities, he would win a resounding victory.

'Nobody's gotten rich betting against Donald Trump,' the confident real estate billionaire declared.

'You have to get the people in churches, you have to get them out to vote, whether you do bus drives or whatever,' he said.
Dunkin' Donuts, America's all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, today announced that it is recruiting franchisees to develop Dunkin' Donuts restaurants throughout Alabama.

Franchise opportunities are currently available in the Greater Birmingham and Huntsville communities, additionally a limited number of existing operating restaurants are available for purchase. To fuel growth, the company is offering special development incentives, which include reduced royalty fees for three years and up to $5,000 in local store marketing support for timely openings.

Entrepreneurs interested in developing Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in this region can attend an Informational Franchising Webinars on Tuesday, August 16 and Wednesday, August 17 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. (EDT). Candidates can RSVP at http://franchisingevents.dunkinbrands.com to register and learn more about development opportunities in the Alabama area.
Security was ramped up at this year's Eastbourne Airshow, one of Sussexs most popular tourism attractions, in the wake of the July 14 attack on Bastille Day revellers in Nice, France.

Metal and concrete barriers were erected on Eastbournes beachfront promenade and side streets as a precaution against a similar attack.

Police will also patrol the site, where hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the four-day event.

'We've always put safety first at Eastbourne': metal and concrete blockades were erected to protect airshow attendees

There will also be a heavy police presence at the airshow as a precaution against terror attacks

Eastbourne Council Leader David Tutt said: It's in light of the events at Nice. It's not something that we like to do, but we want to ensure that people are safe.

We've always put safety first at Eastbourne and that has been reflected in the measures that we have taken today.

Eighty-five people were killed and 307 were injured in Nice when a 19-tonne cargo truck drove into crowds celebrating the anniversary of the French Revolution on the popular Promenade des Anglais.

Concrete barriers have been put in place on the promenade and side roads around the airshow

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to travel the Eastbourne, Sussex airshow

The Breiting Wingwalkers performed in vintage 1930s biplanes at the airshow's opening day

Concrete barriers were also used at Brighton Pride last weeks to protect the crowds.

The Eastbourne Airshow - named the Tourism Event of the Year at the Beautiful South Awards - boasts a two-mile flying display line along the Eastbourne seafront. It will feature both civilian and military display teams.

The Eastbourne Airshow will run from August 11 to 14.

The Eastbourne Airshow was named the Tourism Event of the Year at the Beautiful South Awards
Two women from South Carolina were arrested after going skinny-dipping in an apartment complex pool, where one of them allegedly attacked a police officer.

Kadie Lynne Naumann, 23, and Kyla Cole, 32, were each charged with indecent exposure in connection to the incident that took place Monday night at the Alta Surf apartment complex on Breakers Drive in Myrtle Beach.

Naumann was also charged with assaulting a police officer after she allegedly kicked Horry County Patrolman Cody Burroughs in the groin and left thigh as he attempted to arrest her.

Girls gone wild: Kadie Naumann, 23 (left), and Kyla Cole, 32 (right), were accused of swimming naked in a Myrtle Beach apartment complex pool

Police were called to the Alta Surf apartment complex on Breakers Drive (pictured) on Monday over a noise complaint

According to an arrest report cited by The Smoking Gun, Burroughs responded to the housing complex at around 11pm Monday after receiving a noise complaint.

The report states that Patrolman Burroughs found two women, later identified as Naumann and Cole, swimming completely naked in the pool on the property.

Another woman, who was dressed, told the officer she lived in the building and that Naumann and Cole were her guests.

The two friends, who work as bartenders at Filet's Restaurant in Myrtle Beach, explained to the officer that they wanted to take a dip in the pool but didnt have their swimsuits on hand, so they decided to cool off in the nude.

Au naturale: Naumann (pictured) and Cole were observed by police swimming completely naked

Out of control: The 23-year-old woman (left and right) allegedly became 'belligerent' as the responding officer was checking for outstanding warrants

Feisty: Naumann allegedly 'mule-kicked' the officer in the groin and then in his left thigh

The police report indicates that Cole, Naumann and two friends who were present seemed highly intoxicated and had slurred speech and poor balance.

As the officer was checking to see if any of the women in the group had outstanding warrants for their arrest, Ms Naumann allegedly became 'belligerent' and 'unpredictable,' prompting the cop to arrest her on an indecent exposure charge, reported Myrtle Beach Online.

The report states that as Burroughs was placing handcuffs on her wrists, Naumann let the towel that was wrapped around her drop to the floor.

Boozy night out: Cole (pictured left and right) and the other women were said to be highly intoxicated and had slurred speech and unsteady balance

When the officer picked up the towel and covered her up again, the 23-year-old allegedly 'mule-kicked' him with the heel of her foot in the groin.

Naumann was eventually subdued, but not before kicking the patrolman again in the thigh, the arrest document says.
A fresh poll from Rasmussen Reports shows that Americans want to see presidential candidates' medical records  and their tax returns.

Now, 59 percent of voters think candidates should release their most recent medical records, up from the 38 percent who believed this in May 2014 when Republican strategist Karl Rove suggested that Hillary Clinton's health would become a campaign issue.

Clinton suffered a concussion and subsequent blood clot in 2012. Rove hinted that Clinton might have brain damage, a rumor that still gets passed around, mostly by Donald Trump supporters, on the web.

A higher percentage of voters said they expected presidential candidates to release at least their last year's worth of tax returns  67 percent  a figure that's actually down from the 73 percent who said the same thing a year ago. Twenty-three percent disagree.

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American voters increasingly want to see presidential candidates' - like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump - medical records, while a smidgen fewer expect to see hopeful's tax returns

Both Clinton and Trump have previously released doctors' notes saying they are the pinnacle of health.

Clinton released hers over a year ago, in July 2015, which consisted of a letter signed by her longtime physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, who's been examining the politician since she became a U.S. senator in 2001.

'Mrs. Clinton is a healthy female with hypothyroidism and season allergies, on long-term anticoagulation,' the letter read.

'She participates in a healthy lifestyle and has had a full medical evaluation, which reveals no evidence of additional medical issues or cardiovascular disease. Her cancer screening evaluations are all negative,' it continued.

'She is in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as President of the United States,' Bardack concluded.

Trump's doctor's note didn't come for another five months and was perfectly Trumpian.

In it, his personal physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein calls Trump's blood pressure and lab results 'astonishingly excellent.'

'His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary,' the letter boasted.

'If elected, Mr Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,' Bornstein wrote.

In recent weeks, Trump fans and others on the right have drummed up theories about Clinton's health, with 'leaked' medical records floating around online that say she's showing early signs of dementia.

As the Washington Post points out, the documents lack the formatting and letterhead used by Clinton's doctor and get her title wrong.

Surprisingly though, Democrats are the most likely to believe that candidates should release their medical records, with 62 percent taking that stance.

Fifty-eight percent of Republican voters feel that way, along with 47 percent of those not affiliated with a political party.

As for tax returns, Trump hasn't released any over the course of his campaign, saying an audit is tying them up, but he'll put them out to the public after the election.

Clinton, who suspects there might be some good political ammunition within Trump's returns, is reportedly releasing her most recent return, for the year 2015, sometime this week.

The Clinton campaign will also put out 10 years of returns from Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, Clinton's running mate.

She's had surrogate Warren Buffett challenge Trump to release his taxes and is using the newest release to bring up the issue again.

Trump isn't expected to take the bait.

And while a majority of Republicans would like to see a candidate's most recent returns  59 percent  77 percent of Democrats are pushing for it, along with 63 percent of independents.




Neil Jackson, 58, son of second victim Emily Jackson, who was killed in 1976, said: Im glad he is finally losing his cushy lifestyle'

The decision to end the Yorkshire Rippers cushy life in Broadmoor by moving him to a tough jail was welcomed as better late than never by victims families yesterday.

Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, 70, who has been officially declared sane, should have been moved out of the secure psychiatric hospital years ago and was always evil not mad, relatives of women he attacked insisted.

Neil Jackson, 58, the son of his second victim Emily Jackson, 42, who was killed in 1976, said: Im glad he is finally losing his cushy lifestyle, but its not a moment too soon.

'He gets better fed in Broadmoor than I do and I work six days a week. Life has been far too easy for him up to now but he is in for a rude awakening.

Category A prisons are tough places and there will be no end of people lining up to deliver the ultimate justice that the evil monster deserves.

The murderer, who butchered 13 women and tried to kill seven others, is expected to be moved within weeks after this weeks ruling by psychiatrists working for the Mental Health Tribunal.

Denise Long, 58, whose mother Maureen suffered devastating injuries when Sutcliffe attacked her with a hammer in 1977, said: He should have been hanged.

I dont believe he was ever ill  he was just pure evil. He knew exactly what he was doing.

He should never have been in Broadmoor and I am pleased and think its right he suffers in prison.

I try not to talk about it because it still upsets me. He left the scars on my mum and she couldnt get over it. You never forget.

He shouldnt have had the cushy life he has had in hospital all these years. Its scandalous the taxpayer has been paying for this.

It costs 300,000 a year to keep him in Broadmoor, with a TV in his room and other privileges, compared with 50,000 for a place in a high-security prison.

Pictured: Twelve of the 13 women Sutcliffe murdered during his time at large

The decision by the Mental Health Tribunal will save the taxpayer 250,000 a year.

Julie Lowry, 56, whose mother Olive Smelt suffered serious head injuries when Sutcliffe attacked her in 1975, said: Hes got what he deserves, being put where he should have been in the first place.

The killers brother Carl Sutcliffe, 50, who used to speak to him on the phone regularly, said: I dont know why theyve kept him at Broadmoor so long. He always seemed compos mentis to me on the phone.

Sutcliffe got 20 life sentences in 1981 and was transferred to Broadmoor three years later after being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.

The 70-year-old will now live out his days with killers and other inmates who are fully aware of his monstrous crimes.

He will die in jail because he is serving a whole-life tariff.

Sutcliffe will die in jail because he is serving a whole-life tariff

One source close to the case said: For him, the cushy life he thinks he has in Broadmoor is finally over now.

Sutcliffe has previously claimed that he would go on hunger strike if he was made to leave Broadmoor.

As well as the 13 women he butchered in a six-year reign of terror, he tried to murder at least seven more.

For years the Ripper  who claimed he murdered the women after hearing God tell him to kill sex workers  has insisted he remains insane in order to stay in hospital.

But psychiatrists and other experts working for the government tribunal this week ruled he was sane and should be returned to jail.

Work will now begin to move the killer to an as yet undecided category A prison.

He is expected to be regularly moved from jail to jail owing to his notoriety and the likelihood that other inmates may wish to harm or even kill him.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said that Sutcliffe  now known as Peter Coonan  will remain locked up and will never be released for his evil crimes.

She added: Decisions over whether prisoners are to be sent back to prison from secure hospitals are based on clinical assessments made by independent medical staff.

It is thought Sutcliffe has cost the taxpayer 10million during his stay at Broadmoor

The High Court ordered in 2010 that Peter Coonan should never be released. This was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

'Our thoughts are with Coonans victims and their families.

Marcella Claxton, 59, was 20 when Sutcliffe attacked her with a hammer.

She said: He should be moved to a prison, hes not sick is he? He wasnt mentally ill when he attacked me. He should be treated like anyone else.

When he was sentenced to 20 life sentences in 1981, the judge told him he would serve a minimum of 30 years  but this was never formally fixed at the time.

In 2010, he used legal aid to try to secure his release by claiming he was no longer a threat to the public.

A judge rejected his pleas and instead handed him a whole life tariff  which means he is one of a small band of killers who will die in jail.

Now he is taking advantage of a human rights court ruling which says that he must have a minimum tariff fixed by a court, rather than by a politician.

Two years ago Professor Tony Maden, the former head of the dangerous severe personality disorder unit at Broadmoor, said patients such as Sutcliffe should be returned to prison.

The academic, a professor of forensic psychiatry at Imperial College London, said: We are far too ready to keep mentally disordered prisoners in places like Broadmoor indefinitely, particularly if they are famous.

Fiend who butchered 13 women in six-year killing spree

By Sam Greenhill, Chief Reporter for the Daily Mail

Sutcliffe, pictured, reportedly launched his killing spree after being swindled out of money by a prostitute

The Yorkshire Ripper butchered 13 women and tried to murder seven others, mutilating his victims with a hammer, screwdriver and knife.

Bradford lorry driver Peter Sutcliffe regularly used prostitutes and apparently launched his killing spree after being swindled out of money by one of them and her pimp.

For nearly six years from 1975 he terrorised the people of Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

Starting by killing prostitutes, he moved on to bludgeoning women at random in the streets.

His youngest victim, Jayne MacDonald, was 16, and the oldest, Marguerite Walls, was 47.

The first woman he killed was mother of four Wilma McCann, whom he stabbed 15 times in the neck, chest and stomach.

The last was Jacqueline Hill, a 20-year-old student murdered on waste ground in Leeds.

At least one of the women he murdered left a tormented child who took their own life as an adult.

Yorkshire Police hunting the murderer gathered a quarter of a million names, individually filed on cards, and more than 30,000 statements. But none of it led to his arrest.

A former detective recently claimed police even suspected Jimmy Savile at one stage and brought him in for questioning.

Years later Savile and Sutcliffe formed a disturbing friendship when the BBC star did volunteering work at Broadmoor.

Between 1978 and 1979 hoaxer John Humble, who was later jailed, sent police on a wild goose chase to the North East looking for someone with a Geordie accent.

Sutcliffe was eventually snared by chance in 1980 in a red light area of Sheffield during a routine number-plate check of his car.

His then wife Sonia Szurma, whom he married in 1974, told of her shock.

FROM POTTERY CLASSES TO A 'PIT OF BLACK DESPAIR' LIFE IN BROADMOOR 20 a week pocket money

Supermarket where he buys phone cards, writing paper and stamps, snacks and Diet Coke

Relaxed regime allows him to write dozens of letters and make 15 phone calls a week

Room has TV and and MP3 music player. Enjoys tuning in to Im A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!

Weekly pottery classes

Bible class (he claims to be a Jehovahs Witness)

Constant stream of adoring visitors  up to four days of visits every week permitted. They can stay four hours a day, or six on a Saturday

Team of bodyguards protect him from unwanted attentions of other patients

Told a friend the nurses are friendly and patient

Cost to public: 300k a year LIFE IN CATEGORY-A JAIL Cramped cells fitted with an uncomfortable bed and a toilet bowl

Endemic problems with gang culture, drugs, bullying and violence

Early starts (Sutcliffe reportedly likes his lie-ins) around 7.45am.

Morning workshops, education or gym

Allowed two one-hour visits every four weeks

Sutcliffe recently told a friend: Category A prisons are a pit of black despair.

If he goes to HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire, he will be in heart of the region where he waged his reign of terror

Current inmates of the jail - nicknamed Monster Mansion - include April Joness killer Mark Bridger and Sarah Payne murderer Roy Whiting

Cost to public: 50k a year Advertisement

At his Old Bailey trial in 1981 Sutcliffe claimed he had heard a voice while working as a gravedigger in 1967, and that God had instructed him to kill prostitutes.

The jury did not believe him, and Sutcliffe was sentenced to 20 life terms.

The trial judge ruled he should serve at least 30 years and he was sent to Parkhurst, a regular prison, on the Isle of Wight.

In 1983 an inmate plunged a broken coffee jar into his face, requiring 30 stitches.

In 1984, Sutcliffe was moved to Broadmoor secure mental hospital in Berkshire after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Home Secretaries subsequently decided he should never be released.

Sutcliffe appealed against this at the High Court in 2010 but Mr Justice Mitting turned him down, comparing his spree to a terrorist outrage.

Police pictured holding back the crowds during Sutcliffe's trial at the Old Bailey in 1981

Yet the Ripper gets fan mail and has even been engaged.

He was attacked in Broadmoor too  stabbed in both eyes by a convicted murderer. He lost the sight in his left eye.

In 2015, he was allowed out to visit an NHS clinic in Surrey for treatment to his right eye, mingling with shocked members of the public.

His weight had ballooned to almost 20st and he has a range of ailments.

Sutcliffe has gone on hunger strike when he previously thought he would be moved to a jail.

In 2005, he was on the verge of a coma after starving himself for 12 days.

In recent months, he has been on suicide watch after realising psychiatrists were sceptical of his mental health ruse and could have him transferred back to jail.

Now, at last, it is happening.
More details are coming out today about the FBI wanting to investigate the Clinton Foundation, but the Department of Justice turning the agency down.

CNN reports that three FBI field offices were in agreement and wanted an investigation launched earlier this year, but the Loretta Lynch-led DOJ pushed back pointing to a preliminary investigation done on the Clinton Foundation a year before, after the book 'Clinton Cash' was released.

At that point, not enough evidence was there to launch a case, and some at the Justice Department feared the request for a fresh investigation would look politically-motivated, especially in light of the FBI's investigation into Clinton's private email server.

The FBI wanted to pursue a lead from a bank that tipped them off to suspicious activity from a foreigner who had donated to the Clinton Foundation.

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As new Hillary Clinton emails were released this week, CNN reported that the FBI had asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Clinton Foundation

The initial news of the Justice Department going against the FBI's wishes was buried in a CNN story yesterday that detailed the latest release of Clinton's emails to the public at the hands of the conservative watchdog, Judicial Watch.

The organization released 296 pages of Clinton's emails this week including 44 that the former secretary of state didn't initially hand over to the State Department, Judicial Watch said.

These new conversations shed light on how intertwined Clinton's State Department was with her family foundation.

In one highly-cited example, the now-former head of the Clinton Foundation, Doug Band, reaches out to Clinton's top State Department aides, including Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, in April 2009 and notes that it's 'important to take care of' a particular person whose name has been redacted.

Top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin responds in the affirmative to a request from the Clinton Foundation head to introduce a donor to the government's top expert on Lebanon

In another exchange that year Band requests that Abedin and Mills put Gilbert Chagoury, a longtime buddy of Bill Clinton's who donated millions to the Clinton Foundation, in touch with 'the substance person re Lebanon' at the State Department.

'It's jeff feltman,' Abedin replied, according to the emails. She was referring to Jeffrey Feltman, who was then the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon. 'I'm sure he know him. I'll talk to jeff,' she said, seemingly following orders.

The Clinton campaign was quick to push back on the insinuations drawn from the cozy conversations contained in the emails.

'Neither of these emails involve the secretary or relate to the Foundation's work,' said Clinton campaign spokesman Josh Schwerin in an emailed statement to the network. 'They are communications between her aides and the President's personal aide, and indeed the recommendation was for one of the Secretary's former staffers who was not employed by the Foundation,' he continued, referencing ex-President Bill Clinton.

Additionally, the Clinton campaign said Chagoury had wanted to offer insights to the Lebanon point person at the State Department about the country's forthcoming election and wasn't looking for any kind of favors.

The campaign then went after Judicial Watch, whose dogged inquiries and Freedom of Information Requests led to the discovery of Clinton's private email system, which has caused her a political headache throughout her presidential campaign.

'The right-wing organization behind this lawsuit has been attacking the Clintons since the 1990s and no matter how this group tries to mischaracterize these documents, the fact remains that Hillary Clinton never took action as secretary of state because of donations to the Clinton Foundation,' Schwerin said.

Today, another tidbit came to light  that Clinton's State Department chief of staff Cheryl Mills visited New York in 2012 and interviewed two executives for a top position at the Clinton Foundation.

This cozy arrangement was called 'volunteer work for a charitable foundation' by Mill's lawyer, according to CNN.

The State Department said it was personal time.

The Clinton campaign again forcefully pushed back on the perception that there was double-dipping going on between Foggy Bottom and the foundation.

'It was crystal clear to all involved that this has nothing to do with official duties,' the campaign's statement read. 'The idea that this poses a conflict of interest is absurd.'

That hasn't stopped the Trump campaign from having fun with the emails' revelations and CNN's reporting that the Justice Department had declined to investigate the Clinton Foundation.

'Once again, the Department of Justice has protected Hillary Clinton. Earlier this year the DOJ denied a request from the FBI to investigate her pay-to-play, corrupt Clinton Foundation,' team Trump wrote in an email to supporters this afternoon, asking for donations.

'News of its rejection comes immediately after leaked emails exposed a concerning link between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department!' the plea continued.
There are now more than 300 puffins on the island, with 100 breeding

Lundy decided to eliminate rats, which feed on puffin eggs and chicks

Puffins have been a popular fixture of Lundy island for decades

Booming: ridding Lundy of rats helped the puffins thrive

The puffin has come back from the verge of extinction on an island off the British coast and is now thriving after predatory rats were eradicated.

The bird has been a feature on Lundy Island, 12 miles off the north Devon coast, for centuries.

But numbers fell to just five a decade ago, and it was feared they would be wiped out entirely. Now wildlife experts have just counted more than 300 puffins on the island, of which around 100 are breeding.

The revival is being credited to the removal of all rodents on the island.

Under the Lundy Seabird Recovery Project, workers eradicated rats, which feast on the eggs and chicks of burrow-nesting birds such as puffins, between 2002 and 2004.

The island was declared rat-free in 2006 and the breeding puffin population has re-established itself over the past ten years. The project was a partnership between the RSPB, the Landmark Trust, Natural England and the National Trust.

Rob Joules, National Trust general manager for Lundy, said: Its great to reach the ten-year milestone of Lundy being rat-free and to see its wildlife thriving in direct response.

The number of puffins in Lundy fell to just five a decade ago, and there was concern they might be wiped out entirely

The island eradicated rats, which feast on the eggs and chicks of burrow-nesting birds such as puffins - leading to a resurgence in puffin births

This was an incredibly important and worthwhile project to be involved with and its great to know the lessons learned are being implemented on other offshore islands around the UK.

The project was initially focused on boosting the population of Manx shearwaters, which at the time were a higher priority for conservation. They have benefited but RSPB senior conservation officer Helen Booker said they were less optimistic about the puffin.

THE CLOWNS OF THE SEA Puffins are known as clowns of the sea and sea parrots

Its scientific name, fratercula, came from the Latin for little brother because their plumage resembled monks robes

They nest in burrows, with eggs incubated by both parents and the young called pufflings

Adult pairs appear to kiss, rubbing their beaks together in behaviour known as billing

There are at least eight islands worldwide named after the puffin Advertisement

Ten years ago its population had reached such a low level we worried whether it would survive, she said. To see that the puffin is now doing so well really is exciting.
Police investigating the murder of Google executive Vanessa Marcotte have seized surveillance footage after learning of a mysterious bruised and cut man who appeared at a resort near the murder scene.

The man appeared along with a woman at Wachusett Mountain Resort on Sunday afternoon - shortly after the 27-year-old was murdered.

The mountain resort's base lodge is less than a ten-minute drive from Brooks Station Road and the woodland in which Marcotte's body was found on Sunday evening.

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Appalling: Officials would not say how Marcotte died but mentioned a 'horrible set of facts'. One report said she had been raped and set on fire

Homecoming: The 27-year-old was visiting with her mother (pictured right) in Princeton when she went for a jog and was murdered

Bizarre encounter: A couple who arrived at the Wachusett Mountain resort claimed the man had been injured in a motorcycle accident. Staff who remembered told police about the couple and officers seized CCTV footage of them

Police believe she was murdered between 1pm and 3pm on Sunday, and that she fought back against her attacker - meaning he was likely to have been bruised and cut.

Speaking to Daily Mail Online, Princeton's Wachusett Mountain general manager David Crowley, 60, said: 'We have been asked to provide some footage which we're doing.'

Crowley went onto explain: 'A man and woman appeared at the resort around 2 o'clock on Sunday afternoon and said that they had been in a motorcycle crash, or had somehow come off the motorcycle.

'They claimed that the ambulance driver had told them to go up to the resort because we were open to clean up which seemed odd to my employee who recounted the incident.

'She said she didn't see any sign of an ambulance and it seemed strange to her that anyone would have given that advice if that's really what happened.'

According to the employee, the man's arms were, 'all cut and scraped up'.

The employee has reported the unsettling encounter to police investigating the horrific killing that took place on Sunday afternoon.

Vanished: The Boston University graduate left her mother's house to go jogging shortly before 1pm on Sunday.

Last sighting: Police have appealed for anybody who may have seen a vehicle traveling along, or parked on, Brooks Station Road during that time to come forward. It was here that there was the last known sighting of Marcotte

At a press conference on Thursday Worcester district attorney Joseph D Early Jr said that the Boston University graduate, who was home visiting her mother at the weekend, struggled with her attacker probably leaving him scratched, scraped and bruised.

The DA appealed for anyone seeing a man with fresh injuries of that nature earlier this week to call the State Police tip line.

Law enforcement has now narrowed the scope of their inquiries to between 1pm and 3pm on Sunday afternoon. They were previously looking at the hours between 1pm and 4pm.

They have also appealed for anybody who may have seen a vehicle traveling along, or parked on, Brooks Station Road during that time to come forward.

On Tuesday her father issued a heartfelt plea asking people to pray for justice for his daughter and that that perpetrator of this horrendous crime be caught.

Speaking to Daily Mail Online from his home in Leominster, where Vanessa was raised, John Marcotte said: 'How can anything ever be all right again when your only child has been horribly murdered?'

He said: 'I'd ask people to pray that whoever did this is caught. She was the best kid in the world. Graduated top of her class.'

It is now four days since Vanessa's body was discovered  naked and burned  in woodland barely half a mile from her mother, Rossana's, home in the quiet Massachusetts town. She had gone out for an afternoon jog and never returned.

Barely 24 hours earlier her father saw her for what would be the last time.

He recalled: 'I was with her. We went out to eat at the Chop House on Saturday night. After that, the next day, she was dead.'

Trembling with emotion Mr Marcotte said that there was nobody in his daughter's life who would wish to harm her though admitted that this was 'part of the investigation.'

According to her father, Vanessa didn't have a serious boyfriend instead, he said: 'She was 100 per cent into her job. She graduated top of her class at BU. She knew how smart she was.'

Mr Marcotte explained that Vanessa had recently got a new manager at Google and was 'excited' about her future with the company she loved.

Mr Marcotte was returning home after being with law enforcement, he explained, since 4 o'clock this morning.

He said: 'I haven't even had a shower or anything. I've been at the police station since 4 o'clock this morning.'

He expressed gratitude to law enforcement saying: 'If you could understand what the State Police have told us there's not one negative note [about Vanessa].

Promising career: The Boston University graduate had worked as an account manager at Google in New York City for nearly two years

'They're going above and beyond what they have to to find this person. They've been in constant contact with us, the District Attorney, everybody, constantly.

'They've kept us in the loop and offered all sorts of assistance.'

Meanwhile the small community of Princeton, MA, is trying to make sense of the act of violence that has shaken all who live there.

At a candlelight vigil held on Tuesday evening in the town's First Congregational Church Pastor Linda Michel led hymns and prayers and conveyed a message of profound thanks from Vanessa's grieving mother, Rossana, 58.

Mrs Marcotte was too grief stricken to attend but sent a message saying how thankful she was to law enforcement and to the community supporting the family, reeling with anguish at how violently Vanessa was taken from them.

Members of the local fire service and police stood guard outside the white clapboard church allowing those close to the family and those simply moved to attend 'space' to grieve and pray together.

Some wept as they held candles aloft and prayed for a light in this the town and the family's darkest hour.

Police have not released details of how Vanessa died but a source told Fox25 in Boston that she was sexually assaulted and set on fire with burns to her hands, head and feet.
Veteran Scottish actor Richard Wilson, who was born in Greenock, Renfrewshire, is believed to be in a stable condition in hospital after suffering cardiac arrest

One Foot In The Grave star Richard Wilson, 80, has been hospitalised after suffering a heart attack.

The veteran actor, who was born in Greenock, Renfrewshire, is believed to be in a stable condition in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest on Wednesday afternoon.

Wilson's agent John Grant told The Guardian that the actor is in a stable condition and remains in hospital this evening.

Wilson recently revealed he originally turned down his most famous role, playing Victor Meldrew in One Foot In The Grave.

The Scottish actor made his name playing the cantankerous protagonist but said he had to be talked into it because he thought he was too young for the part.

At one point, television bosses were even thinking about casting Les Dawson as the curmudgeon.

Wilson told Radio Times: 'I was in my early 50s and Victor was 60. I turned it down.

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'I think Les Dawson was being considered. A very funny man but I don't know if he could have played Victor.'

Producer/director Susan Belbin continued to pursue Wilson and, after reading more scripts, he was convinced.

One Foot In The Grave: Annette Crosbie as Margaret and Richard Wilson as Victor Meldrew

He went on to play the pensioner at war with middle-class suburbia for five series from 1990 to 1995, before returning for a final run in 2000.

Wilson had planned on resurrecting Victor for a performance at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, despite the fact he was killed off in the final episode of the BBC series.

His 12-night run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was due to start on Tuesday.

The Scottish actor made his name playing the cantankerous protagonist but said he had to be talked into it because he thought he was too young for the part

But concerns about his health were raised when it emerged he had pulled out of the run of shows, with his agent then confirming he had been taken ill.

Wilson had planned to re-create writer David Renwick's script for a 1993 episode called The Trial, which sees Victor waiting in the house, on a rainy day, on call for jury duty.

Half an hour with Victor would have been followed by half an hour with Wilson himself, answering questions from the audience.

The actor promised fans that the OAP - known for the catchphrase 'I don't believe it!' - would not have mellowed with age.

He said: 'I think Victor is around 80 now. But I am playing him roughly 74.
Miss World Australia finalist Elyse Miller-Kennedy, 17, has died after a horror smash with French tourists driving on the wrong side of the road.

The Year 12 student died of massive head and chest injuries suffered in the crash in North Queensland on August 3.

'We had faith Elyse would take the title of Miss World in future years,' the Miss World Australia organisation said in a touching tribute.

'She encompassed the essence and ability required to become the international supermodel she aspired to be.'

Elyse Miller-Kennedy (pictured) has died after a horror smash with French tourists in far North Queensland

'We had faith Elyse would take the title of Miss World in future years,' Miss World Australia said in a touching tribute

'We would like everyone to remember Elyse's inner beauty,' family friend Katrina Porter said

The teenager gained her licence just five weeks before the crash.

Police believe she was hit by French tourists who were driving on the wrong side of the road.

Her car flipped in the collision and she was pinned upside down for two hours before she was rescued and rushed to Townsville Hospital.

Ms Miller-Kennedy would be remembered for her 'inner beauty' and 'generous sweet soul', family friend Katrina Porter said.

'We would like everyone to remember Elyse's inner beauty, the warmth she showed to all, her humbleness during her journey throughout her larger than life experiences and of course the generous sweet soul and friend she was to so many.'

The Year 12 student was described as a shining light in the heart of far North Queensland

The 17-year-old was involved in a collision near Dimbulah, north of Cairns, and was flown to hospital with severe head injuries

Ms Miller-Kennedy represented Queensland in the Miss World Australia finals held in Melbourne in July.

A tribute posted by the Miss World Australia organisation on Facebook said her 'potential was limitless'.

'Elyse will always be remembered for her beautiful soul, charismatic charm and kind heart. Elyse's inner beauty truly exemplified her outer.

'Elyse's potential was limitless - we had faith Elyse would take the title of Miss World in future years.

'She encompassed the essence and ability required to become the international supermodel she aspired to be and most importantly her passion and drive to graduate with Honours in Law and help those in need was a tribute to her intelligence and humanitarian heart.'

'Elyse will always be remembered for her beautiful soul, charismatic charm and kind heart,' her family said in a statement

'She encompassed the essence and ability required to become the international supermodel she aspired to be,' Miss World Australia said

Senior constable Lee Chamberlain said Ms Miller-Kennedy was driving on the right side of the road when she was hit in the head-on smash, the Herald-Sun reported.

He said: 'Elyse was driving back from the Mareeba direction and was on the correct side of the road.

'Our inquiries show that the two vehicles came together on the Dimbulah-bound lane, so she was where she should have been at the time.'

Police are now looking to speak to the French couple that collided with her, one of whom was hospitalised with a leg injury.

The 17-year-old had only got her driver's licence five weeks before the crash
A woman in China has become a hit online after posting a rant about fellow Chinese tourists online.

Bin Bin Ji from Beijing posted the three minute rant online during a trip to Thailand, reports the People's Daily Online.

The video complains about the cheek of fellow Chinese tourists on her trip and their desire to get something for nothing.

Angry: The woman from Beijing was enraged by the behaviour of fellow Chinese tourists

Rage: She tells the camera that badly misbehaving tourists should be fed to sharks

She mentioned a fellow tourist in her group before referencing Chinese tourists as a whole

The woman named Bin Bin Ji captured the video from a beach in Thailand.

She tells viewers that she is on Lover's Beach in Phuket and she just saw a female tourist from Shanghai trying to take a giant piece of wood from the beach despite their tour guide telling them not to.

The woman is infuriated by the fact that the tour guide was berated by the female member of the group who told the tour guide: 'I have been to over 20 countries in the world.

'I've been able to bring everything i've wanted home.'

She then went on to say that the situation is going to get worse with poor parenting

One of the tourists refused to listen to a tour guide, trying to take home this giant stick

Bin Bin Ji then continues telling the camera. 'This woman is so damn arrogant.'

She says: 'F*** and you wonder why people hate us so much?'

Bin Bin then tells the camera: 'Did you not see the tiger biting someone to death? They've got sharks here in the Thai sea.

F*** we'll throw a few of you out in the sea to feed the sharks and see if you guys start behaving.

We keep telling you about the rules and regulations, the law, the law and you won't listen'.

There have been numerous cases in recent years of Chinese tourists behaving badly abroad.

In December 2014, an AirAsia flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a flight attendant was scolded with a cup of hot water and instant noodles.

While in March this year, tourists were fined for washing her feet in the basin of a public bathroom despite being told not to.

And in the same month, tourists were spotted breaking into a prison in Guilin to get the best snaps of cherry blossom trees.

Not okay: Tourists from the country were spotted washing their feet in sinks in Thailand
Worlds first large mounted Camptosaurus skeleton at the National Museum of Natural History. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. v. 41 (1912). Digitized by Smithsonian Libraries. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29866417.

In 1911, the Smithsonian Institution debuted the worlds first large mounted Camptosaurus skeleton at its newly-opened Natural History building. The display featured two specimens erected side-by-side, one identified as Camptosaurus nanus and the other as Camptosaurus browni.

Camptosaurus, whose name means flexible lizard, was a plant-eating, beaked dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period. Both Smithsonian specimens were uncovered at a quarry near Como Bluff, Wyoming. The smaller of the specimens, dubbed C. nanus, was collected in 1882 by William Reed as part of a collecting expedition funded by the United States Geological Survey and under the technical direction of famous paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh.

Marsh is well-renowned for his many contributions to the field of paleontology, which include discovering a plethora of fossil animals and naming a multitude of dinosaur genera including Camptosaurus. He is also notoriously remembered for his longstanding conflict with fellow paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope  a conflict that came to be known as the Bone Wars. The intense rivalry between the two men spanned decades as each undermined, ridiculed, and even sabotaged the work of the other in a struggle for scientific dominance.

The C. nanus fossil was originally accessioned into the collection of the Yale Peabody Natural History Museum, where Marsh was the Curator of Paleontology, until, after Marshs death in 1899, it was transferred to the Smithsonian in compliance with legislation regarding objects collected for, or whose collection was funded by, the US government. The fossil, which was cataloged as USNM 2210, was then prepared and mounted by Norman H. Boss in 1911 alongside the larger C. browni specimen. The mounts are detailed in a 1912 publication by Charles W. Gilmore. Interestingly, the specimens are now known to represent the juvenile (previously C. nanus) and mature (previously C. browni) stages of a single species, C. disbar.

C. nanus, as mounted at the National Museum of Natural History. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. v. 41 (1912). Digitized by Smithsonian Libraries. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29866427.

Between 2004 and 2008, the Camptosaurus fossils were taken off display to allow for repairs and the creation of casts that may be re-exhibited with the reopening of the Smithsonians Deep Time Hall in 2019. The authentic fossils will be placed in the museums collections for research and conservation reasons.

The fascinating history of USNM 2210s journey from rock to museum is detailed by National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) volunteer Mark Lay in the article A Brief History of Camptosaurus, U.S. National Museum Specimen 2210.

Mark Lay with Camptosaurus cast at the National Museum of Natural History.

Trained as a physicist and nuclear engineer, Mark began volunteering in the Vertebrate Paleontology Preparation Lab at NMNH in 2007 after retirement provided him more time to pursue personal interests like paleontology.

Marks early volunteer activities in the Preparation Lab involved making molds and casts, primarily of USNM 2210. Since then, after moving to work with Department of Paleobiology Information Officer Tom Jorstad, he has transitioned to providing research support for requests from the public and outside researchers, as well as organizing and developing who, what, when, where metadata for paleontology-related photographic images in both Department and Smithsonian Institution Archives files. He also writes articles on various aspects of the Departments history and currently is researching the first 100 years of vertebrate fossil preparation in the Smithsonian.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library has proven to be an important resource for Marks research, providing information both about items in the collection and historical documents regarding the history of the NMNH and other natural history museums around the US.

I am a big fan of BHL, lauds Mark, who uses BHL up to 4-5 times a week. I am able to spend only roughly one day per week in the NMNH. This means I can spend only a limited amount of time examining actual hard copy documents in the museum libraries. The fact that I can access many of the same documents via BHL means that I can also work from home  greatly increasing the amount of time that I can devote to my volunteer research. In addition, BHLs inclusion of documents from other museums and universities enables me to access documents that otherwise would be extremely difficult for me to obtain. BHL doesnt have everything I want, but I would be hard-pressed to do my research without it.

This image, SIA 2011-1418, shows USNM Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Charles Gilmores camp site near North Horn Mountain, Utah during his 1937 expedition. It appears as Figure 1 in Gilmores 1938 publication, Fossil Hunting in Utah and Arizona, Explorations and Field-work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1937, pp 1-4, available in BHL here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40734134 (Digitized by Smithsonian Libraries).

Currently, Mark is working on a series of glass lantern slides dating from the mid-1890s through the late 1930s, now being digitized by the Archives and possessing limited metadata. BHL has been a valuable resource for obtaining more information about the slides.

Some of these slide images were originally used in various Smithsonian publications from that era, making positive identification of the people, fossil localities, and dates much easier, explains Mark. More challenging have been the slides sent to the Smithsonian from a variety of museums around the U.S. So, our identification process has first concentrated on determining an initial guesstimate of the curator, specimen, or collecting locality involved, then backtracking through relevant Smithsonian publications to see if the image appears. If not, we backtrack our guesstimate to publications from other most likely museums. If all that fails, we dig deeper into the view or geology portrayed to see if we can find something similar and broaden the search to include relevant publications from other sources. Having so many of the Smithsonian and other museum publications from that time period in BHL has greatly sped up this process.

Before using BHL, Mark scoured the physical copies of these publications to find this information  a time consuming and sometimes frustrating process. This all changed when Martha Rosen, a librarian in the NMNH Smithsonian Libraries, introduced him to BHL.

I discovered BHL 5 or 6 years ago when I was sitting in the museum reference collection reading through some old United States National Museum annual reports, and complaining that my eyes were getting ready to drop out from going through so much text all at once, recalls Mark. Martha mentioned that I could get the documents on-line and gave me the BHL link. I downloaded a searchable PDF of the documents and went through them that evening, actually finding relevant information faster than I could with the hard copy.

This image, SIA 2011-1429, shows Quarry 6 in the Freezeout Mountains of Wyoming, as worked by the Field Columbian Museum expedition of 1899. It was used as Plate XXX in the Field Columbian Reports, Volume 1, October 1899, included in the Annual Report of the Director to the Board of Trustees for the Years 1894-1900, available in BHL here: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/45723188 (Digitized by Smithsonian Libraries).

Marks volunteer work with the Smithsonian has allowed him to pursue his passions, enhance collection information, and share wonderful insights into the history of the museum and fossil preparation.

Paleontology has been a long-standing interest, Mark asserts. To me, there is a fascination with bringing a fossil out of the rock encasing it and learning more about it. My interest in paleontological history is more recent, but the research has turned out to be no less rewarding.

Marks articles, published through the Department of Paleobiologys website, provide him a means to share the wonderful knowledge and history he is uncovering. For instance, Marks Camptosaurus article highlights the sometimes tangled path of a fossil from field to museum and provides insight into the changing philosophy of fossil preparation.

As Mark explains in his article, in the early 1900s, preparators mounted a specimen and expected it to stay mounted forever  no provision was made for repair or reconstruction. So when preparing USNM 2210 back in 1911, heavy copper wire and iron strapping were used as a support armature, with thinner copper wire used to secure the manus and pes elements. In general, these supports have held up well, with only slight corrosion damage, but some of the bolts and rivets securing the skeleton were drilled through real bone and secured with glue. As we have dismantled the specimen, this mounting technique has occasionally necessitated our cracking bones in order to remove them from the armature, and then making appropriate repairs.

Modern techniques accommodate the possible future need to dismantle specimens and allow for a more-realistic presentation of specimens. The hard plaster we have used for the casts allows for support connections to be made through the simulated bone, reducing the amount of armature seen by the public and providing a more natural looking display. The philosophy is to make all changes reversible, while also ensuring repairs are both state of the art and long lasting, explains Mark in his article.

Were excited to see the ways that BHL has helped support Marks valuable work at the Smithsonian. Its a great example of one of the many ways that BHL inspires discovery through free access to biodiversity knowledge.

__________________________

This post may contain the personal opinions of BHL users or affiliated staff and does not necessarily represent the official Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) position on these matters.
A huge blast in a Chinese power plant has killed 21 people today.

The accident occurred at 3:20pm Beijing time at the Ma Dian Gan Shi Power Generating Company in the city of Dangyang, central China's Hubei Province, reported Huanqiu.com, an affiliation of People's Daily Online.

Five people have also been injured after a high-pressure steam pipe exploded, the report said. Three of them are seriously wounded.

Dangerous explosion: A high-pressure team pipe exploded in a Chinese power plant today

Aftermath: The huge blast has killed 21 people and injured five others in Dangyang

Dangyang: The Ma Dian Gan Shi Power Generating Company is located in Hubei Province

A team of rescuers have been sent to the scene by the authorities.

Huang Chuping, the secretary of Yichang municipal party committee, and other local officials have reportedly arrived at the factory to supervise the rescue operation.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

China has suffered from frequent industrial explosions in the past year - despite a drive to upgrade workplace safety from the central government.

Last august, a massive series of explosions at a chemical warehouse in the eastern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people - mostly firefighters and police.

A team of rescuers were sent to the scene immediately by local authorities
The hospital have offered 580 in compensation for the mix up

He thought he was being taken to assist in the birth of his baby

He was ushered to an operation theatre and told to drop his trousers

Doctors confused him with a man waiting for a haemorrhoid operation

A man waiting anxiously for the birth of his baby outside a hospital ward in China was ushered into theatre by doctors and given an operation on his haemorrhoids in a case of mistaken identity.

The expectant father, named Mr Wang in reports, was mixed up with another patient on Monday who had completed the paperwork for the procedure and was waiting to be operated on.

Doctors at the Shenyang Hunnan Xinqu Hospital in China asked Wang to accompany them. However, the father to be thought he would be taken to a room to aid in his wife's birth.

Take a seat, Mr Wang: The new father recovers from his operation in hospital

The confusion was further fuelled by the fact the hospital only has two operation rooms and Wang thought he was being taken to the room where his wife was in labour, according to the state run People's Daily.

In the theatre the man was asked to drop his trousers and lie on the operating table.

'It felt strange, and I asked why,' he told the news outlet. 'They said: "Just do what we tell you".'

With Wang on the table the doctors applied anaesthetic and proceeded to remove his haemorrhoids.

Mr Wang's wife later gave birth to a healthy baby via Caesarian section (stock image)

'I really never knew I had haemorrhoids,' the 29-year-old said.

'When I was on the operating table I heard a baby crying and I was very happy, and I wanted to hold it.

'But I couldn't move because I started to feel pain.'

It is unclear if the unsuspecting patient had a general or local anaesthetic.

Wang confirmed that his wife gave birth to a healthy baby via Caesarian section.
Ranging from gemstones to gold earrings, hundreds of precious objects have been found in the tomb of a rich family who lived in the late Bronze Age.

The tomb, discovered on Hala Sultan Tekke in Cyprus, is one of the richest Bronze Age graves ever found on the island and dates back to 1500 BC.

The family is thought to have lived in a rich city nearby, but archaeologists have yet to find the mysterious place.

The grave and its offering pit contained a variety of gold objects such as a diadem, pearls, earrings and Egyptian scarabs, as well as more than 100 richly ornamented ceramic vessels (Mycenaean/Greek vessel with fish motifs, c. 1300 BC pictured)

WHAT WAS FOUND? The grave and its offering pit, discovered near the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, contained a variety of gold objects such as a diadem, pearls, earrings and Egyptian scarabs, as well as more than 100 richly ornamented ceramic vessels. The objects found come from several adjacent cultures, showing Cyprus was a central hub in long-distance trade. The finds also included gemstones and five cylinder seals, some produced locally and some from Syria and Mesopotamia, as well as a bronze dagger. There were also vases decorated with religious symbols and animal illustrations. Advertisement

The grave, found by archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg, contained a variety of gold objects including a diadem, pearls, earrings and Egyptian scarabs, as well as more than 100 richly ornamented ceramic vessels.

This shows the family buried at the site would have been wealthy.

Peter Fischer, professor of Cypriote archaeology at the University of Gothenburg, who led the excavations, said the most interesting thing about the finds is the dating.

The ruins are from 1500 to 1400 BC, but the researchers have still only found the burial site but not the city from this period.

It must have been a rich city judging from the grave we found this year. But it is most likely located closer to the burial site in an area that still has not been explored, said Professor Fischer.

The ruins are from 1500 to 1400 BC, but the researchers have still only found the burial site but not the city from this period. Egyptian faience button from 1200 BC found in the site, pictured

A gold-mounted scarab of steatite with a carving of Thutmosis III, Egypts most powerful pharaoh (1479-1425 BC) with remains of blue colour on scarab pictured left, and two pairs of gold earrings from 1400-1300 BC shown right

The excavations in May and June this year were the most successful to date. We discovered an older city quarter from around 1250 BC and outside the city we found an incredibly rich grave, one of the richest in Cyprus from this period, and an offering pit next to it, Professor Fischer said.

The objects found come from several adjacent cultures, showing Cyprus was a central hub in long-distance trade.

The fact that we have discovered a burial site from the Late Bronze Age is quite sensational, since those who died around this time were usually buried within the settlement,' said Professor Fischer.

The finds also included gemstones and five cylinder seals, some produced locally and some from Syria and Mesopotamia, as well as a bronze dagger.

There were also vases decorated with religious symbols and animal illustrations.

The grave and its offering pit were discovered near the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke. Hala Sultan Tekke, a Bronze Age city from 16001150 BC that covered an area of up to 50 hectares, had far-reaching trade connections that included Sweden

The objects found come from several adjacent cultures, showing Cyprus was a central hub in long-distance trade. A gold-mounted scarab of steatite, likely from the Egyptian 19th Dynasty, c. 13th century BC is shown

CYPRUS AS A TRAVEL HUB The objects found come from several adjacent cultures, showing Cyprus was a central hub in long-distance trade. Many of the vessels were imported mainly from Greece and Crete but also from Anatolia, or the equivalence of present-day Turkey. Textiles used in the trade with the high cultures in Egypt, Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Crete and Greece, were also found. There were high-class Mycenaean imports, meaning pottery from Greece, dated to 15001300 BC. The motif of the woman, possibly a goddess, is Minoan, which means it is from Crete, but the vase was manufactured in Greece. Other finds are from Egypt. Two of the stone scarabs are gold-mounted and one features hieroglyphs spelling men-kheper-re next to an illustration of a pharaoh. Advertisement

We also found evidence in the city of large-scale manufacturing and purple-dying of textiles. These products were used in the trade with the high cultures in Egypt, Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Crete and Greece, which explains the rich imported finds, Professor Fischer said.

Many of the vessels were imported mainly from Greece and Crete but also from Anatolia, or the equivalence of present-day Turkey.

Wells are usually one metre in diameter, but this structure was 4 x 3 metres. The grave seems to be a family tomb for eight children ages 510 years and nine adults, of whom the oldest was about 40 years old. The life expectancy was much shorter back then than it is today, said Professor Fischer.

The archaeologists said the most important objects are more than 140 complete ceramic vessels, most of which were decorated with spectacular illustrations of for example people sitting in a chariot drawn by two horses and a woman wearing a beautiful dress.

The pottery carries a lot of archaeological information,' Professor Fischer added.

'There were for example high-class Mycenaean imports, meaning pottery from Greece, dated to 15001300 BC.

'The motif of the woman, possibly a goddess, is Minoan, which means it is from Crete, but the vase was manufactured in Greece. Back in those days, Crete was becoming a Greek colony'.

The objects found come from several adjacent cultures, showing Cyprus was a central hub in long-distance trade. Amulet of faience with the Egyptian God Bes, pictured

The painting of the womans dress is highly advanced and shows how wealthy women dressed around the time

The painting of the womans dress is highly advanced and shows how wealthy women dressed around the time. The motif can also be found on frescos in the Palace of Knossos in Heraklion, Crete.

Other finds are from Egypt. Two of the stone scarabs are gold-mounted and one features hieroglyphs next to an illustration of a pharaoh.

The inscription refers to Egypts most powerful pharaoh Thutmose III, 14791425 BC. During his reign Egypt peaked in size and influence as he conquered both Syria and parts of Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq.

In the hopes of finding the missing city, the researchers will continue to work on the site next year.
Human relationships are one of the most important things in our lives - but little is known about the genetics behind what makes us social beings.

Now, a new study has looked at the brain changes in people with Williams syndrome - a rare genetic disorder that can cause people to have highly social personalities.

Scientists hope the work will help them home in on 'sociability genes' that can give insights into autism and other disorders.

The WS brain cells were also noticeably different to normal brain cells, with a more branch-like structure. This increase in branching allows the neurons to make more connections to other neurons than you would expect

WHAT IS WILLIAMS SYNDROME? Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic condition that is present at birth and can affect anyone. It is characterised by medical problems, including cardiovascular disease, developmental delays, and learning disabilities. These often occur side by side with striking verbal abilities, highly social personalities and an affinity for music. Children with WS may need costly and ongoing medical care and early interventions including speech or occupational therapy. As they grow, they struggle with things like spatial relations, numbers, and abstract reasoning, which can make daily tasks a challenge. As adults, most people with WS will need supportive housing to live to their fullest potential. Individuals with WS have a very endearing personality. They have a unique strength in their expressive language skills, and are extremely polite. They are typically unafraid of strangers and show a greater interest in contact with adults than with their peers. Source: Williams Syndrome Association Advertisement

Researchers from the University of California in San Diego, worked together will colleagues at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, to better understand the brain in social people.

They focused on people with Williams Syndrome, a condition characterised by medical problems, including cardiovascular disease, developmental delays, and learning disabilities.

But, alongside the medical problems, people with Williams' Syndrome have highly social personalities, and are known to be trusting and friendly.

The condition is caused by the deletion of genetic material from a specific region of Chromosome 7 - one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human body.

The deleted region includes 26 to 28 genes, and researchers believe that a loss of several of these probably contributes to the characteristic features of this disorder.

Dr Ursula Bellugi, co-author of the study, said: 'An interesting aspect is the typical hyper-social predisposition.

'Persons with the WS deletion tend to be overly friendly, overly trusting, drawn to strangers, yet anxious.'

Until now, it has not been clear what the genetics links are to the behavioural aspects of WS.

To help complete the model, researchers used dental pulp cells - cells extracted from the teeth of children with WS.

In the laboratory, the researchers reprogrammed the cells to become neural progenitor cells - those with the ability to form brain cells and neural networks.

However, the researchers found that the cells quickly died, and were unable to develop into brain cells and neural networks.

This resulted in a reduced brain surface area.

However the WS brain cells that did develop were also noticeably different to normal brain cells, with a more branch-like structure.

People like Shavar Beaulieu (pictured) with Williams syndrome, often have developmental delays, yet have relative strengths in social interactions

PROGENITOR CELLS A progenitor cell is a biological cell that, like a stem cell, has a tendency to differentiate into a specific type of cell, but is already more specific than a stem cell and is pushed to differentiate into its 'target' cell. The most important difference between stem cells and progenitor cells is that stem cells can replicate indefinitely, whereas progenitor cells can divide only a limited number of times. For example, neural progenitor cells have a tendency to differentiate into brain cells. Advertisement

This increase in branching allows the neurons to make more connections to other neurons than you would expect.

Dr Alysson Muotri, a researcher on the study said: 'That might underlie the WS super-social aspect and their gregarious human brain, giving insights into autism and other disorders that affect the social brain.'

To confirm their results, the researchers also looked at postmortem brain tissue from people with Williams Syndrome.

Dr Katerina Semendeferi, co-senior author of the study, said: 'One striking observation was that these neurons in WS individuals are more complex than controls (typically developing children of same age).'

This research, published in Nature, could help explain why humans are social beings, which is a key development in evolution.

This research could help explain why humans are social beings (stock image), which is a key development in evolution
Nine years ago, a strange green glow was spotted in the sky by a Dutch school teacher as he was hunting for galaxies.

The Green Blob, which is 650 million light years from Earth, lies near a gas bubble in a distant galaxy.

Together the pair are providing new evidence for how giant black holes affect their host galaxies.

Now researchers have pieced together what causes the blob to glow, revealing the echo of the past activity of a black hole as it grew rapidly.

The Green Blob, which is 650 million light years from Earth, lies near a gas bubble in a distant galaxy and together the pair are providing new evidence for how giant black holes affect their host galaxies

The Green Blob, also known as 'Hanny's Voorwep' - which is Dutch for Hanny's object - was discovered in 2007.

Objects like this are rare, and astronomers think they are clouds of gas caused by outflows of gas from nearby galaxies.

Blasts of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from a galaxy 200,000 light years away from the green blob are responsible for giving it its emerald glow.

The radiation comes from the supermassive black hole, or quasar, at the centre of the galaxy.

But the black hole at the centre of the galaxy IC 2497 is growing slowly and is not producing intense radiation as a quasar.

The blob is distant enough from the black hole for the glow to be a delayed response.

The Green Blob, also known as 'Hanny's Voorwep' - which is Dutch for Hanny's object - was discovered in 2007. Hanny van Arkel, at the time a school teacher, found the object as part of the citizen science project called Galaxy Zoo

WHAT IS A QUASAR? 'Quasar' is short for quasi-stellar radio source, and describes bright centres of galaxies. Most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their cores. When the inflow of gas and dust to this black hole reaches a certain level, the event can cause a 'quasar' to form - an extremely bright region as the material swirls around the black hole. They are typically 3,260 light-years across. These regions emit huge amounts of electro-magnetic radiation in their jets, and can be a trillion times brighter than the sun. But they last only 10 to 100 million years on average, making them relatively tough to spot in galaxies that are several billion years old. Advertisement

Most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their cores. When the inflow of gas and dust to this black hole reaches a certain level, the event can cause a 'quasar' to form - an extremely bright region as the material swirls around the black hole

SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES Supermassive black holes are incredibly dense areas in the centre of galaxies with masses that can be billions of times that of the sun. They act as intense sources of gravity which hoover up dust and gas around them. Their intense gravitational pull is thought to be what stars in galaxies orbit around. How they are formed is still poorly understood. Astronomers believe they may form when a large cloud of gas up to 100,000 times biggger than the sun, collapses into a black hole. Many of these black hole seeds then merge to form much larger supermassive black holes. Alternatively, a supermassive black hole seed could come from a giant star, about 100 times the sun's mass, that ultimately forms into a black hole after it runs out of fuel and collapses. Advertisement

This means 200,000 years ago the black hole could have been much brighter  and the radiation has taken that long to reach the blob.

It used to be assumed this was the reason for the green glow, and that over the next 200,000 years it would become dimmer.

But new observations using Nasas Chandra space telescope show the black hole is still producing large amounts of energy even though it is no longer generating intense radiation as a quasar.

The evidence for this change in the black holes activity comes from hot gas in the centre of IC 2497.

'The temperature structure in the hot gas suggests the presence of a bubble or cavity around the fading black hole' the researchers, led by Dr Lia Satori from ETH Zurich, said in a paper.

The center of the X-ray emission shows cooler gas, which astronomers say is a large bubble within the hot gas.

The bubble may have been created when a pair of jets from the black hole blew away the hot gas.

Supermassive black holes are incredibly dense areas in the centre of galaxies with masses that can be billions of times that of the sun. They act as intense sources of gravity which hoover up dust and gas around them

When this happened, the energy produced by the supermassive black hole could have changed from that of a quasar, when energy is given off in a broad beam, to more concentrated output in the form of collimated jets of particles and consistent with the observed radio emission in this source.

'We conclude that the [black hole] could inject mechanical energy into the host galaxy at the end of its lifecycle, and thus provide a source for mechanical feedback, in a similar way as observed for X-ray binaries,' the researchers said.

Changes in behaviour like this happen in only a few weeks with black holes that are ten times the mass of the sun.
For a few years now, astronomers have been detecting hints that there may be a mysterious planet lurking undetected in some of the farthest reaches of our solar system.

But a new study suggests there may be a great deal more going on in the cold, dark regions of space beyond the eighth planet orbiting our sun, Neptune.

Scientists have discovered a bizarre new object, less than 124 miles (200km) across, with a strange tilted orbit that sends it high above the flat orbital disk of the rest of the solar system.

Scroll down for video

A bizarre new minor planet found orbiting beyond Neptune, which has been named Niku, may have been bumped into its odd orbit by a far larger planet or dwarf planet that has still to be discovered (artist's impression pictured)

They found the new minor planet, which they have named Niku after the Chinese for rebellious, which seems to be part of a cluster of other similar objects and icy planetoids with similar orbits.

WHAT IS PLANET NINE? A study published earlier this years revealed a peculiar clustering of six objects orbiting beyond Neptune. It found there is only a 0.007% chance, or about one in 15,000, that the clustering could be a coincidence. Instead, they say, a planet with the mass of 10 Earths has shepherded the six objects into their strange elliptical orbits, tilted out of the plane of the solar system. The findings seem to back up claims made in the 1960s that there might be an undiscovered planet - then called Planet X - on the outskirts of the solar system. The mysterious world has now been named Planet Nine in a nod by Professor Mike Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology, to the declassification of Pluto as the ninth planet in the solar system. Pluto is know known as a dwarf planet, a lesser category of planets that fail to meet all the criteria needed to be classed as a full planet. Advertisement

It suggests they may have been pushed or pulled into this strange orbit by something far larger orbiting beyond Neptune.

At first the astronomers thought it could be the hypothetical Planet Nine that astronomers have been hunting for far beyond Pluto on the farthest edge of the solar system.

However, they found Niku and its fellow tiny worlds are too close to the rest of the solar system to have been tugged out of place by this theoretical planet.

Instead, they suggest Niku and its neighbours may have been swept into their strange orbit by another undiscovered dwarf planet like Pluto or Ceres.

But they were unable to find any evidence for this either, which has left astronomers baffled and excited at the prospect of something waiting to be discovered in this region of the solar system.

Dr Matthew Holman, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics who was part of the team that discovered Niku, told New Scientist: 'It suggests that there's more going on in the outer solar system than we're fully aware of.'

Niku is around 160,000 times fainter than Neptune and the astronomers esimtate it is around 11 times smaller than the dwarf planet Pluto.

Niku was found to orbit 110 degrees off the orbital plane of the solar system (illustrated)

The researchers found a cluster of other minor planets beyond Neptune that appear to have similar orbits to Niku, angled from the orbital plane of the rest of the solar system. The image above illustrates their orbits around the sun

I hope everyone has buckled their seatbelts because the outer solar system just got a lot weirder.  Michele Bannister (@astrokiwi) August 8, 2016

Orbiting at around 3.25 billion miles from the sun, it falls into a class of minor worlds known as trans-Neptunian objects, which sit beyond the giant planet Neptune.

These icy worlds are not comets but instead considered to be minor planets.

Another class of minor planets with unstable orbits known as centaurs also orbit between Jupiter and Neptune.

These often have unusual orbits as the gravitational pull of the gas giants tugs them out of synchronisation with the rest of the solar system.

Astronomers found other trans-Neptunian objects, such as Drac, also known as 2008 KV42, shared a similar silted orbit compared to the rest of the solar system. It suggests Niku and its neighbours were bumped into their orbits by a far larger orbject

Astronomers now believe something similar may have happened to Niku, which has led to it adopting an orbit tilted by around 110 degrees to the orbital plane of the planets.

The researchers found five other trans-Neptunian objects, such as one known as Drac, and Centaurs that seem to share a common orbital plane with Niku.

Writing in a paper published in the open access site arXiv.org, the researchers said: 'The mechanism causing and maintaining this common plane is still unknown.

'The detection of additional high inclination objects in future surveys will provide additional clues as to the dynamical origin of this population.'

The astronomers used the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 Survey (Pan-STARRS 1) on aui, Hawaii to study Niku.

Michele Bannister, an astronomer at Queens University in Belfast, said: 'Something is keeping the orbits aligned when precession should slide them.

'I hope everyone has buckled their seatbelts, because the outer solar system just got a lot weirder.'
The wreck of a lost 19th century British steamboat has been found in a Siberian river just 50 miles (80km) below the Arctic Circle.

A Russian team found The Thames, which sank in 1877, in the Yenisei close to the port of Turukhansk.

The vessel was captained by colourful and audacious Victorian mariner Joseph Wiggins, a pioneer of the Northern Sea Route which he hoped to use to tap the potential riches of Siberia.

A Russian team found The Thames, which sank in 1877, in the Yenisei close to the port of Turukhansk. The vessel was carrying a cargo of graphite bound for Britain when it ran into trouble in icy waters in the wilds of northern Russia

THE NORTHEAST PASSAGE The Northeast passage traverses the Arctic following Russia's and Norway's coasts. It was discovered in 1850 by Robert McClure. But at the time, no one was able to navigate it. Throughout the late 1880s, explorers were obsessed with finding a way through the Passage. It was a tricky route. The Thames, with its seasoned crew, the first ocean vessel to enter the Yenisei, but soon struck ice before sinking. The first to be able to navigate the passage was Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in an expedition that ran from 1903-06 The first cruise ship is due to travel the route next week. Advertisement

The vessel was carrying a cargo of graphite bound for Britain when it ran into trouble in icy waters in the wilds of northern Russia, some 916 miles (1,475km) north of regional capital Krasnoyarsk.

It was the first vessel of its kind to penetrate the Yenisei from the Arctic in 1876, before sinking the following year.

The explorers left on a catamaran from the town of Turukhansk, 916 miles (1,475 kilometres) north of Krasnoyarsk, aiming to sail more than 560 miles (900 km) in an attempt to reach Dikson Island in the Kara Sea.

In 1876, after anchoring for the winter, they began to travel up river through the Northeast Passage.

But the ship soon ran aground in the icy water, and sank to the bottom.

The captain and his British crew survived the disaster, and travelled back home overland.

Captain Wiggins continued to sail through hazardous Arctic waters, and even supplied rail tracks for the Trans-Siberian railway line.

In all, he twice sailed up the Ob River - the world's seventh longest - and five times carried cargoes to the Yenisei.

The Thames was found by Nikolay Karelin and Alexander Goncharov (pictured) who teach history at the Siberian State Aerospace University, during a 30-day summer catamaran odyssey on the Yenisei in honour of the British seafarer

The explorers left on a catamaran from the town of Turukhansk, 916 miles (1,475 kilometres) north of Krasnoyarsk, aiming to sail more than 560 miles (900 km) in an attempt to reach Dikson Island in the Kara Sea

The discovery was reported by a Siberian news website, which has now launched a search for descendants of the Captain Wiggins amid hopes the vessel will be lifted from its watery grave in future.

The Thames was found by Dr Nikolay Karelin and Dr Alexander Goncharov, who teach history at the Siberian State Aerospace University, during a 30-day summer catamaran odyssey on the Yenisei funded by the Russian Geographical Society in honour of the British seafarer.

'We knew that The Thames was there somewhere. We went looking through old maps and charts,' Dr Goncharov told The Independent.

The vessel was captained by colourful and audacious Victorian mariner Joseph Wiggins (pictured), a pioneer of the Northern Sea Route which he hoped to use to tap the potential riches of Siberia. In his lifetime, Wiggins was honoured by Russian tsar Alexander III

Expedition finds the wreck of an English steamboat lost in Siberia. The team were near a bend in the river at the village of Goroshikha when they found the shipwreck

The team were near a bend in the river at the village of Goroshikha.

'We had sonar and a camera that was submergible, but the water is very murky there so we didn't get good resolution.

'We did a few dives. And there it was, the stern section, about maybe half a metre coming up from the sand.'

The captain is regarded as an important historic figure in pioneering access to and from Siberia by boat, and his achievement will be marked next year in Russia on the 140th anniversary of the vessel's loss.

In his lifetime, Mr Wiggins was honoured by Russian tsar Alexander III.

'We knew that The Thames was there somewhere. We went looking through old maps and charts,' Dr Goncharov told The Independent. 'We had sonar and a camera that was submergible, but the water is very murky there so we didn't get good resolution'

A memorial cross the expedition erected in memory of Russian sailors

At the time the Wiggins sea and river route to the heart of Siberia was hailed as an 'event rivalling in importance the return of the first fleet loaded with merchandise from India'.

Modern Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is once again demanding that Russia exploits the Arctic Ocean for commercial sea traffic, and the last few years have seen a huge increase in shipping there, boosted by climate change which has reduced the ice in these waters.

The same researchers also believe they have found the wreck of Russian clipper Northern Lights which sank the same winter in the Yenisei. In this case, the sailors were less fortunate and some perished.

Full details of the two discoveries are due to be published in scientific journals.

The wreck of another boat - Russian Norther Light - was also found by the expedition. This boat sank the same winter in the Yenisei. In this case, the sailors were less fortunate and some perished
The haunting images of mushroom clouds rising above the devastated Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have come to symbolise the horror of modern warfare.

The detonation of atomic bombs over the two Japanese cities in August 1945 led to the death of 200,000 people in the immediate aftermath while also flattening homes and monuments up to three miles from the centre of the blasts.

Yet the long term impacts of the nuclear weapons on those who survived the blasts may not be as severe as many believed, a review of scientific evidence has found.

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The atomic bombs (pictured) dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki claimed nearly 200,000 lives in the immediate aftermath and cursed those who survived with an increased risk of cancer and birth defects, but a new study suggests this legacy may have been exaggerated

The radiation flung out by the nuclear explosions has been feared to have increased the cancer rates in survivors and their children.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI The first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 by an American B-29 bomber dubbed the Enola Gay. The 9,000lb uranium-235 bomb exploded 1,900 feet (580 metres) above the ground, killing between 60,000 and 80,000 people instantly, some vanishing instantly from the heat of the vast explosion. Others died as fire ripped through the city and some 135,000 people in total are thought to have perished from radiation sickness. The blast flattened more than six square miles (10 square km) of the city, with fires burning for three days, leaving thousands of survivors burnt and homeless. With major buildings like hospitals destroyed and more than 90 per cent of the city's doctors and nurses killed in the blast, there was little help available to the injured. Ten years later, the longer-term effects of the bomb were being noticed, including a rise in leukaemia - a blood cancer not included in the study. The cancer was said to disproportionately affect children, with cases appearing two years after the bomb and peaking four to six years later, The IBT reported. The Radiation Effects Research Foundation estimates 46 per cent of leukaemia deaths at the bomb sites from 1950 to 2000 were due to radiation from the bombs, with 1,900 cancer deaths linked to the atomic bomb, in total. Advertisement

But 71 years after the bombs were dropped, bringing the Second World War to an end, one scientist has found our perception of cancer rates and birth defects as a result of the radiation are greatly exaggerated in the public sphere.

'Most people, including many scientists, are under the impression that the survivors faced debilitating health effects and very high rates of cancer, and that their children had high rates of genetic disease,' said Bertrand Jordan, an author and a molecular biologist at Aix-Marseille University and the CNRS, in France.

'There's an enormous gap between that belief and what has actually been found by researchers.'

Dr Jordan analysed 60 years of medical research on the Hiroshima/Nagasaki survivors and their children, to highlight misconceptions.

For example, studies clearly demonstrate radiation exposure increases cancer risk, but also show that the average lifespan of survivors was reduced by only a few months compared to those not exposed to radiation.

Furthermore, no health effects of any sort have so far been detected in children of the survivors.

There is a lot of data about the horrific events because half of survivors who did not died in the explosive blast, resulting firestorm or from acute radiation poisoning took part in studies tracking their health over their lifetime.

The studies, which followed 100,000 survivors, 77,000 of their children and 20,000 people not exposed to radiation from the bombs, began in 1947 and are now conducted by a dedicated agency called the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) which is funded by the Japanese and US governments.

They revealed cancer rates among survivors were higher compared to rates in those who had been out of town at the time.

The studies revealed cancer rates among survivors was higher compared to rates in those who had been out of town at the time. The white portion of the bars above show the excess cases associated with radiation

The relative risk increased according to how close the person was to the detonation site, their age and their sex, with younger people facing a greater lifetime risk and women more affected than men.

However, most survivors did not develop cancer.

The review says incidence of solid cancers, such as stomach or breast cancer, between 1958 and 1998 among the survivors were 10 per cent higher, which corresponds to approximately 848 additional cases among 44,635 survivors.

However, most of the survivors received a relatively modest dose of radiation.

In contrast, those exposed to a higher radiation dose of 1 Gray, which is approximately 1,000 times higher than current safety limits for the general public, bore a 44 per cent greater risk of cancer over the same time span.

Average lifespan of survivors was reduced by only a few months compared to those not exposed to radiation. Pictured are six survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima

Taking into consideration all causes of death, this relatively high dose reduced average lifespan by approximately 1.3 years.

Although no differences in health or mutations rates have yet been detected among children of survivors, Dr Jordan believes subtle effects might one day become evident, perhaps through more detailed sequencing analysis of their genomes.

But it is now clear that even if the children of survivors do in fact face additional health risks, those risks must be very small.

He attributes the difference between the results of these studies and public perception of the long-term effects of the bombs to a variety of factors, including historical context.

'People are always more afraid of new dangers than familiar ones,' Dr Jordan said.

The detonation of atomic bombs over the cities in August 1945 resulted in the flattening of homes and monuments, as well as some 200,000 deaths in the immediate aftermath

'For example, people tend to disregard the dangers of coal, both to people who mine it, and to the public exposed to atmospheric pollution.

'Radiation is also much easier to detect than many chemical hazards.

'With a hand-held Geiger counter, you can sensitively detect tiny amounts of radiation that pose no health risk at all.'

However, he warned the results of the review, published in the journal Genetics, should not be used to policy makers to complacency about the effects of nuclear accidents or the threat of nuclear war.

'I used to support nuclear power until Fukushima happened,' he said.

'Fukushima showed disasters can occur even in a country like Japan that has strict regulations.
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Hawaiis shorelines are world renowned for their beautiful beaches and legendary surf spots.

But the breaking waves have provided more than just barrels and white water, washing away the sands to reveal the outlines of ancient figures carved into the bedrock.

American holidaymakers on the island of Oahu came across a number of petroglyphs, stickman-like carvings in the sandstone, believed to have been made by the islands early aboriginal inhabitants.

The breaking waves off the coast of Hawaii have have provided more than just excellent surf conditions, washing away the sands to reveal the outlines of ancient figures carved into the bedrock (pictured)

Experts believe the carvings, which were discovered on the Waianae coast, could be hundreds of years old, predating the first European settlers which reached the islands in the late 1700s.

The series of petroglyphs stretch over 60 feet (18 metres) of beach and were exposed by waves washing away the sand. But the incoming tide partially covers the figures with the coastlines shifting sands.

They may have been exposed and covered multiple times since they were carved, waiting to be discovered.

The series of petroglyphs stretch over 60 feet (18 metres) of beach and were exposed by waves washing away the sand. But the incoming tide partially covers the figures with the coastlines shifting sands

EARLY SETTLERS The Hawaiian islands are thought to have lain uninhabited for millions of years after forming from volcanic activity. Anthropologists believe the chain was first colonised by aboriginal peoples from Polynesia. These seafarers are thought to have travelled across the Pacific Ocean island-hopping, before settling on the volcanic isles as early as 300 CE. Advertisement

It was just a stroke of luck, said Mark Louviere from Fort Worth, Texas, who explained how he happened across the glyphs when a beam of light hit the underlying sandstone at the right angle.

Archaeologists with the US Army arrived at the site to investigate alongside Hawaiis Department of Land and Natural Resources, which estimate there are at least 17 figures carved into the beach.

They say these carvings are far larger than others they have seen and show more detail, with some of the petroglyphs including fingers on their hands.

Alton Exzabe, an archaeologist with the US Army and native to the island, said: Whats interesting is the Army in Hawaii manages several thousand archaeological sites, but this is the first one with petroglyphs directly on the shoreline.

Whats exciting for me, is I grew up coming to this beach and now as an archaeologist working for the Army, helping to manage this site, we discovered these petroglyphs that have never been recorded.

Archaeologists at the site estimate there are at least 17 figures carved into the beach. They believe they were likely carved by the island's early aboriginal settlers and could be hundreds of years old

Locals on the Waianae coast said they had not seen the figures before. The shifting sands have likely uncovered them in the past, with the tides stirring up more sand to cover over them again

They were discovered on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, close to the village of Nene'u, and were likely carved by aboriginal settlers who island hopped across the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean

BENEATH HAWAII'S SHIFTING SANDS The petroglyphs were discovered by American tourists on a Hawaiian beach. There are at least 17 figures carved into the sandstone, each one four to five feet in length. Experts believe they could be centuries old, being uncovered by the tides as the sands shift. They are thought to have been left by the Hawaii's early aboriginal settlers and have been highlighted as being of cultual importance. Advertisement

Some people have said theyve seen them before, but this is quite a significant find.

Exzabe added: 'We can now come up with a plan to further protect and preserve this site. The ones with the fingers, for me, are pretty unique.

'I believe there are some elsewhere with fingers, but fingers and hands are pretty distinct, as well as the size of them.

'We find a lot of petroglyphs that are a foot or so tall, but this one measures 4 to 5 feet from head to toe. Its pretty impressive.'

In an effort to preserve the petroglyphs for future generations, locals and tourists are encouraged to look at the carvings but to refrain from touching them.

Dr Alan Downer, administrator for the DLNR's State Historic Preservation Division said, Were eager to join the Army in developing a protection and preservation plan for these petroglyphs.

They are an important part of Hawaiis culture and while sands have covered them again, in time they will reappear and we want to make sure people know that they are fragile and culturally sensitive and should only be viewed; not touched.

The petroglyphs have been carved into the sandstone of the beach and were uncovered by the coastline's shifting sands. They depict a number of stickman-like figures in different positions

Experts say the figures are an important part of Hawaiis culture and will continue to disappear and reappear with the tides

Locals and tourists have been encouraged to visit the beach and look at the carvings but to refrain from touching them, so they can be preserved for future generations

Archaeologists say these carvings are far larger than others they have seen - at between four and five feet tall - and show more detail, with some of the petroglyphs including fingers on their hands

Holidaymaker Mark Louviere from Fort Worth, Texas, explained he happened across the glyphs when a beam of light hit the underlying sandstone at the right angle.
Being in the wrong job could be a bigger source of burnout than overwork.

Scientists have shown that something as simple as being a square peg in a round hole can be bad for an employee's mental and physical health.

And the bigger the gap between their personality and dreams and their job, the higher their odds of burning out.

A new study has found that a mismatch between a person's personality and their job can increase the odds of them burning out. A loner forced to lead a team may find the situation too stressful for example (stock picture)

This means that a loner who is forced to manage a team may find the situation unbearably stressful.

EMAILING OUTSIDE WORK ALSO CAUSES BURNOUT Demanding bosses who expect employees to check their emails outside of work are causing exhaustion and damaging family life, a recent study has found. Soaring numbers of workers are complaining of burnout because they are unable to disconnect from the stress of the office. Rather than resenting the additional time working, being forced to stay alert is causing the stress, according to researchers. It means rather than spending time unwinding once out of the office, people feel the need to be 'switched on' hours after they have officially clocked off. It comes after France passed a labour reform law earlier this year, banning the checking emails on weekends. The new research, led by Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, suggests other countries might do well to follow suit for the sake of employee health and productivity. Advertisement

Similarly, someone who is hungry for power but kept in a junior role may become overwhelmed by frustration.

Defined by psychologists as a 'state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion from work', burnout leads to lack of motivation, low efficiency and a feeling of helplessness.

Sufferers can be blighted by headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath and insomnia and, long-term have higher odds of heart disease and immune disorders.

The financial costs are also high, with absenteeism, reduced productivity and medical, legal, and insurance expenses due to burnout costing EU firms close to 250 billion a year.

To study the psychology of the syndrome, Swiss researchers looked at how well the needs of almost 100 men and women matched their jobs.

Rather than asking the volunteers about their personality, the participants were shown pictures of five different workplaces and occupations and asked to write an imaginative short story about each.

The images included a nightclub scene, women in a laboratory and trapeze artists.

The stories were then scoured for sentences that provide clues to the person's attitude towards friendship and power.

The greater the mismatch between a person's thirst for friendship or power and the opportunities available in their job, the higher their risk of being burnt out, the journal Frontiers in Psychology reports.

Zurich University researcher Veronika Brandstatter suggested that employers take applicants' psychological needs into account when recruiting.

The research shows that being a square peg in a round hole can lead to employees quickly over extending themselves and becoming exhausted. The researchers say employees should aim to enrich their jobs to meet their individual needs

She added: 'Another strategy could be so-called 'job crafting', where employees proactively try to enrich their job in order to meet their individual needs.

'A motivated workforce it the key to success in today's globalised economy.'

Co-researcher Beate Schulze said: 'We need innovative approaches that go beyond providing attractive working conditions.

'Matching employees' motivational needs to their daily activities at work might be the way forward.
 Pragmatic Iranian Official Boasts of Tsunami in Nuclear ActivityMedia M.I.A | Main | AFP Headline on Stabbing Says Less With More 

August 11, 2016

LA Times Errs on Western Wall, Still Silent on Stolen Aid

Aug. 15 Update: CAMERA Prompts Los Angeles Times Correction on Western Wall

Even as it continues to churn out coverage on Israel and the Palestinians, including an article today on opposition to women leading prayer at the Western Wall, The Los Angeles Times still ignores Hamas' diversion of tens of millions of dollars donated from multiple international aid organizations, a huge story with profound implications for humanitarian aid in Gaza and other areas of conflict.

Meanwhile, today's story on the Western Wall, by Joshua Mitnick, errs: "The wall, with its giant stone blocks, is the last remnant of the Jewish Temple complex built two millenniums ago. . . "

In fact, It is not the last remnant of the Temple complex. There are numerous extant remnants. The southern, eastern and northern retaining walls are also still extant. Surviving features abutting the southern walls include a broad stairway leading up to the Temple Mount's entrance and two gates, known as the Huldah Gates, which provided access to the Temple Mount (Hershel Shanks, Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography, p. 143). Some of the interior part of the Herodian Double Gate (which is one of the Huldah Gates) is also still intact. There are also surviving underground remnants of the Temple complex, including the area known as Solomon's Stables. In addition, an area called "Robinson's Arch," in the south-western corner of the Temple complex, still remains. In his book, Shanks provides details concerning numerous other remnants.

On Sept. 24, 2004, The Los Angeles Times corrected the very same error:

Western WallAn article in Mondays Section A about a visit to Jerusalem by pop star Madonna described the Western Wall in the Old City as the sole remnant of Jews Second Temple. It is the principal remnant of the temple complex accessible to worshipers, but other archeological elements survive.

Other media outlets which have previously corrected the same error include the Associated Press and Haaretz.

Posted by TS at August 11, 2016 01:25 PM

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It is one of the irritations of modern life  coffee that sloshes out of the cup as you walk along the street.

Now, science has come to rescue by studying the physics of how coffee spills.

Using a combination of equations, lab experiments and test walks, they have come up with the solution.

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South Korean scientists recommend using the claw' hand to carry your cup of coffee as this method reduces the risk of spills. This involves putting your hand over the top of the cup and gripping it just below the rim (pictured)

THE CLASW GRIP A simple change of grip reduces the force and keeps the coffee in the cup. Writing in the journal Achievements in Life Sciences, the South Korean scientists recommend the claw hand. This involves putting your hand over the top of the cup and gripping it just below the rim. Of course, anyone employing the claw grip risks being scalded by the steam coming off their coffee. Advertisement

And it seems we have been carrying our cups and mugs all wrong.

They say that by holding the cup at the side - say with a handle or around the body of a paper cup - we exacerbate the force at which the coffee hits the inside of the cup and so maximise the odds of a spill.

A simple change of grip reduces the force and keeps the coffee in the cup.

Writing in the journal Achievements in Life Sciences, the South Korean scientists recommend the claw hand.

This involves putting your hand over the top of the cup and gripping it just below the rim.

Using a combination of equations, lab experiments and test walks, the reseachers were able to examine how coffee behaves when sloshed around inside a cup or glass (pictured) to determine the best way to carry them

THE SECRET TO THE BEST COFFEE - CHILL THE BEANS As the beans become colder, the researchers found the subsequent grinds will allow for optimized flavour extraction. With a constant, cooler temperature, particles will be finer and more uniform once ground, and may even provide more surface area to make better use of the coffee. This means you can produce more coffee from the same amount of beans, or you can brew it for less time, the researchers say. Advertisement

Of course, anyone employing the claw grip risks being scalded by the steam coming off their coffee.

More flimsy cardboard cups may also collapse under the pressure.

However, the technique may be preferable to the other solution suggested by researcher Jiwon Han  walking backwards.

Mr Han, of the Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, said: By walking backwards, we are able to significantly change the frequency characteristics of our hand motion.leading to a subsequent decrease in the probability of coffee spilling.

Of course, walking backwards may be less of a practical.

A few trials will soon reveal that walking backwards drastically increases the chance of tripping on a stone or crashing into a passing colleague who may also be walking backwards.

This would most definitely lead to spillage.
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A tiny remote-controlled aircraft modelled on an insect will become Britains latest weapon against terror.

The Dragonfly drone  which can fit in the palm of a hand - will spy on enemy positions and gather intelligence for the military and British agents.

It is inspired by the biology of a dragonfly, with four flapping wings and four legs to enable it to fly through the air seamlessly and perch on a windowsill to spy on terrorists.

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The Dragonfly drone  which can fit in the palm of a hand - will spy on enemy positions and gather intelligence for the military and British agents

The gadget could even fly into heavily guarded rooms full of jihadists and provide soldiers on the battlefield a picture of what is going on.

It is one of the futuristic pieces of kit currently being developed for the Ministry of Defence and the UKs security forces as part of the MoDs new innovation project.

NEW KIT FOR THE MILITARY - A micro-drone with flapping wings and four legs inspired by the biology of a dragonfly. It will be used in intelligence-gathering in future operations. - Star-Wars style laser weapon which can burn through drones rendering them useless, and blind pilots on conventional aircraft. - Mobile robots that detect chemical weapons so military personnel dont have to risk lives. - Sensors that use gravity to survey underground structures in minutes. - Virtual reality helmets to practice calling in simulated air strikes. These would enable pilots to train on the ground rather than in the skies using simulated air strikes. Advertisement

A Star-Wars style laser weapons system which will be able to burn holes in enemy drones will also be added to the Armys new kit.

Currently in development, the laser will target and defeat aerial threats such as drones or conventional aircraft from the ground.

The hugely powerful and accurate device will be able to attack the enemy in three ways.

For the most deadly impact, it would wipe the aircraft out by burning a hole in it and destroying its electronics.

It could also blind aircrew in the cockpit and force them to land.

Thirdly, the laser could be fired at the sensors on the aircraft and overload it with light so it does not work anymore.

The aircraft could still fly but it would not be able to fire missiles or drop bombs.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the MoDs new innovation initiative would help keep Britain safe.

He said: This new approach will help to keep Britain safe while supporting our economy with our brightest brains keeping us ahead of our adversaries.

Backed by a defence budget that will rise every year until the end of the decade, it will ensure that the UK maintains its military advantage in an increasingly dangerous world.

A mobile robot which can detect chemical weapons is also being created.

It would be sent into hazardous environments where nerve agents and other toxic chemicals were feared to have been used and see what has been contaminated.

The Dragonfly drone is inspired by the biology of a dragonfly, with four flapping wings and four legs to enable it to fly through the air seamlessly and perch on a windowsill to spy on terrorists

The gadget could even fly into heavily guarded rooms full of jihadists and provide soldiers on the battlefield a picture of what is going on

Using specialised headgear, personnel could see simulated aircraft, enemy personnel and vehicles appearing on the real surrounding landscape, immersing and testing soldiers in complex joint forces situations

This would help protect soldiers from entering lethal areas.

The army will also be equipped with sensors that will use gravity to survey underground structures in minutes rather than weeks.

The device is currently in design stage but once it is built it will be able to help soldiers compile a picture of underground tunnels such as those being used by jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

The army will also be equipped with sensors that will use gravity to survey underground structures in minutes rather than weeks

Virtual reality helmets are also being designed which would enable pilots to train on the ground rather than in the skies using simulated air strikes.

The headgear would enable personnel to see aircraft, enemy personnel and vehicles appearing on the real surrounding landscape.

The Dragonfly micro-drone has cutting edge sensing technology enables it to gather intelligence in both the day and night.

Its sensors enable it to detect incoming objects and buildings enabling it to avoid obstacles at high speeds.

Their details have been released as the government today (FRI) launched a new defence innovative initiative.

The plan is aimed to gain an advantage for the UKs defence and security forces.

An Innovation and Research Insights Unit will analyse emerging technologies and make sure the UK maintains its military advantage over other countries.

Companies and individuals will be asked to pitch to a Dragons Den style panel  backed by a fund of around 800milllion of 10 years.

The idea is to take more risks in backing ideas. The full launch of the initiative will be in September.

The MoD currently spends 20 per cent of its science and technology budget on so-called disruptive capability projects aimed to shake-up the industry.

It pays for the development of the micro-drone, gravity sensor and laser technology.
hose who were coordinated and rhythmic may have had an advantage

ancestors would dance to form relationships, they say

While 'partying' is seen as a fundamental aspect of socializing, it is also part of our primal instincts.

Evolutionary psychologists suggest that gathering in groups and moving rhythmically together was a way for our ancient ancestors to bond, communicate and survive.

And those who possessed the ability of coordination and rhythm may have had an evolutionary advantage.

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While 'partying' is seen as a fundamental aspect of socializing, it is also part of our primal instincts. Evolutionary psychologist suggests that gathering in groups and moving rhythmically together was a way for our ancient ancestors to bond, communicate and survive. Pictured are cave drawings at Mesa Verde National Park of ancient humans dancing

WHY DO HUMANS NEED TO PARTY? What most modern people refer to as 'partying' is actually a part of a phenomenon known as 'collective effervescence.' According to Durkheim, people will feel a certain 'electricity' when they are in close contact with others. The feeling is then released to other party-goers, which sends them into 'a high degree of collective emotional excitement.' Not only does 'partying' stem from our ancestors behavior, it also comes from religious rituals. And, a 2006 study suggests that our ancestors did not dance to have fun, but they used it as a way to survive. 'Early humans might have danced to attract a mate, as far back as 1.5 million years ago,' explained Steven J. Mithen, an archaeologist at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. Advertisement

What most modern people refer to as 'partying' is actually a part of what French sociologist Emile Durkheim called 'collective effervescence', reports Drake Baer with Science of Us.

According to Durkheim, people will feel a certain type of 'electricity' when they are in close contact with others.

The sensation is then released to other party-goers, who will also feel 'a high degree of collective emotional excitement', explains University of Montreal researcher Paul Carls in an overview of Durkheim's work.

'This impersonal, extra-individual force, which is a core element of religion, transports the individuals into a new, ideal realm, lifts them up outside of themselves, and makes them feel as if they are in contact with an extraordinary energy,' he shares.

Not only does 'partying' stem from our ancestors' behavior, it also comes from religious rituals.

In most religious settings there is someone who takes the crowd through an uplifting experience, University of Connecticut anthropologist Dimitris Xygalatas told Science of Us.

According to the researcher, parties also have 'a shaman' that takes them to another world - the DJ.

Humans flock to night clubs, bars, and outdoor events to hear their favorite disk jockey play tunes that provide a euphoric feeling.

The same behavior seen while partying can be observed in religious settings as well - Buddhist monks chant, Christian Evangelicals raise their hands and music buffs are known to mimic both.

People will feel a certain type of 'electricity' when they are in close contact with others. The sensation is then released to other party-goers, who will also feel 'a high degree of collective emotional excitement'

WHAT MAKES A GOOD DANCER? Researchers filmed 19 men aged between 18 and 35 using a 3D camera as they danced to music. The study discovered five movement variables made the difference between a good and bad dancer. According to the female participants' perceptions, good dancers made large and varied movements with their neck and trunk. Equally, varied movements in the wrist and left shoulder, as well as fast movements with the right knee, were also seen as a signs of good dancers. Neave said such dance movements may form honest signals of a mans reproductive quality, in terms of health, vigour or strength and this may be why the females found these moves so attractive. At the other end of the scale, men who move their arms too much were marked down by the researchers, as were men that did not move enough and kept their arms and legs close to their body. Advertisement

'Ritual is a social technology,' said Xygalatas.

'There's a communicative aspect, but also a primordial, instinctive aspect; to follow rhythm, be driven by it.'

And, a 2006 study from the University of Reading suggests that our ancestors did not dance to have fun, but they used it as a way to survive, reports LiveScience.

This activity was a way for our prehistoric ancestors to form relationships with one another, and those who were coordinated and rhythmic may have had an evolutionary advantage, the study explains.

The team analyzed the DNA of dancers and those with 'two left feet,' and found the dancers shared two genes linked to good social communication skills.

In addition, those light on their feet were also found with higher serotonin  a chemical known to boost moods in humans.

'Early humans might have danced to attract a mate, as far back as 1.5 million years ago,' explained Steven J. Mithen, an archaeologist at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.

Other experts say that 'partying' doesn't just affect the group, but each person has their own experience.

Emma Cohen, an anthropologist who studies collective movement at Oxford, said that warehouse parties in the city or bonfire gatherings in the woods provide a 'sometimes addictive cocktail of pleasure and novelty'.

Other experts say that 'partying' doesn't just affect the group, but each person has their own experience. Emma Cohen, an anthropologist who studies collective movement at Oxford, said that warehouse parties in the city or bonfire gatherings in the woods provide a 'sometimes addictive cocktail of pleasure and novelty'

And this elixir is also combined with exercise, adventure, coordination and personal development.

When referring to exercise, Cohen told Science of Us it is a feeling of high intensity, but not too much that it is painful.

Development and coordination are a way to boost unity and togetherness within the group, even if they are all strangers.
Spiders are often credited for their tactful and sometimes gruesome hunting techniques, but now, these creatures may have met their match.

A parasitic wasp in Finland has been found to use jumping spiders as a living host for their eggs, paralyzing them with venom and stitching them into a nest made from the spiders own silk.

The female wasp is equipped with a long needle-like appendage to seal off the spider-nest, using its body like a sewing machine.

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A parasitic wasp in Finland has been found to use jumping spiders as a living host for their eggs, paralyzing them with venom and stitching them into a nest made from the spiders own silk

WHY IT DOES THIS Closing the spider into the nest may protect the wasp against an attempted attacked, and prevent the spider from escaping if it regains mobility, the researchers say. Along with this, the silken nest may provide stable conditions for the developing offspring, and prevent the larvae from leaving the nest when they hatch. Advertisement

In a paper published this month to the journal Biology Letters, researchers from the University of Turku explain that this behaviour may be a way for the wasp to protect its developing offspring.

This species, from the genus Clistopyga, has a feature known as an ovipositor tip that can stitch a spiders silk in a zigzagged pattern  a process similar to needle felting.

The female wasp seals openings in the silken spider nest by using its ovipositor on the silk in a highly sophisticated way that is comparable to how humans entangle wool by needle felting, the authors explain.

To capture its prey, the wasp inserts the ovipositor tip into the spider and injects it with a paralyzing venom, according to New Scientist.

Then, it uses the tip to drag its catch into the ideal egg-laying position.

Once the eggs have been laid, the wasp sews up the nest, closing in the spider and the eggs.

After collecting specimens of these understudied wasps, the researchers were able to capture footage of this bizarre behaviour. In the video, the wasp can be seen working around a spider who has been almost fully encased in its own silk

After collecting specimens of these understudied wasps, the researchers were able to capture footage of this bizarre behaviour.

In the video, the wasp can be seen working around a spider who has been almost fully encased in its own silk.

Using the ovipositor, the wasp grabs the top layers of the fibres and sews them into the inner layers.

The needle goes up and down like in a sewing machine, Niclas Fritzen, one of the studys authors, told New Scientist.

Pictured above, the tip of a felting needle (top) is compared to the female wasp's ovipositor (middle). On the bottom, the 'teeth' of this appendage can be seen

The silken nest of the jumping spider is very soft and fluffy, because they consist of parallel layers of silk, apparently with a lot of air between.

'Entangling these layers makes the silk more packed and stiffer, apparently also more durable.

Though this was observed in captivity, the researchers say the time dedicated to this activity suggests it plays an important role.

Closing the spider into the nest may protect the wasp against an attempted attack, and prevent the spider from escaping if it regains mobility.
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Ask any seasoned safari guru from anywhere in the world to name the ultimate spot for luxury and they will tell you, its Singita.

This iconic collection of lodges - which just took the top spot on Travel + Leisure's 2016 World's Best awards yet again - has drawn royals, celebrities and millionaires from around the world since its inception 23 years ago. So what makes it so special?

I was lucky enough to find out, having spent three nights at Singita Lebombo in South Africa's Kruger National Park and concluding at the end that yes, it's the best place I've ever stayed in.

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Welcome to paradise: Singita's Lebombo in South Africa's Kruger National Park, which boasts luxury wood and glass lodges, sweeping views and balcony sleeping quarters

Singita, for a start, boasts several high-profile celebrity endorsements.

Actress and former Bond Girl Eva Green recently told Conde Nast Traveller that the Lebombo Lodge provided 't he best sleep I've had in years', describing the resort as 'truly magical'.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel honeymooned there and other guests have included Susan Sarandon and Oprah Winfrey, as well as members of the Royal Family.

Getting there requires a few hops in a tiny plane from Johannesburg to an airstrip in a region called Hoedspruit. As soon as I step off it, the extravagance quietly begins.

A spread of plump fruit and jugs of cool water await me on the landing strip, after which I am driven half an hour or so to Singita in a gleaming Land Rover by my dedicated guide.

And as soon as I step out here, the extravagance reaches giddy heights.

Honeymooners: Singita boasts several high-profile celebrity endorsements, including Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel (left) and Susan Sarandon (right)

Thumbs up: Eva Green (left) has described it as being 'truly magical', while other high-profile fans include Oprah Winfrey (right)

Dusk: Lebombo's design is modern and refined, its exterior fronted with a spacious wooden deck and trimmed with a lengthy infinity pool

When you first arrive at Singita, your jaw goes clunk on the marble floor. It looks like some sort of space age fantasy  all huge structures of glass and mahogany jutting into the sky, trimmed with a long infinity pool and scattered with beautiful people smiling.

Much like at every other safari Ive been on, most of the guests there came in pairs; either on their honeymoon or retired.

This time, I was to share my twice daily game drives and all my meals with not a couple, but a fellow lone wolf in the shape of AMC producer Kristin Jones, a New Yorker. We quickly formed an alliance.

Singita is a maze of individual, breathtaking, palace-like lodges, all built on stilts and connected by snaking wooden platforms.

My lodge was vast - considerably bigger than my flat back in London - and set just high enough up overlooking the hippo-infested NWanetsi River that you can sleep outside on the deck, in a bed shrouded with a fluttering mosquito net, and be out of reach from the big cats.

Palatial: Annabel's lodge was vast, dressed in muted colours and set high up overlooking the NWanetsi River, which is populated with baying hippos

Safe haven: Annabel's nights were spent sleeping on the balcony in a bed shrouded with a fluttering mosquito net, teetering over the water and out of reach from the big cats

Stalwart: Singita - which just took the top spot on Travel + Leisure's 2016 World's Best awards yet again - has amassed a loyal following from around the world since its inception 23 years ago

Treetops: The site is a maze of individual, breathtaking, palace-like lodges, all built on stilts and connected by snaking wooden platforms (pictured)

Everywhere else Ive stayed, youre strictly not allowed outside after dark because thats when the lions and leopards are prowling. But here, you can sleep outside all night under the African stars, safe from mosquitos and big cats  a rare treat.

During initiation, I am informed that there is a foghorn located on my bedside table which is to be used ONLY in the case of a medical emergency, and NOT because I might be scared of the animal noises at night.

I suppose if you leave your door open and a roaming lion manages to creep in and sink its canines into your jugular, that would count as a medical emergency.

The days start with a wake-up call at 5am, followed by breakfast in the main area at 5.30am, followed by the morning safari drive at 6am.

Every day it's the same drill.

Team: Annabel's guide Brian Rode (right) worked as a duo with Charles Ndhlovu (left), an expert tracker who scans the horizon for animals that cannot be picked out with normal human vision

Up-close: Nothing can prepare you for the first time a lion strolls past your completely roofless, windowless Range Rover

Hiding lions? Occasionally, Brian and Chris would leap out of the vehicle in search of wildlife treasure, armed with a rifle just in case, which thankfully Brian has never needed

Rising sun: A stocky female lion paces into the early light - the best time to see these magnificent creatures is in the morning before they collapse in a heat exhausted pile under the shade

Due to the fact that I, like lions and leopards, am naturally nocturnal, being woken at this time of the morning makes me nauseated every single time, regardless of how much sleep Ive had.

Relaxing and soulful as it all feels, our days are handled from behind the scenes with military precision

Come 6am, despite being in a very jolty vehicle with no windows or seatbelts, bouncing past deadly animals, and trying very hard to be awake, my eyelids would drop, my neck go slack and micro-sleep ensue until about 8am.

My guide, Brian Rode, navigated the safari vehicle through the land  areas of tall grass, between Elephant-ravaged trees, over dry open wasteland and past sparse swamps of water.

He appears to have led many lives in the past. He was once in the army, in the special forces, for example, and an expert survivalist. So he has undergone the most rigorous of ordeals. Kristin and I pestered him relentlessly for stories.

Diverse: Brian navigates the safari vehicle through the land  areas of tall grass, between Elephant-ravaged trees, over dry open wasteland, past sparse swamps of water and into lion country

Hear me roar: One lioness showcases her killer jaws (left) while another nudges her doe-eyed cub affectionately (right)

Gentle giants? Elephants, while they appear slow and friendly, are not the sort of animal you want your vehicle too close to

Prize: A vulture sits defiantly upon its trophy, the carcass of a young elephant, which over the weeks will slowly turn to bones

Brian was once, for example, dropped from a helicopter into the freezing Atlantic and left there in a raft, nudged nightly by sharks, for five days, with no food - he caught and ate raw fish.

He has also been interrogated by way of torture, lived out in the searing desert, surviving only on the meat of captured scorpions, and just so happens to be a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

But this man's true passion lies in wildlife, in being a guide, and in his girlfriend Chantelle, a fellow Singita guide he has been hopelessly in love with for 26 years.

It's certainly surreal, bouncing through the Kruger safari between groups of lions and elephants by a man who could kill a small army with his bare hands  and hes getting all misty-eyed about birds and flowers and Chantelle.

Stay away: A crash of extremely rare white rhino, its adult members standing in a defence formation to shield the young calf

Lucky: While shy by nature, a number of leopards were spotted during the drives. This onehad recently feasted on a kill

Don't mess: A large herd of buffalo standing their ground amid a cloud of dust - buffalo are one of the only prey animals that don't run from a threat, they confront it

Looking good: A fiercely beautiful burchell's starling with a fine coat of iridescent feathers and piercing burnt orange eyes

Light fantastic: Two drives generally take place per day, one starting at 6am to catch the dawn sun (pictured) and another one at around 4pm as the sun sets

On a little chair stuck onto the front of the Land Rover sits Charles, an expert tracker, who scans the horizon for animals that cannot be picked out with normal human vision. Charles appears to be superhuman.

He and Brian have a symbiotic working relationship and between them form a formidable duo.

It looks aspace age fantasy  all huge structures of glass and mahogany jutting into the sky, trimmed with a snaking infinity pool and scattered with beautiful people smiling

Charles will fling a fist of soil into the air and point to the West and Brian will says things like 'hold on ladies, were about to go into Ferrari Safari mode' and then race through the thicket, up and down steep gorges, around trees and into clearings where amazing things are happening that no-one else in a 20-mile radius knows about.

For example, a gathering of extremely rare White Rhino, a baby elephant born so recently it hadnt even mastered walking yet; a dominant male lion about to attack a younger male cub, and 18 female lions taking down a large male buffalo. We also saw a honey badger murder a python.

In the evenings, Kristin, Brian and I would enjoy drawn-out six-course dinners and talk in depth about the fact that people have been fighting for millennia over the same two things that lions do  sex and territory  but get all silly and high-minded about it.

In the evenings, Annabel, Kristin and Brian would enjoy drawn-out multiple-course dinners and talk in depth into the night

Culinary delight: The food was nothing short of divine, and tailored to each guest's preferences, with healthy snacks available throughout the day and copious wine on tap from lunch to late evening

Treats please: Monkeys like this one were frequent guests at meal times, cartwheeling around the veranda in search of food

Fiery sky: The sun sets on another day at Singita, vultures poised on a sun-cracked tree in wait of the next nearest casualty

TRAVEL FACTS The Ultimate Travel Company offer a tailor-made week of the best of the Kruger from 7,988 per person. A three night stay at Lebombo followed by a further three nights at Singita's Boulders comes with all meals, drinks and activities included. The price also includes flights from Heathrow with British Airways, domestic flights and private transfers throughout. Advertisement

The food is sublime; sweet homemade bread, fragrant rice, game meat (if that's your thing - I'm vegetarian) all served with copious amounts of wine.

Relaxing and soulful as it all feels, our days are handled from behind the scenes with military precision.

Every time I go back to my lodge, theres a surprise  a handwritten card, incense burning, clean laundry  and every time I return from a drive, I'm greeted with a drink and a cold face towel.

When I hugged Brian and Kristen farewell at the end and sloped into the car to leave, it was sort of like breaking up with someone youve been in a relationship with for ages.

You know, when you go to a restaurant in a neutral setting to have the Long Talk and you both cry a bit into your plate of untouched food and then you say goodbye and you leave and get into your car and plonk your head down on the steering wheel and start sobbing, and you feel like a glove which has just been turned inside out.

Perhaps it wasnt quite that traumatic, but for a holiday departure, it was without doubt the worst I've ever suffered.
'Gotham is a nice enough idea that is poorly executed,' he says

But William Hanson says that there are better hotels in the city

Opened in April 2015 to much fanfare, Hotel Gotham on Manchester's King Street purports to be one of the city's best hotels.

Trouble is, it's not. It's just a bit underwhelming, trying to be clever, but failing.

The hotel is themed. In its own words, 'part Gatsby, part Grand Budapest'.

Hotel Gotham on Manchester's King Street was opened to much fanfare in 2015

MailOnline Travel's William Hanson found the hotel a bit 'underwhelming'

It's like Disney for adults.

But adults who haven't been to Disney and seen a theme done well.

Upon arrival you are greeted by a middle-aged man who's been squeezed into a 1920s New York bellboy costume  a maroon vision in a double-breasted, gold-buttoned suit and matching pill-box hat.

Nothing is more tragic than seeing a grown man in fancy dress. They were called bell-boys because they were just that: boys. Not a bloke from Bury in his late forties.

Thankfully the cartoon New York theme does not extend to the staff's friendliness and willingness to help. There's little hardened churl and transatlantic insouciance from them - instead a skyscraper's worth of Northern warmth, with just a little fine tuning needed in places.

Upon arrival to my room I was greeted by what looked like a large dead animal on the bed. But on closer, cautious, inspection it was just a fur throw. Faux. What I termed, 'The Wolf of King Street'.

Also in the room was a black-and-white draw-string 'swag' bag. All guests are invited to put anything they like from the room into said bag and present it at check out for the staff to 'value' before you take what you've nabbed home.

Having realised that everything in the room was up for grabs and had an invisible price tag it immediately made me feel uneasy: we Brits loathe the topic of money. The room where you are supposed to relax, unwind and 'chill' had suddenly become less hotel and more glorified showroom. Nothing relaxing about that.

Fur better or worse: Hanson said that upon arrival in his room he found what looked like a dead animal on his bed - but it was a faux throw

Should you get bored there's always two books on the desk to pick up and read: F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby or Alexa Chung's IT. Chalk and cheese.

If the whole subject of money hasn't unsettled your British sensibilities then the hotel picks the other topic we Brits find taboo (sex) by placing an 'Intimacy Collection for Lovers' (25.00) in the minibar, containing all sorts of lotions, potions and toys that you and your partner can enjoy looking aghast at, sneering at and gingerly placing back down.

The bathroom was well appointed and very much the better part of the room. If marble, chrome and shiny surfaces are your thing then you're in for a treat.

Before dinner I ventured to Club Brass, the rooftop bar with lofty views over the city and loftier rules, regulations and entry requirements.

Hanson described his welcome at the hotel as being full of Northern charm, with just a little fine tuning needed in places

As an overnight guest, one is allowed to enter, but should you happen to be passing the hotel and fancy popping in for a gimlet (they had no idea what this was) then you are barred.

Of course, you can go in so long as you are a member and pay 750 per annum, per person.

It's a nice enough bar but nothing special and it doesn't bother me that I can't go back unless I sign up and cough up. Not really a desired outcome for anywhere that courts people to join.

Let's not forget that members' only bars and clubs just don't work in Manchester and it irritates me that Gotham has totally ignored this part of the city's hospitality history (or forgotten to do their market research).

Manchester is too proletariat for all that. If their policy continues I would predict that Gotham will be the next victim.

Hotel Gotham is 'a nice enough idea that is poorly executed', according to Hanson

Downstairs and on to dinner in the hotel's restaurant, Honey, which is tastefully and sparsely decorated.

I had the fillet steak but at 31.50 it was nowhere near as tender as it should have been for the price. If you want to pay that much for meat you may as well go down the road to Hawksmoor.

Gotham is a nice enough idea that is poorly executed. If you are going to pay 350 per night for a bedroom in a northern city you want everything to be spot-on and perfect. Gotham is not perfect.

This press image from the hotel looks picture perfect, but Hanson claimed that every glass he picked up during his stay had a chip in it

Hanson described his breakfast sausage (pictured) as 'cheap'

Every glass I picked up in the bedroom, bar or dining room was chipped; the pillows are synthetic fibre and not feather; the themed 'do not disturb sign' (a gold sandbag) leaked sand; the sausage at breakfast was cheap; the cups and saucers are too heavy and clunky; the scatter cushions for the bed were just plonked on the floor after turn-down (have housekeeping heard of cross contamination?).

I could go on.

If you are going to be exclusive and top-end you had better get these somewhat rudimentary things sorted.

Manchester has better hotels, said Hanson, such as King Street Townhouse and Great John Street Hotel

Hanson's themed 'do not disturb sign' (a gold sandbag) apparently leaked sand

Fine, have a theme. It's not for me but I know many who would enjoy it.

Manchester has better hotels (King Street Townhouse, Great John Street Hotel) that more discerning travellers will pick as they know what they will get and not be flummoxed with having to go to the effort to enter a land of make-believe when all they want is to unwind.

It's certainly an interesting stay, granted, and I am pleased to say that I have been but it misses the mark and try-hard cleverness has overtaken the attention to detail that is required in a hotel of Gotham's desired calibre and that will, ultimately, be its downfall.
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Film, wine and holiday resorts - is there no end to this man's talents?

American screenwriter and film director Francis Ford Coppola has unveiled a new location in his hospitality portfolio, in the shape of a private island.

Beach lovers can now castaway at Coral Caye, an idyll eight miles off the coast of Placencia, Belize, that's only two acres, meaning a stroll around the perimeter would only take about five minutes.

The rustic two-acre retreat is a 20-minute boat ride from the Family Coppola Resorts Turtle Inn, making it the only accommodation on the Belize mainland to also offer a private island

Castaway island experience: The new idyll is eight miles off the coast of Placencia, Belize

Groups of up to 12 can indulge their Huckleberry Finn fantasies with a stay at the islands two wooden clad cottages

The rustic two-acre retreat is a 20-minute boat ride from the Family Coppola Resorts Turtle Inn, making it the only accommodation on the Belize mainland to also offer a private island.

Groups of up to 12 can indulge their Huckleberry Finn fantasies with a stay at the islands two wooden clad cottages.

Or a couple can rent out the Apocalypse Now director's entire island as a romantic escape.

However, if you're keen to watch The Godfather or one of Coppola's other film classics during your stay you may have to wait until you're back on the mainland.

Simple pleasures: The island is stocked with hammocks, canoes, fishing and snorkelling equipment, lounge chairs, games, shaded picnic tables, outdoor showers, music (drums and guitars) and kids' toys

The island's on-call caretakers, Alberto and his wife Pauline are on hand to provide all meals from Belizean breakfasts to seasonal seafood dinners

Romantic retreat: A couple could rent out the entire island as a beach bolthole of their own

With an emphasis on getting away from it all, there are no televisions on Coral Caye, although WiFi service and mobile phone reception are available

With an emphasis on getting away from it all, there are no televisions on Coral Caye, although WiFi service and mobile phone reception are available.

Instead guests at this tropical address can totally unwind with spa treatments and beach lounging.

The island is stocked with hammocks, canoes, suntan lotion, bug spray, mosquito nets, lounge chairs, games, shaded picnic tables, outdoor showers, music (drums and guitars) and kids' toys.

There is also equipment for guests to enjoy a spot of fishing or snorkelling during their stay.

While holidaymakers will be made to feel like castaways they won't have to hunt for their supper, instead the island's on-call caretakers, Alberto and his wife Pauline are on hand to provide all meals from Belizean breakfasts and sumpuous lunches to seasonal seafood dinners.

The paradisical getaway in Belize is so small you can walk round the tiny island in just five minutes

It looks basic from the air but the island is stocked with hammocks, canoes, suntan lotion, bug spray, mosquito nets, lounge chairs, games, shaded picnic tables, outdoor showers, music instruments and kids' toys

The property was originally a Coppola family retreat, where the A-list clan went to escape the stress of Hollywood

From the air, the elusive getaway seems as through it's in the middle of nowhere - some forgotten island in the middle of the ocean

For tourists still seeking the finer things in life during their island experience, optional extras include a private butler, private chef, alcohol, spa services and guided fishing tours and diving boat trips

For tourists still seeking the finer things in life during their island experience, optional extras include a private butler, private chef, alcohol, spa services and guided fishing tours and diving boat trips.

Just a boat ride away is the group's resort, Turtle Inn, a 25-room seafront haven with guests accommodated in thatched cottages decorated with Balinese furnishings and overlooking the white sands.

Not only is Coppola the mastermind behind the Turtle Inn and Coral Caye in Belize, he also owns Blancaneaux Lodge in San Ignacio in the same country.

Blancaneaux Lodge's luxurious, secluded villas comes with its own private pool and a personal attendant.

Nestled into the country's breathtaking Maya Mountains, guests can take in the stunning scenery - including waterfalls - from the comfort of their rooms.

The group's resort near to Coral Caye, Turtle Inn, is a 25-room seafront haven with guests staying in thatched cottages decorated with Balinese furnishings

Guests are just steps away from white sands, the Caribbean sea and the fishing village of Placencia at Turtle Inn resort

Academy Award-winning Francis Ford Coppola is as successful as a hotelier as he is as a director, owning six properties worldwide. Pictured is Blancaneaux Lodge

In Guatemala, Coppola owns La Lancha (pictured), as well as several properties in Belize, one in Argentina and one in Italy

Francis Ford Coppola has a winery business in addition to his hospitality portfolio and contributions to cinema

The property was originally a Coppola family retreat, where the A-list clan went to escape the stress of Hollywood, but opened to guests in 1993.

With an on-site spa, riding stables and two dining options, you never have to leave the resort if you don't want to, though staff are happy to arrange excursions, including to the nearby Caracol Archaeological Reserve and Tikal ruins.
It doesn't matter how much holiday allowance you get at work, it seems like there are never enough days off, which is why unlimited vacation days are the stuff dreams are made of.

But it turns out that the policy could actually be good for the employer as well as the employee.

Several companies in Britain, America and Australia are now adopting the scheme and have seen company productivity and staff loyalty soar as a result.

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Several US and UK companies are allowing unlimited vacation for staff

One of the most famous is Netflix, which made the decision to switch to unlimited vacations for its Silicone Valley staff in 2004 and never looked back.

At the time, the company revealed it made the choice after employees pointed out that they didn't count the out of hours work they did on evenings and weekends for the company, so it wasn't fair for their relaxation time to be tracked either.

As a result, Netflix now focuses more on how well staff are doing their jobs and the results they get, as opposed to how they are doing it.

The company now has more than 83 million subscribers worldwide and last year its annual turnover was $6.77 billion.

Netflix made the decision to switch to unlimited vacations for its Silicone Valley staff in 2004 and never looked back

Richard Branson was so inspired by the business model that he recently decided to roll out the scheme to parts of his own Virgin company, the only condition being that the leave a person took had no negative effect to the running of the business.

Richard Branson was so inspired by the Netflix business model that he recently decided to roll out the scheme to parts of his own Virgin company

The two companies aren't alone Brighton-based recruitment agency Expand also uses the policy and the Managing Director recently explained to local newspaper The Argus that, contrary to expectations some might have, employees went out of their way not to abuse the system.

Samantha Maxwell-Reed said: 'One of our staff took a month off in 2015 for an extended holiday. This meant he had 43 days of leave. He worked hard before and after, appreciating the opportunity. He still hit annual objectives.

Flexibility does not translate to a lack of accountability. We are confident that high performance is so ingrained in Expand's culture that we can trust the team to act responsibly.'

Several other UK-based business have also adopted the policy, but it is perhaps more life-changing to workers in the US, where employees receive an average of ten vacation days a year, compared to an average 25 days in Britain, which doesn't include their eight national holidays.

The majority of companies adopting the approach in the US are forward-thinking tech companies though, like Sailthru and Pocket, with little sign of most other businesses adopting the policy, despite its positive results.

While the idea of unlimited holiday allowance sounds appealing, there are also concerns that it could end up with staff becoming stressed and using even less holiday as they are concerned about how it would look

But, while the idea of unlimited holiday allowance sounds appealing, there are also concerns that it could end up with staff using even less holiday as they are concerned about how it would look.

Psychologist and behaviour expert Judi James believes that the scheme has both pros and cons for employees.

Behaviour expert Judi James believes that the scheme has both pros and cons for employees

She told MailOnline Travel: 'The cult of "Presenteeism" that was created in the 80s, where people felt evaluated by the hours spent sitting at their desks does tend to vanish with this flexible, results-driven system and good riddance to that too.

'But while holiday flexibility sounds on the surface like a dream, it can be a bit of a mirage as you might end up choosing to take fewer holidays to keep up levels of productivity.

'When holiday time is compulsory, our brains tend to work with that target in mind, conforming to intense bursts that will be naturally time-managed.

'When holiday or break time is elastic and voluntary though our brains struggle with the lack of deadline, meaning we can work less efficiently and therefore for longer hours without meaning to.
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Access to this village on one side requires visitors to be world-class rock climbers.

Haid Al-Jazil in Yemen sits on top of a huge rock with vertical sides in a dusty valley  and looks for all the world like a settlement in a fantasy film.

The boulder, which is about 350 feet high, is flanked by Grand Canyon-style geology, which makes the location all the more dramatic.

Haid Al-Jazil in Yemen sits on top of a huge rock with vertical sides in a dusty valley  and looks for all the world like a settlement in a fantasy film

The environment is one of the harshest in the world  Yemen doesnt have any permanent rivers.

Instead people rely on wadis  channels that fill with water seasonally.

These incredible pictures show how Haid Al-Jazil is positioned right above one such feature.

When it rains, shepherds and their flocks of goats wander the valley floor.

The environment is one of the harshest in the world  Yemen doesnt have any permanent rivers

The houses in Haid Al-Jazil have been built using mud brick, which are susceptible to being washed away.

That would account for the structures being located well away from the wadi.

Yemenis have been known to make such lodgings 11 storeys high, which is about 100 feet.
Three 'gatecrashers' are set to shake things up in the Bachelor mansion during next Wednesday's episode.

And Daily Mail Australia can now identify model Stephanie Dixon as being one of the contestants who will join the race to win Richie's heart.

Fans were given a glimpse of Stephanie during a short promo clip at the end of Thursday night's episode when she descended from a helicopter, clad in a red strapless gown that was sure to turn heads.

Va va voom! Fans were given a glimpse of Stephanie during a short promo clip at the end of Thursday night's episode when she descended from a helicopter, clad in a red strapless gown that was sure to turn heads

Shaking up the competition: Model Stephanie Dixon is thought to be making an appearance on The Bachelor 2016 as an intruder

The Melbourne-based blonde works as a professional fashion and swimwear model, having posed for the likes of swimwear brands Seafolly and Rock The Boat.

She is also no stranger to the runway- she has previously strutted her stuff on the catwalk for lingerie brand Kiss Kill, cosmetics brand Loreal and fashion label Paint It Red.

The ambitious beauty even made a foray into the realm of acting while appearing in a promotional video for the Stereosonic music festival in 2014.

She's Richie's type! Based in Melbourne, Stephanie works as model and has posed for the likes of swimwear brands Seafolly and Rock The Boat

Wet and wild! The 170cm tall clotheshorse, who is signed to Brazen Models , even made a fleeting appearance in a promo video for The Bachelor last month, in which she is seen riding on the back of a jet ski with Richie

According to her social media accounts, the blue-eyed beauty juggles her modelling career with a science degree at university.

The 170cm tall clotheshorse, who is signed to Brazen Models, even made a fleeting appearance in a promo video for The Bachelor last month, in which she is seen riding on the back of a jet ski with Richie.

Stephanie also appeared on the set of The Bachelor in April this year when she joined five ladies on a group date.

Spotted! Stephanie, who is signed to Brazen Models appeared on the set of The Bachelor in April this year when she joined five ladies on a group date, which suggests that she lasts into the pointy end of the competiiton

Glamourous: She is also no stranger to the runway, having previously strutted her stuff on the catwalk for lingerie brand Kiss Kill, cosmetics brand Loreal and fashion label Paint It Red

The girls appeared to be struggling to cope with the chilly weather as indicated by their wet hair and strained expressions.

Among the fray, a rather bedraggled Stephanie was spotted huddling beneath a space blanket as she hopped out of a truck.

Coming into the competition as an intruder may prove beneficial for Stephanie, if last year's season of The Bachelor is anything to go by.

Last year, Lana Jeavons-Fellows entered the competition as an intruder and managed to land herself in the final two.

Brazen Models refused to comment on whether Stephanie Dixon will appear in The Bachelor this year.
They are busy female entrepreneurs who spend much of their time running their fashion empire.

Mary-Kate joined Ashley Olsen for a break outside their New York City office building on Tuesday and, as they are their own bosses, it was quite all right.

While Mary-Kate puffed on a cigarette, for a period of time, Ashley kept her focus on her phone.

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Puff stop: Mary-Kate Olsen enjoyed a cigarette during a break at the New York City office she runs with sister Ashley on Tuesday

Mary-Kate, 30, was dressed in a New York staple - all-black attire.

The fashionista - who became Mrs. Olivier Sarkozy nine months ago - was tucked in a trendy, over-size blouse into a pair of high-waist slacks, cut just above her black sides.

The designer kept her eyes shielded from the sun behind a pair of oversize sunglasses. She accessorized with layered bracelets, earrings and her wedding ring.

New York style: Mary-Kate wore a trendy, over-size blouse with a pair of high-waist slacks

Ashley, 30, kept on her phone for a bit, yet was attentive to her sister.

The blonde beauty layered an oversize, white blouse over a pair of cropped, skinny trousers.

She completed her look with a nude cardigan, black slides and multiple accessories, including rings, bracelets, a watch and shades.

Comfortable chic: Ashley layered an oversize, white blouse over a pair of cropped trousers

The entrepreneurs, who began their careers during their toddler years, have created multiple successful clothing lines, including their brand, Elizabeth and James.

The high-end design, named after their youngest siblings, is a celeb favorite, worn by stars such as Taylor Swift, Kristen Stewart, Cheryl Cole, Zendaya, and Jennifer Lawrence.

In an interview with WhoWhatWear, the sisters were asked to give female entrepreneurs advice using five words or less.

'No is a full sentence,' said Mary-Kate.
She was known as the 'Contraband Beauty Queen' who was caught sneaking make-up into the I'm A Celebrity jungle.

But Amy Willerton was the epitome of natural beauty on Wednesday as she was unveiled as the new ambassador for cosmetics brand W7.

In an exclusive chat with MailOnline, the former Miss Universe Great Britain, 23, discussed her relief that she never had bad cosmetic surgery, as she opened up about the confidence she gets from new boyfriend Daniel Day.

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New face: Amy Willerton was the epitome of natural beauty on Wednesday as she was unveiled as the new ambassador for cosmetics brand W7

Amy said: 'Luckily I don't regret anything, I have a great mum who encourages me to stick with the way that I am. I think that's why make-up is so great.

'Luckily I've never had anything permanent done where I think, "Oh gosh, I don't know why I had that done".'

Despite favouring natural beauty over overt make-up looks, Amy closely followed one of the world's most photographed women in a looks poll just last year.

Leggy lady: Amy rocked a chic bardot top and denim mini-skirt as she was spotted out and about in London's Chelsea with her gal pals on Tuesday

Natural beauty: In an exclusive chat with MailOnline, the former Miss Universe Great Britain, 23, discussed her relief that she never had bad cosmetic surgery

Popular: Despite favouring natural beauty over overt make-up looks, Amy closely followed one of the world's most photographed women, Kim Kardashian, in a looks poll just last year

Success: At 17, Amy, seen here at the W7 photocall on Wednesday, held the Miss Bristol title and went on to win Miss Bath in 2011, Miss London in 2012 and then reaching the top 5 in the Miss England contest

Amy came fourteenth in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women, just behind selfie-queen Kim Kardashian.

At 17, Amy held the Miss Bristol title and went on to win Miss Bath in 2011, Miss London in 2012 and then reaching the top 5 in the Miss England contest.

In 2013, it was reported that Amy spent 'thousands of pounds' on treatments - including skin peels, micro-needle treatments and vitamin injections - before her appearance in I'm A Celebrity.

The beauty queen said: 'When I did pageanting I got to play with all of the make-up under the sun and try out all of the looks.

Girl talk: Amy headed to Chelsea's Bluebird Cafe for a spot of lunch with her gal pals

Say cheese: The model was centre stage in London on Wednesday after being unveiled as the new face of W7

Taking a back seat: Amy beamed while posing for promotional photos with her fellow W7 girls

'But I think after many years of searching for my perfect look, I preferred something more natural.'

She was of course best remembered from the jungle for her romance with The Only Way Is Essex's Joey Essex - which she later dismissed as a showmance.

Luckily Amy has since found true love with sunglasses entrepreneur Daniel, revealing: 'It's going really well and I'm very happy.'

So happy: Amy has opened up about the confidence she gets from new boyfriend Daniel Day

Close: Amy looked smitten with the sunglasses entrepreneur during an outing in Los Angeles last March

Over the moon: 'It's going really well and I'm very happy,' she told MailOnline of her new relationship

'I guess with guys,' she said on physical attraction. 'I think men like to look at girls and not see their make-up.

'So I always like to do my make-up in a way that makes me think he's looking at me and that's I always use it subtly to make myself the best I can be.

'I think all men are different - I know a lot of guys that say, "I love my girl when she's all dolled up" and that's something I've loved doing in the past.'

Thanks to the excitement surrounding her new relationship, Amy was forced to deny that she was engaged this March, telling MailOnline that the confusion had been 'very embarrassing'.

Awkward: Thanks to the excitement surrounding her new relationship, Amy was forced to deny that she was engaged, telling MailOnline that she 'genuinely just wanted to cover his face' in pictures where she appeared to hold up a diamond rock on her engagement finger

Nothing new: 'It's the same ring that I've been wearing since I was a teenager, and I bought it for 5,' she said

'I genuinely just wanted to cover his face,' she said on pictures where she appeared to hold up a diamond rock on her engagement finger.

'It's the same ring that I've been wearing since I was a teenager, and I bought it for 5.'

Luckily, pageant queen Amy has never run into the same kind of media frenzy that surrounded former fellow beauty queen Zara Holland, when it comes to men.

Love Island fans will remember that Zara was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title in June, after she was filmed in an intimate clinch with a fellow contestant.

All eyes on me: 'I always like to do my make-up in a way that makes me think he's looking at me and that's why I always use it subtly to make myself the best I can be,' she said of her appearance

Angelic Amy has never even come close to a dethroning moment, nonetheless, confirming: 'Not at any point. For me, I owe everything to being a normal girl that was able to do amazing things through pagaentry.

'It made me who I am today and I would never risk losing that because I love what I do.'

However, the starlet does look back and laugh at her scrape with I'm A Celeb producers, over make-up.

Three weeks into the jungle reality show, the stunning beauty queen was caught smuggling make-up into camp, with some worried that it could have contaminated their food because it was imported.

She confessed: 'Like every girl, I do have my insecurities, I do have really bad acne and I was going on national TV.

Under the radar: Luckily, pageant queen Amy has never run into the same kind of media frenzy that has surrounded other beauty queens when it comes to men

Controversy: Amongst them Zara Holland, who was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title in June, after she was filmed in an intimate clinch with a fellow contestant on Love Island

'So I brought concealer with me because I thought if I got a zit, I could cover it up and nobody would notice.'

She continued: 'I wanted people to think that I had no make-up on and I got away with it for three weeks.

'It's certain products that nobody ever knows about because it looks particularly natural.'

Would she do it again? 'Oh yes, I always have my lip gloss and my concealer. I'll always push the limits.'

Altered appearance: In 2013, it was reported that Amy spent 'thousands of pounds' on treatments - including skin peels and vitamin injections - before her appearance in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Old flame: She was of course best remembered from the jungle for her romance with The Only Way Is Essex's Joey Essex - which she later dismissed as a showmance

For someone so well-versed in flawless make-up, the beauty admits that she did have a hard time growing up.

Reacting to the recent revelation that supermodel Kendall Jenner once shaved off her eyebrows, Amy giggled: 'I've shaved my eyebrows off, I confess to that.

'I actually bleached my eyebrows once because I wanted to be a bit blonder but they went bright orange.'

She added: 'I'm so lucky I've got a mum that stopped me from doing all of this stuff at a young age because now I still have eyebrows.

'Now that bushy eyebrows back in I've got some brow left. I think with brows you want to keep them as natural as possible but you just need a little grooming kit.'

Amy is the perfect new face of beauty brand W7's summer relaunch.

'It's a collection that pretty much everyone can afford,' she said. 'Whether you 13 or 30. You're getting top quality products at a price that's available to everyone.
As former co-stars of one of the most popular television series, it comes as no surprise that Matt Le Blanc and Matthew Perry will still keep in touch.

And Friends fans were no doubt happy to hear Matt, 49, on Wednesday speak fondly of his former co-star, and even reveal the pair work not far from each other.

'I saw him yesterday. He's one stage away. I love that guy. I love all five of them. We spent a lot of time together,' Matt said at the 2016 Summer TCA press tour, according to People.

Friends til the end! Matt LeBlanc spoke of his enduring friendship with Friends co-star Matthew Perry on Wednesday at the CBS Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Speaking of the enduring friendship, he added, 'I can not see him for five years and then put me in a room with him and it'd be like I saw him yesterday.'

Matt has gone on to star in Episodes and Joey in the years since Friends ended in 2004.

He even went on to making hosting appearances over the last four years on the car show Top Gear.

But on Wednesday, the actor said he's not sure whether he will be back for more Top Gear.

It's a hit! LeBlanc and Perry starred opposite David Schwimmer as New Yorkers

'I love that guy': LeBlanc expressed his adulation of his former co-star

Speaking to TV critics Wednesday at an annual summer event, LeBlanc said of returning to the heart-pumping car show, 'I don't know. I'd like to. There's nothing officially happening yet. Follow the BBC.'

He said his favorite part about appearing on the series was 'probably the travel,' adding that he traveled to places like South Africa, Morocco and Ireland.

Last month, LeBlanc's Top Gear co-host, Chris Evans, quit the show after a one-season revamped format and a drop in ratings after three previous hosts left the series.

Just like the good old days: The pair starred from 1994 to 2004 in the beloved sitcom Friends

Doing their part: Liza Snyder, left, and actor/executive producer Matt LeBlanc participate in the "Man With A Plan" panel during the CBS Television Critics Association summer press tour on Wednesday (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

'That show has a pretty broad demographic. Everybody can relate to an automobile,' said LeBlanc, who is promoting his new CBS sitcom, Man with a Plan, which premieres Oct 24.

He said working on the Showtime single-camera comedy Episodes had 'wet my appetite, and I wanted to work more. I wanted to be a part of something bigger.' He also said he likes the work schedule of a multicamera show.

In Man with a Plan, LeBlanc plays a dad who cares for his kids after his wife takes a full-time job.

All together: Snyder, from left, actor/executive producer LeBlanc and executive producers Jackie Filgo and Jeff Filgo participate in the Man With A Plan panel

'This is a new thing, a new character for me, a whole new side of me and I'm looking forward to it,' he said.

LeBlanc said working on the enormously popular TV sitcom Friends made him critical of what's funny in TV.

'I'm a joke snob. I don't love what you call low-hanging fruit. I don't like that kind of stuff. I tend to go for a smarter joke, and if there's a discussion about a joke that not everyone will get it, that doesn't scare me away from the joke. ... I'd rather do jokes that take a little bit of thought.'

Meawhile: Since Friends, LeBlanc went on to making hosting appearances over the last four years on the car show Top Gear

___

Online:

http://www.cbs.com/shows/man-with-a-plan/
He has released a controversial comedy titled Down Under, which looks at the aftermath of the Cronulla Riots that erupted in December 2005.

And now Australian filmmaker Abe Forsythe has urged locals to watch the movie immediately, as 'if it doesn't make an impact in the first four days of release, it will be gone'.

The 34-year-old director has shared an open letter on social media, explaining many Australian cinemas are hesitant to screen the feature film about the race-based brawls that rolled out over a decade ago in Sydney's South.

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Cautious: Australian film-maker Abe Forsythe has urged locals to watch controversial film Down Under, based on the Cronulla Riots, immediately, as 'if it doesn't make an impact in the first four days of release, it will be gone'

Serious: The 34-year-old director has shared an open letter on social media, explaining many Australian cinemas are hesitant to screen the feature film about the race-based brawls that rolled out over a decade ago in Sydney's South

'It has been a monumental challenge bringing this film to life,' Forsythe says in his statement.

'Some key cinema owners not only believe there is no audience for this type of film, they have also said it is morally reprehensible and should not have been made.'

Explaining he wants to see movies that reflect Australia's diverse population, 'provoke discussion' and 'aren't about superheroes or animals', Forsythe urges audiences to watch it upon its release on Thursday.

Controversial: The film looks at the aftermath of the Cronulla Riots that erupted in December 2005

Released: The film arrives in Australia cinemas on Thursday August 11

'If you are planning to give my film a go, I need you to see it straight away,' he says.

'If it doesn't make an impact in the first four days of release, it will be gone. And the next time somebody attempts to tell a story the way Down Under does, it will be even harder.'

The movie was first screened at Sydney Film Festival in June, but was officially released nation-wide on Thursday.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the movie's Sydney Film Festival premiere in June, Forsythe admitted he was aware of the sensitive storyline, and therefore wanted production to fly 'under the radar'.

Proud: Lincoln Younes, who plays Hassim in the film, says he is proud to explore his cultural heritage through the role

Supportive: The actor shared this message on Instagram on Wednesday, urging fans to watch the film as soon as possible

'We kind of avoided Cronulla. We got to Kurnell, that was as close as we got,' he said, referring to the suburb adjacent to Cronulla.

'The film mainly takes place at night so we just thought it was kind of good to keep away from there.

'When we shot this movie, we really flew under the radar. We didn't want people to know we were making it.'

Instead Abe and his cast and crew filmed the flick in Botany, Maroubra and Lakemba in addition to Kurnell, the storyline showing the two racial groups retaliating after the initial riots.

Real event: The Cronulla riots in 2005 were the result of boiling community tensions, which were ramped up when a group of surf lifesavers were attacked by a group of young Middle Eastern men on December 4

Despite avoiding the Cronulla area, controversy wasn't too far away for his team during production.

'We had one incident with one of our Middle Eastern cast members where they were getting out of a car being dropped to set, and a car of people drove past and screamed "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" when they saw him,' Abe revealed of some racism his cast faced during the filming of the movie.

He added: 'Conversely there was an incident too when we were shooting in a Middle Eastern area, where we encountered some confrontation because they didn't know what we were making as well'.

Serious: The Cronulla riots resulted in the arrest of 16 people on 42 charges against Australians on both sides of the conflict and led, briefly, to an overseas warning against people travelling to Australia

No doubt there was an element of risk-taking for Abe when it came to directing this film.

'You kind of follow your gut a lot and every single thing that has ended up in this movie has been thought about and discussed and talked about and no decision has been made lightly at all,' he said.

'Obviously it is a very dark topic,' he went on to confess.

'It's not the kind of thing that should be taken lightly and even though it is a comedy and you can take certain things lightly, there's a lot of things involved with the Cronulla Riots and what's happening in the world generally that I kind of find absurd and I'm using this film to highlight that.'

Down Under: Rahel Romahn (L) and Lincoln Younes (R) play Nick and Hassim, young men of Middle Eastern descent in the flick

Also speaking to Daily Mail Australia ahead of its release was lead actor Lincoln Younes.

The 24-year-old former Home And Away star - who is half Lebanese and half Australian - said he was proud to explore his ethnic background and play a young Lebanese man in the film.

'It was something that I wanted to explore, it meant I could research that side of myself,' said the star, who plays Hassim in the highly-anticipated drama.

'I've been fortunate, I haven't really been affected by racism but I have a lot of friends that have been,' Lincoln added, before explaining the film definitely intends to challenge cultural stereotypes.

Racism still exists: Despite avoiding the Cronulla area, controversy wasn't too far away for Abe's team during production, with a group of people yelling 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie' to one Middle Eastern cast member

'There's a lot of Lebanese (people) in Lebanon if you go there, who look like I do... so it's actually about approaching those stereotypes and realising they are stereotypes,' he said.

'Not everyone in a culture looks the same way and I suppose it's just about approaching everyone differently.'

In the film, Lincoln is joined by fellow actors Damon Herriman and Rahel Romahn, on two sides of the battle.

'It's such an intelligent way they created the film so I was just very honoured to be a part of it,' he also told Daily Mail Australia, commending director Abe while he was at it.

Sneak peek: The film also stars the likes of Damon Herriman and Justin Rosniak as the group of Australians opposing the Middle Eastern group

'I just think the way Abe has approached it in a dark comedic fashion means people will come because it's accessible, but they'll laugh until they cry or until they see the tragedy of it all.'

No doubt controversial in nature, Lincoln believes the film will spark plenty of discussion amongst Australians.

'I think it's going to cause a lot of debate and I think people are going to respond to it quite well, or not, and either way it's succeeding,' he said. 'What makes Australia likeable, is how blase we can be about things.

'I think it's also part of the reason why racism can kind of sit under the surface and not be talked about,' the actor added.

Harsh truth: Durimg the movie, Lincoln's character tries to reason with his pal, after realising violence may not be the best way to sort out the cultural differences

The Cronulla riots in 2005 were the result of boiling community tensions, which were ramped up when a group of surf lifesavers were attacked by a group of young Middle Eastern men on December 4.

Reports that young Muslim Australian men were leering at 'Aussie ' girls in bikinis helped ignite the spark.

On the morning of December 11, about 5000 people gathered on Cronulla Beach to protest against the violent attacks.

The Cronulla riots resulted in the arrest of 16 people on 42 charges against Australians on both sides of the conflict and led, briefly, to an overseas warning against people travelling to Australia.
They are glamour model gal pals, known for their wild drunken antics when together.

So it is no wonder that Katie Salmon, 20, and Jessica Hayes, 23, turned heads once again as they headed out for a glamorous night on the town on Wednesday night.

The brunette Love Island duo put on their usual busty displays in very raunchy low-cut dresses, as they headed to the launch of Elegance Lashes at the Artisan restaurant in Manchester.

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Glamorous: Katie Salmon, 20, and Jessica Hayes, 23, put on their usual busty displays in low-cut dresses as they attended the launch of Elegance Lashes in Manchester on Wednesday

Scouser Katie, who came fourth in this year's Love Island, opted for a slinky fitted LBD, hugging her svelte figure as she headed into town.

Featuring a low plunging neckline and cross-over cut outs at the sides and middle, Katie flashed serious skin in the frock, displaying her ample cleavage for all to see as she smiled for the camera.

Her sidekick Jessica opted for a similar look, in an equally busty low-cut monochrome midi dress.

The saucy high front hem of the dress which crossed over and down at the back only served to lengthen her already long legs.

Both women completed their looks with sets of strappy black sandals, keeping the outfits classic and co-ordinated.

Stylish affair: Both girls completed their looks with sets of strappy black sandals, keeping the outfits classic and co-ordinated as they worked their angles at the event

The pair cut glamorous figures at the launch, leaving their hair big, bouncy and impeccably styled as they posed together at the event.

Katie looked in good spirits considering her recent split with fellow contestant Adam Maxted.

Adam and Katie were only together romantically for a few days before calling it quits shortly after leaving Majorca last month.

Irish wrestler Adam said they decided to go their separate ways at the wrap party in London, after she accused him of not sticking up for her during her row with former love interest Sophie Gradon and her on-again beau Tom Powell.

Glamour girl: Scouser Katie, who came fourth in this year's Love Island, opted for a slinky fitted LBD, hugging her svelte figure as she headed into town

Perfect pins: The saucy high front hem of the dress which crossed over and down at the back only served to lengthen Jessica's already leggy pins

He told OK! online: 'Basically had a bit of an argument with Katie cause she said I didn't stick up for her when she was arguing with Tom and Sophie about the Sophie situation on camera last night.

'And then when we were getting a taxi to Dstrkt and I was in it and Katie started kissing Troy (Frith) in the back while I was there, so we are done.'

Meanwhile gal pal Jessica also remains single, having split from fellow Love Island partner Max Morley last year.

Stirring: Katie caused a lot of drama on Love Island, coming fourth with Adam Maxted but also hooking up with Alex Bowen on camera and embarking on a bisexual fling with Sophie

Jessica and Max won the last Love Island series in 2015, splitting the 50,000 prize money between them before going their separate ways six weeks later.

The Gloucestershire-born glamour model has since been seen embracing the single life, being pictured laughing on many drunken nights out with friend Junaid Ahmed, from Channel 4's Obsessed With My Body.

This is not the first time Jessica and Katie have caused a stir on a night out together, having flashed their boobs in a VIP area at the Cheltenham Festival earlier this year.

Standing on a balcony and sipping Champagne at the racecourse, the reality stars were reprimanded for flashing some nipple in the 700-a-head executive box.
She's the single mother and aspiring model looking for love on The Bachelor.

And Alex Nation has revealed to OK! Australia the lengths she will go to achieve a photo-ready body.

The 24-year-old claimed she would 'consider getting (her) boobs done' but is still happy with her body.

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Surgery: The Bachelor's Alex Nation told OK! Magazine she would 'consider getting (her) boobs done' as breastfeeding her son Elijah 'has changed them'

Alex said breastfeeding her five-year-old son Elijah when he was a baby 'changed' her breasts and she is open to plastic surgery.

The venue manager, from Victoria, also revealed she kept busy in the Bachelor mansion by running.

'I love to run and it was a good way to clear my head,' she confessed.

Confident: Despite considering getting surgery, the 24-year-old is still happy with her body

Stressful day at the office? The venue manager, from Victoria, also revealed she kept busy in the Bachelor mansion by running. Pictured with contestant Noni Janur

On Wednesday's episode, Alex confessed she felt 'threatened' by rival Nikki Gogan after learning she had kissed Richie Strahan.

Nikki, 28, revealed the pair shared a romantic moment following her single date with the 31-year-old Perth hunk.

She said: '(It was) a really romantic setting. And then we had a bit of a chat, and a bit of wine. I asked him if I could kiss him.

'And he's like, 'Yeah, sure'. (He) put my wine glass down, and we had a bit of a pash.'

Alex jealously glared at Nikki from across the room, clearly frustrated that Richie would kiss someone else after their own date.

Jealousy? On Wednesday's episode, Alex confessed she felt 'threatened' by rival Nikki Gogan after learning she had kissed Richie Strahan

A tale of two kisses: During the episode, 31-year-old Richie locked lips with Alex (L) and then Nikki (R) during their respective single dates

Tears: Nikki became emotional after realising she upset the other contestants by revealing she kissed Richie

She later said: 'I didn't realise that they had actually kissed. It was just like, 'Whoa'. I definitely don't want to know.

'It's definitely threatening knowing that Richie's making solid connections with other girls.

'For me, kissing's very intimate. It's not something I do. It's special. Like, it's that connection that you share with someone.

'I am quite threatened by Nikki,' she added. 'I think she definitely has the potential to, you know... they could fall in love with each other.'
She's never shied away from posting a series of wild snaps to her Instagram account.

But Imogen Anthony's photos took on a different nature on Wednesday as she documented her time at an animal rescue retreat in Sydney.

The 25-year-old covered up her svelte figure in ripped jeans and a T-shirt as she posed with a Puma.

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Animal instincts! Imogen Anthony, 25, got in touch with her wild side on Wednesday as she visited an animal rescue retreat in Sydney and posed with a Puma

'Reunited,' Imogen captioned the first snap alongside the hashtag #kotathepuma.

The photo saw the glamour model concealing her slimline figure in a pair of skinny leg ripped jeans, black combat boots and an edgy T-shirt.

Accessorising with studded combat boots, dark aviator sunglasses and black talon nails, Imogen swept her pink-haired tresses underneath a leather cowboy hat.

Opting for a glamorous makeup look, the bubbly personality emphasised a flawless complexion, defined brows, kohl-rimmed eyes, a hint of highlighter on the apples of her cheeks and a soft pink lip.

'Do you even Puma?': The girlfriend of shock jock Kyle Sandilands relaxed on the grass as she cuddled up to the furry creature

Another snap saw the girlfriend of shock jock Kyle Sandilands relax on the grass while cuddling up to the furry creature.

'Do you even Puma?,' Imogen captioned the post in a quirky tone.

'So happy to be reunited with this big puddy cat, we love each other (sic),' she continued.

Profile: Imogen highlighted her striking facial features in the sweet snap posted to her Instagram account which boasts an impressive 113,000 followers

The snaps are in stark contrast to a series of more wild images shared to her Instagram account, earlier in the week.

Risque shots saw the Maxim cover model showing off dark locks and sporting vampy plum lips as she sat on Kyle's lap in an empty room.

With Imogen topless, the 45-year-old radio host concealed his partner's breasts with his hands.

Risque: The snaps are in stark contrast to a series of more wild snaps shared to her Instagram account earlier in the week

The snaps were accompanied by a cheeky short video that saw Kyle joking that the series of snaps might not be good for his 'brand.'

The couple fired back at a Daily Telegraph story that claimed their relationship 'may have run its course.'

They reportedly feared the KIIS 106.5 FM co-host's younger girlfriend 'may have gone off script and (is) no longer projecting an image that is in Sandilands' best interests.'

Rubbish: Kyle's management denied a Daily Telegraph report claiming his five-year relationship with social media sensation Imogen, had run its course

Kyle's management denied the reports in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.

'The article is fabricated and rubbish,' a statement read.

'Kyle supports Imogen in everything she does and always has, he loves her and adores her. No "pals and colleagues" of ours would think this, only desperate gossips that want to cause trouble.'

Fabricated: In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, a rep for the shock jock dismissed the report as 'fabricated' and 'rubbish' and said that the pair are happily in love
She makes a living posing for photos in swimwear.

And on Wednesday, model Robyn Lawley showed off her slimmed down figure as she slipped into a criss-cross one-piece.

The 27-year-old flaunted her curves in the garment as she flashed her cleavage through the V-neck front.

Beauty: Model Robyn Lawley showed off her slimmed down figure as she slipped into a criss-cross one-piece (Picture left in 2016, right in 2015)

The mother-of-one gave the camera a glimpse of bare torso through a cut-out which featured low on the garment.

While displaying a slight smirk, Robyn allowed her golden brown hair to fall freely beside her face.

She tucked one side of her long locks behind her ear, giving clear view of her flawless complexion.

Flawless: While showing off her natural beauty, the 27-year-old wore her golden locks out

There's no stopping her: The day earlier, the mother-of-one posed in an orange and black one-piece for another photoshoot

Alongside the light filtered image, she wrote: 'Another day another swimsuit!'

Her slimmer figure comes months after she told Daily Mail Australia that she was still adjusting to her new body shape since giving birth in February 2015.

'My body isn't the same and while some people are like ''Oh no, it is'', it really is quite different,' she explained. 'It's a body I am getting used to in terms of modelling.'

Working it: Her slimmer figure comes months after she told Daily Mail Australia that she was still adjusting to her new body shape since giving birth in February 2015

Down to earth: She chuckled: 'I'm not Miranda Kerr unfortunately, so my body still needs some help and I just need to work out for a few more months'

She chuckled: 'I'm not Miranda Kerr unfortunately, so my body still needs some help and I just need to work out for a few more months.'

The swimwear designer - who grew up in Girraween - is an Australian size 12-14, according to her agency Bella Management.
Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas might be divorced and living their own lives, but they are still awfully fond of one another.

The couple remembered each other on their birthdays - Melanie's 59th on Tuesday, Antonio's 56th on Wednesday - in a pair of sweet and loving messages.

While Antonio sent his former wife birthday greetings and 'a loving hug from Marbella,' Melanie wistfully added that she 'will always love' her ex-husband.

'I will always love you': Melanie Griffith posted a sweet birthday greeting to ex-husband Antonio Banderas on Wednesday

On Tuesday, Antonio posted a picture of him and Melanie embracing their daughter Stella, 19, who bears a resemblance to Melanie with her fair hair and complexion.

'Happy birthday Melanie,' the Spanish actor wrote in his native language, adding: 'A loving hug from Marbella.'

Then on Wednesday, Melanie responded with her own heartfelt note alongside a picture of them attending a red carpet event.

'Happy birthday, Melanie - a loving hug from Marbella': Antonio shared this sweet birthday message for Melanie's birthday on Tuesday along with a photo of them with daughter Stella

Beat goes on: Melanie and Antonio (pictured in 2012) divorced after nearly two decades of marriage

'Happy Birthday to my ruggedly handsome ex husband @antoniobanderasoficial... I will always love you,' she added along with a string of celebratory emojis that ended with a pair of puckered lips.

The couple separated in 2014 after nearly two decades of marriage; Melanie filed for divorce later that year and the divorce became final last December.

Antonio has been dating gorgeous Nicole Kimpel, 36, since earlier this year, and squired her down the red carpet at the Starlite Gala in Marbella, Spain on August 6.

Single life: The Working Girl star - pictured on July 27 - has said of life post-divorce, 'I'm single, and lonely, and bored, and confused  but then at the same time, totally curious'

Melanie wowed at the Summer TCA press tour in Beverly Hills on July 27 where she wore a partly sheer off-the-shoulder black dress.

'I'm having a very introspective time right now,' Melanie told People at the event. 'It's an interesting time. It's just sort of nice. My kids are all great. They're beautiful people.'

She continued: 'I'm single, and lonely, and bored, and confused  but then at the same time, totally curious. It's almost like I have to throw myself out of the nest.'

Moving on: Antonio has been dating gorgeous Nicole Kempel since early this year; the couple attended the Starlite Gala in Marbella, Spain on August 6

Melanie will be feeling the empty nest syndrome when Stella - her only child with Antonio - goes to live on campus at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

'She'll be moving out, out,' Melanie added. 'She's got a dorm and everything. So that's kind of a different thing. I won't have any kids at home.'
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They recently sold their luxury home on Sydney's northern beaches for $3 million.

And days later, triple Gold Logie winner Rove McManus and TV wife Tasma Walton snapped up a 1920's redesigned beach home in Brontes picturesque hills for a whopping $6.4 million, according to Property Observer.

The glamorous five-bedroom house, which overlooks Bronte beach, boasts a 740sqm landscaped block and a self-contained studio.

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New purchase: Rove McManus put down a whopping $6.4 million on Bronte hillside home after selling his Avalon Beach home days earlier

Picturesque: The glamorous five-bedroom house boasts a manicured 740sqm block with landscaped gardens

To add to the grand layout, the home also includes a custom fitted home office and library.

Plus a temperature controlled wine cellar.

The purchase comes after the couple sold out of Avalon ahead of a rumoured move to Sydney's eastern suburbs to be closer to Rove's 2DayFM radio gig, according to realestate.com.au.

Closer to work: The purchase comes after the couple sold out of Avalon ahead of a rumoured move to Sydney's eastern suburbs to be closer to Rove's 2DayFM radio gig

Views: The home overlooks Bronte's famous beach

The five-bedroom, three-level seaside sanctuary in Avalon Beach, was bought by an out-of-town businessman who plans to use it as a holiday home.

Rove and Tasma, who married in 2009 and have a two-year-old daughter Ruby, have owned the Moroccan-inspired house for five years, though they lived in the U.S. for some of that time.

Tasma earlier this month told Daily Mail Australia they still own a house in Los Angeles, where Rove attempted to launch an American TV career before returning last year.

Plush living: Bedrooms also include beach shutters which allow the occupant to open and allow the sea breeze to come through

Mix and match: The kitchen includes a combination of metallic and wooden accessories

Outside living: The balcony overlooks the famous ocean views

We still have our house there, so we do actually need to go back there soon,' she said.

But I think its a very fluid arrangement with Rove working so hard at the moment. Not in the near future, but we will be back there definitely.'

Agent James Baker at Raine and Horne Palm Beach confirmed the house had been sold and believed it was a reluctant sale for the family, who loved their time on the Northern Beaches.

Old and new: The home was built in the 1920s but was later re-designed to include beach chic interiors

More and more: To add to the glamorous kitchen and dining room, the home comes with a temperature controlled wine cellar

More than just views: The home also includes a custom fitted home office and library

Warm interiors: The house also comes with skylights which allows the natural sunlight to fill the home

'They love the beaches,' he said. 'I wouldnt be surprised to see them back up here again (one day).'

Baker said: 'The impressive main entertaining terrace is equipped with a built-in barbecue/outdoor kitchen and it adjoins a sparkling in-ground pool.

'At the rear of the property is an artists' retreat and deck, which provides an inspiring environment for creatives.'
It's not every woman who meets her chivalrous knight.

But Olivia Palermo has certainly married a very gallant man in the form of Johannes Huebl.

On Wednesday the 30-year-old was pictured being whisked off her feet by her husband, 38, as he carried her across some shallow water to their waiting boat on Mykonos Island.

Olivia Palermo was pictured being whisked off her feet by her husband Johannes Huebl as he carried her across some shallow water to their waiting boat on Mykonos Island on Wednesday

The couple just celebrated their second wedding anniversary but appeared to still be in the honeymoon phase as they took a romantic holiday to the idyllic island.

Olivia wore patterned shorts and a stripy Madewell shirt while carrying her shoes and walking barefoot in the sand.

Despite being clothed from the thigh up, her partner lifted her into the air and carried her gallantly to a platform where a boat waited for the duo.

Despite being clothed from the thigh up, her partner lifted her into the air and carried her gallantly to a platform where a boat waited for the duo

Olivia married the German model in an intimate ceremony on June 29, 2014 in Bedford, New York.

Discussing the secret to their happy marriage in an interview with Harper's BAZAAR Australia, she said: 'We try not to ever be separated more than seven days. Its just something we have always done.'

Olivia married the German model in an intimate ceremony on June 29, 2014 in Bedford, New York

It doesn't look as though the genetically-blessed twosome will be hearing the pitter-patter of tiny feet any time soon, with the socialite admitting she is 'very focused on work' at present.
She headed to Melbourne on Wednesday to record a tell-all interview about her upbringing in a cult for The Project.

And following the revealing chat with host Carrie Bickmore, Bachelor contestant Keira Maguire found herself being comforted by her fellow reality stars after she broke down in tears.

The 29-year-old was joined by Aimee Psellos, Sasha Zhuravlyova, Georgia Tripos, Laura Williams and Tolyna Baan.

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Standing by her: Bachelor star Keira Maguire was comforted by her fellow contestants on Wednesday after she recorded a TV tell-all interview about her cult upbringing (Pictured left to right: Aimee Psellos, Sasha Zhuravlyova, Georgia Tripos, Tolyna Baan and Laura Williams)

During their catch up, the group of beauties were pictured enjoying dinner and drinks at the Chapelli's.

But while the ladies dressed in impress in stiletto heels and elegant evening gowns, Keira looked downcast opting for ripped jeans and a grey T-shirt.

She tucked the top into her pants at the front and teamed with a trendy black leather jacket and casual boots.

Downcast: But while the ladies dressed in impress in stiletto heels and elegant evening gowns, Keira looked downcast opting for ripped jeans and a grey T-shirt

In her own world: As she walked in the middle of the group, she showed off a slight smile while she clutched tightly onto her smartphone and makeup

As she walked in the middle of the group, she showed off a slight smile while she clutched tightly onto her smartphone and makeup.

The reunion with the Bachelor girls comes hours after Keira filmed a tell-all interview with The Project about her upbringing in a cult.

During the interview Keira tearfully revealed she did not know who her mother was until she was five.

Dark past: The reunion with the Bachelor girls comes hours after Keira filmed a tell-all interview with The Project about her upbringing in a cult

She kept the truth of how she was raised in the polygamous sect - headed by her convicted paedophile father Alistah Laishkochav - secret from producers.

She told The Project that she did not tell people - even boyfriends - about her unusual childhood with 63 siblings because she feared she would be judged.

'I didn't know who my mum was until I was five. It sounds strange, but it just is what it is,' Keira told the show.

Emotional: She told The Project that she did not tell people - even boyfriends - about her unusual childhood because she feared she would be judged

Secret: The reality TV starlet kept the truth of how she was raised in the sect - headed by her convicted paedophile father Alistah Laishkochav - secret from producers.

'I didn't even have birthdays. I think I had my first birthday when I was seven. For other people, it might be really sad. But it's not, because it's my story.'

Keira was born at the cult's Bells Beach commune in Victoria which was controlled by self-styled messiah Laishkochav - who had 64 children with nine wives.

But her mother, Michelle, fled the group with her six children in 1993 when Keira was just five-years-old.

Justification: In footage taken in 1992, Keira's mother Michelle (far right) revealed why she lived as one of the nine wives of cult leader Alistah Laishkochav (left)

Revelation: Keira'a mother, Michelle, fled the group with her six children in 1993 when Keira was just five-years-old

Footage taken in 1992, which showed Michelle defending her decision to live as part of Laishkochav's harem, was aired on A Current Affair on Tuesday.

Fighting back tears, Keira said: 'My mum would be devastated that they're showing this again.

'When I saw my mum on TV, it was very confronting. That really upset me. I knew she didn't want to be there.

Admission: 'I didn't know who my mum was until I was five. It sounds strange, but it just is what it is,' Keira told the show

'She was the same age I am today when I saw her there. That was very confronting.'

She said she was forced to confront her past - after Woman's Day published a story about how her cult leader father has sexually abused four young girls.

The outspoken star said she always knew she was 'different', but was too scared to open up about her past.

Embarrassed: Keira told Carrie Bickmore (right) she always knew she was 'different'

Depraved: Alistah (pictured), who was at the head of the polygamous cult where Bachelor star Keira was raised, boasted about his ability to satisfy five women a night

'I kind of knew that I was different. I didn't want to tell people because I didn't want to be judged.

'Even in relationships with guys, I never opened up about it because I didn't want them to judge me because I'm not normal.'

She also voiced her concerns for her 63 siblings who were also born into the bizarre cult.

Escape: Michelle fled the cult and took her children with her when Keira was five-years-old

Seven years after Michelle fled the cult with her six children , Laishkochav was found guilty of sexually abusing four young girls.

The former policeman, whose real name is Ian Lowe, was jailed for more than seven years in 2000.

He was found guilty of sexually penetrating a child under 10 as well as three counts of attempted penetration of a child and 16 counts of indecent assault.

Keira's former cult family: The reality TV contestant's family consisted of her father Alistah Laishkochav's nine wives and their 64 children

Big family: Some of Keira's siblings, including her brother Shath have reunited since leaving the cult

The despot abused the girls, who were aged between seven and 11, over a four-year period from 1987 to 1991. Keira would have only been three-years-old at the time.

Keira told Daily Mail Australia earlier in the week that she has never had a relationship with Laishkochav and said the depraved cult leader does not define who she is as a person.

'My mother removed my family from that environment when I was five years old, over 25 years ago,' she said.

'I was brought up by my mother and grandmother in Brisbane in a loving, caring and compassionate household.

Cult leader: Keira's father Alistah (pictured) was jailed in 2000 for seven years and six months

Convicted: He was jailed after being convicted of 20 child sex offences and one charge of reckless injuries

'I had a wonderful childhood and I am extremely grateful to both my mother and grandmother for the upbringing which they provided me and my siblings.

'Although I have since met and reunited with my family, I have never had a relationship with Alistah Laishkochav.

' Alistah Laishkochav is not relevant to who I am nor does he define me.'

The reality TV starlet kept her dark past hidden from The Bachelor's producers and only told them that her 'father died 30 years go.'
Rose McGowan posted an open letter on Wednesday to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and the major media networks.

The 42-year-old actress took 'media men' to task in her open letter for stressing her out and poisoning the nation with its coverage of Trump.

The Charmed star directed her philippic to CNN, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, Viacom, 'the Murdochs' and Trump and also posted it on her Facebook page.

Open letter: Rose McGowan, shown in June in Los Angeles, posted an open letter on Wednesday blasting the media for its 'sickening' coverage of Donald Trump

'We, the public, are being sickened by an ever expanding assault on our right to live a healthy and free life. Donald & you ratings driven colluders, are holding us the public hostage and exposing us to disease,' McGowan wrote.

The Jawbreaker star then gave details of the disease.

'Our symptoms are knots in our shoulders, sick feelings in the pit of our vaginas, stomach tightness, shortness of breath, wildly elevated stress levels  we are now chronically experiencing a true mass illness,' she wrote.

McGowan then urged the media gatekeepers to 'take ownership of the situation'.

Dear enablers: The actress took the networks to task for 'causing a worldwide sickness'

All caps: McGowan went all caps at the end of her open letter as she urged a media blackout of the Trump campaign

'It is NOT most of America who should be ashamed, it is YOU for propagating this propaganda,' she wrote.

McGowan continued and urged the networks to drastically improve their coverage.

'We, the public, need for you to look for your humanity. We, the public, need you to think differently and to do better. Think different. Do better. Its that easy to be a better person and to do the right thing no matter the cost. The time is now,' she wrote.

The activist and director then called Trump 'a murderer in the making' and went all caps as she urged a media blackout of the Republican nominee's campaign ending with 'STOP THE CANCER'.

Campaign trail: Trump is shown on Wednesday during a campaign rally in Virginia

Trump drew banner headlines on Wednesday as he blasted President Barack Obama during a campaign rally in south Florida.

'He is the founder of ISIS. He is the founder of ISIS, okay? He's the founder! He founded ISIS!,' Trump bellowed as he blamed Obama for the rise of the terrorist group.

He then called out his front-running presidential rival - and former US Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton.

'And I would say,' he added solemnly while getting to his election-year point: 'The co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder! Crooked Hillary Clinton! And that's what it's about!'
She's been busy preparing for her daughter Pixie's fifth birthday.

But Roxy Jacenko enjoyed some time off her busy schedule to try out a new Vespa scooter in Sydney's Double Bay this week.

The 36-year-old posed for an Instagram photo on Thursday afternoon while sitting on one of the Italian motorcycles.

Easy rider! PR maven Roxy Jacenko posed for an Instagram photo on Thursday while sitting on a Vespa scooter, in Sydney's Double Bay

'Sorry not Sorry Mum!!' she captioned the sun-soaked photo.

The PR maven held up the victory sign in one hand, while the other firmly clutched the handle bar as she sat poised in heels on the scooter.

Appearing to have just come from the office, the blonde beauty sported black tailored trousers with a black T-shirt and blazer on top.

Roxy wore her locks long and in a centre-part with the wind lifting up some tendrils.

Birthday preparations: On Wednesday, Roxy posted a snap of herself carrying a giant bunch of flowers as she rushed around town for last minute supplies for Pixie's party

Back into the swing of things: The mother-of-two was back to her usual business after going under the knife to remove a cancerous lump on her breast last week

The mother-of-two was beaming in the shot, while hiding her eyes behind her trademark aviator sunglasses.

Just a day earlier, the busy businesswoman and single mother was rushing around to prepare the first of many festivities for her daughter's milestone birthday.

Before getting home to deliver Pixie her very own MacBook laptop and a slew of other presents as well as a big cake, Roxy was seen picking up last minute supplies.

Earlier in the days she posted a snap of herself carrying a giant bunch of flowers.

Birthday spoils: Roxy raced home to deliver Pixie her very own MacBook laptop as well as a big Shopkins cake, ahead of her 5th birthday on August 16

Early treats: Pixie was treated to plenty of presents and balloons at the early celebrations

'Early mark for my little @pixiecurtis 5th birthday celebration tonight via @silverservice_ #silverservicetaxis #sp,' she captioned the image.

She also shared a shot of herself getting her hair blow-dried.

Roxy seems determined to make sure life carries on as normal after going under the knife last week to treat a cancerous lump on her breast.

Life as usual: Since her breast cancer diagnosis and her husband's conviction for insider trading, Roxy has tried to keep life going as normal for her kids Pixie and Hunter (centre)

It will also be the first birthday Pixie has spent without her father, Oliver Curtis.

The investment banker marked his first birthday behind bars last Monday - one month after he was jailed for conspiracy to commit insider trading.

The PR maven is planning big and lengthy celebrations for her little girl's milestone, whisking the family away to Hong Kong for a holiday
She's clearly comfortable in her own skin and knows how to work it in front of the camera.

And New-Zealand born glamour model Amy Lee Summers proved she isn't shy about showing off her assets, posing up a storm for a beach photo shoot in Malibu, California on Wednesday with Byron Bay-based Wicked Weasel bikinis.

The 25-year-old didn't hold back when working her best angles for the camera, pulling a variety of different poses and angles as she splashed around in the shallows and rolled around on the sand.

Seductive! New Zealand-born model Amy Lee Summers posed up a storm in her during a photo shoot on the beach in Malibu, California, in her Wicked Weasel bikini on Wednesday

The blonde bombshell was sporting a skimpy white bikini - leaving little to the imagination, showing off her tiny waist, toned thighs and taut torso.

She also made sure to put on a busty display in the halter-style bikini top.

The 5' 2" stunner from Wellington, also donned several pieces of jewellery for the playful shoot, wearing a sexy body chain which draped from her neck to her waist.

Flaunting it! The 25-year-old worked her best angles for the camera in a tiny white bikini

Well rounded: She knew exactly how to flaunt her assets in the raunchy shoot

On show! She left little to the imagination in the skimpy two piece, showing off her tiny waist and pert derriere

She was also sporting a collection of bracelets and rings, as well as various earrings for a touch of beach glamour.

And she changed up her look for a few shots with a pair of brown shades.

Her long caramel-coloured tresses were styled straight and Amy pushed her locks around seductively as she posed.

Glammed up: The 5' 2" stunner from Wellington, also donned several pieces of jewellery for the playful shoot, wearing a sexy body chain which draped from her neck to her waist

Frolicking: Her toned thighs and taut stomach were on full display, as was her bronzed skin

Shady lady: And she changed up her look for a few shots with a pair of brown sunglasses

And she even got them wet for part of the shoot as she frolicked in the shallows.

Her bronzed skin was positively glowing and her make-up had been applied to perfection - complementing her neutral tones.

The model, who told Playboy Holly Madison is an inspiration, said posing for the iconic magazine had always been a dream of hers and that she was thrilled to be featured as a playmate in July 2015.

On the rise: The bombshell from Wellington was featured as a Playboy playmate in July 2015

Making it happen: The model said posing for Playboy magazine had always been a dream of hers

An inspiration: She also told the iconic magazine that former Playmate Holly Madison was one of her idols

'P layboy has always been my dream, and now its come true,' she said.

Adding: 'Honestly, Im comfortable posing nude. It makes me feel so feminine  not to mention sexy.'

She also said that when it comes to men, she knows what she likes.

'I have to admit, Im a sucker for tattoos,' she revealed.

Confident: She revealed to Playboy that she's 'comfortable posing nude'

Doing what she does best: She added that posing nude makes her 'feel so feminine  not to mention sexy'
She broke down in tears when she spoke about how she felt ashamed of her upbringing in a bizarre polygamous cult during a TV interview on Wednesday.

But Bachelor star Keira Maguire put on a brave face when she stepped out in Sydney the following day.

The reality TV starlet flashed a smile as she emerged from Vicolo Cafe wearing a chic black ensemble with strappy stilettos.

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Smiling through the strain: Bachelor star Keira Maguire put on a brave face when she stepped out in Sydney on Thursday - just hours after an emotional TV interview

With her cropped blonde locks styled to one side, Keira looked fresh-faced in minimal make-up.

She flaunted her toned curves in a stylish, peplum top worn over a fitted pencil skirt.

Keira was seen speaking on her mobile as she strolled along the street wearing sunglasses.

Stylish: The reality TV starlet flashed a smile as she emerged from Vicolo Cafe wearing a chic black ensemble with strappy stilettos

Reality star: With her cropped blonde locks styled to one side, Keira looked fresh-faced in minimal make-up

Staying strong: Just hours earlier the outspoken reality TV starlet has showed her vulnerable side in an emotional interview with The Project

Just hours earlier the outspoken reality TV starlet showed her vulnerable side in an emotional interview with The Project.

She opened up about how she was raised alongside 63 siblings in the sect which was headed by her convicted paedophile father Alistah Laishkochav.

Keira told the show she did not tell people - even boyfriends - about her unusual childhood because she feared she would be judged.

Brave: Keira looked as though she was trying to remain positive following her interview with The Project on Wednesday

Busy star: Keira was seen speaking on her mobile as she strolled along the street wearing sunglasses

Enviable physique: She flaunted her toned curves in a stylish, peplum top worn over a fitted pencil skirt

Glamorous: Keira completed her chic look with bondage inspired strappy high heels

Svelte: The outspoken TV star's outfit showcased her enviable physique

'I didn't know who my mum was until I was five. It sounds strange, but it just is what it is,' Keira told the show.

'I didn't even have birthdays. I think I had my first birthday when I was seven. For other people, it might be really sad. But it's not, because it's my story.'

Keira was born at the cult's Bells Beach commune in Victoria which was controlled by self-styled messiah Laishkochav - who had 64 children with nine wives.

But her mother, Michelle, fled the group with her six children in 1993 when Keira was just five-years-old.

Dark past: Keira broke down in tears on Wednesday when she revealed she did not know who her mother was until she was five because of her upbringing in a cult

Staying positive: Keira was seen smiling as she played with her mobile outside a cafe

Blonde beauty: Keira showcased her toned curves in the flattering outfit

Footage taken in 1992, which showed Michelle defending her decision to live as part of Laishkochav's harem, was aired on A Current Affair on Tuesday.

Fighting back tears, Keira said: 'My mum would be devastated that they're showing this again.

'When I saw my mum on TV, it was very confronting. That really upset me. I knew she didn't want to be there.

'She was the same age I am today when I saw her there. That was very confronting.'

Justification: In footage taken in 1992, Keira's mother Michelle (far right) revealed why she lived as one of the nine wives of cult leader Alistah Laishkochav (left)

Revelation: Keira'a mother, Michelle, fled the group with her six children in 1993 when Keira was just five-years-old

Twisted: The cult leader (circled) was also convicted of throwing a plank of wood at the head of one of the children

She said she was forced to confront her past - after Woman's Day published a story about how her cult leader father has sexually abused four young girls.

The outspoken star said she always knew she was 'different', but was too scared to open up about her past.

'I kind of knew that I was different. I didn't want to tell people because I didn't want to be judged.

'Even in relationships with guys, I never opened up about it because I didn't want them to judge me because I'm not normal.'

Secret: The reality TV starlet, 29, kept the truth of how she was raised in the sect - headed by her convicted paedophile father Alistah Laishkochav - secret from producers.

Emotional: She told The Project that she did not tell people - even boyfriends - about her unusual childhood because she feared she would be judged

Admission: 'I didn't know who my mum was until I was five. It sounds strange, but it just is what it is,' Keira told the show

Embarrassed: Keira told Carrie Bickmore (right) she always knew she was 'different'

She also voiced her concerns for her 63 siblings who were also born into the bizarre cult.

Seven years after Michelle fled the cult with her six children , Laishkochav was found guilty of sexually abusing four young girls.

The former policeman, whose real name is Ian Lowe, was jailed for more than seven years in 2000.

He was found guilty of sexually penetrating a child under 10 as well as three counts of attempted penetration of a child and 16 counts of indecent assault.

Depraved: Alistah (pictured), who was at the head of the polygamous cult where Bachelor star Keira was raised, boasted about his ability to satisfy five women a night

Her biggest secret: The social media star kept her extended family hidden from The Bachelor's producers

The despot abused the girls, who were aged between seven and 11, over a four-year period from 1987 to 1991. Keira would have only been three-years-old at the time.

Keira told Daily Mail Australia that she has never had a relationship with Laishkochav and said the depraved cult leader does not define who she is as a person.

'My mother removed my family from that environment when I was five years old, over 25 years ago,' she said.

'I was brought up by my mother and grandmother in Brisbane in a loving, caring and compassionate household.

'I had a wonderful childhood and I am extremely grateful to both my mother and grandmother for the upbringing which they provided me and my siblings.

Escape: Michelle fled the cult and took her children with her when Keira was five-years-old

Harem: Laishkochav had nine wives and slept with all of them in one bedroom

'Although I have since met and reunited with my family, I have never had a relationship with Alistah Laishkochav.

' Alistah Laishkochav is not relevant to who I am nor does he define me.'

The reality TV starlet kept her dark past hidden from The Bachelor's producers and only told them that her 'father died 30 years go.'

Keira's half-brother Shem Baker told A Current Affair on Tuesday that he wanted Keira to be famous for who she is 'not for where she comes from'.

Cult leader: Bachelor star Keira Maguire's father Alistah Laishkochav (pictured) was jailed for 20 child sex offences and had 64 children with nine wives

Keira's former cult family: The reality TV contestant's family consisted of her father Alistah Laishkochav's nine wives and their 64 children

'A lot of us aren't proud that he was our father and we all just want to move on with our lives,' he told the show.

He said that Keira - who has been dubbed the villain of the new series - was probably picked because she is not afraid to speak her mind.

'Although they say these shows are scripted and characterised, I think they've picked her for how she is,' he said.

In footage taken in 1992, Keira's mother Michelle was seen defending her decision to live as part of the harem of nine wives.

Convicted: In 2000 he was jailed for seven years and six months after being convicted of 20 child sex offences and one charge of reckless injury

Control: He had 64 children and they would sleep in a room with as many as 15 others

Speaking from the Byron Bay commune in NSW, the mother-of-six said: 'I don't have that fear of sitting at home and wondering whether my husband is seeing the secretary or the shopkeeper.

'I don't have that fear of thinking  is he going to come back and love me,' she told A Current Affair.

She justified being part of his harem for more than a decade - alongside her sister Gail - by saying that she believed people are able to love more than one individual.

'Can you love more than one child,' she asked.

Family bond: Keira's half-brother Shem Baker told A Current Affair on Tuesday that he wanted Keira to be famous for who she is 'not for where she comes from'

Starlet: He said that Keira - who has been dubbed the villain of the new series - was probably picked because she is not afraid to speak her mind

'Because if you have six children or even three or two. Do you just love the one, of course you don't, you love them all.'

Michelle also insisted that she found the self-styled messiah - who told his followers he was Jesus Christ - attractive.

She was not alone, as many of his other wives described him as 'intelligent' and 'sexy' with one saying she was 'really in awe of him'.

Michelle gave birth to Keira at the first commune in Bells Beach, Victoria, before moving to the hippie town of Byron Bay with the group.

But eight months after the footage was taken, Michelle fled the cult with her six children, closely followed by two others wives.

Bizarre: While living in Sydney in the 1970s he began attracting a group of mainly young females to his communal lifestyle

Revelations: A Current Affair expose is set to reveal the secrets of the cult on Tuesday

She took Keira and her siblings Leilani, Shath, Jade, Ty and Sean to Queensland, where they began a new life.

Michelle revealed that she decided to leave the cult in 1993 because the power had gone to Laishkochav's head.

'Once the ego sets in, they think they can do it anything,' she said.

Another former wife added: 'It blew up into an argument and we told him he had to leave.'

In the footage taken in 1992, Laishkochav boasted about his ability to satisfy five women every night.

He also compared himself to King Solomon and insisted he was 'not greedy' for having nine wives.

Communal living: The cult leader can be seen playing guitar in video footage

Paedophile: The former policeman, whose real name was Ian Lowe, controlled the group from his Bells Beach compound in Victoria

'King Solomon had so many wives,' he said.

'I'm not that greedy, surely. He had 70 wives and 500 concubines. When it comes to women. I'm selfish.

'I don't think I am more special than any other man and I believe any man can do what I do and satisfy four to five women a night.'

The polygamist is understood to have slept with all nine of his de facto wives in one bedroom, while his children had to share with as many as 15 others.

Over the years, his brood grew so large that Laishkochav admitted to CBS-TV's 'Hard Copy' that he received a staggering $250,000 per year in welfare payments.

He ruled his clan with a rod of iron and borrowed elements of Judaism, Mormonism, Islam and the beliefs of Pacific Islanders to justify having multiple wives.

The Australian reported the leader strongly believed a UFO would take the group from earth in 1988.

Encouraged to chant every night, Laishkochav's were also led to believe all outsiders were 'evil' and that they could only be saved by God.

'I am extremely grateful to both my mother and grandmother': Keira told Daily Mail Australia she's thankful to her nan (pictured) for her upbringing after leaving the cult

Upbringing: The former policeman exerted his strict control over the group - which Keira (pictured) was a part of until the age of five - from his Bells Beach compound in Victoria.

During his 2000 trial, one of the victims told the court she was aged between seven and nine when Laishkochav molested her 'every other day'.

She also revealed how Laishkochav would threaten her with violence to ensure she stayed silent about the sexual abuse.

The girl said Laishkochav told her: 'God would punish me and he would hurt me', according to The Age.

An eight-year-old girl also revealed how Laishkochav would kiss her and tell her she would eventually become his wife, the Australian reported.

Another victim told the trial Laishkochav would slap his children and tell them they had the devil in them.

Lookalike: Keira left the cult with her sister Leilani (pictured) and their mother Michelle, along with three other siblings in 1993

Big family: Some of Keira's siblings, including her brother Shath have reunited since leaving the cult

The cult leader was also convicted of throwing a plank of wood at the head of one of the children.

Laishkochav, who was born in Auckland, moved to Australia from New Zealand in 1969.

At 25, he married his first wife in a Mormon Church, where he was introduced to the concept of polygamy.

The polygamist drew his beliefs from sections of the Jewish, Muslim and Mormon religions.

He attracted a number of women to his communal lifestyle while living in Sydney in the 1970s.

Brother: Keira's brother Sean still lives in Brisbane, where they were raised by their mother and grandmother after leaving the cult

Scattered around Australia: Keira's other full-blood brothers Ty (L) and Shath (R) now live in separate states in Queensland and Victoria respectively

They all moved to the Bells Beach compound in Victoria in 1983 where the brood rapidly expanded.

Laishkochav and his nine wives and 64 children then moved to Byron Bay.

The cult dissolved in 1993 following allegations of Laishkochav's offences.

The Courier Mail reported that Laishkochav was deported back to his native New Zealand in 2008 after completing his jail term.

New life: The blonde lifestyle blogger now lives in Sydney's Eastern suburbs and works as a real estate account manager

Close-knit bunch: Keira's aunt Gail (pictured) was also one of Laishkochav's nine wives

Keira's half-brother Moke has confirmed to Woman's Day that he is related to the blonde and revealed 'the family find it hilarious' that their relative has landed on television.

The shocking revelations come after the confident blonde took a break from social media following cyber abuse directed at her.

'I've been staying away from social media, but I did have a look at my page and someone called me a c***,' Keira told OK! magazine.

She said she was not happy with her villain status, but has decided to ignore it because she does not want to be a 'miserable mess'.

Keira has ruffled feathers in the house following multiple confrontations with other contestants, including Eliza St John and Alex Nation.

'Alistah Laishkochav is not relevant to who I am nor does he define me': Keira told Daily Mail Australia when asked about her father's past

But the outspoken real estate professional, who is friends with Richie Strahan's cousin Lisa Clark, said she did not exaggerate her opinions for the camera.

'If anything I had a filter and tended not to say much because trust me, if I did actually say what I thought, shit would be going down,' she said.

Keira said the constant steam of confrontations left her feeling drained during filmed.
She's celebrating her 19th birthday in style in the Caribbean alongside her beau, Tyga.

And Kylie Jenner was letting nothing get in the way of her special day, as she cosied up to her rapper boyfriend on a yacht in the Bahamas.

Tyga was due in court on Tuesday after a lawsuit was brought against him over unpaid rent charges, however his failure to attend- instead opting to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday on Turks and Caicos, has led to a warrant being issued for his arrest.

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Loved up: Kylie Jenner was letting nothing get in the way of her special day, as she cosied up to her rapper boyfriend on a yacht in the Bahamas on her 19th birthday- despite his outstanding arrest warrant

Letting nothing spoil their fun: After a day at the beach, Kylie and Tyga had some fun with the filters on Snapchat; the lovebirds tried face swapping as well as the dog filter

However Kylie appeared unbothered, taking to Instagram to show off her mysteriously ever-growing lips and hips, as Tyga lay on his girlfriend's lap.

Sporting a high-cut red bikini, she accentuated her toned body with an array of gold body chains.

And hugging her on-off beau, she looked more loved-up than ever as they enjoyed the stunning view.

Wearing her raven-dyed hair in braids and showing off impressive diamond earrings, the Lipkit queen shaded her face with sunglasses and stylish cap.

Meanwhile her family were said to be unhappy that Tyga's arrest warrant could damage their brand.

Ready for the sun: Kylie Jenner posted a sexy mirror selfie on Wednesday as she celebrated her birthday on vacation

Tyga's legal issues stem from his failure to pay a $480,000 judgement against him for back rent and damage at a Malibu home he rented in 2011.

The rapper's landlord, Gholamreza Rezai, went to court in 2012 claiming that Tyga missed a $16,000 monthly rent payment, skipped out on his lease and left the home in need of major repairs.

The Grammy-nominated California rapper also allegedly installed a dance pole in the middle of the master bedroom without permission.

His girl: Tyga re-posted this photo of him kissing Kylie's cheek to wish her a 'happy birthday'

Tyga claimed poverty, refusing to pay the settlement ordered by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Nancy Newman.

He was scheduled to be questioned under oath about his finances.

Newman signed a bench warrant, which is typically issued in the case of a failure to appear for trial and could lead to Tyga being jailed, with bail set at $10,000.

But the Kardashian-Jenner clanned left his woes behind them as they enjoyed an exotic getaway.

We're on a boat: Kylie joined her pal Jordyn Woods on a yacht as she kicked off her vacation

'Time of my life' the reality star captioned this snap alongside two pals

Kylie started her birthday with a sexy mirror selfie as she posed in her stylish red bikini flaunting her curves.

Next up, Kylie hopped on a boat with her closest pal Jordyn Woods.

The ladies posed sultrily for a photo while perched on yacht railings against a stunning backdrop of aqua blue ocean and blue sky behind them.

The KUWTK star captioned the idyllic snap simply 'blessed'.

Snap happy! Kylie confirmed her birthday was going swell

Tricks of the trade: Kylie is following in the footsteps of sisters Kim and Khloe, whose impressive waistlines keep shrinking as their hips miraculously become more curvaceous

Kylie confirmed her birthday was going swell by sharing a Snapchat from the yacht and writing 'Happy & having fun. All I could ask for on my bday.'

The birthday girl put her incredible figure on display once more while posed with her back facing the camera.

She captioned it: 'Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Best Birthday yet!'

Sibling love: The makeup entrepreneur posed for a playful shot with her older sister Kendall Jenner while relaxing in the water, writing: '19 & 20'

Strike a pose: The Jenner sisters were also snapped on the boat; Kendall added a hat to her beach ensemble

The makeup entrepreneur posed for a playful shot with her older sister Kendall Jenner while relaxing in the water, writing: '19 & 20.'

The Jenner sisters were also snapped on the boat; Kendall added a hat to her beach ensemble.

Kendall shared a video to her Instagram on Wednesday of an incredible firework show.

The model showed Kylie in the clip, captioning it: 'Surprise! Love, Kenny.'

Tyga Snapchatted the colorful show, as well as Kylie herself.

What a good sister: Kendall showed Kylie watching the fireworks in the Instagram video, captioning it" Surprise! Love, Kenny'

Sparkler: Kylie donned a graphic T-shirt as she held a sparkler in her hand

Stunner: Kylie Snapchatted while sporting wavy tresses and a concert T-shirt

Good times: Tyga appeared to enjoy the fireworks show as well, as seen on his Snapchat

Grateful: The star used a Snapchat filter in another clip to thank all of her fans for the sweet birthday wishes

Kylie posted and then deleted a photo with her best friends Anastasia 'Stassi' Karanikolaou and Jordyn.

Bella shared a snap of Kylie running toward the camera; she wrote: 'happy birthday Ky Baby...life would be boring without you.'

After a day at the beach, Kylie and Tyga had some fun with the filters on Snapchat; the lovebirds tried face swapping as well as the dog filter.

The night before, clearly feeling in a racy mood, Kylie left little to the imagination as she posed in a plunging swimsuit and red wig.

With the figure-flaunting nature of the high-cut swimsuit showcasing her slim curves, the reality starlet threw modesty to the window thanks to the garment's cleavage flashing cut.

For life: Kylie posted and then deleted a photo with her best friends Anastasia 'Stassi' Karanikolaou and Jordyn

Having some fun: Bella shared a snap of Kylie running toward the camera; she wrote: 'happy birthday Ky Baby...life would be boring without you'

Racy in red: The teen was in a very racy mood on Tuesday night as she posted a seriously saucy swimsuit photo on her Instagram.

Sealed with a kiss! Kylie placed a digital lip print atop her cheek as she showed off her 'fire red' new tresses on Snapchat a few hours earlier

She coyly captioned the daring snap with a heart emoticon and the number 19, obviously keen to flag up it was her special day.

Kylie's family also made sure to wish her a happy birthday on Instagram, and Khloe shared a grinning photo of her little sister with the message: 'My baby, happy birthday!

'I hope you have the most incredible day showered with love and all good things that the world can offer. You inspire me daily! You motivate me and keep me in awe of you. Truly, I am so proud of the woman you are becoming.

'I am so proud of the woman you are becoming': Khloe gushed about her little sister in a sweet Instagram post

'You have a heart and soul of solid gold. You leave everybody better after meeting them. It's your infectious spirit. I love you more with every moment my sweet Kylie! Enjoy your birthday! Xoxo your second mommy/sister.'

Meanwhile her mother Kris Jenner shared a collage of photos of her youngest child, and appeared to be feeling rather emotional.

'I can't believe my baby girl is 19 today!!!!' she wrote. '@kyliejenner I've watched you grow into the most loving, kind-hearted, funny, motivated, beautiful young woman and I couldn't be prouder of you!!

'You are my heart': The teen's mother Kris Jenner appeared to be feeling emotional as she shared a collage

'I love you more than you know': Kim posted a short but sweet message, alongside the Cosmpolitan cover they shared

'There are so many amazing adventures ahead for you, my sweet girl, this is just the beginning!!! I can't wait to see what life has in store for you. I wish you the most amazing day today. You are my heart, a true blessing and I love you beyond words!!!!! #birthdaygirl #love #proudmama #blessed #happybirthdaykylie.'

Kim's message was short but sweet. Alongside a picture of their Cosmopolitan cover, the 35-year-old shared: 'Happy Birthday to my beautiful boss sister @kyliejenner I love you more than you know! I'm so proud of who you are as a person! You are the least judgmental person I know! Keep being you!'

Kourtney shared a video of herself air humping Kylie at Khloe's birthday in June on her Instagram.

Having a laugh: Kourtney shared a video of herself air humping Kylie at Khloe's birthday in June on her Instagram

Puppy love: Meanwhile Kylie shared a funny snapshot showing her with her four dogs

She captioned the hilarious clip: 'Happy birthday to my little Kylizzle! I just realized today that we have only been in one fight ever which as you know was over a Tinker Bell nightgown. We're so cute.'

Despite her sultry appearance in her latest snapshot, it seems that Kylie is in extremely high spirits when it comes to celebrating the star of her last year as a teen.

Shortly before she posted the saucy swimsuit snap, the youngest of Kris Jenner's world-famous brood posted a video of herself singing Happy Birthday to herself.

Work it, twerk it! The birthday girl also released a video of herself bustin out her finest dance moves, twerking away in a Snapchat story which celebrated her big day

So many filter! Sat in the bathroom with a friend, the teen was more than happy to mess around with some fun filters as she brought the story to a close

Get that birthday edition: She ended the snap by promoting her latest lipkit collection

'Fire red for 19': Kylie wrote in the frame of the video, which panned to give fans a slight view of her cleavage

The birthday well wishes have been pouring in for Kylie.

On Monday, the mega-star showed off the multiple gifts she had received in the days leading up to her big celebration.

Among the numerous bouquets of flowers she had received, the reality star was also the recipient of an outfit sent straight from designer Alexander Wang.

'Kylie! Wanted to wish you a happy b-day!' the hand-written card read. 'Thought this outfit was perfect for you.'

Special delivery! Among the numerous bouquets of flowers she had received, the reality star was also the recipient of an outfit sent straight from designer Alexander Wang

Thanks a bunch! Jenner showed off an overflowing bouquet of white roses she had received for her 19th birthday on Monday

Bloomin' lovely: The soon-to-be-birthday girl showed off the bouquet of sunflowers she had also received ahead of her birthday

Time flies: Kris Jenner posted a throwback photo of Kylie with her sister Kendall on Tuesday on Instagram
She described her arrangement with estranged husband Ben Affleck as a 'modern family' in a recent interview.

But doting mother Jennifer Garner was making the most of some alone time as she hit the gym in Brentwood, California, on Wednesday.

Sporting a fun Get Up And Dance slogan vest, the actress, 44, displayed her toned arms and slim pins as she strolled along in her workout gear.

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Working up a sweat! Doting mother Jennifer Garner was making the most of some alone time as she hit the gym in Brentwood, California, on Wednesday

The Dallas Buyers Club star teamed her grey sleeveless tee with skintight black leggings as she headed home from her session.

Smiling from ear-to-ear as the endorphins flowed, the mother-of-three teamed her gym ensemble with a pair of bright aqua trainers.

Jennifer wore her brunette locks scraped back from her face in a low ponytail and went make-up free for her workout.

The star accessorised with a pair of stylish shades to shelter her eyes from the Californian sun as she went about her day.

Sporty: Sporting a fun Get Up And Dance slogan vest, the actress, 44, displayed her toned arms and slim pins as she strolled along in her workout gear

'We're a modern family': Jennifer raises daughters Violet, 10, and Seraphina, seven, and son Samuel, four, with estranged husband, Ben Affleck, 43, who she split from in 2015

The Hollywood star recently discussed her marital split from Ben Affleck, 43 - who whom she raises three children, Violet, 10, Seraphina, seven, and Samuel, four - with the Today show.

The couple publicly announced their split, which has yet to be legally finalised, the day after their tenth wedding anniversary last year.

Ben and Jennifer prompted reconciliation rumours in May when they whisked their kids off on holiday to Paris, France.

But Jennifer was sure to clear up any misconceptions about the getaway, insisting they are simple 'a modern family'.

She said: 'We are definitely a modern family.

'Ben was working in London on Justice League, and I felt like, "Well, the kids should have that experience". And he and I are great friends, and we just all went en masse.'

Gym bunny: The Dallas Buyers Club star teamed her grey sleeveless tee with skintight black leggings as she headed home from her session

When the couple split last year, they were faced with a maelstrom of reports that the Argo director had been unfaithful with their three children's nanny.

This March, however, the Alias actress told Vanity Fair: 'We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny.

'She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes,' she conceded.

'Its not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives.'

Homeward bound: The mother-of-three teamed her stylish gym ensemble with a pair of bright aqua trainers
She was one of the first celebrity advocates for juicing and detoxing.

And now over a decade on, Carol Vorderman has proven she is still fighting fit.

The TV favourite, 55, treated fans to a sexy gym selfie as she worked up a sweat on Thursday.

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Pump it up! Carol Vorderman, 55, treated fans to a sexy gym selfie as she worked up a sweat on Thursday

Posing in the gym, Carol showed off her ample bust in a skimpy black vest as she snapped a picture.

Looking fresh and flawless without make-up, the star beamed as she showed off her bright blonde hair.

Taking to Twitter to tells fans she was pumping iron, Carol wrote: 'I'm off now to kick ass in the gym!'

Carol has been focusing on her health and fitness in recent months after recently revealing that she is happy to be single.

Green goddess: Carol has been focusing on her health and fitness in recent months after recently revealing that she is happy to be single

Long time: The former Countdown star recently opened up about her split from ex Graham Duffy, who was 14 years her junior

Doing her: The former Countdown star spoke to Mirror about her lost love as she admitted to being 'happily single' since the demise of the relationship with Graham "Duffy" Duff, who is 14 years her junior

Lost love... After splitting up twice, it appears the 55-year-old maths whizz is moving on from Duffy, 41, as she insists she is independent and doing her own thing

Opening up about her romance with toyboy Graham Duffy, 41, she told the Daily Mirror that the 14 age gap was 'a bit silly'.

After splitting up twice, it appears the maths whizz is moving on from Duffy, as she insists she is independent and doing her own thing.

Carol dated the Red Arrows pilot for a total of four years although it seems she is ready for a new start, admitting she would not date someone so young again.

She tells the publication: 'Im happily single, freely independent and doing my own thing. Im not opposed to going out with someone 10 years younger, its acceptable. But Duffy was 14 years younger  that was a bit silly really.'

The stunning star is mother to 24-year-old daughter Katie and son Cameron, 19, who she shares with her second husband Patrick King, who she divorced in 2000 after a decade of marriage.

Speaking of motherhood and singledom, she said: 'When you bring up children you run on somebody elses clock for all of that time. And now I dont.

'The best thing about being single is being able to do what you want. If I want to lie in, I will. Or Ill go to see a friend, without having to check in with anyone.

'I cant bear checking in. Asking, Oh, is it all right, darling? Do you mind if I go?. I cant do that any more  theres no way Im going to start again.'

Carol met Duffy while doing charity work for RAF and the pair hit it off instantly.

Duffy previously flew fighter jets in Iraq before joining the Red Arrows, the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force, in 2008. He had since quit to launch a mobile phone app.

Onwards and upwards: Duffy previously flew fighter jets in Iraq before joining the Red Arrows, the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force, in 2008. He had since quit to launch a mobile phone app

Before calling it quits last September, Duffy had been helping Carol prepare for her solo 29,000 mile trip around the world, a dream she is still working towards.

Keen flyer Carol took to the skies on a number of occasions during their relationship, with the former Countdown host calling her toyboy boyfriend her 'ideal travel companion'.

'He and I are used to being trapped in a cockpit... so we travel very well together', she added.

It was initially reported that Carol and Duffy's relationship had 'naturally run its course' after two years.

'Its sad for both of them but Carol felt it had naturally run its course as relationships sometimes do', her spokesperson confirmed at the time, 'She decided that it would be best to bring it to an end as amicably as possible, so they separated a number of weeks ago.'
She's one of the most glamorous members of the TOWIE cast.

And Chloe Lewis proved the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as she was joined by her stylish mother, Nicole, to film scenes for the ITVBe reality show at co-star Liam Blackwell's birthday pool party in Essex on Wednesday.

Flaunting her ample assets as she sauntered inside, the TV personality, 25, cut a busty figure in a jaw-dropping pink crocodile-print maxi dress.

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It's all relative: Chloe Lewis proved the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as she was joined by her stylish mother, Nicole, to film TOWIE scenes in Essex on Wednesday

The plunging number displayed her impressive cleavage as it boasted major cut-out panels on the torso  highlighting her toned waist.

Upping the style factor of her summer inspired show-stopper, Chloe paired the ensemble with a chic body chain and a pair of metallic sandals.

Adding to her glamorous fashion choice, the beauty opted to style her chestnut tresses into a bouncy curls.

The Essex stunner accentuated her delicate features with a touch of bronzer over her high-cheekbones and plumped her pout with a swipe of pink lipgloss.

Show-stopping! Flaunting her assets as she sauntered inside co-star Liam Blackwell's birthday pool party, the TV personality, 25, cut a busty figure in a pink crocodile-print maxi

Walking by her stunning daughter, Chloes mum Nicole flexed her fashion prowess in a sophisticated white bardot-style pleated maxi dress.

Showing where Chloe gets her style inspiration, the brunette styled her hair into a chic updo as she donned statement earrings to ramp up her glam look.

Chloe and Nicole weren't the only glam mother-daughter duo at the bash as they were joined by Lydia Bright and Debbie Douglas in equally vibrant looks as they soaked up the British summer sunshine.

Chloe has been at the centre of a dramatic storyline with her rival Megan McKenna throughout this series of TOWIE.

Squad! Chloe and Nicole were joined by mother-daughter duo Debbie Douglas and Lydia Bright, who stunned in equally vibrant ensembles

Pretty in pink: Chloe's plunging number displayed her impressive cleavage as it boasted major cut-out panels on the torso  highlighting her toned waist

Say cheese! The foursome beamed as they posed for photos at the bash

The arch rivals clashed earlier this summer when the Megan, 23, found out Chloe had been spreading rumours about her.

The former Celebrity Big Brother star was furious when Chloe claimed she saw her 'bumping and grinding' with a man on a girls' holiday to Marbella in May.

Megan is happily loved up with boyfriend and co-star Pete Wicks, but in season 17 Chloe accused Megan of sleeping with her now ex-boyfriend Jake Hall.

Megan has repeatedly denied sleeping with Jake, however Chloe is adamant it really happened and ended her seven year on/off romance with him in April.
She may well be on the wrong end of an enormous tax bill, but even the eye-watering six figure sum shes required to pay did nothing to dampen Tori Spellings spirits during an appearance in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The actress and presenter was joined by three-year old son Finn  the youngest of her four children with husband Dean McDermott  during a visit to a local toy store.

After looking under the weather following a trip to a Thai massage parlour four days previously, Tori appeared to be back on form and sporting a rather fetching new hairstyle as she walked hand in hand with the youngster.

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Quality time: was joined by three-year old son Finn  the youngest of her four children with husband Dean McDermott  during a visit to a local toy store

Indeed, the messy knotted locks so evident on Saturday afternoon were replaced by a smart bobbed do that neatly hung above her shoulders.

Tori had given her latest look its grand debut on Instagram just hours earlier, admitting she made the bold decision to cut it herself.

Captioning a shot of her new hairstyle, she wrote: W/this crazy hot weather & 4 babes to keep busy the rest of summer @ #CampMama I decided to give myself a #summercut! 'Did it last night after I put the kids2 bed. What do you think of my handy work? #shorthairdontcare

Short hair don't care! Tori had given her latest look its grand debut on Instagram just hours earlier, admitting she made the bold decision to cut it herself

Equally eye-catching was the generously cut semi-sheer dress that wildly flapped about Toris legs as she made her way out of the toy store, a bulging shopping bag clutched in either hand.

Playful love heart sunglasses completed the look, while her candy pink hair  a mainstay despite her decision to restyle  provided an added splash of colour.

It has been reported that the federal government has slapped Tori and Dean with a tax lien for a hefty $707, 487.30 in unpaid taxes.

Sweet look: Despite getting a restyle, Tori opted to keep the candy pink colour she's been favouring of late

And the 43-year-old and her 49-year-old husband are likely have an even greater debt as the figure only accounts for unpaid taxes accrued in 2014.

Earlier this month the couple were hit with another tax lien, this time from the state of California.

The lien, which was also for unpaid taxes from 2014, was set to cost the celebrity couple $259, 108.23.

Clad in black: Equally eye-catching was the generously cut semi-sheer dress that wildly flapped about Toris legs as she made her way out of the toy store

Meanwhile, the combined tax liens are not the only fees the family-of-six are struggling with these days.

Back in January American Express sued Tori for failing to make payments on her $37, 981.97 credit card bill.

It was reported that the reality star had attempted to make a payment back in June of last year, for $1, 070, but it had bounced.

The company is demanding that Tori pay the delinquent balance in full, including the accrued interest.
They were rumoured to have tied the knot in a 'secret' wedding during a trip to Niagara Falls in June.

But Lisa Curry insisted she had not yet married her Elvis Presley impersonator beau, Mark Andrew Tabone, when she spoke to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.

Speaking at the Aladdin premiere in Sydney, the former Olympic swimmer said: 'We are not married'.

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Not married: Olympian Lisa Curry denied claims that she tied the knot with her Elvis Presley impersonator beau, Mark Andrew Tabone (pictured together in Sydney on Thursday)

Lisa admitted that they have not yet made any wedding plans, adding: 'You'll know when we do'.

She looked stunning in a white Grecian-inspired gown with an embroidered bodice when she attended the event with her boyfriend on Thursday.

With her blonde locks tied back in a high ponytail, the former competition swimmer oozed confidence in her glamorous look.

Blonde beauty: She looked stunning in a white Grecian-inspired gown with an embroidered bodice when she attended the event with her boyfriend on Thursday

Speculation: They were rumoured to have tied the knot in a 'secret' wedding during a trip to Niagara Falls in June

Her partner opted for a shiny navy suit over a crisp white shirt.

The couple spoke about their recent holiday in Malta - where Lisa was introduced to Mark's family.

'Mark had a couple of shows in Canada and then we decided to go to Malta to see his family,' Lisa said.

'He had a school reunion over there as well. It was really nice to see everyone.'

Stylish: With her blonde locks tied back in a high ponytail, the former competition swimmer oozed confidence in her glamorous look

Wedding date: Mark accompanied Lisa to her daughter Morgan's stunning wedding to Ryan Gruell, by the beach in Noosa, Queensland, in May

Mark also accompanied Lisa to her daughter Morgan's stunning wedding to Ryan Gruell, by the beach in Noosa, Queensland, in May.

'It was a perfect wedding. She was perfect. It was really nice,' Lisa told Daily Mail Australia.

It was reported that Lisa and Mark may have wed in secret shortly after this to avoid stealing Morgan's thunder.
It is official, Kendall Jenner is the hottest model in the world right now.

The 20-year-old reality turned catwalk star has landed her first cover of Vogue.

On Thursday, the magazine and the Keeping Up With The Kardashians celebrity simultaneously revealed on social media that she had not only made her cover debut, she had done so on its September issue.

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Fashion's biggest star: Kendall Jenner is the September issue of Vogue's cover girl, it was revealed Thursday

Unable to contain her excitement, Kendall took to Instagram to celebrate while in the Bahamas for her sister Kylie's birthday.

The model said on Instagram: 'In a room with a bunch of people I love, looking at this cover made me cry. I F**KING DID IT. SEPTEMBER VOGUE. 'This is the coolest thing ever! can't thank you enough Anna, for giving me the honor.'

Wearing a matador-inspired couture ensemble from Gucci which featured just a jacket and pants, her hair falling over one side of her face and her mouth slightly open, Kendall pulled a classic Vogue pose on the cover.

Shot by the magazine's dream team, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the cover is all about Kendall.

Next generation: The star was celebrated by the magazine, who declared that it is 'Generation K' and bills the issue as 'Kendall Jenner: The face that launched a billion likes'

Vogue declares that it is 'Generation K' and bills the issue as 'Kendall Jenner: The face that launched a billion likes.'

While her big sister Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were the first in the family to be on the cover of US Vogue back in 2014, the couple were on the April issue not the coveted September issue.

September has long been held as the premiere release of any magazine as it the biggest and celebrates the trends for the following year.

Four letter excitement: Unable to contain her excitement Kendall took to Instagram to celebrate while in the Bahamas for her sister Kylie's birthday

Speaking on her app, Kendall said the cover was a dream come true: 'I'm so honored and excited about this huge career milestone.

'Thank you to everyone who was a part of this - including my family and friends for always supporting me, and, of course, my fans who have been with me through everything. I couldn't have done it without your support. I love you all! '

The star also revealed she went through a sudden style change: 'One day, we shot at the craziest house in Beverly Hills with a lake in the backyard. They asked me to cut my hair and, of course, I agreed!'

Fashion queen: Shot by the magazine's dream team, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the spread was a mixture of sleek pictures as well as more dramatic yet whimsical images like this one

Behind the scenes: Kendall's hair was cut mid-shoot by famed stylist Garren - so of course she said yes to the chop

For the issue's cover story, Kendall sat down with writer Jonathan Van Meter to discuss how she became the breakout model of her generation.

But it was Kim who explained to Vogue how her little sister went from reality star to one of the biggest models in the fashion industry.

Kim said the the article: 'She had her eyes focused on exactly what she wanted to do and she made it happen.'

Adding more likes: The 20-year-old took to Snapchat to tell fans of her big news on Thursday

She's got them licked! Kendall used the dog filter and yelled: 'Go check my Instagram.... because I'm on the cover of September Vogue and I cant wait I'm so excited'

Proud pal: The star was in bed with bestie and fellow model Hailey Baldwin who was also for excited for Kendall's big debut

That not only included becoming a legitimate model but also avoiding being famous for being famous - like her older sisters.

Kendall said: 'Obviously, my success came after my sisters' - I got to see all of their mistakes and watch out for them.'

Following her lead: While her big sister Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were the first in the family to be on the cover of US Vogue back in 2014, the couple were on the April issue not the coveted September issue

While many would argue that Kendall got to where she was because of her existing fame, Van Meter solidifies her legitimate model status by comparing her to the great supermodel Linda Evangelista.

Comparing Kendall's focus from a young age on being a model to the Nineties fashion icon's own dedication, Van Meter said: 'In some ways, she is reminiscent of Linda Evangelista, who also knew she wanted to be a model from the time she was a little girl hanging out in her bedroom, practicing her runway walk, cutting up fashion magazines.

'Both of them essentially willed it to happen, which is rare.'

Kendall had time to think about where she wanted to go, as the model says she spent a lot of time at home alone playing video games.

'I remember crying in my bedroom about the fact that Kylie had so many friends and I didn't.'

Kendall and Kylie are now, of course, each other's best friends supporting each other as they grew up famous.

The model told the magazine that she and her 19-year-old sister pride themselves of not being those 'crazy' Jenner sisters.

Secret loner: The 20-year-old revealed she often sat in her room playing video games and cried that sister Kylie (pictured Wednesday in the Bahamas) had more friends than her

Surrounded in love: While she may have been a loner, the star's friends all ran into her bedroom to celebrate on Thursday morning leading to the star to say on Instagram, 'In a room with a bunch of people I love, looking at this cover made me cry'

'You would expect that from us': The model told the magazine that she and her 19-year-old sister pride themselves of not being those 'crazy' Jenner sisters

'If I'm being honest, my little sister and I have every right to go crazy. You would expect that from us. But neither of us has the desire to do that.

'I think it says a lot about the way we were raised. Not even just by my parents, but my Kardashian sisters and what they've taught us. My parents did something right, and thank god.'

Iconic: Writer Jonathan Van Meter compared Kendall's focus on becoming a model to that of Linda Evangelista (pictured June 1990)

Speaking of her father, Caitlin Jenner, the star confessed when Cait decided to transition from Bruce she was upset as her dad had made her feel it was alright to be a Tomboy and now Cait is as glamorous as her Kardashian half-sisters.

During the interview, Kendall slips a few times calling Caitlyn 'he' instead of 'she'.

'It's super ironic to think about now, but it's something I can thank my dad for: how much of a tomboy I was.

'That's why I think the whole thing - her transition -was really hard for me, because I was like, ''But you taught me everything tomboy!''

'I knew it was going to have its rough phase but it's all super normal now.

'It's not weird at all. Sometimes I look at a picture of my dad when she was a guy, and it makes me a little sad - I get emotional. You have to get past it, you've got a new person to love.'

Kendall confessed she was a little scared of her dad when she was younger - but only about him finding out she had been sneaking out to stay at a boyfriends.

The star claimed in the article that she does not have much in the way of a romantic life, despite reports she is dating rapper and fashion muse ASAP Rocky.

'I get emotional': Speaking of her father, Caitlin Jenner, the star confessed when Cait decided to transition from Bruce she was upset as her dad had made her feel it was alright to be a Tomboy and now Cait is as glamorous as her Kardashian half-sisters (pictured February)

Moving on: The catwalk star said she has moved past her sadness as, 'You have to get past it, you've got a new person to love'. Cait is seen here Tuesday

But she did hint that she was hiding something: 'Why would you let other people have their opinion on it, when you're not even certain of what's going on? When you're young, everything's just kind of all over the place. I don't like it when people are all up in my business.'

The star's mom Kris Jenner was 'super tough' and not just to her father, who has spoken often about Kris making her transition harder.

'She's super tough on him. She's tough on all of us, to be honest - she's a momager.'

'She's tough on all of us': The star's mom Kris Jenner ( pictured Wednesday) was 'super tough' and not just to her father, who has spoken about Kris making her transition harder

'She knew': While Kris has often said she was unaware that her husband, then Bruce Jenner, was transgender, Kendall said her mom was aware from their third date that he liked to dress as a woman

But the model did reveal that her mom knew that her father at the very least dressed as a woman.

'My mom knew. She knew since their third date.'

Kendall confessed since her father came out as trans she has struggled with the notion of gender.

'I don't like it when people are all up in my business': The star claimed in the article that she does not have much in the way of a romantic life, despite reports she is dating rapper and fashion muse ASAP Rocky (pictured February)

'I want to be careful about how I say this because I don't want it to come off wrong, because I've never said this out loud, but I have recently . . . even when I say ''him'' or ''her'' about someone who is clearly a guy or clearly a girl - even with my mom - I second-guess it now because of my dad.'

But Cait has helped them all grow as a family, Kendall said.

'We're very accepting of people and of being different and being who you are. We're not judgmental. But obviously it's strange having your dad, who was so male, completely reverse. It is definitely a gnarly experience.'

Likes her private life: Besides being a loner and being jealous of Kylie's ability to make friends, Kendall also revealed she always felt a little different to Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian (seen here February)

Lesson learnt: The star (pictured with Kim in March) said her sisters blazed the way for her and showed her what not to do, 'Obviously, my success came after my sisters' - I got to see all of their mistakes and watch out for them'

Besides being a loner and being jealous of Kylie's ability to make friends, Kendall also revealed she always felt a little different to Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian - Kris' daughters with the late Robert Kardashian.

'I've always been super different from all my sisters, especially my Kardashian sisters.

'They've always been into the glam thing and dressing up every day and being in the thick of it. Part of me loves that, but at the same time, I love dressing down and having my private life.'

'You know what's real': And being part of the Kardashian world and being judged all the time is tough, she said, but has made her and her sisters stronger (pictured September)

The 20-year-old said she loves to escape the attention whenever she can as the world's glare can get on top of her.

'And the second that I feel it getting the better of me, I have to go chill myself out- go take a bath or something to, like, disconnect from it. It keeps you real and sane and humble.'

However being part of the Kardashian world and being judged all the time is tough, she said, has made her and her sisters stronger.

Came at a cost: Big sister Kim (pictured last month) told Vogue that the fact Kendall grew up on a reality show has been a hindrance rather than a help, 'Coming from a reality show, people look down on that - a lot of people in the fashion industry don't respect that world'

'This is going to be embarrassing': Kendall also feared she would not be taken seriously but now she sits next to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Vogue's creative director Grace Coddington (pictured September) in the front row of shows - if she isn't walking in it

'People say a lot of what they think, and it's not always positive. And we never say anything.

'One of the best lessons I ever learned from my sisters is not to take everything so seriously. Just leave it alone - it will pass in a week. That's how I grew up.

'My sisters are so f**king strong, and they taught me and my little sister to just toughen up and not let it affect us. You know what's real.'

The star: Kendall was on the cover of a special edition that was given to New York and Los Angeles subscribers that was sent out with the April edition

Where she came from and who her sisters were, of course, almost cost her that dream and say many in the industry be critical of Kendall's rise to model stardom.

Sister Kim said Kendall was definitely looked down on: 'I think being a Kardashian worked against her. Coming from a reality show, people look down on that - a lot of people in the fashion industry don't respect that world.'

Kendall also feared she would not be taken seriously: 'Two years ago, when I first started this, I thought: This is going to be so embarrassing. No one is going to accept me, and it's going to be a complete failure. '

One for the first to book her in a major show was Marc Jacobs and the designer said it had nothing to do with her being a Kardashian.

'We wanted to book her on her merit as a model not because she's a Kardashian. Every bit of her success is a testament to her hard work and her passion,' he told Vogue.'

But the success has also seen the model's loner status return: 'I don't think that people understand how lonely it can be.

'All you're doing is traveling the world by yourself to do a job and then go back to your hotel by yourself. It's a different life than you imagined.'

'Her life now is something that I want my life to be like': Kendall wants to be the next Cindy Crawford and make this her career for life, just as the supermodel (seen here May) has done

On merit: One for the first to book her in a major show was Marc Jacobs (pictured 2014) and the designer said it had nothing to do with her being a Kardashian

That said, Kendall wants to be the next Cindy Crawford and make this her career for life.

'This is a career - I want this to last for a long time. Not that I won't venture out and do other things, but I want this to be like a Cindy Crawford thing: I want it to last until I am her age.

'That's why I love her so much and why I look up to her: Her life now is something that I want my life to be like.'
She's been caught up in a feud with old friend Megan McKenna.

So it came as no surprise to see Chloe Meadows wanted to get away from all the drama with a fun ride around Essex with Courtney Green.

Hopping on her scooter, the 23-year-old TOWIE star could barely contain her excitement as she tore around the county on Thursday.

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Rolling by: She's caught in a feud with Megan McKenna. So it was no surprise to see Chloe Meadows wanted to get away from the drama with a ride around Essex with Courtney Green

Filming scenes for the ITVBe series, Chloe looked every inch the skater girl as she set off in a pair of tiny denim hotpants that flashed her tanned and toned pins.

Flaunting her taut stomach, the blonde beauty donned a cream crop top with an eye-catching blue bow whilst she layered up in a khaki jacket.

Ensuring safety came first, the secretary also kitted herself out with knee pads and a helmet before hopping on the scooter.

Having a wheely good time! Hopping on her scooter, the 23-year-old TOWIE star could barely contain her excitement as she tore around the county on Thursday

Leggy lady! Filming scenes for the ITVBe series, Chloe looked every inch the skater girl as she set off in a pair of tiny denim hotpants that flashed her tanned and toned pins

Snap happy: Chloe couldn't resist taking a selfie as she tore around Essex on her scooter

Courtney, 21, looked equally as chic in her pal in a pair of vibrant pink trainers that matched her vehicle.

Slipping her slim pins into a pair of skinny jeans she also donned a grey vest for the ride.

She finished off the look with a satin bomber jacket and chunky silver watch.

Born to ride: Courtney, 21, looked equally as chic in her pal in a pair of vibrant pink trainers that not only injected some colour into her ensemble but matched her vehicle

Leggy lady! Slipping her slim pins into a pair of skinny jeans she also donned a grey vest for the ride. She finished off the look with a satin bomber jacket and chunky silver watch

As the girls skated around the town, they bumped into Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet, who were seen looking at the jewellers.

It's possible that Tommy was looking for an engagement ring as he previously told OK! magazine that he has 'a date in mind' for a proposal, adding that 'it's definitely going ahead'.

It's unlikely that viewers will see him pop the question, however, as Georgia made it very clear that she would 'kill him' if he proposed to her on camera.

Catching up: As the girls skated around the town, they bumped into Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet, who were seen looking at the jewellers

Tick tock: It's possible that Tommy was looking for an engagement ring as he previously revealed that he has 'a date in mind' for proposing to girlfriend Georgia

Not amused: It's unlikely that viewers will see him pop the question, however, as Georgia made it very clear that she would 'kill him' if he proposed to her on camera

Lucky escape: Chloe and Courtney were no doubt glad it was those two they bumped into and not Megan with her beau Pete Wicks who they are currently feuding with

Chloe and Courtney were no doubt glad it was those two they bumped into and not Megan with her beau Pete Wicks.

In recent days Courtney has stood by Chloe as the latter faced an onslaught of harsh words from Megan.

A blazing row occurred between the pair when the pretty blonde went on a night out with Megan's enemies Lydia Bright and Chloe Lewis, having explosively fallen out with them just last month in Mallorca.

Off and racing: As they left the pair Chloe seemed to challenge Courtney to a race

They see me rolling: Flaunting her taut stomach, Chloe carried on scooting, whilst she donned a cream crop top with an eye-catching blue bow and layered up in a khaki jacket

Scooting with care: Ensuring safety came first, the secretary also kitted herself out with knee pads and a helmet before hopping on the scooter and made sure Courtney did too

Roll on by: The pair seemed to be getting into the spirit of things on the outing

Cosy: Chloe seemed to be having a nice time with another friend she bumped into on the journey, throwing her arm around his neck and leaning in for a cuddle

Feeling betrayed, Megan told Chloe: 'When I've been put in situations where people have had it out with you and Courtney I have had it out and screamed and shouted at them. But you have never done that for me.'

While Chloe claimed that she would never let the other girls say anything bad about her, Megan maintained that she should have stayed loyal, shouting: 'It's normal.

'That's what you're meant to do when you're friends. You're being a s**t friend.'
They captured the hearts of viewers when their relationship blossomed on Love Island.

And Scott Thomas and girlfriend Kady McDermott certainly looked like the perfect match as they stepped out in coordinating ensembles on Wednesday.

Treating her dishy beau to a spot of lunch at trendy Neighbourhood Restaurant in Manchester for his 29th birthday, the brunette beauty donned a form-fitting khaki cold shoulder jumpsuit that flashed her golden glow.

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Love match! Scott Thomas and girlfriend Kady McDermott certainly looked like the perfect match as they stepped out in coordinating ensembles on Wednesday

Clinging to her every curve, the ITV2 star mixed style with comfort as she worked the MissPap Jennifer jersey one piece that hugged her toned pins.

Flaunting her tiny waist, Kady exhibited her svelte shape with the help of caged beige stilettos that elongated her petite frame as she strutted to the Manhattan-style eatery.

Off-setting her military-inspired look, the reality star draped a powder blue handbag with gold detail over her slender shoulder to add a pastel colour punch.

Wowing in the beauty stakes, make-up artist Katy kept her complexion natural as she framed her hypnotising eyes with lashings of mascara and dramatic eyeliner as her raven coloured locks cascaded to her waist.



Pucker up! The couple shared a birthday kiss as they enjoyed a spot of lunch at Manchester eatery Neighbourhood

Complimenting his reality TV love, birthday boy Scott looked suave in a coordinating khaki tee which he stylishly paired under a leather biker jacket.

Adding to his edgy look, the handsome TV star donned a pair of heavily ripped skinny jeans, which flashed some serious thigh as he finished his look with a light khaki trainer as he carried his new purchases.

Sharing a kiss, the couple's appearance comes as Kady shared a gushing birthday message to her ITV2 hunk on Instagram.

Work it! Kady exhibited her svelte shape with the help of caged beige stilettos that elongated her petite frame

Gushing: The 20-year-old shared a gushing Instagram post about her boyfriend Scott on Instagram for his birthday

Writing alongside a pic of them kissing, she wrote : 'Happy Birthday to my gorgeous boyfriend @scottyspecial!

'So happy I have this one, love island was the best thing that's ever happened to me because I got to meet this parcel, my best friend love you my little button to the moon and back x'.

Clearly in bliss on his big day, Scott happily referred to the stunner as his 'wifey' on Twitter as they enjoyed their celebratory meal.
He's the son of legendary rock musician Jimmy Barnes.

And on Thursday, David Campbell stepped out with his own son Leo at the Aladdin musical opening night in Sydney.

The Adelaide-born stage star, who turned 43 last week, looked quite the doting father while posing alongside Leo and his wife Lisa Campbell on the red carpet.

Family outing: David Campbell stepped out with his wife Lisa Campbell and their son Leo at the opening night of Aladdin the musical in Sydney

Sporting a classic tux and a beaming smile, David looked dapper at the star-studded event.

British producer Lisa cut an elegant figure in head-to-toe black, while Leo stole the show in mini Adidas sneakers paired with jeans, a blazer and bow-tie.

The six-year-old was particularly excited to watch the musical as his Godmother Leah Howard is among the cast.

Excited: David's six-year-old son Leo was particularly excited to watch the musical as his Godmother Leah Howard is among the cast

'Off to Aladdin with @lisaluckiest and Leo. Leo is extra excited as his godmother @rosechocolatebeauty is in it! #CHOOKAS #aladdinoz #musicals #disney,' David captioned a family photo.

The TV personality and Lisa chose to leave their 19-month-old twins, Betty and Billy, home for the occasion.

The couple wed in a private ceremony back in 2008 and David previously gushed about their rock solid marriage.

Resting: The couple chose to leave their 19-month-old twins, Betty and Billy, home for the occasion

Going strong: Media personality David and British producer Lisa wed in a private ceremony back in 2008 and David previously gushed about their rock solid marriage

'It has been 10 yrs today since @lisaluckiest moved to Australia...,' he began.

'She is the best thing that has happened to me. She inspires me, is more beautiful now, makes me a better man, makes amazingly gorgeous children and is celebrating 5 Helpmann nominations for her production of Little Shop of Horrors.

'Whenever she laughs, it's that first night all over again. She laughs everyday. 10 years has felt like no time at all,' he added.
He's facing possible arrest once he returns to the US, after skipping a court date where he was supposed to answer questions about his finances.

And now Tyga may face a separate legal action by his angry landlord Gholamreza Rezai to claim the $200,000 Maybach car the rapper gave to girlfriend Kylie Jenner for her birthday, the landlord's lawyer Boris Treyzon told People.

The Rack City rapper was served with notice of the hearing over a $480,000 judgement for unpaid rent and damages to a Malibu mansion on July 20, and his ex-landlord was furious to read about his generous gift to Kylie weeks later, Treyzon said.

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Fun in the sun: Kylie shared some happy selfies with Tyga on Snapchat as they partied in Turks and Caicos for her 19th birthday after the rapper skipped a court date

'Of course, we have an irate client who is owed half a million dollars and then the client reads that Tyga is giving a Maybach as a gift  that's in violation of two things,' he said.

'There is a hold on him transferring any assets while there is a judgment outstanding  that's going to be a separate action to recover that car unless the judgment is satisfied  and he's to appear in court, be placed under oath and he needs to answer questions.'

On Tuesday, the 26-year-old's failure to attend court led to an arrest warrant being issued by a Los Angeles judge.

Generous: The rapper gave Kylie a $200,000 Mercedes for her 19th birthday, but his angry landlord - who Tyga owes $480,000 - may now try to recover the car

The father-of-one's legal issues stem from his failure to pay a $480,000 judgement against him for back rent and damage at a Malibu home he rented in 2011.

The rapper's landlord went to court in 2012 claiming that Tyga missed a $16,000 monthly rent payment, skipped out on his lease and left the home in need of major repairs.

The Grammy-nominated California rapper also allegedly installed a dance pole in the middle of the master bedroom without permission.

Bahamas: Tyga relaxed with Kylie and her model pal Hailey Baldwin as they spent time on a yacht Tuesday

Having a blast: The 26-year-old rapper was supposed to be attending a hearing in LA to answer questions about his finances on Tuesday

But Tyga claimed poverty, refusing to pay the settlement ordered by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Nancy Newman.

On Tuesday, he was scheduled to be questioned under oath about his finances.

But instead of appearing in court, Tyga was in the Bahamas celebrating girlfriend Kylie Jenner's 19th birthday, with the reality star sharing the fun on Instagram and Snapchat on Wednesday.

His landlord's lawyer also revealed the lengths they went to to serve Tyga with legal papers - surprising him on stage as he performed on stage during a concert at San Diego's Fluxx Night Club on July 20.

In love: The 26-year-old shared a sweet photo on Instagram as he wished Kylie a happy birthday Tuesday

'He was performing on stage, reaching out to the audience, and our processor decided to give him a gift back,' said Treyzon.

And the lawyer said Tyga had a pattern of skipping out on his financial obligations - but that it was time to pay up.

'His history in this case has been that he's ignoring this obligation and many others,' said Treyzon.

Rent dispute: Tyga's former landlord obtained a $480,000 judgement against him for unpaid rent and damage - including adding a stripper pole - to his Malibu mansion in 2012

'This is not the only judgment that is against him. I think we are the only ones who took it this far, because it's a large amount... We will go wherever we have to go to make sure our client is paid.'

Meanwhile, TMZ reported that the Kardashian-Jenner family are worried the rapper's legal and financial problems could damage their brand.

Tyga has a three-year-old son, King Cairo, with ex Blac Chyna, who is now pregnant and engaged to Kylie's brother Rob Kardashian.
It has cemented itself as one of Australia's favourite reality television shows.

But Channel Nine appears to be feeling slightly nervous about the upcoming season of The Block, moving their premiere date forward so as to go head-to-head with Australia Survivor.

Both shows will now premiere on Sunday August 21, with Channel Nine's The Block hitting screens at 7.00pm and Ten's Survivor at 7.30pm.

Competition: Channel Nine has moved the season premiere of The Block forward to go head-to-head with Channel Ten's Australian Survivor on Sunday August 21

The reality renovation show - now in its twelfth series - was originally set to go up against Channel Seven's Zumbo's Just Desserts on Monday August 22, following the network's Olympic coverage.

But, in a move to try and snag the numbers they desire, Channel Nine has bumped their ratings hopeful to the Sunday slot.

The show will then continue on Monday night, going up against both the second episode of Australian Survivor and the Just Desserts premiere.

This series promises to be one of grand-scale proportions as five new couples renovate the derelict headquarters of an historic Australian soap and candle factory.

Changing it up: The reality renovation show - now in its twelfth series - was originally set to go up against Channel Seven's Zumbo's Just Desserts on Monday August 22

Task at hand: Couples will need to transform the interiors of a dilapidated space in Melbourne, while still holding onto its old-world charm

The choice of venue for this year's season holds almost 100 years of heritage and the teams will have the daunting task of bringing its walls back to life.

Back in its home of Melbourne, Victoria, the show will see Scott Cam reprise his role as host, as well as Shelley Craft.

The Block's second series of 2014 - The Glasshouse - was also located in Prahran, situated in the busy cosmopolitan High Street and saw contestants do extremely well.

Winners Shannon and Simon Voss pocketed a profit of $335,000 at auction.

They're back! The show will see Scott Cam and Shelley Craft reprise their roles as co-hosts

Main man: Adelaide-born actor Jonathan LaPaglia is the host of the newest season of Survivor Australia

Triple Threat (2015) was located in South Yarra - similar to the Blocktagon - while previous series, Fans vs Fans (2014) was set up in Albert Park.

The Block, Sky High (2013), was situated in South Melbourne.

Despite the show usually airing two seasons each year, 2016 will see just one series, possibly due to a dwindle in ratings during The Blocktagon series.

Meanwhile, the highly-anticipated re-boot of Survivor hits screens on the same night, with Adelaide-born actor Jonathan LaPaglia debuting as host.

Chosen ones: The 24 individuals to star on the show were selected from over 15,000 applicants
Insofar as Younger revolves around the New York publishing industry, the Greenwich Village aesthetic frequently rears its head.

Whilst filming its third series, which premieres in September, Hilary Duff became an exemplar.

On Wednesday, the 28-year-old was spotted looking the image of the glamorous hipster as she and Sutton Foster shot scenes in New York City.

Back to the airwaves: On Wednesday, Hilary Duff was seen filming the upcoming third series of Younger in New York City

Her green, orange and purple top was patterned almost like a Persian rug, tied into a bow at the hem to convey a hint of midriff over the matching skirt.

Large blue costume earrings clashed with her trademark blonde mane, part of which had been braided and strung across her crown like a headband. Tan stilettos with tassels went nicely with a leather purse that had metal studs running around the strap.

Earlier in the day, she was spotted filming in a rumpled, pale pink blouse over baggy jeans and open-toed sandals. The Lizzie McGuire star sipped what appeared to be a lemonade.

Filling the diary: During filming of the upcoming series, TV Land announced the programme had been picked up for a fourth one

Foster, the show's leading lady, demonstrated a slightly more subdued version of the charity shop chic look. Her slinky brown cocktail dress was ostentatiously threadbare, and allowed her to flash her Broadway veteran legs as she kissed her heavily tattooed, fedora-wearing co-star Nico Tortorella.

In June, the Houston native was promoting the TV Land sleeper hit to AOL when the conversation alighted on the fact that the programme has been renewed for a fourth series.

'We got the call yesterday on set,' she revealed at the time, 'and the producer came up to us and was like, "Uh, Darren [Star, the creator of Younger] wants to talk to you on the phone."

Leading lady: Sutton Foster was also spotted that day, filming a scene on a New York City sidewalk

'And I was thinking, "Oh no! What have I done wrong?!" But he told us we had just gotten picked up for season four,' the mother-of-two said. 'We hadn't even finished the first episode of season three, so we must be doing something right!'

The 41-year-old's kiss with Nico Tortorella, who plays her on-and-off love interest Josh, will be of interest to fans wondering where their mercurial romance is headed.

She and Star, the man best known for creating Sex And The City, gave an interview to Variety in March to plug Younger. Asked about her character's future, the two-time Tony winner addressed the relationship, saying, 'I would love for her to find love and happiness, especially after her marriage dissolved.

Tough job: Part of her workday consisted of kissing Nico Tortorella, who plays her character's love interest Josh

'Whats so great about Josh,' she elaborated, 'is that shes able to re-live this part of her life that she missed out on.'

She did, however, add, 'Personally right now, I want to see her explore and have fun and really focus on her career  it is a rom-com, but it really is about strong career-driven women in business. Im not ready to see her settle down, at least for now.'

Younger's forthcoming series will premiere 28th September.

Returning champions: The Lizzie McGuire star's TV gig was created by Darren Star of Sex And The City fame
Step aside Tarzan - Margot Robbie will show you how to swing.

The 26-year-old has been cast as the famed trapeze artist Lillian Leitzel.

The actress will play the tragic circus star in a big screen adaptation of the 2013 book Queen Of The Air.

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Harley Queen: Margot Robbie will play tragic trapeze artist Lillian Leitzel in biopic the Queen Of The Air

The Australian performed some impressive aerial maneuvers more than once in her most recent outing a Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, which has obviously caught the eye of casting directors.

The film will tell the story of German-born Leitzel, who was a household name in the 1920s, as famous for her fiery temper as she was for her death-defying acts.

Standing at just 4'9" tall, her signature maneuver was her one arm plange, where she spun over 100 times, requiring her to dislocate her shoulder on every turn

It movie will centre around her tragic and volatile love affair with fellow famed acrobat Alfredo Codona.

Live wire: The film will tell the story of German-born Leitzel, who was a household name in the 1920s, as famous for her fiery temper as she was for her death-defying acts

Tragic: The book covers her rise to fame, her volatile love affair with fellow acrobat Alfredo Codona, and her mid-act death

The handsome Italian American too was world famous, renowned for his triple somersault that had killed many performers before him.

The pair married in 1928 but it was cut short just three years later when Leitzel plunged to her death during a show in Denmark when her rigging snapped.

Six years later the remarried Codona died in California in a murder suicide, shooting his new wife dead in front of her mother before turning the gun on himself.

Lillian Leitzel was the very first inductee elected into the International Circus Hall of Fame in 1958.

There is no director attached yet, but American Sniper's Andrew Lazar is producing.

Swinger: The Australian performed some impressive aerial maneuvers more than once in her most recent outing a Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, which has obviously caught the eye of casting directors

The script is penned by up and comer Cat Vasko, who has already had a couple of screenplays land on the Blacklist, Queen Of The Air included.

Margot has been very busy this year with Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, The Legend Of Tarzan, and Suicide Squad, with thriller Terminal still to come.

She is also attached to the upcoming story of Winnie The Pooh creator AA Milne, Goodbye Christopher Robin, as well as the 2018-due DreamWorks animated Australian musical, Larrikins.
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Tamara Ecclestone has been holidaying in Los Angeles with her family for the past few days.

And the Formula 1 heiress decided to tease her younger sister Petra Stunt by sharing a photo of the blonde indulging in a serious pampering session on Thursday, treating herself to full body beauty makeover.

Petra, 27, was stretched out on a leopard print sofa while a team of beauticians got to work, attending to her every need.

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Petra Ecclestone, 27, was stretched out on a leopard print sofa while a team of beauticians got to work, attending to her every need

Glamorous life: Petra, pictured in Cannes in 2012, looked the picture of relaxation during her home spa session

Petra certainly knows how to multitask, getting a manicure, a pedicure and her eyebrows threaded simultaneously.

The socialite looked the picture of relaxation during her home spa session, clad in a comfy blue ensemble.

Tamara joked in the accompanying caption, '@pstunt it takes a village'.

Family time: Tamara, pictured with daughter Sophia, has been holidaying in Los Angeles with her family for the past few days

Pampered tot: Sophia, two, is clearly following in her glamorous auntie's footsteps, enjoying a mini manicure of her own earlier in the week

Her daughter Sophia, two, is clearly following in her glamorous auntie's footsteps, enjoying a mini manicure of her own earlier in the week.

'Getting ready for the weekend', Tamara captioned the cute snap of the little girl getting her nails filed.

Doting mum Tamara was having some much needed me-time after treating her daughter to a mermaid themed party.

Cute as a button: Doting mum Tamara was having some much needed me-time after treating her daughter to a mermaid themed party

Loving life: Sophia was certainly getting into the spirit of things, dressing the part for her mermaid party

The adorable toddler enjoyed a lavish celebration, complete with fun costumes and aquatic games, and was joined by mermaid entertainers.

Cheeky Sophia looked like she was having a whale of a time splashing around in the pool, wearing a cute array of themed looks.

Tamara's husband Jay Rutland has also been documenting their family adventures on his Instagram account, sharing a sweet picture of his wife cuddling Fifi in the pool.

A bit fishy: Sophia didn't seem too impressed with the mermaid entertainers
She's been photographed daily arriving at the Theatre Royal Haymarket ahead of her nightly performances in Breakfast At Tiffany's.

And Pixie Lott has certainly been pulling out all the fashion stops as she showcased another stylish ensemble on Thursday.

The 25-year-old showed off her slim frame in a clingy white halterneck top and skinny grey jeans as she arrived for her latest show.

Sleek: Singer-actress Pixie Lott shows off her slim figure in a skintight ensemble as she arrives at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on Thursday

She accessorised with a pair of green high heels, matching handbag and a leather case.

Pixie has been playing Holly Golightly in the West End since late June after originally launching the play in Leicester in March before touring the UK.

The show, adapted by Olivier Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg and directed by Nikolai Foster, runs with Pixie as the lead role in London until September 17.

However, Pixie has received mixed reviews from critics following the press night two weeks ago.

Standing out: The 25-year-old has certainly been pulling out all the fashion stops in recent weeks

Bringing it all together: She accessorised with a pair of green high heels, matching handbag and a leather case

The Mail's Robert Gore-Langton wrote: 'No actress, in the buff or not, can quite banish the scented ghost of Audrey Hepburn, who wafted light as a scarf through the famous 1961 film.'

Meanwhile, The Telegraph's Dominic Cavendish said: 'The 25-year-old performer acquits herself commendably well in a part that requires her to carry a tune (tick), sustain an American accent (tick), and generally look rather fabulous (double-tick).'

The Guardian's Michael Billington praised Pixie's musical performance in the play, but added: 'As an actor, she still needs to learn the art of repose.'

Treading the boards: Pixie has been playing Holly Golightly in the West End since late June after originally launching the play in Leicester in March before touring the UK

Speaking about the production on Good Morning Britain last week, she said: 'This has given me the chance to get into a role and live and breathe a character every single day. I've learned so much every day.

'This has been a new experience for me and I've loved it.'

A complete change of scenery from her own pop career, the star said: 'It's a proper serious play. Her character goes on such a journey. It gets quite dark at the end.'

'I feel so lucky that the cast and director have taught me so much.'
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No doubt Kylie Jenner had her eye-catching vacation looks all planned out ahead of her 19th birthday celebrations in the Bahamas.

The reality star made sure to stand out from the crowd during a beach outing in Turks & Caicos on Thursday as she donned her red cornrows wig along with a contrasting white bikini.

The teen's high-cut briefs displayed her new tattoo which reads 'before sanity' in writing which matched the hue of her hairdo.

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Beach bum: Kylie Jenner flashed her 'before sanity' tattoo in some skimpy bikini briefs on Thursday as she hung out with pals in the Bahamas

Lazy days: The 19-year-old reality star was spotted wearing her red cornrows wig as she made her way down to the ocean

Kylie got the 'sanity' tattoo, spelled 'sa-n-te' last year and last month she decided to add the word 'before' to it.

The birthday girl was spotted strolling down the beach with drink in hand as she went to dip her feet in the water.

Her flattering two-piece showcased her cleavage with skimpy bottoms which flaunted plenty of her derriere.

Kylie's curves were on display in a white two-piece with gold body chain

The KUWTK star is enjoying the getaway to Turks and Caicos in celebration of her 19th birthday party

A gold bodychain adorned her body, connected to a pretty choker around her neck.

Some flashy peach-hued reflective shades finished off her beach look as well as the sizable rock that Tyga gifted her which she wore on her engagement finger.

On her official birthday, which was Wednesday, Kylie wore a red bikini as she frolicked with pals on a yacht.

Happy girl: The TV star clutched a fruity looking drink as she dipped her feet in the ocean

At one point the brunette reality star stopped for an impromptu photoshoot on the sand with pals.

Kylie posed up a storm alongside BFF Jordyn Woods and shared snaps to Instagram with captions like 'blessed' and 'time of my life'.

Meanwhile Kylie's boyfriend made headlines again on Thursday now that he's facing possible arrest once he returns to the US.

The TV star chatted to her friend harry as they soaked their feet

The Lip Kit owner sported some flashy reflective sunglasses to go with her beach ensemble

Celebrating: On Wednesday, her official birthday, Kylie wore a red bikini for some boat fun with her pals

The rapper skipped a court date where he was supposed to answer questions about his finances.

He may face a separate legal action by his angry landlord Gholamreza Rezai to claim the $200,000 Maybach car the rapper gave to girlfriend Kylie Jenner for her birthday, the landlord's lawyer Boris Treyzon told People.

The Rack City rapper was served with notice of the hearing over a $480,000 judgement for unpaid rent and damages to a Malibu mansion on July 20, and his ex-landlord was furious to read about his generous gift to Kylie weeks later, Treyzon said.

On Tuesday, the 26-year-old's failure to attend court led to an arrest warrant being issued by a Los Angeles judge.

Strike a pose: The teen had an impromptu photoshoot on the sand
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She's had her fair share of sunshine holidays this year already.

So no wonder Millie Mackintosh is sporting quite the glowing tan as she soaked up the sun on the beach in the South of France on Thursday.

The former Made in Chelsea star highlighted her bronzed skin with a black strapless swimsuit as she spent the day on the beach in Antibes with boyfriend Hugo Taylor and some family friends.

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Beach babe: Reality TV star Millie Mackintosh shows off her glowing tan in a black strapless swimsuit as she spends the day on the beach in the south of France

The newly-divorced socialite, 27, completed her beach look with a straw hat and pair of black sunglasses as she flaunted her lithe figure.

Meanwhile, the sunglasses designer, 30, was looking even more tanned in a pair of blue patterned swimming trunks as he enjoyed a refreshing dip in the Mediterranean.

Millie and Hugo arrived on the French Riviera on Monday after spending the previous week at the lavish Ekies All Senses Resort in Sithonia on the Halkidiki peninsula in northern Greece.

Bronzed: No wonder the 27-year-old is sporting quite the glowing tan as she soaked up the sun

Tanned and tanner: Millie's boyfriend Hugo Taylor was also sporting a healthy glow in a pair of blue patterned swimming trunks

Wish your were here? The socialite took advantage of the EU's free roaming as she called a pal on her phone

Their Greek getaway was their first holiday with just the two of them since they started dating in March - just five weeks at Millie announced her split from now ex-husband Professor Green.

However, since landing on the Cote D'Azur, the pair have been spending time with friends and family, including their former Made In Chelsea co-star Caggie Dunlop.

They only went public with their reconciled romance in May, just a few days after she was granted a quickie divorce from Prof Green after two and a half years of marriage.

Jet-setting romance: Hugo and Millie arrived in France on Monday after spending last week on the Halkidiki peninsula in northern Greece

Flirty: Millie tapped her feet affectionately on Hugo's leg as she distracted him from his book

Merci beaucoup! Millie handed over some Euros as they paid for their drinks

They were pictured kissing and cuddling in Monaco on a joint holiday with MIC pal Spencer Matthews to mark Hugo's 30th birthday.

After seeing photos of his ex-wife very publicly moving on just days after their divorce, Professor Green tweeted: 'Money really can't buy you class can it.'

Millie and Hugo first dated for six months in 2011 when they appeared on the first series of Made in Chelsea together.

The holiday queen! Millie has been on numerous holidays this year, including Greece with Hugo just last week

Back for more: Millie and Hugo started dating again in March after previously romancing five years ago when they were both on Made In Chelsea

Slender: Millie slipped into a pair of black denim cut-off shorts as she heads back from her beach day

Millie completed her beach look with a straw hat and pair of black sunglasses as she flaunted her lithe figure

Typical millennial: Millie looked engrossed in her smartphone as she relaxed on the beach

Glossy: Milllie's brunette locks were styled naturally loose for her beach outing

However, their romance came to an abrupt end when it emerged Hugo had slept with her best friend Rosie Fortescue.

Millie then went on to meet Professor Green a few months later in November 2011, before they tied the knot in Somerset in September 2013.

Meanwhile, Hugo ended his four year on/off romance with MIC co-star and swimwear designer Natalie Joel in late 2015.

This is believed to be Millie's 13th holiday this year, having previously visited Monaco, Ibiza, California, Italy, Dubai, Portugal, Australia, the Maldives and France numerous times since 2016 began.

Holiday queen: Millie has been on holiday numerous times this summer, including a few breaks with Hugo

Back on with a vengeance: Hugo and Millie got together in March, just five weeks after she split from now ex-husband Professor Green

With the gang: After their day at the beach, Millie, Hugo and their pals returned to their Antibes villa
They have known each other for years, having both appeared on Made in Chelsea since its first series in 2011.

So it is no surprise that Louise Thompson and Binky Felstead are still such good friends.

The brunette beauties, both 26, showed off their close relationship on Thursday as they goofed around together on location, while filming for the upcoming 12th series of Made in Chelsea.

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Girls just wanna have fun: Louise Thompson and Binky Felstead, 26, showed off their close relationship on Thursday as they embarked on a play fight during filming in Chelsea

Filming outside a cafe in their beloved Chelsea territory, Binky playfully grabbed hold of her gal pal Louise from behind, refusing to let her escape.

Met with laughter from Louise, the petite brunette jokingly struggled against the hug during filming as best friend Binky smirked in response.

Eventually shaking her friend off, Louise humorously stormed away before both girls erupted into giggles.

Both girls looked comfortable together as they filmed scenes for the new series of the E4 show in sunny London.

Fooling around: Filming outside a cafe in their beloved Chelsea territory, Binky playfully grabbed hold of her gal pal Louise from behind, refusing to let her escape

Triumphant: Eventually shaking her friend off, Louise humorously stormed away smugly as both girls erupted into giggles

Louise embraced the summer weather perfectly in some lime green shorts lined with crochet, showing off her toned pins and golden tan, likely picked up from recent filming trip to Cannes.

She paired the colourful bottoms with a loose-fitting white cotton top, featuring frills at the hem and sleeve.

Showing her wild side alongside the outfit's summery vibe, Louise completed the ensemble with some leopard print loafers and a zebra pint handbag.

Louise, who recently split from long-term lover Alik Alfus, draped some bronze mirrored sunglasses at her neck and left her hair natural and loose.

Summer chic: Louise embraced the summer weather perfectly in some lime green shorts lined with crochet, showing off her toned pins and golden tan

Gal pals: The pair, who are two of very few original members of the hit elite reality series, looked in good spirits as they filmed outside the cafe for the new series, set to air in October

Binky meanwhile opted for a more casual look for the outing, standing beside her partner-in-crime in some heavily distressed boyfriend-fit jeans and a navy zip up hoody.

She paired the look with some laceless grey trainers, maintaining the low-key feel from head to toe.

Never without a touch of Chelsea glamour however, the reality star dressed her arm with a pastel yellow Chanel tote bag, complete with a trademark gold chain strap, and some oversized cat-eye sunglasses.

Casual chick: Binky meanwhile opted for a more casual look for the outing, standing beside her partner in crime in some heavily distressed boyfriend-fit jeans and a navy zip up hoody

The pair relaxed and in good spirits as they filmed outside the cafe for the new series, set to air in October.

Binky, Louise and the rest of the cast recently returned to London from Cannes after filming new spin-off Made in Chelsea: South of France in June, which began airing at the start of this month.

However, the French getaway was an important trip for Binky in terms of both her work and personal life.

The reality star - real name Alexandra - revealed earlier this week that she used the two-month stint in France to recover from her split with ex-boyfriend JP, who she parted ways with in May.

Jet-setters: Binky, Louise and the rest of the cast recently returned to London from Cannes after filming new spin-off Made in Chelsea: South of France in June

Taking to Lorraine last week, the reality star explained: 'JP told me to move on before I went out. There's only so long a girl can wait.'

However despite her newly healed heart , she also expressed her fears at coming face to face with him for the first time since their split.

Continuing on the show, she said: 'He's been away as well. I don't know what's going to happen. It's obviously real-life. We're going to have to see each other soon.'

Louise meanwhile has been in the headlines recently over her bitter Twitter feud with co-star Stephanie Pratt following allegations she cheated on ex Alik with her new boyfriend Ryan William Libbey.

Moving on: Binky revealed this week that she used the two-month stint in France to recover from her split with ex-boyfriend JP, who she parted ways with in May
Everybody Wants Some's Zoey Deutch stripped down to a $330 red Hermes bikini top for a jungle-style spread shot by photographer Mona Kuhn.

The 21-year-old actress covers the September issue of Harper by Harper's BAZAAR where the mag declared her the latest 'It Girl.'

In it, hairdresser Chris McMillan and make-up artist Molly R. Stern glammed up the former Disney starlet, who's clad in designs from Bally, Tory Burch, La Perla, and Escada.

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Lady in red: Everybody Wants Some's Zoey Deutch stripped down to a $330 Hermes bikini top for a jungle-style spread shot by photographer Mona Kuhn

Like most of these types of magazine features, Zoey has good-old fashioned nepotism to thank for launching her into the spotlight at an early age.

The Dirty Grandpa stunner happens to be the privileged daughter of Lea Thompson and director Howard Deutch, who just celebrated 27 years of marriage.

The 65-year-old filmmaker - who directed his princess in a 2012 episode of The CW's Ringer - famously helmed John Hughes' Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful.

And Deutch has acted opposite the 55-year-old eighties icon in her Freeform series Switched at birth as well as Mayor Cupcake in 2011 (alongside big sister Madelyn).

'Hollywood's New Beauty': The 21-year-old actress covers the September issue of Harper by Harper's BAZAAR where the mag declared her the latest 'It Girl'

Armed: In it, hairdresser Chris McMillan and make-up artist Molly R. Stern glammed up the former Disney starlet, who's clad in designs from Bally, Tory Burch, La Perla, and Escada

Showbiz kid: Like most of these types of magazine features, Zoey has good-old fashioned nepotism to thank for launching her into the spotlight at an early age

'It was definitely a strange experience when I would see my mom making out with various people,' Zoey admitted of Thompson, who starred in the Back to the Future franchise.

'It made me question if my parents really loved each other.'

Despite her showbiz connections, the striking millennial doesn't consider her choice of vocation lucky, convenient, or somehow fulfilling a family legacy.

'I never have a fun answer to the question of how I decided to become an actress,' Deutch shrugged.

All in the family: The Dirty Grandpa stunner happens to be the privileged daughter of Lea Thompson (L) and director Howard Deutch (2-L), who just celebrated 27 years of marriage

At the helm: The 65-year-old filmmaker - who directed his princess in a 2012 episode of The CW's Ringer - famously helmed John Hughes' (L) Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful

Family affair: And Deutch has acted opposite the 55-year-old eighties icon in her Freeform series Switched at birth as well as Mayor Cupcake in 2011 (alongside big sister Madelyn)

'I never had that "aha!" moment. It was just always what I wanted to do.'

The Hillary Clinton supporter and her 25-year-old sister acted in Lea's upcoming feature directorial debut The Year of Spectacular Men, which was produced by Howard.

Curiously, Zoey made no mention of her boyfriend of six years - Last Teenagers of the Apocalypse's Avan Jogia - but she did gush over her pit-bull mix, Maybelle.

'She's the love of my life. That's my life outside of work - my dog,' she stated.

Back to the Future: Zoey admitted, 'It was definitely a strange experience when I would see my mom making out with various people. It made me question if my parents really loved each other'

Due out this year! The Hillary Clinton supporter and her 25-year-old sister (L) acted in Lea's feature directorial debut The Year of Spectacular Men, which was produced by Howard

'She's the love of my life': Curiously, Zoey made no mention of her boyfriend of six years - Last Teenagers of the Apocalypse's Avan Jogia - but she did gush over her dog Maybelle

A photo posted by Zoey Deutch (@zoeydeutch) on Jun 26, 2016 at 3:30pm PDT

Deutch recently wrapped her role as teenage debutante Oona O'Neill in the J.D. Salinger biopic Rebel in the Rye starring Nicholas Hoult.

Oona was the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, and she broke the reclusive author's heart in 1943 when she eloped with 54-year-old Charlie Chaplin a month after turning 18.

'She had a wild life,' the Vincent N Roxxy actress - who boasts 917K followers - said of O'Neill.

'She had a wild life': Deutch recently wrapped her role as teenage debutante Oona O'Neill in the J.D. Salinger biopic Rebel in the Rye starring Nicholas Hoult (pictured May 18)

The Vincent N Roxxy actress said: 'She's incredibly complex and a child of a terrible alcoholic, was abandoned at a very young age and surrounded by controversy'

'She's incredibly complex and a child of a terrible alcoholic, was abandoned at a very young age and surrounded by controversy.'

But first audiences will see Zoey as Stanford University student Stephanie Fleming in the meet-the-parents flick Why Him?

The romantic comedy - hitting US theaters December 25 and UK theaters January 6 - features James Franco, Bryan Cranston, and Megan Mullally.

Let the family bonding begin! But first audiences will see Zoey as Stanford University student Stephanie Fleming in the meet-the-parents flick Why Him?
The soundtrack for The Get Down has been gradually seeping onto iTunes ahead of its Friday premiere.

But Wednesday's offering was an explosion.

Christina Aguilera released a new song called Telepathy for the Netflix series, bringing her breathtaking blend of growling and belting to a disco anthem.

The diva delivers: On Wednesday, Christina Aguilera released a single, Telepathy (feat. Nile Rodgers), for Baz Luhrmann's upcoming Netflix series The Get Down

Featuring Chic lead guitarist Nile Rodgers, the gleefully retro song will help score Baz Lurhmann's chronicle of the birth of hip-hop in the South Bronx during the 1970s.

In her trademark style, 35-year-old bellows, 'I know you and you know me. We got telepathy!' Her Mariah-esque flute register melismas spiral off against a backdrop of soaring strings and a frenetic brass section.

The Burlesque star is no stranger to the Sydney-born filmmaker, having previously worked on the score to his 2001 smash Moulin Rouge!

Alongside Lil' Kim, Mya and P!nk, she sang a Grammy-winning cover of Labelle's iconic single Lady Marmalade.

Reunion: The 35-year-old had previously worked with the filmmaker on Moulin Rouge!, as one of the singers of the soundtrack's Grammy-winning cover of Lady Marmalade

Stars in alignment: Aguilera (second from right) sang Lady Marmalade for Luhrmann's (centre) film alongside P!nk (left), Mya (second from left) and Lil' Kim (right)

On Wednesday, the Romeo+Juliet director swung by Good Morning America. He was flanked by two of his advisers on the project: Grandmaster Flash, who was an associate producer on the series, and Nelson George, an historian of the genre.

Hollywood's king of kitsch explained that he made the series out of a desire to discover, 'How did such a pure and new idea get born, particularly in a moment in which there was so little?'

The twelve-episode first series reputedly cost $120 million to make. Faced with the suggestion it was one of the priciest programmes ever made, the 53-year-old conceded, 'It's not THE most expensive, but it wasn't cheap. But you want it all! It's set in a period. Then, it's music. Then, it's everything; it's dance.'

Ensemble: The Burlesque star is one of a group of artists, including Janelle Monae, to have released their songs on the soundtrack ahead of The Get Down's premiere

Grandmaster Flash, one of the primogenitors of hip-hop, described his personal experience of The Get Down's milieu. 'We were just, kinda like, having fun,' he said. 'We had no ulterior motive of whether it was gonna be huge.'

The Get Down's first six episodes will arrive on Netflix on Friday, the next six in 2017.

Ahead of its premiere, a handful of its songs have been released to the public, including Janelle Monae's Hum Along & Dance (Gotta Get Down) and Losing Your Mind, performed by Raury and the series' supporting actor Jaden Smith.

Piecemeal: The Sydney-born director's chronicle of the birth of hip hop in the 1970s South Bronx will release its first six episodes on Netflix this Friday
Australian model Natalie Roser left very little to the imagination on Thursday, sharing a sultry swimsuit snap with her social media followers.

Taking to Instagram, the 25-year-old blonde beauty posted an image of herself in a white hot one-piece, with a glimpse of sideboob on display for all to see.

Posing side-on for the shot, the former The Face Australia contestant played with her golden locks, while flashing her pearly whites for the camera.

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Sizzling: Australian model Natalie Roser left very little to the imagination on Thursday, sharing a sultry swimsuit snap with her social media followers

She also shared another sizzling snap, this time the runway sensation opting for a gorgeous two-piece.

Natalie slipped into a sleek black bikini, which revealed her toned stomach, trim pins and a hint of cleavage.

While the stunner seemed to be spruiking a bottle of tanning lotion in the frame, there's no doubt all eyes were on her incredibly enviable figure.

Last month, Natalie presented Reina Olga beachwear on the runway at Miami Swim Week.

Sultry: Natalie also slipped into a sleek black bikini, which revealed her toned stomach, trim pins and a hint of cleavage

International power: The 5ft 11in model has recently emerged as one of the world's leading 'influencers' on social media

She previously told The Daily Telegraph she used to be stick thin before increasing her food intake and working out in the gym.

'Getting toned and getting healthy has completely changed my career,' she said.

'I'm modelling pretty much every day, which never happened before I started training and healthy eating and taking care of myself.'

Natalie has been modelling since the age of 13 and once acted as a body double for Jennifer Hawkins in a Mount Franklin commercial.

She is currently engaged to Sydney-based personal trainer to the stars Dan Adair.
Trump Tower climber captured after three-hour ascent

A man spent three hours scaling Trump Tower, the New York home and headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president, before police captured him through an open window.

Live television footage showed uniformed New York police officers reaching out and grabbing the young man with curly auburn hair -- dressed in grey shorts, an olive T-shirt and white cap -- some three hours after he started his ascent using five suction cups.

The 20-year-old Virginia man wanted to meet Trump, police said, without providing his name.

New York police officers grab a young man some three hours after he started his ascent of Trump Tower using five suction cups Bryan R. Smith (AFP)

He had been edging his way up the side of the building gingerly -- sometimes with his feet dangling precariously as he gripped the suction cups -- on a hot and steamy afternoon.

New York billionaire Donald Trump was outside the city on Wednesday, holding a rally in Virginia with another event planned later in Florida.

Police who received an emergency call around 3:30 pm (1930 GMT) initially believed they were dealing with someone who wanted to jump from the building.

"We were able to break a window and establish some type of dialogue and we then secured three jumper air bags and numerous amounts of equipment for a high-angle rescue job," Manhattan South police commander William Morris told reporters after the incident.

A crowd of mesmerized onlookers watched the climber along with reporters and police, who cordoned off the block between Fifth and Madison Avenues.

The climber wanted a face-to-face meeting with Trump, as explained in an anonymous YouTube video, Morris said.

"At no time did he express that he wanted to hurt anybody," he added. "His sole intention was to meet with Mr Trump."

In the video, titled "Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower)," a young man dressed in a black hoodie with his face partially obscured exhorted Americans to vote for the Republican in November.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," the man said, addressing the White House candidate and identifying himself as "an independent researcher."

"As for anyone else who's watching, please help make this video go viral so that it gets to Mr Trump and be sure to get out and vote for Mr Trump in the 2016 election," he added.

- Earlier evasion -

There was no immediate confirmation about the video's authenticity.

Police removed two windows from the 21st floor and it was there that officers grabbed him around 6:35 pm (2235 GMT).

The climber had started his ascent from a terrace area on the fifth floor and managed to initially evade police by climbing around an opened window and washer scaffold.

Police took him to a hospital for a psychological evaluation, after which he would be arrested, Morris said.

"We're working with the Manhattan District Attorney's office to determine the appropriate charges," he said.

Trump lives in a marble triplex at the top of the 68-story building, which is also the headquarters of his Trump Organization and election campaign.

The Republican nominee unleashed a firestorm on Tuesday when he suggested that "Second Amendment people" -- those who support gun rights -- could take action to stop Hillary Clinton from appointing US Supreme Court justices as president.

Since he launched his controversial, media-saturated bid for the White House, the tower on New York's prestigious Fifth Avenue has become a magnet for tourists.

Members of the public are free to roam inside the atrium until 10 pm most days as part of an agreement that allowed Trump to build 20 stories higher.

The unidentified man who scaled scaling Trump Tower using suction cups wanted to meet Trump, police say Bryan R. Smith (AFP)
Clashes in Syria's Aleppo as Russia opens aid 'windows'

Fresh fighting hit Syria's Aleppo, the first day of a promised Russian aid window the UN said was insufficient to bring relief for the city's desperate residents.

Even as Moscow pledged to pause strikes around Syria's second city, it carried out raids further east on the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa. A monitor said 24 civilians were killed.

The divided city of Aleppo has been rocked by escalating violence, with people on both sides living in fear of being trapped.

An estimated 1.5 million people still live in the battered Syrian city of Aleppo Thaer Mohammed (AFP/File)

Longtime Syria ally Russia has provided air cover for pro-government forces for nearly a year, including in Aleppo.

The UN said Russia was considering expanding three-hour pauses in fighting every morning to bring in desperately needed aid.

"Any pause obviously should always be seen and looked at with great interest, because a pause means no fighting, but three hours is not enough," said envoy Staffan de Mistura.

Russia was meanwhile offered the possibility of joint operations against IS by Turkey, which has backed rebels against President Bashar al-Assad.

The offer came one day after crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

While it is unclear how possible cooperation between Moscow and Ankara -- which support opposing sides -- would work, the US tentatively welcomed the idea.

Working against IS "is a priority for all of us", State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.

"If this is truly a step in that direction, we would welcome that."

- 'We do not need tears' -

Jan Egeland, who heads the UN-backed Syria humanitarian taskforce, said he was "hopeful" talks with Russia could lead to aid entering the city.

But rebels and regime forces clashed in southern Aleppo, including during the period when the pause was meant to take hold, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rebels and jihadists broke a three-week government siege of Aleppo's east on Saturday, opening a new route for goods through the southern outskirts.

An AFP correspondent in the east said trucks carrying food were unable to enter the city because of intense bombardment.

But the Red Crescent brought diesel to a pumping station and as a result water was restored to some areas in east and west Aleppo after six days.

An estimated 1.5 million people live in Aleppo, including about 250,000 in rebel-held districts.

State media said army troops seized territory south of Aleppo, and that rebel fire killed four civilians in a government-held district.

But it made no mention of the "humanitarian windows" announced by Russia.

Fifteen of the only remaining doctors in eastern Aleppo implored US President Barack Obama to protect civilians from atrocities.

"Unless a permanent lifeline to Aleppo is opened it will be only a matter of time until we are again surrounded by regime troops, hunger takes hold and hospitals' supplies run completely dry," they wrote.

"We do not need tears or sympathy or even prayers, we need your action. Prove that you are the friend of Syrians."

Human Rights Watch said it had documented six strikes by regime or Russian warplanes on health facilities in the north that killed 17 people in the past two weeks.

"With heavy bombing continuing relentlessly in Aleppo especially, hospitals and clinics need to be treated as the sacred life-saving places they are, not as additional bombing targets," said HRW's Nadim Houry.

- Concerns over chemical weapons -

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said he was "concerned by reports of a new chemical attack... that is said to have claimed four lives and left dozens injured."

Washington also expressed concern over the reports, which it said would be in violation of a 2013 UN resolution to dismantle the Syrian government's chemical weapons arsenal.

Activists accused government forces on Wednesday of carrying out an attack using chlorine gas on a rebel-held residential neighbourhood.

De Mistura said he could not verify the reports.

Further east, Russian raids hit the IS stronghold of Raqa, killing at least 24 civilians and wounding 70 people, said the Observatory.

Russia said the raids destroyed a "chemical weapons factory" as well as a weapons storage facility and IS training camp.

It said the jihadists suffered "significant" material damage and a large number had been killed.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 and has since killed more than 290,000 people and drawn in world powers on all sides.

The battle for Aleppo

A Syrian civil defence volunteer carries a wounded child following an air strike on a rebel-held neighbourhood of Aleppo on July 23, 2016 Thaer Mohammed (AFP/File)
US judge tosses suit against Twitter for IS accounts

A US judge Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit accusing Twitter of abetting terrorism by allowing Islamic State propaganda to be broadcast using the messaging platform.

District Court Judge William Orrick granted a motion by Twitter to dismiss the case, reasoning that providing a platform for speech is within the law and that the company did not created the content.

The Communications Decency Act protects online platforms from being held responsible for what users post.

A US judge Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit accusing Twitter of abetting terrorism by allowing Islamic State propaganda to be broadcast using the messaging platform Leon Neal (AFP/File)

The suit was filed in San Francisco federal court by the families of two government contractors killed late last year while working at a police training center run by the United States in Amman, according to court documents.

A Jordanian police captain studying at the center shot the two men to death, and IS later claimed the captain was a "lone wolf" working for the group's cause, the judge recounted in his ruling.

"As horrific as these deaths were, under the CDA Twitter cannot be treated as a publisher or speaker of ISIS's hateful rhetoric and is not liable under the facts alleged," Orrick said in the decision.

The suit accused Twitter of providing "material support" to by letting accounts spread the message of the extremist group.
Clinton warns Trump 'crossed the line' with gun comment

Hillary Clinton has sternly warned her Republican presidential rival Donald Trump about his "casual inciting" of violence, saying his startling remarks suggesting gun rights supporters could act against her "crossed the line".

It was the Democratic nominee's most forceful denunciation after Trump caused a firestorm by suggesting to supporters in North Carolina on Tuesday that "Second Amendment people" -- those who support gun rights -- could take action to stop Clinton from appointing US Supreme Court justices as president.

"Yesterday we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments by Donald Trump that crossed the line," Clinton told a rally in Des Moines, Iowa.

US Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump addresses supporters during a campaign rally at the BB&T Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, August 10, 2016 Gaston De Cardenas (AFP)

"Words matter, my friends. And if you are running to be president, or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences."

Trump and his campaign had quickly sought to douse the flames, insisting the Republican flag bearer was merely urging gun rights supporters to reject her candidacy at the ballot box.

Clinton appeared to reject the Trump campaign's defense, warning of the dangers of reckless language during a presidential race.

She slammed Trump's "casual cruelty to a gold star family," referring to the billionaire's clash with the parents of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in action.

"His casual suggestion that more countries should have nuclear weapons, and now his casual inciting of violence," she added.

"Every single one of these incidents shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the United States."

With Team Trump seeking to dig the candidate out of a deepening hole, former New York mayor and Trump backer Rudy Giuliani insisted the uproar was triggered by "the Clinton spin machine."

CNN reported the Secret Service -- tasked with protecting the president and presidential nominees -- spoke with Trump's campaign about his remarks.

Trump denied the report, calling it a "made up story" and accusing the cable television station of trying to boost "low ratings".

- 'Under siege' -

In an unnerving example of campaign security tensions, an animal rights activist appeared to rush the stage as Clinton spoke Wednesday, but was tackled and removed by security.

Another attention-seeker dominated cable news Wednesday afternoon when he used suction cups to scale Manhattan's Trump Tower, the Republican nominee's home and campaign headquarters, before police captured him through an open window.

The 20-year-old Virginia resident and apparent Trump supporter wanted to meet the real estate tycoon, police said.

Clinton meanwhile launched an open appeal Wednesday to independents and Republicans repulsed by Trump over his string of controversial statements.

The campaign unveiled a new website, togetherforamerica.com, that lists dozens of Republicans and independents who back Clinton, including former director of national intelligence John Negroponte and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Regardless of party, voters are increasingly concerned that Trump's tendency to bully, demean and degrade others sends the wrong message to our children," Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said.

Lawmakers, former national security officials and other critics expressed concern that Trump had advocated violence, possibly in jest, against Clinton or her Supreme Court nominees.

"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks," Trump, 70, said Tuesday. "Although the Second Amendment people -- maybe there is, I don't know."

Trump on Wednesday steered clear of the controversy at a Virginia rally, although he reiterated that the Second Amendment remained "under siege."

Trump has suffered what critics insist is a long string of missteps that have marred his campaign since he officially won the nomination last month.

He has clearly roiled the party with his unorthodox remarks, with some Republicans frustrated at his apparent inability to stay on message.

A Reuters/IPSOS poll Wednesday found that 19 percent of Republican voters want Trump to drop out of the race, while 70 percent think he should stay and 10 percent say they don't know.

The RealClearPolitics national poll average shows Clinton leading Trump by 48 percent to 40 percent.

Fifty prominent Republican national security experts announced in an open letter this week they would not vote for Trump, saying he "lacks the character, values and experience" to be president.

Six GOP senators and a number of House Republicans have disowned him too.

- Emails, again -

Meanwhile, Clinton was enduring a fresh round of criticism over her emails from her time as secretary of state, which have been a thorn in her side and hurt her trustworthiness among voters.

Conservative watchdog Judicial Watch released a batch of emails that raise questions about the State Department's relationship with the Clinton Foundation.

The Trump campaign seized on the latest emails to blast Clinton as "corrupt," with critics saying the messages showed the foundation sought improper preferential treatment from the department.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses supporters during a rally at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida on August 8, 2016 Gregg Newton (AFP/File)
Trump: Clinton, Obama are IS group's 'founders'

Republican candidate Donald Trump roiled the US presidential campaign once again, with the jaw-dropping assertion that Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama "founded" the IS group.

Addressing supporters at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the real estate tycoon said the jihadist group is "honoring President Obama."

"He is the founder of ISIS," Trump said, using a term for IS.

US Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump arrives at a campaign rally at the BB&T Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, August 10, 2016 Gaston De Cardenas (AFP)

"He's the founder of ISIS, okay?" he added. "He's the founder! He founded ISIS."

"And I would say, the co-founder would be 'Crooked Hillary Clinton'," Trump shouted, over cheers and applause from the crowd.

- Growing list of disquieting statements -

It was the latest disquieting utterance from the bombastic billionaire, who just one day earlier made comments interpreted by many as inviting gun violence against Clinton, the Democrats' presidential nominee.

Trump appeared to suggest on Tuesday, possibly in jest, that Clinton or her Supreme Court nominees could be shot, as a way of preventing her from making judicial appointments if she wins the November presidential election.

The former secretary of State on Wednesday sternly rebuked Republican presidential rival's "casual inciting" of violence, saying he had "crossed the line."

"Yesterday we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments by Donald Trump that crossed the line," Clinton told a rally in Des Moines, Iowa.

"Words matter, my friends. And if you are running to be president, or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences."

Trump and his campaign had quickly sought to douse these flames, insisting the Republican flag bearer was merely urging gun rights supporters to reject her candidacy at the ballot box.

Clinton also warned of the dangers of reckless language during a presidential race.

She slammed Trump's "casual cruelty to a Gold Star family," referring to the billionaire's clash with the parents of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in action.

"His casual suggestion that more countries should have nuclear weapons, and now his casual inciting of violence," she added.

"Every single one of these incidents shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the United States."

With Team Trump seeking to dig the candidate out of a deepening hole, former New York mayor and Trump backer Rudy Giuliani insisted the uproar was triggered by "the Clinton spin machine."

- 'Under siege' -

In an unnerving example of campaign security tensions, an animal rights activist appeared to rush the stage as Clinton spoke Wednesday, but was tackled and removed by security.

Another attention-seeker dominated cable news Wednesday afternoon when he used suction cups to scale Manhattan's Trump Tower, the Republican nominee's home and campaign headquarters, before police captured him through an open window.

The 20-year-old Virginia resident and apparent Trump supporter wanted to meet the real estate tycoon, police said.

Clinton meanwhile launched an open appeal Wednesday to independents and Republicans repulsed by Trump over his string of controversial statements.

The campaign unveiled a new website, togetherforamerica.com, that lists dozens of Republicans and independents who back Clinton, including former director of national intelligence John Negroponte and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Regardless of party, voters are increasingly concerned that Trump's tendency to bully, demean and degrade others sends the wrong message to our children," Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said.

Trump has suffered what critics insist is a long string of missteps that have marred his campaign since he officially won the nomination last month.

He has clearly roiled the party with his unorthodox remarks, with some Republicans frustrated at his apparent inability to stay on message.

A Reuters/IPSOS poll Wednesday found that 19 percent of Republican voters want Trump to drop out of the race, while 70 percent think he should stay and 10 percent say they don't know.

The RealClearPolitics national poll average shows Clinton leading Trump by 48 percent to 40 percent.

Fifty prominent Republican national security experts announced in an open letter this week they would not vote for Trump, saying he "lacks the character, values and experience" to be president.

Six GOP senators and a number of House Republicans have disowned him too.

- Clinton: Emails, again -

Meanwhile, Clinton was enduring a fresh round of criticism over her emails from her time as secretary of state, which have been a thorn in her side and hurt her trustworthiness among voters.

Conservative watchdog Judicial Watch released a batch of emails that raise questions about the State Department's relationship with the Clinton Foundation.

The Trump campaign seized on the latest emails to blast Clinton as "corrupt," with critics saying the messages showed the foundation sought improper preferential treatment from the department.

Donald Trump appeared to suggest earlier this week, possibly in jest, that Hillary Clinton or her Supreme Court nominees could be shot, as a way of preventing her from making judicial appointments Drew Angerer (Getty/AFP/File)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has warned of the dangers of reckless language during a presidential race Gregg Newton (AFP)
British banker back in court over Hong Kong double murder

A British banker accused of murdering two Indonesian women who were found mutilated in his upscale Hong Kong apartment appeared at the High Court Thursday, ahead of his October trial.

Rurik Jutting, a 31-year-old former Bank of America Merrill Lynch employee, listened attentively at the pre-trial hearing, which was closed to the public.

No details of the hearing, which organised aspects of the trial, can be reported at this stage due to restrictions imposed by the court.

British banker Rurik Jutting (2nd L) was deemed fit to stand trial in November following psychiatric tests Anthony Wallace (AFP/File)

Jutting has previously indicated he would plead not guilty to two charges of murder.

Dressed in a light blue shirt and wearing black-rimmed glasses, Jutting -- visibly thinner than at previous appearances -- remained impassive throughout, surrounded by four security guards.

Jutting would face life in prison if convicted on the murder charges.

Seneng Mujiasih and Sumarti Ningsih, both in their 20s, were found dead in Jutting's flat in the early hours of November 1 after he called police to the scene.

Mujiasih was found in the living room, naked and with knife wounds to her legs and buttocks, while the decaying body of Ningsih was found hours later in a suitcase on the balcony.

The killings shocked the city of seven million -- typically regarded as safe and known for its glitzy skyscrapers -- and shone a spotlight on the seedy underbelly of the financial hub.

Police have said cocaine and sex toys were found in Jutting's apartment, which was just a few streets away from Hong Kong's red-light district, where he was reportedly a regular.
Indonesia says 'no room' for gays

Indonesia said Thursday there was "no room" for the gay community in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, as activists blasted officials for an unprecedented series of LGBT attacks.

A wave of angry rhetoric directed at homosexuals earlier this year -- including a call to ban them from university campuses -- was the first time senior officials had publicly attacked the Southeast Asian nation's gay community, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.

Indonesia's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens have long been targeted by vigilante Islamist groups.

A wave of angry rhetoric was directed at homosexuals earlier this year Suryo Wibowo (AFP/File)

But the community experienced an "immediate deterioration" in their rights following a sustained assault by ministers, religious hardliners and influential Islamic organisations over a two-month period, HRW said.

In response, the government said protecting LGBT rights was not a priority.

"Rights of citizens like going to school and getting an ID card are protected, but there is no room in Indonesia for the proliferation of the LGBT movement," presidential spokesman Johan Budi told AFP.

Some of the most high-profile figures making anti-gay statements during the backlash -- which activists believe may have been triggered by media coverage of the US decision to legalise same-sex marriage -- were government ministers.

The higher education minister called for a ban on LGBT organisations on university campuses, while the defence minister likened homosexual rights groups to a "type of modern warfare".

In their report, HRW said that "what began as public condemnation quickly grew into calls for criminalisation and 'cures', laying bare the depth and breadth of officials individual prejudices".

The spike in anti-LGBT vitriol, predominantly during January and February this year, has intensified violence against sexual minorities throughout Indonesia, the report said.

Indonesia's largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama, in February described gay lifestyles as perverted and a desecration of human dignity. In Aceh, the only Indonesian province that applies Islamic law, the local government urged business owners to refuse to hire gay citizens.

In interviews with activist groups, HRW reported gay rights organisations shut their offices and even hid staff as threats mounted against them.

In Yogyakarta an Islamist group forced the closure of a transgender Islamic boarding school, while a peaceful rally in the same Central Javan city in support of Indonesia's LGBT community was shut down.

"The impact of anti-LGBT rhetoric from government officials is enormous for us as individuals. For those of us who have worked so hard and risked so much to come out, it is a major step backward, a lesbian activist in eastern Indonesia told HRW.

Islamic activists have also filed a judicial review at the Constitutional Court aimed at making gay sex a crime. The court is currently holding hearings into the case.
Australia to block Chinese bid for power grid

Australia will not allow the electricity network in its most populous state to be sold to Chinese and Hong Kong bidders, Treasurer Scott Morrison said Thursday, citing national security concerns.

The decision came just months after the government introduced tougher rules for the sale of major Australian state-owned infrastructure to private foreign investors after concerns about a 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin to China's Landbridge Group.

Canberra also recently knocked back the sale of the country's biggest private landowner, cattle firm S. Kidman and Co., to a Chinese-led consortium, citing national interest.

Australia's Treasurer Scott Morrison said there were national security concerns about New South Wales's power assets Saeed Khan (AFP)

China's State Grid Corp and Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings had bid for the 99-year lease of the nation's largest electricity network, Ausgrid, with the sale expected to raise more than Aus$10 billion (US$7.7 billion) for the New South Wales state government according to some estimates.

But Morrison said he told the bidders their proposals to secure a 50.4 percent stake in Ausgrid, which supplies power to more than 1.6 million homes and businesses, were "contrary to the national interest".

"Ausgrid's footprint includes critical power and communication services that Ausgrid provides," Morrison told reporters in Brisbane.

"The national security concerns are not country-specific and relate to the transaction structure and the nature of the assets.

"At this stage, the government has not identified mitigations that would appropriately address these concerns."

South Australia state's power grid is 51 percent owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings and Power Assets Holdings.

State Grid Corp also has investments in energy infrastructure in the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.

But Morrison said there were national security concerns about NSW's power assets, without giving details about what the concerns were.

Despite Canberra's decision, the Treasurer added that his government continued to welcome foreign investment, saying some Aus$160 billion in sales were approved in 2013-14.

"We will continue to actively engage with the rest of the world, because foreign investment capital is important to Australian jobs," he said.
Clashes as Afghan Taliban edge closer to Helmand capital

Fighting raged Thursday in Helmand after Afghanistan rushed military reinforcements to beat back Taliban insurgents advancing on the besieged capital of the southern poppy-growing province, as officials downplayed fears the city could fall.

Afghan forces fought back insurgents after they stormed Nawa district, just south of Lashkar Gah city, late Wednesday, raising alarm that the provincial capital was at risk.

But US and Afghan officials insist that they will not allow another urban centre to be captured, after the Taliban briefly overran northern Kunduz city last September in their biggest victory in 15 years of war.

Afghan security personnel prepare for combat during an ongoing battle with Taliban militants in the Nad Ali district of Helmand on August 10, 2016 Noor Mohammad (AFP/File)

"The security situation in Lashkar Gah is under our control," defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said after special forces were deployed.

"We have retaken control of Nawa. Fighting is still going on in the outskirts but we are making progress with clearance operations," he told AFP, adding that dozens of Taliban were killed in the fight.

Fierce battles in recent days across Helmand, seen as the focal point of the insurgency, has sent thousands of people fleeing to Lashkar Gah, sparking a humanitarian crisis as officials report food and water shortages.

The United States has stepped up air strikes supporting Afghan forces on the ground, highlighting the intensity of the battle in Helmand.

The Taliban effectively control or contest 10 of the 14 districts in Helmand, the deadliest province for British and US forces in Afghanistan over the past decade.

The turmoil convulsing the long-contested province, blighted by a huge opium harvest that helps fund the insurgency, underscores a rapidly unravelling security situation in Afghanistan.

- 'We will die of hunger' -

Around 30,000 people have been displaced in Helmand in recent weeks, local officials said, with many of those fleeing to Lashkar Gah forced to abandon their lentil, maize and cotton crops during the lucrative harvest season.

"We left everything behind in Nawa -- our house, our grape and maize harvests. We fled with 15 members of my family to Lashkar Gah, fearing for our lives," Mohammad Ali, 40, told AFP in a camp in the provincial capital.

"For the last three days we have been surviving on bread and water. We will die of hunger."

The residents of Lashkar Gah said the city was practically besieged, with roads from neighbouring districts heavily mined by the insurgents.

Afghan special forces had launched operations to flush out insurgents controlling key highways linking Lashkar Gah to the districts, said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.

Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it had downscaled its team in Lashkar Gah, with some non-medical staff relocated from the city.

"We've shared coordinates of our 300 bed hospital to approaching warring parties in Helmand," the international medical charity tweeted.

Washington has deployed several hundred troops in Helmand in recent months to aid Afghan ground forces.

NATO officially ended its combat mission in December 2014, but US forces were granted greater powers in June to strike at the insurgents as President Barack Obama vowed a more aggressive campaign.

"The situation in Helmand remains contested," NATO said in a statement.

"While there is clearly an increase in fighting, the Taliban have suffered a number of casualties and (Afghan forces) have been able to recover many checkpoints."

Northern Kunduz was the first city to fall to the insurgents last September, in a stinging blow to Afghan forces who have struggled to rein in the Taliban since the NATO combat mission ended.

The fighting in Helmand comes as Afghan troops are stretched on multiple fronts across Afghanistan -- including eastern Nangarhar province where the Islamic State group is making inroads.

Taliban in Afghanistan Adrian Leung (AFP/File)
Newspapers rethink paywalls as digital efforts sputter

Paywalls were supposed to help rescue newspapers from the crisis of sinking print circulation as readers shifted to getting their news online.

But with a few exceptions, they have failed to deliver much relief, prompting some news organizations to rethink their digital strategies.

Newspapers in the English-speaking world ended paywalls some 69 times through May 2015, including 41 temporary and 28 permanent drops, according to a study by University of Southern California researchers.

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have been relatively successful with paywalls because of their unique content Karen Bleier (AFP/File)

Paywalls "generate only a small fraction of industry revenue," with estimates ranging from one percent in the United States to 10 percent internationally, the study in July's International Journal of Communication said.

"People are far less willing to pay for online news than for print," said USC journalism professor Mike Ananny, an author of the study.

Newspapers are in a difficult spot, he added, because online advertising generates a fraction of print's revenue, and news organizations are already pressured by falling print circulation.

Alan Mutter, a former Chicago and San Francisco newspaper editor who now consults for media organizations, said the research confirms that paywalls have value in relatively rare circumstances.

- Free news -

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times have been relatively successful with paywalls because of their unique content, he said.

"It's hard for a general-interest website to charge for news that you can get for free with a few clicks."

Paywalls can backfire also "because they put a barrier between the newspaper and the casual reader," he added.

"They are truncating the size of the digital market, when the most important factor for digital is scale."

A survey this year by the American Press Institute showed 77 of the 98 US newspapers with circulations above 50,000 used some type of online subscription, which could be a "hard" paywall that fences off all content or allows some free.

But a number of English-language news organizations have dropped their paywalls in recent months, including the Toronto Star, and British dailies The Independent and The Sun.

Among US dailies, the San Francisco Chronicle dropped its paywall in 2013. The Dallas Morning News did the same in 2014 before reinstituting a "metered" system allowing up to 10 free articles.

Newsweek lifted its paywall for most content in February, limiting the number of free magazine features for nonsubscribers.

A study this year by Oxford University's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found only 10 percent of readers in English-speaking countries were willing to pay for digital news.

That number rose to 15 percent in Denmark and Finland, 20 percent in Poland and Sweden and 27 percent in Norway.

"English-language publishers face a more difficult task in trying to build a large paywall business because there is so much free English content," Mutter said.

- Notable exceptions -

Of the paywalls erected in the past few years, many have delivered lackluster results, said Ken Doctor, a media consultant who writes the blog Newsonomics.

"The ones that were launched in 2012 to 2014 had good early results and they all largely stalled," he said.

"They are no longer gaining much in the way of new digital subscriptions, and their print is in rapid decline."

But there are some notable successes in addition to the most prominent newspapers, Doctor said.

The Boston Globe raised its digital subscription price sharply to $1 a day and kept 90 percent of its subscriber base, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has also had success boosting digital circulation revenues, he said.

Succeeding with paywalls means taking a long view and investing in journalism as well as technology, Doctor said.

"A publisher focused on the long term will recognize that it is reader revenue that is going to have to get them through this disruption," he said.

"That means they need a large and experienced enough newsroom so the audience feels they are getting something sufficient and something unique," he added.

"They also need to invest in the digital products so the experience is better."

However, Mutter argues that paywalls run counter to the goal of boosting readership, and that news organizations need to think differently.

"Print is failing and digital is hard," he said.

Although newspapers are losing online ad revenues to online platforms, they have the advantage of knowing their local markets and businesses.

"They have to work hard at being local marketing partners in the markets they serve," Mutter said.

USC's Ananny said news organizations need to find creative ways to develop pay models that don't put readers off. He also expressed concern that expanding paywalls may lead to a new "digital divide" where information is available only to those who can afford to pay.

The research suggests that "news organizations serve themselves and readers best when paywalls are fluid," he said.

Many papers open up free content during major news events or emergencies, fulfilling a civic role, he noted. Others charge readers for access to special features or content.

"News organizations had better understand why they are dropping or raising paywalls," he said.

"If it's done in an ad hoc or random manner, it doesn't help."

A survey this year by the American Press Institute showed 77 of the 98 US newspapers with circulations above 50,000 used some type of online subscription Timothy A. Clary (AFP/File)

Newsweek lifted its paywall for most content in February, limiting the number of free magazine features for nonsubscribers Nicholas Kamm (AFP)

Newspapers in the English-speaking world ended paywalls some 69 times through May 2015, including 41 temporary and 28 permanent drops Gabriel Bouys (AFP/File)
Russia raids on IS Syria bastion Raqa 'kill 30'

Russian air strikes on the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa in northern Syria on Thursday killed at least 30 people, including 24 civilians, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they were killed and dozens of people wounded when 10 Russian raids hit the city and its outskirts.

The monitor said it had not yet confirmed how many of the remaining six people killed were civilians or IS jihadists.

Armed men in uniform identified by Syrian Democratic Forces as US special operations forces ride in pickup truck in Raqa province in May 2016 Delil Souleiman (AFP/File)

The Britain-based Observatory -- which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information -- says it determines what planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.

Russia confirmed that six Tupolev warplanes carried out airstrikes around Raqa, but said it had demolished "a chemical weapons factory in the city's northwestern outskirts."

The defence ministry said the raids also destroyed a weapons storage facility and a training camp for IS fighters to the north and southeast.

The ministry said that the jihadists had suffered "significant material damages" in the strikes and that "a large number of fighters have been killed."

The raids comes a day after the ministry said it would halt fire around Syria's ravaged city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid in, an initiative the United Nations said is insufficient to meet the city's needs.

The UN has called for urgent aid access to Aleppo and 48-hour weekly pauses for the aid deliveries, warning that civilians are at grave risk from water shortages and disease as fighting has intensified.
Renzi under fire over 'special forces in Libya'

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came under fire Thursday for reportedly sending special forces to help the fight against the Islamic State group in Libya without proper clearance from parliament.

Renzi's centre-left government has refused to confirm or deny media reports that dozens of special forces have been deployed to help with demining and training forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord, currently battling IS in its stronghold of Sirte.

"We do not have a military mission in Libya. If we did parliament would have been informed," Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni insisted in an interview with Corriere della Sera.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government has refused to confirm or deny media reports that dozens of special forces have been deployed in Libya Thierry Charlier (AFP/File)

Asked if that also applied to secret service activity, Gentiloni replied: "By definition, I do not comment on operations of a classified nature."

Under the controversial "article 7bis" of legislation adopted last year, the Italian premier can send special forces to combat zones for intelligence missions without parliamentary approval.

The parliamentary committee which overseas the secret services has to be informed but this does not have to be made public.

According to the Italian media, the committee was secretly notified of the special forces deployment last week.

The move followed Renzi's agreement that US warplanes and drones could use Italian airspace and military bases for strikes on Sirte.

Opposition parties accused the premier of abusing article 7bis to take Italy into a war situation by stealth.

"The article speaks clearly of sending men in support of intelligence operations which has nothing to do with what our special forces are doing in Libya," deputies from Italy's most popular political force, the Five Star Movement, said in a statement.

"First with the concession on airbases and now with our own men on the ground, this government has effectively involved Italy in a theatre of war without going through parliament."

To date the only practical support for the Libyan forces which Italy has confirmed has involved the evacuation of injured government troops for medical treatment.

Recent opinion polls suggest over 80 percent of Italian voters oppose the country getting involved in military combat in Libya.
IMF agrees $12 billion loan to boost Egypt economy

The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that it had reached an initial agreement to lend $12 billion to Egypt to bolster an economy battered by years of unrest.

The Egyptian government hopes the three-year deal will provide a lifeline for the North African nation as it grapples with a dollar shortage and dwindling foreign reserves.

The agreement, which will have to be ratified by the IMF and Egyptian authorities, will require Cairo to undertake economic reforms.

The IMF says it has reached an initial agreement with Egypt for a $12 billion loan over three years Mandel Ngan (AFP/File)

"Egypt is a strong country with great potential but it has some problems that need to be fixed urgently," the head of the IMF delegation to Egypt, Chris Jarvis, said in a statement.

Jarvis told reporters that the IMF was looking to Egypt's parliament to pass a law introducing a value-added tax.

The IMF's Extended Fund Facility is aimed at countries with payment imbalances and tepid growth to aid structural reforms, according to the fund's website.

Analysts have said the IMF also pushed for a more flexible exchange rate for the Egyptian pound, which the government has been propping up amid capital controls.

The dollar shortage has affected imports and created a flourishing black market trade that the government fought unsuccessfully.

Dollars sell for up to four pounds more than the official rate of 8.88 pounds to the dollar.

Jarvis said the goal was to have no foreign currency shortage and to create a "balance between supply and demand".

"The central bank is progressing on exchange rate policy, the government has its program, the budget was approved in June, the VAT is in parliament...the government's fuel subsidy reform program continues to unfold," Jarvis said.

-'Change now'-

Central Bank of Egypt chief Tarek Amer told reporters that the IMF deal would boost confidence in Egypt's reform programme.

The deal "is a certificate that says the programme is serious," he said at the press conference.

"We ask citizens to have trust and stand behind us," he added.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been preparing public opinion for the economic reform measures, including further subsidy cuts.

Although the funding is spread out over three years, the IMF will be looking for a quick implementation of the reform measures.

"The IMF would like to see change right now, not delayed," said Angus Blair, president of the economic think tank Signet.

Egypt has been in tentative negotiations for an IMF loan since longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak was ousted in the 2011 revolution.

The uprising set off years of political turmoil culminating in the military overthrow of his Islamist successor Mohamed Morsi two years later.

Morsi's removal unleashed a bloody police crackdown on Islamists and jihadist attacks that have decimated tourism, a key dollar earner for Egypt.

With tourist revenues and foreign remittances down, the country's foreign reserves have fallen to $15.5 billion (13.9 billion euros).

Egypt has already received more than $20 billion in aid from Gulf countries that supported Morsi's overthrow, but that has not stemmed the decline.
Los Angeles police fatally shoot 14-year-old

Authorities in Los Angeles on Thursday were investigating the fatal shooting by police of an armed 14-year-old boy amid growing public concern over the use of deadly force by US law enforcement.

The shooting occurred Tuesday while police were investigating reports of vandalism in a neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles.

The teenager, who police said was armed with a gun, allegedly shot at police before officers returned fire, killing him. Police said they recovered the teen's gun at the scene.

Police shot and killed a 14-year-old boy in a neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles after he allegedly fired at officers Frederic J. Brown (AFP/File)

Authorities said they suspect that the youth, identified as Jesse Romero, might have been involved in gang activity.

But the teen's mother Teresa Dominguez disputed the police account, telling local media that her son was "a good boy."
Bomb blast injures 13 in SW Pakistan days after major attack

A roadside bomb apparently targeting a judge injured at least 13 people in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta on Thursday, officials said, days after a major attack killed most of the city's senior lawyers.

"The bomb was planted on a bridge in the city, which went off immediately after the vehicle of an Islamic court judge passed by it," Akbar Harifal, the home secretary of southwestern Balochistan province, told AFP.

The judge, Zahoor Shehwani, survived, he added, but the blast hit his security escort vehicle, injuring four police personnel and nine passers-by.

Security officials inspect the site of a roadside bomb blast in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, on August 11, 2016 Banaras Khan (AFP)

Hamid Shakeel, a senior local police official, confirmed the attack and the casualties.

No group immediately claimed responsiblity for the attack, which came three days after a devastating suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital killed at least 73 people, many of them senior lawyers.

Analysts said Monday's attack had left a vacuum in the close-knit legal community which is seen as a crucial force for justice in the country's most dangerous province.

Mineral-rich but desperately poor Balochistan is plagued by roiling insurgencies, hit by regular militant attacks, and run by political leaders who are widely seen as corrupt.

It is also the site of China's ambitious $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure project linking its western province of Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea via Pakistan.
New armed group says it blew up Nigerian oil pipeline

A newly emerged armed group has said it had made good on threats to Nigeria's vital oil industry by blowing up a major pipeline and warned that more attacks were to come.

The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) said in a statement late Wednesday they had shown they were "men of (their) word" by destroying part of the Urhobo pipeline in oil-rich Delta State on Tuesday.

The creation of the group was announced scarcely two days earlier by its spokesman, self-proclaimed "general" Aldo Agbalaja, who warned that the NDGJM would strike at oil installations within 48 hours.

Naval security operatives patrol the creeks of Niger Delta in Buguma on September 30, 2004 Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP/File)

A security source confirmed an attack using dynamite on the Uzere-Eriemu line in the Isoko South area of Delta State.

Communities near the pipeline, which is owned by the state-run Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), are suffering from pollution caused by leaking oil, the source added.

"We started noticing crude oil on our land only to be told that it is as a result of crude oil spill from a trunk line conveying crude from Isoko to the Eriemu manifold," said Victor Emuherie, leader of a youth movement in the affected village of Agbarha-Otor.

The populous Niger Delta region on the Gulf of Guinea has for decades seen attacks by local militants on oil installations run by the NPDC and by foreign oil giants, causing successive governments to deploy troops.

The NDGJM warned that Tuesday's attack was only a preview of its activities to come and urged multinational companies "to evacuate their personnel".

- 'Quite murky' talks -

The government last week resumed payment of allowances to former fighters under an amnesty scheme primarily involving ex-rebels of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

MEND is a historic armed movement demanding reparations and a fair share of oil revenue for residents of the Niger Delta, which has seen spin-offs by radicals who want independence for the region and refuse to recognise Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, as Nigeria's president.

Attacks by another more active group, the Niger Delta Avengers, have led to a sharp fall in oil production since the start of the year in a country already hit by tumbling prices for crude, which accounts for 70 percent of state revenue.

Oil analyst Rhidoy Rashid said the renewed amnesty payments to MEND are unlikely to stop attacks on oil infrastructure.

"These payments don't actually include the Niger Delta Avengers," said Rashid, who works at the London-based consultancy Energy Aspects, "so they won't decrease the frequency of attacks".

Rashid described rumoured talks between the Niger Delta Avengers and the Nigerian government as "quite murky".

"Perhaps there are discussions going on behind the scenes, but really we think it's going to be difficult because the government is not prepared to give into the new militants."

- Splinter group? -

A war of words stepped up early this month when a purported splinter group of the Niger Delta Avengers said that former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan was sponsoring the militants.

Cynthia White, spokesperson for the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, said in a statement that the breakaway group would "co-operate with the government by exposing the identities of our comrades who remain stubborn in their insistence to continue attacks".

In response the Niger Delta Avengers that their "household is intact" and dismissed White and her group as "government agents".

Lagos-based security analyst Don Okereke said that the splinter group's origin and claims seem suspicious.
China power station explosion 'kills at least 21'

A pipeline explosion at a power station in China killed at least 21 people and injured five more on Thursday, the official Xinhua news service reported.

The blast, which Xinhua said happened in a high-pressure steam pipeline, came a day before the first anniversary of giant explosions that killed at least 165 people in the northern port city of Tianjin.

The latest incident occurred at a coal-fired power plant in Dangyang, in the central province of Hubei, and rescue efforts were underway, reports said.

Smoke belches from a coal-fuelled power station near Datong, in China's northern Shanxi province, on November 19, 2015 Greg Baker (AFP/File)

A photograph purportedly from the scene showed a bare concrete shell and metal scaffolding standing by a smokestack.

The local government said it was investigating the cause.

Three people were seriously injured and were being treated in hospital, reports said.

Newspapers said the company operating the coal-fired plant was registered for power generation and sales of slag ash and petroleum products.

Industrial accidents are common in China, where safety standards are often lax.

Earlier this summer more than 130 people were taken to hospital after chemicals leaked from a plant in eastern China.

In April a chemical fire burned for 16 hours in the coastal province of Jiangsu after an explosion at a facility storing chemicals and fuel, requiring 400 firefighters to quell the flames.

The massive blasts in Tianjin, which caused over $1 billion in damages and killed at least 165, sparked widespread anger over a perceived lack of transparency by officials about the accident's causes and environmental impact.

A government inquiry into the Tianjin accident released in February recommended 123 people be punished.
Twelve Somalis sentenced to five years for piracy

Twelve Somalis who attacked a container ship in the Indian Ocean were sentenced to five years in jail in Mauritius Thursday, a reminder of the region's battle against piracy.

The men were accused of firing on the MSC Jasmine, a Panamanian-flagged container ship, in January 2013 before being captured by naval anti-piracy forces and transferred to Mauritius for trial.

They were found guilty of sea piracy on July 14, and sentencing them Thursday a judge said the three years they have already served will be taken off their jail time.

Somali piracy reached its peak in 2011 when Somali pirate gangs attacked 237 vessels, seizing 11 vessels and 216 hostages Mohamed Dahir (AFP/File)

Foreign navies that capture suspected pirates have handed over hundreds to regional nations including Mauritius, as well as Kenya, Seychelles and Tanzania, though the criminal industry in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden has largely died out.

The men, aged between 22 and 47, had been acquitted in November 2014 but prosecutors appealed, and in December last year a new trial was ordered.

Somali piracy reached its peak in 2011 when Somali pirate gangs attacked 237 vessels, seizing 11 vessels and 216 hostages, earning on average more than $2 million (1.8 million euros) for every ship ransomed.

Anti-piracy patrols by international warships and armed guards aboard commercial vessels which now sail faster and further away from the Somali coast have largely suppressed incidents of piracy.
Saudi-led coalition jets pound Yemen rebels for third straight day

Saudi-led coalition jets on Thursday pounded Shiite rebel positions in and around Sanaa for a third consecutive day, as shelling from Yemen killed a woman in Saudi Arabia.

The coalition has been fighting the Huthi rebels since March 2015, after they overran the capital and drove south forcing internationally recognised President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country.

In the morning, coalition warplanes struck the Al-Dailami airbase near Sanaa airport and a military school inside the Yemeni capital, the pro-rebel Saba news agency reported.

A man and children inspect the rubble of a house in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on August 11, 2016, after it was reportedly hit by a Saudi-led coalition air strike Mohammed Huwais (AFP)

Military sources loyal to the Hadi government said the air raids targeted only military positions held by the Huthis and their allies, supporters of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

But Saba said civilian homes were also struck, and reported other raids on the Huthi stronghold of Saada, a northern province near the borders with Saudi Arabia.

It said Sanaa airport had been closed since the coalition on Tuesday launched a wave of air raids in and around the capital, for the first time in three months.

The raids had been halted as Kuwait hosted UN-brokered peace talks between and the Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Huthis and their allies.

But the UN suspended the talks last week after the rebels appointed a so-called "supreme political council" comprising 10 members to run Yemen.

In July the Huthis and their allies rejected a UN peace plan that called on them to withdraw from territory they had occupied and give up heavy weapons seized from the army.

The rebels said the plan did not meet their key demand for a unity government.

Rebels and pro-government forces clashed again in the Naham region north of Sanaa, where 22 rebels and four loyalists have been killed since Wednesday, a pro-government spokesman said.

Also on Thursday a Saudi woman was killed and seven other people wounded by shelling from Yemen, the Saudi civil defence said.

It came hours after a civilian was killed and seven others wounded late Wednesday in the Saudi province of Hazan also in shelling from Yemen, it added.

The United Nations says more than 6,400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Yemen since the coalition air campaign began in March 2015.

The fighting has also driven 2.8 million people from their homes and left more than 80 percent of the population needing humanitarian aid.
EU to probe Dow Chemical, DuPont merger

The EU on Thursday launched an investigation into the merger of US agri-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont to see if one of the world's largest tie-ups will reduce competition and harm customers.

"The livelihood of farmers depends on access to seeds and crop protection at competitive prices. We need to make sure that the proposed merger does not lead to higher prices or less innovation for these products," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Dow Chemical and DuPont, two of the oldest US companies, announced the tie-up in December to create the world's biggest chemical and materials group valued at $130 billion.

The $130-billion merger of US agri-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont would create the world's biggest chemical and materials group Bill Pugliano (Getty/AFP/File)

The European Commission, the executive arm of the 28-nation European Union, said it had opened the "in-depth probe" to determine if the deal was in line with the bloc's merger regulations.

"The Commission will investigate further whether the deal may reduce competition in areas such as crop protection, seeds and certain petrochemicals," the statement said.

"The transaction would take place in industries that are already globally concentrated."

Given the global reach of the new entity, the Commission said it was "cooperating closely" with other countries, notably the United States, Brazil and Canada in assessing the impact.

It said the two companies submitted remedies last month but these were "insufficient" to allay its concerns and so it decided to launch the probe which will last 90 days to December 20.

Dow Chemical and DuPont said that they had expected the investigation and were working closely with regulators.

"The companies continue to believe the merger is procompetitive and good for customers and consumers," they said in a joint statement.

"Dow and DuPont will continue to work constructively with the Commission to address their concerns and to obtain clearance for the merger, which we are confident will be achieved."

Vestager has not been shy to take on major US companies, pushing through a series of anti-competition probes of such icons as Apple, Google and Amazon.
US DEA stands by ban on medical marijuana

The US Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday said it was again denying requests to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The decision keeps a growing number of US states at odds with federal law, as 25 and the District of Columbia have enacted laws allowing access to cannabis for medical purposes.

However, the federal government will allow an expansion of marijuana research, letting organizations apply for permission to grow marijuana for use in studies.

A medical marijuana advocate holds a sign against the US Drug Enforcement Agency as he demonstrates in 2011 in San Francisco, California Justin Sullivan (Getty/AFP/File)

Currently, only the University of Mississippi is permitted to do so and researchers have complained that supplies are thin.

Marijuana is commonly prescribed to treat conditions including pain and nausea. Patients are also turning to it to treat illnesses such as Crohn's and Alzheimer's diseases, lupus and rhumatoid arthritis.

Chuck Rosenberg, the acting DEA administrator, said in upholding the medical marijuana ban that there was a "lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision."

In justifying the move, the DEA cited a medical and scientific evaluation carried out by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"DEA's decision flies in the face of objective science and overwhelming public opinion," Aaron Smith, head of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a trade body in Washington, said in a statement.

The DEA's decision rejected a petition submitted by the governors of Rhode Island and Washington state as well as a resident of New Mexico. The agency had rejected a similar request in 2011.

The decision comes amid growing pressure from lawmakers to reconsider allowing the medicinal use of marijuana.
Gaza aid workers fear impact of Hamas collusion allegations

Getting foreign aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza has never been easy, but aid workers say Israeli allegations that several of their own colluded with Hamas could make it even harder.

In the past week three Palestinian aid workers have been accused of working with Hamas in Gaza, where humanitarians already felt squeezed between restrictions from Israel and the Islamist group which controls the strip.

The separate indictments of the Gaza head of major charity World Vision and a UN engineer on charges of working for Hamas have been met by aid workers in Gaza with a mixture of scepticism, fear and self-analysis.

The office of the US-based Christian NGO World Vision in Gaza City, pictured on August 4, 2016 Mohammed Abed (AFP/File)

Germany and Australia have suspended aid to World Vision, raising fears that other donors could withhold funds, while the United Nations rushed to stress it had "robust measures" to prevent aid being stolen.

Israel's deputy foreign minister and other officials have called for tighter restrictions on aid.

"If the (World Vision) allegations are true it is a shocking amount of corruption," said Ashley Jackson, research associate at the Overseas Development Institute think-tank. "It could have major implications for the wider humanitarian community."

But others see political meddling behind the allegations, many of which are disputed.

A senior humanitarian, speaking like a number of colleagues on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, worried the allegations would be used to sideline senior Palestinian aid workers and to scare NGOs into silence.

Since 2008, Israel has fought three wars in Gaza with Hamas, which is branded a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union.

Israel has long alleged that aid has been diverted to Hamas.

- Two-thirds of Gazans need aid -

Aid workers privately admit to feeling pressure from Hamas, with the powerful group seeking to influence how projects are organised. In a few rare cases NGOs have seen their offices temporary closed by Hamas.

But they say materials and goods taken into Gaza are subject to some of the strictest monitoring in the world. And they accuse Israel of using concerns around Hamas as an excuse to restrict goods into Gaza, which Israel has blockaded for a decade.

At least two thirds of the 1.9 million Gazans rely on aid, according to UN figures.

On Thursday Israel charged Christian charity World Vision's Gaza head Mohammed al-Halabi with diverting millions in aid, while on Tuesday an engineer working with the United Nations Development Programme was indicted for working with the group.

An official from Save the Children was also allegedly turned to Hamas, according to Halabi's charge sheet.

For Israel, the cases demonstrate at best the naivety of international aid groups. "This is not an isolated case, but rather a troubling trend of the systematic exploitation by Hamas terrorists," Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said.

All aid workers AFP spoke to admitted that in a conflict zone a small amount of misuse is almost inevitable -- with monitoring millions in aid difficult in contexts where multiple armed groups are operating.

But the scale of the allegations against World Vision have caused both shock and scepticism.

The Shin Bet security service alleged Halabi had diverted up to 60 percent of the NGO's Gaza budget -- equating to $7 million (6.3 million euros) a year -- to Hamas, a figure every aid worker agreed was impossible without complicity at the highest level.

Israel says the central office in Jerusalem was unaware of the alleged thefts.

The NGO itself, while taking the allegations seriously, has said it has seen no evidence presented by Israel.

It said in a statement the "cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past 10 years was approximately $22.5 million, which makes the alleged amount of up to $50 million being diverted hard to reconcile."

- Banking fears -

Aid workers fear the arrests will lead to tighter Israeli restrictions.

Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Watch -- an Israeli group critical of aid in the Palestinian territories -- said they were evidence charities need to share more security information with Israel's security services.

Aid organisations see any such push as an attack on the principles of objectivity and neutrality between warring parties.

But allegations against World Vision -- one of the world's largest NGOs, with a rigorous auditing process -- may impact donors, aid workers said.

"We have got so many compliance checks, we think we are sound," said an international aid worker whose organisation also operates in Gaza.

"But the concern is World Vision is big and professional and has many similar compliance mechanisms that we all do," the aid worker said.

"We are going to look, in light of these allegations, if there's anything we can do differently."

The allegations could also affect the willingness of banks to work with aid organisations across the Middle East, said Tom Keatinge, an expert on financial crime at the RUSI think-tank.

Anti-terrorism legislation in the United States and elsewhere has made banks increasingly wary of dealing with NGOs working in high-risk environments like Gaza.

Keatinge said the allegations could make banks reconsider their services for large NGOs not just in Gaza but in other areas where "terrorist" groups are operating, such as in Syria.

"I wouldn't quite say this is a deathblow, but it is very serious."

A Palestinian militant and Hamas supporter takes part in an anti-Israeli protest in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis in September 2015 Said Khatib (AFP/File)
Libya pro-govt forces say Sirte battle in 'final phase'

Pro-government forces battled Thursday to clear the Islamic State group from its main Libyan stronghold of Sirte, after dealing a major blow to the jihadists by seizing their headquarters.

IS still controls several areas of the Mediterranean city, whose capture in June 2015 sparked fears the extremists would use it as a springboard for attacks on Europe.

Sirte's fall would be a huge setback to the jihadists' efforts to expand their self-proclaimed "caliphate" beyond Syria and Iraq where they have also suffered losses.

Picture uploaded on August 10, 2016 on the Facebook page of the media center of forces of Libya's Government of National Accord's (GNA) claims to show forces loyal to the unity government in front of the Ouagadougou conference centre in Sirte

Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government made a significant breakthrough Wednesday in their nearly three-month-old offensive to retake Sirte, seizing a conference centre where IS had set up a base.

"The battle for Sirte has reached its final phase, after the successful offensive by our heroes," said spokesman General Mohamad Ghassri.

The advance comes after the United States launched air strikes on IS positions in Sirte on August 1.

The US military said 36 strikes had been carried out against IS since the start of "Operation Odyssey Lightning".

IS took advantage of the chaos that followed the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

Forces allied with the Government of National Accord on Wednesday seized the University of Sirte campus just south of the Ouagadougou conference centre as well as the Ibn Sina Hospital to the north.

On Thursday they removed IS flags from the conference centre and the university, burned them and replaced them with Libyan flags, said their command centre.

It said they had seized a hotel near the city's port and were clearing a complex of luxurious villas used for hosting dignitaries in the Kadhafi era.

Television aired images of soldiers in recaptured areas waving flags and flashing victory signs.

- Fierce resistance -

The pro-GNA forces said 16 of their fighters were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday in Sirte, Kadhafi's hometown just across the Mediterranean from Italy.

It was unclear how many jihadists were killed, but the centre said at least 20 jihadists had died in fighting for the university campus.

Nine pro-GNA fighters were wounded on Thursday and taken to a hospital in Misrata, 190 kilometres (120 miles) to the northwest, the hospital said.

More than 300 pro-government fighters have been killed and 1,800 wounded in the operation, said medical sources Misrata, where the operation's command centre in based.

They have faced determined resistance from the jihadists who have struck back with sniper fire, suicide attacks and car bombings.

Reda Issa, another spokesman for the pro-government forces, said jihadists still controlled residential neighbourhoods in Sirte next to the sea.

"The liberation of Sirte will only be announced when the whole city is recaptured," he added.

Issa said the pilot and co-pilot of a pro-GNA plane which crashed Wednesday while bombing IS positions in Sirte had been killed and their bodies retrieved, without specifying the cause.

IS claimed to have downed the aircraft.

The Washington Post has reported that US commandos are working from a joint operations centre on the outskirts of Sirte, the first time they have directly supported Libyan forces in the anti-IS fight.

- 'No foreign troops' -

Quoting US officials speaking on condition of anonymity, the Post said the US forces were operating alongside British troops, helping to coordinate American air strikes and providing intelligence.

GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj said in an interview published Wednesday that his government had asked only for "air strikes which must be very precise and limited in time and geographical scope".

"We do not need foreign troops on Libyan soil," Sarraj told Italy's Corriere della Sera.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi faced criticism at home on Thursday for reportedly sending special forces to Libya to help the anti-IS fight without approval from parliament.

Renzi's centre-left government has refused to confirm or deny reports that dozens of special forces have been deployed to help with de-mining and training pro-GNA forces.

France last month confirmed it had troops in Libya, saying three of the soldiers had been killed while on a mission there.

That prompted a demand from Sarraj for an explanation about the French presence, which the GNA described as a "violation" of the nation's sovereignty.

A sign reading 'Sirte' in Arabic is pictured on the approach to the Libyan city on July 18, 2016 as fighters loyal to Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) prepare to target Islamic State (IS) group positions Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)

Smoke billows from buildings after the air force from the pro-government forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Unity fired rockets targeting Islamic State group positions in Sirte on July 18, 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)
S.Africa's ANC top brass meet after poor vote showing

After suffering historic losses in South Africa's recent municipal elections, the top brass of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) gathered for talks Thursday over the party's declining support.

The party of Nelson Mandela last week saw its worst poll results since the end of white-minority rule in 1994, losing majority control of the largest metropolitan areas, including the capital Pretoria and business hub Johannesburg.

The ANC garnered less than 54 percent of ballots cast nationally -- an eight percentage point drop from the last local poll in 2011.

South Africa's ruling African National Congress secretary general Gwede Mantashe adresses the media on March 20, 2016 Mujahid Safodien (AFP/File)

The election results highlighted the declining popularity of the party that led South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle.

"We want to do thorough analysis of the elections," ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe told reporters just before the planned four days of talks got under way at a hotel in Pretoria.

"The essence of the meeting is to say how do we interpret (the loss of support) and to seek ways on how we arrest the decline, how we turn the institution around."

The elections were largely seen as a referendum on President Jacob Zuma, whose rule has been dogged by scandal, including the use of public funds in upgrading his private Nkandla residence with facilities including a chicken coop and a swimming pool.

But Mantashe said Zuma's presidency was not up for discussion at the talks where the president, who is also head of the party, will be in attendance.
Iraq Kurds say IS financier killed in joint raid with US

Kurdish authorities said their troops conducted a joint raid with US forces Thursday, killing a jihadist financier near a western Iraqi town that is far from where they usually operate.

"A joint operation was conducted by our Directorate General of Counter Terrorism and US Special Forces in the vicinity of Al-Qaim near the Iraqi-Syrian border," the Kurdish Regional Security Council said in a statement.

It said the raid killed Sami Jassem Mohammed al-Juburi, a man sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for supervising operations to fund the Islamic State group, including via the sale of oil and gas.

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters hold a position on June 4, 2016 Safin Hamed (AFP/File)

The statement did not specify the exact location of the operation.

The US-led anti-IS coalition confirmed its forces had taken part in a joint raid in Iraq on Thursday.

"Coalition forces conducted a combined operation in Iraq, Aug. 11, against an (IS) associated target," the coalition said in a statement emailed to AFP.

"We are assessing the results of the operation," the statement said, adding that "the mission was effectively coordinated with the government of Iraq and conducted in partnership with Iraqi security forces."

Al-Qaim is located more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the closest Kurdish lines, and a raid involving Kurdish forces in the area has the potential to anger Iraq's federal government.

Baghdad is at odds with the country's autonomous Kurdish region over long-running disputes about resources and territory.

US special forces also conducted a joint raid with Kurdish troops against IS in Iraq's Kirkuk province last year -- an operation in which an American soldier was killed.

That raid was also politically sensitive, as it involved Kurdish forces affiliated with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party operating in Kirkuk, where the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a party that has its own troops, holds power.

The US-led coalition is carrying out air strikes targeting IS, which overran large areas of Iraq in 2014, and also providing advise and other assistance to forces battling the jihadists.
Netanyahu: I care more about Palestinians than their leaders

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said he cares more about the Palestinian people than their leaders do, in his first response to allegations of aid theft by Hamas.

"I, the prime minister of Israel, care more about Palestinians than their own leaders do," Netanyahu said in a video posted online, which provoked outrage from the Palestinians.

"Israel cares more about Palestinians than their own leaders do," he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on August 11, 2016 Dan Balilty (Pool/AFP)

The Israeli leader said his comments were in response to allegations that the militant Islamic Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, stole aid from a major charity and the United Nations.

An Israeli court on August 4 charged World Vision's Gaza head Mohammed al-Halabi with funding "terror," while a UN engineer was indicted Tuesday on allegations of working with Hamas's military wing.

"Hamas, the terrorist organisation that runs Gaza, stole millions of dollars from humanitarian organisations like World Vision and the United Nations," said Netanyahu.

"Innocent and impoverished Palestinians were denied vital aid supplied from nations around the world," he added.

Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said "the hate that Netanyahu has against the Palestinian people makes him invent a parallel history."

"Netanyahu is convinced that Palestinians should be thankful for living under an apartheid regime and in exile," he said in a statement to AFP.

Netanyahu, for his part, said Israel "treats wounded Palestinians in its hospitals" and compared with "Hamas, that prevents injured Palestinians from getting help."

The two accused humanitarian workers have yet to be tried, and Halabi's lawyer denies the charges.

World Vision, while taking the allegations seriously, has said it has seen no evidence presented by Israel and has poured scorn on numbers presented by the Israeli security services that said more than $7 million (6.2 million euro) a year was stolen.

It said in a statement the "cumulative operating budget in Gaza for the past 10 years was approximately $22.5 million (20 million euro), which makes the alleged amount of up to $50 million (44 million euro) being diverted hard to reconcile."

A 2014 war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead, the majority of them civilians and including over 500 children, according to the United Nations.
France 'concerned' by Syria chemical attack reports

France on Thursday expressed alarm at reports of a deadly chemical attack Wednesday in the Syrian battleground city of Aleppo.

Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement he was "concerned by reports of a new chemical attack... that is said to have claimed four lives people and left dozens injured."

He added: "I strongly condemn all attacks on the civilian population, particularly those in which chemical weapons are used."

In the past two years there have been numerous allegations of chemical weapons being used against civilians in Syria, both by President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the rebels trying to oust him Karam Al-Masri (AFP/File)

Asked about the reported attack Thursday during a news conference in Geneva, the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said it was not in his remit to verify such reports but that "there is a lot of evidence that it actually did take place".

"If it did take place, it is a war crime and as such it would require everyone... to address it immediately," he added.

In the past two years there have been numerous allegations of chemical weapons being used against civilians, both by President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the rebels trying to oust him.

The United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are due to report later this month on their investigation into nine chemical weapons attacks in 2014 and 2015.

Ayrault said he would be "particularly attentive" to their findings.

In January, the OPCW announced that all of Syria's declared chemical arms stockpile had been completely destroyed.

But concerns remain that undeclared amounts of sarin gas and other chemical weapons are still being used.

Last week, the defence ministry of Russia, a staunch ally of Assad, accused rebels in Aleppo of killing seven people in an attack using a "poisonous agent".

The Russian claim came on the heels of reports that two dozen people had suffered breathing difficulties in the rebel-held town of Saraqeb, after a barrel bomb attack there that residents claimed used chlorine gas.
Police charge US teen over dramatic Trump Tower climb

The US teenager who used suction cups to scale Trump Tower, the New York home and headquarters of the Republican nominee for US president, has been charged, police said Thursday.

Stephen Rogata, 19, from Great Falls in Virginia, was captured and dragged through a window on the 21st floor of the 68-story skyscraper around three hours after he embarked on his dare-devil stunt Wednesday.

New York police said Thursday that he had been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.

An unidentified man scales Trump Tower using suction cups, August 10, 2016 in New York Bryan R. Smith (AFP/File)

Real estate tycoon Donald Trump, whom police said Rogata wanted to meet, was out of town at the time on the campaign trail.

In a tweet late Wednesday, the Republican nominee praised the "great job" done by police in "protecting the people and saving the climber".

Rogata's climb, on a hot and humid afternoon, was captured live on television and mesmerized onlookers who gathered below, where police deployed airbags in case he fell.

The teenager was initially taken by paramedics to Bellevue Hospital to be checked over by medics. Television footage showed him being wheeled out of Trump Tower on a stretcher Wednesday evening.

In an anonymous YouTube video, titled "Message to Mr Trump (why I climbed your tower)," a young man dressed in a black hoodie with his face partially obscured exhorted Americans to vote for the Republican in November.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," the man said.
Nigerian protesters hunker down outside Chevron depot

Nigerian villagers staged a third day of protests Thursday outside a Chevron facility to seek better jobs, as soldiers were called in to patrol the area, a community leader said Thursday.

Protesters from Ugborodo village hunkered down outside a Chevron oil depot in the mineral-rich swamplands of Delta State where communities live in poverty despite the region's massive oil wealth.

The Nigerian government is struggling to contain growing anger in the riverlands that has since the start of this year seen a series of bomb attacks on oil infrastructure by militants fighting for more political autonomy and a bigger cut of crude revenues.

Protesters from Ugborodo village hunkered down outside a Chevron oil depot in the mineral-rich swamplands of Delta State where communities live in poverty despite the region's massive oil wealth Dave Clark (AFP/File)

"The protest is fully on course," Collins Edema, president of the National Association of Itsekiri Graduates told AFP.

"We have brought a DJ and traditional drums to make it more of a carnival event despite the fact that they are trying to use the military to terrorise us."

Edema said that so far there have been no clashes between soldiers and protesters, who are camped outside the Chevron tank farm protected by a 10-foot (three-metre) concrete wall laced with barbed wire.

Yesterday, the protesters said Chevron workers were evacuated from the facility in planes and helicopters.

Ugborodo, a fishing village in the country's south, can only be accessed from air or by an hour-long boat ride through the mangrove creeks from the oil hub city of Warri. It is close to the Chevron facility.

"We continue to engage with the protesters and other key community leaders and stakeholders, including the Delta State Government, and hope for a resolution of the situation shortly," Texas-based Chevron spokeswoman Isabel Ordonez said in a statement.
Iraq politicians must pull together for Mosul: US

Feuding Iraqi politicians should unite as a crucial operation to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State group draws near, a top US envoy said Thursday.

The latest turmoil in Baghdad saw a bitter row break out between Iraq's defence minister and parliament speaker, who are also the country's most prominent Sunni politicians.

The White House's special envoy to the coalition battling IS, Brett McGurk, said he had so far seen no impact on the campaign but called for greater cohesion ahead of Mosul.

Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, Brett McGurk, pictured on July 21, 2016, called for greater cohesion ahead of Mosul Zach Gibson (Getty/AFP/File)

"I will say when it comes to Mosul it'll be really important for Iraqi leaders to stay focused and be pulling together to get this right," he told reporters in Baghdad.

"It's not just a military campaign, which we're confident will go well, it's also the humanitarian element to make sure that IDPs (internally displaced persons) are taken care of and then the stabilisation to make sure that the ground is laid to return the people to their homes," he said.

Earlier this month, Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi accused speaker Salim al-Juburi of corruption, the row escalating in a travel ban on the head of the legislative house.

The judiciary since dropped the case against him after an expeditious hearing but the feud does not bode well for efforts to unite Sunni leaders in the run-up to an operation on Mosul.

Mosul, the country's second city, has been the main jihadist hub in Iraq since the Islamic State group seized it and proclaimed its "caliphate" more than two years ago.

The number of different players involved in the northern region and the scope of the likely population displacement will make an assault on Mosul Iraq's most challenging operation since it started fighting back against IS.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed Iraq would be rid of IS by the end of the 2016 but McGurk refrained from giving a specific timeframe.
Delta chief accepts responsibility for outage

Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian took responsiblity for a computer glitch that grounded its fleet this week, according to an interview published Thursday.

"This is our responsibility," Bastian told the Wall Street Journal. "The buck stops here."

Bastian said there was "nothing endemic" in terms of problems afflicting Delta's computer systems and that he was confident the carrier would be able to resume at normal levels on Thursday after canceling hundreds of flights on each of the past three days.

Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines takes part in a group debate at the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual general meeting (AGM) in Dublin, Ireland on June 2, 2016 Paulo Nunes dos Santos (AFP/File)

On Monday, Delta grounded its global fleet for six hours due to a computer snafu it said was caused by a power outage in Atlanta, where the airline is based.

The glitch delayed thousands of flights and caused about 2,000 others to be canceled altogether.

The episode raised questions about the state of Delta's information technology systems.
Syrian child refugees tell Pope of new life in Rome

Young Syrian refugees who Pope Francis brought home with him after a trip to Greece laughed and joked with the pontiff Thursday as they told him of their new life in Italy.

The seven children were part of a group of 21 Syrian refugees given a new start in Rome after the pope's intervention following a visit to the Greek Island of Lesbos in April.

All 21 sat down for lunch with him at the Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican guesthouse, with the children presenting him with a book of their drawings.

Pope Francis reads a book to Syrian refugee children at the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta on August 11, 2016

"It was a moving, family moment... they spoke in Italian, which they have been learning... they told him about their life, where they came from, their country, their town, but also what they are doing in Rome," said Daniela Pompei, of the Saint'Egidio religious community, which is temporarily housing the families.

"They thanked him, because he saved their life (and) the children little by little became more confident and started to play with the pope, laughing, making jokes, something that greatly amused the holy father," she added.

The refugees came to Italy in two groups in April and June.

Twelve of the group were brought to Rome by the pope himself in April at the end of a trip to Lesbos in Greece aimed at highlighting the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees arriving on the shores of Europe.

Another nine who had also been living in a transit camp on the Greek island after making the perilous sea crossing from Turkey were brought to Italy in June.

Francis has repeatedly condemned Western society for its indifference to refugees, making the cause of migrants trying to reach Europe one of the defining themes of his papacy.

Over 1.1 million people have crossed clandestinely from Turkey to Greece since the start of 2015, with hundreds drowning en route. Many of them are Syrians, fleeing the horrors of the country's war.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- Thanks to an increase in assessed valuation within the district, Ocean Springs school taxes will drop for fiscal 2017.

Tuesday night, the district's board of trustees set the school district's budget request -- the amount needed to operate the district after state and federal funds are factored in -- at $17.83 million, an increase from the FY16 request of $16.71 million.

But to generate that amount, the City will have to levy only 66.8 mills -- a decrease of 2.69 mills from the current fiscal year. For a taxpayer with a home assessed at $180,000, the reduction will mean a savings of $48.42 on their tax bill.

With federal and state funding included, the districts total budget will remain steady at just under $50.8 million.

Superintendent Bonita Coleman explained that assessments were up due largely to new development in the unincorporated areas of the district, resulting in the value of a mill rising from $241,206 to $266,996.

Business Administrator Mary Gill

District business manager Mary Gill said when the school board approved the FY17 budget last month, the school district was facing a $1 million shortfall, based on last year's mill value.

However, once the new mill value was plugged into the formula, the district was able to cover all but $91,831 of the shortfall -- even with the decrease in the ad valorem request.

The reduction in millage is the first for Ocean Springs schools in several years. Coleman noted, however, that continued underfunding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program by the state legislature makes predicting future budget requests virtually impossible.

"We wanted to do this to provide some relief for our taxpayers," Coleman said "but I don't have a crystal ball, so I can't guarantee we will be able to stay at this (millage) rate.

"We have 297 new kids in the district this year, so clearly people are continuing to move here for our school district," she continued, "so we want to continue to provide a high standard of service, but we also want to be frugal."

In Ocean Springs, the school district receives just under 80 percent of all ad valorem taxes collected by the City -- a situation which has often left the City operating on a shoestring budget.

The reduction in school millage for the coming fiscal year raises the question as to whether the Ocean Springs Board of Aldermen might seize the opportunity increase its operating capital without a net increase to taxpayers.

Alderman Jerry Dalgo said it's worth considering, but unlikely.

Alderman Jerry Dalgo

"I certainly think that's a discussion we should have," Dalgo said. "Any time you can keep taxes where they are, but increase your revenues, it's definitely something to look at."

Dalgo noted the City, which has started its own FY17 budget process, would generate nearly a half million in new revenues with a two-mill increase -- funds which could provide for additional employees, allow for replacing aging equipment, etc.

"But I don't see that happening," Dalgo said, acknowledging that there's no way to guarantee the school district won't restore the 2.69 mills for FY18. Although the City is the tax levying authority for the district, aldermen have no choice but to approve the school's budget request unless it exceeds a 7 percent increase over the prior year.

Dalgo also said City departments have requested roughly $1.5 million more than what projected revenues for FY17 will cover.

"But that's nothing new. That's every year," he said, adding the board will simply prioritize those requests based on the projected revenues.
Zimbabwe protest pastor takes his crusade to the US

A Zimbabwe pastor who became the figurehead of recent demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe's government said Thursday he is travelling to the US to meet compatriots there and consider his next move.

Evan Mawarire, founder of a protest campaign dubbed "ThisFlag", was detained last month for allegedly trying to overthrow the state, but a court dropped charges against him.

After his release he travelled to neighbouring South Africa, where he has been living and meeting with fellow Zimbabweans until leaving for the US.

Zimbabwean Pastor Evan Mawarire, pictured on July 28, 2016, urged his compatriots to keep holding government to account and not rely on his leadership alone to pressure the government Mujahid Safodien (AFP/File)

"I am going to the USA. I am meeting some citizens over there...and to take time to think what will be my next move," Mawarire said in a video message posted on Facebook.

"Our power is in our unity, our power is in the fact that each Zimbabwean has decided to rise up".

The 39-year-old evangelical priest urged his compatriots to keep holding government to account and not rely on his leadership alone to pressure the government.

He called on Zimbabweans to stand up against "poor governance, corruption, theft of money and misgovernance".

Mawarire has steered clear of political affiliation and has avoided criticising Mugabe directly, repeatedly appealing for Zimbabweans to protest peacefully.

But Zimbabwe's veteran leader has publicly denounced the popular pastor.

Earlier this week, Mugabe accused his opponents, including Mawarire, of trying to topple him through protest, "like in the Arab countries".
Nigeria reports two new polio cases: WHO

The Nigerian government has reported two new polio cases in the first re-emergence of the disease since 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday.

Two children in the northeast state of Borno had been paralysed by the disease, the Geneva-based group said in a statement.

The new cases represent a major setback for Nigeria, which had just celebrated two years without polio last month and was on track to be certified free of the virus in July 2017.

Health workers try to board a vehicle taking them to designated centres to immunise children in Lagos on December 17, 2012 Pius Utomi Ekpei (AFP/File)

"The overriding priority now is to rapidly immunise all children around the affected area," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said.

That has been difficult to do in Borno, a region ravaged by Boko Haram insurgents in their quest to create a fundamentalist Islamist state.

The state is also facing a food crisis with UNICEF warning in July that some 50,000 Nigerian children risk starving to death.

"The confirmation of a wild poliovirus outbreak in northeast Nigeria underlines the emergency facing children in conflict-affected Borno state, where children are already facing dangerously high levels of malnutrition," Doune Porter, UNICEF Nigeria communications officer, said in a statement sent to AFP.

Nigeria had struggled to contain the virus after some northern states imposed a ban on vaccinations in 2003 with parents fearing that the vaccine wasn't safe.

But the government has been working to eradicate the disease, with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari pledging to work with international partners "to ensure that this disease is wiped off the face of the earth for good".
'Angel' Roma Downey gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star

Filmmaker Roma Downey accepted a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame Thursday, declaring it a great day for the Irish and thanking America for the opportunities it offered immigrants like her.

The devoutly religious actress-turned- producer, best known for her long-running role as Monica the angel on CBS's "Touched by an Angel," was dedicated a spot on the famous thoroughfare next to husband Mark Burnett's star.

"This is a great day, a great day for the Irish. Twenty-five years ago I came to America from Ireland looking for a dream. I came with a heart full of hope. The American dream meant to me freedom and opportunity," she said.

Actress Roma Downey poses on her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during the star presentation ceremony August 11, 2016 in Hollywood, California Robyn Beck (AFP)

"And like many immigrants before me this great country has offered me the opportunity to make my dreams come true."

The 56-year-old is preparing for the release next week of period epic "Ben-Hur," which she and Burnett are executive producing. Cast members including Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell and Rodrigo Santoro turned up to support her.

"This is an important film, and I hope that you'll all go and see it. Because not only is it a great action adventure movie, it is a film that holds deep in its heart a message of peace, justice, reconciliation and forgiveness," she said.

"And if there was ever a time more in our world that we needed this message, it's now, more than ever."

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Downey has picked up multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for "Touched by an Angel," which ran from 1994-2003 and co-starred her husband, also 56.

She first became known to American audiences for her portrayal of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 1991 NBC miniseries "A Woman Named Jackie."

A devout Catholic with a master's degree in spiritual psychology, she received a producing Emmy in 2013 for outstanding miniseries or movie for History's "The Bible," in which she also portrayed Jesus' mother Mary.

Downey's other producing credits include the miniseries "A.D. The Bible Continues" and "The Dovekeepers."

She is president of LightWorkers Media, the faith and family division of MGM.

In a speech peppered with references to her faith, she recalled starting out as a coat check girl in a plush restaurant on the Upper West Side of New York.

It was there that she met her first celebrity, entertainer and television host Regis Philbin, who gave her a $20 tip.

Years later, and by then pulling in up to 20 million viewers a week on "Touched by an Angel," Downey embarrassed the star by bringing up the encounter on "The Regis Philbin Show."
Clinton, Trump spar over Islamic State claim, economy

Hillary Clinton admonished Donald Trump for claiming she and President Barack Obama were the founders of the Islamic State group, as the White House rivals also clashed on plans to improve the US economy.

"No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS," Clinton tweeted as she accused her 2016 election rival of a "smear" against the president.

"Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our commander-in-chief."

A supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign rally at Silver Spurs Arena, inside the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida on August 11, 2016 Gregg Newton (AFP)

The Republican nominee roiled the campaign late Wednesday by telling a rally in Florida that Obama "is the founder of ISIS."

"And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton," he added.

A furious Democratic National Committee on Thursday called on the real estate mogul to "apologize for his outrageous, unhinged and patently false suggestions."

Instead, amid a flare of renewed controversy less than three months before the November 8 election, Trump doubled down, repeating to homebuilders in Miami Beach, Florida that Obama and Clinton founded the violent extremist group.

"ISIS will hand her the most valuable player award," he said of Clinton, 68.

He made the claim again at a rally Thursday night in Kissimmee, Florida.

Clinton's campaign issued a stern statement saying Trump has "an aversion to the truth."

"This is another example of Donald Trump trash-talking the United States," Clinton senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan said in the statement.

Trump was "echoing the talking points of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure," he added.

While Trump's remarks landed him in fresh controversy, they did manage to push another deeply divisive row -- his remarks that could be interpreted as advocating gun violence against Clinton -- out of the headlines.

Trump has struggled to right his campaign following two weeks of stumbles, sliding poll numbers and rejection by a series of fellow Republicans.

He eyed a reset Monday by rolling out his economic policies. But then dozens of respected Republican national security experts announced their opposition to a Trump presidency.

The following day, Trump caused alarm when he suggested "Second Amendment people" -- Americans who support gun rights -- could act against Clinton.

- 'Truth-teller' -

Republicans have long stated that the foreign policies of Obama and his then-secretary of state Clinton share blame in helping create conditions that allowed the IS group to grow in Iraq and Syria.

The jihadist organization was founded in 2013, months after Clinton left the State Department. It was born out of the extremist group Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which grew in strength in 2006 following Republican president George W. Bush's decision to invade the country in 2003.

The group flourished with Obama's withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in late 2011.

Republicans said Obama was slow to recognize the threat when he said in 2014 that the Islamic State group was a "JV" -- junior varsity -- team even though it was gaining ground in Syria and Iraq.

Trump stood firm when asked by CNBC whether it was appropriate to say a sitting US president founded a jihadist group determined to kill Americans.

"Is there something wrong with saying that?" Trump, 70, said. "Are people complaining that I said he was the founder of ISIS?"

"All I do is tell the truth. I'm a truth-teller."

Trump endured a barrage of recent criticism, particularly over the Second Amendment remarks, which Clinton said had "crossed the line."

Family members of Democratic president John F. Kennedy, shot to death in 1963, expressed revulsion over Trump for voicing "the possibility of political assassination."

Relatives of Republican president Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded in 1981, and slain civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr also condemned Trump for his gun remarks.

- Economy -

Clinton meanwhile turned toward the economy, telling supporters in Michigan she will defend US interests against China and reject the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement if she is president.

She also attacked Trump for his economic positions, saying he was peddling a "myth" that "he will stick it to the rich and powerful."

"Don't believe it," she said.

"He would give trillions in tax cuts to big corporations, millionaires and Wall Street money managers," she added.

Trump hit back, arguing in Miami Beach that Clinton will raise taxes dramatically.

"I'm going to cut taxes big league," he said.

His campaign also predicted Clinton, who supported TPP during the negotiation process, would ultimately approve the pact.

US presidential candidates in the polls Philippe Mouche, Simon Malfatto, Sophie Rmais (AFP)

US Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump arrives to address supporters during a campaign rally at the BB&T Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, August 10, 2016 Gaston De Cardenas (AFP/File)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses supporters during a rally at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida on August 8, 2016 Gregg Newton (AFP/File)
Bigwood on course for equestrian medal despite double vision

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Two years ago Fiona Bigwood considered giving up riding. Today she's aiming for a medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Bigwood and her horse Orthilia posted a score of 77.157 percent on Wednesday to help the British dressage team into third place after the first half of the grand prix.

"I am so over the moon," Bigwood said. "I just love that horse, I was very emotional after ... I have had many horses over the years but once you get a real friend like that it's something special."

Britain's Fiona Bigwood, riding Orthilia, competes in the equestrian dressage competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bigwood, who was third best on the day, has to ride with an eye patch because the 40-year-old suffers from double vision as a result of an accident during a warm-up in April 2014.

"I think it's amazing how the body does adjust to these accidents," Bigwood said. "I could get it operated on but I'd probably need several operations."

"I might try after the Olympics now but I don't really notice it. I put the patch on and off I go ... you do adjust to it and life carries on."

Bigwood, who admits she hasn't managed to get back on the horse she was riding when she had the accident, credits Orthilia with getting her through one of the darkest moments of her career and back in the saddle.

"When i had my accident, I wasn't allowed to ride anything that could be a little bit cheeky or naughty in case I fell again so I kept riding her because she would never do anything to hurt you," she said.

"All through my accident she was the one that kept me going, I was going to stop riding and that's why I think I have got such a lovely relationship with her. She is a friend ... she really is a friend to me. I love her to bits."

Bigwood can also count on the support of one of her dressage rivals  husband Anders Dahl, who rides for Denmark.

The couple have three children together.

"It was lovely to be at the opening ceremony both of us," she said. "What an experience is that? How many people can say that?

"A couple of times he came and found me so it was quite sweet. He walked with the Danish team and when we were in the stadium he came and found me, so that was really nice."

Germany, which won silver four years ago, leads the team standings ahead of Netherlands, which finished third in London.

Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin compete tomorrow for Britain, with the latter looking to defend her individual and team titles.

The results are calculated using the average of the three best riders' scores from each nation.

The six best placed teams progress on to the next phase, Friday's Grand Prix Special, when the team medals are decided.

Britain's Fiona Bigwood, riding Orthilia, competes in the equestrian dressage competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A hot tub's faulty wiring ignited one of California's most destructive wildfires, a blaze that killed four people, sent four firefighters to the hospital and destroyed more than 1,300 homes last year, officials said Wednesday.

In addition, a fifth Northern Californian who was last seen in his home before it was destroyed by the fire is missing and presumed dead.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection released a detailed, 500-page report into the cause of the 120-square-mile wildfire that devastated a large portion of rural Lake County and parts of Napa County about 90 miles north of San Francisco in September 2015.

Scroll down for video

Faulty wiring on a hot tub in Cobb, California has been blamed for the 2015 Valley Fire which killed five people. Above, the shed where the hot tub in question was set up

California officials announced their findings on the origin of the fire this week in a report. Above, the hot tub in question

The owners of the home, John and Cindy Pinch, admitted that they tried to wire the hot tub themselves.

The Pinch's home was surprisingly not damaged much in the blaze, which spread to Napa county

The wiring of the hot tub on residential property owned by John and Cindy Pinch in Cobb, California, 'was not installed according to building code,' investigators found.

The property owners are now being investigated for possible criminal charges and whether they are responsible for any of the $57 million it cost to extinguish the 2015 fire.

The Pinches didn't return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

The wildfire burned more than 1,300 homes in northern California last year. Above, a firefighter battles the blaze on September 13, 2015

This Sunday, September 13, 2015 file photo shows flames burn near gas lines at a destroyed apartment complex in Middletown, Cali

One of the victims of the blaze, Barbara McWilliams, tried to save herself by crawling into her homes fireplace

Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott said a building permit was required when homeowner John Pinch installed the used hot tub in 2009.

'We have not found a permit on file,' Pimlott said Wednesday at a press conference in Lake County.

Pimlott says investigators are discussing with the state Attorney General whether the homeowners will be sued.

Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson said at the press conference that he is reviewing the report and launching an investigation to determine if criminal charges should be filed.

Above, thee of the victims of the blaze from left to right: Barbara McWilliams, 72; Bruce Beven Burns, 65; and Leonard Neft, 69

The remains of Robert Taylor Fletcher, 61 (left), were also pulled from the blaze. Robert Lichtman, 61 (right), was never found but is presumed dead

'That's very difficult to answer mainly because I haven't read the report,' Anderson. 'We are involved with four deaths and that could be a whole range of criminal activity. Obviously there was destruction of a lot of property.'

The fire was the state's third most destructive blaze and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents and businesses.

The blaze burned for more than two weeks and dry, windy condition made the initial days especially harrowing. The first confirmed fatality was Barbara McWilliams, 72, who suffered from advanced multiple sclerosis and used a wheelchair.

The report says it appears McWilliams tried to escape the flames that engulfed her Lake County home on Cobb Mountain by crawling into her fireplace.

It's pretty upsetting that a stupid little mistake like that could have caused so much devastation. It actually floors me.

In addition to McWilliams, firefighters found the remains of three other people.

Robert Lichtman, 61, has not been seen since the fire destroyed his Lake County home and no remains have been found. He was last seen in his home.

State officials say the cost of the damage will exceed $1.5 billion.

'It's pretty upsetting that a stupid little mistake like that could have caused so much devastation. It actually floors me,' said Gary Herrin, who had sobbed as he walked through what little remained of his destroyed childhood home days after the fire past through his old neighborhood.

Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown said Wednesday he doesn't want people distracted by the cause of the fire. He wants to stay focused on rebuilding the community.

'I can't help but think the people who are responsible for this must be going through hell themselves,' he said. 'It's awful all the way around.'
The Latest: Police say tower climber wanted to meet Trump

NEW YORK (AP)  The Latest on a man who tried to scale the front of Trump Tower in New York City using suction cups (all times local):

8:15 p.m.

Police say a man who climbed partway up the facade of Trump Tower in New York City had posted a video online saying he did it because he wanted "a private audience" with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

New York Police officers attach a climbing rope and carabiner to a man who was attempting to scale Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The man spent more than 2 ' hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower, climbing as high as the 21st floor before police officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

In the video, the unidentified 20-year-old Virginia man says he's "an independent researcher" who wants to "discuss an important matter" with Trump.

The climber was pulled into an open window on the 68-story building's 21st floor Wednesday evening three hours into the stunt. Police say he was taken to a hospital to be psychologically evaluated.

The tower is headquarters to Trump's presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there but wasn't inside at the time.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Trump Tower is 68 stories, not 58 stories.

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6:45 p.m.

Police have removed a man from the facade of the 68-story Trump Tower in New York City.

Special operations officers could be seen grabbing the unidentified climber into an opened window on the building's 21st floor Wednesday evening.

After he was hauled into the window onlookers gathered on the streets below the Fifth Avenue tower cheered.

Police say he's now in custody.

Witnesses say the man started climbing Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper at about 4 p.m. He was wearing a backpack and used suction cups, ropes and a harness to slowly climb the building from an outdoor terrace just a few floors up.

The tower is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign and his business empire. He also lives there.

Trump was not in the building.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Trump Tower is 68 stories, not 58 stories.

___

5:15 p.m.

A man is scaling the all-glass facade of Trump Tower in New York City using suction cups.

The climber has a backpack and appears to be using ropes and a harness to fasten himself to the side of the 58-story Manhattan skyscraper. He was several stories up and still climbing Wednesday evening.

Police officers smashed windows and broke through a ventilation duct in an attempt to block his progress. Officers are lowering themselves toward him using a window washer's platform.

The tower is headquarters to Donald Trump's Republican presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there.

A Trump campaign spokeswoman hasn't responded to a request for comment.

Terraces and other parts of the building are open to the public during the day.

A man scales the all-glass face of Trump Tower in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (Alex Cannon via AP)
'Truly a piece of evil': 'Grim Sleeper' sent to death row

LOS ANGELES (AP)  The serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper" was sentenced to death Wednesday for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine.

The moment of reckoning for Lonnie Franklin Jr. came after those whose lives were altered by his violence questioned how he could have been so cruel and shown so little remorse.

"You are truly a piece of evil," said Enietra Washington, who managed to survive after being shot and testified against him at trial. "You're right up there with Manson."

Relatives of victim Mary Lowe from left, Kenneitha Lowe, Cameron Wright and Tracy Williams, speak during victims statements before the sentencing for Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," in Los Angeles Superior Court, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for 10 Los Angeles murders that spanned decades. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

The killings occurred over more than two decades and community members complained that police didn't seriously investigate them because the victims were black and poor and many were drug users and prostitutes.

Franklin was linked at trial to 14 slayings, including four women he wasn't charged with killing. Police have said he may have had as many as 25 victims.

Franklin, 63, avoided suspicion for decades, working as a city trash collector and onetime garage attendant for Los Angeles police. He denied any role in the killings to investigators but didn't utter a word in his defense during his lengthy trial or address the judge at sentencing. His attorneys had suggested a mystery man was the real killer.

Judge Kathleen Kennedy, a 28-year veteran of the court, said she concluded Franklin preyed on defenseless women because of deep-seated hatred toward them.

"I can't think of anyone I've encountered in all my years in the criminal justice system that has committed the monstrous crimes that you have," she said.

The judge didn't buy the defense argument that California's death penalty was unconstitutional and should be set aside. She also rejected a motion for a new trial.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said Franklin was irredeemable.

"He is a psychopathic, sadistic serial killer who takes joy in inflicting pain on women and killing them," she wrote in her sentencing brief.

Franklin, who showed no emotion throughout trial and six years of court hearings, did exchange words briefly with the family members of two victims.

He silently mouthed something to the mother of one victim and then said he didn't recognize the sister of another who told him to turn around and face her.

"I've never seen you before in my life," he told Vivian Williams, who said he knew who she was. "It's a bald-faced lie."

Williams, the sister of victim Georgia Mae Thomas, said she forgave Franklin for the "horrible things" he'd done because that's what the Bible taught her.

"On the inside I know you're broken and you're hurting just like all of us," she said, adding she would pray for him. "We know that you really need to be delivered."

Franklin was connected to the crimes after a task force that re-examined the old cases discovered that DNA from Franklin's son, which was in a database because of an arrest, showed similarities to genetic evidence found on some of the "Grim Sleeper" victims.

A detective posing as a busboy at a pizza parlor collected utensils and crusts while Franklin was attending a birthday party. Lab results connected him to some of the bodies and led to his arrest.

Investigators found a gun used in one of the killings and Polaroid photos of victims  including one of Washington, partly nude and bleeding  in Franklin's house after his arrest.

Nearly three decades after the attack, she pointed him out in court, saying, "That's the person who shot me."

Franklin killed seven women between 1985 and 1988 and a 15-year-old girl and two women between 2002 and 2007. Most were fatally shot at close range, though two were strangled. Their bodies were dumped and left to rot in alleys and trash bins.

The killer earned his moniker because of the apparent hiatus from 1988 to 2002, which police once theorized was due to him being imprisoned or laying low after Washington survived.

The killing of Thomas was later found to have occurred during that gap and police now say they don't think Franklin stopped killing until his arrest in 2010.

Franklin's conviction will be automatically appealed. The likelihood he'll be executed is slim because of challenges over the state's lethal injection procedure.

No one has been put to death in San Quentin State Prison since 2006 and there are nearly 750 inmates on death row.

Five of the jurors who decided Franklin's fate returned to court to support the victims Wednesday and to see if the judge would agree with their verdict.

Juror Michelle Mayne-Graves said the hardest part of the trial was viewing autopsy photos of decomposing bodies and hearing the anguish of family members speaking of their loss.

"You could feel their pain, it was palpable, she said. "That was awful."

As a shackled Franklin was led from courtroom, family members started clapping.

Laura Moore, speaks to Lonnie Franklin Jr. as she recalls being shot six times by him on May 5, 1984 during victims impact statements before he was sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2015, file photo, Lonnie Franklin Jr., who has been dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer, sits during a court hearing in Los Angeles. Franklin faces the death penalty when he is sentenced for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl. Franklin faces formal sentencing Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, after a jury found him guilty and said he should be executed. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," appears in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," listens to emotional statements from family members of his victims before being sentenced to death in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Mary Alexander, mother of Grim Sleeper victim Alicia Monique Alexander, asks Lonnie David Franklin Jr. to look at her as she asks him a question during victims impact statements before he was sentenced to death in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," turns to speak as he listens to emotional statements from family members of his victims before being sentenced to death in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," listens to emotional statements from family members of his victims before being sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for 10 Los Angeles murders that spanned decades. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)
A look at other Guatemalan massacre suspects arrested by US

GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  A former Guatemalan soldier suspected of helping carry out a massacre during the country's civil war was deported Wednesday by U.S. authorities.

Santos Lopez Alonzo is one of four such former soldiers arrested by U.S. authorities since 2010. They were wanted on allegations of participating in the killing of more than 200 people in the village of Las Dos Erres in 1982.

The slaughter went unpunished for years  even after Guatemalan authorities issued 17 arrest warrants. In 2009, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights demanded the country prosecute the perpetrators.

This Aug. 5, 2016 photo shows Guatemalan massacre suspect Santos Lopez Alonzo at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Adelanto, Calif. Lopez Alonzo was arrested in the U.S. in 2010 on immigration violations and held as a material witness in the U.S. government's prosecution of a fellow former soldier from Guatemala. He was deported from the United States on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, after a court refused his plea to stay because he fears for his life. He faces an arrest warrant in Guatemala for his alleged participation in a 1982 massacre during the country's civil war. (AP Photo/Amy Taxin)

Four former soldiers were sentenced in 2011 to more than 6,000 years for the killings. A year later, another suspect deported by the U.S. was sentenced.

Here is more about the three other former soldiers who were arrested by the U.S.:

___

GILBERTO JORDAN

He was arrested in Florida in 2010 and pleaded guilty to making false statements on his U.S. naturalization forms. His American citizenship was revoked, and he was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Jordan acknowledged participating in the killings and personally throwing a young child down a well in Las Dos Erres. He later testified against fellow former soldier Jorge Sosa Orantes at his California trial.

Jordan went to the U.S. illegally in 1985. He eventually settled in Boca Raton and worked as a cook at a country club.

He was expected to face deportation after finishing his U.S. prison sentence.

___

JORGE SOSA ORANTES

He was arrested in Canada in 2011 and extradited to California, where he stood trial for lying about the massacre on his naturalization forms.

He was convicted in 2013, sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and stripped of his U.S. citizenship.

Sosa left Guatemala in 1985 and sought asylum in the United States, claiming he was fleeing guerrillas. When he was denied, he went to Canada, where he became a citizen. He later married an American, got a green card and applied to naturalize in 2007.

Sosa had been working as a martial arts instructor in Riverside County. Federal authorities searched his home in 2010 but he had left for Mexico and later Canada, where he was arrested on U.S. charges.

He was a second lieutenant in the army during the massacre. At Sosa's trial, Jordan testified that Sosa fired his rifle and threw a grenade at villagers who screamed from within a well.

Sosa is expected to be deported after his U.S. prison sentence ends.

___

PEDRO PIMENTEL RIOS

He lived in Santa Ana, California, and worked at a sweater factory for years until he was arrested by immigration authorities in 2010.

He fought his deportation, saying he feared he would not be given a fair trial. But he was sent back to Guatemala the following year.
Experts: 2 killings by police were tragic, likely justified

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Two fatal police shootings in the Los Angeles area in the last two weeks began the same way: officers thinking a suspect had a gun.

In one, police say a 14-year-old boy fired at them and they found a weapon. In the other, a 27-year-old man police believed was a carjacking suspect who had fired at them was later determined to be innocent and unarmed.

Different scenarios, same result and, experts say, likely the same outcome once the investigations are completed  police were legally justified to open fire because they had reason to believe the suspects could harm them or others.

CORRECTS ID FROM DWAYNE HILL TO JOSEPH GAY AND ADDS RELATIONSHIP OF BROWN TO THOMPSON- Matrice Stanley, center, sister of Donnell Thompson, who was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies in Compton, Calif., her son and Thompson's nephew Joseph Gay, rear, and Thompson's sister Antoinette Brown, left, speak to reporters outside the County Hall of Administration after addressing county supervisors in downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. The Sheriff's Department earlier Tuesday had acknowledged that Thompson was not involved with a carjacker who had fired at pursuers when he was shot and killed on July 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

"From a legal standpoint, it doesn't technically matter if he's armed or not," said Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore police officer and a criminologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "It matters if a reasonable cop has a reason to believe he is."

The killing of Donnell Thompson Jr. occurred after Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies suspected he had been involved in the carjacking on July 28 in Compton. The department acknowledged Tuesday, however, that investigators had found no evidence connecting Thompson to the crime.

The carjacking suspect fired at deputies during a car chase and ran off when he crashed. Deputies searching for him found Thompson about two hours later after a homeowner about a half-mile away reported a man lying in his front yard.

Thompson fit the general description of the carjacking suspect  a black man between 20 and 30 wearing dark clothing. He didn't move or respond when deputies repeatedly shouted at him and then used a flash-bang device.

Thompson finally got up when he was shot with rubber bullets and charged at an armored police vehicle about 25 feet away, according to sheriff's Lt. John Corina.

Thompson was then shot twice at close range by a deputy riding in the turret of the vehicle, one of two dispatched to provide cover for officers, Corina said.

The deputy, a 20-year veteran, said he fired because he feared Thompson was armed and could harm officers behind the other vehicle or citizens if he made it past the deputy, according to Corina.

Thompson's family believes the department overreacted and that race was a factor. His father filed a civil rights claim against the department alleging deputies didn't have probable cause to open fire.

Chuck Drago, a former police chief in Oviedo, Florida, with 35 years of law enforcement experience, said the shooting appears justified based on what deputies knew at the time.

"As sad as it is when it turns out to be an innocent person  and it's a horrible thing  it's reasonable and justifiable to do that if there's reason to believe he's armed," he said. "That's the key here."

In the other fatal shooting, a Los Angeles police officer investigating a graffiti tagging report killed a 14-year-old boy Tuesday after the teen fired at officers during a brief foot chase, Deputy Chief Robert Arcos said.

Police said they recovered a loaded, long-barreled revolver the teen was carrying when he was shot.

The shooting occurred in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles that is gentrifying in some small sections but is still home to nearly three dozen gangs, police say.

Laurie Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who has studied police misconduct, said officers are given great legal deference when they use lethal force.

"The law looks at things through the eyes of officers as it occurs, not what you know after the fact," she said.

___

Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/amanda-lee-myers .

Matrice Stanley, at left in black, sister of Donnell Thompson, 27, who was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies in Compton, Calif., and other family members appear before Los Angeles County supervisors at the County Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. The Sheriff's Department earlier Tuesday had acknowledged that Thompson was not involved with a carjacker who had fired at pursuers when he was shot and killed on July 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Capt. Steve Katz describes how the situation unfolded when a deputy shot and killed Donnell Thompson, 27, in Compton, Calif., on July 28, after a carjacking and car chase in which Thompson was not involved, at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday that a man fatally shot by a deputy last month wasn't the carjacking suspect they were seeking. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Capt. Steve Katz describes how the situation unfolded when a deputy shot and killed Donnell Thompson, 27, in Compton, Calif., on July 28, after a carjacking and car chase in which Thompson was not involved, at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday that a man fatally shot by a deputy last month wasn't the carjacking suspect they were seeking. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)

Family members of Donnell Thompson, 27, who was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies in Compton, Calif., speak to reporters outside the County Hall of Administration after addressing county supervisors in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. The Sheriff's Department earlier Tuesday had acknowledged that Thompson was not involved with a carjacker who had fired at pursuers when he was shot and killed on July 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
GULFPORT, Mississippi -- One person is dead and one arrested after a shooting at a Gulfport gas station.

Sgt. Damon McDaniel tells local media outlet officers responded to a Citgo gas station Wednesday night and found a man suffering from gunshot wounds.

Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove says 26-year-old Chandler Pugh, of Gulfport, died from wounds to the chest.

Thursday morning, 30-year-old Peter Julius Henderson of Theodore, Ala., was taken into custody and charged with murder. He is in the Harrison County Adult Detention Center under a $1 million bond.

According to McDaniel, investigators learned the incident began with an argument between Pugh and his ex-girlfriend. During the argument, Henderson stepped out of the woman's vehicle and shot Pugh multiple times to the upper torso.

McDaniel said the investigation is still in its early stages.

Mississippi Press staff writer Warren Kulo contributed to this report.
The Latest: 2 early US 1-cent coins sell for $869,500

LOS ANGELES (AP)  The Latest on an auction of two one-cent coins dating back to the early U.S. (all times local):

7:30 p.m.

Two rare one-cent coins from the earliest days of the U.S. Mint have sold for a pretty penny.

This undated image provided by Heritage Auctions shows the obverse, front, of a 1792 "Birch Cent." The one-cent coin is one of two rare 1792-dated coins made during the early days of the United States Mint. The rare coins are anticipated to sell for nearly a million dollars at the World's Fair of Money in Anaheim, Calif., during a public auction conducted by Heritage Auctions on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (Travis Awalt/Heritage Auctions, HA.com via AP)

The coins, both dating to 1792, sold for a combined total of $869,500 at the auction held Wednesday in Anaheim, California.

One of them, known as the "Birch Cent," sold for $517,000.

The other, known as the "Silver Center Cent," went for $352,500.

Eric Bradley, spokesman for Heritage Auctions, said that while the sales fell somewhat short of the combined $1 million the auction house projected they would go for, organizers are still pleased with the result.

The names of the buyers have not been released and they may choose to stay anonymous.

___

11:30 p.m.

If you see these pennies, pick them up. You'll have a whole lot more than good luck.

Two rare American one-cent coins dating back to 1792 are expected to sell for nearly a million dollars at a public auction in Southern California starting Wednesday.

The copper coins, known as the "Silver Center Cent" and the "Birch Cent," are expected to sell for about a half-million dollars each and were made during the early days of the United States Mint.

Eric Bradley of Heritage Auctions, which is holding the sale, calls them classic American rarities that represent America's early attempts to distance itself from Britain.

This undated image provided by Heritage Auctions shows the reverse of a 1792 "Birch Cent." The one-cent coin is one of two rare 1792-dated coins made during the early days of the United States Mint. The rare coins are anticipated to sell for nearly a million dollars at the World's Fair of Money in Anaheim, Calif., during a public auction conducted by Heritage Auctions on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (Travis Awalt/Heritage Auctions, HA.com via AP)

This undated image provided by Heritage Auctions shows the obverse, front, of a 1792 "Silver Center Cent." The one-cent coin is one of two rare 1792-dated coins made during the early days of the United States Mint. The rare coins are anticipated to sell for nearly a million dollars at the World's Fair of Money in Anaheim, Calif., during a public auction conducted by Heritage Auctions on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (Travis Awalt/Heritage Auctions, HA.com via AP)
Tiny Polish car catches a wave in auto-crazy Cuba

HAVANA (AP)  Ramses Fernandez's most cherished possession is barely larger than a refrigerator, with the legroom of an economy airplane seat and a little more horsepower than a riding lawnmower.

"That's my second baby," said Fernandez, smiling proudly at the 39-year-old automobile purchased about the time his 10-month-old son was born. "My wife says that car is my child."

A humble two-cylinder Polish-made hatchback, the Fiat 126p was forgotten by most people after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Decades later, the car lovingly known as the Polski is basking in a Cuban revival.

Evilio Aguilar poses with his Fiat Polski 126p in a garage in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, August 10, 2016. An estimated 10,000 Polskis are registered in Cuba, according to aficionados. Although many are out of service, thousands of others buzz along Cuban roads. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Buses and taxis are in short supply as Cuba struggles with cutbacks in subsidized oil from Venezuela. The average salary is about $25 a month, but government-controlled car and gasoline prices are among the highest in the world.

With around just 24 horsepower, depending on exactly how each one has been altered, the half-ton Polski offers families a shot at independent mobility for a few thousand dollars, a sum within reach of those able to save from private jobs or family sending money from overseas.

So the self-taught mechanics who've kept Cuba's famed American sedans running for decades are turning their talents to this automotive artifact from the Cold War, equipping Polskis with stronger suspensions, more powerful motors, even high-end sound systems and upholstery.

"2016 has been the year of the Fiat Polski 126p," said Hendy Coba, president of Friends of the Car, an officially sanctioned Havana car owners club.

An estimated 10,000 Polskis are registered in Cuba, according to aficionados. Although many are out of service, thousands of others buzz along Cuban roads, literally overshadowed by the 1950s American behemoths known as almendrones, and even by the rattling Ladas and Moskovitches imported from the Soviet Union.

Fernandez, an auto mechanic, said he sold his motorcycle around the time of his son's birth and bought his Polski with the proceeds, about $5,000.

He's equipped it with disc brakes, new tires, an upgraded gearbox and a water-cooled engine nearly twice as powerful as the one it came with.

The normally air-cooled Polski is so prone to overheating in Cuba that many owners drive around with the rear hatch open in an attempt to suck hot air away from the engine. Fernandez's closed hatch, and his car's relative nimbleness, makes him the object of constant admiring comments from other drivers at red lights.

"People love my car," he said. "Everybody says, 'What a beautiful vehicle!'"

Raul Seoane's family saved years of remittances from relatives working in Spain and spent $2,000 for a well-worn red Polski manufactured in 1986.

Seoane, a 32-year-old computer technician, said the family mainly uses the car to run errands, get to work and take older relatives to doctors' appointments.

He's been surprised by the number of tourists who ask to pose with the family vehicle.

"Foreigners take photos as if they've never seen something like this," he said. "For being an economical car, the Polski has really caught on."

Fiat Polski 126p's from the Club Fiat Cuba, stand in a garage in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, August 10, 2016. The half-ton, two-cylinder Polish-made hatchback, the Fiat 126p was forgotten by most people after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Decades later, the car lovingly known as the Polski is basking in a Cuban revival. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Ramses Fernandez works on a Fiat Polski 126p in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, August 10, 2016. Fernandez owns a Polski that is his most cherished possession. It is barely larger than a refrigerator, with the legroom of an economy airplane seat and a little more horsepower than a riding lawnmower. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Fiat Polski 126p, owners Raul Seoane, left, Ramses Fernandez, second left, Evilio Aguilar, center, Rigoberto Mesa, second right, and Pedro Fernandez, proudly pose with their cars in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, August 10, 2016. With around just 24 horsepower, depending on exactly how each one has been altered, the half-ton Polski offers families a shot at independent mobility for a few thousand dollars, a sum within reach of those able to save from private jobs or family sending money from overseas. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Raul Seoane poses with his Fiat Polski 126p in a garage in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, August 10, 2016. Seoanes family saved years of remittances from relatives working in Spain and spent $2,000 for the well-worn red Polski manufactured in 1986. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Consultant: I conspired with attorney general to frame aide

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP)  A political consultant told jurors Thursday that he "conspired" with Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane to pin a grand jury leak on her top deputy.

Consultant Josh Morrow testified under a grant of immunity at Kane's perjury and corruption trial in suburban Philadelphia.

Morrow said he met with Kane in August 2014 to concoct a "story" about how the secret criminal files on an NAACP official ended up in a newspaper. They decided to blame the leak on top deputy Adrian King, he said.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane enters the Montgomery County courtroom on Thursday, August 11, 2016 to continue her trial in Norristown, Pa. Kane, a first-term Democrat, is accused of leaking secret grand jury documents to the press and lying about it under oath. (Art Gentile/Bucks County Courier Times via AP, Pool)

Morrow admitted he even told the story to a grand jury, though he said he tweaked it at a second appearance as it began to "unravel." Only this week, he said, is he really coming clean.

"We had conspired to create this story that wasn't true," Morrow said, "that Kathleen Kane never saw the documents and that Adrian was the one who told me about (them)."

He said Kane leaked the material as she became "unhinged" over her feud with a rival prosecutor who had embarrassed her in the press. She knew the prosecutor, Frank Fina, had shut down a 2009 investigation of an NAACP leader from Philadelphia, J. Whyatt Mondesire.

"I think she was just hell-bent on getting back at Frank Fina," Morrow said.

King, earlier in the day, admitted that he passed the packet from Kane to Morrow, but said he never knew what it contained. Morrow, though, said he told King it contained secret files on Mondesire.

Morrow's phone records show a series of calls that took place that day between Kane, King, Morrow and a friend Morrow called for advice after Kane allegedly asked him to leak the documents. Unbeknownst to Morrow, the FBI was listening when he called the politically-connected friend, John Lisko. Their April 22, 2014, phone call was played in court Thursday.

Morrow, on the tape, complains that there was no overall strategy behind the leak and that Kane instead operated in "scattershot" fashion. Lisko advises him not to do it, but he didn't heed the advice.

"It's embarrassing to come in here and admit I lied. It's hurtful to my career. It's hurtful to my relationships," Morrow testified. "I lied in the grand jury to protect Kathleen."

He also did so to protect himself, he admitted on cross-examination.

Kane has said that she neither leaked any documents she had sworn to keep secret nor lied about it to the grand jury. She remains in office, although she has lost her law license.

King, who had dated Kane in law school, said he took a steep pay cut to spend a year in public service as her top deputy. But their relationship grew strained, and King felt she more than once "tried to set me up."

King endured four appearances before a grand jury, but was never charged in the case. He has returned to his far more lucrative job as a partner at a Philadelphia law firm.

Josh Morrow, right, a political consultant enters the courtroom, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016 in Norristown, Pa. Morrow told jurors Thursday that he "conspired" with Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane to pin a grand jury leak on her top deputy. Morrow testified under a grant of immunity at Kane's perjury and corruption trial in suburban Philadelphia. (Art Gentile/Bucks County Courier Times via AP, Pool)

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane talks with an agent from her office outside the Montgomery County courtroom during a break in her trial on Thursday, August 11, 2016, in Norristown, Pa. Kane, a first-term Democrat, is accused of leaking secret grand jury documents to the press and lying about it under oath. (Art Gentile/Bucks County Courier Timesvia AP, Pool)

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane waves as she enters the Montgomery County courtroom on Thursday, August 11, 2016 to continue her trial in Norristown, Pa. Kane, a first-term Democrat, is accused of leaking secret grand jury documents to the press and lying about it under oath. (Art Gentile/Bucks County Courier Times via AP, Pool)
Mobsters in Little Italy? Gentrifying NYC enclave

NEW YORK (AP)  In a recent conversation with an undercover FBI agent wearing a wire, a reputed mobster from Connecticut named Eugene "Rooster" O'Norfio proclaimed himself the new boss of the "Mulberry Street Crew" in Manhattan's Little Italy.

New Yorkers could be forgiven for responding: Rooster who?

"I didn't even know he existed," said Joseph Scelsa, who has run the Italian American Museum out of a storefront on Mulberry Street for the past eight years.

In this Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 photo, an overhead sign welcomes visitors to Little Italy, near the Cafe Roma, at the corner of Broome and Mulberry Streets, in New York. In a conversation with an undercover FBI agent, reputed mobster Eugene "Rooster" O'Norfio proclaimed himself the new boss of the "Mulberry Street Crew," but prosecutors' charges against him are far cry from the days when big name-gangsters claimed Little Italy as their turf. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

The obscurity of O'Norfio, the vagueness of the allegations against him contained in a new federal mob indictment and an absence of fear in Little Italy reflect how a tourist destination with its shrinking cluster of Italian restaurants and gift shops has changed since the days when it was the turf of marquee Mafia bosses like John "Dapper Don" Gotti and Vincent "Chin" Gigante.

Though the indictment suggests organized crime still has at least a toehold in the neighborhood, visitors to Mulberry Street would have a far better chance of dropping $400 on designer shoes than spotting a preening gangster.

"The colorful names remain the same. Some of the scams and the shakedowns remain. But the vise grip on businesses and others is not the same as it used to be," said Randy Mastro, an attorney who once served as a mob-busting point man under former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

In the 1990s, authorities used electronic surveillance at Gotti's Little Italy headquarters, the Ravenite Social Club on Mulberry Street, to help bring down the mercurial boss of the Gambino crime family. They also removed the stranglehold Gigante's Genovese crime family had on the annual Feast of San Gennaro street festival, where it once ran gambling games, imposed a "mob tax" on vendors and raided donations at a neighborhood church. Both bosses died in federal prison.

Yet, forces far more powerful than the FBI may have had a bigger impact.

The Ravenite is now a boutique for "handcrafted" shoes in a gentrified part of Little Italy that was long ago rebranded as Nolita (North of Little Italy).

Art galleries, brunch spots and upscale clothing stores are steadily encroaching on what remains of the old neighborhood.

But the mob investigations have continued, resulting in an embezzlement conviction in 2000 of a former San Gennaro organizer, testimony at a 2004 trial that another feast leader was a made man, and a 2013 guilty plea by a Genovese capo in a case accusing him of trying to extort the festival.

In the current case, court papers quote O'Norfio recounting how the capo told him, "I want you at the helm" of the Mulberry Street Crew while he was in prison.

The new indictment accuses the 74-year-old O'Norfio, of East Haven, Connecticut, of loansharking, but it doesn't go into specifics. He has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges that also accuse him of being in charge of another crew in Springfield, Massachusetts.

His lawyer, Thomas Nooter, declined to comment.

News coverage of the recent cases has rankled Little Italy boosters.

The nonprofit that runs San Gennaro each September complained in a 2012 letter to The New York Times that the coverage was overblown and "rekindled old, derogatory stereotypes" about Italian-Americans while ignoring the festival's charity work.

The new charges "really disgust me," said Scelsa, whose museum celebrates Italian-American culture, evidenced by a copy of a platinum record for Billy Joel's "The Stranger" - featuring the song "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" - perched in the front window. He believes the case represents an invisible vestige of a bygone era when the so-called Black Hand extortion racket terrorized the neighborhood.

"I wouldn't have opened up on Mulberry Street if I thought it was still there," he said.

Still, today's organized crime networks need to be seen as "a struggling business that's trying to survive by diversifying," said James Walden, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, citing the credit card and health care fraud charges in the indictment.

Mastro cautioned that even with the modern serenity of Mulberry Street, law enforcement must stay vigilant.

"Trying to eliminate La Cosa Nostra," he said, "is like trying to kill a vampire."

This Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 photo shows activity in Manhattan's Little Italy neighborhood, on Mulberry Street just north of Canal St., in New York. In a conversation with an undercover FBI agent, reputed mobster Eugene "Rooster" O'Norfio proclaimed himself the new boss of the "Mulberry Street Crew," but prosecutors' charges against him are far cry from the days when big name-gangsters claimed Little Italy as their turf. The obscurity of O'Norfio, the vagueness of the allegations against him contained in a new federal mob indictment and an absence of fear in Little Italy, reflect how a tourist destination with its shrinking cluster of Italian restaurants and gift shops has changed since the days when it was the turf of marquee Mafia bosses like John "Dapper Don" Gotti and Vincent "Chin" Gigante. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 photo pedestrians stroll past 247 Mulberry Street, the site of the former Ravenite Social Club once frequented by the late Mafia boss John "Dapper Don" Gotti in New York's Little Italy neighborhood. The Ravenite is now a boutique for "handcrafted" shoes in a building undergoing construction in the gentrified part of Little Italy that was long ago rebranded as Nolita (North of Little Italy). An absence of fear in Little Italy reflects how a tourist destination with its shrinking cluster of Italian restaurants and gift shops has changed since the days when it was the turf of marquee Mafia bosses. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016 photo, boutiques and restaurants attract visitors along Mulberry Street between Prince and Spring Streets in the block where the late Mafia boss John "Dapper Don" Gotti once frequented the Ravenite Social Club, in New York's Little Italy neighborhood. Visitors to Mulberry Street would now have a far better chance of dropping $400 on designer shoes than spotting an actual preening gangster. The Ravenite is now a boutique for "handcrafted" shoes in a building undergoing construction in the gentrified part of Little Italy that was long ago rebranded as Nolita (North of Little Italy). (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2014 file photo, pedestrians watch during the Feast of San Gennaro procession in New York's Little Italy neighborhood, where the Gigante's Genovese crime family once had a stranglehold on the annual Mulberry street festival, running gambling games, imposing a "mob tax" on vendors and raiding donations at a neighborhood church. Little Italy today is a far cry from the days when big name-gangsters claimed it as their turf and visitors to Mulberry Street now would have a far better chance of dropping $400 on designer shoes than spotting an actual gangster. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 24, 1956 file photo, the Feast of San Gennaro is celebrated in New York's Little Italy neighborhood where the Gigante's Genovese crime family once had a stranglehold on the annual street festival on Mulberry street, running gambling games, imposing a "mob tax" on vendors and raiding donations at a neighborhood church. Little Italy today is a far cry from the days when big name-gangsters claimed it as their turf and visitors to Mulberry Street now would have a far better chance of dropping $400 on designer shoes than spotting an actual gangster. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this April 1972 file photo, police tape keeps pedestrians away from Umberto's Clam House after mobster Joey Gallo was was shot to death in the restaurant on Mulberry St., on his 43rd birthday, April 7, 1972, in New York's Little Italy neighborhood. Now an absence of fear in Little Italy reflects how a tourist destination with its shrinking cluster of Italian restaurants and gift shops has changed since the days when big name-gangsters claimed Mulberry Street as their turf. Visitors today would have a far better chance of dropping $400 on designer shoes than spotting an actual gangster. (AP Photo/Jerry Mosey, File)
German minister proposes tougher security laws after attacks

BERLIN (AP)  Germany's interior minister on Thursday unveiled proposals to boost security after recent attacks, including making it easier to deport foreigners deemed dangerous and stripping dual nationals who fight for extremist groups of their German citizenship.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere's plans also include creating several thousand jobs at federal security services over the coming years and making "promoting terrorism" a criminal offense.

Four attacks last month included two carried out by asylum-seekers and claimed by the Islamic State group. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany won't be deflected from giving shelter to people who deserve asylum, but also pledged to do "everything humanly possible" to keep the country safe.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, presents measures for increased security, in Berlin, Germany, Tursday, Aug. 11, 2016. De Maiziere is proposing stripping dual nationals who fight for extremist groups abroad of their German citizenship, and wants to make it easier to deport foreigners deemed to be dangerous. (Wolfgang Kumm/dpa via AP)

"A lot of people ... are worried about further attacks. That is understandable," de Maiziere told reporters. "No one can guarantee absolute security, but we must do what is possible."

He said Germany will consider joining other countries in screening the public social-media profiles of people being admitted to the country under formal resettlement programs and would start a pilot project to judge its effectiveness.

De Maiziere also wants to strengthen German authorities' ability to probe the darknet, an area of cyberspace invisible on the open internet.

The minister proposed making it easier to take foreigners who have committed crimes or otherwise are deemed to be dangerous into pre-deportation custody, making "endangering public security" a ground for jailing them. That's meant to make it easier to ensure people who are obliged to leave the country actually do so.

He said it's already possible to strip German citizenship from dual nationals who fight for foreign armies, so it's reasonable to apply the same rule to those who fight for a "terror militia" abroad.

De Maiziere also pointed to ongoing efforts to toughen German and particularly European Union weapons laws.

Two of the attacks in a weeklong period starting July 18  an ax rampage near Wuerzburg that wounded five and a suicide bombing that injured 15 outside a bar in Ansbach  were the first in Germany to be claimed by IS. Both attackers, asylum-seekers who arrived over the past two years, were killed.

In two other attacks  a shooting by a German-Iranian 18-year-old in Munich that claimed 10 lives, including the assailant's, and the fatal stabbing of a woman by a Syrian asylum-seeker at a restaurant in Reutlingen  the motive is still unclear but Islamic extremism is not suspected.

The attackers in Ansbach and Munich had received psychiatric treatment in the past.

In response, de Maiziere said the government will discuss with doctors ways to "minimize dangers to citizens as far as possible" but stressed that patient confidentiality rules will be upheld.

In Germany, doctors can face a fine or up to a year in prison for breaching patient confidentiality, though existing rules already allow them to do so "in order to safeguard a higher-ranking legally protected interest."

De Maiziere said he was limiting himself to proposals that could be implemented quickly, and said he considered them "politically reasonable" for the center-left junior party in the conservative Merkel's governing coalition. De Maiziere is a member of Merkel's party, the Christian Democrats.

He said he hopes that many of the measures can be introduced before a national election expected in September next year.

Some Christian Democrats, keen to bolster the party's law-and-order credentials ahead of the national election, as well as two state elections next month and three next spring, have called for further measures such as a ban on all-body veils worn by some Muslim women.

De Maiziere made clear, however, that such a ban is "constitutionally problematic" and isn't in the cards.

"You can't ban everything that you reject," he said.

___

David Rising contributed to this story.
Teenager who scaled Trump Tower had past problems at home

NEW YORK (AP)  A Virginia teenager who climbed partway up Trump Tower had a history of problems at home. In 2014 he ran away from home after arguing with his parents about his obsession with a political blog, according to a police report.

The teen was plucked from the side of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Wednesday after spending three hours climbing up its glass facade using powerful suction cups.

The New York Police Department identified the climber as 19-year-old Stephen Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia, though his birth name is Michael Joseph Ryan.

A man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower using suction cups Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. A police spokeswoman says officers responded to Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

According to a police report in Fairfax County, Virginia, the teen's parents reported him missing in November 2014.

They told police that their son, then 18, became angry when they took away his Internet privileges because he was spending too much time on a "blog on government issues in the United States" and neglecting his schoolwork.

"His entire life focus is on that blog," his mother, Gina Ryan, told police, according to the report.

A day after reporting him missing, the parents told police they had spoken to him and made arrangements to pick him up in Petersburg, Virginia, according to the report. His parents later told police that he had been planning to travel to Miami to live on the streets.

There was no immediate response to a message left Thursday at his family's home in Virginia.

Rogata remained hospitalized, undergoing a psychiatric evaluation Thursday, a day after his arrest on charges of reckless endangerment and trespassing.

Rogata climbed 21 stories up the 58-story skyscraper before officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window, police said.

A day before the ascent, police said, the teen posted an online video addressing Trump. He called himself an "independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter" and said he was willing to risk his life "to get your attention."

Police were treating the tower climb as a potentially dangerous stunt, saying there was no indication Rogata wanted to hurt anyone.

The Fifth Avenue tower is headquarters to Trump's presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there, but was out of state at the time.

___

Nuckols reported from Fairfax, Virginia.

___

This story has been corrected to show Trump Tower is 58 stories tall, not 68, and to show Michael Ryan was Rogata's birth name, not his legal name.

A man scales the all-glass face of Trump Tower in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (Alex Cannon via AP)

A man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. A police spokeswoman says officers responded to Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

New York Police officers attach a climbing rope and carabiner to a man who was attempting to scale Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The man spent more than 2 ' hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower, climbing as high as the 21st floor before police officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

An emergency response officer reaches to pull a man's legs over as New York Police officers struggled to pull the man through a window as he scaled Trump Tower using suction cups Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The man spent more than 2 hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower, climbing as high as the 21st floor before officers grabbed him. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A New York Police officer watches as a man attempts to scale Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The man spent more than 2 hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower using large suction cups, climbing as high as the 21st floor before police officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A man scales the all-glass face of Trump Tower in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (Alex Cannon via AP)

A man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. A police spokeswoman says officers responded to Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Attack on police car in Iran kills policeman, wounds 2

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iran's official news agency is reporting that a policeman died and two of his colleagues were wounded when an attacker on a motorcycle threw an explosive device at their car.

IRNA reported on Thursday that the attack happened earlier this week, on Tuesday night, in the country's Kurdish region, in the predominantly Kurdish town of Marivan near the border with Iraq.

Sporadic clashes between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists have left casualties on both sides in recent months.
Justice Dept. report critical of zero-tolerance policing

WASHINGTON (AP)  To supporters, zero-tolerance policing has long represented a logical crime-fighting approach: Crack down on minor infractions before they mushroom into more serious and disruptive violence.

But a scathing federal government report on the Baltimore Police Department suggests the costs of that strategy outweigh any reduction in crime. The Justice Department report released Wednesday blames zero-tolerance policing for a legacy of discriminatory law enforcement in which black residents are disproportionately stopped and searched without cause.

"The police department's 'zero tolerance' street enforcement strategy became a quest to produce large numbers of enforcement actions  pedestrian stops in particular  often without enough consideration of their limited impact on solving crime and their caustic damage to community relationships," Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, said at a news conference.

Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, discusses the department's findings on the investigation into the Baltimore City Police Department as Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, left, and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, right, listens on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016 at City Hall in Baltimore. The Justice Department and Baltimore police agreed to negotiate court-enforceable reforms after a scathing federal report released Wednesday criticized officers for using excessive force and routinely discriminating against blacks. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

The conclusion forcefully rejects a strategy critics condemn as unduly harsh and one that has fallen out of favor in some of the same cities, including Baltimore, where it was developed and regularly employed. The report also revives a public dialogue that surfaced repeatedly on the presidential campaign trail, particularly as former Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, who still defends the zero-tolerance policy, sought the Democratic nomination.

Over the years, the strategy has divided academics and police and government officials.

"It reflects a debate that's been going on for quite a while, and to the extent that we can find the government acknowledging those costs and downsides, it's about time," said David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who specializes in police policy and conduct.

Zero-tolerance emerged as a popular strategy in Baltimore more than 15 years ago. Its effectiveness was touted by O'Malley, who was elected in 1999 at a time when homicides were regularly topping 300 a year. A similar "broken windows" philosophy was promoted even earlier in New York City and elsewhere, with the theory that policing petty offenses, such as graffiti and public urination, can protect against more serious crimes.

In Baltimore, officials advocated "stop and frisk" policies and cracked down on public drunkenness, disorderly conduct and similar offenses. In 2005, more than 100,000 people were arrested  roughly one sixth of the city's population.

The city's homicides remained below 300 for the next decade, but complaints swiftly emerged that citizens were being targeted for misdemeanor offenses. A grand jury concluded that too many arrests in black neighborhoods lacked merit, and the city paid $870,000 to settle the NAACP's lawsuit on behalf of people who said they were illegally arrested.

Last year, some blamed the zero-tolerance approach for the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man whose neck was broken in the back of a police van after he was arrested while trying to flee an officer patrolling his neighborhood.

O'Malley, who became governor of Maryland in January 2007, repeatedly defended zero-tolerance policing on the presidential campaign trail. In one debate, he noted that he was elected mayor at a time when the city was "burying over 300 young, poor black men every single year."

"We were able to save a lot of lives doing things that actually worked to improve police and community relations," O'Malley said.

He defended the approach again Wednesday, saying the report did not account for improvements under his watch, including "historic reductions in violent crime." Though enforcement intensified as the police worked to shut down open-air drug markets, arrests declined as violent crime went down, he said.

"Improving community trust and reducing violent crime are mutually reinforcing actions, not an either/or proposition," he said in a statement.

Current police leaders in Baltimore have disavowed zero-tolerance policing, but the legacy remains in the persistent stops and searches that yield neither citations nor arrests, the Justice Department said. According to the report, 410 people were stopped at least 10 times from 2010 to 2015. One black man was stopped 30 times in less than four years and he was never charged.

"Many supervisors who were inculcated in the era of zero tolerance continue to focus on the raw number of officers' stops and arrests, rather than more nuanced measures of performance," the report said.

Eugene O'Donnell, a former New York Police Department officer and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the report's conclusions failed to take into account the difficult realities of being a police officer in Baltimore. Even zero-tolerance policing, he said, was rooted in a goal of trying to combat crime in a "city that is really in a bad place."

"It was some effort to try to staunch the bleeding, try to respond to some community concerns, try to go after street corner after street corner after street corner where people are congregating and businesses are being driven out and residents are up in arms," he said.

Harris, of Pitt Law, said it was clear that zero-tolerance policing was insufficiently flexible and nuanced, even if it has contributed to a drop in crime.

"I'm sure it contributes in some way. The question is, does it contribute as much as a better strategy would?" he asked. "If you lock up everybody for anything, you're inevitably going to get some bad guys off the street. But you're going to take a lot of people who are not so bad and treat them as bad guys."

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, left, listens as Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake speaks during a news conference at City Hall in response to a Justice Department report, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016 in Baltimore. The Justice Department and Baltimore police agreed to negotiate court-enforceable reforms after a scathing federal report released Wednesday criticized officers for using excessive force and routinely discriminating against blacks. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun via AP)
Wildfires spare Marseille in France, but danger high nearby

MARSEILLE, France (AP)  Firefighters in southern France brought in reinforcements from across the country on Thursday to help smother the last flames and douse dry brush after wind-whipped wildfires devastated thousands of acres and destroyed homes but spared Marseille, the nation's second-largest city.

There was no letup in the high southern winds, known as the Mistral, raising the risk of new bursts of flames after the worst blaze in recent years was contained.

Meanwhile, a fire broke out Thursday in the Pyrenees-Orientales region, southwest of Marseille.

Smoke rises from the ground in a burnt pine forest near Mealhada, northern Portugal, Thursday, Aug. 11 2016. Firefighters in Portugal are battling multiple blazes fed by brush in a hot, dry summer for a sixth straight day. Major fires have also been raging in northwestern Spain and southern France. (AP Photo/Sergio Azenha)

Multiple fires started up on Wednesday, west and north of Marseille, and President Francois Hollande said some were of criminal origin. "We will find those who started them," he said, but did not elaborate.

A man behaving suspiciously in Vitrolles, one of the towns most ravaged by flames, was detained for questioning, according to French media.

Fires were burning in Portugal and Spain. Two arrests were made in the deadliest of more than 100 fires in Portugal, on the island of Madeira, that killed three people.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said four people were seriously injured  a resident of the Marseille region and three firemen who battled a blaze on Wednesday in the nearby Herault region. More than 3,000 hectares of vegetation were destroyed in the Marseille area, the Herault and the Pyrenees-Orientales regions.

Residents of the region north of Marseille, especially Vitrolles and nearby Pennes-Mirabeau, woke up to take an accounting of the scorched and still-smoking landscape and their losses. More than 1,000 had spent the night in gymnasiums.

"Today, at this time, the fire is, as we say, mastered. That means that it is not expanding any more there are no visible flames," said Vice-Admiral Charles-Henri Garrier, commander of Marseille's firefighter battalion, speaking near Vitrolles, just 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Marseille.

"Anyway, if you go and walk in the ash behind me, you may walk on embers. And those embers, with the wind going stronger ... may spark the fire again, cross the crest and put the fire in the pinewood behind you."

Flight delays continued Thursday evening at Marseille's airport which had rerouted incoming flights on Wednesday to cope with firefighting aircraft. Major highways had been closed to make way for firefighters, and to keep drivers from danger.

Fire battalions from as far away as northern France were driving their heavy engines and other equipment to the Marseille region to help some 2,500 firefighters with the critical aftermath.

In Portugal, firefighters also battled multiple fires for a sixth straight day. A total of 186 wildfires were counted Wednesday on Portugal's mainland alone and on Thursday, 12 were burning out of control.

In Spain, authorities said five major fires were raging in the northwestern region of Galicia, with 10 others under control.

___

Margaid Quioc in Marseille contributed to this report.

This photo provided by the Bataillon des Pompiers de Marseille (BMPM) shows a firefighter trying to put out a fire near Marseille, southern France, Wednesday Aug.10, 2016. Wind-whipped wildfires spared the French city of Marseille on Thursday but scorched through two southern towns, burning homes and at least one school and leaving hundreds of people evacuated. (Fran'ois Etourneau, BMPM, via AP)

This photo provided by the Bataillon des Pompiers de Marseille (BMPM) shows firefighters using a hose trying to put out a fire near Marseille, southern France, early Thursday Aug. 11, 2016. Wind-whipped wildfires spared the French city of Marseille on Thursday but scorched through two southern towns, burning homes and at least one school and leaving hundreds of people evacuated. (Fran'ois Etourneau, BMPM, via AP)

This photo provided by the Bataillon des Pompiers de Marseille (BMPM) shows firefighters trying to put out a fire near Marseille, southern France, Wednesday night Aug. 10, 2016. Wind-whipped wildfires spared the French city of Marseille on Thursday but scorched through two southern towns, burning homes and at least one school and leaving hundreds of people evacuated. (Fran'ois Etourneau, BMPM, via AP)
The organizers of a fair where three girls were badly injured after falling off a Ferris wheel were involved in similar controversy which led to their son being jailed.

Three children plummeted up to 45ft to the ground below after a mechanical failure flipped the gondola they were riding upside down, private inspectors have said.

Briley Rae Reynolds, six, suffered a traumatic brain injury and her sister Kayla, ten, broke her arm in the fall at Greene County Fair in Tennessee on Monday.

Briley Rae Reynolds, six, suffered a traumatic brain injury and her sister Kayla (pictured), ten, broke her arm after falling off a ferris wheel at a fair operated by Family Attractions Amusement

The ride was operated by a Georgia-based company called Family Attractions Amusement, owned by Dominic and Ruby Macaroni, whose son Joshua (pictured) was jailed following a similar accident in 2013

Their mother Kimmee Reynolds posted a statement on Facebook saying both girls remained were still in hospital on Wednesday.

She said Briley cannot yet breathe on her own but appears to respond to relatives' voices.

She went on: 'Now it's a waiting game. They want to give her more time, and as much as I want her alert and dancing and being feisty, I want her to rest and feel better.'

Mrs Reynolds also wrote that Kayla - her 'optimistic little sunshine' - is able to play and paint despite the heavy cast fitted to he arm and the fear for her sister's condition.

The third injured girl has not been identified. The Greeneville Sun reported the 16-year-old was admitted to hospital in critical condition but has improved to stable condition.

The ride was operated by a Georgia-based company called Family Attractions Amusement, owned by Dominic and Ruby Macaroni.

Briley Jay Reynolds, 6, (left) is breathing with help from a ventilator after she and her sister Kayla, 10, fell 30 feet to the ground from a Ferris wheel at the the Greene County Fair

In 2013, Joshua Macaroni was jailed after a ride he was operating malfunctioned and injured five people at another fair run by Family Attractions Amusement

In 2013, five people were injured at a North Carolina Fair run by the same company when an Italian-made ride unexpectedly restarted as people were trying to get off the ride.

They were flung abruptly through the air and onto the steel deck below after the ride, operated by Dominic and Ruby's son Joshua, malfunctioned.

Investigators concluded that a safety mechanism had been disabled by ride operators.

Dominic and Ruby Macaroni's attorneys tried to argue the company did not own the ride.

But North Carolina regulators determined that the ride was insured by Family Attractions Amusement, its workers were also employed by the company and the business was listed as the owner at other fairs across the country.

Joshua Macaroni and ride operator Timothy Tutterrow were each charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Members of the Greeneville Fire Department help people off the ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair in Greeneville

Greeneville Police Detective Capt. Tim Davis answers questions at the foot of the Ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair on Tuesday

Law enforcement cordon off the area surrounding the Ferris wheel on Monday

Tutterrow pleaded guilty and agreed to testify that Macaroni had tampered with the ride's circuit panel to bypass safety switches.

Macaroni entered an Alford plea - a concession that there is sufficient evidence for a conviction without admitting guilt - on a felony charge of obstruction of justice.

He was sentenced in February to five to 15 months in prison, though the judge suspended that to a month in jail. He was also ordered to pay a $22,500 fine.

Several inspectors at the Greene County Fair are now trying to determine how the Ferris wheel malfunctioned in the company's most recent controversy, Greeneville Police Detective Captain Tim Davis said.

Two federal investigators with the Consumer Product Safety Commission are also on scene, confirmed Patty Davis, the agency's press secretary.

'We all want to know why this terrible accident happened,' she said, 'and what we can do to prevent it from happening again.

Emergency crews unload the ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair in Greeneville

The Greene County Fair Board officials decided to go through with a five-year contract with a Family Attractions despite the North Carolina incident, the Greeneville Sun has reported.

Board President Bobby Holt said they would permit the company to continue running rides at the fair until the end of 2017.

'They seem to be very honest in their dealings with the fair and the people who work with them here, locally,' Holt told the newspaper last year.

Their rides were not inspected when they arrived in Tennessee.

Family Attractions received its permit to operate the Ferris wheel in Tennessee for the next three months based on a June inspection in Indiana.

Doctors are keeping the 6-year-old girl Briley (right) sedated until she heals more. Kayla (left) can talk and move around somewhat, despite her overall pain and discomfort

Because of this accident, the operators will have to have a new third-party inspection conducted before the ride can qualify for a new annual permit in Tennessee.

Kimmee Reynolds said she would like some answers over the accident.
image1.gif

(NOAA)

PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Jackson County has so far only experienced sporadic street flooding, according to Emergency Services Director Earl Etheridge, but another 7-8 inches of rain is expected over the next 36-48 hours.

"There's been some street flooding," Etheridge said midday Thursday, "but so far nothing long-lasting. A street will flood, the rain lets up, the water runs off, the rain picks up, the street floods again."

Three inches of rain had fallen in Jackson County from midnight to noon Thursday and Etheridge said forecasters are calling for another 7-8 inches, "with isolated pockets of heavier rain."

The National Weather Service Forecast calls for 80-100 percent chance of rain until Friday night, when it drops to 50 percent, then rising again to 60 percent on Saturday.

A flash flood watch remains in effect for the Mississippi coast until 7 a.m. Saturday.

The NWS hazardous weather outlook calls for numerous showers and thunderstorms, with the primary threat heavy rainfall. Scattered thunderstorms associated with the system could produce frequent lightning and wind gusts up to 40 mph.

Ocean Springs officials reported some flooding on Parktown Drive in the Parktown East subdivision, and Public Works crews were repairing a collapsed culvert on Riley Road and working to clear drainways in Madison Place to relieve drainage pressure.

In Gautier, Public Works crews are placing barricades in areas where water covers the roadway.

To report flooding, use one of the following numbers, depending on location:
Tough talk between Russia, Ukraine heats up Crimea stalemate

MOSCOW (AP)  Ukraine put its troops on combat alert Thursday along the country's de-facto borders with Crimea and separatist rebels in the east amid an escalating war of words with Russia over Crimea.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending several groups of "saboteurs" to carry out attacks in Crimea and said that two Russians died while fending off their incursions. Ukraine has denied the claim.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, and a conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces flared up in eastern Ukraine weeks later. The conflict in the east has killed more than 9,500 people and is still raging.

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, July 11, 2016, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gestures during a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine. In a statement Thursday Aug. 11, 2016, Ukrainian President Poroshenko says he has ordered the army to be put on combat alert on the de-facto border with Crimea and the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, in response to relations with Russia. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, FILE)

Russia's domestic security agency known by its Russian acronym FSB said in Wednesday's statement that one of its officers was killed in a gun battle with a group of "saboteurs" from Ukraine over the weekend. It said the intruders carried an arsenal of bombs, ammunition and mines.

The agency also said that two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armor. One Russian army soldier died in that clash, the FSB said.

Russian media reports say at least five members of a sabotage group were captured.

One of the captured suspects, identified as Yevgeny Panov, told FSB investigators in remarks released by Russia's REN TV television that he was part of a group preparing to conduct acts of sabotage at a ferry crossing, an oil depot and a chemical factory and to blow up Russian military equipment. He said the group was directed by Ukrainian military intelligence and included some of its officers.

Poroshenko rejected the Russian claims as "fantasy" and "a provocation."

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he described as Ukraine's "stupid and criminal" action and called a session of his Security Council on Thursday to discuss boosting security in Crimea.

He also said Wednesday that it makes no sense to discuss the implementation of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine with leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany at the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in China next month as had been planned earlier.

The Russian Foreign Ministry followed up Thursday by warning that if Poroshenko had been involved in "criminal decisions to stage armed provocations" in Crimea, "he could claim the role of the grave digger of the Minsk process."

"And if he had been unaware of these decisions, it's even worse," it said.

Poroshenko, in his turn, ordered Ukrainian troops to go on combat alert not only on the de-facto border with Crimea but also along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, where the warring sides have continued to routinely exchange fire despite a 2015 truce.

He also ordered Ukrainian diplomats to organize his conversations with the U.S. and European leaders and Putin.

The strong language used by Putin and other Russian officials, particularly Putin's refusal to discuss the implementation of the peace accord with Poroshenko, has raised fears of a possible escalation of hostilities.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau voiced concern about the buildup of tensions.

"Crimea is part of Ukraine and it is recognized as such by the international community," she said. "We call for the avoidance of any actions that would escalate the situation there. We believe that any actions in any way, including rhetoric, including remarks, have the ability to escalate what is already a very tense situation and a very dangerous situation."

While local media and social media users have largely corroborated reports of a shootout at the Crimean border, independent accounts of the second border incident reported by the FSB were missing.

"A pretense of an anti-terrorism operation staged by Russia is more plausible than an actual Ukrainian attack on Crimea," commentator Oleg Kashin wrote Thursday on Slon.ru. "Russia deliberately pushes for an escalation and ignores the opportunities it has to preserve the status quo."

As soon as Russia forced the last Ukrainian troops based in Crimea to leave in 2014, Moscow set up fortified border crossings and sent new weapons to the peninsula  from cutting-edge fighter jets to the newest missile systems.

Despite the military buildup, hardly any disturbances or let alone cross-border shootings have been reported in Crimea since the annexation.

The 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine signed in Minsk has helped reduce fighting in eastern Ukraine, but peaceful settlement has floundered. The deal obliged Ukraine to grant broad autonomy to the rebel regions before it can fully regain control of the border with Russia, but those provisions haven't been implemented.

Independent Moscow-based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said that if the Kremlin wanted to make gains or solidify its positions in Ukraine, now would be a good moment because the world's attention is elsewhere.

"The temptation is high to try and use this occasion to solve the Ukrainian problem once and for all," he said. "While America is right now not very operational because it's in a midst of a divisive election campaign, Europe is also divided  on Brexit, on refugees, on sanctions against Russia."

Putin menacingly referred to the Ukrainian leadership as "the people who seized power." Moscow refused to recognize Ukraine's interim authorities after Ukraine's pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych, was driving from power by massive protests, but later recognized Poroshenko.

"The main issue is what is going to happen to the Minsk talks  whether Russia will stop them or start asking for more concessions," respected daily Vedomosti said in an editorial Thursday. "In his rhetoric, Putin has returned to 2014, when he did not consider the Ukrainian government legitimate."

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Vladimir Isachenkov and Iuliia Subbotovska in Moscow, Matthew Lee in Washington and John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels, contributed to this report.

In this grab taken from a footage provided by Russian Federal Security Service Press Service, a handcuffed man identified as Yevgeny Panov, suspected of being involved in a group that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) identified as Ukrainian 'saboteurs,' is led by FSB officers in Crimea, on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. The FSB said its agents thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian 'saboteurs' to conduct terror attacks in Crimea. Ukraine has denied the claim. (Russian Federal Security Service Press Service via AP)

FILE - In this file photo taken on Friday, May 9, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, flanked by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and Federal Security Service Chief Alexander Bortnikov, right, arrives on a boat after inspecting battleships during a navy parade marking the Victory Day in Sevastopol, Crimea. Putin on Thursday Aug. 11, 2016, directly accused the Ukrainian government of plotting attacks in the Crimea, and called for increased security in the Russian annexed Black Sea peninsula. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, FILE)

In this grab taken from a footage provided by Russian Federal Security Service Press Service, a handcuffed man identified as Yevgeny Panov, suspected of being involved in a group that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) identified as Ukrainian 'saboteurs,' is led by FSB officers in Crimea, on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. The FSB said its agents thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian 'saboteurs' to conduct terror attacks in Crimea. Ukraine has denied the claim. (Russian Federal Security Service Press Service via AP)

In this grab taken from a footage provided by Russian Federal Security Service Press Service, explosive devices and ammunition confiscated from a group that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) identified as Ukrainian 'saboteurs,' are placed on the floor by experts in Crimea on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. The FSB said its agents thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian 'saboteurs' to conduct terror attacks in Crimea. Ukraine has denied the claim. (Russian Federal Security Service Press Service via AP)
Former Hawaii lawmaker seeks bittersweet return to Congress

HONOLULU (AP)  U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa didn't want to leave Washington when she gave up her House seat to run for the Senate two years ago.

But she hoped to fulfill the dying wish of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a beloved Hawaii Democrat who spent five decades in office and wanted her to take his place.

The governor, who had the power to appoint a successor after Inouye's death in 2012, picked his second-in-command, Brian Schatz, instead of Hanabusa. With the iconic senator's support propelling her, she challenged Schatz in the Democratic primary in 2014 but lost by less than a percentage point.

In this July 25, 2016 photo, former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa speaks to The Associated Press in Honolulu. Hanabusa didn't want to leave Congress when she gave up her seat to run for the Senate two years ago. But she hoped to fulfill the dying wish of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a beloved Hawaii Democrat who wanted her to replace him. After his death in 2012, the governor appointed his second-in-command, Brian Schatz, who Hanabusa later lost a challenge to in the Democratic primary in 2014. Now, with the passing of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, Hanabusa has a bittersweet opportunity to return to the seat she once held, fulfilling Inouye's wish even if it's in a different congressional chamber. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

Now, with the death of the congressman who took her seat in the House, Hanabusa has a bittersweet opportunity to return to Washington and fulfill Inouye's wish  even if it's in a different congressional chamber.

"It wasn't meant to be, even if it was a very odd election," Hanabusa told The Associated Press recently about her failed Senate bid. "If I am to seriously consider how to best serve the people of Hawaii, it is probably using my skill sets in the House of Representatives."

She is largely seen as a shoo-in for the congressional seat, with her Democratic primary challengers and Republican opponent in the general election relatively unknown.

Hanabusa said she decided to run after U.S. Rep. Mark Takai called her in May to say he would not seek re-election. His pancreatic cancer had spread and he wanted her to try to win back her old seat, she said. Takai, 49, died in July.

"I really thought long and hard about it, because you make all these plans based on the fact that you're not in politics," she said.

Hanabusa, who served one term from 2011 to 2015, has spent the last year digging into local politics. She was an attorney for the Hawaii State Teachers Association and was recently named board chairman for Oahu's troubled rail project  a public works debacle many hoped she'd turn around, given more time.

In August's Democratic primary, Hanabusa is facing a much easier race than in 2014, when she was up against incumbent Schatz, who had held the seat for more than a year. She's also expected to glide through the November general election in a state where Republicans were outvoted 3-to-1 in the last presidential election.

"There is no question that she is going to be elected," said John Radcliffe, retired co-founder of lobbyist firm Capitol Consultants of Hawaii. "She's very competent, well-liked, and I think people in Hawaii know her to be one of our top public thinkers."

Radcliffe was a political consultant to then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie when Inouye died, encouraging him to appoint Schatz instead of Hanabusa. The longtime Democratic operative, who led unions and lobbying efforts in Hawaii for decades, said both were strong candidates, but he wanted the seat to go to someone younger than Hanabusa, who's now 65.

"I've always been a big supporter of Senator Inouye, in fact, revere him, and I know that he wanted her for that position, but ... you really need a delegation which is going to have significant longevity and look after Hawaii's interest on the basis of that kind of seniority," Radcliffe said.

Some voters still feel the sting of Abercrombie's decision to shirk the wishes of a beloved senator.

"I would have wanted her to go, since it was Inouye, because he's a respected person," said Laela Guerrero, a 45-year-old medical coder from Honolulu. "He actually stood by Hawaii, and everyone somehow trusted him."

But others were never swayed by Inouye's dying wish.

"It's supposed to be the voter's opinion who is in that seat," said Dave Kaai, 34, a Native Hawaiian college student and farmer.

Lei Ahu Isa, a Native Hawaiian and former state legislator, is more well-known than the other Democrats challenging Hanabusa, but she's not spending money to campaign.

"A lot of my friends are saying, 'Oh, my gosh, I didn't know you're running,'" Ahu Isa said.

If elected, Hanabusa wants to find ways to steer federal dollars to Hawaii, including funding to build two nuclear submarines a year and financing renewable energy projects in the military.

She plans to push legislation asking the federal government to reimburse Hawaii and other states for providing health care to citizens from Micronesia who live and work in the U.S. in exchange for military control in their region.

Hanabusa hopes return to her passion as a lawmaker, fulfilling what she believes was Inouye's wish for her to succeed.

"That's something that I will always have in my heart, and no one can take that away," she said.

She said she has put the unsuccessful Senate race behind her, but "you can never say never" about a future bid.

In this July 25, 2016 photo, former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa speaks to The Associated Press in Honolulu. Hanabusa didn't want to leave Congress when gave up her seat to run for Senate two years ago. But she hoped to fulfill the dying wish of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a beloved Hawaii Democrat who wanted her to replace him. After his death in 2012, the governor appointed his second-in-command, Brian Schatz, who Hanabusa later lost a challenge to in the Democratic primary in 2014. Now, with the passing of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, Hanabusa has a bittersweet opportunity to return to the seat she once held, fulfilling Inouye's wish even if it's in a different congressional chamber. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

In this July 25, 2016 photo, former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa speaks to The Associated Press in Honolulu. Hanabusa didn't want to leave Congress when she gave up her seat to run for the Senate two years ago. But she hoped to fulfill the dying wish of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a beloved Hawaii Democrat who wanted her to replace him. After his death in 2012, the governor appointed his second-in-command, Brian Schatz, who Hanabusa later lost a challenge to in the Democratic primary in 2014. Now, with the passing of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, Hanabusa has a bittersweet opportunity to return to the seat she once held, fulfilling Inouye's wish even if it's in a different congressional chamber. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

In this July 25, 2016 photo, former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa speaks to The Associated Press in Honolulu. Hanabusa didn't want to leave Congress when she gave up her seat to run for the Senate two years ago. But she hoped to fulfill the dying wish of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a beloved Hawaii Democrat who wanted her to replace him. After his death in 2012, the governor appointed his second-in-command, Brian Schatz, who Hanabusa later lost a challenge to in the Democratic primary in 2014. Now, with the passing of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, Hanabusa has a bittersweet opportunity to return to the seat she once held, fulfilling Inouye's wish even if it's in a different congressional chamber. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

In this July 25, 2016 photo, former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa speaks to The Associated Press in Honolulu. Hanabusa didn't want to leave Congress when she gave up her seat to run for the Senate two years ago. But she hoped to fulfill the dying wish of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a beloved Hawaii Democrat who wanted her to replace him. After his death in 2012, the governor appointed his second-in-command, Brian Schatz, who Hanabusa later lost a challenge to in the Democratic primary in 2014. Now, with the passing of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, Hanabusa has a bittersweet opportunity to return to the seat she once held, fulfilling Inouye's wish even if it's in a different congressional chamber. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2014, file photo, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, Democrat, from Hawaii's 1st district, addresses her supporters at her campaign headquarters in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hanabusa didnt want to leave Congress when she gave up her seat in the House to run for Senate two years ago. Now, with the death of the congressman who took her place in the House, Hanabusa has a bittersweet opportunity to return to Washington. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner, File)
Colorado Planned Parenthood gunman still incompetent

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP)  A judge says a man who acknowledges killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic remains mentally incompetent to continue with his case.

Judge Gilbert Martinez made the ruling Thursday based on a report from the state mental hospital, where Robert Dear has been undergoing treatment since he was first deemed incompetent in May.

Doctors have been ordered to give the judge periodic updates on Dear's progress.

FILE- In this Dec. 9, 2015 file photo, Robert Lewis Dear talks to Judge Gilbert Martinez during a court appearance in Colorado Springs, Colo. The judge is set to reconsider whether Dear, who acknowledges killing three people at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic, is competent to continue his court case. Martinez on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, is to review whether Dear's mental health has improved to the point where he can assist in his defense. Dear has been undergoing treatment at the state mental hospital since Martinez deemed him incompetent in May. He is charged with 179 counts, including murder and attempted murder, stemming from the Nov. 27 shooting. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP, Pool, File)

Dear is charged with 179 counts, including murder and attempted murder, stemming from the Nov. 27 shooting at the Colorado Springs clinic that also left nine injured.

He was found incompetent after two psychologists testified that he has a delusion disorder that made him unable to assist in his defense.
Victim tells 'Grim Sleeper': 'You are truly a piece of evil'

LOS ANGELES (AP)  On the day Enietra Washington was shot and left for dead three decades ago, she looked her assailant in the eye and told him she would haunt him if she died.

Washington survived, but she still got her revenge.

As one of the rare survivors of the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer, Washington's testimony helped prove the case that sent Lonnie Franklin Jr. to death row Wednesday for the murders of nine women and one teenage girl.

Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," listens to emotional statements from family members of his victims before being sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for 10 Los Angeles murders that spanned decades. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

With Franklin shackled and in orange jail scrubs with his back to her, Washington addressed him from the gallery, saying she had lived in fear since the 1988 attack and that he didn't deserve forgiveness because he showed no remorse.

"You are truly a piece of evil," Washington said. "You're right up there with Manson."

Franklin, 63, was convicted in a string of killings from 1985 to 2007 in a Los Angeles neighborhood ravaged by the crack cocaine epidemic. Some residents complained police didn't thoroughly investigate the slayings because the victims were young, black and poor and many were drug users and prostitutes.

Franklin avoided suspicion for decades, working as a city trash collector and pumping gas for Los Angeles police before collecting a pension because of a work injury.

His gunshot and strangling victims were found dumped in seedy alleys, wrapped in carpets or hidden under discarded mattresses.

His final victim, Janecia Peters, was found by someone rooting through a dumpster who noticed her red fingernail.

Peters' mother was one of more than a dozen bereft family members who spoke in court, telling about how their lives were altered and questioning how someone could be so cruel and callous.

"The defendant took my daughter, murdered her, put her in a plastic bag ... like she was trash," Laverne Peters said. "My hope is that he spends the rest of his glory days in his jail cell, which will become his trash bag."

Franklin was linked to 14 slayings, including four women he wasn't charged with killing.

The killer was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because police originally thought there was gap in slayings from 1988 to 2002. They now say they don't think he rested and could have left up to 25 victims behind.

Franklin denied any role in the killings to investigators, but didn't utter a word in his defense at trial. His attorneys tried to cast doubt on ballistics and DNA evidence and suggested a mystery man was the culprit.

In rejecting a defense motion to set the death penalty aside, the judge noted they had presented almost no evidence in favor of sparing his life, such as testimony about good deeds or a troubled upbringing.

"I can't think of anyone I've encountered in all my years in the criminal justice system that has committed the monstrous crimes that you have," Judge Kathleen Kennedy said.

Franklin, who showed no emotion during trial, stared straight ahead for most of the hearing. He turned twice when victim's loved ones told him to look at them. He snapped at the sister of a victim who said he knew her.

"It's a bald-faced lie," he told Vivian Williams.

Williams, the sister of victim Georgia Mae Thomas, said she forgave Franklin because that's what the Bible teaches.

"You've done some horrible things," she said. "You've walked into this room and ... looked straight ahead like you think you're God."

Franklin was connected to the crimes after a task force re-examining the old cases discovered that genetic evidence on one of the victims was similar to his son's DNA, which was in a database because of an arrest.

Franklin's own DNA was surreptitiously collected by a detective posing as a busboy who collected pizza crusts he had discarded and utensils he used at a birthday party. He was arrested when results connected him to the crimes.

In his house, police found a gun used in killings and Polaroids of some victims, including one of Washington in which she was partly topless and bleeding from her gunshot wound.

Washington had told investigators that she remembered seeing the flash bulb as she was losing consciousness.

She said she'll rest easier knowing he can't harm anyone.

"It's a good thing that we're able to put him away," she said. "He doesn't get to see the light of day no more."

As Franklin was led out of the courtroom, family members of the victims began clapping.

Enietra Washington, the sole known survivor in the "Grim Sleeper" serial killings joins relatives of victims speaking to the media after the sentencing for Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," in Los Angeles Superior Court, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death Wednesday for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Relatives of victim Mary Lowe from left, Kenneitha Lowe, Cameron Wright and Tracy Williams, speak during victims statements before the sentencing for Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," in Los Angeles Superior Court, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for 10 Los Angeles murders that spanned decades. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Laura Moore, speaks to Lonnie Franklin Jr. as she recalls being shot six times by him on May 5, 1984 during victims impact statements before he was sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2015, file photo, Lonnie Franklin Jr., who has been dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer, sits during a court hearing in Los Angeles. Franklin faces the death penalty when he is sentenced for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl. Franklin faces formal sentencing Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, after a jury found him guilty and said he should be executed. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," appears in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Lonnie Franklin Jr., a convicted serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper," listens to emotional statements from family members of his victims before being sentenced to death in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)

Mary Alexander, mother of Grim Sleeper victim Alicia Monique Alexander, asks Lonnie David Franklin Jr. to look at her as she asks him a question during victims impact statements before he was sentenced to death in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Franklin was sentenced to death for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)
Families say Colorado men killed fighting ISIS shared traits

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP)  Two men who were reportedly killed in combat while fighting the Islamic State group in Syria left suburban Denver neighborhoods for a war zone because of camaraderie and an unshakeable drive to right an injustice, their families said Wednesday.

Jordan MacTaggart, 22, is believed to have been killed Aug. 3 while fighting in a squad that included two Americans and a Swede, and Levi Shirley, 24, was reportedly killed by a land mine July 14.

It's unclear if the two men crossed paths in Colorado or the Middle East, but their parents on Wednesday highlighted similar motivations for why they joined Kurdish forces against ISIS.

In this October 2015 family photo, made available Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, by Robert MacTaggart, Jordan MacTaggart is shown in a photograph made by his father Robert in the backyard of the family home in Castle Rock, Colo. Jordan MacTaggart was killed recently in Syria while fighting alongside Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group. MacTaggart's parents said their son joined Kurdish forces because he admired them and they became his "comrades in arms." (Robert MacTaggart via AP)

"He had a huge heart and he was always affected by any injustice," Jordan MacTaggart's mother, Melissa MacTaggart, said from the family home in Castle Rock south of Denver. "It would hurt him, probably more than other people, like he couldn't let it go."

Robert MacTaggart said those fighting with his son told him by phone that he was shot in the chest while helping a soldier wounded by an improvised explosive device. The father followed the battles of the Kurdish forces on the Internet and had contact with fighters in Syria to track his son's well-being.

U.S. State Department officials said they are trying to confirm the death.

Like Shirley, Jordan MacTaggart's family said he went to join the fight after hearing about beheadings, stabbings and sexual assaults reportedly committed by ISIS forces. Also like Shirley, he fought in Syria, returned home and then headed back to the battlefield.

Shirley's mother, Susan Shirley, said she thinks her son and others return to fight because they have a hard time readjusting to life in America and "because they get homesick for each other."

"That's a bond you don't share with anyone else," she said Wednesday. "That's an unbreakable bond."

Dozens of other Westerners are now fighting with the Kurds, spurred on by social media campaigners and a sense of comradery and duty rooted in the U.S.-led military intervention in Iraq.

"You've got to figure the idealism of a 20-something guy," Shirley said. "There's that drive. You've got this really strong drive to save the world, and what better way to save the world than to destroy ISIS?"

The first American believed to have been killed fighting ISIS had no military training and died alongside Kurdish forces in 2015. Keith Broomfield of Massachusetts had joined the People's Protection Units known as the YPG, the main Kurdish guerrilla group battling ISIS in Syria.

___

Thomas Peipert reported from Denver.

In this Jan. 10, 2016, family photo made available Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, by Robert MacTaggart, Jordan MacTaggart is shown in a photograph made by his father Robert at Denver International Airport in Denver. Jordan MacTaggart was killed recently in Syria while fighting alongside Kurdish forces against the Islamic State group. MacTaggart's parents said their son joined Kurdish forces because he admired them and they became his "comrades in arms." (Robert MacTaggart via AP)
Japan, Philippines to China: Respect law for Asian stability

DAVAO, Philippines (AP)  The top diplomats from Japan and the Philippines called on China Thursday to avoid intimidating actions and follow the rule of law in disputed waters where Beijing has defied an arbitration ruling that invalidated its expansive territorial claims.

Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida made the call after meeting in southern Davao city, where they discussed their countries' territorial rifts with China, including Tokyo's help to provide patrol vessels to the Philippines, and enhancing strategic ties. Kishida later met President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Maritime order based on the rule of law is indispensable for regional stability and prosperity," Kishida told reporters, adding that the international community should strive to ensure that long-seething conflicts are resolved peacefully.

Yasay said that the two countries have had "the same experience in East China Sea and the South China Sea ... with respect to certain actions that use force, intimidation and provocation in order to assert one's claim over a particular territory."

"This is the not kind of action that is mandated by international law and if anyone, including China, has any particular claim that it asserts over any particular territory, it must bring this within the concept of a peaceful resolution," Yasay said.

The Philippines challenged the validity of China's claims and aggressive actions in the South China Sea after Chinese government ships took control of the disputed Scarborough Shoal following a tense standoff in 2012. In July, the Hague-based arbitration tribunal ruled heavily in the Philippines' favor, but China ignored the decision and continued to block Filipino fishermen from the shoal and develop newly-built islands.

A day before he flew to the Philippines on Wednesday, Kishida summoned China's ambassador in Tokyo to protest the increased number of Chinese vessels in waters near islands in the East China Sea that China and Japan have been contesting.

Kishida told Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua that the ships must leave the area, saying their presence has escalated tensions. He said their repeated infiltration and unilateral attempt to change the status quo were unacceptable.

Cheng said both sides need to make efforts through diplomatic dialogue to keep the situation under control and reiterated China's territorial claims to the islands.

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2 1-cent coins from early US sell for combined $869,500

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Two rare one-cent coins from the earliest days of the U.S. Mint have sold for a pretty penny.

The copper coins, both dating to 1792, went for a combined total of $869,500 at the auction held Wednesday in Anaheim, California.

One of them, known as the "Birch Cent," sold for $517,000. The other, known as the "Silver Center Cent," went for $352,500.

This undated image provided by Heritage Auctions shows the obverse, front, of a 1792 "Birch Cent." The one-cent coin is one of two rare 1792-dated coins made during the early days of the United States Mint. The rare coins are anticipated to sell for nearly a million dollars at the World's Fair of Money in Anaheim, Calif., during a public auction conducted by Heritage Auctions on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (Travis Awalt/Heritage Auctions, HA.com via AP)

Eric Bradley, spokesman for Heritage Auctions, said that while the sales fell somewhat short of the combined $1 million the auction house projected they would go for, organizers are still pleased with the result.

"We're looking at two coins that sold for more than 43 million times their face value," Bradley said, "so you can't be disappointed in that."

It wasn't clear why one coin proved more valuable than the other, the market just responded differently to the two, Bradley said.

The names of the buyers have not been released and they may choose to stay anonymous.

The coins have historical significance that goes beyond their collectible value, representing "the transition in American history from the colonies to a new republic," Bradley said.

"These are coins that were developed and thought up by the Founding Fathers who were trying to differentiate themselves from British coinage and British rule," he said.

The words "Liberty Parent of Science & Industry," which are engraved on both coins, also show how the United States was trying to distance itself from the religious persecution and monarchy it associated with Britain, Bradley said.

The origin of the Silver Center Cent was also referenced in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, and it is among the very first coins ever struck by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, Bradley added.

According to the auction house, the coin went missing before eventually being discovered in an English pub in the 1960s. The man who discovered it, Nigel Willmott, kept hold of it until 1997, when he eventually auctioned it off for 28,750 British pounds, Bradley said.

The penny's name derives from the fact that it was produced with a small insertion of silver at its center, a feature which made its intrinsic value equal to its face value. It is one of about a dozen surviving coins known to exist with this insertion, Bradley said.

This undated image provided by Heritage Auctions shows the reverse of a 1792 "Birch Cent." The one-cent coin is one of two rare 1792-dated coins made during the early days of the United States Mint. The rare coins are anticipated to sell for nearly a million dollars at the World's Fair of Money in Anaheim, Calif., during a public auction conducted by Heritage Auctions on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (Travis Awalt/Heritage Auctions, HA.com via AP)

This undated image provided by Heritage Auctions shows the obverse, front, of a 1792 "Silver Center Cent." The one-cent coin is one of two rare 1792-dated coins made during the early days of the United States Mint. The rare coins are anticipated to sell for nearly a million dollars at the World's Fair of Money in Anaheim, Calif., during a public auction conducted by Heritage Auctions on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (Travis Awalt/Heritage Auctions, HA.com via AP)
US seeks to ease Chinese anger over missile defense plans

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  A senior U.S. military official said Thursday that an advanced U.S. missile defense system that is to be deployed in South Korea will only target North Korea, not China.

China has grown increasingly angry over the plan to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system, believing it is capable of tracking missiles inside China. Chinese state media have published daily attacks against the U.S. and South Korea, and China has reportedly canceled events involving South Korean entertainers.

During a group interview with South Korean media including Yonhap news agency, Vice Adm. James D. Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said the THAAD system will never be used against China.

Vice Admiral James D. Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, speaks to the media at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Syring on Thursday said an advanced U.S. missile defense system that is to be deployed in South Korea only targets North Korea, not China. (Yonhap via AP)

"We don't defend against China as a threat," he said in the interview at Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff building, according to Yonhap.

Syring said the system is strictly defensive in nature and had successfully intercepted targets in 13 out of 13 tests.

Seoul's Defense Ministry confirmed the substance of Syring's reported comments.

Seoul and Washington announced last month that they will deploy the THAAD system in southern South Korea by the end of next year to better deal with North Korean threats. North Korea responded by warning of unspecified consequences and conducting several missile launches.

Residents at the South Korean deployment site have launched protests over fears that the electromagnetic waves emitted by THAAD radar systems could possibly harm health.

Syring said in the interview that the systems have no adverse environmental effects, Yonhap reported.
Sydney Opera House gets major upgrade to fix hated acoustics

SYDNEY (AP)  Sydney's iconic Opera House will undergo a sweeping, multimillion-dollar makeover, including a long-awaited upgrade to its much-maligned acoustics, officials said Thursday.

The 202 million Australian dollar ($155 million) project is the largest renovation Australia's most famous landmark has undergone since it opened in 1973, and will involve the creation of a new entrance and the refurbishment of its main performance space, the Concert Hall.

"The Sydney Opera House is the symbol of modern Australia. It is our responsibility as custodians of this extraordinary place to maintain and renew it for all Australians," New South Wales Minister for the Arts Troy Grant said in a statement.

FILE - In this May 28, 2015 file photo, a man playing a guitar skates along a dock against a backdrop of Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. Sydney's iconic Opera House will undergo a sweeping, multimillion dollar makeover, including a long-awaited upgrade to its much-maligned acoustics. New South Wales officials announced plans on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, for the 202 million Australian dollar ($155 million) project, which is the largest renovation Australia's most famous landmark has undergone since it opened in 1973. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File)

Though the building's exterior is universally admired for its dramatic, sweeping sails, its interior has long drawn the wrath of musicians who complain about the poor quality of the Concert Hall's acoustics.

In 1999, one of Australia's leading symphony orchestras threatened to boycott the venue, saying the acoustics absorb the sound and drain performances of their energy. Edo de Waart, then the chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, was quoted as saying that doughnut-shaped reflectors built above the orchestra pit to bounce the sound into the hall were a joke. "They might as well be toilet seats," he said at the time. "They do nothing whatsoever."

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Managing Director Rory Jeffes said on Thursday that the orchestra had been closely involved in the refurbishment plans, which will include a new acoustic ceiling and reflectors to improve sound in the Concert Hall.

"For the first time the Concert Hall will deliver the true ambitions of the original creators of this incredible building  and the real winners will be the audiences," Jeffes said in a statement.

Construction on the Concert Hall will begin in mid-2019, with the upgrade expected to take 18 months.

The building's second-largest performance space, the Joan Sutherland Theatre, is also being revamped. The AU$45 million renovation, announced last year, will close the theater between May and December next year, though the building's five other performance spaces will remain open.
UK investigating reported near-miss between drone and plane

LONDON (AP)  British police say they are investigating a reported near-collision between a drone and a passenger plane near England's Newquay Airport.

Devon and Cornwall Police says the plane, carrying 62 people, was arriving at the airport in southwest England on Tuesday when it reported a drone flying dangerously close.

Inspector Dave Meredith said Thursday the plane was about 900 feet (275 meters) high and 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the airport "when it reported a near-miss with a drone which flew alongside the aircraft."

He said police had not tracked down the drone or its "reckless" operator.

In Britain, small private drones must be flown below 400 feet (120 meters) and kept away from airfields.
thumbnail_Environmental Science.jpg

Ocean Springs High School students complete a lab assignment in AP Environmental Science. AP qualifying scores at the school have shown incredible growth since OSHS partnered with the National Math and Science Initiative.

(OSHS photo)

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- To say the partnership between Ocean Springs High School and the National Math and Science Initiative has been beneficial for students would be a bit of an understatement.

The NMSI is a public/private partnership backed by donors such as Exxon Mobile ad the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to improve student performance in STEM courses (science, technology, engineering, math).

In the three years since OSHS joined with NMSI, the number of student achieving qualifying scores on Advanced Placement (AP) Math and Science exams has risen a staggering 2100 percent, while qualifying scores on AP Math, Science and English exams have grown an only slightly-less staggering 1266.7 percent.

How is that even possible?

Funded by a grant through the U.S. Office of Naval Research, AP instructors at OSHS have been given access to specialized training through NMSI, while teachers at all levels of instruction have been afforded the opportunity to attend training which made them better equipped to prepare students for AP courses.

"Our partnership with the National Math and Science Initiative has provided us with a unique opportunity to better prepare teachers and students for the rigors of AP courses," said OSHS Vickie Tiblier. "Overall, this has been a win-win situation for Ocean Springs High School and NMSI, and we are fortunate to have had this opportunity."

The grant also funds the purchase of AP supplies, as well as Saturday study sessions for students and incentives for performance on AP exams.

During the 2012-13 school year, OSHS had seven qualifying scores in AP Math and Science, and 11 in AP English. By 2016, those numbers had jumped to 81 in AP Science, 73 in AP Math and 92 in AP English.

And, although NMSI focuses on STEM subjects, the success of the partnership has carried over into AP Social Studies courses. Students at OSHS have exceeded state, national and global averages for qualifying scores in AP Human Geography, U.S. History, U.S. Government and Politics, and AP Microeconomics.

OSHS students are reaping the benefits of the NMSI partnership on an individual basis, as well. During 2016:

31 students had earned AP Scholar designations

10 others achieved AP Scholar with Honor status

15 students were named AP Scholars with Distinction

Four students were designated National AP Scholars

"I think it speaks to the whole thought process we have," said superintendent Bonita Coleman, "that if we provide the support our children need, they will excel."

Coleman said the school's approach is a three-step process: provide teacher training, incentives for teachers and students, and build a culture in which the expectation exists that students will pursue AP courses.

More than 1,000 schools in 34 states have partnered with NMSI. During the 2015-16 school year, those schools averaged a 68 percent increase in the number of qualifying math, science and English exam scores -- 10 times the national average.
10 Things to Know for Friday - 12 August 2016

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday:

1. CLINTON KNOCKS 'OUTLANDISH TRUMPIAN IDEAS' IN POLICY SPEECH

She portrays her Republican rival as untrustworthy on economic issues and pushing policies that would only benefit the super-wealthy  himself included.

United States' Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

2. TRUMP STRAYS FROM TRADEMARK BRAVADO

He acknowledges that his presidential campaign is facing challenges and could ultimately fall short.

3. AMERICAN SIMONE BILES SHINES UNDER OLYMPIC SPOTLIGHT

The 19-year-old gymnast soars to the women's all-around title, putting the gap between herself and the rest of the world on full display.

4. AMERICAN SWIMMERS MAKE HISTORY

Simone Manuel becomes the first African-American woman to win gold in swimming, while Michael Phelps defeats American rival Ryan Lochte to become the first swimmer ever to win the same event at four straight Olympics.

5. WHAT'S COMPLICATING US-BACKED MILITARY EFFORTS TO RETAKE SYRIAN TOWN

The Islamic State group is using hundreds of residents as human shields, laying mines and shooting those trying to flee Manjib in northern Syria.

6. FEDERAL JUDGES STRIKE DOWN NORTH CAROLINA VOTING DISTRICTS

The ruling declares that 19 House and nine Senate districts are illegal racial gerrymanders, six months after another panel struck down the state's congressional districts for similar reasons.

7. HOW EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT IS REINING IN CLERICS

Imams at state-run mosques are now required to read pre-written sermons distributed by the Religious Endowments Ministry.

8. US GOVERNMENT WON'T RECLASSIFY POT

The Obama administration decides marijuana will remain on the list of most dangerous drugs, but says it will allow more research into its medical uses.

9. WHICH ANIMAL LIVES TO RIPEST OLD AGE

Scientists calculate that Greenland sharks are Earth's longest living animals with backbones. One lived an estimated 400 years.

10. ELDEST SON OF NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING WRITER DIES AT 72

Thomas Steinbeck, son of John Steinbeck, was a prominent author and screenwriter in his own right.

United States' Simone Manuel celebrates winning the gold medal and setting a new olympic record in the women's 100-meter freestyle during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Kabul launches mission to rescue Pakistani crew of chopper

ISLAMABAD (AP)  Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says the Afghan government is launching a mission to free the crew of a Pakistani helicopter that crashed inside Afghanistan while flying to Russia earlier this month.

The ministry's spokesman Nafees Zakaria said Thursday that six Pakistanis and a Russian navigator were aboard when the copper went down on Aug. 4. He said Kabul has informed Pakistan that the crew was alive and efforts are being made to rescue them through local tribal elders.
Romanians pay respects to Anne, wife of ex-king

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  Hundreds of mourners have paid their respects to Anne of Romania, wife of former King Michael, lying in state at the Royal Palace in Bucharest.

Romanians climbed stairs of the elegant palace to the cappuccino-colored marble room where Anne's coffin was placed, draped with a flag bearing the royal crest and flanked by soldiers.

Thursday is the third day of mourning in Romania for Anne, who died on Aug. 1 in Switzerland, aged 92.

Mourners stand in line to pay their last respects at the flag-draped coffin of Anne of Romania, wife of Romania's last monarch, King Michael, in the throne room at the former Royal Palace in Bucharest, now the National Museum of Art of Romania, in Bucharest, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Hundreds of mourners have paid their respects to Anne of Romania, wife of former King Michael, lying in state at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. Romanians climbed stairs of the elegant palace to the cappuccino-colored marble room where Anne's coffin was placed, draped with a flag bearing the royal crest and flanked by soldiers. (AP Photo/Nicolae Dumitrache)

Retired math professor Valeria Suaraseanu called Anne "a woman of great dignity who supported her husband in the saddest moments of his life."

The communists forced Michael to abdicate in 1947. He married Anne six months later.

Romania and Moldova have declared a national day of mourning on Saturday when Anne will be buried.

Mourners stand in line to pay their last respects at the flag-draped coffin of Anne of Romania, wife of Romania's last monarch, King Michael, in the throne room at the former Royal Palace in Bucharest, now the National Museum of Art of Romania, in Bucharest, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Hundreds of mourners have paid their respects to Anne of Romania, wife of former King Michael, lying in state at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. Romanians climbed stairs of the elegant palace to the cappuccino-colored marble room where Anne's coffin was placed, draped with a flag bearing the royal crest and flanked by soldiers. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Mourners stand in line to pay their last respects at the flag-draped coffin of Anne of Romania, wife of Romania's last monarch, King Michael, in the throne room at the former Royal Palace, in Bucharest, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Hundreds of mourners have paid their respects to Anne of Romania, wife of former King Michael, lying in state at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. Romanians climbed stairs of the elegant palace to the cappuccino-colored marble room where Anne's coffin was placed, draped with a flag bearing the royal crest and flanked by soldiers. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Mourners stand in line to pay their last respects at the flag-draped coffin of Anne of Romania, wife of Romania's last monarch, King Michael, in the throne room at the former Royal Palace in Bucharest, now the National Museum of Art of Romania, in Bucharest, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Hundreds of mourners have paid their respects to Anne of Romania, wife of former King Michael, lying in state at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. Romanians climbed stairs of the elegant palace to the cappuccino-colored marble room where Anne's coffin was placed, draped with a flag bearing the royal crest and flanked by soldiers. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

FILE - In this Thursday, June 5, 2008 file photo, former Romanian King Michael I, right, and his wife Anne, left, wave from the balcony of the Peles Castle, in Sinaia, Romania. Romanias royal house says former King Michael, who has cancer, will miss his wifes funeral on the advice of medics. The Royal House said Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, five doctors had recommended that Michael, 94, not travel to Romania to attend the Aug. 13 funeral of Anne of Romania, his wife of 68 years. (AP Photo/Paul Buciuta, File)

A woman wearing a cast on her leg, carrying a heart shaped pillow in the colours of the Romanian flag, wipes her tears as she pays her last respects at the flag-draped coffin of Anne of Romania, wife of Romania's last monarch, King Michael, in the throne room at the former Royal Palace, in Bucharest, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Hundreds of mourners have paid their respects to Anne of Romania, wife of former King Michael, lying in state at the Royal Palace in Bucharest. Romanians climbed stairs of the elegant palace to the cappuccino-colored marble room where Anne's coffin was placed, draped with a flag bearing the royal crest and flanked by soldiers. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
People gather to mourn girl shot by father

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  About 300 people attended a candlelight vigil in Tennessee at the Hendersonville home where an 11-year-old girl was shot and killed by her father.

An arrest affidavit says 29-year-old Timothy Batts told police he shot his daughter Timea Batts thinking she was an intruder after she came home from school on Monday. He originally told police that his daughter had told him she had been shot after school. The girl later died at the hospital.

Family, friends and neighbors of the girl attended the vigil Tuesday night, The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/2bf2vdG) reported.

People attending the vigil said the shooting was accidental.

Family member Gwendolyn Childress said Timothy Batts was a good father despite what had happened.

Pastor Adam French told attendees that Timea Batts loved her father, who moved the family to Hendersonville in search of a better life.

"This is not a story of a man who turned violent," he said. "It's a story about a man who grew up in a certain environment and had to deal with the consequences."

Timothy Batts was arrested in connection with the shooting on charges of reckless homicide, tampering with evidence, false reporting and possessing a firearm as a felon. It's unclear if he has an attorney.

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Berlin hotel denies anti-Israel claim by 'Shoah' director

BERLIN (AP)  A five-star hotel in Berlin is dismissing claims of anti-Israel bias by French Jewish filmmaker Claude Lanzmann.

The director of the Holocaust documentary "Shoah" was quoted in a German newspaper Thursday as claiming that the Hotel Bristol intentionally left Israel off a list of international dialing codes.

Lanzmann told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that a hotel employee informed him the omission was requested by Arab guests.

Hotel director Birgitt Ullerich denied there were any such instructions.

She told The Associated Press that only 34 countries were on the list and Israel's absence "was simply an oversight."

The hotel is part of the Kempinski group, which has its roots in a restaurant founded by German Jewish businessman Berthold Kempinski.
The Latest: Trump 'fine' with trying Americans at Gitmo

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (All times EDT):

12:35 a.m.

Donald Trump says it would be "fine" to try Americans suspected of terrorism at the Guantanamo Bay detention center if possible.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The Miami Herald asks Trump whether he'd approve new detentions at the prison if he's elected president. The Republican says he wants to ensure the U.S. has a "safe place" to keep a "radical Islamic terrorist."

Trump says President Barack Obama is releasing "terrible people" from the prison who shouldn't be let go. After extensive security reviews, Obama has transferred dozens of detainees to other countries as he works to close the prison at the U.S. base in Cuba.

Trump also criticizes Obama and others who want to try terrorism suspects in traditional courts. Asked specifically about U.S. citizens, Trump says if they could face trial in military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, "that'll be fine."

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12:20 a.m.

Donald Trump says he wants Congress to approve more funds to address the Zika virus in Florida.

Trump is giving his first extended description of his views about Zika in a Miami Herald interview. He says he would "absolutely" ask Congress to let "some of the funds that they're asking for come in."

Trump isn't specifying whose request for funds he's referring to. Both Republicans and Democrats have supported more funding for Zika, but none has been approved because Republicans want to approve less than the $1.9 billion that President Barack Obama has requested.

Trump says that he hopes funds will be approved soon. Until now, Trump had only said that he thinks Florida Gov. Rick Scott is doing a good job.

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12:10 a.m.

Donald Trump says he plans to meet with Cuban-Americans to help determine whether he'll support continuing the "wet foot, dry foot" immigration policy.

The Republican presidential nominee says the meeting will take place in about a week and that he'll probably have a decision "pretty quickly" about the federal policy, which generally allows Cubans who reach U.S. soil to remain in the country.

Under that policy, those intercepted at sea usually go back.

Trump tells the Miami Herald that he wants to hear from Cubans who have come to the U.S. about how they view the policy. He has said previously that he's "fine" with the U.S. moving toward normalized relations with Cuba but that President Barack Obama should have negotiated a better deal.

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7:38 p.m.

Donald Trump is threatening to stop fundraising for the Republican National Committee if it were to shift its money away from his campaign to House and Senate candidates.

Trump is responding to a Time magazine story that said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus had told Trump he'd shift resources unless Trump's poll numbers improved. Both Trump and a spokesman for Priebus say it's not true.

But Trump is adding in a Fox News interview that if it is true, it's alright, because he's the one raising money for the RNC. He says fellow Republicans are "getting used to" the money he's raising.

Trump is also dismissing a letter that frustrated Republicans have drafted urging Priebus to stop helping Trump. Trump says he doesn't want those Republicans' support.

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5:19 p.m.

The Democratic National Committee is creating an advisory board on cybersecurity in the aftermath of an embarrassing email hack prior to the party's national convention last month.

Interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile says in a memo obtained by The Associated Press that the board will work to prevent future attacks and ensure that the party's cybersecurity capabilities are the best possible.

Brazile says in the memo that DNC lawyers have thoroughly reviewed the emails that were released and will be notifying affected individuals next week.

The hacked emails showed an apparent lack of neutrality in the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, with some party officials disparaging Sanders.

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4:22 p.m.

Mike Pence is dismissing the reaction to Donald Trump's assertion that President Barack Obama is the "founder of ISIS" as a media-driven "controversy over semantics."

Obama did not establish the Islamic State group.

Pence, Trump's running mate, is nonetheless defending Trump's comments by saying Obama and Hillary Clinton's policies led to the rise of IS.

He says the pair undid hard fought gains in Iraq by withdrawing troops and creating a "vacuum" for the group to flourish.

The Indiana governor spoke Thursday during a town hall in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

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3:45 p.m.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Republicans' chances of keeping control of the Senate after the November elections are "very dicey."

Sounding an alarm amid increasing concerns within the GOP about nominee Donald Trump, the Kentucky Republican said Thursday that the party is in a "dogfight" to hold off Democrats looking to reclaim Senate control just two years after Republicans won the chamber.

McConnell noted that Republicans are defending 24 Senate seats compared to 10 by Democrats. He says that put Republicans on the defensive, regardless of how the presidential election turns out.

McConnell listed several campaigns for GOP-held seats that are "very competitive," mentioning New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida and Indiana.

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3:23 p.m.

Donald Trump is acknowledging his campaign is having "a tremendous problem" in Utah.

Trump is addressing evangelical pastors at an event in Orlando, Florida. He's telling them they have to "get your people out to vote."

Trump rarely concedes problems with his campaign or that he's behind. But Utah has been a particular challenge for Trump. The state's large Mormon population has been wary of his candidacy. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who overwhelmingly won Utah in 2012, has been sharply criticizing Trump for months.

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3:05 p.m.

Frustrated Republicans have drafted a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus urging him to stop helping Donald Trump win the White House. They want the party to focus its resources instead on protecting vulnerable Senate and House candidates.

A draft of the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, warns that Trump's "divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide."

GOP operative Andrew Weinstein says 70 Republicans have signed the letter so far, including five former members of Congress and 16 former RNC staffers.

They want Priebus to immediately shift "all available RNC resources to vulnerable congressional candidates to "prevent the GOP from drowning with a Trump-emblazoned anchor around its neck."

The RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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3 p.m.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is reassuring evangelicals that Donald Trump shares their beliefs.

Huckabee is speaking before Trump at the American Renewal Project's Pastors and Pews event. It's a gathering of evangelical pastors and church leaders in Orlando, Florida.

Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, says he gets asked whether Trump is "one of us." He says Trump may not sit in the front of a church every Sunday or be loud about his faith. But Huckabee says just because "some people will eat their soup a little louder than others" doesn't make the soup taste better.

Huckabee says he wouldn't be supporting Trump if Trump didn't oppose abortion.

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2:55 p.m.

Devout conservative Iowa Rep. Steve King, who once accused Hillary Clinton of lying, now says the Democratic presidential nominee "is someone I can work with."

Appearing Thursday at the Iowa State Fair, King says, "We don't agree on very much," but "I've sat across the table from Hillary Clinton, eye to eye, working" without staff present and outside the view of the news media.

Two years ago, King said Clinton and other Obama administration officials lied in their account of the deadly attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya. Clinton was secretary of state at the time.

King has endorsed Republican Donald Trump, but made the charitable comments about Clinton during an appearance on the first day of the fair, according to video recorded by The Des Moines Register

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2:45 p.m.

When Donald Trump vowed this week to make child care more accessible and affordable, it was just the second time during his White House campaign that he's talked about the issue.

The first came months ago in Iowa, when the eventual Republican nominee touted his own record as a business owner during a candidate Q&A.

Trump says that he provides on-site child care service for his employees and encouraged other companies to do the same.

He says it's not expensive; all you need are some blocks and some toys.

But the programs Trump cites are intended for guests of his hotels and members of his golf courses, not for Trump workers.

The Trump Organization says its policies differ from property-to-property.

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2:40 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is depicting Donald Trump as a political outlier, promoting what she calls "outlandish Trumpian ideas" that have been rejected by both parties.

She says Trump is proposing a "more extreme version of the failed theory of trickle-down economics."

Clinton was giving an economic address in Michigan on Thursday afternoon.

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2:35 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is calling Donald Trump's plans for greater childcare deductions for families a handout for the wealthy.

Clinton says Trump's proposal was "transparently is designed for rich people." She argues that the plan would help wealthy families with nannies, and do little for others. She made her remarks in Warren, Michigan, on Thursday.

In a speech Monday in Detroit, Trump said he would "allow parents to fully deduct the average cost of child care spending from their taxes." He has promised to provide more details in coming weeks.

Clinton says she will expand the Child Tax Credit. She said "the more we do to help working families, the more our entire economy will benefit."

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2:30 p.m.

A senior House Democrat back from a trip with congressional colleagues to Italy and Afghanistan says he felt like they should have brought "brooms and mops" to clean up the mess Donald Trump is creating overseas.

At a news conference Thursday, Rep. Steve Israel of New York says the delegation reassured civilian and military leaders in both countries that the United States won't abandon them. The U.S. leads a coalition of allies in Afghanistan against insurgents. Italy is one of NATO's founding members.

Trump has stoked concerns in foreign capitals by questioning the value of NATO and America's other key alliances. He's said that if allies in Europe and Asia won't pay the full cost of U.S. contributions to their defense, then the U.S. should let them defend themselves

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2:25 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is hitting Donald Trump for what she's calling a "Trump loophole" in his economic plan.

During a speech in suburban Detroit, Clinton says Trump's plans to cut taxes on certain business income would benefit many of his companies. Clinton said "he'd pay a lower rate than millions of middle-class families." She added that it was hard to know exactly how much Trump would benefit because he has not released his tax returns.

Clinton also says Trump would "give trillions in tax cuts to big corporations, millionaires, and Wall Street money managers." And she questioned his plan to eliminate the estate tax, calling it a perk for Trump and the very wealthy.

Said Clinton: "Donald Trump wants to give trillions in tax breaks to people like himself."

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2:20 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is stressing her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, saying: "I oppose it now, I'll oppose it after the election and I'll oppose it as president.

Speaking at a manufacturing company in suburban Detroit, Clinton says she understands why people are concerned about trade deals, noting that Republican nominee Donald Trump talks about it frequently. She says "trade deals have been sold to the American people with rosy scenarios that did not pan out."

But Clinton says the "answer is to finally make trade work for us, not against us."

Clinton stressed that she would "stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages."

Clinton supported the TPP when she was secretary of state but announced her opposition last year, saying it did not meet her standard for creating jobs, raising wages and protecting national security.

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2:15 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is using the Olympics to take a shot at rival Donald Trump.

She says: "If Team USA was as fearful as Trump, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles would be cowering in the locker room afraid to come out to compete."

Clinton says Trump's approach toward trade is based on fear of competing with the rest of the world, even if the rules are made more fair.

"America isn't afraid to compete," she says.

Clinton is delievering an economic address in Michigan on Thursday afternoon. The speech was billed by aides as a response to Trump's economic remarks in Detroit three days ago.

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2 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is promoting her plan to invest in infrastructure as a way to create more jobs.

In an economic address in suburban Detroit, the Democratic nominee says she'll put people to work updating roads and bridges. She's promising to improve schools and water systems, expand broadband access and invest in clean energy.

Clinton says that part of her plan "will be unleashing the power of the private sector to create more jobs at higher pay." She says she would create an infrastructure bank to collect public and private money.

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1:55 p.m.

Donald Trump is adding new names to his economic advisory team  including women.

The campaign announced nine additional members on Thursday. Eight of them are women. The original 13-member group announced last week featured no women  but did have six men named Steve.

Among those joining his team are former New York Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey; Brooke Rollins, the president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation think tank, who served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry; Diane Hendricks, the chairwoman of ABC Supply Co., which distributes building products; and Darlene Jordan, who served as a national finance co-chair for Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns.

Also on the list is Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, who has helped raise money for Trump's campaign.

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1:50 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump spoke only of "failure, poverty and crime" in his economic address on Monday.

The Democratic presidential candidate says Trump is missing the economic revitalization that's happening in communities like Detroit. She also says he hasn't offered any "credible solutions" to America's economic challenges.

She's delivering an economic address in Michigan designed to counter Trump's address earlier this week with a more positive message.

Clinton says the country's best days are still ahead though she acknowledges the frustration felt by some middle class Americans.

She says: "There is nothing America can't do if we do it together."

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1:25 p.m.

Donald Trump will campaign in an unlikely venue: deep-blue Connecticut.

The Trump campaign announced that the Republican nominee will hold a rally Saturday in Fairfield.

The last time Connecticut went for a Republican presidential candidate was in 1988, when George H.W. Bush, a former state resident, captured it.

President Barack Obama won the state by nearly 18 points in 2012 and by 22 points in 2008.

Trump, who has vowed to compete in traditionally Democratic states, will make the appearance at a time when he has slipped in polls in several traditional battleground states as well as some Republican strongholds.

Southwest Connecticut, home to affluent suburbs of New York City, is prime fundraising territory. Trump often hosts fundraisers near rallies, though his campaign did not say if any were planned.

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12:40 p.m.

Donald Trump's campaign is painting Hillary Clinton as a proponent of the status quo as she prepares to deliver an economic speech in Michigan.

Trump's Deputy National Policy Director Dan Kowalski says in a statement that: "right now, the American economy is only working for the rigged system in Washington and on Wall Street, yet Hillary Clinton is running to keep things as they are."

He says Clinton's plans will damage the economy by raising taxes, increasing spending and killing jobs.

Trump discussed his own economic plans in a speech this week that focused on cutting corporate taxes and eliminating federal regulations.

Clinton has proposed a surtax on the highest-earning Americans, while Trump has proposed a tax reduction that he acknowledges would add substantially to the debt.

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12:35 p.m.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine says voting is a "sacred act."

Kaine is in New Orleans addressing the Progressive National Baptist Convention, a group of African-American Baptist churches born out of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

He's talking about his religious upbringing, including the year he spent in Honduras. He says when he came back from Honduras  at that time a dictatorship  he had a new attitude about the importance of voting.

Kaine says he meets people every day who say their vote doesn't matter. But he stressed how important it is.

His comments come as many in the African-American community are worried about the effects of a Supreme Court decision that invalidated a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

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12:15 a.m.

Donald Trump is showing something he rarely reveals on the campaign trail: his sentimental side.

Trump, speaking to home builders Thursday in Florida, reminisced about watching his father, Fred, a New York City developer, conduct business.

The Republican nominee recalled moments in his youth when he'd play with blocks near his father's desk while the elder Trump brokered deals. And he remembered Fred Trump's forays into homebuilding.

Trump recalled that his "father would go and he'd pick up the saw dust and he'd pick up the nails."

Trump also said that his father, a major influence on his life whom he rarely mentions on the campaign trail, "would be very proud to see that we're running for the presidency."

He was addressing the National Association of Homebuilders in Miami Beach, Florida.

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9:50 a.m.

Hillary Clinton will soon release her 2015 tax returns.

A source close to the Democratic presidential nominee says she will release them in "the coming days." Her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine and his wife, Anne Houlton, will also release the last 10 years of their returns. The source spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss the plans in advance.

Clinton has hit Republican nominee Donald Trump for not releasing his returns. Trump has said he won't release them until after an IRS audit is complete.

The Clinton campaign has put out eight years of Clinton's returns, from 2007 to 2014. Combined with releases during her previous campaigns and her husband's time in office, the Clintons have made their tax returns public since 1977.

By Catherine Lucey in Detroit

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9:05 a.m.

Republican Donald Trump says the U.S. government should take on more debt to strengthen the military and rebuild infrastructure.

Trump's comments Thursday in a CNBC interview go against the traditional Republican aversion to government borrowing.

Trump said, "I like to reduce debt too, as much as anybody." But he added that the military has been depleted and America's infrastructure is in horrible condition.

He said interest rates are low now and will eventually go up, making it too expensive to borrow.

Trump said: "You'd be paying so little interest right now. This is the time to borrow."

___

8:50 a.m.

Donald Trump is defending his decision to label President Barack Obama the "founder" of the Islamic State group.

Asked in an interview with CNBC Thursday whether it was appropriate for him to call the sitting president of the United States the founder of a terrorist organization that wants to kill Americans, Trump doubled down on his accusation.

"He was the founder of ISIS, absolutely," says Trump, blaming the president for his decision to withdraw troops, which some argue created a power vacuum in which extremist groups like IS thrive.

Trump says the U.S. "should have never gotten in" the war, but also shouldn't "have got out the way he got out."

Trump now claims that he was opposed to the Iraq War from the beginning, despite evidence to the contrary.

___

7 a.m.

Hillary Clinton is set to go after Donald Trump's economic agenda  aiming to portray her rival's approach as offering handouts for the rich.

That's her goal in a speech scheduled for Thursday afternoon at a manufacturing company in Warren, Michigan.

Her campaign says she'll try to make the case that the Republican presidential nominee's plans would benefit him and his wealthy friends  and amount to an update of "trickle-down economics."

Also look for Clinton to argue that Trump's drive to cut taxes on certain business income would in fact benefit many of his companies.

The Democratic nominee isn't expected to use her speech to come out with any major new policies.

Republican vice presidential candidate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during a campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (Ty Greenlees/Dayton Daily News via AP) LOCAL PRINT OUT; LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; WKEF-TV OUT; WRGT-TV OUT; WDTN-TV OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to the National Association of Home Builders, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gives a speech on the economy after touring Futuramic Tool & Engineering, in Warren, Mich., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Latest: Teen who scaled Trump Tower had problems at home

NEW YORK (AP)  The Latest on the arrest of a teenager who scaled the Trump Tower while seeking "a private audience" with Donald Trump (all times local):

6 p.m.

A Virginia teenager who climbed partway up Trump Tower in New York City had a history of problems at home.

An emergency response officer reaches to pull a man's legs over as New York Police officers struggled to pull the man through a window as he scaled Trump Tower using suction cups Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The man spent more than 2 hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower, climbing as high as the 21st floor before officers grabbed him. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A police report says he ran away from home in 2014 after arguing with his parents about his obsession with a political blog.

His parents told police he was spending too much time on the blog and neglecting his schoolwork. They said he was planning to travel to Miami to live on the streets.

The teenager was identified as 19-year-old Stephen Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia. He remained under psychiatric evaluation at a hospital Thursday, a day after he was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment. He told police he wanted to meet with Trump.

___

10:45 a.m.

The New York Police Department has identified the man who scaled the glass facade of the Trump Tower using large suction cups.

The NYPD said Thursday that the climber was 19-year-old Stephen Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia. He was arrested on charges of reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.

Police had previously said he was 20.

The man had said he was seeking "a private audience" with Donald Trump, though it's not clear what he wanted to discuss. He spent hours scaling the building Wednesday before police grabbed him through a window on the 21st floor.

The tower is headquarters to Trump's Republican presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there, though he was away Wednesday.

It wasn't immediately clear if Rogata has an attorney.

__

2:40 a.m.

A man seeking "a private audience" with Donald Trump spent hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower using large suction cups before police officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window.

Police have identified the climber as a 20-year-old Virginia man and say he's being evaluated at a hospital.

He wore a backpack and used a harness and rope stirrups to fasten himself to the side of the 58-story Manhattan skyscraper on Wednesday. He climbed as high as the 21st floor before officers grabbed him.

The tower is headquarters to Donald Trump's Republican presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there, although he was away Wednesday.

___

This item has been corrected to show the tower is 58 stories, not 68.

A man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. A police spokeswoman says officers responded to Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

New York Police officers attach a climbing rope and carabiner to a man who was attempting to scale Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The man spent more than 2 ' hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower, climbing as high as the 21st floor before police officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A New York Police officer watches as a man attempts to scale Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The man spent more than 2 hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower using large suction cups, climbing as high as the 21st floor before police officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A man scales the all-glass face of Trump Tower in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (Alex Cannon via AP)

A man scales the all-glass face of Trump Tower in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (Alex Cannon via AP)

A man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. A police spokeswoman says officers responded to Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower using suction cups Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. A police spokeswoman says officers responded to Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Pedestrians stop to watch as a man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower using suction cups Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. A police spokeswoman says officers responded to Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Pedestrians stop to watch as a man scales the all-glass facade of Trump Tower using suction cups Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in New York. A police spokeswoman says officers responded to Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper on Fifth Avenue. The 58-story building is headquarters to the Republican presidential nominee's campaign. He also lives there. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Poll: Approval rating for Mexican president falls to 23 pct

MEXICO CITY (AP)  A new poll suggests approval ratings for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto have fallen to 23 percent, while 74 percent disapprove of the job he is doing.

The level is the lowest since just after Pena Nieto took office in December 2012, when he got a 50-percent approval rating in the same poll.

The poll published Thursday by the newspaper Reforma had a margin of error of 3.3 percent. Pollsters interviewed 1,200 people nationwide between Augusto 4 and 7.

FILE - In this July 22, 2016 file photo, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto speaks during a news conference with President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House in Washington. A new poll published Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016 photo by the newspaper Reforma, suggests approval ratings for the Mexican leader have fallen to 23 percent, while 74 percent disapprove of the job he is doing. The level is the lowest since Pena Nieto took office in December 2012, when he got a 42-percent approval rating in the same poll. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Jennifer Lopez to play cocaine queen Griselda Blanco for HBO

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Jennifer Lopez is set to star as late drug lord Griselda Blanco in an upcoming HBO biopic about the woman known as "The Godmother" and the "Queen of Cocaine."

Lopez tells The Hollywood Reporter in a statement that she has "been fascinated by the life of this corrupt and complicated woman for many years." Lopez will also produce the film.

Blanco was killed in Colombia in 2012. She was among the first Colombian women to traffic cocaine to the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. She had been deported back to Colombia in 2004 after serving nearly 20 years behind bars in the U.S. for drug trafficking and three drug-related killings.

FILE - In this June 9, 2016, file photo, Jennifer Lopez arrives at the "Shades of Blue" FYC Event at Saban Media Center in Los Angeles. Lopez told The Hollywood Reporter on August 10, 2016, that she would star in and produce an HBO biopic about late drug lord Griselda Blanco. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP, File)

Blanco was a subject of the 2006 documentary "Cocaine Cowboys," which focused on the Miami drug trade.
The Latest: Russia, Ukraine diplomats trade barbs at UN

MOSCOW (AP)  The Latest on the Crimean border dispute between Ukraine and Russia (all times local):

9:55 p.m.

Ambassadors from Russia and Ukraine have traded barbs at a U.N. Security Council meeting over rising tensions between the two countries with both sides expressing concern the situation doesn't spiral out of control.

FILE - In this file photo taken on Friday, May 9, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, flanked by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and Federal Security Service Chief Alexander Bortnikov, right, arrives on a boat after inspecting battleships during a navy parade marking the Victory Day in Sevastopol, Crimea. Putin on Thursday Aug. 11, 2016, directly accused the Ukrainian government of plotting attacks in the Crimea, and called for increased security in the Russian annexed Black Sea peninsula. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, FILE)

Following Thursday's meeting, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he read the Security Council a statement from his foreign ministry expressing "concern and outrage over this attempt of terrorist sabotage on the territory of the Republic of Crimea."

He added that he hoped the Ukrainians would be prudent enough to avoid a further escalation, but expressed doubt that would happen.

Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, meanwhile, expressed concern about some 40,000 Russian troops he said were amassed near the border, saying "these numbers might reflect some very bad intentions."

He said he hoped the discussion would "help Russia to understand they cannot continue with this kind of behavior."

___

5:10 p.m.

A NATO official says the U.S.-led alliance is deeply concerned by rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine and is monitoring the situation closely.

The official, who wasn't authorized to make statements on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russia had provided no proof of its accusation that Ukraine sent saboteurs to carry out attacks in Crimea.

Ukraine's president has ordered the army to be on combat alert on the country's de-facto border with Crimea and on the front line in eastern Ukraine following Moscow's accusations.

--By John-Thor Dahlburg in Brussels.

___

2:50 p.m.

Ukraine's president has ordered the army to be on combat alert on the country's de-facto border with Crimea and on the front line in eastern Ukraine following Moscow's accusations that Ukraine sent in "saboteurs" to carry out attacks in Crimea.

Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum. The move sparked Russia-backed separatists to begin fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine, where deadly battles are still ongoing.

The Russian intelligence agency FSB on Wednesday said one of its officers and an army soldier were killed over the weekend in two separate incidents while fending off what Moscow described as a series of attacks by Ukrainian "saboteurs."

Ukraine rejected the claims as "fantasy" and "a provocation."

___

11:10 a.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting of the country's top brass to discuss boosting security in Crimea following the reports of foiled terrorist attacks.

The Russian intelligence said Wednesday that two people were killed while fending off what it described as a series of attempted attacks in Crimea by Ukrainian "saboteurs." Ukraine rejected the claims as "fantasy" and "a provocation."

Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, an event that sparked Russia-backed separatists to begin fighting in eastern Ukraine, where deadly fighting is still ongoing.
Kids returning to school in a Miami neighborhood linked to Zika infections will be allowed to wear pants and long-sleeved shirts that don't match their school uniforms, but still can't bring mosquito repellent to campus.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, while speaking at a Wednesday school board meeting, said that 'aggressive application' of repellent should be done at home, not at school where some students may be allergic to the spray, The Miami Herald reported.

Some 4,000 students attend six schools in the Wynwood arts district where health officials say 22 people have contracted Zika, a mosquito-borne virus.

Scroll down for video

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho (pictured in January) said that 'aggressive application' of repellent should be done at home, not at school where some students may be allergic to the spray

Some 4,000 students attend six schools in the Wynwood arts district where health officials say 22 people have contracted Zika, a mosquito-borne virus

The six schools are Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary, Jose de Diego Middle, Eneida M. Hartner Elementary, Phyllis Wheatley Elementary, Design and Architecture Senior High, and Young Men's Preparatory Academy.

Carvalho was filmed by CBS Miami saying at the meeting: 'We are encouraging parents and employees to apply insect repellent prior to coming to school.'

He told the TV station in an interview: 'We are a compassionate school system and we recognize the hardship faced by a lot of our children and their parents.

Some 4,000 students attend six schools in the Wynwood arts district where health officials say 22 people have contracted Zika, a mosquito-borne virus

'That is why at no cost we are ready to supply those additional uniforms, long pants and long sleeve shirts to children in impacted areas whose means may not necessarily allow them to go out and buy them.'

Classes are scheduled to resume August 22.

Carvalho, CBS Miami reported, said: 'The effective prevention protection includes the daily inspection of these six sites to ensure that pools of water are non-existent, to keep trimming bushes that obstruct the view of where water would accumulate.'
1st US offshore wind farm to usher in new era for industry

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP)  The nation's first offshore wind farm is set to open off the coast of Rhode Island this fall, ushering in a new era in the U.S. for the industry.

Developers, federal regulators and industry experts say the opening will move the U.S. industry from a theory to reality, paving the way for the construction of many more wind farms that will eventually provide power for many Americans.

Deepwater Wind is building a five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island to power about 17,000 homes. The project costs about $300 million, according to the company.

In this July 25, 2016 photo, workers stand near over-sized racks holding sections of wind turbine towers at a staging site at Port of Providence, in Providence, R.I. Deepwater Wind anticipates opening the first U.S. offshore wind farm off Rhode Island's coast in the fall. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said the Block Island wind farm enables larger projects because it proves that wind farms can be built along the nation's coast.

"I look at Block Island as sort of the key to unlocking the code of how to do offshore wind in the U.S.," he said.

This comes as other states have "suddenly woken up" to offshore wind's potential, Grybowski added.

Areas suitable for offshore wind farms have been identified off seven states and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has already awarded 11 commercial offshore wind energy leases for sites in the Atlantic Ocean.

Developers have requested commercial wind leases for areas off California and Hawaii. And a lease sale is planned for 81,000 acres off New York for commercial wind energy this year.

"There's a tremendous amount of activity and I think this will be viewed in history as the year that changed everything for the U.S. offshore wind industry," said Kit Kennedy, an energy and transportation expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Offshore wind farms, which benefit from strong winds because of their location, are being proposed near population epicenters that lack the space to build on land.

Abigail Ross Hopper, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said climate change is driving interest in offshore wind and she expects to see more wind farms being built in about three to five years.

"We are right on the edge of the cliff and we're about to leap off into the building of many wind farms," she said. "I really think that's true. State and federal policy, and the technology, are all coming together at the same time."

Indeed, several states are pushing ambitious clean energy goals, which include offshore wind. Among them is California, which has a target of generating 50 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2030. Vermont hopes to hit 55 percent by next year and Hawaii has called for 100 percent renewable power by 2045.

Massachusetts decided to ramp up its reliance on renewable and alternative sources of energy under a bill signed into law just this week. The law, in part, requires utilities to solicit long-term contracts with offshore wind farm developers to bring at least 1,600 megawatts of wind energy, enough to power about 240,000 homes, to Massachusetts in the next decade. New York state recently committed to generating half its power from renewable sources by the year 2030. Many other states have set more modest goals.

But offshore wind is not without its growing pains.

Cape Wind would've built the nation's first offshore wind farm, had the 130-turbine project off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts not stalled. The company faced a series of legal challenges brought by project opponents, largely funded by billionaire businessman William Koch.

Last month, a New York utility was set to approve a different Deepwater Wind project, this one a 15-turbine wind farm off eastern Long Island. But the vote was put on hold after officials said they wanted to wait until after the state's offshore wind master plan is released, sometime in the next several weeks.

Deepwater Wind is looking to sell power for approximately 50,000 homes to the Long Island Power Authority. It's considered the first phase in the company's ambitions to eventually build turbines producing 1,000 megawatts of power in the waters between eastern Long Island, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Catherine Bowes, a climate and energy expert at the National Wildlife Federation, said it has been hard for some people to think about offshore wind as a real, viable option 7/8 until now. She sees the Block Island wind farm coming online as a "springboard" for the industry.

"It's a shift from offshore wind being something that might happen in the future, to being a here and now clean energy opportunity," Bowes said.

In this July 25, 2016 photo, sections of wind turbine towers sit in rows at a staging site at Port of Providence, in Providence, R.I. Deepwater Wind anticipates opening the first U.S. offshore wind farm off Rhode Island's coast in the fall. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FILE - In this July 27, 2015 file photo, a construction crane works over a foundation installed for a wind turbine by Deepwater Wind off the coast of Block Island, R.I. Deepwater Wind anticipates opening the first U.S. offshore wind farm there in the fall of 2016. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
5 tips to bounce back after a foreclosure or short sale

Philip and Denise Powell lost their home in 2011 after Philip's hours as a pastor were cut in half and Denise was sidelined by a surgery. But they were determined to become homeowners again, so they rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

The Highland, California, couple got financial counseling. They took control of their credit reports, tackled high-interest debts and cut spending. In 2015, they bought another home.

"We thought we'd never recover," Philip Powell says, recalling the devastation they felt after losing their home. "No one in California was ready for the crash; it hit us hard."

FILE - In this July 22, 2015, file photo, a "Sold" sign is posted outside a Harbor Beach neighborhood home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Losing a home to a foreclosure or short sale is devastating, but it doesnt have to define you. Rebuilding credit, working with a housing counselor and steering clear of predatory lenders are just a few of the ways to get back on your feet and on the path to owning another home. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Their story is typical of the more than 9.3 million homeowners who lost a home through a distressed property sale from 2006 through 2014, according to the National Association of Realtors.

As rents rise, low mortgage rates persist and the economy gradually improves, some who lost their home in recent years will be able to re-enter the housing market. A 2015 study by the NAR found that 1.5 million previous homeowners might be eligible to buy within the next five years, based on the time it takes to boost credit scores and save for a down payment, as well as mandatory wait times to buy another house.

For those looking to put down homeownership roots once more, here are five tips:

1. KNOW YOUR OPTIONS: You no longer have to wait seven years after a bankruptcy or foreclosure to buy another home, says Ray Carlisle, president of the national nonprofit NID Housing Counseling Agency. For homeowners who had extenuating circumstances such as prolonged income loss or major medical expenses, Fannie Mae has shortened its waiting periods to two years after a pre-foreclosure sale  a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure  and to three years after a foreclosure. That's down from the standard waiting periods of four and seven years, respectively.

To get a Federal Housing Administration loan after a foreclosure, the standard wait time is now three years  and as little as one year with extenuating circumstances, says April Brown, a spokeswoman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

2. CHANGE YOUR BAD MONEY HABITS: Focus on paying down debt, creating a solid savings strategy and avoiding new splurge purchases. Saving for a down payment and closing costs is one of the biggest hurdles that homebuyers face. Start socking away bonuses, windfalls, tax refunds and other extra cash in a savings account. Setting up automatic deposits to your savings account is another way to grow your down payment reserves, and it removes the temptation to spend money unnecessarily.

3. REPAIR YOUR CREDIT: The FHA's minimum credit score requirement for maximum financing is 580. Some lenders offer loans at that minimum, Carlisle says, but other mortgage lenders require a FICO score of 640 or higher. Paying off high-interest debt on time each month and not taking out new loans or running up your credit cards will help build your credit score. Also, ask your utility providers or landlord to report your on-time monthly payments to the major credit bureaus to have those count on your credit report, too.

4. BEWARE OF PREDATORY LENDERS: If you encounter lenders that try to seduce you with "special" zero-down home loans or real estate agents who recommend rosy rent-to-own or land contract agreements, run the other way. Carlisle says that 80 percent of NID's clients are minorities who are disproportionately targeted by predatory lenders. Never sign any contract you're unsure of, and have a housing counselor , real estate attorney or different lender look it over to get a second opinion.

5. SEEK HELP FROM THE PROS: Not only can housing counselors help you address credit issues and set up a savings plan, they can connect you with state, local and private resources that can ease your path to homeownership, Brown says.

NEXT STEPS

If you're looking to buy again, reach out to a HUD-approved housing counselor before you begin. Also, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling provides help to more than 3 million people each year. Find an NFCC-certified housing counselor to discuss your options.

___

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Email staff writer Deborah Kearns: dkearns@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @debbie_kearns.

RELATED LINKS:

NerdWallet: Buying a House, the First Steps https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/mortgages/buying-a-house-first-steps/?trk=nw-synd_442_0_0

HUD: Approved housing counselors http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm
House-sized boulder blocks highway in Zion National Park

ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah (AP)  A boulder the size of a house tumbled onto a highway in Utah's Zion National Park after a major thunderstorm, partially closing the roadway during the popular summer season.

A geologist was exploring the best way to get the massive rock off the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, where it fell Wednesday evening, park spokeswoman Aly Baltrus said Thursday. Officials use dynamite in some cases to break up fallen rocks.

The boulder fell after strong thunderstorms pounded the park Wednesday afternoon. It's blocking both lanes and cracked the road, but nobody was injured, Baltrus said.

This Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016 photo provided by the National Park Service shows the Zion- Mount Carmel Highway, State Route 9 closed, in Zion National Park after a boulder tumbled onto the roadway. Park spokeswoman Aly Baltrus says a geologist is exploring the best way to get the massive rock off the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, where it fell on Wednesday evening. (National Park Service via AP)

Most park activity won't be affected by the blockage, but the road is closed between Canyon Junction and the east entrance, Baltrus said. Visitors looking to drive through the park on State Route 9 will have to take an alternate route.

Zion is the most-visited of Utah's five national parks. Last year, 3.6 million people visited the park known for its steep red rock cliffs and narrow slot canyons.

Heavy rains last year sent flash flooding barreling through one of those canyons, killing seven people from California and Nevada.
The Latest: 2 force complaints for academy shooting officer

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP)  The Latest on the case of a Florida officer who shot and killed a woman during a police "shoot/don't shoot" demonstration (all times local):

5 p.m.

Records show a police officer who fatally shot a woman during a citizens academy class was twice accused of excessive use of force at a previous department where he worked.

Steve Knowlton wipes his eyes as he talks about his mother Mary Knowlton during an interview Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Punta Gorda, Fla. Police say an officer accidentally shot Mary to death during a citizen's academy "shoot/don't shoot" exercise Tuesday evening. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The Miramar Police Department records released Thursday show that Officer Lee Coel was accused in April 2013 of pulling a suspect from the back of a police cruiser by his ankles, causing the man to land forcefully on the pavement. Investigators agreed it was too much force.

A second allegation in March 2013 involving rough handling of another suspect was ruled unfounded, although investigators said he drove the man over 100 mph in his cruiser in violation of policy.

Coel resigned from the Miramar department in April 2013 after about 14 months. He was hired by the Punta Gorda Police Department in March 2014.

On Tuesday, Coel mistakenly shot 73-year-old Mary Knowlton during a "shoot/don't shoot" exercise at the Punta Gorda department. The shooting is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

___

11:30 a.m.

The Punta Gorda police chief says he is taking full responsibility after one of his officers shot and killed a woman during a police "shoot/don't shoot" demonstration.

Chief Tom Lewis said Thursday during a news conference that he is 100 percent accountable. At a citizens' academy meeting on Tuesday night, officer Lee Coel mistakenly shot 73-year-old Mary Knowlton during the exercise.

Immediately after the shooting, the police chief says authorities secured the scene and called the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. He says it should take that agency between two to four weeks to complete its probe.

The officer has been placed on administrative leave.

The chief says they are offering counseling to Knowlton's family as well as police and members of the community who witnessed the shooting.

___

Corrects day of shooting to Tuesday, not Monday.

___

4 a.m.

The officer who shot and killed a woman during a police "shoot/don't shoot" demonstration in Florida was accused of using excessive force with his police dog and resigned from another police agency in 2013 for failing to satisfactorily complete an agency field training program.

Officer Lee Coel was put on administrative leave Tuesday as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates why real ammunition was used by mistake at an event designed to bring police and the public together in Punta Gorda.

Authorities are expected to hold a news conference about the shooting Thursday morning.

Mary Knowlton, a 73-year-old retired librarian who attended the demonstration with her husband of 55 years, died when Coel shot her with a revolver that was supposed to contain blanks.

Steve Knowlton wipes his face as he talks about his mother Mary Knowlton during an interview Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Punta Gorda, Fla. Police say an officer accidentally shot Mary to death during a citizen's academy "shoot/don't shoot" exercise Tuesday evening. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Steve Knowlton talks about his mother Mary Knowlton, shown in family photos, during an interview Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Punta Gorda, Fla. Police say an officer accidentally shot Mary to death during a citizen's academy "shoot/don't shoot" exercise Tuesday evening. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Punta Gorda, Fla., Police Chief Tom Lewis gestures as he speaks to the media at the Public Safety Complex Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Punta Gorda, Fla. Police say an officer accidentally shot a woman to death during a citizen's academy "shoot/don't shoot" exercise Tuesday evening. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Steve Knowlton talks about his mother Mary Knowlton during an interview Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Punta Gorda, Fla. Police say an officer accidentally shot Mary to death during a citizen's academy "shoot/don't shoot" exercise Tuesday evening. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Punta Gorda Police Dept. Det. J. Davoult takes down crime scene tape outside Public Safety Complex Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Punta Gorda, Fla. Police say an officer accidentally shot a woman to death during a citizen's academy "shoot/don't shoot" exercise Tuesday evening. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Time to go, Rizzo? Some want Philly ex-mayor's statue gone

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  An anti-police brutality group wants Philadelphia to remove a statue of Frank Rizzo, the blunt and charismatic officer-turned-mayor who was at once loved and loathed during his decades reigning over the city. The current mayor said he's open to a discussion on the location of the statue.

An online petition , launched this month by the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice, contends Rizzo was "an unrepentant racist who stopped at nothing to torture and hold Philadelphia's African-American community as his personal hostages."

"We want to see a statue that empowers the black and brown community instead of us having to be constantly reminded of racist attacks and our plight here in Philadelphia," organizer Erica Mines said.

This Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, photo shows a statue of late Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, who also served as the city's police commissioner, on Thomas Paine Plaza outside the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia. An anti-police brutality group, the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice, launched an online petition in August 2016 calling for the removal of the Frank Rizzo statue. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)

The bronze statue, unveiled in 1999, depicts Rizzo bounding down the steps of the Municipal Services Building. It was donated to the city.

Philadelphia has long tried to reconcile the complicated legacy of Rizzo, who served as mayor from 1972 to 1980 and who died of a heart attack in 1991 amid a City Hall comeback bid. His friends, family and fans remember him as a devoted public servant unafraid to speak his mind. His detractors saw his police force as corrupt and brutal and said Rizzo alienated minorities both as police commissioner and mayor.

The petition's allegations are "complete nonsense," Rizzo's grandson Joe Mastronardo said Wednesday.

"He was always friends with black people," Mastronardo said. "His two bodyguards were black and very tough guys. I don't think they would have protected this man if he was a racist."

Mastronardo said his grandfather's hard-nosed rule and tough police tactics were products of the turbulent 1960s and '70s.

Rizzo became commissioner in 1967, memorably responding to a disturbance at a housing project wearing a tuxedo with a nightstick tucked into his cummerbund. He served two terms as mayor as a Democrat before switching to the GOP.

His four-year stint as commissioner was marked by praise for crime-fighting and criticism for rights infringement and was punctuated by some confrontations with African-Americans. In 1967, Rizzo and the police confronted a few hundred black students protesting outside the Board of Education Building. Officers clubbed some of the students after a few climbed atop cars. In 1970, two groups affiliated with the Black Panthers were raided and strip-searched on the sidewalk.

Yet he's also credited with hiring large numbers of African-American officers and promoting several black officers during his stint as commissioner.

Karen M. Turner, now an associate professor at Temple University's School of Media and Communication, remembers being afraid to come to Philadelphia as a black girl growing up in New Jersey during Rizzo's reign because of the police brutality stories.

"I'm surprised it took so long," she said about the petition to remove the statue. "But this is something young people are doing now: delving into the public expression of our history and asking, 'Is it accurate?'"

Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney said the city will consider meeting with the anti-police brutality group over the statue.

"I'm happy to have a dialogue about the future of Rizzo's likeness in relation to its location, but that dialogue won't be started and finished over a few days," Kenney said.

Mines said her group is encouraged by Kenney's response but added that "just placing it somewhere else won't be end of it."

The city is working on a statue and sculpture of Octavius V. Catto, a black Philadelphia activist called "the Martin Luther King Jr. of the 19th century." Mines said that's just a start.

"How can one statue be enough?" she said "There can never be enough, when you think about the African-American experience here in Philadelphia."

City Council President Darrell Clarke, who is black, said the conversation about Rizzo's statue is healthy because it opens the door to look at the past and learn from it.

"The challenges our city faces  whether poverty, education, or housing inequality  can only be understood and resolved by studying our history, including and especially our warts, " he said.

To Mastronardo, Kenney's offer to meet with the group about his grandfather's statue is "gutless."

"My grandfather did more for this city than almost anyone in history," Mastronardo said. "He gave his life to this city."

___

Associated Press writer Errin Haines Whack contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Jan. 3, 1968, file photo, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo, later elected mayor, extends his hand to greet a visitor to his office in the Philadelphia Police Department's headquarters in Philadelphia. An anti-police brutality group, the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice, launched an online petition in August 2016 calling for the removal of a Frank Rizzo statue outside the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Bill Achatz, File)

FILE  This July 14, 2013, file photo shows protest signs placed on a statue of late Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo by demonstrators participating in an Occupy Philadelphia vigil for Trayvon Martin, a Florida teenager shot to death in February 2012, on Thomas Paine Plaza outside the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia. An anti-police brutality group, the Philly Coalition for REAL Justice, launched an online petition in August 2016 calling for the removal of the statue of Frank Rizzo, who also served as the city's police commissioner. (Clem Murray/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, File)
DNA law leads to retrial for 3 in 1988 Puerto Rico killing

AGUADA, Puerto Rico (AP)  The witness said he was sure: He'd driven three men to the beach and watched them sexually attack and kill a 21-year-old pharmacy student.

The judge had his doubts, but the jury was convinced: Nelson Ortiz, Jose Caro and Nelson Ruiz were sentenced to life in prison.

Now, however, they've won at least a new trial under a new Puerto Rico law that expands defendants' rights to lodge appeals based on DNA testing.

In this Aug. 6, 2016 photo, Nelson Ortiz talks to a relative in Moca, Puerto Rico. He is one of three men who could go free more than 20 years after convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing a woman thanks to a new DNA law being applied for the first time in Puerto Rico. If it werent for the DNA law, I would still be in prison, Ortiz said who has been freed on bail, after a judge ordered a new trial. (AP Photo/Danica Coto)

"We have spent more than 28 years shouting to the world that we're innocent and to give us a chance to prove it," Ruiz said.

Glorimar Perez was found shot to death along Puerto Rico's northwest coast in July 1988. The killing shocked her hometown of Aguada, where almost everyone knew each other and relied on the whistle of a nearby sugarcane factory to signal it was time for lunch.

Suspicion quickly fell on two young blue-collar workers, apparently based on circumstance. The men had no criminal record and said they did not know each other.

Ruiz went to school with Perez but said they were never friends. He said he believes police arrested him based on untrue allegations she had romantically spurned him.

Ortiz said he never knew Perez but believes he was arrested because one witness said a man who looked like him got into her car the day she was killed.

Caro was drawn into the case later. He said he'd had never seen Perez, and that police came to interview him more than a year after the killing, saying that an unidentified person had implicated him.

Prosecutors didn't think they had enough evidence to arrest them until five years after the killing. The men were convicted in 1995, and months later, the key witness recanted. He said he had falsely implicated the three in a plea bargain exchange for immunity on other unrelated charges he faced.

But appeals court judges repeatedly batted down attempts for a new trial.

The three men saw a new chance in December, when the U.S. territory enacted a law that lets convicts request DNA analyses in cases where it was previously impossible: on new evidence or on evidence that was never analyzed or questioned at the trial.

"If it weren't for the DNA law, I would still be in prison," Ortiz said. "You start losing hope ... and start thinking many negative thoughts, of hanging oneself, of committing suicide, of taking pills."

The men were the first to invoke the new law with help from the Interamerican University's Innocence Project.

University Dean Julio Fontanet, founder of the Innocence Project, said tests in May found no genetic material from any of the three men on the evidence collected, including clothing and a car allegedly used to transport Perez's body. DNA of two other people was found, however.

Fontanet said that proves the men's innocence, though skeptics say the lack of DNA doesn't mean they weren't present at the scene.

The findings led a judge to order a new trial, and the three were freed on bail, though they have to wear ankle monitors.

The men are the first in Puerto Rico to have a conviction thrown out under such a law, though it's become common on the U.S. mainland. About 150 people were freed last year, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Overall, more than 1,850 such cases have been documented in the U.S., according to the University of Michigan Law School.

Officials at Puerto Rico's Justice Department have said they won't appeal the ruling, and are deciding whether to move forward with a new trial or just drop charges. Ruiz said he'd prefer a new trial.

"My goal is to erase this smear they placed on me 22 years ago," he said. "I won't ever get rid of it if there's not a new trial. It's not that easy to erase the stigma of a rapist, of a killer."

Officials said this week that they've delayed that decision, in part to look into the investigators and prosecutor accused by defense attorneys of framing the suspects.

"Glorimar's family has been deceived for more than 20 years," Fontanet said.

Caro echoed those thoughts.

"That family has suffered, but our families have suffered as well," Caro said, noting that his parents, like Ortiz's, died before the DNA report was made public in May.

But Perez's family remains unconvinced.

One of her sisters, Doris Perez, who lives in the U.S. mainland, said she still believes the three men are guilty and accuses them of bribing officials in exchange for their freedom, something they deny. She said the DNA report is inconclusive and that the lack of a DNA match for the men does not automatically mean they were not there.

"It seems like all you need is a DNA test to get away with murder," she said.

Perez said her family doesn't understand why someone would kill her sister, whom she described as a shy bookworm who enjoyed sewing clothes for her dolls as a young girl. She never talked about having a boyfriend, Perez said.

Her parents still live in Aguada, and Perez criticized town officials for celebrating the ruling for a new trial.
the dog that was reportedly barking throughout the night at the home

A man in Houston was shot in the neck by his neighbor who witnessed him beating his dog.

The incident happened at a home in the city early Wednesday morning when a man told Houston Police officers he was trying to discipline a dog that he says had been barking throughout the night.

The man told police he hit the dog and threw things at it, before his neighbor confronted him about the beating.

Scroll down for video

A man in Houston was shot in the neck by his neighbor who witnessed him beating his dog (above)

The incident happened at a home (above) Wednesday morning when a man told Houston Police officers he was trying to discipline a dog that he says had been barking throughout the night

Police say that man grabbed a shotgun during the altercation, pointed it at the man who had been hitting the dog and the gun went off, striking him in the neck.

'My son attacked him in some form or fashion because they were talking about the dog,' the shooting victim's mother who did not want to be identified told KPRC.

'My son ran into the house. The guy that shot him ran into another area, got the shotgun and shot through my back window and shot my son in the neck.'

The man told police he hit the dog and threw things at it, before his neighbor confronted him about the beating. The men got into altercation that resulted in the dog owner being shot (scene above)

The man who was shot was hospitalized and is expected to survive.

The shooter remained on the scene, but was not arrested by police.

According to KPRC, authorities considered this a case of self-defense and the shooter will not be charged at this time.
Shifting tone, Trump entertains the notion he could lose

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  Straying from his trademark bravado, Donald Trump acknowledged Thursday that his presidential campaign is facing challenges and could ultimately fall short  a rare expression of humility by the Republican presidential nominee.

Trump's most explicit concession came as he pleaded for support at a gathering of evangelical ministers, where Trump observed he was "having a tremendous problem in Utah." The same day, the billionaire celebrity acknowledged that his lack of political correctness could cost him the election if Americans reject his blunt approach.

"We're having a problem," Trump told the ministers, adding that the next president could get to nominate up to five high court justices. "It could cost us the Supreme Court."

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

After trouncing 16 challengers in the Republican primary, Trump is encountering worrying signs as his campaign moves into the general election. Democrat Hillary Clinton's lead over Trump in national polls has widened in recent days, while a growing number of fellow Republicans have declared they won't support their own party's nominee.

Trump's exercise in self-awareness was a marked departure from his usual tenor on the campaign trail, where for months at rallies he would tick through poll numbers showing him winning as if they were sports scores of his favorite team.

"We're going to win so big," Trump told a roaring crowd one month ago at the Republican National Convention.

Yet on Thursday, Trump was reduced to citing a poll that actually showed him a few points behind Clinton and arguing the race between them was close. Asked by CNBC how he planned to reverse Clinton's advantage, Trump said he simply planned to do "the same thing I'm doing right now."

"At the end, it's either going to work, or I'm going to, you know, I'm going to have a very, very nice, long vacation," Trump said.

In Utah, typically a reliably Republican state, Trump's challenges have been particularly striking. The state's large Mormon population has voiced serious skepticism about Trump, though the state's GOP governor has endorsed him.

"We've really been given a false narrative," Trump said of his struggles in Utah.

Yet in other traditionally GOP-leaning states, like Arizona and Georgia, Republicans are concerned Trump's unpopularity could give Democrats an improbable victory. The concerns are compelling enough that dozens of worried Republicans gathered signatures Thursday for a letter urging the GOP party chairman to stop helping Trump and focus on protecting vulnerable House and Senate candidates.

Expressing anything other than confidence this close to Election Day is unusual for a presidential nominee. But GOP strategist Mike DuHaime, who advised Trump ally Chris Christie's presidential bid, said there could be benefits to Trump's newfound self-awareness.

"Showing some vulnerability, admitting there are some vulnerabilities, humanizes him and could potentially make him more likable," DuHaime said.

At the evangelical summit in Orlando, Trump beseeched religious leaders to persuade their followers to show up to vote for him, gently chiding evangelicals for failing to vote in large enough numbers for GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012. He said Christians, who make up a majority of the American electorate, need to have their voices heard.

"Whatever you can do, I appreciate it," he said.

Trump's unusually candid reflection about the uncertainty of his electoral prospects came as he's struggled to keep the focus on his opponent  Clinton  and avoid distractions. Earlier this week he caused a major stir with comments about the Second Amendment that were perceived as advocating violence against Clinton, then faced questions yet again after declaring Wednesday that President Barack Obama was the "founder" of the Islamic State group  a claim that's patently false.

Those dust-ups reinforced concerns among Trump supporters that a lack of discipline could imperil his chances. Given opportunities Thursday to clean up his quip about Obama from a day earlier, Trump instead took it further.

He brushed off conservative radio commentator Hugh Hewitt's attempt to reframe Trump's observation as one that said Obama's foreign policy created the conditions in Iraq and Syria that allowed IS to thrive.

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do," Trump said, using another acronym for the extremist group that has wreaked havoc from the Middle East to European cities.

The GOP letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus warns that Trump's "divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide," according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press.

The RNC did not respond to a request for comment. But Trump, in a Fox News interview, said he wasn't concerned the GOP would cut him off.

"All I have to do is stop funding the Republican Party," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Washington and Jill Colvin in New Jersey contributed to this report.

___

Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump: Maybe 'Second Amendment people' could do something about Clinton Embed Copy Share Play Video 1:09 Donald Trump made a controversial comment about rival Hillary Clinton during a rally in Wilmington, N.C., August 9. Trump told the audience, "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do," adding: "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know." (The Washington Post) Donald Trump made a controversial comment about rival Hillary Clinton during a rally in Wilmington, N.C., August 9. Trump told the audience, If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, adding: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. Donald Trump made a controversial comment about rival Hillary Clinton during a rally in Wilmington, N.C., August 9. (The Washington Post)

A day after dutifully reading a policy address to a bunch of people in suits, Donald Trump returned yesterday to his more comfortable oeuvre, the stream-of-consciousness speech delivered to his supporters. And inevitably, he said something that made journalists rewind their DVRs and Democrats leap excitedly out of their chairs. Is it possible that Trump is being treated unfairly, that we jump on every little thing he says and twist his words, making a big deal out of nothing? Sure it is. That has happened before. But in this case, the criticisms are legitimate, because this isnt just a silly gaffe of the kind we waste so much time on.

Ill explain why in a moment, but for the sake of accuracy, lets look at his full quote:

Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick  if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. But Ill tell you what, that will be a horrible day. If, if Hillary gets to put her judges  right now were tied. You see whats going on. Were tied, cause Scalia, this was not supposed to happen. Justice Scalia was supposed to be around for ten more years at least, and this is what happens. That was a horrible thing. So now look at it. So Hillary essentially wants to abolish the Second Amendment.

Donald Trump is not a very articulate man. So when Democrats expressed their outrage over this quote, he and his campaign could have said that while its understandable that some people could have interpreted his words to mean that he was encouraging gun owners to either assassinate Hillary Clinton or assassinate the judges she appoints if she becomes president, he didnt intend to say anything of the sort.

But instead of just acknowledging that the words got a little garbled, which can happen to anybody, Trump claimed that the words themselves were a perfect expression of his intent, which was to encourage people to vote in order to protect gun rights. There can be no other interpretation. Even reporters have told me. I mean, give me a break, he told Sean Hannity last night. He tweeted , I said pro-2A citizens must organize and get out vote to save our Constitution!  which is simply false. Perhaps he wishes he had said that, but its not remotely what he actually said.

But should we actually care? The answer is yes, for a couple of reasons. First, we shouldnt lose sight of the fact that this is all in the service of a ridiculous lie Trump repeats every time he discusses the issue of guns. Hell always say some version of Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away and she wants to abolish the Second Amendment (yes, thats a quote ), when the truth is that Clinton has never proposed repealing the Second Amendment, nor has she ever proposed some kind of grand gun confiscation. You can read her position on this issue here , but it comes down to expanded background checks, a new assault-weapons ban, and a couple of other relatively minor things. You can disagree with her on the particulars, but its not abolishing the Second Amendment; whenever she is asked about it, she says that reasonable restrictions are not incompatible with a constitutional right to bear arms, which is what all but the most radical gun extremists agree on, and what even the conservatives on the Supreme Court have always held.

The second reason the criticism of Trumps statement is legitimate is that he himself demands that his opponent be held to a ludicrously high standard of accountability for every syllable that passes her lips, and some that even dont pass her lips. For example, on Monday in his speech to the Detroit Economic Club, Trump said that Clinton accidentally told the truth and said she wanted to raise taxes on the middle class. This wasnt off-the-cuff, mind you  it was in Trumps prepared text. What was he referring to? A speech last week in which Clinton said We arent going to raise taxes on the middle class, something she has said approximately a zillion times before, but in some video feeds of the speech, the arent sounds a little slurred so you might hear it as are. But Trump just claims that she actually said are and has thus revealed her secret desire to raise middle-class taxes (PolitiFact gave him a  Pants on Fire  for that one).

Here's why Trump's challenge to Russian hackers was a mistake Embed Copy Share Play Video 1:36 The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains why Donald Trump made a mistake when he called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains why Donald Trump made a mistake when he called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails. The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains why Donald Trump made a mistake when he called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton's missing emails. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

But most important, the reason Trump doesnt get a pass on hinting that violence against politicians or judges is an appropriate response to an imagined threat to gun rights is that theres a context in which this statement comes, a context created by gun advocates, by other Republicans, and by Trump himself.

opinions plum-line Orlando Shooting Updates News and analysis on the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. post_newsletter348 follow-orlando true endOfArticle false Opinions newsletter Thought-provoking opinions and commentary, in your inbox daily. Please provide a valid email address. Sign up Youre all set! See all newsletters

A candidate who tells his supporters that if they see protesters, Knock the crap out of em, or who says about one, Id like to punch him in the face isnt going to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to advocating violence, and thats no ones fault but his. And Republicans at all levels frequently argue that one of the primary purposes of owning guns is so that you can use them to kill representatives of the government, whether police or soldiers, when they become too tyrannical. As Ed Kilgore reminds us, During her successful Senate campaign in 2014, rising GOP star Joni Ernst of Iowa used to happily talk about the beautiful little Smith & Wesson she carried with every intention of using it to defend herself and her family from government, should they decide that my rights are no longer important.  And she was hardly the first  we hear that kind of thing from Republicans all the time.

Now combine that with the NRAs constant warnings that if Democrats win the next election theyre coming to confiscate your guns, and everybody knows exactly what Trump was saying.

His defense  that he was only encouraging people to vote  is utterly nonsensical. Remember that he said, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. He was talking about what the Second Amendment people might be able to do about Clinton picking judges, which happens after she has already been elected.

Finally, this comes after Trump has been trying to delegitimize the results of the election before it actually happens, claiming that the vote will be rigged. If youre arguing to your angry, heavily armed supporters, who already think the federal government is tyrannical, that theres a conspiracy afoot to steal the election and that your opponent will be sending jackbooted government thugs to confiscate their guns, you dont get to pretend that when you say that the Second Amendment people might be able to stop the next presidents judges from subverting their gun rights that its all innocent and you would never contemplate something as irresponsible as encouraging violence.

Ive long been critical of coverage that focuses on gaffes. Usually, when candidates say something like You didnt build that or that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on government and think theyre victims, were supposed to believe that theyve let their mask slip and revealed their true and sinister selves, which is almost always an absurd claim. But thats not what were talking about here. It doesnt matter whether Trump really believes that people should use their guns against the federal government if it enacts policies they dont like. What matters is that hes encouraging them to think they should, just like hes encouraging them not to accept the results of the election if their favored candidate doesnt win. Thats what so malignant, and thats what he should answer for.
Berlin kebab stand investigated after 19 patrons fall ill

BERLIN (AP)  Berlin police are investigating a kebab stand in the city's center after a tour group of 14 young asylum-seekers and a Dutch family of five fell ill after eating there.

Police told the dpa news agency Thursday the asylum-seekers, who live in the state of Hesse, had been brought to see the capital and stopped for lunch at the Turkish kebab stand in a Potsdamer Platz shopping mall.

As they continued their tour they all began feeling ill and after several started throwing up, their supervisors called ambulances and they were taken to a hospital for treatment. The Dutch tourists also needed medical attention.
French police arrest British man with 18 migrants in truck

PARIS (AP)  A British national driving a small truck with 18 migrants inside, five of them children, has been arrested near the northern French port city of Dunkirk.

Police said on Thursday that the man they arrested for suspected smuggling was of Iranian origin.

They say the truck he was driving had British license plates and carried Syrian and Iraqi migrants. It was intercepted near a refugee camp in Grande-Synthe outside Dunkirk.

The camp was set up by Doctors Without Borders this year to replace a makeshift camp nearby that was a haven for smugglers.

A police official says 36 suspected smugglers have been arrested in the Dunkirk region since the beginning of the year.
Macy's plans to close 100 stores, boost online investment

NEW YORK (AP)  Macy's plans to close about 100 stores next year and boost its online investments, the nation's largest department store chain said Thursday, as it tries to become more nimble in an increasingly fierce market. The closures represent close to 14 percent of its stores under the Macy's brand.

The company, which operates Bloomingdale's stores as well, said it would increase its exclusive products and would prioritize its investments in the stores that offer the highest growth potential.

That follows Macy's move to shutter 40 stores this spring, and comes as Macy's reported another quarter of falling profits and sales. But the results were better than analysts feared. Summer weather helped drive sales of clothing, and Macy's says it's seeing results from efforts to add sales staff and revamping its fine jewelry area. Its shares rose 17 percent, or $5.80 to $39.80 in midday trading.

FILE - In this July 10, 2015, file photo, shoppers walk into a Macy's department store at the Hanover Mall in Hanover, Mass. Macy's reports financial results Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)

"The announcements we are making today represent an advancement in our thinking on the role of the stores, the quality of the shopping experience we will deliver, and how and where we reinvest in our business for growth," said Macy's President Jeff Gennette, who will succeed Terry J. Lundgren as CEO early next year.

Macy's had been a stellar performer since the Great Recession, but in the past year and a half has seen slowing sales as it battles competition on all fronts and changing shopping patterns. People are spending more on home improvement as well as experiences like travel or spas. And when they do buy clothing, they're going to T.J. Maxx or fast-fashion chains like H&M. They're also increasingly researching and buying online, and gravitating toward Amazon.com, which is bolstering its store private label fashion brands. Amazon.com is by some forecasts expected to surpass Macy's as the largest online seller of clothing next year.

Under Lundgren, Macy's has been looking for opportunities to boost sales, from buying upscale beauty brand Bluemercury to launching its own off-price stores called Macy's Backstage. But since this past May, it announced it has to accelerate its efforts to get shoppers excited.

With the store closures, Macy's will have 666 stores including 38 Bloomingdale's locations. That's down about 23 percent from a peak in January 2007 of 868 stores including Bloomingdale's. Annual net sales at the stores Macy's plans to shutter were estimated at about $1 billion. Many of the stores will close in early 2017, with the balance closing as leases or other agreements expire or are amended. The company has not specified which locations but said it will still have a presence in virtually all major markets.

Macy's has been under pressure from investors to sell some of its valuable real estate. Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet told analysts the company is in talks with potential buyers of its San Francisco men's store. The plans are for the men's store to be recombined into its main Union Square store. It's also looking at Herald Square in New York, State Street in Chicago and downtown Minneapolis, Hoguet told analysts.

The company said it earned $11 million, or 3 cents per share, in the quarter ended July 30. That compares with $217 million, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding charges related to store closings, the company earned 51 cents, which is above the 48 cent estimate from FactSet.

Revenue fell 3.9 percent to $5.87 billion. That topped the $5.77 billion estimate from FactSet. Revenue at stores open at least a year, including licensed businesses like beauty, were down 2 percent in the second quarter. Excluding licensed departments, sales were down 2.6 percent. That's the sixth straight decline for that measure.

The number of transactions was down 5 percent compared to last year but that was an improvement from the prior quarter.

The company said it was sticking to its outlook. Macy's had said in May that it expects revenue at stores, including business from licensed departments, open at least a year to be down 3 percent to 4 percent. Macy's also said it still expects earnings to be in the range of $3.15 to $3.40 for the year.

_____
DOJ signs agreement with agency of ex-deputy who tossed girl

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  The South Carolina sheriff's department whose deputy tossed a student across a classroom after she refused to give up her cellphone has agreed with the U.S. Justice Department to do its part in ending what the federal agency calls a "school-to-prison pipeline."

The settlement of a civil rights review comes as the American Civil Liberties Union sued South Carolina in federal court on Thursday over what it calls the criminalization of normal adolescent misbehavior. The lawsuit challenges the state's "disturbing schools" and "disorderly conduct" charges as unconstitutionally vague.

The sheriff of Richland County, Leon Lott, said Thursday that he agrees with the ACLU on these points. He called the "disturbing schools" charge commonly used against students a "terrible law" that has been "misused and abused."

Lott also said the agreement's requirement that officers be removed from any classroom management duty is a positive outcome from the videotaped confrontation last October at Spring Valley High in suburban Columbia.

"That's an incident we have to live with but it doesn't define us," Lott said, and the DOJ is "helping us out."

The DOJ agreement , effective Friday requires Richland County to provide intensive annual training for deputies working in more than 60 schools on how to de-escalate situations, avoid bias and interact properly with disabled students. It also requires the creation of an advisory group including students and parents, which must issue initial recommendations by Nov. 1, and the hiring of outside consultants approved by the DOJ to assist with compliance.

Lott said his nearly 90 officers in schools went through the training this summer, and an existing citizens' advisory board is being expanded to include students.

The agreement settles a civil rights review that began in May 2015, five months before the deputy's arrest of the 16-year-old girl was recorded on a video that went viral. That review was partly due to complaints and arrest patterns, according to a DOJ letter to Lott dated Wednesday.

Richland County's school resource officer program was among several under review this year, and the only one in South Carolina, according to the federal agency.

The DOJ agreement says officers should focus on criminal conduct, and that their "duties shall not include involvement in classroom management or school discipline matters that should be appropriately handled by school staff."

That echoes rules the state Board of Education initially approved Tuesday aimed at keeping school officers from being involved in ordinary student discipline. As well as responding to crimes, it says school officers should keep out intruders, act as positive role models, pair with teachers for law-related lessons and train school personnel on handling crisis situations.

A separate investigation by DOJ, the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office into whether the deputy used unlawful force against the Spring Valley High student is ongoing, federal officials said.

Last October, school officials called Deputy Ben Fields to intervene after the teenager refused to surrender her cellphone and wouldn't leave the classroom when told by a teacher and administrator. She again refused to leave, and Fields told her she was under arrest.

Two classmates recorded videos showing Fields flipping the teen out of her chair and tossing her across the room, sparking national outrage. One was recorded by Niya Kenny, an 18-year-old who also verbally challenged the officer, saying what he was doing was wrong. She was arrested as well and, like the juvenile girl, was charged with "disturbing schools."

Lott swiftly fired the officer, but 10 months later, he acknowledged the misdemeanor charges against both girls remain unresolved, exposing them to a possible 90 days in jail or $1,000 fine.

Kenny is now a plaintiff in the ACLU suit, along with several other students from other schools.

Lott said what his deputy did was wrong, but "he should've never been called in the first place. That's not our job to manage your class."

He hopes federal agreement and proposed state rules  the board of education needs to give them a second vote before sending them to legislators  will end the practice of officers being used as disciplinarians.

At the very least, Lott said, officers can now tell educators, "No, that's not our job," rather than feel obliged to intervene to avoid a bad review.

For his part, the girls' attorney, House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, said he's confident only because "the federal government is watching ... These are not things you sign because everything is going hunky dory."

Rutherford hopes the lawsuit prompts legislators to change the "disturbing schools" law, which he called a "catch-all to ensnare" young people. Legislation to restore the 1919 law to its original intent, which was to protect students from outside agitators, was killed in the last session under pressure from the sheriffs' association.

The ACLU wants the courts to stop the state from charging students in kindergarten through 12th grade with these two crimes, and asks that any prior convictions not be used in considering any future consequences  as if they're expunged.

According to the ACLU, about 1,750 students were referred to the Department of Juvenile Justice in 2014-15 for disturbing schools; 71 percent were black. That doesn't include students older than 17 who were charged as an adult  the ACLU didn't have those figures.

"These types of adolescent behavior should never be met with arrest," said ACLU attorney Sarah Hinger.

A criminal charge in school dramatically reduces a student's likelihood of graduating and steers them toward "ongoing involvement with the criminal justice system," Hinger said.
3 students, including 2 from Japan, found alive in cave

CUSHMAN, Ark. (AP)  An American student and two Japanese students who went missing inside of a cave overnight were found alive, Arkansas State University and emergency officials said Thursday.

The university said in a statement that rescue teams had found Casey Sherwood, a 25-year-old senior from Jonesboro; 19-year-old Daiki Itoh, of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa; and 18-year-old Daisuke Takagi, of Kawagoe, Hyogo.

"On behalf of all the faculty, students and staff of Arkansas State, I want to thank the rescue teams of Independence County and all the volunteers who came forward to assist," Acting Arkansas State University Chancellor Lynita Cooksey said in a statement released by the school. "We are so grateful for their hard work in locating Daiki, Daisuke and Casey."

Local television footage and a photo posted on Arkansas State's Facebook page showed the three covered in mud after their rescue. A university official at the scene said the three weren't injured.

"They appeared to be fine. I think more tired than anything," said Shane Broadway, vice president of university relations for the university system.

Crews had been searching for the students in Blowing Cave near Cushman, 110 miles north of Little Rock, with help from cave-mapping experts, since early Thursday morning. Sherwood's wife had reported him missing Wednesday night. Arkansas State said Sherwood was leading the spelunking trip.

Sherwood said he felt a "little bit of panic" when he realized they were lost in the cave, but decided to stay in place. He said the three would regularly shout for help or whistle so rescuers could find them, and stayed close together to keep warm.

"What we would do is we would sit back to back to back in a little triangle keeping ourselves warm and huddling ourselves up inside of our shirts and breathing hot air into us," Sherwood told KATV-TV. "So that kept us going the whole time."

Independence County Office of Emergency Management coordinator Glen Willis told KAIT-TV the three were found 30 minutes from the entrance of the cave, but he did not know if any of the three were injured. Willis did not return calls from The Associated Press.
Shares of Alibaba jump on strong 1Q results

NEW YORK (AP)  Shares of Alibaba jumped on Thursday as the Chinese e-commerce powerhouse added shoppers and mobile revenue surged.

Alibaba, which went public in a splashy IPO in 2014, accounts for 80 percent of all online shopping in China. Its shares have fluctuated over investor concern about the state of China's economy.

But investors were reassured by the quarterly results, sending shares up almost 6 percent in morning trading.

FILE - In this Friday, May 27, 2016, file photo, staffers pass security guards near a company logo at the Alibaba Group headquarters in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. Alibaba reports financial results Thursday, Aug. 11. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Thursday reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $1.14 billion.

The Hong Kong-based company said it had profit of 44 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and amortization costs, were 74 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 61 cents per share.

The online retailer's revenue jumped 59 percent to $4.84 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.61 billion. Revenue from mobile shopping more than doubled to $2.64 billion.

The company added 11 million annual active buyers from the prior quarter, bringing total active buyers to 434 million.

Revenue from cloud computing, a small but growing segment for Alibaba, more than doubled to $187 million.

"With both international and domestic sales forging ahead, and with new areas like cloud computing making a better contribution, Alibaba is firmly on an upward trajectory," said Conlumino retail analyst Hakon Helgesen.

Alibaba shares rose $4.89, or 5.6 percent, to $92.22 in afternoon trading Thursday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BABA at http://www.zacks.com/ap/BABA

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US official urges Puerto Rico to step up fight against Zika

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  The U.S. surgeon general on Thursday urged Puerto Rico to step up its public education campaign against Zika as he warned that 25 percent of the island will be infected with the mosquito-borne virus by year's end.

Dr. Vivek Murthy said during a visit to the U.S. territory that local officials need to boost mosquito control efforts and make contraception more accessible and affordable.

"We cannot afford to wait much longer," he said. "I am deeply concerned about how quickly the virus is spreading."

FILE - In this May 23, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito sits inside a glass tube at the Fiocruz institute where they have been screening for mosquitos naturally infected with the Zika virus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The U.S. surgeon general is urging Puerto Rico on Thursday, Aug. 11, to step up its public education campaign against Zika as he warned that 25 percent of the island will be infected with the mosquito-borne virus by year's end. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Puerto Rico has had 8,776 registered Zika cases, including 901 pregnant women, since the first case was reported in December. Eighty-eight people have been hospitalized, and 27 have been diagnosed with a temporary paralysis condition called Guillain-Barre that has been linked to Zika.

Murthy said his biggest concern was pregnant women because Zika has been linked to severe birth defects and other developmental problems. Like local officials, Murthy stressed that Puerto Ricans need to take the virus seriously, even though the extent of the infection is masked because eight out of 10 show no symptoms. However, those people can still spread the virus and should use repellent and long-sleeved shirts and pants, he said.

"Society needs to be responsible," Murthy said. "We need to make sure those babies have a shot at a healthy life."

Puerto Rico reported the first microcephaly case acquired on U.S. soil in May. It involved a fetus that a woman turned over to health authorities. Since then, no microcephaly cases have been reported, but federal officials say it's only a matter of time.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently urged Puerto Rico to allow aerial spraying with naled, but the governor instead authorized the use of Bti, an organic larvicide, because of health and environmental concerns. Murthy declined to say whether Puerto Rico should have used naled like officials did in Miami to fight a small Zika outbreak.

"Whatever the right strategy is for Puerto Rico, we must make sure we are implementing it quickly because there is no one single action that we can take that will address this epidemic," he said.

Murthy said more funding is needed to ease a backlog of tests for Zika in Puerto Rico. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla, meanwhile, said he is seeking federal funds to open a vector control office on the island, which currently lacks one.

Both said it doesn't matter what government agencies do to fight Zika if society doesn't take preventive measures.
The Latest: Firefighters put out blaze at Louisiana refinery

CONVENT, La. (AP)  The Latest on Louisiana refinery fire (all times local):

6:15 p.m.

A fire at a refinery along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge has been extinguished.

Angela Goodwin, a spokeswoman for Motiva's Convent Refinery, says the blaze began in the H-Oil unit at about 10:50 a.m. Thursday. What sparked the fire remains under investigation.

She said other units in the refinery were unaffected by the blaze and remained operational.

Television footage from the scene showed flames in the center of the plant and huge billows of black smoke coming from the plant. Goodwin said air monitoring confirmed there was no environmental impact to the community.

No injuries were reported. All refinery employees scheduled to work Friday have been notified to return to their normal duties.

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3:25 p.m.

Firefighters at a refinery along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge have contained a fire inside the plant.

Angela Goodwin, a spokeswoman for Motiva's Convent Refinery, said a fire began in the H-Oil unit about 10:50 a.m. She said emergency response teams within the refinery brought the fire under control and the cause is under investigation.

She said other units in the refinery were not affected by the blaze and remained operational.

Television video from the scene showed flames in the center of the plant and huge billows of black smoke coming from the plant. Goodwin said air monitoring confirmed there was no environmental impact to the community.

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12:20 p.m.

Officials at Motiva's Convent Refinery, along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, say plant firefighters are battling a fire in one of its units.

General Manager Hugues Bourgogne (HEWZ bur-GOYN) said in a statement the fire start about 10:50 a.m. Thursday. He did not say what started it.

Witnesses have told local media outlets there was an explosion.

Bourgogne said Motiva initiated its emergency response plan and has deployed plant firefighters to respond to the fire.

Brandon Keller, public information officers for St. James Parish, says no injuries have been reported.

Keller said local fire departments were on standby, if needed.

The refinery produces conventional petroleum products including regular, premium and low-sulfur gasoline.

Motiva is owned equally by subsidiaries of Saudi Aramco and Shell Oil Company.

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12:30 p.m.

Firefighters at a refinery along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge are fighting a fire inside the plant.

Chief Ryan Louque (luke) of the neighboring St. James Fire Department tells The Associated Press the Motiva refinery is dealing with the fire itself, and no public fire departments are involved.

Officials with the St. James Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness told WAFB TV there have been no reports of injuries.

Television video from the scene show flames in the center of the plant.

Plant officials did not immediately return calls to The Associated Press.

The refinery produces a full slate of conventional petroleum products including regular, premium and low-sulfur gasoline.
Lawsuits show tense relations between police, blacks in Iowa

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP)  The city with Iowa's highest African-American population has settled lawsuits against white police officers who roughed up three black residents, including a 13-year-old girl who was handcuffed after yelling at a passing officer to "slow down."

Videos obtained by The Associated Press in two of the cases show questionable uses of force by Waterloo officers at a time when interactions between police and minority residents around the country are being scrutinized after several high-profile deaths of blacks at the hands of police.

In one, officer Mark Nissen slams 17-year-old Malcolm Anderson face-first into a concrete sidewalk outside a hospital and leaves him handcuffed and injured on the ground. In another, Nissen points his stun gun at a crowd of black residents before using it to shock 31-year-old Justin Jones, who had been helping police break up an early morning party outside his home.

This undated booking photo provided by the Black Hawk County Jail in Waterloo, Iowa, shows Justin A. Jones. The city of Waterloo has agreed to settle two lawsuits filed by Jones over incidents in which he was tased and improperly arrested. Jones' attorney, Tom Frerichs, says the cases "reflect a serious and nearly complete lack of any meaningful disciplinary policy within the Waterloo Police Department." (Black Hawk County Jail via AP)

In a third case outlined in court records, officer Timothy Everett took the 13-year-old girl to the ground and handcuffed her after she refused to give him her last name. Everett initiated the encounter after the girl yelled "slow down" after he sped by in his patrol car, pulling a U-turn to confront her about the comment.

The incidents occurred between 2013 and 2015, prompting lawsuits that were settled last month, according to court records. The settlements follow a $2.5 million payment that the city's insurer agreed to in January with the family of a 22-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a white officer in 2012.

Sixteen percent of Waterloo's 68,000 residents are African-American, but just two of the city's 124 police officers are black, which can make for tense relations.

Waterloo's insurer has agreed to pay $170,000 to settle the Jones and Anderson cases. An additional amount expected to go to the 13-year-old girl's family hasn't been released since the settlement needs approval from a judge.

Attorney Tom Frerichs, who represented all three plaintiffs, said he could only comment on two cases filed by Jones, who will receive $70,000 to settle the 2013 stun gun incident and a separate wrongful arrest in 2015. The other two cases include confidentiality agreements.

"The Jones cases reflect a serious and nearly complete lack of any meaningful disciplinary policy within the Waterloo Police Department," Frerichs said, calling it a "recipe for disaster."

In each case, charges that were filed against the suspects were later found to be meritless and dismissed. Yet internal affairs investigations justified the uses of force and found no violations of policy or law.

Handcuffing juveniles is illegal in Iowa under most circumstances. But the department backed Everett's treatment of the 13-year-old, claiming that the force was justified because she tried to flee.

Police Chief Daniel Trelka said officers made "honest mistakes" due to deficient training. He said officers have been instructed to stop arresting people who won't give their names, a practice that is illegal absent additional criminal activity.

"They were errors that we felt we could correct from training, that didn't rise to the level of needing discipline," he said.

Trelka said he remains confident in the policing abilities of Nissen, who has been sued four times since 2012 over his use of force. "It just happens he's one of our most active officers," the chief said.

Nissen faces a separate lawsuit after he and another officer shot a black man who was leaving a nightclub last year, a shooting later ruled justified.

Anderson, who was 17 when he was injured by Nissen outside Allen Memorial Hospital in 2014, will receive a $100,000 settlement.

Officers wanted Anderson to go with them to the police station so he could be questioned about the stabbing of an acquaintance he had taken to the hospital. But he said he knew nothing and wouldn't go voluntarily since he wasn't under arrest.

Video captured by freelance journalist Myke Goings shows Nissen restraining Anderson's arms behind his back before throwing him to the ground outside the front door of the emergency room. Officers keep Anderson on the ground with his face down as passers-by walk in and out of the hospital, getting him up only after Goings flashes his lights to signal that he's filming. They later accused Anderson of fighting with officers but a judge dismissed the charge, saying the video showed otherwise.

"Officer Nissen assaulted my son and then lied about it in a police report. He should not continue to be a police officer," Malcolm's mother, Andrea Anderson, wrote in a complaint. An internal affairs investigation, in which Anderson was not interviewed, cleared Nissen.

In 2013, Jones had been hosting a party at his home, and a crowd spilled into an adjacent lot. After officers arrived, Jones cooperated and got the partygoers to begin leaving. But after he refused to give his last name, police sought to arrest him. Nissen pointed his stun gun at the crowd before shooting electrodes into Jones, who was later kneed in the groin by another officer after he repeatedly asked what he'd done wrong.

The department found both uses of force justified, telling Jones: "We appreciate you bringing this to our attention."

This undated photo shows Waterloo Chief of Police Daniel Trelka in Waterloo, Iowa. Waterloo, the city with Iowa's highest black population has settled lawsuits against white officers who roughed up three black residents, including a 13-year-old girl who was handcuffed after yelling at a passing officer to "slow down." Trelka said officers made "honest mistakes" due to deficient training. He said officers have been instructed to stop arresting people who won't give their names, a practice that is illegal absent additional criminal activity. (The Courier via AP)
The Latest: Consultant: I was searched before lunch with AG

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP)  The Latest on perjury trial of Pennsylvania's attorney general (all times local):

3 p.m.

A political consultant for Attorney General Kathleen Kane says her security agents took him to a parking garage, seized his phone, wallet and keys and searched him for a recording device before he had lunch with Kane at a luxury hotel.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane enters the Montgomery County courtroom on Thursday, August 11, 2016 to continue her trial in Norristown, Pa. Kane, a first-term Democrat, is accused of leaking secret grand jury documents to the press and lying about it under oath. (Art Gentile/Bucks County Courier Times via AP, Pool)

Consultant Josh Morrow is testifying Thursday at Kane's perjury and obstruction trial. The first-term Democrat is accused of leaking grand jury files to the press to embarrass a rival.

Morrow says that he and Kane met after the story ran to concoct a story that pinned the leak on her chief deputy, Adrian King. Morrow says he even told that story to the grand jury investigating the leak. But he says he's telling the truth now.

Morrow is testifying with a grant of immunity. The defense insists Kane did nothing wrong.

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1 p.m.

A political consultant says he "conspired" with Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane to pin a grand jury leak on her chief deputy.

Consultant Josh Morrow is testifying Thursday under a grant of immunity at Kane's perjury and corruption trial.

He says that he and Kane concocted a story in August 2014 that Adrian King had leaked the secret files to a newspaper. Morrow acknowledges telling the story to a grand jury.

Morrow says Kane was becoming "unhinged" over her feud with a rival prosecutor and leaked the material to embarrass him.

King admits he passed the packet from Kane to Morrow but says he didn't know what was inside. But Morrow says he told King it contained secret files on a civil rights leader.

Morrow's testimony continues Thursday afternoon.

___

11 a.m.:

A former boyfriend who later became a top aide to Pennsylvania's attorney general has told jurors she was trying to "set me up" for leaking grand jury material to the press.

First-term Democrat Kathleen Kane is on trial on charges of perjury and obstruction.

Authorities say she tarnished the image of an NAACP official who was investigated but never charged, all to embarrass a rival prosecutor.

The defense says the material wasn't confidential.

Kane's former law school boyfriend, Adrian King, served as her top deputy but on Thursday endured hostile questioning from her lawyers.

He admits he passed an envelope from her to a campaign consultant that eventually reached a newspaper. But King says he didn't know it contained secret criminal files.

King says Kane is trying to frame him.

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5 a.m.:

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane returns to the defense table and a former boyfriend-turned-top deputy to the witness stand when Kane's perjury case resumes.

Kane, a first-term Democrat, is accused of leaking secret grand jury documents to the press and lying about it under oath.

Authorities say she violated the state's grand jury laws and tarnished an NAACP official who was investigated but never charged.

The defense says the material wasn't confidential.

Government witness Adrian King returns to the stand Thursday for more cross-examination from Kane's lawyers. He and Kane dated in law school and years later he became her top deputy.

But King now thinks Kane is trying to frame him for the leak.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane waves as she enters the Montgomery County courtroom on Thursday, August 11, 2016 to continue her trial in Norristown, Pa. Kane, a first-term Democrat, is accused of leaking secret grand jury documents to the press and lying about it under oath. (Art Gentile/Bucks County Courier Times via AP, Pool)
If elected, Trump would provoke a political and constitutional crisis within a year.

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My public comments in the media on national security since leaving active service have tried to steer clear of partisan debate. I am not registered with either political party. I have worked with loyalty and genuine respect at very senior levels for both President George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton.

The shameful reaction by presidential candidate Donald Trump to the mother and father of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun S.M. Khan prompts me to state publicly that Trump should never serve as our commander in chief. The decorated Capt. Khan, who was killed in action in Iraq at age 27 while bravely defending his soldiers during a suicide attack, is the best America offers. His grieving parents were understandably outraged at the degrading notion that America should have a religious screen , legally denying immigration status to Muslims.

Barry McCaffrey A Seattle resident, Barry McCaffrey served in the U.S. Army 32 years, retiring as a four-star general. He was the most highly decorated serving general, having been awarded three Purple Heart medals and twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nations second highest award for valor. He has been an NBC News national-security commentator and appears on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC.

Trumps cruel cultural jab at Ghazala Kahn as a grieving Gold Star mother is simply the final straw. In my judgment, Trump, if elected, would provoke a political and constitutional crisis within a year. He has called for the illegal torture of enemy detainees. He has called for the deliberate targeting and murder of civilians as retribution. He has questioned whether the U.S. should actually fulfill our defense obligations under the NATO pact . These NATO obligations are a U.S. Senate-ratified treaty that Trump should know is the highest law of the land.

Further, Trump has implied that the U.S. should encourage the proliferation of nuclear weapons  allies like Japan and South Korea were urged to become nuclear powers. He has praised Saddam Hussein as an effective anti-terrorist fighter. Hussein was a mass murderer who targeted his own people with an inhumane vengeance to include employing chemical weapons.

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Trump has publicly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin , who has become a major threat to Western Europe with his invasion of Ukraine and muscular threats to the Baltic States and NATO regional military forces. Putin has also managed to reverse Russias earlier steady march toward a law-based state and is turning that magnificent country into a criminal oligarchy.

Finally, it is concerning that Trump lacks the caution and careful judgment that is required by a future president of the United States when forming national-security and foreign-policy decisions. Trump was shameful in his insulting criticism of U.S. Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., who is one of the most venerated American military heroes since World War II. Trump has boasted that his Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps time at a small military high school made him more knowledgeable about national security than most career military professionals. He has stated he knows more about the Islamic State than the generals of the U.S. Armed Forces. Trump has also suggested we can walk away from our U.S. Treasury debt to the international community in a form of selective bankruptcy. This would be a curious form of collective economic suicide.

He is remarkably ignorant and uneducated about the world that we face and the means we may use to defend ourselves.

Trump sounds like a 12-year-old  a willful and abusive braggart. He is remarkably ignorant and uneducated about the world that we face and the means we may use to defend ourselves.

I served in the Armed Forces for 32 years. At retirement, I was a four-star joint-theater commander. In my considered judgment, Trump is unqualified to be the president of the United States and fulfill the role of commander in chief of the 2.2 million men and women of the Armed Forces.
Greenland shark now oldest living animal with backbone

WASHINGTON (AP)  In the cold waters of the Arctic, a denizen of the deep lurked for centuries. Now scientists calculate that this female Greenland shark was the Earth's oldest living animal with a backbone.

They estimated that the gray shark, part of the species named after Greenland, was born in the icy waters roughly 400 years ago, and died only recently. That conclusion puts the entire species at the top of the longevity list.

Using a novel dating technique, an international team of biologists and physicists estimated the age of 28 dead female Greenland sharks based on tissue in their eyes. Eight of the sharks were probably 200 years or older and two likely date back more than three centuries, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.

This undated photo made available by Julius Nielsen on Aug. 11, 2016 shows a Greenland shark slowly swimming away from a boat, returning to the deep and cold waters of the Uummannaq Fjord in northwestern Greenland during tag -and- release program in Norway and Greenland. In a report released Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, scientists calculate this species of shark is Earths oldest living animal with a backbone. They estimate that one of those they examined was born roughly 400 years ago, about the time of the Pilgrims in the U.S., and kept on swimming until it died only a couple years ago. (Julius Nielsen via AP)

Until now, that record holder was a bowhead whale that hit 211 years old, according to study lead author Julius Nielsen and AnAge, an animal longevity database .

The oldest of the Greenland sharks examined was nearly 16.5 feet long (5 meters) and estimated to be 392 years old when it was caught around four years ago. But that calculation comes with a huge margin of error  plus or minus 120 years  due to the newness of the dating technique, said Nielsen, a marine biologist at the University of Copenhagen.

That means the shark was probably born sometime between 1500 and 1740 with the most likely birth year 1620.

"It's an estimate. It's not a determination," Nielsen said. "It is the best we can do."

Even at the lowest end of the margin error, the shark would have been 272 years old when it died, and still would be the longest-living animal with a backbone, Nielsen said. Other experts agreed.

Joao Pedro Magalhaes, a University of Liverpool aging researcher, said because the study is based on an indirect measurement he wouldn't necessarily concentrate on exact numbers, especially when they exceed 400 years, where the upper end of the margin of error goes.

"But the study is convincing enough for us to say that these animals live way longer than human beings and possibly longer than any other vertebrate," said Magalhaes, who runs the longevity database and wasn't part of Nielsen's team.

Some animals without backbones live longer. An ocean quahog, a clam, lived 507 years and two different types of sponges are said to survive for 15,000 and 1,500 years.

While not surprised that Greenland sharks live a long time, "I'm really shocked by the magnitude of that longevity," wrote Christopher Lowe, director of the shark lab at California State University Long Beach. He wasn't part of the study, but praised it as creative and compelling.

Greenland sharks love cold water  preferring temperatures near freezing  and are all over the Arctic. The cold water and the slow metabolism that comes with it might have something to do with their long lives, Nielsen said. Lowe, in an email, said "the rule of thumb is deep and cold = old when it comes to fishes."

"I don't know why they get as old, but I hope someone will find out," Nielsen said.

For the age estimates, he uses a complex and indirect system that combines chemical tracking, mathematical modeling and growth measurements. He focuses on the shark eye lens. Those form while the shark is still developing inside the mother's uterus and measures of carbon in them won't change after birth, so it gives a good, rough sense of when the shark was born.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shark expert Allen Andrews said the dating method "is novel and is likely robust" but he said there are still a number of uncertainties.

___

Online:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

___

Follow Seth Borenstein at http://twitter.com/borenbears and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein

This undated photo made available by Julius Nielsen on Aug. 11, 2016 shows a Greenland shark caught aboard the research vessel Pamiut in southwest Greenland. In a report released Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, scientists calculate this species of shark is Earths oldest living animal with a backbone. They estimate that one of those they examined was born roughly 400 years ago, about the time of the Pilgrims in the U.S., and kept on swimming until it died only a couple years ago. (Julius Nielsen via AP)
Uproar over Egypt's policy of state-dictated Friday sermons

CAIRO (AP)  Inside a large mosque in the Nile Delta, an Egyptian cleric looked over his congregation as he climbed the pulpit clutching a piece of paper and began to speak  delivering a 13-minute discourse on the virtues of personal hygiene.

For the first time in his career, the young imam found himself forced to read a Friday sermon printed from the official website of the Religious Endowments Ministry.

Minutes after he ended the unusually short sermon, uproar spread through the congregation.

FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2015 file photo, Egyptian clerics from Al-Azhar institution rally to denounce terrorism and show solidarity with the Egyptian government and security forces at a mosque in central, Cairo, Egypt. In July 2016 the Egyptian government launched a radical bid to establish control over Egypts religious discourse, mandating that all imams at all mosques across the country read pre-written sermons distributed by the ministry. The government describes the initiative, unprecedented in Egypts history, as a means of weeding out extremist ideology, but it has proved extremely unpopular, with critics accusing the state of stifling the freedom of thought and creativity of the clerics. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

Some men in the crowd began shouting "No to written sermons!" while others tried to hush them  a commotion filmed on cellphones and posted online. Similar scenes occurred across the country and in the capital, where one angry worshipper reportedly snatched the paper from the hands of the cleric.

The clamor was in response to a controversial bid by the government to establish control over Egypt's religious discourse. Launched last month, it mandates that all imams at state-run mosques read pre-written sermons distributed by the ministry. The measure  which expands upon a 3-year-old effort to provide general guidelines  is unprecedented in Egypt, even under previous autocratic governments.

Officials say the written sermons are aimed at preventing radicalism. Indeed, extremists' ideas are not uncommon topics in mosque sermons in the Middle East  and in countries such as Saudi Arabia, where the political and religious establishments are intertwined, similar efforts are in place.

"We will be contributing to shaping a new way of thinking," said Mokhtar Gomaa, the minister for religious endowments, when rolling out the first official sermon on July 15.

But in Egypt, home to the Muslim world's oldest and most renowned Islamic institution of learning, Al-Azhar, the move immediately hit a nerve.

Clerics  who are among the thousands of Al-Azhar graduates  perceived the state-dictated sermons as an insult to their status. Some blamed President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a former military chief, for going too far in trying to stifle free speech.

"I found myself between a hammer and an anvil," said the young Nile Delta cleric, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being penalized for criticizing the government.

"I was climbing the pulpit with one eye on this piece of paper, knowing it would instigate anger among the worshippers, and another eye on the ministry's inspector," whose report could lead to penalties or even dismissal.

The measures have exposed a rift between Al-Azhar, which is constitutionally tasked with looking after religious affairs, and the Religious Endowments Ministry, the government's religious arm in controlling mosques and clerics. While the ministry promoted the standardized sermons, Al-Azhar condemned them.

Many clerics said that worshippers  who can easily read the sermons online beforehand  would turn away from the state-hired clerics typically found in large mosques in Egypt's major cities. Some feared the measures would drive people to ultraconservative Salafists and other hard-line clerics who occupy unofficial pulpits in more remote areas beyond government control. How many people already attend such mosques  which are illegal  is not known.

For three years, since the overthrow by the military of an elected government run by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the Religious Endowments Ministry has been giving clerics "outlines" of subjects for their sermons.

But under the new measures, a committee of state-hired scholars is now providing each week's sermon for clerics to read word-for-word. Besides hygiene, topics have included food security and the evils of corruption, and there is a plan to draft 270 such sermons in advance, covering five years. The latest topic, posted online Thursday, was titled "No to terrorism" and warned congregants that tipping off the authorities about any suspected plots was a "national, religious and humanitarian duty."

There have been several high-profile cases of resistance.

The cleric of the mosque of Al-Azhar, Mohammed Abdel-Ati, took the pulpit two weeks ago without a piece of paper, delivering an impromptu speech. Al-Azhar's top scholars issued a strongly-worded statement in which they accused the ministry of "superficializing" clerics' thinking.

Fearing a backlash, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stepped in, paving the way for a meeting between Gomaa, the religious endowments minister, and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayyab. That ended with a statement by Gomaa saying that unity among religious institutions must be "above all other considerations." But no change was announced.

According to the daily al-Shorouk, the ministry has prepared a blacklist of clerics who don't comply. The Al-Watan daily reported that two imams in the southern city of Minya were suspended for refusing to read the pre-written sermons.

The sermon campaign comes during a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent by el-Sissi's government. All unauthorized demonstrations have been criminalized, thousands have been jailed, activists and rights lawyers have been prosecuted or banned from travel and voices critical of the government have been largely silenced.

Established in 972, Al-Azhar handles the training of religious scholars and issues influential religious edicts. But the Religious Endowments Ministry controls the payment, hiring and firing of imams. And while the sheikh of Al-Azhar is chosen internally by a 50-member committee of senior scholars, the country's president influences who sits on that committee and must approve the final selection.

Al-Azhar backed el-Sissi's ouster of the elected Mohammed Morsi from the presidency in 2013. And it has provided crucial religious cover for el-Sissi's subsequent crackdown on the Brotherhood and purge of alleged Brotherhood loyalists from the country's religious ranks. Some 12,000 freelance preachers have been barred from delivering sermons.

Among Muslims, Friday sermons have a special spiritual status. Millions who normally pray at home during the week attend mass Friday afternoon prayers, and many choose their mosque based on the cleric's eloquence, perspective or rhetorical style.

The ability of an imam to craft and deliver a meaningful sermon is "a sign of excellence," said Mahmoud el-Sawi, a professor of Islamic outreach at Al-Azhar university.

Ahmed, a security guard in his twenties, thought the new state-sponsored sermons were "really dull."

"I look around and I find people either snoring or apathetic," said the young man, who gave only his first name for fear of retribution in a country where government critics risk detention.

For the young Nile Delta cleric, assembling his Friday sermon used to be the main focus of his week  choosing the topic and then doing days of research.

"Now, if I don't abide by the ministry's instructions, I will be at risk of salary cuts or getting fired," he said. "The easiest thing these days is to accuse me of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood."

FILE - In this Dec. 28, 2012 file photo, Muslim men wait for the Friday noon prayer at Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt. In July 2016 the Egyptian government launched a radical bid to establish control over Egypts religious discourse, mandating that all imams at all mosques across the country read pre-written sermons distributed by the ministry. The government describes the initiative, unprecedented in Egypts history, as a means of weeding out extremist ideology, but it has proved extremely unpopular, with critics accusing the state of stifling the freedom of thought and creativity of the clerics. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
Family of Minnesota man shot by officer seeks federal probe

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The family of a black man fatally shot by a suburban Minneapolis police officer is seeking a federal investigation into his July death, according to a letter provided to The Associated Press on Thursday.

An attorney for Philando Castile's family asked the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an independent investigation, saying the family believes criminal charges should be filed and that Castile was racially profiled. In the letter dated Aug. 2, attorney Glenda Hatchett tells U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch that "we do not believe that local law enforcement authorities will provide a fair and impartial review."

A DOJ spokesman was working Thursday to confirm that the agency received the letter. A spokeswoman for Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger confirmed Thursday that his office had received the letter but declined further comment.

Castile, a 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker, was shot during a traffic stop by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, after Castile informed the officer he had a gun and a permit to carry it. Castile's girlfriend said she and Castile were told they were pulled over for a broken tail light, and that Castile was reaching for his wallet when he was shot.

The gruesome aftermath of the shooting was streamed live on Facebook by Castile's girlfriend. It shows Castile, his shirt soaked with blood, slumped over next to her in the driver's seat.

Yanez's attorney has said Yanez was reacting to the presence of a gun, and that one of the reasons Castile was pulled over was because Yanez thought he looked like "a possible match" for a suspect in a recent armed robbery nearby.

Hatchett wrote that crime scene evidence confirms the car's tail lights were intact and that the family believes Castile was profiled.

"Officer Yanez's excessive use of force and fatal shooting of Mr. Castile was unjustified and warrants criminal prosecution," Hatchett wrote.

The state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Castile's shooting. Agency spokeswoman Jill Oliveira declined to confirm the detail about the tail lights, saying she couldn't talk about specifics while the investigation is ongoing. The local prosecutor has said he will make a charging decision, with the help of an outside attorney, once the investigation is complete.

Shortly after the July 6 shooting, the Department of Justice said it was monitoring the investigation and would provide assistance as needed. Jeff Van Nest, a local FBI spokesman, said that statement hasn't changed and declined further comment Thursday.

A federal investigation would examine whether Yanez intentionally violated Castile's civil rights, which is a high legal standard because an accident, bad judgment or simple negligence is not enough to bring federal charges. Earlier this year, federal authorities declined to bring charges against two Minnesota officers involved in the November fatal shooting of another black man, Jamar Clark, saying there was not enough evidence.

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These animals outlive humans: Top 10 longest living critters

WASHINGTON (AP)  More than a dozen animals live longer than we do. A new study estimates that at least one Greenland shark lived about 392 years, making it the longest-living animal with a backbone.

Here are the animals that the scientific longevity database AnAge says have lived the longest. Many of these live in the cold and in water.

The longest-living human reached 122.5 years.

FILE - This Wednesday, July 19, 2000 file photo shows a 40-year-old Galapagos tortoise named Jumbo with Dolores, the smallest and youngest one at the Zurich Zoo. Jumbo weights 213 kilograms (469 pounds). These slow moving creatures seen by Charles Darwin have lived as long as 177 years old. (AP Photo/Walter Bieri)

1. Hexactinellid sponge: One of these Antarctic sponges lived for an estimated 15,000 years.

2. Epibenthic sponge: Another Antarctic sponge that is generally estimated to live 1,550 years.

3. Ocean quahog: This clam, nicknamed "Ming," had its rings measured and it had lived 507 years.

4. Greenland shark: A new study estimates the age of one of these sharks at 392, but it could have been somewhere between 512 and 272 years old when it died.

5. Bowhead whale: One male bowhead living in the Arctic waters was estimated to be 211 years old when it died.

6. Rougheye rockfish: These red fish of the North Pacific have lived to be 205 years old and show little effects of aging in life.

7. Red sea urchin: The spiny critters also don't seem to age much and are estimated to live about 200 years.

8. Galapagos tortoise: These slow moving creatures seen by Charles Darwin have lived as long as 177 years.

9. Shortraker rockfish: These orange-pink fish have lived up to 157 years.

10. Aldabra tortoise and Lake sturgeon: A tortoise that died at a zoo was 152 years old; unconfirmed reports put some of these tortoises living up to 180 years. One lake sturgeon, a bottom-feeder fish, is reported to have lived to be 152.

FILE - This Nov. 6, 1987 file photo shows an 11-foot sturgeon, weighing nearly a half-ton, found dead in Seattle's Lake Washington, near Kirkland, Wash. In the area, tales have long persisted of a huge, duck-eating "monster." A member of this bottom-feeder fish species is reported to have lived to be 152. (AP Photo/Jim Bates)
Grainger's odd combo: Rowing and extreme killers

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  After fulfilling her goal of medaling in five straight Olympics, Britain's most decorated female athlete isn't quite sure what comes next.

But don't be surprised if Katherine Grainger's next endeavor involves studying serial killers and other brutal criminals.

"It's quite a dark subject matter," the 40-year-old Scottish rower told The Associated Press on Thursday after winning silver in the women's sculls with Victoria Thornley. "It's looking at the human experience quite at the limit. You look at very extreme personalities and extreme behavior."

Victoria Thornley and Katherine Grainger, of Britain, react after winning silver in the women's rowing double sculls final during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Over the past two decades Grainger has managed to combine advanced academic studies with a career in competitive rowing. Before Rio de Janeiro, she had won silver medals in Sydney, Athens and Beijing and gold in London. No other British woman has five Olympic medals.

Grainger has a law degree from the University of Edinburgh and took a timeout from rowing after the 2012 Olympics to finish her Ph.D. at King's College in London.

"I was studying the concept of life meaning life as a sentence. That looks at the worst of the worst criminals in the view of the law," she said.

Once that was out of the way she returned to rowing, but just barely made the British team for Rio. Grainger said she hasn't decided on her future yet but doubts she'll be back for a sixth Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.

"I'd be very surprised if it goes beyond this point," Grainger said. "I'm happy, I'm content, I'm thrilled, and I can walk away into the sunset and let other people have this dream."

She and Thornley, who is 12 years younger, were in gold-medal position until the final stretch of Thursday's race. They were beaten by Magdalena Fularczyk-Kozlowska and Natalia Madaj of Poland.

"We just ran out a little bit right at the end there. But I'm so proud. I would far rather we do that and not quite make it than never put ourselves in that position," Grainger said. "I really, really did not want to leave my fifth Olympic Games without a fifth Olympic medal."

In other rowing races, New Zealand's Eric Murray and Hamish Bond successfully defended their Olympic gold in the men's pair, drifting away from the other crews after the first 500 meters. The Kiwis remain undefeated in the event, with 69 wins since 2009.

Brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic overtook a Lithuanian crew in the final stretch to win Croatia's first ever rowing gold medal. German crews won both the women's and men's quadruple sculls, while Switzerland won the gold in the lightweight men's four.

Victoria Thornley and Katherine Grainger, of Britain, react to winning silver in the women's rowing double sculls final during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Victoria Thornley and Katherine Grainger, of Britain, hold their medals up after winning silver in the women's rowing double sculls final during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Drawn-out battle for IS-held Syrian town offers lessons

BEIRUT (AP)  As U.S.-backed forces close in on the Islamic State group in the northern Syrian town of Manbij, the extremists have used hundreds of residents as human shields, laying mines and shooting those trying to flee the town near the Turkish border.

Manbij, with a pre-war population of 75,000 to 100,000 people, is a major transit hub between the border and the IS group's de facto capital, Raqqa. As the fighting has dragged on for more than two months, it has emerged as a major test for the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led militia known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.

"Manbij will inform us as to how we are going to fight in Raqqa, as Ramadi has informed us how we'll fight in Mosul," Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, the top U.S. commander for the fight against IS, told reporters late Wednesday.

This image posted online on Wednesday, July. 6, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, shows a member of Islamic State militants fires a Grad missile to shell towards Kurdish-led forces in Manbij, in Aleppo province, Syria. The photo bears the watermark of Islamic State media releases and is consistent with other AP reporting. The Arabic caption on the photo reads, "Targeting strongholds of Kurdish infidels with Grad rockets south of Manbij." (militant photo via AP)

On Thursday, SDF forces stormed one of the streets in which IS militants have shielded themselves with residents, freeing hundreds after brief clashes and leaving the militants holed up in an ever-smaller corner of the northern district of Sarab.

"They broke through the line of defense of the Daesh mercenaries" and freed 400 civilians, said Ekram Berkat, a reporter in Manbij with the Kurdish Hawar news agency, referring to IS by an Arabic acronym. "Daesh are only left in a couple of streets in Sarab," where they have been holed up for the last week.

Berkat said around 1,000 more civilians are being held by IS, which has refused repeated offers of safe passage out of the town in exchange for their release.

The Kurdish-led SDF, which includes hundreds of Arab fighters, has swept across northern Syria in recent months, driving IS from a number of strongholds near the Turkish border. The U.S. is training its fighters and U.S. special forces are on the ground advising them. The U.S.-led coalition has carried out numerous airstrikes in support of the operation.

MacFarland, praised the SDF as a "respectable" fighting force in a difficult battle, which he said has claimed the lives of some 2,000 IS fighters, including many foreigners. He said the SDF has also suffered casualties, without elaborating.

Chris Kozak, a researcher with the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, said the fighting in Manbij has dragged on not only because of the use of human shields, but because of the dense urban terrain.

"Manbij gives an indication of how messy and drawn out it actually will be to use the Syrian Democratic Forces as an instrument to try to seize Raqqa city," Kozak said. Raqqa is a majority Arab city twice the size of Manbij, with a large population of internally displaced people who moved there after IS took control.

The SDF in Manbij has relied on U.S.-led airstrikes, of which there were 15 on Wednesday alone. On July 19, as many as 100 civilians were killed in U.S. airstrikes on Manbij and a nearby village. A U.S. investigation is underway.

The protracted fighting has meanwhile devastated much of the town.

Mustafa Bali, a Syrian Kurdish activist who also traveled with the SDF, said IS torched the town's ancient covered market, destroying and vandalizing shops. Berkat, the reporter, said graffiti around the town left by IS proclaims: "This is what the people of Manbij deserve for not fighting on our side." SDF spokesman Sharfan Darwish said the militants also burned the civil registry records in government offices.

Kozak said that although the SDF forces in Syria consisted of an estimated 2,500 Arabs and just 500 Kurds, they still relied on the Kurds for command and logistics.

That could prove problematic for neighboring Turkey, which views the Kurdish fighters as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a group that is waging a revived insurgency in southeastern Turkey.

In part to assuage Ankara's concerns, the SDF created a Military Council of Manbij to lead the battle, with members chosen to reflect the purported local and Arab nature of the effort.

The Kurds are widely believed to be seeking the further extension of their largely autonomous region in northeastern Syria. But it's unclear whether they would be willing or able to lead the way in a costly assault on Raqqa.

"If you are realistically going to have a force to seize Raqqa, there needs to be much more investment in developing the independent capability of the Syrian Arab component so that it is not seen as a vessel for the Syrian Kurds," Kozak said.

This image posted online on Monday, July. 18, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, shows an Islamic State fighter fires his weapon during clashes with the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces in Manbij, in Aleppo province, Syria. The Arabic caption on the photo reads, "Soldiers of the caliphate clash with Kurdish infidels in northern countryside of Manbij." (militant photo via AP)

his image posted online on Monday, July 18, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State militant group on an anonymous photo sharing website, shows an Islamic State fighter fires his weapon during clashes with the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces in Manbij, in Aleppo province, Syria. The Arabic caption on the photo reads, "Soldiers of the caliphate clash with Kurdish infidels in northern countryside of Manbij." (militant photo via AP)
Suit: Bar relatives from visiting those buried in cemetery

READING, Pa. (AP)  The owners of a Pennsylvania cemetery are trying to prevent the relatives of those buried there from visiting the graves.

The Reading Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/2aOYxIg) that a company owned by Paul and Jean Dovin filed a lawsuit in county court Monday that says the advertisement for the property failed to inform them the cemetery was active and people were still being buried there.

Relatives say the owners have threatened to call police if they visit loved ones and have warned them that flowers and flags placed on the graves will be removed.

The couple bought the property, known locally as Rock Cemetery, in 2010. The cemetery is about 40 miles west of Philadelphia and the site of an 18th century stone church.

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Canada to allow medical marijuana patients to grow cannabis

TORONTO (AP)  The Canadian government says medical marijuana patients will be able to grow their own cannabis under new regulations that come into effect later this month.

Health Canada announced Thursday that patients approved for medical marijuana can register with Health Canada to grow a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes.

The new rules come into effect on Aug. 24.

The regulations are a response to a Federal Court decision earlier this year that found the ban on patients growing medical marijuana to be a violation of their constitutional rights.
AP FACT CHECK: Clinton's selective history on trade

WASHINGTON (AP)  Hillary Clinton offered a selective accounting of her history on trade Thursday, leaving out her support for initiatives that have since become unpopular. She also offered a rosier view of the U.S. workforce than the numbers portray.

A look at some of the claims in her Michigan economic speech and how they compare with the facts:

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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gives a speech on the economy after touring Futuramic Tool & Engineering, in Warren, Mich., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

CLINTON: "We have the most dynamic, productive workforce in the world, bar none."

THE FACTS: Actually, bar two. Luxembourg and Norway have more productive workforces, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

More concerning is the fact that U.S. productivity has been slipping in recent years.

Productivity, or the amount of output per hour worked, is a measure of how efficient an economy is. The U.S. is third in the world, says the OECD, a group of mostly rich countries. But American productivity has been extraordinarily weak since the recession began in December 2007, a trend that could weigh on economic growth and incomes. Higher productivity makes it possible for employers to pay their workers more without raising prices.

Productivity fell 0.4 percent in the April-June quarter compared with a year earlier. That was the fourth time productivity has fallen from a year earlier since the recession began. Before that, productivity hadn't fallen since 1993.

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CLINTON: "It's true that too often, past trade deals have been sold to the American people with rosy scenarios that didn't pan out. ... I will stop any trade deal that kills jobs or holds down wages  including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I oppose it now, I'll oppose it after the election and I'll oppose it as president."

THE FACTS: She didn't oppose the Pacific deal when she was secretary of state, but rather promoted it. In 2012, during a trip to Australia, she called it the "gold standard" of trade agreements. She flip-flopped into opposition in the Democratic primary when facing Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was vehemently opposed to it.

Clinton says she no longer backs the proposed trade deal as written because it does not provide enough protections for U.S. workers on wages, jobs and the country's national security.

Over the years, she has opposed some trade deals and supported others. Two that she backed are the source of contention in her 2016 race with Republican Donald Trump, just as they were when Barack Obama called her out on them in the 2008 Democratic primary campaign.

For years before that campaign, Clinton repeatedly defended the North American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband shepherded through Congress in 1993. As first lady in 1996, she said "NAFTA is proving its worth." As a New York senator, she said the agreement was good for the U.S. "on balance" and her 2003 memoir voiced the conviction that the deal with Canada and Mexico was the right step.

While campaigning for the Senate in 2000, she also expressed support for her husband's initiative normalizing trade with China, despite her concerns about labor rights for Chinese workers. She said, again "on balance," that it was in the interest of U.S. workers to have China open its markets to more U.S. goods.

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CLINTON: "Too many companies lobbied for trade deals so they could sell products abroad but instead moved abroad and sold back into the United States."

THE FACTS: This may be true, but it shouldn't have been a surprise. Most trade deals the U.S. agrees to, including NAFTA and subsequent agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, include "investor protections." These are legally binding provisions that are intended to reassure companies that if they set up shop overseas, foreign governments won't be able to seize their assets or use regulations to hurt their businesses. Not surprisingly, many companies have taken advantage of those rules to shift their operations abroad.

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CLINTON: "According to an independent analysis by a former economic adviser to Sen. John McCain, if you add up all of Trump's ideas  from cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations to starting a trade war with China to deporting millions of hard-working immigrants  the result would be a loss of 3.4 million jobs. By contrast, the same analyst found that with our plans, the economy would create more than 10 million new jobs."

THE FACTS: First, Clinton persists in citing a former McCain adviser  the respected Moody's Analytics economist and forecaster Mark Zandi  without mentioning that Zandi is a donor to her campaign.

As well, she did not fully capture what Zandi estimated when she quoted him as saying her plans would add 10 million jobs. Zandi actually estimated job gains of 7.2 million in the next presidential term if there are no policy changes.

He estimated her plans would add 3.2 million jobs to that baseline. She's taking credit for jobs expected to grow even if the economy were essentially on auto pilot.

Further, the analysis Clinton quotes for Donald Trump was released in June, so it doesn't account for revisions in his economic plans, such as his intention to make the top marginal tax rate for individuals 33 percent, instead of the 25 percent analyzed by Zandi. Still, the outdated analysis says that there would be fewer jobs after four years of a Trump administration than exists today.

Also worth noting: Most forecasts are extremely speculative and seldom correspond with what really happens in the economy.

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California island foxes removed from endangered species list

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Not long ago, foxes native to the Channel Islands off the California coast teetered on the edge of extinction.

They have rebounded to the point where U.S. wildlife officials on Thursday removed three subspecies of island fox from the roster of federally endangered species, hailing their comeback as the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act.

The diminutive foxes that roam San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz islands were placed on the endangered list in 2004 after their populations were nearly wiped out by golden eagles.

After being trapped for examination, biological science technician Stacy Baker examines an approximately 3-year-old female island fox prior to its release back into the wild on Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Three fox subspecies native to California's Channel Islands were removed from the list of endangered species Thursday, in what federal officials have called the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Scientists credited the swift recovery to an effort to relocate predators and breed foxes in captivity so they can be reintroduced to the wild.

"We're ecstatic that we've reached this point so quickly," said Steve Henry, field supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's office in Ventura.

About the size of a house cat, the island foxes  with their gray coats and reddish-brown ears  are only found on six of the eight Channel Islands where they have lived for thousands of years.

Populations have returned to self-sustaining levels ranging from an estimated 700 foxes on San Miguel Island to 2,100 foxes on Santa Cruz Island.

Centuries ago, ranchers and farmers imported nonnative animals such as pigs, cattle and sheep to the islands. Golden eagles migrated after native, fish-eating bald eagles were wiped out by the discharge of chemical DDT off the coast.

The golden eagles preyed on piglets and hunted foxes. By 2000, there were only 15 foxes each on San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands and 55 foxes on Santa Cruz Island.

The wildlife service partnered with the National Park Service, Nature Conservancy and Catalina Island Conservancy to hatch an aggressive plan that included moving golden eagles to Northern California, reintroducing bald eagles to the islands, vaccinating foxes and breeding them in captivity.

The effort was not without controversy. Thousands of pigs were shot and killed, angering animal rights groups. Wildlife officials said eliminating pigs was necessary to force golden eagles to forage elsewhere and help the foxes bounce back.

The islands' remoteness also played a key role in the foxes' resurgence, giving scientists better control over recovery efforts than if they happened on the mainland.

Years ago, "you would not have seen a fox. Now, you go out there and you don't have to wait very long before a fox crosses your path," said Scott Morrison of the Nature Conservancy, which co-owns Santa Cruz Island.

Funding for the yearslong recovery came from public and private sources and included volunteer time. Officials did not have an estimate of the overall cost but said the captive rearing and monitoring portions of the program cost about $20 million.

With the fox delisting, 19 animals and plants have been pulled from the endangered species list since President Barack Obama took office, more than previous administrations, wildlife service director Dan Ashe said.

The last U.S. mammal to be removed from the list in record time was the eastern Steller sea lion in 2013 after more than two decades. Since the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973, 37 species have recovered.

Biologists planned to monitor foxes on the northern Channel Islands by conducting periodic health checks and tagging select foxes with radio collars. Technician Stacy Baker used a tool Thursday to examine the teeth of a 3-year-old female fox on Santa Cruz Island. After giving it a clean bill of health, the fox scampered into the underbrush.

Foxes on Santa Catalina Island  a tourist destination  also are recovering but not as fast as their counterparts on the northern Channel Islands. Their numbers plummeted in the 1990s after an outbreak of canine distemper, likely brought over from the mainland.

Federal officials downgraded the status of the Catalina foxes from endangered to threatened because disease outbreak remains a concern.

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Reed Saxon contributed to this report from Santa Cruz Island.

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Follow the reporter on Twitter: @SciWriAlicia

FILE - This March 4, 2004 file photo shows a Santa Cruz Island fox bred in captivity being held by a wildlife biologist for the National Park Service, on Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park, Calif. Three fox subspecies native to California's Channel Islands were removed from the list of endangered species on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in what federal officials have called the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

After being trapped for examination, biological science technician Stacy Baker examines an approximately 3-year-old female island fox prior to its release back into the wild on Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Three fox subspecies native to California's Channel Islands were removed from the list of endangered species Thursday, in what federal officials have called the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

After being examined, biological science technician Stacy Baker, left, and Christie Boser, Nature Conservancy ecologist, prepare to release an approximately 3-year-old female island fox back into the wild on Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Three fox subspecies native to California's Channel Islands were removed from the list of endangered species Thursday, in what federal officials have called the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at podium, announces that the island fox, a species on the endangered list since 2004, is being taken off the list, at a briefing on Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Three fox subspecies native to California's Channel Islands were removed from the list of endangered species Thursday in what federal officials have called the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows two island foxes in Channel Islands National Park, Calif. Three fox subspecies native to California's Channel Islands were removed from the list of endangered species Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in what federal officials have called the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act. (Chuck Graham/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows an island fox amid native shrubbery in Channel Islands National Park, Calif. Three fox subspecies native to California's Channel Islands were removed from the list of endangered species Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in what federal officials have called the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act. (Chuck Graham/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)
A group of students whove been charged under South Carolinas disturbing a school law filed a lawsuit with backing from the American Civil Liberties Union, arguing that the law is overly broad and leads to unnecessarily harsh discipline in the states public schools.

The suit comes the same week the South Carolina Board of Education gave tentative approval to new regulations for school-based police officers , with some academics and child advocacy groups arguing the rules dont go far enough.

The lead plaintiff in the suit, Niya Kenny, was arrested under the state law after she filmed a classmates violent arrest in math class nearly a year ago. That video later went viral online, and the girl in the video was also charged with disturbing a school.

As I wrote in January:

The school resource officer arrested the girl and another classmate, who protested the interaction, on charges of disturbing a school. Under that law, South Carolina students are arrested for offenses that aren't always considered crimes when they are committed off school grounds. In response to the video, some state lawmakers are working to revise South Carolina's statute, which prohibits acting 'in an obnoxious manner' in a school and behavior that interferes with or disturbs "in any way or in any place the students or teachers of any school or college."

The law, the ACLU argues in the suit, sweeps within the purview of criminal law and the court system a broad swath of adolescent behavior and violates fundamental concepts of fairness and the most basic tenets of due process. From the lawsuit:

By broadly labeling as criminal any 'interference,' or 'disturbance' of a school, any act of 'loitering' and any 'obnoxious' action, the Disturbing Schools statute creates an impossible standard for school children to follow and for police to enforce with consistency and fairness. The Disturbing Schools statute also chills the ability of students to speak out against abuses and to participate in conversations about policing of their own classrooms and campuses. South Carolina Code  16-17-420 was enacted almost 100 years ago and there is no indication that it was intended to apply, or was applied at the time, to students rightfully attending their own school. More recently, however, the law's broad terms have been invoked to draw thousands of adolescents into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The Disturbing School charge is consistently among the leading sources of referrals to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice."

The states education board gave early approval this week to some regulations that would outline what forms of student behavior warrant police contact, but some commenters argue those rules are still too vague and subjective.

Kenny is joined by other plaintiffs, including a girls mentorship organization and several students whove faced criminal charges under the disturbing schools law.

Defendents are a variety of state and local officials, including South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and law enforcement officials in the jurisdictions where the students were arrested.

The suit asks the court to declare the law unconstitutional.

The legal filing came the same day the Richland County Sheriffs Office, which employed the deputy who arrested Kenny, finalized an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to weed out bias by updating its policies and training for school-based officers.

The ACLU included this video in a press release about the lawsuit.

Photo: A series of screen grabs from video taken by a Spring Valley High School student last year shows Ben Fields, a sheriffs deputy, forcibly removing a student from her desk after she refused to leave her high school math class in Columbia, S.C. Fields was fired, and the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the incident. --AP Photos

Further reading about school police and school resource officers:

Follow @evieblad on Twitter or subscribe to Rules for Engagement to get blog posts delivered directly to your inbox.
Murder retrial delayed a year in Nevada casino shootout

RENO, Nev. (AP)  An ex-motorcycle gang leader whose Nevada murder conviction was overturned in December will spend another year in jail before he's retried for the killing of a rival gang member during a casino shootout in 2011, a judge in Reno decided Thursday.

Washoe District Judge Connie Steinheimer entered not guilty pleas on behalf of Ernesto Gonzalez at the arraignment for the former president of the Vagos chapter in Nicaragua.

She cited lawyers' scheduling conflicts in setting the new trial for Aug. 28, 2017.

The Nevada Supreme Court threw out Gonzalez' conviction for the murder of Jeffrey Pettigrew, head of the Hells Angels in San Jose California, based partly on Steinheimer's faulty instructions to the jury during the original trial in 2013.

Prosecutors say the fatal shooting at a Sparks casino nearly five years ago was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Jeffrey Pettigrew.

Gonzalez claims he only was trying to protect a fellow Vagos who was nearly beat to death during a brawl that turned the casino floor into a shooting gallery at John Ascuaga's Nugget in September 2011.

Steinheimer entered the not guilty pleas on behalf of Gonzalez at the request of his lawyer, David Houston, who said he had advised Gonzalez to remain silent "based on my own reasons and further investigation that we are conducting."

Steinheimer said she wanted to make it clear that Houston waived Gonzalez' right to a speedy trial within 60 days, and Houston agreed.

"Unfortunately, we are where we are," he said in acknowledging the inability to set the retrial sooner.

Steinheimer asked Gonzalez if he understood what was going on.

"Yes, your honor," he said.

She asked if he had any questions.

"None, whatsoever," Gonzalez replied.

Houston hoped the trial could begin as soon as January, but prosecutors are tied up with other cases. They offered trial dates as early as April, but Houston has conflicts defending a Reno doctor, Dr. Robert Rand, accused in federal court of causing the overdose death of a patient while conspiring to operate an illegal prescription drug ring.

Gonzalez is being held on $2 billion bail in the county jail, where he was transported from state prison after the high court overturned his conviction on seven counts. He's charged again with the same offenses, including murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, carrying a concealed weapon and challenging someone to a fight resulting in death.

In granting his appeal, the Supreme Court agreed confusion on the part of jurors was evident when they sent out a note to the judge asking, "If a person has no knowledge of the conspiracy but their actions contribute to someone else's plan, are they guilty of conspiracy?"

The justices said Steinheimer should have provided clarification.
Romania detains 1 for giving 'false information' to Sky News

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  Romanian organized crime prosecutors on Thursday detained a man they allege appeared in a British television news report claiming that gangs are trafficking guns in Romania.

Atilla Csaba Pantics was detained on suspicion of being complicit to communicating false information, being in a criminal group and illegally possessing weapons, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say three other men featured this week in a Sky News report entitled "Gang selling AK-47s 'Bound for Western Europe'" also face charges.

The report, where reporters met alleged illegal arms dealers in a remote corner of Romania who said they would sell weapons to terrorists, has caused a furor in Romania.

Mihaela Porime, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors' agency, told The Associated Press that five Romanians have been questioned and had their homes searched where legal hunting guns were found.

Porime says the investigation revealed that Sky paid an intermediary 1,000 euros ($1,100), while the other four were paid 1,000 euros between them.

Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay denies payment was made.

Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos added his voice to the controversy Thursday saying it was "unacceptable .... to denigrate a country without proof."
GOP says US command manipulated Islamic State intel reports

WASHINGTON (AP)  Intelligence assessments approved by senior leaders at U.S. Central Command exaggerated the progress of anti-terrorism efforts they ran against Islamic State militants, a House Republican task force said in an initial report released Thursday.

The report detailed what the task force described as "persistent problems" in 2014 and 2015 with the command's analysis of U.S. efforts to train Iraqi forces and combat the extremist group in Iraq and Syria. Central Command, based in Tampa, Florida, runs the U.S. military operations in the Middle East.

The task force's investigation isn't yet complete. A separate investigation by the Pentagon inspector general also is underway.

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2016, file photo, American and Spanish trainers use live ammunition in training exercises at Basmaya base, 40 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. Intelligence assessments approved by senior leaders at U.S. Central Command exaggerated the progress of anti-terrorism efforts they ran against Islamic State militants, a House Republican task force said in an initial report released Aug. 11. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)

A Central Command spokesman said the command is reviewing the House report but declined to comment further because the task force and inspector general inquiries are still proceeding.

The task force focused on the command's intelligence directorate. The office underwent structural and management changes in mid-2014 that resulted in intelligence that was "consistently more optimistic regarding the conduct of U.S. military action" than the judgments of many senior, career analysts at the command, according to the report.

The command's intelligence on the Islamic State group also was "more optimistic" than that of other U.S. intelligence agencies and what actual events warranted, the task force said. "Additionally, many (Central Command) press releases, public statements and congressional testimonies were also significantly more positive than actual events," according to the report.

House Republican leaders formed the task force after lawmakers learned that an unnamed analyst assigned to the command had filed a formal complaint alleging that intelligence about the Islamic State group had been manipulated.

The Republican chairmen of the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees and the Appropriations defense subcommittee established the task force.

The report said leadership at the command and within its intelligence office "deteriorated significantly" after Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis departed as senior commander in 2013. Army Gen. Lloyd Austin replaced Mattis as the command's top officer.

Roughly a year after Austin took over, several new senior intelligence officials arrived in Tampa to replace holdovers from Mattis' tenure. Following the fall of Mosul, Iraq, to Islamic State militants in June 2014, the new officials, who are not named in the report, increased their involvement in the review and editing of various intelligence products.

The officials "regularly performed line-in/line-out edits and wording changes which were perceived by analysts as more frequent than previous intelligence directorate leadership," according to the task force.

Dissatisfaction with the new way of doing business is reflected in an internal survey of command analysts that described the leadership as toxic, according to the report. Forty percent of the analysts who responded to the survey, which was conducted by the office of the director of national intelligence, said they had experienced an attempt to distort or suppress intelligence in the past year, the report said.

Army Gen. Joseph Votel replaced Austin as commander of Central Command in March.

The command's "consistently rosy view" of military success against Islamic State militants in 2014 and 2015 "may well have resulted in putting American troops at risk as policymakers relied on this intelligence when formulating policy and allocating resources for the fight," said Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., a task force leader.

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee conducted their own inquiry into the allegations of intelligence manipulation at Central Command. Rep. Adam Schiff, R-Calif., the committee's top Democrat, said Thursday that the command created "an overly insular process for producing intelligence assessments" about the Islamic State group and Iraqi security forces.

Schiff said that blinkered process stalled the release of intelligence, didn't sufficiently accommodate dissenting views and undermined the morale of analysts at Central Command.

But Schiff said the Democrats found no evidence that intelligence had been politicized. "Nor did we - or the majority - find any evidence that the White House requested to, or in any manner attempted to, have the intelligence analysis conform to any preset or political narrative," he said.

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Florida Zika cases rise to 25 as back-to-school day nears

MIAMI (AP)  Florida's caseload of Zika spread by Miami mosquitoes has risen to 25, and U.S. health officials continue to warn pregnant women to avoid the infection zone despite the governor's assurances that the area of concern is shrinking.

Florida's Department of Health says active transmission has been only happening in a 1-square-mile area encompassing Miami's Wynwood arts district.

Scott's office also announced that the health department has declared four blocks in the southwest corner of Wynwood to be clear of infections as preventative measures continue, in addition to another 10-block section cleared last week.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, still advises pregnant women to avoid the entire neighborhood. "All I can say is the travel advisory is still in effect," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that only causes mild, flu-like symptoms in most people. But it can cause severe brain-related defects, including disastrously small heads, if women are infected during pregnancy.

Back-to-school day is Aug. 22 in Miami, and while students returning to class in Wynwood will be allowed to wear pants and long-sleeved shirts that don't match their school uniforms, they still can't bring mosquito repellent to campus.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a school board meeting Wednesday that "aggressive application" of repellent should be done at home, not at school where some students may be allergic to the spray. Some 4,000 students attend six schools in the Wynwood arts district.

The Miami Herald reports (http://hrld.us/2b7TVfU ) that state health workers will be stationed at each school to check for mosquito breeding sites and provide parents with repellent.

Aerial spraying of pesticides targeting adult mosquitoes was scheduled Friday over Wynwood as well as surrounding areas, and tablets of larvae-eating bacteria are being dropped into storm drains throughout Miami-Dade County.

Scott, Florida Education Commissioner Pam Stewart and Florida Surgeon General Celeste Philip held a conference call with the state's superintendents Thursday afternoon, to update them on the state's Zika response and encourage them to develop working relationships with their local health departments.

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Judge orders man free after 28 years, cites unfair trial

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP)  A judge on Thursday ruled that a North Carolina man who was convicted of murder as a teenager and was imprisoned 28 years ago did not get a fair trial and allowed him to go free.

North Carolina Superior Court Judge W. Douglas Parsons ruled Thursday that there was not enough evidence to justify 43-year-old Johnny Small's conviction for a 1988 murder.

The judge said he didn't see proof of Small's innocence, but was persuaded that prosecutors must decide if there was enough evidence to put him on trial again.

Johnny Small wipes his eyes during a hearing before Judge W. Douglas Parsons at the New Hanover County Courthouse in Wilmington, N.C., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. Small, convicted of committing murder when he was 15, said Monday that he could only imagine the pain the victim's family experienced, but he was unequivocal in stating his innocence. (Mike Spencer/The Star-News via AP)

"I don't know if Mr. Small did this or not. Whoever did this is a monster," Parsons said. "What I'm here to decide is, did he receive a fair trial? ... It is more than abundantly clear that he did not."

Small was released from a Wilmington prison and arrived at his cousin's manufactured home just before nightfall Thursday. There he'll spend his first night of freedom on the living room sofa rather than in a bed in a room cleared for him.

"I don't want to sleep in no room. I want to be in a big space," Small said.

"This is a good totally different world than whenever I came into" prison, Small said. "I don't know how to function. I mean, when I came into it (prison) I was still a kid and in a way I still got a kid's state of mind."

He will be under electronic house while charges are pending.

Small has been imprisoned since the 1988 murder of Pam Dreher in Wilmington. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while she was lying on the floor of her tropical fish store.

Dreher's family left the courtroom Thursday without speaking to reporters.

District Attorney Benjamin David said in a statement that his staff will meet with Wilmington police and the state attorney general's office "to determine whether any additional investigation should be conducted or additional charges should be filed."

The statement offered no timeline on a decision and a spokeswoman did not respond to an emailed question.

Small, wearing a tan jail uniform, was led from the courtroom before the judge finished speaking. His attorney, Chris Mumma, said he was hyperventilating as he realized he was about to be freed.

"Johnny Small is no more guilty of this murder than I am," Mumma said. "My belief is that the evidence clearly established his innocence."

About 150 people falsely convicted of crimes  a record number  were exonerated in 2015, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. The registry is a project of the University of Michigan Law School and has documented more than 1,850 such cases in the U.S.

Parsons' decision came after Small's teenage buddy said he was pressured by police to testify at the murder trial that both he and Small were at the scene. David Bollinger says a Wilmington homicide investigator made up the story and his grandfather pressured him to lie on the witness stand. Bollinger said he could no longer keep quiet and was ready to face the chance of being prosecuted for perjury on the witness stand nearly three decades ago.

State attorneys argued that Small deserved neither a new trial or to be freed from prison.

Bollinger, 47, said he testified falsely at Small's trial because prosecutors promised charges he faced would be dropped in exchange and threatened the death penalty if he didn't cooperate.

Bollinger said he was driving to an automobile auction in South Carolina with his boss about the time Dreher was killed and didn't drive Small to the scene, as he testified at the 1989 murder trial. He said he lied then because he was afraid that since he was an adult he could get the death penalty, and a Wilmington police detective told him Small could get out of prison after turning 18. Bollinger said he confided to his grandfather, a former police officer and FBI agent, about the lie police told him to tell and was told he should stick to the story.

Small's attorneys said without Bollinger's testimony, prosecutors never could have convicted Small of a crime that would have required planning by a more mature mind than the drug-taking, car stealing, juvenile delinquent Small admitted to being at age 15. No gun, fingerprints or blood-spattered clothing tied Small to the crime.

Small and Bollinger were arrested three months later while attending the county fair after police got a Crime Stoppers tip from one of their former classmates.

Nina Raiford said she was walking past Dreher's shop when she saw Small exiting, then saw a news report about the slaying the same night. She didn't report what she saw until after Crime Stoppers offered a reward and she spoke to a school counselor two months later, Small's attorneys said.

Punch-clock records from the fast-food restaurant where Raiford worked show she didn't quit work the night of the slaying until after she described spotting Small.

Parsons said he determined it was physically impossible for Raiford to be at the murder site as she claimed and that police withheld key evidence.

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Follow Emery P. Dalesio at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/emery-p-dalesio.

David Bollinger testifies during the hearing of Johnny Small in a courtroom at the New Hanover County Courthouse in Wilmington, N.C., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. Small, convicted of committing murder when he was 15, said Monday that he could only imagine the pain the victim's family experienced, but he was unequivocal in stating his innocence. (Mike Spencer/The Star-News via AP)

Johnny Small listens as David Bollinger testifies during a hearing before Judge W. Douglas Parsons at the New Hanover County Courthouse in Wilmington, N.C., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. Small, convicted of committing murder when he was 15, said Monday that he could only imagine the pain the victim's family experienced, but he was unequivocal in stating his innocence. (Mike Spencer/The Star-News via AP)

Johnny Small is escorted back to the yard at New Hanover Correctional Center in Wilmington, N.C., on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Small has been in prison since he was 16 for the murder of fish store owner Pam Dreher, but his attorney hopes recanted testimony will help free him. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Johnny Small massages his forehead in frustration following an interview at New Hanover Correctional Center in Wilmington, N.C., on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016. Small has been in prison since he was 16 for a murder he insists he did not commit. A hearing is scheduled to begin Monday, Aug. 8 for Small, who has always maintained his innocence. The judge could vacate the conviction, order a new trial or uphold the conviction. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
Massacre survivor: Soldier who raised him must face justice

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Ramiro Osorio Cristales was 5 years old the day Guatemalan troops dragged his mother and siblings to their deaths in a massacre.

Ripped from his village, which was decimated by the soldiers, Osorio Cristales said he found himself living with a soldier who ordered him to call him "Dad," refused to answer questions about where he came from and made him toil in the pineapple crops while subjecting him to years of physical abuse.

Now 38, Osorio Cristales said he is willing to travel to Guatemala to testify against that former soldier, Santos Lopez Alonzo, who was deported Wednesday from the United States. He is wanted in the 1982 massacre of more than 200 people in the Guatemalan village during the height of the country's civil war.

Santos Lopez Alonzo stands in a courtroom as he waits for his first hearing in Guatemala City, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. Lopez Alonzo, former Guatemalan soldier suspected of helping carry out a massacre of more than 160 people in 1982 during the country's civil war was deported from the United States on Wednesday after a court refused his plea to stay because he fears for his life. (AP Photo/Luis Soto)

"There's nothing left for him but to face justice," Osorio Cristales told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Canada, where he was given asylum. "He has to pay for what he did."

The more than three decades-long civil war in Guatemala claimed at least 200,000 lives before ending in 1996, with the U.S.-backed army responsible for most of the deaths, according to findings of an independent truth commission set up to investigate the bloodshed.

Soldiers were sent to the village of Las Dos Erres in December 1982 to search for weapons believed stolen by rebels, but rounded up innocent men, women and children, raping girls and bludgeoning the villagers with a sledgehammer.

Years later, investigators dug up more than 160 skeletons at the village well. Authorities issued arrest warrants for 17 soldiers, including Lopez, and five who have been sentenced to more than 6,000 years in prison.

Lopez said he never killed anyone, that he rescued Osorio Cristales from the onslaught and that he never mistreated him.

"He who owes nothing, fears nothing," Lopez told the Associated Press in an interview at a California immigration detention facility last week. "If I had done something, if I had killed, I would be afraid, but I feel clean."

Osorio Cristales said he doesn't recall Lopez carrying out the killings but remembers him preventing villagers from escaping as soldiers dragged them from the local church and threw them into a well.

He said Lopez blocked him from following his mother as she was taken from the church, and he retreated inside and fell asleep on a bench. When he awoke, he was taken by soldiers to a military base, and eventually sent to live with Lopez, who refused to answer questions about where the boy came from.

"He always lied, saying he didn't know," Osorio Cristales said. "Having changed my name, having made me call him 'Dad,' I can't forgive anyone this."

Lopez was arrested in 2010 in the United States and charged with illegally re-entering the country after a 1999 deportation order. He wasn't immediately sent back because he was held as a material witness in the American government's prosecution of one of his former comrades for immigration crimes related to the killings.

Lopez is due to appear in court in Guatemala in the coming days.

Osorio Cristales said Guatemalan authorities came looking for him in the late 1990s and interviewed him about his memories. He said it was the first time he had spoken about the massacre because he lived in fear of Lopez.

At the time, he was serving in the army, but grew concerned about his safety and broke away. He was placed under protection by the Guatemalan government, given a DNA test and reunited with his grandparents and other extended family before leaving for Canada as an asylum seeker, he said. He now has a wife and children and a new life.

On the retreat from his village in 1982, Osorio Cristales said he remembers Lopez feeding him bread and condensed milk. But he doesn't believe Lopez took him from Las Dos Erres to protect him, adding that after the onslaught soldiers questioned him about whether his family had weapons.

"I say maybe that wasn't so much it as my fate. I was not to die at that moment," Osorio Cristales said. "I had to live to be the voice of those who didn't."
New Mexico village celebrates rebirth of church, community

Fueled by faith and determination, volunteers worked tens of thousands of hours over the last several years to rebuild the heart of one mountain village in northern New Mexico.

On Sunday, they will gather in Questa to celebrate their efforts with the rededication of the historic San Antonio Catholic Church. Archbishop John C. Wester and other officials will lead a special Mass.

One of the church's main adobe walls collapsed almost a decade ago, prompting the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to call for the building to be torn down. Community members wouldn't have it and fought for permission to rebuild the church on their own.

This Aug. 10, 2016, photo provided by Carrie Leven shows the exterior of the reconstructed San Antonio Catholic Church in Questa, N.M. The community will celebrate the rededication of the church with a special Mass on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. It took volunteers tens of thousands of hours over the last several years to rebuild the heart of one mountain village in northern New Mexico. (Carrie Leven via AP)

"To just let it go and say goodbye was not a real option for us," said Malaquias Rael, a former mayor of Questa and a spokesman for the restoration committee. "For us, it has always been the heart of the community. It's the cornerstone of our community."

Rael predicted there won't be a dry eye in Questa during the weekend celebration.

As part of agreement with the archdiocese, the villagers had a deadline of six years to rebuild the massive adobe structure and they had virtually no money to do it. Undeterred, they held bake sales, car washes, dances, silent auctions and raffled off trucks, a motorcycle and a quilt. They also sold some of the old adobe bricks from the church to raise money.

Rael jokingly called it the "nickel and dime" approach.

But over the years, they raised more than $600,000 in donations and received close to a half-million dollars in donated equipment and materials to make the project happen.

Another 41,000 hours in volunteer labor went into laying 29,000 adobes, stabilizing existing walls, plastering and painting and creating numerous stained glass windows and the special carvings that border the altar and choir loft.

Project manager Mark Sideris said working with an all-volunteer crew was a blessing because their hearts were in it.

"What kept us from feeling like we were being overworked is that everybody's forefathers had to make and lay about 50,000 adobes to build this place 170 years ago without any of the resources we have  no mechanized equipment, no mortar mixers, no loaders. It was all by hand and in all seasons and all by daylight," he said. "That kept us kind of in our place."

The volunteers were focused Thursday on finishing touches ahead of the weekend celebration. That included installing retablos, or devotional paintings, in the altar screen. The day before, the crew lined up all the pews.

It's been a long road and the community has shared its progress through social media .

As much of the original church was salvaged as possible, Sideris said.

The historic adobes and large vigas from the original building provided a glimpse into what life might have been like in Questa in the mid-1800s. The original builders had to chisel square holes in the timber to haul them down from the mountains as there were no hand augers. They also used whatever was around  corn cobs, left-over meat bones from their lunch and pottery shards  to shim the adobes as they were laid.

The adobes  which came in all sizes back then  were placed on bare ground and stretched about 20 feet high to form the main walls. Some walls were 4 feet thick.

"The first miracle here was that it stood for 170 years without any foundation and now the second miracle is getting it rebuilt and keeping the roof in place while we did it and keeping many of the walls standing while we did it," Sideris said. "So there are a couple of miracles here for sure."

Rael and Sideris said the community is ready to move back into the church, which had been the center of so many family events, from baptisms and first communions to weddings and funerals.

"There were all of these stories and just the thought that now that can start all over again, it's going to be back in business and all those new memories can be made," Sideris said.

For Rael, who grew up next door, the reconstruction also symbolizes a rebirth for the community. Questa has struggled to find new economic footing in the wake of the 2014 closure of a nearby mine that employed generations of residents.

"We wanted to draw attention to what this community is made of," he said. "The mine shutdown made it challenging, but this is an attraction now. We want people to come and see this old building that was restored and learn the story of the people who live here."

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Follow Susan Montoya Bryan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM

In this May 26, 2016, photo provided by Carrie Leven, Marcus Rael and Leroy Apodaca inspect one of the handmade stained glass windows for the historic San Antonio Catholic Church in Questa, N.M. The community will celebrate the rededication of the church with a special Mass on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. It took volunteers tens of thousands of hours over the last several years to rebuild the heart of one mountain village in northern New Mexico. (Carrie Leven via AP)

This June 7, 2014, photo provided by Carrie Leven shows project manager Mark Sideris after concrete forms were removed from the foundation of one of the buttresses for the historic San Antonio Catholic Church in Questa, N.M. The community will celebrate the rededication of the church with a special Mass on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. It took volunteers more than 40,000 hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars in private donations to finish the project. (Carrie Leven via AP)

This July 21, 2016, photo provided by Carrie Leven, shows one of the stained glass windows made by volunteers for the historic San Antonio Catholic Church in Questa, N.M. The community will celebrate the rededication of the church with a special Mass on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. It took volunteers tens of thousands of hours over the last several years to rebuild the heart of one mountain village in northern New Mexico. (Carrie Leven via AP)

In this Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, photo, provided by Carrie Leven, shows the installation of the retablos, or devotional paintings, at the alter of the reconstructed San Antonio Catholic Church are part of the finishing touches being made in Questa, N.M. The community will celebrate the rededication of the church with a special Mass on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (Carrie Leven via AP)

In this March 3, 2016, photo provided by Carrie Leven, Cynthia Rael-Vigil, left, and Jean Rael work on a stained glass window for the historic San Antonio Catholic Church in Questa, N.M. The community will celebrate the rededication of the church with a special Mass on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. It took volunteers tens of thousands of hours over the last several years to rebuild the heart of one mountain village in northern New Mexico. (Carrie Leven via AP)

This Aug. 10, 2016, photo provided by Carrie Leven shows the interior of the reconstructed San Antonio Catholic Church in Questa, N.M. The northern New Mexico mountain village will celebrate the rededication of the church with a special Mass on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. (Carrie Leven via AP)
Pastors sue Illinois over gay conversion therapy ban

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  A group of pastors is suing Illinois over a law that bars therapists and counselors from trying to change a minor's sexual orientation, saying in a Thursday filing that the prohibition violates free speech and religious rights.

The federal lawsuit seeks to exclude clergy from the ban that took effect Jan. 1, arguing that homosexuality is "contrary to God's purpose" and a disorder that "can be resisted or overcome by those who seek to be faithful to God and His Word."

Illinois is among five states with bans on so-called gay conversion therapy for youth under 18, a practice critics have decried as psychologically damaging. The laws in California and New Jersey have withstood legal challenges, but an attorney for the pastors said the prohibitions in those states did not include clergy.

FILE - In this April 12, 2016 file photo, Illinois Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, speaks at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Il. A group of pastors are suing Illinois over law barring therapists from trying to change a minor's sexual orientation. The lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday Aug, 11, 2016 seeks to exclude clergy from the ban that took effect this year. Cassidy, who sponsored the bill, said she's met with people who have gone through conversion therapy and they tell stories of feeling suicidal, humiliated and alienated from their families. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman File)

"The law in Illinois is broader than the other laws, which were aimed at licensed counselors," said John Mauck, who added that his plaintiffs are not seeking to overturn the entire ban, but want a ruling stating it shouldn't apply to clergy.

Vermont and Oregon are the other states with bans, and President Barack Obama expressed support for such laws last year.

The Illinois Attorney General's office, which will handle the lawsuit on behalf of the state, had not received the lawsuit yet and couldn't comment, spokeswoman Annie Thompson said.

Illinois' law applies to therapists and other licensed counselors, but the portion of the law that concerns pastors makes anyone liable for consumer fraud if they practice or advertise conversion therapy that portrays homosexuality as a mental disorder.

"We want to make sure that young people in particular have access to pastoral and Biblical-based counsel if they want it, and that pastors are able to provide Bible-based counseling without any fear of legal repercussions," said Steven Stultz, a Chicago pastor who is part of the lawsuit. Four other pastors are also involved, as well as Pastors Protecting Youth and Civil Liberties for Urban Believers.

Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the bill, said she's met with people who have gone through conversion therapy and they tell stories of feeling suicidal, humiliated and alienated from their families.

"This is torture, this is abuse. We can't sanction that," she said.

Cassidy's bill quoted language from the American Psychiatric Association warning in 2000 that "the potential risks of reparative therapy are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient."

But Stultz said the young parishioners who have sought his counsel have had positive experiences.
US beach player Patterson says he didn't blow off handshake

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  American beach volleyball player Casey Patterson wants to make it clear that he didn't blow off the post-match handshakes after he and Jake Gibb were eliminated from the Olympics.

Patterson told The Associated Press that he congratulated Spain in the media mix zone.

"I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that was all taken care of," Patterson said on Thursday, a day after the loss to Spain dropped the Americans to 1-2 in pool play and knocked them out later on a tiebreaker. "We knew we were potentially out of the Olympics, so I went and sat down and shook their hands later."

United States' Casey Patterson argues about a call during a men's beach volleyball match against Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Patterson said it's not uncommon for players to forego the post-match handshake under the net after a big match, when one team is celebrating and the other just wants to get out of there. He said he had never failed to catch up with the winner later to congratulate them, though.

"We're all really good friends, too," he said, adding that the protocol is to leave the sand within 90 seconds. "A lot of times when you win a big match, you yell and scream. By that time the other team has left. We always take care of it either on the way out or later."

Patterson made the comments in a telephone interview on Thursday, a day after he walked through the mix zone without talking to reporters. The Olympic rookie also received a yellow card in the match for a prolonged argument with the referee.

"I think I bolted out of there a little frustrated with how it all went down," he said.

Gibb, a three-time Olympian, did talk to reporters, but said it was hard to concentrate on questions when he was preoccupied with whether they still had a chance to remain in the Rio Games.

The Americans were eliminated later in the day. They finished tied with Austria, which scored 145 points and allowed 140; the Americans scored 125 and gave up 126.

A day later, Patterson said he was able to appreciate the experience.

And he said he would do what he could to return in 2020.

"I've got the fever, the virus of the Olympics. I see how special and cool it is," he said. "Making the Olympics is such a good, special part of my life, and to be able to say I'm an Olympian is something I'm proud of.

"I feel like I've gained so many good friends. Our families have become so close. I think that's the most valuable thing you can ask for anyway," Patterson said. "That's sort of our medal, the relationships we've built. That's how I've put it to myself."

United States' Casey Patterson celebrates winning a point during a men's beach volleyball match against Spain at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Appeals court: Judge can't erase defendant's record

NEW YORK (AP)  A federal appeals court said Thursday that it wouldn't be a bad idea to erase the criminal records of some people who've been successfully rehabilitated and it recommended that Congress take a look at the possibility.

Still, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a decision by a Brooklyn federal judge to do just that for a health care worker who lost jobs repeatedly after employers checked her criminal history and discovered a 1997 crime that led to a 2001 health care fraud conviction. She served five years of probation.

The three-judge Manhattan appeals court panel said the judge, John Gleeson, had no authority to wipe out her criminal record in May 2015 after she said the conviction was preventing her from getting or keeping a job as a home health aide.

In a ruling written by 2nd Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier, the appeals court said its finding that Gleeson had no authority to erase the woman's criminal record "says nothing about Congress's ability to provide for jurisdiction in similar cases in the future."

The 2nd Circuit noted that Congress had done so in other contexts and "it might consider doing so again for certain offenders" like the health care worker at issue in the Brooklyn case. It called the New York woman's plight unfortunate.

Gleeson had said the woman  who's listed only as Jane Doe in court papers  was guilty of "minor criminal conduct."

He wrote that the woman is among 65 million Americans with a criminal record who suffer as a result.

"Her case highlights the need to take a fresh look at policies that shut people out from the social, economic, and educational opportunities they desperately need in order to re-enter society successfully," Gleeson said.

The woman was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, before arriving in New York in 1983 at age 24. She became a U.S. citizen in 1989. Gleeson noted that the crime occurred while the woman was raising four children by herself on net monthly income of $783.

Bernard Udell, a lawyer for the woman, said he and his client were disappointed and were considering an appeal to the full 2nd Circuit.
As the new school year launches, rural districts nationwide are dealing with the same chronic issues: teacher shortages, increasing poverty, and declining enrollments. These schools also tend to have less access to technology and fewer resources and course offerings for students. According to a new report by the National Association of the State Boards of Education, several states are succeeding at tackling some of these challenges and improving more opportunities for rural students. Here are some of the most promising efforts from the states highlighted in the report:

1. Ohio

The Ohio Appalachian Collaborative, made up of 21 rural districts in the state, has worked together to share resources and services. As a result, the number of students who are taking dual enrollment courses has increased by 186 percent since 2010, and the number of students taking the ACT exam in these districts has increased by 11 percent since 2009.

2. Colorado

Small rural districts in Colorado have flexibility when it comes to filing some reports with the state and showing student achievement. That allows district staff members to focus more on instruction rather than administrative work.

3. North Carolina

Students in rural North Carolina have increasing access to early-college high schools due to collaborations between nonprofits, school districts, and community colleges. This helps rural students, who are less likely to attend college than their non-rural peers, earn college credit while still in high school.

4. Nebraska

Nebraska has utilized community schools, which partner with community organizations to provide wraparound services to rural students who may lack access to amenities like health care and additional learning opportunities.

To improve rural districts, the report also suggested four areas that states should focus on, including improving access to technology and technology training and relying on partnerships and collaboration with other schools and organizations to offer more resources to students. States should also provide flexible funding to rural schools and prioritize recruiting and training quality teachers and staff members.
Mexican authorities investigate reports of tiger sighting

MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexican authorities are investigating reports of a tiger sighting nine months after another Bengal tiger escaped into a mangrove forest in another part of the country and was never recaptured.

An official at the environmental protection department in the Attorney General's Office said Thursday that inspectors were sent Wednesday to the Gulf coast state of Campeche, where residents of the township of San Francisco Koben reported seeing a tiger. The species is not native to Mexico.

The official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said inspectors had not seen the beast despite patrolling the area by day and using cameras with sensors at night.

The area is covered by jungle and is near coastal wetlands.

A tiger escaped in November from a restaurant in the southern state of Guerrero and apparently killed five cows. Despite an extensive search, that tiger has never been found.

The distance and different ecosystems between Campeche and Guerrero make it unlikely but not impossible that the same animal is involved in this week's search.
AP FACT CHECK: Trump wrongly calls Obama 'founder' of IS

WASHINGTON (AP)  Donald Trump says President Barack Obama is the "founder" of the Islamic State group. He's not, of course.

According to the GOP presidential nominee, Obama's decision to pull U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011 destabilized the Middle East and created a situation in which Islamic State militants could thrive. That's debatable, at least.

But to state that "Barack Hussein Obama"  as Trump put it to highlight the president's middle name given to him by his Kenyan-born father  actively worked to create the terrorist group is simply not accurate.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to a group of pastors at the Orlando Convention Center, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

In fact, the United States is leading a coalition of some three dozen Western and Arab countries on a mission to destroy IS. Republicans argue his response has been tepid and incremental.

Trump made his allegation at a rally in Florida and repeated it Thursday. A look at his statements:

TRUMP: "He is the founder of ISIS," he said Wednesday night, using one acronym for Islamic State. On Thursday, he told CNBC: "He was the founder of ISIS, absolutely. The way he removed our troops. ... He shouldn't have got out the way he got out. It was a disaster what he did. "

Asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt if he meant that Obama's decision to remove U.S. troops from Iraq left a vacuum for IS to grow, Trump replied:

"No, I meant that he's the founder of ISIS, I do."

THE FACTS: The founder of the group was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2006.

As for the manner of the U.S. withdrawal, Trump actually wanted U.S. troops out years earlier than Obama brought them out.

He told CNN in March 2007 that the U.S. should declare victory and get out because Iraq was going to get further bogged down in civil strife. He said the U.S. was "keeping a lid" on the situation by being there, but that when the U.S. leaves, "it's all going to blow up" so the U.S. might as well leave "because you just are wasting time."

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TRUMP: "In many respects, you know, they (IS militants) honor President Obama."

THE FACTS: To the contrary, IS propaganda has shown fighters shooting targets bearing Obama's image. IS has beheaded captives while slurring Obama's name and suggested prices for enslaving his wife.

Before killing American-Israeli journalist Steven Sotloff in 2014, one IS militant said: "I'm back, Obama, and I'm back because of your arrogant foreign policy toward the Islamic State ... despite our serious warnings. So just as your missiles continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people."

Trump is echoing conspiracy theorists across the Middle East, including Iran's supreme leader and those he backs, such as Syrian officials and Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group. They have all over time accused the U.S. of creating or supporting the extremist group responsible for mass killings, beheadings and other atrocities in Iraq and Syria, as well as inspiring militant attacks across the world.

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ISLAMIC STATE HISTORY IN BRIEF:

The Islamic State group began as the al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq. As AQI, the group carried out massive attacks against Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, fueling tensions with al-Qaida's central leadership.

Before the U.S. left Iraq, military officials thought they had pretty much tamped down the Sunni militant extremists. IS, however, continued to gain strength as the U.S.-backed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki led the country, favoring his fellow Shiites over Sunni Iraqis.

The civil war in neighboring Syria was another destabilizing factor that also gave IS room to grow and take over large areas of both countries to set up a self-declared caliphate. The rise of the group also can be attributed to its savvy in using social media to recruit fighters and followers and its ability to reap millions, including through smuggling oil.

Since the U.S.-led coalition began its anti-Islamic State campaign in 2014, the coalition has cut the numbers of IS core fighters by half, to about 15,000, and cost the group 45 percent of its territory, which once comprised one-third of Iraq and Syria. The U.S. has 3,830 military service personnel in Iraq, advising and training Iraqi ground forces, and 50 or so special operations forces in Syria.

But in 2011, before the Islamic State was lethal and as Obama was determined to keep his campaign promise to end the war started by President George W. Bush, Washington wanted to leave several thousand American troops in the country to train Iraqi security forces. Iraqi leaders, however, refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the U.S. refused to stay without it. Al-Maliki told U.S. military officials that he did not have the votes in parliament to provide immunity to the American trainers.

Trump's commentary also seemed to echo an opinion expressed by a leader he says he respects, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Late last year, Putin said that al-Qaida and IS were "actually a U.S. invention." Putin said the rebels that the United States has armed have sometimes switched to join extremist groups in Syria like the Islamic State.

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Ukrainian zoo prides itself on new white lion cubs

KIEV, Ukraine (AP)  A private zoo in Ukraine has a new attraction: five white lion cubs.

Volodymyr Shevchuk, director of the "XII Months" zoo near the Ukrainian capital, said the cubs have been separated from their parents, Ivanna and Ludvig.

Shevchuk says the cubs have quickly become favorites with the visitors.

New-born white lion cubs, part of a litter of five cubs in a private zoo in the village of Demydiv 50 kilometres west of Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Most white lions live in captivity as the rare colour mutation is widely believed to make it difficult for white lions to survive in the wild.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

White lions, which are extremely rare, are a genetic mutation of the African Lion. They are mostly found in zoos because the color mutation makes it difficult for them to survive in the wild.

Five new-born white lion cubs play together in a private zoo in the village of Demydiv 50 kilometres west of Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Most white lions live in captivity as the rare colour mutation is widely believed to make it difficult for white lions to survive in the wild. ((AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Five-year old white lion Ludwig, father of five new-born white lion cubs, in a private zoo in the village of Demydiv 50 kilometres west of Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Most white lions live in captivity as the rare colour mutation is widely believed to make it difficult for white lions to survive in the wild. ( (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A zoo worker feeds five new-born white lion cubs in a private zoo in the village of Demydiv 50 kilometres west of Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. Most white lions live in captivity as the rare colour mutation is widely believed to make it difficult for white lions to survive in the wild. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Judge refuses to ease freed Israeli spy's parole conditions

NEW YORK (AP)  A judge has refused to ease parole conditions for freed Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard so he can begin work as a financial analyst.

The U.S. Parole Commission did not abuse its discretion when it required the 61-year-old former U.S. Navy intelligence research specialist to submit to a curfew and monitoring of work computers and his whereabouts, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest said Thursday.

Pollard's lawyers had argued that the restrictions blocked him from accepting an offer to work as a financial analyst after his release from prison last November.

FILE- In this July 22, 2016 file photo, convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, left, with his lawyer, Eliot Lauer, leave federal court in New York following a hearing. On Thursday, Aug. 11, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest refused to ease the conditions of Pollard's parole. In her written ruling, Forrest said that the Parole Commission did not abuse its discretion when it imposed the restrictions. (AP Photo/Larry Neumeister, File)

In June 1986, Pollard pleaded guilty to conspiring to deliver national defense information to a foreign government, giving secrets to Israel. He served 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors said he gave secrets to Israeli agents from June 1984 through November 1985.

At a recent hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Sol Tinio said restrictions were necessary because national security could be affected if Pollard shares knowledge from classified documents.

Pollard's lawyer Eliot Lauer had argued that any information he had 30 years ago was "ridiculously stale" and couldn't be remembered anyway.

The judge said a 12-hour curfew imposed on Pollard most days was not "irrational, arbitrary or otherwise an abuse of discretion."

She said computer and travel monitoring conditions were not unconstitutional. She said the computer restriction was "reasonably related to the characteristics of Pollard and his crime."

She noted that Pollard remains in the custody of the U.S. attorney general for the rest of his life sentence and any effort to leave the country would violate his parole.

"It would also, if successful, all but erase the United States' ability to ensure that Pollard complied with the terms of his plea agreement and committed no further crimes," the judge said.
Terminally ill woman holds party before ending her life

SAN DIEGO (AP)  In early July, Betsy Davis emailed her closest friends and relatives to invite them to a two-day party, telling them: "These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness and openness."

And just one rule: No crying in front of her.

The 41-year-old artist with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, held the gathering to say goodbye before becoming one of the first Californians to take a lethal dose of drugs under the state's new doctor-assisted suicide law for the terminally ill.

This July 24, 2016 photo provided by Niels Alpert, Amanda Friedland, left, surrounded by friends and family adjusts her friend Betsy Davis's sash as she lays on a bed during her "Right To Die Party" in Ojai, Calif. In early July, Davis emailed her closest friends and family to invite them to a two-day celebration, telling them: "These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness, and openness. And one rule: No crying." The 41-year-old woman diagnosed with ALS, held the party to say goodbye before becoming one of the first California residents to take life-ending drugs under a new law that gave such an option to the terminally ill. (Niels Alpert via AP)

"For me and everyone who was invited, it was very challenging to consider, but there was no question that we would be there for her," said Niels Alpert, a cinematographer from New York City.

"The idea to go and spend a beautiful weekend that culminates in their suicide  that is not a normal thing, not a normal, everyday occurrence. In the background of the lovely fun, smiles and laughter that we had that weekend was the knowledge of what was coming."

Davis worked out a detailed schedule for the gathering on the weekend of July 23-24, including the precise hour she planned to slip into a coma, and shared her plans with her guests in the invitation.

More than 30 people came to the party at a home with a wraparound porch in the picturesque Southern California mountain town of Ojai, flying in from New York, Chicago and across California.

One woman brought a cello. A man played a harmonica. There were cocktails, pizza from her favorite local joint, and a screening in her room of one of her favorite movies, "The Dance of Reality," based on the life of a Chilean film director.

As the weekend drew to a close, her friends kissed her goodbye, gathered for a photo and left, and Davis was wheeled out to a canopy bed on a hillside, where she took a combination of morphine, pentobarbital and chloral hydrate prescribed by her doctor.

Kelly Davis said she loved her sister's idea for the gathering, which Betsy Davis referred to as a "rebirth."

"Obviously it was hard for me. It's still hard for me," said Davis, who wrote about it for the online news outlet Voice of San Diego. "The worst was needing to leave the room every now and then, because I would get choked up. But people got it. They understood how much she was suffering and that she was fine with her decision. They respected that. They knew she wanted it to be a joyous occasion."

Davis ended her life a little over a month after a California law giving the option to the terminally ill went into effect. Four other states allow doctor-assisted suicide, with Oregon the first in 1997.

Opponents of the law in lobbying against it before state legislators argued that hastening death was morally wrong, that it puts terminally ill patients at risk for coerced death by loved ones and could become a way out for people who are uninsured or fearful of high medical bills.

Marilyn Golden of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, said her heart goes out to anyone dealing with a terminal illness, but "there are still millions of people in California threatened by the danger of this law."

Davis spent months planning her exit, feeling empowered after spending the last three years losing control of her body bit by bit. The painter and performance artist could no longer stand, brush her teeth or scratch an itch. Her caretakers had to translate her slurred speech for others.

"Dear rebirth participants you're all very brave for sending me off on my journey," she wrote in her invitation. "There are no rules. Wear what you want, speak your mind, dance, hop, chant, sing, pray, but do not cry in front of me. OK, one rule."

During the party, old friends reconnected and Davis rolled in and out of the rooms in her electric wheelchair and onto the porch, talking with her guests.

At one point, she invited friends to her room to try on the clothes she had picked out for them. They modeled the outfits to laughter. Guests were also invited to take a "Betsy souvenir"  a painting, beauty product or other memento. Her sister had placed sticky notes on the items, explaining each one's significance.

Wearing a Japanese kimono she bought on a bucket-list trip she took after being diagnosed in 2013, she looked out at her last sunset and took the drugs at 6:45 p.m. with her caretaker, her doctor, her massage therapist and her sister by her side. Four hours later, she died.

Friends said it was the final performance for the artist, who once drew pictures on a stage with whipped cream.

"What Betsy did gave her the most beautiful death that any person could ever wish for," Alpert said. "By taking charge, she turned her departure into a work of art."

Her guests agreed to meet again on her birthday in June to scatter her ashes.

This July 24, 2016 photo provided by Niels Alpert, Betsy Davis, smiles during a going away party with her family and friends in Ojai, Calif. In early July, Davis emailed her closest friends and family to invite them to a two-day celebration, telling them: "These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness, and openness. And one rule: No crying." Davis, diagnosed with ALS, held the party to say goodbye before becoming one of the first California residents to take life-ending drugs under a new law that gave such an option to the terminally ill. (Niels Alpert via AP)

This July 23, 2016 photo provided by Niels Alpert, Kestrin Pantera plays her chello at a going away party for her friend Betsy Davis in Ojai, Calif. In early July, Davis emailed her closest friends and family to invite them to a two-day celebration, telling them: "These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness, and openness. And one rule: No crying." The 41-year-old woman diagnosed with ALS, held the party to say goodbye before becoming one of the first California residents to take life-ending drugs under a new law that gave such an option to the terminally ill. (Niels Alpert via AP)

This July 24, 2016 photo provided by Niels Alpert, Betsy Davis, center, is accompanied by friends and family for her first ride in a friends new Tesla to a hillside to end her life during a "Right To Die Party" in Ojai, Calif. In early July, Davis emailed her closest friends and family to invite them to a two-day celebration, telling them: "These circumstances are unlike any party you have attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness, and openness. And one rule: No crying. " The 41-year-old woman diagnosed with ALS, held the party to say goodbye before becoming one of the first California residents to take life-ending drugs under a new law that gave such an option to the terminally ill. (Niels Alpert via AP)
An ex-convict has pleaded guilty in federal court to plotting a New Year's Eve machete attack at a Rochester restaurant in the name of the Islamic State terrorist group.

Emanuel Lutchman, 26, a married Rochester father of a two-year-old son, pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorism organization, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney William Hochul said.

He will be sentenced on November 15 in U.S. District Court in Rochester.

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Emanuel Lutchman is transported out of a Federal Building on Thursday in Rochester, New York

Officials say Lutchman explored websites related to violent jihad and initiated contact with now-deceased Islamic State terrorist Abu Issa Al-Amriki in Syria in December 2015.

Prosecutors say Al-Amriki told him to plan an attack on New Year's Eve and kill non-believers, or 'kuffar.'

The FBI says it used paid informants to uncover the plot and take Lutchman to a Walmart store to purchase black ski masks, two knives, a machete, ammonia and other supplies for the attack.

Lutchman, of Rochester, New York, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to support the Islamic State. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison

Though authorities didn't reveal Lutchman's target, a co-owner of Merchants Grill (pictured) said his pub was the target of the alleged attack. The co-owner also said that Lutchman is a panhandler who'd been asked to leave the tavern in the past

On December 30, 2015, prosecutors say Lutchman made a video pledging allegiance to the Islamic State in which he said, 'the blood that you spill of the Muslim overseas we gonna spill the blood of the kuffar.'

Immediately thereafter, agents arrested him.

Lutchman's family told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle he has a long history of mental problems and was unable to get a job after serving time in prison for robbing a man of his cellphone, bus pass and cigarettes when he was 16.

After his arrest, his father and mother earlier described a man who'd had psychiatric troubles since childhood, had recently stabbed himself in a suicide attempt and, they said, wouldn't have conducted the attack on his own.

His grandmother said he would never have carried out the attack.

'The boy is impressionable,' his father, Omar Lutchman, told NBC News. 'First he was a Blood, then he was a Crip, then he became a Muslim. He's easily manipulated.'
The Latest: Student says 3 regularly shouted for help

CUSHMAN, Ark. (AP)  The Latest on Arkansas State University students who went missing inside of a cave (all times local):

6:55 p.m.

One of three Arkansas State University students who went missing inside of a cave said they kept warm overnight by staying close.

Casey Sherwood told KATV-TV that they also regularly shouted for help when they realized they were lost. The 25-year-old Sherwood and two Japanese students  19-year-old Daiki Itoh and 18-year-old Daisuke Takagi  were rescued Thursday.

Sherwood said he felt a little bit of panic when he realized they were lost. The three decided to stay in place to not get lost further. He said the three used their body heat to keep warm.

Sherwood's wife had reported the three missing Wednesday night. Crews had been searching for the students in Blowing Cave near Cushman, 110 miles north of Little Rock.

Sherwood is from Jonesboro, Arkansas. Itoh is from Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, and Takagi is from Kawagoe Hi-who, Hyogo.

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6:10 p.m.

Arkansas State University says an American student and two Japanese students who went missing inside of a cave have been found alive.

The university said in a statement Thursday that rescue teams had located 25-year-old Casey Sherwood, 19-year-old Daiki Itoh and 18-year-old Daisuke Takagi. The school did not have any information about their condition.

Sherwood's wife had reported the three missing Wednesday night. Crews had been searching for the students in Blowing Cave near Cushman, 110 miles north of Little Rock.

Independence County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Glen Willis told KAIT-TV the three were found OK 30 minutes from the entrance of the cave. Willis did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

Sherwood is from Jonesboro, Arkansas. Itoh is from Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, and Takagi is from Kawagoe Hi-who, Hyogo.

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1:35 p.m.

Arkansas State University says three students, including two from Japan, are missing in a cave in northern Arkansas.

A university statement says the wife of 25-year-old student Casey Sherwood reported him missing Wednesday night, along with Japanese exchange students, 19-year-old Daiki Itoh and 18-year-old Daisuke Takagi.

Independence County Office of Emergency Management coordinator Glen Willis told KAIT-TV that two crews are searching for the students in Blowing Cave in Cushman, 110 miles north of Little Rock. Cave-mapping experts are assisting.

Willis and officials with the Independence County Sheriff's Office did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
EU and Brexit thoughts could disrupt PM May's Swiss holiday 'peace and quiet'

Theresa May could find it difficult to ignore Switzerland's immigration troubles with the European Union as she holidays in the country and mulls over how to deliver Brexit.

The Prime Minister has broken with predecessor David Cameron's habit of spending a few days in Britain before jetting off for a foreign break and is continuing her tradition of visiting the Alpine country with husband Philip.

Mr Cameron has repeatedly come under fire for urging Britons to take "staycations" but then enjoying sunshine breaks in the likes of Spain, Italy and Portugal combined with trips in the UK.

Theresa May will spend her holiday in Switzerland

Mrs May is unlikely to suffer the mishaps which plagued the former PM, who has been stung by a jellyfish in Lanzarote, mocked for dressing on the beach under a Mickey Mouse towel, and criticised for his choice of clothes.

But she will hope she does not have to follow in the footsteps of Britain's only other woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who cut short a Swiss holiday in 1985 after the deaths of 55 people in the Manchester air disaster.

And, as many busy Britons discover on holiday, she may find it difficult to take her mind off work during the two-week break, given Switzerland's similarly strained relationship with the EU and its trouble implementing a referendum result.

The country is not a full EU member but enjoys a negotiated bilateral agreement which allows it some access to the single market with tariff-free trade and open access to the services market.

Its agreements go furthest in replicating EU benefits for a country outside the bloc, but it must also accept the free movement of people, pay into the union's budget and comply with single market regulations.

It is now embroiled in long-running talks with the union over how to implement a 2014 referendum result in which the Swiss people backed limiting immigration through quotas, including EU citizens.

The parallels with the UK are striking but Mrs May has previously revealed that she loves holidaying in the country because she can get some "peace and quiet".

She said she and her husband had "discovered the joys" of walking in the country "quite by chance".

In a piece for the Telegraph in August 2007, she said: "We first visited the country about 25 years ago but spent most of the time in Lucerne.

"On a return trip, we decided to go walking, enjoyed it and gradually began doing more adventurous hikes.

"We have been going back ever since and have walked all over the country."

Mrs May said in the piece that her two favourite areas are Zermatt and the Bernese Oberland, which are both "fantastic for walking".

She added: "If you're a keen walker, Switzerland is a wonderful summer destination: the views are spectacular, the air is clear and you can get some peace and quiet."

Downing Street said Mrs May remained in charge. She will be kept updated and briefed on events, with a senior Cabinet minister remaining in London.
Requiem Mass for bishop who guided dying youth through Bloody Sunday gunfire

A Requiem Mass will be held for a priest who raised a blood-soaked handkerchief and guided the body of a dying teenager through army gunfire on Bloody Sunday.

Catholic retired Bishop of Derry Edward Daly, 82, has been lauded as a hero and fearless peace builder who walked with the people of his city in their darkest hours.

The cleric's use of the universal symbol for ceasefire during a massacre of innocent civil rights protesters by soldiers in January 1972 became an enduring image of the conflict. He died on Monday after a long illness.

Catholic retired Bishop of Derry Edward Daly was described as a fearless peace-builder

His funeral today at St Eugene's Cathedral in Londonderry will attract a large crowd from across Ireland and beyond.

Dr Daly's sisters Marion and Anne, nieces and nephews will be among the chief mourners.

He will be buried in the cathedral grounds afterwards.

Many well-wishers and old friends have visited St Eugene's to see his body lying in repose.

In later life the retired bishop was reluctant to discuss the moment that arguably best symbolised his Christian ministry; in death it has largely defined him.

As a young priest he famously waved the bloodied rag as he led a brave group bearing fatally injured civil rights protester Jackie Duddy, 17, to safety in Londonderry in Northern Ireland on Bloody Sunday.

Paratroopers had opened fire and killed 13 people. Fourteen were injured and another was to die later.

Bloody Sunday has been described as one of the catalysts of IRA recruitment and the 30-year conflict which left more than 3,000 dead and many others injured.

Bishop Daly was a prominent witness at Lord Widgery's inquiry soon after the event, which exonerated troops from the Parachute Regiment, concluding that they had come under attack from gunmen and bombers.

The Bishop of Daly dedicated much of the rest of his life to clearing the names of all the victims.

He believed the violence of the Troubles was futile and morally unjustified and was an arch-critic of the IRA.

The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin has lauded him as a fearless peace builder who took a personal interest in those who suffered miscarriages of justice.

His untiring advocacy for the Birmingham Six, the victims of Bloody Sunday and for the families of those murdered by paramilitaries earned him respect from some, suspicion from others.
Swedish prosecutors to quiz Julian Assange inside Ecuadorean embassy

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be questioned by Swedish prosecutors inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, in a possible breakthrough to the impasse over his case.

The Ecuadorian attorney general delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish prosecutor to question Mr Assange.

He is wanted for questioning over a sex allegation, which he denies, and believes he will be taken to the United States to be quizzed over the activities of WikiLeaks if he goes to Sweden.

Julian Assange fears he will be taken to the United States to be quizzed over WikiLeaks if he goes to Sweden to answer a sex case claim

Mr Assange has been living inside the embassy for over four years and has been granted political asylum by Ecuador.

He has offered to be questioned inside the embassy but the Swedish prosecutors only recently agreed.

A statement issued in Ecuador said: "In the coming weeks a date will be established for the proceedings to be held at the Embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom.

"For more than four years, the government of Ecuador has offered to co-operate in facilitating the questioning of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as well as proposing other political and legal measures, in order to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties involved in the legal case against Julian Assange, to end the unnecessary delays in the process and to ensure full and effective legal protection.

"In line with this position, Ecuador proposed to Sweden the negotiation of an Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, which was signed last December and which provides the legal framework for the questioning."

The statement said the proceedings did not affect the recent opinion of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions of the United Nations, which found that Mr Assange was being arbitrarily detained. The working group called for Mr Assange to be released and given compensation for violation of his rights.
What Is For-Profit Probation? Is It Legal?

You may have heard the phrase 'for-profit prisons' in reference to private prison companies contracting with state and local governments to detain convicts. You may have also heard that this arrangement can lead to some perverse incentives on the part of private companies, whose profits are tied to the number of people in prison.

What you may not have heard about is for-profit probation, whereby private companies monitor offenders, charge them for the privilege, and can even petition that they be sent to jail if they can't pay. This system can also lead to a perverse set of incentives, which is why the American Bar Association is asking that it be abolished.

Debt Cycle

Human Rights Watch reported that over 1,000 U.S. courts work with private probation companies, tasking them with monitoring several hundred thousand misdemeanor offenders. Unlike private prisons, which are funded by the state and local governments, private probation companies "charge their fees directly to the probationers." And because many of these offenders are on probation merely for the inability to pay fines and court costs, they often have a hard time paying their probations costs as well.

According to John R.B. "Jack" Long, a Georgia lawyer who moved the ABA's resolution against privatized probation and has successfully sued private probation companies in the past, these probation fees aren't even going to the original court costs and fines, but straight to the private company instead. "The system is designed to sell as many probation services as possible," he told the AP. "For each service they sell, they make a profit."

"Cash Register Justice"

And if a probationer can't pay? The probation company can petition the court for the probationer's arrest. A company probation officer in Georgia allegedly admitted she routinely has offenders arrested for non-payment and then bargains with their families for money in exchange for the person's release.

"It's not supposed to be about the money," Rutherford County Tennessee Sheriff Robert Arnold told the AP. "The unfortunate part of our judicial system is once you get caught up in it, it's like a rat wheel you can never get out of because of some of the fines and the probation." (Incidentally, Sheriff Arnold is facing a 14-count federal indictment for his role in profiting from the sale of JailCigs to inmates.)

Probation, and the attendant restrictions and costs, can be tough to face no matter what, and it can be even tougher when it's a private company acting as a debt collector. If you need help meeting your probation obligations, or if you believe they are unfair or illegal, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney today.

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Briton's mystery hotel death will hang over husband 'for rest of his life'

The mystery surrounding the death of a British woman at a hotel in Ghana will hang over her husband "for the rest of his life", her mother has said, after a coroner recorded an open conclusion at her inquest.

Charmain Speirs, 41, who was reportedly pregnant at the time, was found lifeless in the bath of a hotel room in the city of Koforidua in March 2015, two days after her husband Eric Adusah had returned to the UK, the inquest in Chelmsford heard.

Mr Adusah, a Christian preacher from Ghana, was arrested on suspicion of her murder by local police but the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence, the inquest heard.

Pastor Eric Adusah leaves an inquest into the death in March 2015 of his wife Charmain Speirs in Ghana

An initial post-mortem examination in Ghana gave the medical cause of death as a heroin overdose and a second post-mortem examination eight months later in the UK found no evidence of assault, the hearing was told.

After hearing evidence from Home Office pathologist Charlotte Randall, who carried out the second post-mortem, Senior Essex Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray rejected possible conclusions of unlawful killing, suicide and accidental death.

Recording the medical cause of death as acute opiate poisoning, she said: "Because there wasn't sufficient evidence for any of these possible conclusions, I'm going to return an open conclusion."

She added: "We shall never quite know what happened. There just isn't the evidence."

Earlier Mr Adusah, who wore a wedding ring, had asked Ms Randall: "Is there any way you could find out how it (heroin) got in the body?"

He continued: "I wasn't there but my name has gone everywhere and I have no idea what happened.

"I don't know how it got in her body. My wife never took that in the house. I never saw her do anything like that."

Speaking outside, Ms Speirs's mother Linda said: "It is still hanging over him. It's open, so it will hang over him for the rest of his life."

She told reporters that it would "definitely" be impossible for her daughter to inject or put heroin into her own body.

"She wouldn't have done it. We know that for a fact. She just wouldn't have done it," she said.

Mrs Speirs said the inquest was "done well", but "didn't go into great details".

Ms Speirs's mother and step-father Peter were at the hearing along with Mr Adusah and around 30 members of his congregation from the Global Light Revival Ministries in north London.

The inquest heard that the body of Ms Speirs was found by staff at the Mac-Dic Royal Plaza Hotel after she did not check-out at midday on March 20, 2015, as scheduled.

Ms Randall, who conducted the second post mortem after the body was returned to Essex where Ms Speirs lived, said her examination was limited by the fact the body had been embalmed and more than eight months had passed since her death.

The Ghanaian post-mortem examination was conducted within a week of the death, when blood and urine samples could be analysed, and heroin was detected.

Ms Randall conducted tests on hair and found no traces of opiates, suggesting no evidence of long-term drug use. Further toxicology tests found traces of morphine and other substances.

She conducted an external examination of the body and found no evidence of assault, and also found nothing that suggested death from natural causes.

The second post-mortem examination recorded the medical cause of death as unascertained.

She said she could not rule out "interference with the mechanics of breathing while intoxicated".

Detective Inspector Stuart Smith, of Essex Police, said officers were notified of the death by the National Crime Agency.

He said police in Ghana did not request assistance with their investigation.

"It's my view that there's been a significant police investigation with judicial oversight," he said. "There's no direct evidence linking (Mr Adusah) to the death of the deceased."

Ms Speirs, who had lived in Ronald Drive, Rayleigh, Essex, grew up in Scotland and spent several years in Swansea where she worked for the NHS.

The coroner extended her sympathies to loved ones, noting Ms Speirs was a "striking-looking, attractive woman who had a bright future in front of her and it's very clear that she was much-loved".

Mr Adusah is leader of the Global Light Revival Ministries Church based in Tottenham, north London. It describes itself as a growing international, multi-cultural Christian church and also has a branch in Edinburgh.
Britain book semi-finals place with sudden-death triumph over Argentina

Great Britain claimed a dramatic sudden death victory over Argentina at Deodoro Stadium to book a place in the men's sevens semi-finals.

Dan Bibby struck with a try near the end of five minutes' extra-time to put Britain through 5-0.

Skipper Tom Mitchell saw a penalty kick at goal bounce back off a post just seconds earlier, but Britain kept their composure amid intense pressure.

Dan Bibby scored a dramatic late try as Great Britain reached the men's rugby sevens semi-finals at the Rio Olympics

They will play South Africa in Thursday's second semi-final - the South Africans knocked out Australia 22-5 - with tournament favourites Fiji, who were 12-7 conquerors of New Zealand, meeting surprise package Japan in the other.

Japan, who beat New Zealand on Tuesday in arguably sevens rugby's greatest upset, knocked out France 12-7.

Britain's men emulated the women's team in reaching the Olympic semi-finals, but they will hope to go at least one step better. The women suffered a bronze medal match defeat against Canada.

Britain won Pool C with a 100 per cent record, completing the group phase with a 21-19 win against New Zealand thanks to tries from Mark Bernnett, James Davies and Dan Norton, before a New Zealand comeback from 21 points adrift was ultimately repelled.

And the Argentina clash proved just as nerve-shredding, with both teams temporarily reduced to six players near the end of normal time as Juan Imhoff and Britain's Davies both received yellow cards.

Bibby, though, was the hero, touching down after making a gliding break, to spark scenes of wild celebration.

Reflecting on the New Zealand win, Norton said: " We started out very well and implemented our game-plan. We showed great intensity and came out of the blocks firing.

"We were able to capitalise on our accuracy. We didn't have the ball as much as we wanted in the second-half, but to get the win was an amazing feeling."

Bibby admitted that he thought Britain's run in the competition might have been coming to an end before he struck with the decisive score to sink Argentina.

"I thought that our Olympic dream was over, but luck was on our side," he said.

"When the full-time whistle went, everyone stayed calm. We just kept working hard, and I was just in the right place at the right time.

"As I went over the line, I was just thinking 'don't drop it.'

"I have never played in a game like that. I have played (sevens) three or four years, and I have never been in a 0-0 draw at full-time.

"Fair play to Argentina. They stuck in it and worked us. We kept our composure and got the crucial score.
Albanian double murderer tells extradition hearing of 'corruption' fears

An Albanian double murderer living in the UK claims he should not be sent back to his native country because it is corrupt and said he fled there almost two decades ago fearing for his life.

Avni Metra faces extradition to Albania where he is wanted in connection with two murders and possession of firearms dating back to the 1990s.

The 53-year-old, who is entitled to a retrial on the murder convictions which were given in his absence, said he would not get a fair trial.

Avni Metra, speaking through an interpreter, told Westminster Magistrates' Court he would not get a fair trial in Albania

Speaking through an interpreter he told Westminster Magistrates' Court: "There is no justice in Albania. There is only corruption."

Asked why he left the country, coming to the UK in 1998 and living under an alias, he said: "My life was in danger. My friend was killed."

He said he had been warned by a "police friend" to leave the country "otherwise you are going to get killed".

The father-of-four has also claimed he should be allowed to stay in the UK because of his family, but Hannah Hinton, representing the Albanian government, told the court Metra had little contact with his children owing to a court order.

Ms Hinton said: "He may wish to have contact with them but he is having no substantive contact with them here. He is not their carer, he is not an active parent to the four children."

Metra was arrested in June while on bail on suspicion of rape, an earlier hearing was told.

On Thursday, the court heard Metra, who is in custody and previously lived in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, was convicted in 2011 of common assault against his ex-partner, and subject to a restraining order for a year afterwards.

Asking Judge Margot Coleman to extradite Metra, Ms Hinton said: "The offences for which he is sought in Albania are of the most grave kind and there is a strong public interest in ordering his extradition to Albania to face justice."
'Jihadi bride' London schoolgirl 'killed in Syria air strike'

A British schoolgirl who joined Islamic State (IS) in Syria last year is believed to have died in Raqqa when a suspected Russian air strike obliterated her house, according to ITV News.

Kadiza Sultana, 17, who fled Bethnal Green in east London with two other teenage girls in the 2015 Easter holidays, was living in the terror group's stronghold city, where she was killed in May, the broadcaster reports.

Her family says she was disillusioned with life in Syria and they were hoping to get her across the border and into Turkey before she died.

CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police of, left to right, Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana and Shamima Begum (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Kadiza and two others, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both then 15, were feared to have become so-called "jihadi brides" when they absconded.

The Bethnal Green trio are believed to have married fellow foreigners who were fighting for IS, ITV News said. Ms Sultana's husband was an American national of Somali origin who died late last year.

Her sister, Halima Khanom, spoke to ITV News and the interview included phone recordings between the siblings.

Ms Sultana, speaking before her death, said: "I don't have a good feeling. I feel scared ...

"You know the borders are closed right now, so how am I going to get out?"

Her sister asked how confident she was of escaping and she replied: "Zero."

All three girls were represented by lawyer Tasnime Akunjee, who told ITV News: "You would move heaven and earth to get any child back from a danger zone, and this family had done all they could and stretched every sinew to get their daughter, their sibling back home.

"Perhaps the only benefit out of this is as a tombstone and a testimony for others of the risks of actually going to a warzone, to dissuade people from ever making that choice."

The lawyer who represented the girls has said: "Leaving Isis (IS) is like trying to escape from Alcatraz, with a shoot-to-kill order added in."

Ms Khanom said: "We were expecting this in a way. But at least we know she is in a better place."

The Bethnal Green schoolgirls were among more than 800 Britons believed to have left the UK to join IS or other militant groups in Syria and Iraq, ITV News said. It is thought that at least 250 have since returned. Some have faced prosecution, with others allowed to re-enter society under the watch of security services.
The mention of bridal wear brings to mind the idea of white and in the traditional context, an array of colours.

The wedding attire across many cultures will change your perception of generalising a bridal garment. So many patterns and silhouettes, cultural connotations and distinctiveness.

Some paint their faces while some focus more on body adornments than just the garment.

The Yakan bride.

Few match their apparel with their would-be better half while some share completely different looks.

There are themes, love for heritage, memories and narratives. The most fascinating thing apart from the interesting clothes and jewellery is the customs that are still followed without fail.

For example, in Turkey, before a bride heads to the wedding ceremony after leaving her home, her brother or uncle ties a red ribbon around her waist which stands for joy, good luck and purity.

The Kazakh bride.

In Sri Lanka, the bride's outfit combines Eastern and Western traditions. Girls wear richly embroidered silk saris and veils.

The wedding jewellery should include an odd number of stones as odd numbers are considered auspicious, especially in wedding rituals.

In Palestine, the bride goes for a white dress but she must also have a second gown which is supposed to be hand-embroidered by her mother, for the rituals that follow.

The Romanian bride.

The minimal Japanese bride wears the white kimono along with a special silk headdress called "tsunokakushi". That apparently covers the bride's "horns of jealousy", which covers the bridal high topknot called "bunkin takashimada".

It is to subdue her negative elements and pave the path towards simplicity, gentleness and obedience.

In Iraq, brides get to have a lot of fun. They try to set the record for the highest number of costume changes. They wear at least seven dresses in different colours during the occasion and they consider the colour red to be the most auspicious as it stands for love and romance.

The Ghana bride.

Italian brides go for green dresses and accessories as they believe that the colour brings good luck.

Kazakh brides typically wear a headdress known as a "saukele" and a facial veil. The saukele is usually prepared much before the girls get ready for marriage.

Nigerian brides often wear brightly coloured wedding clothes. They also wear a head tie called a "gele", a head-wrap.

The Maasai bride.

Traditional weddings in Ghana are full of colour and energy. Each family has its specific cloth pattern and cut that features on the bride and groom's wedding outfits.

The Scottish bride wears a bright shawl adorned with the colours that represent her husband's clan and they signify her shift into his family.

The traditional Mongolian wedding ceremony cherishes history and relives it.

The Mongolian bride.

The bride and groom wear what's known as a "deel", a form of patterned clothing that's been celebrated by the Mongols for centuries and other nomadic tribes in Central Asia.

The Yakan, an ethno-linguistic group that mostly inhabits the island of Basilan in the Philippines, still has traditional weddings.

It consists of two ceremonies, an Islamic one and an older, pre-Islamic ritual. The weddings are arranged by the parents and both the bride and groom wear face paint during the ceremony.

A Polish couple.

The big day is not only about the regulars for these communities but also about enjoying tradition the best way they can.
Old habits die hard. You may take over his princely-state, but you can't snatch his princely style.

Dr Karan Singh, the last yuvraj of Jammu and Kashmir, has finally spoken his "heart-and-head" out, right inside Parliament, with all his princely grace; every word weighed before every utterance made.

Dr Singh's widely-admired speech has stirred a new debate in restive Kashmir, on boil since July 8 when militant "commander" Burhan Muzaffar Wani and his two associates were killed.

The former Sadre Riyasat is no more a prince from the family remembered as tyrants by people of Kashmir. But his recent statement has almost made him the king of hearts.

As per the convention, anything unparliamentary gets expunged, but his speech during the debate on Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha on August 10, has emerged as a historic narrative, which throws light on everything relevant from J&K's accession to India, to the need for a lasting solution to the Kashmir dispute.

Singh said: "I want to speak from both my heart and head and place some factors before you which perhaps may not be fully known and may be a little uncomfortable. But whatever I will say is based upon truth."

Elaborating, the senior Congress leader and former Sadre Riyasat said Kashmir is a political issue where "India needs to bite the bullet at some point in time and resolve it", even as he asserted that J&K's relation with India is "governed by Article 370".

Singh said the fire is raging. While over 6,000 pellets have been officially fired on people in the ongoing unrest, he said: "Please remember Jammu and Kashmir is an extremely complex and a complicated affair. There is no magic bullet that will solve it overnight."

He sought humane introspection. "Why is it that thousands and thousands of young people are embarked on a path that will only bring death and destruction to themselves and their loved ones? Why is this happening? I think we have got to introspect very carefully and humanely."

His self-explanatory speech hints at restoration of pre-1953 status. "We say J&K is an integral part of India. Of course it is. The day my father signed the IoA (Instrument of Accession), it became an integral part of India. On October 27, 1947, I was in my room, in my house. However, please remember something more."

"My father acceded for three subjects only, which included defence, communication and foreign affairs. He signed the same with other princely states, but all others states subsequently merged. But J&K did not merge with India."

Pleading that there was "still an uncertainty with regard to the exact status" of J&K and its relation with the Indian Union, Dr Singh said: "Integral part doesn't necessarily mean it will be exactly same as everything else."

Referring to the neighbouring country, he said: "China has one state, two systems Hong Kong has a different system."

The crux of his viewpoint was restoration of autonomy when J&K had its own prime minister and Sadre Riyasat, the twin powers subsequently reduced to the administrative posts of chief minister and governor, respectively.

On the political front, restoration of this autonomy won't cost New Delhi anything beyond rollback of some administrative orders.

But it can give a sense of achievement to the bruised people of Kashmir, who have tangibly achieved nothing in over 25 years of conflict, written in gory tales of massacres, killings, tortures, rapes, custodial disappearances and what not. Use of the pellet gun is just a new chapter.

For that matter, despite resilience, till now, even the mortal remains of Muhammad Afzal Guru couldn't be brought back from Tihar Jail.

The grant of autonomy can prove an achievable milestone, till the final solution to J&K's territory, presently under de-facto control of three nuclear powers: India, Pakistan and China.

From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the separatist leadership, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, it's high time for every stakeholder to ponder over the viewpoint as put forth by the erstwhile prince whose ancestors ruled Kashmir till October 27, 1947.

Demand of plebiscite at this moment may obviously see non-Muslim areas of Jammu and Ladakh regions go against the popular sentiment in Kashmir, thus triggering a new conspiracy over trifurcation of the state.

The Kashmir dispute has had enough of rhetoric. To douse the flames of the 2016 unrest and to avoid recurrence of such a bloodbath in the future, a tangible beginning needs to be made.
Within the mesmerising beauty of the Kashmir Valley lie layers of deception. For decades, the Valley has been used and abused.

It has amassed fortunes for many: Pakistani generals, Hurriyat separatists, political dynasts and local bureaucrats.

The only people who haven't benefited from Kashmir are Kashmiris.

Parliament on Wednesday debated the violence in the Valley but fell short of unpeeling the layers of cause and effect of this great betrayal.

Breaking his long silence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that young Kashmiris who should be holding books and laptops in their hands were instead given stones to hurl.

Metaphor

Just as India has azadi, the prime minister added, so does Kashmir. He used the word azadi, which resonates strongly in the Valley, as a metaphor: Kashmiris are as free as other Indians.

It was a call to all Kashmiris to join the Indian mainstream and reject the false narrative of those who wish to damage the plural and pacifist Sufi culture in which Kashmir has for centuries been immersed.

When I first visited Kashmir in the summer of 1978, the Valley was still a paradise on earth.

We stayed in a houseboat on Dal Lake and went on gentle rides in shikaras rowed by silent but smiling local Kashmiris.

The lake today has shrivelled to nearly half its size. The shikaras are often empty, their owners surly.

Development has passed Kashmir by.

In 2004, I interviewed then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed at his home. The roads were as narrow as they are today, the security as omniscient.

An unsmiling Mehbooba joined us for lunch in the Mufti's modest living room. The uneasy 2002-08 PDP-Congress alliance government was already under strain. Ghulam Nabi Azad would soon take over as rotating chief minister.

But neither the Mufti nor Azad did much for Kashmir's infrastructure, development or jobs.

Militancy was on the rise. In 2010 under Omar Abdullah's chief ministership, the Valley came to a boil. Over 110 people died in stone-pelting fury.

Four principal players have ensured that the Valley stays backward and violence-prone: the Pakistan army, Hurriyat separatists, political dynasts and local officials.

The Hurriyat was created by the Pakistan ISI in the early 1990s to be the voice of the Kashmiri people. It was of course a fraud.

The Pakistani ISI pays the Hurriyat separatists in cash every month. The Hurriyat separatists use Kashmir as commerce.

They have rapidly become wealthy landowners, moving into large bungalows and making a lucrative career out of damaging the centuries-old plural character of Kashmir.

Over 55 young Kashmiris have died in the recent violence. (Reuters)

Pakistan has no interest in Kashmir beyond fulfilling two objectives.

First, to wage a proxy war against New Delhi with Kashmir as a pretext to slow down India's rise as a global power.

Second, to use the "dispute" over Kashmir to prise billions of dollars from the United States.

If Pakistan cared about the Kashmiri people, it would have made Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) a heaven rather than the hell it is.

POK has few airports or railway stations. Its people have no freedoms or voice.

Separatists

The Hurriyat separatists use Kashmir as an ATM.

Paid agents of Pakistan, they have enriched themselves while causing misery and suffering to fellow Kashmiris.

Their children study in universities in the US and Europe while they instigate impoverished Kashmiri boys to wage jihad in the Valley.

Over 55 young Kashmiris have died in the recent violence. Hurriyat separatists stay far away in the safety of their opulent bungalows. Kashmir to them is about commerce, not ideology.

The third culprit in this quadrilateral of deceit are the political dynasts who have controlled Kashmir's governance for nearly 70 years.

The Abdullahs for three generations and the Muftis for two have played poker with the people of Kashmir.

Sheikh Abdullah had a tempestuous relationship with Jawaharlal Nehru.

Farooq Abdullah enjoyed a quieter one with Rajiv Gandhi, though the rigged 1987 J&K Assembly election is a taint on both.

Omar Abdullah and the two generations of Muftis, the late Mohammad Sayeed and Mehbooba, have more recently flirted with the Congress and the BJP, in the state and at the Centre.

All through this period, Kashmir has remained as backward as ever, kept afloat by an annual grant of nearly Rs 25,000 crore from New Delhi.

That amounts to Rs 1 lakh a year for each of J&K's 25 lakh families (assuming five members per family in the state's population of 125 lakh).

Violence

The fourth angle in Kashmir's quadrilateral of deceit is the cabal of local officials. They are often corrupt. Misgovernance is rampant.

Violence instigated by separatists ensures little or no accountability in the local bureaucracy.

On a visit to the Valley, I asked a senior executive of a mobile telecom firm why the private sector doesn't invest in the Valley.

BPOs, IT services companies and infrastructure firms, he said, have tried but the local administration is corrupt and incompetent. And there is the ever-present threat of violence.

Beyond parliamentary debates, farsighted governance is needed to pull the Kashmir Valley out of its self-perpetuating cycle of violence.

The BJP must build a counter-narrative in the Valley by focusing relentlessly on development.

Without lifting Kashmir out of its economic isolation and integrating it fully into a rapidly modernising India, insaniyat will remain a noble but hollow concept.

The Hurriyat and Pakistan have a single-point agenda: instigate terrorism in the Valley.

Insaniyat is the last thing on their fevered minds.
"Controlled polarisation haath se nikal gaya," a senior BJP leader ruefully explaining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent, rather theatrical, statements on the attack on Dalits by the so-called "gau rakshaks", told me.

Modi enjoys Special Protection Group (SPG) security; he's under no threat from any "gau rakshak". So, why say, "Target me, not Dalits"? Instead, why not use the full powers of the Indian state and come down hard on the vigilantes?

Trouble is, once the polarisation genie is out of the bottle, it's tough to control it.

Attacks on Dalits continue unabated. Two more were witnessed two days ago.

Dalits protest in Gujarat. (PTI)

This is the dilemma the BJP finds itself in after having used the holy cow much like the Ram temple issue. Modi milked what he described as the "pink revolution" for votes.

Yet now with the new coming of age of the fight for Dalit dignity, the fight for their votes is giving the BJP nightmares.

Former BJP minister and trenchant Modi critic Arun Shourie, in an exclusive interview to me, exclaims: "This is a brilliant protest by the Dalits in Una. It's historic moment. It's so Gandhian. I am glad I am witnessing it."

Shourie is referring to the Dalits decision not to handle dead cattle and instead leave the carcasses around public squares. The government has no answer to the protest as they are breaking no laws and there is no violence of any kind. Just a grim determination, as Shourie says, to "upend the historical order. And, take charge of their own destiny."

Senior BJP leaders are taken aback at the intensity of the Dalit revolt in Gujarat - something they had clearly never expected. They say that unlike Maharashtra, the Dalits in Gujarat were not remotely "militant" and accepted a role in the Hindutva fold.

The near leaderless protest as the Dalit revolution comes of age has taken all political parties by surprise.

Suresh Soni, one of the most senior RSS apparatchiks, who has just returned from a sabbatical, has been tasked by the RSS supremo, Mohan Bhagwat, to douse the Dalit fire and ensure that they do not "leave Hindu Samaj and convert".

The fears of division in the Hindu Samaj have ensured that the RSS has turned the screws and silenced all the voices of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other sister organisations which attacked Modi on his comments that "gau rakshaks" were "criminals".

Soni has ensured that absolute quiet is maintained and discipline not breached because of fears of mass conversions by Dalits in Gujarat, UP and Punjab to Buddhism or, the ultimate anathema to the RSS, Islam.

Intriguingly, plausible deniability, which has always been the BJP's stock in trade on controversial issues has been maintained.

Consider this.

Modi from both his two verified handles tweeted links to his Dalit speech, yet no senior BJP leader, including BJP president Amit Shah or Union home minister Rajnath Singh retweeted the speech.

It's almost an article of faith in the top echelons of government and BJP to faithfully retweet all that Modi tweets.

The BJP is trying to ensure that its core voter is not upset, yet guarantee that those voters who believed in "vikas" and gave it critical mass to ensure a simple majority, do not desert it.

Modi is aware of the anger of the base, but the BJP and Sangh believe that they have no other party to go to and will forgive the "Hindu Hriday Samrat" Modi for anything.

Significantly, while embracing the Dalit's pain as his own, Modi simply refused to show any empathy for the equally affected Muslims who were the first target of the vigilantes, starting from the murder of Akhlaq in Dadri over rumours of beef consumption.

If Modi had addressed the Muslims insecurities, it may have been an "Advani moment" for him, says a senior BJP leader referring to LK Advani's comments in Pakistan on Jinnah against which the Sangh revolted. Advani not only lost his job as the BJP president, but has never been forgiven by the RSS.

By not addressing Muslims, Modi is also hopeful of driving a wedge between the growing Dalit-Muslim unity witnessed recently in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. If the two large groups combine, the BJP hopes at the hustings will be a non-starter.

Assiduous attempts are being made to ensure that this tenuous bond is snapped. Shah is also alarmed that in UP, Muslims are joining BSP citing the "good law and order of Behenji's four tenures as CM".

The UP Dalits had voted in huge numbers for the BJP, taking its tally up to a record 72 seats in the General Elections. Mayawati had for the first time drawn a blank.

Now the Dalit sangharsh threatens the BJP's aspirations of forming a government in UP and retaining its Gujarat citadel.

Shah has a strategy planned with the induction of BSP defector Swamy Prasad Maurya in the BJP, who will do a planned series of mammoth "janhit sabhas" all over UP after August 15.

Maurya's script is clear. The BJP will do vikas for Dalits and they should empower Modi to form the government, both at the Centre and the state. Unlike on earlier occasions, Modi's OBC origins will not be a talking point as the UP Dalits and OBCs share an uneasy relationship, though the tea seller story will be milked.

Modi himself will address a huge number of rallies in UP and talk of the "pain and exploitation of his Dalit brothers by the regional parties". Baba Ramdev is also expected to canvass for the BJP in UP and talk about the sinister role of the opposition in trying to divide the Hindu Samaj.

The BJP will not project a CM face and will stake all on emotional speeches by Modi. After his return from China, Vietnam and Laos in September, Modi's schedule is centred entirely on UP and Gujarat.
Days after 9/11, a Sikh gas-station owner was murdered in Mesa, Arizona by a bigot, who allegedly mistook him for a Muslim.

Since then, we have heard and read about a number of attacks - physical, verbal, online - on Sikhs living in the West and in the Australian continent.

A deliberate explosion at a gurdwara in Essen, Germany occurred in April this year.

On August 5, 2012, an armed supremacist stormed a Sikh house of worship in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and killed six people inside.

Since Balbir Singh Sodhi's murder in Arizona post-9/11, various assaults on the members of the community and their holy sites in the developed world have been blamed on what's been called mistaken identity.

I don't fully agree there's any mistake - or rather any widespread ignorance - overseas about the Sikhs living there from decades to half-a-century to a century.

The desecration of the sacred Sikh writings in California should not be downplayed as a stray incident of religious disrespect perpetrated by some lone wolf.

Desecration of Sikh religious scripture reported in Union City of California (In pic: US police & Mayor at the spot) pic.twitter.com/MgFVRMRubI  ANI (@ANI_news) August 11, 2016

Instead, there appears to be a pattern, a common motive behind all these strikes, minor or major.

Every gurdwara in these nations, billed as finest democracies, is identified by a "Sikh Temple" sign.

How can attackers be mistaken when every gurdwara is identified by a "Sikh Temple" sign.

How can attackers then be mistaken?

And mind you, most of those who raided them or defaced them or desecrated them are not men of colour.

If I connect the dots from available news reports, it appears the attacks on Sikhs, one of the most visible and identifiable brown-skinned communities in the West and in Australia, are a manifestation of an aggressive homegrown far-right ideology brewing in those parts of the world.

That ideology is a likely reaction to Islamist terrorism entrenched in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa.

But this radical Right dogma is slowly taking a toll on the democratic values of American, European and Australian nations.

Perhaps, Donald Trump owes his rise as a serious candidate for the US presidency to the undercurrents of the same sentiments in his country.

Details are yet sketchy about the latest events in California.
I just happened to watch the much-shared Swachh Bharat campaign video, starring actress Kangana Ranaut, and was wondering why drag poor goddess Lakshmi, allegedly the giver of wealth and prosperity, to drive home the basic premise that cleanliness is next to godliness?

That too via such a garish and extravagant video, that must end with none other than the usual voiceover by Amitabh Bachchan?

I mean spitting and peeing in public spaces, littering the roads, scribbling on national monuments, throwing garbage onto the street or into the neighbour's compound and making your pet pee and defecate in a neighbourhood park, have frankly nothing to do with divinity, since they constitute common civic sense.

It just goes on to show how little we as a people care about our Bharat Mata and also each other, as ordinary citizens.

Also, what's with Kangana portrayed as a sexy, curly-haired, dolled up and glamorous Lakshmi? I feel it is utterly sexist.

How will a Bollywood personification of the usually rotund and matronly goddess lead us to cleaning up our act?

I can't help question why always the slanted reference to a goddess when it comes to delivering a public service message - and why must her portrayal always be as a nubile woman, oozing sexuality?

What kind of consciousness must be based on divine preaching and why must we always need to be corrected into righteousness via a religious route?

Why not Lord Indra or Vishnu then - hairy, pot-bellied, sprouting a bushy moustache or maybe, muscular, toned, six pack abs and sporting a bejewelled crown on their heads?

Is the Lakshmi intervention purely meant to titillate the end consumer and endorse a strong brand message, more so as Ranaut is currently the hottest property in B-town, and also because this is India where - be it spirituality, road safety or polio vaccination - celebs, and inversely sex appeal and star power, sell and how!

I can't help wonder if the ad that is viral on the internet, thanks to its starry-eyed entourage, will have any effect on the grim reality that confronts us every day.

This includes the rapid burning of fuelwood and biomass, absence of organized garbage and waste removal services, lack of water drainage and sewage treatment systems, diversion of consumer waste into rivers, cremation practises near major water bodies, polluting vehicles and operation of government-owned, high-emission plants.

While the much-publicised Incredible India tourism campaign, starring Aamir Khan, tried to sell the oft-used line, again with a holy inference - Atithi Devo Bhava - the ground reality is that tourist inflow, in the Capital alone, has slipped, according to a report released recently by the Union tourism ministry and the Delhi Police.

Delhi's tourism officials also revealed that after the Uber rape incident, the number of foreign tourists travelling to Delhi dwindled by 30-40 per cent.

And while we are still on the sacred, what about the rot rampant in our minds, the larger malaise plaguing civil society - the recent incident in Gurgaon of a four-year-old child molested by a 21-year-old attendant inside a school bus that flouted rules openly, operating without CCTVs or the watchful presence of a teacher/validated attendant. The is just one in many similar cases.

Which omnipotent goddess protects the girl child in India, a nation where, according to a statement by Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF's representative in the country, one in three rape victims is a child.

More than 7,200 children, including infants, are raped here annually, and these are only the cases that are reported.

Does cleanliness of the environment not also include moral integrity and the strictest legal punishment for perpetrators of child sexual abuse?

Does swachhata not call for clean up of sexual perversion and violence of the most inhumane kind?
5th Cir.: Mississippi's Gun Laws Trump Company Policy

In a case about the clashing of state laws and company policy with regards to firearms, the Fifth Circuit has sided with the state.

A man who, contrary to his employer's policy, kept a locked gun in his car in the company parking lot can sue for wrongful termination under Mississippi law, the Fifth Circuit ruled on Monday. The unanimous three-judge panel reversed a lower court finding that state public policy opinions couldn't trump employer's policy on guns, reviving Robert Swindol's lawsuit against his former employer, Aurora Flight Sciences Corp.

Swindol's Dismissal

Robert Swindol was an employee at Aurora Flight Sciences Corp. in Mississippi. One day, he came to work and locked a gun in his car in the company parking lot. When Swindol's employer found out about the gun, it terminated him and also issued a companywide warning that Swindol was a "security risk."

Swindol sued for wrongful termination and defamation. The trial court dismissed both of Swindol's claims with prejudice.

Applicable Law

Before so ruling, the Fifth asked the Mississippi State Supreme Court to weigh in. In its response to the Fifth's certified question, the state Supreme Court issued an opinion which said, in large part, that the state statute could make an employer within the state liable for wrongful discharge for a firing based on keeping a locked gun inside one's vehicle. As a result, a violation of Mississippi Code Section 45-9-55, the statute allowing employees to store their guns in their cars, can leave an employer liable when they fire an employee for doing just that.

The ruling isn't a total loss for gun-shy employers, though. Mississippi's highest court also said that state law ought to be understood to protect employers from legal exposure for any occurrences involving its employees and third parties and locked guns in employee cars.

Related Resources:
Does PTSD Qualify as a Disability Under the ADA?

By now, most of us have heard of PTSD -- posttraumatic stress disorder. Most commonly associated with soldiers returning from war, PTSD can occur in anyone exposed to a traumatic event, like gun violence, sexual assault, and extreme traffic collisions.

While PTSD is classified as a "trauma- and stressor-related disorder" in the latest edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, does that mean it is considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act? And, if so, does your small business need to provide accommodations for employees with PTSD?

Accommodating ADA

There are two prongs to ADA enforcement when it comes to small businesses. The first is the prohibition on employment discrimination against existing and prospective employees with disabilities. Employers may not discriminate based on disabilities when it comes to recruitment, hiring, training, promotions, pay, or social activities.

The second is the requirement that employers provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. Both prongs of the ADA only apply, however, to qualifying disabilities under the statute.

Perceiving PTSD

A qualifying disability is defined generally as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities." The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission specifically defined mental impairment as "any mental or psychological disorder" and confirmed that PTSD is covered under the ADA in a 2008 opinion letter.

An employee suffering from PTSD may have flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, increased tension, and be prone to outbursts. Reasonable accommodations to ease a PTSD-afflicted employee might include flexible scheduling to allow for counseling and treatment, telecommuting options, increased privacy in the workplace, or allowing a service animal at work.

To ensure that your small business is ADA-compliant, for those with PTSD and other disabilities, you should consult with an experienced employment law attorney. Contact one in your area today.

Related Resources:
U Khun Htun Oo said: The conference will only be successful if the public, military and democratic forces work together.

He urged the public to work together for achieving peace, democracy and national reconciliation.

We still need to work harder to establish a democratic federal union and prosperity of the country, which was the main goal of the 8888 Uprising. We, the ethnic alliance, have joined the UNFC (United Nationalities Federal Council) to have the same voice. We must work for unity of all ethnic people, Khun Htun Oo said--adding that Shan people must work for all the ethnic groups and the union and not just their own group.

During the 8888 Uprising, thousands that were mainly led by students took to the streets in 1988 to protest against the military government.

Starting last year, the Burma Army has conducted a series of heavy offensives against the SNLD despite the fact that the Shan armed group signed a ceasefire in 2012. The fighting has displaced thousands of villagers in northern Shan State.

Reporting by Sai Aung Saing for SHAN

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by BNI staff
The 100 workers  most of whom are from Shan State  each received a cheque for 9,000 baht (US$250) as compensation at Chiang Mai provincial hall today.

Local governor Pawin Chamniprasart hosted a ceremony to hand over the cheques.

I regret that you have not yet received the money you deserve, he said. However, we are working toward getting the employer to pay you.

Speaking to Shan Herald at the ceremony on Wednesday, Mwe Oo Nanta, an official from the Human Rights and Development Foundation and an assistant advisor to the Migrant Workers Federation, said she was working alongside Thai government agencies to take action against the company owner.

Now, some of the workers have received some compensation from the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare. But there are others who did not get paid, she said. Therefore, we will push harder to get the employers to pay the workers the money they deserve.

She added that, usually, migrant workers are too afraid to demand their rights and pursue these matters.

Sai Ling, a construction worker who laboured on a Perfetto site in Hang Dong, just south of Chiang Mai, said he felt better after receiving some compensation, adding that he and his co-workers could not find jobs after they were laid off because their work permits were registered with the old employer.

We have been facing so many difficulties, he said. We had to move out of our living quarters because the water and electricity was cut off. And we could not find jobs because our work permits would not allow it.

Nang Kong, another Burmese labourer who was laid off by the firm in December, said, I could not go outside for two months. It was so stressful because I had no money to feed my children.

Perfetto laid off a total of 195 workers on December 16, 2015. On January 28 and February 1, 2016, the workers submitted a petition to the DLPW, claiming 5,969,455.44 baht ($186,545) in unpaid wages and compensation.

The 195 labourers had been hired to work on three construction projects in Chiang Mai: Star Avenue 5, Diamant Condominium, and the Spring Condominium.

Chiang Mais DLPW said it sent a letter on March 28 to Perfetto Ltd Partnership Company, ordering them to pay the workers wages and compensation, but has so far seen no progress.

No representative of the Perfetto company was available for comment.
Austin James Wilkerson, a 22-year-old University of Colorado student, was convicted of raping a drunk woman. But he'll be released on probation after District Judge Patrick Butler said he "struggled, to be quite frank, with the idea" of imprisoning him.

Supporters of Wilkerson, as in the California case of Turner, appealed for leniency. Wilkerson's friends and family said the crime was a "traumatic incident" for him.

Prosecutors had sought a custodial sentence for the felony sexual assault charge, but Butler worried about "the kind of treatment" Wilkerson would receive in the prison system. Instead, Wilkerson will spend two years in Boulder County Jail on a program that allows him to leave during the day, and 20 years on probation.

"I don't know that there is any great result for anybody," Butler said. "Mr. Wilkerson deserves to be punished, but I think we all need to find out whether he truly can or cannot be rehabilitated." The victim, who was present at the hearing but left before the defense addressed the court, asked Butler to send Wilkerson to prison. "Have as much mercy for the rapist as he did for me that night," she told the judge.

The victim consumed alcohol on March 15, 2014; Wilkerson told her friends he would "make sure she was safe," then "isolated" and raped her, according to prosecutors.

Wilkerson admitted to investigators he'd made advances to the victim that night, "but that she rebuffed him each time, and that he felt 'pissed off' and called her a 'fucking bitch,'" according to court documents.

At his trial, his behavior was such that both Deputy District Attorney Caryn Datz and the judge used the same language to describe it: "entitled."

"Whether or not family and friends see that on a consistent daily basis, it's what I've at least noticed to be the theme of what I've been seeing and hearing," Butler said. "I do have some great concerns over, as I would describe it as, ways he tried to play the system."

But neither thatnor the victim's impassioned statementwas enough to convince the court that the rape deserved serious punishment. Butler did, however, say he admired her courage: "That kind of strength is really admirable. Without ever forgetting this happened, I hope she is able to find hope for the future."

Wilkerson's case echoes that of Stanford University rapist Brock Turner, who raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster only to receive a light jail sentence after a trial marked by observations, both in and out of court, of the suspect's privileged and entitled behavior. As then, the sheriff's department refused to release their booking mugshot (above) until after his sentencing.
Trump's buffoonery is so outrageous, you just couldn't make this stuff up. He may have topped himself in last night's performance at his rally in Sunrise, Florida, when he went on about how horrible it was that Hillary Clinton allowed the Orlando terrorist Omar Mateen's father to sit behind her at one of her rallies this last week.

"When you get those seats, you sort of know the campaign, so when she [Hillary Clinton] said, 'Well we didn't know'They knew!" Trump shouted. "Wasn't it terrible when the father of the animal that killed the wonderful people in Orlando was sitting with a big smile on his face?" Trump turned to the people behind him. "How many of you people know me? A lot of you know me!"

And here is the punchline. Disgraced animal ex-congressman Mark Foley was sitting right behind Trump at his rally, and even raised his hand to say that yes, he knows Trump. Mark Foley was a republican congressman from 1995-2006, but had to resign after he was caught sending explicitly sexual emails and instant messages to teenage boys. He and Trump have been chums since 1987.

So I guess it's okay to have a disgraced politician who personally knows you sit right behind you at a rally, at least if you're Donald Trump.
Looking at the world through the eyes of the Web
A Manassas man died Monday as a result of injuries sustained Thursday in a motorcycle crash that occurred in Fauquier County.

Virginia State Police Trooper C. R. Scally was monitoring traffic at about 8:26 p.m. when he observed a motorcycle traveling at a high rate of speed northbound on Route 17, police said. Scally recorded the vehicle's speed at 83 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Scally then attempted to stop the motorcycle, which was occupied by its male operator and a female passenger. The motorcycle began to elude the trooper by accelerating and illegally passing vehicles, according to the VSP. The pursuit continued north on Route 17 and then on Route 29 towards Warrenton.

At about 8:30 p.m., as the pursuit approached Route 880, the 2012 Suzuki motorcycle was in the right lane and came up behind a 2009 Cadillac, also in the right lane. The driver of the Cadillac heard the troopers siren and saw blue lights approaching and moved to the right to yield, police said. The motorcyclist attempted to pass on the right shoulder and sideswiped the Cadillac.

The motorcycle then went off the roadway to the right and both occupants were ejected.

According to the state police, Jose Marcelino Perez-Montero, 29, of Manassas, was transported to Fauquier Hospital and then flown to INOVA Fairfax Hospital. He died Monday morning at INVOVA Hospital as the result of injuries sustained in the crash. The motorcycle passenger, Whitney Symone Martin, 26, of Woodbridge, was flown to INOVA Fairfax Hospital. Her condition is not being released.

The driver of the Cadillac was uninjured.

Sergeant C. M. Crummett investigated the crash and was assisted by the Virginia State Police Crash Reconstruction Team, Fauquier County Sherriffs Department, VDOT and Fauquier County Fire and Rescue units.

The investigation is still ongoing and no charges have been placed at this time.
J. L. BELL is a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. He was consultant for an episode of History Detectives, and contributed to a display at Minute Man National Historic Park.
News / Local

by Thobekile Zhou

Zimbabwe People First (ZimFirst) national spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire has become the first Zimbabwean to be charged with cyber terrorism.He handed himself over to the police Law and Order section in Harare Thursday morning in the company of his lawyers.After hours of being tossed around, he was eventually charged.Zanu PF spin doctor Jonathan Moyo caused Mawarire's arrest over a Tweet.Said Mawarire on his official Twitter account "Released into the custody of my lawyers. Charged with contravention of section 88 (b) of the posts& tel Act Chpt 22:05.He added "contravention of sect 88(b) of the posts & telecomms Act for a tweet I made in response 2 Moyo attacks on Dr Mujuru."Jonathan Moyo did. He wrote a 3-paged affidavit using his night law school knowledge to press the charges".The Zimbabwean government, worried by what it terms social media abuse, is moving swiftly to updating its cyber laws, ostensibly to strengthen its spying activities on citizens.The Computer Crime and Cybercrime Bill seeks to impose stiff jail sentences on offenders."Any person, who unlawfully and intentionally generates, possesses and distributes an electronic communication with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, threaten, bully or cause emotional distress, degrade, humiliate or demean the person of another person, using a computer system or information system shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 10 or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both," the bill reads in part.Recently, the commander of the army, Lieutenant-General Philip Sibanda stepped in, saying the military is ready to deal with anyone using electronic means to mobilise people to do anything unlawful.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The protests that have rocked Zimbabwe - with the MDC and civic society plotting more - have rattled President Robert Mugabe, who has accused the organisers of ganging up to violently topple him from power.Addressing the crowd gathered at the national Heroes Day commemorations on Monday, 92-year-old Mugabe expressed worry that MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was mobilising Zimbabweans against him.He accused Tsvangirai of joining hands with organisations such as Tajamuka and the popular #ThisFlag anti-Mugabe movement led by cleric Evan Mawarire."I have heard Tsvangirai calling for a coalition with other organisations so that they can stage violent protests, saying that is the way they can be able to remove Zanu-PF from power," Mugabe said, adding that "we have no problem with opposition political parties campaigning to be visible and get support but we get worried when they mobilise for violence".Mugabe's concerns come as Zimbabweans have been protesting against his failed 36-year leadership.The protestors  who last week took to the streets demonstrating against government's plans to introduce bond notes and Mugabe's failure to fulfil his 2013 election campaign promise to create 2,2 million new jobs  are demanding that the nonagenarian immediately steps down.Last weekend, Tsvangirai led an anti-Mugabe MDC demonstration in Masvingo, which will culminate in a nationwide campaign.This also comes as Mugabe and Zanu-PF are at crossroads following deadly rebellions by former allies in the liberation war veterans' movement.Some of the war veterans have openly supported the riots and protests in Zimbabwe while at the same time demanding that Mugabe steps down for a younger leader. But Mugabe argued that by resorting to violent protests, Tsvangirai was acknowledging that he had failed to win power through legitimate means."Calling for a coalition for violence, why not wait for elections? Isn't that democracy that you purport to represent? Have you forgotten about it? Of course it's true; they have failed to get Zanu-PF out of power because it's a party with roots."Mugabe also accused Mawarire of inciting people to "violently" protest against government's decision to ban the importation of basic goods into the country."Statutory instrument 164 (of 2016) became an issue and it was hijacked by the likes of Mawarire. I don't even know where he came from, I only heard of him but there is no country in this world that does not have protective pieces of legislation"If a demonstration has been approved by the police let it be peaceful not the one by MawarireWe have people who have not changed. They stone our shops, our cars and even the police".
News / National

by Staff reporter

World Politics professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (OAS) University, London, Stephen Chan, says the current wave of protests against President Robert Mugabe - including the social media campaign #ThisFlag - are not good enough to cause a revolution similar to the one witnessed in the Arabic countries (Arab Spring).Crucially, he says change will come from Zanu-PF not opposition or pro-democracy groups; he speaks to Daily News' Senior Assistant Editor Guthrie Munyuki and below are the excerpts of the interview.Q: We have seen ructions in Zanu-PF over the unresolved succession issues, how are they likely to shape the future of Zanu-PF?A: Yes, these ructions will destroy Zanu-PF as the party of liberation. The war veterans have lost faith in Mugabe. Joice Mujuru, a genuine war heroine, has been purged. Emerson Mnangagwa, a hero of the struggle, has been under sustained attack.Those who will be left will have played no part in armed struggle. If that is the case, those who succeed Mugabe will need a successful policy programme, but all we see is struggle for succession and no policy programme.If Mnangagwa also falls, then the Zanu-PF of the 2018 elections will not be the same party of the 1980 independence elections.Q: At 92, President Robert Mugabe is considered to lack the stamina and energy he once had in keeping Zanu-PF intact, does his age underline the current squabbling in Zanu-PF?A: There is no major leader anywhere else in the world who is Mugabe's age.In China, which also venerates age, you cannot become a member of the Politburo or become President if you are over 60. You must have done that in your 50s and then the President only has two terms, so it is impossible to still be President in your 70s.But I think there is a misunderstanding here about age: it is not just that someone lacks the stamina and vigour of youth; it is much more that one takes into age the habits and mental processes of one's own youth.But a man who was in his 20s 70 years ago will not be able to understand the aspirations, technological environment, and complex future imaginings of those who are in their 20s today.In a way, it doesn't matter how much Zanu-PF squabbles, if the president and the entire party lose touch, at one and the same time, with its living liberation history and with the ability fully to understand the needs and aspirations of very young people.It then loses its past and its future and has only its squabbling present.Q: Is there any role left for him to play in keeping Zanu-PF together when one considers that he is now being identified with the G40 faction yet previously he would, at least publicly, maintain a neutral role.A: What is the G40? We in the West keep hearing of the G40, but we recognise not a single brilliant technocratic name; we recognise no one who has the intellectual capacity to rescue Zimbabwe.Whether Mugabe will come down firmly on the side of the G40 or not, my worry is that the G40 will not bring successful policies to Zimbabwe.Q: How significant is Mugabe's fall-out with the war veterans and how do you see things shaping (up) in Zanu-PF given the relationship that the ex combatants have with the military?A: To lose the war veterans is a disaster for Mugabe. They fought. They sacrificed. Who else carries the mantle of the men and women who suffered in the field against huge odds?I saw the Rhodesian war machine. It took huge courage to go up against that. Losing the veterans will mean, as I said, Zanu-PF is no longer the party of liberation.Q: For a long time Emmerson Mnangagwa was touted as the likely man to succeed Mugabe but there are doubts based on how he is being humiliated by juniors in the party while Mugabe's watches on. What's your take on that?A: I cannot read crystal balls. Perhaps this is not yet over. We shall see. But it is extraordinary to see a vice president treated this way.Q: What options are there for Mnangagwa and how does his relationship with the military and the war veterans help him in his bid in light of the current attacks by G40?A: Mnangagwa retains close links with the military, past and present.To alienate him may be to alienate very powerful other people. But a coup would be very bad for Zimbabwe.Whoever is president of Zimbabwe should be something for Zimbabweans to decide, not men in uniform. But I do think Zimbabwe is entering a tense moment.Q: The economy has remained in the doldrums, leading to strikes and protests as well as suggestions that Zimbabwe could have its own Arab Spring; Is Zimbabwe ready for this?A: There will be no Arab Spring. Besides, the Arab Spring brought nothing to the people of north Africa and only untold suffering to the people of Libya and Syria.People can wrap as many flags around themselves as they like.This battle will be fought in the great institutions of the country. Zanu-PF is one such institution. The army is another. I hope the judiciary will be another. And, if the church is to be an active institution in all this, it will take more than just one single Pastor.Q: Can the opposition political parties profit from this situation?A: The opposition parties have nothing I recognise as viable policy platforms either.Q: Is their grand coalition possible given that they seem to be hesitant and overly cautious in going towards this route?A: There will be no grand coalition. The opposition leaders are content to be princelings in their own courts. They are afraid that one of them might indeed become king.Q: Zimbabwe's face of the opposition for 16 years, Morgan Tsvangirai, is suffering from the cancer of colon, how does this impact his party's chances in future elections?A: Tsvangirai will no longer be a force in Zimbabwean politics. He has made his mark in history. He was a very brave leader of the opposition, and a far from perfect prime minister.Q: Do you see him having a role in the 2018 elections?A: No powerful or decisive role whatsoever.
News / National

by Staff reporter

As public anger against President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF continues to mount, radical pressure group Tajamuka/Sesijikile has filed a court suit seeking to have the increasingly frail nonagenarian removed from office over his alleged human rights abuses and violations of the country's Constitution.This comes as renowned political scientist Stephen Chan warned in an interview with the Daily News FROM P1stunning fall-out with war veterans - as well as ongoing attempts to drown the political career of embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa - could cost Zanu-PF its hold on power going into the eagerly-anticipated 2018 national elections.In the court case that Mugabe is now facing, Tajamuka spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi has filed a constitutional lawsuit demanding that Zimbabwe's long-ruling leader resigns over his alleged failure to uphold the country's Constitution.Interestingly, Mkwananzi did not just cite Mugabe as the first respondent in his court action, he also cited the beleaguered Mnangagwa as the second respondent, as the latter also doubles up as Justice minister."He (Mugabe) has admitted to committing human rights atrocities on his fellow citizens. Such conduct is not becoming of a leader or a person in the office of the 1st Respondent.He has no legal or moral basis to continue being entrusted with the duties of a custodian of the Constitution. This is in breach of section 90(1) and 90(2) of the Constitution," part of Mkwananzi's long affidavit reads.Among a litany of charges, Mugabe stands accused of threatening war veterans with violence after the former freedom fighters recently served divorce papers on the nonagenarian.Addressing a hastily convened meeting of Zanu-PF supporters at the ruling party's Harare headquarters last month, Mugabe warned the disaffected war veterans that they would be dealt with severely, including through the use of extra-judicial suppression methods that his former liberation movement incorporated during the country's independence war in the 1970s  such as incarcerating dissenters in inhuman dungeons where they were forced to live like caged rats.This was after the war veterans' executive issued a damning communique in which they effectively served divorce papers on the Zanu-PF leader whom they said was "a hard sell" for the 2018 elections.In his affidavit, Mkwananzi also vowed to provide video evidence in court to prove that Mugabe had threatened citizens when they recently protested against his misrule, in complete disregard of the Constitution."The utterances show that he or his party controls the police and they are his and he will use them as the agent to affect such systematic torture on citizens. Ordinarily, the defence forces are supposed to be non-partisan but he is now using them or threatening to use them on partisan grounds to torture citizens."In his speeches, he actually uses them as a guarantee to his control over other citizens and he insinuates that they (the police) will enforce the party's agenda. He is abusing his office as commander in chief of the defence forces to subvert the Constitution," he argued further.Mkwananzi also said owing to the many violations, citizens no longer felt that they had the right to air their views on political matters because to Mugabe, "a different opinion is nonsense which he will not tolerate"."This is in breach of his duty to 'respect the diversity of the people and communities of Zimbabwe' in terms of section 90 (2) (d). The 1st Respondent has no right to ban demonstrations in Zimbabwe as long as they are conducted in terms of the Constitution."He cannot threaten citizens who defect from him or his political party with punishment 'in bunkers' 'likes rats'. He has gone to the extent of treating citizens as enemies if they don't agree with him," he argued.Mkwananzi also said while it was Mugabe's duty to promote national unity and reconciliation, as well as maintain order, peace, stability and devotion to the well-being of the country and all its people, "the same protector is now the chief threat to these ideals"."If his conduct is not checked and regulated, this nation, its hopes, aspirations and its people would be steered into a sea of hatred, war and instability."It is only this honourable court that can put an end to this hate speech and factionalism by declaring such conduct to be unconstitutional and contrary to the 1st respondent's core duties as provided in section 90 of the Constitution. Unabated, this hate speech and threats can degenerate into chaos and potential genocide," Mkwananzi prayed."It is my respectful contention that the president cannot threaten citizens and expect them to cower to his demands without such conduct being brought to book. We did not vote a dictator into power, but I fear that circumstances and our silence might end up creating one," he added.Meanwhile, world politics expert Stephen Chan has warned that Zanu-PF could lose its liberation fear factor going into the keenly-awaited 2018 national elections.Chan spoke as war veterans boycotted joining Mugabe at the Heroes Acre on Monday, as Zimbabwe remembered those who died and sacrificed their lives during the country's protracted liberation struggle."To lose the veterans is a disaster for Mugabe," Chan told the Daily News in an exclusive interview, adding: "They fought, they sacrificed. Who else carries the mantle of the men and women who suffered in the field against huge odds?"I saw the Rhodesian war machine. It took huge courage to go up against that. Losing the veterans will mean, as I said, Zanu-PF is no longer the party of liberation".War veterans have been one of Mugabe's and Zanu-PF's strongest pillars of support over the past five decades, playing particularly significant roles to keep the nonagenarian in power in the hotly-disputed 2000 and 2008 elections which were both marred by serious violence and the murder of hundreds of opposition supporters."Yes, these ructions will destroy Zanu-PF as the party of liberation. The war veterans have lost faith in Mugabe. Joice Mujuru, a genuine war heroine, has been purged. Emmerson Mnangagwa, a hero of the struggle, has been under sustained attack."Those who will be left will have played no part in (the) armed struggle. If that is the case, those who succeed Mugabe will need a successful policy programme, but all we see is a struggle for succession and no policy programme."If Mnangagwa also falls, then the Zanu-PF of the 2018 elections will not be the same party of the 1980 independence elections," Chan observed.Zanu-PF is riven by serious infighting pitting two factions  Team Lacoste that is rallying behind Mnangagwa and the Generation 40 group which is opposed to the embattled VP succeeding Mugabe.Team Lacoste says Mnangagwa is the right candidate to succeed Mugabe should the veteran leader fail to complete his term or step down, while the party's young Turks, the G40, want the nonagenarian to remain at the helm at whatever cost.The war veterans also favour Mnangagwa to take over and have warned that there could be bloodshed if the man nicknamed Ngwena (crocodile) does not succeed Mugabe.However, the Midlands godfather has distanced himself from both the war veterans and Team Lacoste, although political analysts say this is merely a tactical move to manage his relationship with Mugabe.Chan said Mugabe should have paved way for new blood a long time ago, and that his continued reign and old age were militating against the country's development."There is no major leader anywhere else in the world who is Mugabe's age. In China, which also venerates age, you cannot become a member of the politburo or become president if you are over 60," Chan told the Daily News.
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) reporter Richard Chidza has been summoned by notorious Officer Commanding CID Law and Order Division Detective Assistant Commissioner Crispen Makedenge, to the Harare Central police station, the publication has said.NewsDay website said, Chidza who once sought political office in last elections under MDC-T banner was accompanied by secretary Sifikile Thabete.""(Chidza) has been called in connection with the stinging communique issued by war veterans weeks ago demanding that President Robert Mugabe steps down from power,"" reads part of a brief report.It is not immediately clear if police will arrest the reporter or will just question him, NewsDay reported.President Robert Mugabe called for a thorough investigation to the source of the origins of the statement that called for his resignation.Mugabe pledged harsh punishment on the 'culprits'.This comes a day after three suspected soldiers stormed AMH chairman, Trevor Ncube's Harare home and allegedly harassed his domestic staff and relatives, as State intimidation against suspected dissenting voices continues.
The Ioniq has the 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder, petrol engine, under the hood, that churns out 105 hp of power and 147 Nm of torque and comes mated to a 6-speed dual clutch transmission.

Car makers have been scratching on the surface of electric and hybrid vehicles with a hope to tap and pioneer into this still young yet future market. So, the Hyundai too seems to want to launch its Ioniq plug-in hybrid in India.

The Ioniq is offered in three states of electrified formsthe hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric. Of the three, the Korean carmaker has been contemplating the launch of Ioniq plug-in hybrid variant for the Indian market.

When launchedlikely by next yearthe coupe-type-sedan-length-hatchb ack will also benefit through the incentives offered via FAME (Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles in India) scheme, which the Hyundai might transfer onto its buyers via affordable pricing.

The Ioniq has the 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder, petrol engine, under the hood, that churns out 105 hp of power and 147 Nm of torque and comes mated to a 6-speed dual clutch transmission. The hybrid-mate is the estimated 45kW (60 bhp) electric motor, backed up by an 8.9kWh polymer lithium-ion battery. Also, the estimated all-electric range of the electric department is 50km. The charging portal for the battery can be found in the left fender.

The Ioniq plug-in hybrid will feature the bold hexagonal front-grille typical of the modern new-generation Hyundai. The exterior is built on the Hyundais fluidic design concept. The LED headlamp is studded with vertical C-shaped LED DRLs.

The all-black interiors get matte-finish-silver accents, while the headliner and the carpet use eco-friendly materials drawn from sugarcane and even volcanic stone. The electronic equipment come in the form of the 7.0-inch infotainment system with 1280 x 720p resolution TFT display that flashes the speed, fuel level and the riding mode. Rear view camera, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are the other electronic equipment fitted to offer technological convenience.

Though the Toyota Prius was received with a lackluster response and hence was subsequently discontinued, the Hyundai is expected to price the Ioniq plug-in hybrid competitively to gain a better share of the Indian market.

Source: Vicky.in
News / Regional

by Staff reporter

Former freedom fighter and Home Affairs minister - Dumiso Dabengwa - has warned war veterans against taking sides with politicians at the expense of their values which he said have been demeaned.Dabengwa was speaking at Lady Stanley Cemetery where he was a guest of honour at the tombstone unveiling of former freedom fighter Philemon Ncube Mabuza.Mabuza was a Zapu activist who took part in the war operations of the 1960s."The year 2016 will be remembered as the year in which those who have ears to hear finally understand that a repressive political system is like a double-edged razor-blade that cuts in all directions," Dabengwa told the gathering."It will cut even the most vicious eventually when they oppose aspects or specific practices of the ruling clique. Those who have been used to vilify their own comrades have been treated like used tissue paper that can be thrown away at will."I hope that these lessons are taken very seriously so that we can have a political order that does not seek to make and unmake people's heroism at will. Liberation heroes should not accept to be moved back and forth from heroes to villains and vice versa," he added.Dabengwa spoke as President Robert Mugabe's fall-out with the war veterans resulted in them boycotting this year's Heroes Day celebrations across the country.The former freedom fighters ended their long-time relationship with their patron after growing disillusioned.Mugabe has not taken kindly their divorce and launched a brutal crackdown against the war veterans' leadership.Dabengwa paid tribute to Mabuza whom he said contributed immensely to the liberation struggle but was overlooked from being buried at the National Heroes Acre."The timing of today's commemoration of ... Mabuza is very symbolic because on this day (August 8) Zimbabwe is observing the national Heroes Day," said Dabengwa."However, it is easy to devalue the true meaning of 'heroes' when the criteria for official designation as a hero are not uniformly applied."It is not a nice thing to disrespect the memory of those who may be wrongly designated for heroism they never showed or have not been convincingly documented to have."Worse still, when highly-deserving cases like Mabuza are omitted in the designation of 'heroes', it is difficult to avoid mentioning that there are many less-deserving cases that are today either at the National Heroes Acre or in the provincial resting places for heroes," Dabengwa added.The Zapu leader paid tribute to former freedom fighters whose remains are interred at Lady Stanley describing them as loyal cadres who gave everything for their country."In Lady Stanley today we are in the company of other heroes like Lookout Masuku, Richard 'Gedi' Dube, Amos 'Jack' Ngwenya, and others who could not pass the test of political correctness of the Zanu-PF establishment who define heroism by loyalty to a current political leadership," said Dabengwa."Others like Thenjiwe Lesabe are buried elsewhere but their memory is better kept clean than being tainted by vetting in the hands of undeserving judges of political worthiness."A ceremony like this gives us a chance to put a brick in the wall of remembrance to help keep sacred sacrifices that no political hanky-panky can permanently obscure."Dr Joshua Nkomo put it eloquently at the funeral of Lookout Masuku in this same ground in Lady Stanley when he pointed out that heroes are not made by declarations but their own deeds."
Total income from operations was up marginally at Rs 3,194.36 crore.

New Delhi: Diversified company Aditya BirlaNuvo today reported 56.79% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 305.15 crore in the first quarter ended on June 30, 2016.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 706.23 crore in the April-June quarter of 2014-15. Total income from operations was up marginally at Rs 3,194.36 crore during the period under review as against Rs 3,188.22 crore of the corresponding quarter of the previous quarter, Aditya Birla Nuvo (ABNL) said in a BSE filing.

"... net profit at Rs 305 crore de-grew year-on-year due to reduction of ABNL's share in Idea's net profit by Rs 148 crore. Net profit of Idea Cellular declined from Rs 855 crore to Rs 220 crore due to rise in interest and amortisation costs pertaining to the spectrum acquired in the earlier years,"

ABNL said. ABNL's revenue from life insurance segment was down 0.74 per cent to Rs 1,060.30 crore as against Rs 1,068.23 crore of Q1 of FY 2015-16.

Income from other financial services was up 43.32% to Rs 918.48 crore during the quarter as against Rs 640.82 crore of the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.

Textiles segment revenue was down 14.70% to Rs 351.59 crore in the quarter under review as against Rs 412.19 crore in the year ago period.

Similarly, revenue from agri-business was down 25.41 per cent to Rs 500.96 crore in the quarter under review as against Rs 671.66 crore in year ago period.

While Rayon Yarn was up 4.84 in April-June quarter to Rs 257.66 crore as against Rs 245.76 crore of the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.

Revenue from insulators was down 20.28% to Rs 120.12 crore as against Rs 150.69 crore of the April-June quarter of FY 2015-16.

Shares of ABNL today settled at Rs 1,565.70 at BSE, up 3.50% from previous close.
The Department of Telecom has put all spectrum trading, sharing and liberalisation deal on hold till the end of auction scheduled to start from September 29.

New Delhi: Bharti Airtel has acquired rights to use 4G airwaves of Aircel in seven out of eight telecom circles under their Rs 3,500-crore spectrum trading deal.

"...with respect to the acquisition of rights to use 20 Mhz 2300 band BWA spectrum from Aircel, Bharti Airtel Ltd has now informed BSE that the proposed transaction has been successfully concluded for Orissa circle following the receipt of all necessary approvals and satisfying all the conditions," the company said in a regulatory filing.

Airtel has entered into the Rs 3,500-crore deal with Aircel to acquire rights to use the latter's 4G spectrum in eight telecom circles -- Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, North East, Orissa and and Andhra Pradesh.

Airtel already has completed the transaction in six circles of Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam and North East. The spectrum trading deal related to the Andhra Pradesh circle is yet to complete.

For Orissa circle, Airtel had to surrender 1.2 Mhz spectrum, worth around Rs 38 crore for approval as it breached the spectrum limit after taking into account Aircel's spectrum.

The deal makes Airtel second largest holder of 4G spectrum in 2300 Mhz band after Reliance Jio Infocomm, which holds the 4G spectrum in all 22 circles of the country.

Meanwhile, the Department of Telecom has put all spectrum trading, sharing and liberalisation deal on hold till the end of auction scheduled to start from September 29.
New Delhi: Levelling charges against Trai of "tilting the playing field" and newcomer Reliance Jio of bypassing regulations, existing operators' body COAI has sought meetings with the Prime Minister's Office as well as the Telecom Minister to raise these issues with them.

It has been up in arms against Trai's consultation paper on call connect charges calling the move "unfair on incumbent operators", and has questioned the regulator's urgency in initiating the process of interconnect review, claiming that it "favours new entrants".

"We will meet Secretary, Department of Telecom (DoT), JS Deepak tomorrow. We will highlight the issue that we see Trai's opinion tilting the playing field," COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews told PTI.

"DoT as a licensor is responsible for ensuring level playing field... In this context, we will also be taking up our concerns related to RJio," he added.

He said the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has also sought a meeting with the Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, and the PMO to highlight the matter but it is yet to hear from them.

A war of words has broken out between existing telecom operators and Reliance Jio after COAI called the latter's testing of network a bypass of regulations, with the Mukesh Ambani firm hitting back saying the charge is a bid to block its rollout.

COAI, which has members including Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone, on August 8 wrote to the Department of Telecom (DoT) demanding that Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) or RJio immediately stop all connections provided to 1.5 million users because it had allegedly bypassed regulations by offering full-fledged services under the guise of test connections.

RJio has hit back in a 8-page letter saying COAI charges were "malicious, unfounded, ill-informed, and frivolous and are contrary to actual facts" and was "promoting the vested interests of the incumbent dominant operators".

A senior RJio official alleged telecom operators of "artificially and illegally" blocking its network in "an anti-competitive manner".

"RJIL has already extended the media to the other operators' premises at its own cost. However, the other operators, instead of augmenting the point of interconnections (PoIs), are blocking the POI augmentation, on various unreasonable grounds," the company said in the letter.

It said due to insufficient interconnection, even the existing 15 lakh test users are experiencing 65 per cent call failures owing to congestion at PoIs.

On Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Mathews said: "On many of the consultation papers brought out by TRAI, the topics that are selected seem to be favouring new entrants, to the detriment of the existing mobile operators."

He said that such contentious discussion papers included the recent one on Interconnection Usage Charge or IUC, as well as those on service quality, differential pricing, and free data.

Besides Mathews, other association members who would be attending the meeting with Telecom Secretary are COAI Chairman, Gopal Vittal (MD & CEO - India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel) and Vice Chairman Sunil Sood (MD & CEO, Vodafone India).
Mumbai: RBI today said bank employees involved in marketing third party retail products and wealth management services "must necessarily undergo" an appropriate certification process to check mis-selling and minimise customer complaints.

In cases where other financial sector regulators have prescribed any certifications, these must be complied with as part of capacity building in banks and financial institutions (Exim Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI), it said.

In July 2014, RBI had set up a 'Committee on Capacity Building' with the objective of implementing non-legislative recommendations of the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) relating to capacity building.

The panel made extensive suggestions related to overall Human Resource Management (HRM), as also specific recommendations on areas like recruitment, performance assessment and promotion.

RBI said "it is felt" that recommendations pertaining to the banks may be implemented by them based on their organisational objectives and business strategies, after taking approval from their respective boards.

"Banks should identify specialised areas for certification of the staff manning key responsibilities," it said, while listing recommendations for implementation.

To begin with, RBI said the banks should make acquiring of a certificate course mandatory for treasury operations, mid-office operations, risk management, accounting and credit management.

"The employees working in the aforementioned areas should be asked to acquire certifications within a specified period, say, 6 months," it said, adding that banks are free to require certification for other areas also.

The issue of setting up of an accreditation agency for assuring and accrediting learning initiatives within the banking industry is being examined separately, it added. In the interim, Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has been

requested to identify in consultation with RBI and provide to its members, by end December 2016, a list of institutions and courses that will meet the certification requirements for different work areas mentioned above.

For this exercise, IBA may form an expert group comprising such agencies, institutions as it deems necessary. After the release of the list by the IBA, the banks should identify the courses/certifications that are suitable for their operations and put in place a board-approved policy, mandating obtainment of such certifications by its employees working in the respective areas.

The banks should ensure that by end-March 2017, the employees in relevant areas have commenced the process of obtaining necessary certifications, it said.

"It is expected that, w.e.f. April 1, 2018, staff will have first obtained the requisite certification before being posted in the above mentioned functional areas," it added.
New Bill: A new bill that seeks to raise maternity leave to 26 weeks from 12 weeks may add some cost to employers, but it will motivate women employees to work harder and boost their participation in workforce, a top government official said today.

Yesterday, the Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval to the amendments made to the Maternity Benefits Act that aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

"We are introducing a law which will provide better maternity benefits to women. We are enhancing maternity leaves from 12 weeks to 26 weeks," Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal said at a retail summit organised by the Retailers Association of India.

Stating that there are views that this will add to employer cost because of paid leaves, he said: "There is no doubt about that, but that will motivate your women employees to work harder and give better productivity".

He said the government has come up with a model Shops and Establishments Act that allows women to work in night shift and asked the retailers to ensure safety of women workforce.

The official highlighted that government has introduced a new bill that allows workers to have overtime of up to 100 hours per quarter from the earlier 50 hours. That apart, the government has enacted a law on child labour under which no child below 14 can be employed.

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her of a full paid absence from work, to take care for her child.

It is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons and the amendments will help around 1.8 million women workforce in the organised sector.

The amendments include increasing maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two children, 12 weeks maternity leave to a 'Commissioning mother' and 'Adopting mother' and mandatory provision of creche in respect of establishment having 50 or more employees, an official statement had said.

Talking about the retail, Aggarwal said the sector can play an important role in creating decent job opportunities by expanding their presence in small towns.

He assured full government support to make the sector globally competitive in terms of quality and pricing, while asking retailers to help young professionals in setting up their own enterprises.

Aggarwal said India is the fastest growing economy in the world, but felt that growth needs to be inclusive by bringing SC/STs, women and minorities in the mainstream.
India is the third largest investor in the UK.

New Delhi: UK Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark has called for stronger bilateral trade ties with India and asked British companies to take advantage of opportunities the country presents.

Clark, who was on a visit to India earlier this week held talks with Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Minister Piyush Goyal and Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, discussed the business relationship between the two countries.

The meetings discussed future cooperation between the two nations and "considered ways to develop even stronger trade links following the UK's vote to leave the European Union," Clark's office said in a statement.

"The UK has a long-standing trade relationship with India and we want this to grow and prosper. That is why I wanted to meet with government ministers and key business leaders in the country to make clear that the UK is open for business and will continue to thrive on the world stage," the statement quoted him as saying.

Stating that the UK is already the largest G20 investor in India, he said the two countries "would mutually benefit from working together, particularly in the energy sector."

India is the third largest investor in the UK.

"The UK is already the largest G20 investor in India and I want to nurture these trade links further, deepening our co-operation on areas such as energy and infrastructure," he said.

The Business and Energy Secretary's visit to India was the first by a UK Cabinet Minister since Theresa May became Prime Minister.
Mutual Funds are investment vehicles made up of a pool of funds collected from a large number of investors and invest in stocks.

New Delhi: Equity mutual fund schemes witnessed an inflow of over Rs 2,500 crore in July, taking the total to nearly Rs 12,000 crore in the ongoing financial year.

"Open-ended equity fund net sales were positive last month," Bajaj Capital National Head Mutual Funds Anjaneya Gautam said.

According to data from Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), equity funds, which also include equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS) saw net inflow of Rs 2,506 crore in July, higher than Rs 320 crore in the preceding month.

Prior to that, equity schemes had witnessed an inflow of Rs 4,438 crore and Rs 4,721 crore in April and May respectively. With this, equity funds saw Rs 11,985 crore coming in during April-July Period of the current financial year.

In comparison, such funds had seen a net inflow of Rs 39,066 crore during April-July period of 2015-16 fiscal. The latest inflow has pushed the assets under management (AUM) of equity mutual fund to a record high of Rs 4.5 lakh crore at the end of July from Rs 4.28 lakh crore in June-end.

Overall, AUM of the industry, comprising 42 active players, also reached to an all time high of Rs 15.2 lakh crore at the end of last month from Rs 13.81 lakh crore in June-end.

"The growth in industry AUM can be attributed to average equity index (BSE Sensex) growth of about 3.7 per cent in July over the preceding month," Gautam said.

Mutual Funds are investment vehicles made up of a pool of funds collected from a large number of investors and invest in stocks, bonds and money market instruments, among others.
Hyderabad: Swedish home furnishing major IKEA  the largest foreign investor in single brand retail  is all set to Indianise itself to cater to consumers with highly diverse tastes and profiles. The company on Thursday held groundbreaking ceremony for its first store in the country here. There is a high level of diversity in India. We have visited several homes in different cities in India, so that we dont give different solution to the entire India. In the process, for example, we realized that kitchen products are different in India. So we combine local function and IKEA design. So if you go an IKEA story in India and another IKEA store in say Sweden, you will find that IKEAs style is the same but things are different, Juvencio Maeztu, chief executive officer, IKEA India, told this newspaper.

The Hyderabad store is expected to come up here by the end of 2017 in an area of 4 lakh sq ft with an investment outlay of `700 crore. IKEA is pulling out all stops to make Hyderabad  its first store in India  a hugely successful. The company, which is known for its ready-to-assemble furniture, might have found a great dilemma. Indians are not used to assembling furniture by themselves. Mr Maeztu, however, claims IKEA has found a solution.

For those customers, who cant assemble their furniture themselves, IKEA will assemble it for them. We are going to have our staff and some other partner firms, who would provide this service. Having said this, our furniture would be made available in ready to assemble format as it allow customer to save on assembling. Flat packaging will also allow us to save on logistics and keep prices low, he said. IKEA will hire 500 direct co-workers and another 1,500 engaged in providing services around the store. The company also plans to expand their procurement from India.
New Delhi: The fight between old telecom players and newcomer Reliance Jio has now reached the doorsteps of PMs office. Existing operators' body COAI has sought meeting with the Prime Ministers Office as well as the telecom minister on allegations of Trai tilting the playing field and newcomer Reliance Jio of bypassing regulations.

COAI has been up in arms against Trais consultation paper on call connect charges calling the move unfair on incumbent operators, and has questioned the regulators urgency in initiating the process of interconnect review, claiming that it favours new entrants. The slew of consultation papers brought out by TRAI, the topics that are selected seem to be favouring new entrants, to the detriment of the existing mobile operators, said Mr Mathews.

COAI has written on these allegations to the PMO and sought an appointment. COAI has members including Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone. We will meet Telecom minister Manoj Sinha and Secretary, DoT, Mr J.S. Deepak tomorrow. We will highlight the issue that we see Trai's opinion tilting the playing field, COAI Director General Rajan S. Mathews said. He said that the association is yet to get a response from PMO. DoT as a licensor is responsible for ensuring level playing field. In this context, we will also be taking up our concerns related to RJio, said Mr Mathews.
Does anyone have an inkling that Kerala actress Kala Kalyani is the girl who played Nayantharas close buddy in Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal? Calculating the time and space since her debut film, Kalas growth as an actress in just two years is quite impressive. Now, she is the leading lady in Engeyum Naan Iruppen, helmed by Malayalam director Benny Thomas, who is gearing up to release his maiden Tamil venture in September.

The actress plays a pampered little sister of four brothers, whose life turns topsy-turvy once she falls for a boy. The catchy script attracted me to the film that gives much prominence to my role. Its a real story and has suspense ingredients to keep the viewers on the edge of the seat till the end. The movie absorbs the rustic charm in all its grace and Im a tip-to-toe village belle, she quips.

A classical dancer by profession, Kala shifted base to Chennai three years ago and opened a dance school. She is unwilling to compromise for anything short of a worthwhile character. In a sentence, I can tell my selection of movies  I am choosy. This is a role I have been waiting to do. Tamil industry has plenty of room for the kind of roles I am looking for and will fit into. The language is so comfortable for me. I still listen to scripts, but I have my reservations for not taking the route to fame through onscreen intimacy or skin show, she says while throwing light on her decision as she hails from a conservative background. Although Engeyum Naan Iruppen has yet to hit the screens, the actress has already signed her next film in Tamil, which will roll in October.
News / Regional

by Thobekile Zhou

Zimbabwe People First (ZimFirst) National Spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire has expressed his frustration at the hands of the police in Harare.Mawarire was on Wednesday summoned by the dreaded Police Law and Order for questioning "in connection with Minister Jonathan Moyo"".Mawarire took to microblogging site Twitter to pour out his emotions."At Harare Central law & order now. The investigating officer is refusing to tell my lawyer the charge. Say he is busy on "something".He added an hour later, "It's an hr now. Still to be charged. Officers going up & down in meetings. Inonzi Zimbabwe".On Wednesday, he joked saying he could be, "The first to be charged of cyber terrorism"".Its is not clear whether Jealous Mawarire is related to Passtor Mawarire of the #ThisFlag protest movement.
In 2005, way before he turned director and producer, Arbaaz Khan was busy shooting for his debut film in Tollywood. He played the role of a villain in the Chiranjeevi-starrer Jai Chiranjeeva.

Now, after a gap of 11 years, hes back to the Telugu film industry with yet another negative role. However, this time he will be starring opposite the young Raj Tharun.

Why did he go missing from Tollywood? I didnt get good offers after Jai Chiranjeeva. Even though direction and production gave me due recognition, I couldnt live up to my own expectations when acting was concerned. I also believe that since my debut in the Telugu film industry wasnt a hit, I didnt receive offers as expected, says Arbaaz, who is in the city to shoot for his upcoming film Tera Intezaar with Sunny Leone.

Talking about his Telugu film that will be directed by Vamsi Krishna, he says, We have already shot the introduction scene and it is wonderful to work with such a young and talented director.

Despite starring with big stars and even directing them, Arbaaz has no qualms about acting with Raj Tharun, who is very new to the film industry. Working with a new comer is not a problem. The role I am offered is important. That said, Raj is a very good actor and I have no apprehensions working with him, he explains.

Before Arbaaz was chosen for the project, the filmmakers had approached Govinda for the same role.

Govinda was offered the role in the early stage of the movie, but I am not replacing him. If Govinda would have played the role, his approach would have been very different when compared to mine. The director has reworked the character in such a way that it suits me, says Arbaaz.

Since this is his second Telugu project, has he picked up the language? I find it difficult. Though I have picked up a few phrases like number chepu, he says with a laugh. Coming back to an industry after 11 long years means working in a new environment, how much has Tollywood changed since 2005?

People have become far more professional, as time and budget play an important role. These days if its a three-day shoot then the cast and crew makes it a point to finish it within that time frame. Wastage of time has become minimal, he says.

Apart from this film Arbaaz has many other films that hes a part of. He is working with Sunny Leone in Tera Intezaar and also with Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Freaky Ali.

He says, Working with Sunny feels great. She is a wonderful woman and is hardworking. Working with Nawaz was amazing as well. We have managed to become good friends off-screen too. The trailer has got a good response and I am looking forward to the films success.
One of Doig's well known works on display in New York (Photo: AFP)

CHICAGO - Artist Peter Doig is famous for somewhat strange landscape paintings that fetch millions of dollars, but he has disowned one particular desert scene. Is he telling the truth, or trying to hide from an embarrassing past? A US federal judge in Chicago will decide.

Robert Fletcher, a retired Canadian corrections officer who owns the disputed desert landscape painting, is suing Doig for refusing to acknowledge that the painting is one of his works -- which means its value is significantly diminished.

Fletcher claims the refusal cost him millions of dollars in an auction sale. He is seeking damages from Doig that could add up to millions of dollars, as well as a court ruling that the painting is authentic. Doig contends that he was nowhere near the prison where Fletcher says they met, and where he allegedly created the work.

He says he has the documents to prove there is in fact a Peter Doige -- with the extra e -- who painted the scene. The unusual case is stirring up the art world, and experts say it could set a dangerous standard that would leave artists at risk for costly settlements.

"The specifics of this case are pretty unusual," said Matthew Biro, a professor of modern and contemporary art at the University of Michigan. It could definitely set a precedent," he said, "If Doig loses this case, what would stop other collectors who feel they have found a multi-million-dollar painting to find backing to sue artists to agree to it?"

Biro says the case brings to light the increasingly speculative nature of the art world, in which works are bought and sold as investments. Amy Whitaker, a professor of art business at New York University, expressed concern about the burden of proof.

"There's somehow an implication in the lawsuit itself that the artist is responsible for guaranteeing the value of an artwork," Whitaker said."That is in no way shape or form the responsibility of the artist."

Are Doig and Doige the same man?

The facts of the case date back to the 1970s, when Fletcher says he met a man named Peter Doige, who was later imprisoned at the facility where Fletcher worked for possession of LSD.

Fletcher says he remembers being impressed by one of Doige's paintings of a desert landscape in golden hues -- an acrylic painting on linen. He bought it for $100 in the hopes of keeping Doige from going back to selling drugs.

Decades later, a friend saw the painting hanging in Fletcher's home and said it was in fact the work of Peter Doig, whose creations can command $10 million at auction. Fletcher spoke with Chicago-based art dealer Peter Bartlow, who agreed to sell the work.

"There can be no question that the disputed painting was painted by the hand of Peter M. Doig," Bartlow wrote in a report to the court. Bartlow, who is a co-plaintiff in the case, said his decision was based on "several idiosyncratic forms" attributable to Doig's paintings, such as the "color and texture of the paint." Fletcher and Bartlow tried to auction the painting, but were thwarted when Doig denied having painted it.

They asked Doig to provide proof by offering details of his whereabouts between 1976 and 1978 -- the time period when they say the sale occurred. No proof was forthcoming, they say.

So Fletcher and Bartlow sued Doig in 2013, claiming that Doig and Doige are one and the same.

Mistaken identity?

Their attorneys suggested Doig's denials may be rooted in embarrassment over his imprisonment. They have claimed he has a history of lying about his past. As proof, Fletcher's lawyers have pointed to a number of intriguing similarities between the Peter Doige that Fletcher knew and the artist Peter Doig.

They said both Doige and Doig had been in Canada in the 1970s and the artist Doig has previously admitted to LSD use. "Three of his famous paintings, 'Windowpane,' 'Blotter,' and 'Orange Sunshine,' bear titles that are street names for varieties of LSD," attorney William Zieske wrote in a court filing.

But Doig maintains the case is a matter of mistaken identity. He said he has never met Fletcher and that he was never jailed in Canada. His lawyers say police records back up the latter claim. Artistically, his representatives claimed that Doig did not begin painting on canvas until 1979, "well after this work was made."

Doig's lawyers even tracked down a Peter Doige in Canada -- also a painter -- who died in 2012 and who had in fact be jailed there in the 1970s. They claim he is the Doige that Fletcher met. The deceased man's student identification card from 1976, submitted to the court, includes a picture of him bearing a strong resemblance to the artist Doig.

Unable to find a resolution and deciding there was enough evidence from the plaintiffs, US District Court Judge Gary Feinerman accepted the case for trial, taking place in a Chicago courtroom. He is expected to rule after hearing testimony this week.
Marsh crocodiles, pythons, and cobras  not many human lives want to revolve around these reptiles. However, Romulus Whitaker was in love with these reptiles, and they were his best friends right from the age of four! His love for animals kept him going into the wild, leaving the US Army that he was once was part of, to eventually set up one of the Indias largest crocodile parks  Madras Crocodile Bank. As the crocodile bank celebrates 40 years of being home to many generations of happy crocs and snakes, Romulus shares the hiss-story with DC.

My personal journey with snakes started when I was four years old, while I was growing up in New York State. I used to catch snakes right at that age, and Im glad I had an unusual mother who was sympathetic towards my love for snakes. Then we moved to India when I was seven, and I had always heard of the country as the land of snakes before I knew anything else about it, so I was quite excited. After I finished school, I tried to go to college, but my interest was going into the wild all the time, reminisces 73-year-old Whitaker with a smile. Chennai has been his home for years now, like the thousands of crocs and snakes he has rescued from all over the country and housed here.

Clad in a simple khadi kurta, Whitaker used to teach venom extraction to villagers across India on how to co-exist with snakes during the early days of 1969. Irula tribes are now known across the world for their skills to extract venom. They have the skills that a hunter does  they can trace snakes movements just by trails on the sand, or a spot of blood. I was a part of the movement in banning trade of snakes for their skin and have set up the Irula Snake-Catchers Industrial Cooperative Society, where they can now legally catch snakes for their venom. It has been a real achievement, as this venom is key for making anti-venom  saving many millions of lives, Whitaker shares. Irula tribe members will share their love for snakes with the society through a snake walk on Independence Day.

He adds that it is important for people to know how to live with snakes, as they are tiny creatures, low to the ground and are more scared of humans than we are of them. Snakes arent looking for people to bite. They have no intention to hurt people. So is the case with crocodiles, they are extremely intelligent animals. Unless hurt, or if one enters into their waters, they do not attack. We need to understand animals to live with them in a sustainable way. Conservation of crocodiles along with education is important, as currently we see a lot of human-wildlife conflict  lack of understanding of animals is one of the reasons for it, he explains, adding that festivals like Jallikattu, which harm animals, are unfortunate.

Currently, the Madras Crocodile Bank is home to over 2300 different species of crocodiles from India, Africa, and South America. Whitaker, who is currently working on snakebites and snake conservation, says there is much more to be done for these reptiles. Despite many organisations working for crocodiles, we have just 15,000 to 20,000 crocodiles in the whole of our country, while a smaller country in area like Australia has a staggering 200,000 crocodiles, where people are given an incentive for protecting animals. Maybe we need such system here as well to keep the animals safe, he says, planning for many more facilities to make the croc bank a global destination for crocodiles.
The shootout between Rajput and the police team continued for 20 minutes and around 12 rounds were fired by both the sides, police said. (Photo: Representational image/Flickr)

Vadodara: A gangster and two policemen from Maharashtra's Pune crime branch were injured in a shootout in the city, police said on Thursday.

The crime branch team from Pune had come here to nab Sagar Rajput, a member of Gajanan Marne gang (of Pune), who is wanted in a murder and several other cases in Maharashtra.

As the police team dressed in plain clothes last night around 10 pm zeroed-in on Rajput who was riding a scooter at a spot behind Nehru Bhavan here, he tried to escape.

This was followed by a shootout between Rajput and the police team which continued for 20 minutes and around 12 rounds were fired by both the sides, police said.

One of the policemen received injury in chest while the other hurt his leg, they said. In the exchange of fire, Rajput received injuries on his leg and he jumped a wall of a residential locality and hid behind it.

Later, Rajput was nabbed with the help of local police after residents of the locality informed them about him being hiding behind the wall. City Police Commissioner E Radhakrishnan and other officials rushed to the spot.

"We have been trying to locate Rajput's wife and his other contacts in the city and weapons used by him," a senior police official said, adding an investigation in underway in the matter.

According to police sources, there is a rivalry between the Marne and Nilesh Ghaywal gang in Pune.
The girl was raped by two men and their friends filmed the horrifying act. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by two persons in a flat at South Delhi's Kalkaji area, police said on Wednesday.

The class 10 student of a government school in Gurgaon was allegedly held captive in the flat on Saturday and Sunday (August 6 and 7) by accused Karan Singh and Sanjay Kumar who gangraped her even as two of their associates, Mahesh and Kala, filmed the entire act on mobile phones.

Praveen Malik, SHO, Badhshahpur police station, where the victim lodged a complaint on Monday, said Karan, a native of Palra village, was known to her, while Sanjay was a native of Dhani Shkohpur and Mahesh and Kala were residents of Karan's village.

According to the victim, Karan had picked her up from a Gurgaon bus stand on Saturday and taken her to Kalkaji temple on his motorcycle.

"The victim alleged that after the visit to the temple, Karan took her to a flat in the same area and later, three of his friends joined them.

"Subsequently, while Karan and Sanjay took turns to rape her, Mahesh and Kala videographed the act. They also threatened her with dire consequences if she reported it to anyone," said the SHO.

The victim was released after being held in captivity for two days. She reached home at Badshahpur in Gurgaon on Monday and narrated the incident to her parents who lodged the police complaint, he added.

The victim had initially alleged that Mahesh had raped her as well but later, before a magistrate, she accused Karan and Sanjay of rape and Mahesh and Kala of filming the act on mobile phones with the intention of blackmailing, said Malik.

Medical examination of the victim has confirmed rape, said the SHO, adding that a case under sections 363 (abduction), 365 (abducting with an intent of secretly and wrongfully confining a person), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was lodged against all the four accused, while Karan and Sanjay were also booked under section 376D (gangrape), IPC.

No arrest has been made as the accused are absconding, he said.
Hyderabad: The cyber crime police of Cyberabad arrested a Nigerian for cheating Hyderabadi women in the name of romance. The suspect pretended to be a white American on Facebook and lured victims expressing his love' and extorted money in the name of investments. Police found about five lakh mobile phone numbers and a lakh email IDs of Indians with him. Inspector Md. Riyazuddin said the suspect Omeleze Fred, 35, had created several FB IDs using the photos of smart looking white Americans and used them to chat with Indian women. In a case we investigated he trapped a Hyderabadi woman by introducing himself as Benson, an US soldier serving in Afghanistan.

After several conversations, he expressed his desire to come to India, settle with her by investing his savings of USD 5 million here with the help of the victim. On July 8 she received a call from a woman who introduced herself as manager in the customs department at the New Delhi airport. She told that one Mr Benson was apprehended by the customs department for bringing USDs, gold and diamond Jewellery. Then, the suspect also rang her up and informed that if she pays the taxes money and jewellery will be released and they could use it for their future. Believing it the victim transferred Rs 2.5 lakh to the bank accounts provided by him, said the inspector. However, the woman, who called pretending to be the customs official was Freds aide. The victim realised it only after a few days. Cops said the suspect had been living in New Delhi since 2012 without a visa. After his original visit visa expired he got fake Indian Visa stickers and pasted it on his passport, the officials said.
Uttar Pradesh police arrested two people involved in the murder of a Dalit youth accused of stealing from one of their shops.(Photo: PTI/Representational)

Lucknow: Two shopkeepers in Uttar Pradeshs Lakhimpur Kheri district were arrested on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in the murder of a 22-year-old Dalit youth, accused of stealing wrist watches from one of their shops. The men allegedly beat the youth to death after finding out his caste.

The incident took place on Tuesday at an annual fair, where the shopkeepers  Pushpendra Singh and Sanjeev Verma  had put up stalls. The Dalit youth, identified as Avaneesh, was accused of stealing from Singhs shop.

According to a report in the The Indian Express, the FIR stated that the shopkeepers caught Avaneesh, enquired about his caste and thrashed him mercilessly when he said he is a Dalit. The men allegedly hit him on the head with a stick, resulting in profuse bleeding.

They also hit 14-year-old Prasoon, who visited the fair with Avaneesh, when he tried to save the youth. Prasoon was injured in the incident and ran away to save his life.

Other shopkeepers at the fair took Avaneesh to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Later, Prasoon filed a complaint with the police and claimed that Avaneesh was not stealing watches.

Police are on the lookout for two other men involved in the incident. The incident took place two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the perpetrators of violence on Dalits to stop the attacks against the minority group.
Saudi Arabia had agreed to swiftly resolve plight of thousands of laid-off Indian workers including providing them free passage to return to India. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: The first batch of 26 Indian workers, who had lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia, arrived in Delhi on Thursday after the country issued them exit visas.

Saudi Arabia had agreed to swiftly resolve plight of thousands of laid-off Indian workers including providing them free passage to return to India during visit of Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh to the Gulf nation last week.

"Minister of State, V K Singh has had very productive meetings with the Labour minister and other senior ministers during his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"As a result of these meetings, the process of lodging claims and for those wishing to come back to India has already started," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

He said India appreciated the "magnanimous view" taken by the Saudi Arabian Government of granting exit visas expeditiously and agreeing to bear the expenses for the travel of the workers.

Saudi Arabia has also set up a crisis management group to address difficulties being faced by the jobless Indian workers while a separate panel has been appointed to look into their claims relating to unpaid wages.

Saudi rules restricts foreign workers to leave the country without NoC by the employers.

"The swift action to tackle a localised problem specific only to some companies of Saudi Arabia signifies the deep and abiding relationship that our two countries share. We are confident that this will alleviate the problems faced by workers of all nationalities," said the MEA Spokesperson.

The Spokesperson referred to the difficulties of retrenched workers of Saudi Oger limited and said the first batch of 26 Indian workers were issued exit visas. The workers came by a flight from Jeddah.

"From here, respective state governments will be making arrangements for their travel to their home towns," Swarup said.
"The 1954 law does not have any provision to save the persons from different castes or religions against will of their parents," the CIC said. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Concerned over honour killings, the Chief Information Commissioner has suggested to the central and states governments to include a declaration by the couple who intend to have a court marriage if they apprehend a threat to their life and liberty.

Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu also suggested that couples may be allowed to seek police protection from the registrar where marriage is to be performed under the Special Marriage Act.

He said if the SDM refuses to solemnise the marriage, any of the parties may file an appeal within 30 days to the District Court. If no one filed an objection, the SDM solemnises the marriage after 30 days of the notice.

"Generally notice is an essential aspect of procedure for marriage under this Act. Under law, registration serves both the purposes--as a notice to the society in general about proposed marriage and then as a proof of marriagewithout necessitating parties to procure evidence of ceremonies of marriage to prove it in court of law," he said.

He said generally notice is required to prevent marriage between persons within degrees of prohibited relationship, bigamous marriages, i.e., while a spouse is living without obtaining valid divorce, marriages without valid consent (not having age of giving valid consent), with person of insanity, or persons not attaining prescribed marriageable age etc.

"However, there is a negative angle to this. Violent social consequences of inter caste and inter religious love marriages cannot be ignored. The khap panchayats and their mandates coupled with honour killings are shocking developments emanating from the exercise of freedom of choice of life partner," Acharyulu said.

Justifying his recommendation to include the threat of life to couples, the Information Commissioner said if right of parents to (information) have notice of marriage of their children is honoured, it might result in deprivation of their life or liberty, in gross violation of Article 21.

"The 1954 law does not have any provision to save the persons from different castes or religions against will of their parents. The 'notice' meant for good cannot be fatal for groom or bride," he said.

He said such requests should be sent to be Station House Officer who can inquire into the matter and if, prima facie, the SHO finds the threat to be real, take adequate measures to offer protection to the couple.

However, the Commission also directed SDMs or marriage officers to ensure that the 30-day notice of the marriage under Special Marriage Act should be widely circulated which mandatory under Section 4(1)(d) of the RTI Act to facilitate the interested persons (including parents or guardians) to know and raise objections, if any, to safeguard the interests of the partners to the proposed marriage.

Under the Special Marriage Act, marriage can be solemnised after a copy of the notice in this regard is pasted on the office notice board by the SDM.

"Any person may within 30 days of issue of notice, can file objection to the intended marriages. In such a case, the SDM shall not solemnise the marriage until he has decided the objection, within 30 days of its receipt," the Information Commissioner noted.
Army and NDRF teams have evacuated 216 people from a village last night in Karauli district. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

Jaipur: As many as 216 people were rescued by the Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) after an entire village in Sapotara area in Karauli district was inundated following heavy rains.

"In a successful operation, Army and NDRF teams evacuated 216 people from a village last night in Karauli district. They were shifted to safer places," relief secretary Rohit Kumar said.

He also informed that about eight to nine people were stranded in Alwar's Bansur area and Air Force has been asked to rescue them.

Army was also deployed in Jodhpur on Wednesday night. Heavy rains have paralysed normal life in Jodhpur and many colonies were water logged.

Jalore, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Pali have also been facing flood-like situation due to heavy rainfall, which has increased the water level in the rivers.
News / Religion

by Staff Reporter

Several church groups today gathered in Harare to launch the 'My Zimbabwe Prayer Campaign,' which is meant to unite people and pray for Zimbabwe's continued development.Church groups mainly composed of youth, launched the campaign this Wednesday in Harare and organisers said they are now looking forward to take the initiative to all provinces throughout the country.Co-chairs of the My Zimbabwe Prayer Campaign, Bishop Brian Mugabazi and Reverend Quinton Gwashavanhu called for all Zimbabweans to join the interdenominational prayer initiative.Christians and some youths at the launch pointed out that the church has the role to mould and safeguard the future of generations to come.One of the thrust of the prayer campaign is to improve the image and perception of the country in the eyes of the international community so that Zimbabwe is viewed as a safe tourism destination of choice.
On Wednesday, the BBMPs demolition team and the revenue department carrying maps they wouldnt show anyone, tied itself in knots over the exact buildings to be razed with the two agencies involved not able to agree on the specifics. The tangle may have been sorted out later but it also exposed the haphazard manner in which buildings are being brought down, leaving hapless women and even the kin of a martyred lieutenant colonel shattered and in tears.

Infographic

Vidyaranyapura Main Road passing through Bommasandra resembled a war-torn zone on Wednesday as over 70 buildings were razed, with the BBMP and revenue authorities continuing with their demolition drive for the fifth day to clear encroachments sitting on storm water drains.

Utter confusion prevailed as the authorities took up the demolition of properties that had not been marked on Tuesday by the BBMP. The revenue authorities, who reportedly have the highly-guarded and accurate map of the storm water drain alignment, ruled on Wednesday morning that the BBMP markings were wrong and set on a different course of demolition.

Five earth movers and tractors (jackers) swung into action reducing buildings to rubble. Over 100 properties, including commercial and residential structures on one side of the Vidyaranyapura Main Road, were marked to be demolished to reclaim 33 feet of the encroached drain stretching up to 300 metres.

Both markings of encroachments and the demolition happened in quick succession starting at 9.30 am Wednesday. The frustrated and angry residents and traders, who lost their properties, wondered if the BBMP was heading to a greater blunder.

Over 70 properties that were sitting on the raja kaluve, which connects the Bommasandra Lake once encroachments are cleared, were brought down like pack of cards even as the owners of the shops scrambled to save their merchandise and shift it to safer locations.

The residents confronted Yelahanka Joint Commissioner Sarfaraz Khan with questions on changed alignment. He tried hard to convince them that the revenue authorities had authentic information on the drain network and the demolitions happened as per their direction.

Shruti and Shreyas after their 90-yr-old ancestral property was pulled down by BBMP bulldozers (Pic: Shashidhar B.)

Nearly century old property razed to ground

Shopkeepers Shruti and Shreyas were having breakfast when they received the dreaded call Wednesday morning and rushed to salvage what they could from their store before the bulldozers went about their business. Only on Tuesday they had heaved a sigh of relief as their property was not marked for demolition , but on Wednesday it completely bit the dust. They were left shocked as the property was given to their grandfather by the British in 1925.

How can there be a drain here now? they asked. We have lost 4,000 sq. feet of land, which was a major source of revenue for our family. How can the BBMP justify the changed alignment of the drain? Who is to be blamed and who will compensate for our loss? demanded Mr Shreyas.

Shopkeepers hurry to clear stores

As the BBMPs earthmovers swooped in to raze unauthorised constructions on a storm water drain (SWD) on Vidyaranyapura main road in Doddabommasandra, goods carrier vehicles were in demand on Wednesday with shopkeepers hurrying to salvage what they could and have it carted out of the way.

Several traders and their employees loaded goods onto mini-trucks that were parked before every shop. Some goods were brought down with the help of ropes from the upper floors and the loaded vehicles were sent either to the homes of the shopkeepers or godowns.

The bulldozers targeted fancy stores, stationery stores, readymade garments shops, jewellery and steel utensils shops, saloons, pharmacies, mobile stores, poultry and mutton outlets, bakeries eateries, and plywood shops among several others, leading to panic and chaos in the area.

Forget about a notice, we were not given time to even shift our commodities to safety before they started demolishing, protested some of the shopkeepers. A portion of an Anjaneya temple standing on the SWD has also been marked for removal. The authorities have given the temple a month to clear the encroachment.

Demolition

Some shopkeepers suffer huge loss

The demolitions left not just the property owners, but also their tenants, who had rented their shops, worried about the advances paid and the future of their business. One businessman, Jagadish, whose family had three shops in the area, said he had suffered a loss of at least Rs 10 lakh as the BBMP did not allow him to shift his commodities before the demolition began.

Most of my stuff is trapped under the debris. Our loss is not comparable to the owners as we may not get back our deposits. We will have to take care of seven assistants who have come to us from Rajasthan even without business, he rued.

Another trader, Kishan Lal said he could not imagine doing a business elsewhere as he had been in the area for 13 years. I have suffered a loss of over Rs 10 lakh as the authorities did not give me time to shift my goods, he lamented.

Widow loses 30 yr old home

I dont know if I can sleep anymore in the house I have lived in for 30 years. I dont know how much of this house will be demolished, said Padmavathi, feeding her year old grand-daughter on a footpath near her house even as the bulldozers attacked it.

She had sobbed begging the authorities not to demolish their house and had no more tears left. But the heartbreak was evident in her eyes as she avoided looking at the home she had lived in since 1974 come down.

This was my mothers house and she gave it to me. I have all documents to prove that this house is built legally. I have been paying property taxes, and my water and electricity bills, said Padmavathi, a widow, who has been living in the area with her daughter.

On Tuesday, the authorities marked properties near my house for demolition and today they are demolishing my house. I dont know why, she said despairingly.

Radha Shivaranjan, mother of late lieutenant Colonel E.K. Niranjan near the pillar of their home which will be demolished by the BBMP

Why 33-feet Drain, Why Not 10 or 20 Feet

Prakash moved to tears when the houses and shops he had built with his hard earned money, got pulled down within an hour by bulldozers. Prakash vented his anger on the administration. I have constructed my three houses and two shops about 15 years ago, and I have been staying here for over 30 years in the area and there never has been a mention of a huge raja kaluve (as big as over 10 metres) passing through this area. We knew that there was a storm water drain going through the area, but why would the drain need 33-feet width space. I grew up in this area watching my predecessors, who were farmers, and there was not much water that could flow through this 33-feet width drain. Let them take 10 or 15 feet, why more than 33 feet and eat into our livelihoods, he lamented.

Late officers home targeted as well

Even the house of late lieutenant colonel Niranjan, a member of the NSG's Bomb Disposal Squad, who was killed while defusing a grenade at the Pathankot air base during a combing operation in January this year, is not being spared in the demolition drive in Doddabommasandra. Around five meters of the building where a pillar stands supporting the late officers room, has been marked for demolition.

His brother, Shashank, was seen requesting BBMP engineers to allow the family to demolish the offending portion. The officials have marked five meters , which will include a pillar supporting Niranjans room, for demolition. We are ready to do it ourselves if they give us time. I wish the authorities agree, said Mr Shashank.

Although the house was built 15 years ago, some engineers arrived only some six months ago to inform the family that it was close to a raja kaluve, he explained. We were not sure if our property had encroached on the drain, he added. The family had to inform the late lt. colonels father, Shivarajan about the demolition on the phone as he was in their native village of Elumbulassery in Kerala where a samadhi is being built to honour his memory.
Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been turning homes into rubble as part of its demolition drive to restore Bengalurus storm water drains and they will soon be razing a portion of Pathankot martyr Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar's home.

Niranjan Kumar was a member of the National Security Guards (NSG) Bomb Disposal Squad and was killed while trying to defuse a live grenade from the body of a dead terrorist at the Pathankot airbase in the January 2 attack.

Read: BMMP demolition drive: When homes turned to rubble

BBMP officials have marked for demolition one of the three pillars on which Kumar's house is standing and family and has requested authorities for more time.

"My wife and son have sought time for removing one of the three pillars on which the house is standing. My family is bit worried about the BBMP officials using JCB (earth mover) to pull down the structure as it may cause considerable damage to the house itself," Kumar's father Shivarajan said.

Several buildings, including new structures, were demolished during the BBMP drive last week following a high court order and directions from Chief Minster Siddaramaiah to clear encroachments on storm water drains that caused flooding of several areas in Bengaluru.

BBMP officials said that they cannot make an exception for Kumars family, which is one of the 1,100 homes that are still on the demolition list. Officials expressed their regret but said that public good comes above private good.

While Kumars ancestral home is in Palakkad, Kerala, his parents moved to Bengaluru 38 years ago.

He is survived by his wife Dr Radhika and a one-and-a half-year-old daughter Vismaya. He was promoted to Lt. Colonel and was posted as NSG Commando in New Delhi not very long before his death.
People block national highway 91 in Bulandshahr against rape of a woman and her 13-year-old girl. (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow: BJP on Thursday staged demonstrations across Uttar Pradesh to protest what it called "the jungleraj" in the state following the brutal gangrape of a mother and her teenaged daughter on a national highway near Bulandshahr.

Raising the slogan 'Maa Beti ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein', party workers staged protests in several parts of the state, including Varanasi, Ghaziabad and capital Lucknow.

BJP national vice-president Dinesh Sharma and state general-secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak led the demonstration in Lucknow and Varanasi, respectively.

A delegation led by BJP state chief Keshav Prasad Maurya submitted a memoradum to Governor Ram Naik demanding a CBI inquiry into the gangrape case. They also sought action against state cabinet minister Azam Khan who had termed the incident a "political conspiracy".

The Bulandshahr gangrape reminded people of the "jungleraj" and was a blot on the law and order machinery in the state, the memorandum said and added that it brought shame to the state.

The governor said he was pained with the incident and would sent letters to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for a CBI probe into incident.

In Varanasi, BJP state general-secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak deplored the comments by Khan and criticised him for "rubbing salt into the wounds of the victims."

Pathak, who led protesters at the district collectorate, asked Khan to tender an apology to the families, saying the miniority welfare minister should be ashamed of his comments as thousands of party workers shouted slogans against the state's Samajwadi Party-led government.

In Ghaziabad, BJP workers from 17 zones staged a protest outside the colloctorate.

Addressing the workers, general secretary of Uttar Pradesh BJP unit Swatantra Dev Singh said Akhilesh has adopted a "dual standard" in giving compensation to gangrape victims.

Singh said in the Bisahada lynching case the ex-gratia amount was immediately given to the victim's family while in Bulandshahr gangrape incident the government "has become deaf and dumb."

On July 29, a group of bandits had gangraped the woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of their car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur.
NIA chief Sanjeev Kumar said Ali during his interrogation confessed that he was directed to take advantage of the unrest in Kashmir Valley. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Captured Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali has requested the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for councillor access to meet his family.

According to NIA sources, Ali's request has been forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs from where it will be sent to Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit.

During his interrogation by the agency, the captured terrorist has revealed that a proper recee was done of the route from which they would infiltrate, adding that videos were also taken of the path as part of preparation.

Stating that Ali is not a fidayeen terrorist, sources further stated that he has made earlier attempts to hurl grenades at public places in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir, but had failed to do so.

Read: Captured LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali trained by Pak military experts: NIA

Ali, who was was initially recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and trained by the LeT to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and brew tension in the region, also confessed that the LeT has built its own network.

He also possessed 23,000 Indian rupees although some of it was fake.

The NIA on Wednesday disclosed that Ali has confessed to the involvement of LeT and Pakistan Army behind the unrest in Kashmir.

NIA chief Sanjeev Kumar said Ali during his interrogation confessed that he was directed to take advantage of the unrest in Kashmir Valley.

"We have collected all kinds of evidences. Bahadur Ali was directed to take advantage of the current situation in Kashmir," said Kumar.

"Bahadur Ali was recruited by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, subsequently LeT radicalised him. Bahadur Ali underwent all three training process organised by the LeT," he added.

Ali was captured by the security forces earlier on July 26 during an encounter with the infiltrators, in which two of his accomplishes were killed.

Ali was the second Pakistani terrorist captured alive by Indian forces in the last two months in Kashmir.

Ali had later confessed that he was from Jahama village of Raiwind in Lahore, adding he had entered the Indian territory along with two other terrorists to exploit the unrest in Kashmir.

He was also trained for map reading and handling GPS devices.
An alleged loss of around Rs. 321 crore was caused to the complainant bank (IOB) and the foreign branches of PNB and BoB. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: CBI on Wednesday claimed to have busted a racket of Indian Overseas Bank officials and businessmen who allegedly managed to siphon off Rs. 321 crore of public money to a Hong Kong-based company using fake guarantee issued by the bank.

The agency carried out searches at 14 locations spread across Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Panchkula, Amritsar and Zirakpur (Punjab) of 11 people and companies against whom a case has been registered by it, CBI sources said.

They alleged that the mastermind of the conspiracy is Ashu Mehra, an assistant manager with the bank, who helped a company get Letters of Comfort -- a kind of guarantee -- from the bank in favour of a Hong Kong-based company which managed to avail credit from Bank of Baroda (BoB), Bahama branch and Punjab National Bank (PNB), Dubai branch between 2014 and 16.

CBI has named in its FIR two more then Assistant Managers of the Chandigarh branch of the bank -- Nitish Negi and Gaurav Bhatia, Proprietor of Chandigarh-based Vision Procon Dinesh Kumar, owner of Heights International Amanpreet Singh Sodhi, Directors of Sai Bhakti Impex -- Aman Kirpal and Gaurav Kirpal, the company Sai Bhakti Impex, Hong Kong-based Colour Wave (HK) Ltd and other unknown officials. Sodhi also owns the Hong Kong-based company.

The sources said Mehra not have the power to issue such Letters of Comfort. His father-in-law M S Dullat, a retired Brigadier, has also been named in the FIR.

They said officials of BoB and PNB are also under scanner of the agency.

"It was alleged that the accused persons in connivance criminal conspiracy with the branch officials and with each other siphoned off the bank funds under the garb of Letter of Comforts in favour of the Hong Kong-based company purportedly issued by officials of Indian Overseas Bank, Chandigarh to PNB, Dubai and BoB, Bahamas," CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said in New Delhi.

He said based on these fraudulently issued Letters of Comfort, the banks issued buyers' credit to the account of accused abroad.

An alleged loss of around Rs. 321 crore was caused to the complainant bank (IOB) and the foreign branches of PNB and BoB, the spokesperson said.
New Delhi: BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in Parliament on the issue of atrocities on Dalits.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged that the recent statements of the Prime Minister on Dalits were an exercise in "damage control" and Dalits dont need Modis sympathies.

Ahead of UP Assembly elections and polls in some other states, there have been incidents like the Rohith Vemula episode, attack on Una youth and other atrocities which have affected BJP's image with regard to Dalits, Mayawati claimed.

"Our party wants that rather than expressing sympathy with dalits, the PM should focus on acting against those who commit atrocities against them," the BSP chief said.

She also demanded that Modi should speak on the issue in the Parliament. "If he can speak on it outside, he can also say it in the House," she said.

On Sunday, a 13-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly denied drinking water by a priest at a temple in Uttar Pradeshs Sambhal.

The girl went to a temple in search of water, where the priest and his assistant allegedly made casteist remarks against her and prevented her from drinking water. After the girls father confronted the priest, he allegedly attacked the father with a trident (trishul).

In another incident, a group of men bashed up two Dalits, accusing them of stealing a cow and killing it for meat at Sudhapalem in East Godavari on Monday night, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned against such attacks on Dalits, at a public meeting in Hyderabad. However, the attackers were not gau rakshaks, but men who suspected theft of their cows. According to a report, the Dalits, who were brothers, were tied to a tree, stripped off their clothes and thrashed mercilessly.
New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Thursday declined the plea of two private individuals to cancel the interim bail of JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case, saying nothing has been brought before it to show that the student leader had made any anti-national speech after his release.

Justice PS Teji dismissed the pleas saying, "no hindrance or obstruction" in the ongoing investigation in the case by the accused has been brought to the notice of the court by any party.

The high court further said it is for the investigating officer (IO) to decide whether or not to seek cancellation of bail on grounds of materials collected during investigation as the legal provision does not envisage any right upon a stranger to approach the court for cancelling bail.

Such a right which has been conferred only on IO or under exceptional circumstances, it said.

The court refused to accept the petitioners' contention that Kanhaiya has made any anti-national speech post bail.

"Nothing has been brought forth to establish that such speeches were actually made or that the same were declared anti-national by any court of law," the judge said, adding that the investigating agency has also submitted that "bail need not be cancelled".

The court said, "A stranger plea cannot be entertained without any substantial set of facts and circumstances or without sound principle of law to call upon the accused, for cancellation of bail, who has been protected under Article 21 of the Constitution of India except the authority empowered under the CrPC [section 439(2)]."

"This court is of the considered opinion that much time has already been spent on the application (for cancellation of bail). It will be appropriate if the IO submits his report within six months from the date of grant of bail for consideration of the court," it said.
Hyderabad: Gangster Nayeem bagged the maximum cash rewards from the police for the heads of Naxal leaders. After his arrest on February 12, 1993 in connection with the murder of IPS officer N.S. Vyas, he became an informer for the police and was released in May 2000 on bail. After his second arrest in connection with APCLC member K. Purushothams murder, he was used by the police for eliminating top Naxals or nabbing them alive.

During 2000-09, Nayeem played a key role in nabbing and killing Naxals. He used to target those who had high rewards on their heads. An official source said he used to get rewards from Greyhounds and SIB for passing information about top Naxals.

At one stage he was totally dependent on rewards for his bread and butter. He had bagged around Rs 25 lakh from united AP police and around the same from Karnataka, Odisha and Maharashtra. He gave key information for eliminating Naxals in Karnataka, the official said.

To gather more info from surrendered Naxals, police used to encourage Nayeem by giving him the responsibility of handing over benefits for ex-Naxals. Using info given by them, Nayeem used to plan his tasks.

A retired police officer said that police had encouraged neighbouring states to use the services of Nayeem. This led to the establishment of Nayeems network in Chattisgarh, Mahara-shtra and Odisha. From 2009, he started extortions with the help of rowdy sheeters from the Old City and surrendered Naxals, the retired official said.

Although Nayeem was wanted in around 100 cases no reward was announced by any agency for him. He was the most wanted by the police in Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Warangal districts and Hyderabad. Nayeem was also the most wanted for the CBI in Sohrabuddins case. In Sohrabuddins case, Nayeem was the only witness. He had sent Sohrabuddin and his wife to Mumbai from Hyderabad in a bus.

Child panel takes kids statements

The kids who were rescued from Nayeems den were sent to various state homes in the city on Wednesday. Acting on an appeal made by Balala Hakkula Sangam (BHK), the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) recorded their statements. The CWC has confirmed that nine of the children are minors. The committee has recorded their statements including their native places and why they were brought to Nayeems den.

A source from the CWC said that all the nine children were aged between 8 and 18. We have sent the five girls to the Kasturba home at Narsingi and the four boys to the Saidabad home, the source said.
Students at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have ended their agitation over the death of a research scholar. (Photo: PTI/ File)

Kanpur: Classes at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) resumed on Thursday as students called off their 4-day-long agitation over the death of a 26-year-old research scholar, after the institute accepted their demands and suspended the doctor of the health care centre till a fact finding committee submits its report.

The institute also decided to give a compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the family of the deceased student, Alok Pandey.

Students at IIT Kanpur started boycotting classes after Aloks death of on Monday. The administration had claimed that the scholar died due to a cardiac arrest, whereas students in the hostel and his brother Adarsh Kumar Pandey alleged that Alok died after he was given an injection by a doctor at the centre without conducting any tests.

A meeting of the advisory committee was held at the campus till 4 am and the institute decided to suspend the doctor, Shailendra Kishore, of the health centre as he was accused of giving Alok a wrong injection, IIT Kanpur Director Indraneel Manna said.

"He will remain suspended until the report is received and if found guilty, action will be taken against the doctor," he said.

The college authorities have also sent a letter to the Human Resource Development Ministry mentioning demands for a CBI probe into the incident and a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the family, Manna said.

The fact finding committee consists of three doctors and two students from the institute. Services at the health centre will also be improved so that timely treatment can be given to students who fall sick, he added.

Alok, a PhD scholar of Material Science at IIT Kanpur, had complained of severe chest and neck pain after which he was rushed to the institute's health centre. He was referred to a cardiology centre after his condition deteriorated. However, he died on the way to hospital.

An FIR was also registered against Kishore under Section 304 A(causing death by rash or negligent act) of the Indian Penal Code, the warden in-charge, Guide Kamal Kekar and the hospital administrator, Kanpur SSP Shalabh Mathur had said.

Alok's brother alleged that the scholar was ill-treated and tortured in the hostel.
Earlier this week, Sharif wrote letters to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein, seeking their help to end the persistent and egregious violation of the basic human rights of the Kashmiri people. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: India hit out at Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif on Thursday for his efforts to involve the United Nations (UN) and other countries on the Kashmir issue by sending letters.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup ridiculed the Pakistani action, saying such letters could not whitewash the cross-border terrorism for which Pakistan was responsible.

Earlier this week, Sharif wrote letters to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein, seeking their help to end the persistent and egregious violation of the basic human rights of the Kashmiri people. The Pakistan PM alleged that more than 50 deaths and 3,500 injuries had taken place in Kashmir in recent violence after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.

Stating that Pakistan has no locus standi in the matter as the Kashmir issue is internal to India, Swarup said India is in touch with important interlocutors bilaterally as well as multilaterally to put across the correct picture over the Kashmir issue.

Swarup held up the capture of Lashkar e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Bahadur Ali as proof of Pakistans continued involvement in cross-border terrorism and infiltration into India.

The interrogation of Bahadur Ali and his confession has clearly revealed the details of the kind of training that is provided to such young men, the camps in which they are kept, the weapons that they are provided and most importantly the indoctrination that they undergo prior to infiltration into India, he was quoted as saying.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday said the questioning of Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali, who was captured recently in North Kashmir, had thrown up leads showing involvement of LeT in aggravating the situation in the Valley. The NIA had furthermore alleged that Ali was trained by highly skilled Pakistani army men, a charge Pakistan denies.
Opinion / Columnist

The reports and suggestions that Luveve MP Ntando Mlilo is planning to mobilize school children in his constituency to demonstrate against their parents for failing to pay fees cannot go unchallenged.It is astonishing and disappointing for us the young people under Joshua Nkomo Youth Movement (JNYM) to get such reports of elected public officials acting in a manner that is synonymous with vagrancy and indecency. Our parents, brothers and sisters, and us as young parents are having a torrid time trying to educate our children and also inculcating the principles of ubuntu in them. It is a hard undertaking especially in this digital era where information and technological advances are also eating into our children's lives.For the Member of Parliament to come up with his unruly antics and inciting our children to rebel and revolt against their parents is not only unruly and uncalled for, but must be condemned in the strongest of terms by all well meaning citizens of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo and Luveve/Gwabalanda in particular.Instead of the Member of Parliament to interrogate and find out why parents are failing to pay fees, he resorts to unorthodox and unprofessional gimmicks which are unheard of in our culture as a people.When never heard Hon Ntando Mlilo mobilize our unpaid parents to demonstrate against employers (including government) for failing to pay their salaries. The JNYM will at this juncture advise the Hon MP to learn more about the values of Ubuntu, uphold them and use them to engage the troubled parents to find out the long known challenges that lead to them falling to pay school fees.JNYM believes that Hon Ntando should know by now that deindustrialization of the economy, 83+% unemployment rates, corruption, nepotism, tribalism, racism, incompetence, theft and looting are the root causes of the problems affecting our society which includes his constituency although his actions seem to suggest he is misrepresenting the electorate in Parliament. He is being warned that he shouldn't go ahead with his plans of inciting our children to revolt, he should rather be focusing on developing and implementing progressive ideas that would address the economic challenges faced by the people of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, particularly Luveve/Gwabalanda constituency not his plans that are devoid of the immortal principle of UBUNTU.It is against the Principle of UBUNTU (a strong principle which our icon Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo - Father Zimbabwe upheld and taught unless you missed all his teachings Hon Ntando Mlilo) for children to rebel and revolt against their parents. It is appalling for a seemingly old public official to instigate and propagate such tendencies by our children. We urge the Hon MP ukubana ezinuke amakhwapha and remember that he represents the people's wishes, not the other way round. Representation is always from bottom up; it has and must never be up to bottom. Ntando Mlilo must cease his habit of swallow forcing his dubious tendencies and will on the people. In Bulawayo, Luveve/Gwabalanda in particular, UBUNTU reigns supreme in everything we do. We therefore urge the Hon MP to forget whatever teachings he got as he grew and embrace with us the spirit and principle of UBUNTU as we together raise an upright generation of Zimbabweans, one child at a time, one family at a time, one Constituency at a time and one nation at a time.JNYM will never tolerate the antics by the MP and will advise Hon Ntando Mlilo to rethink his position and intended actions.What we need now are nation building ideas Hon Ntando MliloJNYM Information Desk
Ali told his interrogators that he was informed by his handlers from a control room code-named 'Alpha-3', believed to located at a high altitude somewhere in PoK. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: A day after investigators released a video of the confession of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Bahadur Ali, in which he said Pakistan army officers trained him and helped him cross to India, Nafees Zakaria from Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Office has denied the claims.

According to a report, Zakaria was quoted as saying, We reject claims of cross-border infiltration... Pakistan is very firm on this, we will not allow our soil for any terror-related act... I think our statement was very clear on this, it's in the public domain."

Instead, Pakistan accused India of fomenting trouble across the border.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday said the questioning of Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali, who was captured recently in North Kashmir, had thrown up leads showing involvement of LeT in aggravating the situation in the Valley.

Read: Captured LeT terrorist Bahadur Ali trained by Pak military experts: NIA

The NIA's comments came a day after India handed over a "strong demarche" to Pakistan over its continued support to cross-border terrorism in India.

"NIA is further investigating the role of Lashkar in the present unrest in Kashmir," Inspector General of NIA Sanjeev Singh told reporters in Delhi.

NIA also showed to the media a video of Ali alias Saifullah, a Punjabi-speaking man, talking about his family, the time he spent in the terror outfit and his crossing over to the Indian side of the border on July 11 or 12. He was arrested on July 25 by the state police from a village in Handwara after he had managed to give Army the slip at the Line of Control in June this year.

Ali told his interrogators that he was informed by his handlers from a control room code-named 'Alpha-3', believed to located at a high altitude somewhere in PoK, about the unrest in the Valley following the killing of Burhan Wani, a Hizbul Mujahideen militant on July 8.

His handlers from the control room asked him to throw grenades at the security forces and also informed him that other cadres of the terror group had managed to sneak into the Valley, mingled with protesters at other places and were fuelling tension in the Valley.

This is for the first time that NIA has shown a video statement of a captured militant. Pakistan had earlier this year shown a video statement of Kulbhushan Yadav, an Indian national arrested in Balochistan in March over charges of spying for the Indian intelligence agency.
A scene in the Rajya Sabha during monsoon session of Parliament in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party on Thursday forced three adjournments of Rajya Sabha in pre-noon session alleging discrimination by the Centre in releasing funds for Uttar Pradesh.

Slogan-shouting SP members trooped into the Well of the House demanding an assurance from the Centre that it would release the share of Uttar Pradesh shortly.

JD-U members too trooped into the Well charging Centre with not implementing the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) in flood-hit Bihar.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien first adjourned the house for 15 minutes and then till noon as uproarious schemes continued. The House was adjourned for the third time soon after it reassembled at noon.

Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) gave a notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business to discuss the alleged discrimination against Uttar Pradesh, while Sharad Yadav (JD-U) gave a similar notice to raise non-release of funds for Bihar.

Soon after listed papers were laid on the table, Yadav said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Chief Secretary have written several letters to the Union government seeking release of the state's share of funds.

Listing out schemes under which funds have not been released, he said Rs 1,425 crore for scholarship for 8 lakh SC/ST and OBC students had not been released, while Rs 4,742 crore compensation for hailstorm-hit areas was yet to come.

Out of Rs 2,780 crore sanctioned for UP from the Central Road Fund, only Rs 219 crore had been released so far, he alleged, adding that not even half of the money allocated under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana has been released, leading to stalling of projects.

Also, money under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, higher education as well as scholarship for minorities and other backwards too had not been released, he said. "If the Centre does not give an assurance that the due funds will be released in 2-3 days, the House will not be allowed to function," he said.

While Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said similar discrimination was being meted out to Bihar, his party colleague Ali Anwar Ansari said 2,300 villages in 14 districts were under water but the crop insurance scheme was not being implemented there.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) raised a case of daring heist in a moving train when Rs 5 crore out of Rs 340 crore cash being sent to Reserve Bank of India from Salem in Tamil Naidu was stolen. He asked how the cash transfer was being done without security and alleged complacency of RBI officials in the loot.

Soon after SP leader Yadav completed his submission, his party members trooped into the Well raising slogans against the government. JD(U)'s Ansari after making his brief statement too joined them in the Well.

Kurien asked members to return to their seats and promised to allow them raise the issue so that the government could react.

But the members remained unrelenting. SP members also urged Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was present in the House, to join them in the Well saying he represents Uttar Pradesh in Rajya Sabha and should stand in solidarity.

As the din continued, Kurien adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes. No sooner the House met after the brief adjournment, slogan-shouting members of Samajwadi Party again trooped into the Well.

A helpless-looking Kurien read out the names of 15 members who had to make their Zero Hour mentions. "I am expressing my inability and apologies to them (members who were to make Zero Hour mention)," he said, as the members could not read out their statements amidst the vociferous sloganeering.

Kurien then adjourned the House till noon. A similar scenario again prevailed when the House met for Question Hour at noon with SP members raising slogans alleging discrimination by the Narendra Modi government against the state of Uttar Pradesh.

As the disruption showed no signs of abating, Chairman M Hamid Ansari adjourned the House for half-an-hour till 12.32 pm.

When the House met at 12.32 pm, similar scenes were witnessed with Samajwadi Party members entering the Well again and raising slogans against the Modi government for "discriminating" against Uttar Pradesh.

They alleged that the UP budget was not being released by the Centre. Uttar Pradesh goes to polls early next year. All pleas by Chairman Hamid Ansari to allow the Question Hour went unheeded as SP members continued to raise slogans like "Uttar Pradesh ke saath bhed bhaav karna band karo" (Stop discrimination against Uttar Pradesh) and "UP budget jaari karo" (Issue UP budget).

Asking the members not to raise slogans, Ansari then adjourned the House till 2 pm, the fourth time today.
Ansari, a Mumbai resident, was arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday met the family of Indian prisoner Hamid Nehal Ansari, who was attacked at least thrice by inmates in a Peshawar jail, and assured them of all possible help.

Swaraj last week had directed the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to seek consular access to Ansari.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India has again "strongly" taken up with Pakistani authorities security of Ansari in the wake of reports that he was attacked inside the jail.

"On August 5, we have again strongly taken up the matter of security of Hamid Ansari while he is in the custody of Pakistani authorities. This was done specifically in the light of reports that he was attacked again in prison in which he is lodged.

"We have reminded the Government of Pakistan of its responsibility to ensure his security," Swarup said adding "We have also conveyed that according to our understanding since his sentence of three years is already over he should be released and repatriated to India at the earliest."

Swaraj met the family of Ansari and assured that government will keep pursuing his case with Pakistan. Ansari, a Mumbai resident, was arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Pakistan from Afghanistan reportedly to meet a girl he had befriended online.

He had suffered injuries after he was attacked by inmates in the Peshawar Central Prison recently. 31-year-old Ansari was sentenced to three years imprisonment by a military court for possessing a fake Pakistani identity card.

Ansari's lawyer, Qazi Mohammad Anwar told Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday that his client was attacked at least thrice by jail inmates in recent months.

Anwar also told the court that Ansari had been kept in a death cell with a hardened criminal awaiting execution for a murder.

Ansari was attacked and injured three times over the last couple of months and shifted to the hospital for treatment, the counsel said. He said even the head warden would subject him to brutality and slap him on a daily basis without any reason.

Ansari had gone missing after he was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and local police in Kohat in 2012 and finally in reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by his mother, Fauzia Ansari, the high court was informed on January 13 that he was in custody of the Pakistan Army and was being tried by a military court.
Hyderabad: The Telangana government has stepped up efforts to unblock Special Economic Zone lands on the city outskirts for boosting development of the Information Technology sector and other industries. Though some SEZs have applied for de-notification, the Union ministry of commerce and industries has kept them pending for years blocking the judicious use of expensive lands spread over hundreds of acres, while in some other cases the NOC from state government for denotificaition is pending.

Similarly, SEZs allotted to Emaar Hills Township Pvt. Ltd, Brahmani Infotech Pvt. Ltd, Devbhumi Realtors Pvt. Ltd and Maytas Enterprises Ltd have not taken off so far. Following IT and realty boom on the city outskirts in the early 2000s, several companies had come forward to cash in by setting up SEZs. A majority of the SEZ applications were made between 2006 and 2009.

The previous UPA governments liberal policy also prompted companies to make a beeline for setting up SEZs. We have already initiated steps to resume the SEZ lands which are lying unused. The SEZs allotted on government lands which remain non-functional are being cancelled. There are some private SEZs which too are non-functional. However, the government has no role in initiating action against SEZs which exist on private lands, said E.V. Narasimha Reddy, VC & MD, TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd.

The SEZs were permitted in all sectors, including IT/ITES, Formulation, Biotech, Hardware, Aerospace and Precision Engineering, Semi-conductor, Gems & Jewellery, Electronics (hardware & software), Pharmaceutical products and medical devices, Textile & Apparel, Agriculture & Livestock products and Light Engineering. However, a majority of the SEZs which are operational are in IT/ ITES sectors.
Sources said a cabin crew member of Air India has also been slapped with one-year suspension after post flight checks found traces of alcohol. (Photo: Representational Image)

New Delhi: Two pilots of Air India and Jet Airways, have been suspended for four years by DGCA after they were found drunk on arrival of their overseas flights in India, while both airlines have also been directed to register FIRs against the two.

Sources said a cabin crew member of Air India has also been slapped with one-year suspension after post flight checks found traces of alcohol.

Considering the seriousness of the violations, the aviation regulator has written to the chiefs of Jet Airways and Air India to register FIRs (First Information Report) against the pilots concerned, sources said. Both incidents, involving overseas flights, have been reported this month, they added.

This is possibly the first time that pilots have been tested positive for alcohol during tests conducted soon after operating a flight. As normal practice, pre-flight checks are conducted on pilots.

A Jet Airways spokesperson said the airline has terminated the services of the pilot concerned, while there was no immediate response to queries sent to Air India.

Sources said both the pilots had earlier also tested positive for alcohol but that was during pre-flight examination.

On August 10, the pilot of Air India's Sharjah-Calicut flight tested positive for alcohol during post flight examination, while the pilot of Jet Airways' Abu Dhabi-Chennai flight was found drunk on August 3.

The two pilots have been suspended for four years while a cabin crew of Air India has been suspended for one year, sources added.

Jet Airways said the airline has terminated the services of the cockpit crew member "who had tested positive during a breath analyser test conducted on August 3, 2016".

The airline has zero tolerance towards any action of its crew that contravenes safety standards mandated in its operating manual approved by DGCA, it said in a release.

According to the release, this is clearly mentioned in the prescribed service conditions for crew and is adequately emphasised during internal training sessions.

"In case of non-compliance, we take disciplinary action after due investigation as per company policy," it added.

Further, Jet Airways said that while other countries have random alcohol testing policy, DGCA regulations mandate 100 per cent screening for crew of Indian carriers before every flight departing from an Indian airport and after every flight arriving into the country.
New Delhi: Afghanistan has sought more military supplies from India including attack helicopters as it stepped up its offensive last week against terror groups killing 300 Islamic State terrorists, the top US and NATO commander in the war-ravaged country said on Wednesday.

General John Nicholson, here on his second visit, said India has been making "enormously valuable" contribution in strengthening Afghan security forces and the US favours the military support.

India has already provided four Mi-25 helicopters to Afghanistan and US Commander said the country needs more military aircraft to deal with Taliban and various other terror outfits.

Welcoming India's contribution to restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan, Nicholson said terror outfits like the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are not only a threat to Afghanistan but to the region, including India, and the US was putting pressure on Pakistan to contain these groups. He said the Taliban also "enjoys sanctuaries" in Pakistan.

"We consistently encourage Pakistan to take action against terrorist groups that operate from its territory and close down their safe havens," he told journalists.

Nicholson, who heads the US operations in Afghanistan, met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar and discussed a range of issues including situation in Afghanistan and terror threat to the region.

The US commander said Afghan forces, supported by the US, had launched a major offensive against Islamic State terror outfit two weeks back in which around 300 IS fighters were killed.

"In the course of the operation they killed a number of top leaders of the organisation and upto 300 of their fighters. Obviously it's difficult to get an exact count, but what this amounts to is about 25 per cent of the organisation at least, and so this represents a severe setback for them. It reduced their territory," he said.

The US Commander said military training by India to thousands of Afghan security personnel has helped that country in significantly enhancing its military capability which is in tune with the objective of the NATO and the US.
New Delhi: The underlying theme of the all-party meeting on Kashmir convened by the Centre is likely to stress on a dialogue with all stakeholders including exploring possibilities of opening up of communication channels with the separatist in a bid to contain the ongoing turbulence in the Valley.

Government sources told this newspaper that even Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti too had stressed upon the need to initiate a dialogue process with various groups in the Valley, including Hurriyat, during her meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday.

Ms Mufti was of the view that the move would help provide a healing touch to the Valley. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too while speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday indicated his willingness for talks within the framework of insaniyat (humanity), jamhuriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat, a theme invoked by former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee had invoked.

In fact, pressure is mounting on the Modi dispensation from its alliance partner in J&K, the PDP, for starting talks with the separatists. The Mehbooba Government had also reached out to the Hurriyat requesting them to issue an appeal to the stone-pelting youth for restoring peace in the Valley.

The Congress has also welcomed the all-party meeting with party leader Rajeev Shukla describing it as a good development. There is a growing view, sources said, within the Government also that talks with all stakeholders is the only way forward but the Centre wants to first prepare the groundwork as to how the deliberations can be initiated.
Hyderabad: It appears that carving of new districts will ignite a political fire.

Though Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has asked the Cabinet subcommittee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Mohd. Mahmood Ali to focus on public convenience and ignore political pressure in creation of new districts and mandals, leaders from across the political spectrum are keeping up their pressure.

Sources said that transport minister P. Mahender Reddy wants Ranga Reddy district be split into two or three districts  Ranga Reddy with Vikarabad as headquarters and two other districts.

Some ruling and Opposition leaders are pitching for Shamshabad and Malkajgiri districts which are in Ranga Reddy. The government is contemplating Hyderabad and Secunderabad districts by merging some of the neighbouring municipalities of Ranga Reddy district and carving a new Ranga Reddy district with Vikarabad as its headquarters.

Congress MLA D.K. Aruna has launched a campaign for new Gadwal district to be carved out from Mahbubnagar while the government has planned Wanaparthy, Mahbubnagar and Nagarkurnool districts.

The subcommittee will begin sittings from August 12 at MCRHRD institute. It will start the process with interaction with representatives of government employees over zonal rules and Presidential Order in division of employees in the proposed new districts.

It will also meet public representatives from Medak, Nizamabad and other districts daily till the process is completed before the CM chairs a conference with district collectors on August 16.

An all-party meeting has been proposed for August 18 which is expected to be a hot affair, going by demand for new Gadwal and other districts by Congress and other parties.
Members of Jammu and Kashmir Youth Ulema shout slogans to protest killings and demands for an end to the use of pellet guns in Srinagar on Thursday. (Photo: PTI )

SRINAGAR: More trouble is brewing for the authorities in Kashmir even as the security forces are implementing stricter measures to contain a five-week-old unrest in the Valley triggered by the killing of Burhan Wani, the 22-year-old poster boy of the militancy on July 8.

On Thursday, three more companies of CRPF (370 men) along with the weapons and riot gear were flown here in an IAF plane from Tripura to join the effort. Earlier, more than 5,000 personnel from the CRPF and other central armed forces were brought here from different parts of the country.

The Army is also playing an active role towards containing the turbulence which has, so far, claimed 58 lives, most of these in security forces firings, and left thousands of people injured. But the separatists who are virtually calling the shots seem to be undeterred.

On Thursday, they announced a referendum march to be held on August 13 and 14, asking the people to gather at Srinagars historic Lal Chowk. Similar pursuits in past one month have led to bloody face-offs between people and securitymen, resulting into more deaths.

Earlier, police took into preventive custody Hurriyat Conference leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as they tried to defy house arrest and march to Eidgah to pay homage to Sheikh Abdul Aziz on his eighth death anniversary.
Hyderabad: Nayeems death in a police encounter has sparked a political war, with leaders of both ruling and Opposition parties accusing each other of encouraging or using the renegade Naxal for political ends, land settlements and other nefarious activities and he finally being bumped off due to threats to ruling party leaders.

TRS Dubbaka MLA Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy alleged he was threatened by Nayeem in 2004 general elections and was warned not to contest the polls.

But I brushed aside his threats and contested the election. I lodged a complaint with the Siddipet police against Nayeem. This government didnt need Nayeems cooperation. In fact, Chandrababu Naidu and the previous governments backed him. It is not true that Nayeem was bumped off due to threats to TRS leaders, he said. Former TD minister A. Uma Madhava Reddy and her son A. Sandeep Reddy denied links with gangster.

The rumours are an attempt by either the TS government or the police to tarnish me and my family image. Why should I have links with him? I am not into real estate or land, money settlements. I dont have to bump off an MLA so that I could contest. People voted me out and I will wait for five years, she said.

Its unfair to tarnish image of a woman like this. Chief Minister will be held responsible, she said. Mr Sandeep Reddy said those who had links with Nayeem in the past were now in TRS.

There was no land, money settlement mafia in TD rule. It began from the Congress government in 2004. We have no links with gangsters. To protect some TRS leaders, we are targeted, he said.

TD Kodangal MLA A. Revanth Reddy demanded judicial probe by a sitting High Court judge. TRS government is trying to deflect attention from ruling party leaders links with Nayeem. Why is the government not coming out with official statement on Nayeem, his wealth and links etc? We will stand by Ms Reddy and her family, he said.
Opinion / Columnist

Movement of Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T)'s appendage, Tajamuka/Sesijikile's posturing and callowness have reached the highest level of insanity. The recent court suit, citing frivolous allegations, filed by this bunch of trouble rousers, seeking removal from office of constitutionally elected President Mugabe, is a joke of the year and a waste of the courts' precious time. The source of sponsorship of the litigation is anybody's guess.MDC-T is also intending to move a motion in the House Assembly through one of its legislators, James Maridadi, aimed at impeaching President Mugabe. Maridadi seems to be taking ZANU (PF) legislators for fools when he boasted that even the ruling party's law makers will support this ill advised useless attempt. That will surely not come to pass as ZANU (PF) legislators are seeing through the evil machinations behind this diabolic intention.MDC-T has stooped to the lowest level in its desperation for relevance on Zimbabwe's political landscape. That party organizes violent demonstrations during which its thugs loot and burn property as well as violently confront the police. The police obviously will be obliged to use minimum force in order restore peace and tranquility. That party has a tendency of provoking the police so that if the police over reacts then the leaders of that party rush to accuse the police of human rights abuses. This is calculated to please the party's foreign handlers who gladly find excuses to continue imposing illegal economic sanctions on Zimbabwe.When President Mugabe, in his capacity as Commander In Chief of the security forces, has repeatedly warned perpetrators of violent demonstrations that they will face the wrath of the law, he is actually upholding his mandate and the constitution which does not allow violent demonstration for whatever cause. The President never said people should not demonstrate but emphasized that the demonstrations should be peaceful.The MDC-T and its appendages are the ones who a violating the constitution by threatening to remove President Mugabe from power before 31 August 2016 through violent demonstration. MDC-T should be reminded that security forces will not stand akimbo whilst the national constitution is being abrogated by power hungry elements under the banner of opposition politics.No amount of vilification from detractors will make President Mugabe fail to uphold the constitutional order in the country. He was overwhelmingly given the mandate to preside over the affairs of Zimbabwe up to 2018 and that mandate is far from over. Opposition elements have a constitutional right to dream on but not to cause anarchy in the country. After having been severely thrashed at the polls by ZANU (PF) several times, MDC-T is aware that it will never win elections due to its empty policies and dirty shenanigans of that party's leaders; hence, that party will leave no stone unturned in its attempt to get into power through the back door.Now that party has resorted to cyber terrorism using its rogue elements that are in self exile in countries like South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom. Surely security forces cannot stand by while terrorists are threatening to cause mayhem through reckless and random bombing of the country's citizens and property.Zimbabweans is one of the most peaceful countries on earth due to the vigilance of its security forces and wise leadership of President Mugabe. Criminals are quickly apprehended in the country unlike in other African countries where even capital crimes, like murder, can go unchecked. Other countries throughout the world actually envy peaceful Zimbabwe.Peace loving Zimbabweans should never allow malcontents, masquerading as democratic opposition elements, to drag their country into anarchy similar to what is obtaining in some African countries and the Middle East. Even some European countries and the United States of are America are currently not experiencing peace similar to that of Zimbabwe mainly due to threat of terrorism.So, President Mugabe will not be deterred by misguided elements that have now resorted to abusing the courts to advance their nefarious agenda. Zimbabwean courts are not tools of regime change lest the charlatans and their masters in the country forget.Zimbabweans, as one, will surely solve their current problems and their enemies will be brought to shame.
Hyderabad: The Niti-Aayog will begin consultations with state governments to give concrete shape to 15-year Vision Document for accelerating all-round development of the country as mandated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is also its chairman.

This 15-year vision document would be executed in two phases wherein a seven-year strategy, from 2017-18 to 2023-24 would be implemented initially.

Niti-Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya will meet Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday to work on the seven-year strategy, marking the end of the Nehru-era five-year plans, being implemented in the country for the last six decades.

It will also prepare a three-year action plan for 2017-18 to 2019-20 as part of the National Development Agenda, which will be aligned with the 14th Finance Commission award period.

The new action plan assumes significance in the backdrop of 2016-17, the ongoing financial year, being the terminal year of the 12th Five-Year Plan.

Mr Rao is expected to seek funds for Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya on the occasion.

The Governing Council of Niti-Aayog, which is the policy-making body, is headed by the PM and comprises of all CMs and ex-officio members who include Union home, finance, railway and agriculture ministers.

The body has been mandated to come up with a 15-year vision document for a period up to 2030, which will be co-terminus with sustainable development goals.

Mr Rao wants to bring to the notice of the Niti-Aayog that irrigation projects, Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya are aimed at meeting sustainable development goals as they would provide a permanent solution to drinking water and agriculture needs in the state.

A Niti-Aayog team visited TS in April and studied Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya schemes. It was impressed by both these schemes and recommended the Centre to grant Rs 20,000 crore. However, there has been no response from the Centre on this so far. Even during the recent PM's visit to Gajwel, Mr Rao had sought financial aid for these schemes.
New Delhi: Telangana state suffered a setback on Thursday with the Supreme Court refusing to review its March 2016 verdict holding that TS was not entitled to the entire assets and deposits of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE).

The Court in March ordered that the assets be divided between TS and AP in the ratio of 58:42 on the basis of their population and if the two states did not agree for this arrangement, the Centre would constitute a committee to arrive an agreement in two months.

A bench of Justices V. Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishra dismissed the review petition filed by the TS government saying no merits but kept the review petition filed by the council pending as it did not pass any order on this petition.

TS had estimated that it needs to pay around `25,000 crore to AP, if it wants to stake claim over these assets.

Freezing of accounts untenable: SC

TS suffered a setback on Thursday with the Supreme Court refusing to review its March 2016 verdict regarding assets. AP government had assessed the share at Rs 70,000 crore.

In March, the court had said that TS had claimed the entire funds and assets of the council. This could surely not have been the intention of the legislature while enacting the Reorganisation Act, 2014, just because the institutions are in Hyderabad, which falls in TS.

It said: We are wholly unable to agree with the contention advanced on behalf of the state of Telangana. If this contention is accepted, it would render Section 47 of the State Reorganisation Act, which provides for the apportionment of assets and liabilities among the successor states, useless and nugatory. The action of the banks of freezing the bank accounts of APSCHE is wholly untenable in law, which must be set aside.
Hyderabad: The sharing of assets with Andhra Pradesh in the common capital of Hyderabad will prove costly for the Telangana government.

Following the recent Supreme Court directions on sharing of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Educations assets and liabilities between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the ratio of their population of 52:48, the Telangana government has estimated that it needs to pay around Rs 25,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh, if it wants to stake claim over these assets.

Most of these assets are government offices in Hyderabad, which are jointly shared by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Andhra Pradesh government is making arrangements to shift its offices to Amaravati by June and is demanding 52 per cent of the buildings and lands worth from Telangana to hand these over after shifting.

APSCHE alone has fixed deposits worth Rs 115 crore and a bank balance of Rs 18 crore. The Andhra Pradesh government recently wrote to the Telangana government to come forward to share the FDs and bank balance of APSCHE in the ratio of 52:48 as directed by the Supreme Court. But there has been no response from the Telangana government so far as it has been scouting for legal options to file a review petition in the apex court.

There are 120 institutions listed under Schedule IX and X of the AP Reorganisation Act 2014, which are offering joint services to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh at present; most of these are located in Hyderabad.

The Andhra Pradesh government is seeking a 52 per cent share of the assets and liabilities of all these institutions. While the Andhra Pradesh government is claiming that the Telangana government will have to pay it nearly Rs 70,000 crore to take control of these institutions, the Telangana government has pegged the amount at Rs 25,000 crore, as per the worth of buildings and lands when they were provided to these institutions between 1956 and 2014.

"The Andhra Pradesh government is seeking a share based on the existing market rates, which is not correct. It arrived at a figure of Rs 70,000 crore based on that. But it should be based on the market value prevailing at that time when the building was constructed or land was allotted," said an official from the Finance department.

While the Andhra Pradesh government is claiming that the 120 institutions together had bank deposits of Rs 16,000 crore as on June 2, 2014, the Telangana government has dismissed this and put the figure at Rs 3,600 crore.
Bahraich: In an appalling incident, a 10-month-old baby died in a government hospital in Uttar Pradeshs Bahraich district on Tuesday as his parents failed to bribe the hospital staff.

According to reports, the child, Krishna, died because the hospital staff made delays in administering a crucial injection to him and wasted time in demanding bribe for giving treatment.

The hospital, however, has denied the allegations but ordered an inquiry into the incident and also sacked one of the bribe-takers.

According to report on NDTV, Sumita and Shiv Dutt had admitted their son to the childrens ward of the government hospital, as the child was suffering from high fever.

The couple alleged that they had to bribe the nurse to get documentation for the childs admission to the hospital. Later, the sweeper at the childrens ward also asked for bribe to allot a bed to the child.

Sumita alleged that on Tuesday morning a medical assistant came over and asked for money to get a crucial injection for Krishna.

I asked him to give me some timeI promised to give him whatever amount he asked for, Sumita was quoted as saying.

The assistant had an argument with the couple, following which he did fetch the injection, but it was too late to save the child, said the parents. Every staff member wanted a bribe. Only the doctors dont ask because they have private practice. I think one should sell ones land and go to a private hospital, said Shiv Dutt, who works as a labourer.

"(We) received a complaint that that a child's parents were asked to pay Rs 30 for bed by the sweeper. He has been removed from duty," said OP Pandey, the chief medical superintendent of the hospital.

"The nurse, who was on duty, has been shifted out from the children's ward. An inquiry has also been ordered," Pandey said.

Meanwhile, UP Health Minister, S P Yadav, described it as an "isolated" case and said action will be taken against anyone found guilty. "It is a sad incident. At the same time it is an isolated case. Government hospitals in the state are doing their work. Sometimes there are reports of negligence but this is an isolated case," he said in Lucknow.

The minister said he has taken serious note of the matter and directed the district magistrate to order an inquiry and send him the report within 24 hours. "We will take action on the basis of the report. Whoever is guilty... be it paramedical staff, doctor or any other employee, he or she will face strict action," he said, adding no one will be spared.
Thiruvananthapuram: NSUI general secretary Sravan Rao reached the capital to launch a membership campaign in colleges and hold KSU elections after holding talks with top leaders of the Congress.

On August 2, Mr Rao had dissolved the appointments made by the KPCC leadership. He will be launching a membership campaign at Government Law College here on Thursday. On Wednesday, he had held talks with former chief minister Oommen Chandy, KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran and Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala. On August 1, the senior Congress leaders had decided to appoint KSU office bearers on group sharing basis keeping the NSUI in the dark. KSU leadership told this newspaper that when they are keen on having a four-tier system for KSU elections, the KPCC leadership is keen to cut it to two-tier.

Our demand is that KSU elections should be held in state, district, block and unit levels. But senior Congress leaders are keen to see that the KSU elections are held in just district and state levels which would mean that the two factions would try to instigate their loyalists, said a KSU leader.

Congress sources told this newspaper that Mr Rao has come as a messenger of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to ensure that KSU elections are held in a four-tier system. The strategy of Mr Rao is to complete the membership campaign in 30 days. Then within the next 30 days election notification has to be issued which means that by end of October the new KSU leadership will come to power, said a Congress leader.

Congress MLA V. T. Balram had demanded earlier that the KSU elections should be held at the earliest.
In July 1952, the Intelligence Bureau sent New Delhi a worrying report about the Garhwal-Tibet border; after explaining that the border in this area could only be crossed through Mana and Niti Valleys, where there are open places and habitation, the rest of the border area consists of snow-covered mountains studded with glaciers, it mentioned one area, Hoti, used by Indian traders going to Tibet during the warm season. The report warned that at the end of the 19th century, the Tibetans had once established a customs post in Hoti Plain: To stop this practice, the British government had to send out a detachment of Gurkhas along with Dharmanand Joshi, deputy collector, in 1890. This had a salutary effect and the Tibetans removed their post, the IB report noted.

But once the Chinese appeared on the scene and occupied the plateau in 1950-51, the Tibetans became bolder: It appears the Tibetans have again established a police-cum-customs post at Hoti during the trading season, the 1952 IB report said. It added: Its quite possible that if the Tibetans arent stopped from establishing their post at Hoti Plain, they might eventually claim it to be their own territory. Since there is no habitation or cultivation in this area, the Garhwal authorities hardly ever visit the area or take action to denote that it lies within their jurisdiction. For centuries, the dzongpon (commissioner) of Daba in Tibet had sent serjis (messengers) to Hoti Plain in Indian territory to announce that the trading season had begun. As Indian traders went to Tibet, there were charged some hospitality taxes corresponding to the facilities they got from the Tibetan authorities (fodder for animals, etc).

In 1952, the Tibetans again shifted their customs camp to Barahoti. The IB then suggested sending a detachment of the Garhwal Rifles and local armed police to hoist the Indian tricolour in Barahoti to stop the Tibetans from establishing their customs post. That is how the Barahoti dispute started. It took a nastier turn two years later, when China had established its presence in western Tibet. Its important to remember that the Indian and Chinese governments had signed the historic Panchsheel Agreement on trade and pilgrimage in Tibet in April 1954. India gave away all its rights in the Land of Snows (telegraph lines, post offices, dak bungalows, military escorts in Gyantse and Yatung), but got no assurances on the border demarcation from Beijing.

In the negotiations, Indian diplomats clearly showed that the traditional and customary boundary followed the watershed range; the passes of Mana, Niti, Tun Jun La, Balcha Dhura, Kungri Bingri, Darma and Lipulekh marked the border in the area. China agreed to name five of them in the agreement, but flatly refused to mention Tsang Chok La, Tun Jun La and Balcha Dhura. Why? Simply because Tun Jun La is north of Barahoti in Garhwal and Balcha Dhura north of Sangchamalla and Lapthal in Almora district. Not naming these passes allowed China to later claim that these areas were located south of the watershed.

The Indian negotiators were fooled... but then China, at that time, was a great friend! The ink barely dried on the Panchsheel that China started making claims on the Indian territories. On August 13, 1954, a note from the Chinese embassy in New Delhi complained: Over 30 Indian troops armed with rifles crossed the Niti Pass on June 29, 1954, and intruded into Wu-Je (Chinese name for Barahoti). Beijing pretended to be shocked, saying this not in conformity with the principles of non-aggression and friendly co-existence between China and India.

So while China had entered Indian territory, it was now blaming India! Beijing later protested that on July 17, a 33-person unit had entered its territory... in Barahoti: The unit was under the command of an officer called Nathauja (Chinese pronunciation), a deputy commander, the district magistrate of Walzanjapur district as well as a doctor, a radio operator and soldiers, all living in 17 tents. After investigations, India replied on August 27 that it was found the allegation is entirely incorrect. A party of our Border Security Force is encamped in Hoti Plain, which is southeast of Niti Pass and in Indian territory. None of our troops or personnel have crossed north of Niti Pass. It is how the saga of incursions in the central sector of the Indo-Tibet (now Sino-Indian) border began.

A new terminology has been found by bureaucrats in New Delhi. It is called a transgression, but it doesnt change the historical fact: Barahoti is south of the Himalayan watershed marking the border. In 1958, New Delhi decided to try to negotiate a settlement with Beijing. Fu Hao, Chinese counsellor in New Delhi, met a MEA joint secretary several times. The Chinese suggested a joint local inquiry. Foreign secretary Subimal Dutt sent a note to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru: Our case is that Barahoti is an area of about one and a half square miles. We have given the exact position with reference to its latitude and longitude. The Chinese have not defined which area they mean by Wu-Je... an area south of Tun Jun La. Dutt then added: If the Chinese claims are conceded, the international boundary would lie south in what is undoubtedly Indian territory.

The foreign secretary said: The Chinese are apparently keen on a local inquiry because they will thereby be in a position to define the exact borders of the area which they are claiming. But Beijing didnt know where Wu-Je or Barahoti was located.

Subimal Dutt then concluded: We should emphatically refuse to take any oral evidence locally. Barahoti is more easily approachable from the Tibet side than from our side. The Chinese would be able to produce any number of Tibetans to say what they (want) these people to say. He went on: The Chinese government is not prepared to accept our northern border as shown on our maps, as these maps are supposed to have been prepared by British colonialists surreptitiously. They are also not prepared to accept passes mentioned in the 1954 agreement as border passes... thereby indirectly repudiating the principle of watershed as marking the international boundary.

All this shows that the Chinese still use the same tactics (whether in the South China Sea today or earlier in Aksai Chin or Barahoti); they occupy a territory that they deem important for their own interests and later emphatically declare it has always been Chinese territory, which is sacred and will be defended by force if necessary. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yis visit to New Delhi on Saturday will not change anything in the mindset of the leadership in Beijing, and the intrusions (transgressions?) will continue. It is important, therefore, that the Indian public is aware about the history of our borders.
Scientists analysed Cassini data from a close pass the spacecraft made over Titan in May 2013.

Washington: NASA's Cassini spacecraft has discovered steep-sided canyons, hundreds of meters deep, on Saturn's moon Titan that are flooded with liquid hydrocarbons.

The finding represents the first direct evidence of the presence of liquid-filled channels on Titan, as well as the first observation of the deep canyons, NASA said.

Scientists analysed Cassini data from a close pass the spacecraft made over Titan in May 2013. During the flyby, Cassini's radar instrument focused on channels that branch out from the large, northern sea Ligeia Mare.

The observations show that the channels - in particular, a network of them named Vid Flumina - are narrow canyons, generally less than a kilometre wide, with slopes steeper than 40 degrees.

The canyons also are quite deep - those measured are 240 to 570 metres from top to bottom. The branching channels appear dark in radar images, much like Titan's methane-rich seas.

This suggested that the channels might also be filled with liquid, but a direct detection had not been made until now.

Previously it was not clear if the dark material was liquid or merely saturated sediment - which at Titan's frigid temperatures would be made of ice, not rock. Cassini's radar was used as an altimeter, sending pings of radio waves to the moon's surface to measure the height of features there.

The researchers combined the altimetry data with previous radar images of the region to make their discovery.

The radar instrument observed a glint, indicating an extremely smooth surface like that observed from Titan's hydrocarbon seas.

The timing of radar echoes, as they bounced off the canyons' edges and floors, provided a measure of their depths.

The presence of such deep cuts in the landscape indicates that the process that created them was active for a long time or eroded down faster than other areas on Titan's surface. The researchers' proposed scenarios include uplift of the terrain and changes in sea level, or perhaps both.

"It's likely that a combination of these forces contributed to the formation of the deep canyons, but at present it's not clear to what degree each was involved," said Valerio Poggiali, Cassini radar team associate from the University of Rome and lead author of the study.

Earthly examples of both of these types of canyon-carving processes are found along the Colorado River in Arizona.

An example of uplift powering erosion is the Grand Canyon, where the terrain's rising altitude caused the river to cut deeply downward into the landscape over the course of several million years.

"Earth is warm and rocky, with rivers of water, while Titan is cold and icy, with rivers of methane. And yet it's remarkable that we find such similar features on both worlds," said Alex Hayes, from Cornell University.

The finding was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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Xiaomi will have another open sale on August 17 for Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, which presently registers 90 per cent of its sales from online channel in India, is planning to double offline presence over the next few months.

"For us, online is the dominant channel and we are trying to build a base for offline in India. We had a partnership with Redington last year (for distribution) and four weeks

back, tied up with Innocomm and Just Buy Live," Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain said here.

Jain added that with these two new partners, the company now sells its products via 5,000 shops and plans to double the figure in a few months.

Xiaomi launched Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime in the country priced at Rs 6,999 and Rs 8,999, respectively. The phones will be initially available at Mi.com and Flipkart.

Xiaomi, which sells over 1 million phones a quarter in the country, did its first sale for Redmi 3S yesterday on Flipkart and Mi.com and sold out all 90,000 units.

"For the first sale that we did yesterday, we wanted to bring the highest possible quantity and we brought 90,000 units. Everything was added to cart in a few minutes and it took two-and-a-half hours to ship out everything," Jain said.

Xiaomi chose open sale, instead of the usual flash sale yesterday, as the company brought significantly higher volumes than it ever did, Jain said.

Xiaomi will have another open sale on August 17 for Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime with similar number of units. Both the phones have been manufactured in India at the company's Andhra Pradesh facility.

"We are scaling up the facility at Andhra Pradesh. We are adding more lines and more capacity to the same plant and once we exhaust it, we are thinking of adding more factories along with our partners Foxconn," he said.

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The incident took place last evening, when a notorious person torn the holy book into pieces. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)

California: The Sikh community in Union City, California is protesting against an unidentified man desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib.

The Incident took place on Wednesday when pages of the Granth Sahib were torn and thrown away by the miscreant.

"The incident took place last evening, when a notorious person torn the holy book into pieces. This has riled up the people of our community. We along with our community will take up this issue. And we expect that American authorities will find a solution to this and bring the culprits to the book. Moving on we also wish that police and local authorities lend us help in the matter," said American Gurudwar Committee coordinator, Pritpal Singh

Subsequent to the incident, California mayor Eric Garcetti arrived at the protest site and assured the protestors of penal action against the miscreants who have attempted to hurt their religious sentiments. According to reports, police have registered a complaint in the matter.
The woman is also accused of distributing sexually explicit images of her daughters "for her own personal gain," police said. (Representational Image)

Ottawa: A 33-year-old mother has been charged with sexually assaulting her own children -- a four-year-old and a teenager -- casting them in child pornography and prostituting the youngest daughter, police said Wednesday.

The woman, whose identity was withheld to protect the children, had been in custody on an assault charge that has been upgraded to attempted murder, the Niagara Regional Police Service said in a statement.

"This accused female is the biological mother of two female victims under the age of 18 years old, the youngest being four years of age," Constable Philip Gavin said.

"The charges are based on allegations that she was sexually assaulting both of her children," he said.

Some of the alleged assaults against her eldest daughter date back approximately six years ago, according to police. The victim would have been 12 years old at the time.

The woman is also accused of distributing sexually explicit images of her daughters "for her own personal gain," police said.

A total of six children between the ages of four and 17 were identified from pornographic images uncovered by police, and rescued.

Five men were also charged in the case, including the target of the alleged attempted murder.
For Gutierrez, the most fascinating journey of all has been an internal one, an intellectual and emotional excursion that has carried him from his role as an anti-Castro hardliner in Republican George W. Bushs Cabinet to his new role as a champion of American business investment in his homeland.



Gutierrez gives numerous reasons for his policy shift, ranging from having left Miami as a child to his familys time in Mexico and his later work in China.



By themselves, none of those things had been enough to change his mind. But they culminated in a long talk with President Barack Obama that he found persuasive.



Obamas talk was like the last drop in a chemistry experiment that makes a liquid solution turn solid in an instant: Each drop that came before it contributed to the change, but only the last one made it happen.



That sort of opened the door, Gutierrez told McClatchy . It forced me to think even more realistically.



Some one-time friends of the former commerce secretary dont buy his evolutionary depiction of the shift. They see a financial motive tied to his position as co-director of the Albright Stonebridge Group, a high-powered Washington consulting firm that helps open doors for American companies seeking to do business abroad.



When its an outright case of just literally doing it for the money on an issue that he was a big believer in, Im sorry  I have zero respect for that, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American Republican from Miami, told McClatchy.



Gutierrez, 62, rejects that kind of judgment.



I dont need the money, but I do want to help the country of my birth, he told McClatchy.



Gutierrez, a handsome man with a gray mustache on a trim face, had been a hero to Cubans in South Florida and beyond  only the second Cuban-American member of a White House Cabinet. The first, Mel Martinez, served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Bush before Gutierrez joined his Cabinet. Martinez later represented Florida in the U.S. Senate.



Gutierrezs embrace of the Castro regime made him an overnight pariah among his own.



They see it as betrayal, Gutierrez said.



Friends stopped talking to him, and not just Diaz-Balart. Miami Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo, whose election campaign Gutierrez supported in 2014, said he felt blindsided.



I consider his change of position drastic, and it was unexpected, Curbelo said.



Some of Gutierrezs friends felt ambushed.



It was sad to hear, Orlando Gutierrez Boronat, head of the Cuban American Directorate in Miami, told McClatchy. I regret that hes taken that position.



Asked whether he and Carlos Gutierrez remain close, Boronat responded, We were friends. Its been a while since Ive spoken with him.



Doubts about his true motivations anger the normally unflappable Gutierrez.



Naysayers should have the courage to go to Cuba to see the damage this failed (embargo) policy has done to millions of people, instead of sitting behind a desk making misinformed statements about a country theyve never visited, he said.

A story reminiscent of a man in a coma regaining consciousness, one of the Republican party's most outspoken anti-Castro "Moustache Petes" is now deeply involved on expanding US-Cuba relations.Some so-called friends are better left behind on the shore. It takes courage to make the changes he has and it does help that he is financially able to do so, but for what ever reason and in spite of whatver reward he may recieve, he is doing what is right.
Los Angeles: A former sanitation worker was sentenced to death on Wednesday for murdering nine women and a teenage girl as the "Grim Sleeper," a serial killer who preyed on prostitutes and drug addicts in a Los Angeles crime spree dating back three decades.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy condemned Lonnie David Franklin Jr., 63, to execution by lethal injection, as recommended in June by jurors who chose capital punishment over life in prison without parole.

The same jury convicted Franklin on May 5 on 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

"I can't think of anyone in all my years that has committed the kind of monstrous and the number of monstrous crimes that you have," Kennedy told Franklin, who sat stone-faced before her at the defendant's table.

Franklin, who is suspected in several other unsolved slayings, showed no discernible emotion as the sentence was pronounced, and did not formally address the court.

But in an outburst earlier during the 3 1/2-hour proceeding, Franklin said the sister of one of the dead was "lying" as she recounted in a victim-impact statement that she and her slain sibling had both once known the killer.

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Franklin's sentencing caps a lengthy investigation and prosecution of one of the most prolific and notorious serial murderer cases in California history, along with "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez and "Freeway Killer" William Bonin.

Franklin is unlikely to face execution in the very near future. The last person put to death in California was in 2006, and the state's system of administering capital punishment ground to a halt soon after when a court ruling outlawed its lethal injection protocols.

Grim Sleeper's Pause

Franklin was found guilty of shooting seven women to death from August 1985 to September 1988, then strangling a 15-year-old girl, and strangling or shooting two other women in a second round of killings between March 2002 and January 2007.

The killer was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because he seemed to have taken a 13-year break between the two spates of murders.

Franklin also was convicted of attacking an 11th victim, who survived being shot, raped, pushed out of a car and left for dead in 1988. She testified against him at trial.

Prosecutors say Franklin stalked the streets of South Los Angeles, singling out prostitutes and drug addicts in a crime spree beginning at the height of a crack cocaine epidemic in the area. His victims' nude or partially clothed bodies were found dumped in alleys and trash bins.

Franklin did not testify at his trial. His attorneys had sought to raise doubts about DNA evidence and suggested another "mystery man" was behind the killings.

Authorities said after Franklin's 2011 indictment that they had evidence tying him to several more unsolved slayings, some of which occurred during the presumed lapse in killings. Prosecutors in the penalty phase of the trial were permitted to present testimony about four such cases.

During Wednesday's sentencing hearing Franklin grew agitated when Vivian Williams, a sister of one of the people identified as a victim, Georgia Mae Thomas, faced him in court and recalled that both had known him and that she waved at him "all the time."

"I've never seen you. I've never seen your face. That's a bold-face lie," he blurted, before being told to calm down by a sheriff's deputy.
US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom quote US President Obama about 'the need for religious freedom in India'. (Photo: PTI)

Washington: The US on Wednesday said it has been clear in conveying its concerns whenever the Indian government was "slow" in reacting to incidents of religious violence and cow vigilantism.

"We have been clear in our engagement with India about our concerns about those times when the government has been slow to react when violence has taken place, and some of those controversies over the cows -- are an example of that," US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Rabbi David Nathan Saperstein, told reporters at a news conference.

"There have been other times where (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi has spoken out and has spoken out very forcefully about the need to protect religious freedom for all and security for all," Saperstein said in response to a question on religious freedom in India after releasing the annual report on International Religious Freedom in 2015.

The US has been "clear" about its view of what is needed and its willingness to be supportive in confronting the challenges to religious freedom that need to be addressed there and when the government has been "slow to react", urging them to be more assertive on that, Saperstein said.

"He (Modi) has promised to ensure that 'everyone has the' -- I'm quoting him now -- 'the undeniable right to retain or adopt religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influences', responding to some of the attacks on Christians because they are seen as proselytising and encouraging others to convert," he said.

The United States, Saperstein said, has been clear and consistent in its messages about the things that they think are most helpful to the stability of the region and the stability of the country.

"And we'll continue to be supportive of those efforts where he is acting in accordance with the international obligations of India in these regards," he said.

Saperstein also reiterated the remarks made by US President Barack Obama when he visited India last year.

"President Obama travelled to India. He gave a major public speech in which he was very clear about the need for religious freedom in India that could be exercised without people being subject to violence, urging the government to ensure that all people were able to safely live out their religious lives," he said.

Saperstein's remarks come amid a slew of incidents of cow vigilantism in India.

India's Home Ministry issued an advisory last evening asking all states not to tolerate anyone taking law into their hands in the name of protecting cow and take prompt action against such offenders.

The advisory came two days after Prime Minister Modi denounced cow vigilantes and asked the states to severely punish them.
The deceased's son, Steve Knowlton, talks about his mother, shown in family photos, during an interview on Wednesday in Punta Gorda. (Photo: AP)

Punta Gorda: A police "shoot/don't shoot" demonstration in Florida on Tuesday evening went shockingly awry when an officer shot and killed a 73-year-old former librarian with what police said was real ammunition used by mistake at an event designed to bring police and the public together.

Authorities didn't immediately say how a gun with a live round came to be used at Tuesday evening's demonstration, noting blank rounds are typically used in such classes. The officer, who wasn't immediately identified, has been placed on administrative leave and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has begun the investigation.

"We were unaware that any live ammunition was available to the officer," Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis said at a news conference on Wednesday. "The officer involved is grief stricken. We've got officers assigned to him to make sure he's psychologically stable."

Mary Knowlton, a well-known community volunteer, was shot after being randomly selected to take part in the role-playing scenario illustrating the split-second decisions an officer must make about firing. It was part of a popular Citizens Academy attended by 35 people, including her 75-year-old husband. Her son, Steve Knowlton, said his father was "devastated."

The younger Knowlton said in an interview on Wednesday at his parent's home that, on his mother's behalf, he was forgiving the officer who fired.

"There's too much hate in this world, in America, we always feel like we need revenge and it doesn't solve anything," he said. "I obviously can't say it's easy to forgive, but it needs to be done. She's watching me now."

Punta Gorda Police Lieutenant Katie Heck said officers in such demonstrations normally use "simunition guns," which are real-looking weapons that fire a non-lethal projectile with reduced force. But Knowlton was mistakenly struck with a live round, officials said.

The class put on by the Chamber of Commerce and the Punta Gorda police station, was just one stop during the weeks-long curriculum.

Officer Oscar Vasquez of the Jacksonville, Illinois Police Department, who is president of the National Citizens Police Academy Association, said he had never heard of anyone taking part in such courses being fatally shot. He said most departments do not use weapons in "shoot/don't shoot" scenarios that are capable of firing a live round.

"When we run scenarios, we will use starter pistols," Vasquez told The Associated Press. "You can't even put live ammunition in them."

The deceased's son, Steve Knowlton, talks about his mother, shown in family photos, during an interview on Wednesday in Punta Gorda. (Photo: AP)

Some departments use video simulators or other non-lethal devices, he said. Officers involved in most citizen academies don't typically even bring service weapons into classes, he added. Citizens are told beforehand that live weapons won't be used.

"We put them in the shoes of the officers so they can see, real time, the decisions we have to make and the time frame we have to make them."

With suspicions running high between police and many citizens in recent years, particularly in minority communities, Vasquez said a death like the one in Punta Gorda is extremely unfortunate.

"It just breaks my heart. It's such a tragedy," he said.

Mary Knowlton attended the class with her husband and it was supposed to be "a fun night," her son said.

Steve Knowlton tearfully told reporters that he used to tease his mother about how much she worked in retirement. She helped with the local Chamber of Commerce, was active in a program for at-risk kids where she made lunch for the students, loved the library and spent hours there volunteering.

Mary Knowlton moved to Florida after living for many years in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.

Books and magazines lay scattered on tables of the home she shared in Florida with Gary, her husband of 55 years. The couple split their time between Minnesota and the small Gulf Coast community. She had two sons.

Steve said that his father hadn't yet been able to see his wife's body, more than 12 hours after the shooting.

"To see your wife shot and killed, and not be able to see her ..." Steve Knowlton said, his eyes filling with tears.

And yet, Knowlton said his mother would have wanted him to forgive the officer who pulled the trigger.

"I forgive him. My mom was very spiritual. She brought us up right," he said. "He without sin casts the first stone."

Carolyn Hartwigsen, of Edina, Minnesota, told The Associated Press she was a long-time friend of Knowlton. She said Knowlton had a love for books and tried to instil that in young readers.

"So much is on the internet now. But, books are so important to have in children's hands. That was important to her," Hartwigsen said, adding that Mary and her husband would come back to Minnesota periodically to visit.

"She was the salt of the earth, a beautiful soul and the kindest women you would know," she said.
The US State Department denounced non-state actors like the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, and the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, which "continued to rank amongst the most egregious abusers of religious freedom in the world.". (Photo: AFP)

Washington: The United States on Wednesday denounced the "genocide" carried out by the Islamic State group against Christians, Shiites and Yazidis, as the State Department unveiled its somber annual report on religious freedom around the world.

In its comprehensive look at the situation in more than 200 countries in 2015, the State Department singled out its usual bugbears on the issue of religious repression: ally Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sudan.

And as in previous years, the US government expressed concern at the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe, against a backdrop of the continent's migrant crisis and an uptick in jihadist attacks.

But the report denounced non-state actors like the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, and the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, which "continued to rank amongst the most egregious abusers of religious freedom in the world."

ISIS "continued to pursue a brutal strategy of what Secretary (John) Kerry judged to constitute genocide against Yazidis, Christians, Shiites, and other vulnerable groups in the territory it controlled," the State Department said.

Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who formally unveiled the report, recalled that Kerry in March "made clear his judgment that Daesh is responsible for genocide against religious communities in areas under its control."

Daesh is an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

"Daesh kills Yazidis because they are Yazidi, Christians because they are Christian, Shia Muslims because they are Shia," Blinken told reporters.

He also accused the Sunni jihadists, who control swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, of being "responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing."

Kerry and United Nations experts had previously used the term "genocide"  that has legal implications in the United States  to refer to crimes carried out by ISIS jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

In the two war-torn countries, jihadists were "responsible for barbarous acts, including killings, torture, enslavement and trafficking, rape and other sexual abuse against religious and ethnic minorities and Sunnis," the report said.
Identified as Imran Rabbani, the 17-year-old said that he is shifting his focus from extremism to the kitchen. (Photo: Facebook)

New York: Expressing his love for pizza, a teenage ISIS sympathiser from US has said that he is ditching the dreaded Islamic State group and would no more think of becoming a terrorist.

Identified as Imran Rabbani, the 17-year-old said that he is shifting his focus from extremism to the kitchen.

A day before he made the choice, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison after being accused of menacing a counter-terrorism detective.

While he was undergoing a trial in the court, he told the judge that he suffered from identity crisis after spending time with a man named 'Saleh', who was already radlicalised by ISIS.

"Although I can't change the past and stop myself from doing what I did, I can and do take responsibility for my actions and learn from them," Rabbani was quoted in a Mirror report.

Rabbani told the judge that he had a passion for culinary arts, especially for pizza and intended to learn traditional recipes from his culture.

Rabbani plans to take up studies, attend college and open a restaurant in the future.
The spike in anti-LGBT vitriol, predominantly during January and February this year, has intensified violence against sexual minorities throughout Indonesia. (Photo: AP)

Jakarta: Indonesia said Thursday there was "no room" for the gay community in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, as activists blasted officials for an unprecedented series of LGBT attacks.

A wave of angry rhetoric directed at homosexuals earlier this year -- including a call to ban them from university campuses -- was the first time senior officials had publicly attacked the Southeast Asian nation's gay community, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.

Indonesia's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens have long been targeted by vigilante Islamist groups.

But the community experienced an "immediate deterioration" in their rights following a sustained assault by ministers, religious hardliners and influential Islamic organisations over a two-month period, HRW said.

In response, the government said protecting LGBT rights was not a priority.

"Rights of citizens like going to school and getting an ID card are protected, but there is no room in Indonesia for the proliferation of the LGBT movement," presidential spokesman Johan Budi told AFP.

Some of the most high-profile figures making anti-gay statements during the backlash -- which activists believe may have been triggered by media coverage of the US decision to legalise same-sex marriage -- were government ministers.

The higher education minister called for a ban on LGBT organisations on university campuses, while the defence minister likened homosexual rights groups to a "type of modern warfare".

In their report, HRW said that "what began as public condemnation quickly grew into calls for criminalisation and 'cures', laying bare the depth and breadth of officials' individual prejudices".

The spike in anti-LGBT vitriol, predominantly during January and February this year, has intensified violence against sexual minorities throughout Indonesia, the report said.

Indonesia's largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama, in February described gay lifestyles as perverted and a desecration of human dignity. In Aceh, the only Indonesian province that applies Islamic law, the local government urged business owners to refuse to hire gay citizens.

In interviews with activist groups, HRW reported gay rights organisations shut their offices and even hid staff as threats mounted against them.

In Yogyakarta an Islamist group forced the closure of a transgender Islamic boarding school, while a peaceful rally in the same Central Javan city in support of Indonesia's LGBT community was shut down.

"The impact of anti-LGBT rhetoric from government officials is enormous for us as individuals. For those of us who have worked so hard and risked so much to come out, it is a major step backward," a lesbian activist in eastern Indonesia told HRW.

Islamic activists have also filed a judicial review at the Constitutional Court aimed at making gay sex a crime. The court is currently holding hearings into the case.
Many senior ministers in the Angela Merkel government are in support of banning veils that cover the full face of women. (Representational Image/AFP)

In a controversial move, Germanys interior minister is expected to announce a proposal to ban burqa in public places as part of a string of new security measures.

Many senior ministers in the Angela Merkel government are in support of banning veils that cover the full face of women.

In wake of increased terror attacks in the country, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere will make an announcement on the proposed ban on Thursday.

I find a burqa ban absolutely welcome, Berlin senator Frank Henkel was quoted in German newspaper Tagesspiegel.

Read: Two German judges' associations call for ban on headscarves in courtrooms

The list of new measures also includes a proposal to deport Islamic preachers who incite violence or acts of terror.

Freedom of expression is non-negotiable. The brutalization of our language and in particular hateful messages posted on social media will not be tolerated. We need to return to our civic virtues. Respect, courtesy and mutual consideration of one another are the foundations for a peaceful coexistence, says an excerpt from the draft of the new proposals.

Other proposals include increasing of security forces across the country, boosting of surveillance at public places and making stricter rules on dual nationality.

The proposal to ban veils was first made by Christian Democrat (CDU) MP Jens Spahn. A ban on the full veil, ie the niqab and the burqa, is overdue and would be a signal to the world. I dont want to encounter a burqa in this country. In that sense I am burqaphobic, he was quoted telling the Die Welt, last month.
Sofia, Bulgaria: Bulgaria's deportation to Turkey of a supporter of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for last month's failed coup, sparked an outcry in the EU member state today.

Businessman Abdullah Buyuk, 43, was deported on Wednesday "as a person with invalid documents" after being refused political asylum, Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova told bTV television today.

This sparked outrage in the news media and on social media, with critics charging that Sofia had bowed to Turkish pressure and had failed to follow proper legal or transparent procedures.

"It is disgusting that the Bulgarian leadership bends in such a humiliating way for the country and for every free citizen," former justice minister Hristo Ivanov said on Facebook.

The chairman of rights group the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Krasimir Kanev, told AFP that the expulsion was "illegal".

Bulgarian media have dug around Buyuk's case for weeks after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said several times that Ankara wants Buyuk transferred back as "a traitor".

He arrived in Bulgaria in February long before the coup and Turkey had already sought his extradition, accusing him of "!links with terrorist organisations and money laundering".

In March, two Bulgarian courts however refused to send him back, saying he was "sought for political reasons" and that they "lacked guarantees for a fair trial" in Turkey.

Prosecutors told AFP last week however that after the July 15 coup attempt, Turkey asked Bulgaria to reexamine the case. They replied that the request was "procedurally inadmissible".

But interior ministry deputy chief of staff Georgy Arabadzhiev told journalists on Thursday that Bulgaria had now received from Interpol "new worrying facts and circumstances" about Buyuk, without elaborating.

As a result, the ministry issued on Tuesday an order to expel him immediately, tracked him down and escorted him to the border.

Bulgaria has been extremely careful in its comments on the failed coup in its southeastern neighbour, fearing a mass influx of refugees if Turkey's deal with Brussels to stop migrants coming to the EU falls apart.

Gulen, 75, strongly denies being behind the failed putsch. His organisation paid for Buyuk's education and Buyuk told a Bulgarian court that he followed the principles of Gulen's movement.

"Bulgaria has returned a FETO (Fetullah Terror Organisation) member. We thank Bulgaria and it's thanks to our cooperation," Cavusoglu said in a television interview on Thursday.
A criminal probe has been launched and Magomedov's professional work is viewed as the main reason for the attempt on his life. (Photo: Representational Image)

Moscow: A Russian judge was shot dead near his home in the restive Caucasus region of Dagestan by an unknown assailant, investigators said Thursday.

An "unknown person fired shots from an automatic weapon" at judge Ubaidula Magomedov late Wednesday in the courtyard of his home in the mountain village of Assab, Dagestan's investigative committee said.

"The judge died on the spot," it said. A criminal probe has been launched and "Magomedov's professional work is viewed as the main reason for the attempt on his life."

Magomedov has worked as a judge of a regional court in Dagestan since he was appointed in September 2007 by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Publicly available information indicates that his recent cases included drug possession and explosives trafficking, though a representative of the supreme court of Dagestan told TASS news agencies that he also reviewed terrorism and extremism cases.

Dagestan is a mountainous region in the North Caucasus which borders Chechnya, where Russia fought two separatist conflicts. Dagestan is exposed to near daily violence due to a simmering Islamist insurgency.

Meanwhile, three alleged militants died in a shootout with security officers in Andi, a Dagestani village not far from Chechnya, a security source told the RIA-Novosti news agency Thursday.

It wasn't clear whether the two incidents were related. The two villages are less than 40 kilometres (25 miles) apart.
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Ukraine of waging "terror" over alleged attempted incursions into annexed Crimea that Kiev has fiercely denied.

Russia's security agency announced it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back an armed assault, claims that have ratcheted up tensions first sparked by Moscow's 2014 annexation of the strategic Black Sea peninsula.

The FSB said in a statement that one of its officers was killed in armed clashes while arresting "terrorists" on the night of August 6-7, while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with "sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian defence ministry on August 8.

"This is very alarming news. In fact, our security services prevented an incursion into the territory by a sabotage-reconnaissance group from Ukraine's defence ministry," Putin said.

The Kremlin leader accused the authorities in Kiev of "practising terror" and pledged not to leave the deaths of the two Russian officers unanswered.

"From the Russian side there were losses -- two servicemen killed. We obviously will not let such things slide by," Putin said.

"This is a very dangerous game. We will of course do everything to assure the security of infrastructure, citizens and will take additional measures to provide security, including serious additional measures."

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter feud since the Kremlin seized Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Moscow's claims were "senseless and cynical".

"These fantasies are only another pretext for the next military threats toward Ukraine," Interfax news agency reported him as saying.

Ukraine's national security council chief Oleksandr Turchynov, meanwhile, branded the allegations as "hysterical and false" and said Moscow was trying to stoke fear in Crimea.

Ukraine's defence ministry also dismissed the allegations as "nothing more than an attempt to justify the redeployment and aggressive actions" of Russian forces in the region.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring the frontier between mainland Ukraine and Crimea did not report any incidents.

But it said road traffic was halted earlier this week and border guards appeared to be on "heightened alert".

Destabilise situation

In its statement, the FSB -- which controls Russia's border guards -- said it had "foiled terrorist attacks on the territory of Crimea prepared by the intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian defence ministry".

"The aim of the sabotage and terrorist attacks was to destabilise the social and political situation" ahead of elections in Russia and Crimea next month, it said.

The security agency said that in the August 6-7 raids, several people were detained, including a Ukrainian military intelligence officer, and a cache of explosives was discovered.

"On the night of August 8, 2016 special operations forces from the Ukrainian defence ministry carried out two more attempts to make a breakthrough by sabotage-terrorist groups," it said.

The assault included "massive firing from the side of the neighbouring state and armoured vehicles" but was beaten back by the Russian authorities, the statement said.

The FSB said it had stepped up security measures around the peninsula following the alleged incidents.

Russia seized Crimea in 2014 after sending in thousands of special forces troops to take control of Ukrainian bases and holding a hastily-organised referendum that was rejected by the international community.

The move shattered ties between the two ex-Soviet neighbours and sent relations between Moscow and the West plummeting to their lowest point since the Cold War.

Since its annexation by Russia, Crimea has remained largely peaceful. However, a separatist conflict -- that the West and Kiev blame on Moscow -- has killed some 9,500 people in two regions of Ukraine's industrial east.

Fighting in the east between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels is still rumbling on as a peace deal to end the violence fails to make progress.

Putin said the alleged incidents in Crimea meant he would not hold a meeting with Poroshenko and mediators German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French leader Francois Hollande on the conflict at the G20 summit in China in September.

Russia is gearing up for nationwide legislative elections on September 18 and Putin has previously warned his security officials that "foreign enemies" are seeking to disrupt the vote.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 raids hit the city and its outskirts, wounding at least 70 others. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

Beirut: Russian air strikes on the Islamic State group bastion of Raqqa in northern Syria on Thursday killed at least 30 people, including civilians and jihadists, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 raids hit the city and its outskirts, wounding at least 70 others.

The monitor could not specify how many of those killed were IS militants.

Russia confirmed that six Tupolev warplanes carried out airstrikes around Raqa, but said it had demolished "a chemical weapons factory in the city's northwestern outskirts."

The defence ministry said the raids also destroyed a weapons storage facility and a training camp for IS fighters to the north and southeast.

The ministry said that the jihadists had suffered "significant material damages" in the strikes and that "a large number of fighters have been killed."

The raids comes a day after the ministry said it would halt fire around Syria's ravaged city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid in, an initiative the United Nations said is insufficient to meet the city's needs.

The UN has called for urgent aid access to Aleppo and 48-hour weekly pauses for the aid deliveries, warning that civilians are at grave risk from water shortages and disease as fighting has intensified.

Fighting between government forces and rebels in Aleppo has intensified in the past month, with both sides sending in reinforcements.
Russian air strikes on the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa in northern Syria killed at least 30 people, including civilians and jihadists.(Photo: AP/Representational)

Beirut: Russian air strikes on the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, bastion of Raqa in northern Syria on Wednesday killed at least 30 people, including civilians and jihadists, a monitoring group said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 raids hit the city and its outskirts, wounding at least 70 others. The monitor could not specify how many of those killed were ISIS militants.

Russia confirmed that six Tupolev warplanes carried out airstrikes around Raqa, but said it had demolished "a chemical weapons factory in the city's northwestern outskirts."

The defence ministry said the raids also destroyed a weapons storage facility and a training camp for IS fighters to the north and southeast.

The ministry said that the jihadists had suffered "significant material damages" in the strikes and that "a large number of fighters have been killed."

The raids comes a day after the ministry said it would halt fire around Syria's ravaged city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid in, an initiative the United Nations said is insufficient to meet the city's needs.

The UN has called for urgent aid access to Aleppo and 48-hour weekly pauses for the aid deliveries, warning that civilians are at grave risk from water shortages and disease as fighting has intensified.

Fighting between government forces and rebels in Aleppo has intensified in the past month, with both sides sending in reinforcements.
Amid unusually strong winds, the 1,350-ton crane collapsed onto the Grand Mosque that houses Islam's holiest site, the cube-shaped Kaaba, bringing down slabs of concrete on worshippers below. (Photo: AFP)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Fourteen people have gone on trial in Saudi Arabia over a crane collapse in Mecca that killed 111 pilgrims and injured hundreds more just days before the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage last year, local media reported Thursday.

State-linked newspapers said six Saudis, including a billionaire, as well as two Pakistanis, a Canadian, a Jordanian, a Palestinian, an Egyptian, an Emirati and a Filipino are on trial. The defendants' names were not made public.

The Okaz newspaper says the defendants are accused of negligence, damaging public property and ignoring safety guidelines. It appears all are employees of the Saudi Binladin Group, the construction giant that was operating the crane.

Amid unusually strong winds, the 1,350-ton crane collapsed onto the Grand Mosque that houses Islam's holiest site, the cube-shaped Kaaba, bringing down slabs of concrete on worshippers below. The tragedy on Sept. 11 was the first of two major incidents to mar last year's hajj. A stampede and crush of pilgrims killed more than 2,400 people on Sept. 24, according to an Associated Press count.

The Saudi Gazette reported that 170 employees of the Binladin Group had been questioned by investigators ahead of the court proceedings. Okaz said prosecutors decided not to file charges against 42 others who were under investigation, including 16 members of the Binladin family.

Dozens of cranes surround Mecca's Grand Mosque, part of a massive construction effort headed by the Binladin Group. The Binladin family has been close to Saudi Arabia's ruling family for decades and runs major building projects. Al-Qaida's late leader Osama bin Laden was a renegade son disowned by the family in the 1990s.

After the incident, King Salman partly blamed the construction giant, saying the crane's arm should not have been left up when it was not in use.

The king ordered 1 million riyals ($267,000) to be paid to the relatives of those killed, and the same amount to those permanently injured. Those with lesser injuries were to receive half that amount.

However, Nigerian and Pakistani officials say Saudi Arabia has yet to pay the promised compensation. Six Nigerians and 11 Pakistanis were among those killed in the crane collapse, according to Nigeria's Hajj Commission and Pakistan's Religious Affairs Ministry.
The boy along with his mother was freed by Syrian Democratic Forces who began its operations against ISIS in Manbij on August 9. (Photo: Twitter)

Manbij: A month after US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces advanced ISIS-captured Syrian town of Manbij, forcing the terror group out of the region, a woman was seen removing her veil, forced on her by Islamic State militants.

A video footage has surfaced online which shows the heartbreaking moment when the woman removes her veil as her minor son stops her from doing so and puts it back as he fears ISIS militants will punish her.

The boy along with his mother was freed by Syrian Democratic Forces who began its operations against ISIS in Manbij on August 9.

The minor boy feared that his mother would be punished by ISIS for not wearing the veil.

However, the woman puts her hand on the little boy's chest and assures him that they are safe.

Nearly a month ago when US-backed forces seized a village in northern Syria from the clutches of Islamic State, a19-year-old girl swiftly tore off the niqab she had been forced to wear since 2014 and smiled.

"I felt liberated," the girl said after swapping her black face-covering veil for a red head scarf. "They made us wear it against our will so I removed it that way to spite them."

Islamic State group has been forcing women in their territory to wear a burqa that covers their entire body, except for eyes, in accordance with their Sharia law.
It was Erdogan's first direct meeting with Putin since the shooting-down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish air forces on the Syrian border in November that caused unprecedented damage to relations. (Photo: AP)

Istanbul: Turkey on Thursday called on Russia to carry out joint operations against Islamic State (IS) in Syria, after crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at ending a crisis in ties.

The comments by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came as a Turkish delegation was in Russia for talks aimed at coordinating actions on Syria and other bilateral issues.

"We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh (IS) operations together," Cavusoglu said in a live interview with the private NTV television, adding that the proposal was still "on the table".

Cavusoglu urged Russia to fight against the "common enemy" of IS jihadists in Syria.

"Let's fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible," the minister said, warning otherwise that the group would keep on expanding and spread into other countries.

Erdogan visited Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday -- his first trip abroad since the July 15 coup attempt.

It was also his first direct meeting with Putin since the shooting-down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish air forces on the Syrian border in November that caused unprecedented damage to relations.

NATO member Turkey was long criticised by its Western partners for not playing a full role in the fight against IS but upped its involvement last year by offering US forces use of an air base for raids against the group.

Turkey has also carried out air and artillery strikes against IS of its own although it believed to have halted the operations in the wake of the Russian plane incident.

The three-person Turkish delegation in Moscow, made up of representatives from the military, intelligence and foreign service, is tasked with implementing decisions made at Tuesday's summit, Cavusoglu said.

"I believe the mechanism will contribute to this process," he added.

Cavusoglu said close cooperation between Turkey and Russia would help prevent incidents in the future like the plane crisis.

"Many countries are engaged in Syria actively. There could be mistakes," he said.

"In order to prevent that, we need to put into practice the solidarity and cooperation (mechanism) between us including sharing of real time intelligence."

Cavusoglu also said real time communication was also needed between the two presidents and the military officials of the two countries.
In a separate case that has strained improving ties between Ankara and Athens, eight Turkish military officers fled by helicopter to Greece after the failed coup of July 15. (Photo: Representational Image/AP)

Istanbul: Two Turkish military attaches posted in Greece fled to Italy at the weekend following last month's failed coup, Turkey's top diplomat said Thursday, saying Ankara was working to track them down.

The two missing envoys are among several Turkish officials posted abroad who Ankara is seeking to locate over their alleged links to the July 15 coup.

Speaking to NTV television, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said colonels Halis Tunc and Ilhan Yasitli left on August 6, taking the car ferry across the Adriatic Sea to Italy.

"We are working to bring both these traitors back to Turkey," he said, without detailing the allegations against the men.

"The Greek authorities recorded this. Tunc's brother lives in Holland. We are working with both the Netherlands and Italy," he said.

Earlier this week, media reports said the pair had gone missing. Yasitli is reported to be the overall military attache and Tunc the naval attache. Their accreditation to Athens has now been cancelled.

A Greek government source told AFP that Athens was aware of the case but had not been tipped off about the attaches before they fled.

"The two attaches left the country before the Turkish authorities went looking for them," said the source. "And before we were informed that their diplomatic passports had been revoked."

Turkey has embarked on a wholesale purge of the military in the wake of the coup which was blamed by Ankara on followers of the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

People escaped

The two Athens-based attaches are among several Turkish officials based abroad now wanted by Ankara in the wake of the coup.

"There are people who escaped and some of our diplomats are among them," said Cavusoglu.

"For example two officials based in Bangladesh have escaped to New York," he said, adding that an ultimatum for them to return had expired.

In a separate case that has strained improving ties between Ankara and Athens, eight Turkish military officers fled by helicopter to Greece after the failed coup of July 15. To block their deportation back to Turkey, they have applied for asylum.

They have been handed suspended two-month prison terms for illegal entry and will remain in police custody until their asylum hearing on August 19.

Two Turkish generals serving in the NATO force in Afghanistan were also detained in Dubai last month on suspicion of links to the failed coup.

Cavusoglu revealed they had been detained by the UAE authorities and extradited to Turkey aboard a special flight. He also confirmed Saudi authorities detained the Turkish military attache to Kuwait, thanking Riyadh for its help in delivering him back to Turkey.
Pakistani security officials have been on high alert after the recent deadly blast in Quetta (Photo: PTI)

Islamabad: An explosion took place near Al Khair hospital in Pakistans Quetta on Thursday. At least 14 people were injured in the blast and have been rushed to a local hospital.

Pakistani officials said a roadside bomb has gone off near a vehicle escorting a judge in the country's southwest.

Sarfraz Bugti, the head of the interior ministry in southwestern Baluchistan province, says the judge was unharmed in Thursday's explosion, which took place on a main road in the city of Quetta.

Police spokesman Shahzada Farhat says police officers and passers-by were wounded.

The new attack comes in the wake of security forces launching a combing operation in Quetta on Wednesday against banned organisations suspected of having a hand in the string of recent terrorist attacks in the region.

Pakistan has endured a wave of militant attacks in recent years, this is a second attack in Quetta in four days.

At least 74 people were killed on Monday and over 100 injured after a suicide bomber struck the emergency ward of Quetta's Civil Hospital, where scores of people had gathered to mourn the death of Balochistan Bar Association (BBA) president Bilal Anwar Kasi in a gun attack earlier in the day.

The attack was claimed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter outfit Jamaatul Ahrar and the Islamic State militant group.
The discreet deployment appeared to have caught China by surprise specially in the backdrop of Beijing's efforts to reinforce its control over the South China Sea after the international tribunal struck down China's claims over almost all of the South China Sea. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

Beijing: With China mulling its options to counter Vietnam's reported plan to send mobile rocket launchers to the disputed South China Sea, Chinese media on Thursday termed the move a "terrible mistake" and asked Hanoi to "draw lessons" from the war in 1979 between the two countries.

"If Vietnam's latest deployment is targeting China, that would be a terrible mistake. We hope Vietnam will remember and draw some lessons from history," an article in the state-run Global Times said.

While the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry reportedly termed the media report as "inaccurate", the discreet deployment appeared to have caught China by surprise specially in the backdrop of Beijing's efforts to reinforce its control over the South China Sea after the international tribunal struck down China's claims over almost all of the South China Sea.

China which rejected the verdict initiated by the Philippines petition has stepped up air and naval patrols to assert its controls over the region. China also enhanced its satellite monitoring of the area. Besides Vietnam and the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the South China Sea.

The launchers deployed by Vietnam are said to be capable of striking China's runways and important trade routes in the region with missiles and experts believe the move by Hanoi will likely raise tensions in the region, the article said.

"As the waves created by the controversial South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines have barely subsided, the reported new deployment by Vietnam will add to the difficulty of solving the South China Sea disputes peacefully," it said.

Chinese officials say Vietnam has "illegally occupied" 29 of about 50 islands and reefs in the South China Sea. It has conducted construction and reclamation work on over 20 of them since the 1980s, and the scale of the reclamation has increased in the past two years.

It also has built infrastructure, including runways and barracks, on the islands and reefs, another state-run newspaper China Daily said in its report. China itself has developed islands with runways and military facilities in several islands.

Jia Duqiang, a senior researcher on Southeast Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it is Hanoi's latest effort to tighten its hold on islands in the South China Sea.

Xu Liping, another Southeast Asian studies researcher with CASS, said Hanoi is trying to emphasise its determination to strengthen its illegal occupation of the islands.

For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated its claim of the South China Sea specially over Spratly islands, which Beijing calls as Nansha islands also claimed by Vietnam.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their surrounding waters. China has always firmly opposed the illegal occupation of parts of China's Nansha Islands and reefs by certain countries and their illegal construction and military deployments on these islands," the report quoted a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement as saying.
The video was shot by an unidentified onlooker and uploaded on social media. (Photo: YouTube Screengrab)

Beijing: A school teacher was publicly stripped naked and thrashed by angry parents in China accusing him of sexually assaulting their teenage daughter.

A video footage of the incident has surfaced online in which a man can be seen naked as he is being thrashed by the parents of a female student.

The incident took place at Weixian Number 1 Middle School in Wei County of China's Hebei province.

The video was shot by an unidentified onlooker and uploaded on social media. Some of the internet users, who claimed to be former students of the teacher, said that he had sexually assaulted a female student.

The video footage shows a naked man sitting on the floor with his hands tied at the back. The man can be seen swaying forward and backwards as onlookers continue to film the act.

Police officials have confirmed the incident and said that they were investigation the matter.
The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prachanda took a decision to send two Deputy Prime Ministers (DPMs), Bimalendra Nidhi to India and Krishna Bahadur Mahara to China, as the Prime Minister's special emissaries, according to Cabinet sources. (Photo: AFP)

Kathmandu: Nepal's new government on Thursday decided to send special envoys to India and China in the near future in a fresh bid to reach out to its two big neighbours.

The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prachanda took a decision to send two Deputy Prime Ministers (DPMs), Bimalendra Nidhi to India and Krishna Bahadur Mahara to China, as the Prime Minister's special emissaries, according to Cabinet sources.

However, the date of their visits is yet to be fixed. The decision is taken as the new government's move to build cordial relations with both the neighbouring countries through high-profile visits.

The DPM duo would meet political leaders and government officials in New Delhi and Beijing.
The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016 has been the focus of heated debate over provisions that critics say give the government the power to conduct mass surveillance and criminalise satire. (Representational image)

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday approved a controversial cyber crime bill the government says will safeguard citizens against harassment and criminalise online child pornography, but which activists say curbs free speech.

The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2016 has been the focus of heated debate over provisions that critics say give the government the power to conduct mass surveillance and criminalise satire.

Farieha Aziz, director of the Bolo Bhi digital rights group, said a section intended to tackle cyber-stalking was drafted in sweeping language that would allow public officials criticised on social media to claim they were being harassed.

It was of particular concern, she said, that the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority would be allowed to ban speech considered "against the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan".

"This should not be the task of an executive body, this is a matter for the courts," she added.

Gul Bukhari, an activist with the campaign group Bytes for All, said: "It authorises the state to exchange the private information of citizens with foreign governments or agencies without recourse to any judicial framework."

Defending the bill, IT Minister Anusha Rahman said: "We have built in safeguards against misuse.

"It is not as sweeping as it has been made out to be -- for most offences, the government will still need to go to court to get a warrant against offenders," adding the only exceptions were child pornography and cyber-terrorism.

She added that "dishonest intent" was also a requirement for an offender to be punished.

Free speech campaigners in Pakistan have long complained of creeping censorship in the name of protecting religion or preventing obscenity.

In November 2011 the telecommunications authority tried to ban nearly 1,700 "obscene" words from text messages, which included innocuous terms such as "lotion", "athlete's foot" and "idiot".

YouTube was banned from 2012 to January this year following the upload of a US-made film that depicted Prophet Mohammed as a thuggish deviant and triggered protests across the Muslim world.

In 2010 Pakistan shut down Facebook for nearly two weeks over its hosting of allegedly blasphemous pages. It continues to restrict thousands of online links.
Colombo: President Maithripala Sirisena has rubbished as "baseless" claims by supporters of his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa that Sri Lanka had agreed to an Indian proposal to build a bridge linking the island to India.

"These are completely baseless claims. They have seized on what some Indian politicians had uttered during local elections in Tamil Nadu," Sirisena said addressing a gathering here last night.

Udaya Gammanpila, a Rajapaksa backer, had threatened to set the bridge on fire in a public statement.

"I heard him saying this, I ask him not to talk nonsense. There is no such bridge," Sirisena said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also in parliament on Wednesday denied moves to build a bridge.

The joint opposition has also mounted a stiff opposition to the proposed Economic and Technology Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) between Sri Lanka and India.

They dub it as a sell out to India which would deny Sri Lankans employment opportunities.
The Delhi government is planning to introduce 2,000 mini buses before the end of this financial year to bolster the bus system which is currently down to 4,200 buses.





With the plan of inducting 3,000 buses of different categories not working out, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has now proposed the procurement of 2,000 mini buses to be used in congested areas.



Last-mile connectivity

The focus is now on the mini buses for congested or rural areas or narrow roads which will act as feeder buses for trunk routes. They will act like Metro buses, improving last-mile connectivity. We are hopeful that we will be able to procure them by March next year, said a senior government official.



The city is facing an acute shortage of buses with only 4,200 buses.

The fleet is set to dwindle further with 445 standard-floor buses being phased out

in the next six months, which will leave the DTC with 3,755 buses.



The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has not added a single bus to the fleet since it came to power and the tenders floated by it were largely unsuccessful.



No new buses

The government had in March promised to procure 3,000 new buses but according to senior officials that plan is currently on hold.



Officials hoped that government tenders for mini buses will get a good response. There is more competition and less monopoly unlike in the standard buses, an official said.

The government also plans to run some of these mini buses on the 40-km Aam Aadmi Bypass Express service route started on Monday.



The government had recently also extended the timings for issuing bus passes from 7 am to 7 pm, instead of earlier 8 am to 2:30 pm.



The initiative led to an increase of 20 per cent in the number of passes issued in the last one month.


The head of Volkswagen's South Korean unit apologised today as he presented himself to state prosecutors for questioning over the German carmaker's emissions fraud scandal.





Johannes Thammer, CEO of Volkswagen Korea, was summoned by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office a week after South Korea banned the sale of 80 Volkswagen AG models.



"Fist of all, I want to say that I am sorry for the situation and we will do everything, faithfully, to cooperate with the prosecutor," Thammer was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency as he arrived at the office.



Thammer, who has been in his current post since December 2012, is expected to be questioned over allegations that Volkswagen Korea fabricated test results on engine noise levels, fuel efficiency and emissions.



The world's second-largest automaker faces legal action in several countries, after it admitted in September last year to faking US emissions tests on some of its diesel-engined vehicles.



Last week the environment ministry said it was revoking the certification for 80 Volkswagen models, or a total of around 83,000 vehicles, largely because of forged documentation.



It also slapped the company with a USD 16 million fine.



In November last year, Seoul had ordered the company to recall more than 125,000 diesel-powered cars sold in South Korea and imposed a fine of USD 12.3 million.

Sales of Volkswagen in South Korea plunged 33 per cent to 12,463 vehicles in the first half of this year from a year earlier.



The German carmaker sold around 69,000 cars here in 2015.



Foreign carmakers, especially German brands like Volkswagen, have steadily expanded their presence in the South's auto market long dominated by the local giant Hyundai and its affiliate Kia.


A 10-month-old infant died due to alleged negligence of a nurse in the district hospital here following which an inquiry has been instituted by the Chief Medical Superintendent.





According to family members of the child, Krishna, a nurse in the district hospital, allegedly administered "a wrong injection" as she was not paid "bribe" causing death of the infant on the morning of August 9.



Shivdutt, the child's father, alleged that he admitted his son in the district hospital on August 7 after paying Rs 100 to the nurse and Rs 30 to a sweeper for securing a bed in the children's ward.



He claimed his son was not given proper treatment by the nurse who gave him a wrong injection after which he died.



Chief Medical Superintendent of the district hospital, Dr OP Pandey, while ruling out administration of wrong injection, said it was an antibiotic injection and there was nothing wrong in it.



"I have instituted an inquiry against nurse Asha Singh by a panel of three doctors and she has been removed from the ward," he said today.



The sweeper, who took money, has been sacked.




The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was moved for consideration and passage by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, was passed by a voice vote.





The measure also seeks to increase maternity benefit from 12 to 26 weeks for two surviving children that would benefit about 1.8 million women in the organised sector.





"The very purpose of this Bill is to increase the working women force because in the work force, participation of women is decreasing day by day," Dattatreya said.





He said the law is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons.Citing the maternity leave rules prevalent in various countries, Dattatreya said post the enactment of the Bill, India will jump to the third position in terms of the number of weeks (26) for maternity leave, behind Norway (44) and Canada (50).





Highlighting that there are more nuclear families now, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said the Bill has its roots in malnutrition, as breastfeeding the child is recommended which is not possible unless the mother is in physical proximity of the child.





Moreover, after giving birth, a woman's body needs to heal over a period of time, she said, adding "it is a very stressful time for the mother, who should be with the child".





Observing that the legislation will go a long way to ensure that the future generations are healthier, Gandhi said the Women and Child Development Ministry had recommended raising maternity leave from 12 weeks to 8 months but it was considered too long for the employer.





The Minister said the Government was thinking of introducing direct benefit transfer for women and it was "under consideration".





The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her full paid absence from work, to take care for her child.





Cabinet had yesterday given ex-post facto approval to the amendments made to the Maternity Benefits Act, that aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.





Sarojini Hembram (BJD) said India unfortunately ranked 127 globally when it came to gender equality and sought paternity leave as well terming it very important.



Vandana Chavan (NCP) while supporting the Bill, pointed out that the provision of 50 employees was in conflict with the Factories Act provision that entails mandatory creche facility for establishments having 30 or more women.



However, Dattatreya clarified that the provision of 50 employees will be applicable to even those organisations which do not have a single woman employee, highlighting that even a man can bring a child to the office creche.



Chavan also sought paternity leave to remove the gender bias prevalent in the society.



Jaya Bachchan (SP) urged the Minister to consider enhancing maternity leave to 8 months, pointing out that the seventh month of preganancy was extremely crucial for a woman whereas a child starts teething in the seventh month after birth.



Anu Aga (Nominated) also demanded provision for paternity leave to sensitise men towards their responsibilities.



Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP) sought clarity on whether surrogate mothers were included in the Bill, to which Gandhi replied that "since the purpose of the Bill is actually to bond with the child, she (surrogate mother) is not covered."



Pointing out that the infant mortality rate was high in India due to lack of care and malnutrition, Ashok Siddharth (BSP) said that after enactment of the Bill, women will benefit and the mortality rate will come down.



D Raja of the CPI said that while he supported the content and intent of the Bill, Government should not stop at this as more than 96 per cent of the women are in unorganised sector and should consider similar provisions for agricultural workers who mostly belong to Dalit or tribal communities.



Narendra Budania (Congress) said 26 weeks period was "not adequate" and suggested that it should be raised to a year.

Cutting across party lines, elders in Rajya Sabha today passed a Bill that provides for 26 weeks maternity leave, even as some members sought norms for paternity leave so that parents can share the responsibility of raising children.
Swedish prosecutors investigating a rape allegation against Julian Assange will question the Wikileaks founder at the Ecuadorian embassy here where he has been holed up since 2012, in a possible breakthrough to the four-year impasse.





The Ecuadorian attorney general delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish authorities to question Assange at the Ecuadoran embassy in London, where he has been hiding out since the 44-year-old sought political asylum from Ecuador four years ago.



"In the coming weeks a date will be established for the proceedings to be held at the embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom," a statement issued in Ecuador to the 'Guardian' said.



It adds: "For more than four years, the government of Ecuador has offered to cooperate in facilitating the questioning of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as well as proposing other political and legal measures, in order to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties involved in the legal case against Julian Assange, to end the unnecessary delays in the process and to ensure full and effective legal protection.



In line with this position, Ecuador proposed to Sweden the negotiation of an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, which was signed last December and which provides the legal framework for the questioning, the statement said.



"Ecuador's foreign ministry reiterates its commitment to the asylum granted to Julian Assange in August 2012, and reaffirms that the protection afforded by the Ecuadorian state shall continue while the circumstances persist that led to the granting of asylum, namely fears of political persecution.



Assange is wanted in Sweden in relation to a 2010 rape allegation, which the Australian national denies.



He has fought against being extradited to Sweden, saying he fears he would then be transferred to the US to face charges on Wikileaks' activities.



In 2012, while on bail, he claimed asylum inside the Ecuadorean embassy in central London after the UK Supreme Court had ruled the extradition against him could go ahead.



A UN working group had ruled in February that Assange was being arbitrarily detained.

However, the UK Foreign Office has called for the UN decision to be reviewed, saying Assange was staying in the embassy voluntarily and that the UK had a legal duty to extradite him to Sweden.



Scotland yard had scaled back its multi-million-pound security presence from the Ecuadorean embassy last year, saying the operation was "no longer proportionate".



The round-the-clock vigil on Assange had reportedly cost the force around 11.1 million pounds.
BJP today staged demonstrations across Uttar Pradesh to protest what it called "the jungleraj" in the state following the brutal gangrape of a mother and her teenaged daughter on a national highway near Bulandshahr.





Raising the slogan 'Maa Beti ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein', party workers staged protests in several parts of the state, including Varanasi, Ghaziabad and capital Lucknow.



BJP national vice-president Dinesh Sharma and state general-secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak led the demonstration in Lucknow and Varanasi, respectively.

A delegation led by BJP state chief Keshav Prasad Maurya submitted a memoradum to Governor Ram Naik demanding a CBI inquiry into the gangrape case. They also sought action against state cabinet minister Azam Khan who had termed the incident a "political conspiracy".



The Bulandshahr gangrape reminded people of the "jungleraj" and was a blot on the law and order machinery in the state, the memorandum said and added that it brought shame to the state.



The governor said he was pained with the incident and would sent letters to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for a CBI probe into incident.

In Varanasi, BJP state general-secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak deplored the comments by Khan and criticised him for "rubbing salt into the wounds of the victims."



Pathak, who led protesters at the district collectorate, asked Khan to tender an apology to the families, saying the miniority welfare minister should be ashamed of his comments as thousands of party workers shouted slogans against the state's Samajwadi Party-led government.



In Ghaziabad, BJP workers from 17 zones staged a protest outside the colloctorate.

Addressing the workers, general secretary of Uttar Pradesh BJP unit Swatantra Dev Singh said Akhilesh has adopted a "dual standard" in giving compensation to gangrape victims.



Singh said in the Bisahada lynching case the ex-gratia amount was immediately given to the victim's family while in Bulandshahr gangrape incident the government "has become deaf and dumb."



On July 29, a group of bandits had gangraped the woman and her 13-year-old daughter at gunpoint after dragging them out of their car in Bulandshahr on NH-91 when they were travelling with their family from Noida to Shahjahanpur.
Under attack over atrocities against dalits, government today said the states should take strict action against anti-social elements indulging in activities like cow protection as it pitched for a united fight against the "perverted mindset".



"Some anti-social elements are indulging in nefarious activites in the name of cow protection...I appeal to all state governments to take strict possible action against them," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Lok Sabha while replying to a discussion on atrocities on dalits.



"To deal with 'vikrut manasikta' (perverted mindset) of those who resort to such atrocities is a big challenge," he said.



The discussion was marred by acrimony and walkout by Congress and the Left members who alleged that the incidents of atrocities against dalits have increased since the NDA came to power two years back.



Singh insisted that the incidents against Dalits have come down since the Modi government took over and reeled out statistics to buttress the point.



He said the number of registered cases of atrocities against dalits were 39,346 in 2013, they went up to 40,300 in 2014 and thereafter came down to 38,564 in 2015.



"We have to accept the truth that the atrocities against dalits are going on. We have to stop it and this is a challenge for all of us," the Home Minister said while regretting that the House had to discuss the issue even 70 years after Independence.



Countering the opposition charge of not doing enough for the dalits, he said "what you could not do in 55 years, our government did in last two years".



To questions as to why Modi did not speak on the dalit atrocities for so long, he asked the opposition to spell out if earlier Prime Ministers since 1947 used to speak on each and every issue.



"The Prime Minister may speak or may not speak, but his aura should be such that action is taken against the perpetrators," Singh said.



Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also intervened in the debate which lasted for six hours.



"You did everything possible to humiliate B R Ambedkar, the messiah of dalits", Paswan, a dalit leader, told Congress MPs who protested vociferously.



Rajnath Singh said the Centre has issued advisories to states asking them to take stringent action against people resorting to such atrocities in the name of cow protection.



He said it was unfortunate that Parliament has to discuss the issue of atrocities on dalits 70 years after independence.



The Home Minister said that laws have been made to protect dalits, but much is desired to be done.



"Our government is trying to check atrocities on dalits. For their socio-economic upliftment, new laws have been made," he said, adding there was need to deliberate on how to stop such incidents.



"There is an illusion that since our government came to power, atrocities against dalits have gone up", he said, condemning the Una incident in Gujarat that triggered nationwide protests.



He praised the work of Sangh parivar affilates Sewa Bharti and Vanvasi Kalyan ashram for working for the cause of dalits and adivasis.



Suggesting that Ambedkar and Keshav Baliram Hedgewar were contemporaries, he said while the dalit icon fought for the socially deprived sections, the RSS founder worked for national renaissance.



Noting that government is totally committed for the development of dalits, he said no one could accuse them of being anti-national and they have never demanded creation of a separate country.
Swedish furniture major IKEA has broken ground for its first-ever store in India at the IT hub here on Thursday.





The four lakh sq feet facility will also feature a 1,000-seater restaurant that will serve Indian and Swedish cuisines.



The store will have 7,500 furnishing products on display, a childrens play area and a daycare centre for employees children, and a massive parking facility.



The project, which is going to cost Rs 700 crore, will be ready by 2017, and will provide employment to 2,000 workers, said Juvencio Maeztu, CEO of IKEA India.



He further added that IKEA will be opening around 25 stores in nine cities by 2025, indicating multi-store locations in selected cities. The cities will be Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Surat.



First in the line after Hyderabad will be Navi-Mumbai where we have already purchased land. Talks are in progress in Bengaluru and the next will be Delhi-NCR, Maeztu said unveiling IKEAs plans.



Reacting to a question on GST and its impact on IKEA, Juvencio said that the GST will improve the flow of goods in the country. This will increase efficiency of companies thereby offering lower prices to consumers, he said. IKEA at present is making 300 million products, and will be doubling the number within four years



IKEA, which has been sourcing from India for its global stores, currently has 50 suppliers with 45,000 direct employees in the extended supply chain. We procure 350 million worth goods from these suppliers. Most of the material that we source from India includes textiles and rugs, said Christine Batemyr, Purchase operation manager, South Asia. She said that IKEA will be doubling its sourcing from India by 2025. At present, IKEA sources its materials from 28 countries across the world.


India is set to reach out to President Bashar al-Assads regime in war-torn Syria with Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbars visit to Damascus next week.





Akbar is the first Indian minister to travel to Syria after the anti-government protest escalated into a civil war in the West Asian nation. He will also visit Lebanon and Iraq, which have not received a high-level visitor from India for years.



In Damascus, Akbar will call on al-Assad and Prime Minister Emad Mohammad Deeb Khamis. The discussions will focus on the India-Syria bilateral cooperation and unfolding security situation in the region, Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the ministry, told mediapersons in New Delhi.



Akbar will also meet Syrian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Walid al-Moallem, who visited New Delhi and held a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last January. He will convey to al-Moallem that India continues to be in favour of the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria and that New Delhi is ready to provide more humanitarian assistance to the nation.



India contributed $4 million for humanitarian assistance in Syria and pledged $5 million more, in addition to supplying medicines worth $1 million. India has also given $1 million towards the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria.



Akbar will also meet Syria National Security Advisor Ali Mamlouk and interact with the Grand Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, who had visited Delhi in March last year.
The High Court on Thursday said the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions does not have the jurisdiction to grant the linguistic minority status. The court said that only the Union government can accord the linguistic minority status.





While dismissing the petition filed by Indus Trust, an international school located in Sarjapur, Justice Raghavendra S Chauhan said that the Commission's power to accord minority (linguistic) status does not come under the jurisdiction of Section 11(f) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act 2004. Section 11(f) talks about the functions and powers of the Commission  to decide all questions relating to the status of any institution as a minority educational institution and declare its status.



The petitioner, the trustees belong to Marwari, Telugu and Marathi speaking linguistic minority had approached the High Court seeking quashing of the order passed by the Commission on June 6, 2016 dismissing the school's application seeking linguistic minority status. The Commission in its order had stated, Linguistic minorities are outside the purview of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act. The petition of the school cannot be entertained by the Commission, hence dismissed.



Justice Chauhan upheld the order of the Commission and said that the power to grant minority status is held only by the Central government.



Government counsel Pramodhini Kishan had submitted during the hearing that a four-member minority committee constituted by the state government is headed by the Commissioner of Public Instructions.



The committee does the spot inspection and verifies the documents of the institution to ensure 25% of the students in the institution are from the minority community. The state government only certifies the minority status for the institution, but it is only the Central government that declares the institution as the 'minority', the counsel had submitted.


The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provides 26-week maternity-leave benefit to working women in the organised sector.





The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday gave its ex-post facto approval for amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, by introducing the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016.



The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of maternity and entitles them to a full paid absence from work to take care of the child.



The measure also seeks to increase maternity benefit from 12 to 26 weeks for two surviving children, which would benefit about 1.8 million women in all establishments, including the private sector. The act is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more people.



Once the law is enacted, India will jump to the third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Norway (44) and Canada (50), said Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, during the debate on the legislation.



The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, was passed by voice vote by the House, even as some members sought norms for paternity leave also, so that parents can share the responsibility of raising children.



Amendments include increasing maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for two surviving children and 12 weeks for more than two children, 12 weeks maternity leave to a commissioning mother and adopting mother and mandatory provision of creche in establishments having 50 or more employees.



At present, the Maternity Benefit Act does not provide any maternity leave for commissioning or adopting mothers.



Seeking provisions for paternity leave, Rajni Patil (Congress) said the father too is responsible for raising a child.



However, Dattatreya clarified that the provision of 50 employees will be applicable to even those organisations that do not have a single woman employee, highlighting that even a man can bring a child to the office creche.



Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP) sought clarity on whether surrogate mothers were included in the bill, to which Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Women and Child Development replied that since the purpose of the Bill is actually to bond with the child, she (surrogate mother) is not covered.



However, after a demand from the members, the minister said he would examine the suggestions of extending the benefit to surrogate mothers, too.
A day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh talked tough against Pakistan, New Delhi on Thursday signalled that Islamabads attempts to fish in troubled waters of Kashmir would cast a long shadow on the bilateral relations.



New Delhi almost ruled out the possibility of an early thaw in its relations with Islamabad, let alone restart of the stalled dialogue between the two neighbours in the coming months.



New dynamics are at play (in India-Pakistan relations) and we cannot be oblivious to it, Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said. He made the remark while responding to a query if Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modis National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were still in touch with their counterparts in Pakistan.



Jaishankar and Pakistan Foreign Secretary A A Chaudhry were to meet in Islamabad on January 15 this year to decide the modalities and schedule of the bilateral dialogue, which India and Pakistan had on December 15, 2015 agreed to restart.



But New Delhi postponed the meeting after a group of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists crossed over from Pakistan to India early in January and carried out an attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot in Punjab.



The postponement also deferred formal resumption of the bilateral dialogue between the two nations.



India, however, refrained from calling off the process to resume the bilateral dialogue with Pakistan even after the terror attack. The MEA spokesperson in New Delhi continued to maintain that the foreign secretary was in touch with his counterpart in Pakistan over phone.



Besides, Doval has also been in touch with Pakistan Prime Minister M Nawaz Sharifs National Security Advisor, Naseer Khan Janjua, on the probe into the terror attack in Pathankot.



Swarups comment on Thursday, however, indicated that Islamabads recent attempts to rake up the issue of Kashmir in international fora and foment unrest and extremism in the Valley prompted New Delhi to put its diplomatic contacts with the neighbouring country on hold.



The troubled ties between India and Pakistan hit a new low with Islamabad trying to once again raise its pitch on the issue of Kashmir, cashing in on the unrest in the Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani last month.



The MEA spokesman remark ruling out possibility of early restart of bilateral talks came a day after the home minister made it clear in Parliament that India would never hold talks with Pakistan on Kashmir, but would only ask the neighbouring country to vacate the territory it had been illegally occupying.

Normal life remains disrupted in Valley



Curfew in some parts and restrictions on the assembly of people continued for the 34th day on Thursday in Kashmir Valley where normal life remained disrupted, PTI reports from Srinagar.



Curfew continued to remain in force in parts of the summer capital Srinagar and Anantnag town, a police official said here.



Curfew is in force in five police stations in downtown (interior) area of Srinagar city and Anantnag town in south Kashmir, the official said.



He said curfew was also clamped in Pampore town on Thursday in view of the death anniversary of former chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League Sheikh Abdul Aziz, who hailed from the Saffron-town.
Manipurs human rights crusader Irom Sharmila Chanu, who ended her 16-year epic hunger strike on Tuesday, has a reason to cheer.





For, the Emas (mothers of Manipur), who were against her idea of joining politics and settling down with Desmond Cutinho, Sharmilas Goa-born-British love interest, met her in the hospital on Thursday.



After Sharmilas release, the Emas, who had rallied behind Sharmila and had been involved in the relay hunger strike since 2008, her family and a section of the civil society had shunned her.



Today, we took the initiative to organise a meeting between Sharmila and the Emas. It was very emotional. The Emas hugged and blessed her. Sharmila also spoke her heart out. She told the mothers that she wanted to contest the elections and try to change the political scenario in the state. She argued that her new strategy needed to be tried out. The Emas agreed not to oppose her, said Babloo Liothongbam, an activist said to be close to Sharmila.



The Emas had a couple of meetings since Tuesday and decided to dissolve Sharmila Kaba Apunba Lup, the platform of the Manipuri mothers, who had agitated to save Sharmila.



We have told her that we cannot support her in politics. We will continue with our agitations against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA). We disagree with her new ways, but we realise that the objectives are the same, which is to repeal AFSPA, said one of Ema Soibam Momon Leima.



On the other hand, Sharmilas brother Irom Singhajit remained absent in the crucial meeting, indicating that the family has distanced itself from Sharmila.



Another positive development is that Sharmila will stay in the hospital for the time being. Our main focus is her health and her need to sync with the society again. These are very important. The human right activists in Manipur are with Sharmila, Babloo added.



The Indian Red Cross Society on Thursday officially intimated Sharmila that they are ready to provide her shelter.



The Manipur governments home department has asked the city police to review security arrangements before Shar-mila finally moves to the facility in Imphal. However, Red Cross said it cannot be her permanent residence.



If they (Red Civil Society) abandon me I will go away, but will never give up my fight. I have only changed my strategy, Sharmila told DH.



I do not plan to meet anyone till I succeed in my mission, Sharmila said.
The Opposition on Thursday cornered the Centre over the increased attacks on Dalits and cited the flogging of youths in Gujarat to highlight the atmosphere of intolerance in the country.





The treasury benches countered, asking why blame only the BJP-ruled states when similar ghastly incidents were also happening in opposition-ruled states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.



Some opposition members, such as CPM MP from Kerala P K Biju, also sought a ban

on cow protection groups and wondered why incidents of physical assault against Dalits were not stopping despite Prime Minister Narendra Modis strong condemnation and call to shoot him and not to attack people from the marginalised sections of the society.



Biju also gave figures to paint a grim picture of poverty in the country. He said three Dalit women were raped every day and a crime against Dalits occurs every 18 minutes.



Congress leader K H Muniyappa said it has been a series of black days for SCs and STs in the country. Since the Modi government came to power, atrocities increased and reached a level never seen in history, he alleged.



He said the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime was better since such incidents never happened. He also recalled Union minister V K Singhs dog analogy in a case involving women.



Attacking the Gujarat government, Muniyappa said over 14,500 cases similar to the Una incident have occurred in the state after Modi had taken over as the chief minister. The conviction rate was only 3-5%, he pointed out, to elaborate that it was not a priority for the state.



TMCs Sugata Roy questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modis statement condemning hate crimes against Dalits came so late.



Charging that fringe Hindutva elements have created an atmosphere of intolerance, Roy also wondered why Modi was not talking about Muslims, who were also victims of cow vigilantism, in his condemnation of Dalit attacks.



BSP chief Mayawati demanded the prime minister to speak on the issue of Dalits in Parliament.



Modi, who had spoken twice on the issue over the weekend, did not intervene in the debate that went late in evening.
In its first ever case against cow vigilantes, the West Bengal government has lodged an FIR against seven people for conducting a cow survey.



The persons booked under the non-bailable case are all members of the Cow Development Cell, a body affiliated to the BJP and backed by the RSS.



According to officials, the case has been lodged against Subrata Gupta, president of the cell and a known face of the BJP at West Midnapore. Of the other six named in the FIR  Animesh Pahari, Krishnapada Bose, Pradyut Bhunia, Bidhubhushan Dey, Gurupada Sen and Subrata Barik  two are well-known RSS activists from the district and have been known to organise public events related to cow preservation and running campaigns against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.



All seven of them, under Guptas leadership, organised a programme on cow development and had set up a subsidised loan camp under the central scheme, Rashtriya Gokul Mission, on July 31. They had been part of an RSS team that had launched the states first cow survey, along the lines of similar surveys in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. They have also been known to threaten some Muslim cattle dealers in the district, a senior police official said.



Elaborating on the complaint, the senior police official said that in the FIR lodged at the districts Belda police station, the seven accused have been booked under 12 sections of the IPC in which the Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act, 1911, and two other sections are non-bailable. Although the accused applied for anticipatory bail at Midnapore court on Tuesday, it has been denied, with the date of next hearing set for August 18.



While a senior bureaucrat admitted that the FIR is a historic step at a time the Sangh and its affiliates are using consumption of beef as a political tool, senior Trinamool Congress leader and minister, Firhad Hakim, pointed out that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had cautioned the Sangh and its affiliates against such activities from the dais of her July 21 rally.


PES University has proposed to open a new medical college at Electronics City in Bengaluru in the next two years. To begin with, a hospital would be opened to support the college.





Addressing the media in the city on Thursday, Dr M R Doreswamy, Chancellor, PES University, said the proposal is ready and would soon be sent to the state government for approval. Since we need to have a hospital to run a college, we would establish that first. Since Electronics City is a healthcare hub, we have chosen this location, he added.



On the existing campus in Banashankari, the university is planning to set up School of Economics and a School of Law. We started two new courses --- Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Design programme and have received good response, Dr Doreswamy said. He said the S-Band Pico-Satellite which was indigenously built by 300 students and five faculty members has been tested and certified and fit to be launched. This is likely to be launched at Sriharikota by ISRO by the end of this month, he stated.



The Defence Applications has also sought that the university build a 10 kilo commercial satellite for them, according to Dr K N Balasubramanya Murthy, Vice Chancellor, PES University. If this one should be successful, we will have 10 others in the pipeline, he added. The first batch of students, since PES has received the university status, would be given their certificates at the convocation on August 13. Degrees would be presented to all 295 students from MBA, MTech (AT), MTech (CSE), MTech (MS), MTech (PE), MTech (SE) and MTech (VLSI).
There is some good news for the devout ahead of this years Varamahalakshmi festival, to be celebrated on Friday. Prices of flowers  used to propitiate the goddess of wealth  have come down compared to the previous years.





Speaking to Deccan Herald, G M Diwakar, president of the Bengaluru Flower Merchants Association, said that the increase in crop yield this time had contributed to the decline in prices. Prices of flowers like shavanthige (chrysanthemum), marigold and rose have decreased over the last two to three days. For the first time in several years, the prices have reduced by 20-25% during the festival, he said. The price of jasmine per kg was Rs 400 on Thursday morning and by evening, it decreased to Rs 200. Similarly, the prices of shavanthige and marigold per kg stood at Rs 120, rose Rs 200 and lily Rs 140. Members of the Flower Merchants Association said that the price of kanakambara (crossandra) was Rs 1,200 per kg. Two days ago, it was being sold at Rs 2,000.



Barring jasmine, the citys markets get their supply of flowers mainly from Magadi, Doddaballapur, Bagepalli, Mandya, Gauribidanur, Anekal and Chikkaballapur. The prices of fruits barring mosambi (sweet lime) have, however, increased. The wholesale price of pomegranate increased from Rs 100 to Rs 150 per kg on Wednesday and Thursday, according to traders.



Similarly, the price of apple shot up from Rs 70 to Rs 100-120 per kg. However, the price of mosambi decreased by Rs 10-15 per kg on Thursday.


A 21-year-old wife of a KAS officer has reportedly committed suicide at a paying guest (PG) accommodation at RMV Extension, Sanjaynagar, north Bengaluru.



Police suspect that her husbands harassment for dowry drove her to the extreme step.



The deceased, Chaitra, was married to Niranjan Kumar, a KAS officer who is currently assistant commissioner (land acquisition) in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).



The couple are said to have met a year ago when Chaitra applied for a BDA job. They courted for sometime before getting married. But they kept their marriage secret and Chaitras parents learnt about it only recently.



Police believe that Kumar started harassing his wife for dowry, which led to frequent fights between the two. On August 1, Chaitra left him to live in a PG accommodation.



The suicide emerged on Wednesday afternoon after her roommates realised that she had not come out of the room for long. They knocked on the door, but there was no response.

They later found her hanging from the ceiling fan.

Fathers statement



Chaitras father, who visited the jurisdictional Sanjaynagar police station, accused Kumar of torturing her.



Based on his complaint, police registered a case of abetment to suicide against Kumar and are tracing him as he has gone incommunicado.



Police are investigating whether Kumar was already married.
For the last one year, Minto Eye Hospital, the only government ophthalmic facility in Karnataka, has been facing a severe shortage of senior specialists.





Out of the 11 senior specialists (those who have done MS), 10 have been transferred back to the parent department  Health and Family Welfare  leaving Minto with just one specialist to manage the super-speciality wing.



Medical Superintendent and Director of the hospital, T K Ramesh, told Deccan Herald that the doctors had been moved to the Health department, owing to shortage of specialists in villages. As a result, the remaining doctors and nursing staff have been overburdened and stressed, he said. Around 15-17 surgeries take place in the 300-bedded hospital every day.



We have ensured that patients are not affected. We brought the matter to the notice of the government, but we are not sure when we are going to get the replacements, he added.



The hospital, which will be upgraded to a super-speciality facility in the next couple of months, plans to run the newly created separate wings in a full-fledged manner. Separate wings have been created for cornea and eye bank, vitreoretina, glaucoma, paediatric ophthalmology, uro ophthalmology and oculoplasty. But without the specialists, these wings will face the same difficulty, Dr Ramesh said.



This apart, Minto Eye Hospital, along with Victoria, Vani Vilas and Bowring hospitals, wants the government to create a separate maintenance wing. Ramesh said that presently, there was only one engineer (estate officer) looking after repair and maintenance works in all the four hospitals.



This is hampering clinical work at the hospital. More often than not, there are power outages, plumbing problems and other repair works that need immediate attention, he said.



When contacted, Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil said his department would shortly find replacements for specialists who had been transferred. I was not aware about the shortage at the hospital. The hospital is in the process of shifting to the new block. We have even started the new outpatient block. This matter will be addressed, he said. He also said that the maintenance work would be entrusted back to the Public Works Department.


The Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) on Thursday registered six cases against 20 serving and retired officials of the BBMP and BDA in connection with encroachments on stormwater drains.



A few builders and developers were also booked in this Regard.



The cases were registered based on a complaint filed by BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad under Section 192 (A) and (B) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, Section 436 (A) of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, and Sections 217, 432, 434, 441, 427 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The charges include cheating, forgery, tampering with government documents and overlooking the topography of the area as mentioned in the village maps and revenue records.



Based on the Urban Development Departments (UDD) directions, Prasad lodged complaints with BMTF.



The UDD order copy states that these officers did not mark the presence of stormwater drains while sanctioning building plans. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting where he directed the UDD additional chief secretary to initiate stringent action against the erring officials.



Besides the 20 officials, builders and developers of the following buildings have also been booked by BMTF: Ansal Forte in Roopena Agrahara; EAPL Apartments (Thirumala Splendor) on Hosur Road; Avani Sringeri Layout in Nyanappanahalli near Begur; D Lakkanna and D Shantha who built a residential complex in BBMPs Bommanahalli zone; owners of survey number 61/1A of Bilekahalli village; and developers of Shubh Enclave formed between Kasavanahalli and Kaigondanahalli villages on Sarjapura Road.
A high-level committee has recommended to the government to allow corporates or business houses to set up medical colleges across the country. The panel said such colleges would be free to determine the fee for a majority of the seats.



The committee has also suggested replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a 20-member National Medical Commission (NMC), which will have four autonomous boards for separate tasks.



The boards will look after undergraduate medical education, postgraduate medical education, assessment and rating of medical institutions, and registration of doctors and enforcement of medical ethics.



The three-member panel was set up in March in the wake of a scathing report from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health. The House panel asked the government to scrap MCI because of the regulators abject failure to check corruption in medical education and improve the level of medical standards.



In one of its remedial suggestions, the panel has proposed to do away with the current system of allowing only not for profit organisations to set up medical colleges.



Given the shortage of providers and in recognition of the fact that the current ban on for-profit institutions has hardly prevented private institutions from extracting profits, albeit through non-transparent and possibly illegal means, it was felt that any restriction on the class of education providers would be counter-productive, the panel stated.



The committee recommended allowing for-profit entities like corporate or business houses to set up medical colleges. The government, however, will have to suitably modify the existing rules to usher in the private sector.



The panel also noted several suggestions from experts on tapping the vast resources of private doctors  who are not associated with any hospital  for teaching jobs. A mandatory entry and exit test has been mooted to improve the quality of doctors. On the fee structure, the panels recommendation is to let the private colleges decide for 60% of the seats, while the government will have a say on the remaining 40% seats to ensure that poor but meritorious students dont miss out on medical education.



Headed by P K Mishra, additional principal secretary in the Prime Ministers Office, the panel proposed professional selection of NMC members, rather than filling up the regulatory body with elected members, which is the norm at the moment.



This would avoid conflict of interest issue that is common now, while giving recognition to new colleges. A draft of the proposed NMC bill is now available for the public to post their comments.
Police Arrest Stuntman Attempting To Scale Trump Tower

Trending News: Some Crazy Guy Got Arrested After Trying To Climb Trump Tower With Suction Cups

Why Is This Important?

Because a police chase hasn't been this publicized and gone this slowly since O.J.

Long Story Short

A stuntman tried to scale Trump's crib in Manhattan using suction cups, but after a long live-streamed climb, he was hauled in by the NYPD on the 21st floor. A video has been shared that appears to be from the climber, but its authenticity has yet to be confirmed.

Long Story

What's that climbing up Trump Tower? Is it King Kong? Is it Spider-Man? No, it's what people are calling "The Human Fly."

Steve from Virginia, as media has identified him, had New Yorkers cutting out early from work around 4 p.m. yanking out their smartphones and looking up  way up.

@ABC there is a man scaling Trump Towers with cops watching pic.twitter.com/JbW6EjAIxM  Jason Chu (@JasonC1219) August 10, 2016



The stuntman started scaling Donald Trump's house in Manhattan and proceeded to get live-streamed by every major news outlet  because, the news!

As he ascended, using suction cups for some reason, Steve reportedly dropped a laptop.



@ABC there is a man scaling Trump Towers with cops watching pic.twitter.com/JbW6EjAIxM  Jason Chu (@JasonC1219) August 10, 2016



After over two and a half hours on the glass wall of the tower, Steve was eventually scooped by the NYPD, who opened up a window to pull him inside the 21st floor.

Trump Exec. VP Michael Cohen on Trump Tower climber: "Im 100 percent certain the NYPD had better things to do." pic.twitter.com/ZT0ljDVbE1  ABC News (@ABC) August 10, 2016

Somewhere along the way, somebody found a video online, reportedly posted by Steve, which is super bizarre. In it, he doesn't say some protest message against Trump, as we've seen in the past at Trump Trump towers. Rather, he says he risked his life in order to speak to Trump. And the kicker: he's a fan. Be sure to get out and vote for Mr. Trump in the 2016 election, says Steve (unconfirmed) in the video posted below.



So far, the Trump people don't seem too impressed.

"This man performed a ridiculous and dangerous stunt," said Michael Cohen, executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, according to BBC News. "I'm 100% certain the NYPD had better things to do."

Four hours after he was first spotted on the glass tower, nobody knows why he scaled the building.

Super weird.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

But why?

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Somebody give Michael Phelps his cups back.

Drop This Fact

Suction cups don't really suck, they use air to stick. Check out more fun facts about how this guy was able to climb up the wall over at Wired.
Two Bombs Explode At Thai Resort Hua Hin

Trending News: Two Bomb Explosions Rock Thai Resort Hua Hin

Why Is This Important?

Because this is sadly all too common in this area.

Long Story Short

Two bombs exploded at the Hua Hin resort on the Gulf of Thailand. Police say 1 woman was killed and at least 10 more were injured.

Long Story

More of what (at least initially) looks like terrorism striking again, this time unsuspecting vacationers. The BBC reports that two bombs exploded at a Hua Hin resort on the Gulf of Thailand. At least one woman is dead and at least 10 more are injured, according to police.

Police say that the two bombs were hidden in planters spaced about 55 yards apart. They weren't detonated simultaneously, but rather within 30 minutes of one another by cell phone.

THAILAND

Bombs were placed in Pots for Plants - they were detonated by Mobile Phones

1 dead, 10 injured@ibnkhabar https://t.co/yXon3CttRu  Akash Soni (@Akashtv1) August 11, 2016

According to the BBC, terrorist bombings (particularly twin attacks like this) are depressingly common in the southern Thai provinces, where insurgents are everywhere. To attack a popular tourist destination like this is unusual, however.

2 bombs exploded in Thai resort of Hua Hin injuring at least 12, including foreign tourists (Photo: Matichon Online) pic.twitter.com/CBzpp0bSNV  CCTVNEWS (@cctvnews) August 11, 2016

The resort is popular with both foreigners and locals, and hosts international jazz, car and kite festivals every year.

No details yet on group responsible for #Thailand bombing. #HuaHin is far from the Deep South provinces, so #Pattani link seems unlikely  Jonah Blank (@JonahBlank) August 11, 2016

Thailand: Update; bombs were placed in plant pots and were detonated using mobile phones. #Huahin pic.twitter.com/pvogY8lO8F  Moshe Zichmir (@mosezichmir) August 11, 2016

Update: The death toll is in question, but social media reports that some of the injured are gravely so.

#Update| According to police sources 4 of the injured are in critical condition.

1 person was killed #HuaHin  Just News (@aerdt) August 11, 2016

#Thailand #HuaHin - Locals are now talking about 2 dead.  Terror Events (@TerrorEvents) August 11, 2016

Still no confirmation of a second fatality (not to mention who is behind this or why), but the injury count is up to 12, 9 of which were foreign tourists, according to Khaosod.

The injury toll continues to climb.

Thailand: Update; 23 injured, 1 dead. At least 9 foreigners, 2 British nationals.

Scene outside hospital. #HuaHin. pic.twitter.com/NERm8x2MQG  Moshe Zichmir (@mosezichmir) August 11, 2016

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Why would they attack a resort?

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I know the chances of dying in a terrorist attack are slim, but it doesn't make me feel any safer.

Drop This Fact

A leaked document from Thai Special Branch police showed it had been warned by Russia's Federal Security Service that the dangerous group of radicalized men snuck into Thailand between October 15 and October 31 of last year.
All currency figures stated in this report are in US Dollars unless stated otherwise.

SHANGHAI, Aug. 10, 2016 -- Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981) ("SMIC" or the "Company"), one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world, today announced its consolidated results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2016.

Second Quarter 201 6 Highlights

Revenue was a record high of $690.2 million in 2Q16, an increase of 8.8% QoQ from $634.3 million in 1Q16 and an increase of 26.3% YoY from $546.6 million in 2Q15.

Gross margin was 31.6% in 2Q16, compared to 24.2% in 1Q16 and 32.3% in 2Q15.

Profit from operations was $115.4 million in 2Q16, compared to $66.1 million in 1Q16 and $60.7 million in 2Q15.

Net profit for the period attributable to SMIC was $97.6 million in 2Q16, as compared to $61.4 million in 1Q16 and $76.7 million in 2Q15.

Third Quarter 201 6 Guidance:

The following statements are forward looking statements which are based on current expectations and which involve risks and uncertainties, some of which are set forth under "Safe Harbor Statements" below. The Company expects:

Revenue to increase by 8% to 11% quarter over quarter.

Gross margin to range from 28% to 30%.

Non-GAAP operating expenses excluding the effect of employee bonus accrual, government funding and gain from the disposal of living quarters to range from $140 million to $145 million.

Non-controlling interests of our majority-owned subsidiaries to range from positive $4 million to positive $6 million (losses to be borne by non-controlling interests).

Dr. Tzu-Yin Chiu, SMIC's Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director commented, "Q2 was another excellent quarter: with record-high revenue, gross profit, and operating profit, marking our 17th consecutive quarter of profitability. Revenue reached a historical high of $690.2 million, growing 26.3% YoY and 8.8% QoQ. Gross and operating profits hit all-time highs, growing 23.5% and 90.2% YoY and 41.7% and 74.5% QoQ, respectively. On a quarterly basis, our Q2 return on equity reached 10% and our utilization was 98%. In 2015, our EBITDA margin was around 35%; we now target EBITDA margin to increase for the full year of 2016 compared to 2015.

Wafer revenue from 40nm grew 92% YoY and 27% QoQ. Our revenue from China grew 28.7% YoY and 20.1% QoQ. There are 3 components to this large growth from China. 1) Chinese system houses are winning end-product market share, 2) Chinese fabless growth is robust, and 3) SMIC is increasing market share. With our technology readiness, being the preferred foundry partner in China, and strong China positioning, SMIC has effectively captured many opportunities.

We are guiding another strong quarter of growth in Q3. We target continued growth in Q4, contrary to seasonality, and another record year for 2016. Demand continues to be exceedingly strong. With this great demand and our recent acquisition of LFoundry, we now raise our annual revenue growth percentage target to mid-to-high 20's this year.

All-in-all, we are doing our best to expand shareholder value, through profitable growth, cash generation, and careful funding selection. We are witnessing strength across the board, with robust growth, strong cash position, advantageous market positioning, enormous demand, and great opportunities. We are working hard to balance our profitability, growth, building shareholder value, and serving our customers for the benefit of all stakeholders."

Conference Call / Webcast Announcement

Date: August 11, 2016

Time: 8:30 a.m. Shanghai time

Dial-in numbers and pass code:

China

+86 400-620-8038

(Pass code: SMIC)

Hong Kong

+852 3018-6771

(Pass code: SMIC)

Taiwan

+886 2-2650-7825

(Pass code: SMIC)

United States, New York

+1 845-675-0437

(Pass code: SMIC)

The call will be webcast live with audio at http://www.smics.com/eng/investors/ir_presentations.php or http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/urm96zku.

An archived version of the webcast, along with an electronic copy of this news release will be available on the SMIC website for a period of 12 months following the webcast.

About SMIC

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation ("SMIC"; NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981) is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and most advanced foundry in mainland China. SMIC provides integrated circuit (IC) foundry and technology services at 0.35-micron to 28-nanometer. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, SMIC has a 300mm wafer fabrication facility (fab) and a 200mm mega-fab in Shanghai; a 300mm mega-fab and a second majority owned 300mm fab for advance nodes in Beijing; and 200mm fabs in Tianjin and Shenzhen. SMIC also has marketing and customer service offices in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Taiwan, and a representative office in Hong Kong.

For more information, please visit www.smics.com.






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South Africans Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has abandoned its proposed sale of a roughly 15% holding in Vodacom.

The move, which could have a major impact on Vodacom, has not been explained by the PIC. The proposed sale was a strategy to increase Vodacoms black shareholding  itself part of a larger drive to increase black ownership of South Africas industries. The PIC was planning to sell the stake to a consortium led by former Vodacom executive Romeo Kumalo, which would have increased Vodacoms black shareholding.

This would have allowed Vodacom to bid in upcoming spectrum auctions planned for the start of next year by regulator ICASA (Independent Communications Association of South Africa), as companies must have 30% black ownership in order to participate. However, the government has begun legal action against ICASA, which may derail the proposed auctions.

The issue of black ownership across South African industries has been present since the apartheid era, and the country is taking steps to address it. Currently, 19% of Vodacoms investors are black, while for MTN this figure is 39%.
A US environmental scientist has been given a $1.7 million grant to investigate if early exposure to pollutants can predispose people to diabetes.

Alicia Timme-Laragy, University of Massachusetts Amherst, will use this funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct a multi-level study.

re

She will investigate if early exposure to contaminants such as Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and phthalates, and aberrant pancreas development can affect the development of diabetes.

A lot of scientists are trying to understand these processes, but we will be doing something new by focusing at multiple levels on toxicant effects in pancreas development as a possible predisposition factor in diabetes, said Timme-Laragy.

By looking at the genetics, the molecular biology and the biochemistry and links to health effects, we hope to find targets for prevention.

Timme-Laragy notes that disease can be caused by environmental contaminant exposure in early life through a number of ways. These include oxidative stress, changes to insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells and disrupted signalling pathways that control embryo growth.

Her long-term aim is to assess how toxic exposures contribute to diabetes development, and how embryos respond to oxidative stress.

As part of this research, Timme-Laragy and partners from Brigham Young and McMaster universities will study embryonic zebrafish, which have previously been used to identify potential type 1 diabetes drugs.

Zebrafish embryos are good models for human development, so the researchers will expose them to toxic chemicals at different points during development. This will help to establish any sensitive moments when the pancreas forms.

Zebrafish embryos are transparent, so we can watch for changes fairly easily as they develop and the chemical exposure can be done without hurting the mother fish, added Timme-Laragy.

She notes that her study will be one of the first to comprehensive analyse toxicant effects on pancreas development and the role of oxidative stress as a potential cause of diabetes and other health effects.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has reconsidered its stance on the diabetes drug Tresiba (insulin degludec) and on Tuesday recommended it to treat Scottish NHS patients with diabetes.

Tresiba, a once-daily, long-acting basal insulin, can now be prescribed by NHS Scotland to people with either type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes to improve their blood sugar levels.

The drug lasts for up to 42 hours, which enables doses to be taken at different times of day, if required, without impacting on blood glucose control.

Tresiba is already approved for use in Europe and it is available in England and Wales on the NHS. But until now, the SMC has refused to recommend Tresiba on NHS Scotland.

The recommendation finally came following the results of several new studies reporting that insulin degludec was equal to other long-acting insulin analogues in reducing HbA1c in diabetes patients.

In addition to offering more flexibility in terms of when the drug can be take, Tresiba has also shown benefits in terms of reducing exposure to nocturnal hypoglycemia.

Tresiba, which is manufactured by Novo Nordisk, is recommended for Scottish adults and adolescent patients and children over the age of one living with diabetes.

A recent report by Diabetes UK found that Scotland has the worst record of HbA1c in the western world, and the findings have been welcomed by experts.

Dr Russell Drummond, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said: A larger portfolio of treatment is beneficial to our practice and insulin degludec, in particular, has a place in treatment for adults with diabetes, particularly those with type 1 diabetes who face challenges with hypoglycemia on insulin therapy.

Rahul Kapur, Head of Medical Affairs at Novo Nordisk UK, added, We are delighted to be able to offer people with diabetes in Scotland access to a treatment that can help to manage blood glucose levels, and to help with some of the challenges associated with insulin, like hypoglycemia.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is expected to be launched in India tomorrow.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will debut on Amazon for online sales, sources in the know of Samsungs plans confirmed. It would be a stretch to imagine Samsung going for an online only sales model, and we wouldnt expect that either, but the company seems to have chosen Amazon as its preferred partner for launching its flagship smartphone online. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is expected to be launched in India tomorrow, and should be priced similar to the companys flagship Galaxy S-series smartphones. We reached out to Samsung for a comment, but haven't heard back from the company.

The Galaxy Note 7 has a dual-edge display, along with 4GB of RAM. While we dont yet know whether the Exynos or Snapdragon-powered variant of the Galaxy Note 7 will be sold in India, Samsungs history suggests the Exynos 8890 will be powering the Indian variant. The Note 7 also has 64GB of internal storage, and some new features for Samsungs S-Pen. Samsung has also added a Windows Hello-like Iris Scanner to the device.

Samsung is the second big smartphone maker to have left Flipkarts marketplace in favour of Amazon. Earlier, Motorola had decided to move to an Amazon exclusive model for its Moto G4 smartphone. While Samsung won't be selling the Note 7 on Amazon alone, it will be launched online on the website, and then move to others as well.
Let's start with the elephant in the room this time, shall we? Having taken a brief look at the Galaxy Note 7, I cant tell yet tell you whether you should upgrade from your Note 5 from last year. What I can tell you is that the Note 7 isnt an S7 Edge replica. The stylus aside, there are subtle differences between the two devices, but this is a Samsung I can get on board with.



The Galaxy Note 7 has a 5.7 inch display, but it still compact.

The edge screens on the Note 7 are narrower than those on the S7 Edge. Its tough to tell the difference, which is why the phone looks almost exactly like the S flagship in pictures. The difference is evident when you see them together, or better still, hold them. Apart from narrower edges, a more rectangular design gives this phone the Note persona. If you take a close look, youll recognise that the S7 Edges corners are rounder than the Notes. The Note 7 is also compact for its huge screen size. It's actually just as big as the OnePlus 3, and the whole form factor is narrow as well, which makes it as ergonomic as a big screen phone can be.

To put it simply, the Galaxy Note 7 is the right evolution to the Note series, and continues the tradition that Samsungs best devices ever have set.

While that is all good, what I really like the Note 7 for is that I finally have reasons to use the S-Pen. Over the years, Ive found the S-Pen to be great, but personally, I had no use for it, and I havent met many people who did. To be clear, Im not saying the S-Pen wasnt useful, just that its more than a tool for stylus power users now.



The S-Pen now supports 4096 points of pressure.

Samsung has added a GIF creator and translator to the S-Pen. Theyre not ground breaking additions, but make sense to the masses. I, for one, have to read leak stories off myriad websites, often not in English, and a quickfire translator is much appreciated. As for the GIF creator, who doesnt like GIFs, right?

Samsung says the S-Pen is also more precise, with 4096 points of pressure. Thats an improvement, although I couldnt really tell the difference on first look. By the way, the pen can no longer be inserted the wrong way into the Note 7, so thats a bonus. This isnt the perfect stylus, but its an improved one for sure.



The Galaxy Note 7 has a fingerprint intensive, glass back, which still feels premium.

The only real disappointment in the Note 7, for me, was the Iris Scanner. Samsungs Windows Hello-like feature couldnt read my iris with spectacles on, possibly because of light reflecting off them. Its also not intuitive, given that you need to swipe the lockscreen to bring it up. You press the lock button, swipe, then wait for it to recognise, which is just way too many steps to unlock a phone.

Samsung did acknowledge that having an Iris Scanner just to unlock a device makes little sense and my experience with it leads me to believe it isnt meant for the same, either. An Iris Scanner is more secure than a fingerprint sensor, but this one makes more sense for locking lesser used, but important apps, like, say banking apps. I understand Samsung has made provisions for the same, though I havent tried them yet.

To conclude, the Galaxy Note 7 has more or less the same hardware as the S7 Edge, and you dont need me to know that you should hold on to your device, if you bought Samsung's S flagships this year. I can confirm, though, that the Note 7 is a worthy successor to the Note line, but if you wanted to upgrade from a Note 5, wait for our review. There are subtle changes in the Note 7, like the ability to change the display's resolution from QHD to FHD and HD. The Note 7 can also play HDR videos, and has a video enhances to brighten other videos. Both of these looked quite good, and HDR is a first for smartphones. Samsung has fitted the mDNIE (Mobile Digital Natural Image Engine) chip to enable HDR playback, and process other videos and brighten them.

Accessories

With the Note 7 comes Samsung's new line of accessories as well. The Gear Fit 2, IconX and new Gear VR, that you probably have read about, are all in India now. There's really little that I can say about the Gear VR and Fit 2, given the little time I've spent with them. I did, however, focus on the IconX. Wireless earbuds have been intriguing for me, for a while now, and I'm yet to find something that suits all consumers. To start with, the IconX is a product made for the style conscious. Available in Black, White and Blue, Samsung's focus here is evident  style and fitness. The IconX makes sense for those who workout, and it will turn heads when you wear it. It won't however, suit all listening needs. I can appreciate the engineering in building something so compact, and the IconX do not need a wire to keep them in your ear, but the sound quality didn't impress me, at least not in the little time I spent with them. I'm no audiophile, and it would perhaps even be wrong to expect audiophile quality music from these, but the subdued bass is just too tough to ignore.

Samsung IconX (Above), Samsung Gear Fit with IconX box (below).

Having said that, one has to appreciate other things about the IconX. The noise cancellation seemed great, and Samsung has packed it to perfection. You'll get it in a solid tube-like box, which doubles up as a power bank for the device. Two red lights glow on the box, signifying that the device is charging. These lights will turn green every 90 minutes, when it is charged. It's not often that we talk about how a device is boxed, but with the IconX any style-conscious buyer will appreciate it. It looks like the futuristic device that it is. I hope Samsung can enhance the audio quality in its next iterations. While I personally didn't like the bass, I would implore the reader to await our review, so that our audio reviewers can give their two cents on the device. I am not an audiophile, and I confess I'm not the best judget of audio, and what I like may not be what you do.

Samsung's dumped an array of devices today, and honestly, I'm impressed. The company has tried to improve each device from its earlier variants, and largely, Samsung has succeeded. The Galaxy Note 7 is impressive, the IconX earbuds are appreciable even with the faults, and Gear Fit 2 has an impressive screen. It's too early for me to pass a judgement on any of them, but things are definitely looking up.
BT , which had been criticised for providing low levels of superfast broadband access, should split from Openreach, according to a former government minister.

Anna Soubry, the former business minister, said that the telecoms giant should split and Openreach should became a separate company.

Openreach is owned by BT and runs a large amount of the countrys internet infrastructure and is responsible for access to superfast broadband, which is more than 24 millions of bits per second.

Communications regulator, the office for communications (Ofcom) considered splitting the two up, but rejected the idea and instead said Openreach should become a distinct company within BT.

Soubry said to BBC Radio 4s Today programme she was surprised by Ofcoms decision on the 26 July.

"I was very surprised that was pulled back on, I'm sorry, but they have not delivered. Radical action needs to be taken so that we have superfast broadband across the UK," she said.

The Conservative MP for Broxtowe said BT had enough chances to improve the broadband service for customers.

"It's not good enough. It's outrageous in this day and age to not have access to superfast broadband and mobile phone signals, and that includes on our trains too.

"Not only would I have put a very sharp toe under BT and looked at its performance and actually considered splitting it up, making sure it did a proper job, and I'm far from convinced that it's done a proper job."

BT claimed that 90% of properties in the UK had access to superfast broadband internet, however Soubry disagreed.

I don't trust these figures at all  It's strange that in my time as business minister, I seem to meet every member of the 10%".

Shares in BT group were down 1.64% to 392.25p at 1257 BST.
Residential landlord Grainger has so far escaped any affects of the European Union referendum, reporting that private rental sector demand remains strong.

In a trading statement for the 10 months to 31 July, the FTSE 250-listed company reported 91m of revenue came from sales of vacant properties, an increase from 81m last year, at an average 7.7% above the September 2015 year end vacant possession value.

The company said 188m worth of sales were in the pipeline.

Year to date rental growth on new lets were 4.9% and 2.8% on renewals. On newly acquired assets, rental growth increased over the past three months, July rent increases on new lets averaged 5.8% and the time taken to let the properties fell steadily over the last three months.

The company disposed of its 325m equity release business in May and sold the majority of the remaining 42m German portfolio in June.

It also restructured its business to reflect its focus on improving total returns for shareholders, and is on target to achieve promised 24% cost savings by 2017.

Chief executive Helen Gordon, said: "We have not seen any material impact on our business following the EU referendum, although we are monitoring the situation closely.

With a strong balance sheet and low financial gearing, we are well positioned to take advantage of new potential private rented sector investment opportunities following the EU referendum. We remain confident in and committed to delivering our strategy to grow net rental income while simplifying the business to improve returns."

The companys private rented sector investments have progressed at construction started on the 100m 614 home Clippers Quay project in Salford. The first two of seven private rented sector developments in partnership with the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea at 21 Young Street, which will contain 53 homes, and Hortensia Road, 31 homes, are due to complete by May 2018 and February 2017 respectively.

Graingers first 'family style', 17m private rental sector development of 104 homes at Berewood, Waterlooville has started construction, while the company also bought 120 units at Kings Dock Mill, Liverpool for 14.5m.

Shares in Grainger were down 0.32% to 219.10p at 0952 BST.
Iraq and a group of major oil companies including BP and Royal Dutch Shell have agreed to resume production of several development projects in the country that had been mothballed due to low oil prices, reports revealed on Thursday.

Iraq oil officials have come to agreements with BP, Shell and Russia's Lukoil to restart investing in oil field developments that are expected to see crude production increase next year, Reuters reported.

The Iraqi officials suggested the country's crude output should increase by 250,000-350,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2017 from the current 4.6m bpd, adding to existing oversupply concerns.

On Thursday oil prices were on the slide again, while the market continued to digest the US Energy Information Administration revised its outlook for US crude production higher.

West Texas Intermediate crude was 0.4% lower to $41.54 per barrel and Brent was at $43.99.

Oil prices have recently entered what analysts at RBC Capital Markets called "a sort of bear trap", as despite daily global supply nearing the point where its overhang turns to a deficit, "a deluge of bearish headlines has kept the market on its heels".

2016 has seen the 'fragile five' sovereign producers - Iraq, Algeria, Nigeria, Libya, and Venezuela - struggle, while traders worry that Nigeria and Libya will soon add to the oversupply.

RBC believes the most significant bearish risks are overdone or have already been largely priced in.

"We maintain our conviction that oil prices will grind higher through the balance of this year and into next (even if choppy in the near term), barring a significant deterioration in the 'macroverse'," analysts wrote on Wednesday.

"In our view, investors should remain cognizant of the distress remaining across much of OPEC (namely Nigeria and Libya) and should side-step the numerous bear traps lurking in the market."
The number of homes on the market hit a record low in July as house price growth slumped on the uncertainty in the wake of the Brexit referendum. The level of market activity, such as the amount of new buyer inquiries and the number of agreed sales, continued to fall, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).  Telegraph

The world's next energy revolution is probably no more than five or ten years away. Cutting-edge research into cheap and clean forms of electricity storage is moving so fast that we may never again need to build 20th Century power plants in this country, let alone a nuclear white elephant such as Hinkley Point. The US Energy Department is funding 75 projects developing electricity storage, mobilizing teams of scientists at Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and the elite Lawrence Livermore and Oak Ridge labs in a bid for what it calls the 'Holy Grail' of energy policy.  Telegraph

Julian Assange will be questioned by Swedish prosecutors inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, in a possible breakthrough to the impasse over his case. The Ecuadorian attorney general delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish prosecutor to question the founder of WikiLeaks.  Guardian

The Chinese company with a major stake in the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear power station has been charged by the US government over nuclear espionage, according to the US justice department. In a 17-page indictment, the US government said nuclear engineer Allen Ho, employed by the China General Nuclear Power Company, and the company itself had unlawfully conspired to develop nuclear material in China without US approval and with the intent to secure an advantage to the Peoples Republic of China.  Guardian

Taxpayers face a big rise in the bill for cleaning up the first generation of nuclear power stations in Britain after the company that was wrongly awarded the contract raised its estimate by 1.6 billion. Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP), a joint venture led by Babcock, the British defence and engineering company, has told the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) that the cost of cleaning up the 12 Magnox reactors will rise by 18 per cent to more than 10 billion, The Times has learnt.  The Times

Investors flocked to sell government bonds to the Bank of England yesterday, restoring confidence in its new 60 billion stimulus plan, which had taken a knock on Tuesday when it failed to attract enough sellers. The reverse auction of gilts with maturities of 7 to 15 years was well subscribed, attracting offers to sell 5.5 billion of stock, nearly five times the 1.17 billion the Bank ended up buying.  The Times

Some optimism has returned to the UK housing market as the initial shock of the Brexit vote begins to wear off. In the June Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors survey of estate agents and surveyors, carried out in the immediate aftermath of the vote, a large majority said they believed house prices would fall this year.  Financial Times
Defensive sectors had the edge on Thursday even as investors continued to bid the market higher, with tobacco stocks enjoying the strongest gains alongside the likes of Unilever , with the latter standing to gain from recent improved sentiment towards emerging markets.

Heading the other way, fixed line telecommunications were to be found at the bottom of the pile, after BT Group went ex-dividend.

Possibly also weighing on BT shares, Anna Soubry, the former business minister, said that the telecoms giant should split and Openreach should became a separate company.

In remarks to the BBCs Radio 4s Today programme, Soubry said she was surprised by Ofcoms decision on the 26 July not to recommend they be separated.

Real estate shares following poor data on the sectors health.

A survey by the Royal Institution of Charted Surveyors (Rics) showed British house price growth slowed in the month following the UKs vote to leave the European Union.

Its headline price balance - a leading indicator of other house price indexes - fell to +5 in July from +15 in June, its lowest level since April 2013. Analysts had forecast a reading of +6.

Housebuilders and real estate investment stocks were also under pressure following the report with shares in Berkeley Group, Travis Perkins, British Land and Land Securities lower.

Travis Perkins was dragged down by a Barclays downgrade. The bank lowered its rating on the stock to underweight from 'equalweight and cut its target price to 1,400p from 1,950p, saying Brexit will have a larger impact on the business than the market expects, which will hit the valuation.



Top performing sectors so far today

Tobacco 58,043.67 +1.94%

Personal Goods 31,216.81 +1.63%

Mobile Telecommunications 5,336.11 +1.30%

Chemicals 12,275.69 +1.27%

Gas, Water & Multiutilities 6,685.52 +1.04%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Fixed Line Telecommunications 4,546.55 -2.27%

Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,932.74 -1.15%

Food & Drug Retailers 2,581.55 -1.08%

Real Estate Investment & Services 2,385.52 -0.55%

Life Insurance 7,081.96 -0.52%
Jobs or no jobs, developers kept city property-tax abatements

Columbus routinely offers tax abatements to businesses pledging to create jobs, but when those promises aren't kept there are usually no consequences.
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John Craig at one point had a $350,000 contract, which was $100,000 more than the second-place bidder for the work.



By TAYLOR W. ANDERSON

The Bulletin

BEND, Ore.  The consultant who landed a $350,000 contract to audit the Oregon Department of Transportation before the state backed out over conflict of interest worries had something more elaborate in mind than an audit: He wanted to become director of the agency.

A four-page document John Craig sent to Oregon Transportation Commission Chairwoman Tammy Baney in January outlines Craig's short- and long-term plans for ODOT and himself. Among them, replacing ODOT Director Matthew Garrett as head of the agency should he step down.





. . .
US HealthVest of Texas building two psychiatric hospitals here

The project team says Washington needs to provide a lot more psychiatric beds for adults with mental health disorders.





Journal Construction Editor By BENJAMIN MINNICK Journal Construction Editor

Image by CollinsWoerman [enlarge] Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital will have 115 beds when it opens in a year.

US HealthVest recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $26 million, 115-bed Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital at 3955 156th St. N.E. in Marysville, and is planning to build a second psychiatric hospital in Thurston County.

The two-story, 71,000-square-foot hospital in Snohomish County will have semi-private patient rooms, an outpatient clinic, and support space including a pharmacy and food service. There also will be indoor and outdoor recreation areas.

CollinsWoerman is the architect and Mortenson Construction is the general contractor.

Richard Kresch, president and CEO of US HealthVest, said they plan to finish in late June or early July of 2017.

A news release from Mortenson said there is a greater need for psychiatric care and addiction treatment north of Seattle where communities are rapidly growing. It said the hospital will have programs tailored to women, patients with co-occurring disorders, American Indians, veterans, youth, seniors and faith-based groups.

Washington is under served relative to other states in terms of behavioral health care, Kresch said. We believe we will be providing a much-needed public service.

The news release says a study found that Washington has one of the highest rates of adults with mental health disorders in the country, yet ranked nearly last among all states in the total number of psychiatric beds per person.

US HealthVest last month said it received a certificate of need to build a 75-bed psychiatric hospital in Thurston County that will treat patients of all ages. The document lists the site as 605 Woodland Square S.E. in Lacey.

Kresch said they have not finalized the location yet, but the hospital will be about 60,000 square feet of new or renovated space in a freestanding building. A project team has not been selected.

The company's website says South Sound Behavioral Hospital will open in early 2018 as the first freestanding psychiatric hospital in the South Sound region, which is also under served. Kresch said the schedule is not cast in stone.

Documents submitted to the state indicate the hospital will cost about $18.4 million.

Kresch said the two communities have responded positively to the projects. About 250 jobs will be created in Marysville.

According to US HealthVest's website, the company operates a 125-bed psychiatric hospital near Chicago and later this year will open a 70-bed psychiatric hospital near Atlanta. Kresch said there are no plans at this point for additional hospitals in the Pacific Northwest.

US HealthVest is registered as a Texas company but its leadership is spread around the country, according to New York City-based Kresch.





Benjamin Minnick can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.




Davis Property & Investment

[enlarge] Center Plaza 3 building in DuPont

Davis Property & Investment, LLC has sold its Center Plaza 3 building in DuPont, south of Tacoma, to Western Washington Sheet Metal for $5 million. Davis developed the property in 2009, purpose-built for the buyer. The 31,000 square-foot building is one of six at Davis' 180,000 square-foot Center Plaza, which counts Ikea, Amazon, FedEx, Dania and Pier 1 among its tenants. No brokers were involved in the deal.




Amid a media frenzy of film crews, Monika Jaceviciute made her decision to come to De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) during its latest post-Brexit engagement in the Lithuanian capital.

As testament to DMU's welcoming and global approach, Monika, who will now be studying Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science BSc this September, said: "I feel very comfortable now, because when you have the opportunity to talk to people, you can get more information. Now everyone is clear about Brexit, too.

When a university comes to my country, I appreciate it as it shows they really care. Before today, I wasnt sure which university to choose and now I know that I want to come to DMU.

I am also choosing DMU because it is an exciting career challenge and I am really looking forward to it.

The universitys #LoveInternational campaign had headed to Vilnius for the fourth in a series of events, held in European capitals, in response to the EU referendum result in June.

Reporters, from six major television channels and three online Lithuanian news sites, arrived at the venue, to find out what DMU had to say about UK higher education following the decision to leave the EU. These included journalists who covered the event from Delfi, the most popular website in Lithuania, and 15min, one of Lithuania's largest news websites

The universitys Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Collop, speaking to the media, said: "DMU is passionate about its diverse and international student and staff population, who come from more than 130 countries.

Our EU students are, therefore, an important part of the DMU family, and our role as a university is to work with our Lithuanian partners and others across Europe, to ensure it is clear that we remain open for business.

As spokesperson for the first UK university to hold an event in Vilnius in response to Brexit, Professor Collop was able to share details of DMUs new LoveEU Bundle, part of the #LoveInternational campaign, to help reassure potential Lithuanian students.

RELATED NEWS

DMU - a global university

DMU alumni in Sweden throw support behind university's post-Brexit European engagement

Watch the Vilnius event broadcast by one of Lithuania's major commercial TV channels, LNK TV

With support from the GREAT Britain campaign, the Government's most ambitious international marketing campaign, the events tell the story of the friendly learning environment at DMU, and celebrate EU students and staff.

Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy Vilnius, Martyn Cushing, who met with DMU in Vilnius, said: "It is great to see De Montfort University meeting with prospective new students here in Vilnius.

"Lithuania already has strong academic links with the UK and with many Lithuanian students already choosing to study at De Montfort, I hope more students take advantage of the benefits of studying in the UK".

A senior lecturer in the universitys Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Ruta Furmonaviciene from Lithuania, speaking about her experience to the audience in Vilnius, said: I like the strategy at DMU, the international exchange and innovation. It is a very vibrant place to work.

I love the #LoveInternational campaign, its really positive. It is all about active citizenship and collaboration, which I really value.

DMU alumnus Rytis Svirinas, who studied Audio and Recording and Technology BSc, also spoke at the event and said: I loved going to another country to study, and the course exceeded my expectations.

DMU is the reason I have the jobs I do now, doing live sound for bands and also running my own company providing audio technology.

I am using the knowledge I learnt and working in a field I love.

The final event of this series takes place in Berlin, Germany, at the end of August, with the first three events having taken place in Cyprus, Poland and Sweden.
Afghanistan wants more military supplies from India, including attack helicopters, a top US and NATO commander in the war-ravaged country said on Wednesday, as the country intensifies its offensive against militants. On his second visit to India, General John Nicholson said India had been making "enormously valuable" contribution in strengthening Afghan security forces and the US favoured increased military support. India has already provided four Mi-25 helicopters to Afghanistan. The US commander said the country needed more military aircraft for its war on terrorism. Nicholson said terror outfits like the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad were a threat not only to Afghanistan but also to the rest of the region - India included - and that the US was increasingly pressuring Pakistan to do more to contain jihadists. "We consistently encourage Pakistan to take action against terrorist groups that operate from its territory and close down their safe havens," he told journalists as he appreciated India's contribution to restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan. Nicholson, who heads the US operations in Afghanistan, met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, foreign secretary S Jaishankar and defence secretary G Mohan Kumar and discussed Afghanistan and terrorism in the region. The US commander said Afghan forces - with US support - had launched a major offensive against the Islamic State two weeks ago and are reported to have killed 300 Islamic State fighters. "In the course of the operation they killed a number of top leaders of the organisation and up to 300 of their fighters. Obviously, it's difficult to get an exact count, but what this amounts to is about 25 per cent of the organisation at least, and so this represents a severe setback for them. It reduced their territory," he said. Nicholson said military training by India to thousands of Afghan security personnel has helped that country in significantly enhancing its military capability. "I know that they have requested more and would like more and I think there is an immediate need for more as these aircraft can immediately get into the fight," he said when asked whether Afghanistan wanted more military aid from India apart. He said Afghanistan was struggling to get spare parts for the Russian aircraft due to Western sanctions against Moscow and that India could supply them. Nicholson said the US was trying to build a "counter-terrorism platform" focusing on containing all terror groups emanating from the region and ensure its peace and stability. Asked whether he will have to make an immediate visit to Islamabad to balance his trip here, Nicholson said the Pakistan Army Chief knew about his trip here "he welcomes it". Specifically asked about Pakistan's sincerity in coming down hard on terror outfits, he referred to the American administration's inability recently to certify that Pakistanis have put adequate pressure on the Haqqani network. Asked whether there was growing concern in Pakistan about India's role in Afghanistan, he only said, "I think it is an accurate statement".








In his homily this afternoon at the funeral mass for Bishop Edward Daly in St Eugenes Cathedral, Bishop Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry said Bishop Daly had shown physical courage on Bloody Sunday and his moral courage was evident in his passionate struggle against violence and injustice from all quarters.

His ministry was marked by total dedication to the people he served, wherever he was called to minister. That dedication was visible in outstanding courage, he said.

He said the people of the diocese  and beyond  held Bishop Edward Daly in the highest regard for his loving faithfulness to them over a period of 59 years as priest and bishop in this diocese. He could say, as Jesus did, I know mine and mine know me.

A key element of his peacebuilding, Bishop McKeown told mourners, among them President Michael D. Higgins, was his growing friendship with other church leaders.

In his early years as Bishop, he accepted the ground-breaking invitation to attend the consecration of the young Bishop Robin Eames. He then had a long friendship with Bishop James Mehaffey, who became bishop here in 1980. Their courageous work and real friendship were key factors in building up relationships across the diocese. They attended as many events and occasions as possible together, as a mark of unity and a sign of hope. Today, we are immensely grateful for that legacy.

Caring and compassionate

Speaking at the conclusion of the funeral mass, Archbishop Eamon Martin referred to one of Bishop Daly's oft-repeated anecdotes.

'Hey Mister are you a priest?'

That young boy's question may have lodged in Father Daly's memory, but there was never any doubt that Edward Daly was a great priest, a caring and compassionate pastor, a man of prayer and peace, a courageous and fearless leader, a special person.

Saint John Vianney once described priesthood as 'the love of the heart of Jesus'. For almost sixty years we have been privileged to have that love shine among us in the life, ministry and service of Edward Daly, priest and bishop.Archbishop Eamon Martin.

Belleek link reflected in liturgy

A native of Belleek, Bishop Dalys link with the town that moulded him was reflected in the mass. Bishop McKeown explained how: On the altar today for the Liturgy of the Eucharist we will use the chalice that was presented to the newly ordained Father Edward Daly by the people of his native Belleek in March 1957 to mark his ordination as a priest. That chalice is a sign of his own 59 years of dedication to the regular celebration of the Eucharist.

Meanwhile thousands have gathered in and around St Eugenes Cathedral to pay their respects to a clergyman known and loved the world over.
Family, friends and fellow musicians gathered in Gaoth Dobhair today, Thursday, to say goodbye to Clannad founder member Padraig Duggan.

Padraig loved music. He composed music, he played music, he listened to music, he lived music, Father Brian O Fearraigh, principal celebrant at the funeral Mass at St. Marys Church in Derrybeg said during his homily. I think I would go as far as to say that he was music.

Padraig passed away on Tuesday, aged 67, in Dublin, after a recurring illness.

Padraig and his twin brother, Noel, were the youngest of six children of Aodh (Hugh) and Maire Duggan of Gaoth Dobhair. They formed the band Clannad with their niece Moya Brennan and nephews Ciaran and Pol Brennan in the early 1970s, through regular performances at the family pub in Meenaleck, Leos Tavern.

After winning the Letterkenny Folk Festival in 1973, Clannad embarked on a busy touring schedule, finding initial success in Europe, and especially Germany. Their career spanned 25 albums and drew them international acclaim and many awards, including Ivor Novello (1982), Bafta (1984) and Grammy (1999).

Padraig and Noel also released their own album, Rubicon, in 2005.

Gifts brought to the altar at the Mass included a harmonica and mandolin, which were among the many instruments Padraig played, and a sash representing the Dore Senior Band, which he played with for many years.

Members of Clannad also played at the funeral Mass.

Padraig was a brother of Baba (Maire) Brennan, wife of the late musician, performer and publican Leo Brennan. Leo passed away in June of this year.

Padraig is survived by his wife, Jan, and wider family circle.

Pictured: The late Padraig Duggan
Partial sightings of the upcoming Skoda Kodiaq SUV are becoming more frequent, but the Czech brand is still holding back its mysterious SUV from full view.

However, the new teaser images do show off the brand's new design language - as seen on the new Superb - with its large wide grille and narrow LED headlights and the brand's boxy shape from its current Yeti SUV has been smoothed to provide a sleeker profile. The teaser images also show the brand's C-shaped rear LED lights, too.

The Skoda Kodiaq will go head-to-head with the likes of the Toyota Kluger, Hyundai Santa Fe and new Mazda CX-9 when it arrives in the second half of 2017.

The new Kodiaq will be built on the Volkswagen Group's MQB modular platform, which the new Volkswagen Tiguan is built on. The Kodiaq will also offer a seven-seat variant and utilise a surround view camera to assist drivers to manoeuvre the large SUV.

In a first for the brand the Kodiaq will also offer Tow Assist and Manoeuvre Assist to help drivers reverse while towing by automating both steering and braking.

The Kodiaq will be revealed in full on September 1st and will make its public debut at the 2016 Paris motor show later that month.
Home Four wheelers Renault To Celebrate Independence Day With Offers Worth Up To Rs. 41,000 oi-Ajinkya

India will be celebrating its 69th year of Independence on August 15th. Renault India has decided to provide customers with exciting offers leading to Independence day. The French-based manufacturer will also be celebrating its fifth anniversary in the country.

Only four models are included in the Independence day celebration offer. The Lodgy, Duster, Scala, and Pulse models are bundled with offers and benefits. All offers and benefits can be availed by potential customers across the country.

The Pulse hatchback can be availed for a maximum benefit of Rs. 41,000. This includes exchange bonus of Rs. 15,000, along with corporate/ PSU bonus worth Rs. 6,000. Renault dealerships will be providing the Pulse hatchback with insurance at just Rs. 1 for the first year.

The Scala sedan from Renault will be available only with insurance at Rs. 1 for the first year. The offer can be availed on selected variants and only till stocks last. Renault India will be offering the Scala with the sole offer pan India.

The Renault Lodgy MPV will be offered with maximum benefit worth up to Rs. 40,000. The Duster compact SUV will be bundled with a gift cheque worth Rs. 40,000. Unfortunately, Renault India will not be providing any offers or schemes on the Kwid owing to its success.
Welcome to the premiere source for factual, encouraging updates on Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar and their 19 kids (TLC's 19 Kids and Counting & Counting On ). Our site is not maintained by the Duggars, but we (Lily and Ellie) are personal friends of the family.




Louth County Council has the second highest rate of absenteeism in Ireland according to new figures.

On average Louth County Council staff take on average 11.84 sick days a year, which is the second highest county council rate in Ireland.

Only Leitrim County Council- with 12 days - is higher.

Louth's absenteeism rate works out at 5.36 per cent, which more than double the rate found in the private sector (2.35 per cent)

The Democrat contacted Louth County Council for a comment on the high rate among its staff. The council said:  Human Resources are not available today for a statement.

Only five days per employee were lost in Cavan County Council, which had the lowest rate in the country at 2.62 per cent, which translated at 5 day per employee per year.

According to the Irish Times, the overall cost of sick leave in the public service was estimated at 317.9 million for 2015 which represents a saving of 104.4 million on 2013.

On average 8.5 working days were taken per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) in the Public Service, which was down from 9.5 days in 2013.

Certified public service sick leave for non-critical illnesses was halved to three months on full pay, followed by three months on half pay in any four-year period in 2014.
A Dundalk man has made a new plaque in honour of the crew and passengers aboard a plane which crashed on the Cooley Mountains in 1942.

Brendan Connolly from the Alphonsus Road has made a fresh plaque to mark the spot of the crash of the RAF B-24 Liberator and the 15 people who died when it slammed into boggy ground on the side of Slievenaglogh Mountain, in the Rock Marshall Mountains near Jenkintown during the Second World War.

Brendan had previously placed a concrete statue of the plane at the site.

The RAF B-24 Liberator crashed into the mountain after getting lost in thick fog while making a trip from Egypt to RAF Hurn in Dorset.

The flight crew were told before they reached the halfway point in their journey to turn around due to extreme weather conditions.

However - nearing the point of no return - they decided instead to continue on their fateful journey.

Sadly it left its course and running low on fuel, the crew saw the lights of a city which they understood to be Dublin.

The crew decided to attempt a landing at Greencastle Airfield, County Down. However thick mist hampered visibility, resulting in the aircraft crashing into Slieve-na-Gloc and breaking apart on impact.

The alarm was raised by a local man by the name of McKevitt who heard a plane overheard before a loud crash.

After he witnessed the scene he got medical help, and miraculously there were five survivors.

Accounts vary, but ultimately 15 people died as a result of the crash.
Adblock Plus on Thursday announced that the open source community had created a filter to neutralize Facebooks latest offensive in its ongoing battle with ad blockers.

Any Adblock Plus users who want to implement the workaround will have to update their filterlists manually.

For this round of the cat-and-mouse contest, looks like the mouse won, said Ben Williams, spokesperson for Adblock Plus developer Eyeo.

Facebook on Tuesday began serving up ads that circumvented desktop users ad blocking software.

We are rolling out a technical change in how ads on Facebook.com render which makes it difficult for ad blockers to tell the ads apart from any other content, said Andrew Bosworth, a vice president working with Facebooks ads and business platform.

Within the HTML code, there are lines that show which posts are organic and which are sponsored content, he told the E-Commerce Times. Facebooks change renders that code in a new way that makes the different types of posts indiscernible to ad blockers.

Facebook also is making it easier for users to remove ads they dont want to see from their preferences. That will let consumers remove ads from businesses or organizations that have added them to their customer lists, among other things.

Connecting businesses is part of our mission, Bosworth said. This is how weve powered the site for a while. The industry needs to focus on building better ads, not blocking them.

Getting Ad Love

Publishers love Facebooks changes.

Facebook should be applauded for its leadership on preserving a vibrant value exchange with its users, said Randall Rothenberg, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Its decision to respect advertising as an essential ingredient in connecting users worldwide is spot-on, and should be replicated across the free and open Internet, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Ad blocking is a serious threat to great journalism, video, and numerous other creative aspects of what we enjoy every day online, and Facebook has decided to combat this head-on, Dave Grimaldi, the IABs EVP of public policy, told the E-Commerce Times. Bravo to them.

Theres a deep disconnect between the need for content providers to attract the revenue they need to support their operations and the desire for Internet users to access content for free.

The battle over ad blocking comes back to the ad community saying people fundamentally like ads  were just not getting the right ads in front of them, argued Mike Goodman, a research director at Strategy Analytics.

I think people fundamentally dislike ads but tolerate them because they dont have a choice, he told the E-Commerce Times.

The Cost of Ad Blocking

Worldwide, ad blocking will cost publishers US$27 billion in lost revenues in the next five years, Juniper Research has predicted.

Twenty-six percent of participants in a recent survey already used ad blockers, and another 17 percent were at risk of starting to use them, IAB researchers found.

The number of U.S. Internet users blocking ads will grow by more than 34 percent this year to total nearly 70 million, eMarketer forecast. That figure will grow by 24 percent next year, to nearly 87 million.

To a large extent, publishers and advertisers have put themselves in this position, Goodman pointed out. Between malware and ads that take over my screen, and autoplay audio and video, theyre going out of their way to annoy the consumer, all in the hopes of engagement and of getting noticed.

The IAB has proposed various methods to influence consumers to turn off ad blockers, including ensuring that ads dont have autoplay audio or video, but its not like youre going to stop autopay and all of a sudden Im going to watch your ads, Goodman said. You only get one chance to make a good impression, and the impression theyve made is bad.

Adblock Plus Wont Quit

Adblock Plus, which publishers have targeted for its ad blocking software, predictably has thumbed its nose at Facebooks latest effort.

Trying to circumvent ad blocks is  the same arms race as it was 10 years ago when [we] started, Eyeos Williams said after Facebook announced its change.

The open source community is behind ad blockers and against circumventionists, he told the E-Commerce Times.

People who use ad blockers have conscientiously downloaded an ad blocker from an extension or add-on store to take controls of the ads they see, their privacy and their security, Williams added. Using an ad blocker is a consumer statement.

Facebooks efforts apparently is one publishers reply to that statement, and it appears neither side is going to back down.

Its very possible that Facebook will write some code that will render the filter useless  at any time, Williams acknowledged in a Thursday post. If that happens, the ad-blocking community will likely find another workaround, then Facebook might circumvent again, etc.
Millions of customers using Amazons Alexa voice assistant technology now can add locks that can be controlled remotely to the growing ecosystem of smart home capabilities.

August Home last week announced that Amazons line of voice-assisted products, including the best-selling Echo, now support its smart products, allowing users to lock and unlock their front doors and other points of access using simple voice commands.

August product line includes the August Smart Lock, the August Smart Keypad and the August Smart Doorbell Cam, which allow customers to secure and keep track of home security using a smartphone app.

Connected home devices are gaining wider acceptance due to the increased use of smartphones, Internet availability, and connected devices that solve real consumer problems and needs, said Lisa Auslen, spokesperson for August.

Consumers are definitely adopting voice-enabled devices, often because voice commands bring added convenience to the products they may already have at home, she told TechNewsWorld.

August Smart Lock customers using the first- or second-generation locks can use the service by enabling the August Smart Lock skill located in the Alexa app. The service also requires the August Connection WiFi bridge to connect the Bluetooth lock.

August officials said the companys product work with a number of different partners, including Airbnb, Apple, Nest, Logitech and Xfinity Home.

Growing Ecosystem

The ability to remotely control home security marks the latest series of capabilities for Alexa voice-command products, which now have about 1,900 third-party skills from a range of companies, including Kayak, Lyft, Honeywell and others.

Customers are using Alexa-enabled devices to listen to music, set alarms, get news, shop online, order pizza, and perform a variety of household talks including controlling lights and window blinds.

One of the biggest issues for accelerating adoption of smart home products is the ability to integrate all the various capabilities that communicate seamlessly with each other.

The smart home market has been and will continue to be hobbled by a lack of comprehensive and simple methods to integrate the various smart home devices from different manufacturers, said Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

Amazon Alexa integration is one step towards making the integration easy for users, but it still competes with Apple HomeKit, Nest and other home automation solutions, he told TechNewsWorld.

Security Concerns

Voice command is the most compelling feature of home automation systems using the Alexa platform, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. However, controlling automated locks presents a unique set of challenges.

The concern is that someone either accidentally issues an unlock command or someone outside the house gets heard by Alexa, which then opens the lock, Enderle said. The problem with scripts is they too can include locks, and up until now this capability was disabled.

The demand for smart home lock devices took off several years ago, when August and rival Weiss announced early versions of smartphone-controlled door locks, observed Konkana Khaund, principal consultant at Frost & Sullivan.

While demand clearly is growing, there are still concerns about the security of connected home devices from hacker intrusions.

Most of these systems have confirmed threat potential, Khaund told TechNewsWorld.

Securing them will require commitments to device hardening on the part of solution providers, she said, as well as more vigilance in terms of device protection and authentication on the part of the consumer.
The eyes and the hopes of climate advocates everywhere should be focused for the next two weeks on California.

Interstate 80, seen here in Berkeley, California, is a freeway with many lanes and heavy traffic. Wikipedia

Our prospects for breakthrough climate progress rest on five global theaters of war:

1. Curbing and then ending reliance on coal as a source of electricity.

2. Ending oils monopoly as a transportation fuel.

3. Acceleratingdramaticallythe replacement of HFC refrigerants by safe alternatives.

4. Bringing transparency and the rule of law to local and global timber markets, particularly in Brazil and Indonesia.

5. Infusing manufacturing everywhere with new levels of technology and capital to end the reliance on low cap ex but inefficient and carbon wasteful factories as an economic development strategy.

Coal is still a behemoth and Southeast Asia is considering a new coal investment boom that could dramatically increase climate riskbut there is a strong, vibrant global movement to curb its destructiveness.

The world community is moving on HFCs and their end seems in sight.

Deforestation, as always, depends heavily on better governance in complex and diverse societiesits a slow slog, not a breakthrough game.

Manufacturingwell, we are just really beginning to wrestle with its transformation.

But oiloil is on the edge of a major event and it is going to happen or not, in a few short weeks in Sacramento.

In 2007 Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger mandated that the oil industry diversify and decarbonize the states fuel supply, gradually replacing oil with alternativeselectricity, natural gas, biofuels. Oil could produce these alternatives itself or buy them on the market, but by 2020, the carbon content of fuels had to be reduced by 10 percent.

Oils fuel monopoly is the leverage that enables a barrel of crude to fetchin tight marketsthe $75-$125 the industry profitability requires. No monopoly, no profits. (No profits and oils power to block climate progress withers).

Oil threw everything it could to combat this existential threat: multiple lawsuits in state and federal courts, massive lobbying and campaign investments seeking rescue from the legislature, even a ballot measure seeking the repeal of Californias entire global warming solutions framework.

Nothing stuck. Neither Schwarzenegger or his Democratic successor, Jerry Brown, flinched. Courts upheld the low carbon fuel regulations. Gushers of money could not line up the necessary legislative majorities, the initiative was decisively slapped down at the polls and the public continues to embrace the program.

As a result, the low carbon fuel regulations are now poised to be the biggest single contributor towards Californias efforts to reduce climate pollution.

But the litigation did slow the start of the program. The ramp up of fuel diversity was correspondingly been sped up, because the 10 percent by 2020 mandate remained. Meanwhile, the oil industry chose not to invest in making its own lower carbon fuels even though Chevron admits it could have done so at a profit. Now oil companies must pay others whatever the market demands for the non-petroleum fuels the industry should have been gearing up to supply on its own.

The economic impact on the oil industry is big. By 2020, the oil industry will have to offset (by purchasing low carbon fuels) a ton of CO2 for every 30 barrels of oil. Thats projected to cost about $2/barrel, only a nickel a gallonbut it adds up to $1.5 billion a year. Worse, the program will reduce demand for oil in Californias transportation sector by at least 10 percent. California refiners enjoy a monopoly within a monopoly. No out of state refiners produce the special blends of gasoline required by Californias special unique air quality needs and the states refiners, during the summer months, dont produce quite enough to meet demand. That tight market allows oil companies to jack up prices. So every summer gasoline prices in the state rise often by $1.00/gallon. With demand for gasoline falling because of an increasingly large percentage of non-petroleum based fuels in the market, that price gouging opportunity will vanishand refining in California becomes vastly less profitable. Indeed, the reduction in gasoline demand from more efficient vehicles has already led Exxon to complain that there is too much clean gasoline being made in the California market. (Losing that premium for, say, four months a year, would slash another $4 billion from the oil industrys profits on refining).

Oils alternative is to roll the dice on politics again, this time giving its operatives a truly unlimited campaign budget and trying to force Brown to restore oils monopoly future in California. After all, if you stand to lose $5.5 billionand if the rest of the world is poised to copy Californiayou can easily afford to invest a few hundred million in buying politicians or influencing elections.

The new strategy involves holding as hostage California future ability to finance clean energy with revenues from the states cap and trade program. New litigation claims that these revenues turn cap and trade into a tax which requires a new 2/3 vote of the legislature. Clean energy advocates would like to extend the programwhich currently expires in 2020to give investors and businesses certainty about future markets. Republicans oppose the extensionperiod. The oil industry is hoping to persuade enough petroleum Democrats in the legislature to vote no on an extension that it can force California to exempt oil from clean energy requirements in exchange for extending the program. Brown wants an extensionbut wants a 2/3 vote to protect it against future legal rulings and challenges and it doesnt seem plausible he can get such a super-majority.

Climate advocates may not even, given oils extravagant spending on legislative races, muster a majority in the Assembly to extend AB32. Facing that possibility, Brown announced that he might leave the extension of the program in the hands of the voters in a 2018 ballot measure, rather than calling the question in the next two weeks.

That would be an enormous mistake. California votes in 90 days. Voters deserve to know which members of the legislature listened to their sentiments2/3 support the states climate effortsand which listened to the siren song of oil campaign money. And the oil industry needs to be held accountable for its hostage taking. Those things can only happen if the legislature votesso that if the extension of the climate program is blocked, that can become a major campaign issue in this election, rather than waiting for two more years for California to take the next step.

This is especially true because, with the whole world watching, oil will spend hundreds of millions of dollars against Browns proposed ballot measuresand initiatives are particularly vulnerable to such mega-spending.

Brown and the leaders of the California legislature need to put a simple majority vote extension of the states climate commitments to the vote. If it passes, they can move on to deal with the issue of authorizing the spending. If it is blocked, they can focus on electing new legislators who are not in oils pocket.

Its time to call the question.
By Americans Against Fracking

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board (SAB) today finalized its review of the EPAs June 2015 draft study of frackings impacts to drinking water resources. For over a year, a panel of 30 scientists, engineers and industry consultants have reviewed the details of the 1,000-page draft report. The panel has taken particular issue with a finding that seemingly came out of left field: the agencys statement that fracking has not led to widespread systemic impacts in the U.S.

Tainted water collected from a private drinking water well in PA near a fracking site.

The EPA dismissed frackings impacts with this line, without any clear, scientific basis of support, and now the EPA SAB has taken the agency to task. The EPA, and independent peer-reviewed studies, have identified many mechanisms of contamination, such as spills, well cementing failures below ground, and complications with waste disposal. For example, the EPA found there was on the order of 15 spills every day somewhere in the U.S., yet chose to dismiss those daily incidents as not a sign of widespread, systemic problems.

Affected individuals, public interests groups, and now the independent EPA Science Advisory Board, comprised of the EPAs own scientists, are calling on the EPA to clarify and quantify the controversial widespread, systemic line, or drop the language altogether. The panelists joined affected individuals and various independent experts who submitted comments in taking issue with how the agency ignored three high-profile contamination cases in its studynotably Dimock, Pennsylvania; Parker County, Texas; and Pavillion, Wyoming. The agencys omissions were contentious in part because in each case, the EPA prematurely abandoned investigations. Now, the EPA SAB has recommended that the agency include detailed summaries of these critical cases.

By choosing politics over science, the EPA failed the public with its misleading and controversial line, dismissing frackings impacts on drinking water and sacrificing public health and welfare along the way, Hugh MacMillan, senior researcher at Food & Water Watch, said.

We are calling on the EPA to act quickly on the recommendations from the EPA SAB and be clear about frackings impacts on drinking water resources. The EPA must prioritize the health and safety of the American people over the political interests of the oil and gas industry and its financiers, who have committed hundreds of billions to drilling and fracking in the coming decades. For climate reasons alone, thats a vision for the future that we can ill-afford.

The release of this final report comes on the heels of a massive March for a Clean Energy Revolution at the Democratic National Convention calling for a nationwide ban on fracking, a March 2016 Gallup poll showing that Americans oppose fracking 51-36 percent, and a July 2016 Johns Hopkins Study showing that fracking is linked to increased asthma attacks in Pennsylvania.

A recent peer-reviewed analysis of the science on unconventional oil and gas extraction, of more than 680 peer-reviewed studies, found that, The great majority of science contains findings that indicate concerns for public health, air quality and water quality. In October of 2015, a partnership of prominent health organizations encompassing nationwide medical and public health experts and scientists released a Compendium of more than 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers, as well as numerous government reports and findings, demonstrating the risks of fracking to public health, air and water quality, birth and infant health, the environment and climate change.
Whatcom County, Washington, passed an emergency moratorium on new fossil fuel shipments through Cherry Point, a major export hub, citing environmental and safety issues. The ordinance does not affect current refining or oil shipments.

Cherry Point, Washington. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The county council is expected to hold public hearings during the 60-day moratorium as the county finalizes an update to its 20-year comprehensive plan, which could include a permanent ban on exporting coal or natural gas.

In May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit to build the countrys largest coal-export terminal at Cherry Point after objections from the Lummi tribe. The local environmental community, which has been demanding such a ban, celebrated the moratorium as a precedent-setting victory.

For a deeper dive:

News: AP, Bellingham Herald, Northern Light, KGMI

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
Recent extreme heat events in the Middle East have climate scientists worried about future climate-related catastrophes. Temperatures have climbed above 115 F across the region this summer and Kuwait and Iraq recently recorded most likely the hottest temperatures ever in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Temperatures simulated by the GFS model in the Middle East reached 129 F on Friday, July 22. WeatherBell.com

Record-breaking extreme heatestimated to have claimed more lives than warshas worsened over the years and recent studies have suggested future climate change will make parts of the region uninhabitable. A sergeant major in Iraq equated the heat wave to a weapon of mass destruction, saying, It makes my skin crawl. It is killing us.

For a deeper dive:

News: Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Economist

Commentary: Pacific Standard, Mark Schapiro op-ed

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
(Photo: Courtesy Gatestone Institute)Shama Bibi (left) and Shahzad Masih, a Christian couple and parents of three children, were burned to death by a Muslim lynch mob in Pakistan because of a blasphemy accusation.

An Algerian court has sentenced a Christian man in Algeria to five years in prison, the maximum term, and dealt him a heavy fine for blasphemy against Islam and its prophet, for a social media post.

Slimane Bouhafs, 49, was arrested on July 31 for posting a message on social media about the light of Jesus overcoming the "lie" of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, Evangelical Focus reports.

He also published photos showing the execution of a civilian by an Islamist terrorist.

Such material is judged by the authorities to insult Islam, the state religion in Algeria, according to its Constitution.

The penal code provides for a penalty of three to five years in prison, along with a heavy fine, against anyone convicted of insulting Islam and Muhammad, its prophet, World Watch Monitor reports.

The Algerian Constitution deems that such material insults Islam, the State religion.

The country's penal code provides for a penalty of three to five years in prison, along with a heavy fine, against anyone convicted of insulting Islam and Muhammad.

However, the vice-president of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH), Said Salhi, denounced what he called "this attack" on the guarantees of freedom of conscience and worship enshrined in Algeria's Constitution.

The human rights group said it wished to "alert public opinion and defenders of liberties to this new attack against the rights guaranteed by national laws and the international instruments of human rights."

LADDH also called for Bouhafs' unconditional release and for "a broad mobilization to push back an unlawful act, to let justice triumph."

Bouhafs' sentence shocked his family, who denounced what they called a "sham" trial of the man who became a Christian in 1997, and who was baptized in 2006.

His daughter, Afaf, said her father is man who has always defended the interests of his country from a young age and he is known for his commitment to democracy and religious freedom in all his writings published on his Facebook page.

Bouhafs' family expressed deep concern, as he suffers from a chronic illness and his health may deteriorate as he goes to prison.
TORRANCE, California  American Honda Motor Co. is recalling 11,846 2016 Honda Civic Coupes in the U.S. because of a rear light problem, the automaker said on Wednesday.

"Certain taillight assemblies may have a light-emitting diode side marker light circuit board that was damaged during transit from a parts supplier, making the marker light inoperable," Honda said in a statement. "Affected vehicles with an inoperative rear side marker light may have decreased visibility in traffic, increasing the risk of a crash."

Honda said it has received no related customer or dealer reports linked to the recall.

The problem was discovered during routine vehicle inspections at the factory.

Honda dealers will inspect the rear side marker lights to determine if they illuminate properly. If necessary, the rear light assembly will be replaced.

The recall is expected to begin in early September. Owners can contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.

No information about the recall has been posted on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees vehicle safety in the U.S.

Edmunds says: If you own one of these cars, be prepared to make a service appointment with your Honda dealership as soon as you receive your official recall notification.
A new study has found that students can improve their academic outcomes by playing video games, and suggested they be incorporated into classroom activities.The study  by the International Journal of Communication  used PISA results and information on the amount of time students spend online to measure how video games and social media impact on maths, science and reading among 15-year-olds.However, Economist Alberto Posso from RMIT, who commissioned the report, cautioned that social media use can have the opposite effect, with students who used Facebook or chatted daily scoring 20 points below their fellow maths students who never used social media.The results suggest that using online social networks reduces academic achievement. Conversely, playing online games increases scores, Posso said.It is argued that although both activities are associated with a high opportunity cost of study, video games potentially allow students to apply and sharpen skills learned in school.Posso added that playing video games regularly had academic advantages, most notably for science students who picked up 17 points above the average score.Evidence suggests that Australia tops the US and Europe when it comes to Internet usage among adolescents. Posso suggested that with so many Australian children using the Internet, it was important to consider how this practice affects their educational outcomes.This is crucial for a number of reasons, none more important than that educational outcomes can impact labour market outcomes in the future, he said.Melissa Loble, vice-president of partners and programs at Instructure  an educational technology company  explained how gamification can play an important role in engaging young children at school.There are some key elements to games like being challenged and having a leader board that kids really like and find engaging, Loble told The Educator.When you can apply those game experiences to a learning environment, it helps keeps kids engaged and focused on the learning thats happening as opposed to getting bored and wanting to do all those other things that can distract them.Loble said that younger students are comfortable with fairly complex game-based learning because the technology is easy to use.Complex software is where you get in trouble, but if you keep the technology simple, you can gamify in a pretty advanced way  even with young kids.As for the future of gamification in schools, Loble has high hopes.I think it can have a great future, Loble said, adding that the broad educational benefits which gamification offers deserve greater discussion among educators.We need people out there talking about how gamification really is impacting learning.
To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
Ely, Cambridgeshire is best known for its majestic cathedral dubbed the 'Ship of the Fens' because it dominates the flat landscape. The city, which is the second smallest in England, is about 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about 80 miles by road from London.

14:55, 28 OCT 2022
A 19-year-old climber has made headlines across the United States on Wednesday after he attempted to scale real estate mogul turned U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's headquarters using a number of industrial-grade suction cups.

In a rather dramatic, three-hour vertical cat-and-mouse game, the climber, whose name has not been released by authorities, cleverly avoided capture by police and rescue personnel. He climbed as high as the 21st floor of Trump Tower before ultimately being apprehended.

Police later identified the man as a 19-year-old from Virginia. After he was apprehended, authorities took him to a medical facility, where he was physically and psychologically evaluated.

As of writing, authorities have not announced what charges will be brought against the Trump Tower climber.

While the climber's stunt was ultimately cut short when two police officers grabbed him and yanked him inside the building, the three-hour incident nonetheless incited many gasps from spectators below.

As it turns out, the man's stunt, especially the way he climbed the tower, was extremely dangerous. Speaking to the New York Daily News, famous climbing expert Dan Goodwin, who climbed the World Trade Center using suction cups in 1983, stated that it was almost a miracle the Trump Tower climber was not hurt during his stunt.

Goodwin, who has been in the climbing business for decades, stated that the man's way of climbing was completely against the practices of experienced climbers like him. Apart from this, the man's equipment were all wrong as well.

"He needs to reevaluate everything about his equipment, his climbing abilities and his techniques. He wasn't climbing the way an experienced climber would," Goodwin stated.

"If he was, he would be mixing free-climbing with the suction cups, at least. An experienced climber would have been doing that instinctively. To me, that tells me that he was probably a political activist who was expressing himself."

Goodwin further stated that the Trump Tower climber could have given himself a far easier time had he used some equipment for his feet.

"He needs what's called an artier. It has a series of loops for your feet. You could climb it like it was a little ladder. I would have a little hook that was attached to my waist, and I would clip it into my suction cup, and I would lean back," the veteran climber said.

"You feel like you're gonna pop off, but in the back of your mind, you know the suction cup is the strongest at this point. The way he climbed is just the opposite. Every time he stood on it, it was strictly pull-down power, and that's at its weakest point," he added.

Though it still remains to be seen what the Trump Tower climber really aimed to do, a video he posted on YouTube the day before his fateful climb stated that he wishes to speak to the GOP candidate about something extremely important.
After losing the coveted Democratic nomination for the 2016 presidential elections, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders seems to be planning to lead a pretty quiet life. Unfortunately for the senator, his recent purchase of a fairly impressive $575,000 lakefront camp in the Lake Champlain Islands.

In a report from Vermont newspaper Seven Days, it was revealed that the former presidential hopeful has purchased a house with four bedrooms and a 500-foot beachfront facing Vermont. The properly was to serve as the senator's seasonal camp with his family.

Considering that Sanders has been very adamant about socialism during his campaign, his purchase of the $575,000 lakefront house was met with scathing criticism from the internet's hypocrisy police.

Some netizens accused Sanders of selling out to current Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Others were even more foul, accusing him of stealing from the people who donated to his campaign.

As of writing, the Vermont senator has not responded to the criticism of his lakefront purchase. After all, the former presidential hopeful is currently writing his upcoming book, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In, which is set to be released on Nov. 15.

While the hypocrisy police of the internet continue to fume about the senator's real estate purchase, avid Sanders supporters have rallied behind the former presidential hopeful, stating that after decades of public service, the senator definitely has every right to purchase the lakefront house.

Responding to scathing comments, Sanders supporter Deb Ritchie argues that the 74-year-old politician does not deserve the hate he is currently getting.

"The man is 74 years old and has worked incredibly hard his whole life, as has his wife. If they wish to buy a retirement home after this year where he put his heart and soul into the people, then all the power to him. I hope Bernie and Jane and their family enjoy their new Retirement Home in HERO, a place aptly named for Bernie to live. You haters should be ashamed of yourselves. Enjoy Bernie & Jane. You Deserve to be Happy," Ritchie stated.

In a lot of ways, Sanders' supporters do have a point. The Vermont senator has been in public service for a long time, and among his peers, he holds one of the cleanest records in American politics in recent years. Plus, a $575,000 lakefront house is almost nothing compared to what his peers, the other presidential hopefuls, currently own.
Four months ago, Snapchat caught the ire of netizens after it released a filter that supposedly pays homage to the late great Bob Marley. The only problem? The filter in question, which superimposed dreadlocks and darker skin color, was way too similar to the classic, yet now condemned practice of blackfacing.

This time, Snapchat has gotten itself in trouble with its users again, after the social media app released a new filter that supposedly pays homage to anime. The thing is, instead of usual anime tropes, such as large eyes and wildly random hair color, the filter that Snapchat released featured slanted, shut eyes and rosy cheeks instead.

Considering the racial tensions in the United States right now, the filter became the equivalent of Snapchat shooting itself in the foot.

In a lot of ways, the filter does recall images of Asian caricatures. In fact, placing a bayonet in the frame would almost recreate the caricatures of Vietcong soldiers that were prevalent in the media during the Vietnam war.

Unsurprisingly, many users have reacted negatively to the new filter, stating that it promotes racial stereotypes. Dubbed "Yellowface" by Snapchat users, the filter in question practically set fire to social media. Some users even stated that the inclusion of the filter was enough for them to delete the app completely.

Fortunately, Snapchat did heed the call to take down the filter, removing it from its system. Since taking down the filter, Snapchat has released a statement, stating that the filter would not be released again, and that it was never meant to encourage stereotypes. Rather, it is a simple homage to anime.

Considering the fallout from its users, both this time around and with the blackface fiasco, it seems like Snapchat is still a long way from being a firm that is not short-sighted when it comes to racial issues.

After all, Snapchat does rely on its filters to bolster its user base. Apart from this, the social network's filters are also among the company's most effective ways of attracting advertisers, such as the firm's Target-branded filter.
From the inbox:

Thank you for your contribution of $8 on 8/11/2016 to the Carbon Neutral Commuter program.

100% of your contribution will be used to purchase carbon offsets.

For complete information about the program and how contributions are being spent, please visit Carbon Neutral Commuter!
That uncertainty depressed the emissions allowance market that defines the cap-and-trade program. Emissions are capped, and emitters need to purchase enough permits from a state-run auction or on the secondary market to cover their emissions. In the most recent auction of these permits, California sold only 11% of the available supply. The lack of demand to some degree showed that emissions were being successfully capped, but it also called into question the whole scheme and raised much less money for green projects than expected. On Aug. 16, the state will hold another allowance auction whose results are unlikely to be much better.

Cap and trade, as even this simplified description demonstrates, is a complex program. If California must pass new legislation with a two-thirds majority to extend its climate efforts anyway, policymakers should consider replacing it with a simple straight-up carbon tax. It would provide even more powerful market signals to encourage emissions reductions, serve broader fiscal purposes and thereby make for a better model for federal legislation.

A tax is simpler than cap and trade because it doesnt involve allowance auctions, registries to keep track of who can sell and who must buy, market monitoring or carbon offsets. Emitters just pay a predictable (and gradually rising) fee for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit, not unlike the tax on a pack of cigarettes. Even a modest tax is likely to be more environmentally effective than the current approach because it is a direct and predictable incentive to lower emissions and use cleaner technology. Under cap and trade, Californias other clean energy regulations do much of the work to prod emitters to meet the cap; the trading system just picks up the slack. ...
Ascension has concluded an agreement for the disposal of the property letting enterprises in respect of the 3 properties known as Bergstan House, Matrix House and Nedbank Centre to Camden Bay Investments 44 Proprietary for an aggregate consideration of R199m.

The properties are no longer core to Ascensions strategy and the disposal will enable Ascension to focus on its larger core buildings with more sustainable growth. The proceeds of the disposal will be used to reduce the existing debt of Ascension.

Camden Bay will acquire the property letting enterprises, which include the properties, with effect from the date of registration of transfer of the properties into Camden Bays name.

The sale consideration for the property letting enterprise will be payable in cash on the transfer date.

The disposal remains conditional upon Camden Bay: - obtaining debt finance for 60% of the sale consideration payable; and - being satisfied with the outcome of its due diligence investigation in respect of the letting enterprise.

No independent valuation has been carried out and the board of directors of Ascension is of the view that the value attributed to the properties above represents the value of the properties disposed of.

The value of the net assets being disposed of in terms of the disposal, being the value attributed to the properties, is R160 500 000.
It is difficult to understand a historical event in its entirety.

Britains exit from the European Union (EU) has multiple causes and many consequences. Gender, sex, race and immigration, economic welfare, globalisation, and something as elusive as national pride all went into the exit vote. Geographically, the exit votes came largely from north England, the rust belt as the Americans call it, where all old industries (steel, forging, shipyards, etc) are located and where people feared loss of jobs to the immigrants besides not experiencing much benefit from Britains association with the EU. The south, southwest and London City all voted remain. This part of the country lives on services, banking and finance and is well integrated into the EU economy. The young, especially those between the ages of 18 and 24, solidly voted remain as did the Scots and Irish from Ulster. The leave voters were predominantly over 65 years old.
If Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik is symptomatic of religious fundamentalism, we have to pin which part of his rhetoric accounts for it, and how it is different from other secular affirmations of truths. Any attempt to rerun the old narrative of the irrationality of religion, and of Naiks supporters being blinded by unexamined religious passion, falls flat on its face. Naiks religion, in fact, is an embarrassingly evolved version of how a rational religion was conceived post-Enlightenment, and his justification of punishment and justice in Islam strikingly mimics the operation of the modern secular world. This is also how he has been able to gain legitimacy amidst an audience which sees itself as modern.
Magnetic fusion energy and the plasma physics that underlies it are the topics of ambitious new books by Hutch Neilson, head of the Advanced Projects Department at PPPL, and Amitava Bhattacharjee, head of the Theory Department at the Laboratory. The books describe where research on magnetic fusion energy comes from and where it is going, and provide a basic understanding of the physics of plasma, the fourth state of matter that makes up 99 percent of the visible universe.

The volume "Magnetic Fusion Energy: From Experiments to Power Plants," edited by Neilson, introduces early career researchers to the current body of fusion work and points the way to breakthroughs still to be achieved. "We're in a watershed period," said Neilson of today's research. The 613-page book, published in June, "collects the knowledge of what's already been done to serve as a resource for charting the future," he said.

Bhattacharjee's book, the second edition of the text "Introduction to Plasma Physics" co-authored with Donald A. Gurnett of the University of Iowa, keeps pace with the fast- and ever-changing field. "We needed to include topics in contemporary research in both fusion and astrophysical plasmas," Bhattacharjee said. New topics in the book, which will be out this fall, range from tearing modes in fusion plasmas to particle acceleration by shocks to the magnetorotational instability in accretion disks that surround celestial bodies.

Scientific publisher Elsevier approached Neilson about a book after he chaired the program committee for the 2013 Symposium on Fusion Energy in San Francisco. "I took this on because of where I am in my own career," he said. "We've reached the point of building a burning plasma experiment in ITER, but R&D won't stop there. This book is for people who will lead fusion research in the 2020s and 2030s."

The volume is part of the Woodhead Publishing Series in Energy, an Elsevier imprint, and continues a venerable tradition at PPPL. From early works by Laboratory founder Lyman Spitzer and pioneering physicist Thomas Stix, to the second edition of the Bhattacharjee text, PPPL researchers have passed along their knowledge to students and future generations.

The new Bhattacharjee text is aimed at senior undergraduates and first-year graduate students. "We thought of updating the first edition a couple of years ago," Bhattacharjee said. "By that time, we had received constructive feedback from a number of colleagues and students who found the book useful. We also wanted to share with our students at a basic level some of the current topics of research at the frontiers of plasma physics, and to convey the sense that while plasma physics is a mature field, there are many open and exciting problems."

Neilson's book consists of four parts that explain fusion's march from experiments to power plants. The parts begin with the challenges facing fusion energy and go on to describe experiments that provide the foundation for ITER, the international tokamak under construction in France; experiments to develop fusion energy beyond ITER; and key technological issues for future fusion power plants.

The sections total 19 chapters of roughly 9,000 words each, written by fusion colleagues from around the world. "I've been in this field for 42 years and know a lot of people," Neilson said. The number has grown rapidly in recent years since he chaired a workshop on fusion roadmapping that is now a series sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

PPPL researchers wrote three chapters of the book. Physicists Rajesh Maingi and Stan Kaye described plasma exhaust and the National Spherical Torus Experiment, respectively. Senior physicist Michael Bell discussed the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor, the first machine to burn a high-power mix of deuterium and tritium fuel.

In his introduction, Neilson explained that the development of fusion energy remains a difficult and distant goal. However, he noted, highly motivated men and women are drawn to the field, which receives support from policy makers and funding sources throughout the world.

The reason, he wrote, is that "the world's need for large-scale clean energy solutions is so great that fusion's potential must be thoroughly understood, demonstrated and evaluated. Most importantly, fusion research and development continues to make impressive scientific and technical progress in the face of formidable challenges. That is what this book is about."

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The opinions of these authors and editors do not necessarily reflect those of Princeton University, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory or the U.S. Department of Energy.

PPPL, on Princeton University's Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro, N.J., is devoted to creating new knowledge about the physics of plasmas -- ultra-hot, charged gases -- and to developing practical solutions for the creation of fusion energy. Results of PPPL research have ranged from a portable nuclear materials detector for anti-terrorist use to universally employed computer codes for analyzing and predicting the outcome of fusion experiments. The Laboratory is managed by the University for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, which is the largest single supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov
Detecting turbulence remains the Achilles' heel of modern-day aviation. The reports submitted by pilots, subjective and often very inaccurate, are the least expensive and the most frequently used method for trying to predict where it will occur. Scientists from the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, have demonstrated that turbulence can be detected in a much faster and more precise way, using data already routinely broadcast by the aircraft operated by commercial airlines.

Anyone who has experienced turbulence on an airplane certainly knows that it's no fun ride. Despite advancements in technology, methods used to detect these dangerous atmospheric phenomena are still far from perfect. However, there is every indication that data allowing pilots to avoid turbulence and even to forecast such occurrences are already being routinely recorded. In fact, this has been done for many years! Jacek Kopec, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, and a member of the staff of the University's Interdisciplinary Center for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM), has managed to extract this valuable information from the flight parameters routinely broadcast by the transponders installed in most of the modern commercial aircraft. This new method for detecting turbulence is so original and potentially easy to implement on a large scale that the article describing it has been featured in the "highlight articles" section of the journal Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

"Today's commercial aircraft fly at altitudes of 10 to 15 km, where the temperatures fall to -60 C. Conditions for measuring atmospheric parameters are very difficult, which explains why such measurements are not taken systematically or extensively. A lack of sufficiently accurate and up-to-date information not only exposes aircraft and their passengers to danger, it also restricts the development of theories and tools for forecasting turbulence," Jacek Kopec says.

At present, pilot reports (PIREPs), relayed by radio and provided to pilots of other aircraft by air traffic controllers, are a basic source of turbulence data. Since these reports are based on the subjective opinions of pilots, the data collected in this way are often marred by substantial inaccuracies as to both the area of turbulence and its intensity. More accurate readings are provided by aircrafts involved in the Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) program. This method is nonetheless costly, so data collected at cruising altitudes are transmitted relatively rarely. In practice, this prevents such reports from being used to detect and forecast turbulence.

Passenger aircraft are fitted with sensors that record a variety of flight parameters. Unfortunately, most of the data are not made publicly available. Publicly available reports include only the most basic parameters such as the position of the aircraft (ADS-B transmissions, which are also used by the popular website FlightRadar24) or its speed relative to the ground and the air (Mode-S data). Meanwhile, detecting turbulence requires knowledge of the vertical acceleration of aircraft.

"Vertical accelerations are especially strongly felt both by the passengers and by the aircraft," Jacek Kopec explains. "Unfortunately, there is no access to materials regarding vertical accelerations. That was why we decided to check if we could extract such data from other flight parameters, accessible in Mode-S and ADS-B transmissions. The research aircraft in a project in which I participated was fitted with a suitable transponder, so we took advantage of that fact. By coincidence, our coauthor, Siebren de Haan from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, recorded the transmissions received from the transponder," he adds.

Scientists from the Faculty of Physics tested three algorithms of turbulence detection. The first relied on information about the position of aircraft (ADS-B transmissions). However, preliminary tests and their comparison against the parameters registered in the same area by the research aircraft failed to produce satisfactory results. As for the remaining two algorithms, each of them used, though in somewhat different ways, the parameters received approximately every four seconds through Mode-S transmissions. In the second approach, the parameters were analyzed using the standard theory of turbulence. In the third approach, the scientists adapted a method for determining turbulence intensity previously used to measure turbulence on a very small scale in the understory of forests. It turned out that once wind velocity in the vicinity of the aircraft was determined and its changes were analyzed in successive readings, it was possible to use the latter two theoretical approaches to locate turbulence areas with an error of only 20 km. Passenger aircraft need around 100 seconds to travel this distance, so this level of accuracy would allow pilots to maneuver their aircraft to effectively avoid turbulence.

By harnessing existing data, this system of turbulence detection developed at the Institute of Geophysics (Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw) therefore requires no significant investments in aviation infrastructure. In order to be operational, the system needs adequate software and a computer connected in a simple way to the devices that receive Mode-S transmissions from the transponders on board aircraft. Such devices are standard equipment in air traffic control institutions in Europe. In this system, passenger aircraft act as sensors by creating a dense network of measurement points above Europe.

"In the coming months, we will be working to improve the software. Nevertheless, we have already achieved our most important goal: we have proved that the method for detecting turbulence we have proposed really works and can provide pilots with information enabling them to avoid dangerous areas in the atmosphere. Turbulence detection will also help improve aviation forecasting methods," stresses Prof. Szymon Malinowski from the Faculty of Physics, Jacek Kopec's doctoral dissertation advisor and one of the authors of the publication.

The turbulence detection system has been developed under a grant from Poland's National Science Center (NCN). Data for the research was collected in a flight test campaign financed from the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union.

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Physics and Astronomy first appeared at the University of Warsaw in 1816, under the then Faculty of Philosophy. In 1825 the Astronomical Observatory was established. Currently, the Faculty of Physics' Institutes include Experimental Physics, Theoretical Physics, Geophysics, Department of Mathematical Methods and an Astronomical Observatory. Research covers almost all areas of modern physics, on scales from the quantum to the cosmological. The Faculty's research and teaching staff includes ca. 200 university teachers, of which 88 are employees with the title of professor. The Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, is attended by ca. 1000 students and more than 170 doctoral students.

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS:

"Retrieving atmospheric turbulence information from regular commercial aircraft using Mode-S and ADS-B"; J. M. Kopec, K. Kwiatkowski, S. de Haan, Sz. P. Malinowski; Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 9, 2253-2265, 2016; DOI:10.5194/amt-9-2253-2016

CONTACTS:

Prof. Szymon Malinowski

Institute of Geophysics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw

tel. +48 22 5532719

email: malina@fuw.edu.pl

M.Sc. Jacek Kopec

Institute of Geophysics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw

Interdisciplinary Center for Mathematical and Computational Modelling, University of Warsaw

tel. +48 22 8749145

email: jkopec@icm.edu.pl

RELATED LINKS:

http://www.fuw.edu.pl/

Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw.

http://www.fuw.edu.pl/informacje-prasowe.html

Press office of the Faculty of Physcis, University of Warsaw.

IMAGES:

FUW160810b_fot01s.jpg

HR: http://www.fuw.edu.pl/press/images/2016/FUW160810b_fot01.jpg

Scientists from the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, have demonstrated that turbulence can be detected in a much faster and more precise way, using data already routinely broadcast by the aircraft operated by commercial airlines. (Source: FUW, jch)
Lie on the beach this summer and your body will be bombarded by about sextillion photons of light per second.

Most of these photons, or small packets of energy, originate from the Sun but a very small fraction have travelled across the Universe for billions of years before ending their existence when they collide with your skin.

In a new study to be published in the Astrophysical Journal on August 12th, astronomers have accurately measured the light hitting the Earth from outside our galaxy over a very broad wavelength range.

The research looked at photons whose wavelengths vary from a fraction of a micron (damaging) to millimetres (harmless).

But radiation from outside the galaxy constitutes only ten trillionths of your suntan, so there is no immediate need for alarm.

International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) astrophysicist Professor Simon Driver, who led the study, said we are constantly bombarded by about 10 billion photons per second from intergalactic space when we're outside, day and night.

"Most of the photons of light hitting us originate from the Sun, whether directly, scattered by the sky, or reflected off dust in the Solar System," he said.

"However, we're also bathed in radiation from beyond our galaxy, called the extra-galactic background light.

These photons are minted in the cores of stars in distant galaxies, and from matter as it spirals into supermassive black holes."

Professor Driver, who is based at the University of Western Australia, measured this ambient radiation from the Universe, from a wide range of wavelengths by combining deep images from a flotilla of space telescopes.

He and collaborators from Arizona State University and Cardiff University collated observations from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer telescopes, the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, the European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory and Australia's Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey to make the most accurate measurements ever of the extra-galactic background light.

While 10 billion photons a second might sound like a lot, Professor Driver said we would have to bask in it for trillions of years before it caused any long-lasting damage.

Professor Rogier Windhorst, from Arizona State University, said the Universe also comes with its own inbuilt protection as about half the energy coming from the ultraviolet light of galaxies is converted into a less damaging wavelength by dust grains.

"The galaxies themselves provide us with a natural suntan lotion with an SPF of about two," he said.

The study is part of ICRAR's ongoing work to understand the evolution of energy, mass and structure in the Universe.

The research program examines how we went from the smooth distribution of atoms in the early Universe to the emergence of the Periodic Table and the multitude of stars, galaxies and galaxy clusters we see today.

"The processes which shape and shuffle mass generate vast quantities of energy, dwarfed only by the vastness of space," Professor Driver said.

"The precise physics as to how this energy is released is still not fully understood and work continues to build numerical models capable of explaining the energy that we've now measured."

The research will be published in The Astrophysical Journal on August 12th.

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Further information:

The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia with support and funding from the State Government of Western Australia.

Publication Details:

'Measurements of Extragalactic Background Light from the FAR-UV to the FAR-IR from Deep Ground and Space based galaxy counts,' published in in the Astrophysical Journal on August 12th, 2016. Available via http://www.icrar.org/suntan/.

Contact Information:

Professor Simon Driver, ICRAR-UWA

E: simon.driver@icrar.org | M: +61 400 713 514

Dr Luke Davies, ICRAR-UWA

E: luke.davies@icrar.org | M: +61 466 277 672

Pete Wheeler, Media Contact, ICRAR

E: pete.wheeler@icrar.org | M: +61 423 982 018

Multimedia:

A high resolution infographic is available from http://www.icrar.org/suntan
WOODS HOLE, MASS. -- Taking a cue from medical imaging, scientists have invented a multi-view microscope that captures higher-resolution, 3D images of live cells and tissues without upping the dose of potentially harmful radiation the specimens receive.

The researchers, who work collaboratively at the Marine Biological Laboratory's Whitman Center, published their results this week in the journal Optica.

"Everybody knows fluorescence imaging is inefficient in that the microscope only captures a portion of the light (spewing off the specimen)," says senior author Hari Shroff of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. "In this paper, we showed you can not only capture that lost light, but use computation to fuse it to the existing image and make the image sharper."

Developed by Yicong Wu, a staff scientist in Shroff's lab, the new system achieved resolution of up to 235 x 235 x 340 nanometers, which is double the volumetric resolution of traditional fluorescence microscopy methods.

To collect more of the available light (which, in turn, provides more information about the specimen), the new microscope has three objective lenses acquiring views of the sample simultaneously. The views are then aligned and merged by a computational process known as deconvolution.

Those computations were worked out in collaboration with co-author Patrick La Riviere of the University of Chicago's Radiology Department, who typically develops algorithms for improving "dose efficiency" in human-scale medical imaging, such as CAT scans.

"In medical imaging, we are always worried about dose, about capturing every X-ray [used on the patient to improve scan resolution]. We are concerned with 'How can we do more with less?'" La Riviere says.

In microscopy, the amount of light used presents similar concerns. "If you use very intense illuminations to image something microscopic like a worm embryo, you might change its biology or even kill it. You need to be dose efficient with your light," La Riviere says.

La Riviere and Shroff began collaborating at the MBL in 2014, initially on algorithms to improve Shroff's diSPIM microscope (which has two objective lenses) and eventually on the new three-lensed, triple-view microscope.

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Citation:

Yicong Wu, P. Chandris, P.W. Winter, E.Y. Kim, V. Jaumouille, A. Kumar, M. Guo, J.M. Leung, C. Smith, I. Rey-Suarez, H. Liu, C.M. Waterman, K.S. Ramamurthi, P. La Riviere, H. Shroff (2016) Simultaneous multi-view capture and fusion improves spatial resolution in wide-field and light-sheet microscopy. Optica 3, 8: 897-920; doi: 10.1364/OPTICA.3.000897

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago.
Plants produce volatiles, air-borne organic chemical compounds, to attract pollinators and seed dispersers, and to repulse plant-eating animals and microbes. Humans have used them for thousands of years as perfumes and spices. A study published on August 11th in PLOS Pathogens reports that virus infection can change a plant's volatile profile to increase reproductive success of the infected--virus-susceptible--host, and might so counteract the selective pressure that favors evolution of plant resistance.

A research team led by John Carr, Beverley Glover, and Nik Cunniffe, all from the University of Cambridge, UK, examined the effects of infection by cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), on tomato and Arabidopsis plants and bumblebees. Both Arabidopsis and tomato are self-pollinating--they do not depend absolutely on pollinating insects or birds for fruit and seed production. But in tomato, an additional process called buzz pollination takes place. Buzz pollination involves vibration of the flowers by insects such as bumblebees to increases pollen release. This in turn enhances fertilization rates and increases seed and fruit production.

Infection by CMV, a major pathogen of tomato which can also infect Arabidopsis, the researchers found, induced changes in the composition of volatiles emitted by plants of both species. The researchers grew plants in individual containers, and collected air with emissions from CMV-infected and mock-infected control plants. Organic compounds were collected on filters and analyzed by mass spectrometry.

Not only could the researchers see the changes, but the bumblebees could smell them. For tomatoes, the bumblebees showed a preference for the infected plants, even when these were covered up to eliminate visual cues, or when the plants had no flowers, suggesting that the leaves of infected plants were at least partially responsible for emission of the attractive volatile mix.

Arabidopsis is not a natural target for bumblebees, and the researchers observed no preference in visitation time and frequency between infected and uninfected plants. That said, the bees could smell the difference, because they could be trained to selectively avoid either infected or un-infected Arabidopsis plants. For the training, the researchers provided sugar water on infected plants and a (bitter) quinine solution on uninfected ones. The bees can taste but not smell the difference between the two liquids but, for example, once they had learned to associate the 'infected smell' with sweet taste and the uninfected one with bitter taste, they preferentially visited the infected plants.

Being able to train bees in this way, the researchers could then use mutant virus or mutant Arabidopsis strains to test whether specific genes contributed to the changes in volatiles. Either Arabidopsis mutants with defects in gene silencing or CMV mutants that lack a virus protein that blocks silencing in the plants abolished the ability of the bees to learn to discriminate between these infected and uninfected plants. This suggests that gene silencing plays a role in inducing the changes in volatile production or emission.

CMV-infected tomato plants are smaller but have similar number of flowers compared with uninfected ones. Without buzz pollination, infected plants also have dramatically decreased seed production, with less than 10% of the yield in uninfected plants. Using an electric toothbrush to artificially buzz pollinate the flowers of CMV-infected plants, however, the researchers were able to substantially rescue seed production, with seed numbers reaching approximately half the level seen for uninfected non-buzzed flowers.

As with the artificial buzz pollination, when bumblebees buzzed tomato flowers, seed yield was increased. Bee-pollinated flowers on CMV-infected plants yielded tomatoes that contained more seeds than the tomatoes that developed from bee-pollinated flowers on uninfected plants. These results imply that the greater buzzing activity on flowers of CMV-infected plants resulted in increased seed production.

Given the results in domesticated tomato plants under controlled conditions, the researchers wondered about implications for wild buzz-pollinated plants growing under natural conditions. They developed a mathematical model to address this question and report that pollinator preference for infected susceptible plants (with the resulting increases in offspring) could indeed outweigh underlying strong selection pressures favoring pathogen resistance. The findings were consistent over a wide range of conditions in the wild, suggesting that the interaction could allow genes for disease susceptibility to persist in plant populations.

"Under natural conditions", the researchers propose, "helping host reproduction by encouraging bee visitation might represent a 'payback' by the virus to susceptible hosts". In general, they hope their results "may be useful in developing strategies to increase pollinator services for crops under conditions of cultivation, as well as for a better understanding of the interplay of plant pathogens, wild plants and pollinators under natural conditions".

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In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS Pathogens: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005790

Please contact plospathogens@plos.org if you would like more information.

Funding: Major funding for this project was provided to JPC by the Leverhulme Trust (Grant numbers RPG-2012-667 and F/09741/F: https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/). Additional funding to JPC and studentships to support JHW and SCG came from the Biotechnological and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grant number BB/J011762/1: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/). Other additional funding was obtained from the Isaac Newton Trust (http://www.newtontrust.cam.ac.uk/: grant number 12.07/I to AMM). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Groen SC, Jiang S, Murphy AM, Cunniffe NJ, Westwood JH, Davey MP, et al. (2016) Virus Infection of Plants Alters Pollinator Preference: A Payback for Susceptible Hosts? PLoS Pathog 12(8): e1005790. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1005790
Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) infections occur when Salmonella bacteria, which normally cause diarrhea, enter the bloodstream and spread through the body. iNTS infections may cause illness and death in malaria-stricken children and HIV-infected adults in sub-Saharan Africa, but little is known about the prevalence and severity of iNTS in Asia. A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases suggests that iNTS disease, like in sub-Saharan Africa, is a severe infection with a high mortality rate in Vietnam. Stephen Baker, Corinne Thompson, and Nguyen Phu Huong Lan, working at The Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and colleagues found that HIV infection was a risk factor for both contracting and dying from iNTS and that iNTS infections were most commonly diagnosed in HIV-infected adult men.

Some Salmonella subspecies can cause an aggressive systemic infection loosely resembling typhoid fever, in addition to the common diarrheal clinical syndrome NTS organisms cause in humans. While NTS is a common cause of diarrhea in Asia, especially among children, few if any data exist on the epidemiology of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella infections. To identify the clinical features of iNTS and risk factors associated with death from an iNTS infection, Baker and colleagues retrospectively analyzed clinical and laboratory data from 102 patients testing positive for iNTS at a hospital in South Vietnam between 2008-2013. Laboratory data included standard hematology testing and biochemical testing results gleaned from the hospital records. Clinical data included sex, HIV status, axillary temperature, the presence of coinfection, and disease outcome.

Outcomes were classified as follows: 1) recovery or improvement, 2) worsening status on discharge (taken home to die with family), 3) death, 4) transfer to a different hospital for a specific treatment. Outcomes 2 and 3 were counted as fatal. The collaborating researchers then determined the serogroup of the isolated Salmonella from the original blood culture and used molecular methods to identify the dominant serovars causing iNTS in this setting.

Out of the 102 iNTS cases for which data were available, 8% were children and the median age of patients was 33 years. 71% were male and 33% of all cases reported a history of intravenous drug use. All patients diagnosed with iNTS infections underwent HIV testing, with 71% testing positive. Patients most commonly presented with fever and pallor while clinical features of HIV-infected patients also included oralpharyngeal lesions. 65% of patients improved or recovered prior to hospital discharge while 26% either died in the hospital or were discharged to die at home, contributing to a 28% mortality rate. 92% of patients who died were HIV-infection and 23% had a secondary infection.

In addition to analyzing the clinical features and outcomes of iNTS, researchers identified 17 different serovars associated with iNTS disease in the population. They found that S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium were the most common serovars causing disease in 43% and 30% of cases respectively, while S. Typhimurium was most frequently identified in HIV-infected patients.

The researchers acknowledge that this study has limitations, "Our retrospective analysis for risk of death may be biased by misclassification as we coded patients who were taken home by family members as fatal, though we did not have a confirmed death report from these individuals." Secondly, most children with HIV are referred to a pediatric hospital and would not have been present at the hospital where the research was conducted, which means the study results may underestimate the burden of iNTS disease in children.

However, this study is the first of its kind, laying the groundwork for future iNTS-related public health research and interventions in populations outside sub-Saharan Africa. According to the authors, the study, "provides the largest description to date of iNTS patients to date in Southeast Asia and highlights important similarities and differences between the African and Asian settings. We suggest that continued surveillance, including sequence typing/whole genome sequencing, should be performed to monitor for emergence or introduction of MDR strains or strains with any apparent enhanced virulence phenotype".

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Please contact plosntds@plos.org if you would like more information about our content and specific topics of interest.

All works published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases are open access, which means that everything is immediately and freely available. Use this URL in your coverage to provide readers access to the paper upon publication: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004857 (Link goes live upon article publication)

Citation: Phu Huong Lan N, Le Thi Phuong T, Nguyen Huu H, Thuy L, Mather AE, Park SE, et al. (2016) Invasive Non-typhoidal Salmonella Infections in Asia: Clinical Observations, Disease Outcome and Dominant Serovars from an Infectious Disease Hospital in Vietnam. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10(8): e0004857. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004857

Funding: A strategic award from Wellcome Trust of Great Britain funded this work (WT/093724). SB is a Sir Henry Dale Fellow, jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (100087/Z/12/Z). AEM was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant BB/M014088/1. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
A new gem has been added to the vast treasure of Mexican reptiles. Mexican scientists recently described a new and strikingly colored species of earth snake from the mountains of Puebla and Veracruz in east-central Mexico.

These burrowing reptiles are seldom encountered and, consequently, have been poorly studied. Furthermore, several species have restricted distribution, making them particularly vulnerable to extinction. The description of the new species was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

Looking to shed light on the evolutionary history and diversity of earth snakes, Luis Canseco-Marquez and Adrian Nieto-Montes de Oca, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, started to collect samples of these rarely seen critters.

A sample from east-central Mexico exhibited a unique set of traits among earth snakes, one of them showing striking orange and black banding pattern. They realized that these snakes represented a new species and proceeded to describe it in collaboration with scientists Carlos J. Pavon-Vazquez, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, and Marco A. Lopez-Luna, Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco. The specimens of the new species were deposited in the herpetological collections of the Museo de Zoologia "Alfonso L. Herrera" and the Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Zongolica.

The new species is the fourth described by Nieto-Montes de Oca and collaborators for the last fourteen years from the Mexican highlands. Funding from the Mexican Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) has allowed the team to discover other species of earth snake in Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Puebla.

"Most of these snakes have notably small geographic ranges and sometimes are only found in one type of vegetation. This makes them particularly vulnerable to the destruction of their habitat. It is important to know them before it gets too late," note the scientists.

Genetic data and careful anatomical examination have been vital to understand the real diversity within the group. "These snakes are remarkably similar to each other and it has been only through molecular analyses and rigorous specimen examination that we have come close to understand how diverse they are," explain the authors.

The region in which the species is found has not been thoroughly explored yet. Therefore, it seems likely that it could yield future discoveries. Additionally, the work made by the researchers suggests the existence of other undescribed species of earth snake.

"Our analyses suggest that this group is more diverse than previously thought. They have proven to be an exciting model to understand the patterns of biological richness in the Mexican mountains," conclude the authors.

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Original source:

Canseco-Marquez L, Pavon-Vazquez CJ, Lopez-Luna MA, Nieto-Montes de Oca A (2016) A new species of earth snake (Dipsadidae, Geophis) from Mexico. ZooKeys 610: 131-145. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.610.8605

Additional Information:

Funding by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT)
A new species of rain frog was discovered in the premontane forests of the Peruvian central Andes. Referring to the mountain chain's local name, the amphibian's name translates to 'Sleeping beauty'. Another striking thing about the new frog is the contrasting bright red that coats its groins, shanks and thighs.

Discovered and described by Drs German Chavez, Centro de Ornitologia y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI), and Alessandro Catenazzi, affiliated with both CORBIDI and Southern Illinois University, the frog is now published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

Like many new species, the new amphibian is also named after the place where it has been found. However, in this case the name is no ordinary one, since the mountain is locally known as Sleeping beauty, reflecting what the local population saw in its panoramic view - a reclined sleeping woman. Therefore, the scientists suggest its common English name to be Sleeping beauty rain frog.

The rain frog's colouration is no less impressive. Its bright-red groins, shanks and thighs, set against a predominantly yellowish-brown body, distinguish it from other related frogs at a glimpse.

"When we heard the chorus of males, first thought was: such a strange call!" recalls Dr German Chavez. "When we saw this amazing frog, we knew that it is a new species. No other frog has that bright red colour on rear limbs!"

The new frog, formally called Pristimantis pulchridormientes (from Latin "pulcher" translating to beautiful, and "dormientes" - sleeping) grows to about 20 mm. It has so far been found at only two localities spread 27 km apart in the Huanuco Region. Its habitat ranges between 1000 and 1700 m in elevation.

Although the area is yet to be researched in detail, the authors speculate that due to the very fragmented habitat surrounded by orange plantations and corn cropland, the distributional range of the Sleeping beauty frog is highly likely to be quite disturbed as well.

The rain frog genus, where the new species belong, Pristimantis, is one of the most astounding, richest and understudied groups in the Neotropics. Furthermore, within the Tingo Maria National Park the biodiversity has been even more neglected in the past due to terrorism and drug trafficking limiting its accessibility in the 80s and the 90s.

"Tingo Maria National Park is one of most amazing places to watch fauna, and we are convinced that is the main shelter for many endemic species from central Peru, in fact this is one of several discoveries which we hope to publish in a future," conclude the authors.

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Original source:

Chavez G, Catenazzi A (2016) A new species of frog of the genus Pristimantis from Tingo Maria National Park, Huanuco Department, central Peru (Anura, Craugastoridae). ZooKeys 610: 113-130. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.610.8507
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University researchers are working on a new technique that could aid law enforcement in gathering data from smart phones when investigating crimes.

A research team led by Professor Dongyan Xu, a computer science professor and interim executive director of Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, and fellow Purdue computer science professor Xiangyu Zhang will detail findings of the technique, called RetroScope, during the USENIX Security Symposium in Austin, Texas, Aug. 10-12.

The increasing use of mobile technology in today's society has made information stored in the memory of smart phones just as important as evidence recovered from traditional crime scenes.

Xu said RetroScope was developed in the last nine months as a continuation of the team's work in smart phone memory forensics. The research moves the focus from a smart phone's hard drive, which holds information after the phone is shut down, to the device's RAM, which is volatile memory.

"We argue this is the frontier in cybercrime investigation in the sense that the volatile memory has the freshest information from the execution of all the apps," he said. "Investigators are able to obtain more timely forensic information toward solving a crime or an attack."

Although the contents of volatile memory are gone as soon as the phone is shut down, it can reveal surprising amounts of forensic data if the device is up and running.

The team's early research resulted in work published late last year that could recover the last screen displayed by an Android application. Building on that, Xu said, it was discovered that apps left a lot of data in the volatile memory long after that data was displayed.

To uncover that data, Purdue doctoral student Brendan Saltaformaggio theorized that rather than focusing on searching for that data, the phone's graphical rendering code could be retargeted to specific memory areas to obtain and bring up several previous screens shown by an app.

RetroScope makes use of the common rendering framework used by Android to issue a redraw command and obtain as many previous screens as available in the volatile memory for any Android app. Improving on the previous research, RetroScope requires no previous information about an app's internal data.

The screens recovered, beginning with the last screen the app displayed, are presented in the order they were seen previously. "Anything that was shown on the screen at the time of use is indicated by the recovered screens, offering investigators a litany of information," Xu said.

In testing, RetroScope recovered anywhere from three to 11 previous screens in 15 different apps, an average of five pages per app. The apps ranged from popular social media platforms Facebook and Instagram to more privacy-conscious apps and others. The researchers have posted a demo video of one such experiment on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/bsKTmZEgxiE.

"We feel without exaggeration that this technology really represents a new paradigm in smart phone forensics," he said. "It is very different from all the existing methodologies for analyzing both hard drives and volatile memories."

Xu said RetroScope takes care of a lot of manual "dirty work" for a smart phone forensics investigator. However, it also raises questions about how much is available for recovery from a person's smart phone.

"I was personally amazed by the lack of in-memory app data protection," he said. "One would expect these privacy-sensitive apps to have more completely shredded the information that was previously displayed.

"I should get peace of mind that none of my privacy-sensitive information lingers in the live memory. I know by doing this research that we don't get that."

Purdue researchers looked at the issue from the other side, attempting to determine how to disrupt the RetroScope tool. Xu and his team characterized efforts to disrupt RetroScope as a trade-off between privacy and usability.

"We realize the dilemma that arises from zeroing every bit and byte of information previously displayed. By doing that your app will run very slowly to re-generate that information when needed again and the usability of the app will degrade," he said. "We don't see an easy solution or easy way to bypass this."

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The paper was a collaboration with professors Xu, Zhang and Golden G. Richard III, a computer science professor from the University of New Orleans, as well as Purdue doctoral students Saltaformaggio and Rohit Bhatia.

The paper will be published in the proceedings of the USENIX Security Symposium. The work was supported by an award from the National Science Foundation.

Writer: Brian L. Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu

Sources: Dongyan Xu, 765-494-6182, dxu@cs.purdue.edu

ABSTRACT

Screen After Previous Screens: Spatial-Temporal Recreation of Android

App Displays from Memory Images

Brendan Saltaformaggio1, Rohit Bhatia1, Xiangyu Zhang1, Dongyan Xu1, Golden G. Richard III2

1 Department of Computer Science and CERIAS, Purdue University

2 Department of Computer Science, University of New Orleans

Smartphones are increasingly involved in cyber and real-world crime investigations. In this paper, we demonstrate a powerful smartphone memory forensics technique, called RetroScope, which recovers multiple previous screens of an Android app -- in the order they were displayed -- from the phone's memory image. Different from traditional memory forensics, RetroScope enables spatial-temporal forensics, revealing the progression of the phone user's interactions with the app (e.g., a banking transaction, online chat, or document editing session). RetroScope achieves near perfect accuracy in both the recreation and ordering of reconstructed screens.

Further, RetroScope is app-agnostic, requiring no knowledge about an app's internal data definitions or rendering logic. RetroScope is inspired by the observations that (1) app-internal data on previous screens exists much longer in memory than the GUI data structures that "package" them and (2) each app is able to perform context-free redrawing of its screens upon command from the Android framework. Based on these, RetroScope employs a novel interleaved re-execution engine to selectively reanimate an app's screen redrawing functionality from within a memory image. Our evaluation shows that RetroScope is able to recover full temporally-ordered sets of screens (each with 3 to 11 screens) for a variety of popular apps on a number of different Android devices.

This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Award 1409668.
Dublin, Ireland, Thursday 11th August, 2016 - Scientists have discovered macabre fossil evidence suggesting that 300 million-year-old sharks ate their own young, as fossil poop of adult Orthacanthus sharks contained the tiny teeth of juveniles. These fearsome marine predators used protected coastal lagoons to rear their babies, but it seems they also resorted to cannibalising them when other food sources became scarce.

Three hundred million years ago, Europe and North America lay on the equator and were covered by steamy jungles (the remains of which are now compacted into coal seams). The top predators of these so-called "Coal Forests" were not land animals, but huge sharks that hunted in the oily waters of coastal swamps.

The fossil evidence for shark cannibalism comes from distinctive spiral-shaped coprolites (fossil poop) found in the Minto Coalfield of New Brunswick, Canada. The poop is known to have been excreted by Orthacanthus because this shark had a special corkscrew rectum that makes identification easy. The poop is packed full of the teeth of juvenile Orthacanthus, confirming that these sharks fed on their own babies. This is called "fillial cannibalism".

PhD candidate in the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Aodhan O Gogain, made the extraordinary discovery. His findings have just been published in the journal Palaeontology. He said: "Orthacanthus was a three-metre-long xenacanth shark with a dorsal spine, an eel-like body, and tricusped teeth. There is already evidence from fossilised stomach contents that ancient sharks like Orthacanthus preyed on amphibians and other fish, but this is the first evidence that these sharks also ate the young of their own species."

Professor Mike Benton, University of Bristol, is a co-author of the study. He said: "As palaeontologists cannot observe predator-prey relationships directly in the way that a zoologist can, they have to use other methods to interpret ancient food webs. One method is by probing the contents of coprolites [fossil poop] as we have done here."

Dr Howard Falcon-Lang, Royal Holloway University of London is another co-author. He said: "We don't know why Orthacanthus resorted to eating its own young. However, the Carboniferous Period was a time when marine fishes were starting to colonise freshwater swamps in large numbers. It's possible that Orthacanthus used inland waterways as protected nurseries to rear its babies, but then consumed them as food when other resources became scarce."

Aodhan O Gogain added: "Orthacanthus was probably a bit like the modern day bull shark, in that it was able to migrate backwards and forwards between coastal swamps and shallow seas. This unusual ecological adaptation may have played an important role in the colonisation of inland freshwater environments."

The Minto Coalfield in Canada, where the fossils were discovered, is of considerable historical importance, being the first place in North America where settlers mined coal in the early 17th Century.

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Plant species that have evolved to withstand elevated levels of carbon dioxide grow poorly when moved to a plant community with a different make up, according to a new study in Nature Communications.

"In an effort to save certain species, there has been an interest in the movement of plants or animals to more climatically suitable habitats," said University of British Columbia ecologist Elizabeth Kleynhans, lead author of the study. "Our research indicates how one species adapts in one community may not transfer to other communities."

The researchers tested the impact of community diversity on plant evolution by looking at Kentucky bluegrasses which were exposed to elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in plots of low or high species diversity for 14 years, part of a long-term climate change experiment in Minnesota. Seeds of these grasses were then transported to Vancouver and their offspring were transplanted back into plots with either the same diversity of species they had experienced as they evolved to elevated CO2, or a different diversity of species.

The response of the grasses to the carbon dioxide depended on whether the grasses were surrounded by the same plant species or by a variety of different plant species.

"If plants evolved to elevated carbon dioxide in one neighbourhood, then experienced elevated carbon dioxide in a different neighbourhood, the benefits disappeared. This result was very surprising to us," said Mark Vellend, a biologist at the Universite de Sherbrooke also involved in the study.

The researchers suggest further studies could focus on exposing plants of various species to other environmental changes, such as increases in temperature.

"We might not be able to predict how plants are going to respond to climate change by looking at physical factors like carbon dioxide or temperature alone. We also need to account for who else a species is living with because interactions between species influence evolution as well, " Kleynhans concluded.

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The project was supported by NSERC, LTER-NSF grants, the Zoology department and Biodiversity Research Center, University of British Columbia.
Amateur and professional entomologists are experts at their own version of Pokemon Go. After all, part of their job is to search for and collect rare insect species that are stored in the archives of natural history museums.

Even the director of UC Santa Barbara's Cheadle Center for Biodiversity & Ecological Restoration has gotten in on the "game." Katja Seltmann, an entomologist and parasitic wasp specialist, is co-author of a new paper that examines the North American distribution of some real-life Pokemon -- insect species in the Miridae family, also known as plant bugs.

Seltmann and colleagues from UC Riverside, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the American and Florida museums of natural history analyzed thousands of digitized records of plant bug species. Drawing on data from a decade of work by plant bug specialists in North America -- including that of co-authors Michael Schwartz and Randall Schuh of the American Museum of Natural History -- the scientists determined that while insect distribution is closely related to that of the host plants on which they feed, its range is much smaller. The group's findings appear in the journal Cladistics.

"These insects are amazing as they have piercing, sucking mouth parts," Seltmann explained. "It's like having an insect with a hypodermic needled attached to its head. The bug sticks its 'needle' into plants to suck out their juices. Because of this intimate way of feeding, many species in this family are host-specific, meaning that they feed only on specific plants that supply the food they need."

The researchers examined data from 1,339 plant bugs to detect areas of endemism -- special places where unique animals and plants reside. Many of those unique areas are in California, a state with great biodiversity. Seltmann noted that insects generally have not been used in this kind of research, yet they may be a more appropriate choice.

For one thing, data has become more available thanks to natural history museums making information accessible online and open to the public through databases like iDigBio. "It's a lot of work, but our paper demonstrates that this availability results in productive research," Seltmann said. "Natural history collections are really the only place this kind of information exists, as many of the species in collections are collected infrequently by insect specialists whose work it is to describe and capture new species."

Second, the incredible diversity of insects makes them excellent subjects for study. Only about 6,000 mammal species exist, while insect species number 1 million or more. Working with myriad insect types not only provides a different scale, it also gives scientists access to organisms that play many different roles in an ecosystem.

According to Seltmann, the main question when searching for existing areas of endemism -- as this new research did -- is what scale scientists should consider when looking for endemic areas.

"If you're interested in categorizing an ecosystem, it may be important to look at smaller organisms, not just the larger ones, because the range, ability to disperse and habitat role of a large mammal is different than that of a small insect," she said. "If we're talking about the diversity of organisms in endemic areas, then we really need to look at the smaller species to give us the big picture."

The distributions of host plants and insects also turned out to be an important factor. The investigators hypothesized that the area where the insects live would be smaller than that of the host plants -- which is exactly what they found.

"If the plants have a range of 50 kilometers, then the insect's distribution is going to be nested within that plant range," Seltmann explained. "The boundaries are actually pretty wide between the edges of where the plant bug is and where its host lives because there is flux. In addition, die-offs as well as migration, movement and dispersal occur in one direction or another. You don't want to be an insect that feeds on a specific plant that's all of a sudden stuck in a place without a food source. That makes biological sense."

A good example is the uncommon species Tuxedo drakei, a plant bug discovered in 2004 by Schuh. This insect feeds on Fremontodendron, a very common California native also known as flannel bush. Scientists don't know why there aren't more Tuxedos on the shrubs or why the bugs only cluster in certain areas, but Seltmann said the reasons could be myriad.

"There could be environmental sensitivity that the plants themselves don't exhibit or distributions of competitors could be causing an issue," Seltmann said. "Something else is controlling the distribution besides just the availability of plant hosts. That is a really interesting concept because the insect microclimate is very much the plant. So what else could it possibly be? It's an open question; we just don't specifically know."

As a next step, the research team will perform species distribution modeling.

"Instead of looking at individual data points, we want to look at hypothesized range maps based on host plants and on the kinds of habitats in which the insect is known to already exist," Seltmann said. "That way, we can hypothesize an insect's range even though it was only collected in two places."

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Paying ransoms to terrorist kidnappers may encourage more abductions and worsen the situation for others, according to new research from UT Dallas.

Countries that negotiated with terrorists to release hostages faced up to 87 percent more kidnappings than those that did not pay ransoms, according to the research, which was recently published in the European Journal of Political Economy.

"Every time you get one person back, and you did it by giving in, you're going to have approximately another one taken. You're essentially trading one for one," said Dr. Todd Sandler, senior author of the study.

Sandler, Vibhooti Shukla Professor of Economics and Political Economy in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, conducted the study with Dr. Patrick T. Brandt, professor of political science, and Dr. Justin George, research associate.

The United States and United Kingdom have longstanding policies against negotiating with terrorists, based on the belief that making concessions leads to more kidnappings. The study aimed to find out whether no-concessions policies have led to fewer abductions for those countries.

The researchers analyzed politically motivated kidnappings worldwide between 1978 and 2013 recorded in a database that tracks such incidences. The authors identified eight countries, mostly in Europe, known to make concessions and, as a consequence, are more prone to having their citizens taken hostage, compared to other nations. The countries studied had a range of policies and practices, some of which changed, during the study's time frame.

Researchers zeroed in on the period between 2001 and 2013 to compare kidnapping rates in nations that made concessions with those that generally did not negotiate for hostages. The United States and the United Kingdom followed their no-concession pledges more closely after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

No-concessions policies present the families of hostages with a terrible reality, Sandler said. However, he said he hopes that the study's findings persuade government leaders to stop making concessions to terrorist kidnappers.

"Despite the human tragedy, you do tremendous harm by giving in," he said. "You give them the resources they need with these ransoms and you encourage them to take more people."

By quantifying the cost of paying ransoms, Brandt said the findings provide critical information for public policy decisions.

"The significance of this study lies in its timeliness and importance for policymakers," he said. "Recent terrorist kidnappings have called some to question no-concessions policies. Our study shows that policymakers need to follow this policy, and not pay ransoms."

The researchers stressed that policies against paying ransoms do not protect a nation from kidnappings. Sandler said terrorist groups have continued to kidnap U.S. and U.K. citizens for publicity and propaganda value since the countries took their no-concessions stances. The United States had the highest number of kidnappings of all countries with 84 victims since 2001. However, he said the number would have been much higher if the United States had paid ransoms.

"Americans are going to be the No. 1 target no matter what we do," he said. "However, we'll be No. 1 plus if we concede to their demands."

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The research was supported by the Vibhooti Shukla Endowment and the UT Dallas Center for Global Collective Action.
For the first time ever a team of Dutch hacking experts, led by cyber security professor Herbert Bos at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, managed to alter the memory of virtual machines in the cloud without a software bug, using a new attack technique.

With this technique an attacker can crack the keys of secured virtual machines or install malware without it being noticed. It's a new deduplication-based attack in which data can not only be viewed and leaked, but also modified using a hardware glitch. By doing so the attacker can order the server to install malicious and unwanted software or allow logins by unauthorized persons.

Deduplication and Rowhammer bug

With the new attack technique Flip Feng Shui (FSS), an attacker rents a virtual machine on the same host as the victim. This can be done by renting many virtual machines until one of them lands next to the victim. A virtual machine in the cloud is often used to run applications, test new software, or run a website. There are public (for everyone), community (for a select group) and private (for one organization accessible) clouds. The attacker writes a memory page that he knows exists in the victim on the vulnerable memory location and lets it deduplicate. As a result, the identical pages will be merged into one in order to save space (the information is, after all, the same). That page is stored in the same part of the memory of the physical computer. The attacker can now modify the information in the general memory of the computer. This can be done by triggering a hardware bug dubbed Rowhammer, which causes flip bits from 0 to 1 or vice versa, to seek out the vulnerable memory cells and change them.

Cracking OpenSSH

The researchers of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, who worked together with a researcher from the Catholic University of Leuven, describe in their research two attacks on the operating systems Debian and Ubuntu. The first FFS attack gained access to the virtual machines through weakening OpenSSH public keys. The attacker did this by changing the victim's public key with one bit. In the second attack, the settings of the software management application apt were adjusted by making minor changes to the URL from where apt downloads software. The server could then install malware that presents itself as a software update. The integrity check could be circumvented by making a small change to the public key that verifies the integrity of the apt-get software packages.

Advise NSCS

Debian, Ubuntu, OpenSSH and other companies included in the research were notified before the publication and all have responded. The National Cyber Security Centre (NSCS) of the Dutch government has issued a fact sheet containing information and advice on FFS.

'Hack-Oscar'

The researchers presented their findings this week during the UNESIX Security Symposium 2016 in the United States. Recently they won the Oscar of hacking: the Pwnie for another attack technique that allows attackers to take over state-of-the-art software (such as the new Edge browser on Microsoft Windows) with all defences up, even if the software has no bugs. Moreover, they can do this from JavaScript in the browser.

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The research paper is available here: http://www.cs.vu.nl/~kaveh/pubs/pdf/ffs-usenixsec16.pdf
Dear All:



I have a 2 years bachelors and 2 years MBA, its considered as a graduate for assessment purposes. It gives 16 years of education.

I recently completed my CFA. So, I want to will be CFA add to the years of education and make it 18 ? in short will be able to claim additional points after completing the CFA ?



Please give your suggestions and advise.



Thanks
Hello,



I am about to setup free trade zone establishment company in UAE, I have heard that on work visa one cannot leave Pakistan without Protector Certificate.



Will I need that Protector Certificate before leaving Pakistan on investor visa?
I am an early retiree considering moving to France. I know I will have to take out private health insurance for a time and to top up any state provided health care I later qualify for. I was wondering what people do when they make a trip back to the UK? Is it better to take out cover as part of your private french health insurance, or is it OK to just pay for a week's travel insurance to cover a week's visit to the UK? One company were quoting 400 euros on top of my french health insurance for a year's cover for trips to the UK, but when I travel abroad from the UK my travel insurance is nothing like that.

Thanks for any tips,
I lived in Chiang Mai for three years, and found the process of getting a retirement ("O") visa straightforward and simple. There are several companies that will help you through the entire process for a reasonable fee, and the visa must then be renewed annually. Chiang Mai has many expats, and there is a large, active expat group. I'd suggest going to one of their meeting or coffees; it's a great way to meet people, many from the UK, and to get information. If you can't find them on Google, I can send you their details. I think visiting for a short period is a great way to get an idea of how much you might like living in Chiang Mai. It's the start of the tourist season, and was pretty crowded ar times while I was there. I sublet a house for three months, which gave me time to decide that I wanted to stay longer, and find a nice place to live. Good luck; please let me know if I can answer any questions.
Thursday, August 11, 2016

August 11, 2016

Colemans Movers and Shakers  First Bank Announces the Launch of a National SBA Lending Division

By Bob Coleman

Editor, Colemans Movers and Shakers

First Bank Announces the Launch of a National SBA Lending Division

Stephanie Dunn has been named national sales manager for First Banks SBA Division. Dunn, formerly with Live Oak Banks funeral home industry lending team, will base her SBA lending development efforts in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Working with Dunn is Laura Petty, formerly a marketing professional with Live Oak Bank. Petty is now vice president and national marketing manager of First Banks SBA Division.

Dunn sees significant potential for First Bank in small business lending.

The U.S. economy is driven by enormous corporations, yet our country was founded by small business owners with an entrepreneurial spirit, says Stephanie. For 17 years, I have been passionate about lending to businesspeople looking for the opportunity to provide goods and services to customers in their local communities. By lending entrepreneurs the money to build their local businesses, I feel that I get to play a small part in helping them realize their dreams.

Founded in 1935, First Bank has already established a strong reputation across the Carolinas, providing a wide array of personal and business banking services, says Richard Moore, Chief Executive Officer. We are excited about the addition of our SBA division and the complete lending services we can offer business owners and entrepreneurs across First Bank communities and throughout the United States. We will continue to offer the same level of superior customer service and quality to our new loan clients that our Carolina customer base has known for so long.

ReadyCap Adds David Matrisciano and JP Swift as BDOs in New York and California

David and JP are two of the leading producers in the business, says John Moshier, president of ReadyCap said. We could not get them on board soon enough so that we can serve more small business borrowers in sought after markets and expand our national presence in the industry.

David Matrisciano, BDO (NY/NJ Metro). David comes to ReadyCap Lending with over 35 years of comprehensive lending experience in commercial real estate lending and SBA financing. Prior to joining ReadyCap Lending, Matrisciano served as Vice President for the SBA Division of Financial Resources Federal Credit Union and contributed to the companys success, receiving the honors of SBA Lender of the Year Award in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

JP Swift, BDO (Orange County, CA). JP comes to ReadyCap Lending with over 25 years of commercial real estate finance experience. Prior to joining ReadyCap Lending, Swift served as Vice President / SBA Business Development Officer at US Bank and consistently ranked among top loan producers nationally for the third largest SBA lender.

Join us October 5-7 for LEND360, the event made exclusively for online lenders. This years program features a cant-miss line-up of industry leaders, taking on key issues such as innovation, data and analytics, advertising and marketing and more.

Come to LEND360 and learn what you need to know about:

 Regulation Abroad: What Can International Markets Learn from Each Other?

 Forging Alliances: The Changing Relationship Between Alternative Finance Companies and Traditional Institutions

 Payment Strategies in an Ever Evolving Marketplace

 Toeing the Line: FinTech Companies or Financial Institutions

 The Institutional Investor Perspective

 Combating Fraud, Terrorism, and Cybercrime in Online Lending

 Millennials: Shaping the Future of Financial Services

 The Use of Big Data to Determine Creditworthiness

 Innovations in Alternative Credit Underwriting

 Best Practices for Advertising and Marketing

View The Complete Program Online & Register Now

Use the Code 15%OFF for a special discount

Calendar

2016 Mid-America Lenders Conference, August 17-18, Houston

America East, August 24-26, Philadelphia

Americas SBDC, September 19-22, Orlando

FLAGGL 2016, September 21-23, Orlando

National Alliance of Commercial Loan Brokers 2nd Annual Conference, October 4-6, Las Vegas

LEND360, October 5-7, Chicago

NAGGL Annual Meeting, October 31-November 2, Scottsdale

NADCO Annual Meeting, November 7-10, San Francisco

Ninth Annual Secondary Market Summit, December 5-6, Washington D.C.

The SBIC Summit: Increased Profit, Improved Regulatory Compliance, December 7, Washington D.C.
Thursday, August 11, 2016

Information is Power

Information is power. When you are adopting a new product name, you need information to make informed decisions and minimize the risk of problems down the line. Problems can, and generally do, cost thousands of dollars and negatively impact all of your efforts to successfully launch the new product. A simple trademark search can provide you all of the information you need to make informed decisions about your branding.

A professional trademark search does more than check the USPTO database for the exact name (a direct hit search). Did you know there are 50 state databases that must be checked as well? Did you know that unregistered marks can be a barrier to registration? A professional trademark search checks state and federal trademark databases as well as the 50 state corporate databases and major domain name registrars. Not only is the exact mark searched, but also ones that might be confusingly similar. For example, When I searched TruVu as a potential mark, my search criteria included true, tru, vu, vue, *tru, tru*, *vu, vu*, view, truth, and many others. The use of the wildcard * allowed me to expand the search to include larger words or word combinations that include the partial root.

There is another step that you may be lacking in a DIY Search: Analyzing the identified marks to determine if they pose a barrier to registration or not. There are many factors and principles of law to apply while making the evaluation. Working with a professional trademark searcher, you can obtain critical information to help shape your brand strategy. Information is power. Get accurate information to make sound business decisions. Guessing can be costly down the road.

About Tracy Jong

Tracy Jong has been an attorney for more than 20 years, representing restaurants, bars, and craft beverage manufacturers in a wide array of legal matters. She is also a licensed patent attorney.

Her book Everything You Need To Know About Obtaining and Maintaining a New York Retail Liquor License: The Definitive Guide to Navigating the State Liquor Authority will be available next month on Amazon.com as a softcover and Kindle e-book.

Her legal column is available in The Equipped Brewer, a publication giving business advice, trends, and vendor reviews to help craft breweries, cideries, distilleries and wineries build brands and succeed financially.

She also maintains a website and blog with practical information on legal and business issues affecting the industry. Follow her, sign up for her free firm app or monthly newsletter.

Facebook: Tracy Jong Law Firm

Twitter: @TJLawFirm

LinkedIn: Tracy Jong
Do you plan to live forever? Good for you! Do you ever plan to move? Depending on where you're going, you can't take it with you.

KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die is your guide to a clean house and a clear mind. Death educator Gail Rubin brings a light touch to cleaning out those dark recesses of your drawers and closets.

The book shows you how to:

Tackle downsizing without being overwhelmed by the job

Evaluate what to keep, toss, donate and recycle

Creatively remove excess goods from your home

Manage your finances for today and tomorrow

Organize your funeral and create your legacy

If you need guidance to downsize and organize, this book is for you.

The 128-page book, coming soon in paperback and eBook formats, is a quick, easy read, with colorful photographs and bonus online information. Each of the 100 Bucket List items include links to helpful internet articles that expand on each point. There's also a handy 50-item Executor's Checklist, guidance for the person who will take care of your after-death details, available as a free downloadable PDF here.

PRE-ORDER your copies of the paperback version of KICKING THE BUCKET LIST today ($15.95) and get free shipping! The books may be available before the official October 8 release date. Add to Cart

KICKING THE BUCKET LIST supports the work of the nonprofit National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the National Hospice Foundation. NHPCO brings patients facing life's end, and their families, comfort, compassion and hope  even in the face of death.

Author: Gail Rubin, CT, is a Certified Thanatologist (a death educator) who uses humor and funny films to help teach about end-of-life issues. She's the author of two other books, the award-winning A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don't Plan to Die and Hail and Farewell: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips. Gail is also a pioneer of the Death Cafe movement in the United States and an informed advocate for pre-need funeral planning. She's available for media interviews by calling 505.265.7215.

Publisher: Rio Grande Books, October 2016, $15.95, ISBN 978-1-943681-15-0. For a media review copy, call 505.344.9382.

###
Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Attract the Right Job or Clientele: Refine Todays Focus for Tomorrows Success

Floodgates seem to open as projects and new possibilities arrive all at once. On the one hand, it is quite exciting to recognize the advances we have made. But on the other hand, overwhelm takes over. And then we have a dilemma on our hands  what to do next.

When uncertainty hits, recall your grandest vision to recognize the best steps ahead

My Story

I have learned that as business is about to reach the next level, this is the exact juncture where too many possibilities come our way. Ive come to view this as a test as to whether Im truly ready to move up.

Many of the opportunities presented just this past month were in fact distractions from my fondest vision. On the one hand, I would be participating with known leaders in the sales industry. This was something I used to dream about. But time has a way of changing our minds and ambitions.

Today, Im more focused on working with people striving to make a positive impact in the world. Through social media, I have been connecting with remarkable people. These connections provide the collaborative potential needed for us to achieve those loftier goals.

The Inaugural Global Impact Conference will be held August 18-19 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Members are gathering to exchange ideas and collaborate on their humanitarian efforts. One such project includes an all out effort to stop human trafficking. My contribution is to bring the right people to the conference and find matched companies that wish to sponsor the programs.

Your Story

Are you happy where you are today or do you have your sight on higher achievement? If the latter, do you have a plan in place to move toward that vision?

Focus makes the vision become reality:

Think about your vision morning and evening

Connect with similar minded people

Hold conversations on how together you may transform ideas into reality

Connecting with the people who hold similar values and vision is inspiring as well as motivating to do more. You might assist an organization already in place or create one of your own. With a solid yet flexible plan in place, anything is possible. Trial and error found in experimentation will lead you to an improved path for getting where you wish to be.

The main question becomes, is the effort worthwhile or should you just accept where you are today? This applies both to entrepreneurship and career advancement. One criteria is to consider whether you are bored doing the same old and are ready for something new. Should you feel the excitement of the new possibility, then its time for change.

Sales Tips:

I ncreased possibilities indicate its time to advance forward Take a leap of faith to try something above your capacity Hold discussions with like minded people to find ways to collaborate on new ideas Together, create a plan of action with timelines to put the new project in motion Check in with one another or the team to keep each other on track Freely offer suggestions team members to keep improving the effort Keep record ideas and the progress made Create mini and large events to meet in person and motivate one another further Consider obtaining funding and/or sponsors Continue to set more remarkable goals and together celebrate their achievement

Following these guidelines will lead you to the Smooth Sale!

For Business Consultation and Conference Speaking

Schedule an Appointment to Learn More: elinor@smoothsale.net

Visit Elinors Author Page

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From: Joyce L. Gioia, CMC, CSP -- The Herman Group Austin , TX Wednesday, August 10, 2016

The Herman Trend Alert August 10, 2016 Single Travelers on the Rise For a while now, we have been watching the number of single people increasing. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that more tour operators and cruise lines have taken steps to accommodate solo travelers with smaller living spaces and reasonable packages. United Kingdom tour operator Exodus revealed a increase in solo bookings Though the percentage of solo travelers is usually, around 39 percent, in the last few months, this percentage has risen to 66 percent.



Some tour operators creating single-only tours



Since 1982, Solos has been Britain's number one "singles holiday company". They cater to solo travelers with all kinds of vacations, from walks and treks to city, ski, or beach vacations. Solos also recently launched an American branch, Solos Vacations, which only offers trips to the UK and Italy. Matching programs help solo travelers willing to share lodging Geared towards younger travelers, aged 18 to 35, Contiki Vacations uses forums and social media to connect vacationers with each other before they embark on their journeys. Most of Contiki's pricing is for doubles, so their goal is to match travelers with another of the same sex and then book them together in a double room. Singles welcomed on cruises Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Holland America (HAL), and Lindblad Expeditions all have programs to encourage solo travelers to spend their vacation dollars. On three of its ships, the Epic, the Breakaway, and the Pride of America, NCL has dedicated cabins exclusively for solo travelers that cost about 30 percent less than a double stateroom. Holland America's newest cruise ship, its first 2,650-passenger ship, The Koningsdam, features twelve single ocean view cabins to cater to the growing solo cruiser market. Lindblad Expeditions allows cruisers to visit exotic places, like Vietnam, the Amazon, and Indonesia in solo cabins for a third less than the price of regular rooms. What the future holds Given the increases in young single people with the time and resources to take vacations, it is not a great leap to believe that there will be more. Wise travel providers will take this information into account and look for ways to engage more of this market. The Herman Group is a firm of Strategic Business Futurists concentrating on workforce and workplace issues. We forecast the future and advise clients regarding relevant trends and how those trends may affect their lives. Applying our expertise as Certified Management Consultants, we advise corporate leaders regarding employee retention and organizational development to help them build workforce stability. We help organizations become Employers of Choice. We also work with Employer of Choice, Inc. to formally recognize employers that meet the stringent standards dictated by the labor marketplace. As authors of management books and as active professional speakers, we inform and inspire people to make a positive difference in the world of work. You did really get the ball rolling with our retention presentation, overall we have seen a move in the right direction with our turnover. In practice since 1980, we have served a wide variety of clients throughout the United States and in other countries. Our global affiliates assist us in sharing our expertise and advice with clients internationally. Our team of professional consultants and trainers is supported by an administrative staff that gets things done. We also have consultants certified to deliver our programs in your local area. Delivering to both small and large groups across 100 industries, The Herman Group has provided over 2,500 educational and informative keynote speeches and training seminars worldwide. Based in Greensboro, North Carolina, we travel extensively to meet the needs of our clients. We can always be reached through the support team in our office at (800) 227-3566. Overseas callers may reach us through 336-210-3547. Should you have any questions after touring our website, please call or e-mail us at info@hermangroup.com. Get started now on improving the stability and performance of your workforce and increase your chances for success in the future.


Thursday, August 11, 2016

Two of these stories in one weeksomethings happening here. What it is aint exactly clear, however.

Im sorry, I start channeling old Sixties songs at times like this.

Not one but two colleges have advocated segregation in their policies this week:

Hampshire College explains on its website that it allows students to reside in identity-based housing communities, provided they have a unique social identity that has historically experienced oppression, arguing that such residences give support to members of our community with social identities that have been historically marginalized in this country, and strive to counter systemic oppression. The Massachusetts schools confident promotion of such living arrangements arises from our commitment to fostering diverse, socially just, and inclusive communities. An informational booklet explains that identity-based housing is an institutional structure designed to assist members of historically oppressed groups in supporting each other, and helps to create an added level of psychological comfort and safety for those who choose to live in those spaces, often providing the foundation for those students to be able to engage fully in the greater community.

Translation: Black students dont want to live with whites, but prefer their own kind, because whites are viewed as potentially dangerous. And thats okay!

In Illinois, Moraine Valley Community College has restricted certain sections of a mandatory introductory course to black students only. Jessica Crotty, Moraines assistant director of communications, justified the segregation by arguing that the school periodically reserves certain course offerings for various demographics of students, and doing this for black students is no different.

The focus can be on specific issues they face, Crotty explained. Students feel comfortable and are more likely to open up because theyre with other students who are like them.

Pop quiz: What are whites called who demand that in the interests of safety and their comfort, they should not have to be in class with blacks?

I am curious about how this particular ethics alarmyou know, racism is bad? got deadened to such a point that this blatant and destructive double standard is even possible. It is undoubtedly illegal, though I seem to have missed the immediate response of the Obama Administration condemning it. Ethics, as I have written here from the beginning, is evolutionary and dynamic. Through experience, study, reflection and eventually enlightenment, society and civilization tend to move in an ethical direction, constantly learning that what was once thought of as right is wrong, and vice-versa. Laws and cultures absorb these changes.

Sometimes, however, whole societies forget what they have already learned. Like now.

This could have been seen coming the second black student groups on various campuses, egged on by the racist rhetoric of Black Lives Matter and emboldened by enabling white progressives who gave the groups grievances respect and legitimacy they did not deserve, began demanding increased segregation on campus. You can peruse a list of hundreds of such demands by black student movements at universities on WeDemand.org. Many of the demands include calls for reductions in white faculty and the establishment safe spaces for black students.

This is straight up racism. Why does it receive anything but scorn and condemnation from the Democratic Party, alleged advocates of diversity, and the news media? My suspicion is that the inherent hypocrisy of affirmative action, obvious racial preferences in high places and the tolerance for the activities and pronouncements of Black Lives Matter and similar racists groups have created a retrograde movement toward segregation, now favored by blacks rather than whites because they perceive it as a route to political and social power.

The development is dangerous and divisive, and the culture needs to speak clearly, first by saying NO through its leaders, and second by eliminating policies and institutions that have the effect of eroding the societal consensus that racial segregation, for safety or any other reason, is per se unethical. That means killing affirmative action, and eliminating the cynical disparate impact justification for finding discrimination where there is none. It also means finally treating black colleges like Howard exactly as white colleges would be treated. Organize a wave of white student applicants to those schools, and declare them in violation of the law if the student bodies are disproportionately made up of one race.

Moreover, this has to happen quickly. The presidency of Barack Obama has been the worst disaster for race relations since Woodrow Wilson, and the chasm between the races is widening rapidly.
The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits was little changed last week, holding near four-decade lows that highlight strength in the job market.

Jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 266,000 in the week ended Aug. 6, from a revised 267,000 in the prior period, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday. Filings have been below 300,000 for 75 straight weeks, the longest stretch since 1970.

Employers are retaining and hiring more workers and slowly raising wages, indicating consumer spending will keep boosting the worlds largest economy in the second half. Such durability in U.S. employment would be among forces that encourage Federal Reserve policymakers to raise interest rates by the end of 2016.

The job market still looks good, Gus Faucher, deputy chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh, said before the report. Were seeing job growth that is more than enough to absorb the remaining slack in the job market.

The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for 265,000, with projections ranging from 260,000 to 275,000. The Labor Department revised the prior weeks reading to 267,000 from an initially reported 269,000.

No states or U.S. territories estimated jobless claims last week, and there was nothing unusual in the figures, according to the department.

Another report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed inflationary pressures remain minimal. Import prices rose 0.1 percent in July from June, the smallest gain in five months. They were down 3.7 percent from a year ago.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 14,000 to 2.16 million in the week ended July 30. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.6 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings, and a sustained low level of applications has typically coincided with faster job gains. Many layoffs may also reflect company- or industry-specific causes, such as cost-cutting or business restructuring, rather than underlying labor market trends.

A report last week showed payroll gains were robust in July for a second straight month. The jobless rate held at 4.9 percent as many of the people streaming into the labor force found jobs.

Figures released Wednesday by the Labor Department showed that layoffs dropped in June to 1.64 million, the fewest since September 2014. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey also showed a 110,000 increase in the number of positions waiting to be filled.
You know its a presidential election year when the U.S. Department of Agriculture issues late summer press releases where nearly half the ink touts the Obama Administrations past ag successes even as it announces actual news.

On Aug. 1, USDA issued just such a press release; 315 of its 635 words bragged about the White Houses latest example of USDAs ongoing efforts to knock down barriers to U.S. exports, just as the past seven years have represented the strongest period in history for American agricultural exports  totaling $911.4 billion. 

And, oh, by the way, Brazil and the U.S. have agreed to a reopening of the Brazilian market to U.S. beef exports for the first time since 2003.

It was an odd announcement for another reason, too: Neither major party presidential candidate, Republican Donald Trump nor Democrat Hillary Clinton, sees expanding free trade as an election-turning issue.

In fact, both candidates spent more time at their respective nominating conventions running from the two biggest international trade deals on tap, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), than promoting or even explaining them.

Candidates and conventioneers in Cleveland and Philadelphia alike now see free trade like free cake  a small slice might be fine but too much is definitely not good for you.

Important issue

To U.S. farmers and ranchers, however, free trade is the proverbial icing on that cake; in farm and ranch country its believed to be as important to success as soil and water.

They point to the explosive growth of U.S. ag exports in the last generation to prove it. USDA numbers show total U.S. ag exports have risen from nearly $56 billion in 2000 to about $155 billion in 2014.

Last year, ag exports dipped to $133 billion, as global commodity prices weakened and the U.S. dollar strengthened. Still, 2015s net U.S. ag trade surplus  exports minus imports  weighed in at a highly profitable $19.5 billion.

American voters, however, arent as convinced and they arent alone. A month ago, before either presidential nominee clammed up on trade, Politico reported that the European Unions almost automatic ratification of free trade deal with Canada  once considered an easy and uncontroversial agreement  was headed for the rocks.

The root cause of the sudden reversal, explained Politico, was political upheaval and growing protectionism.

European Union

A simpler, one-word explanation might be Brexit, the June 23 move by voters in Great Britain to exit the European Union and go it alone. This new push for national sovereignty can, to some extent, be traced to todays hard push for globalism and its ever-brooding stepchild, international trade deals.

Current (but not ratified) agreements like the Canadian-EU trade deal, TPP, and TTIP contain broad new avenues for corporations to sue nations whose laws they believe harm corporate interests.

Voters both here and abroad now see ideas like this as more anti-national than international, as more bad trade than protectionism. To them, retaining a national identity is more important than gaining access to new international markets.

Whatever its called, its here and it has stopped the decades-long move to free (or at least freer) trade dead in its tracks. Following closely in those same tracks, however, are U.S. farmers and ranchers.

Tied to trade

Indeed, American agriculture is more than tied to trade. In Fiscal Year 2016, estimates USDAs Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. farmers and ranchers will export $7.8 billion of corn, $5.1 billion of wheat, $17.7 billion of soybeans, $3.1 billion of cotton, $33.5 billion of horticulture products, and $25.4 billion worth of livestock, poultry, and dairy.

In fact, ERS forecasts, total U.S. estimated ag exports, presently estimated at $124.5 billion, will account for nearly 30 percent of this years total farm and ranch gross cash sales of $415.7 billion. Thats a huge part of the national economy riding on a topic that no one but USDA wants to talk about.
Midwest spinach production explained in detail

Learn how spinach performs in the Midwest and seasonal considerations in a new publication from ISU.
Access to the foreign labour market is 'critical', according the chief executive of the British Growers Association, Jack Ward.

Talking about Britains decision to leave the European Union he said that the implications could be very serious for the fresh produce sector.

The majority of British fruit, vegetables and salads are picked, processed and packaged by 60,000 to 70,000 overseas workers, mostly from Europe.

Mr Ward said that there was widespread concern amongst growers about where they were going to find this labour if the government was to clamp down on free movement.

He warned that we could see sections of our industry slowly migrating to other parts of the world, saying people will be disappointed if one of the outcomes of Brexit is that we actually end up importing more of our product.

He suggested that Brexit could drive more investment into technology and automation as an answer to the labour shortfall but warned there was still a way to go before these advances might be available to the majority of growers.

British crops could be left unharvested without access to labour post-Brexit, the NFU has previously said

'Devastating impact'

The National Farmers Union has also heeded the warning, saying UK farmers and growers must have access to a skilled and flexible labour source or there could be a "devastating impact" across many farming sectors.

The call comes as many farmers up and down the country work around the clock to bring in the nations harvest.

The NFU said its immediate concerns centred on farmings ability to access essential markets as well as farmers being able to source essential labour and trade on a level footing with their competitors.

With some farming sectors, such as horticulture, relying heavily on non-UK seasonal and year-round workers, the NFU has today called for access to labour to be a key consideration in the on-going talks to shape a new domestic agriculture policy.

NFU President Meurig Raymond said horticulture is already experiencing labour shortages which "looks set to get worse."

Mr Raymond said: "And we know its not just horticulture that will be affected.

"Non-UK workers are often employed in a whole host of roles throughout farming and are crucial in day-to-day tasks as well as at peak times as we are now experiencing with harvest.

"We have already written to the Brexit minister, David Davis, about our concerns, and we continue to meet with Government departments to work on behalf of our members.

"We want to seek assurance that they will be able to have access to the labour they need so they can continue to produce food for the nation.

Last month, a briefing paper published by the Food Research Collaboration called for Britain to invest in its agricultural workforce to cope with changes in migration policy after Brexit.
A dog attack leaving almost 40 sheep dead on the Dingle Peninsula, near the village of Annascaul in Ireland, has caused fury in the Irish farming sector.

The sheep farmer woke up last Friday morning, 5 August, to find that 36 of his sheep had been killed in the night by a dog attack.

The 36 deceased sheep included 10 ewes, along with 26 Texel lambs.

The farmer entered the field on Friday morning and noticed the sheep wire and stakes had been damaged.

The dead sheep were lying in a different field.

It appears the animals had been chased into a corner, and were found crushed up against a gate.

Three neighbours of the farmer in question also had four sheep killed on the same night.

The local vet was able to confirm that the bike marks were the cause of some of the animals death, and that it came from a dog.

The vet also pronounced that the remaining animals had died due to suffocation, caused by being crushed into such a small space.

The farmer of the 36 attacked sheep is estimating the financial loss to be worth around 3,000 (2580) to his farm.

The Irish Farmers Association National Sheep Chairman John Lynskey is reminding dog owners to control their animals and reminds owners they are responsible for their animals in such attacks.

"There are far too many dog owners not taking the responsibility that goes with owning a pet. Dog owners have an obligation to have their dog under control at all times", he says.
The Ulster Farmers Union has met with the Meat Exporters Association (NIMEA) to discuss the beef and sheep industry, both agreeing they made a 'major contribution' to the economy.

UFU president Barclay Bell said Northern Ireland must ensure the "best possible market access" for this sector, saying it will be "crucial for sustaining a robust agri-food sector."

"While our opinions often differ on everyday matters relating to livestock prices and specification, when it comes to Brexit we both recognise the importance of identifying key principles on the best route forward for the agri-food industry.

UFU president Barclay Bell

"No principle is more important than ensuring that we have access to trade in as many markets as possible," said Mr Bell.

He added that trade with NI's main markets in GB are unlikely to be affected by Brexit.

Mr Bell said there should be opportunities to displace imported product due to more favourable currency exchange rates and an "increase in patriotism" on the back of the UK's decision to leave the European Union.

'Complex negotiation process'

However, the sector agrees there will be a complex negotiation process to maintain market access with the EU.

"We will also have to re-negotiate with countries outside Europe that we currently trade with through EU agreements.

"This will present both opportunities and challenges, so it is crucial that government properly resources their food export departments," said Mr Bell.

The UFU has in the past been critical of the lack of resources at a local and UK level going into market development.

"Now this is going to be more important than ever. This is not an area where we can afford short cuts.

"We need to see government commitments around funding and technical expertise to ensure we can continue to grow the agri-food industry and improve the viability of our farms," he added.
European Union nations will now meet on 25 August to finalise the details of the 150m supply management scheme.

The agreed legislation is on course to be in place in early/mid-September.

The 150m is part of the 500m aid package for farmers announced in July by the European Commission.

It will be used to finance a supply management scheme to provide incentives for reducing milk production.

As for the remaining 350m of the aid package, which was divided up largely based on milk production, Member States have been given until October finalise respective plans.

This will be shared between EU Member States, with the UK expected to receive 30.2m.

Individual countries then have some flexibility in how they distribute the money between farmers, subject to conditions imposed by the Commission.

Member States also have the option of matching the aid with national funds, potentially doubling the amount of support.

The Commission has stated there is scope for this money to cover other livestock sectors, not just dairy.

Member States will also be allowed to advance up to 70% of Direct Payments from October this year and 85% of area-based Rural Development payments.

In addition, the Commission intends to extend the intervention and PSA schemes for SMP, from 30 September 2016 until the end of February 2017.
Farmers across the UK risk leaving their children with crippling tax bills after they die, one of the countrys leading rural lawyers has warned.

Helen Gough, an associate at Worcestershire law firm mfg Solicitors, says complex rules for inheriting agricultural land and buildings will see the Inland Revenue take more than it otherwise would need to, unless farmers plan ahead.

Ms Gough has urged farmers to consider their succession planning and whether their current business arrangements are suitable for the long-term interests of their family as well as being as tax efficient as possible.

Helen Gough, Associate at mfg Solicitors

"It is no exaggeration to say hundreds of thousands of pounds can be saved if planning is done early enough, and there is no price tag that can be attached to the peace of mind that such planning can bring," she said.

"Without that careful tax and succession planning, there is a very real risk that those inheriting farms and agricultural property will not only be left with a crippling tax bill but they may also have to face a dispute over who is entitled to what."

Creating certainty

Ms Gough said farmers must work with their children to establish what each member of the family actually wants and what they are working towards, as well as the future of the farming business.

She said this creates certainty and strengthens the next generations commitment, avoiding heartbreak and litigation after parents have died.

She added: "If things go wrong, then as well as the tax bill the farm may have to be split up and sold off, while families are broken apart by dispute and legal costs.

"Effective planning is not hugely expensive and it ensures that everyone knows where they stand.

"Some people still think it isnt a good topic to talk about, much in the same way as a pre-nuptial agreement before a marriage.

"But it is about fairness, protecting assets in the long-term and once the plan is in place, everyone can get on with their lives and concentrate on running a successful business.

"You cannot start planning too early."
Muller has responded to the recent spate of protests surrouding the controversy over the dairy organisation's decision to not increase its September prices.

In a statement handed out to dairy farmers, Ronald Kers, Group CEO of Muller, said he wanted to put more "context" around the milk pricing position the company has adapted.

He said that being a supplier for a "diverse and well invested" dairy business means greater protection from the extremes of a "boom and bust commodity cycle."

"You... benefit from a milk price which is both stable and competitive in a market which is characterised by extreme volatility," Mr Kers stated.

Mr Kers went on to explain Muller's commitment in offering a "competitive" milk price at every point in the market cycle.

"As the past few months have shown, our milk price doesnt track the extremes of the spot market.

"During this difficult period, many of our competitors introduced contract variances at short notice which exposed their farmer suppliers to spot market returns which were as low as 7 pence per litre."

"Given that this is the route they chose it is only right that they immediately reflect the changes in spot market values as the market begins to recover.

Mr Kers described Muller's competitor increases as "headline grabbing".

"They are only moving these competitor milk prices closer, on an average basis, to the price we pay you, our farmers."

He said that milk price increases are dependent on when Muller sees higher returns within the business.

Muller Milk Group farmer board and blockades

The CEO goes on to explain the importance of the MMG farmer board, an elected group of dairy farmers who represent the wider MMG membership.

"I note that your farmer board has been criticised by those who have no involvement or understanding of our business.

"They represent you with real passion and they ensure that we fully understand your perspective.

"Any work which is on-going with our farmer board is always halted when we are being threatened by illegal activity by third party farmer organisations at our sites.

"Notwithstanding the need to manage disruption to employees, customers and farmers, illegality is serious and not an appropriate environment in which any meaningful discussions can take place.

"It is important that I make you aware of the implications of our sites being blockaded.

"We are confident that our supplying farmers are not the ones who are turning up at our dairies intent on illegally seeking to halt operations, as opposed to peaceful protesting which we have no issue with.

Mr Kers said it is a "little ironic" that some of Muller's most vocal critics have been looking to join as suppliers.

"We will do everything we can to maintain our milk collection service to you - but under these circumstances this cannot be guaranteed.

"I therefore want to alert you to the possibility of delayed or missed collections in advance and apologise if there is any inconvenience.

"We will of course take whatever means we can to protect our business from any disruption that could add cost or impact the service we provide to you, our customers and, therefore, our ultimate consumers."

Background check: Muller and its September milk price

The protest on 7 August and today (11 August) is a result of dairy farmers urging Muller to increase its September milk prices.

The NFU called on Muller to explain why the company is not increasing it in line with 'extremely positive' market signals for UK milk prices to its suppliers.

It has led the the union to condemn the decision, which it says is "beggars belief".

"Yes, its farmgate milk price remains competitive but this is only due to the continuing support of retailers with their minimum farmgate pricing mechanism, currently paying around 3ppl," said NFU dairy board chairman Michael Oakes.

He said that Mullers non-aligned suppliers  estimated at around a third of its 1,900 farmer suppliers  would be frustrated that they were not seeing the benefits of a market that was starting to experience positive price movements after two years of downturn.
NFU Cymru and NFU Mutual are using the Vale of Glamorgan Show as a platform to launch this years Dairy Stockperson of the Year Award.

Now in its fifth year, the Welsh Dairy Stockperson of the Year Award seeks to champion dedicated, committed and enthusiastic dairy stock managers from across Wales.

Abi Reader, Glamorgan NFU Cymru County Chairman said: "We want to recognise the key role that a good dairy stockperson plays in a successful dairy enterprise and to the Welsh dairy industry as a whole.

"We want to recognise the key role that a good dairy stockperson plays in a successful dairy enterprise"

"Potential award winners will be judged on their care and management of the herd, the breeding programme, their handling skills, their involvement in the dairy enterprise and their knowledge of the dairy industry in Wales.

"As a dairy farmer myself, I am very passionate about the industry and I believe it is important to champion those individuals who go above and beyond to ensure they have happy and healthy cows.

"I would urge you all to nominate a dairy farmer or manager in your area who you believe deserves to be recognised for their work within the industry."

Quality of stocksmanship

The closing date for entries is Monday, 26 September 2016 and the winner will be announced at this years Welsh Dairy Show at the United Counties Showground, Carmarthen, on Tuesday, 25 October 2016.

Dai Davies OBE, Chairman of NFU Mutuals Advisory Board for Wales said: "The quality of the stockmanship is a major factor in determining the success of any dairy enterprise.

"We have some superb stockpeople involved in the dairy industry in Wales and I am confident that this will be a keenly contested competition and one which NFU Mutual is pleased to support as the leading rural insurer in Wales."

Mair James, Welsh Dairy Show Secretary said: "This award is a fantastic way of raising the profile of the dairy industry and those who work within it, therefore the Welsh Dairy Show is pleased to be associated with NFU Cymru and NFU Mutual in this Award."
Full season UK wheat exports for 2015/16 reached 2.85Mt, the highest since 2008/09, according to AHDB Cereals recent data release.

Export levels of wheat in June totalled 276Kt, the highest volume exported in that month in 19 years.

This caused full season exports to rise slightly above the 2.75Mt forecasted by Defra in May but was below the top end of some trade expectations.

Total UK barley exports for 2015/16 came to 1.99Mt (Defra forecast 1.9Mt in May), with Junes exports reaching 105Kt.

AHDB's graph

Full season barley exports were the highest since 1996/97, when total season exports reached 2.1Mt.

The strong export campaign goes hand in hand with the weakening of the sterling, which made UK grains more competitive.

The high exports are therefore likely to reduce the amount of stock available into the next season and may not be as high as first anticipated earlier in the year.

Weakening sterling

The weakening of the sterling against a number of different currencies including the euro and the US dollar has helped to improve the UKs export competitiveness.

From the beginning to the end of June, the sterling fell 6% and 7% against the euro and the US dollar respectively.

This weakening of the sterling helped increase the progress of the UKs export campaign.

Its likely that the strength of the UKs recent exports could be maintained in 2016/17.
Third series of Clarkson's Farm in production, Amazon confirms
1st Farm Credit Services is donating $100K

By Diego Flammini

Assistant Editor, North American Content

Farms.com

Nearly 118 agricultural and rural community groups in Illinois will benefit from a donation by 1st Farm Credit Services.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Farm Credit System, which took place on July 17, Farm Credit Services is donating $100,000 to various groups.

Giving back to the communities that have made the past 100 years possible for us was an important part of our celebration, said Gary J. Ash, president/CEO of 1st Farm Credit Services in a release. We believe that every investment we can make into the future is critical to our current and future generation of clients and those committed to agriculture and rural Illinois.

The groups receiving funding were chosen because they contribute to the future of Illinois agriculture and rural American in their own unique ways.

Donation recipients include The Frontera Farmer Foundation, Kankakee County Swine Youth Team, Will County Farm Bureau Young Farmers, and various FFA and Ag in the Classroom groups.

A full list of recipients can be found by visiting Farm Credit Services website.
Mr Nalder, who grew up on a Narrogin farm before following his father and grandfather into politics, told grain growers, industry leaders and academics at the function that, in his opinion, successive State governments over the past three or four decades had been "remiss" in failing to provide adequate support for agriculture.
"In 2015, the USA and Korea were the largest markets by value for WA beef, each accounting for 16pc of the value of WA beef exports, followed by Japan, Indonesia and China," Mr Stockdale said.
Christian and I knew we wanted to travel as much as possible when we got married, and when we moved to California six months after we were hitched, it made it even easier to take weekend trips to places we had never been. Ive now been working on Carrie Bradshaw Lied full-time for almost a year, and its made the opportunity to travel much easier. Even when it means I have to leave Christian behind because his schedule is not as flexible (insert sad face).

Last week I teased that I was heading on an international adventure soon, and today I wanted to share that Ill be heading to Geneva, Switzerland to explore and share my experience with all of you! I will be traveling with the Geneva Tourism. While I visited Zurich almost ten years ago, I know there is so much more of Switzerland to see.

I am sharing some of my tips for packing light  the more I travel, the more I learn, so scroll down for my best advice!





1. Plan Ahead

I plan out every outfit ahead of time. This means it might take me longer than most to pack, BUT I am almost always fully prepared for my travel days and dont have to spend time thinking, what am I going to wear today? It also eliminates packing unnecessary items that I dont need and that will take up extra room in my suitcase.

2. 4-Wheel Suitcase

I used two-wheeled rolling suitcases foreevvvvveerrr, until my large, checked luggage wheel broke and it was time to replace it (I always go with Samsonite or Travelpro for checked luggage). I replaced it with a four-wheeled Travelpro, and it made my two-wheeled rolling carryon feel so heavy once I had to pull it again! I knew when it was time to replace my Hartmann carryon, four wheels was a must. This new Henri Bendel lady just glides without putting any strain on your upper body. Its a major upgrade, and I am so excited to start traveling with it!

3. Protective Cover

If youre going to have nice luggage, you have to think about how you will protect it in different scenarios. Now that everyone carries on, I like to be prepared if I have to check my bag at my gate, and a protective cover can mean everything! This Henri Bendel piece comes with one, but if yours doesnt  dont fret, Amazon has tons of great options. I keep it rolled up in my suitcase just in case I need it.

4. Shoe, Lingerie and Laundry Bags

Ive used these since high school, and its a no-brainer. Who wants the bottom of their dirty shoe to be right next to their underwear and pajamas!? I separate all my items  shoes, undergarments, dirty laundry, jewelry, etc.

5. Slippers

When I stay at a hotel with disposable slippers, I usually stash the extra pair and keep them in a shoe bag to take on my next trip.

6. Portable Battery Pack

Christian upgraded me to this cell phone battery charger for my birthday, and its my new bff! I had a mophie that provided one full charge, but this one packs 5.8 charges and has two ports to charge multiple phones at once. I never travel without an extra battery pack!

7. Great Book(s)

I mean this doesnt need an explanation. Im currently reading The Husbands Secret, and when Im done Im moving onto The Singles Game!

8. Travel-Sized Steamer

I dont go anywhere without this guy. My old steamer recently broke after a faithful seven or eight years, and this one is so small, much lighter in weight and steams really well. If youre looking for a small handheld steamer, I would highly recommend this one (and its only $30).

Have any travel tips that I missed? Do share!

Thanks so much for reading! And I cant wait to share my adventures in Switzerland with you guys  XO 
What was it like to be an Oath Keeper? John Zimmerman can tell you
Much should be written soon about the suicide note from Ashish Awasthi: I am going to commit suicide because I cant meet my companys sales target and my company is pressuring me.

Mr. Awasthi, a 27-year-old family man at Abbott Laboratories in India was a top performer in 2015, according to the company spokesman.

The New York Times front page report on its six-month investigation describes potentially illegal and unethical sales practices that led to his death. Many other Abbott India sales representatives felt the same distress. His fellow sales representatives walked off the job in protest.

The company has not responded yet to the New York Times investigation. It is entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence concerning alleged legal violations.

His widow says: He told me the company is pressuring meI said change jobs. He said: How will I get another one?

Was the company unaware of the pressures on its good employees and their families? Didnt Abbotts values obligate it to know and think about the pressures?

Its yet another compliance scandal and a tragedy. But how could it happen in 2016?

Abbott, a leader in the healthcare industry, generates 70 percent of its revenue outside of the United States. What happened back at its headquarters, in the C-suite, in the compliance program, at the board?

The compliance staff reportedly received detailed information from an Abbott manager about possible illegal and unethical sales practices. He emailed notices to top management. He was harassed and then fired. Its a well-known story in the compliance community. The ethical employee complains and is fired.

What has changed is Compliance 2.0  the new normal for business organizations. Its a management tool created by compliance officers from the healthcare sector. It works better for the employee, the company, and the public. What happened to Compliance 2.0 at Abbott? How was it implemented?

In the compliance community, we must not be distracted by obvious illegal sales practices. The New York Times report describes thinly disguised heath camps for the public, (ironically part of the companys social responsibility program) but where sales representatives diagnosed illness to get doctors to prescribe Abbott drugs, and kickbacks disguised as discounts to national hospitals.

We need, in my opinion, to ask deeper questions. We need to get beyond the laws and the mind-set of criminal prosecution. We need to ask questions that go to the heart and soul of the tragedy. Why did the company apparently treat its sales force so awfully?

Whether or not it was illegal, Mr. Awashti and other sales representatives suffered terribly. As the sales force was squeezed, maybe it wasnt illegal. But it was awful.

It used to be said that the FCPA prosecutions would never stop bribery. But that is well underway with institutional changes at the DOJ, especially with the addition of Hui Chen, the DOJ in-house expert on compliance programs.

Today there is little traction for the idea that companies can and should implement Compliance 2.0 to stop lawful but awful conduct as they stop criminal misconduct. That is, they should invest board time and compliance program resources in stopping awful things that violate the companys core values.

In my recent FCPA Blog post I suggested how to resolve lawful but awful sales force decisions in the C-suite and by compliance officers.

Applying that post to Abbott:

Did the chief compliance officer in headquarters know about the extreme pressures applied to its sales force in India?

Did the compliance officers lead a debate about sales pressures measured against the companys core values?

Did they take core values debate to the board for a decision?

Company core values do not enforce themselves. They need tending to and testing in the real world. The need an institutional champion and a structure.

What makes something awful? (It cant be the personal values, political or religious, of the compliance staff.) The definition of awful must come from the board.

Who interprets the core values? I suggest it is the compliance officers who are the subject matter experts for board codes of conduct.

And how are tough calls made? They should go to the board with full input from all sides, creating checks and balances and precedents for the next time.

I hope these suggestions can be debated.

_____

Michael Scher is a senior editor of the FCPA Blog. He has over three decades of experience as a senior compliance officer and attorney for international transactions. Hell be a speaker at the FCPA Blog NYC Conference 2016.
A U.S. appeals court affirmed a RICO judgment against American attorney Steven Donziger after he sued Chevron in Ecuador on behalf of indigenous tribes, claiming they were harmed by decades of environmental pollution.

Chevron said in a statement Monday the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed a lower court decision that a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in Ecuador was the product of fraud and racketeering activity.

The court also ruled that the judgment is unenforceable in the United States.

The judgment was granted by an Ecuadorian court in 2011 after a group of villagers represented by Donziger brought a lawsuit alleging that Texaco was responsible for pollution in the Amazon rainforest.

Chevron has never operated in Ecuador but it acquired Texaco in 2001.

The appeals court found that the plaintiffs legal team was responsible for a parade of corrupt actions.

Those actions included coercion, fraud, and bribery, including a promise to pay an Ecuadorian judge $500,000 for a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.

This decision, which is consistent with the findings of numerous judicial officers in the United States and South America, leaves no doubt that the Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron is the illegitimate and unenforceable product of misconduct. Chevron is pleased that the truth has prevailed over fraud and corruption, Chevron vice president and general counsel R. Hewitt Pate said Monday.

The Ecuador judgment initially stood at $18 billion but was later reduced to $9.5 billion.

In 1992, Texaco reached an agreement with Ecuador to remediate some production sites.

As part of the agreement, state-owned Petroecuador was responsible for any remaining cleanup.

The Ecuador government oversaw and certified the successful completion of Texacos remediation and fully released the company from further environmental liability.

Chevron said Monday Petroecuador failed to conduct its cleanup and has continued to operate and expand oil operations in the former concession over the past 20 years.

The Ecuador judgment was overturned by a U.S. federal judge in 2014 after Donziger was found to have violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

The judge also found that Donziger had engineered a scheme to coerce Ecuador court officials and others involved in the case.

Donziger has denied any wrongdoing.

The Supreme Court of Gibraltar granted Chevron a $28 million award last year after issuing a judgment against Amazonia Recovery Ltd, a Gibraltar-based company established to receive and distribute funds tied to the Ecuador judgment.

The Gibraltar court also granted a permanent injunction against Amazonia that prevents it from providing any assistance or support in the case against Chevron.

____

From the Petro Global News Wire Service  2016 All Rights Reserved
Literature is stuffed full of strong, sassy ladies telling the patriarchy to stuff it. Georgia Clark, author of the hilarious new novel The Regulars, dishes the dirt her favorite invented feminists.

Georgia Clark

Jo March, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

When she wasn't cutting all her hair off, rejecting male suitors or finding a room of one's own to pen her populist plays, Jo March was busy being a Victorian trailblazer. Alcott's classic text was revolutionary for its time, arguably creating the first instance of the "All-American girl" as envisioned through the four March sisters. Our Jo was, essentially, the feminist. Strong-willed and hot-tempered, hilarious and headstrong, Jo largely rejected boring Meg's demand for domestic conformity. When it came time for her to marry, Alcott underlined it was Miss March's decision: "The crucial first point is that the choice is hers, its quirkiness another sign of her much-prized individuality." Hurrah for quarrelsome ladies who won't sit still! Hurrah for Jo!

Best line: "I find it poor logic to say that because women are good, women should vote. Men do not vote because they are good; they vote because they are male, and women should vote, not because we are angels and men are animals, but because we are human beings and citizens of this country."

Ifemelu, Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Who else cheered when they saw Cindy reading Americanah in the new season of Orange Is The New Black? This extraordinary novel explores race, gender, and world tensions in prose that is insightful, emotional and unflinchingly real. Ifemelu leaves left her home country of Nigeria as it was falling to military dictatorship to pursue her education in the U.S. Her need to process the racism she experiences motivates her to write a well-received blog, "Raceteenth or Various Observations about American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black," which cast a clever, critical eye on everything from Obamania to the politics of black hair care. Ifemelu rails against social norms, challenges traditional femininity and defines her own path. This is a must-read novel for contemporary feminists interesting in cultivating a global perspective.

Best line: "Racism should never have happened and so you don't get a cookie for reducing it."

Edna Pontellier, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin

Written in 1899, The Awakening was ahead of its time in articulating the complex rising of a feminist consciousness. Edna Pontellier is a respectable New Orleans Presbyterian who spends a life-changing summer on Grand Isle in the Gulf of Mexico. Strikingly, Edna is neither flawless nor fallen, operating in a shockingly ambiguous grey zone we would now call "a real person". She undergoes sexual, emotional and creative awakenings as she seeks to carve out an identity independent of her children and husband. Chopin digs into the idea that a female awakening is about creating space for you: your thoughts, your feelings, your creative aspirations, your sexual urges, at a time when women were not allowed to vote and were property of their husbands. But this is no easy transformation: the ending is complex and can be read as triumphant or, more likely, tragic. Still, a psychologically complex text that stands the test of time. You do you, Edna. We salute you.

Best line: "She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world."

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling.

There is only one queen in middle grade fiction, one girl to rule them all. Her name is Hermione and she is a badass. The brainiest character in the Potterverse (and also able to handily explain its many complexities), Hermione is the most striking and entertaining example of the new, young feminist in contemporary fiction. The coolest kid ever produced by two dentists, it's a true nerdy joy to watch her blossom from a know-it-all tween to a know-it-all adult. As well as being a competent fighter in Harry's many clashes with all things creepy, HG is also a social rights activist (she started S.P.E.W.: Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare) and she once punched Malfoy right in the kisser. She also makes a very cute cat (Emma Watson: rawr).

Best line: "Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. I've learned all our course books by heart, of course."

Honorable mentions:

Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre

Katey Kontent, Rules of Civility

Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games

Sarah Jones, The Mourner's Bench

And too many Margaret Atwood creations to name.
Diane Kruger is doing "all good" following her split from Joshua Jackson.

Diane Kruger

The 'Inglourious Basterds' star insists she is doing fine despite calling off her relationship of 10 years from the 38-year-old actor.

She said: "It's all good ... all good. [I'm not dating but] if you have a suggestion, let me know?"

And the 40-year-old actress is planning to spend her new found freedom enjoying a holiday.

She added to PEOPLE magazine: "After tomorrow, I'm on vacation. I've been filming for the last four months, so I have the month off, so I'm literally going to do nothing and get fat.

"I don't know [where I'm going] yet. I want to visit friends who I never get to see. I have some in Miami, different places."

Meanwhile, it was previously claimed that Diane "resented" leaving New York to move to Paris to be with Joshua.

A source said recently: "Diane is fiercely independent and ended up resenting leaving Paris to be with Joshua. She's also disillusioned with Hollywood and wasn't interested in attending events as part of a power couple, she needs her own space. The move was make or break and i the end, it broke them. Joshua is heartbroken."

And Diane also previously admitted moving to New York was a "big step into adulthood".

She shared: "Welcome to my dilemma. I just moved to New York. I need to unpack and buy some house stuff, like candles and books.

"[Moving here] was a major commitment. That's a big step into adulthood for me, to allow that time for someone else out of my time."

The couple announced their split in a statement made by their representatives.

It read: "Diane Kruger and Josh Jackson have decided to separate and remain friends."
This year I'm directing Agent of Influence: The Secret Life of Pamela More, written by my long-time colleague playwright Sarah Sigal. We were at the fringe together nine years ago with her play Dogfight, a biting satire about an American suburban community. Agent of Influence is the story of Lady Pamela More, a fashion columnist asked to spy on Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson during the abdication crisis.

Jessica Beck

**DISCLAIMER** My fringe routine in my 30s is COMPLETELY different than my fringe routine in my 20s. You know, you're either living through it now or have experienced it too - when 3am is an early night, cocktail hour is vodka red bulls, and tea and a fag equals a vocal warm-up.

A typical day at the fringe (now)

Sarah and I begin the day with hot water and lemon (great for keeping away colds and excellent for your liver). Sarah then does yoga, and I'll do a Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lesson. (Felden-what?! you ask? It's a somatic practice pioneered by Moshe Feldenkrais. I like to call it Secret Ninja Training, but it's gentle slow sequences that have a conversation with your nervous system that improve movement, and is great for festival-induced stress, fatigue and anxiety. For some short free audio lessons check out http://www.feldenkrais.co.uk/awareness/).

Last year, when I directed Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, we discovered that if we attached a badge to a flyer, people would flock to take them rather than push it away. Since our current show is a film noir spy thriller set in the 30s, we have cocktail stirrers! We make a good assembly team, led by our producer Carla Almeida, sticking labels to cocktail stirrers and then tying them to our flyers. Hopefully in a few days we'll be attaching reviews instead.

Flyering. I joke that it's not in my contract to flyer (I am terrible at it). But the cocktail stirrers do help. Our team splits up and flyer in various places including the Royal Mile, around the Underbelly, and the Pleasance Courtyard, usually from 11 - 2. This is also good social media time - for tweeting and sharing previews/reviews. Our character Lady Pamela even has her own twitter account! You can follow her @UndercoverPam.

For the first four days I'd arrive at the Underbelly at 2pm, to be ready to start our get-in around 2.20. I've been helping with the get-in thus far but now it's time to step away and let my brilliant collaborators - assistant director Katharina Reinthaller and cast member Rebecca Dunn - take over. (As the director, my work is 'officially' over after the press, and I won't be up for the entirety of the festival).

After the show, we head to the Cow Cafe to do any notes, continue sticking stickers on stirrers, or mending the dress (we have a fabulous 1930s original dress for Pamela - but it's very fragile, so I'm also serving as a dresser/seamstress).

Seeing other shows is an important part of participating in the Edinburgh Festival. Eleven years ago, when I first came to the fringe, I met so many peers - actors, directors and writers - who I subsequently went on to work with professionally. I take advantage of as much free theatre that I can see on my pass. (That's a bonus of going with a big venue). Two of my favourite shows so far are How to Win Against History and Hot Brown Honey.

A decade ago a quick jacket potato or a burger from a van would suffice. But dinner is extremely important to me now. Dinner and a really nice bottle of wine shared with good company. One of my favourite restaurants is Ciao Roma, with its haggis ravioli, room full of pirate skeletons, and glittering toilet seats.

After dinner time is an opportunity for more shows and catching up with friends over drinks. Last night our character Lady Pamela More had a spot at the Cow Cafe at 1.15am, so I had a later night than usual for me!

The most important aspect of an Edinburgh routine is that it's flexible. Every day is a new day and require different tasks. This morning, after Feldenkrais, I've been writing this article. Today I won't watch our show (eek!) but am going to see Bubble Revolution instead.

Agent of Influence: The Secret Life of Pamela More runs 4th - 28th August (not 15th) at 2.40pm at the Underbelly Cowgate. Jessica is a freelance theatre director based in London jessicabeck.co.uk
Georgia May Jagger wears "a lot" of men's jewellery.

Georgia May Jagger

The 24-year-old supermodel - who is the brand ambassador for the accessories brand Thomas Sabo - has admitted she regularly adorns "chunky" necklaces from the company's menswear line because it suits her style better than the women's range.

Speaking to Bazaar.com about her favourite accessories, the blonde beauty said: "I wear a lot of the boy's jewellery - the chains as well - so it's kind of good for my style because I like wearing chunky jewellery.

However, the catwalk icon - who is the daughter of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and his ex-wife Jerry Hall - has revealed a necklace her sister Jade, 44, designed for all of her siblings for her wedding is her ultimate favourite accessory.

She said: "My sister's a jewellery designer so probably one of the things she made. [She made] a little necklace for her wedding for all us sisters. It's a matching thing with a little diamond that she made especially for us. She paints it all first. And it's quite amazing because she buys the gems and stuff in India and works with the gem first, then imagines later what it's going to be. So it's quite interesting as a process.

The blonde beauty has revealed she treasures pieces her mother has given to her.

She said: "I also have a lot of my mom's old jewellery so I wear a lot of that."

But, Georgia has admitted some of those keepsakes she stole from her mother's jewellery collection.

Speaking previously, she said: "I have a lot of her costume jewellery from when she was modelling, like stuff from Chanel. It was funny because I asked her the other day, 'When you first worked for Chanel, who was the designer there?' She was like, 'Coco Chanel.' I was like, 'Oh my god, really?' It's quite amazing.

"They're like gold chains and, you know, big bangles. The '80s was kind of all about that big, chunky costume jewellery and I think that's going to come back."
The King and Queen of Bhutan are "proud" to see "how quickly" their son Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck is growing up.

King and Queen of Bhutan and Duchess and Duke of Cambridge

The new addition to the Bhutan royal family was born to King Jigme and Queen Jetstun Pema back in February and each month they share a picture of their six-month-old son for a calendar.

For the August edition, Queen Jetstun wrote: "It is an exceptional joy to see our beloved Gyalsey grow up so quickly."

The picture was taken on a trip to Dechenphu Lhakhang, where children like the young prince - who was born in Thimphu - are taken to "seek the protection of the deity".

The 26-year-old royal shared: "Dechenphu is the seat of one of Bhutan's most important protective deities, Genyen Jagpa Melen, known colloquially to the people as Ap Genyen.

"The deity, whose colourful story includes encounters with some of the greatest saints in Bhutan, is especially important for children born in the Thimphu Valley. For children born in Thimphu, it is an important tradition to visit Dechenphu, and seek the protection of the deity."

King Jigme previously spoke about his son's future and dedication to the monarchy.

He said: "When the time comes for Gyalsey Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck to serve his country, he must always place the concerns of his country above all else and serve his people justly with great love and dedication," the king continued. "It will be his sacred responsibility to build a harmonious and just society, and thereby, fulfill all the aspirations of his people. He must live such a life as a good human being and serve his country in a manner that it will be exemplary and worthy of emulation."

The young prince was named after Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited them earlier this year.
Aaron Sidwell has hinted that Ben Hardy may return to 'EastEnders'.

Ben Hardy as Peter Beale

The 27-year-old actor - who portrays Ben's onscreen half-brother Steven Beale in the BBC One soap - is currently dating his sibling Peter Beale's (Ben Hardy) former flame, Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), and he would love to see him come back to Walford to get his girl back.

He said: "I would like to see Ben Hardy reprise his role of Peter and to see a showdown between him and Steven for Lauren."

The hunky also star thinks that Ben would jump at the chance to reprise his role and there is plenty left untold as Steven is currently stepping in as Peter and Lauren's child's father.

He told Inside Soap magazine: "I think Ben is passionate about the show, and that he would probably be interested in coming back if the timing and story were right.

"Peter is always going to be a fixture in the story, considering that he and Lauren have a child together that Steven is raising."

Meanwhile, Ben - who left the long-running soap last year in order to carve out a career in Hollywood - previously admitted that he'd love to come back to Albert Square for just one day and hasn't completely ruled out reprising his role as heartthrob Peter in the future.

He explained: "I would be down for that but it's difficult as it's trying to get away from that perception of me as Peter Beale. But you know if that didn't matter, I'd go back for an episode or a day, because I'm attached to that storyline."

And the handsome star - who portrayed Peter for two years - believes there is scope for him to return to Walford because of his relationship with Lauren Branning.

He said: "I'm attached to his relationship with Lauren and the baby and all that kind of stuff."

Ben walked away from the show at the end of last year when his character fled to New Zealand with his girlfriend Lauren and their baby following the revelation his step-brother Bobby (Eliot Carrington) had brutally killed his twin sister Lucy (Hetti Bywater) the year before.
Joey Essex has put himself on a selfie ban for a month.

Joey Essex

The former 'The Only Way is Essex' star has vowed not to use his camera - unless he's capturing scenery - for four weeks because he's become "addicted" to taking shots of himself.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said: "I'm a selfie addict. In the last few years or so, I've been lucky enough to travel the world. I've been to Italy, I've been to France, and I've even been to Australia

"The problem with them is I don't remember any of these places because I've realised all my photos are just selfies.

"Let's banish the duck pouts, do away with the bathroom selfies, throw out those dangerous selfie sticks."

Meanwhile, it seems cameras aren't the only thing the 25-year-old hunk is banishing from his life as he's also determined to stay away from girls for the time being.

Joey - who recently romanced Stephanie Pratt - said: "I'm seeing a few different people ... I've decided I don't really feel like I want a girlfriend at the moment. I don't see the point."

And Joey is adamant he'd never rely on a dating site like Tinder - a mobile app that connects people in the same area - because it's "pointless."

He said: "Wouldn't people look at my profile just because I'm Joey Essex? It could be like 'Catfish'. It could be a man!"
The fashion inspired trade show, Pure London, the global fashion event that showcases premium, directional, and contemporary womenswear, menswear, young fashion, accessories, and footwear, will bring in new brands and trends this year, from February 12 to 14, 2017, at London.We are always looking to refresh the show and provide something new to visitors, so the show floor is always changing with new brands, new trends, new layout and new decor. In the coming weeks, we will also be announcing some brand new feature areas. At Pure London, womenswear is always our main sector. Footwear, accessories and menswear brands are growing year-on-year and we will continue to develop the show, Julie Driscoll, Portfolio Director, Pure London told Fibre2Fashion.

The fashion inspired trade show, Pure London, the global fashion event that showcases premium, directional, and contemporary womenswear, menswear, young fashion, accessories, and footwear, will bring in new brands and trends this year, from February 12 to 14, 2017, at London. We are always looking to refresh the show and provide something new to...#

Discussing about the British fashion industry Driscoll said, Retailing occupies a large and vital part of the economy of the United Kingdom, but for the local consumer, shopping has become a key leisure activity and an important part of peoples lives. More than a third of all consumers spending in the United Kingdom go through retail business. Fashion is one of the key drivers.Talking about the influence of Brexit on the fashion retail industry she said, Pure London, now in its 40th edition, is and will continue to be a constant and consistent companion to international brands seeking exports. The fashion market in the United Kingdom is the strongest market in Europe and Pure London gives international brands an unrivalled platform to access exports. We will have a Brexit discussion with four leading industry experts Pure London show. (GK) Click here to read complete interview.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
Sateri, currently the largest viscose staple fibre (VSF) producer in China, would become the largest VSF producer in the world by 2020, as the company is investing more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to expand its production capacity.

Sateri, currently the largest viscose staple fibre (VSF) producer in China, would become the largest VSF producer in the world by 2020, as the company is investing more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to expand its production capacity. The company has already placed orders for machineries to expand its VSF production capacity by 1 million tons.#

The company has already placed orders for machineries to expand its VSF production capacity by 1 million tons. At present, it has total annual capacity in excess of 550,000 tons at its three millsSateri (Fujian) Fibre, Sateri (Jiangxi) Chemical Fibre and Sateri (Jiujiang) Fibre.

Sateri, currently the largest viscose staple fibre (VSF) producer in China, would become the largest VSF producer in the world by 2020, as the company is investing more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to expand its production capacity. The company has already placed orders for machineries to expand its VSF production capacity by 1 million tons.#

VSF is a natural raw-material and key ingredient to everyday items like textiles, and nonwoven products such as baby wipes, and personal hygiene products. Sateri supplies premium quality VSF to textile yarn spinners and spunlace nonwoven producers worldwide.

Sateri, currently the largest viscose staple fibre (VSF) producer in China, would become the largest VSF producer in the world by 2020, as the company is investing more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to expand its production capacity. The company has already placed orders for machineries to expand its VSF production capacity by 1 million tons.#

We believe in the future of VSF as a superior fibre for both textiles and nonwoven fabric. In the past one year, we have been making preparations for expansion and today's confirmation of key machinery orders brings us closer to realising our plan, said Tey Wei Lin, CEO of Sateri.

Sateri, currently the largest viscose staple fibre (VSF) producer in China, would become the largest VSF producer in the world by 2020, as the company is investing more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to expand its production capacity. The company has already placed orders for machineries to expand its VSF production capacity by 1 million tons.#

The additional 1 million ton capacity will be achieved through brownfield projects at our current operating locations. The new capacity will come on stream in phases from 2018 to 2020, subject to market conditions. By 2020, we expect to have over 1.6 million tons capacity, making us the largest producer of sustainably sourced and manufactured VSF in the world, added Tey. (RKS)

Sateri, currently the largest viscose staple fibre (VSF) producer in China, would become the largest VSF producer in the world by 2020, as the company is investing more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to expand its production capacity. The company has already placed orders for machineries to expand its VSF production capacity by 1 million tons.#

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  China
Suva, 10 August  Fijis Foreign Minister Hon. Ratu Inoke Kubuabola received a courtesy call today from the Republic of Koreas Parliament members Hon. Sang Hyun Yoon and Hon. Youngseok Yoon.Both Parliamentarians are in Fiji on a short visit to strengthen relations between Fiji and Koreas parliamentary sectors. Minister Kubuabola welcomed the two-member delegation and thanked them for their efforts to boost relations between the two countries. He stated that positive relations between the two countries would be further strengthened with the establishment of a Fiji/ Republic of Korea Parliamentary Association. Minister Kubuabola further stated that he was supportive of Koreas initiatives in Fiji and looked forward to strengthening relations in the business and tourism sectors.The visiting delegation also used the opportunity to congratulate Fiji on its appointment to the Presidency of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.They will meet later this week with the Speaker of Parliament Hon. Dr Jiko Luveni to progress talks on the establishment of the Fiji/ Republic of Korea Parliamentary Association.
We all know Katrina Kaif is a part of the Dream Team tour and how hard the diva is practising for the event. Apart from Katrina, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Aditya Roy Kapur are also part of the Dream Team tour. But it is Katrina, who is getting a special treatment!

According to Bollywood Life, ''Katrina Kaif is being given superior treatment at the Dream Team tour which will kickstart on August 13 this year. In comparison to others stars, who are accompanying Katrina at the event, Kat is being given more preference since she is an A-lister."

Katrina's Performance According to the reports, Katrina Kaif would be performing on songs like, Chikni Chameli and Dhoom Machale on the Dream Team tour. (In Pic-Katrina Kaif snapped while shooting for a promo for the Dream Team tour) Katrina Miffed With The Media Very recently, it was reported that Katrina Kaif threatened the paparazzi, when they tried to click her after her Dream Team tour rehearsals. (In Pic-Katrina Kaif spotted after rehearsing for the event) Katrina Kaif Later, a source revealed to a leading daily, "The entire episode has been inaccurately reported. Katrina didn't get upset with the media waiting outside at all and in fact greeted them.'' (In Pic-Katrina Kaif waving at the media) Katrina's Fight With The Paparazzi The source further added, ''Her driver simply requested them to move so that they could exit the building as several of them were blocking the car." (In Pic-Katrina Kaif) Baar Baar Dekho Meanwhile, the hot actress will next be seen with Sidharth Malhotra in the upcoming release Baar Baar Dekho, and the movie is slated to release on September 9, 2016. (In Pic-Katrina Kaif)

The report further stated, ''Right from her stay to the rehearsals to her performance; everything has been taken special care of, considering Katrina is a senior actress."

Also Read: What A Hit Jodi! Shahrukh Khan & Deepika Padukone's 15 Best Pictures From Chennai Express Days!

Those who are unaware, the Dream Team tour will begin in Houston and then the participants will travel to LA, San Jose, Chicago, Orlando and New York. This will be the first world tour together for all of these young and smart actors and we are dying to see them perform.

Priyanka Chopra, who is currently shooting for Quantico 2, will also be seen joining the Dream Team when they will perform in New York.

Coming back to Katrina Kaif, on the work front, apart from her Dream Team tour, she is also busy with the promotions of her upcoming film Baar Baar Dekho.

In Baar Baar Dekho, Katrina Kaif would be seen romancing Bollywood's heartthrob Sidharth Malhotra.
What a bewitching sight it is, to see two stunning divas in one frame! Yesterday, the 'Dhak-Dhak' of the nation, Madhuri Dixit and Deepika Padukone were spotted together at an event and no wonder these pictures are going viral on the social media!

And why not? Madhuri & Deepika sharing candid moments together is such a rare sight. Wanna see them? Here We Go..

Go Through The Slides & Enjoy:

Deepika & Madhuri Stunning divas Deepika Padukone and Madhuri Dixit spotted together at India Today event. Aren't they looking damn pretty together? Of course, they do! Awww! The very gorgeous Madhuri Dixit was seen clicking a selfie with Deepika Padukone and the latter can be seen posing for the selfie, cheerfully! It's Conversation Time Madhuri & Deepika were seen indulging in a serious conversation. What do you think? What are they discussing about? Outfits talks or some filmy stuffs? Think think! Oh-So-Lovely The very lovely Deepika Padukone seen striking a pose during the event yesterday. Dressed in a stylish white saree, the Piku actress was looking like a million bucks! Deepika With Her Manager Recently, the Deepika was spotted along with her manager and the duo can be seen giggling together. How sweet is that? At The Airport Recently, the actress returned to Mumbai and was spotted at the airport. She is surely one of the favourite actresses of the shutterbugs as the lady always obliges them with the pictures. Her Amazing Airport Style Don't we simply love the airport style of Deepika Padukone? She always keeps it simple but never ever fails to impress us with her look! She surely knows how to set fashion goals. Stay Tuned Keep watching this space and don't forget to tell us whose look for the event yesterday, you liked more? The western look of Madhuri or the desi one of Deepika?

Deepika is one busy lady in the current scenario! From signing brand endorsements to arranging time for the shoot of her upcoming film, she is doing it all. After all, these are the perks of being the top actress in the Hindi film industry.

The actress is often seen travelling to the different cities including, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin and Mumbai. Recently, the actress was spotted in Bangalore, where she attended an event at the Myntra office.

On the work front, Deepika was last seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's epic film, Bajirao Mastani. She was seen opposite her alleged actor boyfriend, Ranveer Singh and the film also casted Priyanka Chopra in a prominent role.

Deepika's next project is yet again with Mr Bhansali and this time, she will be seen sharing screen space with Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh. Reportedly, the film is based on the personal life of Rani Padmavati of Chittor.

On the other side, Madhuri was last seen in Gulaab Gang along with Juhi Chawla and the actress has not signed yet any other project!
Actor Robert Redford, who will be seen in the soon-to-be-released Disney's adventure fantasy Pete's Dragon, says that he has always believed in mythology and its creatures. The actor says dragon is a great symbolic creature from mythology and it is a big deal for him.

"The dragon is a symbolic creature from mythology and mythology was a big deal for me as a kid growing up, so I'm a big believer in its importance," Redford said. He was last seen in the movie Captain America:The Winter Soldier.

The actor is pretty excited about his new movie, which is slated to release on August 19, in India. He said, having brought up in a working class environment, he had nothing much to do except playing around in his own imaginary world.

"So you had to kind of create your own. And it was about a greater world and greater characters and greater creatures than I knew, so, therefore, it was very, very attractive to me," he added.

About his character in the film, Redford said: "He's the only person to have claimed that he's seen the dragon... Nobody believes him, but they like him and he's a part of the community."

"He's isolated, not because he's an outlaw, but because he believes in magic, and I thought that was a wonderful character to have in a film." He ended.
Despite being an Award-winning director, Steven Spielberg said that he was rejected and refused by many actors in the past, from directing their films. He said, he had to convince a lot of producers and even actors to let them direct their films.

Things have changed now and he shares a good rapport with many actors in the industry, one among them is the Batman fame, Christian Bale. Spielberg said, he takes huge pride in Batman star Christian Bale's success.

"I take great pride in young actors who started off doing films with me and have then made careers for themselves," said Spielberg

"Nothing Christian Bale does has ever failed to impress me. He is fearless and he was fearless when he was 12 years old. I am impressed more and more with each role he takes. But in a quiet place in my own life I'll say, 'That's my boy'," he added.

Among the other actors that Spielberg shares good rapport with, is Harrison Ford, who featured as the lead in the popular adventure movie Indiana Jones franchise. "We always look at each other and say about the movie we are making, 'Are we really going to get away with this?' he said.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/10/16 -- Kasbah Resources Limited ("Kasbah") (ASX: KAS) and Asian Mineral Resources Limited ("AMR") (TSX VENTURE: ASN) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a Scheme Implementation Agreement (the "SIA") pursuant to which AMR will, if implemented, acquire all of the ordinary outstanding shares of Kasbah (the "Kasbah Shares") by way of a scheme of arrangement under the Australian Corporations Act (the "Transaction").

The Board of KAS has unanimously recommended that all Kasbah shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction in the absence of a superior proposal. Major shareholders of Kasbah, being Lion Selection Group (African Lion Fund), Traxys Projects L.P. and Thailand Smelting and Refining Co. together holding approximately 26.7% of Kasbah's issued share capital, have agreed to vote in favour of the Transaction based on the disclosed terms of the scheme and in the absence of a superior proposal(1). Closing of the Transaction is expected to occur during November 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS

-- Kasbah has proven exploration and resource development expertise and has recently announced a definitive feasibility study which supports a two stage development plan for its 75% owned Achmmach Tin Project -- AMR brings an experienced management team with a track record of successful underground mine development and operations arising from its operation of the Ban Phuc Nickel Mine in Vietnam -- As a cornerstone shareholder of the combined entity, Pala Investments Ltd ("Pala") has provided a commitment to provide its pro rata share of any equity raising in relation to the Achmmach Tin Project, as well as an interim A$1,000,000 bridge loan to Kasbah (on the terms and conditions set out below) -- Once completed, the Transaction will provide a clear path to the commencement of construction at Achmmach (subject to the decision of the AMR board on an appropriate project financing package) -- The Transaction provides upside opportunities for both AMR and Kasbah shareholders with exposure to upswings in both tin and nickel, a diversified asset base and potential for future growth

(1) The individual shareholdings of the relevant major shareholders are as follows: Lion Select Lion Selection Group (African Lion Fund) (15.7%), Traxys Projects (5.3%) and Thailand Smelting and Refining Co. (5.7%)

TRANSACTION OVERVIEW

Under the SIA, in exchange for each of their shares, Kasbah shareholders will receive (together, the "Scheme Consideration"):

a. either 1.3 common shares of AMR ("AMR Shares") to be listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") or 0.13 CHESS Depositary Interests ("CDIs"), with each CDI representing a beneficial interest in 10 AMR Shares ("AMR Share CDIs") which, subject to the approval of the Australian Securities Exchange (the "ASX"), will be quoted on the ASX following the implementation of the Transaction; and b. either 0.4 of a warrant to subscribe for one AMR Share ("AMR Warrants") to be listed on the TSX-V or 0.04 of a CDI, with each CDI representing a beneficial interest in 10 AMR Warrants ("AMR Warrant CDIs") which, subject to the approval of ASX, will be quoted on the ASX following implementation of the Transaction.(2)

Based on the closing price of AMR common shares on TSX-V on 5 August 2016 of C$ 0.025 and using a currency exchange rate of A$ 0.9965 per C$1, the Scheme Consideration:

-- values each Kasbah Share at A$ 0.038(3) -- represents premiums of 15.3% over the 60-day volume weighted average price ("VWAP") of Kasbah Shares and 19.6% over the 90-day VWAP of Kasbah Shares, each up to and including trading on 19 July 2016 (being the last trading day for Kasbah Shares prior to its current trading suspension.)(4)

The total number of new AMR Shares to be issued under the Transaction will be approximately 722,807,020, assuming cash consideration will be paid by AMR to the sole current outstanding option holder of Kasbah. As a result, on a fully diluted basis, Kasbah Shareholders will hold approximately 52.2% of the total issued share capital of AMR following implementation of the Transaction and AMR Shareholders will hold 47.8%.(5)

The AMR Warrants will be listed on TSX-V, and, subject to approval by ASX, the AMR Warrant CDIs will be quoted on the ASX, following implementation of the Transaction. The AMR Warrants and AMR Warrant CDIs will have a 4-year term and a strike price of C$ 0.05 per AMR Share and C$ 0.50 per AMR Share CDI (due to AMR Warrant CDIs representing 10 AMR Warrants), respectively.

Jim Askew, who is currently Chairman of AMR's board of directors, will remain as Chairman of the board of directors of the combined company, following the implementation of the Transaction (the "Board"). The Board will be composed of up to 7 directors, 2 of which will be nominated by Kasbah and 2 of which will be independent directors. We are pleased to announce that Mr. Evan Spencer of AMR will remain as CEO of the combined company.

(2) Kasbah shareholders will receive a form on which they can elect which type of consideration they wish to receive.

(3) This includes a Black-Scholes valuation of the AMR Warrants of C$ 0.0138 per warrant.

(4) Based on the 60 day and 90 day VWAPs of AMR Shares, a total 556,005,400 Kasbah Shares on issue and the period prior to the suspension of trading of Kasbah's shares on 19 July 2016. In addition, 222,402,160 AMR Warrants or 22,240,216 AMR Warrant CDIs will be issued to Kasbah shareholders as part of the Transaction.

(5) On an undiluted basis, Kasbah Shareholders will hold 47.8% and AMR Shareholders 52.2% of the total issued capital of AMR.

Pala, currently the largest shareholder of AMR, will remain as a 37.7% shareholder(6) in the combined company following the implementation of the Transaction. In addition, Pala will provide Kasbah with a A$1,000,000 loan to cover working capital and transaction costs, which Kasbah can draw in two tranches of A$500,000 ("Pala Loan"). Outstanding principal under the Pala Loan bears interest at a rate of 12% per annum. The Pala Loan is repayable on the date falling 12 months from the date of execution of the Pala Loan, except in the following circumstances:

-- the SIA is terminated by AMR as a result of a breach of the SIA by Kasbah; -- the SIA is terminated by notification to AMR by Kasbah of its intention to accept a superior proposal; -- the Independent Expert advises that the Transaction in not in the best interests of Kasbah's shareholders; or -- the shareholders of Kasbah voting against approval of the Transaction,

in which case the outstanding principal and interest will be repayable on the earlier of: (i) the date falling 3 months after the occurrence of such an event; or (ii) the date falling 12 months from the date of execution of the Pala Loan.

Pala is excited to be part of this new opportunity for both Kasbah and AMR. To this end, Pala has illustrated its support for the Transaction through its execution of a support agreement, pursuant to which Pala has committed to provide its pro rata share of funding in relation to any equity capital raise conducted by the combined company within 12 months of the Transaction becoming effective, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, as a part of the overall funding solution for the development of the Achmmach Tin Project (the "Pala Commitment"). The Pala Commitment is conditional on:

-- the Transaction becoming effective; -- the AMR board approving a decision to mine in relation to the Achmmach Tin Project having regard to the economic feasibility of the Achmmach Tin Project, and the availability and terms of project financing for the Achmmach Tin Project; and -- the majority of the proceeds of any equity raising being used to fund the construction and development of the Achmmach Tin Project.

The SIA has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of Kasbah and AMR. The Transaction will be subject to, among other things, Kasbah shareholder approval, TSX-V approval, ASX approval of the quotation of AMR Share CDIs and AMR Warrant CDIs, receipt of all necessary regulatory and Australian court approvals, as well as the satisfaction of certain other conditions customary for a transaction of this nature. Full details of the conditions to the Transaction and all other material terms are set out in the SIA, a copy of which accompanies this announcement.

The SIA includes customary deal protection mechanisms, including mutual no shop and no talk provisions, matching and notification rights in the event of a competing proposal, and a mutual reimbursement fee payable by Kasbah or AMR in specified circumstances.

The board of directors of Kasbah unanimously recommends that Kasbah shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding that the Transaction is in the best interests of Kasbah shareholders. On the same basis, Kasbah directors intend to vote the Kasbah Shares they hold or control at the time of the Kasbah shareholder meeting in favour of the Transaction.

(6) Calculated on an undiluted basis. On a fully diluted basis, Pala would be a 34.5% shareholder.

BENEFITS TO SHAREHOLDERS

Shareholders of AMR and Kasbah are expected to realize the following benefits from the Transaction:

-- Material upfront premium to Kasbah shareholders of 15.3% over the 60-day VWAP and 19.6% over the 90-day VWAP of Kasbah Shares (up to and including trading on 19 July 2016 being the last trading day for Kasbah Shares prior to its trading suspension) -- Ability to participate in the creation of a geographically diversified base metals platform -- Experienced combined management team with a strong track record of successfully exploring, developing, constructing and operating similar- sized underground base metal mines in challenging jurisdictions -- Ability to leverage board and management expertise to use the combined group as an international base metals consolidation platform -- Significant exploration potential associated with the Ban Phuc sulphide nickel project in Vietnam -- Significant exploration and additional resource extension potential within the 75%-owned Achmmach permits and adjacent tin properties held 100% by Kasbah -- Diversified shareholder base and improved capital markets access associated with the enhanced size of the combined company, which will have a dual listing on both the TSX-V and the ASX -- Ongoing support from Pala, a leading mining investment fund, and a clear path to proceeding with the financing and development of the Achmmach Tin Project -- Choice of consideration in the form of either AMR Shares and AMR Warrants listed on the TSXV, or AMR Share CDIs and AMR Warrant CDIs to be quoted on the ASX, subject to ASX approval. Kasbah shareholders will receive a form on which they can elect the type of consideration they wish to receive

MANAGEMENT COMMENTS

Commenting on the Transaction, Kasbah's Chairman, Dr. Rodney Marston, stated: "We are very pleased to be joining forces with AMR as we move towards the creation of a solid and diversified base metals platform. The Transaction provides immediate value creation for the Kasbah shareholders and positions the combined company well in pursuing the imminent project financing and construction of the Achmmach tin project. Moreover, the Transaction provides a unique opportunity to leverage off AMR's skilled operations and management team and their experience in commercializing and operating an underground base metals operation in a challenging jurisdiction.

Adding the Ban Phuc Nickel Mine to the portfolio mix of the combined company will also allow for geographical and commodity diversification. There are significant exploration targets in close proximity to Ban Phuc which will, if they prove successful, place the combined company in a strong position to rapidly take advantage of the positive momentum in the nickel price and generate cash flow."

Mr. Jim Askew, AMR's Chairman, added "AMR has done an excellent job in bringing to production the Ban Phuc Nickel Mine and operating under a challenging nickel price environment. We are very excited about the opportunity to team up with proven explorers and resource developers like Kasbah, as well as strategic players such as Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Nittetsu Mining Co. Ltd, and transfer our operating experience and knowhow to the successful development of the Achmmach Tin Project. Following completion and the positive results of the DFS, as a matter of first priority the combined company will proceed with considering project financing options for the Achmmach Tin Project."

ABOUT KASBAH

Kasbah is an Australian-listed company that is focused on advancing the development of the Achmmach Tin Project located in Morocco. The Achmmach Tin Project is one of the largest tin development projects located outside of the Asian region and it is 75% owned by Kasbah, 20% owned by Toyota Tsusho Corporation and 5% owned by Nittetsu Mining Co. Ltd. An updated definitive feasibility study was released on 10 August 2016 and can be found on Kasbah's website at www.kasbahresources.com.

ABOUT AMR

AMR owns and operates one of the world's few sources of nickel sulphide ore, and is exploring for additional high-grade nickel assets in Vietnam. AMR commenced commercial production from its 90% owned Ban Phuc Nickel Mine in Vietnam in mid-2013. As of 30 June 2016, the Ban Phuc Nickel Mine has produced a total of c. 20,000 tonnes of nickel and c. 10,000 tonnes of copper contained in concentrate, plus a cobalt by-product since the beginning of its mine life. As disclosed on 30 May 2016, the Ban Phuc mine is expected to move into care and maintenance status late in the third quarter 2016. In addition to in and near-mine expansion projects, Ban Phuc provides a platform from which AMR can continue to focus on developing a new nickel camp within its 150km(2) of concessions located throughout the highly-prolific Song Da rift zone, where AMR has a number of advanced-stage nickel exploration targets.

ABOUT PALA

Founded in 2006, Pala is an investment company dedicated to value creation in the mining sector, having invested in 87 companies in 25 countries across six continents. Pala has an extensive team of accomplished mining industry professionals from all over the world, and seeks to partner with management teams, boards and shareholders to create long term value. Pala invests in all mining commodities, in development, production and turnaround situations, as well as in mining products and services. Pala has deep relationships in the mining, investment and advisory world which make it ideally positioned to assist AMR with the financing of the Achmmach project, in addition to the pro rata equity funding commitment referred to above.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS - KASBAH

This announcement includes certain statements that may be deemed 'forward-looking statements'. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. All statements that refer to any future production, resources or reserves, exploration results and events or production that Kasbah expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Although Kasbah believes that the expectations in those forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, such statements are not a guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially. This may be due to several factors, including market prices, exploration and exploitation success, and the continued availability of capital and financing, plus general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or performance may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Kasbah does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

DISCLAIMER

This press release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including without limitation, statements regarding completion of the project, the commencement of production and the achievement of expected benefits, potential mineralization and reserve and resource estimates, exploration results and future plans and objectives of AMR are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of AMR to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from AMR's expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in AMR's Annual Information Form, and elsewhere in AMR's documents filed from time-to-time with the TSX Venture Exchange and other regulatory authorities. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions, including: that contracted parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes; that on-going contractual negotiations will be successful and progress and/or be completed in a timely manner; that application for permits and licenses will be granted/obtained in a timely manner; that no unusual geological or technical problems occur; that plant and equipment work as anticipated and that there is no material adverse change in the price of nickel. Although AMR has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release. AMR disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Kasbah Resources Limited

Wayne Bramwell

Managing Director

+61 8 9463 06651

www.kasbahresources.com



Asian Mineral Resources

Evan Spencer

Chief Executive Officer

+84 4 3 773 7997

www.asianmineralres.com




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Petrus Resources Ltd. ("Petrus" or the "Company") (TSX: PRQ) is pleased to announce financial and operating results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016. The associated Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and quarterly financial statements as at and for the period ended June 30, 2016 are accessible at www.sedar.com.

HIGHLIGHTS

-- The Company generated funds from operations in the second quarter of $7.7 million compared to $4.6 million in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 67%. The corporate netback for the second quarter was $10.06 per boe compared to $5.68 per boe in the previous quarter. The increased profitability from the first quarter is attributed to a 34% increase in the Company's light oil price, lower transportation costs, lower interest costs and the elimination of one time transaction costs which were incurred in the first quarter. -- Average production was 8,435 boe per day (35% oil and liquids) in the second quarter of 2016 compared to 8,890 boe per day (38% oil and liquids) reported for the second quarter of 2015. Seasonal turnaround activity at non-operated facilities reduced the second quarter production by approximately 500 boe per day. -- Operating expenses (net of processing income recoveries) totaled $7.65 per boe in the second quarter, compared to $9.14 per boe in the second quarter of the prior year which represents a 16% reduction. Petrus has invested in operated processing facilities and pipelines in the Ferrier area in order to reduce operating costs as well as reliance on third parties. Petrus is on track to realize continued cost reductions. -- The Company's realized hedging gain in the second quarter increased the Company's corporate netback by $6.87 per boe which is 92% higher than the $3.58 per boe hedging gain realized in second quarter of the prior year. In the second quarter of 2016 natural gas hedges were in place for 78% of gas production at an average natural gas floor price of $2.64 per GJ. -- In the first half of 2016 Petrus invested $12.0 million and drilled 2.7 net wells in the Ferrier area. The Company estimates that total capital costs for the operated drilling projects were 16% lower than the previous year and cycle time improved significantly. Petrus also invested in tie-in, facility and well equipment costs in order to optimize the Company's new gas plant in the Ferrier area to reduce future third-party processing fees. In the second quarter operating costs in the Ferrier area decreased 10% from the previous quarter. -- Subsequent to the end of the second quarter, Petrus sold its oil and natural gas interests in the Peace River area of Alberta (the "Disposition") for total consideration of $30.0 million subject to customary closing adjustments. In June 2016, production in the Peace River area averaged approximately 1,000 boe per day (54% oil and natural gas liquids), which comprised approximately 12% of the Company's total production. The Disposition is beneficial to the Company by reducing overall indebtedness, lowering per unit operating costs, and reducing future liabilities. Excluding Peace River from the second quarter 2016 results would have generated a 18% reduction in the Company's overall operating costs per boe. Following transfer of the assets, Petrus' liability management ratio (LMR) will improve from 2.6 to approximately 3.0. -- $8 million of the cash proceeds from the Disposition were used to repay a portion of the Company's Term Loan, reducing the amount outstanding to $42 million. The remaining cash was used to reduce the amount owing under the Company's revolving credit facilities. The borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility was reduced as a result of the Disposition, from $120 million to $106 million. As a result of the first quarter financing activities as well as the Disposition, the Company's total net debt is expected to be reduced to approximately $124.0 million, down from $226.7 million at the end of 2015. Annual interest cost savings attributed to the debt reductions are estimated to be over $6.5 million. -- Petrus entered a definitive agreement for the previously announced cashless property swap transaction whereby Petrus will dispose of non- core assets with production of approximately 250 boe per day, associated land and a working interest in non-operated production facilities. In exchange Petrus expects to acquire production of approximately 400 boe per day and approximately 40% working interest in eight sections of predominantly undeveloped land in its Ferrier core area. Petrus expects to close the transaction in the third quarter. -- With the enhanced financial flexibility provided by the Disposition, the Petrus Board of Directors has approved a $17.5 million capital expenditure budget for the second half of 2016. Capital will be directed primarily to drilling in the Ferrier area, a Cardium resource play with a multi-year inventory of low-risk liquids rich gas and oil opportunities. SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months ended Three months ended (000s) except per boe amounts June 30, 2016 June 30, 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPERATIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Production Natural gas (mcf/d) 33,071 33,103 Oil (bbl/d) 2,200 2,811 NGLs (bbl/d) 723 560 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total (boe/d) 8,435 8,890 Total (boe) 767,585 808,947 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Natural gas sales weighting 65% 62% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Realized Sales Prices Natural gas ($/mcf) 1.64 2.90 Oil ($/bbl) 46.68 64.76 NGLs ($/bbl) 8.47 24.99 Total ($/boe) 19.32 32.85 Hedging gain ($/boe) 6.87 3.58 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating Netback ($/boe) Effective price 26.19 36.43 Royalty income 0.12 0.08 Royalty expense (2.26) (3.73) Operating expense (7.65) (9.14) Transportation expense (1.30) (1.93) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating netback (1) ($/boe) 15.10 21.71 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- G & A expense (2) (1.86) (2.28) Net interest expense (3) (3.18) (3.91) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate netback (1) ($/boe) 10.06 15.52 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINANCIAL ($000s except per share) Oil and natural gas revenue 14,926 26,641 Funds from operations (1) 7,725 12,549 Funds from operations per share (1) 0.17 0.36 Net loss (46,334) (7,239) Net loss per share (1.02) (0.21) Capital expenditures 2,712 13,288 Net acquisitions (dispositions) - (125) Common shares outstanding 45,349 35,148 Weighted average shares 45,349 35,148 As at quarter end ($000s) Net debt (1)(4) 152,935 228,562 Bank debt outstanding 156,845 232,000 Bank debt available (5) 12,555 35,600 Shareholders' equity 267,573 299,061 Total assets 493,535 627,808 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months Three months Three months ended ended ended (000s) except per boe March 31, December 31, September 30, amounts 2016 2015 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPERATIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Production Natural gas (mcf/d) 35,456 31,217 32,505 Oil (bbl/d) 2,218 2,380 2,616 NGLs (bbl/d) 694 590 634 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total (boe/d) 8,821 8,172 8,668 Total (boe) 802,744 751,845 797,439 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Natural gas sales weighting 67% 64% 62% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Realized Sales Prices Natural gas ($/mcf) 2.01 2.79 2.92 Oil ($/bbl) 34.52 48.27 50.91 NGLs ($/bbl) 18.18 30.52 16.14 Total ($/boe) 18.18 26.90 27.48 Hedging gain ($/boe) 7.84 6.68 4.72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating Netback ($/boe) Effective price 26.02 33.58 32.20 Royalty income 0.13 0.32 0.10 Royalty expense (3.08) (3.74) (2.89) Operating expense (8.52) (11.00) (7.87) Transportation expense (1.62) (1.31) (1.43) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating netback (1) ($/boe) 12.93 17.85 20.11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- G & A expense (2) (2.72) (3.08) (2.10) Net interest expense (3) (4.53) (5.83) (4.41) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate netback (1) ($/boe) 5.68 8.94 13.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINANCIAL ($000s except per share) Oil and natural gas revenue 14,698 20,459 21,991 Funds from operations (1) 4,558 6,717 10,838 Funds from operations per share (1) 0.11 0.19 0.31 Net loss (4,110) (36,425) (19,055) Net loss per share (0.10) (1.04) (0.54) Capital expenditures 9,277 6,757 9,041 Net acquisitions (dispositions) - - - Common shares outstanding 45,349 35,148 35,148 Weighted average shares 41,762 35,148 35,148 As at quarter end ($000s) Net debt (1)(4) 157,675 226,742 226,809 Bank debt outstanding 155,000 235,000 236,375 Bank debt available (5) 12,300 12,600 34,600 Shareholders' equity 313,936 243,904 280,118 Total assets 544,548 555,145 595,890 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Non-GAAP measures are defined in the Non-GAAP section of the June 30, 2016 MD&A. 2. G&A expense is presented net of capitalized general & administrative costs. 3. Interest expense is presented net of other income and non-cash deferred finance expense. 4. Net debt includes working capital (deficiency). 5. $120 million credit facility less: $105 million drawn, $0.6 million letter of credit and $1.8 million bank overdraft.

OPERATIONS UPDATE

The Petrus Board of Directors has approved a capital budget of $17.5 million for the second half of 2016. The capital budget includes the drilling of 9 gross (4.8 net) wells and other investments in infrastructure and maintenance capital. The capital budget will be primarily funded through cash flow.

Average second quarter production from the Company's four operating areas was as follows:

Average production for the Peace Central quarter ended June 30, 2016 Foothills River Ferrier Alberta Total ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Production Natural gas (mcf/d) 7,672 2,990 12,426 9,983 33,071 Oil (bbl/d) 433 596 568 600 2,200 NGLs (bbl/d) 51 14 442 218 723 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total (boe/d) 1,763 1,109 3,081 2,482 8,435 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Natural gas sales weighting 73% 45% 67% 67% 65% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY

During the first half of 2016 Petrus invested $12.0 million of its $12.2 million first half budget, which was funded by funds from operations and working capital. The Company's capital development plan for the first half of 2016 was focused on the Ferrier area, where Petrus drilled 4 wells (2.7 net). Capital costs were significantly lower than the prior year due to improved efficiencies achieved as well as cost reductions due to lower demand for services. Total capital costs for the two operated Ferrier drilling projects were approximately 16% lower than comparable projects completed in 2015.

BUDGET UPDATE

With the enhanced financial flexibility provided by the Disposition, the Petrus Board of Directors has approved a $17.5 million capital expenditure budget for the second half of 2016. Capital will be directed primarily to drilling in the Ferrier area, a Cardium resource play with a multi-year inventory of low-risk liquids rich gas and oil opportunities. The Company has been primarily focused on Ferrier since acquiring assets in the area in 2014. To date, Petrus has drilled 13 gross (9.8 net) wells in Ferrier, acquired additional acreage and expanded its infrastructure, including construction of a 25 mmcf/d gas plant, providing the Company a competitive advantage through reduced operating costs and enhanced operational control over its production volumes.

The second quarter report for 2016 is available on the SEDAR filing system (www.sedar.com) as well as on the Company's website www.petrusresources.com.

ABOUT PETRUS

Petrus is a public Canadian oil and gas company focused on property exploitation, strategic acquisitions and risk-managed exploration in Alberta.

READER ADVISORIES

This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning Petrus' commodity weighting, plans related to the Company's 2016 capital budget, including planned drilling and other operations, commodity focus, commodity pricing, drilling locations, production rates, expected source of funding of the 2016 capital budget, the belief of economic projects and drilling opportunities at current strip pricing, the expected ability of Petrus to execute on its exploration and development program and Petrus' anticipated production (both in terms of quantity and raw attributes) cash flow, operating netbacks, planned operations and the timing thereof, evaluation of completed operations, the availability of opportunities and other similar matters.

The forward-looking statements contained in this document are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Petrus, including: (i) with respect to capital expenditures, generally, and at particular locations, the availability of adequate and secure sources of funding for Petrus' proposed capital expenditure program and the availability of appropriate opportunities to deploy capital; (ii) with respect to drilling plans, the availability of drilling rigs, expectations and assumptions concerning the success of future drilling and development activities and prevailing commodity prices; (iii) with respect to Petrus' ability to execute on its exploration and development program, the performance of Petrus' personnel, the availability of capital and prevailing commodity prices; and (iv) with respect to anticipated production, the ability to drill and operate wells on an economic basis, the performance of new and existing wells and accounting risks typically associated with oil and gas exploration and production; (v) oil and gas prices; (vi) currency exchange rates; (vii) royalty rates; (viii) operating costs; (ix) transportation costs; and (x) the availability of opportunities to deploy capital effectively. Although Petrus believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because Petrus can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals, risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general (e.g., operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses; health, safety and environmental risks; commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations; and uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures). Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all possible risks and uncertainties.

The forward-looking statements contained in this document are made as of the date hereof and Petrus undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The term barrels of oil equivalent ("boe") may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one boe (6 mcf/bbl) is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. All boe conversions in this report are derived from converting gas to oil in the ratio of six thousand cubic feet of gas to one barrel of oil. Given that the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil as compared to natural gas is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a conversion on a 6:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are made as of the date hereof and Petrus undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Please refer to the disclosure with respect to non-GAAP measures in the Company's MD&A.

"Funds from operations" should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, cash flow from operating activities as determined in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as an indicator of Petrus' performance. "Funds from operations" represents cash flow from operating activities prior to changes in non-cash working capital, transaction costs and decommissioning provision expenditures incurred. Petrus also presents funds from operations per share whereby per share amounts are calculated using weighted average shares outstanding consistent with the calculation of earnings per share.

Contacts:

Petrus Resources Ltd.

Kevin Adair, P.Eng.

President and CEO

403-930-0888

kadair@petrusresources.com

www.petrusresources.com




Quarterly income exceeds 5 million EUR for the first time with record profits and an equity ratio of 60%. The Group is financially solid but faster growth is still constrained by capital availability says Chairman Lindfors, as Euroloan is seeking more funding to meet growing demand.Helsinki, Finland, 2016-08-11 08:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The quarterly income of Euroloan Group Plc reached EUR 5,2 million, exceeding the EUR 5 million level for the first time in the Group's history. Quarterly income increased by 54% compared with the average quarterly income in 2015.Profitability continues to increase as EBIT grew by 78% to EUR 3,5 million compared to Q2/2015 and net profit increased by 250% to EUR 2,8 million. Compared to the 2015 quarterly average, EBIT increased by 110% and net profit by 394%.The Group's solidity continued to improve, as the equity ratio has almost doubled to 60% from 31% in Q2/2015, with total equity now at EUR 28,6 million. The total balance is reduced due to a funding arrangement where receivables are sold to a third party.Key FiguresQ2 2016 Q1 2016 Q2 2015 Q1 2015 2015 ===================================================================== Balance (million EUR) 48,1 49,9 57,5 53,3 49,5 Total income (million EUR) 5,2 4,0 4,3 2,6 13,4 EBIT (million EUR) 3,5 2,0 2,0 0,5 6,6 EBIT Growth 78 % 311 % 206%* -22 %* 160 % EBIT/Total Income 67 % 51 % 46 % 19 % 49 % Net profit (million EUR) 2,8 1,5 0,8 -0,3 2,2 Equity ratio 60 % 50 % 31 % 33 % 50 % ---------------------------------------------------------------------*estimated growth based on 2014 annual figuresInterim Financial StatementBALANC Q2 2016 Q1 2016 Q2 2015 Q1 2015 2015 E SHEET ================================================================================ = ASSETS NON-CU RRENT ASSET S Intang 16 468 861,67 15 151 482,72 11 096 944,42 11 259 329,74 14 199 735,89 ible asset s Tangib 13 945,64 13 945,64 28 526,20 27 572,40 13 945,64 le asset s and inves tments -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - TOTAL 16 482 807,31 15 165 428,36 11 125 470,62 11 286 902,14 14 213 681,53 NON-C URRENT ASSET S CURREN T ASSET S Curren 30 273 703,17 32 860 839,63 37 060 350,26 31 592 124,87 32 526 944,20 t Recei vables Cash 1 303 595,58 1 902 587,35 9 349 015,51 10 402 105,02 2 716 185,34 and Bank Recei vables -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - TOTAL 31 577 298,75 34 763 426,98 46 409 365,77 41 994 229,89 35 243 129,54 CURRE NT ASSET S ================================================================================ = TOTAL 48 060 106,07 49 928 855,34 57 534 836,38 53 281 132,03 49 456 811,07 ASSET S EQUITY & LIABI LITIES ================================================================================ = EQUITY Share 80 000,00 80 000,00 80 000,00 1 434 998,00 80 000,00 capit al and issue Transl -116 266,99 -116 266,99 -30 503,71 -30 503,71 -116 266,99 ation diffe rence Reserv 21 463 288,66 21 463 288,66 15 967 568,66 15 108 290,66 21 463 288,66 e for inves ted non-r estric ted equit y Retain 2 928 844,24 2 207 038,81 1 173 868,58 1 193 444,58 826 857,78 ed earni ngs Profit 4 243 408,70 1 479 406,15 503 773,58 -286 121,55 2 238 160,91 for the Finan cial perio d -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - TOTAL 28 599 274,61 25 113 466,63 17 694 707,11 17 420 107,98 24 492 040,36 EQUIT Y MINORI 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 TY INTER EST GROUP 13 393,63 13 393,63 28 004,63 28 004,63 13 393,63 RESER VE LIABIL ITIES Non-cu 10 293 500,00 469 500,00 6 449 000,00 21 212 000,00 404 250,00 rrent Liabi lities Curren 9 153 937,83 24 332 495,08 33 363 124,64 14 621 019,42 24 547 127,08 t Liabi lities -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - TOTAL 19 447 437,83 24 801 995,08 39 812 124,64 35 833 019,42 24 951 377,08 LIABI LITIES ================================================================================ = TOTAL 48 060 106,07 49 928 855,34 57 534 836,38 53 281 132,03 49 456 811,07 EQUIT Y & LIABI LITIESINCOME Q2 2016 Q1 2016 Q2 2015 Q1 2015 2015 STATEMEN T ================================================================================ Total 5 169 511,04 3 986 184,63 4 253 448,12 2 630 547,13 13 416 195,13 income Materials -126 199,94 -103 445,92 -148 480,49 -180 810,77 -918 119,71 and services Personnel -438 245,09 -355 645,13 -454 205,03 -481 282,64 -1 322 844,30 costs Depreciat -303 844,42 -291 370,48 -249 469,19 -188 917,67 -937 325,25 ion Other -833 598,43 -1 196 -1 450 -1 283 -3 614 434,83 business 949,06 485,60 652,37 -related costs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EBIT 3 467 623,14 2 038 774,03 1 950 807,81 495 883,68 6 623 471,04 Financial -703 620,60 -559 367,88 -1 075 -731 579,32 -3 782 657,28 income 691,25 and expenses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EBT 2 764 002,54 1 479 406,15 875 116,56 -235 695,64 2 840 813,76 Tax 0,00 0,00 -85 221,43 -50 425,92 -602 652,85 ================================================================================ Net 2 764 002,54 1 479 406,15 789 895,13 -286 121,55 2 238 160,91 ProfitThe interim financial figures provided are unaudited, and based on the Company management's estimates of the situation with the information currently available. The estimates include, for instance, one-time items, investments, amortization and depreciation, financial and other costs. Calculated taxes, which have not been finalized at this point, are not included in the interim 2016 figures. Unexpected events, decisions by authorities, service providers, market disturbances and other factors may affect the actual financial figures significantly compared to these estimates. The reader is advised to read previous interim statements and to refer to the 2015 annual review and financial statement for the latest audited figures and more information about the Group.According to Tommi Lindfors, Chairman of Euroloan Group, the Group is growing according to plan and meeting the ambitious goals set out in the Group's strategy. Profitability is increasing, business development is progressing well and the Group is showing very solid financials.Mr. Lindfors says: "Despite our phenomenal growth and excellent team performance, we can still speed up our growth rate further. We still have much more potential to grow as our services are very popular with our customers. I see no reason why we could not increase our sales tenfold just in our current market areas in Finland, Sweden and Poland."CEO Samuli Korpinen adds: "Much faster growth could be achieved without compromising the asset quality of our credit portfolio, if only we had the funding to serve all our customers properly. Now we are limiting ourselves. Of course I am pleased with our performance within the current constraints, but we could do much better if we had unlimited funds. As our growth potential is huge and the business is very profitable, our strategy is currently focused rather on facilitating organic growth through getting more funding than on growth through acquisition. This means being active on the international capital markets to access more fuel for growth."Mr. Lindfors continues: "This is why we are applying for a banking license and, although we have an equity ratio of 60%, also preparing to increase our equity to be able to grow our balance considerably. To achieve a balance of 250 million EUR in total assets and meet capital adequacy requirements, we would need to raise an additional 40 million EUR in equity.""I am very pleased that Jolt Bank (www.joltbank.com), our new upcoming FinTech bank, has been very positively received in the market. What's special about Jolt is that not only does it have a powerful, fully automated FinTech back-end, but also offers easy automation of online banking directly to customers. They can set their own financial goals and the bank automatically helps them achieve what they want. In just over a month we have reached hundreds of thousands of potential customers and many have already signed up for our coming services. We've had visitors from 22 countries already, and we haven't even started marketing the bank yet! There is clearly a huge demand for simple, efficient online banking that places the customer first", Mr. Lindfors concludes.Euroloan's subsidiary in Luxembourg, Euroloan S.A., is in the process of applying for a full EU bank license which is planned to be launched under the brand Jolt Bank.About Euroloan GroupEuroloan Group PLC is a rapidly growing international group, specialized in highly automated financial services and financial technology (FinTech). The Group has offices in Helsinki (HQ), Luxembourg, Stockholm and Warsaw and the team includes around 50 professionals of 10 different nationalities.The Group operates in a mobile online environment offering credit limits, loans, money transfers, webshop payment services, invoice payments and collection services as a real-time e-business to retail customers. For webshops and sales points, Euroloan offers pay-per-invoice and sales finance solutions that are easy, free of charge, and work under the merchants' own brands. Euroloan originates high-quality structured consumer receivables portfolios with guaranteed performance and continuous monitoring and servicing.All services are truly instant and automated and include origination and debt servicing functions that traditionally have been manual, such as identification, scoring, underwriting, payments, back-office, credit monitoring and debt collection. This is made possible by Euroloan's proprietary cloud-based banking software and secured by its ISO27001:2013-certified information security management system.More information about Euroloan Group is available at www.euroloan.com, Finland www.euroloan.fi, Luxembourg www.joltbank.com, Poland www.euroloan.pl and in Sweden on www.euroloan.se.For more information, please contact: Jonas Lindholm Euroloan Group Plc Tel +358 10 217 1003
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Unitbuckle Limited (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Anglo African Agriculture plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 10 August 2016 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" NO

2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security: Ordinary Shares of 0.1p Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 1,500,000 1.36 (2) Cash-settled derivatives: (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:

TOTAL: 1,500,000 1.36

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: None Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages: None

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit

(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit

(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit

(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)

4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO

Date of disclosure: 11/08/2016 Contact name: Richard Robinow Telephone number: 020 7436 7877

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at monitoring@disclosure.org.uk. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
11 August 2016

COINSILIUM GROUP LIMITED

("Coinsilium" or the "Group")

FACTOM ANNOUNCES COLLABORATION WITH BIG DATA INFORMATION PLATFORM DATAYES

Coinsilium Group Limited (ISDX:COIN), the ISDX quoted blockchain technology investment and development company, is pleased to announce that its investee Factom Inc. (Factom) a company in which Coinsilium has a 1.9% equity interest in, has announced that in collaboration with DataYes they have published the pricing data for the 3,000 most valuable Chinese stocks onto the Factom blockchain.

Factom builds blockchain technology tools that maintain a permanent, time-stamped record of data. This is used in enterprise software to simplify records management, record business processes, and address security, compliance and governance issues.

Following the announcement, David Johnston, Chairman of the Board at Factom stated, "Some of the largest stock markets and the most valuable companies in the world are in China and so we believe it's important to make their pricing data available to developers on a blockchain."

Coinsilium CEO Eddy Travia commented, "I am very pleased to see an additional proof of blockchain's utility and Factom's competencies in the world of capital markets data records. It is yet another example of Factom's ability to find the right partners and strike deals in markets abroad."

The Directors of Coinsilium take responsibility for this announcement.

From Factom

Factom & DataYes are pleased to announce that together they have published onto the Factom blockchain pricing data for the 3,000 most valuable Chinese stocks. Program developers now have a powerful new tool for connecting their financial applications to the new world of blockchain technology.

This massive dataset of more than 10,000,000 records and growing, offers an amazing way for applications to verify and audit the world's financial systems with more transparency and confidence than ever before.

"Some of the largest stock markets and the most valuable companies in the world are in China and so we believe it's important to make their pricing data available to developers on a blockchain." Said David Johnston, Chairman of the Board at Factom

"Today the exchanges send out the 'mark to market' price and we record them in blockchain as a two-step process. As Blockchain technology matures in the future, all transactions will be recorded on the blockchain, and the "mark to market" stock price as we know today will be evolved to 'mark to blockchain' naturally in one step." Continued George Hu, General Manager at DataYes.

Notes to Editor

About Factom

Factom builds blockchain technology tools that maintain a permanent, time-stamped record of data. This is used in enterprise software to simplify records management, record business processes, and address security, compliance and governance issues. Factom's technology has the potential to disrupt the way security of data and records is dealt with in the banking, insurance, healthcare and pharmaceuticals industries, the telecom industry, and for online tangible asset ownership records and transactions. Factom uses its core technology on a wide range of applications, including audit systems, medical records, supply chain management, voting systems, property titles, legal applications, and financial systems.

Factom has sold US$1.2m in software licenses, has over 1,500 software purchasers and has established an active developer network building new tools to integrate with Factom's technology. Factom is a high profile company in the blockchain technology industry, was referred to in October 2015's edition of The Economist magazine, and was recently named in the Magister Advisors report released in December 2015: Blockchain & Bitcoin in 2016, A Survey of Global Leaders.

About DataYes

DataYes is China's first open and big data information platform, curating both structured and unstructured data from across the globe covering key economic metrics as well as industry, company, e-commerce, search and social media data. It is a treasure box full of raw materials for artificial intelligence and quantitative investment research. DataYes is China's leading edge financial technology company founded by a group of experts in the fields of finance and internet technology. It is invested by Wanxiang Group, one of China's largest non-state-owned conglomerate. DataYes' headquarter is located in Shanghai Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone, and has an office in Silicon Valley.

About Coinsilium Group

Coinsilium is a London-based blockchain technology focused investment and development company, supporting early-stage blockchain companies through investment, acceleration, development and education.

Coinsilium is the world's first blockchain technology focused company to be admitted to trading on an Exchange Regulated Market and has a portfolio of interests in blockchain companies and projects. In addition to pursuing its investment strategy Coinsilium is able to offer a suite of services including corporate/business advisory, CPD accredited training & education, investment solutions, in-house development and other professional services to blockchain/fintech companies and major corporates wanting to learn more about blockchain technology and its implications to the way the world transfers value over the internet.

For further information please visithttp://www.coinsilium.com/

Or please contact the following:
VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - German shares traded slightly higher in choppy trade Thursday, as well-received earnings updates from the likes of TUI, RWE and Henkel helped investors shrug off a slump in oil prices. WTI crude prices traded down about 0.8 percent at $41.39 a barrel in European trade and Brent crude futures slid 0.6 percent to $43.78 per barrel after the International Energy Agency said it expects global demand for oil to grow less than previously expected next year because of a weaker outlook for the world economy. Investors await U.S. retail sales figures as well as a slew of Chinese data on Friday for further clues about the global economic outlook. The benchmark DAX was up 43 points or 0.41 percent at 10,694 in late opening deals after losing 0.4 percent the previous day. TUI Group, Europe's largest tour operator, rallied 4.5 percent after confirming its profit target this year. Utility RWE rose over 1 percent after narrowing its second-quarter loss on the back of improved performance at its conventional power generation business. Consumer group Henkel soared 4 percent after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results. Telecom operator Deutsche Telekom rose half a percent despite reporting a 13-percent drop in net profit for the second quarter on higher staff-related costs. Telecoms provider Freenet climbed 5 percent after confirming its 2016 targets. Symrise advanced 3.5 percent on reporting a rise in first-half profit. Industrial conglomerate ThyssenKrupp fell 1.5 percent on reporting a drop in third-quarter profit, weighed down by declines in global steel and material prices. K+S Group shares slumped 7 percent. The potash marker warned of significantly lower earnings this year after reporting a 20 percent decline in first-half revenue. Solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar lost 4.5 percent after announcing the closure of production facilities in n Denver, USA, and Cape Town, South Africa, amid pricing pressure from Chinese rivals. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- BTV-Business Television - Part 2 on the growing trend of Impact Investing. "Individual investors, family offices, foundations and pension funds are all represented in this class of investing. It's more than a trend, this reflects investors' values moving into the future," stated Julie Durant, Creator of the Impact Investment Forum. Full Episode

On BNN on Sat Aug 13 & Sun Aug 14, 2016 - on National TV, BTV-Business Television dives into impact investing with:

KPMG, Tania Carnegie, Leader Impact Ventures shares what's important about impact investing Video, the new manner in which people are investing, Video the rewards, Video and the future of this space Video.

Lundin Foundation, Stephen Nairne, Managing Director, on bringing power to the poor communities Video why investing is changing Video and thoughts on value investing. Video

Radius, Donovan Wollard, Director of SFU Innovation and Venture Lab explains objectives of impact investing, Video how Radius is helping entrepreneurs transform into radical doers Video and his why. Video

Lingo Media (TSX VENTURE: LM), Michael Kraft, President and CEO, on changing the way the world learns English. Video

Pique Ventures, Bonnie Foley-Wong, CEO, on critical investment decisions Video, changing business culture Video and why we should commit to this space Video

Hempco (TSX VENTURE: HFF), Don Mosher, Marketing Director, on the re-emergence of the largest industrial crop in the world. Video

Avivagen (TSX VENTURE: VIV), Cameron Groome, CEO, on developing products to replace antibiotics in livestock feed. Video

BTV, a half-hour weekly investment news program, profiles emerging companies across the US and Canada to bring investors information for their portfolio. With Host Taylor Thoen, BTV features companies at their location, interviews the company's key executives and features their business.

BTV BROADCAST TIMES:

CANADA: BNN - Saturday Aug 13 @ 8:00pm Sunday, Aug 14 @ 9:30pm EST

Bell Express Vu - Saturday Aug 13 @ 8:00pm Sunday, Aug 14 @ 9:30pm EST

Air Canada Seatback TV Business Channel - Oct/Nov 2016

U.S. National:

Biz Television Network - Sun Aug 21 @ 1:00am & 7:30pm EST, Sat Aug 27 @ 12:00pm EST

The Impact Investment Forum takes place annually in Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit www.impactinvestmentforum.com for more information or call Julie Durant 778-238-0449.

Contacts:

BTV - Business Television

Trina Schlingmann

(604) 664-7401x 3

info@b-tv.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Torex Gold Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Torex") (TSX: TXG) announced today its financial and operational results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016. This release should be read in conjunction with the Company's second quarter 2016 Financial Statements and MD&A on the Company's website or on SEDAR.

Fred Stanford, President & CEO of Torex stated: "We have been looking forward to our first quarter as producers and we are proud to report that the ramp up to full production continues to outperform expectations. In June, the processing plant averaged 11,618 tpd, and delivered a gold recovery of 89%, nicely above design levels of 87.1%. The Guajes deposit has also exceeded expectations. Mined to date ore tonnes in Guajes have been 8% higher than predicted by the reserve model and the grade of those tonnes has been 17% higher than the model, for a total of 27% more ounces than plan. The net result for the quarter was an average processed grade of 3.15 g/t." He added, "The strong performance through the ramp up has generated free cash flow, which has strengthened the balance sheet and allowed us to lift our eyes to a more distant horizon. Exploration activities are getting restarted, with drilling under the El Limon Sill anticipated to start in Q4/16, tunneling work into the El Limon Deep area expected to commence in Q1/17, and tunneling into Media Luna expected to get underway in Q2/17. We look forward to the results from these programs and extend a warm thanks to all of our teams for delivering the results that made this possible."

Commercial production was reached in late March 2016, ahead of schedule and under budget. For accounting purposes, commercial production commenced April 1, 2016. As this is the Company's first quarter in the production stage, comparative figures for certain measures or data are not available or are not meaningful.

SECOND QUARTER 2016 HIGHLIGHTS

-- Gold production totalled 83,256 ounces for the second quarter of 2016, for a total of 121,067 ounces year-to-date. -- Total cash costs(1) of $571 per ounce sold for the second quarter of 2016. -- All-in sustaining costs(1) of $754 per ounce sold for the second quarter of 2016. -- Cash flow from operations totalled $74.3 million and $65.5 million for the three and six month periods, respectively. -- Cash balances as at June 30, 2016 totalled $102.0 million (including cash and cash equivalents of $74.1 million and restricted cash of $27.9 million). During the second quarter, the Company met the conditions necessary to release $8.0 million from the cash restricted in the Sponsor Reserve Account. -- Plant throughput was ahead of plan, averaging 10,168 tpd in the second quarter of 2016, or 73% of design capacity of 14,000 tpd, while June averaged 11,618 tpd, or 83% of design. Peak daily throughput was achieved on May 9, 2016 at 16,429 tpd, or 17% above design capacity. -- Average gold grade processed was 3.15 g/t for the second quarter of 2016. -- Average gold recovery rate for the second quarter of 2016 was 82%, and averaged 89% in June. -- To date, from start of mining, the Guajes Pit has a positive reconciliation of 27% more ounces than was predicted by the reserve model (8% more tonnes and 17% higher grade). -- Ore in stockpile as at June 30, 2016 was approximately 0.8 million tonnes. Mining rates in Guajes have been reduced in order to allow a drawdown of the stockpile over the remainder of the year. -- Gold sold in the second quarter of 2016 totalled 80,772 ounces for total proceeds of $101.1 million. Total ounces sold for the first half of 2016 were 112,290 ounces for total proceeds of $140.0 million. The average realized gold price(1) for the second quarter and first half of 2016 was $1,252 per ounce. -- Revenue totalled $102.1 million and cost of sales totalled $60.4 million for the second quarter of 2016. -- Earnings from mine operations for the second quarter of 2016 totalled $41.7 million. -- Net income for the second quarter of 2016 totalled $6.7 million, or $0.08 per share. -- Adjusted net earnings(1), which excludes, amongst other items, derivative and foreign exchange losses, totalled $22.1 million, or $0.28 per share for the second quarter of 2016.

(1) Total cash costs, all-in sustaining costs, average realized gold price and adjusted net earnings are financial performance measures with no standard meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures" in the Company's second quarter 2016 Management's Discussion and Analysis for further information and a detailed reconciliation.

The following table summarized key operating and financial highlights for the second quarter of 2016:

Six months Three months ended ended In thousands of U.S. dollars, June 30, March 30, June 30, unless otherwise noted 2016 2016 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating data(1) Mining Ore tonnes mined kt 684 516 1,200 Waste tonnes mined kt 3,933 3,418 7,351 Total tonnes mined kt 4,617 3,934 8,551 waste : Strip ratio ore 5.8 6.6 6.1 Average gold grade of ore mined gpt 3.18 2.60 2.93 Ore in stockpile mt 0.8 1.1 0.8 Processing Average plant throughput tpd 10,168 7,361 8,764 Average gold recovery % 82 76 79 Production and sales Gold produced oz 83,256 37,811 121,067 Gold sold oz 80,772 31,518 112,290 Financial data Revenue (2) $ 102,132 - 102,132 Cost of sales $ 60,396 60,396 Earnings from mining operations $ 41,736 - 41,736 Net income $ 6,666 (37,831) (31,165) Per share - Basic and diluted (3) $/share 0.08 (0.48) (0.40) Adjusted net earnings (loss) (4) $ 22,115 - 22,115 Per share - Basic and diluted (3, 4) $/share 0.28 - 0.28 Total cash costs (4) $/oz 571 - 571 All-in sustaining costs (4) $/oz 754 - 754 Average realized gold price (2,)(4, 5) $/oz 1,252 - 1,252 Cash and cash equivalents $ 74,079 30,481 74,079 Restricted cash $ 27,896 34,619 27,896 Working capital $ 82,442 3,715 82,442 Total debt $ 401,887 376,690 401,887 Total assets $ 1,154,256 1,106,246 1,154,256 Total liabilities $ 511,473 473,359 511,473 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. For accounting purposes, the transition to the production phase commenced on April 1, 2016. As such, comparative figures for certain measures or data are not available or are not meaningful. Further, data that relate to the pre-production period may not be representative. 2. Proceeds from sales of gold and silver prior to achieving commercial production of $38.9 million were offset against the construction costs for the ELG Mine. 3. Effective June 30, 2016, the Company implemented a consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of one post- consolidation share for every ten pre-consolidation share (the "Consolidation"). Per share data reflects the Consolidation. Comparatives were restated. 4. Adjusted net earnings, total cash costs, all-in sustaining costs, and average realized gold price are financial performance measures with no standard meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures" in the Company's second quarter 2016 Management's Discussion and Analysis for further information and a detailed reconciliation. 5. Average realized gold price includes realized losses from gold derivative contracts of $9 per ounce.

Qualified Persons

Scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dawson Proudfoot, P.Eng., Vice President, Engineering of Torex Gold Resources Inc. and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call today at 9:00 AM E.T. where senior management will discuss the second quarter operational and financial results.

Access the conference call as follows:

Webcast access:

http://www.gowebcasting.com/3340

or at the company website: www.torexgold.com/investors/upcoming-events

Telephone access: Please call the numbers below approximately ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. Toronto local or international (647) 788 4919 Toll-Free (North America) 1 877 291 4570 Toll-Free (France) 0 800 917 449 Toll-Free (Switzerland) 0-800-835 354 Toll-Free (United Kingdom) 0-800-051 7107

The webcast will be archived on the Company's website.

About Torex

Torex is an emerging intermediate gold producer based in Canada, engaged in the exploration, development and operation of its 100% owned Morelos Gold Property, an area of 29,000 hectares in the highly prospective Guerrero Gold Belt located 180 kilometers southwest of Mexico City. Within this property, Torex has the El Limon Guajes Mine, which announced commercial production in March of 2016 and the Media Luna Project, which is in an advanced stage of exploration, and for which the Company issued a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in 2015. The property remains 75% unexplored.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Notwithstanding the Company's efforts, there can be no guarantee that the Company will not face unforeseen delays or disruptions. Forward-looking information also includes, but is not limited to, completing the remaining construction and commissioning of the mine and processing facilities of the ELG Mine, achieving full production, expected metal recoveries, gold production (including without limitation the estimated gold sales by year) and revenues from operations, the ability to mine and process estimated mineral reserves, the positive grade reconciliation as more gold ounces were produced year to date than was predicted by the reserve model, access to restricted cash balances, if required, the further advances of funds pursuant to the Finance Lease Arrangement and the VAT loan transaction (each which are subject to certain customary conditions precedent), expected timing and receipt of VAT refunds, future exploration, safety and security, and access to the ELG Mine. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including those risk factors identified in the Company's annual information form and management's discussion and analysis. Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Torex Gold Resources Inc.

Fred Stanford

President and CEO

(647) 260-1502

fred.stanford@torexgold.com



Torex Gold Resources Inc.

Gabriela Sanchez

Vice President Investor Relations

(647) 260-1503

gabriela.sanchez@torexgold.com

www.torexgold.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Penningtons, Canada's long-standing #1 plus-size fashion destination is set to take on the American market this month. Three of the leading U.S. retailers, Macy's, Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor have all signed on to carry the brand's new plus-size women's line, mblm by Tess Holliday; a brand created by Penningtons in collaboration with celebrity blogger and plus-size model Tess Holliday.

Penningtons created the mblm brand in 2013 in an effort to provide the plus-size woman with younger, edgier fashion options designed to fit her curves. As advocates for body diversity, the Canadian retailer felt the essence of their message was kindred with Tess Holliday and her effyourbeautystandards movement. A partnership was formed and the collection officially launched earlier this year in March. Two seasonal collections have since been released, both receiving rave reviews. "We are very proud of this collection and what it stands for: individuality, empowerment and femininity. Tess does such a wonderful job of inspiring and encouraging women to be true to themselves," said Ginette Harnois, Penningtons Vice-President of Marketing & Visual Presentation, "Tess truly embodies the essence of the mblm brand: you shouldn't apologize and you shouldn't have to compromise on being you."

The company's venture into the U.S. marks another milestone in its growth strategy. In the recent year, Penningtons received accolades for its celebrity collaborations with Melissa McCarthy for the Canadian launch of her Seven7 collection, as well as its mblm by Tess Holliday collection. The brand also elevated its body positive movement with the innovative iwontcompromise campaign. Consisting of a series of YouTube videos, the campaign went viral, garnered over 19 million views and received several notable industry awards.

The mblm by Tess Holliday collection is currently available at Penningtons stores across Canada and online at Penningtons.com. The brand will also be sold online at, Macys.com, Nordstrom.com, LordandTaylor.com and select Lord & Taylor stores in the U.S.

About Penningtons

The Penningtons brand stands for fashion without compromise. The company strives to empower women to embrace fashion as a form of self-celebration. Inspired by current trends, designed with fit expertise and paired with unparalleled value, Penningtons believes in the art of affordable fashion. With 135 stores and over 65 years in the business, Penningtons has become the #1 fashion destination for plus-size women across Canada.

Contacts:

Tuti Do

Rev Communications

514-331-8837

tdo@revcommunications.com




SAN FRANCISCO, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The globalmining chemicals marketis expected to reach USD 38.01 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Positive mining industry outlook in India, China, Australia, Peru, and Chile is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. The presence of abundant raw materials including rare earth metals in China, Russia, Australia, Thailand, and the U.S. is expected to facilitate exploration activities, thus propelling demand for the product.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 )



Australia has the third largest rare earth metal reserves in the world. In Russia, companies have been investing increasingly in the development of new extraction techniques to recover uranium. These factors are likely to have a positive impact on growth. Decrease in ore quality of zinc, lead, copper, and nickel is expected to promote utilization of sophisticated technologies requiring frothers, flocculants, grinding aids, and solvent extractants.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Mining Chemicals Market Analysis By Product (Frothers, Flocculants, Collectors, Solvent Extractants, Grinding Aids), By Application (Mining Processing, Explosives & Drilling, Water & Wastewater Treatment) And Segment Forecasts To 2024" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/mining-chemicals-market

Further key findings from the report suggest:

Grinding aids dominated the global market accounting for over 40.0% of the global market share in 2015. Grinding aids help in improvement of the extraction process and requires low maintenance. In addition, utilization of grinding aids for the mining process reduces pollution and other harmful effects on the environment. Increasing concerns regarding the cost of grinding the minerals are expected to propel utilization of grinding aids over the forecast period.

Explosives & Drilling application dominated the market in 2015 and is projected to be the fastest growing segment owing to rapid depletion of shallow surface reserves which has led to the requirement of deep surface mining activities. Moreover, mining chemicals are also utilized for the efficient breaking of rocks during mining, thereby reducing cost and saving time during mineral processing.

Asia Pacific accounted for over 40.0% market share in 2015 and is projected to witness the fastest growth on account of the rapid industrial development and increasing focus on sustainability. Market players have been investing increasingly in the mining industry in the region which is expected to have a positive impact on demand for mining chemicals.

accounted for over 40.0% market share in 2015 and is projected to witness the fastest growth on account of the rapid industrial development and increasing focus on sustainability. Market players have been investing increasingly in the mining industry in the region which is expected to have a positive impact on demand for mining chemicals. In June 2013 , BASF established its new R&D laboratory in Johannesburg , to develop new mining chemicals and product differentiation. High raw material cost coupled with high logistic cost is expected to restrain entry of new players in the industry. High capital cost is also expected to be a major restraint for the manufacturers. In addition, stringent government regulations to reduce environmental pollution are expected to have an adverse impact on the market players over the next eight years.

Grand View Research has segmented the global mining chemicals market on the basis of product, application, and region:

Global Mining Chemicals Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Frothers Flocculants Collectors Solvent Extractants Grinding Aids Others

Global Mining Chemicals Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Mineral Processing Explosives & Drilling Water & Wastewater Treatment Others

Global Mining Chemicals Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) North America U.S. Europe Russia Asia Pacific China Latin America Brazil Middle East & Africa



Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Packer Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/packer-market



Pressure Pumping Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/pressure-pumping-market



Completion Equipment Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/completion-equipmen-market



Enhanced Gas Recovery Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/enhanced-gas-recovery-market

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. Thecompany provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

Read Our Blogs - mediafound.org, grandviewresearch.com/blogs/bulk-chemicals

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com



Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Eastmain Resources Inc. (TSX: ER) ("Eastmain" or the "Company") announces staking of the 600 claim (31,600 ha) Lac Clarkie Project ("Clarkie") located immediately east of the Company's flagship Clearwater Project ("Clearwater") which hosts the Eau Claire deposit (SEE FIGURE 1: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/er0811fig1.pdf). The Clearwater and Clarkie claims cover a combined total of 51,614 ha of prospective greenstone belt in the Eastmain/Opinaca district of James Bay, Quebec.

Claude Lemasson, Eastmain President and CEO commented, "These new claims represent a 30% increase to our total land package to 137,665 ha in the highly prospective James Bay gold district. We intend to begin exploration work immediately, beginning with airborne geophysical and LIDAR surveys, followed by prospecting."

He continued, "James Bay is a rich, new and accessible gold district since the establishment of Plan Nord and the launch of Goldcorp's Eleonore Mine in 2014. Spurred by important new discoveries and intensified exploration, we continue to see compelling opportunities for exploration upside in James Bay."

LAC CLARKIE PROJECT GEOLOGY

The 600 new claims are located to the east and contiguous with Clearwater, within the Middle Eastmain Volcanic Belt of the Eastmain Sub-Province and overlain by sedimentary rocks of the Opinaca Sub-Province. Preliminary work in the area has identified two key areas for initial exploration focus:

1. SOUTHERN STRUCTURAL ZONE: This area is underlain by mafic flows of the 3 km by 15 km Natel Formation, representing a possible extension of the Eau Claire host stratigraphy from Clearwater. The Natel formation ranges along a major east-west trending crustal deformation zone which extends through both the Clearwater and Clarkie Projects and is spatially related to the Eau Claire deposit. 2. NORTHERN SEDIMENTARY BASIN: This area is underlain by Opinaca-type Clarkie Formation sedimentary rocks comparable to the host rocks of the Eleonore gold mine. These sediments are hosted in southeast trending 26 km long by 15 km wide basin. Several marker horizons, such as polymictic conglomerates, that have been identified on the eastern shore of Lac Clarkie are also found in the sedimentary rocks located east of the Eleonore gold mine. These are comparable to the Timiskaming conglomerates observed within the Kirkland Lake gold camp and are indicative of a regional structural/stratigraphic break.

2016 WORK PROGRAM

The 2016 fall/winter three-phase work program is defined as:

-- Phase 1: Comprised of LIDAR, airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys; -- Phase 2: Builds on the previous surveys with follow-up prospecting and soil geochemical surveying for target definition; and, -- Phase 3: Upon completion of Phases 1 & 2, detailed mapping is planned to identify priority drilling targets with first phase of drilling to begin in late 2017.

This press release was reviewed and approved by William McGuinty, P. Geo., Eastmain's VP Exploration and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

About Eastmain Resources Inc. (TSX: ER)

Eastmain is a Canadian exploration company with 100% interest in the Eau Claire and Eastmain gold deposits, both of which are located within the James Bay District of Quebec. Clearwater, the Company's core asset and host of the Eau Claire deposit, has superior infrastructure within a favourable jurisdiction and is royalty free. Eastmain also holds a pipeline of exploration projects in this new Canadian mining district, including being a partner in the Eleonore South Joint Venture.

Forward Looking Statements - Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Eastmain, including, but not limited to details and timing of exploration programs of Eastmain currently proposed for 2016, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals and the availability of financing. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Eastmain Resources Inc.

Claude Lemasson

President and CEO

+1 647-347-3765

lemasson@eastmain.com



Eastmain Resources Inc.

Alison Dwoskin

Investor Relations

+1 647-347-3735

dwoskin@eastmain.com




SUDBURY, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Inventus Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: IVS) ("Inventus" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the next steps in the advancement of the Pardo Joint Venture project ("JV" or "Pardo"), located approximately 65km northeast of Sudbury, Ontario. The JV is 64.5% owned and operated by Inventus.

Highlights

The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has granted permission to remove a bulk sample of up to 1,000 tonnes for metallurgical testing. The planned bulk sample will provide vital information about the unique paleo-placer gold mineralization of Pardo.

To better define this undertaking, the rock outcrop at the planned bulk sample location has been channel sampled across its 40m width and individual assays returned values up to 21.9 grams per tonne (gpt) gold, with the weighted average of eleven separate channels returning 2.0 gpt gold over 3.16 meters (m)(approximate true thickness).

Understanding Paleo-Placer Exploration

Paleo-placer gold deposits are ancient placer deposits in which gold bearing river sediments have been solidified into solid rock. The gold particles transported by the ancient river system are typically deposited in pressure shadows behind and below large cobbles and boulders. At Pardo, gold is frequently visible to geologists as they collect samples in high-grade areas.

Gold in this environment is highly uneven in its distribution throughout the mineralized rock. This has been demonstrated repeatedly at Pardo, and is well illustrated by the results of a 2009 drill hole, which intersected a 1cm diameter gold cluster. The half of the drill core that did not contain the cluster did not return any significant gold assay values. As a result of this irregular gold distribution, gold contents are much more reliably estimated when larger samples are analyzed.

Over the past several years very significant gold mineralization in flat lying conglomerate beds has been identified over a laterally extensive area at Pardo. Sampling methods at Pardo have consisted of diamond drilling and channel sampling of surface outcrop where it is exposed. Channel samples have demonstrated consistently higher grades than split drill cores. Core drilling, while critical to define the depth and thickness of the mineralized conglomerates, has not been shown to represent the gold grade from hole to hole in a statistically significant way.

Bulk Sample Location and New Assay Results

The Trench 1 area selected for the bulk sample is in a small hillside where mineralized boulder conglomerate outcrops in such a way that it can be channel sampled near vertically from top to bottom (see Figure 1). One existing diamond drill hole is located within the proposed bulk sample site, that vertical hole encountered 4.7 gpt gold over 2 meters (true thickness). In order to provide greater assurance that the site was indeed suitable for bulk analysis, vertical channel samples 1.5 to 4.5 meters high were cut through the conglomerate unit. The vertical orientation makes them somewhat analogous to drill holes. Eleven channels were cut in the face of the outcrop at 4 meter intervals horizontally, for a total width of 40 meters. Visible gold was detected in nine of the eleven channels samples. Assay results are as follows:

Table 1 - Trench 1 Channel Sample Results

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sampling Composite Channel Length Frequency Gold Assay Gold Assay Trench 1 Channel # (m) (m)(1) (g/t)(1) (g/t)(1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1.50 0.25 4.4 4.0 ------------------------------ 0.50 3.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 2.00 0.25 6.4 5.8 ------------------------------ 0.50 5.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 2.25 0.25 1.3 2.6 ------------------------------ 0.50 3.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 4.50 0.25 1.4 1.3 ------------------------------ 0.50 1.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 4.25 0.25 2.3 2.2 ------------------------------ 0.50 2.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 3.75 0.25 0.8 1.4 ------------------------------ 0.50 2.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 2.25 0.25 2.0 1.4 ------------------------------ 0.50 0.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 3.25 0.25 2.1 2.2 ------------------------------ 0.50 2.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 4.25 0.25 1.6 2.0 ------------------------------ 0.50 2.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 2.75 0.25 1.4 1.5 ------------------------------ 0.50 1.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 4.00 0.25 0.7 0.8 ------------------------------ 0.50 0.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average 3.16 Weighted Average Gold Grade 2.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Two slabs of equal length were cut from each channel, one was assayed at 0.25m intervals and the other at 0.50m intervals for analytical purposes. The Composite Gold Assay is the average of all assays results received over the entire channel length.

Bulk Sampling Procedure and Objectives

Prior to the removal of the bulk sample, a dense grid of diamond core holes and blast holes will be drilled to provide ample statistical data for comparison with bulk sample results. The overall objective of the bulk sample is to determine a statistical relationship between gold values from diamond drill core and surface channel samples, and the actual quantity of gold recoverable from surrounding rock. If successful this will provide essential information for future exploration drilling, calculation of a mineral resource estimate, determination of reasonable mining and processing costs for use in studies.

A secondary objective is to investigate a method to mechanically sort the unmineralized clasts (cobbles and boulders) from the mineralized matrix material of the conglomerates. This is of considerable interest because unmineralized clasts typically comprise the majority of the conglomerate volume and essentially creates internal waste (see Figure 2). If some percentage of this internal waste is removed before processing, the feed grade will increase by an equal percentage. The planned bulk sample will provide adequate material for investigation of commercially available sorting methods.

JEAP Grant

Inventus has been accepted for the Junior Exploration Assistance Program (JEAP), sponsored by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and the Ontario Prospectors Association, which will provide a grant of up to $100,000 for the benefit of Pardo Joint Venture partners.

Operator of the Joint Venture

Inventus wishes to thank Sprott Mining for their valuable contribution to advancing the Pardo project and their continued technical and strategic support. At this time, Inventus will return to the role of operator of the JV with assistance from an interdisciplinary team of consultants and advisors.

Approval of Program

Inventus has completed a program proposal and budget for presentation to the Pardo JV Management Committee. The company looks forward to commencing work before the end of summer.

To view the full press release with figures visit the Inventus Mining website at: www.inventusmining.com/news

About Inventus

Inventus is a mineral exploration company focused on the world class mining district of Sudbury, Ontario. Our principal asset is the Pardo Paleo-placer Gold Project located 65 km northeast of Sudbury. Pardo is the first important paleoplacer gold discovery found in the Americas. Inventus' significant share owners include Rob McEwen, Eric Sprott, Osisko Gold Royalties and management.

Quality Control and Quality Assurance

The Qualified Person responsible for the geological technical content of this news release is Andy Bite, P.Geo., who has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of the Company.

The Company cautions that grab samples are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralized zone being sampled. The samples were transported in security sealed bags for preparation and assay at Act Labs located in Sudbury, Ontario. Activation Laboratories Ltd. is an ISO 17025 registered laboratory. The samples reported were crushed in their entirety, with a 1kg split then pulverized. One 50 g aliquot of the pulp was cut out and fire assayed. In instances where the sample exceeds 3 g/t, the sample is re-run with a gravimetric finish and the gravimetric result is reported. The Company inserts a certified reference standard or an analytical blank in every batch of 20 samples. Validation parameters are established in the database to ensure quality control.

Forward-looking Information

Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Corporation's filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Corporation does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, save and except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Inventus Mining Corp.

Wayne Whymark

Chairman and CEO

(416) 792-1508

info@inventusmining.com




Copenhagen, 2016-08-11 12:35 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Announcement no. 46DFDS expects to publish the report for Q2 2016 on 18 August 2016 at around 08:00AM CET.CEO Niels Smedegaard and CFO Torben Carlsen will present the report on a live confer-ence call.The presentation in English will be followed by a Q&A session. Investors, analysts and other interested parties are invited to take part.Date: 18 August 2016Time: 10.30AM CETTelephone: DK +45 70223500US +1 646 722 4972UK +44 20 75721187Access code: 21271958#If you wish to take part in the audio conference, please dial up at least five minutes before the conference begins. It will start on time, and participants will be asked to register name and company name beforehand.The conference will be broadcast live on www.dfdsgroup.com and published there for future reference.Contact:Torben Carlsen, CFO +45 33 42 32 01Sren Brndholt Nielsen, IR +45 33 42 33 59Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=581420

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Croatia's producer prices declined at a steady pace in July, figures from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. The producer price index fell 5.5 percent year-over-year in July, the same rate of decrease as in the previous month. Prices have been falling since March 2013. Domestic market producer prices dropped 0.7 percent annually in July and prices in the foreign market went down by 5.6 percent. On a monthly basis, producer prices slid 0.8 percent from June, when it rose by 0.9 percent. It was the first decline in three months. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Sonasoft Corp. (OTC PINK: SSFT), a leader in on-premise and cloud eDiscovery software and email archiving solutions, announced its financial results for its second quarter (Q2) in fiscal year 2016. Sonasoft Corp booked quarterly revenue of $210,000 in Q2 2016, which is a gain of 50 percent over last year's second quarter (Q2 2015) revenue of $140,000. During the first six months of 2016, Sonasoft's revenue growth was 28 percent compared to the same period of 2015.

"Sonasoft has now grown organically for the past several quarters", said Andy Khanna, President and CEO of Sonasoft. "Sonasoft also reached several milestones in Q2. We added Outlook-like folder structure views to our SonaVault Email Archiving and eDiscovery Software Solution. This innovative feature allows end users to view their archived email in the same folder structure as their Microsoft Outlook folders. The market is expected to respond favorably to this and other enhancements. Sonasoft also entered into a partnership with Inrgam Micro, the world's largest distributor of computer and technology products and services, to distribute SonaVault On-premise Email Archiving and eDiscovery Solution. Our next-generation cloud-based archiving and eDiscovery solution is near ready for release. SonaCloud 2.0 will be the industry's first customizable platform that can be hosted in the cloud, on-premise as a private cloud, or as a hybrid solution. From these initiatives, Sonasoft has confidence that it is likely able to continue this growth in the quarters ahead."

To be updated of Sonasoft Corp's (SSFT) finances on OTC Markets:

http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/SSFT/quote

To obtain a no-cost professional evaluation and learn more about SonaVault Email Archiving and eDiscovery Software solutions:

http://www.sonasoft.com/products/sonavault-email-archiving-software/

About Sonasoft

Sonasoft Corporation is a publicly traded corporation and is listed on the OTC Markets with the trading symbol SSFT. Sonasoft's core business model includes enterprise-class email archiving, eDiscovery, and business continuity software solutions for Microsoft Business Applications on Microsoft Windows platforms. Sonasoft's signature products for eDiscovery tools, which include SonaVault Email Archiving and eDiscovery Software, as well as SonaVault Email Archiving Appliances, deliver affordable enterprise-level functionality that exceeds compliance and ease-of-use requirements of small and medium-sized businesses, governments, school districts, organizations, and enterprises. Sonasoft recently expanded its product offering to include email archiving in the cloud as well as data export and migration services for competing archiving solutions. Sonasoft email archiving and eDiscovery solutions have hundreds of deployments with an exceptionally high degree of customer satisfaction. Founded in 2003, the company is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) the Company's financing plans; (ii) trends affecting the Company's financial condition or results of operations; (iii) the Company's growth strategy and operating strategy; and (iv) the declaration and payment of dividends. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.

For more information about Sonasoft's email archiving solutions and business continuity software, contact:

Andy Khanna

President and CEO

Sonasoft Corporation

Phone: (408) 708-4000




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Lithium Americas Corp. (the "Company" or "LAC") (TSX: LAC)(OTCQX: LACDF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Myron Manternach as Executive Vice President, Finance and Corporate Development, effective immediately.

Mr. Manternach has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and investment management. He worked as an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and as an analyst and manager of global alternative investment funds with significant experience in natural resources and emerging market credit and equity. Most recently he was a Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager of Ambac Assurance Corp., a subsidiary of Ambac Financial Group. He is chairman of Wellgreen Platinum Ltd. and was previously a director of Lithium Americas Corp. prior to its merger with Western Lithium. Mr. Manternach holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering with distinction from Iowa State University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

In March of this year, Lithium Americas announced a joint venture to develop the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in the Jujuy province of Argentina with Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. ("SQM"). Discussions with financial advisors and a wide range of potential investors have commenced and various financing paths are being explored. Among other duties, Mr. Manternach is expected to represent LAC in these upcoming financing discussions.

Tom Hodgson, Chief Executive Officer of LAC, commented. "We welcome Myron to the senior executive team at LAC. We have known Myron for years, and his skill set, experience and network of global relationships is perfectly suited to make an immediate contribution to our JV team on financing related matters. The Cauchari project is on the eve of representing significant employment and investment into the province of Jujuy that will benefit the province for generations, and Myron's appointment is an important commitment to that effort."

About the Company

The Company is developing the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project, located in Jujuy province, Argentina, and the Lithium Nevada project (formerly Kings Valley project) in Nevada, USA, with the intent to become a major supplier of lithium products. In addition, Lithium Americas is a supplier of specialty drilling additives, Hectatone and other organoclay products for the oil and gas and other industries.

Forward-looking statements

Statements in this release that are forward-looking information are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in the company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this document, the words such as "explore," "believe", "intent" and similar expressions is forward-looking information. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information.

All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Lithium Americas management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include those described under the heading "Risks Factors" in the Lithium America's most recently filed Annual Information Form. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.

Contacts:

Lithium Americas Corp.

Investor Relations

778-656-5820

ir@lithiumamericas.com



Lithium Americas Corp.

Suite 1100 - 355 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC, V6C 2G8

www.lithiumamericas.com




DRUMMONDVILLE, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- NAPEC Inc. ("NAPEC" or "the Corporation") (TSX: NPC) reported its results today for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial highlights Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, (in thousands of dollars, except the number of shares and per-share data) 2016 2015 2016 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues 77,779 82,077 170,412 140,900 EBITDA 4,835 5,111 11,400 6,820 Net earnings (loss) (897) 829 (1,273) (302) Per share - basic and diluted ($) (0.01) 0.01 (0.02) 0.00 Weighted average number of outstanding shares (basic, in thousands) 79,866 74,311 79,866 72,922 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The second quarter results reflect a temporary decline in activity in some markets. In addition, our Ontario operations recorded an operating loss, but we are continuing to make the corrective actions required to improve profitability in the shortest time frame possible. NAPEC, however, remains very active in terms of bidding, as demonstrated by the recent announcement of new contract awards", said Pierre L. Gauthier, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAPEC.

SECOND-QUARTER RESULTS

Revenues for the second quarter of 2016 were $77.8 million, compared to $82.1 million a year ago. This variation was mainly driven by a decline in revenues from mechanical projects, as well as a reduction in revenues from contracts for the construction, maintenance and repair of transmission and distribution lines. However, the Corporation posted higher revenues from road matting services following the acquisition of Bemis, LLC ("Bemis") in October 2015. Fluctuations in the exchange value of the Canadian dollar increased the value of U.S.-dollar-denominated revenues by approximately $2.6 million during the second quarter of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015.

The lower business volume and the operating loss in Ontario resulted in a decline in the Corporation's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA"). EBITDA for the second quarter of 2016 was $4.8 million, or 6.2% of revenues, compared to $5.1 million, or 6.2% of revenues for the corresponding period a year earlier.

The Corporation ended the second quarter of 2016 with a net loss of $897,000, or $0.01 per share, basic and diluted, compared to net earnings of $829,000, or $0.01 per share, basic and diluted, a year earlier. The net loss reflects increases in depreciation arising from important capital investments made to support growth, and in the amortization of intangible assets related to the acquisition of Bemis.

SIX-MONTH RESULTS

Revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2016 were $170.4 million, up from $140.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015. EDITDA was $11.4 million, or 6.7% of revenues, up from $6.8 million, or 4.8% of revenues, a year earlier. The net loss amounted to $1.3 million or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of $302,000, or $0.00 per basic and diluted share, a year earlier.

FINANCIAL POSITION

As at June 30, 2016, the long-term debt including the current portion was $59.5 million, versus $60.3 million three months earlier. The ratio of long-term debt to equity was 0.60, unchanged from the end of the previous quarter. At June 30, 2016, the Corporation had a cash balance of $3.6 million, while an amount of $16.6 million was available on its $40.0 million authorized renewable credit facility.

STRONG BACKLOG

As at June 30, 2016, NAPEC's backlog stood at $417.0 million. This amount excludes approximately $29.0 million of the total $67.1 million in contracts announced in a press release dated August 4, 2016.

OUTLOOK

"In the short term, the recent contract awards will have a significant impact on our results for the second half of this year. In the longer term, NAPEC will continue to rigorously implement its strategic plan to capture business opportunities and stimulate cross-selling across our network. We will also remain on the lookout for acquisitions that would enhance our geographical coverage and expertise", concluded Mr. Gauthier.

NON-IFRS MEASURE

EBITDA does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and is therefore considered to be a non-IFRS measure. It is therefore not necessarily comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. This measure is presented and described in this release in order to provide additional information regarding the Corporation's liquidity and its ability to generate funds to finance its operations.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of factors and include risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from forecast results. Management assumes no obligation beyond what is required under the law to update or revise forward-looking statements pursuant to new information or future events.

OVERVIEW OF THE CORPORATION

NAPEC is a company operating in the energy sector. The Corporation is a leading provider of construction and maintenance services to the public utility and heavy industrial markets, mainly in Quebec, Ontario, and the eastern United States. NAPEC and its subsidiaries build and maintain electrical transmission and distribution systems and natural gas networks. The Corporation also installs gas-powered and electric-powered heavy equipment for utilities, gas-fired industrial power plants and petrochemical facilities in North America. The Corporation also offers environmental construction and road matting services.

Additional information on NAPEC can be found in the SEDAR database (www.sedar.com) and on the Corporation's website, at www.napec.ca.

Contacts:

Source:

NAPEC Inc.



Contacts:

Pierre L. Gauthier

President and Chief Executive Officer

819-479-7771

p.gauthier@napec.ca



Mario Trahan, CPA, CMA

Chief Financial Officer

819-479-7771

m.trahan@napec.ca



MaisonBrison

Martin Goulet, CFA

514-731-0000

martin@maisonbrison.com






BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar drifted higher against its major opponents in European deals on Thursday, as traders await U.S. data on export and import prices and weekly jobless claims due later in the day, for more indications about the strength of the economy.



Data from the Labor Department is forecast to show that the first time claims for unemployment benefits may have fallen slightly to 265,000 in the week ended August 6, from 269,000 in previous week.



The U.S. import and export price indices are also due from the same department at 8:30 am ET. The index is expected to fall by 0.4 percent on month, reversing a 0.2 percent uptick in June.



U.S. treasury yields also rose, with the yield on the benchmark 2-year note rising 0.70 percent, while that of the 10-year equivalent was up by 1.52 percent.



Investors await U.S. retail sales, producer prices and the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment survey on Friday to gauge the likelihood of the potential rate hike by the Federal Reserve.



The greenback showed mixed trading in the Asian session. While the currency rose against the yen and the pound, it declined against the franc and the euro.



The greenback appreciated 0.7 percent to hit more than a 4-week high of 1.2936 against the pound, from a low of 1.3027 hit at 10:00 pm ET. The greenback is likely to challenge resistance around the 1.28 mark.



The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed that the U.K. housing activity slowed in July following the Brexit vote, with an index score of +5.



That missed forecasts for +6 and was down sharply from +15 in June to rest at a 39-month low.



The greenback reversed from an early 8-day low of 1.1191 against the euro, edging higher to 1.1137. If the greenback extends rise, it may find resistance around the 1.05 region.



The greenback, having fallen to a 6-day low of 0.9734 versus the franc at 7:00 pm ET, reversed direction and rose to 0.9766. On the upside, 1.05 is possibly seen as the next resistance level for the greenback-franc pair.



The greenback resumed gains against the Japanese yen with the pair trading at 101.46, up from a low of 101.01 hit early in the Asian session. The greenback is seen finding resistance around the 104.00 mark.



Apart from the U.S. data, Canada new housing price index for June is due to be released in the New York session.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Growth momentum in the biggest euro area economy slowed in the second quarter, while external economic risks increased mainly due to 'Brexit', the German Economy Ministry said Friday. Germany's growth remains robust and was expected to slow in the second quarter after a strong 0.7 percent expansion in the first three months of the year, thanks to the boost to construction from the mild winter, the ministry said in its monthly report. The Destatis is set to release the preliminary figures for second quarter growth on Friday. However, the spring revival in the construction activity was less pronounced and acted as a drag on overall economic growth, the report added. Employment creation continued, mainly in the services sector. Exports and consumer spending were also less marked in the second quarter. That said, the surprise 'Brexit' vote did not hurt the business climate much and the German economy is in good shape and always managed to adapt to new situations due to its geographically diversified exports, the ministry said. German export growth is likely to be moderate in the coming months due to the difficult global environment, the report said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TORONTO, CANADA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Eurocontrol Technics Group Inc. (TSX VENTURE: EUO)(OTCQB: EUCTF) ("Eurocontrol" or the "Company"), a Canadian public company specializing in the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative authentication, verification and certification technologies, is pleased to announce that the Company's shares have been approved to trade on the OTCQB Venture Market, under the symbol EUCTF.

Trading the Company's shares on OTCQB provides a dealer market for Eurocontrol shares and easy access to continuous disclosure documents giving investors in the United States greater access to invest in the Company's shares. The OTCQB Market provides trading for close to 900 US and international companies through its SEC-registered OTC Link ATS, which features over 110 broker-dealers. Quotes for Eurocontrol's US symbol are available directly at http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/EUCTF/quote.

The Company's shares will continue to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol EUO.

Bruce Rowlands, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Given the increased volume of trading that occurred this past year on the Pink Open Market, we decided to make a formal application to OTCQB to upgrade our disclosure and facilitate ease of trading in Eurocontrol shares for US investors. We are pleased to have been accepted to trade on the OTCQB Venture Market which we believe will increase Eurocontrol's exposure to US retail and institutional investors, increasing liquidity for existing and new shareholders."

About Eurocontrol Technics Group Inc.

Eurocontrol is a TSX Venture and OTCQB traded company that specializes in the acquisition, development and commercialization of innovative authentication, verification and certification technologies. Eurocontrol has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Xenemetrix Ltd. and XwinSys Technology Development Ltd. and an agreement with SICPA S.A. for earn-out payments of 5% (minimum $9 million) on revenues generated from the oil and gas marking and monitoring field relating to the sale of its former subsidiary Global Fluids International (GFI) S.A. Xenemetrix is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of ED-XRF systems, a technology that is the most accurate and economic method for determining the chemical composition of many types of materials, including the analysis of petroleum oils and fuel. Xenemetrix has an exclusive long-term supply, maintenance and support agreement with SICPA/GFI to supply SICPA/GFI with Xenemetrix products and services related to the oil and gas marking and monitoring field. XwinSys is in the final stage of developing a fully automated metrology system for the semiconductor industry that combines 2D and 3D image processing technology with Xenemetrix's ED-XRF technology.

For further information on Eurocontrol, please visit the Company's website at www.eurocontrol.ca

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Contacts:

Eurocontrol Technics Group Inc.

Bruce Rowlands

Chairman and CEO

(416) 361-2809

browlands@eurocontrol.ca.




KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN), and Lars-Eric Johansson, Chief Executive Officer, today announced assay results from an additional eight holes of the ongoing 2016 drilling campaign at the Kakula Discovery on the company's Tier One Kamoa Copper Project, near the mining centre of Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"Earlier discoveries already have established Kamoa as the world's largest, undeveloped, high-grade copper discovery," said Mr. Friedland.

"Now, our latest drilling results indicate that Kakula, in the southern portion of the Kamoa Project, could prove to be Africa's most significant copper discovery."

The Kamoa Project became a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining in December 2015.

"In 2003, Ivanhoe's geologists started our initial exploration program at Kamoa, which at the time was nothing more than an unknown grass-roots prospect generated by our geological team and covered with a thin layer of Kalahari sand, sitting in a previously unrecognized district within the Central African Copperbelt," said Mr. Friedland.

"We made our initial significant discovery at Kamoa in 2008. The quest, which by 2013 showed that Kamoa is the world's largest, undeveloped, high-grade copper discovery, took more than 12 years of dogged exploration, dedicated geological and geotechnical expertise and a total investment of several hundred million dollars."

Mr. Friedland added: "Our perseverance and eventual success in unlocking Kamoa's world-scale potential was recognized by the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada in March 2015 with the presentation of the prestigious Thayer Lindsley International Discovery Award to key members of the Ivanhoe Mines exploration team.

"However, given the remarkable exploration success we have had to date at the Kakula Discovery, as it has been progressively revealed during the past year, we believe that this new copper discovery is substantially richer, thicker and more consistent than other mineralization that we have found elsewhere on the Kamoa Project. The results speak volumes: The Kakula Discovery is a complete game changer in our planning for the development of the Kamoa Project."

The DRC government holds a 5%, non-dilutable interest in the Kamoa Project, which was transferred to the government in 2012 in accordance with the DRC Mining Code. Ivanhoe also has offered to transfer an additional 15% interest to the DRC government on terms to be negotiated.

Mr. Johansson said constructive and cordial negotiations between Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining and senior DRC government officials are continuing on this matter and Ivanhoe expects a mutually beneficial agreement to be achieved in the near future that will provide long-lasting, positive benefits to the DRC government and the Congolese people.

Development of initial mine at Kamoa progressing ahead of plan

Mr. Johansson also noted that underground mine development at Kamoa's planned initial mining area at Kansoko Sud is progressing ahead of plan and within budgeted costs. The twin declines, incorporating both a service and a conveyor tunnel, each have advanced more than 130 metres since the first excavation blast occurred in May of this year. Development of the underground mine is designed to reach the high-grade copper mineralization at the Kansoko Sud deposit during the first quarter of 2017.

The planned Kansoko Sud initial mining footprint contains high-grade intercepts of up to 7.04% copper and a potential mining thickness of more than 15 metres. The mineralized horizon is expected to be intersected by the declines at approximately 150 metres vertically below surface, where initial mining operations will commence. Byrnecut Underground Congo SARL is the contractor for the development of the declines.

Independent Mineral Resource estimate for the Kakula Discovery expected around the end of Q3 2016

The primary objective of the current drilling program at Kakula is to confirm and expand a thick, flat-lying, bottom-loaded zone of very high-grade, stratabound copper mineralization at the southern part of the Kakula Discovery area (see Figure 1) that has the potential to be amenable to bulk, mechanized mining and have a significant, positive impact on the Kamoa Project's future development plans. Ivanhoe expects to have an initial independent Mineral Resource estimate prepared for the Kakula Discovery around the end of Q3 2016.

Highlights of the latest drill results, which confirm the exceptional grades and shallow, flat-lying geometry of the Kakula mineralized zone, include:

-- DD1005 intersected 7.36 metres (true width) of 8.11% copper at a 2.5% copper cut-off, 10.13 metres (true width) of 6.52% copper at a 2% copper cut-off and 20.71 metres (true width) of 3.85% copper at a 1% copper cut-off. -- DD1011 intersected 6.78 metres (true width) of 7.52% copper at a 2.5% copper cut-off, 11.01 metres (true width) of 5.47% copper at a 2% copper cut-off and 15.20 metres (true width) of 4.40% copper at a 1% copper cut-off. -- DD1012 intersected 7.63 metres (true width) of 7.90% copper at a 2.5% copper cut-off, 13.76 metres (true width) of 5.36% copper at a 2% copper cut-off and 25.17 metres (true width) of 3.59% copper at a 1% copper cut-off. -- DD1017 intersected 10.31 metres (true width) of 6.92% copper at a 2.5% copper cut-off, 10.31 metres (true width) of 6.92% copper at a 2% copper cut-off and 12.35 metres (true width) of 6.04% copper at a 1% copper cut-off.

Figure 1. Kamoa Project map shows the planned initial mining area at Kansoko Sud and the nearby Kakula exploration and discovery area: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig1.jpg

Holes DD1011 and DD1017 are of particular importance, representing substantial step outs to the southeast and northwest, respectively (see Figure 2 legend and plan). Both holes intersected significant, bottom-loaded, Kakula-style mineralization and have expanded the high-grade core area of the Kakula target to at least two kilometres in length.

A full listing of additional drilling results is contained in Table 1, while hole locations are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Kakula Discovery Area. Drill-hole location plan for the Kakula Area shows holes completed and in progress, superimposed on 1% composite grade thickness contours: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig2.jpg

New drilling leads to a substantial expansion of the Kakula Discovery

In addition to the eight new holes for which assays were received, as shown in Table 1, Ivanhoe has completed an additional 28 holes in the Kakula Discovery area that are being processed and for which final assays are pending. Holes pending results include both infill and expansion drilling. The list of holes completed is shown in Table 2 and hole locations are shown in Figure 2.

Expansion drilling along the axis of this central high-grade core continues to intersect characteristic, bottom-loaded, chalcocite (nearly 80% copper by weight) mineralization associated with the basal siltstone layer. Significant step-out holes have been drilled in both directions along the axis and holes pending results are mentioned below. Ivanhoe cautions that the reporting of this visual mineralization does not confirm the extension of the high-grade zone; however, the presence of a similar style of mineralization as seen in other holes with high-grade assays is considered significant.

Drill hole DD1041 (assays pending) intersected a zone of well-mineralized diamictite between 611 metres and 617.153 metres below surface, before intersecting a zone of chalcocite-rich siltstone between 617.13 metres and 620.15 metres below surface (see Figure 3, below). This hole is located 550 metres southeast of the known high-grade zone at Kakula (southeast of hole DD1011).

Figure 3. Massive chalcocite mineralization at a depth of 619 metres in hole DD1041: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig3.jpg

Hole DD1045 (assays pending) was drilled 550 metres northwest of DD1017 (10.31 metres of 6.92% copper at a 2.5% copper cut-off) and 420 metres south of DD930 (3.0 metres of 4.2% copper, at a 2.5% copper cut-off). DD1045 intersected a highly mineralized Kakula siltstone from 509.35 to 515.76 metres downhole, before passing through mineralized, clast-rich diamictite, then entering the footwall Mwashia sandstone at 518.09 metres downhole. The highest copper grades at Kakula typically are associated with the siltstone unit above the top of the Mwashia sandstone contact.

The combination of step-out holes DD1041 and DD1045 potentially extends the footprint of the well-mineralized Kakula Discovery zone to more than 3.1 kilometres in length.

Figure 4. Intense chalcocite mineralization in siltstone layer at a depth of 511.6 metres in hole DD1045: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig4.jpg

Game-changing drill results lead to an expansion of the Kakula drilling program

As a result of the ongoing success of the Kakula program and the extension along trend of the central, well-mineralized, chalcocite-rich core to the northwest and southeast at relatively shallow depths, the Kakula drilling program has been expanded by an additional 9,000 metres, to a total of 34,000 metres of exploration drilling. As the full extent of the discovery becomes apparent, further expansions to the program will be accelerated. To help advance the ongoing exploration and delineation of the Kakula deposit, the Kamoa technical team is proceeding with the engineering and preparation of tender documents for the construction of a box cut at Kakula to accommodate decline ramps that will provide underground access to the deposit.

"To date, the deposit has grown with virtually every step-out hole we have drilled," said Louis Watum, Kamoa Copper's General Manager. "In a country known for its high-grade copper deposits, Kakula is quickly establishing itself as the exceptional discovery."

The 60-square-kilometre Kakula exploration area is approximately 10 kilometres southwest of the Kamoa Project's planned initial mining area at Kansoko Sud now being developed.

Kakula-style mineralization - consistently bottom-loaded and chalcocite dominant

The recent results support findings that mineralization at Kakula is consistently bottom-loaded, with grades increasing downhole toward the contact between the host Grand Conglomerate and the underlying Mwashia sandstone. The highest copper grades are associated with a siltstone/sandstone unit occurring within the Grand Conglomerate, located approximately one metre above the top of the Mwashia sandstone unit (see figures 10-13 for cross-sections across the Kakula Discovery area).

Mineralization displays vertical mineral zonation from chalcopyrite to bornite to chalcocite, with the highest grades associated with the siltstone unit consistently characterized by chalcocite-dominant mineralization (see Figure 5 for three schematic strip logs showing typical, Kakula-style mineralization).

"Kakula's combination of thick intersections of very high-grade copper mineralization and the bottom-loading of the grade profile allows for the testing of a number of potential mining scenarios at different cut-offs," said Mr. Johansson.

Figure 5. Strip logs of holes DD1011, 1017 and 997, showing typical, Kakula-style mineralization: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig5.pdf

The consistent nature of Kakula mineralization supports the creation of selective, mineralized zones at cut-offs up to 2.5% and 3.0% copper. The recent assay results are shown at various cut-offs in Table 1, while the accumulations of copper and thicknesses of mineralized intercepts at 1%, 2.5% and 3.0% cut-offs are shown in figures 7, 8 and 9.

In parallel with the Kamoa 2016 pre-feasibility study, an alternative mining method - controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining, developed by Poland-based KGHM - was investigated for its suitability for use on the Kamoa Kansoko deposits. The method has been successfully implemented by KGHM at its copper mining operations in Poland for the past 20 years. Given the thick, mineralized widths encountered to date in the Kakula drilling program, controlled-convergence room-and-pillar mining also will be investigated for its suitability for use at Kakula.

Figure 6. A 17-tonne loader in operation at an approximate six-metre-high, underground room-and-pillar potash mine in Canada (for illustration purposes only). Kamoa's Kansoko Sud and Kakula deposits are expected to use similar underground mining methods and equipment: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig6.jpg

Figure 7. Recent assay results at a 1% copper cut-off: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig7.jpg

Figure 8. Recent assay results at a 2.5% copper cut-off: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig8.jpg

Figure 9. Recent assay results at a 3% copper cut-off: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig9.jpg

Figure 10. Cross-section A-A' of Kakula Discovery area, showing true thicknesses of drill intercepts at a 2.5% copper cut-off: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig10.jpg

Figure 11. Cross-section A-A' of Kakula Discovery area, showing true thicknesses of drill intercepts at a 3.0% copper cut-off: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig11.jpg

Figure 12. Cross-section B-B' of Kakula Discovery area, showing true thicknesses of drill intercepts at a 2.5% copper cut-off: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig12.jpg

Figure 13. Cross-section B-B' of Kakula Discovery area, showing true thicknesses of drill intercepts at a 3.0% copper cut-off: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_fig13.jpg

Table 1. Assay composites from newly released Kakula drill holes at various copper cut-offs: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_tab1.pdf

Table 2. Collars of completed drill holes: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1065612_tab2.pdf

Kamoa Copper Project description

The Kamoa Copper Project, a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd., is a very large, stratiform copper deposit with adjacent prospective exploration areas within the Central African Copperbelt, approximately 25 kilometres west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 kilometres west of Lubumbashi. The Kamoa mining licence covers approximately 400 square kilometres.

In 2015, Ivanhoe sold a 49.5% share interest in Kamoa Holding Limited, the company that presently owns 95% of the Kamoa Project on an indirect basis, to Zijin Mining for an aggregate cash consideration of US$412 million. In addition, Ivanhoe sold a 1% share interest in Kamoa Holding to privately-owned Crystal River Global Limited for US$8.32 million, which Crystal River will pay through a non-interest-bearing, 10-year promissory note.

Kamoa is the world's largest, undeveloped, high-grade copper deposit. On February 23, 2016, an updated Mineral Resource estimate was issued for the Kamoa Project, with an effective date of May 5, 2014. Kamoa's Indicated Mineral Resources presently total 752 million tonnes grading 2.67% copper and containing 44.3 billion pounds of copper at a 1% copper cut-off grade and minimum thickness of three metres. In addition to the Indicated Resources, the updated estimate included Inferred Mineral Resources of 185 million tonnes grading 2.08% copper and containing 8.5 billion pounds of copper, also at a 1.0% copper cut-off grade and a minimum thickness of three metres.

Qualified Person and Quality Control and Assurance

The scientific and technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Stephen Torr, P.Geo., Ivanhoe Mines' Vice President, Project Geology and Evaluation, and a Qualified Person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Torr has verified the technical data disclosed in this news release.

Ivanhoe Mines maintains a comprehensive chain of custody and QA-QC program on assays from its Kamoa Project. Half-sawn core is processed at Kamoa's on-site preparation laboratory and prepared samples then are shipped by secure courier to Bureau Veritas Minerals (BVM) Laboratories in Australia, an ISO17025-accredited facility. Copper assays are determined at BVM by mixed-acid digestion with ICP finish. Industry-standard certified reference materials and blanks are inserted into the sample stream prior to dispatch to BVM. For detailed information about assay methods and data verification measures used to support the scientific and technical information, please refer to the current technical report on the Kamoa Copper Project on the SEDAR profile of Ivanhoe Mines at www.sedar.com.

About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines is advancing and developing its three principal projects in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Platreef platinum-palladium-gold-nickel-copper discovery in South Africa; and the Kamoa copper discovery and the high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-lead-germanium mine in the DRC. For details, visit www.ivanhoemines.com.

Cautionary statement on forward-looking information

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including without limitation, the timing and results of: (1) statements regarding Ivanhoe's discovery of what could prove to be Africa's most significant copper discovery at Kakula; (2) statements regarding Ivanhoe's belief that Kakula's copper discovery is substantially richer, thicker and more consistent than other mineralization found elsewhere on the Kamoa Project; (3) statements regarding the Kakula Discovery being a game changer in the planning for the development of the Kamoa Project; (4) statements regarding the expectation to have an initial independent Mineral Resource estimate prepared for the Kakula Discovery around the end of Q3 2016; (5) statements regarding the primary objective of the current drilling program is to confirm and expand a thick, flat-lying, bottom-loaded zone of very high-grade copper mineralization at the southern part of the Kakula Discovery area that has the potential to have a significant, positive impact on the Kamoa Project's future development plans; (6) statements regarding the planned expansion of the Kakula drilling program to 34,000 metres of drilling; (7) statements regarding the high-grade Kakula zone remains open to the southeast and northwest; (8) statements regarding the development of the twin declines at Kamoa and the expectation that development will reach the high-grade copper mineralization during the first quarter of 2017; (9) statements regarding the expectation that the mineralized horizon at Kansoko Sud is to be intersected by the declines at approximately 150 metres vertically below surface and the expectation that initial mining operations will commence in this location; (10) statements regarding the planned Kansoko Sud initial mining footprint contains potential mining thickness of more than 15 metres; (11) and statements regarding the timing and terms of transfer of an additional 15% interest in the Kamoa Project to the DRC government. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.

All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Ivanhoe Mines' management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believe are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements including, but not limited to, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure, or delays in the development of infrastructure, and the failure of exploration programs or other studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued studies, development or operations. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements also include those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the company's most recently filed MD&A as well as in the most recent Annual Information Form filed by Ivanhoe Mines. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information and statements, and the risks that could cause the actual results to differ materially are set forth in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the company's most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis report and Annual Information Form, available at www.sedar.com.

This news release also contains references to estimates of Mineral Resources. The estimation of Mineral Resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant factors. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering and geological interpretation, which may prove to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of drilling results and statistical inferences that may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Mineral Resource estimates may have to be re-estimated based on, among other things: (i) fluctuations in platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium, copper, nickel or other mineral prices; (ii) results of drilling; (iii) results of metallurgical testing and other studies; (iv) changes to proposed mining operations, including dilution; (v) the evaluation of mine plans subsequent to the date of any estimates; and (vi) the possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and licences.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.

Contacts:

Investors

Bill Trenaman

+1.604.331.9834



Media

North America:

Bob Williamson

+1.604.512.4856



South Africa:

Jeremy Michaels

+27.82.939.4812




Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) announced today it was awarded a contract to expand the Novartis Pharma S.A.S. Biotechnology Center in Huningue, France.

Under the terms of the agreement, Jacobs is providing engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services to increase the site's production capacity by 70 percent and create a second line of purification that allows for multiple drugs to be manufactured simultaneously.

Already one of the world's largest production facilities for monoclonal antibodies from mammalian cells, the expansion project adds cell culture bioreactors to the site.

Jacobs' services are being led from its operations in Milan, Italy.

In making the announcement, Jacobs Senior Vice President Life Sciences Robert Norfleet stated, "We look forward to partnering with Novartis on the expansion of its Huningue site. We're proud to have this opportunity to draw on our extensive global EPCM expertise for a project that can help Novartis improve the lives of people who depend on its treatments."

The $100 million expansion project is scheduled to be completed in four years.

Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organizations globally. The company employs 60,000 people and operates in more than 30 countries around the world. Its Life Sciences business is the largest professional services provider to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. For more information, visit www.jacobs.com.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our 2015 Form 10-K, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 Business, 1A Risk Factors, 3 Legal Proceedings, and 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005013/en/

Contacts:

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Robin Shermer, 817-735-6284
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PUNE, India, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

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OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Everton Resources Inc. ("Everton" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: EVR) and Hecla Mining, through its 100% subsidiary Hecla Quebec, have agreed to transfer the Wildcat 1 and 2 properties to Everton.

The Wildcat 1 and 2 properties consist of 129 claims located from 5 to 20 km northwest of the Roberto gold deposit owned by Goldcorp Inc. All the rights, titles, and interests in the property have been transferred to Everton in consideration of a 1.0% net smelter royalty (NSR) on the properties. Everton reserves the right to purchase one half (1/2) of one percent (1%) of the NSR royalty, by paying to Hecla the sum of CAD $500,000.

Geologically, these claims straddle the contact of a granodiorite intruding high grade metasediments (migmatite) including a narrow bands of wacke of lower metamorphism. Everton initiated a follow-up exploration program, the first phase of which were completed in July 2016. Analytical results from this first phase one are still pending. The second phase is now under planning following the recent reception of exploration data carried out by Hecla. Although the analysis of these data is not fully completed, the next exploration phase will included follow up over auriferous tills and grab sampling from boulder and bedrock. This data will also be examined for other minerals and lithium. The swamp covered areas will be investigated with ionic leaching geochemistry. The Company also intends to follow up other gold anomalies obtained in past exploration programs by Everton.

Andre Audet, Chief Executive Officer and President of Everton, commented, "Everton considers the transfer of Wildcat 1 and 2 properties as a positive development for the Company. It strengthens our land position only a few kilometers away from the Eleonore gold deposit."

The technical content of this release was reviewed by Remi Charbonneau, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by the National Instrument 43-101.

About Everton Resources Inc.

Everton is an exploration company with concessions in the Dominican Republic adjacent to the Pueblo Viejo Mine, owned by the world's two largest gold mining companies, Barrick Gold Corporation (60%) in partnership with Goldcorp Inc. (40%) ("Goldcorp"). Everton also holds an interest in the Opinaca region of James Bay, Quebec where the Company has partnered with Hecla Mining Company which is advancing Everton's interest in the Opinaca B project by funding 100% of all exploration work on one of the largest land packages adjacent to Goldcorp's Eleonore gold deposit. Everton recently announced the acquisition of two properties: the Blue Sky Jackpot lithium property in Ontario and the Detour Lake gold property in Quebec.

For further information on Everton Resources Inc., please visit: www.evertonresources.com

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, such as statements of Everton's plans, objectives, strategies, expectations and intentions. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Everton, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause Everton's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Everton's views as of the date of the release. While Everton anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause its views to change, it specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Everton or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Everton Resources Inc.

Andre Audet

Chairman and CEO

613-241-2332

613-421-8406 (FAX)

andre@evertonresources.com

www.evertonresources.com












AOP members receive exclusive discount on The Media Trust's real-time monitoring and detection services, which protect against malvertising and assure digital ad quality.

LONDON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Media Trust, the global leader in monitoring and protecting the online and mobile advertising ecosystem, today announces a partnership with AOP, the UK's Association of Online Publishers, to help support publishers in gaining control over ads served on their sites, mitigate ad fraud, and improve the overall reader experience.

The cooperative-the first of its kind-will provide AOP members with a significant discount on SMART, The Media Trust's comprehensive suite of monitoring, detecting and alerting services, which helps protect publishers, media-oriented websites, and mobile apps against web-based malvertising and assures digital ad quality, performance, and data privacy.

"I'm very excited to be working with the AOP and the UK's top premium publishers to bring malware prevention, data transparency, and ad quality assurance to the market," said Matt O'Neill, GM Europe at The Media Trust. "This consortium offers a uniquely exclusive opportunity for publishers to curtail ad block installs, prevent data leakage and theft, reduce operational costs and overheads, and ensure a better ad experience for their readers and users."

Richard Reeves, Managing Director at AOP, commented: "Tools that enable premium publishers to protect both users and themselves from the increasing risk of malicious software are essential in today's digital publishing ecosystem. We welcome the opportunity to partner with The Media Trust and offer AOP members exclusive cost benefits, which will help to remove entry barriers for services that not only detect ad fraud, but also create a better user experience for readers."

Chris Olson, The Media Trust's CEO and co-founder, added: "Ad blockers exist because the digital advertising supply chain failed to address the growing number of poorly performing or misplaced ads. Consumers have clearly run out of patience, so it's critical media publishers implement the policies, processes and technology that ensure they only serve high quality ads, which are free of malware and always perform as intended. Only SMART can provide continuous, 24/7 quality assurance that detects and alerts-in real time-on all industry and client-specific policy violations related to malware, data leakage and privacy, and creative/technical performance."

The Media Trust programme provides real-time control by enabling the continuous, 24/7 enforcement of all security, IT, data privacy and creative policies to each ad served. As a result, digital publishers gain granular visibility of and continuous control over the ads served to their site, streamline their incident response processes, ensure revenue continuity and deliver a consistently positive brand experience for both themselves and their advertisers.

The only solution of its kind, SMART leverages The Media Trust's comprehensive suite of ad tag monitoring and alerting services to provide a holistic creative quality assurance solution. Powered by the company's proprietary scanning technology, which has been in continual operation since 2005, these services scan more than 30 million ad tags and millions of websites each day. As a result, this unprecedented view of the global digital advertising ecosystem allows The Media Trust to leverage and continuously build the industry's most comprehensive, up-to-date database of creative and technical policies covering security, data leakage, ad quality and ad performance.

About Association of Online Publishers

The UK Association of Online Publishers (AOP) is an industry body representing digital publishing companies that create original, branded, quality content. AOP champions the interests of media owners from diverse backgrounds including newspaper and magazine publishing, TV and radio broadcasting, and pure online media.

For more information, visit www.ukaop.org

About The Media Trust

The Media Trust works with the world's largest, most-heavily trafficked digital properties to provide real-time security, first-party data protection and privacy, performance management and quality assurance solutions that help protect, monetize and optimize the user experience across desktop,smartphone, tablet and gaming devices.

As the global leader in monitoring the online and mobile ecosystems, The Media Trust leverages a physical presence in 65 countries and 500 cities around the globe to continuously scan websites, ad tags and mobile apps and alert on anomalies affecting websites and visitors alike. More than 500 publishers, ad networks, exchanges, agencies and corporates-including 40 of comScore's AdFocus Top 50 websites-rely on The Media Trust to protect their website, their employee internet use, their revenue and, most importantly, their brand.

Media Contact:

Ellen Donovan

The Media Trust

+1 404.374.7822

edonovan@themediatrust.com




SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- CFN Media Group, the leading creative agency and digital media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces the publication of an article discussing the ongoing legalization of cannabis-derived medicines in Mexico, led by the Mexican government's historic decision to allow the import of Medical Marijuana Inc.'s (OTC PINK: MJNA) RSHO-X cannabidiol oil.

The decision to allow the import of RSHO-X began with a couple of families with children suffering from otherwise untreatable diseases. Since then, Medical Marijuana, Inc. established its HempMeds Mexico subsidiary and initiated an educational tour to highlight the many potential benefits of cannabidiol (CBD). The government's shift has now expanded access to RSHO-X to a number of other individuals suffering from medical conditions that don't respond to other therapeutics.

For example, Emili Zoe began experiencing chronic seizures when she was two-months old due to a genetic disorder. In their search for a treatment, Emili's parents discovered Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s RSHO-X CBD oil through the Por Grace Foundation. The therapy immediately stopped the seizures and restored her quality of life, while highlighting the potential for CBD-based therapeutics in treating a variety of conditions.

Click the link to view a short video highlighting Emili's story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B44CzUfM5B8

"[We believe] that full legalization of all cannabis products may soon be a reality within Mexico," said Medical Marijuana, Inc. CEO Dr. Stuart Titus. "Regardless of any near-term additional regulatory decisions, our Company is honored to be the first distributor to Mexico of cannabis-based products to families that have been awarded government import permits. We applaud this first step forward by the regulators to allow our RSHO-X product and the great efforts of Mexican lawmakers for acting on behalf of the welfare of the Mexican people."

To read the full story by CFN Media Group, please click the following link: http://www.cannabisfn.com/mexicos-emili-zoe-calls-attention-to-rsho-x/

Learn how to become a CFN Media featured company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/become-featured-company/

Download the CFN Media iOS mobile app to access the world of cannabis from your smart phone:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cannabisfn/id988009247?ls=1&mt=8

Or visit our homepage and enter your mobile number under the Apple App Store logo to receive a download link text on your iPhone: http://www.cannabisfn.com

About CFN Media

CFN Media (CannabisFN) is the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis. We help marijuana businesses attract investors, customers (B2B, B2C), capital, and media visibility. Private and public marijuana companies and brands in the US and Canada rely on CFN Media to grow and succeed.

About Medical Marijuana Inc.

Our mission is to be the premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. We strive to create awareness within our industry, develop environmentally friendly, economically sustainable businesses, while increasing shareholder value. For details on Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s portfolio and investment companies, visit http://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com.

To see Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s video statement, click here. Shareholders are also encouraged to visit the Medical Marijuana, Inc. Shop for discounted products.

CFN Media

Frank Lane

206-369-7050

flane@cannabisfn.com








Network security policy orchestration pioneer adds former Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks veterans to support company growth in Europe

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Tufin, the market-leading provider of Network Security Policy Orchestration solutions, announced today that Andrew Lintell and Stephane Serina have joined the EMEA team as Regional Sales Directors to support its continuing growth and expansion in the northern and western territories of the region.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397425LOGO

Andrew Lintell joins Tufin as Regional Sales Director of Northern Europe with 15 years of IT security experience under his belt. Prior to Tufin, Andrew held senior management positions for established software vendors including Head of IAG Business EMEA at Microsoft, VP Sales at HID Global and VP Channel Sales & Strategy of Europe at Kaspersky Lab. He was also the CEO and Co-founder of a leading online community moderation, safety, and brand management technology company, Crisp Thinking.

"Tufin is a leading visionary in the network security policy management space, and we will pursue vertical industries to grow market share in the UK, Ireland and the Nordics," Lintell said. "Pursuing our go-to-market strategy will include close alignment with our technology and channel partners, and I look forward to fostering these relationships to bring value to our customers."

Tufin's new Regional Sales Director of Western Europe, Stephane Serina, has a history of closing multi-million dollar deals and leading successful sales teams. With a distinguished industry background as Palo Alto Networks' Country Manager for France & MAT, Check Point's Major Account Sales Director and GM at Integralis, Stephane's new role at Tufin will help extend the company's presence in France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium.

"Tufin has traditionally been dominant in France and Benelux and I'm excited to continue this great momentum," said Serina. "As organizations struggle to deal with the security challenges posed by increased network complexities and the adoption of cloud-based infrastructures, Tufin provides solutions that allow them to remain secure while maintaining business agility."

Ian Rigby, VP of Sales, EMEA at Tufin said: "Andrew and Stephane are proven leaders of enterprise sales organizations and will complement Tufin's global sales team, serving key markets that are crucial to our continued growth. I'm excited to welcome them as they will be instrumental in meeting increased demand for Tufin's network security policy management solutions in the EMEA region."

Connect with Andrew Lintell on LinkedIn here.

Connect with Stephane Serina on LinkedIn here.

About Tufin

Tufin is the leader in Network Security Policy Orchestration for enterprise cybersecurity. Tufin enables organizations to centrally manage, visualize and control security policies across hybrid cloud and physical network environments. The award-winning Tufin Orchestration Suite' is a policy-centric solution for automatically analyzing risk, designing, provisioning and auditing network security changes. Tufin reduces the attack surface and minimizes disruptions to critical applications. Its network security automation enables enterprises to implement security changes in minutes instead of days with continuous compliance and increased agility.Tufin serves over 1,700 enterprise customers in industries worldwide, including finance, telecom, energy and utilities, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, retail, education, government, manufacturing and transportation. Tufin's products and technologies are patent-protected in the U.S. and other countries.

Follow Tufin on Twitter:@TufinTech

Read more on Tufin's blog:Suite Talk

Media Contact:

Justin Ordman

tufin@rlyl.com

+1-617-237-0922






OAKVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Saint Jean Carbon Inc. ("Saint Jean" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: SJL), a carbon science company engaged in the exploration of natural graphite properties and related carbon products, is pleased to announce the Company has received the TSX.V approval and has closed the additional 34 mining claims announced on July 6, 2016. This brings the total graphite mining hectares to 8,111.75 and greatly widens the opportunity for exploration and development. The company has also closed the 81 lithium property claims announced June 29, 2016.

Paul Ogilvie, CEO, commented: "We continue to build out our portfolio of prospective graphite mining claims including the recent additions. We believe this opens more opportunity within our geographical region of SW Quebec. We also intend on pursuing significantly more lithium and cobalt properties to add to our growing electric materials strategies".

The Company continues their summer work program, and will start preliminary work on all of the new properties. The property work covers; air bourn studies, drilling, sampling, beep-mapping and multi-pit planning for the future supply of a blended graphite for the lithium-ion battery market.

Christian Derosier, P.Geo., PhD., is the qualified person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and, acting on behalf of Saint Jean Carbon, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

About Saint Jean Carbon

Saint Jean is a publicly traded carbon science company, with interest in graphite mining claims in the province of Quebec in Canada. For the latest information on Saint Jean's properties and news please refer to the website: http://www.saintjeancarbon.com/

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Saint Jean Carbon Inc.

Paul Ogilvie, CEO and Director

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, concerning Saint Jean's business and affairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "intends" "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".

These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially. The forward-looking statements in this news release assume, inter alia, that the conditions for completion of the Transaction, including regulatory and shareholder approvals, if necessary, will be met.

Although Saint Jean believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct.

Statements of past performance should not be construed as an indication of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors, including those discussed above, could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and Saint Jean assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Saint Jean Carbon Inc.

info@saintjeancarbon.com

(905) 844-1200




HELSINKI, Finland, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Our mission is to be the front runner in making the change in customer behavior in buying clothes. We believe that in a long run through offering conscious and mindfully designed products there will be a shift towards reasonable and informed choices. Fashion has become other than a style issue also a huge social and environmental issue that has to be clearly communicated with the customers.

The Brand

"Our hearts beat for creating the experience of everyday luxury. We live and breathe for simple and timeless design with a sensual edge. Our philosophy is an honest, consistent and relaxed way of life - the laid-back Nordic lifestyle. We hold on to transparency, simplicity, and quality in all our processes. We believe in sustainable and conscious choices and creating products that stand the test of time."

- Kirsi Lille, Founder, and Designer

LILLE is a family-owned women's wear brand with roots in the archipelago of Helsinki, Finland. The brand is established 2013. Our products are designed in Helsinki and responsibly manufactured in Europe, mainly Estonia, using carefully selected European fabrics. In the creation of our products, we place a special emphasis on an excellent feel of the fabrics and long-lasting design and materials. The clothes are easy to wear and care. These are our cornerstones.

Each of our garments is a unique story consisting of special craftsmanship and skills in many stages of the garment's production chain from raw material to a ready garment. We value highly all the talented people taking part in creating these stories with us. We have had the honor of working with the lovely production and sewing ladies in Estonia for over a decade and have really learned to respect their high expertise. Our garments are designed with sustainable values. The materials are sourced with consideration of environment and high quality. Our designs are crafted with love and care in limited numbers. We are proud to design these unique items for modern, conscious women who appreciate the aesthetics and the values dear to us.

The Designer

The founder and designer Kirsi Lille started her fashion design and art studies in Florence, Italy where she soon learned to appreciate the Italian art, aesthetics and culture, as well as the love for the craftsmanship and high-quality materials. The years spent in Italy have had a strong impact in the LILLE style. After graduating from the Aalto University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Kirsi first worked as a designer for Finnish fashion industry before launching her first private label in 2003. She has been working as a designer and an entrepreneur, as well as a teacher and a researcher, concentrating on topics like fashion ecosystems and sustainability.

For further inquiries please contact:

+358 50 5206689 / Kirsi Lille

info@lilleclothing.com

http://www.lilleclothing.com





AW16-17 COLLECTION "Autumn Rain"

The collection is inspired by those simple and special things in life: A breath of fresh air. High clear skies. Deep clean waters. A walk in the nearby forest. Feeling the scent of the woods. The refreshing autumn rain dropping on the skin. A familiar face and a smile. Sharing a precious moment with a loved one. Feeling safe and special. Small, unique and simple things in life. Experiencing the everyday luxury.

LILLE AW16-17 Press Material



SS2017 COLLECTION "Sense of Ease"



We are proud to present our new collection, which is inspired by effortless and comfort momentswhen one can completely forget the stress and hurry, and totally concentrate on the existing moment - when one can feel the sense of ease. Feather-light jerseys, sensual graphic prints and summery linen-cotton mix fabrics are layered together for simple, elegant style for everyday luxury. Comfortable loose silhouettes are teamed up with timeless combinations for a modern look.



LILLE SS2017 Press Material
MOSCOW, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

ElcomSoft Co. Ltd. updates iOS Forensic Toolkit, adding physical acquisition support to most modern devices with iOS 9.2-9.3.3; logical acquisition as a new option (passcode may not be needed).

The new release adds logical acquisition support for all generations of iPhone, iPad, iPad Pro and iPod Touch regardless of iOS version or jailbreak status. Unlike acquisition via Apple iTunes, iOS Forensic Toolkit enables the use of lockdown files (pairing records) to unlock iOS devices without using passcode or Touch ID. By adding logical acquisition to its physical acquisition toolkit, ElcomSoft strives to deliver the complete all-in-one forensic acquisition solution for the widest range of iOS devices. The toolkit is available for both Windows and Mac OS X platforms.

In addition, version 2.1 adds physical acquisition support to Apple devices running iOS 9.3.3 with newly released Pangu jailbreak for 64-bit devices. Finally, the new release adds the option to extract device information from all types of iOS devices regardless of iOS version or jailbreak status even if they are locked with an unknown password.

"iOS Forensic Toolkit was all about physical acquisition", says Vladimir Katalov, ElcomSoft CEO. "We were the first to acquire iPhone 4s, 5 and 5c. We pioneered physical acquisition for 64-bit devices, but until now we didn't offer an option to acquire devices without a jailbreak. If you have a non-jailbroken iPhone or iPad, we can now dump its contents into an iTunes-style backup without actually using iTunes, and sometimes even without a passcode."

The logical acquisition process requires the device to be unlocked at least once after cold boot. Examiners will have to unlock the device by using passcode, Touch ID or non-expired pairing record (lockdown file) collected from the user's computer.

"We've been without a jailbreak for months", says Andy Malyshev, ElcomSoft CTO. "We couldn't do anything with iOS 9.2 or 9.3 without a jailbreak. The new Pangu jailbreak allowed us to resume development and add physical acquisition support to the latest versions of iOS".

Logical Acquisition: Works with All iOS Devices

Logical acquisition is a simpler and safer acquisition method compared to physical. Logical acquisition produces a standard iTunes-style backup of information stored in the device. While logical acquisition returns less information than physical, experts are recommended to create a logical backup of the device before attempting more invasive acquisition techniques.

The new release of iOS Forensic Toolkit now provides an option to perform logical acquisition of iOS devices by creating an iTunes-style backup. Logical acquisition works with all devices running iOS 4 or newer regardless or hardware generation and jailbreak status. However, the device must be unlocked at least once after cold boot; otherwise, the device backup service cannot be started.

Experts will need to unlock the device with passcode or Touch ID, or use a non-expired lockdown file (iTunes pairing record) extracted from the user's computer. Lockdown files are pairing records created on computers connecting to a given iOS device. Lockdown files are created to relieve users from manually unlocking their iOS devices every time they sync with iTunes. If a computer was seized together with an iOS device, it can be enough to successfully acquire information from a locked iOS device.

If the device is configured to produce password-protected backups, experts must use Elcomsoft Phone Breaker to recover the password and remove encryption. Apple iTunes is not required to produce a backup.

Logical backups produced by Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit can be analyzed with Elcomsoft Phone Viewer of third-party forensic tools. If a backup comes out encrypted with an unknown password, one can use Elcomsoft Phone Breaker to recover that password and decrypt the backup. If no backup password is set, the tool will automatically configure the system with a temporary password in order to be able to decrypt keychain items (password will be reset after the acquisition).

Physical Acquisition: iOS 9.3.3 Support with New Pangu Jailbreak

Apple users are quick to adopt the latest technology. According to Apple, some 86% of users run iOS 9 on compatible devices. During the past 4 months, no jailbreak was available to any version of iOS newer than iOS 9.1. The Pangu team has recently released a public jailbreak for iOS 9.2 through 9.3.3, allowing investigators to jailbreak Apple devices running the last versions of Apple iOS and perform physical acquisition. Instructions on installing the new Pangu jailbreak are available at http://en.pangu.io/help.html

Physical acquisition is the most comprehensive acquisition method available for iOS devices. It is the only acquisition method that enables full access to all encrypted information stored in Apple's secure storage, the keychain (for 32-bit devices only). This includes Web site and application passwords including the password to the user's Apple ID account. Email messages and attachments, log files and histories, as well as certain application data are only accessible via physical or advanced logical acquisition.

Pricing and Availability

Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit 2.1 is immediately available. North American pricing starts from $1,495. Both Windows and Mac OS X versions are supplied with every order. Existing customers can upgrade at no charge or at a discount depending on their license expiration.

Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit is also available as part of Elcomsoft Mobile Forensic Bundle ($2995). Elcomsoft Mobile Forensic Bundle integrates all Elcomsoft tools for logical, physical and cloud forensics.

Compatibility

Windows and Mac OS X versions of Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit are available. Physical acquisition support for the various iOS devices varies depending on lock state, jailbreak state and the version of iOS installed. Unrestricted acquisition is available for very old devices (iPhone 4 and older). iPhone 4S through 5C, iPad mini can only be acquired if jailbroken. Physical acquisition for 64-bit devices supports iPhone 5S through 6S (and their Plus versions), iPad mini 2 through 4, and 64-bit versions of full-sized iPads. The 64-bit acquisition process can extract but cannot decrypt the keychain.

Logical acquisition is available for all iOS devices regardless of jailbreak status if the device can be unlocked with passcode, Touch ID or pairing record (lockdown file). iOS Forensic Toolkit produces standard iTunes-style backups and does not require Apple iTunes to be installed to perform logical acquisition.

About Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit

Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit provides forensic access to encrypted information stored in popular Apple devices running iOS versions 3 through 9.3.3. By performing physical acquisition of the device, the Toolkit offers instant access to all protected information including SMS and email messages, call history, contacts and organizer data, Web browsing history, voicemail and email accounts and settings, stored logins and passwords, geolocation history, the original plain-text Apple ID password, conversations carried over various instant messaging apps such as Skype or Viber, as well as all application-specific data saved in the device.

iOS Forensic Toolkit is the only tool on the market to offer physical acquisition for Apple devices equipped with 64-bit SoC including Apple iPhone 5S, 6/6S and their Plus versions. Physical acquisition for 64-bit devices returns significantly more information compared to logical and over-the-air approaches.

About ElcomSoft Co. Ltd.

Founded in 1990, ElcomSoft Co.Ltd. is a global industry-acknowledged expert in computer and mobile forensics providing tools, training, and consulting services to law enforcement, forensics, financial and intelligence agencies. ElcomSoft pioneered and patented numerous cryptography techniques, setting and exceeding expectations by consistently breaking the industry's performance records. ElcomSoft is Microsoft Certrified Partner (Gold competency), and Intel Software Premier Elite Partner.

# # #

For more information about Elcomsoft iOS Forensic Toolkit visit https://www.elcomsoft.com/eift.html
CINCINNATI, OH--(Marketwired - August 11, 2016) - Swapalease.com, the nation's largest car lease marketplace, reports car lease credit applicants registered a 58.3% approval rate for July, the lowest single-month tally so far in 2016. A year ago the approvals rate reached 84.6% during the same month.

The monthly lease credit approvals rate has reached 70% just once during 2016 (February), and the monthly rate has dropped almost every month since then. In fact, over the last three months, the approvals rate has been just 67.9%

Consumer credit increased recently by the slowest rate in four years. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, "Nonrevolving credit, including student and auto loans, advanced at a 2.07% annual pace in June. That was the weakest increase since balances in the category declined in August 2011. May's growth rate was 7.3%, a high for the year."

"Lease rates at the dealership remain at all-time highs, and while overall sales of cars and trucks also remain high, the industry looks to be in a peak period," said Scot Hall, Executive Vice President of Swapalease.com. "It will be prudent for the industry to pay close attention to other outside indicators, including credit health and credit availability as we move deeper into the year."

Swapalease.com matches a person wanting out of their existing vehicle lease contract with a car shopper looking to take over a short-term vehicle lease. The marketplace has several thousands of cars and trucks available for transfer to anywhere in the continental U.S.

About Swapalease.com:

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Swapalease.com is the world's largest automotive lease marketplace and the pioneer in facilitating lease transfers online. More specifically Swapalease.com matches individuals who want to get out of their lease with people who are looking for short-term lease agreements. Prospective buyers can search the listings for the exact vehicle they want, and then register for a nominal fee, allowing them to use Swapalease.com's safe online system to contact the prospective seller and close the deal. For more information about Swapalease.com or how to exit your lease early, call 866-SWAPNOW or visit www.swapalease.com.

Press Contact:

John Sternal

Merit Mile

jsternal@meritmile.com

O - 561-362-8888

C - 954-592-1201
In May, the Morning Pointe Foundation and the Nursing and Allied Health Division at Chattanooga State Community College celebrated the pinning of two newly-graduated nurses and recent Morning Pointe Scholarship recipients.

Anna Grace Lowery, 2014-2015 Morning Pointe scholar, and Kaitlyn Eldridge, 2015-2016 Morning Pointe scholar, graduated May 6, with registered nursing degrees.

Morning Pointe Senior Living began endowing the nursing scholarship funds at Chattanooga State in 2008. Since then, the Morning Pointe Foundation established more scholarships to nursing programs in Athens, Greeneville and Jacksboro.

The scholarships aid students who are preparing for careers in senior healthcare. Recipients must demonstrate community volunteerism, academic achievement and a love for the geriatric population.

Ms. Eldridge, who received Summa Cum Laude honors at the pinning ceremony, said she wants to become a nurse practitioner in the aging care field. Her love for geriatrics began when choosing volunteer opportunities with the Beta Club in high school.

I would always choose The Lantern at Morning Pointe, she says. During my time there, I would play games, read books and paint nails. I absolutely fell in love with the Alzheimers residents at The Lantern. I plan to remain working with geriatric patients for my nursing career.

Today, Ms. Eldridge is a nurse tech at Memorial Hospital, and is currently pursuing a bachelors degree using the remaining funds from her scholarship.

The funds I received have completely helped me pay for my nursing education at Chattanooga State and they are also helping me get my bachelors degree. she says. This scholarship has been such a blessing in my life and I am beyond grateful.
MANCHESTER, England, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

EDM, a leading global provider of training simulators to the civil aviation and defence sectors, announced today that it has launched an Internship Programme for undergraduates.

The Programme is open to university students currently studying for an engineering or science related degree at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) who wish to gain real job experience in a modern manufacturing environment. During their 12-month work placement each intern will be assigned a mentor to support and guide them as they embed themselves in EDM's culture and manufacturing processes.

Following an initial induction period, interns will learn about the company's product range, and whilst embedded in the design department, will gain an appreciation of other departments such as purchasing, planning, quality and assembly and spend time understanding core manufacturing processes including cutting, turning, milling and fabrication. After a stringent selection process, the first two interns began their placements at EDM in July.

"Developing the next generation of engineers is vital to the success of the UK's manufacturing sector," said Tony Bermingham, Managing Director of EDM. "Our new Internship Programme will give talented and motivated young undergraduate engineers a fantastic start to their careers and we're delighted to welcome the first two to EDM this month."

For further information about EDM's Internship Programme contact: careers@edm.ltd.uk

For more information about EDM visit: http://www.edm.ltd.uk

About EDM

EDM is a leading global provider of training simulators to the civil aviation, defence, rail and other industries. Combining the highest engineering standards with leading-edge technologies, EDM provides airlines with Door Trainers, Cabin Service Trainers, Cabin Emergency Evacuation Trainers and Full Size Mockups and defence organsiations with Procedure Trainers, Maintenance Trainers, Ejection Seats, Simulators and Full Size Replicas. Serving organisations worldwide from its UK headquarters, EDM is committed to delivering exceptional quality and value to its clients to help them enhance safety and operational efficiency.
RIMOUSKI, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Puma Exploration (TSX VENTURE: PUM)(SSE: PUMA) reports results of the summer exploration sampling program at Ann's Creek property in New Brunswick, Canada. Puma's geologists have compiled and selected the highest potential within the less explored mineralized zones along the Rocky-Brook trend showing the highest zinc, silver and gold grades in order to evaluate and expand on their size.

The mineralized zones explored during the program, namely, PineTree, Half Mile, Bradly Gold and Great Northern, are spread over a distance of six kilometres and have received very little advanced exploration work to date. About 100 samples have been collected during the program showing very high grade precious and base metals up-to 29% Zn, 14% Pb, 491 g/t Ag and 8.8 g/t Au.

Table 1: Selected grab samples results from the Ann's Creek Property

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Au Ag Pb Zn Samples UTM_X UTM_Y Zones (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) ============================================================================ P193546 283693 5284570 Pine Tree 3.07 26 1.0 0.3 P193553 283782 5284569 Pine Tree 3.43 89 3.6 0.2 P193554 283779 5284585 Pine Tree 0.98 107 5.3 0.6 P193577 283054 5284489 Pine Tree 0.39 3 0.0 1.3 P193578 283052 5284490 Pine Tree 2.02 9 0.1 1.7 P193624 283788 5284588 Pine Tree 0.63 153 7.2 6.0 P193625 283830 5284588 Pine Tree 0.10 96 4.2 1.9 P193629 283848 5284593 Pine Tree 0.25 149 5.3 4.7 P193633 283670 5284555 Pine Tree 0.85 132 3.6 29.5 P193634 283674 5284547 Pine Tree 4.41 70 2.9 1.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- P193642 283410 5284516 Half Mile 0.97 105 4.8 7.6 P193644 283314 5284474 Half Mile 0.53 41 1.3 2.2 P193645 283314 5284476 Half Mile 3.75 25 1.4 7.6 P193646 283283 5284472 Half Mile 3.05 6 0.1 0.2 P193647 283238 5284483 Half Mile 0.95 175 11.1 5.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- P193585 277594 5282522 Great Northern 0.50 491 14.2 1.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- P193557 279326 5283839 Bradly Gold 1.78 1 0.0 0.0 P193558 279326 5283840 Bradly Gold 6.16 1 0.0 0.0 P193559 279311 5283836 Bradly Gold 1.49 1 0.0 0.2 P193560 279311 5283829 Bradly Gold 0.66 177 7.1 0.1 P193561 279309 5283831 Bradly Gold 1.72 33 2.2 0.4 P193595 279178 5283768 Bradly Gold 0.08 2 0.0 1.7 P193606 279347 5283873 Bradly Gold 8.81 208 3.6 4.1 P193607 279347 5283872 Bradly Gold 6.86 113 0.9 6.4 P193608 279367 5283861 Bradly Gold 0.54 147 1.1 2.3 P193614 281876 5284152 Bradly Gold 0.26 9 0.3 1.7 P193617 282643 5284368 Bradly Gold 0.69 8 0.1 1.3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ann's Creek Property consists of a 15 km long by 1.5 km wide Rocky Brook mineralized corridor adjacent and spatially related with the large 4 km diameter Nicholas-Denys porphyry intrusion. The Rocky Brook Corridor is a major mineralized structure which contains the main silver-gold-lead-zinc lenses centered on the Rocky-Brook-Millstream fault which is interpreted to have played a major role in the enrichment of the mineralized lenses. Surface trenching and stripping programs will be conducted in the vicinity of these zones in order to increase their size and extent.

Three-dimensional modeling focusing on the high-grade portions of the Hache and Shaft lenses containing at least 300 grams per tonne (g/t) Ag (10 ounces per ton) has been completed. Puma is currently evaluating different scenario's to monetize the high grade Ag-Zn-Au- Pb at Hache and Shaft lenses.

About Puma Exploration

Puma Exploration is a Canadian mineral exploration company with advanced precious and base metals projects in Canada. The Company's major assets are the Turgeon Zinc-Copper Project and the Nicholas-Denys Project in New Brunswick and their equity interest in BWR as related to the Little Stull Lake Gold Project in Manitoba. Puma is focusing its exploration efforts in New Brunswick, Canada.

You can visit us on Facebook and Twitter.

Learn more by clicking here: www.pumaexploration.com

The contents of this press release were prepared by Dominique Gagne, PGeo, a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. The samples were analyzed at the ALS Chemex laboratory in Val d'Or using the atomic absorption and ICP methods. There is not enough drilling data presently available to determine the shape and true width of the mineralized zone. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Puma Exploration Inc. to be materially different from actual future results and achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date the statements were made, except as required by law. Puma Exploration undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the quarterly and annual reports and in the documents submitted to the securities administration.

To view the map associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/AnnsCreekDeposit.pdf

Contacts:

Puma Exploration Inc.

Marcel Robillard

President

(418) 724-0901 or Toll free: (800) 321-8564

president@explorationpuma.com

www.pumaexploration.com




WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Coates International, Ltd. (OTC PINK: COTE) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that its exclusive liaison to China, Mr. James Pang, reported yesterday that the delegation that visited the Company's headquarters a few weeks ago is requesting a worldwide exclusive license to manufacture, use and sell products powered with the Coates patented CSRV green engine generator system technology.

An exclusive license to manufacture, use and sell the CSRV green engine generator system technology is a comprehensive license which would exclude all other parties, once granted. Accordingly, the grantee of the license would derive substantial benefits that would be factored into establishing the licensing fees, which is expected to be substantial. We must take the necessary steps to ensure that the Company's interests are fully protected in connection with granting such a license.

Notwithstanding this request for an exclusive license, Coates Power Ltd., a China-based company already established to manufacture engines previously received delivery of a Coates CSRV industrial electric power green engine generator. Company management is optimistic about prospects of this development because Coates Power would be working with the sixth largest and government-owned company in China to undertake the manufacturing of CSRV engine generators.

Renown Power Ltd., based in Hong Kong, has made a good faith deposit of $500,000 USD on a $100,000,000 USD nonexclusive distribution license for the Western Hemisphere. Further payments are expected to start soon after Coates Power commences manufacturing operations.

Renown Power Ltd. will manage the licensing and manufacturing operations under the direction of Mr. Nick Kontonicolas, COO of the Coates organization.

Company President and CEO, Mr. George J. Coates, comments: "We have been looking forward receiving this response from the Chinese delegation because of how well our technology was received by the members during their visit. This license could be an important step forward for the company.

"Almost $40,000,000 USD has already been invested in scientific R&D over more than 25 years devoted to designing, building, testing and environmentally evaluating numerous prototypes, which included: CSRV industrial electric power green engine generators, CSRV vehicle engines, CSRV motorcycles and a number other CSRV green engine applications, as well as the Coates patented sequential multi-fuel injection system.

"We continue to aggressively pursue the objectives of our Company business plan, including continuing with our efforts to ramp-up production. Certain production parts are currently being manufactured in Pennsylvania in connection with starting our first production run, an important step on the path towards our Company's growth.

"We are also pursuing a number of potential transactions in China, including one with the largest ship building company in the world, CSSC, also owned by the Chinese government, to manufacture larger CSRV engines for other applications."

There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in any of its endeavors.

Safe Harbor Statement:

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our public filings with the SEC may be viewed and printed on the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

Contact Information:

Coates International, Ltd.

Phone: 732-449-7717

Fax: 732-449-0764

www.coatesengine.com

www.mostadvancedengine.com




Regulatory News:

Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan or in any other jurisdiction where such distribution would be unlawful

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or issue or the solicitation of an offer to buy, subscribe for or otherwise acquire any new ordinary shares of Mainstay Medical International plc in any jurisdiction

Dublin Ireland, 11 August 2016: Mainstay Medical International plc ("Mainstay" or the "Company", Euronext Paris: MSTY.PA and ESM of the Irish Stock Exchange: MSTY.IE), a medical device company focused on bringing to market ReActiv8, an implantable neurostimulation system to treat disabling Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP), announces the publication of a prospectus (the "Prospectus") in connection with the admission of 2,307,694 new ordinary shares (the "New Ordinary Shares") to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Paris. The New Ordinary Shares will also be admitted to trading on the ESM of the Irish Stock Exchange. The New Ordinary Shares were issued pursuant to a 30 million equity fundraising announced on 17 June 2016.

Application has been made to the French Autorite des Marches Financiers (the "AMF") and to the Irish Stock Exchange for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to listing and trading on the regulated market of Euronext Paris and to trading on the ESM of the Irish Stock Exchange, respectively ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective, and that dealings in the New Ordinary Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. Irish Standard Time/9.00 a.m. CET on 16 August 2016.

The Prospectus has been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland and is publicly available on the Company's website at www.mainstay-medical.com/investors. The Company has requested that the Central Bank of Ireland provide a certificate of approval and a copy of the Prospectus, together with a translation of the summary of the Prospectus into the French language, to the French Autorite des Marches Financiers. A translation of the summary of the Prospectus into the French language will be shortly available on the websites of the Company and the AMF (www.amf-france.org).

About Mainstay

Mainstay is a medical device company focused on bringing to market an innovative implantable neurostimulation system, ReActiv8, for people with disabling Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP). The Company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It has subsidiaries operating in Ireland, the United States, Australia and Germany, and its ordinary shares are admitted to trading on Euronext Paris (MSTY.PA) and the ESM of the Irish Stock Exchange (MSTY.IE).

Further information can be found at www.mainstay-medical.com

CAUTION in the United States, ReActiv8 is limited by federal law to investigational use only.

Disclaimers

This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale in any jurisdiction. This announcement is not a prospectus (or prospectus equivalent document) or an advertisement. Investors should not subscribe for or purchase any shares in the Company based on this announcement or the prospectus. Neither this announcement nor any part of it shall form the basis of or be relied on in connection with or act as an inducement to enter into any contract or commitment whatsoever. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy or completeness. The material set forth herein is for information purposes only and should not be construed as an offer of securities for sale in any jurisdiction.

No action has been taken by the Company to permit a public offer of New Ordinary Shares under the applicable securities laws of any jurisdiction. Other than in Ireland and France, no action has been taken or will be taken to permit the possession or distribution of the Prospectus (or any other offering or publicity materials relating to the New Ordinary Shares, including this announcement) in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose may be required or where doing so is restricted by law. Accordingly, neither this announcement nor the Prospectus may be distributed or published in any other jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with any applicable laws and regulations.

Persons into whose possession this document comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

J&E Davy ("Davy") is acting as Financial Adviser to the Company in connection with Admission. Davy, which is regulated in Ireland by the Central Bank of Ireland, is acting for the Company and for no one else in connection with Admission and will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to clients of Davy, nor for providing advice in relation to Admission, the content of this announcement or any matter referred to in this announcement. Apart from the responsibilities and liabilities, if any, which may be imposed on Davy by the Central Bank of Ireland, or the regulatory regime in Ireland, neither Davy nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Davy in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise, nor makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, in relation to, the contents of this announcement, including its accuracy, completeness or verification or for any other statement purported to be made by Davy, or on behalf of Davy in connection with the Company or Admission. Davy accordingly disclaims to the fullest extent permitted by law all and any responsibility or liability to any person who is not a client of Davy, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise (save as referred to above) which they might otherwise have in respect of this announcement or any such statement.

Forward looking statements

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the terms "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "intends", "may", "plans", "projects", "should", "will", or "explore" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear throughout this announcement and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Company's results of operations, financial position, prospects, financing strategies, expectations for product design and development, regulatory applications and approvals, reimbursement arrangements, costs of sales and market penetration.

By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. Forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the actual results of the Company's operations, and the development of its main product, the markets and the industry in which the Company operates, may differ materially from those described in, or suggested by, the forward looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if the Company's results of operations, financial position and growth, and the development of its main product and the markets and the industry in which the Company operates, are consistent with the forward looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. A number of factors could cause results and developments of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements including, without limitation, the successful launch and commercialisation of ReActiv8, the initiation and success of the ReActiv8-B Clinical Trial,general economic and business conditions, the global medical device market conditions, industry trends, competition, changes in law or regulation, changes in taxation regimes, the availability and cost of capital, the time required to commence and complete clinical trials, the time and process required to obtain regulatory approvals, currency fluctuations, changes in its business strategy, political and economic uncertainty. The forward-looking statements herein speak only at the date of this announcement.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005659/en/

Contacts:

PR and IR Enquiries:

Consilium Strategic Communications (international strategic communications business and trade media)

Chris Gardner, Mary-Jane Elliott, Jessica Hodgson, Hendrik Thys

Tel: +44 203 709 5700 +44 7921 697 654

Email: mainstaymedical@consilium-comms.com

or

FTI Consulting (for Ireland)

Jonathan Neilan

Tel: +353 1 663 3686

Email: jonathan.neilan@fticonsulting.com

or

FTI Consulting (for France)

Astrid Villette

Tel: +33 1 47 03 69 51

Email: Astrid.Villette@fticonsulting.com

or

Investor Relations:

LifeSci Advisors, LLC

Brian Ritchie

Tel: + 1 (212) 915-2578

Email: britchie@lifesciadvisors.com

or

ESM Advisers:

Davy

Fergal Meegan or Barry Murphy

Tel: +353 1 679 6363

Email: fergal.meegan@davy.ie or barry.murphy2@davy.ie
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A week after attributing the emergence of the Islamic State to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump accused President Barack Obama of founding the terrorist outfit. 'Obama is the true founder and his former Secretary of State is the co-founder of the militant group because it grew and flourished as U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq,' Trump said at a rally outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday. Trump said he was against the war in Iraq, and at the same time blamed Obama for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. It was one of the worst mistakes in the history of our country, he said. In the Florida speech, he had referred to the president adding his middle name Barack Hussein Obama. Trump underlined his comments during a Thursday morning interview on CNBC. 'He gets the most valuable player award. Him and Hillary, she gets it too. I gave her co-founder if you really looked at this speech,' Trump said on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' program. In the interview, the businessman-turned politician insisted that his comment was not inappropriate. He said he has been successful as a political outsider throughout the campaign by speaking his mind. 'If at the end of 90 days I fall in short because I'm somewhat politically incorrect, it's okay'. 'I go back to a very good way of life.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
HYDERABAD, India, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Mordor Intelligence announces the publication of their research report on the sleep apnea devices market. The report titled, "Global Medical Aesthetic Device Market - Growth, Trends and Forecast (2016-2021)" discusses the current landscape and outlook of the said market.

The global medical aesthetic device market is estimated to be USD 8.38 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 13.81 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast period. The report is an amalgamation of the current market scenario, its prospects and forces driving and restraining the market growth. The report highlights the North American, European, Asia-Pacific, Latin American and Middle East & African markets.

In 2005, 5.4 million medical aesthetic procedures were performed worldwide. The number of procedures increased to 12 million by 2014 and is expected to reach 21.9 million by 2020.

Browse Related Reports Here

The market for medical aesthetic device can be segmented based on products (aesthetic lasers & energy devices, aesthetic implants, Facial Aesthetics), by procedure (cosmetic and reconstruction), by end-user (beauty and home settings) and by geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World).

Unlike other lifesaving medical procedures, which are performed irrespective of the economic conditions in a country, aesthetic procedures are performed more so during good economic conditions. North America is currently the largest aesthetic medical devices market globally, followed by Europe. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are one of those places where this market is rapidly growing due to the increasing income of people living in these countries.

The leading companies that dominate the sleep apnea device market are Allergan, Cynosure, Johnson & Johnson, LCA Pharmaceutical, Galderma Pharma, Solta Medical, Alma Lasers and others.

About Mordor Intelligence:

Mordor Intelligence is a global market research and consulting firm. Our singular focus is to provide research insights for business success. Our research team has expertise in diverse fields like Agriculture, Healthcare, ICT, Chemicals, Manufacturing, Logistics, Electronics and Automotive. However diverse the expertise maybe, everyone in our team shares one common trait - 'we love data and we love providing solutions to clients using that data'. Seeing your business flourish based on our solutions and strategy is what we love the most.

For information regarding permissions and sales, please contact: info@mordorintelligence.com

Media Contact:

Madan Gopal

AVP - Marketing & Strategy

Email: madan@mordorintelligence.com

Direct Line:+1-617-765-2493




CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Canadian dollar advanced against its major counterparts in early New York deals on Thursday, as oil prices recovered after the International Energy Agency predicted a hefty draw in oil stocks in the third quarter amid global demand for crude and production cuts by non-OPEC members.



Crude for September delivery rose $0.17 to $41.88 per barrel.



'Oil's drop ... has put the 'glut' back into the headlines even though our balances show essentially no oversupply during the second half of the year. Moreover, our crude oil balance indicates a hefty draw in the third quarter after a lengthy stretch of uninterrupted builds,' the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly report.



Investors also cheered encouraging reports on U.S. weekly jobless claims in the week ended August 6 and import prices for July, which suggested that the world's largest economy is on track of sustainable growth.



Data from Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims edged slightly lower in the week ended August 6th.



The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 266,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level of 267,000.



A separate report from the Labor Department showed an unexpected uptick in import prices in the month of July.



The report said import prices inched up by 0.1 percent in July after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in June.



In other economic news, data from Statistics Canada showed that the new housing price index rose 0.1 percent in June, primarily driven by new housing prices in Toronto and Oshawa and Vancouver.



This follows a 0.7 percent increase in May.



The currency has been trading in a positive territory against most major rivals in the European session.



The loonie advanced to a 6-day high of 1.4522 against the euro, and held steady thereafter. This may be compared to a 2-day low of 1.4612 hit at 8:45 pm ET. On the upside, 1.44 is likely seen as the next resistance level for the loonie.



The loonie rebounded to 1.3020 against the greenback and 77.83 against the yen, from its early low of 1.3080 and a 3-day low of 77.38, respectively. If the loonie extends rise, it may find resistance around 1.29 against the greenback and 79.00 against the yen.



The loonie climbed back to 1.0050 against the aussie, heading to pierce its early 3-day high of 1.0036. This is a sharp reversal from more than a 7-month low of 1.0109 set at the beginning of today's trading. The loonie is likely to break resistance around the 0.99 mark.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 11, 2016) - Comstock Metals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: CSL) ("Comstock" or the "Company") and Select Sands Corp. (TSX VENTURE: SNS) ("Select Sands") are pleased to announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") setting forth the terms under which Comstock will purchase Select Sands' Preview SW gold project located in the La Ronge district of Saskatchewan and Select Sands' early-stage Old Cabin property in Ontario (together the "Assets"), each as previously disclosed in the press release dated May 16, 2016. Under the terms of the Agreement Comstock will acquire the Assets for 20 million common shares in the capital of Comstock and the assumption of certain liabilities associated with the Assets.

Preview SW Gold Project

The Preview SW gold project is located 40 km north of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 80 km southwest of Silver Standard Resources Inc.'s Seabee gold mine. The Preview SW project database contains results from 162 core holes, totaling 26,250 m, drilled between 1985 and 2013. Of these, 136 were drilled on the main Preview SW deposit and form the basis for a NI 43-101 Resource Estimate 1 (see Select Sands' October 1, 2013 News Release) that included:

Indicated resources containing 158,300 ounces of gold (2.61 million tonnes grading 1.89 g/t Au) based on a 0.50 g/t Au cut-off grade.

Inferred resources containing 270,800 ounces of gold (5.70 million tonnes grading 1.48 g/t Au) based on a 0.50 g/t Au cut-off grade.

The main Preview SW deposit is comprised of several sub-parallel northeast-trending gold-bearing quartz-sulphide mineralized structural zones, 500 m in strike length and totalling 150 m in width. Preliminary metallurgical test work indicates total gold recovery in concentrates ranged from 90% to 93% (see Select Sands' June 3, 2013 News Release).

In addition, there are six additional known gold zones on the 853 ha property with only limited drilling. At the Preview North zone, located 2.6 km northeast of the Preview SW deposit, drill hole PR13-163 (see Select Sands' April 8, 2013 News Release) intersected:

17.98 g/t Au over 5.71 m starting at 10 m below surface;

5.96 g/t Au over 5.66 m starting at 19 m below surface; and,

1.88 g/t Au over 21.26 m starting at 29 m below surface

There has been insufficient drilling at the Preview North zone to determine the attitude of the reported mineralized intervals and, therefore, the above mineralized intersections may not represent true widths. No drilling has been carried out for over 600 m to the south of this hole.

The Company confirms that it will file a technical report on the Preview SW Gold Property within 180 days of this press release to support the above disclosed SW deposit mineral resource estimate. For more details about the project please visit: http://www.selectsandscorp.com/projects/sk-gold-project/.

Old Cabin Project

The 1,118 ha Old Cabin project is located 80 km northeast of Wawa, Ontario and 10 km east of Richmont Mines' Island Gold Mine, which is forecast to produce 62-67,000 oz of gold in 2016 2 . It should be noted that the mineralization hosted on the Richmont Property is not necessarily similar to the mineralization hosted on the Old Cabin Property. The property has had surface sampling and geological mapping carried out, resulting in the discovery of 13 discrete gold zones, all associated with shear zones and strong iron carbonate alteration. Highlights of results reported by Select Sands include a channel sample of 40.5 g/t Au over 1.68 m.

The completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions including receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals (including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange).

Given that Comstock and Select Sands have certain directors that serve as directors of both Comstock and Select Sands, each board appointed independent committees to review the proposed transaction. Furthermore each committee received independent fairness opinions confirming that the transaction is fair from a financial perspective to the shareholders of each of Comstock and Select Sands.

As noted above this transaction remains subject to a number of conditions and there can be no assurances that the proposed transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Further details regarding the Preview SW gold project can be found in Select Sands' press releases dated May 16, 2016 and March 17, 2016.

1 This resource estimate was conducted by GeoSim Services Inc. Ronald G. Simpson, P. Geo., of GeoSim, is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the resource estimates. Mineral resources have been classified using the definitions set out in CIM (2010). Mineral resources have an effective date of August 31, 2013. A copy of the report is available on Select Sands website at http://www.selectsandscorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/LaRonge43-101.pdf

2 see www.richmont-mines.com

About Comstock Metals Ltd.

Comstock Metals Ltd. is a mineral exploration company. Its flagship 16,335 hectare QV Property is located in the White Gold district of the Yukon Territory, approximately 70 kilometres south of Dawson City and 44 kilometres northeast of the Coffee project of Goldcorp Inc., which it recently acquired through an acquisition of Kaminak Gold Corporation through a court approved plan of arrangement in a deal valued at C$520 million at the time it was announced. To date, the Company has completed 3,400 metres of drilling in 17 drill holes which formed the basis for a maiden Inferred mineral resource totalling 4.4 million tonnes grading 1.65 g/t gold containing 230,000 ounces of gold at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off (See Comstock July 8, 2014 News Release). The VG Deposit remains open in all directions and is proximal to other untested sub-parallel structures. The VG Zone has similar geology and style of mineralization to Kinross's Golden Saddle deposit, located 11 kilometres to the south. Additional promising targets exist on the QV Project, with potential for the discovery of significant intrusion related and/or orogenic gold mineralization. The infrastructure associated with the development of the Coffee project, including upgrading and completion of the mine access road, will benefit all projects in the district, including the QV Property.

Comstock also owns early stage uranium claims in the Patterson Lake area of Saskatchewan and has optioned out its Corona property in Mexico (see January 28, 2016 News Release).

David A. Terry, Ph.D., P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and an Officer and Director of Comstock, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release.

About Select Sands Corp.

Select Sands' Sandtown property, located in northeast Arkansas, USA, is underlain by the Ordovician St. Peter sandstone formation, which is a major source of 'Ottawa White' Tier-1 frac sand/industrial sand selling into major US oil and gas basins as well as industrial and speciality end markets. The Sandtown property is located 3.1 miles from Highway 167 near a natural gas pipeline. The property has an active power line on the property and is located approximately 14.7 miles from the nearest rail system (see Select Sands December 4, 2014 News Release). Compared to competitive sand mines located in Wisconsin owned by the largest US frac sand producers, Sandtown has a competitive location advantage as it is approximately 650 rail miles closer to the Texas/Louisiana oil/gas plays as well as the Houston port and industrial hub.

As per the June 2015 Preliminary Economic Assessment report by Tetra Tech of Golden, Colorado, USA and Vancouver, BC, Canada, the Sandtown property has a pre-tax NPV valued at US $160 million and a post-tax NPV valued at US $92 million. The PEA was completed on a portion of the current silica sand mineral resources (see the Select Sands' June 10, 2015 news release). Select Sands would like to remind investors that mineral resources for the Sandtown Property are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability and there is no certainty that this PEA will be realized. Subsequent to the completion of the 2015 PEA, Select Sands announced an updated mineral resource estimate for the Sandtown property totaling 41.98 Million Tons of Indicated Silica Sand Resources (see the Select Sands February 10, 2016 news release).

Douglas Turnbull, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and a director of Select Sands, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure specifically related to the Select Sand's properties in this news release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Such statements include statements regarding the ability to satisfy the conditions necessary to complete the proposed transaction and statements regarding the targets and future exploration on the Company's properties. Information and statements which are not purely historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release.

For more information about Comstock Metals Ltd., please visit www.comstock-metals.com or contact:



David A Terry, Ph.D., P.Geo.

President, CEO and Director

COMSTOCK METALS LTD.

Phone: (604) 639-4533

Email: info@comstock-metals.com



For more information about Select Sands Corp., please visit www.selectsandscorp.com or contact:



Rasool Mohammad, B.Sc. (Mining)

President & CEO

Phone: (604) 639-4533



Investor Relations

Arlen Hansen

SNS@kincommunications.com

Phone: (604) 684-6730
GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA and OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA and TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- The US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is being asked to investigate a Canadian mining company with offices in Reno, Nevada and operations in Guatemala. The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), based in Canada, will submit a thirty-five-page report on behalf of the US-based Network in Solidarity with Guatemala (NISGUA) and the Guatemala-based Diocesan Committee in Defense of Nature.

The report asks the SEC to determine whether Tahoe Resources Inc. has failed to meet legal requirements for disclosing human rights abuses and failed to disclose lawsuits that impact the Escobal mine. Tahoe claims strong community support for its Guatemala mine, but the JCAP report says that Tahoe's annual report shows that opposition is so severe that it cannot connect its mine to the main power grid. The SEC will determine whether Tahoe provided misleading information to investors.

"Human rights violations have been persistently committed against communities surrounding the Escobal mine, a project implemented without community consent," says Becky Kaump from NISGUA's office in Guatemala. "In calls for international advocacy we have denounced the direct violence, threats and criminalization carried out against community members."

Tahoe denies responsibility for the threats and deaths surrounding its Guatemala mine, but seven farmers who were shot by Tahoe's private security guards in April 2013 are suing Tahoe in British Columbia. The head of security for Tahoe, Alberto Rotondo, was charged, but escaped while awaiting trial in Guatemala. He was recaptured in January 2016 in his native Peru.

Shin Imai, professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, discovered the lawsuits brought by Tahoe to the Constitutional Court of Guatemala. "I was surprised to find that behind the scenes, Tahoe and mining supporters were bringing lawsuits to try to stop communities from holding referenda on mining. Even more surprising was the secret lawsuit against the President of Guatemala and a half a dozen other government agencies asking for protection from protesters who were impeding the project." The JCAP report says that Tahoe has not disclosed any of these lawsuits, and this failure may contravene US law.

In January 2015, Norway's $850 billion Government Pension Fund divested from Tahoe after conducting an investigation, concluding that Tahoe has and will likely continue to pose "an unacceptable risk of...contributing to serious human rights violations."

Copies of a summary of the report and the full report are linked here: Cover letter and SEC Disclosure.

Contacts:

Shin Imai, lawyer

Justice and Corporate Accountability Project

simai@justice-project.org

+ 905-989-1327



Becky Kaump

Network in Solidarity with Guatemala

becky@nisgua.org

+ 502 5575 2058




There will be information meetings on the kindergarten registration process for the 2017-2018 school year at both SAS and CSLA schools in September.



The CSAS meetings will be held on Sept. 15 and 20 at 6 p.m. in the school auditorium. The CSLA meetings will be held on Sept. 13 and 22 at 6 p.m. in the school auditorium.



Parents and guardians interested in their rising kindergarten student attending CSAS or CSLA in 2017-2018 may attend. Students must be a resident of Hamilton County.



Beginning this fall, CSAS and CSLA are adjusting the timeline for kindergarten applicants wishing to enter during the 2017-2018 school year. The three required steps are still key to acceptance, but the order in which they occur has changed. Families must attend the three steps at the school they hope to attend. If they are willing to attend either school, they must complete the steps at both CSAS and CSLA.

The three steps are:



1. Information Meetings - At this overview of the Paideia philosophy, the school curriculum, and school citizenship expectations, all interested families with a child eligible for school 2017-2018 will receive a lottery application. The applications will be completed and turned in following the information meeting.



2. Lottery Drawing  Sept. 30, live streaming will be done from the HCDE board room. Each completed lottery application will be drawn and numbered according to their order as selected from the drawing. This forms the waiting list for entry year 2017-2018.



3. Tour and Seminar - Parents of applicants drawn numbers one through 75 must attend a school tour and Socratic Seminar in order for the child to qualify for admissions for the upcoming year.

Application to both CSAS and CSLA require meeting these requirements at both campuses. All steps of the admissions process must be completed, as the lottery alone does not guarantee enrollment. Numbers above 75 in the lottery will not be eligible for a space 2017-2018, but they will form the lottery admission list for future admission eligibility, grades one and above.



CSAS School Tours*  Oct. 20, 21, 27, and 28 at 10 a.m.

CSAS Socratic Seminar*  Nov. 10 and 15 at 6 p.m.



CSLA School Tours*  Oct. 18 and 27 at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

CSLA School Seminar*  Nov. 10 and 14 at 6 p.m.

Sign-ups for the School Tours and School Seminar events will be online. A link is available on the schools websites following the lottery.

Successful completion of both after-lottery steps will make the student eligible for admission as space is available (siblings and children of staff are pre-admitted). Final acceptance numbers, beginning with applicant number one, will be notified of admission by Jan. 15, 2017.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Dial Square 86 Limited, the holding company for The RightsXchange Limited or 'TRX', announced that Sky and Channel 4's Indie Growth Fund have invested in the company's latest financing round, which will raise up to 5.2 million pounds for TRX. Sky and Channel 4 will each take an undisclosed minority stake in Dial Square 86 Limited, which was established in 2014 by former RDF Media founders and Zodiak Media executives, David and Matthew Frank. This funding round also includes investment from private individuals (many of whom have participated in previous rounds). The deal marks the first time Sky and Channel 4 have co-invested in a start-up. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Scholarships from the Avangrid Foundation and Fundacion Iberdrola Espana will help 13 students conduct post-graduate research into energy, the environment and data science.

The recipients will receive grants totaling $750,300 that cover the students' enrollment, plus a stipend, as they pursue research at universities in Connecticut, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Edinburgh, Scotland.

"Understanding and meeting the world's energy needs, and protecting the environment, are challenges that are closely linked," said Robert D. Kump, president of Avangrid Foundation. "This scholarship program will help to ensure that some of the brightest young minds are focused on finding solutions to these issues."

The Avangrid Foundation is dedicated to supporting projects and organizations that enhance the quality of life in communities served by AVANGRID companies. Fundacion Iberdrola Espana is the charitable foundation of Iberdrola, S.A., AVANGRID's corporate affiliate.

"I am thankful to the Avangrid Foundation for enabling me to pursue my graduate studies and research on offshore renewable energy," said Caitlyn Elizabeth Clark, who is pursuing her studies at Oregon State University. "Through my research and the Avangrid Foundation's support, I plan to advance computational tools that will enable industry members, policy makers and the public to make more informed, responsible decisions as the U.S. and the world move towards greater offshore renewable energy development."

Global energy leader Iberdrola initially established the global scholarship program in 2010 to support graduate studies in the field of energy, with a special focus on renewable energy development, environmental protection, climate change and energy efficiency.

Since the program started, Iberdrola and its charitable foundations in Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Brazil have awarded nearly 600 scholarships to students from around the world. In 2016, the foundations awarded 142 scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year, worth more than $3.9 million. That's four times more scholarships than the program's inaugural year, 2010, and six times the value.

This year's recipients include:

Binghamton University, New York, USA

Edward Cheswick of Kings Park, New York

Mark A. Freithaler of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Oregon State University, Oregon, USA

Caitlyn Elizabeth Clark of Lake Oswego, Oregon

Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, USA

Jamie Sanchez-Ferragut Ardura of Madrid, Spain (funded by Fundacion Iberdrola Espana)

Marta De Guzman of Malaga, Spain (funded by Fundacion Iberdrola Espana)

Sergio Mendez Delegido of Torre Pacheco, Spain (funded by Fundacion Iberdrola Espana)

University of Connecticut, USA

Alexandra Longacre of Griswold, Connecticut

University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Anna Guasco of Ventura, California

University of Maine, USA

Gregory McDonald of North Syracuse, New York

Michael Choiniere of Garland, Maine

University of Rochester, New York, USA

David Villarreal Sardina of Guardo, Spain (funded by Fundacion Iberdrola Espana)

Javier Yuguero Nadal of Madrid, Spain (funded by Fundacion Iberdrola Espana)

Ulrik Soderstrom of Rochester, New York

AVANGRID is the parent company of NYSEG and RG&G in New York; Central Maine Power and Maine Natural Gas in Maine; and United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas and Connecticut Natural Gas in Connecticut. It is also the corporate parent of Avangrid Renewables, with headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

About Avangrid Foundation: Avangrid Foundation coordinates and funds energy sustainability, environmental, social responsibility and educational programs in areas where AVANGRID and its subsidiaries operate. For more information, please visit our website: www.avangrid.com.

About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) is a diversified energy and utility company with $30 billion in assets and operations in 25 states. The company operates regulated utilities, and renewable electricity generation, through two primary lines of business. Avangrid Networks includes eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving 3.1 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables operates 6.3 gigawatts of electricity capacity, primarily through wind power, in states across the U.S. AVANGRID employs 7,000 people. The company was formed by a merger between Iberdrola USA and UIL Holdings in 2015. IBERDROLA S.A. (Madrid:IBE), a worldwide leader in the energy industry, owns 81.5% of AVANGRID. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.

The following quotes from scholarship recipients are available for the media to use:

I am so grateful to the AVANGRID Foundation, not only for the scholarship, which will allow me to focus on my master's degree without the financial burden, but also for the honor and privilege of meeting the King and Queen of Spain, and the President of Iberdrola in Madrid. I will carry this life-changing experience with me throughout my career. This experience was "eye-opening", and has reinforced my desire to focus on researching alternative energy sources and creating a greener future. Please accept my deepest appreciation and gratitude.

- Edward Cheswick, Binghamton University, New York, USA

AVANGRID Foundation has powered homes, hospitals, and minds with their power. Now, I am proud to say they have also lit my soul alight, and I am eager for more! The AVANGRID Foundation has set a beautiful example of what it means to be a citizen of the world, and I hope to spread their outstanding values as I continue my journey.

- Mark A. Freithaler, Binghamton University, New York

I am thankful to the Avangrid Foundation for enabling me to pursue my graduate studies and research on offshore renewable energy. Through my research and Avangrid's support, I plan to advance computational tools that will enable industry members, policy makers, and the public to make more informed, responsible decisions as the U.S. and the world move towards greater offshore renewable energy development.

Caitlyn Elizabeth Clark, Oregon State University, Oregon

I am very grateful for this scholarship. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, studying in the Rochester Institute of Technology. My Master of Engineering in Sustainable Engineering program will help me to acquire the knowledge, innovative skills and experience in order to succeed in today's developing energetic world.

- Jamie Sanchez-Ferragut Ardura, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York

Iberdrola has not only given me the opportunity of taking a leap in my career, but also offers me a unique experience abroad while promoting the changes that we, as a generation, seek to implement in the world.

- Marta Borrego De Guzman, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York

The Iberdrola Scholarship represents to me an incredible opportunity to increase my knowledge in the sustainability area in one of the top universities in the USA. In addition I am very glad for this scholarship as it will represent a major step in my career and also the recognition of one of the most important companies in the renewable energies area."

-Sergio Mendez Delegido, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York

I am extremely grateful to Iberdrola and Avangrid Foundation for the scholarship, which will provide me with the opportunity to focus on learning and research during my studies in Materials Science and Engineering. I am looking forward to diving into research in Materials Science and Engineering and discovering ways in which Materials Science can be used to protect the environment and to conserve energy.

-Alexandra Longacre, University of Connecticut

The Avangrid Foundation Scholarship generously gives me the outstanding opportunity to pursue a master of science in Environment, Culture and Society at the University of Edinburgh. As a student of the humanities and social sciences, I am grateful to receive this scholarship, not only for allowing me to pursue this master's degree abroad, but also for validating the importance of humanistic and socio-cultural inquiry in shaping a more just, equitable and sustainable world.

- Anna Guasco, University of Edinburgh

The scholarships that are provided by the Avangrid Foundation for postgraduate education are integral in influencing sustainable changes to the energy industry today. Without the help of these scholarships, many students would not have the freedom to strictly pursue their interests. I am so thankful for the opportunities this scholarship has afforded me thus far, as well as the opportunities it will present throughout my time at the University of Maine and even after.

-Gregory McDonald, University of Maine

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity Avangrid Foundation has granted me through this scholarship. The funding will allow me to channel all my energy and focus into my research without the distraction of a part-time job. It will help me produce high quality work that will not only advance my progress towards a graduate degree, but also advance our progress toward cleaner energy.

Michael Choiniere, University of Maine

A dream came true with this Iberdrola scholarship. Thanks to Iberdrola, I will be able to pursue my studies in renewable energy in USA, and I am completely sure it will help me devote my future professional life in the area I always wanted.

- David Villarreal Sardina, University of Rochester

The Iberdrola scholarship represents a great opportunity for young people to evolve in the academic field. Having the chance of studying a master's degree in the USA is, without any doubt, the best way of preparing for the future. Furthermore, the master I have chosen, Master of science in technical entrepreneurship and management at the University of Rochester, is the one I think fits the best with an engineering profile: it combines the technical aspects with the fields of markets, economics, initiative, management and leadership.

-Javier Yuguero Nadal, University of Rochester

The Avangrid Foundation has empowered me to pursue a Master's Degree in Data Science at the University of Rochester. Data Science is the intersection of computer science and computational statistics with multidisciplinary applications in data mining, environmental modeling, database systems, energy system organization and more. I greatly appreciate this scholarship as it is pivotal to my academic career and growth as a leader!

- Ulrik Soderstrom, University of Rochester, N.Y.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005756/en/

Contacts:

AVANGRID

Michael A. West, Jr., 203-499-3858

michael.west@avangrid.com
Technavio analysts forecast the smart education market in the USto grow at a CAGR of close to 14% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

The research study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the smart education market in the US for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated by vendors through the following product segments: software, content, and hardware.

According to Jhansi Mary, a lead analyst at Technavio for research on education technology, "Creativity and innovative thinking have become necessary for students to succeed in the current dynamic and competitive environment, resulting in increased investments in the smart education market in the US."

Technavio education research analysts highlight the following four factors that are contributing to the growth of the smart education market in the US:

Increase in digital pedagogy

Adaptive and assistive technology

Ability to enhance learning

Use of data analytics

Increase in digital pedagogy

Digital pedagogy is an innovative way of adopting ICT solutions and is defined as a combination of technical skills, IT practices, and curriculum suitable for learning through the digital medium. Its effective use transforms teaching and learning to achieve varied, and flexible learning opportunities for a digital generation.

Digital pedagogy features modern teaching and learning approaches, including customized approaches, intellectual engagement, and connectedness in a global collaborative learning environment. "With the help of smart education tools, teachers can engage students in actively building and applying rich learning in purposeful and meaningful ways. Furthermore, it also supports authentic and contextualized assessment that is in clear alignment with the curriculum, and helps in improving the results of students," adds Jhansi.

Adaptive and assistive technology

The components of smart education bring together the three Cs of consumption, collaboration, and creation. The flexible features of this technology allow students to learn according to their pace and preferences. It connects students to external resources, which helps in their learning through online portals or from experts and mentors outside their classroom environment. It also offers opportunities for students to share ideas and collaborate with one another through platforms including wikis or social networks. The biggest advantage of implementing smart technologies in education is that it enables students and faculty to access digital education contentanytime on multiple platforms.

Innovative technologies help in motivating students to create their own content in the form of blogs, multimedia presentations, and other original content based on what they have learned. This content can also be delivered to an audience. It also enables a seamless mode of instruction and assessment process for the teachers, offering relevant data that could aid in improving student performance.

Ability to enhance learning

Use of technology and smart media can lead to an effective flow of information. Smart media has boosted the learning of various subjects including chemistry, physics, environmental sciences, mathematics, and technology. Furthermore, use of simulation and modeling tools also help in teaching various concepts in 3D and temporal scales. Use of interactive maps, information displays, and work timelines cumulatively offers visual links between lessons and new ideas.

Smart technology also helps in providing frameworks to streamline learning processes. For instance, various online programs use interactive prompts, which are embedded into the learning system. These frameworks are designed to cater to the differences in individual learning style and are kept available on demand. They not only offer tools for communication through web-based multimedia but also provide a platform for linking learners within an online community. Users can explore and learn from each other, understand new ideas, and gain access to a much wider pool of knowledge.

Use of data analytics

One of the major advantages of adopting smart education is the ability to analyze the increasing amount of digital data and improve learning methodologies. Data analytics tools assess student performance in day to day activities and help in creating reports on the scope for improvement and areas of expertise in the institutional dashboard. This assists educators in customizing courses according to the strengths and weaknesses of learners. Additionally, analytics also facilitates real-time learning, leading to effective communication between learners and instructors, who can then assist students in improving their learning performance. These advantages also provide the basis for measuring progress and in achieving strategic goals of an institution. These operational and strategic benefits encourage educational institutions to adopt data analytics solutions.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Smart Education Market 2016-2020

Global Smart Education Software Market 2016-2020

Virtual Schools Market in the US 2015-2019

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technaviois a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160811005019/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
BlackRock World Mining Trust plc

Half Yearly Financial Report 30 June 2016

Financial highlights

as at 30 June 2016

Attributable to ordinary shareholders 30June

2016 31December

2015 %

change Assets Net assets ('000) 558,053 377,313 +47.9 Net asset value per ordinary share 316.26p 212.83p +48.6 - with income reinvested +57.0 Ordinary share price (mid-market) 270.25p 181.00p +49.3 - with income reinvested +59.0 Euromoney Global Mining Index 413.07 255.94 +61.4 Discount to net asset value 14.5% 15.0%

Forthe

sixmonths

ended

30June2016

(unaudited) Forthe

sixmonths

ended

30June2015

(unaudited)





%

change Revenue Net revenue return after taxation ('000) 11,519 16,864 -31.7 Revenue return per ordinary share 6.51p 9.51p -31.5 Dividend per ordinary share - Interim 4.00p 7.00p -42.9

Chairman's statement

Overview

I am pleased to present my first half yearly report to you as Chairman. Equally I am delighted that the first six months heralded a strong recovery in the mining sector after a difficult start to the year when world equity markets took fright on heightened concerns over global economic growth. The Euromoney Global Mining Index was down by over 18% at one point during January but, over the next six months, the mining sector performed strongly. The reversal was driven by a combination of an improved outlook for China, a weaker US dollar and a better than expected reporting season, all of which prompted renewed investor interest in the sector. As a result of this, and post Brexit related weakness in sterling, the Company was one of the best performing trusts in the first half of 2016.

Over the six months to 30 June 2016, the Company's net asset value ('NAV') increased by 57.0% and the share price by 59.0% (both calculated in sterling terms with income reinvested). During the same period, the Company's benchmark, the Euromoney Global Mining Index, rose by 61.4%. Further information on the Company's performance is set out in the Investment Manager's Report.

In the period since 30 June and up to close of business on 10 August 2016, the Company's NAV has increased by 15.8% compared to a rise of 17.1% in the benchmark index.

Revenue return and dividends

The Company's net revenue earnings for the six month period to 30 June 2016 amounted to 6.51p per share (six months to 30 June 2015: 9.51p) and the Board has declared an interim dividend of 4.00p per share (2015: 7.00p per share). The dividend will be paid on 16September 2016 to shareholders on the register on 26 August 2016, the ex-dividend date being 25August 2016.

As reported in the annual statement, shareholders should expect a lower dividend this year compared with 2015, primarily as a result of a number of the underlying portfolio companies announcing reduced or cancelled dividends. Whilst the dividend is clearly an important part of a shareholder's total return it is important that investors know that the Company will not chase income at the expense of capital appreciation. Accordingly, the Board has agreed with the Manager that, particularly at this point in the commodity cycle, numerous opportunities exist for longer term growth. By allocating capital to these opportunities, the net result should continue to leave the Company in a position to offer a premium yield to the sector whilst at the same time freeing up capital to invest in longer term strategies, such as backing listed companies with earlier stage assets.

The Board has decided that, commencing at the start of the Company's next financial year,dividends will be paid quarterly. Further guidance will be given in February, at the time of the announcement of the results for the current financial year. It remains the Company's intention todistribute substantially all of the income available.

Board changes

As reported in the latest Annual Report, Ian Barby and Anthony Lea, my predecessor as Chairman, retired from the Board in April. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them both for their contributions over the years and wish them well for the future.

Following the Annual General Meeting held on 28 April 2016, we were delighted to welcome Jane Lewis as a Director. Jane is an investment trust specialist who, until August 2013, was a director of corporate finance and broking at Winterflood Investment Trusts. Prior to this she worked at Henderson Global Investors, Gartmore Investment Management Limited and at West LB Panmure as an investment trust broker. She brings a wealth of industry experience to the Board.

Discount

The discount of the Company's share price to the underlying NAV per share finished the period under review at 14.5% on a cum income basis. The Company traded on an average discount (cum income) of 14.3% during the period, ranging between a discount of 10.0% and 21.4%. At the close of business on 10 August 2016, the Company's shares were trading at a discount of 17.2%.

During the period under review, the Company repurchased 832,000 ordinary shares at an average price of 224.84p and at an average discount to NAV of 14.5% at a cost of 1,882,000 including expenses. These shares are held in treasury. No shares have been repurchased since the period end and up to and including the date of this report.

The vote to leave the European Union has led to heightened uncertainty in financial markets and many closed-ended funds are now trading at wider than normal discounts. The Company's discount has also suffered during the recent volatility and the Board will consider on an ongoing basis whether share repurchases should be made.

Investment Management Fee

Effective from 1 October 2015, the management fee (which includes all services provided by BlackRock) was reduced to 0.8% of the Company's net assets. However, in the event that the NAV increases on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the fee will then be paid on gross assets for the quarter. Details of how the fee is calculated are set out in note 4.

Outlook

There has been much discussion as to whether the cycle has turned for mining companies but what is clear is that the sector is likely to benefit going forward from decisions taken to reduce capital expenditure, repair balance sheets and cut costs. Outside of industrial commodities, demand for gold reflects macro uncertainties and geopolitical challenges and our current weighting to precious metals makes the Company an attractive means by which investors can gain exposure to this sector. The next six months should see continued interest in 'safe haven' assets with decent dividends and I remain confident that the Company is well positioned for such an environment.

Ian Cockerill

11 August 2016

Interim management report and responsibility statement

The Chairman's Statement and the Investment Manager's Report give details of the important events which have occurred during the period and their impact on the financial statements.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The principal risks faced by the Company can be divided into various areas as follows:

- Investment performance;

- Market;

- Counterparty;

- Income/dividend;

- Operational;

- Financial;

- Legal & Compliance; and

- Marketing.

The Board reported on the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company in the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2015. A detailed explanation can be found in the Strategic Report on pages 9 to 11 and note 18 on pages 62 to 73 of the Annual Report and Financial Statements which is available on the website maintained by BlackRock, at www.blackrock.co.uk/brwm.

In the Board's opinion, an additional uncertainty to those outlined in the Annual Report and Financial Statements now exists. In a referendum held on 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom resolved to leave the European Union ('EU'). The referendum result may affect the Company's risk profile through introducing potentially significant new uncertainties and instability in financial markets as the United Kingdom negotiates its exit from the EU. These uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and operations. The process of a major country leaving the EU has no precedent, so we expect an ongoing period of market uncertainty as implications are digested.

In the view of the Board, there have not been any other changes to the fundamental nature of these risks since the previous report and these principal risks and uncertainties are equally applicable to the remaining six months of the financial year as they were to the sixmonths under review.

Going concern

The Directors, having considered the nature and liquidity of the portfolio, the Company's investment objective and the Company's projected income and expenditure, are satisfied that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and is financially sound. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. The Company has a portfolio ofinvestments which are readily realisable and is able to meet all of its liabilities from its assets and income generated from these assets. Ongoing charges (excluding interest costs and taxation) for the year ended 31 December 2015 were 1.2% of net assets but, as noted in the Chairman's Statement, the investment management fee was reduced to 0.8% with effect from 1 October 2015.

Related party disclosure and transactions with the AIFM and Investment Manager

BlackRock Fund Managers Limited ('BFM') was appointed as the Company's Alternative Investment Fund Manager ('AIFM') with effect from 2 July 2014. BFM has (with the Company's consent) delegated certain portfolio and risk management services, and other ancillary services, to BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited ('BIM UK'). Both BFM and BIM (UK) are regarded as related parties under the Listing Rules. Details of the management and marketing fees payable are set out in note 4 and note 10. The related party transactions with the Directors are set out in note 11.

Directors' responsibility statement

The Disclosure and Transparency Rules ('DTR') of the UK Listing Authority require the Directors to confirm their responsibilities in relation to the preparation and publication ofthe Interim Management Report and Financial Statements.

The Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge that:

- the condensed set of financial statements contained within the half yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 'Interim Financial Reporting'; and

- the Interim Management Report, together with the Chairman's Statement and Investment Manager's Report, include a fair review of the information required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R of the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

This half yearly report has been reviewed by the Company's auditors and their report forms part of this announcement.

The half yearly financial report was approved by the Board on 11 August 2016 and the above responsibility statement was signed on its behalf by the Chairman.

Ian Cockerill

For and on behalf of the Board

11 August 2016

Investment manager's report

Following five consecutive years of negative returns it is a relief to be able to write the interim report after a strong start to the year. Mining shares have soared after having been oversold in the second half of 2015 and after reaching a 13 year low in January this year. We are well aware that after so many false dawns during the last few years, calling alow for the cycle is a high risk thing to do but given that the last few years have been the worst ever run on record and companies seem to be in better shape now than a year ago itfeels more realistic rather than optimistic to be doing so.

For the first half of 2016 the Euromoney Global Mining Index (total return in GBP) increased by 61.4% versus the net asset value ('NAV') of the Company which was up by 57.0% and the share price by 59.0%. Although the NAV is slightly behind the return of the benchmark, we are nonetheless pleased that with our focus on quality, income enhancement and exposure to unquoted investments, the NAV has performed as well asit has. In addition, the majority of the lost relative return in the first half of 2016 was due to our underweight exposure to low quality, highly leveraged gold equities. This trend continued into May but we are pleased to report that, by the end of June, the NAV had recouped some of this to finish ahead of the benchmark for the second quarter.

Recovery

As discussed in the Annual Report the mining sector went through a near death experience in the second half of 2015. The sector (Euromoney Global Mining total return index,  terms, 30 June 2015 to 31 December 2015) fell by 30% driven by fears around i) an imminent collapse of Chinese demand for commodities; ii) mining companies breaching debt covenants; and iii) the prospect of companies needing to issue equity in order to survive. This view became consensus during the period and it was reflected in soaring Credit Default Spreads (CDS) for mining company debt.

The consensus view became an extremely crowded trade by January 2016 and it looks like this peak pessimism might just mark the low for the cycle. Since January the outlook has become more positive for commodity demand and investors no longer seem as worried about the prospects for bank default and associated equity dilution. China increased financial and fiscal support for its economy by unleashing additional liquidity in the formof bank loans and approving a range of commodity intensive projects. The improved consumer confidence was reflected in property prices across the Tiers of cities in China, with Tier 1 up by 40% year-on-year, auto sales soared and fixed asset investment increased by 7.3%. In addition, the Chinese Government aggressively stepped up its plans torationalise the domestic industrial sector with specific reforms related to closing inefficient productioncapacity in steel and coal. For example, the National Development and Reform Commissionannounced that it will look to reduce 100-150mts of steel capacity and coal producers are now only allowed to operate for 276 (previously 330) days per year. We believe that the end result of these measures will lead to a more robust consumer base and hence a supportive demand picture for seaborne commodities such as iron ore and coking coal.

Outside of China, demand in the US has also been supportive for prices. The continued growth in the US economy has seen automotive sales rise year-on-year and US house price data continued its recovery from the post global financial crisis lows. In Europe, the European Central Bank ('ECB') has remained supportive by continuing to expand its stimulus programme with morequantitative easing and lower rates.

Precious metal prices benefited strongly from general uncertainty in the world. Investor concerns stretch across a whole range of topics from US Presidential elections, Eurozone elections, the Chinese economy, Federal Reserve rate decisions and, the biggest factor during the period, was Brexit. These factors seemed to feed the performance of first gold and then later in the period silver, as well as leading to huge returns for precious metal equities. Given the low base from which they started,the share price moves have been substantial with the weakest companies rising the most.

An emerging theme in the portfolio has been our exposure to lithium. Given the strong demand fundamentals and the near term inability of supply to match the expected demand growth, the Company has been carefully adding exposure using a mixture of established producers and those developing new supply. This has been a very profitable strategy but given the scale of moves elsewhere in the sector it was actually a detractor from relative returns!

In contrast to the strong share price moves, commodity price trends are very mixed. Average prices for the first half of 2016 versus the prior year period are very disappointing with most down by more than 10% and nickel the worst of all down 36.7%. However, the year to date returns paint a more encouraging picture with many up by in excess of 10%. This year we have added in the price of lithium to the table below using the spot price of battery grade materialas the reference. The returns have been spectacular and it is no wonder that many junior lithium companies have seen their share prices soar.

Commodity

30June

2016

%change

YTDin1H16 %change

averageprice

1H16vs1H15 Gold US$/oz 1,321.07 24.4 2.1 Silver US$/oz 18.55 33.9 -3.3 Platinum US$/oz 999 15.1 -16.6 Copper US$/lb 2.2 2.9 -20.6 Nickel US$/lb 4.26 7.1 -36.7 Aluminium US$/lb 0.75 9.5 -13.3 Zinc US$/lb 0.95 32.0 -14.7 Lead US$/lb 0.81 -0.7 -7.5 Tin US$/lb 7.75 17.0 -3.7 Uranium US$/lb 27 -21.2 -19.7 Iron Ore (China 62% fines) US$/t 54.6 26.4 -12.2 Thermal Coal (Newcastle) US$/t 56.95 12.5 -17.4 Met Coal US$/t 92.2 17.9 -14.1 Lithium (Battery Grade China) 24,067 21.2 229.7 Sources: Bloomberg and Macquarie. All spot prices.

Base metals

In contrast to the first half of last year when things started well and then deteriorated on China fears, the opposite happened in 2016. The roar of the China bears was deafening asthe year started and prices fell across the board as the prospect of reduced demand weighed heavily on markets that were already perceived to be in surplus. However, China chose to shift its focus away from the clamp down on corruption and pollution in order to support growth. As mentioned earlier, this was a major catalyst for demand and it softened the tone of even the most rampant China bear. By early spring there were signs that confidence was emerging and metal prices started to recover from their lows and by the end of the period every base metal had posted a significant gain from their intra-half lows.

Zinc and tin were the best performing metals with regards to holdings in the portfolio. Among the base metals there is little doubt that zinc has the best fundamentals, with the market forecast to be in deficit this year following Glencore's voluntary supply cuts and closure of the Century mine in 2015. With the zinc price back toward the US$1/lb range, the concern is that Chinese mined supply re-enters the market, but to date there has been little evidence of this. Holdings in Nyrstar, Boliden, Teck and Glencore all benefited on the back of the zinc price rally.

The portfolio's largest base metals exposure is to copper where we see considerable long term value in a number of companies. The copper price (+2.9%) lagged the other base metals during the period as mined supply proved surprisingly strong due to limited mine disruptions and growth still coming through from previously committed growth projects. In 2016 there are four mines that add 900-1000kt of copper into the market. We see the market in surplus for 2016-2017, with the market forecast to move into deficit from 2018 as supply rolls off which should be supportive of prices. During the period we saw a number of asset sales announced, Freeport selling Tenke being the largest, and there seems to be a plethora of strategic buyers happy to pay a decent valuation for copper assets, supportive of the view of higher long term prices. Across the board, copper equities tended to outperform the underlying copper price move, with the portfolio's holdings in Cerro Verde, OZ Minerals and First Quantum being key contributors to performance during the period.

A pick-up in Chinese stainless steel production saw the outlook for the nickel market improve during the period with prices rallying by over 20% from their February 2016 lows. We currently forecast that about one third of the nickel market is loss-making and has been for some time. Ultimately, the industry needs to see more capacity close; however, the industry is in somewhat of a stalemate with barriers to exit high and a number of large operations in New Caledonia continuing to operate despite being loss making. Towards the end of June news emerged of the Philippines looking to adopt stricter mining policies which could restrict supply and drove prices 10% higher in July. The Company's exposure to nickel is primarily through its holding in Norilsk Nickel the world's largest nickel and palladium producer with assets located in Russia. In recent years Norilsk has been one of the largest contributors to performance and income benefiting from the significant devaluation in the rouble which has protected its margins despite the decline in the nickel price. In tandem with the copper mine sales, the nickel market also saw a large transaction when Boliden bought the Kevitsa mine from First Quantum. The price paid supports a view that prices will eventually return to higher levels and for once the deal seems to benefit both the vendor and the acquirer.

Gold and precious metals & minerals

It was an incredibly supportive environment for precious metals with gold and silver up by 24.4% and 33.9% respectively, during the period. Unlike the end of 2015 where expectations of Federal Reserve (the 'Fed') rate hikes and US dollar strength dominated investors' bearish view of gold, weakness across global equity markets and lacklustre U.S. economic data saw sentiment quickly change as dovish comments from the Fed suggested that the pace and trajectory of future Fed hikes was likely to be lower.

This started the first leg of the gold price rally, which was compounded by increasing levels of general uncertainty in the world. Investor concerns around the US Presidential elections, Eurozone elections, the Chinese economy and, most importantly, the UK's decision to leave the European Union saw investors flock to 'safe-haven' assets. Thistranslated in strong investment demand where, after three years of redemptions, wesaw net buying of gold ETFs during the period.

In addition to the supportive aspects of economic and political uncertainty in markets, gold is one of the few beneficiaries of negativerates. An important driver of the gold price this year has been the increasing number of central banks joining the 'negative rates club' and implementing a negative rates policy. At the end of June 2016 there was over US$10 trillion of negative yielding government bonds in issue, with almost a quarter of the world's GDP coming from economies that had negative rates on their bonds. At the end of the period the entire issuance of Swiss Government bonds, including the 50 year, was trading with a negative yield.

The positive backdrop for gold translated into exceptionally strong performance of the gold equities with the FTSE gold mines index (sterling terms) up by 134% during the period. Beginning at a low share price level, the high degree of operating and financial leverage across the industry saw the equities significantly outperform the underlying move in the gold price by a factor of four times. Across the sector the higher leveraged and lower quality companies tended to outperform, which detracted from the portfolio's relative performance given its quality bias.

During the period we increased our exposure to precious metals in the portfolio, with gold equities at 30% and silver equities at 13% of NAV. In addition to the positive gold backdrop, one of the important drivers of our increased holding has been the improved capital discipline displayed across the sector. Unlike in previous higher gold price environments, the gold companies find themselves in a position of generating positive free cash flow as a result of a strong focus on costs and a lack of investment in growth. This year, companies have focused on repairing their balance sheets through asset sales which has helped drive a rerating of their equity value.

During the period the stand out performance came from the portfolio's holding in silver companies, with the silver price rallying towards the end of the period where the gold-to-silver ratio declined to 72:1 versus circa 85:1 at its peak earlier in the year. The Company's holding in Fresnillo was the largest contributor to performance during the first half of the year, with silver producers Tahoe and Penoles also contributing strongly.

Diversified mining and industrial metals

The first half of 2016 saw a dramatic swing in confidence in the long term outlook for commodity prices and thus the diversified mining companies and their valuations. Westarted the year with what we now realise was extremely pessimistic positioning with investor worries about balance sheets reaching a peak as evidenced by five year CDS spreads blowing out to over 14% for Anglo American and almost 12% for Glencore, well in excess of the levels seen during the financial crisis. However, just as soon as a lower for longer commodity price view became consensus for market participants, we saw Chinese lending data pick up and with this the price for most metals, including copper, zinc and ironore. Those diversified miners with the most operating and financial leverage to rising prices outperformed. The most notable example of this strong equity outperformance came from Anglo American which outperformed the index by a massive 80%. This performance was driven by its 'self-help' plan based largely on asset disposals to reduce debt so as to avoid issuing equity.

While the sector strongly benefited from a China led pick-up in demand at the beginning ofthe year, the sobering experience of the second half of 2015 saw some high profile dividend cuts among the diversified majors, with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto cutting their dividend by 75% and 50% respectively in February. BHP cut its progressive dividend for the first time since 1988 and cautioned that it expected a prolonged period of weaker prices and higher volatility. Rio also cut their dividend with Sam Walsh, then CEO, commenting that progressive dividend policies 'are not appropriate in cyclical industries'. As noted in the 2015 Annual Report, as a result of the significant cuts in dividends across the sector in the last 12 months, shareholders should expect a lower dividend in 2016 than the previous year.

During the first half of the year there was evidence of a value over volume strategy emerging from themajor iron ore producers with Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto delivering below expectations of Q1 2016 production numbers, as well as reducing forward guidance. Rioannounced a 10-20mt reduction to 2017 iron ore guidance and BHP reduced its 2016 full yearguidance by 10mts hinting at a slower ramp to the forecast 290mt capacity. Vale,the world's largest iron ore producer, also gave tighter guidance for its iron ore divisionwhere it now anticipates production at the lower range of its last guidance of 340-350mts for 2016. While the reduction in iron ore volumes may be symptomatic of the aggressive ramp-up in volumes in recent years, it is interesting to note the positive iron ore price response when producers look to minimally restrict supply.

As confidence in rational supply discipline in iron ore increased, the Company added a position in Vale. Vale is ramping up the low cost S11D iron ore project at the end of 2016, which will mark the end of Vale's growth capital expenditure and should see the highest production and cash flow growth out of the majors. This inflection point for the balance sheet and higher cash flow generation, combined with an active asset disposal programme to further reduce leverage, is expected to be beneficial for shareholders and drive a rerating of the equity.

Unquoted investments

At the end of the period, 3.7% of the Company's assets were invested in unquoted investments consisting of the Avanco royalty contract and the Banro gold-linked preference share. In addition, the Company has 1.4% of its assets invested in the listed equity of Avanco Resources.

Avanco royalty contract (1.4%)

In July 2014, the Company signed a binding royalty agreement with Avanco Resources, a contractual royalty covering its exploration licenses within the world-class mineral district of Carajas in Brazil. An investment of US$12 million was made in return for Net Smelter Return (net revenue after deductions for freight, smelter and refining charges) royalty payments comprising 2% on copper, 25% on gold and 2% on all other metals that will be produced from their Antas North and Pedra Branca licences. In addition, there will be a flat 2% royalty over all metals produced from any other discoveries within Avanco's licence area as at the time of the agreement.

Given the development style nature of the royalty, drawdown was conditional on Avanco achieving a number of milestones (achieved in 1H 2015) to in turn de-risk the Company's royalty exposure. These conditions included the publication of a JORC compliant reserve statement, the receipt of a mining licence for Stage 1 and securing debt financing for theproject.

We are pleased to announce that during the first half of 2016, Avanco successfully ramped-up its Antas Copper Project, producing 3,720t of copper and 2,611oz of gold, with the Company earning royalty revenue of 478,000 during the period. Avanco subsequently declared commercial production on 1 July 2016, targeting production of ~12,000t of copper in concentrate and 7,000oz of gold in 2016.

As noted at the Annual General Meeting in April 2016, we visited the asset to assess how ramp-up was progressing, as well as attending the official opening. Overall, we have been very pleased with the development, construction and ramp-up of the asset with project capital expenditure coming in under budget in both Brazilian reals and in US dollars. Grade reconciliation has been good, with the focus now on reducing costs as production ramps-up. The team has designed plant capacity well in excess of the planned operating rate which gives them flexibility to meet operational guidance, as well as expand in the future where they are targeting 15,000t of copper in concentrate by 2018. The company remains in a very strong position with no debt and a net cash position of ~US$20 million.

The next key focus for the company is their second project, Pedra Branca. In June Avanco provided an updated resource for the Pedra Branca East orebody of 10.5mt at 2.8% Cu and 0.7g/t gold, making it significantly larger than Antas North. Avanco is currently moving forward with a development plan for Pedra Branca, with a 'decision to mine' to be made in the second half of 2016. To validate the assumptions on geology, ground conditions and mining method, Avanco is targeting a low capital expenditure, pre-commercial development of Pedra Branca. During this pre-commercial phase, ore from Pedra Branca will be trucked to the Antas mine utilising the excess capacity to further increase production which will be beneficial for the royalty.

Banro gold-linked preference share (2.3%)

The Company's portfolio has a 2.3% exposure to a gold-linked preference share issued by Canadian listed gold company Banro Corporation. The preference share provides exposure to the gold price, as well as to production growth, with the principal value moving in line with the gold price and the coupon ranging between 10% and 15% depending on Banro's overall level of production. Since purchasing the preference share in April 2013, the Company has received a total of US$8.4 million in dividends with all outstanding deferred dividends to be repaid by the year end.

As noted in the 2015 Annual Report, Banro signed a definitive agreement with a Chinese mining investment fund, Resource FinanceWorks, for US$98.75 million at the end of 2015, with the deal subsequently closing in February 2016. The financing ensures that Banro has sufficient funding to meet the remaining coupon payments due on the senior notes maturing on 1 March 2017, repay outstanding dividends owed on the preference shares, expand crushing capacity at Twangiza and repay its DRC bank loans. Both the bonds and the equity have rallied strongly during the first half of 2016 with the increase in the gold price. We continue to monitor the company's balance sheet closely given its tight liquidity position, as well as the US$175 million bond due in March 2017.

During the first half of the year, Twangiza and Namoya combined produced 93,865ozs of gold,in line with guidance, and a record level for the company. Given adverse wet weather conditions during the first half, Banro expects second half production to be stronger where they are targeting 2016 consolidated production of 210,000 to 230,000oz gold with cash costs between US$700-800/oz.

As at the end of the period, the Board in conjunction with a recommendation from the BlackRock Pricing Committee, has applied a 30% discount to the valuation of the gold-linked preference share. This discount is consistent with the level of the discount to par value that the senior secured notes have traded at during the first half of 2016 and reflective of Banro's ongoing tight liquidity position.

Derivatives activity

The Company from time to time enters into derivatives contracts, mostly involving the sale of 'puts' and 'calls'. These are taken to revenue and are subject to strict Board guidelines which limit their magnitude to an aggregate 10% of the portfolio. In the first half of 2016 we took advantage of the jump in volatilities and sold a number of options at very attractive levels. The majority of these expired worthless and this has enhanced revenue for the Company. At the end of the period, the Company had 2.8% of net assets exposed to derivatives.

Gearing

At 30 June 2016 the Company had 72.8 million of net debt, with a gearing level of 13.1%. The debt is held entirely in US dollars as it is managed against the value of the debt securities held in the Company. The Company also makes use of a short term overdraft facility to manage near term liquidity.

Outlook

We are obviously delighted with the strong performance of the sector to the end of June but we are very aware that things rarely continue to rally at the same rate for long periods of time. In addition, the rally we have been through is in part a bounce from the very depressed point reached in January, as well as it being enhanced by the weakness in the pound post 'Brexit'. If you remove the currency impact, share prices in US dollar terms have returned to levels last seen in June 2015 and, with commodity prices supportive of this move, it is likely that we will need to see additional catalysts during the balance of the year to justify further gains.

The other key factor relates to whether the support measures in China remain in place for the balance of the year allowing commodity markets to move more rapidly into deficit or they are pulled and markets give up part of their gains. It is also important for mining companies to remain focused on cost reduction and disciplined on capital allocation in order not to see this rally as a reason to start reverting back to old ways. Hopefully, the memories of the last few years are sufficiently fresh to prevent this from happening.

Outside of industrial commodities we remain positive on precious metal producers given the supportive back drop for underlying relevant metal prices and the improved equity fundamentals such as competitive free cash flow yields. The Company has significant exposure to this area and within this are a number of holdings that are scheduled to complete development projects shortly and we hope this delivers value outside of just giving exposure to commodity prices.

Evy Hambro and Olivia Markham

BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited

11 August 2016

Ten largest investments

as at 30 June 2016

Set out below is a brief description by the Investment Manager of the Company's ten largest investments

BHP Billiton: 9.0% (2015: 11.3%) is the world's largest mining company by market cap. The company is an important global player in a number of commodities including iron ore, copper, coal, manganese, aluminium, diamonds and uranium. The company is the only sizeable holding in the portfolio with significant oil and gas assets. During the first half of 2016 the company brought an end to its progressive dividend policy, cutting its dividend by 75%. Going forward, the company will pay out a minimum of 50% of underlying profit,with the ability to pay additional amounts depending on capital needs within the business. The tragic tailings dam collapse at Samarco last year and uncertainty around the size of the potential liability continues to weigh on the company.

Rio Tinto: 7.6% (2015: 10.7%) is the world's second largest mining company by market cap. It has interests over a broad range of metals and minerals including iron ore, aluminium, copper, coal, industrial minerals, gold and uranium. During the first half of 2016 the company replaced its progressive dividend policy with a new policy which targets total cash returns to shareholders of 40% to 60% of underlying earnings throughthe cycle. For 2016, the intention is to pay a full year dividend of not less than 110US cents per share. In the first six months of the year, the company approved the US$5.3 billion underground expansion of Oyu Tolgoi which will see average copper production of ~560ktpa between 2025 and 2030.

First Quantum Minerals*: 6.8% (2015: 6.7%) is an integrated copper producer whose principal operating assets are in Zambia. First Quantum is in the midst of a significant expansion of the business, most notable the Cobre Panama mine in Panama. Weakness inthe copper price during 2015, combined with its heavy capital investment, saw the company take action to derisk the balance sheet. During the first half of 2016 the company successfully sold its Kevista nickel mine for US$712 million to Boliden. In addition, the company refinanced its US$3 billion credit facility with a new US$1.8 billion facility with improved financial covenants and amortisation schedule. First Quantum's efforts to strengthen its balance sheet have been viewed positively by the equity market and credit ratings agencies. The Company holds both the equity and the senior unsecured debt.

Fresnillo: 5.2% (2015: 4.5%) is a Mexican based precious metals mining company incorporated in the United Kingdom and headquartered in Mexico City. Fresnillo is the world's largest producer of silver and Mexico's second largest gold miner. The company has a strong exploration focus and organic growth pipeline targeting growth to 65moz silver and 750koz of gold by 2018.

Lundin Mining*: 4.6% (2015: 5.3%) is a base metals producer with operations in Chile, Europe and the US. In addition, it holds a 24% minority stake in the Tenke copper-cobalt mine in the DRC. Lundin's key asset, Candelaria, which was acquired from Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold in October 2014 performed very well during the first half of the year with management upgrading guidance for the remainder of the year. In May 2016, Freeport announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its 56% interest in Tenke for US$2.65 billion to China Molybdenum. Lundin has a 90 day Right of First Offer and is evaluating all options for its stake in Tenke. The Company holds both the equity and the 7.875% senior secured notes due in 2022.

Newcrest Mining: 3.6% (2015: 1.6%) is a major Australian based gold producer operating in four countries. Newcrest has an industry leading reserve life and cost position and has successfully maintained or increased total production guidance for 11 consecutive quarters under new management. The company is focused on increasing throughput at its Lihir operation in PNG, as well as ramping up its newest project, Cadia East in Australia. Longer term, the company has organic growth potential at its Wafi-Golpu project in PNG.

Glencore: 3.5% (2015: 3.8%) is a diversified miner with activities in mining, smelting, refining, processing and marketing of metals and minerals, energy products and agricultural products globally. In addition, the company provides financing, logistics, marketing and purchasing services to producers and consumers of commodities. Since mid-2015 the company has been focused on rapidly de-gearing the balance sheet targeting a net debt position of US$17 to US$18 billion by December 2016, versus net debt of US$26 billion in December 2015. The company is targeting asset sale proceeds of US$4 to US$5 billion, with the company successfully selling a 40% equity stake in its agriculture business for US$2.5 billion in April 2016. Glencore remains focused on preserving its investment grade credit rating, targeting a BBB+ rating over the medium term.

Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde: 3.4% (2015: 3.8%) is a copper and molybdenum operation in Peru operated by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold where they maintain a 53.6% ownership in the company. In 2013, construction activities commenced on the US$4.4 billion large scale expansion of the asset which will see copper production more than double from 210kt in 2015 to 560kt in 2017. The project successfully ramped up during the first half of 2016 with significant cash flows and dividend payments expected from 2017.

Norilsk Nickel: 3.3% (2015: 5.0%) is the world's largest nickel and palladium producer and also with significant platinum and copper production. It is a Russian company whose core assets are located in northern Siberia, within the Arctic Circle. The company has benefited from the significant weakening in the Russian rouble in recent years.

Newmont Mining: 3.1% (2015: nil) is one of the world's leading gold producers with the majority of its production from North America and Australia. In recent years Newmont has divested assets to build a longer life, lower cost asset portfolio. The company has reduced net debt by US$2 billion since 2013 while funding growth projects. On 30 June 2016 the company sold its interest in the Batu Hijau project in Indonesia for US$920 million in cash to be used for further debt repayment.

* Includes fixed interest securities.

All percentages reflect the value of the holding as a percentage of total investments. Percentages in brackets represent the value of the holding as at 31 December 2015. Together, the ten largest investments represent 50.1% of total investments (31 December 2015: 56.6%).

Portfolio analysis

30 June 2016

COMMODITY EXPOSURE*

BlackRock World Mining Trust plc

2016

% BlackRock World Mining Trust plc

2015#

% Euromoney Global Mining Index

2015

% Aluminium 0 0.5 2.1 Coal 0 0 4.4 Iron Ore 0.1 0.1 1.1 Zinc 0.5 0 1.9 Nickel 3.5 0 1.7 Industrial Minerals 3.4 6.5 0.9 Silver & Diamonds 16.2 13.2 8.5 Copper 17.6 21.0 9.5 Gold 26.6 17.7 32.6 Diversified 32.1 40.5 35.2 Other 0.0 0.5 2.1

# Represents exposure at 31 December 2015.

GEOGRAPHIC EXPOSURE*

2016

% 2015

% Global 50.7 Global 48.7 Latin America 14.8 Latin America 14.9 Australia 9.7 Australia 10.0 Africa (ex SA) 8.5 Africa (ex SA) 9.1 Canada 6.8 Canada 5.9 Other*** 5.0 Other** 7.3 South Africa 4.5 South Africa 4.1

* Based on the principal commodity exposure and place of operation of each investment.

** Consists of Indonesia, Russia, Serbia, Sweden and Turkey.

*** Consists of Indonesia, Russia, Sweden and Turkey.

Source: BlackRock.

Investments

as at 30 June 2016



Maingeographical

exposure Market

value

'000

%of

investments Diversified BHP Billiton Global 56,568 9.0 Rio Tinto Global 48,142 7.6 Lundin Mining* Global 28,943 4.6 Glencore Global 22,140 3.5 Teck Resources Global 14,688 2.3 Vale* Global 11,424 1.8 Vale OTC Call Option 15/07/16 Global (66) - Hudbay Minerals 9.5% 01/10/20 Global 7,728 1.2 Boliden Sweden 7,134 1.2 African Rainbow Minerals South Africa 2,820 0.5 Umicore Global 2,499 0.4 -------- -------- 202,020 32.1 -------- -------- Gold Newcrest Mining Australia 22,605 3.6 Newmont Mining Global 19,748 3.1 Banro Barbados+# DRC 14,528 2.3 Randgold Resources Africa 13,801 2.2 Franco-Nevada Global 13,115 2.1 Barrick Gold Global 11,967 1.9 Barrick Gold Call Option 15/07/16 Global (193) - Eldorado Gold Global 11,380 1.8 Northern Star Resources Australia 10,984 1.7 Gold Fields South Africa 10,956 1.7 Agnico Eagle Mines Canada 7,955 1.3 Detour Gold Canada 7,435 1.2 Oceanagold Global 5,464 0.9 Alamos Gold Mexico 4,160 0.6 Anglogold Ashanti South Africa 3,375 0.5 Anglogold Ashanti Call Option 15/07/16 South Africa (195) - Metals X Australia 2,350 0.4 G-Resources Indonesia 2,316 0.4 Shanta Gold convertible Tanzania 1,907 0.3 Pretium Resources Canada 1,689 0.3 Minas Buenaventura Peru 1,183 0.2 Stratex International Turkey 634 0.1 -------- -------- 167,164 26.6 -------- -------- Copper First Quantum Minerals* Global 43,020 6.8 Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde Peru 21,474 3.4 Avanco Resources*#~ Brazil 17,891 2.8 Nevsun Resources Eritrea 15,400 2.5 OZ Minerals Australia 12,010 1.9 Katanga Mining DRC 940 0.1 Ivanhoe Mines# DRC 525 0.1 -------- -------- 111,260 17.6 -------- -------- Silver & Diamonds Fresnillo Mexico 32,551 5.2 Industrias Penoles Mexico 12,346 2.0 Tahoe Resources Global 12,562 2.0 Tahoe Resources Call Option 15/07/16 Global (578) (0.1) Petra Diamonds* South Africa 11,033 1.8 Silver Wheaton Canada 10,437 1.7 Mountain Province Diamonds Canada 8,656 1.4 Lucara Diamond Botswana 5,713 0.9 Dominion Diamond Canada 4,567 0.7 Dominion Diamond OTC Call Option 15/07/16 Canada (7) - Silver Mines Australia 1,346 0.2 Sierra Metals Peru 1,228 0.2 Volcan Peru 842 0.1 MAG Silver Mexico 469 0.1 -------- -------- 101,165 16.2 -------- -------- Industrial Minerals Iluka Resources Australia 10,828 1.7 Albemarle Global 8,352 1.3 Nemaska Lithium Canada 1,530 0.2 Bacanora Minerals Mexico 1,226 0.2 -------- -------- 21,936 3.4 -------- -------- Nickel Norilsk Nickel Russia 20,846 3.3 Western Areas Australia 1,021 0.2 Bindura Nickel Zimbabwe 24 - -------- -------- 21,891 3.5 -------- -------- Zinc Nyrstar Global 3,217 0.5 Sociedad Minera El Brocal Peru 286 - -------- -------- 3,503 0.5 -------- -------- Iron Ore Equatorial Resources Republic of Congo 543 0.1 -------- -------- 543 0.1 -------- -------- Portfolio 629,482 100.0 -------- -------- * Includes fixed interest investments.

# Investments held at Directors' valuation.

+ Includes Banro gold-linked preference share.

~ Includes mining royalty contract.

All investments are in equity shares unless otherwise stated.

The total number of investments as at 30 June 2016 (including options classified as liabilities on the balance sheet) was 64 (31 December 2015: 56).

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

for the six months ended 30 June 2016

Revenue '000 Capital '000 Total '000







Notes Six

months

ended

30.06.16

(unaudited) Six

months

ended

30.06.15

(unaudited)

Year

ended

31.12.15

(audited) Six

months

ended

30.06.16

(unaudited) Six

months

ended

30.06.15

(unaudited)

Year

ended

31.12.15

(audited) Six

months

ended

30.06.16

(unaudited) Six

months

ended

30.06.15

(unaudited)

Year

ended

31.12.15

(audited) Income from investments held at fair value through profit or loss 3 10,628 16,263 30,503 - - - 10,628 16,263 30,503 Other income 3 3,361 4,084 8,742 - - - 3,361 4,084 8,742 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 13,989 20,347 39,245 - - - 13,989 20,347 39,245 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Profit/(loss) on investments held at fair value through profit or loss - - - 203,649 (56,505) (236,061) 203,649 (56,505) (236,061) (Loss)/profit on foreign exchange - - - (6,189) 200 (2,942) (6,189) 200 (2,942) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total revenue 13,989 20,347 39,245 197,460 (56,305) (239,003) 211,449 (35,958) (199,758) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Expenses Investment management fees 4 (490) (845) (1,328) (1,641) (2,536) (3,984) (2,131) (3,381) (5,312) Operating expenses 5 (426) (480) (1,030) (9) (3) (13) (435) (483) (1,043) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Total operating expenses (916) (1,325) (2,358) (1,650) (2,539) (3,997) (2,566) (3,864) (6,355) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Net profit/(loss) on ordinary

activities beforefinance costs and taxation 13,073 19,022 36,887 195,810 (58,844) (243,000) 208,883 (39,822) (206,113) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Finance costs (113) (151) (288) (336) (452) (864) (449) (603) (1,152) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Net profit/(loss) on ordinary

activities beforetaxation 12,960 18,871 36,599 195,474 (59,296) (243,864) 208,434 (40,425) (207,265) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Taxation (1,441) (2,007) (3,855) 368 601 989 (1,073) (1,406) (2,866) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Profit/(loss) for the period 11,519 16,864 32,744 195,842 (58,695) (242,875) 207,361 (41,831) (210,131) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Earnings/(loss) per ordinary share 7 6.51p 9.51p 18.47p 110.76p (33.11p) (137.00p) 117.27p (23.60p) (118.53p) ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== ======== ========

The total column of this statement represents the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS'), as adopted by the European Union ('EU'). The supplementary revenue and capital columns are both prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies ('AIC'). All items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired ordiscontinued during the period. All income is attributable to the equity holders of BlackRock World Mining Trust plc. There were no minority interests. The Group does not have any other comprehensive income. The net profit/(loss) for the period/year disclosed above represents the Group's total comprehensive income/(loss).

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

for the six months ended 30 June 2016 (unaudited)

Ordinary

share

capital

'000 Share

premium

account

'000

Special

reserve

'000 Capital

redemption

reserve

'000

Capital

reserves

'000

Revenue

reserve

'000



Total

'000 For the six months ended 30 June 2016 (unaudited) At 31 December 2015 9,651 127,155 116,471 22,779 55,022 46,235 377,313 Total comprehensive income: Net profit for the period - - - - 195,842 11,519 207,361 Transactions with owners, recorded directly to equity: Ordinary shares purchased into treasury - - (1,882) - - - (1,882) Dividends paid(a) - - - - - (24,739) (24,739) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- At 30 June 2016 9,651 127,155 114,589 22,779 250,864 33,015 558,053 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- For the six months ended 30 June 2015 (unaudited) At 31 December 2014 9,651 127,155 116,471 22,779 297,897 50,721 624,674 Total comprehensive income: Net (loss)/profit for the period - - - - (58,695) 16,864 (41,831) Transactions with owners, recorded directly to equity: Dividends paid(b) - - - - - (24,820) (24,820) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- At 30 June 2015 9,651 127,155 116,471 22,779 239,202 42,765 558,023 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- For the year ended 31 December 2015 (audited) At 31 December 2014 9,651 127,155 116,471 22,779 297,897 50,721 624,674 Total comprehensive income: Net (loss)/profit for the year - - - - (242,875) 32,744 (210,131) Transactions with owners, recorded directly to equity: Dividends paid(c) - - - - - (37,230) (37,230) -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- At 31 December 2015 9,651 127,155 116,471 22,779 55,022 46,235 377,313 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- --------

(a) The final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2015 of 14.00p per share, declared on 29 February 2016 and paid on 6 May 2016.

(b) The final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2014 of 14.00p per share, declared on 19 March 2015 and paid on 8 May 2015.

(c) The final dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2014 of 14.00p per share, declared on 19 March 2015 and paid on 8 May 2015 and interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2015 of7.00p per share declared on 13 August 2015 and paid on 18 September 2015.

The transaction costs incurred on the acquisition and disposal of investments are included within the capital reserves. Purchase and sale costs amounted to 235,000 and 119,000 respectively for the period ended 30June 2016 (six months ended 30 June 2015: 221,000 and 242,000; year ended 31 December 2015: 636,000 and 468,000).

Consolidated statement of financial position

as at 30 June 2016





Notes 30June2016

'000

(unaudited) 30June2015

'000

(unaudited) 31December2015

'000

(audited) Non current assets Investments held at fair value through profit or loss 9 630,521 628,419 426,085 -------- -------- -------- 630,521 628,419 426,085 -------- -------- -------- Current assets Cash and cash equivalents - 146 13,223 Collateral held on margin deposit withbrokers 2,967 2,310 1,340 Other receivables 4,314 3,311 3,797 Amounts due from brokers 6,749 3,397 - -------- -------- -------- 14,030 9,164 18,360 -------- -------- -------- Total assets 644,551 637,583 444,445 -------- -------- -------- Current liabilities Other payables (4,040) (5,098) (3,540) Amounts due to brokers (8,499) - (2,714) Derivative instruments - written options (1,039) (782) (161) Bank loans (71,065) (73,651) (60,708) Bank overdrafts (1,855) - - -------- -------- -------- (86,498) (79,531) (67,123) -------- -------- -------- Total assets less current liabilities 558,053 558,052 377,322 Non current liabilities Deferred tax liabilities - (29) (9) -------- -------- -------- Net assets 558,053 558,023 377,313 -------- -------- -------- Equity attributable to equity holders Ordinary share capital 8 9,651 9,651 9,651 Share premium account 127,155 127,155 127,155 Special reserve 114,589 116,471 116,471 Capital redemption reserve 22,779 22,779 22,779 Capital reserves 250,864 239,202 55,022 Revenue reserve 33,015 42,765 46,235 -------- -------- -------- Total equity shareholders' funds 558,053 558,023 377,313 -------- -------- -------- Net asset value per ordinary share 7 316.26p 314.76p 212.83p ======== ======== ========

Consolidated cash flow statement

for the six months ended 30 June 2016

Sixmonths

ended

30June2016

'000

(unaudited) Sixmonths

ended

30June2015

'000

(unaudited) Year

ended

31December2015

'000

(audited) Net cash inflow from operating activities 7,824 26,711 68,922 -------- -------- -------- Financing activities Interest paid (449) (603) (1,242) Drawdown/(repayment) of loans 4,138 (32,396) (48,305) Shares purchased into treasury (1,882) - - Dividends paid (24,739) (24,820) (37,230) -------- -------- -------- Net cash outflow from financing activities (22,932) (57,819) (86,777) -------- -------- -------- Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (15,108) (31,108) (17,855) Effect of foreign exchange rate changes 30 200 24 -------- -------- -------- Change in cash and cash equivalents (15,078) (30,908) (17,831) Cash and cash equivalents at start of the period 13,223 31,054 31,054 -------- -------- -------- Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period (1,855) 146 13,223 ======== ======== ======== Comprised of: Cash at bank - 146 13,223 -------- -------- -------- Bank overdraft (1,855) - - -------- -------- -------- (1,855) 146 13,223 ======== ======== ========

Reconciliation of net profit before finance costs and taxation to net cash flow from operating activities

for the six months ended 30 June 2016

Sixmonths

ended

30June2016

'000

(unaudited) Sixmonths

ended

30June2015

'000

(unaudited)

Yearended

31December2015

'000

(audited) Operating activities Profit/(loss) before taxation* 208,434 (40,425) (207,265) Add back interest paid 449 603 1,152 (Profit)/loss on investments held at fair value through profit or loss including transaction costs (203,649) 56,505 236,061 Loss/(profit) on foreign exchange 6,189 (200) 2,942 Sales of investments held at fair value through profit or loss 110,559 115,162 230,407 Purchases of investments held at fair value throughprofit or loss (110,468) (104,533) (197,355) (Increase)/decrease in other receivables (517) 3,122 2,187 (Increase)/decrease in amounts due from brokers (6,749) (3,379) 18 Increase/(decrease) in other payables 359 1,675 (191) Increase in amounts due to brokers 5,785 - 2,714 Net movement in cash held on margin deposit withbrokers (1,627) (626) 344 Taxation paid (666) (393) (441) Taxation on investment income included within gross income (275) (800) (1,651) -------- -------- -------- Net cash inflow from operating activities 7,824 26,711 68,922 -------- -------- -------- * Dividends and interest received in the six months ended 30 June 2016 amounted to 7,206,000 and 3,005,000 (six months ended 30 June 2015: 15,108,000 and 3,409,000 and year ended 31December2015: 25,713,000 and 6,634,000) respectively.

Notes to the financial statements

for the six months ended 30 June 2016

1. Principal activity

The principal activity of the Company is that of an investment trust company within the meaning of section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.

The principal activity of the subsidiary, BlackRock World Mining Investment Company Limited, is investment dealing.

2. Basis of operation

The half yearly financial statements have been prepared using the same accounting policies as set out in the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the yearended 31 December 2015 (which were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS') as adopted by the European Union and as applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006) and applied in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim Financial Reporting'. These comprise standards and interpretations of International Accounting Standards and Standard Interpretations Committee as approved by the International Accounting Standards Committee that remain in effect, to the extent that IFRS has been adopted by the European Union.

Insofar as the Statement of Recommended Practice ('SORP') for investment trust companies and venture capital trusts issued by the Association of Investment Companies ('AIC'), revised in November 2014 is compatible with IFRS, the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with guidance set out in the SORP.

3. Income

Sixmonths

ended

30June2016

'000

(unaudited) Sixmonths

ended

30June2015

'000

(unaudited)

Yearended

31December2015

'000

(audited) Income from investments: UK listed dividends 2,934 4,508 9,782 Overseas listed dividends 4,198 8,548 14,460 Overseas listed special dividends - - 71 Income from contractual rights 478 - - Fixed interest income 3,018 3,207 6,190 -------- -------- -------- 10,628 16,263 30,503 -------- -------- -------- Other income: Option premiums 3,315 3,992 8,647 Profit of futures - 25 25 Deposit interest 3 15 26 Stock lending income 43 9 44 Underwriting commission - 43 - -------- -------- -------- 3,361 4,084 8,742 -------- -------- -------- Total 13,989 20,347 39,245 ======== ======== ========

During the six month period ended 30 June 2016, the option premium income of 3,306,000 (six months ended 30 June 2015: 4,437,000; year ended 31 December 2015: 8,503,000) received by the Group was from options written for income purposes of which 3,315,000 (six months ended 30 June 2015: 3,992,000; year ended 31 December 2015: 8,647,000) has been credited to the revenue column of the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and recognised evenly over the life of the option contract.

4. Investment management fee

Sixmonths

ended

30June2016

'000

(unaudited) Sixmonths

ended

30June2015

'000

(unaudited)

Yearended

31December2015

'000

(audited) Investment management fee: - Allocated to revenue 490 845 1,328 - Allocated to capital 1,641 2,536 3,984 -------- -------- -------- 2,131 3,381 5,312 ======== ======== ========

Until 31 March 2015 the investment management fee was levied quarterly at a rate of 1.3% per annum, based on the value of the gross assets on the last day of each quarter.

Between 1 April 2015 and 30 June 2015, the annual fee was reduced to:

- 1.10% on the first 500 million of gross assets

- 0.70% on the next 500 million

- 0.40% on gross assets above 1 billion

Between 1 July 2015 and 30 September 2015, the annual management fee was:

- 1.20% on the first 500 million of gross assets

- 1.00% on the next 500 million

- 0.85% on gross assets above 1 billion

With effect from 1 October 2015 the annual management fee was reduced to 0.8% of net assets. However, in the event that the NAV increases on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the fee will then be paid on gross assets for the quarter.

75% of investment management fees are allocated to the capital column and 25% to the revenue column of the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.

5. Operating expenses

Sixmonths

ended

30June2016

'000

(unaudited) Sixmonths

ended

30June2015

'000

(unaudited)

Yearended

31December2015

'000

(audited) Allocated to revenue: Custody fee 40 52 90 Auditors' remuneration: - audit services 13 11 29 - other assurance services 6 6 6 Directors' emoluments 129 119 256 Registrar's fee 37 37 72 Broker fees 12 5 269 Depositary fees 24 36 62 Marketing fees 69 95 17 Other administration costs 96 119 229 -------- -------- -------- 426 480 1,030 -------- -------- -------- Allocated to capital: Transaction charges - capital 9 3 13 -------- -------- -------- 435 483 1,043 -------- -------- --------

6. Dividends

The final dividend of 14.00p per share for the year ended 31 December 2015 was paid on 6 May 2016.

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 4.00p per share for the six months ended 30June 2016 and will be paid on 16 September 2016 to shareholders on the register on 26 August 2016. This dividend has not been accrued in the financial statements for the sixmonths ended 30 June 2016 as, under IFRS, interim dividends are not recognised untilpaid.

Dividends are debited directly to reserves.

7. Consolidated earnings and net asset value per ordinary share

Total revenue and capital returns and net asset value per share are shown below and have been calculated using the following:

Sixmonths

ended

30June2016

(unaudited) Sixmonths

ended

30June2015

(unaudited)

Yearended

31December2015

(audited) Net revenue profit attributable to ordinary shareholders ('000) 11,519 16,864 32,744 Net capital profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders ('000) 195,842 (58,695) (242,875) -------- -------- -------- Total profit/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders ('000) 207,361 (41,831) (210,131) ======== ======== ======== Total equity attributable to equity holders ('000) 558,053 558,023 377,313 -------- -------- -------- The weighted average number of ordinary shares inissue during each period, on which the return per ordinary share was calculated was: 176,826,057 177,287,242 177,287,242 The actual number of ordinary shares in issue at the end of each period, on which the undiluted netasset value was calculated was: 176,455,242 177,287,242 177,287,242 Revenue earnings per share 6.51p 9.51p 18.47p Capital profit/(loss) per share 110.76p (33.11p) (137.00p) -------- -------- -------- Total profit/(loss) per share 117.27p (23.60p) (118.53p) -------- -------- -------- Asat

30June2016

(unaudited) Asat

30June2015

(unaudited) Asat

31December2015

(audited) Net asset value per share 316.26p 314.76p 212.83p Share price 270.25p 288.50p 181.00p

8. Called up share capital

Ordinary

sharesin

issue

(number)

Treasury

shares

(number)

Total

shares

(number)

Nominal

value

'000 Allotted, called up and fully paid share capital comprised: Ordinary shares of 5 pence each ----------- ----------- ----------- -------- At 1 January 2016 177,287,242 15,724,600 193,011,842 9,651 ----------- ----------- ----------- -------- Shares purchased into treasury (832,000) 832,000 - - ----------- ----------- ----------- -------- At 30 June 2016 176,455,242 16,556,600 193,011,842 9,651 ========== ========= ========== ========

During the period to 30 June 2016, 832,000 ordinary shares were purchased (six months ended 30 June 2015: nil; year ended 31 December 2015: nil) and held in treasury at a total cost of 1,882,000 including expenses (six months ended 30 June 2015: nil; year ended 31December 2015: nil).

No ordinary shares were cancelled during the period (six months ended 30 June 2015: nil; year ended 31 December 2015: nil). Since 30 June 2016 and up to the date of this report, no ordinary shares have been repurchased.

9. Valuation of financial instruments

Financial assets and financial liabilities are either carried in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position at their fair value (investment and derivatives) or at an amount which is a reasonable approximation of fair value (due from brokers, dividends and interest receivable, due to brokers, accruals, cash at bank and bank overdrafts). IFRS 13 requires the Company to classify fair value measurements using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of inputs used in making the measurements. The valuation techniques used by the Company are explained in the accounting policies note 2(h) and 2(o), as set outin the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31December 2015.

Categorisation within the hierarchy has been determined on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the relevant asset as follows.

The fair value hierarchy has the following levels:

Level 1 - Quoted market price in an active market for an identical instrument. These include exchange traded derivative option contracts. A financial instrument is regarded asquoted in an active market if quoted prices are readily and regularly available from an exchange, dealer, broker, industry group, pricing service, or regulatory agency, and those prices represent actual and regularly occurring market transactions on an arm's length basis.

Level 2 - Valuation techniques used to price securities based on observable inputs. This category includes instruments valued using quoted prices in active markets for identical instruments; quoted prices for similar instruments in markets that are less active; or other valuation techniques where all significant inputs are directly or indirectly observable from market data.

Valuation techniques used for non-standard financial instruments such as options, currency swaps and other over-the-counter derivatives, include the use of comparable recent arm's length transactions, reference to other instruments that are substantially thesame, discounted cash flow analysis, option pricing models and other valuation techniques commonly used by market participants making maximum use of market inputs and relying as little as possible on entity specific inputs.

Over-the-counter derivative option contracts have been classified as Level 2 investments as their valuation has been based on market observable inputs represented by the underlying quoted securities to which these contracts expose the Group.

Level 3 - Valuation techniques using significant unobservable inputs. This category includes all instruments where the valuation technique includes inputs not based on observable data and the unobservable inputs could have a significant impact on the instrument's valuation. This category includes instruments that are valued based on quoted prices for similar instruments where significant unobservable adjustments or assumptions are required to reflect differences between the instruments and instruments for which there is no active market.

The level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement is categorised in its entirety is determined on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

For this purpose, the significance of an input is assessed against the fair value measurement in its entirety. If a fair value measurement uses observable inputs that require significant adjustment based on unobservable inputs, that measurement is a Level3 measurement. Assessing the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgement, considering factors specific to the asset or liability.

The determination of what constitutes 'observable' requires significant judgement by the Investment Manager. The Investment Manager considers observable data to be that market data that is readily available, regularly distributed or updated, reliable and verifiable, not proprietary, and provided by independent sources that are actively involved in the relevant market.

There has been no change to the valuation techniques during the period under review or asat the date of this report.

The table below sets out fair value measurements using the IFRS 13 fair value hierarchy.

Financial assets/(liabilities) at fair value through profit or loss at 30 June 2016 Level1

'000 Level2

'000 Level3

'000 Total

'000 Assets: Equity investments 540,349 - 14,524 554,873 Investment in contractual rights - - 8,795 8,795 Fixed interest securities 66,853 - - 66,853 -------- -------- -------- -------- 607,202 - 23,319 630,521 -------- -------- -------- -------- Liabilities: Derivative financial instruments - writtenoptions - (1,039) - (1,039) -------- -------- -------- -------- 607,202 (1,039) 23,319 629,482 ======== ======== ======== ========

Financial assets/(liabilities) at fair value through profit or loss at 30 June 2015 Level1

'000 Level2

'000 Level3

'000 Total

'000 Assets: Equity investments 540,307 346 13,291 553,944 Investment in contractual rights - - - - Fixed interest securities 74,475 - - 74,475 -------- -------- -------- -------- 614,782 346 13,291 628,419 -------- -------- -------- -------- Liabilities: Derivative financial instruments - writtenoptions - (782) - (782) -------- -------- -------- -------- 614,782 (436) 13,291 627,637 ======== ======== ======== ========

Financial assets/(liabilities) at fair value through profit or loss at 31 December 2015 Level1

'000 Level2

'000 Level3

'000 Total

'000 Assets: Equity investments 352,482 76 10,572 363,130 Investment in contractual rights - - 8,142 8,142 Fixed interest securities 54,813 - - 54,813 -------- -------- -------- -------- 407,295 76 18,714 426,085 -------- -------- -------- -------- Liabilities: Derivative financial instruments - writtenoptions - (161) - (161) -------- -------- -------- -------- 407,295 (85) 18,714 425,924 ======== ======== ======== ========

A reconciliation of fair value measurement in Level 3 is set out below.









Level 3 Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss Sixmonths

ended

30June2016

'000

(unaudited) Sixmonths

ended

30June2015

'000

(unaudited)

Yearended

31December2015

'000

(audited) Opening fair value 18,714 17,864 17,864 Purchases at cost - - 7,685 Disposals - - (8,861) Return of capital-royalty (182) - - Transfer from Level 3 to Level 1 - (6,491) - Total gains or losses included in gains/(losses) on investments in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income: - assets disposed during the period - - 2,370 - assets held at the end of the period 4,787 1,918 (344) -------- -------- -------- Closing balance 23,319 13,291 18,714 ======== ======== ========

The Level 3 investments as at 30 June 2016 in the table above relate to the Avanco royalty and Banro gold-linked preference share. A liquidity discount was applied to the observable inputs for the valuation of Banro gold-linked preference share as at 30June 2016, 30 June 2015 and 31 December 2015. Therefore, in accordance with IFRS 13, these investments were categorised as Level 3. As at 30 June 2015, after considering the liquidity in the Banro 10% senior secured note, the liquidity discount was removed and the investment was priced as per bid market prices and categorised as a Level 1 investment. In arriving at the fair value of this investment, the key inputs are the underlying commodity prices and liquidity discount.

The level 3 valuation process and techniques used by the Company are explained in the accounting practices in notes 2(h) and 2(o) and a detailed explanation of the techniques is also available on page 71 under 'valuation process and techniques' in the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2015.

Quantitative information of significant unobservable inputs - Level 3











Description Six

months

ended

30June2016

'000

(unaudited) Six

months

ended

30June2015

'000

(unaudited)

Year

ended

31December2015

'000

(audited)







Valuation

technique







Unobservable

input Banro gold-linked preference share 14,524 13,291 10,572 Discount to gold price Illiquidity discount Avanco royalty* 8,795 - 8,142 Discounted cash flows Discount rate - weighted average cost of capital

Average gold and copper prices ---------- --------- --------- Total 23,319 13,291 18,714 ====== ====== ======

* Adjusted for changes in currency movements and return of capital.

Sensitivity analysis to significant changes in unobservable inputs within Level 3 hierarchy

The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement categorised within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy, together with an estimated quantitative sensitivity analysis, as at 30June 2016 are as shown below. The rationale for the explanation of the illiquidity discount is given on pages 16 and 17 of the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2015.







Description





Input

Estimated

sensitivity

used* Impact

on

fair

value Banro gold-linked preference share Average gold prices 10% 1.5m Avanco royalty Discount rate - weighted

average cost of capital 1% 0.6m Average gold and copper prices 10% 1.6m

* The sensitivity analysis refers to a percentage amount added or deducted from the input and the effect this has on the fair value.

The sensitivity impact on fair value is calculated based on the sensitivity estimates setout by the independent valuer in its report on the valuation of contractual rights. Significant increases (decreases) in estimated commodity prices and discount rates inisolation would result in a significantly higher (lower) fair value measurement. Generally, achange in the assumption made for the estimated value is accompanied byadirectionally similar change in commodity prices and discount rates.

10. Transactions with the AIFM and the Investment Manager

BlackRock Fund Managers Limited ('BFM') was appointed as the Company's Alternative Investment Fund Manager ('AIFM') with effect from 2 July 2014. BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited ('BIM (UK)') continues to act as the Company's Investment Manager under a delegation agreement with BFM.

The investment management fee due to BFM for the six months ended 30 June 2016 amounted to 2,131,000 (six months ended 30 June 2015: 3,381,000; year ended 31December 2015: 5,312,000).

At the period end, 2,128,000 was outstanding in respect of the investment managementfee (six months ended 30 June 2015: 3,395,000; year ended 31 December 2015: 1,952,000).

In addition to the above services, BlackRock has provided the Company with marketing services. The total for these services to 30 June 2016 amounted to 47,000 excluding VAT(six months ended 30 June 2015: 95,000; year ended 31 December 2015: 17,000). Marketing fees of 36,000 were outstanding as at 30 June 2016 (30 June 2015: 394,000; 31 December 2015: 143,000).

11. Related party disclosure

The Board consists of six non-executive Directors, all of whom are considered to be independent by the Board. None of the Directors has a service contract with the Company. The Chairman receives an annual fee of 45,000, the Chairman of the Audit Committee and Management Engagement Committee/Senior Independent Director receives an annual fee of 37,500 and each of the other Directors receives an annual fee of 30,000.

At the period end, interests of the Directors in the ordinary shares of the Company are as set outbelow:

Ordinary

shares Ian Cockerill 36,789 Colin Buchan 29,000 David Cheyne 24,000 Jane Lewis (appointed on 28 April 2016) nil Russell Edey 7,000 Judith Mosely 7,400

12. Contingent liabilities

There were no contingent liabilities at 30 June 2016 (six months ended 30 June 2015: nil; year ended 31 December 2015: nil).

13. Publication of non statutory accounts

The financial information contained in this half yearly report does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the six months ended 30 June 2016 and 30 June 2015 has been reviewed by the Company's auditors.

The information for the year ended 31 December 2015 has been extracted from the latest published audited financial statements, which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies, unless otherwise stated. The report of the auditors on those accounts contained no qualification or statement under sections 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act2006.

14. Annual results

The Board expects to announce the annual results for the year ending 31 December 2016 in mid February 2017. Copies of the results announcement can be obtained from the Secretary on 020 7743 3000. The annual report should be available by the beginning of March 2017, with the Annual General Meeting being held in April 2017.

Independent review report

to BlackRock World Mining Trust plc

Report on the financial statements

Our conclusion

We have reviewed BlackRock World Mining Trust plc's financial statements (the 'interim financial statements') in the Half Yearly Financial Report of BlackRock World Mining Trust plc for the six month period ended 30 June 2016. Based on our review, nothing has come toour attention that causes us to believe that the interim financial statements are not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim Financial Reporting', as adopted by the European Union and the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

As disclosed in note 2 to the interim financial statements, the financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the full annual financial statements of the Group is applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union.

Responsibilities for the interim financial statements andthe review

Our responsibilities and those of the directors

The Half Yearly Financial Report, including the interim financial statements, is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the Directors. The Directors are responsible for preparing the Half Yearly Financial Report in accordance with the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.

Our responsibility is to express a conclusion on the interim financial statements in the Half Yearly Financial Report based on our review. This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and only for the Company for the purpose of complying with the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this conclusion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

What a review of interim financial statements involves

We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410, 'Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity' issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures.

A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and, consequently, does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion.

We have read the other information contained in the Half Yearly Financial Report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the interim financial statements.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Chartered Accountants

London

11 August 2016

a) The maintenance and integrity of the BlackRock World Mining Trust plc website is the responsibility of BlackRock; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve considerationof these matters and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the interim financial statements since they were initially presented onthe website.

b) Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

ENDS

The Half Yearly Financial Report will also be available on the BlackRock website at blackrock.co.uk/brwm. Neither the contents of the Manager's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

For further information, please contact:

Mark Johnson, Managing Director, Investment Trusts, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited -

Tel: 020 7743 2300

Evy Hambro, Fund Manager, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited -

Tel: 020 7743 4511

Press enquiries:

Lucy Horne, Lansons Communications - Tel: 020 7294 3689

E-mail: lucyh@lansons.com



12 Throgmorton Avenue

London EC2N 2DL

11 August 2016
MAJURO, MARSHALL ISLANDS -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Pioneer Marine Inc. and its subsidiaries (OSLO-OTC: PNRM) ("Pioneer Marine," or the "Company") a leading shipowner and global drybulk handysize transportation service provider announced its financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Financial Highlights:

For the second quarter of 2016 the Company reported a net loss of $6.7 million, or $0.22 per share basic and diluted which includes charges and write off of capitalised expenses amounting to $3.0 million as a result of the termination of the last two newbuilding contracts. Excluding these charges, the Company's adjusted net loss for the second quarter of 2016 is $3.7 million or $0.12 per share basic and diluted.

For the six month period ended June 30, 2016, the Company reported a net loss of $20.6 million, or $0.68 per share basic and diluted which includes charges and write off of capitalised expenses amounting to $11.6 million as a result of the termination of seven newbuilding contracts ("newbuilding contract termination agreement"). Excluding these charges, the net loss is $9.0 million or $0.30 per share basic and diluted for the six month period ended June 30, 2016.

Recent events:

Within July 2016, the Company received an amount of $12.9 million representing all instalments paid for the construction of the two cancelled newbuilding contracts.

On July 14, 2016, the Company repurchased 804,254 of its own shares at a price of $0.71 per share. The repurchased shares will not be retired and will be included as treasury stock in the Company's financial statements.

Liquidity & Capital Resources:

As of June 30, 2016, the Company had a total liquidity of $83.8 million inclusive of $20.6 million in restricted cash. The Company has no capital commitments.

Pankaj Khanna, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The first half of 2016 will be remembered for some time to come as one of the weakest periods for the drybulk industry in modern history. Freight rates bottomed in February and saw marginal improvement through the second quarter to levels barely above operating cost levels. The improvement in the market was a direct result of substantial improvement in demand for commodities. China flexed its muscles again and amply demonstrated its pivotal position in the drybulk market. Chinese imports of iron ore grew at close to 10% in the first half of 2016 and after almost three years of decline Chinese coal imports during the second quarter grew by 17% as compared to 2Q 2015. On the minor bulk commodities as well China displayed strong growth with overall imports of seven minor bulks commodities up 4% and, for example, bauxite imports up 18% y-o-y in the first five months. The market was also supported by the strength of the grain trade out of South America which added to long-haul tonne-mile demand.

"Despite this increase in demand rates stayed at close to operating cost levels due to the massive oversupply built over the last decade. The pace of scrapping slowed towards the end of the second quarter and into the third, which could be attributed to the improvement in the market and the onset of the monsoon in SE Asia. Despite this slowdown the drybulk fleet increased at the slowest pace this decade at 0.8% as of end June 2016. One positive result of the drybulk market weakness has been the cessation of newbuild orders. The orderbook is slowly being worked through and combined with cancellation and delays, the net increase in the fleet is at manageable levels. Second-hand prices surged in the second quarter with good quality Japanese assets seeing as much as 30% increase in value. Good quality Japanese built assets are in short supply and we are now seeing some vessels that were sold in February being remarketed at prices that are 30-40% above trough valuations.

"During July, Pioneer received the last of the instalments that were due following the cancellation of 10 of the 12 newbuildings we ordered. We have achieved this cancellation with minimal loss and our balance sheet can now withstand any market and also positions us for opportunistic acquisitions, which we are evaluating. One such opportunity arose in July when we purchased 2.7% of our outstanding shares at $0.71 per share. "

Financial Review: Three months ended June 30, 2016

Time Charter Equivalent ("TCE") revenue amounted to $6.8 million in the second quarter of 2016 compared to $6.5 million for the second quarter of 2015. TCE per day for the second quarter of 2016 amounted to $5,070 as compared to $6,004 for the second quarter of 2015. The decrease of the TCE per day is due to the weaker market prevailing in the second quarter of 2016 as compared to the second quarter of 2015.

Vessel Operating Expenses ("OPEX") amounted to $6.0 million for the second quarter of 2016 as compared to $6.6 million in the second quarter of 2015. OPEX rate per day for the second quarter of 2016 amounted to $4,411 per day, as compared to $5,620 per day for the second quarter of 2015. The decrease in daily Opex rate is due to operating efficiencies achieved from cost reduction measures.

Depreciation expense for the second quarter of 2016 decreased to $2.0 million from $2.7 million in the second quarter of 2015, due to the reduced depreciated vessel values which resulted from the impairment charge taken at December 31, 2015.

General and administration expenses for the second quarter of 2016 decreased to $1.2 million as compared to $1.5 million in the second quarter of 2015. G&A expenses per day for the second quarter in 2016 amounted to $884 as compared to $1,283 for the second quarter of 2015. The decrease of G&A expenses per day is attributed to cost reduction measures.

Write off of capitalised expenses and fees amounting to $3.0 million during the second quarter of 2016 is due to the cancellation of the last two shipbuilding contracts on May 23, 2016. The amount consists of capitalised expenses during the construction period, cancellation costs net of interest for the instalments paid and deferred finance and loan fees attributable to the post-delivery financing of these newbuildings.

Financial Review: Six months ended June 30, 2016

Time Charter Equivalent ("TCE") revenue amounted to $11.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016 compared to $12.8 million in the same prior year period. TCE per day for the first six months of 2016 amounted to $4,361, as compared to $5,739 in the same prior year period. The decrease of the TCE per day is due to the weaker market prevailing in the six months ended June 30, 2016 as compared to same period in 2015.

Vessel Operating Expenses ("OPEX") amounted to $12.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2016, which is equal to the same prior year period, despite the increase in the number of ship days to 2,723 for the six month period ended June 30, 2016, as compared to 2,353 days for the same prior year period.

OPEX rate per day for the first six months of 2016 amounted to $4,472 as compared to $5,198 for the respective period in 2015. The decrease in daily OPEX is attributable to operating efficiencies achieved from cost reduction measures.

Depreciation expense for the six month period ended June 30, 2016 decreased to $3.9 million as compared to $5.4 million during the same period in 2015. The decrease is attributable to the reduced depreciated vessel values, which resulted from the impairment charge taken at December 31, 2015.

General and administration expenses for the six month period ended June 30, 2016 decreased to $2.3 million from $2.8 million during the same period in 2015. G&A expenses per day for the first six months in 2016 amounted to $850 as compared to $1,190 for the same period in 2015. The decrease of G&A expenses per day is attributable to cost reduction measures.

Write off of capitalised expenses and fees amounting to $11.6 million during the six months ended June 30, 2016 is due to the newbuilding contract termination agreement. The amount consists of capitalised expenses during the construction period, cancellation costs net of interest for the instalments paid and deferred finance and loan fees attributable to the post-delivery financing of these newbuildings.

Fleet List

------------------------------------------------------ Vessel Type DWT Year Built -------------------- ----------- -------- ------------ Paradise Bay Handymax 46,232 2003 Azure Bay Handysize 31,700 2005 Fortune Bay Handysize 28,671 2006 Calm Bay Handysize 37,534 2006 Reunion Bay Handysize 32,354 2006 Ha Long Bay Handysize 32,311 2007 Teal Bay Handysize 32,327 2007 Eden Bay Handysize 28,342 2008 Emerald Bay Handysize 32,258 2008 Mykonos Bay Handysize 32,411 2009 Venus Bay Handysize 30,003 2012 Jupiter Bay Handysize 30,153 2012 Orion Bay Handysize 30,009 2012 Falcon Bay Handysize 38,464 2015 Kite Bay Handysize 38,419 2016 Summary of Operating Data (unaudited) (In thousands of U.S. Dollars except per share data) Three Three Six Six Months Months Months Months Ended Ended Ended Ended June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, 2016 2015 2016 2015 --------- --------- --------- --------- Revenue, net 7,177 8,620 13,494 18,924 Voyage expenses (348) (2,100) (1,732) (6,120) --------- --------- --------- --------- Time charter equivalent revenue 6,829 6,520 11,762 12,804 Vessel operating expense (6,021) (6,648) (12,177) (12,230) Drydock expense - (1,520) - (1,748) Depreciation expense (1,976) (2,719) (3,942) (5,412) General and administration expense (1,207) (1,518) (2,314) (2,800) Write off of capitalised expenses and fees (2,987) - (11,647) - Interest expense and finance cost (1,353) (577) (2,306) (1,312) Interest income 63 15 96 33 Other expenses and taxes, net (45) (8) (100) (169) --------- --------- --------- --------- Net loss (6,697) (6,455) (20,628) (10,834) --------- --------- --------- --------- Adjusted net loss(2) (3,710) (6,455) (8,981) (10,834) --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- Net loss per share, basic and diluted (0.22) (0.28) (0.68) (0.47) --------- --------- --------- --------- Adjusted net loss per share, basic and diluted(2) (0.12) (0.28) (0.30) (0.47) Three Three Six Six Months Months Months Months Ended Ended Ended Ended June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, 2016 2015 2016 2015 --------- --------- --------- --------- Net loss (6,697) (6,455) (20,628) (10,834) Add: Write off of capitalised expenses and fees 2,987 - 11,647 - --------- --------- --------- --------- Adjusted Net loss (3,710) (6,455) (8,981) (10,834) Add: Depreciation expense 1,976 2,719 3,942 5,412 Add: Drydock expense - 1,520 - 1,748 Add: Interest expense and finance cost 1,353 577 2,306 1,312 Add: Other taxes 18 1 38 33 Less: Interest income (63) (15) (96) (33) --------- --------- --------- --------- Adjusted EBITDA(1) (426) (1,653) (2,791) (2,362)

(1) Adjusted EBITDA represents net loss before interest, other taxes, depreciation and amortization, drydock expense, and write off capitalised expenses and fees and is used as a supplemental financial measure by management to assess our financial and operating performance. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA assists our management and investors by increasing the comparability of our performance from period to period. We believe that including Adjusted EBITDA as a financial and operating measure benefits investors in selecting between investing in us and other investment alternatives. Adjusted EBITDA does not represent and should not be considered as an alternative to net income/(loss) or cash flow from operations, as determined by United States generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, and our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to that reported by other companies.

(2) Adjusted net loss and related per share amounts is not a measure prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be used in isolation or substitution of Company's results.

Three Three Six Six Months Months Months Months Ended Ended Ended Ended June 30, June 30, June 30, June 30, Vessel Utilization: 2016 2015 2016 2015 --------- --------- --------- --------- Ship days (2) 1,365 1,183 2,723 2,353 Less: Off-hire days 18 25 26 40 Less: Off-hire days due to drydock - 72 - 82 --------- --------- --------- --------- Operating days (3) 1,347 1,086 2,697 2,231 --------- --------- --------- --------- Fleet Utilization (4) 98.7% 91.8% 99.1% 94.8% --------- --------- --------- --------- TCE per day- $ (1) 5,070 6,004 4,361 5,739 Opex per day- $ (6) 4,411 5,620 4,472 5,198 G&A expenses per day- $ (7) 884 1,283 850 1,190 Vessels at period end 15 13 15 13 Average number of vessels during the period (5) 15 13 15 13 --------- --------- --------- --------- (1) Time Charter Equivalent, or TCE revenue, are non-GAAP measures. Our method of computing TCE revenue is determined by voyage revenues less voyage expenses (including bunkers and port charges). Such TCE revenue, divided by the number of our operating days during the period, is TCE per day, which is consistent with industry practice. TCE revenue is included because it is a standard shipping industry performance measure used primarily to compare period-to-period changes in a shipping company's performance irrespective of changes in the mix of charter types (i.e., spot charters and time charters), and it provides useful information to investors and management. (2) Ship days: We define ship days as the aggregate number of days in a period during which each vessel in our fleet has been owned by us. Ship days are an indicator of the size of our fleet over a period and affect both the amount of revenues and the amount of expenses that we record during a period. (3) Operating days: We define operating days as the number of our ship days in a period less days required to prepare vessels acquired for their initial voyage and off-hire days associated with off-hire for undergoing repairs, drydocks or special surveys. The Company uses operating days to measure the number of days in a relevant period during which vessels should be capable of generating revenues. (4) Fleet utilization is defined as the ratio of operating days to ship days. (5) Average number of vessels is the number of vessels that constituted our fleet for the relevant period, as measured by the sum of the number of ship days divided by the number of calendar days in that period. (6) Opex per day: is calculated by dividing vessel operating expenses by ship days for the relevant time period. (7) G&A expenses per day: is calculated by dividing general and administrative expenses by ship days for the relevant time period. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (In thousands of U.S. Dollars) June 30, December 31, As at 2016 2015 ------------ -------------- ASSETS Cash & cash equivalents and short term investments 63,186 60,003 Restricted cash (current and noncurrent) 20,648 12,890 Vessels, net 175,917 157,103 Advances for vessel acquisition and vessels under construction - 69,484 Other receivables 12,994 - Other assets 4,270 6,466 ------------ -------------- Total assets 277,015 305,946 ============ ============== LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 4,212 5,216 Deferred revenue 537 286 Total debt, net of deferred finance costs 106,770 114,320 ------------ -------------- Total liabilities 111,519 119,822 ------------ -------------- Shareholders' equity 165,496 186,124 ------------ -------------- Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 277,015 305,946 ============ ============== Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited) (In thousands of U.S. Dollars) Six Months Six Months Ended Ended June 30, 2016 June 30, 2015 ------------- ------------- Cash flows from operating activities Net Loss (20,628) (10,834) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: Depreciation 3,942 5,412 Amortization of deferred finance fees 461 390 Write off of capitalised expenses and fees 11,647 - Changes in operating assets and liabilities (158) (554) ------------- ------------- Net cash used in operating activities (4,736) (5,586) ------------- ------------- Cash flows from investing activities Payments for vessel acquisition and vessels under (12,074) (10,838) construction Instalments receipt from vessel under construction 41,222 - Purchase of other fixed assets (27) (58) (Increase)/decrease in restricted cash (7,758) 836 ------------- ------------- Net cash provided by/ (used in) investing activities 21,363 (10,060) ------------- ------------- Cash flows from financing activities Loan repayments (7,997) (15,300) Payment of deferred finance fees and other loan fees (5,447) (2,643) ------------- ------------- Net cash used in financing activities (13,444) (17,943) ------------- ------------- Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 3,183 (33,589) Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 60,003 98,829 ------------- ------------- Cash and cash equivalents and short term investment at period end 63,186 65,240 ============= =============

About Pioneer Marine Inc.

Pioneer Marine is a leading ship owner and global drybulk handysize transportation service provider. Pioneer Marine currently owns fourteen Handysize and one Handymax drybulk carriers.

Forward-Looking Statements

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the failure of counterparties to fully perform their contracts with us, the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk vessel capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydock and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, charter counterparty performance, ability to obtain financing and comply with covenants in such financing arrangements, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors.

Contact:

Pioneer Marine Inc.

Pankaj Khanna

President and CEO

+65 6513 8761

admin@pioneermarine.com



Investor Relations / Media

Capital Link, Inc.

Paul Lampoutis

+212 661 7566

pioneermarine@capitallink.com






Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining



11 August 2016 Vast Resources plc ('Vast' or 'the Company')



Supplementary Placing and Subscription to raise 364,900



Vast Resources plc, the AIM listed mining company with operations in Romania and Zimbabwe, is pleased to announce that it has raised, in aggregate, 364,900 (approximately US$475,716) before costs through a placing (the 'Placing') and subscription (the 'Subscription') of 128,035,087 ordinary shares of 0.1 pence in the Company ('Ordinary Shares') at a price of 0.285 pence per Ordinary Share (the 'Placing and Subscription Shares'). In respect of each share placed or subscribed there has been issued one warrant entitling the holder to acquire one new Ordinary Share at any time up to 30 June 2019 at an exercise price of 0.5p. The Placing was conducted by Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited.



The Placing and the Subscription is supplemental to and on the same terms as the recent Open Offer, completion of which was announced on 1 August 2016 and is to provide additional working capital to the Company.



Additionally the Company has agreed to issue Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited 16,153,846 Ordinary Shares (the Fee Shares) at a price of 0.26p per Ordinary Share in satisfaction of its annual broking retainer (including VAT) for the year ending 26 July 2017.



Roy Pitchford, Chief Executive of Vast Resources, commented: 'We are very pleased with the additional support from Shareholders towards achieving the Company's mining objectives'.



Admission and Dealings The issue of the Placing Shares, the Subscription Shares and the Fee Shares (the 'New Shares') is conditional on their Admission to trading on AIM ('Admission'). It is expected that Admission will become effective and dealing in the New Shares will commence on 17 August 2016. The New Shares will rank pari passu with existing Ordinary Shares.



Following Admission, the total issued share capital of the Company will be 3,199,218,568 Ordinary Shares. The New Shares will represent approximately 4.51 per cent of the enlarged share capital of the Company.



The above figure of 3,199,218,568 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in Vast under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rule.



For further information visit www.vastresourcesplc.com or please contact:



Vast Resources plc Roy Pitchford (Chief Executive Officer) +40 (0) 372 988 988 - Office Romania +40 (0) 741 111 900 - Mobile Romania +44 (0) 7793 909985 - Mobile UK



Roy Tucker (Finance Director) +44 (0) 1622 816918 +44 (0) 7920 189012



Strand Hanson Limited - Financial & www.strandhanson.co.uk Nominated Adviser +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 James Spinney James Bellman



Brandon Hill Capital Ltd - Joint Broker www.brandonhillcapital.com Jonathan Evans +44 (0)20 3463 5016



Peterhouse Corporate Finance Ltd - Joint www.pcorpfin.com Broker +44 (0) 20 7469 0936 Duncan Vasey



St Brides Partners Ltd www.stbridespartners.co.uk Charlotte Heap +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 Hugo de Salis



This announcement contains inside information.



This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.



Source: Vast Resources plc via GlobeNewswire [HUG#2034766]



A0J3GBB142P69R17



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SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- CodeCombat, which offers the most engaging platform for helping kids learn computer science (CS), announced today that the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office of Catholic Schools has negotiated special pricing for CodeCombat's classroom offering, and is making it available to its schools.

Ascension School and Northside Catholic Academy are the first schools in the Archdiocese to implement CodeCombat, which makes learning to code as easy as playing a game. The only CS learning tool that has students typing real code from day one, CodeCombat enables teachers without any CS background to teach a course on coding.

Ascension School ran a highly successful CodeCombat pilot program for sixth through eighth graders during the spring of 2016.

"We were looking to expand our coding curriculum, and tested many offerings -- with CodeCombat, we saw very high engagement among students, regardless of past exposure to computer science," said Matt Mueller, a technology teacher at Ascension School. "Learning to code is an essential skill for the twenty-first century. We are excited to expand our relationship with CodeCombat, and looking forward to integrating it into all of our middle school technology classes this upcoming year."

"STEM education, including coding, is essential for students in this generation. We believe that nearly every job will require some level of coding skill by the time these students graduate from college," said CodeCombat Co-founder Nick Winter. "We're excited to work with Ascension School and Northside Catholic Academy to bring this important curriculum to their classrooms."

The CodeCombat curriculum is designed to cover more programming skills than any other curriculum, including not only middle- and high-school state standards, but also the AP CS exam and even elite programs such as a Stanford undergraduate computer science course.

CodeCombat is also helping boost student interest in CS careers. Most students, especially girls and students of color, don't ever consider a career in CS. According to CodeCombat survey data, after playing CodeCombat, 88 percent of students become interested in continuing to learn programming.

Schools interested in a free trial of CodeCombat should visit https://codecombat.com/.

About CodeCombat

CodeCombat offers the most engaging platform for helping kids learn computer science (CS), and enables any teacher -- even those without a CS background -- to teach students how to code. CodeCombat has been proven to boost students' interest in computer science careers, especially among girls and students of color, and the majority of students who use the platform report that it's their favorite school activity. Federal and state grants often cover the cost of CodeCombat. Learn more or start a free trial for your child or classroom at www.codecombat.com.

Contact:

Kerry Metzdorf

Big Swing Communications

978-463-2575

Email Contact




ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Aurion Resources Ltd. ("Aurion") (TSX VENTURE: AU) is pleased to report that it's 2016 field program has begun on several of its wholly-owned, gold prospects in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of Northern Finland. Several of these prospects have highly anomalous gold in rock and till, with multi-km strike potential and excellent access. (See attached map). The highlights of the 2016 program so far are summarized below:

Ruoppa

The Ruoppa target now comprises an open-ended 2.3 km long by 1.3 km wide zone of anomalous gold samples, within an overall target greater than 7km long. The mineralization is hosted by a swarm of felsic dykes occurring along the sheared/faulted margin of a granitoid body. The association of quartz-carbonate veins with free gold and high bismuth within felsic dykes is very similar to Agnico Eagle's Kuotko gold deposit (1.8 million tonnes grading 2.9 g/t Au; see Agnico Eagle Annual Report), of which Ruoppa is contiguous to.

To date in 2016, prospecting and reconnaissance geological mapping has expanded the scale of the Ruoppa prospect to more than 2.3 km long by 1.3 km wide. Additionally, a new target area with similar style mineralization has been identified up to 3 km northeast of this primary target area. Analytical results have been received from 66 rock chip samples collected from outcrop, sub outcrop and angular boulders assaying from nil to 14.4 g/t Au including 17 samples which assayed greater than 1.0 g/t Au. The average grade of all 66 samples was 1.03 g/t Au. The mineralization consists of narrow mm to less than 1 m wide quartz-carbonate veins with minor sulphides, free gold and a geochemical association with highly anomalous bismuth. Since generating this prospect a total of 156 rock chip samples have been collected by Aurion personnel. The assays range from nil to 30.7 g/t Au including 38 which have assayed greater than 1.0 g/t Au with the average of all samples 1.08 g/t Au. Analytical results are pending for an additional 94 samples. The mineralization is hosted by a swarm of felsic dykes occurring along the sheared/faulted margin of a granitoid body. The association of quartz-carbonate veins with free gold and high bismuth within felsic dykes is very similar to Agnico Eagle's Kuotko gold deposit.

Agnico is currently exploring Kuotko as a potential satellite open pit. Agnico reported completing approximately 7,300m of drilling in 2015, identifying new mineralized zones outside of the known mineral resource areas. Agnico established a Mining Lease in early 2015 and studies are being carried out to assess the viability of mining the deposit (Agnico Eagle Press Release dated Feb 10, 2016). Historical drill intercepts of 17.5 g/t Au over 5.0m and 23.5 g/t Au over 3.0m have been reported.

Risti

Further prospecting in 2016 has expanded the zone of mineralization discovered in 2015 to a distance greater than 1.7 km. To date a total of 101 rock samples from outcrop, sub outcrop and angular boulders, assayed nil to 22.3 g/t Au including 29 of which assayed greater than 0.4 g/t Au and 13 greater than 1 g/t Au. The average of all samples is 0.7 g/t Au. The gold mineralization occurs within quartz-iron oxide veins and breccias within altered meta-sediments.

The Risti target is located approximately 13km east of the Company's Kutuvuoma property, which is under joint venture to B2Gold. The property hosts the Kaarestunturi prospect, which was discovered by the Geological Survey of Finland who completed various studies including 5 shallow diamond drill holes within a small area returning up to 5.2 g/t Au over 5.0m.

Sila

The Sila target covers approximately 11km along the northern strike extension of the Hanhimaa Shear Zone (HSZ), within sheared meta-volcanics and meta-sediments sandwiched between two large intrusive bodies. The HSZ south of Sila hosts several gold occurrences, which have reported drill intersections of 4.5 g/t Au over 11.7m and 5.9 g/t Au over 7.5m (Agnico Eagle Annual report).

Aurion has identified mineralization in quartz veins and silicified meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks and rock float samples collected over a distance of 6.5km ranged from nil to 219 g/t Au and nil to 5410 ppm As. Numerous till samples assayed up to 0.7 g/t Au within this trend and up to 1.12 g/t Au elsewhere on the property. Assay results from reconnaissance prospecting, and overburden sampling so far in 2016 returned anomalous values in gold and arsenic. The area is heavily covered and further surficial geochemical sampling is planned.

Rova

Rova comprises a 7km long by 1km wide zone of sheared meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary sandwiched between two large intrusive bodies. Historical work by the state mining company Outukumpu in the late 1980's highlights an approximately 6km long section with anomalous gold (and copper) in till with individual till samples assaying up to 4.0 g/t Au. The mineralization comprises quartz-carbonate vein sets in sulphide-rich metasedimentary rock, in the contact zone between meta-volcanic rocks and intrusives. Five shallow drillholes were completed in 1987, within a small area, with a best result of 2.1 g/t Au over 1.2m. No other exploration work has been documented since. Assays results are pending from reconnaissance prospecting.

New Exploration Tenements

In Q2, Aurion Resources was granted an additional 225,000 hectares of exploration licences prospective for precious and base metals in Northern Finland. Reconnaissance exploration on these will begin in September.

Summary

Outside of operating the joint venture with B2Gold at Kutuvuoma and Ahvenjarvi, the primary focus of our efforts so far this year have been on Ruoppa, where we continue to expand the size of the system and outline new high grade gold mineralization. Only limited time has been spent on our other targets. Given the poor exposure across the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt Aurion has been quite successful in identifying new and expanding existing zones of mineralization across is portfolio.

Since its first acquisition in Finland in mid-2014, Aurion has acquired a large database and land position north and south of Kittila, Europe's largest gold mine (7.7 Moz gold; Agnico Annual Report). The limited amount of fieldwork completed to date has already generated several exciting gold projects, clearly demonstrating the prospectivity of Aurion's holdings. It has also been successful in attracting B2Gold Corp., one of the most well-respected exploration and mining companies in Canada, to jointly explore the Kutuvuoma and Ahvenjarvi projects within a large approximately 25,000 hectare area. Aurion is seeking additional creative partnerships to advance these exciting opportunities in one of the most geologically favourable, underexplored and stable locations in the world.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

All samples were delivered to Labtium Oy's facility in Sodankyla, Finland. The samples were analysed for gold using procedures 704P (Detection Limit - 0.01 gold; Upper Limit - 100.00 g/t gold) - 25g fire assay with AAS finish or using procedures 705P (Detection Limit - 0.005 gold; Upper Limit - 100.00 g/t gold) - 50g fire assay with AAS finish. Multi-element analysis was completed using procedure 511. This procedure detected 31 elements by aqua regia acid digestion, HCl leach followed by ICP-OES and ICP-MS analysis. Labtium is a Finnish, accredited, certified laboratory group. They are monitored by a QAQC program comprising the inclusion of standards, blank material, duplicates and certified reference material.

Mike Basha, P.Eng., P.Geo., President and CEO of Aurion, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for the preparation of this release. For more information on these projects please visit our website at www.aurionresources.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Companies' current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and Aurion is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

On behalf of the Board,

Mike Basha, President & CEO

For further information on Aurion Resources and on these projects please visit our website at www.aurionresources.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

A map associated with this press release is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/160811_AU_MAP.pdf

Contacts:

Aurion Resources Ltd.

Mike Basha

(709) 699-8300 or (709) 722-2141

mbasha@aurionresources.ca

www.aurionresources.com




VANCOUVER, BC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Fundamental Applications Corp. ("Fundamental" or the "Company") (CSE: FUN) (FRANKFURT: 2FA) (OTCQB: FUAPF), a leading developer of innovative smartphone applications targeted toward millennials, announces Chairman of C-Suite Network, Jeffrey Hayzlett, is joining its Board of Directors.

"I am so pleased that Jeffrey is now joining Fundamental's board!" said Brad Moore, CEO of Fundamental Applications. "Having such an esteemed board member with a wealth of proven business and leadership experience is truly an endorsement of the company and its future."

Hayzlett commented, "Every company that wants to be successful has to engage millennials in order to have a future. Fundamental Applications has the potential with technology and services to do that and more."

Jeffrey Hayzlett is the Chairman of C-Suite Network, home of the world's most trusted network of C-Suite leaders, and a notable media personality. He is the primetime television host of C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett and Executive Perspectives on C-Suite TV, and business podcast host of All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett on CBS's on-demand radio network Play.It. In addition, he is a notable public speaker and the author of three bestselling business books, Think Big, Act Bigger: The Rewards of Being Relentless, Running the Gauntlet and The Mirror Test.

About Fundamental

Fundamental Applications Corp. (CSE:FUN FSE:2FA, OTCQB: FUAPF) designs, develops, markets, and acquires innovative mobile applications targeted at the "Millennials" generation, people born in an age of digital technology, internet access, and smart phones. This demographic is an early adopter of mobile technology, has significant discretionary income, and is lifestyle driven with a willingness to try new things. Fundamental's three leading mobile platforms are Foro, a peer-to-peer mobile ecommerce marketplace; Truth, a one-to-one anonymous messaging app previously listed in the top 100 social networking apps in the Apple App Store; and Serum, an app that enables users to post questions to their friends and receive answers anonymously.

For more information about Fundamental Applications Corp, visit online at www.FunAppCorp.com, or review its company profiles on the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com) and on the CSE website (www.thecse.com). To schedule an interview, please contact:

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Fundamental. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Fundamental. Although Fundamental believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Fundamental can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Fundamental disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

Bradley Moore

Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: 514.561.9091

Email: Email Contact

www.FunAppCorp.com




Parkridge Medical Center, who officials describe as the pioneering hospital for robotic surgery in Chattanooga and Tennessee, premiered the da Vinci Xi Surgical System Wednesday.

This state-of-the-art technological system allows surgeons to perform minimally-invasive approaches to surgical procedures. For the patient, this can mean reduced pain, less blood loss and scarring, and a lower infection and complication risk.



The new system at Parkridge Medical Center is an addition to Parkridge Health Systems robotic surgery capabilities. Two da Vinci Si surgical systems also provide services at Parkridge East Hospital.



Parkridge Health System pioneered robotic-assisted surgery in the Chattanooga area in 2002, Darrell Moore, president and CEO of Parkridge Health System said. Parkridge Medical Center was the first hospital in Chattanooga, the second in the state and one of only 100 facilities in the nation to offer this revolutionary service at the time. Today, were proud to offer our skilled surgeons even more capabilities using this latest technology that can help reduce possible surgery complications in patients and get them back to their fullest lives as soon as possible.



The system is more comparable to the human wrist and hand and adds greater control than traditional laparoscopic surgery can provide, said Parkridge Health System Director of Surgical Services Jared Bement. This can help improve dexterity and enable surgeons to do their jobs in a more controlled environment.



The skill is one hundred percent the surgeons own, Dir. Bement said. The Xi simply enhances that skill by reducing the size of the incision and allowing for enhanced visual acuity using highly-detailed three-dimensional images.



Donald Chamberlain, M.D., the surgeon scheduled to perform the first procedure using the new system at Parkridge Medical Center, said, This system is another tool of a surgeon that can complement the procedure and reduce the incision to a smaller size the human hand cannot physically match.



Additional appointments with several surgeons are being made by patients looking to take advantage of the potential benefits the da Vinci Xi can provide both patient and surgeon, officials said.



These are very exciting times in medicine from a clinical perspective, Dir. Bement said. This surgical system is a perfect combination of technology, professional surgical skill and best practices for patient outcomes.
MEDFORD, OR -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE: LAD) has acquired Kemp Ford in Thousand Oaks, California. The store will be renamed DCH Ford of Thousand Oaks and will add $65 million in estimated annual revenues.

Bryan DeBoer, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to welcome DCH Ford of Thousand Oaks to our team. This store marks the third acquisition for our DCH platform this year and complements our existing operations in Southern California. We are excited to expand our relationship with Ford and further diversify our brand mix. We remain focused on continued acquisition growth within both rural and metropolitan markets in the future."

About Lithia

Lithia Motors, Inc. is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States and is among the fastest growing companies in the Fortune 500. Lithia sells 31 brands of new vehicles and all brands of used vehicles at 140 stores in 15 states. Lithia also arranges finance, warranty, and credit insurance contracts. In addition, Lithia provides vehicle parts, maintenance and repair services at all of its locations.

Sites

www.lithia.com

www.lithiacareers.com

Lithia Motors on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/LithiaMotors

Lithia Motors on Twitter

http://twitter.com/lithiamotors

Contact:

John North

VP Finance and Chief Accounting Officer

(541) 618-5748




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures surged Thursday, extending this week's run of volatile trading after Saudi Arabia says an upcoming OPEC meeting may discuss 'stabilizing markets' by cutting production. Traders weighed a number of factors influencing the energy sector, including a mixed assessment of the oil outlook by the International Energy Administration. The IEA said oil markets are re-balancing, but also slashed their demand outlook for 2017. Meanwhile, OPEC slightly lifted its 2016 projections for world oil demand growth to 1.22 million barrels a day (mb/d). Sept. WTI oil was up $1.78, or 4.3%, to settle at $43.49/bbl -- the highest since July 22. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
-- In the Phase II trial, all type 1 diabetes patients treated with dasiglucagon had a clinically relevant increase in blood glucose levels after an insulin-induced hypoglycemic event-- Zealand plans to discuss the trial results with the FDA later in 2016 to define the next development steps for dasiglucagon as a single-dose rescue treatmentCopenhagen, 11 August 2016 - Zealand Pharma (Zealand) announces supportive results from a Phase II trial with a single-dose version of dasiglucagon as rescue treatment of severe hypoglycemia in insulin dependent diabetic patients. Dasiglucagon, formerly referred to as ZP4207, is a glucagon peptide analog, invented and fully owned by Zealand and observed to have a favorable physical and chemical stability in liquid solution. In June 2016, dasiglucagon was proposed as an International Nonproprietary Name (pINN) for this product candidate.Severe hypoglycemia is a potential life threatening condition and the most feared side effect associated with insulin treatment of diabetes[1]. At present, hypoglycemia rescue treatments are based on native glucagon and solely available as a lyophilized powder, which requires reconstitution with sterile water in a multi-step process prior to use[2].The primary objective of this Phase II trial was to characterize the pharmacological profile of an optimized formulation of dasiglucagon and compare it to an approved glucagon rescue product. Results from the trial showed that all subjects treated with one of the three highest doses of dasiglucagon or with the approved glucagon product achieved a blood glucose concentration of >70 mg/dL within 30 minutes of dosing. In the same dose groups, time to clinically relevant plasma glucose increases of >20 mg/dL was shown to be similar for dasiglucagon and approved glucagon with a median time of 9-10 minutes. In the trial, dasiglucagon was observed to be well tolerated and have a similar safety profile compared to approved glucagon. The full Phase II results will be published at a later date.Adam Steensberg, Chief Development and Medical Officer of Zealand commented:"We are pleased with the results of this Phase II trial, which we believe further support dasiglucagon's attractive profile. We have designed dasiglucagon to be stable in liquid formulation, and with the current results we believe to be one step closer to being able to offer insulin dependent diabetes patients a ready-to-use pen for convenient and fast rescue from severe hypoglycemia - or insulin shock. We see a clear need for a patient friendly rescue product and we look forward to the next step in development."For further information, please contact:Britt Meelby Jensen, President and Chief Executive Officer - Tel: +45 51 67 61 28, email: bmj@zealandpharma.comHanne Leth Hillman, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications - Tel: +45 50 60 36 89, email: hlh@zealandpharma.com[1] According to Diabetes Associations[2] Glucagon rescue kit labelsAttachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=581486
A new report by six multinational development banks documents that of the $20 billion in financing these banks provided for climate mitigation, 30%, or $6 billion, was dedicated to renewable energy projects. The six banks represent five continents and include the World Bank, The European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). But while European institutions are over-represented among these banks, the majority of funding for renewable energy projects is going to projects outside of Europe. According to charts in the report, around $1.5 billion, or 1/4 of the total renewable energy project finance has been dedicated to projects in Latin American and the Caribbean. In Latin America IDB has been an important player, funding projects including the Aura Solar 1, the first large utility-scale solar project in Mexico and one of the first in the region. IDB notes that much of the financing it ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
SAO PAULO, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Eternit S.A. (BM&FBOVESPA: ETER3) announced its results for the 2Q16.

The construction materials industry ended the second quarter of 2016 with a weak performance, according to the Brazilian Construction Materials Industry Association (ABRAMAT).

Though this is a period of seasonally lower demand for the Company, apart from the contraction in the segment, Eternit posted negative results, yet outperforming the industry,

Chrysotile sales volume in 2Q16 amounted to 47,600 tons, decreasing 28.7% from 2Q15, due to the reduction in the inventories of clients of the mining company and in the construction materials sector, as well as the competitiveness of steel roofing panels in Asia and strong competition in the export market. In the same period, fiber-cement sales reached 181,000 tons, down 3.0% from 2Q15, whereas concrete roofing tile sales decreased 9.0%, mainly due to the industry slowdown, higher unemployment, lower household income and credit restrictions.

Consolidated net revenue in 2Q16 totaled R$203.7 million, down 13.8% from 2Q15, due to the decrease in volume sold and the price in U.S. dollar on chrysotile exports, which was partially offset by the 14.1% appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real due to chrysotile exports.

Adjusted EBITDA reached R$10.6 million in 2Q16, down 75.6%, due to the decline in operating margins on account of a sales mix with lower added value, lower sales volume, low utilization of operating capacity and a non-recurring increase in operating expenses due to the payment of court fees related to the filing of an appeal against the Public-Interest Civil Actions filed in Sao Paulo by the Labor Prosecution Office and ABREA, despite the Company's efforts to reduce operating expenses.

In view of the aspects mentioned in the Adjusted EBITDA section, in addition to a higher net financial expense resulting from the effects of net exchange variation on the Group's foreign-denominated operations, the higher interest resulting from debt and the lower returns on investments due to lower cash available, net loss was R$9.0 million in 2Q16.

Capex totaled R$3.9 million in 2Q16, declining 69.7% from 2Q15, and was allocated to maintaining and modernizing the Group's industrial facilities.

Conference call/Webcast

Date: 08/12/16

Time: 11.00 a.m. Brazilian Local Time - 10.00 a.m. New York - 03.00 p.m. London

Presentation can be followed on the website link www.ccall.com.br/eternit/2q16.htm or by telephone, dial the following telephone number (1-412) 317-6029 - Password: Eternit

IR Team Contact - +55 (11) 3194-3881/3194-3872ri@eternit.com.br




SAINT-LAURENT, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- IntelGenx Technologies Corp. (TSX VENTURE: IGX)(OTCQX: IGXT) (the "Company" or "IntelGenx") today reported its second quarter 2016 financial results for the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2016. All amounts are in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise stated. The Company will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET to provide a corporate update.

2016 Second Quarter Financial Highlights:

-- Revenues reached $672 thousand, an increase of 15% over the same period last year -- Net comprehensive loss was ($806 thousand), compared to a net comprehensive loss of ($220 thousand) over the same period last year -- Adjusted EBITDA loss was ($665 thousand), compared to adjusted EBITDA loss of ($186 thousand) over the same period last year -- Cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.1 million as at June 30, 2016. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company monetized its royalty on future sales of Forfivo XLr to SWK Holdings Corporation for $6 million (CAD$8 million)

Recent Highlights:

-- Signed the first definitive agreement for Rizaport with Grupo Juste for Spain and additional potential territories -- Continued late-stage discussions with global pharmaceutical companies for multiple products with the potential goal of concluding a definitive agreement to be finalized in the third quarter of 2016 -- Initiated a phase 1 study of Montelukast for the treatment of degenerative diseases of the brain, such as: mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimers disease, the most prominent form of dementia. IntelGenx expects results from the phase 1 trial to be available in September 2016. -- Appointed Mark Nawacki as a new Director of the Board

"IntelGenx has made considerable progress this past quarter," said Dr. Horst G. Zerbe, President and CEO of IntelGenx. "We successfully completed our first agreement for Rizaport in Spain with Grupo Juste, which we believe is significant as it will open new markets to build upon going forward. The initiation of our phase 1 study of Montelukast is an important step forward in what is our most important and promising drug repurposing opportunity. We are most excited about the future prospects for IntelGenx as we continue to advance the company forward into a global leader in pharmaceutical oral film development and manufacturing."

Financial Results:

Total revenues for the three-month period ended June 30, 2016 amounted to $672 thousand, representing an increase of $87 thousand or 15% compared to $585 thousand for the three-month period ended June 30, 2015. The increase for the three-month period ended June 30, 2016 compared to the last year's corresponding period is mainly attributable to an increase in royalties of $480 thousand due to the Company's recording of both Q1 and Q2 royalty amounts in the present quarter. Edgemont Pharmaceuticals reported the Q2 royalties to the Company shortly after the end of the quarter which allowed the Company to record the revenues in the second quarter. The increase was offset by a decrease in deferred revenues recognized of $393 thousand.

Operating costs and expenses were $1.5 million for the three-month period ended June 30, 2016 compared to $846 thousand for the corresponding period of 2015. The increase for the three-month period ended June 30, 2016 is mainly attributable to an increase in Research and Development expenses of $174 thousand and Selling, General and Administrative of $315 thousand.

For the second quarter of 2016, the Company generated an operating loss of ($794 thousand) compared to an operating loss of ($261 thousand) for the comparable period of 2015.

Net comprehensive loss was ($806 thousand) or ($0.01) on a basic and diluted per share basis for the second quarter of 2016 compared to a net comprehensive loss of ($220 thousand) or ($0.00) on a basic and diluted per share basis for the comparable period of 2015.

"IntelGenx recently strengthened its balance sheet with the largest influx of capital in the history of the company with the monetization of its royalty on future sales of Forvivo XL for $6 million," said Andre Godin, Executive Vice-President and CFO of IntelGenx. "We continue to focus on maintaining a strong financial discipline in managing our expenses throughout the organization. Finally, we have made a concerted effort to bring greater visibility of the corporation in the marketplace with an aggressive outreach campaign to take place in the near future."

Cash on hand as at June 30, 2016 was $1.1 million, representing a decrease of $1.8 million compared with the balance of $2.9 million as at December 31, 2015. The decrease in cash relates to the investment in leasehold improvement as well as the comprehensive loss incurred in the second quarter. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company monetized its royalty on future sales of Forfivo XL to SWK Holdings Corporation for $6 million (CAD$8 million).

Appointment of New Director:

Subsequent to quarter end, the Corporation announced the appointment of Mr. Mark Nawacki as a new member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Nawacki is currently the President and CEO of Searchlight Pharma Inc., a Canadian-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition and commercialization of innovative and unique healthcare and pharmaceutical products. Prior to joining Searchlight Pharma, Mr. Nawacki spent over 11 years building out the commercial and geographic footprint of Paladin Labs, having served until September 2014 as Executive Vice President, Business and Corporate Development. Over the course of his 11-year tenure at Paladin, Mr. Nawacki helped shape the therapeutic focus of Paladin's Canadian business via licensing and acquisitions, and built Paladin's international expansion and emerging markets strategy. From his arrival at Paladin in 2003, consolidated revenues grew from $20 million to almost $270 million annually, and the company's value increased from $75 million to over $3 billion when it was acquired by Endo International in 2014.

"We are very pleased that Mr. Nawacki has agreed to join our board," said Dr. Horst G. Zerbe, President and CEO of IntelGenx. "As IntelGenx is now completely focused on becoming a global leader in pharmaceutical oral films, Mark's strong pharmaceutical background, knowledge and extensive network will support the Company in the execution of its business plan."

Conference Call Notice:

IntelGenx will host a conference call to discuss its second quarter results on Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The dial-in number for the conference call is 1-877-201-0168 (Canada and United States) or (647) 788-4901 (International), conference ID 47950179. The call will be audio-cast live and archived for twelve months at: www.intelgenx.com.

About IntelGenx:

IntelGenx is a leading oral drug delivery company focused on the development and manufacturing of innovative pharmaceutical oral films based on its proprietary VersaFilm technology platform. Established in 2003, the Montreal-based company is listed on the TSX-V and OTC-QX.

IntelGenx highly skilled team provides comprehensive pharmaceuticals services to pharmaceutical partners, including R&D, analytical method development, clinical monitoring, IP and regulatory services. IntelGenx state-of-the art manufacturing facility, established for the VersaFilm technology platform, supports lab-scale to pilot and commercial-scale production, offering full service capabilities to our clients. More information is available about the company at: www.intelgenx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This document may contain forward-looking information about IntelGenx' operating results and business prospects that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about IntelGenx' plans, objectives, expectations, strategies, intentions or other characterizations of future events or circumstances and are generally identified by the words "may," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "could," "would," and similar expressions. All forward looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Because these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, IntelGenx' actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in IntelGenx' annual report on Form 10-K, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov, and also filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and www.sedar.com. IntelGenx assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange), nor the OTCQX accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Source: IntelGenx Technologies Corp.

Contacts:

IntelGenx Technologies Corp.

Edward Miller

Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

+1 514-331-7440 (ext. 217)

edward@intelgenx.com

www.intelgenx.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Trevali Mining Corporation ("Trevali" or the "Company") (TSX: TV)(LMA: TV)(OTCQX: TREVF)(FRANKFURT: 4TI) has released financial results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2016. Second quarter ("Q2") EBITDA(1) rose from the preceding quarter to $8.2 million and a net loss of $335,000 ($0.00 per share) was posted for the quarter. Santander Zinc Mine operations income for Q2 increased from the prior quarter to $5.2 million on strong concentrate sales revenue of $28.9 million. Q2 Santander site cash costs(2) were US$0.32 per pound of payable Zinc Equivalent ("ZnEq")(3) produced or US$35.64/tonne milled.

This release should be read in conjunction with Trevali's unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2016, which is available on Trevali's website and on SEDAR. All financial figures are in Canadian dollar unless otherwise stated.

Q2-2016 Results Highlights:

-- Santander concentrate sales revenue of $28.9 million, up 7% from First Quarter 2016 ("Q1") -- EBITDA(1) of $8.2 million -- Income from Santander mine operations was $5.2 million, up 25% from Q1 -- Net loss of $335,000 or ($0.00) per share -- Total cash position of $14.5 million -- Q2 Santander site cash costs(2) US$0.32 per pound of payable Zinc Equivalent ("ZnEq")(3) produced or US$35.64/tonne milled, in line with recently revised 2016 cost guidance of US$35-38 per tonne milled -- Record Santander mill throughput of 219,086 tonnes resulting in quarterly production of 15.2 million payable pounds of zinc, 5.6 million payable pounds of lead and 222,121 payable ounces of silver -- Provisional realized commodity selling prices for Santander Q2-2016 production was US$0.89 per pound zinc, US$0.78 per pound lead and US$17.09 per ounce silver at International Benchmark terms under the Company's offtake agreement with Glencore -- Santander mill recoveries remain higher than design at 89% for Zn, 87% for Pb and 73% for Ag

"Santander delivered yet another strong quarter with record mill throughput and site cash costs remaining in line with the recent recently reduced 2016 cost guidance. Santander remains one of the lowest-cost, most efficient operating mines in the Central Mineral Belt of Peru. Additionally, stronger zinc prices in Q2, versus Q1, benefitted the Company's operations and we're also seeing a significantly stronger metal price environment so far in Q3 with zinc prices touching 15-month highs," stated Dr. Mark Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO. "Trevali also recently announced Commercial Production at its Caribou Zinc Mine in New Brunswick where similar optimization initiatives are being applied to boost the efficiencies at the operation. As zinc fundamentals continue to look increasingly bullish, Trevali remains well positioned as the only primary zinc producer on the TSX and one of only a few globally."

Q2-2016 Financial Results Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time (7:30 a.m. Pacific Time) on Friday, August 12, 2016 to review the Q2 financial results. Participants are advised to dial in 5-minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the call.

Conference call dial-in details: Toll-free (North America): 1-877-291-4570 Toronto and International: 1-647-788-4919 Audio Webcast: http://www.gowebcasting.com/7782

Summary Financial Results ($ millions, except per-share amounts)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2016 Q2-2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues $28.9 $30.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Income from Santander mining operations $5.2 $5.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income (loss) ($0.3) $0.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Income per share ($0.00) $0.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Santander Production Statistics

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2016 Q2-2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Mined 177,415 191,259 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Milled 219,086 190,498 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Head Grades % Zinc 4.16% 4.27% Lead 1.39% 2.47% Silver - Oz (ounces)/ton 1.32 1.85 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Recoveries % Zinc 89% 90% Lead 87% 88% Silver 73% 78% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonne): Zinc 16,601 14,708 Lead 4,865 7,081 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Grades % Zinc 49% 50% Lead 55% 59% Ag - Oz/ton 43.7 39.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Production: Zinc lbs (pounds) 15,157,944 13,684,987 Lead lbs (pounds) 5,575,792 8,706,534 Silver Oz 222,121 291,177 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Santander Sales Summary:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2-2016 Q2-2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Concentrate (DMT) 17,112 14,511 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead Concentrate (DMT) 4,964 7,048 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Zinc lbs 15,229,650 13,229,078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Lead lbs 5,711,542 8,681,007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable Silver Oz 222,166 290,879 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenues (USD$)(5) 22,395,044 24,824,966 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Realized Metal Price: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc $ 0.89 $ 0.95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead $ 0.78 $ 0.82 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver $ 17.09 $ 16.33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Equivalent lbs Sold(4) 24,433,262 25,685,704 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc Equivalent lbs Payable Produced(3) 24,244,311 26,171,782 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Cash Cost(2) per Equivalent Payable Zinc lb Produced (USD$)(3) $ 0.32 $ 0.33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash Cost(2) per Tonne Milled (USD$) $ 35.64 $ 44.95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is calculated by considering Company's earnings before interest payments, tax, depreciation, and amortization are subtracted for any final accounting of its income and expenses. The EBITDA of a business gives an indication of its current operational profitability and is a NON-IFRS measure. (2) Refer to Non-IFRS Measures in the June 30, 2016 Management Discussion and Analysis. (3) ZnEq Payable Pounds Produced = ((Zn Payable lbs Produced x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Produced x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Produced x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Produced x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Produced x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (4) ZnEq Payable Pounds Sold = ((Zn Payable lbs Sold x Zn Price)+(Pb Payable lbs Sold x Pb Price)+(Cu Payable lbs Sold x Cu Price)+(Au oz Payable Sold x Au Price)+(Ag oz Payable Sold x Ag Price))/Zn Price. (All metal prices are the average realized metal price for the period). (5) Revenues include prior period adjustment.

Santander Zinc Mine, Peru

Production:

Santander operations delivered another excellent quarter with production of 15.2 million payable pounds of zinc, 5.6 million payable pounds of lead and 222,121 payable ounces of silver. Approximately 219,086 tonnes of mineralized material was processed through the mill with underground mine production of approximately 177,415 tonnes.

Metal production remains in line with the recently increased 2016 annual guidance of 57-60 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate grading approximately 50% Zn, 22-25 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate grading approximately 56-58% Pb and 800,000-1,000,000 ounces of payable silver.

The mill also continues to perform at above design recoveries with Q2-2016 recoveries averaging 89% for zinc, 87% for lead and 73% for silver. Average head grades were 4.16% Zn, 1.39% Pb and 1.32 oz/ton Ag with production of 16,601 tonnes of zinc concentrate averaging 49% Zn and 4,865 tonnes of lead-silver concentrate averaging 55% Pb and 43.7 oz/ton Ag.

During the quarter, the Company sold approximately 15.2 million pounds of zinc, 5.7 million pounds lead and 222,166 ounces of silver. Revenues for the first quarter were approximately US$22.4 million with the average realized metal prices in USD for the quarter of $0.89 per pound of zinc, $0.78 per pound of lead, and $17.09 per ounce of silver.

Q2 cash costs were approximately US$35.64 per tonne, on track with the recently reduced 2016 preliminary annual cost guidance of US$35-$38 per tonne milled (down from the previous guidance of US$40-$43 per tonne milled). The cost savings are primarily attributed to the increased production and implementation of site-wide business initiatives, thus a larger impact on fixed costs as well as the efficiencies and cost cutting measures achieved to date. (Please refer to Non-IFRS Measures in the June 30, 2016 Management Discussion and Analysis).

The Company also received the additional geochemical assay results from its 2016 resource conversion and exploration program which is testing the deeper levels below the currently defined resources of the Magistral North and Central deposits. As previously noted the majority of drill holes continue to return thick intervals of multiple stacked massive sulphide replacement mineralization whose zinc, lead and silver grades are materially higher (typically ranging from approximately 25% to +100%) than those currently being actively mined and processed. All zones including the newly discovered, emergent Oyon zone remain open for expansion and the Company believes that there is very significant resource potential remaining in all three zones where limited down-dip drilling has occurred. During the third quarter diamond drilling will test the depth extents of the Magistral Central and Fatima zones. Please see the Company's news releases dated April 7, 2016 (TV-NR-16-09) and June 2, 2016 (TV-NR-16-12) for additional details.

Outlook:

Santander operations continue in steady state 2,000 tonne-per-day nameplate production with daily production commonly exceeding this by approximately 15-to-25%. The Company continues to work with partner Glencore's local subsidiary, Empresa Minera Los Quenuales S.A., to maximize and further improve operational efficiencies.

An approximate 3,000-metre underground drill program is in progress in order to convert inferred tonnes to a higher confidence category and to follow-up on 2015 exploration successes that tested the deeper levels below the currently defined resources of the Magistral zones. Contingent on results, additional drilling may occur. The program will continue to define and potentially expand the newly discovered Rosa, Fatima and emergent Oyon lead-silver-zinc zones in addition to the Magistral zones that all remain open for expansion at depth.

Caribou Zinc Mine, Canada

The Company continued to successfully advance Caribou commissioning activities during Q2 culminating with the declaration of entering Commercial Production as of July 1, 2016.

Focus continues to reach design mill throughput including associated recoveries and concentrate quality. Scheduled mill optimization initiatives during the third quarter include: completion of the SAG mill modifications - primarily installation of the newly designed lifters and shell liners; mineralogical and size-by-size analysis to track progress; ongoing mill water chemistry trials; Zn and Pb cleaner density trials; completion of recommended pumping infrastructure upgrades and implementation / upgrading of site-wide preventative maintenance program.

Mine optimization initiatives include but are not limited to the ongoing 10,000-metre definition drilling and resource conversion program, modification of drill-blast designs, targeted fleet efficiency, roadway upgrades and enhanced fleet maintenance.

Caribou Zinc Mine - key commissioning & preliminary production statistics (figures rounded)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q1-2016 Q2-2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Mined 191,005 188,353 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Milled 200,670 186,246 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Head Grades % Zinc 6.0% 5.9% Lead 2.6% 2.7% Silver - Oz (ounces)/ton 2.0 oz/t 2.5 oz/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Recoveries % Zinc 71% 77% Lead 58% 57% Silver (in Lead concentrate) 38% 31% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): Zinc 17,732 18,155 Lead 7,586 7,048 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Grades % Zinc 47.8% 46.8% Silver - Oz (ounces)/ton 4.0 oz/t 5.0 oz/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead 39.3% 40.9% Silver - Oz (ounces)/ton 20.3 oz/t 20.3 oz/t ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance

EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO, and Paul Keller, P.Eng, Trevali's Chief Operating Officer, are qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, have supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Cruise is not independent of the Company as he is an officer, director and shareholder. Mr. Keller is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and shareholder.

ABOUT TREVALI MINING CORPORATION

Trevali is a zinc-focused, base metals mining company with two commercially producing operations.

The Company is actively producing zinc and lead-silver concentrates from its 2,000-tonne-per-day Santander mine in Peru and its 3,000-tonne-per-day Caribou mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. Trevali also owns the Halfmile and Stratmat base metal deposits, located in New Brunswick, that are currently undergoing a Preliminary Economic Assessment reviewing their potential development.

The common shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV), the OTCQX (symbol TREVF), the Lima Stock Exchange (symbol TV), and the Frankfurt Exchange (symbol 4TI). For further details on Trevali, readers are referred to the Company's website (www.trevali.com) and to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of TREVALI MINING CORPORATION Mark D. Cruise, President

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation to, update such statements containing the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to statements as to: the intended use of proceeds in connection with the Offering, the accuracy of estimated mineral resources, anticipated results of future exploration, and forecast future metal prices, expectations that environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, political, marketing or other issues will not materially affect estimates of mineral resources. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies.

These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in spot and forward markets for silver, zinc, base metals and certain other commodities (such as natural gas, fuel oil and electricity); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar and Peruvian sol versus the U.S. dollar); risks related to the technological and operational nature of the Company's business; changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, the United States, Peru or other countries where the Company may carry on business in the future; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards;

employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining, diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources as properties are mined; global financial conditions; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; the Company's ability to complete and successfully integrate acquisitions and to mitigate other business combination risks; challenges to, or difficulty in maintaining, the Company's title to properties and continued ownership thereof; the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, and changes in project parameters to deal with unanticipated economic or other factors; and increased competition in the mining industry for properties, equipment, qualified personnel, and their costs. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty or reliance on forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

Trevali's production plan at the Caribou Mine is based only on measured, indicated and inferred resources, and not mineral reserves, and does not have demonstrated economic viability. Trevali's production plan at the Santander Mine is based only on indicated and inferred mineral resources, and not mineral reserves, and does not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is therefore no certainty that the conclusions of the production plans and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will be realized. Additionally, where Trevali discusses exploration/expansion potential, any potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.

We advise US investors that while the terms "measured resources", "indicated resources" and "inferred resources" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the US Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize these terms. US investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the material in these categories will ever be converted into reserves.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any state and may not be offered or sold within the United States, absent such registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

Contacts:

Trevali Mining Corporation

Steve Stakiw

Vice President, Investor Relations and

Corporate Communications

(604) 488-1661 / Direct: (604) 638-5623

sstakiw@trevali.com




DUBLIN, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Smart Weapons Market by Product (Missiles, Munitions, Guided Projectile, Guided Rocket, Guided Firearms), platform (Air, Land, Naval), Technology (Laser, Infrared, Radar, GPS, Others) & Region - Global Forecast to 2021" report to their offering.

The smart weapons market is forecast to reach a value of USD 15.64 billion by 2021.

North America is expected to lead the smart weapons market in 2016, and is anticipated to continue its dominance during the forecast period. In North America, the U.S. is considered to be the largest market with a higher CAGR for smart weapons, primarily owing to technological advancements, and rising incidences of armed conflicts or cross-border disputes in the country. The U.S. is one of the key manufacturers and end users of smart weapons across the globe. Procurement of smart weapons by the U.S. acts as a deterrent for other countries to attack the country.

From an insight perspective, this research report has focused on various levels of analysis -industry analysis (industry trends and PEST analysis), market-share analysis of top players, supply-chain analysis, and company profiles. These together comprise and discuss basic views on competitive landscape, emerging and high-growth segments of the smart weapons market, high-growth regions and countries, and their respective regulatory policies, government initiatives, and market drivers, restraints, and opportunities.

The report provides insights into the following pointers:

Comprehensive information on smart weapons offered by the top 10 players in the smart weapons market

Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research and development activities, and new product launches in the smart weapons market

Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging markets - the report analyses markets for smart weapon across regions

Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the smart weapons market

In-depth assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in the smart weapons market

Companies Mentioned:

Bae Systems, PLC.

The Boeing Company

General Dynamics Corporation

L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Mbda, Inc.

Orbital Atk

Raytheon Company

Rheinmetall Agpshot

Textron Inc.

Thales Group

Report Structure:

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights

5 Market Overview

6 Industry Trends

7 Smart Weapons Market, By Product

8 Smart Weapons Market, By Platform

9 Smart Weapons Market, By Technology

10 Geographic Analysis

11 Competitive Landscape

12 Company Profiles

13 Appendix

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/qmpmgf/smart_weapons

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
SAN ANTONIO, TX--(Marketwired - August 11, 2016) - GlobalSCAPE, Inc. (NYSE MKT: GSB), a pioneer and worldwide leader in the secure and reliable exchange of business information, has been recognized for product excellence by the 2016 Golden Bridge Awards, for multiple delivery methods of the company's core product in the following categories:

Access Compliance and Risk Management (Gold Winner) - Enhanced File Transfer' (EFT') exceeds security practices mandated by the most rigorous standards, including PCI DSS, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and many others.

Managed File Transfer (Gold Winner) - EFT Cloud Services" combines the flexibility and scalability of a cloud infrastructure with the security of Globalscape's on-premises file transfer solution -- with features including intrusion detection and antivirus protection, full-time port monitoring, firewall protection and more -- for a secure and scalable cloud-based MFT solution.

Now in its eighth year, the Golden Bridge Awards program encompasses the world's best in organizational performance, innovations, products and services, executives and management teams, women in business and the professions, innovations, best deployments, product management, public relations, marketing, corporate communications, international business, and customer satisfaction programs from every major industry in the world.

This year's winners will be honored in San Francisco on Monday, September 12, 2016 during the annual Red Carpet Golden Bridge Awards Ceremony.

Supporting Quote:

Peter Merkulov, Vice President of Product Strategy and Technology Alliances at Globalscape

"Managing the movement and security of data is an enormous challenge for organizations today, and this issue is one that Globalscape addresses head-on in everything we do. The recognition of our award-winning EFT platform by the Golden Bridge Awards demonstrates that our offerings are not only up to the challenge, but poised to provide enterprises of all sizes with powerful tools that address their pressing data needs. We are especially thrilled to have EFT Cloud Services recognized as it once again affirms that Globalscape is at the forefront of the migration of data and IT workloads into the cloud."

For more information about any of Globalscape's award-winning products, please visit: https://www.globalscape.com/.

About the Golden Bridge Awards

Golden Bridge Awards are an annual industry and peers recognition program honoring best companies in every major industry from large to small and new start-ups in North America, Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin-America, Best New Products and Services, Best Innovations, Management and Teams, Women in Business and the Professions, Case Studies, Customer Satisfaction, and PR and Marketing Campaigns from all over the world. Learn more about The Golden Bridge Awards at www.goldenbridgeawards.com.

About Globalscape

GlobalSCAPE, Inc. (NYSE MKT: GSB) is a pioneer in the reliable exchange of mission-critical business data and intellectual property. Globalscape's leading enterprise suite of solutions delivers military-proven security for achieving best-in-class control and visibility of data across multiple locations. Founded in 1996, Globalscape's software and services are trusted by tens of thousands of customers worldwide, including global enterprises, governments, and small and medium enterprises. For more information, visit www.Globalscape.com or follow the blog and Twitter updates.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The words "would," "exceed," "should," "anticipates," "believe," "steady," "dramatic," "expect," and variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2015 fiscal year, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 3, 2016.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/8/11/11G110226/Images/2016-GBA-Gold-5228143ad0eba85a8a775b068864355c.jpg

GLOBALSCAPE PRESS CONTACT

Contact: Ciri Haugh

Phone Number: (210) 308-8267

Email: PR@globalscape.com
SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Today, Sorenson Communications, the leader in breaking down communication barriers between the Deaf and hearing, announced it will expand its offering beyond Video Relay Service by opening Sorenson Community Interpreting Services in Atlanta. Sorenson has been part of the Atlanta community since it opened a video relay interpreting center there in 2004

Local government agencies and businesses that serve the public are required by law to provide qualified American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters to Deaf people in most settings. These groups will benefit by having adept interpreters readily available in Atlanta. The landmark 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires this accommodation to ensure Deaf employees and customers can fully participate in their own lives and in the greater community.

Whether the interpreting need is for a medical appointment, a job interview or legal consultation, Sorenson Community Interpreting Services' goal remains the same: provide the best sign language interpreting experience for customers.

"As the largest private employer of sign language interpreters in the country, Sorenson has the most experienced, skilled and diverse interpreter base in the industry," says Chris Wakeland, Sorenson Communications vice president of interpreting.

Unlike most agencies, Sorenson interpreters are employees who have passed a rigorous skills assessment, background check and drug screening. Says Josh Pennise, national director of community interpreting services for Sorenson Communications, "Sorenson's commitment to quality has resulted in providing unmatched resources for interpreter development, training and advocacy. Interpreters who work with Sorenson are supervised and receive ongoing feedback and support from interpreting field experts."

Pennise says with Sorenson Community Interpreting Services, interpreters are assigned by evaluating each job and selecting the interpreter with the appropriate skill set, not the first available or least expensive interpreters.

Sorenson is committed to the professional development of its employees. In 2015, nearly 4,000 interpreters from the greater community participated in community training and workshops Sorenson offered back to the larger interpreter community.

For more information on Sorenson Community Interpreting Services, visit http://www.sorenson.com/interpreting. To arrange for an interpreter or for interpreters to arrange for a job interview, contact Sorenson Community Interpreting Services at:

Telephone: 800-659-4783

Videophone: 844-720-1891

Email: communityinterpreting@sorenson.com

About Sorenson Communications

Sorenson Communications (www.sorenson.com) is a provider of industry-leading communications products and services for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing. The company's offerings include Sorenson Video Relay Service (SVRS), the highest-quality video interpreting service; the Sorenson ntouch VP videophone, designed especially for use by Deaf individuals; ntouch PC, software that connects users to SVRS by using a PC and webcam; ntouch for Mac, software that connects users to SVRS by using an Apple computer; ntouch Tablet, which turns the Apple iPad with a front-facing camera into a larger-screen mobile VP; and ntouch Mobile, an application empowering SVRS communication via mobile devices.
The Academic Affairs Division at Chattanooga State Community College has announced the following faculty promotions and tenure recognition:



Business: Assistant Professor  Michele Arpin and Jacob Stanford.



Engineering and Information Technologies: Tenure  Leigh McGregor, Lisa (Tami) Miller, Caitlin Moffitt, Mark Palmer, and Jacqueline Smith.



Humanities and Fine Arts: Professor  Dr. Amanda Hyberger; Associate Professor  Dr. Jennifer Arbogast, Dr. Keri Lamb; Assistant Professor - Juan Alonso-Santillana, Julie Jarnefeldt, Maria Spear, and Josh Tucker. Tenure - Lori Barton, Michael Holsomback, and Sarah Page.



Mathematics and Sciences: Professor  Dr. Evelyn Mobley; Associate Professor  April Crenshaw, Catherine Schmurr, and Aaron Willmon; Assistant Professor  James McCoy.



Nursing and Allied Health: Assistant Professor  Matt Ragghianti. Tenure  Meredith Brown and Jeffrey Roberts.



Social and Behavioral Sciences: Professor  Dr. Kathy Trotter; Associate Professor  Dr. Michael McCamish; Assistant Professor  Joe Wingate. Tenure  Garrett Bouldin and Dr. Dan Rose.



Faculty promotions in the Tennessee College of Applied Technology include:



Senior Instructor: Kristi Caves-May, Edward Grun, and Michael Mercer.



Instructor: Martin Hicks.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 11, 2016) -Imperial Metals Corporation (the "Company") (TSX: III) reports comparative financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 are summarized in this release and discussed in detail in the Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A"). The Company's financial results are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). The reporting currency of the Company is the Canadian ("CDN") Dollar.

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- expressed in thousands, except per share amounts Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 2016 2015 -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- Revenues $116,200 $1,726 $252,985 $3,259 Income (loss) from mine operations $20,151 $(2,981) $40,499 $(4,694) Equity (loss) income in Huckleberry $(1,697) $626 $(5,673) $33 Net (loss) income $(4,160) $1,644 $13,569 $(31,740) Net (loss) income per share $(0.05) $0.02 $0.17 $(0.42) Adjusted net loss (1) $(1,214) $(9,371) $(15) $(17,383) Adjusted net loss per share (1) $(0.01) $(0.12) $(0.00) $(0.23) Adjusted EBITDA(1) $38,791 $(7,840) $84,666 $(13,985) Cash flow (1) $40,327 $2,270 $89,752 $(3,791) Cash flow per Share (1) $0.49 $0.03 $1.10 $(0.05) -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- (1) Refer to Non-IFRS Financial Measures for further details.

Revenues were $116.2 million in the June 2016 quarter compared to $1.7 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. The increase of $114.5 million is related to the restart of operations at the Mount Polley mine on August 5, 2015 and the start of commercial production at the Red Chris mine on July 1, 2015. There were five concentrate shipments in the June 2016 quarter from the Red Chris mine and one concentrate shipment from the Mount Polley mine.

Net loss for the June 2016 quarter was $4.2 million ($0.05 per share) compared to net income of $1.6 million ($0.02 per share) in the 2015 comparative quarter. The increase in net loss from the June 2015 quarter to the June 2016 quarter of $5.8 million was primarily due to the following factors:

Income/loss from mine operations went from a loss of $3.0 million in June 2015 to income of $20.2 million in June 2016, an increase to net income of $23.2 million.

Foreign exchange gains/losses on current and non-current debt went from a gain of $7.2 million in June 2015 to a loss of $1.6 million in June 2016, a decrease to net income of $8.8 million.

Interest expense went from $2.3 million in June 2015 to $17.1 million in June 2016, a decrease to net income of $14.8 million.

Loss/gain on derivative instruments went from a loss of $3.1 million in June 2015 to a gain of $0.4 million in June 2016, an increase to net income of $3.5 million.

Insurance recoveries net of idle mine costs went from a gain of $4.6 million in June 2015 to $nil in June 2016, a decrease to net income of $4.6 million.

The June 2016 quarter net income included a foreign exchange losses related to changes in CDN/US Dollar exchange rates of $2.1 million compared to a foreign exchange gains of $7.1 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. The $2.1 million foreign exchange loss is comprised of a $1.2 million loss on the senior notes, a $0.1 million loss on long term equipment loans, and a loss of $0.8 million on short-term debt and operational items. The average CDN/US Dollar exchange rate in the June 2016 quarter was 1.289 compared to an average of 1.229 in the 2015 comparative quarter.

In the June 2016 quarter the Company recorded net gains on derivative instruments of $0.4 million compared to net losses of $3.1 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. The $0.4 million gain in the June 2016 quarter consisted of a $0.4 million unrealized gains on the foreign currency swap due to an increase in the CDN/US Dollar exchange rate compared to the exchange rate at the end of the March 2016 quarter. In the 2015 comparative quarter the $3.1 million loss consisted of realized gains of $0.7 million or gold derivative instruments, unrealized losses of $1.4 million for gold derivative instruments and unrealized losses of $2.4 million on the foreign currency swap. During the June 2016 quarter the Company did not have any commodity derivative instruments.

The Company recorded a $1.7 million equity loss as its share of Huckleberry's net loss during the June 2016 quarter compared to a $0.6 million equity gain in the 2015 comparative quarter. Huckleberry had one shipment in the June 2016 quarter compared to three shipments in the 2015 comparative quarter.

Capital expenditures were $24.2 million in the June 2016 quarter, down from $48.9 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. During the June 2015 quarter capital expenditures were significantly higher than the June 2016 quarter as they included $13.0 million in capitalized interest and $5.2 million in capitalized preproduction operating costs net of preproduction revenues related to the Red Chris mine. Capitalization of interest and preproduction costs related to Red Chris mine ceased on July 1, 2015 with the commencement of commercial production.

LIQUIDITY AND FINANCING

At June 30, 2016, the Company had cash of $4.1 million and a working capital deficiency of $41.1 million.

During the June 2016 quarter the Company extended the maturity date of the senior credit facility to March 15, 2018 and amended certain of its terms and conditions. Concurrently, the Company extended the maturity date of the second lien secured credit facility to August 15, 2018 and amended certain of its terms and conditions.

The projected cash flow from the Red Chris and Mount Polley mines, as well as the available credit facilities and other sources of financing, are expected to be sufficient to fund the working capital deficiency and the Company's obligations as they become due. However, there are inherent risks related to mine operations which could require additional sources of financing. There can be no assurance that adequate additional financing will be available on terms acceptable to the Company or at all which could have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial condition and results of operations and its ability to continue to operate as a going concern.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

Refer to the MD&A section titled Non-IFRS Financial Measures for further details.

expressed in thousands, except share and per share amounts Three Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted net loss $(1,214) $(9,371) Adjusted net loss per share $(0.01) $(0.12) Adjusted EBITDA $38,791 $(7,840) Cash flow $40,327 $2,270 Cash flow per share $0.49 $0.03

The Company reports four non-IFRS financial measures: Adjusted net income, Adjusted EBITDA, Cash flow and Cash cost per pound of copper produced which are described in detail below. The Company believes these measures are useful to investors because they are included in the measures that are used by management in assessing the financial performance of the Company.

Adjusted net income, Adjusted EBITDA, and Cash flow are not generally accepted earnings measures and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) and cash flows as determined in accordance with IFRS. As there is no standardized method of calculating these measures, these measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Reconciliations are provided in the MD&A.

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per Share

Adjusted net loss in the June 2016 quarter was $1.2 million ($0.01 per share) compared to an adjusted net loss of $9.4 million ($0.12 per share) in the 2015 comparative quarter. Adjusted net income or loss shows the financial results excluding the effect of items not settling in the current period and non-recurring items.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA in the June 2016 quarter was $38.8 million compared to negative $7.8 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before interest expense, taxes, and depletion and depreciation. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA excluding certain recurring non-cash items, unusual items not expected to continue at the same level in the future, and any other items not reflective of our ongoing operating performance.

Cash Flow and Cash Flow Per Share

Cash flow in the June 2016 quarter was $40.3 million compared to $2.3 million in 2015 comparative quarter. Cash flow per share was $0.49 in the June 2016 quarter compared to $0.03 in 2015 comparative quarter.

Cash flow and Cash flow per share are measures used by the Company to evaluate its performance however they are not terms recognized under IFRS. Cash flow is defined as cash flow from operations before the net change in non-cash working capital balances, income and mining taxes, and interest paid and cash flow per share is the same measure divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. The Company believes Cash flow is useful to investors and it is one of the measures used by management to assess the financial performance of the Company.

Cash Cost Per Pound of Copper Produced

The cash cost per pound of copper produced is a non-IFRS financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning under IFRS, and as a result may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Management uses this non-IFRS financial measure to monitor operating costs and profitability. The Company is primarily a copper producer and therefore calculates this non-IFRS financial measure individually for its three copper producing mines, Red Chris, Mount Polley and Huckleberry, and on a composite basis for these mines.

The cash cost per pound of copper produced is derived from the sum of cash production costs, transportation and offsite costs, treatment and refining costs, royalties, net of by-product and other revenues, divided by the number of pounds of copper produced during the period.

Variations from period to period in the cash cost per pound of copper produced are the result of many factors including: grade, metal recoveries, amount of stripping charged to operations, mine and mill operating conditions, labour and other cost inputs, transportation and warehousing costs, treatment and refining costs, the amount of by-product and other revenues, the US$ to CDN$ exchange rate and the amount of copper produced. Idle mine costs during the periods when the Mount Polley and Huckleberry mines were not in operation have been excluded from the cash cost per pound of copper produced.

Calculation of Cash Cost Per Pound of Copper Produced expressed in thousands, except cash cost per pound of copper produced Three Months Ended June 30, 2016 -------------------------------------------------- Huckleberry Red Mount ------------------- 100% 50% Chris Polley Composite -------------------------------------------------- Cash cost of copper produced in US$ $14,315 $7,157 $23,174 $14,548 $44,879 Copper produced - 000's lbs 7,713 3,857 26,737 5,314 35,908 Cash cost per lb copper produced in US$ $1.86 $1.86 $0.87 $2.74 $1.25 Three Months Ended June 30, 2015 -------------------------------------------------- Huckleberry Red Mount ------------------- 100% 50% Chris Polley Composite -------------------------------------------------- Cash cost of copper produced in US$ $25,315 $12,645 $ - $ - $12,645 Copper produced - 000's lbs 11,493 5,746 - - 11,493 Cash cost per lb copper produced in US$ $2.20 $2.20 $ - $ - $2.20

Developments During the June 2016 Quarter

General

The London Metals Exchange cash settlement copper price per pound averaged US$2.14 (CDN$2.76) in the June 2016 quarter compared to US$2.74 (CDN$3.37) in the 2015 comparative quarter. The London Metals Exchange cash settlement gold price per troy ounce averaged US$1,259 (CDN$1,623) in the June 2016 quarter compared to US$1,193 (CDN$1,466) in the 2015 comparative quarter. The CDN Dollar weakened by 4.7% compared to the US Dollar in the June 2016 quarter compared to the 2015 comparative quarter.

Red Chris Mine

Metal production for the June 2016 quarter was 26.74 million pounds copper and 18,213 ounces gold, increases of 14% and 25% respectively compared to the first quarter of 2016. The mill achieved an average throughput of 28,971 tonnes per day, and the mine moved an average of 75,002 tonnes of material per day during the second quarter of 2016. The bulk of the mill feed (approximately 77%) was mined from the Main zone, with higher grade East zone ore providing the remainder of the mill feed. The ore grade averaged 0.59% copper and 0.40g/t gold for the quarter. Metal recoveries averaged 78.34% copper and 53.77% gold, down slightly from the 79.10% and 54.72% achieved for copper and gold respectively in the first quarter of 2016. Metal recoveries were negatively impacted by near surface (higher clay content) ore delivered from a Main zone pushback which made up about 24% of the feed during the June quarter, compared to 0% in the first quarter of 2016.

Lab test work and plant trials using several different reagents to increase copper recovery are underway. Throughput for July averaged 30,638 tonnes per day. Recoveries continued to be impacted by the high clay content of the near surface Main zone ore being mined in the Phase 3 pushback, which made up the majority (85%) of the mill feed in July.

At the tailings storage facility ("TSF") work on the North Dam continues and is approximately 33% complete, and the initial work on the South Reclaim Dam has started along with other work required to begin construction on the South Dam. Permitting for the South Dam is progressing, and we expect to be able to start work on it before the end of August. We are targeting the completion of construction at the TSF by October 15, 2016.

Red Chris Production Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 2016 2015(1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ore milled - tonnes 2,636,332 1,851,608 4,780,129 2,667,379 Ore milled per calendar day - tonnes 28,971 19,906 26,264 20,347 Grade % - copper 0.587 0.502 0.606 0.484 Grade g/t - gold 0.400 0.238 0.391 0.243 Recovery % - copper 78.34 61.88 78.78 62.03 Recovery % - gold 53.77 31.94 54.49 31.87 Copper - 000's pounds 26,737 12,677 50,242 17,397 Gold - ounces 18,213 4,533 32,772 6,644 Silver - ounces 66,054 18,721 122,435 25,742 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1) production from February 17 to June 30, 2015

Exploration, development and capital expenditures were $11.0 million in the June 2016 quarter compared to $31.3 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. Included in this amount was capitalized interest of $nil in the June 2016 quarter compared to $13.0 million in the 2015 comparative quarter.

Mount Polley Mine

Over the past two years, Mount Polley management and staff have worked tirelessly in close cooperation with regulatory agencies, First Nations and members of the local communities, to repair and buttress the TSF following the Best Applicable Practices identified in the Independent Expert Engineering Investigation and Review Panel report. On June 23, 2016 Mount Polley received the necessary authorizations from the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Environment, to return to normal mine operations, making use of its repaired and buttressed TSF. Work on raising the minimum elevation to the perimeter embankment from 950 metres to 963.5 metres has begun, with a targeted completion of the end of October 2016.

During the past two years, Mount Polley has completed significant rehabilitation of the impacted areas, and will continue necessary rehabilitation and monitoring of those areas. Work on returning of the upper portion of Hazeltine Creek to fish habitat has begun. Research and monitoring to date indicates the environment is recovering rapidly. No long lasting impacts are anticipated at this time. The Company has also initiated legal proceedings for the recovery of losses related to the tailings dam breach at Mount Polley mine.

During the second quarter of 2016, the Mount Polley mine treated 1.57 million tonnes ore, and produced 5.31 million pounds copper and 9,476 ounces gold. The average ore grade for the second quarter 2016 was 0.22% copper and 0.28 g/t gold compared to 0.31% copper and 0.33 g/t gold in the first quarter of 2016. Lower head grades resulted in lower metal recoveries averaging 68.33% copper and 67.62% gold , compared to 70.31% copper and 71.52% gold achieved in the first quarter of 2016. Grades were lower as underground operations in the Boundary zone supplied 55,582 tonnes grading 0.91% copper and 0.55 g/t gold, down from 91,881 tonnes grading 1.73% copper and 1.10 g/t gold. A fill cycle in the main boundary stope was completed during the quarter and production from the underground operation is targeted to increase in the third quarter.

Mount Polley Production Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2016 2015(1) 2016 2015(1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ore milled - tonnes 1,573,542 - 3,282,690 - Ore milled per calendar day - tonnes 17,292 - 18,037 - Grade % - copper 0.224 - 0.268 - Grade g/t - gold 0.277 - 0.304 - Recovery % - copper 68.33 - 69.52 - Recovery % - gold 67.62 - 69.82 - Copper - 000's pounds 5,314 - 13,493 - Gold - ounces 9,476 - 22,389 - Silver - ounces 17,104 - 52,135 - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1) production resumed August 5, 2015

Exploration, development, and capital expenditures were $13.2 million in the June 2016 quarter compared to $17.4 million in the 2015 comparative quarter.

Huckleberry Mine

Huckleberry mine production for the second quarter of 2016 quarter was in-line with targets. Throughput averaged 19,426 tonnes per day, and 7.71 million pounds copper were produced. Imperial's share of Huckleberry production was 3.86 million pounds copper. The copper grade averaged 0.23% and copper recovery was 87.6%. Milling of the stockpiles will continue until August 31, at which time it is planned that operations will be suspended and the mine placed on care and maintenance pending an increase in the price of copper.

Huckleberry Production(1) Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 2016 2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ore milled - tonnes 1,767,724 1,726,751 3,538,449 3,293,245 Ore milled per calendar day - tonnes 19,426 18,975 19,442 18,195 Grade % - copper 0.226 0.338 0.234 0.342 Recovery % - copper 87.6 89.3 87.7 89.0 Copper - 000's pounds 7,713 11,493 15,991 22,120 Gold - ounces 702 886 1,483 1,681 Silver - ounces 40,224 57,226 79,031 111,198 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1) production stated 100% - Imperial's allocation is 50%

Mount Polley obtained the permits required to return to normal operations using the repaired and buttressed TSF, which is now being used to store tailings. Water levels in the Springer pit are going down as treated water is being discharged from the site. Currently, milling operations are benefiting from the supply of higher grade tonnes from underground mining in the Boundary zone. Also, an exploration ramp from the underground Boundary zone workings is being driven to provide access for underground diamond drilling to further define the Martel zone for potential underground mining.

In response to lower copper prices, Huckleberry suspended open pit operations in January 2016, while continuing to mill stockpiles. Huckleberry will suspend milling operations and enter care and maintenance at the end of August.

Detailed Second Quarter Report financial information is available on imperialmetals.com and sedar.com.

An Earnings Announcement Conference Call is scheduled for August 12, 2016 at 10:00am PDT | 11:00am MDT | 1:00pm EDT Management will discuss the Company's 2016 Second Quarter Financial Results. To participate in the earnings announcement conference call, select the phone number applicable to your location: 778.383.7413 Vancouver 416.764.8688 Toronto 587.880.2171 Calgary 888.390.0546 North America - toll free Conference call will be available for playback (until 1:00pm on August 19, 2016) by dialing 888.390.0541 or 416.764.8677 | playback passcode 165169#

Forward-looking information is not based on historical facts, but rather on then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates, including, but not limited to, assumptions that: the Company will be able to advance and complete remaining planned rehabilitation activities within expected timeframes; that there will be no significant delay or other material impact on the expected timeframes or costs for completion of rehabilitation of the Mount Polley mine; that the Company's rehabilitation activities at Mount Polley will be successful in the long term; that all required permits, approvals and arrangements to proceed with planned rehabilitation at the Mount Polley mine will be obtained in a timely manner; that there will be no interruptions that will materially delay the Company's progress with its rehabilitation plans; that there will be no material operational or permitting delays at the Red Chris mine; that equipment will operate as expected; that there will not be significant power outages; that the Company's use of derivative instruments will enable the Company to achieve expected pricing protection; that there will be no material adverse change in the market price of commodities and exchange rates; and that the Red Chris mine and the Mount Polley mine will achieve expected production outcomes (including with respect to mined grades and mill recoveries); that Imperial will have access to capital as required. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. We can give no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Imperial's actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements constituting forward-looking information.

Important risks that could cause Imperial's actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to differ materially from Imperial's expectations include, among other things: that additional financing that may be required may not be available to Imperial on terms acceptable to Imperial or at all; risks relating to the timely receipt of necessary approvals and consents to proceed with construction of the South dam at the Red Chris mine; risks relating to the timely receipt of necessary approvals and consents to proceed with the rehabilitation plan; risks relating to the remaining costs and liabilities and any unforeseen longer-term environmental consequences arising from the tailings dam breach; uncertainty as to actual timing of completion of rehabilitation activities at the Mount Polley mine and the planned raise of the tailings storage facility's perimeter embankment minimum elevation from 950 metres to 963.5 metres; risks relating to the impact of the tailings dam breach on Imperial's reputation; the quantum of claims, fines and penalties that may become payable by Imperial and the risk that current sources of funds are insufficient to fund liabilities; risks that Imperial will be unsuccessful in defending against, and/or pursuing recovery of its losses through, any legal claims or potential litigation; risks of protesting activity and other civil disobedience restricting access to the Company's properties; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations; cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, labour unrest, power outages or shortages, and natural phenomena such as drought or unusually wet weather conditions negatively impacting the operation of the Red Chris mine or the Mount Polley mine; changes in commodity and power prices; changes in market demand for our concentrate; inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral reserves and resources); and other hazards and risks disclosed within this Management's Discussion and Analysis for the June 2016 quarter and other public filings which are available on Imperial's profile at sedar.com. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Imperial does not undertake to update any forward looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Imperial Contact Information

Brian Kynoch

President

604.669.8959



Andre Deepwell

Chief Financial Officer

604.488.2666



Steve Robertson

Vice President Corporate Affairs

604.488.2669

srobertson@imperialmetals.com



Sabine Goetz

Shareholder Communications

604.488.2657

investor@imperialmetals.com
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Canacol Energy Ltd. ("Canacol" or the "Corporation") (TSX: CNE) (OTCQX: CNNEF) (BVC: CNEC) is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016. Dollar amounts are expressed in United States dollars, except as otherwise noted.

"We continued to build momentum into the second quarter of 2016, with both record corporate production and our highest revenues, earnings, and adjusted funds flows from operations since the near $100 oil prices of 2014", reported Charle Gamba, President and CEO of Canacol. "During the second quarter, Canacol achieved record cash sales volumes of 17,817 boepd, a 52% increase over the average of 11,746 boepd for the previous quarter ending March 31, 2016. With the completion of the Promigas pipeline expansion in April 2016, we seamlessly brought 65 MMscfpd of new gas production on stream, with obvious positive effects on corporate earnings. Adjusted funds from operations for the three months ended June 30, 2016 increased 99% to $26.9 million from the previous quarter of $13.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016. The Corporation had a comprehensive income of $11.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016, compared to a comprehensive loss of $58.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015. The Corporation continues to be profitable in 2016, which marks a return to profitability moving forward as Canacol's gas sales volumes continue to increase.

Our continued focus on reducing costs and increasing gas production resulted in another 7% increase in operating netbacks to $25.58/boe for the three months ended June 30, 2016, compared to $23.90/boe last quarter.

We also continue to increase our gas reserve base, with the successful Oboe-1 well recently being assigned 38 bcf of 3P gas reserves. Our gas drilling program also includes the currently drilling Nispero-1 well, to be directly followed by Nelson-6. As a result of the recent CDN $46.9 million private placement, we now expect to expand this program and have a gas drilling rig running continuously well into 2017, with one additional gas exploration well and one additional gas development well planned for the remainder of 2016. We also plan to drill one oil exploration well on our VMM2 concession in Q4 2016."

Highlights for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016

(Production is stated as working-interest before royalties)

Financial and operational highlights of the Corporation include:

-- Total cash sales volumes increased 74% and 38% to 17,817 boepd and 14,783 boepd for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively, compared to 10,256 boepd and 10,676 boepd for the same periods in 2015, respectively, primarily due to increase in gas production in Esperanza and VIM-5 as a result of the additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion. -- Adjusted funds from operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 increased 64% and 48% to $26.9 million and $40.3 million compared to the same periods in 2015, respectively. Adjusted funds from operations are inclusive of results from the Ecuador IPC. The increase in adjusted funds from operations is primarily the result of additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion, reductions in production and transportation expenses and lower general and administrative expenses, offset by a decrease in benchmark crude oil prices. -- The Corporation had a comprehensive income of $11.2 million and $11.7 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively, compared to a comprehensive loss of $58.5 million and $74.2 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively. The Corporation continues to be profitable in 2016 which marks a return to profitability moving forward as Canacol's gas sales volumes continue to increase. -- Average production volumes increased 65% and 31% to 16,423 boepd and 13,680 boepd for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively, compared to 9,961 boepd and 10,453 boepd for the same periods in 2015, respectively, primarily due to increase in gas production in Esperanza and VIM-5 as a result of the additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion. -- Total petroleum and natural gas revenues for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 increased 43% and 15% to $38.9 million and $61.6 million compared to $27.3 million and $53.7 million for same periods in 2015, respectively. Adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues, inclusive of revenues related to the Ecuador Incremental Production Contract (the "Ecuador IPC") (see full discussion in MD&A), for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 increased 34% and 12% to $45.4 million and $74.4 million compared to $33.9 million and $66.7 million for the same periods in 2015, respectively. The increase in revenues reflects the additional sales related to the Promigas pipeline expansion, offset by a decrease in benchmark crude oil prices. -- General and administrative ("G&A") expenses decreased 24% and 23% to $4.2 million and $8 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively, compared to $5.5 million and $10.4 million for the same periods in 2015, respectively. The decrease is primarily due to the Corporation's efforts to manage its G&A expenses in light of the continued weakness in benchmark crude oil prices and the devaluation of the Colombian peso versus the United States dollar. -- Production expenses decreased 42% and 56% to $4.3 million and $7.7 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively, compared to $7.5 million and $17.7 million for the same periods in 2015, respectively, despite significant production increases in the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 compared to the same periods in 2015. The decrease is primarily due to the Corporation's cost-cutting initiatives of centralizing the production, loading, and water disposal operations from the different fields within the LLA-23 block to the Pointer facility, lower renegotiated operating costs and the devaluation of the Colombian peso versus the United States dollar. -- During the three months ended June 30, 2016, the Oboe-1 well was completed and tested in 3 of 11 different sandstone reservoir intervals within the Cienaga de Oro reservoir which flowed at a combined rate of 66 MMscfpd of dry gas. The Oboe-1 well is in the process of being tied- in to the Clarinete flow line where it is expected to commence permanent production by September 1, 2016. Oboe-1 further appraised the Clarinete gas field structure and added 28 billion standard cubic feet of additional 2P gas reserves to Canacol's existing 372 bscf of 2P gas reserves, as at December 31, 2015. -- Net capital expenditures including acquisitions for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 was $5 million and $20.6 million, respectively, while adjusted capital expenditures including acquisitions, inclusive of amounts related to the Ecuador IPC, was $5.4 million and $21.3 million, respectively. -- At June 30, 2016, prior to the recently closed CDN $46.9 million private placement, the Corporation had $25.3 million in cash and $62.5 million in restricted cash and was well within all of its banking covenants. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months ended June Six months ended June Financial 30, 30, 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total petroleum and natural gas revenues, net of royalties 38,926 27,297 43% 61,626 53,726 15% Adjusted petroleum and natural gas revenues, net of royalties,including revenues related to the Ecuador IPC (2) 45,390 33,892 34% 74,390 66,703 12% Cash provided by (used in) operating activities 13,764 (10,905) n/a 21,013 (12,916) n/a Per share - basic ($) 0.09 (0.09) n/a 0.13 (0.11) n/a Per share - diluted ($) 0.08 (0.09) n/a 0.13 (0.11) n/a Adjusted funds from operations (1) (2) 26,870 16,359 64% 40,321 27,281 48% Per share - basic ($) 0.17 0.14 21% 0.25 0.24 4% Per share -diluted ($) 0.16 0.14 14% 0.25 0.24 4% Net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) 11,245 (58,524) n/a 11,706 (74,162) n/a Per share - basic ($) 0.07 (0.50) n/a 0.07 (0.66) n/a Per share - diluted ($) 0.07 (0.50) n/a 0.07 (0.66) n/a Capital expenditures, net, including acquisitions 5,046 28,935 (83%) 20,594 91,417 (77%) Adjusted capital expenditures, net, including acquisitions andcapital expenditures related to the Ecuador IPC (1)(2) 5,376 30,893 (83%) 21,325 99,671 (79%) Jun 30, Dec 31, 2016 2015 Change -------------------------- Cash 25,336 43,257 (41%) Restricted cash 62,462 61,721 1% Working capital surplus, excluding non-cash items (1) 39,593 46,310 (15%) Bank debt 249,443 248,228 - Total assets 694,785 668,349 4% Common shares, end of period (000s) 160,873 159,266 1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three months ended June Six months ended June Operating 30, 30, 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum and natural gas production, before royalties(boepd) Petroleum (3) 4,018 6,007 (33%) 4,273 6,724 (36%) Natural gas 12,405 3,954 214% 9,407 3,729 152% Total (2) 16,423 9,961 65% 13,680 10,453 31% Petroleum and natural gas sales, before royalties (boepd) Petroleum (3) 4,045 6,192 (35%) 4,312 6,911 (38%) Natural gas 12,331 4,064 203% 9,331 3,765 148% Total (2) 16,376 10,256 60% 13,643 10,676 28% Total cash sales, before royalties (boepd) (4) Natural gas 13,772 4,064 239% 10,471 3,765 178% Colombia oil 2,294 4,433 (48%) 2,575 5,179 (50%) Ecuador tariff oil (2) 1,751 1,759 - 1,737 1,732 - Total (2) 17,817 10,256 74% 14,783 10,676 38% Operating netbacks ($/boe) (1) Esperanza (natural gas) 27.24 22.41 22% 27.37 22.56 21% VIM-5 (natural gas) 24.57 - n/a 24.35 - n/a LLA-23 (oil) 12.45 30.06 (59%) 10.39 23.71 (56%) Ecuador (tariff oil) (2) 38.54 38.54 - 38.54 38.54 - Total (2) 25.58 26.68 (4%) 24.90 23.52 6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Non-IFRS measure - see "Non-IFRS Measures" section within MD&A. (2) Inclusive of amounts related to the Ecuador IPC - see "Non-IFRS Measures" section within MD&A. (3) Includes tariff oil production and sales related to the Ecuador IPC. (4) Total cash sales is defined as total realized contractual gas sales and crude oil sales plus cash received for gas classified as deferred income according to IFRS.

Outlook

The three months ended June 30, 2016 was a record quarter for the Corporation in terms of production levels, and its highest revenues, earnings, and adjusted funds flows from operations since the robust oil prices of 2014; primarily related to completion of the Promigas pipeline expansion in April 2016 which allowed the Corporation to increase average daily gas cash sales to approximately 90 MMscfpd.

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2016, the Corporation has budgeted two gas exploration wells, Nispero-1 and Nelson-6 (in addition to the Oboe-1 well that was drilled in the first six months of the year), as well as five light oil workovers on its LLA-23 concession. A part of the proceeds from Canacol's recently closed C$46.9 million financing will be used to expand its gas exploration and development program throughout the remainder of 2016 and into 2017. The Corporation now expects to keep one rig running continuously on its gas drilling program well into 2017, and plans to drill one additional exploration well, and one additional gas development well, during the remainder of 2016, which would be in addition to the Nispero 1 and Nelson 6 wells. Canacol also expects to drill the Mono Capachino light oil exploration prospect located on the VMM-2 concession in late 2016.

Canacol is currently in the process of drilling the Nispero-1 well in the Esperanza block located in the Lower Magdalena Valley basin. The Nispero-1 well is targeting the same CDO sandstone reservoir that produces at the nearby Nelson, Palmer and Clarinete gas fields. The Nispero-1 well was spud on July 17, 2016 and is anticipated to take approximately seven weeks to drill and production test. Upon completion of the operations at Nispero, the rig will be mobilized to drill the Nelson 6 well, which is anticipated to spud in early October, 2016. The objective for the Nelson-6 well will be to production test the shallow Porquero sandstone reservoir which sits above the productive CDO sandstone reservoir within the Nelson field. Existing Nelson wells drilled to date have encountered the Porquero sandstone reservoir and up to 62 feet of interpreted gas pay on open-hole logs. The objective of the gas exploration program in 2016 is to prove up sufficient new reserves to sign a new ten year 100 MMscfpd ship or pay gas sales contract which is anticipated to commence in 2018 after the construction of a new pipeline. The Corporation is currently negotiating several new long term take or pay gas sales contracts with existing and new clients, as well as a contract which will see a third party construct and operate a new pipeline to the Caribbean coast of Colombia operational in late 2018 and at no cost to the Corporation.

Canacol estimates that average net before royalty oil and gas production for 2016 will range between 16,000 and 17,000 boepd. Realized contractual gas sales will average approximately 75 MMscfpd (13,160 boepd) including approximately 90 MMscfpd from April 21, 2016 forward at an anticipated average realized price of $5.60/Mcf ($31.92/boe), with an average netback of approximately $4.56/Mcf ($26.00/boe), generating approximately $153 million of gross revenues. Additionally, Canacol anticipates Colombian oil production to average approximately 2,300 bopd and Ecuador oil production of approximately 1,300 bopd in calendar 2016, both without the drilling of any additional oil wells. Total corporate hydrocarbon sales are anticipated to average between 18,500 and 19,000 boepd for the last half of 2016.

Total corporate EBITDAX is anticipated to be approximately $135 million for calendar 2016, which represents a Consolidated Leverage Ratio of less than 2.0, despite realized contractual gas sales for the period of January 1, 2016 to April 20, 2016 being less than half of current volumes.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the Corporation's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Corporation's has filed its unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements and related Management's Discussion and Analysis as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. These filings are available for review on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Canacol is an exploration and production company with operations focused in Colombia and Ecuador. The Corporation's common stock trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the OTCQX in the United States of America, and the Colombia Stock Exchange under ticker symbols CNE, CNNEF, and CNEC, respectively.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "target", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, including without limitation statements relating to estimated production rates from the Corporation's properties and intended work programs and associated timelines. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Corporation cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these forward looking statements. They are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change and the Corporation assumes no obligation to revise or update them to reflect new circumstances, except as required by law. Information and guidance provided herein supersedes and replaces any forward looking information provided in prior disclosures. Prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration for and development of crude oil and natural gas properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological and geophysical data, fluctuating energy prices, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs or delays and other uncertainties associated with the oil and gas industry. Other risk factors could include risks associated with negotiating with foreign governments as well as country risk associated with conducting international activities, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation. Other risks are more fully described in the Corporation's most recent Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and Annual Information Form, which are incorporated herein by reference and are filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Average production figures for a given period are derived using arithmetic averaging of fluctuating historical production data for the entire period indicated and, accordingly, do not represent a constant rate of production for such period and are not an indicator of future production performance. Detailed information in respect of monthly production in the fields operated by the Corporation in Colombia is provided by the Corporation to the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia and is published by the Ministry on its website; a direct link to this information is provided on the Corporation's website. References to "net" production refer to the Corporation's working- interest production before royalties.

Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures - Due to the nature of the equity method of accounting the Corporation applies under IFRS 11 to its interest in the Ecuador IPC, the Corporation does not record its proportionate share of revenues and expenditures as would be typical in oil and gas joint interest arrangements. Management has provided supplemental measures of adjusted revenues and expenditures, which are inclusive of the Ecuador IPC, to supplement the IFRS disclosures of the Corporation's operations in this press release. Such supplemental measures should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, the measures as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporation's performance, and such measures may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. This press release also provides information on adjusted funds from operations. Adjusted funds from operations is a measure not defined in IFRS. It represents cash provided by operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital and decommissioning obligation expenditures, and includes the Corporation's proportionate interest of those items that would otherwise have contributed to funds from operations from the Ecuador IPC had it been accounted for under the proportionate consolidation method of accounting. The Corporation considers adjusted funds from operations a key measure as it demonstrates the ability of the business to generate the cash flow necessary to fund future growth through capital investment and to repay debt.

Adjusted funds from operations should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, cash provided by operating activities as determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Corporation's performance. The Corporation's determination of adjusted funds from operations may not be comparable to that reported by other companies. For more details on how the Corporation reconciles its cash provided by operating activities to adjusted funds from operations, please refer to the "Non-IFRS Measures" section of the Corporation's MD&A. Additionally, this press release references working capital, EBITDAX and operating netback measures. Working capital is calculated as current assets less current liabilities, excluding non-cash items, and is used to evaluate the Corporation's financial leverage. EBITDAX is defined as consolidated net income adjusted for interest, income taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization, exploration expenses, share of joint venture profit/loss and other similar non-recurring or non-cash charges. Consolidated EBITDAX is further adjusted for the contribution to adjusted funds from operations, before taxes, of the results of the Ecuador IPC. Operating netback is a benchmark common in the oil and gas industry and is calculated as total petroleum and natural gas sales, less royalties, less production and transportation expenses, calculated on a per barrel of oil equivalent basis of sales volumes using a conversion. Operating netback is an important measure in evaluating operational performance as it demonstrates field level profitability relative to current commodity prices. Working capital, EBITDAX and operating netback as presented do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable with the calculation of similar measures for other entities.

Operating netback is defined as revenues less royalties and production and transportation expenses.

Realized contractual gas sales is defined as gas produced and sold plus gas revenues received from nominated take or pay contracts.

Total cash sales is defined as realized contractual gas sales and crude oil sales plus cash received for gas classified as deferred income according to IFRS.

Unrisked recoverable resource potential is based on management's estimates.

Boe Conversion - The term "boe" is used in this news release. Boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of cubic feet of natural gas to barrels oil equivalent is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. In this news release, we have expressed boe using the Colombian conversion standard of 5.7 Mcf: 1 bbl required by the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia. As the value ratio between natural gas and crude oil based on the current prices of natural gas and crude oil is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 5.7:1, utilizing a conversion on a 5.7:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value.

Contacts:

Canacol Energy Ltd.

Investor Relations

+1 (214) 235-4798

IR@canacolenergy.com

http://www.canacolenergy.com




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- NXT Energy Solutions Inc. ("NXT Energy" or the "Company") (TSX: SFD) (OTCQB: NSFDF) advises that its interim financial and operating results for the three month quarter ended June 30, 2016 ("Q2-2016") have been filed in Canada on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and will be available in the USA on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar, and on NXT's website at http://www.nxtenergy.com/.

A condensed summary from the Q2-2016 interim consolidated financial statements, with comparative figures for the three month period ended June 30, 2015 ("Q2-2015") is given below.

George Liszicasz, NXT Energy's President and CEO, noted "our recent efforts to increase our pipeline of future business have produced some very exciting and positive results and we are confident that some of them will come to fruition this year".

NXT Energy advises that it will host a brief investor and media conference call, hosted by George Liszicasz, on Friday August 12, 2016 at 9.00 am MST (11:00 am EST), to discuss the Q2-2016 results, and recent business development initiatives. Interested parties are invited to participate in this call, using one of the applicable numbers as follows:

Conference Code: 62883800 Operator assisted, toll-free, dial-in number: Canada & USA 1-855-336-7594A FREE International 1-682-888-5377

Highlights of unaudited Q2 Interim Financial Results

All selected and referenced financial information should be read in conjunction with the Company's unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and the related management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for the Q2-2016 period. Amortization expense for Q2-16 includes $421,000 related to the Intellectual Property asset which was acquired in 2015.

(unaudited - all in Canadian $) Q2-2016 Q2-2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Survey revenues $ - $ - Survey expenses, net 157,365 228 General & administrative expenses 1,833,326 951,870 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,990,691 952,098 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-cash expenses Amortization expense 520,493 18,830 Stock based compensation expense 135,000 228,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 655,493 246,830 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Foreign exchange and other expenses, net 29,156 310,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total expenses 2,675,340 1,508,928 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loss before income taxes 2,675,340 1,508,928 Income tax expense (31,402) 78,063 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss for the period 2,643,938 1,586,991 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss per common share - Basic and diluted (0.05) (0.04) (unaudited - all in Canadian $) Q2-2016 Q2-2015 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- # of common shares outstanding as at end of the period 53,458,009 45,065,509 Weighted average # of common shares outstanding for the period Basic and diluted 53,371,138 44,969,905 Cash provided by (used in): Operating activities: Net loss for the period (2,643,938) (1,586,991) Add back non-cash items, net 655,264 247,330 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1,988,674) (1,339,661) Net change in non-cash working capital balances (585,609) 1,260,604 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net cash (used in) operating activities (2,574,283) (79,057) Financing activities 136,976 90,500 Investing activities (1,089,471) 1,111,802 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net cash inflow (3,526,778) 1,123,245 Cash and cash equivalents, start of the period 5,400,082 168,918 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period 1,873,304 1,292,163 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total cash and short-term investments position: Cash and cash equivalents 1,873,304 1,292,163 Short-term investments 3,114,890 2,261,060 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total cash and short-term investments 4,988,194 3,553,223 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net working capital balance 4,303,335 2,050,858 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

NXT Energy is a Calgary based company whose proprietary Stress Field Detection ("SFD") survey system utilizes quantum-scale sensors to detect gravity field perturbations in an airborne survey method which can be used both onshore and offshore to remotely identify areas with exploration potential for traps and reservoirs. The SFD survey system enables our clients to focus their hydrocarbon exploration decisions concerning land commitments, data acquisition expenditures and prospect prioritization on areas with the greatest potential. SFD is environmentally friendly and unaffected by ground security issues or difficult terrain, and is the registered trademark of NXT Energy Solutions Inc. NXT Energy provides its clients with an effective and reliable method to reduce time, costs, and risks related to exploration.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may include forward-looking statements. When used in this document, words such as "intends", "plans", "anticipates", "expects" and "scheduled", are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties, and although the Company believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will be realized. Any number of factors can cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Risk factors facing NXT Energy are described in its most recent MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2015 which has been filed electronically by means of the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") located at www.sedar.com. Such forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them, either publicly or otherwise, to reflect new events, information or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities law.

Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) nor the OTC QB Markets accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Bev Stewart

V-P Finance & CFO

NXT Energy Solutions Inc.

403-206-0807

info@nxtenergy.com

www.nxtenergy.com



Bill Mitoulas

Investor Relations Manager

416-479-9547

bmitoulas@nxtenergy.com



Kin Communications

Investor Relations

1-866-684-6730 / 604-684-6730

sfd@kincommunications.com




OAKLAND, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of Community Bank of the Bay (OTCBB: CBYAA). CBB, accomplished this a by a commitment to highly personalized service and flexibility. CBB's core values have always revolved around local job creation, promoting economic development, andbuilding solid relationships with clients. CBB prides itself on localism and playing an active role in the community. CBB's engagement at the local level especially serves to provide financing opportunities for small businesses and non-profits that are the heart of the community.

Founded in Oakland in 1996, Community Bank of the Bay (CBB) was California's first FDIC insured Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Two decades later, the bank has remained true to its core values of client services, trust, integrity, and relationship banking, being an integral member of the Oakland community, and enabling hundreds of businesses to pursue their passions.

As CEO William Keller explains, "All CDFIs were founded with a focus on low to moderate income communities. Our mission, expands on that focus, providing access to economic tools that impact the communities that we work in. We're a valuable member of those communities, and they have rewarded us with inclusion, and longevity."

The banking industry as a whole has undergone seismic shifts over the last 20 years, making CBB's accomplishment even more remarkable. Following the financial crisis 2008 while others were contracting their lending programs, CBB expanded; experiencing fourfold growth.

With Oakland experiencing an economic boom, CBB's deep roots in Oakland, place it in a unique position. "As Oakland's economy grows, the need for capital has grown with it. All of us benefit from having a community bank here. As the local economy expands, our bank has to continue to grow to meet the needs of the local businesses. "

As part of it's 20th Anniversary campaign, CBB will be showcase a series of success stories highlighting the interesting and diverse mix of businesses; from legacy clients, to trendsetting Oakland businesses, and high impact non-profits that make up their portfolio. Planned activities to celebrate 20 years of community banking in Oakland include sponsoring the first annual Oakland Beer Festival, taking place on August 13, 2016 in Old Oakland. Also, the Best of Oakland Magazine Party on August 17, 2016. In addition, the San Mateo office will be hosting the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce mixer on August 24.

About CBB

Community Bank of the Bay (CBB) is a locally owned and operated, relationship oriented business bank that offers customized lending solutions and FDIC-insured deposit services to individuals, businesses, and non-profits throughout the Bay Area. It is also a SBA Preferred Lender and has close relationships with other private and public organizations that allow it to providing flexible financing to small and mid-sized businesses. CBB was the first bank in California, and one of less than one hundred financial institutions nationwide to be certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). CBB is also a certified Bay Area Green Business and is home to the Bay Area Green Fund which allows environmentally conscious depositors to channel their funds to sustainable businesses and projects. For more information, please visit www.bankcbb.com. On social media at Twitter.com/bankcbb on facebook.com/bankcbb

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3044440

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3044468



Media contacts:

Bill Keller

President & CEO

wkeller@bankcbb.com

(510) 433-5404



Helen Wyman

Hwyman@bankcbb.com

(510) 433-5436




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Aton Resources Inc. ("ATON" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: AAN) announces that it has redeemed with cash all of its 12% senior unsecured convertible debentures due May 29, 2016 in the aggregate principal amount of $215,000.

About Aton Resources Inc.:

Aton Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: AAN) is exploring potentially economic gold, silver and base metal deposits in the Central Eastern Desert of Egypt with the aim of developing mines. The Company's 100% owned concessions, Abu Marawat and Fatiri, between them cover 2,772 km2 of under explored ground. Evidence of gold and copper mining in the concessions dates the many surface workings to pre-historic possibly Old Kingdom through Ptolemaic, Roman and Early Arab times. Three historic gold mines occur within the two concessions: British miners produced gold at Sir Bakis, Semna and Abu Zawal into the 1920s.

Much of the gold vein mineralization in the district is orogenic related, quartz-carbonate type and is associated with major shear-zones. Centamin's Sukari gold mine is located 400 km to the south of Abu Marawat, in the same belt. The Abu Marawat and Fatiri Concessions cover a Proterozoic Pan-African greenstone belt. This is part of the Arabian Nubian Shield that also occurs in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Significant VMS deposits in this belt includes Jabel Sayid (Saudi Arabia); Bisha Main and Harena (Eritrea); Hassai, plus Hadal Awatib (Sudan) and Emba Derho, Debarwa plus Adi Nefas (Eritrea). Alexander Nubia's Hamama gold-silver VMS is geologically similar to these VMS deposits. Similar geological settings to the Arabian Nubian Shield include the greenstone belts of the Yilgarn (Western Australia), Abitibi (Quebec) and Birimian (West Africa). The Arabian Nubian Shield is most similar in age to the latter.

The Company's land package, located 350-400 km southeast of Cairo, includes excellent infrastructure. Hamama has direct access to two four-lane highways, a zero-gradient railway bed that runs through Abu Marawat concession to a Red Sea port, multiple high-voltage (capacity 220kV) power lines that cross between the two concessions, a water pipeline and nearby major cities. The latter include Qena, on the Nile 70 km to the west and the Port of Safaga, on the Red Sea, 50 km to the east. The city of Luxor, a two-hour drive from Hamama, has an international airport.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The securities of Aton Resources Inc. described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements, such as estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release

Contacts:

Aton Resources Inc.

Mark Campbell

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1-936-689-2589

mcampbell@atonresources.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- B2Gold Corp. ("B2Gold" or the "Company") (TSX: BTO)(NYSE MKT: BTG)(NAMIBIAN: B2G) announces that it has entered into an equity distribution agreement dated August 11, 2016 (the "Equity Distribution Agreement") with Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Canaccord Genuity Inc. (collectively, "Canaccord") and HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (collectively, "HSBC", and together with Canaccord, the "Agents"). Under the Equity Distribution Agreement, the Company will be entitled, at its discretion and from time-to-time during the term of the Equity Distribution Agreement, to sell, through the Agents, such number of common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") having an aggregate gross offering price of up to US$100,000,000 (the "Offering"). Sales of Common Shares will be made through "at the market distributions" as defined in National Instrument 44-102, on the NYSE MKT LLC ("NYSE MKT"), the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") or on any other existing trading market for the Common Shares in the United States or Canada. The Common Shares will be distributed either (i) at the market prices prevailing at the time of the sale; or (ii) at prices to be negotiated with purchasers. As a result, prices may vary as between purchasers and during the period of distribution.

The Company has filed a prospectus supplement dated August 11, 2016 to the Company's existing U.S. shelf registration statement on Form F-10 (the "Registration Statement") and Canadian short form base shelf prospectus (the "Base Shelf Prospectus"), each dated January 11, 2016. The Canadian prospectus supplement (together with the Base Shelf Prospectus) is available on the SEDAR website maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators at www.sedar.com. The U.S. prospectus supplement (together with the related U.S. base shelf prospectus and the Registration Statement) is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Agents will send the Canadian or U.S. prospectus supplement (together with the applicable base shelf prospectus) upon request by contacting Canaccord at 161 Bay Street, Suite 3000, P.O. Box 516, Toronto, ON Canada M5J 2S1, Attention: Syndication, phone: 1-416-869-7368, email: ecm@canaccordgenuity.com, or HSBC at 452 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, USA 10018, Attention: Prospectus Department, toll-free: 877-429-7459, email: ny.equity.syndicate@us.hsbc.com.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering, if any, to fund ongoing general corporate expenditures, discretionary capital programs, accelerated exploration at the Fekola Project in Mali and exploration and feasibility work at the Kiaka Project in Burkina Faso.

The Company will pay the Agents a placement fee for the Common Shares sold under the Equity Distribution Agreement equal to 2% of the gross proceeds from each placement.

The TSX has conditionally approved the listing of the Common Shares offered hereunder, subject to the Company fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the TSX. The NYSE MKT has approved the listing of the Common Shares offered hereunder.

To the extent certain insiders of the Company, including existing shareholders holding 10% or more of the Company's outstanding Common Shares, purchase Common Shares under the Offering, such purchases would constitute a "related party transaction" under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Shareholders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Although the extent of any such purchases is not known at this time, the potential participation by insiders in the Offering would be exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation report and minority shareholder approval under Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the entire Offering represents less than 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

This news release shall not in any circumstances constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the applicable securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About B2Gold Corp.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, B2Gold Corp. is one of the fastest-growing intermediate gold producers in the world. Since its inception in 2007, B2Gold has evolved into an international gold mining company, with four operating mines, one mine under construction and numerous exploration projects across four continents in various countries, including Nicaragua, the Philippines, Namibia, Mali and Burkina Faso. Construction of B2Gold's Fekola mine in southwest Mali is on schedule and on budget, and is projected to commence production at the end of 2017. As a result, B2Gold is well positioned to maintain its low-cost structure and growth profile.

Based on current assumptions and updates to the Company's long-term mine plans, the Company is projecting gold production in 2016 of between 510,000 to 550,000 ounces; 540,000 to 580,000 ounces in 2017; and significantly increasing to between 900,000 to 950,000 ounces in 2018, with the planned first full year of production from the Fekola Project.

ON BEHALF OF B2GOLD CORP.

"Clive T. Johnson"

President and Chief Executive Officer

For more information on B2Gold please visit the Company website at www.b2gold.com.

The Toronto Stock Exchange neither approves nor disapproves the information contained in this News Release.

This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward -looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, including statements regarding the amount, terms and conduct of the Offering and the intended use of the Offering proceeds. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", "intend" or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond B2Gold's control, including risks associated with the Company's and the Agents' ability to successfully complete the Offering and the sale of Common Shares thereunder; the total number of Common Shares sold under the Offering; gold and other metal price volatility; risks of not achieving production, cost or other estimates; risks and uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and development; discrepancies between actual and estimated mineral reserves and mineral resources and metallurgical recoveries; various political, economic and other risks associated with conducting operations in several different countries; fluctuations in the price and availability of infrastructure and energy and other commodities; inherent hazards and risks associated with mining operations, including accidents; risks associated with hedging activities and ore purchase commitments; risks of obtaining and maintaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from various governmental authorities; risks related to compliance with environmental regulations and environmental hazards; risks related to compliance with stringent laws and regulations and the effect of changes in law and regulatory environment; risks associated with joint ventures;

risks associated with our minority shareholdings in the entity that owns the Masbate Gold Project; our ability to continually obtain additional mineral reserves for production of gold; the inability to identify appropriate acquisition targets or complete desirable acquisitions or the failure to integrate businesses and assets that we have acquired or may acquire in the future; risks associated with our use of information publicly disclosed by the former owners of our mines and property interests; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to obtain additional financing; uncertainty relating to the outcome of our discussions with the Government of Mali; political, economic and other uncertainties in certain jurisdictions where we have property interests and conduct exploration and development activities; our ability to successfully establish mining operations or the actual cost and timing to establish mining operations at the Fekola Project; actual production, development plans and costs of the Fekola Project may differ from estimates; risks associated with our property interests and exploration activities in developing countries; inability to comply with Philippines regulations or political and legal developments in the Philippines related to ownership of natural resources and operation, management and control of our business; labour disputes; risks related to community relations and community action; reliance on outside contractors to conduct certain mining and exploration activities; adverse weather and climate issues; disruptions arising from conflicts with small scale miners in certain countries; defective title to mineral claims, surface rights or property or challenges over mineral rights relating to our properties; loss of key personnel and our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel; risks associated with our Common Shares;

failures of information systems or information security threats; potential losses, liabilities and damages related to our business which are uninsured or uninsurable; competition with other mining companies; risks associated with litigation; volatility of global financial conditions; taxation, including changes in tax laws and interpretation of tax laws; difficulty in achieving and maintaining the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; risks related to Aboriginal and local community title claims and related consultation rights; and inability to comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations, uncertainty with respect to the completion of any future offering under the Base Shelf Prospectus and Registration Statement as well as other factors identified and as described in more detail under the heading "Risk Factors" in B2Gold's most recent Annual Information Form, the Canadian and U.S. prospectus supplements, the Base Shelf Prospectus, the U.S. base shelf prospectus and the Company's other filings with Canadian securities regulators and the SEC, which may be viewed at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. The list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits or liabilities B2Gold will derive therefrom. The Company's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Ian MacLean

Vice President, Investor Relations

604-681-8371

imaclean@b2gold.com



Katie Bromley

Manager, Investor Relations & Public Relations

604-681-8371

kbromley@b2gold.com

www.b2gold.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Entree Gold Inc. (TSX: ETG)(NYSE MKT: EGI)(FRANKFURT: EKA) ("Entree" or the "Company") has today filed its interim operational and financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2016. All numbers are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

COMPANY DEVELOPMENTS

Underground Development at Oyu Tolgoi Update Provided by Turquoise Hill

On August 2, 2016, Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. ("Turquoise Hill") released an update on the progress towards the start of underground construction at the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia.

The August 2 release advised that Oyu Tolgoi LLC ("OTLLC") has drawn down approximately $4.3 billion of the $4.4 billion project finance facility that was signed in December 2015. Steps are being taken to finalize the drawdown of the remaining amount. As part of the project finance facility, a debt cap of $6.0 billion for Oyu Tolgoi was agreed, which provides the possibility for an additional $1.6 billion of supplemental debt in the future.

In June 2016, OTLLC signed a contract with Jacobs Engineering Group ("Jacobs") to provide engineering, procurement and construction management ("EPCM") services for the underground development, which paves the way for construction to begin. Jacobs will be responsible for the materials handling systems for the underground mine and associated surface and underground infrastructure. The project is expected to be delivered over a five to seven year period. Major contractor mobilization for the sinking for Shafts #2 and #5, underground development, critical construction works and maintenance are all progressing. As at August 2, 2016, Shaft #2 had approximately 100 metres of development remaining and is expected to be completed in 2016. A site infrastructure office has been established as well as project personnel being mobilized. In July 2016, OTLLC signed a contract with mining services provider Thiess and Mongolian contractor Khishig Arvin for development of twin declines, incorporating both a service and conveyor tunnel.

Entree has a 20% carried interest in two of the Oyu Tolgoi project deposits, Hugo North Extension and Heruga. The resources at Hugo North Extension include a Probable reserve, which is included in the first stage of underground mine development, On May 5, 2016, OTLLC received formal 'notice to proceed' approval by the boards of Turquoise Hill, Rio Tinto and OTLLC. Underground construction is expected to begin in the next few months. As part of the notice to proceed process, the 2016 Oyu Tolgoi Feasibility Study ("OTFS16") was also approved. Turquoise Hill has reported that it expects to publish an updated National Instrument 43-101 technical report before the end of the year.

Expenditures Reduced

Q2 2016 exploration and general and administrative expenditures of approximately $447,000 and $486,000, respectively, were reduced by 66% and 40% compared to the same quarter in 2015 as a result of the Company's continued objective to reduce non value adding expenditures. This is also a decrease of 10% and 15%, respectively, from the previous quarter's results (Q1 2016).

SECOND QUARTER 2016 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tabled amounts below in USD 000's YTD 2016 Q2 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exploration $ (945) $ (447) General and administration (1,058) (486) Stock-based compensation (56) (14) Foreign exchange loss (438) (3) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loss from operations (2,497) (950) Interest expense and equity investee loss (189) (104) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss (2,686) (1,054) Foreign currency translation adjustment 1,349 (52) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comprehensive loss $ (1,337) $ (1,106) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash outflow from operating activities before changes in working capital $ (1,793) $ (906) Decrease in receivables, prepaids and other assets 276 221 Decrease in payables (1,142) (226) Refund payment to Sandstorm (5,500) - Cash receipts from stock option exercises 36 25 Cash receipts from asset disposals 40 37 Cash payments to acquire equipment, net (6) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash balance at June 30, 2016 $ 14,697 $ 14,697 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Company's Interim Financial Statements and accompanying management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 are available on the Company website at www.entreegold.com, SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.

QUALIFIED PERSON

Robert Cinits, P.Geo., Entree's Vice President, Corporate Development, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has approved the technical information in this release.

ABOUT ENTREE GOLD INC.

Entree Gold Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company balancing opportunity and risk with key assets in Mongolia and Nevada. As a joint venture partner with a carried interest on a portion of the Oyu Tolgoi mining project in Mongolia, Entree has a unique opportunity to participate in one of the world's largest copper-gold projects managed by one of the premier mining companies - Rio Tinto. Oyu Tolgoi, with its series of deposits containing copper, gold and molybdenum, has been under exploration and development since the late 1990s. Additionally, Entree has also been advancing its Ann Mason Project in one of the world's most favourable mining jurisdictions, Nevada. The Ann Mason Project hosts the Ann Mason copper-molybdenum deposit as well as the Blue Hill copper deposit within the rejuvenated Yerington copper camp.

Sandstorm Gold, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources are major shareholders of Entree, holding approximately 15%, 11% and 9% of issued and outstanding shares, respectively.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to ongoing efforts to conserve cash; construction and continued development of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine; anticipated business activities; and corporate strategies.

In certain cases, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budgeted", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". While the Company has based these forward-looking statements on its expectations about future events as at the date that such statements were prepared, the statements are not a guarantee of Entree's future performance and are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies, local and global economic conditions, legal proceedings and negotiations and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the status of the Company's relationship and interaction with the Government of Mongolia, OTLLC, Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill. With respect to the construction and continued development of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine, important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and information include, amongst others, the timing and cost of the construction and expansion of mining and processing facilities; the timing and availability of a long term power source for the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine; the impact of the delay in the funding and development of the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine; delays, and the costs which would result from delays, in the development of the underground mine; and production estimates and the anticipated yearly production of copper, gold and silver at the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine.

Other uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements and information include, amongst others, whether the size, grade and continuity of deposits and resource and reserve estimates have been interpreted correctly from exploration results; whether the results of preliminary test work are indicative of what the results of future test work will be; fluctuations in commodity prices and demand; changing foreign exchange rates; actions by Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill and/or OTLLC and by government authorities including the Government of Mongolia; the availability of funding on reasonable terms; the impact of changes in interpretation to or changes in enforcement of, laws, regulations and government practices, including laws, regulations and government practices with respect to mining, foreign investment, royalties and taxation; the terms and timing of obtaining necessary environmental and other government approvals, consents and permits; the availability and cost of necessary items such as power, water, skilled labour, transportation and appropriate smelting and refining arrangements; and misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements.

In addition, there are also known and unknown risk factors which may cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to international operations, including legal and political risk in Mongolia; risks associated with changes in the attitudes of governments to foreign investment; risks associated with the conduct of joint ventures; discrepancies between actual and anticipated production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries; global financial conditions; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; inability to upgrade Inferred mineral resources to Indicated or Measured mineral resources; inability to convert mineral resources to mineral reserves; conclusions of economic evaluations; future prices of copper, gold, silver and molybdenum; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining government approvals, permits or licences or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; environmental risks; title disputes; limitations on insurance coverage; as well as those factors described in the Company's most recently filed Management's Discussion and Analysis and in the Company's Annual Information Form for the financial year ended December 31, 2015, dated March 30, 2016 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Entree Gold Inc.

Senior Manager, Investor Relations &

Corporate Communications

604-687-4777 or Toll Free: 866-368-7330

604-687-4770 (FAX)

mhamm@entreegold.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSX: AR) (the "Company", "Argonaut Gold" or "Argonaut") is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016. All dollar amounts are expressed in United States dollars unless otherwise specified.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 months ended 6 months ended June 30 June 30 -------------------- ------------------- 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Financial Data (in millions except for earnings (loss) per share) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue $ 39.1 $ 43.5 (10%) $ 74.4 $ 94.5 (21%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross profit (loss) $ 7.8 $ (10.2) 176% $ 16.7 $ (3.5) 577% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net income (loss) $ (0.7) $ (10.5) 93% $ 3.6 $ (9.0) 140% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Earnings (loss) per share - basic $ (0.00) $ (0.07) 100% $ 0.02 $ (0.06) 133% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted net income(3) $ 3.1 $ 0.9 244% $ 4.9 $ 2.6 88% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjusted earnings per share - basic(3) $ 0.02 $ 0.01 100% $ 0.03 $ 0.02 50% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash operating working capital and other items $ 9.2 $ 11.4 (19%) $ 18.1 $ 28.2 (36%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash and cash equivalents $ 54.1 $ 43.7 24% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold Production and Cost Data ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOs loaded to the pads(1) 63,724 55,871 14% 114,726 110,125 4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOs projected recoverable(1), (2) 32,125 31,617 2% 59,981 63,251 (5%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOs produced(1) 29,237 36,529 (20%) 61,391 79,784 (23%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOs sold(1) 31,230 36,547 (15%) 61,242 78,965 (22%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average realized sales price $ 1,258 $ 1,201 5% $ 1,220 $ 1,206 1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash cost per gold ounce sold(3) $ 794 $ 779 2% $ 776 $ 755 3% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- All-in sustaining cost per gold ounce sold(3) $ 947 $ 909 4% $ 910 $ 895 2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Gold equivalent ounces ("GEO" or "GEOs") are based on a conversion ratio of 65:1 for silver to gold for 2016 and 55:1 for 2015 and are the referenced ratios throughout this release. (2) Recoverable ounces - El Castillo expected recovery rates: ROM oxide 50%, crushed oxide 70%, ROM transition 40%, crushed transition 60%, crushed sulphides argillic 30% and crushed sulphides silicic 17%; La Colorada expected recovery rates: gold 60% and silver 30%. (3) Please refer to section "Non-IFRS Measures" below for a discussion of these Non-IFRS Measures.

SECOND QUARTER 2016 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:

-- Revenue of $39.1 million from sales of 30,355 gold ounces at an average price of $1,258 per gold ounce and 56,827 silver ounces at an average price of $17 per silver ounce. -- Adjusted net income of $3.1 million (refer to Non-IFRS section). -- Net increase in cash balance of $7.6 million, including $3.3 million by way of a flow-through share financing. -- Cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital and other items of $9.2 million. -- Capital investments of $7.8 million (mineral properties, plant and equipment).

2016 Q2 and Recent Company Highlights:

-- Corporate Highlights: -- Cash balance at June 30, 2016 was $54.1 million. -- Completed $3.2 million private placement of flow-through common shares for Magino project drilling. -- Sold a 100% interest in the mineral claims known as the La Fortuna project located in Durango, Mexico. Received $0.8 million on closing and will receive potential deferred cash consideration of up to $1.2 million, primarily contingent on a construction decision. Also retained a 2.5% net smelter royalty subject to a maximum amount of $4.5 million. -- Entered into a $30.0 million revolving credit facility. -- Production: -- Production of 29,237 GEOs. -- Overall cash cost of $794 per gold ounce sold for the second quarter and $776 for the first six months of 2016 (refer to Non-IFRS Measures section). -- All-in sustaining cost of $947 per gold ounce sold for the second quarter and $910 for the first six months of 2016 (refer to Non-IFRS Measures section). -- El Castillo: -- Production of 15,358 GEOs. -- 35,222 contained gold ounces loaded on the leach pads. -- Over 76,700 tonnes per day mined and 2.7 million tonnes of ore placed on the leach pads. -- La Colorada: -- Production of 13,282 gold ounces and 38,819 silver ounces, for 13,879 GEOs. -- Achieved higher than budgeted crusher throughput of over 13,000 tonnes per day (versus 11,000 tonnes per day budgeted). -- 20,388 contained gold ounces and 527,398 contained silver ounces loaded on the leach pads. -- Over 56,300 tonnes per day mined and approximately 1.2 million tonnes of mineralized material placed on the leach pads. -- Completed construction of Northeast leach pad ahead of schedule and on budget. -- San Agustin -- Published updated Preliminary Economic Assessment with improved project economics. -- Acquired land necessary to develop project. -- Submitted Change in Use of Soil permit application. -- San Antonio -- Received favourable ruling in Federal lawsuit relating to permit.

CEO Commentary

Pete Dougherty, President and CEO of Argonaut Gold stated, "We continued to generate cash from the operations and saw our cash balance grow by $7.6 million during the quarter. At Magino, we have initiated a Feasibility Study to further define and de-risk the project. Key elements of the study include: reserve definition drilling in the starter pit, geotechnical drilling, detailed engineering, capital and operating costs, permitting and First Nation consultation. The estimated investment to complete the study is $7 million to $10 million to be spent over the next twelve to fifteen months.

"At the operations, second quarter production did not meet expectations due to mine sequencing leading to more sulphide and transition ore placed on the pads at El Castillo and low grade ore gains at La Colorada; however, we continue to place significant ounces to the pads at both mines. We have now mined through some of the lower grade portions of the pits and expect grades to improve during the second half of 2016, which is expected to contribute to greater production. As we look to the balance of the year, we expect to increase loaded tonnes at El Castillo by bringing the idled CR2 crusher on line, which will help improve the production profile. The combination of these two factors, improved grade and additional crushing, is expected to further increase ounces loaded and subsequent production gains over our most recent quarter."

Financial Results - Second Quarter 2016

Revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2016 was $39.1 million, a decrease from $43.5 million realized during the three months ended June 30, 2015. During the second quarter of 2016, gold ounces sold totaled 30,355 at an average realized price per ounce of $1,258 (compared to 35,321 gold ounces sold at an average price per ounce of $1,201 during the same period of 2015). Gold ounces sold decreased in the second quarter 2016 due to additional ounces produced in the second quarter of 2015 associated with the re-leach program of previously placed tonnes at the El Castillo mine.

Production costs for the second quarter of 2016 were $25.1 million, a decrease from $28.6 million in the second quarter of 2015, due to the decrease in gold ounces sold. Cash cost per gold ounce sold (refer to Non-IFRS Measures section) was $794 in the second quarter of 2016 compared to $779 in the same period of 2015.

Net loss for the second quarter of 2016 was $0.7 million or $0.00 per basic share, a decrease from the net loss of $10.5 million or $0.07 per basic share for the second quarter of 2015. The decrease in net loss was due principally to the write-down of the leach pad inventory value and ounces totaling $9.3 million, net of tax effects, during the second quarter of 2015.

During the second quarter, cash and cash equivalents grew by $7.6 million, including $3.3 million by way of a flow-through share financing. Cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash operating working capital and other items was $9.2 million. Cash spent towards capital expenditures in the second quarter was $7.8 million, primarily for deferred stripping at El Castillo and La Colorada and leach pad construction at La Colorada.

SECOND QUARTER 2016 El CASTILLO OPERATING STATISTICS

3 Months Ended June 30 6 Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 % Change 2016 2015 % Change Mining Tonnes ore (000s) 2,774 2,855 (3%) 5,521 5,666 (3%) Tonnes waste (000s) 4,207 4,401 (4%) 8,370 8,283 1% Tonnes mined (000s) 6,981 7,256 (4%) 13,891 13,949 0% Tonnes per day (000s) 77 80 (4%) 76 77 (1%) Waste/ore ratio 1.52 1.54 (1%) 1.52 1.46 4% Heap Leach Pad Tonnes crushed (000s) 1,365 1,263 8% 2,627 2,660 (1%) Tonnes overland conveyor (000s) 1,316 1,533 (14%) 2,807 2,948 (5%) Production Gold grade (g/t)(1) 0.41 0.31 32% 0.33 0.32 3% Gold loaded to leach pad (oz)(2) 35,222 27,954 26% 58,481 58,510 0% Projected recoverable gold (oz) 17,458 17,143 2% 30,536 36,205 (16%) Gold produced (oz)(3) 15,195 21,409 (29%) 32,554 46,031 (29%) Gold sold (oz) 16,287 20,679 (21%) 31,693 44,535 (29%) (1) "g/t" refers to grams per tonne (2) "oz" refers to troy ounce (3) Produced ounces are calculated as ounces loaded to carbon

Summary of Production Results at El Castillo

The gold ounces loaded to the pads in the second quarter of 2016 were 26% higher compared to second quarter of 2015, primarily due to higher grades. Gold production of 15,195 ounces in the second quarter of 2016 was a 29% reduction over second quarter of 2015 due to additional ounces produced in the second quarter of 2015 associated with the re-leach program of previously placed tonnes at the El Castillo mine.

SECOND QUARTER 2016 LA COLORADA OPERATING STATISTICS

3 Months Ended June 30 6 Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 % Change 2016 2015 % Change Mining Mineralized material tonnes (000s) 1,189 578 106% 2,352 1,061 122% Tonnes waste (000s) 3,935 2,130 85% 7,335 4,674 57% Total tonnes (000s) 5,124 2,708 89% 9,687 5,735 69% Waste/mineralized material ratio 3.31 3.68 (10%) 3.12 4.41 (29%) Tonnes rehandled (000s) 0 767 (100%) 50 1,430 (97%) Heap Leach Pad Crushed mineralized material tonnes to pad (000s) 1,216 1,346 (10%) 2,429 2,486 (2%) Production Gold grade (g/t)(1) 0.52 0.47 11% 0.54 0.48 13% Gold loaded to leach pad (oz)(2) 20,388 20,331 0% 41,907 38,539 9% Projected recoverable GEOs loaded (oz)(4) 14,667 14,474 1% 29,445 27,046 9% Gold produced (oz)(3) 13,282 13,948 (5%) 27,176 31,117 (13%) Silver produced (oz) 38,819 52,648 (26%) 88,189 120,909 (27%) GEOs produced (oz)(4) 13,879 14,905 (7%) 28,533 33,315 (14%) Gold sold (oz) 14,068 14,642 (4%) 27,840 31,760 (12%) Silver sold (oz) 46,282 55,628 (17%) 91,313 122,762 (26%) GEOs sold(4) 14,780 15,653 (6%) 29,245 33,992 (14%) (1) "g/t" refers to grams per tonne (2) "oz" refers to troy ounce (3) Produced ounces are calculated as ounces loaded to carbon (4) GEOs are based on conversion ratio of 65:1 for silver to gold for 2016 and 55:1 for 2015

Summary of Production Results at La Colorada

Total tonnes mined in the second quarter 2016 increased 89% to 5.1 million tonnes compared to the second quarter of 2015 due to the end of processing of historical material from the old heap leach pads and the ramp up of mining rates from the pit.

Chief Operating Officer Comments

Richard Rhoades, COO of Argonaut Gold, commenting on the second quarter of 2016, stated, "At El Castillo, we are moving from mining phase seven to mining phase six, which contains higher grade oxide ore than phase seven of the pit. With phase seven now mined out, we are using this area as an in-pit waste dump to reduce haul distances. In addition to the higher grade oxide ore we expect to mine during the third quarter, we are also installing the CR2 crushing unit, recently relocated from La Colorada, which should be up and running during the third quarter. We also saw an increase in sulphide ore to the leach pads during the second quarter. While this material is higher grade, it yields a much lower recovery than oxide ore. We expect to be mining primarily in oxide ores during the third quarter.

At La Colorada, we continue to achieve better than anticipated throughput rates at the crusher. Since we encountered more low grade material than planned, we saw a reduction in strip ratio but also reduced grade compared to budget."

Capital Investment for 2016

The Company plans to invest a total of $34 million on capital expenditures and exploration initiatives in 2016. Major capital expenditures in 2016 are expected to include approximately $8 million at El Castillo, $13 million at La Colorada, $1 million at San Antonio, $2 million at San Agustin (construction capital is excluded pending a construction decision) and $5 million at Magino. Exploration and other capital expenditures in 2016 are expected to amount to approximately $5 million.

The increase in capital expenditures at El Castillo reflects additional stripping and equipment overhauls to support increased ore placements. Magino capital spending increase is due to the decision to advance permitting and feasibility related activities. The increase in exploration is primarily the drill campaign at Magino to upgrade the mineral resource expected to be mined in the first two years of production.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 Capital Budget ($ millions) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mine / Project Original Revised ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- El Castillo 4 8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- La Colorada 14 13 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Antonio 1 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Agustin 1 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magino 1 5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exploration and other 2 5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Estimated Capital Investment 23 34 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Argonaut Gold Q2 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast:

The Company will host the Q2 financial results conference call on August 12, 2016 at 8:30 am EDT.

Q2 Conference Call Information Toll Free (North America): 1-877-291-4570 International: 1-647-788-4919 Conference ID: 27628035 Webcast: www.argonautgold.com Q2 Conference Call Replay: Toll Free Replay Call (North America): 1-800-585-8367 International Replay Call: 1-416-621-4642

The conference call replay will be available from 11:30 am EDT on August 12, 2016 until 11:59 pm EDT on August 26, 2016.

About Argonaut Gold

Argonaut Gold is a Canadian gold company engaged in exploration, mine development and production activities. Its primary assets are the production stage El Castillo mine in Durango, Mexico and La Colorada mine in Sonora, Mexico. Advanced exploration stage projects include the San Antonio project in Baja California Sur, Mexico, the Magino project in Ontario, Canada and the San Agustin project in Durango, Mexico. The Company also has several exploration stage projects, all of which are located in North America.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws concerning the proposed transaction and the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Argonaut Gold Inc. ("Argonaut" or "Argonaut Gold"). Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to estimated production and mine life of the various mineral projects of Argonaut; synergies and financial impact of completed acquisitions; the benefits of the development potential of the properties of Argonaut; the future price of gold, copper, and silver; the estimation of mineral reserves and resources; the realization of mineral reserve estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; success of exploration activities; and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Argonaut, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Argonaut and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include changes in market conditions, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, risks relating to international operations, fluctuating metal prices and currency exchange rates, changes in project parameters, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated. Although Argonaut has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Argonaut undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered if the property is developed. Comparative market information is as of a date prior to the date of this document.

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company has included certain non-IFRS measures including "Cash cost per gold ounce sold", "All-in sustaining cost per gold ounce sold", "Adjusted net income" and "Adjusted earnings per share - basic" in this press release to supplement its financial statements which are presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Cash cost per gold ounce sold is equal to production costs less silver sales divided by gold ounces sold. All-in sustaining cost per gold ounce sold is equal to production costs less silver sales plus general and administrative expenses, exploration expenses, accretion of reclamation provision and sustaining capital expenditures divided by gold ounces sold. Adjusted net income is equal to net income (loss) less foreign exchange impacts on deferred income taxes, foreign exchange (gains) losses, non-cash impairment write down (reversal) related to the net realizable value and changes in the expected recovery of gold ounces from mineralized material in the work-in-process inventory, change in unrecognized Mexican deferred tax assets and other adjustments. Adjusted earnings per share - basic is equal to adjusted net income divided by the basic weighted average number of common shares outstanding. The Company believes that these measures provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the performance of the Company. Non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. Therefore they may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies. The data is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Please see the management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for full disclosure on non-IFRS measures.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and associated MD&A, for the same period ended, which are available from the Company's website, www.argonautgold.com, in the "Investors" section under "Financial Filings", and under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Qualified Person, Technical Information and Mineral Properties Reports

Technical information included in this release was supervised and approved by Thomas Burkhart, Argonaut Gold's Vice President of Exploration, and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). For further information on the Company's material properties, please see the reports as listed below on the Company's website or on www.sedar.com:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- El Castillo Mine NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources and Reserves, Argonaut Gold Inc., El Castillo Mine, Durango State, Mexico dated February 24, 2011 (effective date of November 6, 2010) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- La Colorada Mine NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment La Colorada Project, Sonora, Mexico dated December 30, 2011 (effective date of October 15, 2011) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Agustin Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment San Agustin Heap Leach Project, Durango, Mexico dated June 10, 2016 (effective date of Resources April 29, 2016) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magino Gold Project Preliminary Feasibility Study Technical Report on the Magino Project, Wawa, Ontario, Canada dated February 22, 2016 (effective date January 18, 2016) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- San Antonio Gold Project NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources, San Antonio Project, Baja California Sur, Mexico dated October 10, 2012 (effective date of September 1, 2012) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contacts:

Argonaut Gold Inc.

Dan Symons

Vice President, Investor Relations

416-915-3107

dan.symons@argonautgold.com

www.argonautgold.com




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 08/11/16 -- Serinus Energy Inc. ("Serinus", "SEN" or the "Company") (TSX: SEN)(WARSAW: SEN), is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Note: with the sale of its 70% ownership interest in Ukraine in early February 2016, the financial results from those assets have been reclassified as discontinued operations starting with the three month period ending March 31, 2016. The comparative financial statements have been restated to show the discontinued operations separate from continuing operations. Unless otherwise noted, all figures contained in this press release are with respect to the continuing operations only. More information concerning the discontinued operations is contained in the Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis.

Second Quarter Highlights

-- Production from the Company's continuing operations in the second quarter was 1,206 boe/d, unchanged vs. 1,206 boe/d in Q2 2015, and 5% higher than the 1,154 boe/d in Q1 2016. The increase over the prior quarter was due to higher production from several wells after having pump changes in Q1. -- Gross revenues for the quarter were $4.1 million, down 40% vs. Q2 2015 and up 8% from Q1 2016. The decrease vs. 2015 was due substantially to lower commodity prices, while the increase over the immediate prior period was commensurate with the increase in production and better prices. -- Tunisian netbacks were $11.71/boe in Q2, significantly lower than the $24.32/boe achieved in Q2 2015, due substantially to the effects of lower commodity prices. Measured against Q1 2016, the netback increased slightly from $11.44/boe, reflecting higher oil prices, partially offset by a higher proportion of production from higher royalty fields. -- Funds from Operations in the second quarter were a loss of $0.7 million, compared to a loss of $0.3 million in Q1 2016, and (positive) $1.9 million in Q2 2015, driven by the same factors as described above for royalties and netbacks for each period. -- The net loss for the quarter was $4.0 million as compared to losses of $1.1 million and $4.1 million in Q2 2015 and Q1 2016 respectively, again due to the same factors described previously. -- Capital expenditures for the quarter were $0.6 million vs. $2.5 million for the same period in 2015.

Summary Financial Results (US$ 000's unless otherwise noted) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three Months Ending June 30 ------------------------------------ 2016 2015 Change ------------------------------------ Oil and Gas Revenue (1) 4,080 6,815 (40%) Net Loss (1) (3,994) (1,123) 256% per share, basic and diluted ($0.05) ($0.01) Comprehensive Net Income (Loss) (2) (3,994) 3,483 (215%) per share, basic and diluted ($0.05) $0.04 Funds from Operations (1,3) (714) 1,860 (138%) per share, basic and diluted ($0.01) $0.02 Capital Expenditures (1) 611 2,531 (76%) Average Production (1) Oil (Bbl/d) 882 951 (7%) Gas (Mcf/d) 1,942 1,531 27% ------------------------ BOE (boe/d) 1,206 1,206 0% Average Sales Price Oil ($/Bbl) 41.25 $63.48 (35%) Gas ($Mcf) $4.35 $9.50 (54%) ------------------------ BOE ($/boe) $37.18 $62.12 June 30 ------------------------ 2016 2015 ------------------------ Cash & Equivalents 10,015 12,484 Working Capital (31,577) (7,865) Long Term Debt - - Shares Outstanding, period end 78,629,941 78,629,941 Average for period (basic) 78,629,941 78,629,941 Average for period (FD) 78,629,941 78,629,941 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) From or for continuing operations only (2) Includes earnings and foreign currency translation from discontinued operations for Q2 2015 of $4.606 million (2016: nil) (3) Funds from Operations is not a recognized measure under IFRS. See Management's Discussion and Analysis for further information on non-IFRS measures.

Operational Highlights & Update

-- Oil and gas production for the second quarter were 882 bbl/d and 1.9 MMcf/d respectively. As shown in the summary table above, the oil volumes were 7% lower than in the same period in 2015, while gas was 27% higher. The differences are due to normal operational variances including workovers, wells shut in for pressure build-ups, and variable gas offtake by STEG (the national gas utility to which the gas is sold). -- The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Winstar Tunisia B.V. ("Winstar"), has entered into a marketing agreement with Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited for the sale of its Tunisian oil production. The term of the agreement is for 5 years and the pricing mechanism is competitive with realized prices that Winstar has received from other purchasers of its Tunisian crude oil. This benefits the Company by getting regular crude oil liftings from a large and highly reputable purchaser.

Outlook

Average daily production (SEN WI) for the third quarter to date was approximately 998 boe/d (822 bbl/d of oil, 1.1 MMcf/d of gas). At Chouech Es Saida, gas sales have been curtailed since early July due to operational issues at STEG, and the CS-3 well developed a tubing leak, necessitating remediation. Workover operations have commenced and the well is expected to be back on production by the end of August. Management estimates that rectification of these issues will restore approximately 900 Mcf/d and 100 bbl/d of production respectively.

The Company's focus remains on reducing costs wherever possible while maintaining existing production in Tunisia. The Company estimates that new drilling is economically viable at current prices in the mid - forties per barrel, provided they are sustainable. The 2016 budget will be re- examined on an ongoing basis in the event of that management becomes confident that such prices can be sustained, and that funding is available to recommence drilling. Existing production in Tunisia remains cash flow positive at prices as low as $30/bbl.

In Romania, Serinus will concentrate on moving the Moftinu-1001 discovery into the experimental production phase. Pending ratification of the Phase 3 extension of the Satu Mare Licence, management continues to refine the drilling program and has commenced preliminary design of the required surface facilities.

The Company is examining several alternatives for funding the development activities in both Romania and Tunisia.

Supporting Documents

The full Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") and Financial Statements have been filed in English on www.sedar.com and in Polish and English via the ESPI system, and will also be available on www.serinusenergy.com.

Abbreviations

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- bbl Barrel(s) bbl/d Barrels per day ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- boe Barrels of Oil Equivalent boe/d Barrels of Oil Equivalent per day ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mcf Thousand Cubic Feet Mcf/d Thousand Cubic Feet per day ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MMcf Million Cubic Feet MMcf/d Million Cubic Feet per day ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mcfe Thousand Cubic Feet Mcfe/d Thousand Cubic Feet Equivalent Equivalent per day ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MMcfe Million Cubic Feet Equivalent MMcfe/d Million Cubic Feet Equivalent per day ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mboe Thousand boe Bcf Billion Cubic Feet ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MMboe Million boe Mcm Thousand Cubic Metres ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- UAH Ukrainian Hryvnia USD U.S. Dollar ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAD Canadian Dollar ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cautionary Statement:

BOEs may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of 6 Mcf:1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.

Test results are not necessarily indicative of long-term performance or of ultimate recovery. Test data contained herein is considered preliminary until full pressure transient analysis is complete.

About Serinus

Serinus is an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company that owns and operates projects in Tunisia and Romania.

For further information, please refer to the Serinus website (www.serinusenergy.com).

Translation: This news release has been translated into Polish from the English original.

Forward-looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements made as of the date of this announcement with respect to future activities that either are not or may not be historical facts. Although the Company believes that its expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, any potential results suggested by such statements involve risk and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Various factors that could impair or prevent the Company from completing the expected activities on its projects include that the Company's projects experience technical and mechanical problems, there are changes in product prices, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, the state of the national or international monetary, oil and gas, financial, political and economic markets in the jurisdictions where the Company operates and other risks not anticipated by the Company or disclosed in the Company's published material. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in this announcement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement, unless required by law.

Note: Serinus reports in US dollars. All dollar amounts referred to herein, whether in dollars or dollars per share, barrel, Mcf or other are in USD, unless specifically noted otherwise.

Contacts:

Serinus Energy Inc. - Canada

Norman W. Holton

Vice Chairman

+1-403-264-8877

nholton@serinusenergy.com



Serinus Energy Inc. - Canada

Gregory M. Chornoboy

Director - Capital Markets & Corporate Development

+1-403-264-8877

gchornoboy@serinusenergy.com



Serinus Energy Inc. - Poland

Jakub J. Korczak

Vice President Investor Relations & Managing Director CEE

+48 22 414 21 00

jkorczak@serinusenergy.com






CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - China will on Friday release July numbers for industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment, highlighting a busy day in Asia-Pacific economic activity.



Industrial production is expected to rise 6.2 percent on year, steady from the previous month. Retail sales are pegged at 10.5 percent, down slightly from 10.6 percent. FAI is tipped to gain 8.9 percent, slowing from 9.0 percent in June.



Hong Kong will provide Q2 data for gross domestic product; in the first quarter, GDP contracted 0.4 percent on quarter and advanced 0.8 percent on year.



Malaysia will release Q2 figures for GDP and current account. In the previous three months, GDP was up 1.0 percent on quarter and 4.2 percent on year, while the current account surplus was 5.04 billion ringgit.



New Zealand will see July results for the Performance of Manufacturing Index from Business NZ, plus Q2 numbers for retail sales.



The manufacturing index had a score of 57.7 in June. Retail sales are expected to add 1.0 percent on quarter after gaining 0.8 percent in the three months prior.



Australia will provide June figures for credit card purchases and balances. In May, purchases were worth A$26.0 billion and balances were at A$51.9 billion.



Indonesia will release current account figures for the second quarter. In the previous three months, the current account deficit was $4.67 billion, while the capital account surplus was $1 billion and the financial account surplus was $4.17 billion.



Finally, the markets in Thailand are closed on Friday for the queen's birthday, and will reopen on Monday.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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The Chattanooga Hamilton Place Rotary Club honored three of its members: David Elliott, Gina Crumbliss, and Rick Carlson, whose annual generosity, officials said, distinguishes them as members of the Paul Harris Society.

The Paul Harris Society recognizes Rotary members and friends of The Rotary Foundation who contribute $1,000 or more each Rotary year to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus Fund, or approved Foundation grants.

Paul Harris, the Founder of Rotary, once said, Perhaps dreaming is not so bad if one dreams good dreams and makes them come true."

"In Rotary, we make dreams a reality through extraordinary projects and activities here at home and around the world. These projects would not be possible without the generous support of Rotarians and friends of our Foundation," officials said.

"Paul Harris Society gifts enable Rotarys worldwide network of dedicated humanitarians to implement projects that address pressing needs in communities around the world. Because of these contributions:



 Children are vaccinated against polio and other diseases;

 Adults and children alike can learn to read and write;

 Women are given microloans and vocational training that enable them to support themselves and their families in a healthy and dignified way;

 Teachers and schoolchildren have access to toilet facilities and clean drinking water;

 Scholars are able to study ways to prevent maternal and child mortality; and

 Professionals from around the world convene to discuss strategies for resolving conflict and fostering peace."
Bynder, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based branding automation company, raised $22.3m (20m) in Series A funding.

Insight Venture Partners, a New York-based venture capital and private equity firm, made the investment. In conjunction with the funding, Jeff Horing, Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners, will join Bynders Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to continue international growth and to support further product development.

Led by Chris Hall, Founder and CEO, Bynder provides SaaS software that allows marketers to create, find and use their content. Through a customized online portal, marketing departments and their agencies can collaborate from any location in order to create, design, share and approve collateral, as well as reshape graphics and videos.

The company, which services over 150,000 users across more than 350 brands around the globe including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Logitech and AkzoNobel, has offices across the Netherlands, UK, US, Spain and UAE.

FinSMEs

11/08/2016
Mercury Fund, a Houston, TX-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in entrepreneurs and innovation that originate in the middle of the U.S., hired Jackie Pfister as Marketing Coordinator.

Ms. Pfister will support the firms investment team in their marketing and branding efforts in order to promote thought leadership and relevant industry-related content.

She will also work with Mercurys portfolio companies in helping them reach their branding, marketing and PR goals.

Prior to Mercury, Ms. Pfister worked as a business analyst at Trenegy, a Houston based management consulting firm. Her experience focused on project management, change management and organizational design.

She received her BA in Communication with a minor in Business Administration at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Led by Blair Garrou, co-founder and managing director, Mercury Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm with over $200m under management. Launched in 2005, it invests in startup opportunities, focusing on entrepreneurs and technology innovation originating in the U.S. Midcontinent.

FinSMEs

11/08/2016
Kepler Communications, a Toronto, Canada-based satellite communications company, raised $5M in seed funding.

The round was led by IA Ventures with participation from Techstars Ventures, Liquid 2 VC, SK Ventures, Zelkova Ventures, Plug & Play Ventures, V1 VC, Globalive Capital, and BDC. IA Ventures Brad Gillespie joined Keplers round in conjunction with the funding.

The company intends to use the funds to build its a satellite communications platform and sell it to early customers.

Led by CEO Mina Mitry, Kepler Communications is a satellite communications company that is working towards establishing an in-space telecommunications network for space-borne assets. Its space cell phone towers aim to resolve the problem of intermittent connectivity for non-geostationary satellites, open new business opportunities that necessitate real-time connectivity to satellites, and reduce reliance on difficult to deploy ground infrastructure.

FinSMEs

11/08/2016
Yroo, a Dublin, Ireland-based search engine for smart shoppers, secured a total of $11m in seed funding.

The company will use the funds to invest in customer acquisition and retention and development of its intelligent shopping search tool.

Led by James Cunningham, CEO, Yroo provides a search engine for shoppers to discover, research and buy from the largest collections of products, stores and promotions available anywhere. Users can shop more than 100 million items from over 7,000 merchants all in one place.

Currently, Yroo is actively transacting in over 35 countries across North and South America, Europe and Asia with its seven market-specific catalogs and eight supported languages.

In conjunction with the funding, Margaret Nelligan, partner with Aird & Berlis LLP, and Nick Zhu, CTO of Yroo, joined Yroos board.

FinSMEs

11/08/2016
Ah, thayir sadam...

Or curd rice  it depends on what resonates more with you.

I don't know what associations other people make with this fine culinary delight, but to me it represents safety. It's the sort of thing I'm forced to eat when I'm terribly unwell, due to the fact that it's bland, easy to digest, fairly 'regular' (in that way) and just safe. With thayir sadam, there's almost no risk of gastric pyrotechnics  of either variety, mind you  and no chance of you burning your tongue or offending your olfactory senses.

Which is probably why I associate this particular snack (or meal, depending on the volume of your intake) with British quartet Coldplay.

Now, the word on the grapevine is that the band could be coming to India in November. I'll reserve my opinion. What I will say, however, is that there could not be a more perfect band to visit India  nay, to visit Mumbai than Coldplay. Unless, that is, there was to be a Gerry and the Pacemakers reunion.

But back to Chris Martin and his cohorts.

Their perfect suitability for Mumbai has a lot to do with how safe they are. Whether you're looking at the type of music, the content of the music or the reputation of the musicians involved (let's face it: Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion aren't exactly David Lee Roth, Nikki Sixx, Courtney Love and Lemmy). With that brand of music and those people-you-could-take-home-to-meet-your-grandmother personas, Coldplay is least likely to cause anyone any offence  unless you find yawning offensive, considering the band's music has been described as 'the sound of humanity yawning'.

Why Data? Well, it's because he wore a uniform, and apart from the black bits, it was all yellow.

Apart from being inoffensive, the band's music is also fairly 'regular' (yes, in the sense to which I had alluded earlier). There's no random screaming, no impromptu blast beats, no screeching guitar solos, no calls for circle pits, no death growls of "LET ME F**KIN' HEAR YOU, GLASGOW!", no profanity and well, nothing out of the ordinary.

Consistency and regularity. Both of which also make the band's output very easy to digest, which could explain Coldplay's massive fanbase in India and overseas. So that means there will be demand. The show/s will sell out in minutes. Everyone's a winner. Again, another reason it's the perfect band to bring to India. Plus, November is bang in the middle of the NH7 Weekender season and what better way to ensure a sellout show  particularly considering the increasing turgidity of Weekender lineups over the past couple of years  than to introduce the perfect antidote to this 'turgidity': A laxative called Coldplay (to push that metaphor a little bit further).

Then, you've got the 'safe' factor. As a promoter or a member of security team, you can be safe in the knowledge that the band will turn up on time, will play the full set, will complete the set on time and will not set off any riots. Also, Coldplay shows won't see barricades crashing (shame on you, Metallica!) or people storming the stage. In fact the only chaos that's likely to break out at a Coldplay show is if someone, in a bid to take a selfie with his/her back to the stage, drops his/her cellphone and is rushing around to locate it. That, or if they run out of bottles of warm soda at the refreshments booth.

Also and unless I've been grossly misled, they're not from Pakistan. So, the Shiv Sena should have no problems either.

These are interesting facts when looked at in isolation. Put them together and you have the perfect band to tour India.

Did I mention I absolutely loathe the monotonous mess that is thayir sadam?
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed a chargesheet against former Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair and others for causing a loss of Rs 578 crore to the government in a deal between private multi-media company Devas and Antrix, the space agency's commercial arm.

The chargesheet was filed before Special CBI Judge Vinod Kumar, and the court has fixed August 18 for further hearing.

"Then Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), then Additional Secretary, Department of Space, then Director, SCPO, ISRO, then Executive Director of Antrix Corporation Ltd, then Managing Director of a USA-based company, and then CEO and three former directors of Bangalore-based Devas multimedia were chargesheeted as accused in the case," the CBI said in a press statement.

The CBI accused them of having committed offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to cheating and certain provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly being party to a criminal conspiracy with an intent to cause undue gain to themselves or others by abusing their official positions and causing loss to Antrix Corporation and ISRO.

It was alleged that during the period from 2004 to 2011 then Executive Director of Antrix Corporation in criminal conspiracy with both advisors of a USA-based company and others gave rights for delivery of video, multi-media and information services to mobile receivers in vehicles and mobile phones via S-Band through GSAT-6 and GSAT-6A Satellites and terrestrial systems in India, to ineligible company based at Bangalore in violation of the guidelines pertaining to leasing of INSAT capacity.

An alleged loss of Rs 578 crore (approx) was caused to the government exchequer.

The CBI added that investigation is continuing regarding issues of demand of S-Band frequencies by other users, including Ministry of Defence for strategic purpose and Department of Telecommunication, DVB-SH Technology developed by ETSI and the affairs of the USA-based company, Foreign Direct Investment received and funds transferred from the accounts of the Bangalore-based private company into the foreign accounts and offences under criminal breach of trust by public servants.

A case was registered against the accused on 16 March, 2015 and then Executive Director of Antrix K.R. Sridhara Murthi, former Managing Director of US-based Forge Advisors and CEO of Devas Ramachandra Vishwanathan and the then Director of Devas MG Chandrasekhar.

The Antrix-Devas deal saw an early exit of Nair as ISRO chairman since he was the head of Antrix governing council when the deal was finalised in January 2005.
Ikea, a global leader in retail furniture, has laid the foundation in Hyderabad for its first store in India. The store is expected to open somewhere in JulyAugust next year.

The Swedish furniture giant is planning to build a 400,000 square foot store here, which will also include a 1,000-seater restaurant serving Swedish cuisine, besides Indian and others.

According to a CNBC-TV18 report, the company is planning to invest about Rs 700 crore in setting up the store in Hyderabad.

Ikea had earlier said it has purchased 13 acres of land parcel to build retail store here.

The site is close to the IT hub in Hyderabad's HITEC city, and within easy access to public transport and next to an upcoming Metro line.

The furniture maker is also looking to set up stores in Bengaluru, Mumbai and NCR (National Capital Region) as part of plans to have 25 outlets across India in at an investment of Rs 10,500 crore.

Ikea was one of the first companies in India to get approval for setting up 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail.

"The decision by Ikea to set up its first store in Hyderabad will place the city on the international map of Ikea stores. The retail outlets have a standard design and each location entails an investment of USD 100 million (Rs 550-600 crore)," the company had said earlier.

"In addition, the backward integration of supplier linkages will have tremendous economic impact to the state," it had said.

With PTI
NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The chief executive, medical director and three other doctors at a prestigious Indian hospital have been charged with offences related to illegal organ transplants after a kidney trafficking racket was uncovered, a police spokesman said.

Operating out of the private L.H. Hiranandani Hospital in Mumbai, the organ harvesting ring was busted by police in July following a tip-off that poor villagers were being paid to sell their kidneys to recipients via a network of agents.

Mumbai Deputy Police Commissioner Ashok Dudhe said the five doctors were arrested late on Tuesday after police had examined the findings of a government inquiry into the case.

"Two days ago, we got the report from the director for health services for Mumbai. In this report, there were charges made against these doctors such as negligence under the 1994 Transplantation of Human Organs Act," Dudhe told a news conference on Wednesday.

"They did not follow the procedures laid out, so after receiving the report, we arrested them and brought them before the court."

Fourteen people have been arrested so far, he said, including a donor, a recipient and middlemen.

Officials at L.H. Hiranandani Hospital did not respond to email requests for comment.

This is the second kidney trafficking racket found operating out of a top Indian hospital in recent months. In June, police discovered a similar racket operating out of the reputable Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in the capital New Delhi.

A shortage of organs for transplants fuels a black-market trade in body parts in India.

Commercial trade in organs is illegal in India and only relatives can act as donors. Transplant donations must be approved by a special transplant committee at each hospital.

Police uncovered the racket at L.H. Hiranandani Hospital after a worker informed them of suspicious documentation for a scheduled operation for which a woman was donating a kidney to her husband.

They raided the hospital during the operation on July 14, and found the couple were not married and the donor was in fact an impoverished rural woman from the neighbouring Gujarat state.

Traffickers allegedly lured poor people from Gujarat into selling their kidneys for about 200,000 rupees ($3,000) and then re-sold their organs on the black market at a huge profit.

Dudhe said the five doctors are charged under a section of the law that holds hospital management responsible for offences committed under their watch. They are also charged for failure to meet the recipient and donor to explain the risks of surgery.

"The CEO's job was to meet both the donor and recipient and make the necessary inquiries about them, but he did not do that," said Dudhe.

(Reporting by Nita Bhalla, editing by Alisa Tang. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Mayor Kelly invited the community to come out and hear about the plan to rezone the Airport Inn from C-2 to UGC so they can turn it into a....well, no one seems to know what. Is it a homeless shelter, a mental health facility, an assisted living home, another "fleabag motel", an apartment complex, all we know for sure is "that is not this" and "this is not that" according to Mayor ... (click for more)
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (VRX.TO) (VRX.N) defrauded insurers by hiding a relationship with pharmacy Philidor that boosted sales of its drugs, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Lawyers in the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan are pursuing a theory that Valeant and Philidor Rx Services LLC allegedly defrauded insurers by concealing their ties, the WSJ said.

It is expected to be the most serious investigation that Valeant currently faces, and could lead to criminal charges against former Philidor executives and Valeant as a company, the Journal added, citing one person. (on.wsj.com/2aMvQwS)

Valeant was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: The 1984 anti-Sikh riots issue was again raised in the Lok Sabha on Thursday with an Akali Dal member seeking action against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler alleging that he was giving money to witnesses to turn hostile in a case.

Prem Singh Chandumajra claimed that the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has asked the CBI to register a case against Tytler. He raised the issue during Zero Hour when Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was in the Chair.

The DSGMC, he said, is saying that Tytler is allegedly responsible for killing of one Badal Singh, a Granthi of Pul Bangash Gurdwara in North Delhi during the 1984 genocide and he is facing trial in Karkardooma court.

He alleged that Tytler has paid a sum of Rs 1 crore to Surinder Singh, a witness in the case to turn hostile. He also said that Surinder's son was sent abroad by Tytler after spending 50,000 dollars.

He claimed that these facts were brought to light by Abhishek Verma, one-time associate of Tytler.
Patna: The Bihar Police has launched a probe into the alleged involvement of a BJP legislator over the communal tension in Saran district, a police official on Thursday said.

Saran Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar Raj told IANS that a probe was underway into the role of Bharatiya Janata Party legislator CN Gupta.

"We are investigating into Gupta's role. Action against him would be initiated or taken only after investigation is completed," he said.

On Tuesday, video clips emerged and were telecast by local Hindi news channels showing Gupta leading a mob of people, armed with traditional weapons in Chapra district headquarters of Saran during a shutdown called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal and despite the district administration issuing orders prohibiting any public gathering to maintain law and order.

"Instead of appealing to people to maintain communal harmony and peace, Gupta was leading a march of VHP and Bajrang Dal supporters in Chapra, in full view of district administration, that resulted in violence. Shops and houses of minority community members were attacked," Congress legislator Shakil Ahmad Khan said.

Khan told IANS that it was clear that Gupta violated prohibitory orders and instigated people that created communal trouble.

"The state administration has to take a tough stand to send a strong message for communal harmony," he added.

Some social activists in Chapra have also blamed Gupta for the communal tension in Saran town.

They said Gupta was well known for his decades long association with the RSS and other Hinduvta organisations like the VHP and Bajrang Dal.

Gupta, however, has denied any involvement in violence.

According to reports, the situation in Saran town was under control but tension remains.

Schools and colleges opened on Tuesday and markets also reopened, a district official said.

The trouble began when some youths of Balha village and other youths from Maker village blocked roads last week to protest police failure to take action against those who had posted an objectionable video clip online.

Trouble escalated and angry mobs attacked the houses and shops of minority community members on Friday. Some youths attacked the house of the prime accused, which led to the communal tension, an official said.

On 5 August, violent clashes took place between both communities and shops and houses were targeted at several places.

The following day, violent clashes were reported and the VHP and Bajrang Dal called a day-long shut-down, forcing shops, schools and colleges to remain closed.

Over a dozen persons, including policemen, were injured, 55 shops torched, houses looted and 62 persons were arrested.
Gurgaon: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by two persons in a flat at South Delhi's Kalkaji area, police said on Thursday.

The class 10 student of a government school in Gurgaon was allegedly held captive in the flat on Saturday and Sunday (6 and 7 August) by accused Karan Singh and Sanjay Kumar who gangraped her, even as two of their associates, Mahesh and Kala, filmed the entire act on mobile phones.

Praveen Malik, SHO, Badhshahpur police station, where the victim lodged a complaint on Monday, said Karan, a native of Palra village, was known to her, while Sanjay was a native of Dhani Shkohpur and Mahesh and Kala were residents of Karan's village.

According to the victim, Karan had picked her up from a Gurgaon bus stand on Saturday and taken her to Kalkaji temple on his motorcycle.

"The victim alleged that after the visit to the temple, Karan took her to a flat in the same area and later, three of his friends joined them.

"Subsequently, while Karan and Sanjay took turns to rape her, Mahesh and Kala videographed the act. They also threatened her with dire consequences if she reported it to anyone," said the SHO.

The victim was released after being held in captivity for two days. She reached home at Badshahpur in Gurgaon on Monday and narrated the incident to her parents who lodged the police complaint, he added.

The victim had initially alleged that Mahesh had raped her as well but later, before a magistrate, she accused Karan and Sanjay of rape and Mahesh and Kala of filming the act on mobile phones with the intention of blackmailing, said Malik.

Medical examination of the victim has confirmed rape, said the SHO, adding that a case under sections 363 (abduction), 365 (abducting with an intent of secretly and wrongfully confining a person), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Posco) Act was lodged against all the four accused, while Karan and Sanjay were also booked under section 376D (gangrape), IPC.

No arrest has been made as the accused are absconding, he said.
Jaipur: Expressing unhappiness over the "pathetic" conditions at a state-run cow shelter where a number of animals have died over the past few days, RSS on Thursday asked the Rajasthan government to take immediate corrective steps.

"RSS workers visited the Hingonia Gaushala recently and found that the situation there is pathetic," Ramesh Agrawal, Prant Sanghchalak, RSS, said.

"There was carelessness in looking after the cows which led to their untimely death. This is unfortunate," he said. Agrawal said the government should immediately chalk out both short term and long term action plans by involving experts to improve the infrastructure of the gaushala.

He also demanded an inquiry against the officials responsible for the bovine deaths there.
A question was raised at the Lok Sabha on Wednesday regarding the number of bilateral and multilateral events attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where terrorism was on the agenda.

The newly-inducted Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar fielded the question with diplomatic zeal, however, his statement, "Most of the individuals on the wanted list for terrorism-related offences are in Pakistan with whom the matter has been and is consistently taken up," holds significance especially after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday claimed that the arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Bahadur Ali was trained by military experts in Pakistan.

With a confessional video of a captured LeT militant Bahadur Ali, Inspector General of NIA Sanjeev Singh said that since the summer this year, the banned outfit, with the "help of Pakistani forces deployed on the border", pushed heavily armed terrorists into India with the direction to mix with the local people, create disturbance, and attack police and security forces.

Ali, who was arrested on 25 July this year from Yahama village in Handwara in north Kashmir, revealed in the video about LeT's communication network and assistance it got from the Pakistan Army. The NIA is also investigating the role of LeT in the ongoing turbulence in the Kashmir Valley that started after the encounter of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who finally broke his silence on the Kashmir issue on 9 August, had steered clearing of making a statement against Pakistan and said, "Some people are causing Kashmir a lot of harm. Kashmir wants peace. Whatever Kashmiris want for betterment of their livelihood, the Centre will provide."

Curfew continued for the 34th day on Thursday, after Wani's death fueled widespread protests in the Valley. Even since, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been needling India with provocative statements like, "Kashmir is not India's internal matter", "it is an obligation for me as Prime Minister of Pakistan to become the voice of oppressed Kashmiris," he even went ahead offered medical assistance to those injured in the violence in Kashmir.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, on the other hand, has been more confrontational on his stand on Pakistan's role in Kashmir. During a Parliament session on Wednesday Singh said, "Two weeks ago, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif said that he is waiting for the day when Kashmir will become Pakistan's. He has also written a letter to the UN Secretary General saying there should be a plebiscite in Kashmir. On the basis of the statements made in the House, I can say that no power in the world can take Jammu and Kashmir from us. If there is dialogue with Pakistan, it won't be on Kashmir, it will be on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir." Singh also said he is ready to hold talks with political parties and moderate groups in Kashmir.

Though the Prime Minister and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti invoked former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's model of insaniyat and jamooriyat (humanity and democracy), dialogue between Delhi and Islamabad on Kashmir has been largely of the rhetorical kind.

Kashmir dominated the discussion in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with the Opposition demanding a meeting. While Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded a statement from Modi in Parliament, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said, "Burhan Wani is more dangerous dead than alive." CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury asked what's stopping the Centre from initiating a political dialogue.

During his address to the US Congress in June, Modi had said, "Although its shadow is spreading across the world, terrorism is incubated in Indias neighbourhood. Humanity must speak in one voice. Terrorism must be delegitimised." However, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby had issued a statement that though US is concerned about the violence in Kashmir, it is a "matter for the Government of India to speak to specifically".

Meanwhile, the call for 'azadi' has been growing stronger in Kashmir, it will take a lot more than soothing dialogues to silence the voice of dissent that has risen battling pellet guns and state excesses.

With inputs from agencies
Jaipur: As many as 216 people were rescued by the Army and National Disaster Response Force after an entire village in Sapotara area in Karauli district in Rajasthan was inundated following heavy rains.

"In a successful operation, Army and NDRF teams evacuated 216 people from a village last night in Karauli district. They were shifted to safer places," relief secretary Rohit Kumar told PTI.

He also informed that in Alwar's Bansur area in Rajasthan, 8 or 9 people are stranded and Air Force has been asked to rescue them.

Army was also deployed last night in Jodhpur where heavy rains have paralysed normal life and many colonies were water logged.

Jalore, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara and Pali in Rajasthan have also been facing flood-like situation following heavy rainfall which has increased the water level in the rivers.
New Delhi: In a set-back to self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is accused of rape and murder, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant him interim bail on medical grounds.

The court, however, asked the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to constitute a three-member medical board to examine him for the ailments he is complaining about.

Refusing to interfere with the Rajasthan High Court order rejecting Asaram's plea for bail, the bench of Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice RK Agrawal asked the AIIMS Director to constitute a three-member medical board to examine him.

Asking for the report in 10 days' time, the bench did not accept Asaram's plea that he be released on interim bail for a month or two so that he could travel to Kerala for Panchkarma Ayurveda treatment.

Appearing for Asaram, senior counsel Raju Ramachandran assailed the high court order contending that it has not taken into account the ailments afflicting the self-styled godman.

Ramachandran told the apex court that Asaram had poor control over his urination and bowel movement and jail doctors have said that he defecates in bed.
After an almost eight-hour-long discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday accepted the demand of the Opposition for an all-party meeting on the issue.

The meeting will take place on Friday at around 12 pm. It will be attended by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The home minister also promised to consider sending an all-party delegation to Kashmir, responding to demands made in the Rajya Sabha which discussed the "prevailing situation" in the Valley. He also declared that there is no question of handing over Kashmir to the Army, quashing rumours that are being spread "deliberately".

Responding to demands for initiating a political process in Kashmir, the home minister said the government is ready to have talks with mainstream parties, moderates and others. "We are ready. I will ask the chief minister where to start the process and with whom to talk, on which issues," he said.

At the end of the debate in which 29 members from across the political spectrum spoke, the Rajya Sabha unanimously adopted a resolution, saying: "This House expresses its serious concern over the prolonged turbulence, violence and curfew in the Kashmir Valley."

With the all-party meet just around the corner, here is the stand taken by major political parties on the Kashmir issue:

Congress blames Modi, BJP



Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had lashed out at the prime minister, saying Modi should have spoken on the Kashmir issue in the Parliament.

"This is the fourth time we are asking the prime minister to provide a statement in the House," Azad had said in the Rajya Sabha.

"We were told that he spoke on Kashmir issue in Madhya Pradesh because the chief minister told him to do so. This shows that the Parliament means nothing to the prime minister and he would not have spoken on the Kashmir issue if the chief minister had not asked him to do so," he had said.

"When something happens in Africa, the prime minister tweets about it. But when the Taj (Mahal Palace Hotel) of India is burning, the heat is not reaching the Central government," he had added.

Azad was also one of the leaders who demanded an all-party meet and called for an all-party delegation being sent to Jammu and Kashmir.

Samajwadi Party blames Pakistan

Ram Gopal Yadav, Samajwadi Party MP from Uttar Pradesh, had said in the Rajya Sabha that the Kashmir problem will not be solved unless Pakistan is controlled.

"The problem in Kashmir is not so simple that giving a few jobs to them will solve the problem," Yadav had said in the Rajya Sabha.

"We have made mistakes in the past. Because of partition, we have had several wars with Pakistan," he had further said.

"No day goes by when some personnel from our army do not die on the border in Kashmir. Pakistan is funding terrorists in Kashmir," he said. "We cannot solve the problem in Kashmir if we do not control Pakistan," Yadav had said.

TMC says the internet is generating opinion in Kashmir, says Burhan Wani was more dangerous alive

"The nationalist loves the country. But the patriot loves the people of the country. It is very important not to make a distinction between Kashmir and its people," Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien had said during the Rajya Sabha discussion.

"In 2011, the internet penetration in Kashmir was 3 percent. Today, it is 25 percent. That is a major change. If you ask me why the Hurriyat or the army does not have control, it is because opinion is being generated in Kashmir through the internet," he had said. "Burhan Wani was more dangerous on the internet than he was on the streets. He is more dangerous dead than alive," he had further said.

JD(U) says use of pellet guns is worse than live bullets

A dramatic Sharad Yadav had said that the injuries sustained by people due to pellet guns was worse than getting killed due to live bullets.

"The prime minister said that the people of the country love Kashmir. But the people of Kashmir should also love the country," he had said in the Rajya Sabha.

"You can only keep Kashmir in India when you treat Kashmiris as equals," he said. "Shoot the people but do not use pellet guns. Pellet Guns are worse than live bullets. It is worse than killing people," he had further said.

CPM says the main problem in Kashmir is the trust deficit

Sitaram Yechury, CPM general secretary, had said that a trust deficit existed in Jammu and Kashmir today because of a series of betrayals. He also criticised the Modi government from initiating dialogue with the people and leaders in Kashmir.

"If other governments have engaged in dialogue in the past, what is preventing this government from initiating the political dialogue?" Yechury had said.

He had also taken a dig at the government's foreign policy and said, "When you want to wish Happy Birthday, you go to Pakistan."

"The trust deficit exists (in Kashmir) because of the string of betrayals of the promises made," the CPI(M) leader had said.

"Unless you address the central question of the promises made to the people of Kashmir at the time of independence, this problem will not be solved," he had said.

PDP says people remember Kashmir only when it is 'burning', raises the issue of Afzal Guru's hanging

"Why do we only remember Kashmir when it is burning? Guns will not solve any problem," PDP MP Nazir Ahmad Laway had said. "The people of this country should understand what the problem in Jammu and Kashmir is."

"I wish people in this Parliament talked about sending a delegation to Aiims, where a girl injured by pellet guns is admitted," he had said.

Another PDP MP Mir Mohammad Fayaz raised the issue of Afzal Guru in the Rajya Sabha. "If the Supreme Court gave death sentence to Afzal Guru, and his serial number was 27, then why was he hanged first? This question is arising in the minds of the people. They are asking, 'What is the difference between Jammu and Kashmir, and other states?'," he had said.

With inputs from PTI
The dragon casts a long shadow.

Gerard Hendrik (Geert) Hofstede, Dutch researcher, analyst and professor of Organisational Anthropology and International Management at Netherlands' Maastricht University, has an interesting take on the Chinese in his pioneering 'cultural dimension' theory.

Professor Hofstede says one of the most important cultural dimension that marks China's strategic outlook is that the Chinese are intrinsically patient, persistent and rarely take eyes off the target. India's foreign policy wonks testify to the time-consuming nature of every negotiation with China. Their stress remains on long term results rather than short term goals. Hofstede also says that Chinese are highly collectivistic, likely to prioritise collective interest over the individual.

Why is this bit of perspective relevant?

As India and Pakistan trade charges over a bleeding Kashmir, the dragon watches with keen interest, making barely perceptible yet deeply significant moves that are likely to have a long-term impact over the Valley's future.

Well-publicised developments on the South China Sea are evidence of increasing Chinese assertiveness. Yet there is no reason to think that Beijing's vital interest is limited to that geopolitical sphere alone. Not blatantly obvious perhaps, but there are marked signs that China is slowly yet surely altering its South Asia strategy. In this game of Chinese checker, loose cannon Pakistan is a great weapon to be used against India.

Worryingly though, as the Parliament debate over Kashmir amply proved, Indian politicians and administration are too busy lacerating themselves over Kashmir or blaming Pakistan to notice the larger picture.

The almost eight-hour exhaustive debate spanning 29 members in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday focused on everything including usage of pellet guns, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's absence on the floor of the House and even on the need to further "integrate" Kashmiris, as if successive Indian governments have failed to do so and the current unrest is a result of governance failure.

On its part, the government  except the usual rhetoric  said it's willing to talk to all political parties including moderate elements (whatever that means) and acceded to the demand of sending an all-party delegation to the state, as if that would solve all problems.

Journalist and Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta pointed out a curious coincidence. For an unrest that seems to be so intrinsic and adversarial towards the Indian State, it started only after Burhan Wani was killed and has since continued unabated. It is remarkable that so little stress has been put on the manufacturing of the violence.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), for instance, revealed on Wednesday what we already knew  that terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Pakistan army are fuelling large scale protests.

"LeT is being helped by Pakistan army in spreading unrest in the Kashmir valley," NIA IG Sanjeev Kumar said in a media conference in Delhi, according to a Times of India report. "Pakistan army officers in civilian clothes visit LeT facilities and are referred to as Major Saheb and Capt Saheb. Pakistani military and other forces were also running a command centre called Alpha-3 in PoK to run terrorist operations in India".

These are just some of the revelations made by Bahadur Ali, a LeT operative who was caught by security officers on 25 July. The NIA also released a video of Ali's confession.

As Firstpost has repeatedly argued here and here, the fire in Valley has been ignited and is being kept alive by Pakistan which wants to continue waging a proxy war against India, armed with a fresh strategic boost in its position on Kashmir by none other than China.

Consider the Kashmir narrative. For decades, Pakistan has been spouting the theory of 'Azad Kashmir' and how it "supports" Kashmir's right to liberty and self-determination. While acting as an occupying force in Kashmir, it nevertheless as a matter of state policy maintained this phony position.

That seems to have changed quite dramatically. In a public meeting last month in PoK where his party recently won an election, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif dropped all pretensions of ambiguity and called for accession of entire Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan. Addressing a public gathering in Muzaffarabad, PoK capital, Sharif said: "We are waiting for the day Kashmir becomes (part of) Pakistan."

What prompted this change in Pakistan policy from vagueness to brazenness? Does Pakistan really believe that India will allow Kashmir to secede? Unlikely.

Pakistan's belligerence is a direct result of China's strategic investment in Kashmir, in the area illegally occupied by Islamabad. The rhetoric is not unlike China's oft-repeated game of inching forward, retreating and in doing so, minutely alter the ground reality.

Ashok Malik, in his piece for Observer Research Foundation pointed out that the call for accession of whole of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan creates an illusory situation where PoK "becomes not Indian territory occupied by Pakistan (as India contends), not disputed territory (as many in the rest of the world believe), but legitimate Pakistani territory; the rest of (Jammu and) Kashmir becomes bona fide Pakistani territory illegally occupied by Indians."

Once again, the question is why is this important?

On 21 July this year, the People's Liberation Army and Pakistans border police force carried out a joint patrol along their shared border, the first time they have done so. The report, carried by Chinese newspaper Peoples Daily, consisted of images depicting Pakistan and Chinese soldiers posing for photographs at various locations along the shared border. Interestingly, People's Daily said the joint patrol was carried out "along the China-Pakistan border". This is actually the frontier region of PoK  an area claimed by India as an integral part of its territory.

This marks a remarkable shift in Chinese strategy which earlier always referred to PoK as "Pakistan-administered Kashmir". It is important for Beijing that PoK is considered in international forums as a legitimate Pakistan territory because that would make it easier for China to carry on doing what it is anyway doing of late  investing heavily on huge infrastructure projects.

Details of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) show that far from its stated purpose of facilitating trade and commerce, it seems to be designed to support military logistics and, in terms of the landscape of warfare, integrate China and Pakistan that much strongly. As Malik says: "In a sense, both countries are seeking a strategic depth in each others territories, and there can be only one possible target."

So Pakistan in this great game of chess is China's partner, lackey and a useful tool to keep India occupied. Not just arming Islamabad with nuclear technology, missiles and conventional weapons, China wants to use its occupied territory to strengthen its strategic depth vis-a-vis India.

The dragon casts a long shadow.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said he was feeling "very energetic" after attending a 10-day meditation course in Himachal Pradesh.

"Returning back from 10-day vipassana course. Feeling very fresh and energetic," Kejriwal tweeted.

Returning back from 10 day Vipassna course. Feeling v fresh n energetic  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 11, 2016

Kejriwal had gone to attend the session at Dharamkot, close to the Dalai Lama's abode in Himachal Pradesh, on 1 August.

His course began on 2 August. During the 10-day period, he was not allowed to meet anyone and denied access to newspapers and telephones.

"I am feeling peaceful and energised. This will surely help me to meet the challenges ahead," Kejriwal told reporters here.

He refused to comment on a Delhi High Court ruling giving primacy to the Lt. Governor in the affairs of the administration in the national capital.

"I have no information as I just came out of the vipassana centre. I will study the orders before commenting on it," he said.

Kejriwal also refused to comment on Punjab politics.

After spending some time in the Circuit House here, where a large number of party activists were gathered to greet him, Kejriwal left for Chandigarh by road.

During the course, Kejriwal stayed without his staff and nobody was allowed to meet him, an official told IANS.

Kejriwal's day began at 4am and he retired at 9.30pm. In between, there were meditation sessions.

The participants were served simple meals, comprising rice and dal. And there was no access to newspapers, television and phone.

The Congress government in the state extended him the status of a state guest and he was received by Deputy Commissioner Ritesh Chauhan.

With inputs from IANS
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to attend a variety of living history programs taking place at Point Park, on Lookout Mountain, and at Chickamauga Battlefield during Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 3 & 4.

Point Park will host living historians on Saturday, Sept. 3, and on Sunday, Sept. 4, who will share the experiences of Confederate soldiers on the mountain during the Siege of Chattanooga. Progra.m.s, which will include rifle firing demonstrations, are scheduled at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to Point Park is $5 per adult, ages 16 and older (children, ages 15 and younger enter for free).

There will be artillery programs at Chickamauga Battlefield on Saturday, Sept. 3. Visitors will have the opportunity to see and hear a reproduction Civil War cannon firing and to learn about the role of artillery during the Battle of Chickamauga. Programs take place at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center and are scheduled at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. There are no admission fees to Chickamauga Battlefield.

For more information about upcoming programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, please contact the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at 423-821-7786 or the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241.
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"I will not accept that this problem is just one created by Pakistan or separatists," he said.

"You cannot escape the issue by just blaming Pakistan for the problems in Kashmir," he said. "Just because of good tourism in one season in Kashmir, you cannot think you solved the problem. If you do not pay attention to this problem, it will turn into a law and order problem."

"There must be a conspiracy being hatched by Pakistan. But you have to look at the measures you are taking to counter it," Yechury told the government in Rajya Sabha.

In response, a beleaguered Arun Jaitley said that BJP will take strict action against Dayashankar Singh. "I should tell Mayawati ji that the party shares her grief over this issue, I will look into this matter, we stand with her...I am personally hurt that a BJP party person used such derogatory words against Mayawati," he said.

"This is not only a woman's issue. This is a man's issue," said TMC MP Derek O'Brien.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury stressed on the fact that the man making such remarks was none other than the vice president of the UP unit of BJP and demanded that he be arrested. "A man speaks with such language on the day both houses are discussing issues on violence on Dalits?" she said.

"The nation will not forgive BJP for this, especially with what is going in Gujarat," ANI quoted Mayawati as saying. "There are wars of thoughts and ideas in the House, but never have I used derogatory words against anyone ever," she said.

"The insulting words used against me are against all of womankind," said Mayawati. "Dayashankar Singh should be arrested. Otherwise, if in response to this people get violent, it will not be on my conscience," she added.

UP BJP vice president Dayashankar Singh's cheap remark against BSP chief Mayawati created uproar in the Parliament as Opposition leaders attacked the Modi government over the issue.

In response, a beleaguered Arun Jaitley said that BJP will take strict action against Dayashankar Singh. "I should tell Mayawati ji that the party shares her grief over this issue, I will look into this matter, we stand with her...I am personally hurt that a BJP party person used such derogatory words against Mayawati," he said.

"This is not only a woman's issue. This is a man's issue," said TMC MP Derek O'Brien.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury stressed on the fact that the man making such remarks was none other than the vice president of the UP unit of BJP and demanded that he be arrested. "A man speaks with such language on the day both houses are discussing issues on violence on Dalits?" she said.

"The nation will not forgive BJP for this, especially with what is going in Gujarat," ANI quoted Mayawati as saying. "There are wars of thoughts and ideas in the House, but never have I used derogatory words against anyone ever," she said.

"The insulting words used against me are against all of womankind," said Mayawati. "Dayashankar Singh should be arrested. Otherwise, if in response to this people get violent, it will not be on my conscience," she added.

UP BJP vice president Dayashankar Singh's cheap remark against BSP chief Mayawati created uproar in the Parliament as Opposition leaders attacked the Modi government over the issue.

"On one hand, BJP did a lot of things to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti and assured Dalits that they will do a lot to celebrate it. On the other hand, Dalits still do not have reservation rights in the private sector," she added.

"The legal rights which Ambedkar created for the backward sections of the society will only reach the society when honest work is done for providing those rights to them," she said.

"Even after the country got independence, whether it is Congress rule or BJP rule, the sad truth is that the Dalits are still suffering," Mayawati said in the Rajya Sabha.

"There is an urgent need to change the mindset of the major political parties of the country towards Dalits," she said. "I have to tell the Union government that this is a serious matter. I ask the government to give justice to the Dalit victims in Gujarat. It is not enough to just send the Gujarat CM to meet them. Action needs to be taken against authorities which were negligent. They should be arrested," she said.

"In the name of protection of cows, a lot of unfair things are being done. Injustice against Dalits is being done in the name of protection of cows," said Mayawati in the Rajya Sabha.

Crimes against Dalits being done in the name of cow protection, says Mayawati

"Instead of making Dalits a political weapon, Congress, BJP and other parties should be reminded that they should rise above petty politics and work for the development of backward sections," she said.

"The victims often do not get justice in case of a CID probe," said Mayawati in the Rajya Sabha. "Gujarat government did not act quickly enough. It was only when the media picked up this issue that some action was taken."

"This Una incident case should run in a fast track court. We also demand that one of the judges should be a Dalit," Mayawati said. "Forget about Dalits getting justice, even their FIR is not filed many times and the latest example is the Una (Gujrat) incident," she also said.

Deputy Chariman PJ Kurien denies that the House is taking the subject lightly. Rajya Sabha is currently debating Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Bhagwant Mann's video of him entering Parliament by crossing several security layers. Mann then posted it on social media, inviting attack from MPs across party line, who termed his act as a security breach.

In the video, which went viral, Mann was seen showing entry gate through which MPs enter Parliament House and saying how strong is the security. "The car is registered with the Lok Sabha. It has a censor, which has the vehicle details. As soon as so you come near the gate, the censor identifies the car and announces the name and number of the car," Mann says in the video with him crossing several layers of the security.

On the fifth day of the Monsoon Session (Friday), Aam Aadmi Party MLA Bhagwant Mann's filmed a video entering Parliament by crossing several security layers, which eventually caused uproar in both the Houses. Mann, who posted it on social media, invited attack from MPs across party line, who termed his act as a security breach.

As soon as the House assembled, she informed it about the action being taken on the issue which had led to the adjournment of Lok Sabha proceedings on July 22. "The inquiry committee shall inquire into the serious security implications and related aspects.... (and) suggest suitable remedial measures to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future and recommend appropriate action in the matter," the Speaker said.

The member is "advised not to attend the sittings of the House" until a decision is taken in the matter, Mahajan said. Mann was not present in the House.

The panel has also been asked to "suggest remedial measures" so that such episodes are not repeated.

Mahajan has formed the nine member panel headed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya which includes Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena), Meenakshi Lekhi, Satya Pal Singh (both BJP), B Mahtab (Biju Janata Dal), Ratna De Nag (Trinamool) and K. C. Venugopal (Congress) and other members.

Therefore, the "act of the member" has put the security of the Parliament in peril, she said. Mahajan said she had consulted leaders of all political parties and everyone supported her actions on this issue.

Describing Parliament as "sanctum sanctorum" of democracy, Mahajan recalled that on 13 December, 2001, security personnel had sacrificed their lives protecting the parliament and after that entire security system was reviewed and overhauled.

It put "security of the parliament in peril", Mahajan added. Mann has been asked to appear before the panel by 10.30 am tomorrow and make his submission.

Addressing the Lok Sabha as soon as it reassembled after the weekend break, Mahajan said taking audio video footage of security zones in the parliament by Punjab's Sangrur MP Mann on July 21 and putting them on social networking site was improper.

"The act of the member of audio-visual recording of the Parliament and posting it on the social media puts the security of Parliament in peril," the Speaker said, adding that several members had expressed concern over the issue on Friday last.

The panel, chaired by BJP member Kirit Somaiya, has been asked to submit its report by August 3, while Mann has time till tomorrow morning to submit his explanation to the committee.

Acting tough, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today said AAP MP Bhagwant Mann's videography of the Parliament House complex had put its security "in peril" and asked him not to attend the House till a decision is taken on the matter while setting up a nine-member panel to probe the issue.

The Lok Sabha is likely to discuss The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill today. Apart from this, the Lower House is also slated to discuss The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill.

Sasikala Pushpa began crying in the House over the issue of attacks on women in the country. She has alleged that she was harassed and was being forced to quit her post.

"So what if we disagreed with you? This is not the country we are used to living in," O'Brien said. "The Prime Minister needs to come in the House and say that we can live in the India we know, the India of unity and diversity."

"For Rs 15, they (Dalits) are being killed because they are Dalits. I am a gau sevak. But in the name of gau sevaks, don't cross the line. This is a sitaution which has gone beyond the border of this country. Since they are taking these decisions, they must listen to what the UN had to say about this country," he said.

"The curb on religious fundamentalism, this is a dangerous situation. If it happens and happens and happens, it is a decision. This is a decision of this government. Otherwise, the Defence Minister would not have said what he said yesterday," TMC MP Derek O'Brien said, referring to Parrikar's remarks that Aamir Khan needs to be taught a "lesson" because of his remarks on intolerance.

An angry Parrikar responded by saying that he did not take the name of any person in the video.

"Since the BJP government came to power, they targeted Muslims first. Now, they are committing atrocities against the Dalits. The Prime Minister should come to the Parliament and clarify on what is happening," Mayawati said.

CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury responded to Parrikar and said, "What he said is objectionable. That cannot be acceptable. Tomorrow, are you going to threaten me? If he is raksha mantri, kiska raksha ho raha hai?"

Defence Minister Parrikar responded to the uproar in the Rajya Sabha over his remarks against Aamir Khan and said, "Let them see the video themselves and make up their minds."

"We should think about the respect for women. In Bareilly, a teacher was abducted during daytime. This is not right. The government should speak. Why is the government silent?" she said.

"There are rapes taking place against Dalit women everywhere in the country. The government should take this matter seriously," Mayawati said.

Naqvi agreed with her and said the government was ready for a discussion.

"I am really embarrassed for standing here and talking about the same issue once again, even after the Nirbhaya gangrape...I want a discussion on women's protection. I do not care which place. I do not want politicising of this issue," Jaya Bachchan said in the Rajya Sabha.

An emotional Jaya Bachchan got up in the Rajya Sabha and demanded a discussion on the issue of safety of women.

"In view of seriousness of matter, Bhagwant Mann is further advised not to attend the sessions of Parliament for further two weeks," she said.

"The chairperson (of the committee) has sought extension of time for further two weeks. I have accepted the request for extension," Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said.

On the issue of AAP MP Bhagwant Mann being barred from the Parliament for making a video of the Parliament House complex, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that the committee probing this issue had asked for more time.

"This legislation will only be passed after a serious discussion. I hope the Finance Minister passes the Bill not on the strength of his numbers, but on the basis of logic," Chidambaram said.

"Government tried to pass the GST Bill without the support of the principal Opposition and I am happy they failed," he said.

"Many issues are still outstanding issues and still need to be resolved. We had earlier tried to pass the GST Bill with the support of the Opposition and we failed," he said.

"I welcome the friendly tone of the Finance Minister's speech. I think the tone and approach has changed over the last few weeks," Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said.

"People of India expect low indirect taxes. There are many voices in the government which speak for the corporate, but someone must speak for the people. I am doing that," Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.

"When this Bill is passed today, we will prepare for the next stage of the debate, which is the Central GST Bill. I want an assurance from the Finance Minister....This is a very important legislation. I want an assurance that when that Bill is brought, that will be brought as a Financial Bill and not as a Money Bill," Chidambaram said.

"Persuade all parties and sections of the people that a standard of 18 percent is the most appropriate," he added.

"The worry that we have is creeping taxation. But that is what Parliament is for. Taxation is the exclusive power of the Parliament. It is ultimately Parliament which calls the shots in taxes," he said.

"I, on behalf of my party, loudly and clearly demand that the GST rate should not exceed 18 percent," Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.

Bill in next stage of GST debate should be brought as a Financial Bill: Chidambaram

Chidambaram warns that a rate too high, something like 23 percent, will be inflationary. He insists that the Bill needs to be passed as a finance Bill. The critical point we shouldnt be miss here is that the Congress is pitching for 18 percent standard GST rate and isnt ready to give up on this point in any case.

This comment is crucial since the NDA government has not yet arrived on a single rate. Chidambaram attacks the Narendra Modi government, saying it does not care about the problems of the common people. Chidambaram stresses on the point that the rate should be changed only with the permission of Parliament, and thus makes Congress compromise formula that the GST rate should be included in the GST Bill, though his party is willing to compromise on the earlier demand that the rate should be included in the constitution.

According to Firstpost Financial Editor Dinesh Unnikrishnan, P Chidambaram has hit the core point in his speech  the final GST rate. Chidambaram positions Congress as the voice of poor and emphasises on the fact that standard GST rate should not exceed 18 percent on the lines of what governments chief economic advisor, Arvind Subrmanian, suggested.

"It (GST) violates states' autonomy. It results in permanent revenue loss to the state of Tamil Nadu. We strongly oppose this Bill," AIADMK MP A Navaneethakrishnan said in the Rajya Sabha.

"We have moved an amendment that the compensation should be for at least 5 years," he added.

"Tamil Nadu will lose Rs 9270 crore because of GST. This is not a small amount," he said.

"Till date, the revenue-neutral rate has not been fixed by the government," he said, adding that this was a problem in the GST Bill.

"Petroleum and petroleum products must be kept outside GST permanently. We can save our people only then," he said. "It is a well-known fact that Tamil Nadu is a manufacturing state. It is also known that this method of taxation is destination-based. We strongly oppose that," he said.

He then went on to elaborate on the changes which AIADMK wanted in the GST Bill.

"The composition of the GST Council is not fair. The weightage of each state's vote should be in proportion to their representation in the country," said the AIADMK MP in the Rajya Sabha.

"Now let me tell you about the ping pong match," O'Brien said

"I'm feeling like a teenager in the presence of these senior lawyers," O'Brien said. "There is the politics of the Bill. GST can also be interpreted as the Girgit Samjhauta Tax," TMC MP Derek O'Brien said in the Rajya Sabha.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien has always been dramatic in his speeches, and his speech during the GST Bill is a perfect example.

The money has to first come from Centre to states and then from states to local bodies. If the availability of funds to local bodies gets delayed, that can seriously hamper functioning of local bodies, Patel cites. In a larger context, this problem is not for MCGB alone. It would apply to all big and small local bodies across the country in the GST regime. Patels remarks suggest the magnitude of challenge the Modi government has while implementing the revolutionary tax regime.

Patel raises the challenge of GST implementation. Under the GST regime, when various indirect taxes including sales tax, VAT and Octroi get consolidated in one uniform tax rate, will large local bodies such as MCGB get funds on time for its daily functioning? Patel asks.

Firstpost Financial Editor Dinesh Unnikrishnan says that NCP Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel raises an interesting case of states within the states, citing the example of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGB), which under Octroi alone garners about Rs 8000 crore to Rs 9000 crore per annum.

"The Prime Minister should come to the House apologise to the nation. If he cannot come, we will be happy even if Finance Minister Jaitley apologises," Budania said. "It was Congress which forced you to follow the right path of this Bill."

"At that time, the then Gujarat CM had said that this Bill is against the welfare of the nation. Today, the same man who is now PM, said that this Bill is benefitial for the nation," he said.

"When the Congress had brought this Bill to the Parliament, then BJP had protested against it," said Narendra Budania, Congress MP from Rajasthan.

PM Modi should apologise to the nation for his U-turn on GST Bill: Congress in Rajya Sabha

"We have given this notice for discussion to wake up the government. It is unfortunate that the Taj of Hindustan is burning but the central government cannot feel the heat. Which kind of heat will wake up the Kashmir government?" Azad said.

"Today, it has been 30 days since curfew was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir. I do not think that any state in India has seen curfew for 30 days since Independence," Congress leader Azad said.

"Please call for an all-party meeting and send a delegation to Kashmir," he said.

"This cannot be solved through law and order machinery," he said. "The silence of the Prime Minister is more eloquent than words. He is sending the message that the government does not care about the situation in Kashmir."

"This is one of the most grave situations I have risen in to speak. I have not seen continuous curfew for 30 days in my life. How can we remain silent? More than 1000 incidents of firing have been reported in a month. More than 8000 have been injured. 60 are dead. It is inhuman and criminal. Why are we using pellet guns? I am told that even Israel does not use pellet guns against Palestinians," CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury said.

"If you (BJP) were not opposing this Bill at that time, this Bill would have been passed two years ago. So, you are actually responsible for delaying the Parliament passing this Bill, but we are taking the blame," he said.

"Why was it that in 2011, some ministers who are sitting on that side were opposing this Bill?" Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Lok Sabha.

"Today, the Parliament is going to take a big step for the freedom from tax terrorism," he said. "Some people will know the condition of taxation in our country," he added.

"Today is 8 August. On this day many years ago, Mahatma Gandhi had moved the nation with 'Bharat choro' slogan," PM Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha.

"Therefore, who won and who lost is not a matter of debate," the Prime Minister further said.

"But the credit for this Bill does not belong to one party. It belongs to the culture of Indian democracy," Modi said.

"It is true that someone created this Bill while someone else nurtured it," he said. "Just as someone gave birth to Krishna and someone else raised him," he said.

"The most important requirement was the creation of trust between Centre and the states. The most important thing was to not decide this on the basis of sheer numbers. That is why I have earlier said that democracy is not just about numbers," he said.

"We were successful in taking care of a lot of flaws with the GST Bill. 'Ek manch, ek manth, ek marg, ek manzil' is the mantra behind GST which all of us have experienced," the PM said.

"Sometimes, there were doubts about the GST. When I was the CM, even I had doubts about GST. And today, because of seeing GST continuously as a CM, my viewpoint changed when I viewed it as Prime Minister," Modi said.

"All Centre and states need to unite to create a mechanism for Ek Bharat," PM Modi said in the Lok Sabha.

I had different view of GST because I looked at it earlier from the point of view of a CM: PM Modi in Lok Sabha

"A message will go to the people through GST that the consumer is the king," Modi said. "GST gives a guarantee of security to small traders and businessmen. It will result in economic growth."

"Despite our differences, we made efforts to take GST forward," he said. "A uniformity in the processing of taxation will come through GST."

"In the entire discussion of GST, none of us used it as a platform for politics. We rose above politics for the welfare of the nation," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha.

GST will send the message that the consumer is the king: PM Modi in LS

"Even during the all-party meeting, I had said that the credit for the GST Bill goes to all political parties," the Prime Minister said.

"It is a matter of great strength for Indian democracy that all of us are making efforts to take this forward together," he said.

"It is also true that we need to have IT-preparedness and legal preparedness. In the world, even the countries which are praised for their democracy find it tough to deal with Bills," he said.

"Because of GST, the taxpayer will realise that he will benefit from honesty. Therefore, we will succeed in bringing down the generation of black money," Modi said.

"There will be data integration. Because of a strong cross-checking mechanism, a seamless method which will help in catching any wrongdoing will be created," the PM said.

"GST will help in curbing corruption and black money," Modi said. "Corruption will move towards zero because of GST," he said.

"When something happens in Africa, the Prime Minister tweets about it. But when the Taj of India is burning, the heat is not reaching the central government," he added.

"We were told that he spoke on Kashmir issue in Madhya Pradesh because the CM told him to do so. This shows that the Parliament means nothing to the PM and he would not have spoken on the Kashmir issue if the Chief Minister had not asked him to do so," he said.

"This is the fourth time we are asking the Prime Minister to provide a statement in the House," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha.

PM spoke on Kashmir in Madhya Pradesh just because the CM told him to do so: Azad in RS

"When you truly feel pain from the heart, it will reach Kashmir," he said.

"When you say Kashmir is an integral part of India, it should not only be on paper. There should be integration of hearts and minds. What about the integration between federal and state government?" said Azad.

"Law and order in Kashmir in not just in the hands of Jammu and Kashmir police, but also in the hands of paramilitary forces," Azad further said. "If someone says that Mehbooba Mufti should alone solve the problem in Kashmir, that is not possible for her," he added.

"Kashmir is secular. The destruction of Kashmiriyat and insaniyat is not happening because of democracy but because of the pellet guns," he said.

"There is a difference between communalism and separatism. Militants are also targeting Muslims. Militancy has no religion," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha.

"You can only keep Kashmir in India when you treat Kashmiris as equals," he said. "Shoot the people but do not use pellet guns. Pellet Guns are worse than live bullets. It is worse than killing people," he further said.

"The Prime Minister said that the people of the country love Kashmir. But the people of Kashmir should also love the country," JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav said.

"Merely repeating what Atal Bihari Vajpayee said is not going to create that trust. Create that trust by stopping the communal polarisation that is taking place in the country," he said.

"If everyday you talk about abrogating Article 370, you talk about love jihad, ghar wapsi, are you creating trust?" said Yechury.

"Unless you address the central question of the promises made to the people of Kashmir at the time of independence, this problem will not be solved," he said. "The problem today can only be solved if you initiate a political dialogue. I have urging this government that this can only come through with an atmosphere of trust.

"The trust deficit exists (in Kashmir) because of the string of betrayals of the promises made," said the CPI(M) leader.

He also took a dig at the government's foreign policy and said, "When you want to wish Happy Birthday, you go to Pakistan."

"If other governments have engaged in dialogue in the past, what is preventing this government from initiating the political dialogue?" Yechury said.

"The threat we face today is not a mere question of autonomy. There is also an orchestrated terrorist threat in Kashmir," he said.

"Today, there is an attempt to create dual power in Kashmir," Dasgupta further said. "Let us remember that dialogue cannot be done if we are going to tie the hands of the executive."

"While I agree with Sitaram Yechury that we need a form of political approach, the form and time of that approach should be different," he said.

"We have been talking about development and healing hearts and unfortunately, we have come across a rather big emotional divide. At an earlier time, it was thought that Article 370 would facilitate the process of integration. But we may have actually hardened the emotional divide," he said.

"A lot of the people who have taken to the streets may be spontaneous. But there is also a large degree of pre-meditation in the protests," he said.

"That was the death of Burhan Wani. The death of any Indian should be a source of anguish. But Burhan Wani never considered himself an Indian. And what do you say about a person who glamourises terrorism?" Dasgupta said.

"The problem we face in Kashmir today is somewhat different from the problems we have faced earlier," he said. "Three months ago, Kashmir was peaceful. We had a unique political experiment. It was an alliance between the Valley and Jammu, something which was unique and encouraging. And then something broke loose," he added.

"While we try to evolve a consensus on this issue, we should sometimes be brutally frank about what we are dealing with," Swapan Dasgupta, nominated MP, said in the Rajya Sabha.

"I wish people in this Parliament talked about sending a delegation to AIIMS, where a girl injured by pellet guns is admitted," he said.

"Why do we only remember Kashmir when it is burning? Guns will not solve any problem," he said. "The people of this country should understand what the problem in Jammu and Kashmir is."

"Why wasn't there any problem in Kashmir until 1987?" said a dramatic PDP MP Nazir Ahmad Laway in the Rajya Sabha.

Why do we remember Kashmir only when it is burning? asks PDP MP in Rajya Sabha

Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia: When we are talking about Swachh Bharat, we should first clean our minds. Fringe elements have now turned into the Centre today. Why the Home Minister didn't visit Rohith Vemula?

PM made a strong statement: Shoot me, not the Dalits. But why he didn't include Muslims? Muslims can never be part of Hindu nationalism but they are a part of Indian nationalism.

Sexual violence against Dalit women has increased. About eight lakh Dalits are dependent on selling skins, bones of dead cows, what will they do now?

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi: No democracy in the world has prioritise animal life over human life. But the Indian democracy has. Why do gua rakshaks have come to power? The credit goes to the idealogy of ruling party. What right do so-called gau rakshaks have to look at what I eat?

NK Premchandran, RSP MP from Kollam: The attrocities against the Dalits is politics. Educational, economical and social upliftment is the need of the poor.

We all should work together and committ ourselves in taking action in order to stop the atrocities on Dalit. Also, I would appeal all the state governments to take strictest action against anti-social elements who try to disrupt the harmony of secular fabric of the country.

It is pointless to blame the other government. Why did we celebrate Ambedkar's 125th anniversary with such genuinty? Respecting Ambedkar is like respecting India.

Seva Bharati, an RSS organisation, is one of the organisations which has been majorly active at the grassroots for the upliftment of Dalits.

Dalit community has contributed a lot towards Indian heritage. When India was under the British Rule, no matter how atrocities were inflicted on them, still they stood by India. They never demanded a separate country. We in the government emphathise with the Dalits.

On PM Modi's silence, Singh said, "Has any PM spoken during all discussions in Parliament? When PM spoke on the atrocities, and gau rakshaks, I issued an advisory that strict action should be taken against such gau rakshaks.

Our biggest challenge is to counter the twisted mentality of the perpetrators. What happened in Una was extremely condemnable.

"This is rumour that after BJP came to power that the atrocities on Dalit have increased. Just ask yourselves if this is true. Show me the data records. I don't want to point fingers at any political party. But following figures would explain: In 2013, 39,346 cases were registered against atrocities, 40,300 and 35,564 were registered respectively," Singh said.

"We can make India world's best country if we consider humanity above all. There are many articles in our Indian constitution for Dalits. But there is a need for effective laws to act on these articles. Our government is working at socio-economic development of the Dalits."

"It is painful that even after 70 years of independence we are still discussing atrocities on Dalits. We cannot deny that there are people from several castes and religion. We should not politicise the atrocities on Dalits," Singh said.

On Friday, 12 August, 2016 the bills for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha are Mental Health care Bill,2016 and Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016.

Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the government should not be hypocritical. He said, "When administrators have high salary, MLAs have a good rise, why don't we get the same treatment?"

Ram Gopal Yadav, SP, Uttar Pradesh raised the issue of the low wages of the members of Parliament. He said, "The pay of the MP's is only a fraction of ministers in Telangana Assembly or Delhi Legislative Assembly. We are asked to reduce our expenditure but we cannot do that when we have to entertain people of our constituency. The rising inflation also makes it difficult for us to sustain ourselves."

In the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha Congress leader Shashi Tharoor raised the issue of failing start-ups in India. He said, "The government has given tax incentives to the start-ups but everyone knows that they don't make any money in the first few years. Hence the tax incentives should be given to the angel investors."

After GST this is the second resolution which has been adopted unanimously.

She added, "This house earnestly appeals to all sections of society in India to work for the early restoration of normalcy and harmony. This is to restore confidence in people and youth in general. The resolution is adopted unanimously."

Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced that the resolutions proposed on the Kashmir issue has been passed. She said,"This house expresses serious concern over the violence in Kashmir Valley. Everyone here conveys loss of life caused by the deteriorating situation. The house is of the firm view that there cannot be a compromise on security."

Dubbing passage of the GST Constitution Amendment Bill as historic, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that manufacturing taxes and VAT will come down with the new national sales tax but the same for services tax will be decided by states and Centre. The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which will subsume over a dozen central and state levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT, is "perhaps the most important" tax reform, he said soon after Rajya Sabha overwhelmingly voted for the legislation.

"Today is a historic day for the reason that Rajya Sabha has passed the GST bill which have been held up for a very long time. All members present at the time of voting, voted in favour of the bill," Jaitley told reporters in Parliament House.

Thanking Congress and other opposition parties for supporting the legislation, he said proceedings in the Upper House demonstrated to the world that this is a great day for Indian democracy and Indian federalism. "In fact Indian democracy and Indian federalism are at there very best in as much as all national political parties and regional parties, state governments have come together to usher a major taxation reform.. The government wanted to build a larger consensus, which we succeeded in doing," he said.

Asked if the implementation of the GST would mean rise in cost of air travel, mobile bills and eating out because of incidence of service tax going up in the new regime, he said that tax rate would be decided by the GST Council, comprising of the Centre and the states.

"Manufacturing taxes will certainly will come down, VAT will come down. What level services taxes are to be kept is a discretion of GST Council. It will depend on what states along with Centre will decide," he later told Times Now. On Congress demand for not converting the supporting GST legislation as Money Bill, Finance Minister said he has not pre-decided on bringing the Bills as Money or Finance Bills.

"Once the GST is implemented, it will bring basic changes as far as the Indian tax structure is concerned, it will converge India into one unified market, with one unified tax in the country, it will improve the base of taxation, it will make evasion extremely difficult.

"The central and state governments have to work together to make this a great success. Overall, I think we had an excellent debate," he told reporters.

He said although every state government is on board in order to implement one of the most important taxation reform in India, the fact is that it has been passed unanimously all regional and national parties have actively supported it.

Congress hoped that subsequent legislations for its implementation like CGST and IGST bills would be brought in the Winter Session as financial and not money bills. Former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said he was only half satisfied with the Finance Minister's promise made in the Upper House in this regard.

"It's a half promise. Therefore, I am half satisfied," he told reporters after the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill. Chidambaram said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has assured that he will hold discussions with the Congress party before bringing the bills. Senior Congress leader and former Law Minister Kapil Sibal cited the example of Aadhaar Bill to claim the new legislations could be converted into Money Bills to block voting.

"We have seen the Aadhar Bill was converted into a money bill and we were not given the right to vote on it. We have doubt that this GST bill will also be turned into a money bill whereby a discussion on it will take place in Rajya Sabha but members will not be allowed to vote on it. We are concerned over it," he said. "We hope that it will be a financial bill and there will be a discussion on it and we will be given the right to vote on it," he said.

Another Congress member Renuka Chowdhury said, "They have considered many of our aspects. Have to wait and see what happens in the winter session." NCP leader Praful Patel said it is very good that the Constitution amendment bill to bring GST was passed with general consensus.

"It is good for the country and states will also benefit, especially those which considered themselves as backward as they will get more revenue.

"We hope that the Bill to be brought by government in November will also be passed with general consensus. Finance Minister has given an assurance that whatever bill will be brought, it will be honoured," he said. Earlier in the day, Congress had made it clear to the government that firm assurances for keeping the GST rate capped at 18 per cent and bringing subsequent legislations needed for its rollout as financial bills alone could ensure its support to the long-pending Constitution Amendment bill.

"We also demanded an assurance that the CGST and IGST should not be moved as money bill. The Central GST and Integrated GST are bills which will apply on taxpayers, on common man. They must be debated and voted upon by both Houses of Parliament. We hope to get assurance from the Finance Minister. If these assurances are forthcoming, we will be able to support," Chidambaram told reporters.

The GST Bill will finally be taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha.

India Inc had said it is looking forward to introduction of the much-awaited Goods & Services Tax (GST), saying it would be a very significant step in the field of indirect tax reforms in India.

The government has circulated official amendments to the GST bill to drop 1 percent additional tax and include a definite provision in the statute for compensating states for revenue loss for 5 years as it gears up to discuss the long-pending bill in Rajya Sabha.

The eleventh day of Parliament's Monsoon Session on Monday began with AIADMK Rajya Sabha member Sasikala Pushpa's statement where she said that she was facing a "life threat" and was being "compelled to resign".

Sasikala, who hit the headlines for slapping DMK leader Tiruchi Siva at the airport on Saturday, said: "I am receiving an unconditional apology from Tiruchi Siva. Something was spoken against my party leader and I behaved like that."

The parliamentary proceedings over the day saw the passage of the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provide for putting the NEET in place for admission to medical and dental courses across the country from next year; and National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Rajya Sabha.

The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws Amendment Bill 2016 was moved in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing.

Key proceedings/issues discussed in Lok Sabha:

 Supplementary demands over additional spending

The government sought parliament's nod for additional spending of Rs 1.03 lakh crore, though the cash outgo will only be Rs 20,948.26 crore.

Presenting the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought parliament's approval for a transfer of Rs 5,000 crore towards National Employment Guarantee Fund and Rs 1,000 crore for providing funds to Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves for Sovereign Strategic Crude Oil Reserve at Vizag, Mangalore, and Pudur.

 Bill for speedier recovery of bad loans passed

The Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws Amendment Bill 2016 was moved in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing.

Piloted by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the bill seeks to amend four laws  the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002; the Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993; the Indian Stamp Act, 1899; and the Depositories Act, 1996.

 Special status: TDP MPs protest in Parliament

Unhappy over the Centre's stand on special status to Andhra Pradesh, TDP, a partner in NDA government, staged protests both inside and outside Parliament. Seeking immediate announcement for special status, the MPs of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) tried to disrupt the proceedings in the Lower House.

Holding placards and raising slogans in support of their demands, the TDP members in the Lok Sabha began the protest as soon as the house met for the day. They rushed to the speaker's podium, demanding that the government fulfill its commitments under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan repeatedly appealed to members to return to their seats but they continued the protest. The Speaker conducted the proceedings amid the uproar before adjourning the proceedings till 2 pm.

 Attack on Dalits and Muslims

Opposition members expressed concern over growing attacks on Dalits and minorities and called for stern action against cow vigilante groups which have been targeting them.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay underlined the need for action against those targeting the Dalits and Muslims to uphold secularism and communal harmony.

Key proceedings/issues discussed in Rajya Sabha:

 GST Bill listed for Wednesday

The government has listed the GST bill for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, hoping it will be passed through consensus, but the opposition Congress said that consultation is still on over the issue and an agreement is not yet finalised.

In view of the development, the BJP has issued whip for all its Rajya Sabha members to be present in the house for the next three days.

"The GST bill is listed for Wednesday. We hope it will be passed through consensus," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said.

 Bills to put in place NEET passed

The Rajya Sabha passed by voice vote the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that provide for putting the NEET in place for admission to medical and dental courses across the country from next year.

The bills provide for a Constitutional status to the 'National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and seek to amend the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and the Dentists Act, 1948.

Responding to a debate on the bills in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda said the whole exercise was aimed to stop multiplicity of examinations, to bring transparency to curb corruption and to stop exploitation of students.

 Uproar over Manohar Parrikar's comments on Aamir Khan

Rajya Sabha witnessed a brief uproar by opposition members over alleged remarks by Manohar Parrikar against actor Aamir Khan even as the Defence Minister denied having said what was been quoted to him.

During the Zero Hour, Derek O'Brien (TMC) raised the issue of "dangerous" rise in religious fundamentalism in the country, saying the government, ministers and people associated with the ruling party were "shooting their mouths off every day".

"The Prime Minister needs to come and say these are in fact mistakes, this is not thinking of the government. Prime Minister come here and assure us that we can live in the India we know  Unity in Diversity".

As soon as he finished his Zero Hour mention, Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad quoted a report which said 'Parrikar takes a swipe at actor Aamir; those who speak like this must be taught a lesson'.

"So may I ask him (Parrikar who was sitting in the House) what lesson he is going to teach us...The entire nation should be told what type of action and lesson he is going to teach the minorities of this conuntry," Azad said.

To this, Parrikar said: "I would only say one thing. Let the members see the video...and make up their mind". However, this did not pacify the agitated opposition.
New Delhi: On Thursday Samajwadi Party forced three adjournments of Rajya Sabha in pre-noon session alleging discrimination by the Centre in releasing funds for Uttar Pradesh.

Slogan-shouting SP members trooped into the Well of the House demanding an assurance from the Centre that it would release the share of Uttar Pradesh shortly.

JD-U members too trooped into the Well charging Centre with not implementing the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Bima Yojana (crop insurance scheme) in flood-hit Bihar.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien first adjourned the house for 15 minutes and then till noon as uproarious schemes continued. The House was adjourned for the third time soon after it reasembled at noon.

Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) gave a notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business to discuss the alleged discrimination against Uttar Pradesh, while Sharad Yadav (JD-U) gave a similar notice to raise non-release of funds for Bihar.

Soon after listed papers were laid on the table, Yadav said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Chief Secretary have written several letters to the Union government seeking release of the state's share of funds.

Listing out schemes under which funds have not been released, he said Rs 1,425 crore for scholarship for 8 lakh SC/ST and OBC students had not been released, while Rs 4,742 crore compensation for hailstorm-hit areas was yet to come.

Out of Rs 2,780 crore sanctioned for UP from the Central Road Fund, only Rs 219 crore had been released so far, he alleged, adding that not even half of the money allocated under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana has been released, leading to stalling of projects.

Also, money under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, higher education as well as scholarship for minorities and other backwards too had not been released, he said.

"If the Centre does not give an assurance that the due funds will be released in 2-3 days, the House will not be allowed to function," he said.

While Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said similar discrimination was being meted out to Bihar, his party colleague Ali Anwar Ansari said 2,300 villages in 14 districts were under water but the crop insurance scheme was not being implemented there.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) raised a case of daring heist in a moving train when Rs 5 crore out of Rs 340 crore cash being sent to Reserve Bank of India from Salem in Tamil Naidu was stolen.

He asked how the cash transfer was being done without security and alleged complacency of RBI officials in the loot.

Soon after SP leader Yadav completed his submission, his party members trooped into the Well raising slogans against the government.

JD(U)'s Ansari after making his brief statement too joined them in the Well.

Kurien asked members to return to their seats and promised to allow them raise the issue so that the government could react.

But the members remained unrelenting. SP members also urged Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was present in the House, to join them in the Well saying he represents Uttar Pradesh in Rajya Sabha and should stand in solidarity.

As the din continued, Kurien adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes.

No sooner the House met after the brief adjournment, slogan-shouting members of Samajwadi Party again trooped into the Well.

A helpless-looking Kurien read out the names of 15 members who had to make their Zero Hour mentions.

"I am expressing my inability and apologies to them (members who were to make Zero Hour mention)," he said, as the members could not read out their statements amidst the vociferous sloganeering.

Kurien then adjourned the House till noon.

A similar scenario again prevailed when the House met for Question Hour at noon with SP members raising slogans alleging discrimination by the Narendra Modi government against the state of Uttar Pradesh.

As the disruption showed no signs of abating, Chairman M Hamid Ansari adjourned the House for half-an-hour till 12.32 PM.
Beijing: Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi will on 17 August visit China for four days, her first one to Beijing after taking office, a media report said on Wednesday.

Suu Kyi will be welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang, Efe news reported.

Suu Kyi, currently the de facto leader of Myanmar, remained under home detention for 15 years during the three decades of military rule which had China as its practically only supporter.

Beijing's support is considered crucial to end Myanmar's ethnic conflict that often spills over across the border to China.
Beijing: With China mulling its options to counter Vietnam's reported plan to send mobile rocket launchers to the disputed South China Sea, Chinese media on Thursday termed the move a "terrible mistake" and asked Hanoi to "draw lessons" from the war in 1979 between the two countries.

"If Vietnam's latest deployment is targeting China, that would be a terrible mistake. We hope Vietnam will remember and draw some lessons from history," an article in the state-run Global Times said.

While the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry reportedly termed the media report as "inaccurate", the discreet deployment appeared to have caught China by surprise specially in the backdrop of Beijing's efforts to reinforce its control over the South China Sea after the international tribunal struck down China's claims over almost all of the South China Sea.

China which rejected the verdict initiated by the Philippines petition has stepped up air and naval patrols to assert its controls over the region. China also enhanced its satellite monitoring of the area.

Besides Vietnam and the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the South China Sea.

The launchers deployed by Vietnam are said to be capable of striking China's runways and important trade routes in the region with missiles and experts believe the move by Hanoi will likely raise tensions in the region, the article said.

"As the waves created by the controversial South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines have barely subsided, the reported new deployment by Vietnam will add to the difficulty of solving the South China Sea disputes peacefully," it said.

Chinese officials say Vietnam has "illegally occupied" 29 of about 50 islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

It has conducted construction and reclamation work on over 20 of them since the 1980s, and the scale of the reclamation has increased in the past two years.

It also has built infrastructure, including runways and barracks, on the islands and reefs, another state-run newspaper China Daily said in its report.

China itself has developed islands with runways and military facilities in several islands.

Jia Duqiang, a senior researcher on Southeast Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it is Hanoi's latest effort to tighten its hold on islands in the South China Sea.

Xu Liping, another Southeast Asian studies researcher with CASS, said Hanoi is trying to emphasise its etermination to strengthen its illegal occupation of the islands.

For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated its claim of the South China Sea specially over Spratly islands, which Beijing calls as Nansha islands also claimed by Vietnam.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their surrounding waters. China has always firmly opposed the illegal occupation of parts of China's Nansha Islands and reefs by certain countries and their illegal construction and military deployments on these islands," the report quoted a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement as saying.
London: Ecuador said Thursday it's ready to set a date for Swedish prosecutors to question Julian Assange inside its London embassy  a potential breakthrough in the years long international impasse over the WikiLeaks founder.

Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish police over alleged sexual offenses stemming from his visit to the country in 2010. He denies all the accusations against him made by two women. In June 2012, he sought shelter in Ecuador's embassy in the British capital and has been holed up there ever since.

Ecuador announced last year that it had agreed to a Swedish proposal to interview Assange at the embassy, but no interview has taken place.

Ecuador's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a date for the questioning in the embassy would be set "in the coming weeks."

Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Karin Rosander said Sweden handed over a formal request to interview Assange in January, and a reminder in June, and received Ecuador's reply on Tuesday.

"It means that a questioning can make the case go forward," Rosander told The Associated Press. "This is decisive to be able to take a decision whether to formally charge him or not."

Rosander said the Swedish prosecutor is on holiday and no date has been set for the trip to London.

Assange's defense team said in a statement that it welcomed the steps to take the WikiLeaks founder's statement, which it said "comes after six years of complete inaction on the part of the Swedish prosecutor."

Assange fears that if he is extradited to Sweden he will be sent to the United States for prosecution over WikiLeaks' publication of secret documents.

He faces arrest by British police if he leaves the building and, with the exception of occasional trips to the embassy balcony, has not been outside for years.

In February, a United Nations panel said Assange's stay at the embassy constituted arbitrary detention and he should be freed. The British and Swedish governments have rejected the non-binding findings of the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

In its statement, Ecuador said it stands by its August 2012 commitment to grant Assange asylum due to "fears of political persecution."
Washington: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that her Republican rival, Donald Trump incited violence when he said gun rights supporters could stop her from winning.

"Words matter, my friends. And if you are running to be president or you are president of the US, words can have tremendous consequences," the former US secretary of state said on Wednesday while addressing a campaign rally in Des Moines, Iowa.

"Yesterday (Tuesday), we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line. ... Every single one of these incidences shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the US," she said.

Clinton insisted that this election cycle is not "normal", adding that she had taken note of the fact that Republican figures and voters were joining her campaign upon deciding that Trump does not represent their values.

The New York billionaire once again found himself in the centre of controversy after telling a North Carolina political rally on Tuesday that gun rights defenders can "do something" to prevent Clinton from winning the 8 November election, a remark that has been interpreted by broad groups as a call to use violence.

Trump had said that Clinton, if elected, would "abolish" the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which establishes the right to "keep and bear arms".

Those comments immediately sparked a firestorm of criticism of Trump both on Twitter and in the mainline communications media, and particularly among Democratic sectors, that the magnate had, in effect, issued a veiled call for violence against the former first lady.

The Democratic nominee's campaign director, Robby Mook, reacted at the time in a statement saying "This is simple - what Trump is saying is dangerous. A person seeking to be the President of the US should not suggest violence in any way."

Trump's campaign, however, responded in another communique in which communications director Jason Miller said the mogul was referring to the "power of unification" in his remarks, adding that "Second Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power. And this year, they will be voting in record numbers, and it won't be for Hillary Clinton, it will be for Donald Trump."
Jakarta: Indonesia on Thursday said there was "no room" for the gay community in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, as activists blasted officials for an unprecedented series of LGBT attacks.

A wave of angry rhetoric directed at homosexuals earlier this year  including a call to ban them from university campuses  was the first time senior officials had publicly attacked the Southeast Asian nation's gay community, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.

Indonesia's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens have long been targeted by vigilante Islamist groups.

But the community experienced an "immediate deterioration" in their rights following a sustained assault by ministers, religious hardliners and influential Islamic organisations over a two-month period, HRW said.

In response, the government said protecting LGBT rights was not a priority.

"Rights of citizens like going to school and getting an ID card are protected, but there is no room in Indonesia for the proliferation of the LGBT movement," presidential spokesman Johan Budi told AFP.

Some of the most high-profile figures making anti-gay statements during the backlash  which activists believe may have been triggered by media coverage of the US decision to legalise same-sex marriage  were government ministers.

The higher education minister called for a ban on LGBT organisations on university campuses, while the defence minister likened homosexual rights groups to a "type of modern warfare".

In their report, HRW said that "what began as public condemnation quickly grew into calls for criminalisation and 'cures', laying bare the depth and breadth of officials individual prejudices".

The spike in anti-LGBT vitriol, predominantly during January and February this year, has intensified violence against sexual minorities throughout Indonesia, the report said.

Indonesia's largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama, in February described gay lifestyles as perverted and a desecration of human dignity. In Aceh, the only Indonesian province that applies Islamic law, the local government urged business owners to refuse to hire gay citizens.

In interviews with activist groups, HRW reported gay rights organisations shut their offices and even hid staff as threats mounted against them.

In Yogyakarta, an Islamist group forced the closure of a transgender Islamic boarding school, while a peaceful rally in the same Central Javan city in support of Indonesia's LGBT community was shut down.

"The impact of anti-LGBT rhetoric from government officials is enormous for us as individuals. For those of us who have worked so hard and risked so much to come out, it is a major step backward, a lesbian activist in eastern Indonesia told HRW.

Islamic activists have also filed a judicial review at the Constitutional Court aimed at making gay sex a crime. The court is currently holding hearings into the case.
Kiev: Ukraine has denied a statement by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on troops attempting to invade Crimea and plotting terror attacks on the peninsula.

"The FSB's statement does not correspond to reality," the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry has described the FSB's statement as an "attempt by Russia to justify the redeployment of its military units" in Crimea.

Earlier on Wednesday, the FSB said in a statement that over the weekend, it prevented several groups of armed "saboteurs", who were members of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's intelligence forces, from invading Crimea.

An FSB officer and a Russian serviceman were killed in clashes with the "saboteurs", the statement said.

The armed groups were preparing terror attacks on the peninsula's infrastructure, which were aimed at destabilising the social and political situation in Crimea on the eve of federal and regional elections, read the statement.

Last week, the Ukrainian State Border Service said that Russia was building up troops levels along the contact line separating Crimea and Ukraine's southern Kherson region.

Russia has not made official comments on the claim.

The autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were absorbed into Russia in March 2014 following a referendum, which was recognised by Moscow but rejected by Kiev.

About 9,000 people were reported to have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine that followed the Russian annexation of Crimea.

The US and European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow in response to its seizure of the territory.
United Nations: The UN's agency tasked with defending press freedom has denounced the recent terrorist attack that killed over 70 people, including two journalists, in Pakistan's Quetta region, saying violence against civilians cannot be justified.

"There can be no justification for violence targeting civilians," said Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(Unesco).

"The loss of these media professionals in the brutal terrorist attack in Quetta undermines citizens' ability to sustain informed debate that is the bedrock of good governance and dialogue," Bokova said.

Mehmood Khan, a cameraman for Dawn News, and Shehzad Ahmed, a cameraman for Aaj TV, were reporting at the time of the bomb blast on a gathering of mourners following the murder of president of the Baluchistan Bar Association Bilal Anwar Kasi earlier in the day.

While Shehzad died on the spot, Mehmood passed away in the hospital as doctors tried to save his life.

A third journalist working for Dunya News, identified only as Faridullah also sustained injuries in the blast. A majority of those dead in the attack were lawyers as they had gathered into an emergency room of the hospital to mourn the death of their colleague.

Earlier, in a statement issued by his office, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also condemned the attack, underscoring that the targeting of mourners made it "particularly appalling."

Condemning the terrorist bombing, Ban had urged the Pakistani government to do its utmost to ensure safety of the population and bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack.

At least 74 people were killed on Monday and over 100 injured after a suicide bomber struck the emergency ward of Quetta's Civil Hospital, where scores of people had gathered to mourn the death of Kasi in a gun attack earlier in the day.

The attack was claimed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter outfit Jamaatul Ahrar and the Islamic State militant group.
Representatives of two chapters from two states who are both Regents and sisters, along with their mother, a past DAR Regent, donated "Legacies of our Great Grand Mothers  Early Tennessee Women" to the Wilkes County Public Library for lineage research. Published as the State Regents project for 2013-2016, Tennessee State Regent Susan Thomas oversaw the gathering and production of the complication of biographies of early Tennessee women.As cited on the website for the complication of biographies, the two volume set is a collection of stories and lineages of women who lived in the Tennessee territory prior to the first every-name census in 1850.About 275 women, many of them wives or daughters of Revolutionary Patriots, are featured in this two-volume, indexed publication of approximately 1500 pages. A narrative sketch and a lineage chart of known birth, marriage, death and burial dates and places of each woman, her parents and siblings, her husband(s) and his parents and siblings, and their children are included with source citations footnoted throughout the book. Many of these women, whose origins were east of the Appalachian Mountain, became founding residents of Tennessee as their husbands sought more open country or claimed land grants merited by their service in the fight against the British.The lineage research set was donated by Regent Susan V. Lindsey, Judge David Campbell Chapter, Chattanooga; Regent Elizabeth (Betsy) V. Deitz, Hickory Tavern Chapter, Hickory; and Past Regent Dr. Grace C. Vaught also of Hickory. Julia C. Turpin, Wilkes County librarian, accepted the books for the Wilkes County Public Library.
Locally owned and operated Erwin Marine Riverfront, LLC is managing the rental of boat slips at the city of Chattanooga Marina. The City Docks are part of the real estate development of Cameron Harbor Luxury Townhomes on the Chattanooga Waterfront.

The city of Chattanooga Marina, located just down river of Erwins Riverfront location, offers many amenities including extra-wide 50 foot slips with 50 amp power, EPB fiber optic connection, private, keyless gated entry, dock carts, close to waterfront dining and activities at Ross Landing, access to the 10-mile, scenic Tennessee Riverwalk, as well as views of the bridges, waterways and Lookout Mountain.

Erwin Marine Riverfront currently offers premium transient dockage along Chattanooga's 21st Century Riverfront in addition to fuel, pump out, and related boating services including sales. Erwin Marine Riverfront is partnering with the city of Chattanooga Marina to offer even more opportunity for boaters to enjoy the Chattanooga Waterfront lifestyle. Erwin Marine Riverfront announces a rate decrease for these boat slips to make this possible for more in the boating community.

For more information about city of Chattanooga Marina, contact Erwin Marine Riverfront or visit www.erwinmarinesales.com/citydocks

"We are excited to become involved with the 21st Century Riverfront and look forward to expanding our service and reach to the community." says Patrick Deal, vice president - general manager. "As we move forward, we plan to market the riverfront to our existing customers in the surrounding cities where we operate today. Introducing more people will continue to strengthen the local businesses and organizations in the downtown area."






Samsung has launched the Gear IconX, its first fitness tracking headset at the Note7 event. It was announced back in June and can track heart rate, distance, speed, duration and calories burned and provide data through the voice guide, even without a smartphone.



It also has a standalone music player that lets you transfer music between the Gear IconX and your smartphone with the Samsung Gear application. Through Bluetooth connectivity it also provides real-time heart rate data transfer to select third-party applications.

Samsung Gear IconX

Splash resistant (P2i Nano Coating)

Standalone music player (4GB storage / up to 1,000 songs), Voice guide (available in 15 languages)

Bluetooth v4.1

Compatible with phones running Android 4.4 or later with 1.5GB RAM or more

Sensors: Accelerometer, HR, Capacitive Touch

Battery: 47mAh (Earbuds) / 315mAh (Charging Case)

The Samsung Gear IconX comes is priced at Rs. 13,490 and will be available by the end of August.

Check out the hands-on impressions of the Gear Icon X here.
Tesco has set a target to increase the proportion of sales from healthier products in the UK to 65 percent by 2025. The move is in line with an anticipated shareholder... Read More
Change is a seeming constant in the business world. But ask electronic-cigarette vape shops if they wanted things to change, and they're likely to tell you "no!"

In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration officially classified electronic cigarettes, along with cigars, pipe tobacco, and hookah tobacco, as tobacco-based products. This meant these products would now be subject to the same regulations as smokeless tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco. The FDA guidelines set forth in May gave the industry 90 days to comply with the new regulations. This past Monday, Aug. 8, happened to be the deadline.

These new regulations require that electronic cigarette manufacturers bringing new products to market:

Disclose the ingredients being used in nicotine-containing vaping liquid.

Place warning labels on packaging.

Most importantly, file new product approvals with the FDA before new products hit the market.

According to the newly implemented regulations, devices introduced before the Aug. 8 cutoff date can be marketed for up to three more years, presumably giving the manufacturers an opportunity to file the regulatory paperwork, and allowing the FDA the chance to review what could be an absolute deluge of electronic-cigarette industry paperwork. Not surprisingly, manufacturers took the Aug. 8 cutoff as an opportunity to flood the market with new products, regardless of whether they were ready for store shelves, to gain that extra three-year buffer.

An imminent changing of the guard in the electronic-cigarette industry

Yet even with a number of new products and electronic-cigarette devices hitting vaping shop shelves, there's a clear changing of the guard brewing within the industry. While packaging and ingredient disclosures are a bit of extra work, it's the simple fact that marketing approvals would need to be run by the FDA that could completely turn the electronic-cigarette industry on its head. Each of these regulatory submissions could cost around $1 million, a figure that could lead most electronic-cigarette device makers and liquid producers to close up shop.

On the flipside, increased regulation opens the door for Big Tobacco to clean up what mom-and-pop e-cig shops began. U.S. tobacco giants Altria (MO 1.96%) and Reynolds American (RAI) are only getting a low-single-digit percentage of their current revenue from electronic cigarettes, but unlike independent vape shops and small manufacturers, they have the cash balance and operating cash flow to handle a $1 million-per-product-submission fee with the FDA. Altria cleared $5.6 billion in free cash flow in 2015, while Reynolds American typically generates between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion in annual FCF. With ReportsnReports issuing a 93-page industry report in late June that calls for a 24% compound annual growth rate for the industry through 2020, you can see why Big Tobacco is so eager to step in and dominate the electronic-cigarette industry.

However, even Big Tobacco might be disappointed with the long-term trajectory of the industry, ReportsnReports' forecast aside.

Two big hurdles for the electronic-cigarette industry

Over the past couple of years the electronic-cigarette industry has faced two big challenges that it's yet to overcome: namely that it's a safe product, and that it's a smoking-cessation tool.

For example, a study released in late 2014 by National Jewish Health, a nonprofit hospital organization, found that the liquid vapor from electronic cigarettes damaged epithelial cells in users' airways within minutes and left the users more exposed to viral infections. Further, the effects, which were noted by measuring IL-6 protein levels, lasted for up to 48 hours after vaping.

A separate study released last year from researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed 51 electronic-cigarette liquids for the presence of three chemicals known to have adverse effects on the lungs of users. The findings showed that 92% of the 51 flavored liquids tested had the presence of at least one of these chemicals. Included among the three chemicals tested was diacetyl, which was present in 39 of 51 liquids. Diacetyl has been known to cause a respiratory disease known as popcorn lung, which causes inflammation and scarring of the air sacs of the lung, and can ultimately lead to the need for a lung transplant.

Making matters worse, a study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine in January from two researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that electronic cigarettes do nothing to aid with smoking cessation. After analyzing 38 studies, which involved control groups, the researchers concluded that the odds of quitting smoking were actually 28% lower for electronic-cigarette users than people who didn't use electronic cigarettes.

Now keep in mind that tobacco's dangers have been well publicized for decades, but that hasn't stopped 40 million American adults from buying tobacco cigarettes. However, there are still many unknowns surrounding electronic-cigarette safety. Perhaps this will be cleared up with the FDA's clampdown on the industry with tighter regulations, but that's no guarantee.

Electronic cigarettes may be a fad

What we have is a relatively small snippet of the population using a product that could soon come under the control of Big Tobacco and potentially be priced a lot higher. Remember, without mom-and-pop manufacturers, competition could be greatly diminished in three years' time.

The 2014 National Health Interview Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention found that just 3.7% of all adults were current electronic-cigarette users. While the number of adult users could grow, the emergence of Big Tobacco, and the expected minimization of product on store shelves once the three-year window is up, could have an adverse impact on the electronic-cigarette industry as a whole.

My suspicion, as it's been all along, is that electronic cigarettes will remain a small contributor to Big Tobacco, and the industry itself could struggle to grow under the weight of new regulations.
Elbakidze

the Signal Mountain Lions Club Charity Scholarship LEO award winner for 2016





Ms. Elbakidze will be attending Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC. Her field of study is pre-med and biology.





Elbakidze has been a very active member of the Signal Mountain LEOs. She has participated in the Signal Mountain LEO Club blood drives, cards for the elderly project, Bachman Community Center Spring Festival, Special Olympics, student assistance programs at school, Lions Club fundraising BBQ, theater programs, Ronald McDonald house activities, hygiene products collection for the needy program, and sewed 128 blankets for kids with cancer at TC Thompson Children's Hospital. This is not an all inclusive list of her volunteer activities. Ms.Elbakidze has been a very active member of the Signal Mountain LEOs. She has participated in the Signal Mountain LEO Club blood drives, cards for the elderly project, Bachman Community Center Spring Festival, Special Olympics, student assistance programs at school, Lions Club fundraising BBQ, theater programs, Ronald McDonald house activities, hygiene products collection for the needy program, and sewed 128 blankets for kids with cancer at TC Thompson Children's Hospital. This is not an all inclusive list of her volunteer activities.





This $2,000 Signal Mountain Lions Club Charity LEO award is paid in increments of $500 per year of enrollment. These scholarships are part of the ongoing work of the Signal Mountain Lions Charity which is a separate entity from the Signal Mountain Lions Club. These scholarship awards are made possible by the people in our community who buy the raffle tickets from our car raffle and the Lions Club BBQ. That is how we do what we do. This only happens because of the Signal Mountain community's support.





The Signal Mountain Lions Club Charity has also awarded two Signal Mountain Charity Scholarship Awards this year for $3,200 each, as well as the separate $2,000 LEO Club Scholarship Award.

The Signal Mountain Lions Club awarded Catherine, from funds raised by the Lion's Club charity events. Catherine, better known as Katie, has also won the state of Tennessee Lions Club LEO award of the year.
Divorce among Baby Boomers is growing and is having an impact on retirement savings, according to new research.

The divorce rate for those ages 50 and older doubled between 1990 and 2010, according to a Bowling Green State University study. According to the results of a recent survey from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyer (AAML), the top three items most commonly fought over during divorce proceedings for this age group are alimony (83%), retirement accounts and pensions (62%) and business interests (60%).

As people live longer, their relationships can change in some very dramatic ways, but spouses within this age range also need to be extremely mindful about the complexities of negotiating key issues involving spousal support and retirement accounts, said Joslin Davis, president of AAML.

John Slowiaczek, president-elect of AAML, discussed with FOXBusiness.com what Boomers need to know to protect their retirement savings during a divorce. Here is his advice:

Boomer: What are the reasons the divorce rate for people over age 50 is rising?

Slowiaczek: People are living longer and there are often less children in families. As a result, couples often face the prospect of spending years or even decades alone in the home with one another, and they ultimately decide to end the marriage altogether. In addition, women these days are working and have established successful careers. They are less predisposed to stay in an unhappy marriage for the financial stability and feel more comfortable living their own lives without a spouse. This is certainly the case when both spouses have contributed to their own retirement plans and wealth plans and can leave the marriage with these accounts.

Boomer: How does divorce among Baby Boomers impact retirement savings for this generation?

Slowiaczek: Everything suddenly needs to be divided into two. When there are two spouses living together throughout a marriage, they can often lose sight of how financially convenient the arrangement can be. Splitting your assets and starting over with two households instead of one can become an expensive proposition. In many cases, it can often limit your ability to spend on many necessities that you might have previously taken for granted. As an example, the cost of an individual health insurance plan can be much higher if the spouse is not yet eligible for Medicare.

Boomer: You say long-term alimony can serve as a very powerful negotiating tool for dependent spouses. Explain?

Slowiaczek: The prospect of paying long term spousal support can quickly alter many career goals and previously held assumptions about retirement. The concept puts the payer in a position where they must face the stark reality that they might not be able to retire at the age that they had always intended to. In other words, if you are facing a large alimony obligation, then you might have to contend with working for a much longer period of time than you would like. Many people would be willing to give up more assets upfront in order to avoid this kind of situation. These negotiations are also further impacted by the age of the potential paying spouse.

Boomer: With business interest being one of the top three commonly fought over items, according to the AAML survey, is there a way Boomer business partners can prepare in the event of a divorce?

Slowiaczek: Boomer business partners should definitely draw up buy-sell agreements with one another and make sure that all the spouses involved participate and sign the documents. If the spouse also signs off on the buy-sell, then it becomes more difficult for the non-owner spouse to contest the valuation concept set forth in the buy-sell, and in the event of a divorce, the court will more likely find the agreements binding. The process forces everyone to be realistic with the companys valuation and removes the possibility of battles and disputes further down the road.
It's getting harder to find great income-producing stocks these days. Companies just don't pay dividends like they used to, with many hoarding cash or buying back stock instead of sending quarterly checks back to investors. Because of that, and the fact that the market continues to set records, the average dividend yield of stocks in the S&P 500 is down to just 1.85%, which is less than half the historical average.

However, while there are fewer options available, there are still some compelling dividend payers out there. Three excellent choices with yields above 4% are Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), Brookfield Property Partners (NYSE: BPY), and Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY). Here's a look at what makes this trio stand out from the crowd.

Let the dividends flow to you

Canadian energy infrastructure behemoth Enbridge should top any income-seekers' list these days. Thanks to a 15% dividend increase earlier this year and a head-scratching double-digit slide in its stock price, this pipeline giant currently offers a desirable dividend yield right at 5%. Further, that payout is on solid ground since Enbridge backs it with stable cash flow -- 96% comes from predictable sources like fee-based contracts, and the company only pays out about half that cash in dividends each year.

However, Enbridge's current yield is only part of the draw. The other is that the company plans to increase it by a 10% to 12% annual rate all the way through 2024. Backing that view is a whopping 31 billion Canadian dollars' ($24.4 billion) worth of primarily fee-based expansion projects it has underway, which should steadily increase cash flow and its ability to grow the dividend. That visible growth makes Enbridge an excellent income stock to hold for the long term, since investors get a rapidly growing income stream with upside as the stock rises in value along with its cash flow.

Cashing the rent checks without doing any work

Global real estate partnership Brookfield Property Partners also offers investors an attractive payout today with visible growth over the next several years. At the moment, the real estate giant yields about 5.2%, and it has plans to increase that payout at a 5% to 8% annual rate over the long term.

Driving that growth is Brookfield's three-fold plan to maximize the value of its vast real estate holdings. First, the company expects to grow earnings by 2% to 3% per year via built-in rent increases on existing leases and by signing new contracts for higher rates. Second, the company has several billion dollars of new construction and redevelopment projects underway that should grow its earnings capacity. Finally, it plans to sell about $1 billion of properties each year and reinvest the proceeds into higher-return opportunities. These factors should combine to drive 8% to 11% annual cash flow growth, which should easily support mid-single-digit yearly dividend increases.

Pumping out a hefty dividend even at lower oil prices

U.S. oil giant Occidental Petroleum currently yields an attractive 4.8%, which is much higher than the average oil company. One reason is that many of its rivals slashed their payouts during the recent oil market downturn to conserve cash flow. However, instead of cutting its payout, Occidental continued increasing its dividend, recently notching its 15th consecutive annual increase. Several factors fueled Occidental's ability to keep boosting the payout, including its top-tier balance sheet and the overall stability of cash flow due to the makeup of its portfolio, which gave it the financial resources to continue investing in growth projects even as oil slumped.

Occidental Petroleum remains committed to raising its payout each year, though it doesn't offer the same visibility into future increases as Brookfield or Enbridge. However, the company is currently working to get itself to the point where it can pay its current dividend and generate enough excess cash to grow oil and gas production by 5% to 8% annually as long as oil is around $50 a barrel. Once Occidental reaches that point, it will likely be able to increase the dividend at a rate that matches production growth. In addition to that growing income stream, Occidental Petroleum also offers investors untapped upside to a recovery in oil prices since its cash flow would skyrocket if crude heads higher, likely taking its stock up with it.

The best of both worlds

What makes Enbridge, Brookfield Property Partners, and Occidental Petroleum such compelling stocks to buy today aren't just their above-average yields, but the fact that all three expect to increase those payouts each year. Because of that, income-seekers can collect steadily growing cash flow streams alongside healthy capital gains as their stock prices rise in value alongside earnings. That income with upside could quickly compound wealth for investors, making them glad they didn't settle for just any high-yielding stock.

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Matthew DiLallo owns shares of Brookfield Property Partners. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Enbridge. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Some U.S. mutual funds are boosting their performance with relatively big bets on private companies such as Uber and Pinterest, which they have been marking up at a rate far greater than the broad stock market.

That could hurt investors in a downturn because fund managers forced to meet investor redemptions may have to sell liquid public companies while marking down the unlisted ones, said Larry Swedroe, director of research at Buckingham Asset Management in St. Louis.

These private investments come at a risk, though. Many are young companies that have yet to make a profit. They are also harder to price and to sell than publicly traded stocks.

Mutual funds' involvement also helped boost the number of so-called unicorns - private companies valued at $1 billion or more.

A Reuters analysis of fund filings and other data shows, though, that some have taken a more aggressive approach, boosting the share of these companies to more than 5 percent of assets and awarding them rich valuations that in some cases have helped them beat their benchmarks and peers by a wider margin.

Relied upon by millions of Americans to save for their retirement, mutual funds emphasize that their investments in young tech companies ahead of their initial public offerings are relatively small.

"Private companies typically trade at significant discounts for that reason," Swedroe said.

In a rising market, though, they help shore up performance. Bets on Uber Technologies and other unlisted companies, for example, helped the Hartford Growth Opportunities Fund deliver a 12.7 percent return in 12 months to Oct. 31 compared with a peer fund average of 5.2 percent, according to Lipper.

The $4.5 billion fund cited Uber among top contributors to performance in its report for fiscal 2015, alongside Amazon.com and Netflix. The ride-services company's valuation in the fund surged 156 percent to $82.5 million, Hartford disclosures show.

Its pre-IPO stakes accounted for nearly 6 percent of net assets while most of its peers have kept their exposure below 1 percent, fund holdings show. Hartford declined to comment.

Pre-IPO investments can amplify a fund's relative performance because they are not included in a comparison benchmark index and some have far outpaced the stock market.

Fidelity Investments' valuation of Contrafunds Series E stake in content sharing company Pinterest has tripled to $480 million since an initial investment in October 2013, compared to the S&P 500s 25 percent rise.

In a statement, Fidelity said such investments were very small positions in the relatively few Fidelity funds that make such investments.

Over the long term, the impact of those stakes on performance may be less significant in a fund as large as the $109 billion Contrafund, than in some smaller peers.

OUTSIZED EFFECT

Mutual fund investments, however, have measurable effect on companies' valuations. Those that received such financing last year saw their valuations more than double over their previous funding round. In contrast, valuations of companies that raised cash without mutual fund investors grew 1.5 times, according to PitchBook, a private equity, M&A and venture capital database.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been asking mutual fund companies how they value their stakes in companies like Uber, Pinterest Inc and Airbnb.

The regulator is worried investors could get hurt in case of a sharp tech downturn, according to two people familiar with the SEC's queries. They were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Pre-IPO investments can have an outsized negative impact when marked down, which happened to startups such as cloud storage firm Dropbox or software startup Zenefits.

Facing a tough challenge from index-tracking funds, actively-managed mutual funds led by Fidelity Investments, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and Wellington Management, began piling into pre-IPO tech companies in 2014, according to venture capital database CB Insights.

Their investments helped boost inflows that year to $51 billion, a 14-year high, according to Thomson Reuters data. Since then mutual funds have dialed down their pre-IPO deals after several Silicon Valley companies missed growth targets, even though they took part in a $1.3 billion funding of messaging app Snapchat earlier this year and are buying shares from employees and founders to raise their stakes in companies.

Some funds count Uber, Pinterest and WeWork Companies, among their largest holdings, filings show. For example, Uber is a top 15 holding in the $19 billion Fidelity Blue Chip Growth fund.

At T. Rowe Price, private investments made up about 4 percent of assets of its $16 billion New Horizons Fund at the end of 2015. The asset management firm's spokesman Bill Weeks said individual securities typically represented less than 1 percent of any fund's portfolio, but acknowledged such investments could still pack a punch.

"If, for example, you have 2 percent of a fund in private companies and those holdings go up 50 percent in a flat market, that would add 1 percent of relative performance. It works the same way on the way down."

Pre-IPO investments are assessed by mutual funds valuation committees which look at revenue growth, competition, barriers to entry and what others paid in subsequent funding rounds. Fund managers are excluded from the discussion, but like other employees stand to benefit from mark-ups because management fees tend to rise with the value of assets.

Glenn Booraem, treasurer for Vanguard funds, said outside auditors reviewed valuations of the funds' relatively small private investments.

Its more art than science, but our objective every day is to strike a net asset value that represents the fair value of all the assets in the fund.

Fidelity said its process was rigorous and thorough" but it declined to comment on individual valuations. Mutual funds must determine a value for their private investments every trading day so a portfolio's overall net asset value can be calculated.

Venture capital firms typically value tech holdings quarterly, but share those valuations only with their limited partners - institutional investors with a greater understanding of the risks involved.

Who doesnt think Uber has a great thing going? said David Kudla, CEO of Mainstay Capital Management, which has $2 billion under management. But many got caught off guard when valuations of firms such as Dropbox or Zenefits get slashed, he said. "There is a lot of risk in these pre IPO investments.

(Editing by Carmel Crimmins and Tomasz Janowski)
Oil prices rose about 5 percent on Thursday after comments from the Saudi oil minister about possible action to stabilize prices triggered a round of buying and the International Energy Agency forecast crude markets would tighten in the second half of 2016.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC members and nonmembers would discuss the market situation, including any action that may be required to stabilize prices, during an informal meeting on Sept. 26-28 in Algeria.

The comments by the minister of the world's top oil exporter triggered fund buying and some short covering, giving a boost to prices, traders and brokers said.

Both benchmarks soared more than 5 percent and Brent futures were up $1.89 at $45.94 a barrel by 12:43 p.m. EDT (1643 GMT) and U.S. crude rose $1.76 to $43.47.

U.S. refined products futures, including gasoline and distillates, jumped after Motiva Enterprises LLC's 235,000 barrel per day Convent, Louisiana, refinery was evacuated due to a fire around midday on Thursday.

Distillate futures rose to their highest level since July 21 after the news, touching a session high of $1.3934 a gallon.

Many traders remain skeptical of the outcome of the meeting, expecting a repeat of the Doha meeting in April when talks fell through after Saudi Arabia backed out, citing Iran's refusal to join in a so-called production freeze.

"The markets clearly are deriving support from both the IEA report and statements from the Saudi oil minister," said Andrew Lebow, senior partner at Commodity Research Group in Darien, Connecticut.

"In a crude market that has seen a combined increase of 200,000 gross short speculative positions over just the past six weeks, any talk of a potential coordinated effort from producers, no matter how unlikely the prospect, will lead to short covering."

The IEA, which advises large developed economies on energy policy, forecast a healthy draw in global oil stocks in the next few months that would help ease a glut that has persisted since 2014 on the back of rising OPEC and non-OPEC supply.

"Oil's drop ... has put the 'glut' back into the headlines even though our balances show essentially no oversupply during the second half of the year," the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly report.

In further bullish news, market intelligence firm Genscape reported a draw of about 271,000 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for WTI futures in the week to Aug. 9, traders said.

Analysts at brokerage Bernstein said in a note they expect high inventories, especially of refined fuel, to spur further refinery run cuts in the next few months.

"This expected diminishing product inventory overhang will lead to a sustained tightening of oil market fundamentals and oil prices should be well above current levels," they said. (By Devika Krishna Kumar; Additional reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Matthew Lewis)
The Signal Mountain Lions Club awarded Abby Jane Heinichen and Amelia Antoinette Lambert its 2016 Lions Charity Scholarship award, from funds raised by the Lion's Club charity events. Abby and Amelia, recent graduates of Signal Mountain High School, are shown with the award certificate.



Abby and Amelia are Signal Mountain Lions Charity scholarship award winners for 2016. Abby and Amelia each receive a $3,200 scholarship award made payable in increments of $800 per year of college enrollment.



Abby has been accepted to the University of South Carolina Honors Program (Columbia, SC). Her field of study is bio-medical engineering. Abby maintained a 4.00 GPA all four years of high school, while also working part time. This scholarship award is based on achievement and other considerations.



Amelia graduated from Signal Mountain High School with a high GPA and significant volunteer contributions. She has been accepted at East Tennessee State University (Johnson City, Tn.). Her field of study is economics and finance. Amelia contributed over 100 volunteer hours tutoring in the Signal Mountain High School learning center. Some of her many additional volunteer activities include participation in the Tennessee River Rescue, Vacation Bible School, the Ronald McDonald House support programs, and TC Thompson Children's Hospital blankets for pediatric cancer patients.



The Signal Mountain Lions Charity scholarship program is part of the ongoing work of the Signal Mountain Lions Charity which is a separate entity from the Signal Mountain Lions Club.

"These scholarship awards are made possible by the people in our community who buy the raffle tickets from our car raffle and the Lions Club BBQ. That is how we do what we do. This only happens because of the Signal Mountain community's support. The Signal Mountain Lions Club Charity has awarded two of these scholarships this year as well as a separate LEO club scholarship award," officials said.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) denied on Thursday rumors that the social media messaging service will be shutting down in 2017, denouncing the claim as groundless.

"There is absolutely no truth to the claims whatsoever," a spokesman for Twitter said in an emailed response to a Reuters request for comment.

Social media started buzzing with the hashtag #SaveTwitter early on Thursday, with more than 100,000 tweets mentioning the hashtag by early afternoon. It was unclear how the rumor started although some tweets said it originated from a Twitter user who complained about online bullying and Twitter's poor handling of such abuses.

Twitter has been criticized for not doing enough to police abusive behavior on the messaging service, and has struggled to find the right balance between free expression and blocking violent or hateful speech.

Last month, Twitter permanently suspended a number of user accounts for harassment, including that of Breitbart tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, vowing to redouble efforts to thwart abusive behavior and block repeat offenders from the social media site.

Twitter shares rose 3.6 percent to $19.73 at mid-afternoon.
Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, is departing the online publication, she told staffers in an email on Thursday.

Huffington, 66, stated she is stepping down as editor-in-chief so she can focus on her wellness new start-up, Thrive Global.

The Huffington Post launched in 2005, and Huffington was set to be editor-in-chief through 2019, according to the Wall Street Journal.

For the past 11 years, The Huffington Post has been at the center of my life, and frankly I thought it would be my last act. What we have built together has exceeded my wildest expectations, she told staffers via email.

Huffington noted in her message that when she signed a new contract as editor-in-chief it included a caveat that allowed her to launch her side project.

When I wrote to you in June, I fully expected to be able to continue leading HuffPost while also building Thrive Global. But it became clear that this was an illusion as Thrive went from an idea to a reality, with investors, staff and offices. One of the Thrive principles is knowing when it's time for a new chapter to begin, and for me that time has arrived.

Huffington also tweeted the news.


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Complete spinal cord paralysis is thought to be irreversible, but new research suggests brain-controlled robotics with tactile feedback may reactivate circuitry between the brain and nerves, effectively restoring some lower-body movement and sensation.

In a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Report, the method resulted in seven participants improving from complete paraplegia to incomplete paraplegia. About halfway through training, spinal cords that were once damaged and dormant improved.

I was shocked, lead study author Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, director of the center for neuroengineering at Duke University, told FoxNews.com. I would never expect in six, seven months we could see signs of recovery of any sort. Some of these patients had [spinal] lesions for more than a decade.

Seven of eight participants six men and two women completed three stages of training over 12 months as part of a study by the Walk Again Project in Sao Paolo, Brazil, a collaboration of more than 100 scientists from 25 countries.

During most of the training, patients wore a sleeve equipped with sensors that gave tactile feedback, similar to the buzzing jolts felt by a gamer using a handheld controller. The patients brain generates a realistic sensation that his or her leg is working, and participants reported feeling like they were moving again.

Patients began by working in virtual reality, where they learned how to operate their own avatar. They were fitted with caps lined with non-invasive electrodes that recorded their brain activity through electroencephalogram (EEG) and were asked to imagine walking in their virtual environment. Scientists did not observe the expected signals in areas associated with motor control of the legs. But six to eight weeks into the training, they witnessed brain activity when patients thought about moving their legs.

Interesting enough, at that point, they started reporting that they had a very different experience [they were] feeling the tactile feedback, even in virtual reality, telling them, I know Im upright and standing, but it feels like my legs are moving, said Nicolelis, also a neurobiology professor at Duke.

When patients felt the phantom sensation, they were moved to the ZeroG, a standing robot that supports the user overhead so he or she is essentially weightless. Then they were advanced to the Lokomat, a robotic exoskeleton on a treadmill that produces a more realistic walking experience.

Patients not only regained motor and sensory skills, but their bladder control, bowel function and movement also improved. Paraplegics are at high risk of urinary infections, which can lead to fatal complications.

Now they can get out of their house, dont need to wear diapers, can drive adapted cars, Nicolelis said. Some patients even got a job for the first time.

Patients ages ranged from 26 to 38, and their injuries were as recent as three years to as old as 13 years.

The consensus was that you could not improve, Nicolelis said. This may change the philosophy toward patients with so-called clinically complete lesions.

In their ongoing, post-study training, participants are not walking autonomously but rather in the robotic devices. Some patients can move the exoskeleton legs independently, meaning they are able to maintain or increase their muscle mass.

We hope this is something they can do for life, in terms of improving quality of the muscles, bones and joints, because these all decay because of the [spinal] lesions, Nicolelis said.

The effect of tactile feedback

At the end of the study period, in December 2014, half of the patients were reclassified from complete paraplegia to partial paraplegia. In June, all remaining patients were reclassified. Because the last patient changed categories in May, researchers pointed out that clinicians doing similar work in the future should work as long as they can with patients.

All lesions are different, so the timing for everyone is different, Nicolelis said.

Before the study ended, one patient moved and dropped out. The abilities he gained during training have since declined, Nicolelis said.

Virtual reality has been studied for paralysis, but only with the visual element, not the haptic feedback of feeling the ground, the leg flexing or extending, and touching the heel which is the key to their success, as it reinforces the internal concept of walking learned during childhood, researchers said.

That was a very important component for this recovery because the brain is basically working now like it used to in the past when the patient was able to walk, Nicolelis said. The combination of the brain connection, plus feedback, plus the walking, all these three factors may contribute to [progress].

With a spinal lesion, its as though the brain starts forgetting this information, which is why, to reinsert the concept of walking, the body needs a very realistic environment that involves these sensations, he added. Patients werent allowed to use personal technology like cellphones so they could maintain focus during therapy, and the concentration made them feel like they were really working out again, they reported.

Walking in the ZeroG and Lokomat stimulates the patients nerves, reactivating messaging between their brains and that of their muscles, ligaments and joints.

This may be the difference that allowed us to observe this clinical recovery that nobody has seen with a more passive approach, Nicolelis said. It seems you need to engage the brain actively to trigger this kind of recovery.

Were going to keep going

Researchers previous work found that, in an individual can be completely paralyzed from a clinical standpoint, 2 to 10 percent of the nerves may survive the original spinal cord trauma. In the new study, they observed that training could trigger nerve recovery enough to carry messages from the brain to the spinal cord, and from the spinal cord to the brain, on only a few surviving fibers.

They arent sure how long progress may persist, or if or when it may plateau.

Basically, were going to keep going as long as we can to see how far we can take [it], Nicolelis said. Participants now undergo training twice a week for about an hour.

While the patients were young, researchers did not think age affected the success of the technology. More important, they believe, is that they find patients for their next study group who suffered spinal cord injuries more recently, rather than a decade out.

Next, researchers participating in the Walk Again Project want to disseminate their training protocol to make their findings accessible to other research institutions. They hope other scientists will replicate the results.

It gives hope that when scientists from different countries, domains and disciplines get together to achieve a goal and our goal was very humble, just to get patients moving we never imagined wed get to this, Nicolelis said. When you get this collaboration on an international level, you can really achieve very, very important things from a humanitarian point of view.
With news of the first cases of mosquito-transmitted Zika virus in the continental U.S., many pregnant women are wondering how they can protect themselves.

We recently received this question from a concerned viewer:

Dear Dr. Manny,

I'm 13 weeks pregnant. Now that Zika is here in America, what should I do to reduce my risk of getting it?

Thanks,

Jamie

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests avoiding travel to affected areas like Florida. Infected mosquitoes spread the Zika virus, but it can also be transmitted through sex, so your partner should take certain precautions as well.

Symptoms of the virus last for several days and may include:

Rash

Fever

Joint or muscle pain

Red eyes

Headache

Only one in five people will actually have these symptoms, so the CDC is advising doctors to assess their pregnant patients exposure risk at each prenatal visit.

Remember, mosquitoes that spread Zika bite mostly during the day time, but they can be around at night, too.

Even if you live in an affected area, there are things you can do to protect yourself and your baby, like wearing long sleeved shirts and pants. Try to stay in air conditioned places with window screens and avoid or remove any standing water around your home. Use bug repellent that is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). If you suspect your partner may have been exposed to the virus, be sure to use condoms or abstain from sex altogether.

Always check in with your doctor if you think you may have been exposed to the Zika virus.

Do you have a health question? Tweet it to @DrMannyonFox.
When former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was asked last week if she has misled the American people on the issue of her failure to safeguard state secrets contained in her emails, she told my Fox News colleague, Chris Wallace, that the FBI had exonerated her. When pressed by Wallace, she argued that FBI Director James Comey said that her answers to the American people were truthful.

After Clinton recognized that even her strongest supporters doubted her statement, she attempted to walk it back. In doing so, she repeatedly lied again, but offered as an excuse a bizarre claim that she had short-circuited her answer.

Who knows what that means? She claimed that she and Wallace were talking over each other and her answer had been misunderstood and misconstrued. Yet, Clinton said that Comey exonerated her as being truthful to the public when in fact he stated that she had been truthful during her three-hour, closed-door, unrecorded interview with the FBI.

Clinton told a group of largely pro-Clinton journalists that she had short-circuited her remarks. Then, she acknowledged that Comey had only referred to whatever she told the FBI as being truthful. Then, she lied again, by insisting that she told the FBI the same things she has told the press and the public since this scandal erupted in March 2015.

But that cannot be so, because she has issued a litany of lies to the press and to the public, which the FBI would have caught. In her so-called clarifying remarks, she again told journalists her oft-stated lie about returning all work-related emails to the State Department. She could not have told that to the FBI because Director Comey revealed in July that the FBI found thousands of unreturned work-related emails on her servers, some of which she attempted to destroy.

On the state secrets issue, she has told the public countless times that she never sent or received anything marked classified. She could not have said that to the FBI, because even a novice FBI agent would have recognized such a statement as a trick answer. Nothing is marked classified. The markings used by the federal government are confidential or secret or top secret. When Director Comey announced last month that the FBI was recommending against indictment, he revealed nevertheless that his agents found 110 emails in 52 email threads containing materials that were confidential, secret or top secret.

The agents also found seven email chains on her servers that were select access privilege, or SAP. SAP emails cannot be received, opened or sent without knowing what they are, as a special alphanumeric code, one that changes continually, must be requested and employed in order to do so. SAP is so secret that the FBI agents investigating Clinton lacked access to the code.

Could Clinton have legally received, opened, stored or sent a secret or top secret email without knowing it, as she has claimed? In a word: NO.

Thats because, on her first day in office, Clinton swore under oath that she recognized her legal obligation to recognize state secrets and treat them according to law -- that is, to keep them in a secure government venue -- whether they are marked as secrets or not.

This past weekend, we learned how deadly the consequences of Clintons failure to secure secrets can be.

Last Sunday, Iran executed a scientist who sold Iranian nuclear secrets to the U.S. The secrets were eventually passed on to Secretary of State John Kerry for his use during the negotiations that led to the recent U.S.-Iran nuclear accord. But the sale of the secrets and the U.S.s payments for them (several million dollars) were consummated under then-Secretary Clintons watch. The scientist was lured back to Iran, fearing harm to his family. Upon his return, he was arrested, tried and convicted of treason.

One email sent to Clinton, from Richard Morningstar, a former State Department special envoy for Eurasian energy, referred to this scientist as our friend. The fact that Clintons aides referenced this spying scientist as our friend shows a conscious awareness of their duty to hide and secure state secrets -- his name and what he had done for the U.S. Yet, at the same time, Clinton put these state secrets at risk by having them sent to her via her non-secure home servers. This our friend email was a top-secret email, which Clinton failed to keep secure. It was either one of the 110 that the FBI found on her servers or one of the work-related emails she did surrender.

Could this email have been used as evidence in the treason trial of the now-executed scientist?

That is not an academic question. Most of the intelligence community seriously mistrusts Clinton, as her recklessness has jeopardized their work. Some feared that many of their undercover colleagues were compromised or even killed due to Clintons emails.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has established a clear and unambiguous record of deception. Her deceptions are not about the time of day or the day of the week; they are about matters material to her former job as Secretary of State and material to national security.

Do you know any rational person who continues to trust her?


New Hampshire is accustomed to playing a big role in the presidential primaries  but this year, the state has one of the tightest and most-closely watched Senate races as well.

Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte is battling a challenge from Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, and polls show the candidates  both with strong name recognition  in a virtual dead heat.

The latest RealClearPolitics polling average has Hassan just 1 point ahead of Ayotte.

New Hampshire is, again, at the front-line of politics  and not only with the presidential primaries, but this will come down to just a razor-edge margin, Director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics Neil Levesque told Fox News.

The race is one of several being closely watched as Democrats fight to wrest control of the chamber from Republicans. Part of the reason the contest is so close may be New Hampshires strong independent streak -- but also the fact that the race features a sitting senator and governor, both popular with voters.

New Hampshire Democrats outnumber Republicans, but Ayotte, a first-term senator, is working to show bipartisanship on issues like gun control and veterans care. Shes also stood out as a tough voice on national security, especially when it comes to her criticism of plans to shutter the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

But Democrats have criticized her for opposing hearings on Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.

Hassan, meanwhile, casts herself as a champion for protecting Social Security and Medicare and has highlighted the importance of combatting the states opioid and heroin epidemic.

These are not political amateurs, Levesque said. Both the governor and Senator Ayotte are very in tune with the appetite of the electorate, and Senator Ayotte may have met enough people and shaken enough hands over the years to really make a difference in her campaign.

No matter how it shakes out, Levesque predicted the states other senator, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, can easily work with either the incumbent or her challenger.

But right now, Shaheen is backing fellow Democrat Hassan.

Maggie Hassan isnt afraid to stand up to Donald Trump, Shaheen told Fox News. Shes got a record of standing and fighting for whats right.

The political future of both candidates may be tied in part to the presidential race. Both Ayotte and Hassan received endorsements from their partys respective presidential nomineeswhich has the potential to help, or to hurt, their campaigns.

Trump endorsed Ayotte on Aug. 5, after initially holding back his endorsement for her and other prominent lawmakers including House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Ayotte told Fox News she will not reciprocate his endorsement, but she will vote for the businessman in November.

Ive said clearly Im going to be voting for him. Im not endorsing him, Ayotte told Fox News. I have disagreements with him that Ive been quite vocal about and Ill continue to do that.

On the other side of the aisle, Hassan has received an endorsement from Hillary Clinton, and she has returned the support.

I support Hillary Clinton because she and I have been working for the same thing, Hassan told Fox News. Expanding middle class opportunities, helping small businesses, and keeping our country safe.

Both Ayotte and Hassan have consistently high favorability ratings, and are widely liked throughout the Granite State. According to Levesque, one thing is for sure: No matter what happens in November, New Hampshire is going to lose one great elected official.

Fox News Rick Leventhal contributed to this report.
Television news has long used graphics at the bottom of the screen to identify the people and places in their stories  but with the 2016 presidential race, two networks lately have been injecting analysis into them during their news reporting.



It started in June when Donald Trump denied having said Japan should have nuclear weapons. CNN inserted this snarky line in their chyron:

TRUMP: I NEVER SAID JAPAN SHOULD HAVE NUKES (HE DID)

Last week, when Eric Trump claimed his father had apologized to the Khan family over remarks he made about them after they spoke at the Democratic National Convention, CNN went with:

TRUMPS SON: FATHER APOLOGIZED TO KHANS (HE HASNT)

Last week, MSNBC followed its cable rival in having fun with parentheses.

When Trump claimed he had seen video of $400 million being sent to Iran by the Obama administration around the time they were releasing American hostages, MSNBC put out:

TRUMP SAYS HE WATCHED (NONEXISTENT) VIDEO OF IRAN RECEIVING CASH

On Thursday, after Trump described Obama and Hillary Clinton as founder and co-founders of ISIS -- similar to remarks President Obama made in 2015, when he laid the rise of ISIS at the feet of President Bush -- CNN wrote on its graphic:

TRUMP CALLS OBAMA FOUNDER OF ISIS (HE'S NOT)

OH CNN, YOU SO SNARKY pic.twitter.com/j6V5FbZLcZ  David Rutz (@DavidRutz) August 11, 2016

While fact-checking may or may not be a legitimate new use of the chyron, what is noticeable is a distinct absence of chyron fact-checking for various claims made by Clinton.

For instance, Clinton recently told Fox News' Chris Wallace that FBI Director James Comey had called her answers about her private email use as secretary of state truthful  he did not make such a sweeping statement.

Last month, she claimed GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence had slashed education spending as governor of Indiana  he had not. For this howler, Clinton received a "false" from Politifact.

The CNN and MSNBC chyrons, however, did not deploy their parentheses for those statements.

Outlets like Mediaite and The Daily Caller have also raised questions about a double-standard with the chyrons.
The Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday rejected calls to relax a nearly five decade-classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug on par with heroin and ecstasy, dealing a blow to pro-legalization advocates and the budding pot industry.

The DEA, in making its long-awaited announcement, said the decision to keep marijuana as a "Schedule 1" narcotic is tethered to the science.

Right now, the science doesnt support [the reclassification], Chuck Rosenberg, acting DEA administrator, said.

In a separate interview with National Public Radio, Rosenberg said the decision isnt based on danger but rather on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine. And its not.

The governments decision was announced in the Federal Register. Despite the punt on pot, the DEA did agree to open the door to more medical research on cannabis and its effects.

Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. That puts it in the same category as ecstasy and gamma-hydroxybutyrate, known commonly as the date rape drug.

The decision to keep that classification continues the widening disconnect between state and federal policy.

Twenty-five states have taken matters into their own hands -- sanctioning some form of the plant for medical purposes.

Colorado, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and the District of Columbia have taken it a step further, legalizing its recreational use. And in November, a handful of other states including California, Nevada, Arizona, Massachusetts and Maine, will have recreational or medical marijuana proposals on their ballots.

California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher condemned the DEAs decision, saying it shows the disconnect between the Obama administration and the common sense of the American people.

The governments continued allocation of resources and controls with the intent of trying to prevent the adult use of marijuana has been counterproductive and an indefensible limitation of peoples right to control their own lives, Rohrabacher said in a written statement. The Obama administration has had the chance to correct a foolish and counterproductive policy. Now its up to the Congress and the next administration.

Rohrabacher co-sponsored legislation with Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., that prohibits the Justice Department from using funds to prosecute medical marijuana cases in states where its legal.

The federal government has rejected multiple appeals in the past to reclassify marijuana, arguing that its negatives outweigh potential benefits.

Its outrageous that federal policy has blocked science or so long, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said in a written statement following Thursdays announcement.

The DEA did indicate it would allow researchers and drug companies to use marijuana grown in other places. Currently, its cultivated only at a facility at the University of Mississippi. Increasing the supply and the variety of marijuana made available for scientists seeking to study particular strains of the drug was widely seen as a consolation prize.

While Blumenauer praised the promise of more marijuana research, he maintained the governments decision doesnt go far enough and that the DEA doesnt get it.

Keeping marijuana at Schedule I continues an outdated, failed approach  leaving patients and marijuana businesses trapped between state and federal laws, he said. This decision does not address other key concerns like the need for banking services and tax equity for small businesses, operating legally in half the states. Its not right or fair.

Some medical professionals like Carl L. Hart, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, say changing marijuanas classification to a Schedule II drug would have represented a major step toward resolving the hypocritical mess that characterizes our current laws on marijuana.

Hart, who has studied the drug for decades and has had to jump through numerous regulatory and bureaucratic hoops, says the DEAs punt strips credibility from scientists and researchers who study the drug for medical purposes.

Its time we lessened the outside influence of a law enforcement agency on medical decisions and started to rebuild our credibility as scientists on the marijuana issue, he wrote in Scientific American.

Stuart Titus, CEO of Medical Marijuana, Inc., told FoxNews.com that while Thursdays DEA decision is a step in the wrong direction, he is optimistic that in the future there will be a change of mind and a change of attitude.
Dozens of Republicans  including ex-lawmakers and former party staffers  have signed a letter urging Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to suspend funding for Donald Trumps campaign and divert all resources to congressional races, in the latest rebuke of the nominee from inside the party.

The letter, which is in draft form and expected to be sent next week, urges Priebus to focus RNC resources on saving the Republican majority in the House and Senate  effectively casting Trumps campaign as a lost cause dragging congressional candidates down.

Given the catastrophic impact that Donald Trumps losing presidential campaign will have on down-ballot Senate and House races, we urge you to immediately suspend all discretionary RNC support for Trump and focus the entirety of the RNCs available resources on preserving the GOPs congressional majorities, the letter says.

The letter, obtained by Fox News, cites a litany of complaints ranging from his controversial comments on the trail to his suggestion he might balk on NATO treaty obligations to his refusal to release his tax returns.

To date, however, Priebus has stuck by his public support for the nominee. He delivered a full-throated endorsement at last months Republican National Convention, where he declared: With Donald Trump and Mike Pence, America is ready for a comeback after almost a decade of Clinton-Obama failures.

The letter, signed by over 70 Republicans and first reported by Politico, is just the latest flare-up from Trumps detractors inside the party.

Fifty former security and diplomatic officials from Republican administrations signed a letter earlier this week opposing Trump, while other prominent Republicans have either come out against him or gone a step further and endorsed Hillary Clinton. One of those figures was former Connecticut Rep. Chris Shays, who also signed the forthcoming letter.

Other co-signers include former New Hampshire Sen. Gordon Humphrey; former Missouri Rep. Tom Coleman; former RNC communications director B. Jay Cooper; and former RNC chief digital strategist Mindy Finn.

Trump has brushed off the intra-party tensions. After the security-official letter went public, he said those officials are the ones the American people should look to for answers on why the world is a mess, and we thank them for coming forward so everyone in the country knows who deserves the blame for making the world such a dangerous place.

Fox News Nick Kalman contributed to this report.
Intelligence reports produced by U.S. Central Command that tracked the Islamic States 2014-15 rise in Iraq and Syria were skewed to present a rosier picture of the situation on the ground, according to a bombshell report released Thursday by a House Republican task force.

The task force investigated a Defense Department whistleblower's allegations that higher-ups manipulated analysts findings to make the campaign against ISIS appear more successful to the American public.

The report concluded that intelligence reports from Central Command were, in fact, inconsistent with the judgments of many senior, career analysts.

Further, the report found, these products also consistently described U.S. actions in a more positive light than other assessments from the [intelligence community] and were typically more optimistic than actual events warranted.

Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., who was involved in the House report, said Thursday the data was clearly manipulated.

They wanted to tell a story that ISIS was the JV, that we had Al Qaeda on the run, he told Fox News. This is incredibly dangerous. We havent seen this kind of manipulation of intelligence  in an awfully long time.

It is unclear how high up the reports in question went, though the task force found many Central Command press releases, statements and testimonies were significantly more positive than actual events as well.

The joint task force report blamed structural and management changes at the CENTCOM Intelligence Directorate starting in mid-2014 for the intelligence products. Surveys provided to the task force, according to the report, showed 40 percent of analysts later claimed they had experienced an attempt to distort or suppress intelligence.

The report also said senior leaders relied on details from coalition forces rather than more objective and documented intelligence reporting, using this as a rationale to change reports  sometimes in a more optimistic direction.

The Defense Department inspector general is now taking a close look at the findings  and looking for more possible whistle-blowers. The joint task force described its assessment released Thursday as an "initial report" and continues to investigate.

"The facts on the ground didn't match what the intelligence was saying out of the United States Central Command," Pompeo said.

The Pentagon did not comment in depth on the report, citing the ongoing IG investigation.

However, spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Patrick L. Evans said the intelligence community assessments are based on multifaceted data related to the current security environment.

Experts sometimes disagree on the interpretation of complex data, and the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense welcome healthy dialogue on these vital national security topics, he said in a statement.

When the allegations initially surfaced last year, the White House insisted no one in the administration pressured anyone, and suggested blame may rest with the military.

Fox News Kevin Corke, Catherine Herridge and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
Marble Springs State Historic Site will host a weekend of Living History in celebration of the life and times of the first governor of Tennessee, John Sevier, in commemoration of his 271st birthday.



John Sevier Days Living History Weekend will take place Saturday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 18, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

"You can expect to enjoy 18th century demonstrations such as open-hearth cooking, spinning and weaving, blacksmithing, weapons demonstrations that will showcase period-appropriate firearms, 18th century style militia drills, regional craft demonstrations, historic lecture, hands on archaeology activities, and more. Food, drinks, and special treats will be available. Details are subject to change.

"Please join us with your family and friends and enjoy this early autumn event to kick off a memorable fall season at Marble Springs," officials said.



Admission for Sevier Days is $5 per adult (16 and over); $3 per child (ages seven-15); children six and under free. Parking is free. All proceeds benefit the mission of preservation and education of the Marble Springs State Historic Site.



For more information call 865-573-5508 or email infor@marblesprings.net.



All activities will take place at the Marble Springs State Historic Site, 1220 West Governor John Sevier Hwy. in Knoxville.
For years, Nevada taxpayers have spent millions subsidizing homeowners who install rooftop solar panels  but thats about to end.

In a controversial decision, the state is phasing out that subsidy over the next 12 years, a move being met with protests, lawsuits and even a failed bid to put the issue before voters. Last week, Nevada's Supreme Court ruled that a referendum from solar activists challenging the decision would not be allowed on the November ballot.

The changes and challenges are now being watched carefully by other states and the solar industry as a whole  as it could signal a shift away from government support for solar energy.

Until now, Nevada homeowners subsidized roughly 17,000 customers with solar panels, to the tune of about $16 million every year. This was done under a program known as net-metering, which reimbursed residential energy customers for excess power generated by their rooftop panels.

Paul Thomsen, chairman of Nevada's Public Utility Commission, said the perk was unfair, because it meant homeowners who didn't have solar panels were subsidizing those who did.

"As the rooftop solar industry has gotten larger and larger, we've seen this subsidy grow," Thomsen said. "What started as a legislative policy to kickstart the industry, now 18 years later, it's time for that industry to stand on its own two feet."

But customers are blasting the state's decision to phase out net-metering, as well as a decision to raise monthly fixed fees for solar customers, from $12.75 to $38.51.

"The PUC and Governor Brian Sandoval have backstabbed us, and have gone against the little person," Nevada solar customer Eric Heine said.

Many homeowners say without that perk, they wouldn't have shelled out thousands of dollars to go solar, and blame the Nevada Public Utility Commission for what they call a "bait and switch."

Activists are fighting the new policy in the courts, a legal battle other sunny states like Arizona and California are watching closely.

Meanwhile, many solar companies are down-sizing -- and several, including Solar City, have stopped doing business in the state, eliminating 550 jobs.

Solar activists say they're hopeful that customers who went solar before the PUC decision will be able to keep the rates they signed up for. A task force created by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval has recommended the rates be grandfathered in for customers who submitted applications before 2016, and continue for 20 years.

That recommendation is expected to go before the Nevada state legislature early next year.
Perhaps the best thing that happened to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., this week is that he won his primary.

And, perhaps the worst thing that happened to him this week is that he won his primary.

Ryans GOP challenger Paul Nehlen didnt convert the speaker into the second coming of former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. In the end, Ryan barely broke a sweat dispatching the neophyte Nehlen. But despite all of the press surrounding the primary, its likely that Ryans trouncing of Nehlen will emerge as the speakers easiest task of the next few months.

The speaker must next navigate a complex, political minefield  clearing hurdles which are both political and legislative. All speakers face significant tests during their tenures. Many of Ryans were delayed thanks to the so-called barn cleaning engineered last year by President Obama and then-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. The premise behind the spending/debt limit pact was to grant Boehners successor as wide a berth as possible heading into winter. Well, the barn cleaning was last winter. And as anyone who has ever worked around livestock can attest, barns dont stay clean for very long.

On its face, it may look like Ryan weathered the storm by whipping Nehlen at the polls Tuesday. But Ryan reluctantly accepted the speakership after Boehners abrupt departure simply because there wasnt an obvious, viable candidate who could secure the backing of most House Republicans. That internecine fighting still rages today. Thats why one might rhetorically wonder if Ryan would have been better off had Nehlen laid him low Tuesday.

First, the speaker still stands by Donald Trump after the Republican presidential nominee suggested some Second Amendment backers take matters into their own hands should voters elect Hillary Clinton.

On multiple occasions, Ryan publicly upbraided Trump for his divisive comments about Muslims and immigration litmus tests based on faith. Ryan again took Trump to task after the nominee scrapped the Khan family, following the death of their son on the battlefield. What will Ryan do now, if anything?

This could evolve into a battle on several fronts.

First, Republicans are running away from Trump faster than Usain Bolt sprinting in a Rio qualifying heat. Is it in Ryans interest to continue to support Trump? Will Ryan have to issue another admonition? And just how many more times can the speaker disavow the remarks of Trump before this exercise seems a little hollow? In fact, those repudiations may well have crossed that line a long time ago.

Democrats are apoplectic about Trumps Second Amendment refrain. Keep in mind what Democrats were up in arms about in June and just before the summer recess: guns. What if Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and others orchestrate additional guerilla-style protests on guns when Congress reconvenes in September? Can Ryan speak to those tactics with any degree of credibility without distancing himself from Trump after the firearm brouhaha?

This is to say nothing of the particular peril the GOP may encounter at the polls this November. Ryan and other Republicans now own Trump. Not a good place to be if Clinton shellacks Trump come fall. And thats to say nothing of inoculating rank-and-file Republicans from defeat as the GOP tries to maintain its 59-seat House majority. Its still hard to see a clear pathway where Democrats can capture 30 seats. But with Trump faltering, that roadway could widen soon.

Last week, GOP challenger Roger Marshall defeated House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., in a primary. Huelskamp feuded openly with Boehner a few years ago. That spat culminated in the speaker stripping the Kansas Republican of his assignment on the House Agriculture Committee. Ryans generally scored favorable reviews from the Freedom Caucus, which helped depose Boehner last year. However, Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, laid some of the responsibility of Huelskamp s defeat at the feet of Ryan and the GOP leadership. House Republican leaders deny this. But it doesnt help matters when the Freedom Caucus is uneasy with the leadership. Boehner can regale you with stories about that.

When Congress returns to session, lawmakers will have to grapple with some sort of plan to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1. Conservatives and members of the Freedom Caucus would prefer if both bodies of Congress approve a package which runs until early next year, avoiding any shenanigans which could evolve in a lame-duck session after the election. Its believed the House and Senate would aim to approve a stopgap bill funding the entire government to avoid a shutdown through sometime in December. Depending on the outcome of the election, the House and Senate could then approve another measure to fund the government through February or March of next year.

Regardless, Ryan will need Democratic votes to approve such a plan. Republicans openly groused about Boehner repeatedly turning to Democrats to help approve big spending plans. Its unclear how this round will unfold  especially since Ryan could never get his own Republican members together to approve a budget.

Finally, there is Zika. Senate Democrats filibustered a Zika funding package earlier this summer. The House approved the plan in June. But Democrats dont like the topline spending number in the bill, nor provisions which deal with Planned Parenthood. Democrats contend Republicans are to blame for not playing ball with them on the Zika package. Republican blame Democrats. Regardless, this is an impasse.

Granted the speaker of the House always faces a host of challenges like these. Boehner certainly did. So did House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when she wielded the gavel.

Paul Ryan manhandled Paul Nehlen in the Wisconsin primary the other night. For Ryan, that may be a good thing  or a bad thing.

Capitol Attitude is a weekly column written by members of the Fox News Capitol Hill team. Their articles take you inside the halls of Congress, and cover the spectrum of policy issues being introduced, debated and voted on there.
Donald Trump charged President Barack Obama on Wednesday with being the founder of the Islamic State during a campaign rally in Florida.

"In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama," Trump said during a campaign stop in Fort Lauderdale. "He is the founder of ISIS."

Last week, his campaign tried to draw financial links between the Clinton Foundation and the terror group. Wednesday, he called Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton the group's co-founder.

Trump has long accused Obama and Clinton for pursuing Middle East policies that created a power vacuum in Iraq that was exploited by Islamic State. He had criticized Obama for announcing he would yank U.S. troops out of Iraq, which Obama critics believe created the instability in which extremist groups thrive.

The White House had yet to comment on Trumps remarks.

The Islamic State group began as Iraq's local affiliate of Al Qaeda, the group that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. The group carried out massive attacks against Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, fueling tensions with Al Qaedas central leadership. The local group's then-leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in 2006 in a U.S. airstrike but is still seen as the Islamic State group's founder.

The Trump campaign alleged in a statement last week that the Clinton Foundation ties to a corporation funding ISIS.

The campaign detailed financial contributions the Clinton Foundation received from a cement-making company called Lafarge. The same statement cited reporting in French media outlets that the company had entered deals with the Islamic State and other armed groups in Syria to protect its interests there.

More than any major presidential nominee in modern history, Hillary Clinton is tied to brutal theocratic and Islamist regimes. Now we learn she has accepted money from a company linked to ISIS, Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller said in a statement.

Trump brought up the accusation during his rally in Florida to a raucous crowd.

He railed against the fact that the Orlando shooter's father, Seddique Mateen, was spotted in the crowd behind Clinton during a Monday rally in Florida, adding, "Of course he likes Hillary Clinton."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The 2016 presidential rivals set aside their latest campaign controversies Thursday to trade jabs on jobs, taxes and the economy -- with Donald Trump casting Hillary Clinton as bad for the housing industry and the Democratic nominee accusing her opponent of offering "no credible plans" for working Americans.

Clinton also tried to out-tough Trump on trade, vowing to beef up enforcement on trade rules and punish countries that violate them.

"Mr. Trump may talk a big game on trade, but his approach is based on fear, not strength," Clinton said in Michigan. "If Team USA was as fearful as Trump, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles would be cowering in the locker room, afraid to come out to compete."

Trump delivered an economic speech of his own earlier this week in Michigan. On Thursday, he also spoke to the National Association of Home Builders in Miami Beach, Fla., and decried the Obama administrations increase in regulations on building properties.

In the last five years, regulations on building  have increased by 29 percent, he said.

Trump cited his familys history in the industry and regaled the crowd with anecdotes of his father Freds homebuilding exploits. He told the association, though, that the regulation situation would only get worse if Clinton is elected in November.

And I will say this, and I say this to you very strongly, if short-circuit Hillary Clinton ever gets elected, it's only going to be worse. It is going to get worse. It's going to be four more years of Obama but it will be worse because she's mandated to go to the left, because 45 percent of Bernie's people -- they want her to head in that direction, he said.

Clinton, meanwhile, detailed her economic package in a speech in Detroit, calling for the largest investment package since World War II, a "patriotic tax code" that would punish those companies sending jobs abroad, broadband in every home by 2020 and making America a green energy super power.

She also reached out to disenfranchised Republicans by saying a big part of our plan will be unleashing the power of private sector to create more jobs at higher pay.

She cited analysis that found Trumps positions would lose over 3 million jobs, while hers would create over 10 million.

When it comes to creating jobs, I would argue, its not even close, she said, when comparing their two plans. He hasn't offered any credible solutions for the very real economic challenges we face.

She also said she would oppose any trade deals that would send American jobs abroad, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Clinton has opposed the deal in its current form after once calling it a "gold standard" agreement when she was secretary of state. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe hinted last month that she may change her position when elected, although this was denied by the Clinton campaign.

Ill oppose it now, I'll oppose it after the election and I'll oppose it as president, she said, also promising to stand up to China if they try and take advantage of American workers.

Clinton also took a shot at Trump for making certain items, such as suits and ties, in China and Mexico.

One thing he could do to make America great is to make great things in America, she joked.

Trump outlined his economic package in a speech Monday, pledging to cut taxes for businesses and workers, while proposing a three-bracket income tax system more in line with proposals by House Republicans than his previous plan. He also called for greater child care deductions for families.

Economic issues have frequently been pushed to the side amid controversies over remarks made by Trump -- as well as recurring controversies involving Clinton's email scandals and dealing between her State Department and family foundation.

At a Tuesday rally, Trump said there was no way to stop a future-President Hillary Clinton from packing the Supreme Court with anti-Second Amendment justices, although the Second Amendment people, maybe there isI dont know. Some saw the remarks as a joke about Clinton being assassinated, a claim that the Trump campaign has denied.

Trump has also faced more controversy after claiming that President Obama is the founder of ISIS, and Clinton its co-founder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Donald Trump has talked himself into big troubleand this time its not the fault of what he calls the dishonest media.

Even the most generous interpretation of his comments about Hillary Clinton and gun rights activists makes clear that he has again plunged the campaign into a debate over whether he violated the acceptable bounds of political speech.

The press can be awfully quick to make that case. A couple of weeks ago, most major news outlets reported, as if there was no debate, that Trump had invited Russian hackers to find or release Clintons 33,000 deleted emails. It seemed obvious to me he was being sarcastic, but the story line was Trump Invites Americas Adversary to Conduct Espionage Against Opponent.

But the current firestorm is more severe and raging out of control. Trump was telling a rally on Tuesday about how Clinton would essentially abolish the Second Amendment, which overstates her position on gun control. And then, in a clip weve all seen endlessly replayed:

If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know. But Ill tell you what, that will be a horrible day.

It seems apparent that he is talking about Second Amendment people doing something to Clinton once shes in office, since the comments are about the future, when she would be in a position to appoint federal judges.

Trump insists thats not the case, telling Sean Hannity: There can be no other interpretation. Even reporters have told me. I mean, give me a break. But they're dishonest people. And his campaign said in a statement on the "dishonest media" that Trump was talking about the power of unification, meaning that Second Amendment supporters have the clout to stop Clinton from being elected in the first place.

Lets say Trump was imprecise, or misspoke, or whatever. He still handed his detractors a club with which to beat him, this after the Khan controversy and weeks of media questioning whether he is disciplined enough to stay on message.

I dont believe Donald Trump wants to incite violence against Hillary Clinton. But does he bear responsibility for an aside, or a joke, that many people heard that way?

This uproar is going to dominate the next few days, all but drowning out Trumps message (and is drowning out the new controversy over emails showing favor-seeking between the Clinton Foundation and Clintons State Department).

That sometimes worked to Trumps advantage during the primaries. The constant debates over whether he had gone too far turned one-day stories into five-day furors, allowing him to drive the campaign dialogue. But now he needs to expand his base beyond his GOP loyalists.

MSNBCs Joe Scarborough went nuclear on Trump, calling for the Secret Service to interview him and for Republican Party to drop its nominee:

A bloody line has been crossed that cannot be ignored. At long last, Donald Trump has left the Republican Party few options but to act decisively and get this political train wreck off the tracks before something terrible happens, Scarborough wrote in his Washington Post column.

Trump, who has boycotted the show since May, tweeted: Morning Joe's weakness is its low ratings. I don't watch anymore but I heard he went wild against Rudy Giuliani and #2A - sad & irrelevant!

Heres how the New York Times handled the story:

Donald J. Trump on Tuesday appeared to raise the possibility that gun rights supporters could take matters into their own hands if Hillary Clinton is elected president and appoints judges who favor stricter gun control measures

Oblique as it was, Mr. Trumps remark quickly elicited a wave of condemnation from Democrats, gun control advocates and others, who accused him of suggesting violence against Mrs. Clinton or liberal jurists.

And the Los Angeles Times:

Donald Trump is stuck in a destructive loop of his own making, his words increasingly at odds with his needs as the presidential campaign moves into its final phase.

His latest self-generated controversy represented, at best, another day on defense, another day explaining what he meant, another day in which Trump, himself, overrode whatever message might have cut into the advantages held by Hillary Clinton, the unpopular Democrat who has the great good luck to have him as an opponent.

Theres another line of liberal criticism, from Slate:

Peeking out from behind these words is an unintentional truth: that for all the noises Trump has made throughout this campaign about the sanctity of the Second Amendment, he actually believes that gun enthusiasts are crazy. That is the subtext of the phrase Second Amendment peoplea construction that is used to delineate a group of people who are in some way ridiculous and dont deserve to be taken seriously.

This is vaguely reminiscent of the controversy that Clinton generated when she was trying to justify staying in the race, while losing to Barack Obama, in the spring of 2008. "We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California," she said. There was a media frenzy then too, and Clinton quickly apologized.

At some point the current controversy will burn itself out. But the media focus right now seems to be Trump vs. Trump, not Trump vs. Clinton, and that is bad news for the billionaire candidate.
DENVER  Humans aren't the only species whose members speak to their babies in the womb. Dolphin mamas appear to sing their own name to their unborn calves.

New research suggests that dolphin mothers teach their babies a "signature whistle" right before birth and in the two weeks after. Signature whistles are sounds that are made by individual dolphins, which the animals use to identify one another. Calves eventually develop their own signature whistle, but in the first few weeks of life, mothers seem focused on teaching their offspring their signature sound, the scientists said.

"It's been hypothesized that this is part of an imprinting process," Audra Ames, a doctoral student at the University of Southern Mississippi, said last week at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. [Deep Divers: A Dolphin Gallery]

Dolphin chatter

Earlier studies had shown that mother dolphins start whistling their signature whistle much more in the days before birth, and then in the calf's first two weeks of life, Ames told Live Science. There are multiple theories about why, including that perhaps moms are trying to get babies to develop their own signature sound.

But no one had studied signature-whistle rates not only before and after birth, but also in the same dolphin mother, Ames said. She and her colleagues had the opportunity to do that in late 2012 and early 2014, when a baby dolphin named Mira was born to a 9-year-old mother at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.

The researchers captured a total of 80 hours of recordings from the two months before and the two months after the dolphin's birth. They recorded the mom and the calf as well as the five dolphins housed with them. It was important to capture the noises of the mother's peers to understand whether the communication was exclusive to the mother-baby pair, Ames said.

Learning mom's name

The recordings showed that the increased signature-whistle production was, in fact, the purview of the mother dolphin. She began increasing her signature whistle two weeks before the birth, possibly starting the learning process while her calf was still in utero.

A seemingly related phenomenon has been observed during human pregnancies, according to Ames. "We actually do see that human babies develop a preference for their mother's voice in the last trimester," she said. "We don't know if that's something that's going on here, but it could be something similar." [Photos: World's Cutest Baby Wild Animals]

The mother dolphin also produced her signature whistle at high rates until two weeks after the calf's birth, after which she tapered off. Interestingly, Ames said, the other dolphins in the group didn't produce their own signature whistle at very high rates during the first two weeks of the calf's life. But after mama stopped the repetitions of her own whistle, the other members of the group started producing their own whistle at higher rates.

"What the other dolphins might be doing here is remaining quiet so the calf does not imprint on the wrong signature whistle," Ames said.

Baby dolphins don't usually develop their own signature whistle until they're around the age of 2 months, with much variation in timing, Ames said. The baby's whistle tends not to be similar to the mother's or to the other dolphins in the group.

"You don't want to have a signature sound that is going to be similar to someone else you're around quite often," Ames said.

Ames and her colleagues are now studying other sounds in the mother-calf repertoire of communication, and they're studying other marine mammals such as beluga whales as well as dolphins.

Original article on Live Science. Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This story has been updated with additional information on the items up for auction.

A painting taken from the wall of Adolf Hitlers headquarters in the Bavarian Alps by a U.S. soldier is up for auction in the U.K. later this month.



The oil painting by Ernst Friedrich was recovered from Hitlers Berghof residence in May 1945 by Sgt. Herson Whitley of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. He obtained it by taking it off a wall in Hitlers [sic] retreat in Berchtesgaden at the end of the war, explained Whitleys daughter, in a letter that accompanies the painting. Note there is a crack along the upper corner which my father said occurred during shipping it home from Europe.

Measuring 18 inches by 13 inches, the artwork depicts Wawel castle and cathedral in Krakow, Poland. The painting, which has a pre-sale estimate of $7,777 to $12,962, will be auctioned by Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, U.K., on Aug. 20.

Whitley was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and the French Croix de Guerre for his wartime service.

In addition to the letter from Whitleys daughter, the provenance package accompanying the picture includes the soldiers medals, Dog Tags, patches and letters from his time serving in Europe.

The painting and other artifacts in the lot are being sold by a collector who purchased them from Whitley's family.



To be offering a piece of World War Two history of this calibre that hung in the residence of Adolf Hitler that was recovered by a decorated war hero with such superb provenance represents a rare opportunity for a collector, auctioneer Andrew Aldridge of Henry Aldridge and Son, told FoxNews.com.

It is not clear how the painting came into Hitler's possession.

The auction house notes that Krakow was the administrative center of Nazi-occupied Poland. Hans Frank, Hitlers lawyer and friend, was Governor General of Occupied Poland and lived at the Wawel castle. Frank was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials and executed.

Other artworks recovered from the Nazis during World War II have sparked controversy recently. Earlier this year research alleged that when artworks rescued by the famous Monuments Men were returned to the Bavarian state after the war, they were sold, including to some Nazi families, instead of being returned to the original Jewish owners.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Astronomers are predicting that this years Perseid meteor shower should be a dramatic one.

That means that stargazers away from bright city lights should head outdoors Thursday night and very early Friday morning to recline and catch a glimpse of natural fireworks that could feature as many as 200 shooting stars each hour, according to NASA. The show is supposed to really kick off after midnight Friday morning.

The night spanning Friday, August 12 into Saturday, August 13, is also a good time to catch them, NASA says.

Want to see some shooting stars?" Youre in luck! The Perseid meteor shower peaks Aug 11-12 https://t.co/n7qW0JNeR9 pic.twitter.com/fn4jgQnpmw  NASA (@NASA) August 11, 2016

While the Perseid meteor shower occurs annually in August, this one should be more intense than usual. Scientists describe it as an outburst, the last of which happened in 2009.

Forecasters are predicting a Perseid outburst this year with double normal rates on the night of Aug. 11-12, Bill Cooke, a meteor expert at NASAs Meteoroid Environments Office in Huntsville, Alabama, said in a statement earlier this month. Under perfect conditions, rates could soar to 200 meteors per hour.

The meteors are tiny, but are cruising at 132,000 miles per hour, NASA says. That means they burn up brightly a sizzling 3,000 to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The particles were left behind by a comet called Swift-Tuttle.

This year is expected to have such a bright display because the Earth is traveling through more debris from the comet, according to the space agency. The last time that comet passed proximate to Earth was in 1992, according to the Royal Astronomical Society, which said this year will be a surge in activity for the annual meteor shower.

On Thursday, #PerseidMeteorShower was even trending topic on Twitter.

NASA advises that people who want to catch the shooting star display should allow their eyes 45 minutes to adjust.

Follow Rob Verger on Twitter: @robverger
You could call it shell shock. A rare blue lobster has been hauled up by a man from Massachusetts, and instead of being cooked, it may end up on display in an aquarium.

Wayne Nickerson caught the lobster on Monday, according to the Associated Press, who reported that his wife, Jan Nickerson, has named the crustacean Bleu. Not only that, Nickerson has actually reportedly caught a blue lobster before.

Thats very uncommon. According to the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine, blue lobsters are estimated to occur just one in two million times. Why the blue color? Its caused by a genetic defect, the institute explains, which creates an abundance of a protein that causes the blue hue.

Blue lobsters are rare, but rarer still are lobsters that are bright red (before being cooked), yellow, or even calico, according to the institute.

Jan Nickerson said that the lobster is in a holding tank, and would like to give it to the New England Aquarium in Boston. The aquariums media relations director told the Associated Press that the lobster was just spectacular, and expressed interest in taking in the crustacean, if space permits.

Bleu will hopefully have a better fate than a lobster named Larry. That very large lobster estimated to be 15 pounds was nearly made into a meal at a Florida restaurant, but an animal rescue group and local businesses arranged to have him donated to the Maine State Aquarium in July.

But Larry did not survive the journey from Florida to Maine, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Follow Rob Verger on Twitter: @robverger
In 1912, an ambitious lawyer named Charles Dawson discovered a fossilized skeleton with the skull of a man but the jaws of an ape in a British gravel pit, the Telegraph reports.

For the next three decades, Eoanthropus dawsonibetter known as Piltdown Man, named for the location it was discoveredwas seen as an important step in human evolution, a "missing link" between apes and humans.

In reality, it was "arguably the greatest scientific crime ever committed in Britain," paleoanthropologist Isabelle De Groote writes in Scientific American. In a study published Wednesday in Royal Society Open Science, De Groote and her team believe they've finally solved once and for all who faked Piltdown Man by combining, carving, and dyeing human and orangutan bones.

After new scientific methods proved Piltdown Man was a fake in 1953, blame was placed alternately at the feet of Dawson, a British paleontologist, a priest who helped with the excavation, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmesor some combination thereof, Science reports.

An expert says Conan Doyle's motivation would have been to get revenge on "the scientists who mocked him for expressing a belief in spiritualism." But De Groote's research puts the blame solely on Dawson, who likely worked alone.

She says Piltdown Man shows "evidence of one hand, one maker, one signature." That maker is probably Dawson, who was found to have committed at least 38 forgeries and desperately wanted to be recognized by the scientific community.

(These real-life hobbit fossils are almost certainly not hoaxes.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Study Names Man Behind One of Great Scientific Hoaxes

More From Newser
The U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of fifth-generation fighter jets, the F-35A Lightning II, combat ready earlier in August.

This remarkably advanced and powerful single-seat, single-engine fighter features advanced situational awareness, stealth, speeds of about 1,200 mph and much, much more and its designed to be capable of a range of missions with just one aircraft.

The next-gen jet is designed to strike highly-defended targets anywhere on Earth and provide the U.S. military with an aircraft that can fly into enemy space and attack with precision weapons at long ranges without ever being detected.

The 34th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing, based at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the services first operational F-35A squadron. To reach the Initial Operational Capability milestone, the base needed at least twelve combat-ready jets capable of global deployment for missions involving basic close-air support, air interdiction, and limited suppression and destruction of enemy air defense.

During the final few weeks of testing, I had the chance to visit, spend time with the squadron, and take a close look at the F-35A.

Fighter pilot Captain James Schmidt, of the USAF 388th Fighter Wing, gave me a thorough and detailed overview as we walked around the aircraft.

Stealth and design

What is 5th-generation stealth? The F-35 can go where legacy aircraft cannot.

Lockheed Martins F-35 Lightning II is a 5th-generation stealth fighter developed to safely penetrate areas without enemy radar seeing it an enhanced degree of invisibility that the 4th-generation cannot achieve.

The F-35's advanced stealth capability, called Very Low Observable (VLO) stealth, is achieved through advances that work to dramatically reduce detection by enemy aircraft and defense systems.

So what makes the F-35 so unique and so effective is its stealth capabilities, Schmidt said. And thats just one of the things that makes the F-35 unique.

Stealth was built into this aircraft from the very start. Walking around the aircraft, Schmidt broke down some of the stealth features.

You notice the shape of the aircraft. You notice how the doors have angles, he said. Youll notice the lining of the wings and how the engine is buried in a curved inlet. All of these things. The special radar absorbing material thats put on the jet what we would call RAM all of these things give the jet the ability able to evade modern-day radars.

When people ask us where do we see this jet? I see this 2050 and beyond, Schmidt added. Its the jet that were going to need, the multirole platform to complement the F-22 and B-2 as well as we continue in todays contested environment.

Next-gen situational awareness

There has been a lot of hype surrounding the F-35s state-of-the-art helmet that allows pilots to look down and essentially see through the aircraft to the ground below.

Schmidt explained the fundamentals of the Distributed Aperture System (DAS) and how the aircraft uses cameras and interacts with the helmet to achieve this effect.

There are cameras all over the jet. What this does is it gives me the 360 degree of coverage.where the jet is looking outside for me, he said. The jet takes all these cameras and it stitches them together and then it superimposes that image on the visor of my helmet. As I turn my head to look around, the cameras are looking at that one section of space but its stitching them together so it looks like one seamless picture as I look around the jet.

And it is indeed true that the pilots can see through to the ground.

So I could look down and it would superimpose the picture that camera is taking onto my visor, Schmidt confirmed.

Weapons

The F-35s for each service have been tailored to meet specific needs. The Air Force, for example, required a gun.

So how can the aircraft carry weapons and stay stealthy?

That is the unique thing about the gun or even about the weapons You can see that the weapons bay door are closed, Schmidt said. That allows us to maintain our stealth ability while carrying weapons into combat. So we can carry missiles, we can carry bombs, and its all tucked up in there, and when we need to get the weapon away or we need to prosecute a target, the doors will open, weapon away, doors will close again keeping our stealth abilities.

Cooling fire

F-35s can reach speeds of about 1,200 mph and that requires a very powerful engine. The heat from such an engine would be a signature adversaries would try to identify.

So how can the F-35s maintain stealth?

In addition to the Radar Absorbent Material that they have on the F-35 [there is also] a heat reducing coating or signature reducing coating material on the exhaust or the tailpipe, Schmidt explained. How do you cool down fire? Lockheed Martin found a way to coat this with a special coating that will actually reduce the temperature of the exhaust coming out the back, which helps us fight IR threats or infrared missiles that would launch.

Flying

So what is it like to fly this fifth-generation jet? Schmidt, an experienced pilot, said, Flying and landing this jet is amazing. Its super easy to fly. The engineers and designers of this jet wanted to make sure we could focus on what was really important, which is the tactical aspect.

He explained that the F-35A features advanced autopilot. So if I want, I can say I want to fly at this altitude, and at this airspeed, or I want you to go from this point to this point and then I can take my hands off the controls and the jet will do exactly what I asked it to do.

The F-35A benefits from tech developed for the Navy requirements.

So for landing because of the Navy variant we have this special function called Approach Power Compensator and what it does is when Im ready to land, I get lined up on final, Schmidt revealed. I press a button on the jet and the jet does whatever it needs to trim itself up to a perfect landing attitude so then I just fly the jet down. The jet adds power, it reduces power to change the pitch of the jet. So landing, you flare just a little bit and the jet touches down and its done.

Schmidt described how these kinds of tech advance on the F-35 makes a difference for pilots.

I came from another platform that was a little bit older, he said. For me, it's amazing that theyve built an aircraft that allows me to focus on the tactical aspect and not have to worry about getting to the fight or getting home from the fight. Its just a matter of focusing on whats important.
Google has big plans for its super-fast fiber Internet.

According to an FCC filing published last week, the Web giant plans to test wireless broadband tech in 24 U.S. locations, as was first reported by Business Insider. As the report notes, Google has been moving away from traditional fiber pipes in favor of new wireless-transmission technology on the 3.5-GHz band, which it's currently testing in Kansas City.

Now, the company has even grander plans: The FCC filing indicates that Google wants to test "experimental transmitters" in California, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia for two years.

"We are working to test the viability of a wireless network that relies on newly available spectrum," a Google spokesman told Business Insider. "The project is in early stages today, but we hope this technology can one day help deliver more abundant Internet access to customers."

Google did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment; the Federal Communications Commission declined to comment.

If approved, this program would mark another step toward a cheaper wireless futureone that got a lot closer since Google Fiber acquired gigabit provider Webpass in June. The San Francisco-based ISP uses point-to-point wireless Ethernet as well as fiber to connect business and residential customers to speeds up to 1Gbps.

Google Fiber launched in July 2012 offering 1 gigabit Internet access and TV service in select cities across the country. In the years since, it has expanded access to more areas.

But while folks in Atlanta, Austin, Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas), Nashville, and Provo are already surfing the super-fast Web, users in San Jose will have to wait.

The Mercury News this week reported that Google has halted plans to provide fiber Internet to San Jose, while it explores other (i.e. cheaper) options. Other California towns affected include Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Google's own hometown of Mountain View, the News said.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
Disneyland Paris was unaffected after a suspicious package -- which turned out to be a lost package -- was found at a nearby train station on Wednesday.

Disney confirmed to FoxNews.com Thursday that the theme park was never evacuated due to the package.

The International Business Times and other outlets had reported that the Marne-de-la-Vallee train station, situated close to Disneyland Paris, was evacuated while the package was investigated.

"Marne-la-Vallee station is being shut down as a precaution, a police spokesman told The Sun Wednesday evening.

"Searches are underway following a warning about a suspicious package," he said.

Following Novembers attack in Paris and Julys terrorist attack in Nice, France has been in a state of high alert after multiple warnings from terrorist groups including ISIS and Al Qaeda specifiying Disneyland as a prime target.

In January, a man was arrested after he was caught carrying two handguns, ammunition and a guide to the Koran at a Disneyland Paris hotel. The man was sentenced to six months of house arrest for arms possession.

The continued threat of attack has impacted Frances tourism industry, which saw a 10 percent decline in international visitors last month.

Disneyland Paris reported a nine percent decrease in attendance rates from the same time last year.
The U.S. Air Force is struggling to fill a shortage of 700 fighter pilots by the end of the year, even as the U.S. battles in three air wars against ISIS in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

It is a crisis, said the U.S. Air Forces new top officer, Gen. David Goldfein, aside Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James at the annual State of the Air Force briefing at the Pentagon Wednesday.

Air superiority is not an American birthright," Goldfein said. "Its actually something you have to fight for and maintain.

Fox News first reported the Air Force shortage of 700 pilots after visiting two Air Force bases in May.

Airmen told Fox News, in addition to the pilot shortage, they are 4,000 mechanics short as well.

Shorthanded crews are now forced to scrounge for spare parts in museums and the boneyard, a graveyard of planes in the Arizona desert to fix their planes because the parts are not made anymore.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said Wednesday that she is planning to pay drone pilots a $35,000 a year retention bonus to encourage them to stay in the service.

The $35,000 a year retention bonus would be an increase over $25,000 bonus the service has been allowed to provide, and all drone pilots would be eligible once their service contract is up.

James added that Air Force needs the authority to increase bonuses for all pilots in order to address the shortage.

The Air Force has grappled with pilot retention for some time, particularly as airlines look to hire them, promising higher salaries and benefits.

James said the pilot shortage could grow to 1,000 in a couple years. An Air Force spokesman told Fox News that may be by 2022.

"The airlines are forecast to be hiring a lot more," she said, adding that the Air Force also needs to increase its training of new pilots.

James and Goldfein said they want to improve pilots' quality of life and their military service conditions, including training and housing.

Goldfein said fighter pilots are leaving at a higher rate, and that improving their quality of service as well as beefing up the retention bonus will help address the problem.

Fueling that problem, he said, has been the persistent overseas deployments as the U.S. has been engaged in air wars for more than two decades.

"If we take a balanced approach, we're hoping that we can get these folks to stay," he said.

Goldfein said that so far the pilot shortage isn't affecting air operations over Iraq, Syria and Libya, nut the ongoing deployments continue to affect pilots' decisions on whether to stay in the service.

The Air Force's current fleet of planes is the oldest in history.

Fox News Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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California officials say a hot tub's faulty wiring is to blame for one of the state's most destructive wildfires, a blaze that killed four people and destroyed more than 1,300 homes last year.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection released a detailed report Wednesday into the cause of the 120-square-mile wildfire that devastated a large portion of rural Lake County and parts of Napa County about 90 miles north of San Francisco in September 2015.

Investigators say the hot tub wiring wasn't installed in accordance with building codes.

The Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson told the San Francisco Chronicle (http://tinyurl.com/gkpqu9l ) that he's considering whether to file criminal charges.

The fire was the state's third most destructive and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and businesses.
A man who wanted an "audience" with Donald Trump attempted to scale the all-glass facade of Trump Tower in New York City on Wednesday using large suction cups, prompting a large police response before he was finally pulled inside by authorities.

The climber, later identified by police as a 20-year-old Virginia man, had a backpack and used a harness and rope stirrups to fasten himself to the side of the 58-story Manhattan skyscraper for the nearly 3-hour climb.

The climber reached the 21st floor before he was nabbed by police officers who removed a section of a window from the building in order to reach him.

"I reached out. I took hold of his hand and I said, 'Sir, would you come with me,'" said detective Christopher Williams, who made the grab.

Police officers smashed windows and broke through a ventilation duct on lower portions of the building in an attempt to block his progress.

Officers also lowered themselves towards him using a window washer's platform.

The climber however continued to elude authorities by methodically working his way across the facade and angled corners of the building.

He was speaking with officers through the holes cut in the side of the building, and when when would-be rescuers smashed a window above him, he ducked to avoid big shards of glass that fell.

A day before the ascent, police said the climber posted a video on YouTube entitled, "Message to Mr.Trump (why I climbed your tower)."

"I am an independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter. I guarantee that it's in your interest to honor this request," he said. "Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it. The reason I climbed your tower is to get your attention. If I had sought this via conventional means, I would be much less likely to have success because you are a busy man with many responsibilities."

NYPD Assistant Chief William Aubrey said the man, who was not named by police, told officers the same thing after he was safely inside the building.

"At no time did he express that he wanted to hurt anybody," he said.

Police deployed large, inflated crash pads at the scene but made initial attempts to grab him as he passed nearby.

Witnesses said the man started climbing Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper at about 4 p.m.

The city's emergency notification system sent out an alert that "Due to police activity, expect extensive traffic delays in the area of East 56th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan," Fox 5 reported.

The tower is headquarters to Donald Trump's Republican presidential campaign and his business empire.

Trump also lives there, though he was in Virginia in the afternoon for a campaign event and was headed to Florida for an evening event.

He thanked police for their responce in a tweet, writing "Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the the climber."

"This man performed a ridiculous and dangerous stunt," Michael Cohen, executive Vice President in the Trump Organization, said in a statement. "There's damage to the building and he caused the unnecessary deployment of New York's finest to protect his safety and the safety of everyone in the building. He's caused the shutdown of traffic on Fifth Avenue. I'm 100 percent certain the NYPD had better things to do. If Mr. Trump were here he'd be thanking law enforcement for the job they're doing."

Terraces and other parts of the building are open to the public during the day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from Fox5NY.com.
A University of Houston student who faced a 50-day suspension from her student government post for saying all lives matter on social media will be back at the gig when classes resume.

#ForgetBlackLivesMatter; more like AllLivesMatter, Rohini Sethi, vice president of the universitys student government association, wrote in the wake of the deadly Dallas shooting in which five police officers were killed. The statement set off a firestorm that student government President Shane Smith to hand down the penalty.

Saying 'all lives matter' is deemed offensive to some African-American groups who have adopted the catch phrase 'black lives matter.' The standard has flummoxed many in the national debate, who believe saying that all lives matter is as innocuous as it is true.

Sethi's suspension was lifted after she showed contrition and agreed to take a "leave of absence" from her post until fall classes begin.

I have chosen to take these steps on my own because of the division Ive created among our student body, Sethi said in a joint statement with Smith last week. I may have the right to post what I did, but I still should not have. My words at the time didnt accurately convey my feeling and cause many students to lose their faith in me to advocate for them. I will always continue to learn and be ready to discuss these issues.

Smith said it was never his intention to trample on free speech.

For those who were upset due to what they considered a violation of the first amendment, that was never my intention and I apologize for that impression, Smith said in the statement. For those that are disappointed by the change, this is a compromise based in the reality of the situation. My stance on racial injustice has always been clear. For all involved, this is truly the best outcome.

Sethis comment, and the SGAs decision to issue the suspension, ignited a debate on free speech and controversy among the student body including the Black Student Union, which demanded that she be punished.

For her to say on her social media forget black lives matter, its almost as if to say if all of us were to die tomorrow, she wouldnt care, BSU president Kadidja Kone told the Washington Post at the time.

In addition to the suspension, Sethi was also ordered to attend no fewer than three cultural events each month and write a letter of reflection on her original statement and attend mandatory diversity training.

Sethi originally stood her ground at the time of the controversy.

I disagree with the sanctions taken against me by my SGA because I believe I have done a great deal to better understand the controversy I caused, she wrote on her Facebook page earlier this month.
A former University of Colorado student avoided prison time when a judge sentenced him on a sexual assault conviction, leading critics on Thursday to compare his case with the light sentence for ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner.

Boulder District Judge Patrick Butler sentenced Austin James Wilkerson Wednesday to 20 years to life on probation and two years of work or school release, which requires him to sit in jail only at night, the Daily Camera reported.

Investigators said Wilkerson sexually assaulted a fellow student on March 15, 2014, telling her friends he would care for her after she drank too much at a St. Patricks Day party. The 22-year-old reportedly admitted he digitally and orally penetrated his victim when he wasnt getting much of a response from her.

The crime ranked as a Class 3 felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison, but Butler chose to book Wilkerson into the Boulder County Jail, despite requests from the victim and prosecutors that he serve time in prison.

In Colorado, the charge could have resulted in indeterminate prison sentencing, barring his release until officials deemed him fit, according to the Daily Camera.

The light sentencing of Wilkerson, a former student athlete like Turner, provoked an eruption on social media from people across the country who quickly condemned Butlers decision to forego a harsher punishment.

Turner similarly dodged prison time when Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky sentenced the 20-year-old to six months in county jail and three years probation after the accuser read the court an emotional statement that ultimately went viral.

Turner sexually assaulted the unconscious woman on campus after a party. His punishment also was widely decried as a slap on the wrist, FoxNews.com reported.

We will never make progress on sexual assault if offenders go unpunished, Boulder City Councilman Aaron Brockett tweeted.
The family of a black man fatally shot by a suburban Minneapolis police officer is seeking a federal investigation into his July death, according to a letter provided to The Associated Press on Thursday.

An attorney for Philando Castile's family asked the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an independent investigation, saying the family believes criminal charges should be filed and that Castile was racially profiled. In the letter dated Aug. 2, attorney Glenda Hatchett tells U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch that "we do not believe that local law enforcement authorities will provide a fair and impartial review."

A DOJ spokesman was working Thursday to confirm that the agency received the letter. A spokeswoman for Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger confirmed Thursday that his office had received the letter but declined further comment.

Castile, a 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker, was shot during a traffic stop by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, after Castile informed the officer he had a gun and a permit to carry it. Castile's girlfriend said she and Castile were told they were pulled over for a broken tail light, and that Castile was reaching for his wallet when he was shot.

The gruesome aftermath of the shooting was streamed live on Facebook by Castile's girlfriend. It shows Castile, his shirt soaked with blood, slumped over next to her in the driver's seat.

Yanez's attorney has said Yanez was reacting to the presence of a gun, and that one of the reasons Castile was pulled over was because Yanez thought he looked like "a possible match" for a suspect in a recent armed robbery nearby.

Hatchett wrote that crime scene evidence confirms the car's tail lights were intact and that the family believes Castile was profiled.

"Officer Yanez's excessive use of force and fatal shooting of Mr. Castile was unjustified and warrants criminal prosecution," Hatchett wrote.

The state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating Castile's shooting. Agency spokeswoman Jill Oliveira declined to confirm the detail about the tail lights, saying she couldn't talk about specifics while the investigation is ongoing. The local prosecutor has said he will make a charging decision, with the help of an outside attorney, once the investigation is complete.

Shortly after the July 6 shooting, the Department of Justice said it was monitoring the investigation and would provide assistance as needed. Jeff Van Nest, a local FBI spokesman, said that statement hasn't changed and declined further comment Thursday.

A federal investigation would examine whether Yanez intentionally violated Castile's civil rights, which is a high legal standard because an accident, bad judgment or simple negligence is not enough to bring federal charges. Earlier this year, federal authorities declined to bring charges against two Minnesota officers involved in the November fatal shooting of another black man, Jamar Clark, saying there was not enough evidence.

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Follow Amy Forliti on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amyforliti . More of her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/amy-forliti
Historic paintings that adorned the halls of a Wisconsin university for decades -- until someone took offense at their depiction of Native Americans -- will be seen by appointment only.

The paintings, which critics say show the Native Americans in a subservient role to white settlers, were destined for storage until the latest compromise was reached. University of Wisconsin-Stout President Bob Meyer said the potentially "harmful" art will be kept locked in conference rooms.



"...Their current uncontrolled access pose a risk of having a harmful effect on our students and other viewers," Meyer said in a statement last week on the paintings.



The 80-year-old paintings, which had hung in the hallways of Harvey Hall, depict French fur traders canoeing down the Red Cedar River with American Indians and a French fort. Both were produced by artist Cal Peters in 1936 and were recently restored with money from the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The controversy over the artwork began when the school's Diversity Leadership Team complained the paintings were offensive to Native American students and promoted acts of "domination and oppression.

In response, Meyer first ruled that the artwork be placed in storage but later changed his decision after criticism from First Amendment groups. He has since ordered Perraults Trading Fort taken to the university archives, while the French Trappers on the Red Cedar will be placed inside the dean's conference room in Harvey Hall, the largest academic building on campus.

"It was always my intention that, if at all possible, these paintings remain on campus because of their historical significance -- but under circumstances that provide for controlled access for viewing," Meyer said.

"The public will be able to view the painting in the Deans Conference Room in Harvey Hall by appointment. The University Archives location is open to the public but is overseen by the University Archivist, which also provides for controlled access," he said.

The paintings also will be accompanied by documents that explain their historical significance as well as concerns Native Americans have expressed about them.

"After all, a university needs to encourage a free flow of ideas, even if those ideas make some people uncomfortable, as long as we dont foist those ideas on unaware or unwilling recipients," Meyer said.

First Amendment-rights groups, however, are not pleased with Meyer's decision.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) penned a joint letter to Meyer when he first said the artwork would be moved to storage. The groups also were not satisfied with Meyer's amended response.

"While Meyers solution avoids totally censoring the paintings, the decision to cloister them fails to capitalize on the educational value of the artwork  a request that was at the core of FIRE and NCACs letter to the university," FIRE said in a statement on its website.

In the letter, the groups suggested a "win-win option for UW-Stout, which would have furthered the institutions interest in fostering inclusion while avoiding censorship."

"FIRE and NCAC suggested the school leave the paintings on display in their original location with additional signage providing historical context," the statement said. "They could then add various interpretations of the paintings and additional artwork that increases the diversity of voices included in the space."

"UW-Stouts insistence on tightly controlling access to both the paintings and the narrative surrounding them means fewer people will see the works and, in turn, fewer discussions will be had," FIRE noted. "In short, UW-Stout is forgoing an opportunity to provide students the one and only product it should be pushing: a learning experience."
A judge granted an order during a Wednesday court hearing to evict a 100-year-old woman from her San Francisco apartment. As a result, Iris Canada may be forced out of her unit as early as next week.

About a dozen protesters rallied for the woman on the brink of eviction.

For me, its always unjust to evict a 100-year-old. I mean, can you imagine? Thats like evicting your grandmother, said Tommi Avicolli Mecca, director of counseling programs for the Housing Rights Committee.

Canada has lived in a unit in her building on Page Street for more than 40 years.

Her family grew up there, husband lived with her and now shes just trying to stay there, really in peace, said her attorney Dennis Zaragoza.

But the judge granted an order to have her removed.

For the past two months, my clients, the owners, have been trying everything in their power to try to avoid Iris Canada from being evicted from the house where she lives, said Mark Chernev, the plaintiffs attorney.

Chernev represents Carolyn Radisch and Stephen Owens who bought the six-unit building in 2002. They renovated five units and sold them as tenancies in common (TICs).

Canada was 86 at the time. She wasnt evicted, but was given a life estate, which meant she owned the unit, paying $700 a month, until her death, then the property would go back to the owners.

The only thing that were asking in consideration is that she sign the condo conversion paperwork, Chernev said.

But Canadas attorney says if she were to sign those papers that would give away her right of first refusal.

Zaragoza added that the 100-year-olds family was interested in helping her buy the unit.

Theyve been helping her along as is and that family has lived on the block since I think since around the end of World War II, Zaragoza said.

Click for more from Fox 2.
Scores of 18-year-olds are getting ready to leave home for the first time and start college.

Incoming college freshmen experience the autonomy and responsibility of higher education -- which is exhilarating for them and anxiety-ridden for their parents. Yet amid the flurry of packed academic and social calendars, college freshmen are a high-risk group when it comes to their spiritual lives.

Since 2007, Christianity among college students has decreased 9 percent over their four years, a statistic mirrored across the board for religious students, according to the Pew Research Center.

From day one, freshmen are fighting an uphill battle as they move into new dorms and make new friends. But the key to keeping their faith is finding friends who support them, who practice their faith and who view schoolwork as a priority. They must also acknowledge their own role in terms of spiritual vocations.

The Mexican proverb "Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are" rings true when assessing how to practice one's faith while away at school. Freshmen must realize that the morality and beliefs of the people they closely surround themselves with will affect their own views and perspectives.

At college, and especially at larger schools, faith-based clubs provide a much-needed haven. Religiously affiliated clubs provide support to Christian students who are navigating life on their own without the daily support of family. Even freshmen who generally stay close to home should make their faith their own.

Jacob King, 31, serves as director of youth and young adult ministry for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He worked for several years as the campus minister to over 30,000 students at West Virginia University.

In navigating the social atmosphere, King said Catholics in particular must rely on the sacraments. The pathway to success, he added, is remaining close to Christian faith backgrounds.

"Freshmen need to cling to three pillars for survival: the Eucharist, confession, and community," King said. "With this divine medicine for broken souls, the chance to start anew, and a support group -- one will be well-armed."

Grace Pluta, 20, finished freshman year at the College of William and Mary in Virginia and has a wise perspective on her first-year experiences.

"The main thing I did was find a good friend in the Catholic campus ministry who pushed me to go to ministry events," said Pluta. "I found a support system there."

By getting involved with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ), Newman Clubs, or Young Life, students will develop friendships borne of a mutual understanding of their shared faith. Instead of being on the defensive with emerging friendships, freshmen can grow in faith through the encouragement of peers and mentors.

Merging Faith Goals and Academic Goals

Instead of simply putting their faith "on hold" while at school, students should make faith goals as well as academic goals. A study from the National Survey of Student Engagement found that the average college student spends 17 hours a week preparing for classes. Imagine if students dedicated even a fraction of that to preparing for their eternal life.

Scheduling time for prayer is a vital part of maintaining a faith life in college. That time put aside for prayer will strengthen one's faith -- not just sustain it.

"Seek to transform your spirituality," King said. "Don't just try to weather the storm, but evangelize! Be one who is sent on a mission, to the poor, to the unfulfilled, and to the outcasts of society."

Said Pluta, who is entering her sophomore year, "Being Catholic helped me get through the tougher times in school. I knew I was more than the sum of my grades or academic achievements. I never let class get me down too much -- I understood there was more for me to live for other than my grades."

In making spiritual goals and factoring in faith in daily life, schoolwork and friendship become more fulfilling in the context of the faith. Faith enables students to think outside themselves -- in order to see themselves in the bigger picture.

School as a Spiritual Vocation

From day one, freshmen must balance work and play. However, college freshmen who come from a religious background must also make time for the spiritual. Schoolwork and prayer do not have to be in competition; rather, freshmen can treat their assignments as accomplishing their spiritual vocation as well.

"From day one, I was very open about being Catholic. It set a precedent of behavior I wanted to uphold," Pluta said.

By openly practicing her faith, Pluta allowed her friends to know and see an important part of her.

Rigorous academics can seem daunting to incoming freshmen. Pluta said her faith allowed her better perspective in God's overarching plan for her life; it made her keep each exam, each paper, in context.

This fall, new freshmen should take a quiet moment to envision the role faith will play in their lives over the next four years. A fulfilling college experience can be theirs as they practice their faith, cultivate friendships, and incorporate prayer into their schedules.
The lawyer for a man who lodged an excessive force complaint against the Florida cop who mistakenly shot and killed a 73-year-old woman Tuesday said he'd warned people the officer was going to kill somebody.

Attorney Scott Weinberg represented Richard Schumacher in an excessive force complaint against Punta Gorda Police Officer Lee Coel, 28. The grievance stemmed from an incident that occurred just nine months before Coel shot Mary Knowlton during a public shoot/dont shoot demonstration.

Chief Tom Lewis said Thursday he was taking full responsibility for the shooting. He expected the state agency to finish its investigation in about two to four weeks.

I was demanding that he be fired months ago, and I was warning people he was going to kill somebody, Weinberg told The News-Press.

Weinberg, who termed Coel a cowboy, said his client was severely injured when he was mauled by Coels K-9 for several minutes on Oct. 30, 2015. Coel allegedly unleashed the dog after he claimed Schumacher resisted arrest. Coel had initially pulled Schumacher over for riding a bike without a headlight or taillight. The case is still pending.

I dont think he [shot Knowlton] intentionally at all, Weinberg said. Im not saying that  but he does not have proper skills to be a police officer. If he would have been fired, this wouldnt have happened.

After an internal review of the Schumacher incident, Coel received additional training and Punta Gorda changed its rules on when police dogs could be used to apprehend a suspect, The Florida Record reported. Coel was not disciplined, according to The News-Press.

The Punta Gorda gig was Coels second stint as a police officer. He had previously resigned from the Miramar Police Department on April 16, 2013 after a 14-month tenure there. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement told The News-Press that Coel left for failing to satisfactorily complete an agency field training program, though Coel, in his resignation letter, said he was leaving for personal reasons.

Less than a year later, in March 2014, Coel was hired by Punta Gorda.

Coel was identified Wednesday as the officer who fired the shots that killed Knowlton in front of more than 30 people at a Punta Gorda Chamber Police Night event. Knowlton was playing the victim in the exercise. Coel, dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and black facemask, holding a revolver, was tasked with being the bad guy. His revolver was supposed to be loaded with blanks, The News-Press reported.

Officer Coel is frequently seen throughout our community providing department presentations and tours and specifically role-playing in these shoot/dont shoot scenarios as well as a police presence at youth and neighborhood events, a Wednesday statement on the Punta Gorda Police Dept. Facebook page said.

Like the rest of our community, Officer Coel is devastated by what happened and is receiving assistance from our department and the Police Benevolent Association at this time.

Knowlton's son, Steven, told The News-Press his mother would have expected him to forgive the officer. I know the officer didnt mean for this to happen. I know hes in his own hell.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man arrested at the Mexican border Tuesday after allegedly being caught with the body of a 2-year-old girl stuffed in a duffel bag was previously convicted of a slew of crimes, including involuntary manslaughter, having drugs with the intent to sell them and being a felon in possession of a gun, The Los Angeles Times reported.

SDPD: Couple tried to cross border with toddler's body. Police arrested Johnny Hartley and Mercy Becerra of Whittier pic.twitter.com/cfoQOGJduY  Kandiss Crone (@10NewsCrone) August 10, 2016

John Lewis Hartley, 39, and Mercy Mary Becerra, 43, were arrested by Mexican authorities while trying to cross into Tijuana from the U.S. side of the border. Officials said they discovered the infants corpse using an X-ray machine. The suspects, who sported tattoos on their faces in widely circulated photos, were deported back to the U.S.

The cause of the girls death hasnt been determined, but police told The Times it was unlikely she died a natural death. Hartley and Becerra are not the girls parents, officials said.

Hartleys criminal record in Orange County stretches back to 1999, The Times reported.

He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and possessing, manufacturing or selling a deadly weapon  with a gang enhancement added  in 1999 and was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. He did the same amount of time after being convicted several years later for possessing drugs with the intent to sell and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Hartley served three years in state prison after he pleaded guilty in 2010 to being a felon in possession of a firearm  again, with a gang enhancement added.

Becerra pleaded guilty in 1992 to selling or transporting a controlled substance and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years of probation.

Investigators said they expected to charge both with one count of murder pending the outcome of the infants autopsy.
Vickie Howser bought her brother a comfortable bed, decorated a bedroom in her house and planned a menu for a family dinner Thursday night.

She hoped he'd finally walk out of jail Thursday morning, two weeks after a judge vacated his murder conviction in what prosecutors described in 1995 as a satanic ritual killing.

But after more than two decades in prison, her brother, Garr Keith Hardin, and co-defendant Jeffrey Dewayne Clark will remain behind bars at least a little longer.

Though DNA evidence debunked much of what prosecutors presented to the jury 21 years ago, a judge said at a Thursday hearing that he needs time to weigh their request to be released on bail until a new trial date is set. The judge said he will issue a written ruling.

"I was hoping he'd walk out of there today and come home," Howser said. "I want to cook him a good meal. I want to fatten him up. So much has changed since he's been in there, everything has changed."

Hardin and Clark, both now 46, were convicted in 1995 of killing 19-year-old Rhonda Sue Warford based in part on the prosecution's contention that a hair found on her body was a "microscopic match" to Hardin. They were sentenced to life in prison.

The Innocence Project fought for years to have the evidence tested for DNA, and the Kentucky Supreme Court granted the request in 2013.

The testing revealed the hair didn't come from Hardin.

Meade Circuit Judge Bruce T. Butler overturned their conviction last month, finding it "based on suppositions that we now know to be fundamentally false."

Warford disappeared on April 1, 1992, after leaving her home in the south end of Louisville. He body was found three days later across the county line in Meade County's Dead Horse Hollow. She had been stabbed 11 times.

Prosecutors told the jury in 1995 that blood on a cloth in Hardin's home was animal blood and a cup was a "chalice" used in a satanic ritual to drink the animal blood and gain standing with Lucifer. The DNA evidence showed the blood was not from an animal. It was Hardin's blood, matching his testimony that he cut himself and used the cloth to wipe his hands.

Butler found there was no evidence Warford's murder was inspired by satanism.

Meade County Commonwealth's Attorney David Michael Williams told the court he intends to retry both men and asked that they be denied bail.

The prosecutors' office for years fought DNA testing and Williams has cited Hardin's confession before a parole board as evidence of his guilt. Hardin's attorneys and family dismiss the admission as a desperate man hoping to appease the board and get out of prison for a crime he didn't commit.

Hardin and Clark's lawyers with the Innocence Project said they invite a new trial to clear their names.

"If the commonwealth wants to proceed with a trial against both of these men on what we perceive to be a very weak case, then tee it up. We're ready to go," said Larry Simon, a local attorney working with the Innocence Project.

In addition to the evidence disproved by DNA testing, the case largely hinged on testimony from Mark Handy, then a detective with the Louisville Police Department. He testified that Hardin confessed during an interrogation that he'd grown tired of animal sacrifices and wanted to graduate to humans.

But the judge wrote in his ruling that Handy was found to have lied under oath in a different trial in 1995, just a few weeks before he testified against Hardin and Clark. In that case, defendant Edwin Chandler was convicted of murder and spent eight years in prison before being exonerated. An internal police investigation found Handy should be criminally prosecuted for misconduct and the city paid Chandler a settlement of $8.5 million.

The Louisville Metro Police Department said the Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney office is still reviewing the investigation.

Handy is now a sergeant with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, said Lt. Col. Carl Yates, a spokesman for the department.

Butler wrote that Handy's history "discredits the integrity of the police investigation."

Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project, said Hardin and Clark were out on bail before their 1995 trial and never missed a hearing. Both have relatives to live with and should be able to begin rebuilding their lives after losing so many years.

Howser said she never questioned her brother's innocence. She and her mother fought to see him exonerated for decades. Her mother died last year.

"I never gave up hope, but I've had a lot of sad days," Howser said. "I'm both angry and sad. My emotions right now are all over the place. I could cry, I could scream."
A pretty brunette is jogging through a secluded patch of park.

Suddenly, she is dragged from the road by a depraved fiend, likely one of the parks many vagrants.

And though shes strong and fighting for her life  even losing her tooth in the struggle  the poor woman is soon bludgeoned and overpowered in a rape-murder that galvanizes the NYPD.

This is not the Aug. 2 slaying of Queens, N.Y. jogger Karina Vetrano, whose battered body was left in the weeds of Spring Creek Park near her home in Howard Beach.

A GoFundMe for a reward in the death of Karina Vetrano has soared past its $100,000 goal https://t.co/t8iFm1q8VB pic.twitter.com/cWAu96Qli6  Newsday (@Newsday) August 11, 2016

Its a closely similar case, though  a still-unsolved shocker from 20 years ago that, along with the Vetrano murder, now brackets the career of outgoing NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.

I remember it very well, former Manhattan sex-crimes prosecutor Linda Fairstein said Wednesday of the 1995 murder, in Central Park, of jogger Maria Isabel Monteiro Alves.

I remember walking the crime scene, along a stream. She was right under the overpass of a little footbridge . . . She was badly beaten and bludgeoned, either with an object or with her head against a rock, Fairstein, now a crime novelist, remembered.

We met the police there and walked the crime scene over and over again. They had a canvass going there for weeks.

To no avail. Among the two murders many parallels is that both are unsolved.

You cant imagine how much Ive suffered over this, Alves mother, Lidia Pinto Machado, 86, said this week in a phone call to her home on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I think of her every day. The police said they would work hard to bring me justice, but they never did, she said bitterly, speaking in her native Portuguese.

My daughter wasnt important enough for them, she added. I dont believe they will ever find out what happened to her.

And when she saw the news on TV recently about another pretty jogger in New York  someone elses beloved daughter being pulled from a parkland path to her death  Machado cried.

I thought, Here goes another one.

Click for more from The New York Post.
American defense contractor Raytheon and Israels Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, who worked together developing Israels Iron Domethe highly-acclaimed mobile air defense system that has become critical to Israels national securityare now collaborating on an American prototype.

The U.S. version of the missile system would help protect U.S. forces in advanced combat positions around the world from a variety of threats including cruise missiles, rockets and UAVs.

A 2015 trademark filing by Raytheon lists the SkyHunter," described as a ground-based missile interceptor system with a guided missile that has electro-optic sensors and adjustable steering fins to track and destroy incoming enemy rockets, missiles, artillery and mortars.

Raytheon is the worlds largest manufacturer of guided missiles and works with Israels State-owned Rafael providing key components for Israels highly-versatile electro-optic Tamir interceptor missile.

In April, the U.S. successfully tested a modified Tamir missile from a Multi-Missile Launcher (MML) at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico successfully intercepting a target drone.

The missile system is one of several under consideration by the U.S. Army, though the production costs and successful track record would make a Raytheon/Rafael produced system an ideal proposition for the U.S., Yosi Druker, vice president and head of the air superiority systems sector at Rafael told Sightlines Defense News.

The missiles would be built in the U.S., rendered compatible for American military standards and 100 percent Raytheon, said Druker, who added that intelligence sharing would be vital and another valuable asset to the project.

The minute that the U.S. decides to procure Iron Dome, we will transfer all the knowledge and production file to Raytheon, Druker said.

Click for more from The Foreign Desk
Four people and a dog were stabbed during a break-in at their suburban Chicago home early Wednesday and three suspects are in custody, police said.



A 47-year-old man remains hospitalized, but the other three victims -- a 16-year-old girl and two males -- have been treated and released, Buffalo Grove police said. A fifth person in the home wasn't harmed, authorities said.



Police believe the incident was not random and are investigating the motive and relationships between the victims and the suspects, Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steven Casstevens said during a Wednesday morning news conference.



Police arrived to find two people outside the home with stab wounds and the front door forced in along with several broken windows, Casstevens said.



The 47-year-old man was able to grab a handgun during the attack and fired shots at the offenders, who then fled, Casstevens said. About two hours later, police in nearby Wheeling responded to a report of suspicious people at a gas station. Wheeling police determined they were the suspects and arrested them, police said. One of the suspects had blood on his pants and a bloody hunting knife, police said.
A manhunt was under way in Pennsylvania Wednesday for a man police say threatened two nurses at gunpoint at a mental health care facility then took off with his girlfriend, who was a patient.

Elliot Ravert, 18, allegedly demanded nurses at Philhaven unlock the housing unit were Alicia Buzzard, 21, was a patient and threatened to shoot them if they did not cooperate with his demands, police said.

Authorities were unsure if Buzzard went willingly with Ravert, but they issued a missing-person alert for her and said she might be at risk of harm. She had been at the hospital for about a week and a half.

None of the hospital staff were injured.

Tiffany Buzzard, Alicias sister, told Lancaster Online that their mother had asked hospital officials to not allow Ravert to see his girlfriend.

An arrest warrant was issued charging him with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and robbery. Police said he took a two-way radio from the hospital.

Buzzard has bipolar disorder and has known Ravert for about three months, his sister said. She lives in Myerstown, about a half hour from the hospital, with her mother and stepfather.

"My mom and stepdad separated her and Elliott because they were starting to get physical and trying to have babies," Tiffany Buzzard told Lancaster Online. "She stopped taking her medicine and threatened to kill herself."

According to the website, Buzzard and Ravert met three months ago at an intermediate school. The relationship was fine at first, but Jacqui Shay, Buzzards mother, said it turned violent quickly.

Shay said Ravert became obsessed with knowing where Buzzard was at all times. Shay told Ravert not to date her daughter anymore.

I believe he was filling her head with marrying her, having kids, that he would fight us for her," she said. He would be the knight in shining armor coming to rescue her.

Both families are cooperating with the investigation.

Ravert drives a green 2004 Chevy Avalanche with Pennsylvania license plate ZGY-3594, but police said late Wednesday he may have changed plates.

Authorities said they did not know where Ravert might be headed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A jury found a man guilty of murder Wednesday in the beating death of an Indiana University student two weeks before she was due to graduate.

About five hours after beginning deliberations, the jury returned the verdict against Daniel Messel of Bloomington in the April 2015 slaying of 22-year-old Hannah Wilson of Fishers, an Indianapolis suburb.

Messel stared at the jurors, then looked down as the judge polled the jury. The eight women and four men each responded that he or she had voted "guilty."

The jury also convicted Messel, a 51-year-old print shop employee, of being a habitual criminal, which could add six to 20 years to his possible 45- to 65-year sentence for the murder conviction.

He's due to be sentenced Sept. 22.

Wilson's body was found in a vacant lot about 10 miles from the Bloomington campus. Messel's cellphone was found under the body.

Members of her family, including her mother and sister, burst into tears as the guilty verdict was read. Her father, Jeff Wilson, called his slain daughter a hero.

"She fought him off, and now he's off the street," he said.

Messel also was convicted of forgery in 1989, felony battery in 1990, and battery with a deadly weapon and battery resulting in serious injury in 1996. The last two charges resulted in an eight-year prison sentence.

Defense attorney Dorie Maryan said in her closing statement that Wilson fought her attacker -- evident by the bruises on her hands -- and that if Messel had killed her, he would have had more serious injuries than the few tiny scratches on his arm and face that he had.

Too many important questions remain unanswered about Wilson's slaying, she said.

"For that reason, you must find Mr. Messel not guilty," Maryan said.

Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams conceded several questions remain.

"There are things we will never know about what happened. Is that reasonable doubt? No. We are not going to know why or how or when she got into that vehicle," Adams said.

"But there was her blood found on the hood, the windshield, his clothes -- her hair pulled out by the root inside his vehicle -- a bag of bloody clothes as he walks out of his home," Adams told jurors.

"There is one thing you all know. Daniel Messel killed that girl. He killed her on Plum Creek. That poor girl struggled for her life. Thank God that phone fell out," Adams said.

The university released a statement saying "Hannah's life and legacy will always live on through the many lives she touched."

"Though the memory of Hannah's tragic loss will remain with us forever, we are grateful that justice has been served," the statement said.
The national watchdog group that uncovered a string of unchecked anti-Semitic social media posts among students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville warned on Wednesday that its initial findings were just the "tip of the iceberg," The Algemeiner reported.

Among the findings from Canary Mission, which identifies and studies anti-Israel activities on college campuses: numerous students tweeted statements supporting Adolf Hitler, and the founder of the university group Students for Justice in Palestine referenced the First Intifada while calling for another Palestinian uprising.

University officials said in a statement that the Algemeiner report last week "highlights seven social media posts by just six of our students over a span of five years. Several are no longer enrolled as students and are no longer part of our campus community."

A Canary Mission representative responded, claiming the group had actually uncovered a total of 97 "highly racist, bigoted, antisemitic or threatening" social media posts from people tied to the university's Muslim Students Association and SJP. The posts came from 14 current students, eight former students and one person described as "not a student but an agitator," the watchdog added.

The school's response this week continued, "The university does not condone the statements included in the story; however, we believe those current and former students were within their constitutional rights to post their personal viewpoints."

Canary Mission added, "The posts highlighted in the [original] report were intended to be an alert for the UTK administration and the public at large to investigate the matter further."

One student identified in the original report had bragged about his assault weapons while making anti-American statements online, according to The Algemeiner. Also, a graduate described a social media user as a "dirty filthy Jew. All your people do is f----- s--- up. Wish hitler was still around to show you guys."

Click for more from The Algemeiner.
A rodeo promoter is suing two star calf ropers, accusing them of rigging an event in Arlington, Texas, last year so that they could get a cut of a possible $1 million prize.

RFD-TV Events made the allegations in a lawsuit Tuesday against three-time world champion calf roper Tuf Cooper and the world's current top-ranked roper, Timber Moore. The alleged scheme centered on a bonus reward for those who qualified for the event rather than being invited, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Qualifiers could earn up to $1 million from a "side pot" for winning any of seven competitions at The American Rodeo on March 1, 2015.

Cooper and Moore agreed to throw a competition to improve a qualifier's chances. The qualifier won the event, with Cooper finishing second and Moore third, and all three were to split the winning check of $517,000  $100,000 for the first-place finish and $417,000 from the "side pot," the lawsuit alleged.

However, rodeo organizers soon learned of the scheme and stopped payment on the check, the lawsuit said. RFD-TV Events now wants to recover other prize money earned by Cooper and Moore up to $100,000.

A telephone message left by The Associated Press for Cooper at Elite Rodeo Athletes, of which he is a member, was not returned Wednesday. A message left by the AP on Moore's cellphone also was not returned.
The man who used large suction cups to climb up the glass facade of Trump Tower in New York City was identified Thursday as 19-year-old Stephen Rogata from the Washington, D.C. suburb of Great Falls, Virginia, and was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespassing.

The climber wore a backpack and used a harness and rope stirrups to fasten himself to the side of the 68-story Manhattan skyscraper on Wednesday. He climbed as high as the 21st floor before officers grabbed him.

Rogata was undergoing psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital Thursday.

A day before the ascent, police said the climber posted a video on YouTube entitled, "Message to Mr. Trump (why I climbed your tower)." He posted the video under the name Leven Thumps, which is a character in a series of children's fantasy novels by the writer Obert Skye.

"I am an independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter. I guarantee that it's in your interest to honor this request," he said. "Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it. The reason I climbed your tower is to get your attention. If I had sought this via conventional means, I would be much less likely to have success because you are a busy man with many responsibilities."

The tower is headquarters to Donald Trump's Republican presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there, though he was in Virginia in the afternoon and was headed to Florida for an evening event.

The man played a slow-motion cat-and-mouse game with his would-be rescuers as he climbed Trump Tower. Officers smashed windows and broke through ventilation ducts to block his progress. Police also lowered themselves toward the man using a window washer's platform.

The climber kept his distance by methodically working his way back and forth across the facade, repeatedly repositioning suction cups resembling a type commonly used by window washers to remove big panes of glass.

The chase ended dramatically just after 6:30 p.m.

As a crowd gasped on the street below, two officers leaned far out of a window, grabbed the climber's arm and harness, and in a flash yanked him from his dangling stirrups. He went through the opening head first, his legs pointed skyward.

"I reached out. I took hold of his hand and I said, `Sir, would you come with me,"' said detective Christopher Williams, who made the grab.

Police had deployed large, inflated crash pads at the scene, but it was unclear how much protection they would have offered if the climber fell.

NYPD Assistant Chief William Aubrey said the man told officers the same thing after he was safely inside the building.

"At no time did he express that he wanted to hurt anybody," he said.

"This man performed a ridiculous and dangerous stunt," Michael Cohen, an executive at the Trump Organization, said in an emailed statement. "I'm 100 percent certain the NYPD had better things to do."

Later Wednesday evening, Trump tweeted "Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber."

The climber began his ascent from a terrace that is open to the public during the day.

Fox News' Ron Ralston and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Utah boys quick-thinking helped him get to safety after running away from a kidnapper Tuesday.

The boy, identified as Aiden, 9, told KSTU-TV that he was walking in a Saratoga Springs neighborhood to meet a friend nearby when he was snatched by a strange man in a tan Chevy Tahoe. The boy said he was able to escape and used his Gizmo Watch to call for help.

"He got out of the car, walking, and then he just charged at me," Aiden said. "I ran as fast as I could, but I tripped and I fell and he caught me."

He said he was thrown into the back of the vehicle and the man tried to put duct tape over his mouth so he wouldnt scream. Aiden said he punched it away.

The boy said he pleaded with the man to let him go, but ended up jumping from the vehicle and spraining his ankle.

"My family is more important than breaking a bone," he said.

Aiden said he hid behind a dumpster as the man searched for him. The child said he used his Gizmo Watch to call his mom.

"Apparently my step-dad answered it because he was holding my mom's phone, and I could hear wheels squealing from his car," Aiden said.

The watch allows children to make calls and received calls with up to four different people. The device also has a built-in GPS and said he wasnt sure how long he wouldve had to wait in the dumpster without it.

"If moms are watching this, say this to your kids, 'Get a Gizmo for them,'" Aiden said.

Police are asking for the publics help in finding the would-be kidnapper. They described person as a white man with long black hair and a goatee.

Click for more from Fox 13 Now.
I write a lot.

I run a blog and a Medium account; contribute to a few magazines; and write long Facebook posts for my friends. I've always loved it; and so, I feel really blessed that I'm able to work as a content producer. It's also nice that I'm not confined by the nine-to-five work day.

While all this is good, this lifestyle requires a lot of discipline and the right tools to make sure both me and my employers are on the same page. Of course, it also helps to have understanding people, who are willing to hire remotely.

Although I live less than 10 minutes away from my office, I consider myself a remote worker. Mostly because I've built my days around working early in the morning; and so, on most days I finish work before the official workday even starts for most people.

The digital nomad lifestyle is something a lot of people desire. The possibility to work from anywhere, and enjoy work-life balance is magnificent.

Fortunately, more and more companies are beginning to understand the benefits of virtual teams.

Over the last few years, the amount of people telecommuting has dramatically increased. Mostly because many companies have realized that having an efficient remote team provides loads of benefits.

Related: Getting the Most From Your Remote Workforce

According to Hubstaff, five years ago, if you wanted to see whether your employees were being productive, youd have to physically walk over to their desks, and talk to them. Now, you can monitor their productivity from anywhere in the world with the right tools.

There's obviously a lot of benefits for employees too.

According to Microsoft, the 10 biggest benefits of working from home from the employee viewpoint are:

Increased work-life balance (60 percent) Save gas (55 percent) Avoid traffic (47 percent) Increased productivity (45 percent)

As you can see, the majority of people value the reduced costs and increased ability to enjoy a work-life balance that comes from working remotely.

Related: 4 Reasons Why Smart Companies Are Going Remote

Staying disciplined is difficult. You need a way to report ongoing processes to your manager. You need a messaging app for regular communication. And lastly, you need a way to feel like you're a part of the team.

I'm a big fan of the plans, progress and problems (PPP) methodology for weekly and daily progress reporting.

I spend 10 minutes every Friday creating plans for next week and transferring last week's plans into the progress column. That way my manager can get a quick overview of what I've done and I can get a clear picture of what I need to do come Monday morning.

For everyday communication, I've found that Skype chat works best. If I have a question, I can get a quick response, and if I need to call someone in a different country, the fees are minimal. I also use Skype video calls for weekly meetings with my co-workers.

Of course, many companies have implemented the chat app known as Slack, which I hear works really well.

Related: Who Needs An Office? How to Go 100 Percent Remote.

All of this works well if you and your boss have agreed to clear and measurable goals. Unfortunately, most people haven't.

As I said, I write a lot. This would not be possible if I hadn't spend a lot of time to bring discipline, clarity and order into my work processes. Discipline, to stay highly productive while I focus. Clarity, to make sure my co-workers and manager know what I'm doing at all times and why. Order, to make sure I don't work on unproductive activities.
Syrian activists said airstrikes targeting the Islamic State group's de facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday killed at least 20 civilians, as neighboring Turkey called for greater cooperation with Russia against the extremist group.

The offer by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu followed a meeting between the Russian and Turkish leaders in which they agreed to mend ties.

Cavusoglu also announced that his country will resume its airstrikes against IS targets in Syria, months after they were suspended amid a major row with Moscow. He said in an interview with Turkey's private NTV television that Ankara "will again, in an active manner, with its planes take part in operations" against IS targets.

Turkey had temporarily suspended its limited participation in the airstrikes campaign by the U.S.-led coalition, following soured relations with Moscow after Turkish air force jets downed a Russian warplane on the Syrian border in November. Russia had retaliated by deploying long-range air defense missile systems to its base in Syria, 30 miles south of the border with Turkey and imposing an array of economic sanctions.

"On the issue of Daesh, we have made a call to Russia. We said we have a common enemy which we can struggle against together," Cavusoglu said, using an Arabic language acronym for IS.

The local activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently meanwhile said the airstrikes on Raqqa killed at least 20 civilians and cut the city's water supply. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 24 civilians were killed, along with six others whose affiliation or identities could not yet be confirmed.

Both groups said the strikes were launched by Russian jets, though it was not clear how they made that determination. The Russian military said six of its long-range bombers had flown from their base in Russia to strike IS facilities near Raqqa, but did not mention civilian casualties. It said the raid destroyed a large ammunition depot, a plant producing chemical weapons and a large IS training camp.

Meanwhile, there was no letup in the embattled northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where Turkey and Russia are supporting opposing sides of the conflict and where residents and activists reported a chlorine gas attack.

A Syrian rescue worker and opposition activists said Thursday that a Syrian government airstrike on an opposition-held district killed at least two people in what was alleged to have been a chlorine gas attack. At least four barrel bombs were dropped late Wednesday on the city's eastern Zabadieh neighborhood, one of which purportedly released the chlorine gas.

Wissam Zarqa, a local resident, described gasping for breath and cowering with his family on the top floors of their apartment building as a gas filled the hallway.

A Syrian military official denied the allegations, saying militants had fabricated the news. The official, based in Damascus, Syria, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to give official statements.

The accusations came hours after the Russian military, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces, promised a daily, three-hour cease-fire for Aleppo to allow humanitarian aid into besieged areas. Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi, of the Russian military's General Staff, said the cease-fires will be observed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time starting Thursday.

However, there was no letup to the fighting in Aleppo, and residents of the opposition-held east reported near-constant fighter jet overflights on Thursday. "I'm at home and I don't dare to leave -- the jets are not letting up," Zarqa told the AP.

A senior U.N. humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, said the Russian offer of a daily truce "is really nothing. We need 48 hours." Speaking in Geneva, he said that Russia has agreed to hold talks with U.N. officials to hammer out a "workable" plan for a humanitarian pause in Aleppo.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Thursday that reports of possible chemical weapons use in Syria "are of great concern" and said it continues to examine any credible reports it received.

Khaled Harah, a first responder in the rebel-held part of Aleppo, said a government helicopter dropped four barrel bombs on Zabadieh and that one of them released chlorine gas, leading to the deaths of a mother and her two children.

The report, which was posted online Thursday, could not be independently verified.

The Observatory, which tracks the civil war in Syria, also reported that government barrel bombs struck the neighborhood. It had reports of two killed and several people suffering breathing difficulties -- but made no mention of chlorine gas.

Abdelkafi al-Hamdu, a resident of Aleppo, said he saw two air strikes from his in-laws' balcony, about 30 yards away. He said the first blast released a gas he identified by the smell as chlorine, but the wind was blowing in the other direction, lessening the odor.

He took cover in the apartment but began experiencing severe difficulties breathing, so he took his wife and daughter and tried to leave the building. But the odor grew stronger as they descended the stairs, so they returned to the higher floors to wait out the effects. He spoke to the AP via a messaging service.

The Syrian government and rebels have accused each other of using chlorine gas and other chemical weapons on several occasions throughout the five-year-old civil war. Last week, the Syrian government and the opposition traded accusations of using chlorine in Aleppo.

Chlorine has a number of civilian applications but can also be used as a crude weapon. It is fatal in high concentrations, while in lower doses it can damage lungs or cause severe breathing difficulties, vomiting and nausea.
EXCLUSIVE: While the United Nations touted its efforts in Haiti aimed at ending the worlds worst modern cholera epidemic -- a calamity many experts assert the U.N. itself caused -- U.N. peacekeepers were blatantly violating their own sanitary rules for containing the disease, according to an internal U.N. report that was suppressed for months.

Among other things, the peacekeepers for years after the cholera eruption began in October 2010:

poured inadequately-treated sewage wastewater into Haitian public canals;

ignored urgent laboratory warnings that some of the tainted liquid contained fecal contamination, as well as other indicators that it was improperly cleansed;

ignored maintenance of water treatment plants at U.N. peacekeeper camps;

failed to inspect water treatment plants, as well as septic tanks, as required;

skipped vital chlorination of wastewater treatment sites and other disposal facilities;

left abandoned camps laden with garbage and sometimes with toilets and septic tanks overflowing with human waste;

failed to demand proof that contractors disposing of human sewage from peacekeeping latrines were actually depositing their cargos, as required, in government-approved dumping sites;

allowed a garbage contractor, sometimes using substandard trucks that spilled parts of their load, to dump material at unauthorized open sites, including one close to a local water supply.

The stunning array of negligent practices are laid out in an 18-page audit report by the U.N.s watchdog Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), titled, Audit of waste management in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which blandly declared that the overall results were initially assessed as unsatisfactory.

CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIT REPORT

According to its cover page, the report was completed on June 30, 2015. Such audits customarily appear on the OIOS website about a month or so after their cover date; this one appeared without fanfare about a year late -- after being designated on the website for months as withheld.

Public withholding usually happens with OIOS reports that examine such things as U.N. security practices in terror-afflicted zones, where danger to human life could result from publication. In this case, questions sent to OIOS by Fox News last week about the reasons behind the withheld status, and why it was lifted, were unanswered at the time this story was published.

One reason why the Haiti audit report could be considered ultrasensitive, however, is that the practices it described were unfolding even as the U.N., faced with international concern about its role in the original cholera disaster, was deeply involved, as it still is, in elaborate programs to help Haiti control and combat the epidemic, which so far has infected more than 780,000 Haitians and killed 9,300 of them-- and is once more on the rise.

Most of those programs ignored or downplayed the mountain of medical evidence and expert opinion -- disputed mostly by the U.N. -- that the original source of the epidemic was a contingent of Nepalese peacekeepers in the U.N. force known as MINUSTAH, whose very similar bad hygienic practices were the initial cause of the cholera outbreak, the first in Haiti in 100 years.

For its part, the U.N. continues to cite a 2011 study by a hand-picked group of experts -- some of whom have publicly changed their minds -- that pointed to the Nepalese as the cholera source but said the outbreak was not the fault of, or deliberate action of, a group or individual;

The U.N. has invoked diplomatic immunity to shield itself from potentially massive lawsuits by Haitian families seeking compensation for lost family members and other ravages of the disease.

The audit investigation -- and its tardy publication -- collide head-on with the U.N.s efforts to show that it is a big part of Haitis cholera solution rather than the cause of much of the problem, and raise additional questions about what the world body says it is doing in conference rooms and diplomatic venues, vs. how it behaves in the field.

The report says the audit was conducted from July 2014 to December 2014, and covered peacekeeper practices from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014.

The gap between the end of that period of investigation and the June 2015 publication date also indicates a longer-than-usual delay in finalizing the document; that is, relaying its findings back to responsible U.N. officials and negotiating resolution of the uncovered issues.

As it happens, U.N. records show that start-point for the period of MINUSTAH peacekeeping activity that OIOS investigators were examining -- June 2012 -- was nearly six months before U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in December announced the advent of a multibillion-dollar cholera elimination mega-program across Hispaniola (the island incorporating both Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic), which he said would take a holistic approach in tackling the cholera challenge.

By that, he meant an emphasis on clean drinking water and sanitation systems as well as a vaccination campaign centered on Haitian urban areas -- largely a strategy that focused on social development as a means of disease prevention, rather than aggressive elimination of existing outbreaks, which was encompassed in a short term operational plan costing much less money.

At that time, the worst initial wave of the cholera epidemic had abated: some 7,750 people had died, out of more than 620,000 infected.

The ambitious capital-spending campaign, however, was already under-funded. The clean-water plan, the U.N. said, needed some $500 million for its first two years, with only $215 million forthcoming, including $23.5 million from the U.N. itself.

The Haitian government formally launched its $2 billion, long-range version of the National Plan for cholera the following February, coupled with a two-year operational plan cholera elimination program, while the U.N. chimed in again in November 2013 with special initiatives that required MINUSTAH to support and coordinate with the government in implementing the national plan.

By the time the auditors actually began their examination in July 2014 -- which was nearly four years after the initial outbreak -- Secretary General Ban was back in Haiti again, trying to breathe new life into both efforts.

The U.N. had been unable to raise $400 million for the first phase of the grandiose plan -- though it had spent more than $600 million over the previous 12 months supporting its MINUSTAH peacekeepers.

By that time, the Haitian cholera death toll exceeded 8,500.

The beginning of the OIOS probe coincided with the end of the period they were examining. What they found out about the MINUSTAH efforts to observe basic hygiene over the previous two years is depressing reading.

Among other things, the auditors noted that MINUSTAHs Water and Sanitation Unit, along with an engineering section, had installed 32 wastewater treatment plants to make sure the blue-helmeted troops and police cleaned up after themselves, along with 38 septic tanks and 55 soak pits for liquid waste, and had trained staff well on how to use them effectively.

Staffers just didnt do much after that to maintain them properly.

Filter membranes in the treatment plants were supposed to be cleaned thoroughly once a year; MINUSTAH records showed that fewer than half  15 -- were cleaned in 2013, and only 10 from January to June 2014.

The treatment plants included ultraviolet lighting to kill bacteria that had to be changed after 9,000 hours of operation; MINUSTAH didnt keep records to show it did any lighting replacement at all.

One result: over a 12-month period starting in May 2013 -- when there were roughly 6,200 U.N. troops and 2,600 U.N. police authorized for MINUSTAH -- laboratory tests showed that 23 of 32 tested water treatment plants failed to meet eight key water quality parameters for judging that the output was acceptable.

Wastewater samples from six of the plants also contained fecal coliform bacteria, associated with human feces. The acceptable level of fecal coliform for potable water is zero.

Moreover, the audit noted, at 7 of 31 sites visited -- the audit does not explain the absence of a 32nd site -- MINUSTAH was discharging its treated wastewater into public canals, including two where the canals ran through MINUSTAH campgrounds.

Among other things, the report noted, five pleas from MINUSTAH testing labs over 14 months, urging that treatment plants be urgently maintained, were ignored.

The same inattention applied to septic tanks and other filtration systems, where human waste was supposed to be periodically removed (known as desludging) and other maintenance performed.

The audit says that from May 2013 to June 2014, an average of 21 sites were supposed to be treated with chlorine -- which also kills cholera bacteria -- but these recommendations were not acted on.

MINUSTAHs response to the cleansing directive, according to the report, was that the treatment plants and soak pits did not need regular cleaning, and the lab results were based on wrong parameters.

What OIOS inspectors observed during actual visits to the treatment sites, however, was disturbing.

At two treatment plants, holding tanks full of black water -- a mixture of urine and feces -- were overflowing. An unspecified number of septic tank manholes either did not have covers or were covered by temporary materials. At seven sites, gray water from showers, dish-washing and laundry was seeping into the surrounding environment.

When it came to local garbage haulers, MINUSTAH was, it seemed, more demanding, but for a long time no more effectual.

On several occasions the peacekeepers complained about their contractors unsatisfactory performance, on a contract that ran from June 2010 to the end of May 2013 -- and then was extended.

It wasnt until the end of July 2014 -- not long after OIOS auditors arrived -- that the garbage contractor was suspended for a year.

According to the OIOS report, the contractor was dumping waste at sites in an open area without protections from intrusion, with one site close to water used by the local population.

A U.N. peacekeeping spokesman told Fox News that the reprobate hauler was terminated for poor performance on solid waste management and not reinstated.

The problems with sewage disposal could have been even worse than the garbage mess -- but it seems no one actually knows for sure.

MINUSTAH had contracts with two service vendors to clean septic tanks and dispose of untreated wastewater at two government-approved sites. Haitian regulations demanded that MINUSTAH drivers were supposed to get receipts from government officials to show that they had disposed of the sewage as required.

Instead, as the report notes, MINUSTAH relied on sewage collection coupons prepared by the contractor at the time of waste collection from the Missions premises to confirm that the service had been provided.

In other words, the peacekeepers accepted receipts more or less from themselves, testifying that the sewage had gone out the door, as evidence that it had been driven to the appropriate place and disposed of properly.

Moreover, the contract with the sewage haulers failed to include a no-notice inspection clause that would have acted as another check on the vendor until September 2014.

U.N. peacekeeping headquarters staff had ordered the no-notice inspection provision as far back as June 7, 2011, the report indicated. It didnt happen due to inadequate staffing resources.

The receipt failure, the OIOS report notes demurely, indicated that MINUSTAH was not adequately monitoring the disposal activities of wastewater contractors.

The outcome was actually more grotesque than the wording indicates, as the most widely accepted reconstruction of how Haitis initial cholera epidemic suddenly exploded along the countrys vitally important Artibonite River was the casual dumping into the waterway of an entire truck-load of liquid human waste taken from the camp of the Nepalese peacekeepers.

Their native country contained a cholera strain that independent scientific analysis concluded was identical with the murderous version that suddenly appeared in Haiti, while some of the peacekeepers were anecdotally reported to be afflicted with diarrhea in their unsanitary and poorly maintained MINUSTAH camp.

As part of their finalized resolution process, the OIOS investigators wrote into the report that MINUSTAH provided a notice that a no-notice inspection had taken place on June 27, 2015 -- three days before the OIOS reports final publication date.

Even at the time of publication, however, the OIOS report said the watchdog was still waiting on proof that two of its recommendations about fixing egregious lapses had actually been implemented -- new procedures to ensure wastewater facilities were adequately maintained, and that laboratory recommendations about treated wastewater quality are being adequately acted upon.

According to a U.N. peacekeeping spokesperson, MINUSTAH provided all the needed evidence on the two recommendations long ago, and OIOS quit demanding proof in October 2015.

Meantime, however, the struggle against cholera in Haiti goes on, with the disease seemingly regaining strength.

According to French epidemiologist Renaud Pairroux, a world-renowned expert on cholera who has carried out in-depth studies of Haitis epidemic, there have been more than 21,000 reported cases so far in 2016, along with 200 new deaths.

The long-term approach supported by the U.N. and the Haitian government, Pairroux believes, mainly offers the appearance of a development plan rather than a frontal attack on the disease.

Pairroux notes in a newly-published update paper on the anti-cholera battle that most of the goals [of that plan] will not be achieved for decades -- even though, in his professional opinion, the epidemic had decreased drastically by November 2013, and was ripe for total elimination if an aggressive approach to isolation and elimination of small flare-ups had been taken.

If at that time, especially in April-June 2014, his paper declares, efforts had been concentrated on extinguishing the last outbreaks, cholera could have been removed from Haiti, as disease-fighters had already done in a number of African countries where Piarroux had worked.

By the end of 2014, that moment had been lost, Piarrouxs paper argues, due among other things to the sabotage of urban clean-water-delivery systems by gangs seeking to profit from water-selling; Haitian government turmoil; and increasing donor fatigue.

Piarroux argues that the underlying problem, however, is a fatalistic acceptance of a version of the U.N.s argument that it did not introduce cholera into Haiti, but rather that the epidemic erupted from cholera strains that were always present in Haitian waters --even though such strains had never before produced the toxins that cause cholera victims agony, dehydration and death.

Only a radical targeting of actual disease outbreaks, as opposed to a long-term development campaign to transform Haitis infrastructure, will change the situation, he concludes.

The cholera epidemic is a crisis that has outlasted the patience of donor agencies, he observes.

CLICK HERE FOR PIARROUXS PAPER

In fact, most of the U.N.s current anti-cholera efforts are not looking very hale.

A $20.3 million rapid response plan to deal with emergent cholera cases this year, the U.N. reports, is only 43 percent funded, and further support will be needed to sustain efforts and meet urgent needs.

CLICK HERE FOR A U.N. UPDATE

The world organization also says the ten-year Haitian National Plan for Cholera Elimination is only about 20 percent funded.

George Russell is editor-at-large of Fox News and can be found on Twitter: @GeorgeRussell or on Facebook.com/George Russell
Coordinated explosions targeting some of Thailand's most popular resort cities and beach towns killed at least four people and wounded dozens more. Police said Friday that 10 foreigners were injured in the violence, some of the worst here since the military seized power in a coup two years ago.

It was not clear who was behind the attacks Thursday and Friday, but police ruled out links to international terrorism or a low-level insurgency in the country's Islamic south.

The timing and scope of the attacks suggested the bombs were set off by opponents of the Southeast Asian nation's ruling junta, which last weekend organized a successful referendum on a constitution that critics say will bolster the military's power for years to come.

The explosions all occurred south of Bangkok and several of the blasts  including one on Patong beach in the tourist town of Phuket, three in the seaside resort city of Hua Hin  appeared designed to strike the tourism industry.

Thailand's economy has sagged since the military seized power in a 2014 coup. But tourism has remained one of the few bright spots, with more than 14 million people visiting in 2016 so far  up from 12.5 million the year before.

Foreign governments, including the United States, issued warnings urging travelers to avoid affected areas.

Germany's Foreign Ministry said that three German citizens were among the injured. It gave no further details, and it was unclear which blast was responsible.

The most devastating explosions occurred overnight in Hua Hin on a busy street filled with bars and restaurants. One Thai woman was killed and about 20 people were wounded, half of them foreigners, according to Pol. Lt Chaiyot Tisawong.

Gen. Sithichai Srisopacharoenrath, the superintendent of police in Hua Hin, said the bombs were hidden inside potted plants and were set off by remote control, half an hour apart. He said a Samsung cell phone had been recovered that they believe was used to detonate at least one the bombs.

On Friday, debris and ball bearings could be seen strewn across the road as police investigated the scene. The blast damaged a pair of phone booths and shattered the window of a nearby Starbucks.

Many shops in the city center closed afterward and normally bustling streets were empty, for good reason: Hua Hin was hit again by another bomb that exploded Friday morning near a clock tower, killing one person and wounding four more.

Separate blasts were reported elsewhere in the south. One exploded on Phuket city's popular Patong beach, injuring one person. Two more detonated in front of two police stations half an hour apart in Surat Thani in southern Thailand, killing one and wounding three. And two bombs exploded outside a market in Phang Na, damaging two vehicles but causing no casualties.

Earlier Thursday, another bomb blew up in the southern province of Trang  full of beautiful beaches and tourist island  killing one person and injuring six, according to Thai press reports.

Trang is on the fringes of Thailand's deep south, where a low-level Muslim separatist insurgency had killed more than 5,000 people since 2004. Almost all the violence has been in the three southernmost provinces.

In Hua Hin, tourist Shane Brett told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. from his hotel room that there was panic after the first explosion there Thursday.

"I was at a bar in the main bar district in Hua Hin right outside the Hilton Hotel and at first I heard kind of a bang ... and everyone kind of panicked," Brett said.

He looked outside and saw people running. Half an hour later, heading back to his hotel, he saw "a good few people injured and the whole area just panicking ... the whole area was just shut down with police cars, ambulances."

Thailand has been plagued by political violence, including several bombings, since the populist billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted as prime minister in a 2006 military coup after demonstrations accused him of corruption, abuse of power and insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Thaksin's ouster set off sometimes bloody battles for power between his supporters and opponents, who include the military. The government of his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who became prime minister in 2011, was toppled in the country's last coup in 2014.

On Sunday, Thai voters approved a referendum on a new constitution that is supposed to lead to an election next year. Critics say it is undemocratic and is fashioned to keep the military in control for at least five more years even if a free election is held.

In a speech Wednesday night, junta chief and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha took credit for bringing stability back to Thailand after an extended period of unrest.

On Friday, Prayuth said the government was doing the best it "could to provide security to the country ... We have to band together and stay strong."

Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, a junta spokesman, said Prayuth "expressed his sadness over the unexpected and tragic incident (in Hua Hin)" and ordered police and soldiers in the area to step up security measures.

Friday's blast took place on the birthday of Thailand's Queen Sirikit. The junta has repeatedly said that defending the monarchy is a top priority, and the army and its allies are keen to ensure a smooth succession for Bhumibol, who is the world's longest reigning monarch.


The U.S. must condition billions of dollars in foreign aid doled out to Pakistan to the Muslim-majority nation taking serious steps to quelling rampant persecution of Christians and other minorities, say advocates.

Persecution of Christians in Pakistan is on the rise, with high-profile attacks on churches and gatherings and faith-driven prosecutions, say fath-based and immigrant groups in the U.S. They want the U.S. to demand better from Pakistan in exchange for the billions in foreign aid American taxpayers send to Islamabad.

"The U.S must make protection of religious minorities a higher priority in its relations with Pakistan, Lisa Curtis, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told FoxNews.com. Upholding religious freedom is not only important as a human rights issue, but also as a strategic and security issue since it is directly linked to the broader trend of growing Islamic extremism."

Muslims make up more than 95 percent of Pakistan's population of 185 million. Christians comprise roughly 2 percent and Hindus and other groups the rest. Thursday marks the nation's "National Minority Day."

Curtis was part of a group of national security and foreign policy experts who last year pressed President Obama in vain to make attacks against religious minorities a key topic of talks between President Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last year. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has also repeatedly recommended that the U.S. designate Pakistan a "Country of Particular Concern," which would allow Washington to put direct pressure on Islamabad to undertake reforms.

The Rev. Thomas Reese, who is commission chairman, said the State Department wont say why it has resisted addressing rampant and government-abided persecution of Christians.

"The forces that target religious minorities and members of the majority faith present a human rights and security challenge to Pakistan and the United States," he said.

It is not just Christians who are persecuted in Pakistan, said Hassan Abbas, professor of international security studies at the National Defense University in Washington and author of "The Taliban Revival."

"Hindus, Sikhs and even minority groups within Islam have faced increased violence and terror, he said. Ethnic minorities, too, have severe grievances.

A State Department official told FoxNews.com that they regularly express their concerns to Pakistani authorities about the state of religious freedom, but that Secretary of State John Kerry determined in April that Pakistans behavior did not warrant the damning designation because the nation had made progress in addressing the issue. Islamabad has closed hundreds of Islamist schools where hate was preached and has cracked down on violent sectarian groups, the official said.

But U.S.-based advocates point to events that show persecution of Christians is rising. Among them:

Madeeha Bakhsh, of the online newswire Christians in Pakistan, said Muslim extremist violence against Christian girls and women is exploding in poor neighborhoods. An estimated 700 Christians were compelled to convert to Islam last year, many as part of forced marriages.

"Christian girls  married and unmarried  are being abducted, sexually abused and almost at all times subjected to forced conversions by means of forced marriages with Muslims," he said. "Since Pakistan relies heavily on foreign aid, first and foremost, terms tied to funding would trigger a state-backed drive against the religion-based persecution. But there is very little being done."

Advocacy on behalf of Pakistans religious minorities from within the nation is dangerous, as those who speak out are silenced with accusations of blasphemy and even imprisonment. The closest thing religious minorities have to a political advocate may be the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a Karachi-based political party originally comprised of those who fled India.

Sadly, minorities are not accepted as true Pakistanis, said Nadeem Nusrat, who lives in London and serves as top aide to MQM leader Altaf Hussain. We would like a system more like you have in the West. We see the U.S. as a national ally to the people of Karachi. We see our values, to accept all groups, as similar.

The MQM, despite being a mostly secular party, has long been accused of using violence and intimidation as a means to maintain control of Karachi, which its leadership denies and attributes to a smear campaign. Hussain has been in self-imposed exile since 1992 over money-laundering allegations and murder accusations that he and his supporters deny.

Nadeem Hotiana, a spokesperson for the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, said the government is committed to protecting minorities. He noted Sharif recently announced that religious holidays of minority communities such as Easter will be declared national holidays and that there are guaranteed seats reserved for minorities in the national and provincial assemblies, as well as the Senate.

The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees equal rights to all minorities and freedom to practice their religious beliefs, he said. Minorities are free to profess their religion and visit their places of worship.

Yet, many remain unconvinced and say true change can only be driven by pressure from the U.S.

"Progress can take time, but our leaders must continue to pursue improvement for the plight of persecuted Christians and other religious minorities, said David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA, which advocates for persecuted Christians across the world.
Dickeys Barbecue Pit Executes Development Agreement for New Stores in Texas and Nebraska

Existing franchisee to expand portfolio by two new Dickeys locations.

August 11, 2016 // Franchising.com // Dallas, TX - Dickeys Barbecue Pit announces a new development agreement for two new stores located in North Texas and West Nebraska. The first store will open by the end of 2016 in Mabank, Texas.

Dickeys Barbecue Pit is proud to have so many existing Owner/Operators becoming multi-unit franchisees, says Roland Dickey Jr., CEO of Dickeys Barbecue Pit. Owner/Operator Guy New already has a successful store in Texas, and we congratulate him on his agreement for two more locations.

A fifth-generation Texan, Guy New is an entrepreneur who has his hand in several businesses. He has owned an information technology consulting company for the past 20 years and is also a real estate investor. He decided to begin franchising with Dickeys in 2011 and has successfully operated his first location in Rowlett, just east of Dallas, for the past five years. He will open his second store in Mabank, Texas by the end of 2016 and the third in Gering/Scottsbluff, Nebraska within a year. Im excited about opening two more franchises with the biggest barbecue chain in the world because the communities are excited to welcome us, New says. Engaging with our community is the best part of owning a Dickeys, and we look forward to expanding in these new locations.

To learn more about franchising with Dickeys, visit www.dickeys.com/franchise or call 866-340-6188.

To find the Dickeys Barbecue Pit nearest you, click here. Find Dickeys on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nations largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic slow-smoked barbecue. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant living up to the company tagline, We Speak Barbecue. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids meals every Sunday. The fast-casual concept has expanded to more than 560 locations in 43 states. This year Dickeys won first place on Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers and ranked in the top ten of Franchise Times Fast and Serious. Dickeys Barbecue Pit was recognized for the third year by Nations Restaurant News as a Top 10 Growth Chain and by Technomic as the Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com or for barbecue franchise opportunities call 866.340.6188.

SOURCE Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Media Contact:

Michelle George

Public Relations Specialist

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

mgeorge@dickeys.com

(972) 248-9899 ext. 235

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Dickey's Barbecue Pit Blazes a Trail to Pahrump, Nevada

Pahrump's first Dickey's location will offer four weeks of fun, and three guests will win free barbecue for a year.

PAHRUMP, Nev. - Aug. 10, 2016 // PRNewswire // - Dickey's Barbecue Pit opens in Pahrump this Thursday with four weeks of fun! Thursdays through Sundays will feature different specials and giveaways, including free barbecue for a year for three lucky guests! Guests can enter to win using hashtag #1FreeYearofBBQ on any social media page, by ordering online or signing up for the Big Yellow Cup Club to receive loyalty points and members-only specials. Dickey's Barbecue Pit's founder, Roland Dickey, Sr. will also attend the grand opening on Thursday to hand out autographed cookbooks to the first 50 guests.

To find the Dickey's Barbecue Pit nearest you, go to [https://www.dickeys.com/locations].

"We are proud to open the eighth Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Nevada, and look forward to many more locations in The Silver State," says Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "We congratulate Owner/Operator Doug Dubin on opening his first of eight Dickey's locations."

Doors open this Thursday and guests can enjoy the grand opening events over the next four weeks:

Thirsty Thursdays  All guests will receive a free Big Yellow Cup with Dickey's new reusable travel lid and straw. The first 50 guests will receive a taste of Dickey's butcher taco of the month and a free autographed copy of Mr. Dickey's Barbecue Cookbook. 95.9 KACE Country will broadcast live segments from the store all morning.

 All guests will receive a free Big Yellow Cup with Dickey's new reusable travel lid and straw. The first 50 guests will receive a taste of Dickey's butcher taco of the month and a free autographed copy of Mr. Dickey's Barbecue Cookbook. 95.9 KACE Country will broadcast live segments from the store all morning. Philanthropy Fridays  "You Give, We Give," guests who donate to Dickey's charitable foundation,Barbecue, Boots & Badges, will receive a gift card. Uniformed first responders also receive 50 percent off their meal.

 "You Give, We Give," guests who donate to Dickey's charitable foundation,Barbecue, Boots & Badges, will receive a gift card. Uniformed first responders also receive 50 percent off their meal. Singer/Songwriter Saturdays  Enjoy live music.

 Enjoy live music. Kids Eat Free All Day Every Sunday (with dine-in purchase of an adult meal)

For the Dubin family, Dickey's Barbecue Pit is a family business. The Pahrump location is the first of eight stores which will open in Nevada and Southern California, and the entire Dubin family will be a part of each store's operations. The fact that the barbecue brand is still owned and operated by its founding family was a big part of Doug Dubin's decision to start franchising. "We are excited to provide career opportunities for our family and other families," Dubin says. "We look forward to serving authentic Texas barbecue to our community in Pahrump and future locations." Dubin's next Dickey's location will open in the Las Vegas area by mid-2017, with at least two more stores to open in and around the Las Vegas Valley and four in Southern California. The new Dickey's location will also hold fundraisers for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and American Cancer Society during their four-week opening celebration.

Residents of Pahrump can find their newest Dickey's at 240 Highway 160, Unit 17, Pahrump, NV 89048. The phone number is 775-209-1950.

Find Dickey's on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic slow-smoked barbecue. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant living up to the company tagline, "We Speak Barbecue." The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids' meals every Sunday. The fast-casual concept has expanded to more than 560 locations in 43 states. This year Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" and ranked in the top ten of Franchise Times' "Fast and Serious." Dickey's Barbecue Pit was recognized for the third year by Nation's Restaurant News as a "Top 10 Growth Chain" and by Technomic as the "Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country." For more information, visit www.dickeys.com or for barbecue franchise opportunities call 866.340.6188.

SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue

Media Contact:

Kimberly Harms

kharms@dickeys.com

972.248.9899

Michelle George

mgeorge@dickeys.com

972.248.9899

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Pollo Campero's Comparable Sales Grow 9.1% for Second Quarter of 2016

Campero's Growth Momentum Continues After First Quarter's 7.2% SSSG

DALLAS - Aug. 11, 2016 // PRNewswire // - Pollo Campero, the world's largest Latin chicken restaurant brand, reported a 9.1 percent same-store sales growth for the second quarter of 2016, marking the 18th consecutive quarter the restaurant chain has seen positive comparable growth. Despite a restaurant industry slowdown throughout 2016, Pollo Campero has seen its same-store sales growth accelerate above the 7.2 percent same-store sales growth it experienced during the first quarter of the year. To generate its strong sales momentum, the brand continues to focus on and engage with its growing Millennial customer base.

"There are a number of issues impacting the restaurant industry: higher restaurant prices driven by labor costs, lower competitive prices for prepared food in grocery stores and political uncertainty," said Tim Pulido, CEO of Pollo Campero International. "Given the industry's challenges, we are pleased to see our brand outperform and sustain strong sales growth."

With Millennials accounting for more than 60 percent of Pollo Campero's customers, the brand continues to launch initiatives that are relevant to this segment. From a mobile app pilot in select cities, to its focus on menu innovation, unique limited time offers and reinforcing its Latin roots, Campero has seen steady growth in its Millennial customer base.

Pollo Campero also continues to focus on restaurant expansion and remodels. The brand is currently planning to grow its units by 20 percent in 2016, and is in the process of completing remodels that will showcase the new Campero brand image and design launched in 2014. "Our new store design and image reinforce our uniqueness and brand relevance - as we have opened new stores and remodeled existing ones, we have seen more diverse Millennial customers drawn to our restaurants," said Pulido.

Pollo Campero's focus on growth also includes plans to nearly double its number of restaurants in the next three years by concentrating in key states. "As we look forward, we are looking to expand inWashington, D.C., Texas, California and Florida with both corporate and franchised units," shared Tim Pulido.

About Pollo Campero

Pollo Campero is a Latin QSR+ concept that focuses on fresh and authentic hand-breaded and citrus grilled chicken recipes. The brand started in Guatemala in 1971 as a tiny, family-owned restaurant and has expanded to over 350 restaurants worldwide, including 65 in the U.S. With bold and exciting Latin-inspired menu items, Campero has become a favorite for those looking for unique flavors such as Millennials. Today, as Pollo Campero marks its 45th anniversary, its focus on quality, and its mission to stay true to its Latin roots remain the same. At the heart of that commitment: the promise to use fresh, never frozen, hormone-free chicken paired with traditional Latin sides, drinks and desserts in a vibrant atmosphere.

For franchise information, or to learn more about Pollo Campero, visit Campero.com/franchising. Follow the flavor on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CamperoUSA.

SOURCE Pollo Campero

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Sen. Mark Kirk Says He Will Write-In Colin Powell For President

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 10, 2016 9:23PM



Mark Kirk / Getty Images / Photo: Gabriella Demczuk

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) announced on CNN on Wednesday that he plans on writing in Colin Powell for president in the presidential election in November rather than vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. The lawmaker had previously endorsed Trump but called take-backs in June, saying the Republican nominee has not demonstrated the temperament necessary to assume the greatest office in the world.

In the interview, Kirk cites the Iran nuclear deal framework as a preclusion to voting for Hillary Clinton. I cant support someone who is for the Iran agreement, he told interviewer Brooke Baldwin. But as Politico points out, that logic doesnt quite compute when you consider the fact that Powell himself defended the deal in 2015.

Granted, it was not full-throated, but it was a defense nonetheless. Powell told Meet the Press last September:



People are saying, 'No, you can't trust (Iran). I don't trust them. I say, We have a deal, let's see how they implement the deal. If they don't implement it, bail out.' None of our options are gone.

Its a pretty good deal, he added.

Its of course understandable that Kirk would shy away from Trump. He needs to convince the Illinois electorate of his ideological moderation as he faces a close race to keep his Senate seat from Democratic challenger and U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth. But a write-in vote could in essence act as a vote for Clinton. When posed with that question, Kirk responded rather literally. I would say its a vote not for Hillary Clinton. Its For someone whos better than she is, he said.

Asked what he makes of figures like Paul Ryan and John McCain, who still do endorse Trump, he deflected. Trump is too racist and too bigoted for the Land of Lincoln, he said, avoiding the national outlook.

Several prominent Republicans have turned a back to party allegiance and endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. Former U.S. treasury secretary Henry Paulson, Jr., Dubya-era Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and onetime national security adviser Brent Scrowcroft have all pledged to vote for the Democratic nominee.

Of course, Colin Powell has his own history of siding against the GOP in presidential elections. He endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and again in 2012. So, yeah, this could really backfire for Kirk.

The Democratic Party of Illinois might want to update their $#*% My Senator Says Tumblr.
Chicago's Shooting Rate Is Alarmingly High Despite Gun Arrests

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 11, 2016 3:33PM



Crime scene tape (Photo by LukaTDB via Shutterstock)

At least 99 people were shot in Chicago in just seven days between the afternoon of Friday, Aug 5 and Thursday morningaccording to the Tribune.

That stretch includes one day that stands out in particular for its violence: Monday saw nine people fatally shot. It was deadliest single day in Chicago in over a decade, the paper reports. Another ten were wounded that day, including Tavon Tanner, a 10-year-old boy who was shot in the back while standing on the sidewalk in front of his home.

Earlier this month, Chicago Police Department Supt. Eddie Johnson advocated for stricter gun laws and more stringent sentencing guidelines for repeat offenders, while still allowing judges leeway when determining sentences.

Were doing a good job of arresting people and recovering these weapons. But we absolutely drop the ball when it comes to holding people accountable. These repeat gun offenders are telling us they dont want to play by the same rules, Johnson said, according to WTTW.

Gun arrests have gone up by seven percent through July compared to 2015, Johnson said. The police department made roughly 1900 gun arrests during that timeframe, according to the top cop.

But the uptick in gun violence still continues. There have been 2,514 shooting victims in Chicago so far this year, according to Tribune data. At the same time in 2015, that figure was only 1,725. The city averaged more than two murders per day in June.

In a detailed analysis last month, the Tribune found that gun violence disproportionately hits segments of the South and West Sides. Factors cited include poverty and easy access to firearmsin part due to laxer gun laws in Indiana. The president of the police union, Dean Angelo Sr., blamed a decrease in street stops on vast amounts of paperwork that officers must file. Another common criticism is that officers go fetal and disengage from a potential stop due to fear of reprisal amid increased scrutiny of police accountability, a claim which the American Civil Liberties Union has disputed.
A Large-Scale Condo Complex Near Division Blue Line Takes Step To Development

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 11, 2016 8:20PM

The developer behind the citys first transit-oriented development, located near the Polish Triangle in Wicker Park, is moving forward with another large-scale residential proposal in the immediate vicinityalthough this one wont qualify as a TOD.

Rob Buono and his firm, Henry Street Partners, had previously announced plans for a 12-story, 34-unit condominium complex across the street from the Polish Triangle, the small patch of land formed where Milwaukee, Ashland and Division Avenue trisect. The property would occupy two addresses, 1209 N. Milwaukee Ave.where Fifth Third Bank standsand 1220 N. Bosworth Ave., which includes the banks parking lot. Under the plan, the bank would remain, as first-floor tenants but much of the lot would be developed as part of the proposal.

Buono took his initial plan to the Pulaski Park Neighborhood Association on Wednesday evening to outline details to the public. According to Curbed, the project will likely include ivy landscaping along exterior walls. (Buono made the same proposal for MiCa, his ever-controversial twin tower project near Milwaukee and California avenues.) In addition, the proposal includes 52 parking spaces for the 34 units, which, theres your tipoff this is no TOD (which must be kept "parking lite" per city ordinance), despite its extreme proximity to the Division Blue Line Stop.

As Curbed points out, a project of this size and height would require a change to the sites zoning. Despite that hurdle, Buono is reportedly eyeing a completion date of mid-2018. The Pulaski Park Neighborhood Association has not yet scheduled a follow-up meeting, according to their website.

Chicagoist has reached out to Henry Street Partners for renderings and additional details, and well update this post accordingly.

In the meantime, check out Curbeds original post, which includes schematics and photos of a building model.
Study shows killer T cells recognize cancer in early tumors, but these early responders are rapidly silenced

A new Fred Hutch study in mice suggests that in a tumors early stages  long before a human tumor would be clinically recognizable  certain immune cells can recognize initial changes that make it possible for these cells to behave as a cancer. Those immune cells never become fully able to launch an attack, as they are rapidly turned off and then permanently silenced, underscoring what a wily foe cancer can be against the immune system.

The study, published in the Aug. 9 issue of the journal Immunity, was led by Fred Hutch immunologist Dr. Phil Greenberg and Dr. Andrea Schietinger, a former postdoctoral research fellow in the Greenberg Lab who now heads an immunotherapy lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Although our immune cells are trained early in development to not recognize and harm our own cells, cancerous cells bear many tumor-specific molecules, or antigens  which, in theory, could spur a potent immune response if the tumors werent able to block such a response. An outstanding puzzle in the immunotherapy field concerns the early stages of tumor development, in which cancerous cells acquire driver mutations in some of their genes. Such mutations are responsible for transforming a normal cell into a cancerous cell that can proliferate and invade tissues, but can change the appearance of the cells to the point that they could be recognized as foreign by the immune system. But to date researchers have had difficulty finding evidence that our immune cells actually recognize these very early stages of tumor formation.

Our results highlight that driver mutations, which theoretically would be the most effective antigens to target because they represent the basis for a tumor behaving as a tumor, are not immunologically silent and can indeed be recognized, said Greenberg.

The new study shows that certain immune cells, known as CD8+ T cells or killer T cells, can recognize such driver mutations but are quickly rendered nonfunctional, thereby protecting the tumor from an immune attack and allowing it to progress. If researchers could figure out a way to reverse that silencing, the strategies could be used to rescue the tumor-recognizing T cells to proceed to attack the tumor. This could improve the performance of certain immunotherapies, including that of so-called checkpoint-inhibitor drugs that release some of cancers brakes on the immune system. These inhibitors, such as the drug pembroluzimab, allow patients bodies to mount an immune response to mutations that have cropped up later in cancers progression, when the tumor is better established.

Greenberg and his research team are now pursuing two strategies to build off of their findings. One strategy focuses on defining the molecules that render the tumor-recognizing T cells dysfunctional. The ultimate goal is to disrupt those silencing molecules. The other strategy is to engineer, for eventual therapeutic use, T cells that recognize the driver mutations but cannot be shut off by the tumor.

 Rachel Tompa / Fred Hutch News Service
Personal Statement For College Online Slashes Their Costs By 25%

Personal Statement for College Online announced the shuttering of collage application essay tutoring cost by 25% effective August 10,2016. Current customers can find out more information on www.personalstatementforcollege.com

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Personal Statement for College Online a premier tutoring and editing company from Florida, Miami announced today that it is slashing its personal statement, cover letter and essay prompts tutoring cost by 25%. "These subsidized costs will allow a large number of students take advantage of our experienced tutors, as they prepare for college admissions", said Personal Statement for College Online CEO Johnson Taylor.

An application or admissions essay, sometimes also called a statement of purpose or personal statement, is a written statement or an essay drafted by a prospective student applying to some graduate school, university or college. The admissions essay is a common part of the college and university admissions process. According to Uni in the USA, the Common Application essay is chance for a prospective student to distinguish oneself from other applicants and leave real impression that makes the admissions panel want to meet that students and offer him/her a place.

According to the company, the 2016-2017 college application season has officially begun. For most colleges and universities the Common Application essay topics have officially been confirmed and prospective student are warming up their typing fingers and creative brains for the essay-writing exercise.

By discounting the tutoring costs Personal Statement for College Online will be able to help prospective students from all-over the world write well-structured application essays that capture their aspirations, additional qualification, and experience. Tutors will help students exhibit a great deal in their statement of purpose than just academics. Experienced tutors will guide applicants on how to formulate unusual essay prompts, like those demanded by All Souls College, Oxford and University of Chicago.

In addition to discounting its prices, the company has recruited over 2400 expert tutors with real-life and teaching experience on various subjects. The company has recruited professional tutors with Masters Degrees, college professors, graduate students, certified teachers, and Ph.D.'s credentials. All tutors undertake mentor review and mock tutoring sessions before joining the organization as part of the vetting process.

For more information about Personal statement for College Online, visit www.personalstatementforcollege.com. Customers who have specific questions or inquiries can contact the company directly.

For more information, please visit http://www.personalstatementforcollege.com

Contact Info:

Name: Johnson Taylor

Email: info@personalstatementforcollege.com

Organization: Personal Statement for College Online

Address: 2911 Center St, Miami, FL 33133

Phone: +1 602 497 4023

Release ID: 127290

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Peaks Academy is launching the first online, part-time data science bootcamp. We want to train data analysts, software engineers and other technical professionals to perform advanced data analysis and properly utilize machine learning algorithms.

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Peaks Academy is launching a new online bootcamp for aspiring data scientists. The program will run for 24 weeks and take place 100% online through a virtual classroom experience.

Expert practitioners who are currently employed as data scientists will teach the core curriculum. The curriculum combines the traditional topics of data science with industry experience and guided projects.

The course will provide students with the skills to derive insight from data, as well as experience in the process of choosing the right analytical tools and data sources for the question, and communicating outcomes to maximize the transfer of insight to key stakeholders. The program is designed to train-by-doing, and will use the iterative data science design process to cover machine learning algorithms, SQL and NoSQL databases, Python programming language and packages, Bayesian modeling, visualization tools and techniques, and many other topics.

Successful applicants will be those who have a background in statistics and probability as well as programming. A few groups that will be well suited are: data analysts, software engineers, quantitative graduate degree holders, traditional engineers, and other technical professionals. No more than 20 applicants will be accepted into the bootcamp in order to maintain the quality of instruction and career support.

To learn more about the bootcamp, visit http://www.peaksacademy.com. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. The first cohort is set to start on December 5, 2016.

About Peaks Academy

Peaks Academy is a leading provider of online educational services for individuals and businesses. Their goal is to bridge the gap between traditional university education programs and the rising demand for analytical and technological talent. By 2018, there will be almost 500,000 new jobs in data science, with a projected shortage of up to 190,000 qualified data scientists. Their flagship offering is the Data Science bootcamp. It is both the first online and part-time data science bootcamp offered in the world. The company plans to launch an immersive Data Engineering bootcamp next year as well.

For more information, please visit http://www.peaksacademy.com

Contact Info:

Name: Ty Shaikh

Email: info@peaksacademy.com

Organization: Peaks Academy

Address: 79 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

Phone: 866-263-1527

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/peaks-academy-launches-first-online-data-science-bootcamp-to-train-working-professionals/127427

Release ID: 127427

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Hollywood Stars Former Addict Son Released from Prison After an Extended Sentence

( August 11, 2016 ) Philadelphia, Pa -- Cameron Douglas, son of actor Michael Douglas, was released from prison after a six year sentence for acquiring heroin and profiting from methamphetamine sales. Douglas was first taken into custody in 2010 when he was sentenced to five years. His time was increased after he admitted to sneaking drugs into the prison. In addition to the extended sentence, Douglas was required to spend two years in an isolated holding cell. Although Cameron Douglas was scheduled to be released in 2018, he got out early and inhabits a safe house in New York.

While incarcerated, Douglas released a statement for a popular news blog that predicated his views on the time he spent in the penitentiary as a nonviolent offender. "Somehow, with the astronomical rate of recidivism, largely due to drug violations, no one seems to comprehend that tossing individuals desperate for skills to cope with addiction behind bars, no matter for how long a period of time, does absolutely nothing but temporarily deter them from succumbing to their weakness. Instead of focusing on how many individuals this county can keep imprisoned, why can we not focus on how many individuals we can keep from coming back."

A representative from Drug Rehab Philadelphia said: " It's a sigh of relief to see someone who comes from a privileged lifestyle come out of imprisonment and learn a valuable lesson from their experience. There are an alarming number of nonviolent offenders in prison serving more time than those who have committed murder. I agree that instead of the mass imprisonment of drug users, off assistance so those people won't repeat the cycle."

About Drug Rehab Philadelphia 19112:

Drug Rehab Philadelphia is an organization offering detox and rehabilitation services to Pennsylvania residents and all other U.S. citizens. The drug rehab in Philadelphia proudly serves all those in need of help overcoming their substance abuse disorders. Clients are in control of their own recovery with choices in the type of program they undertake and the method of treatment: inpatient, outpatient, or partial hospitalization.With a staff dedicated to empowering each client and providing them the skills and tools necessary to end their addiction,is a rehabilitation center like no other.

For more information, please visit http://www.drugrehabphiladelphia.net/ or call 267-351-8139.

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Sage Advice Offered: Use Maple Holistics Newly Released Sage Shampoo

Maple Holistics has announced and released yet another product in their long and successful line of personal care products with their all-natural Sage Shampoo. Maple Holistics Sage Shampoo is available at the Maple Holistics website and at Amazon.com

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Finally, some good news for those folks looking for an end to their long shampoo search. Maple Holistics has announced the introduction and release of their new Sage Shampoo for Anti Dandruff. This shampoo is intended to solve one of the most common and one of the most annoying hair problems faced by both women and men. The dry, white flakes can be embarrassing and most of the time, they show themselves at the most inappropriate of times. They cause acne and skin problems, too. This new release from Maple Holistics is all-natural and made with ingredients that target and eliminate dandruff. Maple Holistics Sage Shampoo is available for purchase now at the Maple Holistics website as well as at Amazon.com.

Maple Holistics Sage Shampoo contains no silicone or sulfate ingredients. The Sage Shampoo is cruelty-free, paraben-free, made in the USA, contains no artificial colors or harmful ingredients, and is packaged in environmentally friendly, BPA-free bottles.

Maple Holistics Sage Shampoo for Dandruff can help eliminate dandruff in an easy and natural way. Safely formulated and the spearhead of the formula, Sage is a natural astringent and plays a vital role in reducing dermatitis. It helps reduce dandruff and prevents clogged hair follicles. Sage also helps combat hair loss and baldness, as well as adds shine and luster to the hair. Rosemary, also used in the formula, has an excellent reputation for scalp and hair care. Rosemary ct. Verbenone contains less camphor and is safer to use in topical applications. Rich in verbenone, this ingredient can stimulate renewal of the hair follicles, while promoting improved circulation. It releases a herbaceous aroma preferred by many. Other helpful ingredients used include Spikenard, Tea Tree, Jojoba and Peach Kernel, and Botanical Keratin.

The release of Maple Holistics Sage shampoo follows the successful launches of a number of Maple Holistics shampoos and all-natural personal care products. Maple Holistics shampoo makes up one part of its multi-faceted line of natural personal care products which boast the purest and highest quality ingredients used in each product, maximizing the therapeutic potential for each specific area of health.

About the Company

Maple Holistics provides industry leading all-natural hair, body, skin, and food products. The company offers a natural, holistic range of premium products which can enhance hygiene, health and daily living. Company products are made in the USA.

For more information, please visit https://www.mapleholistics.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Nate M

Organization: Maple Holistics



Release ID: 127293

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Aprons and Smocks Launches Online Expansion Serving Restaurant Industry Upsurge

A broader selection of customized restaurant apparel helps better meet the needs of a growing workforce, publishes apronsandsmocks.com

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According to figures released earlier this year by the National Restaurant Association, the United States is currently home to in excess of 1 million restaurants. Analysts forecast the industry will more than double over the next decade, at which point this sector will account for greater than 20 percent of the nation's workforce. In response to this growth, spokesperson Michael Cielinski of Aprons and Smocks has launched the restaurant apparel company's newly expanded online selection.

Cielinski confirmed, "Aprons and Smocks offers high-quality restaurant uniforms from the most trusted manufacturers in the business. We carry options designed to hold up to the demands of the food service industry. Our expanded inventory includes a variety of styles perfect for everyone in the field. We also offer an array of customization options so customers can create and maintain the images they want for their establishments."

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Among Aprons and Smocks' customization services are screen printing and embroidery. Customers are able to choose from a variety of fonts and colors for their company names, logos and additional text. Though the company offers freedom of choice in regard to custom orders, design team representatives suggest reserving embroidery for heavier fabrics.

Concluded Cielinski, "While we specialize in the food service and hospitality sectors, we offer uniform smocks and other accessories perfect for a wide range of additional professions, such as art, teaching and retail to name a few. We pride ourselves in providing quality products and services at the most affordable prices, and we're dedicated to maintaining fast turnaround times. We encourage anyone in need of aprons, smocks or food service apparel to contact us whether they're looking for a single piece or thousands of customized uniforms."

About Aprons and Smocks:

A Women's Business Enterprise certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), Aprons and Smocks brings more than seven years of experience to the uniform apparel industry. Staff members believe restaurant apparel should be something those in the industry can count on rather than an extra hassle, and are committed to fulfilling that concept.

For more information, please visit https://www.apronsandsmocks.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Michael Cielinski

Organization: Aprons & Smocks

Phone: 1 (877) 277-6609

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/aprons-and-smocks-launches-online-expansion-serving-restaurant-industry-upsurge/127503

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Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight, And This Year Is Supposed To Be Great

By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Aug 11, 2016 4:40PM



The Perseid Meteor Shower, photo by Victor Rogus via The Adler Planetarium Facebook page

NASA says this year's Perseid meteor shower, which is set to peak Thursday and Friday evening, will be the best and brightest in recent years, and we're inclined to believe them, because, you know, they're NASA.

This year's event is being classified as an "outburst," or a shower with more meteors than usualas many as double, according to NASA's forecasters. The last Perseid outburst happened in 2009 and the next one might not be until 2027, one astronomer told NPR.

Here in Chicago, aspiring astronomers may not have much luck spotting any shooting stars (technically, they're meteors) through the bright city lights, but there are other options. As Adler Planetarium astronomer Mark Hammergren told Chicagoist before last month's much smaller Delta Aquarids shower, places like the Indiana Dunes, or less populated areas south or west of the city may be smart sky-viewing bets for Chicagoans. Adler is also hosting its annual Perseid Star Partywhich will feature telescopes, constellation storytime, and games in west suburban Wheaton's Cantigny Park Friday night, a location Hammergren described as "about the best we can do" viewing-wise close to the city. NASA says the best time to look for Perseid meteors this year is between midnight and dawn Friday morning. They also recommend giving your eyes up to 45 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Peak activity is expected through Saturday.

Most years, the Perseid shower lights up the sky when Earth travels through the edge of an ancient comet's trail of debris, but this year, because of Jupiter's gravity tugging on those debris trails, NASA says we'll actually be traveling through a denser trail of galactic dust, meaning the shower will be extra meteor-y.

The Adler Perseid Star Party, which sold out last year, starts at 6 p.m. Friday and lasts until midnight. Tickets are $9 for planetarium members and kids online, $12 for non-member adults online; or $15 for adults and $9 for kids at the event.

Happy sky gazing!
Colorado Springs Personal Injury Attorney Doug Allen Launches New Website

The website enables personal injury victims to gain insight into the law and contact Doug Allen personally for help, reports http://coloradoinjury.pro.

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Doug Allen, a premier personal injury attorney serving the people of Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas, has recently announced the launch of his new website. Created to be a highly educational and informative resource, the new site enables personal injury victims to gain insight into the law concerning the topic, understand what they need to consider when making the decision to hire an attorney, and contact Doug Allen personally for help.

J. Bradshaw, a representative of the firm, stated "Sustaining an injury due to someone else's negligence can be a shocking ordeal. By the time someone says to themselves I need a lawyer, much of what transpired has already become a blur, and victims may find themselves confused about what to do next. The website we've just launched is designed to help victims during this time. The content on our site gives them valuable information about their rights, how the law works, and what to do to recover financially and physically from devastating accidents."

Not only does Attorney Doug Allen's new website include information and advice about how to pick a personal injury lawyer, but it also gives victims vital information about what to do if they've been injured in an accident in Colorado Springs. For example, it's important that they stay calm and avoid admitting fault, move their vehicle out of the road and put their hazard lights on, call law enforcement and insist they come out, and exchange personal and insurance information with the other driver. The site also gives information on how to talk to witnesses, how to photograph the accident scene, and the proper way to document exactly what happened.

As Bradshaw goes on to say, "For anyone who has been injured in an accident of any kind, our website enables clients to easily contact Doug Allen via email or phone with no worries about paying a contingency fee just to do so. Those who subscribe to the email list can easily get important education about the law delivered straight to their inboxes. We created this site to be a go-to resource that will let victims know that they have someone on their side who will advocate for them as they seek justice during this difficult time."

About Doug Allen:

Doug Allen is an experienced lawyer who pledges to personally handle every client's case from start to finish and promises to always fight for his clients and their families. Doug Allen cares about his clients, coming to meet them wherever they are, talking with them anytime of the day or night, and promising not to take any money from them unless he wins their cases. With over 20 years of personal injury experience, Doug Allen is the right choice to handle any personal injury need, from medical bills to final settlement. He practiced personal injury law in Florida for 18 years and, after growing up in Colorado as a child, has now made Colorado his permanent home.

For more information, please visit http://coloradoinjury.pro

Contact Info:

Name: J. Bradshaw

Organization: Doug Allen

Phone: (719) 373-4782

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/colorado-springs-personal-injury-attorney-doug-allen-launches-new-website/127500

Release ID: 127500

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Thermalabs Introduces New Product for Addressing Dry Skin and Stretch Marks

Thermalabs has introduced a brand new skincare product that will help people suffering from stretch marks and dry skin.

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Thermalabs, a leading provider of cosmetics products, has announced a new lotion that's designed from a unique blend of all-natural ingredients. Known as the Thermalabs Shea Butter lotion, this is a triple-action moisturizer that contains microscopic grains of Dead Sea minerals. The product works to deeply moisturize the skin, thus soothing cracks and itches, as well as restoring the skin's elasticity and integrity.

The new lotion will be available to the company's customers through Amazon.com, the world's number 1 e-commerce marketplace. Skincare buffs can also get it from the company's main website at Thermalabs.com. The company traditionally announces its launches on Amazon and other popular online marketplaces, making it instantly possible for people from all over the world to purchase them.

Thermalabs is an innovative American firm that's made its name in the cosmetics industry. The company opened its doors in 2013. Back then, it started out with an ingeniously-formulated tanning lotion that included all-natural and organic ingredients. The lotion helped self-tanning fanatics get a proper, beautiful and radiant tan within just a few hours after applying it. Within its first week in the market, the startup's pilot product was a major hit, attracting massive publishing and free press from niche blogs and media outlets. Thermalabs was able to capitalize on this wild success to set up a strong company that today serves millions of customers worldwide. The firm's dominance has mainly been felt in the self-tanning niche. However, in recent times, Thermalabs has announced three new sub-brands in an attempt to expand to other playing fields in the expansive cosmetics industry. Supremasea was the first sub-brand that Thermalabs revealed in 2015. This is tasked with the marketing of all products formulated from Dead Sea mineral salts. Tent World and Organic Healthcare are the two other sub-brands, both of which were revealed early in 2016. Tent World oversees Thermalabs exciting range of beach tents, while Organic Healthcare is a new branch that promotes the company's prospects in the organic healthcare niche. The new Shea Butter lotion is under the Supremasea sub-brand.

Thermalabs describes its latest launch (the Shea Butter lotion) as the best skin treatment lotion available in the market. It is optimized to help with stretch marks, dry skin, scars and similar conditions. It also delivers impressive results for people just looking to care for their skin on a day-to-day basis. The product contains Dead Sea salts, combined with Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado, and Coconut Oil. Sweet Almond is known to be rich in antioxidants. Avocado Oil contains proteins, fatty acids and unsaturated fats that deeply moisturize and soothe the skin. Coconut oil promotes cell regeneration and encourages circulation. This exotic blend of all-natural, highly beneficial ingredients make the lotion quite appealing to the eco-conscious market. According to Thermalabs, this lotion will soon enough earn its place as the most effective daily skincare aid available in the market.

For more information, please visit http://www.thermalabs.com/home

Contact Info:

Name: Jennifer Parker

Organization: Thermalabs

Address: 450 West 58th Street New York, NY 10019

Phone: (877) 266-6257

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P-I0AgKZyI

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/thermalabs-introduces-new-product-for-addressing-dry-skin-and-stretch-marks/126970

Release ID: 126970

For more information visit r



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An Express Toll Lane Is Being Proposed Along A Local Stretch Of I-55

By Stephen Gossett in News on Aug 11, 2016 6:04PM

A long-in-the-works project to reduce congestion along I-55 within the city limits will incorporate some degree of private investment. And according to the Illinois Department of Transportation, that would include tolling the proposed express lane, which would be added to the expressways median.

The project to incorporate the express lanewhich would run between I-90/94, in the southwest part of the city, all the way out to where I-55 meets the Veterans Memorial Tollway, near Bolingbrookhas been in the works since 2012. IDOT announced on Thursday that the department has issued a formal request seeking assistance from private firms. Those private investors will help support the estimated $425 million price tag, according to a press release. But not enough to avoid added revenue from the general public via tolls, it seems.

A spokeswoman from IDOT told Chicagoist that she could not offer an estimate of the toll rate at this time.

This is an important step for a project that can serve as a model for how to rebuild our roads and bridges, Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn said in a release sent to Chicagoist. Working together with the private sector, we can learn about best practices for projects like this, potentially saving taxpayers time and money.

A forum is scheduled for Sept. 20 at the O'Hare Holiday Inn at which the public can learn more about the so-called Managed Lane Project. IDOT called the 25-mile stretch one of the most important in Illinois, one that accommodates some 170,000 vehicles each day. The plan was passed by the Federal Highway Administration in July but must still be approved by the City Council.
Legal & General has agreed to sell Cofunds to Aegon in a 140m deal, ending months of speculation about the future of the platform.

FTAdviser first reported that Aegon was a potential buyer of Cofunds back in February, and several market commentators heralded the move as game-changing.

According to the L&Gs recent results, published earlier this week, Cofunds was hit by outflows of 700m during the first six months of the year.

The sell-off includes the Investor Portfolio Service platform, as well as Cofunds retail and institutional business.

Aegon expects to generate a yearly cost saving of 60m across its UK business through the deal.

Mark Gregory, group chief financial officer of Legal & General, said Cofunds is at the point where it requires a significant upgrade in technology.

We have concluded that this long term commitment is best achieved under Aegons ownership as a specialist wealth platform provider.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, which is expected by December 2016. Our success will depend on bringing advisers with us and delivering a smooth transition. Adrian Grace

Adrian Grace, chief executive of Aegon UK, said: For users of the platform, todays deal provides certainty regarding its future and we will keep what has made Cofunds a powerhouse and the primary platform for so many advisers, and improve what needs improving.

He said the success of the deal will depend on advisers transition across to the platform.

We recognise the scale of the task at hand and the importance of getting the detail right, Mr Grace said, adding: We will work closely with advisers throughout this process to make sure we do just that.

Since the announcement was made this morning, Aegons share price has dropped slightly, while L&Gs has nudged up.

According to Aegons second quarter results, released today, the Dutch insurers underlying earnings before tax dropped to 435m (373m), from 505m (434m) reported over the same period last year.

Its new life sales also declined 11 per cent to 244m (210m), which it said was due to its focus on profitability.

L&G recently purchased Aegons 2.9bn back book annuity portfolio, and reached a five-year distribution agreement to provide individual annuities to Aegon pension customers.

The results also revealed Aegon had made a net loss of 385m (331m) between April and June this year due to the sale of its UK annuity book.

katherine.denham@ft.com
Health. Without it, there is little point in being wealthy. We are, to put it bluntly, only the sum of our functioning body parts.

Some  such as those paralympians training for Rio can attest  are extraneous. But the bottom line is that unless we are healthy enough to deal with lifes vagaries then we can expect the quality of our lives to suffer.

As our lives become every busier and more demanding our minds are starting to bear the brunt of our frenetic existence. According to data from Canada Life Group Insurances call centre, more than 25 per cent of calls made to its employee assistance programme have been for mental health problems.

Data from its EmployeeCare line from January to May 2016 showed that 28 per cent of calls were for mental health  a 5 per cent increase on the previous year. Protection will help your clients take control of the most valuable asset they have: their health

The most common mental health issue is anxiety and work-related stress is the fastest growing mental health concern, up 37 per cent year on year.

Rather than sitting on the sidelines, advisers can do their bit to help  in fact they are ideally placed to do so.

Canada Life is urging advisers with corporate clients to make them aware of the issues surrounding supporting staff suffering and recovering from mental illness.

You can also play a part in helping clients themselves make more proactive decisions about their health. Encouraging clients to look at critical illness, family income protection policies, term assurance or even permanent medical insurance (if they are not already covered at work).

Many of these policies are not that expensive  your writer pays 60 a month to insure her family (four people) on a critical illness/life insurance hybrid policy, and is lucky enough to get a group reduction on medical insurance through her employer.

While protection may not be the most financially profitable of products to advise on, it will help your clients take control of the most valuable asset they have: their health.

samantha.downes@ft.com
The Brexit vote hit UK commercial property funds hard, but there are strong areas of growth overseas, Hugo Machin has claimed.

The co-head of the Schroders Global Cities Real Estate Securities fund said the EU referendum result had knocked the UK off its number 4 spot in the Global Cities 30 Index run by Schroders, falling to 10th place.

Shanghai took the top spot in August, pushing New York into second place. According to the index, Chinas mega-cities took three of the top five places in the index, which assesses and ranks the growth and future prospects of 161 global cities.

Chinas most populous city, Shanghai, has 22m residents. It came ahead of Tianjin (third), the countrys third largest city, and the capital Bejing (which came in fourth place). China is still growing more strongly than the rest of the world and we believe it will become a much bigger part of our forecast over time Hugo Machin

According to Mr Machin, these top global cities will be the true drivers of economic growth in their respective countries in the coming decades.

It should be no surprise Chinas cities rank so highly given it has strong factors such as GDP, working population and retail sales.

Although it has slowed recently, China is still growing more strongly than the rest of the world and we believe it will become a much bigger part of our forecast over time.

However, Mr Machin said investors should not be too despondent about the current poor performance of London, particularly post-Brexit.

Londons fall in the index should not prompt despondency, he stated, adding it remains one of the funds favourite cities, with more high-skilled knowledge-based workers than New York and with huge transport infrastructure projects, such as Crossrail, making a tangible difference to its economic future.

It is a cultural melting pot, home to more nationalities than any other global city.

Top 10 Global Cities

1 Shanghai 2 New York 3 Tianjin 4 Beijing 5 Dallas 6 Shenzhen 7 Los Angeles 8 Houston 9 Washington 10 London

Source: Schroders and Oxford Economics, as at 31 July 2016

The Schroders Global Cities 30 index is compiled on a range of factors, including the projected growth of the economy and disposable incomes over the next decade and the size of the working population.

On 1 August, the Schroder Global Real Estate Securities fund changed its name to Global Cities Real Estate Securities Fund to better reflect the focus of the fund. There was no change to the mandate or investment strategy.

In a letter sent out to investors, seen by FTAdviser, it said: We believe the strongest global cities will grow, in economic terms, faster than small cities and regions.

Seventy per cent of the funds investments are exposed to companies that invest significantly in real estate in the top 30 cities in the world (as ranked by our proprietary Global Cities database).
Each week the mystery shopper seeks advice from independent and tied advisers in the UK. The aim is to find out whether advisers are delivering the goods when it comes to the all-important initial telephone contact between client and adviser. It is only intended to evaluate this first interview, and it is understood that further meetings would be necessary before final decisions could be made. The purpose is not to expose poor selling practices, but to show constructively any weaknesses in the advice process.

This week the mystery shopper visits Sheffield. His wife plans to set up a bakery business after being made redundant and would like to raise 20,000 in start up money. The couple are contemplating raising the capital by remortgaging his property or going through another lending platform. The couple have 180,000 in the property and have clean credit histories.

W F I Financial LLP, Wfi House, 2 Queens Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S2 4DG

Speed of response: Time of call: 10.59am. The call was answered after two rings. 5/5

Telephone manner: Courteous, friendly and engaging. 5/5

Relevant qualifications: Level four diploma. 5/5

Payment method:

The adviser said that the minimum charge is usually 500, but the charge figure can go up or down depending on the level of provider commission and the complexity of the case. 5/5

Guidance given:

The adviser explained the advisory practice does not offer business advice, but would be able to assist on the remortgage query. The shopper was told to seek guidance on business loans and advice on the key considerations before starting a company from his local bank branch. He added that lenders consider the strength of business plans, including cashflow forecast and the credit histories of those involved. 5/5

Knowledge:

Excellent. He explored all of the key considerations when it comes to starting up a new business. 5/5

Email/web presence:

simond@wfillp.co.uk

www.wfifinancial.co.uk 5/5

Verdict:

Impressive. The adviser delivered comprehensive guidance even though he knew it was unlikely to win him new business. The shopper would happily recommend him to his peers.

35/35

Adviser (Independent):

Greg Greaves  Futures Assured Ltd, The John Banner Centre, 620 Attercliffe Road, Sheffield, S9 3QS

Speed of response: Time of call: 11.30am. The call was answered after three rings. 5/5

Telephone manner: Polite and friendly. 5/5

Relevant qualifications: Level four diploma. 5/5

Payment method: 495 for remortgages. 5/5

Guidance given:

The adviser quizzed the shopper over his earnings, the market value of equity in the couples property and his credit score. The adviser said he could not envisage the shopper having difficulties in securing a remortgage. He also explored the key considerations before starting a business  that the couple could plunge into financial disarray if it went under. He added that banks decision to lend is largely based on the strength of the business plan.

4/5

Knowledge: Very good. The adviser showed good knowledge on all of the considerations. 5/5

Email/web presence:

g.greaves@futuresassured.co.uk

www.futuresassured.co.uk 5/5

Verdict:

The shopper was happy with the guidance delivered by an adviser who had good knowledge on all considerations.

34/35

Adviser (Independent):

Pace Financial Management, 200 Ridgeway Road, Gleadless, Sheffield, S12 2TA

Speed of response: Time of call: 11.48am. The call was answered within 20 seconds. 5/5

Telephone manner: Very friendly but somewhat curt. 5/5
HM Treasury has confirmed debt securities like bonds will be held within the Innovative Finance Isa, as well as the simple loans offered by the peer-to-peer (P2P) sector.

Draft legislation published by the Treasury on Tuesday (9 August) outlined the changes to the existing Isa rules.

The Innovative Finance Isa, often referred to as the peer-to-peer Isa, was launched in April this year, despite the vast majority of peer-to-peer providers being without the full permissions to offer it to investors amid delays at the regulator.

In April the Treasurys head of business lending admitted the Isa had been slow to get off the ground, but said he is confident the rules are ready to include crowdfunding in the Autumn.

When former chancellor George Osborne announced the fresh Isa back in July last year, he hinted at an extension of the Isa-eligible investments, proposing it also include debt securities and equity offered through crowdfunding platforms.

This has come to fruition now the Treasury is seeking responses to the draft legislation, with a view to it going live from November this year.

Debt securities, which include debentures or bonds, are tradable, creating the liquidity to allow investors to cash-in earlier.

They are therefore different from the simple personal loans currently allowed in Isas through P2P lenders, which allow investors to lend to people or an established business.

Abundance was the first peer-to-peer platform to receive full permissions to offer the new Isa when it launched on 6 April.

Its managing director Bruce Davis said: The peer-to-peer and crowdfunding market represents a range of different investment models and it is good to see a level playing field being established between debt securities and loans-based platforms.

Mr Davis pointed out that debt securities are a more established and formalised product type than the P2P loans, and - because they are tradable - fall under a large set of regulatory obligations, which aim to give the investor and lender greater security, protection and flexibility.

If the legislative changes are given the green-light, Mr Davis said his investors would then be able to invest in renewable energy and other social infrastructure projects, while enjoying their returns free of personal tax. The risk involved may be higher than some investors or advisers would expect. Tony Catt

Tony Catt, IFA and compliance officer at Anthony Catt Limited, said this change was a recognition of a growing source of funding, and said it provides some diversification for Isa investors as part of a portfolio.

I believe that investors need to beware, because the risk involved may be higher than some investors or advisers would expect.

He pointed out the returns will be reliant on the quality of the end borrowers and the underwriting processes involved in the lending decisions.

It should generate higher returns than normal corporate bonds, but the returns will reflect the rate of risk involved.
Macy's Is Closing 100 Stores. Where Does That Leave Marshall Field's Loyalists?

By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Aug 11, 2016 7:25PM



Photo credit: Steve Ives

Nearly 10 years after department store giant Macy's stripped dozens of Marshall Field's locations of their historic hometown identities and turned them into Macy's outposts, there are plenty of people who still haven't gotten over it.

There's the still-active Fields Fans Chicago group, who have been pushing to revive the Field's brand since the Chicago department store chain was bought by Macy's in 2005. There's Strategic Marks, a California-based business that tried, unsuccessfully, to cash in on the Field's brand just this past February. And, of course, there are the native Chicagoans raised on Marshall Field's, and its charming, 19th century green clock and melty mints, who still refuse to give Macy's their business (full disclosure: my mom is one of them). So what then, are members of #TeamFields to make of the news announced Thursday that Macy's will be closing 100 of their stores nationwide?

The news came as no surprise to Jim McKay, co-organizer of the Field's Fans group.

"[Macy's closing 100 stores] is not unexpected at all because department stores have gotten so much less unique. They're the same everywhere now," McKay told Chicagoist Thursday. "It used to be that if you were traveling to a new town, you'd check out their stores to see what was different. In Chicago, people came to Marshall Field's."



Field's Fans in action, declaring their loyalty. Via Field's Fans Chicago

Macy's won't announce which specific locations will close until a later date, according to a press release the company put out Thursday, but McKay says there was some talk of Chicago's flagship State Street store considering leasing out some upper floors on a conference call Macy's had with investors he listened to Thursday morning.

"We see this as a positive movement, that they're willing to consider change and because of their struggles they're going to have to consider bringing back Marshall Field's," he said.

Macy's has made no such public declaration, though after the suit brought against Strategic Marks in February, the California business chief executive told the Tribune, Macy's "really wanted" to keep the Marshall Field's brand. Field's Fans would like to see that brand brought back or taken on by another department store that is willing to make Marshall Field's the store it once was, McKay says. It's why he and his fellow activists attended the Macy's stockholders meeting in May and made the same request they've been making since they started attending the meetings in 2008.

The group, which McKay says has a mailing list of more than 2,500, hasn't faded from the public eye even as the battle between Macy's and Marshall Field's has over the years. In this year's Pride Parade, members and supporters from as far away as D.C, Boston and L.A. carried signs that encouraged people to boycott Macy's and touted Marshall Field's as having been Chicago's "First Gay-Friendly Employer." The group had a presence at the St. Patrick's Day Parade and picketed outside Macy's with signs that mentioned one potentially interested buyer, Canada-based Selfridges department store, around Christmas time.

In its press release, Macy's emphasized plans to "elevate [better-performing locations' ] status as preferred shopping destinations," which translates to adding more special features like personal shopping and in-store events at the stores that are still profitable. It's a move presumably designed to lure shoppers who've taken their shopping online (and dealt a serious blow to the retail industry) back into physical stores.

"If it stays Macy's [as it is now]," McKay said, "it's inevitable that it will close sooner or later."
Farmers For Action (FFA) has warned that it is planning a second wave of protests aimed at persuading Muller to increase its September milk price.

The group organised a protest at the companys Market Drayton plant on Sunday night, which attracted around 80 farmers.

A second wave of action is expected for Thursday night (11 August) with FFA members being urged to gather in Shropshire, Staffordshire/Derbyshire and the south-west of England.

See also: Muller freezes milk prices for September

A statement on the FFA website accused Mullers farmer board of being benign and sitting back and accepting there would be no increase for September.

Meanwhile, farmers and farmworkers were seeking record amounts of monies from charities, it said.

FFA is arguing that Muller should be passing back to its suppliers a share of some of the higher returns that it will be making as a result of increases in dairy commodity prices.

The spot price of milk is currently around 32p/litre and the price of the estimated cream income to a liquid processor increased by 1.59p/litre (25%) to 7.99p/litre during July.

In a statement released after Sunday nights protests, Muller hit out at the protesters, questioning whether they could claim to represent the 1,900 farmers who supplied the company.

Disrupting a business with a track record for offering a competitive milk price to farmers and investing in the UK dairy industry makes no sense whatsoever, it said. We will take whatever measures we can to protect our business.
Children trespassing on farmland and climbing on stacks of bales are endangering their lives, warns Middlesbrough farm manager Mark Saunders.

For three weeks I have been in and out every night chasing kids away, Mr Saunders said.

The youths, which he thinks are aged between 12 and 17, have been climbing on a stack of silage bales, pushing them off and smashing fences and setting fire to them.

My main concern is that I will come out one morning and there will be a child under a bale, said 53-year-old Mr Saunders, who has been farm manager at Newham Grange Leisure Farm, Coulby Newham, for 20 years. Theyre not going to walk away from that.

Mr Saunders spoke to Craven Police on Monday (8 August) after another incident on the previous night.

I asked them for a bit of support; I just said I need a bit of a hand here. And he told them that a bull, as well as 14 cows with calves at foot, would soon be moving into the field.

Next thing I know theyve put it on their website to warn parents and then its gone mental.

Papers have reported on the story, implying that the bull is being put into the field as a deterrent or security guard.

Mr Saunders is clear that the police have responded helpfully with increased patrols and he believes their communications have worked. But he thinks the papers have misconstrued the story.

With only 29 acres, Mr Saunders has to run a tight grazing rotation for the small Beef Shorthorn herd.

With the other grass fields recently baled, the herd had to move into the field where the youths have been trespassing. Ive got no option but to move the herd into that field, he told Farmers Weekly.

He says he would not have made threats that Gregor the bull was dangerous because he is a show bull who had never shown any signs of aggression.

Mr Saunders said he would just ask parents to be aware what their children are doing and to make them understand the dangers of playing on a farm.
Story Highlights 32% say Obama's presidency one of most important advances for blacks

Down from 71% after his election, 58% in first year in office

More say race relations have gotten worse than better

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Americans are far less positive today about what Barack Obama's presidency means for the advancement of blacks in the U.S. than they were shortly after his historic election. Currently, 32% say Obama's presidency is one of the most important advances for blacks in the past 100 years, down from 71% immediately after he was elected and 58% nine months into his first term. Today, nearly as many describe it as "not that important" as say it is one of the most important advances for blacks.

The decline in perceived significance of Obama's election and presidency is evident among both blacks and whites, though blacks remain more positive overall. In October 2009, 71% of blacks considered Obama's election as one of the most important advances for blacks; today, 51% do. Among whites, the percentage has declined from 56% to 27%.

These results are based on Gallup's 2016 Minority Rights and Relations poll, conducted June 7-July 1, just before a renewed round of deadly racial incidents between police and black men in early July. Gallup interviewed 3,270 U.S. adults, including 1,320 non-Hispanic whites and 912 non-Hispanic blacks.

Americans' optimism about the effects that Obama's election and presidency would have on race relations has also declined significantly since he was elected in November 2008. At that time, 70% of Americans expected race relations in the U.S. to get better, while only 10% believed relations would get worse. Now, more say that race relations have gotten worse as a result of his presidency (46%) than say they have gotten better (29%).

Whites, by more than a 2-to-1 margin, now say race relations are worse rather than better. Blacks are more charitable in their evaluation of the effect of Obama's presidency on U.S. race relations, but they are divided on whether things are better or worse. Both blacks' and whites' opinions are more pessimistic than they were in October 2009, nine months into Obama's presidency.

Views of the Effect of Barack Obama's Election and Presidency on Race Relations in the U.S., by Race 2009 2011 2016 % % % Whites Better 39 31 23 No change 36 45 25 Worse 23 22 51 NET (Better-Worse) +16 +9 -28 Blacks Better 53 48 37 No change 27 27 24 Worse 20 24 39 NET (Better-Worse) +33 +24 -2 2009-2011 surveys asked about Obama's election; 2016 survey asked about his presidency. Not enough blacks in 2008 poll to report an estimate. Gallup

These less-positive ratings may mostly acknowledge the state of race relations in the U.S., rather than serve as a criticism of Obama's work on the issue. Americans' positive assessments of black-white relations tumbled between 2013 and 2015 and remain lower in 2016, most likely in response to the string of deadly incidents between black men and police in recent years.

Gallup has found Obama's approval rating for handling racial issues ranging narrowly from 46% to 52% the four times it has been asked during his presidency, all since 2010. This includes 51% approval and 47% disapproval in a recent Aug. 3-7 poll.

The decline in positivity about what Obama's election has meant for black progress and for U.S. race relations to some degree reflects his overall job approval ratings, which have averaged a relatively weak 47%. The decline may also indicate that Americans' initial expectations for what he could do on these issues were unrealistic. The continuing racial incidents may underscore that it takes more than a change in who is president to improve the situation. Also, the early positive ratings may have been influenced by the historic nature of having a black president, an effect that could have worn off over time.

Majority of Blacks Say Obama Has Not Gone Far Enough to Help Them

During Obama's presidential campaign in 2008, there were questions about how his racial background might affect the policies he pursued as president. One such question was how a black president could balance a desire to aid the black community with the need to pursue policies designed to help Americans of all races and ethnicities.

From the time Obama was campaigning in 2008 until now, only between 21% and 26% of Americans have been concerned that his policies would go, or have gone, too far to help blacks. Initially, far fewer were concerned that his policies would not go far enough, but that has changed. Now, 33% say his policies haven't gone far enough, up from 8% immediately after his election and 18% during his first year in office.

Blacks have never expressed much concern that Obama's policies would go too far in aiding the black community. However, blacks' opinions have shifted from viewing Obama's policies to help blacks as "about right" to "not going far enough." Currently, 52% of blacks say his policies have not gone far enough, up from 20% during the 2008 campaign and 32% his first year in office. The plurality of whites, 39%, still believe his policies have been about right, while 30% say they have not gone far enough. The latter figure is up from 7% during the campaign and 16% his first year in office.

Views of Whether Barack Obama's Policies Designed to Aid the Black Community Go Too Far, by Race May 2008 Oct 2009 Aug 2011 Jun 2016 % % % % Whites Too far 27 28 29 25 About right 46 45 42 39 Not far enough 7 16 18 30 Blacks Too far 5 5 5 6 About right 64 55 47 39 Not far enough 20 32 43 52 2008-2011 surveys asked if Obama's policies will go too far/not go far enough; 2016 survey asked if his policies have gone too far/have not gone far enough Gallup

Implications

Americans had high hopes for what the first black president could accomplish, particularly on matters of race. Obama's early-term job approval ratings were among the highest for a new president, consistent with these expectations. But governing is a challenging task for any president, particularly during a sluggish economy. Since his first year, his job approval rating has struggled to reach or stay above the majority level. Americans' assessments of the effect of Obama's presidency on blacks' lives and on race relations are likely heavily influenced by his general approval ratings.

Americans' expectations for what Obama could accomplish may also have been overly optimistic and perhaps could not have been predicted to persist for eight years after he was elected.

Regardless of how Americans feel about Obama and his policies, they believe black-white relations are much worse now than earlier in his presidency. The public may not necessarily fault Obama for those problems, as roughly half have consistently approved of how he has handled race relations throughout his time in office. But it is clear that the optimism Americans initially had for a black president's ability to improve race relations and the situation for blacks has long since faded.

Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June 7-July 1, 2016, with a sample of 3,270 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, who had previously been interviewed in the Gallup Daily tracking poll and agreed to be re-interviewed for a later study. The sample is weighted to be representative of U.S. adults.

For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For results based on the sample of 1,320 non-Hispanic whites, the margin of sampling error is 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For results based on the sample of 912 non-Hispanic blacks, the margin of sampling error is 5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

View survey methodology, complete question responses and trends.

Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.
Participants pose for a group photo during a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, July 24, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China plans to map out a landmark agenda in a bid to boost the global economy during the upcoming G20 Summit, which will be hosted for the first time in the country in less than a month.

The summit will concentrate on solutions that can bring an end to the economic problems that have been afflicting the world since 2008, echoing the meeting's slogan: "Toward an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy".

During the past few years, the recession has impaired the progress of developed economies, deterred the growths of emerging economies and impacted global trade.

The highly anticipated summit will focus on macro-economic, fiscal and financial policies from around the world. Ruan Zongze, the deputy director of China Institute of International Studies, said he hopes they will make a concerted effort to combat the rise of trade protectionism while highlighting common concerns and mutual assistance.

Before the summit, China convened three meetings between summit coordinators, financial ministers and chiefs of central banks to outline structural reforms spearheaded in nine major areas following 48 guiding principles.

China will also try to push forward international economic governance reform by extending the roles of emerging markets in global financial institutions.

On the G20 platform, China has proposed the idea of building an orderly, fair, just, and inclusive world taxation system. Meanwhile, within Chinas endeavor, the G20 members agree to commit to the expansion of infrastructure construction for middle and-long-term economic growth.

Bringing new impetus to the world economy, the new industrial revolution and associated digital technologies, joint efforts in protesting trade protectionism and plans for the sustainable development are other issues that will be deliberated.
If California is going to legalize online poker in 2016, the current bill needs to pass by August 31.

Thats because the legislative session ends on that date.

On Wednesday, the LA Times outlined what needs to take place in order for Internet poker to be legalized in the state :

The bill, AB 2863, made it through the Assembly committee process but is awaiting a vote on the Assembly floor, where it needs a two-thirds majority  54 votes  to pass. Few bills in Sacramento can muster that kind of bipartisan support, and gambling legislation is almost always controversial.

2016 showed the most promise since efforts to legalize Web poker in California began ten years ago.

A measure by Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) would allow state Internet poker licenses to be granted to already established card rooms and casinos operated by some 60 Native American tribes.

There is, however, a suitability test. It is one that a key player looking to partner with a good chunk of the established properties simply cannot pass.

PokerStars, the largest real money online poker room, operated in the United States following passage of a law that prohibited the targeting of US citizens. PokerStars parent company, Amaya Gaming, is also implicated in an insider trading scandal out of Canada.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Predictions SPOILERS: Bran Stark Causes Jon Snow's Death, White Walkers Crossing The Wall?

Bran Stark really messed up in the previous season of "Game of Thrones". Some fans still haven't forgiven the new Three-Eyed Raven for the death of Summer, The Children and (sob) Hodor. Now it looks like Bran will be the reason why Jon Snow will meet his doom in "Game of Thrones" Season 7. Will he bring the White Walkers past the Wall?

Bran Stark Reveals Jon Snow's Identity, Cersei Lannister Orders King In The North Assassination In 'Game Of Thrones' Season 7?

It has finally been confirmed that Jon Snow is the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen in the "Game of Thrones" Season 6 finale. However, the only person who knows Jon's true identity is Bran Stark. Game & Guide has previously reported that Bran will reveal the truth and possibly cause trouble for the new King in the North.

If there is anyone who wouldn't be happy with the news about Jon Snow, it would be Cersei Lannister. It is possible that the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms will order the assassination of the King in the North. Will Bran Stark's revelation lead to Jon Snow's death in "Game of Thrones" Season 7?

Jon Snow might not be the only one who will get in trouble because of Bran Stark. The entire Seven Kingdoms might have to face the White Walkers when Bran leads them past the Wall.

Bran Stark Brings The White Walkers Past The Wall In 'Game Of Thrones' Season 7?

There are speculations that Bran Stark will be the main reason why the Wall will come down and the White Walkers finally reach Westeros (via Movie News Guide). Bran has been marked by the Night King, which lead to the Others finding the Three-Eyed Raven's cave. The mark managed to erase the spells that protected the cave. The same mark could remove the spells that protect the Wall.

Will Bran Stark cause the destruction of Westeros? "Game of Thrones" Season 7 will premiere on HBO next summer.
'Suicide Squad' Release Date, News & Update: Jared Leto is Totally Down for a Joker VS Superman Battle

Warner Bros.' "Suicide Squad" has earned praise from those who have actually seen the David Ayer-directed film. But the same cannot be said for the critics who have stamped a mediocre rating on it. So much buzz surrounds Rotten Tomatoes' 26% rating on the movie, which praises its talented cast but calls the plot "muddled," and "thinly written."

Outside of such ratings, the cast continues to promote the film, which has in fact, officially earned more than the 2000 film "X-Men," "Breaking Dawn," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," and "Eclipse" so far. "Suicide Squad" opened on the fifth, and according to Forbes, it has now nearing the five-day total earnings for "Deadpool." If this is any indication, it seems that the ratings are actually helping the movie earn money, not lose it.

Meanwhile, "Suicide Squad" star Jared Leto is busy promoting the film, and it seems that the actor is interested in collaborating with another DC superhero. IGN reports that the 44-year old is totally down for a Joker VS Superman battle. He said that it would be interesting to see both characters interact with each other solely because of their moral beliefs.

According to Leto, Superman is "so stoic and morally centered," something which the Crown Prince of Crime would thoroughly enjoy. He said, "Superman is just the classic hero and the Joker opposite to any classic hero would be really interesting."

In other "Suicide Squad" news, it seems that Ayer is in the receiving end of backlash from Yolandi Visser from the South African rap duo Die Antwoord, who claims that the director copied their aesthetic for Joker and Harley Quinn. She took to Instagram to blast the director, who he accused of talking about the band on set, but never really formally asking the duo permission to use them as inspiration for both Joker and Harley Quinn's looks, the N.Y. Daily News reports.

What do you think about the buzz surrounding "Suicide Squad?" Have you seen the movie? Sound off in the comments section below.
Stranger Things Season 2 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: EPs Tease Whats In Store Next Season! Cast, Plot Details Revealed

A "Stranger Things" Season 2 air date is definitely happening, according to movie insiders. The overwhelmingly positive response to its first season effectively sealed the deal that it's going to happen, all that's needed is Netflix's announcement and that is only a matter of time.

Now that the question about a "Stranger Things" Season 2 air date is out of the way, fans of the new series can ask the more important questions. More important things like where its seacond season could be heading.

Fortunately, executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer were game enough and answered questions posed during an IGN interview. Going by what the Duffer brothers revealed, fans could definitely expect an awesome season ahead when "Stranger Things" Season 2 air date comes next year.

First, Matt Duffer revealed they would be doing that Harry Potter thing. By that he meant that they will introduce a one year time jump in the storyline. This means that when "Stranger Things" Season 2 release date arrives, it will start a year after the latest events in the first season's finale.

Second, the Duffer brothers, "Stranger Things" Season 2 creators, revealed something about Eleven. If viewers somehow felt that Eleven's whereabouts seems a bit ambiguous in the end, it was purposely made to be that way. And to answer fans' questions, Eleven is most likely alive. Proof? "What did James Cameron say? No one's ever dead in sci-fi," was Ross Duffer's indirect reply to the question.

Third, fans will probably see a game based on the series even before the "Stranger Things" Season 2 release date arrives, reports Movie News Guide. Apparently, the Duffer brothers are very keen on doing a "Stranger Things" game as a way to bridge the gap in the storyline between the first and the upcoming Season 2 rather than a good old comic series.

For now, Netflix has not yet officially announced a "Stranger Things" Season 2 air date but insiders expect it will most likely happen next year. Stay tuned to Game & Guide for the latest update "Stranger Things" cast news and release date announcement.
The Flash Season 3 Latest Spoilers & Release Date: Grey Damon Cast As Mirror Master

The Flashs (Grant Gustin) enemies are expected to ramp up as well. We have already seen the Reverse-Flash and the Black Racer from previous posts. Now the latest is a familiar foe from the comic books  Mirror Master.

Grey Damon has been picked to take on the role. He will portray the alter-ego of Mirror Master (Sam Scudder) the original version in the comics, Comic Book Resources reported. This means that the Mirror Master version will be the same one that appeared in the 1959 comic books.

Another gun-toting rogue in the mix?

If the producers will follow the script, Mirror Master will be another villain armed with a gun. The show already has a couple of villains armed with such like Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and Heat Wave (Dominic Purcell). Both got their guns courtesy of Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) so it will be interesting if Scudder will get his the same way.

Damon will break the ice of playing the rogue villain in the fourth episode of the third season. With Flashpoint still in focus, his rise could yet again be attributed to the meddling of Barry Allen last season.

Equally interesting is the Mirror-Gun. Though its intent is to create reflections of himself, it also becomes a gateway for Scudder to travel anywhere using reflective surfaces. Will the Flash be fast enough to nab him?

More Rogues Coming

Aside from Mirror Master there are several other familiar adversaries of the Flash reportedly coming per Screen Rant. That includes Top and Thorn, two more metahumans that Barry and Wally (Kid Flash/ Keiynan Lonsdale) will have to deal with.

The Flash season 3 returns on Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. on CW.
'Vikings' Season 4 Episode 11 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: Lagertha Prophesized By The Seer To Rule Kattegat, Not Aslaug?

It looks like the second half of "Vikings" Season 4 belongs to the women. Katheryn Winnick's Lagertha could lead her army of bad-ass shieldmaidens into battle in "Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11. But are they bringing the fight to Kattegat? Will Lagertha and Aslaug's highly anticipated "catfight" destroy Ragnar Lothbrok's kingdom?

First Things First: Is Lagertha Planning To Take Over Kattegat In 'Vikings' Season 4 Episode 11?

Lagertha has already proven that she intends to be the one and only Earl of Hedeby. The former shieldmaiden murdered Earl Kalf on their wedding day (so savage) and announced that she will not share the title with anyone else. But will Lagertha set her eyes on Kattegat in "Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11?

The first teaser for "Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11 already hinted on some tension between Lagertha and Aslaug. The two women can be heard speaking about the rightful Queen of Kattegat. The Comic-Con trailer also revealed Lagertha leading her mostly female army towards Ragnar's kingdom. So which of them did the Seer prophesize?

The Seer Prophesizes A Woman Ruling Over Kattegat In 'Vikings' Season 4 Episode 11! Is It Lagertha Or Aslaug?

The first episode of "Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11 depicted death and ambition. Ragnar dreamt that the gates of Valhalla will close on him while Aslaug confronted the Seer with a prediction. It was revealed that a woman will eventually rule over Kattegat after Ragnar dies. But the Seer didn't divulge whether it would be Aslaug or Lagertha, because where's the fun in that?

So now the world knows that a woman will take over Kattegat when Ragnar finally enters Valhalla. Hopefully, "Vikings" Season 4 Episode 11 will reveal whether it is Lagertha or Aslaug who becomes Queen of Kattegat. The new season has no official air date just yet.

Will Lagertha take over as ruler of Kattegat or will Aslaug remain the Queen? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
JD.com Inc, China's second biggest e-commerce company, reported revenue for the second quarter of 2016 that was within company forecasts, even as the growth rate continued a steady decline that is expected to continue.

The company, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's main rival in online shopping, said on Wednesday revenue for the quarter rose 42 percent to 65.2 billion yuan (US$9.83 billion), within JD.com's forecast range of 64.2-66.2 billion yuan.

But the company is predicting an even sharper decline in growth for the third quarter, compounding concerns that China's e-commerce sector is saturating. JD.com's revenue from Amazon-like online direct sales rose 40 percent in the quarter, versus a 67 percent jump in sales from services and other businesses.JD.com now expects revenues for the third quarter to be 59-61 billion yuan, a rise of 34-38 percent from the same quarter in 2015.

Net losses were 132.1 million yuan (US$19.92 million), compared to a loss of 510.4 million yuan in the previous year. The total value of merchandise transactions on JD.com's platforms was 108.7 billion yuan in the quarter, up 47 percent excluding online marketplace Paipai.com, which JD.com shut down.

Including Paipai's previous contribution to transactions for the previous year in the comparison, the second quarter's growth rate for value of merchandise sold would be 40 percent, according to Reuters calculations.

The company also gave an update on its share repurchase program it authorized in September, saying it had purchased 2.4 million ADSs for about US$51.5 million. It has also entered into a structured repurchase agreement to lower the cost of acquiring shares.

JD.com shares were up around 3 percent at $23.10 in pre-market trading in New York, but well below the US$29.53 price at the beginning of the year.
Doing so will allow the airport to comply with Long Beach's noise ordinance.
Surging land prices in major cities will probably squeeze real estate developers' profit margins in the second half of the year, said industry analysts on Wednesday.

Land sales in the first half of 2016 exceeded 1.32 trillion yuan (US$199 billion), jumping 24.8 percent on a yearly basis, according to statistics from the Ministry of Land and Resources.

In July, the number of the "land kings" - companies winning auctions by bidding record prices for prime sites - rose to 31, hitting a new high.

Experts predicted that land prices will continue to rise in the second half, though the National Development and Reform Commission urged local governments earlier in August to boost the land supply and control the prices.

"Land prices will see a moderate increase in the second half. As the national real estate policies remain unchanged, strong demand is the driving force for property firms to buy land at premium," said E-House (China) Holdings Ltd Executive President Ding Zuyu in a research note on Wednesday.

The prices of some land parcels have exceeded that of sites with existing homes in some cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

"Given the high land prices, developers may face growing risks of a falling gross profit in the coming years," said a real estate analyst at a local securities company, who declined to be named.

Sixteen listed property developers that have released their interim financial reports, showed total revenue of 213.7 billion yuan (US$32.15 billion) in the first six months, demonstrating a year-on-year growth of 31.5 percent, fueled by robust sales and surging home prices.

According to Wind Information, their net profits in the half year grew 18 percent year-on-year.

Zhong Zhou Holdings Co was the only one among the 16 listed developers to post a profit fall.

Its 92.7 percent plunge in profits was due partly to soaring land costs at its projects in Shanghai and Chengdu, the Shenzhen-based company said in a statement.
Action against Islamists : Police carried out raids against suspected Islamists

NRW Minister of the Interior, Ralf Jager, (SPD). Foto: dpa

Dusseldorf/Karlsruhe NRW Minister of the Interior, Ralf Jager, said consistent action is needed against promoters of IS and radical preachers.

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The police in North Rhine-Westphalia have searched five apartments and a business in the course of investigations against three suspected supporters of the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS). The State Minister of the Interior, Ralf Jager (SPD), said in Dusseldorf that raids took place early on Wednesday morning in Dortmund, Duisburg, Dusseldorf and Tonisvorst.

The aim was to act against Islamist supporters, against people who cause trouble in the scene, who recruit, who radicalise, said Jager. No arrests were made. But this was about acting against those in the scene who talk in an incendiary way.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Prosecutors Office had previously said the three accused had been suspected of recruiting members and supporters for IS since January 2015 and July 2015.One of the suspected Islamists is also supposed to have provided financial and logistical support to the terror organisation. The basis for the searches was a decision by the investigating magistrate of the Federal Court of Justice. The Federal Prosecutors Office also said there had been no arrests.

Eye witnesses had observed various police units, including some outside a travel agency with a Turkish name in Duisburg. The internet site DerWesten reported that the owner of the agency was suspected of having had contact with two youths who supposedly carried out an attack on a house of prayer belonging to the Sikh religious community in Essen. However, he has denied this. The investigations had a long lead time and moved into the next phase with the early morning searches.

The Minister said the searches showed that the police were not easing up their actions against Islamists. It must be clear to everyone that this constitutional state will not put up with people trying to radicalise young people, to motivate them to carry out attacks or to encourage them to travel to Syria to take part in the purported Jihad there.
Security in Bad Godesberg : Police expel 36 youth from park

Stronger police presence results in a crackdown on rowdy, drunken youth in Bonn.

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In a joint security control, Bonn police and Ordnungsamt colleagues paid a visit to Panoramapark in Bad Godesberg on Tuesday night. The Ordnungsamt is a local public order force working together with police but having more limited functions than police. They can hand out warnings and fines and perform a citizens arrest but for more serious issues, they call their police colleagues.

According to the police report, they encountered 36 young men who were strongly under the influence of alcohol at the park near the Rhine River. At around 9:20 p.m., they observed a 17-year-old from Wachtberg hit another 17-year-old in the face. A criminal complaint was lodged against him.

Shortly after that, they found an 18-year-old with an airsoft gun, steel bullets, two masks and a knife. An alcohol test revealed a level of 1.6. Police confiscated the items and the young man is being investigated for weapons violations. At the end, all of the 36 young men were expelled from the park by police.

As previously reported, new measures were put into place on June 7, ensuring a greater police presence to help people feel more secure in the aftermath of the fatal beating of 17-year-old Niklas P. Police units have been conducting special operations in Bad Godesberg since then and this crackdown was a result of the stronger focus on youth violence.
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Those who illegally use others' identity cards will be punished and blacklisted, according to a new regulation.

The regulation, aimed at strengthening the protection of citizens' private information, was issued on Wednesday by eight ministerial-level departments including the Ministry of Public Security, and went effect immediately.

According to the regulation, government functionaries must not copy, reproduce or retain ID cards without authorization.

Authorities should perfect a security management system protecting citizens' information. Personal information for official business should be kept confidential, the regulation said.

Government organs should blacklist those who deliberately infringe other individual's identities, and form a joint disciplinary scheme for offenders.
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Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
The rapprochement between Turkey and Russia could signal the gradual formation of a Turkish-Russian axis in the region.

Presidents Tayip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin are two of the most charismatic and capable politicians on the world stage, in the 21st century. Whether someone agrees or disagrees with their policies, their statecraft and leadership is unquestionable. The personality of Erdogan and Putin is so strong that it can often overshadow the harmonious course of relations between their own countries. This is what happened in November 2015 after a Russian Su-24 was shot down by Turkish F-16s. Following this incident and for a period of approximately seven months, the two leaders had interrupted their personal contact and communication, being highly influenced by personal egoism.

During the crisis period, several analysts had tended to interpret international developments often assuming that this Turkish-Russian misunderstanding could be of a rather permanent nature. However, Erdogan and Putin proved them wrong and finally overcame the problem. The beginning of a new chapter in the bilateral relationship of the two countries was marked during the recent official visit of the former to St. Petersburg, where he held a critical meeting with the latter. Obviously, this meeting could hardly take place without difficult backstage diplomatic negotiations - with the help of Kazakhstan - facilitating the writing of an apology letter from the Turkish president to his Russian counterpart at the end of June.

At first glance, Erdogan had serious cause to pursue a rapprochement with his "friend" - as he says in media interviews - Putin. The impact of the economic embargo imposed on his country by Moscow had catastrophic consequences for the national economy of Turkey. The arrival of Russian tourists in Turkey, for instance, showed a decline of over 90 percent during some months of 2016 as opposed to the same period in 2015. Additionally, exports of Turkish products to Russia were diminished causing serious losses for companies, for example, in the food industry.

Putin is well aware of the motivations behind Erdogan's new policy towards Russia. This gives him the upper hand in driving the bilateral relationship towards the future, although his country will also economically benefit by the rapprochement. Having the upper hand entails that the Russian president is now able to add a strategic dimension to discussions and possibly have more chances to boost his position on three important fronts.

The first is the construction of a new pipeline transporting gas from Russia to Turkey, the so-called "Turkish Stream", which had been abandoned for months. The second is the avoidance of a new bilateral military crisis in Syria. And the third is the forging of a new position by Turkey within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that will prevent bilateral conflicts and will guarantee the access of Russian military ships to the Mediterranean via Turkey. As far as this third objective is concerned, Tsar Nicholas I had adopted a similar strategy in 1853, which is almost being endorsed by Putin more than 150 years later.

Apart from Putin's political advantage, both leaders are now able to play the card of their rapprochement in order to create high concern in the West. It is not a coincidence that American and European research organizations have launched online debates on what the potential "Turkish-Russian axis" might signal. The United States and the European Union regard Erdogan and Putin negatively, do not have detailed information about their collaboration and do not want to be subsequently encountered with new unexpected developments in a period of turmoil in world politics.

But the possibility for the gradual shaping of a "Turkish-Russian axis" certainly has some limits. Although the co-operation between Ankara and Moscow can be synthesized around economic issues, trade and energy affairs, it can hardly lead to a strategic rethinking. After 1984, relations between Turkey and the then Soviet Union had been seriously affected by their contradicting foreign policies in the framework of the Cold War. Bilateral relations have improved since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 but the participation of Turkey in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remains the most important barrier.

It will be very difficult for Erdogan to abandon the traditional course of Turkish foreign policy since 1952 and risk a practical break-up in its relationship with the West. Unpredictable as he is, he seems to be a realist in recent weeks endeavoring to avoid international isolation. The rapprochement with Russia is part of a multidimensional strategy which also includes steps for the improvement of relations with Israel and partly Egypt.

Last but not least, Erdogan is vocal in criticizing the United States and the European Union at the communication level but he steadily finds ways of political collaboration to serve his national interests.

George N. Tzogopoulos is a lecturer at the European Institute in Nice.
clarajancita at 11-08-2016 02:14 PM (6 years ago) (f)

They are glitzy and Instagram-doting daughters of flamboyant businessman, Phillip Chiyangwa. Vanessa and her sister, Michelle are dubbed Zimbabwes Kardashians. Philip Chiyangwa is the founder of the Affirmative Action Group, a chair of Native Africa Investments Ltd., and has served as an MP for the ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe.

They are glitzy and Instagram-doting daughters of flamboyant businessman, Phillip Chiyangwa. Vanessa and her sister, Michelle are dubbed Zimbabwes Kardashians. Philip Chiyangwa is the founder of the Affirmative Action Group, a chair of Native Africa Investments Ltd., and has served as an MP for the ZANU-PF party in Zimbabwe.

According to a recent publication, Vanessa recently returned to Zimbabwe from the UK after some 10 years and set up shop selling lingerie and sex toys after spotting a gap in the market.

She claimed she was targeting According to a recent publication, Vanessa recently returned to Zimbabwe from the UK after some 10 years and set up shop selling lingerie and sex toysShe claimed she was targeting Quote women looking to stay loyal to their travelling husbands but she soon abandoned the business after questions were raised over its questionable Christian morals.



With Zimbabwes divorce rate shooting up steeply, many local single mothers are reportedly taking to sex toys they buy from South Africa to pleasure themselves. Currently, the sexy beau is running a skincare brand to treat adult acne, in addition to an upmarket daycare centre in Harare. She told us that she was hired by her father for three years and, subsequently, independently earned all the money she is splashing around in cocktails, fat quid parties and shopping sprees despite claiming she still lives a humble life.

With Zimbabwes divorce rate shooting up steeply, many local single mothers are reportedly taking to sex toys they buy from South Africa to pleasure themselves. Currently, the sexy beau is running a skincare brand to treat adult acne, in addition to an upmarket daycare centre in Harare. She told us that she was hired by her father for three years and, subsequently, independently earned all the money she is splashing around in cocktails, fat quid parties and shopping sprees despite claiming she still lives a humble life. Quote Everything Ive got now I worked hard for myself. I worked for my dad three years, but after that theres no trust fund for me, s he told MailOnline.



Vanessa has just wedded Tanaka Chironga and the couple is building a plush four bed-roomed house, complete with two bars and a large pool, on the leafy northern side of Harare.

The couple did their $65,000 wedding in the Seychelles and invited 50 guests, away from the hassle and bustle of Zimbabwe where thousands, President Robert Mugabe, their uncle, included would have come for the party.



he told MailOnline.Vanessa has just wedded Tanaka Chironga and the couple is building a plush four bed-roomed house, complete with two bars and a large pool, on the leafy northern side of Harare.The couple did their $65,000 wedding in the Seychelles and invited 50 guests, away from the hassle and bustle of Zimbabwe where thousands, President Robert Mugabe, their uncle, included would have come for the party. Quote It was actually a low cost wedding, said Vanessa. We had a destination wedding because we were trying to avoid the 9,000 people that would come if we had a traditional one in Zimbabwe.



Going forward, Vanessa and Tanaka will be honeymooning in Cancun, Thailand or Bali next month, she revealed in the interview. Vanessa, never modest like her father, says she owns a $100,000 Victoria Beckham 2013 edition Range Rover, as part of her two-car collection.



She could be having more cars, she said, had it not been for the frustrating potholes.

Going forward, Vanessa and Tanaka will be honeymooning in Cancun, Thailand or Bali next month, she revealed in the interview. Vanessa, never modest like her father, says she owns a $100,000 Victoria Beckham 2013 edition Range Rover, as part of her two-car collection.She could be having more cars, she said, had it not been for the frustrating potholes. Quote Currently I only have two (cars) to be honest, with the potholes and the road surface the amount of stuff you have to do to your car is ridiculous.

If youre smart youll only have one or two cars. If youre OK with public transport then youll do that, but Im not very comfortable with public transport because there are so many deaths.

When I was given my first car (by my father I cried forever  it was a Chrysler Crossfire  and it was the first one in Zimbabwe for about eight years so whenever I drove around I was like Oh my god! she told us

Michelle, he 27 year-old younger sister, is a good match for Vanessa and calls herself Boss Lady.

Their father dubs himself the King of Selfies and takes to Instagram to flaunt all his new material acquisitions in a country where poverty is so pervasive and some 90 percent are out of employment.



Michelle is also high-spending and claims she runs a hair parlour in Harares Bluffhill suburb where she sells luxury wigs at 200 pounds, a preserve for the rich and famous.



Boss: Her little sister Michelle, styles herself as 'Boss Lady' and sells wigs from a plush hair parlour in Harare, while cruising in a Range Rover and indulging in Chanel shopping spreesShe says she studied acting at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK and flashes, without much taunting, pictures of herself and worldly possessions that include Gucci bags and a black Jeep with a personalised number plate, BLESSED 1.



But living large in a country shadowed by poverty does not bar Vanessa from being critical of the government that her uncle, Mugabe, has run down through 36 years of misrule.

Their father dubs himself the King of Selfies and takes to Instagram to flaunt all his new material acquisitions in a country where poverty is so pervasive and some 90 percent are out of employment.Michelle is also high-spending and claims she runs a hair parlour in Harares Bluffhill suburb where she sells luxury wigs at 200 pounds, a preserve for the rich and famous.Boss: Her little sister Michelle, styles herself as 'Boss Lady' and sells wigs from a plush hair parlour in Harare, while cruising in a Range Rover and indulging in Chanel shopping spreesShe says she studied acting at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK and flashes, without much taunting, pictures of herself and worldly possessions that include Gucci bags and a black Jeep with a personalised number plate, BLESSED 1.But living large in a country shadowed by poverty does not bar Vanessa from being critical of the government that her uncle, Mugabe, has run down through 36 years of misrule. Quote We have just come back from (a decade) in the UK and we thought the government had been getting better and now were at a time where its getting worse.

So my frustrations were taken out of the fact that I dont want to be living in a country where there are too many uncertainties, said Vanessa. said Vanessa.

Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 11-08-2016 02:14 PM (6 years ago) | Hero
Huawei Mate 9 Surfaces on GFXBench List With 4GB RAM, Kirin 970 SoC News oi -Vigneshwar

While the Chinese handset maker Huawei is all set to launch its P9 smartphone in India, the Mate 9 has been spotted on the GFXBench listing sporting a 5.9-inch display.

This smartphone is expected to launch on September 1, as the company has sent out the invites.

SEE ALSO: FACT OR MYTH: Here's Why You Can't Use A Smartphone in a Petrol/Gas Station!

As per the report, the alleged Mate 9 will come with a 5.9-inch display with 1080p. Moreover, the device is said to come with Octa-core HiSilicon Hi3660 chipset clocked at 2.6GHz with Mali-T880 GPU under the hood. Meanwhile, this smartphone is having a new generation chip that might be Kirin 970.

Earlier, the Kirin 920, 930, and 955 had a serial number of Hi3630, Hi3635, Hi3650 respectively.

Moreover, the listing also suggests that this device will be equipped with 4GB RAM, 64GB of inbuilt storage on board and shipped with the latest Android 7.0 Nougat.

If the rumors surrounding the mill ends up being valid, the so-called Mate 9 will come with 12MP rear camera and 8MP front camera as well. However, there are possibilities that Huawei's interest in dual camera setup can't be out ruled as well.

On the other hand, the company is all set to launch its Huawei P9 smartphone with dual camera setup certified by the camera giant Leica.

SEE ALSO: Independence Day Offers: Top 15 Smartphones to Buy in Amazon Great Indian Sale

This smartphone comes packed with 5.2-inch Full HD AMOLED display, Octa-Core Kirin 955 SoC, 3GB RAM with 32GB of inbuilt storage, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, 12MP dual camera and 8MP rear camera, and powered by a 3000mAh battery.

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Samsung Galaxy On5 (2016) and Galaxy On7 (2016) Are Now Certified by TENAA News oi -Chakri Kudikala

Samsung released the Galaxy On5 (2015) and the Galaxy On7 (2015) last year creating another lineup in the mid-range lineup after the Galaxy J series. And now, the 2016 variants of the On Series passes TENAA Certification in China.

Recently, Samsung also released the upgrades to last year's Galaxy On Series dubbed as Galaxy On5 Pro and the Galaxy On7 Pro. And the TENAA certification also reveals the specifications of both the smartphones.

SEE ALSO: Pokemon Go Gets Updated: Here are 6 New Features You Can Play With

The Galaxy On5 (2016) comes with a 5-inch 720p display along with 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 617 chipset. The chipset is paired with Adreno 405 GPU. There is 3GB of RAM for system related operations along with 32GB of internal storage. The storage can be further expanded up to 128GB via the microSD card slot.

Imaging wise, the smartphone comes with a 13MP shooter on the rear along with an 8MP shooter on the front. This dual SIM smartphone runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out-of-the-box. The smartphone comes in four color variants- Pink Gold, Gold, Metallic Gold, and Black. The handset is powered by a 2,600mAh battery.

Coming to the Galaxy On7 (2016), the smartphone comes with a bigger 5.5-inch 1080p display. Under the hood, there is a Snapdragon 625 chipset with all its eight cores clocked at 2.0GHz. RAM on this device is 3GB along with 32GB of onboard storage with support for microSD card slot. The Galaxy On7 (2016) also comes with a fingerprint sensor integrated into the home button.

Camera wise, the smartphone packs a 13MP shooter on the rear along with an 8MP snapper on the front. The device is fueled by a massive 3,300mAh battery and boots Android 6.01 Marshmallow. The Galaxy On7 (2016) will be available in Pink Gold, Gold, Metallic Gold, and Black colors.

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However, there is no word regarding the pricing and availability of both the smartphones. Having said that, the 2015 On5 and On7 arrived around sometime in the first week of September. That said, Samsung might unveil both the smartphones around the same time.

Source IANS

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Russia has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said Wednesday.

One officer died on the night between Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 during a clash with saboteurs and another serviceman was killed on Aug. 8, as Russian forces prevented two attempts of the special units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to penetrate Crimea from Ukraine which was covered by heavy shelling from the Ukrainian side, the FSB said in a statement.

Some 20 improvised explosive devices equivalent to more than 40 kg of TNT, as well as different ammunition, including mines, grenades and special weapons used by Ukrainian special forces were found at the site of clashes, said the statement.

An Ukrainian military intelligence officer and a group of Russian and Ukrainian citizens who were suspected to be Ukrainian military intelligence agents and assisted in preparing of terrorist acts were detained and interrogated, the statement added.

Crimea, which was previously part of Ukraine, was incorporated into Russia in 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Ukraine and Western powers.

"The purpose of sabotage and terrorist attacks was to destabilize the social and political situation in the region during the preparation and conduct of elections by federal and regional authorities," said the FSB.

Russia has adopted additional security measures to protect the Crimean people and critical infrastructure and has toughened border checks, said the statement.

The claims made by the FSB were immediately rejected by the Ukrainian side.

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said the claims were "hysterical and false," and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry termed the allegations as Moscow's attempt to justify its redeployment and actions in the region, media reports said.
DoD Releases Update of Manual Governing Defense Intelligence Activities

By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2016  The Defense Department has released an update of procedures, first published in 1982, that govern the conduct of DoD intelligence activities.

DoD Manual 5240.01, "Procedures Governing the Conduct of DoD Intelligence Activities," is put into effect following Executive Order 12333, which authorizes certain members of the intelligence community to collect, retain or disseminate information about U.S. persons.

"The procedures set out rules governing how DoD intelligence elements will conduct activities supporting their missions while safeguarding legal rights and protections guaranteed by the Constitution to all U.S. persons," Michael Mahar, the DoD senior intelligence oversight official, told DoD News in a recent interview.

The manual defines U.S. persons as U.S. citizens, lawful permanent resident aliens, and unincorporated associations substantially composed of U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, and U.S. corporations.

"The procedures were carefully and methodically developed in 1982 and they've served us well for the many years since then," Mahar said. "But we've reached the point now that, due to changes in technology, law, and intelligence-collection practices, we were compelled to do a significant overhaul."

Mahar, who is also deputy director for oversight and compliance in the Office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer, said similar guidelines are being updated across the IC.

In accordance with EO 12333, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Attorney General Loretta Lynch have approved the updated manual after consultation with the director of national intelligence.

Interagency Process

The effort to update the 1982 DoD manual's procedures was an interagency process, Mahar explained.

"We went line by line, procedure by procedure," he said, working with senior representatives of all defense intelligence components as the updated guidelines were finalized.

DoD officials included representatives from the military services, the Joint Staff and several defense and combat support agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Security Agency, and the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency.

"We worked closely with the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence because EO 12333 requires approval by the attorney general after consultation with the DNI," he said, noting that the process was a good example of interagency collaboration.

"We took a very complex set of procedures and effectively updated them to deal with current and near-future operating practices and capabilities," he said.

Updated Procedures

The manual's procedures govern the collection, retention and dissemination of information concerning U.S. persons, including collection techniques such as electronic surveillance, concealed monitoring, physical searches and physical surveillance.

Mahar said some of the major changes included updated procedures for collecting, retaining and disseminating information about U.S. persons, updated procedures enabling defense intelligence components to conduct vital activities while protecting the privacy and civil liberties of U.S. persons, and updates based on changes in EO 12333, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and other recent laws and policies.

The updated procedures also make clear that information is "collected" -- a key term that triggers protections in the guidelines -- when it is received by a DoD IC component.

The definition will ensure that the framework in the guidelines will apply clearly and consistently, including retention periods and mandatory deletion requirements for information on U.S. persons that has not been determined to meet the standard for retention, and provisions governing sharing and retaining the information within the intelligence community, Mahar said.

The revised manual also provides a framework of distinct rules for information about U.S. persons that was intentionally or incidentally collected, or that was voluntarily provided to an intelligence community component.

The framework requires the prompt evaluation of USP information for permanent retention where the information was intentionally collected or voluntarily provided. For other information, it provides a longer period but enhances protections for the information, including new access and query rules.

It also creates a new framework governing "special circumstances" collection of information on U.S. persons. Special circumstances collection requires that an accountable senior intelligence official makes specific decisions about the intelligence value of collecting certain information on U.S. persons, Mahar said.

The senior official makes such decisions based on the volume, proportion and sensitivity of the information, and the intrusiveness of the collection method. The senior official must also consider adding enhanced handling safeguards.

The framework also adds specific roles for civil liberties and privacy officials.

Automating Access

The changes also include rules that govern data repositories shared among intelligence organizations, and expanded procedures for disseminating U.S. persons information inside and outside DoD to meet intelligence community data-sharing requirements.

Mahar said the revised procedures will enable the development of a common platform where the intelligence community can easily and securely share technology, information, and resources. This is consistent with the Intelligence Community Information Technology Enterprise, known as IC ITE (pronounced 'eye site'), the strategy to further the DNI's vision of intelligence integration by changing the intelligence community information technology operating environment, he said.

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DR Congo: Human Rights Watch Researcher Barred

Human Rights Watch

August 9, 2016 2:45PM EDT

Work Permit Denial Reflects Curbs on Free Speech, Rights Monitoring

(New York)  The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has blocked a senior Human Rights Watch researcher from continuing to work in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities' revocation of Ida Sawyer's work permit is the government's latest attempt to curtail human rights reporting during a period of increased government repression.

"The Congolese government's move to bar an experienced Human Rights Watch researcher under the guise of a work permit matter should fool no one," said Kenneth Roth, executive director at Human Right Watch. "This is about more than forcing Ida Sawyer out of Congo, but is a brazen attempt to muzzle reporting on the government's brutal repression of those supporting presidential term limits."

Immigration authorities renewed Sawyer's three-year work permit in May 2016, before it expired on August 9. On July 3, immigration unexpectedly and without explanation annulled the new permit when Sawyer passed through Kinshasa's main N'djili International Airport following a trip abroad. Human Rights Watch wrote to immigration authorities raising concerns about the unusual action and requested reinstatement of the permit. The authorities told Sawyer to submit a new work permit request.

On August 8, immigration authorities informed Sawyer that her request was denied and that she was to leave the country within 48 hours. No reason for the denial of a new permit was provided. Sawyer will leave Congo within the allotted time frame, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch is an independent international organization that has conducted research on the human rights situation in Congo for over 25 years. Sawyer has lived and worked in Congo for Human Rights Watch since January 2008. She has conducted research and advocacy on a wide range of human rights abuses by the government and by non-state armed groups such as the M23 and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

Since January 2015, the Congolese government has imposed a brutal crackdown against those who have spoken out against or opposed attempts to extend President Joseph Kabila's stay in power beyond his constitutionally mandated two-term limit, which ends on December 19. Preparations for presidential elections have stalled and senior government officials say elections cannot be held before the end of the year because of technical, logistical, and financial constraints.

During this period, government security forces have arbitrarily arrested scores of opposition leaders and activists, fired on peaceful protesters, banned opposition demonstrations, shut down media outlets, accused peaceful pro-democracy youth activists of plotting terrorist acts, and prevented opposition leaders from moving freely around the country. At least 14 activists and political opponents remain in prison on trumped up charges.

The government should credibly and impartially investigate alleged government abuses and hold those responsible to account, regardless of their position or rank, Human Rights Watch said.

In recent months, the government has broadened its suppression of criticism by forcing international officials and human rights monitors to leave Congo. In October 2014, the government expelled the director of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in Congo, Scott Campbell, following publication of a report about summary executions and enforced disappearances during a police operation in Kinshasa. The director of the Congo Research Group, Jason Stearns, was forced to leave in April 2016, following publication of a report about massacres in the Beni region of eastern Congo. In July, the authorities forced two researchers from the international organization Global Witness to leave Congo while they were investigating logging practices.

"Locking up Congolese activists and forcing international rights monitors out of the country are the tactics of abusive governments," Roth said. "The government should get serious about improving human rights by freeing all political prisoners and allowing Congolese and international rights defenders, including Sawyer, to continue their vital work."

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US Special Operations troops deployed to Libya: Report

Iran Press TV

Tue Aug 9, 2016 9:7PM

A number of US Special Operations troops have been deployed in Libya purportedly to help local forces fighting against the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group, a report says.

According to US and Libyan officials, the US forces are providing direct, on-the-ground support to forces loyal to Libya's unity government in a fight against Daesh, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

They are also coordinating American airstrikes and providing intelligence information in the battle for the coastal city of Sirte, the report said.

American forces are joined by British troops in the fierce fight to oust the group from the militant stronghold.

American troops are operating out of a joint operations center established on the city's outskirts and their role is only limited to supporting pro-government forces, said US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the Pentagon has not announced the deployment publicly.

Robyn Mack, a spokeswoman for US Africa Command (AFRICOM), admitted that small numbers of US military personnel were engaged in Libya but declined to provide more details.

Last week, the US military conducted airstrikes in Libya to target the Daesh stronghold of Sirte, marking the first time the United States has carried out such operations in the North African country since 2011.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement on August 1, "At the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord, the United States military conducted precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Sirte, Libya, to support GNA-affiliated forces seeking to defeat ISIL in its primary stronghold in Libya."

Cook added that the US strikes in Sirte "will continue," without elaborating.

Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) has announced the strikes, but has denounced the presence of foreign troops as"violation" of the country's sovereignty.

Sirte, the major stronghold of Daesh outside Iraq and Syria, fell to the Takfiri terrorists in February 2015. The full recapture of the city would be a major boost to the unity government, which has come to office through support from the United Nations.

Daesh has been taking advantage of the chaos embroiling Libya since the NATO-backed overthrow and death of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

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U.S., Coalition Strikes Hit Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 10, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike struck two ISIL crude oil collection points.

-- Near Ayn Isa, a strike destroyed an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike struck two ISIL crude oil collection points.

-- Near Manbij, 11 strikes struck 11 separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed five ISIL fighting positions and three ISIL vehicles.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter aircraft and rocket artillery conducted 11 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL rocket cache and damaged an ISIL rocket rail.

-- Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL refueling point.

-- Near Kisik, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and three ISIL weapons caches.

-- Near Mosul, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes destroyed four ISIL generators, 17 ISIL oil tankers, five ISIL rocket rails, five ISIL rockets, an ISIL excavator and an ISIL mortar system and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Ramadi, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, three ISIL weapons caches, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL vehicle storage area and seven ISIL rocket rails and damaged an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL tunnel entrance.

-- Near Sinjar, a strike struck an ISIL bomb factory.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed seven ISIL assembly areas and three ISIL vehicles and suppressed an ISIL mortar position.

-- Near Tal Afar, a strike struck an ISIL vehicle bomb factory.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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OIR Campaign Reached Turning Point in Ramadi, Commander Says

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2016  The Iraqi security forces' liberation of Ramadi from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant control marked the turning point in Operation Inherent Resolve's fight against ISIL, OIR Commander Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland told reporters today.

In his final Pentagon press briefing via Skype from Baghdad, MacFarland shared his counter-ISIL campaign observations from the past 11 months while he was commander. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of 18th Airborne Corps, soon takes the OIR reins.

MacFarland said the campaign to defeat ISIL was in a stalemate a year ago and some wondered if the U.S.-led coalition should take a more direct role than training, equipping, advising and assisting indigenous forces. "Others questioned whether the Kurds would cooperate with Arab forces to fight [ISIL] beyond their own traditional region," he said.

Deeds Versus Words

And since then, the questions were answered by deeds rather than words, McFarland said, adding, "In some ways, the progress against [ISIL] in Iraq and Syria has been remarkable. We modified the type and level of support we provided over the course of the past year, but we have not fundamentally altered the paradigm of train and equip, advise and assist."

That approach is paying off as ISIL is in retreat on all fronts, he said, noting, "The ISF proved that they can conduct complex and decisive operations."

Paraphrasing Winston Churchill, McFarland said, "The liberation of Ramadi was the end of the beginning of the campaign against [ISIL]. The beginning of the end will be the liberation of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. Once it is recaptured, the enemy in Iraq will be reduced to scattered pockets of resistance and that is now our focus."

Lessons Learned

And it was the recapture of Ramadi by the ISF that taught important lessons about "how to train and equip the ISF for urban combat, which will pay dividends as we prepare for the battle of Mosul," the general said. "We've shifted away from counterinsurgency toward combined arms maneuver training, teaching the Iraqis how to integrate infantry, armor, artillery, engineers, aviation and other combat multipliers to achieve an overwhelming advantage at the right place and time on the battlefield."

MacFarland outlined statistics. He said, individually, the coalition has trained more than 13,500 Iraqi security forces including more than 4,000 Iraqi soldiers, 1,500 counterterrorism service soldiers, 6,000 Peshmerga, nearly 1,000 federal police and 300 border guards.

The ISF has subsequently liberated almost a quarter of a million civilians in Iraq, he said, noting that stepped-up training was added to police training and recruiting travel forces, which added 5,000 trained local police and more than 20,000 tribal fighters enrolled.

"These men will be key to holding the gains and we've already achieved in protecting these newly liberated Iraqis, soon to be joined by over a million additional citizens of Mosul," MacFarland said. "While the forces on the Mara line have indeed held against [ISIL] advances, they've even made some progress south of the Turkish border.

Syrian Progress

In Syria, the general said, the Syrian Democratic Forces have made significant progress by pushing ISIL out of the numerous towns such as Shaddadi, Hasakah and Tishreen. "And soon [the SDF] will finish the fight in the important city of Manbij," he said.



Map of Combined Joint Operations Area depicting operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant -- also known as Daesh - from September 2015 to August 2016. DoD graphic

Retaking Manbij will set the stage for the eventual attack to seize Raqqah, McFarland said, adding retaking ISIL-controlled Raqqah will "mark the beginning of the end for [ISIL] in Syria."

"During these operations, coalition aircraft have conducted about 50,000 sorties against [ISIL] in the past year," he said. "During those sorties we've dropped more than 30,000 munitions on the enemy with approximately two-thirds of those in Iraq and about one-third in Syria. Our artillery has conducted more than 700 fire missions."

MacFarland estimated that in the past 11 months, 25,000 enemy fighters have been killed, and when added to the 20,000 estimated killed prior to his arrival. That's 45,000 enemies taken off the battlefield.

"There's no question that our strikes have enabled the liberation of more than 25,000 total square kilometers from [ISIL]," he said. "That's nearly half of what the enemy once controlled in Iraq and 20 percent of what they once controlled in Syria."

In Syria, the U.S.-led coalition has also conducted "more than 200 strikes against oil and natural gas activities of the enemy, destroying more than 640 of their tanker trucks, but more importantly, a number of critical facilities such as gas oil separation plan critical nodes, which reduce their oil revenue stream by perhaps 50 percent," MacFarland said, noting vigorous attacks on enemy leadership, command and control and weapons manufacturing capability.

"Military success in Iraq and Syria will not necessarily mean the end of [ISIL]," McFarland said. "We can expect the enemy to adapt, to morph into a true insurgent force and terrorist organization capable of horrific attacks like the one here on July 3 in Baghdad and those others we've seen around the world."

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Sumos provide aerial refueling during Exercise Pitch Black 2016

US Marine Corps News

By Cpl. Nicole Zurbrugg | August 10, 2016

As a KC-130J Super Hercules prepares for takeoff, Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 finish last minute preflight checks and secure the aircraft at Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal, Australia, Aug. 9, 2016.

For over 70 years, VMGR-152, also known as the "Sumos," has successfully carried out support missions by providing aerial refueling and assault support during expeditionary, joint and combined operations like Exercise Pitch Black 2016.

Aerial refueling is the process of transferring aviation fuel from a tanker aircraft to another aircraft midair.

After soaring high over the outback, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Colton Sizemore, KC-130J pilot with VMGR-152, positioned the tanker at 12,000 feet waiting for the first batch of RAAF and U.S. Marine F/A-18 Hornets to detect the tanker on radar and arrive for refueling.

"Our main job for Pitch Black is to provide aerial refueling to our own aircraft and international aircraft as well," said Sizemore. "It's important that we support these missions because by providing fuel midair, we enable the pilots to continue training uninterrupted and extend the time spent in the air."

As the jets approach, crewmasters situated in the rear of the aircraft relay the jet's positions to the pilots.

"During refueling, crewmasters are the eyes for the pilots," said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Chris Lawler, crewmaster with VMGR-152. "The pilots have very little vision of what is going on in the rear during an aerial refueling. Crewmasters relay positions of the incoming jets relative to the refueling hose and basket and monitor the whole refueling process."

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Jarred Cox, F/A-18 pilot with VMFA-122, explained the process of refueling from a pilot's viewpoint. The jets line up parallel to the wing of the tanker until cleared by the pilot, then maneuver to a stern position about 10 to 15 feet behind the hose, then to a precontact position three feet behind the basket until cleared for contact. At contact, the pilots plug in until refueled.

Cox also said aerial refueling doubles their flying time and range helping successfully carry out the Pitch Black mission. Without the aerial refueling capability, the aircraft would have to land, refuel, and take off again, eliminating valuable training time.

Although the Hornet pilots make catching the basket, maintaining parallel speeds and direction while refueling look easy, it takes great skill and concentration. In a real world combat situation aerial refueling is vital to tactical mission accomplishment. The "Sumos" contribution during Pitch Black allows both the Hercules and Hornet pilots to hone their aerial refueling skills, preparing them for possible combat support.

"Not only does midair refueling improve exercise training time and quality, but in combat conditions, aerial refueling is an essential component of operation and the pilots need to be confident of their ability to complete the process," said Sizemore. "

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USS Frank Cable Arrives in 5th Fleet

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS160810-07

Release Date: 8/10/2016 9:50:00 AM

From USS Frank Cable (AS 40) Public Affairs

U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS (NNS) -- Submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) arrived in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, Aug. 5.

The Frank Cable team, consisting of more than 500 Sailors and civilian mariners, is currently on deployment to provide vital flexibility to fleet commanders, extending the range and impact of U.S. naval forces.

Commanded by Capt. Drew St. John, Frank Cable will be positioned to provide support services as needed to forward-deployed naval forces.

"I'm extremely proud of the Sailors and civilian mariners aboard Frank Cable," said St. John. "They have worked hard to ensure we arrive ready to provide vital flexibility to the fleet commanders, extending the range and impact of U.S. naval forces. It is definitely a privilege for us to operate in this dynamic region. We are looking forward to supporting the regional commander in providing a flexible, adaptable and persistent force."

Frank Cable departed its homeport of Guam June 6 for a scheduled deployment. While transiting to U.S. 5th Fleet, Frank Cable made port visits in Puerto Princesa and Cebu, Philippines; Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory; and Goa, India; performing several community relations events designed to deepen the crew's understanding of other cultures and build friendships with people living in host nations.

The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses 2.5 million square miles of water and includes the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.

Frank Cable is one of two forward-deployed submarine tenders and is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations to conduct maintenance and support deployed U.S. naval force submarines and surface vessels in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

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Afghan forces kill 300 Daesh terrorists in Nangarhar

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 3:41PM

Afghan forces have killed an estimated 300 members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group during a recent massive military operation in the country's troubled east.

The terrorists were killed in the large-scale offensive conducted by the Afghan military two weeks ago in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

General John Nicholson, a senior NATO commander in Afghanistan, also confirmed on Wednesday that Afghan soldiers managed to kill top Daesh commanders across the militancy-riddled region.

"They killed a number of top leaders of the organization and up to 300 of their fighters," he told reporters, adding, "Obviously it's difficult to get an exact count, but what this amounts to is about 25 percent of the organization at least, and so this represents a severe setback for them."

The operations against Daesh affiliates in Afghanistan come amid rising concerns that the terror group is attempting to gain a new foothold in the country.

Nangarhar, which borders Pakistan, has been the main area where Daesh has managed to carry out high-profile attacks.

The Takfiri group has reportedly managed to establish connections with Taliban's splinter groups, especially those believed to be discontent with changes in the Taliban leadership.

Daesh has also enjoyed defections from al-Qaeda in Afghanistan although the latter's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has pledged allegiance to Taliban's new leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Officials in the Afghan government have blamed local leaders in the east of the country for the surge in the Daesh militancy.

The Takfiri terrorist group last month claimed responsibility for a bombing at a demonstration held by the Shia Hazara community in the capital, Kabul, where at least 80 people were killed.

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Taliban closing in on Helmand capital: Afghan official

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 8:0AM

The Afghan army is sending reinforcements to the capital of the key southern province of Helmand to reverse the Taliban gains in the area.

According to Kareem Atal, the head of Helmand's provincial council, Taliban militants have completely surrounded Lashkar Gah and there are fears it could fall to the militants within days.

Atal said army and police units have been brought back from checkpoints farther afield to reinforce the city and "new forces are arriving" in Lashkar Gah.

The fighting has led to the closure of all the highways leading into Lashkar Gah, forcing up prices for food and other basics inside the provincial capital, he said.

Meanwhile, Guilhem Molinie, Doctors Without Borders' representative in Afghanistan, said the medical charity has reduced its international staff in Lashkar Gah and is maintaining basic emergency and surgical services.

The charity, known by its French acronym MSF, has a 300-bed hospital in the city and usually functions with 25 international staff.

Molinie said that the number of people arriving for treatment after being caught up in fighting in districts around the city had been reduced in recent days due to road closures.

Omar Zawak, a spokesman for Helmand's governor, warned on Tuesday that the provincial capital was struggling to cope with an influx of people fleeing fierce fighting across the troubled region.

NATO has voiced concern over the intensity of the ongoing battle in Helmand.

Helmand is a strategically important province for both the Afghan government and Taliban militants, who effectively control or contest 10 of the 14 districts in the opium-rich province.

The militants have stepped up their attacks in the province in recent months.

Afghanistan faces a security challenge years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington's so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but many areas in the country are still beset with insecurity.

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Philippine leader threatens 'martial law' if anti-crime bid blocked

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 6:36AM

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to impose 'martial law' if the judiciary interferes with his ongoing anti-crime campaign, which has led to the death of hundreds since he took office.

The warning came after Supreme Court Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno on Monday questioned Duterte's decision to release the names of judges accused of involvement in illegal drug trade. Sereno said only the court has the authority to oversee judges.

"Go ahead and try to stop me. Would you rather that I declared martial law?" Duterte said while addressing soldiers during a visit to a military camp in the southern Philippines on Tuesday.

"Let's not kid each other ma'am, and do not force the issue," he warned Sereno, adding, "You do not warn me. I warn you. I can order everyone in the executive department not to honor you."

"Please do not create a confrontation, a constitutional war. We will all lose," the president said.

Sereno had told Duterte in a letter that it was her responsibility to punish judicial "misfits," and that publicly naming them, especially without charges filed against them, had put their lives in danger.

"To safeguard the role of the judges as the protector of constitutional rights, I would caution them very strongly against 'surrendering' or making themselves physically accountable to any police officer in the absence of any... warrant of arrest," Sereno added.

Duterte won the election in May on a platform of crushing crime. More than 100 suspects have been killed since the president launched his campaign against drug dealers and other criminals following his election.

However, police confirmed in a new tally released Tuesday the killing of 513 drug suspects, allegedly for resisting arrest.

Civil rights campaigners have criticized police operations amid concerns that some of the dead suspects may have been summarily executed by the law enforcement officers.

Police have also arrested more than 7,000 drug suspects since Duterte took office.

In July, Duterte named three of the country's topmost drug lords and accused retired police official Marcelo Garbo of protecting drug traffickers.

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 Flash

A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) report said on Wednesday discriminatory practices against the African-American communities had long existed among police forces in Baltimore, Maryland.

According to the 163-page scathing report, after a year-long investigation into the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) following the death of a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody, the DOJ found "reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitution or federal law."

In detailing its findings, the report depicted a bleak picture for local African-American communities which had long been complaining about excessive use of forces and racial profiling by local police force.

"Statistical evidence shows that the (Baltimore Police) Department intrudes disproportionately upon the lives of African Americans at every stage of its enforcement activities," said the report.

Between 2010 and 2015, though they comprised about 63 percent of the city's population, African Americans accounted for 84 percent of stops.

"The high rate of stopping African Americans persists across the City, even in districts where African Americans make up a small share of the population," said the report, adding that African Americans were also far more likely to be subjected to multiple stops within short periods of time.

Between 2010 and 2015, BPD stopped 34 African Americans at least 20 times and seven other African Americans at least 30 times, while no person of any other race was stopped more than 12 times, the report said.

In addition to the large racial disparities in stops, the BPD officers may also have used force against African Americans disproportionately.

"We found that African Americans accounted for roughly 88 percent of the subjects of non-deadly force used by BPD officers in a random sample of over 800 cases we reviewed," said the report.

The DOJ in recent years had launched similar civil rights investigations into police departments in Chicago, Cleveland, Ferguson, etc.

In another blistering report released in March, 2015, the DOJ said it had found a widespread discrimination against the black communities existed among law enforcement officials in Ferguson, Missouri.
Bahrain detains 4 more Shia clerics

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 7:47AM

Officials in Bahrain have detained four more Shia clerics, as the regime continues to suppress political dissent throughout the country.

The Bahraini daily Manama Post reported on Wednesday that Sheikh Imad al-Sho'leh, Sheikh Aziz al-Khazran, Sheikh Monir Ma'tooq, and Sayyid Mohammad al-Ghoraifi had been arrested a day earlier pending interrogation.

Meanwhile, a court in Bahrain has also handed down 15-day prison terms to four other Shia clerics, identified as Sheikh Mohammad Jivad al-Shahabi, Sheikh Fazel al-Zaki, Sheikh Ali al-Muhali, and Mula Habib al-Derazi.

The latter four clerics have been charged with organizing protests in the western Diraz Village.

Late last month, regime forces arrested Seyyed Majid al-Mashaal, a senior Shia cleric and the secretary of the country's Muslim Scholars Council.

In January, a Bahraini court decided to dissolve the council, which included a number of prominent Bahraini Shia scholars, and ordered the liquidation of its assets.

The council had been founded in 2004 under the leadership of prominent Shia religious scholar Sheikh Issa Qassim, who has himself been stripped of his citizenship and is being tried at a court over charges of promoting anti-regime dissent.

People in Bahrain have been staging protests since February 2011 to demand that the ruling Al Khalifah regime relinquish power.

The regime has been attempting to counter the protests by launching a heavy-handed crackdown on protesters and their leaders.

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Venezuela recall calendar thwarts opposition

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 7:41AM

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) has announced a timetable for a decisive initiative to trigger a recall referendum against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Critics say the CNE's timetable seeks to delay the opposition's move to topple the government through a referendum, which they aim to hold by the end of the year.

The CNE has already approved the first of two petitions required to organize a recall referendum.

CNE's president Tibisay Lucena said on Tuesday that the gathering of signatures for the second petition "would take place around the end of October" on condition that "all the regulatory requirements are fulfilled."

Lucena said that if the opposition gathered the four million signatures required to trigger a referendum, the CNE would then have a month to verify them. After that, she said, the CNE would have up to three months to hold the referendum.

According to the constitution, if the referendum is held after January 10, 2017, and Maduro loses it, his administration would remain in power and he would simply transfer his authority to a deputy of his own choice. The opposition does not want this. They want to topple Maduro and his administration.

The opposition says Maduro controls the CNE and accuses the government body of delaying the referendum procedures. Senior opposition leader Henrique Capriles branded Lucena's announcement "an exercise in cynicism and lies." The CNE "does not dare to say (openly) that there will not be a referendum this year," he told a news conference.

Lucena responded by saying, "Harassing the electoral authorities and their employees is a way of trying to distort the constitutional path."

Luis Emilio Rondon, an electoral authority close to the opposition, said, "There is no legal, technological or logistical obstacle" that should prevent the signatures from being gathered before October.

Since 2014, Venezuela has been the scene of protests against Maduro, who is under fire by his critics, most notably the opposition, for causing the economic recession through mismanagement.

The government of Maduro, however, has denounced the opposition's plans as a US-backed attempt to bring about a coup d'etat in the oil-rich country that is home to 29 million people.

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Vietnam moves rocket launchers to disputed islands in S. China Sea - report

Published time: 10 Aug, 2016 18:21

Vietnam has been moving new rocket launchers to several of its islands in the South China Sea, which could damage Chinese military installations, according to a media report citing Western officials. Vietnam's Foreign Ministry denies the claims.

The missile launchers have been moved to five bases on the Spratly Islands over the last few months. Although they do not contain any weaponry at present, they could be made operational within a couple of days, according to diplomats and military officers who spoke to Reuters.

The three sources, who declined to be named, said the rocket launchers had been hidden from aerial surveillance, while they had intelligence that showed that Vietnam had shipped the weapons from its mainland to the islands.

The move is likely to further inflame tensions with China, which claims all the islands as its own  as do Vietnam and Taiwan. Meanwhile, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim some of the area.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and nearby waters," China's Foreign Ministry told Reuters on Wednesday.

"China resolutely opposes the relevant country illegally occupying parts of China's Spratly Islands and reefs and on these illegally occupied Spratly Islands and reefs belonging to China carrying out illegal construction and military deployments."

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry said the information regarding the presence of rocket launchers on the Spratly Islands was "inaccurate." However, Hanoi has hinted in the past that it would be ready to take such a step and has the right to do so.

"It is within our legitimate right to self-defense to move any of our weapons to any area at any time within our sovereign territory," the deputy defense minister, Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Chi Vinh, said in June.

The foreign officials and military analysts believe that the rocket launchers placed on the Spratly Islands could be part of a new EXTRA rocket artillery system. Their small size and mobility would make them hard to detect, while they would be able to target Chinese runways and military installations.

"When Vietnam acquired the EXTRA system, it was always thought that it would be deployed on the Spratlys...it is the perfect weapon for that," Siemon Wezeman, a senior arms researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told Reuters.

A tribunal in The Hague ruled on July 12 that China had breached the Philippines' sovereign rights in the regards to the Spratly Islands. Vietnam was full of praise for the decision, saying that it supported the peaceful resolution of disputes.

"Vietnam strongly supports the resolution of the disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means, including diplomatic and legal processes and refraining from the use or threats to use force, in accordance with international law," Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said in a statement.

However, Beijing was furious at the ruling and made clear it would not respect it. China claims the islands come within its exclusive economic zones, where Chinese people have had activities for 2,000 years.

"No matter what kind of ruling is to be made, the Chinese military will firmly safeguard its national sovereignty, security and maritime rights and interests, unwaveringly safeguard regional peace and stability and deal with all kinds of threats and challenges," Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense (MND), said in a statement.

In July, the Chinese Defense Ministry announced it will hold naval drills with Russia in the South China Sea in September and that the exercise would not be "directed against third parties."

"This is a routine exercise between the two armed forces, aimed at strengthening the developing China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership," China's Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a news conference, as cited by Reuters.

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On Alert: Vietnam Deploys Rocket Launchers to South China Sea

Sputnik News

21:59 10.08.2016(updated 22:10 10.08.2016)

Escalating tensions in an already volatile region, Vietnam appears to have deployed rocket launchers to disputed territories within the South China Sea, well within range of Beijing's land reclamation projects.

At the heart of the South China Sea dispute is the Spratly archipelago, a series of islands and reefs claimed by China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Beijing has built a series of artificial islands in the archipelago, despite criticism from rival claimants that doing so puts their own security at risk.

With China's nine-dash territorial claims rejected by the Hague-based Court of Arbitration last month, tensions have escalated, with both Beijing and Washington pushing for an increased military presence in response to the ruling. Now Vietnam has reportedly upped the ante by placing its own military units in the Spratlys.

Diplomats and military officers speaking on condition of anonymity say that intelligence shows Vietnam moving mobile missile launchers from the mainland to five separate facilities in the Spratly archipelago.

While intelligence indicates that the launchers are not currently armed, sources said they could be activated in as little as two days.

The launchers are believed to be EXTRA rocket artillery system units recently purchased from Israel. These have a range of roughly 93 miles and can attack multiple targets simultaneously. It is considered ideal for defending against amphibious landings.

The move by Vietnam puts launchers within range of China's artificial islands at Fiery Cross, Mischief, and Subi Reef.

Hanoi has denied the allegations, calling the reports "inaccurate." In June, however, the country's Deputy Defense Minister, Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Chi Vinh, said that Vietnam reserved the right to do so.

"It is within our legitimate right to self-defense to move any of our weapons to any area at any time within our sovereign territory."

Beijing has condemned the move.

"China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands and nearby waters," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"China resolutely opposes the relevant country illegally occupying parts of China's Spratly islands and reefs and on these illegally occupied Spratly islands and reefs belonging to China carrying out illegal construction and military deployments."

The US government issued a statement, urging calm.

"We continue to call on all South China Sea claimants to avoid actions that raise tensions, take practical steps to build confidence, and intensify efforts to find peaceful, diplomatic solutions to disputes."

The US and its allies have repeatedly condemned China's land reclamation projects in the South China Sea, a highly contested region through which roughly $5 trillion in international trade passes annually. Washington has conducted a number of provocative patrols within the 12-mile territorial limit of Beijing's artificial islands.

 Sputnik

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Russian Foreign Ministry Calls on Yemeni Conflicting Parties to Observe Truce

Sputnik News

21:25 10.08.2016

Moscow urges parties to the conflict in Yemen to adhere to the ceasefire and return to the UN-backed negotiations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The ministry added there the political dialogue between the conflicting Yemeni parties remained the only way out of the crisis.

"Moscow urges the parties to the conflict in Yemen to adhere to the previously announced ceasefire and return to the talks under the UN auspices," the ministry said.

The ministry noted an increase in the number of airstrikes on the part of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which also affect civilian targets. The ministry also recalled ballistic missiles launches from Yemen towards Saudi border areas.

Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebels, the country's main opposition force. The Houthis are backed by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries have been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request despite a ceasefire agreed shortly before.

The UN-brokered talks to end the Yemeni conflict started in Kuwait on April 21. The talks ended on Saturday, with the government and Houthi rebels failing to come to an agreement. According to UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the parties are expected to return to the negotiating table no sooner than in a month.

 Sputnik

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Take Off Delayed: Singapore Pushes Back Plans To Buy F-35 Fighter Jets

Sputnik News

00:55 10.08.2016(updated 01:13 10.08.2016)

According to the Pentagon, Singapore has postponed plans to buy as many as twelve Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets. The craft was to be purchased by 2022, with an option to buy eight more, but Singapore's secretary of defense informed the Pentagon in mid-June that the nation would delay the final steps toward purchasing the beleaguered fighters.

The island city-state hasn't given any indication of when it may want to complete the process of buying F-35s, but the US is encouraging them to make the purchase. At a White House media conference with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, US President Barack Obama said in his opening remarks, "We welcome Singapore's interest in purchasing the F-35 aircraft."

Singapore formally submitted a "letter of request" to the US in December 2014, seeking information on how to purchase the jets, and followed up in 2015 by indicating that they preferred the most advanced model of the F-35, the F-35B. The F-35B was designed for the Marine Corps and has been ordered by Italy and the United Kingdom. The craft is intended for vertical landings on unmaintained airstrips and short take-offs.

Earlier this year, the US decided that if Singapore purchased F-35s, they would allow them integrate a proprietary data link and radio system into the crafts. Foreign partners have committed to buying 612 of the jets, while the Pentagon intends to purchase 2,443 for the US Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Finland, Spain, Belgium, and Poland are considering the acquisition of F-35s.

Richard Aboulafia, military aircraft analyst for the Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia, said that Singapore has "been uncertain on the F-35 for years," and that, "As a 'security cooperation partner' they were never as fully committed as the primary partners. They have a large and very new fleet of F-16s and F-15s, and the threats they face don't really call for a plane in the F-35 class" so "any F-35 sale to Singapore was viewed as a relatively long-term proposition."

Singapore's ministry of defense said in a statement, "as a small country with no strategic depth, Singapore will always need superior air capabilities to protect its interests and borders," noting that the country's defense minister said in a 2013 statement, "our current fleet of fighter aircraft are adequate for our defense needs and the F-35 is still under evaluation."

 Sputnik

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Release of the 2015 Annual Report on International Freedom (IRF)

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken

Deputy Secretary of State

Press Briefing Room

Washington, DC

August 10, 2016



DEPUTY SECRETARY BLINKEN: Morning, everyone. It is my pleasure today to join you to present the State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2015. I especially want to thank Ambassador Saperstein and his entire team for their hard work to produce this report, and their focus on international religious freedom every single day of the year. Their commitment underscores a fact that no one should ever have to doubt: Support for religious liberty guides the United States and our foreign policy every single day.

This core principle is written into the founding DNA of the United States, renewing and strengthening our nation with every generation. It's the first freedom enshrined before all others in our bill of rights. And it's become a centerpiece of global human rights conventions and law.

Our abiding commitment is affirmed by the priority we've given to defending and championing international religious freedom everywhere, but especially where it is under threat. We've grown the Religious Freedom Office steadily over the last several years. We've created a new Religion and Global Affairs Office under the outstanding leadership of Shaun Casey. Put that together and that makes 50 full-time State Department personnel focused entirely on religious freedom and the role of religion in foreign affairs, working closely with 199 Foreign Service officers in our embassies and consulates across the globe to produce the report that we're putting out today.

As Secretary Kerry has said, the purpose of this annual report is not to lecture; it is to inform, to encourage, and ultimately, to persuade. Bigotry and intolerance can be found in every part of the world, including the United States. But every country has an obligation to respect religious liberty and freedom of conscience; we encourage every country to do so. This report, which is based on a wealth of objective research, is one of many ways we give life to that advocacy.

Our message is simple: Societies tend to be stronger, wealthier, safer, and more stable when their citizens fully enjoy the rights to which they are entitled. When a government denies religious liberty, it turns citizens who have done nothing wrong into criminals, igniting tension that breeds contempt, hopelessness, alienation. Far from a vulnerability or weakness, religious pluralism shows respect for the beliefs of every citizen and gives each a tangible reason to contribute to the success of the entire society. That's why no nation can fulfil its potential if its people are denied the right to freely choose and openly practice their faith.

Now, it used to be that our annual reports focused almost exclusively on the actions of states. But we've also seen certain non-state actors  including terrorist organizations like Daesh, al-Qaida, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram  posing a major threat to religious freedom. There is, after all, no more egregious form of discrimination than separating out the followers of one religion from another  whether in a village, on a bus, in a classroom  with the intent of murdering or enslaving the members of a particular group.

This past March, Secretary Kerry made clear his judgment that Daesh is responsible for genocide against religious communities in areas under its control. Daesh kills Yezidis because they are Yezidi, Christians because they are Christian, Shia Muslim because they are Shia. Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups, and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, other minorities. They've not only killed, they've sought to erase the memory of those they've killed, destroying centuries-old religious cultural sites.

Naming these crimes is important, but our goal is to stop them. That's why President Obama has mobilized a coalition of more than 65 partners from every corner of the world to combat and ultimately defeat Daesh. Together we're systematically cutting off Daesh's financing, destroying its sanctuaries, stemming the flow of foreign fighters, combating its narrative on social media, liberating communities, allowing citizens to return home, and gutting the twisted foundation on which Daesh's global ambitions rest. We eliminated tens of thousands of fighters, hundreds of senior leaders. We've destroyed thousands of pieces of equipment and weapons. We've deprived Daesh of 20 percent of the territory it once controlled in Syria and 50 percent in Iraq.

Now, we know that the fight to defeat Daesh on the ground is far from over. But as the noose closes around it, we've also seen Daesh try to adapt by encouraging indiscriminate attacks in as many places as possible  a market in Baghdad, a nightclub in Orlando, a promenade in Nice, a cafe in Dhaka, a square in central Istanbul. One of the best ways to deny these murderers their victory is by ensuring that those they have sought to destroy not only survive, but thrive. As the fight for the liberation of Mosul in Nineveh province draws near, we must work to ensure a future in which all Iraqis  be they Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Christian, or other  feel represented and protected by the nation that they call home.

Two weeks ago here at the State Department, we convened over 30 delegations and challenged the international community to do more to ensure ancient religious and ethnic communities can remain in their ancestral homelands, confident in their security and economic opportunity. Every government has an obligation to protect its citizens, and in responding to the threat posed by terrorism, this can be  and we all know it  an immensely challenging task. It requires sharing intelligence, identifying suspicious behavior, taking legitimate security precautions, countering efforts to radicalize young people. And since some violent extremist groups point to religious texts to encourage and justify horrendous crimes, we must partner with religious, civil society, and political leaders committed to defeat efforts to radicalize their communities and radicalize our youth.

But security concerns are not a defensible reason to suppress peaceful religious activities, deny fair treatment to religious groups, apply collective punishments, or deny freedoms that are essential to religious practice, including those of association, assembly, and expression. We stress this point not solely to defend the principle of religious freedom, but also because terrorists are quick to exploit evidence of discrimination in trying to rationalize their actions and attract new members. Whatever the intent, repression tends to fuel terrorism, not stop it, which means that the denial of religious liberty is not only wrong but profoundly misguided and self-defeating.

As a tool for learning and improvement, this report also holds up countries in which progress to religious freedom is being made, and let me just cite one example: Vietnam. Onerous registration and reporting requirements still limit the ability of both registered and unregistered religious communities to freely practice their faith. But that said, the government is currently drafting a new omnibus law on religion and belief scheduled to be considered by the national assembly this fall. The government has made some efforts to provide transparency to the drafting process; it's relaxed some registration and approval requirements in the draft itself. I want to encourage our partners in Vietnam to continue to move in a direction that will ease restrictions on its religious communities.

At its heart, this report seeks to demonstrate all that is at stake. We believe so strongly in international religious freedom for all because it's something we value very deeply for ourselves as Americans.

Fifty or a hundred years ago, if you asked an expert what constitutes the wealth of a nation, you'd probably hear that it's the expanse of the nation's landmass, the size of its population, the strength of its military, the abundance of its natural resources. And all those things still matter; they make a difference, and the United States happens to be blessed with many of them. But what we know now in the 21st century is that the true wealth of a nation can be found in the human resources of a country and their ability to freely build, invent, excel, and express themselves. Countries that fully unleash this potential, that invest in the health, prosperity, security, and diversity of their societies, will thrive in the 21st century no matter the abundance that they have or don't have in traditional measures of wealth and strength. And religious freedom is a core component of maximizing that potential for people to express themselves freely to maximize their own potential.

I want to thank Ambassador Saperstein and everyone who contributed to this year's report. It's an extraordinary testament to their energy, their passion, their dedication. And now I'm pleased to yield the floor to Ambassador Saperstein for his remarks, and he will have the pleasure of answering any questions that you may have. Thank you very much.

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Analysts: Thai Military Looks to Extend Government Oversight

by Ron Corben August 10, 2016

Thailand's military is looking to extend its government oversight following Sunday's referendum approving a new, junta-backed constitution, legal experts say. But, one adds, the vote didn't directly endorse military leadership.

The draft charter  which won 15 million of the 25 million votes cast, or 61 percent  strengthens the military's influence. A controversial clause enables a military-appointed 250-member Senate to join with the lower house's 500 elected members in selecting a new prime minister in the next election.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said at a Tuesday press conference that a general election would be held in 2017. He reiterated the point in a nationally televised address Wednesday in which he also called for unity.

"I would like us to leave our differences, those feelings of like and dislike, acceptance or disagreement in the ballot boxes and walk forward," said the prime minister, who leads the National Peace Keeping Council (NCPO). "The referendum may be over but your mission and our mission is not over yet."

The referendum was the first to test public support since a May 2014 military coup led by the prime minister, the army's chief at the time. Sunday's turnout was estimated at almost 60 percent. The government had tamped down opposition to the charter before the referendum.

The United States and European Union have called for an open election as soon as possible, and for unrestricted political debate leading up to it.

Thais last went to the polls in 2011 and elected the Pheu Thai Party, led by Yingluck Shinawatra. That government was ousted in 2014.

Assessing vote

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said Sunday's outcome highlighted voters' desire to move to general elections.

"It was not a direct endorsement for the legitimacy of the military government," Thitinan said. "Thai people don't really vote for individuals. So the overall result suggests that people want to have their say at the polls. It's a way of going forward to the polls, toward elections."

Henning Glaser, a lecturer in law at Thammasat University, said the new constitution reflects a trend in Thailand of "anti-electoral" charters, similar to those in the United States and Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

"Thai constitutionalism is always or has always been fundamentally anti-electoral," Glaser said. "However, looking at this draft constitution we see a kind of radicalization of this anti-electoral stance."

The Pheu Thai Party opposed the charter. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva personally opposed the draft, leading to splits within his party.

Weak parties

Glaser said the main political parties, such as Pheu Thai and Democrat, also known as Phak Prachathipat, will be weakened under the new constitution.

"In terms of the election law, bigger parties will lose. This affects especially Pheu Thai and Phak Prachthipat parties, while middle-sized parties will relatively gain in elections," Glaser said.

"We have a weak parliament consisting of weak politicians and political parties, which are highly fragmented. We will have a weak government, too," he said.

The 250-member appointed senate will include six military leaders and senior defense officials for at least five years.

"We have very probably a government which will be represented by the powers supporting the government right now," Glaser said, predicting the power bloc would rule into 2017 "if there's no major interruption."

The latest charter is Thailand's 20th since becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932 and the second written since May 2014. The first was voted down by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) last September.

Controlling power

Suchit Bumbongkam, a Chulalongkorn University professor of politics who collaborated in writing the earlier draft charter, said the military leaders will not relinquish power easily.

"They will continue to play a very vital role in setting up the government" and "overseeing national security issues," the professor said. "It might be possible that one of the leaders of the NCPO would be the prime minister."

Under Thailand's current interim constitution, Prayuth replaced martial law, imposed soon after the May 2014 coup, with Article 44, a law granting the leader absolute power. Rights groups have described it as "draconian."

The law  and others enacted by the military since taking power  grants soldiers the power of arrest, prevents political gatherings of more than five people and allows for media censorship.

David Streekfuss, director of the Council on International Educational Exchange - Thailand, said such laws are expected to remain in place even after a new government comes to power.

"Hundreds of laws and announcements, directives  all remain legal ... even after an elected government " comes to power, Streekfuss said. "All these things that we see  the suppressing freedom of speech  will stay in play. So you get more than just a constitution by voting for this draft, you'd get the NCPO forever and ever."

But analysts say voters were willing to let the military take a central role while Thailand undergoes a transition against the backdrop of the popular but ailing 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulaydej.

Chualonglongkorn University's Thitinan said many Thais are hoping the transition will be peaceful.

People "want to see some kind of peaceful and viable transition and that's why they've cut some slack for the military," he said.

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What Is Fueling Ethiopia Protests?

by Salem Solomon August 10, 2016

The deadly protests that rocked Ethiopia in the past week stem from a diverse host of regional grievances but they reflect a shared sense of marginalization that may be bringing two of the country's largest ethnic groups together, analysts say, warning that there could be more unrest on the horizon.

Nearly 100 people were killed as security forces crushed the demonstrations over the weekend, according to opposition political parties and Amnesty International. Security forces opened fire on protesters, activists say.

The Ethiopian government blames the opposition in and outside the country for organizing what it calls "unauthorized protests by anti-peace forces." According to a statement by the government communications office, some protesters were carrying lethal weapons, including explosives. Opposition leaders deny the allegations, stating that the protesters were peaceful and unarmed.

The dispute in central Ethiopia dates back to November 2015. Demonstrators opposed a government plan to expand the municipal boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa, into the Oromia Region. Farmers in the region were particularly upset, worrying that it could mean an end to their livelihood. The protests claimed the lives of more than 400 people, according to Human Rights Watch. Video showed security forces beating unarmed protesters and using live ammunition.

The government put the capital expansion on hold, and protests quieted down  but the grievance did not go away.

In early July, another wave of protests began, this time farther north in the city of Gonder, in the Amhara region.

The main complaint by people in Amhara is that they want three districts  Welkait, Telemt and Tsegede  to be reintegrated into the Amhara Regional State. Currently, the three districts are under the Tigray Regional State. The people living in those zones identify as ethnic Amhara and want to be part of the Amhara Region administration, protesters say.

Decades-old dispute in Gonder

Last month in Gonder, members of a group known as the Welkait committee were arrested. Residents took to the streets demanding their release, resulting in clashes with police and destruction of property.

The Welkait committee is demanding the reversal of the 1991 decision to place Welkait, Telemt and Tsegede in the Tigray Region, said committee leader Colonel Demeke Zewdu, in an interview with VOA Tigrigna Service prior to his arrest.

"The people have been opposing this in different forms until now," he said. "Under the Tigray Region administration, the people didn't gain any benefits. Land has been taken away from them and they don't have socio-economic advantages. The society feels like it is regarded as second-class citizens."

Since the 15th century, the region known as Begemeder, which includes modern-day Gonder, had been autonomous and separate from the Tigray Region, said Alemante Gebre-Selassie, professor of law emeritus at the College of William & Mary in the U.S. state of Virginia.

Gebre-Selassie believes the move was an effort by Ethiopia's post-1991 leaders, who were from the minority Tigrayan ethnic group, to expand their homeland, an accusation echoed by protesters.

"The whole purpose of annexing this region into Tigray was for their economic benefit. In other words, these lands are fertile," he said. "They wanted these fertile lands to be incorporated into Tigray. They brought thousands of people from Tigray and settled them without any consultation of people.  The people of Welkait were displaced as a result of this settlement."

Oromia, Amhara solidarity

Decades of rivalry between the Oromo and Amhara may be giving way to solidarity, said Awol Allo, a fellow in human rights at the London School of Economics.

At rallies in the city of Bahir Dar, protesters were seen carrying signs that read "Stop Killing Oromo People" and "Free Bekele Gerba." Gerba is the deputy chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, an opposition party whose leaders are currently in prison.

Youth are key to this movement, Allo said. "[This is] a generation that would say it doesn't matter what force is used, I am determined to make my demands and to make my voice heard."

Ethiopia's Constitution states that regional borders can be redrawn.

"The constitution gives the basic rights of people for self-administration and where they can identify themselves as a home," said Soleyana S. Gebremichael, an Ethiopian lawyer and human rights advocate. "So the question of Welkait is directly related with that. People identify themselves as Amharas and they consider themselves as Amharas. They wanted to be administered by the region with their own language and promote their culture accordingly."

Government response

The government has defended its use of the military and police force and restricted access to the internet, in particular social media.

"People have already learned how to go around that using proxies, using VPN. So the initial batch of videos came in using proxies and VPN. It seems to me that when authorities noticed that the information is still getting out, that's when they moved to shut down the entire internet," said Mohammed Ademo, a journalist with Al Jazeera and the editor of Opride.com, a news website that focuses on Oromo issues.

Organizers continue to work the old-fashioned way, by word of mouth, said Gebremichael.

"The organizing had been done at the grass-roots level, so with or without the internet," she said. "People already had the urgency of going out to protest and then presenting their question and petitioning the government. That's what we saw in the past weekend because the internet was down for 48 hours and the protests happened anyway."

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Officials Provide Details of Latest Counter-ISIL Strikes in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 11, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Bomber, fighter, attack, ground-attack, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 18 strikes in Syria:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed 15 ISIL oil tankers.

-- Near Manbij, 15 strikes struck 14 separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed eight ISIL fighting positions, six ISIL vehicles, an ISIL heavy machine gun and an ISIL vehicle bomb.

-- Near Palmyra, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed five ISIL rocket rails, an ISIL rocket cache, two ISIL-used tunnels, and two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Hit, a strike destroyed two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL vehicle storage area, and an ISIL mortar cache and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Mosul, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL artillery piece, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle, five ISIL assembly areas, two ISIL-used tunnels, two ISIL vehicle bombs, 22 ISIL rocket rails and 22 ISIL rockets and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Ramadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL mortar system and damaged an ISIL fighting position.

-- Near Sultan Abdallah, a strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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 Flash

Sudan on Wednesday reiterated demand for the United States to remove Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism, Sudanese Media Center (SMC) reported.

Khartoum urged Washington to end the system of U.S. envoys to Sudan, and that the bilateral relations should be diplomatic like other countries.

"Until now Sudan does not know why the U.S. delays responding to our proposed issues, particularly after they promised more than once in exchange for peaceful transfer of power in Sudan," Sudan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Obeid-Allah Mohamed Obeid-Allah was quoted as saying.

"However, all Sudan's fulfilled commitments were only met with further extension of sanctions," he noted.

Obeid-Allah urged the U.S. to reconsider its unilateral coercive sanctions imposed on Sudan, which he described as a "violation" according to international standards.

He said Sudan declared its readiness long ago to cooperate with the U.S., noting that the U.S. should provide concessions towards the sanctions.

"Sudan has nothing to give more than what it has committed to and fulfilled," he noted.

The U.S. has been imposing sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and listing it one of the countries sponsoring terrorism.

Since then, Washington has been renewing its sanctions on Sudan due to the continuing war in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions besides a number of outstanding issues with South Sudan including the disputed oil-rich area of Abyei.

Sudan's losses due to the U.S. sanctions reportedly amount to over 4 billion U.S. dollars annually.
NATO Support and Procurement Agency  Precision Guided Munitions

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 16-30

WASHINGTON, Aug 11, 2016 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency for precision guided munitions, equipment, and support. The estimated cost is $231 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on August 9, 2016.

NATO Support and Procurement Agency as Lead Nation has requested a possible sale of precision guided munitions for subsequent retransfer to Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and Spain. Included are: five hundred (500) Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Guidance Kits, KMU-556 F/B; forty (40) JDAM Guidance Kits, KMU-557 F/B; one thousand five hundred (1,500) JDAM Guidance Kits, KMU-572 F/B; one thousand (1,000) MAU 210 E/B Computer Control Groups for 1,000-lb. Enhanced Paveway IIs; three hundred (300) MAU 210 E/B Computer Control Groups for GBU-49s; one thousand twenty-five (1,025) MAU 169 L/B Computer Control Groups for GBU-12s; one thousand three hundred fifty (1,350) Joint Programmable Fuzes, FMU-152 A/B; sixty (60) Bomb Fin Assembly and Airfoil Group 650-MXU K/B for GBU-12s; one thousand twenty-five (1,025) Bomb Fin Assembly and Airfoil Group, MXU-650 K/B AFG for GBU-12s. It also includes Detector Sensing Unit (DSU)-38A/B Laser sensors; DSU-33D/B proximity sensors; Wireless Paveway Avionics Kit (WIPAK) interfaces for Enhanced Paveway II bombs; FMU-139C/B electronic bomb fuzes; repair and return services; transportation; engineering services; and other support services. The estimated value is $231 million.

The proposed sale improves NATO members' capability to meet current and future ground threats with precision. They will use the enhanced capacity as a deterrent to regional threats, and to increase interoperability within contingency operations. Many of the purchasing nations already have precision-guided munitions in their inventories and will have no difficulty absorbing these additional munitions.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractors for production are the Boeing Corporation of St Louis, Missouri, and Raytheon Missile Systems of Tucson, Arizona. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to NATO.

There is no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov [1].

-30-

Source URL: http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/nato-support-and-procurement-agency-precision-guided-munitions

Links

[1] mailto:pm-cpa@state.gov

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Militants blow up Nigeria pipeline as Chevron protest goes on

Iran Press TV

Thu Aug 11, 2016 6:3PM

Militants have blown up another crude pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the oil-rich region of Delta Niger.

A youth protest leader claimed on Thursday that the damaged pipeline was still on fire.

He also said protesters, who comprised mostly of unemployed youths, were continuing a demonstration, which had started on Tuesday, at the gate of a Chevron oil depot to demand jobs and housing, claiming the facility had destroyed their settlement.

"Our protest is going on peacefully today on Thursday. Our community workers inside the tank farm have joined the protest as we speak," Collins Edema said.

"Nobody is going in and out of the facility since we've started but Chevron has airlifted their senior staff from there," he said.

Chevron confirmed a protest had taken place but did not say whether oil production had been affected.

Edema said the protesters might shut down Chevron's crude flow in Abiteye, Jones Creek and other operations in the area if the company does not agree to their demands.

Meanwhile, a newly-formed militant group, the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM), claimed late on Wednesday that it had struck a pipeline in Urhobo in the restive Delta region the previous day.

The spokesman of the militant group had warned that the NDGJM would attack oil installations of the country, calling on multinational companies "to evacuate their personnel."

A security source confirmed that there had been a dynamite attack on the Uzere-Eriemu pipelinein Delta state.

The oil installations in the Niger Delta have come under attack by local militants for decades.

The militants say they want a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth, which accounts for around 70 percent of national income, to be distributed in the impoverished region.

They also demand the areas polluted by oil spills to be cleaned up.

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Philippines calls on China to respect maritime law to resolve territorial disputes

Iran Press TV

Thu Aug 11, 2016 10:18AM

The Philippines has called on China to respect maritime law to settle disputes in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, almost a month after Beijing dismissed an international tribunal ruling against Chinese territorial claims in disputed areas in the South China Sea.

"We urge China to make sure that maritime law and security must be completely and uncompromisingly respected," said Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, during a press conference with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Davao City on the southern island of Mindanao on Thursday.

On July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China's claims to nearly all of the South China Sea "had no legal basis." The case had been brought by the Philippines.

Beijing, however, rejected the verdict, saying it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the strategically-vital South China Sea. Additionally, China is said to be engaged in an intensive program of island-building there, which the tribunal said had caused "permanent irreparable harm to the coral reef ecosystem."

The Chinese government views the verdict as an attempt to strip China of its historic sovereignty and maritime rights, arguing that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the issue.

"The islands in the South China Sea have been Chinese territories since ancient times. China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on these awards," Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier said.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have overlapping claims in the resource-rich sea.

China also claims the uninhabited East China Sea islets known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and occasionally sends coastguard vessels close to them, a move that angers Tokyo.

The dispute has at times drawn in trans-regional countries, particularly the US.

China accuses the US of interfering in the regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea. Washington, in turn, accuses Beijing of carrying out what it calls a land reclamation program in the South China Sea by building artificial islands in the disputed areas.

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Canada Deploys 2 Ships to Arctic to Conduct Surveillance Patrols

Sputnik News

21:11 11.08.2016

Two ships of the Royal Canadian Navy are departing Halifax for the Arctic on Thursday to conduct sovereignty and surveillance patrols, Fifth Maritime Operations Group Commanding Officer Captain Craig Skjerpen said in a press release on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The National Defense Department explained that warships would also partner with the Canadian Coast Guard, the Arctic Research Foundation and other services to carry out hydrographic surveys.

"The deployment of these ships continues Canada's stated commitment to assert our sovereignty over our northernmost regions," Skjerpen stated.

The deployment of the two ships, the coastal defense vessels Moncton and Shawinigan, will last seven weeks, according to the release.

 Sputnik

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Brazil Senate Votes in Favor of Impeachment Trial for Rousseff

by VOA News August 10, 2016

The Brazilian Senate has voted to begin the impeachment trial of embattled President Dilma Rousseff, a move that could officially hand over power to her former vice president  current interim president  Michel Temer.

Senate debate stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning, but the results were clear-cut, with a 59 to 21 majority voting in favor of moving forward with the impeachment proceedings. The Senate needed just a simple majority to decide on taking Rousseff to trial, but a two-thirds majority will be needed in the final vote, which will come after the trial in late August.

The Senate suspended Rousseff in May after allegations emerged that she illegally fudged the numbers on the country's budget to make it seem like a slump in the economy wasn't as bad as it actually was during her 2014 re-election campaign. Throughout the impeachment process, Rousseff has maintained that she did nothing wrong and called it a coup.

Rousseff has denied she broke budget laws and maintains she is the victim of a right-wing conspiracy to overthrow her government that advanced the interests of Brazil's poor.

In her written defense last month Rousseff said Brazilians knew an honest woman was being put on trial and she called the impeachment proceedings a "farce" and her alleged crimes no more than "routine acts of budgetary management."

Her conviction would end her 13-year reign over Brazil, and leave the largest economy in Latin America in the hands of her conservative former vice president.

Since the Senate suspended Rousseff on May 12, Brazil's stock market and currency have strengthened based on investor speculation that Temer, who has laid out policy proposals that favor private business, will be better for the economy.

Temer has implored the Senate to move quickly, saying that the ""people need to know who the president is."

If Rousseff is found guilty, Temer will become the president until the next election is held in 2018.

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Type-96B seen as pillar of nation's tank force

People's Daily Online

(China Daily) 08:26, August 10, 2016

China's military is likely to deploy the Type-96B tank as the pillar of its tank fleet, replacing most of its old models, observers said.

Gao Zhuo, a military observer in Shanghai who has close contact with the People's Liberation Army, told China Daily that the excellent capabilities of the Type-96B qualify it to be the backbone of China's tank force.

"The Type-96B is the strongest variant of the Type-96 family and is truly an advanced, third-generation main battle tank," he said. "The PLA will use it to replace the old tanks such as the Type-59 and Type-69 models."

His remarks came as the Type-96B delivered impressive performances in the ongoing Masters of Automobile and Tank Hardware competition, also known as the Tank Biathlon, at the Alabino training range in Moscow.

The PLA sent several Type-96B tanks to take part in the tank competition, the most watched part of the Russia-hosted International Army Games.

The eight-day individual part of the competition, which involved 54 teams from 17 countries, ended on Sunday, with the Chinese delegation scoring the highest.

All of the PLA's three teams were to compete in the semifinal that started on Tuesday.

By the end of last year, the Chinese military had more than 7,000 tanks in active service, including about 2,000 Type-96s and Type-96As, as well as about 600 Type-99s and Type-99As, so the majority of the PLA armored force is still equipped with tanks made several decades ago, according to foreign military analysts.

Huang Guozhi, senior editor at Modern Weaponry magazine, said that despite the fact that Type-99 series tanks are more advanced, their high price and limited production capacity mean that it's unrealistic for the PLA to purchase and deploy them on a large scale.

"Therefore, the Type-96B, with a better price and satisfactory capabilities, is very attractive to the Chinese and foreign militaries. It is the best option for the PLA to modernize its armored forces," he said.

According to an article posted by China North Industries Group Corp on its WeChat social media account, the Type-96Bcompared with its predecessors in the Type-96 familyhas a high-performance 125 mm smoothbore gun, an improved, more powerful engine, newly developed transmission gear and a state-of-the-art fire-control system.

Yu Shuo, a tank researcher in Beijing, said the Type-96B is among the latest achievements by the nation's land arms industry. He suggested that too much emphasis should not be placed on the results of the Tank Biathlon, as the experience gained is more important to the PLA.

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Beijing Installs Supersonic Missiles on South China Sea's Most Lethal Destroyer

Sputnik News

21:58 10.08.2016(updated 22:10 10.08.2016)

The upgraded combat features on board the flagship of the South China Sea fleet impress Western defense analysts, as Beijing threatens to aggressively defend the disputed territories.

China has completed a major weapons upgrade for their Shenzen destroyer, which will return to operations with the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) fleet in the South China Sea amid brewing tensions over the disputed territory, IHS Jane's Defence Weekly reported.

The missile system of the Shenzen, Beijing's only Luhai-class destroyer, was upgraded to a 32-cell vertical launch platform capable of firing medium-range HHQ-16 surface-to-air (SAM) missiles with a range of 19 nautical miles and a maximum speed of 2,148 mph (3457 kph). Defense analysts say the system is comparable to the powerful Russian Gollum/Shtil-2 missile system.

Other combat characteristics added to the ship include four 37 mm twin anti-aircraft guns with two Type 1130 close-in weapon systems, along with upgraded surface and air search radars. The ship's radar system has also been augmented to remove a blind spot in the previous system's visible range.

The 6,000-ton destroyer, commissioned in 1999, is unique among modern destroyer classes, as it uses a steam propulsion system and doubles as a helicopter hangar, with space allowing for the landing and takeoff of up to two helicopters.

Prior to the upgrades, the Shenzen served as Beijing's flagship in the South China Sea, but it remains uncertain whether it will currently remain in the position of the People's Liberation Army Navy's command ship.

Significant upgrades to what was already China's most lethal destroyer come as Beijing faces increasing pressure to relax its claims over oil rich South China Sea territories, through which some 40% of the world's shipborne commerce travels each day.

The recent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague is challenged by China, saying that the Hague does not have the jurisdiction to decide upon the case. According to Beijing's interpretation, China would have had to jointly submit to the dispute for the court's decision to be enforceable.

Despite China's explanation, Beijing faces growing pressure from the West, as well as from regional rivals Japan and Australia, that analysts worry could push the regime of Xi Jinping into a corner, increasing the threat of hostilities.

China has warned its people to be prepared to go to war over the South China Sea territory and has further engaged in aggressive statements against both Japan and Australia  the latter of which fell prey to an op-ed by the state-run People's Daily calling for a military assault on the country.

Since that time, China has deployed combat patrols into the South China Sea and has ramped up its naval war exercises, joined by the Russian Navy, with both countries offering a counterpoint to the increasingly aggressive posture of the Western defense establishment.

 Sputnik

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South China Sea Ramp-Up: New Chinese Aircraft Carrier's Shocking Combat Features

Sputnik News

01:12 10.08.2016(updated 09:56 10.08.2016)

As tensions mount in the South China Sea, the country's state television has heralded the Liaoning aircraft carrier's expanded lethality.

Last week, Chinese TV boasted about the "growing combat capabilities" of its Liaoning (CV-16) aircraft carrier, noting that the battle platform can carry up to 20 fighter jets, bolstering Beijing's balance of naval and aviation power in the Pacific rim amid growing tensions.

Last Monday's footage revealed the Liaoning carrying eight Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-15 fighters, along with a Z-18 and a Z-9 helicopter, the largest number of aircraft yet seen on the carrier, suggestive of plans by China to build up its aerial presence in the Pacific Ocean.

Speaking about the J-15 fighter jets during an August 4 program, Chinese Rear Admiral Yin Zhou said, "Once all eight aircraft fly out in formation, they have a strong combat capability." He noted that the Liaoning can carry up to 20 aircraft, prompting Chinese media to further comment that the carrier exhibits "growing combat capability."

The presence of Z-18J airborne early warning (AEW) and Z-18F anti-submarine (ASW) helicopters, never before seen alongside the J-15 on the Liaoning carrier, represents a significant development in China's joint aviation and naval capabilities, likely forming a full air-wing for the carrier.

Topping out at a speed of 1,585 mph (2551 kmh), the J-15 possesses semi-stealth capabilities, with China boasting that it is a fifth-generation weapon, with a range of 2,175 miles, providing the aircraft both the capabilities of an intercept fighter and a traditional combat warplane. Joined with the Z-18J and Z-18F helicopters, Beijing's airpower in the Pacific is considered by some to be unrivaled.

The increased capacity of the Liaoning is substantial in the wake of a growing Chinese military presence, in response to not only the Hague arbitrational court's ruling contrary to Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea, but also demands by regional and Western governments that the administration of Xi Jinping simply rescind areas they have long held.

China has flatly stated that the Hague court has no jurisdiction in the case. Beijing also feels increasingly cornered by the Obama Administration's "Asian pivot" and the acceptance by the South Korean regime of the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system which China fears will lead to weapons proliferation in the region.

Beijing has told its people to prepare for war, and the state-run People's Daily urged the regime to undertake a violent assault on Australia, for their position on the South China Sea dispute. The increased combat capabilities of the Liaoning show that if China chooses to fight, it has the technical capability to dominate on a battlefield.

 Sputnik

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Iraqi Kurdish camps bracing for influx of refugees from Mosul

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 6:1AM

Camps in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region are preparing for an influx of more displaced persons from Mosul, a northern Iraqi city that government forces are gearing up to retake from Daesh, Press TV reports.

Local authorities and relief personnel say the large numbers of refugees coming in are stretching the resources of the already overcrowded camps in the region.

"Every day, we receive up to 215 new refugees. The process of taking in new arrivals is slow so that we can provide them with everyday needs," Rizgar Obaid, the manager of the Debaga camp on the outskirts of Erbil, said on Tuesday.

He said four more sites will be built at the camp to house internally displaced persons (IDPs).

"We are able to provide just basic services. Currently, we have 31,000 refugees here, but our main problem is providing them with accommodation. We have requested more land from the Kurdish regional government to put up more tents since we are unaware how many people would come here," Obaid added.

Some of the new arrivals are, however, thankful for the little aid they are receiving.

"We came here two days ago. They gave us a place to stay and provided us with food and water. The situation is better than living outside camps. We lived under Daesh for nearly two years and barely had anything to eat. Thank God, it is better here," a middle-aged refugee man said.

Hundreds of Iraqi families continue to flee southern Mosul as army soldiers and fighters from Popular Mobilization units are taking up positions around the city, which is located some 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad.

Hisham al-Hashimi, a consultant to the Baghdad government on the anti-Daesh campaign, said the offensive for the liberation of Mosul was slated for late September.

Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi recently said that high-ranking Daesh militant commanders and their families had sold their belongings and fled Mosul as Iraqi forces were closing in on the city.

Mosul fell into the hands of the Takfiri terrorists in June 2014, when they began a large-scale offensive in Iraq.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence since then. Daesh has been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

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Libya's GNA forces retake Sirte University from Daesh

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:4PM

Forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) have retaken Sirte University from the Takfiri Daesh terrorists.

"Our forces are making progress in their attack against Daesh, and have recaptured Sirte University," Rida Issa, a spokesman for the GNA forces, said Wednesday.

At least 20 Daesh terrorists were killed in the fighting for the complex.

Meanwhile, the GNA forces said they lost one of their planes during the operation on Wednesday. The forces did not provide more details. Amaq news agency, which is affiliated to Daesh, said the terrorists have shot down the fighter jet, killing the pilot.

Libyan forces stepped up the battle for Sirte on August 4.

The large-scale military operation to retake Sirte began in May. The Libyan forces had entered the city in June.

On August 7, the Libyan forces said the "countdown" had begun for the final attack on Daesh positions in the coastal city.

Libya has been the scene of violence since a NATO military intervention followed the 2011 uprising that led to the toppling and killing of the longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

Daesh has taken advantage of the chaos gripping the country to strengthen its foothold there.

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 Flash

The two airplanes threatened by bomb alerts Wednesday have both landed at Brussels' Zaventem airport safely with nothing suspicious being found, according to local media reports.

"Currently, there is no concrete threat," Belgian newspaper Le Soir quoted spokesperson of the Interior Minister Jan Jambon as saying. The planes have been searched by explosive detection dogs, and nothing suspicious were found.

"It seems to be a false bomb threat," said Eric Van Der Sypt, spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office.

Emergency medical plan had been put in place at Zaventem airport following the information that there might be bombs on two airplanes run by the Scandinavian airline.

Passengers on both planes, one from Oslo, Norway and the other from Arlanda, Sweden, have left the plane orderly. The operation of the airport is now back to normal, according to working staff at the Zaventem airport.

There have been several false bomb alarms in Belgium since the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels that killed 32 people. Security alert in Belgium remains level three, the 2nd highest on a four-tier scale, after the attack.
Libyan Forces Recapture Daesh Headquarters in Sirte

Sputnik News

20:26 10.08.2016(updated 20:27 10.08.2016)

Troops loyal to the UN-backed Libyan government recaptured the Ouagadougou conference center, the Islamist headquarters in the port city of Sirte, the operations center said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Bunyan Marsous Operations Room announced that Daesh terrorists had been ejected from their hideout after a day's offensive, the Libya Herald newspaper reported.

The operations center said they had liberated a hospital and a university, killing around 20 jihadists. They confirmed having lost contact with a Libyan Air Force warplane, the second in the past two months. The outlet cited Daesh who claimed they had downed the jet.

Daesh gained a presence in Libya in the turmoil following the 2011 overthrow of the country's long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi. The country has been mired in a civil war since 2014.

 Sputnik

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Joint Statement on Libya by the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

August 10, 2016



The Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States express their concern at reports of increasing tension near the Zueitina oil facility on the central coast of Libya. They express their support for the Government of National Accord's efforts peacefully to resolve the disruptions to Libya's energy exports, and emphasize that control of all facilities should be transferred unconditionally and without preconditions or delay back to the legitimate national authorities recognized as such by UN Security Council Resolution 2259. The Governments call for all parties to refrain from hostilities and avoid any action that could damage or disrupt Libya's energy infrastructure.

The Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States reaffirm their full support for the Government of National Accord. As underlined by the UN Security Council Resolution 2278, Libyan state financial institutions and the National Oil Corporation must benefit all Libyans. The Government of National Accord must work with the National Oil Corporation to restore oil production to rebuild Libya's economy. Restoring oil exports is vital to generating revenues that can provide for the essential needs of the Libyan people, including electricity, healthcare, and infrastructure. It is in the interests of all Libyans that they fully support the efforts led by the GNA to provide these key services to the Libyan people.

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Canadian Company Supplied Armored Vehicles to Libya Despite UN Arms Embargo

Sputnik News

19:09 11.08.2016

Canada-based Streit Group reportedly shipped dozens of armored personnel carriers to Libya despite the UN embargo.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Streit Group was criticized by the United Nations in 2012 for shipping 131 military vehicles to Libya. However, according to the shipping documents obtained by the CBC News broadcaster, it also sent at least 79 Typhoon and Spartan patrol vehicles to the country in 2014.

The broadcaster stressed that another shipment was seized by Greek patrol ships in 2015.

The documents show that the sales were carried out through several middlemen. At least one US and three United Arab Emirates companies purchased the vehicles before "donating" them to local warring factions.

The UN Security Council imposed arms embargo on Libya in February 2011, after the country became political unstable. It requires all UN member states to prevent the sale or supply of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment and spare parts, to the country.

 Sputnik

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Russia Plans to Deploy Extra Sunflower Radars Capable of Detecting F-35 Jets

Sputnik News

16:20 10.08.2016

Russia will station additional Podsolnukh (Sunflower) radars that are capable of detecting cutting-edge stealth aircraft, including Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor, to protect the country's exclusive economic zones in the extreme North, the Baltic Sea and Crimea in 2017, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported.

The Russian Defense Ministry, according to the newspaper, has not made the exact figures public.

Three over-the-horizon Podsolnukh radars are currently in service with the Russian Armed Forces. They were recently deployed to the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan and the Caspian Sea. The latter has been operational since 2013, the media outlet detailed.

The press service of Russia's Southern Military District told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that the Podsolnukh is used to scan overwater and aerial regions within the country's exclusive economic zones under any weather conditions. But it could do more.

The Podsolnukh is capable of detecting sea surface and air objects at a maximum distance of 500 kilometers (over 310 miles) at different altitudes in line of sight and over the horizon. According to the Global Security website, it can simultaneously detect and track up to 300 sea and 100 aerial targets in an automatic mode. The station is operated by a crew of three people.

The Podsolnukh has taken part in the Caspian Flotilla's drills.

"In the fall of 2014, the over-the-horizon radar detected various targets and sent their coordinates to the Grad Sviyazhsk and Uglich corvettes. In January, the Podsolnukh detected four low-flying Su-24 bombers. The data was forwarded to the Dagestan frigate, whose ballistic missile defense system successfully locked onto targets," the newspaper detailed.

Over-the-horizon stations have a major advantage when compared to other radars. They are capable of detecting stealth objects. For the Podsolnukh, the F-22 and the F-35, the best fighter jets in the US arsenal that could fly deep behind enemy lines, are no different from aircraft that do not use stealth technology.

But there is a trade-off. Over-the-horizon radars are inconsistent with the IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system.

"Nevertheless, the Russian military has successfully employed over-the-horizon stations. The Volna system, the Podsolnukh's big brother, has been in service with Russia's Pacific Fleet, scanning water areas at a maximum distance of 3,000 kilometers (more than 1,864 miles). The Volna's length of the antennae is 1.5 kilometers (more than 0,9 miles), its height is five meters (more than 16.4 feet)," the newspaper noted.

The export version of the Podsolnukh has been showcased at several international maritime defense shows.

 Sputnik

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Russia announces daily 3-hour ceasefire in Syria's Aleppo for aid delivery

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:29PM

Russia says it will halt airstrikes around the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian convoys into the ravaged city.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced the daily three-hour ceasefire on Wednesday.

"To guarantee total security for the convoys to Aleppo, there will be humanitarian windows established from 1000 to 1300 local time starting tomorrow during which all military hostilities, aviation strikes and artillery strikes will be halted," Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoy of the Russian army's general staff told journalists.

Rudskoy added that Russia, together with the Syrian authorities, was ready to help all interested organizations deliver humanitarian aid to Aleppo's residents safely.

He said a road has been built to an area on the northern outskirts of Aleppo through the Castello shopping center to "ensure safety and organize round-the-clock delivery of food, water, fuel, medicine and other necessities to the city's west and east."

Meanwhile, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien said a 48-hour truce was needed to meet all the humanitarian needs in the Syrian city.

"At all times, I will look at any kind of suggestion which enables humanitarian aid to be delivered," he told reporters, adding, "To meet that capacity of need you need two (road) lanes and you need to have about 48 hours to get sufficient trucks in."

On Tuesday, the UN called for a weekly 48-hour pause in Aleppo, where it said two million people lack access to clean water, which is putting people, especially children, at risk of disease.

Russia has been bombing the Takfiri groups of Daesh and the so-called Jabhat Fath al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, in Syria at the official request of the Damascus government since September 2015.

Over the last few days, fierce clashes have been underway in and around Aleppo between government forces and terrorists over the control of militant-held areas.

The Syrian city has been divided since 2012 between government forces in the west and the militants in the east.

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Syrian Democratic Forces Predict Liberation of the City of Manbij Soon

Sputnik News

21:20 10.08.2016

The operation to liberate the Syrian city of Manbij from Daesh terrorists has been going on for 70 days. According to a representative of Syrian Democratic Forces, the military operation is currently in its final stage.

In an interview Sputnik, Abdulaziz Yunus commented on the situation in the city and said that in the near future the city will be fully liberated.

A few areas of the city have been recently freed as result of the ongoing armed clashes between Syrian forces and jihadists, he stated.

"We are in the heart of the city, clashes are going on. Although the city has not yet been completely liberated, there are very few areas controlled by jihadists. In fact, it's two blocks and a few streets. In one of the quarters, the militants have been encircled on a square of 200m2," Yunus said.

"According to our estimates, there are about 120 Daesh militants in the city. They either surrender, or will be destroyed. We hope to fully liberate the city in the coming days," he added.

A few days ago, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of militias was reported to have taken control of strategic locations in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, which is partially held by Daesh, the SDF's press service said in a statement Thursday. It was added in the statement that SDF militia forces have also liberated Al-Tall district of the city.

"In the central part of the city there are still 4,000 civilians, including women, children and the elderly. Daesh militants use them as human shields. Because of that we can't use heavy weapons in the city, and the aircraft of the coalition doesn't carry out airstrikes on the positions of the militants. We are very careful with the lives of civilians and do our best to prevent civilian casualties," Yunus said.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups, such as Daesh, outlawed in many countries, including Russia and the United States. In late May, SDF, backed by the US-led coalition, began an offensive to retake the Syrian city of Manbij from Daesh militants.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Army, Russian Jets Prevent Terrorist Forces From Reaching Aleppo

Sputnik News

18:58 10.08.2016(updated 19:43 10.08.2016)

The Syrian ground forces backed by Russian aircraft are attempting to prevent additional terrorist forces from gaining access to the outskirts of the Syrian city of Aleppo, the Russian General Staff said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Rudskoy estimated terrorists' losses in less than a week at over 1,000 fighters, seven tanks, eight armored personnel carriers, 29 pieces of artillery and 85 vehicles with mounted weapons.

"The main efforts of [Syrian] government forces supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces are aimed at preventing terrorists transfering backup forces to the southwestern outskirts of the city of Aleppo," Chief of the Main Operational Directorate Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said.

The situation on the southwestern approaches to the Syrian city of Aleppo remains difficult with heavily armed militants amassing there in the past week, he said.

"The most alarming situation has developed on the southwestern outskirts of Aleppo, where terrorists have formed a group of about 7,000 fighters armed with tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery and weapon-mounted vehicles during the last week," Rudskoy said.

Rudskoy told reporters Jabhat Fatah al Sham militants, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, with reinforcements from regions under their control across three provinces, broke through the Syrian army's defenses and occupied military academies there.

"These militant actions had no significant effect on the situation. Areas under their control are under constant fire from government troops and militia. This completely eliminates the possibility of arms and ammunition deliveries there by terrorists in eastern Aleppo," he affirmed.

All seven humanitarian corridors in the Syrian city of Aleppo remain open around the clock to allow safe passage for civilians and militants wishing to lay down arms, the Russian General Staff said.

A three-hour humanitarian window with a full cessation of hostilities will be opened every day to ensure safe passage for aid convoys into the Syrian city of Aleppo, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said.

"To ensure complete safety in the passage of convoys inside Aleppo, humanitarian 'windows' will be established tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time [07:00-10:00 GMT] at which time all hostilities, air strikes and shelling will cease," Chief of the Main Operational Directorate Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said.

Rudskoy told reporters the Syrian government forces and the Russian air groups were ready to provide security to all organizations interested in providing humanitarian aid to the residents of Aleppo.

"All seven of the opened humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians and militants who want to surrender are open and are working around the clock. Ambulances and hot food distribution centers are deployed nearby. There are supplies of drinking water and food products," Rudskoy told reporters.

The Russian military has delivered over 50 tonnes (55.1 US tons) of food and medical supplies as well as 93 tonnes (102.5 US tons) of potable water to the residents of Syria's Aleppo, he added.

Russia supports the United Nations' proposal to establish joint control over humanitarian aid deliveries to the population of Aleppo along the main supply road, the Russian General Staff said Wednesday.

"We are ready to engage in constructive dialogue with all parties interested in resolving the Syrian crisis. We support the UN proposal for the establishment of joint control over the delivery of humanitarian aid to Aleppo along Castello road," Chief of the Main Operational Directorate Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said.

 Sputnik

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Ex-CIA Chief's Comments Reflect 'What US is Secretly Doing in Syria'

Sputnik News

14:10 10.08.2016(updated 17:26 10.08.2016)

Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell, who has recently endorsed Hillary Clinton, has caused a firestorm when he said that the United States should covertly kill Russians and Iranians in Syria, with Russian lawmakers denouncing the remarks as "monstrous" and experts saying that he merely confirmed what Washington has secretly been doing.

Vladimir Vasilyev, a senior research fellow at the Moscow-based Institute of US and Canada Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, maintained that Morell's comments should be taken at face value.

This is "what the United States has secretly and surreptitiously been doing and most importantly what Washington will do if Hillary wins presidential election," he told RIA Novosti. "Russia should understand who it is dealing with. In fact, Moscow could thank Morell for leaking important information on Washington's true goals in Syria."

"Monstrous remarks"

Russian MP Irina Yarovaya, the head of the State Duma Committee for Security, echoed these sentiments, saying that Morell made "monstrous remarks." He essentially confirmed that Washington is capable of carrying out "covert killings  to pursue its own devastating plans."

Yarovaya also noted that Morell's comments point to a hidden agenda in Washington's counterterrorism activities. "The US State Department must issue a clear statement on the issue. Otherwise, there are grounds to assume that the former CIA deputy director inadvertently revealed an existing top secret CIA plan."

Morell's remarks are meant to "fuel tensions between Russia and the US," Dmitry Gorovtsov, the deputy chairman of the State Duma's Committee for Security, told RIA Novosti, adding that such rhetoric is unacceptable. He also called Morell's plan "extremist" and "akin to fascist ideology."

Morell "does not understand what he is talking about"

First deputy chairman of the defense and security committee in the Federation Council of Russia Franz Klintsevich referred to Morell's remarks as "absurd."

"I think that Michael Morell does not understand what he is talking about. Modern surveillance equipment that covers all Syria renders any 'covert' killings impossible," he said. Russia's cutting edge technologies allow Moscow to determine the name, the date, the place and the goal of any such activity if it took place.

Moreover, Morell's advice "would automatically lead to an open confrontation between Russia and the US, which the Americans, as far as I understand, do not need," Klintsevich added.

On Monday, Michael Morell, who served as CIA's acting director twice, told talk show host Charlie Rose that the US "must make" Russia and Iran "pay a price" in Syria by "covertly" killing their nationals. "You don't tell the world about it, right? You don't stand up at the Pentagon and say, 'we did this.' Right? But you make sure they know it in Moscow and Tehran," he added.

Morell also suggested "scaring" Bashar al-Assad by bombing government offices and presidential guard positions, but added that he did not urge to assassinate the Syrian president.

Journalist and political commentator Murtaza Hussain pointed out that the former CIA deputy director championed "efforts that later helped incubate al-Qaeda," referring to a strategy that the United States employed in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

He also warned that if Morell's plan is given the green light, it "would entail a massive escalation of American covert military involvement in Syria that would bring the United States much closer to direct confrontation with Russia and Iran."

 Sputnik

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China holding 107 deported Taiwanese fraud suspects: official

ROC Central News Agency

2016/08/11 20:29:56

Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) A total of 107 Taiwanese nationals are currently being held in China after they were deported from other countries on suspicion of involvement in telecommunications fraud, Chiu Chui-cheng (), deputy minister of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said Thursday.

He said 50 of the 107 Taiwanese were deported from Kenya, 32 from Malaysia and 25 from Cambodia.

The most recent deportation took place on Monday when five Taiwanese were sent to China after they were acquitted on Aug. 5 by a Kenyan court of charges related to operating a cybercrime cell, Chiu said.

The five Taiwanese, along with 35 Chinese, were arrested in December 2014 for allegedly running a cybercrime cell from an upmarket Nairobi suburb, but were acquitted on grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its case against them.

Despite Taiwan's protests, Kenyan authorities caved to pressure from Beijing and handed over the five Taiwanese to Chinese authorities.

The five deportees are being held at a detention center in Haidian District in Beijing, along with 45 other Taiwanese telecom fraud suspects who were deported from Kenya in April, according to the MAC.

Chiu said the MAC, Taiwan's top China policy-making agency, will continue to negotiate with China to secure the return of the detainees to Taiwan, where they will stand trial.

The Taiwan government will also seek visitation rights for the families of the detainees, Chiu said.

The 25 Taiwanese suspects who were deported from Cambodia on June 24 are being held in the Chinese city of Wenzhou, while the 32 deported from Malaysia on April 30 are being held at two detention centers in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, according to Chiu.

(By Miu Chung-han and Evelyn Kao)

Enditem/pc



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Bomb attacks kill, injure dozens in southeastern Turkey

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:45PM

Three separate bomb attacks have ripped through Turkey's troubled southeastern region, leaving a total of 44 soldiers, police officers and civilians dead and wounded.

The first bombing hit a police vehicle near a hospital in the district of Kiziltepe in Mardin province on Wednesday.

According to an unnamed Turkish official, at least 25 police officers and civilians sustained injuries in the assault, which caused considerable damage to nearby buildings and vehicles. Three civilians also died in the bombing.

Turkish sources blamed the incident on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey since 1984.

In a near simultaneous blast, which was also blamed on the PKK, a car bomb exploded in Diyarbakir, the capital of the province with the same name, killing at least four civilians, the Dogan news agency reported.

In the third similar incident earlier on Wednesday, five Turkish soldiers were killed and eight others injured after a homemade bomb exploded while a military convoy was passing in Sirnak province's Uludere district, situated close to the Iraqi border.

The Turkish government further held the PKK responsible for the attack.

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale anti-PKK campaign in its southern border region over the past few months. The Turkish military has also been pounding the group's positions in northern Iraq as well in breach of the Arab country's sovereignty.

Turkey's operations began in the wake of a deadly July 2015 bombing in Suruc, which the Turkish government blamed on the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

After the bombing, the PKK militants, who accuse Ankara of supporting Daesh, engaged in a series of reprisal attacks against Turkish police and security forces, prompting the Turkish military operations.

A shaky ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK that had stood since 2013 was declared null and void by the militants following the Turkish strikes against the group.

According to the latest toll provided by the state-run Anadolu news agency in July, more than 600 Turkish security force members and over 7,000 PKK militants have been killed since the collapse of the truce.

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 Flash

Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said his government will follow the roadmap to a general election in 2017 after official results of the charter referendum came out on Wednesday.

"All of what happened earlier are consistent with our roadmap...the Constitution Drafting Committee(CDC) will make amendments to the draft constitution in accordance with result of the referendum on the additional question, then the draft will be sent to Constitutional Court to examine, then submitted to the King for endorsement," Said Prayut in a TV address, adding that this process will be finished in three months.

According to Prayut, the 2014 interim constitution will be replaced by the new one after its promulgation and CDC will work on 10 organic laws, especially four of them that are necessary for a general election, during which the National Council for Peace and Order, or the junta will function normally until there is a new government under the new constitution.

Prayut said the four organics laws will be promulgated in middle 2017, after which the Election Commission will hold a general election in five months, if the country is still stable.

Prayut also mentioned there are people disappointed about the current stable situation in Thailand, "who persist on damaging the country and even our highest institution, all for their own personal gain, through the use of online media and information sent from abroad."

He asked them to respect laws and the results of the referendum, adding that the Article 44 of the 2014 interim Constitution is still in effect.

The controversial Article 44 authorizes the junta chief to issue any order or direct any action to be done or not to be done, irrespective of whether the order or action would produce legislative, executive or judicial effect.

Supachai Somcharoen, chairman of the Election Commission declared the official result of the referendum on the 2016 draft constitution and its additional question Wednesday afternoon, saying that a 59.40 percent of 50.07 million eligible voters participated, with 61.35 percent and 58.07 percent of "Yes" vote respectively to the draft constitution and its additional question.

After royal endorsement, the now draft charter will then become the Kingdom's 20th constitution, and it will unprecedentedly allow a total of 250 senators, selected by the junta, to jointly elect a new prime minister with 500 elected members from the lower house.
Turkey accuses EU of encouraging coup plotters

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:12PM

Turkey has accused the European Union of "encouraging" plotters of last month's failed coup attempt as ties between Ankara and Brussels seem to be going in a downward spiral.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that Turkish people's confidence in the EU has "unfortunately fallen" in the wake of the July 15 coup.

"Let me say openly, this is because the EU adopted a favorable position to the coup (and) encouraged the putschists," Cavusoglu told reporters during a televised briefing in the capital, Ankara, without giving further details.

He claimed that support for EU membership has plummeted to some 20 percent.

Turkey-EU relations have gone into a tailspin over a host of issues, including the failed coup attempt against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

The EU has been highly critical of Turkey's severe crackdown on those alleged to be coup plotters or sympathizers, urging Ankara to act within the rule of law.

Meanwhile, Erdogan's hint that Turkey may revive death penalty has also angered EU officials, who have expressed concern over human rights abuses in the country.

The simmering tension between the EU and Turkey has raised questions over Ankara's future relationship with the bloc.

Ankara has been long seeking to join the EU. Talks over Turkey's accession have, however, progressed slowly as several EU states have expressed doubts that the country could be ready for membership in the near future.

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Turkey's membership not in question after coup: NATO

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:9PM

NATO has ruled out rumors in the media that Turkey's membership in the military alliance has been jeopardized by the abortive coup of July 15.

NATO spokeswoman, Oana Lungescu, said in a statement issued on Wednesday in response to "speculative press reports" that Turkey would remain in NATO regardless of the failed coup and its aftermath.

"Turkey's NATO membership is not in question," Lungescu said, adding, "NATO counts on the continued contributions of Turkey and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO."

Many suspect that Turkey has begun to distance itself from NATO following a visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Russia Tuesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting marked a major turnaround in Turkey-Russia relations which had reached the freezing point in the wake of Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border in November 2015.

Turkey has also been very critical of the way its Western allies in NATO have reacted to the coup attempt. Erdogan says the United States and the European governments have failed to show enough support for Turkey in the aftermath of the coup.

Lungescu said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had telephoned Erdogan right after the abortive coup to strongly condemn the move and to reiterate full support for Turkey's democratic institutions.

"He expressed support for the elected government of Turkey and respect for the courage of the Turkish people," Lungescu said, adding, "He also conveyed his condolences for those who had lost their lives during the coup attempt."

Western governments have criticized Turkey's massive crackdown on coup plotters. Reports say more than 18,000 people have been arrested as part of the crackdown, while more than 60,000 others have been sacked or suspended from their positions in the government and other public institutions.

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Turkey, Russia on same page over Syria conflict: Turkish FM

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 9:44AM

Turkey says its views are concurrent with those of Russia regarding the need for a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also said Ankara and Moscow were of similar opinions concerning the need for a ceasefire in Syria and the provision of humanitarian aid to the civilians affected by the conflict there.

The comments come even as Turkey and Russia have been supporting opposing sides in the conflict in Syria. While Russia has stressed the need to support the legitimate Syrian government, Turkey has been offering support to the anti-Damascus militants.

Despite that difference, Turkey has recently been surprisingly gravitating toward Russia. A standoff in November last year plunged the two countries' relations into turmoil. Back then, the Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter jet as it was conducting operations over Syria. One of the two pilots of the Russian Sukhoi Su-24M was killed by anti-Damascus militants on the ground after parachuting out of the targeted jet.

Following a failed coup in Turkey in July this year, Turkish officials, who had previously defended the downing of the Russian jet, distanced themselves from the incident, saying that the bomber aircraft had been targeted by military personnel who later took part in the putsch attempt against Ankara.

Most recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Russia, where he discussed the Syrian conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In his Wednesday's remarks, Cavusoglu said a Turkish delegation, including Foreign Ministry, military, and defense officials, will travel to Russia for follow-up talks on the same day.

Observers also speculate that the Turkish overtures to Russia are coming at a time when Ankara is finding itself increasingly at odds with Western countries in the wake of the coup.

Western countries, particularly those of the European Union (EU), say Turkey is being too heavy-handed in its crackdown on putschists.

Cavusoglu seemed to dismiss such speculation on Wednesday, however, saying his country's rapprochement with Russia was not meant as a message to the West.

He did say, though, that support for EU membership had fallen in Turkey because of what he said was the bloc's sympathetic attitude toward those who carried out the coup attempt.

The EU is making serious mistakes in its response to the coup, the Turkish minister said, adding that if the West "loses" Turkey, it will be because of its own mistakes, not Ankara's good ties with Russia, China or the Islamic world.

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PKK bombing kills five soldiers in southeastern Turkey

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 9:1AM

Five Turkish soldiers have lost their lives and eight others sustained injuries in a roadside bomb explosion that targeted a military vehicle in Turkey's troubled southeast.

Turkish security sources said anonymously that militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) detonated by remote control the bomb they had earlier planted on the side of a road in the Uludere district of Sirnak Province.

The development came only a few hours after PKK members clashes with Turkish army forces as the latter were conducting an anti-terror operation in the rural Lice and Kulp districts in Diyarbakir Province, also in Turkey's southeast.

One soldier was killed on the spot and three others suffered wounds in the shooting. One of the injured later died at hospital.

An unnamed military official said an operation to arrest the assailants was underway in the region.

Turkish military forces have been conducting ground operations as well as airstrikes against PKK positions in Turkey's troubled southeastern border region as well as Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region over the past few months.

The campaign began following the July 2015 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc, which claimed more than 30 civilian lives. Turkish officials held the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group responsible for the act of terror.

PKK militants, who accuse Ankara government of supporting Daesh, launched a string of supposed reprisal attacks against Turkish security forces after the bomb attack, in turn prompting the Turkish military operations.

The Turkish military's involvement in the anti-PKK operations comes as it is reeling from the aftermath of a failed July 15 coup attempt.

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Fugitive Turkish soldiers may conduct acts of terror: Deputy PM

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 7:19AM

A top Turkish official has warned that rebel soldiers and military personnel at large since the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey could carry out acts of terror against the state.

"They and their collaborators may engage in lone wolf attacks and assassinations. They would turn to cyber attacks," Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said in reference to the fugitive rebel soldiers.

"We need to stay alert from now on. All state institutions and departments are on alert. It is important to exercise caution in the face all forms of potential threats," he added, speaking to Haberturk television on Tuesday.

On the night of July 15, a faction of the Turkish military declared itself in charge of the country. Tanks and helicopters were used by the rebel faction to fight government loyalists on the streets of the capital, Ankara, and the city of Istanbul.

The coup attempt was suppressed as people turned out on the streets to support the incumbent government.

Turkish authorities have dismissed or detained tens of thousands of people from the military, judiciary, civil services and education in the aftermath of the botched putsch.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Tuesday that around 16,000 people have been remanded in custody and are awaiting trial. Another 6,000 people are in detention and await initial court hearings.

Turkey recently sacked 1,389 members of the military personnel, including senior commanders, on suspicion of affiliation to the network of US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the coup bid.

The dismissals followed a previous post-putsch expulsion of 1,684 military personnel, including 149 generals and admirals.

At least 246 people were killed and more than 2,100 others sustained injuries in the coup attempt.

Gulen has condemned the coup attempt and denied any involvement in the violence.

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Coup Fallout: Turkish Military Officer Seeks Asylum in US

Sputnik News

22:04 10.08.2016(updated 22:13 10.08.2016)

Mustafa Ugurlu, a Turkish Navy Rear Admiral serving at a US military base in Norfolk, Virginia, on behalf of NATO, is requesting political asylum in the US after an arrest warrant was issued for him in his home country.

According to the Turkish embassy in Washington DC, Ugurlu did not report for questioning when summoned by Ankara. The Turkish admiral's request for asylum may further exacerbate tensions between Ankara and Washington that have been growing since Turkey demanded the extradition of exiled opposition leader Fethullah Gulen.

On Tuesday, the Turkish justice minister stated that if the US did not extradite Gulen, "it will have sacrificed Turkey to a terrorist."

Ugurlu is the first known Turkish military officer to request asylum in the US. His request comes alongside Turkey's attempts to arrest and detain tens of thousands of people suspected of aiding July's failed military coup that attempted remove President Erdogan.

An unnamed Turkish embassy official said that the warrant for Ugurlu's arrest was issued after he failed to respond to a detention order: "On July 22, on that day he left his badges and his ID at the base and after that no one has heard anything from him." The official also indicated that two other low-level officers had been called back to Turkey, "But there's no detention order for them. One of them has gone back, and the other will go back shortly."

The Turkish military is NATO's second-largest armed forces unit, and the recent purge has resulted in the discharge of thousands of officers, including 40% of the country's military generals. Many suggest that Erdogan's overhaul has gone too far, as it lacks parliamentary input.

The mission in Norfolk, where Ugurlu was assigned, is North America's only NATO command. Norfolk NATO directs subordinate commands of the Allied Command Transformation, including the Joint Force Training Center in Poland, and the Joint Warfare Center in Norway.

US Navy Lieutenant Commander Karen Eifert, the Norfolk NATO mission spokeswoman, praised Turkish NATO personnel and Ankara's contribution to the fight against Daesh. "We want to state that Turkey is a valued NATO ally that continues to make important contributions to the fight against ISIL," she said. Eifert did not comment on the asylum request.

An unnamed NATO official, also declining to comment on the asylum request, said, "Turkey has notified NATO about the changeover of a number of Turkish military personnel. There has been no impact on the implementation of NATO-led operations and missions or on the work of NATO commands."

 Sputnik

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Turkey calls for joint anti-Daesh operations with Russia

Iran Press TV

Thu Aug 11, 2016 2:24PM

Turkey has urged Russia to conduct joint operations against Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Syria amid efforts by Ankara and Moscow to mend relations damaged by the downing of a Russian jet last year.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made the request in a live interview with the private NTV television on Thursday, AFP reported.

"We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh operations together," Cavusoglu said, adding that the proposal was still "on the table."

The top Turkish diplomat further described Daesh as a "common enemy," calling on Russia to join Turkey in a bid "to concentrate efforts" on the terror outfit.

"Let's fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible," he said, warning that Daesh could expand and spread into other countries.

However, the Associated Press later quoted the top Turkish diplomat as saying that Turkey merely wanted greater cooperation with Moscow, not joint strikes.

Moscow is seeking "coordination" with Russia on operations against the militant group, said Cavusoglu, adding that "this does not mean that Turkish jets and Russian jets will fly together," according to AP.

Since September 2014, the US along with some of its allies, including Turkey, has been conducting air raids against what are said to be the Daesh terrorists in Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.

The operation is an extension of a similar campaign in Iraq, which started in August 2014. However, the strikes have failed to disband the extremists.

Elsewhere in his comments, Cavusoglu emphasized that Turkish jets would actively join in aerial assaults allegedly against Daesh in Syria.

"Many countries are engaged in Syria actively. There could be mistakes," he said and highlighted the need for "solidarity and cooperation (mechanism)  including sharing of real time intelligence" between all parties regarding the issue of Syria.

The remarks come as a three-person Turkish delegation is in Moscow for talks aimed at coordinating actions on Syria and other bilateral issues.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in St. Petersburg, the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since bilateral ties hit a record low over the downing incident.

The two leaders agreed to stage a separate meeting to hammer out a new policy on Syria, where the two sides have been supporting opposite sides to the conflict gripping the Arab country.

Russia's relations with Turkey was strained in November 2015 after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24M Fencer aircraft with two pilots aboard, claiming the fighter jet had repeatedly violated the Turkish airspace.

Moscow, however, dismissed Ankara's claims, saying the plane was brought down in Syrian airspace, where Russia has been conducting combat sorties against Takfiri terrorists since late September 2015 upon a request by the Damascus government.

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Russia says Ukraine incursion into Crimea thwarted

Iran Press TV

Wed Aug 10, 2016 3:9PM

Russia's Federal Security Service said Wednesday it has thwarted an incursion by Ukraine's military into Crimea, saying two Russians were killed in the incident.

The armed incursion into Crimea was meant to target critical infrastructure in the territory and took place over the weekend, said the security service, also known as the FSB.

It said a Russian soldier and an FSB employee were killed in the clashes, adding that the incursion was pre-planned.

A spokesman for Ukraine's defense intelligence rejected Russia's claim about the alleged incursion, saying it was based on "fake information."

People in Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea voted for rejoining the Russian Federation in a referendum in March 2014. The West branded the move as Moscow's annexation of the territory. The United States and its allies in Europe accuse Moscow of having a hand in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia, however, strongly denies the charges.

In April 2014, the government in Kiev launched the first round of its military operations in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which are populated mostly by pro-Russians, to crush anti-government protests there. The operations, however, led to deadly clashes between the two sides.

The crisis in eastern Ukraine has left nearly 9,500 people dead and over 21,000 others injured, according to the United Nations.

Despite ceasefire efforts, sporadic fighting continues to claim more lives.

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Putin Accuses Ukraine Of Choosing 'Terror' Over Peace

August 10, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine's government of choosing the path of "terror" over peace, and warned that Moscow will take "serious" measures to ensure security on the Crimean Peninsula.

Putin was speaking on August 10 after Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said two members of the country's security forces were killed in separate incidents described as foiled Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into Crimea.

Kyiv denied the allegations, saying Putin was looking for ways to escalate conflict with Ukraine.

Speaking in Moscow, Putin said Kyiv's actions were "stupid" and "criminal," adding that there was no point in holding planned talks on the peace process in eastern Ukraine, where fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 9,500 people since April 2014.

The FSB said the "terrorist attacks" were prepared by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's defense intelligence service.

It said one of its agents was killed in armed clashes while arresting "saboteurs" outside the town of Armyansk on the night of August 6-7.

The agency also said 20 bombs, ammunition, and mines were found in the area.

It said a Ukrainian spy network was also eliminated, with citizens of both Ukraine and Russia detained.

The FSB said a Russian soldier was also killed on August 8 in clashes with two more groups of saboteurs.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry dismissed the allegations as "nothing more than an attempt to justify the redeployment and aggressive actions" of Russian forces in the region.

"Putin wants more war," Foreign Ministry spokesman Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter. "Russia escalates, desperately looks for casus belli against Ukraine, tests West's reaction."

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, TASS, and Interfax

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/crimea-fsb- ukraine-incursion/27912985.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukrainian MoD Refutes Russia's FSB Reports on Foiling Terror Attacks in Crimea

Sputnik News

19:51 10.08.2016(updated 19:52 10.08.2016)

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry refuted information revealed by the Russian Federal Security Service on preventing terrorist attacks in Crimea organized by the Ukrainian authorities.

KIEV (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that it had eliminated a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, detaining both Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in preparing terrorist attacks on the peninsula. An FSB officer died as a result of a firefight during the arrest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of resorting to terrorism.

"The Ukrainian Defense Ministry refutes information spread by Russian FSB on participation of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine in diversionary activities on the territory of temporary occupied Crimea," the statement reads.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied the accusations earlier on Wednesday and labeled them a provocation.

The Federal Security Service also said it had prevented two overnight attempts by Kiev-organized terrorist groups from entering Crimea overnight into August 8, in which one Russian soldier was killed.

Russia's historical southern region of Crimea rejoined Russia after a 2014 referendum, in which almost 97 percent of the region's population voted for reunification.

 Sputnik

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Putin: Foiled Attack in Crimea Worrying, Ukraine Starts to Resorts to Terror

Sputnik News

19:19 10.08.2016(updated 19:23 10.08.2016)

Ukraine's authorities have resorted to terrorism instead of looking for peaceful solutions to the conflict in the east of the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said earlier on Wednesday it had dismantled a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, detaining both Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in preparing terrorist attacks on the peninsula.

"It looks like the people who have seized power in Kiev and continue to hold on to it, instead of looking for the compromises that we have talked about in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, instead of looking for ways to reconcile peacefully, they have resorted to terrorist practices," Putin told reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that attempts to carry out terrorist attacks in Crimea is a "dangerous game" and Moscow will take additional security measures after an attack was foiled.

Two Russian servicemen died while thwarting the allegedly Ukrainian-led terror plots in Crimea, this will not be ignored, Putin said.

"I want to note and I think this has already been reported in the media, that two servicemen were killed. We shall not ignore this."

He added that Russia views the assassination attempt against Igor Plotnitsky, the head of east Ukraine's self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, as well as the Crimean sabotage attempt, in the context of terrorism.

Earlier this month, a bomb exploded on a road near Plotnitsky's car. He sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Holding a Normandy Four meeting with Ukraine, Germany and France on settling the Ukrainian conflict at the upcoming G20 summit in China would be futile given the uncovering of a spy ring organized by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry in Crimea, the Russian president said.

"This is very worrying information. Security services have, in fact, prevented the intrusion of a Ukrainian Defense Ministry sabotage and reconnaissance mission from Ukrainian territory. And, of course, holding a meeting in the Normandy format in China given these conditions is pointless," Putin said.

According to the Russian president, the plot was an attempt to distract the Ukrainian people's attention from the country's leadership.

"An attempt to provoke an outbreak of violence, to provoke a conflict is nothing else but a desire to divert attention of the country's society from the people who have taken over the power in Kiev, who continue robbing their own people to remain in power for as long as possible and to continue robbing its own people," he stressed.

"There is no point to carry out such campaigns other than to divert attention of its own people from the dire situation of the [Ukrainian] economy, of the dire situation of a significant number of people," Putin told reporters.

 Sputnik

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Fears Mount of Full-Scale Ukraine-Russia Clash

by Jamie Dettmer August 10, 2016

The sound of battle has long gone. But the ghosts remain in Ukraine's Independence Square, where more than two years ago police and protesters clashed for weeks amid acrid black fumes billowing from burning tires.

In Ukraine's Maidan where sniper rounds once cracked, there are now foreign tourists. Where 53 people were slain either with clean shots by expert marksmen or gunned down at closer range by less skillful assassins, there are now snaking lines of school kids visiting from other Ukrainian cities.

The kids listen in various states of indifference or interest to the guides explaining the events that led to the ouster of President Vladimir Putin's satrap Viktor Yanukovych.

That ouster triggered the Russian land-grab of Crimea and what Ukrainian and Western officials say is Moscow-fomented separatism in the country's mainly Russian-speaking eastern region of Donbas.

For all of the calm now in Maidan, Ukrainian officials fear the Kremlin is limbering up for another destabilizing offensive in the east. They say it is part of Moscow's hybrid war involving dirty tricks and misinformation to snap Ukraine back into the Russian orbit and prolong a state of uncertainty to hinder the government in Kyiv from accomplishing the political reforms Maidan protesters demanded.

Mounting tensions

And tensions are increasing, not only in the Donbas but on the Ukraine-Crimea frontier following the off-and-on closure over the weekend of all three border crossings by Russia. Kyiv accused Moscow on Tuesday of stepping up military activity on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 within weeks of Yanukovych's fall. More helicopter gunship sorties reportedly are being flown along the border, as well as surveillance drone flights.

Ukraine's general staff is reinforcing units in Kherson, the Ukrainian region bordering Crimea, and residents say they have spotted anti-tank rocket launchers being transported by Ukrainian forces.

The Russians also are building up in Crimea. The deputy chairman of the outlawed Crimean Tatars' Mejlis, or council, Nariman Dzhelalov, wrote on his Facebook page August 7: "Witnesses report that large groups of Russian military hardware have been massed near Armyansk and Dzhankoy [in northern Crimea]."

On Wednesday, Russia's Federal Security Service claimed it had thwarted an armed Ukrainian incursion into Crimea that aimed to sabotage critical infrastructure. The FSB said a Russian soldier and an intelligence employee had been killed in clashes, and a group of Ukrainian saboteurs had been arrested.

That drew a curt denial from Yuriy Tandit, an adviser to Ukraine's security service SSU. "Ukraine is not trying to regain Crimea by force," he said.

The mounting tensions along Ukraine's border with Crimea coincide with a weeks-long uptick in fighting in the Donbas, where a Ukrainian soldier was killed Monday and five others wounded.

To the outside world, the confrontation in the Donbas is another one of Moscow's "frozen conflicts" subverting former Soviet countries on Russia's periphery, such as Georgia and Moldova, and blocking them from moving on from their Communist pasts  and, in Ukraine's case, from joining Western institutions.

Frozen isn't how it feels for Ukrainians living or fighting in the east more than two years after pro-Moscow separatists seized government buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk, and 18 months since Ukraine and Russia concluded an armistice, known as Minsk 2.

Rising violence, civilian deaths

U.N. officials worry at the rising civilian casualty toll: in June, 57 people were wounded and a dozen killed. Last month, eight civilians were killed and 65 injured.

Monitoring groups suspect the numbers of civilian casualties are higher. July was an especially deadly month for Ukraine's military, with 42 soldiers killed and 181 wounded.

Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, a spokesman for Ukraine's presidential administration, says that from Sunday to Monday, pro-Moscow separatists launched 47 attacks on Ukrainian positions; more than 50 attacks were recorded Monday to Tuesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Ukraine for the jump in fighting, claiming he is "seriously concerned" about the escalating violence.

Some Ukrainian officials worry the increased violence is a prelude to full-scale fighting and the world may be witnessing the start of another land-grab launched by Russia during an Olympics. They point out it was during the Winter Olympics in the southern Russia city of Sochi in 2014 that Putin and his generals planned the annexation of Crimea.

'Something bigger'

Other analysts and Ukrainian officials suspect what is happening in Donbas is part of a two-year destabilizing pattern that has seen a rise in provocation, only to be followed by a period of quiet. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) accuse both sides of violating the cease-fire.

Motuzyanyk told VOA that Kyiv is only responding to Moscow-directed provocation. He says the separatist and Russian forces number 45,000 on Ukrainian territory, a mixture of local recruits, former Russian servicemen and current Russian military.

And he argues the separatists' political leaders are "just puppets and have no say about what happens." He adds, "The military forces are commanded directly by Moscow."

The Ukraine spokesman says, "It is disappointing to see the Russians using heavy artillery again. It is summer now and it easier to move vehicles and to launch military actions. And there is a huge possibility we might see something bigger, but we have large forces along the contact line. And in order to breach it, they would have to amass even more forces."

Both sides appear readying for that "something bigger" by redeploying forces.

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Ukraine Puts Troops On Alert As Tension Rises After Russia's Crimea 'Terror' Claim

August 11, 2016

by RFE/RL

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have escalated one day after Moscow claimed it thwarted an incursion into Russia-held Crimea by Ukrainian saboteurs, with Kyiv putting troops near the peninsula on highest alert and Russia announcing increased security measures and new naval exercises in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he wants to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and several Western leaders amid the spike in tensions.

Poroshenko's office said on August 11 he had asked the country's Foreign Ministry to arrange telephone conversations with Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, and European Council President Donald Tusk.

Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said Washington has seen no evidence supporting the incursion claim by Russia, which accused Kyiv of plotting "terror" in Crimea and reporting that two members of its security forces were killed in clashes last weekend with the alleged assailants.

The "U.S. government has seen nothing so far that corroborates Russian allegations of a 'Crimea incursion' & Ukraine has strongly refuted them," U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt said on Twitter on August 11.

"Russia has a record of frequently levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect attention from its own illegal actions," Pyatt said. He added that the U.S. view is that "Crimea is, and will always remain, part of Ukraine."

Following a request from Kyiv, the UN Security Council was due to discuss the rising tensions in Crimea during a closed-door meeting in New York later on August 11.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on August 10 that an FSB employee and a soldier were killed while repelling what it described as attempts to get Ukrainian "saboteurs" into the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 after deploying troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by Kyiv, the West, and a total of 100 countries.

The FSB also said it had detained several men -- both Ukrainian and Russian citizens -- and confiscated weapons.

Expanding on the FSB allegation, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the pro-Western government in Kyiv of using "terror" tactics to seek to ignite a new conflict and destabilize Crimea. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the Russian allegations preposterous fantasies and a pretext for Moscow to make more military threats against Ukraine.

After taking over Crimea in March 2014, Russia threw its support behind separatists who seized territory in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, leading to a war that has killed more than 9,500 combatants and civilians since that April. The current tension in Crimea follows weeks of increased fighting in eastern Ukraine.

On August 11, Poroshenko said he had instructed all military units near Crimea and in eastern regions near tseparatist-held territory to be at their highest level of combat readiness.

In Moscow, Putin held a meeting of his Security Council and discussed "additional measures to provide for the security of the citizens and vital infrastructure facilities of Crimea in connection with the prevention by the [Russian] special services of a terrorist act on the peninsula," the Kremlin said on its website.

Putin and the senior security officials discussed potential "counterterrorist" security measures along the land border, offshore, and in Crimean airspace, it said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the deaths of two of its security forces would have consequences. The ministry said in a statement that attempts to destabilize the situation in Crimea would fail and urged other countries to put pressure on Kyiv to refrain from any dangerous steps.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Black Sea Fleet, which is based in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, would conduct exercises on August 11-13 to practice "repeling an attack by underwater saboteurs."

The Russian claims came amid reports of an unusual increase in Russian military activity in the northern part of Crimea, near the administrative border with mainland Ukraine, over the past several days.

That activity, as well as the Russian allegations and the upsurge in fighting in eastern Ukraine, has stoked concerns in Ukraine that the Kremlin may seek to take control of more of its territory.

A senior Ukrainian security official told AFP on August 11 that the claims from Moscow were a "crude Russian provocation" and that Kyiv was "getting ready for anything," including an invasion.

The spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff, Vladislav Seleznyov, told Reuters that Ukraine has the military resources to defend itself and is monitoring the situation around Crimea.

A NATO official was quoted as saying the military alliance was monitoring the heightened Crimea tensions with concern.

The official, who asked not to be named, told the AFP news agency that "Russia's recent military activity in Crimea is not helpful for easing tensions" and called on Moscow "to work for calm and deescalation."

Meanwhile, Russian media delved into details of the Russian claims.

The daily Kommersant cited sources it did not name as saying that two of seven suspects in one group had been killed and the other five captured. Most of them were Crimea residents and some had Russian passports, the report said.

Kommersant cited the sources as saying the detainees had confessed to planning a series of bombings at Crimean tourist resorts and said their objective had been to spread panic to destroy the tourist industry, but not to kill anyone.

Ukranian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said Moscow's claims "do not correspond to reality. Ukraine did not commit any armed provocations in [Crimea] or any other area. None of [Ukraine's] Defense Ministry intelligence staff was detained in occupied Crimea."

There is no way to check the veracity of the reports. Russian authorities frequently report that suspects have confessed, and human rights activists say confessions are often extracted through pressure or torture.

The FSB claimed the attempted attack took place between August 6 and August 8, when a group of "saboteurs" from Ukraine was discovered in the Armyansk district of northern Crimea. It said this led to at least two armed clashes on the border between Crimea and mainland Ukraine, including "massive firing" from the Ukrainian-held side.

The FSB said one of its officers was killed in armed clashes while arresting "terrorists" on the night of August 6-7, while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with "sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian military on August 8.

Sergei Aksyonov, the head of the Russian-imposed government in Crimea, told state TV channel Rossia-24 on August 11 that "saboteurs" should be dealt with harshly.

"Saboteurs should be treated exactly the same way as farmers treat crows who rob them of their harvest -- they ought to be killed and hanged at the border so the others get the message," he said.

U.S. Ambassador Pyatt and others have said there is little physical evidence to support Russia's claims.

"There has been no independent confirmation of the claims made by the Russian authorities," a European Union foreign policy spokeswoman said in a statement.

The Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council, a U.S.-based think tank, said in a report on August 10 that there was "not a single photograph or video of these incidents of gunfire and shelling."

Among those Russia says it has detained is Yevhen Panov, a Ukrainian truck driver who previously volunteered in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow claims Panov worked as a Ukrainian military intelligence officer, and Russian state TV published a photograph of a man who appears to be a handcuffed Panov.

Panov's stepbrother, Ihor Kotelyanets, told RFE/RL's Current Time television (see below) that Panov was not a member of Ukraine's armed services and that he had been abducted. He said his stepbrother had left his hometown of Energodar on August 6 to visit friends over the weekend and had been due back on August 8.

"They called me a few hours ago, and told me, yeah, he's there [in Crimea]. But I still didn't want to believe it," Kotelyanets said. "But Russian channels showed my brother in Crimea, being led in handcuffs, beaten, and they're saying that he's a terrorist."

Another statement questioning the Russian accounts came from the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, who said an armed skirmish had taken place in Crimea between the Russian military and Russian FSB border guards. Valeriy Kondratyuk did not say when or exactly where the alleged shoot-out took place. He made the comments at a meeting with Poroshenko earlier on August 11 to discuss the crisis.

Other media outlets tried to puzzle out Putin's motives for the Russian claims, if they are false.

The independent Russian daily Vedomosti said that Russia may be intentionally increasing tensions and putting pressure on Kyiv and the West ahead of a possible new round of talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Putin said on August 10 that a tentative meeting with Poroshenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of next month's G20 summit in China was now "senseless."

In an op-ed article titled A New Old Enemy, Vedomosti wrote that Moscow had a habit of ramping up tensions ahead of negotiations with Ukraine.

"The main political question now is what is the future of the Minsk process," the paper wrote, referring to a cease-fire and peace plan that was hammered out in the Belarusian capital in February 2015 but has not been implemented. "Will Russia bring an end to it or demand new concessions?"

Motuzyanyk, the Ukranian military spokesman, said Russia's actions and statements were intended "to discredit Ukraine, to stall the Minsk agreements, and to escalate conflict in eastern Ukraine which was caused by the Russian aggression."

With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, Kommersant, and Vedomosti

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-ukraine- crimea-tighter-security/27914563.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukraine Builds Up Armed Forces on Crimea Border

Sputnik News

17:32 11.08.2016(updated 17:45 11.08.2016)

Ukraine has built up its armed forces on the border with Crimea in accordance with President Poroshenko's combat readiness order, the country's chief of the general staff said.

"Divisions and units of the Ukrainian armed forces which are stationed in the vicinity of the administrative border with Crimea are on high alert. A build-up of corresponding groups has been carried out," Viktor Muzhenko said on his Facebook page.

Earlier in the day, Petro Poroshenko ordered to put all military units near the border with Crimea and in Donbass on high combat readiness.

The move comes a day after the Russian Federal Security Service said it had foiled terrorist attacks in Crimea organized by the Ukrainian main intelligence directorate, and stamped out a spy ring detaining both Russian and Ukrainian nationals involved in the plot. Two Russian officers were killed.

Crimea rejoined Russia after a 2014 referendum in which over 96 percent of the Crimean population voted in favor of reunification. Sevastopol, which has a federal city status, supported the move by 95.6 percent of the votes.

 Sputnik

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1967 solar storm nearly took US to brink of war

American Geophysical Union

9 August 2016

Joint Release

WASHINGTON, DC -- A solar storm that jammed radar and radio communications at the height of the Cold War could have led to a disastrous military conflict if not for the U.S. Air Force's budding efforts to monitor the sun's activity, a new study finds.



A view of the Sun on May 23, 1967, in a narrow visible wavelength of light called Hydrogen-alpha. The bright region in the top center region of brightness shows the area where the large flare occurred.

Credit: National Solar Observatory historical archive. A view of the Sun on May 23, 1967, in a narrow visible wavelength of light called Hydrogen-alpha. The bright region in the top center region of brightness shows the area where the large flare occurred.Credit: National Solar Observatory historical archive.

On May 23, 1967, the Air Force prepared aircraft for war, thinking the nation's surveillance radars in polar regions were being jammed by the Soviet Union. Just in time, military space weather forecasters conveyed information about the solar storm's potential to disrupt radar and radio communications. The planes remained on the ground and the U.S. avoided a potential nuclear weapon exchange with the Soviet Union, according to the new research.

Retired U.S. Air Force officers involved in forecasting and analyzing the storm collectively describe the event publicly for the first time in a new paper accepted for publication in Space Weather, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

The storm's potential impact on society was largely unknown until these individuals came together to share their stories, said Delores Knipp, a space physicist at the University of Colorado in Boulder and lead author of the new study. Knipp will give a presentation about the event on August 10, 2016 at the High Altitude Observatory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

The storm is a classic example of how geoscience and space research are essential to U.S. national security, she said.

"Had it not been for the fact that we had invested very early on in solar and geomagnetic storm observations and forecasting, the impact [of the storm] likely would have been much greater," Knipp said. "This was a lesson learned in how important it is to be prepared."

Keeping an eye on the sun

The U.S. military began monitoring solar activity and space weather  disturbances in Earth's magnetic field and upper atmosphere  in the late 1950s. In the 1960s, a new branch of the Air Force's Air Weather Service (AWS) monitored the sun routinely for solar flares  brief intense eruptions of radiation from the sun's atmosphere. Solar flares often lead to electromagnetic disturbances on Earth, known as geomagnetic storms, that can disrupt radio communications and power line transmissions.

The AWS employed a network of observers at various locations in the U.S. and abroad who provided regular input to solar forecasters at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a U.S. and Canadian organization that defends and controls airspace above North America. By 1967, several observatories were sending daily information directly to NORAD solar forecasters.

On May 18, 1967, an unusually large group of sunspots with intense magnetic fields appeared in one region of the sun. By May 23, observers and forecasters saw the sun was active and likely to produce a major flare. Observatories in New Mexico and Colorado saw a flare visible to the naked eye while a solar radio observatory in Massachusetts reported the sun was emitting unprecedented levels of radio waves.

A significant worldwide geomagnetic storm was forecast to occur within 36-48 hours, according to a bulletin from NORAD's Solar Forecast Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado on May 23.



Notes on the region of the sun where the May 1967 solar flare occurred, from May 18, 20, 21, 23, and 28.

Credit: National Solar Observatory historical archive. Notes on the region of the sun where the May 1967 solar flare occurred, from May 18, 20, 21, 23, and 28.Credit: National Solar Observatory historical archive.

Radar 'jamming'

As the solar flare event unfolded on May 23, radars at all three Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) sites in the far Northern Hemisphere were disrupted. These radars, designed to detect incoming Soviet missiles, appeared to be jammed. Any attack on these stations  including jamming their radar capabilities  was considered an act of war.



A map of the three BMEWS sites (Clear Air Force Station, Alaska; Thule Air Base, Greenland; Fylingdales, United Kingdom) designed to detect incoming ballistic missiles. Two PAVE Phased Array Warning System sites (Beale Air Force Base, California and Cape Cod Air Force Station, Massachusetts) are also shown but were not operational during the May 1967 event.

Credit: U.S. government. A map of the three BMEWS sites (Clear Air Force Station, Alaska; Thule Air Base, Greenland; Fylingdales, United Kingdom) designed to detect incoming ballistic missiles. Two PAVE Phased Array Warning System sites (Beale Air Force Base, California and Cape Cod Air Force Station, Massachusetts) are also shown but were not operational during the May 1967 event.Credit: U.S. government.

Retired Colonel Arnold L. Snyder, a solar forecaster at NORAD's Solar Forecast Center, was on duty that day. The tropospheric weather forecaster told him the NORAD Command Post had asked about any solar activity that might be occurring.

"I specifically recall responding with excitement, 'Yes, half the sun has blown away,' and then related the event details in a calmer, more quantitative way," Snyder said.

Along with the information from the Solar Forecast Center, NORAD learned the three BMEWS sites were in sunlight and could receive radio emissions coming from the sun. These facts suggested the radars were being 'jammed' by the sun, not the Soviet Union, Snyder said. As solar radio emissions waned, the 'jamming' also waned, further suggesting the sun was to blame, he said.

During most of the 1960s, the Air Force flew continuous alert aircraft laden with nuclear-weapons. But commanders, thinking the BMEWS radars were being jammed by the Russians and unaware of the solar storm underway, put additional forces in a "ready to launch" status, according to the study.

"This is a grave situation," Knipp said. "But here's where the story turns: things were going horribly wrong, and then something goes commendably right."

The Air Force did not launch additional aircraft, and the study authors believe information from the Solar Forecasting Center made it to commanders in time to stop the military action, including a potential deployment of nuclear weapons. Knipp, quoting public documents, noted that information about the solar storm was most likely relayed to the highest levels of government  possibly even President Johnson.

The geomagnetic storm, which began about 40 hours after the solar flare and radio bursts, went on to disrupt U.S. radio communications in almost every conceivable way for almost a week, according to the new study. It was so strong that the Northern Lights, usually only seen in or near the Arctic Circle, were visible as far south as New Mexico.



A report of solar activity on May 26 from the Space Disturbance Forecast Center, a civilian forecasting center at the Environmental Science Services Administration (now NOAA).

Credit: ESSA/NOAA. A report of solar activity on May 26 from the Space Disturbance Forecast Center, a civilian forecasting center at the Environmental Science Services Administration (now NOAA).Credit: ESSA/NOAA.

Societal impact

According to Snyder and the study authors, it was the military's correct diagnosis of the solar storm that prevented the event from becoming a disaster. Ultimately, the storm led the military to recognize space weather as an operational concern and build a stronger space weather forecasting system, he said.

The public is likely unaware that natural disasters could potentially trick contemporary military forces into thinking they are under attack, said Morris Cohen, an electrical engineer and radio scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta who was not involved in the new study.

"I thought it was fascinating from a historical perspective," he said of the new study.

The May 1967 storm brought about change as a near miss rather than a full-blown catastrophe, according to Cohen.

"Oftentimes, the way things work is something catastrophic happens and then we say, 'We should do something so it doesn't happen again,'" he said. "But in this case there was just enough preparation done just in time to avert a disastrous result."

###

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Notes for Journalists

This research article will be freely available for 30 days from the date of publication. A PDF copy of the article can be downloaded at the following link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016SW001423/pdf

After 30 days, journalists and public information officers (PIOs) of educational and scientific institutions who have registered with AGU can download a PDF copy of the article from the same link.

Journalists and PIOs may order a copy of the final paper by emailing a request to Lauren Lipuma at llipuma@agu.org.

Please provide your name, the name of your publication, and your phone number.

Neither the paper nor this press release is under embargo.

Delores Knipp will give a presentation about the May 1967 event on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 from 3:00  4:00 pm at the High Altitude Observatory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3080 Center Green Drive, Boulder, Colorado, 80301. The presentation is open to the public and will be held in the Center Green 1 Auditorium. More information can be found here. The presentation will also be webcast live through the following link: https://ucarconnect.ucar.edu/live?room=cg1aud#.V6TLgLgrJ2Q.

Title

"The May 1967 Great Storm and Radio Disruption Event: Extreme Space Weather and Extraordinary Responses"

Authors:

Delores. J. Knipp: Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, and High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.;

A. C. Ramsay, E. D. Beard, A. L. Boright: Retired from US Air Force, Air Weather Service.;

W. B. Cade: Baylor Institute for Air Science, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, U.S.A.;

I. M. Hewins, R. McFadden: Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.;

W. F. Denig: National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA, Boulder Colorado, U.S.A.;

L. M. Kilcommons: Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.;

M. A. Shea, D. F. Smart: Retired from US Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory.

Contact Information for the Authors:

Delores J. Knipp: +1 (303) 492-2393, delores.knipp@colorado.edu

AGU Contact:

Lauren Lipuma

+1 (202) 777-7396

llipuma@agu.org

University of Colorado-Boulder Contact:

Trent Knoss

+1 (303) 735-0528

Trent.Knoss@colorado.edu

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/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES/

VANCOUVER, Aug. 10, 2016 /CNW/ - Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRZ) ("Mirasol") announces that it will be offering rights (the "Rights") to holders of its common shares (the "Common Shares") at the close of business on the record date of August 19, 2016, on the basis of one right for each common share held (the "Rights Offering"). Ten (10) Rights will entitle the holder to subscribe for one (1) Common Share of Mirasol upon payment of the subscription price of $2.40 per Common Share (the "Subscription Price"). The Rights Offering will be conducted in Canada only.

The Rights will expire at 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on September 19, 2016 (the "Expiry Time"), after which time unexercised Rights will be void and of no value. Shareholders who fully exercise their Rights will be entitled to subscribe for additional Common Shares, if available as a result of unexercised Rights prior to the Expiry Time, subject to certain limitations set out in Mirasol's rights offering circular.

Details of the Rights Offering will be set out in the rights offering notice and rights offering circular which will be available under Mirasol's profile at www.sedar.com. The rights offering notice and accompanying rights certificate will be mailed to each shareholder of Mirasol resident in Canada as at the record date. Registered shareholders who wish to exercise their Rights must forward the completed rights certificate, together with the applicable funds, to the rights agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, on or before the Expiry Time. Shareholders who own their Common Shares through an intermediary, such as a bank, trust company, securities dealer or broker, will receive materials and instructions from their intermediary. Mirasol will not issue or forward rights certificates to shareholders resident in a jurisdiction outside of Canada (the "Ineligible Holders") unless the Ineligible Holder can demonstrate to the satisfaction of Mirasol that the delivery of the Rights Certificate, and the exercise thereof, can be completed in compliance with applicable securities laws and other laws. The rights certificates of Ineligible Holders will be issued to and held on their behalf by Computershare Trust Company of Canada until the Expiry Time, when all unclaimed rights shall be available to fill the additional subscription privilege described in the rights offering circular.

There are currently 44,768,911 Common Shares of Mirasol outstanding. Since the Guarantors (defined below) have agreed to ensure that all of the Rights issued under the Rights Offering are exercised, the Rights Offering will raise gross proceeds of approximately $10,744,538. Mirasol intends to use the net proceeds of the Rights Offering for general working capital.

Standby Guarantee

In connection with the Rights Offering, the Company has entered into a standby guarantee agreement (the "Standby Guarantee") with a group of guarantors led by John Tognetti, including Exploration Capital Partners 2005 Limited Partnership, Carlo Civelli, EuroPac Gold Fund, and Paul Lee (collectively, the "Standby Guarantors") to purchase up to 4,166,667 Common Shares that are not purchased under the Rights Offering. Under the Standby Guarantee, each Standby Guarantor has agreed to purchase a designated portion of the Common Shares that are not purchased by shareholders under the Rights Offering. The obligations of the Standby Guarantors are several (as opposed to joint). In consideration for the Standby Guarantee, the Company has agreed to issue to share purchase warrants to the Standby Guarantors which will entitle them to purchase 500,000 Common Shares (the "Bonus Warrants"). The Bonus Warrants will be exercisable at the Subscription Price for a period of six (6) months after that date the Rights Offering is completed. John Tognetti is a director and the controlling shareholder of the Company.

About Mirasol

Mirasol is a project generation company focused on the discovery of precious metals and copper resources in the Americas. Strategic joint ventures with metal producers have enabled Mirasol to advance its priority projects, focused in high-potential regions in Chile and Argentina. Mirasol employs an integrated generative and on ground exploration approach combining leading edge technologies and experienced exploration geoscientists to maximize the potential for discovery. Mirasol is in a strong financial position and has a significant portfolio of drill ready gold-silver exploration projects located in Chile and Argentina.

Dana Prince

Chairman of the Board

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information

This news release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by words such as the following: expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, assumes, potential and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements also include reference to events or conditions that will, would, may, could or should occur, including, without limitation, Mirasol's intention to undertake a rights offering; the terms of the rights offering; and the intended use of proceeds. These forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while based on management's expectations and considered reasonable at the time they are made, are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-statements, including, without limitation: uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing to fund planned work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; changes in planned work resulting from logistical, technical or other factors; the possibility that results of work will not fulfill projections/expectations and realize the perceived potential of the Company's projects; uncertainties as to whether the rights offering will be completed; delays in obtaining the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange; the costs to completion of the rights offering; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Mirasol's public disclosure documents on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release. Unless required by law, Mirasol has no intention to and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Mirasol Resources Ltd.
Gold production totalled 83,256 ounces for the second quarter of 2016, for a total of 121,067 ounces year-to-date.

Total cash costs 1 of $571 per ounce sold for the second quarter of 2016.

of $571 per ounce sold for the second quarter of 2016. All-in sustaining costs 1 of $754 per ounce sold for the second quarter of 2016.

of $754 per ounce sold for the second quarter of 2016. Cash flow from operations totalled $74.3 million and $65.5 million for the three and six month periods, respectively.

Cash balances as at June 30, 2016 totalled $102.0 million (including cash and cash equivalents of $74.1 million and restricted cash of $27.9 million). During the second quarter, the Company met the conditions necessary to release $8.0 million from the cash restricted in the Sponsor Reserve Account.

Plant throughput was ahead of plan, averaging 10,168 tpd in the second quarter of 2016, or 73% of design capacity of 14,000 tpd, while June averaged 11,618 tpd, or 83% of design. Peak daily throughput was achieved on May 9, 2016 at 16,429 tpd, or 17% above design capacity.

Average gold grade processed was 3.15 g/t for the second quarter of 2016.

Average gold recovery rate for the second quarter of 2016 was 82%, and averaged 89% in June.

To date, from start of mining, the Guajes Pit has a positive reconciliation of 27% more ounces than was predicted by the reserve model (8% more tonnes and 17% higher grade).

Ore in stockpile as at June 30, 2016 was approximately 0.8 million tonnes. Mining rates in Guajes have been reduced in order to allow a drawdown of the stockpile over the remainder of the year.

Gold sold in the second quarter of 2016 totalled 80,772 ounces for total proceeds of $101.1 million. Total ounces sold for the first half of 2016 were 112,290 ounces for total proceeds of $140.0 million. The average realized gold price 1 for the second quarter and first half of 2016 was $1,252 per ounce.

for the second quarter and first half of 2016 was $1,252 per ounce. Revenue totalled $102.1 million and cost of sales totalled $60.4 million for the second quarter of 2016.

Earnings from mine operations for the second quarter of 2016 totalled $41.7 million.

Net income for the second quarter of 2016 totalled $6.7 million, or $0.08 per share.

Adjusted net earnings1, which excludes, amongst other items, derivative and foreign exchange losses, totalled $22.1 million, or $0.28 per share for the second quarter of 2016.

Three months ended Six months ended In thousands of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted June 30, 2016 March 30, 2016 June 30, 2016 Operating data1 Mining Ore tonnes mined kt 684 516 1,200 Waste tonnes mined kt 3,933 3,418 7,351 Total tonnes mined kt 4,617 3,934 8,551 Strip ratio waste : ore 5.8 6.6 6.1 Average gold grade of ore mined gpt 3.18 2.60 2.93 Ore in stockpile mt 0.8 1.1 0.8 Processing Average plant throughput tpd 10,168 7,361 8,764 Average gold recovery % 82 76 79 Production and sales Gold produced oz 83,256 37,811 121,067 Gold sold oz 80,772 31,518 112,290 Financial data Revenue 2 $ 102,132 - 102,132 Cost of sales $ 60,396 60,396 Earnings from mining operations $ 41,736 - 41,736 Net income $ 6,666 (37,831 ) (31,165 ) Per share - Basic and diluted 3 $/share 0.08 (0.48 ) (0.40 ) Adjusted net earnings (loss) 4 $ 22,115 - 22,115 Per share - Basic and diluted 3, 4 $/share 0.28 - 0.28 Total cash costs 4 $/oz 571 - 571 All-in sustaining costs 4 $/oz 754 - 754 Average realized gold price 2,4, 5 $/oz 1,252 - 1,252 Cash and cash equivalents $ 74,079 30,481 74,079 Restricted cash $ 27,896 34,619 27,896 Working capital $ 82,442 3,715 82,442 Total debt $ 401,887 376,690 401,887 Total assets $ 1,154,256 1,106,246 1,154,256 Total liabilities $ 511,473 473,359 511,473

For accounting purposes, the transition to the production phase commenced on April 1, 2016. As such, comparative figures for certain measures or data are not available or are not meaningful. Further, data that relate to the pre-production period may not be representative. Proceeds from sales of gold and silver prior to achieving commercial production of $38.9 million were offset against the construction costs for the ELG Mine. Effective June 30, 2016, the Company implemented a consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of one post-consolidation share for every ten pre-consolidation share (the "Consolidation"). Per share data reflects the Consolidation. Comparatives were restated. Adjusted net earnings, total cash costs, all-in sustaining costs, and average realized gold price are financial performance measures with no standard meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures" in the Company's second quarter 2016 Management's Discussion and Analysis for further information and a detailed reconciliation. Average realized gold price includes realized losses from gold derivative contracts of $9 per ounce.

TORONTO, Aug 11, 2016 - Torex Gold Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Torex") (TSX:TXG) announced today its financial and operational results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016. This release should be read in conjunction with the Company's second quarter 2016 Financial Statements and MD&A on the Company's website or on SEDAR.Fred Stanford, President & CEO of Torex stated: "We have been looking forward to our first quarter as producers and we are proud to report that the ramp up to full production continues to outperform expectations. In June, the processing plant averaged 11,618 tpd, and delivered a gold recovery of 89%, nicely above design levels of 87.1%. The Guajes deposit has also exceeded expectations. Mined to date ore tonnes in Guajes have been 8% higher than predicted by the reserve model and the grade of those tonnes has been 17% higher than the model, for a total of 27% more ounces than plan. The net result for the quarter was an average processed grade of 3.15 g/t." He added, "The strong performance through the ramp up has generated free cash flow, which has strengthened the balance sheet and allowed us to lift our eyes to a more distant horizon. Exploration activities are getting restarted, with drilling under the El Limon Sill anticipated to start in Q4/16, tunneling work into the El Limon Deep area expected to commence in Q1/17, and tunneling into Media Luna expected to get underway in Q2/17. We look forward to the results from these programs and extend a warm thanks to all of our teams for delivering the results that made this possible."Commercial production was reached in late March 2016, ahead of schedule and under budget. For accounting purposes, commercial production commenced April 1, 2016. As this is the Company's first quarter in the production stage, comparative figures for certain measures or data are not available or are not meaningful.Total cash costs, all-in sustaining costs, average realized gold price and adjusted net earnings are financial performance measures with no standard meaning under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures" in the Company's second quarter 2016 Management's Discussion and Analysis for further information and a detailed reconciliation.The following table summarized key operating and financial highlights for the second quarter of 2016:

Qualified Persons

Scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dawson Proudfoot, P.Eng., Vice President, Engineering of Torex Gold Resources Inc. and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call today at 9:00 AM E.T. where senior management will discuss the second quarter operational and financial results.

Access the conference call as follows:

Webcast access:

http://www.gowebcasting.com/3340

or at the company website: www.torexgold.com/investors/upcoming-events

Telephone access: Please call the numbers below approximately ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. Toronto local or international (647) 788 4919 Toll-Free (North America) 1 877 291 4570 Toll-Free (France) 0 800 917 449 Toll-Free (Switzerland) 0-800-835 354 Toll-Free (United Kingdom) 0-800-051 7107

The webcast will be archived on the Company's website.Torex is an emerging intermediate gold producer based in Canada, engaged in the exploration, development and operation of its 100% owned Morelos Gold Property, an area of 29,000 hectares in the highly prospective Guerrero Gold Belt located 180 kilometers southwest of Mexico City. Within this property, Torex has the El Limon Guajes Mine, which announced commercial production in March of 2016 and the Media Luna Project, which is in an advanced stage of exploration, and for which the Company issued a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in 2015. The property remains 75% unexplored.This press release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Notwithstanding the Company's efforts, there can be no guarantee that the Company will not face unforeseen delays or disruptions. Forward-looking information also includes, but is not limited to, completing the remaining construction and commissioning of the mine and processing facilities of the ELG Mine, achieving full production, expected metal recoveries, gold production (including without limitation the estimated gold sales by year) and revenues from operations, the ability to mine and process estimated mineral reserves, the positive grade reconciliation as more gold ounces were produced year to date than was predicted by the reserve model, access to restricted cash balances, if required, the further advances of funds pursuant to the Finance Lease Arrangement and the VAT loan transaction (each which are subject to certain customary conditions precedent), expected timing and receipt of VAT refunds, future exploration, safety and security, and access to the ELG Mine. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including those risk factors identified in the Company's annual information form and management's discussion and analysis. Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.(All amounts expressed in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise stated)Fred Stanford, President and CEO(647) 260-1502fred.stanford@torexgold.comGabriela Sanchez, Vice President Investor Relations(647) 260-1503gabriela.sanchez@torexgold.comwww.torexgold.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Aug. 11, 2016) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S.

NV Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE:NVX) (the "Company") announced today a non-brokered private placement of units of the Company for gross proceeds of a maximum of CDN$500,000 and a minimum of CDN$350,000 (the "Placement"). The Placement is being undertaken to satisfy the terms of the Company's proposed obligation to raise CDN$350,000 under its proposed acquisition of the Nevada assets of Redstar Gold Corp. ("Redstar") originally announced on August 2, 2016.

The Placement is an offering of up to 2,500,000 units (the "Units") at CDN$0.20 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Share and one-half of one Warrant exercisable at CDN$0.40 per share for two years from issue of the Units. The expiry date of each whole Warrant is subject to acceleration such that, should the volume weighted average price of the common shares of the Company exceed CDN$0.60 for ten consecutive trading days, the Company may notify the holder in writing that the Warrants will expire 20 trading days from receipt of such notice unless exercised by the holder before such date.

Closing of the Placement is conditional on a minimum of CDN$350,000 being raised in the offering, the closing of the acquisition of Redstar's Nevada assets as contemplated by the LOI described in the August 2, 2016 news release and acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. The proceeds of the Placement will be used by the Company for review of the AngloGold Ashanti database it proposes to acquire, for mining claims maintenance costs of the Nevada properties it proposes to acquire, preliminary exploration on certain of the Nevada properties it proposes to acquire, exploration at its Surselva property and for general working capital. John Watson, CEO of the Company has confirmed he will subscribe to a lead order of the Placement for up to CDN$100,000.

About NV Gold Corporation

NV Gold is junior exploration company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that is planning to focus on delivering value through mineral discoveries utilizing the prospector generator model. Leveraging its highly experienced in-house technical knowledge, NV Gold's geological team intends to use the database it proposes to acquire from Redstar, which contains a vast treasury of field knowledge spanning decades of research and exploration, combined with the eleven (11) gold projects it proposes to acquire from Redstar, to uncover opportunities for lease or joint venture in the Great Basin region that have been overlooked.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

John E. Watson, President and CEO

For further information, visit the Company's website at www.nvgoldcorp.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the proposed acquisition of the Redstar's Nevada assets and the terms of such acquisition, the proposed raising of up to CDN$500,000 and the proposed uses of such funds, the potential to uncover opportunities for lease or joint venture in the Great Basin region and other future plans and objectives of the Company, including exploration plans, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include regulatory issues, market prices, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.
Elko, NV (FSCwire) - Lithium Corp. [OTCQB  LTUM] the Company is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Tamarind Investments Inc., wherein Tamarind agrees to provide advice, and render assistance to the Company with respect to public relations, transaction structuring, and ongoing introductions to investors for the next year.

Tamarind is based in Kowloon, Hong Kong and focuses primarily on the Pacific Rim countries. The terms of the agreement, provide for Tamarind to receive payment for their services in 3 tranches for a total of 1 million shares over the next six months. These shares are restricted with the restriction on the first tranche of 334,000 shares anticipated to be removed in early October.

For further information with regard to Lithium Corp., please contact Tom Lewis or Brian Goss at (775) 410-2206 or via email at info@lithiumcorporation.com

About Lithium Corporation

Lithium Corp. is an exploration company based in Nevada devoted to the exploration for energy storage related resources throughout North America, looking to capitalize on opportunities within the ever expanding next generation battery markets. The Company maintains a strategic alliance with Altura Mining, an ASX listed natural resource development company that is currently developing its 100% owned world-class Pilgangoora lithium pegmatite property in Western Australia.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This current report contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of minerals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/Lithium08112016.pdfSource: Lithium Corp. (OTCQB:LTUM)

To follow Lithium Corp. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below.

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Copyright  2016 Filing Services Canada Inc.
TRADING SYMBOL: TSXV:EPO

VANCOUVER, Aug. 11, 2016 /CNW/ - Encanto Potash Corp. ("Encanto" or the "Company") (TSXV: EPO) is pleased to announced the appointment to its Board of Directors of Messrs. Norman Brewster, Noureddine Mokaddem, Martin Wong, David Franklin, Maurice Stekel, Chief Reg Bellerose and Joe Varner, effective August 11, 2016. In addition Mr. Brewster has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Chief Bellerose has been appointed First Nations Special Counsel . In conjunction with these appointments the Company will be relocating its head office to Toronto, Ontario. The Company has accepted the resignations of Messrs. Robert McMorran, John Reynolds, Jamie Schwitzer, Brian Thurston and Jim Walchuck. Mr. Walchuck has agreed to continue as an Advisor to the Company. The Company would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Walchuck for his tireless efforts in advancing the project to this stage and would like to thank the resigning directors for their many years of contributions and wish them success in their future ventures.

The company is looking forward to the further progress of work on its Joint Venture with the Muskowekan First Nation on the Home Reserve Project in southeastern Saskatchewan, beginning with implementation of the previously recommended Feasibility Study. Since completion of a Preliminary Feasibility Study filed in March of 2013 several initiatives have been negotiated and put in place by the company's President Mr. Stavros Daskos.

"Following close to one year as Encanto's President, and having secured the base terms that will lead to a long term agreement with MMTC, that will allow for the resource to be developed, and the company to expand, it was essential that a team be implemented that has had a long track record with strong project and finance execution to take this project forward with the First Nations".

About the New Board:

Norman Brewster: Currently Mr. Brewster is the President, Director and C.E.O. of Cadillac Ventures Inc., with development projects in Ontario (copper) and New Brunswick (Tungsten). Mr. Brewster has served on many public and private company boards over his career in the mineral industry. Prior to joining Cadillac Ventures Inc. Norman was the interim President and Executive Chairman of Iberian Minerals Corp., successfully financing, developing and putting into production the Aguas Tenidas Mine in Andalucia, Spain, which became the region's largest employer. During his tenure Mr. Brewster led negotiations for the purchase of the Condestable Mine in Peru by Iberian Minerals Corp., and as a final duty Mr. Brewster led a committee in reviewing the successful bid by Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. ( revenue in 2015 of 97 Bn) to acquire Iberian Minerals Corp., in an all cash takeover. Mr. Brewster also sat on a committee, as a Director of Spider Resources Inc., which reviewed the successful all cash acquisition of Spider Resources Inc., by Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. Mr. Brewster holds Bachelor of Science and Education Degrees from Acadia University and was approved as a Member of the Association of Geoscientists of Ontario.

Noureddine Mokaddem: Mr. Mokaddem is the President and a Director of Maya Gold and Silver, prior to which he has held senior positions in Morocco mainly at ONA Group and OCP Group. Mr. Mokaddem has played, during his 33 years of experience, an important role in the development of several major mining operations and projects such as the Akka gold mine and the Guemessa polymetallic complex in Morocco and other projects in West and Central Africa . Mr. Mokaddem holds a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from the State School of Engineers in Mons, Belgium. Additionally Mr. Mokaddem has attended several Training and Development courses related to the mining industry and mineral projects during his career.

Martin Wong: Mr. Wong is an independent director of Maya Gold and Silver who for the last five years has acted as an independent capital markets advisor to public companies. Prior to that Mr. Wong worked for Dundee Securities Corporation's Investment Banking group where he structured, developed and completed a range of capital market transactions including capital market equity issues and merger and acquisitions. Currently Mr. Wong is an advisor and managing partner at Milton Capital Partners Limited, a financial and capital market advisory firm. Mr. Wong holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Bishop's University and is a member of the Ordre Comptables Agrees du Quebec, Mr. Wong holds accreditation from UBC for Real Estate Financing and the Boeing Corporation for Airline Analysis and Financing.

David Franklin: Mr. Franklin is presently the CEO of About You Medical Supplies of Port Saint Lucie, Florida and holds positions on several public and private companies in the mining, technology and healthcare industries. Mr. Franklin has many years experience in the financial industry including six years at Sprott Asset Management. In 2011 Mr. Franklin was named CEO of Sprott Private Wealth, an IIROC member firm with over $3 billion in client assets, where he oversaw Sprott's wealth management services to high net- worth individuals and foundations. Mr. Franklin holds an Honors Degree in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and has a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation in Canada.

Maurice Stekel: Mr Stekel has brought to numerous mining companies his significant expertise in accounting and finance as a founding and senior partner of Birnbaum, Prenick, Stekel & Co., Chartered Accountants. In addition to practicing as a recognized and successful accountant, over his career Mr. Stekel has held numerous directorships in public mining companies. Most recently Maurice has brought his audit expertise to sit as a Director and Audit Committee Chair for several companies including Cadillac Ventures Inc., with development stage assets, Iberian Minerals Corp. with its operating Mine in Spain and the subject of a cash takeover transaction by Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd., and Noront Resources Ltd., during the period of the significant "Ring of Fire" discovery in Northern Ontario.

Chief Reg Bellerose: Chief Bellerose has been re-elected for his sixth term a Chief of the Muskowekwan First Nation Encanto's partner in developing the potash resource on his Nation's Reserve, where he is committed to economic development, focusing on partnerships and joint ventures in the oil and gas, potash, power and most recently rail industries. Chief Bellerose sits on various Boards throughout Saskatchewan including First Nation Power Authority, Saskatchewan Institute of Technologies and is Chair of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority Board. Chief Bellerose holds a Masters in Project Management from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Arts in History in Political Science from Concordia University.

Joe Varner: Mr. Varner has recently served as Director of Policy to Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, P.C., Q.C., M.P., from 2013-2014. Mr. Varner served in the same capacity when Minister MacKay was Minister of National Defence from 2008-2013. During that time, he regularly accompanied the Minister to major international security conferences such as the NATO summits in Lisbon and Chicago and Halifax International Security Conference, the Munich Security Conference, and Senator John McCain's Sedona Forum as principal advisor. Professor Varner previously served as Senior Advisor on national security matters to the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada; the late Hon. John Lynch-Staunton, the first leader of the Conservative Party of Canada; to the late Hon. J. Michael Forrestall, Deputy Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on National Security and Defence; and as a Special Advisor to the former Speaker of the Senate, Hon. Noel Kinsella. As an Associate Professor, Joe Varner taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in homeland security, national security, emergency and disaster management and intelligence studies at American Military University (AMU) and served as the Program Director for the Department of Homeland Security Studies. Joe Varner has a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in International Relations and a Master of Arts Degree in Political Science from Acadia University and currently is a Doctoral candidate in Strategic Security at Henley-Putnam University.

About Encanto:

Encanto Potash Corp. is a TSX Venture Exchange listed and traded Canadian resource company engaged in the development of potash properties in the Province of Saskatchewan, Canada, the largest producing potash region in the world. Through a joint venture agreement with Muskowekwan Resources Ltd. on our flagship property, Encanto has a project land package which totals approximately 61,000 largely contiguous acres. A Pre-Feasibility Study dated February 28 2013 titled "Encanto Potash Corp. Technical Report Summarizing the Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Muskowekwan First Nations Home Reserve Project in South Eastern Saskatchewan, Canada" confirms the Proven & Probable KCI Reserves totaling 162 MMt grading 28% which supports primary and secondary mining for over 50 years at an assumed annual rate extraction rate of 2.8 million tonnes.

The Company has a 5% interest in the 55,000 acre Ochapowace/Chacachas property also located in Saskatchewan.

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by James Walchuck, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101.

For additional information about Encanto Potash Corp., please visit the Company's website at www.encantopotash.com or review the Company's documents filed on www.sedar.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Norman Brewster"

Per:

Norman Brewster

CEO and Director

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

THE FOREGOING INFORMATION MAY CONTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE FUTURE PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY. FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO A NUMBER OF KNOWN AND UNKNOWN RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER FACTORS THAT MAY CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN OUR FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS. SUCH RISKS AND OTHER FACTORS INCLUDE, AMONG OTHERS, THE ACTUAL RESULTS OF EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES, CHANGES IN WORLD COMMODITY MARKETS OR EQUITY MARKETS, THE RISKS OF THE MINING INDUSTRY INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENVIRONMENT, DELAYS IN OBTAINING GOVERNMENTAL APPROVALS, PERMITS OR FINANCING OR IN THE COMPLETION OF DEVELOPMENT OR CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES, TITLE DISPUTES, CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT AND CHANGES TO REGULATIONS AFFECTING THE MINING INDUSTRY, AND OTHER RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES DETAILED FROM TIME TO TIME IN THE COMPANY'S FILINGS WITH THE CANADIAN SECURITIES ADMINISTRATORS (AVAILABLE AT WWW.SEDAR.COM). FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE MADE BASED ON VARIOUS ASSUMPTIONS AND ON MANAGEMENT'S BELIEFS, ESTIMATES AND OPINIONS ON THE DATE THE STATEMENTS ARE MADE. SHOULD ONE OR MORE OF THESE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES MATERIALIZE, OR SHOULD UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS PROVE INCORRECT, ACTUAL RESULTS MAY VARY MATERIALLY FROM THOSE DESCRIBED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. THE COMPANY UNDERTAKES NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS IF THESE ASSUMPTIONS, BELIEFS, ESTIMATES AND OPINIONS OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD CHANGE, EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

SOURCE Encanto Potash Corp.
Merivale has stepped in to take over The Alexandria Hotel in the inner-city suburb of Alexandria, which closed last year.



The company's CEO Justin Hemmes was so compelled by local support for the pub that he decided to buy it - even though he'd never been inside the venue before.

"I made the offer site unseen," he says. "I just saw photos of it, I'd read the history of it and I was so excited about the story. It all happened very quickly."

In fact, it was only two weeks ago that Hemmes first came across The Alexandria Hotel. Within seven days, he had bought the pub.

"I saw all the interest from the residents, all the action groups and the Save The Alex website," he says. "I think there were over a thousand written submissions to the council. That's unprecedented."



"I thought this can not be redeveloped. This should be kept!"

It's good news for local supporters who were opposed to original plans to demolish the iconic pub - which has a history dating back to the 1870s. The existing building was constructed in 1934 and is affectionately known as The Alex.

There was a grassroots community campaign to save the hotel after developers announced plans to turn the site into an apartment block. City of Sydney staff were involved in a move to get the pub heritage-listed. The venue was popular with Sydney Swans supporters and also hosted DJ sets by local label Future Classic, who discovered Flume when he was a 20-year-old unknown Sydney producer.

"It's a great piece of history and I felt it needed to be preserved and given back to the community," Hemmes says. He also wants locals to have input in Merivale's future plans for the venue.

Merivale hopes to retain the original 1930s bar area and will redesign the large courtyard under the creative direction of Hemmes and architect Kelvin Ho.

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The Alexandria will mark Merivale's second venue in the area; the company's transformation of the nearby Queen Victoria Hotel in Enmore is due to open in November as Queen Chow. The Chinese-inspired menu there will be overseen by chefs Patrick Friesen and Christopher Hogarth from Merivale's Papi Chulo and Eric Koh from Mr Wong.

And although Merivale has many projects in the works for the next 12 months (with Fred's and Charlie Parker's opening in Paddington in September, and updates on the middle level of the Coogee Pavilion and indoor areas of The Newport scheduled), Hemmes plans for The Alexandria Hotel to re-open quickly.

"I get the keys mid-September and I think [within] six to eight weeks, we should have something," he says. "It's not going to be a big hotel redevelopment just now, I just want to get it back open and get people enjoying the space."

Hemmes wants to showcase the pub and outdoor area and is considering introducing food trucks and art installations. Many of the changes needed are cosmetic, because although the hotel currently has its interiors stripped out, "there's nothing wrong with it", he says. "The fixtures and fittings need to go back in  we've got to somehow find them or make them [laughs] and we'll just get it open."



So is Hemmes having any second thoughts about moving so swiftly on The Alexandria Hotel?

"It was a quick knee-jerk reaction and I'm so glad I did it."
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By Ross Mcswain

While attending the recent annual meeting of the Texas Folklore Society in this sister city of San Angelo, ghostlike stories were on the agenda along with wit and wisdom from the past. The meeting is always a lot of fun and its membership appears to be growing as more and more young faces were in the crowd.

Due to a conflict, I was unable to attend the opening and closing sessions, but the Friday program was typical of many in years past  informative, fun and well managed. I was able to see and visit with some longtime friends who usually get together at least once a year for the folklore sessions. Sadly, a few had passed away since the conclusion of the 2009 meeting.

I enjoy hearing ghostly stories, but none that I have heard in recent years can quite compare with the phantoms who haunt Caddo Lake in East Texas. Longtime Dallas newspaper columnist Kent Biffle observed a few years ago that if East Texas came in a box, it would have to list a lot of supernatural ingredients. Kent, in my view, is truly the one person in this great state who knows East Texas better than anyone else. We used to spend some time talking about East Texas since I was born at Longview and lived in the pineys the first 9  years of my life.

Caddo Lake, named for a tribe of Indians that once resided in that area, was originally a natural lake formed by rafts, or natural logjams, in the crook of a river channel. Later, the lake was enlarged when bigger and more modern dams were constructed. It is located in Harrison and Marion counties of Texas and Caddo Parish in Louisiana. Its surface area comprises 26,800 acres.

The lake is filled with cypress knobs, or knees, that bob from the swampy water like the heads of men and women sinking for the last time. Boatloads of people have drowned in the lake since the early 1800s. The nearest town to the lake is Jefferson, an antique hunters paradise, once Texas largest inland port. Sixty or more of those ghosts were victims of the sinking of the Mittie Stephens, a 312-ton steamboat that burned and sank during its trip up river from Shreveport. Many of the victims were buried in the Jefferson Cemetery. Today, the town has 2,500 living, breathing residents and 15,000 or more in its graveyard.

The ghosts seem to be everywhere in that picturesque town, rocking the rocking chairs on the gallery of the Excelsior Hotel and in various antique shops. Theres supposed to be a headless man roaming the hotel as well, but I never saw the guy  if such exists.

Biffle, in his prowling of East Texas, says the best haunted house is in Karnack, just down the road from Jefferson and the hometown of the late Lady Bird Johnson and that of the late Mrs. Ray Willoughby of San Angelo. The main ghost in the house is named Oonie. According to legend, Oonie has never reconciled her fate to being killed by a lightning strike that hit the old houses chimney during a violent thunderstorm.

To enjoy fun, informative presentations given by some of the states best storytellers, consider joining the folklore society. It has a website on the Internet. Tell them I sent you, or better yet, say Oonie urged you to join.

Thought for the week: The road to success is uphill  unless your father owns the company.

Ill be seeing you Out Yonder.

Ross McSwain can be contacted at yonder11@suddenlink.net, or check his website, www.rossmcswain.com.
SHARE Kirkland's An armoire can be used to organize your jewelry. Zaltas Gallery of Fine Jewelry This necklace was made from diamonds and an opal re-purposed from an older cocktail ring. Zaltas Gallery of Fine Jewelry This necklace was made from diamonds re-purposed from an older worn out chain. Zaltas Gallery of Fine Jewelry This necklace was made from diamonds and an opal re-purposed from an older cocktail ring.

Author gives tips on purging

By Melissa Kossler Dutton, Associated Press

Debbie Roes owns the largest jewelry box she could find, but it was still so full she had difficulty seeing her belongings. So she decided to de-clutter it as part of an overall purging of her possessions, and the result made her happy.

"It used to be so cluttered that I didn't really know what I had, and many pieces I loved weren't being worn," said Roes, of San Diego.

Many people accumulate extra jewelry over the years and could benefit from organizing it better. That might mean discarding, giving away, selling, repairing or repurposing pieces, said Cyndy Aldred, of Lufkin, author of "Idiot's Guides: Organizing Your Life" (Alpha Books, 2014).

Begin by weeding out those you never wear.

Roes did that, and quickly parted with 20 of her 282 pieces. She also pulled out jewelry that was broken, and either had it fixed or got rid of it.

Then she grouped together like pieces, which helped her realize that she had many duplicates.

"I tended to buy a lot of similar things. What we're drawn to when shopping is what we're familiar with," she said.

Once the jewelry was sorted, Roes forced herself to pick her favorites. She donated, gave away or sold the rest.

She did several purges like this so as not to deplete her collection too quickly, she said. In between purges, she would move the pieces she wore into different drawers in the jewelry box. The pieces that hadn't been moved by the next purge were good candidates to get rid of.

If you're unsure about discarding something, Aldred suggested, put it in a box in a harder-to-reach location. If you haven't retrieved it after a year, get rid of it, she said.

She also suggested having a jewelry exchange party at which friends gather to swap pieces.

"You feel better about purging when you give it to someone you know will use it," she said.

Compared to clothing, jewelry is easy to give to friends and relatives because it's usually one-size-fits-all, Roes noted.

You might feel guilty, however, about giving away something you spent money on. Don't feel guilty, she said.

Kathy Zaltas, who owns Zaltas Gallery of Fine Jewelry in Mamaroneck, New York, said customers often bring in their jewelry boxes or ones they have inherited, wondering what to do with the contents. Zaltas helps them determine which pieces are valuable, which could be repaired or made into something new and which could be sold.

"People acquire jewelry that they don't wear anymore," she said. "It has a monetary value if you want to scrap it. It doesn't need to sit and sit."

She also works with clients to transform out-of-date pieces into something new. Carol Manire almost never takes off the necklace that Zaltas made from some of her mother's old jewelry. She had taken several pieces into the store after her mother passed away because keeping them in a safe at her home in Port Chester, New York, "felt like I was not honoring her memory properly."

She and Zaltas did "a lot of back and forth," she said, "turning it into something I really love and is meaningful to me."

Roes, who blogs about her efforts at recoveringshopaholic.com, has heard from readers who frame heirloom pieces or find other ways to display them.

Another option is to store sentimental pieces that you don't wear somewhere less accessible than your jewelry box to save space, Aldred said.

"My jewelry box is stuff that I regularly wear," she said. "Purging and reorganizing how we store our jewelry and accessories is a great way to save time and frustration when we're getting ready (to go out), because we can go right to the pieces we are looking for."
SHARE Nathan Butler

Nominee has range of court experience

By Jennifer Rios

Name: Nathan Butler, candidate for Republican nomination to run for 51st District attorney

Family: Married to Mary Butler; parents to two daughters ? Macy, 6, and Madison, 2. He also has a relationship with former stepchildren Mackenzie Kirby, 14, and Brendan Lowe, 12.

Education: Graduated Brownwood High School, then Tartleton University with a bachelor of science in speech communications and a double minor in psychology and technical writing and editing. He studied law at St. Mary's University and graduated in 1998 with a Juris Doctor degree.

Career: Worked as a law clerk for attorney John Lee Blagg in Brownwood. In 1999, began work as assistant district attorney in Tom Green County under 51st District Attorney Steve Lupton and 119th District Attorney Steve Smith. Since 2002, he has practiced criminal defense and family law.

Nathan Butler, a criminal defense and family law attorney, has worked both as defender and prosecutor.

It's that experience ? asking a jury to sentence a defendant and being able to ask for leniency ? that he believes would make him the best choice for the 51st District attorney.

"It really gives you a perspective at doing this job and ensuring justice is served," he said.

Friday evening, Butler announced his candidacy at a news conference in his office. Earlier that morning, his application to be placed on the Republican ballot was in the mail, he said. He will seek the Republican nomination in the March primary to run for the office in the November general election.

Butler, 40, spent three years at the district attorney's office working for then-District Attorneys Steve Smith and Steve Lupton.

Butler said he remembers his first day on the job, with Smith walking into his office.

"The first thing he told me is, 'Nathan, the first thing you need to know is the prosecutor's creed, which is, your purpose in being here is not simply to prosecute for the sake of seeking a conviction. Your job is to see that justice is done.' And that has stuck with me throughout my career."

Since 2002, Butler has worked as a criminal defense and family law attorney. He owns the Law Office of Nathan Butler and is a former partner in Hennington, Butler, and Jones Attorneys at Law PLLC, of San Angelo.

He said the decision to become a defense attorney was driven mainly by financial considerations ? he needed to pay off student loans.

He said he also had a desire to go out and learn both sides.

"I've always felt like being a prosecutor and being a defense attorney, you're doing the same job," he said. "You're protecting the community, and you're protecting the citizens."

He said his greatest strength lies in knowing how a defense attorney thinks ? questioning whether he has enough evidence, what more does he need, and what is the other side looking at.

"It helps you make wise decisions in how to handle a case," he said.

He has served clients in Tom Green County and 11 surrounding counties in handling cases that range from traffic tickets to murder. His practice has included drug cases, assaults, burglaries, thefts and family law.

San Angelo attorney Don Payne, who works in the same office, is serving as Butler's treasurer.

Butler said he has taken on pro bono cases since he went into private practice and accepts cases from Legal Aid of North Texas. He said he enjoys the opportunity to help create better situations where children are involved.

"I enjoy being able to help people that way," he said.

From about 1999 to 2003, he also taught evening classes in policing and criminal law at Howard College. He also has served as a special prosecutor, who is called in when a prosecuting attorney has a conflict of interest.

Butler said he has the "greatest respect in the world" for Lupton and would not have run against him for the position. In light of Lupton's decision to step down at the end of his term next December, Butler said he felt he has a duty to run.

As a businessman, he said he's learned the fiscal responsibilities necessary to run the district attorney's office.

"I felt I was the best man for the job, to step up and seek that position," he said.
As Elon Musk takes over, will some Twitter operations move to Austin?

With Tesla and the Boring Company already based here, having some Twitter operations in Austin would make sense, analyst says.
SHARE Goldsmith

By Staff Report

A San Angelo woman was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a verbal dispute Tuesday.

Krista Goldsmith, 41, was taken to Tom Green County Jail after police identified her as a suspect who threatened a man with a gun after an argument over a parking spot in front of her residence in the 2000 block of Walnut Street, according to a San Angelo Police Department news release.

Just after 3:30 p.m. police spoke with a 46-year-old man who said he was doing work at a nearby house when a woman pulled up alongside his vehicle. The woman aggressively pulled into a driveway and allegedly began to yelling racial slurs at the man for parking in front of her house before going inside the residence and retrieving a gun, which she allegedly pointed at the man, the release stated.

Officers spoke with several witnesses and reviewed a cellphone video, which supported the victim's story and showed the suspect pass an object believed to be the gun to an acquaintance before officers arrived.

Goldsmith said she pointed a black Vapor e-cigarette at the victim; however, police found a semi-automatic handgun that matched the description of the gun used during the incident inside Goldsmith's residence.

Goldsmith was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail Wednesday.

Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
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By Krista M. Torralva of the Caller-Times

Voters in Texas without a photo ID will still be able to cast their ballots come November, a federal judge in Corpus Christi ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos signed off on an agreement between Texas state officials, the federal government and civil rights plaintiffs that clears the way for voters without photo ID to cast their ballots as long as they sign a declaration stating they have a "reasonable impediment" to obtaining one of the types of photo identification required in Texas' voter ID law.

The order softens Texas' controversial voter ID law that a federal circuit appeals court last month found racially discriminatory. The law required voters to show one of six types of a government-issued photo ID such as a driver's license or passport and could have left up to 600,000 Texas voters without the proper identification in this fall's presidential elections, opponents claimed.

Under the approved agreement, voters may show an alternative form of identification such as a utility bill or government check that displays the voter's name and address. The agreement will also allows voters to use photo IDs such as a driver's license or personal ID card from any state, expired or not.

However, voters who have one of the six types of government-issued photo IDs, or are able to get one, are still required to use those.

The state will also spend $2.5 million on efforts to inform voters of the changes in time for early voting and Election Day.

"There is a great sense of relief here in South Texas and the Corpus Christi community that thousands of voters need not worry about their ability to vote on Election Day," said Daniel G. Covich of Covich Law Firm LLP. The Corpus Christi-based law firm was involved in the case that grabbed national attention.

The controversial voter ID law was enacted in 2011, blocked by a federal district judge in 2012 and then put into effect in 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act that had required Texas and some other states to get federal approval for voting changes. Challengers have won every court case since, but the law had remained in effect.

USA TODAY reports contributed to this report.

Twitter: @CallerKMT
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Donald Trump has the GOP trapped in not one Catch-22, but two. Call it a Catch-44.

The first Catch-22 has been the subject of widespread conversation over the last few weeks. As GOP pollster Glen Bolger summed it up for The New York Times: "Do we run the risk of depressing our base by repudiating the guy? Or do we run the risk of being tarred and feathered by independents for not repudiating him?"

"We're damned if we do and damned if we don't," he added.

Lots of Republicans adore Trump  just consider the enthusiasm at his massive rallies  and will turn on the establishment Republicans who betray him.

But roughly one out of five Republicans do not support the nominee. College-educated married white women  a major part of the GOP demographic coalition  are abandoning him. Trump is behind by huge margins in key swing states. His standing in the national polls is flirting with the catastrophic.

It's only early August and already Republican strategists are speculating that down-ballot candidates will have to cut and run from the nominee.

"If I were advising a candidate, and I used to do that for a living, the first thing I'd tell them is, 'Don't put yourself in the middle of other people's races,'" Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole said on MSNBC.

That brings us to the second Catch-22. Republican candidates at this stage have no excuses to offer if they decide to repudiate Trump other than naked self-interest.

Let's assume Trump cannot mount a comeback and becomes an albatross for countless Republican candidates across the country. And let's say they jump ship. Then every Democrat in the country  not to mention almost every pundit  will say, "You guys were fine with Trump as the nominee when he was a racist, but now that he's hurting the whole GOP's chances, he's suddenly unacceptable?"

And there will be some truth to the accusation.

It's instructive to look at what prompted the flop-sweat panic of recent days. After leaving the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Trump climbed the rhetorical jackass tree and then hurled himself earthward, hitting every branch on the way down.

There's not enough space here to recount in any serious detail all the self-destructive statements and bizarre rabbit holes he spelunked into  from attacking the parents of Capt. Humayun Kahn, a soldier who died serving our country, to "jokingly" inviting the Russians to muck about in our elections, to reviving past controversies about Sen. Ted Cruz's father's alleged complicity in the Kennedy assassination.

And yet GOP establishment leaders stuck with their man  just as they'd stuck with their man when he threw NATO under the bus, and ridiculed our treaty obligations with Japan, and attacked American-born Judge Gonzalo Curiel for an alleged conflict of interest between his professional duties and his Mexican heritage.

GOP leaders contemplated pulling the emergency brake on the Trump Train only when the nominee said he wouldn't endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan or Sens. John McCain and Kelly Ayotte.

The message was clear: Only his willingness to endanger top Republicans' re-election was truly unacceptable behavior. Nothing else Trump said or did until then was beyond the pale.

In fact, the message was so clear that even Trump heard it. After an intervention his campaign denies took place, Trump grudgingly fell in line, reading a statement endorsing Ryan, McCain and Ayotte with all the enthusiasm of an adolescent boy forced to apologize for shoplifting.

There are no good options left for the GOP. However its leaders pivot to boost the party's chances in November, they risk revealing that winning is their only sacred principle  that is to say, admitting they have no sacred principles at all.

Jonah Goldberg is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior editor of National Review. Contact him at goldbergcolumn@gmail.com.
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By Harold Byler

International negotiations are extremely important for our country. The following bit of history, which I think most people are not aware of, is a good example.

In 1939, Germany and Russia entered into a nonaggression pact. In 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan entered into a military alliance known as the "Axis." Secretly, Germany had plans for a surprise attack on Russia and was trying to persuade its ally, Japan, to simultaneously attack Russia on the other side. This would have split the Russian army and led to Russia's defeat.

Russian intelligence agents became aware of these plans and used an agent-in-place in the Japanese government to persuade Japan to attack the United States instead of Russia so Russia wouldn't have to split its army. As an excuse for the attack, Russia used the fact that the U.S. had instituted sanctions against Japan to slow down its aggression in Asia. This resulted in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

Thus Russia, our ally in World War II against Germany, convinced Germany's ally, Japan, to attack us, using our sanctions as a reason.

When Russia was attacked by Germany, Russia never had to fight on its eastern front because it never declared war on Germany's ally, Japan. Russia was then able to obtain support and supplies from the U.S. to win their war against Germany on its western front.

Despite the fact that Russia never declared war with Japan, Russia was later able to negotiate the splitting of Korea with the U.S. after the war was over. Korea had been captured by Japan and had not been involved in any war.

This is an example of why international negotiations are very important. Our relations with our allies and our situation with the Muslims in the Middle East are both crucial at this time and we need a leader with proven competence to deal with that.

Our present leaders (Obama, Clinton and Kerry) have not been successful in their international negotiations. They have alienated our allies and negotiated bad deals for us.

I would rather have Donald Trump negotiating for our government than any of the other presidential candidates. Trump has been very successful in his international business negotiations and has written a widely recognized book on the subject.

Harold Byler lives in Brady.
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By Billie Briley

Religion is one of the most used and misunderstood words in the English language. Religion can be the best of things or the worst of things.

The average American's knowledge of math and science is near the bottom of industrialized nations. I'll bet that our knowledge of religion is no better.

It's time to teach religion in school, but not the way most of our clergy would like. We need to teach the origin, history and customs of all the major religions. Your ignorance of someone's beliefs and customs can lead to misunderstandings, mistrust and in some cases violence.

I think most Americans, like me, have been brainwashed about the religion of our parents. I compare this to the knowledge of cars. My dad and most of my uncles drove GMC cars. I was told Chevrolets were good and Fords were bad. Later in life I would get into heated arguments, telling people how great my Chevy was and how bad their Ford was. In truth I had never owned or driven a Ford.

When I ask people whom they think Muslims pray to, their answers remind me of my history with cars and religion. The look on their faces is priceless when I tell them Muslims pray to the same God of Abraham that Protestants, Catholics and Jews pray to. Muslims, like Jews, believe that Jesus was a prophet, not the son of God, and both believe that Moses was their ambassador to God.

When I hear Christians describe the Islamic religion as cruel and unholy, I wonder if they slept through their history classes. While it is true Muslims have been killing each other for 1,000 years, so have Protestants and Catholics. Most of the atrocities that happened during the Crusades were at the hands of Christians. During the Inquisition, thousands of people were burned at the stake in the name of Christianity.

The Spanish wiped out entire civilizations in South America in the name of Christianity; they were the first to use germ warfare by using smallpox-infested blankets. If the Germans who exterminated millions of Jews had filled out a job application, in the square marked "religion" they would have checked Christian. The same could be said for the KKK. The first act of terrorism that I remember was Irish Catholics setting off car bombs in London in the 1970s.

While I was writing this article, mocking the people about their lack of knowledge about other religions, I realized that while I was raised a Baptist, what I know about other Protestant religions can be written on a match box.

I believe the world would be a better place if we would let our young people study and visit several religions and join the faith that fits their beliefs, not their parents'.

We all know this will happen when hell freezes over.

Billie Briley lives in San Angelo.
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By Suzanne Carter Hahn

"Before I was out of high school, I realized a way of life was dying ... and the place where my ranching family had made its living would not produce a livelihood for me."

 From Larry McMurtry's collection of essays, "In a Narrow Grave."

The 1963 movie "Hud" was based on McMurtry's novel "Horseman, Pass By." It was a cautionary tale, although told at least a decade after the fact. Hud was the product of generations who had carved a sometimes meager living out of an unforgiving land. He was thrust into a changing world he didn't understand. Major social changes seem to be more apparent from an altitude of 80,000 feet.

My brother and I lived that transition in the early 1950s. Early on he planned to leave ranching in his rearview mirror. The cities welcomed his hard-won skills. It took them a while longer to welcome mine. First I had to figure out that skills might be required.

Zillah was our grandmother. She lived in a small brick house at 509 Childress St. Today, the entire block is buried beneath the tons of steel and concrete we call the Houston Harte Expressway.

Few passing by would forget the sight of an elderly figure roaming the yard wearing a house dress, sensible shoes with stockings  and a Stetson hat  surveying a small herd of plastic Herefords. A fake sheep or two strayed nearby. At the center of it all was a 4-feet-tall ceramic cowboy, his whirling lasso flinging water in all directions.

Zillah loved the movie star Joan Crawford, Ranch Romance magazines, dipping snuff and having fun. She took pleasure in rising earlier than her next-door neighbor and took up painting, water colors of Hereford steers, close up and clearly ready to charge off the page. What Zillah lacked in talent, she made up for in production. Supply exceeded demand. Wish I'd rescued just one.

Zillah was born in Gonzales County in 1876, and in 1879 her father, Andrew Jackson Nichols, migrated west to Runnels County. Zillah described visiting her Gonzales relatives. She told of riding horseback to dances 20 miles distant, party dress tied to the back of her saddle, and how cold her hands got along the way.

But her family's role in the founding of Texas? Apparently not worth mentioning. Yet her kinsman, William Philip King, died at the Alamo  he was 16 years old, the youngest to die there. He went as a substitute for his father, who had a family to protect.

Zillah landed in Concho County when she married an English immigrant cowboy. They acquired land when it was more plentiful than people willing to live and work on it. When her husband's health declined, running the operation on the Concho River was left to Zillah. After his death she soldiered on.

But the day came when Zillah's children pronounced her too old to run the ranch. In the mid-1940s, Zillah went to ground in San Angelo. I thought she was ancient. She was 20 years younger than I am now.

I grew up on land bordered on the north by Arden Road, not yet paved. Zillah had foisted the Tom Green County place off on my mother, Beulah, and my father, Harris, one of those men who lived mainly in his mind. Ranching had never been his calling. He loved to laugh about his foibles, like the time he attempted burning brush on a windy day. From miles around, ranchers arrived. With wet tow sacks they fought the blaze that nearly took our house. "They thought I was an enemy alien," Harris later recounted.

Beulah took great pride in owning land. And she knew what to do with it  Zillah had raised her right. But I yearned to be a town kid. Their lives seemed immeasurably better than mine.

Because few families lived on our road, electricity didn't reach us until about 1950. I learned to read by a kerosene lamp. I remember our family driving into San Angelo "to see the lights." It might as well have been Broadway. Although we had indoor plumbing, the wells went dry in the time it never rained. Bath water was heated on the stove top. In those days we were privy to an outhouse.

Beulah valiantly tried to integrate me into 5-year-old society  dancing and piano lessons, Sunday school, birthday parties. She failed. My brother tolerated me only if he needed another body to die in a war game. He bounced me off a tractor, breaking my arm, and blamed me when he fell out of a tree and broke his.

Needless to say, I was slow in acquiring the social skills required for life beyond the Arden Road. Took about 40 years.

In the early 1980s I got a letter from James Michener. I had learned he was writing a novel about our fair state, and generously offered him some of my favorite family characters. Michener's advice was polite but emphatic. I should write my own damn book. Not happening. Like Zillah, and maybe most of us, I can't seem to separate wheat from chaff.

Suzanne Carter Hahn

lives in San Angelo.
Few would dispute that the U.S. electorate is suffering a crisis of confidence in government. Most Americans harbor negative perceptions of both major-party presidential candidates. Nor is their scorn confined to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Congress's job-approval rating has sunk to below 13 percent, according to Real Clear Politics' averaging of several recent polls.Meanwhile, solutions to some of our most vexing issues remain elusive despite near-unanimity among the electorate. Take gun control: Polls show that Americans broadly support background checks at gun shows and in private sales, laws to prevent the mentally ill from buying guns, and a federal database to track gun sales. Yet for the most part, legislative proposals along these lines have gone nowhere. While Americans can find common ground on many issues, any legislative consensus seems further away than ever. Too often we are told that a proposal is "dead on arrival," and the parties only deepen their divide by savaging each other in the media.So at a time when there seems to be more agreement among the electorate than among their elected officials, it's worth asking whether citizens themselves could do a better job -- whether they could restore confidence in public governance. Is it time to give more authority to citizens to make policy? In fact, some states and local governments are already moving to cede more authority to their citizens.In Virginia, for example, the General Assembly intervened in a regional governance failure in 2011 when lawmakers installed citizens as policymakers alongside elected representation on the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads, the board of the regional transit provider in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach metro area. I was among the first appointees, and in 2015 was the first citizen appointee to be elected board chair.In a statewide initiative, the Virginia legislature also sought citizen expertise to shore up the effectiveness and accountability of economic-development funding. Created this year, GO Virginia will have a board largely composed of citizens with private business experience who will have grant-making authority for regional economic-development priorities.Other states have taken their own steps to amplify citizen voices and drown out special interests. In 2011, the Oregon legislature established a Citizens Initiative Review Commission that convenes panels of 18 to 24 randomly selected citizens who, along with experts, collaboratively evaluate the facts and ramifications of pending ballot questions. The panelists create "Citizen Statements" both in support of and in opposition to a ballot measure to help voters see through the spin of political advertising.Plenty is going on at the local level as well. According to Public Agenda, a nonprofit that advocates for public participation in government, 70,000 Americans and Canadians in 22 cities voted last year on how to spend nearly $50 million through participatory budgeting.Political scientist Helene Landemore of Yale University applauds such examples of citizen-empowered democracy but cautions against only "reforming the system at the margin rather than restoring true power to citizens." She argues that more drastic reforms are required to bring about a truly responsive democracy.The environment is ripe, according to Landemore and a growing cadre of scholars, because the availability of social-science datasets and pervasive digital technology makes governing failures more apparent. Landemore sees an evolution toward a "post-representative democracy" where elections play a smaller role, ordinary citizens have more influence, and policy decisions, as a result, more closely reflect citizen preference.She isn't completely sold on appointments, such as those in Virginia, because even appointees still have to self-select. Instead, she advocates instead random selection of citizens by lottery -- just like jury panels -- for policymaking roles and rotation of power.Citizen-centric reforms at the state and local level give hope to those who would cheer the prospect of a post-representative democracy at the national level. As participants and observers of the Oregon experience have found, forcing divergent and representative perspectives to the same table for an informed conversation remains a powerful recipe.On the Norfolk-Virginia Beach transit board, politics was blamed for the agency's unwillingness for over a decade to increase fares despite mounting budget deficits. With citizens at the table, our board considered multiple proposals, some with a more severe impact on riders, and in 2014 we settled unanimously on a fare structure that set the agency on a more stable financial course while earning public praise from transit-rider advocates.What kind of promise does that hold for the most toxic of debates, such as that surrounding the plague of gun deaths? Here's what I know: Citizens, who need not worry about a primary challenge from the fringe or being maligned by a well-funded super PAC, and who benefit very little from trying to pack a complex position into 140 characters, have shown that they can find common ground on some difficult issues to arrive at a workable policy solution in a way that no elective body could. With faith in our democracy being what it is, greater citizen governance is a movement whose time has come.
When fall classes begin later this month, Kennesaw State University will open with a new housing option to help homeless students attending the college.The school is opening an on-campus suite for emergency housing for these students and those at risk of homelessness. The one-bedroom apartment, mixed in with KSU's existing University Village student residences, is designed as temporary housing for up to 14 days while school officials find permanent residences for students."Across the state and country there aren't many options for homeless college students. The sacrifices and risks they are taking just to go to college are hard," said Marcy Stidum, coordinator of KSU's Campus Awareness, Resource & Empowerment center that helps homeless students.There are currently between five and seven students sleeping in cars, hotels or on friends' couches, Stidum said. "With this room, this provides us with a safe place for them, where no one will know the difference between them and any other student." The emergency housing is likely the first of its kind among Georgia colleges and universities, she said.Kennesaw State and Stidum have been nationally recognized for their work with homeless students. The school was the first in the state to have staff dedicated to working with those students. Stidum's office has also expanded its efforts to assisting foster students making the transition from high school to college, and establishing a second food pantry on Kennesaw State's Marietta campus.The emergency homeless housing, is being funded through a $25,000 donation from Kennesaw-based Beacon Foundation Charitable Trust.A dedication ceremony for the suite is scheduled for Wednesday.
The three Democratic candidates for governor differed over raising taxes and legalizing marijuana, largely in a civil way, during a broadcast debate Wednesday.Former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, the last to enter this competitive primary, was the most aggressive, panning rivals Colin Van Ostern of Concord and Mark Connolly of New Castle during this first debate as well-intentioned but timid politicians."We have to be honest," Marchand said during the debate on WGIR-AM's "Jack Heath's New Hampshire Today" program."My opponents, I feel, are not getting specific about raising the revenue we need to deal with the challenges we have.''Marchand is the only contender supporting legalizing and taxing marijuana and raising the state's business profits tax, which is slated to go down for a second time in two years.Connolly, a former state securities regulation director, said it sends the wrong message to business owners for state government to cut business taxes one year only to raise them the next year."You can't be changing tax policy year to year. You have to give business owners a chance to plan," Connolly sad.Van Ostern, a two-term executive councilor, said Gov. Maggie Hassan and the Republican-led Legislature fashioned the business tax cuts as part of the current, two-year state budget.Hassan initially vetoed them until GOP leaders tweaked the details and made them conditional on meeting forecasts for business tax revenue."I don't think going back to unravel that compromise is a way to advance our economy," Van Ostern said. "They do not deserve to be treated as a yo-yo on the end of a string."Marchand said legalizing and taxing marijuana would raise at least $30 million a year but Connolly said the state should not rush into it."It needs to be done in a way that is a New Hampshire solution," Connolly said. "We shouldn't be trying to get revenue into the door until we understand what legalization means in New Hampshire.''All three candidates favor a repeal of the death penalty but Marchand would apply it retroactively to Michael Addison, the Boston man sentenced to die and facing an appeal for the killing of Manchester police Officer Michael Briggs.Connolly said it would be wrong to take Addison's death sentence off the table."We should not be changing that in any way after the fact. We should not be going back after the fact and changing the rules," said Connolly, who served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives four decades ago.Van Ostern called for raising the tobacco tax by 10 cents per pack of cigarettes and using the revenue to extend statewide, full-day public kindergarten programs.Van Ostern was the only one to invoke the Republican field of candidates, who are trying to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Hassan who is running for the U.S. Senate.Van Ostern called on all GOP hopefuls to repudiate presidential nominee Donald Trump for his comments Tuesday about getting gun rights supporters to help him stop Democrat Hillary Clinton."They need to end and they need to end today. It is a failure of leadership that Chris Sununu and Ted Gatsas continue to support Donald Trump," Van Ostern said."This is a moral test; this is a leadership test and they need to do better. I call on them today to end their public support and put the people of New Hampshire first."Marchand bristled when Van Ostern described his business experience working for Stonyfield Farm Yogurt and more recently with Southern New Hampshire University."Colin said his primary experience has been in the private sector. It's mainly being a political operative; the last five years have been a little of that," Marchand said.Van Ostern didn't back down."I know firsthand what will make our companies grow in New Hampshire," Van Ostern added.
With the presidential election only three months away, a federal appeals panel Wednesday blocked a lower court ruling that would have allowed Wisconsin voters without photo IDs to sign an affidavit and cast a ballot.But part of the voter ID law remains blocked because of a separate ruling in another federal trial court in recent weeks. Voters should keep following the news _ the rules could change again between now and the Nov. 8 presidential election.Last month, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Milwaukee ruled that Wisconsin voters without photo identification could cast ballots by swearing at the polling place that they could not easily acquire an ID. The decision created a pathway for voters with difficulties getting IDs who have been unable to cast ballots under the state's 2011 voter ID law.On Wednesday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago found that Adelman had gone too far in allowing a large group of voters to cast ballots without an ID.The appeals panel in April indicated there needed to be a way for people to vote if they face significant challenges in getting IDs. That led Adelman last month to issue his ruling allowing people to easily vote without IDs.But the panel on Wednesday blocked Adelman's ruling while it considers the appeal, saying it believed he had gone too far."Our most recent decision in this case concluded that anyone who is eligible to vote in Wisconsin, but cannot obtain a qualifying photo ID with reasonable effort, is entitled to an accommodation that will permit him or her to cast a ballot," the unanimous panel wrote. "But instead of attempting to identify these voters, or to identify the kinds of situations in which the state's procedures fall short, the district court issued an injunction that permits any registered voter to declare by affidavit that reasonable effort would not produce a photo ID _ even if the voter has never tried to secure one."Because the district court has not attempted to distinguish genuine difficulties of the kind our opinion mentioned, or any other variety of substantial obstacle to voting, from any given voter's unwillingness to make the effort that the Supreme Court has held that a state can require, there is a substantial likelihood that the injunction will be reversed on appeal."The three judges who issued Wednesday's ruling _ Frank Easterbrook, Diane Sykes and Michael Kanne _ were all appointed by Republican presidents.Adelman, a former Democratic state senator, was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton.GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel said that he was pleased by the decision and would continue to fight to uphold voter ID. Gov. Scott Walker, a fellow Republican who signed the law in 2011, tweeted that "liberal efforts to stop" voter ID were confusing voters."Today's decision to halt the injunction issued by Judge Adelman is a step in the right direction. The decision recognized that his previous ruling is likely to be reversed in light of Supreme Court precedent and would create more uncertainty for voters. Voters in Wisconsin support voter ID, and our administration will continue to work to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat," Walker said in a statement.The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, which said it was considering its options on what to do next."The decision by the Seventh Circuit panel guarantees the disenfranchisement of vulnerable Wisconsin citizens in November," said a statement from Larry Dupuis, legal director of the ACLU of Wisconsin.Parts of the voter ID law have been struck down by a different judge as well, complicating the effect of Wednesday's ruling.Last month, U.S. District Court Judge James Peterson invalidated numerous election laws that Republicans have passed in recent years, including parts of the voter ID law, limits on early voting and prohibitions on allowing people to vote early at multiple sites.The portion of his ruling on voter ID is narrower than Adelman's. Peterson's ruling created a way for people who have the most difficulty getting IDs to vote, but did not apply to as broad of a group of people as Adelman's decision did.The decision by Peterson, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2014, has also been appealed.The plaintiffs who brought the two lawsuits are trying to get both cases before the full appeals court, instead of having them heard and decided initially by three-judge panels.The full court split 5-5 in 2014 on whether to strike down Wisconsin's voter ID law. Since then, one judge has retired, leaving a 5-4 majority that has expressed skepticism of the Badger State's voter ID law.
A Lewiston-based health insurance co-op is suing the federal government, claiming it is owed $22.9 million to offset losses it suffered in 2015.Community Health Options made money in 2014, the year it began operations, but reported a loss of $31 million in 2015 and has set aside $43 million in reserves for potential losses this year. The nonprofit cooperative is designed to provide consumers with insurance coverage options under the Affordable Care Act. It operates primarily in Maine, although some of its 80,000 customers are in New Hampshire.The suit alleges that the federal government owes the co-op money under the temporary "risk corridors" program, which is designed to help insurers manage costs, profits and losses for the first few years of the ACA. Insurers that have lower-than-expected costs pay a portion of their profits into the program, while insurers that experience higher-than-anticipated costs receive payments to help offset their losses.CHO paid $2 million into the risk corridor program in 2014, when it had a profit of $7 million, but it has received nothing under the program for the costs it incurred in 2015, said Kevin Lewis, chief executive officer of the cooperative. The $22.9 million it is seeking is based on its 2015 losses, not what it contributed to the risk corridors program in 2014.Other insurers also have sued the federal Department of Health and Human Services over the risk corridors program, claiming they are owed money for higher costs. Lewis said CHO feels it needs to protect its interests, and it filed suit Monday in federal court."We at Health Options have followed the law and helped expand the Maine and New Hampshire markets and make them leaders in terms of individual coverage through the marketplace," Lewis said in a statement. "It's important for the government to make good on its payment obligations."At least five other insurers have sued the federal government over the risk corridor payments. The largest was filed in May by Highmark, a Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliate in Pittsburgh, which said it is owed at least $223 million under the program.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the health insurance program for the DHHS, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Previously, it has argued that the risk corridors program is intended to be budget-neutral, with payouts being limited by the amount paid in, without additional federal funds being used. If payments into the program are reduced, the agency has said, payouts also will be reduced."They will argue that it's budget-neutral, but there's no basis for them doing so," Lewis said Wednesday, saying the law doesn't support that contention.Emily Brostek, the executive director of Maine-based Consumers for Affordable Health Care, said the risk corridors program is key to helping insurers make the transition to the ACA and it's particularly important for maintaining the financial viability of the co-ops."The co-ops are intended to provide people with other options, and we've seen in Maine how much people want that option," she said.CHO was the only cooperative formed after the health insurance law went into effect to turn a profit in 2014 -- in fact, half of the nearly two dozen that were set up went out of business. But after signing up more customers, CHO's finances went downhill in 2015. The losses gathered momentum, particularly during the latter half of last year, after customers met out-of-pocket limits and CHO was forced to pick up more of its customers' health care costs.CHO was ordered to stop taking on new individual coverage customers in late 2015 and the Maine Bureau of Insurance sought to put the co-op into receivership in order to cut thousands of customers from its rolls as a way to control costs. CMS blocked that move, saying that a key component of the ACA is a guarantee that customers' policies can be renewed.The bureau has had the company under enhanced scrutiny this year, requiring monthly updates on CHO's finances. The bureau has found that the co-op's losses have grown in recent months, but the year-to-date results are in line with the financial plan that CHO filed with the bureau.The next update, a report on quarterly results for the April-June period, is expected to be filed in the next few days.Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:[email protected]___(c)2016 the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)
If youve ever heard Glenn Harris explain racial equity in government, youve probably heard him talk about streetlights in Seattle.Harris used to work on race and social justice issues in the Seattle mayors office. In 2008, fatal shootings of five black men prompted then-Mayor Greg Nickels to tour the Southeast neighborhood where they occurred. Though Seattle is mostly white, this part of the city had the most diverse census tract in the country. The majority of residents were people of color; almost half were refugees; and more than half lived below the poverty line.On his tour, Nickels noticed that a lot of streetlights had gone permanently dark. The neighborhood had 80 burnt-out streetlights, many more than other areas of the city. Why is that? he asked. The answer: It was up to residents to report nonworking streetlights, and few did.That's because people in Southeast Seattle tended to avoid interacting with government whenever possible. Residents were less likely to trust government and, in some cases, they didnt speak enough English to explain their concerns to city officials. As a result, they didn't report burnt-out streetlights.When utility employees presented this problem to Nickels, they also had a solution: Instead of waiting for complaints, they would now note each bulbs life expectancy and replace them when necessary. The change benefited the entire city. Not only did residents in Southeast Seattle get better lighting, but customer satisfaction improved in whiter, more affluent neighborhoods because they no longer had to call to complain.Its a great example of when you come up with systems that work better for the most vulnerable, said Harris, you come up with systems that work better for everyone.Cities across the country can learn from Seattles streetlight experience, which is why Harris' organization, the Center for Social Inclusion, is trying to make racial equity a priority for local governments. Harris is helping them reevaluate their policies and practices to see which ones may unintentionally and disproportionately harm minorities.Were not talking about explicit acts of bigotry. You can have wonderful people in an institution, and the institution is still perpetuating inequities," said Julie Nelson, who directs the center's Government Alliance on Race and Equity.Local governments have had a history of intentional discrimination, from school segregation to redlining , but the alliance focuses on actions that appear race-neutral yet still result in a disparate impact.In St. Paul, Minn., one of the alliances first member cities, every agency has a one-year action plan with specific goals to address racial inequity. The city's public libraries, for example, recently stopped asking people for a library card or state license to use the computers. That's because the staff realized that most of the people turned away were black or under 18.The alliance has a network of more than 50 cities that have committed to eliminating racial disparities in government. It's been around for a few years but received much more interest after the death of Michael Brown Jr., in Ferguson, Mo., sparked a nationwide discussion about institutional racism.A post-mortem report on the city of Ferguson and the St. Louis region found gaps between black and white neighborhoods in life expectancy, income, education and health care."We are not pointing fingers and calling individual people racist," the report's authors explained . "We are not even suggesting that institutions or existing systems intend to be racist. What we are pointing out is that the data suggests, time and again, that our institutions and existing systems are not equal, and that this has racial repercussions."After the Ferguson report, many more cities have requested to join the alliance, and in May, the Living Cities foundation announced that it would support its work in five more cities: Albuquerque, N.M.; Austin, Texas; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Louisville, Ky.; and Philadelphia.Cities that partner with the alliance get technical assistance on how to not only change current discriminatory practices but prevent future ones. One way they do this is by using data and community outreach to assess the social costs of a proposed policy. The end result would look like an environmental or fiscal impact statement. Several jurisdictions, including Seattle; Multnomah County, Ore.; and Madison, Wis.; have done this for years.In Seattle, the reform around streetlights led the city to examine the racial impact of other complaint-based systems. It has since changed how it replaces potholes, scrubs graffiti and deploys police officers. The police department used to place patrol officers in areas with lots of 911 calls. But that meant that just as many police patrolled the University of Washington area, where most calls were noise complaints, as in Southeast Seattle, where most calls were to report violent crimes. Now the department uses other criteria, such as the seriousness and frequency of crime in a neighborhood, in deploying officers.As cities work toward racial equity policymaking, Nelson stresses that it will take a long time to undo the harm created by centuries of government-instituted discrimination.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is nearing the end of his two terms in office. As a Democrat, he's had to work with a Republican-led legislature that holds a veto-proof majority. This has resulted in legislative sessions filled with a record number of vetoes and overrides of those vetoes. For example, the governor recently rejected a bill that would make Missouri a voter ID state, but lawmakers are vowing to override it in September.s Louis Jacobson caught up with him at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last month to ask about what hes learned as governor and what he thinks about the health of the Democratic Party.The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.After I was re-elected, I spent some time reading the biographies of the 54 [Missouri] governors who preceded me. From reading those, it really struck me that sometimes you make history, and sometimes history makes you. Who would have thought in 2011 that Id have spent 350 of the 365 days in a year running the state emergency management operations for tornadoes, floods and snowstorms? The lesson is that you can control some things, and other things come at you. So having a team around you thats agile, that continues to move forward even when a lot of the energy in a room is being taken up by external things, is really important.Well, the legislative leadership changes a lot. Weve had four House speakers, three Senate presidents pro tem, three House minority leaders and two minority leaders in the Senate. I will say as I go out after eight years that I could invite any of them to my house, and I think what theyd say behind my back is the same as what theyd say to my face.Weve gotten a lot done. Weve fixed our pension system. On the mental health side, weve taken some dramatic steps forward, working together to rebuild a state mental hospital, creating a mental health liaison and getting treatment to thousands of people who didnt have it. Weve gotten our budget done on time and maintained the highest credit rating of any state in the country.You see Illinois, which doesnt have a budget for two years , and you see Kansas, which cant even fund its budget, then you see us passing our budget early and getting it done. Its not easy, and it requires a tremendous amount of time, energy and effort, but we worked it out.Ethics and campaign finance. Were still a state with no limits on gifts and contributions. It skews the system when you can write million-dollar checks or you can take a $1,000 trip from somebody without any controls. I think it leads to cynicism for the public. So thats frustrating to me.We are also a state that wasnt able to get Medicaid expansion passed. But that didnt stop us from getting 100,000 more people signed up for Medicaid, especially kids.Absolutely. Its been difficult for the country. It was the first of what became kind of a cavalcade of issues rising up. I will tell you that in Missouri weve listened, learned and I think were doing better. These are not easy issues to work with, but we passed municipal court reform , weve changed how we train police officers, weve helped our police officers by giving them some additional tools, weve worked hard to put kids to work in those communities  our summer jobs league has been highly successful. So these are difficult, long-term issues. But instead of sticking our heads in the sand, Missourians are working to come closer and try to understand these difficult, vexing issues.I think people are listening to each other more. But we should not kid ourselves. These are deep, long-term issues that will take a while to get through.President Obama lost Missouri by 4,000 votes in 2008. Frankly, I think if all the provisional ballots had been counted, he would have won. Bill Clinton carried Missouri twice. I have carried it with very large numbers. And last cycle, we elected a Democratic secretary of state. I think theres clearly still a path forward.Im not sure if they think they can win. I do think that Donald Trump has reached his high-water mark. I think once the conventions are over and people realize this is real -- that we just cannot have someone saying and doing the things hes saying and doing and be the president of the United States -- theyll vote differently. I have a deep respect for voters, and as they approach the fall, and when they understand the seriousness of whats going on, theyre going to continue to move toward Secretary Clinton and Sen. Tim Kaine. I think that will happen in other states, and I hope the same thing will happen in Missouri.I think we spend a lot of time working the nuances of Missouri politics. It takes time to understand that Joplin isnt Springfield, even though theyre 60 miles apart. And that if you go to the Kansas City area, you have to get up to St. Joseph, too. Democratic candidates are adopting the model Ive followed since 1992: competing in every county, going to every county and not approaching issues in a partisan way.When I was elected governor, we had Democratic governors in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois. Its a little lonelier now, but the winds blow both ways. What concerns me most is that were missing a voice from the Heartland. Thats so necessary at the state level to balance the scales and to make sure working people are supported, that public education is fought for as a value and not as a political decision, that agriculture is an important part of the U.S. economy and the international economy. Those are issues that I think, as a Democrat, I and others are uniquely capable of articulating. The voice is more important than the politics. Illinois is eventually going to get a Democratic governor, and so will Iowa. But that Midwestern voice on the Democratic side is really important to balance the national discussion.I dont spend a lot of time being overly analytical on the political side, but you dont have to look at the map very long to see that at the national level, theres a path to the White House through the coasts. Thats the pattern thats developed, and it has been successful. But I dont know that its the best long-term way to bring people together in America.Issues like guns. I hunt. I shoot. I have guns. My sons shoot and hunt. On the other hand, I think we ought to have safety. I think we ought to have background checks. I think we ought to continue having sheriffs issuing concealed-carry permits. If people have concealed-carry permits, they ought to get training for them. So Ive been one of those moderate voices. But at the national level, it just seems that it gets simplistic on that issue.Taxes, too. I think Ive been very conservative by cutting taxes and making the necessary cuts in government to balance it. I dont think people elect you to office to take money out of their pocket. But again, at the national level, it sometimes feels like theres a caricature of the Democratic side.I have an opportunity to graduate from 30 years of public service. Theres great business opportunities, law opportunities, continued public service. If asked, there are certainly things I could do.Look, only three other people have had two consecutive terms in Missouri history since 1821. I'm going to finish. I'm going to work as hard in the last 100 days as I did in the first 100 days.I dont have a great deal of interest in running for a U.S. Senate seat. I dont think its an office thats highly functional right now, especially after having been governor. I had my time in the state Senate, I served in all three branches of government, and when Im done, Ill have appointed 150 judges.Im looking forward to getting my First Amendment rights back. These days in public office, youre so limited in the words you can use. Politicians catch themselves all the time when theyre getting ready to say something thats really quotable or interesting. You have strong opinions youve earned over 30 years, and mine will be heard.
On Tuesday, in the afternoon, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC received Mr Dave Stewart and Ms Filly Morgan, Department of Premier and Cabinet.

In the evening, in Hamilton, Brisbane, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey attended dinner hosted by Mr Hidehiro Hosaka, Consul-General of Japan in Brisbane, and Ms Kumiko Hosaka.
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GIS - 11 August, 2016: Government has the deep conviction that a decent shelter is the next most important lever to lift families out of poverty, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Jugnauth underlined in his 2016-2017 Budget, speech regarding the housing policy. Government has the deep conviction that a decent shelter is the next most important lever to lift families out of poverty, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Jugnauth underlined in his 2016-2017 Budget, speech regarding the housing policy.

In this context, he announced the launching of a programme of decent shelters for the absolute poor under the Marshall Plan, which comprise the construction of at least 800 housing units over the next three years. Measures concerning low income families include Rs 1 billion for the construction and completion of 1,900 units of up to 50 m2 each on 16 sites across the island; and Rs 155 million for the rehabilitation programme of National Housing Development Company Ltd (NHDC) housing estates.

The monthly income limit for eligibility under the NHDC social housing scheme will be raised from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. Families who own a house on municipal land and could not avail of the opportunity given to purchase the land will be able to buy it at a nominal cost of Rs 2,000.

In view of protecting families from the tough and traumatising Sale by Levy experience, all arrears of interest on loans contracted from the NHDC and the Mauritius Housing Company Ltd, are being waived, provided the capital amount outstanding is duly repaid. This measure applies to families with a household income not exceeding Rs 15,000

Supporting families to acquire their residence

The Finance Minister also elaborated on measures reflecting Governments commitment to support families in their efforts to invest in constructing and acquiring their residence.

The following conditions apply:

A Mauritian citizen acquiring a new house or a new apartment during the period 1 September 2016 to 30 June 2020 for an amount not exceeding Rs 6 million will be eligible to full exemption from registration duty. There will be no age restriction.

A first time buyer will now be allowed to buy bare residential land free of registration duty, on the first Rs 2 million, provided the acreage does not exceed 20 perches.

No age restriction and a person who did not own a residential property as at 29 July 2016 will also qualify for the above initiative.

The VAT refund scheme regarding the construction of a new dwelling or acquisition of a newly built apartment is being revamped. Henceforth, the Mauritius Revenue Authority will refund VAT up to a cap of Rs 500,000 instead of the current Rs 300,000.

Under the VAT refund scheme relating to the construction of a new dwelling or acquisition of a newly built apartment, the maximum floor area eligibility criteria is being removed; the household income eligibility is being increased more than three-fold to Rs 2 million per annum; extension of the eligibility to construction on top of an existing building; the scheme is being extended to 2020; and the upper limit of Rs 2.5 million in relation to the construction value is being raised to Rs 4 million.

Promoters, will be allowed to build and sell residential units of up to Rs 6 million, free of land transfer tax, instead of Rs 4 million currently. The scheme is being extended to 2020.

Furthermore, no registration duty will be payable on a secured housing loan not exceeding Rs 2 million, instead of the current threshold of Rs 1 million.

Presently, a first-time home-owner is allowed to deduct from his taxable income, the interests paid on a secured housing loan that was contracted on or after 1 July 2006. As from the income year 2016/17, this date restriction is removed.
11 August 2016

: The Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Mrs Marie-Joyce Perraud, reiterated Governments commitment to combat gender-based violence. She was speaking at the launching of a training programme on the Victim Empowerment and Abuser Rehabilitation Policy for officers of the Human Resource Cadre from the manufacturing sector, this morning in Bagatelle.

Gender-based violence is a national concern that ranks high on Governments agenda and great efforts are being deployed to address the issue, said Mrs Perraud. Measures being implemented comprise, among others, the setting up of the National Coalition against Domestic Violence Committee under the aegis of the Prime Ministers Office to delineate the action of all stakeholders involved in combatting gender-based violence; adoption of the new Protection from Domestic Violence Act to afford better protection to victims of domestic violence; and the setting up of a command centre for domestic violence that will act as a one-stop department for all issues pertaining to domestic violence including support to all members of family.

The Minister regretted that gender-based violence is corroding the elements of societys foundation and needs to be addressed by all adding that Government, private and public sectors, and civil society have a role to play in preventing domestic violence from ruining and dooming families.

Referring to the negative impact that gender-based violence has on the health, dignity, and security of an individual resulting in loss of productivity at the workplace, Mrs Perraud outlined the significant responsibilities of the human resource cadre, in the public or the private sector, to promote a healthy working environment. According to the Minister, the training programme on the Victim Empowerment and Abuser Rehabilitation Policy will empower human resource officers to detect the various signs and symptoms of gender-based violence among the staff, and channel potential and existing victims and perpetrators to appropriate support services.

The Victim Empowerment and Abuser Rehabilitation Policy is a training programme targeting the human resource cadres of both the private and public sectors. It is one of the pillars of the National Costed Action Plan launched in 2012 that aims to enlist the support of various partners and stakeholders in fighting gender-based violence. The objectives of the training programme are to provide to stakeholders the appropriate tools to assist effectively both abusers and victims to end the vicious cycle of domestic violence; to harness collective efforts in eliminating gender-based violence, and to contribute and set guidelines for both the public and private sectors in establishing workplace initiatives to fight gender-based violence.
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GIS - 11 August 2016: The Ambassador designate of the Republic of Korea to Mauritius, Mr Kwon Young-Dae, expressed the interest of his country to share with Mauritius the Korean experience and expertise with regard to e-Government. The Ambassador designate of the Republic of Korea to Mauritius, Mr Kwon Young-Dae, expressed the interest of his country to share with Mauritius the Korean experience and expertise with regard to e-Government.

Mr Kwon who was speaking this morning following a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis said that he will have further discussions with the Mauritian side for the provision of technical assistance in e-Government given that Korea is one of the world leaders in this field.

Other topics raised during the courtesy call relate to the strengthening of economic ties between the two countries in the fields of trade and investment; tourism; capacity building as well as cultural exchanges.
(TNS) -- Contractors for the California High-Speed Rail Authority have started widening the shoulders of Highway 180 north of downtown Fresno, preparing to detour traffic for the eventual excavation of a trench that will carry the high-speed train tracks under the freeway.In the meantime, a few miles north, work by the state Department of Transportation to relocate a 2-mile stretch of Highway 99 to make room for high-speed trains is going to cost about $35 million more than originally estimated.The trench and the highway relocation are major components of the first 32-mile construction segment of the rail authoritys proposed bullet-train system to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles by way of Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley. Work on the project has been delayed by a number of factors since the first contracts were awarded three years ago, principally the slow pace of right-of-way acquisition for construction.When its completed in about 18 to 24 months, the Fresno Trench will span nearly 1 3/4 miles from Roeding Park to Stanislaus Street . At the deepest point, the high-speed rail tracks will be about 40 feet below the surface of the ground  deep enough to go beneath the highway as well as under a nearby freight railroad spur and irrigation canal.Hugo Mejia, the rail authoritys construction manager in the Fresno-Madera area, said the installation of the trench under the freeway  its not long enough to be called a tunnel, he said  is expected to cost about $4 million, including the expenses of diverting traffic onto temporary detour lanes during the construction. The authority and its prime contractor, Tutor Perini / Zachry / Parsons , hope to receive approval from the Union Pacific Railroad in about 45 days for excavation and construction plans to burrow beneath the rail spur. Caltrans has already signed off on the trench under the highway.Once crews are done widening and paving the shoulders of Highway 180, traffic will be diverted in stages as excavation takes place below. Caltrans requires us to have three lanes of traffic open in each direction at all times, said Tyler Bradford, a construction engineer with Tutor Perini / Zachry / Parsons.The Tutor Perini group was awarded a contract of about $1 billion for the Fresno-Madera construction segment in mid-2013. It was the first of three contracts that have been awarded, totaling nearly $3 billion, to build about 119 miles of the rail line from Madera to north of Bakersfield.A separate contract was awarded earlier in 2013 for Caltrans to handle the relocation of Highway 99 . At that time, the two state agencies agreed on a price of $225.9 million for shoving the highway lanes west by about 100 feet between Ashlan and Clinton avenues through central Fresno and rebuilding several overpasses and interchanges.Three years on, its going to cost an extra $35 million for the state Department of Transportation to fulfill its obligations. And changes to the contract are expected to push the schedule from its original completion deadline of June 2018 to December 2018.In that 2-mile stretch, the freeway runs right along the Union Pacific Railroad right of way. Nudging the freeway over will allow room to shoehorn the planned high-speed rail line between Highway 99 and the Union Pacific tracks.Representatives for Caltrans and the rail authority both said changing circumstances helped push costs higher for the highway relocation.As the project advanced, we have gained additional information resulting in an increase of $35 million for construction, said Lisa Marie Alley, a spokeswoman for the rail authority. Alley said the higher cost has been accounted for in the agencys 2016 business plan and is not expected to affect the authoritys overall construction schedule or budget for the project in the Valley.Matt Rocco, a Caltrans spokesman, said the original budget dates to late 2012. The project scope has been fairly refined since then. Factors that contributed to the change include design modifications to minimize right-of-way impacts and underground utility conflicts, Rocco said.The actual shortfall is closer to $50 million, Rocco added. But he said Caltrans anticipates finding about $15 million in cost savings by fine-tuning the scope of the project through such items as using asphalt vs. concrete, looking at aesthetics, etc.Caltrans also experienced difficulty in acquiring the property it needs for the work, Rocco said. The agency needed to buy more than 40 pieces of land, and now has secured all but seven. A report to the rail authoritys board on Tuesday noted that parcel acquisition for the Highway 99 project is lagging due to eminent domain proceedings on multiple parcels and the significant lead time in the court system to obtain an order of possession. The state had to resort to eminent domain, or condemnation, to acquire seven of the 42 parcels required when it could not negotiate purchase agreements with those owners.Contractors for Caltrans have been working on associated parts of the project, including rebuilding the Clinton Avenue exit that carries drivers coming from southbound Highway 99 to an underpass onto Golden State Boulevard.
Local governments will spend in excess of $50 billion this year on information technology. More than half of that money will go toward maintaining outdated and ineffective computer systems. As cities approach the inevitable task of replacing and updating them, James Keene has one piece of advice: Decentralize.Several months ago, Keene, the city manager of Palo Alto, Calif., co-wrote an article published by the Brookings Institution that criticized local governments traditional mindset about IT. He and Palo Alto CIO Jonathan Reichental listed five deep-seated problems with government technology and their suggestions for fixing those glaring weaknesses.Its pretty unusual for a top appointed local official -- whos not in IT -- to go on the record about whats wrong with governments approach to it. But Keene, who has spent years working in the public sector, including stints as city manager for Berkeley, Calif., and Tucson, Ariz., admits that being in the heart of Silicon Valley has had an impact on his views. For one thing, he says, its been easier to try out new technologies.That experience has led him to the conclusion that its no longer practical to have a centralized IT operation, where city governments design and build large-scale computer programs that can take years to implement, are rarely delivered on time and are often over budget. Instead, Keene wants cities to break up big technology projects into more manageable pieces that can be built more quickly, an idea called agile development that is already a growing trend in public sector IT. Keene also wants cities to rely less on expensive hardware and take advantage of cloud computing. Were moving everything we can into the cloud, he says. Its absurd to keep maintaining all those server farms.What Keene is essentially advocating for is a more collaborative approach to how localities decide what technology they should use in improving services. That starts, he says, with open data. Palo Alto has an open data by default policy that has made vast amounts of city data publicly available. It has fostered partnerships with coders and startup companies, and led to the creation of new tech tools that can be replicated elsewhere.Keenes views are a reaction against a culture that he sees as too rooted in a rigid, top-down approach to building IT systems by a select group of vendors. By opening things up, he says, more ideas and solutions will bubble up that can be built with less risk and at a lower cost.Another part of the Silicon Valley ethos that has influenced Keene is Stanford Universitys interdisciplinary approach to learning as a model for acquiring knowledge. Rather than rely on state or federal government for help, Keene has reached out to local governments around the world to exchange ideas on new IT tools and strategies. Later this year, the city will meet with officials from Heidelberg, Germany, and Enschede in the Netherlands to discuss smart city strategies. Forget federalism, Keene says. Cross-fertilization of ideas between cities is important today. When you network with other cities around the world, you get better ideas on how to use technology.Keenes biggest goal is to use digital tools, such as social media networks, to create a more up-to-date form of civic engagement to solve city problems. The days of vending machine government where citizens are dependent on city hall to dispense whatever they need are over, he says.
(TNS) -- It seems a simple enough proposition: Would you agree to receive marketing pitches in return for a discount on your high-speed internet service?Telecom heavyweight Comcast made just such a case last week in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission. The company defended what it called a bargained-for exchange of information for service, which it said is a perfectly acceptable and widely used model throughout the U.S. economy.And thats true. You can spend less on a Kindle e-reader from Amazon if you agree to see special offers when you turn on the device. Your free use of online search engines, email and other services is subsidized in part by an acceptance of marketers peeking at your browsing habits.But privacy advocates are starting to worry about a society of privacy haves and have-nots. That is, keeping ones personal info under wraps or avoiding incessant intrusions from advertisers would be a privilege enjoyed only by those who can afford it.They cite the example of AT&Ts super-fast GigaPower broadband service, which is being gradually rolled out nationwide. GigaPower costs $70 a month if you agree to let AT&T and its marketing pals look over your shoulder as you traverse the Web. If not, the monthly cost is $100.There should be a baseline level of privacy protection for everyone in this country, said Dallas Harris, a policy fellow at the digital-rights group Public Knowledge. No one should have to give up privacy just because they cant afford it.The FCC is considering sweeping rules governing internet privacy. Service providers would be blocked from sharing customers personal information without prior consent, and would be required to disclose in plain English what information they collect and how it may be used.The FCCs proposed rules stop short of preventing two-tier pricing such as for AT&Ts Gigapower, also known as pay for privacy. But FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler suggested last week that the door still may be open for tightening the regulatory screws.I would hope that privacy doesnt become a luxury item, he said.In its filing, Comcast argued that doing away with pay-for-privacy discounts would harm consumers by, among other things, depriving them of lower-priced offerings.Sena Fitzmaurice, a Comcast spokeswoman, told me the FCCs proposed requirement that customers give advance permission for their data to be shared  an opt-in as opposed to the current opt-out  would put Comcast at a disadvantage. A pay-for-privacy arrangement, apparently, would remedy that by creating an opportunity for increased revenue.The FCCs extreme and unprecedented opt-in proposal  requires us to consider how to create additional choices that would allow us to compete in this ecosystem and benefit customers, Fitzmaurice said.A spokesman for Charter Communications, owner of Time Warner Cable, declined to comment. No one at AT&T and Verizon got back to me.Privacy advocates say that pay-for-privacy doesnt create additional choices for consumers. It denies some people a basic right.This is especially the case when it comes to lower-income consumers, said Harris at Public Knowledge. Many cant afford to pay an extra $20 or $30 per month to protect their privacy.Lee Tien, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said another problem with pay-for-privacy is that it relies heavily on the honor system.Even if you pay extra for privacy, you cant know what theyre actually doing, he said. You cant know if theyre still using your information for some kind of marketing purpose. Its very difficult to know if youre getting what you paid for.Im conflicted. I agree with those who say all consumers are entitled to privacy. On the other hand, I was happy to pay less for a Kindle with special offers. I accept that increasingly intrusive ads are the price I pay to splash in the digital wading pools that are Facebook and Twitter.Chris Hoofnagle, an internet law professor at UC Berkeley, said Comcasts filing last week should serve as a reminder that the broadband internet industry is different. These companies arent selling a luxury. Theyre selling a necessity.What Comcast is saying is somewhat akin to the water authority offering a discount for less purified water, Hoofnagle said. It is time to conceive of broadband as a utility, one that needs to satisfy basic standards for quality, which include freedom from unwarranted surveillance.This seems like the right approach. Treated as utilities, broadband service providers would be entitled to a fair and reasonable profit, accommodating industry growth and innovation. But they wouldnt be able to gouge or exploit consumers.If, as Comcast says, this is all about providing additional choices, this would do it. All customers would be guaranteed a basic level of privacy protection. But those open to having their data shared would be able to receive a meaningful discount. In other words, privacy wouldnt come at a premium. Marketers would be paying you for the privilege of accessing your personal info.There shouldnt be different rules for different people depending on who you are, said Kim Keenan, president of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and internet Council, an advocacy group. Privacy is privacy.
A question for state and local government officials: are you operating under the assumption that addressing cybersecurity concerns is above your pay grade? That it is more of a federal problem that needs to be addressed by one of the three-letter agencies like the FBI or CIA? Well its time to think again.Granted, federal agencies must deal with the looming threat of cyber warfare, espionage and hackers that go after high-visibility targets. But while federal networks may represent a more lucrative score for cybercriminals, that doesnt mean they wouldnt be just as happy to break into yours too. And because so much emphasis is placed on the security of federal networks, your networks are likely to be an easier hack.And thats just the beginning. Once a hacker gains access to a device linked to your network, the individual can potentially use that portal to get entry into any other device that has been linked to the network. You might very well be making your entire city or state vulnerable.If that isnt enough to convince you that bolstering network security in your local or state departments cannot wait, take the following examples as cautionary tales.In late 2015, hackers took down the Indiana County government website, replacing the landing page with a profanity-laced message and rendered every page on the site inaccessible except for onea redirect page that would divert traffic to a remote site that still bore the URL of the Indiana government page. Users could supposedly access the page if they entered a username and password, which likely would have opened up individuals to attacks themselves.In a continued string of attacks that went unnoticed for over a year, seven members of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard sought to gain remote acces s to the controls of a small dam in upstate New York. Local authorities, thinking themselves below the interests of geopolitical actors, were stunned to hear of the attacks. Fortunately, the dams network was offline for maintenance, but had the attack succeeded, the cybercriminals could have opened the floodgates and caused millions in damages to unsuspecting homeowners in nearby neighborhoods.The hacking group Anonymous gained access to 70 local law enforcement computer networks in the summer of 2011 as a response to agents attempting to root out members of the ring. The hackers defaced the websites of the agencies, released private data on officers, email addresses as well as privileged information on current cases.Despite the malevolent aims of these attacks, perhaps the greater risk with cyberattacks is that they are designed to enable an even greater degree of assault. Once a hacker gains access to one system, they can spread their roots to infect more devices, derive more information and expand their operations.Local and national governments require highly-secure communications. This is particularly true for military bases and national security agencies. Cox Business supports your regulatory compliance needs with our MEF-certified Metro Ethernet solutions. And we stand behind our networks with stringent security safeguards and 24/7 monitoring. Keep sensitive data safe. See Cox Business solutions for Continuity and Security here
High-tech crime fighting

Really good results

(TNS) -- The hunt was on this week for a suspected thief in Columbus, Ga.s Historic District, where thanks to security-camera footage and social media, everyone knew what he looked like.Please call 911 if you see this person . Inform the 911 dispatcher that you have spotted an individual that looks like the person who has been breaking into neighbors backyards and stealing property, read a posting to the Facebook page Historic District Neighborhood Watch, which included video of the man in a black Atlanta Falcons T-shirt prowling through a backyard and peering into a home.Surveillance cameras recorded him in a residents backyard at Second Avenue and Eighth Street at 4:10 a.m. on Aug. 2 and again at 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 4. At 2:30 a.m. Friday, he was on a porch at Fifth Street and Front Avenue, where police questioned him but had no reason to detain him because they didnt know about the camera footage.By comparing still photos and videos from various security cameras, neighbors decided the same guy was in all of them.Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, police arrested a suspect, who they say admitted to some of the thefts.Investigators were aided by the security-camera footage neighbors collected and shared, said police Sgt. Thomas Hill: It did aid in getting the individual identified.This is the new era of neighborhood crime prevention, with images and immediate notifications, a significant upgrade from the old days of word-of-mouth warnings and community meetings.Its made it so much easier, said Randy Brown, who just this summer retired as a Columbus police corporal after working 17 years in the departments crime prevention unit, meeting with residents to organize and maintain Neighborhood Watch associations.When he started that job in the late 1990s, the technology was primitive by todays standards, and social media meant nothing.Back then neighbors shared information by telephone or face-to-face meetings. Each Neighborhood Watch group had block captains whose responsibilities included informing the neighbors on his block of any crime trends.Eventually email became the notification system, as dozens of residents could get the same message. Now more watch associations are taking to social media sites like Nextdoor and Facebook.That wasnt a trend police had to facilitate, Brown said: They just took to it on their own.Because a designated administrator can decide who has access to such sites, residents dont feel they risk their privacy by joining, he said: They feel more secure now.Now installing home security cameras is a trend, and neighbors are using the websites to share their recordings. I saw the increase over the last couple of years, said Brown, who retired June 30. Hes now a reserve sheriffs deputy.Police Maj. Gil Slouchick, who heads the departments investigative bureau, said the increasing use of such cameras has been a significant aid to investigators: We get some really, really good results with them.When police have a suspects image, they can distribute it through the news media to ask the publics help identifying the person.On several occasions, weve had family members turn suspects in, he said. That includes parents turning in their children, he said. Their motivations may vary: Some may be embarrassed; some may want some control over how their children are arrested, offering to bring them to the police.It makes the circumstances of the arrest less confrontational, Slouchick said.Some just want their children to straighten up, he said: There are parents who just want their kids to do right.When victims have video of someone committing a crime, thats sufficient probable cause for arrest, the major said. If the suspect can be identified, police can obtain warrants.But the image needs to capture suspicious conduct, he warned: Dont take a picture of someone just walking down the street.He cautioned also that police cant act on crimes that have not been reported to them. Sometimes neighbors share their security recordings among themselves, but dont notify the authorities.If you have a theft, report it, he said. Its rarely an isolated incident, he noted  usually a neighborhood has a rash.Brown emphasized that, too: Neighborhood crime fluctuates, and when its up in a specific area, that means multiple cases, not just one or two. Thieves typically hit as many victims as they can as quickly as they can, then move on to somewhere else.Every victim needs to make a police report, so officers have the information they need to make arrests. Detectives now are more attune to crime trends through mapping and computer analysis, but the public has to provide the data.If you dont give me a dot, I cant connect that to the other dots, Slouchick said.He also advised residents to learn how to operate their own security equipment, and to keep it clean and in good repair. Some install it without knowing how to retrieve recordings, and some never go back to clean it, leaving camera lenses to be smeared by debris during bad weather.
Recently, a white native pastor from the Asian, African and Latin American region, who engages in the global disciplemaking ministry, stated that there are many problems in the Western church, sharing its features and analyzing the reason why it declines in a pastoral session.



First, he talks about the pattern of the Western church, describing it with a drawing:



He said that God is calling Christians all over the world. In the drawing, the house represents a church where we find Christians; but most of the time, they're waiting for the preaching to delivered by pastors.



They go and build churches with all-side walls and a tall spire, but he feels that the Western church resembles this: the Christians hope that pastors feed them with spiritual food with the expectation that pastors must supply every believer with spiritual bread.



Then, they receive information one or the other in the church. But the church is smaller, then what is the reason why remains despite the decline? He continues that because the Lord Jesus Christ said that go and make disciples of all nations.



He gives another drawing and explains that the circle refers to the world and the church is in the world, warning the Christians not to face each other, but to face the world.

They should pray for the world and they receive teachings that should be passed to the world. They receive the Holy Spirit and the Spirit passes the message of God to the world, so they could reach people unsaved.



"When you go and make disciples, the church grows." He concludes.
When most of us think of mobile homes, we don't think of high-end features, gazebos, and a deck featuring a stunning ocean view. We also don't think of them being worth $5.3 million.

Welcome to Malibu, where upper-end mobile homes can be built out like luxury beachfront homes of traditional construction while offering the same outstanding views of the coastline. One such mobile home recently sold for $5.3 million. The home features four bedrooms and four bathrooms, along with amenities such as two gas fireplaces, hardwood floors, marble, wood shingles, skylights, and a viewing deck.

This mobile home comes with one other money-saving feature  a property tax bill of $29. How is this possible? Because technically it is still a mobile home, although there is virtually no chance that the home would be moved (or even could be moved after the extensive buildout). The $29 bill is not a property tax; it is a license fee  effectively a vehicle tax.

In California, mobile homes were at one time taxed as vehicles, meaning that owners were required to pay registration and license fees instead of a property tax. The law was changed in 1979 to apply property taxes instead of vehicle fees to mobile homes that were purchased new after July 1, 1980. However, buyers of older mobile homes, whether they are truly mobile or not, may elect to be subject only to the vehicle tax  and why on earth would anyone want to do otherwise?

The $5.3 million example is in the Paradise Cove Mobile Home Park in Malibu, where the mobile home park owner pays the property tax on the land. Since the mobile home was purchased new prior to 1980, it is still subject to only the vehicle tax of $29. The mobile home residents still have to pay the rental costs for their spot (typically $2,000 per month or above), but given a property tax should be just over 1.1% of value, the savings are still enormous.

California legislators are looking to close this loophole partially by giving county assessors the ability to convert these luxury mobile homes from the vehicle fee to property tax liability. A bill made it through the California State Senate in 2015 but was unable to pass through the State Assembly.

Had the bill passed, it would have only affected new construction, meaning that those who were trying to convert their existing mobile home by building foundations around the trailer portion could be converted involuntarily to property tax status. Resale of existing properties such as the $5.3 million mobile home would not be affected. Still, a bill limiting further expansion is a good first step.

You may not feel sorry for the residents of Malibu given the reputation, but not everyone in Malibu is wealthy. Under the current rules, nobody is paying property tax on these valuable homes, depriving the community of thousands of dollars of revenue that funds basic services.

Since even a partial closing of this tax loophole failed to get through the California legislature, it seems unlikely that the $5.3 million mobile home and similar luxury mobile homes will be subject to property tax anytime soon. In the meantime, the message is loud and clear to those who own mobile homes that are still subject to the vehicle fee: if you ever do intend to expand your mobile home to make it a luxury model, you had better do it soon before further expansions become prohibitively expensive.
Legislators from the Chippewa Valley have been meeting regularly with officials from the three largest public school districts in the area for several years.

Dubbed Breakfast with Our Legislators, Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire and Altoona schools have taken turns hosting the joint event.

Kathy Strecker, vice president of the Chippewa Falls School Board, attended her first this past February. It was a meeting she won't soon forget.

That morning at the Avalon Hotel & Conference Center in Chippewa Falls, state Rep. Kathy Bernier was angered when an Eau Claire School Board member compared Wisconsins economy unfavorably with Minnesotas, and the Lake Hallie Republican stood up and walked out of the session.

This vile political speech is not helpful, Bernier said before leaving, adding that at each of the meetings she heard the same thing: We want more money, we want more money and we dont like this or that.

Bernier's actions were widely criticized, but they appear to have sparked big changes in the way future meetings are held.

"That is precisely the reason the schools want to change the tone of it. I'm sure the legislators don't want an uncomfortable, confrontational gathering either," Strecker said Tuesday.

At a second planning session this week, the three districts revisited the purpose for the meetings and agreed to substantially change the format, striving to find areas of common ground where they can work together.

"It's sort of like calling a timeout on the playground and everybody regroups and works together," Strecker said.

"We're going to approach it entirely differently," she continued. "We should work together  be productive, cordial and come from the standpoint of how can we help you help us? What kind of things do you need from us?"

Chippewa Falls School Superintendent Dr. Heidi Eliopoulos, who with Strecker attended the planning session this week, said they were looking to emphasize a more collaborative approach.

"Bringing important challenges to the table, trying to offer 'win-win' solutions and determining how we as educators can help our legislators support education," she said.

The school leaders also indicated they will reduce the size of their own contingent, which in the past has greatly outnumbered the handful of legislators. According to Strecker, it also may have led the legislators to feel ganged up on by the large school group.

"I do think it's probably a better strategy than what we've tried in previous years," Amy Mason, Chippewa Falls school board president, said. "No one wants to attack our legislators when we get together, and maybe that's how they felt."

Bernier wasn't the only politician who believed at times the meetings devolved into partisan politics. State Sen. Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls, saw it too, but in the wake of that controversial meeting he pointed out he had taken away some good suggestions during the meetings with local school districts.

The only way that we as legislators can learn about some of the problems in education is by working with people on the ground, so (these sessions) can be a valuable thing," Moulton told The Herald in February. "But if its all about education and the kids, lets just make it about that and leave the politics out of it. We need to stop some of the rhetoric and work together.

Since Chippewa Falls played host to the last meeting, the next one falls to Altoona. But it likely won't happen until early 2017, until the dust settles on the November elections. A third planning session among schools is slated for next month.
GREENWICH  Greenwich High Schools Shobhita Sundaram and William Yin wont be advancing as global finalists in the Google Global Science Fair.

I am disappointed for my kids, who have poured their heart into their research, said GHS teacher Andrew Bramante, who taught both students in his independent honors science research course last school year. However, it is quite an honor for them to have been selected as regional finalists!

Sundaram, who will be a junior this fall, and Yin, who will be a senior, were chosen from among thousands of global entries as two of the 100 regional finalists from around the world in July. But in the final selection, announced Thursday, they werent chosen to go on.

It was a really good experience. I learned about how to present my research in the best way, said Sundaram. It kind of got me thinking about how to extend my research. Also, it is such a global competition that it kind of showed me the general scope of what is kind of out there. So far I was only exposed to what was out there in Connecticut.

Sundarams project in the Google science fair was a computer prediction model that allows researchers to predict the value and use of new cancer treatment drugs before actual testing. Her program has already verified the usefulness of current chemotherapy drugs.

Sundaram said she may continue working on her model by adding more information to its database to increase accuracy or make it more user friendly, but she is also interested in taking her research in a new direction.

I know I am really interested in the general field of applying machine learning to medicine, she said. I am kind of excited to try out some new things.

Yins project in the Google science fair was a bandage-like sensor that, when placed on the neck, could detect the build-up of arterial plaque in the body in as little as 30 minutes. The build-up of arterial plaque is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, which causes more deaths globally than other conditions, in part because of lack of early detection.

Yin developed a lost-cost sensor  $5  compared with other tests which can cost in the hundreds of dollars.

Yin said that not becoming a global finalist doesnt change the course of the research at all.

He is currently working on developing his sensor into a stand-alone prototype that could be bought at a pharmacy and used at home. He is also trying to get a patent on the sensor.

Both Sundaram and Yin will participate in Bramantes research course this coming school year and may develop new projects with which they could reapply to the science fair.

Two GHS students, Margaret Cirino and Olivia Hallisey, were selected as Google regional finalists in 2015. Hallisey went on to win the 2015 Google Science Fair Grand Prize for her project, a quick, inexpensive and accurate detection of the Ebola virus that does not require refrigeration.

emunson@hearstmediact.com; @emiliemunson
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GREENWICH - While the Greenwich Historical Society plans a major renovation of its own Strickland Road complex, home to the famed Cos Cob Art Colony of influential American impressionists, it is moving forward on another project  one to inform residents and visitors of the many significant places throughout town.

The Greenwich Preservation Network, an extension of the Historical Society, is making progress on its effort to erect informational markers at nine historic districts in Greenwich.

Many people drive or walk through historic districts in Greenwich without knowing they are there and why they were created, said Diane Fox, former town planner and chairman of the Preservation Network.

Each marker will state the districts name and provide a map and explanation of its historical importance.

We hope the stories associated with each neighborhood will inspire people to enjoy and protect these special places that make Greenwich unique, Fox said.

The first marker, for the Greenwich Municipal Center Historic District, was installed late last year at the intersection of Arch Street and Greenwich Avenue. It will soon be followed by two more, one on River Road in front of Beacon Point Marina denoting the Mead Avenue-River Road Historic District, and the other on William Street near Greenwich Hospital denoting the Fourth Ward Historic District.

The locations were choosing are both pedestrian and vehicle friendly, Fox said. The people who are walking in the heavily traveled areas will be able to read it.

More Information Greenwich Historic Districts 1. Municipal Center Historic District 2. Strickland Road Historic District 3. River Road-Mead Avenue Historic District 4. Greenwich Avenue Historic District 5. Fourth Ward Historic District 6. Round Hill Historic District 7. Stanwich Historic District 8. Glenville Historic District 9. Putnam Hill Historic District See More Collapse

They hope to have the signs up by December, Fox said.

The biggest reason keeping the network from putting all the signs up in one fell swoop is money, Fox said. The markers are being installed pro bono by Cornerstone Construction, she said. But the signs themselves are funded by private donations.

What we are really looking for is a sponsorship that runs around $3,000 per sign, Fox said. That is the total cost to make the sign and get it erected.

After the markers are up, the Historical Society will provide maintenance and upkeep.

The organization has already found donors for the two signs going up this fall. The one representing the Fourth Ward Historic District is being paid for by Greenwich Hospital. Rick Kral, owner of Beacon Point Marina, is paying for the Mead Avenue-River Road Historic District sign.

They are still looking for donors for the remaining six. Donors will get a brief mention at the bottom of each sign, Fox said.

The Greenwich Municipal Center marker was sponsored by the town.

The historic districts to receive markers are:

Fourth Ward: One of only two centrally located subdivisions that existed before the railroad in town, it was mostly home to Irish families, which caused it to be named after the Fourth Ward in lower Manhattan, which was also home to many working class immigrants, according to the Greenwich Historical Society.

Glenville: On the Byram River, it attracted Poles in the 1800s who worked at the felt mill there and at factories producing nuts and bolts, according to the Historical Society.

Greenwich Avenue: Contains many buildings that are well preserved examples of early American architecture, at least those that survived a large fire in the year 1900.

Greenwich Municipal Center: The district, including the Havemeyer School in 1893, sprung up during Greenwichs rapid period of growth from 1890 to 1930, when many wealthy people began to move to Greenwich, according to the Historical Society.

Mead Avenue-River Road: William Meads former farm, this area is the best preserved example of pre-World War I upper-middle-class housing, according to the Historical Society.

Putnam Hill: This area is a historic town center, home to many buildings and houses of worship important to the towns history, and the site of General Israel Putnams 1779 retreat from the British, the scene depicted in the town seal.

Strickland Road: The towns first location on the National Register of Historic Places, it includes the Bush-Holley House, home to the Cos Cob Art Colony, and other homes built as early as the 1700s.

Stanwich: Home to Stanwich Church, which was founded in 1731 back when Greenwich was still called Horseneck, according to the Stanwich Church website.

Round Hill: The Brown-Kenworthy House in this district was at least partly built around 1728, making it one of the oldest buildings in the area, according to the National Register of Historic Places.

pfrissell@hearstmediact.com; @PeregrineFriss
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GREENWICH  Harry Brant, a habitue of the fashion world who is currently facing criminal charges following his arrest in Greenwich last month, has been taking to social media to make light of the incident.

Brant, 20, a bold-faced name with a large following on Instagram, presumably wont be cracking any jokes when he appears before a judge in Superior Court in Stamford next week to enter a plea at his arraignment.

A Greenwich resident, Brant posted a staged picture of a blonde model being jostled and confined by cops and another, stylized scene depicting an arrest of Paris Hilton. Pretty much how it looked, he wrote in the posts.

The morning after looked like this, he then posted, showing a photo of model Naomi Campbell reading a tabloid headline.

His weekend posts garnered some 10,000 likes by Instagram users.

A gossip writer at the New York Post, referencing the humorous posts, wrote on Monday that Brant is taking his July arrest with his usual debonair nonchalance. W and Womens Wear Daily, fashion industry publications, also highlighted Brants offbeat take on his legal woes. Perhaps now is the time to invest in a publicist, WWD suggested.

The arrest came after a cabbie called cops to complain that Brant stiffed him of a $28 fare after he dropped him off near the Greenwich train station, police said. Brant was accused of attempting to run away from cops and tussling with them after being told he was under arrest in the morning hours of July 28.

Authorities said they found a powdery white substance in his possession, which was not specified. After testing, it was determined that it fell under the classification of an illegal narcotic, police said.

Let's be real... It looked like this. A photo posted by Harry Brant (@harry_brant) on Aug 6, 2016 at 9:01am PDT

Pretty much how it looked A photo posted by Harry Brant (@harry_brant) on Aug 5, 2016 at 4:13pm PDT

The morning after looked like this A photo posted by Harry Brant (@harry_brant) on Aug 6, 2016 at 3:41pm PDT

The son of a polo-playing art collector, Peter Brant, and model Stephanie Seymour, the defendant has 139,000 followers on Instagram.

Some social-media followers complimented him on his light-hearted approach to getting handcuffed and booked at Greenwich police headquarters. Others noted he was wrong to allegedly stiff a cabbie. Some criticized his behavior, pointing to a perceived sense of privilege in his alleged attempt to run from cops and then make light of the arrest.

At a scheduled Tuesday morning arraignment, Brant is expected in court to face four misdemeanor charges: larceny, two counts of resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance.

Brants other posts on Instagram depict him and his pals in their high-society milieu, often in skimpy attire or haute couture. Harry Brant works as a model and has developed a make-up line with brother Peter Brant II. He has studied at Rye Country Day and Bard College.

A defense lawyer handling the criminal charges, Phil Russell, declined comment.

Robert.Marchant@scni.com
Tuesdays primary in Chippewa County might signal what to expect during the Nov. 8 presidential election, at least with most of the races excluding the presidential.

For example, theres a lot of interest in the county in the U.S. Senate race from Wisconsin.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson drew 2,585 votes unopposed, while Democratic challenger (and former U.S. Senator) Russell Feingold had 2,617 in his primary victory over Scott Harbach, who had 229 votes. Libertarian Phillip N. Anderson drew 20 votes.

Ron Kind doesnt have to worry about the Nov. 8 election unless there is a strong write-in campaign. The La Crosse Democrat 3rd District incumbent had no problem defeating his primary challenger, Myron Buchholz, by a margin of 1,581 votes to 332 in Chippewa County.

Seeking his 11th term, Kind had 33,283 votes while opponent Myron Buchholz, a retired teacher from Eau Claire, had 7,680 votes, or about 19 percent.

With no Republican or third-party candidate registered for the general election, Kinds will be the only name on the November ballot. It will be the first uncontested general election for Wisconsins 3rd District in 90 years.

First elected in 1996, 53-year-old Kind is chairman of the centrist New Democrat Coalition and is ranked by the organization govtrack.us as one of the most conservative Democrats in the House.

Kind said he has no plans to change his bipartisan approach.

If Im not taking incoming from the far right and the far left, Im not adequately representing this district, Kind said. Im not surprised that Im going to get some criticism from far right opponents and far left opponents, but thats not the district I represent.

The 3rd District covers the southern third of the county, including Chippewa Falls.

The 7th Congressional District covers the rest of the county, and incumbent Rep. Sean Duffy of Wausau looks like he can depend on a lot of support from Chippewa County. He crushed his primary opponent, Don Raihala of Superior, 1,469 to 145.

Duffy made no statement about his victory.

His opponent in the Nov. 8 election will be Democrat Mary Hoeft, who trounced her primary opponent, Joel Lewis, by 678-147 in Chippewa County.

Duffy, seeking his fourth term, garnered 89 percent of the vote in the 7th Congressional District, over challenger Don Raihala, who took 11 percent.

Hoeft took 81 percent of the vote in her district to opponent Joel Lewis 19 percent.

I tried to get to as many people as I could to hear my message, and it sounded like they approved of me and thats good, said Hoeft, a teacher at UW-Barron County. Im also very proud of Joel Lewis, my opponent  he ran a very good campaign, and he made me a better candidate because of that.

Hoeft said she looks forward to the race against Duffy, who she hopes to debate several times as November approaches.

Im excited to get out there and meet as many more people as I can, she said. I look forward to debating Sean Duffy. Lets let the people of the 7th Congressional District know clearly where we each stand on the issues that concern them.

Turnout OK

Voter turnout for Tuesdays primary was variable. Turnout of registered voters in Chippewa Falls reached 21 percent, said City Clerk Bridget Givens. The primary drew 1,514 of the 7,125 registered voters.

For a guide, the city of Eau Claire had a turnout of 13.6 percent, with 5,863 people voting out of 42,972 registered voters.

The percentage of voters throughout Chippewa County was lower than Chippewa Falls, at 16.5 percent, County Clerk Sandi Frion said. A total of 5,689 people voted out of 35,573 registered voters.

We thought it would be a little busier, Frion said.

Thats because the primary ballot included races for the 67th Assembly seat. Incumbent Republican Tom Larson of Colfax is not seeking re-election in the district that includes portions of Chippewa and Dunn Counties because of health reasons.

Bloomer business owner Rob Summerfield came out on top of a field of four Republicans in the primary with 1,162 votes to 809 for Michael Hanke, 605 for Travis Hakes and 307 for Tony Zammit.

On the Democratic side, Dennis Hunt of Chippewa Falls won by defeating Dennis Doughty, 1,697 to 730.

The candidates for the 68th Assembly District were unopposed. Incumbent Rep. Kathy Bernier of Lake Hallie had 405 votes in Chippewa County compared with Democrat Howard White of Eau Claire with 671.

Unopposed candidates did well in Tuesdays primary.

Republican District Attorney Steve Gibbs had 2,292. Frion, a Democrat, had 2,386 votes for the clerks position. Democratic incumbent Patricia Schimmel had 2,402 votes for the treasurers job. And Democratic incumbent Marge L. Geissler had 2,421 votes for register of deeds.

Lee Newspapers contributed to this story.
Spork, youve been one-upped. Photo: Courtesy of The Chork

Panda Express  admittedly a chain whose unconventional thinking doesnt always work out  may actually have struck gold with a subtly brilliant device called the Chork. A chopsticks-fork hybrid, it integrates the utensils clumsy Americans need to eat Chinese food (what kind of sadist attacks the final stray clumps of rice with chopsticks?) into a single, reversible piece of plasticware. On one side, its a four-pronged fork; flipped around and split in half, it becomes a serviceable pair of chopsticks. And, according to Nations Restaurant News editor Lisa Jennings, it could be what accompanies your order of orange chicken very soon:

And BREAKING: @PandaExpress is considering a move toward the chork, or the chopsticks/fork pic.twitter.com/s1hOQhxWKT  Lisa Jennings (@livetodineout) August 10, 2016

The company hasnt pulled the lever just yet, but based on the response Jennings has gotten to her scoop, it probably should. The handy utensil is made by a Utah company called Brown Innovation Group, which clarifies that the device is actually not two but three utensils, the bonus third being a pair of cheaters (basically chopsticks still connected at the top, kind of like having training wheels).

Panda Express describes the Chork as the perfect way to illustrate the mashup of American and Chinese cultures, which could also double as an apt definition for Panda Express. What could be more perfect for eating that Chinese-American classic General Tsos, which, very conveniently for the chain, it also just rolled out yesterday?


Caught. Photo: Sevierville Police Department

Its been a dramatic fall from grace for Sarma Melngailis, the founder of New Yorks now-closed raw-food vegan restaurant Pure Food & Wine. After she stole millions from the restaurant  stiffing her own employees and purveyors  and then totally vanished, Melngailis and her husband, Anthony Strangis, were caught by authorities after they ordered a Dominos pizza (!) for delivery to a Tennessee hotel room.

Melngailis posted bail and has since decided to divorce the Clyde to her Bonnie. (If you thought your breakup was bad, Strangis remains in jail  ouch.) This real-life soap opera is prime material for Hollywood.
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The following editorial appeared in Tuesdays The Washington Post.

Muslim passengers are escorted off U.S.-based airlines with alarming frequency these days, and while the circumstances of each incident vary, there is also a sameness to them. More often than not, someone on the plane  a seatmate, a passenger a few rows away, a flight attendant  feels uncomfortable. The trigger for that discomfort is a passenger who looks or seems to be from a Muslim-majority country. And the outcome, as far as is generally known, is a bland statement from the airline setting forth its policy of nondiscrimination.

In fact, public acts of discrimination, especially against Muslims, have spiked along with Donald Trumps venomous campaign rhetoric in this election season. That, coupled with travelers anxiety about the threat of terrorist attacks, has yielded repeated episodes of baseless suspicion on airplanes  in other words, profiling.

Prodded to say something, passengers and airline personnel are quick to see something, but too often what theyve really seen is a person whose skin color or attire or language is a trigger for unfounded accusation.

The airlines have to do better. That means you, Delta Air Lines, for having removed a Pakistani American couple who were returning home to Ohio from a romantic 10th-anniversary trip to Europe on July 26. In Paris, a member of the flight crew said she felt uneasy at the gate because the woman, Nazia Ali, wearing a headscarf, was using her phone and her husband, Faisal, was sweating.

It means you, American Airlines, for having been involved in repeated instances of apparent ethnic and religious profiling. Those include an Italian economist from the University of Pennsylvania who was escorted off a plane in Philadelphia in May after his seatmate, convinced that his intent scribbling was Arabic, reported him to the flight crew. In fact, what she saw was math  a differential equation.

It means you, Southwest Airlines, for having evicted a University of California at Berkeley student from an airplane in Los Angeles in April after another passenger heard him speaking Arabic on the phone. The student, an Iraqi refugee named Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, said a Southwest employee demanded to know why he had been speaking Arabic on the plane.

That small sampling of recent senselessness raises the question of whether airline employees are getting the message from management that discrimination based on race, religion or national origin is unacceptable and illegal. If any airline employees have been disciplined for having mishandled passengers  either by indulging the prejudices of some or training groundless suspicions at others  the airlines arent saying.

To the contrary, its fair to ask, as advocacy groups representing American Muslims have done, if the airlines, with a wink and a nod, are tolerating the occasional ugly and unjustified conduct of some employees and passengers. The unfortunate truth is that, in the absence of no-nonsense enforcement policies by the airlines, deplorable acts of profiling are likely to proliferate. Its up to the airlines to ensure that blameless passengers can travel freely, without fear of harassment, removal or reckless accusations.

Its up to the airlines to ensure that blameless passengers can travel freely, without fear of harassment, removal or reckless accusations.
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There's a new nonprofit in town focusing on teaching youth coding and tech skills  one specifically with a mission of reaching out to girls and students of color.

Entrepreneur and educator Winnie Karanja founded Maydm last fall with an eye toward bringing more diversity and inclusion to the white male-dominated tech sector. At the latest 1 Million Cups presentation at the Madison Public Librarys downtown branch on Wednesday, Karanja said there have been times where shes been the only woman of color in a tech-focused workplace.

"The whole vision came from seeing the need to connect youth, and specifically youth of color, to technology opportunities, she said. There's definitely that missing point of seeing women and people of color as developers and programmers within these spaces."

Karanja said that Maydm  the name of which is a play on made by them  is all the more important given alarming racial disparities in Wisconsin that have been outlined by the Wisconsin Council on Children & Families Race to Equity reports.

Maydm currently operates out of spaces on Madisons south and west side, including the Meadowood Neighborhood Center and the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. Programming ranges from single-day workshops to weeklong and semester-long classes, for youth between 3rd and 12th grade. The classes range from programming in JavaScript and HTML and working with Arduino chips, to softer skills like resume writing and communication.

Students get paired with mentors in the tech community and tour offices like ZenDesk, where they see what tech workspaces look like and check out the software those companies work with.

She said those kinds of experiences can help them understand that working in tech is something within their grasp. Karanja wants to help students see themselves as makers of technology, not just users of technology.

"I know students who are Snapchatting and doing all these great of things digitally," said Karanja. "But they don't necessarily see that they're flourishing in that area.

Maydm will be highlighting the work of young programmers in Code Madison Forward, a coding competition at next weeks Forward Fest.




Haiti - Politic : Warning of the Ambassador of Haiti to the Bahamas





Tuesday, Jean Victor Geneus the Ambassador of Haiti to the Bahamas stated that social, political and economic stability of Haiti is based on the results of its upcoming presidential elections, highlighting the devastating impact that would have another failed attempt on the challenges of illegal migration in the Bahamas.



"If we dont want to continue in this political mess [...] we have to do our best to have clean, transparent and democratic elections because there is a cost [...] If we dont solve this problem then we are going to go deeper, deeper into a very volatile, explosive political situation and the consequence is that the Bahamas will receive more refugees.



Thats why we think its very important that our neighbours, Cuba, Bahamas, the US, be informed about what we want to do and also we welcome their support. We want them to send observers to see for themselves that what is being done is in conformity with the legal process. Observers not only from CARICOM but also local organisations (civil society)."



However, Geneus does not think the government of the Bahamas has understood the "full picture", adding that he recommended to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Haiti to meet with diplomatic representatives of neighboring countries.



"Habitually the problem has come from fighting to control the electoral machinery. We dont want it to be that way this time. We have been wasting time, we have been wasting opportunities and the situation in the country is dire," concluded the Ambassador Geneus.



HL/ HaitiLibre


























Haiti - RIO 2016 : The Government congratulates the Haitian stylist Maelle Figaro David





The Prime Minister, Jean-Charles address "in his own name and on behalf of the Government, his congratulations to the Haitian stylist Maelle Figaro David who made the clothes of the Haitian delegation at the opening ceremony of the 31th edition Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro."



Recalling that it is with enthusiasm that Haitians both inside and in the diaspora following the telecast of the participation of the Haitian Olympic delegation at the ceremony stressing that "This delegation has even the first page of the Olympic Village magazine 'Village Life'. , with a beautiful picture highlighting the Haitian traditional dress designed with great talent."



Concluding "the Prime Minister joins members of the government and the Haitian people to greet once more the talent of the stylist Maelle F. David and the participation of the Olympic delegation at the 31st Olympiad."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18252-haiti-sports-our-athletes-paraded-proudly-to-rio-2016.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politic : The amending budget 2015-2016 voted by deputies





Tuesday, the Assembly of Deputies in the lower house, has finally adopted the report of the Commission "Economy and Finance" on the amending budget 2015-2016, by 51 votes for, 2 against and 6 abstentions.



This amending budget was revised down from 122.6 billion gourdes to 113 gourdes billion, due to decrease in tax revenue and international contributions.



Abel Descollines, the First Secretary of the Lower House said that "This is a crucial and important budget for the elections" because it includes 850 million gourdes for the next elections. stressing that deputies voted to allow the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to have financial resources ... and to not be accused of blocking.



This rectified finance law was forwarded to the Senate, which must in turn pronounce and ratify in the same terms this amended budget, while it has great difficulty to hold a session. If the budget is amended in the Senate, then it will be returned again to the Chamber of Deputies (shuttle).



The Deputy Antoine Rodon Bien Aime, President of the Commission Economy and Finance, said that the changes made in the budget, disposals and reassignments in favor of certain prioritized institutions, may not be unlocked if the Executive had objections about these changes, but for the moment the ball is in the court of the Senate...



PI/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping politics...





"The time of the city policy is over" according Jovenel Moise

"The time of the city policy is over. It is necessary to turn to the regions," declared Wednesday Jovenel Moise on a radio station of the capital, adding "my team and myself, we are part of the solution, we have never been part of the problem. We never blocked the elections. The people have only one weapon in hand: his registration card. The elections that were 'kraze' cost $ 100 million [NoteHL: 66 million], that the country did not even have. Today we need $ 55 million, with that money we could do much [...]"



2 rejected candidates for the Senate race

In addition to the list of candidates (first round) to renew one third of the Senate https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18282-haiti-elections-final-list-of-approved-candidates-senators.html , the CEP released the names of 2 candidates who were rejected: Gerald Michel Mathurin (Southeast) of the "Organization of People in Struggle" (OPL) for breach of Article 90 paragraph h of the Electoral Decree dealing on discharge and execution of the decree of August 7 and BCEN and Remile Casimir (West) of "Consortium", for non-compliance of Article 90 paragraph d of electoral decree dealing of nationality certificate (unformulated demand and absence of the certificate or receipt).



The supports of Jude Celestin

Jude Celestin, the candidate for the presidency under the banner of "Alternative League for Progress and the Haitian Emancipation" (LAPEH), said he had the support of a coalition of several political parties and personalities for the presidential election of October 9, 2016 citing Ithe parties INITE and VERITE and support from Steven Benoit, Eric Jean Baptiste of the Movement of Socialist Action (MAS) and Sauveur Pierre Etienne of the Organization of People in Struggle (OPL).



Towards the publication of the budget of CEP

Wednesday, Uder Antoine, the Executive Director of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) has assured that all the details of the next election budget will be released on Tuesday 16 August, stating that the total amount remains unchanged at $ 55 million. He stated that this budget will not be managed by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), since the funds are 100% Haitian, these funds will be managed according to him, by the CEP and the Ministry of Economy and Finance .



Vote on a resolution against the investigation of the CEP

The Deputy Abel Descollines, First Secretary of the Lower House announced that the deputies had passed a resolution against the investigation of the CEP on the validity of the election of 9 members, resolution which reminds among others that there is "a constitutional procedure to be followed".



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2016/08/11 | Source

Added episode 16 captures for the Korean drama "Doctors" (2016)

Advertisement

Directed by Oh Choong-hwan

Written by Ha Myeong-hee

Network : SBS

With Kim Rae-won, Park Shin-hye, Yoon Kyun-sang, Lee Sung-kyung, Kim Young-ae, Jung Hae-kyun,...

20 episode - Mon, Tue 22:00

Also known as "Doctor Crush"

Synopsis

A drama about the realism in the relationship between doctors and patients and the social prejudice of educational background and origin.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2016/06/20

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Disclosure: In any review for a product or service, products or compensation may have been provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Guidelines. Please see Disclose and "Terms of Use" tabs for more information.

When it comes to visiting a place on holiday, there are a lot of factors that make one place more or less desirable. Perhaps youre a gastronome and want to sample the local cuisines at their most authentic. You may be a historian and fancy the opportunity to see the very places where pivotal moments went down. You may just be someone who loves beautiful scenery, which is not lacking in this world.

Whatever it is you crave, the chances are that Europe is at an advantage in providing it. With the continent closely connected in a political and transport sense, Europe is a place where you can hop from country to country. In each stop along the way, you will find each place has its own unique character. Europe has been a hub of population and travel for many centuries and, as such, has accrued a lot of culture and history.

Due to the gifts nature has bestowed, major European cities and holiday destinations are easy to reach in a number of ways. Perhaps the most rewarding way to see these is by river. One could argue for hours over which is the best European river cruise. Everyone will have their own opinion, and plenty of reasons to back it up. One thing is for sure, at the end of the conversation youll be struck with wanderlust.

River cruises are such a special way to see Europe because rivers played such a pivotal part in its history. As with anywhere else, towns and cities grew up around these, and in Europe they became home to such eras as the Renaissance.

Its modern history and the further-off periods have seen war, peace and industrial development. All of this has created cities with art, architecture and culture that must be seen.

A trip along the Danube, for example, will take you through such delights as Vienna, Budapest and Munich. The former two were once major centers of European power and although this has receded, the history remains. Spectacular views, sumptuous cuisine and wines. And if you visit at the right time, the chance to sample Munichs famous Oktoberfest. All in all, its a trip of a lifetime.

Perhaps, though, your wanderlust will take you further West, to the delights of the Seine and the Rhone, from which you can see France and Spain. Trips to Paris are never wasted, and theres much to see in Provence, a region that people visit once and then decide to move there. With Barcelona a short train ride away, you can experience some of Europes most unforgettable cities.

With the Rhine and the Mosel available too, you can see less talked about gems. The castles and cathedrals of Luxembourg, Nuremburg and Prague are all more than worth a visit. Youll be well advised to pack extra film for your camera or a spare memory card for your phone. You certainly wont run out of things to photograph, eat or visit.

In short, Europe is home to many countries, languages and ways of life. In one week or fortnight, you can take in enough for several holidays and youll still have more to save for your next trip. What more could a voyager ask for?
THIS INTERACTIVE MAP SHOWS WHICH STATES SUE DOCTORS THE MOST

We mapped the one downside to a career in healthcare -- how many times medical practitioners get sued.

by Chris Kolmar, Zippia, August, 2016

So you want to be a doctor? It sounds like a great career if you can stand the years of school and the huge school debt that comes with it. Plus, there are other, bigger picture areas of concern that even the most professional doctors need to be concerned with.

Since were the career experts, we thought why not dive into one of the biggest threats doctors have - medical malpractice lawsuits. Its a highly debatable topic, and often in the publics eye, since the cost of medicine seem to rise each year.

Which states have the highest number of medical malpractice suits each year? You might be surprised to hear its Louisiana.

You know that old adage"If you live in Louisiana, you've probably sued your doctor"? No? Okay, it's new. And by new, we mean, we just made it up. But for real, looking at this map, it really does seem like if you live in Louisiana, you have a much better chance of having sued or suing your doctor. And if you are a doctor in Louisiana, well, our condolences.

read  States that Sue
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has upheld a decision by West Australian Newspapers to dismiss one of its employees. It was found the man had failed to notify the company that he was also working for Uber.



The company terminated foreman Mervyn Jacob in June 2015 after failed discussions and a lack of cooperation regarding his outside work at Uber undermined  trust and confidence in him as an employee.



Jacob contested the dismissal in an FWC hearing on 8 August which was overheard by Commissioner Bruce Williams.



After examining the evidence, the Commissioner found that Jacobs dismissal was neither harsh, unjust nor was it unreasonable and that he had not been unfairly dismissed.



Jacobs outside employment with Uber was contrary with his employment contract which required workers to request permission from the firm prior to taking any other work. This was a valid reason for his dismissal, Williams said.



Furthermore during the investigation by his employer, Jacobs repeatedly lied on a number of occasions, he added.



Mr Jacob was not transparent or honest in response to his employers reasonable enquiries and was at times deliberately misleading.



During a series of meetings, Jacobs repeatedly denied that he was an Uber driver.



A manager at the firm, named Mr Jones in the FWC decision, had also said hed been driven by Jacobs. When his employers asked about this, Jacobs said he didnt know who the manager was.



The dismissal was not based on the fact that Jacobs was doing work as an Uber driver, Williams noted. In fact, the firm was willing to negotiate with him so he could continue that work in the future.



Rather, Jacobs was dismissed because he ignored the opportunity to resolve the matter in an acceptable way, the Commissioner said.



Instead Mr Jacob continued down a path of actively denying the truth and deliberately misleading his employer. He did so even after being warned he must be open and honest and not withhold information.



Mr Jacob in this case was very much the architect of his own demise.




North Carolina State Parks will hold its second Signature Centennial Celebration Aug. 27-28 at Mount Mitchell State Park, the site where the 100-year history of the states system of protected lands for recreation and conservation began in 1916.

Visitors are invited to a daylong celebration Aug. 27 with traditional and bluegrass music, clogging, demonstrations of traditional mountain skills, such as blacksmithing, quilting, chair caning and spinning, traditional crafts for sale, storytelling and games for children and adults, and displays from area museums. Sunday will be dedicated to recreation and education with guided hikes by rangers and volunteers.

Weve been staging exciting special events at every state park during our 2016 Centennial year, but a celebration atop Mount Mitchell is certainly a special and historic occasion, said Mike Murphy, State Parks director. The highest mountain in the eastern U.S. inspired North Carolinians to create the first state park in the Southeast and one of the first in the nation.

North Carolina legislators, at the urging of Gov. Locke Craig, launched an effort in 1915 to protect the mountains summit from intensive logging, and by the end of 1916, 795 acres had been acquired to create what would become Mount Mitchell State Park. North Carolina now has 41 state park units open to the public as well as a network of protected state natural areas, state lakes, rivers and trails that encompass 230,591 acres. During 2015, the parks system served a record 17.3 million visitors.

The Aug. 27-28 celebration will include a display of the watch belonging to Elisha Mitchell, the mountains namesake who died in a fall while exploring the summit and validating his measurements of Mount Mitchells elevation. The celebration performers include the Mountain Laurel Band, Nitro Grass, Ron and Minnie Powell, Pete and Kim McWhirter and the Bailey Mountain Cloggers. There will be interpretive talks by historians and visits by descendants of figures prominent in Mount Mitchell history.

The park will limit access by private vehicles during the event, except for registered carpooling vehicles such as expanded passenger vans and activity buses. Free Saturday shuttle service will be available from nearby locations in Asheville, Burnsville, Marion and Black Mountain. Details about the shuttle service are on the state parks website (www.ncparks.gov) at: http://www.ncparks.gov/mount-mitchell-state-park/events-and-programs/centennial-celebration.

About the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation

The Division of Parks and Recreation manages more than 230,000 acres of iconic landscape within North Carolinas state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas. It administers the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, as well as a state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation and education. The state parks system welcomes more than 17 million visitors annually and celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2016.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency with a vision to be the leader in using the states natural and cultural resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of North Carolina. Led by Secretary Susan Kluttz, NCDNCRs mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating opportunities to

experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity, preserving the states history, conserving the states natural heritage, encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic development.

NCDNCR includes 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science museums, three aquariums and Jennettes Pier, 39 state parks and recreation areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nations first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please call (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.

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The following information is provided by local law enforcement agencies.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Compiled by Jessica Isaacs

The following were provided by the Watauga County Sheriffs Office.

WCSO 0811

July 29

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 1055 Fallview Lane Unit 3 in Boone.

Aug. 2

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 1084 Old U.S. Highway 421 N in Sugar Grove.

INCIDENT: All other offenses were reported at 191 Mill Farm Road in Sugar Grove.

INCIDENT: Missing person was reported at 189 Poplar Creek Estates Drive in Todd.

INCIDENT: Possession of firearm by convicted felon was reported at 296 Westin Way Apt. 18.

Aug. 3

ARREST: A male suspect, 32, of 6302 U.S. Highway 421 N in Vilas, was charged with OFA. Secured bond: $5,000. Trial date: Sept. 9.

ARREST: A male suspect, 30, of 149 Chickadee Road Lot 6 in Wilkesboro, was charged with OFA FTA. Secured bond: $1,000. Trial date: Aug. 22.

ARREST: A female suspect, 36, of 780 Dewitt Barnett Road in Boone, was charged with assault and battery. Trial date: Sept. 9.

Aug. 4

INCIDENT: Breaking and entering a motor vehicle and larceny from a motor vehicle were reported at Trash Can Falls on U.S. Highway 321 N in Sugar Grove.

ARREST: A female suspect, 30, of 355 Vannoy Lane in Boone, was charged with simple assault. Trial date: Aug. 19.

ARREST: A male suspect, 30, of 355 Vannoy Lane in Boone, was charged with simple assault. Trial date: Aug. 19.

ARREST: A female suspect, 42, of 1061 Seven Oak Road in Boone, was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Trial date: Sept. 9.

ARREST: A male suspect, 22, of 271 North Woods Road in Boone, was charged with child support OFA. Secured bond: $1,483.

ARREST: A female suspect, 60, of 355 Vannoy Lane in Boone, was charged with simple assault. Trial date: Aug. 19.

ARREST: A female suspect, 36, of Boone, was charged with felony breaking and entering a building and uttering forged instrument. Secured bond: $10,000. Trial date: Sept. 9.

Aug. 5

INCIDENT: Fraud was reported at 4935 Wildcat Road in Deep Gap.

ARREST: A male suspect, 22, of 810 Pondmeadow Court in Charlotte, was charged with FTA. Secured bond: $4,000. Trial date: Sept. 19.

ARREST: A male suspect, 19, of 603 Penny Lane in Wilson, was charged with possession of marijuana up to  oz and possession of marijuana paraphernalia. Secured bond: $400. Trial date: Sept. 6.

ARREST: A male suspect, 25, of 6402 The Lakes Drive Apt. F in Raleigh, was charged with probation violation. Secured bond: $1,000. Trial date: Sept. 22.

ARREST: A male suspect, 32, of 306 Cedar St. in Wilson, was charged with OFA FTA DWLR and OFA violation of court order. Secured bond: $500. Trial date: Sept. 20.

Aug. 6

INCIDENT: Calls or service were reported at 172 Mill Farm Road in Sugar Grove.

INCIDENT: Larceny from buildings was reported at 891 Rainbow Trail in Boone.

INCIDENT: Larceny was reported at 163 Red Maple Lane in Boone.

Aug. 7

INCIDENT: Burglary  forcible entry and larceny from buildings were reported at 763 Jimmy Billings Road in Vilas.

INCIDENT: Trespassing and harassment were reported at 1032 Wildcat Road in Deep Gap.

INCIDENT: Breaking and entering a motor vehicle, breaking and entering and damage to property were reported at 327 Rippling Water Lane in Blowing Rock.

Aug. 8

INCIDENT: A female suspect, 25, of 7840 Riverbend Road in Clearmont, was charged with harassing phone call, injury to real property and second degree trespassing. Trial date: Sept. 1.
Boone JAMS (Junior Appalachian Musicians) resumes on August 25 at the Jones House, featuring group music lessons in fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and ukulele taught by local musicians steeped in regional music roots.

The Boone JAMS program, formerly Watauga JAM, started in fall 2004, when a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council helped fund the start-up of a new program. Several other JAM programs existed in the region, and the first one started in nearby Alleghany County in the 1990s. Today, there are dozens of programs across four states with a regional organization that affiliates the satellite programs, like Boone JAMS.

Thursday night old-time jam session. Several students of the program have gone on to form bands and win ribbons and prizes at the regional fiddlers conventions. The Jones House program has continued over the years, expanding to offer classes to adults and filling the community center for several hours of lessons before the weeklynight old-time jam session. Several students of the program have gone on to form bands and win ribbons and prizes at the regional fiddlers conventions.

We are very proud of the students that have participated in the program, says director Mark Freed. In fact, we have two groups in the upcoming weeks performing in our outdoor Concerts at the Jones House series  Cane Mill Road and Strictly Strings.

Cane Mill Road includes three former students  Liam Purcell, Kinsey Greene, and Eliot Smith; and Strictly Strings is made up of current students Anissa Burnett, Kathleen Burnett, Caleb Coatney, Willow Dillon and instructor, Cecil Gurganus.

The Strictly Strings gang still participate as students, but they are also excellent teachers, and they serve as assistant instructors for the beginning and intermediate classes, Freed adds.

Other instructors of the program include Deborah Jean Sheets, a retired school teacher, who plays in the old-time family string band, The Sheets Family; Trevor McKenzie, an archivist, historian, and songwriter, who also plays fiddle with Elkville String Band; and Brandon Holder, a multi-instrumentalist known as one of the most working sidemen in the High Country music scene.

The lessons are open to students ages 7-years old and up. Classes are taught in groups on Thursday afternoons at the Jones House. Each class lasts 45 minutes and starts at 4:30 , 5:30 , or 6:30 , depending on the instrument and playing level. Typically beginner classes and younger students are assigned earlier time slots, while older and intermediate players the later slots.

The session begins on August 25 and lasts for 15 weeks, with a recital taking place on December 8 at the Jones House. Enrollment costs $75 for kids and $125 for adults. Instruments are available for rent for the entirety of the session for $25.

The Boone JAMS program is supported by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Student lessons could not be made so affordable without this important grant funding.

For more information about the program, including enrolling for the fall session, please contact Mark Freed at the Jones House Cultural and Community Center at [email protected] or 828.268.6282 or visit www.joneshouse.org for more on the community centers activities.

The Town of Boone is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Email correspondence to and from this address is subject to public records requests pursuant to the North Carolina Public Records Law, resulting in monitoring and potential disclosure of this message to third parties.

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home Tech Google Nexus 5P Sailfish release date, specs news 2016: Spotted in AnTuTu; specs include 13MP camera, Snapdragon 820, 5-inch display

Google Nexus 5P Sailfish has been spotted again online. This time, it stopped by the comprehensive Android Benchmarking application, AnTuTu.

According to reports, the smaller variant of the two upcoming Nexus phones showed up in the popular benchmark database, and it once again revealed some of the specs and features that were already seen in the databases of GFXBench and GeekBench.

No new information has been revealed, but it did re-confirm some of the specifications that were released earlier. The listing confirmed that the device will be sporting a 5-inch display with a 1080x1920 full HD resolution.

It is said to be equipped under the hood with a Snapdragon 820 quad-core SoC, which is a more powerful chipset compared to the Snapdragon 808 SoC found in the Nexus 5X.

It's also said to carry Adreno 530 GPU graphics card. As for the random access memory (RAM) count, reports say that it will be paired with 4 GB of RAM and will come with a storage space of 32 GB which can be expanded further. It can be noted that the new device is making a big leap from its predecessor which came with just 2 GB of RAM.

In terms of camera features, the listing claims that the Nexus 5P Sailfish will be sporting a 13-megapixel rear camera that is allegedly capable of recording 4K videos. On the front will be an 8-megapixel camera with QHD video.

The device is also purported to be pre-installed with the latest Android operating system, which is the unreleased Nougat 7.0. If it turns out to be correct, the Nexus 5P will be the first device to run with the Android 7.0 Nougat.

Moreover, the device is said to feature a rear-facing fingerprint scanner and will come in few color choices.

There is no specific date yet for the release of the Nexus 5P Sailfish as well as its bigger variant, the Nexus Marlin. It's speculated to come sometime in October, though.

None of these rumors have been confirmed, so it's best to take these reports with a pinch of salt.
Martti Hetemaki, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, estimated in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat earlier this week that the Finnish Government should brace itself for more unpleasant decisions after falling short of its job creation target.

The situation is a lot worse than is widely thought. We have a Nordic welfare state, with its benefits and services, but our employment rate is Southern European, he told the daily.

Finland, he pointed out, must create 120,000 new jobs by 2019 because the national rate of unemployment currently stands at 68.5 per cent, well below the target of 72 per cent. He also argued that the public must come to terms with a widening income gap and rising number of low-paying jobs in order to improve the employment situation.

Our employment rate is at least five percentage points lower than in other Nordic countries, highlighted Hetemaki. Both Denmark and Sweden, he added, have a higher employment rate partly because of growing income and wage differences.

The Ministry of Finance is to unveil its budget proposal on Friday. The Government, meanwhile, is scheduled to begin its two-day budget session on 31 August.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Mikko Stig  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
A poll commissioned by the public broadcasting company has found that voter support for the nationalistic party declined by 1.0 percentage points to 7.6 per cent between July and August, leaving it the sixth largest political party in Finland.

The Finns Party has seen its support rating slide to a six-year low, reports YLE .

Estimated support ratings: - Centre Party 21.8% (+0.7) - Social Democratic Party 18.9% (+0.7) - National Coalition Party 17.6 % (-1.0) - Green League 13.7% (-0.4) - Left Alliance 9.8% (+0.6) - Finns Party 7.6% (-1.0) - Swedish People's Party 4.3% (+/-0.0) - Christian Democratic Party 4.3% (+0.7) - Others 2.0% (-0.3) - The numbers in parentheses indicate change in percentage points from the previous month. Source: YLE

Timo Soini, the chairperson of the Finns Party, insists that there is no reason to panic despite the continuing nosedive.

Politics is a job for those with patience and perseverance, he writes in his blog. The fact is that unless anything out of the ordinary happens the next elections will take place in the spring of 2019. That will be when the power relations are defined.

The Finns Party, he estimates, has taken a hit in the polls due to its efforts to reverse the fortunes of Finland.

I will not surrender, he added.

The Centre Party, meanwhile, has solidified its position as the largest party in the country after recording a 0.7 percentage point increase in its support rating between July and August. The Social Democrats overtook the National Coalition as the second largest party as voter support for the former rose by 0.7 percentage points and that for the latter dropped by 1.0 percentage points, according to the poll.

Both the Green League and the Left Alliance similarly remain ahead of the Finns Party, with respective support ratings of 13.7 and 9.8 per cent.

The Green League has recorded a whopping 60 per cent jump in its support rating since the parliamentary elections of 2015, highlights Ville Niinisto, the chairperson of the opposition party.

He tweeted yesterday that the results of the poll also indicate that voter support for the Left Alliance has risen by 30 per cent and that for the Social Democrats by 10 per cent since the elections, while that for the Finns Party has fallen by 60 per cent.

A total of 2,424 people were interviewed for the poll between 11 July and 9 August, 2016, 58.5 per cent of whom declared their support for a party.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Roni Rekomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
His lawyers brought an application before Judge O'Neill to vary the man's bail conditions, as his brother is getting married in the US next month. (Stock photo)

A man accused of raping a woman two years ago has been refused permission by a judge to fly to the United States to be best man at his brother's wedding.

The 33-year-old was served with a book of evidence when he appeared at Dublin District Court.

He is accused of raping a woman in Killester in Dublin on January 26, 2014.

A State solicitor said the book of evidence had been served on the accused.

Judge Grainne O'Neill sent the man forward for trial to the next sittings of the Central Criminal Court, on the same bail.

Risk

His lawyers brought an application before Judge O'Neill to vary the man's bail conditions, as his brother is getting married in the US next month.

They were seeking the return of his passport and relaxation of a sign-on condition for a 10-day period.

Gardai objected to varying the bail, saying they believed he was a flight risk as he had no family in Ireland.

In evidence, the man said his parents and girlfriend live in Ireland. He also has a full-time job.

Judge O'Neill refused to vary the bail terms, and said the man was facing a serious charge.
Louise Wills, with their baby daughter Eibhlin, who died at 12 days from the common cold sore virus

A heartbroken couple who lost their baby to a cold sore infection are now trying to raise awareness of the issue before another child dies.

John and Louise Wills from Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, don't want anyone else to go through the agony they experienced after their only daughter Eibhlin passed away in hospital on December 1, just 12 days after her birth last November.

Devastated dad John described the young couple's heartbreak following their little girl's death.

"I got an immediate panic attack. I could barely take in what the doctor was saying about what had happened," he told the Herald.

"When she was handed to us, wrapped up, dead and getting colder and we were cuddling and holding her, a weird survival mechanism kicked in. I actually drove home that night and I don't know how."

Eibhlin was buried on Thursday, and the following Monday, John and Louise got a call from the hospital to say that the results of the post-mortem had come in.

Silent

"First of all, they said this was a silent killer. There was nothing you could have seen because she didn't break out in a rash ... but basically what happened was, she said, it's herpes.

"She died of herpes. And it knocked us down with a feather. We don't suffer from cold sores anyway, but we were thinking 'how on earth did she contract herpes?," he added.

Louise got a blood test and found out that she was not a carrier of the virus - meaning that she didn't pass it on. Their daughter contracted the cold sore infection after birth.

John and Louise had Eibhlin's heel prick test examined in an independent lab. The results showed that Eibhlin had the infection before she left hospital.

"She contracted it somehow in the hospital from somebody. We will never know who or how that happened, but it was an accident," John said.

"A slip occurred in the hospital in Holles Street, probably due to a slip in hygiene, and unfortunately it transferred to her."

John and Louise brought Eibhlin home five days after her birth by caesarean section.

"We learned her little personality, her little quirks," John said. "She was sleeping well, feeding well. The weekend came along and it was on Sunday that we saw the first signs of her being a bit out of sorts.

On Monday their lives were turned upside down.

"Monday started out fine, she was sleeping fine. This time she was a little down on her feeds, not eating as much. She was also a bit more clingy. If you put her down she didn't want to be down, she wanted to be in your arms."

At 11.30pm that night, Eibhlin became suddenly ill.

Listless

"She went from a healthy colour to a very listless and pale colour. We headed straight out to Tallaght Hospital. When we got there, the crash team was called, they worked on her. She was alive in there but just barely. And then she passed," he added.

John and Louise have now launched a campaign to spread awareness about the dangers of the cold sore virus for babies through their new website www.rememberingeibhlin.org.

"There's a huge core lack of awareness, but also a lack of awareness among our medical profession as a whole, and that's not being critical," John said.

"We have met many nurses and midwives on our journey since Eibhlin has passed, and when they hear the story, you could count on one hand the number of those midwives who knew that herpes could kill a baby. Most don't."

Dr Karina Butler told the Sean O'Rourke show on RTE Radio One that the case is rare, but it is a concern.

"We have to emphasise how rare it is, but we have to prevent it happening to another child," she said.

Dr Rhona Mahony, Master of the National Maternity Hospital where Eibhlin was born, offered the staff's sympathies to John and Louise.

"All of us at the National Maternity Hospital are very sad for Louise and John on the loss of Eibhlin," she said in a statement last night.

"We greatly admire their work in highlighting their own personal tragedy to increase awareness of the risk of HSV in the period immediately before and after birth. We look forward to supporting this brave family in their work," she added.
James Molloy (33) will be tried in the circuit court. Photo: Evening Herald Staff Photographer

A Dublin man accused of handling a stolen car that had been taken in a burglary three weeks before is facing trial on the charge.

James Molloy (33) was excused from appearing before Blanchardstown District Court after the matter was marked peremptory for the DPP's directions.

State solicitor Deirdre Manninger said a judge had previously refused jurisdiction to deal with the case at district court level.

Judge John Lindsay said the allegation had "all the ingredients of a serious crime" and he would not deal with it.

Ms Manninger said the DPP has now directed trial in the circuit court.

A court previously heard it will be alleged that the stolen car, a Volkswagen Jetta, had been fitted with false plates that matched another Jetta.

Mr Molloy is charged with handling stolen property at his home at Whitestown Walk, Blanchardstown, last January 24.

Sgt Maria Callaghan had said gardai recovered a stolen Volkswagen Jetta during a search of the accused's home.

She said Mr Molloy had the keys for this vehicle.

Counterfeit

The sergeant said it will be alleged that the stolen car had a false 2010 Kerry registration plate while the correct registration was 2010 Wexford.

Sgt Callaghan alleged that the stolen car had been taken in a burglary from a house in Greystones, Co Wicklow, last December 30.

She also alleged that gardai found counterfeit tax and registration documents to match the false registration plates in the boot of the car.

The court heard that the value of the Jetta was between 8,000 and 9,000.

Defence lawyer Jennifer Jackson had urged the judge to accept jurisdiction of the charge, saying Mr Molloy is facing only a handling charge.

However, Judge Lindsay refused jurisdiction to deal with the case at district court level.

When the matter came back before the court, Ms Manninger said the DPP was now directing trial on indictment in the circuit court.

She asked for the matter to be adjourned to a date in October for the service of the book of evidence.

Mr Molloy has not yet indicated a plea to the charge.
Judge Michael Walsh struck the case out, leaving him without convictions, when he made a 240 donation to charity. (Stock picture)

A thief was arrested for slapping a shop worker in the face after being stopped for trying to steal croissants.

As soon as Patrick Kavanagh (23) was released from a garda station, he went back to the same shop and stole a sandwich by eating it in the shop.

It turned out that Kavanagh, who had been drinking heavily earlier, would have been able to pay for the food if he had not given his money to a homeless person.

He admitted assault, att- empted theft and theft in the incidents at a city centre convenience shop.

Judge Michael Walsh struck the case out, leaving him without convictions, when he made a 240 donation to charity.

Dublin District Court heard gardai were called to Londis on Grafton Street last January 15 and spoke to a staff member who said there had been an attempt to steal "some food items in the shop".

recollection

The worker had seen Kavanagh, of Grace O'Malley Road, Howth, with the food in his pocket and trying to leave. He was stopped, and the food - two packets of croissants - was recovered.

As the worker tried to keep him at the scene, Kavanagh slapped him in the face. Gardai got a description of Kavanagh and stopped him a short distance away.

Later on the same date, Kavanagh returned to the same shop and took more food, this time a sandwich, and ate it in the shop. He had no recollection of what happened, said his barrister, Edel Gilligan.

He had been out drinking and had a "lot of alcohol".

He ate the sandwich in the shop because he had no money to pay for it, she said.

"He gave some money to a homeless person so he may have had enough money if that had not happened," she added.

The court heard that the defendant had no previous convictions and was ashamed of his actions.

To make amends for what he did, he had money in court.

The victim had not sustained any injury, Ms Gilligan said.
At the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, General Cigar Company launched a new installment into the Torano Cigars Exodus line. This one is simply called the Torano Exodus.

Exodus is a line that commemorates the Exodus of cigar families from Cuba and their impact on the cigar industry after the nationalization of all tobacco farms and cigar factories by the Cuban government in 1959. The Torano family, for whom the brand is named for was one of those families. The new Torano Exodus continues to tell this story while reaching out to the more contemporary cigar enthusiast.

In announcing the new Torano Exodus Alan Willner, vice president of marketing for General Cigar commented, We created Exodus to appeal to a broader range of cigar smokers, both in its presentation and flavor profile. Exodus tells an allegorical story of the journeys we all make to overcome adversity, drawing a parallel to the Torano familys beginnings as tobacco growers, their experiences in post-Castro communist society, and their success in developing acclaimed cigars post-Cuba. We are proud of this new chapter for Torano and look forward to the continued growth of the Torano brand.

The blend of the Torano Exodus features a proprietary seco priming leaf from the Honduran valley of San Agustin. In addition, the cigar features a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and fillers from Mexico, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. The cigar is being launched in four vitolas: Robusto, Toro Grande, Torpedo, and Gigante. Each of the sizes are available in 20 count boxes.

Jack Torano, recently named brand ambassador to Torano Cigars commented, The new Exodus is a perfect addition to the Exodus line. Its a 4 country blend with a Honduran OSA wrapper that is full of flavor and complexity.

Visually speaking, the packaging depicts the story of the Exodus incorporated with the new Torano branding.

Over the years, there have been five releases under the Exodus line. The series was launched in 2001 back when the brand was known as Carlos Torano with the Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 (Gold). This was followed up in 2002 with the Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 Silver Edition. Seven years later in 2009, a third installment was made to commemorate fifty years of the Cuban exodus with the Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 50 Years. A limited edition fourth installment was made in 2013 when the brand was known as Torano Family Cigars with the Torano Exodus 1959 Finite 2013.

At a glance, here is a look at the Torano Exodus:

Blend Profile

Wrapper: Honduran San Agustin

Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf

Filler: Dominican, Honduran, and Mexican

Country of Origin: Not Disclosed

Vitolas Available

Robusto: 5 x 54 (SRP $6.99)

Toro Grande: 5 1/2 x 58 (SRP $7.79)

Torpedo: 5 3/4 x 52 (SRP $7.79)

Gigante: 6 x 60 (SRP $8.49)

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted.
David by Johnny Worthen

"You and no other."

Flames and blood  the story of Eleanor's existence.

How can she recover? How can she go on? How can she stay away?

Eleanor survives, it what she does. But at what cost? She learns her past and sees the terrible and tragic history of her kind, the wreckage of fear and necessity spread across generations of innocent lives. It is enough to show her she is toxic, a cause of pain and destruction. For everyones own good, she will disappear forever.

But first, one last visit to Jamesford.

The sleepy Wyoming town mourns their lost child. The unremarkable girl who in life wanted only to be ignored is a celebrity in death, a tourist attraction, a legend. A mystery.

But not everyone thinks shes dead. While some wait in hope for her return, others wait in ambush. (-synopsis)

Eleanor is back in the third edition of The Unseen. When she left Jamesford it was to a mass of destruction. David's father had been killed, he was crumpled on the pavement, and Eleanor was a cat. She was taken by Dr. Sikring. Eleanor thought he was the enemy and holding her hostage but she couldn't have been more wrong.

Dr. Sikring nursed the cat back to health and when Eleanor finally decides to turn back into herself he is there to help. He is in awe of her and not scared at all. Together the two make plans for Eleanor to return to Jamesford and to see David again.

Eleanor is afraid because she knows people are still looking for her. They don't believe that she perished in the fire and they are right. The one who scares her the most is Zalarnik and his laboratory. He wants her to do experiments on her and who knows what else but Eleanor won't let that happen.

She assumes another identity and returns home. She's amazed by how much things have changed but also how similiar they are. She plays the part of a researcher who is looking into the legend of Eleanor. She talks with old friends, teachers, and those who used to know her. Each day it's harder and harder to stay away from David until at least she can't.

But seeing David could ruin everything. The people looking for her will know she's alive and they want her captured at any cost. Is it worth it to see David one more time or will Eleanor keep her distance and watch him from afar?

This edition of The Unseen helped me to better understand the characters. Eleanor starts out scared and afraid but with the help of Dr. Sikring she feels nurtured and loved again. She knows there are good people out there. Dr. Sikring turns out to be a good guy who just wants to help Eleanor because she is a rare thing that he's been studying for years.

Eleanor is daring in this book and begins changing shape more frequently and not always at home. I think she felt as though she had nothing to lose so she just went for it. She changes for herself, to help her friends, and to stop those who are evil. She is such a strong person and she wants what is best for everyone...including herself.

David is a strong figure in this book as well. He keeps hope that Eleanor is alive in the world even though he isn't sure that she is. In the year since she left he's brought up his grades, been accepted in to college, and has taken care of his sister. His love for Eleanor is evident in this book.

Midge returns as a big character in this book. She is the first person back in Jamesford Eleanor "outs" herself too and she is a great friend to her. She wants to help Eleanor find David again and for them to be together. She's willing to set up meetings, help her change, and drive her around. She is an amazing and strong teenager who will do anything to help the ones she loves.

While a lot of this book focuses on Eleanor coming back, there is a lot of action once people think she is back. There is a city wide man hunt for her at one point and Jamesford turns into a military city. Will Zalarnick and his crew find Eleanor or will she be reunited with David for good? Will she end her life as Eleanor or will she be on the run forever?

If you liked the first two books you'll like this one as well. I feel like it's delves into the characters more and we find out who really cares for Eleanor and who doesn't. We also learn more about her back story and where she came from. It's a great paranormal young adult book.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
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Vincent Bordini filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday in a North Carolina court against the Trump campaign and recent state director Earl L. Phillip. The lawsuit alleges assault and battery, seeking monetary damages for emotional distress. Bordini, 41, also says Trump's national campaign leadership refused to address the February incident.

Wednesday's lawsuit  first reported by WBTV in Charlotte  says Bordini and Phillip were traveling by car in South Carolina when the campaign director suddenly pulled out a .45-caliber handgun, the safety off and his finger on the trigger, and pressed the barrel to the staffer's kneecap.

Phillip, 48, told The Associated Press Wednesday he had recently resigned as both state campaign director and as deputy chair of Trump's National Diversity Coalition. "I stepped down from ... all affiliations with Donald J. Trump until this is cleared up," said Phillip.

He referred further questions to his lawyer. Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In his lawsuit, Bordini alleges Phillip also pulled his gun on at least four other people within the Trump organization. The behavior was so widely recognized within the campaign that others knew the caliber of his gun, the lawsuit says.

"Some described Phillip as initially calm. Then, he would brandish his weapon, put its barrel against their bodies or aim it at them," the lawsuit states. "He would wait for his victims to show fear and then calmly conceal his weapon again."

The lawsuit notes that others described witnessing Phillip "yelling and screaming in anger" while he brandished his gun.

Bordini "felt he could not tell anyone about the incident due to Phillip's reputation for violent outbursts, intimidation and retaliation," according to his lawsuit.

The aide was so fearful Phillip might retaliate against him for reporting the February incident within the campaign, Bordini temporarily moved his family out of their house so they would be harder to find, the lawsuit says. Bordini, described as a "passionate" Trump supporter, says he didn't report the incident to law enforcement or go to the media because he didn't want to hurt the Republican nominee's chances of becoming president.

"Vincent forewent alerting authorities because putting Mr. Trump in the White House was his goal. But enough is enough," the lawsuit states. "Guns don't have to fire to inflict damage. Vincent couldn't sleep after the incident. If Phillip had flinched, Vincent might have never been able to properly walk again."

As a candidate, Trump has been an outspoken supporter of the constitutional right to bear arms. He has a permit in New York to carry a concealed handgun.

Trump generated a firestorm Tuesday when, speaking at a rally in North Carolina, he suggested Second Amendment advocates might find a way to stop Hillary Clinton from rolling back gun rights if she's elected. Within minutes, Clinton's campaign denounced the celebrity businessman's remarks as an attempt to incite violence against his Democratic rival.

Phillip's attorney, William Harding of Charlotte, said his client is a law-abiding citizen.

"He has never, never been accused or convicted of any criminal activity," Harding said. "We look forward to defending this lawsuit and filing the appropriate counterclaims, including defamation of character."

Harding suggested the timing of the lawsuit, coming the day after Trump's loaded remarks, appeared politically motivated.

Phillip became the campaign's North Carolina state director in November. Since then, the Trump campaign has paid Phillip's consulting business, Innovative Consulting Services, nearly $65,000 for campaign field consulting. Those payments include about $9,500 in late June, federal filings show.

Before going to work for the Trump campaign, Phillip served as the North Carolina African-American State Director for the Republican National Committee. He was also appointed by North Carolina's Republican governor, Pat McCrory, to a state board that helps oversee the finances of local governments.

In a 2014 speech, Phillip was quoted as saying he did not believe President Barack Obama was either a Christian or an American citizen  and disputed whether Obama qualified as a true African-American. Phillip also frequently takes aim at Democrats through social media, this week retweeting a faked photo of Clinton wearing a Muslim headscarf made of an American flag.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, Bordini was on the Trump campaign payroll from December through February, earning about $1,000 every two weeks. The campaign last paid him in mid-March, when he was reimbursed for travel expenses.

The lawsuit says Bordini resigned from the campaign in March.

"Vincent became disgusted with the Trump campaign's lack of corrective action," the lawsuit states. "He could no longer tolerate working in an environment where his superior could pull a gun on him at any moment."
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A cooling off period for a year proposed by the government and subsequent government permission for retired bureaucrats before they join the private sector is one step forward in eliminating the practice of the private sector providing jobs to babus in return for grace and favour. There have often been suspicions that a particular bureaucrat may have got a plum job for favours rendered while in service. This practice should not stop only at bureaucrats, it should extend to other services as well.

The government has been quick to reward loyalists with posts to public-funded organisations and with governorships. In fact, a former chief justice of India was made a governor within four months after he demitted office. He was in fact the first CJI to be appointed as a governor, a post which is normally given to those who have been politically useful to the government of the day and may continue to be.

Read | 7th Pay Commission: Babu politics, money matters keep govt employees unhappy

A controversial police chief of Delhi was given a post on the Union Public Service Commission board as soon as his tenure ended. In the past, we have seen top defence officials join arms companies when they retire. A former police officer turned politician was given a governorship after having lost a prestigious election.

The government has also made it mandatory for former bureaucrats to make it clear that they had not been privy to classified or strategic information while in the last three years of their service which could be related to their new assignment.

Read | Babus post-retirement jobs may have embargo

This proposal was clearly prompted by several instances in which officers were found to have taken up jobs which clearly were in contravention of service ethics. A former IRS officer who had applied for a waiver of the cooling period earlier was found to have been offered an astronomical amount of money from a private firm which amounted to a conflict of interest with the position he had held. This was rejected at the time. However, the governments enquiries into his possible collusion with the firm in question while in service were not conclusive as also the cases of several others.

The 2G spectrum scandal seems to have served as a wake-up call for the government when it was found that the former TRAI chairman had joined a firm which had dubious links in the matter. The real clean up will take place when this applies across the board and not just to bureaucrats, but this is as good a beginning as any.

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As India readies to welcome Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, tensions are rising in Asia as China takes steps to assert its control over the waters of the South China Sea after its claims were rejected by an international tribunal at The Hague last month. Chinas defence minister Chang Wanquan has called for a peoples war at sea to push back against threats to Chinese claims.

More significantly, China is also changing its laws to arrest and jail anyone caught fishing in waters Beijing considers its own, even though those bits are disputed among Chinas neighbours in the South China Sea.

Read | India should avoid entanglement in South China Sea, says Chinese media

Over the past week, all three Chinese naval fleets have taken to the sea to practice for a sudden, cruel, and short conflict. Beijing has begun to fly bomber and fighter aircraft near disputed islands in the South China Sea. It has also announced that it would hold joint naval routine drills in the waters with Russia in September. A group of new photographs have revealed the construction of several reinforced aircraft hangars at Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs, all land formations built up by China in recent months.

Chinas neighbours too arent keeping quiet. Reports have emerged of Vietnam fortifying several of its islands in the South China Sea with mobile rocket launchers capable of striking Chinas runways and military installations across the vital trade route. Japan filed a protest with Beijing over its recently discovered radar equipment installed in a gas exploration platform close to disputed waters in the East China Sea. The protest came on the same day an armada of 13 Chinese coast guard ships sailed into waters just outside what Japan considers its territorial waters in the East China Sea.

Read | The Dragon does not come bearing gifts

South Korea is now willing to share the US Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) systems radar data on North Korean missile launches with Japan. It would also be a culmination of some of Chinas worst fears, as the move would bring South Korea closer into a trilateral alliance involving the US and Japan. The US is also responding at both diplomatic and military levels. The USS Benfold, a US Navy guided missile destroyer, docked at the northern Chinese port of Qingdao, becoming the first visit by an American warship since Beijings claims to the South China Sea were ripped apart in The Hague.

Ahead of Wangs visit, Chinese State media is warning India to avoid unnecessary entanglement with China over the South China Sea debate if New Delhi wishes to create a good atmosphere for economic cooperation. His visit will be the first high-level visit between the two countries after China blocked Indias Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership bid at the plenary meeting of the 48-nation grouping in June on the grounds that it was not a signatory to the NPT. Next month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in China to attend the G20 summit in Hangzhou.

Read | Vietnam moves new rocket launchers into disputed South China Sea, sources claim

India will have to carefully assess the implications of rapidly evolving maritime order in Asia for its own interests and engage with Beijing accordingly. The stakes of what happens in the waters around South China Sea are as high for India as they are for the regional states.

Harsh V Pant is professor of international relations at Kings College, London

The views expressed are personal
Each time Kashmir erupts, as it has over the past month, a familiar set of opinions and debates comes to the fore, especially on social media and in prime time studios. The discourse is trapped between an overdone nationalism, a hyperbolic romanticism and a mutual denialism. It is important to identify the limits of what can and cannot, and what should and must be achieved in the Valley, keeping five realistic parameters in mind.

First, international appetite for experiments with self-determination is at its lowest since World War I. In recent times, interventions by global powers in Syria, Libya, Iraq and several locations in Africa have  whether militarily or politically  carved new territories and regimes. Moral and strategic arguments for and against these have been made, but there is near unanimity that such interventions have led to instability and created hotspots for radicalism, terrorism and human misery.

Read | Rajnath says will talk to all for peace in Kashmir

Why is this relevant to an understanding of Kashmir? It tells us the desire of the global community for a quasi-independent or unshackled Kashmir, as a manifestation of some libertarian notion of popular aspiration, is near zero. The opening of spaces for potentially Islamist regimes is a non-starter. This explains why, despite the ongoing turbulence, world pressure on India has been minimal. While not sacrificing cherished positions, stakeholders in the Valley have to factor this in.

The idealism of Kashmiriyat, first discredited with the cleansing of Pandits in the early 1990s and then through repeated violence against minorities in the state, is now viewed largely through the prism of Islamiyat. Cruel as this sounds, images of stone-pelting protestors being tear-gassed and shot today evoke less horror in the rest of India and the planet than do visuals of masked young men, dressed in black, carrying AK-47s and promoting a mix of religion and armed rebellion. In a post-9/11, post-Islamic State world, the proposition that Islamists are fighting for freedom is neither sellable nor credible.

Read | For 34th day, Kashmir remains paralysed by protests and curfew

Second, related to the first point, the backlash against unbridled self-determination is occurring just as the Westphalian system and nation-state territoriality are making a ferocious comeback across the United States, Europe and Asia. There is no patience for redrawing borders. Violence and protests in Kashmir, police action, curfew and suspension of civil liberties, constitute bad politics and poor democracy. Even so, these are seen as sovereign actions the world has left India to take, deal with and live with.

Ironically, this is a consequence of some in Kashmir wanting to internationalise their cause. As it happens they have done so by hitching their grievance to global jihad and locating it within an Islamist agenda. This has singularly allowed huge sovereign space for India to act against what is seen as a systemic non-negotiable.

Read | NIA says Lashkar fuelling Kashmir violence as Rajnath targets Pakistan

Third, while the Westphalian comeback secures Indias autonomy in Kashmir, it also accentuates the Indian governments obligations and responsiveness to its citizenry, disaffected or otherwise. Anti-terror crackdowns and operations in Kashmir and the decidedly imperfect democracy in the Valley are not incompatible with the idea of an efficient development state with the rule of law. China, South Korea and others have demonstrated that less-than-optimal political structures do not preclude efficient social and economic development and governance.

Without doubt India has failed in being an efficient development state in Kashmir. Exaggerated talk of the Kashmir valley being among the countrys highest per capita income regions has skewed ambition and design of projects and of human development. Poor integration of the region with key economic centres is a case in point and has allowed a de facto seclusion of the Kashmiri people and their prospects. Article 370 is not the roadblock for this; fundamentally, it is a failure of imagination. Episodically enlightened civil servants and even army commanders do display such imagination, but there is little to institutionalise their initiatives.

Read | After invoking Vajpayee, Modi govt has failed to walk the talk, say observers

Fourth, this poor governance is best (or worst) manifested in the incompetence in managing protests and uprisings. Better riot-police training, more efficient crowd-control methods and upgraded gear and hardware would have resulted in lower casualties. Information management and developing counter-narratives need to be best-in-class as blanket bans on people (curfews) and conversations (media and telecom prohibitions) have deleterious consequences. On social media, separatist propaganda is sophisticated; the Indian States information warfare is prehistoric or at least pre-millennial.

To be fair, such renewal is necessary across India and not just in Jammu and Kashmir. It is part of a policing protocol and culture invented by the colonial state after 1857 and suitable for an occupying power and subject people, not for a government dealing with citizens. This is a challenge India faces in several states, but Kashmir is as good a place as any to invest in 21st century methods, machines and mechanisms.

Read | Parliamentarians demand a political solution to end unrest in Kashmir

Fifth, since 1947 the Indian States approach to its frontiers  whether in the Northeast or Kashmir  has similarly borrowed from the limiting and self-defeating pacification tactics of the Raj: bolstering and incentivising local elites and adopting select families for whom networks in Delhi matter more than popular legitimacy or a commitment to widen the sphere of formal politics. Dynasties are frowned upon nationally but over-relied on in these regions. In Kashmir, the Instrument of Accession has been replaced by the Inevitability of Succession.

This is lazy politics. After 70 years of blood and tears, sacrifice and investment, surely India needed to show more options and a greater outreach than just the Abdullahs and Sayeeds? As prime minister, it is incumbent upon Narendra Modi to expand those options and enhance that outreach. The instruments, dialogue channels and specificities are for him to choose.

Ashok Malik is distinguished fellow and Samir Saran is vice-president, Observer Research Foundation

The views expressed are personal
On August 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an impassioned speech on the mounting atrocities on Dalits across India, condemning caste discrimination and lashing out at self-styled cow protectors accused of targeting Muslims and the scheduled castes.

If you want to attack Dalits, attack me first. If you want to fire at Dalits, fire the first bullet at me. But the nation will not forgive us if attacks on Dalits continue like this, Modi told a massive gathering of BJP workers in Hyderabad, the same city where Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula committed suicide on January 17.

Read | Attack me, shoot me if you want, but dont attack Dalits: PM Modi

Has the PMs plea been internalised/absorbed by the partys rank and file? It doesnt seem so.

Speaking on the Dalit issue, new Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani told a national daily: Uttar Pradesh is facing an election. Our elections are in December 2017, UP polls are in February 2017 There is a Dalit vote bank and Mayawati rules it They have raised the Gujarat issue because, with Modis charisma  BJP can even form a government there half the BSP has joined the BJP there. So to defame Modi, the BJP and Gujarat they come to Una. In other words, Dalit dont face any challenges in Gujarat, its just politics.

Read | Why Rupani is BJPs chosen one: Equations behind the Gujarat gambit

Yet, when it came to the protests by the Patidar for reservation, Rupani was careful to say that they have a point and that will be looked into.

Read | Cultural practices of caste Hindus obstructing justice for Dalits

This cherry picking of the demands of one aggrieved community over the other goes against the sentiments expressed by the PM.

Read | Vijay Rupani: The man calling the shots in Gujarat is now the CM

This is hardly a good start for Rupani and reflects badly on the BJP at a time when the Dalit issue has become not just a national but an international issue.

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No government can afford to be acting under pressure  especially when the objective is to win back a citizenry acting under duress or the influence of an external power.

It isnt surprising therefore that the Narendra Modi regime is inclined to limit its engagement in Kashmir with stakeholders rated as moderates. The decision against reaching out to separatists makes sense at the current juncture when nobodys in control of the rebellious youth.

The tactic apparently is to co-opt hardliners in the Jammu region thats the BJPs political mainstay, while buying time to tire out the alienated protestors in the Valley. It takes two to tango. One can talk only when the other side is willing, reasoned a PDP leader.

From the standpoint of the Hurriyat  whose traction with new-age militancy is doubtful  time isnt opportune to engage with New Delhi. They cannot annoy Islamabad when it has moved the United Nations citing human rights violations in the Valley.

Pakistan approached the UN on August 9  the day Modi broke his silence on Kashmir  with Nawaz Sharif writing to Secretary General Ban ki-moon and the UN high commissioner for Human Rights. In a replay of 1994 when Kashmir was the nightmare that it is today  and Parliament felt the need to reiterate the Indian claim on PoK  the Pak Premier harped on UN resolutions on Kashmir. He also sought an end to persistent and egregious violations of basic human rights of the Kashmiri people.

The broad canvas of the Centres Kashmir outreach might emerge at Fridays all-party meeting. But to dent the Pakistani offensive therell have to be safeguards in place against excessive use of force. The hawks will come on board when the fatigue factor sets in and back-channels are activated to reach them, argued a former J&K top-cop. Use of force is inevitable at times; but it can be measured to limit loss of limb and life. No dialogue will succeed without ending the specter of pellet ridden bodies, he said.

Muzaffar Shah of Awami National Conference echoed the view in a different context: A beginning has been made but its very late in the day. If parliamentarians are serious, they must visit hospitals in Srinagar to understand the sense of anger and alienation.

The communal discourse the NDA allowed out of electoral expediency in the rest of India is seen by most experts as a major contributor to the radicalisation of Kashmiri Muslims to Pakistans advantage. Security analyst Kapil Kak proposed that parties take a firm view against use of communal lexicon to reduce the prevailing trust-deficit. Otherwise, there wont ever be an ambience for talks with the alienated groups.

There was positive feedback from the Valley on the Rajya Sabha debate on Kashmir  despite the fiery response on Twitter to the home minister reply.
The democratisation of communication now brings the talk of the street into our homes and offices. As a result we can communicate without making a personal connection. The communications that actually reach our desktops or our smartphones tend towards the lowest common denominator of civility, a level that is unfortunately very low.

Therefore we have an epidemic expansion and exchange of hatred, anger and violence in our social media interactions. All we can say is that the choice to subject ourselves to this lowest level of expression has now become a way of life.

Governments and political parties around the world are learning too. But the roots of these problems lie not in the State, but in the combination of private power in the platform companies and our own burgeoning need to take advantage of their services, irrespective of our increasing vulnerability to the harmful speech directed at us by strangers.

There is no doubt that words aimed to wound or harm are appropriate subjects of regulation in any legal system.

There are many reasons why expecting public force to control these words will swiftly lead to disappointment. It is equally unsatisfactory to empower private companies to act as global censors in the interests of civility. This will give the private platforms undemocratic power.

Hence there is a need for a broad social dialogue. This is not just to restore systems of government or private censorship, but to protect the safety and civility of public discourse in a world of democratised communications. In India, we do not need the revival of section 66A or any other similar legislation, neither do we need to turn to the online giants such as Google, Facebook or Twitter for censorship. However there is a need for discussing the means by which both the government and these companies can help us protect our cultural environment. That dialogue should be based on the acceptance of some basic principles which are crucial to democracy and our society.

For instance, the providers of services that enhance democracy of communication must also devise measures to involve the communities they create in the moderation and protection of discourse.

Companies must not become censors in substitution for governments. Instead, they must create communities of civility maintenance, platforms for discussion and support people who are subjected to harm. We are building through the net a community as wide as humankind. How we carry our civility into that new space and how we deal with fighting words on the Internet determines whether we are building a better human civilisation.

Mishi Choudhary is legal director and Eben Moglen is chairman, Software Freedom Law Centre

The views expressed are personal
17-year-old graphic artist Priyanka Paul painted Kali in a crop top, Hera with a half-shaved head. It went viral. Then came the flak.

But shes far from bothered. Her next project is to challenge the taboo around menstruation in India

The Goddesses stand tall, and unashamed

Laughing in the face of aghast disciples,

As they reclaim

Reclaim

Thats an excerpt from Pantheon, by Mumbai-based poet and culture blogger, Harnidh Kaur (22). In it, Eve walks in to a church naked, Kali uses Snapchat, and Hera  the Greek goddess of marriage (source: Encyclopedia Britannica)  participates in anti-opression debates on Facebook. The poem is provocative: Kaurs goddesses are not isolated, mythical creatures living in temples. They are everyday women, oppressed and objectified.

Priyanka Paul, a 17-year-old, city-based graphic artist found the poem on Kaurs Instagram page. It celebrated being a woman  bold and unabashed. I was able to conceptualise it visually, says Paul. So, in July, Paul published a series of sketches based on Kaurs characters, on her Instagram handle, @artwhoring.

The art is quirky: Kali in a crop top, Hera with a half-shaved head, Amaterasu  the Japanese goddess of the sun  in a bathrobe, with #FreeTheNipple (the battle cry of an 2014 gender-equality movement) tattooed across her chest. Titled the Feminist Goddesses (FG), the picture series has more than 1,200 likes on Instagram.

Also read: Gender Bender: How India discovered role reversal through pop culture

Feminist expression

For Paul, currently a mass media student at St Xaviers College, Fort, art became a medium to express herself during her turbulent, teenage years. Going to college introduced me to in-depth studies on cultures, and the feminist movements, in particular. I was affected by the injustice and gender objectification faced by women through the ages. Thats when I started using art to express the outrage and teen angst, says Paul.

The exposure to feminism has clearly left a mark on Pauls social outlook: she is now a staunch feminist. All this at just 17. I believe feminism is incredibly important in India. As the youth, it is our responsibility that the movement bears good results. And since art has always played an important role in the global feminist movements, I hope to speak about gender-related issues through my art, and inspire people to question years of social conditioning, says Paul.

Never back down

Prior to the FG series, Paul did a 12-part series that depicted the sun signs as female characters. So, Taurus (usually depicted as a bull) became a woman with horns, and Pisces (depicted though fish, and characterised as adventure-lovers) became a woman making sand castles at the beach. The artwork is popular, with close to 500 likes each.

With FG, Paul has married pop culture and religion, a hot potato in India. But why goddesses? They [goddesses] are symbols of femininity across cultures. It only seemed fit that they be seen as modern representatives of feminist liberation, says Paul.

Did she receive any backlash? Not initially, she says. The first few reactions were positive. In a months time, when the series went viral, the illustrations were taken out of context. I received lewd comments on Instagram. People were particularly offended by the two fingers under the tongue in the Kali illustration, recalls Paul.

The episode, however, has not rattled the young artist. She chooses to focus on the appreciation she received for FG, and is already on to her next project. My next will be based on the taboo around periods. I want to use pickle jars that menstruating women are not allowed to touch. It represents centuries of prejudice against womanhood,she says.

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Actor Akshay Kumar, whose film Rustom releases on Friday, is one of the most bankable stars in Bollywood. It also means hes one star who commands a price tag not many in the industry can boast of. Ever wondered how much it could be?

According to a report in Dailybhaskar, hes being paid Rs 1 crore per day... for director Subhash Kapoors upcoming film Jolly LLB 2. The report adds that Akki is likely to shoot for 100 days! Now do the maths yourself.

Akshay is also said to be following a strict routine wherein he reaches the sets at 10am and continues shooting till 8pm, the report added.

Read: Checkout Akshays new look for Jolly LLB 2

Arshad Warsi played the lead role in Jolly LLB in the 2013 court room drama directed by Subhash Kapoor. The film was about Jolly, a struggling lawyer, who comes upon a hit-and-run case and decides to fight for the victims.

Saurabh Shukla reprises his character of a judge in the new film. The sequel will reportedly be shot in Lucknow and Varanasi.

Hindustan Times could not independently verify the report.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
I cant believe Mahendra Singh Dhoni just visited my school! Siddharth Arora, a student of DAV Public School (Kulachi Hansraj Model School) exclaimed.

Siddharth was one of the many awestruck students when he saw Indian Captain MS Dhoni and actor Sushant Singh Rajput enter the school premises to launch the trailer of the upcoming film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. The two visited the school on Thursday afternoon.

Read: Dhonis biopic trailer to be launched at his, Sushant Singh Rajputs school

MS Dhoni reveals how important his school was in shaping him. (Amal KS/HT Photo )

Sushant  who plays Dhoni in the film  completed his schooling from the same school, while Dhoni had also studied at DAV, but the Ranchi branch. After a host of cultural performances by the students, the school erupted with Dhoni Dhoni chants, as the two stars along with director Neeraj Pandey and the producers got on stage to launch the films trailer. They also talked about the impact of school on their lives.

Both felt nostalgic about their school experiences. Sushant even visited the school canteen to see if they still had his favourite Chinese samosa snack. Dhoni talked about how important school was in shaping the person he is today.

Read: MS Dhoni releases trailer of film based on his life at LPU

My school was slightly different from others. My wife and I used to argue about whose school was better. I always won, because my school produced more number of doctors, engineers and sportspersons. It really was the place which taught me that if one believes in themselves, they can achieve whatever they want to, he said.

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Rustom is ready to show Delhi University (DU) a real Good Morning. Ladies get your Lipstick on, I bet Akshay Kumar will be picking 1 of u lovelies for a lil cheek to cheek to Tere Sang Yara song, wrote actor Illeana Dcruz on Instagram.

The post went viral in no time among DU girls who were waiting with bated breath for actor Akshay Kumar at Hansraj College. However lady luck smiled on Simran Vigg a student from a private university in Sonepat, Haryana as she was called on stage by the actor.

It was like a dream come true. I have not even informed my parents that I am going to Delhi to meet Akshay. My friends study in Hansraj and with their help I got entry. I still cant believe that he danced with me, hugged me and made me sit on his lap, said Vigg.

Read: Akshay, Ileana, Esha promote Rustom at HT House

Kumar was in the college with the starcast of his upcoming film. I really love Hansraj College, its very beautiful. I am glad that you gave us the opportunity to come here and be a part of you, said the actor.

Actor Akshay Kumar grooved with a fan while promoting his upcoming film Rustom at Hansraj College, DU. (Waseem Gashroo/HT Photo)

The crowd started cheering when the actor delivered his popular dialogues such as, Abe bache ki jaan lega kya and Dont angry me from his films Mr and Mrs Khiladi and Rowdy Rathore. Jaate-jaate apni ek nishni chor kar jana chahta hun, says Kumar while throwing his sunglasses in the air. It was a straight catch but the rest of the students pounced on me uske 100 tukde ho gaye, says Rahul Sharma, a student of Daulat Ram College who got the glasses.

Read: Salman batting for Rustom shows Bollywood is united, says Akshay Kumar

The enthusiasm was such that students broke down the barriers and jumped off the security panels to click selfies with the stars. Kumar had to request them to not push each other as many of them got injured. Dhaaka mat dijiye, please dont push each other, said the actor. But, there was no stopping his fans!

Actors Akshay Kumar, Ileana D'Cruz, Arjan Bajwa and Esha Gupta at Hansraj College, Delhi University. (Waseem Gashroo/HT Photo)

Due to the massive turnout, many students werent even able to enter the venue or get a glimpse of their favourite stars. Preeti Rani, first year student of Daulat Ram College says, I was not even able to get a glimpse of the actor. There were no security arrangements and my left toe got hurt so badly that I cant even walk properly. There were separate sections for boys and girls but it all got mixed up.

Follow @htshowbiz for more.

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Chinas internet giant, the Jack Ma-controlled Alibaba, might soon start competing with Amazon and Flipkart in India as it eyes new markets to hit Mas target of two billion users .

Alibaba, which posted quarterly revenue of $4.84 billion on Thursday, has initiated discussions with Vijay Shekhar Sharma-owned Paytm to either fully acquire or own a sizable share in the latters marketplace business, Paytm Mall.

In China, Alibaba has around 430 million users. Taking into account future rural penetration, this can go up to 600 million.

India, on the other hand, is just opening up. According to Mary Meekers Internet Report, India was the silver lining an otherwise bleak global internet landscape. Worldwide internet user growth, which was at 9%, would have gone the other way if India had not grown at 40%.

Other reports indicate that Indias user-base will cross 600 million users by 2020, and the 50 million online shoppers to go up to 150-200 million.

Meanwhile Paytm is looking at hiving off the Mall into a separate company, according to another source whom HT spoke with previously. One97 will not hold any share in the separate entity, the source said.

Once that happens, Alibaba can easily acquire a sizable portion of Paytm Mall, said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst of Greyhound Research. Alibaba wont have to start the business from scratch.

Alibaba did not want to comment on specifics. We do not discuss market speculations about our business plans in the media India is an important emerging market with great potential and we are absolutely committed to developing this market for the long term, the company said in an email.

If a deal works out, Paytm will get additional money to put into its payment banks business. Alibaba has already $675 million invested in Onwe97.

Paytm is seen as a mirror image of Alibaba. Paytm Mall, the source said, will either be renamed Alibaba or Tmall India. Tmall is similar to Amazon and Flipkart in China.

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One cant resign, ask for leave or send office work on WhatsApp, human resource folks at popular companies are telling employees.

Companies are discouraging the use of WhatsApp for office communication, saying the instant messaging app owned by Facebook can only remain an informal and unofficial mode of interaction. They fear losing sensitive data because of loopholes in the app.

With over a billion global users, a tenth of that in India, WhatsApp has to put its weight behind enterprise communication with features that allow users to create groups, and share videos and documents. It promises end-to-end encryption of all data shared over the platform.

But most companies are not convinced.

Companies have no control over information that employees have in their WhatsApp account, especially after they left the organisation. If an employee loses her phone, the app can be misused, said Rituparna Chakroborty, co-founder of staffing firm Teamlease Services.

Besides, employees think the app is an intruder, especially when somebody is on leave.

Managers expect an immediate response to queries on WhatsApp (if the message is read). Thats unfair and we are undertaking sensitisation drives among employees and managers  The app is not an official channel of communication, said Biplob Banerjee, executive vice-president, human resource, at Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the operator of Dunkin Donuts and Dominos Pizza in India.

Banerjee, however, uses WhatsApp to send short and crisp videos on company policies to the employees.

Apart from Jubilant, Adidas India, Amway India, Hero Cycles, and RPG Group are firms that have introduced office policies on WhatsApp.

Some firms are stricter. Adidas has mentioned in its social media policy that SMS and other mobile messaging tools cannot substitute an official channel, such as mails.

We encourage employees to use internal communication and messaging platforms for work-related interactions. WhatsApp cant be that, said Arijit Sengupta, senior HR director, Adidas Group India.

The companies think WhatsApp may never become an official communication tool as it is not connected to a companys server, like in the case of emails and several enterprise chat apps.

If used irresponsibly, it could lead to a grapevine of communication and gossip, wasting employees time, said a Hero Cycles spokesperson.

Shantanu Das, head of HR at Amway India, believes WhatsApp can be an efficient tool if used moderately.

It enhances team-bonding, and breaks barriers of hierarchy, gives liberty to an executive to share his views with the senior leadership in a free and frank way, he said.

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As the Cabinet approved Motor Vehicle Act of 2016 (MVA) earlier this week, app-based cab-hailing firms, Ola and its American rival, Uber, are under the governments pressure to change the way they function.

To make matters worse for them, the Delhi government on Wednesday said aggregators will have to install fare meters.

Nowhere in the world do Uber cabs have fare meters. The company decides the price, pays what it wants to its drivers, and calculates the fare on the basis of GPS tracking.

The new rules, once implemented, will bring Ola and Uber in closer combat with the radio taxi firms such as Meru Cabs and Carzonrent-owned Easy Cabs.

As per the MVA, Ola and Uber will have to take aggregators licences, and comply with city taxi rules, which include having only CNG taxis in Delhi and Mumbai. At present, thousands of drivers with diesel cars and tourist licences have joined the app companies for better compensation. Ola has 400,000 drivers, and Uber 270,000.

Ola and Uber pushed radio taxis aside as it used venture capital money to give huge discounts to passengers looking for cheaper rides, in some cases less than what one would pay an auto rickshaw driver. Add driver incentives to the discounts, estimates show that for every 100 aggregators earn, they spend 200-250. Ola reported a loss of 796 crore in 2014-15.

The MVA and the state laws might end surge pricing as well as deep discounts, if the meter, monitored by the authorities, is installed. The Act will also hold the aggregator accountable for quality of services, as there have been a bunch of molestation charges against the drivers of cab-hailing companies.

Radio taxi operators feel finally there can be a level-playing field in the countrys organised taxi business.

They (Ola and Uber) have violated driver validation norms, they dont have the necessary equipment, and they have violated fuel norms, said Rajiv Vij, CEO of Carzonrent.

With discounts and incentives, the intent is to smoke-out competition and monopolise the market Once a duopoly is established, the tariffs will be in the range of 30-35 per km, said Siddharth Pahwa, CEO, Meru .

The cab business in India is worth  59,720 crore, but only 5% of that is with aggregators.

As per the new regulations, if Ola and Uber stop incentivising their drivers, it will be a level-playing field.

For us, Incentives have taken the supply out of the market. When the demand for cabs rise, customers opt for app-based taxis, said Rajesh Loomba, managing director of ECO Rent A Car. In the US, the price differential (between regular taxis and app-based cab-hailing aggregators) is 5-10%, but here it is 50%.

To put demand in context, Ola drivers received 59.5 million calls, and Uber received 25.4 million, between January and April this year, according to data from a Truecaller report.

When it comes to booking taxis on the go, 220 million smartphone users bet on Ola and Uber.

At present, the state law regulates the number of cabs Ola and Uber has.

For example, in Mumbai, a licence holder cannot have more than 4,000 cabs, 2,500 in Delhi, and all taxis should be run on eco-friendly CNG. Right now, these two aggregators have 50,000-70,000 cabs in Delhi and Mumbai, each.

The demand is likely to be distributed over a larger number of taxi companies.

Carzonrents Vij said that any company that is able to deliver a better experience  good cars, responsible drivers, safety, better fares  will win.

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The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has said its right to audit the private operators of the Delhi and Mumbai airports cannot be questioned, raising hopes that passengers may get to know how the money paid by them towards the development of Indias two biggest airports was spent, or shared with the government.

The GMR and GVK Group-led consortiums, which run the Delhi and Mumbai airports respectively, have blocked the national auditors efforts to examine their accounts, as first reported by HT.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which owns a 26% stake in both Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), has appointed the CAG as its representative to carry out the audit of the joint venture partners since it earns major chunk of its revenue from them.

The AAI officials said both the private operators had refused to share documents relating to their accounts.

CAG chief Shashi Kant Sharma has written to aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju that the proposed audit cannot be questioned in the wake of an apex court judgement.

The Supreme Court of India in its judgement in the case of Association of Unified Teleservices Providers and others v/s Union of India has upheld the right of the CAG to carry out the audit of private entities, which share their revenue with the government. In the wake of this, the proposed audit of revenues flowing into the AAI from DIAL, or MIAL by the CAG should not be questioned, Sharma wrote in the letter.

While MIAL did not comment, a DIAL spokesperson said, DIAL, in principle, is not against any audit by the AAI as per the provisions of the OMDA. However, in terms of the provisions of Article 149 of the constitution of India read with sections 15 to 20 of the CAG Act, 1971, as per the CAG own guidelines on PPP and also as per the provisions of the concession agreement (OMDA), there does not exist authority in favour of CAG to conduct the audit of PPP (public private partnership) Projects.

The judgment of Supreme Court only upholds the CAGs power to audit the telecom operators proceeded solely on the basis of Rule 5 of the Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and the concession agreement of the service providers. This judgment cannot be applicable in case of a PPP project such as IGI Airport. DIAL, however, has always shared all relevant documents with AAI as and when asked for, the spokesperson added.

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A senior Air India (AI) pilot tested positive for alcohol after landing his flight from Sharjah at Kozhikode in Kerala on Wednesday, in only the second such incident in Indias aviation history.

As he was a repeat offender, having previously failed a pre-flight test, the flight safety department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) handed out a four-year suspension instead of the usual three years.

In most western countries, flying a plane while drunk would land the pilot in jail.

We confirm the incident. We have de-rostered the pilot and set up an inquiry committee to look into the incident, said an AI spokesperson.

Failing the post-flight medical test as compared to a pre-flight test is a grave safety violation as the pilot has operated a flight with passengers on-board under the influence of alcohol, a DGCA source said. There cannot be any leniency in such cases.

Most airlines conduct post-flight medical tests for crew on international sectors once they return to their home base, as posting doctors to carry out pre-flight tests overseas becomes a costly affair.

The pilot failed the test on landing in Kozhikode. Other crew members were found to be ok, said a senior official.

Grounding the pilot, however, left AI in a hole as there was no replacement pilot available to fly the connecting flight to Mumbai. We had to divert a flight from Chennai to Kozhikode and drop a pilot there, resulting in unnecessary expenditure, the airline official told HT.

Coming drunk is a criminal offence that cannot be condoned. Passenger safety is our top priority, said the senior official quoted above.

This is only the second case of a pilot caught drunk post flight in India. The pilot of a private airline who failed a post-flight test recently was also handed out a four-year suspension, another source said.

In India, pilots are suspended for three months for the first violation, three years for the second and the licence is cancelled for a third offence.

A pilot has to be extremely vigilant in the cockpit as his job requires simultaneous monitoring of controls and coordination with authorities like the ATC (Air Traffic Control), according to a safety expert. Even a minor level of alcohol can seriously impair his performance.

Till July this year, there have 26 cases of pilots having tested positive for alcohol during pre-flight medical tests. In 2015, there were 43 such cases.

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NEW DELHI: Almost eight lakh patients were treated in five months at the 105 mohalla clinics opened by the AAP government, says out-patient data (OPD) data released on Wednesday.

These neighbourhood clinics were setup as a pilot project for the 1,000 clinics that the government had promised to open by the end of the year to improve primary health-care and reduce the burden on the tertiary care centres.

When we had conceived the project, we thought almost 80% of the patients can be treated at these centres, however, since the project took off we realised almost 95% cases can be handled at the mohalla clinics itself, said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain.

The data shows nearly 43,000 people got various tests done at the clinics. The clinics will provide consultation ,110 free essential drugs, immunisation for children, 212 basic tests and counselling. Once the project is completed, even specialist doctors would visit the facilities on a rotational basis, Jain said.

Keeping the dengue crisis in mind, the minister assured that tests like complete blood count and serology test for dengue will be available free of cost at these centres from September 1.

Recently, the government decided to open 110 such facilities in Delhi government schools. This move was opposed by parents citing security concerns.

There will be two entrances to these mohalla clinics  one door for the students and the other for the general public. No one will be able to enter the school premises from within the clinic, he said.

Another concern that parents had was that the patients could make the children sick. This fear is completely base less as the people visiting the clinics are from within the community, which means that the children are already exposed to the bacteria or viruses in their own neighbourhoods, said Dr Tarun Seem, Delhi health secretary.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will not allow surge pricing and fix a maximum fare cap for app-based cab aggregators such as Ola and its American rival Uber.

These measures are part of a policy that the Aam Aadmi Party government is preparing, following directions of the Delhi high court. The proposals will be sent to the lieutenant-governor for approval.

The government will fix the rates and cabs will charge within the limit, transport minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday. If theres a law for autos and taxis, Ola and Uber cannot be above it.

The policy will be in line with the amended motor vehicles law the Union cabinet approved a week ago. Surge pricing is a demand-based model that makes fares fluctuate, sometimes more than five times the base value. Ola and Uber were criticised for using the model during the Delhi governments odd-even road rationing scheme in April.

Besides, all taxis must install fare meters. App-based taxis rely on the GP Sin the driver s phone to calculate the fare. A government study shows Ola and Uber fares were inflated by poor mobile network as cell phones often connect to a tower far from the pick-up and drop-off points.

The amended motor vehicles act is expected to create a level-playing field, bringing cab rental companies such as Meru and Carzonrent-owned Easy Cabs back in action. These firms were pushed aside as Ola and Uber offered heavy discounts to passengers and doled out incentives to drivers.

The discounts and incentives are not sustainable  Hopefully, there will be some clarity. It is unusual to start a business in a country without complying with the laws, said Rajiv Vij, the CEO of Carzonrent.

In the new regime, Ola and Uber will have to take an aggregators licence and follow taxi rules of every state. In Mumbai, a licence holder cannot have more than 4,000 cabs, and 2,500 in Delhi, and all taxis should run on eco-friendly CNG.
GHAZIABAD/BULANDSHAHR: The two Bulandshahr highway gang rape survivors recorded their statements before a magistrate at a court on Wednesday.

Both the mother and her daughter gave their statements... They narrated the incident ... We do not want any medical examination as portrayed by VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi on Wednesday. We have not raised any demands before her, said the girls uncle.

Sadhvi Prachi had gone to the victims house and demanded they be examined by a Hindu doctor.

Bulandshahr police said they will soon take the three remaining accused, including prime accused Saleem Bawariya, into remand.

HC SEEKS PROGRESS REPORT

ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad high court asked advocate general, VB Singh, who appeared on behalf of the government, to produce a report in the court by August 11 at 2 pm in a sealed cover about the robberies and rapes that occurred over the past year on NH-91 in Bulandshahr district. The court was hearing a public interest litigation over the twin gang rapes

The court asked Bulandshahr superintendent of police to submit a report on Thursday about the status of investigation in the gang rapes.

NSA CHARGE TO BE SLAPPED ON ACCUSED

MEERUT: Uttar Pradesh Police will slap National Security Act charge on the accused in the Bulandshahr highway gang rape case.

This will increase the punishment for the accused, if convicted.

It is compulsory for the state government to approve the charge imposition within 10 days after recommendation. Otherwise it will be null.
NEW DELHI: The driver of the app-based taxi you have booked may be sleep-deprived, putting your and his life at risk. Drivers of Uber and Ola are spending up to 17 hours every day to clock rides to avail the incentives given by the cab-hailing platforms.

Extensive driving hours cause road accidents. India data isnt available, but in the US drowsy driving killed 800 people in 2013.

More rides means higher incentive. Bengaluru-based cab aggregator, Ola, gives Rs 3,000 if a driver clocks six rides, back-to-back, Rs 5,500 for 12 rides, Rs 8,000 for 16, and Rs 11,500 for 19. Its rival, American cabs platform, Uber, offers similar incentives.

Dharamveer Thakur, an Ola cab driver, hasnt slept for the past 24 hours. When I feel sleepy I park the car and take a quick nap, until the next cab request comes, he said.

Thakur says his life depends on incentives, without which he wont make enough to pay for his childrens education, his cars instalment, and familys monthly expenses.

Uber cab driver Sunil Jangra dozed off when he came to pick up a passenger from Delhis Chittaranjan Park at 2.30am. In the morning I did six rides on Ola. Since evening, I am on Uber. I will have to clock two more rides to avail the10-rides incentive, he said.

Jangra has bought a plot in west Delhis Nangloi. His kids go to an English-medium school. Indicating at the withdrawal of per-ride incentive that Ola and Uber gave a year ago, he said he wants to earn as long as the good days are around.

Doctors, however, said that drivers need minimum 7-8 hours of sleep, else they are not attentive, and their reaction time is low. There is enough scientific data that shows accidents are rampant because of lack of sleep. There are guidelines for drivers that they are not supposed to drive for 15-16 hours, said JC Suri, professor and head, pulmonary and sleep medicine at Safdarjung Hospital.

Ajay Kumar, 28, originally from Himachal Pradesh, drives for 16 hours everyday. I dont make money if I drive less than that. Without incentives, the business is not viable, he said.

Fragmented sleep or short naps dont suffice. It causes irritability and fatigue No driver can perform for 15-16 hours at a stretch, said Brig Ashok Rajput, medical director of Morpheus Healthcare, and HOD of Venkateshwar Hospital.

Ola and Uber do not have any check on driving hours. The aggregators also do not do any sleep study on drivers before inducting them.

In fact, if a driver declines a trip, the chain of the trip ends and he doesnt get the incentive, a driver said.

We are working to raise awareness about driving patterns and habits. One of the features we are piloting on drivers app is pause requests designed for drivers who want to log-off after dropping their passenger, instead of having to decline trip requests while their last rider is in the car, an Uber spokerperson said.

A mail sent to Ola remained unattended.

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NEW DELHI: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia warned government employees on Wednesday that the high court verdict on Delhis administrative jurisdiction entailed no change in the AAP governments approach of zero tolerance against corruption.

The government will continue its fight against corruption and no order will stop us from fighting against corruption, Sisodia said while addressing a gathering of tax officials and winners of the bill banvao inam pao scheme of the trade and taxes department.

The statement comes a week after the court ruled that the lieutenant gover nor is the administrator of Delhi, which is essentially a Union Territory.

The AAP government and the L-G office were locked in a turf war over administrative jurisdiction. Transfer, posting and suspension of officials were major sticking points between the two.

Many people are saying the HC verdict is out and now the Delhi govt has no powers. Dont mind, but there are many officers jinka dhanda pani band ho gaya tha (who are no longer being able to make money), who have started thinking that the system would now get centralised. I warn all such people... no order will stop us from fighting against corruption.

We didnt leave our homes to make a career in politics, but to check loot of public money. Then, we neither had chair (power) nor anyone knew us. We dont derive our power because we hold some chair, but from our zeal and intent to fight out corruption. We can take this fight forward if you (people) are with us, he said.

Sisodia raised the relevance of an elected government in Delhi and the actual power of the voter when we the people is considered supreme in the Constitution.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought an explanation from the Delhi government and the department of education (DoE) within five days on the presence of a large number of armed police personnel during its takeover drive at two branches of Maxfort School last week.

Its a children school. Why go there (school) with a police force. I dont see any aggression on part of the department (education) and the school authorities, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said.

The Delhi government s senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra said there was a lot of aggression from the school authorities and police presence was a precautionary measure.

The judge also took note of complaint filed by the court-appointed local commissioner that she was harassed by government officials while visiting the school to take custody of the schools entire record.

Why was the commissioner put to such harassment? Some action will be required against the official, Justice Sachdeva said.

The observation came during the hearing on plea of Maxfort School challenging the lieutenant governors approval given to the Delhi government s decision to take over the institute s two branches at Peetampura and Rohini.

Last week, the HC had asked the government not to take any coercive steps in connection with the takeover of the two branches. The court also asked why the entire school premise was sealed.

The DoEs counsel had told the court that there were allegations of forged and fabricated records having been produced by the school before it.

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When his phone rang on Tuesday, Ahmad Abdul Khadars first thoughts were, Must be a relative calling to enquire about the accident.

Khadar, 62, was among 300 passengers who escaped death by a whisker when his flight crash landed at the Dubai airport last week.

It turned out to be arguably the most shocking, pleasantly that is, call he ever received  someone called from Dubai to inform that he has won$ 1million (around Rs 6.5 crore) in a Dubai duty-free raffle.

For the lucky escape I have been praying to Almighty all these days. After the precious first gift (of life) I got another one... The latest gift has emboldened me to do more good things for the rest of my life, he said.

Khadar, who had a habit of buying lottery tickets on journeys back home, had purchased one at the Dubai airport while returning to Kerala on Eid last month.

Khadar is working in the middle-east since 1978 and is employed as a fleet manager with a car dealer in Dubai.

One of his sons suffered a paralytic attack after a fall 16 years ago.

My wife used to scold me for spending huge amount for raffles. I always consoled her, one day we will hit the jack port. I think this is my 17th lottery or so, said Khadar.

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NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro has tried to capture the grandeur of the Red Fort in its station near the monument on its Heritage Line.

The entrance to the station is similar to that of the Mughal-era fort. Red sandstone is used to give the station a unique signature.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has tried to capture the unique facets of the four places  Delhi Gate, Jama Masjid, Lal Quila (Red Fort) and Kashmere Gate  in its stations built on the heritage link of the ITO-Kashmere Gate line.

Shahjahans magnificent Red Fort, with its elegant palaces, symbolises a legacy of political power, which is alive till today as it is the venue of the prime ministers address on Independence Day, said a DMRC official.

There are 4 entry / exits to the station  two towards Red Fort and two towards Lajpat Rai Market.

Special panels at the station will pay tribute to the imperial lifestyle. The first panel will showcase the architecture of the palace complex. The central panel will represent two elevations of the fort walls - as a silhouette against the light, and as a present day photograph, a DMRC spokesperson said.

A plan of the city of Shahjahanabad will be incorporated in the artwork.

The station will be a boon for tourists to the Mughal-erafort. Asper Archaeological Survey of India records, 10,000 people visit Red Fort daily. But it is less than to other monuments such as Humayuns Tomb, Qutub Minar and India Gate.

Tourists come here either in private and tourist buses or take the Metro. The traffic around Old Delhi is always heavy and this affects tourist inflow, said Mahesh Yadav, a guide at the monument. Delhi Traffic Police said 1.5 lakh vehicles use Netaji Subhash Marg, which crosses the monument, every day.

The nearest Metro station to Red Fort is Chandni Chowk, which is 1.6-km away. The parking lot of the monument is located more than half a kilometre away, making it difficult for children and the elderly to reach the fort.

Local shop owners are waiting for the opening of the new heritage line. The market union of the Old Lajpat Rai market said that the transport of material will become extremely easy for owners, as the market is barely 20 metres away from one of the four exits of the Lal Quila station.

We rely on loaders to get our material. The consignment can not be delivered near the market because of the crowd at the entrance. So, the loaders have to carry the cartons from the Jain mandir side of the road where they are unloaded. The station will cut down on our costs, said Sahil Tripathy, owner of Saraswati electronics, in Old Lajpat Rai market.

The increasing reach of the Metro will encourage commuters to give up on private vehicles. If this happens, we could probably hope to make the area pedestrians only, said Mahroof Khan, secretary, market association of Dariba Kalan.
NEW DELHI: The Centre agreed to an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss how to end weeks of violent unrest in Kashmir, as pressure mounted on the government to open a broad dialogue to resolve the crisis triggered by the killing of a militant leader.

Home minister Rajnath Singh said a decision could also be taken to send an all-party delegation to Kashmir after discussions with state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on the terms and modalities of engagement.

He said the government will talk to all, no doubt, responding to opposition queries on whether moderates, political parties and others will be included in the dialogue. He, however, ruled out discussing Kashmir with Pakistan, which he blamed for the trouble in the region.

At least 55 people have been killed  most of them in police firing  following street unrest in Kashmir to protest against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces last month. The region, where a separatist campaign broke out in 1989, has been under curfew for 33 days.

Wednesdays announcements came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayees moderate vision to outline his stand on dealing with the protest sin Kashmir. In 2003, Vajpayee paved the way for the Cent re s first-ever talks with K ash mi rise para ti st sand laid down three principles to tackle the region s political crisisInsaaniyat (humanism ), Jamhooriyat ( democracy) and Kashmiriyat ( Kashmir s legacy of amity).

Political experts see Modis outreach to Kashmir  after a long silence  and the Centres latest stand as a sign of nervousness that the region might have reached a tipping point.

Like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he (Modi) should admit that there is a problem and address that, Professor Gull Mohammad Wani of Kashmir University said. Dialogue with separatists will definitely help. They have a separate constituency and can influence people.

The all-party meeting is seen aimed at blunting opposition criticism in Rajya Sabha that Modis outreach to Kashmir was not genuine and that the government was reluctant to talk to stakeholders in the region.

On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha unanimously adopted are solution appealing to all sections of the society in Jammu and Kashmir to work for the early restoration of normalcy and harmony and restore the confidence among the people in general and youth in particular...

Later, RS deputy chairperson PJ Kurien clarified the resolution will include a suggestion from CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury that confidence building measures will come through a process of dialogue in Delhi and Kashmir. It wasnt clear if that will include the separatist Hurriyat leaders to whom Vajpayee had reached out.

Past efforts at finding political solutions in Kashmir, including the initiatives by Vajpayee, yielded little results. In 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent a three-member team of interlocutors to the region but their recommendations were larg ely ignored.

It requires more than symbolism and mere expressions to address the current unrest as past experiences have shown. Dialogue at various levels is imperative, said Noor Ahmad Baba, political science professor of Kashmir University.

Stopping the use of pellet guns will be a good beginning.
NEW DELHI: Roaming carelessly through crowded roads and eating whatever comes its way, with little or no restriction  the life of the holy cow in the national capital is more difficult than it looks.

The average lifespan of a cow is 15 years and by the time it is three, it reaches its milking age.

When the cows reach their milking age, the quality of fodder she is given should be of high quality. Ideally, in villages cows are set free in lush green farms, said Dr AK Singh, head of veterinary wing at Shree Krishna Goshala in Sultanpur Dabas  the largest government-aided cow shelter in Delhi.

In the city, these abandoned cows eat whatever comes their way because of the lack of grazing space.

Plastic bags, though, are the most har mful. They accumulate in the bovines stomach and cause diseases  sometimes even death.

On the streets, cows eat garbage wrapped in polythene bags, used sanitary napkins, medical waste and nails.

He said after giving birth, the cow continues to lactate till six to eight months.

Many dairy owners inject a banned drug called oxytocin in cows for early onset of puberty and to prolong the milking age.

The quality of milk produced by injected cows is harmful. For maximum produce, the calves are also not allowed to suckle on their mothers, which makes them weak and increases chances of contracting diseases and premature deaths, he said.

In a general scenario  where cows follow their usual milking cycle  by the age of 10 years, for most the productive life ends and cows udders begin to dry.

A cows age is mainly determined by its frame and teeth. As they begin to age, their body frame begins to shrink and their skin begins hang, especially from their neck. Their teeth begin to fall off. For example, a 13-year-old cow will barely have any teeth, while a two or three year old will have a mouth full of crowded teeth, almost protruding out of their mouths, said Ruchi Kale, a volunteer with the Dhyan Foundation, an NGO working for cow protection.

In 2014, animal rights NGO, PETA, found over 1,000 illegal dairies operating in the city, most of which abandon milch cows after they are of no use to them. Most dairies abandon cows when they reach eight to 10 years of age.
NEW DELHI: A woman, in her 30s, was gang raped in Gurgaon by two of her friends while returning from a party, police said on Wednesday.

One of the accused has been arrested with a hunt on for the other man .

The incident took place on the intervening night of August 6-7, an officer said.

The woman went to a party in Gurgaon with two friends. The men started molesting her on their way back to Delhi. When she resisted, they thrashed her and threw her out of the moving car, after which she became unconscious, the women informed police.

The woman was raped while she was unconscious and dumped along the Delhi-Gurgaon road, the officer said.

The culprits, later, came back, picked her up and took her to a hospital in Delhi. They then dropped her at her house in Ambedkar Nagar. The woman approached the police on Monday evening and filed a complaint.
A senior BJP leader sustained severe injuries after a gang of unidentified assailants opened fire at his SUV in Rawli Road area on Thursday night.

Police said BJP leader Brij Pal Teotia sustained about five gunshot wounds after his car was attacked around 8pm in Murad Nagar.

An officer said Teotia was travelling with five others, including his bodyguards, all of who sustained bullet injuries. Police suspect the use of automatic weapons during the incident as nearly 30 rounds were allegedly fired.

Teotia was coming from Murad Nagar to Ghaziabad when the men caught up his SUV from both sides. They then opened indiscriminate fire and fled the spot, said superintendent of police (rural), Rakesh Kumar Pandey.

The BJP said Teotia was rushed to a hospital in Ghaziabad from where he was later shifted to Fortis, Noida. Doctors said Teotias condition was critical.

This is the condition of law and order in the state. Everyone in the car sustained bullet injuries. Calls were made to emergency number 100, but police arrived at the scene after 30 minutes, said BJP city president, Ajay Sharma.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav rushed additional director general of police (Law and Order), Daljit Singh Chawdhary, and inspector general, special task force (STF), Ram Kumar, to Ghaziabad to oversee the operation launched by the district police to nab the attackers.

Police have set up check up points along the highway to nab the gang that attacked BJP leader Brij Pal Teotia and five others travelling with him in Murad Nagar, Ghaziabad . Teotia sustained bullet injuries and was rushed to a hospital in Noida. (Sakib Ali /HT Photo)

The police recovered AK- 47, two pistols, one rifle and a large cache of ammunition used in the attack on the BJP leader. The STF has been directed to assist the local police in the operation. Teams had been constituted and raids are being conducted in Ghaziabad and neighbouring districts to nab the desperadoes who are on run, Chawdhary said.

On Thursday evening director general of police, Javeed Ahmad, held a meeting with the senior officers to monitor the situation. The senior superintendent of police, Ghaziabad, was also directed to deploy police forces at sensitive spots and conduct search operation on highways.

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The Delhi high court on Thursday dismissed two petitions seeking cancellation of the interim bail granted to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students union leader Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case.

Justice PS Teji dismissed petitions filed by Prashant Kumar Umrao and Vineet Jindal  both Delhi residents  that sought cancellation of the bail on the ground that his speech after his release was anti-national and violated the bail condition.

The Delhi government and city police had different stands on the issue. While the government said it did not want to cancel the interim bail granted to Kanhaiya, Delhi Police contended he violated his bail conditions but left it to the court to form its own opinion on the issue.

Kanhaiya, who was granted interim bail on March 2 by the high court, is facing sedition charge in connection with an event at JNU on February 9 where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hailed as a martyr.

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Ahead of the Delhi University elections, the Congress-backed National Students Union of India (NSUI) will release a separate manifesto for women on August 22.

The union said the move was aimed at addressing problems of female students. Our teams are going to DU colleges to get the feedback. We have received nearly 1,200 inputs, said Vivekanand Pathak of the union.

The NSUI, which has not won a seat in DUSU elections since 2014, said it would highlight the misuse of students union funds by the RSS-backed ABVP.

The union said they would oppose the proposed education policy. The TSR Subramanian Committees recommendations do not benefit students. Also, they didnt hold the required number of consultations across the country, Amrita Dhawan, acting union president.

The union said it would take students inputs from every state and forward these to the HRD ministry.

Meanwhile, the ABVP-led DUSU has submitted a memorandum to the HRD ministry, opposing the Bar Council of Indias decision to scrap evening classes for law courses.

The prospectus says there are 2,400 seats in the faculty. But they have now been cut to half. The BCI said if the university decides to upgrade the infrastructure in a year, it would reconsider the recommendations, said DUSU president Satender Awana.

The council has asked the university to shut down colleges offering law courses in the evening. Around 800 students are enrolled in the colleges.
Instrumental

Infinite - 360 Degrees - 360 Degrees

P.S.

James - Laid

Bethlehem steel

Grant Lee Buffalo - Copperopolis

Sliding Past

Idaho - The Bayonet EP

In Circles

Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary

Lost Shoes

Heavendog - Holy Cow - Holy Cow

Accident prone

Jawbreaker - Dear You

Don't give

Swell - 41

Penelope

Pinback - Blue Screen Life

The Stations

The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia

Knocked Around

Dinosaur Jr. - Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not - Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not

No alternative

Kestrels - S/T - S/T

When things fall apart

Augustines - This is Your Life - This is Your Life

We belong

Wye Oak - live - live

No care

Daughter - Not To Disappear - Not To Disappear

Says you

The Luyas - Says You EP - Says You EP

Feel like a man

Snowblink - Returning Current - Returning Current

Cabin in the burn

Evening Hymns - Spectral Dusk - Spectral Dusk

All of my life I have been running

Evening Hymns - Quiet Energies - Quiet Energies

Moonlight Desires

Evening Hymns - Dominionated the Third - Dominionated the Third

Petunia

Her Harbour - Winter's Ghosts - Winter's Ghosts

La laideur

Safia Nolin - Limoilou - Limoilou

Ce matin

Safia Nolin - Limoilou - Limoilou

Valser a l'envers

Safia Nolin - Limoilou - Limoilou

Americain

Koriass w/ Safia Nolin - single - single

The Spoils

Massive Attack - The Spoils - The Spoils

Piano

Tricky - Pre-Millenium Tension
Matibools family regrets missing the call he made two days ago. They had last seen him two months ago. On Wednesday morning, Matibools father saw his sons photographs on television  hit by a tempo in Delhi and lying unconscious, while cars passed by without bothering to take him to a hospital.

I wish I had taken my sons last call. We were not at home. A relative said he had called, said Matibools father, Badruddin,60.

Around two months ago, Matibool had left his village in Uttar Dinajpur district, West Bengal, promising to return with money. Matibool shared a room with his village friend but he never slept there.

Read more: Man bleeds to death on Delhi road after hit-and-run, gets robbed as well

The father of four -- two sons and two daughter  worked as an e-rickshaw driver earning around R200-R300 a day. By the night, he worked as a security guard at his employers garage, for which he was paid a Rs100 per night.

Most of the residents of the WZ gali of Tihar village, where Matibool lived, are migrants who come to Delhi and work for six months every year. Imran, who lives in the same building said, Most of us are farmers back home. Our families work in the fields, while we work double shifts here. Whatever money we earn here, we take it home and use it to buy seeds.

Read more: Delhi: Tempo driver, who mowed down 35-yr-old, is a milkman

Mohammed Sahil, who lives next door to Matibools room, said, He came to the room to change clothes or take a bath. In the afternoon, if he found time, he came home to sleep for an hour or two. He wanted to earn lot of money and slept on a stool in the garage.

Matibools friends said he had been coming to Delhi twice a year for the past 15 years. He shared a room with his friends- mostly migrants from West Bengal  who work as rickshaw-pullers or e-rickshaw drivers.

On Thursday, Matibool friends contributed to send his body via road to West Bengal. Around R2,000 had not been paid and it delayed the journey by around 10-15 minutes. A man in his mid-30s, who said he was a friend, paid the balance money.

Sahil said that a local politician also helped them. The ambulance charged R20 per kilometre. We have all contributed what we could. At least the family will get to see his body, he said.

Read more: Delhi govt to introduce Good Samaritan monetary incentive policy

Meanwhile, in Uttar Dinajpur, while Badruddin waits for his sons body, he has another worry. Every week, Matibool  his oldest son sent at least a thousand rupees for his family of 10. What is going to happen to us ?, he told HT over the phone.

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The Delhi High Court has clamped down on the use of Chinese manja or razor sharp threads used to fly kites.

A bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal directed the Delhi government and municipal corporations to issue advisories to make the public aware of the fatal effects of the use of Chinese manja by Saturday.

The manja is a razor sharp thread made of nylon, plastic or synthetic laced with glass, metal and other sharp objects .

The bench directed the Delhi Police commissioner to ensure advisories were issued by all authorities concerned, so as to prevent untoward incidents in Delhi during the kite-flying festival this month.

The Delhi government is in the process of issuing a notification to impose a complete ban on the sale, production, storage, supply and use of nylon, plastic and other kite-flying threads that are sharp or made with sharp objects.

Kite flying is popular in Delhi, particularly during the festive season of Makar Sankranti, Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day.

Zulfiquar, a Delhi resident, said in a plea that earlier victims of the synthetic thread used to be birds but now humans are also under threat.

He referred to the death of a 28-year-old man in East Delhi, whose throat was slit by such a thread while riding a motorbike in August last year.

Hussain contended that the use and sale of the thread has been banned by the Rajasthan High Court and that the Allahabad High Court has issued directions to take necessary steps to prohibit manufacture, use and sale of synthetic kite flying thread like Chinese manja.

The Delhi governments senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra told the court that the draft notification was in the public domain, inviting objections from stakeholders.

Kite-flying shall be permissible only with a cotton thread or natural fibre, free from metallic or glass components, the notification read.

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HT Correspondent

Roads around old and central Delhi will witness traffic restrictions on Saturday for the Independence Day dress rehearsal.

Closed to traffic from 5 am to 9 am:

Netaji Subhash Marg, from Delhi Gate to Chatta Rail

Lothian Road from GPO Delhi to Chatta Rail

SP Mukherjee Marg from HC Sen Marg to Yamuna Bazar Chowk

Chandni Chowk Road from Fountain Chowk to Red Fort

Nishad Raj Marg from Ring Road to Netaji Subhash Marg

Esplanade Road and its Link Road to Netaji Subhash Marg

In an advisory issued on Thursday, the Delhi Traffic Police also advised commuters to avoid Mathura Road, Tilak Marg, Subhash Marg, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg and Ring Road between Nizamuddin Bridge and the ISBT Bridge.

Adequate informative signage will be displayed for the guidance of vehicular traffic destined for the Red Fort at all important traffic junctions. Commuters are requested to follow the traffic restrictions for their own convenience, said Garima Bhatnagar, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

The Delhi Police also prohibited paragliding, use of microlight aircrafts, hot-air balloons, and hang gliding from Friday till October 10.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said he was feeling peaceful and energised as he ended his 10-day meditation retreat on Thursday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener had been at a meditation centre in Dharamkot village, 12 kilometers from Dharamshala town, for Vipassana meditation course since August 1.

In a brief interaction with media in Dharamshala, Kejriwal said he had been to other states before for meditation as well but his experience in Himachal was enchanting.

I am feeling peaceful and energised. It will surely help he to meet challenges ahead, said Kejriwal.

Read: What was Kejriwal doing at Himachal meditation centre

He, however, parried queries on fresh developments in National Capital following the Delhi high court orders.

I have just come out of Vipassana and will have to study the court orders before commenting on the issue said the Delhi CM.

He left the Dharamkot meditation centre at 11am and arrived at Dharamshala circuit house, where he met the local party leaders. He left for Chandigarh by road in the afternoon as all the flights on Dharamshala- Delhi route were cancelled due to heavy downpour in the region.
School buses have long been considered the safest mode for ferrying children. But a few recent incidents have parents worried if their chosen mode is as safe as they always thought it to be.

The alleged molestation of a four-year-old girl in a moving bus of Presidium school has exposed the vulnerability of children to untoward incidents after parents see them off in school buses.

In May 2016, seven-year-old girl, Jiya, died after a speeding car ran over her while crossing a road near her home in Sector 4 area of Gurgaon. Jiya was a Class 3 student of Ryan International School, Gurgaon.

Our children are not safe even in school buses. The risk persists despite schools taking hefty fees from us in the name of safety, said a parent.

The sad state of affairs continues despite the Haryana government bringing in a policy Surakshit School Vahan Policy in 2012 to ensure that the Supreme Court guidelines for safer transportation of school-going children are followed in letter and spirit.

In March 2016, the Gurgaon administration directed private schools to adhere to the policy, but it still remains a distant dream. Deputy Commissioner TL Satyaprakash had then warned schools to fulfil the norms by April 1 or face action.

As for action, it was in May this year when regional transport authority (RTA) carried out a campaign in the city for ensuring implementation of the policy. The campaign was suspended after the summer breaks.

We checked buses of ten schools and even fined a few for violation of the norms. The offender schools paid the fine, an official said.

The Presidium school incident also sparked outrage on social media with many tagging chief minister seeking action against the school

Can we ask administration to cancel this school license..... Lets raise our voice against this.... Have tweet to commissioner and CM hope they revert back..,(SIC) wrote a parent Tripti Singh on the Facebook page Gurgaon Parents for Better Education.

Some parents expressed hope that schools would learn lessons from the incidents like these in ensuring that the employees are verified before hiring.

Hoping incidents like these can be averted in near future and the schools take necessary steps required for verification of every staff member who comes in direct contact with students on a daily basis.

The challenge for the schools is how to keep a check on the fourth class staff hired.

Whatever happened with the girl is unfortunate. But we cannot just pin the blame on school. It is indeed difficult for us to be sure that we have hired the right person as drivers, attendants or other class 4 staff. I intend to conduct a meeting with all the schools to look into the matter and chalk out a solution, said Col (retired) Pratap Singh, president, Haryana Progressive School Alliance.

Deputy commissioner, TL Satyaprakash said that administration would take action against anyone fpund guilty for violating the norms for ensuring safety of school children.

Police is investigating the case and the accused has been arrested. We will try that whosoever is responsible is punished. The administration is serious in ensuring the safety of school going kids, he added

The policy:

-CCTV cameras, speed governors and GPS enabled school buses is a must

-Presence of a conductor and a woman attendant in the bus

-Buses should be painted in yellow with a strip of dark blue

-Those accused in sexual harassment cases should not be hired for any position in school.

-Drivers should have at least five years of experience and buses should not carry students more than the capacity

-Those selected should give a signed affidavit saying they are not accused in any offence under POCSO Act, Juvenile Justice Act, etc. Information about his background should also be mentioned.

-Police verification of contractual staff is a must.
There is hardly a day that goes by which doesnt show India, especially the north, in poor light when it comes to crimes against women and children. In 2015, data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) revealed that Delhi is most unsafe city for children in the country with 166.9 cases registered for every 100,000 children.

Read: Delhi is unsafe for children too, reveals NCRB data

On Wednesday, a four-year-old girl, a pre-nursery student, of an upmarket school in Gurgaon, a satellite town that is part of the National Capital Region, was allegedly sexually assaulted by an attendant inside a school bus. While the police has done its job by acting quickly on the case, the school has several questions to answer: How could they allow the transport company to put a new person without verification in charge of young students? The school will probably try to get away by saying that they have outsourced the transportation duties but that will not cut any ice since the safety of students is the responsibility of the school they go to.

Second, why didnt the school deploy its own resource (a teacher or an attendant) when the regular attendant was on leave? The molestation accused was filling in for his brother, reports said. Third, the timing is unfortunate but schools must be asked what they have learnt from the 2014 case in Bangalore where a teacher molested a student. There was a lot of talk then about starting a system of internal verification in schools but nothing seems to have been done. In addition to the children being in danger of becoming victims of predators, many school buses are driven by people without proper qualifications. This has resulted in injuries to children due to accidents caused by reckless driving. The school has the duty to do complete background checks on drivers and attendants and also verify the road worthiness of the vehicles used to ferry children.

Read: Gurgaon: Four-year-old allegedly molested in school bus, accused held

Last by not the least, the Gurgaon case also highlights the lack of surveillance and regulation of private school buses in most metros. Because of the high demand, fly-by-night operators are able to set up schools and then outsource transportation to people who are not verified or even qualified. The checks on such schools and transport providers should be at the very time they are setting up shop. And checks by the education authorities have to be carried out regularly.
Students of Delhi Universitys Daulat Ram College (DRC) came out on the streets on Monday to protest against the poor infrastructure and facilities and asked authorities to take immediate action.

They called for more washrooms, basic sanitation facilities, infrastructure revamp and a roll-back in fee hike.

DRC is not the only college that faces such problems and there are issues that are common to all the 63 colleges under the university.

Here is a list of some other problems that students say are the uncool things about the university.

Lack of toilets

When DRC students came out on the street, lack of toilets was one of the major issues that they raised. There are just four toilets in the college for 4,000 students.

This complaint is not unique to DRC but the entire university.

One should go to the Central Library toilets, they will be stinking no matter what time of the day we visit. Even at the Arts Faculty building it is the same, a masters student, who did not want to be named, said.

Students say that most of the time they have to rush to Kamala Nagar to use the washrooms at the cafes in the market.

Hostel facilities

Students, who get a seat at Delhi University, regularly complain about the lack of hostels. Only 14 colleges under the university provide hostels to their students.

Students are allotted hostel rooms on the basis of merit.

To top it all, colleges that offer hostels can accommodate only a handful of students. At Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) for Women, there is room for just 300 students. And, the two hostels at Sri Venkateswara College can take only 50 students.

The huge demand for hostels can be gauged from the large number of applications received by colleges. For instance, Hindu College that can accommodate only 150 boys received close to 400 applications for rooms this year.

So, fewer hostel means that students have to pay exorbitant rents for the paying guests around the area. In Kamala Nagar in north campus the rents are as high as Rs10,000 for a room that is shared by three students.

Read more: Bar council comes down on DUs evening law classes, poor facilities

24x7 libraries

The Central Library as well libraries inside DU colleges shut by 7pm. Undergraduate and post-graduate students say that they should be able to access these libraries throughout the day.

For Delhi School of Economics (DSE), the library is closed by 7pm. It is only one month before the exam that they keep it open till 8pm, Shinjini Ghosh, a sociology student, said.

Many say as they live in paying guest, where they have to share rooms, libraries are a better place to sit and study.

Lack of public transport for South Campus

With no Metro connectivity to colleges in the south and outer campuses, students have a harrowing time commuting. There are no special university buses to ferry the students and students are at the mercy of the autorickshaw drivers who generally overcharge.

In the evening, it gets very difficult to reach the Metro. Auto drivers either refuse or they overcharge. Sometimes even finding a conveyance is also difficult, Aryabhatta Colleges Sohini Singh said.

One of the parents, who lives in north campus, said that it takes her daughter almost two hours to reach Bhim Rao Ambedkar College located on the other side of Yamuna.

There is no Metro connectivity and by bus, there is always a lot of traffic on the Wazirabad bridge, Kamala, a non-teaching staff at DU, said.

This also raises safety concern for women students especially in colleges located in the outer part of the city.

Placement

Except renowned colleges like Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), St Stephens College and LSR, placements in other DU colleges are not very impressive. Students say that the college placement cells are not very active so very few companies visit them.

There is some scope for commerce students, but humanities and science students get less opportunity.

The colleges generally assume that students will go for higher studies so generally placements are not given much attention. Most colleges are linked with the central placement cell so students have to go to North Campus, Ranjit Singh, a student of Ram Lal Anand College, said.
Police arrested gangster Surjeet Kataria, the prime accused in the murder of garments merchant Sanjeev Jindal, along with his two accomplices on Wednesday. Surjeet was wanted in 28 cases, including murder, attempt to murder and extortion bids.

Three assailants shot Jindal, 43, outside his house in Roshanpura, old Gurgaon, on July 15 when he was returning home from his shop in Chandni Chowk in Delhi. The sequence was captured in two CCTV cameras installed in the locality. In the footage, Jindal was seen walking to his house holding a bag after getting down from a bus.

A team of crime unit 2 (Sector 17) arrested Surjeet, alias Ballu, 39, with his aide Devendra alias Dev near Surat Nagar at 3:30 am from Dhanvapur in Gurgaon. Based on their tip, police nabbed the third accused Gaurav alias Sonu from Delhi.

During the preliminary investigation, Surjeet disclosed that he killed Jindal with the motive of snatching his bag, which he thought was full of cash. Surjeet was of the view that Jindal always carried good amount of cash with him while returning from the shop every evening, Balbir Singh, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said.

Police recovered two pistols, two countrymade guns, cartridges, 18 mobile phones, police uniforms, fake registration certificates (RC) of vehicles and a mid-sized sedan car from the three men.

Police said Surjeet confessed to seven cases, including three murders, out of the 28 cases lodged against him. Surjeet and his aides are also accused of shooting dead a 40-year-old priest in Dhanwapur village under Rajendra Park police station on July 27.

He and his men are accused in 28 cases of murders, loot, extortion and attempt to murder in Gurgaon and Delhi since 1997, Balbir Singh said.

Surjeet, a parole-jumper is from Gurgaon village. He was also booked for killing his uncle Mahavir in September 2001 at Gurgaons Sector 5 police station. He was awarded life imprisonment in the case and released on parole in November 2015. But he never returned after his parole ended, police said.

Police said Surjeet was involved in a case for the first time when he had a dispute with his uncle over a plot in New Palam Vihar area of Gurgaon in the late 1990s. He was 19 years old.

At the beginning, he was involved in crimes due to personal enmity. He killed his uncle over a family dispute in 2001, Sumit Kuhar, deputy commissioner crime, (west), said.

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A gangster and two policemen from Maharashtras Pune crime branch were injured in a shootout in Vadodara, police said on Thursday.

The crime branch team had come to the city to nab Sagar Rajput, a member of Gajanan Marne gang (of Pune), who is wanted in a murder and several other cases in Maharashtra.

As the police team dressed in plain clothes zeroed-in on Rajput who was riding a scooter at a spot behind Nehru Bhavan here, he tried to escape.

This was followed by a shootout between the gangster and the police team which continued for 20 minutes and around 12 rounds were fired by both the sides, police said.

One of the policemen suffered injuries in chest while the other hurt his leg, they said.

In the exchange of fire, Rajput received injuries on his leg and he jumped a wall of a residential locality and hid behind it.

Later, Rajput was nabbed with the help of local police.

We have been trying to locate Rajputs wife and his other contacts in the city and weapons used by him, a senior police official said, adding an investigation in underway in the matter.
Moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Thursday that the first step towards peace in the strife-torn state will be to acknowledge the political nature of the Kashmir problem, a day after the Centres committed to hold talks with all stakeholders.

The Centre agreed to an all-party meeting on Thursday to discuss how to end weeks of violent unrest in Kashmir, as pressure mounted on the government to open a broad dialogue to resolve the crisis triggered by the killing of a militant leader.

Over 50 people have been killed  most of them in police firing  following street unrest in Kashmir to protest the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani by security forces last month. The region has been under curfew for over a month now.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, chairperson of All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference (APHC) and valleys head cleric, Farooq said the message from Kashmir is loud and clear.

Firstly, they (Centre) being ready to hold talk is a mere speculation, we are just jumping the gun. New Delhi is not ready to even acknowledge the political nature of the problem, they are still saying its about bijli, sadak and pani, he said.

The government is not even acknowledging the sentiment, saying its a sponsored sentiment. Its time India told the truth about Kashmir to its own people, he added.

Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamooriyat lose meaning as Delhi is talking to Kashmir from the barrel of the gun, that is the ground reality, he added.

Mirwaiz was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modis invocation of his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayees moderate vision to outline his governments stand on dealing with the protests in Kashmir. It was Modis first public remarks on the situation in Kashmir.

In 2003, Vajpayee paved the way for the Centres first-ever talks with Kashmiri separatists and laid down three principles to deal with the regions political crisis -- insaniyat (humanism), jamooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (Kashmirs legacy of amity).

Mirwaiz said dialogue is the key and Kashmiris are the main stakeholders. They have to take us along, he added.

He said a referendum or tripartite dialogue would be the next step.

When Vajpayee used these words, he followed it with commitment. He said humanity is bigger that the Constitution and that the government has to shed the beaten track. If you are quoting Vajpayee, then follow him in his commitment as well, Mirwaiz said.

Hurriyat engaged with Vajpayee based on this commitment. These things are the cornerstone of Vajpayees slogan, he added.

Mirwaiz said Kashmiris are giving a clear message that it has to be now or never.

Today the mainstream parties and even Dr Karan Singh, whose father was party to the accession, and your former Union minister Chidambaram is talking about broken promises and injustices, Mirwaiz said.

Both Mirwaiz and hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani were arrested after they tried to lead a march towards the martyrs graveyard in Srinagar. The two leaders were later released.

The separatist camp has issued a fresh shutdown and protest calendar from August 13 to August 18. The separatists have called for a march to Srinagars Lal Chowk on August 13 and 14, a black day on August 15 and other forms of protests like sit-ins, congregational prayers and raising black flags on other days.

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Detention Center

The inmate count at the Platte County Detention Facility Wednesday was 73, with 47 from Platte County and 26 from out of county.

Police

July 23

1:58 a.m.  At 3416 12th St., Robert Vazquez, 20, 3416 12th St., was cited for third-degree domestic assault and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Aug. 1

1:10 p.m.  At 355 26th Ave., Hunter Thompson, 21, Schuyler, was cited for criminal mischief.

Aug. 4

2:57 p.m.  At the intersection of 26th Avenue and 16th Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Heidi Holm, 54, Silver Creek, and George Engel, 74, 2809 38th St. Holm was cited for failure to yield right of way.

Aug. 5

11:13 a.m.  At the intersection of East Sixth Avenue and East 23rd Street, Taylor Gray, 21, Shelby, was cited for no operators license.

2:30 p.m.  In the 2900 block of 23rd Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Dustin Hardesty, 23, 452 13th Ave., Randolph Berkheimer, 58, 2458 E. 14th Ave., and Donald Eschliman, 61, 1812 Ninth St. Hardesty was cited for failure to maintain control and fictitious license plates.

6:43 p.m.  In an alley in the 1800 block of 16th Street, traffic accident. Drivers were Crystal Christie, 34, 1665 19th Ave., and Dominick Henk, 18, 1807 17th St.

Aug. 7

1:03 p.m.  At 371 33rd Ave., Janella Bell, 51, Lincoln, was cited for second-degree criminal trespassing.

8:30 p.m.  In Pawnee Park West, an unknown vehicle struck a parked vehicle owned by Maria Oberg, Silver Creek, and left the scene.

Aug. 8

1:53 p.m.  At the intersection of Eighth Street and Cottonwood Drive, traffic accident. Drivers were Joseph Smith, 54, Norfolk, and Spencer Hermsen, 27, Urbandale, Iowa.

2:40 p.m.  In a parking lot at 2323 23rd St., a vehicle driven by Diane Nickolite, 56, 2564 43rd Ave., struck a parked vehicle owned by Craig and Julie Sorensen, Bellwood.

4:50 p.m.  At the intersection of East 23rd Street and East Sixth Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were Brandon Robles, 19, Schuyler, and Ronald Neusch, 53, Bellwood.

Fire

Aug. 8

10:45 a.m.  In the 100 block of East Parkway, medical.

Aug. 9

2:18 a.m.  In the 2200 block of 48th Avenue, medical.

9:54 p.m.  In the 4100 block of East 28th Street, medical.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis invocation of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee to reach out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir has few takers as political analysts feel that the present NDA government has failed to walk the talk.

The former PM, during one of his visits to Kashmir, had extended a hand of friendship to Pakistan amid heightened tensions between the two sides.

Addressing a public meeting in Srinagar on 18 April 2003, Vajpayee had asserted that both internal and external issues could be resolved by following the three principles of Insaaniyat (humanism), Jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (Kashmirs age old legacy of amity). Modi invoked these principles on Tuesday.

Analysts recalled that Vajpayee took many bold steps during his tenure. He started the Delhi-Lahore bus service, visited Pakistan and met his counterpart Nawaz Sharif in February 1999.

These were significant steps. Whatever Vajpayee stated, he meant it and accordingly acted by reaching out to both Pakistan and Kashmiris. But the present government has not shown any such inclination, said MM Ansari, who was appointed J&K interlocutor by the UPA government after the 2010 unrest.

Vajpayees message to Pakistan from Kashmir was well crafted. He was the first PM to hold a rally in Srinagar since the onset of militancy in 1989-90. I have come here to share your pain. Whatever complaints you have, we will try to address them collectively, he had said. This was followed up by the Centres first talks with the separatists. It was during Vajpayees tenure that India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire.

Vajpayee admitted there is a problem and understood the need to address that, said Prof Noor Ahmad Baba of Kashmir University. Baba said Vajpayees legacy was to some extent carried forward by Manmohan Singh but lamented that there has been no forward movement after that.

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It took a public interest petition and the Supreme Courts nudge for the Centre to revive and upgrade its three-century-old state-run laboratories producing vaccines used for the governments universal immunization programme.

The government had shut down Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli, BCG Vaccine Laboratory (BCGVL) in Guindy and Pasteur Institute of India (PII) in Coonor in 2008 after they were found to be not complying with statutory norms.

Former union health secretary SP Shukla had rushed to the top court in 2009 alleging the public sector undertakings (PSUs) were closed to benefit private manufacturers from whom the government would have purchased the vaccines.

After the closure, he said, wives of the directors at PSUs started their own private companies for manufacturing the vaccines.

But a constant monitoring by the SC has finally revived these units with state-of the art facility.

In its latest affidavit submitted before the top court, the health ministry said it has spent over Rs 279 crore for upgrading the laboratories, leading to enhancement of their production capacity.

The health ministry affidavit comes five months after a rebuke by chief justice TS Thakurs bench on March 14.

Why dont you make your own units functional, instead of procuring from the market? the CJI had asked. The bench wanted the government to replace the old technology with new one to improve production and quality of the vaccines.

CRI and BCGVL produce Bacillus Calmette (BCG) vaccine whereas CRI Kasauli produces DPT group of vaccines. BCGVL also manufactures BCG therapeutic for use in chemotherapy and PII also produces anti-rabies vaccine.

CRI Kasauli now has a production facility of 100 million doses, 25 million more than the previous capacity. Over Rs 49 crore has been invested to improve the unit. The enhanced production in these units started last year.

BCG vaccine laboratory acquired the new facility in June this year. The state of the art equipment cost Rs 63.13 crore to the government, which has nominated HLL Life Care  a PSU  as the project management constultant to the unit.

The annual capacity will be 80 million doses. The project is complete and trial production for new facility is being initiated, the government told the SC.

PII, Coonoor was undergoing renovation, the ministry said. The construction work, incurring an expenditure of Rs 146.61 crore will be complete in December this year and the facility validation in March 2017, read the ministry affidavit.

The targeted capacity for annual production is 130 million doses, which will be 45 million more than what it used to produce.

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The Delhi high court on Thursday provided interim protection against arrest till August 22 to expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa and two of her family members, who face charges of harassment by their domestic help.

Justice Mukta Gupta said no coercive action is to be taken against the Rajya Sabha MP and her kin while she explores her legal remedies. However, the court said she will have to move the appropriate court for protection against arrest as the case was registered in Tamil Nadu.

Pushpa, her husband Lingeswara Thilakan and son Pradeep Raja had moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail.

On Wednesday, the state government counsel told the court that an FIR was lodged against them at Pudukkottai district under various sections of IPC and under Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act.

The two domestic help, who reportedly worked at Pushpas house in Tamil Nadu, had filed a police complaint alleging that they were tortured by Pushpa and her family.

Senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, who appeared for the trio, had told the court that his clients were at present staying in Delhi and that they should be given some protection to approach the appropriate court in Tamil Nadu.

Delhi Police informed the court that another bench of the high court had on August 5 asked the police to provide security to Pushpa on her plea seeking adequate protection for her and her family members on the ground that she was receiving threats after being allegedly slapped by a party leader.

Earlier, the Delhi high court had directed the police to escort Pushpa to Parliament so that she can discharge her duty safely.
The end of Irom Sharmilas 16-year fast on Tuesday paused the anti-AFSPA fight in Manipurs Imphal Valley but it has revived a dormant battle against the controversial army law in the surrounding Naga-inhabited hills after 12 years.

On Thursday, various Naga NGOs took out a rally across the Chandel, Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul districts.

These hill districts had last seen such rallies in 2004, when the Manipur government  bowing to sentiments generated by Sharmilas fast  lifted AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) from seven assembly constituencies straddling state capital Imphal.

AFSPA needs to go because atrocities by the armed forces, though less in the hills since the 1997 ceasefire (with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah), have not stopped, Seth Shatsang, president of the All Naga Students Association of Manipur, said from Tamenglong town.

The Naga people, Shatsang said, have suffered more than others as the army law has been in force in the hills since 1952, six years before AFSPA was enacted.

Read | If people abandon me, I will go away, leave Manipur: Irom Sharmila

Sharmilas hunger strike had overshadowed the anti-AFSPA movement in the hills. It had also somewhat bridged the psychological divide and trust deficit between the valley dominated by Meiteis and the hills.

The Naga NGOs appreciated the test of times Sharmila went through as well as her decision to end the fast, but felt that resolving the Naga issue could go a long way in repealing AFSPA.

It is high time New Delhi sealed the peace deal with NSCN-IM towards repealing the act from the Naga hills as well as the rest of the Northeast, Naga rights activist Paul Leo said.

The ceasefire with NSCN-IM, however, does not apply to Manipur to which most of its leaders and cadres belong.

Read | Radicals threaten Irom Sharmila for decision to join politics, wed outsider

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Pazhangkallimedu is a picture-postcard village in Tamil Nadus Nagapattinam district  neat rows of thatched houses along the Vedaranyam canal, sheltered from the sweltering heat by coconut groves.

But the peaceful facade hides a tense tussle between upper caste Hindus and Dalits over the villages sole place of worship.

Weve been fighting to perform mandagapadi rites during Aadi for five years now, said Kasi Mariappan, union secretary of VCK, a Dalit political movement in the state.

All we are asking for is that the upper castes allot us one day for our rite so we can worship our god. Is that so wrong?

Aadi is a holy month according to the Tamil calendar, usually falling between mid-July to mid-August, and is considered to be a particularly auspicious time in the countryside. Mandagapadi is the act of offering money as a tribute to the gods.

But the upper castes, comprising the influential Pillai community, refuse to allow Dalits into the village temple.

Read | Word for word: When Dalits use jokes, puns to protest in Gujarat

The story of Pazhangkallimedu is reflective of a nationwide debate over the caste divide in India amid a string of attacks on Dalits in several states. Opposition parties allege that persecution of Dalits is increasing under the BJP-led government at the Centre.

What has exacerbated the stand-off in this village this year is the alleged influence of Hindutva outfits such as the Hindu Makkal Katchi.

Pazhangkallimedu village is home to over 500 families, 167 of which, according to the 2011 Census, are classified as being Dalits. (Aditya Iyer/HT Photo)

Dalit villagers filed a petition under the 1989 SC and ST Prevention of Atrocities Act on Saturday after a series of peace talks between the two sides failed.

On Tuesday, the Madras high court said that the collector and MLA had a statutory and moral right to allow the Dalits to worship during Aadi next year.

Its too late now, said A Nagappan, a VCK officer involved with the protests. The last auspicious day for mandagapadi is August 12, and there is no chance that the upper castes will give us that day.

He added the panchayat president is unable to do anything because he is a Dalit. And those in charge, from the collector to MLA OS Manian just pass off the issue to one another.

Read | Now gau rakshaks from Andhra beat up 2 Dalits for skinning dead cow

The three-week-long stand-off came to a head when several Dalits threatened to convert to Islam if they were unable to perform mandagapadi.

One member of the Pillai community, who did not wish to be named, said the row was regrettable, and had gone too far this time. He, however, refused to comment on their objection to Dalits performing mandagapadi.

The Hindu Makkal Katchi also denied it had prevented anyone from performing rituals. The VCK is politicising the issue, said P Ravikumar, a member of the HMK.

The caste divide, however, is restricted only to mandagapadi.

We go to each others houses, eat meals together, and let our children play with one another, said Manimegalai R, a 42-year-old Dalit labourer. Why should we not be allowed into the temple or worship as well? Arent we also human beings?

She also pointed out that with rising education levels, the Dalits are no longer ready to accept injustice as tradition.

We arent scared of any response to our struggle - what we are doing is fighting for our rights.

Their struggle may have failed for yet another year, but the Dalits say it is only a matter of time before they get equal standing in the village.

Orei panchayat, orei makkal, orei saami (one panchayat, one people, one god), said Nagappan.

Read | Progressive Modi? The PM speaks on transgenders, Dalits and Kashmir

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Gujarats new chief minister Vijay Rupani said on Thursday that the BJPs rivals were giving political colour to attacks on Dalits for political gains elsewhere, especially in poll-bound states such as Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

If Dalits are being targeted in other states, it doesnt become an issueit has been made a political issue because it happened in Gujarat. Parties are trying to take political mileage out of it in other statesUttar Pradesh and also Punjab, Rupani told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview.

The comments by Rupani, who replaced Anandiben Patel on August 9, comes in the backdrop of a public thrashing of four Dalit youths at a village in Una district by self-styled cow protection vigilantes.

Read | Will not tolerate harassment against Dalits: Vijay Rupani

Dalits launched street protests over the incident, mounting pressure on the ruling BJP which is struggling to retain its key vote bank of Patidars who are demanding reservation in jobs and colleges.

Rupani termed the Una incident as unfortunate and added that the state government acted promptly by filing an FIR and arresting some of accused.

His comment on politicisation of the issue was in reference to visits by a host of national leaders including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and BSP president Mayawati to the state and meeting the Dalit family.

Rupani said his government will take a positive and conciliatory approach toward the Patidars.

When asked whether the Anandiben government could have handled the agitation differently to contain it in the beginning, he said, I would not like to comment on matters of past. I can only share my future plansThe intensity of the agitation has come down. It is now just a section (of Patidars) that is still agitatedwe will approach them and try to sort out the issue.

The 61-year-old leader with political roots in the RSS believes that Anandiben set an example for the cadre by resigning.

Anandibens resignation through a Facebook post came soon after the Una incident sparked a Dalit outrage even as Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who was released from jail earlier in July, vowed to continue the quota agitation.

Read more | BJP picks Vijay Rupani as the next Gujarat CM, Nitin Patel his deputy

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The lanes and bylanes of Kaw Mohalla in the old areas of Srinagar, which has been under curfew for the past 34 days, are witnessing the joy and laughter of school-going children for the past three days.

Although schools have not opened, residents with the help of few volunteers, have started an informal school in a community centre to help compensate children for the loss in education.

At 11am, Sumaira Farooq, a 24-year-old commerce graduate, is teaching general knowledge to 15 students of Class 1 in a hall. Nearby, another teacher, an arts graduate, teaches multiplication to 20 students of Class 3. In the afternoon session, another set of volunteers  graduates, post-graduates and researchers  teach students of Classes 7, 8, 9 and 10 of various government and private schools.

The initiative was started by caretakers of the local mosque, Jamia Masjid Kaw Mohalla, after consulting 20 educated youth of the area who volunteered to start the informal school.

Kashmiris are caught up in a storm and dont know when they will reach the shore. In this tempest, we decided to at least try and secure the future of our children, said Ali Mohammad, member of the mosque caretaking committee.

Kashmiri children study as they attend classes run by local volunteers. (Waseem Andrabi/HT Photo)

Mohammad said they involved caretakers of four mosques, who made announcements informing people about the start of the school. Furnishings were brought from the local mosque while chairs and benches were given by a nearby government school, which is closed. The number of students has already crossed 300 and it is swelling with each passing day, Mohammad said.

Like Kaw Mohalla, some areas in Srinagar and south Kashmir have also started such informal schools. Volunteer Sumaira Farooq said the initiative was their way of contributing to the cause.

There are parents who cant afford private tuitions for their kids, others can afford but cant send them due to the curfew. Children from every strata of society have enrolled for this schooling, she said.

Youth in Kashmir are volunteering to impart free education to children and have started alternate schooling. (Waseem Andrabi/HT Photo)

The government has been asking students to rejoin schools. On its Facebook page, the directorate of school education, wrote a message for school children on August 9.

We miss you. Without you, our days are lifeless. Children, when are you coming back to school? It has been a long time since the last morning prayer, since the last afternoon huddle.
Curfew and protest shutdown on Thursday continued to paralyse life in Kashmir for the 34th consecutive day.

Restrictions will continue in Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian and Anantnag towns on Thursday, a senior police official told IANS.

Similar restrictions will remain in force in eight police station areas of Srinagar city, Sopore, Baramulla, Handwara, Trehgam, Kupwara, Badgam and Ganderbal towns.

Some private transport and pedestrian movement were seen in Srinagar and other major towns of the Valley on Wednesday.

Police said the situation remained calm throughout the Valley and no major untoward incident occurred anywhere.

Despite marginal improvement in the law and order situation, educational institutions, shops, public transport and other businesses have been suspended in the Valley since the ongoing unrest began on July 9.

Separatists continued to remain under preventive detention although they have been issuing weekly protest calendars asking people not to resume normal activities.
The government was urged on Wednesday to lay down a cooling off period for retired civil servants and senior officials to prevent them from seeking immediate re-employment in the private sector.

This will prevent civic officials from immediately joining a private firm post-retirement, preventing misuse of the office when they are in service, members in the Lok Sabha said.

The issue was raised by SP Muddahanume Gowda of Congress and Kalyan Banerjee from Trinamool Congress (TMC) during Question Hour. Banerjee and Gowda directed their queries in this regard at Minister of State (MoS) for Jitendra Singh.

Banerjee said the existing mechanism was flawed. Experience speaks that after retirement, not only the bureaucrats but even judicial officers go to the tribunals. Who are these bureaucrats? They are bureaucrats at the point of time in the government, they are the favoured bureaucrats. This is not functioning, he said.

Congress member Godwa said: Sometimes, we have seen that the officials take decisions causing burden to the exchequer of the country to help private companies and immediately after retirement, they are re-employed by such private companies.

MoS (PMO) Jitendra Singh in reply said the concern raised by members was well taken by the government.

Singh said:This is already a matter of concern. The government is considering it. In fact, there already exists a cooling off period. In case an officer wants to get employed or get engaged in the private sector, he not only has to complete one year post-superannuation, he is also expected to seek permission from the government.

He asserted that in such cases it is the prerogative of the government to give permission or not.

Singh further admitted that it is an issue of debate both inside Parliament and outside on what should be the parameters for post-retirement appointments of bureaucrats.

He said it is true that often extraneous considerations and political considerations, as mentioned by the members, do creep in.

I think, this is something which requires a larger consensus and all of us can help reach it, he said adding that the government has already taken up the matter.

We are always moving in the direction of constant evolution and constant improvement to make the working and the system and the mechanism of appointments more impartial and less affected by nepotism and favouritism, Singh said.
Una Dalit Atyachar Ladai Samiti, the group spearheading Dalit protests in Gujarat, will intensify its agitation by blocking trains and taking their protests outside the state, its leaders said on Thursday.

Members of the Samiti are currently on a 350-km march from Ahmedabad to Una to galvanise the community in the state and protest against the growing atrocities as well as what they is the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments apathy.

It was triggered by the incident in Una town in Gujarats Gir Somnath district where four Scheduled Caste men were brutally assaulted by alleged cow-protection vigilantes for skinning a dead cow last month. The march - Asmita Yatra - will end on August 15 with a public meeting.

On 15th, we will give a deadline to the government. And if our demands are not met by that deadline, we will organise rail roko in Ahmedabad, Jignesh Mevani, convenor of the Samiti, told Hindustan Times.

The Samiti has demanded the immediate arrest of all those who can be seen in the video thrashing the four Una men and prohibit them from entering the state. They want policemen, who helped the accused, to be booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.

They have asked for the withdrawal of false cases lodged against the members of Dalits community. They want allotment of land to Dalits who dont wish to continue their job of skinning cows and an assurance that those who have been given land on paper, get possession the as well.

They also want employment for the scheduled caste members under the Smart City project and permanent jobs for all sanitation workers under Nagar Paloma as well as benefits of the sixth pay commission.

Before the rail blockade, the group plans to conduct a rally from Mehsana to Gandhinagar in north Gujarat and said Jawaharlal Nehru students union leader Kanhaiya Kumar may join it.

The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and former chief minister Annandiben are from Mehsana. We need to take the battle there, Mevani added.

Read: Academic and activist: Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani rises in Gujarat

During the ongoing march, Mevani and his aides are trying to consolidate the support of Dalits and developing a database of community members expected to participate in future agitations including the rail blockade.

They are confident of stopping trains after the July 31 Ahmedabad rally which was a show of strength where reportedly more than 20,000 people participated.

Mevani and his aides also said that they plan to take their movement to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab, among other states. The idea is to join forces with those working for the cause of Dalits, backward, extremely backward communities and minorities in various states, they said.

In all the states where we travel, our agenda will be to expose the Gujarat model, unite Dalits with Muslims, demand land reforms and diffusion of sub-castes so that community members across the country can come together as Dalits, Mevani said.

Read: Dalit freedom march begins in Gujarat, with promise of change

The Samiti has already found support in organisations like Rihai Manchester, Muslims For Secular Democracy and Communist Party of India (MarxistLeninist).

What is happening in Gujarat proved that the Dalit community wishes to give a chance to new leadership. We want to give a message that no political party can take backward communities for granted, Shahnawaz Hussain of Rihai Manchester, a civil society organisation that plans to host them in Lucknow, said.

The youth and students wing of the CPI(ML) will conduct a mobilisation program across Uttar Pradesh on August 15 to condemn the Una incident and other social and economic issues plaguing the community. It will be followed by a Youth Parliament at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.

In Mumbai, Dalits from Gujarat will lead a mega rally on Thursday at Azad maidan.

We have invited Jignesh to Mumbai. The date has not been finalised. But the plan is on, Feroze Mithiborwala from Muslims For Secular Democracy, a civil rights group based in Mumbai, said.

Mithiborwala was recently at the forefront of the agitation to get equal access to women at the Haji Ali shrine.

Issues such as the harassment by cow vigilantes and watering down of SC-ST atrocities act are common to Gujarat and Maharashtra. People here will relate to what Jignesh would say, he added.

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GRAND ISLAND  Claribel "Claire" Placzek died Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, at CHI Health-Saint Francis Medical Center.

A memorial Mass will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Saint Leos Catholic Church with the Rev. James OKane officiating and the Rev. Don Buhrman concelebrating. A private family inurnment is scheduled following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Saint Leos Catholic Church and the American Red Cross. Online condolences may be directed to www.livson.com. Livingston-Sondermann Funeral Home is entrusted with arrangements.

Claire was born Aug. 8, 1933, to Clarence and Claribel Gates in Columbus. She graduated from Kramer High (Columbus High School) in 1951 and moved to Chicago where she worked in the accounting office of E.P. Claires, while living with her sister. She returned to Columbus and worked for Consumer Public Power while continuing a six-year courtship with Eugene (Gene) T. Placzek. They married in 1954 at St. Anthonys Catholic Church.

Claire and Gene raised four sons, Daniel, Richard, Roger and Matthew, in Columbus until 1969, when they moved to Grand Island. Together, they spent several years converting a two-story farmhouse into the family home where they would live for years. As if raising four sons wasnt enough, Claire opened The Crock Pot, a restaurant that showcased her culinary skills. It moved from the basement of Stratton Hall in downtown Grand Island to the Conestoga Mall. Claire was a true chef and culinary artist, before culinary art was trendy. After The Crock Pot, Claire and Gene founded Harrison House, a brand of pies and cakes that were sold in grocery stores and at Village Inns.

When Gene died in 1998, Claire returned to Columbus for a few years to be with two of her sisters. She returned to Grand Island and resided at Riverside Lodge Retirement Community until her death.

Claire was a Red Cross volunteer, member of Ladies of St. Leos and, along with Gene, a charter member of St. Leos Catholic Church in Grand Island. She enjoyed going to the family cabin at Sherman Reservoir, playing cards (specifically pitch), remodeling, decorating and cooking and baking. Above all, she enjoyed spending time with her family where gatherings oftentimes became raucous. The louder they became, the happier she was.

Her faith was an important part of her life and she looked forward to the day she would reunite with Gene.

Survivors include four sons and daughters-in-law, Dan and Cheryl (Brokering) of Grand Island, Dick and Lynell (Bloomquist) of Lincoln, Rog and Phyllis (Stahr) of Wichita, Kansas, and Matt and Kim (Kushner) of Omaha; 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren (plus one on the way).

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; three sisters, Helen Weber, Marjory Michel and Dorothy Frese; and two brothers, Clarence and Ira Gates.
Muslim organisations in Hyderabad have called for a boycott of ostentatious weddings in the community and even decided to fine its members if they are found spending too much on ceremonies.

They say lavish expenditure, besides the huge burden of dowry, has alarmed some sections of the community as many poor families cannot even perform the marriages of their daughters.

Siasat, a leading Urdu daily known for many social campaigns, has thrown its weight behind the initiative with its editor, Zahid Ali Khan, calling for a boycott of lavish weddings, un-Islamic rituals, music and fireworks.

Khan has also urged the ulema or religious scholars to boycott such marriages so that the community receives a clear message.

The Hyderabad chapter of All India Jamiat-ul-Quresh, a body of meat traders and exporters, has even announced that it will impose a fine of Rs 50,000 if any of its members are found arranging extravagant weddings.

The organisation, which has over one lakh members in Hyderabad, said it will constitute a task force to monitor the implementation of the rules framed to ensure simple weddings.

The body said it will take action against those who arrange song and dance programme or fireworks during weddings. It also asked its members to desist from unnecessary rituals and displaying household items given to the brides.

Qureshs president Mohammed Saleem, who is also a member of Telangana legislative council, said they took the initiative so that members of the community keep weddings simple and in accordance with the teachings of Prophet Mohammed.

He pointed out that the poor and middle-class families are landing in a debt trap while trying to emulate the rich by taking huge loans to pay for the expenditure.

Muslims in Hyderabad spend Rs. 3,500 crore to Rs.4,000 crore on marriages every year. If we succeed in our campaign, this will improve the economy of the community, Mushtaq Malik, president of Tehreek-e-Muslim Shabban, said.

The campaign was initially launched by Shabban, a city-based NGO, with the slogan Ek khana, Ek meetha (One dish, One dessert) last year but it did not aggressively follow it through.

Hyderabad has few parallels when it comes to ostentatious weddings in the Muslim community.

Lower middle-class and middle-class families spend anywhere between Rs 5-15 lakh on weddings. The expenses on function halls and food constitute about 50% of the total expenditure. Families often compete with each other in the number of dishes served.

There are at least 25 lakh Muslims in Greater Hyderabad.


Two pilots of Jet Airways and Air India were suspended on Thursday after they were found drunk on arrival of their overseas flights in India.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the respective airlines to file police complaints against them.

HT had first reported on Thursday that an Air India pilot and one from a pilot airline had failed the post flight medical test for alcohol.

A Jet Airways spokesperson confirmed that the airline had sacked the pilot. Both pilots were repeat offenders.

The two pilots have been suspended for four years while a cabin crew of Air India has been suspended for one year after failing the post flight medical check.

On August 10, the pilot of Air Indias Sharjah-Kozhikode flight tested positive for alcohol during post flight examination, while the pilot of Jet Airways Abu Dhabi-Chennai flight was found drunk on August 3.

Till July this year, there have 26 cases of pilots having tested positive for alcohol during preflight medical tests. In 2015, there were 43 such cases.
Government employees, including those from the Kashmiri Pandit community, expressed dismay at Prime Minister Narendra Modi not speaking about them and said they were the real victims of the ongoing unrest in the Valley.

The employees have been protesting against the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp in Kashmir at the Relief Commissioners Office (RCO) for 29 days now.

We are disappointed that the Prime Minister while speaking about stone pelters did not utter a single word about us, people who are the real victims of stone pelting, but we will continue our protest and are hopeful that our struggle will bear fruits, chairman of the All Party Migrant Coordination Committee, Vinod Pandita said.

It is not about 700 people who are protesting here, but 700 families that have been hit by the turmoil, he said.

The protesting employees demanded that their posts be shifted to Jammu as it is not safe for them to return and work in Kashmir. There is no guarantee that they will not be targeted again by the mob, Pandita said.

We were peacefully doing our job in Kashmir when we were attacked by the mob. They forced us to raise anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans... They threatened to kill us. How can the government expect us to return and work in such an environment? Sangeeta, a protester said.

The protesters have accused the state and the Centre of turning a blind eye towards the miseries faced by the community. They alleged that the government is yet to send a representative to talk to them.

Workers belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community have refused to return to their jobs in the Valley after the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp.

More than 1,600 displaced Kashmiri Hindu youths had been recruited under Prime Ministers Special employment package and posted in Kashmir voluntarily.

Most of these employees escaped from Haal transit accommodation in Pulwama, Baramulla, Kupwara transit camps, and Vessu and Mattan KP employees colonies in Anantnag district after the unrest began and have been camping in Jammu since.

The Valley has been in turmoil for the past month following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. Locals have been clashing with security forces, violence that has killed close to 60 people and injured thousands more.
India hit out at Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday for his efforts to involve other countries and United Nations on the Kashmir issue, saying such measures will not whitewash cross-border terrorism sponsored by the neighbour.

Let me also say it does not matter how many letters are written, it will still not whitewash cross-border terrorism, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

Read: India summons Basit, protests Pakistans continuing cross-border terrorism

Earlier this week, Sharif wrote letters to UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein, seeking their help to end the persistent and egregious violation of the basic human rights of the Kashmiri people. The Pakistan PM alleged that more than 50 deaths and 3,500 injuries had taken place in Kashmir in recent violence after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.

Pakistan has no locus standi in addressing any aspect of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internal matter of India, except to put an end to all cross-border terrorism, infiltration and support and instigation to terrorism and violence against India, Swarup said.

Read: Rajya Sabha unanimously adopts resolution on Kashmir

Swarup said India is in touch with important interlocutors bilaterally as well as multilaterally to put across the correct picture over the Kashmir issue.

He said the capture of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Bahadur Ali is a proof of Pakistans continued involvement in cross-border terrorism and infiltration into India, despite several assurances that it will not allow its territory to be used for terrorism against any other country.

Read: Arrested Pak national Bahadur Ali was trained by PoK terror groups: NIA

The interrogation of Bahadur Ali and his confession has clearly revealed the details of the kind of training that is provided to such young men, the camps in which they are kept, the weapons that they are provided and most importantly the indoctrination that they undergo prior to infiltration into India, he said.

The spokesperson said Bahadur Ali has also revealed how his Pakistani handlers gave him instructions to mix with the local people, create disturbances and attack police and security forces.

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A crucial all-party meeting on Friday to discuss steps to restore normalcy in violence-hit Kashmir will not be represented by prominent mainstream parties, including the states principal opposition party National Conference.

We have not been invited, Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister and NC president, told Hindustan Times on Thursday.

Kashmir is under curfew for 34 days after the killing of a militant commander triggered violent street protests in the Valley on July 9, leaving at least 55 people dead, most of them in firing by security forces on stone-pelting mobs.

The all-party meeting was announced by home minister Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday during an impassioned discussion on the volatile situation in Kashmir, aggravated by a high number of civilian injuries caused by pellet guns used by security forces. Singh said the meet will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

They will be discussing Kashmir with people who cannot find towns on the map and they will talk based on opinions formed on the basis of newspaper articles and television discussions, Abdullah said.

The AIADMK and the DMK will be a part of these discussions. Sure, they are entitled to an opinion, but it is surprising that we have not received an invite. If I had been the chief minister, I would have called the PM and HM to ensure that all Kashmiri parties are represented at the meeting that is centred around us.

The lone CPI(M) MLA Yousuf Tarigami and independent legislator Engineer Rashid said they too were not invited to the meeting, announced a day after Modi invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees principles of insaaniyat (humanism), jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (Kashmirs legacy of amity) in an attempt to reach out to the people of the Valley.

I havent been asked, though I did attend the all-party meeting in 2010, said Tarigami, who represents Kulgam in south Kashmir that has been under lockdown since militant commander Burhan Wani was killed on July 8.

Abdullah was the chief minister in 2010 when a similar meet was held after a cycle of violence rocked the Valley following a fake encounter. An all-party delegation had visited Kashmir then and a team of interlocutors was mandated to draft recommendations for settling the issue.

My advice now, please dont bother to send an all-party delegation to the Valley. A delegation came in 2010 and agreed to set up a team of interlocutors. They submitted a report. Accept that the document is already available and table it in both Houses of Parliament, Abdullah said.

The Modi government is only ticking boxes because they are being nudged by the Opposition. Whats the point of such reluctance? Its a mere exercise. Modi spoke, box ticked. Parliament had a discussion, box ticked. An all-party meeting is being held, box ticked. I am forced to doubt their intentions, he added.

The former chief minister said it was futile to kick-start initiatives only when there is a crisis in Kashmir. Dont seek to reinvent the wheel. There is no credibility attached to this process.

Read| Its yesterday again: Kashmirs old wounds need political healing

Rashid termed the Parliament debate a ceremonious exercise.

Let Delhi tell us what they can give us: autonomy, self-rule or the Musharraf formula. There is no point in running away from Kashmirs historical facts.

The formula Rashid referred to was put forward by former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf in 2006. The four-point formula envisaged gradual withdrawal of troops; self-governance; no changes to the regions borders, and a joint supervision mechanism.

Read| Kashmir has the same freedom that any other Indian state enjoys: Modi

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Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba is orchestrating the ongoing violence in Kashmir that has claimed nearly 60 lives, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said, based on the confessional video of a captured extremist.

The agencys statement came on a day the government agreed to an all-party meeting to discuss how to end weeks of violent unrest in the Valley but said the violence was sponsored from across the border.

Sanjeev Singh, inspector general of NIA, told reporters on Wednesday that captured militant Bahadur Ali had told agencies that the LeT -- with the help of Pakistani forces deployed on the border  pushed heavily armed men into India through the summer to mix with local people, create disturbance, and attack security forces.

Thousands have been killed -- most of them in police firing  following street unrest in Kashmir to protest against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces last month. The region, where a separatist campaign broke out in 1989, has been under curfew for 33 days.

The video shows 21-year-old Bahadur Ali, a resident of Raiwind in Lahore, spilling beans about LeTs role in the disturbances. He is also shown speaking about the LeTs sophisticated communication network and assistance rendered to it by the Pakistani army.

Ali, who was arrested on July 25 this year from Yahama village in Handwara in North Kashmir, was in one of the groups allegedly instructed to take advantage of the current situation and throw grenades at the security forces by mixing with the protesters.

During communications with Ali, Alpha-3 (a communication centre in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir) told that the LeT cadres had been successful in fuelling large-scale agitation in Kashmir after Eid subsequent to the death of Burhan Wani.

Further investigation is continuing on the disclosure of Bahadur Ali regarding his role in the present unrest in Kashmir, Singh said.

The anti-terror probe agency also said it is gathering further evidence regarding the role of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba in the ongoing turbulence in the Valley.

Hours before this declaration, home minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that the current unrest in the Kashmir Valley was sponsored by Pakistan.

Whatever is happening in Kashmir is Pakistan sponsored, Rajnath said, while responding to a day-long debate on the situation in the valley in Rajya Sabha.

When I visited Srinagar and Anantnag on July 23 and 24, I met about 30 delegations from different walks of life and discussed the Kashmir issue, he said.

He also said, if talks with Pakistan happen, it will be about Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

(With agency inputs)

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Parliament utilised almost all of its allotted time for legislative business this monsoon session that ends this week, breaking from past instances where both Houses were stalled because of differences between the government and Opposition.

The Lok Sabha utilised 100% of its allotted time while the Rajya Sabha made productive use of 99% of the time, data show.

The remarkable improvement in performance with almost zero disruptions helped the government pass a slew of reform bills.

The NDA government, with the backing of opposition parties, cleared the constitution amendment bill to implement one of Indias biggest reform measuresthe goods and services tax.

Plain politics: Why BJP and Congress got working together in Parliament

On Wednesday, the Lower House introduced and quickly passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill that allows more exemptions to employers in the textile sector. Textile is one of the biggest job generators in India, and the government is looking at creating more employment in this booming sector.

Hours later, another billthis one dealing with the sensitive labour sectorwas passed. The Factories (amendment) bill allowed more overtime for workers, expanding their scope of income and enhanced production.

The House is painting a different picture from earlier days when repeated appeals of then finance minister P Chidambaram to allow the insurance laws to be passed would fall on deaf ears.

In early 2014, the billto allow more FDI in insurance firmswas all ready to be taken up. In a meeting with the BJP, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha told Chidambaram: We will pass it when we come to power after a few months, pouring cold water on the early passage of the crucial reforms measure.

Parliament also cleared the long-pending Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill, Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill and two bills on higher education.

The upper House passed the proposed law on compulsory afforestation or the Campa bill, barely two months after the Congress refused to pass it citing violations of forest rights acts.

As information and broadcasting minister Venkaiah Naidu puts it, There has been a good monsoon and also a good monsoon session.

In last two years, Parliament has witnessed two washed-out sessions and frequent disruptions. The Rajya Sabha, where the Opposition is in majority, had even recorded its lowest performance in last 15 years in last years monsoon session.

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For more than a decade, Ajmal Singh has been trying to get Indian citizenship. He fled Pakistan 14 years ago and continues to live in a refugee camp, with ten children, on the outskirts of Jodhpur.

He worked as a driver before crossing over but doesnt know farming or mining, the only two jobs readily available to Pakistani Hindus who have fled to India. His citizenship application is caught, as is often the case in India, in a bureaucratic maze fuelled by political apathy.

The 39-year-old is one of the more than 100,000 Pakistani Hindus who have taken refuge in India since 1965, citing religious persecution. Of these, 55,000 have settled in Rajasthan but continue to be nowhere people.

Every week, the Thar Express brings more families who come with visas that dont allow them to leave Jodhpur. Many of them are illiterate, poor farmers, who join thousands of others living without basic amenities of electricity, running water and proper toilets.

Hope flickered in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders held out the promise of citizenship for these refugees during poll campaigns. But two years have passed since the BJP came to power and little has been done to improve the lives of thousands like Singh.

At a citizenship drive in July, over 1,200 applications were received by Jodhpurs district magistrate BC Malick, who says only some were processed. The NDA government says more than 4,200 people have got citizenship between 2014 and 2015 but a Right To Information application revealed the number to be a mere 289.

Hurdles vs Hope

The biggest hurdle for the Pakistani refugees who want to be Indian is lack of paperwork, Malick says. The government wants proof that the grandparents or parents of refugees were born in undivided India. But the absence of documents is only a small slice of the plight of these displaced people.

Singh attended the citizenship drive, filled out the papers and then found he had to pay Rs 15,000 to be given for Indian citizenship. This was an impossible sum for the impoverished man who earns Rs 100 or Rs 200 a day if hes lucky. Its a choice  do I feed my children or do I get citizenship? he asks.

School children at a camp for Pakistan refugees in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. (Aishwarya Kandpal / HT Photo )

The government had promised to make citizenship free for extremely poor refugees like Singh, but this plan has not yet materialised. In the meantime, Pakistani Hindus are left to fend for themselves. Often, they face the same bigotry that they ran away from.

Kavita Ram is 13-years-old. Her father, Chetan Ram, has been living in India since 2001. He developed an equation with the local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh branch and a related body, The Hindu Helpline. Hes got an Aadhaar card, a phone connection and his slum, Angandwa  just five kilometers outside Jodhpur  has a sewing centre, a shop and water installed by the helpline.

He is filled with hope of a better future. While he feels the Modi government has taken some steps, Kavita disagrees.

I am scared all the time. When I go to school or go to the jungle to do my business, drunken men come and shout at me. They say they will kill me, that I am a Pakistani, that I should go back to where I came from or I will be dead.

Many of the refugees are disillusioned by the governments claim to care for them. They keep calling us to attend camps. (Chief minister) Vasundhra Raje has come,this one has come, home secretary has come. Come to the camps, they say. But, we come. We sit in the sweltering heat for hours. Nothing ever materialises, says Singhs wife Sri Devi.

Yet, if one asks them whether they regret leaving behind land, school and amenities in Pakistan, their answers always is an emphatic No.

The government may not think of me as Indian, but in my heart Ive always been a part of this country. This is my land, I love it like one loves their mother (and) father, says Singh.

I will live here and die here even if it is under the label of Pakistani. I know I am Indian. Govt announces citizenship drive for refugees who have been in India for over five years Modi promises citizenship for refugees at several election rallies. The BJP-led NDA govt comes to power got citizenship between 2014 and 2015, claims the government. RTI reveals only 289.
With the ongoing demolition drive by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for encroachment on storm water drains in the city, a portion of the house of NSG commando Niranjan Kumar, who was killed during the Pathankot terror attack in January, is also part of its demolition list.

Niranjans brother Shashank said it is a shame to see a national heros house being demolished.

It is very hard for us to digest this because we have lost our brother in Pathankot attack and now we are seeing the house being demolished. And it is not a good thing to see our national heros house being demolished. I would request to stop this demolition because Niranjan died for the country... Shashank told ANI here.

He said that the BBMP officials have marked for demolition one of the three pillars on which the house is standing.

We have been here for the past 20 years and suddenly they (authorities) are informing us about the demolition without any prior notice. This is going to affect our family and it is going to become a national issue. If we would have got any prior notice, then we would have done something about it. It is a shame for the country. It is up to the government to look into the matter and move forward, he added.

BBMP continued with its encroachment clearance drive and has marked more buildings for demolition in Vidyaranyapura.

It had identified and marked properties at Yelahanka, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bommanahalli, Mahadevapura and Yeshwantpur. The residents of these areas have strongly criticised the BBMP officials for asking them to make alternative arrangements.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had earlier ordered action against 20 government officials for their involvement in encroachment of storm water drains in the city.
A local court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to father, mother and brother of 22-year-old girl Nidhi in the 2013 Garnauthi honour killing in the district.

Nidhi and her boyfriend Dharmender were brutally murdered by Nidhis family after they eloped to get married.

Six relatives of the girl, including her parents Narender and Reeta, and brother Sunny, were arrested by the police.

However, the court of additional sessions judge Narender Kaur acquitted three of her relatives while awarding life imprisonment to the parents and brother.

The other three accused  Ravinder, Rajesh and Mahesh  were acquitted due to lack of evidence against them.

Dharmender Barak, 22, and Nidhi Barak, were murdered by her family in September 2013, after they both eloped to get married, despite being of the same gotra, considered a sin in the Jat land.

After launching a hunt, Nidhis family found the couple at Bahadurgarh and brought them back to their home in Garnauthi village. According to the police, the girls family stabbed the couple to death.

The allegations were made that girls family stabbed Dharmender at least 15 times, severed his body into six pieces and threw it outside his house. They also killed their own daughter and tried to cremate her discreetly. However, the cops got to know about the incident and stopped the cremation mid-way. A burnt body of Nidhi was recovered and was sent for postmortem.

The girls father Narender and brother Sunny were booked under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian penal Code (IPC) whereas her mother Reeta was booked under 302 and 120B, police said.

Meanwhile, the counsel of the convicts said they would file a petition in the high court challenging the judgement. The cops were asked to send the recovered body from the pyre for DNA.

However, they did not do so. How can they say the body was of Nidhi? he said.
A bill increasing maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, a step that benefits about 1.8 million women in the organised sector and aims at increasing the strength of the working women force.

The bill, which will now go to the Lok Sabha, will lead to the ratification of International Labour Organisation convention number 183 that provides for at least 14 weeks of maternity benefit to women.

It also facilitates work from home for nursing mothers once the leave period ends and has made creche facility mandatory in respect of establishments with 50 or more employees.

Read | New mums may get to work from home after maternity leave ends

Employers will have to allow women employees to go to the creche four times during duty hours, which will also include her rest period, the bill said.

Once the new law is enacted, India will jump to third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Norway (44) and Canada (50), labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said while replying to a debate on the legislation.

Speaking before the bill was passed, Dattatreya said a maternity bonus of up to Rs 3,500 will also be given to women staff.

Read | Cabinet gives nod for increase in maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by voice vote, even as some members sought norms for paternity leave so that parents can share the responsibility of raising children.

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her full paid absence from work, to take care for her child. The new law will be applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more people.

The Bill provides for increasing maternity benefit from 12 to 26 weeks for two surviving children. On Wednesday, the cabinet had given ex-post facto approval to these amendments.

The very purpose of this Bill is to increase the working women force because in the work force, participation of women is decreasing day by day, Dattatreya said.

Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi said her ministry had recommended raising maternity leave from 12 weeks to eight months but it was considered too long for the employer.

The legislation will go a long way in ensuring that the future generations are healthier, she said as she noted that after giving birth, a womans body needs to heal over a period of time. It is a very stressful time for the mother, who should be with the child.

Highlighting that there are more nuclear families now, Gandhi said the bill has its roots in malnutrition, as breastfeeding the child is recommended which is not possible unless the mother is in physical proximity of the child.

She said the government is thinking of introducing direct benefit transfer for women and it is under consideration.
Outnumbered by the treasury in the Lok Sabha, the opposition launched a spirited attack on the NDA government for its failure to prevent atrocities against Dalits and alleged that the deprived sections of the society were living in deep sense of fear.

Leading the attack, Congress chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia said BJPs aim was to suppress and repress India. He trained guns at the BJP, saying the fringe has become the centre and the centre has become the fringe. The government is protecting such elements otherwise it would have taken action against them, he said.

Accusing the BJP of double standard, he said it leaders oppose reservation and later sympathise with Dalits. He asked the BJP to take a stand based on principle

Scindia said the PM spoke on Dalit atrocities outside the House, but did not break his silence in Parliament. We talk about Swachh Bharat but its our hearts that need to be clean, not the streets Every 18 minutes, there is a crime against a Dalit. Three Dalit women are raped and two Dalits murdered every day, he said.

In Uttar Pradesh, he said when a young Dalit girl wanted to use a tube well she was beaten in front of her father. In Madhya Pradesh, 50 Dalit families have sought permission from the government to commit suicide.

Participating in the debate Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu and home minister Rajnath Singh asked opposition not to politicise the issue.

Initiating a debate on the issue, CPI(M)s PK Biju spoke about the poor conditions of Dalits and cited figures to argue that they were denied equal rights despite the Constitution promising all citizens same rights.

BJPs Udit Raj said no one but the system was responsible for the atrocities on Dalits. People are encouraged (to attack Dalits) as cases remain pending in courts for years on, he said.
Setting aside a Patna high court order forcing magistrates to quit before appearing for an interview for the district judges post, the Supreme Court has ruled that a sitting judge cannot be compelled to resign to participate in the selection process.

Taking a dig at the high court for coming up with a brilliant solution, a bench said its direction to the magistrates was a cruel choice.

For a youngster to give up his or her existing job for the uncertain possibility of securing a better employment is very cruel, the bench said.

If the appellant accepted the advice of the high court but eventually failed to get selected, he might have to regret his choice for the rest of his life.

The SC explained the distinction between selection and appointment while disagreeing with the high court that the Constitution did not permit sitting judges to apply for a district judges position. The bar was on appointment and not to participate in the selection process, it held.

The SC order came on a petition filed by magistrates who had applied for the post of district judge (entry level) while they were advocates. They had appeared for both the prelims and mains exam and before the results were out, the lawyers qualified for subordinate judicial service in August 2014 and joined the same.

The results for district judges exam were declared in January 2015 after which the petitioners got a call for the interview. However, one of the conditions to appear for the interview was a no-objection certificate from the current employer. Their applications for the document before the high court registrars office were rejected.

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Mondays daring train heist near Salem in Tamil Nadu has revived the debate in official circles on the question of providing for a single security force for the railways.

Contrary to most railways of the world, including those in the United Kingdom, United States and China, rail safety in India has continued to be jointly managed by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

The theft of Rs 5.78 crore by robbers who cut through the roof of a train carrying bank money from Salem to Chennai on Tuesday sheds light on strategies employed routinely by criminal gangs in the first three decades after the countrys Independence, when the Railways was the major transporter for goods.

Read | Whodunit! Cops clueless 24 hours after Tamil Nadus great train robbery

Rail crimes have been passenger centric in recent years. In March last year, Madhya Pradesh finance minister Jayant Malaiya and his wife Sudha were robbed off cash and jewellery on the Jabalpur-Nizamuddin Express. Earlier, 50 gangsters stormed into the AC compartment of the Lal Quila Express near Bhadui in Bihars Lakhisarai district and looted passengers of their belongings. In April 2012, passengers on the Delhi-Bhubaneshwar Sampark Kranti Express were similarly looted off their belongings.

Dacoities of the kind reported from Salem have constituted a small component of rail crimes in recent years. Against 69 cases of train dacoities last year, the number of cases of passenger thefts totalled 17,827. In the first six months this year, 24 cases of dacoities have been reported against 9044 cases of thefts of passenger belongings.

Trends in rail crimes have changed but not decreased. Unless the root issue of dual responsibilities between the RPF and GRP is addressed, substantial improvements in controlling crimes are unlikely, a ministry official said.

Last year, railways minister Suresh Prabhu had sought response from state chief ministers on the proposal of empowering the RPF by divesting the GRP of its responsibilities. Several chief ministers, including those from BJP-ruled states, opposed the move.

Read | Tamil Nadu train heist: A look at famous train robberies across history

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The alleged atrocities on Dalits have been a raging issue for all political parties. But when the matter finally came up for discussion in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, parliamentarians left the nation disappointed by their seeming lack of interest.

Read | Parliament live: House debates atrocities on Dalits

Nine reasons why the debate in Parliament did little to address the issue.

1. The debate started almost five minutes behind schedule. But even this additional time was not used by errant MPs to reach the Lok Sabha to participate in one of the most important debates of this monsoon session of Parliament.

2. When the debate started, there were about 60 MPs present in the lower house. This means eight of every nine Lok Sabha members was absent from the 545-member House. If any MP had demanded a quorum  the minimum number of members to be present to carry on the proceedings  the House would perhaps have been adjourned for lack of numbers.

3. Though PK Biju of CPI(M) opened the debate, not all Left MPs were sitting. Both the Opposition as well as the ruling side took the debate lightly. In fact, the front rows of the six blocks of seats in the Lok Sabha were near-empty during the time.

4. Over the course of the controversy, the government had been at the receiving end of the Oppositions attack. But three hours into the debate, only four union ministers  Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Ramkripal Yadav, Harshvardhan and Hansraj Ahir were present in the House.

5. The height of embarrassment for the government came when newly appointed minister of state, Arjun Ram Meghwals name was called out for his speech, and Meghwal was nowhere to be seen. Rudy tried to tide over the situation saying it was a chhoti ghatna (small issue) while BJP emissaries went out to locate Meghwal. A good five minutes had passed when Meghwal finally rushed in to the House.

6. By 5pm, the numbers barely climbed to about 62 MPs in attendance. CPI(M)  a vocal opponent of the Modi government on Dalit issues  was represented by its lone MP from Tripura in the House. Its arch rival, the Trinamool Congress, did one better  two of its 34 MPs were present. Biju Janata Dal, the fifth-largest party in House had only one MP present  its floor leader Bhartruhari Mahtab.

7. In the Congress bench, chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia, KV Thomas, KC Venugopal and a few leaders were sitting. But the partys floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge, himself a Dalit, was absent throughout the debate.

8. Among the prominent Dalit faces of the government, only union minister Ramvilas Paswan sat throughout the debate, along with his son, Chirag.

9. It turns out that many MPs left Delhi to head back to their constituencies on Thursday as the monsoon session concludes on Friday.
A government panel called this week for a reduction in the upper-age limit of candidates for Indias civil services examination, prodding the NDA administration to ditch a decades-long practice of raising the ceiling under political compulsion.

The government indicated it is likely to accept the recommendation, with Union minister Jitendra Singh asking Lok Sabha on Wednesday to evolve a consensus on reducing the upper-age limit.

I do not know whether the House is aware that the last cut-off (age) for appearing for civil services today is 47 years, and at 50 years they are eligible for retirement, the minister of state for personnel told MPs. The age went up due to pressure from political sections, not on merit.

The panel headed by former education secretary BS Baswan submitted its report on Tuesday to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) that conducts the examination.

A decision will be taken by the government in consultation with the UPSC, a senior government official told HT. Baswan was unavailable for comment.

The current upper-limit for general, able-bodied candidates is 32. The committee recommended it be reduced to 27 over five years after a two-year freeze.

This suggestion was made because thousands of students who spend years preparing for the examination might find their careers jeopardised if suddenly declared ineligible.

The examination is conducted in three stages  preliminary, main, and interview  to recruit officers to 23 civil services including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS).

The age limit is relaxed by five years for candidates from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes while those from other backward classes get a three-year relaxation. Disabled aspirants get an additional 10-year cut.

Half-a-million young men and women sit for the gruelling examination every year that offers less than a one in 400 chance of success. Those who succeed often dont score more than 50% in the main written examination.

A general category candidate is permitted six attempts (nine if disabled) and an OBC candidate nine. There is no cap on the number of attempts for SC & ST candidates.

In the past, several panels have advocated a reduction in the upper-age limit but successive governments have done the opposite and raised it, from 26 in the 1960s to 28 in the 1980s and now, 32.

Over the past 50 years, any attempt at tinkering with the exam has proved to be politically sensitive and has been nixed especially by parliamentarians from rural areas, who say slashing the upper-age limit will hurt candidates from under-developed regions.

In 2013, parliamentarians forced the then UPA government to drop an English essay paper of 100 marks and revert to an earlier system where candidates had to score qualifying marks in the paper. But marks scored in the language paper were not counted for ranking successful candidates.

In 2014, the Modi government removed a 22-mark English section in the first of the three-stage examination process, a move demanded by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)  the students wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, the ruling partys ideological mentor.

And in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that marks scored in the civil services aptitude test (CSAT) paper at the preliminary examination would not be used to shortlist candidates.

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Afghanistan has sought more military supplies from India including attack helicopters and US favours Indian support in enhancing Afghan security forces, a top American commander overseeing US operations in the war-ravaged country said on Wednesday.

India has already provided four Mi-25 helicopters to Afghanistan and US Commander General John Nicholson said the country needs more military aircraft to deal with Taliban and various other terror outfits.

Welcoming Indias contribution to restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan, Nicholson said terror outfits like Haqqani network, Lashkar-e- Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are not only a threat to Afghanistan but to the region including India.

Nicholson, who heads the US operations in Afghanistan, on his second visit to India has met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, foreign secretary S Jaishankar and defence secretary G Mohan Kumar and discussed a range of issues including situation in Afghanistan and terror threats to the region.

The US Commander said military training by India to thousands of Afghan security personnel has helped that country significantly which is in tune with the objective of the NATO and the US.

I cannot speak for the Afghan government. But I know that they have requested more and would like more and I think there is an immediate need for more as these aircraft can immediately get into the fight, he said, when asked whether Afghanistan was seeking more military helicopters from India apart from the four Mi 25 choppers.

He said Afghanistan was struggling to get spare parts for Russian aircraft due to Western sanctions against Moscow and India can supply them, adding the US favours Indias military support to Afghanistan.

Referring to Pakistan, he said the Taliban enjoys sanctuaries in Pakistan and that the US has asked Islamabad to take steps to contain the terror networks operating from its soil.

We consistently encourage Pakistan to take action against terrorist groups that operate from its territory and close down their safe havens, he told a group of journalists, at the same time, adding that the US was supportive of Islamabads efforts to reduce the ability of militants groups.

Nicholson said the US was trying to build a counter terrorism platform focusing on containing all terror groups emanating from the region and ensure its peace and stability.

Hailing Indias contribution in reconstruction of Afghanistan, he said the Afghan-India Friendship Dam in Herat province and Chabahar port project will help boost Afghanistans economy.
Is the central government considering action against preacher Zakir Naik and his Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) on the lines of what the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government did with the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in 2001?

For the last six months, the Centre has been monitoring Naik and his activities in India and abroad, and had even asked agencies for a detailed report on his property holdings, finances and foreign funding, according to sources close to the development.

In fact, an agency in Maharashtra had prepared a detailed dossier on Naik and submitted it to the Centre earlier this year, the sources said.

This is also how the whole process of banning SIMI unfolded.

It was a slow build-up before SIMI was banned. SIMIs cadres were arrested from various states on allegations of being involved in anti-national activities, and in certain cases some of their cadres were found involved in blasts. The case against SIMI was built up quietly before a ban was imposed, said a senior IPS officer, who has been tracking terrorism for over two decades.

The government could adopt a similar stand against the IRF after the Mumbai polices latest report, given to the Maharashtra government earlier this week, and once the Kerala police filed its report, said the officer.

Read | Zakir Naik: From a suave doctor to a polarising preacher on security radar

The Centre had first sought a report on Naik after his named cropped up as someone who appeared to have a big influence on young minds when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) were probing Islamic State (IS) modules in Mumbai and its outskirts in February this year.

Ayaz Sultan, leader of the IS module in Malwani, who reportedly sneaked out of the country in October last year to reach Syria, too, was influenced by Naiks speeches.

But the trigger for a full-fledged investigation against Naik under media glare were the reports that two youth who were part of the terror team that attacked a posh Dhaka cafe on July 2 killing 20 people had been influenced by Naiks speeches. This has since been denied by the Bangladeshi publication that carried the report.

But even earlier, there were claims by security agencies that Naiks teachings had influenced the likes of Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan-American arrested in 2009 in the US for allegedly planning suicide attacks on the New York subway; Kafeel Ahmed, the man from Bangalore who failed to execute a suicide attack at Glasgow airport in 2007; and Raheel Shaikh, the accused in the 2006 train blasts in Mumbai.

Naiks speeches aired through his Peace TV had considerable viewership. Most of his speeches are aired on Peace TV English, which he started in 2006. Naik went on to launch Peace TV Urdu in 2009, and Peace TV Bangla in April 2011. He is now believed to have plans to launch his channel in 10 major languages across the world.

But Naik was banned in the United Kingdom and Canada in 2010 and from addressing meetings in Allahabad, Kanpur, and Lucknow in 2008.

Read | Zakir Naik justifies jihad, Mumbai cops say in their report

However, say police officials, there is actually very little legal ground to impose restrictions on him with the evidence at hand. One way to do so would be to prove that the IRF had links to terrorist activities, which is what happened with SIMI in 2001. A first step in this direction could be the First Information Report (FIR) filed at the Palarivattom police station in Kochi, Kerala, on the complaint of a man who said his son had been misguided into going to Syria to join the IS by a person, Arshi Qureshi, who was connected to the IRF. He has since been arrested and the Kerala police is documenting various FIRs filed at Thiruvananthapuram, Kasaragod and some other places that may point fingers at the IRF.

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The countrys commercial capital sprang a story of illegal kidney trade recently when a new and upscale hospital in Mumbai reported four cases of dubious organ transplant. This triggered the arrest of 14 people, five of them doctors with Powais 250-bed Hiranandani hospital, which is now in the eye of a storm:

1) Five doctors of Mumbais well-known LH Hiranandani Hospital were arrested this week after a kidney-transplant racket in the trust-run facility was unearthed in mid-July. The 12-year-old hospital has been ordered to stop organ transplants after a medical team found four cases under the operation dubious.

2) The matter came to light on July 14 when the police, acting on a tip-off by activist Mahesh Tanna, stopped an illegal transplant for a Gujarati businessman. The intended kidney recipient, Brijkishore Jaiswal (48) of Surat was arrested along with his son Kishan (28), and agents Bhaijendra Bisen (42) and Iqbal Siddiqui (40) besides Bharat Sharma (62), the alleged kingpin.

3) This Tuesday night, police arrested hospital CEO Sujit Chatterjee (a gynaecologist) and medical director Anurag Naik along with doctors Mukesh Shete, Mukesh Shah and Prakash Shetty. A case has been registered on charges of cheating, impersonation, criminal conspiracy and forgery of the IPC and the Transplantation of Human Organ Act, 1994 at Powai police station.

Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO of LH Hiranandani Hospital, is taken away by the police after his arrest. (Pramod Thakur/ HT photo)

4) Investigation revealed that an employee, Nilesh Kamble (36) was an organ transplant coordinator and received Rs 8 lakh for overlooking forged documents. Also, Mumbra-based middleman connived with kingpin Bisen to make fake ID proofs. Identified Iqbal Khwaja, he has been arrested.

5) Till now, 14 persons have been arrested in the case. While the five doctors of the Powa-based 250-bed hospital are in police custody till August 13, the rest were sent to judicial custody. Among them, Kishan, the donor Shobha Thakur and Kamble, who is also a social worker, have been granted bail.

6) The hospital doctors were arrested on the basis of a recent report submitted by a three-member state health inquiry committee report. The three members are Dr Sujata Patwardhan from the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee, state nodal officer Dr Gauri Rathod and Sion hospital head of nephrology Dr Kalpana Mehta.

7) The findings, which were first submitted to the states director Dr Mohan Jadhav of directorate of health services on July 23, held a nephrologist and two urologists (who were subsequently arrested) negligent on multiple counts.

8) As for the role of doctors, a police official investigating the case said, They did not verify the documents thoroughly; it amounted to negligence. They should not have gone ahead with the surgery till they had satisfactory information that the donor and recipient are related. They showed a casual attitude; did not perform duty properly.

9) According to police, kingpin Bisens aide Kamble was employed at the hospital for three yearshe cleared over 100 kidney transplant papers. The remaining accused helped in the paperwork and forgery.

10) The Powai police have found more victims from outside Maharashtra who were allegedly lured by the agents in the racket. The hospitals legal cell is working to get revoked the ban on kidney transplants.

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The police said on Thursday that they will investigate the role of kidney racket whistleblower Sundar Singh, who told an inquiry committee of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) that he had been roped into the scam by the other accused after they persuaded him to donate a kidney to a woman he didnt know and then refused to pay him.

The committees report named 23-year-old Singh as one of the agents involved in the kidney racket unearthed at L H Hiranandani Hospital, Powai, last month. Senior police officials confirmed they are looking for Singh, Vinod Patel, accused in an interstate kidney racket exposed in Madhya Pradesh in 2008, and a certain Saeed Khan.

Singh told the DHS inquiry committee that Bijendra Bisen, the main accused, promised to pay him Rs 5 lakh for his kidney but went back on his word and exploited his desperate situation to rope him into the racket to earn some money.

A source in the Mumbai police confirmed that the DHS report named Singh as one of the facilitators of the racket and recommended including him in the polices investigation. Before details of the DHS report were revealed, the police believed that Singh was a solely a victim. A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, said, Singh said that he temporarily worked as an agent at the hospital, suing fake identity cards provided to him by Bisen. As his name has come up in the [DHS] report, we will investigate his role more thoroughly and see if he was involved in any other illegal transplants.

Patel, from Ahmedabad, was allegedly involved in 13 illegal kidney transplants in June 2008. He had been on the radar of the police in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh from 2007 2009. A source in the police said that investigators are now checking if the kidney racket is limited to Mumbai or is part of a bigger, nationwide racket.
Nebraska Sen. Al Davis, a longtime ally of the organization that oversees cattle brands in Nebraska, has called on the agency to cut ties with its former executive director following a searing state audit.

The Brand Committees five-member board accepted Director Shawn Harveys resignation Monday, then immediately created a new position for him. As interim chief investigator and director of field operations, Harvey will continue to make the same salary, which the agencys budget lists as $107,441 annually.

Davis, a Hyannis-area rancher who has championed several legislative bills on behalf of the Brand Committee during his time in the Legislature, called the move convoluted and incomprehensible in a statement released Tuesday evening.

He said the issues raised in a 53-page report released by State Auditor Charlie Janssen -- including possible misdemeanor crimes -- must be addressed for the sake of employee morale and restoration of public faith.

The Brand Committee must reconsider its decision. Personnel are always replaceable and a severing of the relationship between Mr. Harvey and the committee will help restore faith in the work of the committee, Davis said. What kind of message is the committee sending to nearly 100 hard-working employee who find that rules can be broken if you know the right people?

Created in 1941, the committee keeps records of cattle brands, inspects cattle to verify ownership and investigates missing and stolen livestock. Its jurisdiction covers roughly the western two-thirds of the state.

Committee Chairman Jerry Kuenning stood by the decision about Harvey Wednesday, saying the committee has addressed the issues the audit raised. He said committee members hope Harvey, who has 17 years of experience working for the Brand Committee, will continue to serve even after a new executive director is hired.

We wanted to use his talents and his strengths," he said in a telephone interview. All five committee members, we acted unanimously for what we thought was the good of the Nebraska Brand Committee and the Nebraska beef producers.

The audit found a host of issues that raised concerns about Harveys management of the agency and alleges he broke the law by driving a state-owned pickup for personal business, backdating an employee's disciplinary form to deceive a state official and approving the sale of livestock without proof of ownership by a man with a criminal record who another inspector had flagged.

Attorney General Doug Peterson is investigating whether any of Harveys actions violated the law, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Gov. Pete Ricketts, during a news conference Wednesday at the Capitol, said the situation highlights the drawbacks of volunteers overseeing an agency like the Brand Committee.

The governor appoints the members of the committee to four-year terms, but they are members of an independent board.

I need to defer to them and hope they provide the appropriate level of oversight, Ricketts said.

Jaclyn Wilson of Lakeside, who was appointed to the Brand Committee last year, said many of the issues in the audit predate current members. It will take time to get everything cleared up and additional checks and balances put in place, she said. The committee has formed a work group to study needed policy and legislative updates.

"It has been our responsibility to be cleaning up issues that should have been taken care of before," she said. "Before the audit was even released, we had been aware of some of these issues and were doing what was necessary to clean those up."

Wilson also offered support for Harvey and called Davis' comments political hearsay. She pointed out Harvey's salary in his new position is determined by a combination of the years he has served and the pay scale of an assistant director.

Melody Benjamin is vice president of member services for Nebraska Cattlemen and said the majority of ranchers she has spoken to realize it will take some time to straighten out the issues raised in the audit, some of which may require legislative and policy updates.

Barring any legal action against him, we dont know what that is going to be yet, I think Shawn should stay," Benjamin said. "This other job probably fits his skill set better than where he has been in the executive directors position.

Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Greg Ibach, who is a nonvoting member of the Brand Committee, has offered his staff to help in the search for a new director and for other office duties.

Brand Committee Assistant Director Paul Beaver resigned last month over concerns of the committees handling of the audit findings. With no upper-level staff to fall back on, Ibach said, letting Harvey go would have left the committee in a difficult position.

The Brand Committee relies on inspection and other fees to fund its $4.7 million annual budget. It has 51 full-time and 48 intermittent employees, the vast majority of them livestock inspectors.
A GoAir passenger who claimed to be a celebrity was denied boarding on a Lucknow-bound flight at the Mumbai airport on Thursday for throwing tantrums and abusing the crew.

The woman passenger, being a business class traveller, was assigned a porter to assist her with her cabin baggage. But airport sources said that she boarded the aerobridge by herself without waiting for the GoAir staff.

A GoAir spokesperson said that the business class passenger was offloaded from flight G8 387 BOM  LKO. According to the airlines,the passenger, while walking through the aerobridge, threw her handbag on another passenger while boarding was in progress. She then entered the aircraft by pushing the passengers in front of her. Passengers complained about her behavior to the in-flight staff who tried to convince her to calm down.She started abusing the airline staff, the spokesperson said.

As the flight was being held up, the captain followed flight regulations and decided to deplane the passenger.

The CISF was informed about the incident and the passenger was provided a seat in the next flight.

Flying tempers have become a regular on flights. Two weeks back, an unruly Indigo passenger made a Kozhikode-bound flight make an emergency stopover at Mumbai. The passenger, ostensibly mentally unstable, was off loaded for disturbing the meal service and abusing a co-traveller.

Despite long-pending demands from passengers forums and the airlines industry to take stringent action against unruly passengers, the civil aviation ministry is yet to introduce such measures.

Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had permitted the domestic airlines crew to carry plastic handcuffs on board to contain such passengers. From assaulting the crew to smoking in the lavatory, to breaking armrests, cases of passenger violence on board are not stray incidents.
Three of the five doctors arrested in connection with the illegal kidney transplant racket in Powais Hiranandani Hospital have claimed that they were not aware of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act.

All three -- nephrologist Dr Mukesh Shete, and urologists Dr Mukesh Shah and Dr Prakash Shetty  are transplant specialists and this is what has baffled the committee of doctors set up the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) who quizzed them about the racket and submitted a report to the government.

Dr Shetty and Dr Shah said that they didnt speak to donors in advance and met them just 15 minutes before surgery. Under the law, a panel of doctors is supposed to have a detailed discussion with the patients and donors, said a member of the DHS committee.

The committees investigation also revealed that Dr Shete, in violation of the law, performed both parts of the procedure  retrieving the organ from the donor and transplanting it into the recipient, apparently to limit the involvement of other doctors. According to the law, both surgeries are supposed to take place simultaneously. But when we checked the patients, we found out that only Thakur had an incision on her abdomen. This indicates that only one doctor was to perform both the surgeries, said a DHS official.

Another accused doctor ( face covered) in the kidney racket . (Pramod Thakur/HT Photo)

The report states that while Dr Shete was a central figure in the racket, the two urologists played supporting roles. A DHS official, who did not wish to be named, said that while there is still no evidence that Dr Chatterjee and Dr Naik were directly involved in the racket, the two had failed to ensure that other doctors at the hospital adhered to the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, when performing transplants.

The racket was exposed after the Powai police, acting on a tip-off, halted an illegal kidney transplant at the hospital on July 14. Using forged documents, Shobha Thakur, the would-be donor, was presented as the wife of Brijkishor Jaiswal, a Surat businessman who needed a new kidney. However, DHS officials said that on July 18, when they went to the hospital to question Jaiswal and Thakur, they found the two had been put up in the same room. Hospital authorities, despite knowing that the two were not husband and wife, didnt even attempt to put them in separate rooms. We found this completely outrageous, said a DHS official, who did not wish to be named.
A day after demon king Ravanas idol was vandalised in Bisrakh village, police on Wednesday registered an FIR against five identified and 25 unidentified people.

On Tuesday, police said the idol was vandalised allegedly by a group of young men wearing saffron scarves.

The idol was supposed to be installed at a temple in the village that is being renovated. Bisrakh is the birthplace of Ravana and he is worshipped here.

(Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

Following a complaint from temple priest Acharya Ashokanandan, police registered a case against Gau Raksha Hindu Dals president Ved Nagar, Dudheshwarnath Maths Juna Akharas international minister Mahant Narayangiri, International Hindu Senas president Krishna Giri, Kalka Temples (Delhi) priest Surender Nath and two others, apart from 25 unidentified men.

Read: Greater Noida - Ravana idol in Bisrakh temple vandalised

To maintain law and order in the village, security arrangements have were made at the temple.

A team was deployed at the temple for precautionary measures. The village is calm. The case is being investigated. Further action will be taken after the probe, said Rakesh, deputy superintendent of police (circle officer 3), Greater Noida.

(Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

Meanwhile, priest Acharya Ashokanandan on Wednesday called a meeting of villagers to discuss the issue. About 30 locals attended the meeting and decided to inaugurate the renovated temple without Ravanas idol on Thursday.

The Ravanas idol was vandalised. It was decided that we will not place the same idol at the temple. We will place another idol after some time. There is a temple of Ravana in the village since time immemorial and the resident offer prayers there. Such an incident has never occurred before, said Ashokanandan, priest of the temple.

(Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

Repeated attempts to contact Mahant Narayangiri were unsuccessful as his phone was switched off. Gau Raksha Dals chief Ved Nagar, however, denied his involvement in the incident.

The FIR against me is politically motivated. I have no role in vandalising the idol, he said.

Read: Greater Noida: On Dussehra, Bisrakh will mourn Ravana

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Kuwaits Fehaid al-Deehani, competing at the Rio Games as an independent athlete, won mens double trap gold on Wednesday.

Marco Innocenti of Italy took silver with British shooter Steven Scott claiming the bronze.

Al-Deehani, bronze medallist in Sydney and London, was forced to take part in Brazil as a neutral as Kuwait is suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over government interference in sport.

The army officer, at his sixth Games, is one of nine competing as an Independent Olympic Athlete (IOA).

For live coverage: Rio 2016 Live: Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari and Manoj Kumar reach round of 16

The winner of Kuwaits only two previous Olympic medals is the first independent to win gold at an Olympics.

In the final God gave me the will to win. This is my day - it means everything (to Kuwait), said al-Deehani, who had rejected an offer from the IOC to carry the neutral flag at last Fridays opening ceremony,

He told Kuwaiti media at the time: I am a military man and I will only carry the Kuwait flag.

I cannot carry the IOC flag.

Rain and wind added a tricky dimension to the final. It was very difficult to shoot here, reported Innocenti.

Scott, who beat his fellow Briton Tim Kneale in the bronze shoot-off, agreed. The weather is certainly not what it has been in Rio the past few weeks...it wasnt easy today.

One man though shone in the murky conditions. It was very tough today, but I was able to come through, smiled al-Deehani.
Belgian Olympic judo medallist Dirk Van Tichelt suffered a black eye in a late-night assault on Copacabana beach in Rio, the Belgian Olympic Committee confirmed on Tuesday.

Just hours after winning under-73kg bronze in the dojo on Monday, Van Tichelt was out celebrating with his training partner on the world famous beach when the assault occurred.

His training partners phone was stolen and as Dirk ran after the thief, he was punched in the face by someone else, Belgian Olympic Committee communications director Luc Rampaer told AFP.

The police were nearby so he made a formal complaint and then was seen by a doctor at the hospital as a precaution, although there was nothing serious.

Van Tichelt was back at the judo arena in Rio on Tuesday being photographed with his medal, and his shiner.

According to Belgian media he claimed the black eye came from his robust bouts in the judo competition.

But Rampaer confirmed it was from the assault.

Brazilian media claimed the assault was committed by a local call-girl, but Rampaer denied it.

Its a false information, it was definitely a man who punched him, thats what the police report says, he said.
Freestyle queen Katie Ledecky made sure of her third swimming gold medal of the Rio Olympics, and fourth of her career, after anchoring the U.S. women to victory in the 4x200 metres freestyle relay on Wednesday.

Australia, who led until Ledecky hit the water, took silver and Canada the bronze.

The U.S. were the defending champions but only Allison Schmitt, who swam the leadoff leg in Rio, was in the race lineup from that London 2012 golden quartet that also beat Australia into second place.

Leah Smith and Maya DiRado swam second and third respectively before Ledecky, who won the 400 freestyle on Sunday and 200 free on Tuesday, brought home the gold with a typically powerful swim from behind.

China led at the start before Australia, with Emma McKeon swimming the second leg, handed over in the lead to Bronte Barratt.

With DiRado closing in on Barratt but still behind, Ledecky had work to do and she went about it with a vengeance to take the lead with just over 100m to go and then powering home in seven minutes, 43.03 seconds.

Tamsin Cook touched out for Australia in 7:44.57 and Canadas anchor Penny Oleksiak finished close behind in 7:45.39 with China fourth.
The counter intelligence unit of the police claimed to have busted a terror module with the arrest of three people. Those arrested were allegedly taking instructions to carry out disruptive activities in Punjab from Khalistani elements sitting abroad.

The accused have been identified as Gurpal Singh, Major Singh and Rachpal Singh. They are linked with the Khalistan Zindabad Force. They, as per the police, had been entrusted with the task of reviving militancy in Punjab by their handlers.

Addressing the media, inspector general of police (IG) (counter intelligence) MF Farooqui said, In the wake of attack on RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja, the Punjab Police had launched an operation to nab the culprits and came across this terror module.

He said Gurpal Singh alias Pala was arrested from Umranangal near Beas and a 9-mm pistol, cartridges and magazine was recovered from his possession.

During interrogation of Gurpal, the name of Major Singh figured as a key conspirator. He was in touch with Gurpal and some wanted terrorists based in Belgium, England and Pakistan. The accused had received consignments of arms recently and were planning some disruptive activities, the IG said.

Major Singh was arrested from Vairo Nangal village on Mehta-Batala road and a 30-bore pistol and 10 cartridges were recovered from his possession, police said.

During interrogation, it has come to the fore that Major and Gurpal were taking instructions from wanted terrorists Jagdish Singh alias Bhoora, who is based in Belgium, and England-based Kuldeep Singh and Jasbir Singh alias Jassi. Bhoora was in touch with Pakistan-based hardcore terrorist Ranjit Singh alias Neeta and other members of Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), Farooqui said.

The third accused Rachpal Singh was arrested from Chandigarh on Thursday.

The IG said investigations were on to uncover the complete module and to find out the source of the weapons recovered from the accused. More arrests are likely in the coming days as the investigations progress, he said.

The accused have been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act.
Volunteers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from Ludhiana (West) on Thursday objected to the candidature of Ahbaab Grewal from the constituency, demanding a change in the candidate.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Col Dr DS Grewal (retd) and Dr AS Bains said more than 300 volunteers from the constituency had signed a petition, requesting the party chief and convener Arvind Kejriwal to change the candidate.

Ahbaab Grewal after he got the ticket. (HT File Photo)

They said almost 90% of the volunteers felt that the party committed a mistake by choosing Ahbaab as the candidate.

Also read | Phoolka, youth wing chief, ex-BSP MP on AAP first list of 19 for Punjab

They said that they had already conveyed the cadres feelings to the senior party leaders. We have submitted a representation to the state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur, said Bains.

They, however, said partys observer for the Ludhiana parliamentary seat, Amrish Trikha, was not forwarding their representation to the leaders at the top. We are forced to hold this press conference so that our voice reaches the party chief Arvind Kejriwal, said Col Grewal.

Must read | I differ with choices, but will not do anything to harm AAP: Chhotepur

They said there was a collective feeling among the volunteers that Ahbaab lacked the qualities of a leader to qualify to be the AAP candidate. There are allegations against him and his integrity is being questioned, said Col Grewal, adding use of party funds by him is also under investigation.

When asked if have someone in mind to replace Ahbaab, Bains said there were 8-9 people and any one of them will be a better choice. There are retired army officers, a doctor, a university professor; any one of them will be acceptable to us, he said.

3 office-bearers suspended for anti-party activities

Ludhiana: Three office-bearers of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from Sahnewal were suspended from the party for three months for alleged anti-party activities.

Those suspended are AAPs youth wing zonal in-charge (Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha constituency) Jagvir Singh Jaggi; Daljinder Singh Saini (vice zonal in-charge of the trade wing of Fatehgarh Sahib) and in-charge of Sahnewal constituency Ajay Panesar.

Sources said the trio was opposing partys candidate from Sahnewal, Harjot Singh Bains, and recently, a group of the volunteers had raised Harjot Bains go back slogans outside the party office there. The protesters claimed that Bains was an outsider and wanted either Jaggi or Panesar as the AAP candidate from Sahnewal.

Ashutosh Tandon, media in-charge of AAP for Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, said the zone in-charge Varinder Khara suspended them for their alleged anti-party activities.

When contacted, Ajay Panesar said, I am surprised at our suspension. It is an injustice. I hope that Arvind Kejriwal will do justice with us as we have been working for AAP for more than three years with dedication and honesty.

In Pics | AAPs first list for Punjab: Meet the 19 candidates
A head constable created terror in Sector 46 on Thursday around 8.30am after he fired three shots in the air from his 9mm service pistol. Balwan Singh (55), who has been suspended, is in jail, and also faces a departmental inquiry, was drunk, the police said, adding that dhaba owner Om Prakash informed them as he was the witness to the crime. Later, while being produced in court, Balwan reportedly told a colleague next to him, So what, if I fired? It was my birthday.

Two bullet shells have been recovered from outside the dhaba.

Also read | No liquor? Will fight! Relatives of bride, groom clash at marriage in Bathinda

On Wednesday night, Balwant was posted at the house of Maninder Singh Bitta, chairman, All-India Anti-Terrorist Front, the police have said. We have arrested the constable under Sections 27-54-59 of the Arms Act and under Section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC. His pistol has been seized, said inspector Baljit Singh, station house officer, Sector 34. DSP (south) Deepak Yadav said blood samples had been taken to confirm the level of alcohol in the blood.

Later, while in police custody, Balwan was clicked smiling by photojournalists.

Previous instances of lawless cops

May 13, 2015: Constable Jagjeet Singh (50), a security guard at the General Post Office in Sector 17, opened fire inside a postal van in which he was travelling. However, no one was injured in the incident. The police said Jagjeet was mentally upset suffered from seizures.

December 17, 2014: Amrik Singh, a headconstable posted with the PCR created ruckus at a liquor vend in Sector 40

April 18, 2013: Chandigarh police constable, Basant Kumar, posted with Indian Reserve Battalion shot dead his lovers husband and her mother-in-law, and injured another woman in Haryanas Sonepat district. After the crime, Basant abducted Sandeeps wife Sarita and fled from the spot in a car. Basant was having an affair with Sarita and they had eloped once earlier.
The Punjab governments eight-member high-powered committee has refused permission to start the proposed CT University in Ludhiana, as the CT Educational Society is yet to fulfil the key conditions.

This yet another private university is being set up by the Jalandhar-based CT Group of Institutions in Jagraon area of Ludhiana over 36 acres of land.

Higher education minister Surjit Singh Rakhra has shown extraordinary interest in pushing the contentious proposal of this university to begin admitting students without fulfilling the conditions.

The panels refusal to give the nod means the university cannot start academic operations yet.

The applicant does not meet the prescribed construction benchmark, principal secretary (higher education) Roshan Sunkaria said during the August 3 meeting of the high-powered panel headed by chief secretary Sarvesh Kaushal.

As per the minutes of the meeting, Chander Parkash Gaind, special secretary (higher education), said there was no provision to give relaxation for completion of the remaining unconstructed/partially constructed infrastructure in due course.

The construction is skeletal in nature, incomplete and grossly inadequate to fulfil the requirements. It is premature to consider the request of the applicant at this stage, Dr Raj Bahadur, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) vice-chancellor (V-C), said in the meeting. Punjabi University, Patiala, V-C Prof Jaspal Singh endorsed Dr Bahadurs views.

Dr Bahadur also raised the issue of posters and placards put up on the campus and outside the proposed university inviting applications for admissions even without waiting for the approvals.

Following this, higher education officers Sunkaria and Gaind were directed to inquire into the matter of the university inviting applications and bring the correct up-to-date facts to the notice of the committee in its next meeting.

The BFUHS V-C pointed out that during one of the inspections he found that even old furniture was arranged temporarily by the university on the campus.

Equipment and other necessary fixtures were also temporarily arranged by the applicant from other campuses just to meet the purpose of the inspection, Dr Bahadur has been quoted as saying in the minutes of the meeting (of which HT has a copy).

The committee comprising bureaucrats and V-Cs has also recorded that the change of land use (CLU) validity of the proposed university had expired on February 4, 2016.

The administrative department (higher education) had no information if the university management had fulfilled the 20 different pre-conditions imposed when the CLU was granted on February 5, 2014, that was valid for two years.

The panel has pointed out that six documents submitted as undertakings by the CT Educational Society were very cryptic and didnt have dates mentioned therein. The university had to submit undertakings, such as progress of the construction, books in the library, equipment, furniture and adherence to University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.

The Punjabi University V-C pointed out that the nomenclature of the proposed courses is not as per the UGC norms or the regulatory authorities of the Union government. Ramanjit Kaur Johal, representative of the Panjab University V-C, endorsed the views.

The representative of the finance department, Punjab income tax adviser Surinder Kaur Waraich, said: It is strange that the proposal of the university does not include basic bachelor and master degree courses...

Finally, the committee deferred the clearance of the case with direction to the higher education department to ensure strict compliance of the conditions applied when the letter of intent (LOI) was issued to the society to set up the university.

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1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
A local court on Thursday acquitted former deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Jagdish Singh Bhola, businessman Jagjit Singh Chahal, former Akali leader Maninder Singh Aulakh  Bittu, and former head constables Dharamvir Singh and Sandeep Singh in a 1-kg heroin recovery case from two men. Those two men, Dalbir Singh and Tarsem Singh, got 12 years in jail, though.

Bhola, considered the kingpin of the larger drug trade in Punjab, will remain in jail as he is accused in several other cases too.

Also read | Money laundering charges framed against Bhola

Dalbir of Kapurthala and Tarsem of Baser Ki Bheni in Amritsar were also fined Rs 1 lakh each too. In case they fail to pay that, they will have to undergo an additional one-year imprisonment. Both were arrested by Lambra police here on December 24, 2013, with the heroin. The five others, including Bhola, were made co-accused based on their alleged revelations.

Meanwhile, police had banned the entry of photojournalists in the court complex when Bhola and others were presented.

Also read | Drug racket: Give security to ex-DGP Shashi Kant, HC tells Punjab
The Punjabi Suba pension will be granted only to a person who was imprisoned for taking part in the agitation, the state government told the high court on Wednesday.

The governments counsel produced a letter written by general administration department (freedom fighters branch) conveying the decision. The last years original policy only mentioned the requirement of participation in the agitation. It was challenged through a public interest litigation (PIL).

As per the new circular, those who were jailed for up to three months will be eligible for a financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month, for three to six months of imprisonment it will be Rs 1,500, and for higher term it will be Rs 2,000.

In a further climb down, the government also told the court it had deleted the earlier provision empowering former and present legislators, zila parishad chairman and members and village sarpanch concerned to identify such sangharshi yodhas. Now, the applicant will have to produce a proof of imprisonment, clearly stating the duration.
Already running behind the deadline given by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) led the state government to accomplish development works in cities before the upcoming Assembly Polls 2017, the Moga Municipal Corporation (MC) is all set to further delay the urban civic works.

Facing criticism over utilising less than 1% of the total Rs 36 crore funds to finish urban infrastructural works well ahead of state assembly polls, the MC has now in the agenda of Financial and Contract Committee (F&CC) meeting has listed only 62 of total 140 projects, which are to be carried out under the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB), to discuss their allotments to contractors. The corporation has not put works under municipal funds in the agenda of the meeting. This means as many as 115 infrastructure projects have been put on back burner.

The MC sources said that holding separate meetings for the works of both grants would lead to a further delay of development works in the city.

The Hindustan Times on Tuesday reported that of total 162 works under PIDB grant of Rs 20 crore, the MC has only been able to accomplish mere nine works while 13 works are underway at the cost of Rs 30 lakhs. The civic body has also failed to utilise its own funds of Rs 16 crore also, with which it was to take up and finish 115 works, mostly pertaining to laying roads, sewerage, installation of street lights and water supply, of which not a single work has been started.

The civic body has received fewer bids for PIDB related works as, according to officials, under the governments grant, a contractor has to take responsibility for maintenance and repair for five years, while under MC grant, a contractor was only responsible for few months.

However, mayor Akshit Jain defended the decision of not including the MCs funds related works. He said, It is not mandatory to put works of both grants in a single meeting and moreover, there was a long list of works so we have divided into two.

Earlier in an F&CC meeting on June 10, authorities had mentioned works of both grants, but had to cancel almost all the tenders after MC detected work of a cartel in bidding of works.

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The new academic session is on and many students from Government Mohindra College and Government Bikram College of Commerce are hunting for paying-guest accommodation in the city. Both campuses have no boys hostel.

A few students have been adjusted in the hostel of the Government College for Education, which has 30 seats each for Mohindra, Bikram, and Khalsa College. The rent for paying guest accommodation is between Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,000 a month. While nominal fee of the government colleges is a big relief, the absence of hostel facility evens it out. Living in rented rooms increases our cost of education. I was paying Rs 4,500 a month as paying guest until I got a room in the education college. Many are not so lucky, said a Mohindra College student from Mansa.

He said the hostel atmosphere was not nice and the rules very harsh, while the monthly mess fee had been increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,800. The colleges 200 hostel seats for own students remain vacant most of the times. Students from the other government colleges get these seats on priority but we accept forms only through their principals, said Government College for Education principal SK Kaushik.

The college took ragging seriously, he said. We have the personal record of every student. The guest-entry timings are fixed and, yes, we are strict about it. If they have any complaint about the hostel facilities, students can contact with me, said Kaushik. Mohindra has a 350-seat girls hostel but the boys hostel was shut in 2005 after a series of clashes among students.

We need nearly 500 hostel seats for boys. We have written to University Grant Commission about it, said Government Mohindra College principal Sukhbir Singh Thind.

Government Bikram College of Commerce principal Harminder Kaur said a hostel wasnt required on her campus. We have little demand for hostel seats, she said. For any need, we have the education college hostel.
Ludhiana mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria has ordered registration of FIRs against factory owners, who illegally dump waste into sewer lines on Bahadur Ke Road, causing inconvenience to the residents in the vicinity.

The officials of the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Wing of MC were earlier shying away from lodging FIRs against the violators.

Municipal corporation officials claimed that they had disconnected the illegal sewer connection on Bahadur Ke Road on August 7 but they did not take any legal action against the violators.

According to sources, MC authorities did not conduct an inquiry to know the actual number of violators, who were using the MCs sewer lane.

Some of the MC officials are also facing allegations that they are hand-in-glove with factory owners responsible for releasing waste into MCs sewer lane.

Executive engineer of (O&M) wing Pardeep Saluja said they have already disconnected illegal sewer connection, so there was no need to lodge an FIR.

Talking to HT, mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria said he directed zonal commissioner Kamlesh Bansal to lodge an FIR against violators who had taken the sewer connection illegally. If anybody takes illegal connection, it is the responsibility of the officials concerned to lodge FIR against the violators.

On Tuesday, a team of MC was attacked by more than 100 persons when the team went to check the status of the alleged illegal connection, which the MC claimed has been disconnected,on Bahadur Ke Road on Tuesday.

Gohalwaria said, It was sheer hooliganism as the MC employees were on duty when they were attacked. We will not tolerate this. We will bring this incident to the notice of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Area councillor from ward number 1 Randhir Singh Sivia claimed that the MC has yet not disconnected the illegal sewer connection as the MCs sewer lane remains busy because the factories outside MCs limit are allegedly releasing waste into sewer lane of MC.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday alleged that deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is laying grounds to eliminate its leaders in the state. At a press conference here, AAP legal cell head and candidate from SAS Nagar (Mohali), Himmat Singh Shergill lashed out at Sukhbir saying his statement regarding Pakistans intelligence agency ISIs attempt to disturb peace of Punjab is a deep-rooted and well-planned conspiracy to lay the ground for violence in the upcoming assembly polls.

It cannot be ruled out that under the garb of the ISI threat, Sukhbir may conspire attacks on AAP leaders in Punjab and also on partys national convener Arvind Kejriwal. His statement smells of a conspiracy to disturb peace of Punjab, Shergill alleged. AAP candidates Harjot Bains from Sahnewal, Gurpreet Singh Lapran from Payal, Brig Raj Kumar (retd) from Balachaur, Santokh Singh Salana from Bassi Pathana and Amarjit Singh from Rupnagar were also present.

When questioned if he had any proof to back his theory of Sukhbir hatching a conspiracy to eliminate AAP leaders, Shergill said his statement should be brought before the public just like deputy CMs statement had been brought in the public domain.

Claiming that the ISI had never got a single political leader murdered in Punjab in the past nine years, Shergill said the ISI bogey had been raised just four months before the election by Sukhbir to play politics of fear. When asked out if he was trying to defend ISIs activities in the state, Shergill said he was not doing that: Sukhbir must clarify which leader of Punjab was eliminated by the ISI and who are on its target.

Asked if AAP leaders in Punjab would seek police security, Shergill said We dont require security by Sukhbir Badal, as people of Punjab have already provided us ample security in the form of immense support.

At a press conference in New Delhi, too, AAPs Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh reiterated the allegation. He also reacted to Sukhbirs claim that AAP leaders are aligning with radical groups of Punjab and that pro-Khalistan, separatist groups are funding the party.

Terming Sukhbir comedy minister, he said, Instead of making such baseless allegations, why does not he come up with proof about our sources of funding? Why does not he reveal the names of leaders who are on ISI radar? He also referred to the past attack on Kejriwals convoy in Ludhiana. He (Sukhbir) is making these allegations so that in the event of an attack, ISI is held responsible and not the SAD-BJP government, Sanjay said.

Asked about reports of discontent in the partys Punjab unit following the release of the first list of candidates for the 2017 assembly polls, Sanjay said Sucha Singh Chhotepur, partys state convenor, will meet Kejriwal to sort out the issues. On whether AAP will declare its chief ministerial candidate in Punjab soon, he said the party will decide at an appropriate time as we have a long list of leaders with absolute clean records. (with PTI inputs from Delhi)

Also read | Decision on Sidhus role in AAP only after he joins: Sanjay Singh
Upset over the appointment of local BJP leader Sarbjit Kaur Bath as chairperson of the Tarn Taran improvement trust, 31 office-bearers of the party, including district chief and six councillors, resigned on Wednesday.

After handing over his resignation to state BJP chief Vijay Sampla at Chandigarh, partys district president Navreet Singh Shafipur said: Its pointless to be in a party that accommodates corrupt leaders. So, my entire team has quit.

Shafipur said the state chief was told about the alleged corrupt and anti-party activities of Bath. During the 2015 municipal council elections, she campaigned against the party candidates and supported rivals, he alleged. Shafipur, who is considered close to Punjab local bodies minister Anil Joshi, said their meeting with the Sampla yielded no result as latter expressed his helplessness in the matter.

Among those who have resigned are two general secretaries, six vice-presidents, six secretaries and five mandal presidents. Among councillors who quit is Raja Joshi, the younger brother of Anil Joshi.

On her part, Bath said, My appointment is party high commands decision, not mine. So, every worker should respect it. Shafipur should prove the allegations he is levelling against me. I am a loyal party leader. How can I go against its interests?
The Orissa High Court on Thursday granted bail to Odia comic actor and expelled BJD leader Tatwa Prakash Satapathy, who was arrested on the charge of sexually harassing a minor girl.

Satapathy, accused in a casting couch case involving the minor girl, and Sahoo were arrested from Puri on June 30, a day after Odisha Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik expelled the actor from the party.

Read: CM expels Tatwa for alleged sexual misconduct

Justice J P Das also granted bail to Satapathys associate Pradeep Sahoo, who was also arrested in the same case along with the actor popularly known by his screen name Papu Pompom.

Read: Latest updates from Regional movies

The two were given bail on condition that they will not influence the witnesses or tamper with evidence. They were asked to cooperate with the investigating officer whenever required.

Two courts in Khurda district had last month refused to grant them bail.

The police have registered a case against Satapathy and Sahoo under various Sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Friends Foundation, a city based NGO, had filed a complaint at Mahila Police Station against Satapathy accusing him of sexually abusing the minor girl after promising to give her a break in films.

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Hillary Clinton has accused her Republican rival Donald Trump of inciting violence against her, which in some quarters was seen as an assassination threat.

Words matter, my friends, Clinton said, addressing supporters at a rally in Iowa on Wednesday . And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences.

Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line, she said, citing his casual inciting of violence.

Addressing a rally in Florida on Tuesday, Trump told supporters that if elected president, Clinton will nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court. And, there is nothing you can do, folks.

Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I dont know, he said, referring to gun activists and supporters of a constitutional provision that guarantees the right to bear arms.

Clintons supporters called it an incitement to violence, and one Democratic senator, Chris Murphy, said it was an assassination threat.

Trump has denied it was a call to violence.

Media desperate to distract from Clinton's anti-2A stance, Trump said in a Tweet. I said pro-2A citizens must organize and get out vote to save our Constitution!

The powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), which spearheads the gun lobby and which has endorsed Trump, came to the help of the nominee. It said in a tweet Trump was right that if Clinton gets to pick her anti-#2A #SCOTUS judges, theres nothing we can do.

Taking the same line as Trump, it added in another Tweet, But there IS something we will do on #ElectionDay: Show up and vote for the #2A! #DefendtheSecond #NeverHillary.
Four years after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange took refuge in the Ecuador embassy in central London, Swedish prosecutors have agreed to his demand that he be questioned in a sexual assault case inside the mission.

The development, revealed in an official statement in Ecuador, is likely to lead to a breakthrough to end the imbroglio that has cost Scotland Yard millions of pounds in security outside the embassy.

Assange is the subject of an European arrest warrant, which Britain is obliged to implement. If he steps out of the embassy, he faces arrest and extradition to Sweden.

Ecuadors attorney general is reported to have delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish prosecutor to question Assange, who is wanted for questioning over a rape allegation that he has denied.

Assange has refused to travel to Sweden to face the allegation as he believes he will be taken to the United States because of the many leaks of classified documents by WikiLeaks in recent years.

The statement issued in Ecuador said: In the coming weeks a date will be established for the proceedings to be held at the embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom.

For more than four years, the government of Ecuador has offered to cooperate in facilitating the questioning of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as well as proposing other political and legal measures, in order to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties involved in the legal case against Julian Assange, to end the unnecessary delays in the process and to ensure full and effective legal protection.

The statement added: In line with this position, Ecuador proposed to Sweden the negotiation of an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, which was signed last December and which provides the legal framework for the questioning.

Ecuadors foreign ministry reiterates its commitment to the asylum granted to Julian Assange in August 2012, and reaffirms that the protection afforded by the Ecuadorian state shall continue while the circumstances persist that led to the granting of asylum, namely fears of political persecution.

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Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

Those who habitually put items in their recycling bins that don't belong there are the target of the ordinance amendment, not those who make an occasional, accidental mistake, said Public Works Director Jeff Demers.
At least 21 people were killed when an explosion ripped through a power plant in Chinas central Hubei province on Thursday, reports said, a grim reminder of the lack of safety in the countrys industrial sector.

The blast occurred in Dangyang city of the province. Five people were also injured, reports said.

The explosion came a year after at least 145 people were killed and more than 670 injured in chemical blasts in Tianjin, 100 km from Beijing.

A steam pipe explosion is said to have caused the blast in Hubei. A high-pressure steam pipe exploded at the Madian Gangue Power Generation company in Dangyang city around 3.20 pm. The injured were rushed to hospital, official Xinhua news agency reported.

Most casualties were caused by the blast of steam triggered following the explosion.

Rescue operations began as the blast area was sealed off. A large number of personnel from the fire department were deployed.

The company, established in 2002, is a power and heating supplier and also produces slag, cinder, and oil-based products.

Cell phone photos circulating on Chinas Twitter-like Weibo platforms showed smoke rising the from the blast site.

Last years blasts in a warehouse attached to Tianjin port destroyed several kilometres of area, including a number of high-rise apartment blocks. The initial blasts killed at least 114 people and 65 were reported missing. The death toll later rose to 145, making it one of Chinas worst industrial accidents.

In the aftermath, officials resorted to a complex cleaning process to clear more than 3,000 tonnes of chemicals stored in the sprawling warehouse, including 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide.

According to one report, the military deployed more than 500 troops trained in nuclear and biological warfare for the clean-up amid fears of air and water contamination and reports of the presence of nerve gas.At least a dozen people were arrested last year for negligence.
A roadside bomb hit a Pakistani security vehicle and wounded 13 people on Thursday in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, days after a suicide bombing at a hospital killed at least 74 people, most of them lawyers, officials and media said.

Home Minister Safaraz Bugti said the homemade bomb targeted police personnel escorting a judge, who was not hurt in the attack, in the frontier city.

It was a judges car that was passing, but I believe it was the police who were the target, he said on Pakistani TV.

It was a remote-controlled device with 3-4 kg of explosives ... I think these kinds of cowardly acts will not reduce our morale, Bugti said.

Medical Superintendent Abdul Rehman Miankhel told Reuters that 13 wounded people, including four members of the security forces, were being treated at the Civil Hospital, the same facility hit by Mondays suicide attack.

Read: Suicide bombing at Pak hospital kills 70, IS faction claims attack

An announcer for Geo TV warned viewers not to gather at the scene on Zarghoon Road in central Quetta for fear of a second bombing like the one on Monday. That attack hit a large group of lawyers gathered at the hospital to mourn the head of the Baluchistan bar association who was shot dead earlier that day.

Care must be taken that a rush not be created at the scene as the terrorists have reached the point of barbarity where they target crowds like this, the news announcer said.

Mondays hospital suicide bombing was Pakistans deadliest attack this year. It was claimed by both a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, and also by the Islamic State militant group, which has been seeking to recruit followers in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Read: Quetta attack and Pakistans footsie with terror groups

Targeted killings have become increasingly common in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province that has seen rising violence linked to a separatist insurgency as well as sectarian tensions and rising crime.
A wave of Kurdish rebel attacks targeting police and soldiers in Turkeys mainly Kurdish southeast killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, as Turkey was still dealing with the aftermath of a failed military coup attempt that threatened the government.

Officials said rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, launched simultaneous bomb attacks targeting police vehicles in the city of Diyarbakir and the town of Kiziltepe, killing eight people, while four soldiers were killed in a separate attack near the border with Iraq hours earlier.

The attack in Kiziltepe was caused by a roadside bomb that went off as a police bus was passing by. Three people were killed and at least 25 others were wounded there, including at least five children aged between 2 and 5, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

At the same time, a car bomb explosion targeting police in a historic part of the city Diyarbakir killed at least five civilians and wounded 12 others, the Diyarbakir governors office said. The explosion occurred at a security checkpoint at a bridge over the Tigris river.

The attacks came hours after an earlier attack, also blamed on the PKK, killed four soldiers and injured nine others near the border with Iraq. The private Dogan news agency said that attack targeted military vehicles and was carried out with improvised explosives as well as rockets fired from northern Iraq.

Clashes between the PKK and Turkeys security forces resumed last year after a tenuous ceasefire collapsed and the PKK has frequently targeted police or military with roadside explosives or car bombs.

Wednesdays attacks, however, came as the country is still reeling from a violent coup attempt on July 15 that killed at least 270 people. The government has blamed the failed coup on the supporters of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and has embarked on a sweeping crackdown on his followers.

The country is also combating the Islamic State group, whose militants have carried out a series of bloody attacks in Turkey in the past year.

US secretary of defense Ash Carter said in a statement on Wednesday that the US stands shoulder to shoulder with its Turkish ally in the wake of the attacks.

The United States remains committed to cooperating closely with Turkey  bilaterally, within the Counter-ISIL Coalition, and within Nato  in order to defend our nations against common threats, he said.

Earlier this week, PKK commander Cemil Bayik threatened attacks against police in Turkish cities, according to media reports.

Since hostilities with the PKK resumed last summer, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Human rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also died.

Turkey and its allies consider the PKK a terror organization.
Prime Minister Theresa May is off holidaying in Switzerland and its time to declare the silly season is officially here - the time when top newsmakers are away and funny, quirky stories are passed off as news in the British media.

According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the silly season is defined as the part of the year when Parliament and the Law Courts are not sitting (about August and September). It is a minor British institution that is taken seriously every year.

If May reminded many of Margaret Thatcher during her first Prime Ministers Question Time on July 20, she is doing another Maggie by selecting Switzerland as the holiday destination. It was one of Thatchers favourite destinations during her prime ministership.

But politics cannot be far behind in the selection of holiday destinations. Some say the pro-EU May, now committed to delivering Brexit, has made the right choice: Switzerland is not in the European Union, thus it is neutral ground for May and her husband Philip May to relax in.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: The Prime Minister will be taking a holiday in Switzerland and will be returning to the UK on 24th August."

May's holiday reading list was not revealed but the official red boxes - made famous through the Yes Prime Minister series  with papers related to Brexit are unlikely to be on top of her list. The challenge of Brexit, though, will not be far from her mind in the Swiss Alps.

This time of the year, tabloids usually go to town with stories such as eggs being fried on the pavement on a very warm day, Jesus appearing on a toast, a cow falling from a cliff-top into a caravan, no one appearing to be running the country, and UFOs being sighted.

Politics dominated headlines after the June 23 referendum, when Britons voted to leave the EU, but it has slipped off lately. Some would say news about Labours ongoing leadership election is very much part of the silly season, since the outcome to be declared on September 24 is known. It will be something of a miracle if leader Jeremy Corbyn loses it.

Holidays are important for politicians, as former prime minister David Cameron told reporters on the eve of silly season some time ago: "I am a great believer that politicians are human beings and they need to have holidays. I don't call it annual leave, I call it a holiday and I am looking forward to having a holiday. If you don't think politicians ought to have holidays I think you need to have a serious think.

In 2011, holidays and the silly season were rudely disrupted when riots swept across London, and young rioters stepped into the vacuum in which no one seemed to be in charge. Scotland Yard seemed overwhelmed by the events.

The riots were real events for journalists, most of whom were scouring for news to report. The result was blanket coverage of the events in London, broadcasting riveting images of cars, buses, shops and houses going up in flames, across the world. The silly season had turned serious as leading lights of the coalition government, including Cameron and then Home secretary Theresa May, had to cut short holidays and rush back to deal with the situation.

May will be hoping nothing of that sort happens while she is away on long walks as prime minister.

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A new satellite will help China, with its increasingly aggressive flotilla of ships and ready-to-scramble fighter jets, to monitor and cover the troubled waters of the South China Sea.

The Gaofen 3 satellite, launched on Wednesday, is equipped with a radar system that captures images from space with a resolution down to 1 metre, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, the body that oversees China's space programmes.

The satellite will play an important role in monitoring the marine environment, islands and reefs, and ships and oil rigs, Xu Fuxiang, head of the Gaofen 3 project, told China.org.

China has a coastline of 32,000 km, 380,000 sq km of territorial seas and more than 6,500 islands that have an area of at least 500 square meters.

Satellites like Gaofen 3, according to Xu, will be very useful in safeguarding the country's maritime rights and interests.

In a report on the launch, the official Xinhua news agency said:As China's first SAR (synthetic aperture radar) imaging satellite that is accurate to one meter in distance, it covers the globe with an all-weather, 24-hour observation service and will be used for disaster warning, weather forecasting, water resource assessments, and the protection of maritime rights.

China has overlapping claims with several countries  including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia - over the ownership of islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

The launch of the new satellite coincides with China adopting an aggressive posture on the South China Sea following an international tribunals ruling in July that Beijing doesnt have historical rights over the region.

The tribunal handed the Philippines, which had petitioned the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over the dispute with China, a victory.

New satellite imagery released by Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies earlier this week showed China had built new hangars on the Spratly/Nansha islands, indicating further militarisation of the region.

China has maintained an aggressive posture on the South China Sea since the tribunals verdict, which ruled it had violated the sovereign rights of the Philippines and caused harm to the coral reef environment.

Beijing has dismissed Manilas claims on the Nansha islands. The Philippines' territorial claim over part of Nansha Qundao is groundless from the perspectives of either history or international law, a government document said after the verdict.
A man who wanted an audience with Donald Trump spent three hours scaling the glass facade of Trump Tower on Wednesday using large suction cups, climbing as high as the 21st floor before police officers grabbed him and hauled him to safety through an open window.

The climber, identified by police as a 20-year-old Virginia man, wore a backpack and used a harness and rope stirrups to fasten himself to the side of the 68-story Manhattan skyscraper.

For a long time, the climber played a slow-motion cat-and-mouse game with would-be rescuers. Officers smashed windows and broke through ventilation ducts to block his progress. Police also lowered themselves toward him using a window washers platform.

The man kept his distance by methodically working his way back and forth across the facade, repeatedly repositioning suction cups resembling a type commonly used by window washers to remove big panes of glass.

The chase ended dramatically just after 6:30pm.

As a crowd gasped on the street below, two officers leaned far out of a window, grabbed the climbers arm and harness, and in a flash yanked him from his dangling stirrups. He went through the opening head first, his legs pointed skyward.

I reached out. I took hold of his hand and I said, Sir, would you come with me, said detective Christopher Williams, who made the grab.

Police had deployed large, inflated crash pads at the scene, but it was unclear how much protection they would have offered if the climber fell.

A day before the ascent, police said the climber posted a video on YouTube entitled, Message to Mr. Trump (why I climbed your tower). He posted the video under the name Leven Thumps, which is a character in a series of childrens fantasy novels by the writer Obert Skye.

A man attempting to scale Trump Tower grabs his hat as he talks with New York Police officers. (AP Photo)

I am an independent researcher seeking a private audience with you to discuss an important matter. I guarantee that its in your interest to honour this request, he said. Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it. The reason I climbed your tower is to get your attention. If I had sought this via conventional means, I would be much less likely to have success because you are a busy man with many responsibilities.

NYPD assistant chief William Aubrey said the man, who was not named by police, told officers the same thing after he was safely inside the building.

At no time did he express that he wanted to hurt anybody, he said.

The tower is headquarters to Donald Trumps Republican presidential campaign and his business empire. Trump also lives there, though he was in Virginia in the afternoon and was headed to Florida for an evening event.

A Trump campaign spokesperson didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

A man attempting to scale Trump Tower talks with a New York Police officer through a window that was broken by the police. (AP Photo)

This man performed a ridiculous and dangerous stunt, Michael Cohen, an executive at the Trump Organization, said in an emailed statement. Im 100% certain the NYPD had better things to do.

Later Wednesday evening, Trump tweeted Great job today by the NYPD in protecting the people and saving the climber.

The climber began his ascent from a terrace that is open to the public during the day. Police said he was taken to a hospital to be evaluated.
A Syrian rescue worker says three civilians, a mother and two children, died in a suspected chlorine gas attack on an opposition-held district in the city of Aleppo.

Khaled Harah, a first responder, says a government helicopter dropped four barrel bombs last night on the neighbourhood of Zabadieh and that one of them released chlorine gas.

The report, which was posted online today, could not be independently verified and it was not clear how it was determined that chlorine gas was released.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks the civil war in Syria, also reported that government barrel bombs struck the neighbourhood.

It had reports of two killed and several people suffering breathing difficulties.

The Observatory made no mention of chlorine gas.
An Islamic State supporter was shot dead by police in a township in the Canadian province of Ontario on Wednesday after he set off an improvised explosive device.

Identified as Aaron Daniel Driver, the 24-year-old was attempting to detonate another device when he was killed in the confrontation in Strathroy, Ontario, according to multiple reports.

In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said it acted after receiving credible information of a potential terrorist threat. The statement added: A suspect was identified and the proper course of action has been taken to ensure that there is no danger to the public's safety.

It also said this was an unfolding matter and the investigation is still underway.

In a statement, Canadas minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, Ralph Goodale, said the RCMP received credible information regarding a potential terrorist threat and took action to ensure public safety.

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U.S.-backed forces in Libya have liberated 70 percent of the city of Sirte, the Islamic State groups last bastion in the North African country, after seizing several strategic locations over the past 24 hours under the cover of U.S. airstrikes, a Libyan official said Thursday.

Mokhtar Khalifa, the Sirte mayor, told The Associated Press that the citys southern and western sections are under control of the Libyan fighters loyal to the U.N.-brokered government in Tripoli, the countrys capital.

Sirte is 70 percent free, it will soon be completely free, Khalifa said.

We are in the middle of the decisive phase in the battle against Daesh, said Reda Eissa, a media official, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.

The general estimate of the numbers of IS militants remaining in Sirte is in the hundreds, he added. The pro-government forces have had 16 dead since the last round of fighting started on Wednesday morning and more than 70 wounded, mostly by sniper fire and a suicide car bombing. In that attack, the bomber rammed his car into the Libyan fighters lines, he said.

Libyan pro-government forces have lost hundreds of fighters since the Sirte offensive started. Eissa estimated number of deaths among IS at about 40.

Eissa said IS militants have been cornered inside residential areas in the northern section of the city as well as palace complexes adjacent to the port of Sirte. The speed of the Libyan forces advancement from now one will be accelerating, he said.

IS seized Sirte, the hometown of Libyas former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, in 2015 and Libyan pro-government forces launched an operation to retake it in June.

After an initial push into Sirte, the advance stalled. The citys coastline and a former Gadhafi convention center proved the biggest challenge because of IS snipers positioned on rooftops, roadside bombs planted along the streets and IS suicide bombers.

Upon the Tripoli governments request, U.S. warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes targeting IS positions in Sirte starting Aug. 1, breaking the stalemate. President Barack Obama said earlier that the strikes, which he authorized, would continue as long as necessary to make sure the militant group doesnt get a stronghold in Libya.

The international support has made a big difference in the battle against IS in Sirte, Khalifa said.

On Wednesday, the Libyan fighters, mainly from the western city of Misrata, captured the sprawling convention center known as Ouagadougou, which IS had turned into its headquarters. The forces had earlier taken the main hospital named Ibn Sina, and the citys university. Eissa said they found explosives factories in areas they seized on Wednesday.

Photographs posted on social media of the operation in Sirte show Libyan fighters in mismatched uniforms flashing the V sign for victory from atop of a tank.

The fighters took down the black IS banners from atop the convention center, replacing it with the Libyan tricolor flag, Eissa said.

Libya descended into chaos following Gadhafis ouster in 2011. The country has been split between rival parliaments and governments, based in Tripoli and the countrys far east, each backed by an array of militias and tribes.

In December last year, the United Nations struck a deal with Libyas rival factions to create the unity government led by Fayez Serraj. He still needs a crucial vote of confidence from the internationally-recognized parliament, based in eastern Libya.

The security and power vacuum encouraged both human trafficking and the Islamic extremists to establish a permanent presence in Libya especially along its Mediterranean coastline.
Pakistani lawyer Ataullah Lango had just arrived at the Civil Hospital in the southwestern city of Quetta to mourn the slain head of his provincial bar association when he heard a loud explosion and felt the pain of glass stabbing his face.

He lost some 60 colleagues in the suicide bombing that decimated the leadership of this tight-knit legal fraternity, probably for years.

The cream of our legal fraternity has been martyred, Lango told Reuters at the house of the slain bar president.

Our senior leaders ... are now gone.

Pakistan has endured a wave of militant attacks in recent years, but lawyers have not been singled out on such a scale before.

That changed on Monday when a suicide bomber struck a crowd of lawyers who had crammed into a hospital emergency department to accompany the body of Bilal Anwar Kasi, president of the 3,000-member Baluchistan Bar Association.

In this photograph taken on August 9, 2016, Pakistani relatives pray beside the grave of a lawyer who was killed in the Quetta suicide bombing. (AFP)

At least 74 people were killed, most of them lawyers, in Pakistans worst bombing this year, claimed by both a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, and the Middle East-based Islamic State (IS).

Across Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province surrounded by mountains, lawyers gathered for funeral prayers on Wednesday, visited families of lost friends, shouted slogans at protests and urged the government to protect them better.

Read | Quetta attack and Pakistans footsie with terror groups

Baluchistan is no stranger to violence, with separatist fighters launching regular attacks on security forces for nearly a decade and the military striking back.

Islamist militants, particularly sectarian groups, have also launched a campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations of minority Shias.

After Mondays attack, the legal community in Baluchistan and across the country said it felt leaderless but also vowed unity.

Kasis younger brother, Shoaib Kasi, himself an attorney, said the attacker had pre-planned to first kill the bar association president and then target the hospital, knowing that mourners would gather there.

It will take centuries for us to make up this loss, lawyer Abdul Aziz Lehri told Reuters at the district court building, largely deserted due to a strike by his colleagues.

The president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Ali Zafar, called the attack a turning point, and gave the government until Thursday to present a security plan to protect lawyers and other soft targets.

Anger and defiance

Emotions ran high at a press conference where lawyers expressed anger, particularly against the countrys powerful military, but also voiced defiance.

We are not tense because of the terrorists, said senior lawyer Manzoor ul Hassan. We have sadness, of course, but no fear.

Lawyers have held a special place in Pakistans democratic process.

A lawyers movement emerged as the vanguard of a campaign against the then army chief Pervez Musharraf after he suspended the countrys top judge in 2007 for opposing plans to extend the generals term in office.

Lawyers organised convoys travelling from city to city to support ousted chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, and the government was forced to re-instate him.

Musharraf emerged from the confrontation a much diminished figured and stepped down as president in 2008.

Lawyers were the targets, because we fight for the rights of the people, Ali Zafar told the press conference. They think we will be weakened ... I say we will become stronger.

Prominent lawyer Ali Ahmed Kurd said those left would carry the torch.

The juniors who are left, they are filled with the passion for working hard, for honesty ... that will make up the difference, Kurd told Reuters in Quetta.

But he added that the lawyers of Baluchistan were afraid to call a meeting of the bar association to map out the legal fraternitys next steps.

If you convene a meeting now, who will come? Kurd said. Theres no one. None is left.
The Sikh community in Union City of California on Thursday protested against the desecration of their holy book Guru Granth Sahib by a miscreant.

The incident took place on Wednesday when pages of the holy book were torn and thrown away. The incident took place last evening when a notorious person tore off the holy book into pieces. This has riled up the people of our community. We, along with our community, will take up this issue. And we expect that American authorities will find a solution to this and bring the culprits to the book, said American Gurdwara Committee coordinator Pritpal Singh

California mayor Eric Garcetti has assured the protesters of penal action against the miscreants who have attempted to hurt their religious sentiments. Police have registered a complaint in the matter. Expressing concern over the sacrilege incident, Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has asked Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to take up the issue with the US government
Many conservatives blame President Barack Obama for the rise of the Islamic State but Donald Trump went a step further, calling him the founder of the group.

The Republican nominee, who was addressing supporters at a rally in Florida on Wednesday, also called Hillary Clinton the co-founder of the group, as Obamas secretary of state during 2009-12.

And during an extended rant on the Russian takeover of Crimea, at the same rally, Trump went on to refer to the president by his full name, Barack Hussein Obama.

He has done that before, and for a long time, to question Obamas faith as part of his larger argument that he was not born in the US and was thus not qualified to be president.

In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama, he said. Hes the founder of ISIS (another name for IS). Hes the founder of ISIS. Hes the founder. He founded ISIS.

A day after making remarks that were widely seen as calling for violence against his Democratic rival, he added, I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.

Trump has denied he was inciting violence, but he doubled down on his founder and co-founder remarks, and explained himself in a TV interview on Thursday morning.

He was the founder of ISIS, absolutely, he said. The way he removed our troops  you shouldnt have gone in. I was against the war in Iraq. Totally against it.

Republicans  such as Senator John McCain  have long accused Obama of exiting Iraq in a hurry, to deliver on an election promise, leaving the country vulnerable.

Critics have also attacked Obama, this time joined by many across the ideological divide, for not intervening in Syria adequately enough to stem its descent into chaos.

Obama may have even under-estimated the IS, famously calling it once the JV-team  a junior varsity team  of the big-league al Qaeda, while it turned out worse.

But Obama, who is vacationing, is unlikely to let Trumps attack go unanswered. He has called the nominee unfit for the Oval Office before, and may have something to add.

Clintons campaign responded by calling Trump a presidential candidate with an aversion to the truth and said he was echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries.

Trumps remarks are being seen as an escalation in attacks on Clinton, whom he is trailing badly not only in countrywide polls but in crucial swing states that will determine the race.

The Republican nominee is trying to put behind himself a particularly tough few days when he took on, and lost to, the grieving parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier, the Khans.

And he annoyed his party leaders, who are already unhappy with his unpredictable campaign, by announcing he was not going to endorse Speaker Paul Ryan, and others.
Two fatal police shootings in the Los Angeles area in the last two weeks began the same way: officers thinking a suspect had a gun.

In one, police say a 14-year-old boy fired at them and they found a weapon. In the other, a 27-year-old man police believed was a carjacking suspect who had fired at them was later determined to be innocent and unarmed.

Different scenarios, same result and, experts say, likely the same outcome once the investigations are completed - police were legally justified to open fire because they had reason to believe the suspects could harm them or others.

From a legal standpoint, it doesnt technically matter if hes armed or not, said Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore police officer and a criminologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. It matters if a reasonable cop has a reason to believe he is.

The killing of Donnell Thompson Jr. occurred after Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department deputies suspected he had been involved in the carjacking on July 28 in Compton. The department acknowledged Tuesday, however, that investigators had found no evidence connecting Thompson to the crime.

The carjacking suspect fired at deputies during a car chase and ran off when he crashed. Deputies searching for him found Thompson about two hours later after a homeowner about a half-mile away reported a man lying in his front yard.

Thompson fit the general description of the carjacking suspect - a black man between 20 and 30 wearing dark clothing. He didnt move or respond when deputies repeatedly shouted at him and then used a flash-bang device.

Thompson finally got up when he was shot with rubber bullets and charged at an armoured police vehicle about 25 feet away, according to sheriffs Lt. John Corina.

Thompson was then shot twice at close range by a deputy riding in the turret of the vehicle, one of two dispatched to provide cover for officers, Corina said.

The deputy, a 20-year veteran, said he fired because he feared Thompson was armed and could harm officers behind the other vehicle or citizens if he made it past the deputy, according to Corina.

Thompsons family believes the department overreacted and that race was a factor. His father filed a civil rights claim against the department alleging deputies didnt have probable cause to open fire.

Chuck Drago, a former police chief in Oviedo, Florida, with 35 years of law enforcement experience, said the shooting appears justified based on what deputies knew at the time.

As sad as it is when it turns out to be an innocent person - and its a horrible thing - its reasonable and justifiable to do that if theres reason to believe hes armed, he said. Thats the key here.

In the other fatal shooting, a Los Angeles police officer investigating a graffiti tagging report killed a 14-year-old boy Tuesday after the teen fired at officers during a brief foot chase, deputy Chief Robert Arcos said.

Police said they recovered a loaded, long-barreled revolver the teen was carrying when he was shot.

The shooting occurred in Boyle Heights, a neighbourhood east of downtown Los Angeles that is gentrifying in some small sections but is still home to nearly three dozen gangs, police say.

Laurie Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who has studied police misconduct, said officers are given great legal deference when they use lethal force.

The law looks at things through the eyes of officers as it occurs, not what you know after the fact, she said.
SYDNEY: More than 2,000 leaked reports detailing allegations of sexual assault, child abuse and self-harm in Australian immigration centres on Nauru were published Wednesday, prompting rights groups to renew calls for refugees to be resettled elsewhere.

Under Canberras policy, asylum-seekers arriving by boat are sent to the remote Pacific island nation of Nauru or to Papua New Guineas Manus Island. They will not be allowed to resettle in Australia even if they eventually win refugee status. While the flow of asylum boats to Australia has dried up, some 442 people remain on tiny Nauru and almost double that number on Manus.

The incident reports leaked to The Guardian Australia include allegations that asylum-seekers, including children, on Nauru face assaults, sexual abuse and mental distress. The reports allege incidents such as guards threatening a boy with death and only allowing a young woman a longer shower in return for sexual favours.

Mental stress caused by prolonged detention was deemed to be the cause of alleged cases of self-harm, including a woman trying to hang herself and a girl sewing her lips together.

One girl wrote in her school book in 2014 that she was tired, doesnt like camp and wants to die. The report said she wrote: I want DEATH and I need death. The Guardian said the reports, published in redacted form to remove identifiers, were written by staff in the detention centre and were the largest cache of leaked documents released from inside Australias immigration regime.
WASHINGTON: A fire tore through the maternity ward of one of Baghdads largest hospitals on Wednesday, killing at least 12 premature babies, medical and security officials said. Jassem Lateef al-Karkh, from the Baghdad health directorate, told reporters only seven babies could be saved and were taken to another ward in the Iraqi capital. Health ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Rudeini said the blaze at the Yarmuk hospital in west Baghdad was started by an electrical fault just after midnight (2100 GMT Tuesday). Twenty-nine women patients who were in the same ward were evacuated to other hospitals, he said. Security services sealed off the area as forensic teams searched the gutted ward .

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MAKHACHKALA: A gas explosion in a restaurant in southern Russia during preparations for a wedding dinner took three more lives on Tuesday, taking the toll to eight, out of the 28 restaurant workers injured in the blast. Health officials in Russias Dagestan region said three more workers have died of burns suffered on August 1, bringing the toll to eight, while 12 remain hospitalised.

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LONDON: A new two-year pilot project at three UK universities that allows Indian and other non-EU students extra time to find employment after their course ends has received a cautious welcome, saying it does not address the real issue.

The Home Office introduced the pilot in July for academic years starting September 2016 and September 2017, under which non-European Union students will be able to remain in Britain for six months after their course ends. The pilot runs at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Bath and Imperial College London. Sanam Arora of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (UK) told HT: While we are supportive of the scheme in general, the key aim seems to be around enabling students to find employment opportunities by giving them a slightly longer time period. This addresses the wrong issue... that students are discriminated against the moment they disclose they will require visa sponsorship.

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TORONTO : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is known to be a cinephile. Now, a documentary based on his insurgent campaign to come to power in the city in 2013 will have a showcase he may appreciate  the Toronto International Film Festival.

TIFF, one of the worlds most celebrated film events, announced that An Insignificant Man, directed by Mumbai-based Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla, has been added to the lineup for the September festival. The movie also chronicles the formation of Kejriwals Aam Aadmi Party, which emerged from an anti-corruption drive against the previous Congress-led government.

AAPs Canadian supporters are excited about the premiere of a film on the partys genesis on such a significant stage.

While they are still attempting to formulate a schedule for Kejriwal to travel to Canada ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab next year, theres no word yet on whether that particular film buff will be seen on the red carpet at TIFF.

With unprecedented access, this film follows Kejriwal as he tries to overcome his own shortcomings to convince the people of New Delhi that he is the honest politician they need, TIFF said in a statement.

The filmmakers described it as a non-fiction political drama chronicling the spectacular rise of Arvind Kejriwal from an activist to a controversial vigilante-politician.

They said they were neither looking to make heroes out of them for being protestors nor wanting to vilify them for being politicians.

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DHAKA: Security officials in Bangladeshs capital have arrested six suspected members of the banned Islamist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) as part of a crackdown on radical Islamists.

Mufti Mahmud Khan, spokesman for the elite Rapid Action Battalion, told a news conference on Wednesday the men were arrested in separate raids in Dhaka as authorities stepped up the crackdown following the July 1 attack on a cafe that left 20 people, including 17 foreigners, dead.

A few days after that attack, suspected JMB members targeted an Eid congregation outside Dhaka, killing three people. The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the July 1 attack but authorities rejected it, saying it the JMB was behind it.

During the overnight raids, security officials also recovered two pistols, five grenades, 12 small bombs, 13 detonators, power gel, gunpowder, four meat cleavers and five knives from the possession of the arrested men.

Mustafizur Rahman, one of the arrested men, was described to journalists as the administrator of the website At-Tamkin that officials said is run by the JMB. The other arrested young men are members of JMBs sleeper cell, Khan said.

Rahman was involved with a group, Dawatul Islam Bangladesh, that recruits members for JMB, he said.
WASHINGTON: The United States has approved the possible sale of up to 153 tanks, hundreds of machine guns and various other military gear to Saudi Arabia in a deal worth $1.15 billion, the Pentagon said. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Tuesday said Riyadh had requested the possible purchase of up to 133 American M1A1/A2 Abrams tanks that would be configured to Saudi needs, plus another 20 to replace damaged tanks in their fleet.

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HONG KONG: Vietnam has discreetly fortified several of its islands in the disputed South China Sea with new mobile rocket launchers capable of striking Chinas runways and military installations across the vital trade route, according to Western officials.

Diplomats and military officers told Reuters that intelligence shows Hanoi has shipped the launchers from the Vietnamese mainland into position on five bases in the Spratly islands in recent months, a move likely to raise tensions with Beijing.

The launchers have been hidden from aerial surveillance and they have yet to be armed, but could be made operational with rocket artillery rounds within two or three days, according to the three sources.

Vietnams Foreign Ministry said the information was inaccurate, without elaborating.

Deputy defence minister, senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Chi Vinh, told Reuters in Singapore in June that Hanoi had no such launchers or weapons ready in the Spratlys but reserved the right to take any such measures.

It is within our legitimate right to self-defence to move any of our weapons to any area at any time within our sovereign territory, he said.

The move is designed to counter Chinas build-up on its seven reclaimed islands in the Spratlys archipelago. Vietnams military strategists fear the building runways, radars and other military installations on those holdings have left Vietnams southern and island defences increasingly vulnerable.

Military analysts say it is the most significant defensive move Vietnam has made on its holdings in the South China Sea in decades.
E.P. Alexander and Picketts Charge

Few judgments have generated as much controversy as the Confederate decision to make a last desperate attack on the center of the Union lines on the afternoon of July 3, 1863, at Gettysburg. Picketts Charge has few equals in the history of warfare. To clarify the decision to go ahead with the attack, we are presenting here the correspondence that was exchanged between General James Longstreet and Colonel E.P. Alexander. The text of the letters (with a few changes) was first published in Alexanders account of the artillery at Gettysburg in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. The original letters, really poignantly scribbled notes, are located in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress.

(Note received from Gen. Longstreet on battlefield of Gettysburg about 11:45 am 3d day)

HdQrs July 3d 63

Colonel

If the artillery fire does not have the effect to drive off the enemy or greatly demoralize him so as to make our effort pretty certain I would prefer that you would not advise Gen Pickett to make the charge[.] I shall rely a great deal upon your good judgment to determine the matter, and shall expect you to let Gen Pickett know when the moment offers.

J Longstreet

LtGen Com

(Reply to it)

Near Gettysburg July 3 63

Lt. Gen Longstreet Comdg

General

I will only be able to judge the effect of our fire on the enemy by his return fire as his infantry is but little exposed to view & the smoke will obscure the whole field. If as I infer from your note there is any alternative to this attack it should be carefully considered before opening our fire, for it will take all the arty ammunition we have left to test this one thoroughly & if the result is unfavorable we will have none left for another effort & even if this is entirely successful it can only be so at a very bloody cost.

Very respy yours

E P Alexander

Col Arty

(received about 12:15 P.M. in reply to mine)

HdQrs July 3 1863

Colonel

The intention is to advance the Inf. If the Arty has the desired effect of driving the enemy off or having other effect such as to warrant us in making the attack. When that moment arrives advise Gen P. and of course advance such artillery as you can use in aiding the attack.

J Longstreet

Col Alexander

(reply about 12:30)

Lt. Gen Longstreet Comdg

General

When our arty fire is at its best I will advise Gen Pickett to advance.

Very respy yours

E P Alexander

Col arty

(To Gen Pickett at 1:25 pm)

July 3 1863

General

If you are to advance at all you must come at once or we will not be able to support you as we ought, but the enemys fire has not slackened materially and there are still 18 guns firing from the cemetery

Respy yours

E P Alexander

Col arty

(to Gen Pickett at 1:40 pm)

July 3, 1863

The 18 guns have been driven off For Gods sake come on quick or we cannot support you ammunition nearly out

Respy yours

E P Alexander

Col arty
On a leafy side street in present-day Brooklyn, a faintecho of the Civil War can still be heard.

By John A. Barnes

The Episcopal Church of St. John, in Brooklyn, New York, is considerably less quiet today than it must have been in the days when Captain Robert E. Lee and 1st Lieutenant Thomas J. Jackson (who would not be called Stonewall for another 12 years) worshiped there. Now the church is overshadowed by the thundering concrete and steel approach ramps of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which tower hundreds of feet overhead, just above the little churchs front steps.

The burning of Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812 emphasized the vulnerability of major American ports to assaults from the sea, and Fort Hamilton was established in 1814 to guard the Narrows between Brooklyn and Staten Island. The fort, which was named for the late Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, was the keystone of a new defense system that included tiny Fort Lafayette (which now serves as the foundation beneath the tower of the Verrazano Bridge on the Brooklyn side) and Batteries Morton and Hudson on the Staten Island side of the Narrows.

At the time the fort was established, there were only two Episcopal churches in the county, both located in what is now downtown Brooklyn, near where the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges today stand. Episcopalian members of the garrison, which grew steadily in size during the 1820s and 1830s, thus faced a long trek by horse or boat to attend Sunday services.

To remedy this situation, the Denyse family, who were local landowners in the area, agreed to donate a plot of land for the building of a new Episcopal church that would serve Fort Hamilton and the surrounding area. A month later, on September 29, 1834, the parish of St. Johns was officially founded. While the church was being constructed, services were held in a barn on the forts property. The new church building, situated just outside the forts main gate, was consecrated by the Episcopal bishop of New York on July 16, 1835. The entire garrison of Fort Hamilton was in attendance. To this day, the rector of the Church of St. John serves as a chaplain for the fort.

Although Robert E. Lee spent five years at Fort Hamilton, between 1841 and 1846, the time was not professionally or personally satisfying for him. His mission as an engineering officer was to improve and refine the harbors defenses, a task he performed with his customary diligence and efficiency. Indeed, by the time he left, Fort Hamilton had become a substantial emplacement. A quadrangular structure of gray granite, it boasted 14 casemates and 26 barbettes, the latter mounting heavy 32-pounders and a few guns of even larger caliber.

Lees unhappiness at Fort Hamilton was caused to a great extent by the fact that his marriage was under some strain at this point. His family grew to seven while he was at the fort, and his wifes health became increasingly fragile and unpredictable.

Normally homebound, Lee perhaps rebelled against the strains in his marriage by becoming more socially outgoing while stationed at Fort Hamilton. The bright lights of the nearby city were too much to resist, and the future Confederate general frequently attended the theater and the opera. Among his companions and fellow parishioners were future Union Army generals Henry J. Hunt, whose artillery would smash Picketts charge at Gettysburg, and John Sedgwick, who commanded the Army of the Potomacs VI Corps until he was fatally wounded at Spotsylvania Court House. Although the church lists future Union Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum as having worshiped there, it is not clear whether this was before the war or during Slocums residence in Brooklyn after it.

Lee was strongly religious, and the Lees were all Sunday regulars at St. Johns. One day the rector complained to Lee that his children were paying more attention to the family dog than to the sermon. The next Sunday, Lee resolved to leave the dog, named Spec, at home. But the animal jumped out the window and raced to the church just as the family was going inside. Spec was allowed to stay, provided the Lee children did not give him undue attention.

A somewhat more serious problem arose during Lees term as a church vestryman, which ran between 1842 and 1844. The dispute centered on High Church Anglo-Catholicism, which had made its way to America and was winning adherentsincluding, some in the congregation muttered, the rector of St. Johns. Although inclined toward Low Church Episcopalianism himself, Leethen as laterwas wary of embroiling himself in public controversy and sought to avoid offending either faction.

Two years after Lee left Fort Hamilton in 1846, 24-year-old brevet Captain Thomas J. Jackson arrived. Just two years out of West Point, young Jackson owed his quick rise in the military to the Mexican War, where he had earned the praise of General Winfield Scott himself. Jackson was also a deeply spiritual man, almost mystically so, this despite the fact that he had never been baptized and officially belonged to no church. In Mexico he had come under the influence of Captain Francis Taylor, a Virginian and army veteran of 20 years service at the time of the Mexican War and a devout Episcopalian. Taylor urged young Jackson to think more about his spiritual welfare and advised him to study the Bible. Inclined in this direction anyway, Jackson took the advice to heart and began exploring the direction his religious impulse should take him.

While in Mexico, Jackson sought out the archbishop of Mexico City to learn about Roman Catholicism. The two men apparently had several long conversations, but the archbishop failed to win over the future Confederate general for the Roman church. Jackson concluded that Catholicism was anti-scriptural, though unlike many Americans of that period, he never harbored prejudice against anyone who professed the Catholic faith.

Perhaps the quiet of garrison lifeJackson spent much of his time at Fort Hamilton serving as an officer on Army court-martials in New York and Pennsylvania

gave him the time for further reflection. At any rate, Jackson eventually resolved to be baptized. The record of that event, still preserved in the safe at St. Johns, reads as follows: On Sunday, 29th day of April, 1849, I baptized Thomas Jefferson [sic] Jackson, major in the U.S. Army. Sponsors, Colonel Dimick and Taylor. M. Schofield, Rector.

The formalities of religious belief, beyond that of baptism, seem to have had little attraction for Jackson; he does not appear to have become a parishioner at St. Johns after the event. Officially, he was now a Christian and a Protestant and that, apparently, was that. (The baptismal font that was used to baptize Jackson remains in use today and can be seen in the church.)

The military connections between St. Johns and Fort Hamilton did not end with the Civil War. Many officers who achieved battlefield fame in later wars were parishioners at St. Johns early in their military careers. These include General Matthew B. Ridgway, the World War II paratroop commander who went on to lead U.S. forces during the Korean War; General Walter Bedell Smith, chief of

staff to General Dwight D. Eisenhower in Europe during World War II, and later director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and Air Force General Hubert Harmon, the first superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy. St. Johns is thus well-deserving of its nickname, the Church of the Generals. St. Johns is located at 9818 Fort Hamilton Parkway in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. For additional information, call (718) 745-2377.
The man who made the American fur trade pre-eminent had a golden touch that stretched across North America.

John Jacob Astor, the man most closely associated with the American fur trade and whose name is a synonym for wealth surpassing imagination, became involved in the business without ever setting a trap. The German-born immigrant to the United States, who rose from obscurity to build a financial empire, typifies the great American success story.

Fur became an item of great economic importance to the development of America, but it was politically important as well. The existence of French Canada depended upon the profits of the fur trade. France was not going to spend money on an unproductive outpost, and it was fur that kept Canada solvent. The beaver became a factor of empire, and battles were fought and treaties delayed over who was to control access to prime trapping areas. The future of North America depended on the flashing paddle and the beaver trap as much as it did on muskets and bayonets.

By 1756, the fur trade was so well established that it survived the upheaval of the French and Indian War with little alteration. The routes to the west continued to run from Hudsons Bay, where an English company was dominant; from New York City up to Albany and out past the Great Lakes to the Illinois country; and the greatest route of all, from Montreal up the Ottawa River, out across Georgian Bay and the Great Lakes, and past the settlement of Grand Portage to the river systems in the heart of the continent.

After their victory in the French and Indian War, the British ran the fur trade largely as their predecessors had done. From the eastern depots came the annual fleet of canoes holding 12 men and four tons of goods. At the western end of the Great Lakes they were replaced by the northern canoes; in these the traders penetrated as far as the foothills of the Rockies where they wintered and traded with the Indians. As the ice broke up in the spring, the trappers from the west would head for Grand Portage with their furs. There they met their eastern partners with European goods and drank, fought, feasted, and settled accounts for the year.

Because the pelts were better farther to the north, the southern trade to the Illinois country was the weakest of the three areas. But the drawing of an artificial boundary line right across the heart of the trade and the later quarrel between the Hudsons Bay Company and the Montreal-based Northwest Company served as an advantage to the American traders. Together they helped make John Jacob Astor one of the richest men in North America.

John Jacob Astor capitalized on the Louisiana Purchase to expand his fur business from Illinois to the Pacific. His American Fur Company traded furs all the way out to Guangzhou in China. (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution) (National Portrait Gallery)

The third son of a butcher, John Jacob was born in Walldorf in the Duchy of Baden, Germany, in 1763. His father was a neer-do-well, but his mother was industrious and frugal to the point of parsimony, though the family often went in rags. The eldest son, George, left home for England, where he set up in the musical instrument business. The next son, Henry, soon departed for New York City where he became a butcher like his father. John Jacob remained at the small family holding until 1780; by then his mother had died and his father had remarried. When relations between John Jacob and his stepmother became strained, he left his fathers house with what money he had to seek his fortune. He headed out on foot for the Rhine Valley.

Young Astor worked his way down the Rhine River on a timber barge, and by the time he reached salt water he had enough money to pay for passage to London. There he went to work with his brother George, learning to make musical instruments. He mastered the English language and gathered all the information he could about the then-rebellious American colonies. By the end of the American Revolution in 1783, John Jacob Astor had saved enough money for passage to the new United States. He took ship in November with about $25, seven flutes as stock-in-trade, and a ticket giving him a berth in the crews quarters.

It was the typical eighteenth-century passage across the Atlantic Ocean, about eight weeks of cold and misery before the ship entered Chesapeake Bay late in Januaryjust in time to be frozen in the ice for two months. Astor was not one to pass up opportunities, even in mid-ocean; on the passage he met another German emigrant who had been to North America before, and who had dealt successfully in the fur trade. He questioned the man extensively, and by the time the ice had melted from the bay, Astor was sure the fur trade was for him.

He reached New York in March 1784, and perhaps no 21-year-old approaching the metropolis has ever been more determined to make his fortune than John Jacob Astor; certainly few have more completely fulfilled their ambition.

Around 1785 he married Sarah Todd, who was connected to one of the old Dutch families. To the marriage she brought a dowry of $300.00, a keen business sense, and an expert eye for furs. It may have been the dowry that enabled Astor to set up a shop of his own, for in 1786 he opened a store on Water Street where he sold musical instruments and bought furs. The Astors tended strictly to business, living frugally, and devoting themselves almost exclusively to making money. Astor himself often left the shop in his wifes care while he went off to the frontier.

Within a few years he knew the fur trade well and had established connections, not only throughout the American Northwest territories, but also in Montreal, which was the heart of the trade. He gained a great advantage over his competitors in 1796 when Jays Treaty, between the United States and Great Britain, was put into force. Prior to that it had been agreed that neither British nor American traders were to be hindered by the international boundary. Jays Treaty did away with that; the British were already beginning their time-honored practice of seeking American friendship at Canadas expense, and the Canadian fur traders were left in the lurch.

Their misfortune was Astors gain. He and the United States would expand together. Astor not only took over territory that had been closed to the Canadians, he was then clever enough to make a deal with the Northwest Company so that he could import goods through them. Thanks to the treaty makers, he was able to insert himself into the American end of the Canadian trade. By 1800, Astor was recognized as the leading American merchant in the fur trade and was thought to be worth a quarter of a million dollars. He was still only beginning.

By now Astor was starting to act and look like a comfortable capitalist. He moved into a new house in New York City and established worldwide connections, becoming the very picture of early nineteenth-century American merchant enterprise. His horizons were always expanding, at least as far as profits were concerned.

Soon after the turn of the century, he became interested in the Orient. American ships were just starting their China trade, and Astor, on a visit to London, obtained from a friend a license to trade in any East India Company port. Armed with this mandate, Astor persuaded another friend in New York to join in his venture, and they sent a trade ship to Canton, China. When it returned successfully, Astors share of the profit was $50,000. New vistas were opening up before him, though fur was still his primary interest. Part of his profit from the venture into China went into the purchase of real estate in New York City, property that later proved to be the real basis of the Astor fortune.

Some thought the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was an act of folly for the young republic, but Astor was not one of them. With that immense territory under United States control, it became possible to see the fur trade extending all the way to the Pacific coast. The return of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1806 added fuel to his ambition, and by the next year he and his agents were fighting to drive the Canadian fur traders out of the upper Mississippi Valley.

These were the years of Astors peak activity. In 1808 he incorporated as the American Fur Company, a move that consolidated his holdings and prepared for an all-out assault on the Far West. He was not, of course, without competition, and it was actually the antagonism of the fur traders of St. Louis that led him into his most grandiose scheme.

By this time, the best fur lands were being found farther to the west. In the United States traders were in the Rockies already, and in Canada they were working to the north and toward the mountains. The increasing length of the journey from the Great Lakes area to the West cut into the profits of the trade, shortened the time that could be spent among the Indian tribes, and generally narrowed the margin on which the traders operated.

A western entrance to the trading areas had long been desired, but to this point, none had been found. Canadians had already searched; a Scottish Canadian named Alexander MacKenzie had set out for the Pacific from the Athabasca country in 1780, but he did not reach it. Instead he found the Arctic by what he called the River of Disappointmenttodays MacKenzie River.

In 1793-94, he tried again, and this time he almost reached his goal. He wanted to find the Columbia River, and American and Canadian history might have been different had he done so. But he was a couple of hundred miles north of his aim when he crossed the Continental Divide, and instead of the easy Columbia, he found the turbulent and unnavigable Fraser River. The Canadians kept trying; an employee of the Northwest Company, David Thompson, was deep in the Rockies, surveying, exploring, and preparing a final drive to the Columbia River.

Montreal was itself almost in the heart of the continent, and to the Canadians it was logical to find a western terminal as an extension of their already existing trade network. To Astor, it was less sensible to trek all the way across the continent than to sail south around South America and land at the back door. He would do it the easy way.

It took more than a year to formulate his plans. This was not to be a one-shot stab in the dark; it was to be a large enterprise, and Astor foresaw the depot he hoped to establish on the Columbia River as the focus of the whole western trade. Even Astor did not have the money for the venture alone, and he approached the Northwest Company with his project, offering the organization a one-third interest in his proposed Pacific Fur Company.

Officially the Northwest Company was uninterested; it was feeling its way to the coast, and was confident that in any struggle it could control the area. However, three former members of the company agreed to join Astor. Internal dissension was a part of the history of the Northwest Company, and there were always Montreal men around who, for one reason or another, had been squeezed out. The articles of incorporation of the Pacific Fur Company were signed in June of 1810, and the venture was ready to be launched.

In the spring of 1811 the ship Tonquin arrived on the Pacific coast, and a fort was built at the mouth of the Columbia River. The traders named it after their employer, and thus Astoria was born. Six weeks after the American flag had been hoisted over the little stockade, a party of white men came down the river from the interiorDavid Thompson and his fellows of the Northwest Company. He had lost time in surveying one river too many, and so the Oregon coast became American instead of Canadian.

Astors plan for his fur empire was really world-wide. He proposed to send out one or two ships a year from New York around Cape Horn to Oregon. These ships would carry American manufactured goods for trading with the Indians. The furs obtained in this exchange would not return to New York, however, other ships would carry them to the best market for fur, the Orient. At Canton they would be traded for Oriental goods. These in turn would be carried through the Indian Ocean to Europe. There they would be tradedalways at a profitfor European goods that would then be brought across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. The scheme had a great deal to recommend it and deserved to succeed.

Unfortunately for Astor, however, it was a failure. One of the ships was lost to an explosion, with all hands. There were difficulties with the Indians, and the outbreak of the War of 1812 and the disruption of normal trading patterns were altogether too much for the enterprise. In 1813 an expedition of the Northwest Company, commissioned by the British government in Canada, arrived and demanded the cession of the fort. Astors agent sold it to them for $58,000, succumbing to a combination of military and business pressure.

Aside from the premature demise of the Pacific Fur Company, Astor had little cause to regret the War of 1812. His own interest in it, as always, was economic profit. Because of connections in Washington, D.C., he was able to secure concessions allowing him, in effect, to continue the fur trade in Canada throughout the war.

During the conflict, Astor bought up Canadian furs at a better price and less risk than London merchants and made enormous profits from them in New York. Ostensibly these furs were from American property owned in the Northwest at the time of the outbreak of war. In 1812, Astor amassed $50,000 worth of raw furs. That was his poorest year of the war.

The fur trade continued to be basic to his interests, but he never let his profits lie idle. By the end of the war, the United States government was on the brink of bankruptcy. Astors response, together with a consortium of associates from Philadelphia, was to buy high-interest bonds with debased currency, and he emerged from the war in far better shape than the Federal Government. At the same time, he enlarged his New York City holdings so that by the time peace was made, Astor was immensely wealthy and ready to take over virtually the whole of the American fur trade.

Now, Astor again looked beyond the Mississippi River to the West. He helped persuade Congress in 1816 to pass an act excluding Canadians from the American fur trade unless employed by an American company. Astor then bought out the holdings of the Northwest Company inside American territory for a fraction of its worth. The company was at that point engaged in a struggle with the Hudsons Bay Company and was in no condition to defend itself.

Five years later, trading competition in the Missouri River country was all but nonexistent, leaving the area practically free for Astor. The St. Louis interests tried to fight him for a while, but they lacked the strength for a long contest and were finally absorbed. Astor pushed farther west yet and challenged Jim Bridgers Rocky Mountain Fur Company for its territory. This was a hard-fought and vigorous contest; Bridger and his people knew their country, were effective traders, and were nearly as unscrupulous as Astors men.

By the late 1820s, the fur trade was beginning to die. Geography and economics were working against it. The distances and costs were becoming too great for the returns, and in Europe styles were changing and the price of furs was in decline. Perhaps because his business acumen never left him, or because he was getting tired, Astor determined to leave the trade, and in June 1834, he sold all of his commercial interests. He spent the last 14 years of his life administering his estate, until his death in 1848.

If his astuteness never left him, neither did his love of money. He died the richest man in America by far, leaving an estate estimated at more than $20,000,000. Washington Irving thought him a great man; Astors official biographer, James Parton, considered him ruthless and selfish, but added, he was one of the ablest, boldest, and most successful operators that ever lived. His obituary printed in the New York Herald stated that he exhibited at best but the ingenious powers of a self-invented money-making machine.

In his later years, Astor tried to pass himself off as a liberal humanitarian, but the pose was too unnatural, and it never became credible. To the end, money was his passion, and to make it his men evicted widows and debauched Indians. Though some writers, notably in the late nineteenth century, have regarded him as a great American hero, history has not accepted the verdict. Today, in a more complex era, Americans ask more of their heroes than the ability to make money.

James L. Stokesbury specializes in Canadian-American History.
This Regiment Included Two Future Presidents and an Army Commander

BY T. HARRY WILLIAMS AND STEPHEN E. AMBROSE

The volunteer citizen army that fought the Civil War for the North was one of the most remarkable military assemblages in history. It represented every facet of the democratic society from which it camethe raw, brute strength of that society, its youthful self-confidence, its transparent idealism, and its gawkish materialism. It was composed of men who rushed forward in the first fine flush of patriotism, and its rolls exhibited an astonishing range of personal abilities and professional skills.

Commander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln caught this quality of the army he had summoned forth when he told Congress that there were many regiments whose members possessed full comprehension of all the known arts. Lincoln believed there was scarcely one from which could not be selected a president, a cabinet, a congress, and perhaps a court.

Lincolns analysis was more prophetic of the Twenty-Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment than he could possibly have known. This outfit contained among its commanding and ranking officers more names that would become famous than any other regiment in the Northern armies. Its first commander, William S. Rosecrans, Old Rosy, was a West Pointer and Regular Army man who had resigned his commission and was in the oil refining business in Cincinnati when the war began. Rosecrans had but a short tenure with the regiment. In June 1861, before it took the field, he departed to assume a larger command post, but shortly as an army commander in West Virginia he would see it marching again under his orders. Rosecrans eventually rose to command one of the largest Northern field armies and seemed about to emerge as one of the great generals of the warbefore his star sank in controversy and in the red afterglow of Chickamauga. His postwar career was distinguished. He held the offices of minister to Mexico, congressman from California, and Register of the Treasury.

Eliakim P. Scammon succeeded Rosecrans. He was a West Point graduate and a mathematics professor who would prove to be too fussily insistent on military protocol to be popular with a volunteer regiment. Still, he emerged from the war a brigadier general, and afterwards represented the United States as consul at Prince Edward Island. The third commander of the Twenty-Third was Rutherford B. Hayes, who after the war served his nation as congressman, Governor of Ohio, and President. James M. Comly followed Hayes; in the postwar era he played an active role in politics and became the American minister to Hawaii.

Even in the lowest ranks the regiment had a name destined for fame. A frail youth of 18 enlisted in 1861 as a private in the Twenty-Third. He rose to the grade of major, and his name was William McKinley. He would enable the regiment to go Lincolns prognostication one better. The Twenty-Third contained not one future President but two.

But if the Twenty-Third was atypical in the men it produced, its war experience was typical, not just of other Civil War regiments, but of most outfits in most wars. For these Ohio boys spent the war doing the same dull things day after day. Their main war experience was monotony. Later they would remember only the glorious and exciting days but, like the men in the South Pacific in World War II, during the war they were, for the most part, just plain bored.

The Twenty-Third Ohio did participate in the Antietam Campaign and in 1864 it followed Phil Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, but its fate was to spend the rest of the war in the mountains of West Virginia. Its war was a mean, hard thing, involving some of the roughest if not the most spectacular fighting of the war. it was the lot of the Twenty-Third to spend the bulk of its service in what was essentially a pocket of the war or a side show to the main event.

West Virginia, as a Union-sympathizing area in the Confederacy, had a real political and propaganda value in the Northern scheme of grand strategy and, lying on the flank of Virginia proper, it posed a potential if not always an actual military threat to vital railroad lines of communication united the eastern and western parts of the Confederacy. By any measure, it was important for the North to occupy and hold West Virginia, and the Twenty-Third was one of the units that did the job. The work was necessary to the ultimate triumph of the Union cause, but it was small and nasty workfighting in pygmy battles, chasing guerrillas, patrolling lonely mountain roads, repressing civilian sympathizers of the South. It was routine, unexciting war, and it offered few opportunities for anyone to make a reputation.

Units such as the Twenty-Third experienced the worst side of war, the very hardest to endure, the kind that required duty, dirt, and devotion. In the end, the most remarkable thing about the Twenty-Third was not that two Presidents and a collection of lesser figures served with it but that it came through the oppressing obscurity of its war years a proud regiment with high morale.

Organized in June 1861, the Twenty-Third contained 950 men when it went to Camp Chase, near Columbus, for its training. The Governor of Ohio appointed its officers, which was unusualmost regiments elected their leaders, up to and including the colonelsand which led to some problems. Colonel Eliakim P. Scammon, who succeeded Rosecrans at the head of the regiment, was a martinet who never could understand the ways of the civilian soldier. For their part, the volunteers disliked Scammon and other West Pointers like him, and sometimes refused to follow him. In these crises it was usually the politician turned officer, like Hayes, who had to step forward and save the situation.

At the start of the war Ohio was practically without weapons to arm its troops, and with the same frenzy that marked all preparations it bought, begged, and distributed whatever small arms it could locate. The Twenty-Third received an issue of old flintlock muskets converted into percussion locks. This was too much for the young heroes. They had come forth to save the Nation, and they expected to be given proper weapons to do the job. They refused to receive the guns. Some companies stuck the muskets in the ground by the bayonet and marched back to quarters; others simply stacked them in piles.

Scammon, who had not thought it necessary to explain to the men why such guns had to be issued, flew into a rage and ordered some of the company commanders arrested. His conduct only increased the tension, because these officers could not be fairly blamed for failing to control t the situation. In some way the men themselves had to be reached and persuaded to accept the muskets, and this result could not be achieved by a ramrod colonel or by such junior leaders as captains. it could be done only by officers of some rank who were from civilian life and could speak the language of the men; who could, in the bluntest terms, place on the appeal on the level of a stump speech.

Hayes, the major of the regiment, recognized his role and accepted it. he went from company to company, pleading with the men to take the guns. The weapons were the only ones available to the state, he said. They would do for temporary use, to practice the manual of arms; later better models would be provided. Besides, he went on, the man was more important than the weapon. The ancestors of the men listening to him had won the jewel of American freedom in the Revolution with muskets even poorer than these. Would their descendants then refuse any weapons in an hour of greater peril? It was exactly the kind of exhortation calculated to move the impressionable boys, and they responded as Hayes must have known they would. Somebody yelled: Bully for Hayes. . . lets get our guns, and the crisis was passed.

Following their training, the men of the Twenty-Third moved south, to Weston in western Virginia. Their function there was to protect the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, secure the surrounding area, and protect the Kanawha Valley from Confederate moves. Mainly they marched back and forth on mountain roads, trying to round up guerrillas.

When the Federals first came into West Virginia, they were welcomed as deliverers. But if they thought that all the mountaineers were Unionists, they soon received a rude and sometimes lethal disillusionment. In many areas the inhabitants sympathized with the Southern cause or, if not animated by any ideological attachment, resented the presence of the invaders. Operating in small groups or as individuals, they stalked Union lines of communications, shooting at parties of soldiers and trying to run off cattle, horses, and other supplies. They were called guerrillas or bushwhackers by the Federals, who conducted constant expeditions to round them up. If arrested with arms but not in a guilty act, their invariable excuse was: We were only hunting squirrels.

One Federal witness described a typical guerrilla. Imagine a stolid, vicious-looking countenance, an ungainly figure, and an awkward, if not ungraceful, spinal curve in the dorsal regions, acquired by laziness and indifference to maintaining an erect posture; a garb of the coarsest texture of home-spun linen . . . and so covered with dirt as not to enable one to guess it original color; a dilapidated, rimless hat, or cap of some wild animals skin, covering his head, the hair on which had not been combed for months; his feet covered with moccasins, and a rifle by his side, a powder-horn and shot-pouch slung around his neck, and you have the beau ideal of the West Virginia bushwhacker.

The Federals came to hate them passionately and to hunt them without pity. Even as gentle and moderate a man as Hayes could hear of their being killed without a flicker of regret. Eventually many officers sent out to catch bushwhackers would come in without any prisoners. They would merely report that they had arrested so-and-so but that in bringing him in he slipped off a log while crossing a stream and broken his neck or that he had been killed by an accidental discharge of one of the mens guns.

The men of the Twenty-Third soon developed feelings of contempt and distaste for all West Virginians, loyal and disloyal alike. In part, this was an inevitable reaction of an occupying and homesick soldiery, spending most of its time on small, lonely patrols in an alien land; in part it was a revulsion against that which was different. The natives were undeniably different. Poor, uneducated, deprived of contacts with the larger world beyond the ranges, they were unlike anything in the prosperous farm lands of Ohio. These western Virginians eat and sleep like pigs, reported one soldier. Even when the inhabitants tried to perform acts of kindness for their military visitors, they aroused irritation by their blundering procedure. One soldier who was wounded in a brush with the enemy sought refuge in a cabin. The woman there willingly took him in and cared for him. A portion of his skull had been shot away, and the wound became infected with vermin. ON it she poured liberal does of the only remedy she could think of turpentine! When his comrades found him, most of his mental faculties were gone.

The war in West Virginia might seem trifling, but it had its unusual and even comic aspects. Indeed, at times it became weirdly unreal, as if the environment itself, the hazy, misty, and enchanted land, was creating a grotesque parody of the military art. People did strange things. A regiment moving toward Philippi heard artillery firing in the distance, and its officers concluded a battle was in progress. Assured that such was the case by a cavalryman who chanced by, the men emptied their knapsacks and began a forced march. Hundreds fell out by the road as heat and fatigue took their toll, but the remnant pushed on to the front. Panting into Philippi, they discovered that the firing was a salute in honor of the Fourth of July.

In the spring of 1862 the Twenty-Third Ohio emerged from its winter camps to take up once again the task of hunting guerrillas. On April 29 Hayes, who was in command, heard that a notorious gang of bushwhackers was supposed to be operating in the vicinity of Camp Creek, about 16 miles away. Hayes ordered Lieutenant J.L. Botsford of Company C to go after them. Botsfords men scouted the area but found nothing. Unknown to them, the guerrilla leader was observing them all the while and had reported their presence to the Confederate commander at Princeton, Colonel Walter H. Jenifer. Jenifer decided to snap up the little Federal column and, collecting his available force, about 300 troops, marched toward Camp Creek. Botsford, in the meantime, had taken up quarters in a farmhouse at a place called Clarks Hollow. At daybreak on the morning of May 1, as the company was forming in the yard, shots rang out, and Confederate troops appeared on all sides. Hastily Company C retired into the house and prepared for a desperate defense.

On the same morning Hayes had the regiment up and ready to march at six oclock. From the first he had meant to follow his advance company, perhaps to support it, more probably in the hope of finding action. Now his desire to fight would be gratified. The firing at Clarks Hollow was loudly audible, and Hayes gave orders to march to the sound. Rain was falling, and the going on the muddy roads was rough. But the men, just as eager as their colonel, plunged forward. When they broke into the clearing around the farmhouse, the now outnumbered Confederates broke and fled toward Princeton.

Hayes rode up just as the enemy left. He almost dissolved when the men of Company C, some of them wounded, saluted him with presented arms. My heart choked me, he admitted, and he could not speak. One of the men said, All right, Colonel, we know what you mean. In a minute he had recovered control and was all the officer again. Confidently he ordered a pursuit. The troops needed no urging. excited by the prospect of a chase and inspired by Hayess leadership, they swept forward. Soon they caught up to the Confederates, and a running fight, lasting 13 hours and covering 22 miles, ensued. At one stage the cavalry commander asked Hayes if he should essay another charge. Hayes answered jauntily, Try them again, if you like to do so. All over the field Hayes rode, constantly crying to the men to push on.

Toward nightfall the pursuers burst over the mountain in front of Princeton and saw great clouds of smoke rising to the sky. Jenifer, rattled by the turn of events, had ordered the town fired and had continued his retreat. When Hayess men entered the town, they tried to stop the flames but could save only a few buildings. A stream of civilian refugees took the road south after the confederates.

And so ended the first of May, Hayes recorded in his diary. A good days work. One of his soldiers, who also kept a diary, was more philosophical. What a day . . . this man wrote. Fun for us but terrible fright, destruction, and death to the people of this quiet valley.

For the Twenty-Third Ohio it was a big day. It may have been a skirmish so small that regiments in the Army of the Potomac would not even have deigned to record it, but to the men of the Twenty-Thirdand to thousands like them, in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas, and the other outlying regionsit beat all hollow the usual operation of detached service in small groups. And, surprisingly perhaps, it was less dangerous. Few men died that day, whereas when the regiment was chasing guerrillas in small bands it suffered heavily. The casualty quota of the Twenty-Third was, if not high enough to rank it among the 20 or so Northern regiments suffering the highest rate of battlefield deaths, sufficiently high to place it on a select list of 300 fighting regiments. Out of the 2,230 who served in the Twenty-Third, 159 died of wounds and 131 from disease, for a total of 290. Most fell to guerrillas, others in the major actions of the regimentCarnifex Ferry, Princeton, South Mountain, Antietam, Lynchburg, Berryville, the Opequon (or Winchester), Fishers Hill, and Cedar Creek.

The war of the Twenty-Third Ohio was neither romantic nor glorious. But it was necessary. This regiment, and others like it, held areas Lincoln had to have if the North were to win the war. The role the Twenty-Third was called upon to play was important, and the men of Ohio carried it out with skill, valor, and pride. Outstanding men emerged from the regiment, and in later years they were always ready to recall their association with it. On the day he left Ohio, in 1877, to take up residence in the White House, Rutherford B. Hayes told his fellow citizens: A little less than sixteen years ago I march . . . with one thousand men . . . to the South to do what we could to restore the Union of the States, and to reestablish the authority of the Constitution. In that work we were eminently successful . . . They were, indeed, more successful than perhaps even they suspected.
One of the greatest odysseys in American history began in the little town of Azamor on Moroccos west coast at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The young man who had spent his early years within sight of the Atlantic shore could have had no inkling of the bizarre future that fate had in store for hima journey across the ocean to lands and people unknown to the Islamic world in which he was raised, where he would die as a nominal Christian in a city reputed to contain fabulous riches. Yet, given the path he would follow, the youth must, even then, have exhibited a lively interest in the ways of other peoples, a sharp ear for different patterns of speech, hardy stamina, and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances.

The black-skinned Moor might have been purchased from slave raiders who worked the African coast or taken captive in one of the frequent military clashes between Spain and Morocco that continued long after the Moors were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492. Given the Christian name Estevanico when he was baptized by his Spanish owners, the Moorish youth was probably in his late teens or early twenties when he left Africa for the Caribbean as a slave.

By 1527, Estevanico was in the service of Andres Dorantes, commander of a company of infantry in the expedition being formed by Panfilo de Narvaez to explore and conquer the lands stretching west from Florida along the Gulf of Mexico. A man of fairly modest origin, Dorantes had come to the New World in search of gold and glory.

Narvaez, having spent more than twenty years as a conquistador in Mexico, had received a royal appointment as Spains governor in Florida and was eager to take control of his new territory, explore it, and begin exploiting its wealth. The companies assembled for this undertaking were a motley collection of soldiers of fortune from many lands, under the command of Spanish officers.

The expedition suffered one setback after another. A hurricane destroyed one of Narvaezs ships and damaged the others, forcing the party to winter in Cuba. When they set out again in February 1528, they had to weather still more violent storms before reaching Florida. It was mid-April when the four original ships and a brigantine purchased to replace the vessel that had been lost, with a complement of some four hundred men and the 42 horses that survived the trip, finally dropped anchor on the western coast of Florida, just north of Tampa Bay.

Going about his duties as Dorantes personal servant, Estevanico (or Esteban, as he was sometimes called) undoubtedly felt the same excitement that gripped the rest of the party as they set foot for the first time on Floridas soil. The natives of a small village nearby gave them a gift of fish and venison and then vanished into the night, leaving behind, among their fishing nets, a golden rattle. This find was a promising token to the Spaniards, eager as they were to find treasure.

After Narvaez went ashore to claim the territory officially in the name of King Carlos I of Spain, he divided his force, taking three hundred menforty of them on horsebackto explore the land. He sent the ships ahead to the fine harbor that his pilots claimed was somewhere in the vicinity.

Three long, desperate months later, the shore party reached a town called Aute. They had traveled through swamps and across rivers and fought with unfriendly natives, but they had found no sign of gold, pearls, or jewelsnothing, in fact, to make conquest of the area profitable. They also saw no sign of their ships.

By this time, more than forty members of the party had diedsome due to hunger or disease, others the victims of accidental drownings or the arrows of the natives. Narvaez, himself sick, hungry, and discouraged, decided to give up the expedition and return to civilization. Without vessels to carry them back, the survivors set about constructing five barges. For six weeks they worked, melting down spurs, bridles, stirrups, and crossbows to make nails; braiding ropes from palmetto fronds and horsehair; and sewing their shirts together for sails.

On September 22, 1528, having eaten all but one of their horses, they set sail for Mexico. The shallow, overloaded rafts each held about fifty men and their meager supplies. The water bags made from horses legs rotted within a day or two, leaving the men without fresh water, and the only food remaining was a little dry maize. Estevanico and his master, Dorantes, shared a raft with another company captain, Alonzo del Castillo Maldonado, and 48 men from their two commands.

So great is the power of need, wrote Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, the expeditions treasurer, that it brought us to venture out into such a troublesome sea in this manner, and without any among us having the least knowledge of the art of navigation. To compensate for their lack of seamanship, the travelers tried to keep their craft within sight of land. But, weak from hunger, thirst, and exposure, the men could do little more than let the barges drift with the wind and current. When, toward the end of October, they reached the strong current that flows from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico, it became impossible for the boats to stay together. One by one they were destroyed; some were wrecked against the shore, othersincluding Narvaezs own vesseldrifted out to sea and vanished.

Dorantes craft capsized, but all aboard made it safely to a nearby island, where they joined the survivors from the raft commanded by Cabeza de Vaca, whom the local natives had fed and sheltered. So pathetic were the strangers that the Indianssat down with us and all began to weep out of compassion for our misfortune . . . . Despite the natives show of kindness, the Spaniards worried that they would become the victims of some ritualistic sacrifice. Instead, they were treatedso well that we became reassured, losing somewhat our apprehension of being butchered.

An attempt to retrieve Dorantes capsized boat failed, and the two groups of castaways were forced to spend the rest of the winter on the island, which they nicknamed Malhado, or Misfortune. Of the 80 men cast ashore, only 15 survived until spring. Gripped by hunger, one group of Spaniards shocked their comrades and their native hosts when in desperation they ate the flesh of those who had died.

In April 1529, Andres Dorantes gathered the survivors of his boat, including Estevanico and Castillo, and crossed to the mainland, leaving Cabeza de Vaca and his men behind. Captured by natives considerably less friendly than those on the island, Dorantes party spent the next six years doing heavy labor and enduring the taunts and blows of their captors. Five men who tried to escape were shot with arrows and killed; others died of cold and hunger, until only Estevanico, Castillo, and Dorantes remained.

Back on the island, Cabeza de Vaca had continued to live with the natives, working as a servant and then a trader, dealing in shells, beads, ochre dye, hides, and other commodities. He made no attempt to escape from Malhado Island, he later reported, because the only other survivor from his partyLope de Oviedacould not be convinced to leave. When he was finally able to persuade Ovieda to go in search of fellow Christians, Cabeza de Vaca took him away, and carried him across the inlets and through four rivers on the coast, since he could not swim.

Eventually, after six years of separation, Cabeza de Vaca met up with the other remnants of Narvaezs expeditionDorantes, Castillo, and Estevanico. The four men exchanged such news as they had gleaned from occasional encounters with other survivors, gradually putting together a picture of the fate of their comrades.

Dorantes told Cabeza de Vaca that he had attempted to convince Castillo and Estevanico to join him in trying to escape from the natives and head toward the Spanish settlements in Mexico, but they had refused. Their experience with the rafts had apparently unnerved them; there would be rivers to cross, they protested, and since neither of them could swim, they preferred to remain where they were. But by mid-September 1535, with Cabeza de Vaca having added his persuasive talents to Dorantes, the two holdouts finally agreed to attempt a getaway.

At first the four men traveled cautiously, fearful of being followed and murdered by natives. Then something happened that improved their circumstances dramatically. Natives, struck by the unusual appearance of the travelers, concluded that these men must possess magical powers. Soon after their escape, Estevanico and the three Spaniards met men who asked to be cured of severe headaches. As soon as [Castillo] made the sign of the cross over them and recommended them to God, Cabeza de Vaca recounted in his report to the Spanish king, at that very moment the Indians said that all the pain was gone.

The treatment having worked, others came to the strangers seeking similar cures. Fearful of what would happen should his efforts fail, Castillo surrendered the role of chief healer to Cabeza de Vaca, who soon was faced with a real challengea man who, to all appearances, was already dead. Cabeza de Vaca prayed over the man, and as if by a miracle, the man recovered. This caused great surprise and awe, according to Cabeza de Vaca, the equally incredulous healer, and all over the land nothing else was spoken of.

Predictably, this astonishing incident caused word of the castaways healing powers to spread like wildfire. An admiring escort followed the men from village to village. They were showered with giftsfood, deer skins, cotton blankets, and valuable trinkets such as coral beads, turquoises, arrow-shaped emeralds, and a large copper rattle embossed with the figure of a human facewhich they shared with their followers. As their reputation grew, the healers were treated with ever-increasing honor and called the children of the sun. Their patients became so numerous that all four men had to serve as healers, and their reputations were so solid that when someone died, the people assumed that the deceased had somehow offended the healers and deserved his fate.

Having acquired some fluency in six native languages, which they supplemented with sign language, the travelers generally made themselves understood as if they spoke our language and we theirs, Cabeza de Vaca claimed. But it was Estevanico who did most of the talking, since, in order to preserve their influence and authority, the three Spaniards seldom spoke directly with the natives. The young Moor was in constant conversation with the local people, finding out in what direction the party should travel, by what names the towns and tribes were called, and any other information that the Spaniards thought might be helpful.

At length, Dorantes and the others, along with their Indian followers left the coast, traveling inland across what is now Texas and northern Mexico until they were within a few days journey of the Pacific Ocean. Here they began to hear news of their own people, until in April 1536, they encountered a group of Spanish soldiers who were in the area on a slave-raiding expedition. The meeting between the castawaysdressed as their followers were in skins and carrying large gourds, decorated with feathers as signs of their officeand their fellow countrymen proved rather awkward. The latter were, to the dismay of the four healers, as interested in capturing the travelers native entourage as they were in hearing the tale of their adventures. Before moving on, Cabeza de Vaca extracted promises that the Indians would be allowed to live in peace.

Dorantes and the other survivors soon arrived at Culiacan, on the west coast of Mexico, where Spanish authorities gave them a warm welcome and questioned them closely about the country through which they had passed. There had been much speculation lately in New Spain (Mexico) about the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, said to be located north of the Sonoran Mountains, where the streets were paved with gold and the walls were studded with precious stones. Dorantes offered to lead an expedition to explore this northern region, but his proposal came to nothing. In 1539, however, Don Antonio de Mendoza, the first viceroy of New Spain, authorized a reconnaissance expedition to Cibola under the leadership of a Franciscan priest named Marcos de Niza. Because of his familiarity with the people in the Sonoran region, Estevanico received an appointment as Fray (Brother) Marcoss translator and guide.

The Moor seems to have regarded this as a great opportunity. His journey through the mountains of Sonora was a triumphal procession. The natives, delighted to see one of the great healers return, thronged around, offering him the customary gifts of food, feathers, fine skins, turquoises, and beautiful women. He strode proudly among the villagers, speaking with them in their own languages, laying his hands on their sick, and receiving their homage.

Fray Marcos was annoyed to find himselfa man of God and titular leader of this enterpriserelegated to a secondary role. When the party reached the desert beyond the mountains, he suggested that Estevanico go ahead with a few of his men and send back word of his progress.

Estevanico gladly agreed. He thought he could get all the reputation and honor himself, reported Pedro de Casteneda, chronicler of Spanish explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronados later expedition, and that if he should discover those settlements . . . he would be considered bold and courageous. Estevanico pressed rapidly ahead, making arrangements along the way for Marcos and the other friars to be housed and fed as they came behind him. Within a month, the Moor had reached the adobe walls of the town that, his followers assured him, was the legendary city of Cibola.

Hawikuh, the southernmost of the Seven Cities, was an unprepossessing place, a simple mud-walled pueblo on a small hill above a dry river. But Estevanico was not deterred. After sending word back to Fray Marcos that he had arrived at Cibola, he dispatched one of his men into the town with his ceremonial mace to inform the Zuni inhabitants that he was the representative of a great white king from across the sea, to whom Cibola would now be subject and whose God they would henceforth worship. He had come, he said, to receive their tribute.

The Cibolans were not impressed. Having had no contact with the armies of Spain, they did not fear them. When they met with Estevanico, they thought it unreasonable to say that the people were white in the country from which he came and that he was sent by them, he being black. And they suspected that he might be a spy for some invading armyperhaps from Chichilticalle, the land just south of the desert from which many members of Estevanicos escort came.

It was later rumored that those followers had proved his undoing. At some point on the journey, it was said, he had killed a Chichilticalle woman, and while his reputation as a great healer prevented her relatives from taking their revenge directly, they had no objection to allowing strangers to risk heavens anger by treating him as a mere mortal. They informed the Zunis that he was an evil man, who assaulted their women. The Zunis locked Estevanico in a hut while they debated what to do with him.

The chroniclers received conflicting stories of what happened next. Perhaps Estevanico panicked; apparently he tried to escape. However it came about, the would-be conquistador died ignobly, felled by the Zunis arrows as he ran from the pueblo.

All of Estevanicos escortexcept for one boy, the Moors closest friend, who remained behind as a hostagewere permitted to leave the town in relative safety. They rushed back to Fray Marcos with a frantic tale of Estevanicos murder and their own near brush with death. Some of them were bleeding; all were in a great state of excitement. Their story so alarmed the friar that he turned around immediately and headed back to Mexico. He gave all of his trade goods to the native escort, whom he feared might otherwise turn against him.

Fray Marcos, who had caught only a distant glimpse of Cibola, related to the viceroy the reports he had received indicating that the city was every bit as wealthy as had been rumored. In 1540, Marcos accompanied Coronado when he led a large armed force to conquer the fabled city. Coronados men took the pueblo with ease, its stout walls and valiant defenders not withstanding. They were shocked, however, to discover that the citys wealth was limited to corn and beans.

Coronado sent Fray Marcos back to Mexico to protect him from the wrath of the disappointed soldiers, who had expected great riches. Then, after rescuing the hostage and learning the details of the Moors death, he and his party moved on, methodically exploring the region from the Grand Canyon to what is now central Kansas, and on to the mouth of the Colorado River. Although they added a great deal to the European map-makers knowledge of the interior of North America, the members of the expedition found no sign of the storied wealth of Cibola.

No one knows where Estevanico is buried. Even Hawikuh no longer exists; it was abandoned in 1670 following a series of wars that the Zunis fought against the Spaniards and the Apache. But the Moors story, recorded in colorful detail by his fellow explorersCabeza de Vaca, Fray Marcos, Coronado, and Pedro de Castenedaendures as one of the great adventures of the American West.

This article was written by Anne B. Allen and originally appeared in the August 1997 issue of American History. For more great articles, subscribe to American History magazine today!
When American forces attempted to drive the Japanese from the Aleutian island of Kiska in August 1943, they found an unexpected enemy.

By Russell Martin

As Robert Parker departed from San Francisco Bay aboard the troop ship Zeilin in July 1943, the 22-year-old soldier felt the weight of his familys military heritage. General Artemas Ward, his eighth great-grandfather, had once served as General George Washingtons second-in-command during the American Revolution. Captain John Parker, an ancestor on his fathers side, had led minutemen at Lexington, Massachusetts, in the first battle of the Revolutionary War. Most recently, Parkers great-uncle, General Oliver Otis Howard, had commanded Union Army troops during the Civil War.

Equally determined to serve his country, the young Parker had dropped out of St. Lawrence University in 1941 to join the United States Armys new ski unit, the 10th Mountain Division. After two years of training on the glacial slopes of Washingtons Mount Rainier, on Colorados towering snowscapes, and on Californias beaches, he was now a bona fide mountain soldier, assigned to the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment. Parker had also qualified for the new intelligence and reconnaisance (I&R) platoon attached to his unit. Although eager for the opportunity to fight, Parker knew that his service might require the most fundamental kind of sacrifice.

After meeting their troop ship in San Francisco, the young and eager GIs of Parkers unit had tried to figure out where they were going. The best guesses seemed to be enemy-occupied Burma, or perhaps the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Some thought they were bound for the Aleutians, the island chain that trailed away toward Asia from the southwestern tip of Alaska. As Zeilin steamed westward across the Pacific Ocean on July 29, 1943, it made a sudden and decided turn to the north, and the soldiers suddenly had their answer. Apparently they were the last to know. As they listened to the reassuring voices of the Andrews Sisters on short-wave radio, Japanese propaganda voice Tokyo Rose periodically interrupted the music to chillingly warn all you boys on the Zeilin headed for Kiska Island that a big surprise awaited them.

Kiska Island, Alaska Territory, was little more than a 4,000-foot volcanic mountain surrounded by a steep succession of hills, but it was American property under Japanese control. Japanese infantry had seized it, and the nearby island of Attu, a year earlier. Just two months before Robert Parker set sail with the 87th, 11,000 poorly prepared American troops had sustained heavy casualties while recapturing tiny Attu. They had been hampered by atrocious weather typical of the north Pacificdense, pea soup-like fog punctuated by periods of high wind and cold, heavy rain. Shrouded in the mist covering the steep ridges of the 15-mile-wide outcrop, the hidden Japanese soldiers would open fire on the American troops slowly making their way inland, then silently slip away. It was nightmarish combat that ended only after the Americans wiped out the entire 2,500-man Japanese force.

With Attu cleared of any Japanese presence, American intelligence expected fierce resistance from the thousands of Japanese soldiers on Kiska. For 10 months United States warships and bombers had harassed the intruders with a steady rain of shells and bombs in preparation for an eventual amphibious assault. That invasion was now coming in the form of a joint army-navy task force made up of a large part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and about 34,000 menincluding the 87th Mountain Regiment, U.S. Army infantry, American Marines, and 5,300 Canadian troops. The 87th would have no use for their skis on the islands muddy, rocky terrain. As Zeilin pitched its way toward Alaska, the soldiers learned that the attack would depend heavily on the element of surprise. Tokyo Roses apparent knowledge of their destination, however, made surprise seem unlikely.

Early in the 2,000-mile trek to the Aleutians, Parker managed to get himself selected for regular deck watch. Army enlisted men on deck watch shared meals with the navy men, whose food actually seemed palatable, and welcomed such small pleasures as hot, round-the-clock coffee and a nights escape from the sardine-can sleeping conditions below deck. Parker slept on deck as often as he could manage itquietly pulling back a lifeboat cover and crawling beneath it with his sleeping bag, to be lulled to sleep by the drone of the ships engines.

Corporal Leo Oley Kohlman, at age 32 an old man compared to most of the soldiers, had to endure the cramped conditions below Zeilins deck. He shared a cabin with 11 other soldiers, and his narrow bunk with all of his heavy gear and his cold M-1 rifle. Kohlman, a raconteur and practical joker, was the supplier of everything from underwear to ammunition for the 87ths Company K. His additional duties as company armorer and artificer included overseeing, maintaining, and giving instruction on all the units weapons.

During the long journey to the Aleutians, Kohlman spent much of his time issuing special gear such as gas masks and blanket-lined pants, and inserting rounds into the many hundreds of automatic rifle magazines awaiting use. He and his subordinates spent more time screwing fuses onto the thousands of hand grenades stored in wooden crates like so many bottles of soda pop.

The men did find time for more leisurely activities, such as playing pinochle, telling stories, or just thinking about what lay ahead. The army was expecting heavy casualties on Kiskaestimates ran as high as 90 percentand Kohlman knew that his first campaign might be his last. But I didnt really sweat it, he remembers. I wasnt religious. I wasnt a Catholic any more. But I thought, well, if I come back alive or if I dont, Ive had a good life. Ive done what I wanted to for 10 or 11 years. I just never dwelt on it, I dont guess.

Like Parker, Kohlman had been more than willing to register for the military draft. Having been a trapper, cowboy, and skier in Colorado, he responded enthusiastically to the formation of the mountain units. While the 87th was still in training, Kohlman had been detailed to familiarize himself with Japanese weaponspistols, rifles, machine guns, and even rocket launchers and grenadesso that if they were picked up on the battlefield they might be put to good use. Samples of each weapon were aboard Zeilin, and Kohlman continued his studies whenever he could. He couldnt help thinking that if the fighting proved as fierce as most of the men feared it would, he just might get the chance to use the weapons himself.

On August 9, after more than 10 days at sea, Zeilin and the rest of the fleet stopped off at Adak Island, 200 miles east of Kiska. For three days the soldiers made final preparations for the invasion and hoped for a miraculous improvement in the weather. Back aboard their ships for the final leg of their journey, many of the men grew jittery and nervous. Regular army-issue crew cuts were modified to suit the coming conflict. Many soldiers had Mohawk-style stripes shaved onto their naked scalps; others left only bold Xs or jagged lightning bolts. The ceaseless card games seemed to have lost their allure, while the horseplay and the bickering ebbed. Letters addressed to sweethearts, parents, and friends now took on special urgency.

With the squadron of ships anchored in the Bering Sea off the northwest coast of Kiska on the night of August 14, the thousands of soldiers consumed their last meals before they stormed ashore. Oley Kohlman ate heartily but many men only picked distractedly at their food. Platoon and company commanders urged their men to get as much rest as they could. With their nerves taut and minds worriedly focused on the coming task, however, the soldiers found sleeping just about impossible. They could do little more than lie on their bunks and think, until sometime in the middle of the night when the loudspeakers began to blare. D-day on Kiska had officially arrived.

The first phase of the attack plan called for a three-battalion formation of mountain troops to follow a smaller scouting party ashore at a protected cove on the northwest side of the island. Additional landings would be made in the following days. These lead commandos were to scale the steep slopes and seek out and contact the enemy on the ridgelines where the Japanese soldiers were believed to be entrenched. After the balance of the infantry had disembarked on the island, the entire force would prepare to launch a coordinated attack for the complete destruction of the enemy.

From the outset, the invasion plans flaws proved frighteningly obvious. An advance party of rangers slipped onto the island in the early morning darkness, but did not immediately report its findings. Meanwhile, simply getting the first wave of mountain soldiers and their gear loaded into assault boats took far too long. As searchlights skittered across the choppy surface of the sea, army officers cursed their navy comrades through megaphones, and soldiers struggled to climb down from the ships on nets and squeeze into the bobbing landing craft. The various boats began to back up, and soon the tiny cove was snarled with dozens of landing craft that couldnt reach the cramped beach. Amid much shouting, the transports finally began to bump past one another to let their heavy ramps thud down on the wet sand, and the impatient soldiers inside them stumbled out into knee-deep water and lunged for solid ground.

As Leo Kohlman recalls, it was nearly noon before he and the rest of K Company waded ashore on Kiska Island, six long, edgy hours after the first disorganized wave of soldiers stormed up the mud-slicked, green sod slopes. Fortunately, they encountered no resistance. Yet as the members of the small supply contingent made their way with their heavy packs across the beach toward the imposing hills, they met four stunned soldiers carrying a dead man back toward the water, his body bloodied and soaked. No one spoke, not even the normally garrulous Kohlman. This grim welcome to combat washed away any remaining visions of glory the young troops might still have harbored.

On the islands ridge-tops, soldiers worked desperately to dig foxholes in the matted, root-gnarled tundra. Messengers circulated among platoons with word that abandoned enemy bunkers had been encountered up ahead, some still containing caches of food and ammunition; one rumor held that the Japanese had even abandoned a hot container of tea. Shells fired from the supporting warships steadily exploded in the distance, and sometimes very close at hand. Radio communication was faulty, and platoon and company leaders couldnt be sure how to proceed as long as the enemy continued its apparent retreat.

With nightfall came rain, and heavy fog off the Bering Sea rolled across the island like a thick, icy blanket. Gunfire suddenly began ringing out, and soldiers dove into their shallow foxholes which were already filling with water. Rifle shots cracked in the heavy rain; tracer bullets whistled overhead, ricocheting off rocks and scudding into the soil and mud; machine guns rattled incessantly, while loud, angry artillery fire continued to boom out of the blackness. Kohlman remembers, What I learned that night was that your first night in combat you just dig a deep hole and occupy the very bottom of it.

Fear and dread permeated the dark, misty air of Kiska. The young soldiers had been imbued by their officers with intense fear of the mysterious Japanese soldiers, and in the darkness and fog they expected to be bayoneted at any moment. A second lieutenant named Roger Eddy remembered that they were all scared stiff; we were green; and everybody expected to die. Death seemed to be lurking everywhere. Eventually, as Eddy later recalled, a machine gunner spotted some figures approaching and opened up, and then everyone started shooting.

As the gray sky brightened over the bleak landscape the next morning, Eddy and the men around him awoke to the realization of what had happened. In the confusion of the previous night, American and Canadian soldiers had fired at each other. We were exhausted, disgusted, and ashamed. And we knew wed done all the killing ourselves, Eddy recalled. Light rain continued to fall, but one by one, the soldiers eased themselves out of their holes to stretch their legs in a kind of exhausted daze before taking cover again. Radios broadcast static-filled casualty reports, and soldiers began to shout from hole to hole to see if friends had survived the night. Kohlman, meanwhile, sought out a nearby officer and told him that he had not heard any Japanese weapons. He told me I couldnt tell the difference, Kohlman remembers. Kohlman explained to the lieutenant that he knew those weapons well, and he was certain none had been fired during the night. The frustrated corporal returned to his cold, muddy foxhole, convinced that neither the army nor navy brass knew who or what they were fighting.

Robert Parker came within a whisper of adding to the death count during that sober second day on Kiska. As part of the 87ths I&R platoon, he had been constantly on the move in the 30 hours since he had waded ashore. Walking alone through the blanketing fog to rejoin his unit after escorting an infantry company to a new position, Parker was startled when the figure of a single soldier suddenly materialized out of the mist. Equally taken aback, the other man immediately pointed his gun in Parkers direction. Paul, Parker managed to call through his terror. He had nearly shot it out with company mate Paul Dunn. Their nerves remained shaken by the close call for the rest of the day, a condition not helped by the renewed shooting that filled the second night.

By the morning of August 17, 48 hours after the start of the invasion, bodies of fallen soldiers had been wrapped in their ponchos and laid aside until they could be carried back down to the beach. In the welcome sunshine of that morning, troops on the islands high volcanic ground began to crawl out of their holes to search for friends, rations, or personal effects abandoned or lost during the fighting in the disorienting mist. The exhausted men began to mutter disgustedly that the Japanese had somehow figured out a way to make themselves invisible. As far as the task force command was concerned, however, the Japanese forces had probably anticipated the invasion and moved to the islands southern side. They had to be routed, and before mounting another assault, the Allied forces needed to know precisely where the enemy was.

Robert Parker and his I&R unit comrades received orders to troop across the island and find the enemy. We thought we were going into the jaws of death, Parker recalls. None of us was sure whether wed ever climb back up those hills. Half expecting an ambush, the small group nervously hiked their way over the barren landscape. All that was visible was a new batch of dense fog; the soldiers tension built, and they fought the urge to fire every bit of ammunition [they] had out into the fog, just in case there was someone out there. Finally, the reconnaissance party came across a Japanese artillery installation. It was deserted.

After thoroughly searching the area for signs of life and hidden booby traps, the unit reported their findings, or the lack of them, by radio. At this point the group began to wonder out loud about the possibility that had been gnawing at the backs of our minds, I think, since very early on, Parker recalls. Maybe there werent any [Japanese] at all on Kiska Island.

The men had good reason for their doubts. More than two weeks before the invasion, Japanese ships had daringly slipped through the navys blockade and evacuated the last of the islands 5,600-man garrison. In retrospect, all the signs had been there. Japanese radio on Kiska had gone off the air on July 28, and American bomber pilots flying over the island since then had not received a single round of antiaircraft fire. Four 11th Air Force P-40 pilots had even landed on Kiskas bombed-out runway to confirm their own suspicions that the island was deserted. Still, Rear Admiral Thomas Kinkaid had ordered the invasion to go on as planned. Even if the enemy had left, he had concluded, the assault would be a super dress rehearsal, good for training purposes.

For the troops on the ground, confirmation of the shocking truth came as a kind of final blow after witnessing the miserable conditions and the loss of at least 20 fellow soldiers. The lone enemy casualty was a Japanese soldier found dead of natural causes. The massive effort had been unnecessary, diverting essential funds, ships, and soldiers from other fronts where the war truly raged.

For the men of the 87th, the introduction to combat had been disastrous in every respect. Although considered an elite fighting force, they had been humiliated in their initial foray, not by the enemy but by themselves. As the spent and shaken men wandered aimlessly about, they seemed sick at heart. All that remained to do was await their own evacuation from an island they hadnt needed to capture.

Down on the beach at Kiska Harbor, still on their own and feeling more relieved than broken, the I&R patrol made camp. Certain now that they werent in any danger, the soldiers built a large fire and tried to dry out. Three men waded into the cold water and emerged holding fat and flopping salmon. At the end of that very odd and unsettling day, the small group ate a glorious salmon supper and sat around the fire long into the night, talking about what had happened and how it had gone so wrong, imagining the next fight and whether they might be lucky enough to be on skis when it came.

The following morning, a special unit of engineers wound its way down from the hilltops to the harbor to begin sweeping the shoreline with metal detectors, searching for Japanese mines and booby traps. We were still hanging around there, waiting for orders, Robert Parker recalls, and the engineers were moving along the beach, and then right where we had built our fire, they began to get a loud beep, beep, beep.

What the engineers uncovered after an hour of slow, painstaking probing with bayonets was a pressure-activated platter mine, designed to explode when a heavy vehicle crossed it. Neither the piled wood nor the troopers collective weight had been enough to detonate the mine, and it seemed likely that the fine shingle on the beach had dissipated the fires heat, surely saving many lives.

In the end, the United States had achieved its objective; it had driven the Japanese out of American territory. Although the Kiska campaign may have helped with planning for future island invasions, it was an incomprehensible waste of life and resources to the GIs who went ashore. Parker shakes his head with that final memory of Kiskahis first glimpse at the freakish vagaries of war. Twice Id already come very close to getting killed, he says, and not in a way Id ever imagined I might. I really began to wonder whether I, or any of us, had much of what you could call a future.

Colorado resident Russell Martin is the author of one novel and numerous non-fiction books.

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Horse Illustrated: What is your job title and who do you work for?

Sergeant Joseph Eckhardt: I am Sergeant Joseph Eckhardt with the Lexington Kentucky Police Department.

HI: How long have you been doing what you do?

SJE: I have been a police officer for 17 years and with the Mounted Unit for 4 years.

HI: What role did you start out with in the Lexington Police Department?

SJE: I began my career in the Bureau of Patrol assigned to Central Sector, which is the downtown portion of Lexington, Ky.





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HI: Do you have a riding background?

SJE: My riding background was very limited to trail rides and hopping on a friends horse at a farm from time to time. I had no formalized training in equitation, to be sure. It was me sitting on a horse and it telling me where it wanted to go, and me not knowing any better.

When I got to the Unit, I was in for a big surprise. What we do in the Mounted Unit is riding. We have to work together with our horse partners to overcome lots of obstacles they would rather run from in the busy downtown streets. We are fortunate to be in the Horse Capital of the World in Lexington, Kentucky, where there are several experienced horsemen willing to come to the facility and help us with our training. Officers coming to the Mounted Unit also receive 10 weeks of training in equitation, sensory training, natural horsemanship and ground work. In the Unit, we are capable of training new officers to ride and training the horses to be solid police mounts.

HI: How did you decide on this field?

SJE: The short answer is, the opening came available and I was just in the right place at the right time. In the Lexington police department, I have served in many different units and bureaus, doing anything from regular patrol to special assignments and investigations. The Mounted Unit is a very sought-after assignmentofficers wait years for a chance to police from horseback.

I always wanted a chance to be a mounted officer, but wasnt sure if it was even possible because I had such little riding experience. During my career, there were openings, but I had chosen to apply to other specialized units instead because of my limited horse experience. When another opportunity presented itself, I was a sergeant and still didnt have much riding experience, but knew since it was such a coveted position I would likely not get another chance in my career if it passed by, so I applied. This assignment made me a lot more nervous because I was not just a rider, but would be responsible for supervising the unit. The apprehension came from having little experience riding. However, I have good people who work for me and they helped me through it and continue to help me improve. I also have access to all the good horsemen who come to train us [the police officers] to be horsemen.

HI: What did you anticipate doing when you were younger?

SJE: Like any kid, I wanted to be a super hero who flew around in a cape. Not too realistic, so I picked the next best thing: police officer.

HI: What is your background  where are you from and where did you go to school?

SJE: I am from Middletown, Ohioits a smaller city between Cincinnati and Dayton. I went to school at Middletown High School and then attended several different colleges before I made up my mind what exactly I wanted to do for a living. I bounced from Wright State University with a Computer Science major, to Miami University where I was a business major, and then finally went to Eastern Kentucky University, where I majored in Criminal Justice. The last college was where I met a Lexington Police Officer at a job fair and applied for a job. I had heard horror stories of being an officer, that the pay was too little and the stress too high, so I tried to pick a different career. None of the other careers seemed to interest me enough, and I finally resolved to be what I always wanted to be: a police officer. That was 17 years ago now and I have served in many different capacities in the police force. I have always truly loved my job and enjoy going to work each day.

HI: What is your background with horses?

SJE: My background with horses was very limited when I was a kid in suburban Ohio. I went on the occasional trail ride where I sat on the back of the horse while he went where he wanted to go. When I was 16, I worked for a lady who bred and sold high-dollar Quarter Horses. My responsibilities were mucking out stalls, moving horses around and the maintaining the grounds.

I never really did any true riding until the police department. I began truly riding in February 2012. We have a 10-week riding course, written and practical exams I had to pass, plus I went to the Mounted Police Seminar on classical riding taught by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Ottawa, Ontario. I have only been riding for 4 years, but during those years I have worked with horses 40 or more hours a week, developing my skills as a horseman. I still have a long way to go in my development, but I have logged quite a lot of saddle time, training and other types of horsemanship classes in those four short years.

Its imperative that we are highly trained to handle a horse in some of the volatile situations we can find ourselves in as a mounted officer. In the Mounted Unit, we do all of our own training of the officers and of the horses to do the job of a mounted officer. We are very blessed in Lexington to have a lot of experienced horsemen who help us become better horsemen ourselves. In addition to the supplemental training of local experts, we send all of our officers to Canada for two weeks to attend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police seminar on classical riding and mounted policing. Officers from our unit also participate in other equine training and national competitions.

HI: Did you have any experiences that really stuck with you that made you want to do this job?

SJE: At the Fourth of July many years ago, I was serving as an officer here in Lexington assigned to the festival area downtown. A large disorder had started with a lot of people fighting and it was all the officers on the ground could do to restore order. Then we all heard the sound of metal horseshoes striking the asphalt as several of our mounted officers trotted up on their mounts to assist. Lets just say the people that were fighting lost the will to continue and dispersed quite quickly, scattering in all directions. I thought then that I would really like to be in the Mounted Unit at some point.

HI: Are there many other places other than Lexington where you could do this job or is it very region specific?

SJE: There are a lot of police departments that have mounted units. Those departments have recognized the value of the horse as a benefit to the police agency.

In Lexington, we have the pleasure of hosting the National Mounted Police Colloquium every year, in partnership with the Kentucky Horse Park Mounted Police. This is an event in which we bring in experts in a variety of equine disciplines, from mounted policing techniques, search and rescue, equitation, troop drill, team building exercises, sensory training, and competition portions in equitation, obstacles and team events. The Colloquium is widely attended by police departments from around North America, averaging 85 officers every year. On the weekend following the Colloquium, we host the Civilian Clinic with the same instructors who taught at the Colloquium. This gives us an opportunity to share with the community our techniques in desensitizing our horses through natural horsemanship for police work. I believe these methods translate to every equine discipline because the horse does not change and will inevitably encounter something he is afraid of in any type of equine event that you enjoy. Our training helps the rider work together with the horse as a partner to overcome his fears. This event is the main fundraiser sponsored by the Friends of the Lexington Mounted Police, a nonprofit organization. The Colloquium and Civilian Clinic allow us to afford to purchase horses, travel to such a wide variety of training and adequately support our unit.

HI: Tell us more about the benefits of a mounted police unit.

SJE: We train from horseback to do everything an officer can do on foot: conducting field interviews, taking reports, arresting a suspect, performing defensive tactics, pursuing a fleeing suspect and aiding in crowd control. A mounted officer is elevated approximately 9 feet and can move the equivalent of what 10 officers on foot can, giving them an advantage during a crowd control situation. The entire crowd can see them and they can see the entire crowd. This plays to our advantage in spotting the main aggressor in the crowd. It also allows for the entire crowd to see us telling them to move when we begin asking them to disperse.

The most commonly occurring aspect of our job is the use of the horse in policing as a public relations tool. Unfortunately, our contacts with the community tend to be negative in nature, from issuing a speeding ticket, arresting a person, dealing with those involved in a traffic accident or a victim of a crime, or some other enforcement action. The vast majority of contact with police can be an unintended negative contact because of the bad situation and no fault of the officer.

If two officers are parked in their cars in a lot, no one may come up to talk to them unless they are needing some type of assistance. If two officers are sitting on horses in the same lot, you would not be able to count the number of people who come up to them, wanting to pet the horses, speak to the officers or just admire their four-legged partners. This interaction is always an opportunity to connect with our communities. It makes us approachable, personable and it is a positive interaction with the community that we are so often lacking by the nature of our jobs.

HI: What do you think are key qualities for people who might want to go into your field?

SJE: The most important thing an officer has to be able to do is talk to people. You will be expected to do such a wide variety of tasks as an officer, but what it really boils down to is your ability to communicate with others.

HI: Can you please briefly describe what you do on a day-to-day basis (if there is a daily routine!)? What is your favorite part of your job?

SJE: One of the things I love the most about policing in general is that there is no same old, same old. It is always a different challenge each day. You add a horse into the mix with this variable, and you even get more challenges. In the Mounted Unit, our responsibilities include taking care of the facility, the pasture, each horses needs, grooming, general patrol, barn tours, parades and any special assignments. There are so many different things we do in the Mounted Unit that its difficult to pin it down to one thing specifically I enjoy the most.

HI: What is the most difficult part of your job?

SJE: The most difficult part of my job is keeping up with all the work that goes into taking care of a herd of horses. The horse is such a big and strong animal, but is incredibly fragile. Its a fine balance to keep their environment, medical needs and feed schedules on track. No matter how hard you work at this, there is always something unexpected that turns up.

HI: What is one thing you learned or know now you never would have expected from this job?

SJE: With horses, you will never stop learning, but the biggest thing was how much patience is required to ride, train and work with horses. Communicating with horses is very much like speaking another language. I often compare it to this because I learned how to speak Spanish proficiently. In learning Spanish, I didnt go to a one-week school to become proficient; it didnt happen overnight, it took patience, I had to be intentional about practicing it and I am still developing my skills today. The same can be said about riding because what you are doing is communicating with the horse in its own language.

HI: What advice would you give people who are interested in pursuing a career with a mounted unit?

SJE: Have patience and really want to be a police officer first. If youre not willing to serve as an officer without a horse, then your heart wont be in it when you have one.

HI: What do you think you would do if you didnt have this job?

SJE: This is a difficult question; I dont see myself doing anything else and have been serving since I was 21. If I had to pick a profession other than policing, it would have to be something that was outside and not the same thing every day. My attention span wouldnt allow me to do something redundant; a mans got to know his limits. I am truly blessed with this job. I enjoy it and look forward to coming to work every day.

Policing isnt for you? Maybe running a horse rescue, building cross-country courses, or something else will capture your interest. Find out! See more Careers in the Horse Industry interviews >>
Without owning a car, Uber is the largest taxi company in the world. With the mission to make trips as effortless as possible, hoteliers can learn a lot from the American tech company.

Uber's popularity and success in the market have been called extraordinary. With an estimated value of $40 billion dollars, the transport application sees around 1 million daily rides in over 400 cities around the world. One of the many reasons why Uber is so successful is how they have capitalized the idea that they are a platform to connect drivers with people who need to go somewhere.

As part of the sharing economy model, Uber understands users -both drivers and travellers- have valuable resources. Therefore, instead of offering those resources itself, Uber connects both through a 'sharing' platform. Uber is basically a highly scaled distribution platform. Service quality is assured through a review system and payments are processed through the application, removing cash from the transaction.

Cashless, personalized, and with plenty of ride options, travellers find it easy to use as an alternative to public transportation or taxis. Although hotels and transport are different categories and their business logic differs greatly, hoteliers can borrow ideas from the company, and more than one can imagine.

Easy comes but doesn't go

There is a lot of work before having guests staying in your hotel and you know that. From OTAs to room photographs. After they leave, guest can go online and write a review about their experiences in your hotel, and we're sure you want a good reputation for your future guests and your online presence. See this as a part of your online marketing strategy and to keep guests coming after reading about someone else's experience.

It's very simple

Uber users value customer service and convenience more than ever. We can apply this concept to booking engines and websites. Clear, organized, and concise information displays value propositions as clear as water. Responsive websites, beautiful pictures, and a direct booking engine showcase your property like no one else can and encourage reservations.

Connections matter

Following the comments and reviews, we encourage you to track and reply to your guests. In a study, 62% of users agree that they are more likely to book after seeing hotel management responding to reviews. And yes, this also includes bad reviews, as 87% of users agree that an appropriate answer from a hotel manager improves hotel impressions.

Take it personally

Your guests come with a purpose, and usually, it's business or pleasure, so think how you can perfect the contact points, which include but are not limited to: talk with the reception staff, reception, bar, housekeeping and even the emails you send before they arrive at your hotel. Uber has the rating system with comments for drivers and users, assuring small details promote an experience the taxi industry -or your competitors- have to match.

Look around you

Taking word by word Uber's motto, think of your hotel as a platform. The value is not only in your property, rooms, and service but also your surroundings. From activities to locations, your hotel can become a connecting platform between your guests and the rich ecosystem it's part of. If this is not clear, then this number is: Europeans spend around 38 billion in travel activities and you can promote your city's charm as value propositions for your property.

Can you think of other good practices to learn from Uber or other companies from the sharing economy? Let us know in our social media in Facebook or @Base7booking.

Base7 Booking

Hotel technology company

Base7booking.com
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He now joins all other National finalists going on to the national awards being held in Sydney in October, where they will compete for the title of 2016 Australian EY Entrepreneur of the Year.

Mike Ford, co-founder and managing director of the global hotel industrys leading cloud platform, SiteMinder, has been announced a National finalist at the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Eastern Region awards ceremony held in Sydney. He now joins all other National finalists going on to the national awards being held in Sydney in October, where they will compete for the title of 2016 Australian EY Entrepreneur of the Year.

The judges said, Mr Fords resilience and entrepreneurial spirit have seen SiteMinder withstand challenge from competition. With a significant investment in R&D, this new generation product has been re-engineered several times with further growth potential. It has been Mr Fords ability to both recognise a market need and his speed to market, which has allowed SiteMinder to dominate in a relatively short period of time.

EYs Sydney Managing Partner, Lynn Kraus, added that Mr Ford and all of this years Eastern Region National finalists represent the high-growth entrepreneurial talent the state has to offer.

This group of entrepreneurs demonstrates what can be achieved with perseverance and resilience. They are shining examples of innovation and business excellence in action. They are creating jobs and driving the economy forward, disrupting traditional business thinking and teaching us all new values in the way we do business and bring ideas to life, Ms Kraus said.

Founded in 2006, SiteMinder provides an innovative cloud platform that allows hotels to attract, reach and convert guests globally. More than 22,000 hotels in 160 countries today use SiteMinders technology to generate 43.5 million reservations worth US$16 billion in annual revenue.

About EY Entrepreneur of the YearTM

EY Entrepreneur of the Year is the worlds most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognises the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.

The Australian Entrepreneur of the Year awards program, launched in 2001, is conducted in five regions culminating in the national awards. The program honours entrepreneurs whose ingenuity and perseverance have created and sustained successful, growing business ventures. Its primary objective is to identify, acknowledge and celebrate the outstanding contribution entrepreneurs make to the Australian business community and economy.





Media contact:

Maria Franco

+61 410 233 735

media@siteminder.com

About SiteMinder

As the leading cloud platform for hotels, SiteMinder allows hotels to attract, reach and convert guests across the globe. We serve hotels of all sizes with award-winning solutions for independents and groups alike, wherever they are in the world.

SiteMinders products include The Channel Manager, the industrys leading online distribution platform; TheBookingButton, a wholly-branded booking engine for direct bookings via the web, mobile or social; Canvas, the intelligent website creator for independent hoteliers; Prophet, the real-time market intelligence solution that takes the guesswork out of pricing rooms; and GDS by SiteMinder, a single-point of entry to a six-figure network of travel agents and the worlds major GDSs. With more than 22,000 hotel customers and 400 of the industry's top connectivity providers as our partners, today we have presence in more than 160 countries on six continents.

For more information, visit www.siteminder.com.
Holiday Inn Houston NE Bush Airport Hotel Opens with FlyteBoard to Maximize Travel Convenience

New Build Holiday Inn Offers Quiet Rooms, A-List Amenities, Plus Mercedes Benz Airport Shuttles and Airline Flight and Gate Information to Keep Guests on Schedule

Houstons newest hotel opened August 4 adjacent to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). The beautiful new Liya Investments, LP. property makes guest comfort a priority with 4-pane windows to ensure a restful stay, a state of the art fitness room with video screens and ear buds for a personalized workout, and a FlyteBoard real-time airline flight information display to let guests remain comfortably on property until their flight is confirmed.

I expect to see FlyteBoard in every airport hotel

Our new property is next to Houston Bush Intercontinental and most of our guests will arrive or depart by air. That is why we created a streamlined travel experience to make their stay perfect, said Debra Johnson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. We installed a FlyteBoard flight information display in our lobby because it is important that guests remain confident about their travel plans. We want guests to be on time for flights with minimum stress. When I travel I expect to see a FlyteBoard in every airport hotel.

The new Holiday Inn Houston NE Bush Airport hotel offers the most convenient location to IAH terminals. The newly constructed property boasts a contemporary feel while providing all of the amenities guests expect from Holiday Inn including a full-service restaurant and bar, outdoor pool, high-speed wireless internet access, and the latest electronics in each of its 142 rooms. The propertys 20-passenger Mercedes Benz van provides guests with comfortable transportation to and from the airport.

The FlyteBoard flight information display is an ideal guest service amenity for Liya Investments, LPs Holiday Inn at Bush Intercontinental. Guests can confirm flights and gates from the property. If their flight is delayed or cancelled, they can enjoy a meal or beverage in the comfort of the hotel, or extend their stay without waiting in long airport lines, said Scott Triphahn, Flyte Systems Vice President. We provide hotels with personalized revenue generating guest service solutions that benefit guests throughout their stay.

Flyte Systems is the leading provider of cost effective airport travel and flexible digital signage property information. The company delivers displays and digital signage content for hotels, corporate training centers, convention centers and related businesses. Flyte Systems is a division of Industrial Television Services (ITS), based in Chicago. ITS is a respected digital signage solutions company with more than 55 years of experience specializing in real-time information delivery. Click here to request information on Flyte Systems' travel and guest information services.

Flyte Systems provides low-cost property promotions, local events and flight information

Flyte Systems suite of products that serve the traveling public includes:

FlyteBoard displays live flight information for one or more airports. It can be customized with Doppler radar, local traffic, and guest messaging to create an all-in-one travel dashboard. Flyte Board can be wall, floor, or ceiling-mounted and is ideally suited for passenger terminals, lobbies, restaurants, airport parking, convention centers and other off airport venues.

FlytePass combines real-time flights with free, secure boarding pass printing. It is available for both iMac & Windows computers and can be neatly packaged within a kiosk with options to match your decor.

FlyteChannel lets guests view live airport flight information comfortably from their in-room television.

FlytePad is a mobile-ready service that delivers real-time airline information via the iPad.

EventDisplay professionally formats your meeting & events schedule on custom branded digital display. Flight information and wayfinding can also be included for the convenience of your traveling guests.

EventChanne l shows property events and specials on the guests TV.

l shows property events and specials on the guests TV. AmenityBoard lets hotels boost revenue by displaying and promoting onsite amenities anywhere.

lets hotels boost revenue by displaying and promoting onsite amenities anywhere. InfoBoard is an interactive touch screen that saves labor, provides greater guest service, and generates revenue with flight information and much more.

Many hotels and resorts also use Flyte Systems applications to increase revenue with innovative marketing approaches for distressed travelers. For tips on how to generate revenue by providing guests with Flyte Systems airline information, please log on to the Flyte Systems website at www.flytesystems.com.

About Holiday Inn Houston NE - Bush Airport Hotel

The new Holiday Inn Houston NE Bush Airport hotel is a smoke-free property is located less than half a mile from Bush IAH, and also offers close proximity to Highway 59, I- 45, and Beltway 8. Our complimentary shuttle ensures that you will always make your flights on time. Traveling for business, we have a state of the art business center, complimentary Wi-Fi, and just over 2,400 feet of banquet/meeting space. Companies including Halliburton, Richie Brothers, and Exxon are nearby. Come discover what makes this state of the art hotel your first choice every time you visit Houston.

About Flyte Systems

Flyte Systems is a division of Industrial Television Services (ITS), based in Chicago. ITS is a leading digital signage solutions company with 55+ years experience specializing in real-time information delivery. Flyte Systems was formed in 2007 to offer real-time, web-based travel technology solutions. Flyte Systems provides subscription-based, environmentally responsible airport flight information and digital signage displays for the hospitality, convention center, digital signage industries, and related businesses. The companys solutions deliver accurate, instant, airport-centric updates of flight information  not just FAA-provided departure times that may be inaccurate when there is a ground delay. Flyte Systems solutions enable properties to differentiate themselves and boost repeat business with 'glance-and-go' content and property promotions. Its products use Energy Star-compliant digital displays to help significantly reduce energy consumption and eliminate unnecessary trips to the airport. Clients include Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Starwood, Westin, IHG, Days Inn, Hotel Sofitel, independent properties, convention centers, and transportation centers.

Contacts:

Flyte Systems

Sandra Ries

Flyte Systems

Phone: 877-Go-Flyte / 877-463-5983 or 847-671-4793 (International)

Email: sandra.ries@flytesystems.com

www.flytesystems.com

Media Contact

Julie Keyser-Squires, APR

Softscribe Inc.

609 SW 8th St., Suite 600

Bentonville, AR 72712

Phone: 404-256-5512

Email: Julie(at)softscribeinc.com

www.softscribeinc.com
Hilton Edinburgh Carlton Hotel Opens

Hilton Hotels & Resorts today announced the official opening of Hilton Edinburgh Carlton, marking the 16th property in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands in Scotland and the eighth Hilton Hotels & Resorts hotel in the country.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts today announced the official opening of Hilton Edinburgh Carlton, marking the 16th property in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands in Scotland and the eighth Hilton Hotels & Resorts hotel in the country. More than four million tourists visit Edinburgh yearly1 and they can now be welcomed with Hiltons brand of hospitality in the heart of the city centre. Hilton Edinburgh Carlton showcases the rich history of Edinburgh and is within walking distance of myriad attractions, from the famous Royal Mile, which it overlooks, to the beautiful St. Giles Cathedral. The hotel is owned and operated by Amaris Hospitality and is part of their 73-hotel portfolio across the UK and Ireland.

Andreas Lackner, vice president, area brand management, Hilton Worldwide, said, Hilton Edinburgh Carlton offers a chic hotel experience in a prime Edinburgh locale with its sleek design, top-notch amenities and all the benefits and high-quality service expected from Hilton Hotels & Resorts. We are delighted to be extending our footprint in Scotland and to welcome guests from all over the world, especially with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival taking place this month, attracting thousands of visitors.

The hotel offers 211 stylish and spacious guest rooms, including junior suites and executive rooms, all designed with comfort and convenience in mind to provide a place to relax and unwind or to catch up on work. All rooms are equipped with a desk, 40-inch TV and modern bathroom. Guests staying in executive rooms can enjoy complimentary snacks and drinks in the hotels Executive Lounge throughout the day. Hilton Edinburgh Carlton also boasts a Marco Pierre White Steakhouse and Grill, offering local produce and a classic dining menu, along with signature dishes and drinks for guests to sample.

With seven dedicated meeting spaces that can accommodate up to 200 people, Hilton Edinburgh Carlton is a superb venue for events and occasions. The main event room, the Highland Suite, offers panoramic views across the city and natural daylight with high arch windows and ceilings. The hotel also offers bespoke dining options for private events along with dedicated breakout spaces.

John Brennan, CEO of Amaris Hospitality said, "The Carlton Hotel is an iconic Edinburgh institution and today's transition marks the completion of a 17 million complete refurbishment program that has transformed this unique and seminal hotel. With this significant investment and upgrade, Amaris Hospitality hopes to restore and transform this illustrious Grade B listed building for the enjoyment of our guests from around the world. We look forward to working in conjunction with our partners at Hilton Worldwide and seeing the Carlton return to its position as one of Edinburgh's preeminent hotels."

Located less than 10 miles from Edinburgh Airport, and just a short stroll away from iconic attractions, guests can visit the many luxurious boutiques and array of restaurants and bars that Edinburgh has to offer. The hotel is also a half-mile from Edinburgh Castle and the lively Princes Street, along with some of the UKs top companies making it an ideal location for business and leisure travelers alike.

Hilton Edinburgh Carlton participates in Hilton HHonors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton Worldwide. In celebration of the hotels opening, Hilton HHonors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels will receive 5,000 bonus points for a three-night minimum stay (valid through October 31, 2016) along with instant benefits including an exclusive member discount that cant be found anywhere else, free standard Wi-Fi and digital check-in.

Hilton Edinburgh Carlton is located at 19 Northbridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1SD, United Kingdom.

1 According to Invest In Edinburgh
Two Ways Latin America Is Transforming Travel In 2016

From the lifting of visa restrictions to hosting their first ever Olympic games, there are substantial shifts in travel for Latin Americans in 2016. Sojerns Q2 2016 Latin America Travel Insights: Pocket Guide contains all of the travel trends in the first half of the year and a look forward at travel to come, including two major ways Latin America is transforming travel this year.

From the lifting of visa restrictions to hosting their first ever Olympic games, there are substantial shifts in travel for Latin Americans in 2016. Sojerns Q2 2016 Latin America Travel Insights: Pocket Guide contains all of the travel trends in the first half of the year and a look forward at travel to come, including two major ways Latin America is transforming travel this year.

1. Removing Visa Restrictions Reveals New Markets

On December 2, 2015 the EU and Colombia lifted restrictions that required visas for visits. The increase in searches from Colombia to the EU was immediate and dramatic, including:

131% more searches in May of 2016 compared to May of 2015.

3% increase in flight bookings out of Colombia in May 2016 compared to May 2015.

Share of those bookings for Europe increased significantly by 7%.

These visa restrictions arent merely ceremonial but have a significant impact on global travel trends. Latin American travel marketers take note: youve got new competition and should re-think your current marketing strategy to grab European travelers. European travel marketers, youve got good news a large, interested new market is clamoring to spend with you.

2. Shifts in Global Interest for Olympics

The upcoming Olympics are mired in controversy due, in large part, to the economic and political instability of Brazil. Despite these challenges, weve seen travel intent to the Olympics remain steady, although different origin markets demonstrate varied levels of intent. For example:

The United States, which ranks the highest in searches, has an 18% increase in travel intent from Q1 to Q2.

Japan, on the other hand, shows an increase of 130% from Q1 to Q2. The UK has an increase of 110%, followed by Brazil at 105%.

Controversy isnt turning away all global markets and this is important story to tell, especially for Latin America. The Olympics remains a magnet for global travel.

Want to know about Latin American travelers? Get the guide.

About Catlyn

Catlyn is Sojern's Content Marketing Manager. She loves playing video games and hiking with her dog, Dottie. Her favorite part of travel is the food, preferring street food to fine dining.
Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) and Viciunai Group today announced the signing of a franchise agreement to bring the DoubleTree by Hilton brand to Lithuania for the first time. Construction of DoubleTree by Hilton Vilnius City Center is to begin this year, in the heart of the Lithuanian capital.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) and Viciunai Group today announced the signing of a franchise agreement to bring the DoubleTree by Hilton brand to Lithuania for the first time. Construction of DoubleTree by Hilton Vilnius City Center is to begin this year, in the heart of the Lithuanian capital.

Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, EMEA, Hilton Worldwide said: "Having announced our first Lithuanian property just last month, we are pleased to be reaffirming our commitment to the market through this agreement with Viciunai Group to develop our first full service hotel in the country. International upscale brands account for less than 6% of hotel rooms in Vilnius so introducing DoubleTree by Hilton to the city will help the city cater for the growing number of business and leisure travellers seeking higher quality accommodation."

The 175 guest room hotel forms part of a wider project, in to which Viciunai Group has invested over 20 million, which will also create new public spaces, designed to attract residents and visitors to the city. Alongside the hotel, a modern outdoor terrace will be built to connect the property to the Vilnius Energy and Technology Museum, which will also benefit from a modern new 1000 sqm exposition hall.

"Viciunai Group is diversifying its portfolio with the construction of this development. The project's calling card is high quality accommodation at the very heart of Vilnius. Standard DoubleTree by Hilton guest rooms will be even more spacious than most of the business-class rooms currently offered in other leading hotels in the capital", - said Sarunas Matijosaitis, CEO of Viciunai Group.

Set to open its doors in 2019, the hotel will also host a conference center and spa, swimming pool, a restaurant, and a rooftop Sky Bar overlooking Gediminas Castle, the Cathedral and the Old Town. Once the hotel is operational it will create approximately 100 new full time jobs in Vilnius. The new hotel, will be designed by architect Algirdas Kauspedas, and built by Viciunai Group-owned real estate development company, "Sunrise Kaunas"

Having joined Hilton in announcing its first project in Vilnius at a press conference last month, the capital's mayor Remigijus Simasius Vilnius greeted the news. "I am very pleased that the negotiations with the Energy Museum on this project were successfully completed, and Viciunai Group has committed to invest in the new premises of the museum and a modern public space for residents, which we all are eagerly anticipating" - said R. Simasius.

Dianna Vaughan, global head, DoubleTree by Hilton, said: "This hotel will be a fantastic addition to our portfolio in Eastern Europe which already boasts properties in Moscow, Warsaw and will soon include Minsk. We look forward to providing travellers to Vilnius with the welcoming comforts and hospitality common to all DoubleTree by Hilton hotels, starting with a warm chocolate chip cookie at check-in."

DoubleTree by Hilton Vilnius City Center will be located at Rinktines Street 2, LT-09312, Vilnius.
After being released from jail on August 1st, Young Buck has been sentenced to 7 months in prison after violating the conditions of his release, according to Nashville Scene.



The rapper was arrested in July after allegedly kicking down his then-girlfriends door and threatening to burn her house down, itself a violation of previous conditions from 2013 charges. After serving jail time for that incident, he was released at the beginning of August on the condition that he would not have any contact  direct or indirect  with the woman he threatened, but after a reported 100 or more attempts to get in touch with her, he has been hit with a 7-month prison sentence.



An excerpt from the U.S. Attorneys office in reference to Bucks sentencing can be found below.

On July 20, 2016, another of Browns ex-girlfriends obtained an Ex Parte Order of Protection in state court and arrest warrants were issued against Brown based on an incident in which Brown wanted to get certain property out of that womans house and was told that the property was not there. He then kicked in the door of the residence and threatened that woman. Brown was arrested for violating his supervision, and was detained pending a detention hearing. After that hearing, the federal magistrate determined Brown could be released pending the final hearing on this incident and the previous March 2016 incident, but ordered Brown not to have any direct or indirect contact with this victim. Brown was released under those conditions on August 1, 2016. After being released on those conditions, Brown violated the conditions of his release by contacting and attempting to contact that woman over 100 times in violation of the Magistrates release order.
Frontman claims a greater appreciation of the pitfalls of mixing alcohol, depression and social media

Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison has taken to social media to explain his meltdown on Saturday.

Fans of the Scottish outfit were left stunned, and scared, when the vocalist sent out tweets  quickly deleted  which hinted at both the end of the group and Hutchison's unhealthy state of mind.

Turns out Im a complete arsehole. Its important that everyone knows. Im not a particularly good person. So dont buy my records, he wrote. So Id urge you to forget about the band, its a complete farce. I dont deserve any of the things that have benefitted my life.

Goodbye to Frightened Rabbit. All it has ever been is me boring people with lies and making creative currency out of other peoples hurt.

Last night, though, he took to both Twitter and Facebook to share a statement to set the record straight. In it, he expressed his regret, apologised for causing alarm, and reassured fans that the band are not finished. He did, however, reveal that a pair of dates have been cancelled while he concentrates on recovery.

And, demonstrating that his dark humour is as sharp as ever: On the plus side I have a greater appreciation of the pitfalls of mixing alcohol, depression and social media. In case you were in any doubt, it's a terrible idea.

The full statement is below  and Team HP hopes one of the good guys in rock is back on top form again very soon indeed.


The Californian trio are back with a new single 'Bang Bang'

Green Day have announced that they have a new album in the works. If that wasn't enough good news, they've also shared a new single 'Bang Bang'.

This is the first new material the band have put out since 2012's Uno!', 'Dos!' and 'Tre! album trilogy.

Revolution Radio will be Green Day's the twelfth studio album and the LP is expected to be released on October 7.

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Listen to Green Day's 'Bang Bang' below.
A man suspected of involvement in a gun attack has had his bail conditions changed so he can see Madness perform live later this month in Belfast.

Ska band Madness are scheduled to play Belsonic music festival in Belfast on August 20.

BBC News reports that Patrick Joseph O'Neill, 41, has had his curfew extended for the evening so he can attend the gig.

O'Neill is facing charges of wounding with intent and possession of a pistol with intent. The alleged incident is said to have taken place in Ardoyne, north Belfast during November 2010. The accused denies the charges.

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The reports state that O'Neill applied for a relaxation of his bail conditions earlier this week, with a Belfast Crown Court judge agreeing to extend his curfew to midnight for the day in question. His curfew had previously been from 8pm to 6am daily.

O'Neill's defence barrister said that his client had adhered to all of his bail conditions to date.
MIA has released a track from her forthcoming album AIM

'Bird Song' is the third track the Sri Lanka native has released from her forthcoming album.

The song, produced by Blaqstarr, isn't the final version and a version produced by Diplo has been promised.
GALVESTON  James Larry Cosby will automatically be sentenced to life imprisonment after his conviction Wednesday for capital murder in the 2014 slayings of his daughter and her female partner, but that's not good enough for at least one family member.

"He deserves the death penalty," said his cousin, Scott Cavitt, 35, of Houston. Other family members declined comment, but Cavitt was convinced of Cosby's guilt.

Cosby, wearing a gray suit, stood impassively as the verdict was read. He will automatically be sentenced at a hearing Thursday to life imprisonment. Two charges of tampering with evidence related to a corpse were dropped.

A Galveston County jury heard seven days of testimony, then deliberated for three hours before convicting Cosby, 48, of beating and strangling his daughter, Brittney Cosby, and shooting her partner, Crystal Jackson, then dumping their bodies behind a convenience store on the Bolivar Peninsula. The bodies of the 24-year-old women were discovered March 7, 2014.

Prosecutors were never able to provide jurors with a motive, but Cavitt said Cosby was jealous that his daughter had a job and had recently purchased an SUV while he was forced to live with his mother.

The lead investigator in the case, Galveston County sheriff's Detective Danny Kitchens, said in an interview after the trial that Cosby initially was viewed as a grieving father until his fingerprint was found on a wooden shutter near the bodies. From that point on, "everything we had led back to Mr. Cosby," Kitchens said.

Defense attorneys Greg Russell and Kyle Verret said in interviews after the trial that they still believed prosecutors had failed to show that both women were killed in the commission of the same crime, a requirement to prove capital murder. Russell said the evidence did not conclusively show where Jackson was killed.

"I doubt that there is any evidence he killed Crystal," Russell said.

Bill Reed, who prosecuted the case with Paul Love, both assistant Galveston County district attorneys, said many bits of circumstantial evidence were brought together to build the case. "It's a complicated case with many, many moving parts," Reed said.

Defense attorneys reasoned in closing arguments that prosecutors had been unable to provide a motive or produce a mur-der weapon.

"How can you be convinced beyond all reasonable doubt that Mr. Cosby committed this crime?" defense attorney Russell asked jurors in the trial presided over by District Judge Patricia Grady.

Reed countered that no murder weapon or motive was needed because cell phone records tracked Cosby on the day of the slayings from Houston to Port Bolivar, where the bodies were found.

The jury began its deliberations Wednesday after hearing closing arguments from the defense and prosecution.

Defense attorneys tried to pick holes in the prosecution's case, arguing that they failed to prove where Jackson was killed. They suggested that someone else had killed Brittney Cosby in a bedroom of her grandmother's Houston residence, where she and her father lived, noting that DNA from an unidentified person had been found with Brittney Cosby's blood.

Defense attorney Verret suggested that the unknown killer had taken the Kia Sorrento SUV that Brittney Cosby and Jack-son had recently purchased and used it to haul their bodies to Port Bolivar, then returned to Houston and parked the SUV in the Cosbys' carport.

Cosby discovered the SUV in his driveway and, unaware that bodies had been in the car, took a drive to Galveston before leaving the vehicle at a gentleman's club on the Gulf Freeway, defense attorney Verret suggested.

Prosecutor Reed ridiculed the idea.

Two witnesses identified Cosby as being on the Galveston-Bolivar ferry, and surveillance video showed them talking to a man in a Kia Sorrento SUV. The defense challenged the witnesses, noting that they were only 50 percent sure that the man they saw was Cosby

Prosecutor Paul Love acknowledged that prosecutors were unable to present a motive, but told the jury that the evidence was so compelling that none was needed.

"The evil that men do has no explanation or justification," Love said.

Prosecutors suggested that Brittany Cosby had angered her father on the morning of March 6, 2014. Whatever she did, it provoked him to violence, Love said. Cosby punched his daughter in the eye and used an unknown object to strike her on her forehead and behind her left ear, he said.

As Brittney Cosby lay dying in a pool of blood on the floor in her father's bedroom, he put his hand around her throat. "He choked that last bit of life out of her body," Love said.

Reed said that Jackson arrived and he shot her in the right side of the head in the SUV. He said a bullet fragment found in the SUV had a bit of Jackson's hair on it.

Russell, the defense attorney, disputed the hair evidence, telling jurors that it was a piece of synthetic fiber.
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historic gender equity case filed by the New Zealand College of Midwives is heading to mediation instead of court, officials confirmed yesterday.We are very excited by this opportunity, said the colleges chief executive Karn Guilliland. This is the first time we have had an unencumbered offer, to discuss and negotiate with executive decision makers within the Ministry.The college accepted an eleventh-hour offer by the Ministry of Health to have the case heard in mediation meaning the case, originally to be heard in the Wellington High Court on Monday 15 August, will be adjourned but not withdrawn.If agreement is not reached in three months, the college has retained the right to return to court  a condition that Guilliland revealed was instrumental in the decision to accept mediation.The right to be able to have these negotiations with decision makers on an equal basis as other health professionals is all we have ever asked for, she stressed.This new offer is a real breakthrough. We were prepared to go to court because it seemed we had no alternative. We had made numerous attempts to have serious discussions with the Ministry of Health over conditions and pay equity but had got nowhere.Guilliland added that this is the first time the ministry has formally offered and accepted an organised mediation between its top ministry officials and the college.This would not have happened without the college taking the claims action to the High Court, she said. We are not a union, we are not litigators, we are midwives caring for women and their babies and we want to be able to continuing doing just that within a safe and sustainable maternity service.The governments offer to mediate came just one week before the New Zealand College of Midwives was due to start legal action in the High Court over pay rates for community Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) midwives.The college claims midwives are being discriminated against on the basis of gender because their pay and conditions have not kept pace with that of traditionally male-dominated professions carrying similar levels of education and responsibility.Sam Huggard, secretary of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, welcomed the case and said it signified changing times for women in the workplace.It is wonderful to see another group of working women, this time midwives, using their collective voice to turn up the volume on the need for their incredibly important work, to be fairly paid by the government, he said.We all know what an important job midwives do and we also know that the majority of midwives are women. It is great that the Ministry of Health want to talk to midwives in mediation, rather than in court, and address the issue, he continued.2016 is shaping up to be an amazing year. The government has an opportunity to be on the right side of history and correct the imbalance in pay for midwives, and other women working in areas which are also female dominated.
Kevin Vickers is a national treasure. His son, it seems, is not much different.

Just like his dad, Const. Andrew Vickers is a life-saving hero.

The officer with the Miramichi Police Force in New Brunswick climbed atop the outside girder of a 1.1-kilometre bridge in order to save a woman's life on Tuesday.

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Vickers put himself at "considerable risk" trying to stop the unidentified woman from jumping off Centennial Bridge, Sgt. Dana Hicks told radio station 95.9 Sun FM.

She said the constable stayed with the woman and gave her support so she wouldn't fall or jump, until additional help arrived.

Clearly his father has taught him a thing or two about going above and beyond the call of duty. Kevin Vickers  Parliament Hill's former sergeant-at-arms  shot gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau in 2014 after he opened fire on the National War Memorial.

Honour guard Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was killed in the attack.

The senior Vickers, who is now Canada's ambassador to Ireland, rightfully boasted about his equally fearless son on Twitter.

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The young fella, my son Andrew, police officer saved young girl's life today. Doing God's work. Proud of you son. https://t.co/6J3Cts8u8E  Kevin Vickers (@KVickers) August 9, 2016

This isn't the first time Andrew Vickers has been selfless on the job.

In 2011, the police officer was commended by St. John's Ambulance for his "extraordinary efforts" in saving a woman who had fallen into Miramichi River following a car accident.

Const. Vickers entered the frosty October water and began suffering from hypothermia, but he still swam to the woman and helped bring her to shore, according to the organization.

The Vickers family seems to be defining being badasses.

In Ireland earlier this year, Kevin Vickers took down a protester who interrupted a ceremony commemorating fallen British soldiers.

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"Listen world, don't mess with Kevin Vickers," Tory MP Michelle Rempel wrote on Twitter at the time.

She was right. And that applies to his son, too.

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A Kentucky judge brought multiple people to tears when she allowed an inmate to meet his one-month-old son for the first time.

Last Friday, Jefferson County judge Amber Wolf made an exception to her no-contact order between James Roeder, who had been charged with burglary, and his wife, his co-defendant, according to CBS News. She had given birth while their case was pending.

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Wolf wrapped up her hearing for James Roeder and was about to start his wife Ashley's when she made her decision, according to WDRB.

Judge Amber Wolf couldn't hold back a smile as she watched James Roeder hold his newborn.

The judge brought James back into the room, and outlined her terms to him.

"Roeder, I don't want you to say anything to me about your case at all, don't say anything, your lawyer is not present right now, but I understand that there is a chance that you're going to go back to Todd County and that your baby is a month old and you haven't met that baby yet, is that right?" Wolf said in courtroom video obtained by CBS News.

His wife, Ashley, then walked up and placed the baby into her husband's arms.

The new mother wiped her eyes as James looked down at his son. Footage shows the new dad rocking his baby back and forth.

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Wolf was clearly touched.

"See his little shirt?" she said.

"It was probably one of the best things Ive ever done. It made me feel good."

After handing back the baby, James wiped his eyes with his orange prison jumpsuit and Wolf asked someone to hand them issues. She then sent him out again.

"Thank you for letting me be a part of that," Wolf told Ashley.

The judge told WDRB that even she got teary over the gesture. She said that Roeder had wanted to meet his son and so she saw the perfect opportunity.

"It was touching," she added. "I think it was  not as a judge, but just as person  it was probably one of the best things Ive ever done. It made me feel good."

This is the second time in the last couple of weeks that Wolf has gone viral for her actions.

She made an angry call to jail officials after a woman appeared in court with what looked like no pants, according to WLKY.

While she was actually wearing a T-shirt that seemed to cover up her shorts, Wolf was under the impression that she was pantsless.

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"She's been in our jail for three days and reports to me the jail has refused to give her pants and feminine hygiene products," Wolf could be heard saying on courtroom video.

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After 11 years at the helm of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington is resigning as the news sites editor-in-chief to focus on a new health and wellness company shes starting up.

This has been a very difficult decision, but in many ways an inevitable one, Huffington told staffers in an email Thursday morning.

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Huffington will focus on Thrive Global, a startup she is launching devoted to helping individuals and companies around the world reduce stress and burnout and improve their health and productivity, in her words.

She told The Wall Street Journal she realized recently she couldnt launch the startup and continue to run HuffPosts newsroom at the same time.

I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up, I realized that it really needed my full attention, she said. It is important to know when one door closes and another opens and I felt that moment had arrived.

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Huffington built a reputation in the 1990s as a conservative commentator, but later evolved her views and launched HuffPost in 2005 as a forum for progressive bloggers. The site has since grown into one of the largest news properties in North America.

I thought HuffPost would be my last act. But Ive decided to step down as HuffPosts editor-in-chief to run my new venture, Thrive Global.  Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) August 11, 2016

Huffington sold HuffPost to AOL in 2011 for US$315 million, but remained as editor-in-chief.

Telecom giant Verizon bought AOL in 2015, bringing HuffPost into its fold. Verizon announced recently its buying Yahoo!  including its news operations  potentially bringing two online news rivals together under one umbrella.

Huffington made health and wellness issues a top priority in her later years at HuffPost, and published books on the topic including The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time, and Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder.

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Arianna Huffington's Guide To Thriving See Gallery
Talk about a wake-up call.

David James Weale was solo camping near Capilano River in North Vancouver last weekend when he woke up, stepped out for some fresh air, then went back to his tent to meditate.

Then he heard footsteps outside the tent, and sat up to see a black bear about six metres away.

Here's what happened next:

"I was incredibly relaxed until he showed up. He jumped and I jumped a little bit," Weale told The Huffington Post Canada. "Then he came over."

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The bear started sniffing around, poking at the camper's tent. But Weale, who had started taking a video, didn't panic.

"He wasn't overly aggressive or making any signs of aggression. He just seemed curious to see who I was," he said.

At one point, the bear snapped a tent pole and ripped a bit of mesh. That's when Weale decided to get out of there.

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File photo of a black bear in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo: Getty Images)

The bear was standing between the camper and his car, so Weale distracted the animal with a leftover smoothie that he had in his tent from the day before.

The plan worked, and the camper walked away.

"Once I was in the car, my heart just started racing. Shock and adrenaline just came rushing through my system."

Weale said he hopes his close encounter can serve as a reminder to others to camp smart, no matter where you go.

"[The site] is quite close to a bunch of houses, and I'd gone camping there so many times before that I didn't even think about bears," he said. "I don't know if it's the smoothies that attracted the bear, but maybe my possible mistake can help someone else."

In B.C., it is an offence under the Wildlife Act to feed dangerous animals, including bears. Provincial conservation officers often remind campers to not leave food in their tents, and to lock supplies in a car or tie them up a tree instead.

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Gigi Gorgeous has called for change after experiencing "one of the scariest moments of [her] entire life."

On Wednesday, the Canadian model and actress posted an emotional Instagram photo and shared her scary experience of being detained at Dubai Airport because she is transgender.

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After being detained and held at the Dubai airport for over 5 hours, this was the moment my baby came to rescue me. Yesterday was one of the scariest moments of my entire life and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. How you can be denied entry somewhere just because of who you are is seriously disgusting and also very scary. This further proves the need for CHANGE. I am now on my way to somewhere much more accepting. Safe and sound and happy. I love you guys A photo posted by GIGI GORGEOUS  (@gigigorgeous) on Aug 9, 2016 at 9:28pm PDT

The 24-year-old, who documented her transition on YouTube, was reportedly held at the immigration and visa office for five hours. According to TMZ, who spoke to Gigi, it was there the Montreal-born vlogger was told "You are transgender. You cannot come into the country."

In Dubai, which is part of the Muslim majority nation of the United Arab Emirates, the "imitation of women by men" is illegal and can lead to a year in prison, according to Time.

Born Gregory Lazzarato, Gorgeous changed her name to Gigi Loren in 2014. Airport authorities claimed the star's passport described her as a male and the photo also showed her as a male. However, Gigi is denying this saying she has updated her passport since her transition. In 2014, two Brazilian transgender women were detained at the Dubai Airport and had their passports confiscated.

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A photo posted by GIGI GORGEOUS  (@gigigorgeous) on Jul 25, 2016 at 11:43am PDT

"How you can be denied entry somewhere just because of who you are is seriously disgusting and also very scary," the television personality wrote on Instagram. "This further proves the need for CHANGE."

Fans flooded Twitter with supportive messages for the transgender beauty:

The ignorance is staggering and sickening. @TheGigiGorgeous I'm with you and so is anyone with half a fxcking brain. Hope you're safe   ALLIE X (@alliex) August 10, 2016

Gigi Gorgeous has been detained in Dubai for being trans. Her passport has been taken. It's 2016 and this is happening #JusticeForGigi  gustavo (@RamsettPark) August 10, 2016

Even superstar Miley Cyrus reposted the pic of Gigi to show her support.

After the ordeal, Gigi was met by Nats Getty and notified her fans that she was "now on [her] way to somewhere much more accepting."

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 A photo posted by GIGI GORGEOUS  (@gigigorgeous) on Aug 10, 2016 at 5:56pm PDT

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LANCASTER  State police who investigated the case of a sick puppy named Libre have charged a Lancaster County dog breeder, and the district attorneys office is seeking the suspension of the county humane officer who initially declined to file charges.

Benjamin S. Stoltzfus, 33, of Quarryville, was cited Thursday with one count of animal cruelty, District Attorney Craig Stedman announced at a news conference.

Stoltzfus admitted to police that he did not provide care to the puppy for about a month. He also admitted that he left the dog in a kennel where he believed it would die, Stedman said.

Libre, a 4-month-old Boston terrier, was taken from Stoltzfus last month. When he began treatment at the Dillsburg Veterinary Center, the puppy had a severe bacterial infection, mange, and he couldnt lift his head or eat on his own.

The Lancaster County SPCA did not file charges. In a statement, SPCA executive director Susan Martin said it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the breeder intended to harm the puppy or willingly neglected to care for him.

Stedman asked state police to take a second look at the case. He said the investigator determined Libre had suffered obvious neglect.

The district attorney said the findings led to questions about the conduct of the SPCA investigation. His office has filed a petition in Lancaster County Court seeking Martins suspension as a humane society police officer for the Lancaster County SPCA. The petition alleges Martin has conducted her authority to enforce cruelty laws in a substandard fashion.

Stedman additionally announces changes in the way animal cruelty will be policed and prosecuted in the county. He said enforcement, for the time being, will no longer be done by SPCA personnel, but by state and local police.
A handout photo of Aaaron Driver, provided by the RCMP. Aaron Driver was killed on Wednesday after a tip to Canadian authorities from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who had intercepted the video, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told a press conference. (Photo: LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

The world's attention will be on Canada as a result of last night's evening news about a terror suspect being shot dead by the authorities.

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As the Toronto Star indicated, on Wednesday morning, hours before a terrorism suspect was killed in a confrontation with police in the southwestern Ontario town of Strathroy, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it received credible information of a potential terrorist threat.

The man killed was Aaron Driver, the Canadian Press reported. Last year, he had been arrested in Winnipeg under suspicion of terrorist connections and placed under a peace bond.

The 24-year-old was under a court order not to associate with any terrorist organization, including Daesh, an Islamist terrorist group also known as ISIS or ISIL.

The heart of every Canadian Muslim will now beat a little faster, knowing they will be viewed with renewed suspicion by their neighbours. News media will descend on our places of worship to get our reactions to this troubling news. Community leaders will do their part to issue statements of condemnation, but the Islamophobes will never be satisfied by it and will inevitably demand more.

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I have full confidence in the ability of our authorities to protect us from those who intend to harm us and hold them to account. But one thing worries me about the way today's authorities locate, arrest or even kill terror suspects, and it was recently highlighted in a B.C. judge's argument against the RCMP.

How many more cases of this nature have happened where suspects were pushed to the edge and coerced into considering acts of terror?

In the landmark decision, as CTV reported, a British Columbia couple found guilty of terrorism charges had their verdicts tossed out in a scathing court decision that flayed the RCMP for its "egregious" conduct in manipulating naive suspects into carrying out a police-manufactured crime.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce said the Mounties used trickery, deceit and veiled threats to engineer the terrorist acts for which John Nuttall and Amanda Korody were arrested on Canada Day three years ago.

One wonders how far the authorities went to entrap these suspects. How many more cases of this nature have happened where suspects were pushed to the edge and coerced into considering acts of terror?

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) block the entrance to Park Street as they investigate the residence of Aaron Driver, a Canadian man killed by police on Wednesday who had indicated he planned to carry out an imminent rush-hour attack on a major Canadian city, in Strathroy, Ontario. (Photo: REUTERS/Robert MacMillan)

Emotions run high when these cases surface. Truth is the first casualty in many cases, due in part to media sensationalism and incomplete or inaccurate reports resulting from media outlets' efforts to be the first to break the news.

It is worrisome to see these things happening in our modern time, but with honourable judges like Catherine Bruce, one still remains hopeful about our justice system.

In her Toronto Star column, Azeezah Kanji pointed out that most of these terror cases have one thing in common: informants play a key role to entrap suspects.

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"As Human Rights Watch's 2014 report Illusion of Justice noted," she wrote, "almost 30 per cent of federal terrorism convictions in the U.S. since 9-11 have arisen from stings in which an informant played an active role in developing the plot. Many of these operations targeted people struggling with mental disabilities and poverty. In the case of the Newburgh Four, for example, a paid informant convinced four destitute men to commit an attack by offering them $250,000; one of the four had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and upon his arrest police found his apartment strewn with bottles of urine. This was a case in which 'the government came up with the crime, provided the means, and removed all relevant obstacles,' the judge in the case acknowledged."

Ms. Kanji also mentioned the recent arrest of a terror suspect in Arizona who was mentally ill:

"Last month, police arrested 18-year-old Mahin Khan on terrorism charges in Arizona, after he had been in contact with a government informant for years. "Mahin is 18 but mentally he is like a child," his father told The Intercept. "We didn't let him have a phone because we didn't trust him with one, but now we have found out that he had been using a phone given to him by the FBI."

The Guardian also found a similar pattern, noting that some of these controversial sting operations "were proposed or led by informants," bordering on entrapment by law enforcement.

As the threat of terrorism is certainly real, one can only hope and pray that those who intend to do harm against innocent people are caught before they fulfill their evil ambitions. However, we should never compromise the principle of justice, especially in a time of hysteria surrounding the war on terror.

We ought to take a great lesson from B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce, who didn't allow the hysteria and sensationalism surrounding terror to influence her in her judgement. Because when emotion does the talking, we will all lose.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono raise their fists as they join a protest, Feb. 5, 1972, by about 500 persons in front of British Overseas Airways Corp. offices in New York on Fifth Avenue. The demonstrators called for the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm)

"You say you want a revolution. Well, you know.

We all want to change the world."

When John Lennon wrote these lyrics for the 1968 Beatles song, "Revolution," it reflected the highly revolutionary times we were living in back then.

The years from 1964 to 1969 have interesting parallels to today that are written in the heavens. Back in the mid-60s, Uranus (planet of revolution, rebellion and sudden change) was in conjunction with Pluto (planet of transformation, rebirth and breaking with tradition). This ignited an inescapable, time-released charge of radical transformation in both culture and individuals.

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Known as the "hippie era," this period birthed both a lifestyle and a value system that were considered revolutionary and counterculture to the times.

The Sixties - Revolutionary Times

The Sixties from PBS, shares this insight on revolutions:

"During the '60s, many individual Americans rose to prominence as activist leaders-figureheads for the rising tide of thousands upon thousands of voices calling for peace, justice, freedom and equality. The government responded with tactics aimed at isolating, controlling, and neutralizing the leaders of rebellion." Sound familiar in our current social and political climate? "Every activist conflict of the '60s can be distilled in a single image of opposing forces at a barricade: on one side, the people attempt to exercise their rights; on the other side, the government asserts its right to protect the nation. During the '60s, these two simple objectives were not viewed as compatible concepts."

Are they today?

The '60s Mirrored Today

As astrology predicted, what happened during the conjunction of Uranus and Pluto in the '60s, would manifest globally when these two planets reached their first square. If you haven't heard, we just came out of a three-year period (2012 to 2015) where we experienced seven exact squares of Uranus and Pluto! The effects of this are still having an impact on us now.

We're currently living in supercharged times of revolutionary and sudden changes at the core level of both individuals and institutions. You don't have to look too far to see where this is manifesting on the planet now. Where have you felt this in your life?

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Be The Change You Want to See in the World

There are cries for change and revolution resounding loudly everywhere today. Most noticeably on the political stage, both in Europe, with the BREXIT vote, and now in the heated and polar platforms in the U.S. presidential race.

Watching the Democratic National Convention and listening to both Bernie Sanders and Reverend William Barber II speak, touched me deeply and profoundly. Their words got me thinking about how some people live their message as change makers, while others look for someone else to be the change maker for them.

Both of these men shine a spotlight on the need for revolutionary racial, social and economic justice changes. It isn't just words they're speaking. They embody their words and "walk their talk."

We All Want to Change the World

As an Aquarian (a fixed air sign), the idea of change fascinates me, yet I'm somewhat resistant to it when it's imposed on me. To change is defined as "to become different. To make (someone or something) different. To become something else."

We talk about and long for change in our lives, yet often we resist it, staying in our comfort zone while expressing our discontent and desire for the very change we fight against.

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So often we look for that change to come from the world outside of ourselves. This beautiful quote from the Sufi mystic poet Rumi says it well:

"Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."

Take a Look at Yourself and Then Make A Change

There's nothing new about the idea that change happens from within. Throughout history, we've heard this echoed in the words of philosophers, scientists, musicians, writers, religious leaders and politicians. The question remains. What does it take for someone to take that step from wanting to change, to finally taking an action to change?

Do small changes in our daily lives, really make a difference? Here are a few thoughts on three areas that are close to my heart.

Animals Have Rights

As a vocal animal lover-activist, I realized it's not enough to just say I care about animals. I have to continue to do things that really show I care. Other than donating to many animal rights causes and signing oodles of online animal rights petitions, I wanted to do more. It became important to make sure that all the cosmetics I use weren't tested on animals. Especially as the thought of animal testing greatly upsets me.

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Although the make up brand I use doesn't condone animal testing, it surprised me to find that their products are sold in China, and China has a law that requires all cosmetics are tested on animals. Troubling news to me.

It isn't hard to find a wide range of companies who are totally animal cruelty-free, so I changed brands immediately. Here's a good list of companies that are certified not to test on animals.

A Simple Way to Love the Environment

As someone who cares deeply about the environment, carrying cloth bags with me when I go shopping is the norm. Yet, I'm constantly amazed at how many people still have their purchases loaded into plastic bags, even though the planet is literally drowning in plastic. It keeps me wondering if people are oblivious to how each of our daily actions has an impact on the world as a whole.

It was exciting to read that plastic bag consumption has dropped by 85% in the U.K. since last October when a five-pence (seven cents U.S.) charge was imposed on plastic bags! With such staggeringly positive results, I'm curious how long it will take for this idea to be implemented here in North America. Or how long it will take for more people to abandon plastic bags and use readily available eco-friendly alternatives.

Health is Our Birthright

This is an arena I have years of personal experience with, having been faced with serious health issues in my life. Often we say we want to be healthier and yet taking the steps to actually be healthier, means we have to change...something. Old habits die hard. Much of my health journey is chronicled in my book Confessions of a Middle-Aged Hippie, as my experiences confirm that it's only possible to change, if we want to.

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Through years of searching for ways to transform my personal health, and now as a health and vitality consultant supporting others, I discovered that real change can only happen from the inside out. Yes, it's important to have support from the outside world, but ultimately health comes down to making a conscious choice to change. Like everything in life, it's personal and requires a commitment to ourselves.

We All Can Make a Difference

Little question that we are living in revolutionary times. There are many ways we can use our voice to vote for change. We vote every day with our dollars when we choose the products we buy. We vote in almost every action we take in our daily lives. We all can make a difference when we vote by using our voice and through our actions.

One of my favourite songs about change, is the Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard penned Michael Jackson song, "Man in the Mirror". This says it all. "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change." What are you willing to change?

photos CC Pixabay
PhotoAlto/Laurence Mouton via Getty Images

Have you looked for a place to rent in Vancouver recently? With over 50% of the City's population living in rental housing, there is no shortage of people to tell you just how hard it is to find suitable accommodation.

While nearly everyone has rented housing at some point in their lives, if you haven't had to search for a new place lately, you will certainly be alarmed at the limited options available, regardless of what your budget may be.

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Add to this the roughly 40,000 people moving here annually and it would be remiss to deny a rental housing crisis.

Unlike much of the rest of the housing market, there are no foreign investors to accuse of over inflating the cost and demand for rental. In Vancouver there simply isn't enough rental inventory for the people who want to live here.

This is a problem that has been moving towards us in slow motion for decades due to such a short supply of rental having been built since the 1970s. Only recently has there been a viable business case for the private sector to add rental stock, but unfortunately, the sad irony is that building rental is still extremely difficult, despite the favorable economic climate.

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"So with rents higher than ever before, why are there not more rentals being added to meet the extreme demand?"

Purpose-built rental housing is designed and built expressly as long-term rental accommodation. It is not the same as renting a condo, basement suite or laneway house which does not provide the same security of tenure for the resident and may be removed from the rental universe at any time by the unit's owner.

While this secondary market has helped to fill a rental housing void over the last ten plus years, it is important to differentiate it from purpose-built rental, which is woefully lacking, and recognize the impact purpose-built rental has on a healthy housing continuum.

So with rents higher than ever before, why are there not more rentals being added to meet the extreme demand?

In many municipalities, approval times have lengthened in recent years due to increased condo development, land and construction costs have risen substantially, many planning departments are not equipped with the tools to incentivize rental development and organized community opposition has reached a fever pitch in various neighbourhoods.

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While not all developments are created equally, and some do deserve criticism, the anti-development community groups are often more sophisticated and aggressive than you would expect.

Despite these groups' often limited numbers when compared to the general population, the challenge is presenting a balanced voice to City Council when most people in favour of new rental projects -- typically those who will benefit from additional rental housing options -- have never been to or spoken at a council meeting and thus opt out of the public engagement process.

Meanwhile, the "no-change" community groups are able to organize dozens of community members to oppose project after project and therefore create a difficult political climate within which our elected officials have to operate.

To the credit of these groups, just because a proposed development is for a purpose-built rental building does not always mean it is a good project. Too often, however, rental development proposals are vehemently criticized, slowed down, and in some cases rejected for not being seen as affordable. The reality is that no single project can solve any one municipality's housing woes.

What will help improve the situation is the continual approval and development of multiple rental projects, including market rental and subsidized options, year-after-year, thus adding to, and in some cases replenishing todays aging rental housing stock. This is the only way a meaningful supply of rental housing can be added to the region, impacting affordability by alleviating the price pressure on a limited existing supply, and increasing the range of housing options suitable for families, baby-boomers and everyone in between.

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Continued collaboration between the private and public sectors and the public at large, in planning, approving, permitting and building additional purpose-built rental housing is the only way to create a long-term fix.

--

David Sander, MSc, is a director of Hollyburn Properties, a privately held real estate company that has owned and operated a national portfolio of multi-family residential rental across four Canadian cities for over 40 years. Hollyburn Properties is now building new purpose-built rental housing and aims to incorporate four decades of property management experience into the design and operation of these rental apartment homes.
John Lund via Getty Images Rippling water over map of globe

By Maude Barlow and Meera Karunananthan

When Justin Trudeau came to power last fall, the mere fact that the Canadian prime minister called himself a feminist and acknowledged climate science was celebrated around the world.

Among other promises, Trudeau pledged to transform Canada's role in the world. He recently told the Toronto Star that the UN's expectation that wealthy states spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on foreign aid was "too ambitious" for Canada, but noted that he hopes to "invest smartly and responsibly in global issues."

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Global Affairs Canada is now reviewing its international assistance program and has been conducting consultations. Water is identified as a fundamental consideration as a key element in environmental sustainability and climate in the Global Affairs discussion paper regarding the review.

On the surface a greater focus on water-related assistance makes sense given the ever-deepening crisis in water scarcity and staggering lack of access to water and sanitation services. But a real transformation of Canada's role in the world will require more than a shift in foreign aid spending and policy. It will require a deeper examination of the ways in which Canadian commercial interests are contributing to social, economic and environmental injustice in the world.

In their first month in office, the Trudeau government contributed $14.25 million to a World Bank initiative to promote private-public-partnerships (P3s) in Indonesia, including in the water sector.

Earlier that same year, the Indonesian Supreme Court had ruled that a 2004 World Bank imposed water law promoting privatization of services and greater corporate access to freshwater was anti-constitutional. The policy had led to large-scale destruction of watersheds and prevented poor people from exercising their human rights to water and sanitation.

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The Supreme Court ruling has been seen as an opportunity by Indonesian communities and environmental groups to create a new water policy that better reflects local environmental, social and economic needs.

This new P3 project shows that the World Bank is up to the same old tricks in Indonesia despite the Supreme Court ruling. Since the 1990s, Canada has supported the World Bank's controversial privatization initiatives in the water sector. The Indonesian case is an example of the ways in which these multilateral and bilateral efforts to promote privatization through foreign aid have undermined national efforts to protect the human right to water and sanitation.

Blatant disregard for human rights and the environment is also evident in Canada's complicity in the activities of its notorious mining industry. Canada is home to more than 70 per cent of the global mining industry, in large part due to the favourable financing opportunities provided by the Canadian government and its failure to hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses abroad.

The UN Human Rights Council and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have criticized the human rights abuses of Canadian mining corporations and the lack of access to justice for victims. According to a 2009 report commissioned by the industry itself and never made public, Canadian mining companies are among the worst human rights offenders in the world. Yet Canada continues to promote the interests of its notorious mining industry through its trade and foreign investment agenda.

A meaningful strategy on water and climate change must acknowledge the ways in which Canadian mining projects have undermined the capacity of communities to protect freshwater and make their own decisions about how to allocate and manage limited supplies. It has threatened local water sovereignty, which is fundamental to climate resilience and mitigation strategies.

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Canadian-Australian firm Oceana Gold is suing El Salvador for $301 million USD because the Canadian mining company it acquired in 2013 was not granted a permit to operate a gold mine in El Salvador. Since 2008 the government of El Salvador has maintained a moratorium on metal mining in the country to protect its limited freshwater supplies as one of the most water-scarce countries in the region. As in other investor-state disputes this has created a policy chill preventing bills aimed at protecting freshwater and promoting environmentally sustainable economic alternatives from going forward.

We commend the Trudeau government's pledge to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but this must involve preventing Canadian mining companies from operating abroad without free prior and informed consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples. For example, in Guatemala, mining companies have enjoyed the full support of a state that has violated the right to FPIC of local indigenous communities. Opponents risk their lives daily by speaking out against the projects of Canadian mining companies Goldcorp, Hudbay Minerals and Tahoe Resources. Yet more than one million people have participated in more than 74 community consultations since 2005 to register their opposition to mining projects on their lands.

Support for mining grew under Harper's "whole of government" approach, which called for strict alignment of development assistance with trade, investment and military strategies. Not only have mining companies enjoyed tax subsidies and other public funding support; in 2012 the Harper government began offering aid funds to development projects in partnership with mining corporations.

In the long-run, international assistance cannot be viewed in isolation if Canada is to chart a new course in the world. The impacts of trade, foreign investment and military strategy must all be reviewed. In the short-run, international assistance must be delinked from commercial interests, and be rooted in a human rights-based approach that includes higher standards of accountability to impacted communities.

This blog was first published on August 10 in The Hill Times.

Maude Barlow is the National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, founder of the Blue Planet Project and author of Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever. Meera Karunananthan is the international water campaigner for the Blue Planet Project, a global water justice project of the Council of Canadians.

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The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CCIC or its members.

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Representation matters.

Advocates say there are more than 1200 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, but these stories seldom garner national press. And Indigenous women in the provinces report a rate of violent victimization that is about 2.5 times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous women (Statistics Canada).

We spoke with two Indigenous advocates and experts about what we should be talking about when it comes to sexual violence and Indigenous communities.

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Cyndy Baskin (The Woman Who Passes on the Teachings), Mi'kmaq Nation, worked in anti-violence and healing with communities for many years prior to becoming a professor of Social Work at Ryerson University where her focus is on decolonization and the value of Indigenous knowledges for all people. A survivor of violence and the mother of a daughter who died prematurely through violence, she continues to be involved in anti-violence work through volunteering with Sisters in Spirit, No More Silence, Walking With Our Sisters, and Native Women's Resource Centre of Toronto.

Leslie Spillett has made vast contributions for more than three decades to Winnipeg's inner-city and Indigenous community as an activist and advocate. She brings Indigenous and non-Indigenous Manitobans together on a wide range of issues that touch many aspects of the human spirit. Leslie founded one of Manitoba's most visionary Indigenous organizations, Ka Ni Kanichihk to support women and their families.

Interviewer: What are the challenges you've seen in mainstream media reporting on sexual violence enacted against Indigenous women?

Leslie: "Right from the very beginning of the conquest, Indigenous women's bodies... and our sexual solitude was always defined as problematic. Fast-forward to today's settings, [and] you see how the media defines [Indigenous women] through that narrative, through that lens. We have to understand it from a historical and cultural lens to see how this continues in contemporary landscapes."

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Cyndy: "I would also like to see realistic analysis on cultural issue, like poverty, etc. [And] I also would really like to see dialogue around why is it okay to commit violence around Indigenous women? Why is it that men rape and why is it ok to do this? Why don't we look at the people who are doing the violence rather than only [Indigenous women]?"

Interviewer: How have you seen Indigenous women creating consent culture?

Leslie: "You can't have a consent culture within a colonial system. If you look at the structures that are oppressing women: women can't parent, so many obstacles and barriers that are created, they don't have safe places, they live in communities that are very hostile and violent...

What I see is a lot more women taking leadership... stepping forward and taking on issues around the environment, missing and murdered Indigenous women, poverty, oppression, race... I find that to be very hopeful and as a sign of resistance, and a sign of people picking themselves up and standing up.

"Recognize that Indigenous women had alternate consent culture before colonization. I see it so often: you come to a place where we start having conversations that, actually, Indigenous people had before Europeans arrived. These are not new; these are old concepts to us. This is not the brilliance of white supremacy that we're talking about here. This is what we had."

Interviewer: Often survivors are portrayed as white, straight, cisgender, able-bodied women. How can the media avoid minimizing stories about sexual violence against survivors that do not fit this narrative?

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Cyndy: "Indigenous women, racialized women, transgender women, etc... they are the people who tend to face this violence way more... With colonialism and racism, it's certain bodies that it is ok to do violence to. I think that the media could take a very serious look at this issue .... A white woman goes missing, the entire country knows about it. 1200 indigenous women go missing and be murdered and what do you do? Most Canadians don't even know about this issue."

Leslie: "I see a lot of women in the communities that are voiceless, that are faceless, that don't have the kind of attention, that aren't meeting the standards of Western ideals... [Mainstream media coverage] does not reflect the women that I work with in those communities. They don't get that kind of recognition."

Interviewer: Statistics show most survivors do not report. Why is it important to have diverse representations of survivorship in media reporting?

Leslie: "There has to be a better community response where women can go to organizations [where] people have to be trained to take reports and have to know how to support the women once they do make a report so that they are going to be treated with respect, with dignity, like they are telling the truth. I don't like creating victims, I like creating more survivors, more people that are not living perpetually in victim roles. We have to have third party reporting processes that are available to women."

Cyndy: "Our communities are over-policed, so that if it's an Indigenous man who has raped you and you have a relationship of some kind with that person... it doesn't get reported because women know how Indigenous men are going to be treated by police and [the] criminal justice [system]... So it's over-policing at one end, and no policing at the other end. This stuff has been documented: a woman has called the police, they don't come. They end up finally showing up and she's dead."

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Interviewer: There's been a swell in media coverage of rape culture in recent months. What conversations are you glad to see happening, and what do we still need to address?

Leslie: "In reporting, we need to shift our focus not on women.. but on the rape culture that exists within Canada as a colonial state, including the rape of our lands. We should educate Canadian about Indigenous truths, but also about the truths of Canada."

This post is part of a series of interviews femifesto is publishing on media reporting and sexual violence in diverse communities across Canada.
(Photo: Freya Ravensbergen/Twitter)

Being a professional actor is really difficult on your self-esteem. You're constantly being rejected, told you should lose weight, need better pictures or more experience, lose jobs because you're either too tall, too suburban, too old or my personal favourite: "we decided to go ethnic." (Wait, what? What does a statement like that even mean in a city like Toronto?)

Women in particular in this industry are treated as objects, as pawns in a producer's puzzle, and it's a struggle to not worry what people think of you at all times.

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(Photo: Polly Shannon/Twitter)

So when I found out I was pregnant, one of my first panicked thoughts was: "What will my agents say?" Would they be supportive, would they tell me to take a year off and forget about me? Would I have to resign myself to the idea of being an unemployed milkmaid for the foreseeable future? How would I support myself?! Turns out my agents were actually super supportive and were as happy as I was that I'd be making a human for the next nine months.

(By the way, it's actually 10 -- I don't know who started the "nine month" lie, but 40 weeks = 10 months, and I was two weeks overdue, so technically I was halfway to 11 months which is an insanely long time if you don't fall in love with pregnancy, which I did not).

I've learned that the film and television industry is pretty clueless about the needs of working parents. Especially ones with boobs.

I didn't work much during my pregnancy because most films aren't open to casting a woman who is getting larger and larger by the day. But I survived the 10.5 months as gracefully as one does when you gain 40 pounds and your hormones are on a busted roller coaster, and in May, I gave birth to a baby girl.

Since then I've learned that the film and television industry is pretty clueless about the needs of working parents. Especially ones with boobs.

(Photo: Lauren Lee Smith/Twitter)

Nursing mothers need to use breast pumps on set when they're not able to breastfeed their infants. These devices (which can cost a couple hundred bucks) are not covered under our private actors insurance, nor are lactation consultants (definitely not cheap), which many new mothers need because teaching your baby to suck milk from your breast can be surprisingly hard.

This is especially puzzling when you consider that many other medical devices are covered in our insurance plans, like walking canes and hearing aids.

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Another bizarre discovery I made is that maternity is labelled a "disability" in our insurance guide, meaning that many new moms who are entitled to insurance payments don't apply for them because they're mislabelled and easily overlooked in our huge insurance brochure. (And believe me, when you are subsisting on four hours' sleep, you need things to be very, very clear.)

(Photo: Rebecca Singh/Twitter)

At first, this pissed me off. But then I realized I was too tired (like, literally too tired) to hold a grudge. That's another new discovery of motherhood: you don't have much time for bullshit. So I decided to start talking about these problems with other new actor-mothers. Being the awesomely efficient yet sleep-deprived multi-taskers we are, we banded together to raise awareness about our needs.

Last week, in conjunction with World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 to 7), a bunch of rad actresses tweeted breastfeeding pictures we've taken on set, at auditions, at rehearsal or at home with the aim of taking nursing out of the shadows and promoting our ongoing efforts to increase awareness and prompt actual change within our industry.

This World Breastfeeding Week, let's support mothers to breastfeed anytime, anywhere. - SGT #WBW2016pic.twitter.com/vgRMhzVY1Z  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) August 6, 2016

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We were floored by the interest and support from not only other working actresses, but also the likes of Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and Alanis Morissette who were also tweeting photos of themselves nursing during International Breastfeeding week. The other actresses who joined us in our campaign (including Polly Shannon, Lauren Lee Smith, Liane Balaban and Rebecca Singh) are hoping for more from AFBS (ACTRA Fraternal Benefit Society), which is the insurance and benefit society for performers in Canada.

And we all hope that this campaign will urge AFBS and its Board of Governors to make changes to our insurance program to better serve the needs of working parents. We are seeking parity with AFTRA (our U.S. counterparts), including coverage for breast pumps, a more reasonable way to calculate our benefit and an end to the mislabelling of pregnancy and maternity as disabilities.

Liane Balaban. (Photo: Eva Michon)

We organized this campaign with very little sleep, scant childcare, and barely enough time to shower. Just think what mothers could accomplish with a little more support.

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James Thew via Getty Images Caught in the Storm

Have you ever wondered what separates those rare individuals who are able to step forward after trauma and adversity from those of us who are stunted, derailed, or in some way consumed by similar life circumstances or events?

As a society, we tend to gravitate to the "bounce back" narrative so often espoused in the media, and one that is particularly true of the stories most commonly shared on social media. There is something about heralding the underdog or championing someone's arduous climb through adversity that resonates deeply within us.

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Despite being a public figure, I've never been one to shy away from talking openly about my own struggles with addiction, depression, and childhood trauma; and as a result, I have noticed that whenever I give a talk, the question of resilience is inevitably raised.

Most recently, I've come to believe that our obsession with the "bouncing-back-from-adversity" narrative tells only half the story, and I would suggest that it might in fact be the least interesting part of what is actually taking place during this personal transformation.

I am currently working on a book about resilience, and part of this process involves interviewing 30 individuals -- resilience exemplars -- people from around the world who exhibit an incredible and sustained level of resilience. I set out to write the book with the conviction that resilience has little to do with weathering the storm, or what we like to refer to as "bouncing back," and everything to do with using that storm as a demarcation point.

Resilience exemplars neither "artificially" compartmentalize their adversity, nor negate the residue or resonance that trauma has throughout a lifetime.

I am approximately halfway through the interview process, and at this point, a number of recurring themes have appeared -- some of which, I thought I would share with you:

Resilience is elastic.

Instead of talking about people who wholeheartedly weather adversity as being bounceable, I would suggest that it is resilience itself that has an ethereal elasticity to it. And in that light, we can begin to move away from the common misconception that being resilient has much to do with adopting strategies and mindsets that insulate us from the pain and uncertainty of adversity. In fact, the interview data suggest that resilience rises from an ability to be present with, and thereby process the scope of the adversity. The key is to avoid being consumed by it.

Resilience exemplars neither "artificially" compartmentalize their adversity, nor negate the residue or resonance that trauma has throughout a lifetime. There is most definitely a period of processing and making sense of trauma and adversity, but there comes a pivotal point at which the individual makes the decision to move beyond"'stuckness" and towards personal growth and understanding.

Resilience resonates in the spaces and pauses we create.

Another critical component of resilience appears to be the ability to create a 'buffer' or space that allows someone the time to evaluate, process, and prioritize a given situation. Resilience thrives in the grey zones of insecurity and ambiguity; thus, finish lines and task outcomes take a backseat to daily ritual and a need to prioritize self-care, as these become ballasts against the paralyzing waves of self-doubt and uncertainty.

Moreover, it is the importance of stressing ongoing self-care that leads to a high degree of self-awareness, which thus permits resilient individuals the ability to zoom the lens out from their own engagement with trauma or adversity. In so doing, they gain both time and perspective, which in turn gives them the sense that they are not alone in this discomfort.

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With resilience, comes an opening of 'self'.

Resilience exemplars are more likely to be "soul-driven" than "passion driven." Instead of being consumed or incapacitated by the intensity of a given situation, they zealously nurture an evolving degree of self-awareness predicated on building empathic connections within their community. Both Elizabeth Gilbert (in her book Big Magic) and Angela Duckworth (in her book Grit) caution against the often-touted advice of following your passion because by its very nature, passion is all-consuming and fleeting at best. Therefore, it's not surprising that people we think of as resilient are generally in it for the "long game," and that might also be a factor in their ability to be seen as community leaders and agents of change.

Resilience has a lot to do with embracing past scars and the dissonance of lived experience as a road map forward, and ultimately, as a bridge to connect with others in your community. As the Pakistani writer Moshin Hamid once said: "Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself." I couldn't agree more, and I would also suggest that resonating in those echoes is the connection we all seek that in turn, permits the resilience to grow within us and beyond us.

If you, or someone you know, is a "resilience exemplar, and you would like to be interviewed for my upcoming book, please contact me at runjprun@gmail.com.

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I recently defriended someone on Facebook. I know, such a modern drama. I had just had enough of my news feed being disrupted with his right wing views on the world, which seemed so out of line with my own. But by casting him digitally aside, I was complicit in that world becoming instantly smaller.

So much of what we understand is informed by social media. We naturally gravitate to people who share our ideals in both the real world and online, but social media adds an additional layer of selection, compounded by the hours we spend there. The mystical algorithms behind Facebook, for example, curate our perspective to ensure we get to see more of what appeals to our own tastes. It filters out the unfamiliar and we don't get to experience what is discussed by the 'other half'.

The Brexit vote (sorry to poke the nest) came as a total shock to me and most of those I know. A couple of colleagues outwardly cried in consternation on 24th June, and we were all left wondering who these people are that have made what I still believe to be a fundamental and devastating error.

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The Brexiters were not on my Facebook wall or Twitter feed, they weren't expressing their passion through my Instagram. In fact, I could not only not see the Brexiters but the strength of the 'filter bubble' on some social sites meant I couldn't even find them.

A friend wrote on Facebook shortly before the referendum, 'Can everyone stop talking about this bloody vote - we all think the same way anyway.' It was a fair point; if we don't know people with different views then we are endlessly shouting at each other in agreement, and sharing stories that suggest we are on the ascendency, when we should be engaging with the opposition. The Brexiters were there - we just couldn't reach them, nor they us.

Social media is now 'the media' for many people. As a communications consultant and writer, observing and acting on the way this is changing the way we create and digest 'news' is one of the fascinations of the job. Many traditional news organisations are responding with more content designed around its ability to drive clicks through social channels than purely to deliver insight.

This shareable news appeals to our passions. The pro-Brexit camp took this to a new level, deciding early on in their campaign that facts would not win their cause and adopted an 'American style' emotional approach. Some of this output had a blatant disregard for facts but through social news it is easier than ever to publish false information, which is quickly shared and left unattested.

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So what can be done? Last month, I moved from London to Amsterdam (coincidental timing, not a reactionary Brentry), to the most diverse city in the world where 180 different nationalities live together. To live here is to live with two fingers permanently stuck up to Farrage. To a certain extent even here I am in a bubble though as we have all been drawn here by a shared appreciation for liberal values and by the welcome the city offers people from different backgrounds. However, everyday there is an opportunity to engage with people with experiences far removed from my own.

In my Dutch language class there are 12 of us from 12 countries. In the past fortnight I have been to the Pride parade with classmates, a Brazilian barbecue, drank vodka with a Polish friend, debated revolution with a Turkish banker and discussed business start-ups with a Slovenian wine merchant.

It doesn't mean I understand the other half necessarily but I have at least broadened my world view. I know that to get past the logarithms though I need to do more. Here's some of the ways I intend to do it in my own five-point-bubble-popping-plan:

broaden my social circle to get a more diverse perspective

switch up the media I read and if I disagree, hold them to account

read comment articles by writers who don't just express my own views better than I can

hold more conversations in the real world with people I wouldn't normally strike up a chat with

and even reFacebook-friend (if that's a term) my old rightish wing acquaintance (if he'll have me)
LEON NEAL via Getty Images

If you think Brexit is a rollercoaster so far, we've only just started the ride. And the eerie silence you hear from Government as we supposedly gear up to the big negotiations doesn't bode well either. We're going to have to brace ourselves for turbulent times and face up to some pretty fundamental questions.

First is the matter of how long this period in limbo will actually last. If you believe EU Council President Donald Tusk and the European Commission, we'll be told strictly to complete our divorce proceedings exiting our EU commitments first, before even starting the discussions about what our new relationship will look like. That would be a disastrous scenario - which would come with a hefty purgatorial price tag.

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Asking businesses to tread water for two years is bad enough. But making that uncertainty go on and on for four or five years will just push too many decision-makers beyond breaking point, with international companies likely to locate elsewhere as a means of moving on with life. So Theresa May's first task is to urgently secure a consensus that we undertake these two negotiations in parallel and not sequentially. We cannot wait until 2019 before turning to the issue of our future trading relationships.

So assuming we're able to start discussing it, we then need to decide what sort of trading relationship we want. In turn this is bound up with Britain's willingness to allow or restrain migration from Europe. Free movement of goods, services and capital are all accepted but free movement of people is not. If the UK wants to now institute limits on economic migration then this is likely to be the sticking point in the way of maximum free trade.

The Germans, Italians and French may be showing early signs that they could live with a post-Schengen settlement, adapting the principle to free 'movement of skills'. If so, this could in turn give Britain leeway to secure limitations on flows while keeping European Economic Area benefits. As the IFS rightly point out, there is a big difference between 'membership' of the single market and degrees of 'access' - something likely to be driven by the deal we strike on free movement. Merely pointing to the virtues of the Liechtenstein model won't necessarily clinch it, what with their population of all of 37,000 making it barely significant to the rest of the EU. It's not going to be as simple as cutting-and-pasting some other country's arrangements and thinking that can be the British deal. So we need to settle our red line on economic migration here in the UK - a sensitive debate but one we will have to confront in order to get seriously stuck into the wider negotiation about our trade relationship.

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After that, we have to decide whether to throw in our lot with the EU on international trade treaties and go along with whatever they broker, or if we want to have freedom to strike our own bilateral deals with other countries. The EU will insist that staying part of the 'customs union' giving tariff free access to our goods must also mean harmonising with the rest of their external tariff arrangements. To do otherwise, they will argue, risks goods undercutting their businesses through a UK backdoor. We should obviously try to keep our exports flowing freely into Europe - and not just goods but services too which are of even greater significance for our economy. If we're going to get as close as we can to full access, will the EU insist that Britain can't have separate deals with the US, China, India and others? If so, we'll need to get a deal that gives us a fair voice around the table before those 27 countries sign up to terms we'll be bound into. But we can't assume we'll be able to stay in the customs union, or that the terms will be fair or will give us an adequate 'voice'. In which case we have to have contingency planning and wider conversations straight away sketching out the new web of trade agreements we'll need to weave.

There's the question too of our interim relationship in the months ahead during this (hopefully) truncated transition period - and there are bound to be angry European demands for ongoing financial contributions and acceptance of liabilities. These are going to test everyone's patience. In the longer term, Europe does need a cooperative UK too especially because we can help on foreign and security policy and we will want to maintain our friendships and alliance - which should all help. But it will be a hellish and incessant diplomatic pounding month after month as we figure out new economic terms with a bruised EU currently taking 44% of our exports.

The markets may be temporarily settling into a phase of depreciated sterling and anticipating a downturn, but UK plc is about to be pommelled again by the stark choices confronting us. Parliament and the new select committees on Brexit and on international trade have got to step up to the mark so that before the Chancellor's Autumn Statement we have a clear concept of our economic preferences on timeline and sequencing, the migration question and the customs union. Now we've set off on this ride, Ministers can't just cover their eyes and hope for the best.
The former Carlisle Tire & Wheel building at 632 N. College St. in Carlisle will have its first residents move in today after months of renovations to the old warehouse building.

Since April, developers focused on restoring the second and third floors of the three-story, 16-unit property, according to Amanda Garner, a partner with Wheelhouse Properties, the former industrial sites developer. The first floor is designated commercial space.

Her husband, Ross Garner, and his company, Creative Building Concepts & Property Management LLC, are part of the Wheelhouse ownership team and were responsible for the renovations.

Garner said her company has received multiple applications from potential tenants, but would ideally prefer one party to occupy the approximately 8,000-square-foot commercial space on the first floor, though the potential to divide it is possible, she said.

We worked with CAEDC (Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation) to get a low-interest loan for energy efficiency, so they were able to support us with all the new windows in the building, and theyre one of the highlights of the building, she said. Its a unique old building with super tall windows, and because of CAEDCs loan we were able to keep those windows intact.

That CAEDC loan was for $158,000 through the Cumberland Revolving Energy Loan Fund.

Energy-efficient

windows

According to an earlier story in The Sentinel, CRELF is a loan program administered through CAEDC, developed to assist Cumberland County to become a leader in alternative and renewable energy, for which Wheelhouse Properties qualified by retrofitting the building with energy-efficient equipment, such as the windows and appliances.

Carlisle Tire and Wheel was a major manufacturing employer in Cumberland County. The company employed a lot of local employees from the surrounding neighborhood with family-sustaining jobs, which spurred the local Carlisle economy and employment, CAEDC CEO Jonathan Bowser said. With those type of jobs gone, and probably not to return in its traditional sense of manufacturing, the Wheelhouse project is a great reuse of the site with potential for retail on the first level and market-rate housing on the second and third floors.

This project will be great for the Carlisle community and the northwest quadrant of the borough, he added.

On the second floor, the apartments are loft style, with the bedrooms and bathrooms lofted above the kitchen. The third floor units feature one- and two-bedroom layouts. The apartments on both floors vary between 700 and 1,100 square feet, according to Ross Garner.

We kept a lot of the original architecture of the building in that we took the original hardwood floors, original hardwood posts and the original brick and we cleaned all that up and made it look phenomenal to preserve the original intention of the building, Amanda Garner said.

The price of the rental units could fall between $1,100 and $1,300 a month, she added.

Four tenants will move into the building on Monday, with the rest of the apartments likely to be filled by the end of the month, she said.
You may not have guessed it, but it's been almost 50 days since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

Aside from numerous shrieks echoing round our newspapers' opinion sections, you'd be hard-pressed to find much evidence for the Brexit vote. Why? Because our government is yet to invoke Article 50 - the formal mechanism for leaving the EU.

Our new Prime Minister, Theresa May, has suggested Article 50 won't be triggered until at least 2017, while the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond, believes it should be delayed for six years.

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Depressingly, these are some of the more generous timescales relating to Article 50's invocation: the bookies don't think it will be triggered at all.

Of course, we shouldn't be too surprised our government is intent on delaying our exit from the European Union. June's referendum revealed an immeasurable schism between the UK's population and its 'representatives' in parliament. While the majority of the UK voted to leave the EU, the number of MPs who voted to sever ties with Brussels were marked by their scarcity.

Through delaying the invocation of Article 50, our government hopes the UK will forget the momentous decision it made on June 23. They intend to delay its implementation until we lose interest.

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If we really believe we should leave the EU - if we really believe the demos should be respected - it's now or never. Article 50 isn't a fine wine; it doesn't get better with age. It must be invoked immediately.

Since June 23, there have been numerous attempts to thwart the Brexit vote. Over 1,000 lawyers have signed a letter claiming the EU referendum was merely "advisory" and "not legally binding". Mishcon De Reya, a London-based law firm, even intends to launch legal proceedings against the government if it invokes Article 50 without first consulting parliament.

David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, is so bitter about the referendum result that he has called for it to be rerun. Apparently his political beliefs are more important than those of the 17.2 million people who voted for Brexit.

We must not stand for this. Any attempt to thwart the Brexit vote derives from an insidious inclination to subvert the will of the people. The vote to leave the European Union represented the largest democratic mandate in UK constitutional history - it must not be ignored.

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The post-referendum actions of our politicians and lawyers have shown we cannot become complacent. It is imperative we continue to fight for Brexit and ensure the will of demos translates into real political action.

We need to organise and make known our desire to leave the European Union. We need to encourage our citizens to show their support for democracy by signing the petition calling for the immediate invocation of Article 50. We need to plaster our surroundings with posters and flyers detailing our discontent. And crucially, when our government meets on September 5 to discuss the possibility of a second referendum, we need to be outside Westminster Hall, letting Parliament know our decision to leave the EU must be respected.

We have spoken. 17.2 million voices will not be silenced. We must Invoke Article 50 NOW!
Between private and comprehensive schools, grammar schools sit a little uncomfortably, like an awkward and overlooked middle child. But now that Theresa May has given the go-ahead on the creation of new ones, they've been thrust under the spotlight, and the national media seems to have a lot to say about them. I myself attended a grammar school for seven years, and a Catholic all-girls' ex-convent at that, in an area with a particularly high concentration of them.

So, rather than weighing up the principles of them, I decided to find out from friends at several different single-sex grammars (as they predominate in my area) how their single-sex and grammar-school upbringing affected their lived experience.

Emma*, who was head girl of an all-girls' school, said:

"It is only since beginning the coeducational nature of university that I can recognise how, if boys had been [at our school], it would have been far from what it was. It is a sad but true fact that, around the opposite sex, many girls become less inclined to act fully as themselves, too embarrassed to say or do the things they otherwise would, because of the fear of judgment. In my opinion, had boys shared our classrooms, we would have been without the same passionate drive and controversial debate that so greatly developed our confidence and general knowledge, as we would have been too fixated on looking the best we could and may have hidden from the limelight."

And the statistics seem to back her up. Girls are more likely to take STEM A-levels at single-sex schools, and regularly top academic league tables. But, whilst an all-girls environment clearly suited Emma, they do not suit everyone. Luke attended an all-girls' school for five years but, after coming out as transgender, did not return for sixth form. This is what he had to say about his experience:

"I personally think that single-sex schools can be both a good and bad idea. Many boys and girls feel comfortable attending them: it just depends on the person. However, being part of the LGBT community, I feel that I missed out on a lot of experiences and grew to regret the decision as I progressed. Being transgender and attending a single-sex school, you feel very trapped by things such as strict uniform rules and I believe it is much harder to express who you are."

Despite the rather immature stereotype that single-sex schools "promote homosexuality", coming out in a single-sex environment can actually be an added difficulty. Luke is not the only person I know who changed schools after Year Eleven due to the difficulties and pressures of coming out.

And, whilst there are certainly benefits to all-girls' education, some studies suggest that those benefits aren't generally replicated in all-boys' environments. Reflecting on his time at an all-boys' school, Michael remembers the "enormous fun" and "close friendships", but also felt that the lack of girls had its downsides.

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"I feel that the absence of females in much of the formative period of our life fostered some attitudes that were harmful and even, in some cases, toxic, creating a feeling of female alterity that distanced girls from us even in personal meetings. I believe that it poisoned many boys' attitudes towards gender issues and towards feminism and feminists. Having female friends in the early years of secondary school might have helped us better to understand gender issues. The masculine ethos of the school was always evident and could sometimes put pressure on those who didn't conform. It was never adequately explained to me why wrestling each other to the ground was a vital element of rugby training and when I felt homesick on a Year 7 school trip no-one knew how to deal with me."

Michael also felt in later years that "there was no help forthcoming" when he experienced feelings of depression, something which many young men experience as expressing emotion is stigmatised in masculine environments. And, although this may not have been caused by single-sex schooling, it was at least exaggerated by it.

There are clear pros and cons, therefore, to single-sex education: but what difference does grammar schooling make? One person who knows better than most is Katie, who transferred to a single-sex grammar for sixth form after having attended a comprehensive school. She said that:

"In a grammar school, intelligence is something to be proud of, although the teachers would look down on you if you didn't achieve what was expected. Coming from a comprehensive, I felt that some teachers acted differently towards me and others who made the move, which made us feel that we weren't as intelligent as the original grammar students. In the comprehensive school I went to, high achievers were acknowledged but not necessarily celebrated so I was praised for getting As but not pushed towards A*s. The existence of grammar schools creates much more of a stigma towards comprehensive schools and a snobbish attitude towards grammars. I think there has to be an opposite single-sex school or mixed school nearby for students to interact with to help prepare them for university and life in general. I do think grammars can be beneficial for individuals, but I'm glad I went to one when I was older as I don't think I would have performed as well there when I was younger."

I think what we can conclude from these snapshots of opinion is that, although single-sex grammar schooling is well-suited to many, its selective nature means that if you don't completely feel that you fit in at any stage, that is only likely to be exaggerated. In my own experience, I found that being in a Catholic environment made expressing my views as an atheist more difficult -- especially as R.E. was compulsory for all seven years and I once had a teacher announce that "Jesus loves you, Joanna" in front of an entire class.

Sex education was woeful (I had to be told by an external source that natural family planning actually generally doesn't work) and I also found my school to be uncomfortably white-washed. Moreover, whilst I'm thankful in many ways for having been to an all-girls' school, I found that gender stereotypes were normalised and exaggerated, whether it be bitching, rumour-making and obsession with appearance in girls or bullying and lad culture in boys.

Aside from these factors, however, it is ultimately your own experiences -- your friends, teachers and progress -- which determine whether or not you enjoy your school years. It is possible to have a wonderful time at a single-sex grammar, which I myself very much felt in sixth form, but if our long-term goal is to be the celebration of diversity and difference, especially at such a tender age of socialisation, then it's worth noting that they're far from perfect.
Politics revolves around what is seen and what can be said about it, around who has the ability to see and the talent to speak, around the properties of spaces and the possibilities of time.

- Jacques Ranciere, The Politics of Aesthetics.

In her first PMQ (Prime Minister's Questions) last week, Theresa May took aim at Jeremy Corbyn, ironising his welcome to her: "You refer to me as the second woman Prime Minister, in my years here in this House I've long heard the Labour Party asking what the Conservative Party does for women--well, just keep making us Prime Minister." And while May's comments drew laughter in Parliament, she has put her finger on an issue plaguing the left in the UK and beyond. And the left has a woman problem which extends far beyond the lack of a party leader uniquely, but also involves the elision of women's voices, especially on issues concerning, paradoxically, women. And this sort of problem within the left runs from the political theatre all the way through academia and publishing. What a woman on the left is allowed to say is still largely administered out by males who either applaud or cast her out of the party. And this elision of women is taking place within government and publishing, both in the UK and the USA.

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There is a pattern among many leftist publications which consider themselves to be "anti-sexist" to engage in patently sexist practices by shifting away from from issues that specifically affect women or by taking sides in debates where women's bodies and lives are suddenly rendered commodity. Suddenly the tone of what is acceptable historical materialism shifts radically when women are pointing out issues that pertain to their reality. Quite suddenly there is no room for debate and where there is a need for discussion about issues that directly effect women, the left is largely abandoning the voices of women as both political constituents and political thinkers.

In recent years there has been one attempt after another another to shut down any debate when it comes to identity politics and we have moved from Descartes' cogito ergo sum to I feel therefore shut the fuck up. And this trend can be seen across the board with callout culture persisting from sub-factions of the left which in turn results in the likes of certain writers publishing astute critiques of identity politics, only to suddenly change course when it comes to gender and the inclusion of women's voices. As abortion rights in the US are in stiff regression and violence against females is increasing across the planet, women who have quite a bit at stake in the current political climate often find themselves at odds with the leftist political landscape. Specficall the United Kingdom and other anglophone countries, even as there is a growing parallel movement that is directly addressing materialism and patriarchy.

As the oppression of women is tied to the material reality of being female and not a product of that being female, feminist politics over the decades have been sidelined and resultantly women have been mostly abandoned by the left specifically when it comes to gender. Where the left traditionally rebuked identity politics, today selfhood is often embraced by the left as of a collection of personality traits cum political ideology. Scholar and feminist activist Jasmine Curcio addresses this polemic and the domination of men in leftist politics, especially around issues pertaining to feminism:

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And so many years on, feminist discussions around the left continue to be subtly dominated by men and their perspective, with the aid of theoretical frameworks that marked disdain towards feminism in decades past. Men have become gatekeepers of feminist discussion, and many debates take place with ignorance, disdain, and sometimes subtle tactics of bullying. Phenomena that lie outside of the bourgeois-proletarian contradiction are not really taken on board as material facts, but either made to fit with constructed orthodoxy or they are discarded.

Paradoxically, when women point this out, the reality of sexism bites back and they are regarded as "bitches," "whores," and even shut down both on social media and in public forums. The tautological nature of sexism leaves women unable to speak for herself without being caste within age-old frameworks for understanding her as nasty, non-nurturing, unnatural, and even man-hating. And this translates quite seamlessly to current political bodies and debates within the left today.

In the UK, leftist politics is no different as the fate of women within the British Labour Party is still quite conflictive. Liz Kendall, Labour MP, has spoken out recently about the problems of sexism within the party: "There's a lot of old-fashioned misogyny on the hard-left; you've only got to look at the comments about me during the leadership campaign. I was called a bitch, a whore, a see-you-next-Tuesday, as they say on Towie. All because my political views weren't the same as theirs." And the treatment Kendall received is not an isolated case by any measure.

Add to this the recent online abuse of women in the Labour Party, we see how women's freedom on and offline is threatened by pure unadulterated sexism. The murder of MP Jo Cox, the recent death threats and office vandalisation against MP Angela Eagle, and the rape and death threats advanced towards myriad female Labour MPs (ie. Stella Creasey, Diane Abbott, and Naz Shah) demonstrate how women in the public eye are even more likely to be targeted with online and real-life abuse. So frequent are the abuses that 45 Labour Party MPs wrote to Corbyn on 21 July asking him to attend regular meetings with the Women's PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) and to commit to three pledges: an "unequivocal" statement condemning campaigning outside MP offices; to "actively challenge" abusive supporters "which does not conform to Labour Party values"; and to hold senior figures "accountable" for attending events where such behaviour takes place.

Equally as troubling are the policies of the Labour Party which reflect another level of sexism. For instance, even though Labour Party policy does not support the liberalisation of prostitution, Corbyn came out in favour of legalising prostitution earlier this year. And instead of following through with the Nordic model which is more frequently being adopted by governments left of centre around the world, it would seem Corbyn has not taken that model into consideration whatsoever. These statements, couched as Corbyn's "personal opinion" on prostitution, fly in the face of Labour Party policy for which many female MPs came down on Corbyn earlier this year to include former deputy leader Harriet Harman. And if you have any doubts as to the depth of this problem, just a cursory glance of The Guardian comments under any article dealing with women's rights will give you a small taste of the misogyny that female politicians who seek to debate prostitution within the ranks of the left endure. One could easily suffer digital eye strain just by reading through all the cases of sexism within politics today.

Beyond these more overt demonstrations of institutional misogyny within Labour are the party's internal economic policies which indulge sexism. Case in point, Corbyn's proposal to introduce compulsory pay audits for UK companies with more than 21 staff members has not been followed through by his own office as Corbyn has failed to commit to such an audit. On 24 July it was revealed the reason for the non-disclosure of salaries within Corbyn's inner circle is because there is a massive salary disparity where men are paid significantly more than women. Yet any woman who critiques this is viewed as hyper-sensitive and scathing as demonstrated on social media. And many on the left do not accept that there is pay inequality of the sexes, to include loads of Corbyn supporters! It would seem that even in 2016 it is still a woman's lot to suffer in silence under the protracted appellations appointed to us by others.

In the seventeenth-century, accusations of witchcraft in the provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe of the northern Netherlands were made by both men and women where the charges ranged from miscarriage to diseases of crops. Women were blamed for natural eventualities then, yet today this same paradigm extends towards women's voices. Dare women speak out against social structures in which they have a direct or symbolic stake today, a contemporary replacement for "witch" is readily available and hurtled into the mediascape in hopes of marginalising women's voices.

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Outside significant mainstream media coverage, Britain is stepping up its support for the dictatorships in the Arabian Gulf and its ability to conduct military interventions in the Middle East. The strategy is illustrated in Whitehall's long-standing but ignored special relationship Whitehall with Oman, the secretive, oil-rich Gulf state run by a despot installed in a British coup as long ago as 1970.

Oman is a British client state welcoming major British intelligence and military operations whose principal economic asset - oil - is controlled by Anglo-Dutch company, Shell. Files leaked by Edward Snowden show that Britain has a network of three GCHQ spy bases in Oman - codenamed 'Timpani', 'Guitar' and 'Clarinet' - which tap in to various undersea cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz into the Arabian Gulf. These bases intercept and process vast quantities of emails, telephone calls and web traffic, which information is then shared with the National Security Agency in the United States.

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The British government announced in March this year that it is developing a large new military base - described as a 'strategic port' - at the Duqm Port complex in central Oman. This will house the two 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers being built for the Royal Navy, and other navy ships, with the aim clearly being to better project power in the region. The base is described as enabling a 'permanent' British naval presence in the area. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said that the port 'will offer an airport with a 4km runway close to a port large enough for a Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers to manoeuvre and will also be connected to other Gulf countries by the Gulf Rail Project'.

The new Omani base will sit alongside another new intervention platform in the region - the British military base being built at Mina Salman port in Bahrain, another long-standing British ally ruled by a brutally repressive state. Bahrain already houses the largest permanent detachment of the Royal Navy outside the UK as part of the 'Combined Maritime Force', which includes the US Navy 5th Fleet in Manama. Together, these bases will provide the UK with its largest military intervention capability in the region since the late 1960s, when some bases in the region were closed.

British leaders claim these bases will provide security and stability for the region. The reality is that their most strategic significance, aside from being able to conduct military strikes, is in guarding oil routes - Oman plays an important role in overseeing the passage of international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which some 30 per cent of globally bound oil passes every day. The British oil stake in Oman is already huge: Shell has a 34 per cent interest (alongside the government's 60 per cent) in the Petroleum Development Corporation which manages the country's oil.

Oman is described by the government as 'a longstanding British ally... with shared interests across diplomatic, economic and security matters'. The UK and Omani armed forces regularly train together and this May, the two countries signed a new military Memorandum of Understanding in which Britain's armed forces plan to deploy 45 training teams to Oman in 2016. As part of this relationship, Oman naturally buys a lot of British weapons - most recently, a 2.5 billion deal agreed in 2013 to purchase 20 Typhoon and Hawk aircraft following a visit by David Cameron. 'The Typhoon fighter jet performed outstandingly in Libya', the government's press release at the time stated, referring to the British military intervention in that country that helped to plunge it into anarchy and civil war.

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In recent years British defence secretaries, members of the Royal Family, Lord Mayors of London and heads of military and oil companies have all been streaming into Oman, with practically no attention paid whatsoever by the 24 hour British media. They routinely deliver extreme apologias for the nature of the Omani regime, and especially its leader, Sultan Qaboos. In February 2014, for example, then Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi, delivering a speech in Muscat, praised 'the Sultan's wise leadership' while Chris Breeze, the Oman country chairman of has noted the 'Sultan Qaboos bin Said's clear and inspirational vision for Oman'.

By contrast, Khalfan al-Badwawi, an Omani human rights campaigner who fled the country in 2013 after being repeatedly detained by police, recently told Middle East Eye that the high level of British military and diplomatic assistance for the Omani government was 'a major obstacle to human rights campaigners in Oman because of the military and intelligence support from London that props up the Sultan's dictatorship'.

Whilst Oman's repression is not as far-reaching or brutal as that in other UK-backed regimes in the region - notably Bahrain and Egypt - it remains serious and deep. According to Human Rights Watch:

Oman's overly broad laws restrict the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association. The authorities target peaceful activists, pro-reform bloggers, and government critics using short term arrests and detentions and other forms of harassment. Some detainees arrested since 2011 have allegedly reported that security forces tortured or otherwise ill-treated them.

An especially odious feature of Oman's political system is that all public gatherings require advance official approval while the authorities arrest and prosecute participants in unapproved gatherings.

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Sultan Qaboos is well and truly Britain's man in the Gulf. One of the longest serving dictators in the world, he was installed in power in a British-organised coup in 1970. British declassified files show that British military advisers in Oman, including the SAS, organised the overthrow of Qaboos' father. Qaboos served in the British army and attended the army training college at Sandhurst and the RAF officers' college at Cranwell.
It's a common enough complaint about smartphones. For all the wonderful things they can do, for all the ways they make our lives easier -- all too often they can't understand a word we're saying.

Earlier this month, MIT's Centre for Brains, Minds and Machines announced it had compiled its first database of written English composed entirely by non-native speakers. The aim was to create a richer context for machine learning, considering the huge proportion of Internet users who speak English do so as a second language.

But more than written English, it is spoken accents that continue to perplex artificial intelligence.

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Irish and Scottish accents have long been a source of bafflement to virtual assistants, a fact that is well documented online, from the "15 times Siri hated Irish people" to "Siri vs Scottish accent". Meanwhile, in the States, Texan writer Julia Reed has commented that "a smart person could make a lot of money by inventing a Siri for Southerners."

The New Queen's English

The speech recognition market was valued at $3.73 billion in 2015, and is expected to grow to $9.97 billion by 2022, according to a Markets & Markets report published in June this year.

"Speech technologies have proven so useful and successful at powering intelligent applications," says Marsal Gavalda, Chief of Machine Learning at messaging app YikYak. "At the same time, we need to be cognisant they don't work so well for everyone....We need to prevent a 'speech divide,' a class of people for whom speech technologies work well and another for whom they don't. You're putting those people at a disadvantage."

This speech divide has led to a bizarre social phenomenon, wherein smartphone users moderate their own voices, or even attempt to imitate an American accent, in order to get their virtual assistant to grasp what they are saying.

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"Most people have what we would call a telephone voice... They also have a machine voice," says Alan Black, a Professor at Carnegie Mellon's Language Technologies Institute (and Scotsman). "People speak to machines differently than how they speak to people," he adds. "They move into a different register. If you're standing next to somebody in an airport or at a bus stop or something, you can typically tell when they're talking to a machine rather than talking to a person."

In short; users are adapting to their devices, rather than the other way around.

But could this lead to the slow death of regional accents, as the English language's rich global tapestry shifts and morphs into a single, generic, robot-friendly pronunciation? When accent and dialect are so intrinsically tied to class, heritage, and countless other factors which make up our personal identities, is the "machine voice" a seemingly innocuous first step towards the homogenisation of society and culture?

Tech companies are working hard to ensure that this doesn't happen. Last year, the iOS8.3 upgrade equipped Siri with a greater ability to understand users with Indian accents. Earlier this year, Google announced that it "speaks 'Strayan," and there are now rumours that the company is seeking people with strong Scottish accents to help develop its speech recognition technologies, most likely in response to years of customer frustration.

Artificial Intelligence Can Be Biased

Siri isn't a snob. There is a very simple reason why virtual assistants and other forms of artificial intelligence seem to be hard of hearing with regards to accent and intonation.

The more audio data that AI has access to, the better it gets at comprehending and responding to requests. However, when the datasets provided don't include diverse speakers, it is hardly surprising that an AI will struggle to interact as effectively with different user groups.

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"Automated technology is developed by humans, so our human biases can seep into the software and tools we are creating," writes The Daily Dot's Selena Larson. "But when systems fail to account for human bias, the results can be unfair and potentially harmful to groups underrepresented in the field in which these systems are built."

One recent, pertinent example is the alleged gender bias of Google's voice recognition software. According to linguistic researcher Rachael Tatman, queries from male voices were more consistently understood than those from women.

"Generally, the people who are doing the training aren't the people whose voices are in the dataset," says Tatman. "I think the people who don't have socio-linguistic knowledge haven't thought that the demographic of people speaking would have an effect."

In order to overcome some of the existing hurdles in speech recognition, Tatman recommends that technology companies take greater care to assemble training sets which are balanced in race, gender and class. It is only through greater social diversity at the creation stage that AIs will be fully able to interact with everyone.

Are you listening, Siri?
With the main opposition party in disarray, what a lovely time it must be for a Tory party with a shopping list of laws to repeal (I'm looking at you fox hunting). It's been speculated recently however that Theresa May has been looking into to the repeal of the 1998 act preventing the opening of new Grammar schools, passed by Blairs Labour government during the time Tony was fondly known for things like the minimum wage and "cool Britannia". Less so for instability in the Middle East and his role as the region's peace envoy, a job that must've been given to him as part of the best drunk prank any high-ranking diplomat has ever pulled off. Britain then, despite some opposition, could see its first brand new Grammar school in fifty years, and, I'm gonna come straight out and say it, I for one think this could be a great opportunity. Wait, stop it! Don't click the cross in your browser! I know what you're thinking, just hear me out first.

Full disclosure, I went to a Grammar school, no don't groan at the screen. I do know for some of you reading this that last statement will either restore some great memories of your own time as a pupil at a Grammar or instead just cause you to picture how much of a middle class, well to do white guy I must be, sat there with as much money from the bank of mummy and daddy as I want, and, to make matters worse, I'm probably eating some caviar off of a Waitrose cracker or something (well, maybe not that last part). The truth in my case and a fair minority of others however, is far and away from that. I came from a working-class background, neither of my parents had high-paid professional jobs and neither went to university. In fact, there was actually a distinct lack of BMW's and lacrosse lessons growing up, and a lot of downsizing, moving from a small home to a flat in harsher financial times. That's not to say I had some tough, strife-filled childhood, but it illustrates the disparity between the reality and the unfair view, shared by many less friendly to Grammars, that all Grammar schools are gilded cages, attended only by the wealthy. In many people's minds, these are not a place for meritocracy or, the buzzword for this topic, social mobility.

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In my case the Grammar school I attended gave me an environment where I could benefit from its teaching and unique atmosphere (mad teachers and crumbling buildings included). Ultimately it helped me punch above the circumstances I was given at birth, set by my family's education, which is the single biggest predictor of how a child will do at the age of 16, according to a Policy exchange report from 2014. So from a personal perspective the achievements of Grammar schools are all too clear. All this, however, is not to say I can't appreciate the criticism of Grammar schools, indeed many of you would say that my story is just that, my own personal story. Not only is this anecdotal evidence weak, it's also easy to reject when compared to the rest of the country, as the story of Grammar schools nationally is far from a pretty picture.

The weight of statistical evidence casting scrutiny on Grammar schools is enough to make the die hard Grammar supporter, with cane in one hand and Latin dictionary in the other, doubt their position. Take for instance the evidence that barely any of the nation's poor end up in Grammar schools. The Sutton Trust found that less than 3% of entrants to Grammar schools are entitled to free school meals, further supported by the findings from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, that:

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"More deprived children are significantly less likely to go to a Grammar than the most advantaged, even when pupils achieve equally good results aged 11".

Not only do the poor miss out, but their prospects are hurt even more as the most qualified teachers flock to the highest achieving schools, leaving those at comprehensives and those who particularly need the most support less likely to receive the highest quality teaching.

With that said, what reason is there to support the repeal of the ban on Grammar schools? Firstly, there should be schools where the brightest can flourish in an environment that's the best for them, this was the opportunity I was given, and Grammar schools do achieve this by having the best environments that foster learning. Just like the elite bands of universities including Oxford and Cambridge, the idea of a band of schools that specifically help develop the brightest kids is not an idea that many would on first glance reject. There still remains the issue however, can we really judge the intelligence of a child at eleven? In some ways the eleven plus doesn't truly test intelligence, it doesn't test for skills in art or music for instance, which are just as praiseworthy. For this to be solved the way society looks at intelligence as purely academic in nature needs to be challenged, a hefty claim which could easily merit an article on its own, but in regards to Grammar schools it requires a broadening of the eleven plus to accommodate a wider variety of skills, something Grammars can and are improving upon.

More importantly, we must look at the potential of new Grammar schools. Yes, Grammars are tied to problems such as the disparity in their intake, but exceptions such as me can become a norm and a new wave of Grammars can become the beacons of social mobility many people perceive them to be, so long as these problems are tackled. The Sutton Trust in 2013 suggested several ways Grammars can improve, most notably to provide mentoring for all children in primary schools earmarked for the eleven plus, regardless of wealth or background, so all children can enter the test on a level playing field. Locally, my own Grammar started a scheme to bring primary school children to the school and teach them extra lessons, a way of showing them that there is a place for people of all backgrounds at a Grammar school and to challenge the stigma around them, actually prompting them to sit the test in the first place. In fact, many Grammar heads reported that this stigma attached to Grammar schools was one of the biggest barriers for kids from less advantaged backgrounds entering. With such reforms implemented, all of the inherent problems with the Grammar system could be tackled, and Grammar schools could truly be an equal opportunity vehicle for social mobility, but to further deny it needs reform would be true negligence.

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GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT via Getty Images

Nicolas Sarkozy, remember him? The guy who left office mired in allegations of fraudulent overspending , receiving money from Colonel Gadaffi in 2007, wire- tapped by the French authorities, and reports of rallies with backstage dressing room as big as "apartments". Sarkozy manages to singlehandedly combine the dodginess of Nixon with the lavishness of Liberace. Now he's back for his for his reunion gig, a tribute act to his right wing premiership, and is again attempting to court Le Front National vote ahead of France's Presidential Elections next year. Post brexit and with the recent spate of terrorist attacks across France, Le Front National are a resurgent political force and are calling for Frexit. Will Sarkozy, ever the political opportunist, be able to resist the temptation to call for a referendum?

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With French Youth unemployment running at 23.30% and adult unemployment at 9.9% and with no growth in the last quarter of 2016. The French people are primed for the protectionist message and promise that a Frexit would bring .

Early indications are that Sarkozy is game; In a TV interview reported by Le Monde Sarkozy asserted that a new EU treaty could be put to a referendum: "I believe that we should not be afraid of the people: if they do not believe in the European idea and it does not stand the test of a referendum, then it is not the right path,".

'Remind you of anybody'; David Cameron in 2013 declaring that the people must "have their say... I say to the British people: this will be your decision." These are statements that we have come to expect from a British Conservative party whose Raison d'etre for living for the last 30 years has been Europe- bashing.

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But from a centrist French politician, from a Nation who have been at the centre of the European project from its inception that Sarkozy now feels he can come out openly and say in principle that he supports the idea of a referendum, albeit on treaty change, we have witnessed a sea change in European Politics. Merkel and Juncker should be very concerned.

However Sarkozy is currently locked horns in a battle to the death for leadership of his party with the former Prime Minster of France Alain Juppe. Sarkozy UMP party is now renamed les Republicans following the alleged fraud scandals surrounding Sarkozy's reign. Juppe currently leads presidential polling on 36%, Sarkozy on 23% and Hollande on 13%.

The Republicans looks like they are the party to beat and that the Nation will rally around them, to keep the Le Front National (29 % in the polls) out of power, as they did with the Socialists in 2012.

Juppe is currently not calling for a referendum on membership of the EU, but, like Sarkozy, is offering the prospect of a referendum in the light of treaty change in the EU: "A referendum will...be needed at some stage in Europe's reconstruction, not only in France but all countries concerned" .

But will Sarkozy seeing the chance to take his opponent down and wanting to court the Le Front National vote, call for an outright vote on EU membership? Reason over personal ambition has not stopped him in the past, and perhaps like Cameron, he foolishly believes that the French nation would see the light.

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Nevertheless, perhaps he should take more heart in thinking that France starts from a much more pro European base than the UK ever did. But all indications would show that French support for the EU is getting more fragile by the day

History would warn Sarkozy against such a move. The last referendum in France on the EU was extremely tight. When the Maastricht treaty came in front of the French people, it scraped by only 51.05% of the vote.

However, Sarkozy may be seen as damaged goods for even his own party, but the concern is that he may push his competitor, Juppe, and the Country into a referendum on membership of the EU.
As a matter of routine, private security firms, State actors, the judiciary, and armed groups are employing an armoury of tactics to silence dissenting voices, who speak out against the exploitation of the natural environment. Environmental human rights defenders risk murder and physical attack, as well as harassment and arbitrary detention, to defend and protect the local environment. Vested interests make bullet-proof vests a requirement for many activists.

The murder of Honduran campaigner Berta Caceres in March this year reverberated worldwide. Unfortunately her death is not an isolated event, rather it is reflective of a regional trend that sees environmental rights defenders paying with their lives for speaking up. In 2015, 185 environmental defenders were murdered across 16 countries. Latin America is the most dangerous region on the planet for activists who defend environmental rights.

These statistics are no coincidence. In recent years global demand for minerals and hydrocarbons has sky rocketed. Latin America is rich with natural resources and land that is ripe for exploitation. Governments across the region have spotted this as an opportunity and courted large multinationals, often based in the global north with lucrative incentives.

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Consequently there has been an explosion of construction projects and mining concessions across the region, with resource extraction accelerating at pace, which, it is argued bring, income and development to the region. In Colombia, coal extraction doubled between 2000 and 2010, and mining concessions have increased at a similar rate.

Indigenous communities often bear the brunt of such mega projects and consideration for the environmental and human impact of these works is frequently an after-thought, if considered at all. A proposed transcontinental railway project that China has agreed to finance poses a threat to indigenous territories and biodiversity hotspots of mammals, birds, amphibians and plants in Peru and Brazil. The Xalala Hydroelectric dam in the Ixcan region of northern Guatemala would flood the Q'eqchi' Mayans' ancestral land, displacing up to 15,000 people, whilst also affecting the water flow and biodiversity of the area. The government argues that the hydroelectric dam will bring economic development, but indigenous leaders say the dam will cause the disappearance of entire communities.

The region has a strong tradition of social movements and civil society plays a crucial role in safeguarding environmental rights that are so often intertwined with fundamental rights and basic human dignity: where and how you live your life; whether you can access clean water and feed your family. This combined with the symbiotic relationship with the environment that underpins many indigenous belief systems makes resistance to the increased exploitation of natural resources an understandable result.

However, despite this rich cultural tapestry of community mobilisation and social movements, large-scale projects have brought with them a culture of impunity and violence, with profit prioritised over protest and dissent dismissed for dividends. Those who speak out are increasingly under attack: threatened, tortured, disappeared, imprisoned and silenced in favour of shady business interests and State action or inaction.

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The attacks against vocal opponents of these projects have created a polluted atmosphere of fear and self-censorship that further weakens accountability. While the projects in question may vary in nature (some are extractive industries, others are infrastructure or agro-industrial projects), what they have in common is a shocking lack of transparency in terms of who is responsible and the parent companies pulling the strings. Impunity for attacks against those who wish to shine a light on these shady deals allow the murky nature of the relationship between state and business to continue unchecked, risking further degradation of the environment and of the freedom to speak out in Latin America.

Given the dire situation, ARTICLE 19 worked together with Vermont Law School and the Centre for International Environmental Law to produce a comprehensive review of threats to environmental rights defenders across Latin America. 'A Deadly Shade of Green' presents a sorrowful picture of violence and harassment, but also a call for action to reverse the current trend.

Though business interests and human rights are seen traditionally as antagonists, there is real potential for the two to form a strong and constructive partnership for lasting social change that can have a positive impact on both realms. Unfortunately, this potential is far from being fulfilled. Rather, it is proving a toxic combination that is degrading human rights of both those living on the land and those seeking to protect it.
In just over three months' time, the world's global health establishment will descend upon New Delhi to consider new tobacco taxes and regulations that will impact nearly every country in the world. But delegates representing dozens of countries may be banned from participating by the United Nations (UN), according to internal documents.

The UN's public health arm, the World Health Organization holds a tobacco control conference every two years through a sub-agency called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The meeting, which functions as an international parliament that makes decisions about tobacco control efforts, will take place in India from November 7-12 and features delegates from over 180 nations.

In a document obtained from the FCTC, the organizers ask for support to "ensure the exclusion of representatives and officials from...fully or partially state-owned tobacco industries, including state tobacco monopolies." Specifically, the FCTC hopes to ban certain "appointed and elected officials from executive, legislative and judicial branches" from the meeting.

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This effort to exclude delegates with associations with tobacco production is so broad that it will almost certainly prohibit finance ministers, economic development secretaries, public health officials, and even presidents and prime ministers representing countries that operate state-owned tobacco growing or manufacturing operations, or engage in marketing and trade efforts.

Governments are responsible for over 40% of the world's tobacco production. Many nations maintain tobacco research centres and fund promotional agencies to support tobacco exports.

As a result, countries including China, Cuba, Egypt, Bulgaria, Thailand and even India, the convention's host country, may have a hard time having delegates approved to attend the event and vote on issues that impact their citizens.

The FCTC says that this possible exclusion of countries who pay dues toward the event is justified. Representatives from tobacco-producing countries "may have prevented public health interests from prevailing in the policy discussions" at previous conferences, according to the document.

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Blackballing participants and observers from its conference is nothing new for the FCTC.

In addition to potentially banning delegates from the event, the FCTC has a long-standing mandate to prevent tobacco industry workers, including farmers, from attending. The media has even been thrown out of the conference.

The strict policies on participation in the public health conference have enraged India's tobacco farmers, who feel the poor will be the ones made to suffer.

"Rather than addressing the plight of tobacco farmers, India is hosting the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in November 2016," said B.V. Javare Gowda, president of the Federation of All India Farmer Association, to assembled parliamentarians in New Delhi on Thursday.

"This conference will add further misery to the poor Indian tobacco farmer," he declared. "We appeal to the government of India that Indian farmers must be part of the official delegation of [the FCTC convention], or else it would put livelihood of millions at risk without any public health benefit."

Unlike tobacco farmers, members of the media are typically allowed into the proceedings, but are often banned when policy discussions and votes occur. According to Drew Johnson, a journalist at The Daily Caller in Washington, DC, who regularly covers the conference, "media were banned from reporting on the proceedings and physically removed from the meeting without explanation" at the 2014 tobacco control meeting in Moscow.

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Johnson says he was "threatened with arrest, then physically removed from the supposedly public meeting room so [he] could not report on the proceedings."

While banning the tobacco industry and journalists has become commonplace for the FCTC, prohibiting elected officials and other high-level government leaders from rightfully representing their countries at the meeting is new territory for the UN agency.

It is unclear how many delegates may be banned from the conference or whether the media will be able to report on the proceedings, but public health advocates have already brought up possible decisions which are likely to be implemented in November.
It sounds like something out of Hollywood. Indeed, it was made into a Brazilian movie in 1997 with Alan Arkin (in his pre-Argo days). Charles Burke Elbrick, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, was kidnapped and held for four days in September 1969. What made the incident so strange was that Fernando Gabeira, a member of the guerrilla group called the Revolutionary Movement 8th of October (MR8) and a key figure in Elbrick's kidnapping, later wrote a book called O que e isso, companheiro? ("What's this, comrade?") in which he discusses the kidnapping and his armed resistance to the military dictatorship. Gabeira lived in exile for several years and was elected federal deputy for Rio in 1995. In a 2009 interview he said he was "in error" in kidnapping Elbrick; however, he is still not allowed a visa to travel to the U.S. The movie Four Days in September was nominated for several awards, including Best Foreign Language Film by the Academy Awards. In these excerpts, Elbrick's widow Elvira discusses her husband's kidnapping and life after his release, as well as how she "got even" with Richard Nixon.

This moment was compiled from interviews by ADST with Elvira Elbrick, Burke's widow. She was interviewed in 1986. You can read the entire moment on ADST.org.



ELBRICK: We had just arrived, we'd been there 57 days and hadn't even unpacked all of our suitcases, but we had a very busy life as everybody does from the juniors on up to the seniors. When you first arrive you're very busy...

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About a week later we were still with our tongues hanging out from exhaustion with so much going on and Burke heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Isn't this wonderful? We can have lunch together alone," on one of the many terraces -- a huge house, twice the size of the White House painted pink, 23 servants in the house and 12 Marines - enormous. This was a great day, we had a free lunch. One of the butlers came in and said, "There are a lot of photographers and press in the foyer downstairs." Burke said, "I don't want to," because they kept plaguing us - needling Burke to be interviewed. He hated publicity. And I said, "Oh, Burke, they've come again, they have to make their own living. Do go down for about ten minutes to talk with them ...then you can get in your car and go to your office."

So he did, and I went downstairs to help put on a big bazaar that all the diplomatic missions in Brazil were putting on to raise money for the poor. We had 311 pairs of Levis in the basement of the house, cupcakes - heaven knows how many of those - and Revlon products, that's what the Americans were going to sell in their booth... I went down to help tag with an assortment of ladies in the Embassy - 20 at a time would come for a couple of hours throughout the day. We all worked together.

Suddenly my secretary came downstairs, and I said, "Don't disturb me because I'm tagging these Levis and I've got cupcake frosting on my fingers, and I'll be up later. What's the matter?" "No, no, it's very urgent. It's an emergency." So I said, "All right."

So I went upstairs and she said, "Your husband has just been kidnapped." And I said, "What! We just had lunch together." I said, "When?" And she said, "About three minutes after he entered his limousine to go back to his office."



He was caught on a side street, intercepted by a Volkswagen, and they dragged the chauffeur out of the limousine and tore out the telephone, put a tarpaulin on Burke in the back of the car, and two of them with rifles at his neck, and the chauffeur was squeezed - he was very tiny, a Portuguese chauffeur, very small -- had to sit on the cushion to drive this big Cadillac limousine - so they pushed him into the middle and one got behind the wheel and the other one by the door beside the chauffeur and said, "Go."

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Burke was pushed to the floor and as I said, with a tarpaulin over his head. So then they went on and on and on for quite a long time - close to two hours - and later Burke told me that he had read enough of Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock to know that sometimes by hearing you could judge where you were going by the sounds that you heard - the general direction.

So a tunnel, or a mountain, or a flat area, he could feel the automobile moving - a hollow space like a tunnel he remembered particularly - the sound was very different. So he was able later when he was liberated to guide the -- well, they'd discovered where he was in the meantime, where he had been incarcerated. They examined, with Burke present, where he was up in a shack in the mountains and he led them exactly because of the sounds. So anyway it was just a very short time that they kept him -- it was just five days and six nights.

Q: But it didn't seem short at the time, I'm sure.

ELBRICK: Well, I was in -- I don't know -- a daze I think and I never asked for television or radio and they took them out and I didn't even notice they were missing. I carried on; I had people in as usual and carried on with my life as best I could. But I was amazed. Oh, they called from all over the world, The London Times, and the Paris Soir, Roma or whatever in Italy, I've forgotten all of these [newspapers]. And I thought it was my children so I went to the telephone because they were in Europe, both of them; one was in the mountains of Montenegro doing a film with Mel Brooks and they couldn't reach her for three days. My son was in London. So I rushed to the telephone and then the newspaper people would say, "What kind of toothpaste did you use when you went to bed last night?" and "What color nightgown?" and "What kind of a breakfast did you have, and did you sleep, and what did you do in the meantime?" The most ridiculous questions....

Nixon gave an order - he was the one who appointed Burke - when Burke was kidnapped he gave an order to the State Department, Rogers at that time, and the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, and the White House, were to lay off the Elbrick case because he didn't want America to be involved with Brazilian terrorism and revolutionaries and therefore they were not to do anything to help liberate Burke. [The late Sheldon T. Mills, former DCM in Rio de Janeiro, maintains efforts were made to secure Elbrick's release. Mrs. Elbrick, apparently, was never informed.]



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Q: This came from President Nixon?

ELBRICK: This was President Nixon's orders. So there wasn't a word. I wasn't phoned, I didn't get a letter from the President. I thought at least he would call and say, "Would you like your children? I'll send a plane for them." I would have said no, that I didn't want them to be involved in this in case they blew up the house or did something crazy because you never know what they're going to do. But nothing, no word....

The Brazilian government for some unknown reason other than they thought it was very strange that the United States President had not done anything to help this man, innocent victim, 57 days in the country who knew nothing about Brazilian politics or terrorism - he hadn't had time to be briefed you see, in that short a period under two months - so anyway the Brazilian government for some unknown reason took pity on Burke and they surrendered to the wishes of the revolutionary, which was against their principles because it was the same thing exactly as in Persia five or six years ago when all that happened at our embassy there, Khomeini and the students.

So the revolutionaries were against the government and it was very demeaning for the Brazilian government, a military junta - a general was president - to surrender to the wishes of the revolutionaries to liberate this American. But they did it and the revolutionaries required 15 leaders of pockets of revolutionaries and in Brazil, it being an enormous country, it was very hard to find them, to get them....

That was the ransom, to get these leaders and it was very, very hard to find them and this took time. But finally they did and they went to -- I've forgotten where they went, I think they went to Saudi Arabia, some of them -- there were 15 anyway -- and a few went to Mexico.

They are all dead now except two, well that's another story I'll tell you about that just recently came to my view. This man [Fernando Gabeira] wants to interview me who was one of the leaders of Burke's kidnapping who is now free and going into politics in Brazil. He has filtered back to his country, had been living in Sweden -- I've forgotten, some other...I think France and had a book written about Burke and he was the one that opened the door of the shack to say, "Hello, comrade, who have you got there?" And they said, "It's the American Ambassador."

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This was the man who wrote the book who is now in politics in Rio and wants to be governor of Rio.... He has made a fortune with this book about the incident because there's a new government, so he was able to get back to his country and he then made a movie...about the kidnapping of this American. And now he's in politics. It's really rather funny....

I don't think I really absorbed it at the time; it's sort of like a death, a little bit worse because... the fear of the unknown was the worst.... And I began to think I would rather hear that he was dead and not suffering wherever he was because they tortured him and they beat him terribly. They put him in front of an electric light bulb in a garage with a white wall on a three-legged stool all night long that first night -- he was taken at 10 minutes past 3:00 after lunch and it went on all night long. They gave him a book of Ho Chi Minh to read....

He spoke fluent Portuguese, which was in his favor, with the men in this shack and a man sat on the floor all the time, they rotated and let him go to the bathroom and that was about it -- a cot, a table and a chair, and a paperback of Ho Chi Minh to read and gave him revolutionary food. The second day they gave him nothing. But they began to treat him all right really and then he could communicate. He said, "Why do you rely on violence with an innocent victim like myself knowing nothing about your country, or your politics? I've just arrived here and violence doesn't pay." And they said, "Well, because the government won't listen to us." A lot of them were students also that were anti-government besides the ones who took Burke and some of them hadn't even met their leaders. Like the Castros, there were lots of leaders in the mountains. They were just given orders.... So Burke spoke and said that these young people should be heard. And he kept his promise, and there has been very little terrorism since then.



Q: So they weren't questioning him or anything?

ELBRICK: Yes, they questioned him all night long while he was bleeding because they bandaged his eyes as he got out of the car. They put a kerchief around his eyes and he pushed them away and pushed the thing off his eyes and he felt they were going to shoot him on the spot. He didn't know what they were going to do, so he resisted which he shouldn't have done. That's when they beat him terribly on the head. So he was all night long being quizzed about nothing that he could answer. He knew nothing about the country.

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But then in the end they dumped him on a mountain top and said, "Stay 15 minutes by your watch,"... they gave him back his watch. They washed his clothes but didn't return his tie, and then they shook his hand.

But in any case, Burke came back to the United States nine days after he was liberated and at his own expense brought me, had an appointment at the White House to see the Chief of State to give him the story direct. He went to the White House, he was led into the White House in the direction of the Oval Office, and then was told that the President was unavailable. Nixon. So Burke said, "I'm not going to anybody else. I was going to our President who appointed me."

So he went back to Brazil and he stayed nine months feeling very, very sick because... he was horribly beaten, had 75 stitches taken in his head. And they were opening up the Foreign Office in Brasilia, Burke had to go to all those ceremonies in white tie and tails and so on, and he was feeling dizzy and faint and I remember he was hanging on to the car door and I thought, "My God, what's the matter with this man?"

And this was a clot which had formed in his jugular vein which our Embassy doctor did not discover but he had stitched him up and said, he needed some rest and "... you'll be all right." This was causing the fainting spells. Then Burke appealed to the State Department that he should come home and have a medical examination and he had ten operations, one each year. They removed that thing which was the size of a Kennedy dollar from his jugular vein from the blow on his head.

There were nine other operations and the last two were his legs, removed from his hips. He lived for two years and then he got pneumonia and he died. He got a cold from one of his grandsons on Easter Sunday, where we had a family reunion and one of the little boys who went up and kissed his grandfather had a cold. Burke got the cold because he wasn't too well, so I suppose could catch colds more easily than the normal person...

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Q: Did the President ever see him?

ELBRICK: No, but I got even with Nixon about three weeks ago. I'd been lying in wait like a three-headed serpent and a six-pronged tongue viper. I saw him at Loy Henderson's funeral... we knew Loy fairly well and I went because Burke was devoted to him and I wanted to go. Somebody poked me and said, "There's Nixon standing at the foot of the church steps," a little church on Sixteenth Street, a Methodist Church.

So I went up to him and I said, "How do you do, Mr. President?" And he said, "How do you do," and smiled from one ear lobe to the other. And I said, "And how is Mrs. Nixon?" and he said, "Fine," "... and, the children?" and so on, just a very quick little conversation.

And then I said, "Do you happen to recall a man by the name of Burke Elbrick?" And he said, "Oh, yes. I appointed him as Ambassador to Brazil."
Fifty-six-year-old Kane, the first woman and first Democrat to be elected attorney general in the state, is awaiting trial in Lackawanna County Court on charges of driving under the influence and careless driving in connection with a minor accident March 12 in Scranton.
Justine Frostad, Marketing & Events Manager, North America at The Exchange Lab

We are the heroes, exclaimed Katie Meyler, CEO and Founder of More Than Me, an organization that uses education as a catalyst for transformative social change for girls in Liberia. Meyer explained that this revelation came to her as she was on the frontline helping provide support - both practical and emotional - to Ebola sufferers during the height of the crisis. Its a realization that Meyler and other inspirational speakers at the inaugural WORLDZ event said everyone can apply to their own lives.

Its generally unusual to be moved to tears at conferences, however at last weeks event put on by the PTTOW! (Plan To Take On The World!) organization held against a Baywatch background in Los Angeles, it happened on more than one occasion  to most of the 750 attendees.

While, at times, the rhetoric could be a little cheesy, the messages remained genuine - as did the energy and ambience of the summit. WORLDZ is about moving beyond surviving as an individual to thriving as a community through inspired action.

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Here are the top takeaways from WORLDZ that can and should be applied to our everyday lives both at work and at home.

Partnerships That Propel Change

One collaboration celebrated at WORLDZ was the partnership between Discovery Communications, iHeart Radio and GoPro, who worked together to create the documentary on endangered-species Racing Extinction, which has been viewed by over four million people.

It was shared as an example of how an unexpected partnership can grow audiences and achieve marketing goals, while also creating impetus for social change. The partnership included an ongoing forum that creates awareness around animals close to extinction, as well as offers donation and educational resources.

Another example of partnership propelling change is a non-profit that works with almost a third of PTTOW! member organizations called Year-Up. It helps disadvantaged young adults gain valuable workplace skills, experience and support that empower them to reach their professional potential. The notion is that when you surround yourself with inspiring people and causes, your team will be moved to challenge their traditional thought process, consider fresh solutions and take immediate action.

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When brands think beyond their pre-tested marketing efforts, identifying unique partnership opportunities can lead to transformative business solutions.

The Illusion of A Work/Life Balance

Work/life balance is something many people strive for, however Bert Jacobs, CEO & Co-Founder of Life is Good challenges that concept; he says its an oxymoron because your purpose should be apparent in all areas of your life. Jacobs believes that finding fulfillment that is true to your values in all your pursuits is the key to lasting success.

For brands, tapping into the core values of their consumers is critical for making a lasting impact on them. In order to build an effective organization, you need to understand the community it can serve. Digital creative, event activations, merchandise and other traditional marketing efforts are really just vehicles for emotional connection.

Brands like TOMS and Warby Parker have built their brands on a foundation of giving back to communities in need; through each purchase so customers feel like they are a part of something bigger.

Authenticity in Advertising

When it comes to authenticity brands need to focus on action over words -saying youre authentic doesnt cut it. Your actions and approach to connection as a brand will determine how customers perceive you.

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When your customers view your brand as authentic it leads to trust and, as Laurant, Potdevin CEO at Lululemon explained it, trust builds magic. Once you have their trust you have the freedom to be more creative and daring in your content and expression.

When it comes to marketing that drives an authentic connection, Proctor & Gambles Always #LikeAGirl campaign along with its next phase Unstoppable, comes to mind. The campaigns aimed to dispel the idea that doing anything like a girl is an insult, bringing awareness to the limitations girls face starting at a young age. Hearing kids share their experiences and shrinking self-esteem because of their gender was an effective way to highlight the issue that girls confidence drops significantly during puberty.

In this case the Always brand successfully aligned with a relevant social cause, moving audiences and creating awareness for both the issue as well as the brand across platforms and social media, receiving over 76 million views across 150 countries, according to The Gunn Report. This is a great example of how a campaign can see success in traditional measures, but remain relevant for years because of the authenticity behind their message.

Brands (And People) That Rise Above Differences to Create Connections

By 2044 minorities will account for the majority of the U.S. population. This population figure should be a long awaited wake up call to marketers to think about inclusivity and that the images brands portray need to reflect the diverse cultural landscape.

We are moving closer toward polyculturalism, a term that Valeria Piaggio, VP, Head of Multicultural Insights at The Futures Company defines as the notion that all cultures are interrelated; every person is a product of their attitude, values, cultural influences and lifestyle rather than being defined by genetics or skin color. 78% of millennials believe that more companies should take a stand on important social issues.

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One brand standing up for inclusion is Christian Louboutin who created a line of nude shoes in different shades, reflecting the fact that the color nude differs by ethnicity. Another company called Tru-Colour Bandages is based on the same inclusive concept, offering bandages in different shades and promoting diversity in healing.

No matter what your background is we all share brands so marketers have a huge opportunity to bring people together and overcome differences.

Turning Lessons Into Actions

WORLDZ is the antithesis of a traditional conference where you quietly watch speaker after speaker; it promotes interaction, celebrates open emotion and truly inspires you to engage with the people around you - both in-the-moment and ideally long term via partnership.

At a time so wrought with cynicism, its refreshing to be part of something that serves as a reminder of all the amazing people and initiatives that exist. It also makes you think of what brands as well as individuals can do to inspire their consumers and colleagues to better the lives of those around them via relationships and partnerships.
Matt Webb, Global Chief Technology Officer, Mirum

How Work is Changing for the Better in the Age of AI, Automation, and Autonomous Robots

If you look at the power of blurring advanced automation and robotics with AI, you start to picture a world where the once protected elements of a job (the computers cant do this and neither can robots argument), are fewer and fewer.

You start to realize that a lot of your day, could in reality, be handled by an AI lead, droid version of a Swiss army knife or CleverDroids, as I like to call them.

My issue with this, is that it is easy to slip into the negative view of an AI takeover, where fully automated factories replace ones where humans are brewing cups of tea and whole departments shrink to the size of a server room ultimately leading to cities full of unemployed robot haters and social unrest. (In the movie world this would all be set amongst a backdrop of litter and shot in washed out grey).

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The trouble is, I don't buy it. I know this is naive, but I feel that there are areas of the world that could really do with more input. Imagine a hospital - currently understaffed, given advanced robotics to administer medicine, deliver food, and move patients around - all overseen by the same wonderful doctors and nurses, but with less time spent doing the things that waste their time. Or how about firefighters that can operate large life saving machines by using their minds alone? Then there are the corporations that can afford to give people more training, because they are dealing with their employees time more effectively by augmenting their abilities with AI.

I know it has been quoted before, but I do subscribe to the notion that CleverDroids and AI will take parts of people's jobs, but not all of people's jobs.

The people on the other side of this, always quote the call centers, burger flippers and box packers - but think of every crappy job you have ever done, think of how many times you were doing that job and could have been doing something more worthwhile with your time.

Alternatively, think of the first person you hired, who had a degree - and all they had been doing up until you hired them was packing boxes. Now, imagine if they had stayed an additional year in higher education being taught by an AI, CleverBot or even just online for that year - based on the preference you set. Bingo, cheap, repeatable and customizable training.

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You might question, how would they pay to eat and where would they live? Well, how about if that same college that was part funded by your firm, also had the license to print temporary smart homes and grow and distribute food more efficiently, and that all the students had to do was volunteer so many hours a week towards helping train others and feed the homeless

You see where I am going!

I know my prediction isnt flawless - but we ARE changing our work life, so while we are at it, why dont we try and do some good with it.
Here's a question for all of you law abiding folks out there. Have you ever been shot by the cops with a Taser stun gun? I have. I once got zapped with 50,000 volts from an X26 Taser and it hurt like a son of a bitch. But my beef with the stun gun, the Taser, isn't personal, it's political. This is because Tasers, "conducted energy weapons", have become a public health and safety issue. Marketed as a "non-lethal weapon", Tasers are anything but. People, black and white, young and old, are dying because of them. And it's not just happening in the USA, it's happening all over the world.

Though it has been around for forty plus years, the Taser is a very mysterious weapon indeed, one that We the People don't know much about. Who invented this Star Trek style phaser gun? And why does one firm in Arizona, TASER International, have the monopoly on supplying them to 107 countries and 18,000 law enforcement agencies worldwide? Here's the potted history. A retired NASA physicist called Jack Cover invented the first Taser in 1969; by 1977, cops all over the USA were testing them in the field; in 1993, a pair of entrepreneur brothers, Rick and Tom Smith, licensed the technology from Cover and founded TASER International. The Smith boys improved the weapon's trigger mechanism, its accuracy, and, controversially, its stopping power. Cover's model operated on a five-watt system that lacked the knockdown punch to stop "motivated people". To compensate, the boffins at TASER International pumped up the output of the device four times and the charge three times. It was powerful. It did the trick. But was it fit for public consumption?

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With bankruptcy looming for the Smith boys at TASER International in 1999, their product was rushed into service. It was a glorious success. The M26 Taser was hailed as the product that changed the face of law enforcement. It did so because it gave cops an option other than lethal force. No muss, no fuss, pull out the Taser. But there was never any regulation of the product, and, for some inexplicable reason, the M26, and its successor the X26, has never been inspected by any electrical standards body in the world. Moreover, all of the information and data on the product that law enforcement agencies were relying on came from the manufacturer's team of in-house experts. Hmm, it doesn't take a Lt. Colombo or Dixon of Dock Green to ask the logical question here: should cops be taking the company at their word and using its "non-lethal" product? No, perhaps not. Cops did OK before the advent of the Taser, and Tasers are anything but risk free.
"The Coalition had consultants in the past -- but this time, it was different," said Samuel Boateng Arthur, from Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health. "The team worked with us to set the agenda. We were involved at every step -- and their outside perspective helped us understand where the Coalition needs to go now." Arthur, the Regional Chairman for an organization that coordinates the work of 400 health NGOs in Ghana, is not speaking about a team of hired guns or paid consultants, but rather a group of employees from PwC, PIMCO, and the Dow Chemical Company working with the organization on a pro bono project. Last month, employees came to Accra, Ghana from throughout the US and Europe to take part in the Global Health Corporate Champions, an activity of U.S. Agency for International Development's Global Health Fellows Program (GHFP) II. They spent one ambitious and demanding month embedded in the Coalition and other powerhouse NGOs including HealthKeepers Network. Working side-by-side with leaders from these organizations, they delivered projects including a business plan, charting one organization's strategic direction for the next five years, and a communications strategy for another, complete with new materials and processes. Some of these participants included Aubrey Annan, Director of PwC's Health Industries Advisory, Austin Cazort who manages content marketing at PIMCO, and Darrell Boverhof, who is ordinarily immersed in world material science, from Dow. They probed their host to better understand its strengths, limitations, and areas of opportunity. "I expected that funding would be tight, mostly because Ghana was recently upgraded to middle-income status and would soon lose much of the funding that had been available to it as a low-income country," said Austin. "Once in Accra, however, I was shocked by the additional hurdles that non-profits face in an emerging market setting. Most of the issues have to do with access--access to funding, internet, roads, healthcare supplies, and training. I found that the individuals working in these organizations were passionate and highly educated, but were hindered in their effectiveness because of the infrastructure barriers that influenced business on all levels." The learning that comes out of these projects is not one-sided, nor is it limited to nonprofits. Applying professional skills in a cross-sector, emerging market setting builds a participant's leadership chops -- accelerating emotional intelligence and increasing their understanding of the nuances of working in a globalized economy. "The US tends to be very transactional with business engagement -- meaning people feel comfortable moving ahead with business matters without having established a relationship," said Darrell, who serves as Dow's Director of Product Sustainability Consulting. "In contrast, Ghanaians are very relationship-oriented, where they feel a need to develop trust and familiarity -- a relationship --prior to moving forward. I observed this at so many levels -- from our work with our NGO clients to the street hustler whose first priority is to engage and then the sell the merchandise." (See A Lesson in Sales, Ghana Style.) "Observing these cultural differences gave me a new self-awareness. It reminded me how relationships are a means for effective business engagement."
News that Syrian rebels have, at least temporarily, broken the siege of Aleppo is good. Despite the best efforts of Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime to terrorize the city into submission, some 300,000 Syrians will be spared, for the time-being, from the onset of disease and starvation at the hands of a government still permitted to represent Syria in the United Nations.

The bad news is that Syrian nationalist defenders of Aleppo had no choice but to make common cause with the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate whose recent name-change and disassociation from the parent organization are about as genuine and meaningful as the commitment of Bashar al-Assad and his allies to the welfare of the Syrian people. Efforts by opposition nationalists to separate themselves from the Nusra Front have been frustrated by the combination of Russian-led military operations and feckless American diplomacy.

Moscow's objective from the beginning has been to keep Bashar al-Assad in power and make Washington like it. The Obama administration, fixated as it is on doing nothing in Syria that might offend Iran and risk undoing the nuclear agreement, has eagerly lapped-up Russian hints that Assad might someday be expendable. President Obama, projecting his own fears onto Vladimir Putin, even advised the Russian president early-on to avoid a quagmire. Putin has done exactly that, and remains determined to bring what was once Syria's largest city under the control of his Syrian client. Obama is expressing frustration with Russian behavior, wondering aloud if those who seized Crimea and bombed American-supported Syrian rebels are truly serious about being good partners.

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Washington understands fully what an asset Assad is for the likes of ISIS (ISIL, Daesh, Islamic State), the Nusra Front, and other jihadist armed groups. President Obama and his senior foreign policy aides have spoken often and eloquently about regime mass murder and the recruiting boon it offers to other forms of terrorism in Syria and beyond.

Yet the combination of a nuclear deal with Iran and Tehran's desperate desire to keep Assad in power has inspired the administration to divide Syria artificially into two policy baskets: a desultory war against ISIS in the east; and mendicant diplomacy in the west. The former employs a largely Kurdish ground force in conjunction with military aviation to squeeze ISIS gradually as it plans more mass atrocities for Europe and North America. The latter earnestly implores a Russia that bombs civilian hospitals and strafes American-equipped rebel units to muzzle its client and bring its actual behavior into line with its proclaimed anti-terrorism objectives.

Moscow, however, holds Washington in deep contempt. It senses that the Obama administration is in Tehran's thrall, knowing how important Assad is in Iranian eyes to sustaining Hezbollah in Lebanon, and knowing the centrality of the nuclear arms agreement to the foreign policy legacy of Barack Obama.

Does Russia believe that Tehran would walk away from the nuclear deal if the United States suddenly decided to make it hard for Assad to barrel-bomb the defenseless? Probably not. Tehran did not sign the agreement as an act of charity.

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What Russia thinks, however, is unimportant. What President Obama thinks is everything. And Iran's adherence to Assad - the poster boy for al-Qaeda recruitment - is that which divides American policy in Syria unnaturally and which encourages Putin to think he can do as he pleases while suffering nothing greater than the occasional sermon about the 'quagmire' that awaits him.

Influential elements within Syria's opposition have tried in recent weeks to interest the United States in a cooperative approach to separating nationalist rebel units in northwestern Syria from the Nusra Front. This initiative would have been fully consistent with Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to subject Russian military targeting to mutual veto and to ground Assad's murderous air force.

What did these opposition elements need from Washington? Pressure from the world's only superpower for a genuine ceasefire - a Russia-Iran-Assad military stand-down - and military assistance for rebel units that would move to displace the Nusra Front. Washington delivered nothing. So the breaking of the Aleppo siege included everyone willing to fight Assad's army and battle the melange of Shia militias assembled by Iran.

Russia and its allies will not permit this tactical setback to go unchallenged. In the air Russian and regime aircraft will likely resume their largely unchallenged assaults on civilians, with special attention paid to medical facilities. On the ground Iran will do what it can to compensate for Syrian Army 'elite' units more adept at stealing from UN humanitarian convoys than anything else.

In the end, however, nothing good can emerge from this Syrian catastrophe unless civilians receive a modicum of protection from their assailants. How, after all, does one repair to Geneva to negotiate in good faith while one's constituents are being terrorized and vaporized with deliberate intent and forethought by one's interlocutors? And yet the United States, while calling loudly for a diplomatic solution, has been absolutely AWOL as mass homicide descended on Syria and its effects rippled through the region all the way to Western Europe and North America.

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Much is made in the media about 'CIA-trained rebel units' deliberately targeted by Russian aircraft. Do these formations not meet a standard of 'vetting' that would permit the provision of shoulder-fired, anti-aircraft weaponry that would give them a fighting chance? In the days following the Assad regime's brutal chemical attack in 2013 an American naval task force was dispatched to the eastern Mediterranean to prepare to engage regime targets with cruise missiles. Might this task force be reconstituted to end the free ride enjoyed by a regime that murders at will, scatters Syrians to the four winds, and makes ISIS and Nusra Front recruiting easy?

Iran surely will not like it if Washington ends its artificial and ineffective bifurcation of Syria policy. The supreme leader will rant and threaten. The foreign minister will moan to his American counterpart about Iran's 'moderates' being undermined by the unprecedented, unprovoked, and menacing protection of Syrian civilians. The nuclear agreement will be used to blackmail Washington and threaten the Obama legacy.

Those of us who support the nuclear agreement can still see Iranian behavior in Syria and elsewhere as the work of a dangerous adversary; work that permits the words 'Iranian moderates' to take one back 30 years to a time when the phrase inspired skepticism and ridicule. Let Iran make its own decisions. The supreme leader, president and foreign minister are all part of the same system; there is no difference between them when it comes to Iran's drive for regional hegemony and its support of the Al Qaeda-inspiring Assad, a man who helped midwife ISIS by supporting its parent (al-Qaeda in Iraq) for years on end and who now sustains it through collective punishment and mass murder.

Aleppo's relief is good. Some of those who participated in it are not. It is all terribly tangled and complex. One thing alone is not complicated: Civilian protection is the required first step to sorting out Syria's toxic politics; civilian protection is the sole portal leading to diplomatic progress. Iranian blackmail and empty Russian assurances should not prevent the United States and its partners from making effective diplomacy possible.
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President Obama electrified the DNC by reminding Americans that hope is stronger than fear and by laying the charge that if citizens want democracy to work for them, they must also work for democracy. After over three decades of rapidly rising incarceration rates, our national conversation is finally showing some signs of acknowledgement that the system is fundamentally broken. Criminal justice reform is often mentioned at national meetings like the DNC, but its core issues are not quite elaborated on.

As far as Presidents go on incarceration, Obama has put his money where his mouth is, becoming the first sitting president to visit a federal prison, and also banning solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons.

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But while policies at the federal, state and city levels are crucial to achieving change, the voices of those impacted by the system must be placed at the forefront for true progressive evolution.

The Supreme Courts recognition of the validity of gay marriage came after decades of organized pride campaigns, and hard fought battles like the Stonewall riots of the late 60s. And the 19th amendment, granting womens suffrage, was only ratified after decades of women standing up to their husbands at home and also displaying their collective power in the public sphere. And now we have our first female nominee with the backing of a major political party running for president.

Mass-incarceration is one of this millenniums most pressing and backwards phenomena.

Incarceration rates spiked in the 1980s under Reagan and went unchecked for the three decades that followed. Bill Clintons presidency, and particularly his 1994 crime bill, added fuel to the fire Reagan ignited, with the federal prison population having doubled in the last 22 years. Policies like mandatory minimums have resulted in the United States becoming the world leader in jailing people. Although America is home to only 4.4 percent of the worlds population, we house 22 percent of the worlds prisoners.

The American taxpayers pay $39 billion annually to uphold this pathologic system, with states like New York paying a $60k per year per person imprisoned. At the same time, recidivism rates are higher than 75 percent for individuals released within 5 years, making it clear that our correctional system is not quite correcting anything. Blaming this on criminal behavior is dangerously shortsighted to the social nature of the problem.

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But without faces behind the figures, and internal organization, all of this is hard to contextualize and easy to ignore. Many advocacy groups work for criminal justice reform, but its more rare to find organizations that inspire the type of grassroots power that was built into womens and gay liberation movements  collective agency that put the impacted individuals perspectives first.

As an education-sociologist, I study how individuals and groups can harness their agency  their specific capacity to navigate obstacles  to create positive change in their lives. Humans should be understood as lifelong learners so they can constantly expanding their minds, analyze and reevaluate their world, and then assess their potential within it. As philosopher Paulo Freire highlighted, students must critically understand their social positions to become active political agents within causes that affect them.

JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA) is one such authentic change-maker which encourages the growth for those formerly incarcerated. JLUSAs Leading with Conviction (LwC) Fellowship trains mid-to senior-level advocates around the country to become leaders in their offices and helps them them take on greater roles and responsibilities in their communities. The program generates agency by allowing these individuals to become spokespersons who represent the spectrum of success that is possible for those who have a criminal record working to change mindsets for those who do not.

Khalil Cumberbatch, the Manager of Trainings at JLUSA and once an LwC alum, said, LwC empowered me to believe that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution, and its helping others across the country to realize the same. Cumberbatch is a living embodiment that when given pinpointed support, not only can people reintegrate, but they can excel and contribute immensely to society as well.

The stigma of a criminal record lowers opportunities for adequate employment, housing, and health-related resources. Fellowships and programs like LwC allow individuals to learn from their limitations and then leverage them to visualize success. By bettering their life outcomes, formerly incarcerated individuals personify that failed rehabilitation is a product of a larger social problem fueled by neglect.

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Neglect is complacency. JLUSAs goal is to cut the correctional population in half by 2030.

During election cycles, rhetoric of change and progress, and making things great again runs rampant. But in the fray of the spectacle, true focus on reform can get lost. For our countrys immediate criminal justice crisis, we must reimagine a system that relies exclusively on punishment without providing any empowerment.

As Obama has often done in the limelight of the main stage, he referred to his vision for A More Perfect Union, at the DNC: Although the Founding Fathers may not have intended full equality of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, their rhetoric of All Men are Created Equal, still provides means for marginalized groups to rise up by first championing for themselves. Only then can they start to be taken seriously as members of the national conversation.

The movement to systemically change the criminal justice system, must be led by those directly impacted by that system, as their experience gives them first-hand knowledge of the inefficiencies that exist, JLUSAs Mr. Cumberbatch. Leading with Conviction provides the leadership tools to formerly incarcerated men and women to take the lead and empower others to lead that movement.
Image: Armenian police used excessive force against peaceful protesters and journalists on July 29, 2016. Author: Human Rights Watch

YEREVAN, Armenia -- In any urban protests that police meet with violence, there is one day or night when authorities' use of force reaches a crescendo.

That day was February 20, 2014, at the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine's capital of Kiev. President Viktor Yanukovych's security forces shot more than 60 demonstrators dead, bringing to more than 100 the number whom police had killed in about a month's time.

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The crescendo of law-enforcement violence against demonstrators supporting an armed group who occupied a police station in Armenia's capital of Yerevan came on July 29, 2016.

No deaths were involved, but security forces beat protesters to the point of breaking bones and used stun grenades on them that caused first- and second-degree burns and cost one protester his eye.

Unlike in previous decades in the former Soviet Union, when police in the region use excessive force these days, there's usually a day of reckoning.

The February 20, 2014, killings in Ukraine so galvanized the anti-Yanukovych forces that he was forced to flee to Russia for his life.

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The day of reckoning in the July 29, 2016, police violence against Armenian protesters came with the firing of Yerevan's police chief this week, and penalties imposed on 18 other officers.

Whether the reckoning expands to government officials -- such as the interior minister, who is ultimately in charge of Armenia's police forces -- remains to be seen.

Some analysts see the law-enforcement officers as scapegoats. Their punishments were aimed at mollifying the public while insuring that accountability for the violence does not land at the feet of government higher-ups, these analysts contend.

Georgi Gogia, director of Human Rights Watch's South Caucasus Division, said the "dramatic" punishments imposed on the police officers "could be a sign that there will be accountability for what happened on July 29." The implication was that the organization would like to see the accountability going higher.

Armenians owe the local chapter of Human Rights Watch a debt of gratitude for documenting the July 29 violence while being at risk of becoming victims themselves.

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Organization members interviewed protesters who had been beaten and injured in stun-grenade attacks -- at the scenes of the demonstrations, in detention centers and in hospitals.

Police also injured a number of journalists on July 29. Documenting the violence in the same way that journalists did, Human Rights Watch's interviewers could easily have shared their fate.

The government fired Yerevan Police Chief Ashot Karapetyan this week for what it said was his "failing to prevent violent (police) attacks on protesters and journalists" on July 29.

The words "failing to prevent" police violence suggest that Karapetyan might have played a passive role in the excessive use of police force against the demonstrators -- that he simply failed to exercise enough oversight.

Actually, he led the charge on the protesters who ended up being injured, several witnesses told Human Rights Watch.

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The same day the government fired Karapetyan, it reprimanded 13 police officers involved in the violence. Three days previously, it suspended five.

Stun grenades are supposed to disable opponents with a blinding flash of light and a huge bang without causing permanent injury.

But the stun grenades used against the July 29 protests caused permanent injury to many demonstrators, Human Rights Watch reported.

When the grenades exploded, they burned many people and emitted plastic shrapnel that caused fragmentation wounds, the organization said.

"Polystyrene (plastic) in some stun grenades will melt in the heat created when they are discharged, and cause serious burn wounds," Human Rights Watch noted.

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The fragmentation wounds were from shreds of plastic penetrating people's skin. Some entered several centimeters deep, Human Rights Watch said.

A doctor told Human Rights Watch that a young man he treated had suffered such major fragmentation damage to his eye that he had to remove it.

The same doctor reported treating -- or seeing other doctors treat -- 20 to 25 people with burns and fragmentation wounds on the night of July 29 and the early morning of July 30.

Protesters told Human Rights Watch that police gave them one order to disperse, then waded into them.

"Immediately after firing and throwing the stun grenades into the crowd, uniformed police and unidentified people in civilian clothes acting with them, ran toward the protesters, detaining many," Human Rights Watch reported. "Police and the unidentified men also punched, kicked and used wooden clubs to beat some journalists and protesters, and damaged or seized journalists' equipment."

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The beatings continued in police vehicles used to transport demonstrators to detention facilities, and in the facilities themselves, Human Rights Watch added.

Yerevan State University lecturer Marat Yavromyan was one of the protesters who suffered severe injuries.

Police broke the 37-year-old's nose, gashed the side of his mouth and left him with lacerations inside his mouth that needed stitched up.

The demonstrations ended after 20 of the 30 original police-station occupiers surrendered on July 31, two weeks after they had seized the station on July 17. The raiders had demanded the release of Zhirair Sefilian, head of the opposition fringe party Founding Parliament, and the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan. Police arrested Sefilian in June of 2016 on a charge of plotting a coup -- an allegation he and his followers denied.

The demonstrations grew as the station occupation wore on, attracting participants from parties besides Founding Parliament.

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By the time the police-station siege ended, it had turned from a fringe-party protest to a more general uprising against the government.

While not producing martyrs in the traditional sense of the word -- people killed -- the police violence on July 29 left participants with burns, broken bones, lost eyes and other injuries that can only help the cause of those who want to see a more progressive government in Armenia.
This piece was originally published on Mindthis

It is now pageant season. Millions of girls around the world clamor around their television screens, waiting to see women from their country and proceed to look at the 'Misses' of the world with a special gleam of idealism in their eyes.

Tucked away on the small island of Grand Bahama, preparing for the biggest stage of her life is Chivvaun Smith, a young woman who once held the same idealistic gleam in her eye. That idealism with time, morphed into a hunger that is fueled by her goal of becoming Miss Bahamas Universe. As I'm from Grand Bahama I thought it would be interesting to follow her journey, but first I needed to learn the basics. Who is she?

Grand Bahama is the perfect island destination. With miles and miles of pure white sand touched by the bluest waters you can imagine and a sun that refuses to stop shining. As wonderful as the island is, that still doesn't change the fact that much like any other small town everyone knows everyone and a slightly exaggerated truth about everything.

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So it's not hard to connect people on the island. In Chivvaun's case my cousin is her best friend so tracking her down wasn't the hardest thing to do. No, the hardest part about meeting Chivvaun was calling her by her first government name. Everyone who has known her before or during high school affectionately calls her Abby.

This new title is strange to me but it comes as no surprise. Gone is the tall quiet and awkward 11-year-old girl with long limbs I once knew. Standing before me is a graceful ballerina. Trained in her art form and using the environment around her to create nothing but positive energy. If I was cultured enough to speak on things like fine wine and the time it takes to age it perfectly, now would be the time to share such knowledge. For now however, I'll stick with "she's grown up".

Abby casually welcomes me into her home where for an hour and a half I got to pretend like I was Oprah and she was more than gracious enough to indulge the fancy.

Most dancers start at a really young age and Abby clearly wasn't an exception.

" I got into dance when I was 5 years old. My mom and I met a lady from the Czech Republic who said I looked just like her sister who was also a dancer. So mummy enrolled me. From there my entire life was about it you know? I absolutely loved it."

She goes on to talk about her training and her subsequent move to the Washington School of Ballet to advance in it.

"I had reached a point where I had exhausted everything the Bahamas could have given me as far as training and technique goes. Moving was one of the hardest things to do. I was one of the oldest and I was behind technically. One of my dance teachers even called my movement vulgar."

In the Bahamas Abby was considered too advanced in her art form to grow and in Washington she was deemed too "vulgar" to learn. Even though Abby would move on to 'City Dance at Strathmore' on a full scholarship, the damage was already done.

This would not be the first time she would straddle the fence of where exactly she belonged. In a world where more and more people are engaging in honest discussions of race and heritage, Abby has an all too familiar story

"I had someone tell me once that I was too dark to be considered white and too white to be considered a token black."

Abby talks about her experience going to University of Oklahoma and many micro-aggressions she would have faced there. It's the comments at home however that hit rather harshly.

"People try to tell me that Bahamians don't look like me. Well what do they look like? There isn't one mold that Bahamians fit and that's what makes us beautiful, Our diversity."

Colourism is real and Abby's not here for it.

Working at the Ministry of Tourism now and surely on her way to representing the Bahamas in that sector I had to ask her though "Why Miss Bahamas?"

"I remember meeting Mikala Moss (former Miss Bahamas) and wanting to be so much like her. It was when you still asked people for autographs and I got hers. I actually still have it in my room! I also remember watching the Miss Universe pageants and being really sad that we haven't had a Miss Bahamas make it through. Last year I decided that I would stop complaining and at the very least try to do it myself."

It's obvious that Abby will work hard to attain the title of Miss Bahamas, so it was no surprise when I reached out to Tomii Culmer Miss Bahamas Universe 2014 - 2015 she had this to say about Abby "She may seem soft spoken but she definitely has fire. Especially when she hits the stage. I have a lot of confidence in her. As long as she stays focused she'll be good"

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Miss Bahamas Universe 2014 - 2015, Tomii Culmer

Tomii acts as a mentor of sorts to the young Miss Bahamas hopeful and it's evident how proud of Abby she really is.

I've decided to save any other questions I have for Abby until next time. She has a morning flight to catch to the capital for training and I refuse to be the person keeping her from resting well. I'm more than excited to follow her on this journey and I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.

To keep up with Chivvaun Abigail's Pageant journey go follow her on Facebook.
After the end of the cold war, during the Europeanization of the international relations in the region, energy politics played a significant role for Turkish-Russian rapprochement. While energy was the most important factor for Turkey, for Russia it was the perception of the U.S as a threat in Black Sea and Caucasus region. Thus Russian vision to improve relations with Turkey mostly relied on both economic and geopolitical factors.

The Arab Spring, however changed everything in the region along with Turkish-Russian relations.

While Turkey desperately tried to overthrow the Assad regime and supported the opposition groups during the Syrian civil war, Russia and Iran gave a full support to Assad regime.

The tension between Russia and Turkey accelerated when Russia started an aggressive military campaign against ISIS and other opposition groups in Syria and has peaked when a Russian plane was shut down by a Turkish jet last year.

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Russia did not respond militarily to Turkey but started an economic embargo and a smear campaign against president Erdogan and his family especially in U.N Security Council. Thus, one of the most important reasons that the President Erdogan to start the rapprochement is based upon primarily to stop Russian efforts in U.N Security Council against Turkey.

Many also believe that closer ties with Russia carries a connotation to blackmail the U.S to get the extradition of Mr. Fethullah Gulen who Erdogan sees as an enemy since the corruption probe in December 17, 2013. Improving ties with Russia, Erdogan also implies that Turkey can leave NATO and start a new strategic alliance with Russia. While it is definitely safe to consider that Russia may want to exploit Turkey's situation to weaken NATO alliance getting Turkey into its orbit.

However, the American policy makers do not view it as a zero-sum game. Instead they see it coherent with their interests in Syria especially combatting the ISIS threat. For the Russian perspective, accepting Turkey's apology and starting bilateral relations would force Turkey to a radical change on its Syrian perspective and engagements.

Even though, NATO considers the Russian aggression in Eastern Europe as a serious threat, it doesn't seem the rapprochement between Turkey and Russia will result in Turkey's departure from NATO.

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On the other hand, the closer ties with Russia will not change the Russian perspective on Kurdish YPG which Turkey claims it is linked to PKK. U.S Government considers the Kurds as a strategic ally against ISIS as well. While Russia may request Turkey to take serious steps against ISIS, Turkey is vulnerable to ask the same thing from Russia for YPG.

One of the most important result of the failed coup in Turkey is that Turkish Military is now more vulnerable to the attacks of PKK, considering almost 40 percent of the generals are in jail and thousands of the officers are arrested.
In a terrible decision last month, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit brought by the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDL), refusing its request under the Freedom of Information Act to look at a manual prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice -- entitled the Federal Criminal Discovery Blue Book -- that contains strategies, tactics, and arguments used by federal prosecutors to enforce, and possibly evade, their constitutional obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants. Two of the three judges on the panel, Judge David Sentelle and Judge Harry Edwards, although believing the court's decision was compelled by precedent -- even a wrongly decided precedent -- derided the Justice Department's cynical effort to conceal from the public the questionable tactics it uses to win cases. As these judges asked rhetorically, "What is it you have to hide?"

The Justice Department claims that the manual is information that lawyers call "Work Product," which is typically exempt from disclosure to a party's adversary when it is prepared in anticipation of litigation. It's a privilege that is designed to protect the integrity of the adversary trial process by providing an attorney with a zone of privacy to analyze the evidence, evaluate her case, and come up with legal theories and arguments. To be sure, the Department's manual was prepared in connection with future criminal litigation in general, but certainly not in connection with any specific criminal case, which is the way most legal observers view the work product privilege. For example, if the Justice Department hired a group of pro-law enforcement lawyers to write a private treatise for use only by United States Attorneys on "How to Win Criminal Convictions by Cheating," it's inconceivable that a court would allow the government to keep that treatise secret as "work product." Moreover, the notion that disclosing the manual would give defense attorneys an advantage in contests with federal prosecutors runs counter to the constitutional and ethical principle that the prosecutor's job is not to win a case but to do justice.

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The NACDL and other informed observers are concerned that the government's manual may contain tactics and arguments used by federal prosecutors when deciding whether to disclose evidence that is favorable to a criminal defendant. Indeed, hundreds of federal criminal convictions (and thousands of state convictions) have been reversed because prosecutors, in violation of their constitutional duty under the landmark case of Brady v. Maryland, hid evidence that could have changed the jury's verdict. And in many of these cases, the defendant was subsequently exonerated. The respected judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Alex Kozinski, recently asserted that suppression of evidence by prosecutors "has reached epidemic proportions." So the question naturally arises: Is the Justice Department's gambit to hide the discovery manual done to cover-up tricks, tactics and gamesmanship it uses to avoid full enforcement of its Brady duty? And will the D.C. Circuit's protection of prosecutors contribute to more wrongful convictions?

The notion that federal prosecutors -- even the most experienced ones -- always play by the rules was obliterated in the disastrous federal prosecution of the late Senator Ted Stevens. After he was convicted of making false statements on a Senate financial disclosure form, Federal District Judge Emmet Sullivan threw out the conviction because of gross misconduct by the federal prosecutors in hiding exculpatory evidence and appointed a respected lawyer, Henry Scheulke, to investigate and prosecute criminal contempt proceedings against the six prosecutors who conducted the Stevens investigation and trial. The Scheulke Report carefully documents the numerous instances in which these prosecutors manipulated flimsy, ambiguous, and disserving government evidence; systematically concealed exculpatory evidence from the judge and jury; and thwarted defense attempts to locate that evidence. The prosecutors hid from the defense evidence that would have corroborated Stevens' defense, concealed evidence that would have significantly impeached the government's key witness, and suppressed and manipulated documents that would have supported Stevens' defense.



Given the fact that this high-profile case was prosecuted under the intense glare of public scrutiny, it is astonishing that these prosecutors -- some of the most experienced prosecutors in the Justice Department -- took the risk of being exposed as dishonest. But they wanted desperately to win. Their numerous excuses for their violations also were desperate. They claimed they were unaware of the existence of exculpatory information; denied that the information was exculpatory; claimed they forgot that this information even existed; claimed they had innocently neglected to record important information; claimed they overlooked the need to more carefully scrutinize important documents; claimed they were forced by time pressures to conduct a rushed and unsupervised Brady review; and argued that because of these pressures they were forced to delegate the Brady review to FBI agents and other prosecutors who were unfamiliar with the case.

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The Scheulke Report decisively rejected the prosecutors' self-serving and disingenuous justifications for their dysfunctional and unconstitutional conduct. What stands out, however, is the cavalier and complacent way the prosecutors tried to excuse their egregious conduct. It is certainly reasonable to believe that these self-same excuses, and many other pre-textual arguments to justify unethical conduct, may have found their way into the Justice Department's discovery manual. Whether the manual provides a roadmap for prosecutors to evade, manipulate, and play games with their Brady obligations as they did in the Stevens case is unknown. It is certainly conceivable that under the cloak of the protection for work product afforded by the circuit court, the Department's manual may provide similar excuses for prosecutors to avoid compliance with Brady. Below are several examples of recurring and unsettled Brady issues that likely are discussed in the manual.

- Whether a tacit, or unspoken benefit, to a cooperating witness needs to be disclosed?

- Whether exculpatory statements by members of the prosecution team ("I don't believe our witness") need to be disclosed?

- How much discretion does a prosecutor have in evaluating the favorability of evidence?

- To what extent should a prosecutor seek out evidence in the hands of other law enforcement agencies?

- To what extent should prosecutors seek out favorable evidence believed to be possessed by non-law enforcement entities?

- Whether a prosecutor who has serious doubts about the truthfulness of evidence that may be favorable to the defendant needs to disclose it to these defendants?

- Whether a prosecutor needs to disclose favorable evidence that would not be admissible at trial?

- Whether a prosecutor can delay disclosing exculpatory evidence?

- If a prosecutor can delay disclosure, for how long can he do so?

- Must a prosecutor disclose exculpatory evidence before taking a guilty plea?

- Must a prosecutor disclose impeachment evidence before that witness testifies?

- Must a prosecutor disclose favorable evidence if he reasonably believes the defense knows about it?

- Whether a prosecutor in disclosing Brady evidence must identify potential Brady information or simply disclose everything without enumeration?

- To what extent can a prosecutor assess the materiality of favorable evidence in deciding whether to disclose it?

- What are the limits of disclosure of impeachment evidence of police witnesses?

- To what extent must a prosecutor correct a witness who is appears to be making a reasonable mistake?
Lok Sabha passes Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016

Published: August 11, 2016

The Lok Sabha has passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2016 to pave the way for employers in the textile sector to avail of the income tax benefit.

The Bill seeks to amends the Income Tax Act (IT), 1961 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. These changes are explained below.

It will provide income tax benefit to employers in the textile sector on additional employment provided the employee has worked for 150 days and not 240 days as mandated earlier.

Key Features

Amendments to IT Act, 1961

Demerger of public sector companies: In case a public sector company demerges (split) into multiple companies under The Companies Act, 1956 the resultant company will be no longer a public sector company.

In case a public sector company demerges (split) into multiple companies under The Companies Act, 1956 the resultant company will be no longer a public sector company. Deduction in respect of employment of new employees: The limit of employing employee for minimum of 240 days in the previous year to obtain a deduction on taxable income has been reduced to 150 days for businesses which manufacture apparel.

Amendments Customs Tariff Act, 1975

Customs duty on marble and granite blocks and slabs: Proposes to increase in customs duty on imports of granite and marble to 40% from earlier 10%.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2016

Topics: Bills and Amendments  Lok Sabha  National  Taxation  Textile Sector

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GOP Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump certainly is a funny man, creating such classic insults as "Hillary 'Rotten' Clinton," and "Pocahontas" for Elizabeth Warren. He has countless comical putdowns for every opponent. And his impersonation of a handicapped reporter was certainly hilarious to his supporters. Don't forget the first round of GOP debates when Megyn Kelly she said "You've called women you don't like 'fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals,'" and the quick-witted Trump replied "Only Rosie O'Donnell." And then there was that incredible Trump line about his daughter Ivanka's nice figure, "I have said if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her." Ha! Ha! Huh?

My pal comic Jeff Ross better watch out-- there's a new "Roastmaster General" on the horizon. (Of course, there is a big difference-- Jeff is actually one of the funniest people on the planet.)

Trump obviously has an elevated sense of humor. He's quite a crackup-- or perhaps crackpot? At any rate, I am sure anyone with Donald's wit cannot only dish it out, but can also take it. Right? Right? Just ask Seth Meyers who put this to the test:

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Here are some one-liners and other gags I wrote especially for the good-humored Mr. Trump.

 Bill Clinton wears an "I'm With Her" t-shirt. I wonder if Melania Trump wears one reading "I'm With Stupid."

 Trump says "I want to debate [Hillary] very badly." If he shows up, I am sure that's exactly what he will do.

 Do you think Trump's medical deferment from the military was for having small hands-- and mind?

 Trump said McCain was a war hero only because he got caught. Trump is a brilliant military strategist who cleverly avoided getting caught-- by not serving.

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 A veteran recently gave Trump his Purple Heart, something Trump said he always wanted and never thought he would get-- a heart.

 Trump's medical deferment from the military was supposedly for bone spurs on a heel. Of course, anywhere he had bone spurs, they would be on a heel.

 Trump's favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz. He identifies with characters who have no heart, no brain, or no courage.

 Trump reportedly has little fingers-- we all would be better off if Twitter had a length requirement.

 Trump's ancestor's family name was "Drumpf." Sounds like one of the Seven Dwarfs-- and all of them had small hands too.

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 Trump feels he has license to ridicule the handicapped. After all, he has his own physical challenges-- he has his foot in his mouth and his head up his ass.

 Trump won't release his tax returns, but his wife's nude photos confirm that she certainly has nothing to hide.

 Trump says Melania's nude photos were taken before he married her-- she posed with less-on, until she married a more-on.

 I read that the dress Melania Trump wore at the RNC was actually a beautiful contemporary wedding dress. She better hang on to it--she turns 47 next year and Donald may want turn her in for a newer model.

 Trump has boldly stated "I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created." He inadvertently omitted the word "snow" before the word "jobs." (As an aside, I think it is very unfair to blame God for creating Trump.)

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 People used to move to Canada to avoid the draft. If Trump is elected, they will have to go to avoid the blowhard.

 Trump was glad to have a crying baby removed from one of his recent rallies-- like any good businessman, he was pleased to eliminate the competition.

 Trump's Penthouse drips in gold-leafed rococo furnishings. Apparently he not only admires Saddam Hussein, but also his decorator.

 Trump must think we are stupid. He wants us to believe that global warming is fake, but that his hair is real.

 Has anyone noticed how Trump's necktie keeps getting longer and longer? With Pinocchio it was his nose.

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 Trump says they may name the wall he'll build on the Mexican border the Trump Wall. I wonder who they will name the tunnel after.

 Trump vows to keep America safe-- and if insulted, he will not hesitate to send America's young men and women into war to defend his honor.

 Camp Trump has backed off their claim that Melania has a college degree in design and architecture at University in Slovenia. But she's certainly no dummy. Even she was smarter than to enroll in Trump University.

 Do you think Trump University specializes in BS Degrees? I wonder if their school motto is "Trump U!"

 Trump gave the VP slot to Mike Pence. I hope the disappointment and stress doesn't cause Chris Christie to overeat.

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 Trump says America's infrastructure is crumbling, and he wants to rebuild our roads and bridges-- so his pal Chris Christie can close them down.

 Trump has said "If I become president, we're all going to be saying 'Merry Christmas' again." It seems odd to force Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jehovah Witnesses, and atheists say this to each other. But it may not matter -- with Trump's short finger on the nuclear button, we all could have already seen our last Christmas.

 Some people call Trump "two-faced," but that can't be true. If it were, why would be wearing that one?

 Trump has implied that he is well-endowed. Perhaps he deludes himself into thinking people are saying he has a big dick when they call him a big dick.

 Trump may not have the best chance of winning, but he certainly does of whining.

 Trump is a great advocate for people of color-- white and orange.

 Trump is under IRS audits. Do you think if he owes any taxes or penalties, he can force Mexico to pay them?

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 Trump has been called ignorant, tasteless, tactless, thin-skinned, fat-headed, immature, narcissistic, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, vindictive, cowardly, petty, pampered, disingenuous, deceitful, disgusting and dangerous, as well as a bully, a braggart, a bigot, and a bore. That's so unfair-- he's not a bore.
On August 5, 2016, President Barack Obama released a declassified May 22, 2013 document euphemistically styled Presidential Policy Guidance. It delineates the secret procedures the President has promised to employ (shielded from outside scrutiny or verification) to determine whether any person on the planet shall live or die based on his say-so alone.

The nation predictably received the alarming document with a yawn. The lead op-ed column in the New York Times on August 11, 2016, for example, was entitled, "Stop Killing Coyotes," by Dan Flores.

We long ago entered the abyss of unconstitutional, perpetual, presidential global warfare where the law is silent and government lawlessness in pursuit of professedly benign objectives encounters resistance. Just as in World War II, no opposition was provoked by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's racist concentration camps for 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans, allegedly to defeat Japan, President Obama's protocols for deciding whether he alone should decide if you live or die "to protect American lives," even if it means killing Americans, have been accepted with equanimity throughout the political spectrum. It has not even given birth to satire, unlike the earnest statement of a United States major during Vietnam War regarding the provincial capital Ben Tre: "It became necessary to destroy the town to save it."

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The 18-page document creates an illusion of tight restraints on the life or death decisions of the President. That is because the protocols empower the President unilaterally and in secret conclusively to decide whether the several of thresholds of proof it establishes for a killing have been satisfied; and, even if he concludes they have not, he can secretly waive the thresholds by secretly proclaiming an emergency.

The document emphasizes, for instance, that the President's kill decisions must be lawful. But the President decides what the law is. There is no adversarial process. There is no judicial, congressional, public, or other review. And we can deduce a president's ordinary belief in presidential omnipotence from President Richard Nixon's interview with David Frost: "When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal." It took the United States Supreme Court, the Senate Watergate Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee to hold President Nixon accountable to the law. He was not about to accuse himself. For more than four centuries since Dr. Bonham's Case, a cornerstone of Anglo-American jurisprudence has been that no man can be a judge in his own case--including the President of the United States.

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The document declares that operations for targeted killings will be approved only if there is "near certainty that an identified [High Value Target] or other lawful terrorist target will be present;" there is "near certainty that non-combatants will not be injured or killed;" there is an assessment that capture is not a feasible alternative to killing; the target's activities "pose a continuing, imminent threat to U.S. persons," a logical impossibility because a threat cannot be both imminent and continuing; there is an assessment that the government authorities in the countries where the killing is contemplated cannot or will not address the putative threat to U.S. persons; and, that there are no reasonable alternatives to killing that would effectively address that threat.

The President makes these key factual determinations by himself. The information the President receives from the intelligence community escapes cross-examination or scrutiny from any outside source. And cross-examination is the greatest engine ever invented for the discovery of truth according to evidence maven John Henry Wigmore. Additionally, the intelligence community is notoriously unreliable, including but not limited to the Bay of Pigs, WMDs in Iraq, and Cat Stevens, who had criticized the 9/11 terrorist murders and donated money to the families of the September 11 Fund yet was excluded from the United States as a suspected terrorist. Even the fabled Israeli Mossad errantly assassinated a Moroccan waiter, Ahmed Bouchiki, In Lillehammer, Norway in the mistaken belief that he was Ali Hassan Salameh, an operative of Black September that had perpetrated the Munich massacre of Israeli Olympians.

Even if the enumerated restraints in the president's protocols were real--any they are not-- Section 5 of the document empowers the President unilaterally to waive them all in secret in cases of "fleeting opporunit[ies]" in which he plays judge, jury, and prosecutor too like the Fury in Alice in Wonderland. And to hammer home the emptiness of the restraints, Section 8 decrees that they are "not intended to, and [do] not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities ,its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person."

Whether or not President Obama has exercised his absolute power to kill anyone on the planet responsibly--and we have little foundation for judging because most of the relevant evidence remains secret--a precedent of limitless executive authority has been set which is truly frightening. It will lie around like a loaded weapon in the White House ready for use by any Caligula or Nero who is elected Commander In Chief. It is only a matter of time, as the 2016 presidential race portends.


Donald Trump during a rally in Iowa in January. Photo credit: Evan Guest via Flickr



By Thomas Kennedy

I remember the frustration I felt in the summer of 2009 as I applied to college. As an undocumented student, fresh out of high school, the nature of my status prevented me from being accepted to most higher education institutions. In that vulnerable moment for me, it was Miami Dade College that opened its doors and accepted me as a student. I had to pay expensive out of state tuition rates, but being accepted allowed me to at least take a couple of classes a semester.

More than six years later, I am finishing my degree at Florida International University, another inclusive institution which was one of the first to adopt in-state tuition for undocumented students. These two schools have been pillars of the south Florida community when it comes to embracing undocumented and low income students. The Trail of Dreams, a 1,500 mile walk from Miami to Washington D.C. in support of the 2010 Dream Act, was conceived in the halls of Miami Dade College.



So it is sad and unfortunate that this record of inclusion from these schools has been tarnished by institutional leaders who embrace Donald Trump and are providing financial and logistical support for his campaign of bigotry and hate.

When the former chair of the board of trustees at Miami Dade College, Helen Aguirre Ferre became the Hispanic Outreach Director for the Republican National Committee during an election in which the party's candidate has shown himself to be anti-immigrant, Ferre sold out the Hispanic community in which she has worked and thrived, as well as the student population of the College, where 88% of students are people of color, the highest percentage of any college or university in the U.S.

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Ferre's job now is to spin Trump's racism in order to make him palatable to Latino voters. But don't be fooled.

Ferre, a Republican media personality, supported Mitt Romney's presidential campaign when he proposed making the life of immigrants in this country so difficult that they would have to "self-deport." She has used her television talk show "Issues with Helen Ferre" to demonize and belittle the immigrant community. Once, my own mother, who is undocumented, called in to the show and Ferre dismissively put her on mute, telling her to stop complaining since at least she had a roof over her head.

I would have dismissed any of this as the typical Republican antics that are too common in Miami-Dade County but Ferre's new role as Hispanic Outreach director for the Republican National Committee is a new low. Here is someone who has always sold herself as a conservative ally of the immigrant community and says she supports DREAMers, yet now embraces a candidate who wants to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants and ban Muslims from coming into the United States.

Thankfully, a media campaign spearheaded by a number of South Florida pro-immigrant groups pushed Ferre to step down from the chairmanship of the board.

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Modesto Maidique, the former president of Florida International University, has similarly let down immigrant students. Maidique hosted a fundraiser at $50,000 a plate for the candidate on July 26th in which Trump's Florida surrogates, such as Gov. Rick Scott, Pepe Fanjul Sr, and Rep. Carlos Trujillo were present. Seventy percent of the students at my school are Latino. Should our main campus really be named after a man who supports a candidate for president who is a bigot, says disparaging things about Hispanics and other minorities and would push policies who would adversely affect a majority of its students?

Modesto Maidique has undeniably done good work for the university, and this is not an attempt to deny that, but this does not mean that he gets a blank moral check when he supports a presidential candidate who spews such hatefulness against immigrants, women and people of color. Maidique's lack of good judgement smears the university and is offensive to the student body and faculty who hold up the school's name with pride. Frankly, as a student, I want the university to distance itself from anyone who actively enables division and hatred within our communities.

It is discouraging and depressing that two prominent actors in the field of education, who have been part of institutions that have contributed so much to the advancement of the Hispanic community in South Florida, are now spokespeople and advocates of a populist demagogue who is racist, ignorant and vulgar. To be clear, as private citizens Helen Aguirre Ferre and Modesto Maidique have the right to back whichever candidate they choose. This is a founding principal of our democracy. Yet we, as members of the community who would suffer the breakup of our families and other painful consequences of a Trump presidency, must stand against those who enable this threat to our well-being and make excuses for hate.
The Republican-led Texas House of Representatives dropped their attempt to require citizenship tests for minority voters after it was revealed that most of the legislators could not pass the test.

Only 17 of the 98 Republican representatives passed the multiple-choice test, which is given to prospective U.S. citizens.

The bill requiring citizenship tests for minorities was considered the most restrictive voting measure in more than a half-century. Nevertheless, it was expected to pass overwhelmingly in both the state house and senate and then to be signed into by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott in time for the November elections.

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Jeb "Cooter" Flegm, R-Flat Earth, who sponsored the bill, admitted he was embarrassed that GOP legislators knew so little about the history and laws of the United States, but he emphasized that this would not dissuade him from proposing undemocratic laws in the future.

"We've been embarrassed before and we'll be embarrassed again," Phlegm said. "We would not be representing the people of Texas if we were not afraid to make idiots out of ourselves to prove our superiority."

The Flegm bill came in response to a federal appeals court decision that ruled that Texas's voter ID law was discriminatory. Critics of the law said that requiring photo identification at the polls could deny 600,000 people the right to vote in November.

The court's decision came as other courts also ruled that restrictive voting laws in Wisconsin and North Carolina were unconstitutional because they were created to keep minority voters from voting.

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Texas is one of 15 states that have restricted voting registration during the 2016 election year, the Brennan Center for Justice reported. Critics of the laws say they're intended to keep minorities and other traditional Democrats from voting.

Representative Flegm denied that his bill was racially motivated.

"We're not trying to keep blacks and other minorities from voting because they're black or because they're minorities," he said. "We're trying to keep them from voting because they vote for Democrats. We wouldn't restrict voting if they voted for Republicans. Do you think we're stupid?"

When asked if she thought her Republican colleagues were stupid, Faith Charity, D-Sunshine, minority leader of the state's House of Representatives, broke into laughter. She then referred to the GOP legislators' failing scores on the citizenships tests.

"I'll let their test scores answer that question," she said, trying to suppress additional laughter.

When Flegm proposed the bill, Charity expressed her outrage, comparing it to literacy tests and other measures used in Southern states before Congress passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

"It's a deliberate and obvious attempt to stop blacks and immigrants, particularly Mexicans, from voting," Charity said.

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Charity and other Democrats told their Republican colleagues that if they should be willing to pass a citizenship test that they required of others.

House Republicans accepted the challenge.

"How hard could it be if so many Mexicans and immigrants pass it?" Flegm said.

About 91 percent pass the citizenship test, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

That figure is more than 70 percent higher than the percentage of GOP legislators in Texas who took the test.

For instance, one question asked, "During the Cold War, what was the main concern for the United States?"

74 of the 98 GOP legislators answered: ''The high cost of heating bills."
A diverse group of preschoolers in a classroom

One of the most pressing issues with mass incarceration is the school-to-prison pipeline and the current education system. One of the most effective ways at reducing incarceration is ensuring that as many people as possible have access to quality education throughout their lives, beginning as early as possible.

Universal Pre-Kindergarten programs have a range of demonstrable benefits, from ensuring school readiness, to lessening the likelihood of special education needs, to longer term effects such as higher earning potential, and reduced risk of incarceration.

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Pre-K programs ensure school readiness, higher levels of literacy and other skills, and works towards reducing the achievement gap. Universal Pre-K is equally as critical. While the earliest Pre-K programs targeted only low income and at-risk children and families - who receive the most benefit from these programs - Universal Pre-K has benefits for middle and upper class children as well. Integration in these programs also ensures that a broad range of demographics are brought together, reducing segregation based on wealth or race, and reducing prejudice.

Integrated programs also ensure increased critical thinking, less work needed in public outreach, increased support for early education, and increased quality of programs.

Those students who attend preschool exhibit a wide range of benefits. Besides initial school readiness, the effects can still be seen years later academically on test scores, students are less likely to drop out of high school, or have to repeat a grade. The likelihood to commit crime is reduced, and earning potential is much higher than for those who did not attend- as much as $50,000.

There is also more likelihood of owning a home, and there are health benefits too. A more educated workforce also means less poverty in a community, more earning potential, and more public revenue. Children are not the only ones who see the direct benefits of preschool, as parents are then able to work and earn additional income, particularly mothers.

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High-quality preschool programs also significantly reduce the achievement gap, which is important for the most at-risk students. For African-American children the gap in math is reduced 45%, and 78% for Hispanic children, and the reading gap essentially ceases to exist.

Returns on public investment are as high as $16 to $1, with even conservative estimates suggesting a return of $7 to $1. An MIT analysis suggests that for every $1 spent on pre-k programs, this saves tax payers $13 on future costs, and generates $3 in economic value.

Currently, out of 51 state funded programs in 39 states, only 8 are universal, with the others focusing on low income and at risk children. This is a good start, but universal Pre-Kindergarten, while expensive up front, will pay off in the long run.

We need to ensure that this is implemented fairly across all states, with truly universal access, and that the programs are high quality, with demonstrable outcomes and goals, and with qualified, and properly supported, teachers. The benefits speak for themselves in not only direct benefits to children, but to the long term social and financial benefits to the community as a whole, increasing literacy and math skills, reducing incarceration rates and prejudice, and increasing earning potential.
As we reported this morning, the U.S. Department of Education today rejected the request of the CollegeAmerica/Stevens-Henager college chain to have its status changed from for-profit to non-profit for purposes of federal financial aid rules. The Department concluded that the chain's conversion to non-profit status appeared primarily to benefit the for-profit chain's owner, Carl Barney, rather than students. The chain has responded by calling the decision "wrong and derived solely from this administration's political agenda against private colleges."

Republic Report has been covering this predatory college chain, and questioning the terms of its conversion to non-profit status, since 2013. The chain is now facing major fraud lawsuits pursued by the U.S. Justice Department and the state of Colorado for allegedly violating recruiting rules and deceiving students. But despite all the research and reporting about this college chain in recent years, there is more to learn.

CollegeAmerica/Stevens-Henager has sued a former employee, Debbi Potts, of Fort Collins, Colorado, claiming that the chain is entitled to the return of $7000 because Potts breached a severance agreement with the company under which Potts "specifically agreed to not disparage the reputation of" the college chain.

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The agreement between CollegeAmerica and Potts also contained a remarkable provision prohibiting Potts "from personally (or through the use of any third party) contacting any governmental or regulatory agency with the purpose of filing any complaint or grievance that shall bring harm to CollegeAmerica, Denver Inc. and any of its related companies."

In the amended complaint filed in the case in 2014, CollegeAmerica/Stevens-Henager asserts that Potts violated the agreement "when she published written statements to a former employee" of the chain and "also violated the contract by filing a complaint with the ACCSC."

In February 2013, Potts, who had been the campus director of CollegeAmerica's Cheyenne, Wyoming, campus until she resigned in 2012, reported to ACCSC multiple alleged violations by the school -- explosive allegations that are detailed below.

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Potts had also filed a federal age discrimination claim, joined by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC charged that CollegeAmerica illegally retaliated against Potts by filing its lawsuit seven days after learning she filed the discrimination charge. In June, after a three day trial, a Colorado federal jury rejected the EEOC's claims. Eric Juhlin, CEO of the nonprofit Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE), which owns the CollegeAmerica and Stevens-Henager schools, said, "EEOC's decision to bring this lawsuit was a travesty and blatant abuse of its authority... This was a huge waste of taxpayer money, abusive litigation by the EEOC, and an example of the EEOC's obvious bias against employers."

Last month, Potts sent the next volley in the dispute, filing a lawsuit in federal court in Denver against CollegeAmerica/Stevens-Henager, asserting that the chain fraudulently received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid and directed her to lie in financial aid reports to the Education Department. The suit also claims that the chain illegally retaliated against Potts by suing her for complaining to their accreditor. (In testimony in the EEOC case, Eric Juhlin appeared to acknowledge that a provision barring a former employee from complaining to a government or accrediting authority was illegal.)

The new

details the allegations Potts that made about CollegeAmerica to the accreditor, ACCSC, in her 2013 complaint:

Ms. Potts' complaint to ACCSC explained that she was instructed by CollegeAmerica's Chief Operating Officer (COO) to deceive ACCSC during an accreditation visit by hiding the bookroom from ACCSC personnel and by removing brochures, usually available to the public, advertising CollegeAmerica's "free" GED program. The COO told Ms. Potts that ifACCSC found out about the bookroom or the brochures, ACCSC would want to investigate those aspects of the school's operations and that CollegeAmerica did not want that. Ms. Potts' complaint to ACCSC explained that she was upset during the ACCSC visit because although she wanted to deal honestly with ACCSC, she was sure she would be fired for doing so.

Ms. Potts' complaint to ACCSC also identified numerous examples of CollegeAmerica failing to maintain working and up-to-date instructional equipment, including centrifuges, electrocardiogram machines, basic graphic arts supplies, and essential computer software, even though ACCSC's Standards of Accreditation require schools to have equipment and supplies that are properly maintained, current, and similar to what is used in the associated occupational fields.

Ms. Potts's complaint to ACCSC further disclosed that CollegeAmerica placed advertisements in the "Help Wanted" section of local newspapers, even though ACCSC's Standards of Accreditation expressly forbade CollegeAmerica from doing so. When confronted about the violation of the Standards of Accreditation, CollegeAmerica's management, which is the same as the Center's current management, said they would do whatever they wanted regardless of the Standards of Accreditation and "ask for forgiveness later."

Ms. Pott's complaint explained that CollegeAmerica's management silenced her when she raised questions about whether CollegeAmerica's offering of "free" certified nurse assistant (CNA) courses complied with the Standards of Accreditation. Indeed, ACCSC later required CollegeAmerica to cease offering those courses.

Ms. Potts' complaint revealed that CollegeAmerica provided misleading information to prospective students about the likelihood that they would have to take some of their classes online (aka "distance education"). Although CollegeAmerica told prospective students that it was merely possible that they would have to take some of their classes online, CollegeAmerica's actual practice was to use distance education courses whenever possible to save money. Indeed, CollegeAmerica instituted a policy of reducing the number of on-campus instructors so that it could shift more students to online courses.

Ms. Potts' complaint to ACCSC also disclosed concerns about the nature of CollegeAmerica's advertising for its scholarship program. Just three weeks earlier, CollegeAmerica and the Colorado Department of Private Occupational Schools Board entered into a stipulated agreement after the Board had found that CollegeAmerica's advertising campaign inappropriately used student aid as an inducement to enroll in violation of the deceptive sales and trade provision of the Board rules. The Standards of Accreditation required CollegeAmerica's advertisements to be entirely honest and forthright.

In her complaint to the ACCSC, Ms. Potts correctly predicted that the Center would retaliate against her for making the complaint, explaining to ACCSC that others with knowledge of violations are "in fear of coming forward" because of the "propensity for [CollegeAmerica's] owner to litigate anyone who dare speaks the truth."

UPDATE 08-11-14: CEHE CEO Eric Juhlin just tweeted this statement to me:
In a critical decision to protect students and taxpayers from fraud and abuse in higher education, the U.S. Department of Education this morning rejected the request of the CollegeAmerica / Stevens-Henager college chain to have its status changed from for-profit to non-profit for purposes of federal financial aid rules. The Department concluded that the chain's conversion to non-profit status appeared primarily to benefit the for-profit chain's owner, Carl Barney, rather than students. The Department's release is below, and its determination letter is here.

U.S. Department of Education

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Aug. 11, 2016

Department Denies Request for Chain of For-Profit Colleges to Convert to Non-Profit Status

Center for Excellence in Higher Education campuses must continue to be accountable to taxpayers, students through federal regulations

The U.S. Department of Education today denied a request from the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE), a Utah-based chain of for-profit career colleges, to convert to non-profit status for purposes of federal financial student aid. The denial means that the colleges' programs must continue to meet requirements under thefederal Gainful Employment regulations.

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"This should send a clear message to anyone who thinks converting to non-profit status is a way to avoid oversight while hanging onto the financial benefits: Don't waste your time," said U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr.

This denial does not directly affect the approximately 12,000 students who attend the four institutions owned by CEHE - Stevens-Henager in Utah and Idaho, CollegeAmerica Denver, CollegeAmerica Arizona, California College San Diego and CollegeAmerica Services - but it does mean that the Department will continue to limit the colleges to getting no more than 90 percent their revenue from Title IV federal student aid. It also means that the institutions must meet all federal regulations for for-profit colleges.

CEHE first applied for non-profit status with the Department in the fall of 2012. In reviewing that request, the Department determined that CEHE, which had been a small educational non-profit that did not provide educational services, acquired four for-profit college companies owned by the Carl Barney Living Trust. CEHE promised to pay the Trust more than $400 million dollars, and the colleges were merged into CEHE. When that happened, Mr. Barney became the board chairman of CEHE, and because of the way the transaction was structured, retained significant control of the colleges, despite the change in ownership to CEHE.

While CEHE is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit company, the colleges' tuition revenue continues to flow to Mr. Barney through the Trust to pay off the debt that CEHE owes from acquiring the colleges, and through the rent that some of Mr. Barney's other companies receive as landlords for several of the college campuses. Under 34 C.F.R.  600.2 of the Higher Education Act regulations, non-profit institutions must be owned and operated by a non-profit where no part of the net earnings benefit any private shareholder or individual.

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"Schools that want to convert to non-profit status need to benefit the public," said U.S. Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell. "If the primary beneficiary of the conversion is the owner of the for-profit school, that doesn't meet the bar. It's not even close."

Since 2012, the four institutions have continued participating in the Title IV financial aid programs on month-to-month agreements as for-profit institutions. In a letter to the company's CEO, Eric Juhlin, the Department approved the change in ownership that CEHE requested but continues to recognize Mr. Barney as maintaining significant control of the institutions and the Title IV revenue they produce.

During the review of the change in ownership request, the Department requested additional documentation from CEHE. The company provided information to the Department but marked much of it as confidential, and that information has been removed from copies of the letter made available for public review. Documents subject to CEHE's confidentiality designation would have to be requested for public review under the Freedom of Information Act.

During the time the applications were under review, risk factors identified in CEHE's financial statements - including a lawsuit against one of the institutions filed by the Colorado Attorney General - led the Department to require CEHE to provide a $42.9 million surety, which is 30 percent of the annual federal student aid funding for 2013 for the four institutions. That surety remains in place but is subject to adjustment based on CEHE's financial condition and other risks.

To qualify for federal student aid, the law requires that most for-profit programs and certificate programs at private non-profit and public institutions prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.

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More on this developing story here and here.

UPDATE 08-11-14 3:00 pm: CEHE CEO Eric Juhlin just tweeted this statement to me:
Last week, the country's second largest private prison company told its investors it had some bad news. The federal government had just decided to remove its prisoners from a prison the company owns, the Cibola County Corrections Center in rural western New Mexico. Come the end of September, the 1,200-bed prison now holding immigrants will sit empty.

But Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) also told its shareholders not to worry. In a practice remarkably common in the mass incarceration era, the publicly traded corporation has already begun to, in their words, "actively market" the prison to potential "customers."

For CCA, which made $222 million in profits last year, there's no value in an empty prison.

In the Public Interest's new fact sheet, Private Prison Companies Encourage Mass Incarceration By Owning Facilities, describes how CCA and its competitor GEO Group seek out new prisoners once they lose contracts like the one at Cibola. By owning facilities--a combined 83 across the country--CCA and GEO Group have become embedded in America's criminal justice system. By "actively marketing" those that go empty, private prison companies make it harder for us to reduce mass incarceration's historic prison populations.

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And they've often been successful at doing so. In early 2010, CCA lost a contract to incarcerate prisoners at a prison in California City, California. Before the end of the year, the company inked a new deal with the state of California and other federal agencies to fill the facility. GEO Group began "actively marketing" a California prison in 2014 and filled it with immigrant detainees a year later.

Private prison companies are roadblocks to meaningful criminal justice reform. Every taxpayer dollar that goes to their profits is a dollar not spent on improving conditions in jails and prisons or investing in alternatives to incarceration.

But they appear to be on the wrong side of history. The federal government is "rethinking" the detention of immigrant families after a recent court decision. And on Friday, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that if she were elected, she'd close private immigrant detention centers along with private prisons.

The Cibola County Correctional Center is one of the most troubled private prisons in the country -- prisoners have protested multiple times there and CCA often has had no doctor on staff. For those reasons and more, after September, it should remain closed.
Good Customer service doesn't cost anything but bad customer service can cost you millions of dollars in bad publicity, massive customer loss and employee mediocrity.

If you're in business and have customers you need to read take this seriously! Customer service is almost more important than your products or services. Customers always want to know their needs are being met and their problems are being solved. That's your number one job -- otherwise you're going out of business.

To help... I'm going share five important customer service strategies I recently shared with the over sixty-person sales team of one of the largest manufacturers of pallets in the US. Their superior customer service and dedication to servicing customer needs are a few of the reasons they have exponentialy grown.

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I regularly travel across the country on business to speak to the variety of leadership, sales and business development teams for companies in a many industries.

If you're a business traveler, you realize the importance of brand loyalty and customer service. If you're an occasional traveler brand loyalty may not matter as much to you.

The level of customer service and the way you're treated shouldn't differ between frequent and infrequent travelers... unfortunately it often does with big brands.

Good Customer service doesn't have an additional incremental cost. However Bad customer service can cost you plenty in lost sales, poor customer experience and lower brand loyalty.

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It doesn't matter what business you're in, how you treat your customers matters to the employee morale but more importantly, the bottom line.

There have been airlines, car rental and even supermarkets that I've sworn never to do business with again because of rude and unnecessary experiences. I travel enough that my dollars matter!

"There's power in your pocket book!"

Recently experience rude and dismissive flight attendants and incompetent car associates for no apparent reason. Being known as the largest airline is meaningless if a majority of your customer base are mistreated.

When customer service is bad, price no longer becomes a distinguishing factor in buying decisions. Customers will pay a higher price for the piece of mind of great service they will get from a competitor.

Let's be honest...you're in business to service customers. If you're sales are stagnant, this is the first area you have to focus on as a leadership team.

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Here are five strategies your sales team can implement today to turn your sales and negative customer service around immediately.

1. Solicit feedback from some of your consistent, frequent and loyal customers. They will tell you the truth.

2. Provide incentives to existing customers to solicit honest feedback. Getting negative feedback is actually better than only getting positive feedback. You can learn from negative feedback that appear to be consistent mistakes.

3. Revisit and Re-train customer facing teams.

4. Humanize the customer interaction whether on social media, on the phone or in person. Many companies hire external PR and marketing companies to send canned responses to disgruntled customers...further infuriating the situation.

For example:

Customer: Hi I'm so angry because you lost my luggage. Can you help me?

Airline: Sorry about your luggage, we do everything we can to make sure our customers have an enjoyable experience with our airline.

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Customer: Huh? What does that have to do with my luggage? Can you help me or not?

Airline: Please check back on Twitter/Facebook etc for updates!

Customer: ARRGHG "expletives"!

5. Encourage and in some cases require consistent customer service and sales training. Reward the employees who make customer service their mission.



Servicing your existing customer and improving their experiences can lead to increased sales, more positive brand awareness and more engaged employees.

You have a better chance of reselling or upselling a currently customer than spending the money to acquire new ones! Poor customer service, apathy and mediocrity ruins sales and destroys morale!

We can do better....

If you want to learn more about improving your customer service, employee improvement, sales training strategies that increase the bottom line visit EKAnomics.com

Follow Ebong on Instagram, Twitter and SnapChat: EbongEka

About Ebong Eka, CPA

Recently named one of the top leadership experts to follow online, Ebong Eka is a certified public accountant and keynote speaker on leadership and sales.

Ebong gives real life-practical solutions, tailored to the everyday person, that can be implemented to achieve peak performance in life and within organizations. Ebong is a leadership and customer service, and small business expert who regularly appears on MSNBC, Fox News, Fox Business Channel, NBC and CNN. Ebong is also an accomplished TEDx Speaker, motivational speaker, Huffington Post Small Business Blogger and Office Depot Blogger.

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Students at the EF Education First Global Student Leaders Summit created proposals to address human rights throughout the world, which they presented at the conference's Innovation Village. Photo Credit: Sara Vanderhorst.

By Sabrina Epstein

What can I do?

Over and over again, I heard this simple question asked at the recent EF Global Student Leaders Summit, a human rights conference for students around the world hosted by EF Educational Tours. As we immersed ourselves in the subject of human rights, notable leaders offered their answers. We heard from a diverse group of speakers including Arun Gandhi, Ndaba Mandela, Nicholas Kristof, and Sheryl WuDunn. We learned design thinking and applied it to solving real problems. We participated in interactive performances, learned to harness our unique strengths, and joined in celebration of our collective commitment to human rights.

The goal of the Summit wasn't just to provide information, but also to encourage and inspire the students to take action in their own communities. My answer to the question "what can I do" is rooted in my experience with Artful Start, a nonprofit that I founded to help improve human rights in my community, specifically for people with disabilities. Here are the steps to get you moving towards shaping the future of human rights.

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Start with yourself. During his keynote, Dr. Arun Gandhi said, "If we change ourselves, we can change the world." This message perfectly sums up how to begin change. Nothing can happen until you take the time to reflect on your own strengths, weaknesses, and desires. Improve yourself before you try to improve others.

Believe in the power of your own voice.

In the words of Abii-Tah Chungong, a graduate of the In the words of Abii-Tah Chungong, a graduate of the African Leadership Academy , "My least favorite word is 'Shhhhh.'" Don't let anyone silence you. Your voice has power, regardless of your age or background. Most importantly, remember that you are your own worst critic. Stop telling yourself that you can't change anything, and channel that negativity into action.

Listen.

Look around you. You are surrounded by people with their own unique stories and journeys that are more complex than you can ever imagine. If you truly want to solve a problem, you need to understand it first. To do so, find the people experiencing it. Ask for their stories, and simply listen. Storytelling is an incredible opportunity to build empathy, a crucial step towards positive change. My interest in human rights for people with disabilities began when I volunteered at a summer camp for children with special needs. Listening to the experiences of the campers and their families opened my eyes to the hardships in our society for people with disabilities. Look around you. You are surrounded by people with their own unique stories and journeys that are more complex than you can ever imagine. If you truly want to solve a problem, you need to understand it first. To do so, find the people experiencing it. Ask for their stories, and simply listen. Storytelling is an incredible opportunity to build empathy, a crucial step towards positive change. My interest in human rights for people with disabilities began when I volunteered at a summer camp for children with special needs. Listening to the experiences of the campers and their families opened my eyes to the hardships in our society for people with disabilities.

Embrace your passion to harness your strengths.

This step is especially relevant to me. For as long as I can remember, art has always been an important part of my life. When I became increasingly frustrated with the problems people with disabilities faced in my own community, I turned back to my passion and I founded an accessible art program for children with disabilities. Everyone has a passion--that thing that makes you smile, makes you jump up and down, makes you angry. The beauty of this subject is that regardless of your passion, you can relate it back to human rights. Sheryl WuDunn said that "this revolution needs people with skills from different backgrounds." Bring your unique skills to the table to maximize your impact. This step is especially relevant to me. For as long as I can remember, art has always been an important part of my life. When I became increasingly frustrated with the problems people with disabilities faced in my own community, I turned back to my passion and I founded an accessible art program for children with disabilities. Everyone has a passion--that thing that makes you smile, makes you jump up and down, makes you angry. The beauty of this subject is that regardless of your passion, you can relate it back to human rights. Sheryl WuDunn said that "this revolution needs people with skills from different backgrounds." Bring your unique skills to the table to maximize your impact.

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Harness the ripple effect.

Dr. Arun Gandhi compared inner peace to a grain of wheat. If you lock it up, it will whither away, but if you expose it to the elements, it will grow into a field of wheat and nourish others. Your change needs to grow into the fabled field of wheat. To do so, think of your impact not as a stand-alone project, but as part of a larger change. Sheryl WuDunn beautifully described each individual impact as a link on a chain, and embracing the ripple effect is connecting the links together. You're not going to save the world on your own, but if you focus on the link that you're best at, you can form a crucial part of the chain. I've done this in Artful Start by partnering with existing programs in my community. Dr. Arun Gandhi compared inner peace to a grain of wheat. If you lock it up, it will whither away, but if you expose it to the elements, it will grow into a field of wheat and nourish others. Your change needs to grow into the fabled field of wheat. To do so, think of your impact not as a stand-alone project, but as part of a larger change. Sheryl WuDunn beautifully described each individual impact as a link on a chain, and embracing the ripple effect is connecting the links together. You're not going to save the world on your own, but if you focus on the link that you're best at, you can form a crucial part of the chain. I've done this in Artful Start by partnering with existing programs in my community.

Keep going.

Change does not occur with a single action. The unique thing about each of the individuals who took the stage at the Summit is that they are continuously working to change their communities. In design thinking workshops at the Summit, the process is illustrated as a cycle rather than a linear set of directions. Your path to change the world is not a straight line. You are going to have to take some twists and turns, step back and reevaluate, and even stumble and fall every once in awhile. What matters is that regardless of your path, you keep moving forward on the road to change.

On my bulletin board above my desk, I have a postcard with my favorite quote from Margaret Mead. It reads, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." The small change you make today is truly just as significant as the larger ones. You never know whether that change is the one that completes the chain of actions to solve some global problem, or perhaps more importantly, starts that chain, initiating many more links of improvement.

So find that small group. Be confident in your ability to make a difference. Commit yourself and your talents towards fixing our flawed world.

Go take that first step.

Sabrina Epstein is a rising senior from San Antonio, Texas.
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Ambiguous loss, as coined by Dr. Pauline Boss, refers to the loss a person experiences when there is a lack of resolution or clarity. Originally, Dr. Boss posited the theory of ambiguous loss through studying the families of soldiers missing in combat. There are two types of ambiguous loss. The first refers to when a person is physically present but psychologically absent, as with those with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia, certain mental illnesses, or substance abuse issues. The second type occurs when an individual is psychologically present in the minds of the family but is physically absent, e.g. a missing person. The experience of ambiguous loss may be linked to other ill health effects such as depression, anxiety, guilt, substance abuse, and self-harming behaviors. Young adult caregivers are particularly likely to experience the former kind of loss, dependent upon the health condition of the person they care for.

Ambiguous loss differs from the experience of death because the loved one is still present. There is a lack of finality that typically occurs in death, as a caregiver experiences a loss that is gradual. Our society generally does not give ambiguous loss the same weight as death because the person is still living, referring to what research has called "disenfranchised grief". However, ambiguous loss is significant and detrimental. Caregivers are forced to continuously grieve the loss of the person they once knew and loved while also providing care for them.

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Young adult caregivers, likely because they are providing care earlier in life than they might have expected, experience a complex ambiguous loss: they grieve both the loss of the person they loved, and also the loss of their identity in relation to the loved one. Every time a young adult performs a caregiving act, be it reminding their loved one to take their medication, or paying the household bills because the loved one no longer has the mental capacity to do so, they are reminded that the person they knew is gone. Other research has found that caregivers may be preoccupied with how their loved one used to be, and when considering the present, they may determine that their loved one is "another person".

Furthermore, their roles become more than sibling, child, or grandchild, but expand to include "caregiver". For many young adult caregivers, this may mean a transformative shift in their perception of their identity within the family. In my research with young adult caregivers, I often find that they are forced to come to terms with a loss of their "normal" interactions with their loved one. Many say that they feel like the "parent", instead of the "child". In the midst of navigating the complicated life choices of young adulthood (relationships, education, careers), they feel like they must "figure life out" on their own.

Young adult caregivers are also in the unique position of grieving the loss of their future plans with their loved one. Suzanne[1], a 26 year old young adult who provides care for her mother with early-onset Alzheimer's, was particularly troubled by the thoughts of her future wedding: "a traditional part [of a wedding] is your mom. And she's not gonna be here. She's not gonna mentally be here, even if she's physically here." Suzanne had to grapple with altered expectations for her mother's role in future life events, while also continuing to perform the social norms for her age group attending her friends' weddings. Faced with the desire to express happiness for her friends while simultaneously feeling deep sadness over her loss, Suzanne became emotionally overwhelmed and found herself hating weddings, a life event she once greatly looked forward to. Other young adult caregivers find themselves in similar positions: graduations, the birth of children, and other major life events must be anticipated knowing their loved one may not be "present" to share in the moment.

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Young adult caregivers experiencing ambiguous loss should take their feelings seriously and consider seeking professional mental health support. A counselor or psychologist can assess the caregiver for their level of grief and their capacity for resilience. Therapy can help a caregiver find meaning, live with uncertainty, and redefine relationships and identities. Discovering hope through new life plans and dreams can strengthen a young adult caregiver's ability to face the future.

[1] Names have been changed.

This article was originally published at Losing A Puzzle Piece.com
This Thursday, April 2, 2015 photo shows an evidence bag from a sexual assault case in the biology lab at the Houston Forensic Science Center in Houston. Legislators in more than 20 states are considering _ and in some cases, passing _ laws that include auditing all kits and deadlines for submitting and processing DNA evidence. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Like many people, I was shocked and outraged over the lax punishment handed down to a young man who attempted to rape an unconscious peer of his at Stanford University last year. That case, and the judge's inexplicable decision to impose a too-lenient sentence, have punctuated once again how painful it can be for victims of rape to get the justice they deserve.

Slut shaming, blaming the victim and falling back on straw-man arguments are nothing new, and television police procedurals have done a good (if not very accurate) job of showing what happens when the victim gets put on trial instead of the accused.

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But what about those women (and men) whose attackers never even make it that far in a court room? In far too many jurisdictions in California, there is a staggering backlog of rape test kits that have gone unprocessed by crime labs, leaving thousands of victims in limbo -- and leaving their attackers potentially free to walk the streets.



There is a staggering backlog of rape test kits that have gone unprocessed by crime labs, leaving thousands of victims in limbo...



This is not a problem confined to California. Nationally, there are an estimated 400,000 sexual assault test kits awaiting processing. The statute of limitation on rape varies from state to state, but with that many kits awaiting testing (and with tests running anywhere from $800 to $1500) many victims will never see justice because the evidence was sitting in cold storage throughout the entire window of time to prosecute.

Many news outlets have reported on the backlog, from Full Frontal with Samantha Bee to this story from the San Francisco Chronicle which recounts the harrowing abduction and rape of two teenagers by a man whose DNA was already in the national criminal database, and who would have been caught for the terrifying and brutal kidnapping and rape of two young women, had their rape kits been examined.

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It's inexcusable that women and men have to wait so long for justice -- and that for some of them, justice will never come.



This is not just appalling. It's inexcusable that this kind of backlog has been allowed to develop. It's inexcusable that women and men have to wait so long for justice -- and that for some of them, justice will never come. They did all the right things: overcoming the fear and stigma of being labeled a "victim"; reporting their assault to the authorities and putting their faith in the justice system.

The justice system, though, is letting them down. And we can't let that happen. We need to build on the efforts of local officials who are tackling this problem within their jurisdictions.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley has been working steadily to reduce the backlogs in Alameda County (California's seventh largest county, with more than 1.6 million residents). She has used funds from her own office to match grants from outside groups to help reduce the backlog across the 19 different police departments she receives.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced last year that her office had won a $1.6 million grant to do the same here in California, and Assemblymember David Chiu has introduced AB 1848 to mandate that police departments collect and report the number of untested rape kits in their possession.

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Sadly, this is not the first time this bill has been introduced. In fact, it has been introduced in one form or another for several years now -- including my time in the Assembly, when I introduced it in 2011. My bill, AB 855, didn't make it through because it was deemed too expensive to reimburse local governments for clearing their backlogs.

In fact, each time a member of the Legislature has taken up this cause, the bill has fallen short for the same reason most good policies don't make it: money. The argument has been the same every single year. Opponents say that testing all these kits is expensive, in both material and man hours, and police departments laboring under reduced funding (virtually every police department in California) can't afford to take on the additional costs of testing all these kits.

The Great Recession was over six years ago. Every single government agency is better funded today than it was when I was in the Assembly. As Attorney General Harris has shown, there are grants available, and there are even nonprofit groups working to provide funding.

We have the resources to test these kits. This has become such a pressing issue nationally that Vice President Joe Biden will be guest starring in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit that focuses on the backlog of untested rape kits. I'm grateful the Vice President will be shining a national light on this issue, because it needs more attention than it has received. The old saying "justice delayed is justice denied" is 100 percent accurate here, and it's long past time we stop denying justice for these women and men.

For more information, please visit endthebacklog.org

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By Yuri Soares, Susana Garcia-Robles, and Sandro Diez-Amigo



Impact of Early Stage Equity Funds in Latin America



Yuri Soares is chief of the Climate-Smart Agriculture unit at the Multilateral Investment Fund. He has a PhD in economics from Michigan State University and a master's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Florida. He has worked in the United States and Brazil.

Startups and scale-ups create the vast majority of jobs in the formal economy, providing, on average, 66 percent of jobs worldwide and the greatest share of jobs in low-income countries. Moreover, small and medium-sized enterprises are important not just for job creation, but also for economic growth, thanks to their outstanding capacity to increase productivity through innovation.

Looking back, some 85 percent of growth between 1900 and 1950 is attributable to innovation, rather than increased usage of inputs. As for generating innovation, financing of small businesses via risk capital--most notably venture capital, which is also called smart capital because it combines financing with active hands-on support--has been found to be three to four times more effective than other alternatives, such as corporate research or development funding.

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However, young companies with business models that aren't fully proven, or those that haven't reached break even, often have difficulty accessing funding. It is estimated that they face a financing gap of more than $2.1 trillion worldwide, and that bank loans to small businesses represent only 3 percent of gross domestic product in emerging market countries.

Each dollar invested in venture capital can generate up to $6.45 in economic activity through wages, payment to providers and taxes, according to a 2012 study by Dalberg Global Development Advisors of the venture capital portfolio of the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which operates in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Another study, Impact of Early Stage Equity Funds in Latin America, conducted by Bella Research Group in 2016 of three funds supported by the MIF, produced similar results. It found that venture capital investments can be very effective in fostering economic development, producing both direct and indirect impacts. In particular, venture capital funds can provide vital funding in equity- and credit-constrained environments, and they usually offer substantial networking opportunities and business training to the companies in their portfolios.

Moreover, the Bella Research study also found that venture capital funds often generate benefits in the communities in which they operate, nourishing ancillary growth and job creation, providing sustainable market-based solutions for the poorest people, and strengthening the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

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Susana Garcia-Robles

Susana Garcia-Robles leads the Early-Stage Equity Group at the Multilateral Investment Fund. Since 1999, she has worked on advancing entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems and the venture capital industry in Latin America and the Caribbean, to spur economic development in the region.

Sandro Diez-Amigo

Sandro Diez-Amigo is a senior economist consultant at the Multilateral Investment Fund, specializing in experimental research. He has a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has worked in Chile, Ghana, Indonesia, France, Spain, and the United States.
In 1972, George Carlin performed a monologue about the "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." Those words were considered offensive language, and the monologue itself gave rise to a lawsuit that made its way to the United Stated Supreme Court after a complaint was lodged by a member of a conservative organization known as "Morality in Media". The complaint was that the radio broadcast, heard by a 15 year old boy who was driving with his father, was inappropriate for the time of day. The Supreme Court was ultimately called upon to rule as to whether an order issued by the Federal Communications Commission against the broadcaster was a violation of the First or Fifth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court decided that it was not. And at one point, George Carlin himself was arrested for disturbing the peace when he performed the monologue at a festival in Wisconsin. Apparently George isn't the only one to suffer consequences from the use of such language.

The California Family Code provides that if a court makes a finding that a party has "perpetrated domestic violence" against the other party seeking custody of a child, there is a rebuttable presumption that awarding joint or sole legal or physical custody is detrimental to the best interests of the child. While most of us think of "domestic violence" as involving physical contact or abuse, the Family Code provides a significantly broader definition. That definition includes engaging in behavior involving harassing conduct, or disturbing the peace of another.

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Which is exactly how the "Seven Dirty Words" can lead to a restriction on someone's custodial rights. While few would argue that the use of colloquial English in the present era is significantly less formal than it may have been in the early 1970s, the words themselves continue to have significant power in some contexts. In this day of electronic communications it seems that emails and text messages are showing up in family court proceedings with unrelenting abandon. While in the past it would require the testimony of witnesses to create a record in court as to what one party said to the other, that is no longer the case. And it appears that in many a custody dispute, these electronic communications are saved by one of the parties and placed into the record with a claim that the communications, frequently containing some composition of the "Seven Dirty Words", were disturbing of that party's peace. Whether the language actually did have that effect, whether the recipient of the language used the same words in conversing with the sender or with others, seems in this day and age to be of little concern in our politically-correct family court environment. The use of the words themselves, particularly in the context of being descriptive of the parent to whom they are sent, can and do give rise to not only the issuance of restraining orders, but also to restrictions placed on the custodial rights of the sender. And, at least one California appellate court has ruled that the restrictions put in place by such statutes are within the scope of a compelling state interest and not a violation of one's constitutional rights to free speech.
The military coup and the attempt to seize power in Turkey

Enough time has passed since the attempted coup to begin to take stock of the situation. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has clearly emerged from the coup in a stronger position than before. The coup, rather than fragmenting the country, has brought it a greater degree of unity, outside the Kurdish area, than has been seen before.

Erdogan is restructuring Turkish institutions, from the military to schools to the media, in ways that will support whatever moves he chooses to make. His long-term intentions - the ends toward which he is restructuring Turkish institutions - are unclear. The restructuring, arrests and firings will make him enormously powerful, but the important question is what he intends to do with that power.

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There are four significant powers in the region, each with the ability to defend themselves and project some degree of power. They are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel and Turkey. Of the four, only Turkey has the size, economic power and political influence to shape the region.

For over half a millennium, save for the period after World War I, Turkey has been the dominant regional power. Today, it has the largest economy and military in the region and, therefore, ought to have the greatest influence.

However, while its economy has grown dramatically since Erdogan's Justice and Development Party took power, it has now slowed and must evolve. The army may be the largest in the Middle East, but much of its size comes from draftees on short-term duty who are effectively untrained. Its equipment has not evolved since the Cold War, and much of its military doctrine is still evolving. It is not clear that Turkey's other institutions, like its foreign service or intelligence services, are in positions to support a great power. And both domestic and regional politics have limited Turkey's options.

The coup permits Erdogan to reshape Turkey's institutions in a way that was not possible before the coup. Before the coup, Erdogan faced substantial opposition. The coup gave him an opportunity to restructure the military, intelligence and other institutions to give Turkey more room to maneuver in the region. Failed coups, when they are thoroughly crushed and discredited, dramatically increase the power of their victims. Erdogan appears to be ready to take advantage of that.

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From this coup, the limitations that have kept Turkey from its full potential in the region will begin to disappear. At the moment, Turkey faces massive chaos to its south, a degree of instability in the Caucasus and emerging U.S.-Russian competition in the Black Sea. The region is fraught with instability and Turkey has not been able to stop it. The restructuring opens the door for Turkey to become much more assertive in the region.

Turkey now has three options. The first is to attempt to manage its interests by itself. The second, is to attempt to ally with Russia for joint management in the region. The third is to return to its prior alliance with the United States.

It is always attractive to be self-reliant. However, Turkey has only just started the process of institutional reconstruction. At minimum, this process will take a decade before a fully self-reliant policy - other than hoping for the best - can be achieved. And even after that point, regional military powers have global economic interests. This asymmetry creates dependencies that are outside of their control. Turkey will need to have allies even as it becomes regionally powerful.

An alliance with Russia makes sense. The ideal strategy is that the two weaker powers collaborate to block the stronger power. The danger in this strategy is that one of the allied powers might be weaker than the other, or that either might suddenly switch alliances. The Russians clearly need Turkey to counterbalance the United States, and Turkey could use Russia for the same end. But if Russia were to weaken due to economic problems, or come to an agreement with the United States over Ukraine, Turkey might find itself alone.

The problem with an alliance with the United States is that the imbalance of power leaves Turkey vulnerable to shifts in American policy. The United States could undertake strategies that are not in Turkey's interest and force Turkey to support them.

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There is another element in this calculation. Russia is near. The United States is far away. Russia is a competitor in the region. The United States has a much lower stake in the region than Russia and is, therefore, in spite of all the drawbacks for Turkey, a safer choice. In the past century, Turkey has had a Russian option. It has always declined the option because proximity raised the stakes too high. The United States is less predictable precisely because it has less at stake.

In making this choice, there is also the question of whether the United States was behind the coup. I am not in a position to know and all things are possible, but I tend not to believe that for a simple reason. The United States is trying to extricate itself from the region by allowing regional powers manage it.

Turkey is now making the transition that I forecast years ago from a secondary power to a major regional power. That has placed extreme stress on the Turkish political system, generating a coup that Erdogan came out of stronger than ever. I also predicted that decades down the road this might lead to conflict. But at this point the fundamental geopolitical reality is that for the foundations of Turkish foreign policy, a relationship with the United States is more rational than one with Russia or trying to operate alone.
Film director Elizabeth Wood is probably the person you'd want to be seated next to at a dinner party.

Wood's first feature film, "White Girl," is loosely based on her experience as New York college freshman who hooked up with drug dealer, who is then arrested. She, in turn, sells his stash of cocaine to fund his release. The movie will screen at Sundance's NextFest in Los Angeles this weekend and launch in U.S. theaters on Sept. 2.

The film spends a significant amount of screentime dealing with drugs and sexual encounters, and has frequently been compared to the controversial '90s' flick, "Kids," which Wood will acknowledge was "influential," but a "different flavor of film."

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"It's not my biopic, this is very much fiction," Wood tells me. "But it was a very personal story and while it was happening, I knew that it would be my first feature film."

Of course, Wood had the task of figuring out how someone makes a first feature. She was studying fiction writing and making experimental films when, on a whim, she applied to Columbia's screenwriting program and won a fellowship.

"I went, and I wanted to drop out every second," she recalls. "I hated it, it was so hard. But it was over quickly and it was so good for me. It was supposed to be hard. I came out with my film ready to make."

Through a series of connections, Wood landed a meeting with "Kids" producer Christine Vachon. Wood was seven months pregnant at the time.

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"Christine didn't look at my belly and didn't ask me about being pregnant," Wood says. With Vachon on board, the production was able to piecemeal funding together from what Wood describes as "a ton of different investors."

"I had to cut 20 pages in the last couple weeks to bring down the budget $200,000," she says. "We said, 'Let's just make whatever version we possibly can.'"

Hours after the film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, Variety published a review questioning if the film's overt sexuality was simply a way for Wood to compete in the "male-dominated film industry."

"Had it come from a man, Wood's nightmarish vision would no doubt have played more like fantasy, though there are plenty on the audience side who will take prurient interest in watching [Morgan] Saylor snort and screw her way out of her predicament, only to be slammed with the most cynical possible ending," Variety Chief Film Critic Peter Debruge wrote.

"Sadly," he continued, "'White Girl' is hardly the lone example of a director -- guy or girl, white or otherwise -- dredging up the most sordid conceivable material in an effort to penetrate the hyper-competitive, male-dominated film industry."

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For Wood, the review gave her a chuckle and she says the review has actually prompted some healthy discussion.

"He published it at 3 a.m. with typos," she laughs. "It clearly pushed a button with him, which was certainly better than if he thought it was boring. It actually was a blessing in disguise because it led to a lot of people afterwards discussing what he said about the film ... For him, it pushed some sexual buttons, probably a very personal issue for him."

Wood feels her film is more of a mediation on gender, race and gentrification and believes sexuality is the least complicated issue.
What is Cultural Leadership?

Support for cultural leadership today is as much about providing know-how to new and emerging cultural leaders, as it is about developing the relationships leaders need to progress in their careers, via the creation of professional networks, mentoring programmes and collaborative projects. British Council Creative Economy

Cultural Leadership is often confused as something that only emerging leaders and those in entry level or mid career positions undertake. It is confused with assuming its for professionals that want to climb up the career ladder and become managers and CEOs. It is so much more than that and I have been lucky enough to be part of two fantastic programmes in the UK.

The best leadership programmes allow you to own your journey and path. All sectors require good managers and visionaries to challenge their thinking and ways of working. Leadership is not something that you do for a month on a course but is a life long journey that is not solely about your working professional life. It will encourage you to think about your health, family, passions, dreams, spirituality (in my case) and so much more, as these things are all connected. When each of these areas are working well for us we are fully effective happy individuals.

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In 2008 I participated in the Powerbrokers International Leadership Programme funded by Arts Council England and it included a placement in Beijing. Prior to this I attended some workshops in London about understanding and using my strengths, read many self-development books and took some lessons in Mandarin. I was in for a real culture shock once I arrived in China and the time away from everything I knew here in England away from friends and family was the best thing that could have happened to me at that point. At the end of 2006 my father died, less than a year later I married my partner of 9 years, and 5 months later we broke up. It wasn't until I was in China that all of the grief and pain I had bottled up started to come out. I was all alone.

I'm not suggesting that leadership programmes need to take us to the other side of the world. But one place they do take us is deep inside ourselves. This leadership placement gave me the headspace to prioritize my aspirations for my life for the next 4 years. On new year's day in 2009 I wrote in my notebook that I was going to spend a year traveling the world to include finally seeing where my parents grew up in India, live in Melbourne for 12 months and work in the arts, and complete an MSc programme on a subject that would give me a deeper insight into global interactions and inequalities. And that is exactly what I did. I had the budget, time and drive to succeed. I wanted to invest my time and money into my wishes and development. These are not all tied to making an income and following a specific path. For me life is all about learning and growing throughout the journey, I want to enjoy every day, not just wait until I reach the end of a goal to celebrate. All of the experience we have enable us to become better and more interesting leaders, its not just about all the contracts we secure and jobs we have, but all of the adventures and challenges we face in life that make us who we are. This is what makes inspirational leaders.

For two years after achieving these goals I found myself a little unsure of what to do next as I was no longer just an arts manager like I had been happily in my 20s. What unfolded was the beginnings of a portfolio career. I spent my time in London, Lisbon and around India doing culture and development projects I enjoy, meeting new people, and gaining clarity on how to move forward with all of my new found knowledge and experiences. Looking back I realise the leadership and life journey is not straight forward, will come with ups and downs, and as as time goes by all of the dots will join up. So what if some of my friends and people my age have marriages, kids and mortgages. If I put my hand on my heart this in not even what gets my pulse racing or what I crave for right now. I've always strived to live a life of passion and authenticity so if this means taking the long way round to get where I need to then so be it. Life is not a race. Not every journey is supposed to be the same and that is why I love to travel so much as it is then that I meet the most innovative and creative leaders of their own lives that inspire me.

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In September 2015 I found myself back in Birmingham, the city I left in 2008. I was selected to take part in RE:Present: Transforming the Diversity of Cultural Leadership, a development programme, which included training, mentoring and different lectures by influential opinion leaders. Re:Present is delivered by Helga Henry (Creative Shift) and Lara Ratnaraja, funded by Birmingham City Council and Arts Council England. I knew this would be a great journey for me and it was. The range of presentations, speakers, training and meeting the other participants on the programme was exceptional and could not be better timed for myself. I also had two mentors on the programme, a consultant working internationally in culture and the creative economy, and another working on interdisciplinary programmes in partnership with academic institutions and partners across Europe.


March is Women's History Month. It is fitting on this seventy-fifth anniversary of

woman suffrage to relate a brief story of American women's heroic campaign to gain the vote.

Women in colonial America held more rights than their descendants hold today.

Before 1776, women practiced every type of profession and craft--representing themselves in court, sitting on juries, and voting. But after the American Revolution, male leaders withheld rights of citizenship from more than half of America's population. Women could no longer vote or control their own property. They were forced out of most wage-earning occupations except nursing and teaching. Modeling American laws on English common law robbed married women of legal rights. Thus, American men enjoyed freedom and equality while denying American women these precious rights. Women and fair-minded men have never stopped fighting to regain them. Nor have all yet been restored!



American women launched a nonviolent revolution unparalleled in history until the recent civil rights struggle. Women endured the same injustices that caused men to go to war against Britain--taxation without representation and no say in the government. In addition, women's legal rights were stolen. Women spoke and picketed. They were often brutalized and jailed. Although belittled and ridiculed by the press, these courageous women persevered in their fight to regain God-given rights, which male governments had denied them.

Women have always been good citizens. They have birthed and raised generations of Americans. Even in wartime, women have done more than their share. As abolitionists worked for freedom and citizenship for slaves, they became acutely aware of their own lack of civil rights. Denied admittance to an international abolitionist conference, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott decided to hold a Women's Rights Convention. Later Susan B. Anthony and other powerful leaders joined them.

Women could have been covered by the Constitution until 1870 when the franchise was extended to black men. In order to allow only black MEN to vote--and to deny all women this right--for the first time, Congress added the word "male" to the Constitution. Women now knew they would have to get their own amendment in order to regain their full citizenship. They were forced to increase the intensity of their fight.

Male leaders only allowed non-suffrage advocates to sit-on-the-platform at the centennial celebration. Suffragists obtained press seats so they could attend the ceremonies. After the reading of the men's Declaration of Independence, suffragists stepped to the platform and presented their own declaration. While being escorted out, they distributed copies to eager crowds and held their own celebration outside Independence Hall.

Another forty-four years would pass before women would actually gain the vote. After women kept the nation functioning during World War I, men found it difficult to continue to withhold this right. Celebrating the diamond anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment is a bittersweet victory as another vital right enjoyed by our foremothers has yet to be restored--women are not yet equal citizens of this nation.

Alice Paul wrote an Equal Rights Amendment, which was introduced into Congress every year from 1921 until 1972 when it finally passed. In a punitive effort to continue to withhold equal citizenship from women, our government placed a time limit on its passage. Unlike the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments, whose ratification was required and which conferred full citizenship upon black males, the Nineteenth Amendment received no such federal assistance. A small well-funded organization employed scare tactics in an effort to defeat the ERA. The arbitrary time-limit ran out in 1982. Lacking ratification by only three states, the ERA died. It will again be introduced into Congress this year. One day a fair-minded American populace will insist on its passage and ratification.

And today most history books report that "American women were given the vote in 1920."
Governor Brown has traveled the world speaking out against climate change. However a shocking new review of the Brown Administration's actions shows they've often helped oil, gas and utility companies at the expense of the environment and the consumer, and that contributions from the companies often followed within days.

Consumer Watchdog's report, "Brown's Dirty Hands," chronicles how Brown and his top appointees used the California Democratic Party as a slush fund, sucking in contributions from unpopular energy companies in close proximity, and sometimes on the same day, that his Administration helped those companies in controversial ways.

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Twenty-six energy companies including Occidental, Chevron, NRG and the state's three major investor-owned utilities - all with business before the state -- donated $9.8 million to Jerry Brown's campaigns, causes, and initiatives, and to the California Democratic Party since he ran for Governor. Donations were often made within days or weeks of winning favors. The three major investor-owned utilities alone contributed nearly $6 million.

Between 2011 and 2014, the energy companies tracked by Brown's Dirty Hands donated $4.4 million to the Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party gave $4.7 million to Brown's re-election.

Earmarking contributions to the political parties is not allowed under state law. The record of a clear pass-through here should have the Fair Political Practices Commission's ears burning. In addition to the eerily similar amount of money in and money out of the Party, Brown's top staffers-Executive Secretary Nancy McFadden and former Cabinet Secretary Dana Williamson, both former PG&E executives, were paid roughly $100,000 each by the California Democratic Party for consulting and fundraising services at various times between 2013 and 2016.

Evidence strongly suggests that the timing of certain donations may have elicited or rewarded legislative or regulatory action on behalf of these companies. Among the most egregious examples detailed in the report:

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Southern California Edison donated $130,000 to the California Democratic Party, its largest contribution up until that time, on the same day PUC President Michael Peevey cut a secret deal with an SCE executive in Warsaw, Poland to make ratepayers cover 70 percent of the $4.7 billion cost to close the fatally flawed San Onofre nuclear plant. Brown backed the dirty deal, telling Edison's CEO personally, according to an email from the CEO uncovered by the Public Records Act, that he was willing to tell the media on the day of the plant's shuttering that the company was acting responsibly and focused on the right things. Three days prior to SCE's announcement that it would close San Onofre permanently, the company donated $25,000 to the California Democratic Party.

Emails from PG&E's top lobbyist Brian Cherry to his boss claim that Brown personally intervened with a PUC Commissioner to persuade him to approve a natural gas-fired power plant called Oakley for the utility. In a January 1, 2013 email, Cherry described a New Year's Eve dinner with Peevey where Peevey reminded him "how he and Governor Brown used every ounce of persuasion to get [Commissioner Mark] Ferron to change his mind and vote for Oakley...Jerry's direct plea was decisive." PG&E donated $20,000 to the California Democratic Party the day after the PUC voted for the project. An appeals court would later strike down the decision because PG&E had not proved its necessity.

While PG&E's lobbyist and then-PUC President Michael Peevey fed names to Brown's executive secretary, former PG&E vice president Nancy McFadden, to appoint the critical swing-vote PUC commissioner who would cast pro-utility votes, PG&E donated $75,000 to the California Democratic Party. The same day that Brown appointed ex-banker Mark Ferron to the commission, PG&E donated another $41,500. The appointment lifted the value of PG&E's stock and the PG&E stock held by McFadden and valued as high as $1 million.

Chevron donated $135,000 to the California Democratic Party the same day lawmakers exempted a common method of well stimulation from legislation meant to regulate fracking. After the bill passed with an amendment dropping a moratorium on fracking permits, Occidental gave $100,000 to one of Brown's favorite causes, the Oakland Military Institute. Brown signed the weakened bill. On December 23, 2013, Chevron donated $350,000 to the Democratic Party. On December 30, the Democratic Party donated $300,000 to Brown for Governor 2014, while Chevron donated the maximum to Brown's campaign, $54,400, on the same day. Less than two months later, Brown came out publicly to oppose a proposed oil severance tax. The weakened fracking bill also helped Nancy McFadden who held up to $100,000 in Linn Energy that would acquire Berry Petroleum and its 3,000 California fracking wells.

Occidental's attorney, former Governor Gray Davis, successfully pressured Brown to fire two oil and gas regulators who wouldn't grant oil waste injection permits without proof that aquifers would not be contaminated. Two months later, when Brown's new interim oil and gas supervisor granted Occidental a permit without an environmental review, Occidental contributed $250,000 to Prop 30, Brown's ballot measure to raise taxes, then another $100,000 two weeks later to his favored Oakland Military Institute. Seven months later, Occidental made a second $250,000 donation to Prop 30.

Brown's climate change bill, SB 350, gave utilities a monopoly on electric vehicle infrastructure and large-scale renewable energy projects by excluding rooftop solar from the state's renewable portfolio standard. Three weeks after a last-minute amendment granting utilities access to a regional grid, PG&E donated $80,000 to the Democratic Party. The utility donated another $50,000 three weeks after the bill was chaptered. Utility stocks increased by at least 14 percent within two months.

Power plant developer NRG wasn't a Brown donor until the company cut a sweetheart deal with the PUC to settle the state's case over its 2001 electricity price manipulation, touted as a win by the Governor's office. Rather than paying back the state, the company was allowed to spend $100 million of its $120 million fine to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Two months later, NRG began donations to Brown, his causes, and his party that would come to $105,000. A lawsuit against the PUC, filed by electric charging station competitor Ecotality, called the deal illegal because it awarded a monopoly to an out-of-state company.

Lawmakers sent Brown a package of six PUC reform bills in 2015 which would have increased oversight, transparency and accountability at the PUC, and received unanimous, bipartisan support. Brown vetoed the reform bills on October 12, 2015. One week later, PG&E donated $50,000 to the Democratic Party. In December, PG&E donated another $175,000 to the Party.

Jerry Brown's family and other personal ties to industry insiders also appear to play a role in his Administration's decisions to promote the interests of the utilities and the oil and gas industry at the expense of consumers.

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Brown's sister, Kathleen, was given a seat on Sempra's board of directors in June 2013, just as lawmakers amended fracking legislation to drop a moratorium on fracking permits. As of April 2016, Kathleen Brown had earned $691,300 for her board service at Sempra, parent company of Southern California Gas which is responsible for the massive Aliso Canyon natural gas well blowout that caused the biggest methane leak in U.S. history. Governor Brown issued an emergency order that ensured secrecy around the blowout investigation, has waged a campaign through his energy regulators to keep Aliso open and has kept information and data involving the blowout secret from the public. Sempra stock has increased by 116% since Brown took office, more than any other utility.

Kathleen Brown also served on the board of real estate and oil company Forestar Group-which owns 700 acres next to Porter Ranch, a community drastically affected by the leak, where Forestar plans to build luxury homes, and another 1,000 acres of oil and gas interests in California. Kathleen holds $749,000 worth of Forestar stock. She now sits on the board of Renew Financial, a private funder of renewable energy projects that stands to benefit from SB 350. She stepped down from Forestar one month after Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency at Aliso Canyon.
This is the moment for reporters to dig into Donald Trump's impact on state legislative races in Colorado, and no races are more important than those in swing state senate districts, like Republican Laura Woods' contest against Democrat Rachel Zenzinger and the race between GOP Arapahoe County Commissioner Nancy Doty and Democratic state Rep. Daniel Kagan.

Both Woods and Doty have said they'll back Trump, with Woods enthusiastically calling Trump the "people's candidate."

But reporters have yet to question Doty in any substantive way about her support for Trump. We have more than a hint that Doty thinks highly of Trump, because Doty called Sarah Palin's July 12 endorsement speech of Trump "spot on," and Doty said she "really enjoyed hearing Trump himself speak.

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"I thought Sarah Palin was right on, just spot on! She was very, very good - brought a clear message that people need to get on board. And I really enjoyed hearing [Donald] Trump," Doty told KNUS 710-AM host Julie Hayden when asked for her "thoughts" on the speeches.

If Republicans lose their one-seat majority in the state senate, Democrats will likely control state government. So the stakes are high for Doty and Woods.
A brush with the energy of the future occurred in Madison County last week as solar vehicle Apperion passed through during the 2016 American Solar Challenge.

The car was gliding along U.S. Highway 67 South through a portion of Madison County, Tuesday. Under partly cloudy skies the vehicle zipped along when the sun peeked out, and slowed a bit when it went back to its hiding spot. A beep echoed from the vehicle as it passed the photographer.

This years course took competitors like Apperions Team Sunergy from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina across the Midwestern United States, from July 22 to Aug. 6.

The rayce or race gives college students the chance to showcase solar powered vehicles of their own design and construction. The bi-annual event names its winners on the basis fastest time over the course.

The university website www.appstate.edu states, the eight-day, 1,975 mile road course travels through seven states from Brecksville, Ohio, to Hot Springs, S.D. To celebrate the National Park Service Centennial, race organizers have created a route that will include stage checkpoints at nine national parks, historic sites or partner properties throughout the Midwest.

So far, the local area does not boast any solar cars but at least one business has taken advantage of gains from solar energy sources. Madison County business owner Dave Couch, White Trash Customs says he would be willing to jump in, as well.

Couch said, Stefon Klug just across the line in St. Francois County runs his entire shop and house off solar panels.

If I could run the shop with three-phase it would be well worth the investment, Couch said.

Couch said his electric bills have gone up significantly since the company moved into its new location off on West Main St. near the roundabout.

As far as cars of the future goes Couch said this area is a bit slow to change when compared to cities to the north of Fredericktown.

When I was at Redfield in Festus, I would say hybrids made up about 15 to 20 percent of our business, he said.

Even when solar cars become the thing, you are not going to find a car guy like me with one. We are car people, Couch said of himself and his wife.

We wont be restoring a Toyota Prius, Couch said referring to his family owned business.

The public is getting more exposure to the benefits of solar in our state recently.

Weve installed more than 300,000 solar panels on IKEA buildings around the world, according to the IKEA website.

The St. Louis location featuring a solar panel roof opened Sept. 30, 2015.

Some of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT) facilities use solar energy also.

The nations first solar road may debut in Missouri at the Route 66 Welcome Center in Conway in the near future. Solar energy resource companies are becoming more prevalent and are selling to the public, as well. During the summer of 2016, it was announced Solar Roadways will be trialing its technology at Conway's Route 66 Welcome Center and Museum in Conway. The trial will be funded through crowd sourcing and has the support of MODOT, according to Wikipedia. The MODOT project named, road to tomorrow started last year as a way to possibly decrease the ever increasing associated cost of road construction, repair and eventual replacement.

Tom Blair who is employed by MODOT as St. Louis Metro District Assistant District Engineer responsible for Operations was selected to lead the project.

Solar Roadways is part of an initiative with MODOT launched a little over a year ago, Blair said. Over the past year we have been seeking innovations that have the potential to create new revenue.

MODOT agreed to an initial investment in solar roadway panels from the Idaho company Solar Roadways.

Weve talked to thousands of innovators, Blair said.

A similar solar panel project was completed recently in Idaho by the company on a small scale with the paving of a sidewalk. The plan is to begin in Missouri at the Route 66 facility by installing the same type of solar walkway later this summer. The desire is to start small and progress to paving the road surface of Route 66 with solar panels, according to Blair.

We will start with a 10-by-20 foot section of sidewalk. Then, we may be more confident to move it to the parking lot or roads, Blair explained.

It would be great if the new roadway made with solar panels could create revenue.

Even if it pays for itself it would be the first ever in history, Blair said.

All of the roads in our country have a certain life span, and at various intervals and sometimes very frequently each roadway requires maintenance. So, department leaders began a few years ago taking an active role in seeking alternative road building methods. After some feasibility studies and a great deal of discussion, the Governor appointed Highway Commission and MODOT executive leadership agreed new solar technologies may hold the key.

Blair agrees with the idea the current generations are tasked with replacement of much of our nations infrastructure.

We have not increased our investment in transportation in almost 25 years, he said.

The department (MODOT) wants to create energy on right of way through lowering our electric costs and to create cash value, Blair said.

Missouri is one part of the big picture with other states having solar programs in place, i.e. Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

While solar vehicles passed through Missouri they had three stops at National Parks in Missouri; Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, Grants Farm, in St. Louis County; and Wilsons Creek National Battlefield near Springfield. More information and details on the solar vehicle races including a full map of the trek can be found at www.appatate.edu.

The team blog spot is full of photos not only of the race, but also includes their preparation phase. Race photos, posts and videos also appeared on twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. There is also this link to team standings and times: http://americansolarchallenge.org/the-competition/ascfsgp-2016/.

For more details on solar panel innovator and MODOT partner Solar Roadways go to http://solarroadways.com/ and information on Road to Tomorrow is at www.modot.org/road2tomorrow. To view more details about the solar roadway paving at the Route 66 Welcome Center visit this Facebook link https://www.facebook.com/Route66Solar.
More than two weeks after Turkey's dramatic failed coup, what exactly happened remains shrouded in mystery leaving only speculation that has hardened into "fact" in the absence of convincing evidence.

Two main theories have emerged: The first is that this was yet another in a longline of CIA-backed coups. The other is that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan either staged or let the coup happen to give him the opportunity to consolidate his rule through a vicious and ongoing purge of his perceived enemies.

The first theory has now passed into the realm of "fact" because some commentators unquestioningly accept that the CIA tried to remove Erdogan for suddenly seeking to repair relations with Russia, Iran and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad is a man Erdogan has squandered substantial political capital trying to overthrow for five years.

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This theory asserts the failed coup was a "victory against the U.S. empire" because Erdogan has defied Washington by suddenly moving Turkey into the multipolar camp with a view towards Eurasian union, rather than the European Union.

"Suddenly" is the key word. What led to Erdogan's apparent about-face? His Syria policy of supporting ISIS and opposing Damascus, Moscow and Teheran completely blew up in his face. He failed to overthrow Assad. Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane damaged Turkey's economy. ISIS turned on him, attacking Ataturk Airport. He was on the ropes. Erdogan is a supreme survivor. He'll switch enemies and friends on a dime if need be. He's proven no loyalty but to himself.

Tactical or Strategic?

For the moment, Erdogan's shift instead appears to be a short-term, tactical, move, to ensure his survival. Time will tell whether it is also strategic. It's too early to declare he's turned his back on the U.S., NATO and the EU and joined the multipolar world. I doubt Moscow, Tehran and Damascus fully trust Erdogan's overtures as a long-term commitment, willing as they are to hear him out.

The Turkish government, though not Erdogan himself, has blamed the U.S. for the coup. A hardline conservative newspaper that backs Erdogan, Yeni Safak, has even named U.S. General John F. Campbell as "one of the top figures who organized and managed the soldiers behind the failed coup attempt," citing "sources close to ongoing legal process" against those arrested for the coup. It said Campbell "managed' more than $2 billion to pay for the coup through CIA links with UBA Bank in Nigeria.

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Without named sources or documentary evidence, which covert operations by their nature rarely yield, it's easy to blame the CIA. In this case, the speculation rests on three assumptions, the first is the supposed U.S. reaction to Erdogan's pivot East. But as Phil Giraldi, a former CIA agent stationed in Turkey, has pointed out the coup plotters and other Erdogan opponents hated his Syria policy and would welcome his rapprochement with Assad and a move East.

The coup's motive may have instead been to stop Erdogan, who sees a Sultan in the mirror, from continuing his march to one-man rule. The coup leaders called themselves the Peace Council, claiming they wanted to restore democracy and overthrow a tyrant who is ruling unconstitutionally. (Erdogan is already ruling as though Turkey has changed to a presidential system, though the referendum he wants hasn't yet been held.)

The second assumption is that the coup was plotted at the Incirlik NATO base in southern Turkey, according to Erdogan. That would mean the CIA would have to at least have known about the coup. But beyond Erdogan's word there's no proof that that's where the coup started.

The "Terrorists"

The third assumption is that Erdogan's arch-enemy, the Pennsylvania-based imam Fethullah Gulen who Erdogan blames for masterminding the coup, is a CIA asset running a "terrorist" organization. Erdogan calls anyone who disagrees with him a "terrorist": academics, journalists, Kurdish members of the Turkish parliament. I'm surprised he hasn't called Pope Francis a terrorist for calling Armenia a genocide.

The only evidence offered connecting Gulen with the CIA is book written by a former Turkish intelligence agent, and a letter written by Graham Fuller, a former CIA agent once posted in Turkey, in support of Gulen's 2006 U.S. green card application. Fuller himself has condemned the coup and his blog is often highly critical of U.S. Middle East policy.

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The 2010 book by former Turkish intelligence agent Osman Nuri Gundes claims Gulen schools in Central Asia harbored more than 100 CIA agents in the mid-1990s, a claim impossible to verify, even by a Washington Post columnist on intelligence matters, and may well be disninformation.

Gulen communicates daily to his followers around the world in sermons viewed over the internet. These as well as his other communications must be monitored by the Turkish government. Evidence that would stand up in a U.S. court of Gulen ordering the coup is what Washington would need in Erdogan's frantic extradition request for Gulen. The quality of that evidence could determine whether Gulen was behind the coup. Of course, if you already believe the CIA did it, you won't believe what a U.S. court says.

Even without proof, it can't be ruled out that military men inspired by Gulen may were involved in the coup (with secular Kemalists). But Gulenists have been more numerous in the police than the military.

I was the first American reporter to interview Gulen for The Wall Street Journal, when I visited him in his Pennsylvania compound in 2010. I've studied the group the past six years, getting to know dozens of his followers, visiting schools in the U.S, Turkey and elsewhere. In my research, I have been on the inside living with his followers while teaching English at one of the schools. Religion is not taught. It is not in the curriculum. Gulenists are Sufi Muslims implacably opposed to Saudi Wahhabism, the font of all Sunni extremism.

The idea that the schools are jihadist madrases, or that Gulenists are extremists or terrorists is beyond absurd as anyone who knows them will attest. One such person is John Esposito of Georgetown University, one of America's leading experts on Islam. In this video interview, Esposito calls Gulen's a "pluralistic" movement "unique" to Islam.

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Though I disagree with Gulen on certain things, notably his lack of criticism of Israeli treatment of Palestinians, it is ludicrous to accept Erdogan's branding of his followers as terrorists. The Gulenists have no political party. It is a social movement that does however seek to influence Turkey's political direction.

They were almost certainly behind the leaked audio of Erdogan telephone calls exposing his corruption in a real estate deal. The New York Times reported that my interview with Gulen, in which he took Israel's side in the Mavi Marmara incident, led to the first open breech in the uneasy alliance between Gulen and Erdogan. The leaked telephone calls were the last straw. Erdogan fired and arrested policemen and judges who dared investigate the corruption allegations. And he declared open warfare on Gulen.

In response to the coup attempt, Erdogan has shut down every Gulen-affiliated institution in Turkey by decree, including thousands of schools, foundations and charities. He finished the job of shutting down all of its media properties. Gulen and his followers are finished in Turkey as Erdogan pressures foreign governments to shut down their schools abroad.

"A Gift From God"

In all, 60,000 people in the military, civil service, judiciary and academia, who couldn't possibly have all been involved with the coup, have either lost their jobs or been arrested in Erdogan's ruthless retaliation. Amnesty International says some have been tortured. Worse for the coup plotters, their gambit has fortified his mounting absolute rule, which brings us to the other theory: that Erdogan either staged or allowed the coup to happen. Gulen himself alleges it was staged. His followers name an Erdogan-loyal general, Mehmet Disli, who they claim gave the order to start the coup.

Because Erdogan knew of the coup hours before, there is a stronger possibility that he let it happen to smoke out disloyal officers, confident his handpicked brass would crush it. They may have played along with the coup and then double-crossed the coup leaders once it was underway. It would be a seriously amateurish attempt to go ahead without the consent of the top military leadership.

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Erdogan seized the chance the coup afforded him, which he himself called "a gift from God," to solidify his rule over Turkey like a Gulf monarch, while accruing international support and even sympathy.

Erdogan's Rise to Power

At this point we need to step back a moment and look at Erdogan's slow rise to power and how he took control of a hostile, secular military. Erdogan deceived plenty of people in Turkey, but especially in the West. He was seen as the leader of a model Islamic democracy who would put the military under civilian control.

Erdogan's AKP party is essentially part of the Muslim Brotherhood. Mohammad Morsi named his Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood party after Erdogan's--The Justice and Development Party. The Brotherhood's strategy is to gain power through elections and then gradually implement an Islamist agenda, as opposed to attempting to seize power violently like al-Qaeda or the Islamic State--like the Mensheviks, rather than the Bolsheviks.

I took part with a small group of reporters interviewing Erdogan at the United Nations in New York in 2009. At the time his strategy of getting the Turkish military out of politics, in which they had intervened in four coups, seemed convincing. He sought to root out the Ergenekon underground network of organized crime, military and intelligence officers in the Turkish Deep State in a move that appeared to be in favor of civilian-led democracy.

But as the Turkish opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the People's Republican Party (CHP), told me in a one-on-one interview in Washington in 2014, Erdogan arrested the wrong people supposedly involved in the Ergenekon conspiracy. Many innocent people were falsely charged at a time the Gulenists supported the move to get the military out of politics.

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In fact Erdogan was cleverly replacing the brass with his own military men and seized control of the Deep State. His actions, especially after the failed coup, show that democracy has not been his motive.
Lauren Bertovich can't get a job. Even with a Master's of Interior Architecture, Home Depot will not hire her. Lowe's won't hire her, either. Fast food restaurants do not even acknowledge her application. To an employer, six years of higher education and two years of teaching experience mean nothing when the applicant is a felon.

To help pay for her schooling, Bertovich enlisted in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, never expecting it would lead to an opiate addiction, arrest, and disqualification from the workforce. "I was a light-wheel vehicle mechanic in the National Guard," said Bertovich. "I serviced anything from a deuce and a half down to generators. But while I was working on a vehicle, I ruptured three discs in my back. After having surgery, I was prescribed opiate painkillers and later became dependent on them."

Lauren Bertovich

Before the dependency emerged, however, Bertovich worked as an assistant professor at West Virginia University. She taught a hefty number of classes, including Interior Lighting Design, Residential Architectural Design, Hand Drafting, History of Architecture I and II, and Foundations of Design. While managing an overwhelming course load, Bertovich became pregnant. "I felt stressed out and decided I needed to take a break," she said. "Shortly after I left the university, I had my daughter and that aggravated my back injury. I had post-partum depression, especially after leaving my job. The depression and return of my back pain evolved into the addiction."

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Bertovich had no history of dependency, yet became unable to function without the painkillers she was prescribed. "I never, ever felt like my body needed something. I used to wake up happy every morning." Bertovich recalls the opiate dependency stripping her of motivation and enthusiasm for motherhood. "Whenever I would wake up first thing in the morning, I remember thinking that I couldn't wait go back to bed. And that was not like me. I could not wait for the day to be over. I wasn't even enjoying being a new mom. There were so many drastic changes that I felt like there was really no hope to ever get my life sorted out again." As the prescription painkillers ran out, her body failed without its opiate fix, and Bertovich turned to heroin.

Her mounting addiction, unemployment, and maternal responsibilities led Bertovich to steal jewelry from three family members. "I stole because I had to function, I had to take care of my child, and I needed money just to feel normal. At that point I wasn't getting high anymore, I was just trying to feel normal and not be sick."

Realizing that the dependency had altered her psyche and ravaged her ethics, Bertovich admitted her crime to family and to police. "It wasn't at all my mindset that led me to steal," she explained. "It goes against all of my core values, especially from my family." She was convicted of three counts of theft by unlawful taking and, because of the jewelry's high monetary value, it was considered a felony. As a first-time offender, Bertovich was placed on three years' probation in three separate counties and was ordered to pay restitution and attend counseling. Her family pursued the charges, believing legal action would lead Bertovich to end her addiction. They never imagined that it would destroy her employability.

With her addiction kicked and an impressive resume, Bertovich attempted to reenter the workforce, only to find that she was unemployable. Applications required Bertovich to disclose any criminal record, yet her honesty only led to rejection. "On every application, there's that box that you have to check stating whether or not you've been arrested," she said. "There's no space to explain what you did, or to talk about your character. You just click that box and they toss your application in the trash."

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Despite her advanced education, Bertovich's only glimmer of hope was Bob Evans, a Midwestern fast food chain. In order to bolster her chances of employment, Bertovich filled out the application in person. She was faced with the familiar box, but noticed a disclaimer stating that applicants in certain states, including Pennsylvania, were not required to disclose their arrest history. Bertovich asked the General Manager if the disclaimer was true, and he replied that it was.

To thwart misconceptions that may have arisen during a background check, Bertovich discussed her arrest with the General Manager, who invited her to return for an interview. "During the interview, they asked me to write a summary of my prior, so I wrote two pages. That was specifically what they asked for. They wanted me to give them some details, and I did that."

After two years of rejection, Bertovich finally secured employment at the fast food restaurant. "I was so happy that somebody finally gave me a chance," recalls Bertovich. She was hired as a grill cook and, because of her multiple college degrees, was trained to become a manager. "I never called off, never showed up late," said Bertovich. "They were really happy with me. And they moved me around from position to position in the restaurant, grooming me for a management role."

She worked Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and New Year's Eve, sacrificing celebrations with her family. One week after the New Year, "I went into work on time, dressed nice. I had just rolled my hair and everyone was telling me how nice I looked," she remembered. "But when I went to the back, I walked out in tears because they just said, 'you're terminated.'"

Although she completed the requested summary of her arrest, the manager told Bertovich that she lied about her criminal history on the application. "I didn't see how that was possible when I filled out a two-page summary," asserted Bertovich. "The application told me I didn't have to check the box, so I never wrote 'Yes' or 'No.' I was able to leave it empty." Without further explanation from Bob Evans, Bertovich was once again unemployed.

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With fast food restaurants and chain stores denying Bertovich's applications, a rare message of hope alleviated her desperation. Daniel Bull, founder of Zero Six Eight, contacted Bertovich with an opportunity. According to the organization's website, Zero Six Eight is "a for-profit incubator that exists to promote the innovative potential of ex-offenders as they pursue goals of employment, entrepreneurship, and independence." Several Zero Six Eight participants developed a business constructing pre-fabricated tiny houses, and have enlisted Bertovich for her architecture and design expertise. "I am so grateful for this opportunity," she beamed.
"I wonder what those chairs feel like."

The musing was voiced by a teenaged girl from Boys and Girls Club of Indianapolis. She was getting my signature after an event where I was honored to receive the Inspiring Woman Award by the WNBA, Indiana Fever team. I had shared the stage and a panel discussion with four members of the "Great Eight", a record eight, African-American women who received their Ph.D.s from the Indiana University School of Education in the same year. Talk about humbling!

The girl was staring at the cushy armchairs set in a semi-circle onstage, where the lights and microphones had only recently been removed. I had a blinding memory and immediately said to her and two friends, "Let's find out!" I pulled the girls onstage, arranged them into the chairs and got the tech pro to supply us with mics. Without instruction or encouragement, they immediately put on the mantle of panelist, leaning in, nodding, asking each other questions and sharing their opinions. It was magic. I asked them how it felt. "Great!" they said. So we all agreed they'd be in those chairs again sometime soon.

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The Big Chair, the Boardroom, The Table. Those metaphors of place and power are historically and stereotypically peopled by men. And the importance of women not only taking their seats, but practicing what it's like to be there, cannot be underplayed. The memory that struck me while I talked to the girls was a story shared with me by Donna James, who kindly advised me early in my entrepreneurial career. Ms. James has broken barriers over her entire lifetime, serving in leadership positions and on Fortune 500 boards. She told me about being a young associate with a great deal of passion and ability. She had been sent upstairs to get some papers and learned that the executive boardroom was left open when not in use. She went into the boardroom, sat at the table and took it all in - she recalled thinking about what it felt like to sit there, practicing in her head what she might say or do, and getting used to the way the room looked and felt. That single experience informed her drive to excel, find sponsors and eventually sit at that table as a participant.

In sad contrast, I also remember the story of a woman who was invited to a leadership meeting at her company. Upon arrival, she immediately took a seat in the back, at the perimeter of the room. She assumed she was an observer. One seat at the board table remained empty, and eventually the organizers got annoyed, waiting for the last leader to arrive. They finally realized she was sitting in the back with the admins. They had to tell this intelligent, hardworking woman that she was the leader whose chair was still empty at the table.
Everyone is leaving New York. Everyone. Either they've already left, are in the process of leaving, or they're talking about it. It's like a mass exodus. You'd think the the British were coming. Or the plague. Or another hurricane. It's like Manhattan is set for decimation and people are getting out while they still can. And in the midst of all this fleeing, it's got me thinking. Why the hell am I still here? Why am I still obsessed with this city that everyone else seems to be over?

At first, I assumed it was because I'm young. Well, relatively young. Most of the people that I know leaving the city are in their mid- to late- 30s. So I thought, "maybe New York just gets old after a while", channeling the always hilarious Samantha from Sex and the City ("they should call it Same York"). Perhaps, eventually, New York becomes too much. Too much frustration, too much commotion, too much money. Maybe, eventually, we all grow up.

I spent about two days in this Same York funk, as I've taken to calling it. Why have I stayed here despite the skyrocketing rental rates, lack of breathing space and frustrating foot traffic? Suddenly, I was seeing all the bad aspects of city living around me, an odd observation for someone who's almost always looking up in admiration. And again that thought creeped in every time I tried to justify New York - "Grow up, Kari."

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But then I realized. I am a grown up. (Sometimes I've gotta remind myself.) Sure, I'm not married nor do I have children. And I'm not looking to buy a house with my beau. But what does that matter for? That's not what makes me a grown up. Peeking in at the lives of those around made me feel like I was drowning in the responsibilities and decisions that should be mine but are not, in fact, my own. And I wasn't going to allow people who were "over it" to put me under it.

"Life's a circus. Be the ringmaster of your own life."

I can no longer recall where or from whom I heard this quote, but as I dragged myself out of my Same York funk, it rang all too clear. Since we are children, it's been engrained in us that we'll "understand when we're older," that we will somehow miraculously have it all figured out once we're adults. There's this expectation that once we hit our mid-twenties, things will suddenly click and we'll have in all under control. But life isn't about control, but rather spontaneity and wonder. It's a circus. And I'm no lion leaping through rings of fire or elephant following a peanut trail all because that's what's expected of me. I'm the ringmaster. I choose the attractions, the timeline of this circus.
While in Montreal last month I met with my good friends Angelo and Stephan. They have been together for over twenty years and are my inspiration as well as my aspiration. Stephan remains the only stylist ever to blow out my uber curly hair perfectly straight and stylish. Stephan personifies the phrase 'The cock of the walk'

Shortly after meeting Stephan, I was introduced to his partner Angelo. Angelo is an accountant, a quiet man who possesses the most soulful blue eyes I have ever seen.

I was invited to their home for a dinner that featured Angelo's famous homemade pasta. As I was getting ready to leave Angelo went to get my coat and I noticed a large statue similar to the style of Henry Moore in their hallway.

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I asked Angelo if this was a new addition as I am often in my own special world and tend to miss things like enormous sculptures in my friend's living room. (Really!) Angelo said it was. While on a recent trip to Italy Stephan spotted this statue and coveted it immediately. Angelo told me he thought it would be quite difficult to bring it home to Canada but - as he spoke to me his face softened "Stephan wanted it so badly, how could I refuse?"

Ever since that evening in Montreal, I have not stopped thinking about how I felt while witnessing Angelo's face soften into love. This is the experience I want to share with my future partner. I so want to experience this deep well of mutual love.

I went for a swim in my pool this morning in my ongoing attempt at fitness, and as I was swimming my thoughts turned once again to Angelo. I need to find my own Angelo, I thought. Wait!! I am Katharine Angelina!

I am my own Angelo/Angelina! I thought of this video I watched yesterday. A true light bulb moment to speak in the Oprah vernacular.

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The late Wayne Dyer was talking to Oprah about the Law of Manifestation.Wayne said in order to have more money in your life, you must be generous. If you want more happiness, you must be joy filled. You must raise your vibration and become what you wish to manifest in your life.

As I swam back and forth in the warm water,I thought about what Wayne said and realized why I have attracted only un- kind women into my life, because THAT IS HOW I FELT ABOUT MYSELF!!!

Okay my HuffPo readers, I shall stop writing in caps now, I just wanted to capture and share my excitement!

To review, if I want to manifest a kind, loving soul who will be there for me and can 'see' me, then I must be that for myself. I am so excited about my revelation and the possibility of getting it right this time.

This has been a year of great personal change. I am beginning to take care of myself in a profound way: eating mindfully, (100 days binge free!) exercising mildly, (the aforementioned swimming of 15 - ish laps every second day) trying my best to stay calm and centered.

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I've stopped swearing (for the most part, though there is nothing more satisfying than uttering a loud FUCK! when needed) and I'm very mindful of how I speak to others, but even more aware of how I speak to myself. I'm really trying to talk to myself as I would to my daughter Victoria or my best friend Marcus.

What I am not doing anymore is talking to myself like this -

"Oh my God. I'm freaking out and I'm not well and who will still need me, who will still feed me, when I'm sixty-four!"

Instead I am talking to myself in this way:

"I will be just fine. I just need to take a few deep breaths. I'm going to take a bath with my favourite lavender and rose bath salts, then I shall drink some green tea. She will find me. I know all will be well."
I'm often baffled by anyone who wants to be friends with me -- particularly about lefty agenda items that can't be shaken out of my brain through a meme or "But Hillary did worse!" argument.

Maybe they are on an evangelical Karl Rove mission to let me see my folly -- or perhaps they're just fans of NASCAR crashes and fifth grade choir concerts. It's like me saying, "You say you sell Amway? Let's hear all about it!"

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I think the Zuckerbergians in the bowels of Facebook should develop a litmus-test for friends, replacing the holistic score we give folks as we look over our friends "in common" before we let them in our virtual lives of cats, knee injuries and occasional political viewpoints.

No one likes unpleasant surprises, such as finding out your house-closing that your new neighbor can't stand people with consonants in their names. I'd love a Zillow rating system such as a "Cup of Sugar" score of 9 indicating the likelihood to be lent a squirt gun in a fire -- or a "Calling the Cops Again" probability of 80 percent if your stereo is too loud during yard work. After all, we fork over money for a home inspector so why can't we hire a neighborhood-Columbo who knocks on the door and asks seemingly unrelated questions: "Umm...just one more question...How do you feel about eight foot Santa Claus statues?"

You can't choose your siblings, cousins or the guy with bad breath beside you in the stuck-elevator. But we actually do get to make companionship choices, often in marriage and especially of the social media variety.

Like a Word document reminding you that you haven't saved, the litmus test would begin when someone wants to send me a friend request.

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WARNING! If any of the following statements seem correct, please reconsider befriending Kevin.

Then, one by one, up pop the following -- each with two buttons: "Disagree and Proceed" or "Agree, Abort Friendship"



When presidential hopefuls were safely confined to cages.

1. Trump/Shmump

I believe that when my candidate says something reprehensible in front of dozens of cameras, the first step should be to blame the media, like putting Hitler's microphone on trial at Nuremberg.

2. Only in America

I believe that it is unpatriotic to study what works well in other countries.

3. Archie Bunker-ism

I believe that immigration was a minor part of US history.

4. If only elementary teachers and nightclub dancers were packing...

I believe that America's leading the world in mass shootings has little to do with lax weapons laws and defunding mental health programs.

5. Trickle Trickle, Baby

I believe it is American for corporations and banks to get special treatment and tax-breaks, to hide their money in tax-free offshore accounts and pay their executives 80 times their workers' wages.

6. Hoffa-ism

I believe that unions were created with no great sacrifice and did not push forward child labor laws, safety and the creation of a strong middle class; they're simply outdated means of overpaying lazy people.

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7. Fonzie-ism

I believe that America in the 1950s really represented the entire nation at its best.

8. Cleaver-ism

I believe that any heterosexual marriage, regardless of dysfunction, abuse and unfaithfulness is more right and stronger than a successful homosexual union.

9. Hand me my tiny flag!

I believe that standing up for soldiers, firefighters and cops at a ballgame is preferred compared to appropriately funding their pensions and health care.

10. Run schools like a business!

I believe that privately-run charter schools should get public money, while neither being held financially accountable nor playing by the same rules as public schools--particularly regarding special education.

11. Elves, not Eisenhower built I-75.

I believe that roads, bridges, hospitals and state parks are important--but not by raising taxes or eliminating loopholes.

12. No PTAs in Asia, I'll Bet!

I believe that those who do not look or sound like me are probably not good parents, bent on my destruction and certainly would hate to live in peace.

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"Putting an American flag on your SUV, really is the least you can do." Bill Maher

I suppose de-friending people who disagree with me might be interpreted as immature--particularly if I might actually end up in a stuck elevator together with them someday.

While you're welcome to trash me completely over the Lions! Send all the memes you want on that front. But if any of those 12 made sense to you, please de-friend me now-ish.

I completely understand and will bear no grudge.

Featured originally in MyMediaDiary.com,

Related posts by Kevin Walsh:
The book, "Sex, No Drugs & Rock'N'Roll (Memoirs Of A Music Junkie)" is based on the premise that our baby-boomer generation has gone through the same maturation process as the country itself. In the fifties following WWII, we ruled the world and everything was simple. As we entered our teens in the early 60's and began to rebel so went the country. And as we became cynical in the late 60's, assassinations, Mayor Daley, Nixon and Watergate fed our disenchantment, all reflected in our music. Then, the complacency of adulthood in the 70's through the 90's into creeping old age and the arterial sclerosis of today.

The 50's - A Portrait in Black & White

World War I brought us out of the womb to help our British parents and by WWII, we were superheroes, strong enough to beat back the bullies threatening the world. Like our newly invented televisions, where the good-guys wore white hats and the bad-guys black, everything was simple. We believed in our government and the police who were there to protect us, even though the cops all drove black cars, probably to scare and confuse the criminals. Our hair was short, parted to the right, and jeans were not allowed in school, that was until... until Elvis. Elvis was the symbol of youth and rebellion. Parents and teachers and ministers and politicians spoke out against him as I tried desperately to make my hair straight with hot metal combs and gobs of Brylcream. All over the country, teenage collars went up and side burns grew down. Pants got tighter and my lip began to curl when I sang. Radio broke wide open with the Rockabilly music of Carl Perkins, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis...and the seeds of teenage rebellion were sewn.



The Early 60's - Teenage Years of Confusion

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As our TVs went from black & white to color, so did our world. And ironically 'colored' people became 'black' and nothing was simple anymore .In 1963, I remembered standing up every morning with my hand over my heart reciting 'One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all' the TV mirror in my living room reflected something else. We weren't 'one nation.' We were still a North and a South (not to mention East and West). The Supreme Court struck down prayer in the schools, so there went 'under God.' When federal troops were sent in to Birmingham to fight the Governor and state militia, it seemed to indicate that perhaps we were 'divisible.' And to this day 'liberty and justice for all' had proven to be the biggest lie of all.

Meanwhile, the outside world seeped into our consciousness, As governments were overthrown in the Congo, the Dominican Republic and Vietnam, we tried to figure out which ones were the good guys. Then, just when we thought we had it straight, we got caught in the Bay of Pigs trying to invade our neighbor's little island. Eichman was sentenced to death while I watched 'Judgment At Nuremberg' in the movies and 'West Side Story' sang and danced to the theme of racism and murder. My neighbors were building fallout shelters and Ernest Hemingway shot himself in the head. The whole world was going crazy. We actually had atomic bomb 'safety drills' in school diving under our desks to cover the back of our necks with our hands. Nothing seemed to fit anymore as we outgrew our morality and began to question our parents and their rules.

Mid to Late 60's - Rebellion and Revolution

In college I was introduced to the concept of 'cognitive dissonance,' the difficulty when one's beliefs seem to conflict with reality. By the mid-sixties the entire country was experiencing some serious cognitive dissonance. Simultaneously the Civil Rights and Anti-War Movements moved from demonstrations and civil disobedience to revolution and violence. The country was literally tearing itself apart. In 1967, it was 'A Happening' when more than 50,000 marchers arrived at the Lincoln Memorial suggesting 'All You Need Is Love' as they moved across the Memorial Bridge to the Pentagon, where hundreds were beaten and arrested by helmeted soldiers and federal marshals. The sidewalk was splattered with blood as a Roman Catholic priest did the same to Selective Service files in Baltimore urging, 'move with us from dissent to resistance.' Although Aaron Neville pleaded 'Tell It Like It Is,' Vice President Humphrey assured the nation that we were 'winning the war in Vietnam.' (And if we believed that, he had a bloody bridge to sell us in Washington.)

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At the brokered un-Democratic National Convention the next year, we watched Humbert Humphrey inserted as the presidential candidate, despite the fact he hadn't won a single primary, as the peace plank of youth backed Eugene McCarthy was defeated and Mayor Daley sent his helmeted police goons into the streets to beat and arrest us. A televised testament to political corruption, like watching a prizefight, all the time knowing 'the fix' was in. And we'd seen reporters caught up in a melee before, but never the entire mainstream press, intimidated and beaten as they pointed fingers in disbelief at the hijacking of the democratic process. This one event, more than any other, would change the media's coverage of government and its officials, no longer editing, but now focusing on misconduct and stupidity.

Also in 1968, five days after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned-down, the country exploded. In Chicago, 5,000 federal troops were dispatched to quell the sniping gunfire, street fighting and raging fires. Five died in Baltimore where 'Law And Order' Governor Spiro Agnew ordered 6,000 National Guardsmen in to arrest over 500 looters. A white graduate student was pulled from his car and stabbed to death while attempting to drive through a black area of Cincinnati, and entire sections of the nation's capital went up in flames. But these were just cracks in the surface from ripping off a scab of complacency that had only just begun to heal over the JFK amputation. The real damage was deep within the nation's soul as we lost another limb to a cancerous genetic human defect; A reminder that beneath the bandages and restraints of civilization, we're just animals that tend to kill our own. Within a week, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed into law in an attempt to cauterize the wound. But as a practical matter, hate and distrust continued to ooze in black and white and would fester for years to come. (and 'Everything Old Is New Again.')

The 70's - Entering Adulthood

Upon graduating college and entering the workplace, for me a recording studio in Chicago, the explosions of the 60s had subsided. In the midst of an ignominious withdrawal from Vietnam and 'Four Dead In Ohio,' and the civil rights movement relegated to a 'poor people's march,' its charismatic leaders now gone or marginalized, the country gradually entered a period of relative complacency. This was a time for seeking or deciding on a personal career. In my case, chasing that elusive record deal and musical stardom, always just out of reach. My book , exploring this evolution, ends in the 70's, on becoming a music executive, like many others, my dreams giving way to reality.

The 80's & 90's - Home, Career, and Maturity

To continue the analogy, these were the years of career development. The time for establishing a family and seeking financial security or perhaps, like me, building a business. The 80's was the scary time of AIDs, reactionary conservatism and 'Reaganomics,' but also the beginning of the digital age with the ubiquitous personal computer. Going heavily into debt, we bankrupted our biggest competitor, and as The Soviet Union collapsed we entered the 90's running a victory lap on borrowed time. The 90's was a period of 'Pac Man' mergers and acquisitions and Wall Street speculation as big business expanded and the middle class shrank. And the birth of the Internet would shake our world as we entered the new millennium.

The 2000's - The Twilight Years or a New Beginning?

The country had gone through this aging process before... from the birth of the nation, the simple morality of the frontier, to a civil war and starting over. From reconstruction, to gradually body building our industrial strength, until big business monopolies led us into depression and collapse. So where do we stand now? Like us boomers, the old bones of our country's infrastructure are creaking and the arteries of our legal and political system clogged with years of bureaucratic buildup, as cancerous multinational corporations corrupt the circulatory system of our economy. Will fear and uncertainty lead to paralysis? Are we due for another collapse? Will we recover? Will our natural resources or science save the day? The answers may come sooner than later... and the band plays on.
VOTE campaign button on top of scattered hundred dollar bills spread out beneath it. Concept image illustrating election funding, political donations, Super Pac money, political bribes.

*This post originally appeared on the blog of the Institute for New Economic Thinking.

Outrage over how big money influences American politics has been boiling over this political season, energizing the campaigns of GOP nominee Donald Trump and former Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders alike. Citizens have long suspected that "We the People" increasingly means "We the Rich" at election time.

Yet surprisingly, two generations of social scientists have insisted that wallets don't matter that much in American politics. Elections are really about giving the people what they want. Money, they claim, has negligible impact on elections.

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That was a good line for Cold War propaganda, and good for tenure, too. Corporate titans seized upon it to argue that their money should be freer to flow into political campaigns. Not only billionaires, but academics, too, argued that more money in elections meant more democracy.

Even today, many academics and pundits still insist that money matters less to political outcomes than ordinary citizens think, even as business executives throw down mind-boggling sums to dine with politicians and Super Pacs spring up like mushrooms. The few dissenters from this consensus, like Noam Chomsky, are ignored in the U.S. as "unpersons," though they are enormously respected abroad.

This is a scandal. It has stymied efforts at campaign finance reform and weakened American democracy.

Political scientist Thomas Ferguson, Director of Research at the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), has spent a career setting the record straight with clear empirical evidence in a field where such research has been shockingly rare. Ever since his 1995 book Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition blasted through received academic wisdom by showing how wealthy individuals and businesses strategically invest in political parties for the biggest pay off, Ferguson has been the man to seek when you really wanted to know how elections work and who controls them.

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White collar criminologist William K. Black and others still recall Ferguson's famous warning, issued long before the nominating convention in 2008, that the contributions from big finance piling up in Barack Obama's campaign war chest meant that his promises of sweeping reforms of finance were not to be believed. In 2014, he foresaw the unraveling of America's two major political parties and predicted that voters feeling betrayed would increasingly abandon both.

"Want a happy ending?" he quips. "See a Disney movie."

In recent years, Ferguson has often worked with two other talented researchers, Paul Jorgensen and Jie Chen. The three have tracked the generous funding of Obama by high tech businesses engaged in spying on the American public and the waves of money from polluters into the Republican Party.

Spend money, win votes

Now the researchers have turned their attention on political money in Congressional elections in a new paper for INET.

They begin with a simple question: What are the facts about total campaign spending and election outcomes? As they write: "We can pool all spending by and on behalf of candidates and then examine whether relative, not absolute, differences in total outlays are related" to the differences in votes received by the major political parties.

Their answer is stunning: there is strong, direct link between what the major political parties spend and the percentage of votes they win -- far stronger than all the airy dismissals of the role of money in elections would ever lead you to think, and certainly stronger than anything you read in your poli sci class.

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They show the strength of this relationship through a simple graph. The line going out to the right in the graph shows the Democratic percentage of the total money flowing into the race for the major parties and runs from 0 to 100 percent. The vertical line shows the percentage of the major party vote that the Democrats won. Dots represent individual House races in 2012.

As Ferguson, Jorgensen and Chen sum up:

"At the bottom left Democrats spend almost no money and get virtually no votes; at the top right, they spend nearly all the money and garner virtually all the ballots, calculated as proportions of totals for the major parties."

If money and voting outcomes were unrelated, then the dots representing individual House races in 2012 would be scattered all over the square. If they were perfectly related, the dots would all cluster tightly on a line.

Not only in 2012, but in every election for which the data exists (from 1980 to 2012), Ferguson, Jorgensen and Chen found that the graphs came out with neat, straight lines, with minimal scattering of dots. The link is clear: when the Democrats spend more than Republicans, their candidates win. When Republicans spend more than Democrats, they win.

There was but one exception, the Senate races of 1982, when Senator William Proxmire, whose disdain for fundraising was legendary but who still won elections, brought down the average. Otherwise, with alarming regularity, Democrats and Republicans candidates' share of the vote was correlated, to an astonishing degree, with the amount money spent in the campaign.

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Nothing like this graph has ever made its way into a political science textbook. That it now exists sure should change what Ferguson, Jorgensen and Chen call the "optics" of the campaign finance discussion. But will it? Does money just follow popular candidates?

Political scientists have long had way out of admitting the implications for democracy of such a direct a relationship between politics and money: the idea that the wealthy tend to spend on the most popular Congressional candidates. Their "influence," the thinking goes, is thus nothing more than a reflection the will of the people. They don't force any outcome other than the one that voters would choose. Political scientists call this idea "reciprocal causality."

Ferguson, Jorgensen and Chen tackle this issue head on. They use a cutting-edge method invented by Dutch statistician Peter Ebbes and recently studied by Irene Hueter in another new INET paper. The researchers find that while reciprocal causation happens, its extent is not large: money's effect is direct and powerful.

They confirm their conclusion by using another method now widely employed in finance and economics: they look at published gambling odds on the chances of a Republican takeover of the House in 1994. These are relevant because a huge wave of money swept the Republicans to victory in that election, but the odds never moved very much. The relative lack of change rules out the idea that soaring expectations of victory drove the wave. But the wave, when it came, nevertheless produced a big change in the electoral outcome, just as a money-driven "investment theory" of political parties would predict.

Eccentric gazillionaires or big corporations driving elections?

Their paper closes by examining the notion that right wing politics in America has been driven by donations piling up from eccentric entrepreneurs like investor and conservative mega-donor Foster Friess -- the sort of people who are widely imagined to populate the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans -- rather than mainline big business corporations, such as those on the Fortune 500 list.

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On the contrary, the researchers find that "a simple count of firms and investors on Forbes show that the largest American corporations support Tea Party Congressional candidates and organizations supporting the movement, such as Freedom Works, at much higher rates than Forbes 400 members. Even making due allowances for Dark Money, the difference is substantial."

Evidently American big business firms are not centrist, as many pundits would have it. As Ferguson and his colleagues put it:

"Stories that the steady rightward drift of the American political universe is somehow the work of exceptionally ideological individual entrepreneurs are huge over-simplifications. If the center is not holding in American society -- and it rather plainly is not -- America's largest companies are as implicated as anyone else; indeed, perhaps more so."

This state of affairs explains why economic inequality has grown into a crisis, with social unrest amplified by economic distress. Because of this money-driven system -- which has been getting worse since 1970s up to the current dysfunctional mess -- when the rich don't feel like paying taxes, we all suffer. Infrastructure collapses, schoolchildren and sick people suffer, and hard-working citizens are robbed of their fair share of the country's prosperity and end their lives struggling keep body and soul together.

Ferguson, Jorgensen and Chen conclude:

"It goes without saying that this news is not reassuring; particularly in elections below the federal level -- in states and local elections, we suspect, money has come to dominate outcomes to a frightening degree, not least because it is unlikely that the Republican advantage is offset there to the degree that it has been in recent federal elections. If it turns out that the U.S. has entered a Post-Democratic age, the situation will not be improved by social scientists behaving like ostriches. It is time economics, political science and history recognize the reality of industrial and financial blocs within parties and acknowledge money's powerful effects on elections."

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The explosive sound of the glass ceiling shattering was music to my ears. I'd hoped it would happen in my lifetime. And then it did. Wow!

We waited a long time.

It took one hundred years of protest for women to gain the right to vote with the passage of the nineteenth amendment in 1920. It took another ninety-six years for the nomination of the first woman to become a major party candidate for President of the United States.

And now, for the first time, a woman is center stage. No longer is a woman's place only at her husband's side, beaming up at him with adoring eyes. Today, she is front and center, and he is extolling her.

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When I grew up, a boy in the class was usually elected president and a girl vice-president. Back then, that seemed about right. Even today, at the yellow and black crosswalk signs - an older brother escorts a younger sister across the street. Now, she can also lead the way.

It couldn't have happened without Margaret Chase Smith, who, in 1964, became the first woman to seek the Republican nomination; without Shirley Chisholm, a black Congresswoman who sought the Democratic nomination in 1972; and Geraldine Ferraro, who actually accepted the Democratic nomination for vice-president in 1984.

We hold hands with each of them: Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton; and Abigail Adams, who wrote to her husband, John, while he was in Philadelphia working on the Constitution: "Remember the Ladies." And still the ladies were forgotten.

Not now. Hillary Clinton is the first, but will not be the last, to smash the glass ceiling - and her breakthrough will enable Republican women as well to reach the apex of power. Regardless of party, many women will now stand a little taller as they care for their children, or work at their office desks, or speak out for their rights.

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No matter how passionately we believed that this day would come, I had to see it to believe it.

Seeing women like Angela Merkel of Germany and Theresa May of the UK rise to the top changes what leadership looks like.
One can spin discourse in every conceivable manner; however, when the context makes the discourse patently obvious any attempt at trying to circumvent it is patently stupid. Unless, of course, one is Donald Trump. This is the context for Trump's latest foray into the world of "whatever I say is true" so let's try to deconstruct Donny one more time. Somewhere in his North Carolina speech, Donny went off the rails:

"Lower electric--lower electric bills, folks. Hillary wants to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick...(CROWD BOOING) If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don't know. But -- but I'll tell you what. That will be a horrible day. If -- if Hillary gets to put her judges -- right now, we're tied. You see what's going on. You see what's going on? We tied because Scalia - this was not suppose (sic) to happen. Justice Scalia was going to be around for ten more years at least and this is what happens. That was a horrible thing."

Owing to Donny's lack of discourse management and his ignorance of the English language, one sees that Donny's penchant for equivocation is painfully apparent. He began by talking about lowering electric bills, but immediately transitioned to the Second Amendment. The fact his Art of the Deal ghostwriter Tony Schwartz has said that Trump has an attention span of about three minutes is corroborated in these two sentences alone. Donny is incapable of managing to stay on point since he is a victim of a pathological type of stream of consciousness. Unlike Faulkner, Trump has no clear notion of where those words come from (The Voice of God, perhaps) nor how to put them in an effective sentence. He uses the word "abolish" incorrectly. The word "abolish" comes from the late Middle English: from Old French aboliss-, lengthened stem of abolir, from Latin abolere 'destroy.' So, she can't essentially abolish something especially when it's a Constitutional amendment since abolishing the Second Amendment cannot be done by Presidential fiat nor by the Supreme Court. As with anything that has to do with the Constitution, to do that would mean a resolution would have to pass through both houses of Congress that received a 2/3 majority vote, and which was then approved by 3/4 of the states. In other words, Trump really hasn't read the Constitution especially Article V and he should take Khizr Kahn's suggestion and borrow his copy.

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Trump then goes on another stream of consciousness detour in which he states the line that no Trumpian sycophant wants to deal with which comes immediately after her authority to choose (her nominee) for the Supreme Court: If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don't know. The Trump spinners from Giuliani to Hannity have all come up with some of the most creative ways to deconstruct those lines none of which have any merit. Trump is not encouraging the Second Amendment folks to "get out the vote." No, there's nothing in those lines that would even hint at that notion. Not only that, the fact there have been numerous occasions on which a President has nominated and had confirmed a "conservative" judge only to have that judge vote for something "liberal" is apparent even as recently as Judge Roberts' decisions let alone Nixon's appointment of Harry Blackmun.

Regardless, Trump's default mechanism is his constant use of the rhetorical device known as apophasis wherein the speaker or writer brings up a subject by either denying it, or denying that it should be brought up. Though Trump doesn't know what that is or means or where it comes from he uses it as part of the stream of consciousness sojourn his mind often takes. It's a bit like taking mescaline without the long-term side effects. So, at the tail end of there's nothing the people can do he adds the bit about the Second Amendment people. The allusion is patently obvious and one doesn't need to be a Sharron Angle aficionado to figure that out. Trump is clearly advocating the assassination or attempted assassination of the President of the United States. It is not, as Paul Ryan suggested, "A joke gone bad." A suggestion that if Clinton were elected a Second Amendment aficionado should take up arms and attempt to murder her? A joke gone bad? One can attempt to spin the line anyway one wishes, but the context is patently clear.

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Trump then goes on to give the audience a Cliff's Notes version of the Supreme Court vacancy by talking about Scalia and since Donny is smarter than everyone else on the planet he knows that Scalia still had another decade to live. Perhaps, Scalia would still be on the bench at the age of 90, but it doesn't matter because whatever Donny believes in is fact. As any Seinfeld devotee knows, this disease is also known as the "George Costanza Effect." Trump continues with: "So now look at it. So Hillary essentially wants to abolish the Second Amendment. Now, speaking to the NRA folks - who are great - when you - when you -- and I'll tell you, they endorsed me. They endorsed me very early. My son's a member. I'm a member. If you - we can add I think the National Rifle Association, we can add the Second Amendment to the Justices - they almost go - in a certain way, hand in hand. Now the Justices are going to do things that are so important and we have such great Justices, you saw my list of 11 that have been vetted and respected."
At church Sunday we had an American Missionary who told about her life in China as a teacher. (She) lives most of the year in China and comes home during the summer. She said food is relatively cheap there, but rent and other products are very expensive. She was so interesting that I could have listened for a much longer time as she revealed facets of China in a way I had never heard before.

She told us that education was the main focus and drive to young people growing up in China (mostly young men), because they are the hope for the future of their families. Poor education means no good job, and puts the whole family in jeopardy. The son is expected to take care of not only his own family, but to support his parents and perhaps his wife's parents when they are no longer able to work. There is no help from the government and little chance for anyone to save money to pay for their own needs when they become old. So if the son fails, he causes failure for the rest of his family.

Worse, the number of elderly people far outweigh the number of children coming along because of the "one child to a family rule," which causes many girl babies to be disposed of, so the parents can try again for a boy baby.

(She) did say that in some areas two children to a family are allowed because there is a great lack of girls to choose from when the cherished son gets old enough to seek a wife. Is this not a macabre and curious situation and who could think of a way to get it on track? Have you noticed that when God is taken out of the picture, everything goes haywire?
If you are tired of not only the endless mudslinging between the major party presidential candidates, but find yourself agreeing with all of it, the time is right to consider another candidate. I am speaking specifically of the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and his running mate, Bill Weld.

Both former governors [NM and MA, respectively], and already polling in double digits, they offer a genuine alternative to Clinton and Trump.

The former, despite having a lengthy and distinguished history of public service, at best, offers merely a continuation of the failed class warfare and appeasement policies of the Obama Administration which have been only a recipe for economic stagnation and foreign policy fiascoes. When combined with her demonstrated lack of integrity on fundamental matters, such as flatly lying to the country about what happened in Benghazi, and with her e-mail server, she is totally unsuited to be president.

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The latter, while commendably taking on the suffocating political correctness which imperils so much initiative in this country and inveighing against runaway regulation, has no public service in his background and too frequently allows his personal biases and animosities to dictate his positions and is likely to embroil America in unnecessary conflicts and ill-conceived policies borne of impulse and personal grudge. Spewing invective and blaming immigrants, Mexicans and Muslims for all of the country's ills is not a prescription for improvement. His recent bizarre comments regarding "Second Amendment people" illustrates why we need an alternative.

Both are poor candidates and unqualified to serve. In both cases, there are serious questions pertaining to their curious foreign connections. Nothing is accomplished by seeking to distinguish which is the lesser of the evils; both are evil. We can and must do better.

The Libertarian candidates for the most part, with the notable exception of their advocacy of legalization of many drugs which are currently illegal, adhere to common sense prescriptions, recognizing the limits of government expertise - which have been in very short supply during the last 8 [16?] years of activist government. In my view, Mr. Johnson is correct when he states that 'most people are Libertarians, but just don't know that this is the case'. For example, they emphasize fiscal conservatism intended to bolster fee enterprise, and social liberalism, respecting the choices of individuals.

Notably absent from their approach is the demonization of anyone.

More importantly, they do not come burdened with major reservations as to their temperament, predispositions, and/or integrity and do possess substantial executive experience. Are they electable?

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Fair question for any third party candidate, but this time last year, who would have 'thunk' that we would be considering alternatives to Republican nominee Donald Trump? In this crazy year, nothing should be ruled out. It is far from unrealistic to contemplate the Libertarians moving up from low double digits to the 15% threshold needed to participate in the presidential debates. If this happens, the contrast with the other candidates may have surprising effects, especially since they are already on the ballot in most, if not all, states..
Do you know what these women have in common? Would you be surprised to learn that each of them is an inventor, innovator and technology leader?



If so, you are not alone. Most kids (and adults!) have difficulty naming a single female inventor. But female inventors -- active since the dawn of invention! -- have made their mark on the past, even if their history as inventors is not found in our textbooks. And same is true today, as women inventors bring innovative new technologies to bear on the biggest challenges facing our world.

In my work, Im constantly inspired by the young women I meet who have the spirit to innovate and invent. They are creative, driven and smart, and they are using technology to do amazing things.

One of my favorite young people is 11-year-old Mikaila Ulmer from Austin, Texas. Mikaila is the founder and CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade, a venture launched when she was just 4 years old, after two things happened: she had two unpleasant bee stings and her great grandmother sent her a cookbook from the 1940s with a recipe for lemonade. After those stings, Mikaila decided to learn more about bees. She discovered how important they were to our food supply and that they were at risk of becoming endangered. Mikaila adapted and sweetened the lemonade recipe with local Texas honey, then pitched the recipe and a business plan to win an investment from the ABC series Shark Tank. Just recently, she won a distribution deal with Whole Foods to expand nationwide after a successful trial in pilot stores.



But Mikaila is even more than a seventh grade business pro. She is also a successful social entrepreneur devoted to protecting honeybees. Me & the Bees Lemonade invests a portion of its profits to Heifer International, the Sustainable Food Center in Austin and the Texas Beekeepers Association -- all organizations that work to save bees from extinction. In her free time from school and business, Mikaila also educates young people around the world about the plight of the honeybees and steps they can take to protect them.

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Mikailas story is one that can inspire other girls to innovate and invent. She understands that technology is the key to both growing her business, and to saving more bees. So far, she has used existing software and existing programs to grow Me & the Bees Lemonade. And although she is just 11, she is keen to create her own tools. For instance, shes learning how to code so she can build a mobile app as an educational resource for bee protection. And, as a hobby, shes building a Kano computer with the DIY kit launched by Kickstarter.

Mikaila is showing us the real transformative power of technology by embracing it to spark her own creativity and innovation.



I can easily imagine that in the future Mikaila (or perhaps another girl shes inspired) will invent a tracker that locates at-risk bee populations, or an artificial pollinator that keeps crops stable while bees repopulate. She could help perfect the design for RoboBees, the tiny aerial bots that will one day carry pollen, currently in the works at Harvard University. At the rate shes going, nothing about this talented young girl would surprise me.

Young people are already creative and brave. Add the power of technology to that equation, and they are empowered to do great things. Young people like Mikaila are fearless early adopters, unrestrained by worries about what they cant do. They are building the future. They are making whats next. And they are the names well see in the textbooks of the future.

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To kickstart your own world-changing ideas, check out the Youthspark Hub for free resources and information -- even basic coding tutorials.
An overweight, jowly dog can be cute, harrumphing around the house as its rolls of fat hypnotically bounce up and down. And there's something endearing about a dog sitting patiently at its owner's feet, yearning for a sliver of food.

But pet obesity is actually a significant problem. Obesity affects 53% of all cats and dogs in the United States and significantly reduces their life expectancy. On average, obese dogs live 5 fewer years and obese cats live 7 fewer years, which is almost half their life span. If you're a cat lover, you can't bear the thought of your precious "Cat Benatar" having his life cut short by 7 years.

The leading cause of this obesity? Overeating.

And obesity isn't the only problem caused by overeating. Gastric dilatation, a potentially fatal twisting of the stomach, is caused when dogs eat too much too fast.

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But what can you do?



Can Technology Solve The Eating Problem?

Edward Hall, the founder and CEO of Petrics, has devised a technical solution for a very manual problem.

After seeing his mother struggle to police the food intake of her multiple pets, Hall knew there had to be a better way. And so he devised a simple tag that attaches to a pet's collar. This tag communicates with the Petrics feeding bowl, which will only open when the tag uniquely assigned to it comes near. This prevents pets from eating from the bowls of other pets in the house. Each pet receives their own uniquely identifying tag which only gives them access to their feeding bowl.

Watch Edward's pitch at a recent gathering of entrepreneurs in North Carolina:

This unique feeding system prevent pets from eating each other's food and, save time & money ensuring the right food gets to the right pet.

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For dogs who are prone to eating too much too quick, Petrics also offers a modular autofeeder which can be added onto the feeding bowl. The autofeeder automatically breaks up the daily amount of food into smaller meals spread throughout the day, limiting a dog's intake at any given meal.

The collar tag, the feeding bowl, and the autofeeder all connect to a smartphone app. From the app, owners can schedule feeding times, create and monitor upcoming veterinary visits, and receive health tips specific to their pet.

Big Data Means Big Money

Perhaps the biggest area of promise for Petrics is their data collection and analysis. Every Petrics product collects data, which is then stored and analyzed by Petrics. As Hall said in his recent Verge pitch, "We are big data, so the more products we have as we grow, the more data we can collect."

The potential uses for this data are endless, including specially tailored predictive recommendations for pet owners, aggregate data to veterinarians, trend data to health organizations, advertisers, and a host of other possibilities. Hall even discussed the possibility of a subscription food service that automatically delivers food based on how much is consumed by the pet. It's no secret that big data is big money, and it would seem that the real money for Petrics could be in the data.

Currently Petrics is in Alpha testing. As they move past Alpha testing, they have plans for crowdfunding and ecommerce development.

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A Big Market Quickly Filling Up

The pet market is enormous, with around $42 billion spent every year on cats and dogs. This massive market means Petrics won't be alone in the smart feeding market. Competitors are already emerging, such as Obe, who have their own version of a smart bowl, and Petnet who has their own version of the autofeeder. And we should only expect the market to get more crowded.

Clearly, differentiation and data analysis are the keys to Petrics' survival. In the age of big data, those who collect the most data and analyze it most effectively always win.
Scared Middle eastern or hispanic man near a fence looking at the camera

Earlier today, 22 Maryland state lawmakers urged Secretary of State John Kerry to launch a privately funded refugee program that would allow the American people to contribute towards increasing resettlement totals. The Niskanen Center has been leading the effort to launch such a program since last year, and applauds the Maryland lawmakers action in this crucial time.

The letter comes in the midst of an unprecedented global refugee crisis, which has left more than 21 million people in need of assistance. The United States is resettling a mere 85,000 refugees this year, but private sector contributions can provide the funding to substantially increase that number, while maintaining the rigorous security measures already in place for refugee admissions.

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The U.S. must put all options on the table in order to aggressively respond to the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. Providing the American people with a tangible outlet to support refugee resettlement helps bolster efforts to provide refuge to those fleeing war and persecution.

The letter proclaims that "American citizens, charities, foundations, faith groups, universities, and businesses should have the right to contribute towards increased refugee resettlement." Under current law, no amount of contributions can go towards increased the refugee ceiling determined by the president. The push to reverse that policy is gaining momentum.

The legislators point to several statements and resolutions from the local level that "show that there is an appetite [in Maryland] for increased engagement in the resettlement process." The Maryland lawmakers are confident that the current system is unnecessarily putting "a ceiling on American generosity."

For more evidence, the letter points to the wildly successful private programs in Canada and other countries, highlighting America as "an outlier." I have written more about this trend in a USA Today op-ed earlier this year.

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The letter notes that "America has a responsibility to families escaping violence and persecution." If citizens want to directly contribute to meeting that responsibility, the representatives stated, the government should not stop them.

The Maryland lawmakers are the latest members in a growing movement in favor of private resettlement as an alternative pathway for refugees from around the world. Since last September, a bipartisan group in Congress has expressed support and prominent Syrian, Arab, Turkish, and Muslim American organizations have signed a letter spearheaded by the Niskanen Center to President Obama in favor of the idea.

Private resettlement could alter the underlying political narrative surrounding the U.S. response to the refugee crisis. Instead of the misleading picture of the government pushing for resettlement alone, it would demonstrate the philanthropic nature of the American people in the groundswell of private support for resettlement.

Next month, the UN General Assembly and President Obama are both hosting summits on refugees in the hopes to increasing funding and resettlement slots worldwide. The summit would afford President Obama the perfect opportunity to announce a new private program in the United States that increases overall admissions by tapping the private sector.

The State Department should listen to the Maryland lawmakers. The American people have a storied tradition of hospitality and generosity, and the time has come to finally apply it to the Syrian refugee crisis.
Purpose is a magical thing. Some people are born with it; others spend their entire lives searching for it, a few, like me, redefine it on our journey; but unfortunately many aren't given the choice or encouragement to pursue it.

Earlier in my life, I was convinced I had found my purpose because I kicked off my design career, studying and working on my first collection in Paris. By the time I launched my Melissa Curry brand, which garnered great success around the world, I thought I had it all figured out. However, life has its canny way of pressurising your assumed comfort to pull the diamonds out of you. My internal alteration commenced at the arrival of my son. His birth brought a lot of joy and fulfilment to my life, but his early onset illness also brought a lot of anxiety. Devoting the last 14 years my life to his health and well being left me personally and financially vulnerable.

During that time, I set the challenge to rediscover myself and re-define the messages behind my creativity. I found out very quickly that a lot of women around me were facing the same obstacle of self-doubt as I was on the search for their purpose. I knew then that true fulfilment for me was uplifting others along with myself. From that realisation came Be Your Own Success (BYOS); A collection of beautiful pieces of jewellery made to encourage women and girls around the world, women like me; Championing them on their journey towards achieving their various personal goals. Created as tangible reminders to be kind, generous and pass it forward. The gold bullion inspired the SUCCESS bar, which spearheads the collection. Representing the economic empowerment of all people.

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While promoting my brand, I attended several exhibits and events. At one of those in London, I was introduced to The Kisany Project. Founded in 2002 by Nicole Esselen, coordinator of the association "En Avant Les Enfants", who lived and worked with women across the East African region for 20 years. Its mission is to train women to use their talents for the creation and production of exclusive, luxury accessories made with Belgian Libeco linen following strong ethical principles. To date, over a hundred women have been trained to the highest quality embroidery standards. Kisany's products are in popular demand in Europe, due to the brilliance of these seamstresses and volunteers whose diligence has promoted the products into the global market.

The Kisany Project is very dear to my heart because it shares the same values as my brand. Uplifting, educating and providing work for women who have directly suffered from the woes of war and experienced several years of instability and pain. Giving them a lease of life and renewed audacity to dream. Their work with these women is nothing short of exemplary and exactly what my hopes are for how my brand encourages and supports people. We have collaborated with Kisany in the past for exclusive hand-woven gift packages for Virgin Atlantic, CRH Holdings and Facebook's Annual EMEA Female Entrepreneur Awards. This year, we step into new ground with our collaboration with them. We re-launched our Little Bar of Success on Virgin Atlantic, however, this time in full support of the Give Work campaign.

"... A woman's income is her passport to opportunity, security, options and freedom."

Kisany launched the Give Work campaign in collaboration with Sisley. We were invited by Nicole Esselen to participate in this campaign because of our successful relationship with the project. This time, we made the decision to be a part of it. As a brand, we believe it is our duty to be aware of people, what their struggles are, and how we can uplift them. Globally, women have been marginalised economically; especially in Africa as the larger amount of the impoverished are women. Education and standard of living are very bleak for most women in Africa; Women Thrive Worldwide reports that the less than 20% of African women have access to education and therefore exposing the vast majority to a life of abuse and violence.

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We can promote change by working together to ensure that every woman around the world has a right to quality education, which will set her up for a more successful, less violent future. Providing work for these women would improve their livelihoods. According to PCI Global, women currently work two-thirds of the world's working hours, but earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property. These numbers are staggering, but it is widely believed that the key to overcoming this problem is to empower more women to work in exchange for fair pay. Because I truly believe that a woman's income is her passport to opportunity, security, options and freedom.

This is where GIVE WORK comes in. The main goal of the campaign is to provide work with adequate training for women across East Africa. To encourage them to express themselves and hone their skills and talents into creating beautiful handcrafted items. The Kisany women have expressed that work allows them to, "escape violence, feed and educate their families, buy their own homes and most importantly, take control of their lives". As a woman who has used her imagination and craftsmanship to build a life for herself, this campaign means so much to me. It is very important to me that I support women and all people who, like me, are finding their purpose, and using their talents to create better opportunities for their children and communities.

I am very proud to announce that as of the first of July, our shimmering rose gold Little Bars of Success are flying high aboard Virgin Atlantic; wrapped in exclusive pouches created by the Women of Kisany, each approximately taking a day to be sewn. So, whenever you're wearing your success bar, remember you're cheering and championing another with you. I invite you to join us in supporting this powerful campaign, and these brave women on their pursuit of purpose and happiness.
It took 46 years, but Ricky Miller finally went to say goodbye to the best friend he tried desperately to rescue in Vietnam. It wasn't easy.

The first time he tried, about 25 years ago, he got as far as the little cemetery in Kentucky where he thought his friend was buried -- but couldn't get out of his car. The stress of the trip to visit his friend's family was so intense that he developed Bell's palsy a day or two afterward, and the paralysis of the facial muscles caused the left side of his face to sag dramatically for months.

He didn't know until his return last week that the family members he saw on that first trip were related to a different soldier with a similar name, and Miller had never actually met any of his friend's 10 brothers and sisters.

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He has now, but even all these years later, it wasn't easy.

Miller was a 19-year-old helicopter crew chief in Vietnam, flying with a gung-ho air cavalry troop called the Condors. His friend was Sergeant Paul Johnson, the acting platoon sergeant of the troop's rapid-response infantry unit known as the "Blues" platoon.

Johnson led a reconnaissance team from the Blues that was put down in a foreboding mountainous jungle known to the Americans as Three Rivers in the notorious A Shau Valley. The North Vietnamese enemy used the A Shau as a supply route from the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos through the mountains to the populous coastal plains of South Vietnam. They fought to protect that lifeline throughout the war.

Johnson's team got hit by a superior enemy force soon after it landed, and he called for the choppers to come back for the wounded and lift everybody out. The first two Hueys landed, picked up their soldiers and took off without damage, but the third was hit repeatedly by AK-47 rifle fire and .51-caliber heavy machine gun bullets. Miller's ship was the fourth and last to land. He left his own machine gun position behind the helicopter's cargo door to grab two severely wounded men and hoist them aboard. At the edge of the landing zone, about 30 yards from his aircraft, Miller saw the unit's radio operator struggling to lift another severely wounded soldier. He dashed across the open area to reach them, told the radio man to run for the helicopter and bent down to lift the bleeding, barely conscious Condor before him. He saw then it was Johnson, his 22-year-old friend.

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The platoon sergeant had a huge hole in his back and begged Miller to leave him and save himself, but the crew chief refused and somehow got Johnson back through a barrage of crashing, exploding mortar shells and hoisted him aboard the ship. As the Huey took off and raced toward the U.S. Army's 85th Evacuation Hospital at Phu Bai, Miller tried to minister to Johnson's gaping wound. The sergeant asked Miller to tell his parents and family back home in New Haven, Kentucky, that he loved them and was thinking of them. Miller assured Johnson he could tell them himself when he got home, but the soldier knew he was mortally wounded. He died on the operating table a couple hours later.

Tortured by guilt because he had survived and his friend hadn't, that there might have been something he could have done better or faster, Miller couldn't bring himself to contact the family for many years, to face them and tell them about how Paul Johnson died and his last request. Eventually, some 20 years after Johnson's death, he drove to New Haven and found the house where he was told Johnson had lived with his parents and several brothers and sisters. He gave the family a copy of the memorial service the troop had held for Johnson in Vietnam and showed them a Condors yearbook with photos of Johnson and other members of C Troop, 2/17 Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division. Miller didn't realize until recently that he apparently visited the family of a different Sergeant Johnson, a soldier from the same tiny town who was killed in the Mekong Delta, far south of the A Shau, a mere nine days after Paul Johnson was mortally wounded. That soldier, Nicholas G. Johnson Sr., is buried beside his parents in St. Catherine's Cemetery in New Haven. Paul A. Johnson is similarly buried next to his parents in St. Thomas Cemetery, about ten miles away.

Three years ago, Miller met Trina Judson, one of Paul Johnson's nieces, and Ed Long, one of the other men he rescued at Three Rivers that day, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, where Ms. Judson praised him for his desperate effort to save her uncle and begged him to give up his misplaced guilt. Miller, now 65 and battling several health problems traceable to his combat experience, vowed to return to Kentucky to visit his lost friend's grave and meet with any of Paul Johnson's family members who wanted to see him. Maggie Jackson, three years younger than Paul and still devoted to the memory of her big brother, urged Miller to make the trip and rounded up all but one of her nine surviving siblings to welcome him.

Miller and his wife Ruby drove nearly 1,000 miles from their home in Clyde, Texas, to meet Paul's family on the 46th anniversary of that day in the A Shau. Without Ruby's encouragement and support, Miller said, he would not have been able to go through with it.

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"They were very appreciative," Miller said afterward. "I was thinking they'd be mad at me. The reason I never went back: I thought it was my fault that he died." But instead, the Johnson family greeted him as a hero, the warrior who wouldn't abandon his friend and got their brother back to be buried at home and not left behind as missing in action. Maggie Jackson escorted the couple to BJ's Steakhouse in nearby Bardstown for a celebratory dinner and hours of exchanging memories.

There were presents and pictures and plenty of talk. Brother Jesse makes wine and gave the Millers two bottles of his best. His wife made a batch of her special salsa. Maggie was proudest of her present, a period box that she found with her granddaughter at the Goodwill. The granddaughter thought it contained a French harp and asked if she could see it. When the box was opened, they found a Vietnam War commemorative knife with a Huey helicopter emblazoned across the yellow field and three red stripes of the South Vietnamese flag and Vietnam veterans' service ribbon.

"It melted my heart," the kid sister said.
Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in Abingdon, Virginia August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

First things first, Donald Trump: Release. Your. Tax. Returns.

No excuses.

Second, if we have to have a cartoon character running for president, I would prefer Bart Simpson. He has better writers and a healthier sense of self-awareness.

Like Donald Trump, Bart clings to a life's philosophy best summed up as, "Whatever it is, I didn't do it, unless it's something good, in which case I did do it, even if I didn't do it."

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That said, while Bart rarely can discern right from wrong, he frowns on bad organization and a lack of finesse. Of the Trump campaign, he would look askance and dismissively pronounce, as he has of other fiascoes, "This is senseless destruction with none of my usual social commentary."

Bart also has a finer comprehension than Trump of government and the U.S. Constitution, a document he supports and understands, but about which he forthrightly declares, "I'm pretty sure the Patriot Act killed it to ensure our freedoms."

But back to those tax returns. According to experts, the old "I'm being audited and can't release them" argument does not hold water. For the umpteenth time, what is Trump hiding?

Of course, many have speculated for months that his obfuscating is because he has much less money than he claims; some have suggested that the returns would reveal that Trump is a complete chiseler when it comes to contributing to charity.

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But like others, I believe that what's in those documents would reveal how deeply in hock Trump is to overseas investors, especially the Russian oligarchs. How could we have a president with hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign debt? How effectively could Trump engage as a leader of the United States when he personally owes other countries' financiers a fortune? This is almost as frightening as the prospect of Trump waking up in a cranky pants mood and eighty-sixing the planet. Almost.

The relationship among Trump, his advisors and Russia is deeply troubling and not because of Cold War-era paranoia about the Communist threat (although it is fascinating to see how the possible involvement of Russia in this election is both stirring up that nostalgic paranoia while at the same time opening old fissures on the left, as if we were back debating Khrushchev's 1956 denunciation of Stalin and the cult of personality).

No, what's truly disturbing is the prospect of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, each an exemplar of thuggish ultra-nationalism, joining hands and merrily dragging the rest of us down the lane to a kleptocratic, even fascist hell. And in the end, it's all about the money.

Bad enough that many intelligence and computer experts seem to agree that the recent cyberattacks against the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and Hillary Clinton's campaign are the handiwork of hackers in the employ of Russian security services. The long-suspected machinations of several DNC staffers against the Bernie Sanders campaign that were revealed by the hacks, while indeed worthy of condemnation, do not justify the act itself. Nor do the many past acts of interference by the United States in the electoral process of friends and enemies. But as many have noted, we once voted to impeach a president after a break-in at Democratic headquarters; this current breach should be taken no less seriously and is, in many important ways, worse.

Worrying, too, to see the recent interference, reportedly by Trump staffers, with the Republican Party platform plank calling for the protection of Ukraine's security against Russia, as well as Trump's own comments praising Putin and Russia while questioning America's continuing role as the linchpin member of NATO. Not to mention a campaign manager, Paul Manafort, whose work as a political consultant to former Ukrainian president and Putin pal Viktor Yanukovych is deeply suspect and an advisor, Carter Page, who has ties to Gazprom, the Russian, state-controlled energy giant. In July, Page spoke at Moscow's New Economic School and said that the chance for better relations with Russia has been diminished because, "Washington and other Western capitals have impeded potential progress through their often hypocritical focus on ideas such as democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change."

As Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo wrote a couple of weeks ago, "Those associations might simply be unsavory if the candidate were an experienced political figure or surrounded by knowledgeable advisors. Neither is the case... My own concern is mainly that this kind of mix of ignorance, grifters, disorganization is the kind of seed bed where influence operations and malign influence tend to thrive and take root. We've seen more than enough to know this knot of connections requires deep scrutiny, extreme vetting as Trump might say. This is no joke."

You don't have to be a hawk on these issues or an hysteric on the dangers of Russia -- and like Marshall, I'm neither -- to be deeply concerned that outside influences could so easily manipulate a potential president.

But most important, follow the money. Trump denies that he has any investments in Russia, which as many have pointed out is not for lack of trying, and which essentially raises the question, what have the Russians invested in Trump? "There is a lot of Russian money flowing into Trump's coffers," Marshall wrote late last month, "and he is conspicuously solicitous of Russian foreign policy priorities."

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We know that Trump's son, Donald Jr., told a real estate conference in 2008 that "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets... We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia." The Guardian reports there are "several Russian billionaires tied to Trump" and notes Trump's sale of a Palm Beach mansion for $95 million to Russian fertilizer billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, "who was reported in the Panama Papers leaks to have used offshore law firms to hid more than $2bn-worth of artworks, including pieces by Picasso, Van Gogh and Leonardo, from his wife in advance of their divorce."

Perhaps most damning is the New York Times' April account of accusations that arose from the building of Trump SoHo, a hotel and condo tower in downtown Manhattan, "one of several instances in which Mr. Trump's boastfulness -- a hallmark of his career and his campaign -- has been accused of crossing the line into fraud."

Times reporter Mike McIntire wrote that one of the associates at Bayrock, the development company behind the Trump project, "brokered a $50 million investment in Trump SoHo and three other Bayrock projects by an Icelandic firm preferred by wealthy Russians 'in favor with' President Vladimir V. Putin, according to a lawsuit against Bayrock by one of its former executives." Another lawsuit "was filled with unflattering details of how Bayrock operated, including allegations that it had occasionally received unexplained infusions of cash from accounts in Kazakhstan and Russia."



The aforementioned Josh Marshall has been taking all of this in and covering Trump's Russia ties with the persistence and eagle eye of a superb investigative reporter. He writes:

"

Trump has been blackballed by all major US banks with the exception of Deutschebank, which is of course a foreign bank with a major US presence. He has steadied and rebuilt his financial empire with a heavy reliance on capital from Russia. At a minimum the Trump organization is receiving lots of investment capital from people close to Vladimir Putin. "...Even if you draw no adverse conclusions, Trump's financial empire is heavily leveraged and has a deep reliance on capital infusions from oligarchs and other sources of wealth aligned with Putin. That's simply not something that can be waved off or ignored."

Yes, the body of evidence, while large, is circumstantial. But where there's smoke... which makes it all the more imperative that Trump let the press and public see his tax returns so we have a chance at piecing together the truth.

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There is no sense in allowing a man with this potentially monstrous amount of foreign debt to be our president, especially when he is someone monumentally indifferent to understanding America's place in the world, a fool whose entire worldview seems equivalent to that of the blowhard at the local tavern whose total knowledge comes from something he heard from a guy once.
By Steve Nicastro



When the owners of Cocoa Cinnamon decided to open up a second coffee shop in Durham, North Carolina, they didn't max out credit cards, withdraw from retirement accounts, or take on a high-cost loan. Instead, Cocoa Cinnamon turned to a crowdfunding platform called Community Sourced Capital to obtain a no-interest loan from the people who know its business best.

Obtaining financing from traditional lenders, especially low-interest business loans, is often challenging for small businesses. Over the past several years, however, small businesses like Cocoa Cinnamon have turned to alternative options to raise money.

"You think about small-business financing, after 2008 it was a totally different ballgame," says Leon Grodski de Barrera, co-owner of Cocoa Cinnamon with his wife, Areli. "Banks basically kind of froze up. People had to come up with really innovative ways to get funding, and crowdfunding became one element of that."

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Through CSC's online crowdfunding platform, small-business owners can obtain loans with zero interest, ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 and funded by family, friends, customers and community members who want to see the business succeed.

Since 2013, CSC has facilitated 96 loans totaling more than $1.93 million to community businesses in nine states. Most of its campaigns have been in Washington and Oregon. The company has received strong support from Craft3, a Washington-based nonprofit community development financial institution, which matches every dollar raised on the platform.



A band plays at the first Cocoa Cinnamon location / courtesy of Cocoa Cinnamon



A sign of support

Anyone can participate in funding a loan by buying a "square" for $50; you can buy up to $1,000 worth of squares for each campaign. Loans come with repayment terms of three years or less, although businesses can repay the loans faster without penalty, according to CSC Chief Executive Rachel Maxwell. There's no guarantee squares will be repaid, so lenders should not contribute more than they can afford to lose.

Cocoa Cinnamon ended up raising just over $50,000 from 371 supporters in the CSC campaign in spring 2015. The loan covers a portion of the startup's costs for the second coffee shop and will be repaid over three years.

The company also previously raised $32,325 on the rewards crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to help open its first location, as well as a $10,000 low-cost peer-to-peer loan from Slow Money NC, according to Grodski de Barrera.

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Cocoa Cinnamon's crowdfunding success also led to additional sources of financing and support. The city of Durham awarded the company a $10,000 grant, and Cocoa Cinnamon's landlord ended up cosigning a loan, Grodski de Barrera says.

"Crowdfunding does a couple of things," Grodski de Barrera says. "It shows the support we have, and it helps get other people interested."

Making the grade

CSC reviews each applicant's campaign to check for "financial integrity and community connection," according to its website. CSC spends time with each business to build the campaign. Approved campaigns then run for up to four weeks. Campaigns that fall short of their minimum funding goal do not get any of the money.

"We're looking for whether the capital is useful, responsible and connected," Maxwell says. "It's useful if it's for a purpose that will help strengthen the business. It's responsible if the loan is an amount the business will be able to pay back, and it's connected if the business has a community that will support it."

Typical businesses using CSC are food-related (coffee shops, restaurants, bars) and other neighborhood businesses (hair salons, gyms) that are built around strong communities, according to Maxwell.

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"Businesses are blown away by the expression of love when their community buys into the loan, and when they pay them back, there's that reciprocity," Maxwell says. "They pay them back in dollars and in making the place that they live better."

What it costs

While the loans do not technically carry interest, CSC charges a one-time $250 fee to launch a campaign and a $50 monthly membership fee until a loan is repaid. The company is a registered social purpose corporation in Washington State, a type of for-profit entity that also aims to create a positive social or environmental impact, according to the website SPCWA.

The funding through CSC helped Cocoa Cinnamon create more than a dozen jobs at the second location, which opened earlier this year.

"At the location of our second shop, the corner has been a little bit dead, but there's been good potential for our business to really flourish," Grodski de Barrera says. "We'll be part of bringing that corner to life. And people from that neighborhood got to participate in making that happen."

Steve Nicastro is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: Steven.N@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @StevenNicastro.

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Last year I shared a list of some of my favorite novels that I've read during my fifteen years in the book business. As much as I love falling into a great novel, I've also always been drawn to powerful personal stories from ordinary people. I read them for their piercing loss and the match-lit path they illuminate to move past it. Here are seven personal stories that brought me to tears, kept me up at night, and stayed with me after. Some are straight memoirs, some are less conventional in form, some are broader in scope, but all are rich and satisfying.





Perfection by Julie Metz

When Julie Metz's husband died unexpectedly, she found herself a sudden widow with a six-year-old daughter. She then discovered that her husband had been unfaithful to her throughout their marriage. This is a candid and moving story of loss, grief, betrayal, and reinvention.





Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, is as candid and compassionate as ever as "Sugar," the formerly anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus. Tiny Beautiful Things is a striking collection of "Dear Sugar" columns, the gentlest tough-love advice you'll ever need to hear.



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The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander

The poet Elizabeth Alexander (she read her original poem "Praise Song for the Day" at President Obama's 2009 inauguration) was married to the Eritrean painter Ficre Ghebreyesus when he died suddenly, leaving her a widow with two adolescent boys. Deeply moving but not sentimental, The Light Of The World is their transcendent love story. If you're a fan of Joan Didion's The Year Of Magical Thinking, pick this one up. And a box of Kleenex, too.





The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn

In this powerful, riveting book, Daniel Mendelsohn searches out the truth of what happened to six of his Polish relatives who perished in the Holocaust. This quest to learn the fates of "six of the six million" is part memoir, part mystery, and part scholarly detective work.





This I Believe by Jay Allison

Perhaps you listen to the NPR segment "This I Believe," where people (some famous, most not) share their personal philosophies and credos in brief essays. I was so moved by these glimpses into people's lives that I submitted an essay myself. While it didn't get selected, this book collects ones that did into a textured quilt that reveals what really matters to us as people.





Some Girls, Some Hats and Hitler by Trudi Kanter

In 1938, Trudi Kanter was a stunningly beautiful, young Jewish hat designer for the best-dressed women in Vienna, but as Hitler's tanks rolled into Austria, the world she knew collapsed. This slim, enchanting memoir is the story of how she and her husband fled from Vienna to Prague to London during the Blitz (think "Casablanca," not "Schindler's List").



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What Comes Next and How to Like It by Abigail Thomas

New from the bestselling author of A Three Dog Life comes this exhilarating and superbly written memoir about aging, family, creativity, tragedy, friendship, and the richness of life. Wise and witty, it is a beautiful examination of Abigail Thomas's life today.



A lifelong reader and writer, Wendy Sheanin is Vice President, Director of Marketing at Simon & Schuster.

See the full list at Off the Shelf, a daily blog that connects great readers with great books.
By Ashley Balcerzak





Clinton has received more donations from lawmakers than any presidential candidate since 1992, including funds from three of the four senators pictured: Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).



As Donald Trump emerged as the GOP's presidential nominee, a growing number of federal lawmakers came out in support of their party's candidate.

Words are one thing. We wanted to know how many put their money where their mouths are by sending him contributions from their campaign committees and leadership PACs.

Turns out, the Republican nominee received a mere two donations totaling $3,292 from these funding streams through June 30, which includes the most recent data available. That's the third least in this presidential cycle, behind Rick Santorum and Rick Perry, and 64th out of 108 presidential candidates in the past seven elections over comparable time frames.

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"This may be one more example of newly developing gradations of support developing that have not really been in play in past cycles," said Brendan Fischer, associate counsel at the Campaign Legal Center. "It goes along with different members of Congress saying they will vote for Trump, but they won't endorse him or contribute to him."

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, topped the chart, drawing in the most campaign and leadership PAC funds of all presidential contenders since 1992. She earned $560,942 so far this year from 138 current, former or hopeful Democratic members of Congress, and $335,873 eight years earlier, the fourth biggest bundle.

OpenSecrets data shows that Trump's cash from Congress is especially lacking when compared just to previous party nominees: He received the second least from campaigns and leadership PACs, behind only Barack Obama in 2012, who is in the negative, actually giving back a net of $2,300 in campaign committee donations from the previous election.

There's an explanation: His campaign didn't want those funds.

"We didn't take PAC contributions in either campaign and I believe, because some candidates do accept PAC contributions, we limited candidate contributions," said Julianna Smoot, Obama's national finance director in 2008 and deputy campaign manager in 2012.

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Four of the nominees raked in more than $100,000 in recent years: Clinton, George W. Bush (R) ($560,000 combined in 2000 and 2004), Mitt Romney (R) ($276,614) and John McCain (R) ($355,835).

Leadership PACs are limited to doling out $5,000 per candidate per election and candidate committees can give an additional $2,000 to another candidate each election, according to federal election contribution limits.

Team Trump received donations from one campaign committee contribution and one leadership PAC.

Longhorn PAC, Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith's leadership PAC, gave $3,000 to Trump's campaign and $1,000 to his PAC, Trump Victory. Smith endorsed the Republican nominee last May. The political action committee also gave $2,000 to failed Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker and $5,000 to Ted Cruz. Smith did not return requests for comment.

Trump's lone campaign committee donation of $292 came from Paul Mitchell, a Republican businessman running for Michigan's 10th congressional seat and primarily self-financing his campaign. Mitchell said he would respect voters' wishes and support Trump last May, according to the Detroit Free Press. Mitchell did not return requests for comment.

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"There is some symbolic value in these numbers that stresses what we already know," said Kyle Kondik, political analyst at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "Clinton has a high level of elite support within her own party and Trump has very little."

Neither the Clinton nor Trump campaigns replied to requests for comment.
Several area boards will meet today.

The Farmington City Council will meet for regular session beginning at 6:30 p.m. today.

The tentative agenda for the meeting is light, showing no administrative action items during the meeting.

The only council action on the agenda is under the consent agenda. Those items include a resolution authorizing an amendment to the State Block Grant agreement with the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission as well as a resolution to enter into an architectural preservation grant agreement for property located at 1 N. Jefferson St. through the Karsch Boulevard and Downtown Tax Increment Financing District.

The council will also hear committee and city administrator reports. The regular session will be held in council chambers, located at 110 W. Columbia St. and is open to the public.

Earlier in the day, the Mineral Area College Board of Trustees will hold a tax rate hearing at 1:55 p.m. and then meet in regular session at 2 p.m. in the boardroom on the Park Hills campus.

According to the tentative agenda, board President Scott Sikes will administer the oath of office to appointed trustee Lisa Umfleet, followed by a vote on the consent agenda.

Dr. Steve Kurtz, MAC president, will present his monthly report, which includes the State of Missouri Report; recognition of PTK advisors/chapter by Dr. Diana Stuart; 2016 summer census and fall enrollment reports by Pam Reeder; classified staff report by Roy Henson; and faculty forum report by Dr. Chad Follis.

In old business, the board will hear a construction update by Barry Wilfong.

In new business, the board will consider approval of submission of the 2016 nonprofit corporate registration report; fiscal year 2016 projected tax rate revenues; revisions to board policies Article 5 and 11; a contract with Hurst Services; the vendor for credit card services; and an amendment to the master contract with American Food and Vending.

The meeting is open to the public.

The Central Board of Education meets on a different day and time this month. Instead of holding its regular session on a Monday evening, this months meeting will be today at 12:30 p.m. in the basement of the districts administrative offices located at 200 High St. The meeting is open to the public.

Included on the agenda will be approval of routine consent agenda items, including the payment of bills and approval of substitute teachers, the tax rate for fiscal year 2017 and an ethics commission resolution.

The board will also recognize the districts transportation department, as recommended by Assistant Superintendent Troy Bollinger, and will hear a facilities update. In new business, board members will consider approval of a band trip, as recommended by high school staff.

Also, the Bismarck Board of Aldermen will meet in regular session at 7 p.m. in the city's old train depot. As of press time, the city had not provided the Daily Journal with the board's meeting agenda.
WOODBRIDGE - Lisa Alexander, holds a picture of her son, Reginald 'Neli' Latson, a convicted, autistic teenager that she says needs legal help with her son's case in Woodbridge, VA on March 11, 2011. A police officer in Stafford, VA stopped her son for questioning and scuffle ensued. He's now spent a year in jail for assaulting a police officer and could spend another nine years if a jury's recommendation is granted. This has parents of autistic children worried about authorities who cannot identify special-needs individuals from the rest of society. ( Photo by Linda Davidson/ The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Ethan Saylor was like many men his age. He enjoyed going out with friends to a movie or a karaoke bar, he was a loving big brother to his two siblings, he adored his mother, and he happened to have Down syndrome. What is heart wrenching is that to those who didn't know Ethan personally, he is most commonly remembered for his tragic and untimely death. Ethan lost his life at the hands of three off duty sheriff deputies while being evicted from a movie theatre following a dispute over an unpaid movie ticket. His larynx was crushed during the confrontation, and his last words were cries for his mother. Ethan had no previous history of violence. His death was senseless and avoidable.

More than three years ago this tragedy turned a national spotlight to a critical problem facing our criminal justice system - the lack of training for law enforcement on how to safely and effectively interact with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Yet, here we are today, and current drafts of criminal justice reform legislation, from both houses of Congress, make little mention of people with disabilities and no mention of the I/DD population. Sadly, we have even more reminders of the holes in our system as we look to Florida where Charles Kinsey, a direct support professional for people with I/DD, was shot in a situation involving one of the individuals he served, Arnaldo Rios.

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How is this possible? The numbers paint a bleak picture. As many as 1 in 5 prisoners self-identify as having a cognitive disability. Yet the majority of law enforcement, corrections, probation and parole officers, and court personnel receive little or no training on interacting with this population. It's astonishing to think that Ethan's life could have been saved if law enforcement training on I/DD was mandatory at the time, or how many lives could be saved if this training is required in the future.

The consequences of this knowledge gap are dire. Suspects with I/DD are prone to give false confessions, resulting in innocent people going to prison. Victims with I/DD are often presumed to be incapable of giving a witness statement or testifying reliably, resulting in their perpetrators going free. What starts as a routine encounter can go terribly wrong when an officer perceives an individual as "not cooperating" when they simply don't understand the questions and directions of an officer or the gravity of the situation in which they are involved.

When an individual's disability is not immediately apparent, their "invisible disability" can lead to misunderstandings, miscommunication, unnecessary escalation and tragic consequences. This is exactly what happened to Neli Latson (pictured above), a young black man wearing a hoodie, who was sitting on a bench waiting for his local public library to open. Reported by a passerby as "suspicious" and as possibly having a gun, Neli was approached by law enforcement officials, he complied with a search and no gun was found on him. Yet, unaware that Neli had autism and intellectual disability, the situation soon intensified leading to a physical altercation. This interaction snowballed into a years-long injustice that included additional physical altercations with corrections officers, additional charges filed, solitary confinement, and mental breakdown. It was only resolved when the state's Governor stepped in and granted a pardon so that Neli could access the treatment his disability and mental illness required. Had the officers, attorneys, and prison staff involved in this case had training on interacting with individuals on the autism spectrum, this case would have turned out much differently.

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Ethan's and Neli's stories made national headlines, but they are just two of the countless examples of our criminal justice system failing the I/DD community. How can an officer properly support a suspect with autism who has a unique way of communicating if he or she doesn't have training on recognizing or interacting with someone with such a disability? How can a correctional facility accommodate an inmate with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder if there are no screening protocols to even identify the presence of a disability? The result is a never-ending cycle where people with I/DD are sucked into a criminal justice system that is unprepared to support their needs. Ultimately, this is a widespread failure to provide access to justice to people with disabilities.

We need to ensure that people with I/DD aren't left behind as Congress makes bipartisan strides in criminal justice reform. Any policy must require mandatory training for all sectors of the criminal justice system, from law enforcement, prison staff, and court personnel, to ensure that individuals with I/DD get the support they need at every step in their interaction with the criminal justice system. We also need better systems for identifying individuals who have I/DD, including opportunities for self-identification to first responders and mandatory screening upon arrest and in processing. Training and building relationships between law enforcement officers and people with I/DD is the key to preventing future tragedy and injustice.

Time is running out for Congress to act this year, and people with I/DD and their families desperately need solutions that include them. Without inclusion, there is no hope for equal justice.
Recently, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton published an op-ed in the Mormon-owned Deseret News. In the op-ed, Hillary makes the case to the voters of Utah why she's the best candidate for President. Much of her op-ed focuses on her defense of religious freedom and the importance of the U.S. Constitution. She quotes several prominent LDS people including church prophets and other high profile figures like Mitt Romney. Her case is a strong one, particularly in Utah where the large majority of Republican Mormons can't tolerate Trump at all. There are other options this election and I'm here to make the case that in addition to being a champion for religious freedom and the constitution, Hillary Clinton will be the most pro-family candidate we've ever had, very much worthy of Mormons' consideration come this November.

As Mormons, the importance of families is an integral part of our theology, it's baked into the core of what our doctrine is about -- eternal families. Every conference session we are told we must "defend the family." While unfortunately most Mormons are misguided on what "defending the family" truly means, most believing they are to oppose marriage equality, what "defending the family" actually means is to be pro-family, to advocate for improved policies and laws that benefit and strengthen all American families.

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In this election the choice is clear, there could not be a more pro-family candidate than Hillary Clinton. Her record on these issues is unmatched, shown below are just a few of the countless ways she has advocated for families and children her entire career.

Newly out of law school, Hillary joined the Children's Defense Fund where she advocated for impoverished children and kids with disabilities.

During her tenure as First Lady in Arkansas, she helped establish the HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) program to promote early childhood education. The program now operates in 21 states and the District of Columbia.

As First Lady of the country, she fought for and was successful in helping pass, the Children's Health Insurance Program. The program now provides health coverage to more than 8 million children. Senator Ted Kennedy said that if not for Hillary, the Children's Health Insurance Program wouldn't be in existence today.

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Serving as a Senator from New York Hillary was a champion for 9/11 first responders and their families. She fought to ensure that they had easy access to the medical treatment and health care they deserved.

While Secretary of State Hillary advocated for the rights of women and children abroad. She fought for women's access to economic opportunity and lead the fight for a U.N. Security Council resolution to combat sexual violence against women and children in conflict zones.
One of my most precious possessions is a yellowed, tattered prayerbook that was printed in Vienna in 1859, one hundred years before I was born. The prayers are printed only in Hebrew, and an inscription on its front cover reveals that it was the bar mitzvah gift to my great-grandfather from his own father (my great-great-grandfather). I was given this treasure by my own grandfather at my bar mitzvah celebration in 1972.

You might think that the book to pass through the ages, across the generations might be a High Holy Day prayerbook, or perhaps one for Shabbat and the daily minyanim. But what I inherited is a prayerbook for Tisha B'Av!

Tisha B'Av is a day of fasting and sorrow, a time for grieving over the Neo-Babylonian destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E. and the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. Throughout the years, other tragedies have been added to the list - expulsions, inquisitions, rapes, lootings, burning our holy books, the Nazi murder of the six million, Arab hatred of Israel and Jews, and the deadening antisemitism of the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe.

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In response to the millennia of Jew hatred, the rabbis of antiquity instituted a day of sadness and affliction to mourn the tragic suffering of our ancestors, to cry over our exile and our alienation, and to implore God to recall our sufferings and to bring them to an end.

This is not cheerful stuff, and it is hardly what any of us might choose as a single legacy to leave to our children. After all, reinforcing the notion of Jew-as-victim is harmful both to Jewish self-respect and to Gentiles' understandings of the rich bounty of Jewish civilization and the profundity of Jewish spirituality and religion.

Why would my great-great-grandparents select a prayerbook for Tisha B'Av as the legacy they would leave for the generations? What message are they trying to convey to us and to our children as well?

I think they recognized the fragility of civilization and of human decency. As products of the Old World, they encountered bigotry firsthand, and they knew that the capacity to hate other people because of their religion was a manifestation of a sorry aspect of being human: the need to feel good about oneself by belittling or by hurting someone else. Those who pretend that humanity is loving at its core, or that people will one day transcend their propensity toward stereotyping and bigotry, live in a dangerous fantasy.

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The best possible response to human bigotry is two-fold:

1.Cultivate a strong sense of our own Jewish identity. By knowing who we are, glorifying in the role our heritage played (and continues to pay) in civilizing humanity, in placing ethical rigor and spiritual depth at the forefront of the human agenda, Jews and Judaism have a proud past and a pressing future. We can feel good about who we are so long as we remain students of our ancestral traditions, with its ethical and religious goals of elevating humanity through the rigors of discipline, loving kindness, and sacred deeds.

2.Mourn the victims of humanity's brutality in times past. Those who do not study the past are doomed to repeat it, Santayana warned us. By not only reminding ourselves of the suffering of Jews throughout the ages, but by training ourselves to feel that tragedy in our heart, we may learn to respond vociferously when anti-Semites threaten to act, when those who propose to harm Israel try to lessen our support, and when any bigotry, against anyone, looms on the horizon. Empathy with Jewish suffering is our portal to stronger identification with the Jewish people everywhere, and with all humanity victimized by bigotry.
In the wake of a series of horrific terrorist killings in Europe over the past two weeks in France, Germany and elsewhere -- starting with the horrifying mass murder of 84 people in Nice at Bastille Day celebrations by a petty-criminal-turned-apparent-jihadist-warrior who ran over people with a truck, followed by the shooting of 10 people by an apparently non-ideological German-Iranian outside a McDonalds in Munich and ending with two Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) devotees who invaded a church in Normandy and slit the throat of an 86-year-old priest -- we are hearing plenty of inflammatory but inaccurate charges that European Muslims are infected en masse by ISIS ideology and collectively represent a grave danger to the security of both Europeans and Americans.

While Europeans and Americans alike are understandably fearful in the face of an upsurge in terrorism, the temptation to crack down harshly on Europe's larger Muslim population -- which we hear advocated by rapidly growing right-wing parties -- would be exactly the wrong approach to ending terrorism and the extremism that feeds it. In fact, Muslim leaders across the continent have strongly condemned these ISIS-inspired attacks as abominations antithetical to the core message of Islam, enshrined in the Quran, that if you take one life it is as though you have murdered all of humankind. So while sympathizers of ISIS represent only a tiny percentage of European Muslims, we risk enhancing the appeal of ISIS and its aberrant ideology by indulging in anti-Muslim rhetoric and cracking down indiscriminately on the wider Muslim population. Indeed, provoking such a response is exactly the response ISIS seeks to elicit, eliminating what is known as the "gray zone" of coexistence between European Muslims and the Western societies they inhabit.

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In my opinion, what is needed if we are to avoid the long dreaded "war of civilizations" is exactly the opposite: for European governments and public institutions to reach out to the majority of peaceful European Muslims with a message of inclusivity and demonstrate a commitment to improving conditions for the residents of the mainly Muslim neighborhoods that ring Paris, Brussels and other European cities, which will have a positive impact in terms of limiting the appeal of hateful ISIS ideology to Muslim youth.

My own organization, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), a New York-based nonprofit, has been working since 2008 to build ties of communication and cooperation between Muslims and Jews across Europe and worldwide, bringing Muslims and Jews to stand together against terrorism, extremism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry.

FFEU has organized several summits of European imams and rabbis to focus on how to build ties between our communities and work together on issues of common concern, discussions that paid off in 2014 when I led a delegation of European imams and rabbis to protest to the President of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg after that legislative body passed a resolution urging European governments to ban circumcision for boys under what they bizarrely termed the "age of consent." In the same year, FFEU European Director Samia Hathroubi led a delegation to Copenhagen after the Danish Minister of Agriculture promulgated a law banning kosher and halal slaughtering in that country.

One of the emotional high points during the historic peace march in Paris in the wake of the terrorist attacks against Charlie Hebdo and the Hyper Casher kosher supermarket, which killed nearly 20 people, came when a delegation of French and British imams and rabbis brought together by Hathroubi marched arm in arm down the boulevards of Paris under the slogan "We Refuse to Be Enemies." Last November, with our European Muslim and Jewish partners, we held public "We Refuse to Be Enemies" events in a number of European locales, including at the European Parliament in Brussels and other locales like Manchester, England, and Berlin.

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As a rabbi deeply committed to the well-being of my own people, I am convinced that reaching out to our peaceful Muslim brothers and sisters and bringing Jewish and Muslim leaders together to defend the interests of both communities happens to be the most effective way to secure the safety of European Jews. Mutual outreach is of critical importance for Muslim communities, as well, if they wish to avoid becoming grim ghettoes largely sealed off from the larger community. Obviously, there is a serious problem of enhanced levels of anti-Semitism in European Muslim communities. The question is what to do about it. I am convinced that the best approach is for Jews to reach out to Muslim communities across Europe with a desire to build ties of communication and cooperation for the good of both communities.

This November, FFEU will hold events in many cities in Europe and North America, focused on Muslims and Jews standing up for each other and vowing to work together against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry.

At a time of increased Islamophobia in both the U.S and across Europe, FFEU is focusing its efforts on a national campaign called #MASO -- Muslims Are Speaking Out. This initiative aimed at showing that American Muslims are speaking out against terrorism, extremism and fanaticism on a sustained basis and are reaching out to Americans of all faiths and ethnicities with a message of peace, unity and mutual acceptance.

I believe that we need to promote the "Standing Up For Each Other" philosophy based on empathy, understanding and cooperation. The fact is that European Muslims and Jews can only ensure a decent future for our respective communities by working together. By embracing each other and working together, we can not only blunt the appeal of ISIS and other extremist groups, but also inspire a majority of Europeans to embrace anew the vision of an inclusive Europe committed to pluralism and freedom of expression for all faiths and ethnic communities. Let us not surrender to fear and hopelessness, but instead to keep our eyes on the prize of building a vibrant Europe on based the mutual embrace of diverse religious and national communities.

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Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

The travel bug sank its teeth into me the summer I turned 25 -- leaving me with an uncomfortable, out-of-reach itch I just couldn't scratch. I didn't grow up in an upper-middle-class family that vacationed in Europe. I'm an immigrant from Jamaica who moved to the U.S. when I was 16 and stayed put. The American dream had been my adventure. But when I got a passport after becoming a naturalized citizen, it sparked a desire in me that I never expected: I started dreaming of traveling overseas. But my life choices -- a steady office job, buying a house, getting married -- didn't seem to allow for it. For the first time, these achievements I'd celebrated and worked so hard for felt like perfectly tied laces for shoes that no longer fit.

The wanderlust was maddening. I created a Pinterest board called "Places to See," where I shamelessly pinned dream destinations the way girls pin wedding plans when they're not even in a relationship. Visions of Paris and India and Thailand taunted and thrilled me. Unfortunately, my husband didn't share my enthusiasm for traveling overseas -- or maybe he did, but just had a better grip on reality. I couldn't blame him. We had demanding jobs, limited time off, and more pressing ways to spend our money (like hardwood floors and our baby fund). Still, he tried to keep me happy with trips to U.S. cities. I scavenged through my Pinterest board for domestic destinations with round-trip tickets for under $250 -- the narrow extent of adventure our lifestyle permitted.

We ate praline bacon and beignets in colorful New Orleans, hiked picturesque state parks in Colorado, road-tripped to Savannah, went sightseeing in D.C., and strolled for hours around St. Augustine. We listened to live music and visited flea markets. We perused the local mom-and-pop scenes, but also indulged in tourist traps. We were partners. We alternated the window seat, negotiated our itinerary of must-sees, and finished each other's sentences when we told stories about our trips. At the time, it felt like the true perk of marriage was having a built-in travel buddy.

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For a while, I felt content. For a while, I relished the planning and the experiences and the hotel sex. For a while, I pushed globe-trotting fantasies to the back of my head, but I couldn't forget what I really wanted. I wanted to go abroad. I wanted stamps in my passport. I hadn't taken more than three days off work in years. At the very least, I wanted to explore for more than a weekend. The Germans call it fernweh: an ache for far-away places. A desperate desire to travel the world. Far-sickness -- literally, the opposite of homesickness.

One Sunday afternoon, my fernweh reached its fever pitch.

As I watched Anthony Bourdain explore Morocco in an episode of Parts Unknown, the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them: "What are we doing with our lives?" It wasn't the first time I'd whined about this, but this time my tone was different, urgent. My husband -- the practical one who keeps my feet on the ground -- looked at me with an apology in his eyes and said, "Don't let me hold you back." It wasn't the first time he'd said this, but this time his tone was different, too -- genuine, encouraging even.

I wasn't a kite that wanted to be released. I just needed some slack to get wind under my wings. He understood. Our priorities were different, and we could sit around feeling guilty about it, or give ourselves permission for personal growth and fulfillment. If I wanted adventure abroad, I'd have to do it by myself -- but it didn't mean we loved each other any less.

I'd never considered traveling alone before. Not seriously, at least. It was illogical, like people who purged all their stuff to couch-surf around the world, but even that had started to seem less absurd lately. Yes, I wanted to travel abroad, but could I do so safely as a woman on my own? I'd always thought the answer was no. Which safety concerns were fact and which were fiction? I'm an introvert. Would I have trouble meeting people? Can you be both adventurous and awkward? I needed convincing -- lots of it -- so I went looking.

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I bought a copy of Wild, which I read as reverently as if it were the Bible. I was lit up by Cheryl Strayed's topsy-turvy but ultimately triumphant journey hiking a thousand miles of the Pacific Coast Trail by herself. It's incredible how someone else's story can give you the courage to rewrite yours. I listened to podcasts, read blogs, and followed strangers on Instagram -- Amateur Travel, The Pin The Map Project, She Is Not Lost -- badass women who weren't scared to travel alone. At least, not scared enough to let it stop them. I bought The Solo Traveler's Handbook and devoured it from start to finish. It still seemed intimidating, but I started to think maybe I could do it. On a whim three months later, suffering a particularly bad case of the Mondays, I searched for flights and actually booked a ticket. I felt ready. Ready for how this trip would surely change me -- good or bad.

Flight 946 from Fort Lauderdale to Cartagena, Colombia.

Not London, not Italy, not Spain. Cartagena -- the "g" is pronounced like an "h" -- a colorful, historic city on the north coast of Colombia, a city I hadn't really thought about much until it kept popping up again and again on those podcasts and blog posts and Instagrams I followed so religiously. Just that morning, my coworker had slipped it in between Nashville and the Bahamas on a list of recommendations where I should celebrate my birthday. That Monday night, seeing Cartagena on the list of flight deals was serendipitous, like when someone calls you the moment you've thought of them. Tickets were on sale for only $190. I'd just gotten an unexpected bonus at work. I had a week's worth of "use it or lose it" time off. Why not? I didn't speak much Spanish, but I'd learned the basics in school. I could book a private room at a hostel. Overall, Cartagena seemed like best case: destiny; worst case: doable. I'd figure out the logistics later, like who would watch my stuff on the beach while I swim.

Cartagena -- why not?

I want to say this bravado never wavered. I want to say that five weeks later I marched onto flight 946 with my head held high, excited to extinguish my fernweh. But that wasn't the case. The truth is, I freaked. I woke up on the morning of my flight with ice-cold feet. The voices of all the naysayers replayed in my head. It's dangerous. You don't even speak Spanish. You'll be so lonely. These words broke loose from my subconscious and stole all the confidence I'd spent months developing. Tears flowed. Lots of them. I couldn't recall a single reason why I had thought this was a good idea. Primarily, Why the hell would I travel without my partner?

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If my husband felt any satisfaction at my sudden change of heart, he didn't show it. All he said was, "Babe, get dressed."

You'd think I was heading to my own execution. I cried the whole morning. I cried the whole drive to the airport. I cried when he hugged me goodbye outside of the terminal -- an epic meltdown like a popsicle in the Florida heat. He gave me a pep talk, told me how proud he was, and it was enough to get me through the doors, on the plane, and hours later on the ground safe and sound in South America. Seeing a copy of Wild in the airport bookstore also may have had something to do with it.

After such a journey, did the destination deliver? Cartagena was better than I imagined. At first overwhelming, but we warmed up to each other quickly. Even with my terrible Spanish, challenges like taking a taxi from the airport to my hostel were anti-climactic in comparison to the anxiety leading up to the trip. Sounds of the city -- cars honking, men catcalling, vendors soliciting, birds singing, mosquitoes whirring, a mix of accents and languages -- they took some getting used to, but are now committed to memory. The sun hits you differently there. I took home a sunburn as a souvenir.

Like my U.S. dollars, a little sociability went a long way in Cartagena. I had worried about meeting people, yet made friends everywhere I went. I avoided the rowdier crowd at my hostel, but hit it off with the more subdued bunch who woke up for breakfast. I met kind women from California, Ecuador, Switzerland, Ireland, and France, who were also traveling alone. All I had to do was say yes when they asked if they could sit next to me, and the rest fell into place. When you travel, everyone seems interesting, which makes conversation easy, even for the shy. We exchanged stories and made plans. They watched my stuff at the beach while I swam at Playa Blanca. We went dancing all night on a rooftop. We drank shots of Aguardiente. We even made plans to visit Mexico together in November. I felt a lot of things, but loneliness wasn't one of them.

I also made a point of spending time alone -- reading, eating, exploring all I could. I roamed around the Old City for hours and fell in love. I watched the famous sunset at Cafe del Mar. I spent a night under a mosquito net on an island off the coast. I was the fifth wheel on a snorkeling trip with two Spanish-speaking couples. They were so kind, going so far as to buy me lunch so I wouldn't be left out. I floated inside the mud volcano called El Totumo -- a wacky tourist trap where locals give you a massage in the mud and then wash you down with buckets of (questionable) water when you climb out. I took a carriage ride by myself. I ate arepas and fried fish and coconut rice. Some days the language barrier worked against me, like when I missed my stop on a boat ride to Paraiso Secreto (which appropriately translates to Secret Paradise). I journaled every detail so that I could look back and remember that it all turned out fine.

Overall, Cartagena proved my optimistic expectations right -- the worst days were still doable, but most moments felt like destiny -- like exactly where I was supposed to be.

I encountered a lot of raised eyebrows whenever I mentioned I was married, but it stopped bothering me. I didn't feel guilty. Every day in that far-off place reassured me that I was there because of a happy relationship, not the opposite. When I returned home, we hugged and kissed and were eager to share our stories and catch up. But we didn't say, "We're never doing that again!"

Because we are.

It's true some experiences are better shared, but for me, travel is just as good all by myself.

We're just getting started, fernweh.

By: Danielle South

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FROM REALCLEARWORLD AUGUST 10, 2016

Europe's path from De Gaulle to British Gaullists

Brexit is not just an event, it's a process. The decision to hold a referendum on leaving the European Union took years of debate to materialize. Likewise, the decision to leave will take years to work itself out in negotiations on the final status of Britain's relationship with the E.U.

Brexit, however, is not just about Britain. Momentous as it is, Brexit also represents a long-term trend in the development of Europe as a whole. The British decision to leave has to be seen in the context of the rise of nationalist, anti-integration, anti-immigration parties in many E.U. countries.

Britain's exit doesn't mean that the E.U. is falling apart but it's now likely to be remodeled into something less ambitious than its Europeanist founding fathers had hoped. The future E.U. without Britain may be weaker in some respects but removing the British Problem from E.U. politics may result in greater coherence and strength in other ways.

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Beyond practical issues of economics and finance, what Brexit represents is, at bottom, the end of the founding fathers' exalted 'idea of Europe'. Brexit is the end of the post-WWII 'European project' as a vision of a new European economic, political and even moral superpower in the world order.

This is paradoxical because the E.U. is in historical perspective a young institution, a mere seven decades old. Historians may write up Brexit as part of European integration sorting itself out.

Contemporary European integration was the major consequence, along with rise and eventual collapse of communism, of World War II. During the Cold War, Europe was divided into communist Eastern Europe and liberal democratic Western Europe. Communism in Europe, including the Soviet Union, imploded in just a few years, 1989-91. With the end of Soviet control of Europe's east, as the first president Bush put it, Europe had become "whole and free."

At the core of Cold War Europe, the calamitous century-old German Problem was resolved. East and West Germany were reunited and the new Germany became a pillar of European stability. The formerly communist countries of Eastern Europe soon joined NATO and the European Union. A weakened Russia became all that remained of Moscow's empire, the rump state of the USSR.

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The E.U. developed gradually in stages over a half-century. It took in new member states and expanded its authority over significant parts of European economics and politics. At first, it was the six-nation European Coal and Steel Community, then the EEC/Common Market, then the European Communities, then the European Community.

Only in the Maastricht Treaty ratified in 1992 was the European institution renamed European Union. The new name expressed new ambitions for integration: deeper economic union (including the euro) and broader political union with reduced national sovereignty in many policy areas. But Maastricht Europe was still not what Europeanist idealists wanted, a full United States of Europe.

In fact, two visions of integrated Europe had always competed with each other; two conceptions of what the final product of European unification should be. The one was based on treaties uniting the nation-states, the other was the goal of a larger European framework, in effect a new European super-state. France's great leader Charles de Gaulle (president of France 1958-1969) insisted that any coherent Europe had to be a 'Europe of nation-states,' in which national sovereignty would always control the European institution. Another Frenchman, Jean Monnet, was the godfather of the federalists, those who wanted a truly new Europe, a Europe "beyond the nation-state." The idea was that the European continent should become ultimately a single European federation, something like the U.S. but based on Europe's historical countries.

De Gaulle (and later Margaret Thatcher) believed that a strong and legitimate Europe could only be the product of cooperation between national states rather than merging them. The federalists argued that European civilization needed a renewed dynamism and sense of purpose. To be competitive in an era of superpowers required that Europe's patchwork of medium and small-sized states become a United States of Europe.

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Gaullism, which could be called the first Euro-skepticism, is the idea that fundamental unit of international life can only be nation-states built on historic peoples. A state is the national institution of a people, as in the French, German or Polish people. To de Gaulle, the nation-state was genuine; a factitious European Union could never replace them. It could only be a shell organization run by faceless bureaucrats.

Brexit is in this sense an extreme Gaullist reaction. But Brexit is a complex issue because Britain is really the United Kingdom of four countries. Only England (and tiny Wales) voted to leave whereas Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain inside. The latter two don't want to be dragooned out of the E.U. by a modest anti-E.U. majority in England. So Brexit is not simple.

Nevertheless, it's important to understand that de Gaulle was not anti-European. He wanted a Europe of nation-states with their own histories, cultures and sovereignty. He never wanted to pull France out of the European Union. Never Frexit.

The federalists, once thought of as bright, shiny idealists, have been frustrated in their idea of Europe. Now Brexit seems to have turned the tide of history against them.

The high water mark for federalism was a decade ago when a draft constitution was written and put up for ratification in 2005. The federalists who wrote it had to be canny because so many opposed setting a goal of eventual full European federation. The constitution, in an attempt to make everybody happy, proposed a "federation of nation-states." But ratification required unanimous approval and when the Dutch and the French voted it down, ratification became impossible. Ideological federalism received a mortal blow.

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British Prime Minister David Cameron's ham-handed referendum produced the exact opposite of what he'd intended. He wanted the personal glory of settling Britain's relationship with the EU "permanently" (because he thought he'd win). But he lost and the new Prime Minister Theresa May has to deal with the consequences of Cameron's blunder.

Britain's exit from the E.U. means that the old contest between Gaullism and federalism has been outflanked by a tendency to genuine fragmentation.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Chicago Defender Charities

As a kid growing up in Chicago, I always looked forward to the Bud Billiken Parade. It signaled back to school, but also highlighted talent in the black community. Black dignataries, celebrities, athletes, musicians, and marching bands from across the nation would come to the south side of Chicago to march in the parade. It was like a family reunion for African-Americans throughout the country. My family, aunts, and uncles would line King Drive with other participants early in the morning for the best spot to view the parade. You would see old friends that moved away but came to the city every summer so that their children could experience the Bud Billiken Parade. My most vivid memory of the parade was in the 80s. Todd Bridges, who played Willis in Different Strokes, was the celebrity attendee. When his float passed, girls screamed and passed out. As an adult, I moved around a bit, Los Angeles and New York. However, no matter what city I lived in, every second Saturday in August, I was glued to the television to watch the Bud Billiken Parade.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Chicago Defender Charities

The parade is legendary and a major part of African American history. It began in 1929 in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood. Its genesis started when Duke Ellington took a stroll down King Drive playing with some of the newspaper staff. From then on, it became what we now know as the Bud Billiken "back to school" parade. The parade route is on King Drive, similar to Harlem's Lenox Avenue. The Bud Billiken is the second largest parade in American history and the oldest African American parade. It was founded by The Chicago Defender newspaper. The Chicago Defender was the vanguard for blacks in a post-Civil War and Civil Rights era. It was the voice of the people chronicling what was happening in America's black urban and rural communities.

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Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Chicago Defender Charities

I had the opportunity to speak with Myiti Sengstacke-Rice, board member of the Chicago Defender Charities, which is the philanthropic arm of the newspaper that oversees the Bud Billiken parade. She is the next generation continuing the legacy and heritage of her family's dedication and commitment to the serving and preserving the history of the black community.

"The Chicago Defender was founded by Robert Sengstacke Abbott on May 5, 1905. His plan was to use this newspaper to address African American issues. In 1921, Mr. Abbott started the Chicago Defender Jr., a section for children in the newspaper. It was edited by the young Robert Watkins, who was known as Bud Billiken , and included an application to the Bud Billiken  Club. It was named after the Billiken, the guardian angel of little children according to Chinese legend. Working under Mr. Abbott, David Kellum was a key member of the Bud Billiken  team and was often called Mr. Bud Billiken . In 1929, Mr. Abbott expanded the Bud Billiken  concept to include a parade. Its purpose was to provide underprivileged youth with the chance to be in the limelight. Hundreds of thousands have lined the parade route with millions viewing festivities on live TV. Today, the parade features dozens of bands, drill teams, marching units, floats and more. Many celebrities have appeared in the Bud Billiken  Parade. From the past, the parade has seen Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Roy Rogers, Lena Horne and former President Harry S. Truman. In recent years, the parade has enjoyed the company of then Senator Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, L.L. Cool J, Spike Lee, Michael Jordan, Frank Thomas, Donny Osmond, Queen Latifah, Tyler Perry and more."

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Chicago Defender Charities

Take part of tradition, our collective history, to witness the Bud Billiken parade. This year the parade will be Saturday, August 13th and is televised nationally on ABC.

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Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Chicago Defender Charities
A reflection on the political climate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Sebastien Brack, Political Officer at the Kofi Annan Foundation.

According to its constitution, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is supposed to organise presidential elections by the end of the year, but it is increasingly obvious that the deadline will not be met. The question putting the whole country on tenterhooks at the moment is what happens next? Is the DRC heading towards another crisis?

The level of anxiety palpable in Kinshasa these days may surprise those for whom elections are merely routine, technical exercises affording political rivals a peaceful mechanism to arbitrate their competition for power. In the DRC, there has never been a peaceful transition of power from one democratically-elected leader to another. And the stakes this year are particularly high.

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To be fair, the technical challenges of organising national elections in the DRC are daunting. Though approximately the size of Western Europe, the country has fewer kilometres of paved roads than Belgium. The last census of the population took place in the eighties. There is no civil register. The voter register was already judged superannuated at the last elections in 2011 and the budget requested by the election commission (CENI) for this electoral cycle represents over 12% of the state's overall annual budget. Finally, there are still armed groups operating in the east of the country.

But technical and financial challenges afford technical and financial solutions. The crux of the crisis in the making is neither technical nor financial, but political. It turns on the uncertainty concerning the president's willingness to stand down at the end of his second term, on 19 December, in accordance with the constitution.

President Kabila himself has never explicitly expressed any intention of hanging on, but many in his entourage have advocated it, and the opposition sees the delay of the elections as just the latest in a series of dilatory tactics aimed at prolonging his tenure. The Constitutional Court's ruling in May that the incumbent can stay in office until a new president is elected only fuelled these widespread suspicions.

The government has indeed had five years to prepare for these elections. The CENI published an electoral calendar in February 2015 with milestones that were ignored and a budget that was never forthcoming. The commission has now embarked on an ambitious 16-month overhaul of the voter register. This will no doubt improve the credibility of the register, but it will also make it impossible to meet the constitutional deadline. Even this new time frame is conditional on the disbursement of funds at the right junctures, which is far from certain. And those sixteen months do not include the actual organisation of the elections, which in a country of the DRC's size and complexity, will take many more months, with potential further delays, especially if the CENI decides to organise local elections before presidential and legislative elections.

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The controversial ruling by the Constitutional Court may have made the extension of President Kabila's term beyond the constitutional deadline legal, but it has not made it legitimate in the court of public opinion. The country is likely to become increasingly restive if, or rather when, that deadline is missed, especially if there is no prospect of an orderly transition. This political uncertainty is taking place against a worrying backdrop of increasing economic hardship due to falling commodity prices, falling purchasing power, and high youth unemployment.

In a bid to avert a crisis, the international community has been encouraging the government and the opposition to find a negotiated solution through dialogue. The African Union (AU) has appointed a facilitator, Edem Kodjo, to steer this delicate process, but he has never been accepted by the opposition. Finally, in Addis Ababa in July, the opposition agreed to this facilitated dialogue on the condition that it be supported by the international community (UN, EU, OIF, CGLR). But can they agree? Both sides seem to think that time is on their side. They cannot both be right. To this observer, DRC's politicians are dancing on a rumbling volcano.

Sebastien Brack is the political officer at the Kofi Annan Foundation. Prior to joining Kofi Annan's team, Sebastien was an election campaign director and, before that, a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. He is a graduate of Oxford University and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Kofi Annan or the Kofi Annan Foundation.
The first bus to Machu Picchu leaves Peru's party-all-night tourist town, Aguas Calientes, at six in the morning. The line to be on it forms sometime after midnight, and by the time the sun pokes over the Andes, the fabled "Lost City of the Incas" looks less like one of the great wonders of the ancient world and more like a modern day Disney theme park.

Don't get me wrong. It's hardly Machu Picchu's fault that you'd barely raise an eyebrow if someone emblazoned the words "Welcome to Incaland" on a sign above the ticket gate. On its own, the 15th century city is everything you hope it will be: a sprawling maze of terraces and stonework, a mountaintop citadel 8,000 feet above the Urubamba River Valley, an ancient marvel. From a distance, it looks just like the postcards.

But up close ... ?

Elbow-to-elbow tourists. A relentless parade of buses. A five-star hotel and a dozen different Wi-Fi signals. It even has its own app. The disappointing truth is that while Machu Picchu is undoubtedly an awesome archaeological spectacle, it's also everything you secretly fear it might be: crowded, noisy, underwhelming. A tourist trap.

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The Other Machu Picchu

But maybe I'm biased. I was already of two minds about visiting Machu Picchu before I booked my trip to Peru. On the one hand, how can you go to Peru and not see Machu Picchu? On the other, is there anywhere in South America that's more famous, more photographed, more Instagrammed? Part of me felt like I'd already experienced Machu Picchu before even setting foot in Peru.

I crave the kind of travel experiences that require trekking poles and a sturdy pair of hiking boots--which is why I rarely find myself among the selfie-stick-toting throngs of sightseers like the ones I saw at Machu Picchu. And it's why the lure of the world's most famous Inca city alone wasn't enough to get me on the plane to South America.

A few years ago I heard about another Inca city on a mountaintop. Like Machu Picchu, it was rediscovered by American explorer Hiram Bingham on one of his early expeditions to South America. And at 10,000 feet, Choquequirao ("cho-kay-kee-rao") is quite a bit higher than Machu Picchu--and a lot less accessible. Therein lay its appeal to me.

The traditional route to Choquequirao requires two days of hiking from the small village of Cachora, about four hours by car from Cusco. This is followed by another four to six days on foot at high altitude before returning to civilization via the Salkantay trek route. No cars, no hotels, no Wi-Fi. There aren't any other options for getting to Choquequirao, either.

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You finish the trek on foot or on a stretcher--that's how my trip leader on the Choquequirao to Machu Picchu trek with G Adventures put it. He wasn't joking, although the truly desperate could hitch a ride on the back of a pack horse.

My guide's nickname was Rambo, and he didn't come by it ironically. "The Choquequirao trek is three times harder than the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu," he said at the outset. Then he reconsidered. "Maybe five times harder."

He wasn't joking about that, either.

A post shared by Josh Roberts (@jauntist) on Aug 4, 2016 at 7:25am PDT

Trekking to Choquequirao with G Adventures

With G Adventures, the Choquequirao to Machu Picchu trek spans about 100 miles over eight unforgiving days and seven long nights in the wilderness. You camp in tents and drink boiled water. You reach a lung-crushing elevation of nearly 14,000 feet, and in the South American winter (when I went) the days are hot and the nights are freezing. A thermal sleeping bag is your best friend. Sunscreen and DEET are your constant companions.

It's not all hardship, though. The endless cascade of snowcapped peaks, distant rivers, and soaring condors keep you putting one step in front of another on the relentlessly uphill-downhill (never flat) trek.

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And then on day three--Choquequirao. The Machu Picchu of a half century ago. No crowds. No roped off areas. Nothing but you and an ancient Inca city in the remote mountains of Peru, with no limits on where you can explore or how long you can spend doing it.

An Inca theme park, this is not.

A post shared by Josh Roberts (@jauntist) on Aug 4, 2016 at 6:07am PDT

To be fair, Choquequirao is smaller than Machu Picchu. It's estimated that only about 40 percent of the site has been restored, and indeed when I crawled through the overgrown jungle separating some of Choquequirao's restored areas I found evidence of Inca stonework that hadn't yet been excavated. Maybe it's just me, but I think that's a selling point.

Choquequirao won't be like this forever, though. In an effort to ease the tourist pressure on Machu Picchu, the Peruvian government recently announced plans to build a cable car to Choquequirao. Preliminary work is underway to rebuild an Inca road between Choquequirao and Machu Picchu that would allow hikers to trek directly from one site to the other on the same route the Incas once walked. More archaeological renovation of the city itself is planned, too.

"Five years ago, you might get one or two groups a month to Choquequirao," Rambo says. "Now, one or two a day. Five years from now ... " He doesn't have to finish the thought. The Choquequirao of the future is going to look an awful lot like the Machu Picchu of today, likely a lot sooner than later.

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Opinions will vary as to whether that's a good thing. I come down on the side of "see it now." It's a tough trek, rated the highest difficulty by G Adventures, but I think most people who exercise regularly could do it. Mind of over matter and all that--your body can handle it as long as you don't let your brain talk you out of it.

And at the end of the trek, you still get to see Machu Picchu and compare the two sites for yourself. Machu Picchu may not be all it's cracked up to be, but it still makes for a great photograph.

A post shared by Josh Roberts (@jauntist) on Jul 27, 2016 at 5:25pm PDT

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Have you ever found yourself grunting or complaining about your job? Have you ever considered leaving work on an afternoon and never returning again? You are not alone. In a survey conducted in 2011 it was reported that 73% of Americans hate their job. Included in that survey could've possibly been your doctor. Yes, your doctor.

Despite the high wages most doctors (including medical doctors, plastic surgeons, those in sedation dentistry and more) bring in each year it has been reported that 300 or more physicians quit each and every year. What's even more saddening is that job satisfaction for doctors it at an all-time low.

So what exactly has led to the decline of satisfaction? It depends on who you ask, but the Dr. Melinda Melinda Hakim, founder of DoctorCPR admits she quit because the impersonal aspect the job had caused her soul to die and she is not alone.

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The question now being posed to patients and even medical students across the world, why would one leave such a stable income? The same reason most people do, and doctors are no different.

Overworked

Many professionals often feel overworked especially early in their careers when they are forced to work in clinics. Instead of spending quality time with each patient that walks through their doors doctors are tasked with making sure they get into see as many patients within an hour. This often leads doctors feeling as if they are having to meet a quota vs. a need.

No Respect

Do you ever feel disrespected while at work? Doctors do too and it's often thanks to patients. Many doctors often complain that while their number one job is to help patients they seem to most often encounter problems with them. Patients tend to view doctors as people "trying to steal their money" and this often leads to disrespectful conversations.

Paperwork

Filing insurance, filing Medicaid, filing patient records and the list goes on of various types of paperwork that doctors must fill out when dealing with patients. More time is often spent on paperwork than on patients.

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Medication Procedures

Patients aren't the only ones who hate medication denials. Doctors do too. When patients are denied certain medications because of their insurance doctors are forced to do additional work in order to identify medications that insurance companies will not deny.

Endless Hours

Many doctors spend many nights on call. This often interrupts the time these doctors have with their families. This can be stressful for doctors who have small children.
DEAR ABBY: About six months ago, I started a new job I really enjoy. A handyman who does odd jobs around the building was working on the floor in my area. He was chatty and I made polite conversation, but now things have escalated.

He has started contacting me on social media to the point where I had to block him. He tries to talk to me daily and I am feeling very uncomfortable. He's twice my age and I have no interest in him, romantically or otherwise.

It has reached the point where I have a great deal of anxiety about going to work. I feel uncomfortable and intimidated. It's especially difficult because I work alone most of the day, so I am nervous he might try to harm me.

How should I approach this without it turning into a huge deal at work? I want to let my manager know, but I'm afraid it'll only cause more issues and make things worse. I'm afraid to make him mad, and afraid about what he might do. Any advice would be great. -- AFRAID HE'LL HARM ME

DEAR AFRAID: Talk to your manager about this immediately. This man should not be attempting to have a personal relationship with you in or out of work. He needs to be told to stop bothering you during work hours or attempting to contact you afterward, because if he doesn't, he could be cited for harassment or lose his job.

DEAR ABBY: I am 23 and a dog sitter. I work through a company that sets up the visits and stay overnight with different families' dogs.

There's one family I sit for regularly. I absolutely love their two dogs and the family themselves. I stay anywhere from two nights to seven nights and work a second job on the weekdays. After walking, feeding, etc. is done, I have a ton of free time.

My dilemma: I'd like my long-term boyfriend to stay with me for a night or two on the weekends. I'm having trouble figuring out how -- or if -- I should ask them. They have never met my boyfriend, but I have proven my own trustworthiness because they keep asking me to come back.

I will go through my boss first, but I'm worried that the family may be offended if I even ask. Should I ask, or should I just let it be since it's part of my job? Help! -- THE DOG SITTER

DEAR DOG SITTER: You are in the dog-sitting BUSINESS, and if you want to be successful, you need to view it as such. Definitely discuss this question with your employer. Because you are working through a company, that company could be liable for any property loss or damage that might occur while your boyfriend was staying in a client's home with you.

But if there's any question in your mind about how asking your clients to have your boyfriend stay with you in their house will be received, don't do it. Some families have moral values that would preclude unmarried couples sleeping together under their roof. For the sake of your own credibility, please consider what I'm trying to convey to you.

DEAR ABBY: I'm curious to know your thoughts regarding this dating situation: If a person has a prosthetic and the device isn't obvious, when and how would you recommend it be disclosed to the dating partner? Is it "too much information" to reveal on a first date? Would it be all right to wait a couple of dates, see how they go, and then reveal the fact? Please help, if you can. -- CURIOUS IN LYNCHBURG

DEAR CURIOUS: I see no reason to reveal something like this on a first -- or even second -- date, and certainly not with a virtual stranger. "Prosthetics" of various kinds are common, but few people are willing to discuss the fact that their appearance has been enhanced with false teeth, caps and veneers, breast implants, Botox or a hair transplant. People are more than a prosthetic, so new acquaintances should get to know the person before receiving that information.

DEAR ABBY: This politically divisive year has fueled a debate in our family. I like to put a political sticker on my car (on a magnet). That way I can remove it when I want. One of my relatives won't ride in my car if I have my sticker on. I say it's my car and I can put what I want on it. He says I should be "sensitive to others' feelings" when they are in the car. What do you think? -- POLITICALLY STUMPED

DEAR POLITICALLY STUMPED: You have a right to exercise your freedom of expression. If your relative prefers not to ride in a car with a bumper sticker advertising "the other" political party, then he or she should feel free to arrange for alternative transportation.

DEAR ABBY: Recently, my husband was asked to be the best man at his friends wedding. The happy couple did not have the financial means to hire a photographer, so I was asked to take pictures of the ceremony and reception.

Im not a professional photographer, and the bride knows that. I gladly photographed the nuptials on the couples big day. Of course, I charged them nothing for doing it. I am now on the receiving end of insulting comments regarding the photos I took. When the bride rudely voiced her displeasure, I was taken aback. I did nothing less than my very best to accommodate her, and I have received nothing but ingratitude and disrespect for my efforts. I believe in keeping commitments I have made. I intend to complete the edits of the original photos and create a wedding album as I promised. However, how do I tactfully address the situation with the bride if she reminds me again of my lack of professional photography skills? SAD NEWBIE PHOTOGRAPHER

DEAR PHOTOGRAPHER: Alas, it seems that no good deed goes unpunished. The next time the bride reminds you, all you have to do is suggest that for the next happy occasion she spend some money and hire a professional instead of hitting up a friend for a freebie and then complaining about the result.

DEAR ABBY: I have a friend, Riley, who is the sweetest woman I know. Shes in her mid-20s and has a stable job, but Im afraid she is setting herself up. She rescues animals that are terminal or nearly so. Shes great with them and should become a veterinarian. A few she has brought back to health, but others just cant be saved.

My concern is that when Riley loses one, she breaks down. She cries for hours on end, but the minute she gets a call, she willingly takes in another one. Shes like a sister to me, and I respect and admire her determination to care for these creatures and give them love when no one else will. How can I nicely say to her that I think she shouldnt accept any more rescues because she will only continue to get more depressed? CONCERNED FRIEND IN GEORGIA

DEAR CONCERNED: There is no nice way to say that to your friend. What you CAN say is that you are concerned about her because of the depression she experiences when she cant save one of her animals. For an animal lover, the loss of a pet is painful and personal, and her reaction isnt unusual.

DEAR ABBY: I am hoping you can clear this up. A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I had some of his family members over for a visit. It was very casual, as usual, more like a Sunday afternoon drop-in. I came out of our room barefoot, because I usually walk around that way in the house. I was scolded by his grandmother and told I was rude to walk around barefoot when there is company. Was she right?  BAREFOOT CONTESSA

DEAR BAREFOOT: No. She was out of line to criticize you. If people choose to go shoeless in their own home, its really nobody elses business.

DEAR ABBY: Im retiring at the end of this year after 50 years of full-time employment and Im very excited about it. Looking back over my life, I see there have been several life-changing events ... marriage, the births of our children, buying a home and, now, retirement.

My wife gets irritated every time I say (about twice a week), When I retire. Im looking forward to all sorts of activities that Ill have time for. Why cant she be excited too? She makes snide remarks like, Well, when you retire, you wont have anything to say. The implication is that all I talk about is my retirement, which isnt true. And if it were true, its a big deal to me. What should I say to my wife?  EXCITED IN MARYLAND

DEAR EXCITED: You might start by asking why her reaction is to rain on your parade about something youre clearly looking forward to. She may be worried about how her life will change once you retire, or she may be a tad jealous. But you wont know until you have a frank conversation with her that isnt passive aggressive or tinged with sarcasm.

DEAR ABBY: I have been in a relationship with a woman, Wendy, for more than a year. She has one child, whose father isnt in the boys life, so I fill the role of his daddy. We are now expecting a child together. Wendy had a bad experience with her ex not wanting anything to do with his child. She also has a friend who has had kids with different men who ended up not treating them the same. Lately, Wendy has been pushing me away and trying to get me to leave. I have no plans to leave and I dont want to.

My question is, how do I make her understand that Im not the same as the other men, and I want to be there for both children?  MAN IN A TOUGH SPOT

DEAR MAN: A marriage proposal and joint premarital counseling might go a long way in helping your girlfriend understand that you arent planning to disappear in a puff of smoke. It might also give you more insight into why she wants to push you away, just in case its because she isnt as serious about you as you are about her.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
"Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. They approach me in a half- hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying directly, How does it feel to be a problem?"

-W.E.B. D Bois The Souls of Black Folk

"How does it feel to be a problem?" William Edward Burghardt Du Bois asked this probing question more than a century ago in the first chapter of his seminal work, The Souls of Black Folk. Naturally, the problem of which Du Bois spoke, the problem of Du Bois' day, revolved around the experience of "the Negro" existing as a "seventh son" of sorts, positioned at the bottom of the totem pole of racial stratification--seated beneath "the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian." As Du Bois mused in his acclaimed work, this seventh son "born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world," uniquely grasped "a true self-consciousness," one that required "measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity." Whether one simply said, "I know an excellent colored man in my town;" or "I fought at Mechanicsville;" or asked, "Do not these Southern outrages make your blood boil?" Du Bois keenly understood those residents of "the other world" all sought a way to frame their underlying question, "How does it feel to be a problem?"

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As Du Bois prophetically opined in 1903, America still grapples with the problem of "the relation of the darker to the lighter races" 240 years since it "launched its improbable experiment in democracy," because "[t]he problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line ..." Three years before Du Bois' inquiry, James Weldon Johnson captured the angst of African Americans navigating the quagmire of America's racial caste system like this, "Stony the road we trod/Bitter the chastening rod/Felt in the days when hope unborn had died ..." This sad lament has reverberated throughout the generations. "How does it feel to be a problem?" the question deserves asking 113 years after Du Bois first posed it, so I ask it today.

Two years ago, former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teen two days from beginning college, after a brief tussle between the two on Canfield Drive. Following their skirmish, Brown's hefty body laid in the street for nearly four and a half hours; blood trickled from his lifeless frame and began soaking the asphalt of the main thoroughfare passing the Canfield Green apartments located on the westside of Ferguson, MO. Onlookers soon gathered to explore the nature of the incident. Their curiosity quickly boiled into frustration, and those frustrations bubbled over into more than 100 consecutive days of protests. Those who sought to "petition the government for a redress of grievances" voiced concerns not only with the death of Michael Brown, but also at a larger system of injustice that deemed them disposable. In his newly published book "Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond," Marc Lamont Hill described it as such:

There was not only Brown's shooting to consider; there was also the aftermath. There was Brown's body, left for hours on the hot pavement, his crimson blood puddling next to his young head, staining the street, flowing in a crisscross pattern, a tributary running slowly to the gutter. Eventually, an officer produced a bedsheet and placed it over Brown's frame, a figure so large that the cover could not shield it all, the oversized teenager's legs left peeking out from the bottom. Though it was early August, a wintry stillness set in over the next four hours, as police officers stood stone-faced and crowds of passers-by gazed in astonishment. While this was happening, Michael Brown remained on the street, discarded like animal entrails behind a butcher shop. As Keisha, a local resident who I interviewed a week after the shooting, said to me, "They just left him there . . . Like he ain't belong to nobody."

As an African American reared below the Mason Dixon, I find significant portions of my personal narrative's arc bending along the color line Du Bois referenced. My mother was born in Memphis, TN during a time where local officials routinely delayed the removal of "White Only" signs from public accommodations, even after federal mandates to do so. My father immigrated to the United States from Ghana in the early 1970s, and upon his arrival, experienced racism and xenophobia at a level in which he still finds difficult to speak of to this day. I spent the bulk of my formative years dutifully attending gatherings in traditional black churches in Tennessee and Georgia respectively. Like scores of my forebears, I found a place to tabernacle with God in those cramped edifices with stained glass windows and creaky floors. The stories of my parents, the stories of my ancestors resonate with me. In many ways, it served as the inspiration behind my latest work--a song entitled The Souls of Black Folk.

The song, and its corresponding video, draws much of its influence from W.E.B. Du Bois' work of the same name. The song is part jazz, part gospel, part spoken word, yet all hip-hop. In many ways, it functions as a contemporary version of Lift Ev'ry Voice. Consequently, its content wrestles with the collective plight of African Americans seeking to overcome the nation's tortuous endeavor to "the [relate] ... the darker to the lighter races."

In the song's corresponding video, I play a pastor of a church whose building is bombed by people angered by the pastor's community activism. In so doing, the video captures the harrowing reality African Americans have endured for centuries, particularly as it relates to the terror imposed by reoccurring attacks on traditional black churches. The video debuted on the second anniversary of Michael Brown's death as a means to further communicate how the struggle to rise above the color line persists. For centuries, the color line has robbed people of their humanity. Here is my contribution to help us rise above it.
How, I've often wondered, can people who have spent their lives working in an institution, particularly in the military or some other part of the national security state, retire and suddenly see that same institution in a different and far more negative light? Once outside, they become, in essence, critics of their former selves. I've long had a private term for this curious phenomenon: retirement syndrome.

Perhaps the most striking example of (edge-of-)retirement syndrome in modern American history was former five-star general Dwight D. Eisenhower. As president, he presided over a vast expansion of the national security state and the military, including its nuclear arsenal, while a growing set of weapons makers and other defense-related outfits were embedding themselves in Washington in a big way. On January 17, 1961, just before he was to end his second term in office and leave public life forever, he gave a "farewell address" to the nation warning -- out of the blue -- of a potential loss of American liberties in part because:

"We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations. This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience... In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

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Few could have said it better, then or now. In the process, he gave an unforgettable name -- "the military-industrial complex" -- to a growing danger in American life. The question remained, however: Why exactly had he waited until his criticisms lacked all the force that power can offer? He was, after all, president and commander-in-chief. In this, however, he would hardly prove unique. Take, for example, four-star general George Lee Butler, who from 1991 to 1994 was the last commander of the Air Force's Strategic Air Command and commander in chief of the U.S. Strategic Command, which, as he later explained, "controls all Navy and Air Force nuclear weapons." In 1996 at the National Press Club in Washington, two years after he retired, he spoke out forcefully against the very weapons he had so recently overseen, pointing out that, "over the last 27 years of my military career, I was embroiled in every aspect of American nuclear policy making and force structuring, from the highest councils of government to nuclear command centers; from the arms control arena to cramped bomber cockpits and the confines of ballistic missile silos and submarines." He then called for the "elimination" of such weapons. Ever since then, he has been a forceful anti-nuclear advocate, terming such weaponry a "scourge" to the planet and an immoral danger to humanity.

Then there's William Perry, who spent decades inside the national security state working on nuclear issues. As undersecretary of defense for research and engineering under President Jimmy Carter, and secretary of defense under President Bill Clinton, he, too, oversaw a major nuclear build-up including, as California Governor Jerry Brown writes in a recent review of Perry's new memoir, My Journey at the Nuclear Brink, helping "launch the B-2, a strategic nuclear bomber, capable of use in both nuclear and nonnuclear missions; revitalized the aging B-52 with air-launched cruise missiles; put[ting] the Trident submarine program back on track; and [making] an ill-fated attempt to bring the MX ICBM, a ten-warhead missile, into operation." Like Butler, Perry has now gone into full-scale anti-nuclear mode, publicly speaking out against the arsenal he had such a hand in building and the sort of devastation that nuclear terrorism, a nuclear war between India and Pakistan, or a new Cold War with Russia might lead to.

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On January 17, 2016 the United States government agreed to pay the Iranian government $400 million plus approximately $1.3 billion in accumulated interest. On the same day, a plane filled with Swiss francs, euros, and other foreign currencies was dispatched from the US and was unloaded at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport. Also on that day, four American hostages were released. If only these three facts are taken into consideration, then the American government would have looked like it was paying a ransom to a foreign government, without any approval from Congress.

But this is not the case. The $400 million in question was placed in a Pentagon trust fund by the regime of Shah Pahlavi before the Iranian revolution. To be used towards the purchase of fighter jets, spare parts, and other military hardware from the US. After an article was published in the Ettela'at newspaper on January 7, 1978, Iranian students began to protest. And the protest grew into a nationwide revolution, deposing Pahlavi and making Ayatollah Khomeini the spiritual leader of the Iranian people; creating the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Following these events, and the taking of 52 American hostages from the US Embassy on November 4, 1979, the US government refused to deliver any military hardware to the Iranian government. But the US also did not return the $400 million down payment. Then on November 14, 1979 President Carter signed Executive Order 12170. Freezing all Iranian assets held in the US, including the money held in the trust fund. Events at the time may have made these US actions prudent, but it does not change the fact that the $400 million did not belong to America.

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To resolve the conflict, a third party was brought in to mediate the issues between Iran and the US. And on January 19, 1981 the Algiers Accord was signed by the US and Iranian officials. The accord called for the establishment of a tribunal, later named the Iran - United States Claims Tribunal (IUSCT); as well as the un-freezing of many Iranian assets immediately following the signing. The Algiers Accord stated that if both sides could not come to an agreement outside of the tribunal, then both sides would submit to the arbitration of the tribunal in disputes.

When Barack Obama began his second term as President, the IUSCT had yet to finalize a ruling on the $400 million payment. Rather than waiting for the IUSCT ruling, which could have been very harsh towards the US, the Obama administration decided to try and negotiate an out of court settlement. These negotiations were held concurrently with a negotiation on Iran's nuclear program, and a negotiation to free four US citizens held hostage in Iran. These were concurrent negotiations, not complementary negotiations.

As for the timing of the payment, the fact that the hostages were not released until the initial payment landed on Iranian soil. I can see how many people would find that coincidental, if they do not know much about the history of Iran. The blatant attempts by Iran in the past to control the timing of events to manipulate perception and give them propaganda are numerous. The prime example is not releasing the 52 Embassy hostages until the day that Reagan was sworn in as President, and not a day sooner; because of all their previous anti-Carter propaganda.

And the method of transfer for the funds? American law (which is made by Congress) at the time of the transfer still prohibited US and foreign banks from dealing in dollars with Iran. Due to a lack of an established banking relationship between the US and Iran, there was no path to wire the money to Tehran. And why there were no dollars on board the airplane on January 17, 2016.

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If you are a 65+ something or know someone around this age who owns a life insurance policy, you may be able to sell it for an upfront payout. Say what???? Yep, this nifty idea is called a Life Settlement. Like your house or your car, your life insurance is an asset which can be sold to someone else. Pretty cool, right?





How it works:

It sounds a bit crazy, but there are legitimate financial companies that will pay you if you no longer want your policy. Life settlements have actually been around for many decades and Uncle Sam heavily regulates the industry today.

The industry average payout for a policy that is sold is around 20% of the policy's benefit value. Once the transaction is done, the investor becomes responsible for paying the ongoing premiums and the investor collects the benefit when you pass away. This little fact is super important for consumers to know about because most life insurance policies never actually end up paying out a claim.

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Here are some of the most common reasons why people sell their policies:

1. They no longer need the coverage

You usually buy life insurance to protect your loved ones in case you pass away early. As time passes, that need for protection can change. When your children are all grown up and financially independent, you may no longer need the insurance. Similarly, your spouse no longer needs the protection because you've saved enough for retirement to essentially "self-insure". When you outgrow the original purpose, it can make sense to consider selling the life insurance policy and putting the money you make to good use.

2. The premiums are too expensive

Retirees may not have the same income and financial cushion to keep paying their life insurance premiums. Spending part of a monthly budget towards an insurance policy may not be the best use of your piggy bank. This is especially true for certain types of insurance where the premium increases with age. Over time, the costs to upkeep a policy may just be too expensive to maintain the plan. Consider the cost of giving up the insurance coverage versus the benefit of eliminating the premium payments and getting an upfront payout.

3. They want to fund a better retirement

In some cases, people may decide to sell the life insurance policy to fund their retirement. Peter Colis, the CEO of Ovid, a life settlement company, explains "The most common reason people come to us is to improve their quality of life. We like giving customers a large payout instead of the customer lapsing and losing their life insurance policy. We help people fill their retirement account, pay for medical costs, buy a vacation home and many other things."

Instead of paying someone for something you most likely won't need anytime soon, you have the potential to enjoy your retirement with some extra cash. Of course, make sure that you are financially secure to begin with. Consider selling and get ready for some fun!



How to proceed:

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Selling a life insurance policy is no simple task. A good starting point is to learn about the various types of life settlement companies involved in the process. If you become serious about pursuing the option, you should consult with your financial advisor to see if it makes sense for your situation. Selling is a big decision but has the potential to make your golden years even more relaxing and fun.
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Heading towards the presidential election in November, the world is paying attention to the fierce battle ensuing between the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, and the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. Particular attention is being paid to the speech and conduct of candidate Trump.

On the one hand, President Obama, with less than half a year left in office, is becoming increasingly detached from the process as a "lame duck" president. In light of this, many theses summarizing "The Age of Obama" have been emerging from think tanks and researchers. Though met with little interest in the United States, as U.S. President, Barack Obama has taken up numerous strategies, including restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba and Iran, as well as being the first sitting president to visit Hiroshima. All of these actions are historically significant to the affected countries.

Particularly ground-breaking among these actions was his first visit to Hiroshima, a city on which the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb that took the lives of countless residents. This visit had great significance not only for the atomic-bomb victims and their families, but also for the Japanese government and citizens of Japan. It was, in front of the Atomic Dome, a moment of true reconciliation between two countries that once fought each other to the death as bitter enemies.

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There were concerned voices in the U.S. that Japan was seeking an apology from President Obama; however, these concerns were unfounded. After a historic 17 minute speech, he embraced the victims before the Atomic Dome, a moment 70 years in the making in which the United States of America and Japan finally reached true reconciliation.



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However, in contrast to this reconciliation, South Korea has, on the other hand, had an implausible reaction. South Korea, as a victim itself, sent its own delegation of atomic bomb survivors to Hiroshima during President Obama's visit. Additionally, the group demanded that as president he should apologize to South Korea. Of course, this rude demand was not fulfilled and is just another fact that reveals South Korea is the source of U.S. headaches in Asia.

It goes without saying that President Obama's visit to Hiroshima is a move towards resolving an issue that has long been taboo between the United States and Japan. Though it is a fact that there were American prisoners and Korean soldiers within the Japanese military when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it is South Koreans who--during a time of historical reconciliation between the U.S. and Japan--are not only interfering with that process, but also calmly thrusting the demand that "South Koreans were victims as well and deserve an apology."

With a more powerful China every rapidly altering the status quo, the most important factor in dealing with this is close cooperation between U.S., Japan, and South Korea as partners in Asia.

However, through these actions by South Korea, they are disrupting Japan-South Korean relations and United States-Korean relations, giving rise to schisms in these trilateral relationships that will ultimately be utilized by China.

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Last year, Mark Lippert, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, was attacked and received life threatening injuries, putting doubt into the U.S.'s plans to deploy THAAD missiles to protect South Korea from missiles threats. In this state of affairs, the United States and Japan cannot deepen their alliance with South Korea. President Obama has worked tenaciously to bring about reconciliation between the United States and Japan; however, South Korea does not recognize these efforts.
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Entrepreneurship In Music: Mideast Tunes

Here Mideast Tunes founder and civil rights activist Esra'a Al-Shafei discusses her new music streaming platform and its goal of promoting social change as well as the work of underground artists from the Middle East and North Africa.

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Guest Post by Jeremy Young on Soundfly's Flypaper

"We want our humanity and our futures in our own hands and we use the internet and other forms of technology to fight for those rights."  Esraa Al-Shafei

Mideast Tunes is a music streaming platform promoting social change and cultural dialogue by promoting the work of underground artists from the Middle East and North Africa. This website unites musicians and listeners across the boundaries of faith, ethnicity, and location, and since 2010, has become a primary destination for discovering thousands of up-and-coming artists from the region.

Founder Esraa Al-Shafei is a Bahraini civil rights activist and a defender of free speech. Through her Mideast Tunes and its parent organization Majal, as well as her blog, she works to promote diversity, justice, and inclusion . Her 2011 TEDx interview, which does not show her face, is a powerful meditation on censorship in the Middle East and the ways in which the internet can uphold speech rights globally. Among other accolades, she is a recipient of the Berkman Award from Harvard Universitys Berkman Center for Internet and Society for outstanding contributions to the internet and its impact on society, and is currently a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow. In 2011, Esraa was featured in Fast Company as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business and awarded the Monaco Media Prize, which acknowledges innovative uses of media for the betterment of humanity. In 2015 Esraa received the Most Courageous Media award from Free Press Unlimited.

She took a minute recently to tell us about how a music streaming app has the power to change the way we interact with each other as a global community

Were there any early endorsers to Mideast Tunes who helped spread the word?

Yes, we got early endorsements from bands such as Smouldering in Forgotten, Bahram,Ghogha, Fouad Manshadi, and Checkpoint 303, amongst others, who helped us spread the word about the platform, and we credit such artists for our early success.

Can you briefly explain Mideast Tunes mission?

Mideast Tunes mission is to unite people across social, political, and religious barriers by creating constructive discourse through music. Through this platform, we wish to reinforced the value of music as more than just a creative outlet, but as a social tool that amplifies the voices of marginalized communities, especially youth, in a way that transforms the entire narrative around the Middle East and North Africa.

The social change aspect of Mideast Tunes comes from the fact that the majority of artists featured are using music for the purpose of social justice advocacy and political commentary. Many of the artists are from minority communities who face multiple barriers in their search for expression.

How does the signup process work for bands?

Artists have their own sign up button on the site. They simply complete their profiles and add their bios, photos, videos, tracks, and any other information (such as iTunes presence) and we verify the band in the backend to ensure that its legit. That process typically takes a day or two before their music goes live. Afterwards, bands are able to login to make the necessary updates (adding/removing tracks and so on).

Finding out about your platform led me to begin thinking what the music streaming industry is like in the Middle East currently Is there competition form Western streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music in the market?

We dont really think of competition because our vision is completely different than subscription-based streaming services. Were here to make meaningful, powerful, and often underrated music available in ways it otherwise wouldnt be, and were a nonprofit. Currently, theres no other organization in the region doing this at our scale.

Streaming services are slowly gaining popularity in the Middle East, especially niche-based applications. The adoption rate is much slower than it is in the West, but it is steadily gaining traction and widespread users amongst local music fans.

How would you define the term underground music as it pertains to the music industry in the Middle East?

Underground music in the Middle East has the same definition as it does abroad: Its primarily non-commercial and goes beyond what is generally accepted in mainstream media. One addition would be that a lot of this music is also censored in parts of the region. Either entire genres are frowned upon, such as heavy metal in places like Saudi Arabia and Yemen; and lyrics that are anti-regime, in places like Syria, Morocco, and Egypt, can even land artists behind bars. Many artists across the MENA region face the same censorship as journalists do.

How do you work directly with artists to promote their work internationally?

We connect them with international press  our artists are often featured anywhere from magazines in Spain to BBC Radio. And a number of filmmakers have gotten in touch with us directly to request introductions to artists whose music they wanted to feature in their films. So the platform has become a haven of discovery for indie music from the region.

Have there been any great success stories?

Yes, one of the first artists to register to Mideast Tunes was from Iran (Foad Manshadi) who ended up being featured on NPR, Fast Company, and other publications as a result of being on the platform. Upon this discovery, he ended up getting other opportunities like being featured on the soundtrack of the FX drama Sons of Anarchy. We have also seen a lot of artists being discovered on the platform by major musicians, like Peter Gabriel, who connect the artists with international festivals.

Alternatively, have there been any unfortunate hurdles or setbacks, due to featuring both religious and secular styles of music on the same site?

Not really. The only issue weve had is that some Turkish artists did not want to share the platform with Kurdish musicians, and who felt threatened by the fact that we list Kurdistan as its own country on the site.

In the same vein, did your business face any challenges in its route to growth?

As a nonprofit still searching for the best way to sustain our growth, our biggest challenge is of course finding the financial means to continue expanding. But the demand for the platform both amongst artists and listeners continues to increase.

How have you worked to grow the business? Did you have to raise investment up front?

We iterate the platform on a monthly basis and work incredibly hard to meet the needs of our users and artists. Its not an easy or cheap task, and the project remains largely self-funded. Its worth noting that we also dont have any full-time staff due to lack of resources, so much of what you see is a labor of love from our amazing volunteers.

We started out with no personal artistic networks. We still barely have any. We work directly with our fans and our artists to keep growing  and thats why weve been growing so fast.

How much of your team are musicians themselves?

We work remotely, and as mentioned previously, weve no full-time staff, but rather volunteers. Many of the volunteers are musicians themselves, but most of them are fans who truly believe in our vision and the crucial role music plays in our societies.

What would be your best advice for aspiring musicians these days?

Dont ask for permission, and dont wait for validation. If theres an idea in your head, and you could demonstrate that there is a real need for it in your society, commit to it regardless of lack of resources or outside support. Its amazing what persistence can achieve after years of nonstop work and dedication.

If youre interested in hearing more about pioneering new music initiatives, check out the full Entrepreneurship in Music series!

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How Much Does Social Media Actually Impact A Bands Draw?

When promoting a show via social media, it can be difficult to tell how much rampant posting across the various platforms actually translates into attendance at shows. Ultimately, it does make a difference, but using said platforms correctly affects dramatically affects the size of that difference.

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Guest Post by Jhoni Jackson on the Sonicbids Blog

It's always discouraging when turnout at your gig is lower than you expected, but it's especially disheartening when your hopes were extra heightened after seeing a high number of responses to your Facebook event. Of all the users who clicked going, only a small fraction actually showed. Were you wrong to think those numbers meant anything?

In a situation like that, it may seem like social media has little effect on your draw. According to the Pew Research Center, though, your posts on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms do help.A 2013 study showed a 33 percent spike in event attendance among adults who follow a music, dance, or theatrical group on social media.

But note that the survey wasn't solely about bands, and it didn't specify what kind of social wasn't only about Facebook events, either. Unfortunately, there isn't much legit research on the subject otherwise.

While we do believe that promoting your shows and music on social media is beneficial to gig turnout, it's a little more complicated than that. Miami musicians June Summer and Augie Pink, both of the garage-pop band Plastic Pinks, feel similarly.

In all honesty, social media is very important, says June Summer, vocalist for Miami garage-pop band Plastic Pinks. Promoting events through it sometimes works better than flyers and posters  even though we use both ways to promote. It creates awareness and curiosity which will ultimately benefit bands, promoters, and events.

He and his brother, Augie Pink, founded Plastic Pinks late in 2012. The pair also recently launched Ghost Drag, a record label and company covering booking, management, and other artists' needs.

Augie Pink doesn't find Facebook event numbers to be totally reliable. Instead, he sees the events as a way of keeping potential show-goers engaged and up to date.

A lot of the times people just say 'going' to be able to get more info on the shows and end up not going, he says. But the same way happens vice-versa: people don't join the event, yet know exactly when the show is and make sure to go.

June Summer adds, If your event page doesn't have any traffic, you can think that the show will do bad, but if the venue has a built-in crowd, it doesn't really matter. An event page might be doing great, but then people just don't show up.

"It's good to use all tools and it does provide some type of insight to what you will be working with. I would say it's a better way of knowing how good you are promoting more than how well you are doing at the show.

Our advice: If you're doubting the influence of social media on your draw, it may be time to reevaluate how you're using it.

Read our guide to promoting your music here  you'll find tips for better social media results and info specific to show promotion. We've also got a 10-step plan for show promo perfection available here.

Jhoni Jackson is an Atlanta-bred music journalist currently based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she juggles owning a venue called Club 77, freelance writing and, of course, going to the beach as often as possible.

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New Britain insurance agent Gabriel Dominguez had his license revoked after a year-long investigation by the Connecticut Insurance Department revealed that he had defrauded two insurance carriers between 2014 and 2015.Dominguez, who has addresses in Waterbury and New Britain, defrauded two insurers of tens of thousands of dollars, and almost defrauded a third, the state Department of Insurance said.According to the complaint, Chesapeake Life Insurance Company paid Dominguez advanced commissions $48,192 for 40 insurance policies submitted July 2014. The complaint noted that the policies were for fictitious individuals.The state Insurance Department also said that the 83 names whom Dominguez signed up for 145 accident and sickness policies from Combined Insurance Company between March and June in 2015 were also fabricated. Combined Insurance terminated Dominguez's contract upon learning of the fraud, which kick-started the departments investigation.Dominguez defrauded Combined Insurance of $63,898 with those policies, of which $25,245 was repaid. He told the company he would start paying back the rest in January 2016."[He] never made a single payment to Combined Insurance," the complaint said.Dominguez fraud hurt his customers as well, reported the Hartford Courant.A customer identified only as Sarah said that she thought she had purchased an ACA-compliant individual health insurance policy from Dominguez back in Jan. 2014. Dominguez, however, sold her a critical illness plan and a hospital insurance planboth designed only to be supplemental to a regular insurance policy.Sarah learned too late that her coverage was inadequate when she got pregnant. The complaint said that she called Dominguez a number of times to resolve the claims, but he later stopped answering her calls."As a result, Sarah now has massive medical bills, poor credit and is being contacted weekly by collection agencies," the complaint pointed out.Several other men and a woman in Hartford and East Hartford were similarly sold supplemental policies when they asked for comprehensive insurance.There was no response from Dominguez when he was issued a notice by the department that it would hold a hearing August on revoking his license. No criminal charges were pressed against him.
The Internet of Things is exploding. Billions of connected smart devices, from FitBit chips to mobile trackers used by trucking companies, use wireless technology to communicate and streamline personal and commercial processes. Its already growing at breakneck speed, and is projected to fundamentally change business as it reaches 200 billion objects  or 26 smart devices per person  by 2020.Yet much of the insurance industry is turning a blind eye. In a July speech, Brian Murdock, managing director of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee at AIG , told listeners that the Internet of Things is something that for most of us is completely new or something we know very little about.He went on to say the changes ushered in by IoT are causing scary and uncertain times for insurance.Kevin Meagher, senior vice president of business development at SmartHome-as-a -Service firm ROC-Connect, puts it more bluntly.Insurance companies have a huge problem, and a really bad business model for the modern age, Meagher told Insurance Business America. The world is going digital and yet they have a relationship with consumers where they talk to each other maybe once a year, and concerns over price mean neither are happy. Thats not good business.Meagher, who speaks frequently with insurers, says most either ignore IoT  as suggested by Murdock  or view the developments as positive or negative only. In reality, its both.The most obvious consequences of IoT for insurance companies are helpful ones.Insurers will generally come at it from an actuarial standpoint, and say If I could have connected leak and fire centers in each of my customers homes, how much would that save me in potential losses? Meagher said. Smarter insurers consider consumer engagement as well. Having smart devices in the home means they can stop being reactive and start bundling their products with services that will help them proactively manage risk in a way consumers would welcome. In that way, youre interacting with your customer almost daily.Yet that very same improved risk management can harm some of insurance companies most lucrative product lines, particularly personal and commercial property. Much like the effect of driverless cars on auto insurance, home and business IoT eliminates a significant amount of risk, changing algorithms and decreasing premium.It also sets up non-traditional firms as competitors to insurance companies.Imagine if a company like Google collected all the data from all these devices and crunched it into their algorithms, Meagher said. How long would it be before those algorithms become much more sophisticated than the ones insurers have been developing on less data for hundreds of years? I dont think it would take very long for those algorithms to make the ones insurance companies have been developing for hundreds of years look archaic.Yet insurers could have a real future in the new, IoT-dominated world provided they take the right approach. By developing relationships with home service providers such as plumbers, electricians or roofers, insurers can open up a new revenue stream in which they recommend these services to policyholders when there is a problem.Agents and brokers, too, have a future. Meagher likened producer services under IoT to those of a concierge, in which they will be able to offer and sell many services apart from insurance.In that case, two things happen: brokers get a lot more revenue and they become a lot more important to the customer, he said. When theyre providing multiple services and offering more advice, they become a more ingrained asset in providing service.
by Michael MataThe life insurance policies taken out by San Bernardino terrorist shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, which have a combined worth of $275,000, are subject to government seizure, a federal judge has ruled. The two policiesthe first worth $25,000 and the second worth $250,000listed Farooks mother, Rafia Farook, as the beneficiary.Instead of going to the beneficiary, the money has been deposited with the court clerk, where it will remain until further orders. According to court documents, the money was deposited in June by the insurance company, which had separately challenged the payout of the claims.On August 5, US District Judge Jesus G. Bernal ruled that the forfeiture could be disputed with a claim filed within 35-60 days, depending on the type of notice received about the order.Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit against Farooks family on May 31, 2016, which allowed them to seize the proceeds of the two life insurance policies as well as the policies. The following June, Minnesota Life Insurance alleged that Rafia Farook was aware of her sons planned terrorist attack and should not be entitled to the benefits from both policies. Bernals ruling was not on the Minnesota Life Insurance lawsuit, but was on the federal lawsuit filed in May.The Los Angeles US Attorneys Offices civil asset forfeiture lawsuit stated that the government wanted to use the insurance money to benefit the surviving victims of the terrorist attack as well as the family members of those whod died.Rafia Farook was living in an apartment in Redlands with her son and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, when the terrorist attack occurred on December 2, 2015, at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. The attack killed 14 people and seriously wounded 22. It was the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil until the Orlando nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016.
by Michael MataMelissa Grimmesey, a former licensed insurance agent in Santa Maria, was scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, August 10, at 8:30AM in the Santa Maria Division Courthouse Department 9, in Santa Barbara County. Grimmesey was charged with nine felony counts, including one count of grand theft, one count of embezzlement, one count of theft of funds by a fiduciary, five counts of identity theft, and one count of unauthorized access to a computer system.Grimmesey was employed as a customer service representative for an unnamed insurance agency where she allegedly stole premiums from policyholders who paid cash for insurance premiums. She then used the other customers credit cards to repay the stolen premiums. Grimmesey recorded the cash payments in the computer system, then deleted them at a later date to avoid being caught."Grimmesey's alleged crimes left some policyholders without coverage and at financial risk to loss," stated California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. "Consumers should check their credit card statements regularly for any unauthorized transactions and make sure they receive an actual policy from the insurance company after paying a premium."The case is being prosecuted by the Santa Barbara County District Attorneys office, notes the official press release from the California Department of Insurance
Interim Superintendent Robert Putnam, right, sat down with the Selectmen on Wednesday.

New ACRSD Superintendent Gets Feedback From Adams Selectmen

ADAMS, Mass.  The regional school district's new leader is going above and beyond in keeping communication lines open with town officials



Robert Putnam, interim superintendent for the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, was back in front of the board on Wednesday for the second time since being appointed July 1.



He has been interviewing residents, administrators and school staff to get a better understanding of the communities and school district. He's also met with the Cheshire Selectmen.



On Wednesday, he told the board at its workshop meeting that he wants to set a clear path for district and stabilize it.



"My goal is to set the district up so me or someone else knows the challenges facing the district and start plotting the course that either I will continue to work on or someone else," Putnam said. "Because regardless of who is in here the issues we face need to be dealt with is year."



Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco agreed and said going forward, the district and town have to change their tune when it comes to political arguments involving issues with charter school funding and transportation reimbursement. He said the issue is much grimmer.



"If the charter school and McCann [Technical School] were gone tomorrow and we received 100 percent for regional transportation our situation really wouldn't change," Mazzucco said. "We would have a couple years of stability but it really would not make much of a difference."



He said the only way to really make changes is to make the state understand that education is not equal in Adams.



"In Adams today, and Cheshire to an extent, a kid will not get the same quality education that they would get in a wealthier community in the eastern part of the state and fundamentally education is supposed to be right to every kid in the commonwealth," Mazzucco said. "It is a social justice issue and if we don't push that way with Boston we are never going to get any air time ... we have to start screaming louder and at more and more people in the state to get them to understand it is unjust."



Before the Selectmen went through a set of prepared questions Putnam had provided them, Selectman Jeffrey Snoonian asked what Putnam's immediate goals were for the upcoming school year, specifically in regards to the state leveling of the district.



Putnam said currently the district is a Level 3 based on student proficiency but he does not anticipate it dropping to a 4, even if the recent standardized test scores come in lower. Because the district switched from Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System to the pilot Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, the state allows them to be "held harmless" for a year.



He said there are many great programs already implemented in the district that are showing promise with increased scoring. He said he plans to strengthen these programs and keep students progressing throughout their time in the district.



Snoonian said he felt that despite the district's issues, many students are successful and are accepted into great schools and institutions. This says a lot about the teachers who have to split their attention between struggling students and those thriving, he said.



Selectman Arthur "Skip" Harrington agreed and said the staff is a huge strength in the district.



"I think we have a highly motivated group of educators, and they are very well supported by the administration and the communities," he said. "They are very dedicated and they work very hard and given maybe some new direction you may see even greater things."



Putnam said he wants to strengthen the quality of instruction with improved teacher evaluation and more feedback.



Selectman Joseph Nowak said teachers are able to communicate well with their students, but also noted that the community as a whole comes together to support those going through tough times at the school. Selectman Richard Blanchard said that despite fiscal challenges, the town, and elected officials are committed to providing the best education possible.



As for challenges facing the district, Snoonian was concerned about increasing health insurance costs that have both the town and district in dire financial straits.



He said this seems to be an issue for all public high schools and thought it would be worth exploring ways to regionalize with surrounding public institutions to attract students.



Snoonian and Blanchard felt the district was improving and going in the right direction, if perhaps slowly. Nowak, too, said it was moving but not in any specific direction because of a changing society and economic restraints facing the town.



Harrington said this is a challenge for many public high schools.



"Everyone is in a boat and that boat is going somewhere, and I am not sure where our boat is going up here," he said. "Sometimes I feel like our boat up here is rudderless or there is no one at the rudder. There is no clear direction."



As for what the district must maintain, Snoonian and Nowak felt the schools must hold on to extracurricular activities.



"School other than being a place where students learn, also has to be an institution where children can go to have fun," Nowak said. "I think that comes in with arts and sports."



The Selectmen also wanted the town to ensure maintenance of the school buildings, such as fixing C.T. Plunkett's roof so it doesn't become a costly project like the vacant Memorial School.



"Plunkett is the town's building and ... I think it becomes a much bigger expense for the town if we don't take care of it," Harrington said. "We can't tell the school what books to buy or what money to cut from the teachers' salary ... but we ought to look at a way to make the town responsible for maintenance in conjunction with the school."



Both Snoonian and Nowak asked if there was a way to reduce special education costs, especially when a child needs to be sent to a special school or institution at the district's expense.



Putnam said there is not much the school can do about this and grants can be quickly used up by a few students. He said the district can only improve programming in attempt to keep students with special needs in the community.



Putnam thanked the Selectmen for the input and said he looked forward to speaking with them again.
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Singapore and Montreal, 11 August 2016  ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu stressed the critical importance of partnership and cooperation among local States in order to help ensure that Asia-Pacific traffic growth is managed safely and efficiently, during her recent official visit to Singapore.

She commended Singapore as a leading State in the effective implementation of ICAOs Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), and encouraged its enhanced cooperation and partnership with States in the Region to build aviation capacity.

Singapore has been excelling in their adoption of Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) and the enhancement of their overall Air Navigation Services (ANS), Dr. Liu highlighted. In light of the constant and quite rapid increase in air traffic volumes now being seen in the Asia and Pacific Region, Singapores experience and best practices will be of great value to neighbouring States as they embark on similar enhancements to aid the safety and efficiency of Asia-Pacific civil aviation.

In her meeting with Mr. Khaw Boon Wan, Singapores Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport, Dr. Liu discussed ICAOs role in improving aviation safety and security compliance in States, as per the objectives of the UN agencys No Country Left Behind initiative, as well as the important contributions which Singapore is making in terms of local capacity-building and human resources development.

ICAO greatly appreciates that the Singapore Aviation Academy (SAA) conducts over 120 aviation programmes annually for over 90,000 participants from 200 countries and territories, as well as training fellowships and scholarships to some 7,000 participants, Dr. Liu remarked. Engaging and empowering youth to pursue technically challenging skilled aviation careers is a key global priority for ICAO under its Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) Programme, and it is our hope that Singapore can play an even bigger role in supporting other Asia-Pacific States as they jointly seek to build aviation capacity and improve their adoption and compliance with ICAOs global provisions.

She added that ICAOs Asia and Pacific (APAC) Regional Office in Bangkok is playing a key role in helping the regions States to develop deeper cooperation on their civil aviation planning and programmes, and we will be looking to drive further collaborations with Singapore going forward so that its knowledge and expertise can be shared more extensively.

Dr. Liu also held productive discussions during her trip to Singapore with Mr. Pang Kin Keong, Permanent Secretary of its Ministry of Transport, and Mr. Lee Hsien Yang, the Chairman of the countrys Civil Aviation Authority, regarding support from Singapore to ICAO programmes and collaborative work with States for safe, efficient and sustainable air transport.

Dr. Liu received an additional briefing during her mission from Mr. Kevin Shum, Singapores Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on various civil aviation activities now ongoing in Singapore, including efforts to improve aviation safety and Air Traffic Management (ATM), and aspects of the Changi Airport Master Plan.



Resources for Editors



ICAO's Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) programme

ICAOs Global Aviation Training (GAT) Office

ICAOs No Country Left Behind programme

Contacts



Anthony Philbin

Chief, Communications

aphilbin@icao.int

+1 (514) 954-8220

+1 (438) 402-8886 (mobile)

Twitter: @ICAO



William Raillant-Clark

Communications Officer

wraillantclark@icao.int

+1 514-954-6705

+1 514 409-0705

Twitter: @wraillantclark




iciHaiti - FLASH : Arrest of Principal Inspector of the PNH, Wilbert Emile





Wednesday at the balance sheet of the Central Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ), Garry Desrosiers, Deputy Spokesman of the National Police of Haiti announced that on July 26, agents of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) arrested the Principal Inspector of the PNH, Wilbert Emile, on charges of homicide, port and illegal possession of firearms, weapons and drug trafficking.



When arrested, police found in his vehicle around 9 kg of marijuana and an illegal weapon that would have served for the murder of Inspector Placide Jean-Louis in February 2016. In addition, Jean Manold Victoria a recidivist thug well known to police, was arrested while he was on board the vehicle of the Principal Inspector Emile.



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iciHaiti - Diaspora : 3rd Edition Hoodstock Black Summit





Montreal North residents are organizing the 3rd edition of the Social Forum Hoodstock entitled this year "Black Summit", to denounce anti-black racism and particularly police brutality against black people.



Over the course of the editions, Hoodstock has become a unifying, citizen and constructive event that builds bridges between communities. It is an event that raises the awareness of the struggles against all forms of discrimination, abuse and inequality and helps to channel the forces in order to find solutions and allow the population to organize itself. Hoodstock is also a space to freely address issues of our neighbourhood.



Lecturers and artists from around the world: Brazil, Haiti, United States, France and Quebec are on the agenda to celebrate cultural diversity.



A special place is devoted to children with a space for creation, awareness and learning. On the menu: workshops, games, readings and youth conferences, accessible to all.



A rendezvous not to be missed : Saturday, August 13 from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. at Henri-Bourassa Park, Montreal



Event program : www.hoodstock.ca/conferences-ateliers (in french)



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Some Sherlockian Sillies. (Privately printed, Boston, 1997) About three years ago, we shared a list of the Top 10 Most Suggestive Lines from the Sherlock Holmes Stories . This was from a little publication we assembled some two decades prior called. (Privately printed, Boston, 1997)





The Baker Street Journal rejected it (not surprising, as straight-laced BSI editor Julian Wolff, BSI ("The Red-Headed League") was likely red-faced after John's reading at the dinner). Imagine our delight when we were alerted to the existence of a paper along those same lines that John Bennett Shaw delivered to the Baker Street Irregulars, which later ended up in print. We later discovered thatrejected it (not surprising, as straight-laced BSI editor Julian Wolff, BSI ("The Red-Headed League") was likely red-faced after John's reading at the dinner).





But after this rejection, the essay landed in the hands of young Bruce Kennedy, BSI ("Bannister"), who edited a publication called Shades of Sherlock. This particular essay appeared in Number 18, from August 14, 1971, which we effortlessly tracked down on eBay.







"My position is that you and anyone and anyone to come after us can use, re-use but not without attribution anydamnthing my father ever wrote. He wrote it for you, for me and for anyone and everyone who had the time and good will to read it." After receiving permission from John Bennett Shaw's children, we're reproducing it here. And just for fun, here's the Shaws' response:

We're glad to see the Shaw apples didn't fall too far from the tree.





So then, without further ado, we bring you this long-forgotten and ribald work.





WARNING: there is some risque material below. While this is typically a family publication, we must provide an advance alert. If you're offended by off-color material  well, first we're sorry for you, as you might not get as much humor out of life  and second, you might want to hit the "back" button on your browser. But why miss out? Consider yourself forewarned.





Editorial

On January 8, 1971, the annual dinner of the Baker Street Irregulars was held at the Player's Club [sic] in New York City. All of these yearly get-togethers are similar in many respects, but usually differ greatly in the type of papers read.





Most of these papers run in the comical vein and this year was no exception including, among others, a rather unconventional translation into French of one of the Holmes episodes and another by our own John Bennett Shaw which is my subject for this editorial.





The Baker Street Journal. However, because it gave an indirect plug for an essay in our anthology Four Wheels to Baker Street ("On My Knees" by H.W. Starr), that I invited John to send it in for a future issue of SOS. And so, dear reader, in this issue you will find a brief sample of the scholarly work and efforts which go into making a typical meeting of the BSI so successful... "To Shelve or to Censor" was read to some ninety uproarious Irregulars by the author who, obviously, enjoyed the topic even more than did his audience. This paper dealed [sic] with many "lewd" references in the Canon, and, admittedly, was not in the best of taste. Immediately after its reading, it was promptly refused by. However, because it gave an indirect plug for an essay in our anthology("On My Knees" by H.W. Starr), that I invited John to send it in for a future issue of SOS. And so, dear reader, in this issue you will find a brief sample of the scholarly work and efforts which go into making a typical meeting of the BSI so successful...





To Shelve or to Censor: Some Disturbing Thoughts About and Disgusting Evidence From the Sherlock Holmes Canon

A paper read at the meeting of the Baker Street Irregulars, January 8, 1971

By John Bennett Shaw





A Study in Scarlet

The Sign of the Four

"A Scandal in Bohemia"

"The Red-Headed League"

"A Case of Identity"

"The Cardboard Box"

The Hound of the Baskervilles

"Silver Blaze"

"The Illustrious Client"

"The Blanched Soldier"

"The Three Gables"

"Charles Augustus Milverton"

"The Empty House"





--





I must begin my discussion with a personal reference which is concerned with circumstances surrounding my disturbing discoveries. Discoveries I must now grudgingly reveal. Last summer was a most eventful period in my life: I remarried, adopted two lovely and literate girls aged 12 and 14, and decided to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was a decision which made me pause and consider as I had in my house more than twenty thousand books. I had to reduce this quantity to a manageable amount, say six thousand. One consideration for preservation in the Shaw Library was its relation to the world of Mr. Holmes, and another almost as important was the value and influence these books would have on my new girls. It happened that at the time I was in the process of rereading most of the Watson Canon and, heaven forbid, it dawned upon me that I just couldn't let the girls read such "literature." I made the mistake of reading some of the passages that shocked me aloud to my wife and she at once suggested either a locked room or packing the girls off to a convent.The decision is not yet made, but I feel I must call this whole matter to your attention.I was familiar with the tongue-in-cheek (excuse that word, I should have said jowl) salacity bruited about by some Sherlockians such as Bill Starr's "On My Knees." I had discounted this for knowing Bill I knew he had a dirty mind, coming from Philadelphia and all that. Even the last issue ofhad an article about "busts": one can't pass this by without pointing out that this sheet is edited by a man appropriately named Wolff. I also recalled an article that incensed me some years ago by a man inappropriately named Wellman (his mind, I thought, could not be "well") who opined that Holmes was living in sin with Mrs. Hudson. And the noted social critic Stout even suggested that Watson was a woman  I wish to God it was that simple.Now I feel I must go on  I must share with you my notes made during that hot August in Tulsa (and let me say that my rereading these stories was the hottest thing going in Tulsa at this time) and as gentlemen, scholars, fathers and family men, and members of this (I almost said "uplifting") society, I ask you to excuse the vulgarity, suggestiveness, and shock that these excerpts will convey.Hope, perhaps with more than revenge in mind, saidAlso, Hope is described as havingthenHolmes makes some references that seem pointed;and almost immediately after this he saidRemember that most of these remarks were made to Watson to whom he says in the same story(this whole paragraph is fraught with psychological overtones and sexual undertones). There is reference to "sensitive instrument" andandWatson saysand HolmesAnd in this story menstruation is first mentioned in the Canon:(Again suggestive imagery)and a little later on(and I could have stopped quoting it here and it would have been bad enough) (Holmes goes on)A few pages laterThen, later in the story, the banker tells the detective(at least his habits were regular). Again with obvious double meaning Holmes says to detective JonesJohn Clay must have been bi-sexual as Jones says of him(cribhouse I assume)The second reference to menstruation.In this story there is much talk ofAlas, the girl must work in a brothel as she saysHolmes goes on to talk with her and then saysand a bit laterThere is a doubly confusing statement that could refer to Reik's Orgone Box and the female anatomy:And there is a highly charged scene which could refer to self-abuse near the end of Chapter XI:(one wonders, could Watson be thinking of his army days and really mean "lieutenant") and Watson goes onand of all things Holmes says(to paraphrase the old Burlesque story "Take it out"). And toward the end of the story (I almost said "tale") Holmes talks of the sexual difficulties of StapletonEven the favorite "Silver Blaze" has some shockers in it. On the first page Watson says to HolmesThen there is the oft-quoted mildly vulgar episode about the dog that did nothing in the nighttimehe was either well-trained, constipated, or there was no female nearby. Also, they talk in the story about arousing the lads in the loft and about pulling jockey and of practicing on sheep (not a new idea at all).There is a reference to crepitation:On the same page is a reference that leads one to believe that the Baron was a most versatile lover:Just in passing let me mention that a few pages later when Holmes and Watson were in intimate conversation, Watson saysEven in this very dull story one finds the constantly recurrent theme of homosexuality as one soldier speaks of anotherAnd of Watson, the butler (did the butler do it?) says:And again one soldier says of another:And the evil old butler, described as rubbing his skinny hands, says:And on the very next page Bill refers to a gentleman who has recently visited Holmes:It is in this story that Holmes says to Watson(How could they? Mine don't!)A notorious gaffe or double-entendre appears in this story. You will remember the story: young Maberly died of a broken heart in Milan and his effects were returned to England to his mother. She was robbed and Holmes was called into the investigation. He asked her if she had anything of value and she said:No wonder he died of a broken heart!!!The great detective and Victorian gentleman described how he wooed Agatha the housemaid:andAnd a most frankly carnal remark from "Silver Blaze" -In EMPT appears this excerpt, upon which I would not wish to comment:And in the same case-history appears this shameful dialogue starting with the passage commented upon by Professor Starr in his treatise in which Holmes reports that Mrs. Hudson works it from the front. The passage goes on to have Holmes say,And she replied, without apparent shame,and he merely saysAnd in the very next paragraph there is talk of a beautiful bust.Sex seem to have been in the minds of both Holmes and Watson. For example inthey talk of a boy being circumcised - and this has no real bearing on the story at all. In the same episode, Ferguson says to Holmes," and ever faithful Watson hastens to say,And then he saysAn inWatson openly commentsandAnd inHolmes states that Mrs. GibsonShockingly, inHolmes says to Watson,Another frank description appears inIn the noted caseHolmes says,And, at the very end of this story Holmes says,Who, for God's sake is she?Of his only brother Mycroft, Holmes reports (in) that he, Mycroft, was well known in certain circles, The Diogenes Club, for example. Watson asks about this club and Holmes replies,I have covered (and even the innocent word 'covered' carries, for me, salacious connotations) a bit more than half of the 60 cases of the Great Detective and I think I have made my point (there I go again). In conclusion, I do want to consider a bit of careful examination, one of his most noted cases - a case that is well written up by Dr. Watson and is everybody's favorite - a case that is so well written that, until now, few realized it is a description of a sex orgy.is such a carefully camouflaged tale (T-A-L-E), such a welter of prurience, lust and impudicity that one who is a gentleman cannot countenance keeping it upon his shelves, unless, of course, he does so for research and analysis, and only if then he released his findings to serve as a warning to fathers, clergy, and other do-gooders.The opening paragraphs of this story are among the most carnal in literature: for example, these direct quotations:, of Holmes Watson saidand of himself Watson says" Then Holmes says,(what a euphemism that is!)Later on in the same shameful narrative, Miss Stoner says,and Holmes immediately replies,and thenAnd Miss Stoner must have been a virgin as it is said thatAnd a few pages later she saysand in the next sentence Holmes saysAnd so on through this shameful recounting of Victorian debauchery. At the very end Dr. Roylott at least must have found satiety for his is described thusly:Gentlemen, I could go on: I could quote you the episode where; I could analyze the 25 stories not covered in this shameful expose  but I know I need not. You now have a glimmering that all is not serene and wholesome at 221B Baker Street in gas-lit London and in the year 1895.I leave my judgment making, if any be needed, to psychologists and psychiatrists and, God forbid, to moralists. I can only leave with you the disturbing thought that I have had that Moriarty and Moran are a pair of prudish Irish immigrants compared to Mrs. Hudson's roomers.
Honda Cars Philippines, Inc (HCPI), Hondas automobile business unit in the Philippines will hold the Honda Auto Expo display in SM Mall of Asia on August 11-17 and Trinoma Mall on August 26-28, 2016.

Honda wants you to drive the Honda car you have been dreaming for with lighter payment scheme as Honda offers Low Cash out and All-in Bundle Packages for select models. Avail of the Honda City for as low as Php 60,000, Mobilio for Php66,000 and CR-V for Php 50,000 for the whole duration of the Honda Auto Expo. It is now easier to drive home a Honda car and enjoy the Euro 4 Level engine, Hondas compliant system that reduces harmful emissions that is standard to all Honda vehicles. This technology also contributes in making all Honda vehicles fuel efficient without compromising performance with remarkable fuel efficiency for Honda City 1.5 E CVT with 26.02 km/L, HR-V 1.8 E CVT 24.82 km/L, Mobilio 1.5 V CVT with 24.69 km/L, and the newly launched Honda Civic with 27.56 km/L having 1.5 RS Turbo CVT engine developed Earth Dreams Technology that provides balance on power and fuel efficiency. The Honda Civic now comes with striking sporty design and advanced key technologies, innovative features, and premium quality interior for a better and comfortable drive and ride. These models will be available at the Honda Auto Expo for the customers to check and experience.

Hondas partners Bank representatives will be present at the display to assist customers with Auto Loan inquiries, computations and on the spot applications. Customers who reserve and apply for a Honda financing will get an exclusive freebie from HCPI.

Honda Auto Expo Promo is also in all Honda Dealerships nationwide until September 30, 2016.

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Filipinos are known for being fashion-conscious and for their world-class beauty but how are they in terms of being cyber savvy? An online survey by Kaspersky Lab showed Filipino Internet users still commit cybersecurity mistakes that make them at risk of the ever-present threats online.

The global cybersecurity company tested the cyber savviness of 18,000 Internet users from 16 countries, including 1,394 from the Philippines. Respondents, who are all over 18 years old, answered questions which determined their online habits and cyberthreat awareness. Final scores were categorized based on Kaspersky Labs experience in combating cyber threats.

Users who chalked up over 137 points are the safest as they are cyber savvy enough to know the rules of safe behavior on the Internet and make the right decisions. Netizens who got 113-137 ratings are secure --- they make some dangerous mistakes online but generally behave carefully and safely online. Those who scored 75-113 are averagely at risk. This means that they are able to identify only half the cyberthreats they encounter.

Survey respondents who gained scores below 75 show very threatening online behavior as they cannot recognize cyberthreats and do not consider such issue as an important matter.

Filipino respondents scored 97 over-all, two points higher than the global average of 95 but well within the at risk group. This means almost half of respondents from the Philippines were not able to identify the cyberthreats they encountered, making them vulnerable to cyberthreats.

Survey results showed one of the harmful online habits of nearly half (49.4%) of Filipino Internet users is keeping applications they dont use, even those that were left unused for a long time. The Philippines ranked the worst in this category among the 16 countries included in the survey. The global average is just 37%.

This seemingly little mistake can serve as an accessible entry for cybercriminals looking for prey, according to one of Kaspersky Labs security experts.

Keeping unused applications on their devices is a common mistake for Filipinos. It is a dire error to leave apps with old software stocked on your devices because these applications have outdated programs which may become a widely open door that cybercriminals can exploit easily. These old apps can be used to turn your beloved devices against you, says Anthony Chua, Territory Channel Manager for the Philippines and Singapore at Kaspersky Lab Southeast Asia.

The online survey also asked respondents to select what they would do if they received an email from the tax office with the attached Word document Information about your unpaid fines." Such frightening or arresting emails often contain malware masked under common harmless formats like the text format.

This technique of sending emails carrying infected word attachments is used by a Trojan named Locky, a ransomware discovered by Kaspersky Lab just last February, which is still actively propagating in 114 countries worldwide, including the Philippines.

Although majority of Filipinos did not fall for this trick, there are still nearly two (16%) in every 10 respondents who chose to open an attached file without scanning it with an online security solution. In this category, the Philippines scored the second worst after India with 19%. The global average is just 9%.

In an earlier report, Kaspersky Lab also revealed the same survey showed a great majority of Filipino internet users are vulnerable to phishing attacks online as only 11% or 1 out of 10 netizens can identify a safe web page.

Kaspersky Lab tested the ability of respondents to distinguish a fake page against a genuine page by letting them choose one of four offered web pages on which they would freely enter their personal information.

Three out of four pages were screenshots of phishing pages detected by Kaspersky Lab experts on the Internet. Special samples were selected for each country and for the Philippines, Kaspersky Lab used Facebook, the leading social media platform in the country.

The survey discovered 72% of Filipino respondents couldnt distinguish a phishing Facebook page against a genuine one. This is the second worst score following Mexicos 84%. The global average is 58%.

Filipinos are known as one of the most active social media users. There are currently over 47 million active Facebook accounts* from the Philippines and cybercriminals are very aware of this. While Facebook has its own perks, simple attacks like phishing happen as it essentially plays on an Internet users carelessness. If Filipinos continue to be unmindful when using social media platforms, then it shouldnt be surprising if more cases of scams and identity theft arise, warns Chua.

How to avoid phishing?

Unfortunately there is no real cure for phishing attacks aside from paranoia-level vigilance of an Internet user. Its easy to get infected. But here are 10 tips from Kaspersky Lab on how users can protect themselves:



Always check the link, which you are going to open. If it has some spelling issues, take a double-take to be sure  fraudsters can try to push on a fake page to you. Enter your username and password only when connection is secured. If you see the https prefix before the site URL, it means that everything is OK. If there is no s (secure) in the prefix, then beware. Even if youve received a message or a letter from one of your best friends, remember: they could also have been fooled or hacked. Thats why you should remain cautious in any situation. The same applies to the emails from official organizations, such as banks, tax agencies, online-shops, travelling agencies, airlines and so on. Even from your own office. Its not that hard to fabricate a fake letter that looks like a real one. Sometimes emails and websites look just the same as real ones. It depends on how decently fraudsters did their homework. But the hyperlinks, most likely, will be incorrect  with spelling mistakes, or they can address you to a different place. You can look for these tokens to tell a reliable site from a fraud. Its better not to follow links in such letters at all. Instead you can open a new window and enter the URL of your banks or online shop manually. In this case youll not miss a discount or a special offer (if there is one)  and will not become a fraudsters victim. When discovering a phishing campaign, you should report it to the bank (if the fraud imitates the bank emails) or to the support desk of your social media network (if malicious links are sent by one of the users) and so forth. This really helps to catch criminals. If you can, dont log in to online banks and similar services via public Wi-Fi networks in cafes or on the streets. Its better to use mobile connection or wait a bit than lose all the money on your credit card. The thing is that these networks can be created by fraudsters, who spoof website addresses during the connection and thereby redirect you to a fake page. Files sent by your massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) comrades may be malicious ransomware or even spyware, just like attachments to messages and emails. So be vigilant! Install reliable Internet security solution and follow its recommendations.

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Imperial Valley News Center

San Diego Zoo Global Achieves Milestone in Pacific Pocket Mouse Recovery Program

San Diego, California - Biologists at the San Diego Zoo have always known that the critically endangered Pacific pocket mouse is able to be born, reproduce and give birth within the same breeding season, but they had never experienced this in its captive breeding programuntil now. This month, three female young of the year Pacific pocket mice that were born in April at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park successfully gave birth to their first litters of pups.

The gestation period for a Pacific pocket mouse is 23 days, and the species reaches sexual maturity in about 41 days, making it possible for animals to be born and reproduce within the same breeding season.

This is the fourth year that researchers and scientists from the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research have bred this California-native species. There have been 15 litters born, with an estimated 54 pupshowever, some of the just-born pups havent emerged from the nests yet, and may not have been counted. More pregnant females are due to have pups, so the number of Pacific pocket mouse births is expected to increase further before this breeding season ends. The Pacific pocket mouse breeding season runs from approximately March to October. Between October and March, the mice go into a hibernation state called aestivation.

Pacific pocket mice start out as pups that are blind, pink and hairless. They weigh less than 2 grams in their initial stage. As they grow to a weight of 4 grams, the pups begin to wean from their mother and forage for seeds on their own. The Pacific pocket mouse is the smallest mouse species in North America, and adults typically weigh between 6 and 7 gramsabout the same as three pennies.

The Pacific pocket mouse was thought to be extinct in the 1980s, but it was rediscovered in the wild in 1993. Starting in 2012, 30 adult Pacific pocket mice were taken from the three remaining wild populations to participate in a breeding program at an off-exhibit area at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Today, scientists at the breeding facility are caring for more than 100 Pacific pocket mice.

In June 2016, 50 Pacific pocket mice were transferred from this breeding facility to the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, part of OC Parks. Following a week of acclimation, they were released into a fenced 1-acre area to establish the fourth wild population of this critically endangered animal.

The Pacific pocket mouse breeding program is managed by staff at the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The breeding facility uses air conditioning and humidifiers to mimic the coastal temperatures and humidity the mice require. Each individual Pacific pocket mouse enclosure includes PVC pipes that act as tunnels and burrows for the Pacific pocket mouse, but still allow researchers access to check on the animals.

Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is inspiring children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in childrens hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
Imperial Valley News Center

FTC and USDA to Host Roundtable to Examine Consumer Perceptions of Organic Claims for Non-Agricultural Products

Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will co-host a roundtable in Washington, D.C. on October 20, 2016, to help the agencies better understand how consumers perceive organic claims for non-agricultural products, such as personal care products.

At the roundtable, invited panelists, including consumer advocates, industry representatives, and academics, will discuss the following topics:

Consumers interpretations of organic claims for products and services that generally fall outside the scope of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Services National Organic Program;

A recent FTC-USDA study on organic claims, including its methods, limitations and conclusions; and

Approaches to address potential deception, including consumer education.

The roundtable is open to the public, and the FTC welcomes written comments, including further evidence of consumer perception. Interested parties may file a comment electronically at: https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/organicroundtable. Paper comments may be mailed to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Suite CC-5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 20580, or they may be delivered to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 400 7th Street SW, 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex B), Washington, DC 20024.

Commenters should write Green Guides  Organic Roundtable, Project No. P954501 on their submission. The public comment period will remain open until December 1, 2016. Comments will be posted on the roundtables public webpage.

The roundtable is free and open to the public. It will be held at the FTCs Constitution Center Building, 400 7th St., SW, Washington, DC 20024. The Commission will publish a detailed agenda at a later date. The Commission vote to issue the consumer perception study was 3-0.
Imperial Valley News Center

Collateral Damage - Four year old girl shot while traveling to United States

Hidalgo, Texas - Border Patrol agents assigned to the Weslaco Station rescued a woman and her four-year-old daughter Tuesday morning during the midnight hour. The woman told Border Patrol agents her daughter had been shot days earlier in Mexico by smugglers during a robbery.

The woman, from El Salvador, told agents she and her daughter were riding a train through Mexico to the United States when armed men boarded the stopped train. The armed men, believed to be part of the smuggling organization, ordered everyone to get off the train and assaulted several people while robbing them of their belongings.

According to the woman, one of the armed men hit a helpless man with his handgun which caused the gun to fire a bullet striking the four year old girl in the left shoulder. The terrified woman picked up her little girl and got back onto the train. The train conductor arrived shortly after the robbers fled and took the mother and child to a local hospital for treatment. At the hospital, doctors removed the bullet from the little girls body and released her from care.

Upon leaving the hospital, smugglers took the mother and daughter to a stash house in Mexico. According to the mother, the conditions in the house were deplorable. The house was crammed with people, many of them being young children. As her child was suffering from the gunshot wound, no medical assistance was available to her. There were no antibiotics, no sterile dressings, no pain medication and no sympathy from those she trusted to bring her and her daughter to the United States.

The mother told agents that the entire journey was horrible, she was treated like cargo, worse than animals. At one point during her journey and a stay in a cramped stash house, the mother was threatened by a caretaker. She was told that if her child did not stop crying she would be forced to sleep outside with the dogs. The woman said she saw other families and children traveling alone being treated worse than she and her daughter. Young girls were being forced to stay in rooms with strange men unrelated to them as a form of punishment for not keeping quiet.

The woman and her daughter continued their travel until they crossed the Rio Grande near Hidalgo, Texas and were rescued by Border Patrol agents. Shortly after being found, agents immediately took the mother and little girl to a local hospital for medical care where she was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit.

Its heartbreaking to hear about a child being hurt by smugglers, said Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla Jr. Smugglers have no regard for human life, and it is a travesty that migrants  innocent women and children put their trust into these people who see them as nothing more than a commodity to make money. We continue to warn migrants about the dangers human smugglers will put them in. Time and time again we see and hear about smugglers taking advantage of the most helpless people.

Family members in the United States are urged not to put their loved ones safety and lives at risk by encouraging them to illegally enter the United States or circumventing a checkpoint. The public should take a stand against crime in their communities and help save lives by reporting suspicious activity at 800-863-9382.
Reclamation Awarded Construction Contract for Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project

Sacramento, California - The Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a $5.5 million construction contract to TNT Industrial Contractors, Inc. from Sacramento, California.

The construction contract involves modifications to the fish ladders and fish screens at Eagle Canyon Diversion Dam and North Battle Creek Feeder Diversion Dam on North Fork Battle Creek to fully satisfy National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) fisheries requirements; Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) compliance requirements; and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) operations requirements.

Battle Creek has the geology, hydrology, and habitat suitability to support threatened and endangered anadromous Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead. The Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project, one of the largest cold-water anadromous fish restoration efforts in North America, is restoring approximately 42 miles of habitat on Battle Creek and an additional six miles of habitat on tributaries to Battle Creek, while maintaining the continued production of hydroelectric power at the Battle Creek Hydroelectric Project (owned and operated by PG&E and licensed by FERC).

By removing dams and constructing fish screens and ladders, the project is providing safe passage for anadromous fish to reach cold water and habitat needed for successful spawning and to increase their populations. The project is also preventing the mixing of North Fork Battle Creek and South Fork Battle Creek waters, through the construction of powerhouse bypass and tailrace connectors; protecting a trout hatchery from diseases carried by anadromous fish, through the construction of a fish barrier weir; increasing instream flows; dedicating water rights for instream purposes at dam removal sites; and implementing adaptive management to ensure fisheries objectives are met. The project area is located within five miles of Manton, California, in Shasta and Tehama counties.

To date, a dam and canal/pipeline system have been removed; two fish screens and fish ladders have been constructed; an approximate mile-long powerhouse bypass and a tailrace connector have been constructed; and a fish barrier weir has been constructed, resulting in approximately 16 miles of stream habitat restoration. Remaining work includes construction of a fish screen and ladder; construction of a powerhouse tailrace connector; removal of a canal system; and removal of four diversion dams. Entire project construction is anticipated to be completed in 2021.

The award of this contract represents the continuation of Reclamations commitment to restoring the Battle Creek watershed, said David Murillo Regional Director Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region. Protecting and improving populations of Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead is vital to ensuring that we can reliably deliver water from Reclamations Central Valley Project. As we move forward with the project, the collective efforts from all participating partners demonstrates the importance of reestablishing approximately 48 miles of salmon and steelhead habitat in the Battle Creek watershed.

To learn more about the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project, please visit http://www.usbr.gov/mp/battlec reek/index.html
Priest Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

San Jose, California - A priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose pleaded guilty today to four counts of tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Departments Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch for the Northern District of California and Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf for the Internal Revenue Services Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).

Father Hien Minh Nguyen, 56, admitted that over a period of four years, he stole money his parishioners donated to the Diocese and willfully evaded paying income taxes on the money he misappropriated each year from 2008 through 2011. He admitted that he deposited this money into his personal bank account, did not disclose this income to his return preparer, did not keep records of the donations he stole, and filed false income tax returns which did not report this money.

Father Nguyen also pleaded not guilty to bank fraud charges. Those charges are still pending.

Father Nguyen stole money from his parishioners and filed false returns with the IRS to evade his income tax obligations, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. The department remains committed to holding all criminal tax offenders accountable for their illegal conduct, regardless of their profession. No one is above the law.

Sentencing on the tax evasion convictions has not been scheduled. Father Nguyen faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and monetary penalties for each tax evasion conviction. Father Nguyens next scheduled appearance is a status conference on the bank fraud charges currently scheduled for Aug. 23. An indictment is merely an allegation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. Father Nguyen pleaded guilty to the tax evasion charges. He has not pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges and remains presumed innocent of those charges.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch commended special agents of the IRS-CI, who investigated the case and Trial Attorney Gregory Bernstein of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Moore of the Northern District of California, who are prosecuting the case.
Young African leaders visit CDFA to learn about agriculture, energy and the environment

Davis, California - UC Davis hosted 25 Young African Leaders as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship in July as part of President Obamas Young African Leaders Initiative.

For two of these young leaders, the trip to California also included a visit with CDFAs Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation (OEFI).

Fatima Ademoh from Nigeria and James Kakeeto from Uganda visited CDFA on July 27 to learn about our Dairy Digester Research and Development Program (DDRDP) and State Water Efficiency Enhancement Program (SWEEP). These programs were presented in the context of Californias overall vision for Climate Smart Agriculture. The fellows expressed an interest in various aspects of energy in the agricultural sector, such as achieving zero-net energy, renewables and biogas.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship brings young leaders to the United States for academic coursework and leadership training and creates unique opportunities in Africa for Fellows to put new skills to practical use in leading organizations, communities, and countries.

Our staff stressed the importance in both programs of collaboration with farmers and a variety of other stakeholders such as industry and researchers, as well as public engagement. The visiting leaders were also interested in Californias ongoing drought, dairy manure management and biogas plants and soil carbon sequestration.

Beyond their scientific and agricultural curiosity, the fellows expressed genuine interest in the potential to transfer the knowledge and experience from Californias projects to their own home communities.
PG&E Found Guilty Of Obstruction Of An Agency Proceeding And Multiple Violations Of The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act

San Francisco, California - A federal jury found Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) guilty Tuesday of multiple willful violations of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (PSA) and obstructing an agency proceeding, announced U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge William Swallow, FBI Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett, and San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini.

The PSA violations were uncovered in the course of an investigation initiated after the fatal San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion in 2010. The obstruction charge was added later after investigators discovered PG&E attempted to mislead the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) during its investigation.

The verdict follows a 5  week trial before the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, U.S. District Judge. The PSA-related charges stem from PG&Es record keeping and pipeline integrity management practices. The evidence at trial demonstrated that PG&E willfully failed to address recordkeeping deficiencies concerning its larger natural gas pipelines knowing that their records were inaccurate or incomplete. The evidence further demonstrated that PG&E willfully failed to identify threats to its larger natural gas pipelines and to take appropriate actions to investigate the seriousness of threats to pipelines when they were identified. In addition, PG&E willfully failed to adequately prioritize as high risk, and properly assess, threatened pipelines after they were over-pressurized, as required by the PSA and its regulations. On April 1, 2014, a federal grand jury for the Northern District of California returned an indictment charging PG&E with multiple pipeline violations. In finding PG&E guilty, the jury concluded the company knowingly and willfully violated the PSA and its regulations between 2007 and 2010. The jury found PG&E guilty of 5 out of the 11 separate violations of the PSA charged.

The charge of obstructing an agency proceeding was included in a superseding indictment filed July 29, 2014. The charge centers around PG&Es use of a letter in an attempt to mislead the NTSB during an investigation. The NTSB began its investigation immediately after the deadly San Bruno explosion. During the course of the NTSBs investigation, PG&E provided a version of a policy outlining the way in which PG&E addressed manufacturing threats on its pipelines. In accordance with this policy, PG&E did not prioritize as high-risk, and properly assess, many of its oldest natural gas pipelines, which ran through urban and residential areas. Although PG&E was operating under the policy from 2009 through April 5, 2011, the company submitted a letter to the NTSB attempting to withdraw the document. According to PG&Es letter, the policy was produced in error and was an unapproved draft. In finding PG&E guilty of obstructing an agency proceeding, the jury concluded PG&E intentionally and corruptly tried to influence, obstruct or impede the NTSB investigation, in violation of 18 United States Code Section 1505.

U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch provided the following statement:

On occasion an event occurs that is sufficiently devastating that a public account must be made, either through an admission of wrongdoing and acceptance of responsibility, or through the judgment of the people acting through a jury. Such an event was the explosion in San Bruno on September 9, 2010, and the physical and emotional injuries suffered by so many that terrible day.

In the aftermath of the explosion, our office, along with the District Attorney of San Mateo and the California Attorney Generals Office, charted a course to examine whether PG&E had complied with the federal regulations designed to keep people safe, or willfully disregarded those regulations. To honor the memory of those who perished in the explosion required nothing less. The jury has determined that PG&E management chose willfully not to follow certain of those regulations.

This verdict in no way diminishes or calls into question the hard, honest work done by PG&Es employees in the field, as they labor tirelessly day and night to provide us with light and heat. It is a reflection only of the choices and priorities set at the top.

PG&E provides gas and electricity to the citizens of Northern California and must adhere to certain safety requirements and financial limitations. We hope that the verdict today insures that PG&Es management will adhere faithfully to this compact in the future.

I want to thank the many prosecutors and team members whose singular focus and dedication was nothing short of heroic. The Assistant United States Attorneys who tried the case to the jury -- Hallie Hoffman, Jeff Schenk, and Hartley West  represented the Department of Justice with highest degree of professionalism.

Our office was teamed up with the California Attorney Generals Office, the San Mateo County District Attorneys Office, and the San Bruno Police Department. This was a shared responsibility and we are deeply appreciative of their commitment to joining us in the pursuit of justice.

In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General were relentless in their pursuit of facts.

Finally, the City of San Bruno is a strong community with deep civic pride. It has steadfastly supported this prosecution and advocated for reform. Todays verdict is an important step toward achieving the lasting change that San Bruno so very much deserves.

We are very pleased with the verdict and commend the jury for their hard work and thoughtful deliberation, said California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. The California Department of Justice is proud to have worked with the U.S. Attorneys Office and various federal and state partners to investigate and ultimately prosecute this important case.

We are grateful to the US Attorneys Office for outstanding work with the support of San Bruno Police Department and our office, said San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe. Justice was done today and PG&E was properly convicted of multiple felonies insuring justice for our community.

These guilty verdicts against PG&E are a sobering reminder to those entrusted with ensuring public safety that we have a solemn obligation to place that safety foremost in our actions, said William Swallow, regional Special Agent-in-Charge, USDOT OIG. We appreciate the committed efforts of everybody who helped achieve this result, including our law enforcement peers and prosecutorial colleagues. DOT OIG remains committed to working with them to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law those who endanger public safety. On behalf of the Inspector General, I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who perished in the San Bruno explosion.

The San Bruno Police Department is extremely proud of the complex investigative work that led to a conviction in this case, said San Bruno Police Chief Ed Barberini. We are very grateful to the United States Attorneys Office and all of the partners that contributed to a successful conclusion to this case.

The maximum statutory penalty for each count for a corporation is $500,000. Judge Henderson has scheduled post-trial motions to be heard on October 11, 2016.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California, the California Attorney Generals Office, the San Mateo County District Attorneys Office, the United States Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, and the City of San Bruno Police Department.
Agents Discover Vehicle, Backpack Stuffed with Meth

Salton City, California - El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Indio Stations Highway 86 checkpoint, arrested a man suspected of drug smuggling after packages of methamphetamine were discovered in a backpack and also hidden inside a vehicle compartment on Friday.

The incident occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m., when a 26-year-old man approached the checkpoint driving a brown 2005 Ford Focus.

A Border Patrol canine team alerted to the vehicle during pre-primary inspection. Agents referred the man to secondary inspection for a closer examination of the vehicle.

Agents discovered a backpack in the rear seat of the vehicle that contained 14 packages of methamphetamine. Agents later discovered 16 additional packages hidden in the rear quarter panels of the vehicle.

The methamphetamine had a combined weight of 34.15 pounds with an estimated street value of $109,280.

The man, a United States citizen, the vehicle, and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation.

Through July of physical year 2016, El Centro Sector has seized more than 1,198 pounds of methamphetamine.
Sustainable Seafood in the California Fisheries

New Bedford, Massachusetts - The Dock-U-Mentaries Film Series continues on Friday, August 19th at 7:00 PM in the Corson Maritime Learning Center, located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford with Of the Sea: Fishermen, Seafood & Sustainability a new documentary film by Mischa Hedges.

Today, fishing is a rare and challenging way of life  Few California fishing families remain, due to complex regulations, high cost, and competition with cheap farmed and imported seafood. Struggling to revive a fading way of life, fishermen and entrepreneurs are creating new models for how to support sustainably produced seafood. In the film, we learn from fishermen about the Salmon, Black Cod, Sea Urchin, Crab and Squid fisheries, and the challenges they face. Of the Sea tells the story of five California fishermen, and shows how our seafood choices can influence ocean sustainability. Film maker Mischa Hedges will introduce the film and lead a discussion following the screening.

Dock-U-Mentaries is presented by New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, and the Working Waterfront Festival. Films about the working waterfront are screened on the third Friday of each month beginning at 7:00 PM in the theater of the Corson Maritime Learning Center, located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. All programs are open to the public and presented free of charge.

Today, fishing is a rare and challenging way of life  Few California fishing families remain, due to complex regulations, high cost, and competition with cheap farmed and imported seafood. Struggling to revive a fading way of life, fishermen and entrepreneurs are creating new models for how to support sustainably produced seafood. In the film, we learn from fishermen about the Salmon, Black Cod, Sea Urchin, Crab and Squid fisheries, and the challenges they face. Of the Sea tells the story of five California fishermen, and shows how our seafood choices can influence ocean sustainability. Film maker Mischa Hedges will introduce the film and lead a discussion following the screening.
It's all about attitude for students starting new school year

West Lafayette, Indiana - Making sure a child's return to school is met with joy instead of groans and rolling eyes is an important factor for improving student achievement from kindergarten through high school.

Marcia Gentry, director of the Gifted Education Resource Institute in the College of Education at Purdue University, has some advice.

"Children who like school tend to do well in school, and creating a positive perception of school begins in the home and continues throughout the school years," said Gentry, who also is a professor of educational studies. "It is not enough for parents and guardians to focus on school in the late summer when their children are preparing to return to school. Attitudes toward school are formed year round."

Much of a student's idea of learning is formed around experiences at school. But how the idea of education is talked about at home also plays a big role in whether a student looks at education with interest or disdain, she said.

Gentry said the institute's research group looks at several factors learning can represent for students, from interest and enjoyment to challenge and meaningfulness.

"Parents can model a love of learning by creating an atmosphere in the home in which information, learning and knowledge are important," Gentry said.

That atmosphere can develop in a number of ways. Traditional ideas of reading at home or using math flash cards can be used in conjunction with ideas like measuring while cooking or exploring the natural world at the local park.

Gentry said parents can open the school year by talking to their children about their own excitement.

That school-oriented conversation should continue as the year progresses, asking questions about something exciting or challenging at school that promote descriptive responses rather than one-word answers.

"The key here is to listen and defer judgment," Gentry said. "Pay attention to the child's response and ask more questions. It is never too late to show interest in and support for your child's schooling."

She said talking about school is only part of the goal. Parents should be there to help and support children in their homework, creating a connection between learning and the real world through meaningfulness, and developing a sense of "I can be successful" if they work hard.

"The bottom line is that parents and guardians must show an interest in their child's schooling, provide encouragement and support the child throughout school and create a home environment in which learning is valued," Gentry said.

About the College of Education

Purdue's College of Education meets the challenges of educating 21st century learners by discovering what works in education. The college prepares highly qualified educators and conducts research that informs how teachers teach and students learn. With a focus on integrated P-12 STEM education and a commitment to social justice and diversity, graduates are prepared to be leaders in education, business and society.
Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's Birthday

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama and the American people, it is my pleasure to wish Her Majesty Queen Sirikit a joyous 84th birthday.

"Queen Sirikit has inspired many in Thailand and beyond with her deep compassion for the Thai people and tireless service to her nation. On this auspicious day, we honor her many contributions to strengthening the enduring friendship between Thailand and the United States. We also honor Queen Sirikit and all Thais who celebrate Mothers Day in concert with her birthday. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with Thailand to improve the livelihoods of people in both our countries and the region.

"As the people of Thailand celebrate Her Majestys many achievements, I extend our warmest wishes to Queen Sirikit and her family for health, happiness, and prosperity in the coming year."
The Republic of Korea's Independence Day

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I extend my congratulations to the people of the Republic of Korea on the celebration of your Independence Day on August 15.

"Our bilateral partnership continues to thrive based on our shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Our enduring relationship brings opportunities and prosperity to our two countries, and our critical security alliance brings peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

"As our friendship strengthens, we have opened many new frontiers of cooperation, such as cyber, space, climate change, and global health. These efforts demonstrate how together we can make the world safer and healthier.

"As we cooperate on many shared global priorities, the American and Korean people have built lasting people-to-people ties. Perhaps this is best evidenced by the more than 60,000 Korean university students that study in American schools each year.

"On this special day, the United States joins the Republic of Korea in celebrating your success, culture, and history. I wish all Koreans a wonderful and joyful holiday celebration."
Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent High Court case in which the judge raised concerns about the wording of proposed legislation dealing with a requirement for registered medical practitioners to have appropriate medical indemnity cover

In June 2016, the High Court considered an application by the Medical Defence Union (the MDU) to set aside an earlier court order that it be joined as a party in proceedings taken by a woman against a medical practitioner who is now deceased.

When the matter came on for hearing, the Court was told that in January 2007 Ann Marie Kiernan underwent a cosmetic procedure at a clinic operated by Cosmedico Clinic Dublin Limited (the Company).

The procedure was performed by Mr Samy Malhas. Ms Kiernan subsequently issued proceedings against the surgeon and the Company, alleging negligence in the carrying out of the procedure.

MDU member

Mr Malhas was a member of the MDU. It appointed ORourke Reid Solicitors, Dublin to represent him. Sometime during 2012 an offer of settlement was made to Ms Kiernan on behalf of Mr Malhas. The offer was rejected.

In January 2013 the surgeon passed away while resident in Germany. He died insolvent and the beneficiaries of his estate disclaimed any benefit. The matter was further complicated by the fact that the Company went into liquidation.

Following the death of Mr Malhas, the MDU decided not to provide any further assistance in the case and instructed ORourke Reid Solicitors to apply to come off record. That application was granted by the High Court in February 2014.

The Court also ordered that Ms Kiernan, who opposed the application of ORourke Reid Solicitors to come off record, should be allowed to issue a notice of motion seeking liberty to join the MDU to the within proceedings.

No such application was advanced by Ms Kiernan. Instead, in April 2014, she sought to appoint an administrator ad litem to the estate of the deceased surgeon.

The High Court subsequently made an order in November 2014 giving solicitor Ms Philomena Brady, of High Street, Trim, Co Meath a grant of letters of administration in testate ad litem for the purpose of reconstituting the proceedings.

There followed correspondence between Ms Brady and the MDUs solicitors, Arthur Cox. This included a letter dated November 10, 2015, from Arthur Cox informing her that the MDU had decided against providing assistance to the estate of the late Mr Malhas.

The application by Ms Brady to join the MDU as a party to the proceedings was heard on an ex parte basis in December 2015. It was contended that the MDU had withdrawn an indemnity to Mr Malhas, which was allegedly provided for in a valid policy of insurance. The letter from Arthur Cox dated November 10, 2015, was not provided by Ms Brady to the Court.

At the hearing of the present application, counsel for the MDU said that the jurisprudence clearly established that his client was not an insurer. Any assistance given by the MDU to its members was discretionary subject only to the limitation that that discretion should not be exercised in any whimsical or capricious way. The MDU had good reasons for terminating its assistance in the case. These included the fact that the beneficiaries of the late surgeons estate had disclaimed any interest in that estate, and the fact that the Company responsible for the clinic was in liquidation.

Policy of insurance

Giving his judgment in the case, Mr Justice Binchy said that the application by Ms Brady to join the MDU in the proceedings was premised on an assertion that the late Mr Malhas had a policy of insurance with the MDU. It had been acknowledged by her counsel in the course of the present hearing that there was no such policy in place. The application by the MDU to set aside the earlier court order would, therefore, be granted.

The judge said it was probably not widely known that there was currently no legal requirement on doctors to hold professional indemnity insurance in order to practise in Ireland. The Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2014, which is currently before the Houses of Oireachtas, makes provision for doctors to ensure that they have a minimum level of indemnity cover. While it might be thought that this Bill, when enacted, would overcome the difficulty encountered by Ms Kiernan in the present proceedings, the definition of indemnity in section 2 of the Bill was a matter of concern. The section reads as follows: A policy of medical indemnity insurance, or other indemnity arrangement, against losses arising from claims in respect of civil liability incurred by a medical practitioner in respect of any act or omission of that medical practitioner arising from his or her practice as a medical practitioner.

The judge said that the reference to other indemnity arrangement was clearly designed to facilitate the kind of cover provided by the MDU to its members. While the circumstances in which that organisation might decline indemnity are likely to be quite rare, the provision of an indemnity that is dependent upon the exercise of a discretion affords the public less protection than the provision of indemnity through a policy of insurance to which section 62 of the Civil Liability Act, 1961, applies.

Reference: [2016] IEHC 407
WATCH: This Restaurant in Pune Are Run by Speech and Hearing Impaired People
State of the Arts: How do we fix the way we think about Sylvia Plath? Ninety years since her birth, Jessie Thompson asks if we need to challenge ourselves as the bold poet herself did with her work
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Despite Wonder Woman, Justice League, and The Flash being between now and the release of Aquaman, details about the underwater film have been hitting the internet with some frequency.

Recently, director James Wan discussed bringing in horror elements, while a new report has seemingly revealed the films villain.

According to The Wrap, Black Manta - Aquamans long-term arch-nemesis - will feature, coming as no surprise to DC fans.

Rumours about Black Manta featuring in the DC Extended Universe have previously circulated online; before Suicide Squads release, it was believed the villain would appear in the film as, in the comics, he spent time in Belle Reve prison and Amanda Waller attempted to sign him up to the squad.

33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 Show all 34 1 /34 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 1. Captain America: Civil War Release date: 6 May 2016. Iron Man and Captain America are set to face off in this superhero blockbuster that will feature nearly all the Avengers but wont be an Avengers film. It will also mark the first time Spider-Man will feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Sony having made a deal with Marvel Studios. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 2. X-Men: Apocalypse Release date: 27 May 2016. Following the success of Days of Future Past, Apocalypse will follow the young X-Men team as the battle against Oscar Isaacs titular villain as he gathers his four horsemen; Magneto (Fassbender), Angel (Hardy), Storm (Shipp), and Psylocke (Munn). Expect carnage and no Wolverine. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 3. Suicide Squad Release date: 5 August 2016. The first supervillain film, Suicide Squad is also based in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe, where Batman and Superman live) and will introduce the world to Margot Robbies Harley Quinn and Jared Letos Joker. One of the more exciting upcoming DC films thats for sure. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 4. Doctor Strange Release date: 4 November 2016. Benedict Cumberbatch will debut in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe, where Captain America and Iron Man live) as the Sorcerer Supreme. The film already has an incredible cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachael McAdams and Tilda Swinton. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 5. Untitled Lego Batman film Release date: 20 February 2017. Kicking off 2017 is the Lego version of Batman, who will lead his own spin-off, having already featured in the amazing Lego Movie. Will Arnett voices the titular character, while Zach Garfianakis - from the Hangover - will voice The Joker. But will he better than Leto? 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 6. Untitled Wolverine film Release date: 3 March 2017. Having not starred in X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine will return to the big screen in a solo film which was recently made R-Rated following the success of Deadpool. It is expected to be Hugh Jackmans last outing as the titular character. Fox 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release date: 5 May 2017. Chris Pratt and the crew are returning to space in the sequel to the surprisingly successful Guardians of the Galaxy. According to director James Gunn, the film will not feature Thanos, even though he will to play a major role in phase MCU Phase 3. Cast includes newcomers Kurt Russell and Pom Klementieff, as well as, rumour has it, Sylvester Stallone. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 8. Wonder Woman Release date: 23 June 2017. Gal Gadot is returning to the DCEU in her very own film, marking the first female-led superhero film on this list. Chris Pine is on board to play Wonder Womans love interest. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 9. Untitled Spider-Man reboot Release date: 7 July 2017. Yes, it is another Spider-Man reboot, having previously been redone with Andrew Garfield as the lead. However, this time it is part of the MCU, with Tom Holland as the titular character, and a heavily rumoured cameo by Iron Man could be in the pipeline. We can dream. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 10. Untitled Fox film Release date: 6 October 2017. In a strange announcement, Fox decided to withhold the release of Gambit until a future, as-yet unannounced date, which could be here, or this could be a completely separate project. Many suspect Deadpool 2 could nicely fit here, Fox capitalising on the success of the first film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 11. Thor: Ragnarok Release date: 3 November 2017. Chris Hemsworth will be returning as the Norse God in his third solo MCU film. Flight of the Conchords Taika Waititi is on board to direct, and promises a fun adventure that will likely lead into Marvels next project, Infinity War. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 12. Justice League Part One Release date: 17 November 2017. Hot on the heals of Thor comes Justice League Part One, the first DCEU team-up flick which will see Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg work together to fight bad guys. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 13: Untitled Fox film Release date: 12 January 2018. Kicking off 2018 will likely be the second Deadpool film, but then again, this could very well be another X-Men team-up. Theres also talk of an X-Force film, with Deadpool and other mutants teaming up to fight evil. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 14. Black Panther Release date: 16 February 2018. The first non-white male-led superhero film in the MCU comes in the form of Black Panther, with Chadwick Boseman reprising the titular role, having also starred as the Panther in Civil War. Creeds Ryan Coogler is on to direct what could be a very exciting film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 15. The Flash Release date: 16 March 2018. The Flash will be the first DCEU film since Justice League, and sees Ezra Miller take the lead. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were supposed to pen the film before Disney snapped them up for the Han Solo-film, leaving Seth Grahame-Smith to take charge. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 16. Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 Release date: 4 May 2018. And so, we finally get to the point of all these Infinity Stones! Thanos will be the big bad, with the Avengers needing to team up to defeat their biggest foe yet. It has previously been described as the end of the Avengers as we know it. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 17. Ant-Man and The Wasp Release date: 6 July 2018. Peyton Reed will be back to direct this surprise sequel to one of the better received MCU films. While the name is ridiculous, at least Marvel are finally having a leading female superhero. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 18. Untitled Fox film Release date: 13 July 2018. Again, not much word on this one except it is thought to be X-Men spin-off New Mutants, something Josh Boone has been hit up to write. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 19. Animated Spider-Man Film Release date: 20 July 2018. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Amy Pascal - the team behind the live-action Spider-Man films - are producing this unrelated animated adaptation of the hero. Because you can never have too much Spider-Man, right? 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 20. Aquaman Release date: 27 July 2018. Another Justice League spin-off, Jason Momoa plays the leading man. Furious 7s James Wan is on to direct, but little else is known about the film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 21. Captain Marvel Release date: 8 March 2019. Weve hit 2019, and the first confirmed superhero film will be the first proper female-led MCU film. No-one is confirmed to be in the titular role of Carol Danvers just yet. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 22. Shazam Release date: 5 April 2019. Dwayne Johnson stars as the villain in this DCEU film which will be somewhat separate to the other DC films. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 23. Avengers: Infinity War Part 2. Release date: 3 May 2019. The conclusion to the long drawn MCU saga. Expect a big finish with at least a few planets being destroyed. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 24. Justice League Part Two Release date: 14 June 2019. Soon after the Infinity War story reaches its conclusion, so will the Justice Leagues. Not much is known, except Darkseid will likely be the villain for at least one of the parts. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 25. Inhumans Release date: 12 July 2019. The concept of Inhumans (or Marvels mutants) has already been introduced in TV, through Marvels Agents of Shield, yet the film is expected to introduce the Royal Family who have yet to be seen in the show. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 26. Cyborg Release date: 3 April 2020. Having debuted in Justice League Part One three years previously, Cyborg will finally be making his own outing, with Ray Fisher as the titular character. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 27. Untitled MCU film Release date: 1 May 2020. The first of three untitled Marvel films. There are a couple of contenders, the first is a likely sequel to Spider-Man with Sony, or a third Guardians of the Galaxy film, thus finishing the trilogy. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 28. Green Lantern Corps. Release date: 19 June 2020. Before you start to worry, this has nothing to do with the Ryan Reynolds-starring flick that hit cinemas a little while ago. Instead, this will be another DCEU film that will likely spin-off from Justice League after the Green Lantern Corps cameo in one of the parts. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 29. Untitled MCU film Release date: 10 July 2020. As well as Spider-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy sequels, a Doctor Strange or Black Panther one could fit in nicely here. Or perhaps Black Widow may finally get the solo-film she deserves. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 30. Untitled MCU film Release date: 6 November 2020. Some speculators also think a Blade film could fit in here, marking over 20 years since the first Blade. But many believe the character may be better suited to a Netflix series, as with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Theres also talk of a Runaways film reaching cinemas at some stage. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 31. Untitled Ben Affleck Batman film Release date: TBA. Now were onto the TBA release dates, the first of which is a Batman solo film, written and directed by Ben Affleck. When this is due, no one is quite sure but expect it sooner rather than later if Batman v Superman is a success. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 32. Suicide Squad 2 Release date: TBA (rumoured 2017). A sequel to Suicide Squad is expected to come in 2017 according to recent reports, but nothing has been confirmed. If the first is successful, it should come as no surprise for Warner Bros to rearrange their schedule to fit in this surefire hit. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 33. Venom Release date: TBA. This is an odd one, as it has been confirmed Sony are wanting to release a Venom film completely unrelated to the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. Venom, as you may know, is a Spider-Man villain, intrinsically linked to Spider-Man, so it seems odd they would release a film unrelated to the rebooted project and not linked to the MCU. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 Anything else? Well, now you mention it, theres also that sequel to Fantastic Four that has seemingly been dropped by Fox. Plus, theres the Gambit film which has been put on hold (but will likely fill an untitled Fox slot so we havent added it extra). Then again, it could be shoehorned in somehow Marvel

Jason Momoa will play the titular character in the film while no actor has signed on to play the villain (nor has Warner Bros. confirmed Black Manta will be in the film).

Aquaman will hit cinemas 27 July 2018. Before then, Momoa will reprise his role as Aquaman in Justice League, having previously appeared as the character in Batman v Superman.
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Robin Williams died two years today, leaving behind a legacy of some of the most brilliant performances ever seen in the movies.

Among his many much-loved roles was his Oscar-winning turn as therapist Sean Maguire in 1997s Good Will Hunting, about a young MIT janitor with a gift for a mathematics who needs help from a psychologist to help him reach his potential and find direction in his life.

Williamss co-star Matt Damon, who played the titular character, spoke about shooting one of the films most iconic scenes, the inspirational bench scene in which Sean tells Will to go out into the world and learn from real life experiences rather than just studying textbooks, in a recent interview for his new movie Jason Bourne.

In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Show all 25 1 /25 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Mrs Doubtfire Robin Williams with Sally Field in Mrs Doubtfire In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Oscar He won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 'Good Will Hunting' in 1997 Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Mork and Mindy In Mork and Mindy, the TV series that launched his career in the 1970s Rex In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 The Tonight Show On 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' in 2004. Williams was renowned for his hyperactive appearances on talk shows Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Williams' hand and footprint ceremony Williams with two of his children, Cody (centre) and Zelda, and his wife, Marsha, during his hand and footprint ceremony outside the Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in 1998 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Premiere of Old Dogs Robin Williams and his wife Susan Schneider at the premiere of "Old Dogs" in Los Angeles on 9 November 2009 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Tour de France US cyclist Lance Armstrong chatting with US actor Robin Williams after he won the 91st Tour de France cycling race between Valreas and Villard-de-Lans on 20 July 2004 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Annual People's Choice Awards Presenter Robin Williams speaks during the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on 7 January 2009 in Los Angeles, California Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 The Big Wedding All star cast: Susan Sarandon, Robert De Niro and Robin Williams star in The Big Wedding In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Building homes Robin Williams Helps Build Homes With Habitat For Humanity, 4 December 2000 in Wilmington Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Premiere of Man of the Year Robin Williams and wife Marsha Garces Williams arriving for the premiere of Universal Pictures "Man of the Year" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on 4 October 2006 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 CW, CBS And Showtime 2013 Summer TCA Party Robin Williams at the CW, CBS And Showtime 2013 Summer TCA Party on 29 July 2013 in Los Angeles, California Jason Kempin/Getty Images In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Holiday Troop Visit Robin Williams and US celebrity Lewis Black (L) laughing in the back stage during the entertaining performance of "Holiday Troop Visit" by US celebrities for Christmas at boardwalk stage of the Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan on 16 December 2010 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Andre Agassi's Grand Slam for Children press conference Robin Williams speaks during the Andre Agassi's Grand Slam for Children press conference at the MGM Grand Hotel, 2 October 2004 in Las Vegas, Neveda Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Golden Globe Robin Williams holds his Golden Globe after winning for best actor in a comedy for his role in 'Mrs. Doubtfire' 22 January 1994 Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Premiere of Happy Feet Two Robin Williams attends the Premiere of Warner Brothers Pictures' "Happy Feet Two" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on 13 November 2011 in Hollywood In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Good Will Hunting Matt Damon and Ben Affleck pose with actor Robin Williams with their Oscars they won for 'Good Will Hunting' at the 70th Annual Academy Awards 23 March in Los Angeles Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Mork and Mindy Robin Williams in 1980 with Pam Dawber, his co-star in the Mork and Mindy TV series Rex In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 The Crazy Ones Robin Williams with his Mork and Mindy co-star Pam Dawber in The Crazy Ones series, 2014 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Yankees versus Pittsburgh Pirates Robin Williams attends a game between the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Grapefruit League Spring Training game on 13 March 2008 at Legends Field in Tampa, Florida Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Posing Robin Williams poses for a portrait during the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on 7 January 2009 in Los Angeles, California Michael Caulfield/Getty Images for PCA In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Cecil B. DeMille Award Robin Williams holds his Cecil B. DeMille Award with award presenter Pierce Brosnan at the 62nd annual Golden Globe Awards show 16 January 2005 in Beverly Hills Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Happy Feet Two Robin Williams laughs with Elijah Wood on arrival for the world premiere of the movie 'Happy Feet Two' in Hollywood on 13 November 2011 Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Tony Awards Robin Williams speaks during the 65th Annual Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on 12 June 2011 in New York City Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Mike Nichols Actor Robin Williams speaks on stage during the 38th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Mike Nichols held at Sony Pictures Studios on 10 June 2010 in Culver City, California Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI

I had probably one or two lines in that whole scene. It was Robins scene, he told JOEs Paul Moore recently. When he was just crushing it on the first take I just thought This is going to be really good.

Damon added that he had visited the bench on a recent visit to Boston with his young family.

I was back there recently and I went back to that bench, he said. Its right there in Boston Commons and I walked over there with my family and we sat on the bench. The kids didnt know, theyve never seen the movie, theyre too young but it was nice to go back and think about him there.

Below is the transcript from the memorable scene:

Will: So whats this? A Tasters Choice moment between guys? This is really nice. You got a thing for swans? Is this like a fetish? It's something, like, maybe we need to devote some time to?

Sean: I thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me and I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep and haven't thought about you since. You know what occurred to me?

Will: No.

Sean: Youre just a kid. You don't have the faintest idea what youre talking about.

Will: Why, thank you.

Sean: Its all right. Youve never been out of Boston.

Will: Nope.

Sean: If I asked you about art, youd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Lifes work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But Ill bet you cant tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. Youve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling.

If I asked you about women, youd probably give me a syllabus of your personal favourites. You may even have been laid a few times. But you cant tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy.

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Youre a tough kid. If I asked you about war, youd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right? Once more unto the breach dear friends. But youve never been near one. Youve never held your best friends head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help.

Id ask you about love and youd probably quote me a sonnet. But youve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable, known someone that could level you with her eyes. Feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you, who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldnt know what its like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldnt know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes that the terms visiting hours dont apply to you. You dont know about real loss, cause it only occurs when youve loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt youve ever dared to love anybody that much.

When I look at you I dont see an intelligent, confident man. I see a cocky, scared s***less kid. But youre a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presumed to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my f***ing life apart.

Youre an orphan right? You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I dont give a s*** about all that, because you know what, I cant learn anything from you I cant read in some f***king book.

Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then Im fascinated. Im in. But you don't wanna do that, do you, sport? You're terrified of what you might say.

Your move, chief.
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Adam Sandlers direct-to-Netflix films werent exactly well received by critics; the first film he produced for the streaming service, The Ridiculous 6, currently holds a rare 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while The Do-Over retains a 5% rating.

Fortunately for Sandler, its not about the reviews, its about those precious streaming numbers, and Netflix is very, very happy with the two films.

The two Adam Sandler movies premiered at No. 1 in every single territory of Netflix around the world, Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos told The Hollywood Reporter.

The Do-Over is still in the top 10 in nearly all of them. It's been a hugely successful deal, and he's got another one called Sandy [Wexler]. The thing that is most global on Netflix is Adam Sandler.

Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Show all 14 1 /14 Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 House of Cards - Season Four - 4 March Last time we were in Frank Underwoods White House things werent looking to great for the President, his first Lady having just walked out on him. What will happen next in the critically acclaimed show is anyones guess. Netflix Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Daredevil - Season Two - 18 March Back in Hells Kitchen things were seemingly getting better. Kingpin is in prison and the crime syndicates should have dispersed - for the meantime at least. Unfortunately for Matt Murdoch, theres a new anti-hero in town: The Punisher. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Flaked - 11 March According to Netflix, Flaked is set in the insular world of Venice, California. It follows the serio-comic story of a self-appointed 'guru' who falls for the object of his best friends fascination. Soon the tangled web of half-truths and semi-b******* that underpins his all-important image and sobriety begins to unravel. Arnett plays Chip, a man doing his honest best to stay one step ahead of his own lies. Netflix Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Season Two - 15 April Following the story of 29-year-old Kimmy Schmidt on her journey through New York, season two is set to start right where the last left us. The Tina Fey created sitcom has already been renewed for a third season, so you know this one has to be good. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 The Ranch - 1 April A comedy starring Ashton Kutcher. Based on a failed semi-pro footballer who returns home to a Colorado ranch. It also has some of the producers from Two and a Half Men behind it, which just happens to be one of the most successful shows of all time. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Marseille - 5 May Netflixs first French language original is a tale of power, corruption and redemption. Sounding like it could very well be the next Narcos. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Grace and Frankie - Season Two - 6 May The tale of a retired cosmetics mogul and a hippie art teacher living together was a hit across the world, especially in the US. Starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, the show has already been renewed for a third season. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Orange is the New Black - Season Four - 17 June Another Netflix powerhouse, Orange is the New Black will see us returning to Litchfield Penitentiary. Prepare for more Piper, Alex and Red come June. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Stranger Things - 15 July Eight-episode series starring Winona Ryder that follows a small community as they look for a young boy who has seemingly vanished. It all sounds quite scary. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 The Get Down - August 12th "Told through the lives and music of a ragtag crew of South Bronx teens, The Get Down is a mythic saga of the transformation of 1970s New York City. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, this is sure to be as stylish as anything hes done before. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 The Crown - Spring Starring Doctor Who actor Matt Smith, the period drama reveals the political rivalries and romance behind Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the 2nd half of the 20th century." Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Luke Cage - Fall 2016 First appearing alongside Jessica Jones in her Netflix series, Luke Cage will pic up the pieces, seeing Cage come to terms with his super-strength and impenetrable skin. It is unknown whether Kathryn. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Narcos - Season 2 - Fall 2016 Its back. The Netflix series hyped to match Breaking Bad was an astounding success around the world, apparently watched more than Game of Thrones. Well find out what happens to Pablo Escabar now he doesnt have the protection of all his men. Netflix Inc. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 A Series of Unfortunate Events - Fall 2016 Netflix is set to revisit the much-loved childrens novel, putting Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf in a show that looks so much creepier than the 2004 film. Not much else is known - i.e. casting - but Lemony Snicket is on board as executive producer, so get excited.

Of course, there is currently no real way to prove this as Netflix keep their viewing figures very close to their chest.

Meanwhile, for those who are fans of Sandlers work, there are two more of his creations hitting Netflix in the future, the next titled Sandy Wexler.
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Next year will see Tom Holland take centre stage in his own Spider-Man film and, with production in full swing, casting details have been rife over the past few weeks.

Joining Holland in the film will be his Captain America: Civil War co-stars Robert Downey. Jr (Iron Man) and Marisa Tomei (Aunt May) alongside a whole new crop of faces including Disney Channel star Zendaya, Fargo's Bokeem Woodbine and Michael Keaton who may or may not be playing renowned Marvel villain The Vulture.

Up until this point, Sony and Marvel have remained quiet about which bad guys will be appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming - but the first has now been confirmed.

33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 Show all 34 1 /34 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 1. Captain America: Civil War Release date: 6 May 2016. Iron Man and Captain America are set to face off in this superhero blockbuster that will feature nearly all the Avengers but wont be an Avengers film. It will also mark the first time Spider-Man will feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Sony having made a deal with Marvel Studios. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 2. X-Men: Apocalypse Release date: 27 May 2016. Following the success of Days of Future Past, Apocalypse will follow the young X-Men team as the battle against Oscar Isaacs titular villain as he gathers his four horsemen; Magneto (Fassbender), Angel (Hardy), Storm (Shipp), and Psylocke (Munn). Expect carnage and no Wolverine. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 3. Suicide Squad Release date: 5 August 2016. The first supervillain film, Suicide Squad is also based in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe, where Batman and Superman live) and will introduce the world to Margot Robbies Harley Quinn and Jared Letos Joker. One of the more exciting upcoming DC films thats for sure. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 4. Doctor Strange Release date: 4 November 2016. Benedict Cumberbatch will debut in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe, where Captain America and Iron Man live) as the Sorcerer Supreme. The film already has an incredible cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachael McAdams and Tilda Swinton. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 5. Untitled Lego Batman film Release date: 20 February 2017. Kicking off 2017 is the Lego version of Batman, who will lead his own spin-off, having already featured in the amazing Lego Movie. Will Arnett voices the titular character, while Zach Garfianakis - from the Hangover - will voice The Joker. But will he better than Leto? 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 6. Untitled Wolverine film Release date: 3 March 2017. Having not starred in X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine will return to the big screen in a solo film which was recently made R-Rated following the success of Deadpool. It is expected to be Hugh Jackmans last outing as the titular character. Fox 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release date: 5 May 2017. Chris Pratt and the crew are returning to space in the sequel to the surprisingly successful Guardians of the Galaxy. According to director James Gunn, the film will not feature Thanos, even though he will to play a major role in phase MCU Phase 3. Cast includes newcomers Kurt Russell and Pom Klementieff, as well as, rumour has it, Sylvester Stallone. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 8. Wonder Woman Release date: 23 June 2017. Gal Gadot is returning to the DCEU in her very own film, marking the first female-led superhero film on this list. Chris Pine is on board to play Wonder Womans love interest. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 9. Untitled Spider-Man reboot Release date: 7 July 2017. Yes, it is another Spider-Man reboot, having previously been redone with Andrew Garfield as the lead. However, this time it is part of the MCU, with Tom Holland as the titular character, and a heavily rumoured cameo by Iron Man could be in the pipeline. We can dream. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 10. Untitled Fox film Release date: 6 October 2017. In a strange announcement, Fox decided to withhold the release of Gambit until a future, as-yet unannounced date, which could be here, or this could be a completely separate project. Many suspect Deadpool 2 could nicely fit here, Fox capitalising on the success of the first film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 11. Thor: Ragnarok Release date: 3 November 2017. Chris Hemsworth will be returning as the Norse God in his third solo MCU film. Flight of the Conchords Taika Waititi is on board to direct, and promises a fun adventure that will likely lead into Marvels next project, Infinity War. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 12. Justice League Part One Release date: 17 November 2017. Hot on the heals of Thor comes Justice League Part One, the first DCEU team-up flick which will see Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg work together to fight bad guys. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 13: Untitled Fox film Release date: 12 January 2018. Kicking off 2018 will likely be the second Deadpool film, but then again, this could very well be another X-Men team-up. Theres also talk of an X-Force film, with Deadpool and other mutants teaming up to fight evil. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 14. Black Panther Release date: 16 February 2018. The first non-white male-led superhero film in the MCU comes in the form of Black Panther, with Chadwick Boseman reprising the titular role, having also starred as the Panther in Civil War. Creeds Ryan Coogler is on to direct what could be a very exciting film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 15. The Flash Release date: 16 March 2018. The Flash will be the first DCEU film since Justice League, and sees Ezra Miller take the lead. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were supposed to pen the film before Disney snapped them up for the Han Solo-film, leaving Seth Grahame-Smith to take charge. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 16. Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 Release date: 4 May 2018. And so, we finally get to the point of all these Infinity Stones! Thanos will be the big bad, with the Avengers needing to team up to defeat their biggest foe yet. It has previously been described as the end of the Avengers as we know it. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 17. Ant-Man and The Wasp Release date: 6 July 2018. Peyton Reed will be back to direct this surprise sequel to one of the better received MCU films. While the name is ridiculous, at least Marvel are finally having a leading female superhero. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 18. Untitled Fox film Release date: 13 July 2018. Again, not much word on this one except it is thought to be X-Men spin-off New Mutants, something Josh Boone has been hit up to write. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 19. Animated Spider-Man Film Release date: 20 July 2018. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Amy Pascal - the team behind the live-action Spider-Man films - are producing this unrelated animated adaptation of the hero. Because you can never have too much Spider-Man, right? 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 20. Aquaman Release date: 27 July 2018. Another Justice League spin-off, Jason Momoa plays the leading man. Furious 7s James Wan is on to direct, but little else is known about the film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 21. Captain Marvel Release date: 8 March 2019. Weve hit 2019, and the first confirmed superhero film will be the first proper female-led MCU film. No-one is confirmed to be in the titular role of Carol Danvers just yet. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 22. Shazam Release date: 5 April 2019. Dwayne Johnson stars as the villain in this DCEU film which will be somewhat separate to the other DC films. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 23. Avengers: Infinity War Part 2. Release date: 3 May 2019. The conclusion to the long drawn MCU saga. Expect a big finish with at least a few planets being destroyed. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 24. Justice League Part Two Release date: 14 June 2019. Soon after the Infinity War story reaches its conclusion, so will the Justice Leagues. Not much is known, except Darkseid will likely be the villain for at least one of the parts. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 25. Inhumans Release date: 12 July 2019. The concept of Inhumans (or Marvels mutants) has already been introduced in TV, through Marvels Agents of Shield, yet the film is expected to introduce the Royal Family who have yet to be seen in the show. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 26. Cyborg Release date: 3 April 2020. Having debuted in Justice League Part One three years previously, Cyborg will finally be making his own outing, with Ray Fisher as the titular character. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 27. Untitled MCU film Release date: 1 May 2020. The first of three untitled Marvel films. There are a couple of contenders, the first is a likely sequel to Spider-Man with Sony, or a third Guardians of the Galaxy film, thus finishing the trilogy. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 28. Green Lantern Corps. Release date: 19 June 2020. Before you start to worry, this has nothing to do with the Ryan Reynolds-starring flick that hit cinemas a little while ago. Instead, this will be another DCEU film that will likely spin-off from Justice League after the Green Lantern Corps cameo in one of the parts. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 29. Untitled MCU film Release date: 10 July 2020. As well as Spider-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy sequels, a Doctor Strange or Black Panther one could fit in nicely here. Or perhaps Black Widow may finally get the solo-film she deserves. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 30. Untitled MCU film Release date: 6 November 2020. Some speculators also think a Blade film could fit in here, marking over 20 years since the first Blade. But many believe the character may be better suited to a Netflix series, as with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Theres also talk of a Runaways film reaching cinemas at some stage. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 31. Untitled Ben Affleck Batman film Release date: TBA. Now were onto the TBA release dates, the first of which is a Batman solo film, written and directed by Ben Affleck. When this is due, no one is quite sure but expect it sooner rather than later if Batman v Superman is a success. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 32. Suicide Squad 2 Release date: TBA (rumoured 2017). A sequel to Suicide Squad is expected to come in 2017 according to recent reports, but nothing has been confirmed. If the first is successful, it should come as no surprise for Warner Bros to rearrange their schedule to fit in this surefire hit. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 33. Venom Release date: TBA. This is an odd one, as it has been confirmed Sony are wanting to release a Venom film completely unrelated to the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. Venom, as you may know, is a Spider-Man villain, intrinsically linked to Spider-Man, so it seems odd they would release a film unrelated to the rebooted project and not linked to the MCU. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 Anything else? Well, now you mention it, theres also that sequel to Fantastic Four that has seemingly been dropped by Fox. Plus, theres the Gambit film which has been put on hold (but will likely fill an untitled Fox slot so we havent added it extra). Then again, it could be shoehorned in somehow Marvel

According to Deadline, Michael Chernus will be playing The Tinkerer.

The character's real name is Phineas Mason, a creation gifted with an almost superhuman ability to invent sophisticated gadgets and suits he then supplies to other villains. Think some kind of Marvel arms dealer. The Tinkerer will no doubt be assisting Keaton's character (whoever he may be playing).

Chernus' list of credits includes Captain Phillips and Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. He will next be seen starring in Netflix film The Most Hated Woman in America alongside Melissa Leo and Peter Fonda.

Spider-Man: Homecoming - the first look of which was debuted at last month's Comic-Con 2016 - will be released 7 July 2017.
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On paper, Hell or High Water doesn't seem like anything special. A contemporary cops-and-robbers chase set in a string of dusty, near-shuttered West Texas towns, it's the kind of genre piece that's destined to be compared - unfavorably, how else? - to No Country for Old Men.

It turns out that this smart, superbly crafted neo-western more than holds its own in that exercise. Indeed, in some ways, Hell or High Water is more enjoyable than the Coen brothers' film, which although technically flawless, projected a sense of moral severity that grew tedious and self-important by the minute. Like that 2007 film, Hell or High Water addresses changing times and the breakdown of community through the lens of old-fashioned good guys and bad guys. Here, though, the foe isn't a hyped-up embodiment of irrational evil but something far more specific, structural and utterly of its time.

It takes awhile for the heroes and villains to come into clear focus in Hell or High Water, which begins with a beautifully staged bank robbery, wherein Tanner Howard (Ben Foster) and his brother, Toby (Chris Pine), fumble their way through what's supposed to be a slick, perfectly timed heist. Y'all are new at this, I reckon, an unfazed employee says with the kind of laconic, raw-boned humor that permeates Taylor Sheridan's script like a cooling aquifer. In time, the Howard brothers come under the scrutiny of a Texas Ranger named Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges), who with his partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) sets off on a not-quite-high-speed chase through the scrubby expanse of Texas for their increasingly confounding quarry.

What the Howards are after and why - and how they aim to square those means and ends - only gradually emerge in Sheridan's expertly executed script. (He also wrote last year's drug-war drama Sicario) Their characters reveal themselves, as well. Driving their getaway car, or grabbing breakfast on the run, it becomes clear how different Toby is from the hot-headed Tanner, who sees himself as a romanticized lord of the plains, in the tradition of the great Comanche tribesmen. It's been obvious for a while now that Foster is an accomplished actor, especially in roles like the tightly coiled, wild-eyed Tanner. The revelation here is Pine, who dons a mustache and greased-back hair to deliver a subtle, well-judged portrayal of a good man gone bad - but maybe with good reason, hinted at by the foreclosure and debt-consolidation signs the duo pass on their way from ghost town to ghost town.

Early Oscars 2017 contenders Show all 19 1 /19 Early Oscars 2017 contenders Early Oscars 2017 contenders La La Land Whiplash director Damien Chapelle opens this years Venice Film Festival with this original musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as a couple of dreamers trying to make it big in Hollywood: she, a lonely aspiring actress; he, a cocky jazz pianist. The trailer promises a neon-soaked, dreamy take on the classic Golden Age musical, all big-hearted romance and wholesome glamour. Expect La La Land to explore some darker emotional territory alongside all the toe-tapping, too. In cinemas here on 13 January. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Silence Martin Scorseses passion project since 1991 is yet to receive a release date but rumours abound that it will be out in time for the Oscars. Based on a novel of the same name by Japanese author Shusaku Endo, the story centres on two Jesuit missionaries sent to 17th century Japan to spread Christianity and find their mentor Once there, they endure brutal persecution at the time of Kakura Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) following the defeat of the Shimabara Rebellion. Silence sounds weighty, intense and full of hard-hitting promise. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi director Ang Lee has narrowly missed out on a Best Picture win twice now but this adaptation of Ben Fountains acclaimed novel could be the film that finally wins him some overdue glory. The cast includes Kristen Stewart and Vin Diesel with newcomer Joe Alwyn in the lead as 19-year-old soldier Billy, who is brought home for a victory tour after serving in Iraq. Told in flashbacks, the drama reveals the horror of what really happened to his squad in contrast to Americas flashy, patriotic perceptions. Out here 6 January. Early Oscars 2017 contenders A United Kingdom Oyelowo plays Prince Seretse Khama, inaugural Botswana president from 1966 to 1980, in this follow-up to 2015s Belle. Films about real life people often hold clout with the Academy when done well and with Gone Girls Rosamund Pike playing Khamas eventual wife Ruth Williams, A United Kingdom should pull in cinemagoers. Khama sparked a global stir when he married the white Londoner in the late Forties and the first pictures from the movie promise beautiful costumes and cinematography. A United Kingdom will open the London Film Festival before its general release on 25 November. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Loving Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton star as Mildred and Richard Loving in this historical drama about an interracial couple sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for the crime of getting married. Out here just in time for the Oscars on 3 February. Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, Loving earned positive reviews from critics when it competed for the Palme dOr at Cannes and received a standing ovation for understated, strong performances. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Manchester by the Sea One of the best scripts co-producer Matt Damon had ever read, this tragedy about an uncle who is forced to take care of his teenage nephew after the boys father dies while trying to reconcile with his ex-wife stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and newcomer Lucas Hedges. It was bought at Sundance by Amazon for $10 million and arrives in the UK on 13 January. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Nocturnal Animals Designer Tom Ford has cinematic strings to his bow, as proved with 2009s Venice premiere The Single Man. Hes back in the chair for this drama-thriller starring Amy Adams as a remarried art gallery owner whose ex-husbands violent new book begins to haunt her. Jake Gyllenhaal, Isla Fisher and Armie Hammer also star. Due in UK cinemas on 4 November. Early Oscars 2017 contenders The Light Between Oceans Michael Fassbender stars alongside last years Best Supporting Actress winner Alicia Vikander in the big screen adaptation of ML Stedmans 2012 novel of the same name. Derek Cianfrance is the man behind the camera for this story about a lighthouse keeper war veteran who rescues a baby girl with his wife after she washes up on an adrift rowboat. Then, in steps another Oscar winner, Rachel Weisz, as the woman who threatens to break their happy family apart. Out in the UK on 4 November - bring tissues. Early Oscars 2017 contenders American Pastoral Ewan McGregor makes his directorial debut with this period adaptation of Philip Roths novel American Pastoral. The drama - set in the 60s - centres on a successful businessman (McGregor) whose missing daughter (Dakota Fanning) is accused of a violent bombing in post-war America. Out in the UK on 11 November. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Queen of Katwe Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) is the director behind this long-awaited biopic of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi. That Mutesi is played by 12 Years a Slave Oscar-winner Lupita Nyongo is reason enough to anticipate this Disney-produced film, out here 21 October. Disney Early Oscars 2017 contenders Free Fire Ben Wheatleys new action thriller will close the London Film Festival. Set in Massachusetts in the late Seventies, Free Fire stars Oscar-winning Room actress Brie Larson in the lead alongside Cillian Murphy. It follows the heart-stopping game of survival after shots are fired during a meeting between Justine, two Irishmen and two arms dealers who are selling them a stash of guns. Expect blood, sweat and irony with bravura filmmaking from the High-Rise director. Reaches UK cinemas sometime in 2017. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Paterson Jim Jarmuschs Palme dOr contender sees Adam Driver take the lead as a bus driver poet from Paterson, New Jersey. Each night after work, he has dinner with his wife Laura before walking his dog (2016s Palm Dog winner) to the bar for one beer. Then one day, a small disaster strikes. Early Oscars 2017 contenders The Founder Michael Keaton has starred in the last two Best Picture winners Spotlight and Birdman. Here, he takes on the role of ruthless McDonalds founder Ray Kroc, with the film telling the story of the fast food empires origins. The ambitious entrepreneur on a journey to theme didnt end so well for last years Joy, so it remains to be seen whether The Founder can live up to expectations as an Oscars contender. Out here 30 September. The Weinstein Company Early Oscars 2017 contenders Sully Clint Eastwood returns with Sully: Miracle on the Hudson, about the hero pilot who, in 2009, successfully landed his plane along the Hudson River after it was disabled by a flock of geese, saving all 155 crew and passengers. Tom Hanks takes the lead as Chesley Sullenberger in a biopic that sounds like it could tick a lot of Oscars boxes. Based on the autobiography Highest Duty, the thriller marks Eastwoods first directorial effort since 2014s American Sniper. Out 2 December. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Jackie Pablo Larrain directs Oscar winner Natalie Portman as late first lady and fashion icon Jacqueline Kennedy in what he has promised will not be another classic biopic. Set in the days immediately after John F Kennedys 1963 assassination, the film sparked great excitement among distributors after a seven-minute promo screened at Cannes. Release date unknown at this stage. Early Oscars 2017 contenders The Girl on the Train The Helps Tate Taylor is in the directors chair for this years Gone Girl about a troubled woman who becomes embroiled in a murder case after developing a fixation on a beautiful couple from her commuter train. Expect a film pulsating with creepy, voyeur vibes, a la Rear Window, based on Paula Hawkins bestselling thriller. Out in the UK on 7 October. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Florence Foster Jenkins Meryl Streep has been widely praised for her turn as the 1940s New York heiress who couldnt sing (and we mean really couldnt sing) yet somehow became an opera singer with the help of her patient husband St Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) and pianist Cosme McMoon (Simon Helberg). Directed by two-time Academy nominee Stephen Frears, the film proved heartwarming and inspiring upon its release earlier this year and was embraced by both film lovers and critics. Early Oscars 2017 contenders Christine Rebecca Hall set Sundance ablaze in January, earning five-star reviews for the performance of her career in Christine, about the news anchor who killed herself live on air in 1974 after suffering from depression. Yet to receive a UK release date, Christine arrives in US cinemas in October, with Antonio Campos also one to watch for directorial accolades come awards season. Courtesy of Sundance Institute Early Oscars 2017 contenders Arrival Paramount Pictures



As the grizzled, almost-retired lawman on the thieves' trail, Bridges adds a layer of mordant world-weariness to Hell or High Water. A glib way to describe his performance would be to say he's channeling Kris Kristofferson in a role meant for Tommy Lee Jones, but that's not fair to Bridges's own understated gifts. A scene late in the film, when he reacts after dispatching a crucial character, is an almost off-handed masterpiece of screen acting. Directed with rich detail, superb tonal control and an exceptionally graceful camera by David Mackenzie (Starred Up), Hell or High Water takes a story and protagonists that could easily have lived inside a myth spun by John Ford and plunks them down in a world of tweaking, texting, fracking, reverse mortgages and concealed-carry laws. (One of Marcus's deputies doesn't pull on a cigar or corn-cob pipe - he vapes.)

There's deep grief in Hell or High Water, as well as grudging, rueful wit and sinewy home truths about ethnicity in a pre-post-racial America. If the filmmakers are occasionally too obvious by half in their depiction of the Big Bad Banks, they still deserve credit for bringing style and solid values to a movie that winds up being less about crime, comeuppance and genre cliches than continuity, change, the cruel legacy of dispossession and the fight to create a usable past. In a word, Hell or High Water is terrific. It's arrived just in time to make the dog days of summer more bearable.

 Washington Post
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Theres nothing like a sprawling corner sofa to dive into at the end of a busy day  or indeed at any time of the day, we dont need to find an excuse. By its very nature, this is a sociable furniture piece, designed for family or housemate interaction, especially when its wrapped around a low-sitting coffee table with drinks.

Its ideal for movie night, too, whether youre furnishing a dedicated media room or looking for suitable seating for your makeshift home cinema. Either way, you can pass the popcorn along that L-shape.

A corner sofa is rarely cheap so think of it as an investment. Its also worth bearing in mind that this hefty unit has essentially replaced the traditional three-piece suite, so when looking at your budget, remember youre getting two, three or even four-in-one seating here.

Some of the best L-shaped settees are luxuriously slouchy, giving us little choice but to crash in and relax. Look for designs with an integrated chaise longue or footstool if you value putting your feet up.

Youll also need to consider your space and whether a corner sofa is best suited to left- or right-hand configurations as most are asymmetrical. However, some modular designs give you the freedom to position a chaise left or right, which is handy if you have a house move on the cards, or you simply like to rearrange the furniture from time to time.

How we tested

We lounged our way through our list of top corner sofas, looking for exceptional craftsmanship and great design. We weighed up the quality of the materials and affordability, how easy the modular models slotted together and, ultimately, the perfect balance between comfort and support.

The best corner sofas for 2022 are:
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Kentucky Fried Chicken owner, Yum! Brands, has faced renewed pressure from campaigners and investors to stop using chicken routinely treated with antibiotics, a factor in the emergence of drug-resistant superbugs such as MRSA.

A 350,000 signature petition delivered to KFC urged it to follow McDonalds, Papa Johns and Pizza Hut by pledging to end the use of medically important antibiotics in its chickens.

KFC, which in April was found by the BBC to have bacteria from faeces in one of its Birmingham restaurants, has also found itself under fire from angry shareholders who submitted a proposal requesting that the company quickly phase out harmful antibiotic use.

Recommended Read more KFC launches inquiry after BBC probe finds faecal bacteria in ice

Yum Brands' silence in the face of this looming antibiotic resistance crisis is bad for business, said Austin Wilson, representative of shareholder activists, As You Sow.

A KFC spokesperson said it was reviewing whether it could force suppliers to go beyond its minimal legal requirements on antibiotics usage.

The fried chicken seller has said that by 2017, it will not use types of antibiotics which are crucial to human health routinely to promote growth, but will still use them to maintain chicken health under the supervision and prescription of a licensed vet.

Critics have said the measure, which is required by US law, effectively allows routine use to continue. Some 70 per cent of antibiotics vital for fighting infections in humans are sold for use in meat and dairy production.

Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness and time is running out to protect people from superbugs. KFC is lagging woefully behind, said Lena Brook of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is one of the groups delivering petitions to KFC headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky.

These lifesaving drugs should be used only when animals are sick, said Steven Roach, food safety program director at the Food Animals Concern Trust.

Antibiotic resistance

The World Health Organization has warned that the world is moving toward a post-antibiotic era in which many infections would no longer be treatable because of the overuse of antibiotics.

Two US patients are known to have been infected with bacteria carrying the mcr-1 superbug gene that makes germs highly resistant to a last-resort class of antibiotics.

The mcr-1 gene has been found over the past six months in farm animals and people in about 20 countries, including China, Germany and Italy.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

Health officials fear the mcr-1 gene will soon be found in bacteria already resistant to all or virtually all other types of antibiotics, potentially making infections untreatable.

Such discoveries have increased the urgency of calls to reduce antibiotic use in beef and pork production. In April, 54 large investors launched a campaign to curb the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry served by 10 large US and British restaurant groups, including Yum.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Arianna Huffington is stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post.

The business woman has said she is leaving the post to concentrate on her new health and wellbeing venture, Thrive Global.

Announcing the move on Twitter, Ms Huffington said she is "filled with gratitude" for her colleagues at the media outlet.

The Greek-American writer, who is 66 years old, launched the Huffington Post in 2005 and soon became one of the most senior and prominent women in the media. The media outlet was acquired by AOL for $315 million in 2011.

She was recently listed by Forbes magazine as one of the most powerful women in the world.

In June of this year, details emerged of Ms Huffington's new venture Thrive Global. The company will reportedly deliver educational workshops, e-courses and other forms of training to employers seeking to boost their staff members' wellbeing.

According to CNBC, a leaked memo reportedly sent to staff at the time, said: "HuffPosters,

"I wanted you to have the facts regarding the story that appeared this afternoon in a few publications about my launching a new startup. The truth is that yes, I am launching a new startup to focus on the messages in Thrive and The Sleep Revolution, but it is not a media venture.

"The goal will be to provide workshops, e-courses and certification programs to companies around the world. The workshops will be tailored for businesses to drive organizational success, built on the latest scientific findings which prove that the health and well-being of employees and the health of the bottom line are strongly connected.

"The company, Thrive Global, will be run by a separate management team and my primary focus will remain on The Huffington Post, with no change to my current role. It will be a few months before Thrive Global launches and I'll keep everybody updated. But of course in the meantime, if you have any questions, please come and see me or email me."

In a separate interview with the Wall Street Journal, Huffington said she wanted to devote herself full-time to her new venture.

I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up, I realized that it really needed my full attention.

It is important to know when one door closes and another opens and I felt that moment had arrived, she said.

AOL bought The Huffington Post in 2011 for $315 million. But when AOL itself was acquired by Verizon for $4.4 billion last year, questions were raised about Huffington's future in the company.

Following the deal, Huffington signed a contract to remain president and editor-in-chief of the publication through 2019.

There had been discussion for her to continue at the company in a different role but she told the Wall Street Journal that this was not a possibility,

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

I have been running Huffington Post for 11 years and I couldn't imagine having another relationship with it, she said.

Huffington will reportedly leave in the publication in the next two or three weeks.

Arianna is a visionary who built The Huffington Post into a truly transformative news platform, Tim Armstrong, chief executive officer of AOL, said in a statement.

"AOL and Verizon are committed to continuing its growth and the groundbreaking work Arianna pioneered.
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There is an extensive list of acts and comments from Donald Trump that have made his campaign as controversial as it is today.

The billionaire magnate has remained at the top of headlines by provoking outrage with incendiary comments about his detractors and rivals.

One of his most recent remarks attracted the attention of the US Secret Service when he suggested second amendment people could do something to stop Hillary Clinton from abolishing the Second Amendment - the right to bear arms.

On Wednesday, Mr Trumps escalatory rhetoric continued with him branding President Barack Obama the founder of Isis, a claim he also reserved for Ms Clinton four days before.

People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Show all 8 1 /8 People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Miley Cyrus 'God he thinks he is the f***ing chosen one or some shit!  Honestly f*** this sh*t I am moving if this is my president! I dont say things I dont mean!' Jemal Countess/Getty Images People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Whoopi Goldberg 'I dont think thats America. I dont want it to be America. Maybe its time for me to move you know' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Samuel L. Jackson 'If that mother**er becomes president, Im moving my black ass to South Africa' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Raven Symone 'My confession for this election is, if any Republican gets nominated, Im gonna move to Canada with my entire family. Is that bad? I already have my ticket. I literally bought my ticket, I swear' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Cher 'If he were to be elected, I'm moving to Jupiter' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Neve Campbell 'Im terrified. Its really scary. My biggest fear is that Trump will triumph. I cannot believe that he is still in the game ... [I'll] move back to Canada' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Jon Stewart 'I would consider getting in a rocket and going to another planet, because clearly this planets gone bonkers' People who will flee America if Donald Trump wins Randy Blythe 'He could just be a clown. If he is the president, though, I am leaving America 'till he's gone'

His comments often appear to bolster his campaign and he now stands as the Republican presidential nominee. But some of his actions have proved more jarring than others among the US electorate. A poll by Bloomberg which asked which of the actions highlighted by his political opponents likely voters were most bothered by found his impression of Serge Kovaleski, a reporter with the congenital condition arthrogryposis who he singled out at a rally in South Carolina, to be at the top of the list.

The poll asked 1,0007 adults over the age of 18 to rate nine things he has been criticised for by Democrats in terms of how little and how much each one bothered them. They included his mocking of Kovaleski, his comments about the parents of a fallen Muslim solider, his follow-up comments about the sacrifices he had made by working in business, and his decision not to release his tax returns.

Respondents said they were most bothered about Mr Trump's impression of Kovaleski, where he made jittery movements with his hand and slurred his speech. Mr Trump defended his actions by claiming he was simply mimicking a grovelling reporter and had no idea about what he looked like. After that, his remarks about the parents of the slain soldier killed in Iraq was the action people were the second most offended by.
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Robin Williams died two years ago today.

The comedy giant had been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease a few months before he died. An autopsy found the Mrs Doubtfire actor had been suffering from a rare form of dementia which may have affected his reasoning abilities.

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Williams was known for his comedic brilliance, dexterity and also his kindness, the latter being something he was increasingly remembered for in the eulogies and tributes which followed.

There have been few deaths in recent memory that have prompted such an outpouring of collective grief from politicians, celebrities, fans and people from all walks of life.

In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Show all 25 1 /25 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Mrs Doubtfire Robin Williams with Sally Field in Mrs Doubtfire In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Oscar He won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 'Good Will Hunting' in 1997 Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Mork and Mindy In Mork and Mindy, the TV series that launched his career in the 1970s Rex In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 The Tonight Show On 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' in 2004. Williams was renowned for his hyperactive appearances on talk shows Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Williams' hand and footprint ceremony Williams with two of his children, Cody (centre) and Zelda, and his wife, Marsha, during his hand and footprint ceremony outside the Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in 1998 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Premiere of Old Dogs Robin Williams and his wife Susan Schneider at the premiere of "Old Dogs" in Los Angeles on 9 November 2009 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Tour de France US cyclist Lance Armstrong chatting with US actor Robin Williams after he won the 91st Tour de France cycling race between Valreas and Villard-de-Lans on 20 July 2004 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Annual People's Choice Awards Presenter Robin Williams speaks during the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on 7 January 2009 in Los Angeles, California Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 The Big Wedding All star cast: Susan Sarandon, Robert De Niro and Robin Williams star in The Big Wedding In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Building homes Robin Williams Helps Build Homes With Habitat For Humanity, 4 December 2000 in Wilmington Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Premiere of Man of the Year Robin Williams and wife Marsha Garces Williams arriving for the premiere of Universal Pictures "Man of the Year" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on 4 October 2006 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 CW, CBS And Showtime 2013 Summer TCA Party Robin Williams at the CW, CBS And Showtime 2013 Summer TCA Party on 29 July 2013 in Los Angeles, California Jason Kempin/Getty Images In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Holiday Troop Visit Robin Williams and US celebrity Lewis Black (L) laughing in the back stage during the entertaining performance of "Holiday Troop Visit" by US celebrities for Christmas at boardwalk stage of the Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan on 16 December 2010 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Andre Agassi's Grand Slam for Children press conference Robin Williams speaks during the Andre Agassi's Grand Slam for Children press conference at the MGM Grand Hotel, 2 October 2004 in Las Vegas, Neveda Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Golden Globe Robin Williams holds his Golden Globe after winning for best actor in a comedy for his role in 'Mrs. Doubtfire' 22 January 1994 Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Premiere of Happy Feet Two Robin Williams attends the Premiere of Warner Brothers Pictures' "Happy Feet Two" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on 13 November 2011 in Hollywood In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Good Will Hunting Matt Damon and Ben Affleck pose with actor Robin Williams with their Oscars they won for 'Good Will Hunting' at the 70th Annual Academy Awards 23 March in Los Angeles Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Mork and Mindy Robin Williams in 1980 with Pam Dawber, his co-star in the Mork and Mindy TV series Rex In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 The Crazy Ones Robin Williams with his Mork and Mindy co-star Pam Dawber in The Crazy Ones series, 2014 In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Yankees versus Pittsburgh Pirates Robin Williams attends a game between the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates during the Grapefruit League Spring Training game on 13 March 2008 at Legends Field in Tampa, Florida Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Posing Robin Williams poses for a portrait during the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on 7 January 2009 in Los Angeles, California Michael Caulfield/Getty Images for PCA In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Cecil B. DeMille Award Robin Williams holds his Cecil B. DeMille Award with award presenter Pierce Brosnan at the 62nd annual Golden Globe Awards show 16 January 2005 in Beverly Hills Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Happy Feet Two Robin Williams laughs with Elijah Wood on arrival for the world premiere of the movie 'Happy Feet Two' in Hollywood on 13 November 2011 Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 Tony Awards Robin Williams speaks during the 65th Annual Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on 12 June 2011 in New York City Getty In pictures: Robin Williams 1951 - 2014 AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Mike Nichols Actor Robin Williams speaks on stage during the 38th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Mike Nichols held at Sony Pictures Studios on 10 June 2010 in Culver City, California Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI

In the weeks after his passing, dozens came forward with stories of how the 63-year-old had affected their life in some way, whether it be by asking his teenage co-stars date out to the prom on their behalf, writing letters in defence of pupils to headteachers or making them laugh on the saddest nights of their life.

A few months before taking his life, he sent one terminally ill fan a message of hope after finding out he had made it on to her bucket list.

Vivian Waller, from New Zealand, compiled a list of things she wanted to accomplish after being told she had only months to live. Meeting Williams was one, but she was too sick to travel.

The 21-year-old was living in an Auckland hospice when one of her friends managed to contact Williams. He responded by emailing across a video with a message for her.

Hi Vivian, its Robin Williams here, saying: Hey girl, whats going on there down in New Zealand? he said to the camera, putting on a Kiwi accent.

Sending all my love to you, Jack and Sophie. Mark this off your bucket list.

I said: Hey, hey, hey. Whats going on? he continued. Its all right, sall right, sall right. Im just channelling Matthew McConaughey.

Much love to you baby!

Waller died peacefully in her sleep in September 2014, less than two months after the death of her idol. She is survived by her three-year-old daughter Sophie and her widow, Jack.
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Mila Kunis will be sending her children a very surprising message as they grow up: you are poor.

Together with her husband Ashton Kutcher the pair has built a staggering combined wealth and will likely never have to worry about where the next meal is coming from or how a mortgage will be paid.

Their children will benefit greatly from this rare level of financial security.

But one distinction will be made clear: the parents are rich. The offspring are not.

Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires Show all 10 1 /10 Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires 2014 Getty Images Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires 2014 Getty Images Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires 2014 Getty Images Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires Getty Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires 2007 Getty Images Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires 2012 Getty Images Forbes 2016 list of worlds billionaires

Kunis explained how she and Kutcher have often spoken about how to raise children from a position of such wealth and somehow ensure they don't turn out to be an asshole.

Its a matter of teaching them from a very early age that, you know, Mommy and Daddy may have a dollar, but youre poor,  she joked during an appearance on the Kyle and Jackie O Show. You are very poor, you have nothing. Mommy and Daddy have a bank account. 

Its so important because we both came from pretty solid poverty backgrounds and grew up very poor and are very much self-made and are very aware of what a dollar is worth, she added. Nothings been handed to us.

Kunis, 32, has a daughter with Kutcher and is pregnant with her second child. She left the Ukrainian SSR for Los Angeles in 1991 at the age of seven amid a rising wave of antisemitism engulfing the country. They arrived in the US on a religious-refugee visa.

In her recent criticism of divisive immigration comments made by Donald Trump, Kunis said she grew up in a happy family despite living on the breadline.

My parents went through hell and back. They came to America with suitcases and a family of seven and $250, and thats it.  My dad worked - f*** if I know - seven jobs? He painted a house. He would deliver toilets. He drove a cab, delivered pizzas.

But growing up poor, I never missed out on anything. My parents did a beautiful job of not making me feel like I was lesser than any other kids.
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Tokyo's first female governor, Yuriko Koike, found an overflowing inbox when she took office last week: fix the 2020 Tokyo Olympic preparations, clean up the government of the world's largest city, eliminate the day-care shortage that is keeping women from the workplace, and restore Tokyo's financial centre to its former glory.

Oh, and do it all against the wishes of an old boys club that did not want her elected in the first place. (One of them even suggested it would be wrong to elect a woman who wore too much makeup.)

But Ms Koike, a staunch conservative known for her nationalist positions, is not coming into office promising to make nice.

There will be no occasions on which I will compromise, she said in an interview in her new office on Wednesday, her first with a foreign news organisation since being elected, when asked about how she would proceed with a legislature that is not exactly enamoured with her.

Instead, she invoked the maxim of one of her role models, Britain's Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher, about acting on conviction, not by consensus.

In Japanese society, you try to build consensus and try to keep harmony, but I would like to convince people to change for the sake of our society, Koike said. I learned that from Mrs Thatcher. Ms Koike, who is fluent in English, chose to speak mostly in Japanese.

She is taking on one of the most high-profile roles in Japan, running a megalopolis that has almost 14 million people and an economy bigger than Sweden's.

She comes to the office with a strong mandate. She ran as an independent after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in which she served, chose a lesser-known (male) candidate. She crushed him with a landslide victory.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is a role model for Yuriko Koike (PA)

Despite spending almost a quarter of a century in public office, serving as national security adviser and minister for the environment, Okinawa and then defence, Ms Koike, 64, won the governorship because she was viewed as an outsider.

She has two pressing tasks, analysts say. One: restore order to the shambles that is the 2020 Olympics. And two: after two governors had to resign over financial scandals, to promote transparency in the Tokyo government.

The preparations for the 2020 Olympics have lurched from one fiasco to another. The official logo was scrapped after allegations of plagiarism, then plans for a stadium designed by architect Zaha Hadid were torn up because of costs.

Most recently, French prosecutors and the Tokyo organisers have launched an investigation into $2m (1.5m) in suspicious payments made to a Singapore company.

Then there is the inevitable overspending. The budget for the next summer Games has more than tripled, to more than $10bn, and the public has become concerned that politicians have been awarding contracts to their cronies.

Tokyo-based designer Asao Tokolo speaks during a press conference at the Tokyo 2020 emblem unveiling (Getty)

Its true that weve had some trouble relating to the Olympics, said Ms Koike, who will travel to Rio de Janeiro for the closing ceremony, and handover, on 21 August. Her term runs until 30 July 2020  six days after the Olympic Games begin.

Ms Koike said that many of the problems with the Olympics stemmed from it not being clear who was in charge: the organising committee headed by former prime minister Yoshiro Mori, the Japan Olympic Committee, the central government or the Tokyo metropolitan government.

We need to make it clear whos making the decisions, she said. Ms Koike has already established a headquarters within the Tokyo government to make it clear who is in charge, that the buck stops with her. As the governor of the host city, I'd like to take the leadership of the Olympics and Paralympics.

Ms Koike has an unusual background for any Japanese politician, male or female.

Her grandfather founded a trading company in Seattle in the early 19th century, and her father was involved in the oil trade, sparking Ms Koike's interest in the Middle East. As a college student she studied Arabic in Cairo and then completed a degree in sociology there. While in Egypt, she married a fellow Japanese student, but the marriage did not last long.

On her return to Japan, she put her language skills to work, interviewing Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, before becoming a news anchor. She entered parliament in 1992.

Ms Koike was Japan's first defence minister, but only briefly, serving just 55 days.

In 2008, she became the first woman to run for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party, and, by extension, the country's top job.

As the new governor, I will make policies, and I doubt that my ideas will be opposed by the assembly <p>New Tokyo governor, Yuriko Koike</p>

But Ms Koike has not been particularly outspoken about women's issues. Regardless, she faces an official Japan plagued by rampant sexism, where male politicians comment on how much makeup she wears and how she dresses.

While all women worldwide face greater scrutiny compared to their male counterparts, the pressure on Ms Koike to be effective will be especially harsh, said Shihoko Goto, a north-east Asia specialist at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars.

So far, though, she seems unafraid and confident enough to overcome obstacles her own way, Ms Goto said.

Indeed, Ms Koike is throwing down the gauntlet. As the new governor, I will make policies, and I doubt that my ideas will be opposed by the assembly, she said.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

There is talk in Tokyo that Ms Koike will launch a new political party before next year's assembly elections.

If she can form her own party and put her own people in the legislature, I think she'll be able to move forward with her reforms, said Lully Miura, a political analyst at the University of Tokyo. The governor alone cannot make any difference. History has proven that.

But for all of her bravado, Ms Koike will have to deal with an assembly dominated by a Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition, where many of the representatives  overwhelmingly men  are annoyed that she did not adhere to deferential etiquette by calling on them before she ran for governor.

She will need the legislature on board to implement changes to the running of the Olympics and the city government, as well as making good on other campaign pledges such as eliminating the waiting list for day care, improving facilities for the rapidly aging population, and reinvigorating Tokyo's position as a major financial centre.

But even so, Ms Koike will have to pick her battles and decide whether to champion the Olympics or to improve transparency in the Tokyo government  not both  or risk pushing the old guard too far, Ms Miura said. Otherwise, she'll find herself mired in scandals, just like her predecessors.

Washington Post
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When scientists announced in 2003 they had used a pioneering technique for the first time to create so-called three-parent babies, there was international outrage with accusations that they were playing God.

But  as UK regulators consider whether it is medically safe to licence its use in order to prevent women with devastating inherited diseases from passing them on to their children  the researchers have finally published an academic paper detailing their work in which they insist it is safe.

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Dr John Zhang, who lead the team, said he regretted revealing the news in 2003, saying some of the researchers had been so eager to be famous.

They delayed publishing the paper because of the heat around the issue at the time, he said, but decided to do so now in the hope of encouraging the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to issue a licence for the technique.

He urged them to allow it, saying it would cure a devastating disease affecting thousands of couple and could also lead to a new era of medicine.

Last year the UK became the only country in the world to legalise its use, with David Cameron insisting it was wrong to say it was playing God ahead of a landmark vote by MPs.

Writing in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online, the researchers concluded that pronuclear transfer, as it is known, can produce a viable pregnancy, despite the loss of twins after 24 and 29 weeks in the womb.

Speaking from his clinic in New York, Dr Zhang said he felt they had gone public too soon in 2003.

I think some of my team members were so eager to be famous. They wanted to let the whole world know, he said.

According to some opponents, the procedure is tantamount to genetic modification of humans.

It involves using DNA from a mother with an inherited mitochondrial disease and a father and also a donated egg from another woman, which contains her healthy mitochondrial DNA.

Unlike ordinary DNA, which has the genetic information that helps make us who we are, mitochondrial DNA provides power for the cell and has been compared to a battery.

Many scientists in the field insist the term three-parent baby is inaccurate for this reason as the significant DNA is from two people.

Dr Zhang said while there had been some practical obstacles to publishing an academic paper, they had been put off by the public furore that erupted in 2003.

Thats why we didnt want to publish it for a while  there was too much heat, he said.

We feel like the British had a debate, parliament allowed this work, and we feel that the current climate may be more friendly.

It seems to me now the situation in the UK is very encouraging. I really hope  I think the UK is probably the only country now able to lead the world in allowing this kind of work to continue. I think the UK is way more advanced.

 Vote yes to three-parent babies

Dr Zhang, who studied at Cambridge University, said the technique they used was almost identical to one proposed by a team of experts at Newcastle University.

He felt that opponents of its use were treating foetuses in a different way to people who were sick.

This person needs to be treated or cured  no one would have a problem with that. Why should it be different with a foetus to a patient in a hospital? Dr Zhang said.

I think the immediate benefit of this technique is thousands of couples can have a baby of their own without this disease. You basically cure the disease.

But he also argued it would be a very important technique to help couples have a baby, as he had tried to do in 2003.

And, in the future, he said it would herald a new era of medicine with significant advances in gene therapy and regenerative medicine.

The applications are tremendous. I think the whole of medicine is going to change, he said.

This is a very safe procedure, a safe and efficient procedure.

His team had tried to help a 30-year-old woman and her partner who were struggling to have a child despite IVF treatment.

Dr Zhang said he believed they had eventually decided to adopt, but despite the loss of the unborn babies, he said: They still feel it [pronuclear transfer] should be carried out, it should continue.

They almost had two children. If everything had gone well, the whole history would have changed.

According to some opponents, the procedure is tantamount to genetic modification of humans (3photo/Corbis)

In an article in the journal commenting on the paper, scientists Dr Jacques Cohen and Dr Henry Malter wrote that the 13-year hiatus in publishing the paper may have been the result of the tragic outcome and the criticism from colleagues and ethicists.

They highlighted a lack of information in the paper about some details of the procedure, including the ethics approval process at Sun-Yat Sen University in China where the procedure was carried out.

Could the procedure be considered successful from a technical standpoint since the majority of the reconstructed zygotes [fertilised egg cell] developed into apparently normal diploid embryos? This was indeed a significant, if limited finding, considering the developmental history, they added.

Dr Cohen helped create the world's first children with mitochondrial DNA from two women as part of fertility treatment, but used a different technique that would not be suitable for preventing the passing on of mitochondrial diseases.

On the forthcoming HFEA decision, he told The Independent that the paper by Dr Zhang and his team could only affect it positively.

There is the issue there was never a live birth, he said, but he added it was hard to imagine that the foetuses had died because of the pronuclear transfer.

Instead it may have been a combination of patient issues and the decision to reduce the pregnancy from triplets to twins, which is sometimes done during IVF to improve the chances of the others but which can also lead to their loss.

It was extraordinarily experimental, Dr Cohen added. I think it was interesting work, it was surprising at the time and it still is surprising now.

A spokesman for the HFEA said an expert panel was due to make a recommendation to its board about approving a licence to allow pronuclear transfer to take place later this year.
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Theresa Mays campaign to stamp out the kind of Islamic extremism that breeds terrorism is aggravating the problems of a minority with the highest unemployment rate of any ethnic or religious group in the UK, a committee of MPs has warned.

When the MPs were conducting their inquiry into the job prospects of British Muslims, they encountered witnesses who were afraid to talk to them, because of the impact of the Counter Terrorism Act that Ms May introduced when she was Home Secretary, a year ago.

The all-party Women and Inequalities committee is urging the Government to draw up a plan by the end of this year to improve the employment prospects of Muslims  particularly Muslim women, who suffer the triple penalty of being women, being black or Asian, and being Muslim.

Their report, titled "Employment Opportunities for Muslims in the UK", points out that there is a 12.8 per cent unemployment rate among the UKs 2.7 million Muslims, compared with 5.4 per cent for the general population. An analysis of the 2011 census, by the think tank Demos, found that two-thirds of Muslims who are "economically inactive"  meaning that they are either out of work or not seeking to work  are women, a much higher proportion than among the population as a whole. Nearly half of "economically inactive" Muslim women are not looking for paid work because they are looking after the home. Among the population as a whole, only 16 per cent of women are economically inactive for that reason.

When the members of the committee set out to see for themselves how Muslim communities are coping, they found themselves being greeted with mistrust by people who thought they had come to reinforce Ms Mays Prevent programme.

The report says: In the course of this inquiry we came across individual Muslims who were reluctant to engage with us for fear that our inquiry was part of the Prevent programme.

During our visit to Luton, Muslim participants told us government interventions made them wary and that they felt they were being treated as a suspect community. The Prevent strategy was cited as a significant source of tension.

The MPs do not suggest that Ms May abandon the Prevent programme, but they make 19 recommendations for ways to overcome discrimination at work and improve the job prospects of Muslims. They include making sure that Muslim schoolchildren and students and their parents know what job opportunities are on offer, and that employers are made aware that discrimination against an applicant on the grounds of religion is illegal.

They also warn that when Universal Credit takes the place of most current welfare payments, there is a risk that ethnic minorities may suffer disproportionately from the "conditionality" clause that will penalise claimants who are judged not to be making an effort to increase the family income. This could apply to women who choose not to go out to work because they are minding the home. The MPs urge that the system should be properly explained, and allowances made for language barriers.

Theresa May in quotes Show all 10 1 /10 Theresa May in quotes Theresa May in quotes On being described by the former chancellor Ken Clarke as a bloody difficult woman: Politics could do with some Bloody Difficult Women actually Rex Features Theresa May in quotes On keeping secrets even from her husband: There are some things I am told that I am not able to confide in anybody Rex Features Theresa May in quotes On the relentless focus on her appearance during a speech at the Women in the World summit: "I like clothes and I like shoes. One of the challenges for women in the workplace is to be ourselves and I say you can be clever and like clothes. You can have a career and like clothes Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On comparisons to Margaret Thatcher: I think there can only ever be one Margaret Thatcher. Im not someone who naturally looks to role models. Ive always, whatever job it is Im doing at the time, given it my best shot. I put my all into it, and try to do the best job I can AFP/Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On her rebelliousness, or lack of, as a teenager: I probably was Goody Two Shoes at school Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On being replaced as chairman by Lord Saatchi and Liam Fox in 2003: Yes, it takes two men to step into the shoes of one woman AFP/Getty Images Theresa May in quotes What Theresa May said when she was asked about her political ambitions during an interview with Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, a lawyer married to Nick Clegg, in December: MD: "My very last question is: that little girl who is somewhere there, is she dreaming of becoming the next British Prime Minister?" TM: "Shes dreaming of carrying on doing a good job in the Home Office" Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On not being able to have children: I like to keep my personal life personal. We couldnt have children, we dealt with it and moved on. I hope nobody would think that mattered; I can still empathise, understand people and care about fairness and opportunity Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On whether she can deliver the mandate of the EU referendum: I think for party members and indeed for others, I would say look at my record. I think they can see that Im somebody who gets on with the job, but Im also somebody who says it as I see it and actually delivers on what I say Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On the equally relentless obsession with her shoes: As a woman I know you can be very serious about something and very soberly dressed add a little bit of interest with footwear. I always tell women you have to be yourself, dont assume you have to fit into a stereotype and if your personality is shown through your clothes or shoes, so be it Getty Images

Maria Miller, the former Conservative Cabinet minister who now chairs the Inequalities committee, said: This report underlines the positive contributions of Muslims across the UK, and the urgent need to make equality of opportunity a reality for people of every faith and background.

The challenges that the Government faces in tackling extremism cannot be under estimated but in the course of this inquiry we came across individual Muslims who were reluctant to speak to us for fear that our inquiry was part of the Prevent programme. The Prevent strategy was cited as a significant source of tension by a number of participants.

 Theresa May says she has an 'open mind' over Brexit negotiations

We heard evidence that stereotypical views of Muslim women can act as a barrier to work. The data suggests that in communities these patterns are shifting across generations but we remain concerned that this shift is happening too slowly and that not all Muslim women are being treated equally.
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Britains sweariest judge may also be Britain's toughest, The Independent can reveal.

Her Honour Judge Patricia Lynch QC, who has made headlines from Australia to New York  and possibly legal history  by telling racist offender John Hennigan he was a bit of a c**t has previously told a weeping defendant to man up and informed a flasher: No-one wants to see your penis.

Since becoming a barrister in 1979, the 64-year-old has helped put rapists, gangsters and Britains youngest female double murderer behind bars.

Recommended Read more Teenage rape victim in Mexico is refused abortion

Since becoming a judge on the South Eastern Circuit in 2014, she has told one female sex offender she deserved to be laughed at, and been unafraid to lambast the CPS and express her frustration at sentencing guidelines set by her superiors.

She also seems to have struck a certain amount of fear into her legal colleagues.

One source, who knew Judge Lynch when she was a barrister, told The Independent: You knew that if you crossed her, you would be in trouble. She takes no prisoners.

I suppose, to a degree she was the toughest, the source added. She certainly had a reputation. If you were being prosecuted by her, there was only one place you were going.

During her time as a barrister, Judge Lynch, who became a QC in 1998, successfully prosecuted Terry Smith, a professional gangster who professed to have gone straight, appearing on TV chat shows and writing a memoir, The Art of Armed Robbery. Despite telling detectives who arrested him This is outrageous, Smith, from Canvey Island, Essex, was sent to prison for 12 years in 2010 after Judge Lynch told a jury he had masterminded a series of violent robberies.

Another career highlight included the conviction at the Old Bailey of Lorraine Thorpe, of Clapgate Lane, Ipswich, who in 2009, aged 15, became probably Britains youngest female double murderer when she and an accomplice killed her father Desmond and a woman called Rosalyn Hunt.

Judge Lynch has also proved up to the task of handling highly controversial cases. In 2014 at Cambridge Crown Court, she secured convictions of two Asian men who had groomed and sexually assaulted young, vulnerable white girls in the Peterborough area.

She started on the ladder to being made a judge by becoming a part-time Assistant Recorder in 1997 and a Recorder in 2000, trying less complex cases than those handled by a full judge.

And as she began hearing cases, she began subjecting defendants to lacerating turns of phrase similar in tone, if not vocabulary, to that she directed at Hennigan, 50, from Harlow, Essex, when she jailed him for insulting a black Caribbean mother.

In 2013 at Chelmsford Crown Court she told Stephen Tunstill, 58, of Chelmsford, Essex, who had wept after being arrested for child pornography offences: It's all very well crying through your police interview. You've got to man up.

Grudgingly, she made Tunstill the subject of a three-year community order, making it clear that professional duty obliged her to spare him jail.

You deserve to go to jail, she told him. But I have a duty not to leave your problem untreated.

Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell

After being made a judge in June 2014, she continued to make crystal clear her contempt for sex offenders with a series of withering put-downs.

In September 2014, Elaine McKay, 58, of Banister Close, Clacton, a married teaching assistant being sentenced for sending sexually explicit pictures of herself to a 15-year-old boy, pleaded sympathy on the basis that she was now a figure of fun who was laughed at in the street.

Judge Lynchs response was to tell her You are the subject of derision and you deserve it.

Darren Reynolds, 45, of Heybridge, Essex, up for sentencing last year for flashing at an 11-year-old girl, was told: No-one wants to look at your penis, let alone children.

According to one local newspaper report, after jailing Reynolds for more than two years, Judge Lynch turned her fire on the CPS, lambasting the prosecution service for having suggested that the girl should give evidence in court to challenge Reynolds claim that he never spoke to her.

Nor has Judge Lynch been afraid to give the impression she was dissatisfied with the sentencing guidelines set by her superiors.

In August last year, sentencing 75-year-old Michael Taylor after he admitted grooming, kissing and groping two girls at the animal sanctuary he ran, she pointedly admitted that she wanted to jail him but was restricted by Sentencing Council guidelines to giving him a 36-month community order.

Speaking to the victims and their families at Chelmsford Crown Court, she said: With a heavy heart, I propose to adopt the recommendations in the pre-sentence report.

It is far from unheard of for judges to deal sharply with disrespectful offenders. In August 2010 Judge Douglas Marks Moore, a former Irish Guardsman, even went as far as grabbing a rapist round the throat and rugby tackling him after he tried to escape from his court.

But Judge Lynch may be the first in the UK to have sworn at a defendant and used the C-word towards them. After Hennigan, who also gave a Nazi salute from the dock, told her she was a bit of a c**t, she replied Youre a bit of a c**t yourself.

She was hailed a hero as her response was covered by news outlets from New York to Australia, but the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office is now investigating after complaints were reportedly made about what Judge Lynch had said to Hennigan.

The legal source confirmed to The Independent that he had heard Judge Lynch swearing before, but it was the F-word. I never heard her drop the C-bomb.

The source added that off-duty, she definitely had a sense of humour, theres no doubt about that.

Stressing that Ms Lynch was a lovely lady who was always fair, the source said he had never been the target of her wrath himself.

I was always very careful, he said.
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Kadiza Sultana, one of three schoolgirls from east London who ran away to join Isis, is thought to have been killed in an air strike in Syria.

Ms Sultana, 17, left Britain to travel to Syria in February 2015 with fellow teenagers Shamima Begum and Amira Abase.

But Ms Sultanas family, who had been in contact with her by phone, believes she was killed in a Russian bomb strike on Raqqa in May, according to ITV News.

The girls, who attended Bethnal Green Academy in east London, may have been radicalised by Isis propaganda distributed online.

Ms Sultana was 16 when she flew to Istanbul and travelled onwards to the Syrian border with Ms Abase and Ms Begum, who were both 15 at the time.

The trio were feared to have become so-called jihadi brides, and Ms Sultanas husband was an American national of Somali origin who died late last year, according to the Press Association.

Kadiza Sultana, center, caught on CCTV walking through Gatwick airport with Amira Abase, left, and Shamima Begum, right (AP)

Ms Sultana was planning to escape and return to Britain, having become disillusioned with life in Syria, but died earlier this year when her home was destroyed in an air strike.

Her sister, Halima Khanom, gave an interview to ITV News that included clips of phone recordings between the siblings.

Ms Sultana, speaking before her death, said: I don't have a good feeling. I feel scared... You know the borders are closed right now, so how am I going to get out?

Her sister asked how confident she was of escaping and she replied: Zero.

All three girls were represented by lawyer Tasnime Akunjee, who told ITV News: You would move heaven and earth to get any child back from a danger zone, and this family had done all they could and stretched every sinew to get their daughter, their sibling back home.

Perhaps the only benefit out of this is as a tombstone and a testimony for others of the risks of actually going to a warzone, to dissuade people from ever making that choice.

The lawyer who represented the girls has said: Leaving Isis is like trying to escape from Alcatraz, with a shoot-to-kill order added in.

Ms Khanom said: We were expecting this in a way. But at least we know she is in a better place.

Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Show all 9 1 /9 Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Policemen outside Rouen's cathedral during the funeral of Jacques Hamel, the priest who was killed in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy on 26 July during a hostage-taking claimed by Islamic State group Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two jihadists, both 19, slit Hamel's throat while he was celebrating mass in an attack that shocked France as well as the Catholic Church Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Muslims place flowers and hold a minute of silence in front of the church if Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, western France, where French priest Jacques Hamel was killed on 26 July Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two people hold each other by the new makeshift memorial in Nice, in tribute to the victims of the deadly Bastille Day attack at the Promenade des Anglais Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the truck attack that killed 84 people in Nice on France's national holiday. Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, smashed a 19-tonne truck into a packed crowd of people in the Riviera city celebrating Bastille Day Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police work at a site where a Syrian migrant set off an explosive device in Ansbach, southern Germany, on 25 July, killing himself and wounding a dozen others Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis A Syrian migrant set off an explosion at a bar in southern Germany that killed himself and wounded a dozen others in the third attack to hit Bavaria in a week. The 27-year-old, who had spent a stint in a psychiatric facility, had intended to target a music festival in the city of Ansbach but was turned away because he did not have a ticket Friebe/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police officers walk along train tracks in Wuerzburg southern Germany on 19 July, a day after a man attacked train passengers with an axe. German authorities said they had found a hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the man, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong in his rampage Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis German police killed a teenage assailant after he attacked passengers on a train in Wuerzburg, southerg Germany with an axe and a knife on 18 July, seriously wounding three people Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP/Getty Images

The Bethnal Green schoolgirls were among more than 800 Britons believed to have left the UK to join Isis or other militant groups in Syria and Iraq, ITV News said. It is thought that at least 250 have since returned.

Some have faced prosecution, with others allowed to re-enter society under the watch of security services.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe had told MPs last year the Bethnal Green trio would be unlikely to be prosecuted if they returned to Britain unless there was evidence they had committed any specific crimes while with Isis.
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Muslim people are much more likely to be unemployed than any other faith group in the country, a House of Commons committee has warned in a report outlining stark differences in the social and economic experiences of different communities in Britain.

Commissioned by the Women and Equalities Committee, the report 'Employment Opportunities for Muslims in the UK' raises concerns that not enough is being done to ensure British Muslims are afforded the same employment opportunities as the rest of society.





12.8 per cent of Muslims are unemployed, compared to 5.4 per cent of the general population.





Within this figure, a significant gender divide emerges, as 65 per cent of unemployed Muslims are women.





It is unknown if this gender disparity is due to Muslim women being more visible due to wearing more overt religious attire such as a hijab, meaning that employers are able to identify their religion more readily and subsequently discriminate against them. Or conversely, if cultural attitudes regarding gender in Muslim communities mean they are more reluctant for female community members to work.

Research has found 44 per cent of unemployed Muslim women say they are unable to work because they look after the home, compared to 16 per cent of unemployed women among the wider UK population.





Research elsewhere has indicated one in 4 employees will admit to being reluctant to hire Muslim women due to concerns they will put family commitments and caring duties above their professional duties.





Similarly, other research has shown British Pakistani women are much more likely to be asked whether they have plans to get married or have children, with 1 in 8 being asked, compared to 1 in 30 white women.





The report also noted many Muslims feel the Prevent programme is a source of fear and anxiety among their communities, due to concerns it unfairly impacted on them. It states: In the course of this inquiry we came across individual Muslims who were reluctant to engage with us for fear that our inquiry was part of the Prevent programme.

During our visit to Luton, Muslim participants told us government interventions made them wary and that they felt they were being treated as a suspect community. The Prevent strategy was cited as a significant source of tension.

It is feared this may make it harder for government strategies to tackle unemployment among Muslims, as they could subsequently be less likely to engage with statutory agencies due to these concerns, meaning they are further alienated from support and resources.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA

Responding to the report, Conservative MP Maria Miller told the committee: This report underlines the positive contributions of Muslims across the UK, and the urgent need to make equality of opportunity a reality for people of every faith and background.

A Government spokesperson said: The government is committed to making Britain a country that works for everyone. We want all people, regardless of their faith or gender to have access to the same opportunities so that they can reach their full potential.
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Britain is set to heat up this weekend thanks to a rush of warm air from Spain and north Africa  but, contrary to some reports, the upcoming warm weather cant be called a Spanish plume.

A mini-heatwave will treat those staying in the UK for their summer holidays to balmy temperatures this weekend and early next week.

A period of hot weather is on the cards, Met Office meteorologist Emma Sharples told the Independent. The warmest day looks to be Tuesday, when well probably see temperatures in the low 30s.

But Ms Sharples said while the warmth and hot air was on its way from the south, and Spain in particular, it was important not to confuse the warm spell with a Spanish plume, which is a distinct weather phenomenon.

Theres a difference: you can get a plume of air, as in an area of air being pushed up from the south, which just so happens to come from Spain and north Africa, she said.

But a Spanish plume is a specific term to describe a series of events that does normally start with hot air and ends with thunderstorms. We get one or two a year, but this isnt that.

Temperatures in the UK are set to reach 30C by Tuesday (EPA)

The plume occurs when a large southwards dip in the high altitude jet stream develops to the west of Europe, pushing hot and humid air from Iberia into northern Europe and the British Isles.

Ewen McCallum, the Met Office's Chief Meteorologist, said: Spanish Plume is actually a rather catchy name for a rather complex meteorological phenomenon which leads to warm conditions and heavy showers or thunderstorms over parts of the UK and north-west Europe."

"Spanish Plume to bake Britain for two weeks," announced a headline on the Daily Star's front page this morning  but anyone planning a 'staycation' next week should not leave their umbrellas at home, according to Ms Sharples.

On Wednesday, cooler and fresher conditions would return, with the possibility of thunderstorms, she said.

In this case, the warm air may help to fuel the storms and not necessarily create them, as is the case with changing air pressures caused by a real Spanish plume.

The top 25 beaches in the UK Show all 25 1 /25 The top 25 beaches in the UK The top 25 beaches in the UK 25. Castle Beach, Tenby The top 25 beaches in the UK 24. Goodrington Sands, Paignton The top 25 beaches in the UK 23. Barmouth Beach, Barmouth The top 25 beaches in the UK 22. Wells Next The Sea Beach, Wells-next-the-Sea The top 25 beaches in the UK 21. Nairn Beach, Nairn The top 25 beaches in the UK 20. Barafundle Beach, Stackpole The top 25 beaches in the UK 19. Crantock Beach, Crantock Thomas Tolkien The top 25 beaches in the UK 18. Porth Beach, Newquay The top 25 beaches in the UK 17. Gorleston Beach, Gorleston-on-Sea The top 25 beaches in the UK 16. Porthgwidden Beach, St Ives The top 25 beaches in the UK 15. Scarborough Beach, Scarborough The top 25 beaches in the UK 14. Whitby Beach, Whitby The top 25 beaches in the UK 13. Sandbanks, Poole The top 25 beaches in the UK 12. Filey Beach, Filey The top 25 beaches in the UK 11. Bournemouth Beach, Bournemouth The top 25 beaches in the UK 10. Luskentyre, Isle of Harris The top 25 beaches in the UK 9. Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth, Dorset The top 25 beaches in the UK 8. Perranporth Beach, Perranporth, Cornwall The top 25 beaches in the UK 7. Porthminster Beach, St Ives, Cornwall The top 25 beaches in the UK 6. Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall The top 25 beaches in the UK 5. Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, Cornwall The top 25 beaches in the UK 4. Rhossili Bay, Rhossili, Swansea The top 25 beaches in the UK 3. St Brelade's Bay Beach, St Brelade, Jersey The top 25 beaches in the UK 2. Weymouth Beach, Weymouth, Dorset The top 25 beaches in the UK 1. Woolacombe Beach, Woolacombe, Devon

Post-Brexit exchange rates, fear over terror attacks and warmer weather than usual means 6 per cent fewer people are planning an overseas holiday this summer, according to a Morgan Stanley survey of British consumers.

But whether holidaymakers planning a bank-holiday getaway will enjoy higher temperatures than usual remains to be seen, said Ms Sharples.

After the cooler conditions next week, the weather remains quite changeable: Sunny, with some showers at times. It doesn't look settled, but also not very wet - its typical British summer weather.
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Unison has given its backing to Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership election as Britain's largest unions take sides.

It came after the 6000,000 strong GMB endorsed his rival Owen Smith, while Unite - the UK's biggest trade union - is also supporting Mr Corbyn.

Unison said it held regional and national discussions, as well as an online consultation of members who are affiliated to the Labour Party.

 Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith clash at Labour's leadership hustings

Its general secretary, Dave Prentis, said: Jeremy Corbyn retains the backing of a majority of Unisons Labour supporting members. Thats why the committee supported his nomination again.

However, a significant minority backed Owen Smith. Their views will always be respected in our union- thats our proud tradition."

Mr Prentis said that while it was healthy for people to hold differing views on the direction Labour should take, he hit out at "toxic" communications within the party.

Whats toxic though is for abuse, threats and aggressive language to be considered acceptable- or the norm," he added.

The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Show all 11 1 /11 The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He called Hezbollah and Hamas friends True. In a speech made to the Stop the War Coalition in 2009, Mr Corbyn called representatives from both groups friends after inviting them to Parliament. He later told Channel 4 he wanted both groups, who have factions designated as international terror organisations, to be part of the debate for the Middle East peace process. I use (the word friends) in a collective way, saying our friends are prepared to talk, he added. Does it mean I agree with Hamas and what it does? No. Does it mean I agree with Hezbollah and what they do? No. Reuters The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn thinks the death of Osama bin Laden was a tragedy Partly false. David Cameron used this as a line of attack at the Conservative Party conference but appears to have left out all context from Mr Corbyns original remarks. In an 2011 interview on Iranian television, the then-backbencher said the fact the al-Qaeda leader was not put on trial was the tragedy, continuing: The World Trade Center was a tragedy, the attack on Afghanistan was a tragedy, the war in Iraq was a tragedy. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is haunted by the legacy of his evil great-great-grandfather False. A Daily Express expose revealed that the Labour leaders ancestor, James Sargent, was the despotic master of a Victorian workhouse. Addressing the report at the Labour conference, Mr Corbyn said he had never heard of him before, adding: I want to take this opportunity to apologise for not doing the decent thing and going back in time and having a chat with him about his appalling behaviour. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn raised a motion about pigeon bombs in Parliament This one is true. On 21 May 2004, Mr Corbyn raised an early day motion entitled pigeon bombs, proposing that the House register being appalled but barely surprised that MI5 reportedly proposed to load pigeons with explosives as a weapon. The motion continued: The House believes that humans represent the most obscene, perverted, cruel, uncivilised and lethal species ever to inhabit the planet and looks forward to the day when the inevitable asteroid slams into the earth and wipes them out thus giving nature the opportunity to start again. It was not carried. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He rides a Communist bicycle False. A report in The Times referred to Mr Corbyn, known for his cycling, riding a Chairman Mao-style bicycle earlier this year. Less thorough journalists might have referred to it as just a bicycle, but no, so we have to conclude that whenever we see somebody on a bicycle from now on, there goes another supporter of Chairman Mao, he later joked. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn 'Jeremy Corbyn will appoint a special minister for Jews' False so far. The Sun report in December was allegedly based on a rumour passed to the paper by a Daily Express columnist who has written pieces critical of the Labour leader in the past. The minister did not materialise in his shadow cabinet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn wishes Britain would abolish its Army False. Another gem from The Sun took comments made at a Hiroshima remembrance parade in August 2012 where Mr Corbyn supported Costa Ricas move to abolish it armed forces. Wouldnt it be wonderful if every politician around the worldabolished the army and took pride in the fact that they dont have an army, he added. The caveat that every politician must take the step suggests Mr Corbyn does not support UK disarmament just yet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn stole sandwiches meant for veterans False. The Guido Fawkes blog claimed that the Labour leader took sandwiches meant for veterans at at Battle of Britain memorial service in September but a photo later emerged showing him being handed one by Costa volunteers, who later confirmed they were given to all guests. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He missed the induction into the Queens privy council True. After much speculation about Mr Corbyns republican views and willingness to bow to the monarch, his office confirmed that he did not attend the official induction to the privy council because of a prior engagement, but did not rule out joining the body. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn refuses to sing the national anthem. Partly true. The Labour leader was filmed standing in silence as God Save the Queen was sung at a Battle of Britain remembrance service but will reportedly sing it in future. Mr Corbyn was elusive on the issue in an interview, saying he would show memorials respect in the proper way, but sources said he would sing the anthem at future occasions. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cheese True. The group lists its purpose as the following: To increase awareness of issues surrounding the dairy industry and focus on economic issues affecting the dairy industry and producers.

"Labour is in danger of becoming the new nasty party if this behaviour continues unchecked. Theres no place in the party for witch hunts against MPs, councillors and party staff.

The decent hard-working people we represent dont want a party riven by infighting. They want a united opposition that stands up for public services which are facing intolerable pressures.

Unison says it represents 1.3 million public service workers, including teachers and NHS employees, making it the country's second largest union.

Mr Corbyn said he was "proud" to receive the support in a statement, adding: "Their incredible work, against the backdrop of cuts, privatisation and outsourcing of public services, keeps the services we all rely on running - from the NHS to local government. We need a Labour Party that gives them a voice."

The announcement came on another tumultuous day for Labour as the Court of Appeal prepared to rule on whether new members should be given the right to vote in the leadership contest.
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The question hanging over the Labour Party is not whether they win the next general election. On current showing, defeat is a given. The question is whether that defeat will be Labour's worst result in a century.

The benchmark is the election of 1931. After an open rift between the party and the Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay Macdonald, Labour scored 29 per cent of the vote in that election, and saw the number of Labour MPs drop from 277 to 52.

It is extraordinary that anyone could even think anything of the sort might happen again, given the huge benefits for Labour of the Corbyn phenomenon. Last years leadership contest would have been a mind-crushingly dull affair if the kindness of a few MPs such as Margaret Beckett and Jo Cox had not let Mr Corbyn join the contest.

In May 2015, paid up membership of the Labour Party was around 187,000, the product of 18 years decline. By October it was 370,658, as a result of excitement generated by Mr Corbyn's unforeseen rise. Another huge surge after the June referendum, in reaction to the news that Mr Corbyns leadership was under threat, brought the total to 515,000, the highest in modern times.

Added to that, the decision to charge non-members 25 each for the privilege of voting in the leadership election added 4m to the partys bank balance. And during the current leadership contest, Mr Corbyn has been touring the country drawing huge cheering crowds. It is more than 30 years since a Labour leader has attracted rallies of a comparable size.

Yet the spectre of 1931 was raised when Mr Corbyns own constituency party, Islington North, met this week to decide whom to endorse in the leadership election. The speaker is not well-known, but he is someone close enough to Mr Corbyn to know what he is talking about. Neale Coleman, a natural Corbynite by political conviction, has been active in the London Labour Party for decades.

In the 1980s, he played a central role in exposing Lady Shirley Porter, the corrupt leader of Westminster Council, said to be Margaret Thatchers favourite local politician. Ken Livingstone hired him to work for the London Mayors office, where he was so well regarded that Boris Johnson kept him on despite his well known left wing politics.

He gave that up in 2015 to be a political adviser in Mr Corbyns office, having backed him in the leadership campaign. But after a few months, he left. When the Islington North party met to nominate Mr Corbyn, Mr Colement pleaded in vain for them to back Owen Smith instead, warning that Mr Corbyn is leading Labour towards an electoral disaster to match the 1931 result.

That warning coincided with two scraps of relatively good news for anyone who would like to see a Labour government again. It emerged that the statistical possibility of Labour winning the 2020 election is better than zero, as a new poll showed the gap between Labour and the Tories narrowing.

The latest YouGov poll puts the Conservatives on 38 per cent and Labour on 31, where last week the same polling company was giving the Tories double digit leads  though on the same day a TNS poll put the Conservatives 13 points ahead.

Labour's seemingly mad exercise in self-destruction arises from a fundamental difference over how change and reform is brought about in a parliamentary democracy <p> </p>

And Electoral Calculus has revisited the calculations which they posted online earlier in the week, which put the statistical probability of Labour of winning the next election outright at zero. That startling finding was a glitch caused by an outdated parameter. The corrected figure is that Labour has a nine per cent chance of outright victory, compared with the Conservatives' 63 per cent chance.

Past experience is that opinion polls overstate Labours support and underestimate the Conservatives'. There is also a general tendency for governments to trail in the polls mid-term, and to close the gap on the opposition as the election approaches. This suggests that if Labour is to have a realistic chance of winning in 2020, they would need to open up and hold on to something like a double digit lead over the Conservatives. Instead, a government which perpetrated one of the worst political blunders of recent times by calling a referendum they expected to win, and losing it, can apparently look forward to many years in power while the main opposition rips itself to pieces.

The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Show all 11 1 /11 The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He called Hezbollah and Hamas friends True. In a speech made to the Stop the War Coalition in 2009, Mr Corbyn called representatives from both groups friends after inviting them to Parliament. He later told Channel 4 he wanted both groups, who have factions designated as international terror organisations, to be part of the debate for the Middle East peace process. I use (the word friends) in a collective way, saying our friends are prepared to talk, he added. Does it mean I agree with Hamas and what it does? No. Does it mean I agree with Hezbollah and what they do? No. Reuters The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn thinks the death of Osama bin Laden was a tragedy Partly false. David Cameron used this as a line of attack at the Conservative Party conference but appears to have left out all context from Mr Corbyns original remarks. In an 2011 interview on Iranian television, the then-backbencher said the fact the al-Qaeda leader was not put on trial was the tragedy, continuing: The World Trade Center was a tragedy, the attack on Afghanistan was a tragedy, the war in Iraq was a tragedy. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is haunted by the legacy of his evil great-great-grandfather False. A Daily Express expose revealed that the Labour leaders ancestor, James Sargent, was the despotic master of a Victorian workhouse. Addressing the report at the Labour conference, Mr Corbyn said he had never heard of him before, adding: I want to take this opportunity to apologise for not doing the decent thing and going back in time and having a chat with him about his appalling behaviour. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn raised a motion about pigeon bombs in Parliament This one is true. On 21 May 2004, Mr Corbyn raised an early day motion entitled pigeon bombs, proposing that the House register being appalled but barely surprised that MI5 reportedly proposed to load pigeons with explosives as a weapon. The motion continued: The House believes that humans represent the most obscene, perverted, cruel, uncivilised and lethal species ever to inhabit the planet and looks forward to the day when the inevitable asteroid slams into the earth and wipes them out thus giving nature the opportunity to start again. It was not carried. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He rides a Communist bicycle False. A report in The Times referred to Mr Corbyn, known for his cycling, riding a Chairman Mao-style bicycle earlier this year. Less thorough journalists might have referred to it as just a bicycle, but no, so we have to conclude that whenever we see somebody on a bicycle from now on, there goes another supporter of Chairman Mao, he later joked. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn 'Jeremy Corbyn will appoint a special minister for Jews' False so far. The Sun report in December was allegedly based on a rumour passed to the paper by a Daily Express columnist who has written pieces critical of the Labour leader in the past. The minister did not materialise in his shadow cabinet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn wishes Britain would abolish its Army False. Another gem from The Sun took comments made at a Hiroshima remembrance parade in August 2012 where Mr Corbyn supported Costa Ricas move to abolish it armed forces. Wouldnt it be wonderful if every politician around the worldabolished the army and took pride in the fact that they dont have an army, he added. The caveat that every politician must take the step suggests Mr Corbyn does not support UK disarmament just yet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn stole sandwiches meant for veterans False. The Guido Fawkes blog claimed that the Labour leader took sandwiches meant for veterans at at Battle of Britain memorial service in September but a photo later emerged showing him being handed one by Costa volunteers, who later confirmed they were given to all guests. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He missed the induction into the Queens privy council True. After much speculation about Mr Corbyns republican views and willingness to bow to the monarch, his office confirmed that he did not attend the official induction to the privy council because of a prior engagement, but did not rule out joining the body. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn refuses to sing the national anthem. Partly true. The Labour leader was filmed standing in silence as God Save the Queen was sung at a Battle of Britain remembrance service but will reportedly sing it in future. Mr Corbyn was elusive on the issue in an interview, saying he would show memorials respect in the proper way, but sources said he would sing the anthem at future occasions. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cheese True. The group lists its purpose as the following: To increase awareness of issues surrounding the dairy industry and focus on economic issues affecting the dairy industry and producers.

Labour's seemingly mad exercise in self-destruction arises from a fundamental difference over how change and reform is brought about in a parliamentary democracy. Hilary Benn and the 60 other who resigned from Mr Corbyns front bench, and others who declined to serve under him at all, believe that it is achieved through Parliament, by winning a general election, and using the established levers of government. In their eyes, Mr Corbyn is hopeless as a leader of a parliamentary party.

But Mr Corbyn, John McDonnell and their allies believe that the main motor for change is by mass action. They see those rallies and street protests which are Mr Corbyns favourite milieu as a wake up call to a supine parliamentary party, full of people whom Mr McDonnell once described as f***ing useless. For the young coming into politics for the first time, and others who feel that the parliamentary system has done nothing for them, the Corbyn strategy offers so much more hope and excitement.

How much of that will survive the reality of a general election remains to be seen.
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The so-called British Bill of Rights could be junked or rewritten by Theresa May in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union, it has been claimed.

In what could be a breakaway from Michael Goves tenure at the Ministry of Justice, the Prime Minister has reportedly asked Liz Truss, the newly appointed Justice Secretary, to relook at the plans drawn up by her predecessor that were expected to have been announced following the referendum.

One source told the Times newspaper: The bill is ready but my hunch is that she might junk it. I think the priority for the justice department will be prison reform and she wont want another fight with the Scottish government [which is opposed to the policy]. I just dont think the will is there to drive it through.

A ministry of justice spokesperson refused to be drawn on the speculation, and told The Independent: We will set out our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course. We will consult fully on our proposals.

The 2015 Conservative general election manifesto had pledged to scrap the 1998 Human Rights Act and introduce a British Bill of Right which will restore common sense in the application of human rights in the UK.

The commitment promised to remain faithful to the basic principles of human rights but reverse the mission creep that has meant human rights law being used for more and more purposes, and often with little regard for the rights of wider society. It added: Among other things the Bill will stop terrorists and other serious foreign criminals who pose a threat to our society from using spurious

Writing for the Daily Telegraph in 2015, Nick Timothy, the Prime Ministers joint chief of staff, said that Britain should withdraw from the European Convention and the jurisdiction of the court in Strasbourg.

A new Bill of Rights that incorporates all the original articles of the European Convention - together with other traditional British rights such as the right to a trial by jury - would still be consistent with the Good Friday agreement. It would also allow Parliament - rather than Strasbourg - to decide where the balance lies between different rights, he wrote.

It would allow British courts and British judges to decide where the balance lies between those rights in individual cases. It would mean the UK can protect the public and national security while still defending human rights. And it would mean we can escape what has become a de facto European constitutional court: the UK should withdraw from the European Convention and the jurisdiction of the Court in Strasbourg.
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Prime Minister Theresa May is taking a two-week summer holiday to Switzerland.

Mrs May became Prime Minister on July 13 following the resignation of David Cameron in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union.

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister will be taking a holiday in Switzerland and will be returning to the UK on August 24."

Mrs May spoke of her love of holidaying in the country in a piece for the Telegraph in August 2007.

She said she and her husband Philip had "discovered the joys" of walking in the country "quite by chance".

She said: "We first visited the country about 25 years ago but spent most of the time in Lucerne.

"On a return trip, we decided to go walking, enjoyed it and gradually began doing more adventurous hikes.

"We have been going back ever since and have walked all over the country."

Mrs May said in the piece that her two favourite areas are Zermatt and the Bernese Oberland, which are both "fantastic for walking".

She said: "If you're a keen walker, Switzerland is a wonderful summer destination: the views are spectacular, the air is clear and you can get some peace and quiet."

It has been a busy first month in Downing Street for the former Home Secretary.

She undertook a sweeping Cabinet clear-out upon her appointment, getting rid of her predecessor's closest allies including George Osborne, Michael Gove, Oliver Letwin and Nicky Morgan.

She then handed prominent jobs to key Leave figures including Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and David Davis.

Theresa May in quotes Show all 10 1 /10 Theresa May in quotes Theresa May in quotes On being described by the former chancellor Ken Clarke as a bloody difficult woman: Politics could do with some Bloody Difficult Women actually Rex Features Theresa May in quotes On keeping secrets even from her husband: There are some things I am told that I am not able to confide in anybody Rex Features Theresa May in quotes On the relentless focus on her appearance during a speech at the Women in the World summit: "I like clothes and I like shoes. One of the challenges for women in the workplace is to be ourselves and I say you can be clever and like clothes. You can have a career and like clothes Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On comparisons to Margaret Thatcher: I think there can only ever be one Margaret Thatcher. Im not someone who naturally looks to role models. Ive always, whatever job it is Im doing at the time, given it my best shot. I put my all into it, and try to do the best job I can AFP/Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On her rebelliousness, or lack of, as a teenager: I probably was Goody Two Shoes at school Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On being replaced as chairman by Lord Saatchi and Liam Fox in 2003: Yes, it takes two men to step into the shoes of one woman AFP/Getty Images Theresa May in quotes What Theresa May said when she was asked about her political ambitions during an interview with Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, a lawyer married to Nick Clegg, in December: MD: "My very last question is: that little girl who is somewhere there, is she dreaming of becoming the next British Prime Minister?" TM: "Shes dreaming of carrying on doing a good job in the Home Office" Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On not being able to have children: I like to keep my personal life personal. We couldnt have children, we dealt with it and moved on. I hope nobody would think that mattered; I can still empathise, understand people and care about fairness and opportunity Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On whether she can deliver the mandate of the EU referendum: I think for party members and indeed for others, I would say look at my record. I think they can see that Im somebody who gets on with the job, but Im also somebody who says it as I see it and actually delivers on what I say Getty Images Theresa May in quotes On the equally relentless obsession with her shoes: As a woman I know you can be very serious about something and very soberly dressed add a little bit of interest with footwear. I always tell women you have to be yourself, dont assume you have to fit into a stereotype and if your personality is shown through your clothes or shoes, so be it Getty Images

Mrs May has also sought to extend the hand of diplomacy across Europe and beyond following her appointment, moving to reassure the UK's neighbours after the Brexit vote on June 23.

The Prime Minister travelled to Scotland soon after taking over the top job for talks with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to show her commitment to preserving the United Kingdom.

She has also undertaken numerous foreign visits to speak with European leaders, including trips to Italy, France and Germany.

Mrs May also won her first crunch Commons vote as PM as MPs overwhelmingly backed the renewal of the UK's nuclear deterrent.
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Britain was just given a huge sign that there could be a disaster in the jobs market, thanks to Brexit  PageGroup, one of the UK's biggest recruitment agencies, is cutting staff in the UK.

The company announced in its first-half report on Thursday that it reduced its recount in the UK by 3%, from 1,516 to 1,466 at the end of June.

PageGroup, formerly known as Michael Page, blamed "tougher trading conditions" as a result of "uncertainty impacting clients' decision-making in the lead up to the EU Referendum." PageGroup's gross profit in the UK fell by 1.6% in the first 6 months of 2016 and operating profit tanked by 7.1%.

It may be a rough measure, but this is surely yet another sign that the UK's shock decision to leave the European Union is going to be hell for jobs.

Before Brexit, the UK saw record-high employment, at over 74%,record-low unemployment, at 4.9%, and healthy annual GDP growth of 2.2% in Q1.

Almost all major investment banks and economic think tanks have said that Britain is now heading for some sort of recession in the wake of the Brexit vote. Meanwhile, Bank of England's agents  emissaries who speak to businesses across the country  reported on Wednesday that: "Overall, respondents expected a negative effect from the vote on turnover, capital spending and hiring activity over the next twelve months."

PageGroup says "it is too early to say how the result will impact our results going forward," but its financial performance isn't necessarily linked to hiring.

The company highlights the fact that in 2009 "gross profit fell 37%, but despite this we still generated over 10m of Operating Profit."

In other words, belt-tightening helped its results.

The company flags "ongoing macro-economic uncertainty in the UK." And if it is uncertainty that hit hiring in the run-up to the referendum then it is unlikely to have a different effect now.

Furthermore, it looks like the uncertainty is likely to continue for years, as Britain is still yet to trigger Article 50, which starts the 2 year process of exit negotiations. Even the former Danish minister who has first-hand experience of negotiating a country's exit from the European Union has warned that a Brexit is an "enormous" challenge will take "much longer" than three years.

Get ready for a jobs squeeze.

Read more:

 This chart is easy to interpret: It says we're screwed

 How Uber became the world's most valuable startup

 These 4 things could trigger the next crisis in Europe

Read the original article on Business Insider UK.  2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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Libyan forces are securing and de-mining areas newly captured from Isis in Sirte, combing the area around a convention complex that had been a symbol of the militant group's authority in the city.

Forces aligned with Libya's UN-backed government seized the Ouagadougou convention centre and several other key sites on Wednesday, advancing into areas that had been fought over for weeks.

Those forces, supported since 1 August by US air strikes, said in a statement that they had taken Isis's "most important bastions" in its former North African stronghold.

But they have yet to gain control of several neighbourhoods in central Sirte where an unknown number of militants are dug in. Eighteen government-aligned fighters were killed and 72 wounded, Rida Issa, a spokesman for the Sirte operation, said.

There has been house-to-house fighting in residential areas in recent weeks, with the brigade fighters struggling to gain ground against sniper fire, trip wires and landmines.

The fighters are led by brigades from the nearby Misrata, who repelled an Isis advance south of their city in early May before pushing eastwards to Sirte and besieging the militants in the centre of the Mediterranean city.

The capture of Sirte would be a major setback for Isis, ousting the jihadist group from the only city in Libya where it established total control.

It could also boost the fortunes of the UN-backed government, which has been struggling to impose its influence on a country riven by political and armed rivalries.

A column of smoke rises above Sirte following air strikes on Isis positions (MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images)

Brigades fighters found a house used as a laboratory for making explosive belts and seized a number of military vehicles used by Isis, some damaged and some in good condition, the spokesman, Issa said.

"Military engineering units are now working to clear the captured areas of mines," he added.

From an estimated fighting force of some 6,000 men, more than 350 brigade fighters have been killed and at least 1,500 since the campaign to recapture Sirte began.

On Wednesday, Mokhtar Fakron, an air force spokesman was killed with another pilot when their jet came down over Sirte.

US drones and fighter jets have so far carried out 29 strikes in Sirte, targeting Isis fighting positions, vehicles and armaments, according to statements by US Africa Command.

Reuters
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Campaigners have reacted with dismay after the Obama administration refused to stop classifying marijuana as a dangerous drug with no medical use - even though government research has shown it can kill cancer cells.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said on Thursday it would continue to list marijuana as a co-called Schedule I drug, placing it on par with heroin.

The government has repeatedly rejected appeals for reclassification, and activists said the decision created problems for users and businesses in those states that have legalised it for medical or recreational purposes.

<em>Justin Sullivan/Getty</em> (2006 Getty Images)

They have left it as it is, namely a dangerous drug with no medical benefits. And that is untrue, Randy Quast, the acting executive of the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), told The Independent.

The government itself holds the patents to many cannabinoid-based substances there have medical uses. Its not logical.

The Associated Press said that 25 states have sanctioned some forms of marijuana use for medical purposes.

 USA: Sanders calls for an end to federal marijuana prohibition

Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and the District of Columbia now allow recreational use for adults, while California and eight other states have recreational or medical marijuana proposals headed for their 2016 ballots.

The US government has maintained that legalisation of the drug violates federal law, creating difficulties for marijuana businesses with issues such as banking.

Marijuana shouldn't be listed as Schedule I, US Congressman Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat from Oregon, said in a statement. He said the decision left patients and marijuana businesses trapped between state and federal laws.

Thursdays decision by the DEA was a response to a 2011 petition by two former state governors who had urged federal agencies to reclassify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses.

In a letter to the petitioners, the DEA said it had asked the Department of Health and Human Services for a scientific and medical evaluation.

HHS concluded that marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use in the United States, and lacks an acceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision, the letter said.

That assessment comes amid statistics showing zero overdose deaths due to marijuana each year at a time of an alarming rise of heroin-related deaths in the United States as politicians debate remedies for exploding opioid abuse.

The decision resulted in widespread mockery and scorn on social media, and some experts argued that medical marijuana could help cut opioid use.

Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said the DEAs decision would curtail research since marijuana would remain a criminal product.

Research institutions are going to be somewhat hesitant if they think they will potentially jeopardise other research funding, she said. This decision by the DEA really flies in the face of objective science.

Bernie Sanders, the Democratic challenger to Hillary Clinton, said: "People can argue about the pluses and minuses of marijuana, but everyone knows it's not a killer drug like heroin."

Last year, the government-funded National Institute on Drug Abuse, issued a report that recognised the potential medical benefits of marijuana.

Recent animal studies have shown that marijuana can kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others, the NIDA report said.

Evidence from one animal study suggests that extracts from whole-plant marijuana can shrink one of the most serious types of brain tumours. Research in mice showed that these extracts, when used with radiation, increased the cancer-killing effects of the radiation.
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Donald Trump has described President Barack Obama as the founder of Isis, and said his rival Hillary Clinton was the co-founder of the fundamentalist organisation as he intensified his attacks on the Democratic Party.

Mr Trumps remarks came 24 hours after he generated widespread outrage by suggesting to supporters that shooting Ms Clinton may be the only way to stop her seeking gun controls.

Speaking at a rally in Sunrise, Florida, Mr Trump said: We unleashed fury all over the Middle East and it was a terrible mistake. And then Obama came in and normally you want to clean up. He made a bigger mess out of it. He made such a mess. And then you had Hillary with Libya, so sad.

Mr Trump then repeated his claim that the president had founded the jihadi militant organisation three times.

In fact, in many respects, you know they honour President Obama, Isis is honouring President Obama. He is the founder of Isis. He is the founder of Isis. Hes the founder. He founded Isis.

And I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder. Crooked Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall  and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

The crowd in Florida chanted lock her up, in agreement with the former reality TV star.

In addition to claiming Mr Obama had founded the Islamist group, Mr Trump referred to the president by his full name  Barack Hussein Obama  which critics have said is an attempt to imply that Mr Obama is a Muslim.

Mr Trump has previously suggested Mr Obama is a Muslim - a claim echoed by Mr Trumps New York campaign co-chair Carl Paladino, who last week said of the president: In the mind of the average American, there is no doubt he is a Muslim. He is not a Christian.

It is not the first time Mr Trump has blamed the current US administration for the creation of Isis.

On 17 July, Mr Trump said: Hillary Clinton invented Isis with her stupid policies.

Earlier this month Mr Trump directly accused Ms Clinton of being the devil.

Formation of Isis

Isis has roots that go back more than a decade with early links to al-Qaeda. In 2006, the group joined a faction of militarised insurgents in Iraq to form the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).

Following Abu Bakr al-Baghdadis appointment as leader in 2010 and the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the group established a large presence - eventually becoming known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

During Ms Clintons tenure, declassified US intelligence reports from 2012 have shown that western countries, the Gulf states and Turkey were supporting the Syrian oppositions efforts to take control of eastern Syria, despite the risk of a Salafist principality, or caliphate, in eastern Syria and an al-Qaeda-controlled Islamic state in Syria and Iraq, the Guardian reported last year.

What this meant is that the US and other partners, including the UK, were arming and aiding opposition groups in Syria that were known to have extreme militant Islamist links. The extent to which this may have helped Isis is difficult to ascertain, but it certainly did not create the group.

The fact-checking website Politifact said the idea Ms Clinton was responsible for Isis is mostly false.
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The daughter of former president Ronald Reagan who survived an assassination attempt has criticised Donald Trumps incitements to violence at his rallies.

In a Facebook post, Mr Reagans daughter, Patti Davis, wrote that his infamous Second Amendment comment - that voters who are in favour of guns could do something about his rival Hillary Clinton - was heard by people who shudder at your fondness for verbal violence.

"It was heard by your supporters, many of whom gleefully and angrily yell, 'Lock her up!' at your rallies," she wrote.

"It was heard by the person sitting alone in a room, locked in his own dark fantasies, who sees unbridled violence as a way to make his mark in the world, and is just looking for ideas.

"Yes, Mr Trump, words matter. But then you know that, which makes this all even more horrifying."

Mr Trumps latest controversy was to suggest that the only way to stop his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton from choosing Supreme Court justices would be to shoot her.

"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the second amendment people, maybe there is," he said at a rally in Delaware.

The Secret Service responded that it was aware of Mr Trumps comments and has reportedly spoken to him about it since.

 trump second.mp4

Ms Davis' father, the 40th president who served between 1981 and 1989, and three others were shot and wounded by a man called John Hinckley as they were leaving a hotel in Washington DC in March 1981.

All four men survived, but his press secretary James Brady was shot in the head and was paralysed.

"I am the daughter of a man who was shot by someone who got his inspiration from a movie, someone who believed if he killed the President the actress from that movie would notice him," Ms Davis wrote in her post on social media, which has been shared more than 6,200 times.

A federal judge ordered her fathers would-be assassin to be released from psychiatric hospital last month to live full-time with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he will volunteer several times a week and live under strict rules such as the government tracking his walks and mobile phone activity.

The verbal battle comes just days after former Democratic representative Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head five years ago, walked unassisted onto the stage at the Democratic National Convention to show her support for Ms Clinton.

"Hillary is tough. Hillary is courageous. She will fight to make our families safer. In the White House, she will stand up to the gun lobby," Ms Giffords said.

The daughter of Arizona senator and former prisoner of war John McCain, Meghan McCain, also stood up for her father last month against the Republican nominees criticism that he likes people who werent captured.

In a tweet in July, Ms McCain referred to the parents of slain Muslim soldier Humayun Khan when she wrote: "I would ask what kind of barbarian would attack the parents of a fallen soldier, but oh yeah its the same person who attacks POWs."
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Hillary Clinton laid down a challenge to Donald Trumps campaign and its attempt to woo blue-collar voters by listing American companies that Trump could have used to manufacture his branded products.

The Democratic candidate promised a true manufacturing renaissance to workers at the Futuramic engineering and manufacturing company in Michigan, listing more than 100 American companies that she said her Republican rival overlooked.

The contest for votes in Americas industrial heartland has been at the centre of this weeks campaign as both candidates set out their agenda for jobs.

After Mr Trumps key economic speech in Detroit on Monday, which was interrupted by protesters more than a dozen times, Ms Clinton seemed determined to shower her supporters in optimism, promising millions of new jobs and more high-quality apprenticeships.

The answer is not to rant and rave and cut ourselves off from the world, she insisted. The answer is to make trade work for us and not against us.

Did Donald Trump ever consider manufacturing his branded ties by the Knotty Ties company in Colorado?

Would he consider switching his shirt manufacturers from Bangladesh to Californian-based company Blade + Blue?

She also pledged to tax companies that wanted to set up overseas, oppose trade deals including the Trans-Pacific Partnership that would harm American workers and invest $10 billion to support American manufacturers.

As president I will stand up to China or anyone else that tries to take advantage of American workers or companies, she declared, adopting a smidgeon of the aggressive swagger normally adopted by her rival when it came to lambasting awful trade deals.

I wont hesitate to impose targeted tariffs when countries break the rules.

Her comments come as Mr Trump has had to fend off accusations that he employs foreign workers and outsources manufacturing for many of his Trump-branded products abroad.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall  and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

The criticism has also landed on his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, whose best-selling fashion line is mostly manufactured in China and Vietnam.

In Michigan this week, Ms Clinton seemed comfortable in what is normally Mr Trumps stomping ground of white America, speaking of her fathers small business background and her grandfathers 50-year tenure as a lace factory worker in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Support from voters in Michigan and other predominantly manufacturing states, whose hey day is already seen by many to be behind them, is important.

According to a Morning Consult Survey last month, 41 per cent of voters with no college degree support Mr Trump, and 40 per cent support Ms Clinton.

 Donald Trump suggests Hillary Clinton could be assassinated

She even spoke up for undocumented workers, who, she said, contribute $12 billion to social security and who are being taken advantage of by employers.

Americas best days are still ahead of us if we make up our minds to go out and make that happen, she said.

Her economic plan promises to put Americans to work in the biggest way since the Second World War, employing people to rebuild and modernize roads, bridges, tunnels, railways and airports - another sword on the same battleground as the Trump campaign, which often complains at rallies of crumbling infrastructure.

Renewable energy, which Mr Trump has passionately fought against, could be one more key to revamping manufacturing in the US.

Ms Clinton said she wanted to make America the superpower of renewable energy in the 21st century.

It will most likely be China, Germany or America. I want it to be us, she said.

We invent the technology. We should make it, use and export it, which will help us to grow our economy.
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The police knocked on their doors expecting hackers, car thieves, and child abusers  but they were greeted by the Arnold family, victims of a major tech glitch that put them through a digital hell for half a decade.

James and Theresa Arnold are suing the digital mapping company MaxMind, according to filings in a US district court in Kansas, for years of misery. The complaint says the couples daily life has been constantly disrupted by police officers, angry business owners, and other people accusing them of carrying out internet scams.

Recommended Read more Android bug could give hackers full access to 900 million phones

Yet, the befuddled family had done nothing of the sort. It appeared that MaxMinds mapping database had pinpointed the Potwin, Kansas, farm as the location of more than 600 million IP addresses.

The plaintiffs were repeatedly awakened from their sleep or disturbed from their daily activities by local, state, or federal official looking for a runaway child or a missing person or evidence of a computer fraud, or call of an attempted suicide, the court documents read.

Hackers step up war on security services Show all 3 1 /3 Hackers step up war on security services Hackers step up war on security services 08-hackers1-PA.jpg PA Hackers step up war on security services 08-hackers2-PA.jpg PA Hackers step up war on security services 08-hackers3-EPA.jpg EPA

In a number of instances, the lawsuit says, the Arnolds were accused of harbouring children to make child pornography.

My clients have been through digital hell. The most vile accusations have been made against them  such as that theyve been involved in child pornography, Randall Rathburn, the Arnolds attorney, told The Guardian. What impact would it have on your life if someone accused you of being in child pornography? Obviously its horrendous.

Modern technological gadgets that connect to the Internet  such as laptops and smartphones  use IP (internet protocol) addresses. But the IP address is not necessarily unique to an individual. It can span across a network, making the precise geography impossible to determine.

The problem apparently arose when MaxMind assigned arbitrary co-ordinates to all those unlocated IP addresses - millions in all  that just so happened to land in the front yard of the Arnold farm, according to the Washington Post.

The issue went all the way back to 2002, resulting in similar disturbances to previous tenants of the farm.

MaxMind has reportedly fixed the error  moving the co-ordinates to the centre of a lake near Wichita  but it remains unclear whether or not that will give the Arnolds any peace and quiet in the future.

Mr Rathburn added that police had paid visits to the home through July and theres been no indication on our end that things have changed."
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A Muslim flight attendant who was placed on unpaid leave last summer after she refused to serve passengers alcohol is suing the airline.

Charee Stanley, who worked for ExpressJet in Detroit, argued that she was not provided with reasonable religious accommodation and was wrongly suspended.

The lawsuit has been filed on her behalf by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Michigan.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the CAIR Michigan chapter, said that Ms Stanley began working at the airline when she was not a Muslim and she did serve alcohol.

She converted to Islam two years ago and later found out it was forbidden to serve alcohol so she went to her supervisor to note her concerns.

Her supervisor reportedly told her she could ask another colleague to serve passengers who wanted an alcoholic beverage.

This accommodation worked out for "dozens of flights", according to Mr Walid.

She was put on 12 months of unpaid leave, however, after another flight attendant complained.

"Under the guise of American law, a American is allowed reasonable accommodation for their religion as it long as it isnt casing undue hardship," he said.

"So it obviously was not causing undue hardship because there were two flight attendants and it was moving along smoothly until another flight attendant decided that they had an issue with Ms Stanley not serving alcohol."

Lawyer Lena Masri said last year that the complaint against Ms Stanley had "Islamophobic" overtones as her client wore a headscarf and carried a book with "foreign writings and these two things were specifically mentioned in the complaint.

"The person making the complaint, its very obvious that they had animus towards Muslims and Islam," added Mr Walid.

Ms Stanley told WWTJ news: "I don't think I should have to choose between practising my religion properly or earning a living."

The court case follows Ms Stanleys complaint filed last year with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Commission reportedly dismissed her case without investigating whether ExpressJet broke the law.

Ms Stanley is suing for compensation including back pay and other damages.

A spokeswoman for ExpressJet told The Independent: "We embrace and respect the values of all of our team members. We are an equal opportunity employer with a long history of diversity in our workforce.

"As Ms Stanley is an employee, we are not able to comment on personnel matters nor can we comment at this time on any ongoing litigation."

The lawsuit follows various high profile cases from evangelical Christians who have refused to do certain things including issue gay marriage licences - such as a Kentucky probate clerk called Kim Davis - on the grounds of their religious beliefs. Ms Davis, a public official, spent several days in jail before a judge ordered her release.
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When officials in Sterling Heights voted 9-0 to refuse permission to build a mosque last summer, they said they had done so over concerns about traffic.

But many in the Michigan community suspected a more sinister motive.

Now, the community has filed a lawsuit, accusing the officials of discrimination after uncovering emails that showed officials talked of their fears abut being investigated because the mosque leaders might be terrorists

At the same time, it has emerged that federal prosecutors and the Department of Justice are investigating whether the mosque was treated fairly.

With a vociferous and racist member of the Planning Commission leading the charge, the Planning Commission voted to reject the site plan, said the lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Detroit on Wednesday.

With no other choice, the American Islamic Community Centre has filed this suit seeking equitable relief to build the mosque and seeks damages as the City of Sterling Heights conduct violates, among other things, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalised Persons Actand the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

The Detroit Free Press said that summer, city officials and local residents said the decision to oppose the mosque was based on concerns that the location was not suitable for such a large building and could cause traffic problems.

In the lawsuit, the American Islamic Community Centre accuses the city of being biased against Muslims. In one email it cites, a police official asks whether the FBI can be contacted to see whether the mosque leaders are on their radar.

The mayor of Sterling Heights, Michael Taylor, has so far declined to comment.

US Attorney Barbara McQuade said on Wednesday: The Department of Justice and US Attorney's Office have been conducting an independent investigation, and that investigation is ongoing.

The main lawyer in the case, Azzam Elder, said in a statement: We all know of a time in our history when sentiments in America were anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, anti-German, anti-Japanese, or anti-Black, and those times have forever stained on our history.

As defenders of the US Constitution, we are confident that there will come a day when it will also be inconceivable to be anti-Muslim. This is why we filed this lawsuit, in order to continue the struggle of protecting the rights of all minority groups in America.
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Fish with human-like teeth and a reported penchant for chewing on mens testicles have been found swimming in Michigan lakes.

Several anglers have hauled the odd-looking specimens out of the water, prompting a warning from wildlife experts.

They are pacu fish, close relatives of the piranha - and pet owners release the fast-growing omnivore into the wild because they become too large for aquariums.

But Michigans Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said releasing the animals is almost never humane.

Pets released from confined, artificial environments are poorly equipped to fend off predators and may be unable to successfully forage for food or find shelter, said Nick Popoff, manager of the DNRs Aquatic Species and Regulatory Affairs Unit.

Those that do succeed in the wild can spread exotic diseases to native animals. In the worst-case scenario, released animals can thrive and reproduce, upsetting natural ecosystems to the degree that these former pets become invasive species.

The fish can grow up to 3ft and weigh 55lbs in the wild and have such powerful teeth to help them crunch through nuts, fruit and plants.

Pacu became notorious in 2013 following a warning from a professor at Copenhagen's Museum of Natural History after a Danish fisherman caught one of the large specimens.

Professor Peter Rask Moller said he was 'half-joking' when he said the fish could mistake human testicles for their favourite food of tree nuts.

Afterwards he told CNN: "We did say that we recommend men to keep their swimsuits tied up until we know if there are more pacus out there in our waters. Of course, this is half a joke since it is very unlikely that you would actually meet one here and that it would bite you. It's up to people themselves how careful they want to be. I'll keep my shorts on, though."

Rumours over their testicle-eating habits may originate from Papua New Guinea where the fish are known as Ball Cutters.
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A 3-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital after falling off a roller coaster at a Pennsylvania theme park.

The child fell from the middle portion of the Rollo Coaster ride at the Ligonier park, Idlewild & SoakZone, about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh, according to

.

A spokesperson said the child was alert and talking with his family at the time of the accident, but did not immediately disclose the extent of his injuries. It remains unclear whether or not the accident occurred as a result of the riders behaviour or a technical malfunction.

Officials did not identify the victim beyond his age.

Ligonier police are conducting an investigation as the Pennsylvania Amusement Ride Safety Division has closed the roller coaster.

The roller coaster has a minimum height requirement of 36 inches. A child under 48 inches must be accompanied by an adult.

The accident comes only days after 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died in an accident at a Kansas water park on the worlds tallest water slide.

Schwab was riding the Verruckt raft ride before witnesses reported seeing his body hurled into safety netting and down the slide. He was reportedly decapitated.

The Schlitterbahn WaterPark reopened Wednesday, save for a portion containing the raft ride.
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Rodrigo Duterte, the Filipino President, has launched a blistering, homophobic attack on the American ambassador describing him as a gay son of a whore".

The controversial president has angered many at home and overseas with his characteristically foul language.

He won a landslide victory in May after running a hardline campaign, criticising the Pope and promising to reintroduce capital punishment.

Now he has turned his fire on Philip Goldberg, the US ambassador to Manila, whom he accused of meddling in the elections.

As you know, Im fighting with [U.S. Secretary of State John Kerrys] ambassador, he said in a televised address. His gay ambassador, the son of a whore. He pissed me off.

He previously clashed with Mr Goldberg during the campaign when he said he wanted to rape an Australian missionary who was sexually assaulted and murdered during a 1989 prison riot in the city of Davao, the city where was mayor.

The American ambassador condemned the comments at the time.

 Philippines: Duterte's tough crime crackdown continues

On Friday, Mr Duterte told him to stay quiet.

He meddled during the elections, giving statements here and there. He was not supposed to do that, said Mr Duterte.

A spokeswoman for the State Department condemned the comments.

We've seen those inappropriate comments made about Ambassador Goldberg. He's a multi-time ambassador, one of our most senior US diplomats, she said. We have asked the Philippine charge to come into the State Department to clarify those remarks.

It is not the first time he has deployed such foul language.

Last year, while announcing his presidential run, Mr Duterte condemned the Pope for causing traffiic jams in Manila during a visit to the capital.

It took us five hours to get from the hotel to the airport. I asked who was coming. They said it was the Pope. I wanted to call him: Pope, son of a whore, go home. Dont visit anymore, he said, a potentially disastrous move in an overwhelmingly Catholic country.

Although Mr Duterte has promised far-reaching constitutional reform, he is is still known as the punisher for his tough approach when he was mayor of Davao.
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It is called a reset  the point in a usually flailing political campaign when the candidate, or more often the candidates advisers, decide its time for a makeover.

Need to hug more babies? No problem. Need to reach out to blue collar workers by visiting a car assembly line? No problem. Try and act in a rather more presidential manner? Well... That might be a problem.

Donald Trump, the notoriously unscripted Republican candidate who has run a presidential campaign like none that has gone before, has apparently agreed to undergo a another such reset. Yet experts have serious doubts as to whether he will be able to stick to it, or at this late stage if it will make any difference.

 Diagnosing a narcissist with Donald Trump

After a disastrous few weeks, in which he appeared to invite the Russians to hack Hillary Clintons email, got into a pointless fight with the parents of a dead American soldier and received a word in the ear from the Secret Service after raising the prospect of shooting his rival, Mr Trump has apparently agreed to try and change course.

Im now listening to people that are telling me to be easier, to be nicer, be softer. Thats OK, and Im doing that, he told Time magazine.

I dont know if thats what the country wants. When were having heads chopped off in the Middle East, when things are happening that have never happened before in terms of the atrocities I think maybe they want tougher rhetoric.

This is not the first time Mr Trump has agreed to listen to advisors. After he won the New York primary with an easy margin, there was a two-week period when he appeared to pivot towards more presidential behaviour. It coincided with his decision to hire the services of a professional campaign advisor, Paul Manafort.

Yet every time, the Republican establishment thinks it has got its candidate on message, persuading him to literally stick to the script on the teleprompter, Mr Trump cannot help himself.

It was an apparently unscripted aside during a speech in North Carolina that got him in trouble with the Secret Service.

Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the Second Amendment, he had said, referring to the piece of legislation that gun rights activists claim gives them the right to bear weapons. If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the second amendment people, maybe there is.

Larry Sabato, Director of the Centre of Politics at the University of Virginia, told The Independent he had little faith that Mr Trump could stick to a new image.

Trump campaign resets are like his second and third marriages  the triumph of hope over experience. Its not in Trumps DNA to campaign in a controlled, disciplined manner, he said.

Indeed, Mr Trump has made clear that he thinks the style in which he defeated 16 Republican rivals to secure the primary, is the one he should stick with.

I would say that I like the previous (style) better, he told Time. I can always revert to that if I want. It was more of an attacking style, which perhaps is a more natural style for me. Theres always a chance that I will do that and can go back to that.

The pressure on Mr Trump to change course comes as a series of polls shows him slipping further behind his Democratic rival. An average of polls collated by Real Clear Politics suggests Ms Clinton to be anywhere between four to ten points ahead of him. In the battleground state of Pennsylvania, one poll gives her an eleven point margin.

Jeanne Zaino, Professor of Political Science at Iona College in New York, said Mr Trump has shown little inclination to change his style.

I question whether he believes it is really necessary, she said. Im not sure he really believes that, and that may explain why he has not been able to commit to it.

As to whether it would make any difference to Mr Trumps fortunes at this stage, she said the trouble was that most people already knew lots about the New York tycoon. That is one of the problems of being so high profile, she added. And I think that the polls are showing that people are starting to move away from him.
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At least 21 people are feared dead after an explosion at a power station in central China.

Five more have been wounded, according to reports. Three of the injured are thought to be seriously hurt.

The explosion was caused after a high pressure steam tube broke at a power station in Danyang, Hubei province, according to authorities.

The pipe ruptured at 3.20pm Beijing time on Thursday at the Ma Dian Gan Shi Power Generating Company site, according to Chinese news site Huanqiu.com. Rescuers were still searching for survivors.

Central government have ordered factories to upgrade their safety procedures, but industrial sites in China continue to suffer frequent accidents.

A huge series of explosions killed 173 at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin a year ago.
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A gym has been accused of sexism after reportedly banning women from using their swimming pool while they are on their period.

The upmarket fitness centre in Georgia apparently announced the new rules in a notice posted on the walls of the womens changing room. Written in red, it states: Dear Ladies! Do not go into the pool during periods.

One member took to social media to express her shock at the sign. Uploading a photo of the notice, she wrote: Do you even realise how offensive that is? And, by the way, since according to your rules we are not allowed to use a swimming a pool 5-6 days each month, do we a preferential price compared with men?

One gym member uploaded a photo of the notice to social media to express her disapproval (Facebook)

She captioned it #mysogyny #mysogynyinaction [sic].

 What if men had periods?

Responding to the allegations, the fitness centre said it was protecting its members after an incident had occurred whereby a woman contaminated the pool with menstrual blood, ITV News reports.

Many people find swimming during menstruation helps ease menstrual cramps and other associated pain.

As tampons and moon cups collect menstrual blood before it leaves the body, most women and trans men who use them do not release fluids into the surrounding water while swimming.

Period euphemisms around the World Show all 8 1 /8 Period euphemisms around the World Period euphemisms around the World Germany 'Erdbeerwoche': translates as 'strawberry week' iStock Period euphemisms around the World France 'Les Anglais out debarque' or 'The English have arrived' referring to past wars with England and possibly the British army's red coats Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World Brazil 'Eustou Com Chico' or "I'm with Chico' in reference to socialist Chico Mendes and possibly his gruesome assassination in the late 80's Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World Finland The Finnish affectionately refer to periods and pms as 'Hullum Lechman Tauti' or 'mad cow disease' Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World The United States Though there are many varied terms, a popular americans commonly refer to periods as 'Aunt Flo' iStock Period euphemisms around the World China In China you may hear 'its little sister to come in' iStock Period euphemisms around the World Denmark 'Der Er Kommunister i Lysthuset' or 'There are communists in the funhouse' Getty Images Period euphemisms around the World South Africa A famed colloquialism for a period in South Africa is 'Grannys stuck in traffic' iStock

Research has shown communal swimming pools can host a variety of bacteria, as tests have shown they mix sweat, urine and toiletries such as deodorant and makeup. However, most use chlorine to maintain cleanliness.
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Germanys interior minister is due to announce a proposal to ban womens full face veils in public as part of a number of new security measures.

Thomas de Maiziere is due to announce the proposals on Thursday in response to growing concerns about terrorism in the country following a string of violent incidents across the country, German media reported.

The proposals also include boosting police numbers and video surveillance at transport hubs, making it easier for doctors to break confidentiality agreements when they think there is a threat and tightening the rules around obtaining dual nationality.

Angela Merkels ruling Christian Democrat party (CDU) will aim to see the proposals become law by the national elections in 2017, the Guardian reported.

The party is under increasing pressure as its previous policy of welcoming refugees from Syria who arrived at its borders was blamed for a series of sexual assaults and robberies of over a 1,000 women in Cologne on New Years Eve.

In the parliamentary elections in March, the far-right, anti-immigration party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) won its first seats in the Bundestag.

A similar law was passed in France by 2010 which meant all women wearing the niqab in a public place could be fined.

A handful of women have been prosecuted under the law but it is unknown whether it deters terrorism as there has been a similar escalation in the number of terror attacks in France over the past 18 months.

Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Show all 9 1 /9 Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Policemen outside Rouen's cathedral during the funeral of Jacques Hamel, the priest who was killed in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy on 26 July during a hostage-taking claimed by Islamic State group Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two jihadists, both 19, slit Hamel's throat while he was celebrating mass in an attack that shocked France as well as the Catholic Church Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Muslims place flowers and hold a minute of silence in front of the church if Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, western France, where French priest Jacques Hamel was killed on 26 July Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two people hold each other by the new makeshift memorial in Nice, in tribute to the victims of the deadly Bastille Day attack at the Promenade des Anglais Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the truck attack that killed 84 people in Nice on France's national holiday. Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, smashed a 19-tonne truck into a packed crowd of people in the Riviera city celebrating Bastille Day Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police work at a site where a Syrian migrant set off an explosive device in Ansbach, southern Germany, on 25 July, killing himself and wounding a dozen others Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis A Syrian migrant set off an explosion at a bar in southern Germany that killed himself and wounded a dozen others in the third attack to hit Bavaria in a week. The 27-year-old, who had spent a stint in a psychiatric facility, had intended to target a music festival in the city of Ansbach but was turned away because he did not have a ticket Friebe/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police officers walk along train tracks in Wuerzburg southern Germany on 19 July, a day after a man attacked train passengers with an axe. German authorities said they had found a hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the man, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong in his rampage Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis German police killed a teenage assailant after he attacked passengers on a train in Wuerzburg, southerg Germany with an axe and a knife on 18 July, seriously wounding three people Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP/Getty Images

These include an attack on multiple targets in Paris in November which killed 130, an attack in Nice on Bastille Day which killed 84 and the murder of an elderly priest in a Normandy church by two teenagers who pledged allegiance to Isis.

It was first proposed by an up and coming CDU MP on the right of the party, Jens Spahn.

He told German newspaper Die Welt last month: A ban on the full veil, ie the niqab and the burqa, is overdue and would be a signal to the world.

I dont want to encounter a burqa in this country. In that sense I am burqaphobic.

The proposals will prove divisive and have been condemned as a populist gesture by the national chair of the Turkish community in Germany, Gokay Sofuoglu.

He told the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper: How would one go about putting that into practice? Burqas are at the most worn by tourists from Saudi-Arabia.
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German police could be given the power to search the phones and social media accounts of refugees who arrive in Germany without a passport, in proposals announced today by the interior minister.

Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin he planned to increase police numbers and take a tougher stance on migrants who commit offences in an attempt to boost national security after recent terror attacks.

I am convinced that these proposals will increase security quickly, he said, according to Deutsche Welle.

His plans include stripping dual nationals who join extremist groups of their German citizenship, and compelling refugees in Germany to hand their smartphones over to the police for security checks.

We frequently encounter cases where refugees often dont carry identity documents, but do nearly all carry their smartphones, said Mr de Maiziere, reported the Guardian.

To make safety checks, we will ask [refugees] to show us your Facebook contacts from the last few months, which are public in principle anyway.

This policy would be trialled by border police, he said, but it remained to be seen whether the scheme would be adopted in the long term, according to the newspaper.

German police killed a teenage assailant after he attacked passengers on a train in Wuerzburg, southern Germany with an axe and a knife on 18 July, seriously wounding three people (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP/Getty Images)

Four terror attacks in Germany last month included two carried out by asylum-seekers and claimed by the so-called Islamic State group.

A 27-year-old man from Syria set off an explosive device at a bar in the Bavarian city of Ansbach on 25 July, killing himself and wounding a dozen others.

The attack was later claimed by Isis and a video was found on the attackers phone in which he pledged allegiance to the extremist organisation.

It came just over a week after a teenager attacked train passengers with an axe and a knife in Wuerzburg, also in south Germany, on 18 July.

German authorities said they found a hand-painted Isis flag among the belongings of the man, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who was shot dead by police after he seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong.

A lot of people ... are worried about further attacks. That is understandable, Mr de Maiziere told reporters. No one can guarantee absolute security, but we must do what is possible.

He said he would make promoting terrorism a criminal offence and in future, endangering public safety would be introduced as a reason to jail someone before deportation, reported Deutsche Welle.

Refugees settle in Germany Show all 12 1 /12 Refugees settle in Germany Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, plays with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, in the one room they and Mohamed's wife Laloosh call home at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany A refugee child Amnat Musayeva points to a star with her photo and name that decorates the door to her classroom as teacher Martina Fischer looks on at the local kindergarten Amnat and her siblings attend on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The children live with their family at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian asylum-applicant Mohamed Ali Hussein (R), 19, and fellow applicant Autur, from Latvia, load benches onto a truckbed while performing community service, for which they receive a small allowance, in Wilhelmsaue village on October 9, 2015 near Letschin, Germany. Mohamed and Autur live at an asylum-applicants' shelter in nearby Vossberg village. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Ali Hussein ((L), 19, and his cousin Sinjar Hussein, 34, sweep leaves at a cemetery in Gieshof village, for which they receive a small allowance, near Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, looks among donated clothing in the basement of the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to Mohamed, his wife Laloosh and their daughter Ranim as residents' laundry dries behind in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asya Sugaipova (L), Mohza Mukayeva and Khadra Zhukova prepare food in the communal kitchen at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Efrah Abdullahi Ahmed looks down from the communal kitchen window at her daughter Sumaya, 10, who had just returned from school, at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asylum-applicants, including Syrians Mohamed Ali Hussein (C-R, in black jacket) and Fadi Almasalmeh (C), return from grocery shopping with other refugees to the asylum-applicants' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat (2nd from L), a refugee from Syria, smokes a cigarette after shopping for groceries with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, and fellow-Syrian refugees Mohamed Ali Hussein (C) and Fadi Almasalmeh (L) at a local supermarket on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. All of them live at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian refugees Leila, 9, carries her sister Avin, 1, in the backyard at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to them and their family in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Somali refugees and husband and wife Said Ahmed Gure (R) and Ayaan Gure pose with their infant son Muzammili, who was born in Germany, in the room they share at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity, and are waiting for authorities to process their application for asylum 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a refugee after she visited the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for refugees in Berlin Getty Images

De Maiziere also indicated he wants to strengthen German authorities' ability to probe the darknet, an area of cyberspace invisible on the open internet, and pointed to ongoing efforts to toughen German and particularly European Union weapons laws.

The minister said he was limiting himself to proposals that could be implemented quickly, and said he considered them politically reasonable for the center-left junior party in the conservative Angela Merkel's governing coalition.

He said he hopes that many of the measures can be introduced before a national election expected in September next year.
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A red alert landslide warning has been issued to residents living near to a Norwegian mountain which is moving up to 10cm a day.

People living near part of the Mannen in Romsdalen will be evacuated immediately if the situation worsens.

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) said on Wednesday morning movement has slowed but it remains on high alert.

It's hard to say what will happen to the mountain, so we are constantly considering the likelihood of landslides, NVE communications director Kjetil Hillestad said.

Movement has stalled somewhat because freezing temperatures mean there is less water in the system.

At its peak, the mountain moved at a speed of 10cm per day, which is a lot. The movements are somewhat diminished since yesterday afternoon, and the rate is now around 2cm a day, NVE geologist Ingrid Skrede told The Local.

But people living in the region are actually hoping for a landslide.

It has been unstable since 2009 and has been closely monitored by geologists ever since.

Recommended Read more China opens glass walkway on the side of Tianmen mountain

The unstable debris and rocks which pose a risk will fall to the bottom if a landslide occurs.

Now we are just waiting for nature to sort it out, said Mayor Lars Olav Hustad.

More than 70 people were killed in landslides in Sri Lanka in May.

They occurred in the central district of Kegalle after torrential rains and extensive flooding.

A 108-year-old funicular railway was severely damaged in the same month after a huge landslide devastated a popular coastal resort in Bournemouth.

The Edwardian East Cliff railway was partially submerged by stone, rock, soil and other debris after the path at the top of the 100ft verge collapsed.

In 2014 Norway's NRK TV set up a webcam in front of the mountain to capture a predicted imminent rockslide.

But the only action was a tiny landslide which lasted for just 15 seconds.
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Sky News is defending a story on gun smuggling in Romania amid claims a meeting with supposed arms dealers was staged and scripted by journalists.

A news report entitled Gang selling AK-47s Bound for Western Europe has provoked fury in the country after being broadcast on Sunday.

It saw chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay travel into a forest for a meeting with two masked men who offered a range of weapons including semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and pistols for sale.

One of the men said sales of AK-47s, the automatic rifle used in several recent terror attacks and popular among insurgent groups, had rocketed in the past two years.

A still of the Sky News investigation filmed in Romania (Sky News)

Offering one for sale at 1,700 (1,500), the man was asked if he was worried about it ending up in the hands of extremists.

If you have the money I dont care who you are, he said.

Sky reported that arms dealers were smuggling weapons like those shown, as well as grenades and mines, from conflict zones into Ukraine into border countries and onwards into Western Europe or the Middle East.

The programme sparked an investigation by the Romanian Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism (Diicot) said its initial probe showed the supposed deal was a scenario hatched by British journalists.

Agerpres, Romanias national news agency, carried an interview with the fixer who organised the meeting claiming he was tricked.

Aurelian Szanto alleged that the story was fictional and that he contacted men who legally owned hunting weapons to arrange acting, presentation and translation in exchange for payment.

I was contacted through a person who has contacts with the Sky trust if I agreed to shoot a documentary on Romania's soil in respect to arms trafficking taking place on the Eastern European continent, he said, claiming the interview was scripted.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Prosecutors said they conducted several searches sparked by the story on Wednesday and were interviewing Mr Szanto and the other Romanians involved.

A spokesperson for Ofcom could not confirm whether it had been contacted by the Romanian embassy or government.

We have received 12 complaints about this Sky News report and are assessing these carefully before deciding whether to investigate, he said.

Despite the furore, including a furious reaction by Romanian Twitter users, Sky News says it has not been contacted by the embassy or any government agencies.

Stuart Ramsay is one of our most experienced and tenacious journalists with a long history of delivering major stories from around the world, a spokesperson said.

He's delivered a robust report on gun dealing in Romania and Sky News fully stands by the story."

On Twitter, Mr Ramsay responded to ridiculous trolling by telling Romania it wasnt about you.

He wrote: Story is true. Nobody paid. Nobody scripted. Weapons real. Arrests happening. Govt embarrassed. Deal with it."
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Several Turkish diplomats have gone missing after they failed to return to the Turkish capital in the aftermath of an attempted coup.

Following the failed putsch by a faction of the Turkish military, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded officials return to Ankara while he investigated the plot against him.

Two military attaches in Greece have run to Italy, and one officer in Kuwait tried to flee through Saudi Arabia, but was caught, according to the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Another two generals in Afghanistan were caught in Dubai and sent back to Turkey. Two civil servants based in Bangladesh reportedly fled to New York.

Mr Cavusoglu warned time has run out for the people who failed to return to Turkey after they were summoned.

"There are those who have escaped, he told independently owned Turkish news channel, NTV. There have been escapees among our diplomats as well.

"As of yesterday, time has run out for those initially called back. We will carry out the legal operations for those who have not returned."

More than 26,000 have been detained by the Turkish government and a further 8,000 remain under investigation, according to the country's Justice Minister.

In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: Turkey coup attempt In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Erdogan attends the funeral service for victims of the thwarted coup in Istanbul at Fatih mosque on July 17, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey Burak Kara/Getty Images In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soldiers involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge with their hands raised in Istanbul on 16 July, 2016 Gokhan Tan/Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A civilian beats a soldier after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 REUTERS/Murad Sezer In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Surrendered Turkish soldiers who were involved in the coup are beaten by a civilian Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Soliders involved in the coup attempt surrender on Bosphorus bridge Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave flags as they capture a Turkish Army vehicle Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt People pose near a tank after troops involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, 16 July, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers block Istanbul's Bosphorus Brigde Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt A Turkish military stands guard near the Taksim Square in Istanbul Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Pierre Crom/Twitter In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers secure the area as supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul's Taksim square AP In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Murad Sezer/Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish soldiers detain police officers during a security shutdown of the Bosphorus Bridge Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish Army armoured personnel carriers in the main streets of Istanbul Getty In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Chaos reigned in Istanbul as tanks drove through the streets EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks to media in the resort town of Marmaris Reuters In pictures: Turkey coup attempt Supporters of President Erdogan celebrate in Ankara following the suppression of the attempted coup Reuters

Thousands of teachers, judges, civil servants and police officers were suspended from their roles since the effort to overthrow President Erdogan's government.

Journalists and academics have been arrested and more than 100 media outlets were shut down by the government.

Mr Erdogan claims the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers are responsible for the failed coup, in which at least 246 were killed.

As the crackdown continues, relations between the EU and Turkey have become strained. Mr Cavusoglu threatened to back out of the refugee deal if Turkish citizens are not granted visa-free travel.
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Ukraine has put its troops on combat alert along the country's de facto borders with Crimea and separatist rebels in the east amid an escalating war of words with Russia over Crimea. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order after Moscow accused his country of sending several groups of saboteurs to carry out attacks in Crimea and said that two Russians died while fending off their incursions. Ukraine has denied the claim.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 following a hastily called referendum, and a conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces flared up in eastern Ukraine weeks later. The conflict in the east has killed more than 9,500 people and is still raging.

Russia's domestic security agency known by its Russian acronym FSB said in Wednesday's statement that one of its officers was killed in a gun battle with a group of saboteurs from Ukraine over the weekend. It said the intruders carried an arsenal of bombs, ammunition and mines.

The agency also said that two more groups tried to force their way into Crimea early Monday, supported by Ukrainian artillery and armour. One Russian army soldier died in that clash, the FSB said.

Mr Poroshenko rejected the claims as fantasy and a provocation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he described as Ukraine's stupid and criminal action and called a session of his Security Council to discuss boosting security in Crimea.

He also said on Wednesday that it makes no sense to discuss the implementation of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine with leaders of Ukraine, France and Germany at the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in China next month as had been planned earlier.

The Russian Foreign Ministry followed up by warning that if Mr Poroshenko had been involved in criminal decisions to stage armed provocations in Crimea, he could claim the role of the gravedigger of the Minsk process.

And if he had been unaware of these decisions, it's even worse, it said.

Mr Poroshenko, in his turn, ordered Ukrainian troops to go on combat alert not only on the de facto border with Crimea but also along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, where the warring sides have continued to routinely exchange fire despite a 2015 truce. He also ordered Ukrainian diplomats to organise his conversations with the US and European leaders and Mr Putin.

The strong language used by Mr Putin and other Russian officials, particularly Mr Putin's refusal to discuss the implementation of the peace accord with Mr Poroshenko, has raised fears of a possible escalation of hostilities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced what he described as Ukraine's stupid and criminal action (Reuters)

While local media and social media users have largely corroborated reports of a shootout at the Crimean border, independent accounts of the second border incident reported by the FSB were missing.

A pretence of an anti-terrorism operation staged by Russia is more plausible than an actual Ukrainian attack on Crimea, commentator Oleg Kashin wrote on Slon.ru. Russia deliberately pushes for an escalation and ignores the opportunities it has to preserve the status quo.

As soon as Russia forced the last Ukrainian troops based in Crimea to leave in 2014, Moscow set up fortified border crossings and sent new weapons to the peninsula  from cutting-edge fighter jets to the newest missile systems.

Despite the military buildup, hardly any disturbances or let alone cross-border shootings have been reported in Crimea since the annexation.

The 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine signed in Minsk has helped reduce fighting in eastern Ukraine, but peaceful settlement has floundered. The deal obliged Ukraine to grant broad autonomy to the rebel regions before it can fully regain control of the border with Russia, but those provisions haven't been implemented.

In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Crimea Crimean Tatars drag away a police officer in front of a local government building in Simferopol AP In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Crimea Pro-Russian activists pray outside the Crimean Parliament building in Simferopol EPA In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Crimea Crimean Tatars hold flags during rallies near the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol Reuters In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Kiev Young girls chant the song 'Glory to Ukraine' at Independence Square in central Kiev AFP/Getty In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Crimea A man receives medical treatment after he was injured in clashes during rallies near the Crimean parliament building Reuters In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Crimea Pro-Ukrainian activists hold placards reading "Crimea +Ukraine is love" during a rally in front of the Crimean parliament in Semfiropol AFP In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Kiev Protestors capture a military armoured vehicle in central Kiev AFP/Getty In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Kiev An old man stands with an Ukrainian flag on Kiev's Independence Square AFP/Getty In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Kiev A man lays flowers at one of the barricades heading to Kiev's Independence Square AP In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Kiev Flowers cover the ground and barricades where protesters were killed in a recent clash with riot police in Kiev's Independence Square AP In pictures: Crisis in Ukraine Demonstrations in Kiev A self-defense unit patrolling the city centre in Kiev, Ukraine AP

Independent Moscow-based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said that if the Kremlin wanted to make gains or solidify its positions in Ukraine, now would be a good moment because the world's attention is elsewhere.

The temptation is high to try and use this occasion to solve the Ukrainian problem once and for all, he said. While America is right now not very operational because it's in a midst of a divisive election campaign, Europe is also divided  on Brexit, on refugees, on sanctions against Russia.

Putin menacingly referred to the Ukrainian leadership as the people who seized power. Moscow refused to recognise Ukraine's interim authorities after Ukraine's pro-Moscow President, Viktor Yanukovych, was driving from power by massive protests, but later recognised Poroshenko.

The main issue is what is going to happen to the Minsk talks  whether Russia will stop them or start asking for more concessions, respected daily Vedomosti said in an editorial. In his rhetoric, Putin has returned to 2014, when he did not consider the Ukrainian government legitimate.

AP


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Bulgarias treatment of migrants and refugees arriving in the country may be violating international law, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned.

Zeid Raad Al Hussein said two visits by UN staff had revealed inhumane and unacceptable policies which could put many migrants in a Catch-22 situation in which they are unable to qualify as refugees in Bulgaria but are also unable to return to their home country.

Mr Zeid said: One of the most serious problems is that virtually all people entering Bulgaria in an irregular manner are detained as a matter of course.

Even worse, they may also be prosecuted and jailed - for a year or even more - if they try to leave the country. The act of leaving the country is criminalised in spite of the right of everyone, under international law, to leave a country, including their own, he told ReliefWeb, the UNs human rights news website.

He added: This means that people who do not qualify under the strict definition of a refugee, but still have legitimate reasons for being unable to return to their home country, have hardly any avenues open to them. This is clearly inhumane and unacceptable.

Mr Zeid also raised concerns about the quality of the legal trials migrants and refugees go through when arriving in the country.

There are migrants who do not have access to adequate legal representation or translation services, to the extent that they are sometimes even unaware that they have been prosecuted. This is clearly contrary to fair trial and due process safeguards, he said.

Persistent allegations of physical abuse and theft of the possessions of migrants arriving in the country by border control guards has also been documented, with little done to address such concerns the high commissioner said.

My team was informed that attacks and abuses against migrants and refugees are rarely, if ever, punished, Mr Zeid said. Especially if they are committed by police, border guards or other government officials.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

He added: Rising xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism are among the most worrying threats to human rights in Europe today.

The Bulgarian government is not doing enough to challenge these alarming trends. Indeed in the view of some, it is actually encouraging intolerance. Leadership is needed to create an environment conducive to respect for human rights, as well as to end violations and abuses when they occur.
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Wildfires in the south of France have been contained by firefighters after they erupted near Marseille.

The city of Marseilles was spared from the flames, but hundreds in the south of the country remained evacuated from their homes.

Officials said that windy conditions meant towns in the area remained in danger.

Three civilians and four fighters were injured by the fires, some seriously, according to AFP news agency.

The inferno engulfed homes and at least one school in the southern region.

Major roads were closed for fire engines and Marseille airport redirected flights to allow room for firefighting aircraft, as more than 1,500 firefighters rushed to calm the flames.

One resident in Vitrolles told BFM-TV: "Everything burned, the house, the car... there is nothing left."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

How the fires, which took hold in Rognac, began is not yet known.

Gymnasiums in the region were packed overnight with hundreds who were not allowed to return to their homes, AP reported.

Although fires in the Summer months are frequent in the South of France, it is unusual for them to destroy urban areas.

Portugal was also experiencing devastating wildfires, with fires on the Island of Madeira reaching its largest city. More than 150 homes were destroyed by the blaze and three people killed.
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Baluchistan is a place that desperately needs lawyers.

Pakistan's largest province by area, it is the home of a decades-old separatist insurgency, fueled by real grievances over neglect and lack of political representation. It is also increasingly the target of Sunni extremists, who bomb and kill its Shiite minorities. What leaders the province has are widely considered corrupt. Dozens of local journalists have been kidnapped in the past few years. It is nearly impossible for foreign reporters to enter Baluchistan. Lawyers are almost all that give the province a semblance of justice.

About 60 of them were killed in one attack on Monday in Baluchistan's capital, Quetta. They were packed into an emergency room where the body of a slain colleague lay, riddled with gunshot wounds. A widely circulated video showed lawyers milling about the hospital before an enormous explosion. A Pakistani Taliban offshoot claimed the attack, as did the Islamic State, though analysts say the latter's claim is dubious.

[Scores of attorneys among the dead in suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan]

A week earlier, another lawyer was fatally shot. In June, the principal of the province's law college was, too.

A generation of lawyers has been wiped out in Quetta, and it will leave Baluchistan, in more ways than one, lawless.

On Tuesday, the Pakistani bar association called for an indefinite boycott of the courts. But so few lawyers are left in Baluchistan that it will be years, probably, until its legal community recovers.

The global response has been muted. Ban Ki-moon, Hillary Clinton and other international figures issued brief statements. Pakistan's leaders did much the same. No officials have been held responsible for the security breakdown at what should have been a highly guarded scene. The website of Dawn, a Pakistani English-language newspaper, had only a day-old story and photo gallery about the attack on its homepage on Tuesday evening.

Barkhurdar Khan, a member of the Baluchistan Bar Council, was one of the few lawyers who survived the attack. He has practiced in Quetta for nine months. After the attack, Khan offered his singular perspective in a heartrending stream of posts on social media.

"All, I repeat ALL senior practicing lawyers and barristers died today," he wrote. "The number of junior lawyers, who are the sole breadwinners of their homes and who are now unemployed runs into hundreds."

"Most of those who died were first-gen educated. The scenes of misery and loss cannot be put into words. The bent shoulders of their fathers, the broken backs of their brothers. Their kids, still oblivious to their own loss, playing and hoping," Khan continued. "Every lawyer that has ever given me a lift home is dead, except for one, Naveed Qambrani, he is critical and was airlifted to Karachi."

"Heartwrenching is an understatement."

Copyright: The Washington Post
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The few doctors remaining in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo have written an open letter to US President Barack Obama begging him to intervene.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces have continued to lay siege to the countrys second city as rebels continue their desperate last stand.

On Saturday, an alliance of two dozen rebel groups in the sole remaining corner of the city currently under their control managed to push the forces back far enough to create a corner to allow food and supplies to get through.

Last month, the Syrian Army took control of the last road into the city with the help of Russian air strikes.

The 15 doctors who remain in the city have urged Mr Obama, in a letter seen by The Independent, take action to end the systematic targeting of hospitals by Syrian regime and open a permanent lifeline to Aleppo.

They have also called for international action to ensure Aleppo is never besieged again.

The letter in full:

Dear President Obama,

We are 15 of the last doctors serving the remaining 300,000 citizens of eastern Aleppo. Regime troops have sought to surround and blockade the entire east of the city. Their losses have meant that a trickle of food has made its way into eastern Aleppo for the first time in weeks. Whether we live or die seems to be dependent on the ebbs and flows of the battlefield.

We have seen no effort on behalf of the United States to lift the siege or even use its influence to push the parties to protect civilians.

For five years, we have faced death from above on a daily basis. But we now face death from all around. For five years, we have borne witness as countless patients, friends and colleagues suffered violent, tormented deaths. For five years, the world has stood by and remarked how complicated Syria is, while doing little to protect us. Recent offers of evacuation from the regime and Russia have sounded like thinly-veiled threats to residents  flee now or face annihilation ?

In pictures: Aleppo bombing Show all 14 1 /14 In pictures: Aleppo bombing In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Smoke rises after airstrikes on the rebel-held al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family runs for cover amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Qatarji in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man reacts as he stands on blood stains at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held area of Aleppo's al-Fardous district, Syria, April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damage of the airstrikes in the rebel-held area of Aleppo on April 28 Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damaged the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an air strike on a rebel-held of Aleppo on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes, in the rebel-held area of Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man leads a woman in tears and child out of the scene after airstrikes hit Aleppo AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Civil defence members search for survivors after an airstrike at a field hospital in the rebel held area of al-Sukari district of Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported air strike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family walks amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in the Bustan al-Qasr rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers and rescuers remove a baby from under the rubble of a destroyed building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians help a wounded youth following an air strike on the Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers evacuate people from a damaged building following a reported airstrike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Tareeq al-Bab in the northern city of Aleppo

Last month, there were 42 attacks on medical facilities in Syria, 15 of which were hospitals in which we work. Right now, there is an attack on a medical facility every 17 hours. At this rate, our medical services in Aleppo could be completely destroyed in a month, leaving 300,000 people to die.

What pains us most, as doctors, is choosing who will live and who will die. Young children are sometimes brought into our emergency rooms so badly injured that we have to prioritize those with better chances, or simply dont have the equipment to help them. Two weeks ago, four newborn babies gasping for air suffocated to death after a blast cut the oxygen supply to their incubators. Gasping for air, their lives ended before they had really begun.

Despite the horror, we choose to be here. We took a pledge to help those in need.

Our dedication to this pledge is absolute. Some of us were visiting our families when we heard the city was being besieged. So we rushed back - some on foot because the roads were too dangerous. Because without us even more of our friends and neighbors will die. We have a duty to remain and help.

Continued US inaction to protect the civilians of Syria means that our plight is being wilfully tolerated by those in the international corridors of power. The burden of responsibility for the crimes of the Syrian government and its Russian ally must therefore be shared by those, including the United States, who allow them to continue.

Unless a permanent lifeline to Aleppo is opened it will be only a matter of time until we are again surrounded by regime troops, hunger takes hold and hospitals supplies run completely dry. Death has seemed increasingly inescapable. We do not need to tell you that the systematic targeting of hospitals by Syrian regime and Russian warplanes is a war crime. We do not need to tell you that they are committing atrocities in Aleppo.

We do not need tears or sympathy or even prayers, we need your action. Prove that you are the friend of Syrians.

Yours,

1. Dr. Abu Al Baraa, Pediatrician

2. Dr. Abu Tiem, Pediatrician

3. Dr. Hamza, Manager

4. Dr. Yahya, Pediatrician and head of Nutrition Program

5. Dr. Munther, Orthopedics

6. Dr. Abu Mohammad, General Surgeon

7. Dr. Abu Abdo, General Surgeon

8. Dr. Abd Al Rahman, Urologic Resident

9. Dr. Abu Tareq, ER Doctor

10. Dr. Farida, OBGYN

11. Dr. Hatem, Hospital Director

12. Dr. Usama, Pediatrician

13. Dr. Abu Zubeir, Pediatrician

14. Dr. Abu Maryam, Pediatric Surgeon

15. Dr. Abo Bakr, Neurologist
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The number of Isis combatants in Iraq and Syria has been decimated by military campaigns, leaving as few as 15,000 to fight, according to a senior US commander.

Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland said the total was difficult to accurately measure, but the estimated number of Isis fighters in the war-stricken countries was between 15,000 and 20,000.

Mr MacFarland claimed 45,000 enemy fighters are no longer on the front line after US backed operations.

The new figure of Isis fighters had shrunk from earlier approximations of between 19,000 and 25,000.

The US commander said the quality of the fighters in combat was decreasing.

Forces with US support in Iraq and Syria were advancing, Mr MacFarland claimed. He said: The enemy is in retreat on all fronts, AP reported.

"All I know is when we go someplace, it's easier to go there now than it was a year ago. And the enemy doesn't put up as much of a fight," he said.

US -backed opposition forces in Manbij, Syria have claimed to be in control of 90 per cent of the city.

Many of the homes and buildings in the city have been destroyed, Al Jazeera reported.

 Aid shortage leaves Iraqs displaced suffering

"Daesh is finished. The town will be liberated in the coming hours," Ibrahim al-Hussein, a SDF fighter told the AFP news agency this week.

Manbij has been a key territory that US-led forces have battled to reclaim. In the last two months, 400 people in the city have been killed. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 98 of those killed were children.

Mr MacFarland said Iraqi forces were prepared to take the northern city of Mosul from Isis, a stronghold of the group since 2014, but added the US still had work to do on the Qayyarah air base in the north of the country before the offensive could take place.

The Red Cross (ICRC) has warned up to a million Iraqis face homelessness as fighting in Mosul escalates ahead of the operation to recapture the city.

Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them Show all 13 1 /13 Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office Syrian children hold Pokemon Go pictures in the hope people will find them and save them RFS Media Office

Those displaced by the offensive and its associated violence will fuel the existing humanitarian crisis in Iraqwhere three million are already displaced and a further ten million are in need of assistance.

"The situation is unpredictable but we must prepare for the worst," Robert Mardini, ICRC director for the Near and Middle East, said in a statement.

"There's the likelihood that fighting will intensify, particularly in the Mosul area. Hundreds of thousands of people may very well be on the move in the coming weeks and months, seeking shelter and assistance. We need to be ready," he added.
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At least three civilians have died in a suspected chlorine gas attack on a rebel-held district of Aleppo as battles continue in the divided Syrian city.

Rescue workers said a mother and her two children were killed in Wednesday nights bombing, with toddlers and young children among those pictured being given emergency treatment and oxygen masks in hospital.

Khaled Harah, a first responder, said a regime helicopter dropped four barrel bombs on Wednesday night on al-Zebdia district, with one releasing chlorine gas.

Children were given emergency treatment and oxygen masks after the attack in Aleppo (Mahmoud Rashwani)

Mahmoud Rashwani, a pro-rebel activist living in eastern Aleppo, photographed casualties being rushed into hospital on Wednesday night.

He described a six-year-old girl screaming I cant breathe and said he was told of at least 70 people injured. The total could not be independently verified.

A father told how he and his family attempted to take cover in their flat as a choking gas filled the building.

Abdelkafi al-Hamdu, a resident of eastern Aleppo, said he saw two air strikes hit from his in-law's balcony just 30 metres away and that he could see the gas being released.

He told the Associated Press he started struggling to breathe as the smell of chlorine became stronger, trying to leave the flat with his wife and children but being forced to return after finding the gas worsening downstairs.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said the reports of chlorine use are of great concern (Reuters)

Last week, the Syrian government and the opposition traded accusations of using chlorine, also in Aleppo.

The crude weapon is fatal in high concentrations and can damage lungs or cause severe breathing difficulties, vomiting and nausea in lower concentrations.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said reports of its use "are of great concern" and that it would continue to examine any credible reports it received.

A Syrian military official denied the allegations and accused militants of fabricating the news, which came a week after the Syrian government and the opposition traded accusations of using elsewhere in Aleppo.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Bashar al-Assads forces dropped barrel bombs struck the area and had reports of two people killed and several suffering breathing difficulties, although the cause was unclear.

 Doctor: The situation in Aleppo is 'catastrophic'

Numerous chlorine gas attacks have been reported during the Syrian civil war, as well as the use of other chemical weapons, with opposition forces targeted in the vast majority of reported cases.

Aleppo has also been the site of numerous air strikes and shelling blamed on both the regime and rebels causing civilian casualties on both sides.

The city, divided between government and opposition control, is the scene of fierce fighting after Islamist rebels fought through regime lines to break a two-month siege on Friday.

Jaish al-Fath, an alliance of Islamist rebels headed by former al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, is being targeted by the Syrian regime and its Russian allies as a designated terrorist organisation.

There has not yet been a sign of promised three-hour ceasefires scheduled for Thursday by Russia, which said it would allow humanitarian convoys to enter the city safely following months of desperate shortages of food and medical supplies.

The United Nations has called for all parties in the conflict to protect around 250,000 people believed to be trapped in eastern Aleppo (Reuters)

The United Nations has repeatedly called for all parties in the conflict to protect around 250,000 people believed to be trapped in eastern Aleppo and allow supplies to reach them.

Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian Defence Ministry official, said the Kremlin would work with Damascus to ensure safe delivery of the aid.

Stephen O'Brien, a UN aid co-ordinator, said he was willing to consider the Russian plan but that a 48-hour pause in fighting was needed to meet all the humanitarian needs in the Syrian city, which was the countrys most populous before the war.

When we're offered three hours then you have to ask what could be achieved in that three hours  is it to meet the need, or would it only just meet a very small part of the need? he asked.

Two weeks ago Russia and the Syrian government declared the opening of "humanitarian corridors" out of besieged areas but they were met with distrust by civilians fearing a ruse to arrest men and seize the city, and it was unclear how many people had left.

In pictures: Aleppo bombing Show all 14 1 /14 In pictures: Aleppo bombing In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Smoke rises after airstrikes on the rebel-held al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family runs for cover amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Qatarji in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man reacts as he stands on blood stains at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held area of Aleppo's al-Fardous district, Syria, April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damage of the airstrikes in the rebel-held area of Aleppo on April 28 Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damaged the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an air strike on a rebel-held of Aleppo on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes, in the rebel-held area of Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man leads a woman in tears and child out of the scene after airstrikes hit Aleppo AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Civil defence members search for survivors after an airstrike at a field hospital in the rebel held area of al-Sukari district of Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported air strike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family walks amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in the Bustan al-Qasr rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers and rescuers remove a baby from under the rubble of a destroyed building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians help a wounded youth following an air strike on the Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers evacuate people from a damaged building following a reported airstrike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Tareeq al-Bab in the northern city of Aleppo

Air strikes continued across the country on Thursday, reportedly killing at least 20 civilians in Isis' de-facto capital of Raqqa and disrupted the water supply, according to local activists.

It came as the Turkish foreign minister announced that the country would resume its own air operation, suggesting it could increase co-operation with Russia over its former allies in the US-led coalition.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey had made a call to Russia to work together on strikes against Isis, adding: We said we have a common enemy which we can struggle against together.

Relations between the two countries soured after a Russian fighter jet was shot down by Turkey but are now seemingly approving amid anger in Ankara over the response by the US and Europe to last months failed coup.

Additional reporting by agencies
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The media and public were taken by storm this month during the nationwide #ShutDown day of action, which was called for by Black Lives Matter UK. The actions served to bring visibility to the growing movements against racism and state violence in the UK, as well as to the very nature of that violence.

It has often been dismissed and belittled as not being like the US - which ignores the huge continuities between the experiences of black people in the UK and US. Black people in the UK are three times more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts, and 44 times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act. Racism is a fact in our everyday lives; from the justice system, to education, to employment - this is a crisis.

Recommended Read more Black Lives Matter activists arrested across England in day of action

The day of action on 5 August marked just over five years since the execution of Mark Duggan by police in Tottenham, and the uprisings across London, Birmingham, and other cities in England that arose as a consequence. In those five years, the situation for black, racialised, and working-class communities has only deteriorated further. Even as the number of deaths following contact with police in England and Wales climbs to 1,563 since 1990, the number of police convicted for these killings remains at zero - and yet our very right to grieve is still denied as we are pitted against the oppression of our black siblings across the Atlantic.

The need for a global Black Lives Matter movement is clear, and the demands of the UK movement articulate a response which speaks to our experiences here, encompassing the particular ways black life is brutalised and minimised in the UK. In the words of Black Lives Matter UK, this means a response to the crisis of devaluing black lives - from black deaths in custody, structural poverty that restrains our progression in education, work, and society, to the violent policing of borders and the continuing rise of racism on British streets, which increases day by day.

Any discussion about state violence in the UK has to factor in the many ways the British state oppresses black people. This is a conversation that cannot be limited to how many of us have been killed at the hands of the police - or even just the polices role alone. The deaths at the hands of the British police have often lacked the visceral, visual, violent spectacle of public executions like Mike Brown, Philando Castile, and Korryn Gaines in the US. But the fates that have befallen black people killed behind closed doors in British police, mental health and immigration custody have been just as brutal - as have the long, painful silences that await their friends and families on their endless journeys to hold the state accountable.

From state violence, border oppression, and the everyday racism that characterises the lives of black people, Black Lives Matter is a movement the UK desperately needs. Because, until all black lives are held sacred here, until every self-proclaimed anti-racist or anti-fascist is speaking out about the daily violence inflicted on black people, and until this country redresses its long, long history of injustices against black people globally, we are not free.

 Black Lives Matter protesters block major UK cities

Let it be clear - Black Lives Matter UK was not born out of a desire for imitation, but of a shared need for liberation. Yet, as the response to the movement and the day of action have shown, black people are always punished first by indifference, then by indignance. Those who failed to #SayHerName when Sarah Reed was killed at Holloway Prison this year didnt hesitate to demand we stick to tired, timid tactics of raising awareness. Those who are able, yet unwilling, to join a demonstration in support of black lives or against anti-black racism, were more than happy to deride direct action as counterproductive to the cause. Those whove never thought to support the United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC) in their struggles for justice, were quickest to dismiss the issue of state violence as a US import; a distant phenomenon.

Ultimately, those who do not wish to trouble their consciences with the thought of black suffering would rather it remained just that for them - a quiet inconvenience, easily ignored. This is precisely why the actions on 5 August became necessary. Black Lives Matter in the US has sparked a global discussion on police violence and the measure of black life, and on that Friday, the movement in the UK became impossible to ignore.

Recommended Read more We will fight until Britain recognises that black lives matter

I am proud to be part of that movement: as black students, we know all too well racism neither starts nor ends at the entrances of our campuses, and that being in education will not save us from the worst excesses of state brutality. It did not save Julian Cole; it did not save Mzee Mohammed.

Yet we are often told to not concern ourselves with the many facets of our oppression. As student activists, we are told to sideline our identities and concentrate only on the more popular concerns - on the normal issues of ordinary students. But the experiences of black people in this country have never been ordinary - our struggles and successes have always been extraordinary, and our rich history of resistance has shown that we will not allow for our oppression to be normalised.

As NUS black students officer, I am part of a proud history of black students being involved in struggles against the injustices that plague our colleges, our communities, and our kinfolk across seas. I look forward to building the Black Lives Matter UK movement alongside black students in the year ahead - and for every black student activist, I hope we never forget that we are here because of our struggles, not in spite of them.

Aadam Muuse is black students officer at NUS

Twitter: @AadamMuuse
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Female students are more likely to have mental health problems than males, and LGBT students have a high likelihood of developing issues compared to their non-LGBT counterparts, a new survey has revealed.

The study from YouGov has added to the recent problem of rising mental health issues in students by highlighting depression, anxiety, and eating disorders as the three main challenges being faced by young people at university today.

Recommended Read more Student debt worries causing depression and alcohol dependency

Overall, more than a quarter - 27 per cent - of all students surveyed reported having a mental health problem of one type or another in the past year.

The disparity between gender and sexuality, though, emerged as the most startling finding, as 34 per cent of females reported issues, compared to just 19 per cent of males. Forty-five per cent of LGBT students, on the other hand, admitted to facing challenges, compared to just 22 per cent of non-LGBTs.

For a significant proportion of respondents with issues, day-to-day tasks were difficult to see through; nearly half - 47 per cent - said they have trouble completing some daily tasks. Four per cent admitted to not being able to complete the most simple of tasks.

Study was the primary cause of stress among students; seven in ten said work from university was one of their main sources of stress. The second biggest was finding a job after university - 39 per cent - followed by their family at 35 per cent. Jobs and relationships - 23 per cent each - accounted for the majority of the other sources of stress.

The overwhelming majority - at 84 per cent - accepted mental illness is as serious as physical illness.

Concern has emerged in previous studies that students are either not aware of, or are failing to utilise, mental health services at their institution. However, YouGov found three quarters of respondents were aware of their universitys counselling service they could access.

The survey has come in the same week a similar one from the University of Southampton and Solent NHS Trust showed students who experience financial difficulties and worry about debt have a higher chance of suffering from depression and alcohol dependency.

Leader of that study, Dr Thomas Richardson, described how the findings suggested a vicious cycle whereby anxiety and problem drinking exacerbate financial difficulties, which then go on to increase anxiety and alcohol intake. He said: Interventions which tackle both difficulties at the same time are therefore most likely to be effective.

Elaine Hindal, chief executive of Drinkaware, the alcohol education charity, acknowledged how alcohol can have a temporary, positive impact on mood, but warned: Regular, excessive drinking can have long-term implications for students mental health.

She told the Independent: Alcohol is a depressant and can disrupt the delicate balance of chemicals that affect mood. This can lead to increased anxiety and stress, and even depression.

Ulster Universitys Professor Siobhan ONeill also described to a wellbeing conference in June how student life today is fraught with loneliness and anxiety, as she addressed the issues of self-harm, alcohol, and suicide, presenting, for the first time, findings from a study of 355 suicides in young people aged under 25 years in Northern Ireland.

She told the conference young people who die by suicide are somewhat different from the older age groups, and explained: Over half will have had a prior attempt; around 64 per cent of the males will have used alcohol at the time of death, and a third of females who die by suicide in this group are students.

If youre a student and feel you need help or support while at university, contact your universitys student services or students union advice service. You can also find out more about mental health support at Student Minds and Drinkaware
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Travel essentials

Why go now?

The Greek islands are renowned as summer hotspots, yet the capital is rarely seen in the same light. But Athens is a fine prospect in August, a starting point for twin-centre holidays which also visit the nearby Peloponnese peninsula, 50 miles to the west and - with a wealth of untouched little villages and ports - a rising star itself. The Athens and Epidaurus Festival (00 30 210 327 2000; greekfestival.gr), a feast of drama, dance and music staged at various venues, continues through the month.

Touch down

Eleftherios Venizelos Airport (1) (00 30 210 353 0000; aia.gr) is 17 miles east of the city. It is linked to the UK by Aegean Airlines (0871 200 0040; aegeanair.com) from Heathrow and Birmingham, and by British Airways (0344 493 0787; ba.com) from Heathrow. easyJet (0330 365 5000; easyjet.com) flies direct from Edinburgh, Manchester and Gatwick, while Ryanair (0843 504 7252; ryanair.com) offers a connection from Stansted.

Line Three of the Athens metro ties the airport to the heart of the matter, including central stations Monastiraki (2) and Syntagma (3), in 40 minutes; single fares are 10 (returns within 48 hours are 18). Airport bus X95 makes the journey to Syntagma Square (3) in 50 minutes, for 6. Taxis take 40 minutes at fixed rates of 38 in the daytime and 50 between midnight and 5am.

Get your bearings

Athens is located almost at the south-east corner of the Greek mainland, and is the capital of the Attica region as well as the country. It spreads out, as it has for at least 7,000 years, around the Acropolis (4)  its landmark rock bluff, crowned by the Parthenon (5) temple since 447BC.

It is easily explored on foot  although the three-line, 65-station metro system covers the city in detail. Single tickets for all journeys in the centre (metro, buses, trams; 00 30 214 414 6400; stasy.gr) cost 1.40, 24-hour passes 4.50. A tourist information kiosk (6) is open on Amalias Ave Dionissiou Areopagitou Street, daily 9am-9pm, between May and September (00 30 210 321 7116; thisisathens.org). A year-round kiosk is available at the airport (1) (daily 8am-8pm; 00 30 210 353 0390). Further details can be found at visitgreece.gr.

Explore ancient history in the National Archaeological Museum (Ricardo Andre Frantz, WikiCommons)

Check in

The Hermes Hotel (7) is a three-star close to the heart of the action at 19 Apollonos Plaka in Plaka (00 30 210 323 5514; hermeshotel.gr), with a cool bar and a childrens play room. Double rooms from 64, with breakfast.

St George Lycabettus (8) is a boutique gem - with a glorious rooftop pool - on the lower slope of Lycabettus Hill, above Kolonaki (2 Kleomensus Street; 00 30 210 729 0439; sglycabettus.gr). Doubles from 88, room only.

Hotel Grande Bretagne (9) (00 30 210 333 0000; grandebretagne.gr) is the five-star king of Syntagma Square (3)  all 19th-century echoes, with doubles from 230, room only.

Day one

Take a hike

Begin a morning wander into antiquity in central Monastiraki Square (2). Stroll south on Areos, past Hadrians Library (10), a seat of learning from the Roman era that was built in 132AD. It still stands firm, all staunch columns.

Find more of the same as you go south on Dioskouron  where the Roman Agora (11) was one of the citys focal points in the 1st century BC. The Tower Of The Winds, a grand marble clocktower, is still visible.

Take a hike up Mount Lycabettus for an overview of Athens - or, if you're feeling lazier, hitch a ride on the funicular (Shutterstock)

From here, cut west on Polignotou, and take the path around Areopagus Hill. This gives a leafy view of the Acropolis. Continue to pedestrian drag Dionysiou Areopagitou, and follow it clockwise to number 15  where the Acropolis Museum (12) is a treasure trove of ancient heritage (00 30 210 900 0900; theacropolismuseum.gr; entry 5). Open daily 8am-8pm (Monday to 4pm; Friday to 10pm), it makes a case for the return of the Elgin Marbles  the reliefs which were chiselled from the Parthenon (5) by aristocratic magpie Thomas Bruce from 1800 to 1803. A gallery displays the carvings which survived this act of appropriation  alongside replicas of those that currently reside in the British Museum.

A walk in the park

The main entrance to the Acropolis (4) (00 30 210 321 4172; odysseus.culture.gr; daily 8am-8pm; 20) is directly opposite the museum on Dionysiou Areopagitou. You need at least two hours to explore this craggy wonderland, hiking up towards a date with the Parthenon (5), the temple to the citys patron ancient goddess, Athena. It ranks as an epic symbol of civilisation, as does the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus (13), on the south side of the hill. Dedicated to the ancient Greek god of drama and wine, this 4th century BC auditorium held 17,000 people in its heyday  and retains its splendour in the present.

Lunch on the run

The eateries on nearby Makrigianni are tourist traps, but Yard Cafe (14) at No 17 (00 30 210 923 9792; yardcafe.blogspot.co.uk) is a solid pitstop, serving dishes such as pork fillet with figs for 12.

The Theatre of Dionysus is dedicated to the Greek god of drama and wine ( , WikiCommons)

Window shopping

Ermou is the citys main pedestrian drag. Le Chocolat  Matsouka (15), at No 18 (00 30 210 331 8010; chocolat.com.gr), is a hive of olive oils, wine and Greek produce, as well as fancy chocolate.

The chic Kolonaki district, meanwhile, has some of Athens' best stores. Home decor specialist Box Architects (16) at 9 Charitos (00 30 210 724 8600; boxarchitects.gr) sells lights and lamps in an array of shapes. Jack In The Box (17) at 13 Charitos (00 30 210 725 8735; jackinthebox.gr) is a superb toy shop, full of tricycles and cuddly bears.

An aperitif

Set parallel to Ermou, Kolokotroni is an avenue abuzz with bars. Booze Cooperativa (18), at No 57 (00 30 211 405 3733; boozecooperativa.com), is one of the liveliest; part watering hole, part gallery, with modern artworks on the walls and craft ales for 4.

Dine with the locals

Thissio has many food options on the narrow lane of Herakleidon. The Sowl (19), at No 10 (00 30 210 345 0003; thesowl.com), is a Latin hotspot that dispenses a citrus-heavy seabass ceviche for 10.60.

Psirri is a maze of restaurants. Oineas (20) at 9 Aisopou (00 30 210 321 5614; facebook.com/oineas) serves modern Greek fare, including grilled octopus for 9.50. Liosporos Jazz Cafe (21), at 24 Miaouli (00 30 213 024 9151), clings to Greek traditions  such as soutzoukakia (minced lamb with tomatoes and basil) for 6.

The Sowl is a sizzling Latin-themed hotspot serving a mean sea bass ceviche (The Sowl, Facebook)

Day two

Sunday morning: go to church

A religious jewel on Plateia Mitropoleos, the Metropolitan Cathedral (22) (00 30 210 322 1308; daily 7am-7pm; Sunday mass at 6.30am) is one of the citys most important buildings. It was one of the first landmarks constructed in the capital after Greece wrested itself away from Ottoman control in 1829  built between 1842 and 1862, using masonry from 72 demolished churches, as a statement of national identity. A place of contemplation, it holds the tombs of two saints (Philothei and Gregory V of Constantinople) who were killed under Turkish rule. Adjacent, the Mikri Mitropoli (23), a tiny church, dates to the 13th century.

Out to brunch

Grab a bite next to the cathedral at Commerce (24) (00 30 210 322 5533) at 5 Evangelistrias, one of a clutch of eateries on this Monastiraki street that are raising their level above photos-on-menu mediocrity. A plate of grilled Crete sausages with sour cabbage is 9.

Cultural afternoon

If you want to experience more of the past, the National Archaeological Museum (25), at 44 Patission, in the slightly more northerly Exarcheia area (00 30 213 214 4800; namuseum.gr), is an Athens essential. Open daily 8am-8pm (10), it has been a shrine to Ancient Greece since 1889. Exhibits include the Artemision Bronze  a sculpture of (probably) Zeus that was discovered in a shipwreck off the countrys northern coastline in 1926  as well as the Mask of Agamemnon (a gold funeral mask, dated to 1,500BC, which supposedly belonged to the Mycenaean king who commanded the Greek forces at Troy).

Athens' Technopolis is a 19th-century gasworks repurposed as a hipster-ish hive of music and art (Dinos P, Flickr)

To glimpse a more modern side of the city, try the Technopolis City of Athens (26) at 100 Pireos Street in the Gazi district (00 30 210 347 5518; technopolis-athens.com). A 19th-century gasworks reimagined as a hotspot of music and art, it includes the Industrial Gas Museum (daily except Monday, 10am-6pm; 1), which preserves machinery of this oil-rag era. It also has the Skywalk, an aerial nest of suspended bridges and walkways (daily 10am-10pm; free).

Take a view

Rising to 908ft (277m), north-east of the centre, Mount Lycabettus (27) offers a wide snapshot of the city. You can approach the summit on foot, taking the trail which presents itself on Kleomenous, to the rear of the St George Lycabettus hotel (8)  an upward route which is awash with cacti and slow-moving tortoises. Or you can take the funicular - its base station waits at Aristippou 1 (28) (daily 9am-2.30am; 3.50 each way). This saves on shoe leather, though you have to walk up steep Ploutarchou to find it. The 19th-century Chapel of St George is a whitewashed joy on the hilltop.

The icing on the cake

Elsewhere on the summit, you can take in the sunset from the terrace at Orizontes Lycabettus (00 30 210 722 7065; orizonteslycabettus.gr)  a seafood specialist serving specialities including sauteed sea bream in citrus sauce for 19.

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As terror incidents cause tourism to cool off in Turkey and social media spreads images of US police shootings, a country's reputation has perhaps never been so easily made and broken.

That is the warning from a study which ranks how 70 nations around the world are viewed in the eyes of its ever-observant international audience. Sweden took the crown from last year's winner Australia, and Canada won second place under current prime minister Justin Trudeau.

"Countries' reputations take a long time to build but can drop in an instant," said the 2016 Most Reputable Countries report by the Reputation Institute, which surveyed the views of 48,000 people.

While Sweden's high standard of living and generous parental leave has won it international recognition, many countries have seen significant dips in how they are regarded abroad.

Terror attacks in Turkey alongside a media crackdown, criticism of President Erdogan's treatment of Kurds, and the neighbouring war in Syria may have caused the country to fall the most out of all 70 countries on the list.

The home of East and West, as Turkey is sometimes called, lost seven points on its 2015 ranking. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns of a "volatile" security situation following an attempted coup to overthrow the Turkish government.

Next to lose international kudos was Saudi Arabia, whose bombing campaign in Yemen and media representation as repressive for women could have contributed to a fall of 4.7 points since 2015.

It was closely followed by Belgium, in a year that saw Eurosceptic resentment of Brussels rise across the continent, and then Greece, which continues to struggle to repay its debts, as well as a drop of 1.4 points for the economically strong and usually socially progressive Germany. Angela Merkel has lost some popularity at home since the Koln and other attacks on civilians.

These are the countries with the best and worst reputations Show all 20 1 /20 These are the countries with the best and worst reputations These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 1. Iraq (worst) The country was ranked at the very bottom of the Most Reputable Countries 2016 survey by the Reputation Institute, out of 70 surveyed. Multiple invasions have led to major infrastructural issues in the Middle Eastern nation. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 2. Iran (worst) Iran is often perceived as run by a brutal regime which beheads more citizens per capita than any other country in the world. Media freedom is also limited. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 3. Pakistan (worst) Terror incidents and reports of poverty have kept Pakistan low in international rankings for some time. AFP/Getty Images These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 4. Saudi Arabia (worst) Widely broadcast executions of dissidents and drug addicts, as well as scrutiny of the only country in the world which does not allow women to vote in public elections, has damaged Saudi Arabia's international reputation. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 5. Nigeria (worst) Nigeria regularly ranks as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, with a widening inequality gap and Islamist groups such as Boko Haram attacking the population. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 6. Russia (worst) Civil liberties and right-wing extremism in Russia is a concern for many in more liberal European countries. President Putin is frequently criticised by international leaders for his role in global conflict, in Ukraine and Syria. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 7. Algeria (worst) The largest country in Africa faces serious socioeconomic problems and is listed as significantly corrupt. Isis and other armed groups on its borders have threatened security. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 8. Angola (worst) The country has a history of violent conflict after a civil war which began in 1975 and lasted, with interludes, until 2002. Low oil prices has also hit Africa's second-largest oil producer hard. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 9. Nicaragua (worst) Close ties between corporations, the military and government has led to accusations that Nicaragua's hard-fought democracy has been dismantled and replaced with dictatorship. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 10. Kazakhstan Kazakhstan faces both environmental challenges such as radiation from nuclear testing sites, as well as high levels of pollution from years of Soviet-era industry. Lead poisoning is also a problem. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 1. Sweden (best) The country of high taxes has a strong level of trust from its citizens, a proportionately representative government and 16 months parental leave shared between parents and paid at 80% of one's salary for the first 390 days. Its economy is stable. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 2. Canada (best) Canadians have a high quality of life according to international comparisons, live longer than their American neighbours, do well in international education league tables and have a progressive view on LGBT rights. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 3. Switzerland (best) The country is considered a good business investment, clean, organised, independent and beautiful. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 4. Australia (best) Warm weather and high standards of living in Sydney, Melbourne and especially Canberra won Australia a place in the top five, having taken the crown the previous year. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 5. Norway (best) A country of outdoor activities, particularly skiing and hiking, as well as socially progressive policies towards gender equality and refugees has endeared Norway with many of its neighbours. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 6. Finland (best) The Finnish education system is regularly considered one of the best on the planet - trying new ideas, lending teachers autonomy, and paying them very well for their time - while women make up more than 40% of positions in national government, one of the highest in the world. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 7. New Zealand (best) Outdoor living, low levels of corruption and a friendly national culture keeps New Zealand's reputation favourable abroad. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 8. Denmark (best) Strong public services are matched by a small- to medium- sized enterprises economy based on families. The government is proportionately representative of votes. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 9. Ireland (best) A friendly culture with a pro-EU mindset and a recent vote to legalise gay marriage has impressed many of Ireland's neighbours. These are the countries with the best and worst reputations 10. Netherlands (best) The Netherlands has long been considered progressive in its views on drugs policy, sex workers and gender equality. Amsterdam remains one of the top tourist destinations in Europe.

The UK did not make the top 10 but remained in 13th place as last year. The world's most powerful economy, the US, was poorly regarded by judges and left trailing in 28th position. It has at least become more internationally popular since the Obama administration came into power.

Even with the invasion of the Crimea less in the media spotlight, Russia was placed near the very bottom of the ranking. It rubbed shoulders with some of the most conflict-stricken countries on the planet: Pakistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Algeria and Iran. Vladimir Putin has pursued a policy of supporting Bashar al Assad in Syria and has been criticised for abuse of LGBT rights at home.

Here is the entire list:

1. Sweden

2. Canada

3. Switzerland

4. Australia

5. Norway

6. Finland

7. New Zealnd

8. Denmark

9. Ireland

10. Netherlands

11. Austria

12. Italy

13. United Kingdom

14. Japan

15. France

16. Belgium

17. Spain

18. Germany

19.Portugal

20. Singapore

21. Czech Republic

22. Costa Rica

23. Peru

24. Brazil

25. Taiwan

26. Thailand

27. Poland

28. United States

29. Argentina

30. Dominican Republic

31. Malaysia

32. Philippines

33. Puerto Rico

34. Chile

35. Panama

36. Paraguay

37. Indonesia

38. Cuba

39. Morocco

40. Greece

41. Venezuela

42. Ecuador

43. Mexico

44. India

45. South Korea

46. United Arab Emirates

47. Bolivia

48. Uruguay

49. South Africa

50. Guatemala

51. Israel

52. Honduras

53. Qatar

54. El Salvador

55. Egypt

56. Romania

57. China

58. Turkey

59. Ukraine

60. Colombia

61. Kazakhstan

62. Nicaragua

63. Angola

64. Algeria

65. Russia

66. Nigeria

67. Saudi Arabia

68. Pakistan

69. Iran

70. Iraq

Civilians in the eight most industrially advanced nations in the world - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US - ranked the 70 nations across 16 factors including an appealing environment, being safe to visit, socially progressive policies, an effective government, an advanced economy and friendly citizens.

Given there are about 195 countries in the world, the list is by no means exhaustive. For instance, neither Syria - half of whose population has been killed or fled in the past five years - nor Iceland - which regularly ranks as one of the happiest and most socially progressive in the world - were assessed.

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The aviation industry has worked miracles improving everything from engineering to interpersonal relationships on the flight deck: thats what I wrote in my business travel column last weekend.

Its highly unlikely that you or I are ever going to be involved in a serious aviation incident, but if it happens then it is likely to be survivable. It all depends on the evacuation, as Emirates EK521 at Dubai proved earlier this month when it crashed on the runway. All the passengers and crew escaped the burning Boeing, though a firefighter was killed in the blaze.

With the worldwide accident rate at extraordinarily low levels, I argued, its the passengers turn to do their bit to make flying even safer. Travellers need to sharpen up in preparation for the (very rare) event of an emergency evacuation. Assess in advance where the two nearest emergency exits are. Yell at anyone who reaches for their hand luggage. And during the safety briefing, shush anyone whos talking, not listening.

I finished writing the column at the departure gate at Osijek airport in Slavonia, eastern Croatia. I pressed send and walked through the gate to the plane to Stansted. Five minutes later, and halfway through the safety briefing, the neighbouring passenger started talking to me.

I didnt feel too bad about shushing her, because she is my wife. But afterwards, we discussed why Charlotte was happy to talk even though the cabin crew were halfway through demonstrating how to don and use a lifejacket in the unlikely event of landing on water.

I already knew that bit, she said.

Aviation safety purists stress how important it is to listen to every word of the briefing. Plane types vary (though not currently on Ryanair), and there can be subtle but important changes to the wording. For example, after an inflight incident in which the oxygen masks were deployed, some passengers complained that the bag just below the mask didnt fill with oxygen, and therefore the system wasnt working. Now, Ryanair passengers are told not to expect the transparent lung to inflate.

But if a sensible and safety-conscious person such as my wife feels that she has heard the drill so often that she could put on a life vest with her eyes closed, and still find the whistle to attract attention, then the standard safety briefing is not fit for purpose.

First, is a drill really necessary? Yes. Just because Charlotte has heard the drill a million times before, the 180 other passengers on Ryanair flight 7966 may not have done. Even in the US, where aviation is more commonplace than anywhere else, a government survey found that 18 per cent of the public had never flown.

So already its a difficult audience: first-time flyers, anxious passengers, and people who believe they could recite the two-minute talk in their sleep.

The solution: vary the briefing, according to the particular risks for that flight. That bit about the life jackets, for example, when Charlottes attention wandered.

I can understand that on the long, oceanic flight from Stansted to Ponta Delgada in the Azores, it makes sense to mention the devices, even though my whistle to attract attention may sound feeble in the mid-Atlantic. When I made the journey, the only land on the flightpath between the English Channel and the island of Sao Miguel was the western tip of Brittany. But on the flight from Croatia to London, I timed how long the plane spent flying over bodies of water: less than a minute above Lake Balaton in Hungary, and 14 minutes over the southern end of the North Sea between Ostend and Clacton.

Now, I will be first in the queue for Sully - the forthcoming film about the US Airways captain who, in 2009, successfully ditched his aircraft in the Hudson after a multiple birdstrike disabled both engines. Tom Hanks plays Captain Chesley Sully Sullenberger, the man responsible for the Miracle on the Hudson in which all 155 aboard were saved. But that was in the most extreme circumstances, immediately after take-off from an airport in the middle of a very crowded city. I estimate that we started the North Sea crossing at about 30,000 feet and ended it at 20,000, and at those heights I imagine the average pilot faced with the loss of power - or an on-board fire - would plan to divert to one of the many available airports on either side of the water rather than gliding into the drink.

I cannot trace any events in modern times in which a lifejacket helped preserve the life of any passenger flying with a UK airline. So, could that element of the briefing be - if you will excuse the phrase - ditched?

Instead, use the time saved to remind passengers why it is important to keep your shoes on during take off and landing: in case you need to run for an exit, and away from the plane, in an evacuation.

Still more radical ideas deserve to be discussed. In advance of the flight, airlines could stipulate sensible footwear (no flip-flops or high heels) as a condition of allowing you on board. Infrequent or first-time flyers could be offered a more in-depth briefing at the departure gate - tempered with some reassurance about the astonishingly good safety record of passenger aviation.
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Victoria station, SW1, at 5.15pm: the height of the rush hour, but this evening it seems barely busier than a weekend. On platform 10, the 5.20pm to Horsham still has empty seats, filling up with standing passengers only in the last few minutes.

Chris Grayling, as far as I could tell, was not among them - but plenty of his constituents were. Mr Grayling is the MP for Epsom and Ewell, and also the new transport secretary, responsible - among much else - for the nations rail network. So this is the Grayling Express, taking people home to the Home Counties.

Earlier this afternoon the RMT agreed to call off the strike, but not in time to restore services for the evening rush-hour.

The train sets off south right on time, and at the first stop, Clapham Junction, its passenger load reduces by at least one-third. Everyone has a seat, which makes the 10-minute pause outside Sutton more bearable.

Id like to apologise for the delay, said the driver. Were waiting for a red light to change.

Even with only around half of the normal weekday services running from Victoria  when passengers were expecting none at all  congestion is still an issue.

Lyn and Juliet Metcalf, from Horsham, were returning early from a day out in London, curtailed because of the strike. They sympathised with the guards, but said they did not expect them to win this bitter dispute over who opens and closes the doors. At present, the guards do, but Southern wants the drivers to take over. The guards say safety will be compromised.

Theyre always incredibly pleasant and helpful, but it wont get them very far, said Lyn.

I think theyre starting to lose the support of the public, said Juliet. Possibly like the miners strike.

 Southern Rail strike - all you need to know

Outside Epsom Ann Keen was heading home to her children after an expensive day getting to work and back. She had this advice for Chris Grayling, her MP and ultimately the man who runs her trains: He said when he came into post that he was going to make [the trains] his top priority. We havent heard much since. It would be good to get an update about that.

Ive just got a new job at London Bridge. I have to pay extra to go on South West Trains, because Southern is so unreliable.

Doesnt it make her despair? Ive been travelling by train for 20-odd years, so Im kind of used to it.
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Since the UK voted to leave the European Union in June, weve been trying to untangle why this happened, and what the Brexiteers have in common.

Its important  and natural  that we want to understand. In fact, a new study on the favourite brands of the British public, divided into those who voted in and out of the EU, has lent us some surprisingly valuable insight.

The number one favourite brand of Leave voters was HP Sauce, followed by Bisto, ITV News, the Health Lottery, Birdseye and Iceland. Their top 10 also included PG Tips and Richmond sausages.

For Remainers, they favoured the BBC website, followed by BBC iPlayer, Instagram and the London Underground. The list also included Airbnb, LinkedIn, Virgin Trains and EasyJet.

Theres no denying that certain brands are affiliated with particular social classes. Those who prefer home-cooked meals and a strong cuppa, rather than spontaneous weekends away, are more likely to be working class for the simple reason that these cost less money.

We know that working class voters disproportionately voted to leave the EU. Despite some arguing that class wasnt the leading factor, this study backs up the data were reluctant to take at face value.

Some say Brexit was a result of racism, a rejection of multiculturalism. This is hard to ignore in light of the increase in hate crime following the vote. But behind the racist violence of a small minority of people  and the creeping xenophobia of many more  is a background of discontent.

We all saw the voxpops leading up to the vote, almost always taken from deprived, working class areas, featuring people saying they would Brexit because they wanted to take back control. That 350m saved every week will go on the NHS, they said, as if the EU was the reason for rich getting richer and poor getting poorer. And who could blame them for thinking that? It was repeated again and again by campaigners like Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson.

The working class was painted a picture of their jobs, public services and housing being taken away from them, the rightful beneficiaries, by too many people coming to this country to scrounge. The Brexit vote was a territorial move, fuelled by discontent, to get our country back. And we were all lied to.

The Leave campaign was led by a man who said his annual salary of 250,000 for a weekly column in The Telegraph was chicken feed. We were so desperate to vote against the establishment that we fell for Johnson, Farage and their anti-establishment lies, when they are both establishment to the bone.

The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit Show all 7 1 /7 The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 22 May 2015 In his regular column in The Express Nigel Farage utilised the concerns over Putin and the EU to deliver a tongue in cheek conclusion. With friends like these, who needs enemies? PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 13 November 2015 UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Mike Hookem, was one of several political figures who took no time to harness the toxic atmosphere just moments after Paris attacks to push an agenda. Cameron says were safer in the EU. Well Im in the centre of the EU and it doesnt feel very safe. Getty Images The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 19 April 2016 In an article written for The Guardian, Michael Gove attempts to bolster his argument with a highly charged metaphor in which he likens UK remaining in the EU to a hostage situation. Were voting to be hostages locked in the back of the car and driven headlong towards deeper EU integration. Rex The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 26 April 2016 In a move that is hard to decipher, let alone understand, Mike Hookem stuck it to Obama re-tweeting a UKIP advertisement that utilises a quote from the film: Love Actually to dishonour the US stance on the EU. A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 10 May 2016 During a speech in London former work and pensions secretary Ian Duncan Smith said that EU migration would cause an increasing divide between people who benefit from immigration and people who couldnt not find work because of uncontrolled migration. The European Union is a force for social injustice which backs the haves rather than the have-nots. EPA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 15 May 2016 Cartoon character Boris Johnson made the news again over controversial comments that the EU had the same goal as Hitler in trying to create a political super state. Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods. PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 16 May 2016 During a tour of the womens clothing manufacturer David Nieper, Boris had ample time to cook up a new metaphor, arguably eclipsing Goves in which he compares the EU to badly designed undergarments. So I just say to all those who prophecy doom and gloom for the British Business, I say their pants are on fire. Lets say knickers to the pessimists, knickers to all those who talk Britain down. Getty Images

If we were a land of plenty, we wouldnt mind immigration to the UK. But in unnecessarily austere times, we must ask ourselves where at least some of the anti-migrant sentiment stemmed from.

Working class Brexiteers have been harder hit by austerity measures than wealthier cosmopolitan Remainers. Former chancellor George Osborne cut billions from welfare, health and education. His policies disproportionally hit disadvantaged children. People saw their families lives and lifestyles rapidly decline.

The last governments policies led to increase in the use of food banks. It changed the definition of child poverty from relative income to include measures such as employment, failing to understand that an increasing number of the poor work. It introduced the Bedroom Tax and changes to welfare payments so harsh that Iain Duncan Smith resigned from cabinet.

The government cut frontline services with one hand, and gave tax cuts to the rich with the other. The discontent this fuelled was used to persuade us that the problem was EU bureaucrats and immigration.

Members of the working class  the ones disproportionately affected by job insecurity, zero hours contracts and public sector pay freezes  were asked to believe that these austerity measures were down to the EU, when leaving it will no doubt affect our economy negatively for years to come.

Now, new prime minister Theresa May, who sailed into number 10 with promises to improve social mobility, is considering lifting a ban on new grammar schools. Less than three per cent of entrants to grammar schools qualify for free school meals. The future for the poorest in our society looks increasingly grim.

Its no coincidence Brexiteers love the lottery, but unfortunately this was a gamble theyre not likely to win.
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Old Bishop Daly was a hero of mine. In an age when the Catholic Church was betrayed by its own child-abusing priests, he was a man of great courage  in facing his own mortality after a terrifying stroke, just as he was when he waved a blood-soaked handkerchief in the face of British paratroopers, carrying the dying Jackie Duddy on Bloody Sunday.

Duddy was 17 when he was murdered by a British soldier of the 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment on 30 January 1972. Daly was 82 when he died this week. And he was a man whom I always associated  for all the right reasons  with death.

Less than two weeks earlier, Father Jacques Hamel (three years older than Daly) died before his altar outside Rouen, his throat cut by two men who claimed to be adherents of Isis, the very cult of death. They were killed by the police. But what of the other hundreds  thousands  of Isis followers in the Middle East who have hacked off the heads of their enemies, cut their throats, burned them alive, lowered them into well-filled swimming pools, cut them down in a blizzard of sub-machine gun fire?

Do they have no conscience at all, even in their last years (always supposing they survive that long), decrepit and bald and waiting for the end? Do they forever see through a glass, darkly?

I put such a question to Bishop Daly some years after he retired. We were sitting one evening in his room close to St Eugenes Cathedral in Derry. Did IRA men find their consciences in old age, I asked him, when they could see death coming for them?

In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Smoke rises after airstrikes by US-led coalition planes as Iraqi security forces advance against Islamic State extremists in Fallujah, June 15, 2016 AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Iraqi security forces advance during heavy fighting against Isis militants in Fallujah, Iraq, on 14 June AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Shia militia say that moving resources from Fallujah towards the area near Mosul was a 'betrayal' of the battle for the city GETTY In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Hospital sources said 18 bodies were recovered from the river over the weekend AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Up to 60,000 civilians were feared trapped in Fallujah at the start of the Iraqi operation AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Shia fighters hold an Isis flag in an operation east of Fallujah  the terror group has lost ground in both Syria and Iraq AFP/Getty In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Shia fighters hold their weapons as they gather near Falluja, Iraq, June 4, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Pro-government forces bid to take back ground from Isis in Fallujah MOADH AL-DULAIMI/AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Smoke billows on the horizon as Iraqi military forces prepare for an offensive to retake the city AP In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah A member of the Iraqi security forces fires artillery during clashes with Isis militants near Fallujah, Iraq, 29 May, 2016 Reuters In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Iraqi government forces fire a rocket near al-Sejar village, north-east of Fallujah, on May 26, 2016, as they take part in a major assault to retake the city from the Islamic State group AFP/Getty In pictures: Iraq battles to drive Isis out of Fallujah Shia fighters and Iraqi security forces advance towards Fallujah Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters

No Robert, you dont understand, he said to me sadly. The time the reality comes crashing in on them is when their first child is born. They have participated in the creation of a life and three months later young men come to me with problems because they have killed someone. This hits them while they are still young and not at such a remove from the act of killing. Some of them have sat here and wept.

But, re-reading my 1997 interview with Daly, I am drawn back to a moment scarcely six weeks ago when I was standing on the stage of the Roman theatre at Palmyra alongside a Syrian army captain, not long after the citys liberation from Isis. They made 25 of our soldiers kneel here on the stage after they captured Palmyra last year, beside each other with their hands tied, he said. Then our soldiers were shot in the back of the head, one by one.

Had the killer been found, I asked? The captain smiled at my stupidity. Again, I did not understand. The executioner was a small boy, he said. He was about 10 years old. When the terrorists left, they took him with them.

Somehow, Isis  far less militarily dangerous than the al-Qaeda look-a-likes that now pose under the name of Fatah el-Shams  had gone a step beyond the mournful scenario which Bishop Daly spoke of: the broken killer-father, driven to remorse by the birth of his own child. In the new age of Isis, the child-man is the murderer.

And yes, that Syrian captains story was perfectly comprehensible. There is videotape in Syria of a child hacking away at a prisoners neck with a knife, another of a seven-year-old boy  the son of an Australian fighter, now dead, named Khaled Sharrouf  holding a severed human head in his hands. I was much struck a couple of years ago when the French police found two Facebook accounts on the laptop of a teenage girl who had travelled to Syria. One was filled with school parties and music, the other contained an image of ruined Aleppo and a prayer that she might help to save the women and children of the city. Which was the real Facebook, the cops wanted to know? The answer was surely simple: both of them.

 Syrian women burn burkas to celebrate liberation from Isis

I was even more amazed by the remark of a French judge this year, who noticed that the mother of a suspected jihadi was bringing him, during court breaks, the food he liked to eat when he was a schoolchild. The judge remarked on the juvenile nature of this behaviour. Yes, mummy was bringing his favourite school ice-cream to him.

And there is, is there not, a faint connection between this and the pathetic email messages from teenagers already in Syria as they reassure future jihadis of equal immaturity that they can buy their favourite food in Raqqa. Armed Isis men have appeared on videos to extol their much-loved chocolate hazelnut spread, their enthusiasm for kittens and their hatred for Star Wars (too violent, naturally).

All this suggests that the television terrorists of Isis have not been radicalised at all, as our terror experts and Scotland Yard claim. They have been infantilised. Isis has broken down the precious wall which separates childhood from adulthood, innocence from guilt. This  far more than mass murder  is their final dark achievement.

Our moderate Arab dictators have been doing it for years, of course; turning their oppressed populations into children who will cheerfully obey any order to please the headmaster, prepared to vote 98 per cent  even 100 per cent  for their leaders cause. Mubaraks last appeal for his political survival in Egypt began with the words: My children, my children But where does that leave our own internal barriers to violence?

A Derry caseworker with bereaved families reminded me a couple of days after Bishop Dalys death, of Marie Newton, whose husband John Toland was murdered by the Protestant UDA (possibly with the collusion of the security forces) in 1976. Marie was left with seven children to care for.

She remembered telling them after John was killed, however, that she was lucky shed been their murdered fathers wife, not the wife of the man who pulled the trigger. It was a sentiment Bishop Daly would have admired. In his biography, he speaks of Bloody Sunday  he was 39 then  as the day when I lost any romantic notions or ambivalence that I may have had about the morality of the use of arms as a means of resolving our political problems. Armed conflict, he wrote, brutalises both those who participate in it and the society in which the warriors [sic] engage

Dr Daly waved a blood-stained white handkerchief as a symbol of ceasefire while trying to help Duddy on Bloody Sunday

In 2003, Derry relatives of the 14 Catholic men killed by the British army tried to twin their city with Fallujah in Iraq after American paratroopers killed 16 Muslim Arab men there, all apparently unarmed. But such gestures scarcely approach a Middle East where the ceremony of innocence has now been so deeply drowned.

I last saw Daly in 2002 when the Bloody Sunday families invited me to give their annual memorial lecture in Derry  the first Brit to be asked to do so  and I approached the Bishop beforehand as he sat among the audience.

He was chatting quietly in the third row. I had no intention, I told him, of talking about my meetings in Afghanistan with Osama bin Laden. I was bored with repeating them at public talks and interviews. Daly shook his head in amused wonderment. No! he roared. They will want you to tell them all about him. If I was to address the same audience today, however, I doubt if theyd be so keen to hear my words. Nor would Bishop Daly.

Bin Ladens legacy in the Middle East has turned into something even he might not recognise today. Nihilism has begat infantilisation, where the schoolchild and the murderer have become one, as innocent and guilty as the other.

Those who have participated in the creation of a life can no longer be relied upon to feel any conscience  when the only reality which will come crashing in on them will be the young child so soon to be contaminated by the fathers acts.
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Its marvellous how they manage it, but every week the people running the Labour Party election perform a stunt even more spectacular than the last.

Next week Margaret Hodge will kidnap John McDonnell, which she will claim is in accordance with the Labour Party Constitution, Rule 457. (Shadow Chancellor Chained to a Radiator in the Basement Clause (14 B iii).) Peter Mandelson will reveal he has met Vladimir Putin to request he cuts off the oil supply to Jeremy Corbyns office, and Hilary Benn will announce he has hired a fleet of Tornados to bomb a Momentum branch meeting in Exeter.

Labour must be bold and ambitious, and never before can an organisation have illegally banned its own members from voting in an election it promised them a vote in, then spent the money it took from those members on appealing to the High Court to try and keep the ban.

The argument of those who brought in the ban was that, although the new members were promised a vote in Labour elections, they didnt mean the next election, but at some unspecified one in the future.

What a boost this method would be if it was adopted by British business. Comet would never have gone bankrupt if anyone buying a washing machine handed over their money and was then told they wouldnt actually be given a washing machine, but the money they had paid would be used on appealing to the High Court for the companys right to not hand over a washing machine.

 John McDonnell pleas for Labour unity

And this is from the wing of the Labour Party that insists it can be trusted on the economy.

It would be entertaining if it ran the country like this: Angela Eagle would announce: Weve spent the education budget wisely, on an appeal to the High Court that no one in Wales should be allowed to eat bananas.

Because Labour must be modern, and to prove how modern it is, the plotters are furious at how democratic they are ordered to be by High Court judges. Maybe this is how it plans to win a General Election  by appealing to the High Court to only allow someone to vote if theyre called Kinnock or Eagle.

But these extreme measures are essential because, as Tom Watson explained, the Labour election has been undermined by Trotsky entryists twisting arms of young members. This explains why Corbyn is expected to win again, because the 300,000 new members of Labour are powerless before the arm-twisting might of Britains 50 Trotsky entryists.

Some people may wonder why these arm-twisters never overturned Tony Blair during the 15 years he was leader. That is because the Trotsky entryists were living in a city under the ground guarded by men in yellow boiler suits, perfecting their evil arm-twisting machine, cackling soon we will unleash our power on Ipswich Constituency Labour Party then nothing can stop us mwahaha.

Now the worry is what other votes they are influencing by arm-twisting. We should watch out for this years Strictly Come Dancing, when Will Young comes second to Alf Barnshaw, the central committee member of the Trotsky Entryist group the Revolutionary Movement for Extremely Violent Workers Anger.

The whole strategy of the anti-Corbyn plotters appears to be random fury. Every vote that goes against them is a result of bullying, and one MP, Conor McGinn, told the press that Corbyn threatened to call my Dad. This suggests their aim to win a general election is to go after the toddler vote. They are going to campaign for the voting age to be reduced to three, then issue a manifesto that goes: Its not faIr becoos I wozent doing anyfink and Treeza MAy kAlld my daD just like jErmY and thats wie I want to b pie minister.

But they dont appear to have any desire to work out what might be taking place. Because, like a married couple who scream at each other for hours about who left the ironing board in the wrong place, clearly there is something more to this disagreement than the rows they have about who sent a nasty message on Twitter.

The anti-Corbyn plotters complain Corbyns policies make him unelectable, so their strategy appears to be to have no policies at all. They make no effort to explain why the support for Corbyn is an English version of what has happened across Europe and America. Presumably they think Bernie Sanders won millions of supporters because he borrowed Corbyns arm-twisting machine, and the SNP won in Scotland because Nicola Sturgeon threatened to call Ed Milibands dad.

And none of them attempt to assess why thousands turn out to hear Corbyn in town centres. They must be the only people in political history to see huge crowds coming into the streets to support their party and think Well ban that lot for a start.

Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Show all 12 1 /12 Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn's reshuffle Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn and the Syria bombing vote Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn asks questions from the public at PMQs, meanwhile backbenchers plot to oust him Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn is unavailable to attend the Privy Council Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Conference rejects Corbyns call to debate Trident Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn At Labour conference Corbyn and McDonnell press for a Robin Hood tax Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyns hopes for a new politics look optimistic in the face of a media barrage Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn enters Labour leadership race

So Owen Smiths campaign insists he will continue with many of Corbyns radical ideas but do it more competently. If you were cynical you might wonder how strongly he backs Corbyns ideas, when the people backing Smith most fervently are Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell, and everyone else who hates everything Corbyn stands for. It is like standing for the General Synod of the Anglican Church when your campaign manager is Richard Dawkins.

The result is their campaign amounts to a series of unconnected exasperated attempts to force him to stand down, by all resigning or appealing to a High Court for the right to rig the vote, making them look like Wile E Coyote chasing the Road Runner.

Next week, at a Corbyn rally, Stephen Kinnock will hide above him waiting to drop an ACME piano, but the balcony he is on will collapse and he will land on Laura Kuenssberg.

Then Tom Watson will try to shoot him through a hole in a tree, but the gun will bend back through another hole and he will shoot himself in the face, so he will issue a statement that this proves Corbyn must stand down  he simply isnt competent.
It's regime change, as well as a change of address, at the Central Bank - but how different will things be? They are fitting out the new headquarters down by the docks but fitting out a new mindset is a more challenging affair.

The new address was meant to read, "Anglo-Irish Bank" of course. The fact that it doesn't has much to do with the failings of the Central Bank - more than the Oireachtas banking inquiry was willing to probe.

"Irony" does not seem sufficient to describe the skeleton of what should have been Anglo being fleshed out to house the bank. With those ghosts somewhere in the steelwork, it is even more important that the regime be brand new and properly fitted-out as well. In his address to the Institute for International and European Affairs last week, Governor Philip Lane insisted that it was.

The structures are certainly new. Dr Lane stressed the fact that there is now a single EU supervisor - the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. This is indeed a dramatic change.

In which context, the insistence by Dr Lane that Department of Finance officials should not attend up to 17 meetings with IMF staff on bank and insurance supervision would seem to indicate a fundamental change of attitudes.

He is, after all, only the second governor not to have come from the ranks of the Department itself.

Anyone in the audience for his speech was bound to have noticed his own regime change, from senior academic to central bank governor.

He was not shy about illustrating the bank's new power - backed by the EU legislation of the banking union - and its independence, including when it comes to hiring staff and spending money. It was also a fairly masterly display of central bank speak, where what is between the lines is more important than what is on them.

In this he differed from his predecessor, Prof Patrick Honohan (who was also in the audience). To the end, he retained a quizzical air about the whole job, and regularly seemed to question it. That could, and did, cause trouble, but it was reassuring in its way.

One never thought one would have qualms about the Department of Finance getting its comeuppance, but qualms there are. The bank was always a creature of the Department, but since CJ Haughey's blitz on the constitutional proprieties, the department had increasingly become a creature of the politicians (other departments always have been).

The consequences of the resulting incompetence and subservience at the bank are, alas, all too painfully obvious. So one can see why the Department might have some of its visiting rights withdrawn.

I would have no worries about central bank independence, but that is when accountability comes into the equation.

The publication of minutes of the meetings of the board - now the Central Bank Commission - is welcome, and the latest ones have a useful report of discussions in Brexit.

Yet it is well-established that there tends to be over-reaction to booms and busts. The idea that senior Irish officials cannot hear what is said to IMF staff, and will be said to ECB staff, grates badly.

At the same time, while central bankers deserve credit for not over-reacting to the Crash in the way their predecessors did in the 1930s, thereby ushering in a Depression, they can be accused of not reacting enough when it comes to fixing Europe's banks.

There was a distinct sense of shock when the two main Irish banks fared badly in the EU stress tests. AIB's capital fell below the recommended minimum as a result of the simulated recession. Unlike 2008, and unlike the venerable Italian bank which is causing so much concern, AIB still had capital left.

Dr Lane seemed a bit put out by the reaction. Irish banks may still be near the bottom of the pile, but it is true they have made more progress than many others, having come from further behind.

The governor drew attention to the IMF's Financial System Stability Assessment, which came out a few days later. It was the usual extraordinary effort, with a team of ten analysts and dozens of meetings with just about everybody who has any connections with the financial system.

They constructed a pretty nasty recession, with unemployment rising to 11pc, a 10pc drop in house prices and a five percentage point increase in the cost of government borrowing.

Simulation it may be, but the IMF's models suggest something like this could happen if the Brexit negotiations go badly and spark general panic.

The Irish banks come out somewhat better than in the EU test; although one would see its capital fall below the approved minimum if its five biggest borrowers failed to service their loans. That would be an extreme case, but we do not know how extreme, because the IMF studies do not name names.

It is nice to be told that the system would not collapse but it would be even nicer to know if any particular bank might. However, it seems clear from the report that no bank was seen as losing all its capital.

The most valuable bits of the report may not be about banks at all. It is disturbing but somehow not surprising, to see that there is still no central credit register.

One of the reasons for the cataclysmic collapse was that banks did not know how much their big clients had borrowed elsewhere.

There are also unpleasant echoes from the IMF's comment that ECB attempts to create a uniform regulatory approach may not take sufficient account of the different conditions in member states. This is the fundamental problem of the whole EU, but one which no one knows how to address without unleashing reckless behaviour among the member states. But not knowing what to do is not a satisfactory excuse.

For Dame Street - soon to be North Wall Quay - the issue is how quickly Irish banks can return to at least the middle tier in terms of capital.

Shareholders are in no mood to put fresh capital into any bank; governments do not have the resources; and the outlook for profits is poorly.

Building up capital will be a slow business - certainly too slow for a Brexit crisis. There will certainly be no sympathy for the idea of imposing caps or cuts on variable rates for customers. The Bank will have a tricky job balancing the desire for more competition against the need for retained profits.

The main argument now for transparency is not to see if the banks are going bust, but to see if they are getting better quickly enough.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster, who backed a Brexit vote, has warned Theresa May that the North's economy and farming sector is now vulnerable to a loss of EU funding and tariffs on trade.

In a joint letter with Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness to the UK Prime Minister, Ms Foster (pictured inset), pointed out the importance to Northern Ireland of EU funds.

The two leaders said the North's agri-food sector, including fisheries, represents a much more important component of the region's economy than it does for the UK as a whole.

"This is reflected in the fact that approximately 10pc of UK receipts from the CAP (Common Agriculture Policy) accrue to Northern Ireland (accounting for the majority of our EU funding) and a large proportion of our food and agriculture output is exported to other EU and non- EU countries," they said.

"Our agri-food sector, and hence our wider economy, is therefore uniquely vulnerable both to the loss of EU funding, and to potential tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade."

The leaders state that EU funds have been important to the Northern Ireland economy and peace process, and that since 1994, the North has received 13bn of European funding.

Between 2014 and 2020, it expects to draw down more than 3.5bn.

"The current uncertainty around the ability to draw down a proportion of these funds, and the absence of EU programmes in the future, is of real concern," the letter states.
Irish solar energy firm Amarenco is tapping investors for up to 200m in equity to fund the development of solar farms in France and to fuel windfarm acquisitions.

Amarenco chief executive John Mullins - the former boss of Bord Gais - told the Irish Independent that the firm has already sized up some potential windfarm purchases .

Mr Mullins, inset, said that Amarenco ran the rule over assets being sold by Irish firm Gaelectric, but has decided not to pitch for those windfarms.

"We hope to be in a position by later this year to have quite a significant amount of strategic equity for the UK, French and Irish markets," he said, adding that the funds are being raised via Sustainable Development Capital in London.

Mr Mullins said the equity being raised should be sufficient to finance development activity for about three years.

Investors are likely to be European, said Mr Mullins.

At least some of the funds will be earmarked for the roll-out of French solar farms.

Amarenco already has eight operational solar farms in France, and a development pipeline there totalling 133MW. It's planning to build almost 40 solar farms in Ireland.

Mr Mullins said the equity being raised will go into subsidiaries of Amarenco, meaning the currently equity status of the holding company won't be affected.

That means that existing investors in the holding unit won't have their stakes diluted.

Investors in Amarenco include tech guru Bill McCabe's Oyster Capital, and Ian Quinn, the founder of medical device firm Creganna, in which he sold a majority stake in 2010 in a deal that valued the company then at 220m.

Creganna was sold this year for 820m. Mr Quinn is also Amarenco's chairman.

"With the level of interest in Amarenco, we're confident that we should be able to announce a new partner by the end of the year," said Mr Mullins.

He founded Amarenco in 2013 after leaving Board Gais in 2012 after five years as chief executive of the then semi-state company.

Mr Mullins confirmed that Amarenco is interested in Irish windfarm assets that come up for sale, as well as UK and French solar energy projects.

Irish renewable energy firm Gaelectric has had its windfarm portfolio - with an estimated equity value of about 350m - up for sale since earlier this year.

"We looked at it, but we're not in the running for them. It's a bit too early for us," said Mr Mullins, who also previously worked with ESB and NTR. However, he said he expects other assets to come up for sale in coming months.

Mr Mullins also said that he believes an Irish company could emerge as one of the consolidators of the renewable energy sector in Europe.

"I think you're going to have brand new entities that are specifically renewable utilities," he said. "I wouldn't rule out a very large Irish player in the future, backed by international funds."

Mr Mullins also said that a stock market flotation of Amarenco is unlikely for the company.
INM has appointed Colm Kelpie as its dedicated Brexit Correspondent to strengthen its coverage of Britain's decision to exit from the European Union.

Colm, who has been appointed as a Senior Business Correspondent specialising in Brexit, will continue in his role as business and economics correspondent, taking up the additional responsibility of co-ordinating INM's Brexit coverage.

INM Editor-in-Chief Stephen Rae said: "Brexit is the single most important issue affecting the Irish economy. It is vital that INM, as the biggest media player on the island, dedicate resources to comprehensively cover the issue for our readers and audiences. By appointing a full-time Brexit Correspondent we will be analysing, interpreting and bringing the big stories to our audiences in an authoritative way."

Colm has worked as a business and economics reporter for the Irish Independent since October 2012. He joined the newspaper in October 2011 as a news reporter.

Prior to that, he worked for four-and-a-half years as both a news reporter and a political reporter with the Press Association news agency in Dublin.

Colm began his career working as a reporter for People Newspapers in counties Wexford and Wicklow. Originally from Derry, he was educated at St Columb's College, Derry.

He holds a BA in English and History and an MA in Journalism from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Insurer Prudential has confirmed it is considering shifting funds from its asset management wing to Dublin and Luxembourg as it moves to deal with the fallout from the UK vote to pull out of the European Union.

The boss of Prudential's M&G fund arm, Anne Richards, said the company could boost the number of funds it already has based in the two cities, depending on the outcome of the Brexit negotiations.

"What we are trying to do is...give ourselves options so we are in a position to react and adapt," she said.

She said Dublin and Luxembourg were potential options for the company.

One of the potential upsides from the Brexit vote on June 23 is the possibility that Dublin could benefit from firms, particularly fintech and the funds industry, seeking to relocate assets to a location with free access to the EU and Eurozone.

But concerns have been expressed about whether Dublin can meet an increase in demand, with infrastructural problems such as housing as well as high personal income taxes serving as a potential deterrent.

In the wake of the vote on June 23, Reuters reported that the fund arm of Prudential was looking at expanding its operations in Dublin.

Reuters said at the time that around 10pc of M&G's 246bn in assets is sold from Britain to non-UK customers, including to continental European clients as well as those based in Asia.
Profits at KBC Bank Ireland rose to 39.5m in the second quarter of 2016 from 17.8m during the same period last year.

In the year to date the bank posted a net profit of 73.7m as it slashed its stock of impaired loans by 14pc to 6.1bn.

The bank added 16,200 new customer accounts in the three months from April to June, bringing the total for the year up to 33,000.

KBC also reported "strong momentum" in reducing the number of mortgage arrears cases.

Chief executive Wim Verbraeken said the bank was pleased by its strong first half of 2016.

"We are focused on growing with our customers, staff and working with our communities and consolidating our reputation for a quality banking experience with an innovative edge.

"To achieve that, our priority is continued investment in new product development and digital solutions for customers, as well as talent development across our teams with the ongoing support of our shareholder. While we have made significant progress in offering resolutions to 95pc of our distressed customers we continue to work closely with any customers in financial difficulties to try and reach suitable, sustainable resolutions," he said.

Groupwide KBC said its performance in the European Banking Authority's stress tests should "reassure" all stakeholders that the bank is adequately capitalised. In Ireland, KBC's fully-loaded common equity tier-1 ration was 13.2pc, below the groupwide figure of 16.2pc.

The bank's retail and corporate deposit base continues to grow, standing at 5.5bn. During the quarter KBC also launched a new personal loan product, offering a lower rate of 7.49pc APR.

KBC Bank Ireland employs over 1,000 people in Ireland with retail banking hubs in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Kildare, Waterford, Wicklow and Kilkenny.
Shares in security van company G4S surged yesterday as the world's largest security firm posted strong results.

During the first six months of its financial year revenue dipped at its UK and Ireland division to 563m (658m).

However, the company has shifted its focus away from the UK to meet demand for its services elsewhere.

Groupwide revenue at the firm increased 5.1pc to 3.1bn as profits at the company rose by 8pc to 199m.

G4S chief executive Ashley Almanza said the company is delivering tangible results with its profit margin improving to 6.45pc from 5.1pc in June 2013.

"We have much to do to realise the full potential of our strategy which is underpinned by our growth, innovation, productivity and portfolio programmes.

"Executing these programmes and reducing net debt remain our key priorities. The board has declared an interim dividend of 3.59p per share," she said.

The company, which transports cash as well as other services, is looking to change its business through disposals of its weaker units.
Gaining access to the single market without committing to free movement of people and other EU rules would be unprecedented, the UK's Institute of Fiscal Studies has warned.

Simply gaining access is "meaningless", as full membership is required if tariffs and customs checks are to be eliminated, the think tank said.

Britain's continued single market membership could add an extra 4pc to GDP, the Institute said. But losing it could put further pressure on Britain's public finances. Given the close trading relationship between Britain and Ireland, the Government here is keen to ensure that there are no obstacles placed in the way of a post-Brexit UK that could hurt Irish exporters. After the Brexit vote, politician Boris Johnson claimed that a Britain outside of the EU would be able to trade freely and have access to the single market.

But that has been dismissed at EU level, amid claims the UK cannot enjoy benefits afforded to member states, while ignoring membership requirements.

Britain is yet to begin formal talks with the EU about its future relationship but retaining access to the single market, particularly for financial services, will be a key part of the negotiations.

"If the UK were able to join the European Economic Area (EEA), we would enjoy near-full membership of the Single Market but likely be obliged to accept EU regulations and free movement of people," the Institute said.

"Obtaining membership of the Single Market without meeting these conditions would be unprecedented."

Single market access alone, without membership, is "virtually meaningless as a concept", the Institute said.

"Beyond the EEA, the UK could seek a type of 'free trade agreement' (FTA) with the EU. This would likely mean better 'access' relative to a situation with no agreement by substantially reducing, and potentially eliminating, tariffs on goods." But the Institute said those type of deals are "rare", are harder to agree and "stop well short of the kind of service access conferred by membership of the Single Market".

The Institute said that maintaining membership of the Single Market could be worth potentially 4pc of GDP, relative to a World Trade Organisation-type agreement.

Unlike her rivals in the Conservative Party leadership race, Theresa May has been conciliatory towards the idea that the UK should retain access to the single market.

The Prime Minister had been in the 'remain' camp during the campaign, and last month said that in the Brexit negotiations it would be both a priority to allow British companies to trade with the single market in goods and services, while also regaining more control of the numbers of people who come from Europe.

Her latter desire will form part of the challenging aspects of the Brexit talks.

Some analysts have suggested she may look towards a "soft Brexit" - seeking continued access to the Single Market, while accepting some freedom of movement of people.

Ahead of the vote on June 23, Finance Minister Michael Noonan told the Irish Independent that the Irish government would be in favour of allowing the UK to remain in the single market.

Banks and financial firms registered in Britain are currently granted a "passport" to offer their services across the EU from their UK base.

The City of London, the United Kingdom's financial hub, has said the UK must maintain its access.

Meanwhile, UK government bond yields climbed from record lows yesterday as the Bank of England's expanded quantitative-easing plan got back on track.

The BoE said it received sales offers for 4.71 times the debt it planned to buy yesterday, in contrast to the previous day, when it failed to find enough sellers of longer-dated gilts.

The central bank said that the bonds it couldn't buy at that operation would be acquired sometime during the second half of the six-month QE programme.

The BoE said it will deal with a 52m shortfall from Tuesday at a later date as it made no changes to its expanded 60bn quantitative-easing programme.

Details of these purchases will be announced when the institution publishes information on the second half of the plan in November. (Additional reporting Bloomberg)
Ulster Bank has calculated that the new 2.99pc rate would save 157 a month for a switcher customer with a 200,000 mortgage over 20 years that is currently on a variable rate of 4.5pc (Stock photo)

Ulster Bank is to introduce lower mortgage rates for those who have equity in their homes.

The move will put pressure on other lenders to continue to lower their variable and fixed rates, as most rates are still considered to be very high.

The new Ulster Bank rates will apply to both new and existing customers.

The bank will have one of the lowest three-year fixed rates in the market at 2.99pc. It applies to those with a loan-to-value (LTV) of up to 80pc.

This means people with a mortgage that is at least 20pc less than the property's value will qualify for the new rate, which is down from 3.2pc.

Banks have increasingly moved to pricing mortgages based on the equity in homes by offering so-called LTV mortgages. More equity means a lower rate, as there is less risk for the lender.

Ulster Bank has calculated that the new 2.99pc rate would save 157 a month for a switcher customer with a 200,000 mortgage over 20 years that is currently on a variable rate of 4.5pc.

The bank is also reducing its variable rate for those with a loan to value of up to 80pc, the Irish Independent has learned.

It is going down from 3.2pc to 3.1pc as part of a new suite of loan rates that the bank is calling 'Loyalty'. This compares with the bank's standard variable rate of 4.3pc.

Market

For those who do not have equity in their home, the bank is introducing a new three-year rate of 3.2pc, which is it calling 'Loyalty Premium'.

This only applies to those who have their salary mandated to Ulster Bank and have a minimum loan of 350,000.

There is a new Variable Loyalty Premium rate of 3.5pc for those who have their salary paid into the bank and have a minimum loan balance of 350,000.

The bank is also launching video conferencing for customers. The new TokBox technology will allow mortgage customers to take part in a video conference with the bank on their phone, tablet or computer.

Ulster Bank's director of customer experience and products, Maeve McMahon, said the bank already offered 1,500 to go towards legal fees and a free valuation for new buyers and switchers.

She explained: "The three-year fixed rate of 2.99pc, the lowest on the market, and the reduced Loyalty variable rate of 3.1pc are both available to new and existing customers."

The move by Ulster Bank comes weeks after new lender Pepper reduced its rates by up to 0.45pc.

The Australian-owned firm started lending here at the start of the year. Its new variable rates are now as low as 3.1pc, one of the lowest on the market.

This rate applies to new buyers who are borrowing 50pc or less of the value of the property.

A lender hoping to shake up the market, Frank Money, is still awaiting authorisation from the Central Bank to begin issuing mortgages.
Revenues at the Irish arm of specialist travel company Trailfinders rose by 12pc to 67.5m (78.8m) last year.

According to accounts just filed with the Companies Office, the Irish business in the Trailfinders Group Ltd accounted for 10pc of Trailfinder's global revenues in the 12 months to February 29 of this year.

The travel firm expanded its operations in Ireland in 2013. It opened its first new office in seven years here, creating 11 jobs in Limerick. The firm also operates centres in Dublin and Cork.

The consolidated accounts for the UK, Irish and Australian operations do not provide the level of profit recorded by the Irish subsidiary last year.

However, the Irish business contributed to the group recording pre-tax profits of 22.53m.

The group last year increased its revenues from 648m to 682m while it paid a dividend of 2m.

The returns show that the company's UK operation accounted for 90pc (612m) of the company's business with revenues in the Australian sector almost halving from 4.6m to 2.69m.

The numbers employed by the group increased from 1,054 to 1,057. Staff costs last year decreased from 42.33m to 40.9m. The profit takes account of 3.58m in non-cash depreciation costs.

The accounts also record that cost of sales increased from 561m to 589m.

The group's accumulated profits at the end of February last year stood at 240m - the group had 117.25m in cash at the end of the year. The company was established by former SAS man Mike Gooley in 1970 with a staff of four.

The accounts show that during the year, the group made charitable contributions totalling 3.5m to the Mike Gooley Trailfinders Charity whose objectives are to support Medical Research, Community Projects and armed forces veterans.
Q: I run a business which involves several members of staff taking cash from customers and our cash controls are poor. Can you give me any advice?

A. At the very early stages of my retail career I recall an incident where a member of staff had been caught taking cash from the till.

She was a staff member I knew well and I was genuinely upset by what I had heard. Having sat down with her, I heard her describe that her financial situation at home was not great and she had been tempted to do something which she might not otherwise have. The most striking thing for me was her sentence that said "And it was all very easy for me to do."

She meant that we didn't have enough systems and procedures in place to make it difficult for her. While it was no excuse and she certainly shouldn't have taken the money, from that day onwards I held my managers accountable, at least partially, if a member of staff was involved in theft.

The vast majority of staff in every business are honest, however it is vitally important for any business to put systems and safeguards into place which act as deterrents in rare events that someone is tempted to do something they shouldn't.

You have a responsibility as a business owner to make sure these deterrents are in place. Mandatory issuing of till receipts, random spot checks and control avoids are all part of this process.

More importantly, explaining these procedures to staff to act as a deterrent is also a vital element in the process.

Q. Is there any money to be made from producing products under the supermarkets' own private label. I'm a food manufacturer and have been considering this?

A. Some food producers adopt a strategy of building their brand and getting the consumer to understand what that brand represents.

A large part of the value of their business is the consumer understanding of this brand and the recognition it gets in the market place. There are other producers out there who concentrate on creating high volume production businesses that are highly efficient and are based on volume production and efficiencies. Some businesses combine both strategies.

There is certainly money to be made in producing private label for retailers although it is a very different discipline from producing a branded product.

Very often the private label businesses tendered and the producer who has the cheapest price for the specification wins the contract. That means that you have to be good at lean advertising and challenging all the costs in the business. The fact that the private label business is very often tendered means that there is a timed duration to when you might be producing the product for, ie, you could have a contract for a year to produce a certain product which might create a certain vulnerability.

A good strategy might be to combine building your own brand and also producing a private label for one or more of the retailers. I would certainly advise you to attend the annual PLMA show in Holland. This is where all of the private label manufacturers in Europe exhibit and you would get good learnings from attending this show. Bord Bia should also be able to give you some good advice and talk to you about the possibility of producing a private label for the international market.

Send your small business questions to himself@feargalquinn.ie
Pam Coughlan is the proudest woman at the Olympics. Photo: RTE / Philip Bromwell Twitter

This Irish granny is quite possibly the proudest woman at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Eoin Coughlan is representing Australia in the judoka event at this year's Olympics.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Pam Coughlan and family (including Eoin front left). Photo: Stephen Coughlan / Facebook Pam Coughlan is the proudest woman at the Olympics. Photo: RTE / Philip Bromwell Twitter / Facebook

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His Dublin grandmother Pam Coughlan is in Rio to cheer him on.

Before Eoin competed in his sport, Pam was interviewed by RTE News at The Olympics and won over Irish audiences with her unbridled sense of pride.

The 83-year-old from Kilmainham said she was "burstin' with excitement" as she attends the Olympics for the first time but she's so convinced of her grandon's sporting prowess that she's convinced it won't be her last.

In fact, interviewer Philip Bromwell was so impressed with her positive attitude that he shared extra footage of their chat on Twitter.

Unfortunately Eoin was knocked out of the Rio judo competition's first round by Korea's Seungsu Lee.

But with his granny's encouragement, we're sure he'll be back.
Amanda Knox at Heathrow Airport after she was acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher

Amanda Knox will be the subject of a new Netflix documentary exploring the notorious Meredith Kercher murder case.

The US student was convicted and imprisoned with Raffaele Sollecito for the 2007 murder of Ms Kercher, but after appeals and retrials they were acquitted last year by Italys highest court.

Titled Amanda Knox, the documentary will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) next month before a global launch on September 30.

The case has previously been the subject of the documentary A Long Way From Home, and a TV movie Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial In Italy, with Hayden Panettiere in the title role.

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The case was so high-profile in part due to the violent nature in which Meredith Kercher was killed as well as the mystery that surrounded who actually committed the murder. Rudy Guede, the only person convicted of killing the student, is halfway through a 16-year sentence.

True crime documentaries have proven very popular on the streaming service after the release of Making a Murderer earlier this year. Fans of the docuseries will get to return to the story of Steven Avery after a second season was commissioned in July.

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Lisa Nishimura, Netflix vice president of original documentary programming, said: We are committed to pushing the boundaries of the documentary form, and our films screening at Toronto represent both emerging talent and iconic film-makers during a thrilling time for documentaries.
President Micheal D Higgins is welcomed by Bishop Donal McKeown (front right) to the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral: Niall Carson/PA Wire

PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins joined hundreds of mourners today in Derry for the Requiem Mass of Bishop Edward Daly.

More than a 1,000 local people joined more than 120 members of the clergy inside St Eungenes Cathedral in the city with hundreds more standing outside.

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness attending the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral: Niall Carson/PA Wire Former SDLP leader John Hume attending the funeral of Dr Edward Daly at St Eugene's Cathedral: Niall Carson/PA Wire / Facebook

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Ivan Cooper, a Protestant who fought for civil rights and helped found the SDLP, and former party leader John Hume were among the mourners.

Bishop Daly came to world prominence in January 1972 as he helped to take the dying Jackie Duddy (17) out of the Bogside on Bloody Sunday.

Today the teenagers sister Kay was among the Offertory Procession at the funeral of Dr Daly who died this week aged 82.

A message from a spokesman for Pope Francis said: "Recalling Bishop Daly's generous and dedicated episcopal ministry in the service of peace and justice, His Holiness joins you in prayerful thanksgiving for his life and in commending his soul to the merciful love of God Our Father."

Expand Expand Previous Next Close The iconic picture of then Fr Edward Daly leading a group of people as they carry Jackie Duddy, who later died, on a street in Derry on Bloody Sunday Dr Edward Daly: humble Photo: Paul Faith/PA Wire / Facebook

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The cleric's use of a white handkerchief during a massacre of innocent civil rights protesters by soldiers in Derry in Northern Ireland became an enduring image of the conflict.

Mourners, including the British Queens representative Lord Lieutenant of Derry Angela Garvey, heard the current Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown pay tribute to Dr Daly as a man of peace who opposed violence from all quarters during the Troubles.

His ministry was marked by total dedication to the people he served, wherever he was called to minister, said Bishop McKeown. That dedication was visible in outstanding courage. He showed physical courage on Bloody Sunday and his moral courage was evident in his passionate struggle against violence and injustice from all quarters.

It takes enormous courage to be a peacemaker and he was an apostle of mercy, whether as a curate, as a bishop or as chaplain in the Foyle Hospice. For that courageous service of God and of his people, we give thanks today. We have all been blessed by it.

Bishop McKeown said the thousands of people who had filed past the coffin of Bishop Daly in the past four days showed that they value loving, courageous, generous spiritual leadership. Bishop Daly would not seek praise for himself. He would ask that more young people dedicate their lives to his sort of service to God and his people.

He said his first encounter with Bishop Edward Daly was when he visited the Irish College in Rome in 1974.

He was a young bishop and we were studying theology. He asked us to do one thing  he said please pray for me, said Bishop McKeown.

This was not merely a pious expression. Rather they seemed to come from a heart which knew the maelstrom that was Northern Ireland in those awful years.

He knew about murder and loss. He knew that the years of conflict followed upon decades of terrible poverty and discrimination  as well as heroic generosity. He knew the enormous resilience of people who could face almost anything together

Archbishop Eamon Martin speaking at the end of the Mass said Dr Daly was a wonderful priest and bishop with charisma that made him so uniquely suited to service in this time and place.

There was never any doubt that Edward Daly was a great priest, a caring and compassionate pastor, a man of prayer and peace, a courageous and fearless leader, a special person.

Bishop Daly will be laid to rest in the cathedral graveyard later.
There is little publicly available information available on the solutions offered by non-bank entities in particular, the minister wrote in the letter, seen by the Irish Independent (Stock picture)

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has asked the Central Bank to carry out an assessment of the solutions being offered by banks to customers in mortgage distress.

The minister wants to know whether lenders are exhausting all options before resorting to the courts. The request is linked to a Programme for Government commitment to help those in mortgage distress retain their homes.

Mr Noonan wrote to Governor of the Bank Philip Lane stating that he would like the Central Bank to carry out an assessment of the range of sustainable restructure solutions offered to customers.

"There is little publicly available information available on the solutions offered by non-bank entities in particular," the minister wrote in the letter, seen by the Irish Independent.
A 38-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of an Irishman in London three days ago.

Darryn Madigan (38) of Doreen Avenue this afternoon appeared at the Old Bailey via video link, charged with one count of murder. He is accused of murdering John Martin (41), from Co Meath, in the early hours of Sunday in the suburb of Kingsbury.

The court heard that Mr Martin was returning home from a pub with his partner when the attack happened. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The prosecution told the court both men lived in neighbouring flats.

It is alleged that when Mr Martin arrived home a dispute broke out between the two men.

The court heard that it is alleged that Mr Madigan left his flat and came downstairs with a kitchen knife.

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Mr Madigan was remanded in custody and he is due to stand trial on January 30, next year.

The Irish kidney donor was stabbed to death at his home.

Mr Martin had just returned from a night at a local bar with his girlfriend when he became involved in the altercation.

Reports have suggested his devastated partner witnessed the attack.

Friends in London told the Irish Daily Mail that the carpenter donated a kidney after he heard about an appeal from a woman he had never met.

He spotted the advert, was taken by her story and after having himself checked to see if he could be a match, he underwent the surgery to have one of his kidneys removed and it was donated to her, saving her life.

His parents GAA referee Noel and mother Mary, from St Mary's, Donore were last night being comforted by John's sisters Paula, Margaret and Theresa.

In the statement, issued through Meath county councillor Sharon Keogan, the Martin family confirmed that John donated a kidney last September and that, he gave somebody else a chance of life and somebody else has come along and taken his life.

They said, we are extremely proud of his achievements in life and we ask the media to respect our privacy. We want now to bring John home to his family and have his burial in Donore as soon as possible.

"We are distraught and very upset over the circumstances surrounding Johns death," the statement added.

Mr Martin moved to England nine years ago.

Cllr Sharon Keogan told Independent.ie: Our thoughts and prayers are with the Martin family at this very tragic time in dealing with the death of their son and brother.

I understand the Irish consulate and the police in the UK are assisting the family at this time  we hope that its swift.

Donore is a very small tight-knit community and the Martins have been a part of that community for a very, very long time and its a terrible phone call for any family to take.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it is providing consular assistance.
A 16-year-old Dublin boy has been detained for five months for a knife attack on a man he claims attacked him previously.

The boy pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and production of a knife in connection with the incident in Coolock in the city's north-side on December 1 last. A probation report was obtained and furnished to Judge John O'Connor.

Finalising the case at Dublin Children's Court, Judge O'Connor imposed a 10-month detention-supervision order. The 16-year-old boy will serve a five-month sentence in a juvenile detention followed by a five-month period during which he will be allowed home on supervised probation.

He had been given a chance to avoid custody. At a previous hearing he had been asked to continue to engage with the Probation Service and to attend a training course as well as an addiction counselling service.

The court heard the victim suffered a broken nose, was cut on his shoulder and required stitches. However, he did not want to provide a victim impact statement.

The boy, who was accompanied to court by his father and his solicitor, claimed that on a date prior to the incident he had been attacked by the victim.
The family of an Irish man allegedly stabbed to death in London are "distraught and upset" at the circumstances of his death.

John Martin, originally from Donore, Co Meath, was killed in the early hours of Sunday in his adopted home of Kingsbury, a suburb in northwest London.

He was due to celebrate his 41st birthday yesterday.

Mr Martin's family hailed his achievements in life - including a decision last September to donate his kidney to save the life of a girl he didn't know.

"He gave somebody else a chance of life and somebody else has come along and taken his life," they said.

"We are extremely proud of his achievements in life and we ask the media to respect our privacy.

"We want now to bring John home to his family and have his burial in Donore as soon as possible," the family said.

Darryn Madigan (38) of Doreen Avenue, first appeared in custody at Hendon Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, charged with Mr Martin's murder.

A subsequent hearing yesterday was told Mr Madigan allegedly argued with Mr Martin, before appearing with a kitchen knife.

The suspect appeared at the Old Bailey via video link.

Mr Martin had been making his way home from a pub with his partner when the attack happened, the court heard.

The prosecution told the court both men lived in flats next door to each other.

It was alleged a fight broke out between the two after Mr Martin got out of his cab.

Local news reports over the weekend said emergency services were called to Doreen Avenue at 2.51am following reports of an assault.

They found a man with stab wounds who was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after.
Peter ODonnell from Irish Weather Online said temperatures would hit 23C on Sunday in hazy sunshine Photo: Gerry Mooney

Ireland is set to finally bask in gloriously hot summer weather, but only for a couple of days.

The south of the country will begin to see the benefits of a warm European weather system from today.

But the whole country will see warm and dry weather from Sunday through to Tuesday, forecasters say, with temperatures set to top 25C in the west.

The return of summer, however, will be brief, as the hot weather will spark thunderstorms on Tuesday night before Atlantic weather systems return to take temperatures back 10 degrees to the mid-teens.

"Sunday and Monday look like the best days of the next week or so," said Met Eireann forecaster Joan Blackburn.

She said a return of warmer weather - if not always dry - would start from today. Only Saturday would be fresher and cooler over the coming days, she said.

Munster and south Leinster will see the best of the sunshine today.

"It is beginning to warm up again and it will be reasonably warm over the next few days," said Blackburn. "Saturday will be fresher and that will break it up again but Sunday and Monday are looking good at this stage.

"Temperatures on Tuesday could potentially be in the low to mid-20s, possibly up to 25C."

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But she warned of possible thunderstorms on Tuesday and into Wednesday because of the high temperatures. "Sunday and Monday are looking like the best days over the next week," added the forecaster.

Peter O'Donnell from Irish Weather Online said temperatures would hit 23C on Sunday in hazy sunshine.

It will be around 21C in the south and east on Monday but up to 25C in the west and inland areas of Ulster.

And while temperatures could rise to 26C on Tuesday, those thunderstorms could be widespread by the end of the day.

Mr O'Donnell said Wednesday would be much cooler - with highs of 18C - with showers and thunderstorms.

"The rest of August, according to current guidance, will average near normal or slightly above normal at times for temperature," he said.

"There will be average rainfall amounts, possibly a bit less for the south-east."

Ireland's poor summer weather and extremes has been matched in Scotland, where temperatures in the early hours of yesterday dropped to -3C in the Highlands.

Forecasters there have warned that 100mm of rain could hit western Scotland today, but further south in London it will be 25C and sunny.
No longer will Ireland ignore the silent pain suffered by many parents who experience the loss of a pregnancy or perinatal death, Health Minister Simon Harris has pledged.

He described the new national counselling guidelines for parents looking to access bereavement services as a new beginning.

Mr Harris said that for too long "Ireland had, regrettably, been behind the curve" in supporting those coping with the loss of a baby or foetus.

The minister and the HSE's director-general Tony O'Brien launched the updated national standards, entitled 'Standards for bereavement care following pregnancy loss and perinatal death', at Farmleigh House to a packed audience of midwives, nurses and parents who had suffered such a trauma.

He told them: "This document is important because it puts in writing what Ireland expects of its national health service."

Mr Harris added that he hoped the new regime would give grieving families "the care and compassion they need".

The 84-page report advises that any information given to mothers and families needs to be reliable, accurate and explained in a sensitive and supportive manner.

It outlines four pillars of bereavement care - the hospital, baby, parents and staff - and states that bereavement and end-of-life care should be organised around the needs of babies and their families.

It also requires all maternity hospitals and units to be staffed with bereavement specialists.

These teams should include a dedicated clinical midwife specialising in bereavement care, along with obstetricians, paediatricians, neonatologists, chaplains, social workers and palliative-care staff.

The document says that bereavement care should be offered in accordance with the religious, secular, ethnic, social and cultural values of the parents.

The guidelines are updated to acknowledge cases of fatal foetal abnormality and say there is a duty of care towards those who have travelled abroad for an abortion.

Bereavement

Other recommendations include that a certain prescribed language be used when breaking the news of a death or "life-limiting condition" to parents.

Figures detailed in the report show that there were some 500 perinatal deaths in 2013, including 301 stillbirths.

There are also around 14,000 miscarriages a year in Ireland.

Twenty-six terminations were carried out in 2014 under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act.

The document also noted that there were 3,735 terminations undertaken in England and Wales during the same period for women with an address in Ireland.

"These standards absolutely apply to all," said Mr Harris.

Among the cases that heavily shaped the report was the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died in October 2012 at University Hospital Galway due to complications of a septic miscarriage.

Ciaran Browne, chair of the sub-committee that was tasked with drawing up the new standards, said a copy of the new guidelines had been sent to her husband Praveen.

The guidelines were welcomed by Sarah Nugent of Every Life Counts, which supports parents of children who were diagnosed with a terminal condition.

Ms Nugent, from Portlaoise, Co Laois, described the heartache her family endured when her daughter Isabella was born with a peroxisomal disorder in 2014 and died 54 days later.

Speaking to RTE Radio Ones Morning Ireland on Thursday, she said: I didnt find out that she was sick until after she was born.

She added: In my experience, there was no system in place to provide support to you and your family. It was very much coming from a medical point of view.

It was a very difficult time. Isabella was in hospital for her whole life. She was in an intense care setting so it was very difficult for family to see her.

Ms Nugents young son in particular found it hard as he was only allowed to see his sister twice in her short life.

There were a couple of times when we could sneak him in but you had to have the right security guard and the right nurse on duty. It was really people putting their jobs on the line to facilitate you getting a bit of time with her, she said.

After Isabella died, Ms Nugent said she didnt receive counselling, and praised the new guidance for ensuring families would receive the necessary care and compassion.

They left no ambiguity as to what peoples roles are in different scenarios, be it ectopic pregnancy, be it stillborn, or be it neo-natal death. Its so clear for every stage of the process.

You can feel the love and compassion in these guidelines, she said.
Mother-of-one Eibhlin Seoighthe said the new national guidelines could not come soon enough

A Galway mother has described as "cruel" her experiences at University Hospital Galway following a missed miscarriage.

Mother-of-one Eibhlin Seoighthe said the new guidelines could not come soon enough.

Following an ultrasound last month, she and her husband Garry discovered that she had suffered a missed miscarriage, which occurs when a foetus dies but the body does not recognise the pregnancy loss.

Almost four weeks on, she has yet to speak to the hospital's bereavement officer because they are "on annual leave".

Ms Seoighthe explained: "We were told that the baby had been gone for about three weeks."

She added: "Beside us we could hear the heartbeat of another baby from the other ultrasounds. We were then taken to a private room, but first we had to walk through the main maternity area."

Ms Seoighthe chose to undergo a D&C to remove the contents of her womb. When she arrived for the D&C, she was asked for a urine sample. "When I looked in the toilet, it was covered in blood," she said. "The nurse... said it was just a blood clot. I realised then there was a chance it could have been the baby.

"I overheard a nurse saying, 'Sure it's probably gone down the toilet anyway, so there is no point in doing this.'"

A spokesperson for the hospital said it did not comment on individual cases.
Home owners across the country have revealed that their property deeds have been disappearing from banks in recent years.

Callers to RTE Radio Ones Liveline this afternoon spoke about how they had lodged their title deeds with their banks and can now no longer access them.

One caller, Sylvia Briggs said she had lodged an envelope containing her deeds with her bank in Dublin 16 years ago but when she returned to collect them this year she was told the bank did not have the envelope.

Sylvia explained: The year 2000 I went to Bank of Ireland, which was my bank, over in Jamess street and I put it in an envelope for safe keeping, which was very obviously the title deeds to my house  that was in June 2000.

I went back on the 29th May this year and I asked them for them. Now I did that on the phone and about two days later I rang, giving them time to retrieve them and they told me they hadnt got them.

I said its ridiculous, I have the receipt I was given and so on. Now this has gone on since the 29th May. I have got absolutely nowhere with Bank of Ireland.

Sylvia said she then visited the bank to try to resolve the issue but was unable to establish what had happened to the deeds.

She explained: When I came in, luckily I went up to a young man and said I want to see the manager and this woman said Its me and brought me into her office.

When she realised, she said I have to get in touch with such and such a department but she didnt in my presence and I was left sitting in her office, I would say about 20 minutes. I didnt time it. I didnt realise I was going to be that long.

They didnt use the word lost, they said We havent got them but they never used the word lost, she added.

She told the show that when she originally lodged the documents she understood they would be kept in a safe but couldnt swear to that.

"Well I understood they were [offering the service]. And when I came in nobody was surprised at the request. It seemed to be routine and I was instantly brought up to the counter and the lady took out this register of some sort and she wrote out the docket there and then in my presence.

She said: I was full confident in the bank. I never anticipated anything like this, to be fair. Maybe I was naive  I realise now I was. Even though its a small house, the land on which it is, is quite complicated so its a very thick envelope.

Sylvia said she needs the deeds to sell her house and so must now create a new set of deeds at an estimated cost of between 4000 and 5000.

I look at the Bank of Ireland. Ive been a taxpayer all my life. My money went towards rescuing them and they treat the public with contempt and I stand over that.

Another caller, Maura said she had faced a similar issue which has stalled the sale of her brothers house for the past 14 months.

She explained: My brother was selling his house in Achill Island and the bank lost his title deeds and we had to get the deeds reconstituted. So it has caused a huge delay in selling the house. Were over a year trying to complete this transaction.

Weve had to get the deeds reconstituted, which has then involved searching the title deeds, searching all the planning permissions. We actually had to reapply for retention planning permission for an extension that has already been put on the house when we bought it.

Weve had 3,000 for the engineers to do the retention of planning permission and we havent even factored in the legal fees for getting the deeds reconstituted yet because we havent got that yet, so youre looking at huge money.

Maura told the show one of the first problems they faced was getting the bank to admit the deeds had been misplaced.

First of all getting them to admit that they had lost the deeds, I think it actually took me six weeks for them to admit they had misplaced the deeds. Basically they just shrugged their shoulders and went Thats it.

They sent out a letter saying they could not source the deeds.

Several other callers detailed similar experiences with their own banks.
Documents seen by the Irish Independent show that the Government was advised in June of the financial costs of abolishing bills, which required families to pay between 160 and 260 a year for their water (Stock photo)

Irish Water will need almost 300m in additional State funding to make up the cost of suspending water charges.

The utility expects to be hit with a 123m cash shortfall this year, and another 125m in 2017 and 42m in 2018, even if household bills are re- introduced.

And the company also expects to have to mount a massive public relations campaign if charging comes back into force to 'convince' people of the benefits of paying.

It comes after the Government suspended charges for nine months from July 1 last until March 31 next to allow an expert commission examine the long-term funding requirements needed to operate, maintain and upgrade the network.

While the Government has already stated that the shortfall for this year will be met through increased State subvention, this is the first time that the full implications of suspending the charges can be revealed.

Documents seen by the Irish Independent show that the Government was advised in June of the financial costs of abolishing bills, which required families to pay between 160 and 260 a year for their water.

The documents prepared by Irish Water set out the shortfall for this year, and future funding requirements under two scenarios - if bills came back into force, or if charges are permanently abolished.

They show the utility expects to face a revenue shortfall of 125m in 2017 even if bills are re-instated. It expected to collect around 270m from domestic customers.

Read More: Analysis: Public will need convincing on merits of charges

Sources said this is because three months of payments for the year will be missed, assuming charges come back into force after March 31 next, coupled with the high likelihood that many households will refuse to pay. A shortfall of 42m is projected for 2018.

If billing is scrapped, the funding shortfall for 2017 amounts to 239m, with an additional 217m for 2018 - a total of almost 460m.

Sources said the "working assumption" was that the Government would make up the shortfall, but that the utility was cutting costs in the meantime. If the Dail votes to reintroduce charges, a public information campaign would be required.

"We will have to re-engage with customers and re-tell our story," one source said. "We don't know where customer sentiment will be."

They added: "If domestic (charges) falls away, the subvention will have to increase."

Irish Water plans to spend 5.5bn upgrading the network over the coming years. Among the projects being progressed including upgrading water and wastewater treatment plants and sourcing a new drinking water supply for Dublin and the Midlands. In a statement, Irish Water said that the State remained committed to the company's business plan, but refused to comment on the financial projections.

The water regulator, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), is currently examining Irish Water's funding requirements for 2017 and 2018. The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government said the shortfall would be made up for 2016, but that no decision had been made for the following years.

"The revenue shortfall for Irish Water arising from the suspension of domestic water charges is currently under consideration," it said.

"The level of financial support to be provided by Government to Irish Water in 2017 and 2018 will depend on the CER's decisions on Irish Water's allowed revenue for 2017-18."
Former Senator Averil Power has been appointed the new CEO of the Asthma Society of Ireland.

Ms Power, a former government adviser and President of Trinity College Dublin Students Union, has a degree in Business, including non-profit management, from Trinity College Dublin and a Diploma in Law from the Kings Inns.

Ms Power, who quit Fianna Fail in protest over its role in the Marriage Equality referendum, will take up the role with immediate effect.

"I am honoured to be joining the dynamic and committed team at the Asthma Society," she said. "As an asthmatic myself, I know how important the Societys work is.

"I was hospitalised several times as a student due to ineffective management of my condition and the prohibitively high cost of preventative medication."

"While I now have my asthma under control, I remember how frightening those attacks were and I think it is shocking that over fifty people die every year in Ireland from preventable asthma attacks.

"The Asthma Society is working hard to change this through its health promotion, advocacy and research programmes and its Adviceline. I look forward to working with the ASI team to strengthen these programmes and ensure everyone with asthma can live full lives, symptom-free.

Ms Power is widely respected within political circles.

Announcing the appointment, Asthma Society Chairman Oliver Carroll said: Averil is a respected advocate and award-winning campaigner. She has a proven ability to influence public policy and secure social change.

"She also has a strong understanding of the charity sector and a deep personal commitment to the work of the Asthma Society. I look forward to working with her to secure better services for people with asthma."
A toddler who fell five floors from a hotel rooftop has made a miraculous recovery.

Neil Shanahan (2) has been described as the "flying boy" after he survived the fall from the sixth-floor balcony to a concrete area on the first-floor of the Strand Hotel in Limerick on July 2.

Neil has returned to his home in Farranshone, Co Limerick, after spending the past five weeks in the care of staff at Temple Street Children's Hospital.

His mother Martina is convinced that her little boy was saved by a series of miracles.

"I believe it was a miracle. I believe I got a dig-out, I really do," the mother of three said.

Neil spent much of his five weeks in hospital in the Intensive Care Unit, and he was put in a full body cast as doctors monitored his amazing recovery.

The toddler and his "thrilled" family arrived home in Farranshone last Friday night, having endured a traumatic time since the incident.

"He spent 70 hours in a critical condition. I'm just so delighted he's home. I'm just so delighted I got my [boy] back. He's my life. I would never have got over it if we had lost him," Martina said.

Neil has been nicknamed "miracle boy" by his family and neighbours. Oblivious to all the drama, he happily played away on a giant bean bag chair as his older brother Mairtin (5) watched one of his favourite cartoons on the television yesterday.

The family broke into laughter after Martina asked Neil where he had fallen from. "The roof," he replied, with a cheeky grin.

Martina and husband Mike said they were still trying to recover from the emotional rollercoaster they have all been on since July 2.

The Shanahan family had been attending a coffee morning in the hotel when Neil got into a lift that took him to the sixth floor. Somehow he managed to get from the lift to the rooftop balcony before falling to the ground. One eyewitness described seeing him dangling off the large letters that spell out the hotel's name, before he lost his grip.

"It's just so overwhelming, from start to finish. It's still overwhelming," Martina said.

Michael and Martina are delighted to see their three boys - Mairtin, who was born with cerebral palsy, Neil (2) and Billy (1) - united again. "It is just wonderful to get them all back together, because I had to hand over my little boy, our baby, for five weeks, so that wasn't an easy thing. It is lovely to have us all back as a unit. It's just so special, it's a lovely time," an emotional Martina said.

She paid special tribute to an American nurse who was visiting Limerick on a tour of Ireland when she saw Neil land on the ground.

"I just saw her breathe life back into him," Martina said. "When he coughed and when he moaned, I just knew he wasn't dead. It was an amazing thing that she was there, and that she was on site at that moment. I just feel so thankful to her. She is my angel. We firmly believe she saved him."

Neil bears no physical scars from the dramatic events and is receiving physiotherapy to get him properly back on his feet.

The family also thanked the nurses and doctors at Temple Street, their family, neighbours and friends.
Ryanair has warned customers that they will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour after two women were arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft at the City of Derry Airport.

The two woman, aged in their 30s, were removed from the flight from Stansted when it landed at City of Derry on Wednesday.

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Police attended the scene and the woman arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: The crew of this flight from London Stansted to Derry requested police assistance upon landing in Derry, after two passengers became disruptive in-flight, who were removed and detained by police.

"We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This is now a matter for local police."

The women were released on Wednesday evening. Both received a community resolution notice in relation to disorderly behaviour on an aircraft.
Gardai have arrested three men over a violent Bank Holiday rampage that left six people injured.

Detectives, supported by the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), pounced on the trio in a series of dawn raids in Dublin's north inner city today.

The men, all in their 20s, are currently being interviewed about a series of attacks that took place in Ashbourne, Co Meath in the early hours of Monday, August 1.

Independent.ie has learned that the violent melee broke out outside AIB bank on Frederick Street in the town shortly after 3am on the day.

Four men, who had been socialising in the town earlier in the evening, are suspected of launching a series of random attacks on fellow party-goers.

A total of five males and one female were assaulted during this incident. The group who launched the attack fled on foot in the direction of Slane.

Three of the injured men were removed by ambulance to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown. One of the men suffered a fractured skull and other serious injuries.

A source said: "It was a close call for this guy but he is out of the worst at this stage.

"These four lads from Dublin went down to Ashbourne socialising. In the early hours of the morning they started beating up people at random on the street."

The suspects were caught on CCTV and identified through this. The investigation is being run by detectives from Ashbourne garda station, supported by officers from Dublin and the ERU.

The three suspects are being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice act at Store Street and Pearse Street garda stations. They can be held for up to 24 hours.
Cutting the cord has been the money-saving move du jour for penny-pinching bingewatchers, with services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and  don't you dare judge me  the WWE Network giving people viable online alternatives to cable services.

But in Pennsylvania, CBS Pittsburgh reports, costs are going up across the digital board as a result of the so-called "Netflix tax."

When Sales Tax Attacks

Pennsylvania is now joining the crowd of states and cities (including Chicago and Minnesota) that have begun charging sales tax on digital goods.

This one covers the video services listed above, as well as streaming music subscriptions like Apple Music, and downloads of music, apps, and eBooks. (Magazine and newspaper subscriptions are exempt, as are digital editions of the Bible.)

SEE ALSO: With Much Less Content, Is Netflix Still Worth It?

Because the 6% tax only applies to accounts with Pennsylvania billing addresses, there are obvious, if dubious, dodges for now. But it looks more likely than ever that these taxes will soon apply in most, if not all, areas.

Readers, will this new tax affect your online streaming habits? Will you cut down on your subscriptions, or is even a taxed Netflix still the best value for you? Share your thoughts below!
Gardai have arrested two men after recovering an assassination kit complete with two handguns, ammunition and a can of petrol from a stolen car in north Dublin.

The first man, a petty criminal in his 30s, was arrested in Dublin city centre on Tuesday evening and brought to Finglas garda station.

A number of properties were also searched.

Last night gardai pounced on a second man and he is now also being questioned in Finglas under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

Both men can be held for up to 72 hours.

Officers from Finglas Garda Station made the discovery on Saturday afternoon after searching a vehicle that had been reported stolen two weeks previously.

Gardai on routine patrol - supported by members of the Finglas Detective Unit - searched the vehicle and found two handguns, ammunition and a canister of petrol.

The incident occurred shortly before 3pm on Saturday in the Casement Park area of Finglas.

The items had been concealed in the blue-coloured Nissan Pulsar 15-D, which had been reported stolen from the Dublin 13 area a fortnight ago.

Sources said the discovery "bore all the hallmarks of a planned 'hit' in its advanced stages" and that gardai are satisfied they prevented a gangland shooting.

"It was a lucky but great catch by gardai. For one, it takes two weapons off the streets of Dublin, and it also prevented what was a planned gang shooting.

"The fuel canister in itself suggested that individuals were preparing to carry out a hit," a source said.

The two firearms, bullets, the car and its remaining contents were seized for technical examination. Forensic officers will attempt to recover DNA and fingerprints from the items in an effort to establish the identities of the gang.

It is not yet known if the incident is linked to the Hutch/Kinahan feud, which has so far claimed nine lives.

Gardai have foiled a number of murder attempts in the capital since February, with the most recent occurring in the north-inner city.

The Garda Crime and Security section received intelligence that a 'hit' was to be carried out on Patrick 'Paddy' Hutch Snr, the brother of 'The Monk'.

However, gardai from Store Street supported by local detective units, rushed to Patrick Hutch's Champions Avenue home before a shooting was carried out. It is believed that the quick response from gardai prevented an attack.
No longer will Ireland ignore the silent pain suffered by many parents who experience the loss of a pregnancy or perinatal death, Health Minister Simon Harris has pledged.

He described the new national counselling guidelines for parents looking to access bereavement services as a new beginning.

Mr Harris said that for too long Ireland had, regrettably, been behind the curve in supporting those coping with the loss of a baby or foetus.

The minister and the HSEs director-general Tony OBrien launched the updated national standards, entitled Standards for bereavement care following pregnancy loss and perinatal death, at Farmleigh House to a packed audience of midwives, nurses and parents who had suffered such a trauma.

He told them: This document is important because it puts in writing what Ireland expects of its national health service.

Mr Harris added that he hoped the new regime would give grieving families the care and compassion they need.

The 84-page report advises that any information given to mothers and families needs to be reliable, accurate and explained in a sensitive and supportive manner.

It outlines four pillars of bereavement care  the hospital, baby, parents and staff  and states that bereavement and end-of-life care should be organised around the needs of babies and their families.

It also requires all maternity hospitals and units to be staffed with bereavement specialists.

These teams should include a dedicated clinical midwife specialising in bereavement care, along with obstetricians, paediatricians, neonatologists, chaplains, social workers and palliative-care staff.

The document says that bereavement care should be offered in accordance with the religious, secular, ethnic, social and cultural values of the parents.

The guidelines are updated to acknowledge cases of fatal foetal abnormality and say there is a duty of care towards those who have travelled abroad for an abortion.

Other recommendations include that a certain prescribed language be used when breaking the news of a death or life-limiting condition to parents.

Figures detailed in the report show that there were some 500 perinatal deaths in 2013, including 301 stillbirths.

There are also around 14,000 miscarriages a year in Ireland.

Twenty-six terminations were carried out in 2014 under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act.

The document also noted that there were 3,735 terminations undertaken in England and Wales during the same period for women with an address in Ireland.

These standards absolutely apply to all, said Mr Harris.

Among the cases that heavily shaped the report was the death of Savita Halappanavar, who died in October 2012 at University Hospital Galway due to complications of a septic miscarriage.

Ciaran Browne, chair of the sub-committee that was tasked with drawing up the new standards, said a copy of the new guidelines had been sent to her husband Praveen.

The guidelines were welcomed by Sarah Nugent of Every Life Counts, which supports parents of children who were diagnosed with a terminal condition.

Ms Nugent, from Portlaoise, Co Laois, described the heartache her family endured when her daughter Isabella was born with a peroxisomal disorder in 2014 and died 54 days later.

Speaking to RTE Radio Ones Morning Ireland on Thursday, she said: I didnt find out that she was sick until after she was born.

She added: In my experience, there was no system in place to provide support to you and your family. It was very much coming from a medical point of view.

It was a very difficult time. Isabella was in hospital for her whole life. She was in an intense care setting so it was very difficult for family to see her.

Ms Nugents young son in particular found it hard as he was only allowed to see his sister twice in her short life.

There were a couple of times when we could sneak him in but you had to have the right security guard and the right nurse on duty. It was really people putting their jobs on the line to facilitate you getting a bit of time with her, she said.

After Isabella died, Ms Nugent said she didnt receive counselling, and praised the new guidance for ensuring families would receive the necessary care and compassion.

They left no ambiguity as to what peoples roles are in different scenarios, be it ectopic pregnancy, be it stillborn, or be it neo-natal death. Its so clear for every stage of the process.

You can feel the love and compassion in these guidelines, she said.
Hundreds of shooting stars will be visible from across Ireland on Thursday evening as the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks

Start making plans now to stay up late - Irish skies are set to sparkle tonight as the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak.

Sky-watchers will be treated to a stunning spectacle for what NASA predicts will be one of the largest celestial fireworks displays in years with double or triple the rates of 'shooting stars'.

What is a meteor shower?

A meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through the debris field left behind by a comet  in this instance, the comet Swift-Tuttle.

The particles, usually no bigger than a grain of send, enter Earths atmosphere at 37 miles per second and burn up as a fiery streak.

The Perseid is active from mid-July through the third week of August, and while we can catch sight of the shooting stars throughout this period, it reaches its peak on August 11 and 12.

This years shower is expected to be two or three times stronger than normal as Earth passes through a particularly dense debris stream.

When is the best time to look?

Tom Ray, a professor of cosmic physics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, says the optimum time for the shower will be after 12am.

Wait until around midnight or so until the moon is set, because the moon lights up the sky and they dont agree, he told Independent.ie.

He added that the estimate is higher this year than in previous years, as peak rates of up to 150 meteors per hour are predicted for 2016.

We can expect to see at least one per minute until dawn, at around 4am, on Friday and Saturday mornings.

Where are the best views?

The best place to go is somewhere very, very dark and look to the north east, Mr Ray said, explaining that the meteors will radiate from the north east.

While you might get a glimpse of the dazzling display in cities and towns, he urged keen star-gazers to make their way to rural areas for the most impressive views.

Try to get away from the glaring street lights, because the less dark the sky is, the less youll see  some of them are rather fainter than others.

He also warned that it may take a few minutes for your eyes to become accustomed to the night sky.

Allow your eyes to adjust, because that can take 15 minutes in dark conditions. You should gradually see more and more stars as your eyes get used to the darkness and switch into night vision mode, he said.

What will the weather be like?

After a cloudy Thursday night, Met Eireann has said Friday night will be clear and dry.

Forecaster Siobhan Ryan told Independent.ie that those in south Munster and south Leinster will enjoy the best weather.

It may become foggy as the dawn twilight approaches, but there will be otherwise perfect conditions for taking in the view.

What if I miss out on Thursday night?

Some of us may need to head to bed early for work the next day, or might be put off by the clouds.

However, Mr Ray says not to worry, as the meteor shower will still be visible on Friday and the sky may shimmer even more.

I would look both nights. Tomorrow there will be more of a clearance coming in, and you obviously have to wait until theres a clear sky before you can see them, he said.

Hopefully people will have plenty of stars to wish on!
Mr Donohoes comments will come as reassurance to his Cabinet colleagues who privately expressed fears that they would be held to ransom in the coming week Photo: Gareth Chaney

The Government will not be blackmailed by Fianna Fail into unsafe spending increases against a backdrop of Brexit and an uncertain political climate in the United States, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has said.

The minister has warned Micheal Martin's party not to bring forward any new red-line demands which fall outside the deal that allowed for the formation of a minority government.

Already Fianna Fail TDs have indicated they want a 5 increase to the old age pension, the restoration of the lone parents' allowance and cheaper access to college for post-graduate students.

The emergence of a 'shopping list' before any real negotiations on the make-up of October's budget has sparked alarm among Fine Gael ministers who fear Mr Martin's party will exploit their 'confidence and supply' arrangement with Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

The bilateral deal wedded Fine Gael to a number of high-level commitments but mostly steered clear of specific figures for tax cuts and spending increases.

Mr Donohoe said himself and Finance Minister Michael Noonan are only in the "early stages" of putting the Budget document together but even in the past few weeks the backdrop has changed.

"The way we will be dealing with this and other things with Fianna Fail in the coming weeks is to make a few things very clear," he said.

"This Budget is going to have to put together plans and take steps to protect our economy in the context of a world that is changing very quickly.

"We are aware of what is happening in the context of Brexit and the seismic consequence that will have for Ireland and the Irish economy.

"We are seeing the decision that will be made or could be made in the US later this year could have big consequences."

Speaking about Fianna Fail, he added: "It is not appropriate that their support for this budget becomes conditional on items that are not included in the supply in confidence agreement."

Mr Donohoe's comments will come as reassurance to his Cabinet colleagues who privately expressed fears that they would be held to ransom in the coming weeks.

Read More: Analysis: Budget season - the first real test of 'new politics'

One minister had already pointed out that Willie O'Dea's demand for a 5 pension hike would immediately cost 150m from the estimated 650m available for new spending. Another minister claimed that Mr O'Dea had already breached the confidence and supply arrangement by making specific demands.

Mr Donohoe told the Irish Independent last night that Fine Gael will "honour" everything in the deal over the course of three budgets.

"We cannot end up in a situation where new proposals are put on the table that are outside the supply of confidence arrangement and they end up being pre-conditions for the Budget being passed.

"We have an agreement, we will deliver that agreement but it will take a number of years," he said, adding that this would "protect our country, protect our economy, protect everyone who is living with it".

Senior Fianna Fail sources confirmed they intend to leverage their position to ensure that the budget "looks after the most vulnerable".

They said that as the "main party of Opposition" they would bring forward costed budget proposals.

The party's finance spokesmen Michael McGrath and Dara Calleary have already done some preparatory work on a pre-budget submission but it won't be finalised until a few days before the real event.

Mr O'Dea has said that his demand for a pension increase is "perfectly reasonable".
The Independent Alliance will appoint a key supporter of Shane Ross as a go-between with Fine Gael in Government.

Tony Williams, a well-known lawyer who specialises in libel, will be appointed as political liaison for the group.

Mr Williams, a former councillor and member of the Progressive Democrats, will be tasked with promoting the policies of the Alliance.

Mr Ross, along with Junior Minister John Halligan and TD Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, conducted interviews in Leinster House on Monday. Mr Williams, who previously worked for Simon McAleese Solicitors, former legal advisers to the Irish Independent, was contacted yesterday and told that he would be given the job.

Mr Williams's appointment will be on the same terms and conditions as a government special adviser to a minister. He will be on a principal officer's salary of between 79,401 and 91,624.

The announcement is due to be finalised today, according to Independent Alliance sources

The appointment will leave Mr Ross open to claims of showing favouritism. Mr Williams has campaigned for the Dublin Rathdown TD in a number of elections and was endorsed by Mr Ross to replace him in the Seanad five years ago. However, sources in the Alliance have insisted Mr Williams is "well qualified" for the role and "will be a great asset to the Alliance".

Meanwhile, Mr Ross has backed Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's criticism of the 70m cost increase for the second parallel runway at Dublin Airport. A 2014 report put the cost of developing the second parallel runway at 250m. But in April, it emerged that the cost would actually be 320m.

Mr Ross said he was not convinced that the price hike was "justified" and he has met the DAA over it.

"I think Michael O'Leary has a point. I've met the DAA about this. The original estimate for that is 250m. And it's gone up 70m. I'm not yet satisfied that's justified," he said.
Kilkenny girl Eva Phelan was protected from the rain in the Market Cross Shopping Centre yesterday as artist Michael Browne has a colourful display of umbrellas hanging throughout the centre. The display has been getting a great reaction during the Kilkenny Arts Festival. Many suggestions have been made that the display should be left up all year round. Photo: Pat Moore

"Staycations' have increased by 20pc, according to new figures by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Irish families are choosing to visit the likes of Wexford, Donegal and Athlone for their annual summer holidays.

Figures released by the CSO yesterday show families took almost 2.1 million domestic trips in the first three months of the year - compared with more than 1.5 million outbound trips.

"Significantly, the revisions demonstrate that in fact about 20pc more domestic trips are taken each year than was previously estimated," the CSO said.

According to Failte Ireland, destinations for 'Staycations' are not just confined to Dublin.

Spokeswoman Louise Tolertan said visitor numbers were impressive for the likes of Athlone, Donegal, Wexford and the Aran Islands. The CSO figures also showed a 13pc increase on the same figures last year.

However, Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said his organisation was examining the impact of 'Brexit' very closely.

"Although it is still too soon to fully understand the long-term implications for tourism to the island of Ireland, we know that economic uncertainty can cause consumers to be more cautious with their discretionary spend, including holidays. Recent currency movements also mean that holidays in the eurozone are about 10pc more expensive for British travellers," he said,

"However, the British market will remain of significant importance for all of us in the short, medium and long-term. Tourism Ireland has committed to continued monitoring of developments over the coming months.

"But, for now, it is very much business as usual. We will shortly launch an extensive global autumn campaign, which will include an extensive programme of promotions in Britain, to boost business in the shoulder and off-peak season."

Shane Ross, the minister with responsibility for tourism, welcomed the growth figures.

"The very strong growth in overseas visits to Ireland during the first half of 2016 is welcome news for all of us, and especially for communities across the country where tourism is a mainstay of the local economy and an important source of employment," he said.

"The quality of our overseas marketing has helped to ensure that interest in visiting Ireland remains high among potential visitors in our top source markets, and continued investment by Government in tourism developments like the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and Dublin - A Breath of Fresh Air is helping to capture the imagination of potential visitors across the world and to keep Ireland in the international spotlight."
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council have issued a statement warning people in Sandycove to avoid getting into the sea.

Bathers at a popular Dublin beach have been warned to stay out of the water due to an invasion of dangerous jellyfish.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has issued a statement warning people in Sandycove to avoid getting into the sea as there are dangerous jellyfish lurking just beneath the surface.

Several Lion's Mane jellyfish have been spotted in the area over the past number of days.

There name may make them sound cute and fluffy, but the Lion's Mane are anything but.

Expand Close A Lion's Mane Jellyfish spotted in Templetown / Facebook

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Unlucky swimmers that come into contact with the jelly may experience "nausea, vomiting and respiratory distress."

A statement from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council read: "We have raised the red warning flag in Sandycove and erected signs warning swimmers of the presence of jellyfish in the water and washed up on the beach. The species have been identified as Lion's Manes.

"Bathers are advised not to enter the water due to the presence of these jellyfish whose sting can be dangerous and cause serious symptoms including nausea, vomiting and respiratory distress."
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Dan O'Brien Opinion While we catastrophise about Covid, we ignore risk of running out of cash

We Irish view the world in an increasingly strange and unhealthy way. We catastrophise about Covid in a way other European countries do not. We focus on how bad the effects of the virus could get, on how many more restrictions might be imposed by Government and how helpless we are in the face of the virus.
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife made headlines last year when they announced they will transfer 99pc of their shares in Facebook to a charitable trust.

While they received almost universal applause for their generosity, there were some dissenting voices. The main criticism came from those who questioned why individuals should be able to shape the future - a role better reserved for governments or public bodies.

These criticisms make for interesting reading, especially in Ireland. A recent report by the Community Foundation for Ireland on how entrepreneurs view philanthropy in Ireland made the following observation: "The term philanthropy also generates some unease in an Irish context, with some respondents expressing their discomfort with the term 'philanthropy' as appearing elitist and not aligning well with Irish culture."

Last month Donald Trump waded involuntarily into the debate after 'The Washington Post' revealed he donates very little of his own money to charity.

Brian Lucey, Professor of Finance at Trinity College Dublin, doesn't see a conflict between the role of philanthropy and that of other bodies capable of investing funds, such as governments or State bodies: "Philanthropists pay their tax like everyone else - it just so happens they have more left over to play with. We are only seeing an Irish version of the original American trend emerging: individuals who amassed fortunes deciding to give back to society rather than the next generation," he says. "Here it is different and the tax breaks not as attractive for individuals, but concerned individuals have a role, same as government does and institutions."

Seven out of eight Irish entrepreneurs make donations. This is important, as overseas giants including The Atlantic Philanthropies and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust are winding down their work here, creating a vacuum for local business or individuals to fill.

Other headwinds facing the development of philanthropy here have included the recession as well as the undermining of trust arising from recent disclosures about charity sector salaries.

Only 4pc of Irish donors claim tax relief, compared with 15pc in the UK. One effect of streamlining tax reliefs might be to encourage Irish donors to think strategically.

Eilish Murray is executive director of Philanthropy Ireland, whose membership includes individuals and organisations interested in the long-term strategy of planned giving.

"We are not grant-makers," says Murray. "Our role is to advocate and promote good policy practice. We want to make a difference and that can best be achieved through strategic giving rather than reaction giving. However, while we welcome tax breaks... research shows it is not a prime impetus when it comes to philanthropy. The heart strings will do more than tax reform."

Maurice Healy of The Healy Foundation, who is also chairman of Philanthropy Ireland, is an advocate for planned strategic giving, especially in a local context. An entrepreneur in the pharma and food sectors, he has, through the Healy Foundation, dedicated 20pc of his business's net profits to charitable causes. He has two guiding principles.

"Firstly, it not just the Healy family but the employees who decide on what charities to support. We gather consensus before we do anything - ownership is throughout the enterprise, not just from the top down.

"Secondly, we favour local projects. In particular we have looked at primary schools in the same area as our local facilities. All too often primary school principals spend more time trying to find funding than educating. We see it as our role to help the business of the school so the principal can further the education of the children."

Former chairman of Coutts Bank, Ulster Bank and, more recently, Irish Life and Permanent, David Went's first brush with philanthropy was while he was with Ulster Bank, when he was approached to provide a bursary for students in the Trinity Access Programme. Went agreed and canvassed other individuals to do the same. Soon he was invited onto the Trinity Foundation Board.

"Joining the board changed my focus from sponsoring individuals to looking at the university structure as a whole," he says. "Universities are like the orphans of education. Primary schools have school-gate advocates, second level has similar but third level is rarely owned by any partisan group."

John D Rockerfeller once said we should think of giving not only as a duty, but that it is a privilege to be in a position to make a difference to people's lives. It's not the size of the donation but the fact that someone gives at all. Perhaps someone should tell that to Mr Trump.
The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution says: "The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right." Its primary function is to clarify Article 40.1, which states: "All citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law", thus clearly indicating that the unborn is also a human person and so is covered by Article 40.1.

The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution says: "The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right." Its primary function is to clarify Article 40.1, which states: "All citizens shall, as human persons, be held equal before the law", thus clearly indicating that the unborn is also a human person and so is covered by Article 40.1.

What is especially interesting is what it does not say. It does not prohibit abortion; in fact, it makes no reference to abortion. It does not grant superior rights or status to the foetus, it simply grants equality to the foetus. As all of the issues that arise during pregnancy have equivalents in adult medicine, the Eighth Amendment requires that the principles established in adult medicine should be used when dealing with a foetus.

In the legal system, the concept of intent is critical in determining the nature of a crime, such as murder or manslaughter. For a medical procedure to be classed as an abortion, there must be the intent to kill the foetus.

Thus, speeding up delivery of a pre-term baby in a woman undergoing spontaneous abortion (such as with Savita Halappanavar) is not a criminal act. There is no intent to kill the foetus and since getting the baby out safely and in a timely manner is a basic principle of obstetrics, failure to do so during a spontaneous abortion would go against the principle of equality.

Doctors regularly have to make treatment decisions that benefit one patient over another: separating conjoined twins; which patient goes to theatre first after a car accident; which patient receives a donated organ; where we place a patient on a waiting list.

In all of these cases, the patients are equal under the Constitution, yet doctors and society have no problem in allowing these treatment decisions to be based on clinical factors. Since the unborn foetus has equal rights to the mother in some cases, the treatment of the mother will take priority over that of the foetus, resulting in the death of the foetus. This is the price for equality.

The Eighth Amendment is not a barrier to managing fatal foetal abnormalities, such as anencephaly, and should not force the mother to carry such a foetus to term against her will. The amendment grants a right to life to the unborn but this clearly cannot apply to a dead foetus, just as the right to life does not apply to a dead adult.

The concept of brain death is widely accepted in adults and children where there is a lack of detectable brain activity, even though the heart is still beating.

Refusing to allow the anencephalic foetus to be considered brain-dead would imply that the foetus is not equal to other citizens of Ireland and thus goes against the principle of the amendment. In fact, since most people believe that it is kinder to remove the brain-dead patient from life support, we would be doing the anencephalic child a disservice by not giving them the same rights.

At one extreme of the abortion debate are the pro-life advocates who, in their extreme manifestation, would prohibit abortion in all its forms and, it appears, would rather that both the mother and foetus die than that only the mother survives.

At the other extreme is the pro-choice group, which supports abortion for any reason, without restrictions, and, in its extreme manifestation, even supports the concept of abortion after birth.

However, the majority of people in Ireland fall between these two groups. They are not happy with the idea of abortion but accept that sometimes it is necessary, especially when the health of the mother is at risk or in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities.

For those in the pro-choice camp, the repeal of the Eighth is essential, as it clearly prevents abortion on demand. For the pro-life movement, retaining the amendment is desirable but probably insufficient for their needs - they need a specific ban on abortion.

For those in the middle ground, we have seen that maybe a repeal of the Eighth is not necessary, as we have seen that granting the foetus equality should not prevent the termination of a pregnancy when the mother's life is at risk or in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities.

So if the Eighth is not the problem, what is? The biggest issue is fear of the law. The penalties for performing an abortion for both doctor and mother are severe, making doctors wary about performing any procedure that could be classed as an abortion.

This is further complicated by any lack of guidance from the Supreme Court. So even though speeding up labour in a mother with sepsis at 20 weeks may seem to be logical, reasonable and clinically appropriate, doctors are reluctant to do so, since it is not known whether the Supreme Court would also think that it is logical and reasonable. Until such a case goes to the Supreme Court, nobody is taking a risk.

Another problem is a sense of irrationality that exists in society when dealing with the unborn child. Procedures that society accepts for children are not accepted for foetuses, even though the Eighth Amendment confers equality on the foetus.

We also have to accept that there is a law that trumps the Constitution - the Law of Nature. No matter what the Constitution says, if Nature decides labour is to begin or a foetus is dead, there is nothing we can do about it.

Dermot Cox is a lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons
This photo provided by Erin Oberhausen shows her husband, Paul in the back of the raft after riding the Verruckt attraction at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City on July 26 (Erin Oberhausen/AP)

A 10-year-old boy killed during a ride on the world's tallest waterslide was decapitated in the accident, a person familiar with the investigation has said.

Authorities have yet to explain how Sunday's accident in which Caleb Schwab was killed on the Verruckt raft ride at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas, happened.

Two women who were not family members were also in the raft at the time and were treated for facial injuries.

Caleb's parents, Republican state congressman Scott Schwab and his wife Michele, have not spoken publicly since his death. His funeral will be held on Friday.

Verruckt, German for "insane", featured multi-person rafts that make a 168ft drop at speeds of up to 70mph, followed by a surge up a hump and a 50ft descent to a finishing pool.

Since the accident, investigators have removed netting that was held in place by supports above the 50ft section from the hump to the finishing pool.

Riders, who must be at least 54ins tall, were harnessed with two nylon seat belt-like straps - one that crossed the rider's lap, the other stretching diagonally across the shoulder. Each strap was held in place by long Velcro-style straps rather than buckles. Riders would hold ropes inside the raft.

The park reopened on Wednesday except for a large section that includes the waterslide, although its towering profile greeted visitors when they drove through the entrance. Access to the Verruckt was blocked by a 7ft wooden fence.

On a hot, mid-week day, the park was doing a steady business although there were no queues for other rides.

Schlitterbahn spokeswoman Winter Prosapio said the company was not discussing Sunday's tragedy out of respect for the family. She also said that she could not offer an immediate perspective about how Wednesday's turnout compared with typical attendance.

"We didn't know if we'd get five people, 15 people. But this is affirming," she said.

Sara Craig, 42, said she was slightly uneasy bringing her 14-year-old son Cale and one of his 13-year-old friends to the reopened park.

"I feel guilty having fun when a family is hurting so badly," she said.

She said her family rode Verruckt twice in one day a couple of weeks ago. She remembered a short video they were required to watch, but did not recall it including any caveats about danger.

Ms Craig said that during her first trip down the ride with her son and one of his friends, her shoulder restraint came off, something she opted not to report to park workers.

"I didn't think much about it," she said. "You don't think you're going to die."

They rode it again, only to see the restraint on her son's friend also come loose by the time it was over.

She said the ride's operators sent them down the slide even though their combined weight was 393lbs - shy of the 400lb weight minimum the park advertises as a requirement.

Ms Craig described the ride as "very, very rough", so much so that "when I got off, my head hurt".

The water park passed a private inspection in June that included Verruckt, according to a document released by a Kansas state agency.

A copy of an insurance company inspector's letter on June 7, provided by the Kansas Department of Labour to the Associated Press, said inspections had been completed.

The letter said all rides met guidelines for being insured with "no disqualifying conditions noted".

But it added: "This survey reflects the conditions observed or found at the time of the inspection only, and does not certify safety or integrity of the rides and attractions, physical operations or management practices at any time in the future."

Kansas law requires rides to be inspected annually by the parks, and the state randomly audits the records. The last records audit for Schlitterbahn was June 2012.

Ken Martin, a Richmond, Virginia-based amusement park safety consultant, questioned whether the straps were appropriate, suggesting that a more solid restraint system that fitted over the body, similar to those used in rollercoasters, may have been better.

In early tests, rafts carrying sandbags flew off the slide, prompting engineers to tear down half the ride and reconfigure some angles. A promotional video about building the slide includes footage of two men riding a raft down a half-size test model and going slightly airborne as it crests the top of the first big hill.

Jon Rust, a professor of textile engineering at North Carolina State University, said the material used on the straps, commonly called hook and loop, was not designed to keep a person in the seat. It also can degrade with use.

AP

Paul Oberhauser, from Nebraska, told local television station KCTV that the safety restraints on his raft on the Verruckt waterslide were not working properly when he rode it on July 26.

He said his shoulder strap "busted loose" during the ride and he "just held on". A video shot by his wife shows it loose at the ride's end. He said he told workers about the loose strap.

AP
Julian Assange will have been inside the Ecuadorian embassy for four years on June 19

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be questioned by Swedish prosecutors inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, in a possible breakthrough to the impasse over his case.

The Ecuadorian attorney general delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish prosecutor to question Mr Assange.

He is wanted for questioning over a sex allegation, which he denies, and believes he will be taken to the United States to be quizzed over the activities of WikiLeaks if he goes to Sweden.

Mr Assange has been living inside the embassy for over four years and has been granted political asylum by Ecuador.

He has offered to be questioned inside the embassy but the Swedish prosecutors only recently agreed.

A statement issued in Ecuador said: "In the coming weeks a date will be established for the proceedings to be held at the Embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom.

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"For more than four years, the government of Ecuador has offered to co-operate in facilitating the questioning of Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as well as proposing other political and legal measures, in order to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties involved in the legal case against Julian Assange, to end the unnecessary delays in the process and to ensure full and effective legal protection.

"In line with this position, Ecuador proposed to Sweden the negotiation of an Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, which was signed last December and which provides the legal framework for the questioning."

The statement said the proceedings did not affect the recent opinion of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions of the United Nations, which found that Mr Assange was being arbitrarily detained. The working group called for Mr Assange to be released and given compensation for violation of his rights.

The Ecuador statement added: "Ecuador's Foreign Ministry reiterates its commitment to the asylum granted to Julian Assange in August 2012, and reaffirms that the protection afforded by the Ecuadorian state shall continue while the circumstances persist that led to the granting of asylum, namely fears of political persecution."
Germany has no restrictions on the wearing of the burqa. Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Senior ministers in Germany have called for a ban on burqas and an end to dual citizenship in response to the threat from terrorism.

Angela Merkel's government is preparing to unveil increased security measures in the wake of recent terror attacks.

Thomas de Maiziere, the country's interior minister, is to detail a series of new proposals today - including the deportation of preachers who incite terrorism. But senior elected officials from Ms Merkel's Christian Democrat party (CDU) believe the new measures do not go far enough, and have published a series of more far-reaching proposals.

Mr de Maiziere is believed to support the call for tougher measures and will add his signature to the proposals, according to press reports.

The document, known as the Berlin Declaration, has already been signed by state interior ministers across Germany. It includes 27 measures to increase security, including recruiting thousands of new police officers and the use of video camera surveillance in city centres.

But the most controversial proposals are the calls for a ban on the full-face veil in public and an end to dual citizenship.

Unlike some European countries, Germany has no restrictions on the wearing of burqas or headscarves in public. Some lawyers have argued a ban could require a change to the German constitution, which protects freedom of religious expression.

The declaration calls for an end to dual citizenship on the grounds that it impedes integration. Under the current law, refugees and those born in Germany to immigrant parents are allowed dual citizenship.

"We reject this divided loyalty," the declaration reads. "We suggest whoever wants to get involved with the politics of foreign governments leaves Germany."

It is not clear whether the proposal would apply to nationals from other EU countries, who are also allowed dual citizenship under current laws.

The proposal calls for dual nationals who fight for Isil or other extremist groups to be stripped of German citizenship.

Under Germany's federal system, law and order is largely the preserve of the 16 state governments. The interior ministers who have signed the declaration are all members of the CDU or its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, which means there will be considerable pressure for Ms Merkel's government to adopt at least some of the measures.

A spokesman for the interior ministry said the declaration was "still under consultation".

Mr de Maiziere is to present a series of new security measures today. While they have not yet been made public, according to details leaked to 'Bild' newspaper they include new rules to make the deportation of asylum seekers and foreign nationals easier.

Under the new measures, deportation will be possible on the grounds that a person is a "danger to public safety".

Those who incite violence and crime will also be subject to deportation for the first time, meaning foreign hate preachers who call for terrorist attacks can be forced to leave Germany.

Most eye-catching is a measure to loosen Germany's strict medical confidentiality laws so doctors and therapists can report patients they believe may be a threat to public safety.

The laws faced criticism after last year's Germanwings crash, in which co-pilot Andreas Lubitz flew his aircraft into the ground. Doctors treating Lubitz had not warned of the risk he posed because of the laws. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Germany has proposed stripping dual nationals who fight for extremist groups abroad of their citizenship.

And interior minister Thomas de Maiziere wants to make it easier to deport foreigners deemed to be dangerous.

Mr de Maiziere's list of proposals aimed at beefing up security in Germany following a recent string of attacks also included making "promoting terrorism" a criminal offence, and considering further reinforcements for security forces.

In addition, Germany will consider joining other countries in screening the public social media profiles of people being admitted to the country under humanitarian resettlement programmes.

And Mr de Maiziere wants to strengthen German authorities' ability to probe the "darknet", an area of cyberspace invisible on the open internet.

The minister proposed making it easier to take foreigners who have committed crimes or otherwise are deemed to be dangerous into pre-deportation custody, making "endangering public security" a ground for jailing them.

The move is meant to make it easier to ensure people who are obliged to leave the country actually do so.

Two of the attacks in a week-long period starting July 18 - an axe rampage near Wuerzburg that wounded five and a suicide bombing that injured 15 outside a bar in Ansbach - were the first in Germany to be claimed by the Islamic State group. Both of the attackers, asylum-seekers who arrived over the past two years, were killed.

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In two other attacks - a shooting by a German-Iranian 18-year-old in Munich that claimed 10 lives, including the assailant's, and the stabbing of a woman by a Syrian asylum-seeker at a restaurant in Reutlingen - the motive is still unclear but Islamic extremism is not suspected.

The attackers in Ansbach and Munich had received psychiatric treatment in the past.

Mr de Maiziere said the government will discuss with doctors ways to "minimise dangers to citizens as far as possible", but stressed that patient confidentiality rules will be upheld.

In Germany, doctors can face a fine or up to a year in prison for breaching patient confidentiality, though existing rules already allow them to do so "in order to safeguard a higher-ranking legally protected interest".

Some members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's and Mr de Maiziere's conservative party have called for further measures - such as a ban on all-body veils worn by some Muslim women.

Mr de Maiziere made it clear, however, that such a ban is "constitutionally problematic" and is not on the cards.

"You can't ban everything that you reject," he added.
Women and children carry belongings as they flee towards safer parts of Manbij city, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria. Photo: Rodi Said/Reuters

In breaking a Syrian government siege on opposition-held areas of Aleppo, insurgents have set back President Bashar al-Assad's hopes of using Russian air power to reclaim a vital city and speed the end of the five-year conflict.

The sudden advance by fighters from western Syria into a military complex in southwest Aleppo on Saturday opened a corridor into the city, breaking the weeks-long siege and providing a launch pad for fresh attacks into government-held territory.

Whether they can hold, or even consolidate, their gains in a war marked by fluctuating fortunes is unclear, but the insurgents' success showed they are capable of checking the momentum that Russia's air campaign has given Assad in recent months.

In Aleppo the disparate groups fighting the Syrian government army demonstrated a rare unity, while also dealing a blow to Assad, Moscow and their Iran-backed allies who have invested heavily in a victory in what was the country's most populous city before the war.

"It's clear that Aleppo will be the toughest and most important battle and most dangerous battle and the longest of all the battles that have erupted," said former Lebanese General Amine Hotait, a supporter of Assad, in an article in the Syrian daily Al-Thawra.

Aleppo is important not only because of its size but also for its location near Turkey, a powerful supporter of anti-Assad groups operating it the city. In addition, its rebel-held areas are the main stronghold of most opposition groups apart from the jihadists of Islamic State.

Expand Close Syrian men carry injured children away from rubble in Aleppo. Photo: Getty / Facebook

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The defeat of the Aleppo insurgents could have been seen in Damascus and Moscow as a precursor to the collapse of the armed rebellion against Assad's rule.

Government media have declared the fighting as "the mother of all battles", while Assad's ally in the war, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, has called it "an existential struggle".

For their part, the rebels speak of an "epic battle to liberate Aleppo", rallying support by citing the plight of trapped civilians in the city being pummelled by air strikes which have regularly hit hospitals and market places.

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By far the rebels' biggest coordinated assault since the conflict began in 2011, the Aleppo campaign suggests they have strengthened their capabilities despite suffering heavy losses since Russia began striking against them almost a year ago.

An estimated 6,000-8,000 rebel fighters from different groups, using dozens of tanks, broke the Syrian army's fortress-like defences at Ramousah in southwest Aleppo in only a few days. Suicide bombers led the advance.

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The groups ranged from the Islamist alliance Jaish al-Fateh, which includes Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, known as the Nusra Front until it cut ties with al Qaeda two weeks ago, to the Free Syrian Army (FSA), vetted and backed by the West.

Jaish al-Fateh drove the army and its allies last year from Idlib province, southwest of Aleppo, before the Russian intervention in Syria turned the tide in Assad's favour.

Last week's success will raise the standing of the rebranded Nusra Front, whose change of name was made partly to narrow differences with mainstream rebels.

The rebel groups' unity this time, however, seemed mostly to be born of unease at the gradual advances made by government forces since Russia's entry into the war.

"We were divided and distanced. Today we are one and the goal is the regime. There are no longer problems between us and we have one enemy who can destroy us, so we became one hand against it," said Alaa al Saqar, a senior military commander in Fatah Halab, the main umbrella group for FSA groups that are present in Aleppo.

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After years of near deadlock in Aleppo, it was the air campaign that began with Russia's intervention last September that finally brought Assad within sight of a major victory.

Syria's army had failed in many attempts to break through the city frontlines - setbacks often blamed on Gulf Arab states and Turkey supplying weapons to insurgents.

Last month the army took control of the Castello Road in northern Aleppo, the insurgents' last route into the city, laying siege to the 250,000 people who live in their sector.

Rebels and civilians in opposition-held areas, already facing the bombardment, now contended with a shortage of food, medicine and fuel as the world looked on.

But Friday's seizure of the Ramousah base cut the government's own main route into the city and meant the army was instead scrambling to bring supplies to the two million people in its own areas.

Residents in government-held districts say oil and food are now being brought in under cover of night via the same hazardous route near the front line that was previously used by rebels.

The rebels now want to advance further into government-held areas, mobilising thousands of fighters from Syria's northwestern countryside.

"It's the rebels who turned the tables on the strategy of the siege," said a senior Western diplomat based in the region.

This also represents a setback for Moscow, the diplomat said, which saw victory in the city as vindicating its intervention.

So single-minded was Moscow in the pursuit of the Aleppo campaign that it defied U.S. calls for an easing of the stranglehold on the city, despite the risk of jeopardising a deal with Washington to cooperate in strikes against militants.

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With the insurgents now saying they are preparing to assault western Aleppo, so far spared the devastating aerial bombardment of rebel-held districts, a yet more protracted and bloody battle is in prospect, rebels, government sources and diplomats say.

In eastern Aleppo, communities moved en masse from front-line zones to other parts of the city, a pattern that might now be repeated in the government-held west, residents say.

The rebels regard their success as evidence they can turn the tables even in the face of Russian might, and that their goal of toppling Assad is no longer far-fetched.

"After these battle gains, we defeated the military option the Russian invaders and their Iranian allies and Hezbollah wanted to impose," said Mohammad al-Shami, a commander from the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group, a member of the Jaish al-Fateh Islamist alliance.

"Today those planning for the regime are Russian officers and the Iranians and Hezbollah, and they have all fought battles but we have beaten them," the bearded fighter added.
The US Secret Service has spoken to Donald Trump's campaign to tell him to tone down his rhetoric in the wake of comments that were interpreted as a suggestion Hillary Clinton could be assassinated.

There was understood to have been more than one conversation between agents from the elite agency responsible for presidential security and Mr Trump's campaign officials. Mr Trump has denied that his remarks were an incitement to violence.

The unprecedented development came as the billionaire's attempts to revitalise his campaign floundered.

Days after he set out his economic vision for America, Mr Trump was attacked from all sides as "disgusting" and accused of "inciting bloodshed".

Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, said: "As the daughter of a leader who was assassinated, I find Trump's comments distasteful, disturbing and dangerous."

Gabby Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, said: "Responsible, stable individuals won't take Trump's rhetoric to its literal end, but his words may provide a magnet for those seeking infamy.

"They may provide inspiration or permission for those bent on bloodshed."

And Erica Smegielski, daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, the school head who died in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, said Mr Trump was "distasteful and disgusting".

She said: "My mother, like many other Americans and people around the world, would be mortified we have a Republican nominee of such bad taste and character as Donald Trump".

Read more: One-fifth of Republicans won't vote for Trump

At a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday Mr Trump had said that if Ms Clinton were elected and appointed left-wing judges to the US Supreme Court there was nothing people could do. He then added: "The Second Amendment people, maybe there is ... I don't know."

A former US Secret Service agent said that in speaking to Mr Trump's campaign, agents would have told them that "words do matter".

Jonathan Wackrow said: "We're not hauling Donald Trump into the back of a police car to question him, but the Secret Service is encouraging the Trump campaign to clarify and lower the rhetoric around this."

As he tried to end the fallout from the gaffe, Mr Trump said he had been referring to the political voting power of gun owners, not inciting violence.

He said: "Give me a break. This is a political movement. This is a strong, powerful movement, the Second Amendment. There can be no other interpretation."

Earlier, Mr Trump had blamed the media for the furore following his comments.

He told Fox News "dishonest" reporters had twisted his remarks.

Meanwhile, Ms Clinton has launched an effort to win over disillusioned Republicans called Together for America.

It includes a website where she lists dozens of high-profile Republicans and Independents who have endorsed her, including Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman and former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
A Turkish naval officer working in the United States has gone missing and has failed to report back home following a failed coup by renegade officers within the Turkish military.

The Anadolu Agency, citing an official at the Turkish embassy in Washington, says Navy Rear Admiral Mustafa Ugurlu had left his ID and badges at his base on July 22 and has not been heard from since.

Turkish officials could not confirm reports that Mr Ugurlu was seeking asylum in the United States. The US State Department said it does not comment on or handle asylum cases.

The issue could complicate US-Turkish ties. Ankara is already pressing Washington to extradite US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it accuses of orchestrating the coup.

Mr Gulen denies involvement.

AP

Meanwhile, Turkey's foreign minister says two military attaches who were based in Greece have fled the country following the coup attempt.

Mevlut Cavusoglu told NTV television that Greek authorities had established that the navy and land forces colonels had left Greece for Italy aboard a ferry on August 6 together with their families.

He said one of the colonels had a brother in the Netherlands and that both Italy and the Netherlands had been notified.

Asked about reports that a Turkish military official based in the United States was seeking asylum there, Mr Cavusoglu said Turkey had asked for information from Washington but had not yet received a response.

He repeated, however, a Turkish demand that the United States extradite US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

AP
SHARE JED907 at Snodgrass Hill exhibit, from left: Jake Fitzgerald of Pelzer, Matt Myers of Belton and Allison Bolt of Taylors.

Joseph Evan Davis Chapter 907, Children of the Confederacy, had three chapter members attend the 62nd annual Children of the Confederacy General (National) Convention held in Chattanooga, Tennessee July 20-23. The 2015-2016 chapter President Allison Bolt of Taylors, 2015-2016 chapter vice president Matthew Myers of Belton, and member Jake Fitzgerald of Pelzer, traveled with two members of their sponsoring United Daughters of the Confederacy Chapter Winnie Davis 442, Chapter President Pamela Durham of Greenville and Chapter Registrar Dr. Julia Barnes of Honea Path. Durham also serves as the adviser to the CofC General Recording Secretary. Dr. Barnes also serves as the S.C. CofC Division director & 3rd vice president for the S.C. Division UDC.

Joseph Evan Davis 907 Chapter director Martha Moody Bailey was unable to attend due to last minute health issues, but sent the children well prepared for the experience. Leaving Pelzer on July 20, the group of two ladies and the two young men departed at 6:30 a.m., discussing the materials on the Atlanta, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga military campaigns outlined by Joseph Evan Davis 907 Chapter Director Mrs. Bailey.

After the board meeting, the group reunited to discuss plans for the weekend. Mrs. Durham escorted Matt Myers to the President General's Reception and Dinner held at the Mt. Vernon Restaurant, while Mrs. Barnes, Jake Fitzgerald and Allison Bolt dined at Porter's in the Read House Historic Hotel, joined by members of the North Augusta Georgia chapter. After dinner, Mrs. Barnes escorted the two young people to the Moon Pie Factory!

The next day consisted of the first business session, where Matthew Myers gave his Editor General report. Following the Business Session, the group attended the Memorial Service, which featured a CofC member from S.C. who gave the memorial to Sons of Confederate Veterans. After the memorial service ended, the group ate lunch with a group from Texas, then spent time relaxing. Thursday night was a dress-up affair, the Historical Evening Program, which featured a look at the history of the CofC, presented by CofC Alumni. After the Historical Evening, the young people enjoyed an evening of games, and those interested in Officer positions were interviewed by the Nominating Committee of General. This interview process can be intimidating for a member who has never been interviewed at the state level. Two members from the S.C. Division did submit endorsements for office and were interviewed.

Friday was an all-day field trip. Starting at 8 a.m., there was a short meeting to announce the individuals selected for the General slate for office. Two S.C. members were among the slate presented by the nominating committee  Matt Myers for treasurer general and Allison Bolt for editor general! At 8:30 a.m., the entire group loaded onto three buses, going first to the Incline Railway, then to the Lookout Mountain National Military Park, then Rock City, and then Chickamauga Military Park. At Chickamauga, the group spent time at the exhibit featuring the fight at Snodgrass Hill, which was led by South Carolina's own Kirkland Brigade and featured soldiers from South Carolina's Upcountry. After leaving Chickamauga, the group headed back to Tennessee and the Chattanooga Confederate Cemetery, and ended the evening with a dinner cruise on the Southern Belle on the historic river at Chattanooga. Despite the 97-degree heat, all the group survived the trek! The exhausted group returned to the hotel at 10 p.m., for showers and preparations for Saturday's events.

Saturday featured the final business session, elections of officers for the 2016-2017 year, an education luncheon, and presidents' evening. Matthew Myers was elected treasurer general for the 2016-2017 year, and Allison Bolt was elected editor general. This is the first time that the Joseph Evan Davis Chapter 907 had two members serving on the National level. It was also quite an honor for the state, with members of other South Carolina chapters serving as Pages, speakers at the Memorial Service, and assistants. One special surprise was the announcement that Matt Myers was selected as the recipient of the Warren G. (Boo) King III Memorial Award, presented to an outstanding young man (member of the CofC) based on his contributions at the Chapter, Division, and General levels.
Seneca Middle School teachers, Marla Lipham, Meredith Evans, Rhonda Cooper, Melanie Myers, Becky Nix and Lindsay James were among many Seneca-area teachers who gladly paid to wear bluejeans in memory of former students Kayla Grayson and Levy Acatitla and in support of Donate Life South Carolina.

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Schools honor memory of former students through donation

She had a number of profound physical challenges, but smiling was not one of them. He, too, had a thousand-watt smile and seemingly had not a care in the world. However, for teenagers Kayla Grayson and Levy Acatitla, life erected unexpected roadblocks that their bodies could not overcome. A few months ago, these two sweet and loving teenagers succumbed to sudden and unexpected brain trauma, leaving behind grieving family and friends. However, their families, in their time of heartache, made the brave and unselfish choice to give the gift of life to others through organ donation.

Recently, the faculty and staff of Seneca Middle School and Seneca High School raised money by paying to wear bluejeans and donated $551 to Donate Life South Carolina in the memory of these remarkable former students. Donate Life South Carolina is a nonprofit organization that maintains the South Carolina Donor Registry and is dedicated to saving the lives of the many South Carolinians awaiting lifesaving transplants.

Kayla's mother, Tonya Collins, said of the fundraising efforts, "Words fail me as I attempt to express how thankful I am that the faculty and staff of these schools chose to honor my daughter Kayla by holding a fundraiser in her honor for Donate Life S.C. I consider it an honor and take comfort knowing she is remembered not only by her family, but also her Bobcat family. We miss our sweet girl more than words can express, and knowing Kayla's life has made such a profound impact on so many amazes me, and I am proud to have the honor of being her mother. The money raised will go to help those waiting for their gift of life, and also help raise awareness of just how important it is to be an organ and tissue donor."
SHARE Contributed photo North Carolina's Green River is ideal for tubing fans.

By Brett Barest, Special to Your Hometown Fun bbarest@gmail.com

Outdoor adventure and the art of laziness do not have to be mutually exclusive. It is entirely possible to travel miles of scenic wilderness and tumble over river rapids without ever breaking a sweat or really exerting yourself whatsoever. It is possible thanks to something as simple as an inner tube, of course.

Thankfully we live in a region where tubing is possible on a variety of rivers, but one of the best has to be the Green River in North Carolina. A tributary of the Broad River, the Green offers a steady, dam-controlled flow that allows for a consistent and enjoyable trip downstream on every visit, regardless of weather conditions and recent rainfall. The result is that you are always guaranteed a pleasant ride through the Blue Ridge Mountains any time of year.

Tubing is arguably the easiest of ways to take in the local scenery without exerting any real effort at all. Because, let's face it, hiking and biking can feel a lot like work on a hot summer day, as do kayaking and canoeing when you are faced with navigating the angry rapids of a mountain river.

With tubing, you really just have to sit back and enjoy the ride as the Green River meanders through the woods, showing you a part of the world you would never be able to access through any other means. There are a few class II rapids that require all the effort of holding on to the tubes handles and maybe yelling out "wheeee" while you tumble and bounce over a small stretch of something vaguely resembling whitewater.

For the most part, however, you can kick back in an inner tube and bask in the sun and leave the stress and frustration of the daily grind miles away. The water is cool enough to be refreshing, but not as unbearably cold as some mountain streams and the fresh mountain air seems to have magical soothing powers that cannot be denied. Combined with the cushy comforts of your inner tube, it is all as relaxing as a day at the spa.

Every aspect of the adventure is effortless as you park at your put-in location, pay for your tube rental and float away. Depending on the length of your adventure, you will be told at which landmark to exit the river (first bridge, second bridge, etc.) and a bus will either be waiting or arriving shortly to return you to your car. Take the trip at your own pace, floating straight through to your destination, or stopping to bask on a rock or sandy shoreline, or trying out a rope swing to flail into one of the rare deeper sections of river.

Given the Green River's moderate flow, this is an adventure the whole family can enjoy, provided the younger folks are at least 42 inches in height. Rope is available to keep your tubes close or you can each fly solo and conquer the "rapids" individually. Geared for wholesome and safe family fun, alcohol is strictly prohibited on the Green River so families can enjoy their day on the water without the distraction of drunken college students or grown-ups old enough to know better.

Tubing the Green River is hosted by several riverfront businesses, most notable Wilderness Cove and Green River Tubing. Trips are inexpensive (between $9 and $14 per person) making this as affordable as it is easy and fun. The lower section of the Green River is the home of the best tubing and is located just a few miles from downtown Saluda, North Carolina, making it extremely accessible to anyone in the Upstate.

For directions and more information visit www.greenrivertubing.com or www.nctubing.com. This is the perfect end-of-summer adventure and your friends and family will definitely thank you for it.
<p>Ken Ruinard/Independent Mail</p><p>Mike Thrasher, Matt Thrasher and Wayne Harbin, family of founder Skin Thrasher, are happy to be keeping the hot dog business going since 1946. Skins now has 12 locations.</p>

SHARE Mike Thrasher, Matt Thrasher and Wayne Harbin, family of founder Skin Thrasher, stand on the porch at the original Skinas on Hudgens Street in Anderson. Ken Ruinard/Independent Mail Skinas Hot Dogs puts photos of local people on its walls for a family environment at the 12 area locations. Skin Thrasher, pictured in 1944 serving in the Army during World War II, started the hot dog business on Hudgens Street in Anderson after returning from the war in 1946. Independent Mail file Matt Thrasher, left, local photographer Paul Brown and founder Skin Thrasher are seen in a family photograph from the 1980s. Contributed photo

... Skin's is the perfect training ground for life

By Abe Hardesty of the Independent Mail

Three decades since Matt Thrasher worked in the kitchen of the original Thrashers Cafe, its lessons remain vivid.

It was always hot, Thrasher, 53, recalled recently. There was no air conditioning. It was over 100 degrees most of the time.

Such comments drew a standard reply from his father, Loyd Skin Thrasher.

Hed say I needed to get after it,  Matt Thrasher recalls.

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Having survived the Great Depression, and later scores of freezing nights and two combat wounds during World War II, the elder Thrasher wasnt the type to be stopped by a warm kitchen. He worked more than 10,000 shifts on Hudgens Street from 1946 until his retirement in 1986.

Instead, Skin Thrasher used the diner  now simply known as Skins  as a training ground for life. He and wife, Peggy, showed four children how a poor man with an eighth-grade education could build an honest business, one that is now among the most successful in Anderson history.

All four children attended college, setting a pattern that has continued through many of their eight grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Three of the children, all the grands and two of the great-grandchildren have worked in the family business.

It started shortly after Skin Thrasher returned home from World War II, where, as an Army infantryman, he had been part of the Battle of the Bulge. He borrowed $1,500 from his brother, Jack, operator of a barber shop on Bleckley Street, to open a pool hall/eatery just a half-block from East Whitner Street.

The chili recipe has been a secret ever since, but Thrashers formula for success  hard work and the Golden Rule  was on display from the start. As the nation evolved from segregated to racially mixed neighborhoods, that work ethic drew a diverse clientele from all walks of life.

I was not taught to see race, said Matt Thrasher. When we buried dad, we ran the funeral procession by the old store. There were people, black and white, lined up all along the street to pay their respects as the hearse went by. That meant a lot to me.

Budgets were always tight. At the home on Tribble Street, Matt shared a room with brother, Mike, and a grandfather; his parents and sister shared the only other bedroom. More than once, he helped push his fathers aging, battery-weak Ford Fairlane to get it started.

At the cafe, Matt Thrasher remembers waiting until all the paying customers were served before he ate.

The financial struggle strengthened family bonds that remain intact, on and off the job. Thats apparent each July, when all 12 stores close and the family vacations together by renting one big beach house.

I have friends who say, Are you crazy?  said Skins daughter Becky Harbin, one of 28 family members who shared an 11-bedroom house last month.

But when youre working together, praying about things together and supporting one another, you want to have fun together, she said.

Skin Thrasher started the tradition when his children were young, and Becky believes it has enhanced workplace chemistry.

Next to a faith in God, our parents taught us that family is important. Our vacation together is a way for our children to see that, she said. It all fits together, the faith and the work and the fun and family.

Todd Beak, who married into the family and worked in the business during his college years, marvels at the unity on display daily.

I think it works because everyone in the operation is treated the same, Beak said. I was expected to work just as hard as everyone else.

In an operation that now includes 130 employees in a dozen stores, Skin Thrashers third and fourth generations play a major role.

If all these kids had not bought into it, I dont think wed be in business, said Mike Thrasher. And if we hadnt maintained a consistent product, I dont think wed be here today. The family ties have enabled us to keep doing things the same way.

Mike Thrasher said his fathers passion, and the interest from the younger generations gives me a lot of motivation to keep it going.

As budgets and payrolls have grown, the philosophy remains as modest as the original store on Hudgens Street. The corporate office for a company that literally sells more than a ton of chili each week remains in the longtime home of Skin and Peggy Thrasher, a placement that catches corporate visitors by surprise.

Mike serves as president. Matt is vice president. Brother-in-law Wayne Harbin is the secretary. All left stable jobs to join the business when Skin Thrasher retired at age 67 in 1986, 12 years before his death.

The expansion from the Hudgens Street cafe, which maintains what Matt calls the 1946 look and feel, evolved as the business grew in the late 1980s, and in particular on a busy Saturday.

We had just served what seemed like the entire state of South Carolina; the lines were backed out to the road, Matt recalls. We all three decided it was time to expand the old store or build another one.

That wasnt easy. Customers warned frequently that the second generation was soon to ruin your daddys business, and banks were reluctant to provide expansion funds for a small-ticket item. The only offer came from the Peoples Bank of Iva, which remains the companys primary bank today.

When the second store opened on Clemson Boulevard 25 years ago, product consistency was a big concern, so much that the kitchen from Hudgens Street was relocated to the new store. New pans were placed in the old kitchen.

But the grand opening wasnt so grand.

The first day, I really thought we had messed up, Matt recalls. But the second day got better.

There was one memorable complaint. It came from a loyal client on a crowded lunch hour when Skin, then retired, was helping in the kitchen of the new store.

She said, I dont know who made this chili, but it isnt as good as Skin used to make, Matt recalls. About that time, dad walked out of the kitchen and we said, theres the guy who made your chili. The place erupted with laughter.

The third store at Seneca was a hit. So much that the store ran out of hot dogs twice in the first three days. Nine stores have been added, the most recent in Greenwood, in the last 23 years.

Some things havent changed. All stores defy business logic by closing Sunday and Monday, and at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The schedule limits sales but gives staffers more family time.

Its an old business tradition.

Follow Abe Hardesty on Twitter @Abe_Hardesty
SHARE Linda Morris greets the mother and puppy owned by her son Allen Morris, outside the home of 803 Mountain Springs Road in Piedmont. Allen Morris, 44, was shot by an Anderson County Sheriff Office deputy the day before. Linda Morris (left) mourns the loss of her son Allen Morris, with her youngest son Joe Morris, in the living room at the home where he was shot by an Anderson County Sheriff Office deputy the day before. A recent family photograph of Allen Morris of Piedmont.

By Mike Ellis of the Independent Mail

Jeffrey Allen Morris was holding a BB rifle when he was fatally shot Tuesday by an Anderson County Sheriff's Office deputy, his mother said Wednesday.

Sheriff John Skipper said the shooting happened when the barricaded 44-year-old Morris raised a gun at deputies inside his mother's home on Mountain Springs Road in Anderson County.

The deputies were at the home to serve a warrant for a probation violation.

Morris' mother, Linda Morris, said there are no guns beside BB guns in the house.

"The deputy, he didn't know it wasn't real," she said.

Sheriff's Office Capt. Garland Major said Wednesday that he could not comment on the investigation or any details about weapons because a state investigation is underway.

The shooting is being investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, as is routine when officers discharge weapons. It was the 30th shooting involving law enforcement officers in the state this year. There were 48 such shootings in 2015.

There is no dash camera footage of the shooting, according to the state agency, and the Sheriff's Office does not use body cameras. Skipper said he believes only one deputy fired and the name of the deputy has not been made public.

On Tuesday afternoon as deputies arrived to serve a warrant, Morris ran into the home with deputies able to follow him inside and to talk to him as he was barricaded in a room with deputies in a hallway, Skipper said.

Deputies attempted to use a stun grenade, but Morris avoided its effects, and at some point after that he raised a long gun toward a deputy, Skipper said.

The sheriff said he does not know how many times the deputy fired because the shooting is being investigated by state agency.

Linda Morris said she heard five gunshots.

She said her son had not checked in with probation agents and may have been afraid of serving time for that violation.

Morris said she saw deputies take her son's body out of the family home on a stretcher.

"I begged, begged, begged to be able to go see him," Morris said. "They held me, and I couldn't get to him. I now think they knew he was dead and that's why they wouldn't let me go to him."

Her son, who went by the name Allen Morris, was declared dead at Greenville Memorial Hospital on Tuesday night, several hours after he was shot.

Linda Morris said her son was intelligent with an easy smile.

He worked with computers and dressed nicely, she said.

"Allen was well thought of," she said. "That's why it's so hard to believe this happened."

Allen Morris was involved in a standoff with the Sheriff's Office in March 2015. At the time he was accused of not allowing his girlfriend to leave one of the family's homes on the same street.

Skipper said he personally negotiated with Allen Morris in March 2015, and Morris surrendered in exchange for being able to talk with his son.

The negotiations were successful for a period Tuesday, but broke down after more than an hour, the sheriff said.

Linda Morris said she will be working with officials to claim her son's body.

Follow Mike Ellis on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM

Photojournalist Ken Ruinard contributed to this story.
Brian Cladoosby serves as president of the National Congress of American Indians. Photo by NCAI



Last week, Judge Daniel L. Hovland of the United States District Court for North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction against North Dakotas strict voter identification-card law, which made it difficult and sometimes impossible for some Native Americans on rural reservations to cast ballots. This victory is an important one to Native voters, but also highlights the lack of enforcement by the Department of Justice of the Voting Rights Act in Indian country. The lawsuit in North Dakota was brought by individual Native people and the Native American Rights Fund. We greatly appreciate these strong advocates, but there simply are not enough non-profit resources to address the widespread voter discrimination on Indian reservations. It is the responsibility of the Department of Justice to enforce violations of the Voting Rights Act, and yet the Department has not brought a Section 2 lawsuit on behalf of American Indian and Alaska Native voters since 2000 when Bill Clinton was President. The National Congress of American Indians recently passed a resolution calling on the Department of Justice to take action to enforce the Voting Rights Act in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

A group of Native citizens just secured a big voting rights victory in North Dakota but where is the Department of Justice ? Brian Cladoosby the president of the National Congress of American Indians , calls on the federal government to do more to protect voting rights in Indian Country:

Read More the Story: Brian Cladoosby: N.D. Decision Highlights Failure to Protect Native Voting Rights (Indian Country Today 8/11)

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A coup happens when there is a sudden overthrow of the government, usually by the country's military. The motive of the act is to replace the government with another body from the military itself, or a civilian chosen by the authority. No matter who ends up with control of the country, there is no denying the loss of life and property. Not to forget the high chance of civil war that follows immediately after. Check out some of the most famous coup attempts of all time.



1. The Beer Hall Putsch

bbc

The famous coup attempt that led to Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf. In 1923, Adolf Hitler led over 2000 Nazis to a beer hall where they would hold the government to ransom and eventually take control of the country. The Nazis failed miserably. They totally underestimated the government and eventually their weapons turned out to be inadequate. The German police ended up killing 16 Nazis. Rumour has it that Hitler himself was hiding behind others while they were trying to find a way out. He was eventually arrested and thrown into prison for this where he ended up writing the book.

2. Malian Coup

mg.co.za

One of the worst coups in history happened back in 2012 as the Malian soldiers, displeased with President Amadou Toumani Toures management of the Tuareg rebellion (a series of insurgencies happening since 1916 as rebels fought for Independence of Northern Mali), formed the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy. The military attacked the capital of Barnako apart from the military barracks, government controlled news stations and the presidential palace. The coup resulted in the death of 15,000 soldiers, displacing over 1,00,000 civilians.

3. Orange Revolution

thenation.com

Ukraine was in some serious turmoil between November 2004 and January 2005. Kiev was the centre of the protest which took place after the Ukranian presidential election was disrupted by fraud, corruption and voter intimidation. The ripple effects were felt nationwide with acts of civil disobedience, general strikes and marches. The president was finally thrown out of power but not before injuring and killing thousands of protesters.

4. The Regime of the Colonels

wikimedia

1967 to 1974, known as the Regime of the Colonels, was a dark one for the Greeks. The country was under direct military rule during this time right after a group of colonels overthrew the government. Interestingly, the Greek king during that time didn't even try to stop the coup. Things got out of hand for the military when tensions grew between Greece and Turkey. This got too unstable and the king finally fell from power. The king apparently is still alive but is surviving as any other commoner.



5. The Musharraf coup

washingtonpost.com

Pakistan has seen a number of coup attempts in the past. Six since their independence, to be precise, with the latest taking place in 1999 when then military leader Parvez Musharraf overthrew the Pakistani government. It was a bloodless coup as Musharraf declared an emergency and took control of the entire country. As a result, many laws were flouted. The Pakistani supreme court stepped in ordering that the military rule could only last for another 3 years before democracy returned, but Musharraf was adamant it should last longer. A referendum was raised by him which he won by a staggering 98 percent! Dictators win referendums by 98% which suggests how corrupt the state might have been back then.



6. Napolean Bonaparte

apeuropeanlahs.org

Back in the 1700s, France was under the rule of a five-member Directory. Something Napolean wasn't too happy about. So when he returned from an Egyptian military campaign in October of 1799 he started planning a way to overthrow them. He wasn't alone either. Two of the five directors were in with him, and so were a number of other high-level co-conspirators. To bribe/intimidate the men in power, Napolean arranged for a special legislative session outside Paris on the 10th of November. The lower house, however, shamed him with "down with dictator" chants and chased him away from the chamber. He did manage to get his way though and overthrew the directory, by convincing the troops to clear the area. He handpicked a group of legislators to abolish the directory and appoint him to a three-member Consulate instead. In 1804, Napolean crowned himself the emperor. Many believe that this coup brought an end to the French revolution and started the first French empire.

7. Muammar Gaddafi

consciousbeingalliance.com

Muammar Gaddafi hated the Libyan monarchy and all those in the west who supported it. Born to illiterate parents in Bedouin, his hostility kept growing until he finally sensed the power of the monarchy fading away. After waiting for the right opportunity, Gaddafi, who was now 27 years old and serving as a junior army officer, decided to seize power himself on September 1st, 1969. When King Idris was out of the country vacationing at a health resort, he and approximately 70 co-conspirators in military vehicles stormed into the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi. They surrounded the royal palace and other government buildings, cut communications and arrested some government officials. One such official even jumped into a swimming pool in his pyjamas in a desperate attempt to escape. The king's personal guards were the only ones to resist but even they gave way eventually. It took merely two hours before the bloodless coup finally ended. Gaddafi's madness started soon enough with his whims and fancies affecting all Libyans. His reign lasted 42 years before USA decided to step in. Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011.

8. All Saint's Massacre, 1979

catchnews.com

On All Saint's Day in 1979, Bolivia witnessed one of its worst days in history. Alberto Natusch Busch led a rather violent crackdown of the military coup regime on the 1st of November that year. Mass protests led by the trade union confederation, the Central Obrera Boliviana, was met with violent military action. The soldiers in La Paz were given a free hand to act without any orders. Around 200 people were killed, 200 more injured. Around 125 people also "disappeared" mysteriously.

9. Cuban revolution

3.bp.blogspot.com

Perhaps the most famous coups of all time. Castro wanted to implement his Marxist policies around the country, but the real revolution did not begin before 26th of July, 1953. Castro sent a group of 160-odd rebels led by the hero of the revolution, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, to attack the Moncado Barracks in Santiago and the barracks in Bayamo. The Cuban Revolution led to the exit of the General Fulgencio Batista on July 1, 1959. As a poster boy for rebels, Guevara's face ended on t-shirts and walls of many supporters around the world.
In celebration of 69 years of Independence, Indianama is documenting Indias history of over six decades through artworks of 69 artists.

Shreya Gulati

One of the artists who partook in this collaboration is Shreya Gulati, who is a head designer at Upstox in Mumbai, and joined at the motivation of creating an India with 69 different perspectives in one room. Something that doesnt happen very often, does it?

Every artist chose one year including and succeeding 1947, and a specific event from that particular year which they think is a defining moment in Indias history. Shreya was searching for an event that would click with her, rather than the year. And thats how she came across Shakuntala Devi and her book, The World of Homosexuals which she has discussed through her art.

The 28-year-old is mainly an illustrator and works mostly with graphics and shes told the story of Shakuntala Devi through design. I read Shakuntala Devis book for the first time when I was searching for an event for this project, and I was left stunned. Her story against the backdrop of emergency was the deal maker for me. says Shreya.

Shreya Gulati

Her book, as expected from an Indian audience at the time, unfortunately went unnoticed when it was first published, but Shreya says that it still holds relevance in India. Shakuntala Devi, also known as the Human Calculator, was a mathematical genius and a child prodigy. The book on homosexuality, Indias first study on the topic, was the result of her marriage to a homosexual man.

Shreya told Indiatimes, Heres a woman whos a genius. Shes a human calculator. She finds out her husband is gay and instead of out rightly shunning him, she approaches the situation with logic.

The book, she says, was written with the idea of inclusion rather than shying away from the subject. And when the designer read the book for the first, it struck a chord with her immediately.

I knew this was the topic I needed to highlight. Its still so relevant to India today.

The rights of the LGBT community have been brought to the forefront and slowly and steadily theyve increased but their rights battle is still far from over. The discussions surrounding this issue are small, limited and sporadic. Shreya thinks the momentum needs to pick up. While she was lucky to grow up in a progressive house and continues to be surrounded by like-minded and progressive friends, she thinks that most people in India are scared of sexuality and are trying to figure out where it fits into the Indian culture.

Shreya Gulati

India is still a patriarchal society, barring a few states and regions that are matriarchal, which means that women are still trying to create a strong grip over society by empowering themselves. Shreya believes mindsets need to change in order for the idea of sexuality to progress in the country.

The book was published around the time when emergency in India ended. People were getting their rights back. Imagine if The World of Homosexuals had gained momentum then, I think India would be in a completely different place than we are now.

Its a fairly accepting country, she says, a diverse country that pushes people to be accepting. While America might just get their first female president in 2016, weve had many female leaders including a prime minister and president, Shreya told Indiatimes.

Through her illustration for Indianama, she has told Shakuntala Devis story and hopes that people will feel the emotions I am trying to express. Art leaves a lot of space for interpretation and her hope with this piece is that people walk away soaked in the emotion she has tried to convey.

She says, I realise that when an audience member looks at a piece of art  either they hate it or love it. With this piece on Shakuntala Devi, all I want is that people understand the emotion I am trying to convey.

Shreya Gulati

Perhaps one of the reasons that the human calculators story resonated with Shreya is because she is generally attracted to issues about human sexuality and the human body. A quick scroll through her work and youll see multiple nudes, especially of women.

I love womens body, she says. Also men, but women are beautiful creatures and I find inspiration in exploring the human body and sexuality. Though she adds that she fails to find confidence in her own image and art becomes her medium to confidence.

Homosexuality and sexuality, in general, is a suppressed issue in India and will only change when mindsets change.

Indiannamas exhibition of 69 pieces of art telling the history and stories of India is on display at Kona in Jor Bagh Market from August 12 to 18.
If you can put your fingers on an actress in Bollywood who is extremely graceful and classy, I am sure it's going to be Aishwarya Rai. The lady is known for her charm and grace, and she's probably one of the few actresses who has never done any cheap work in the industry. Which is precisely why it comes as a huge shocker that a Malaysian store was asked to remove her posters for being too sexy! Yes!

filmibeat

According to a TOI report, Aishwarya Rai's posters from a watch brand endorsement were displayed at a watch store in Malaysia. But the local council there found it too sexy and got them removed from the store. But not only that, the poor watch store was even fined for displaying Aishwarya's posters! The local council found the posters to be too sexy to be displayed in stores and that they would corrupt the minds of the youth. Although the store manager argued that the posters were provided to them by the manufacturer, the council paid no heed to their requests and forced them to remove the posters. And the store ended up paying a hefty amount for displaying the posters.

Quite shocking, isn't it? If anything at all, the young minds would probably learn some poise and grace from Aishwarya Rai.
Hindu

th , Irom Chanu Sharmila On August 9, Irom Chanu Sharmila called off her 16 years long fast but it looks like her struggles are far from ending.

Her own family and many Manipuris supporters disowned her because, for them, this was a clear betrayal from her side. Since nobody is ready to offer her a shelter, Irom Sharmila is currently staying at the Manipur Chapter of Indian Red Cross Society. Many refused to provide her a shelter because, for them, it has security reasons.

However, Veteran actress Renuka Shahane is extending her full support to Irom Sharmila and she ended up offering her a shelter. Renuka took to Facebook to invite Irom Sharmila to come and stay with her. She wrote:

DNA

Irom Sharmila if you have no place that is willing to accept you please stay with me in Mumbai, it will be an honour!

All those human rights & anti-AFSPA "activists" who were happy & supportive only when you had a tube attached to your nose for force-feeding or only when you were facing the wrath of the State with courage, are not worth a second thought. You are still fighting against AFSPA; you are going to do that with a person whom you have chosen to love & in a manner that you & only you should choose to do. You are so used to dissent.

Now, it is from within the people you considered your own. That is more difficult & painful. Not everyone was on your side in 2000 when you went on your fast; not everyone is on your side now that you've chosen to stop it. Not everyone suffered the consequences with you.

I do not consider myself politically intelligent enough to say I'm even knowledgeable about what your stand is & what its repercussions are. But I stand against all those forces who want to force their opinions; right, left or centre, on any adult woman who has chosen her form of protest, suffered the consequences of her choice, chosen a boyfriend who is "inconvenient" for people close to her & is yet again willing to take on the challenges of her choices.

Why only adult women, I support the freedom of choice of every adult human being. We have to stop this "choice-shaming".

The image of you being sent back to the hospital bed that was your prison for 16 years but has now suddenly become your home because protesting activists, your family & friends wouldn't allow you to live among them, just broke my heart.

Read Renuka's original post here:
hindustantimes

We all know of late there have been major issues between the Bollywood industry and the Censor Board. And with some major movies getting leaked before their release recently, these issues have only increased. First, Nawazuddin Sidiqui starrer Manjhi The Mountain Man leaked online before it's release. But all hell broke lose when after Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer Udta Punjab's censor copy leaked online two days before its release, and a lot of eyebrows were raised against the board. But it didn't stop here. Just a few days after Udta Punjab leak, even Great Grand Masti leaked online before its release.

But now according to a Mumbai Mirror report, the Censor Board chief, Pahlaj Nihalani, has devised a plan to fight against piracy and film leaks. Now, the filmmakers will use DCP- Digital Cinema Package, to submit their films to the Censor Board.

Filmmaker Vijay Galani, member of IFTPC's Governing Council, said, "It is now mandatory for all producers to submit their film for certification only via DCP. The CBFC chief will accept no other forms of communication. This stance has been appreciated by the IFTPC. There are huge costs involved and we are reducing the number of people who will have access to the final print before release. DCP leaves no scope for mischief."

The CBFC, with the approval of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has already sent out letters instructing the film fraternity to share their films only through DCP. The process should be fully enforced by September 1.

And how does DCP work?

Digital Cinema Package (DCP) is a collection of digital files to store and share audio, image and data streams: Filmmakers, distributors rely on digital-cinema-encoding to produce and quality control-check a film before its release. Facilities follow strict guidelines to ensure compatibility with all digital cinema equipment.

When a film is uploaded, it is time-coded and space-coded and only accessible with a complex password. Eg: A film encrypted for a particular screen for a 12pm to 3pm show, will cease to be available for viewing later.

There are two companies in India  Scrabble and it's parent company UFO  that send encrypted films to theatres, leaving no scope for piracy.
Tanzeem Merani, a 13-year-old Muslim girl from Ahmedabad has vowed to unfurl the Indian flag in Srinagar on August 15.

ANI

The teenager said she took the decision after seeing Pakistani and ISIS flags being hoisted in Kashmir and the Indian flag is repeatedly humiliated.

"When our flag is disrespected then we sit at our homes and voice our opinion against such people. Why don't we ever think to go there and hoist our flag if it is being disrespected there," Merani told news agency ANI.

ANI

Merani said her family has fully supported her decision and that she don't need anyone's permission to go there.

"It is our Indian soil and we don't need any permission to go there. And if the army will not let me go there then I'll go on a hunger strike and will request them to let me go there," she said.

ANI

Last month another teenager, 15-year-old Jhanvi Behal from Punjab had challenged separatists to stop her from hoisting the Indian flag in Srinagar on August 15th.

These comes at a time when the valley is witnessing sporadic violence and anti-India demonstrations ever since the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to meet Barack Obama in Hangzhou, China, on the sidelines of the G20 summit on September 4-5 in what will probably be the last meeting between them before the US president leaves office early next year.

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This will follow the next edition of the Indo-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue in Delhi on August 30-31 when the two sides are expected to sign a key cyber relationship document that had been agreed during Modi's trip to Washington in June.

Also Read: Similarities Between Obama and Modi

While Modi is not travelling to New York for this year's United Nations General Assembly meeting, he will be in Laos for just over 24 hours during the September 7-8 East Asia and India-Asean summits, making it difficult to squeeze in a meeting with Obama on that occasion.

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The two sides are therefore trying to organise a meeting in China to review measures Obama and Modi have initiated to revitalise bilateral ties since mid-2014 besides discussing geopolitics and the geo-economic situation amid China's posture in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

Besides travelling to the US four times since becoming Prime Minister and hosting Obama for India's Republic Day celebrations in 2015, the two have met a number of times on the sidelines of various multilateral events.

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India and the US had agreed to conclude the cyber relationship agreement within 60 days when Modi visited Washington. The two sides are trying to conclude procedures in their respective countries to have documents ready for signing during the dialogue that will be attended by US secretary of state John Kerry and commerce secretary Penny Pritzker. Akey element of the pact is ensuring free flow of information and jointly fighting cybercrime and threats.

Also Read: Hugs, First Names And Nuclear Deals On Day 1

The two sides will work toward "identifying, coordinating, sharing, and implementing cybersecurity best practices," said the joint document released during Modi's trip to the US. This will involve "sharing information on a real-time or near real-time basis, when practical and consistent with existing bilateral arrangements, about malicious cybersecurity threats, attacks and activities, and establishing appropriate mechanisms to improve such information sharing."

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The last edition of the dialogue under the Obama presidency will try to conclude conversations on a variety of areas that were launched since 2009 and particularly since June 2014, suggested people with knowledge of the matter.

The two leaders have built up a strong rapport in the past two years. The US has declared India a major defence partner and taken measures against Pakistan, including stopping the sale of F-16 fighter jets to it.

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The US is also upbeat about commercial ties with India following the recent progress made by India on putting a goods and services tax (GST) in place. Washington has been urging Delhi over the past several years to simplify the tax code and make it easier for US companies to do business in India.

Also Read: The Bromance Is Still Alive! Obama Scribbles Note For Modi In Time 100 List!

This will be the first bilateral engagement by Indian officials on economic matters after parliament approved the constitutional amendment bill that paves the way for the rollout of GST, possibly as early as April 1next year.
A 22 year old man had raped a 15 year old girl, but maybe he still had a appetite for ruining her life. He then married her, even as the court trial against him was ongoing. Now, he has been held guilty of rape, in a judgement passed by Additional Sessions Judge Raghubir Singh.

However, was it really rape?

Given that sexual relations with a minor qualify as rape in the Indian legal lexicon, he did acquire the girl's consent. The case seems to get murkier when an accusation of kidnapping the minor also emerged. No doubt, the physical relations were established with the consent of the victim yet the age of the victim at the relevant time was not such so as to give any valid consent for any relationship. She was merely 15 years of age at that time, the court said.

The girl is pregnant, he pleaded, and thus needed his support at this difficult time. The girl reportedly went missing in 2013, and a missing complaint had police promptly 'rescue' her - even though she had willingly run away with the youth to Bihar
Subedar Ratan Singh, an Indian Army veteran who fought in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, passed away in Tibba in Punjab on Wednesday.

PTI

The 92-year-old will be laid to rest today in his ancestral village.

He was immortalised on the silver screen by Puneet Issar in the 1997 film Border.

During the war in 1971, just 80 Indian soldiers posted in Rajasthan's Longenwala fought off the Pakistani army battalion of 45 tanks and more than two thousand soldiers.

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Even though in the movie many Indian soldiers including Singh's character is killed in the operation, according to available public records only two soldiers from the battalion led by Brigadier (then Major) Kuldip Singh Chandpuri died that night.

PTI

Recognising his bravery, Singh was awarded the Vir Chakra by then President VV Giri.
Courage is contagious and it often turns certain defeats into victories. The battle of Asal Uttar, fought between the armies of India and Pakistan between September 8- 10 in 1965, is one such tale of unparalleled courage displayed by Indian soldiers, and it changed the course of the war altogether.

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The battle of Asal Uttar rivals the battle of Kursk, the biggest tank battle fought in the history of mankind between Nazi Germany and Soviet forces during the second World War. The battle was fought when Pakistani forces, with the help of American Patton tanks, had captured Khem Karan, a small Indian town 5 kms inside the international border. Pakistani forces were eyeing a siege at the holy city of Amritsar, and the Indian army knew that if Amritsar fell, Indian defeat would be certain.

Captain Amrinder Singh, former CM of Punjab, who had also fought in the 1965 war, had once said that if the Indian Army hadn't stopped Pakistani advance at Asal Uttar, Amritsar would have fallen and it would have been all over for India.

Pakistan has fought many wars with India, but it has never been more menacing than the war of 1965, when riding on their sophisticated American weaponry, they almost annihilated Indian defenses in Khem Karan and captured the town on September 6.

Against all odds, Indians stood their ground at Asal Uttar

Asal Uttar means fitting reply and that's exactly what the Indian army gave their Pakistani counterparts when Indian troops, marred by a lack of supplies and ammunition, crushed Pakistani hubris garlanded by an edge in numbers as well as weaponry and tanks. Indians, after the fall of Khem Karan, consolidated their defense in Assal Uttar.

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The soldiers from 4 Grenadiers took refuge in lush green sugarcane fields while waiting for the right time to strike Pakistani forces. Pakistani forces knew themselves that they would soon be meeting an Indian counterattack, and hence were gearing up for a repeat of Khem Karan. By 8th September, India's broken phalanxes had gathered all possible reinforcements, but were still outnumbered, both in terms of men and tanks.

On September 8, Indians tried to capture Ichhogil canal but were pushed back by Pakistanis. Pakistan also opened gates of the canal to make the advance of Indian soldiers difficult. But this proved to be a fatal flaw, as you'll see later.

Indians had to devise a strategy to effectively mitigate the threat of Patton tanks. Indian tanks were not only less in number, but also had no chance in front of the modern American tanks.

The bait and the battle

After Pakistan's force, consisting of the 1st Armoured Division and 11th Infantry Division, crossed the international border and captured the Indian town of Khem Karan, GOC Indian 4th Mountain Division, Maj. Gen. Gurbaksh Singh immediately ordered the division to fall back and assume a horseshoe shaped defensive position with Asal Uttar as its focal point.

asal uttar defence

Taking advantage of the darkness, Indian troops flooded the sugarcane fields and lured Pakistanis to attack. Pakistanis took the bait and attacked Indians soldiers hiding in the sugarcane fields on September 10. But soon the Indian strategy paid dividends and the advance of Pakistani tanks was slowed down in swampy ground. Pakistani forces had fallen for the horseshoe trap. Many of their tanks couldn't move, and in the meanwhile, good old Indian tanks took care of the enemy and destroyed their ranks.

As per an Indian army account, Pakisan lost over a hundred tanks in the battle of Asal Uttar alone. India lost 10.

Abdul Hamid, The Patton Killer

Havaldar Abdul Hamid, who was later awarded the Param Vir Chakra for his unmatched bravery during the battle of Asal Uttar, was the soldier who took on advanced Patton tanks with his ordinary anti-tank jeep. On September 9, Hamid had destroyed two Patton tanks with the help of his jeep, and had essentially become an eyesore for Pakistani soldiers.

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On September 10, 1965, at 0800 hours, a battalion of Pakistani armour supported by Patton tanks attacked the 4th Grenadier positions but was unable to locate the battalion's defences. Nevertheless, they launched an intense artillery bombardment to soften the target, and by 0900 hours, the enemy tanks had penetrated the forward company positions.

Hamid knew that if the tanks weren't taken care of, it would all be over soon. In a melee, Hamid saw a group of Pattons heading towards the battalion defences. Without caring for his life, he moved out of the flank with his gun mounted on a jeep. Heavy shelling didn't deter him and he continued firing, knocking out three Patton tanks back to back before the fourth one killed him.

Courageous Hamid tarnished the reputation of the mighty M48 Patton, forcing Pakistan to replace it with the M60 after the 1965 war.

Gen Musharaff fought at Asal Uttar

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Gen Pervez Musharaff, who later became Chief of Army and President of Pakistan, had also participated in the battle at Asal Uttar. He was a lieutenant then and was leading the artillery attack on Indians in the 16 (SP) Field Regiment, 1st Armoured Division Artillery.

The inception of Patton Nagar

The battle at Asal Uttar led to the creation of Patton Nagar, which is also known as the graveyard of Patton tanks after more than a hundred tanks were either destroyed or captured here. According to military historian Steven Zaloga, Pakistan admitted that it lost 165 tanks during the 1965 war, more than half of which were knocked out during the "debacle" of Asal Uttar

The Indiatimes Frontlines team is at Assl Uttar today. Follow their journey here
Blog Hinangai

While there is much discussion in Guam about the economic benefits of increasing the islands military presence, the damages/dangers that they represent are rarely mentioned. This blog, a supplement to the Peace and Justice for Guam Petition, is meant to counter that by providing information about the US military in Guam, with the hopes of steering policy away from a dangerous unilateralist course to more sustainable notions of regional development and a strengthening international solidarity.
Journalism is all about passion and courage! Whether it is a natural disaster or any made man like a bomb blast, airstrike or any terror strike, the journalists bring the facts and gather information and disseminate to the public domain.

Many times, the journalists have to expose themselves to danger, especially when reporting in areas of armed conflict disaster or any terror strike. And, this journalist is a perfect example!

Hadi Al Abdullah

Hadi Al Abdullah - A Syria-based journalist was wounded in an airstrike in his hometown in Aleppo city during the ongoing civil war but even after being severely injured, he did not quit his job.

Hadi Al Abdullah

And, just a month and a half after the airstrike, he returned to ground zero in a wheelchair to report the disaster.

Hadi Al Abdullah

Watch: Here in this video Hadi Al Abdullah is interviewing a commander in the rebel coalition, named Husam Abu Bakr.
Disturbing parenting, they name is ISIS.

ISIS Starts Elementary School For Kids, Without Math, Music, History, And Geography. Because Who Needs Them

We've written a bit about how the world's most prominent terrorist organisation ISIS is ensuring that their children are infused with the curriculum of terror.



ISIS run schools give their students a Jihadi themed Android app, with inbuilt games to make children memorize the alphabets using militaristic vocabulary "tank," "gun," and "rocket".

Long War Journal

According to a report from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy:

This is for all of the liberals who think the #ISIS children may be cute and innocent. They are trained killers. pic.twitter.com/J7ROYNT5Kj  Sandy (@GSDDogLover) August 9, 2016

"ISIS has created its own textbooks filled entirely with material that caters to its radical ideology. Weapons are used to illustrate math problems for young kids, and chapters dealing with Western governments focus on "explaining why each is a form of idolatry because of its violation of God's sovereignty..."

As early as 12, they're sent on suicide mission, climbing armoured vehicles packed with explosives, never to return.

More recently, a collection of videos takes the 'Growing up with terror' theme one step ahead - literally beheading their own toys

The cities that ISIS took over after their invasion of Iraq saw the ideology being forced into schools - check out the baby strapped into what looks like a suicide bomb belt.

Also read: Separatists Raise ISIS Flags In Kashmir, Use Children As Shields As They Pelt Stones At Security Forces!

ISIS fighters also recently filmed themselves beheading men in front of children in Iraq.
A man at Madrid airport missed his flight but ran past security and chased it across the runway. This isn't a scene out of a romantic boy-meets-girl movie, but reality.

Facebook

The plane had begun preparing for take-off and was turning around when the man in the video, who authorities are refusing to name, jumped from the aero-bridge and ran after his Ryan Air flight. The video has gone viral on Facebook and has over 2.6K Views.

CC.OO. Ryanair & Lesma Handling posted the video and said, "This is how passengers in Madrid behave when they don't arrive in time for their flights. This particular passenger was missing a Ryanair's flight and, unbelievably, skipped several security protocols established by AENA in their airports. We're talking about level 4 security protocols! Not even with all those protocols we can feel safe..."

The Guardian reported the man was arrested upon reaching the Canaria Island in Spain but was later released of any terror motive but will still face punishment for breaking security protocols.
Days after a suiide bombing attack at a Quetta hospital in Pakistan, a roadside bomb hit a Pakistani security vehicle and wounded 13 people.

Also read: Suicide bombing at a hospital killed at least 74 people, most of them lawyers

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Home minister Safaraz Bugti said the homemade bomb targeted police personnel escorting a judge, who was not hurt in the attack, in the frontier city.

"It was a judge's car that was passing, but I believe it was the police who were the target," he said on Pakistani TV.

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"It was a remote-controlled device with 3-4 kg of explosives ... I think these kinds of cowardly acts will not reduce our morale," Bugti said. Medical superintendent Abdul Rehman Miankhel told Reuters that 13 wounded people, including four members of the security forces, were being treated at the Civil Hospital, the same facility hit by Monday's suicide attack.

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An announcer for Geo TV warned viewers not to gather at the scene on Zarghoon Road in central Quetta for fear of a second bombing like the one on Monday. That attack hit a large group of lawyers gathered at the hospital to mourn the head of the Baluchistan bar association who was shot dead earlier that day.

"Care must be taken that a rush not be created at the scene as the terrorists have reached the point of barbarity where they target crowds like this," the news announcer said.

Twitter/Hindustan times

Monday's hospital suicide bombing was Pakistan's deadliest attack this year. It was claimed by both a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, and also by the Islamic State militant group, which has been seeking to recruit followers in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Twitter/TOI

Targeted killings have become increasingly common in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province that has seen rising violence linked to a separatist insurgency as well as sectarian tensions and rising crime.
It's coke's world....



We have a proxy war in Ukraine.



It doesn't matter what I think. We are living under MAD, as Putin and the Russian media remind us and the Russian people.



You're dancing around, going for low-hanging fruit, and missing it.



You skipped over the facts of the red line. You failed to acknowledge the weakness of removing any possibility for supplying Ukraine, which has shown it can fight, with lethal military aid.



If Hillary wasn't such a liar, the side you've decided to be on wouldn't have anything right
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is searching for a team of female con artists pulling what they call the Chinese blessing scam.

The suspects have been targeting Asian women in their 50s and 60s.

In each incident, police said the victims are told their families are cursed. They are then instructed to place jewellery and money in a bag and give them to women who will perform a blessing ritual to reverse the curse.

The bag is returned to the victims and they discover that their money and valuables have been replaced by bottles of water, police said.

According to police, 5 women in New York boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn have been duped of nearly $500,000 since April.

One woman was reportedly ripped off of $280,000 and jewellery.

A City Council member Margaret Chin said often the victims dont speak English.

We just want to make sure people know about these types of situations and to be able to warn their families and friends, Chin said.
The Nigerian government has been urged to return to its initial stand of free Palestinian State as against the stand the nation took under the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The Emir of Kano, Malam Malam Muhammad Sanusi II, made the call yesterday during a one-day international conference on Palestine with the theme, Palestine question; Issues, Challenges and Actions, organised by the Center for Promotion of Sharia in collaboration with Jamaatut Tajdidil Islamiya and the Afro-Middle East Center, South Africa held in Kano.

Nigeria, which had earlier voiced support for Palestinian cause, took a different stand for the first time ever when it abstained from voting in December 2014 on a crucial United Nations Security Council resolution that would have ended Israels presence in the occupied territories by 2017.

Speaking Wednesday, Emir Sanusi said it was sad that Nigeria had played a significant role in denying Palestine a crucial vote that would have ended Israels occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip by 2017 and welcomed Palestine as a full UN Member State.

For decades Nigeria has been in the support of free Palestine until during the Jonathan era when Nigeria played a vital role is the loss of Palestinian bid to put an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories at the UN Security Council. I believe it is time for Nigeria to revisit its stand on Palestine, the Emir said.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has issued a press release in response to former President Goodluck Jonathans statement on MEND in which he denied allegations that he was one of the sponsors of the Niger Delta Avengers. In it, the group claims that Mr. Jonathans failure to address the Niger Deltas challenges led to the formation of MEND.

Read the MEND press release below:

1. The attention of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has been drawn to a statement issued by one Ikechukwu Eze, on behalf of former President Goodluck Jonathan purporting to dissociate the former President from the allegation leveled against him by the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) that, the former President was the Grand Patron of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

2. With all due respect, the entire statement was deeply provocative and embarrassingly misconceived as it woefully failed to address the core the issue of whether or not; the former President was indeed, the Grand Patron of the NDA.

3. Rather, the statement employed diversionary Tactics which dwelt extensively on sour grapes! Any follower of events in Nigeria and the Niger Delta who was privileged to read the statement released by Mr. Jonathan would immediately observe that the former President had a score to settle with the Okah brothers as well as with MEND who have since May 30, 2014, stopped attacks on Nigerias oil and gas assets; and are currently engaged in dialogue with the Federal Government to find sustainable ways and means of ending the festering Niger Delta crises which were exacerbated by the former Presidents ineptitude, incompetence and corruption during the 6years he governed the country.

4. Indeed, the problem in the Niger Delta today has nothing to do with the current Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Far from it! The problem is simply, the failure of Mr. Jonathan to address the root issues confronting the region when he was at the helm. Even though he was from the impoverished region; and had, by his own admission in numerous electioneering campaigns, experienced the utter poverty and abject neglect of the region foisted by successive Nigerian Governments and the International Oil Companies since the discovery of oil in 1958 at Oloibiri (a few meters away from his native Otuoke) in Bayelsa state, Mr. Jonathan disappointingly frittered away the opportunity to rescue his people when the Nigerian Presidency fortuitously landed on his laps, virtually on a platter of gold. For 6 whole years, Mr. Jonathan was busy drinking, making merry and generally chasing shadows at the State House. Such a fellow deserves to be ostracized from the assembly of reasonable men; because the Nigerian Presidency might never comeback to the Niger Delta region as cheap as it came to Mr. Jonathan; perhaps, in the next 100 years.

5. Lest we forget, MEND was at the forefront of the armed struggle back in 2006/2007 which forced the then Government of President Olusegun Obasanjo to consider the option of drafting an Ijaw into the mainstream of Nigerian politics. That was how the perpetually timid and naive Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan became Vice President and later, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. When he assumed the reins as President, he did the unthinkable; he tracked down perceived MEND leaders and promptly got them imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of attempt to assassinate him. Up until today, Mr. Jonathan is still suffering from an assassination paranoia complex (APC).

6. Secondly, a substantial portion of Mr. Jonathans statement, unfortunately, dwelt on judicial matters which are pending in various courts in Nigeria and South Africa. For instance, Mr. Henry Okahs Appeal in South Africas Supreme Court is due for Hearing this August; while his brother, Charles ongoing trial in Nigeria is pending before Hon. Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

7. The former Presidents statement was therefore, most highly contemptuous, injurious to the credit of MEND and the Okah brothers; and, above all, prejudicial to the eventual outcome of the ongoing trials in South African and Nigerian courts, respectively. Consequently, both brothers shall, on account of the former Presidents prejudicial statement, institute legal action against him in South Africa and Nigeria within 60 days, commencing from today, August 9, 2016. Accordingly, they have briefed their respective Solicitors to formally engage the former President in litigation.

8. Back to the core issue. MEND cannot hold brief for the RNDA who pointedly accused Mr. Jonathan of complicity in fueling the ongoing Niger Delta crisis; and patronizing the NDA, apparently for political reasons. We are however, quick to point out the fact that, the RNDA has merely vindicated MENDs belief and conviction that, the former President and his cronies who lost the 2015 Presidential election were using the illegal and treasonable NDA platform to destabilize President Buharis Government.

9. Finally, MEND is committed to working with the current Administration to bring peace, stability and development to the Niger Delta region. The process has since commenced with the constitution of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT-MEND AARON TEAM 2, Dialogue, Peace and Development Initiative. Between August 22, 2016 and October 7, 2016 the AaronTeam shall embark on a tour of the Niger Delta region. The proposed tour is code-named OPERATION MOSES. The key focus of the tour is to persuade militants to ceasefire and support President Muhammadu Buhari in his determined and sincere effort to develop the region. The tour shall also help to boost Nigerias oil production capacity as well as improve host community relations with oil and gas companies in the country.

JOMO GBOMO

Source: Sahara Reporters
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, (IMN) also known as Shiites, has rejected the report of the Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry, set up by the Kaduna State Government to probe the December 12-14 clash between members of the movement and soldiers of the Nigerian Army in Zaria.

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna on Thursday, Chairman, Free Zakzaky Campaign Committee, Abdurrahman Abubakar Yola, blamed what he termed as massacre of the IMN members in Zaria on President Muhammadu Buhari.

Yola alleged that not only was the president briefed ahead of the killings of Shiites in Zaria, he (Buhari) sanctioned and ordered it.

No fewer than 300 members of the Shiite sect were killed last December when they clashed with soldiers in Zaria. The Nigerian Army said it acted in self-defence when armed members of the movement attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, whose convoy was prevented from using the highway that passed in front of the sects spiritual headquarters in the town.

The Justice Garba panel, which submitted its report last month, apportioned blame to the leader of the sect, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, the federal and state governments as well as the Army, which it accused of high-handedness and not adhering to the rules of engagement in applying lethal force on the Shiite members.

But the group rejected the findings of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry, saying that the government which set up the commission had already made up its mind that IMN was guilty, while the panel equally allegedly ensured that Sheikh El-Zakzaky did not get a hearing.

It seems fairly obvious that the Judicial Commission of Inquiry (JCI) was a typical commission with a pre-determined mandate and report. Consequently, we reject the report and its recommendations, the Free Zakzaky Campaign Committee chair said.

On the allegation that Buhari ordered the alleged killings of the Shiites members, Yola said, Allegation of forming a parallel authority by the IMN is a time-long allegation. It was one that even President, Muhammadu Buhari mentioned with so much disgust and animosity during his maiden media chat. He repeated the same as the reason why his government had to clamp down violently on the IMN while fielding questions on a foreign TV news channel in Qatar.

It was also the clearest indication that the President was not only briefed about the clampdown, he sanctioned and ordered it.

He argued that if the federal and state governments are sincere in their claim to do justice on what transpired in Zaria, they should as a matter of urgency release El-Zakzaky, whose health is said to be fast deteriorating in government custody.
About 6,083 private schools have been reportedly captured in the ongoing Private School registration in Lagos State.

The state government had began a fresh registration exercise for private schools across the six education districts on July 28 to create a central database of Private schools operators.

Statistics from the exercise showed that of the schools captured in five of the six educational districts, a substantial number of the schools were still seeking government approval.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Adesina Odeyemi, shortly after touring schools in District 1, Agege, lamented the low turnout of schools for the exercise before the deadline on Wednesday, saying more school would have been captured if they had turned up earlier.

Some well established schools are said to be yet captured.

After inspection, I discovered that the response had been very low since the exercise started. But with one day left, I discovered was that the turnout has started to improving, Odeyemi added.

He disclosed that after the exercise about 11, 000 schools are expected to be capture in the exercise.

A breakdown of the schools captured so far in the exercise showed that 1,587 private schools were registered in District I; 1,089 in District II; 676 in III; 431 in IV; 1038 in V; and 623 in District VI.

Odeyemi however warned that, At the end of this exercise, if any of the schools failed to register that implies the school owner deliberately wants to hide and does not want the government to monitor the activities in his school. And the government will have no option than to shut the school because the registration is free.

He reiterated that the registration was for planning purpose, saying, We want to have every detail of our pupils in order to monitor them for development purpose. The future of the state lies in the hands of these students. And because of this, ensuring that they get the best education is the responsibility of the state government.

Earlier, the Director of Education Management Information System in Education District II, Mrs. Tayelolu Showemimo, expressed concerns that the Big Schools were not turning up to register.

She noted that the district targeted about 2,000 schools considering number of schools springing up daily but only got 676.
Polygamy is a practice that is banned in most countries across the world and one clearly seen as threat to womens rights

Winston Blackmore, a 59-year-old Canadian with 27 wives and 145 children whom people would think should be the poster-boy for polygamy, surprisingly says that he wont support legalization of the practice since he fears that women could be exploited.

Blackmore who is the leader of a polygamist Mormon fundamentalist group in Canada said this while addressing an audience in Utah.

He has also been arrested for polygamy in 2007 and has been tried twice for practicing polygamy.

Referring to charges being dropped against him in 2007 due to concerns over the selection of the special prosecutor, Blackmore was reported as saying, And those suckers are after me day and night, Im going to have to go another round with them.

He also mentioned that Canada changed common law marriages to prosecute him and said that he was being charged even though his wives were officially his friends.

He also said that he never courted any of his wives, and said that many women including one of his wives Edith Barlow, approached him about becoming his wife.

Blackmore was convicted in 2001 and 2002 for bigamy and child rape for fathering a child with his 13-year-old stepdaughter.

A polygamy charge was filed against Blackmore in 2014, but a trial date has not been decided yet.
Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has directed the immediate transfer of suspects arrested in connection with last Thursdays clash in Lunko/Kopa villages of Bosso Local Government Area from the custody of the military to the police for thorough investigation.

Eight soldiers of the Nigerian Army and two personnel of the Nigerian Air Force, on lawful duty in Bosso, were killed when they were ambushed by suspected gunrunners and armed bandits. As at the time of publishing this report, a soldier was still unaccounted for while two others were seriously injured and undergoing treatment in the hospital.

The troops were said to have killed eight of the attackers and arrested 57 others.

Gov. Bello, however, directed during the state Security Council meeting held in his office yesterday in Minna, that the suspects be transferred from the military barracks to the state police command headquarters in Dutsen Kura area of the state capital.

He said buses have been provided to transport the suspects immediately.
After losing to Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders is back to his day job as a US Senator for Vermont.Sanders campaigned against the 1%, promising to bring America closer to his Democratic Socialist ideal and to take corporations and rich people down a peg or two.But now that his campaign is over, hes picking up a sweet new pad.According to Seven Days, a news publication in Vermont, the Democratic Socialist from Vermont shelled out 600 grand for a lake house.The Burlington resident last week plopped down nearly $600,000 on a camp in North Hero.Sanders new waterfront crib has four bedrooms and 500 feet of Lake Champlain beachfront on the east side of the island  facing Vermont, not New York. The Bern will keep his home in Burlington and use the new camp seasonally.Weve traveled up to the islands many times over the years  almost always on day trips, Sanders wife, Jane OMeara Sanders, told Seven Days in a written statement. Weve been impressed with the North Hero community, eaten at the North Hero House and Shore Acres and have suggested them to friends who were looking for a beautiful place to stay or have dinner. St. Annes Shrine in Isle La Motte is my favorite church and it is nearby.Twitter was swift to respond to the irony:Man of the people: @berniesanders buys $600K summer home in Vermont https://t.co/F7aae2k1e9  Emily Cahn (@CahnEmily) August 9, 2016The socialist has a "summer home" lol y'all got clowned as always https://t.co/74kKnAf1Wy  Inferno Jones (@Droseidon) August 9, 2016When you find out Bernie Sanders just used your $27 donations to buy himself a new summer home pic.twitter.com/c1UPBHnAqn I, Hoebot. (@eclecticbrotha) August 9, 2016How's that capitalism working out for ya? Bernie Sanders Buys a $600k Summer Home in North Hero https://t.co/RqEI9YY19b #FeelTheBern Tim Rosales (@TimRosales) August 9, 2016Millionaires!Bernie Sanders buys camp on VT Island, adding to portfolio of homes in DC & Burlington https://t.co/ni1Gu6WHb3  Philip Gourevitch (@PGourevitch) August 9, 2016Congrats to Senator Sanders. The lake house looks lovely, especially as a third home.
The Nigerian Navy says it has arrested two suspects in connection with crude oil theft in Delta State.

The Navy spokesman, Commodore Chris Ezekobe, in a statement issued Wednesday, said the arrest was made by a patrol team deployed by the Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Delta.

He said the suspects, who have been handed over to officials of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, for persecution, were picked up on 21 July, 2016 at Ugbosede Community in Warri South West Local Government of Delta State.

Commodore Ezekobe added that their arrest is in connection with the discovery of illegal refinery in the area, adding that at the time of arrest, items recovered from the suspects include 115 HP outboard engine speed boat.

He said a 90 HP boat conveying five drums each of substances suspected to be illegally refined AGO, were also recovered.

The Navy spokesman also said on 5th August 2016, the patrol team deployed by NNS Pathfinder, raided Betaland, an enclave close to Cawthorne Channel in Rivers State.

During the raid, an illegal refinery site was discovered and destroyed. Items also destroyed in the site include 4 storage tanks each laden with about 40,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO and a Cotonou boat containing about 60,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil.

The Nigerian Navy is once again sending a strong message to the criminal elements who are sabotaging the economic assets of the country to have a rethink or face the full wrath of the law, Ezekobe said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed Nigerias economic downturn on a sharp downturn in the price of crude oil on the international market.

The President spoke while receiving the United Nations Population Funds Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, at the Presidential Villa.

It has been a very difficult year for Nigeria. Before we came to office, petroleum sold for about $100 per barrel. Then it crashed to $37, and now oscillates between $40 and $45 per barrel.

Suddenly, were a poor country, but commitment to transparency and accountability is not making people know that there is severe shortage, the President said.

Nigeria is on the verge of an economic recession and is no longer Africas largest economy following a recalculation of both countries GDP by the IMF.
The Federal Government yesterday assured that in spite of the hardship being experienced by Nigerians, the country would not shut down.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave the assurance after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said the fact that Nigeria was passing through very challenging times did not mean that the nation would be cut off from the rest of the world.

Briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, Mr. Mohammed said the current temporary problems would not stop the government from meeting its global commitments.

He said the council considered and approved a memo brought by his ministry on the process of migrating from analogue to digital broadcasting, noting that the June 2017 deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, is sacrosanct.

The minister said the FEC had directed the relevant ministries to work together to meet the deadline.

Twenty years ago, Ethiopia had famine that ravaged the whole country, theyve risen from the ashes of that famine to become one of the strongest economies in the world. The fact that we are facing temporary problems does not mean that we are not going to be at pace with technology development all over the world. This is a global issue; it simply means that if we do not move from analogue to digital broadcasting, we may not be able to even receive signals on your television, he said.

Mohammed, who hinted that two of the 13 manufacturers licensed were already producing set-up boxes, said the federal government would subsidize the boxes.

Already, the pilot scheme in Jos, which was successfully deployed at the end of April, is working very well and today, those who are in possession of our set-up boxes can view 15 channels with clarity in Jos, he said.
Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomole yesterday declared that state governors refusing to pay the new national minimum wage, are committing a criminal offence.

He spoke at The Podium, a public discourse organised in Abuja by the Kukah Centre themed: From Activism to Political Power: The Challenges of Democratic Governance in Nigeria.

The comrade-governor gave some of his colleagues knocks, who he said enjoy fixed national emolument just like members of the National Assembly, but turn around to insist that states should be allowed to fix their own minimum wage.

What I questioned and which I dont accept is that you cannot have a centralized system of compensation for executives, governors, commissioners and local government chairmen. Their pay is centrally determined and the economy can afford that. What the Lagos State governor is receiving is what Edo State governor is receiving. If we have a national compensation, how can these governors turn around and question the wisdom of a national wage structures for workers?

It is that selective application of fiscal federalism that I found extremely offensive and unacceptable. Even today, I remain firm that we must maintain a national minimum wage and we must find ways to implement and adjust it to reflect the cost of living and it is the duty of government and employers to find the revenue to pay those they hired to work. Non-payment of wages is a criminal breach of contract, whether in recession or prosperity, Oshiomole said.

He said no one could change the situation through individual activism because the order that was meant to be changed was not due to ignorance, but due to the fact that those who benefit from the order would not want to let go, but that they must be engaged to change the order.

In his remarks, chairman of the occasion and a former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, said it was a sad commentary that Nigerian politicians have turned to jobbers and budget padders, advocating for themselves and not the electorate they deceived with electoral campaigns.

They cleverly and surreptitiously apply the word change. I, of course, wont use that word because as a member of the PDP or what is left of it, that word change dey do me one kind, he said.

The ex-governor, who said he advocates for improvement, not change, recalled that We had a violent change in 1966, so change is not necessarily the way to go. Improvements, however, makes things happen, develops societies and affects the people positively.

The convener of the event, Bishop Mathew Kukah, said the essence of the forum was to design programmes that encourage debate and free exchange of ideas.

To serve as a mediating platform between the government, citizens and communities.

Also, to enhance the quality of leadership training at all levels both in the public and non-governmental sectors.

Activists from all sectors and relevant stakeholders attended the event.
A Ryanair passenger managed to bypass security at Madrid-Barajas Airport and leaped from an open gangway onto the tarmac.

Still lugging two bags, he appears to try to stop a baggage carrier vehicle, but gives up and then sprints toward the waiting plane where he is finally stopped by the ground crew.

Perhaps most remarkable of all, the man then boarded his plane, which was bound for Spains Canary Islands.

He will be detained upon landing in Gran Canaria where he will also face trial.

The frantic dash was caught on camera by a ground crew member at the airport and posted on the CC.OO. Ryanair and Lesma Handling (Madrid Airport Workers Union) Facebook page.

This particular passenger was missing a Ryanair flight and, unbelievably, skipped several security protocols established by AENA (the authority which deals with Madrid-Barajas airport), said the post.

Were talking about level 4 security protocols! Not even with all those protocols we can feel safe, it continued.

An AENA spokesperson said that the passenger entered the boarding area and broke through the anti-fire barrier to run after the plane.

Because the alarm was triggered, the airports Civil Guard was alerted, the spokesperson added.

Ryanair said in a statement that since this video relates to a security breach at Madrid Airport, its a matter for Madrid Airport Police.

Madrid Airport Police were reported to have declined to comment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tp9OT2aGeQ
In different raids across Lagos, the state police command yesterday said it had arrested 91 armed robbery suspects, 39 cultists, nine kidnappers and eight rapists, as well as 33 policemen for extortion.

The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who made this disclosure in a parade at the command headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos, also said they recovered weapons and ammunition.

He said the police operatives also recovered 28 cars, 20 firearms, 30 rounds of ammunition, several phones and laptops, as well as gold jewelries.

He said: Among the suspects arrested were three kidnappers, who were picked up in connection with the abduction of the Oba of Iba, Goriola Oseni.

The suspects were arrested because they took the information of the Oba to the main kidnappers and they also collected out of the ransom paid.

Frantic efforts are still being made by the command along the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team to round up others. Those arrested would soon be arraigned in court.

Also, in another operation, four armed robbers were gunned down in a gun duel with the police. For other suspects arrested, we are preparing to charge them all to court.

The command also arrested 39 suspects for their involvement in street fighting, gang terrorism and cultism. They are those causing chaos in the state.

We also recovered 28 cars from the different suspects, as well as 20 different firearms and 30 rounds of live ammunition.

On the rapists arrested Owoseni said, We arrested six rapists first. Their modus operandi is to use Instagram, a social media platform, to launch adverts to lure people looking for houses.

One of their victims, a younglady was lured to a hotel and she was raped. They also captured her on tape to further blackmail her. Few ladies have fallen victim of this syndicate.

When the police were alerted, they traced these rapists to a hotel in Agege and arrested them. The victims have also identified them as well.

Another rapist arrested was one Godwin Davies, who was also involved in impersonation and armed robbery. The other rapist, was a 48-year-old man, who raped an 18-month-old baby. He will soon be arraigned in court for the full wrath of the law to take its course.

On the 33 policemen arrested for extorting money from commercial motorcyclists and tricyclists, he said while some had been recommended for dismissal, other were currently undergoing disciplinary actions.

He said: The command will not relent in making sure that policemen who do not conform to global policing standards, are fished out and made to face disciplinary action.

Source: Thisday
Clashes between herdsmen and farmers have become increasingly common in many parts of Nigeria as the struggle over grazing rights and access to water becomes more paramount.These clashed are largely blamed on Fulani herdsmen, a semi-nomadic group who go about the country in search of where their cattle can graze.

Farmers blame the Fulanis for failing to control their cattle and of damaging crops where as the Fulani blame farmers for stealing their cattle and insist they are only trying to defend themselves and preserve their traditional way of life.

Following the incessant case of attacks in recent times, people are saying that the Fulanis are a threat to the nation and if nothing is done the clashes could become more violent.

In a statement issued by the National President of SOKAPU, Barr. Solomon Kaptain Musa, which was made available to newsmen in Kaduna, over what he termed,  Existential threats to citizens of Southern Kaduna due to incessant attacks by herdsmen in the area. He wrote;

it is with great sadness, anguish and grief that this press release is being issued today. A couple of weeks ago, precisely the first week of June, 2016, the village of Ninte, GodoGodo District of Jemaa Local Government was savagely attacked by herdsmen, two villagers were killed, several were injured and all the 300 houses in the village were burnt down. That attack typified similar savage, brutal and barbaric attacks on several villages in Southern Kaduna. Lawful citizens of our communities are attacked in their homes, farmlands, bushes, road and villages at all times of the day. The attacks have become a recurring decimal in our peaceful and law abiding communities where thousands have been gruesomely murdered without provocation, cause or justification of any nature.

And just like everything in Nigeria,the violence has begun to have a play on the Nigerian politics as people are saying that because President Muhammadu Buhari is a Fulani,he has refused to act on the problem.

Something must be done to avoid further occurrence of this ugly situation.
On Wednesday, Republican candidate Donald Trump added to his list of controversial statements by claiming that the Democrats presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama founded the Islamic State (IS) group.

SEE: Trump Calls Hillary The Devil, Says Election Could Be Rigged

Trump while addressing supporters at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, also said the extremist group is honouring President Obama.

He is the founder of ISIS, Trump said, using a term for IS.

Hes the founder of ISIS, okay? he added. Hes the founder! He founded ISIS.

And I would say, the co-founder would be Crooked Hillary Clinton, Trump shouted, over cheers and applause from the crowd.

Trump made this this claims just one day after making comments interpreted by many as inviting gun violence against Clinton.

SEE ALSO: Donald Trump Is Unfit To Serve As President- Obama

Trump appeared to suggest on Tuesday, possibly in jest, that Clinton or her Supreme Court nominees could be shot, as a way of preventing her from making judicial appointments if she wins the November presidential election.

The former secretary of State on Wednesday sternly rebuked Republican presidential rivals casual inciting of violence, saying he had crossed the line.

Yesterday we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments by Donald Trump that crossed the line, Clinton told a rally in Des Moines, Iowa.

Words matter, my friends. And if you are running to be president, or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences.

Trump and his campaign had quickly sought to douse these flames, insisting the Republican flag bearer was merely urging gun rights supporters to reject her candidacy at the ballot box.

Clinton also warned of the dangers of reckless language during a presidential race.

She slammed Trumps casual cruelty to a Gold Star family, referring to the billionaires clash with the parents of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in action.

His casual suggestion that more countries should have nuclear weapons, and now his casual inciting of violence, she added.

Every single one of these incidents shows us that Donald Trump simply does not have the temperament to be president and commander in chief of the United States.

SEE ALSO: Hilary Takes Swipe At Trump In DNC Speech
A lecturer of the University of Mkar in Gboko town Benue State, Mr. Aondosoo Winifred Tondo have been reportedly sent to his early grave by unknown gunmen in the early hours of Thursday.

Confirming the incident, Mr. Suemo Shagba, the Information and Communication Officer of the Christian Institute said about 4 of the hoodlums stormed the late lecturers house located within University staff quarters at about 4 am and shot him repeatedly in front of his wife.

The victim was rushed to Myom hospital but later transferred to Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi (BSUTH) where he was declared dead.

Mr. Suemo who said that the late lecturer was nursing an ambition to contest for the chairmanship position of Buruku local government area added that nothing was missing from the house as the criminals didnt take anything.
The Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Naallah, has said the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government underestimated the level of damage that was done to the country when it promised change to Nigerians during the campaigns.

The senator representing Kebbi South, who made the disclosure in an interview in Kaduna, expressed worries over the level of hardships currently being faced by Nigerians.

I am a Nigerian first before becoming a senator and therefore, if it worries Nigerians, I should equally be worried. But, the thing is that I dont have the authority to speak on behalf of my party. It is equally true that I dont have the authority to speak on behalf of the Senate, he said in response to the question that things are not going too well in respect of the economy and the way out of the present economic quagmire. But, as a citizen and as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from the perspective I have seen things, it is obvious that the APC led federal government underestimated the damage that was done to the country when they offered themselves to provide the change Nigerians required.

According to the senator, due to the level of damage inherited by the APC-led federal government, it is expected that lots of things would not work as easily envisaged and Nigerians would not see certain things in the perspective from which they were.

He, however, absolved the APC of blame, saying Nigerians created the problems they are currently passing through for failing to act when there was the need to act. Therefore, the cleaning process must definitely be painful.

It may not be understood by all, but the important thing is that based on the promise of the party to reposition the country and save it from its past, certain decisions that are painful must be taken. That explains why, of course, there will be hues and cries all over the place. It is expected, I do not see any reason why anybody should expect less than that, he added.

Mr. Naallah noted that the APC government was making efforts to do whatever is humanly possible to reduce the suffering of Nigerians but again, government has to act within the constitution, law and machinery of governance and the established norms of doing things in government.
LEBANON  Lebanon has a new city logo, which residents should begin seeing immediately, at least on the city's official website.

Members of the Lebanon City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the new logo, which has been in the works since April.

City Manager Gary Marks said graphic artist Rachel Urista of Corvallis did the design with extensive input from himself and his assistant, Leigh Matthews Bock. It went to the task force for the Lebanon 2040 Vision & Community Strategic Action Plan for approval earlier this month, which all nine members gave.

The new logo is a three-colored, three-paneled scene representing Lebanon's residential, governmental and business communities.

Outlined in white on paint streaks of orange, blue and green are simple representations of an English Tudor house, a design common to the downtown core; the triangular eastern facade of the Lebanon Public Library, and a silhouette of two historic downtown business buildings, which currently house Downtown Dog and Treml's Jewelry. A rising sun ties the three panels together.

"We all unanimously agreed that Gary and his team nailed it. This is Lebanon," said task force member Wyatt King, who brought the recommendation to Wednesday's meeting. "It's simple, but it makes for a lasting impact."

King said he especially liked the paint-streak portion of the design because it gives a work-in-progress feel.

"We're still paint on the canvas, and I really like that metaphorical representation of where we are and where we're going," he said.

Marks, who had proposed a new logo in January, said he believed one was necessary after the year and a half spent on the community vision process that resulted in a 77-point strategic plan.

"We needed to express that in a visual sense in our corporate branding," he said.

Marks said he estimated costs would be minimal to change the logo, which is currently three offset chevrons, Business cards will be replaced as needed and most letterhead is electronic, he said.

No plans are in the works to change the entrance sign to the city from the south, which bears the old logo, although that might happen in the future, Marks said. The current budget already includes money for a new north entry, and transient room taxes are to be used to build new signs at the main entrances to town at its east and west points. All will use the new logo.

In other business Wednesday, the council voted unanimously for Lebanon to apply to be Oregon's second and only other "Blue Zone" city, a demonstration community that attempts to replicate the healthy aspects of cities in the world where the population lives the longest.

Klamath Falls is Oregon's pilot Blue Zone city and applications are due Aug. 26 for a second and final demonstration community. The chosen city will receive roughly $1 million per year for three years in investment funding but must also contribute between $200,000 and $400,000 each of those three years.

Councilors said they had concerns about the costs but believe the Blue Zone mission fits in well with the city's commitment to healthy lifestyles.
The Ikeja Chief Magistrates Court on Thursday arraigned a 34-year-old fashion designer, Comfort Oloro, for allegedly biting off her neighbours ear with her teeth.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the woman is on trial for causing grievous harm and pain to her victim.

The prosecutor, Inspector Clifford Ogu, told the court that the victim Mrs. Gladys Oboh, was trying to separate a fight between the her daughter and the accused when the incident happened. He added that the offence was committed at their residence No. 5, Aganga Williams Street, Off Haruna Bus Stop, Ogba on June 20.

He said: The accused bit off Mrs. Obohs ear and ran away.

Insp. Clifford said the offence contravenes Section 244 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The accused in her defence pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Taiwo Akanni, in her ruling granted the accused bail of N100,000 with one surety in like sum and adjourned the case to September 5.
It's raining patches. This week we've seen a barrage of updates to Windows 10 (pick your flavor), nine security bulletins, 28 security patches for Office, and a killer patch for Windows Journal on Win10. Combined that with last week's 40-odd Office non-security patches, which won't be available on WSUS until Aug. 16, the same date that the Anniversary Update, version 1607, rolls out on WSUS. There should be a big black mark on every admin's calendar for Aug. 16. It's a good day to plan to be out sick.

I figure we have enough patching fodder this month for two thick novels. I also think Microsoft's in cahoots with the U.S. Labor Department, trying to pump up system admin employment figures for the August jobs report.

[ InfoWorld has you covered through all stages of Windows 10. Download the Windows 10 installation superguide and the ultimate Windows 10 survivor kit, both available as PDFs. | Stay up on key Microsoft technologies with the Windows Report newsletter. ]

Buried in this mountain of 63 individual patches and voluminous Click-to-Run changes is one very good development for Excel users.

Last month's buggy Excel patches, KB 3115322 (Security update for Excel 2010) and KB 3115262 (Security update for Excel 2013), have been fixed, at least in part. Since I wrote about them last month, I've received confirmation that the bug also affects Excel 2016 and both Office 365 for 2016 and Office 365 for 2013. It's a grand slam for all versions of Excel released since the turn of the decade. Every one of them was broken by the patches last month.

Once you install last month's patches for any of those versions of Excel (or they're installed for you as part of the Click-to-Run nastiness), Excel changes the way it opens HTML or XLA files that have an XLS extension. Microsoft employee Freya explained:

The Excel team has made a change in the behavior of certain file types to increase security. This change came in the security updates KB3115262, KB3170008, and KB3115322. Previously, when you tried to open an HTML or XLA file with an .XLS file extension from an untrusted location, Excel would warn about the mismatch between the file extension and content, but would still open the workbook without Protected View security. After the security updates Excel no longer will open the workbook because these files are not compatible with Protected View and there is no warning or other indication it was not opened. We apologize that Excel is showing a blank screen instead of a more helpful error message with information about what to do next.

Microsoft implemented these, uh, security improvements without warning anybody, and Freya's revelation didn't appear until nine days after the change took place. Excel developers and many admins were livid as the unannounced change broke data exporting from many big-name packages -- includingMicrosoft's own Dynamics CRM.

The patches released this week solve the problem for HTML files masquerading as XLS, but they don't solve the problem for XLA or XLAM files (which, as Excel Add-in files, appear to be much less of a nuisance). Here's Freya's news:

The Excel team has released a change in HTML/XLS file behavior in today's security update for Excel 2010, 2013, and 2016. Excel will warn about the mismatch between the file extension and HTML content, but will now open the workbook in Protected View as an additional layer of security. If you trust the workbook, you can then enable editing.

To my way of thinking, that's how it should've been implemented in the first place, and Microsoft should've warned Excel users about the impending change, months in advance.

The fix should show up in Office 365 for 2016 (build 16.0.7070.2036) and Office 365 for 2013 (build 15.0.4849.1003) -- for those of you stuck with Click-to-Run -- and in individual patches KB 3115438 (for Excel 2016), KB 3115455 (for Excel 2013), and KB 3115476 (for Excel 2010). Those last three patches won't be out for corporate distribution, via WSUS, until Aug. 16, although you may be able to install them manually.

Office 365 Click-to-Run versions have had a bad buggy streak. In December, Office 365 Click-to-Run wiped out Word macros and customizations. In February, we had a Click-to-Run bug that froze documents as soon as they were opened, and a second CtR bug that knocked out POP3 communication badly enough to delete emails. In April, Office 2013 CtR started crashing Lync (Skype for Business) and Outlook. In June, it was a bug that kept Office apps from opening, throwing an error 30145-4.
Hogs Rebound into Weekend Barchart - 1 hour ago Lean hog futures ended the Friday round with 32 to 97 cent gains to fade the triple digit losses from Thursday. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price was $90.54 in the PM update, down by $1.15. The... HEZ22 : 86.100s (+1.15%) HEJ23 : 92.700s (+0.62%) KMZ22 : 96.125s (+0.37%)

Cotton Falls Triple Digits Barchart - 1 hour ago December cotton ended the day locked limit lower on the 3c loss. The March contract worked back off the limit for the bell, but still went home down by 274 points. For the week, Dec cotton closed 702 points... CTZ22 : 72.11s (-3.99%) CTH23 : 72.07s (-3.66%) CTK23 : 72.30s (-2.99%)

Cattle Market Fades on Friday Barchart - 1 hour ago Live cattle futures ended the weeks last trade day down by 35 cents to $1.02 with soon to expire October down the most. Cash trade picked up later in the week with some Friday catch up sales mostly... LEV22 : 150.375s (-0.68%) LEZ22 : 153.000s (-0.28%) LEG23 : 156.325s (-0.33%) GFX22 : 177.875s (-0.14%) GFF23 : 180.375s (-0.04%)

Loss for Friday Wheat Barchart - 1 hour ago Wheat futures faded on Friday with the front month contracts going home 6 1/4 to 9 1/4 cents lower in SRW. For the December contract that completed the week with a 21 1/2 cent loss. KC futures closed down... ZWZ22 : 829-2s (-1.10%) ZWH23 : 849-0s (-1.05%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.6281 (-1.18%) KEZ22 : 925-0s (-0.78%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.8324 (-0.81%) MWZ22 : 945-0s (-0.58%)

Corn Closes Red on Friday Barchart - 1 hour ago Front month corn futures settled the Friday session with fractional to 1 1/2 cent losses. The December contract saw a tight 7 1/2 cent range from -6 cents to +1 1/2 cents on the day. It was also down for... ZCZ22 : 680-6s (-0.22%) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.7193 (-0.15%) ZCH23 : 686-6s (-0.15%) ZCK23 : 686-2s (unch)

Soy Futures Close Mixed on Higher Beans and Meal Barchart - 1 hour ago Soybean futures ended the day with the deferred contracts above the $14/bu mark on 5 1/2 to 8 cent gains. November contracts stayed 12 cents under the mark but closed near the top end of the 20 cent range... ZSX22 : 1387-6s (+0.40%) ZSPAUS.CM : 13.4825 (+0.51%) ZSF23 : 1400-2s (+0.48%) ZSH23 : 1409-0s (+0.50%)

Grain Spreads: Corn Strangle Walsh Trading - Fri Oct 28, 3:32PM CDT Wedge Formation Intact
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.

A right delayed is a right denied.Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.

Martin Luther King Jr.

No one is born hating another person People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

Nelson Mandela

We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist

James Baldwin

There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech. Free speech encourages debate whereas hate speech incites violence.

Newton Lee

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.

Albert Einstein
Conventional wisdom tells us that the pure artist doesn't concern himself with the minutia of the corrupted business world.

We highly doubt that Botticelli, after whipping up The Birth of Venus, popped into the office of his patron, Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici, to pour over P&L statements or submit his expense report (with receipts).

Butspoiler alert!things have changed in the last 500 years.

Whether they like it or not, artists need to become more business-minded (we'll get to why they need to become more business-minded in a second) and fortunately, grantmakers have been increasingly active in guiding this transition, as we've reported in the past.

Related: Here's Five Million Bucks to Help Juilliard Grads Actually Make Some Money

Here we look at the Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists. Their home page boldly proclaims "Art is a Business," and though our inner Botticelli may recoil at such a crass statement, we must inevitably nod in solemn agreement.

And so the Clark Hulings Fund provides business training and funding to professional working artists through online learning resources, business tools, networking opportunities, and "accelerator grants" that provide funding capital to extend artists' careers.

The fund recently announced the names of the 20 Business Accelerator Program Fellows for 2017. To learn more about them and see samples of their work, click here.

But before we take a closer look at the program, we feel obligated to buttress our earlier argument around the need for artists to become more business-savvy. In short, don't just take our word for it. Grantmakers and organizations alike see the writing on the wall, and the need for more business-oriented artists manifests itself in various ways.

For example, take the rise of arts-related venture philanthropy. In our brave new world of real-time performance metrics, donors increasingly want to see a relative return on investment. The purist in us would argue that "art for art's sake" is sufficient, but alas, that isn't the world we live in. And so artists need to brush up on effective ways to measure performance, impact, and engagement.

Then there's the rise of creative placemaking, which places artists squarely within their community, thereby compelling them to engage with all types of relevant stakeholders, including banks, lending officers, zoning planners, and so on. They need to navigate these red tape-strewn waters like a small business owner or entrepreneur.

When you add it all up, it's no surprise that panelists from a recent Art Basel discussion around the state of arts-related venture philanthropy argued that artists need to become more business-savvy:

If art is supposed to serve a cross-over social purpose, artists, by that very definition, need to expand their skill set. They need effectively leveragequoting [Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors President and CEO Melissa] Berman again"capital and financial instruments" that have traditionally been available to their non-artist small business brethren.

Which brings us back to the Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists.

The fund will accept applications from September 1st through September 30th, 2016 for its Business Accelerator Program, which aims to "transform the art industry by helping visual artists better manage their businesses and overcome the specific business challenges they face so that they can be financially independent and make a living through the creation of their art."

In doing so, the program seeks to fill a void in the art world:

Art schools rarely teach business skills, but these are essential if artists are to seize lucrative opportunities in a timely manner, and navigate an industry rife with predatory middlemen who foster dependency by exploiting artists' self-doubt about their business acumen.

And so the fund also addresses a dynamic as old as the Renaissance itself: bankers, agents, or other shady financial characters exploiting an artist's lack of business acumen.

For more information and program guidelines click here.

Related: A Funders Collaborative that Helps Chicago Arts Groups Take Care of Business
We've written a few pieces over the past year about how philanthropy is helping shape the debate over Muslims in America at a time that Donald Trump has been making incendiary proposals in this area.

It's a multi-faceted story, with money backing different views. A number of funders have pumped grants into nonprofits that paint an alarming picture of the domestic security threat posed by Muslims. Others have given to promote greater tolerance and understanding, as well as actively fight a rising tide of hate crimes.

In short, this is a great example of the famed "diversity" of American philanthropy, with funders coming from all over the placeincluding some rather dark corners of the nation's psyche.

Related:

One important thing to know about the money flowing to fight Islamophobia is that it's often been from funders focused on a particular place or region. For example, several California funders have given for tolerance work in that state.

Then there's the New York Community Trust, based in Donald Trump's home city. As we highlighted earlier this summer, NYCT has lately given new attention to pushing back against Islamophobia through its grantmaking.

If you recall, the largest recent NYCT anti-Islamophobia grant of $90,000 went to the Arab American Association of New York, which is using the money to connect Muslim leaders and groups in New York City to respond to anti-Islamic rhetoric and stereotyping.

Related: What's the Latest from NYCT? Early Literacy and Islamophobia Among Other Issues

But more recently, following NYCTs June 2016 grant commitments to the Muslim-American community, New York Community Trust leaders joined forces with NYC Muslim-American leaders to launch a new citywide effort to fight Islamophobia. And the locally focused funder just committed half a million dollars towards this new effort that will focus on highlighting and supporting the positive contributions of Muslim Americans living in New York City and elsewhere.

This is a particularly crucial cause because over 80 percent of media coverage of Muslims is negative, according to reports from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Worse yet, surveys show that almost half of people in the U.S. dont personally know a Muslim, so the only perception theyre getting is from that negative media coverage.

Veteran New Yorkers, though, know better. Over 600,000 Muslims live in New York City and they've made a huge contribution to its economy and cultural vitality. That same story could be told, on a small scale, in communities across the U.S.

Helping lead this grantmaing effort at NYCT are program officers Shawn Morehead and Kerry McCarthy. Morehead used this latest news as an opportunity to highlight the foundations broader commitment to marginalzed groups.

Recently, we helped thousands of young undocumented immigrants apply for the federal program known as DACA, which allows them to work and go to school without fear of deportation. Also, The Trust has helped gay and lesbian immigrants apply for legal protection.

NYCTs support for immigration issues is nothing new. Its been working in this sphere since at least 1987 with its Fund for New Citizens. However, this Islamophobia effort is a bit different. While past support has focused more on legal services for immigrants and immigrant integration, this latest push is for improved public perceptions and a media overhaul.

Muslim Americans are part of the diversity that we love about New York, Morehead has said. The media and public perception should reflect this reality.

The foundations anti-Islamophobia grants have been between $50,000 and $100,000 lately and gone towards highlighting the work of Muslim artists and enhancing leadership skills of Muslim youth. Based on the most recent NYCT request for proposals for these types of grants, its also been particularly interested in strengthening the advocacy infrastructure and boosting the organizational infrastructure of community-based groups to counter anti-Islam prejudice.

Unfortunately, theres currently not an open RFP for Islamophobia grant opportunities. But stay tuned because this NYCT project is just getting its feet off the ground, and were expecting big things to come out of this very relevant and niche funding commitment.
Establishing parks in underserved neighborhoods benefits the surrounding communities and can make a city a little more sustainable. Four cities just landed $1.75 million to un-pave the way.

A while back we highlighted a program run by the American Planning Association and National Recreation and Park Association, to advance green infrastructure in low-income communities and communities of color. The Great Urban Parks Campaign recently awarded a combined $1.75 million in funds to four citiesAtlanta, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Denverto either turn unused plots of land into parks, or to overhaul existing parks and add sustainability features.

Its part of a broader and growing interest in green infrastructure, which has been a magnet for city philanthropy due to the way it can tackle a bundle of urban problems at once, for a relatively modest investment. Particularly compelling are the environmental justice and equity benefits, as this program expressly hopes to realize.

Related:

Green infrastructure involves a whole set of tactics like bioswales, constructed wetlands, green roofs, and permeable pavement intended to absorb stormwater in place instead of flushing it away to treatment plants or nearby bodies of water via aging systems of pipes. Aside from improving water quality, it can have simultaneous benefits like providing recreation space, a community gathering place, education on environmental issues, and reduced heat island effects.

The idea behind the Great Urban Parks Campaign is that underused plots of land, park or otherwise, in underserved neighborhoods are perfect untapped opportunities to put green infrastructure into place while improving equity in cities at the same time. Low-income and minority communities tend to have lower access to parks and recreation space and disproportionately experience negative environmental impacts.

Backed by $2.5 million from the JPB Foundation, the joint campaign set out to research the problem, fund real world projects, and develop resources for others based on what they learn, with the hopes that it will become common practice.

The winning nonprofits and conservancies are all over the country. While water infrastructure problems are often urgent in aging municipalities near bodies of water, like older industrial cities in the Midwest, were seeing green infrastructure in many places.

The Atlanta project is an especially interesting one, in that it will cobble together an entirely new park from several blighted vacant parcels, even replacing some abandoned housing. It also happens to be the lowest point in a troubled creek watershed that exists entirely within city limits. This makes it an ideal candidate to put in a small pond and wetland, along with a grassy play area that combined can reduce stormwater runoff.

In Baltimore, the city plans to overhaul a deteriorated park thats currently mostly broken asphalt, making it tough to enjoy in hot summers. The proposal would turn it a splash pad, open lawn, and add green infrastructure features.

Pittsburgh aims to improve a crucial green space that connects three neighborhoods, the only such space within walking distance for those living in the area. Its in rough shape, and experiences flooding that limits its use, which grantees seek to remedy.

Denvers grant will support an ongoing open space project and environmental learning center in Montbello, a densely populated, lower-income neighborhood. The land in question was at risk of being developed, but the alternative will add green space and mitigate the frequent flooding that impacts the neighborhood.

While an urban wetland here and there wont solve the countrys huge water infrastructure problems, and a new park wont reverse urban segregation and poverty, the program can set one example of how an injection of funds can have manifold benefits for a community. A carefully placed parks grant can also nudge forward something that might not otherwise have enough budget or momentum on its own, especially in underserved areas. Theres also value in the development of a sort of replicable blueprint for other cities looking to follow suit.

One of the most important factors when it comes to execution of these city park philanthropy projects, aside from equity issues we often write about, is whether they meaningfully engage with the communities they affect. The negative extreme would be the troubled Diller Island project in Manhattan, for which plans seemed to materialize out of thin air. Another common pitfall of city philanthropy overall is the swooping in that can potentially give a neighborhood something it doesnt want.

To be clear, thats not to say that these projects are guilty of thatthe grantees are established local nonprofits in each city, and the new parks will involve public input periods.

But one invaluable opportunity for an initiative like this is to provide a successful template for other cities, not just for how to make a great park, but how to engage lower-income people so they can truly own the process and reclaim community infrastructure. Doing so could go a long way toward making future projects successful.

Related:
Its 5:35 p.m. on a Friday before a three-day holiday weekend. Its been a fairly normal week at your self-storage facility, and youre getting ready to close the office when it happens: You notice the gate system isnt responding. Customers cant access your facility, the computer wont update the gate controller, and a little tinge of worry sets in your psyche.

You sit at your computer, hoping beyond hope you can find the name of that gate company you hired last year. You sift through your e-mail, check your files, even open your accounting program to look for an old invoice. Guess what? You cant find it! Now the real fun begins because youve gone from looking forward to a fun weekend to full-blown panic.

This type of situation happens more often than our industry would like to admit. Its not just gate systems that fail, but air-conditioning units, cameras, doors and even printers. Preparation is the key to keeping your facilitys maintenance and service issues at bay. To accomplish this, we must have a solid stable of service professionals to help with the issues we confront on a day-to-day basis. What kinds of contractors will help you? How do we find them and how much should we really pay? Lets explore how you can be prepared before something breaks.

Simply Irritating or a Big Deal?

All self-storage facilities have items that break down from time to time but dont cause too much angst. Then there are some problems that, when they occur, theyre big. Typical daily issues might involve a facilitys:

Cameras, gate or other security components

Unit doors

Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) units

Electrical

Plumbing

Computer hardware and software

Driveways, parking lot or landscaping

A majority of these issues are annoyances, but most wont keep you from running the property. The bigger issues are typically related to capital-repair items or some type of situation that needs to be discussed with your insurance company. These might include:

Roof replacement

Lightning strikes

Utility damage or replacement

Extensive building damage

Blacktop and asphalt issues

Sink holes

HVAC replacements

These are the types of problems for which you need service contractors in your electronic Rolodex. How do you find them? Fifteen years ago, we would break open the Yellow Pages. Now we have the Internet. The fastest way to find any contractor is to visit Google or Bing and do a search. Youll find a number of options in your area. Look at each one and read the customer reviews. If youre social media inclined, try searching Facebook as well. The platform has grown massively over the last few years and has been aggressively adding business profiles to its service.

In addition, talk to friends and family. It will take about five minutes for one of them to say, I know a guy. Also consider your customers. You may have a contractor, electrician, plumber or roofer who rents at your facility.

Choosing a Contractor

Finally, we get to the hardest part: choosing a service contractor. This will be easier for services you can assess quickly. For example, anyone can walk outside to see if the facility landscaping looks good or if something was pressure-washed correctly. It gets trickier with services we dont understand. Most of us arent roofers, HVAC or gate techs, so were mistrustful right off the bat because we dont know how the technology works. Youll have to ask yourself things like:

Is this company giving me the best deal?

Does this HVAC unit really need to be replaced?

Do I really need a new roof?

The way to combat your deficit of knowledge is to schedule appointments with a couple service contractors. Have them review your problem and give you a bid. After reviewing the bids, choose the one you feel will best address your issue. If you think the bid is high, try negotiating to get the best deal. Remember, the cheapest bid doesnt always come with the best service, so take that into account. Make sure any contractor who conducts any type of work at your facility is licensed and insured, as well as willing to give you a copy of its certificate of insurance and a W-9 tax form, if necessary.

In addition, consider hiring a service contractor for regular maintenance. For example, have your facilitys HVAC units checked on a regular basis. The tech will review the machines, recharge the coolant, check the air handlers and replace the filters. This not only allows them to work at optimum level in terms of cooling and energy use, it allows a tech address problems before they become more expensive issues. Plus, when your facility is faced with a larger maintenance concern, youll already have a company you trust to diagnose your problem.

Initially, youre rolling the dice whenever you hire a new service contractor. However, the longer you work with the company, the more your level of trust will increase. Speak with multiple candidates, ask questions, and diligently review their work to build a great stable of service professionals.

Matthew Van Horn is a member of the operations team at Reliant Real Estate Management LLC, a full-service self-storage management company specializing in acquisitions, feasibility studies, management and joint ventures within the self-storage industry. Hes also president of 3 Mile Domination, a full-service self-storage marketing and strategy company. For more information, visit www.storesmart.org and www.3miledomination.com.
Update 8/29/19  Compass Self Storage raised $101,618 during its annual fundraising campaign to benefit LLS. The money will go toward Cures and Care for Children with Cancer, which seeks to find curative therapies designed to reduce the long-term complications caused by current therapeutic techniques, according to a press release. Compass was recognized as the top LLS fundraiser from the Midwest during the organizations 2019 Leukemia Cup Regatta, an annual sailing event and fundraiser.

I can't thank our teams enough for the time, energy and effort put forth this year to raise over $100,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Amsdell said. Our customers, partners and friends all made this amazing donation possible, and the best part is that it will directly fund an important initiative to help eradicate this terrible disease.

It is because of the dedication and support from companies such as Compass Self Storage/Amsdell Companies that the LLS is changing the landscape of cancer, with more than 300 active research projects that will save livesnot someday, but today, added Lindsay Silverstein, executive director of the LLS Northeast Ohio Chapter.

Compass/Amsdell Cos. has participated in LLS fundraising activities for its local chapter for more than 25 years. To date, its raised more than $500,000 for LLS causes, the release stated.

The LLS children's initiative is a concerted effort to increase its investment in pediatric research and patient access. Since June 2018, the organization has more than doubled its pediatric-research investment and committed to funding more than $20 million during the next five years, according to the release. In 2019, its helped advance 43 of the 49 blood-cancer treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Compass Cleveland corporate office and 90 self-storage locations are active in fundraising throughout the year, the release stated.

8/11/16  Compass Self Storage, a member of the Amsdell family of companies, has raised more than $50,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) to fight and treat blood cancers. The company was recognized as the top fundraiser at this year's LLS Leukemia Cup Regatta, a series of sailing events held at yacht clubs across North America.

The Compass campaign represented a team effort that included staff from its corporate office and self-storage facilities as well business partners. "Employee involvement in our fundraising efforts has always been a part of the fabric of our company culture," said Todd Amsdell, president.

The company hosted several benefits throughout the year, and also collected donations from customers and partners. Amsdell has been involved in fundraising efforts for the LLS Northern Ohio Chapter for two decades, raising more than $250,000 to date. This year's donations were its largest. Compass will continue its efforts next year, with the goal of beating the 2016 total, according to a company press release.

Donations to LLS fund advocacy, patient support and research. LLS is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. Its mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma as well as improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Headquartered in Cleveland, the Amsdell Cos. draws its roots from the family-owned construction company founded in 1928. Since its inception, the company has been active in several billions of dollars of real estate ventures, with a primary focus on self-storage. It has owned and operated more than 500 storage centers under various trade names in more than 27 states. It currently owns and operates properties in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.

Sources:

PR Newswire, Compass Self Storage/Amsdell Companies Raises Over $100,000 in Donations to Benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

PR Newswire, Compass Self Storage Raises Over $50,000 To Help The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Fight Blood Cancers
As companies and governments boost spending to guard against online crime, KCYBER can help investors to profit from this trend.

Thousands of cybersecurity professionals and hackers recently descended on the Las Vegas Strip for the Black Hat USA and DEF CON conferences. Attendees Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, whose infamous Jeep Cherokeehacking presentation stole the headlines at Black Hat USA 2015, were back to highlight more critical flaws in automobile security. The 2016 event saw politics steal the show, as Black Hat was host to a Hillary Clinton fundraiser on August 3. Still reeling from an online breach that led to the leak of almost 20,000 Democratic National Committee e-mails, including content about strategies for undermining Bernie Sanders, the Clinton presidential campaign joins a long list of cybercrime victims.

For investors who may not know the difference between phishing and a Trojan horse, financial data analytics specialist Kensho Technologies is one of several firms offering indexes that seek to capitalize on the rising demand for cybersecurity. Cambridge, Massachusettsbased Kenshos Cybersecurity Index (KCYBER) claims to stand apart from the competition by using natural language processing (NLP) to choose companies poised to play key roles in this fast-growing sector.

KCYBER is one of 11 New Economy indexes created by Kensho to track industries, ranging from autonomous vehicles to robotics, that are driving the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, a term coined by World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab to describe the successor to the digital revolution, which began in the late 1960s. There are currently no listed securities referencing the indexes, but Kensho licenses them to its institutional clients for use in products such as swaps and structured notes.

The cybercrime stakes are high for individuals, corporations and governments. In April 2015 President Barack Obama declared a national emergency in response to the problem, citing the increasing prevalence and severity of malicious cyber-enabled activities as dangers to the U.S. economy, national security and foreign policy. Obama followed up by requesting $19 billion for cybersecurity spending in the 2017 federal budget, $5 billion more than the previous year.

The financial sector is a prime target for hackers. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has doubled its annual cybersecurity budget, to $500 million; Bank of America Corp. spends more than $400 million a year and has pledged unlimited funding to combat such risks.

Virginia Rometty, chair, president and CEO of IBM Corp., has called cybercrime the biggest threat to companies everywhere. Although the number of cybersecurity breaches worldwide topped 90 million in 2015 and the average cost of a cybercrime surged to a record $12.7 million for U.S. companies, as many as 70 percent of attacks still go unnoticed, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. This blind spot suggests that businesses must spend more to remain secure. The global cybersecurity market will be worth some $202 billion by 2021, research firm MarketsandMarkets forecasts, a 65 percent increase over its roughly $122.5 billion value this year.

Kenshos algorithm sifts through company filings to zero in on names with cybersecurity at their heart of their business strategy, using the location, frequency and context of key words to determine prominence. John van Moyland, the firms co-head of financial products, describes KCYBER and the other New Economy indexes as dynamic, objective and comprehensive, citing Kenshos computing power.

The indexes are reconstituted annually, according to Kensho; once every quarter, it applies a liquidity filter to KCYBER that requires each constituent to meet a minimum market capitalization of $250 million and a three-month average daily trading volume of $2 million. KCYBER, which currently comprises 36 stocks intended to represent the global cybersecurity industry, highlights an area of outsize growth during a time of relatively meager investment returns: Since inception in May 2013, the index has returned more than 65 percent, gaining some 8 percent this July alone.

One KCYBER constituent is Palo Alto Networks, a Santa Clara, Californiabased enterprise cybersecurity provider that recently announced an agreement to help build a defense platform for professional services giant Accenture. Other U.S. names in the index include cloud services provider Akamai Technologies and aerospace and defense contractor Raytheon Co. Among its overseas stocks: Amsterdam-headquartered security software developer AVG Technologies and Elbit Systems, a defense electronics maker based in Haifa, Israel.

Technological changes should provide plenty more fodder for the Cybersecurity Index. The three pillars of what BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research calls creative disruption  the Internet of Things, the sharing economy and the shift to online services  have spawned a new universe of businesses and objects that can be compromised by a cyberattack.

Sarbjit Nahal, London-based head of thematic investing at BofA Merrill Lynch, notes the danger that cybercrime poses to these burgeoning fields. Of the three, the Internet of Things, which has Web-enabled everything from cars to home thermostats, is projected to become the largest market and drive the most cybersecurity spending. Last month Jeep maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced that it is teaming up with Bugcrowd, a crowdsourced cybersecurity company based in San Francisco, to find gaps in its security software by paying a bounty for identifying potential breaches.

In the sharing economy, a business like Airbnb offers fertile ground for criminal activity, given that hosts and guests can compromise the Wi-Fi provided with accommodations. The rise of online services has given hackers a wealth of opportunities involving card-not-present transactions, those in which merchants dont have access to a physical credit card for payment.

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution gathers speed, the world is scrambling to adapt to cybercrimes new reality. Kenshos Cybersecurity Index gives investors a way to follow the money.
This content is from: Opinion

Cryptos descent into hell, rather than sending institutional investors straight for the exits, has triggered a hunt for the next big bet.(Part of the crypto column series.)
International assistance provider Allianz Global Assistance (AGA) has forked over $14.5 million in natural disaster-related claims to travellers in the past five years.Thousands of Aussie travellers have been impacted by natural disasters as some 2.7 million Australians had travelled overseas in 2015 and 317 natural disasters were recorded worldwide, said AGA in a statement.AGA is urging travellers to be vigilant in preparing for their overseas trip  ensuring that they have researched their destination and the likelihood of extreme weather, earthquakes, or volcanic ash clouds. AGA also recommends that travellers avail of travel insurance as soon as any money has been outlaid for the trip.In 2015 alone, AGA paid out over $7 million in natural disaster-related claims. The most costly events from 2011 to 2015 included two Bali ash clouds from Mount Rinjani and Mount Raung, the volcanic ash cloud in Chile, and the European floods. The most common types of claims were made for cancellation fees, lost deposits, and additional accommodation expenses, said AGA.Damien Arthur, AGA chief market manager, said, Natural disasters can impact travellers in many ways from cancelled holidays and flights to being stranded in another country. Sadly, consequences can be even more severe, which weve seen firsthand through tragic events such as the Nepal earthquake that hit last year. In this instance, we were able to set up an AGA crisis unit and deploy doctors and nurses on the ground to assist around the clock.Travellers should spend time researching the destination, the time of year they plan to travel, and checking government sites such as Smartraveller. Ensuring you have the right level of travel insurance cover is also important, said Arthur.
"We see these climate perils as no different to an explosion"
A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme that involved staging car crashes to defraud automobile insurance companies.

Connecticut U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly said Frandy Dugue, of Norwich, Conn., pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors said the 39-year-old Dugue conspired with others to stage approximately 50 car crashes in eastern Connecticut between April 2011 and February 2014 for the purpose of defrauding car insurance companies. Dugue and his co-defendants would file fraudulent property damage and bodily injury claims with various companies following each crash. Prosecutors said Dugue and others collected $10,000 to $30,000 per crash.

Scheduling is sentenced for Nov. 1. Dugue faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Connecticut
Wells Media Group Inc. recently hired Elizabeth Blosfield as editor for Insurance Journals East region.

Blosfield has a background in financial reporting, previously serving as a New York-based energy and commodities reporter for Incisive Medias online brand, Risk.net, and its monthly print publication, Energy Risk. Prior to that, she served as a New York-based commercial property reporter for Real Estate Finance & Investment, a weekly print and online trade publication owned by Pageant Media.

Blosfield holds a bachelors of science in broadcast journalism from Kent State University in Ohio. She is replacing Young Ha, former East editor, who left the company to pursue other opportunities.

Blosfield can be reached by phone at 619-584-1100 ext. 135 or by email: eblosfield@wellsmedia.com.

Insurance Journal is a property/casualty news website and biweekly print publication for property/casualty insurance industry professionals. It serves as the highest-trafficked property/casualty insurance news website in the world, with more than one million page views from more than 397,000 unique visitors per month.

Wells Media Group Inc. is a business-to-business media company with a focus on the $443 billion property/casualty insurance industry. Wells Media is the publisher of several websites and magazines, including Insurance Journal, Claims Journal, Carrier Management, MyNewMarkets.com and the Academy of Insurance.

Topics Property Casualty Property
More than 10,000 pregnant women in France took Sanofis anti-epilepsy drug Depakine between 2007 and 2014 although the risk of fetus malformation was known, according to a study quoted by French satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine.

The weekly reported that the French health ministry had delayed publication of the study, which the ministry denied.

The ministry confirmed in a statement that a study was done by national drug agency ANSM and health insurance agency CNAMTS but added that it had not been hidden from families and that a first part of the study would be presented on August 24.

The ministry said it would study measures that needed to be taken and that the full study and an action plan based on it would be made public in September.

Sanofi said the company was not aware of the data in the study and could not comment on it.

A Sanofi spokeswoman told Reuters that the firm had become aware of the risk of fetus malformation in the 1980s and that these had been spelled out in the drugs documentation.

She added that from around 2003, Sanofi became aware that the drug  based on sodium valproate  also impacted the fetus neurological development and could lead to autism or learning difficulties.

She said these potential side effects had been communicated to health authorities, which updated the drugs documentation in 2006. She specified that drug documentation needs to be approved by health authorities in France.

In a report published in February, French social affairs inspection agency IGAS criticized the slow response of French health authorities and Sanofi with regard to the risks related to Depakine and its derivatives.

IGAS estimates that between 2006 and 2014 some 425 to 450 babies suffered congenital birth defects or were stillborn following exposure to the drug.

It said the drug has been on the market since 1967 and that the risk of fetus malformation had been established since the early 1980s. Despite those risks, the drug continued to be prescribed because of its effectiveness against epileptic seizures and bipolar disorder.

In October, the Paris prosecutor launched a preliminary investigation into the authorization and marketing of the drug.

(Editing by Adrian Croft)

Topics France Drugs
Authorities have charged the owner of a Watford City, N.D., restaurant and an employee with torching the business to collect insurance money.

Owner Anna Marquardt, 37, and employee Lisa Stoll, 28, face felony arson and insurance fraud counts in the June 29 blaze that destroyed TJs Pizza & Suds. They could enter pleas at a Sept. 15 hearing.

Investigators say they retrieved surveillance video from a computer that survived the fire that shows Marquardt and Stoll using candles to start the fire in a storage area in the ceiling of the womens bathroom, after drinking at the restaurants bar following closing time.

Authorities allege the video shows Stoll on a ladder and Marquardt handing her lighted candles, and that it also shows Marquardt placing a suspected glass candle beneath a counter. The fire started in the storage area about five hours after the women left the building, according to investigators.

Marquardt filed an insurance claim last week. The two women were charged Monday and arrested Tuesday. In interviews with police, Stoll and Marquardt denied being on a ladder or accessing the storage area, according to the Williston Herald.

Marquardt faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted and Stoll up to 40 years. No one answered the telephone Wednesday at a listing for Marquardt. A telephone listing for Stoll was disconnected. Court documents dont list attorneys for either woman.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Search crews have retrieved the black box from the wreckage of the freighter El Faro that sank in 15,000-feet of water near the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin last year, officials said Tuesday.

Using a remotely operated vehicle in the pitch black deep sea, crews brought the El Faros voyage data recorder to the surface Monday night, the National Transportation Safety Boards chairman said.

The 790-foot El Faro sank Oct. 1 after losing propulsion and getting caught in the hurricane while traveling between Jacksonville and Puerto Rico. All 33 crew members died.

The recovery of the recorder has the potential to give our investigators greater insight into the incredible challenges that the El Faro crew faced, NTSB Chairman Christophe Hart said in a news release.

Search crews found the recorder in April attached to a piece of the ship, but couldnt remove it.

Members of the NTSB, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and others returned to the scene Monday after leaving port in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and piloted the remotely operated vehicle down to the ships resting place to remove the recorder.

The NTSB said in the release that it will begin processing the audio and other data when crews return from sea around Aug. 12. The device is designed to hold 12 hours of recordings from the bridge, as well as navigational data, but NTSB said its possible there could be more than that. No further voyages to the wreckage site are planned.

The recovery comes after two rounds of investigative hearings by a Coast Guard marine board earlier this year.

The hearings explored the safety record of the ships owner, Tote Services Inc., and the decisions made by Capt. Michael Davidson to sail the aging freighter near a strong storm.

The El Faro was 40 years old and had open lifeboats, unlike many modern ships that carry closed lifeboats.

Testimony revealed that Davidson knew about Hurricane Joaquin, yet he planned to sail close to it instead of taking a slower, safer path that had been used during past storms. Tote officials said during testimony that the firms captains are responsible for route planning and are not under time pressure to take risks.

Lawrence Brennan, a professor of maritime law at Fordham University in New York and former admiralty litigator for the U.S. Department of Justice, said if the NTSB can retrieve the data from the recorder, it will provide voices from the grave. This information could greatly enhance investigators understanding of who, ultimately, was at fault for the deaths of 33 people and lead to new safety requirements, he said.

The whole purpose of this, in addition to the legal ramifications to come, is to enhance the safety of life at sea, Brennan said. Tragedies like this have to be avoided.

On Tuesday, the company applauded the NTSBs recovery of the data recorder.

We hope that the information contained will help with the goal to learn everything possible about the loss of our crew and vessel, Tote said in an emailed statement. We look forward to the NTSB report and welcome safety related recommendations that benefit our seafarers.

NTSBs Hart said the data recorder will help give more information about what happened on the ships bridge, including any conversations between Davidson, crew and Tote officials, but its just one part of the agencys ongoing investigation.

There is still a great deal of work to be done in order to understand how the many factors converged that led to the sinking and the tragic loss of 33 lives, he said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics USA
Chevron wasnt the only winner in Mondays ruling by a federal appeals court over its long-running Ecuadorian pollution litigation. The victory, in which the court affirmed that a lawyer for victims engaged in wrongdoing to secure a $9.5 billion verdict in the South American country, may benefit other corporations seeking to avoid enforcement of foreign judgments they contend are based on corrupt proceedings.

Or, if youre an anti-corporate activist, you can put it this way: The decision hands well-heeled corporations a template for avoiding legal accountability anywhere in the world. Thats the assessment of Deepak Gupta, the lawyer for Steven Donziger, the controversial New York attorney whos been battling Chevron over pollution liability in Ecuador for decades.

Whichever take one prefersresisting corruption or avoiding accountabilityyesterdays ruling said that an American corporation hit with a big-ticket judgment abroad can come home to the U.S. and use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) as a weapon to go after the lawyers on the other side of the aisle.

Before elaborating on what might be called the RICO Defense, lets back up. This case began with pollution in oil fields operated by Texaco Inc. in the rain forests of Ecuador in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1993, Donziger and other U.S. lawyers sued Texaco in New York on behalf of villagers and indigenous tribe members. Chevron acquired Texaco and its potential liabilities in 2001. The pollution case was dismissed by U.S. courts and restarted in Ecuador in 2003.

Chevron argued that whatever contamination might have remained wasnt its responsibility to clean up. Eight years later, in 2011, an Ecuadorian trial court disagreed, imposing a $19 billion judgment against Chevron; higher Ecuadorian courts upheld the liability finding but halved the damages to $9.5 billion.

Chevron refused to pay, claiming Donziger had obtained the Ecuadorian judgment by means of fabricated evidence, coercion, and bribery. Because the company had no assets in Ecuador, there was no way for Donzigers clients to enforce their judgment there. The natural next move might have been to seek justice in the U.S., but Chevron turned the tables on Donziger by filing a RICO lawsuit against the lawyer and his clients in Manhattan federal court.

The racketeering suit led to a 2014 judgment holding that Donziger transformed what began as a pollution-liability lawsuit into a corrupt enterprise relying on bribes of an ostensibly neutral court official and ghostwritten court documents, among many other instances of corruption. It was that 2014 RICO verdict that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York upheld on Monday.

In a technical-sounding portion of that ruling, U.S. Circuit Judge Amalya Kearse wrote that a private party, such as a corporation, may sue under the RICO law in hopes of obtaining only a judicial order, or injunction. Whether RICO provides such a remedy had been disputed, and other federal appeals courts had split over the question. The U.S. Supreme Court has never resolved the matter.

Chevron sought an injunction barring enforcement of the $9.5 billion Ecuadorian judgment. The company did not seek money damages from Donziger and his clients, at least in part because that would have required the RICO case be tried to a jury. And a jury might have had more sympathy with the lone lawyer and his impoverished clients facing off against an enormous corporation.

Interpreting RICO as authorizing a company to seek an injunction in this manner is consistent with Congresss intent to encourage civil litigation to supplement government efforts to deter and penalize illegal activity prohibited by RICO, Kearse wrote. The object of civil RICO is thus not merely to compensate victims but to turn them into prosecutors, or private attorneys general.

The injunction that the federal appeals court upheld said that Donziger and his clients couldnt enforce their tainted judgment in the U.S., and couldnt profit from it anywhere in the world. It seems entirely likely that other corporations that find themselves in similar straits will emulate Chevron and its RICO defense.

A couple of caveats: Donziger, who denies wrongdoing, could still appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and seek to get yesterdays ruling on RICO reversed. The existence of a lower-court conflict over the RICO-injunction question would argue for Supreme Court intervention. The heft and idiosyncrasy of the 23-year- old record in the Ecuadorian pollution case might encourage the justices to seek another case to use as a vehicle to clarify RICO.

Regardless of what happens in the U.S., Donziger has vowed to seek enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment in third countries, such as Canada, where Chevron subsidiaries have ample assets and proceedings are scheduled for next month. The Ecuadorian plaintiffs will urge the Canadian courts to respect Ecuadors judicial actions. Chevron will point instead to the U.S. federal courts and their determination that Donziger is a racketeer, with his seeming victory in Ecuador a nullity.

Other companies that do business globally and find themselves hauled before foreign courts will be watching closely.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits USA New York Pollution
A Baker woman accused of defrauding Louisiana to the tune of $1 million-plus in a Medicaid fraud scheme has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Even though 38-year-old Chanda Hall pleaded guilty in April to a racketeering charge, The Advocate reports she pleaded Tuesday with District Judge Beau Higginbotham for home incarceration and insisted she didnt steal anything.

Hall, who described herself as a one-time successful business owner, argued she would be a better asset if allowed to remain in the community. She also blamed employees of her Zachary home health care company, Empowering Care Services LLC, for her legal predicament.

Higginbotham said it was Halls decision to plead guilty in the spring.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Louisiana Fraud
A former South Carolina police officers conversations with an insurance carrier after he was charged in the death of an unarmed black motorist have been sealed by a federal judge.

The order issued by U.S. District Judge David Norton on August 3 also said the address where Michael Slager is staying should remain confidential for the safety of Slagers family.

The order came in a lawsuit brought by Slager, a former North Charleston officer, against the Southern States Police Benevolent Association.

The suit alleges the insurer didnt provide Slager the legal representation he paid for under his policy following the April 2015 shooting of Walter Scott as Scott fled a traffic stop.

Slager, who is free on bond, faces a murder charge in state court in an October trial. He also faces trial in federal court on charges that he deprived the 50-year-old Scott of his civil rights and other counts. No date for the federal trial has been set.

Scotts shooting was captured on cellphone video by a passerby and reignited the national debate over how blacks are treated by white police officers.

Norton noted that the insurance carrier is defending its position to deny benefits on the policy itself and cant use statements Slager made later as a basis for doing so.

The company has said it denied benefits because the shooting of Scott was outside Slagers duties as a law enforcement officer.

But the judge ruled that the potential harm that revealing the statements could have on Slagers defense in both the state and federal cases far outweighs any interest of the insurance company in using them.

Slager, 34, was released on $500,000 bond in January and has been under house arrest at an undisclosed location. He can leave the house only to attend church, visit the doctor, meet with attorneys and attend court.

Norton refused to allow the address to be released to attorneys for the insurance carrier, saying Slager can be reached through his attorneys.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Carriers Legislation South Carolina
Business has plummeted in Miamis Wynwood arts district since Zika infections were reported there, according to gallery and restaurant owners who want government officials to speed up their response and help offset their losses.

At an emergency meeting Monday, the Wynwood Business Improvement District urged state, local and federal officials to hasten efforts to clear mosquitoes that carry the virus from the area. It also asked for recovery funds to make up for lost business since the U.S. mainlands first locally acquired Zika cases were reported in the neighborhood north of downtown Miami.

Ken Bercel took out a $15,000 loan to keep his Lost and Found Saloon open after customers stopped coming, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

Money is coming out of our savings, our banks, our lenders, just to keep the business open right now, said Bercel. How do we finish this summer?

Florida now reports 21 people have contracted the virus locally, including four new cases likely caught through a mosquito bite within a 1-square-mile zone encompassing Wynwood, according to a statement Tuesday from Gov. Rick Scott.

Its the only area where active Zika transmissions have been taking place, according to a separate statement from Floridas Department of Health.

Hillary Clinton, who visited Miami on Tuesday and toured a health clinic near Wynwood, called on Congress to immediately return to Washington to pass legislation to provide emergency funding for Zika testing, treatment and research. The Democratic presidential candidates running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, has already said hed return to Washington for a vote on a Zika bill.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned pregnant women to avoid traveling to Wynwood. Pregnant women who live there have been told to take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

The virus is primarily transmitted by certain tropical mosquitoes but also can be contracted through sex with an infected partner. Most people who contract Zika only experience mild flu-like symptoms, but it can lead to severe brain-related birth defects if women are infected during pregnancy.

Miami-Dade County is using aerial spraying of pesticides in the affected area, in addition to door-to-door inspections.

Scott has urged people to continue patronizing Wynwood businesses.

The Miami Parking Authority has announced special rates in Wynwood for its monthly art walk on Saturday and on Wednesdays through Aug. 31.

An international open for business campaign by the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau will help promote special events and deals in Wynwood, said Rolando Aedo, the agencys senior vice president of marketing and tourism.

Some residents and tourists remain undaunted by the advisory and have continued visiting the neighborhood with trendy boutiques, a lively bar scene and bold outdoor murals. But the Herald reports business owners are taking significant losses.

At R House, a restaurant and lounge, executives said business Saturday was down 90 percent.

Youre saying were open for business but nobody is coming, R House owner Rocco Carulli said.

When a reporter on Monday approached Zak Stern, owner of the cafe Zak the Baker, he replied, Surely theres something else you can report on.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Prospect General, a newly formed program administrator in La Jolla, Calif., has launched its operations, a website, two products and is currently appointing insurance agents and brokers.

President Ryan OConnor formed Prospect General to be an advocate for insurance agents, brokers, and policyholders by collaborating with them to create specialty insurance products they desire. It was incorporated in March.

The firms first two products include a multi-state real estate investor program and a California-earthquake equity protector program. Prospect General has partnered with Palomar Specialty Insurance Co. on equity protector.

Anyone interested in getting appointed with Prospect General can visit www.ProspectGeneral.com/apply.

The firm operates nationally, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Palomar Insurance Holdings.

Topics California
A federal jury found Californias largest utility guilty of violating pipeline safety regulations before a deadly natural gas pipeline explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area and then misleading investigators about how it was identifying high-risk pipelines.

After deliberating for seven days, jurors convicted Pacific Gas & Electric Co. this week of obstruction and five of 11 counts of pipeline safety violations, including failing to gather information to evaluate potential gas line threats and deliberately not classifying a gas line as high risk.

The 2010 blast of a PG&E natural gas pipeline sent a giant plume of fire into the air, killing eight people and destroying 38 homes in the city of San Bruno.

U.S. Attorney Brian Stretch said in a statement his offices investigation of whether PG&E violated regulations was needed in the wake of the blast to honor the memory of those who perished.

The jury has determined that PG&E management chose willfully not to follow certain of those regulations, he said.

No PG&E employees were charged, so no one is facing prison time. A judge could fine PG&E as much as $3 million for the convictions when the company is sentenced.

While we are very much focused on the future, we will never forget the lessons of the past, PG&E said in a statement. We want our customers and their families to know that we are committed to re-earning their trust by acting with integrity and working around the clock to provide them with energy that is safe, reliable, affordable and clean.

During the investigation, prosecutors say, the San Francisco-based utility misled federal officials about the standard it was using to identify high-risk pipelines.

PG&E pleaded not guilty and said its employees did the best they could with ambiguous regulations they struggled to understand.

The stakes in the case dropped dramatically, however, when prosecutors made the surprising decision several days into jury deliberations not to pursue a potential $562 million fine if PG&E was found guilty of any of the pipeline safety counts.

The decision, which was approved by a judge, reduced the companys maximum liability to $6 million, prompting criticism that prosecutors were not holding PG&E accountable.

Robert Weisberg, a criminal law professor at Stanford University, said the larger potential penalty would have pushed the trial into a second phase with an uncertain outcome.

The government needed a felony conviction to act as a deterrent and stigma, Weisberg said. I think it got out of this what it wanted.

According to prosecutors, the standard PG&E used to identify high-risk pipelines violated safety regulations and led to a failure to classify the San Bruno pipeline and others as high risk and properly assess them.

The company deliberately misclassified pipelines so it wouldnt have to subject them to appropriate testing, choosing a cheaper method to save money, prosecutors said.

The motive was profits over safety, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Schenk said during his closing argument in the more than monthlong trial.

PG&E engineers did not think the pipelines posed a safety risk, and the company did not intend to mislead investigators, PG&E attorney Steven Bauer said during the trial.

The utility inadvertently sent officials a draft policy about its standard for identifying high risk pipes, not one the company was actually following, he said.

Nobody at PG&E is a criminal, he said during his closing argument. He accused prosecutors of engaging in an elaborate second-guessing exercise.

Investigators have blamed the blast in part on poor PG&E record-keeping that was based on incomplete and inaccurate pipeline information. Jurors on Tuesday, however, did not convict PG&E of pipeline safety counts related to poor record-keeping.

California regulators fined the company $1.6 billion last year for the blast.

Related:

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Topics California Legislation
San Diego, CA, August 11, 2016  Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, Inc. (Arrowhead), one of the nations largest program administrators, has expanded and renamed its tribal insurance program. Formerly housed under subsidiary OnPoint Underwriting as the Program for Sovereign Indian Nations, the new Arrowhead Tribal Program has added a carrier to cover a wider variety of risks.

Alongside carrier Zurich North America, Arrowhead has added Old Republic Insurance Company, offering more flexible self-insured retention options, cyber liability coverage and fiduciary coverage.

As tribal enterprises grow, necessitating insurance coverage for new and ever-expanding risks, our coverage for those risks is growing as well, explained Scott Marshall, senior vice president at Arrowhead. For nearly 30 years this team has worked exclusively with tribal nations.

Created in 1987, the program offers specialized insurance coverage recognizing tribal sovereignty as established by the Constitution. Consulting with tribal leaders provided first-hand experience in the intricate exposures and special circumstances experienced by tribal governments, gaming and enterprises. Arrowheads in-house claims team understands tribal law, tribal court systems, FTCA protection and tribal sovereignty claim issues.

Our longevity in this business helps us understand the complex exposures of tribal governments and their enterprises, said Brett Barnsley, director of business development.

Arrowheads Tribal Program provides comprehensive property coverage; general, liquor and professional liability; tribal workers benefits; auto physical damage and liability; and excess liability.

For more information about specific risks, please contact Brett Barnsley, 509.591.5109.

About Arrowhead

Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, Inc. is one of the nations largest insurance program managers for commercial, personal and specialty products, with over $1 billion written premium under management. Arrowheads relationships with strong insurance carriers provide stability for its nationwide network of producers. For more information about products and services, please visit ArrowheadGrp.com. Arrowhead is a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO), ranked by Business Insurance magazine as the United States sixth largest independent insurance intermediary.

Media Contact

Bret Barnsley

Director of Business Development

509.591.5109

BBarnsley@ArrowheadGrp.com
SAF-T filing will give tax authorities live access to companies VAT and direct tax liabilities. Six European countries have already implemented SAF-T, the OECD-backed electronic format for exchanging data. One of the most significant moves in recent months was Poland making SAF-T filings compulsory for local and non-resident VAT payers from July 1 2016.

The changes could result in tax authorities taking control of companies tax calculations and making the self-assessment and backward-looking VAT and corporate income tax returns redundant.

SAF-T accounting transaction exchange wins format wars

SAF-T is an electronic format for the efficient transfer of accounting data from companies to tax authorities. In May 2005, the OECD coordinated a single format, based on free-source XML, for all 38 member states to adopt. The objectives of this implementation were:

To help the exchange of transaction data between tax authorities and companies;

Allow efficient and accurate data interchange;

Improve substantive testing at line-level for tax authorities, which means the tax office can examine each supply of a good or service listed on an invoice to consider the description, quantity, value, etc.;

Enable VAT and corporate income tax audits; and

Reduce companies compliance costs, including internal and external audit costs.

The OECD model consists of six file structures, which are to list all transactions:

General ledger, journals; Accounts receivable, customer master data and invoices; Accounts payable, supplier master data. Invoices and payments; Stock warehouse, product master file and goods received/dispatched; Fixed assets, ledger and depreciation/amortisation; and Inventory, product master files and movements.

Inconsistent and imprecise implementation

To date, six European countries have adopted SAF-T reporting obligations for VAT registered companies. The challenge for taxpayers is that each countrys format differs from the above OECD structures. In addition, only vague implementation guidance is available.

Country Elements that differ from OECD structures Portugal Applies only four structures Austria Has introduced a simplified basis structure only Luxembourg Threatening legal action against non-compliant companies France Has created a proprietary format that must comply with Plan Comptable, the general accounting plan in France Lithuania Has introduced up to 68 sub-structures Poland The only country requiring mandatory filing for large taxpayers

The next wave of countries to adopt SAF-T may include Germany, UK, Ireland, and the Czech Republic.

The Netherlands and Belgium are experimenting with another electronic format called Transaction Network Analysis, which is a big data experiment where tax authorities share company data on a centralised database and the analytics are then tested. Its primary aim is to reduce VAT fraud and the VAT Gap. A further eight other European countries have now joined this program.

Implications of SAF-T

When tackling SAF-T, tax departments face a number of questions on its implementation, application and effectiveness, including:

Data extraction  What connector tools are available?

Tax audits  Are the tax authorities likely to initiate investigations, and what is the capacity to manage these satisfactorily?

Direct tax  SAF-T data also covers corporate income tax data that could be used for investigations. Questions remains over whether the tax department ready; and

Internal audits  Tax authorities need to examine the implications and cost savings of internal audit departments and data use.

Planning for SAF-T

When planning for SAF-T adoption, tax departments may consider a number of elements before introducing the format, such as:

Qualifying IT systems  Does the tax department have full details of all ERPs, stock, fixed assets, bank account platforms?

List systems and data  Do platforms hold all the country-required data?

Mapping to structures  Can the tax department use the data to create charts that adapt to various country structures?

Extraction of data  What methodologies can be used? ERP, Excel or bespoke extractors?

Testing  How can the tax department ensure accuracy of data before transfer to tax authorities? Can the tax departments match tax authorities extensive analytical tools?

Death of the VAT and direct tax return?

The immediate question for corporate tax teams is their exposure to the surprise decision in June to make Polish VAT payers liable to submit SAF-T reporting from July 2016. Most businesses are not ready for this, and will be on the back foot as the tax authorities threaten fines.

In the medium term, VAT and direct tax managers within companies now face being outgunned by the tax authorities. Their powerful analytical tools, backed by pan-European data exchanges between tax authorities, will result in them having a better insight into companies tax affairs than the corporate tax team or CFO.

SAF-T therefore threatens to undermine the VAT return and potentially make it useless. Could SAF-T be the sunset of periodic returns? We will have to wait and see as more governments adopt electronic formats that could change the face of tax returns for all businesses.

Article contributed byRichard Asquith, vice president of global indirect tax at Avalara.
Lemergenza surriscaldamento globale non si arresta. Lo rivela la Nasa (Ente Nazionale per le attivita Spaziali e Aeronautiche) lagenzia governativa civile responsabile del programma spaziale degli Stati Uniti dAmerica e della ricerca aerospaziale.

Secondo lEnte statunitense, infatti, nel 2016 la temperatura globale si e attestata a 1,1 gradi centigradi in piu rispetto al XIX secolo, vale a dire rispetto ai livelli preindustriali (il periodo iniziato a partire dal Settecento in Gran Bretagna e diffusosi nell800 in buona parte del mondo). Nel 2015, evidenzia la Nasa, era gia stata raggiunta la soglia di 1 grado.

Un colpo pesante per la comunita internazionale che, alla conferenza Onu di Parigi sul clima svoltasi nel dicembre 2015, si era impegnata a mantenere laumento del termometro al di sotto dei 2 gradi centigradi, e possibilmente entro un grado e mezzo, entro la fine del secolo. Ma, a inizio secolo, siamo gia a oltre un grado.

Le brutte notizie non finiscono qui. Se dal globale passiamo al locale, di questo passo lItalia risentira (entro il 2100) di un aumento di temperatura ben al di sopra dei due gradi preventivati.

Lo rivela il Wwf (World Wide Fund for Nature), lorganizzazione internazionale non governativa di protezione ambientale piu nota al mondo. Secondo lOng, i cambiamenti climatici in Italia saranno a dir poco preoccupanti. Le migliori e piu avanzate elaborazioni dellautorevole Centro Euromediteraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (Cmcc), indicano  nello scenario ritenuto piu probabile  un incremento della temperatura media in Italia pari a circa 3 gradi per la fine del secolo per lintero territorio nazionale.

Se si considera lultimo trentennio del XXI secolo (2071-2100)  scrive in un comunicato la ong ambientalista  laumento di temperatura giunge anche a circa 4 gradi nel nord-ovest della penisola italiana nel periodo estivo. Nello scenario peggiore, inoltre, laumento della temperatura media in Italia sara invece di circa 6 gradi entro la fine del secolo. Lurgenza dellazione anche nel nostro Paese e ormai e un obbligo civile e morale, conclude il World Wide Fund for Nature.

Emergenza caldo evidenziata anche dalla Coldiretti (Confederazione Nazionale Coltivatori Diretti), la maggiore associazione di rappresentanza e assistenza dellagricoltura italiana. Il 2016  evidenzia la confederazione sorta nel 44  si e classificato al quarto posto tra gli anni piu caldi di sempre, con una temperatura di 1,24 gradi superiore alla media del periodo. Per il calcolo, la Coldiretti si e basata sui dati del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Cnr) che rilevano le temperature dal 1800. Nella classifica degli anni piu caldi dallinizio dellindustrializzazione  e percio dellinquinamento atmosferico su larga scala  ci sono, nellordine, 2015, 2014, 2003 e 2016. Seguono il triste elenco: il 2007, 2012, 2001, 1994, 2009, 2011 e, infine, il 2000.

Siamo di fronte agli effetti dei cambiamenti climatici  scrive Coldiretti  che si stanno manifestano con un pesante impatto sullagricoltura italiana, che negli ultimi dieci anni ha subito danni per 14 miliardi di euro. Si moltiplicano gli eventi estremi, sfasamenti stagionali e precipitazioni brevi, ma intense, e il repentino passaggio dal sereno al maltempo. Siccita e bombe dacqua con forti piogge a carattere alluvionale, ma anche gelate estreme e picchi di calore anomali si alternano lungo lanno e lungo tutta la Penisola. Anomalie che si evidenziano anche in questi giorni  conclude Coldiretti  con lItalia divisa in due, tra un nord dove e allarme incendi e siccita ed il centro sud che e seppellito dalla neve.
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What Is Student Debt?

The term student debt refers to money owed on a loan taken out to pay for educational expenses. Individuals can borrow student debt through the government or private sources, such as banks and other lenders. Rapidly rising college tuition costs make student debt the only option for many students and their families to pay for college for many students. Repayment of student debt depends on the lendersome require repayment immediately while others allow borrowers to begin repaying after they graduate.



Key Takeaways Student debt is any money borrowed by individuals to cover the cost of education.

The price of higher education has skyrocketed in recent years, and it has become increasingly difficult to pay for without incurring debt.

Many students incur debt before they truly understand the ramifications of paying it back.

Debt can cover more than just tuition. It often pays for textbooks, miscellaneous fees, and room and board.

Debt can be worth taking on if it means a higher earning potential or satisfaction in your career.

Understanding Student Debt

Student debt is typically incurred when a student uses loans to cover the cost of their education and other expenses. Students may use loans to pay for a wide variety of costs, including tuition amounts not covered through their own assets, grants, loans taken out by parents or guardians, or scholarships. By borrowing money to obtain a degree, it may be possible to earn significantly more or to pursue a more personally fulfilling career, making the debt financially or emotionally worthwhile.

While it is possible for students to save money to put toward the cost of higher education, the escalating price of that education at many institutions increasingly narrows the plausibility of covering such costs without some form of financial assistance. Especially for advanced degrees, student debt can escalate rapidly with the compounded price of curriculum, textbooks, and other associated costs ever on the rise.

Many students find it difficult to pay back their student debt. While there is an expectation that students will pursue careers and jobs that will offer them the means to repay student debt over time, there are no guarantees that they will immediately find this kind of employment after they graduate. Another downside of student debt is that most people incur it at a young age, before they may fully understand the implications of their decision. In addition, student debt differs from other types of debt in that it typically cannot be discharged in bankruptcy except in cases of undue hardship.

These issues often lead to student debt becoming a major source of stress for young people in the USA. According to The 2022 Investopedia Financial Literacy Survey, 74% of millennials are seriously stressed about their financial circumstances. Borrowing and managing debt was the second-largest concern of surveyed millennials. Understandably, millennials are also especially eager to learn about how to reduce debt.

Student loan forgiveness programs only apply to certain types of debt, mainly federally held loans. Loans made by private lenders are not eligible for government-sponsored forgiveness.

Special Considerations

Most federal student loan debt in the United States was serviced by Sallie Mae. This was a publicly traded company until its loan portfolio and loan services were spun off in 2014 to a new entity, Navient.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced the transfer of this contract from Navient to Aidvantage, a division of Maximus Federal Services. However, Navient continues to service federal student loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program that are owned by private lenders as well as nonfederal private student loans.



Student Debt Forgiveness

There are several instances in which student loans may be written off. Graduates who meet the following criteria may be eligible to have some or all of their student debt forgiven:

Have direct federal student loans

Work in public service professions for a certain amount of time

Make a minimum number of debt payments

Graduates with federal student loan debt who qualify for special repayment plans, such as income-based repayment, may also have the balance of their student debt forgiven after making payments for 20 to 25 years, depending on the program.

The Navient Multi-State Settlement

Some student loan companies have been forced to forgive student loans that were mis-sold. Navient, one of the largest student loan servicers, reached a settlement with 39 states in which it will cancel $1.7 billion in private student loan debt. The settlement marks an end to six separate lawsuits filed against the student loan company, which was accused of giving out loans to millions of borrowers who were unlikely to be able to repay them, and of improperly recommending federal loan forbearance instead of better relief options.

According to the settlement, not all of Navients current and past private and federal loan borrowers are eligible for relief. Only certain loans issued by Navient or Sallie Mae qualify:

Borrowers must have attended certain for-profit schools, such as Corinthian schools, DeVry University, the Art Institutes, ITT Technical Institutes, and others.

The student loans must have been disbursed from 2002 to 2014.

The student loans must have been delinquent for at least seven months prior to June 30, 2021.

The student loans must still be collectible under the borrowers state statute of limitations, and they must still be reporting to the credit bureaus, as of June 30, 2021, to be eligible.

Borrowers must live in an eligible state.

In addition, to qualify for restitution based on Navients dealings with its federal student loan borrowers, youll need to meet these criteria:



The borrower entered repayment on a Direct or FFEL program federal student loan before January 2015.

The borrower had at least one federal student loan that was eligible for income-driven repayment from October 2009 to January 2017, but Navients customer service team steered them into forbearance instead.

The borrower was not in an income-driven repayment plan prior to that forbearance.

The forbearance lasted two consecutive years or more, and at least half of it was to postpone payments going forward instead of bringing a delinquent account current retroactively.

The borrower resides in the District of Columbia or one of the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, or Wisconsin.

Eligible borrowers will be notified in the summer of 2022 if they qualify for relief or restitution under the settlement. You dont have to do anything to claim it, but if you have questions, you can visit www.NavientAGSettlement.com or contact your states attorney generals office.



The Student Loan Pause

The federal government issued a forbearance on student loan repayment, interest, and collections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the moment, this forbearance will last until Dec. 31, 2022.

The forbearance began on March 13, 2020, when the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office, acting under an executive order from then-President Donald Trump, suspended monthly loan payments, stopped collection on defaulted loans, and reduced the interest rate to 0% on Direct, FFEL Program, Federal Perkins Loan Program, and Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program loans owned by the Department of Education. A week later, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which made these provisions law through Sept. 30, 2020.

Following multiple extensions by both Trump and President Biden, the end date was pushed back to Dec. 31, 2022. In its press release, the Biden-Harris administration affirmed that responding to the pandemic and its economic consequences is still required, even as the U.S. economy steadily improves and COVID-19 cases continue to decline, while also allowing for the responsible phasedown of pandemic relief.

The extension is intended to provide student loan borrowers with additional time to prepare for the resumption of payments, which will minimize the risk of future delinquency and defaults. While preparing for a smooth transition back into repayment, the Department of Education will continue assessing the financial impacts that student loan borrowers experienced due to the pandemic. When payments do resume, the impact of prior delinquencies and defaults will be eliminated for student loan borrowers with paused loans, allowing them to reenter repayment on an equitable basis.



Any relief mentioned in this article applies to federal student loans. If you have private student loans, check with your provider to see if they can offer you any repayment assistance.

Additional Relief

In August 2022, the White House announced additional relief to certain federal student loan borrowers. Borrowers with Pell Grants through the Department of Education can get up to $20,000 in debt cancellation while those with non-Pell Grants may qualify for up to $10,000 in relief. But there are income thresholds: $125,000 or less for single borrowers and $250,000 for married couples.

Is All Student Debt Eligible for Forgiveness? No. Only debt borrowed directly from the federal government is eligible for forgiveness. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program offers forgiveness for those who work for federal, state, local, or tribal governments or not-for-profit organizations. After making 120 qualifying payments in an income-driven repayment program while working full time in a qualifying position, the remainder of the debt will be forgiven. As part of the COVID-19 forbearance, payments that were made outside the established PSLF programs may count toward the 120 payments, including payments made before a loan was consolidated, payments on Direct, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), or Perkins loans, or late payments, among other addendums. Explore the full extent of the waiver at StudentAid.gov.



What Is the Student Loan Pause? The federal government issued a forbearance on student loan repayment, interest, and collections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the moment, this forbearance will last until Aug. 31, 2022.

Can Student Debt be Dissolved Through Bankruptcy? In all but the rarest situations, no. Student debt stays with the student until the loans are repaid or forgiven, even in the case of bankruptcy.

What Happens to My Student Debt if I Don't Graduate? All student loans must be repaid, regardless of graduation status. For most federal student loans, repayment starts six months after the student leaves college or drops below half-time enrollment.

The Bottom Line

Student debt is often inevitable in todays era of high-priced higher education. There are many funding sources for student debt, including state loans, private loans, and federal loans, but only federal loans qualify for income-based repayment plans or forgiveness. Incoming students will be at a greater advantage by lowering their debt through work-study, working outside of school, or choosing a more affordable school, as paying down debt can take decades, derailing other financial goals.
SAN DIEGO, CA - August 11, 2016 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Gopher Protocol Inc. (OTCQB:GOPH) ("Gopher" and the "Company"), a development-stage Company which specializes in the development of real-time, heuristic-based mobile technologies, and its partner, Guardian Patch LLC, announced today that they have completed the testing phase for the design and construction of the Guardian Patch "GOPHERINSIGHT" circuit prototype device. The test results of the GOPHERINSIGHT technology proved range coverage of about 30 square miles without material infrastructure in place. The GOPHERINSIGHT prototypes are being shipped to the Company's offices in San Diego for further testing within a larger and more densely populated urban area.

Product lifecycle management is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from inception, through engineering design and manufacture, to service and disposal of manufactured products. The lifecycle of a product will generally include: Phase 1: Conceive - imagine, specify, plan, innovate; Phase 2: Design - describe, define, develop, test, analyze and validate; Phase 3: Realize - manufacture, make, build, procure, produce, sell and deliver; and Phase 4: Service - use, operate, maintain, support, sustain, phase-out, retire, recycle and disposal.

Applying the above principles, the Guardian Patch is currently in Phase 2, where the detailed design and development of the product's form begins, progressing to prototype testing, through pilot release to full product launch. This step covers many engineering disciplines, including, mechanical, electrical, electronic, software (embedded, server, mobile) and domain-specific, such as communication protocol design, along with the actual creation of the product including the analysis of the components, product assembly and packaging.

The Guardian Patch prototypes are working with the Company's electronic circuit and mobile app, which can be downloaded for free at the Apple Store and on Google Play under the name "Guardian Patch". As a courtesy to the public, the Company previously released the Guardian Patch app to provide users with live views of the Guardian Patch units during testing. The Company released a short video which further explains the product phase and future plans -- https://youtu.be/C-aSj9TUUmw

The Guardian Patch prototype unit contains the Company's GOPHERINSIGHT integrated circuit technology. The Guardian Patch prototype consists of mobile units and base units. The mobile unit's real-time position is shown on the mobile app. The system provides an accurate location and progress presentation of the Guardian Patch mobile unit via the mobile map. The prototype system is currently reporting about the mobile unit's location every few seconds in order to test a real-time positioning system. The web-based program may in the future provide statistical information about the mobile units, including, but not limited to, travel distance, cities visited, travel time and more. This data will be used in the future to enhance customers' vital statistics for personal purposes. In addition, other electrical factors are measured and studied, such as electrical power consumption, transmission intervals, terrain and weather effects and more. In parallel, the Company is constantly enhancing and improving the system's software to handle large amount of mobile units and their coverage. Special attention is also given to human engineering of user friendly UI (User Interface) of the mobile application software and the web-based control program. Additionally, a robust database management system is being designed in order to manage large numbers of mobile units efficiently.

The Guardian Patch prototype, which the Company hopes will arrive in the consumer markets sometime in 2017, of which there is no guarantee, is a unique location technology that works with or without GPS. It is a stick-on tracking device that protects and tracks objects, from a phone to a laptop to a loved one or a pet, through a mobile app.

About Guardian Patch

The Guardian Patch (the "Patch"), potentially arriving in consumer markets in 2017, is a unique location technology that works with or without GPS. The Patch is a "stick-on" device that provides its users with the capability to protect and track objects, a loved-one or even a pet, through a mobile application. Download the Patch app, register your patch, and track anything that you own on your mobile device or on our designated website. Register the Patches of your family members and friends to receive alerts in the event of an emergency. Peel the Patch off and the Patch acts as a beacon, sending out a signal and notifying anyone who has registered the user's Patch.

About Gopher Protocol Inc.

Gopher Protocol Inc. (OTCQB: GOPH) ("Gopher" and the "Company") (http://gopherprotocol.com) is a development-stage company developing a real-time, heuristic-based mobile technology. Upon development, the technology will consist of a smart microchip, mobile application software and supporting software that will run on a server. The system contemplates the creation of a global network. Gopher believes this will be the first system that is developed using a human, heuristic-based analysis engine. Since the core of the system will be its advanced microchip technology that will be capable of being installed in any mobile device worldwide, Gopher expects that this will result in an internal, private network between all mobile devices utilizing the microchip by providing mobile technology for computing power enhancement, advanced mobile database management/sharing and other additional mobile features.

Corporate Site: http://gopherprotocol.com

Press page/ press kit - http://gopherprotocol.com/?page_id=228

Consumer and product website for Guardian Patch: http://www.guardianpatch.com/

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission located at their website (http://www.sec.gov). In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release.

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investment involves risk and possible loss of investment. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Contact each company directly regarding content and press release questions. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Disclosure: GOPH is a PR , social media and publishing client and compensates Investorideas.com ( three months effective April 4, 2016 - three thousand five hundred per month )More disclaimer info: http://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Additional info regarding BC Residents and global Investors: Effective September 15 2008 - all BC investors should review all OTC and Pink sheet listed companies for adherence in new disclosure filings and filing appropriate documents with Sedar. Read for more info: http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/release.aspx?id=6894. Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country.
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REE Stock News - Defense Metals (TSX-V: DEFN.V) (OTCQB: DFMTF) Drills 113 metres of 2.50% Total Rare Earth Oxide at Wicheeda

Vancouver, British Columbia - October 26, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mining / Metals / Green Energy Stock News - Defense Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DEFN / OTCQB: DFMTF/ FSE:35D) is pleased to announce high-grade Rare Earth Element ("REE") assay results from one additional core hole, totalling 383 metres (m), collared within the northern area of Defense Metals' 100% owned Wicheeda REE Deposit.

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Breaking EV Stock News: Pre-orders for Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) FIVE Electric-SUV Crossover Exceed Expectations as the FIVE 'Strikingly Different' Tour Begins

BREA, Calif. - October 28, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces today that the Mullen FIVE "Strikingly Different" EV Crossover Tour which began yesterday, in Pasadena, California, is off to a great start with first day reservations exceeding expectations and overwhelmingly positive customer feedback.

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Health and Wellness Stock News - Endexx (OTCBB: EDXC) Secures Third Order for Non-Nicotine Vape Product HYLA Worth Approximately $1.5M in Revenue for First two Fiscal Quarters of 2023

CAVE CREEK, Ariz. - October 27, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Endexx Corporation (OTCBB:EDXC), a provider of innovative, plant-derived, and sustainable health and skincare products, today announces it has secured three key significant orders for its newly acquired, non-nicotine plant-based vape product, HYLA.

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Breaking AI Stock News: FatBrain (OTCQB: LZGI) Acquires Confidential Computing Platform ZeroTrust to Protect Data Privacy and Accelerate Innovation for Millions of Growth Businesses

NEW YORK, NY - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, has acquired the confidential computing and privacy intellectual property (IP) plus software assets of Zero2A PTE LTD ("ZeroTrust Platform"), a software company based in Singapore.

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Retiring to Ireland is an age-old dream. We all want to spend our old age drinking tea in a thatched cottage in Killarney, taking breaks only to stroll along the fresh Irish landscape. But I made the move from Brooklyn to Dublin at 23 years of age  the formative years  and it was the best decision I ever made.

Its been over a year, and Im still met with questions on either end. To friends and family on the island of New York, my move seemed random or extreme. To Dubliners it seemed nuts. Why would you leave your cozy spot in the center of it all to settle in a tiny city on an island where youre basically anonymous?

I wasnt totally sure what would happen when I got here, but I never doubted that Dublin would catch me and help me to find what I was looking for. I had the time of my life studying abroad here in college; but while I was aware that being a student with a handbook and an expiration date is easier, I trusted that the city, with its own human personality, would welcome me back, sit me down for a cup of tea, and Id go from there. And I was right.

Not to say that life has been a bed of roses; responsibilities and daily quandaries follow us wherever we go. There are still those failed job interviews, Visa panic, electricity bills and housemate drama. But underlying these inevitable tribulations of someone in her mid-20s is the thrill of newness in a magical place, and the buzz of having Dublin and the Emerald Isle at my fingertips. Its the gift of being able to experience my formative years surrounded by the most genuine of people who take it a bit easier than New Yorkers  people who want you to embrace your youth and dont suggest powering through your 20s with your eyes on the prize.

The beauty of Dublin lies largely in its day-to-day lifestyle and interactions  something not as easily experienced on a short visit. Its the people you come to say hello to on your commute to work, the taxi man, the bartender, the bus driver, your friends and their mothers. Its the buzz of livelihood you can feel in the air  how people walk with their chins up and shoulders back, and dont mind stopping to smell the roses or taking the scenic route. Its a country that begins formal emails with Dear-, and ends them with Warmly, and though the hospitality and good nature is endless, its also a people that can pack a serious punch. While they may apologize for bumping into you on the street, they will not apologize for who they are.

I come from the city of opportunity and advancement, and upon settling in Dublin, for the first time in my adulthood Ive felt so young. Mentioning my age is always met with ah, youre only a baby, youve your whole life ahead of you. Back in New York, theres almost a sense of shame with each new year if you feel like you havent accomplished enough, because there are a million twenty-three-year-olds creating successful apps and startups, publishing books, getting promoted, and juggling their 80-hour work weeks with a flourishing socialite status. Like many brands and models, the NYC brand advertises a gold standard that is, to many, unattainable. So it leaves its inhabitants sometimes perpetually gutted.

An Irish friend of mine who lives in New York made an astute observation: in New York City, people live to work. In Dublin, people work to live. Having the craic is understood to be just as important as anything else, which is why the general demeanor of Dubliners is more cheery than that of New Yorkers, who sulk on the subway with gusto.

Dont get me wrong  the hustle, bustle and grind of New York has a serious buzz of its own. I know I will return and it will be just as I left it. But for now, while Im only a baby, I want to explore my colorful, adoptive city each day, where even taking a new route to the grocery store feels exciting, and the outskirts feel like a different country altogether. I can spend the day working and then stroll onto the DART, take a scenic, 20-minute train ride up or down the Dublin coast and walk out into a seaside village that feels worlds away from the city center.

Vibrant colors surround you in Dublin, from the street art to the Georgian doors to the flowers that always seem to be in bloom. The sporadic rain showers arent so bad, plus its worth it for the rejoicing that flows through the city when the sun comes back.

These days the cultural city is as international as any other and is bursting at the seams with delicious food and creativity. Cat-callers dont exist, bus drivers dont shame you for asking silly questions, and taxi drivers are basically life counselors. The slower, perhaps more forgiving pace of this city is revitalizing. And whenever I leave Dublin for a trip away, I always miss it like I miss an old friend.

If youre having thoughts about moving to Dublin for a year or two while youre young, you should do it. Apply for a Working Holiday Visa. Explore the city and country and relish in your youth. Get to know your community. My only advice is to enjoy it while its in front of you; once in a while I would let my New Yorkers mindset get the best of me, and forget to appreciate what I had because I was searching for something bigger and better.

Being a young one in Dublin is good for you, and the craic flows like Guinness. Why wait until youre 70?

Read more: A guide on moving to Ireland in case Donald Trump is elected

* Originally published in August 2016.
A 22-year-old Dubliner who survived the balcony collapse in Berkeley, California, last summer has told a public hearing in Sacramento that it changed her life forever.

Aoife Beary broke down as she talked about her friends she had known since primary school who died in the balcony collapse on her 21st birthday.
Hillary Clinton has sought to undercut Donald Trump's appeal to working-class voters, claiming her Republican rival is untrustworthy on economic issues and pushes policies that would only benefit the super-wealthy - himself included.

The Democratic presidential nominee, who frequently boasts about her numerous policy plans, did not offer any new ideas to improve the country's economy in her afternoon address.

Instead, she contrasted a more optimistic view of the country's economy with what she called "outlandish Trumpian ideas" that have been rejected by both parties.

"Based on what we know from the Trump campaign, he wants America to work for him and his friends, at the expense of everyone else," she said at a manufacturing company in Michigan.

Mrs Clinton tried to seize the opportunity to win back some of the blue collar voters who have supported her rival, making the case that she offers a steadier roadmap for economic growth and prosperity.

"I can provide serious, steady leadership that can find common ground and build on it based on hard but respectful bargaining," she said.

"I just don't think insults and bullying is how we're going to get things done."

She also reiterated her strong opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, leaving herself little room for backtracking should she win the White House if it is taken up by the lame-duck Congress later this year.

"I oppose it now, I'll oppose it after the election, and I'll oppose it as president," she said, while also noting that the US should not cut itself off from the rest of the world.

Mrs Clinton once called the TPP the "gold standard" of trade deals when she served as Barack Obama's secretary of state but announced her opposition to the deal last year, saying it did not meet her standard for creating jobs, raising wages and protecting national security.

Eric Hernandez, 45, a union crane operator from Davison, Michigan, said he had been on the fence about Mrs Clinton, but the speech impressed him.

"The down-to-earth talk she used today I really liked," he said. "If she implemented all the things she said, I'd be ecstatic."

Mrs Clinton is also planning to release her 2015 tax returns in the coming days, as she seeks to keep the pressure on Mr Trump, who has not provided his.

Mr Trump has said he will not release them until an Internal Revenue Service audit is complete.

A source close to Mrs Clinton said she would soon release the return, supplementing the decades of returns she and her husband have already made public.

Her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, and his wife will also release the past 10 years of their returns.

Her appearance follows Mr Trump's own speech on the economy, which he also delivered in Michigan on Monday.

However, his remarks were quickly eclipsed by the latest in a series of controversial statements which Mr Trump has spent much of the past two weeks trying to clarify.

Just hours before Mrs Clinton's address, Mr Trump unleashed another round of attacks on Mr Obama - calling him the "founder" of Islamic State - and Mrs Clinton, its "co-founder".

Mr Trump said this week he wants to cut taxes for businesses and workers, and go with a three-bracket income tax system that is close to what House Republicans have recommended.

With few exceptions, Mr Trump has provided more of a philosophical basis for an economic plan than specifics, although he did call for greater child care deductions for families.

At an appearance in Miami Beach, Florida, hours before Mrs Clinton's speech, he said his rival "wants to tax and regulate our economy to death".

"If you were a foreign power looking to weaken America, you couldn't ask for anything better than Hillary Clinton as your president," he said, addressing a group of home builders.

Both candidates chose tightly contested Michigan - specifically, the Detroit area - to make their updated economic pitches.

The former manufacturing powerhouse has been hard hit by the decline of the automobile industry and the real estate market.

Mr Trump has struggled to keep the focus on his economic proposal week after fresh controversy with his comments about the Second Amendment.

At a rally on Tuesday, Mr Trump falsely said his Democratic rival wanted to revoke the right to gun ownership.

He then said there was no way people would be able to stop a President Clinton from stacking the Supreme Court with anti-gun justices, before adding: "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is - I don't know."

Democrats said such comments were further evidence that Mr Trump was undisciplined and unprepared for the presidency.

Mr Trump insisted he was never advocating violence against Mrs Clinton.
A suicide bomb suspect has died in an operation by Canadian police to thwart what they said was a planned attack.

A senior police official said Aaron Driver allegedly planned to use a bomb to carry out a suicide mission in a public area.

The official said the suspect was Aaron Driver, originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and in his mid-20s. He was under a court order made earlier this year to not associate with any terrorist organisation, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

In February, Driver's lawyer and the prosecutor agreed to a peace bond stating there were "reasonable grounds to fear that he may participate, contribute directly or indirectly in the activity of a terrorist group".

The police operation continued well into Wednesday night in the southern Ontario town of Strathroy, about 140 miles south west of Toronto.

Irene Lee said police had been camped out near her parents' convenience store since about 4.15pm local time.

She said she was at her home nearby when she heard a loud noise. She said shortly afterwards a police officer told residents to stay inside their homes.

Ms Lee said there were up to 25 marked and unmarked police vehicles outside a home on a street behind her parents' store.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said earlier it halted a possible attack after receiving credible information of a potential terrorist threat.

It said a suspect was identified and the "proper course of action has been taken" to ensure there was no danger to public safety.

Public safety minister Ralph Goodale said he had spoken to prime minister Justin Trudeau about the events "to confirm that public safety has been and continues to be properly protected".

"The RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other police and security agencies were involved in the operations," he said.

"These agencies conducted themselves effectively in the circumstances that developed today."

The national terrorism threat level for Canada remains at "medium" where it has stood since the fall of 2014, Mr Goodale said.

Winnipeg-based lawyer Leonard Tailleur, who handled Driver's peace bond, said he was "shocked" to hear what had happened.

"Saddened to hear that it had to end this way for him," Mr Tailleur said in an email to The Canadian Press.
A judge who called a racist thug a "bit of a c***" after he launched a foul-mouthed tirade at her has been branded a "hero" and a role model for children.

Judge Patricia Lynch QC was sentencing John Hennigan at Chelmsford Crown Court for his ninth breach of an anti-social behaviour order in 11 years when the exchange took place.

The 50-year-old was in the dock when he told Judge Lynch she was a "bit of a c***", to which she responded: "You are a bit of a c*** yourself. Being offensive to me does not help."

Shouting back, Hennigan said: "Go f*** yourself," to which the QC replied: "You too."

Judge Lynch jailed him for 18 months for insulting and making racist slurs against a black Caribbean mother in Harlow, Essex.

After news of her four-letter retort circulated, scores of people took to social media to praise her reaction and choice of words - with many branding her a "hero" and an "idol".

Stan Keaton tweeted: "Judge Patricia Lynch QC has a cracking reply to a racist thug in her courtroom."

David Duncan added: "What a legend judge Patricia Lynch is," while Gemma Tomlinson wrote: "I would like to buy judge Patricia Lynch a drink."

Greg Stone tweeted: "Judge Patricia Lynch, a nation salutes you."

Luke Farley said: "Hats off to Judge Patricia Lynch. I think it was a reasonable response given the vile racist in front of her."

Marc Thomas posted: "It is a bit hard to give children role models nowadays but Judge Patricia Lynch QC is definitely one."

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, which handles complaints about judges, is yet to confirm whether any complaints have been received about Judge Lynch.
While the company could conceivably begin work relatively quickly on a small open pit mine around its headline prospect at Clontibret, in Co Monaghan, Conroy is expected to embark on a single big commercial mining programme linking its three large gold prospects at Clontibret, nearby Glenish and Clay Lake in Co Armagh.

The company has been undertaking a successful drilling campaign across all three areas since June.

This has already resulted in four new gold zones being found at Glenish and one at Clay Lake-Clontibret.

An extension to existing gold zones, at the latter prospect, was announced yesterday. A recent independent study put combined estimated resources for Clay Lake and Clontibret at five million ounces of gold, around five times previous estimates.

While a joint venture partner has long been mooted for Conroy, chairman Professor Richard Conroy said yesterday the positive drilling results of the summer will necessitate the sourcing of a major industry player as development partner.

Meanwhile, Conroys sister company, the Finland-focused Karelian Diamonds is moving closer to its goal of establishing a first commercial diamond mine in the country.

Earlier this year, Karelian said it was eyeing the prospect of developing a mine in Finland after acquiring a mining permit in the centre of the country (Karelians existing Finnish licences are located close to the Russian border) for 150,000 from local player A&G Mining.

The company yesterday said the receipt of an extensive database of information on the permit greatly enhances the chance of a moderate sized mine being developed in the next few years.

Karelian may embark on an extended drilling programme in the area over the next 12 months ahead of that and could also introduce a joint-venture partner to further develop the project.

Both companies shares dropped sharply yesterday; Conroy by over 6% and Karelian by 15%.
With a population of just 56,000 and a GDP of about 2.25bn, Greenland still took three years to exit.

Mr Ellemann-Jensen says any notion in Britain all it needs to do is trigger Article 50 and two years later it will be out is illusory.

Negotiating Greenlands exit was a fairly simple task that resulted in a relatively simple and easy to understand protocol, Mr Ellemann-Jensen, 74, said in an interview.

That took three years. Britain will take much longer. Its impossible to say how long.

Though there are virtually no similarities between Greenland and the UK, its worth pausing to appreciate how long it took a country whose institutions werent intertwined with those of the EU to leave the bloc.

The challenge is to imagine how Britain, whose laws and customs are deeply enmeshed in the fibre of the EU, will ever extract itself. UK Prime Minister Theresa May has already indicated that triggering Article 50  the start signal for official exit talks  wont happen this year.

Meanwhile, the blocs 27 remaining members are constructing a growing list of demands that threaten to make any negotiations more than a little unwieldy.

Britains idea of maintaining similar trade relations to those it enjoys now, without granting EU citizens the same freedom of movement across its borders as they currently enjoy, looks far-fetched.

Basically, the British need to take time to understand what an enormous task they took upon themselves, Mr Ellemann-Jensen said. Asking for a Brexit and expecting it to be clear-cut simply cant happen, he said.

As part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland joined the EU  or the European Communities, as it was then called  in 1973. (That, coincidentally, is the same year Ireland and the UK joined).

In a 1979 referendum, more than two-thirds of Greenlanders backed home rule. With voters feeling theyd been dragged into the EU as a Danish colony, the island held an in-out referendum three years later to protect its fishing industry, which makes up about 90% of Greenlands exports. Anger over quotas resulted in 53% of voters backing an EU exit.

Mr Ellemann-Jensen led the talks together with Greenlands business minister, Lars-Emil Johansen.

The latter later went on to become the islands premier and is now chairman of its parliament. The 69-year-old says the EU didnt give Greenland a timetable. But we had to do a lot of waiting, Mr Johansen said.
Prudential  like other British insurers  has experienced volatility in its share price from the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote at the end of June.

But the life insurer is concentrating its growth efforts on Asia, which contributes around a third of its operating profit.

At the group level, the immediate impact of Brexit will not be material, CEO Mike Wells told reporters on a conference call. Asia has been and will continue to be the growth engine of this group, he said.

But Prudential said in a statement accompanying its first-half results that its UK-domiciled operations, including fund management division M&G, could be hit by Brexit.

M&G chief executive Anne Richards told reporters the company could increase the number of its funds domiciled in Dublin and Luxembourg, depending on the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

What we are trying to do is... give ourselves options so we are in a position to react and adapt, he said.

M&G said shortly after the Brexit vote that it was looking at expanding its operations in Dublin. Under current rules, asset managers need an EU base to sell investment funds to continental European retail investors but it is not clear how this will work post-Brexit.

Mr Wells said Prudential could look to buy firms in the US and Africa, after completing a purchase in Zambia, marking its entry into a fourth African market.

The company reported a forecast-beating 6% rise in first-half operating profit to 2.06bn (2.41bn), led by Asian growth.

Analysts had expected group operating profit of 1.88bn.

Progress in Asia helped to offset lower profit from M&G.

Operating profits in Asia rose 15% to 743m. M&Gs operating profit fell 10% to 225m, and Prudential said M&G continued to experience significant net outflows in the first half.

Prudentials shares rose over 2% yesterday, They are down over 6% this year.

Barrie Cornes, analyst at Panmure, described the results as excellent, reiterating his buy recommendation on the stock. He raised his target price for Prudential to 1610p a share from 1545p.

Prudential said it increased its interim dividend by 5% from a year earlier, to 12.93 pence per share.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced earlier this week it will hold informal talks on the sidelines of a conference in the Algerian capital next month.

Saudi Arabia, the worlds largest crude exporter, told Opec it boosted oil output to a record 10.67m barrels a day in July, according to sources.

Irans output is up to 3.85m barrels a day, Fars news agency reported, citing Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. Thats the highest since 2008.

It only gives one signal to the markets that the Saudis are not here to scale back, especially in the face of Iranians bringing more oil to the market, Abhishek Deshpande, an analyst at Natixis in London, said.

I doubt theres going to be any concrete agreement despite there being talks, he said.

Saudi Arabia typically pumps more oil in the summer to meet higher domestic energy demand from air conditioning. The kingdom is also engaged in a battle for market share with rival Iran and has cut prices to its customers in Asia, the biggest market for both exporters.

Opecs smaller producers, which have driven calls to cap the groups output, could only look on as prices tumbled more than 50% since mid 2014.

The last effort to freeze output in April, which also included non-Opec producer Russia, collapsed after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran be part of the deal.

Iran still opposes any limits on its production, with the country seeking to reclaim its pre-sanctions share of Opecs total output before contributing to any production freeze, according to an Opec delegate who asked not to be identified.

Weakness in global oil markets, which has dragged prices to a three-month low, may persist as demand slows seasonally and fuel inventories remain abundant, Opec said in its monthly report yesterday. Brent futures traded at $45.16 (40.42) a barrel yesterday, having sunk to $41.51 on August 2.

Opec nations arent pushing to revive the aborted April proposal, two delegates from the group said last week, and analysts dont expect any deal to be reached.

These planned OPEC discussions may be viewed by some as a cheap possibility to try and stabilise the market, said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

Its more likely to be a way of further destroying the markets confidence in Opec, as the organisation cries wolf once again.
THE helicopter plunges into the water with three Commissioner of Irish Lights employees aboard. They have seconds to escape from a watery grave before the chopper plunges to the murky depths.

A face appears at a window, then another face at a second window. Then a third. Below the surface the windows are shoved open and all three men in their yellow survival suits swim to the surface.

The training exercise at the National Maritime College of Ireland, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, is a success for these three who are undertaking the Helicopter Underwater Escape Training & Emergency Breathing System (HUET & EBS) to allow them to travel on helicopters for the Commissioner of Irish Lights or to oil rigs to work in the oil and gas industry.

Back on shore (the side of the pool) Ukrainian electronics engineer Alex Pereyaslavates based in Dun Laoghaire looks a relieved man.

Its very useful. Hopefully well never have to use it in real life, but its better to be prepared than sorry, he says.

However, they dont get away that easily. SEftec NMCI Offshore training instructor Joe Morrison, calls them back again.

They need to go back into the helicopter and this time prepare to escape from the water as the helicopter survival unit is revolved 180D. This is all about simulation and is designed to replicate real-life situations where helicopters crash. The recent fatal crash involving 13 oil rig workers off Norway has concentrated minds for this exercise.

So the chopper plunges into the water again with the men in brace position. Rapidly it flips over, disorientating everyone. Two divers on each side of the survival unit are ready to rescue anyone in the case of a real emergency.

Faces appear at the window again, and again all three push through the windows and swim to the surface and clamber into a liferaft. [See video] Helicopters are designed to partially fill with water on impact so that they do not flip over and create an even bigger danger with fractured rotors and smashed glass and metal.

Harry Duggan is an operations officer with the Commissioner of Irish Lights and works on the Granuaile ship which services Irish lighthouses.

What does he think of the course?

The helicopter gets launched into the pool at the NMCI and we do a number of evacuations with the windows in and the windows out and the final test is with the helicopter upside down in the water so youre a little bit disorientated, its completely dark. You just follow it with all the training youve done and pop out the far side, he says.

The final member Roger Valentine is an electronics engineer based at Dun Laoghaire, like the others.

I was a slight bit nervous beforehand, apprehensive about what was going to happen, but there are very good instructors here and they brought us through everything numerous times before we did anything. I felt going down, there are some things you dont expect even though youve swum before so like the water going up your nose.

This training facility can simulate real-life conditions at sea - storm force gales and even thunder and lightning - so all scenarios are covered.

The National Maritime College was set up in 2004 and is a constituent college of the Cork Institute of Technology. It is regarded as the premier third-level maritime college in Europe. It offers degree courses in nautical science, marine engineering, and marine electrotechnology. It is Irelands go-to college for training in a career in commercial shipping

NMCI Services(NMCIS) is the commercial division of the college and provides expert training in the maritime industry. The college has several partnerships such as with the Port of Cork where tailor-made courses are provided for the port sector which has enhanced the reputation of the Port of Cork within the sector.

It also partners with SEFtec which is a manufacturer of the safety training simulators for the world's leading training centres.

On a tour of the facility, business development executive Garrett ORourke shows the bridge simulation' where the conditions of any port in the world can be simulated.

This means that ships captains can experience the exact conditions of the appearance of a harbour, say Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where tides, currents, the visual appearance of the port, harbours, or other shipping can all be included in a computer program and demonstrated as if real.

The trainee feels as if they are piloting a 120,000 tonne vessel up the channel to a major international port.

Alex Pereyaslavates, Harry Duggan, and Roger Valentine of the Commissioner of Irish Lights with NMCI Offshore training instructor Joe Morrison after carrying out a simulated helicopter crash training course at the National Maritime College Ireland at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork." May 12, 2016. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

The college has just provided management consultancy in Angola and has turned a greenfield site into a fully operational maritime and offshore training centre. A nationalisation program was also undertaken where the team at NMCIS (services) trained Angolan to become fully qualified offshore and maritime survival instructors.

The college brings in huge numbers of people for maritime training courses from around the globe. Its clients can vary from local clients such as Kinsale Energy and Commissioner of Irish Lights, to large bluechip multinationals or clients from Middle East, Asia and further afield. A group of 240 Americans are due in the college in July for highly specialised environmental pool drills and jetty operations training.

Another aspect of the college is the Damage Repair Instructional Unit where personnel are trained in conditions mimicking a sinking ship. The unit replicates the interior of a ships hull and water floods in on command to test the survival skills of the workers.

The college also conducts team-building exercises where participants can race around say, Governors Island in New York Harbour or take part in problem-solving scenarios. Participants come from all industries, says Mr ORourke. Extreme weather conditions can be simulated to test the survival skills of maritime workers.

While its many courses are heavy on the acronyms the terms are well known within the industry. It is a maritime training specialists in STCW*, STCW Refresher, simulation, port, bespoke courses and OPITO*.

The latter qualification for example is a requirement for anyone working in the oil and gas industry. The National Maritime College of Ireland has invested over 60m into its ultra-modern training facilities and is at the forefront of maritime training centres globally.

The National Maritime College of Ireland is a huge Irish success story with a big knock-on effect to the local hospitality sector. Thousands of students have donned its survival suits or trained as marine engineers and thousands more industry professionals have trained in life-saving techniques or as ships pilots.

* The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers sets qualification standards for masters, officers and watch personnel on seagoing merchant ships.

** Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation

* For more business, finance and careers news and features don't miss tomorrow's Money&Jobs section in your Irish Examiner print edition each Friday.
With fawning coverage from Fox News and connections with deep-pocketed political donors like Republican mobster and gambling kingpin Sheldon Adelson , Tulsi Gabbard is said to be already readying a 2020 presidential or vice-presidential campaign.





Why else would a Member of Congress from Hawaii be spending time in Iowa this summer ? She acknowledged her presidential ambitions in an interview last fall.





But maybe she's getting ahead of herself. Zephyr Teachouts grassroots progressive challenge to Andrew Cuomo in the 2014 Democratic primary ended the New York governors dreams of national prominence, perhaps including a 2016 presidential campaign. Will Gabbard face the same fate as Cuomo in Saturdays Democratic primary for Hawaiis 2nd Congressional District? Let's hope so.









Maui Time. The publication offered praise of Chan Hodges and critiques of Gabbard Maui-based activist Shay Chan Hodges unabashedly liberal campaign is finally getting noticed by local press. Chan Hodges has almost no money, while Gabbard has a war chest of nearly $ 2 million. But Chan Hodges just registered her first major endorsement, by the well-read alt-weekly. The publication offered praise of Chan Hodges and critiques of Gabbard last week

...[W]eve become less than thrilled with the solidness of Gabbards support for same-sex marriage (the Hawaii Democratic Party LGBT Caucus has refused to support Gabbard for this reason) and her complete (and, to be honest, insulting) refusal to debate Shay Chan Hodges, her primary challengerthe latter of which is especially galling, since as a staunch Bernie Sanders ally and supporter, she criticized the Democratic National Committee for not scheduling more debates with Hillary Clinton.



As far as Chan Hodges is concerned, shes an author and longtime Democratic Party activist (she even contributed an essay to MauiTime a few years ago). As a parent, I manage the realities of satisfying basic human needs every day which should certainly be a requirement for anyone who represents our citizens at any level of government, Chan Hodges said in her MauiTime candidate questionnaire.



...[W]e love Chan Hodges, which is why were giving her the nod.

Even more impressive, local TV news-- usually the last to report on progressive insurgents-- is also making the case for Chan Hodges against Gabbard. Hawaii News Now (the shared Honolulu affiliate of CBS and NBC) recently provided major airtime to the race:

Challenger Shay Chan Hodges has never held a publicly elected position, but has been active in the Democratic Party for the last 20 years. She says she's entered the race because Gabbard isn't the progressive candidate she claims to be.



...Chan Hodges cites Gabbard's record on gun reform legislation and her repeated appearances on Fox News slamming President Barack Obama as proof she isn't Democratic enough to represent Hawaii.



"She's criticizing from the exact same perspective, using the exact same words that Donald Trump is using," Chan Hodges said. "She's criticizing him about the Syrian refugees. She's criticizing him that he isn't using the term 'radical Islam.'"

Gabbard could only offer a meek response: Rather than looking at it based purely on a blind partisan perspective, I look at each issue based on its merit.





Gabbards conservative record isnt surprising, considering it wasnt that long ago that she was helping to run her Republican fathers campaign for Congress and then winning a seat on the Honolulu City Council with an endorsement from the Hawaii Rifle Association. Yet, as Chan Hodges points out, the record is at odds with her constituents' views in this strongly Democratic and progressive district . HI-02 voters have previously elected Congressional Progressive Caucus members Patsy Mink (the first woman of color elected to Congress) and Mazie Hirono (now the only woman of color in the Senate). They have never come close to electing a Republican. For betraying her district's values, Gabbard has an F grade from ProgressivePunch.





Vogue in a Though she couldve followed in her dads footsteps and more honestly run as a Republican, Gabbard claims party affiliation doesnt matter. As she toldin a fluff piece during her first term, People at home dont care whether youve got a D or R in front of your name. Yet in Hawaii she obviously benefits from her Democratic label.





Ever since that magazine article came out three years, observers have been comparing Gabbard to Sarah Palin:

















And, of course, conservatives and crazed Trumpists cant stop lusting over her Palin-like looks and shameless, gratuitous, made-for-Fox attacks on President Obama.





Meanwhile, Chan Hodges is focusing on issues, running radio and Internet commercials in this far-flung district, which covers all Hawaiian Islands:





facebook.com/shayforhawaii/videos/965022896948408/





Chan Hodges has recently joined U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in criticizing Donald Trumps latest example of mindless xenophobia-- a threat to ban Filipino immigrants. Gabbard is silent on the issue. But of course, after expressing common cause with Trump when it comes to criticizing Muslims and banning refugees, what can she say.





Learn more about Chan Hodges here





If she can stay on the air over the next few days, Chan Hodges can make this a competitive race. That would take some of the sheen off of Gabbards carefully cultivated image as a rising star on the national scene. Gabbard 2020 might be relegated to the same status as Cuomo 2016.




At the Parnell Summer School in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, he said: The big test is coming up now, and that is when we come to look at the events after 1916, especially the way we handled the Civil War.

The Civil War soured Irish life for over half a century. It divided families, it divided communities. Now, its only a memory  but its capable of exciting very bad feelings again if it isnt handled properly.

If you look at countries like Spain and France, 70 or 80 years after their bad experiences, its still almost impossible to talk about the Resistance or the Spanish Civil War.

We have to face up to that. And the way I suggest we do it is to continue to be honest with ourselves about what happened: To be authentic, to find out all the facts, and try to explain all the different points of view. But ultimately let the people be the final judges.

I think the tempo will change for the commemoration of the Civil War. 1916 was a central point and there was a huge build-up to it, in the sense of how it would be handled. I hope that for 2022 research and archives will be where most of the activity is.

The generation of the Civil War wouldnt talk about it. They didnt want to talk about it.

Asked how he thought it should be handled, he said: In my view we need to open the archives, let the historians get the work, let the story be told. Then let the chips fall where they may, and then people will make up their own minds.

He challenged what he called Sinn Feins attempt to take over centenary events.

Sinn Fein spent enormous amounts of money on taking over the Ambassador Cinema in Dublin. So they were willing to spend a huge amount of money in an election year on taking over the commemoration.

They would say that, outside of the consensus that has developed over the past year or so, they could claim the 1916 commemoration belonged to them.

Sinn Fein cant claim anything like that.

It was interesting this year that there were very many alternative events organised by Sinn Fein. For example, the party held its own memorial in Bagnelstown...

And again on Easter Sunday, Sinn Fein had their own alternative parade.

Asked if the Government has an obligation to hold commemorations, he said: I think most people were happy this years was held. Otherwise there would have been a vacuum.

I think this years events went well and it worked well, in part, because people were able to make space for different points of view and different attitudes. A big thing I learned from it was that the public were way ahead of the politicians at every stage of this.

Manning challenges Sinn Fein over partys efforts to lay claim to 1916 commemorations
Higher education has yet to focus on this change  including the huge increase in potential students in their 50s and beyond.

Barbara Vacarr, recently named as one of the USs 2015 Influencers in Aging, said this is really worrying more than in any other sector, higher education will need to rethink itself as the population ages or else they will become extinct.

Ms Vacarr, who is spear heading a campaign to get colleges and universities to better serve students in midlife or older, recently addressed a two-day conference at Dublin City University, the first Irish third-level institution to adopt the concept and principles of an age-friendly university.

A recent report from the American Chronicle Research Services sounded the alarm, warning that the vast majority of traditional colleges and universities were heading down the path to extinction unless they shifted their thinking about age.

The adult-education market is the fastest-growing one in higher education for the foreseeable future.

Higher education as a whole has yet to focus on this seismic change  including the massive increase in potential students in their 50s and beyond.

By 2030, 112m Americans alone will be over 55, up from some 76m today. In less than 20 years, the countrys demographics will undergo massive shifts. Today, one in 10 Americans is older than 65; in 25 years, more than one in four will be over 65.

Ms Vacarr said at a time when traditional retirement increasingly marks the beginning of a new phase of work whether by choice, necessity, or some combination of the two, millions of people will need help if they are to make education even more important.

Like students of traditional college age, older people will need help navigating what is fast being recognised as one of lifes major transitions, akin to adolescence in its significance.

In collaboration with Arizona State and Strathclyde universities, DCU hosted the first international age-friendly universities conference over the next two days.

The conference was promoting and developing the concept of the age friendly university.
The man, who cannot be identified, had claimed that his love partner and his mother were killed in two separate homophobic attacks. The High Court heard the tribunal had found the man not to be credible.

He claimed he had been having sex with his partner in his house when he started hearing loud Islamic chanting outside his bedroom window.

The man, aged in his 30s, claimed an angry mob started throwing stones at his window before setting his house on fire but he had managed to escape through a back window. His partner later died in the fire.

He claimed that after he had escaped, he had met a local Catholic priest who had arranged for him to travel in the back of a truck without paying a fee of passage.

He had alleged his mother had died from injuries suffered when her house had also been set on fire because of his homosexuality.

He had told the tribunal that he had travelled by road through Libya and then by sea for several days before arriving in Ireland, where he had unsuccessfully applied for asylum.

An appeal to that decision had later been rejected and he had applied to the High Court for a judicial review.

Ms Justice Carmel Stewart said in a reserved judgment that the tribunal had found it incredible that the man would ever have held hands or showed, as he had said, affection to his partner in public in an area governed by Sharia law and where homosexuals are killed by stoning.

She said the tribunal had also found that the mans belief that his mother died in a fire due to his sexuality was based on mere speculation, and no evidence of his partners and mothers deaths had been given to the tribunal.

Nigerian law criminalised homosexuality with offenders facing up to 14 years imprisonment, and the tribunal had to assess whether the applicant was in fact a homosexual.

Judge Stewart said the applicant had submitted a letter from a group which helps members of the LGBT community in Ireland but the tribunal had found the letter was not sufficient evidence to establish he was a homosexual.

Refusing the Nigerian mans application, the judge said she was satisfied the tribunal acted lawfully in giving its decision.
John Taaffe walked his only daughter Amy down the aisle of St Marys Church in Drogheda, then nipped into the vestry, donned his clerical garb, and re-emerged to conduct the ceremony as Amy married long-time sweetheart David Cunningham.

A deacon in Louth towns St Peters parish, John said: It was emotional when I walked Amy down the aisle. I was, like any father would be, in a bit of a state  my emotions were all over the place.

When I went in to change into my robes it actually took me a while to settle down and get my thoughts together. That was only natural, I suppose. Its not something youd do every day.

And not something hes likely to do again either: Thats true. Amy is my only daughter, I have two sons, Im actually a granddad as well.

He was one of Irelands first permanent deacons after being ordained at St Patricks Cathedral in Armagh in 2013. He can perform weddings and take charge of funerals but cannot celebrate a full Mass, although he can assist a priest.

People get confused when they hear the title deacon. They assume I am going on to be a priest, and there are those type of deacons as well, but I am a permanent one, I am still happily married to Joan, said John.

I was a little surprised when Amy asked me to officiate. My decision to become a deacon was something she struggled with as a teenager but, since I was ordained, she and the rest of the family have been hugely supportive.

His day became even more confusing as he had to perform not one but two speeches for the occasion.

John gave the homily in the church, then delivered a father of the bride speech at the reception in the Cabra Castle hotel in Kingsport.

That was a bit daunting, the homily was the most serious, although I raised a few laughs. The speech at the reception was more intimate; to tell you the truth all I was worried about by that stage was making sure the guests were not fed up listening to me.

John is also the national co-ordinator of the Irish Bishops Drug Initiative.
Mr Justice Bernard Barton said Peter Maguire, aged 58, was on duty in a patrol car with a colleague in September 2005 at Owenabue Car Park, Carrigaline, Co Cork, when he noticed a man roaring, shouting, and making abusive gestures at them.

The judge said Mr Maguire, who sued the minister for finance under a Garda compensation claim, decided to arrest the man for public order offences, but he resisted his arrest and violently assaulted both officers.

The assailant hit Mr Maguire several times on his chest before throwing him against the patrol car and then to the ground where the struggle continued.

The judge said it took three gardai to arrest the man who was later brought to Togher Garda Station where he threatened Mr Maguire.

The assailant had later been charged with several public order offences to which he pleaded guilty.

The judge said Mr Maguire had the next morning felt general soreness, exhaustion and pain in his back, right hip, and leg. The pain had worsened during the following days and he had gone to his GP.

MRI scans had revealed that a right sided nerve root in his lumbar spine was markedly swollen and a disc injury.

Mr Maguire had not recovered from his back pain which affected his work and his family life.

He had to give up his hobby of deep sea fishing and later developed psychiatric injuries.

He had developed low self-esteem and experienced anxiety and low mood. He needed to take time off work several times until his reluctant retirement on medical grounds in 2011 at the age of 53.

The judge said in his judgment that the State argued that Mr Maguire could have continued working on office-based administrative duties. It also claimed he had not suffered any psychiatric disorder.

The judge said he was satisfied Mr Maguire suffered an adjustment disorder and it was a combination of his ongoing physical symptoms and the diminution in his psychological wellbeing that led to his retirement.

The court accepts that it was entirely reasonable in the interests of his health that he should seek to retire from the force and that he did so by reason of his continuing injuries, the judge said.

The judge said he was satisfied that Mr Maguires intention was to retire at the age of 60.

He had not retired after having completed 30 years of service in 2008 despite his ongoing symptoms.

Awarding him 195,000 compensation, the judge said he was not satisfied that Mr Maguires injuries were such as to render him incapable of working.

My impression from observing him and listening to his evidence is that he has come to terms with and has settled into his retirement with psychological benefits, said the judge.
Alex Ellis-Roswell arrived back in Belfast 13 months after starting his epic clockwise journey round the island.

The 23-year-old set off on his 9,000-mile (14,484km) charity challenge from his home town of Margate in Kent two years ago, and had already covered the south coast of England, Wales, the Isle of Man, and the south west of Scotland before boarding the ferry to Belfast in July 2015.

Just over halfway through his fundraising exploits for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), he will now sail back to Stranraer before traversing the rest of the Scottish coastline and the eastern side of England down to London.

Mr Ellis-Roswell, who sold all his possessions to fund the longest of long walks, hopes to arrive back in Margate some time in 2018.

The generosity in Ireland has been amazing, he said. Weve raised loads of money for the RNLI lifeboats. Weve raised more than 27,000 so far.

Ireland has been amazing and I am really thankful for the all the support I have received around Ireland.

He felt compelled to undertake the challenge after experiencing a tough year in 2013 when his father died.

After that I just tried to do something positive and clear my head and I just got the notion to start walking. I have always been around the coast, so the RNLI had always been a charity Ive been aware of and Ive been aware of how important the RNLI is, he said.

Along the journey people have offered him food and places to stay but often he has slept out in the elements. The inclement conditions, combined with the huge number of miles he has clocked up, have also taken their toll on his feet.

I am on my sixth pair of shoes now, he said.

n More info: www.my donate.bt.com/fundraisers/longwalkround
The Cork brewery, now backed by Canadian beer giant Molson Coors, has ordered a number of extra tanks for its brewing facility in the Marina Commercial Park following unprecedented demand for beers in the UK and Ireland.

Currently, its brewing facility in the Marina Commercial Park, which opened last September, is capable of brewing 35,000 hectolitres (hl) of beer per annum. The new order of tanks will boost this to 75,000hl.

In comparison, its original brewery on the North Mall has a capacity of just 1500hl.

Founder Shane Long said: We built another brewery, a much, much bigger facility down the docks, but that has already reached maximum capacity for tank space. We have more tanks on order but because of the growing industry, we have a waiting time of about six months, so it will be the early part of next year before we are ready again.

The brewery also plans to launch a limited run of bottled beers in off-licences in September with plans to increase this further in 2017 when brewing capacity increases.

Franciscan Well beers, which include Shandon Stout and Chieftain IPA, can be found in 10 countries, including in more than 1,000 bars in Ireland. Another 10 new markets will be added next year.

Mr Long said: Well be expanding to another 10 next year. We actually had to pull back the reins because Ireland and the UK got so big for us.

We have a product called Chieftain that has surpassed all expectations forecast-wise. We have to be very careful on activating new markets because the Irish market got so big for us  we didnt see this coming.

It is a tremendous success for the award-winning brewery which defied all odds by starting out in the craft beer market in the 1990s.

Initially a two man operation, more than 20 staff are now employed between the bar and brewery.

When Mr Long founded the Franciscan Well 18 years ago, there were 11 microbreweries in Ireland. Just three survived.

Now, the craft beer market is worth more than 40m nationally, with industry analysts anticipating even further growth in the coming years.
The group in Glounthaune, Co Cork, could be described as best in class when it comes to tackling Japanese knotweed, which is becoming a scourge in many communities.

Glounthaune Tidy Towns members identified 80 of the plants in their area and were so concerned that they set about eradicating them, which meant they had to inject every one of the plants 120,000 stems.

Tidy towns chairman Conor OBrien said they purchased three special stem injectors in Britain, which cost 800 each and set about the task of tackling the plants.

Knotweed is very hard to kill as the roots go three metres deep and form a radius of seven metres around each individual plant from which new plants can spring.

Roots can grow through concrete and can be very destructive to property. Indeed in the UK its presence will prevent a mortgage being granted on a property, Mr OBrien said.

He said stem injection with Glyphosphate (such as Roundup Biactive) is the tidy towns organisations preferred method for killing knotweed.

Stem injection is very effective. It requires a specialist injector gun, but is very labour intensive, he said.

Mr OBrien said its widely accepted that Glyphosphate herbicides are the most effective especially if administered in September/October when the plant is retrenching to the root system on the onset of the first frost.

Locals decided to act after an adverse comment in the 2014 Tidy Towns adjudication report which mentioned the astonishing amount of knotweed in Glounthaune. They carried out a survey in October 2014 covering a distance of 6km along the old N25 route (which also tracks the Cobh- Midleton railway line) and found nearly 80 individual knotweed plants.

We discovered that 98% of the knotweed is on public land. We carried out trials using the stem injection technique early in October 2014. This resulted in almost 100% effectiveness when inspected this year, Mr OBrien added.

Members of Glounthaune Tidy Towns committee near some of the dead Japanese knotweed canes which the organisation is successfully eradicating. Pictures: Denis Minihane

A number of the tidy towns committee attended two alien invasive species seminars/workshops one sponsored by IRD Duhallow, the other by SECAD (South East Cork Area Development). We recruited three teams of two to be trained locally in the stem injection technique, Mr OBrien said.

The organisation has spent around 8,500 so far eradicating the plants. It received financial support from Cobh Municipal area .

We erected signs at all locations where we spotted knotweed to stop anybody inadvertently cutting them.

Mr OBrien believes the knotweed was brought to the Glounthaune area by the Beamish brewing family, who owned Ashbourne House, in the late 1800s.

Japanese knotweed evolved on the higher slopes of volcanoes in Japan where the harsh conditions forced the plant to develop deep roots to survive. Even a tiny sliver of the plant when cut is enough for it to regeneratate.

It has been shown that a snippet of root or rhizome as small as 0.7g will produce viable plants, Mr OBrien said.
Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly put forward the plan yesterday as she called Health Minister Simon Harriss five-point plan to tackle the scandal as little more than re-packaging previously failed policies.

Speaking at Leinster House, the former health worker claimed Irelands 530,000-strong waiting list could be significantly reduced if the system was replaced with a model used in Portugal.

Under the current system, every hospital in the country has its own waiting list, meaning some facilities face chronic delays in treating patients while others have far less pressure placed upon them.

The issue is partially due to the fact hospitals have different specialisms and resources, and is already being addressed to some degree by the hospital groups system introduced by former health ministers James Reilly and Leo Varadkar which connects facilities in specific regions to each other.

However, promoting her own plan yesterday, Sinn Feins health spokesperson Ms OReilly said there was a need to scrap the current waiting list system entirely.

The integrated waiting list works because it means if the queue is moving faster in another hospital you can transfer to that hospital, you can get the treatment you need quick, you can get the treatment in a timely fashion. In Portugal when they introduced it 11 years ago not only did it have an immediate impact, it had a long-lasting and sustainable impact, she said.

However, when pressed, she but was unable to clarify the reduction rate.

Mr Harris has said his plan would reduce the number of people waiting over 18 months by 50% this year. While the target is focussed on just 3,500 patients out of 530,000 on waiting lists, the minister said it was one of many steps to address the health crisis.

However, Ms O Reilly said measures will fail to solve the scandal.

It is little more than a re-hashing and a re-packaging. What we have now is a minister who doesnt have the money and has to repackage these measures and has to try and fix our ailing health service on the cheap.

Hes repackaging plans his predecessors have tried. Now if he wants to call that leadership, good luck to him, but it doesnt seem like leadership to me, she said.




Sometimes there's no incentive for the party bosses like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Steve Israel, Ed Rendell and Chuck Schumer to stick their noses into races and these glorified ward healers let Democratic voters pick their own candidates. That's what happened in North Dakota, where Bernie swept the state caucuses and beat Hillary 64.2 to 25.6%, including big wins in Fargo, Grand Forks and Bismarck and winning 13 of the state's 18 delegates. One of Bernie's biggest champions in the state is Marvin Nelson, the progressive Democratic candidate for Governor in North Dakota, he state Representative for the 9th district in the north central part of the state (Rolla, Dunseith, Rolette),. Nelson is a small business owner who is running as a proud Bernie Democrat in this open seat race against a self funding billionaire, Doug Burgum, who very blatantly bought his primary victory over the sitting state Attorney General, Wayne Stenehjem.





I asked Marvin write about what it means to be a progressive in North Dakota, since it isn't something most of us know much about. Below is his guest post. Please consider contributing to his campaign here after you read it.





Moving The Progressive Agenda Forward-- In North Dakota

-by Rep. Marvin Nelson,

candidate, Governor of North Dakota





The fight for progressive thought is woven throughout North Dakota; it goes beyond political party, geography, and demographics. Its a part of who we are.





For over 100 years, since the Non-Partisan League first formed in North Dakota, the progressive movement has influenced how we think and how we vote.





In 1915, a group of farmers banded together to fight against treatment they received at the hands of business, especially the grain trade, banks and railroads. Together, they formed the Non-Partisan League. In those early days, the movement grew from an agrarian fight to a larger cooperative movement that strove for more equitable capitalism. They built the State Mill and Elevator to regulate the grain trade, and the State Bank, to provide fair access to capital.





Today, we still have these important entities. They have served us well, even in the face of regular attempts to disband them.





Cooperatives can be found everywhere-- youll recognize them in the local gas station, the telephone company, and the electric companies. Cooperatives have turned the lights on in North Dakota and have brought our people the essential services we all depend on today.





The Progressive thought of our cooperatives still battles against the corporate interests that continue-- to this day-- to take advantage of people. If we band together once more, we can stop them.





The stories of Alexander McKenzie holding nightly court to control the legislature to favor railroads and grain companies are infamous, and the influence of corporations today through special interests, donors, and lobbyists isnt that much different. McKenzie was the early political boss of North Dakota, he was successful in getting the capital moved to Bismarck, where he was sheriff, and could control the government. For McKenzie, friendly legislators got the things they wanted. Those who opposed him were pushed aside and ignored. The names have changed, but not much else.





The conflict between the people and the corporations is as pronounced today as it has ever been. The state recently had to cut its budget. Cut were daycare, homemaker services for senior citizens, treatment for opioid addiction, and Medicaid. Not cut were tax credits for real estate developers, for funds to invest in companies having nothing to do with North Dakota, for funding endowments, even new signs at the state capital. In short, poor and disabled were cut, the wealthiest were not. We also have an extremely inadequate worker's compensation system, where severely injured are harassed until they quit and benefits are so low, injured workers cannot support themselves; every worker is at risk of financial disaster.





I am running to be Governor of North Dakota, this is the only Republican-held Governor's seat that is open this election cycle and there is great dissatisfaction with the status quo. My theme is a North Dakota for all North Dakotans. Our reservations are a model of chronic poverty. The legislative majority refused to make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation. Anti-Citizen's United legislation got only the minimum attention allowed. Women are still second class citizens.





Together, we must band as one again. We must fight for workers rights through union strength-- not the corporate interests masked beneath the crushing "right to work" movement. Lets raise wages. Lets fight for equal pay for equal work. Lets fight for a living wage. Let's fight for paid sick days and paid family and medical leave! Human rights belong to people, not corporations. People should be free to be who they are without fear of discrimination.





Together, let us take on this fight. Let us move the Progressive agenda forward.








John OHanrahan (37) of Castlecurragh Vale, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 died on February 8 2015. His family were notified of his death the following day by the mans psychiatrist, Dublin Coroners Court heard.

Hostel worker Denise Campbell carried out supervisory and housekeeping duties at the five bedroom house in Blanchardstown. There were four residents living there at the time, she said.

The deceased mans father, Noel OHanrahan, told Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane he thought there was no staff at the facility on the day of his sons death. Ms Campbell confirmed there was no staff available.

There was no weekend staff available to work that weekend, she said. It happens every now and then.

Ms Campbell said she arrived at work on Monday February 9 at 8am. She called the residents to get up for work or attend their individual activities. When she got no response from Mr OHanrahan, she entered his room. He was unresponsive and his body was cold, she said.

Mr O Hanrahan had suffered a period of instability in early January 2014, when he stopped taking his medication, the court heard. However, he was doing well at the house and was described as being in good form prior to his death.

Mr Hanrahan had gone to his mothers house on the Saturday, his father told the court. He returned to the house on Saturday night.

He had a number of medications in his system at the time of his death, including xanax, valium and the anti-psychotic drug clozapine.

A post-mortem report found he died due to the combined central nervous system depressive effects of xanac, diazepam and clozapine, according to Pathologist Dr Eamon Leen.

A toxicology report showed he also had zopiclone, a sleeping pill and morphine in his system at the time of his death.

None of the substances were present in toxic levels but the combined effect is extremely sedating, the coroner said.

The depression of the central nervous system deprives you of the stimulus to breathe, you enter into a deep coma from which you do not recover, Dr Cullinane said.

Returning a verdict of death by misadventure, the coroner offered her condolences to the family.

Clearly he had difficulties but he was very well loved and supported and he was getting some stability back into his life, Dr Cullinane said.
That is according to the chief executive of an Irish-based online ticketing sales firm who told a Workplace Relations Commission hearing that during the incident last October, the sales manager made a shooting action, putting his fingers to his head. As a result the chief executive went to a Garda station to make a complaint of assault.

Less than two weeks later, the sales manager was sacked from the firm after the directors carried out a Google search of the mans name and found a 2009 newspaper article which shocked them and put them in immediate fear.
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe has said the card, first rolled out in 2012 to allow people claim social welfare payments and State pensions, is being expanded to include other services. Everyone over the age of 18 can use the card and Mr Donohoe said millions of euro have already been saved through fraud prevention since its introduction.

The minister said: The public services card acts as a key to more efficient and better-run public services. It enables the State to provide new and enhanced services to the public while also achieving efficiencies in administration and helping to eliminate fraud.

The card is an already accepted form of photo identity for electoral purposes and all SUSI grant applicants.

The Road Safety Authority and the National Treasury Management Agency are also developing plans for the process to support new drivers licence applications and proof of identity for State Savings purposes. Work is also ongoing to establish how it might replace the Garda age card in the future, Mr Donohoe said.

Anyone applying for adult passports for the first time must now have the card, but it is not required for people renewing their passports.

Two million people already have the card and the Government hopes a further one million will have signed up by the end of next year.

Mr Donohoe said: In terms of the cost, its already delivering significant savings; we estimate that since it was made available we have already saved 2m through the reduction in fraud and through people claiming services they are not entitled to.

He said the card would eliminate the duplication of identities or multiple benefit claims being made by individuals.

We want to have a system where the citizen needs to register once and can use that registration to access multiple services.

Its a benefit to the citizen and its a benefit to the State.

Separately, the Dublin Central TD said work on the north inner city plan, developed in response to a spate of gangland murders, is moving fast and moving in the way that we outlined to the community.

The Government has committed to invest 1.6 million in the capitals north inner city in a bid to tackle drug and gang-related issues in the area. He said Taoiseach Mr Kenny had again visited the area in the past two weeks and met with elderly people living on Sean McDermott Street and leaders of community groups.

Kieran Mulvey, who was the figurehead appointed by the government to put together and evaluate where we are and to identify a new strategy as to how we might respond back to these challenges, has already had meetings with a number of key groups in the area and that work will continue regardless of whether the Dail is in session or not, the minister said.

Mr Mulvey has been tasked to deliver a report outlining a 10-year plan for the area by November and Mr Donohoe yesterday was confident the deadline will be met.
To learn that your unborn child or newborn baby is unwell and is not going to grow to achieve all that you wish for, or is not going to survive, must be one of the most harrowing situations imaginable for any parent.

The familys aspirations and dreams for the child are taken away and replaced with grief and distress, at the very time when the family should be facing a future with joy, hope and happiness.

Some families have to face the knowledge their child will not survive and may make the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy, Mr Harris said.

Most importantly, all of these families need to know that, regardless of the nature of the loss, appropriate support will be available, if and when required, he added.

Mr Harris was speaking yesterday, at the launch of the National Standards for Bereavement Care Following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death.

During our development process, Savita and many of the people whove experienced pregnancy loss, were at the core of the development of the standards, said Ciaran Browne, from the HSE, who chaired the development group.

Mr Harris also acknowledged that Ireland has been behind the curve in relation to the care of parents grieving a child through pregnancy loss or perinatal death.

Regrettably Ireland has been behind the curve in bereavement care, and much of the need for bereavement support has been unmet, he said.

Mr Harris was then asked if he believed Irish women did not receive adequate care in the past.

I said in the Dail that I believe women in this country historically, have not received the level of support and care from our health service and indeed from other parts of society that they should have, he said.

There are four standards being introduced, which relate to bereavement care, the hospital, the baby and parents and the staff.

Keelin ODonoghue, a consultant obstetrician in Cork University Maternity Hospital and a senior lecturer in University College Cork has been appointed to oversee the standards implementation.

In Ireland, because of our circumstances, whereby many parents have not chosen termination of pregnancy or have not had the choice to do so in Ireland, we have developed skilled experience in looking after parents during pregnancy and afterwards in these situations, said Ms ODonoghue.

I would like to think we have equal regard for those parents who choose to continue their pregnancy and that we regard the short lives and the precious experiences that they have, as well as those families diagnosed with a major foetal anomaly who choose not to continue in their pregnancy and obviously support them recognising the extra trauma that they face in currently having to travel outside the country, she added.
The boy, aged 17, is charged with assault causing harm to a male member of staff, criminal damage to fixtures and fittings at a care home in Dublin, and resisting arrest.

The DPP had recommended the teen be tried in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, which has tougher sentencing powers.

A preliminary hearing was held to decide whether the case would remain in the juvenile court or go forward to the higher court.

In an outline of evidence, Garda Andrew Sheerin of Ballyfermot station told Judge John OConnor at the Dublin Childrens Court that there had been an incident in the care facility and the teen had to be restrained by staff. The boy bit one of the care workers four times.

It is alleged that on the same date, he caused 1,100 worth of damage to a mirror, sink, window, and table at his care home.

Garda Sheerin said that when he got to the home the teen was lying on his bed and became aggressive towards him, making attempts to bite him.

The defence made submissions under section 75 of the Children Act for the case to stay in the Childrens Court. It can accept jurisdiction in serious cases following submissions in relation to age and level of maturity, as well as other relevant factors.

Damian McKeone, defending, asked Judge OConnor to note that the boy has been in full care since he was aged four. The teen was accompanied to the hearing by his mother and youth workers.

He has substance abuse problems, has attended addiction counselling, and accepted he had an anger management problem.

Judge OConnor said the youth was almost 18 and it was a serious case. He accepted that reactive detachment issues were serious but said they cannot be used as an excuse for carrying out a serious assault.

He refused jurisdiction and remanded the youth on bail to appear again in September when it is expected he will be served with a book of evidence and sent forward for trial.
The charity that supports older people to age at home has called on the Government to increase home help hours in line with demand.

Alone chief executive, Sean Moynihan, said the number of home help hours had been cut by 1.58m since 2010, but over that time, the number of older people in the state had increased by 18%.

The elderly woman, who broke her pelvis, has been cleared by her doctors to go home but they did not want to discharge her until a home care package was in place.

This case is a clear example of how the system is failing our older people, said Mr Moynihan.

The woman from South Mayo has been a patient at Mayo University Hospital for almost 300 days. Her home care package has been approved, but there is no funding available.

The HSE said the Galway, Mayo and Roscommon area had been providing home care supports in excess of the funded levels of service.

The health authority said it was now required to bring the level of service and expenditure back into equilibrium with allocated budgets.

Mr Moynihan said it made economic sense to provide the elderly woman with the home help she needed.

A home care package would only cost around 400 a week while keeping this lady in hospital, taking up an acute bed, is costing 7,000 a week, he said.

The HSE said all home care applications are considered by the Home Care Fora, which included representatives from older people services and nursing.

The allocation of care is focussed on prioritised cases within available resources, it pointed out.

The womans daughter, who does not want to be identified, said because she was working, she would have to get a loan to pay around 600 a week for a private nurse to care for her mother. She said her mother was receiving the best of care at the hospital, but all she wanted was to be in her home again, and was finding it difficult to keep her spirits up.

Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne blamed pure Leprechaun economics for the elderly womans plight.

How far are we away from the point where the hospital budget is spent, and people who are dying are left outside, he asked.

I am appalled that this is happening in the Taoiseachs constituency, and there is no public outcry about it.

This woman wants to go home. This is terrible, unbelievable. We have four TDs in Mayo and five senators. Of the four TDs, two are in government, and the other two are supporting that government. I am also saying to Fianna Fail TDs in this constituency  have they confidence in the kind of government that is allowing this to happen?
POLDARK, BBC ONE

Whether the bare chest of Irish actor Aidan Turner (Ross Poldark) will make an appearance in the second series of BBC One hit drama Poldark is yet to be seen. But what we do know is therell be plenty of drama as he traverses new family, new loves and new battles, against the stunning Cornish clifftops and countryside. Lookout for a charged encounter between Ross and his ex, Elizabeth (Heida Reed), too, which has reportedly been tamed down from Winston Grahams fourth Poldark book, Warleggan.

ONE OF US, BBC ONE

Theres a lot to look forward to in One Of Us: a script by brothers Harry and Jack Williams, who wrote The Missing; an ensemble cast including Juliet Stevenson, John Lynch and Joe Dempsie; and the beautiful yet brooding Highlands as a backdrop. Over four episodes, we see how a double murder affects the lives of two families living close together in an isolated corner of Scotland.

THE CROWN, NETFLIX

Its been quite a year for Queen Elizabeth II with her 90th birthday celebrations. Netflix will be honouring her this November with the premiere of the 10-part drama The Crown (rumoured to have cost 100 million) starring Wolf Halls Claire Foy as the monarch and Matt Smith as Prince Phillip. Peter Morgan, the man behind The Audience, has written the screenplay, which goes behind the doors of Westminster and Buckingham Palace, as the young newly-wed faces the daunting prospect of becoming queen.

TUTANKHAMUN, ITV

ITVs new four-part mini-series Tutankhamun is set to be a hot and sweaty historical saga. Max Irons (son of Jeremy) is sporting spiffing facial hair to play the talented and innovative archaeologist Howard Carter.

NO OFFENCE, CHANNEL 4

Following its first series, No Offence, Paul Abbotts police drama with clout, is back for a second run and this time it sees Joanna Scanlans plain-speaking DI Viv Deering take on Nora Attah, the matriarch of Manchesters most feared crime family. Abbott will no doubt inject his trademark warmth into the seven new episodes - however grim it gets.

WESTWORLD, SKY ATLANTIC

An ambitious new 10-part series thats half western, half science fiction. Set in a futuristic theme park staffed by artificial beings, guests are told they can live out their wildest fantasies, and be whoever they want to be. Thats all fine until the robots begin to run amok. Executive produced by JJ Abrams and Jonathan Nolan, it stars the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Thandie Newton.

JOANNA LUMLEY IN JAPAN, ITV

Following her escapades along the Trans-Siberian railway, Lumley is set to take viewers on new adventures in Japan. In the three-part documentary,she travels 2,000 miles by boat, train, plane and by foot, from the Siberian seas up north to the subtropical islands of the south.
If it kills you, dont eat it again: thats Evan Doyles humorous rule of thumb for finding your own food. The Wilds Foods co-author is hosting a masterclass on how to rummage for everything from garlic to gooseberries in the hedgerows. Surveying the apprehensive faces of the first-time foragers gathered at BrookLodge however, he acknowledges many Irish people still suffer from Snow White syndrome - a Disney-rooted fear of dangerous fruit and vegetables.

I think Irish people are really scared of this, admits Evan, proprietor of eco-friendly hotel set in Macreddin Village in Wicklow. We think mushrooms grow deep in the forest and the Wicked Witch is there offering you a poisoned apple, but this isnt the way.

The French, Italians, Germans, Spanish and Polish all grow up foraging. We used to do it until we were told not to and until Walt Disney made Snow White.

Then it was like, Woah, no more wild food for us! 

Sure enough, the only foraging Ive ever done for food is in the back of the fridge at four oclock in the morning. While countryside strolls have always involved avoiding nettles - not plucking them for soup.

As the crash course on how to gather, cook and preserve wild food begins, Im not the only one surprised by the amount of incredible edibles we drive by everyday in our ditches.

Theres 327,000 kilometres of hedgerows in Ireland, explains Evan, whose one day masterclass costs 90 including a two-course lunch.

We have more hedgerows than any other country in Europe. For me, its the best reason to go for a walk because you can walk and you can spot things.

Unlike a farmer, you cant predict when the crop is going to come up, he continues. When a crop comes up, you have to grab it when its happening and stock up for the winter time.

The rule of thumb is go out with someone whos been foraging before. Once you spot these things, it becomes ingrained to look.

Wild rowanberries, found on the native tree of the same name from August and typically turned into jam, and wild elderflower, found on the elder tree from May and often transformed into cordial, are two of the things were shown how to identify before venturing into the wild.

But even the ubiquitous daisy  a superfood crammed with Vitamin C  can be used in todays back-to-basics cuisine, according to Evan, who opened Irelands first fully organic restaurant, The Strawberry Tree, at BrookLodge 28 years ago.

Wild food is something that has been on the menu here since 1988, tells the foraging expert, who fought for a derogation from the Department of Agriculture to serve food found on the grounds of the hotel in its award-winning restaurant. I hired my first wild food forager in 1989.

In Ireland, we have a problem with processed foods. But I think [people are going] back to real foods.

Weve been doing wild foods masterclasses for twelve years now. Without a shadow of a doubt, its become more fashionable in the last few years. Preservation is key, warns Evan, explaining how alcohol, sugar and vinegar are traditionally used in the process from foliage to fork.

Perhaps the most idiot-proof method of drying leaves such as wild garlic though  perfect for pimping a stew  is to pop them in the hot press for a few days.

A lot of people go out and collect a bag of wild garlic and lift up the chest freezer door and throw it in, he says. Then a year later, theyre looking at this frozen white plastic bag, trying to figure out what the feck is inside it.

If you save them the same way as our grandparents and our great-grandparents did, then it makes a really good add-in for something you might be cooking at home.

With Fraughan Sunday  when the fruit of the bilberry plant was historically harvested in Ireland  coming up this weekend, Evan urged everyone to give the self-sufficient food trend a go.

After a fistful of drunken sloe berries, our group was sold, anyway.

Its very easy at Christmas time to buy your friends a BT voucher, he reckons. Its lovely  but its lastminute.com. To be able to go out in October, pick the sloes and make sloe gin is really special.

Its so easy: its a quarter sugar, up to the three-quarter mark with sloes and fill it with really good vodka or gin. Shake it once a day for seven days, once a week for seven weeks and its ready.

You decant it and give them this beautiful red liqueur and youre left with the drunken sloes for stuffing the goose or turkey and [putting] on the porridge, adds Evan, whose insider tips can also be found on www.wildandslow.com.

We even put a Google Earth photo of the actual bush we picked the berries from on the bottle!

www.brooklodge.com.

Foraging for food should be done outside, not at the back of the fridge, says Deirdre Reynolds
The company says that its looking for an enthusiastic Pokemon Master for the FIRST EVER Pokemon Job in the world. It says that it wants people who are Pokemon fanatics and always out on an adventure to catch them to apply.

Funzing has open positions in Singapore and in the UK. It says that a three month payment is guaranteed and the job description entails Catching Pokemons, Training others on a daily basis, teaching secrets and tips and hosting lure parties, walks, raves and experiences.
In the unlikely event that you remember Disneys rather odd 1977 live-action/animated feature Petes Dragon, banish it from your mind as this is really an entirely different movie.

Which is absolutely fine as the combination of a collection of hard working and charismatic actors and a simple but magical concept makes the film something of an an unexpected delight.

We live in a pretty cynical age so its refreshing to find a film thats so open in its intentions- presenting an uncomplicated story about a boy and his sometimes invisible dragon. There are pleasant people like Robert Redford telling stories, competent kid actors and a gorgeously animated creature waiting in the wings.

Magic is hard to capture on screen when were so used to impeccable effects and modern films borrowing nostalgia instead of creating anything special on their own but director David Lowery manages to conjure up some here.

Even the setting adds to the mystery, an ill-defined late 70s or early 80s era which certainly recalls the time and place of familiar adventure films but isnt interested in references and callbacks.

The timing feels essential to the story-telling, back before the proliferation of Google Maps and mobile phones robbed the mystery from the world, and a convenient decade or three from modern times.

Cast wise its all very watchable, especially Redford and Bryce Dallas Howard as well as young folks Oakes Fegley and Oona Laurence. Karl Urban has a tough line to follow as the films only semi baddie and is a solid target for boos and hisses.

The only blip to my mind was Wes Bentley who just felt a little out of place. Mostly I kept thinking about how much Id prefer to see James Marsden in the role but thats true for pretty much any movie. More Marsden please.

Then theres Elliot the dragon who the film spends little time hiding, and rightly so as hes a marvellous creation from the folks at Weta Digital. Pulling off the green fur in any kind of realistic fashion takes a talented SFX crew and theres a real sense of weight and presence to the beast, complete with a dog-like persona that works, even if its a little on the lazy side.

Petes Dragon has enough moments of comedy and all-ages drama to keep the whole family entertained but its at its best when venturing into forests in search of the unknown or soaring above the clouds on magical wings. Well worth seeking out in cinemas, but the 3D is far from necessary.

4/5

-Daniel Anderson
Sometimes the most important thing that happens is what doesnt happen  or, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, its the dog that doesnt bark in the night. The lack of response to the European Commissions non-enforcement in Spain and Portugal of the terms of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is one of those times.

According to SGP rules, the Commission should have proposed a fine to be levied on Spain and Portugal for overshooting their fiscal deficit targets by a wide margin. The fine would have been largely symbolic, but the Commission seems to have decided that the symbolism wasnt worth it.

And it was not only the Commission that chose not to bark; the rest of Europe remained silent as well. Not even Germany, the European Unions leading austerity watchdog, perked up. In fact, there have been reports that German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble lobbied several commissioners not to impose fines on Spain or Portugal. The German financial press, which often criticises the European Commission for being too lax, barely registered the decision.

What explains the silence? There is precedent for fiscal leniency in the EU. In 2003, all three large eurozone countries (France, Germany, and Italy) were running deficits in excess of 3% of GDP, the upper limit established by the SGP. Toward the end of that year, it was clear that France and Germany (then with record-high unemployment) were not fulfilling their deficit-reduction commitments.

But, unlike today, the Commission did bark (even if it could not really bite). It proposed ratcheting up the SGPs so-called excessive deficit procedure. The proposal did not entail any fines; rather, it focused on the stage before fines would be considered. Nonetheless, EU finance ministers strenuously opposed it, largely for political reasons.

The clash occupied the front pages of newspapers all over Europe, especially in Germany, where the press, like the political opposition, was eager to chastise Chancellor Gerhard Schroders government for its failure to uphold fiscal rectitude. There were heated debates on the fiscal rules, and the Commissions role in enforcing them. In short, everyone was howling.

Despite the resistance, the Commission decided to plough ahead and censure Germany and France. With that decision, it sent a clear message that it took seriously its responsibility to administer the EU treaties  so seriously, in fact, that it would enforce rules with which it did not necessarily agree. Indeed, the Commissions then-president, Romano Prodi, had already harshly criticised the SGPs rigidity. Ultimately, however, political interests won the day, and the EU finance ministers voted down the proposal.

The ministers subsequently moved to reform the SGP, shifting the focus from headline deficits to a measure of the fiscal position that takes into account the state of the economy. The Commission accepted the reform, and has since made additional changes, each time proudly declaring that the SGP is more flexible and intelligent than ever.

Today, Spain and Portugal are not adhering even to the new flexible rules. Yet the current Commission, led by president Jean-Claude Juncker, was divided on whether to enforce them, with some commissioners favouring leniency. Schaubles intervention, it seems, settled the matter. Clearly, when it comes to allowing political considerations to affect enforcement of the rules, not much has changed.

And, in fact, this time around, the Commission had more power to override resistance from finance ministers. After the 2008 economic crisis, Europe introduced a reverse majority rule, under which any Commission proposal to impose a fine is final, unless EU finance ministers can muster a two-thirds majority against it. And herein lies a key difference between today and 2003: the Commissions commitment to enforcing SGP rules has waned.

The relative silence of the public and the media drive the point home. Support for the fiscal rules has faded. Perhaps, with a surge in terrorist attacks, particularly in Germany and France, citizens and leaders are too preoccupied with security issues. The UKs impending Brexit is also consuming attention. And continuing high employment in many countries may seem more urgent than reducing deficits.

But the decline in support for European fiscal rules carries serious risks. If the most concrete elements of the eurozones governance framework are not applied, what will compel member states to undertake reforms and stabilise their debt levels? Vague exhortations will not work. It seems the crisis, and the untenably large risk premia for highly indebted governments that followed, has already been forgotten.

Officially, the Commission is still working to realise the blueprint for a genuine Economic and Monetary Union. But in the wake of the Commissions decision not to enforce the SGP, this effort has become meaningless. It is now clearer than ever that EU member states prioritise domestic political imperatives over common rules  and Europes common good.

Daniel Gros is director of the Center for European Policy Studies.
My vocabulary consisted of the words: boy, girl, apple, and orange. We had come to Ireland from Iran for my Mum to study for her PhD. That first week, her supervisor was good enough to take us to the school where we were to register. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we got lost en route to the school. But on arrival we were welcomed warmly and registered on the spot. We were even given our green uniforms and some books. The next day we were ready to go to school.

Later in the week, however, my Mums supervisor got a call. It was from a school principal wondering where her new pupils were. Somehow, between the supervisors benevolence and our language capacity, we had ended up at a different school from the one where we were supposed to have registered.

However, given the warm reception we had already received and our Iranian custom of tarof (a complicated rubric of politeness that fans of Mrs Doyle from Father Ted would immediately recognise) we ended up staying at the first school. A central figure in the decision was Sr Regis. I remember her to have been almost luminous with kindness. She took our hands and said some words, which we did not understand. But somehow she conveyed to us that she would be teaching us English in the hours after school ended for the day. And sure enough, the first full day she came to meet us.

She was bent by age, and having reached her full height some years ago was now growing downwards again. We walk alongside as she shuffled, leading the way to the school locker room, which for some inexplicable reason was the venue for English language classes. The class consisted of me and my sister, Leila, two Spanish exchange students, and two Chinese students, who would sometimes come to classes and who sometimes wouldnt.

Sr Regis had spent many years teaching in Pakistan, spoke Urdu and knew of The Shahnameh, Firdausis epic Persian poem. She used to refer to Leila and me as her two lovely girls. There were days when Sr Regis would ask us to read aloud at length. None of us could read well. I suppose the staccato lullaby of syllables untethered from words, combined with a stuffy blanket of smells thrown about us all by the locker room, was soporific. There were many times before we had reached the end of our assignment when we would look up to see Sr Ridges having a little nap. Leila and I would then look at each other. We so wanted to laugh! But our respect for Sr Regis was stronger and we ploughed ahead through the text as she slept.

This was a small miracle for two girls prone to laugh at almost anything almost anywhere. In fact, we grew so fond of Sr Regis that even after leaving the school we went to visit her at the convent in Monsktown.

Despite the warmth of our welcome at the school, our identities were also challenged from the first day. Leila and I, who wore headscarves at the time, were asked to remove them at the school gate. Students wanted to know about whether we lived in tents in the desert or rode camels. And perhaps because our arrival followed in the wake of the singularly terrible film, Not Without My Daughter, it seemed to be our Iranian more than our Muslim identities that were queried with supercilious caution.

My own daughter will start Montessori school in the autumn and so I have been drawn to thinking about early spaces of learning this summer  how they work in Ireland, how they work in Iran, how they work all around the world. I look back, remembering how easy it was to enter the school system in Ireland and avail of our right to education.

A right to education can be curtailed by many things. War or displacement, economic, racial, ethnic and gender inequalities may all be factors, either singularly or in combination. One of the earliest concerns of womens movements in Muslim majority countries was with the securing right to education for girls and with closing the gender gap across the public sector. Gender equality remains a challenge in these countries, even as it does in sections of Europe.

In some, though not all, Muslim majority countries, the right to education is limited by gender inequalities, which intrude on the ability of girls to access and benefit from education.

A prominent and iconic voice of challenge to this kind of paradigm, wrongly rooted in both bad theology and cultural misogyny, has been that of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai. While certainly exceptional and exemplary, I would argue that Malala should not be seen as atypical. Gender gaps are not natural things, but constructed ones. There are many Malalas out there, straining against systems that seek to keep them away from the school gate. Perhaps Sr Regis, who had spent so much time in Malalas native Pakistan, knew something of this. She certainly always treated us with respect and love and I love her for having imparted linguistic knowledge to us in between naps.

Twenty years ago two Muslim girls looking for a school to attend in Dublin might have been seen as exceptional or atypical. That is less the case today. Though varying in structure and degree, gender and religious inequality is a live issue the world over. And while wearing my academic hat, I concentrate on researching female religious authority in the Muslim world, as a parent I find Im also concerned about religious authority, relative to education at home here in Ireland.

For my own part, due in no small way to my formative years in Iran, I am convinced that the intertwining of religion and state is a thing best avoided.

I am likewise convinced that the outsourcing of a states duty of education to a system of religious patronage undermines both the right to education as well as the right to freedom of religion or belief.

Some may say that comparing the way the school patronage system works in Ireland to that of educational systems in other countries is like comparing apples and oranges. That may be true. But with a mother who has a PhD in horticulture, I can also tell you that there is a lot of fruit in the world, much of which I have yet to learn the name of.

* Dr Roja Fazaeli is a lecturer in Islamic civilisations in the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Trinity College Dublin
The latest salvo directed at the UKs attempts to broker a deal with the EU akin to that enjoyed by Norway has come from within the Norwegian government itself.

Norways European affairs minister, Elisabeth Vik Aspaker, has expressed hesitations about the UK possibly returning to the European Free Trade Association, the small group of small nations that has access to the European single market without being part of the EU.
Mohammad Basheer Abdul Khadar was on the Emirates plane that crashed and burst into flames on the runway of Dubais airport last Wednesday.

He escaped along with all 300 on board minutes before the plane exploded in a huge fireball.

Now the 62-year-old grandfather is celebrating life even more. His ticket was drawn in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire lottery at Concourse A at Dubai International Airport.

Khadar, who works in a Dubai car dealership, purchased the ticket before going on a family holiday to Thiruvananthapuram in the south Indian state of Kerala.

During his return flight he was seated on the doomed plane that including 24 Britons, six Americans, and four Irish passengers.

The passengers were led to safety minutes before the Boeing 777 was completely engulfed in flames.

I have been working in Dubai for 37 years, and I have always felt like this is my country, he said.

I live a simple life, and now that its my time to retire, I feel like God gave me a second life when I survived the plane crash, and blessed me with this money to follow all this up by doing good things.

Khadar said he intends to move back to India and use the money to help children in need. He was only four months away from retirement before the tumultuous events of the past week.

I am blessed and cant wait to share the news with my family, he said.

If you ask me about my plans, I obviously want to help the children in Kerala who are less fortunate than others and need some financial help and medical support.

"I dont want to give it to a charity or build a business, I want to go out and find people who really need help and give them money. I was poor, and I know what people go through.
Leaked documents published by the Guardian Australia detail again the abuse at the centre on tiny Nauru, one of two run by Australia on neighbouring South Pacific islands.

Children bear the brunt of the trauma.

The closely protected camps, and Australias hard-line immigration policy against illegal boat arrivals, have been widely criticised by the United Nations and human rights groups.

Asylum seekers intercepted at sea are sent to Nauru and to another camp on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea, and told they will never be settled in Australia.

The number of refugees and asylum seekers trying to reach Australia is tiny compared with Europe.

However, immigration has long been an emotive issue in Australia and the hardline policy has bipartisan political support.

Australia said it was seeking to confirm that all reports had been dealt with by Nauru police.

Its important to note many of these incident reports reflect unconfirmed allegations, a spokeswoman for Australias Department of Immigration said.

The more than 2,000 leaked incident reports published by the Guardian cover the period between August 2013 and October 2015.

Children account for less than 20% of the 500 detainees held on Nauru. There were 59 reports of assaults on children, and seven reports of sexual assaults.

Some of the reports alleged abuse by guards against children, while others were of sexual advances by unknown men.

There were 30 incidents of self-harm among children and 159 of threatened self-harm.

The remaining reports involving children cover a variety of issues, ranging from accidents to misbehaviour.

One of the leaked incident reports said a child had written in her book that she was tired, doesnt like the camp and wants to die ... I want death, I need death.

Refugee advocates said the leaked reports show the urgent need to end Australias offshore detention policy and that asylum seekers must be given medical and psychological support.

It is clear, from these documents, and our own research, that many have been driven to the brink of physical or mental breakdown by their treatment on Nauru, said Anna Neistat, senior director for research at Amnesty International.

Australias offshore processing of refugees must end, and all of the refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru and Manus Island must be resettled immediately.

UNICEF Australia also renewed calls for a permanent resettlement solution, saying there was undeniable, cumulative evidence suggesting that transferred children were not safe on Nauru.
Knox, who is American, was convicted and imprisoned in Italy, with Raffaele Sollecito, for the 2007 murder of Kercher. After appeals and retrials, they were acquitted last year by Italys highest court.

Titled Amanda Knox, the documentary will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, before a global launch on September 30.

The case, which made headlines around the world, has previously been the subject of the documentary, A Long Way From Home, and TV movie, Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial In Italy, with Hayden Panettiere in the title role.

Netflix is planning to unveil three other non-fiction titles at TIFF, before making them available to subscribers online in the autumn.

Leonardo DiCaprio is executive producing thriller documentary, The Ivory Game, which take viewers to the front lines of the fight to save the African elephant from extinction.

It was filmed undercover for 16 months, with the help of intelligence operatives, undercover activists, rangers and conservationists, infiltrating the global ivory-trafficking network.

Werner Herzog and volcanologist, Clive Oppenheimers Into The Inferno is about volcanoes, while The White Helmets follows three volunteer rescue workers in Syria and Turkey in early 2016, as they try to save civilians affected by the war.

Lisa Nishimura, Netflix vice-president of original documentary programming, said: The breadth of our slate at the Toronto International Film Festival speaks to Netflixs continued celebration of diverse voices and styles in the world of non-fiction.

We are committed to pushing the boundaries of the documentary form, and our films screening at Toronto represent both emerging talent and iconic film-makers, during a thrilling time for documentaries.
The latest controversy to strike Trumps campaign arose, as they often do, out of an offhand quip at a boisterous campaign rally.

Claiming falsely that Clinton wants to revoke the right to gun ownership guaranteed in the Constitutions Second Amendment, Trump said there would be nothing you can do, if shes elected, to stop her from stacking the Supreme Court with anti-gun justices.

Then he added ambiguously: Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is  I dont know. But Ill tell you what: that will be a horrible day.

Was Trump suggesting gun owners take matters into their own hands if Clinton wins the White House? Or was he musing about the indisputably powerful influence of the gun lobby?

Like so many times before, Trumps supporters and opponents construed his comments in different ways.

Give me a break, Trump said hours later, insisting he was referring to the power that voters hold. He told Fox News that there can be no other interpretation.

But Democrats seized an opportunity to reinforce the perception that Trump cant moderate the things that come out of his mouth, much less the decisions hed make as president.

I really, frankly couldnt believe he said it, said Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Nobody who is seeking a leadership position, especially the presidency, the leadership of the country, should do anything to countenance violence, and thats what he was saying.

Clintons campaign was fundraising off the firestorm, asking supporters by email to chip in $1 to show that we dont tolerate this kind of politics in America.

Trumps team, too, was using the controversy to reinforce a theme its been pitching to voters: that an underdog Trump is being unfairly treated by the media.

They will buy any line, any distortion, and spin that the Clintons put out, said former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, an ardent Trump supporter.

But House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was celebrating a primary victory in Wisconsin on Tuesday night, said: It sounds like just a joke gone bad. I hope they clear this up very quickly. You never joke about something like that.

The controversy immediately overwhelmed Trumps intended campaign-trail focus: the economic plan he unveiled just a day earlier and was promoting during rallies in the most competitive election states.

It also underscored the concern, voiced by many worried Republicans, that he cannot stay disciplined and avoid inflammatory remarks that imperil not only his White House prospects but the re-election chances of many Republican lawmakers.

For Trump, the next opportunity to shift themes came in a pair of rallies in Abington, Virginia, and in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Clinton, fresh off her own campaign swing in Florida, spent the day in the battleground state of Iowa, where she toured a Des Moines T-shirt shop and held a rally.

It wasnt immediately clear whether Trumps latest stumble would continue to dog him or whether, like many in the past, it would quickly fade away.

Trumps perceived violation of political norms  candidates dont typically call for physically hurting opponents  was all the more striking because the position he was criticising isnt one that Clinton holds.

Contrary to Trumps remarks, Clinton has made support for the Second Amendment a key piece of her usual campaign speech, though she supports stricter gun control measures.

Meanwhile, nearly one-fifth of registered Republicans want Trump to drop out of the race for the White House, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, reflecting the turmoil his candidacy has created within his party.

Some 19% think he should drop out, 70% think he should stay in and 10% say they dont know, according to the August 5-8 poll of 396 registered Republicans.

Among all registered voters, some 44% want Trump to drop out.
Hugh Grosvenor is the only son of Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, who died after being transferred from his Abbeystead Estate to the Royal Preston Hospital, in Lancashire.

A spokeswoman for the family said the cause of death is not yet known, but police said the duke became ill while walking in the Trough of Bowland, a local beauty spot, and there are no suspicious circumstances.

The 64-year-old father-of-four was worth around 8.3bn, according to Forbes, making him the 68th richest person in the world, and the third in the UK.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, whose son, Prince George, is godson to Hugh Grosvenor, were very sad to hear of the death, Kensington Palace said.

It added: Their thoughts are very much with his family this morning.

Grosvenors close friends, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, were deeply shocked and greatly saddened by his sudden death, a Clarence House spokeswoman said.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will also send a private message of condolence to the family.

Sir Gerald owned 190 acres in Belgravia, adjacent to Buckingham Palace and one of Londons most expensive areas, as well as thousands of acres in Scotland and Spain.

The title and the land will pass to Hugh Grosvenor  who is two years younger than his father was when he took on the fortune, at the age of 27, as the sixth duke.

A staunch supporter of a number of charities and good causes, the duke credited himself with using his vast wealth responsibly.

This included making a 500,000 donation to farmers during the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak, as well as fighting a legal case against Westminster City Council in 1990, centred on a number of social housing flats built on the familys land in Pimlico, London.

The buildings were designed by architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens, and built between 1928 and 1930. Assigning the lease of the flats to the council for 999 years, in 1937, the second duke stipulated they must be used as housing for the working classes.

When the council wanted to sell the properties below the market value to those working in the borough, the duke refused.

In court, the authority argued that the working classes no longer existed, but the judge ruled in the dukes favour, backing the clause and his bid to keep low-cost accommodation.

Hugh is the 6th Duke of Westminsters only son and although the young man has led a quiet life, he did celebrate his 21st birthday in style.

It was reported that his landmark bash cost 5m and featured an A-list guest list that included Prince Harry.
Matthew Pietrzyk, who had neither of his kidneys, was constantly on dialysis and took 18 tablets a day just to stay alive.

The youngster, from Glenfield in Leicestershire, was on the UK transplant waiting list for eight years before he received his gift of life, his family said.

Leicestershire man, Edward Batch, 39, decided to support the family in a running event by raising awareness for organ donation through wearing a special T-shirt. But when he heard more about Matthews plight, he decided to sign up to become an altruistic organ donor.

He posted online: I dont know if it is as easy as this so excuse my ignorance but I have a spare kidney if it helps; Im more than willing to donate to a good cause.

The operation took place around two weeks ago at Birmingham Childrens Hospital.

Matthews mother Nicola Pietrzyk said: Matthew has finally found his hero! It is so wonderful to be able to say that his day finally came after such a long wait.

Matthew was antibody sensitive to 99% of the population  but we never gave up hope. Its still very early days after the operation, but Matthew is doing really well so far.

We cannot thank his donor and family enough for this incredible gift. This is the transplant we have been waiting so long for. It will change Matthews life and life for our whole family.

Batch, who is married with three children, said it was an honour to help the family.

I just felt I wanted to offer to try and help. I contacted the transplant team and said I wanted to volunteer as a living donor  Id been prompted by Matthews appeal but if it didnt turn out to be a suitable match I would have been a donor to another patient in need if I was suitable.

Throughout the testing process I only had a little contact with Matthews dad, just to keep him updated. I was very aware it was long odds that I would be a suitable match.

But once we were told it was 100% certain the donation and transplant could go ahead, we did all meet up shortly before the operation.

I had always believed in organ donation, but hadnt been aware of living donation.

Im a dad and Id like to think if any of my children were in need someone would step forward to help and it was an honour to be able to help another family in this way.

Pietrzyk said: While we look forward to celebrating Matthews transplant, we hope that hearing of his good news will prompt more people to think of the gift they could give others by signing up to be an organ donor.

Matthew received a kidney from his mother Nicola when he was two but it was removed after just two days following complications.

When he was a baby he was diagnosed with a rare kidney condition called congenital nephrotic syndrome and doctors said Matthew would not survive childhood without a transplant.
Burma Burmas Trade Volume Dips, Amid Concerns Over Exports

Burmas total trade volume dips during the term of the new government since April, with plans to boost exports meeting strong economic headwinds.

RANGOON  Burmas total trade volume has dipped in the first four months of this fiscal year since April compared to the same period last year, alongside a reduction in its trade deficit, while government plans to boost exports face strong economic headwinds.

These headwindswhich industry leaders speculate may frustrate export growth and widen the deficit in the short-terminclude very low oil and gas prices, a ban on raw timber exports, attempts to reduce raw jade sales (to promote value-added processing), and shortfalls in agricultural production caused by extreme weather, particularly flooding.

The total trade volume between April and the end of July was worth US$8.071 billion, with $3.275 billion in exports and $4.79 billion in imports, leaving a deficit of $1.5 billion, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce.

During the same period last year, the total trade volume reached $8.8 billion, with $3.336 billion in exports and $5.486 billion in imports, leaving a deficit of $2.15 billion.

Ministry of Commerce director Myint Cho cited the effects of catastrophic floods in July and August of last year, which laid waste to a proportion of Burmas paddy fields, in lowering exports. He expected a future rise in imports as foreign investment projects heighten demand for certain materials.

While the government continues to express worry over the trade deficit, Commerce Minister Than Myint has announced plans to triple exports during the term of the current government up to 2020.

In pursuit of this goal, he said the government would target the agricultural sector, small and medium enterprises, and re-export items (goods imported into Burma and re-sold to third countries).

Myat Thin Aung, chairman of the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone in Rangoon, said that unpredictable weather patterns in Burma may hamper efforts to boost agricultural production, citing the flooding of last year, which has been repeated on a less devastating scale during the current rainy season.

He believed adverse weather would further the trade deficit, given the longtime centrality of the agriculture in Burmas economy. He also cited low oil and gas prices, the ban on timber exports and efforts to reduce raw jade exports as drivers of the deficit.

Oil and gas, jade and agriculture products are Burmas major export items, while its chief imports are home appliances and raw industrial materialsnow servicing record levels of foreign investment.

The export volume will definitely decline this year, so I expect the trade deficit will be bigger than last year, Myat Thin Aung said.

The Ministry of Commerce said it anticipates a total trade volume of $32 billion this fiscal year up till March 31, 2017, although this forecast may be downgraded if current flooding worsens and Burma is hit by more extreme weather. Much of the increase is expected to consist of imports, as foreign investment continues to enter Burma.

Last year, according to the ministrys figures, the total trade volume reached $26 billion, with a deficit of $5 billion.

Burmas total trade volume increased steadily year on year after political and economic reforms were launched under former President Thein Sein in 2011. However, in 2015, the last year of Thein Seins term, the trade volume leveled off, leaving some observers concerned.
Burma Floods Hit Pegu Division

Pegu Division is the latest region hit by flooding in Burma, with more than 50,000 people affected, according to the divisional government.

Pegu Division has become the latest region hit by flooding in Burma, with more than 50,000 people affected, according to the office of the divisional government.

As of Tuesday, 177 relief camps had been opened in six townships in the division. Monyo Township was hit the hardestwith 18,000 people forced to flee to relief campsfollowed by Padaung Township, citing 15,000 victims.

There are 37 village tracts and five wards in Monyo Township and only two of the village tracts are not flooded. The river has stopped rising, but because the embankment broke, it is likely that water will continue to flow into the town, said Aye Win, a lawmaker representing Monyo Township in the divisional parliament.

More than 130 houses were wiped out by flooding near Monyos Myit Makha village, said Aye Win.

The Pegu divisional government has supplied about 1,000 bags of rice and cash for victims in Monyo Township through the townships General Administration Department. But supplies will not last beyond August 12 and the situation will worsen if the floodwaters do not recede.

In Tharrawaddy Township, some flood victims have had difficulty getting to relief camps from their homes.

We have been assisting victims, but donors from the Ayeyarwady Foundation only arrived today, said Saw Sarte, a priest at Tharrawaddy Church, which has been sheltering 325 flood victims from Tharrawaddy Township.

We had to bring them from their homes by boat and then by car to get here, said the priest.
Burma Lawmakers Demand Revamp of Anti-Corruption Measures

Lower House representatives lament the effects of deep-seated graft in Burma, and call for a new, more empowered anti-corruption commission.

RANGOON  After a two-day debate in the Lower House of Parliament on an anti-corruption proposal, the house speaker ordered the Bill Committee on Wednesday to review Burmas anti-graft law.

The proposal urging the cabinet to take a stronger line on deep-rooted corruption in the country was submitted on August 2 by Than Win, who represents Rangoons North Okkalapa Township. Thirty-two lawmakers registered to debate it.

Burmas current anti-graft law, enacted in August 2013 under the government of former President Thein Sein, mandated a new commission, which was formed six months later with 15 members appointed by Thein Sein. Mya Win, a former major-general in the Burma Army, was appointed chairman, prompting objections from opposition lawmakers of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

During the two-day debate in the Lower House, lawmakers highlighted how corruption had flourished under decades of military rule. A military representative called for a mechanism to monitor politicians and their family members to ensure against abuses of authority.

Nay Myo Tun, representing Rangoons Htantapin Township, said that, despite the enactment of well-intentioned legislation, the commission had not made significant ground in reducing corruption. He suggested the government form a new commission.

Since the anti-graft law says that the commissions term is the same as that of the President, he said, we now need a new commission under the elected popular government that could implement the provisions of the law in the public interest.

He also highlighted the importance of government employees respecting the anti-corruption law and of lawmakers holding authorities to account.

According to an annual index published by the Berlin-based graft monitor Transparency International, Burma is perceived as among the worlds most corrupt countries, ranking 147 out of 168 in 2015.

Myint Lwin, who represents Rangoons Twante Township, cited a succession of oppressive military regimes as the root cause, saying that only clean government with clean leaders could end corrupt practices.

Lawmaker Myint Tun from Sagaing Division said that corruption allows businesses to avoid taxes, encourages illegal trade and widens the gap between rich and poor.

He commented on the profound impact corruption has on Burmas economy, politics and society: It is also one of the most challenging realities for the new government. It harms the countrys reform process and its dignity the most.

He downplayed the link between corruption and low pay for government employees, saying it was related more to the sheer abundance of opportunities for bribery and other forms of corruption. He mentioned complex and excessive bureaucracy as another driver.

Alongside a need for the government to review policies and regulations, Myint Tun called for strengthening the medias right to information, which would allow the media to contribute to holding officials to accountmaking it harder for them to get away with past practices.

A lawmaker from Arakan State said that if national leaders failed to reduce corruption during the current transitional period, the public would lose faith in the government and may disengage from politics.

Lawmaker Thet Thet Khine from Rangoon focused on the effect corruption has on the countrys economic development, undermining confidence among investors and fostering social instability driven by wealth disparities.

Deep-rooted corruption will not be cured by a quick fix. It needs strategic long-term policy, she said.

Anti-corruption commission chairperson Mya Win responded that the body needed more skilled investigators in order to take effective action in corruption cases.

Corruption happens because there are people who give bribes and people who receive bribes, he said, referencing the complicity of much of Burmas citizenry in an entrenched culture of graft. Both sides need to change their attitude.

He also conceded that some provisions of the anti-graft law should be changed.

House Speaker Win Myint said that it was not enough to merely urge the cabinet to tackle corruption more robustly: to obtain a corruption-free society, the government, the parliament, the media and the general public should investigate instances of corruption and file complaints with the commission accompanied by evidence.

The anti-corruption commission recently announced that it had so far received more than 2,000 complaints about corruption, but it had investigated and taken action on only around 500.

Chairman Mya Win explained at the parliamentary session that the remaining complaints were not accompanied by legitimate evidence, or were related to events prior to the formation of the commission.

The ruling NLD vowed to establish a corruption-free society in its 2015 election manifesto, although analysts have predicted that the new government would face difficulties in reforming Burmas bureaucracy, where corrupt officials retain considerable power.

In April, in the opening days of the NLD government, Aung San Suu Kyi in her capacity as Presidents Office minister ordered all civil servants not to accept any gifts worth more than 25,000 kyats (US$21), an amount 10 times lower than the threshold set by the previous government. This was interpreted as a foretaste of stronger anti-graft measures to come. Expectations have been raised.
Burma Suu Kyi's Rushed Peace Conference Worries Ethnic Leaders

Suu Kyis announcement that the Union Peace Conference will take place on August 31 prompts questions, concerns and hesitation among ethnic armed groups.

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyis announcement that the Union Peace Conference would take place on August 31 has given rise to lingering questions, concerns and hesitation among ethnic armed organizations.

Ethnic leaders have said there should be proper preparation before the conference and that Suu Kyi should clarify the agenda and which representatives would be in attendance. Some have stated that it is too early to hold a national level conference, and that Suu Kyi needs to hold further negotiations with ethnic leaders.

Nai Hong Sar, a spokesperson for United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)an alliance of nine ethnic armed organizationstold The Irrawaddy that there are numerous questions the group wants to raise prior to the conference. The UNFC has not yet decided whether it will join the conference.

We want to know whether all of the ethnic groups will be included and whether she [Suu Kyi] has thought about the groups that didnt sign the NCAnot only us [the UNFC], but also the Wa and Mongla groups. We will attend if we are clear on these points, said Nai Hong Sar.

It is unclear at this point whether non-signatories to the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) will be able to join the conference and in what capacity. Ethnic sources have said that non-signatories would be able to observe the conference but not participate in discussions.

Nai Hong Sar said the decision to join would be reached after a two-day meeting between UNFC representatives and a government peace negotiation team, beginning in Rangoon on Friday.

We asked for all-inclusion and a tripartite meeting. We will discuss the framework review. If they can clarify and settle these points, we will participate. If not, we will need to think about it, said Nai Hong Sar.

Khu Marko Ban, an author and longtime observer of ethnic politics and the democratization process, said there are many preparations to undertake before a major conference can take place.

I dont know for sure how [Suu Kyi] will hold the 21st Century Panglong Conference, but it should reflect the spirit of the 1947 Panglong Agreement because that is the lifeblood of the country, said Khu Marko Ban.

The Panglong Agreement was signed by the soon-to-be indepedent governmentled by Suu Kyis late father Gen Aung Sanand ethnic Shan, Kachin, and Chin leaders in 1947 and it granted autonomy to some of the countrys main ethnic minority groups. Less than a year after its signing, Gen Aung San was assassinated and the agreement was never realized, plunging the country into decades of civil war.

Khu Marko Ban stated that the conference would be misleading if it followed the peace process laid out by the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee, which was founded under the former quasi-civilian government.

Stakeholders should talk and make plans before the conference. It should not just be based on the UPDJC arrangement, which some worry just drags ethnic leaders along without properly including them, he added.

Some ethnic leaders said they were concerned that acceleration without first laying sufficient ground work would threaten the safety of civilians in warn-torn areas of the various ethnic states.

They also claimed that Suu Kyi was following a peace process based on the NCA, an agreement designed by the former government.

She hasnt even modified the peace process, said an ethnic leader who asked to remain anonymous.

Suu Kyis peace process is viewed by ethnic armed group leaders as a top-down approach, as she didnt seek consultation or approval from them before scheduling the Union Peace Conference.

Her announcement leaves many ethnic armed group leadersespecially NCA non-signatorieshesitant to join the conference, while others worry that they will be left behind if they do not join.
It has invested an additional $10 million in a Vietnamese investment fund.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, founded by American billionaire Bill Gates and the world's largest charitable foundation, has recently announced that the fund has injected $12 million into Vietnam Enterprise Investment Ltd (VEIL).

The fund, chaired by one of the worlds most generous philanthropists, has increased its stake in VEIL to 11.34 percent (equivalent to $88 million). The move makes it the largest shareholder in the fund run by Dragon Capital, which focuses on investing in high-profile Vietnamese enterprises, according to a notice issued by the London Stock Exchange.

Deutsche Asset Management (Asia region) is the second largest shareholder with a 5.19 percent stake.

Bill and Melinda Gates, two of the world's most generous philanthropists, are continuing to invest in Vietnam. Photo by Kjetil Ree, Creative Commons 2.0.

The private fund's latest investment in Vietnam indicates the potential of the country's stock market.

Established in 1995, VEIL is Vietnams largest investment fund with total assets of $900 million. In July 2016, VEIL was listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

VEIL currently holds shares in leading Vietnamese enterprises including Vinamilk (19.9 percent), Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (5.98 percent) and Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (4.51 percent).

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the worlds largest charitable fund founded in 2000 by Bill Gates and his wife Melinda. The original purpose of the foundation was to enhance health care, reduce extreme poverty and support access to advanced information technology in the United States.

The primary financial source of the foundation stems from the Bill & Melinda Gates Trust and a large endowment from another American philanthropist, Warren Buffett, who had contributed $17 billion as of December 31, 2015. The foundation's current assets are estimated at $39.5 billion.

Related news:

> Foreign equity fund bankrolls Vietnamese restaurant chain to tune of $7 mln

> Dragon Capital lists Vietnams flagship fund on London Stock Exchange

> Global finance fund feeds $15 million into Vietnams livestock
Thursday, August 11th, 2016 (10:08 am) - Score 1,605

The dream of Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1 technology, which could in the next few years enable Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) cable networks (e.g. Virgin Media) to deliver symmetrical broadband speeds of 10Gbps (Gigabits per second), has moved a step closer thanks to Ciscos new silicon reference design.

At present the existing Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS 3.0 / EuroDOCSIS) standard for HFC cable networks can deliver download speeds of several hundred Megabits per second to residential consumers, although upload speeds are often significantly slower (e.g. Virgins current top consumer speed is 300Mbps and its uploads are only 20Mbps).

The forthcoming upgrade to DOCSIS 3.1 technology, which is expected to surface over the next year or two, could in theory deliver peak network speeds of 10Gbps download and 1Gbps upload. However the holy grail of HFC is to achieve a Full Duplex symmetrical transmission of 10Gbps (i.e. the same performance for both uploads and downloads).

So far the progress has been good. Earlier this year CableLabs proposed a viable model for delivering such performance (here) and a few months later Nokia claimed a world first by demonstrating a prototype of their new XG-CABLE technology that could produce 10Gbps in both directions (here). Mind you the proposed point-to-point network and limited distance (i.e. the demo worked at under 200 metres from a distribution point) could be issues, at least in terms of making the upgrade more expensive.

This week saw Cisco add to the fun by unveiling a new silicon reference design for Full Duplex DOCSIS technology, which they say would enable cable operators to prioritize their capital investments to deliver new services such as faster Internet [and without needing to replace] the existing HFC plant with Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP).

John Chapman, Ciscos CTO of Cable Access Business, said: By making this royalty-free design available to the industry, we can help our cable customers evolve to more rapidly deploy virtualized, fiber-deep, and all-IP infrastructures. We hope to accelerate the transformation of the cable industry to deliver multi-gigabit speeds and new high bandwidth services and products, and in the near future, customers can begin to enjoy the benefits of Full Duplex DOCSIS technology.

Apparently the new design has been under development for two years by a team of more than 20 Cisco engineers. During that time the team were able to develop a validated reference design for a digital echo canceller that maximizes the use of HFC capacity (i.e. they defined a multi-slice scalable echo canceller (EC) for the Full Duplex DOCSIS specification that seamlessly integrates with the Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) architecture). Nokia did something similar in their demo.

The technology is scalable for a return path from 200MHz (1.7 Gbps) to 1.2GHz (10 Gbps) and is being demonstrated at the CableLabs Summer Conference in Keystone, Colorado (USA). Further enhancements, such as Fast data  Input/Output (FD.io) and OpenRPD, are due to follow. However a recent roadmap from Arris, which makes a lot of DOCSIS hardware and routers, suggests that the first commercial kit probably wont be ready until 2018/19.

Of course all this talk about Full Duplex performance is good, but weve yet to even see a clear timetable for the introduction of DOCSIS 3.1 into the UK network. Liberty Global (Virgin Medias parent) initially mooted a 2016/17 introduction for its European operators, but so far theres been no sign of any customer trials and nobody seems willing to talk about their plans.

Virgin Media are currently laser focused on committing their resources to the Project Lightning network expansion, which is due to complete in 2019 and by then it should have boosted their coverage to 60-65% of the UK (up from around 50% now). A lot of that roll-out also includes DOCSIS 3.1 supporting infrastructure, as well as around 1 million FTTP premises.

On top of that Virgin still have some capacity problems with delivering the full speed to those on their fastest packages at peak times, as demonstrated by their own speedtest data for July 2016. Mind you its not uncommon for ISPs to suffer slower speeds during busy peak periods, but they might wish to improve this before offering something even faster.

In any case we probably wont be talking about Full Duplex performance on Virgin Medias network for a very long time and what homes need Gigabit uploads today? Ordinary DOCSIS 3.1 should be fine for a long time to come.
5 Trends Impacting the Future of Machine Data Intelligence

Acquisitions of startups by two industry giants were announced this week, suggesting the attention generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is accelerating.

First, Siri is saying hello to Turi. More specifically, Apple has acquired the AI and machine learning startup, for $200 million. Turi, which is headquartered in Seattle, offers tools that help developers scale machine learning applications, according to InformationWeek. The story says that Apple offered no substantive comment on the acquisition other than to say that it periodically acquires companies and doesnt discuss the reasons for those moves.

Despite Apples lack of comment, Turi is further evidence of Apples existing interest in AI. Last October, the company bought Perceptio, which offers deep learning and AI capabilities. VocalIQ, another acquisition, is aimed, according to the InformationWeek story, at facilitating more natural communication between humans and computers which is a key to implementing AI.

Also this week, Intel reportedly agreed to acquire Nervana, a two-year-old company. The story says that Nervana offers an all-around machine learning system that extends from an open-sourced software platform to a planned customized chip. Nervanas uses are equally as flexible: It can analyze seismic data, find promising places to drill for oil, and research genomes for new hybrids.

Intel believes that the age of AI is here and that a specialized chip, presumably along the lines of what Nervana is planning, will be necessary. According to the Fortune story:

After transitioning from mainframes to PCs to servers to cloud-based data centers, computing is about to make another transition, says Intel vice president Jason Waxman, who runs the data center solutions group. Right now, were on the precipice of the next big wave, artificial intelligence, he tells Fortune. Were already seeing real deployments.

AIs use is growing, according to a report from NarrativeScience, which was based on a survey of 235 business leaders. Sixty-two percent of respondents could not confirm use of AI technologies, while 38 percent reported that they are using the technology. At the same time, 88 percent of those who said that they dont know whether they are using AI turn out to be doing so. Predictive analytics, which is made far more feasible via AI, is used by 58 percent of respondents.

AI seems to be new, though it has been around for a long time. Its uses are proliferating due to the growth of cloud computing, Big Data capabilities, the Internet of Things (IoT) and faster computing. AI is simply an ever-more powerful and ubiquitous tool. Apple, Intel and others dont want to be left behind.

Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at [email protected] and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk.

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The bad blood between 'Fast & Furious 8' stars Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel is getting more intense as the former publicly slams the latter on the final week of shooting the eighth installment of the said franchise.

The Rock created headlines on Monday when he posted an angry outburst about his Fast 8 male co-stars on his Instagram account. In his post, the "Hercules" star expressed his frustration at how unprofessional some actors can act on set. My male co-stars however are a different story. Some conduct themselves as stand-up men and true professionals, while others don't.

No one on the set had a clue as to whom Johnson had a beef with until Tuesday when TMZ reported that his rant goes to his co-actor and the producer of Fast 8 Vin Diesel.

This is strongly supported with claims that the pressure between Dwayne and Vin has been going on for months according to People. The report further elaborated that the tension began with the wrestling champs repeated tardiness on the making of the film, which disappointment the crew especially for Vin. For odd reasons, Vin Diesel has also been put on the chopping block for being late. Hence, Dwayne's seemingly frustrated post.

As both parties had a difficult time dealing with the tension causing a delay in the production of their latest movie, Johnson and Diesel reportedly cleared the air between them at the Atlanta set on Tuesday. No further details were released about the said meeting of the Fast 8"stars.

Despite his nutty statements on social media, Johnson still managed to praise the rest of the team. An incredible hard working crew. UNIVERSAL has been great partners as well. My female co-stars are always amazing and I love 'em.

Fast and Furious 8 is scheduled to be released on the big screens on April 14, 2017.
There have been speculations that Jennifer Aniston secretly met up with Brad Pitt and the stars are cheating on their spouses with each other. However, Jennifer Aniston and husband Justin Theroux recently celebrated their first year wedding anniversary despite divorce rumors.

There have recently been allegations going around that Jennifer Aniston recently met up with ex-husband, Brad Pitt. The former couple was reportedly spotted together, causing a rift in both their marriages.

However, this has been proven wrong by a report made by Inquisitr, which states that Aniston and Theroux recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary, despite their hectic schedules. The couple is currently filming for their respective projects in different locations.

Justin Theroux currently flew off to Australia last July to film the third season of his HBO series entitled "The Leftovers." Jennifer, on the other hand, is preparing for the release of her movie in December, entitled "Office Christmas Party."

Despite their busy schedules and many other appointments, Justin flew back to California and had a romantic dinner with his wife to celebrate their anniversary. Morning News USA wrongfully alleged that Jennifer was not happy about the simple and romantic dinner fueling divorce rumors. However, the couple allegedly had a pre-celebration for their anniversary in the Bahamas.

The rumors of Jennifer currently meeting up with Brad came out of the blue and have been making rounds in social media. Since then, there have been more speculations of their respective marriage falling apart. However, despite the consistency of these speculations, the two of them have managed to keep their marriage intact.

The couple used to be married for five years, ending their marriage in 2005 for reasons that were never really confirmed to the public. However, they both look really happy with their individual lives and rumors of them getting together is not at all true.
Apple's marketing strategy of launching the iPhone SE, priced at $399, back in March, seems successful and going as planned.

According to Tech Crunch, the 4-inch iPhone SE provides Apple a welcome sales bump at a time when the company is not doing particularly well in terms of sales and profit. According to a new report, the iPhone SE has sold very well in key markets.

In September each year, Apple reveals its new phone models and it is expected that the company will unveil its new iPhone on September 7. That means that many customers might be tempted to wait when buying a new device during the months before a new phone model is expected to be launched.

This, however, did not happen during Q2 and Q3 this time around. A report from Kantar suggests that Apple sales increased in the U.S. and Europe during the second quarter of the year, a time that usually coincides with a slow sales period for the company. The main reason for this seems to be the iPhone SE.

Even if Apple's overall iPhone sales for the quarter dropped to 40.4 million units or a 15 percent decrease year-on-year, it looks that Apple's iPhone SE has prevented an even steeper decline. However, the situation was totally different in some major market such as the UK, Europe and the U.S.

Kantar reported that in the U.S., the iPhone SE helped Apple increase its market share to 31.8 percent in the quarter. The SE accounted for 5.1 percent of smartphone sales in the U.S.

The impact of the iPhone SE was even more significant in the UK. The phone model was the top-selling smartphone with an impressive 9.2 percent market share in the region. Apple has grown its share of sales in the U.K. by 3.1 percent to 37.2 percent in Q2, mostly thanks to the iPhone SE's sales.

According to Digital Trends, Apple's gains were more modest elsewhere in Europe. Year-on-year, the iOS market share grew 0.7 across Europe, reaching 18.2 percent in the region. The most significant gains have happened in France, where Apple's share of the handset market surged 21 percent.

Market research firm RBC Capital Markets estimates that the iPhone SE's traction might be as much as 23 percent of total iPhone sales. In an interview in June, Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri declared that customer demand for the company's products was significantly stronger than it has been "anticipated at the beginning of the quarter." According to him, throughout the quarter, the Cupertino-based tech giant was not even "able to fulfill iPhone SE demand."
Because of hackers, security has become one of the main concerns of most individuals who dabble in the world of technology on a daily basis. There have been countless scares and threats made with regards to the public release of personal information. Unfortunately, one particular vulnerability, called the "Quadrooter," is present in almost one billion Android devices.

According to IOL, Quadrooter was found by Check Point, an international cyber security agency. What is alarming about it, however, is the range of devices it can affect. Reportedly, any device powered by a Qualcomm processor, which is in an estimated 900 million phones and tablets, can fall prey to the security vulnerability.

Quadrooter works by enticing Android users to download a harmless-looking app. This app does not require special permission, which would allow the hacker access to different aspects of the phone and any information found therein. This includes even the camera and microphone of the device.

Unfortunately, Michael Shaulov, the head of mobility product management at Check Point, shared that there is an issue about who will fix the problem. "No-one at this point has a device that's fully secure. That basically relates to the fact that there is some kind of issue of who fixes what between Qualcomm and Google," he said.

However, The Times Of India confirms that Google has addressed the majority of issues from Quadrooter. According to the search giant, the issues have been fixed with the August update of the Android operating system. As such, Check Point is urging all Android users to make the necessary update.

Unfortunately, the update will not reach all 900 million devices. The other option for users is to run the "Verify App" feature of Google, which should scan an app before its installation.

A number of smartphones that are said to be vulnerable to Quadrooter are the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge , OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, OnePlus 3, Google Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, LG G4, LG G5 and the LG V10.


GM announced that it started testing the Cruise Automation autonomous driving system in Arizona.

According to Tech Crunch, the automaker giant General Motors has acquired the autonomous driving technology startup Cruise in March this year. The acquisition comes to support GM's strategy of developing driverless systems for its car models.

The self-driving technology acquired by GM from Cruise is being tested in Arizona, on public roads in Scottsdale by Chevrolet Bolt all-electric vehicles. This newest test adds to GM's testing vehicles, which are already operating in San Francisco.

GM's Chevy Bolt cars operating Cruise's self-driving technology hit San Francisco streets in May. Up to date, beyond acknowledging that it was doing testing, GM has provided only a few details.

According to market analysts, in terms of exploiting its Cruise acquisition, GM has some aggressive goals. Rumors suggest that the automaker hopes to start tests within a year using self-driving taxis in partnership with Lyft.

Since the area is already used to testing Google self-driving cars, Scottsdale makes sense for a field test for GM's Cruise Automation systems as well. Local Motors and other several auto-related startups have a major presence in the region or are entirely based there.

Arizona is one of the American states that have strong regulatory support for self-driving vehicle tests. Another reason for choosing this area for tests is the fact that GM's Innovation Center is based in nearby Chandler.

According to Fortune, the greater Phoenix area that includes Scottsdale has become a hot hub for developing and testing autonomous driving technology. The publication has reported before that Cruise Automation facilities have been opened in Phoenix, but General Motors did not provide details about their plans in that area.

Another reason Phoenix is a hotspot for self-driving cars is the steady influx of talent from local universities, the low-cost of operating in the state and the state government's support for testing autonomous cars on its roads. Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order in the year 2015, authorizing university pilot programs and supporting the testing and operation of self-driving vehicles on public roads.
Firms from both countries may be involved in the scam.

Vietnamese authorities are investigating information from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) over claims that Chinese steel firms have been tagging Vietnamese labels on their products to by-pass anti dumping tariffs in Europe.

OLAF said that about 190 shipments of rolled steel products worth approximately $19 million were exported to Europe from 2013 to 2014 with Vietnams Certificate of Origin (C/O) issued by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), according to the Ministry of Industry and Trades newspaper.

The European office suspects some of these products originated from China and were exported to Vietnam before being shipped to Europe to escape anti-dumping measures that the E.U. imposes on items from China.

Chinese steel products may have been stamped with Vietnamese certificates to escape high anti-dumping tariffs. Photo from baocongthuong.com.vn

Due to their low cost and high volume, Chinese steel products have a huge impact on steel production in numerous countries, including Vietnam. The E.U. and other countries impose tariffs on steel from China to protect their domestic markets.

The American Chamber of Commerce decided to impose an anti-dumping levy of 265.76 percent and an anti-subsidiary tariff of 256.44 percent on Chinese steel in May 2016. More recently on July 29, Europe also approved high anti-dumping measures against Chinese bar steel products.

Chinese steel with a Vietnamese tag on it escapes these huge tariffs, but Vietnamese enterprises could be under investigation and lose their reputation on the global market.

Vietnam has run into difficulties with steel exports in recent years, and six anti-dumping investigations have been launched by other countries.

The Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade is working with commercial departments in the E.U. along with Vietnam Customs and other VCCI departments to investigate and verify the allegations.

Related news

> Vietnam sets new tariffs on imported steel

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The Australian census website went down on Tuesday night due to incompetence and lack of planning, an Australian technology journalist has claimed.

Patrick Gray, who produces a podcast called Risky Business, posted on his blog this afternoon a series of events that he says he was informed of by his sources.

The census has yet to be completed, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics saying they took down the website on Tuesday night because of a claimed distributed denial of service attack. It appears to be back online now.

Gray claimed that both IBM, which was running the census, and the ABS, had been offered services to prevent a DDoS attack, by NextGen Networks, their upstream provider, but refused the offer.

However, they did ask NextGen to geoblock all external traffic if an attack eventuated. Gray claims this was activated when there was a small-scale attack of about 2GBps against the site.

At this point, he claims, there was another attack from inside the country. No indication is given of the magnitude of this attack, though it is mentioned that this was a DNS reflection attack, one in which an attacker delivers traffic to the victim by reflecting it off a third party so that the point of origin is concealed.

Added to this, Gray claims, there was also an attack using the Internet Control Message Protocol, which is known as a smurf attack.

This filled up the state tables of the firewall being used and it was rebooted to clear the same. Unfortunately, Gray claims, the network staff on the scene were operating the firewall as one of a pair and the rules had not been synced to the secondary device. Thus, the latter device was of no use. This caused a short outage.

Gray then claims that the monitoring equipment set up by IBM spat out some false positives - from offshore-bound system information - that were interpreted as an external intrusion. The network staff were jittery because of what had happened earlier, and according to Gray, they took the system down and called in the Australian Signals Directorate.

He wrote that the ASD needed to complete an investigation before bringing the site up again.

Veteran sysadmin Rick Moen said the account was totally believable. "Far too many managers indulge in poor security planning and then panic when the first thing goes wrong," the California-based security professional told iTWire.

"In addition to incident response, there really ought to be a thorough review of security exposure, security planning, and capacity planning."

Moen, who has been working with UNIX-based servers for more than two decades, added: "Unfortunately, doing a proper job of that cannot be done in 24-48 hours, so perhaps the best measure would be for a seasoned info-security team to take over the entire effort and attempt to fix it quickly - if that's possible, which I cannot know for lack of inside knowledge."
Sweden has made a formal request to Ecuador to interview WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Quito's embassy in London, where he has been holed up for more than four years.

There was a standing offer from Ecuador to Sweden to conduct such an interview. Signs of a thaw in the impasse were reported last month.

A request from Sweden to the Ecuadorian attorney-general has met with a positive response, according to a published report.

"In the coming weeks a date will be established for the proceedings to be held at the Embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom," according to a statement issued by Ecuador's Foreign Ministry.

Assange has been taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy since 19 June 2012. He was granted asylum by the country in August that year.

Proposals for the Australian to be extradited to Sweden for questioning were rejected by his lawyers because it was anticipated that his next journey would be a forced one to the US, where it is feared he will be hauled before a grand jury.

Although US authorities have never confirmed it, reports have said a grand jury is reportedly waiting to issue an indictment over Assange's alleged involvement in the leaks of confidential documents by former US soldier Chelsea Manning.

The documents and videos exposed several home truths about the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Manning is now in jail, and attempted suicide recently.

The Assange saga began in August 2010 when he visited Sweden to address a conference. During that visit, he had sexual relations with two women who later filed rape and molestation complaints against him, claims that he has denied.

Assange was subjected to questioning by Swedish authorities and cleared of all accusations at the time. He could have left the country but stayed a while, in case authorities wanted to speak to him again.

Interpol issued a Red Notice for his arrest on 20 November 2010 by which time he was back in London. He went there because he did not trust the government in his home country  the so-called Lucky Country, Australia.

Given its close ties with the US, Assange feared that Canberra would hand him over to Washington.

On 27 November, Assange surrendered to authorities and appeared before a Westminster judge. He was granted bail in December and supporters provided 240,000 in cash and sureties towards this end.

Lawyers from Sweden and Assange's side, among them the world-renowned Australian Geoffrey Robertson, wrangled over the issue until June 2012, when Swedish prosecutors asked the UK to extradite him.

Assange's lawyers fought the demand on the grounds that if he was sent to Sweden, then the US would seek to have him extradited for questioning.

On 19 June 2012, he jumped bail and entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London, seeking asylum. British police have since then blocked him from leaving.
Juniper Networks has celebrated 20 years in the network industry. It has come a long way since its original intention to was to build the fastest router.

It held its first ever Australian and New Zealand customer summit today and heard from Juniper customer, Tesla. Kurt Schlosser, country director for Tesla, gave delegates an inside view of Teslas mission, To accelerate the worlds transition to sustainable energy.

Schlosser said that while the physical manifestation of Tesla was a range of very sexy electric cars that was a very small part of the story. It was all about joining the Tesla ecosystem where new features were rapidly driven by users, where machine learning analysed the massive telemetry generated by tens of thousands of users and where the car kept improving  sometimes daily by Teslas control of the ecosystem and over the air updates.

But it was more. It was all about redefining the experience of electric car ownership  batteries, servicing, recharging and building a sustainable community.

Ralph Candiloro, regional vice-president for ANZ, said that in its own way Juniper is a disrupter and challenger and not unlike Tesla  its physical manifestation may be a box but it is what goes into the software that controls that box that has driven double digits growth over the past four quarters in ANZ.

He spoke about the opening in Sydney of Juniper's first OpenLab outside the US. OpenLab is a resource for innovators who want to build network-integrated software applications and solutions. Juniper customers and partners, as well as educators, students, and start-ups use OpenLab to refine, develop, test, demonstrate, and validate solutions that harness network intelligence and automation capabilities.

Tech head Vipul Deokar, senior director of engineering, Juniper Development & Innovation (JDI) team, Juniper Networks, drew an analogy to Tesla and redefined SDN (Software defined networking) as Self-Driving Networks to describe Teslas autopilot features. It was because of Junipers ecosystem, masses of telemetry and innovation without compromising the mindset that it had expanded the definition. He spoke on the changes  mobility, cloud, IoT and Security  affecting networks.

Declarative Intent: You should be able to tell the network what you want it to do  not how to do it. The network needs enough intelligence to implement what you want, he said.

To do that Juniper has followed the path of disaggregation, where commodity hardware is controlled by software to enable elasticity and scalability. He also spoke about Junipers role in security the network but using a mix of local and global telemetry to identify what is going on in the network to enable a quick response.

Candiloro summed up, Twenty years ago we were a start-up. But it is as if we just started. The pace of innovation is astonishing.
The researchers, who posted their findings under their pseudonyms MY123 and Slipstream, wrote that a backdoor, "which Microsoft put into secure boot because they decided to not let the user turn it off in certain devices, allows for secure boot to be disabled everywhere".

Secure boot is a feature of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, the replacement for the motherboard firmware or BIOS.

Microsoft implemented it for Windows 8 which was released back in October 2012, in a manner that prevented booting of other operating systems on machines which have secure boot enabled.

An exchange of cryptographic keys takes place at boot-time so that a system can verify that the operating system attempting to boot is a genuine one, and not malware.

There are further key exchanges along the way. The situation at that point was that since Microsoft controlled the key-signing authority, everyone who wished to boot an operating system on hardware certified for Windows 8 has to buy a Microsoft key.

Some Linux distributions have devised ways to support secure boot, among them Ubuntu, Fedora and SUSE.

The researchers wrote that while the initial setup of secure boot was alright, subsequent changes by Microsoft, specifically for Windows 10 v1607 'Redstone', where a new secure boot policy was added, had made the process crackable.

The duo had a pointed message for the FBI.

"About the FBI: are you reading this? If you are, then this is a perfect real world example about why your idea of backdooring cryptosystems with a 'secure golden key' is very bad! Smarter people than me have been telling this to you for so long, it seems you have your fingers in your ears," wrote Slipstream.

"You seriously don't understand still? Microsoft implemented a 'secure golden key' system. And the golden keys got released from MS own stupidity. Now, what happens if you tell everyone to make a 'secure golden key' system? Hopefully you can add 2+2..."



The duo said they had found the initial secure boot policy in March-April this year and informed the Microsoft Research Centre in April. Microsoft's reply was that it would not fix the issue, which led to the pair working on proof of concept code.

In June-July, they say, Microsoft wrote to them and gave them a bug bounty. The amount is not specified.

The company issued an initial fix in July but after analysing it, they realised that it was inadequate. After they gave a mini-talk about their discovery in August, Microsoft released a second fix on 9 August. It was only then that they wrote up the full description and released it on the Web. They add that the 9 August patch is not a perfect fix, either.
Security firm Exodus Intelligence has trumped Apple in the bug bounty area, offering as much as half a million American dollars for zero-day iOS exploits.

Last Thursday (4 August) Apple announced a bug bounty programme at the annual Def Con in Las Vegas, offering a maximum of US$200,000 for bugs in secure boot firmware components.

Apart from the iOS bounty already cited, Exodus said it would offer US$125,000 for zero-day exploits in Microsoft's Edge browser.

The announcement was made as part of unveiling its new research sponsorship programme.

Under this programme, bounties will also be offered for n-day vulnerabilities.

Other zero-day bounties on offer are US$150,000 for Google Chrome, US$80,000 for Firefox, US$75,000 for Windows 10 LPE, and US$60,000 for both Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash.

No amounts have been mentioned for n-day flaws, with researchers invited to submit code to exploit a list of specified vulnerabilities, all of which have CVE numbers.

Zero-day submissions will be accepted through the company's website, with a response promised within 10 business days. Researchers are also being offered periodic payment based on the shelf life of a given exploit.

Exodus said larger payments would be available, depending on the completeness of the research. For example, research including valid exploits will receive the highest level of payment.

In the case of n-day research, only fully functional exploits will be considered and purchased.

Exodus president Logan Brown said: "Exodus is excited to be engaging the global research community in our mission to provide the highest quality of vulnerability intelligence in the industry.

"This additional source of research, supplemented by the investigation and validation of our world-class team, will continue to ensure that our clients receive early notification of the most critical vulnerabilities so that they can offer the best defense possible."
Twitter is not liable for providing material support to the Islamic State group, also referred to as the ISIS, by allowing its members to sign up and use accounts on its site, a federal judge in California ruled Wednesday.

The lawsuit against Twitter filed by the familes of two victims of a terror attack in Jordan is similar to another filed by the father of a victim of the Paris attack in November against Twitter, Google and Facebook for allegedly providing material support to terrorists by providing them a forum for propaganda, fund raising and recruitment.

These lawsuits accuse the internet companies of violating provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act and and aim to deny the internet companies refuge under provisions of the Communications Decency Act, which protect publishers from liability for content posted to their site by third parties.

Citing the Act, Judge William H. Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California wrote in his order that as horrific as these deaths were, under the CDA Twitter cannot be treated as a publisher or speaker of ISISs hateful rhetoric and is not liable under the facts alleged.

Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act states that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.

In November 2015, Lloyd Carl Fields, Jr. and James Damon Creach were shot and killed by a Jordanian police officer, Anwar Abu Zaid, while working as U.S. government contractors at a law enforcement training center in Amman. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack by the police officer, who was studying at the center, describing him as a lone wolf.

The families of Fields and Creach filed the suit, claiming that Twitters provision of material support to ISIS was a proximate cause of the shooting. 18 U.S. Code 2339A and 2339B prohibit the knowing provision of material support or resources for terrorist activities or foreign terrorist organizations, and the term material support or resources is defined to include any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including communications equipment, according to the court papers.

Twitters alleged violations of the anti-terrorist laws cannot be accurately characterized as publishing activity, addressed by the Communications Decency Act, but rather as the provision of the means through which ISIS communicates, according to the victims' families. Even if ISIS had never issued a single tweet, [Twitters] provision of material support to ISIS in the form of Twitter accounts would constitute a violation of the ATA, they said in a filing.

The judge, however, noted that under either theory, the alleged wrongdoing is the decision to permit third parties to post content  it is just that under plaintiffs provision of accounts theory, Twitter would be liable for granting permission to post (through the provision of Twitter accounts) instead of for allowing postings that have already occurred. The judge added that he was not convinced that the provision of accounts theory treats Twitter as something other than a publisher of third-party content.

The families were also not able to establish a cause-and-effect link between Twitters provision of accounts to the ISIS and the deaths of Fields and Creach. The only arguable connection between Abu Zaid and Twitter that was identified is that his brother told reporters that Abu Zaid had been very moved by an execution by ISIS, which the group publicized through Twitter. That connection, however tenuous, is based on specific content disseminated through Twitter, not the mere provision of Twitter accounts, the judge noted.

In the other lawsuit filed against Google's YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, the father of Paris terror victim Nohemi Gonzalez charges that the companies have knowingly permitted the terrorist group ISIS [Islamic State group] to use their social networks as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits.

Social networks claim they are doing their best to weed out terrorist content though it is turning out to be like trying to whack-a-mole, with the proscribed content or new content resurfacing elsewhere. Twitter said in February that as noted by many experts and other companies, there is no magic algorithm for identifying terrorist content on the internet.

Judge Orrick allowed the families of the victims to file their second amended complaint, if any, within 20 days of his order.
Mitra Energy Inc. has decided to dip its beak into a strategic offshore oilfield.

Malaysias Mitra Energy has reached an agreement with Japan's Teikoku Oil to acquire a stake in the Nam Con Son basin for $14.3 million.

Mitra Energy Inc. has just announced that the wholly owned subsidiary of Mitra in Vietam has signed a deal with Teikoku Oil Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Inpex Corporation, for working interests in Blocks 05-1b and 05-1c, according to Mitras official press release.

The Kuala Lumpur-based firm said: The proposed Block 05-1 acquisition is consistent with New Mitras strategy to acquire near-term development projects with low-risk upside potential.

Mitra acquired two blocks in a strategic oilfield off Vietnam. Photo by Nguyen Truong Son/VnExpress Photo Contest

The two blocks are located 350 kilometers off the coast of Vietnam in the Nam Con Son basin at a depth of 120 meters. They have already been fully appraised and are close to the Nam Con Son gas pipeline and existing production facilities.

A. Paul Blakeley, executive chairman of Mitra, said: This is a very important follow-on acquisition to the recently announced Stag Field deal in the Carnarvon basin. Having secured a solid operating platform at Stag, we now want to build out the portfolio with further highly accretive acquisition opportunities, in our target areas, which will deliver a strong and sustainable business in Asia Pacific.

These gas discoveries are located in strategic area and play an important role in supplying gas to power plants in southeast Vietnam. The other parties with interests in the blocks are Idemitsu Oil and Gas and JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation with a 35 percent working interest of each.

The acquisition plays to our deep knowledge of the Vietnam gas market and extensive experience of operating in this highly prolific hydrocarbon basin. We look forward to working with Idemitsu to share our experience and thereby providing greater certainty towards delivering optimal outcomes for the project for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the Government of Vietnam, Blakely added.

Mitra Energy Inc. is an oil and gas company currently engaged in exploration, appraisal and pre-development activities in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

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Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 51F. Winds light and variable.

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 51F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

A mainly sunny sky. High 84F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
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An out of body experience: pushing the limits of bravery and medicine.

Pham Sy Long, 28, has volunteered to become the first person in Vietnam to undergo a full head transplant.

Long attended the National Coordination Center for Organ Transplantation in Hanoi on Wednesday to sign a consent form in which he declared he is willing to become Vietnams first head transplant volunteer.

Long said he had been thinking about this day for the past four months after he knew the worlds first human head transplant could become a reality next year.

At the age of 15, Long fell out of a tree. He cheated death, but the horrible accident severely damaged his spinal cord leading to total paralysis. He has been undergoing medical treatment and physical therapy for the past 13 years without success.

Despite his familys strong objections, Long is determined to give it a try.

My son has been persuading me to let him do it. I think this is a 50/50 chance. If my son is out of luck and the head transplant is not successful, he will donate his organs, said Longs mother.

Pham Sy Long had his picture taken with doctors at the National Coordination Center for Organ Transplantation in Hanoi. The 28-year-old man, who is wheelchair-bound, has volunteered to undergo Vietnam's first head transplant with the hope that the operation will allow him to walk again. Photo by VnExpress.

Vietnamese law does not include regulations about head transplants, or more precisely, body transplants, said Prof. Trinh Hong Son, head of the national organ transplantation center.

The center has so far recorded five to six donors who have volunteered to undergo head transplants, said Son, adding that Vietnam is unlikely to carry out the transplants in the next few years as they will involve extremely advanced surgical procedures.

The worlds first experimental transplant, due to be carried out in 2017 by Italian surgeon Dr. Sergio Canavero, is expected to involve over 150 doctors and nurses and take up to 36 hours.

After the worlds first head transplant, Vietnam will ask the surgeons to come to the country and share their expertise, Son said.

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> Vietnam approves $20m project to promote disabled people's rights

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The culprit remains at large somewhere in the mountains near the Chinese border.

Four family members in the northern province of Lao Cai were found murdered on Tuesday in a case that has left the public horrified by its brutality.

On August 9, Tan Ong Nai, 22, found the body of his two-year-old daughter Tan Mai Phuong in a stream 50 meters from his house on his way home from work. Nai tried to get into the house to search for the rest of his family, but found the front door was locked. Instead he went around the back and entered the house to find a gun booby-trap inside.

Lao Cai Police arrived at the scene the next day and discovered the body of Nais wife (Tan Ta May) and his other daughter (Tan Thuy Van), who was only 20 days old, in a pond near their home.

Nais niece Tan Thuy Chi, 6, were subsequently found dead in a ditch 100 meters from the home. The family's house had been ransacked, and VND14 million (US$628) in cash was stolen.

After killing the four, the perpetrator also set trap with a handmade gun in the kitchen. According to an official, it was designed to fire when someone opened the door. "The purpose of setting this trap gun was to kill the husband once he came back, but fortunately he went in through the back door," said a source from the investigation team.

The examination of the scene and post mortems were completed by noon the same day. Police said they had found a handmade gun and several stones suspected of being the murder weapons. They concluded that Tan Ta May had been beaten to death while the three children had been drowned.

The crime scene (Phin Ngan Hamlet, Trinh Tuong Commune, Lao Cai). Photo by VnExpress.

Lao Cai Police have launched a manhunt and experienced officers from the Criminal Police Department (Ministry of Public Security) have joined the investigation.

A source said police are looking for a 24-year-old man who lives in the same village as the victims. He is the only suspect so far. Yesterday, investigators identified his location as Coc My Commune, Bat Xat District, about 10 kilometers from the border with China. This is a vast mountainous and dangerous area and the suspect is thought to be carrying a homemade gun.

Local authorities have sent VND10 million ($448) in support of the victims family.

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Director Philipp Abresch and the character depicted in the reportage - 15-year-old Long Thanh - Photo by daserste.de

It tells the story of one family's brave effort to cope with the fallout from Agent Orange.

A reportage on Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange by German director Philipp Abresch has been nominated for an Emmy Award in the Television and International News category, announced the organizers on August 9.

Long Thanh will lachen, a 28 minute report which was aired on Germany's ARD channel a year ago, received the nomination just a day before Agent Orange Day (August 10).

Abreschs work tells the story of the victims of Agent Orange/dioxin used by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam-American War. Even 40 years after the war, generations continue to suffer the consequences of the deadly herbicide, as in the case of a 15-year-old boy named Long Thanh who features in the reportage.

The story depicts the lives of Long Thanh and his brother, both of whom suffered birth defects caused by their father's exposure to Agent Orange. They are both heavily reliant on their parents, but Long Thanh still lives an energetic life with an admirable attitude as he tries to overcome his fate.

During the making of the reportage, the film crew visited Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to meet Agent Orange victims.

Despite the war ending more than 40 years ago, there are still three million people in Vietnam suffering from the consequences of Agent Orange, with 150,000 children suffering severe birth defects.

With the American military using the toxin to clear vast areas of forests of Vietnam, horrific consequences were left in the ground, in the water and in humans.

The film also shows how Vietnam has been crying out for support to ease the suffering of the victims, but the U.S. administration has so far rejected or denied responsibility, saying that "there is no direct connection" between Agent Orange and the deformed babies.

Long Thanh will lachen was nominated alongside seven other films in its category.

The winner will be announced in New York on September 21.

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The homophobic admission policy has stirred up controversy.

Viet Anh High School, a private boarding school in Saigon, has recently published a new enrollment regulation saying that it will not accept homosexual students. Even if a student already attends the school, they will be forced to leave if the school finds out the truth.

Speaking with VnExpress on August 10, school principal Nguyen Manh Duong said that they have changed the phrase "homosexual students" to "students who dress or behave improperly for their registered gender".

Its just a subtle change [to the rule]. We maintain our stance on turning down homosexual students at this boarding school," Duong said.

Viet Anh High School has been open for five years but this is the first time the rule has been introduced. The school says that complex situations have arisen involving gay students at the school.

Boarders eat and sleep together, and even shower in a shared space. This results in uncomfortable situations for all students.

We think that homosexual children should have exclusive facilities, but we can't provide them at this time, so we will reject them, Duong explained.

The principal added that this is not discrimination, just a show of transparency for the admissions process for students and their parents.

Viet Anh High School. Photo by VnExpress/Manh Tung

Ho Thi Xuan, a parent who has just withdrawn a school application for her son, said in anger: I cant understand why an educational institute can discriminate in such a blatant way. Now the whole of society recognizes homosexual individuals, so the schools action is contrary to public efforts.

She added that her son isnt gay, but his manner is quite gentle, meek and mild. She was worried her son would be kicked out of the school if they suspected him of being gay, so she withdrew the application.

Tran Binh, whose son enrolled in the tenth grade last year, had a different opinion.

Honestly, parents are afraid that their children will be living with homosexual kids. Is your child affected or not? I'm not homophobic but I think its also difficult to overcome the anxiety.

Psychologist Dr. Nguyen Hoang Khac Hieu from the National University of Ho Chi Minh City said that admissions criteria vary from school to school.

However, he said that admissions rules and the principal's explanation clearly express discrimination.

The most important thing is to ensure that homosexual students can live with others and receive equal treatment. Schools should only enforce disciplinary measures if they break school rules as they would with any other student," said Hieu.

Nguyen Van Hau, vice chairman of the citys Jurists' Association, told VnExpress that the enrollment regulations at Viet Anh High School are not only a blow to the LGBT community; they also violate Vietnamese laws.

He cited Article 39 of Vietnams Constitution saying that all citizens have the right and obligation to learn, and Article 26, which prohibits gender discrimination.

Obviously all provisions say that Vietnam citizens, regardless of gender or religion, shall enjoy equal rights to education. It doesn't matter if they are homosexual, they are Vietnamese and should enjoy the same rights as every Vietnamese citizen.

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A state scientist resigned in protest Wednesday after the McCrory administration publicly accused a member of her staff of lying and unprofessional conduct.

The staff member, state toxicologist Kenneth Rudo, had testified that the administration sought to downplay the health risks to well owners who live near coal ash storage ponds.

Megan Davies, an epidemiologist and section chief in the N.C. Division of Public Health, submitted a scathing letter of resignation in response to an open letter distributed to the news media Tuesday by her boss, state health director Dr. Randall Williams, and Tom Reeder, an assistant secretary in the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.

Upon reading the open editorial yesterday evening, I can only conclude that the Departments leadership is fully aware that this document misinforms the public, Davies wrote. I cannot work for a Department and an Administration that deliberately misleads the public.

Davies, 53, walks away from a nearly $188,000-a-year position, which she has held for seven years. She, her subordinate Rudo, 60, and another colleague testified under oath that they had concerns about the states decision earlier this year to rescind do-not-drink notices to well owners.

It was Rudos testimony, which surfaced last week in excerpts from a deposition in a lawsuit, that triggered the clash between the public health staff and the administration, all the way to Gov. Pat McCrory. Rudo testified that he was summoned to the governors office to discuss concerns McCrory had over the wording of the pending do-not-drink notices. McCrorys chief of staff told reporters that Rudo lied under oath.

Rudo defended himself in public Wednesday for the first time.

Rudo, a 27-year state employee, hired an attorney to issue a written rebuttal to health and environment agency officials, who along with McCrory stepped up their criticism of Rudo this week for questionable and inconsistent scientific conclusions.

Rudos unprofessional approach to this important matter does a disservice to public health and environmental protection in North Carolina, Reeder and Williams wrote. It doesnt help that political special interest groups perpetuate his exaggerations and fuel alarm among citizens for their own purposes.

Rudos attorney, J. Heydt Philbeck, released a four-page response, saying the administration has distorted the issue.

Dr. Rudo believes that he has been personally and wrongfully impugned by state officials for the past week for his having the temerity to merely speak the truth, Philbeck said. Being attacked by powerful state officials is unnerving enough; but it is particularly distressing when these personal attacks go to the heart of Dr. Rudos most prized earthly possession: his integrity and are utterly false. Dr. Rudo has been truthful at all times.

Philbeck said it wasnt just Rudo but regulators with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, where Rudo works, and the DEQ that agreed on a new, far more stringent threshold for the presence of the substance hexavalent chromium in drinking water in private wells near coal ash storage last year. Duke Energy has been providing bottled water to about 400 houses for more than a year, although there has not been a proven link between leaking coal ash basins and contaminated wells.

Earlier this year, state regulators rescinded do-not-drink notices, saying research had convinced them the water was safe to drink. They now portray Rudo as a renegade scientist who has stirred up unwarranted fears of cancer tied to drinking water. Rudo counters that he didnt act alone and that the calculations used to determine safe levels have been scientifically vetted.

Davies, in her resignation letter, said Reeders and Williams statement presents a false narrative of a lone scientist acting independently.

Reeder, the environmental agency official, said in an interview Wednesday that there was a simple disagreement with the state health agency over how best to notify the public about risks in their drinking water. Rudos deposition testimony impugned the agencies staffs, he said.

We think theres been some mischaracterization about what the staff did at DEQ, Reeder said. I take umbrage at that. We worked hard on this to protect health from Day One.
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By Raymond Hogler | (The Conversation) |  

Out of the economic maelstrom of the last decade, Donald Trump has emerged as the improbable, and self-proclaimed, champion of American workers.

And thats despite the fact that Trump has failed to articulate substantive policy positions regarding labor issues, other than generic railing against foreign competition and bad trade deals. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, for one, has attacked him by tweeting a number of examples in which Trumps past behavior shows that he is no friend to working people.

Everything Trump says shows he is desperate to be working ppls friend but everything he does proves he is our enemy https://t.co/3AXVBV3jpm  Richard L. Trumka (@RichardTrumka) 19 July 2016

The important question is how has Trump  a wealthy real estate mogul and reality TV star  managed to attract substantial support among white men without college degrees, a demographic that makes up the base of industrial unionism?

The answer is an interlocking set of changing economic and cultural conditions in the U.S. that has undermined middle-class incomes and values. And it starts with the steady erosion of the American labor movement.

In my recent book on labor decline, I explored the historical evolution of the movement and concluded that state right-to-work laws are instrumental in breaking down working-class solidarity. Paradoxically, it is in these states that Trumps support is strongest.

The decline of unionism

In 1950, Walter Reuther and the United Auto Workers negotiated a landmark labor contract with General Motors known as the Treaty of Detroit, which set the terms for working-class prosperity over the next three decades. According to a study by economists Frank Levy and Peter Temin, the golden age of the American working class depended on a set of institutional supports that included collective bargaining and union power.

Deteriorating economic conditions and membership declines in the late 70s led organized labor to mount a pivotal effort for labor law reform to reinvigorate the movement, but a proposed bill was defeated by a Republican filibuster in 1978. Subsequently, union membership fell at a faster rate than at any time since the 1920s and presently stands at 11.1 percent of workers.

The effect of union deterioration on income inequality is nicely illustrated by the relationship between membership and the income share of the top 10 percent. In 1956, membership in unions was 33.2 percent, which was slightly higher than the share of national income taken in by top earners. In 2013, the figures were 11.2 percent and 47 percent, respectively.

The role of culture

Coupled with stagnant wages, changing social conditions have inflamed the cultural divide among identity groups. A psychological theory known as cultural cognition argues that Americans fall primarily into two ideological camps that shape their responses to such divisive issues as guns, race, gender and public toilets.

Hierarchical individualists adhere to traditional social roles, such as marriage between a man and a woman, freedom from government interference with personal liberties belonging to citizens of our nation, and regard for institutions such as the church and the military. This type of person holds deep religious views and respects authority arising from legitimate sources. Trump identifies himself as a billionaire who succeeded through his own talent and who states his views without regard for political correctness.

The contrasting cultural position is collective egalitarianism, which values group action to achieve equality of opportunity, opposes race and gender discrimination, and rejects the dead weight of the historical past. This person advocates economic policies to reduce inequality, such as by increasing the minimum wage and eliminating unfair labor practices. Bernie Sanders economic platform embodies these ideals.

The key point of the theory is that culture takes precedence over rational thought. One study, for example, shows that white males perceive risk much differently than other groups when it challenges their cultural identities and orientation. The authors conclude that the white male effect might derive from a congeniality between hierarchical and individualistic worldviews, on the one hand, and a posture of extreme risk skepticism, on the other.

Consequently, Trumps base has less apprehension about the risks of his presidency, such as his lack of experience in foreign affairs and his disastrous imbroglio with the Khan family, than do other social groups; and they remain positive about his candidacy because of who they are, not who he is.

Trumps heartland

The two largest cohorts of union membership are aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64.

Overall, there are 6.3 million white male union members compared with slightly more than one million black male members. Analysts predict that Trump will need to win around 67 percent of the white vote to prevail in the election.

What political strategy would enable Trump to capture key industrial states like Pennsylvania and Ohio? Charles Blow, a New York Times columnist, argues that Trumps appeal is based on racism, writing that Trump is an unfiltered primal scream of the fragility and fear consuming white male America. From this perspective, Trumps best campaign strategy is further attacks on such groups as Muslims and Mexicans.

Thomas Frank, another well-known political commentator, disagrees. He quotes a labor union official in Indiana who points out that working-class Americans are probably no more racist that any other group. Rather, Trumps appeal to the white male without a college degree is better understood by simple economics. As Frank explains: Ill-considered trade deals and generous bank bailouts and guaranteed profits for insurance companies but no recovery for average people, ever  these policies have taken their toll.

In the end, both approaches are needed to grasp the Trump phenomenon and the possibility that he might become president because his political rise is a conflation of historical circumstance and cultural gridlock.

In other words, Trump achieved a Republican primary victory at the moment when unions no longer could offer economic security for middle-class workers and when dominance based on race and gender was rapidly disappearing.

Back to the future

Trumps promise to Make America Great Again appears to offer a restoration of power to his supporters, but that restoration will not be achieved through positive labor law policies and union growth as took place during the New Deal.

For unions, it is unlikely that Trump would promote statutory changes to make organizing easier and more efficient because Republicans have systematically sought to destroy unions by adopting right to work legislation in states like Indiana, Michigan and West Virginia, and repealing state laws that protect public sector labor organizing.

Realistically, Trumps campaign is devoid of any substantive policy proposals to improve wages and benefits for American workers. Trump succeeds not as a legitimate political candidate but as a cultural symbolist who relies on emotionally charged tropes to attract followers, such as walling off our border with Mexico and banning Muslims from entering the country.

His approach for the most part has been successful and may be so in the future. A New York Times editorial warned against dismissing Trump with the comment, He is speaking to people who disbelieve conventional politicians, who detest a Washington they think has betrayed them. He promises nothing of substance to ease their pain, but he gives voice to their rage.

Responding to the voices of rage is hardly a worthwhile agenda for national prosperity or security, but it could be enough to win an election.

Raymond Hogler, Professor of Management, Colorado State University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.



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You think it is a waste to throw away $90 million? Vietnams central city might be doing just that.

Officials in the central coastal city of Da Nang are complaining that working in the city's administrative center has become unbearable due to the heat and oxygen depletion. The answer? The city might just build a new building to replace the $90 million skyscraper.

The plan to build a new office building reportedly came as a complete surprise to many people attending a meeting held by Da Nang Peoples Committee on Thursday morning.

Answering questions, a senior leader said that the administrative center is too hot to work in the summer.

We have asked the management board [of the building] to address the problem by pumping extra oxygen into the air in order to make state employees feel better, said Dang Viet Dung, vice chairman of the Peoples Committee.

The administrative center opened in December 2014 and cost VND2 trillion ($90 million). To put the figure into perspective, Da Nang spent 5 percent of its gross domestic product of VND41.7 trillion ($1.9 billion) in 2014 to build the office building.

The 37-storey skyscraper of more than 65,000 square meters has become a symbolic nucleus of the city, and around 2,000 municipal officials work there.

Noticeably, the city council kicked off the construction without holding a public vote.

Da Nangs leaders have confirmed that they will not decide on their own this time.

We didnt call for public vote before, but that doesnt mean we are going to do same thing in the future, said Dung.

No detailed plans about the construction of a new administrative center have been released.

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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Trump in his daily free association exercise accused President Obama of creating Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) in Iraq by withdrawing troops from that country in 2011. It is an accusation he has in past made against Sec. Clinton, but now he is shifting blame to Obama.

Obama did not withdraw troops from Iraq in 2011 all on his own. The timetable for withdrawal was set by the Bush administration.

The US government determined that they could not put US troops in Iraq in the position of possibly being prosecuted by Iraqi courts for war crimes if they fought in the country without a Status of Forces Agreement.

The Iraqi parliament declined to pass a SOFA that would let war-fighting Us troops stay in the country and would hold them harmless from legal action. I mean, you were asking representatives from Amara, from the Ahrar party of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr vote to keep US troops in the country.

The Sadrists, e.g., were all about anti-imperialism, and they really minded the civilian casualties caused by the US invasion and occupation. They werent going to vote to keep the US in the country.

So Obama was not asked to stay in Iraq by the sovereign Iraqi government, and international law made it impossible for him to keep troops there in a war-fighting capacity without an extra territoriality provision.

He simply abided by the agreement worked out by the Bush administration.

In 2011 when the civil war broke out in Syria, the elements of the Islamic State of Iraq that had evolved out of al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia went to fight in Syria. Obama had nothing to do with that development.

There had been no al-Qaeda in Iraq before Bush invaded. Operatives flocked there to fight the US troops, and gathered under the rubric first of al-Tawhid of the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But al-Zarqawi initially had bad relations with Usama Bin Laden. In order to fight the US presence, he made up and joined al-Qaeda and formed al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia. AFter he was killed by the US in 2006, the new, Iraqi leadership declared itself the Islamic State of Iraq and deepened their al-Qaeda affiliation.

So, the Republican, George W. Bush created Daesh / ISIL.

It wasnt the US withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 that allowed it ultimately to take over western and northern Iraq. It was its success in Syria, where it preyed on other radical Muslim factions.

And it was the marginalization of the Iraqi Sunnis by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose Shiite majority came to power under Bush, that promoted Daesh.

It is rich for Trump to now come and blame Obama for the actions and reactions of the Republicans who invaded and occupied Iraq.



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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 11, 2016) - Cordoba Minerals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CDB)(OTCQX:CDBMF) ("Cordoba" or the "Company") and its joint venture partner, High Power Exploration Inc. ("HPX"), a private mineral exploration company indirectly controlled by mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland's Ivanhoe Industries, LLC, are pleased to announce that ongoing drilling at the Alacran Copper-Gold Deposit has discovered significant new lateral extensions to known copper-gold mineralization, indicating significant potential for a large tonnage open-pit copper-gold resource.

Drilling in the northern area of the Alacran Deposit, within the Company's San Matias Copper-Gold Project in Colombia, has outlined significant widths of high-grade copper-gold mineralization starting near surface. Mineralization now extends over 250 metres laterally and remains open in all directions, highlighting the significant potential for further resource expansion over the 1.3 kilometres of strike drilled to date. Two active drill fences over 500 metres and 700 metres to the south of the initial lateral step-out drilling and east of previous diamond drilling where ASA-037 intersected 42 metres of 2.83 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.43% copper, have identified large zones of visible chalcopyrite-pyrite-magnetite mineralization, indicating the potential for similar lateral extensions including prospective gold-rich zones, significantly adding to the overall size of the copper-gold mineralized system.

Alacran drilling highlights (refer to Table 1):

ACD-012: 224 metres @ 0.50% copper and 0.17 g/t gold, including 78 metres @ 0.74% copper and 0.35 g/t gold.

224 metres @ 0.50% copper and 0.17 g/t gold, including ACD-010: 171 metres @ 0.51% copper and 0.18 g/t gold ; including 35 metres @ 0.80% copper and 0.23 g/t gold.

171 metres @ 0.51% copper and 0.18 g/t gold including ACD-013: 160 metres @ 0.47% copper and 0.11 g/t gold including 78 metres @ 0.71% copper and 0.15 g/t gold.

160 metres @ 0.47% copper and 0.11 g/t gold including ACD-014: 109 metres @ 0.51% copper and 0.31 g/t gold including 54 metres @ 0.90% copper and 0.49 g/t gold.

Mario Stifano, President and CEO of Cordoba, commented, "The ongoing 10,000-metre drilling program at Alacran is continuing to successfully expand the size and scale of the deposit both on strike and laterally and remains open, making Alacran potentially a large-tonnage open-pit deposit in what we believe is a prolific copper-gold system at San Matias. We have started Phase Two of the proprietary Typhoon technology deployment that will cover 14 square kilometres of the San Matias Copper-Gold Project including the southern area of Alacran, as we continue to aggressively explore the district with a total 20,000-metre diamond drilling program."

The Northern Alacran area was the focus of the five drillholes that were targeting both lateral and vertical extensions from previous drilling. Four holes successfully intersected large zones of copper-gold mineralization associated with both shallow and high-grade zones, and the mineralization remains open in all directions (Figure 2). The following is a discussion of each intersection:

Drillhole ACD-010 (Figure 3) was located on section 855720mN where it tested the up-dip extensions of drillhole ACD-007 (169 metres @ 0.48% copper and 0.33 g/t gold) as a 50 metre step-out. ACD-010 successfully intersected a large, continuous zone of copper-gold mineralization of 171 metres @ 0.51% copper and 0.18 g/t gold, including 35 metres @ 0.80% copper and 0.23 g/t gold, that remains open both up- and down-dip on section. This mineralization remains open to the south down plunge and up-dip on section.

Drillhole ACD-012 (Figure 3) was also collared on section 855720mN and tested between drillholes ASA-025 (downdip: 68 metres @ 0.50% copper and 0.09 g/t gold; and 131 metres @ 0.52% copper and 0.24 g/t gold) and ACD-007 (updip: 169 metres @ 0.48% copper and 0.33 g/t gold). ACD-012 successfully intersected a large and continuous zone of copper-gold mineralization of 224 metres @ 0.50% copper and 0.17 g/t gold, including 78 metres @ 0.74% copper and 0.35 g/t gold, and indicates that the copper-gold mineralization on this section has good continuity with respect to grade and thickness.

Drillhole ACD-013 (Figure 4) was located on section 855760mN where it has tested the up-dip lateral extensions to known copper-gold mineralization in drillhole ACD-009 (150m @ 0.73% copper and 0.49 g/t gold) with a 50-metre step-out. ACD-013 successfully intersected a large, continuous zone of copper-gold mineralization of 160 metres @ 0.47% copper and 0.11 g/t gold, including 78 metres @ 0.71% copper and 0.15 g/t gold.

Drillhole ACD-014 (Figure 4) was also located on section 855760mN and was collared 100 metres east of ACD-013 to test the lateral up-dip extensions. ACD-014 successfully intersected a large and continuous zone of copper-gold mineralization of 109 metres @ 0.51% copper and 0.31 g/t gold, including 54 metres @ 0.90% copper and 0.49 g/t gold, that remains open to the east and up-dip.

Drillhole ACD-011 was located on section 855960mN and was designed to test a large IP chargeability anomaly. Drilling intersected a large interval of altered sediments, volcanic rocks and diorite intrusive with abundant disseminated pyrite but no significant intersection of copper-gold mineralization. Interpretation of the geology and alteration suggests the drillhole was located on the northern side of an east-west trending fault structure that offsets the copper-gold deposit at the most northern parts of the known mineralization. The copper-gold mineralization is interpreted to be located further east, where a coincident gold-and copper-in-soil anomaly is located.

Together, drillholes ACD-013 and ACD-014 indicate the lateral extent of the Alacran Copper-Gold Deposit is significantly larger to the east than previously suggested, demonstrating potential for additional lateral extensions along the entire strike of the Alacran Deposit.

Alacran Copper-Gold System

The Alacran copper-gold system is located within the Company's San Matias Copper-Gold Project in the Department of Cordoba, Colombia. The Alacran system is located on a topographic high in gently rolling topography, optimal for potential open-pit mining. Access and infrastructure are considered favourable. Alacran is approximately two kilometres southwest of the Company's Montiel porphyry copper-gold discovery, where drilling interested 101 metres of 1.0% copper and 0.65 g/t gold, and two kilometres northwest of the Costa Azul porphyry copper-gold discovery, where drilling interested 87 metres of 0.62% copper and 0.51 g/t gold (Figure 1). The copper-gold mineralization at Alacran is associated with stratabound replacement of a marine volcano-sedimentary sequence in the core of a faulted antiformal fold structure. The deposit comprises moderately to steeply-dipping stratigraphy that is mineralized as a series of sub-parallel replacement-style or skarn zones and associated disseminations (Figure 2). The copper-gold mineralization is composed of multiple overprinting hydrothermal events with the main ore phase comprised of chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite-pyrite that appears to overprint a large-scale early magnetite metasomatic event.

High temperature potassic feldspar-biotite-amphibole-albite alteration in the host geological sequence, indicates that the copper-gold mineralization is proximal to a source intrusion. At least two intrusive phases, locally occurring as sills, confirm an intrusive source for the mineralizing fluids. The overall size and complexity of the hydrothermal system indicates a significant mineralization event. Mineralization occurs within all members of the sedimentary and volcanic sequence, where it can be traced over a strike length of greater than 1,300 metres and local thickness of more than 90 metres true-width, and upwards of 180 metres true-width, from the current drilling and surface sampling (Figure 3).

Alacran Exploration

A soil sampling program covering the entire Alacran project area has been completed consisting of 50-metre spaced sampling centres on 100-metre spaced sampling lines. The results for both copper-in-soil (Figure 5) and gold-in-soil (Figure 6) anomalism indicate the copper-gold mineralized system at Alacran to be much more extensive than previously suggested with dimensions of coincident copper and gold enrichment of significant levels being evident over +1,500 metres strike and with lateral widths of over 800 metres. The soil anomalism is particularly evident to the east of the previous drilling programs carried out at Alacran and has been the incentive for the lateral step-out drilling that has successfully located significant lateral extents to the Alacran copper-gold mineralization. The accelerated and expanded diamond drilling program at Alacran is to test these lateral extensions over the entire strike length of known mineralization and additional targets as an ongoing aggressive drilling campaign.

About San Matias Project

The San Matias Copper-Gold Project comprises a 20,000-hectare land package on the inferred northern extension of the richly endowed Mid-Cauca Belt in Colombia. The project contains several known areas of porphyry copper-gold mineralization, copper-gold skarn mineralization and vein-hosted, gold-copper mineralization. Porphyry mineralization at the San Matias Project incorporates high-grade zones of copper-gold mineralization hosted by diorite porphyries containing secondary biotite alteration and various orientations of sheeted and stockwork quartz-magnetite veins with chalcopyrite and bornite. The copper-gold skarn mineralization at Alacran is associated with stratabound replacement of a marine volcano-sedimentary sequence. The nature of mineralization encountered at San Matias is similar to other large high-grade copper-gold deposits.

Technical Information

The technical information has been reviewed, verified and compiled by Christian J. Grainger, PhD, a Qualified Person for the purpose of NI 43-101. Dr. Grainger is a geologist with over 15 years in the minerals mining, consulting, exploration and research industries. Dr. Grainger is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) and Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM).

All samples have been prepared and assayed at ALS laboratory in Medellin, Colombia with gold assays being carried out as 50-gram Fire-Assays with AAS finish and all trace elements and base metals being assayed using four Acid Digest with ICP-MS finish. Copper-equivalent values have been calculated using a US$1,350 per ounce gold price and US$2.20 per pound copper price. The company utilizes an industry-standard QA/QC program. HQ and NQ diamond drill-core is sawn in half with one-half shipped to a sample preparation lab. The remainder of the core is stored in a secured storage facility for future assay verification. Blanks, duplicates and certified reference standards are inserted into the sample stream to monitor laboratory performance and a portion of the samples are periodically checked for assayed result quality.

Joint Venture Agreement

The San Matias Project is a joint venture between Cordoba and HPX, a private mineral exploration company founded by mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland. HPX has entered Phase Two of the Joint Venture Agreement, whereby HPX can earn a 51% interest in the San Matias Project by spending an additional C$10.5 million bringing total expenditures to C$19 million and can earn up to a 65% interest in the project by carrying it to feasibility.

About High Power Exploration

HPX is a privately owned, metals-focused exploration company deploying proprietary in-house geophysical technologies to rapidly evaluate buried geophysical targets. The HPX technology cluster comprises geological and geophysical systems for targeting, modelling, survey optimization, acquisition, processing and interpretation. HPX has a highly experienced board and management team led by Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Friedland, President Eric Finlayson, a former head of exploration at Rio Tinto, and co-chaired by Ian Cockerill, a former Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields Ltd. For further information, please visit www.hpxploration.com.

Table 1: Initial diamond drillhole results at the Alacran Project*. Drill-hole From To Interval** Copper Gold Copper (m) (m) (m) (%) (g/t) Equiv.% ACD-010 6 177 171 0.51 0.18 0.68 Incl. 6 64 58 0.39 0.33 77 123 46 0.73 0.08 142 177 35 0.80 0.23 and 202 221 19 0.23 0.03 ACD-011 NSI ACD-012 11 235 224 0.50 0.17 0.66 Incl. 11 40 29 0.80 0.09 46 65 19 0.36 0.08 70 99 29 0.57 0.13 115 193 78 0.74 0.35 217 235 18 0.25 0.10 ACD-013 0 160 160 0.47 0.11 0.57 Incl. 0 78 78 0.71 0.15 123 160 37 0.45 0.13 ACD-014 1 110 109 0.51 0.31 0.79 39 93 54 0.90 0.49

* True width intervals of the mineralization are interpreted as being between 90-100% true widths from oriented diamond drill core and sectional interpretation ** Intercepts calculated at 0.35% copper equivalent cut-off with maximum internal dilution of 5 metres *** Bulk Intercepts (in bold) calculated at 0.35% copper equivalent cut-off, no maximum internal dilution

Figure 1. Location of the Alacran copper-gold system (hatched) within Cordoba's San Matias Project on airborne RTP magnetics



Figure 2. Drill plan of the northern extents of the Alacran system showing the drill hole locations, mineralized intervals and location of sections 855720mN and 855760mN





Figure 3. Section 855720mN displaying consistent large widths of copper and gold mineralization between drill-holes remaining open down dip and to surface



Figure 4. Section 855760mN displaying consistent large widths of copper and gold mineralization between drill-holes on section that extend to surface and remain open down dip





Figure 5. Alacran soil sampling program indicating the extensive anomalous copper-in-soil zone in comparison to previous drilling and the locations of the successful initial step-out holes testing the newly discovered lateral extensions



Figure 6. Alacran soil sampling program indicating the extensive anomalous gold-in-soil zone in comparison to previous drilling and the locations of the successful initial step-out holes testing the newly discovered lateral extensions


VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - August 11, 2016) - Imperial Metals Corporation (the "Company") (TSX: III) reports comparative financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 are summarized in this release and discussed in detail in the Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A"). The Company's financial results are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). The reporting currency of the Company is the Canadian ("CDN") Dollar.

expressed in thousands, except per share amounts Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 2016 2015 Revenues $116,200 $1,726 $252,985 $3,259 Income (loss) from mine operations $20,151 $(2,981 ) $40,499 $(4,694 ) Equity (loss) income in Huckleberry $(1,697 ) $626 $(5,673) $33 Net (loss) income $(4,160 ) $1,644 $13,569 $(31,740 ) Net (loss) income per share $(0.05 ) $0.02 $0.17 $(0.42 ) Adjusted net loss (1) $(1,214 ) $(9,371 ) $(15) $(17,383 ) Adjusted net loss per share (1) $(0.01 ) $(0.12 ) $(0.00) $(0.23 ) Adjusted EBITDA(1) $38,791 $(7,840 ) $84,666 $(13,985 ) Cash flow (1) $40,327 $2,270 $89,752 $(3,791 ) Cash flow per Share (1) $0.49 $0.03 $1.10 $(0.05 ) (1) Refer to Non-IFRS Financial Measures for further details.

Revenues were $116.2 million in the June 2016 quarter compared to $1.7 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. The increase of $114.5 million is related to the restart of operations at the Mount Polley mine on August 5, 2015 and the start of commercial production at the Red Chris mine on July 1, 2015. There were five concentrate shipments in the June 2016 quarter from the Red Chris mine and one concentrate shipment from the Mount Polley mine.

Net loss for the June 2016 quarter was $4.2 million ($0.05 per share) compared to net income of $1.6 million ($0.02 per share) in the 2015 comparative quarter. The increase in net loss from the June 2015 quarter to the June 2016 quarter of $5.8 million was primarily due to the following factors:

Income/loss from mine operations went from a loss of $3.0 million in June 2015 to income of $20.2 million in June 2016, an increase to net income of $23.2 million.

Foreign exchange gains/losses on current and non-current debt went from a gain of $7.2 million in June 2015 to a loss of $1.6 million in June 2016, a decrease to net income of $8.8 million.

Interest expense went from $2.3 million in June 2015 to $17.1 million in June 2016, a decrease to net income of $14.8 million.

Loss/gain on derivative instruments went from a loss of $3.1 million in June 2015 to a gain of $0.4 million in June 2016, an increase to net income of $3.5 million.

Insurance recoveries net of idle mine costs went from a gain of $4.6 million in June 2015 to $nil in June 2016, a decrease to net income of $4.6 million.

The June 2016 quarter net income included a foreign exchange losses related to changes in CDN/US Dollar exchange rates of $2.1 million compared to a foreign exchange gains of $7.1 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. The $2.1 million foreign exchange loss is comprised of a $1.2 million loss on the senior notes, a $0.1 million loss on long term equipment loans, and a loss of $0.8 million on short-term debt and operational items. The average CDN/US Dollar exchange rate in the June 2016 quarter was 1.289 compared to an average of 1.229 in the 2015 comparative quarter.

In the June 2016 quarter the Company recorded net gains on derivative instruments of $0.4 million compared to net losses of $3.1 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. The $0.4 million gain in the June 2016 quarter consisted of a $0.4 million unrealized gains on the foreign currency swap due to an increase in the CDN/US Dollar exchange rate compared to the exchange rate at the end of the March 2016 quarter. In the 2015 comparative quarter the $3.1 million loss consisted of realized gains of $0.7 million or gold derivative instruments, unrealized losses of $1.4 million for gold derivative instruments and unrealized losses of $2.4 million on the foreign currency swap. During the June 2016 quarter the Company did not have any commodity derivative instruments.

The Company recorded a $1.7 million equity loss as its share of Huckleberry's net loss during the June 2016 quarter compared to a $0.6 million equity gain in the 2015 comparative quarter. Huckleberry had one shipment in the June 2016 quarter compared to three shipments in the 2015 comparative quarter.

Capital expenditures were $24.2 million in the June 2016 quarter, down from $48.9 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. During the June 2015 quarter capital expenditures were significantly higher than the June 2016 quarter as they included $13.0 million in capitalized interest and $5.2 million in capitalized preproduction operating costs net of preproduction revenues related to the Red Chris mine. Capitalization of interest and preproduction costs related to Red Chris mine ceased on July 1, 2015 with the commencement of commercial production.

LIQUIDITY AND FINANCING

At June 30, 2016, the Company had cash of $4.1 million and a working capital deficiency of $41.1 million.

During the June 2016 quarter the Company extended the maturity date of the senior credit facility to March 15, 2018 and amended certain of its terms and conditions. Concurrently, the Company extended the maturity date of the second lien secured credit facility to August 15, 2018 and amended certain of its terms and conditions.

The projected cash flow from the Red Chris and Mount Polley mines, as well as the available credit facilities and other sources of financing, are expected to be sufficient to fund the working capital deficiency and the Company's obligations as they become due. However, there are inherent risks related to mine operations which could require additional sources of financing. There can be no assurance that adequate additional financing will be available on terms acceptable to the Company or at all which could have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial condition and results of operations and its ability to continue to operate as a going concern.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

Refer to the MD&A section titled Non-IFRS Financial Measures for further details.

expressed in thousands, except share and per share amounts Three Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 Adjusted net loss $(1,214 ) $(9,371 ) Adjusted net loss per share $(0.01 ) $(0.12 ) Adjusted EBITDA $38,791 $(7,840 ) Cash flow $40,327 $2,270 Cash flow per share $0.49 $0.03

The Company reports four non-IFRS financial measures: Adjusted net income, Adjusted EBITDA, Cash flow and Cash cost per pound of copper produced which are described in detail below. The Company believes these measures are useful to investors because they are included in the measures that are used by management in assessing the financial performance of the Company.

Adjusted net income, Adjusted EBITDA, and Cash flow are not generally accepted earnings measures and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) and cash flows as determined in accordance with IFRS. As there is no standardized method of calculating these measures, these measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Reconciliations are provided in the MD&A.

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Adjusted Net Income (Loss) per Share

Adjusted net loss in the June 2016 quarter was $1.2 million ($0.01 per share) compared to an adjusted net loss of $9.4 million ($0.12 per share) in the 2015 comparative quarter. Adjusted net income or loss shows the financial results excluding the effect of items not settling in the current period and non-recurring items.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA in the June 2016 quarter was $38.8 million compared to negative $7.8 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before interest expense, taxes, and depletion and depreciation. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA excluding certain recurring non-cash items, unusual items not expected to continue at the same level in the future, and any other items not reflective of our ongoing operating performance.

Cash Flow and Cash Flow Per Share

Cash flow in the June 2016 quarter was $40.3 million compared to $2.3 million in 2015 comparative quarter. Cash flow per share was $0.49 in the June 2016 quarter compared to $0.03 in 2015 comparative quarter.

Cash flow and Cash flow per share are measures used by the Company to evaluate its performance however they are not terms recognized under IFRS. Cash flow is defined as cash flow from operations before the net change in non-cash working capital balances, income and mining taxes, and interest paid and cash flow per share is the same measure divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. The Company believes Cash flow is useful to investors and it is one of the measures used by management to assess the financial performance of the Company.

Cash Cost Per Pound of Copper Produced

The cash cost per pound of copper produced is a non-IFRS financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning under IFRS, and as a result may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Management uses this non-IFRS financial measure to monitor operating costs and profitability. The Company is primarily a copper producer and therefore calculates this non-IFRS financial measure individually for its three copper producing mines, Red Chris, Mount Polley and Huckleberry, and on a composite basis for these mines.

The cash cost per pound of copper produced is derived from the sum of cash production costs, transportation and offsite costs, treatment and refining costs, royalties, net of by-product and other revenues, divided by the number of pounds of copper produced during the period.

Variations from period to period in the cash cost per pound of copper produced are the result of many factors including: grade, metal recoveries, amount of stripping charged to operations, mine and mill operating conditions, labour and other cost inputs, transportation and warehousing costs, treatment and refining costs, the amount of by-product and other revenues, the US$ to CDN$ exchange rate and the amount of copper produced. Idle mine costs during the periods when the Mount Polley and Huckleberry mines were not in operation have been excluded from the cash cost per pound of copper produced.

Calculation of Cash Cost Per Pound of Copper Produced expressed in thousands, except cash cost per pound of copper produced Three Months Ended June 30, 2016 Huckleberry Red Mount 100% 50% Chris Polley Composite Cash cost of copper produced in US$ $14,315 $7,157 $23,174 $14,548 $44,879 Copper produced - 000's lbs 7,713 3,857 26,737 5,314 35,908 Cash cost per lb copper produced in US$ $1.86 $1.86 $0.87 $2.74 $1.25 Three Months Ended June 30, 2015 Huckleberry Red Mount 100% 50% Chris Polley Composite Cash cost of copper produced in US$ $25,315 $12,645 $ - $ - $12,645 Copper produced - 000's lbs 11,493 5,746 - - 11,493 Cash cost per lb copper produced in US$ $2.20 $2.20 $ - $ - $2.20

Developments During the June 2016 Quarter

General

The London Metals Exchange cash settlement copper price per pound averaged US$2.14 (CDN$2.76) in the June 2016 quarter compared to US$2.74 (CDN$3.37) in the 2015 comparative quarter. The London Metals Exchange cash settlement gold price per troy ounce averaged US$1,259 (CDN$1,623) in the June 2016 quarter compared to US$1,193 (CDN$1,466) in the 2015 comparative quarter. The CDN Dollar weakened by 4.7% compared to the US Dollar in the June 2016 quarter compared to the 2015 comparative quarter.

Red Chris Mine

Metal production for the June 2016 quarter was 26.74 million pounds copper and 18,213 ounces gold, increases of 14% and 25% respectively compared to the first quarter of 2016. The mill achieved an average throughput of 28,971 tonnes per day, and the mine moved an average of 75,002 tonnes of material per day during the second quarter of 2016. The bulk of the mill feed (approximately 77%) was mined from the Main zone, with higher grade East zone ore providing the remainder of the mill feed. The ore grade averaged 0.59% copper and 0.40g/t gold for the quarter. Metal recoveries averaged 78.34% copper and 53.77% gold, down slightly from the 79.10% and 54.72% achieved for copper and gold respectively in the first quarter of 2016. Metal recoveries were negatively impacted by near surface (higher clay content) ore delivered from a Main zone pushback which made up about 24% of the feed during the June quarter, compared to 0% in the first quarter of 2016.

Lab test work and plant trials using several different reagents to increase copper recovery are underway. Throughput for July averaged 30,638 tonnes per day. Recoveries continued to be impacted by the high clay content of the near surface Main zone ore being mined in the Phase 3 pushback, which made up the majority (85%) of the mill feed in July.

At the tailings storage facility ("TSF") work on the North Dam continues and is approximately 33% complete, and the initial work on the South Reclaim Dam has started along with other work required to begin construction on the South Dam. Permitting for the South Dam is progressing, and we expect to be able to start work on it before the end of August. We are targeting the completion of construction at the TSF by October 15, 2016.

Red Chris Production Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 2016 2015(1) Ore milled - tonnes 2,636,332 1,851,608 4,780,129 2,667,379 Ore milled per calendar day - tonnes 28,971 19,906 26,264 20,347 Grade % - copper 0.587 0.502 0.606 0.484 Grade g/t - gold 0.400 0.238 0.391 0.243 Recovery % - copper 78.34 61.88 78.78 62.03 Recovery % - gold 53.77 31.94 54.49 31.87 Copper - 000's pounds 26,737 12,677 50,242 17,397 Gold - ounces 18,213 4,533 32,772 6,644 Silver - ounces 66,054 18,721 122,435 25,742

(1) production from February 17 to June 30, 2015

Exploration, development and capital expenditures were $11.0 million in the June 2016 quarter compared to $31.3 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. Included in this amount was capitalized interest of $nil in the June 2016 quarter compared to $13.0 million in the 2015 comparative quarter.

Mount Polley Mine

Over the past two years, Mount Polley management and staff have worked tirelessly in close cooperation with regulatory agencies, First Nations and members of the local communities, to repair and buttress the TSF following the Best Applicable Practices identified in the Independent Expert Engineering Investigation and Review Panel report. On June 23, 2016 Mount Polley received the necessary authorizations from the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Environment, to return to normal mine operations, making use of its repaired and buttressed TSF. Work on raising the minimum elevation to the perimeter embankment from 950 metres to 963.5 metres has begun, with a targeted completion of the end of October 2016.

During the past two years, Mount Polley has completed significant rehabilitation of the impacted areas, and will continue necessary rehabilitation and monitoring of those areas. Work on returning of the upper portion of Hazeltine Creek to fish habitat has begun. Research and monitoring to date indicates the environment is recovering rapidly. No long lasting impacts are anticipated at this time. The Company has also initiated legal proceedings for the recovery of losses related to the tailings dam breach at Mount Polley mine.

During the second quarter of 2016, the Mount Polley mine treated 1.57 million tonnes ore, and produced 5.31 million pounds copper and 9,476 ounces gold. The average ore grade for the second quarter 2016 was 0.22% copper and 0.28 g/t gold compared to 0.31% copper and 0.33 g/t gold in the first quarter of 2016. Lower head grades resulted in lower metal recoveries averaging 68.33% copper and 67.62% gold , compared to 70.31% copper and 71.52% gold achieved in the first quarter of 2016. Grades were lower as underground operations in the Boundary zone supplied 55,582 tonnes grading 0.91% copper and 0.55 g/t gold, down from 91,881 tonnes grading 1.73% copper and 1.10 g/t gold. A fill cycle in the main boundary stope was completed during the quarter and production from the underground operation is targeted to increase in the third quarter.

Mount Polley Production Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2016 2015(1) 2016 2015(1) Ore milled - tonnes 1,573,542 - 3,282,690 - Ore milled per calendar day - tonnes 17,292 - 18,037 - Grade % - copper 0.224 - 0.268 - Grade g/t - gold 0.277 - 0.304 - Recovery % - copper 68.33 - 69.52 - Recovery % - gold 67.62 - 69.82 - Copper - 000's pounds 5,314 - 13,493 - Gold - ounces 9,476 - 22,389 - Silver - ounces 17,104 - 52,135 -

(1) production resumed August 5, 2015

Exploration, development, and capital expenditures were $13.2 million in the June 2016 quarter compared to $17.4 million in the 2015 comparative quarter.

Huckleberry Mine

Huckleberry mine production for the second quarter of 2016 quarter was in-line with targets. Throughput averaged 19,426 tonnes per day, and 7.71 million pounds copper were produced. Imperial's share of Huckleberry production was 3.86 million pounds copper. The copper grade averaged 0.23% and copper recovery was 87.6%. Milling of the stockpiles will continue until August 31, at which time it is planned that operations will be suspended and the mine placed on care and maintenance pending an increase in the price of copper.

Huckleberry Production(1) Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30 2016 2015 2016 2015 Ore milled - tonnes 1,767,724 1,726,751 3,538,449 3,293,245 Ore milled per calendar day - tonnes 19,426 18,975 19,442 18,195 Grade % - copper 0.226 0.338 0.234 0.342 Recovery % - copper 87.6 89.3 87.7 89.0 Copper - 000's pounds 7,713 11,493 15,991 22,120 Gold - ounces 702 886 1,483 1,681 Silver - ounces 40,224 57,226 79,031 111,198

(1) production stated 100% - Imperial's allocation is 50%

Sterling Mine

Sterling underground mining operations were terminated at the end of May 2015. Residual gold continues to be recovered from the heap.

The draft Environmental Assessment for expanding operations at the Sterling mine to incorporate open-pit mining was submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management ("BLM"). Following a review the BLM generated a "Findings of No Significant Impact" which underwent a 30 day public review period. Comments received by the BLM have been written into the document by the BLM for final approval.

One comment generated from the Environmental Assessment from the State of Nevada identified the need for the Sterling mine to obtain a Public Water Utility permit. An engineering company has been commissioned to establish the scope and cost of providing a potable water system that will meet the state's requirements to obtain a Public Water Utility permit.

An exploration program that includes soil sampling and geological mapping is being conducted in an area of favorable geology along the northern flank of Bare Mountain.

Exploration and development expenditures at Sterling were $nil in the June 2016 quarter compared to under $0.1 in the 2015 comparative quarter.

Derivative Instruments

In the June 2016 quarter the Company recorded net gains on derivative instruments of $0.4 million compared to net losses of $3.1 million in the 2015 comparative quarter. The $0.4 million gain in the June 2016 quarter consisted of a $0.4 million unrealized gain on the foreign currency swaps. In the 2015 comparative quarter the $3.1 million loss consisted of realized gains of $0.7 million or gold derivative instruments, unrealized losses of $1.4 million for gold derivative instruments and unrealized losses of $2.4 million on the foreign currency swap. The gains or losses in derivative instruments result from the mark to market valuation of the instruments based on changes, depending on the instrument, in the price of copper and gold and movements in the CDN/US exchange rate.

The Company had no derivative instruments for copper or gold at June 30, 2016 or at the date of this document.

Future changes in the CDN/US Dollar exchange rate could have a material impact on the valuation of the cross currency swap however this gain or loss will be more than offset by the foreign exchange gain or loss on the Notes.

OUTLOOK

Operations, Earnings and Cash Flow

The base and precious metals production targeted for 2016 from the Red Chris mine is 90-100 million pounds copper and 60-70 thousand ounces gold. The target for 2016 production at Mount Polley is 27-29 million pounds copper and 48-52 thousand ounces gold. No target has been established for Huckleberry as it is milling stockpiled lower grade material and continued operation is dependent on a copper price increase.

Derivative instruments for the period April to December 2016 will protect US$90.0 million or about 28% of the foreign exchange movement on the Company's US$325.0 million Notes. At June 30, 2016, the Company has not hedged any copper or gold. Quarterly revenues will fluctuate depending on copper and gold prices, the CDN/US Dollar exchange rate, and the timing of concentrate sales, which is dependent on concentrate production and the availability and scheduling of transportation.

Exploration

Imperial has interests in several exploration properties located in Canada. However, the Company's focus is currently to minimize exploration expenditures on non-core projects. Only minimum exploration work is being undertaken on all projects.

Development

At Red Chris work continues to optimize the operation of our newest mine. Copper recovery has improved and averaged 78.8% for the first half of 2016 compared to 73.3% in the second half of 2015. Efforts to improve copper recovery continue. Copper and gold production in the month of May 2016 of 10.0 million pounds copper and 6,993 ounces gold set new monthly records.

Initial studies have indicated the mineralization below the current pit design has suitable geometry and anticipated rock conditions for a block cave design. A single lift of 500 metres will likely yield a production rate of over 50,000 tonnes per day. Further work is warranted on this deep, higher grade deposit, and this work is expected to include drilling of approximately five 1,100 metre long diamond drill holes to confirm the geological and geotechnical conditions in the vicinity of the conceptual block cave.

Mount Polley obtained the permits required to return to normal operations using the repaired and buttressed TSF, which is now being used to store tailings. Water levels in the Springer pit are going down as treated water is being discharged from the site. Currently, milling operations are benefiting from the supply of higher grade tonnes from underground mining in the Boundary zone. Also, an exploration ramp from the underground Boundary zone workings is being driven to provide access for underground diamond drilling to further define the Martel zone for potential underground mining.

In response to lower copper prices, Huckleberry suspended open pit operations in January 2016, while continuing to mill stockpiles. Huckleberry will suspend milling operations and enter care and maintenance at the end of August.

Detailed Second Quarter Report financial information is available on imperialmetals.com and sedar.com.

An Earnings Announcement Conference Call is scheduled for August 12, 2016 at 10:00am PDT | 11:00am MDT | 1:00pm EDT Management will discuss the Company's 2016 Second Quarter Financial Results. To participate in the earnings announcement conference call, select the phone number applicable to your location: 778.383.7413 Vancouver 416.764.8688 Toronto 587.880.2171 Calgary 888.390.0546 North America - toll free Conference call will be available for playback (until 1:00pm on August 19, 2016) by dialing 888.390.0541 or 416.764.8677 | playback passcode 165169#

About Imperial

Imperial is an exploration, mine development and operating company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns the Red Chris and Mount Polley copper|gold mines in British Columbia, and the Sterling gold mine in Nevada. Imperial also holds a 50% interest in Huckleberry Mines Ltd. and in the Ruddock Creek lead|zinc property, both in British Columbia.

Forward-Looking Information and Risks Notice

The information in this press release provides a summary review of the Company's operations and financial position as at and for the period ended June 30, 2016, and plans for the future based on facts and circumstances as of August 10, 2016.

Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, including our 50% interest in Huckleberry, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking information which is prospective in nature and reflects the current views and/or expectations of Imperial. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of statements such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "projects", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such information in this press release includes, without limitation, statements regarding: mine plans and production targets; costs and timing of current and proposed exploration and development; marketing; capital expenditures; future expenses and scope relating to timing of ongoing rehabilitation activities at the Mount Polley mine; use of proceeds from credit facilities and other sources of financing; expectations relating to the operation of the Red Chris mine and costs associated therewith; adequacy of funds for projects and liabilities; expectations relating to the receipt of necessary regulatory permits, approvals or other consents, such as those required for construction of the South dam at the Red Chris mine, and the construction and operation of a new open pit mine at the Sterling mine; outcome and impact of litigation; cash flow; working capital requirements; expectations relating to the requirement for additional capital; expectations relating to results of operations, production, revenue, margins and earnings; expectations relating to copper recovery, the results of exploratory drilling to further define geological and geotechnical conditions in the vicinity of a conceptual block cave, and completion targets related to construction at the tailings storage facility at the Red Chris mine; expectations relating to production and copper recovery from underground mining operations, and completion targets for raising the tailings storage facility's perimeter embankment minimum elevation from 950 metres to 963.5 metres at the Mount Polley mine; expectations relating to the suspension of operations at the Huckleberry mine and the placement of that mine into care and maintenance on August 31, 2016 pending an increase in the price of copper; future prices of copper and gold; future foreign currency exchange rates and impact; future accounting changes; and future prices for marketable securities.

Forward-looking information is not based on historical facts, but rather on then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates, including, but not limited to, assumptions that: the Company will be able to advance and complete remaining planned rehabilitation activities within expected timeframes; that there will be no significant delay or other material impact on the expected timeframes or costs for completion of rehabilitation of the Mount Polley mine; that the Company's rehabilitation activities at Mount Polley will be successful in the long term; that all required permits, approvals and arrangements to proceed with planned rehabilitation at the Mount Polley mine will be obtained in a timely manner; that there will be no interruptions that will materially delay the Company's progress with its rehabilitation plans; that there will be no material operational or permitting delays at the Red Chris mine; that equipment will operate as expected; that there will not be significant power outages; that the Company's use of derivative instruments will enable the Company to achieve expected pricing protection; that there will be no material adverse change in the market price of commodities and exchange rates; and that the Red Chris mine and the Mount Polley mine will achieve expected production outcomes (including with respect to mined grades and mill recoveries); that Imperial will have access to capital as required. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. We can give no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Imperial's actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements constituting forward-looking information.

Important risks that could cause Imperial's actual results, revenues, performance or achievements to differ materially from Imperial's expectations include, among other things: that additional financing that may be required may not be available to Imperial on terms acceptable to Imperial or at all; risks relating to the timely receipt of necessary approvals and consents to proceed with construction of the South dam at the Red Chris mine; risks relating to the timely receipt of necessary approvals and consents to proceed with the rehabilitation plan; risks relating to the remaining costs and liabilities and any unforeseen longer-term environmental consequences arising from the tailings dam breach; uncertainty as to actual timing of completion of rehabilitation activities at the Mount Polley mine and the planned raise of the tailings storage facility's perimeter embankment minimum elevation from 950 metres to 963.5 metres; risks relating to the impact of the tailings dam breach on Imperial's reputation; the quantum of claims, fines and penalties that may become payable by Imperial and the risk that current sources of funds are insufficient to fund liabilities; risks that Imperial will be unsuccessful in defending against, and/or pursuing recovery of its losses through, any legal claims or potential litigation; risks of protesting activity and other civil disobedience restricting access to the Company's properties; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations; cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, labour unrest, power outages or shortages, and natural phenomena such as drought or unusually wet weather conditions negatively impacting the operation of the Red Chris mine or the Mount Polley mine; changes in commodity and power prices; changes in market demand for our concentrate; inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral reserves and resources); and other hazards and risks disclosed within this Management's Discussion and Analysis for the June 2016 quarter and other public filings which are available on Imperial's profile at sedar.com. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Imperial does not undertake to update any forward looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
A Bangladesh court on Wednesday granted bail to former prime minister Khaleda Zia [official profile] in 10 pending cases, allowing her to go free. Zia, the head of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) [party website], is facing charges including arson for anti-government protests that turned violent. Zia also faces sedition charges for questioning the official death toll in the 1971 war for independence from Pakistan. Zia claims that the charges are politically motivated [BNP press release] and designed to keep her from running in the next election, expected to take place in 2019.

Zia surrendered in April to a court after an arrest warrant was issued against her in connection with the firebombing bus attack [Al Jazeera report] last year staged in opposition of the government. In January Zia was ordered to appear in court [JURIST report] following charges of sedition. In May 2008 Bangladeshs Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) [official website] filed formal charges against Zia for an alleged kickback scheme that awarded lucrative gas contracts to Canadian oil company Niko Resources Ltd. In March 2014 the former prime minister and other members of the BNP were indicted [JURIST report] on two corruption charges, accused of embezzling funds from a charitable trust named after Zias deceased husband.
The Belize Supreme Court [official website] on Wednesday struck down a law banning sodomy, declaring it unconstitutional. Section 53 of the Belize Criminal Code banned carnal intercourse against the order of nature. The law was challenged in 2010 by Caleb Orozco, whose organization, UniBAM [advocacy website], reported the ruling on Twitter [Tweet]. Section 53 had been law in Belize since colonial times, and Belize is the first Caribbean nation where such a law has been declared unconstitutional. The court has not yet published a copy of the judgment.

The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community (LGBT) continues to face legal challenges throughout the world. Last December voters in Slovenia rejected a law [JURIST report] that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. In November the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled [JURIST report] that same-sex couples can legally adopt children. The UN has become increasingly focused on the rights of LGBT individuals. In September 2015, 12 UN agencies released a joint statement [JURIST report] arguing that abuses toward the LGBT population are human rights abuses impacting society as a whole. In June 2015 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported [JURIST report] that members of the LGBT community continue to face discrimination and human rights abuses.
[JURIST] The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) [official website] has engaged in tactics that violate the First and Fourth Amendments and numerous anti-discrimination laws, according to a report [report] released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] on Wednesday. The report is centered on the use of excessive force and illegal stops, seizures and searches, especially within the African-American community. Most at fault for the systemic discrimination against African-American citizens, the DOJ said, are deficient policies, training and accountability systems, including the zero-tolerance street enforcement. A variety of statistics were used to highlight the problem within the Baltimore, among which was a finding by the DOJ that African Americans accounted for over 80 percent of all BPD vehicle stops, despite white individuals being found with contraband twice as often. The report also found cause to believe that the BPD has engaged in discrimination against those with mental health disabilities and those seeking to exercise their First Amendment right to free expression. The DOJ and BPD entered into an agreement in principle [materials, PDF] wherein the BPD perform new training, data collection and community policing, and BPD will create a better technology and infrastructure to monitor abuses of authority by police officers. The DOJs report follows the death of Freddie Gray [JURIST report] and ensuing protests in 2015.

The remaining officers indicted in Freddie Grays death recently had their charges dropped [JURIST report]. The States Attorney for Baltimore City in May 2015 announced [JURIST report] the indictment of the police officers on charges including murder and manslaughter over the death Gray. Grays arrest and death in April of last year led to widespread protests and civil disorder in the city of Baltimore. In September Baltimore reached a tentative agreement with Grays family to pay $6.4 million in settlement [JURIST report]. In April of last year Amnesty International urged Baltimore police to exercise restraint [JURIST report] during protests, prioritize non-violent means and limit the use of force.
Weapons seized from a drug smuggler's home in June. Photo provided to VnExpress by local police

The country takes a tough stance on drugs, and perpetrators may face the death penalty.

Vietnams law enforcement agencies uncovered 2,107 drug-related cases and arrested 2,775 criminals in June as part of the government's anti-drug action month and on the occasion of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (June 26).

About 68kg of drug, 58kg of opium, 44 guns and 434 bullets were seized by police, border guards, coast guards and customs forces during the month, according to a report from Tieng Chuong (The Bell), the website of Vietnams National Committee for AIDS, Drug and Prostitution Prevention and Control.

Locations with high rates of drugrelated crimes included Hanoi, Hai Phong, Son La, Lang Son, Nam Dinh, Bac Giang, Dien Bien, Lao Cai and Hoa Binh in the north, Nghe An, Quang Tri and Thanh Hoa in the central region and Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai in the south.

Cross-border drug trafficking

Hot spots for drug trafficking in June were at the country's borders with Laos and China, according to police.

Vietnam's northern border (with China) has become a hub for synthetic drug trafficking, with 983kg of drugs seized in 2015, an increase of 631kg compared to the previous year, according to the sixth bilateral meeting on drug control between Vietnam and China on July 28.

Drugs entering Vietnam come primarily from the "Golden Triangle": Myanmar Laos and Cambodia. A court in the northern mountainous province of Lang Son has sentenced 11 people to death for smuggling nearly 280kg (617 pounds) of heroin from Vietnam to China between 2013 and 2014.

Two other defendants got life sentences after an 8-day trial that ended on Monday in Lang Son, which borders China.

Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws. Those convicted of smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face the death penalty.

The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death.

Related news:

> Drug trafficking and commercial fraud rife at Vietnam  Laos border

> Vietnam sentences 11 to death for heroin trafficking
Dallas, 08/11/2016 /SubmitPressRelease123/

Dallas, TX  Eberstein & Witherite, a Dallas-based law firm specializing in motor vehicle accidents and personal injury cases, recently hired Tracy L. Clark as their Chief Operating Officer. The company is proud to welcome a proven winner like Clark to the team, who will oversee the firms business operations and provide solid leadership.

Eberstein & Witherite has a great reputation as a firm that gets results, said Amy Witherite, Senior Partner, and Texas Trial Lawyers Association board member. With Tracys addition to the staff and her solid leadership background, we expect great things in the coming years. And its all for the benefit of Texas families who are fighting for their legal rights every day.

Work is like a raffle, Clark says. You must be present to win! Clark shared that although there are high expectations in being second-in-command of a high-profile firm like Eberstein & Witherite, she looks forward to the opportunity to be part of such a winning team. The main point of it all is taking care of our clients and helping our attorneys to be their best. Because the livelihood of our clients is always on the line with every case, our team must stay motivated and organized to win.

Clark has an MBA from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts and has earned the highly-respected Certified Legal Manager designation. She has worked in legal management positions for some of the most prominent legal organizations in Dallas.

Clark has performed volunteer work for the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) throughout her career. She previously served as a Regional Representative at the international level, was President of the local Dallas Chapter, and held multiple other Board of Directors and Committee Chair positions. In addition, Clark has authored several cover stories for Legal Management Magazine and is the Editor of Lonestar Administrator magazine.

Though she was born in Rockland, Maine, Clark has called Dallas her home since she accepted her first law firm position in 1998. She is also frequently involved in charity events, which keeps her in touch with the local community.

Eberstein & Witherite looks forward to working with its new appointed officer as the company continues to represent clients in important personal injury cases.

Learn more about the law firms legal victories at the websites Client Reviews page. The firm is currently offering a free case evaluation by calling 1-800-CAR-WRECK.

ABOUT

Dallas-based law firm of Eberstein & Witherite, LLP, helps injured Texans and their families obtain compensation for damages sustained as a result of negligent individuals and large corporations. Our partner, attorneys, and legal team are committed to providing the highest quality of legal representation in the area to ensure we deliver one thing: results. At Eberstein & Witherite, LLP we excel in providing personalized service to our clients in business litigation suits, truck wrecks, car wreck injury cases, and bad faith insurance claims.

Media Contact

Lucy Tiseo

1-800-779-6665 or 1-844-378-6665

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Photo & Video Credit: The Standard Hotel

Life in Downtown Los Angeles can get pretty rough when you're lounging by the pool, heading to the beach, or enjoying one of the fabulous events being held around the city. Luckily, the folks at The Standard Hotel found the best way to kick your vacation woes. Now you can bring your best friend (your dog, obviously) to stay at the hotel with you for free. To celebrate this new development, the hotel collaborated with dog groomer Jess Rona and the non-profit Found My Animal who will give your furry pal a new look that is Hollywood chic.
More foreigners are adopting kids with disabilities.

Deputy Head of Ho Chi Minh Citys Department of Justice Nguyen Van Vu said that 98.6 percent of Vietnamese foster parents adopted healthy children while 65 percent of foreign foster parents took in kids who need special care over the past four years.

Only a mere 1.4 percent of Vietnamese people adopted disabled children, said Vu.

He said that they city has complied with provisions in the Law on Adoption, that state that foreigners can only adopt when no Vietnamese parents can be found.

This is the reason why the rate of local foster parents who adopt healthy children is higher, Vu said, adding that Vietnamese people often view an adopted child as a family member rather than an individual in need of special care.

Data from the citys Department of Justice showed that during the four-year period, about 1,260 children were adopted by Vietnamese foster parents, of which 80.3 percent still live with their adopted families and only 4.2 percent are in orphanages.

In contrast, 92 percent of the 677 kids adopted by foreigners now live in foster centers.

Related news:

> A quarter of Vietnamese children stunted by poor diets

> Hanoi records rising gender imbalance as parents opt for boys
In the past few years, a wave of high-end donut shops opened in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Most of these either started in D.C. or in nearby East Coast cities and moved into the District. Are these donut shops stable, or will they end up like the cupcake and become another faded fad?

Only a few years ago, the cupcake craze was in full swing. Shops selling every kind of variation on the dessert were opening up, riding the the wave of the newest fad. But now, cupcakes, like frozen yogurt and the Kim Kardashian game, have faded into the distance. Tastes change over time. As a result, the boutique cupcake establishments of circa 2012 are mostly gone.

So what about donuts? In 2010, Time Magazine published an article titled Doughnuts: In Sour Times, A Sweet Success Story which chronicled the return of the donut to forefront of American desserts. Independent stores were opening, and even donut moguls Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts opened new stores. This was particularly important, because America was still recovering from the recession. Investing in the donut was the perfect opportunity to not only make a profit, but also raise the spirits of downtrodden Americans.

In Washington D.C., donut shops across the region are offering fun and quirky twists on the hallmark of American pastries. A quick Google search and Yelp inquiry finds about seven to eight top-rated donut shops in the nations capital.

Now, the real question is: how successful are these donut enterprises? And will they stick around?

It seems like they are here to stay. While there are numerous potential factors that explain the donut phenomenon on the East Coast, the reliability of the donut in American food culture makes it a safe option to sell. In addition, social media and an untapped market shed some light on how donuts become popular again.

A prime example is local favorite Zombie Donuts & Coffee, which opened in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of the District in February of 2015. Manager Vanessa Castillo told me that when it first opened for business, the establishment was originally a frozen yogurt and coffee shop. One can clearly remember the frozen yogurt boom and bust of three years ago. But the business model changed. The shop moved from customizable frozen yogurt to customizable donuts. Toppings are extensive, ranging from strawberry icing to fruity pebbles. The store and its sister location at the University of Georgia in Athens have both been doing very well in the past year and half. That decision was not only very entrepreneurial, but also smart. Donuts and coffee make a better pair than yogurt and coffee.

Castillo explained that the success of Zombie is also attributable to Yelp and word of mouth, the two ways most people find out about the shop.

In an interview with Bon Appetit.com in 2014, David Sax, the author of The Tastemakers: Why Were Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with Fondue, said that the difference between a fad and a trend is that a fad comes and goes, while a trend will last even after its not trendy anymore (think extra virgin olive oil or paninis). Donuts, especially on the East Coast, have been popular for decades and remain a staple. This helped spur on growth for new, higher end donut shops since the market was untapped.

Consumers get tired of the same donuts, despite the steady growth in chains such as Dunkin Donuts over the last few years. That leaves room for small producers of niche products like artisanal donuts to make a profit. Some arrivals in D.C. are not even originally from the area. Local favorites such as Duck Donuts and Sugar Shack started off in other cities (Duck, North Carolina and Richmond, Virginia) and eventually made their way up the coast. Duck Donuts now has 30 locations spanning from North Carolina to New Jersey.

These donut chains provide a quality product that you can count on. In contrast, independent food places are popular because they provide a unique product, something people cannot always get at a chain store or make at home. Consumers are then willing to pay more for these products, making the business venture profitable and worthwhile. If small donut shops can continue to provide quality products and profit in this niche market, they will be here to stay.

Andrew Meleta is a contributor to Economics21 and has an affinity for good donuts. Follow him on Twitter here.

Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, e21 delivers a short email that includes e21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the e21 Morning Ebrief.
The foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan met recently in Washington with Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss cooperation on the challenges of economic prosperity, environmental protection and climate change, and global security in the Central Asia region. It was the second meeting of the C5+1 at the ministerial level; the first took place last November in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand.

At the ministerial in Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry referred to the C5+1 Group as a vital platform for action designed to protect our citizens, build shared prosperity and strengthen the diplomatic ties between us.

Today, we hope to make further progress through a new regional approach built around initiatives on counterterrorism, trade and investment, economic development and clean energy.

Secretary Kerry outlined five projects the C5+1 has agreed to launch, which the United States plans to support with $15 million in aid, pending Congressional notification.

The first is a dialogue within the Global Counterterrorism Forum to assist Central Asian states in combating radicalization to violence and reducing the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters. The second seeks to make it easier for businesses in Central Asia to increase exports and enter new markets. A third project centers on improving the transportation and logistics sectors that are essential to a healthy and dynamic marketplace. The fourth and fifth, Secretary Kerry said, are aimed at assisting the five Central Asia countries to develop cleaner renewable energy sources to power the future, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Secretary Kerry said cooperation in each of these key areas is essential, but he emphasized that dialogue with the group is expected continue about other areas of concern, including the need for transparency and accountability in governance and the importance of human rights, such as freedom of religion, expression, and association.

Secretary Kerry said that all the measures discussed at the Ministerial have one goal in mind: a region that is secure, prosperous and stable. And each, he said, is based on a fundamental principle of U.S. foreign policy, that we support without hesitation the sovereignty, the territorial integrity and the independence of each Central Asian state.

Meeting our shared aims is going to demand a common effort, Secretary of State Kerry said to the foreign ministers, one that is intended to help form the foundation of a lasting partnership between the United States and your countries.
LINCOLN  Drive some 600 miles north of Nebraska, across the Canadian border, and you can find farm fields covered with the lacy green fans of cannabis plants.

Back on the U.S. side of the border you'll find store shelves stocked with products made from those plants.

There's hemp milk, hemp energy bars and crunchy hemp granola.

Hemp lotion, hemp handbags and durable hemp socks. Hemp rope, hemp paper ... even hemp beer.

All of those products now must be imported or made with imported hemp. Federal law effectively bans industrial hemp production in the United States, even in states with laws allowing the crop.

But Nebraska lawmakers are considering a measure that could eventually open the door for local farmers to compete in the global hemp market.

The measure would mirror a provision in the new federal farm bill.

It would allow the University of Nebraska or the State Department of Agriculture to grow industrial hemp for research without running afoul of federal drug laws.

State Sen. Norm Wallman of Cortland introduced the proposal as an amendment to his Legislative Bill 1001.

His original bill would have legalized the growing, harvesting and selling of industrial hemp in Nebraska.

Wallman believes that Nebraskans should have a chance to make money on the rising demand for hemp products.

This bill is about agriculture. It's really that simple, he said. We should just as well do it, too.

Most of Wallman's legislative colleagues appeared to agree with him. The original version of LB 1001 cleared the first of three rounds of consideration on a 32-1 vote last week.

Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber, who cast the lone vote against the measure, wasn't convinced.

I am concerned that it's a step closer to legalization of marijuana, he said. It doesn't feel right to me.

The legalization of recreational and medical marijuana in Colorado has had spillover effects in western Nebraska, where law enforcement officials report stopping more people heading east across Nebraska with marijuana.

Industrial hemp and marijuana come from the same plant species  Cannabis sativa  but are genetically different: Hemp has very little tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the ingredient that produces the marijuana high.

Wallman said he believes industrial hemp and marijuana are different issues, although hemp backers include proponents of legalizing marijuana. He does not support the legalization of marijuana.

Thirteen years ago, Karpisek's viewpoint prevailed in the Nebraska Legislature.

In 2001, then-Sen. Ed Schrock of Elm Creek gave up efforts to legalize industrial hemp in the face of stiff opposition, including from the Nebraska State Patrol and anti-drug advocates.

This year, no one appeared in opposition to LB 1001 at a public hearing. Hemp backers, who include the state's two main farm groups, say it is a versatile, easy-to-grow crop that yields a multitude of healthy and environmentally friendly products.

Sen. Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins said attitudes about industrial hemp have changed as more people understand the crop and its potential.

I think people were a lot more afraid of the plant in 2001, he said.

Passage of the federal farm bill helped as well, Wallman said.

The farm bill allows hemp research where state laws allow it. Wallman said his amendment to LB 1001 would make such research possible in Nebraska without getting the state into murky legal territory.

He said he hopes future legislatures can go farther in allowing industrial hemp farming.

So far Colorado and eight other states have laws allowing the growing of hemp or research.

But Erwin Bud Sholts of Wisconsin, chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council, said he does not know of anyone who has been growing hemp under those state laws. A few fields have been planted without state or federal authorization.

The sticking point has been that federal law makes no distinction between industrial hemp and its high-inducing cousin, marijuana. The farm bill carved out only a limited exception to hemp's illegal status.

Where state laws allow industrial hemp, would-be growers have been required to get approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration or risk federal drug charges.

The DEA application requirements include security fencing, a 24-hour monitoring system and controlled access to the planting  requirements that have effectively blocked hemp farming in the past.

Only one research project in Hawaii has ever met the requirements and received DEA approval.

This year, Colorado plans to test new federal guidelines about enforcing marijuana laws. In a memo last Aug. 29 to federal prosecutors, the Department of Justice said cracking down on industrial hemp is not an enforcement priority.

Ron Carleton, deputy agriculture commissioner for Colorado, said state officials believe the memo cleared the way for implementing the state's new industrial hemp law.

If all goes well, state-registered hemp growers should harvest their first crops this fall.

But Carleton said there are still several uncertainties.

One big hurdle is finding certified low-THC seed, because most sources are outside the United States, and federal law bans importing viable seed. Colorado has asked for help from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Another question is whether growing hemp would jeopardize growers' eligibility for federal farm programs, Carleton said.

Other unknowns include getting bank loans and finding hemp processors.

This first year there are going to be challenges, Carleton said. The success of industrial hemp in Colorado is going to evolve over three to five years.

Hemp production in Nebraska most likely would follow a similar slow path, Sen. Bloomfield said.

Wallman said the amended version of LB 1001 could be a first step in reviving a crop once grown widely in Nebraska.

Historical documents from the Internal Revenue Service show that more than 150 northeast Nebraska farmers grew hemp for the Nebraska Fiber Corp. of Hartington in 1935, two years before the first federal law restricting hemp production took effect.

Cultivated hemp left a legacy of ditch weed, which grows wild in the state.

Nebraska Department of Agriculture representatives and university officials said they have no plans underway for hemp research.

But state research projects could work with BastLab, an Omaha startup company that is developing new technology to separate hemp fiber from the stalks' woody core.

John Lupien, a founding partner of BastLab, said he hopes to sell the fiber for use in products such as composite automotive parts and the woody core for building material and oil drilling fluid additives.

He said his company will be testing its technology this year with hemp stalks grown in Canada, where a boom in industrial hemp is occurring.

Canadian farmers planted about 8,000 acres to hemp in 2008. Despite strict regulation, production rose to about 67,000 acres last year, according to the Canadian Hemp Trade Association.

Lupien is enthusiastic about the possibilities for Nebraska to follow a similar path. He said hemp grows well in the state and could be planted in rotation with corn and soybeans.

It could foster economic development by encouraging new processing and manufacturing businesses.

Bloomfield makes the argument for hemp more simply.

It's a good crop, he said. We ought to grow it. I've thought that way for 20 years.
Catholic Health Initiatives foray into health insurance appears to be fizzling.

The national hospital chain, parent company to CHI Health in Nebraska and southwest Iowa, withdrew its application this year to offer commercial health insurance in Nebraska. Further, the national chain has said it may get out of the insurance business altogether, having lost considerable money on it over the past year.

The developments exemplify the volatility of the health insurance market in the era of the Affordable Care Act. A local expert in health insurance says newcomers to the market face a harsh reality.

With the regulations that now exist in the health insurance market, you just cant make money, said Scott Stevens, a health insurance consultant in Omaha. Stevens envisions a marketplace that will be dominated by giant companies such as UnitedHealthcare, Aetna/Coventry, Cigna and Blue Cross affiliates across the nation.

Stevens said provisions of the Affordable Care Act, such as the ban on declining policies to those with pre-existing conditions, the requirement that most plans have essential benefits, and other elements, have made profit margins razor thin.

Etti Baranoff, an associate professor of risk, insurance and finance at Virginia Commonwealth University, agreed that the health insurance industry isnt for rookies. There is a lot of money lost for the newcomers, she said. Its not for the faint of heart, the business of health insurance. You need a lot of experience.

CHI entered the insurance business in 2012. Commercial insurance, such as that provided by Blue Cross, United and Aetna, is private insurance that generally isnt paid with government money.

CHI wrote in its quarterly report in late June that it was exploring options to sell the health insurance business, called QualChoice Health. The CHI insurance program suffered a $96.9 million operating loss in the nine months ending on March 31, the report said. Another portion of the report says CHI in May decided to exit the health insurance business.

CHI Health operates Bergan Mercy, Creighton, Immanuel, Lakeside, Midlands (Papillion) and Mercy (Council Bluffs) Hospitals in the metropolitan area, and other hospitals across Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

A Catholic Health Initiatives spokesman in Englewood, Colorado, said HeartlandPlains Health, a Medicare Advantage insurance program offered by CHI in eastern Nebraska, laid off five people and has closed its Omaha office. But the spokesman, Michael Romano, said Heartland still functions, serving Douglas and Lancaster Counties.

He said CHI continues to explore all strategic options for its insurance business.

CHI has such businesses in Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Washington and Tennessee, he said. It began by acquiring a Medicare Advantage plan in Washington four years ago and broadened its effort from there. It purchased an Arkansas-based commercial health plan, QualChoice, two years ago, with the hope of expanding it.

HeartlandPlains Health in eastern Nebraska launched in 2015. Iowa also has a CHI Medicare Advantage plan, called HarvestPlains Health. Medicare Advantage plans generally replace for their members standard Medicare plans. The Medicare Advantage plans continue to do business in Nebraska, Iowa and other states, he said.

Cynthia Cox, associate director of health reform and private insurance with the Kaiser Family Foundation, said insurance companies are generally doing well except on the health insurance exchanges (the Affordable Care Act marketplaces) and other individual plans.

Individual plans generally appear to be priced too low, Cox said. Their participants tend to be sicker than expected, and too few young, healthy people are enrolling, she said. The employer insurance market, both large and small, is doing OK or much better than OK, she said.

Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, director of the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design, said CHIs insurance struggle is somewhat similar to the problems that consumer-owned and operated health insurance plans (co-ops) have had. The low number of successful new health insurance entrants demonstrates the high financial requirements, complexity and unpredictability of a rapidly changing marketplace, he said in an email.

Kaiser Health News reported last month that only seven co-ops will remain this fall. Co-ops were set up as nonprofits with federal loans under the Affordable Care Act. Conceived as alternatives to commercial insurance, there were 23 in 2014, Kaiser reported, but failures are piling up. CoOportunity Health of Iowa is among the failures, having gone out of business in 2015. CoOportunity also served some Nebraskans.

Dr. Cliff Robertson, CEO of Omaha-based CHI Health, said hes aware that Catholic Health Initiatives has been reviewing its strategy.

He said CHI Health desires a system in which care and reimbursement link to provide excellent service.

We are confident that patients and employers will be better served when the providers and insurers are on the same side of the table, working together to lower costs and improve the quality of care, Robertson said in an email. Thats the overall goal for both CHI Health and Catholic Health Initiatives.
LINCOLN  Gov. Pete Ricketts renewed his call for State Sen. Bill Kintner to resign while lawmakers on the Legislatures Executive Board pondered their choices Wednesday.

Most board members said they have not decided yet about how to deal with the Papillion senator, who has admitted to using a state computer for cybersex.

They split, meanwhile, over whether the matter should be handled in special session or during the regular session that begins in January.

Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha, the board chairman, said hes asking each Executive Board member to talk with other senators in their geographical area before the board meets on Aug. 19.

"If we dont have the votes for impeachment or expulsion and no one is serious about doing anything at this point, well find out on the 19th," he said. "Coming together in special session and not getting anything done is not the goal."

Board members contacted Wednesday said their hope is that Kintner will step down on his own, rather than put his colleagues in the position of either forcing him out of the Legislature or continuing to work with him under the cloud of a scandal.

"I think its a very serious matter, extremely serious," said Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln. "Most people in the course of this would have resigned."

So far Kintner has rejected calls for his resignation, including a renewed push from the governor.

Ricketts said Wednesday that he met with Kintner after the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission approved a settlement with the senator last week. In the settlement, Kintner agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for misusing his state computer.

The governor said he told Kintner that he could no longer be an effective lawmaker with the cybersex scandal hanging over his head.

"I dont believe he can be an effective advocate for his constituents and that he ought to do the right thing and step down," the governor said. "He listened, he left the meeting, and hopefully hes considering the words that I gave him."

Kintner did not respond to messages seeking comment. He has said previously that he intends to stay in the Legislature.

Krist declined to say what he believes the Legislature should do if Kintner continues refusing to resign, citing his role in presenting senators with options. So did five of his eight voting colleagues on the board.

They were Sens. Colby Coash of Lincoln, John Murante of Gretna, Dan Hughes of Venango, Tyson Larson of ONeill and Campbell. They said they want to gather more information before making a decision.

"There are a lot of hard questions to be answered," Murante said, adding that its a "tragedy" that lawmakers are dealing with this issue instead of public policy for Nebraskans.

Two members have said they favor action to remove Kintner.

Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley of Kearney has said he would support expulsion. Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said he would back either expulsion or impeachment, both of which would force Kintner out of the Legislature.

Sen. Dan Watermeier of Syracuse could not be reached Wednesday.

Whatever action the board may decide to pursue, Hadley and Campbell said lawmakers should take it up in special session rather than leave it for the 2017 session. Both are term-limited and will not be in the Legislature come January.

Campbell said the issue should be handled by the current senators rather than left for those who are newly elected.

But Hughes, who is finishing his second year as a lawmaker, said he does not want to return to Lincoln this fall. He believes lawmakers can deal with the matter next year if Kintner has not stepped down by then.

Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha, who chairs the Appropriations Committee and sits on the Executive Board as a non-voting member, said there is a possibility lawmakers may have to come back for a budget-cutting special session anyway.

If so, action on Kintner could be dealt with then, as long as the governor included that issue in the reasons for calling a special session. Lawmakers will get a clearer picture of the states fiscal condition in a couple of months.

Ricketts, meanwhile, deferred to lawmakers on the question of a special session.

"This is really a legislative matter. The legislative branch is a separate branch of government and Sen. Kintner is their member, and its really up to the legislative branch to decide how they want to discipline their own member," he said.

Kintner has been under fire since last week, when he admitted that he had used a state computer to have cybersex with a woman he met online.

In July 2015, the two exchanged Facebook messages, then engaged in a masturbation session via Skype. He reported the matter to the Nebraska State Patrol after the woman tried to extort money from him.

By law, state resources, including state computers and networks, must be used for state business. The only exceptions are for "essential personal business," such as contacting children at home, teachers, doctors, day care centers and family members.

Along with calls for resignation from state officials, residents of Kintners legislative district have launched a petition drive demanding that he resign immediately. Organizers plan to present the signatures to Kintner, the governor and the Executive Board next week.

The district encompasses Cass County and parts of Sarpy and Otoe Counties. Kintner, 55, was elected to represent the district in 2012 and re-elected in 2014. He could run for re-election in 2018.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently said university professors could face disciplinary action if they do not allow handguns to be brought into their classrooms.

KGNS decided to find out what our local university had to say about the Attorney General's comments.

Last month, professors from UT Austin were looking to block the so-called Campus Carry Law which took effect August 1.

We reached out to TAMIU to see what they thought on the Paxton's action.

The Chair of the TAMIU Campus Carry Task Force said in a statement:

"Texas A&M International University and the Texas A&M University system have worked together to ensure full compliance with the Campus Carry Law as mandated by the state legislature.

"Neither the university nor the A&M system are a part of this legal challenge. As that challenge is as of yet undecided, any additional comment would be conjectural and inappropriate."
ELKO  The City of Elko staff will begin developing a storefront improvement reimbursement planning program.

Councilman Reece Keener moved to direct staff to establish the storefront program with a maximum annual expenditure of $50,000 for the first five years and reevaluation would take place after that time.

However, Councilwoman Mandy Simons said she wanted to give staff time to come back before the agency with more information. Keener said he was amenable to that change.

There was a unanimous vote Tuesday by the agency, without Councilman John Patrick Rice, who was not present.

This idea was passed to the RDA by the Redevelopment Advisory Council by a unanimous vote July 28. The advisory council recommended there be a 50-50 match and only reimburse $10,000 per business. Additionally, there will be a maximum annual expenditure of $50,000 for the first five years. After the completion of that period, the total amount will be reevaluated.

This would allow for the potential of five projects per year.

The City belongs to the Redevelopment Agency of Nevada and, according to City Planner Cathy Laughlin, it can be a resource when planning this project, as it has already implemented programs throughout the state.

I have visited with several of the communities, she said, explaining North Las Vegas has possibly been the most successful in its storefront program.

There are other communities that are not focused on storefront improvement, but have programs that deal with needs such as energy efficiency.

They all seem to be a program where they are funding on the back end of it, said Laughlin. They are not participating with the design, with the exception of the approval of the project.

Under this schematic, the property owners would complete the necessary work, including contractors bids and construction, before approaching the RDA for reimbursement.

Laughlin said many of the programs have had much success within the first three years, but there was a decrease in the applications for rehabilitation by the fourth year because many properties had completed the needed work.

Economic growth was seen through this initiative in other cities, including some property owners following the example of neighbors having taken part in the storefront renovation. When comparing the impact in other cities to the local potential, Laughlin pointed to the difference in the tax base.

This did trigger  a domino effect of property owners, she said.

City staff will reach out to different communities to learn from their current or previous endeavors. Other localities have shared their application process and other documentation, said Laughlin, discussing how she has been told to fund the program through the Redevelopment Agency and not through a grant.

The storefront program was supposed to be the poster child, really, of redevelopment  we are being a bit frugal here, now knowing similar costs coming down the pipe very, very soon, said Lina Blohm of the RAC, discussing how the City had to deobligate $292,000 from the state grant.

Blohm said it was initially seen that business owners were being conservative in their projects. Local business owner Jeff Dalling said the City should go ahead with the program. However, he cautioned against the use of grant money and consultants.

I would like to see it up to $50,000, that you can get $50,000  get some good redevelopment down there  where people are excited to spend some money, he said, explaining he would like to see bigger projects.
Kilkenny County Councils Medieval Mile Museum project at St Marys Church, off High Street is forging ahead and is expected to reach completion by the end of the year, writes Sean Keane.

The conversion of St. Marys into a modern museum and exhibition centre which combines sensitive restoration and contemporary architectural design is almost complete.

As a result, leading city Councillor, Malcolm Noonan thinks St Marys Church and Graveyard could become a centre of academic research into the development of the Irish town.

He said that the significance of the archaeological finds, coupled with the extensive civic archives of Kilkenny Corporation and the work of the late John Bradley could combine to provide a space within the museum that would attract academics from all over the World. Unlike other purpose built museums, the Medieval Mile Museum at St Mary's has a fascinating combination of assets, which will help to establish it as a unique attraction both within Kilkenny and the broader region. The Medieval Mile Museum is an important Heritage and tourism project on a local, national and international scale.

Following a recent site visit to St Marys, Mayor Pat ONeill said the massive transformation of St Marys Church is breathtaking

UNCOVERING THE PAST

The museums interior is full of surprises, no longer a church but renovated to preserve the buildings original atmosphere.

The stories told are as surprising as the structure, revealing the historic and contemporary importance of Kilkenny.

Kilkenny County Council has a dedicated website www.medievalmilemuseum.ie where people can follow the project.

The visitor route within the building is designed to be a free flowing journey for visitors who are encouraged to explore the museum at their own pace.

A mix of fun hands-on interactives and digital media such as an interactive map table of the medieval mile, a timeline video wall and AV displays, will encourage visitors to linger as people and periods from history come to life providing a religious and Medieval history experience that many visitors will not have seen before.

The newly restored building will also provide a space for temporary exhibitions and cultural events and will be available for use as part of the recently introduced Kilkenny Christmas festival Yulefest Kilkenny 2016.

Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Matt Doran has acknowledged the significant capital investment of the council, Failte Ireland and Kilkenny Civic Trust Ltd, in delivering the high quality, interactive museum experience.

The Council recently agreed in principle to develop a format for the management of St Marys Museum in partnership with The Kilkenny Civic Trust Ltd to ensure that suitably qualified and targeted resources are dedicated to the facility in establishing and promoting its wonderful potential.

Centre of academic excellence

St Marys Church and Graveyard could become a centre of academic research into the development of the Irish town, according to Cllr Malcolm Noonan

Extensive civic archives of Kilkenny Corporation and the work of the late John Bradley could combine to provide a space within the museum that would attract academics from all over the World, he said.

We have in Kilkenny some of the oldest civic records in Ireland or Britain. John Bradley wrote extensively on the origins of the Irish town using Kilkenny as his template. Our own Architectural Conservation Committee is hoping to work with premises owners in the City to highlight the significance of the merchant houses; almost unique to Kilkenny.

It is my view, Cllr Noonan said, that using these elements in tandem with the incredible funerary monuments and other archaeological discoveries on site during the works to restore the church we could have on our doorstep one of the finest collections of research material into how our settlements evolved from pre Norman times to the present day.

He said that schools too would benefit greatly from such a centre which could be housed within the Kilkenny Room. Cllr Noonan said that he was encouraged by the announcement of a new management structure and appointment of a CEO to the Civic Trust. I think that this new structure of the Civic Trust will place all of our Citys built heritage assets on a strong strategic direction and it will particularly benefit St Marys and Rothe House he said.

Cllr Noonan also said that it was vitally important that a strong community element be designed into the Museum citing the incredible success of Heritage Week as an example of how consistent quality civic engagement with local communities can help foster local support for projects. Yes, tourism revenue is vital to the commercial viability of St Marys as museums by their nature are not profit generating, however it is equally important that the wider local community has as much input to the project as possible and the inclusion of a research/study centre could be part of that community engagement.

Cllr Noonan wants the Trust and the Council should seek further funding opportunities to restore the remaining important funerary monuments in the graveyard. The restoration of the Shee Mausoleum and other monuments was a great success with modest funding. The graveyard is an integral part of the site and of equal importance and it would be great to have this as a green lung in the heart of the City while allowing people to appreciate the monuments and the crafts people who made them, he said.
ELKO  With school starting in two weeks, The Elko County School District is still looking to fill the last of its 100-plus teaching vacancies.

During Tuesdays school board meeting the members of the board received an update on the status of the open teaching positions in the district. Assistant Superintendent Mike Smith informed the board that they have filled 83 teaching positions and have made offers to eight other potential hires.

If the offers currently on the table are accepted it will bring the total number of teacher hires to 91.

School District Superintendent Jeff Zander said there will need to be some substitute teachers in place until the district can hire the additional teachers necessary to meet the target of 105 teachers.

No doubt, were going to have some long-term subs in place, he said. But mostly Im happy, proud and confident that our administrators did a good job recruiting and vetting the individuals that were hired.

The school district put an emphasis on trying to hire people from Elko County and the surrounding area but also had to recruit outside the area to address their teacher shortage. During the school board meeting Zander joked that they had brought the whole state of Montana to teach in the district. But, Zander also noted that finding housing can be difficult for out-of-state hires.

More so Im concerned about housing, not so much in the Elko or Spring Creek areas but mainly in our outlying areas, he said. Im hoping that those hires are able to obtain housing and we dont lose them as a result of that.

The school district is currently in negotiations with the tribe in Owyhee to see if they will be able to provide housing for teachers. However, Zander acknowledge that finding housing in areas like West Wendover where there isnt any teacher specific housing available may still be a challenge.

The district had a difficult task ahead of itself at the end of last school year as they attempted to hire over 100 teachers over the summer Its like this every year headed into August but we normally we havent filled 83 positions at this time, he said. I feel very fortunate, especially with the shortage we have out there. I think weve done our due diligence this year and we got out early and hit those recruiting fares and I think we have a lot of young administrators doing a great job to recruit teachers out here.
Aug 10 (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp CHK.N said on Wednesday that it would sell its Barnett shale acreage in Texas to private equity-backed Saddle Barnett Resources LLC and had renegotiated an expensive pipeline contract with Williams Partners LP WPZ.N , steps that should save more than $1.9 billion in future liabilities.

Wall Street cheered the news, and shares of Chesapeake rose 5.6 percent to $5.07 in after-hours trading.

As part of the deals, Chesapeake said it would convey to Saddle, owned by private equity firm First Reserve, its roughly 215,000 acres in the Barnett, which also includes about 2,800 operated wells.

Chesapeake also exited transportation contracts with Williams, saving $1.9 billion over the life of the contracts.

Chesapeake is paying Williams more than $334 million to cancel the contract, with First Reserve set to pay an additional, undisclosed amount.

The new contract with Saddle eliminates the expensive methodology that the Chesapeake contract was based upon, and instead will use spot natural gas prices to determine transportation costs.

Because of the expensive contract, Chesapeake had found it expensive to drill in the Barnett in recent years.

Both transactions should save Chesapeake at least $250 million in gathering, processing and transportation costs this year and $465 million next year, the company said.

Chesapeake also renegotiated gas transportation contracts for other mid-continental shale plays with rates 36 percent lower starting July 2016.

The company also cut its average daily production rate to 611,000-638,000 barrels from 625,000- 650,000 barrels.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and David Gregorio)
China State Planner Approves $1.7 Bln Of Highway Projects In Jilin

Aug 11 (Reuters) - China's state planner has approved 11.2 billion yuan ($1.69 billion) worth of highway projects in the northeastern province of Jilin, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement on Thursday. Around one quarter of the investment will come from central government with the rest funded by loans from domestic banks, the NDRC statement said. ($1 = 6.6360 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Richard Pullin)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

kitco news
Diary - Today In Washington - Aug. 11

Wednesday, August 10, 2016 8:00 PM ALL TIMES IN EDT/GMT ------------------------------------------------ 0830/1230: The Labor Department issues weekly Jobless Claims; issues Import and Export Prices for July. 0830/1230: The USDA releases weekly Export Sales. 1000/1400: Freddie Mac issues weekly U.S. mortgage rates. 1030/1430: EIA issues weekly U.S. underground natural gas stocks. 1100/1500: The Treasury Department makes weekly announcement of 3- and 6-month bill sale offerings; and announces 52-week bills and 5-year TIPS sales. 1300/1700: The Treasury Department sells 30-year bonds. 1600/2000: The USDA issues weekly world cotton price. After 1600/2000: The Investment Company Institute issues weekly money market mutual fund data. 1630/2030: The Federal Reserve issues weekly balance sheet. -------------------------------------------------- DIARY - Federal Reserve Events FED/DIARY U.S. Indicators ECI/US (Washington economics team)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

kitco news
Aug 10 (Reuters) - A man who scaled the Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday for more than two hours using what looked like suction cups and a climbing harness was pulled inside through a window by police who had tried to coax him into the building throughout the escapade.

The 58-story tower on Fifth Avenue is headquarters for the election campaign of Donald Trump, the U.S. Republican presidential nominee.

As the man, who wore a backpack, climbed the tower's glass exterior police removed large window panels above him and several officers, some wearing helmets, stood at the windows.

The climber shifted his route several times in what appeared to be an attempt to get around the police.

Police had closed several streets near the building in one of the city's busiest areas. They also put an inflatable landing pad on East 56th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues.

The New York City Police Department said on Twitter that its special operations division and emergency crews had been sent to the building.

Reports of the climber first surfaced on Twitter and social media around 4 p.m. (2000 GMT). Since then, police have appeared to try to coax him inside, first by throwing a rope in his direction and then by opening a large grate directly above him.

In a video that was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, a man discusses climbing the tower in a message addressed to Trump. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt and long hair was over his eyes.

He referred to himself as an "independent researcher" seeking a private meeting with Trump to discuss an unspecified matter.

"The reason I climbed your tower was to get your attention," he said in the video and then encouraged people to vote for Trump.

(Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
Aug 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan's overnight interbank rate opened lower at 0.178 percent on Thursday from its previous session open of 0.180 percent.

The overnight interbank rate is closely watched by market participants because it is guided by the central bank and is seen as a signal of its monetary policy bias.

The overnight interbank rate has been guided to between 0.175 percent and 0.180 percent, from 0.20 percent since the central bank cut policy rates in late June.

The central bank has said monetary policy is accommodative.

It has cut policy rates four times in a row at quarterly policy meetings since September last year to bolster the weak economy.

(Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Sam Holmes)
Aug 10 (Reuters) - Weak U.S. business investment has hampered a long-awaited pick-up in growth of Canada's non-energy exports, economists say, while a weaker Canadian dollar has not helped exports as much as expected.

The dollar has fallen 18 percent against its U.S.

counterpart since mid-2014, when the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, began to collapse.

Canada needs higher non-energy exports from consumer goods to industrial machinery to offset the oil price shock and to reduce the onus on the Canadian consumer to keep spending to support the economy. Higher exports could also reduce the economy's reliance on an overheated housing market.

The weaker currency has helped exports, but the loonie recently gained ground against other currencies from markets such as Mexico, limiting the impact.

"Since the depreciation has been even larger in Mexico, more of those (U.S.) imports are going to Mexico rather than Canada," said Nathan Janzen, senior economist at Royal Bank of Canada.

Over the same period since mid-2014, the Mexican peso has lost 29 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar.

"There is also the impact from losing a lot of manufacturing capacity. So we don't have as many exporters to take advantage of a cheap Canadian dollar," said Nick Exarhos, economist at CIBC Capital Markets.

The Bank of Canada has been counting on an uptick in non-energy exports for the economy to meet its growth projections. But the latest trade data for June revealed a drop for those shipments. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1AM0U3 "The weak link at this point is really in the sectors that are primarily exposed to business investment, so things like machinery, things like aerospace and railroads, non-automotive transportation equipment," said Michael Dolega, senior economist at TD Bank Group.

U.S. business spending on equipment contracted in the second quarter for a third straight quarter as cheap oil squeezed energy sector profits, forcing companies to cut capital spending, while an inventory drawdown also weighed on growth.

urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nLNNTIEC3U "Because U.S. consumers of our exports are flush with inventories there is not much demand pull right now for more imports from Canada," Exarhos said.

Still, economists expect Canada's non-energy exports to improve.

"Our forecasts assume that U.S. business investment will start to pick up again, even over the second half of this year as the oil and gas disruptions fade and domestic demand continues to grow, so driving the need to increase capacity," said RBC's Janzen.

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Leslie Adler)
(Kitco News) - Gold prices were unfazed and remained slightly pressure after first-time weekly jobless claims in the U.S. fell by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 266,000 during the week to Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday.



Consensus expectations compiled by various news organizations called for initial claims to be around 272,000.

Following the release of the data, August Comex gold futures were relatively unchanged, last trading at $1,351.90 an ounce, flat on the day.



The government revised down the previous week's data by 2,000 claims to 267,000. There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims, the Labor Department said.



Meanwhile, the four-week moving average for new claims  often viewed as a more reliable measure of the labor market since it smoothens out week-to-week volatility  was up by 3,000 claims to 262,750.



Continuing jobless claims, the number of people already receiving benefits and reported with a one-week delay, increased by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.155 million during the week ending July 30, the government said. The four-week moving average rose by,500 to 2.143 million.

Traders monitor jobs data closely to gauge how aggressively the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee alters monetary policy.

By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com

Follow @Neils_C
Aug 11 (Reuters) - U.S. oil refiner CVR Energy Inc CVI.N , backed by activist investor Carl Icahn, is preparing to make an offer to buy smaller peer Delek US Holdings Inc DK.N , the New York Post reported, citing a source close to the situation.

Icahn, who had an 82 percent stake in CVR as of April 19, is speculated to be building a personal stake in Delek, the Post said on Thursday. (http://nyp.st/2bkUCGY) Icahn might also be preparing to take full ownership of CVR, the report said.

Delek's shares rose 12.7 percent to $16.78 in extended trading, while CVR's were up about 9.8 percent at $15.07. Delek had a market capitalization of about $921 million as of Thursday's close, while CVR's equity value was $1.19 billion.

Brentwood, Tennessee-based Delek took a 48 percent stake in oil refiner Alon USA Energy ALJ.N in May 2015 and was reportedly looking to buy more shares of the company.

It was not clear whether a potential deal between Delek and CVR would have any impact on Delek's plans for Alon USA.

CVR declined to comment. Delek and Alon USA were not immediately available for comment.

Most U.S. refiners have said they expect to process less crude in the second half of the year as margins shrink due to a gasoline glut.

Delek's shares have fallen nearly 40 percent this year through Thursday's close, while CVR stock had tumbled about 65 percent.

Delek operates 155,000 barrels per day (bpd) in combined production capacity at refineries in Tyler, Texas and El Dorado, Arkansas.

Sugar Land, Texas-based CVR specializes in petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing. Its capacity for refining crude oil and feedstocks totaled 210,488 bpd in the second quarter.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
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It is a sign of how poorly Donald J. Trump is doing in the polls that he already is working on his reasons to be a sore loser.

The system, he says, is "rigged" against him and his voters.

"I'm afraid the election's going to be rigged, I've got to be honest," he warned in a rally in Columbus, Ohio last Monday, a sentiment he echoed later that day on Sean Hannity's Fox News program.

"I'm telling you, November 8, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged," he told Hannity.

Trump's only evidence for fraud consisted of "precincts where there were practically nobody voting for the Republican" in the 2012 election. "If you don't have voter ID," he said, "you can just keep voting and voting and voting."

That's his own version of the standard Republican argument for mandatory voter ID cards. I have long found it suspicious that Republicans push for photo ID cards, which tend to reduce low-income and minority turnout, in face-to-face voting but not in absentee voting, which is more likely to be used by upper-income whites.

Recent court decisions in North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, Ohio, South Dakota and Kansas, among others, have overturned various voter ID restrictions as nice on paper but illegally discriminatory in practice. Voter fraud is far too rare to be worth the denial of voting rights that such laws have brought about, the courts have ruled.

But Trump's exaggerations are mild compared to some of his supporters, such as radio host Alex Jones, who warned that the Obama administration might "cancel the election." And Trump's occasional adviser Roger Stone raised eyebrows by telling Breitbart News that Trump should prepare for a "violent postelection contest."

"I mean civil disobedience, not violence," said Stone, "but it will be a bloodbath. The government will be shut down if they attempt to steal this and swear Hillary in."

"Not violence" but a "bloodbath"? Stone's ominously colorful language reminds me of Trump's Twitter freakout in 2012 after he learned of President Obama's re-election victory. Trump condemned America's democratic process, said the Electoral College should be shut down and called for a revolution. Cooler heads prevailed  that time.

Is Trump reviving those anxieties now to prepare us for charges of voter fraud in November? That's often his style. As we have seen, Trump doesn't let an absence of facts or evidence get in the way of his conspiracy theories. His recent political life, after all, began with a bogus birther theory about President Obama's birth certificate.

"What does that mean?" said President Obama incredulously when asked about Trump's charge in a news conference. After all, elections are run by state and local agencies, not the federal government, Obama pointed out.

"You know, go out there and try to win the election," Obama said. "If Mr. Trump is up 10 or 15 points on Election Day and ends up losing, then maybe he can raise some questions. That doesn't seem to be the case at the moment."

Hardly. As Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton enjoyed a healthy post-convention bump in national polls, Trump gave her an extra boost with his own series of unforced errors.

For example, he wouldn't let go of his unwinnable feud with the Muslim parents of an Army captain who died preventing a suicide bomber from killing his fellow soldiers. Trump also refused to endorse fellow Republicans Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Arizona Sen. John McCain for re-election.

Trump even (Gasp!) booted a crying baby from a rally moments after saying he enjoyed hearing crying babies. Other politicians kiss babies. Trump ejected one as if the little bambino was a Black Lives Matter protester.

In a campaign year already shaped largely by working-class fears, suspicions and frustrations about Wall Street, Washington and "the liberal media" and other institutions, Trump's fears find many willing ears, just as Sen. Bernie Sanders' did among Democratic voters.

We have enough baseless paranoia about our institutions  and unhinged extremists on the fringes  without Trump and friends stirring up more of it. Even so, this campaign year should serve as a wake-up call to both parties. We need to resolve such pressing issues as immigration reform, trade treaties and income inequality at the ballot box, not on the streets.

Trump has the right issues, but he hasn't been the right leader.

Clarence Page is a member of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board. Readers may send him email at cpage@tribune.com.
Mike Yardley writes:

Last year, National arrogantly blocked some legislative moves to pragmatically embrace private healthcare.

If Labour really wants to help reconnect with middle New Zealand, they should jettison their traditional leftie nostrums of private health representing a two-tier system, and campaign for change.

Promise a 25 per cent health insurance rebate for the over 65s, axe fringe benefit tax from health cover to incentivise employers to cover their workforce and force parent category migrants to self-insure for their first 10 years in New Zealand.

Enabling greater use of private health surgery will help unlock consider able more capacity in the public system, easing the strain on overstretched resources and changing lives in a more timely fashion.
Stuff reports:

An Indian man who forged a signature on an election enrolment form will not be sent back to his home country from New Zealand.

Mandeep Singh was convicted in 2013 of using a forged document, after he signed a voting form on behalf of a friend and put down his address as his own.

The action was an attempt to help Labour Party member and Sikh leader Daljit Singh in his bid for a seat on the Otara-Papatoetoe local board in Auckland.

Several other people were also convicted on similar charges.

After being sentenced to 200 hours community work, Mandeep Singh was issued with a deportation order.

But he appealed the decision to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, claiming it would be traumatic for his family to have to uproot their life and return to India.
+Stuff reports:

Mayoral candidate Helene Ritchie will not seek re-election as a councillor and go all-in to become Wellingtons next mayor.

I have decided to stand only to be mayor of Wellington and to withdraw from the ward election, Ritchie said.

This is a big one, of course I am ready to be Mayor of Wellington. I have no Plan B.

The representative for the Northern Ward said she will withdraw her paperwork to contest the seat by the deadline of August 12.
Stuff reports:

Fairfax Medias move into the ultrafast broadband (UFB) market could be a feast or famine for the company, a media commentator says. Fairfax Media-owned news website Stuff is launching an internet provider that will compete with Spark, Vodafone and dozens of smaller providers. The service, Stuff Fibre, is majority-owned by Fairfax Media and expects to launch within three months.

So I guess they have given up trying to make money from journalism!

Media commentator Gavin Ellis told RNZ that UFB was an interesting market because, despite 1.5 million people having access to the technology, the uptake was only about 240,000.

What I find interesting is the journalistic question of how will Fairfax report on stories concerning a commercial company they own? Will they report on complaints about it, if there are any?

Always good to have more competition in the ISP market, but using a journalism brand to sell Internet connections seems risky.

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What has Hillary Clinton been doing while Donald Trump has been careening from one controversy to the next? Shes been traveling the country giving speeches about jobs, hammering Trump on the economy, and mostly avoiding press contact that could bring attention to her email scandal, the Clinton Foundation, or her record as Secretary of State. And then she talks more about jobs.

Clintons speeches are boring. They dont make much news. But theyre in line with voter concerns three months away from the presidential election.

In her Democratic convention acceptance speech, amid all the promises and proposals, Clinton made her top priority clear. My primary mission as president will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the United States, she said. Last week, still in convention afterglow, Clinton made a tour out West, giving speeches in Omaha, the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado, and Las Vegas that all focused on meat-and-potatoes economic issues.

The Las Vegas event was in a union building, with a heavily union audience, so there was more emphasis than usual on organized labor. But the heart of the speech was the same as Clintons other presentations; after all of the pleasantries and stroking that are involved in campaigning, Clinton stuck to a relatively small number of big issues that voters care about most. Step by step, heres the essence of what Clinton did in Vegas:

1) Thank local constituents  in this case, IBEW Local 357, the AFL-CIO, and the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 525 who assisted with parking.

2) Thank local officials  Sen. Harry Reid, Rep. Dina Titus and Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto.

3) Establish big picture: We are going to create more good jobs with rising income.

4) Promise investments focusing on roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, the electric grid, etc. For ever $1 billion, we get 47,500 jobs, and they are mostly good union jobs with a good middle class income.

5) Promise more collective bargaining rights to unions.

6) Promise to make college affordable and debt-free.

7) Promise national high-speed broadband Internet.

8) Remind people that Trump sells products made overseas.

9) Remind that big businessman Trump has sometimes stiffed small businesses working for him.

10) Praise a local small business (an IBEW shop, of course).

11) Pledge more technical education. We need to invest in our young people and give them different paths besides four-year college to get ahead in America.

12) Promise free community college.

13) Remind again that Trump has mistreated small businesspeople.

14) Mention that her father was a small businessman.

15) Use example of Trumps Florida resort to imply (without actually saying) that shell bring in fewer foreign workers to take American jobs.

16) Turn a Trump trademark against him. Youve got to ask yourself in this campaign, do you want a president who stands for youre fired or one who stands for youre hired?

17) Mention Trump University.

18) Repeat Trump is unqualified and unfit to be president.

19) Mention one more time her plans for jobs, education, healthcare and more.

20) Sum up: I think this election comes down to economic opportunity, national security, and American unity.

There wasnt a single headline in the entire 20-minute poll- and focus group-tested speech, or the others delivered in Nebraska and Colorado, which hit many of the same points. And by the way, Clintons speeches are about one-third the length of Trumps unscripted performances, which often go over an hour, giving Trump far more chances to say something controversial.

Trump has often mocked the kind of speech Clinton gives. At a huge rally in Dallas last fall, Trump pledged never to give a canned presentation. That would be so much easier, he said. We read a speech for 45 minutes. Everybody falls asleep, listening to the same old stuff...

Trump doesnt do that. His speeches are long, stream-of-consciousness affairs, with the potential to erupt into news at any moment. From Trumps perspective, Clintons are the worst type of boring.

But boring can work. Look at Clintons summation. Her presentation is entirely consistent with the issues that voters say are the most important in this election. Asked in the most recent Fox News polls which is the most important issue facing the country, voters most named the economy and national security. (The two topics were tied with 22 percent each.) When Clinton says, I think this election comes down to economic opportunity, national security and American unity, shes not speaking off the cuff.

None of this means that Clinton, as president, might actually accomplish what she promises. For example, Clinton made big promises on jobs in her 2000 campaign for a Senate seat from New York, the Washington Post reported Sunday, and those promises came to nothing. Now, shes saying similar things again. It worked in New York in 2000 and 2006. Research and instinct indicate its still what voters want to hear.

And shell keep saying it. He might mock her, he might criticize her, he might give her new nicknames, but one thing Trump can count on is that Clinton will pursue her campaign relentlessly. She will never give up.

Think back to 2008, in her epic battle with then-Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. Clinton wasnt very good at campaigning. But her effort had a plodding, one-foot-in-front-of-the-other quality to it that suggested while Clinton could never be a spectacular candidate like her opponent Obama, she nevertheless would keep moving forward until she achieved her goal.

One can go a long way in life by putting one foot in front of the other. In 08, Clinton ran into an overwhelming force in Obama. Now, things appear to be lining up her way. Shell do boring to win, any day.
Marijuana: wrong for Nevada

Editor:

Nevadas Republican Governor Brian Sandoval said he is against making recreational marijuana use legal in Nevada, citing concerns about its impact on young people. He opposes Question 2 on the November ballot. Question 2 is also opposed by Nevadas Republican Attorney General Adam Laxalt and the Las Vegas Review Journal editorially opposed this marijuana industry-written initiative on June 8.

Californias Democratic Governor Jerry Brown also opposes recreational marijuana legalization: The problem with anything, a certain amount is OK. But there is a tendency to go to extremes. And, all of a sudden, if there is advertising and legitimacy, how many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation?(Washington Post/ 3/2/14).

Californias Democratic senior U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein formally opposed legalizing marijuana in the Golden State on July 12, citing a lack of protections for children and motorists.

Passage of Question 2 would allow the commercial marijuana industry to market highly potent edible products (candy, cookies) in this state  aimed at children. There should be bi-partisan consensus that marijuana industry promoted Question 2 is wrong for Nevada.

Jim Hartman

Genoa
Shift leader Quentin Smothers, left, communications manager Sam Blum, center, and assistant shop leader Kevin Watts are at work in the K Street shop of &pizza in Washington, D.C. (Credit: &pizza)

How do employers become aware of your potential value as an employee? Sometimes, by seeing you a work or your impact on a former boss. When applying for a job, you might communicate what is truly needed for the business, rather than what the employer says he needs. You might be volunteering in something you love or passionately delivering a consumer service. You might leave lasting impressions of your performance, which inspire a former employer to introduce you, unbidden, to a company.

San Diegos Ed Brancheau, president of the digital marketing company Goozleology Inc., operates off-the-wall but expects applicants to follow directions. A project he planned to outsource to the Philippines was to pay $3 per hour, which he says is a good amount in that country. A man in Oklahoma contacted him, saying that he couldnt work for that rate, but Im willing to prove my value to you because Im an expert with LinkedIn, Brancheau reports. Brancheau sat up and took notice. The man was offering him something he hadnt realized he needed.

Well, I took a chance and I'm glad I did, because this guy was able to teach me a ton of (lead-generation) methods that I didn't even know that I didn't know, Brancheau observes. He had subject-matter expertise and put himself in my shoes. Hired as a freelancer at $12 per hour, the man became a full-time employee, with benefits. He now manages the Philippine contingent.

Elsewhere, a salesperson contacted Sam Blum, communications manager at &pizza in Washington, D.C., a company that continually hires. Blum politely declined via email.

One month later, the salesperson emailed, introducing his former employee who, he thought, would be very good for &pizza.

It was public knowledge (that we were hiring), Blum says, but Im not sure he knew. ... He seemed like someone who appreciates what were trying to build.

Blum notes that his courteous email led to his colleagues hiring a new shop leader, a candidate who never would have come our way had it not been for an initial sales pitch. That decent rejection had kept communication open with the salesperson, even though there had been no progress toward a sale.

In the early days of the streaming media company Plex Inc., headquartered in Los Gatos, California, a volunteer in the U.K. was answering questions from consumers. The two co-founders werent recruiting the volunteer but were so impressed with the mans competence and passion that they brought him on board. Most of their employees now come from this talent pool, according to CEO Keith Valory.

In a fourth case, Duane Hixon, CEO and co-founder of custom neighborhood magazine publisher N2 Publishing in Wilmington, North Carolina, listened to an idea from his COO  how cool it would be to have our own fitness department, Hixon recalls. Immediately I knew the guy for the job. The aha moment came from the CEOs personal time with a fitness trainer over most of a year.

In all of these cases, businesses discovered people who came to them through unconventional paths  their work in evidence.

(Knoxville News Sentinel syndicated columnist Mildred Culp, Ph.D., welcomes your questions. Contact her at culp@workwise.net.  2016 Passage Media.)
Amanda Sammons





By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

JACKSBORO, Tenn.  A Campbell County judge was indicted Wednesday on four felony charges and temporarily suspended from the bench.

A Campbell County grand jury issued an indictment charging General Sessions Judge Amanda Sammons with four counts of official misconduct in the handling of two separate cases in which she was accused of lying and misusing her authority. The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct issued a temporary suspension order Wednesday evening that bars Sammons from performing any judicial functions.

Sammons is expected to be booked on the charges Thursday morning and will be arraigned by Senior Judge Paul Summers next week. Eighth Judicial District Judge Shayne Sexton, whose district includes Campbell County, has recused himself.

Sammons' attorney, Wade Davies, issued a statement saying the judge is innocent.

"While this is disappointing, Judge Sammons is prepared to show she has not committed any offense," Davies said. "Judge Sammons will plead not guilty, and we will work to get this case tried quickly so that she can go back to carrying out the job the people of Campbell County elected her to do."

The charges against Sammons came after a News Sentinel investigation into several allegations of misconduct and abuse of authority by the judge. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation launched a probe earlier this year headed up by special prosecutor Dan Armstrong, who presented the case to the grand jury Wednesday. Armstrong, whose district includes Greene and Hamblen counties, was tapped after prosecutor Jared Effler, whose district includes Campbell County, also recused himself.

Sammons is accused in the indictment of two counts of official misconduct in her handling of the case of LaFollette, Tenn., mother Krista Leigh Smith.

Records obtained in late January by the News Sentinel showed Sammons ordered Campbell County Sheriff's Office jailers to elevate a child neglect charge filed against Krista Smith for failing to buckle up her children to aggravated child abuse, the toughest abuse law on the books.

Sammons later said in a speech from the bench that she never ordered the charge changed but instead, in confusion with another case she has never identified, increased the bond. She repeated that assertion in a written order.

The jailers, in turn, sought legal representation from attorney Charles C. Burks Jr., who said the jailers intended to testify Sammons was lying.

Smith, 26, sat in jail for two days in January, first under no bond, then under a $250,000 bond  unaware of any change to the charge she faced or why her bail was so high. Sammons then altered a record of the increase in Smith's charge by marking through it with a pen, jail records showed.

Caryville Assistant Police Chief Joseph Hopson stopped Smith's car Jan. 22 on U.S. Highway 25W when he said in a warrant that he saw "a small child unrestrained in the back seat." Attorney Kristie Anderson took Smith's case for free. She asked Sammons to step aside, but the judge refused.

Sexton then ordered Sammons removed, and Smith was later allowed to plead guilty to traffic charges of failing to buckle up the children and fined $30.

Anderson is the victim in one of the remaining two counts of official misconduct. The fourth victim is a divorce client of Anderson's.

In that case, just days after taking the bench in September 2014, Sammons issued a show-cause order for contempt of court against Anderson and her client when they did not appear for a hearing in the divorce case. Testimony has shown Anderson was unaware of the hearing.

Sammons later stated in open court that Anderson was disrespectful, showed disdain for the judge and yelled at court personnel  none of which was alleged in the show cause order nor was Anderson ever accused of such conduct.

But when defense attorney Herbert S. Moncier challenged Sammons on behalf of Anderson, the judge insisted the opposing attorney in the divorce case sought to have Anderson and her client held in contempt. That attorney, Larry Vaughn, denied that claim in an interview with the News Sentinel and later at a court hearing earlier this year.

Sammons, while under oath, first continued to insist Vaughn sought the contempt order but then reversed course under questioning by Moncier and conceded she filed the contempt action on her own.

The contempt charges against Anderson and her client were dismissed.

Campbell County Circuit Judge John McAfee and Chancellor Elizabeth Asbury will fill in for Sammons until the Campbell County Commission appoints an interim judge.

The News Sentinel investigated Sammons since last fall, detailing how the judge levied fees against the wrongfully accused for lawyers they did not use, ordered children removed from their homes without authority, barred people from coming into court and then ordered them arrested for failing to appear, and began charging people a fee for drug testing that had not been authorized by any government body as required by law.

PAST COVERAGE:

Prosecutor: Cases against Campbell judge will go to grand jury in August (July 6, 2016)

Judge: Testimony flip-flop by Campbell judge doesnt rate ethics complaint (June 10, 2016)

Attorney disputes Campbell County judges testimony (June 3, 2016)

Officials: Campbell judge charging for drug tests without authority (March 23, 2016)

Campbell judge under probe by state judicial board (March 16, 2016)

Defendants barred from entering court arrested for being late, records show (March 7, 2016)

Jailers fire back at Campbell judges denial of order to change charge (March 7, 2016)

Special prosecutor sought for criminal probe of Campbell County judge (Feb. 26, 2016)

Campbell County judge refuses to drop charge against innocent woman (Feb. 8, 2016)

DCS: Campbell judge took children from their homes without legal grounds (Jan. 30, 2016)

Judge confirms complaint against fellow Campbell County jurist (Jan. 30, 2016)

Records show Campbell County judge upped charge, altered record (Jan. 29, 2016)

Campbell County judges fee order struck down (Jan. 13, 2016)

Campbell County judge charging fee to the poor for legal services they didn't receive (Nov. 24, 2015)

Campbell County judge becomes defendant for failing to sign order (Oct. 20, 2015)
Emergency crews unload the ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair in Greeneville, Tenn., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. A few people who fell 30 to 45 feet from a Ferris wheel in Tennessee were responsive and answering questions Monday night, police said. (Dale Long/The Greeneville Sun via AP)

SHARE Briley, 6, and Kayla, 10, Reynolds were injured Monday night when they fell from a Ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair. Investigators are blaming a mechanical issue for the fall, which left both girls hospitalized  Briley with a traumatic brain injury, and Kayla with a broken arm and other injuries. (FACEBOOK) Related Coverage Police seeking video, photos of Ferris wheel incident

By Staff And Wire Reports

GREENEVILLE  The mother of two girls who fell from a Ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair on Monday night has posted an update on their condition to Facebook.

Kimmee Reynolds, mother of Briley, 6, and Kayla, 10, posted the update a little after 3 a.m. Wednesday, saying Kayla's arm has a "bad break" and Briley has a concussion and a small brain bleed.

Both girls are patients at Niswonger Children's Hospital in Johnson City, where they were taken by helicopter after the accident.

Reynolds said Briley had seizures en route to the hospital and is sedated and on a ventilator, not breathing on her own, "but she is fighting." Along with facial swelling, she has a fever and possibly a bacterial infection, the mother said. She said the girl, who is listed in critical condition, has responded to some family members' voices by moving her feet and hands.

"I know she's in there, and I know she hears us," Reynolds wrote.

Kayla is "having lots of pain, and she's frustrated," Reynolds said, but "is able to talk and smile and paint and do sand art and play on the iPad."

A third girl, age 16, was not identified but is in stable condition, according the hospital. Reynolds said that girl celebrated her birthday Wednesday at the hospital.

Reynolds expressed confidence in the girls' doctors and the hospital, gratitude for the community's support, and astonishment at the media attention over the incident.

Greeneville Police Capt. Tim Davis said at a news conference late Tuesday that reports indicate a mechanical issue caused the car to dump three children from the gondola-style wheel at the fair. The accident report form submitted to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development by Family Attractions and the Greene County Fair Board of Directors Monday night said, "(C)ar No. 9 got caught on a bar," causing it to tip 90 degrees and the children to fall 25 feet or more to the ground.

Davis said police had not confirmed reports that the basket the girls were riding in was rocking before the accident.

The fall sharpened the focus on how carnival rides are regulated. The state relies on private inspectors hired by operators and other states' regulators to determine whether roller coasters, zip lines and Ferris wheels are safe.

On Wednesday, an inspector from the federal U.S. Product Safety Commission was at the fairgrounds, examining rides. The midway rides have been closed since Monday night as four inspectors prepare reports for the state.
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By News Sentinel Staff

JOHNSON CITY  A Sullivan County woman has been indicted on a charge of falsifying a report claiming she was sexually assaulted by police officers.

Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated Rebekah Ann Deahl's report that she was sexually assaulted by Bristol, Tenn., police officers during an undercover prostitution sting in which she had been arrested.

But when questioned by the agents, Deahl, 31, of Bristol, said her allegations against the officers were false, the TBI said.

On July 12th, a Sullivan County grand jury returned an indictment charging Deahl with filing a false report. On Wednesday, Deahl surrendered to authorities and was booked into the Sullivan County jail on a $12,000 bond.

More details as they develop online and in Thursday's News Sentinel.
SHARE Billy Jason Carson, charged with criminal homicide and reckless endangerment after driving his SUV through the crowd at a May 23, 2015, outdoor concert at the Trails End Campground, killing one person and injuring two. (Scott County Sheriff's Office)

By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

HUNTSVILLE, Tenn.  A food vendor accused of a vehicular rampage through a crowd of patrons at a country music concert in Scott County will stand trial two years to the day he allegedly killed an Indiana monster truck driver.

A trial date of May 23 was set Thursday in Scott County Criminal Court for Billy Jason Carson on a 15-count indictment that includes charges of vehicular homicide in the death of Indiana monster truck driver Tony Farrell, 50, on that same date in 2015.

Carson, 43, faces other charges that include reckless homicide, a gun count, six counts of reckless endangerment, four counts of aggravated assault and felony vandalism. Defense attorney Kenneth Miller said he and the prosecution will rely on various experts at trial.

Carson, of Cleveland, Tenn., was working as a food vendor at the Trains End Campground in Huntsville during the 2015 Memorial Day weekend festival, which included a monster truck rally and a concert by country music star Trace Adkins.

Authorities allege Carson took umbrage when his drunk friend was punched. Fueled by anger and drugs, authorities say, Carson twice drove his Toyota SUV into a crowd and fired a gun into the crowd.

Carson's friend, Josh Baulcom, allegedly got drunk and began groping women at the concert, and someone punched him. That fight, authorities allege, sent Carson into a rage. Farrell, a monster truck driver from North Vernon, Ind., was in the crowd with his wife and their two sons. He tried to stop Carson by reaching into the Toyota and pulling the key from the ignition, court records state.

Carson kept going, dragging Farrell and then running over him in front of his wife and sons, records stated. Farrell later died. The couple's son, Ethan Farrell, was injured. A blood test later revealed the presence of Xanax, a prescription sedative, in Carson's system, according to court records.
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The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area will host an American Indian music presentation at the Huntsville-Scott County Visitor Center, Gateway to the Big South Fork, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20.

Visitors are invited to come learn how music played an integral role in shaping the Cumberland Plateau's Indian culture, from ceremonial purposes, recreational activities, natural expression, medicinal healing and almost all aspects of their lives.

Join local performers Rocky "Starchild" Garfield and Cathy "Songcatcher" Wilson as they play authentic music using traditional drums, flutes and percussion instruments and offer their insights on how this culture once lived and played on the Cumberland Plateau.

This program is free and wheelchair-accessible.

The Scott County Visitor Center is just east of the 125,000-acre Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The park protects some of the most dramatic geologic features on the Cumberland Plateau.

The main river gorge cuts through layers of sandstone, shale and limestone to create a landscape some people compare to the Canyon Country of Utah, except with trees. Unlike most areas managed by the National Park Service, the Big South Fork permits hunting and mountain biking.

Inside the park are an estimated 1,300 rockhouses  or rockshelters  that offered temporary shelter to prehistoric American Indians as far back as 14,000 years ago.

The Scott County Visitor Center is at 12025 Scott Highway, Huntsville, Tenn.

For directions or additional information, contact the Scott County Visitor Center at 423-663-6900 or the Bandy Creek Visitor Center at 423-286-7275.
Knox County Sheriff's Office Deputy Sammy Sawyer, as "Eddie the Eagle," along with the KCSO's education coordinator, Katy Davis, educate second- and third-graders at Karns Elementary School about gun safety on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (Shawn Millsaps/Special to News Sentinel)

SHARE Knox County Sheriff's Office Deputy Sammy Sawyer as "Eddie the Eagle" educates second- and third graders at Karns Elementary School about gun safety on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (Shawn Millsaps/Special to News Sentinel)

By Megan Boehnke of the Knoxville News Sentinel

What should you do if you find a gun?

Four hundred second- and third-graders thrust their hands forward and yelled in unison: "Stop. Don't touch. Run away. Tell an adult."

An educator with the Knox County Sheriff's Office and her sidekick, mascot Eddie the Eagle, greeted students at Karns Elementary School on Thursday for an assembly on gun safety.

"So many kids are curious about the weapon, that they will go and pick it up," said Katy Davis, education coordinator with the KCSO. "The next thing you know, bullets have been fired and the child is on the ground."

The Eddie the Eagle program, developed by the National Rifle Association, has been taught by the KCSO since 1992, Davis said. Since then, the agency has taught the program 2,800 times to 133,000 children, Davis said.

The sheriff's office currently offers the program at 24 schools in Knox County. The schools inside the Knoxville city limits are served by the Knoxville Police Department, Davis said.

The 30-minute assembly in the school gym began with Davis encouraging the students to coax out Eddie the Eagle by chanting his name. The mascot appeared from behind the curtain to cheers.

When Davis asked students how many knew their families had guns in their homes, at least half the tiny hands shot up in the air. In East Tennessee, about 70 percent of households have firearms, she said, a statistic that comes from the National Rifle Association.

Davis went on to tell the children about a boy who had been through the program and found a gun on a counter in a public bathroom. The boy, Billy, put into practice what he'd learned: he didn't touch the weapon and ran to tell his dad what he saw.

The gun turned out to belong to a security officer who had left it on the counter while using the restroom, Davis said before the assembly.

"We've heard so many times of kids finding a gun that a parent has left, or a grandparent, or a friend's parents have left just in a place either they forgot or they actually store the gun there loaded, and they just don't think kids know where the guns are," Davis said after the program. "If they see a gun, and there is no grown-up there, they need to stop, don't touch, run away and tell a grown-up  and that could save their life."
SHARE Cyclist on the Neyland Greenway on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. (SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL) Cyclist on the Neyland Greenway on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. (SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL)

By Megan Boehnke of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Knoxville officials on Thursday evening will publicly unveil a long-term $45 million plan to build 24 miles of greenways that would connect the city's existing trail system.

The city's existing 90 miles of trails have been used largely as recreation, but the 13 planned corridors would help runners, walkers and cyclists to use the greenways to reach downtown, parks and other destinations, said Joe Walsh, Knoxville's park director.

For years, the Third Creek Greenway, which linked student housing on Sutherland Avenue to the University of Tennessee campus, was the only major transportation greenway, he said.

"Now more and more people are thinking less recreation and more transportation," Walsh said. "Still, everyone wants to see more greenways. There's no part of town where people are saying no, we don't want any green- ways."

Walsh and Greenways Coordinator Lori Goerlich will present the plan at the John T. O'Connor Center at 6 p.m. Thursday, where a table will be set up with a map and a staff member to explain each of the 13 planned connections, Walsh said.

The plan is the result of a three-year, $256,000 study by architecture firm Ross/Fowler, about 80 percent of which was paid for through a state grant.

While the idea of connecting the city's existing greenways dates back to 2009, this study offers detailed feasibility plans on what it would take to build those missing links, Goerlich said.

The new greenway connections can also help protect fragments of urban forest and creeks, opening them up for public use, she added.

"The more accessible facilities are, the more they're used and taken care of by everyone," Goerlich said. "So there's a pragmatic (aspect) to having more access and more people being able to enjoy them, but also a lot of benefits to the experience and the connectivity offers more options on where you can go, to change up your route or go to different parts of town."

For each of the past three years, Mayor Madeline Rogero has budgeted $1 million for new greenway construction, though that will make but a small dent in the work to be done.

To maximize the funding, Goerlich said the city will focus on sections that have the opportunity for a public-private partnership. That includes a section along Middlebrook Pike, where Tennova said it is willing to build greenways on the grounds of its new hospital.

Near Five Points, Knoxville's Community Development Corp. will include greenways in its redevelopment of the Walter P. Taylor Homes public housing complex. Along Second Creek, Norfolk Southern railroad company seems open to allowing a greenway easement and on the South Waterfront, developers have agreed to complete sections of a riverwalk on their property.

The Department of Public Works, meanwhile, is also putting together a team of four to five existing employees to create a greenways crew to focus solely on maintaining the city's trails. The group will have a truck, trailer and mini-excavator to do repairs and build small sections of greenway, said David Brace, director of public works.

"The crew will be focused, really, on building that skill set, and we'll send them to trail-building seminars," Brace said. "It's just to be a little more innovative because everyone talks about building new systems, but we also have to maintain the 90 miles we have.
SHARE Dan Zak, a Washington Post reporter who has written a book about the break-in at the Y-12 National Security Complex by three peace activists. (CASSIDY DUHON/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS SENTINEL) Dan Zak, a Washington Post reporter who has written a book about the break-in at the Y-12 National Security Complex by three peace activists. (CASSIDY DUHON/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS SENTINEL)

By Michael Collins of the Knoxville News Sentinel

WASHINGTON  When he first started writing about the 2012 break-in at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Dan Zak was drawn to the incident's novelty: How did an 82-year-old, peace-loving nun and two other activists penetrate one of the world's most secure nuclear weapons facilities?

As he dug deeper, a bigger issue took shape. Zak began to understand that the circumstances behind the break-in told the story of this nation's complicated history with the nuclear bomb.

"You can really debate the usefulness of nuclear weapons," he said. "What is not debatable is the fact that human beings are prone to failure and mishap and that things go wrong in any human endeavor ... We are really kind of gambling with the lives and health of parts of the U.S. and the world by continuing to entrust this almighty power to people and to structures that are imperfect and will fail one day  as this incident at Y-12 kind of illustrated."

Zak, a reporter for The Washington Post, has written a 402-page book that uses the Y-12 break-in to help unravel the nation's nuclear history  from the Manhattan Project and the race for nuclear superiority to the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

The book, "Almighty: Courage, Resistance and Existential Peril in the Nuclear Age," required three-and-a-half years of research. It brought Zak to East Tennessee and took him to nuclear weapons conferences in Austria and nuclear testing sites in the Nevada desert and the Marshall Islands.

The journey started in 2012, when a fellow reporter pointed him to the news coming out of Oak Ridge.

Three protesters  Sister Megan Rice, Vietnam veteran Michael Walli and house painter Greg Boertje-Obed  had somehow evaded security and cut through fences at the Y-12 complex in the early morning hours of July 28. Once inside, they spray-painted messages on the structures of the government facility and tossed human blood on the walls of the plant's storehouse for bomb-grade uranium.

All three were convicted of sabotage and destruction of property and served 14 months in prison before the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed their sabotage convictions in 2015 and set them free.

While covering the story for his newspaper, Zak said, he quickly realized how little he knew about the nation's nuclear history, the nuclear arsenal as it exists today and faith-based, anti-nuclear activism.

"I came of age after the Cold War," said Zak, 32. "Previous generations experienced kind of a duck-and-cover ethos, a sense that there were two superpowers waiting to annihilate each other.  I did not grow up in that environment. As a citizen who thinks of himself as trying to be worldly and informed, I was just taken aback by what I didn't know."

As he worked to fill in the gaps in his knowledge, he soon discovered that telling the story completely would take more ink and column inches than a newspaper could provide. It would take a book.

Zak grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and had never set foot in Tennessee. But over the course of his research, he would end up making seven trips to Knoxville and Oak Ridge, totaling about 32 days.

He covered the protesters' trial and sentencing in Knoxville. He filed public records requests for documents and interviewed peace activists, government officials and current and former employees at Y-12. He relied on the expertise of people like Ray Smith, Y-12's official historian, and reporter Frank Munger, who covered the Department of Energy for the Knoxville News Sentinel for 30 years.

Some of the people he approached would talk only on background. Others wouldn't talk at all. On one trip to East Tennessee, he spent almost an entire week just driving around, leaving notes in mailboxes telling people their input was essential to helping him tell the story completely and accurately.

Zak asked Y-12 officials to give him a tour of the facility, but the request was denied, so he settled for one of the public tours offered as part of the Secret City Festival in 2014. Eyeballing the facility proved indispensable, he said, allowing him to describe the site in detail, right down to the type of trees located on the grounds.

"I tried to be fair, and I tried to really understand what the city and East Tennessee have done historically to contribute to this massive (nuclear) endeavor," he said.

Still, he suspects not everyone will be happy with the book.

"I anticipate getting emails or getting feedback from people who do read it and say this is not it at all  there's much more," he said.
Authorities say a couple wanted in connection with murder cases in Arizona and Nevada has been found dead in a desert area southeast of Kingman. Mohave County Sheriffs detectives say the bodies of 26-year-old Hunter McGuire and his girlfriend, 32-year-old Samantha Branek, were found lying next to each other Friday with gunshot wounds to the head. Lake Havasu City police say it appears McGuire shot himself, but its unclear if Braneks wound was self-inflicted. The county medical examiners office will determine an official cause of death. Authorities say the couple was being sought in connection with a double homicide in Kingman on June 28. They say McGuire also was considered a suspect in the fatal shooting of a woman Monday in Las Vegas.
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Presidential candidate Donald Trump was accused of scaring people by simply acknowledging the Islamic attacks taking place in America and around the world.

What is alarming is the people who counsel Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama.

Andrew McCarthy, the attorney who prosecuted the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, stated in a 2013 National Review article that Huma Abedin, vice chairwoman of the Clinton presidential campaign and top advisor to Clinton while at the State Department, "Worked for many years at a journal that promotes Islamic-supremacist ideology that was founded by a top al-Qaida financier."

According to McCarthy, the State Department, under Clinton's direction, "strongly supported abandoning the federal government's prior policy against official dealings with the Muslim Brotherhood (and) embraced a number of Muslim Brotherhood positions that undermine both American constitutional rights and our alliance with Israel."

Former Bill Clinton adviser Robert Malley, now senior director at the National Security Council, helped broker Obama's Iran nuclear deal. Malley at one time urged the international community to finance the Palestinian Authority, which includes Hamas, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood and its splinter groups, Al-Qaida and the Islamic State, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and the state of Iran have the same objective: to destroy Israel.

The Obama administration delivered $400 million in cash to Iran. Iran funds Hamas. Wonder where that money could be going?

Please support the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act. Please encourage U.S. Sen. Bob Corker at 637-4180 or 202-224-3344) to move the bill forward.

Trump pointing out the obvious does not scare me. Clinton's and Obama's choice of advisors does.

Brenda Miller, Knoxville
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Letters and columns on gun control bring to mind the question of who will bell the cat? What means will be used to disarm the gangs, drug dealers and assorted other thugs? These people do not lawfully buy firearms from dealers, and in most cases they are felons who are forbidden by law to have a firearm. We hear Hollywood celebrities, many of whom make fortunes pretending to shoot people, extolling the Australian gun confiscation law. Then we get the other side of the story, that there is a black market for firearms in Australia, and the people buying them are predominantly criminals. Gun violence in our country is appalling, but another law affecting law-abiding gun owners is a feel-good idea that will not stop one killing in Chicago or elsewhere. The only way to alleviate this type of crime is to suspend the search and seizure statutes, but the courts will not stand for that.

William M. Fletcher, Knoxville
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In the old legend, George Washington cut down the cherry tree but then told the truth about it.

Columnist Greg Johnson was probably there the day the tree hit the ground, picking cherries, and he has been picking them ever since. It's one of his favorite devices in his columns. Choose a "fact" here, add a factoid there, leave out relevant information, add invective and presto: another right-wing rant.

But unlike Washington, there's little truth in a Johnson column. Instead it's "Twist and Shout," the favored communication strategy of the right-wing. The recipe: Twist the facts or tell outright lies; accuse opponents of being anti-American or anti-God or whatever; then shout your propaganda over and over, louder and louder, with big doses of fear mongering for spice. Stir well and serve repeated helpings to the uninformed and angry.

In his Aug. 10 column, Johnson attacks Redneck Liberal Trae Crowder, though he admits he knows nothing about Crowder's semi-ironic shtick. Then he attacks the media (of course), accusing them of bias against the poor-white working class. In fact, the Atlantic article he refers to is a thoughtful examination of where derogatory terms such as redneck and white trash originated and how they have been used over time. Too much effort for Johnson, though. So much easier to rant.

His column ends with this sentence: "Meanwhile, the words flow unimpeded  unchallenged, demeaning, damning words, with a supercilious smirk barely below the surface."

He so neatly describes his own writing. A bit of honesty after all.

Thomas Wright, Knoxville
Old Mill in Pigeon Forge opens canning operation





Local produce canned by hand, captures the fresh flavor of the region



PIGEON FORGE, TN  Old Mill, a shopping and dining destination known for its handcrafted goods and rich history, has opened a canning operation in Pigeon Forge, TN. From farm-to-shelf, the canning operation, part of Old Mill Farmhouse Kitchen, will source local produce from area farmers and growers including Rutherford Farms of Maryville, and Mountain Mist Farms of Pigeon Forge.



Many of the products were canning come from family-owned Tennessee farms who use sustainable farming practices, said Old Mill Marketing Director Laurie Faulkner. Were working hard to preserve that level of quality in the final product, by doing the entire canning process by hand.



Although this is the first canning business to open in decades, the area was once home to Pigeon Forge Canning Company which closed in the 1930s. Old Mill is using similar tried-and-true techniques to Pigeon Forge Canning Company like cutting, preparing and blending produce by hand to preserve sweet, fresh flavors, and cooking in small batches in copper pots. The Old Mill also fills, caps, labels and polishes products by hand to ensure the highest quality.



The canning operation is overseen by Jay Connatser, former bread baker and chef at The Old Mill Pottery House Cafe and Grill, and will focus on fresh seasonal fruit, both heirloom and hybrid variety, with a nod to southern tradition and the Smoky Mountain region.



We wanted to can fruits we love, so they can be enjoyed any time of the year. We like to think of it as capturing a piece of what makes this region so great, said Faulkner.



The first releases, created by R&D Chef Liz Denham, a Gatlinburg native and graduate of Sullivan University Culinary Program, includes a series of handcrafted jellies: Mountain Blueberry, Strawberry, Tennessee Blackberry and Nantahala Red Raspberry. They will be available for sale at the Old Mill Farmhouse Kitchen and online at www.old-mill.com.



Denham is also working on seasonal fall releases and a special Christmas Jam to be released in November.



Opened in 2016, Old Mill Farmhouse Kitchens canning operation provides visitors a flavor of the Smoky Mountain region. Products from the canning operation are one of several handcrafted offerings at Old Mill which includes handcrafted pottery from Pigeon River Pottery, small-batch spirits from Old Forge Distillery and freshly ground grain from the historic Old Mill.



Published August 10, 2016








Six executives indicted for offering kickbacks to doctors

By Lee Hyo-sik





Novartis Korea is facing the biggest crisis in its 30-year history as six former and current executives have been indicted on charges of offering kickbacks to doctors for years in return for prescribing its products.

The latest indictment will likely tarnish the corporate image of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant and adversely affect its business dealings in Asia's fourth-largest economy, industry analysts said.

According to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office, Thursday, investigators indicted former company CEO Moon Hak-sun and five other executives, as well as 28 doctors and heads of medical journals on charges of giving and receiving cash and other kickbacks.

Novartis Korea, established in 1983, provided a total of 18.1 billion won ($16.5 million) to five medical journals between 2011 and 2015, according to the prosecution. On behalf of Novartis, the journals then gave 2.6 billion won in cash to dozens of doctors for writing articles or taking part in seminars.

Investigators had sought to bring charges against two former CEOs who managed the Korea unit of the world's second-largest multinational drug maker from 2011 to 2015. However, they had to drop the cases because the two refused to return to Korea.












By Lee Hyo-sik





Park Sam-koo Park Chan-koo

Two Kumho siblings are poised to mend their strained ties as Kumho Petrochemical, headed by younger brother Park Chan-hoo, has decided to drop lawsuits against Kumho Asiana Group and its Chairman Park Sam-koo.

Kumho Petrochemical said Thursday that the company is withdrawing two lawsuits it filed against Kumho Asiana and its chairman, stressing it will mobilize all resources to bolster its corporate value and fulfill its duties as a responsible corporate citizen amid the prolonged economic slump.

"Many Korean companies are facing a life and death situation. They are increasingly pressed to restructure themselves amid growing global economic uncertainties," Kumho Petrochemical said. "Unfortunately, we have often times caused conflicts with other entities. We decided that (resorting to legal action) is meaningless when we are at a crossroads for survival."

The chemical product maker said it will drop all the suits against Kumho Asiana to focus more on its core businesses and boost its corporate value. "We hope that Kumho Asiana can normalize its operations as soon as possible and contribute more to the development of the Korean economy."

The two sides are also expected to settle a legal dispute over the ownership of the Kumho Asiana trademark.

In response, Kumho Asiana Group welcomed the largely-unexpected move by Kumho Petrochemical, saying that it will work harder to improve bilateral relations.

"We respect Kumho Petrochemical's decision to drop the lawsuits," a Kumho Asiana official said. "By ending the seven-year-long dispute, we would like to move forward and do more to contribute to economic and social development in Korea."

In July, Kumho Petrochemical lodged a suit against Asiana Airlines to nullify its decision to sell Kumho Terminal to a private firm owned by Kumho chairman Park.

It accused the carrier of "breaking the law" and "damaging its corporate value" by selling Kumho Terminal, an operator of Gwangju Express Bus Terminal and five other regional bus terminals nationwide, at a price, lower than market value.

Earlier, Kumho Petrochemical filed another suit against the Kumho Asiana chairman and his subordinates for forcing the company to buy corporate papers issued by Kumho Industrial back in 2009.

A dispute between the two brothers began in 2009 when Kumho Asiana Group fell into a liquidity crisis after it borrowed an excessive amount of money to acquire Daewoo E&C and Korea Express.

The two siblings have been engaged in a series of legal battles, blaming each other for the group's fall from grace. The two have also clashed over the use of the Asiana trademark and other matters over the past few years.

Kumho Petrochemical, which was separated from Kumho Asiana in 2010, continues to remain the second-largest stakeholder of Asiana Airlines.
By Jhoo Dong-chan

Korean automakers saw brisk sales in five major European countries in July despite decline in demand in the aftermath of Brexit  the British vote to leave the European Union (EU).

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), Thursday, demand in the European countries  Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the U.K.  stood at 834,566 cars in July, down 2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Despite the drop in demand, the nation's automaker duo, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, enjoyed a year-on-year surge of 8.5 percent by selling a total of 50,609 cars in those countries.

Hyundai Motor sold 26,360 cars to record a 4.8 percent sales growth while Kia Motors registered 12.5 percent growth by selling 24,249 cars.

The market share of the two automakers in the five countries rose 0.6 percent to 6.1 percent compared to the previous year.

A Hyundai Motor official said, however, that it is too early to celebrate.

"It is true that Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors achieved notable success in sales last month, but we still need to look into how the European market will react to Brexit in the second half of this year," said an official.

KAMA reported that a total of 278,866 cars were sold in Germany while 132,990 were sold in France last month, a respective 3.9 percent and 9.6 percent drop year-on-year.

The other three countries, which have shown steady sales growth this year due to their low interest policy, also lost sales momentum after Brexit.

The U.K. saw 178,523 cars sold to grow 0.1 percent year on year, Italy had 136,275 sold, up 2.9 percent and Spain saw 107,912 sold, up 4.2 percent.

The U.K., Italy and Spain had 3.2 percent, 19.2 percent and 12.2 percent growth, respectively, in the first half of the year before Brexit.

A total of 9.06 million cars have been sold in the European auto market during the January to June period to record 9.1 percent growth year on year but only 7.73 million cars are expected to be sold in the second half of this year, Hyundai Motor Group Global Business Intelligence Center said.
Korea Development Bank (KDB) Chairman and CEO Lee Dong-geol, second from left, poses with Arundhati Bhattacharya, third from left, chairperson of State Bank of India (SBI), after signing an MOU for cooperation, at SBI headquarters in Mumbai, India, Wednesday. The two banks agreed to set up a Korea Desk within SBI. / Courtesy of KDB



By Yoon Ja-young

Korea Development Bank (KDB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with State Bank of India (SBI), making a meaningful step in its efforts to advance into India.

According to the state-run policy bank, it signed the MOU with India's biggest commercial bank, owned by the Indian government, for cooperation including setting up a Korea Desk within SBI.

Following the MOU, they will strengthen ties in business sectors such as syndicated loans, project financing, trade financing and derivatives.

Boasting over 200 years' history, SBI has been leading the country's financial market. It ranked at the top in India in terms of syndicated loan arrangements for 10 consecutive years between 2006 and 2015, and was among top four in the world in project financing arrangements in 2015. It has over 16,000 branches and 213,000 employees, serving 273 million customers.

The bank is an excellent partner for KDB, which is seeking new opportunities in India. Korean enterprises are actively advancing into the country, which is the world's second largest in terms of population and the third-biggest market in terms of purchasing power. Korean firms are increasing investment there following the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between the two countries in 2010. India has risen as Korea's fifth-largest export market.

"Opening a Korea Desk within SBI will be a cornerstone for our expansion in India," a KDB spokesman said.

"By expanding support for Korean businesses in India and transactions with blue-chip firms of the country, we will strengthen the global network in the corporate and investment banking sector of Asia's growing market."

Since the inauguration of its chairman and CEO Lee Dong-geol, KDB has been accelerating advancement overseas, including providing $1.7 billion for Korean companies to win orders abroad. The Korea Desk within SBI is also part of the "Global KDB" vision.

Despite unfavorable global financial market conditions, KDB fared well in overseas businesses thanks to such efforts, including $70 million in revenue from overseas branches in the first half of this year. That is more than double the figure marked in the first half of last year.
By Yoon Ja-young



A law aimed at helping corporate restructuring and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of businesses will take effect Aug. 13, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) said Thursday.



The so-called One-Shot Act aims at helping the self-reform of businesses in industries caught in a global glut or slump. It facilitates business reform by providing support or pushing for deregulation regarding diverse issues such as taxes, funding, R&D and employment through a one-shot program.



Businesses seeking to benefit from the program can apply to the government.



Each application will be reviewed by a 20-member committee comprising government officials, experts from the private sector as well as those recommended by the National Assembly.



The ministry explained that the preemptive business reform will help strengthen the corporate competitive edge of the nation's businesses, as seen in other countries such as the United States or Japan.



In the case of Japan which has a similar program, small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) or mid-tier firms are actively using the program. Seven out of 10 firms that went through the program had their productivity boosted above the average of the businesses listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.



The one-shot act includes facilitating M&As. When dividing or merging a small business, the company would only need approval from the Board of Directors instead of shareholders. When businesses reform by exchanging shares between subsidiaries, there will be tax support.



When a company is considering advancing into a new business, the government will check related regulations in advance to lessen its work. The government will also consider any alternate suggestions from companies on restrictive regulations.



The government also plans a 2.5 trillion won fund by Korea Development Bank (KDB) to support the reform. Enterprises seeking to enter a new industry and make investments in it will also be provided loans.



Labor expenses may also be covered for SMEs or mid-tier companies looking to recruit employees during restructuring. Regulations on loans will also be eased.



"It will accelerate and facilitate the restructuring of subsidiaries that have been ailing or suffering from uncertainties," said Oh Jin-won, an analyst at Hana Financial Investment.




[Classical Concerts]



SAC 11am Concert'

Seoul Arts Center*

Until Dec. 8

On every second Thursday of each month, an "11am Concert" will be performed at the Seoul Arts Center. Chong Park will host the shows with commentary, and coffee will be provided for free. With distinct soloists for each concert, the Korean Symphony Orchestra will perform at all of the concerts.

Tickets cost 20,000 to 25,000 won. For more information, visit sac.or.kr or call (02) 580-1300.

Sumi Jo: La Prima Donna

Seoul Arts Center

Aug. 28

World-renowned soprano Sumi Jo will have a concert celebrating the 30th anniversary of her international debut at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on August 28.

Jo's first appearance on the international scene took place in 1986 as the prima donna in the opera "Rigoletto" at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi. Ever since, she has actively extended her role in various opera productions. "La Prima Donna" concert will feature songs from well-known operas, including "Caro Nome" from "Rigletto," Liszt's "Liebestraume," Balfe's "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" and "Doll Song" from "The Tales of Hoffmann." Pianist Jeff Cohen will accompany the performance.

Tickets cost 50,000 to 150,000 won. For more information, visit sac.or.kr or call (02) 3461-0976.

[Big Tickets]



Notre Dame de Paris'

Blue Square Samsung Electronics Hall

Until Aug. 21

The French musical "Notre Dame de Paris" based on the well-known novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" will be performed at the Blue Square Samsung Electronics Hall from June 16 to August 21.

With its beautiful numbers including "Le Temps des Cathedrals," "Belle" and "Vivre," the musical Notre Dame de Paris has drawn a vast number of audiences all over the world. Following the premiere in 2008, this year's Korean licensed performance will have Hong Kwang-ho, K-Will and Moon Jong-won playing Quasimodo and Yoon Gong-ju, Lina and Jeon Na-young playing Esmeralda.

Tickets cost 60,000 to 140,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 541-6236.

Wicked'

Seoul Arts Center

Until Aug. 28

"Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz" returns to the stage with a new cast in July, following its 2013 Korean premiere.

Based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel "Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," it tells the story of two witches _ Elphaba and Glinda. Elphaba is a green-skinned witch who is often alienated and Glinda is a popular blonde witch. Veteran actress Cha Ji-yeon is sharing the role of Elphaba with actress Park Hye-na, while Jeong Sun-ah will share the role of Glinda with Ivy. With its spectacular fantasy storyline, "Wicked" shows life-changing friendships while growing up.

Tickets cost 60,000 to 140,000 won. For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.co.kr or call 1577-3363.

[Pop & Jazz]



Someday Festival 2016

Nanji Hangang Park

Sept. 3 to 4

This year's Someday Festival will be held at Seoul Nanji Hangang Park for two days, Sept. 3 to 4.

Launched last year, Someday Festival is a two-day outdoor event that features a variety of musical genres. The festival this year will feature: Vibe, Jeong-yeop, Kiha & The Faces, Akdong Musician, Busker Busker, Yoonha, J Rabbit, Kim Bum-soo, Jang Bum-joon, 10cm, Beenzino, Zico, Crush and Dean.

A one-day ticket costs 88,000 won and a two-day ticket costs 119,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 3780-0611.

VIXX

Olympic Park

Aug. 13 to 14

Korean boy group VIXX is having concerts in Seoul, titled VIXX Live Fantasia Elysium on Aug. 13 and 14.

The upcoming concerts will feature songs released this year and the group's previous hits. VIXX Live Fantasia Elysium marks the group's third solo concert series. VIXX consists of six members: Leo, Ken, Ravi, Hongbin, Hyuk and N.

Tickets cost 99,000 to 110,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 371-8380.

[Plays & Musicals]



Bare the Musical

Doosan Art Center

Until Sept. 4





"Bare the Musical" will be staged at Doosan Art Center from June 29 to Sept. 4.

/ Courtesy of Marketing Company Achime



"Bare the Musical" will be staged again at the Doosan Art Center following its 2015 Korean premiere.

The musical is about two teen boys, Peter and Jason, who are secretly in love with each other while attending a conservative Catholic high school. Jung Won-young, Song Seung-won and Park Kang-hyun share the role of Peter, and Kim Seung-dae, Sung Doo-seop and Seo Kyung-soo play Jason. Choi Seo-yeon and Min Kyung-ah also star as Ivy.

Tickets cost 66,000 to 88,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 556-5910.

Peste

LG Arts Center

Until Sept. 30

The musical "Peste" will premiere on July 20 at the LG Arts Center.

"Peste" is based on French author Albert Camus' novel "The Plague" and combined with Seo Tae-ji's legendary songs. With musical numbers from Seo, "Peste" will display tragedy among the main roles  Rieux, Rambert, Tarrou, Cottard, and Grand. The story takes place during a bubonic plague, and explores basic human nature in disastrous situations. Kim Da-hyun, Sohn Ho-young, and Park Eun-suk will play Rieux, and Kim Do-hyun and Yoon Hyung-ryul will play Rambert.

Tickets cost 60,000 to 140,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call 1577-3363.

Hamlet the Play

Chungmu Art Center

Until Oct. 16

One of the most famous dramas of all time, William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" will be staged at Chungmu Art Center from Aug. 2 to Oct. 16.

It will follow the plot of the original work: Prince Hamlet learns that his father has died and his mother has remarried his uncle Claudius who is now the king. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears and tells his son that he was murdered by Claudius, so Hamlet vows vengeance. Hamlet the Play is planned to include a few additional characters, in order to make the tragic story of Hamlet more dreadful. Kim Kang-woo, Kim Dong-won will play the title role of Hamlet, and Lee Kahp-sun and Kim Dae-ryung will play Claudius.

Tickets cost 30,000 to 60,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 766-6007.

True West

Yegreen Theater

Until Aug. 28





Sam Shepard's play about brotherhood is running at Yegreen Theater until Aug. 28.

/ Courtesy of Aga Company



Sam Shepard's play about brotherhood is being performed at Yegreen Theater until Aug. 28.

"True West" was first performed in San Francisco, where Shepard was a resident playwright. It had its world premiere there in 1980, and first came to Korea in 2011. Since its Korean premiere, the play has accumulated a solid fandom. Austin, a Hollywood screenwriter and Lee, a drifter, are brothers. In their home, Lee threatens to obliterate everything around him, facing off against Austin. While their mother goes on a trip to Alaska, they seek freedom from each other. Bae Sung-woo, Oh Man-suk, Kim Jong-gu and Seo Hyun-woo play Austin, while Jung Moon-sung, Lee Dong-ha, Lee Hyun-wook and Kim Seon-ho play Lee.

Tickets cost 45,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 764-8760.

Treasure Island

Seoul Arts Center

Until Aug. 28





A musical based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novel of "Treasure Island" is staged at Jayu Theater of Seoul Arts Center. / Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center



A musical based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novel of "Treasure Island" is staged at Jayu Theater of Seoul Arts Center.

This musical play centers on the life of Jim Hawkins, depicting his boyhood adventures on a quest for buried treasure. Hawkins' story expands as he decides to step on a mysterious island in search of treasure. He encounters a number of people there, including the infamous Long John Silver, a cunning pirate.

"Treasure Island" is directed by Lee Dae-woong and stars Bae Bo-ram, Kim Sang-bo, Yu Seung-rak, Han In-su, Kim Do-wan, Kim Jin-gon, Jeong Hyun-chul, Kim Ho-jun and Hwang Uie-jeong.

Tickets cost 10,000 to 50,000 won. For more information, visit sac.or.kr call (02) 580-1300.

[Dance]



Giselle

Chungmu Art Hall

Aug. 12 to 14

Korea's Universal Ballet presents "Giselle: A Death-Defying Love Story" at Chungmu Art Hall, which will run for three days from Aug. 12 to 14.

"Giselle" is regarded as one of the best-known ballet performances, and Universal Ballet has presented this piece numerous times both in Korea and abroad. The two-act ballet covers themes of romance, vengeance and forgiveness, centering on a young peasant girl. The main performers include Um Jae-yong, Hwang Hye-min, Kang Min-woo, Kim Na-eun and Konstantin Novoselov.

Tickets cost 20,000 to 80,000 won. For more information, visit sacticket.co.kr or call (02) 2230-6601.

[ Clubs]



Club Octagon

Nonhyeon

Near the New Hilltop Hotel in Nonhyeon, this club is notable for its stylish interior and elite clientele. The club offers a stage, lounge bar and dining area to satisfy any night out after work or on the weekend. It is near exit 4 of Hakdong Station on subway line 7. For more information, call (02) 516-8847.

Club Globe Lounge

Itaewon

Club Globe Lounge is famous among women looking for a place to throw birthday parties or enjoy a light dinner. From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., it serves as a bar, changing into a club after 10 p.m. Every Thursday, Club Globe Lounge has a Happy Hour buffet for guests. Club Globe Lounge is located near the Hamilton Hotel by exit 2 of Itaewon Station, subway line 6. For more information, call (02) 792-1127.

Club Evans

Hongik University

Club Evans is a live jazz club that has served as a platform for emerging jazz artists for a decade. It operates jazz recording studios and a jazz academy as well, producing albums for many local jazz artists. Club Evans provides jazz concerts and leads music sessions every Monday and Tuesday. Club Evans is located near exit 1 of Sangsu Station, subway line 6. It opens at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit clubevans.com or call (02) 337-8361.

Once in a Blue Moon

Apgujeong

Once in a Blue Moon is one of the best-known and well-established jazz clubs in the city. It features live jazz sets from two different bands every night, usually starting at 7:30 p.m. It is located between the Hakdong Intersection and Galleria Department Store in the posh district of Apgujeong. For more information, visit onceinabluemoon.co.kr or call (02) 549-5490.

Club Answer

Cheongdam

Club Answer, chosen as one of the five hottest clubs in Seoul by CNN, provides a spacious interior and brilliant lighting system with entertaining DJs on stage nightly. Club Answer is in the classy area of Cheongdam, a district known to lead the party culture of Seoul. It is located near exit 13 of Cheongdam Station on subway line 7. For more information, call (02) 514-4311.

Club Double Eight

Sinsa

Opened in 2010, Club Double Eight takes clubbing to its heights. Located in Gangnam, it provides diverse hotel promotions and features weekend lineups with exuberant DJs. It is located near exit 1 of Sinsa Station on Line 3. For more information, call (02) 543-8803.




EXID is set to hold a fan meeting in Taipei on Sept 25. / Courtesy of Banana Culture



By Lee Jin-a

Korean girl band EXID will meet fans in Taiwan next month.

According to the band's agency, Banana Culture, EXID will hold a fan meeting -- "Leggo World in Taiwan" -- at the Taipei International Convention Center on Sept 25.

This is the band's second international fan meeting after "2016 EXID's Leggo Show in Shanghai" in March.

Proving its popularity in Taiwan, the five-member group topped the annual K-pop chart of the island's largest music website, KKBOX, with "Up & Down" in 2015. It also ranked first on the Taiwan iTunes album chart with its first full-length album, "Street," in June.

Debuting in 2012, EXID is best known for hit songs "Up & Down" (2014) and "Ah Yeah" (2015). After four years, the band's official fan club, "Leggo," will hold its inauguration ceremony on Sept 11.
Lee Myoung-ho's "Tree... #7" (2015) / Courtesy of the artist







Lee Myoung-ho Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

By Kwon Mee-yoo

The term photographer immediately conjures up a person who carries a camera over one shoulder, shooting photos extemporaneously wherever one's feet take him or her.

However, photographer Lee Myoung-ho, who is known for his "Photography-Act Project" series, goes through much more complicated processes to create the intellectual and meditative reflection of a tree against a blank canvas or breathtaking scenery of a bleak desert.

Lee, who earned his bachelor's and master's degree from the Department of Photography at Chung-Ang University, described photography as "dipping film into time and space for a moment."



"An artist deeply involves his or her artwork in traditional art forms such as painting and sculpture. But I was more fascinated by how photography captures the moments without intervening too much. It offers a wider spectrum for the viewers to think about it," Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times at Dongwha Culture Village, a training facility run by wood materials manufacturer Dongwha Group in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday.





Lee Myoung-ho's "View of Work: Tree... #3_12" Courtesy of the artist

"Though I chose photography to distance myself from the object, I later learned that taking a photo has a complicated process behind the final image. Unlike painting or sculpture, which is an accumulation of the artistic process, a photo does not reveal the process within it and I was attracted to this ambivalent nature of photography."

Lee said he picked trees as the object of his photos because a tree in nature does not bear social significance.

"As I named my works Photography-Act Project, the act is pivotal in my works. If my subject matter was something meaningful by itself, the act would be pushed aside," the artist said.

Lee only produces three or four works a year, contrasting with most prolific photographers.

"Preliminary research and exploration takes up more than half of my work, but it is not actually seen in the photo. Finding the right place takes the most time and I have to think of the ways to install the canvas and the tree. It also requires postproduction such as retouching, printing and framing the photo. It is a long process requiring a big budget and manpower," Lee said.





Lee Myoung-ho's "Tree... #7" is on view at Dongwha Culture Village, a training facility run by wood materials manufacturer Dongwha Group in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province.



He still uses analog film cameras instead of employing convenient digital ones. He doesn't even own his camera, borrowing equipment from companies.

"I was unconsciously attracted to film cameras  digital cameras are easy to use and the quality is not outdone by film ones. However, there is a subtle difference between the record captured by chemical particles and digital pixels. Another reason is the photographer's attitude. Using a film camera requires more concentration since every process is manual and the result is influenced by the sincerity," Lee said.

One of Lee's works "Tree... #7" is installed at Dongwha Culture Village, which resonates with the wood-based manufacturer's spirit. The photo shows two trees framed against two white canvas backdrops in the middle of natural landscapes.

Lee, who also is a professor at the Department of Photography at Kyung-Il University in Daegu, said an artist needs to balance artistic and commercial qualities and stressed the significance of support from government and companies to artists.

"Dongwha is a company deals with wood products and the company's logo features two trees. So I thought this piece would go well with Donghwa," the artist said. "Corporate sponsorship to art is very important to an artist. Though such sponsor culture is in its opening stages in Korea, I was glad to work with Dongwha and hopes the relations to continue."

Lee Myoung-ho's "Mirage #1_Gobi" (2011)

Behind-the-scenes

At his latest exhibit "Memories of Craft: Tree and Mirage" at Exhibition Hall 4 at Bongsan Cultural Center in Daegu opened Friday, Lee reveals how the serene- and calm-looking photos are created with assistance from numerous staffers.

"Usually, only the trimmed and retouched final products are displayed at a museum or a gallery. But there is not a finished photo is in this exhibit, but all the works show how my previous works was created. The Bongsan Cultural Center is a not-for-profit institution and I liked the concept of experimental exhibitions held there," Lee explained of the new exhibit.

The exhibit runs through Oct. 16. For more information, visit bongsanart.org or call 053-661-3500.

Lee is now an established artist with a few major series and he could just stick to the style without taking risks. However, Lee continues to challenge himself.

"I want to create something that can contribute to humankind, beyond artistic value, eventually. My ultimate goal is humanism or love for humanity," Lee said. "Art is not just for making a livelihood. I am doing art because I want to stir up issues of our time and discuss it with the viewers."

One of Lee's upcoming projects is related to global warming. "I am planning for the Island Project, which will install a canvas behind a small island. As the sea level rises, the island will slowly sink and only the empty canvas will be there in the end. It is my way of bringing up the all the issues in the history of man from social and environmental problems to life and death," the artist said.
By Kim Rahn



A 12-year-old girl has been found to have run an online community where members discussed suicide, according to police and the Korea Suicide Prevention Center, Thursday.

Police and the center under the Ministry of Health and Welfare found the community last month during their monitoring of suicide-related websites.

They traced the IP address of the community operator, to find out it led back to an elementary school sixth grader, whose name was withheld.

The community was initially opened in 2013 for counseling on various issues. Some members talked about killing themselves, and the girl replied actively to such postings. More and more people contemplating suicide visited the community, with some members sharing detailed information about suicide methods or seeking to enter suicide pacts.

The girl, an active member, became the operator of the community following other members' recommendation.

"She told us that she had no intention to kill herself and did not want others to kill themselves but posted such writings for fun," a center official said.

According to related laws, operators of such communities are subject to jail terms between one and 10 years for aiding and abetting suicide.

The center and police concluded no one has committed suicide through the community. They shut down the community and decided to offer consultations for her.

Visit spckorea.or.kr for more information about the center or call them at (02) 2203-0053.
By Hong Dam-young

A professor of a renowned private university in Seoul has been accused of sexually assaulting his grad student, Seoul Seongbuk Police Station said Wednesday.

It is alleged the professor from Korea University, whose name was not released, assaulted the student, 26, in his office after having drinks with her and other students until late at night in June. No force was involved because the student was drunk when the professor took her to the office, police said

The student reported the alleged sexual assault the same day, police said. They said a DNA trace of the suspect was detected on clothes she submitted as evidence.

Police said the professor at first denied the assault. But after the DNA test result, he changed his statement, saying the encounter "was mutually agreed."

The professor has been removed from his position and the university will convene a disciplinary committee this week to decide his punishment.
Ninety-four university students, including 24 North Korean defectors, will visit Dokdo Island from August 12 to 15. / Yonhap



By Hong Dam-young

Ninety-four university students, including 24 North Korean defectors in South Korea, will visit Dokdo Island from August 12 to 15 to mark Korea's 71st anniversary of independence, the Korea Institute for Crisis Management Analysis said on Wednesday.

It is the first time the institute has sent such a large group of visitors to the island.

"We expect North Korean students to gain the right historical perception about the territorial dispute over Dokdo Island and clearly realize how unrealistic it is for Japan to declare sovereignty over it," an institute official said.

On the first day, the students will dress in combat uniforms and play a simulation survival game at the Korea Combat Training Center in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, to experience military training.

The next day, they will visit the Navy's 1st Fleet Command for a security lecture and go aboard vessels at the East Sea port. A talk from an island expert will be given as their ship sails to Dokdo.

When the ship reaches the island on the third day, participants will wave Korean flags and sing national folk song "Dokdo Arirang." Then they will state their determination to defend Dokdo Island.

Participants will also vow to boycott Japanese brands that support right-wing organizations in the country that back Japan's claims to the island.

This is the annual event's fifth year. The institute's aim is to give Korean university students experience of what it is like to protect national security.
President Park Geun-hye talks with Saenuri Party Chairman Lee Jung-hyun during a luncheon with the newly elected ruling party leadership at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. / Joint Press Corps



By Kim Hyo-jin

The government and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed, Thursday, to ease the rate of progressive electricity billing temporarily from July to September as a move to alleviate their utility charges during the scorching summer.

They also agreed to set up a joint taskforce to devise a long-term plan, aiming to reflect the changed pattern of electricity consumption, according to party's chief policymaker Rep. Kim Gwang-lim.

The agreement was made during a meeting between the party leadership and senior officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to discuss how to reform the current billing system that many say exceedingly overcharges households.

Under the current six-stage progressive electricity charge system for residential use, it is 60.7 won per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 100 kWh.

The price rises to 125.9 won if a household consumes between 100 and 200 kilowatts, and if the amount of use goes over 500 kWh, it reaches 709.5 won _ 11.7 times that of the minimum rate.

Kim said the government will expand the scope of each stage by 50 kWh in a bid to lessen the burden caused by the progressive price increases.

About 22 million households are estimated to be beneficiaries of the reduction by 19.4 percent on average.

The new plan will be retroactively applied to the fee charged in July, Kim added.

The temporary plan is estimated to cost a total of 420 billion won ($381 million) and will be financed by the state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

The policy consultations came just three hours after President Park Geun-hye held a luncheon meeting with the newly elected Saenuri Party leadership at Cheong Wa Dae.

Participants were new Saenuri Party Chairman Rep. Lee Jung-hyun; the five members of the decision-making Supreme Council, all of whom were elected at the party's national convention Tuesday; floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk; anf chief policymaker Kim.

During the meeting, Lee called on the President to fix the electric billing system, saying it was the most urgent issue as the public can ill-afford to use air-conditioners for fear of getting extremely high electricity bills for use during the scorching summer heat.

In response, Park said the government will come up with measures to adjust the controversial billing soon.

Sympathizing with the call, she said, "It's really a shame that households are hardly able to use air-conditioners due to high electricity bills despite the abnormally high temperatures."

But she also explained the background of the electricity billing system, saying it was inevitable because the country relies entirely on imported fuel for its energy consumption.

Amid an unusual heat wave, electricity consumption has sharply risen, adding to concerns among private consumers over what they call "electricity bill bombs."

In the wake of public frustration, opposition parties urged the government to reorganize the cumulative electricity rate system.

The main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea set up a taskforce to push ahead with a bill while the minor opposition People's Party vowed to change the internal rules of KEPCO to lower the rate.
Video footage shows the Grammy-nominated British DJ caught smuggling in illegal drug at a customs checkpoint at Incheon International Airport. / Captured from YTN



By Lee Han-soo, Park Si-soo



A Grammy-nominated British DJ was arrested in Korea for alleged drug smuggling, police said Thursday.

Video footage shows him at a customs checkpoint at Incheon International Airport with a 1.5-liter bottle filled with an alleged illegal drug, they said.





Hiding his face with a jacket, the Grammy-nominated British DJ sits at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. / Yonhap



The Grammy-nominated British DJ allegedly smuggled 3.78 liters of gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), also known as the date rape drug, into Korea four times from January to June. The value is estimated at 370 million won ($340,000) and the quantity enough to dose 1,000 people.

Police said the DJ was caught in June during his fourth attempt to bring in the drug. It was disguised in a water bottle, they said.





A 1.5-liter bottle of gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) confiscated from him. / Yonhap



Police said a chief at a Korean pharmaceutical company, surnamed Choi, and his twin brother are known to have funded the DJ's trip to Korea.

The DJ reportedly denies the allegations, saying he did not know the water bottle was filled with drugs.
By Jun Ji-hye

Vice Adm. James Syring, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, holds a press conference at the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap

Vice Adm. James Syring, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), said Thursday that his country's advanced anti-missile defense system, scheduled to be deployed in South Korea next year, is capable of shooting down enemy missiles 100 percent of the time.

But he added that tests against targets that replicated the threats of intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) have yet to take place and are scheduled to be conducted next year.

During his meeting with South Korean journalists at the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in central Seoul, Syring also said the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) unit does not mean that South Korea will join Washington's global missile defense program.

His visit to Seoul comes amid continuous controversy and protests from local residents over a decision announced last month by Seoul and Washington to deploy the THAAD unit in South Korea by next year to better respond to the evolving North Korean missile threat.

He said that a total of 13 tests have been conducted, and the documentation on tests showed that success records were at 100 percent.

"We briefed our leadership and Congress after each test as well," he said.

The comment was an apparent refutation against critics raising a question over the battery's capability citing that the system has only been tested under defined conditions.

"THAAD was tested against both ground-launched targets and air-launched targets," he said.

He added Washington is now moving to longer-range tests as the tests against the threats of short- and medium-range missiles with a range of less than 3,000 kilometers have achieved success.

"Next year, we will test the system against IRBMs," he said.

North Korea has launched several Musudan IRBMs since April, with the sixth launch on June 22 considered successful. The North's Korean Central News Agency claimed that the missile reached a maximum altitude of 1,413.6 kilometers and fell precisely onto a designated target 400 kilometers away in the sea.

Vice Adm. Syring also tried to calm abounding suspicions that Seoul has virtually joined the U.S.-led missile defense system (MD) by allowing the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to operate THAAD on its soil.

"The THAAD deployment is strictly a U.S.-ROK alliance issue in terms of information sharing," he said. "It will not be part of the wider missile defense network that MDA has developed and commanders around the world utilize."

He also stressed that the THAAD radar will not spy on China's military capability as the intent of the system is to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles.

"Our missile defense system is not designed against China. We don't defend against China as a threat  we are concerned about North Korea in this region," he said.

He added that the battery will not damage the health of residents living nearby or their agricultural products.

Syring's visit to Seoul was part of a routine visit throughout the Pacific Command area of operations, according to the USFK. He has led the MDA since 2012 and overseen its worldwide mission to develop the capability to defend deployed forces of the United States and allies against ballistic missile attacks.

Earlier in the day, Syring met with Gen. Vincent Brooks, the USFK commander, and discussed the need for a layered missile defense system in South Korea because of the serious nuclear and missile threats from the North, according to the USFK.

Meanwhile, the number of people signing onto a petition to the White House against THAAD deployment has reached over 100,000, according to the website We the People, a petitioning system operated by the White House. As of Thursday afternoon, a petition against THAAD drew a total of 103,947 signatures.

The petition titled "Rescind the decision to deploy THAAD antimissile system in South Korea" was submitted to the petitioning system on July 15.

The White House is expected to issue a response soon, as a petition that has 100,000 signatures within 30 days after its submission warrants an official response from the U.S. administration.

The petition, created by a person only known as "H.S.," said, "The U.S. and South Korean governments, against wide opposition of South Koreans and strong subsequent backlash from local citizens of the deployment site, have agreed to deploy the U.S.-made THAAD system in South Korea."

It also said, "This measure is supposedly to counter North Korean ballistic missiles and provide additional security, yet this is a controversial move that will likely to escalate tension in the region, by provoking North Korea, China and Russia into a spiraling arms race in the region."
By Kim Se-jeong





Johannes Thammer

Prosecutors questioned the chief of Audi Volkswagen Korea, Thursday, over its emissions scandal involving more than 200,000 diesel vehicles sold in Korea.

Arriving at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul, Johannes Thammer said, "I am sorry for the situation. We will do everything, and faithfully cooperate with the prosecutor."

Asked if he had anything to say to customers, he answered, "We'll discuss everything with the prosecutors."

He was the highest-ranking executive at the Korean branch of the German carmaker to be interrogated since the investigation began in January, over his alleged involvement in fabrication of reports on fuel efficiency, noise level and emissions to obtain approval from the local authorities.

If found guilty, Thammer faces up to five years in prison or 30 million won in fines.

The prosecution questioned him over whether he was aware of or ordered replacement of the software in vehicles that had initially failed to pass the authorities' emissions test in 2014. It also sought whether the German headquarters were involved in the irregularities.

Earlier in July, the prosecution arrested an executive, surnamed Yoon, for the same allegation, and is known to have obtained evidence against Thammer. He has denied the allegations against himself.

Prosecutors said they would decide whether to seek an arrest warrant for Thammer based on the questioning and other evidence.

The prosecution's investigation into Volkswagen began in January after the Ministry of Environment found the German carmaker had passed the emissions test by faking the results. The ministry imposed 14.1 billion won in fines for that, and later filed a criminal complaint against the company after it kept failing to comply with authorities in drafting a recall plan.

Last week, the ministry imposed the second round of penalties for cheating the emissions and noise level tests  17.8 billion won in fines, suspension of sales and revocation of certificates for 80 vehicle models sold in Korea.

Since the scandal broke last November, the authorities have canceled certification of 209,000 vehicles, including those of Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley. The number accounts for 68 percent of around 300,000 cars that have been sold here since 2007. The government has formed a special investigation committee for the scandal.

Following the ministry's sales ban last week, the company said it would consider possible legal countermeasures, including an injunction against further sales of the vehicles and administrative suits to cancel the sales ban. But it has not come up with any measures yet.
U.S. imports from South Korea have risen in recent years mainly because the U.S. economy has picked up, a senior Korean official said Wednesday, rejecting Donald Trump's claims that the free trade deal between the two countries is to blame for U.S. trade deficits with South Korea.



In an attempt to rally support from voters struggling with economic woes, the Republican presidential nominee has slammed free trade deals as a source of American economic problems. He has denounced the agreement with South Korea as a "job killing" deal, a "disaster," and a "perfect" example of "broken promises."



Trump claims the pact ended up increasing U.S. imports from South Korea while failing to increase exports.



"The increase in U.S. imports is because the U.S. economy has gotten better," the South Korean official told reporters on condition of anonymity, emphasizing that it is actually the U.S., not South Korea, that benefited more from the trade deal.



"It is not true that U.S. trade deficits with South Korea increased due to" the trade deal, he said.



Trade data have shown that some two-thirds of the increase in South Korea's exports to the United States over the past four years came from the trade in items that did not enjoy tariff cuts under the free trade agreement that has been in effect since 2012.



According to the data, South Korea's exports of items benefiting from FTA tariff cuts rose by only $5.4 billion between 2011 and last year while the exports of items ineligible for tariff cuts jumped by nearly $10 billion during the same period.



The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) said in a report in late June that the Korea deal has been good for American interests, saying the agreement is estimated to have improved bilateral merchandise trade balances by $15.8 billion last year.



That means that had it not been for the deal, the U.S. trade deficits would have been larger.



The official said that South Korea is trying to get the facts straight through various channels with the Trump campaign, but it would be difficult to expect any immediate change because blaming free trade deals is one of the campaign's strategies. (Yonhap)




Chadwick International in Songdo, Incheon, offers a boarding program to give students a residential life

experience at the Incheon Global Campus (IGC) Guest House, 3 kilometers from the school.

/ Courtesy of Chadwick International



By Chung Hyun-chae



Chadwick International (CI), a K-12 school in Songdo, Incheon, said Wednesday that it is beginning a boarding program this month to help students have a residential life experience.



"The CI Residential Life program is designed to offer the Chadwick experience to a more diverse student population," said Shelly Luke Wille, head of CI.



"The program will encourage students to prepare for college life and beyond through the CI mission. Students will be immersed in a warm environment where their social, academic and emotional needs will be supported."



Chadwick students applying for the boarding program will reside on the discrete and secure floors of the Incheon Global Campus (IGC) Guest House dedicated only for them.



Since the guest house is located 3 kilometers from the CI campus, buses will carry students to the school.



The students will be divided by gender and age and use double rooms equipped with private bathrooms.



The guest house also has an open study hall and a kitchenette.



Two on-site Chadwick faculty members will provide mentoring and academic support for students while taking care of them.



During weekends, students will be able to take part in various programs in which they visit museums nearby, watch sporting events and go to the movies.



The school plans to accommodate about 40 students from 9th to 12th grade.



"We are able to increase the number of students if there is a higher demand," said Im Seon-sook, a communications associate official at the school.



The annual cost of the program including room and meals (breakfast and dinner) and transportation is 16 million won.



For more information on the Residential Life program or admissions at Chadwick International, please visit the school's website at chadwickinternational.org or call the admissions office at (032) 250-5030~2.
American forces are in the process of carrying out a new series of attacks in the North African area that used to be Libya, focusing bombing raids and drone attacks on Sirte, allegedly the center of Islamic State forces' activity there.



In principle, the U.S. air activity is supposed to soften up the Islamic State concentration in that port city, in preparation for a theoretical attack by forces of one of Libya's three governments on it, to be carried out with the again-theoretical goal of stamping out Islamic State activity in Libya.



The problem is that the U.S. military activity  primarily by air but supported on the ground in Libya by hundreds of U.S. Special Operations forces  is that it does not make any sense in terms of U.S. objectives in Libya.



They are, first, to establish a system of stable government on the ground, the first that would have been there since the United States, working with France, Italy, the United Kingdom and a few Arab states, overthrew the government of long-term Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.



The second objective, of more concern to the Europeans but to the U.S. interest as well in humanitarian terms, is to establish some sort of order on the ground. The goal is to put an end to illegal migration by boat to Southern Europe, which has resulted in hundreds or perhaps thousands of drownings, including of many children.



U.S. attacks on Sirte by bombing and by drones are resulting only in the dispersion of Islamic State forces from Sirte, not in the actual elimination of Islamic State as a force and a presence in Libya. The working part of Libya is only the coastline; the desert interior is an area where no army has ever been able to eliminate any other army, including classic battles between German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and British forces in World War II. The Islamic State forces may leave Sirte if U.S. planes and drones hit it hard enough, but will by no means put them out of business with the forces involved or available.



The second major problem with the new initiative in Libya by President Barack Obama is that it does not deal with Libya's current fundamental problem  the fact that it has three contending governments, as well as many more independent armed contending militias. There is one government in Tobruk in the east, another in Tripoli, the former capital, and a third, backed by the United Nations, holed up also in Tripoli. Even if the Islamic State in Sirte were to be dispersed, there would be no party in place to pick up governance of the country, in abeyance for almost five years now.



So why is Obama's government involving the United States more deeply in Libya's chaotic war? Prospects of taking out Islamic State centers in Iraq or Syria before the November elections in the United States are becoming less hopeful by the day. So, perhaps Sirte could be reduced, and that action be portrayed as a major U.S. victory against the Islamic State. The hefty U.S. Defense Department budget is still pending and, thus, a claimed U.S. military victory against IS wouldn't hurt. For U.S. defense industries, bombing and drone attacks in Libya run up the tab and enhance profits.



This escalation of U.S. military involvement in the conflict in Libya simply does not make sense, and should be ended quickly before it proceeds further. Meaningless Middle East wars for no clear purpose, risking American lives and wasting taxpayer money, are simply bad policy.



This editorial appeared on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.




By Yi Whan-woo



Defense Minister Han Min-koo is expected to visit Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, next week, sources familiar with the region said Thursday.



His possible visit is seen as a move to placate Seongju residents, who are angered by the decision to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in their hometown without consulting them.



However, it is speculated that Han will not help much in breaking the deadlock between the government and the residents over the planned deployment.



Han is likely to reiterate the Ministry of Defense's view that the THAAD battery will be set up on a hilltop in Seongju in line with the agreement made between Seoul and Washington on July 8.



Fearing health and environmental risks associated with THAAD's radar, the residents have been beseeching the government to withdraw its plan, saying they will not accept any other options.



"Han and the residents are scheduled to meet on Aug. 16 or 17 although the date has not been fixed yet," a source said. "The underlying demand of the protesters is to scrap the planned installation of THAAD in Seongju."



The source also said a change in the candidate location of the THAAD battery is not on the residents' agenda for the meeting with Han.



On Aug. 4, President Park Geun-hye mentioned that the government may consider setting up the THAAD battery in a new location within Seongju.



Some 815 residents are expected to shave their heads en masse during a rally on Aug. 15 to protest THAAD.



"Under such circumstance, we're cautious to tell when exactly Han will visit Seongju because we don't know for sure what's going to happen between now and then," a military official said on condition of anonymity.



Han accompanied Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on a visit to Seongju on July 15. Instead of appeasing the residents, Hwang took shelter in a bus for hours after a crowd of 3,000 protesters pelted eggs and water bottles at him in protest of the Park administration's THAAD decision.




By Yi Whan-woo



North Korea has sold China its fishing rights above the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea in addition to the Yellow Sea, as part of its efforts to earn foreign currency, intelligence sources said Thursday.



It is estimated that North Korea earns 82 billion won ($74.3 million) annually by selling fishing rights in the two seas, according to the sources. They added that all the earnings have so far been diverted to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to prop up his cash-strapped regime, which is under heavy international sanctions.



According to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) last month, Pyongyang sold its fishing rights in the northern side of the de facto maritime border in the West Sea for $30 million, but this is the first time such a move has been confirmed in the East Sea.



"Intelligence analysis shows that North Korea recently sold its fishing rights near the NLL in the East Sea," a source said.



"The country has been handing out such rights in the East and West seas to Chinese fishermen through brokers although it is speculated that North Korean authorities will engage in sales directly in the future," the source added.



He did not mention whether the Chinese own fishing rights permanently or have to renew the agreement with North Korea periodically.



Other sources said the fishing waters near the NLL were previously not open to Chinese trawlers, although they were allowed to operate in some parts of North Korean waters in line with a bilateral fishing agreement signed in 2004.



"It's uncertain whether the agreement is still effective. Still, we've spotted about 900 to 1,000 Chinese boats near the NLL in the East Sea lately and it was found that they purchased the right to work there."



Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun confirmed that such a claim was true, saying, "Chinese vessels are active in the area."



"We can't give any details but we've been sharing information concerning North Korea's fishing rights with related agencies," he added.



The sources estimated that an average of 2,500 Chinese boats acquire the fishing rights every year. The number is up from the NIS's finding of 1,500 in January in its report to the National Assembly.



"What matters is that the actual number of Chinese trawlers near the NLLs surpasses 2,500 because many of them operate without buying fishing rights," a source said. "They fish recklessly and are depleting fish stocks in the region."



North Korea was first suspected of selling fishing rights to Chinese fishermen in June when Pyongyang remained silent over an operation by the South Korean military to expel illegal Chinese boats from neutral waters in the estuary of the Han River near the NLL in the West Sea. Chinese boats have stayed in North Korean waters after retreating from the area, but the North has not taken any action against them.



A defector who claimed he participated in a crackdown on illegal Chinese boats when he was in North Korea testified that the fishing deal has been a major source of income for North Korea. The defector said Chinese paid fees or gave the North up to 60 percent of their catch.



The analysts said the "joint fishing" between North Korea and China is not considered a violation of the U.N. Security Council's sanctions against Pyongyang, but it deserves U.N. investigation.



They noted that the UNSC Resolution 2270, which was imposed in March, excludes trade concerning livelihood goods between North Korea and the outside world.



"North Korea is a sovereign state and the U.N. may not have rights to prohibit its use of its territory," a researcher at the Sejong Institute said on condition of anonymity. "Also it would be required to obtain hard evidence that Pyongyang is using the money earned by selling fishing rights to pursue nuclear and missile programs in defiance of the U.N."




By Frank Ching

In America, Hillary Clinton is calling on voters to break the highest and hardest glass ceiling of them all by electing a woman president of the United States. In Britain, Theresa May was catapulted into the prime ministership to manage the thankless task of extricating the country from the European Union.

Meanwhile, standing in the wings is another woman, Nicola Sturgeon, who will decide whether to extricate Scotland from the United Kingdom once Brexit is achieved.

Everywhere one looks, it seems, there is a woman in charge.Angela Merkel, of course, has been Germany's Chancellor for 12 years.

In Asia, a woman, Tsai Ing-wen, just became president in Taiwan. In South Korea, there is another woman president, Park Geun-hye.

China is not happy with some of these women. It is putting pressure on the Taiwan leader to be more like her male predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, and to accept a "one China" concept. China is also unhappy about Park's decision to deploy theTHAAD air defense system to defend against North Korean missiles since China considers the system a threat to its own security.

While China hasn't said anything publicly about the American election, it is known to oppose Clinton, who championed the "pivot to Asia" policy, which China believes to be aimed at its containment, while she was Secretary of State.

The new British prime minister, too, seems to be less well disposed towards China than her male predecessor. She has delayed final approval for the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant, to be partly financed by China.The "golden era" of British-China relations launched last year was brief indeed.

While the rest of the world now considers women leaders normal, this is not so in China, where there are no women at the highest level of power  the Communist party's Politburo Standing Committee. All seven of its members, headed by President and General Secretary Xi Jinping, are men.

The previous Politburo Standing Committee, chosen in 2007, had nine members, all men. In 2012, when its term came to an end, aside from Xi and Li Keqiang, the remaining seven had to step down because of age. In theory, then, there were seven seats to fill from among Politburo members. There were several people of the right age and experience, including Liu Yandong, then a 67-year-old state councilor andthe highest ranking female politician in the country.

Two other talked about candidates were Wang Yang, then Guangdong party secretary, and Li Yuanchao, then head of the party's Organization Department. Both were relatively young  young enough, in fact, to serve more than one five-year term on the Politburo Standing Committee.

This may have been the reason why they were excluded. As currently constituted, the seven-man Standing Committee only has two members  President Xi and Premier Li  young enough to serve a second term. All the other members have to step down in 2017. The presence of younger members may be seen as posing a challenge to Xi.

Liu the woman leader would not have constituted such a threat, since she would be 72 in 2017. However, moving her up would have resulted in an even number of Standing Committee members  something that has traditionally been avoided.

Logically, promoting Wang and Li would have done the trick. It would have kept the Standing Committee at nine members and ensured that there were two people besides Xi and Li who could provide continuity by serving a second term.

But this was clearly not what Xi wanted. And Liu, the lady politician, provided a convenient excuse. If Wang and Li had been promoted, Liu would have been the only one kept out, and it would have looked bad to exclude the sole female while promoting all the men. So, Xi could well have argued, it is better for the sake of appearance to slim down the size of the Standing Committee to seven members for the time being. After all, Wang and Li were young enough to serve the next time around.

So, in 2017, Liu at 72 will have to retire. But now, for the first time, there is a second woman in the Politburo, Sun Chunlan, who is five years younger than Liu. Will she, like Liu, also be bypassed? We will know soon enough.

Chairman Mao Zedong said that women hold up half the sky. But when it comes to real power, it seems, the situation is different. Only Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, ever came close to wielding genuine power  and that was only because of her relationship with a man.
Inconsistent policy hampers development of future industries



Korea badly needs to develop new growth engines because its key industries such as automobiles and electronics are losing their competitiveness against their global rivals, particularly with the swift rise of China and its tremendous R&D spending.



Against this backdrop, the government announced a 10-year project Wednesday to develop future industries during a meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wa Dae. The government chose five projects through which to develop new growth engines  self-driving cars, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), light materials and smart city development. The government also announced four other projects for enhancing the quality of life including fine dust control and the development of new drugs. A total of 2.2 trillion won in government and private investments will be spent on the nine projects.



The government's renewed focus on science and technology is a step in the right direction to lift Korea out of its protracted slump. Development of new industries is also necessary to deal with the swelling unemployment particularly among people in their 20s and 30s. But the effectiveness of the new growth plan is questionable for several reasons.



First, there is the problem of consistency in policy implementation. Policies for developing new growth engines take a long time to produce results. So relevant ministries need to support and follow up on the proceedings of these projects regardless of administrative transfer. But past precedents suggest this is unlikely because similar projects created by the administrations of former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and the late Roh Moo-hyun lost momentum after they left office.



Park's ambitious new growth strategy is also problematic because it seems to be based on fast trends rather than long-term thinking. Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning Choi Yang-hee said that the strategy was not to pursue trends, but many experts believe otherwise. The President stressed the development of augmented reality (AR) technology while mentioning the latest global craze over Pokemon Go, a mobile game developed by the Japanese gaming giant Nintendo using AR technology. If Pokemon Go had not aroused such a huge sensation around the world, the need to develop AR would not have been at the forefront of such a meeting.



Her new growth plan also lacks the spirit of innovation as it is aimed primarily at catching up to global leaders rather than becoming a leader itself. Its focus on unmanned vehicles, for example, is something that has already been going on for some time in the U.S. and Japan, which is planning to supply driverless cars in time for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.



This was only the second national science and technology strategy session since it was established in May. It is led by the President with the participation of policymakers and experts in relevant fields. It is understandable that there has not been enough time to come up with a more long-term plan. Rather than announcing a rash new growth plan at the meetings, the government should do what is really needed to advance Korea's science and technology on a long-term basis. For this, the government needs to be more efficient with R&D spending and invest more in science and technology education.




By Yoon Sung-won



Samsung Electronics will acquire U.S. luxury kitchen appliance maker Dacor, the company said, Thursday.



This is the first time in seven years that the electronics maker has acquired a foreign brand, after Polish electronics manufacturer Amica in 2009. Expectations are that Samsung Electronics will move quickly to make inroads in the luxury appliances market in North America as LG Electronics accelerates its drive to boost its presence through the premium Signature brand.



Based on the acquisition, Samsung is seeking to expand its exclusive electronics package lineup and expand distribution channels not only in the business-to-consumer sector but also in the business-to-business sector for construction firms.



"By securing the luxury electronics brand, which has been recognized by U.S. customers, we will be able to enter the country's built-in appliances market," Samsung Electronics Consumer Electronics Division President and CEO Yoon Boo-keun said. "We will continue to make investments in establishing retail infrastructure and expanding human resources to strengthen business competitiveness in this market. We will also apply our unique capability for innovation  and thorough efforts for localization  to solidify our status as the top electronics maker."



Dacor, established by Stanley Joseph in 1965, has its headquarters in California and has built a reputation as a luxury brand in the North American built-in appliances market.



The U.S. brand has also been recognized for its luxury ovens, which have received the Seal of Excellence from renowned French cooking academy Le Cordon Bleu.



"Samsung's market leadership and competitiveness will be a great help in boosting Dacor's brand," Dacor CEO Chuck Huebner said. "I believe that the two companies' cooperation will provide greater value to customers and retail partners in the luxury appliances market."



According to the industry, the U.S. home appliance market is expected to record about 4 percent annual growth, to reach some $30 billion by 2020.



The luxury sector  which commonly refers to high-priced appliances that include gas ranges, ovens, extractor hoods and dishwashers  has also recorded double-digit growth because the appliances are considered to boost housing value.




A woman pulls lorazepam pills from her purse. Samuel Sanchez

Danilo Gonzalez has been taking Rubifen for a few weeks, a drug used on children with an attention deficit and hyperactivity. But Danilo (not his real name) is not a child, does not have attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity. Rubifen gives you a high and makes you more lucid. Its like taking cocaine but less harmful in general, explains the thirty-something Spaniard.

He is one of hundreds of thousands of people inappropriately taking prescription drugs in Spain, a mix of opioids, tranquilizers and stimulants whose abuse is already a problem in the US and is fast becoming one in the EU.

A survey of 22,000 people between the ages of 12 and 49 in five European countries showed the extent of the abuse. Spain was seen to be the biggest consumer of opioids with 18% of those questioned admitting to taking the drug at some point during their lives and almost 7% doing so in the last year.

Abuse of prescription drugs is already a problem in the US and is fast becoming one in the EU

Opioids are painkillers such as tramadol and codeine. Its abuse usually happens when someone in pain gets a hold of them through a friend and starts to self-medicate, but they are also used as a party drug. Codeine and tramadol are considered chic in Russia, says Jose Martinez Raga, one of the co-authors of the study and psychiatrist at Valencias Doctor Peset University. An overdose produces a stimulating effect.

Spain is also leading in the consumption of sedatives such as alprazolam  sold commercially as Trankimazin, lorazepam  Orfidal, diazepam  Valium and bromazepam Lexatin. Some people mix them with cocaine or alcohol, says Martinez. Theyre most commonly used by cocaine addicts.

As many as 18% of those surveyed admit to have taken one or all of these drugs without a prescription at some time in their life and more than 9% have done so in the last year. The improper use of prescription drugs is as much to do with self-medication as using them to get high.

Psychiatrist Jose Martinez Raga.

The new study comes out today in the magazine, BMC Psychiatry, with data from the UK, Germany, Denmark and Sweden as well as Spain. Britain heads the abuse of stimulants such as Rubifen, which is primarily used to aid concentration during exams. 9% of Brits admitted to taking stimulants at some point in their lives while 4% have done so in the past year against 6.8% and 2.4% of Spaniards, respectively.

There is a lot of research on the phenomenon in the US but it hasnt been investigated in Spain and the rest of Europe until now, says Martinez who has calculated that across all five countries surveyed, 13.5% have used opioids at some point in their lives while 5% have done so in the last year; 11% have used tranquillizers at some point and 6% in the last year; and 7% have used stimulants at some stage with 3% using in the last year. This new research is headed by Scott Novak of RTI International, a NGO in the US where the number of people taking one or all of these drugs at some point rises to 20%.

Whether or not people abuse these drugs seems to have as much to do with where they live as their genetic make up. Novaks team points out that the practice is more common among non-whites and the unemployed. Obviously, if you have ever been officially prescribed one of these medicines, you are more likely to abuse them  ten times more when it comes to tranquillizers, eight times more in the case of opioids and seven times more with stimulants. This abuse of prescription drugs is also known as an iatrogenic addiction.

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In Spain, the use of prescription drugs is taken lightly, says Martinez, hoping to get the message across to national health services. In Spanish TV series, they talk about taking Orfidal and Trankimazin as if they were candy. In drug campaigns, they should include not only alcohol and tobacco but also prescription drugs. Teenage years are crucial. And here we are seeing the problem starting in children.

English version by Heather Galloway.
For Spaniards, the summer holiday is still a beach, but with WiFi Nine out of 10 like to spend their holidays on the Spanish coast, armed with technology and enjoying the luxury of a hotel

Playa de Regla, one of the most popular beaches in Cadiz province. PACO PUENTES

Ninety percent of Spaniards prefer to stay local during the summer holidays, according to the Spanish Holiday Habits survey, carried out by Madison Market Research for Cerveceros of Spain. Half of those interviewed, irrespective of their age, said that the beach was their favorite destination. A third of Spaniards also rated discovering new cities and sampling the cuisine during the summer months.

The weather, the beach and the food are Spains main attractions and the reason that little has changed in terms of holiday preferences among Spaniards in the past 40 years, according to the Madison Market research which was investigating the evolution of the countrys holiday habits.

One thing that has changed, however, is the choice of accommodation. From interviews with 2,000 Spaniards across Spain, the survey found that the family holiday home popular until the 1990s has largely been replaced by hotels. This shift coincides with the increase in holiday accommodation on offer, both in terms of hotels and holiday apartments.

Technological gadgets are now a priority with more than half those questioned saying they would have to take their cell phone on holiday.

Spaniards have also changed their packing habits. Technological gadgets are now a priority with more than half those questioned saying they would have to take their cell phone, 15%, their computer or iPad and only a third saying they wouldnt use social networks while on holiday.

If we dont post it online, its like we havent been, jokes Jacobo Olalla, director general of Cerveceros of Spain.

Of all the social networks, Facebook was the favorite, followed by WhatsApp and Instagram. Facebook proved most popular among Spaniards from Murcia, Andalusia and Cantabria while WhatsApp topped the bill with Spaniards from the Canary Islands and Galicia. Interestingly, the Catalonians and Basques were found to be least concerned with Internet over the holiday period.

Beer beats other summer drinks

Almost half of those interviewed (43%), said beer was their favorite drink in summer and almost a third said going for a beer on a terrace was a must, along with unpacking and having a siesta, on the first day of their break. This coincides with other findings, which registered a 3% increase in sales in 2015.

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This rise in consumption is due not only to greater prosperity but also to the heat waves of 2015 and a more reasonable tax rate on beer, according to Olalla, though sales still havent returned to pre-crises levels.

In general, tourism is responsible for 20% of beer consumption in Spain  the fourth biggest beer producer in the EU and leader in no alcohol beer. As much as 54% of the beer consumed in the country is sold in bars, with Spaniards knocking back almost 50 liters per head annually.

English version by Heather Galloway.
Buenos Aires prepares to celebrate gay pride week.

More information Buenos Aires, mejor destino LGTB de Latinoamerica

Before embarking on an international trip, many homosexuals and transsexuals will be keen to find out how safe their destination is, whether they will get into trouble if they kiss their partner in public, and whether they might end up in jail if they meet somebody and sleep with them.

In Europe, such questions are largely redundant, despite recurring attacks on gay people, but in many parts of the world, such as Latin America, they are worth asking.

Colombia was the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage, in 2009

We wanted to know which is the best LGBT destination in Latin America, based on the opinions of people from this collective, says Pablo de Luca, president of Argentinas gay and lesbian chamber of commerce. So, taking advantage of the ninth edition of Gnetwork360, the annual international gay business and tourism conference being held in Buenos Aires last week, a survey was taken to sound delegates views on the matter.

Buenos Aires, the Argentinean capital, was chosen by 63% of delegates as the regions preferred LGBT tourism destination. It was followed by Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Mexico City, which tied with Montevideo in fourth place. The Argentinean capital also came first in the most LGBT-friendly city, beating Sao Paulo. The best beach destination was Rio de Janeiro.

An event during gay pride week in Buenos Aires.

Colombia was the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage, in 2009, followed by Argentina a year later, with Brazil doing the same in 2011 and Uruguay in 2013. In Mexico, same-sex marriage is only legal in some states.

But homophobic violence is a big problem in Argentina, particularly in the provinces. In 2014, seven LGBT people were murdered, while last year in just one month, three transsexuals were killed. Gay men were not allowed to donate blood there until 2015.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Tourists at a holiday apartment in Barcelona's Ciutat Vella. Juan Barbosa

Spains major cities and tourist resorts have declared war on short-term rental sites such as Airbnb and Homeaway, saying they are encouraging the black economy as well as creating problems in residential areas.

Leading the way is Barcelona, which receives almost 9 million visitors annually, and is struggling to handle the sharp increase in numbers over recent years.

A month ago, Barcelona City Hall introduced a 1.3 million raft of measures to crack down on owners letting out apartments using sites like Airbnb, but without a license. The authorities set up a website and called on residents to report apartments being rented out illegally. So far, some 500 complaints have been made.

The website also invites people staying in apartments they have rented to check if it is licensed. Gala Pin, a councilor in Barcelonas central Ciutat Vella neighborhood, which has been particularly affected by private holiday renting, says it can take up to six months and a year to bring action to stop people renting out unlicensed apartments.

In Madrid, City Hall has tried to push through legislation requiring a minimum five-night stay in private apartments

In 2014, the regional government of Catalonia fined Airbnb, whose Spanish headquarters are in the city, along with seven other sites offering similar services. The regional government has threatened to block access to sites such as Airbnb from Catalonia if they do not comply with its rules.

Part of the problem in dealing with unlicensed rentals is that there is no overarching national legislation: in 2013, the government devolved the decision to regional administrations, allowing property owners to take advantage of numerous loopholes and avoid applying for a license.

In the Balearic Islands, for example, it is forbidden to rent apartments out to tourists, but not houses. In the Canary Islands, only apartments in non-tourist areas can be rented out. In Andalusia, any type of property can be rented out, but only if the owner lives in it. In Catalonia, which has imposed the toughest restrictions, property owners must apply for a license and provide papers proving the apartment is insured and is habitable.

In Madrid, City Hall has tried to push through legislation requiring a minimum five-night stay in private apartments.

Spain may decide to follow the lead of cities like London, where the new mayor says tougher safety requirements will be introduced. In New York, owners who break the rules on a minimum 30-day stay and who do not live in the property they are renting out are fined. In Iceland, Airbnb transactions are taxed by the government.

At the same time, Spains Tax Agency is now increasingly targeting the owners of apartments who placed rental ads last year  including those on specialized websites such as Airbnb  in a crackdown on unreported income.

English version by Nick Lyne.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein. DOMINICK REUTER (REUTERS)

More information La hora de los terceros candidatos

Jill Stein will not be the first female president of the United States, but the Green Party candidate could prevent another woman, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, from reaching that goal. Like Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and the anti-Trump independent Evan McMullin, Stein presents herself as an alternative to the least popular candidates to run on the countrys two major party tickets in many years.

Though none of them has the votes to win the White House, they could lure away enough supporters to keep the Republican or Democratic candidate away from the presidency. And they would not be the first group to ruin a conventional presidential nominees best-laid plans.

Many Democrats still shudder when someone mentions Ralph Nader. The environmentalist and long-time defender of consumer rights who made a bid for the White House on the Green Party ticket is considered the man responsible for the second George W. Bush administration. Nader never received enough votes to even dream of sitting in the Oval Office but the voters he managed to woo in key states like Florida shattered former vice president Al Gores dream of a third consecutive Democratic administration in the White House after Bill Clinton.

Some embittered Sanders supporters swear they will never cast their ballot for Clinton. They see candidates like Stein as more acceptable alternatives

In late July, the Democratic National Convention confirmed the nomination of another Clinton for president: former First Lady Hillary. Hours before the four-day conference began in Philadelphia, hundreds of protestors gathered downtown where they held up posters with environmentalist slogans and chanted Jill Steins name.

Many were wearing Bernie Sanders t-shirts and pins. The Vermont Senator who fought Clinton for the nomination to the bitter end finally endorsed her and asked his supporters to vote for her in November. Yet some embittered Sanders supporters in Philadelphia and in other parts of the country swear they will never cast their ballot for Clinton. They see candidates like Stein as more acceptable alternatives.

Gary Johnson was also in Philadelphia and at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland the week before. The Libertarian Party leader who received a million votes in 2012 is boldly courting on those voters who are hostile to both Clinton and Trump. Many Democrats say they will vote for Clinton while pinching their nose and will only do so to avoid a Donald Trump presidency. Many Republicans are angry at their partys choice but admit they will vote for him to avoid what they see as a greater evil: Clinton. Both candidates are trying to lure the most disenchanted voters within their rivals camp.

But alternative party candidates like Stein and Johnson have also jumped into the fight. CNN held two townhalls with the Libertarian candidate and is expected to hold another event with environmental activist Jill Stein next week.

The objective of both candidates is to enter one of the three presidential debates that will begin in late September. The last independent candidate who was able to join in was Ross Perot in 1992. Since 2000, a candidate may only participate in such a debate if he or she has the support of 15% of the US electorate based on an average received from the most recently published results from five national opinion polling organizations.

On Monday, the virtually unknown former CIA agent and Republican unexpectedly announced his bid for the presidency as the anti-Trump conservative alternative

According to RealClearPolitics, Johnson is leading in the polls with 8.6 percent while only four percent of voters intend to vote for Stein. Still, both are basically unknown to most US voters: 63% of those surveyed in July did not know who Johnson was and 68% said they did not know anything about Stein. These early polls do not include independent candidate Evan McMullin, who joined the race on Monday.

On Monday, the virtually unknown former CIA agent and Republican unexpectedly announced his bid for the presidency as the anti-Trump conservative alternative. Though the public is even less familiar with him than Johnson and Stein, McMullin seems to have the backing of some influential Republicans who have forsworn allegiance to Trump. According to some news reports, an old Mitt Romney donor might be propping up McMullins campaign. Romney made an unsuccessful run for the White House in 2012 and has been a strong critic of Donald Trump.

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Meanwhile, fifty individuals who served in senior positions in past Republican administrations published a letter on the same day saying that a Trump presidency would put at risk our countrys national security and well-being. One of the signatories, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Roger Zakheim who served under George W. Bush told the BBC that McMullin was an interesting alternative.

English version by Dyane Jean-Francois.
US-Mexico border agents may be used to finding drugs and other contraband, but nothing could prepare them for a particularly gruesome discovery on Tuesday.

San Diego detectives are investigating a southern California couple that were apprehended by Mexican border officials while trying to smuggle the body of a dead toddler into Mexico.

Police told local media in San Diego that a man and a woman were pulled aside at the US-Mexico border after agents at the Tijuana crossing discovered the body of a two-year-old girl.



According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, law enforcement officials are trying to determine the identity of the child as well as the cause of her death. The couple that were apprehended are not the parents, police say.

The suspects have been identified as Johnny Lewis Hartley, 39, and Mercy Mary Becerra, 43. The two are residents of Whittier, a city which lies just southeast of Los Angeles.

The baby was discovered when Mexican authorities began screening the duffle bag at a pedestrian crossing in San Ysidro just before noon on Tuesday, San Diego police said.

The agents then noticed the body when placing the duffle bag into an X-ray machine.

As Hartley was being handed over to US Customs and Border Protection, his companion, Becerra tried to flee, but she was caught a short time later and also transferred into American custody.

San Diego authorities are planning to charge the couple with one count of murder, though that could change depending on the results of the autopsy.

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A school teacher who had an affair with one of his teenage pupils has been stripped and brutally beaten by parents of other children at the school who have branded him a rapist.

The man, surnamed Li, was caught red-handed and attacked by the schoolgirls parents , who created a scene and persuaded a gang of a dozen people to join in.

The incident in Wei County in Xingtai City, in North Chinas Hebei Province, quickly went viral after Li was filmed squatting down near a residential area completely unclothed.



In the short video, Li had reportedly already been beaten and had his clothes torn off, leaving him in pain and covering his private parts with his hands.

Local residents then called police to the scene after Li was paraded around n3ked and called a rapist after word of his embarrassing affair with his pupil  thought to be aged between 17 and 18-years-old  got out.

Officers found the teacher with serious injuries all over his body and essentially spared his life from the violent mob justice.

Local authorities took Li to hospital for treatment before detaining him for investigation.

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Donald Trump claimed last night during his south Florida campaign rally that President Barack Obama and his first secretary of state Hillary Clinton were the founder and co-founder of the ISIS terror army.

His stunning claim came at the end of a pointed lecture recounting the conditions that led the regional militant group called al-Qaeda in Iraq to grow its ambitions and blaming the president for creating the power vacuum that terrorists rushed in to fill.

In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama. ISIS is honoring President Obama, Trump said, working himself into a lather at the end of a full day of campaigning in two states.



He is the founder of ISIS. He is the founder of ISIS, okay? Hes the founder! He founded ISIS! he continued, always crescendoing.

And I would say, Trump added more solemnly, getting to his election-year point: The co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder! Crooked Hillary Clinton! And thats what its about!

Trump has made claims before that Obama precipitously pulled U.S. forces out of Iraq on a predetermined date, giving ISIS room to breathe and expand.

But Wednesday marked the first time he has credited the current White House with the creation of the self-described Islamic State. What a statement.

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Huffington Post

Arianna Huffington plans to leave the Huffington Post, the site she started 11 years ago. She will leave as president and editor-in-chief in the coming weeks to focus on a soon-to-launch startup dedicated to issues of health and wellness, she told the Wall Street Journal. "I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up, I realized that it really needed my full attention, she said in an interview. It is important to know when one door closes and another opens and I felt that moment had arrived.

The Huffington Post was acquired by AOL Inc. in 2011 for $315 million, and then AOL itself was bought by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion last year. Huffington signed a new contract last year to stay through 2019. Then two months she announced that she would be launching her new wellness venture.

From the WSJ, which calls HuffPo "one of the largest digital media outlets in the U.S.:"

Ms. Huffington, a Greek native, rose to U.S. prominence in the 1990s as a political commentator. She co-founded the Huffington Post in 2005 along with Kenneth Lerer and Jonah Peretti, all of whom went on to become important figures in the digital media landscape. Mr. Peretti founded BuzzFeed with the backing of Mr. Lerer who has become a top venture capitalist for many digital media companies and is investing in Ms. Huffingtons new venture. When the Huffington Post was sold to AOL five years ago, Ms. Huffington was named president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, which took on other AOL media properties like Engadget, TechCrunch, Moviefone and MapQuest. But the management structure created tension, and by mid-2012, her portfolio was scaled back and all of the AOL sites aside from Huffington Post were removed from her purview. In recent years, the Huffington Post has undergone an aggressive global expansion, teaming up with foreign media groups to launch localized versions of the site in 14 countries, such as Greece, the U.K., France and Mexico. With the site, Ms. Huffington helped pioneer digital-only journalism. The Huffington Post was founded as a liberal alternative to the Drudge Report and quickly rose in prominence as a blogging platform and news aggregator. Ms. Huffington often leveraged her personal relationships to get celebrities and political figures to write columns for the site.



An early collaborator as well was the late Andrew Breitbart, the Westside LA conservative who worked with Matt Drudge and helped advise Huffington at first. He broke with Huffington and later went on to start Breitbart News.
PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Special Forces Getting More Deeply Involved in Libya War

Aug. 10, 2016 (EIRNS)U.S. special forces troops are not just calling in air strikes for the government-aligned militias in Sirte, Libya. They are providing direct, on-the-ground support for the first time to fighters battling the Islamic State in Libya, unnamed officials told the Washington Post yesterday. These officials said the American troops were operating out of a joint operations center on the citys outskirts and that their role was limited to supporting forces loyal to the countrys fragile unity government. The unnamed officials insist that the US troops are not taking part in combat. Some individuals, however, were seen carrying radios and wearing black body armor and tan fatigues, in central Sirte, according to officers allied with the Libyan government and Western security personnel in the area, but the Pentagon denied that these individuals were American special forces.

On Aug. 1, President Obama announced yet another unconstitutional war, launched without Congressional approval, when he reported that the United States has begun a bombing campaign against ISIS in Libya. Today, the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) claimed that ISIS had been driven out of the center of Sirte.
PRESS RELEASE

Ukraine Hotspot Primed for Blowup

Aug. 10, 2016 (EIRNS)On July 22, Russias permanent representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin issued a letter to the UN Security Council seeking urgent action to get the Kiev government to comply with the Minsk agreements, in order to avoid another major outbreak of fighting in the region. No action was taken, and there has been growing evidence that Churkins warning of that potential should be taken very seriously.

The Aug. 6 assassination attempt, by means of a bomb attack on his car, on Igor Plotnitsky, the leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk Peoples Republic (LPR), is an indication that tensions are significantly escalating. The chairman of the republics Council of Ministers, Sergei Kozlov, said that Plotnitskys injuries are not life-threatening, but that the LPR authorities consider the attempt a terrorist attack. Sputnik reports that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission has sent a team to examine the site of the attack and intends to prepare a report on it.

Denis Pushilin, negotiator for the Donetsk Peoples Republic, the second of the two anti-Kiev republics, warns that renewed warfare is a real possibility if the Kiev regime doesnt implement its responsibilities under the Minsk agreements. The situation worsens with each day, Pushilin told Izvestia, reports Newsweek.

There has been no progress to regulate the conflict politically since the last negotiations. The situation remains tense and at any moment it can heat up and escalate into full-fledged fighting.

He added that

If Ukraine does not meet at least the first three points [of the ceasefire] in Donbas, open fighting will be renewed very soon.

Steinmeier and Lavrov spoke by phone Aug. 9, and the conflict in eastern Ukraine was high on their agenda. The sides continued discussion of urgent issues related to progress in the implementation of Minsk accords, and stressed the need to synchronize steps aimed at the political settlement of the crisis in eastern Ukraine with resolution of security issues, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The word surreal often serves as a catchall term to describe anything strange. Whether its used in reference to the paintings of Salvador Dali, the movies of David Lynch, or just a feeling of deja vu, surrealism has become a cliche. But what if the world itself was surreal  if surrealism was not an exception, but a rule? How would you describe it?

Thats the challenge China Mieville sets for himself in The Last Days of New Paris, an alternative-history novel about World War II. In previous books Mieville, one of the most decorated authors of contemporary science fiction and fantasy, has tackled specific subgenres  urban steampunk, legendary monster, space romance  as well as more conventional sci-fi. Here he takes on alt-history, albeit with his own weird twist.

The year is 1950, and France is still occupied by Germany. In addition to Nazis and resistance groups, the city is populated by mysterious manifs, or manifestations, surrealist artworks come to life. There is a rider-less bicycle called the Velo with the figurehead of a woman, her pupil-less eyes the same color as her skin; a giant plant bearing fruit the size of human heads that rises from the ground to ensnare passing aircraft; a tall knight that walks on a pair of womens high-heeled feet.

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Unable to defeat or control the manifs, the Nazis have opted to seal off Paris from the rest of the world. But that doesnt mean theres no way in or out, either for desperate Parisians looking to escape, or for international adventurers trying to get in.

A rider-less bicycle called the Velo has the figurehead of a woman, her pupil-less eyes the same color as her skin.  From China Mievilles The Last Days of New Paris

Mieville divides the narrative between 1950 and 1941, when a group of refugee artists gather at the home of Varian Fry in Marseille. Like most of the characters in the book, Fry is based on a real person  in this case an American journalist who helped thousands of refugees escape from Vichy France. Only here, his salon allows a scientist and occultist named Jack Parsons to capture the artists creative power in a battery, which, he believes, can be used to re-create the legendary Golem of Prague. Instead, through an unintended sequence of events, the battery sets off the S-Blast, an explosion of surrealistic energy in Paris.

Nine years later a young man named Thibaut roams the ruined city, his parents and friends already dead. A follower of the surrealist movement since before the war, Thibaut joined a surrealist resistance group called Main a plume (based on a real group that took its name from a Rimbaud poem), only to see his comrades die at the hands of unscrupulous treasure hunters. Now he plans to leave the city for good, and to escape from its ongoing nightmare.

In the meantime, the Nazis have been trying to create and control their own manifs, with increasing success. They have also made the leap between surrealism and the occult, and have employed a renegade priest who has succeeded in summoning demons to aid the Nazi cause. Worst of all, they are trying to create a super-manif  or perhaps a demon  against which resistance will be futile.

Thibaut has heard only vague rumors of the Nazis plan until he runs into Sam, an American photographer documenting the city for posterity. After saving her from a pack of sentient wolf-tables, Thibaut teams up with her and an exquisite corpse manif, come to life from a drawing by Andre Breton, Jacqueline Lamba and Yves Tanguy, which follows them around obediently. Together the trio sets out to uncover the Nazi scheme, and to thwart it as best they can.

This is a fun scenario, and Mieville grounds his story in an intricate web of real world references, which are explained at length in endnotes. But as a work of fiction the novel remains flat. We follow Thibaut and Sam through the maze of Mievilles plot, yet we never learn much about them, or are inspired to care about their fate. The narrative proceeds artificially from crisis to crisis, without an impression of cause and effect. It often seems that things happen just so Mieville can show off another bit of art historical lore.

Like Mievilles other books, The Last Days of New Paris draws on the world of role-playing games. In her quest to photograph all of the manifs Sam says that she wants to catch them all, which sounds like a prescient reference to the newly repopularized Pokemon. Thibaut finds a card depicting the psychic Helene Smith, which he plays to cataclysmic effect. The penultimate scene with the Nazi super-demon feels like the boss character at the end of an old school arcade game. While such narrative techniques may work well for video games, however, in a novel they seem contrived.

The biggest problem with The Last Days of New Paris is that for a book about surrealism, it fails to feel surreal. One of Mievilles literary models seems to be Roadside Picnic, a sci-fi novel by the Russian writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. Like Mievilles Paris, Roadside Picnic is about a closed zone  in this case the site of an alien visitation  where inexplicable phenomena proliferate, and where treasure hunters risk their lives to extract valuable artifacts. But whereas the Strugatskys managed to evoke a genuine feeling of the uncanny, Mievilles novel reads like an educational tool. Though his prose is elegant and precise, it serves didactic ends.

The most surrealistic part of the book is an afterword, in which Mieville describes how he was told the story of new Paris by an elderly man at an old hotel. After a meeting lasting some 39 hours, he comes to believe that the man is Thibaut himself, and undertakes to write down the story that the reader has just read. Though presented as fact, its apparent that this too is part of the fiction, and has some of the strangeness that the main narrative lacks.

But for the most part, The Last Days of New Paris comes across as an elaborate thought experiment, rather than a compelling fiction. At one point Mieville writes of the manifs that they produce a stir of recognition even when theyre something inconceivable never previously seen. Thats a good description of surrealist art, and of what this book fails to do. There are plenty of strange details here, but nothing truly surreal.

Ezra Glinter is a freelance writer and critic. His work has appeared in the New Republic, the Paris Review and the Boston Globe, among other publications.

::

The Last Days of New Paris

China Mieville

Del Rey: 224 pp., $25

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Grocery workers at Albertsons and Ralphs approved a new contract with the companies in voting that took place on Monday and Tuesday.

The agreement was reached after five months of talks between the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, representing the employees, and the two companies. The contract provides for modest pay increases over the next three years.

This contract represents a significant victory for our members, and secures their wages, retirement security, and control over their schedules, said Rick Icaza, president of UFCW Local 770, in an emailed statement.

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The contract gives the most senior clerks, cashiers and meat cutters raises of 30 cents this year, another 30 cents in 2017 and 25 cents in 2018. All other workers will have a shot at a 10-cent raise every four to five months. Entry-level employees will now start at 40 cents above the minimum wage, up from 20 cents over that rate.

In cities like Los Angeles, where the minimum is higher than the states current rate of $10, workers will earn 40 cents above that elevated wage floor.

The companies agreed to keep pension and health benefits intact and to up their own contributions to those packages through 2018. Workers will also now have their schedules posted on Monday, instead of the Friday before the following week.

Roughly 47,000 workers were offered the chance to approve the contract and did so overwhelmingly, according to an emailed statement from the UFCW Local 770.

This is the fourth contract negotiation between workers and the companies since 2004, when union members ended a 141-day strike that roiled the industry and transformed shopping patterns in the region.

The contract is a winner for both shoppers and workers, said Burt Flickinger III, the managing director of the Strategic Resource Group, a retail consulting firm, in an email.

Flickinger said the contract included extremely favorable benefits and pension plan programs, particularly compared to the more penurious total compensation at discount stores, referring to Wal-Mart and Target.

Natalie.Kitroeff@latimes.com

Follow me @NatalieKitro on Twitter
A joint proposal calling for the shutdown of Californias lone remaining nuclear power plant was formally submitted by Pacific Gas & Electric to the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday.

A number of environmental organizations and labor unions joined PG&E in the proposal to close both units at the Diablo Canyon nuclear facility near San Luis Osbispo by 2025. The plan would replace Diablo Canyons 2,160 megawatts of electricity generation with a combination of renewable sources, energy storage, better energy efficiency and changes to the power grid.

Todays action represents a major milestone, PG&E President Geisha Williams said in an email to the utilitys employees. The proposal was first announced on June 21.

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PG&E plans to pay nearly $50 million to San Luis Obispo County to help offset property taxes that would decline because of the plant closing.

Retiring nuclear power plants and replacing them with energy efficiency and solar is good for Californias environment and good for our economy, said Dan Jacobson, legislative director for Environment California, one of the environmental groups involved in crafting the joint proposal.

PG&E officials say they dont expect long-term customer rates will increase if Diablo Canyon is shut down. They believe re-licensing the plant and operating it through 2044 will be more expensive than adopting the joint proposal. The proposal anticipates declining costs for renewable power, as well as lower demand from customers.

Following the shuttering of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in January 2012, Diablo Canyon is the last nuclear power plant in California. According to the most recent data from the California Energy Commission, nuclear power accounted for 9.2% of the states power mix.

rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

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As divorces go, this one is ugly even by Tinseltown standards: Celebrity news operation TMZ called in Los Angeles sheriffs deputies to raid the Hollywood Boulevard offices of former partner Starline Tours to collect on a court judgment won by TMZ.

The raid is the latest chapter in the legal feud between TMZ and Starline, a sightseeing tour business with about 150 buses and a history that dates back to the 1960s.

As tourists watched Wednesday morning, deputies performed a till tap to collect $2,100 in cash from Starline.

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Its unfortunate we had to involve law enforcement, but it was the only way to get Starline to pay at least some of what it has owed us for a long time, said Jason Beckerman, legal counsel for TMZ.

The two companies joined forces six years ago to operate a celebrity tour that would take tourists to the places where celebrities eat, drink and create headline-grabbing news. TMZ would supply tour guides, along with the celebrity news and gossip, while Starline would provide the buses.

But the two businesses split up this year in a feud over how to share the proceeds.

In addition to that dispute, the two companies also fought over who should pay for the legal costs of defending the celebrity tour operation against accusations of labor law violations by former bus drivers.

TMZ argued in legal papers that Starline refused to take responsibility for defending TMZ in the lawsuit even though the partnership agreement called for Starline to defend TMZ.

An arbitrator ruled that Starline should have been responsible for the legal costs and ordered the tour bus company to pay $201,000 in legal fees and other costs incurred by TMZ to defend itself in the labor law dispute.

To collect on the money, TMZ put a levy on a bank account of Starline Tours and asked deputies to collect cash from the tour operators headquarters behind the TCL Chinese Theatre.

Photos of the raid show two sheriffs deputies entering the Starline offices and later leaving carrying a plastic bag, presumably filled with cash, as tourists look on.

Starline Tours Chief Executive Kami Farhadi said TMZ didnt need to turn to the sheriffs office because Starline was ready to pay the entire judgment with a cashiers check.

I think they are trying to create something for their show, he said.

The till tap doesnt resolve the original legal battle over the revenues collected by Starline during the joint tour bus operation.

That rift began about two years ago when Starline failed to split the revenues and pay TMZ its share in a timely manner over the course of two years, according to a lawsuit filed in March by TMZ against Starline.

As a result of the late payments, the suit said, TMZ notified Starline on Feb. 11 that it was giving Starline a 60-day notice to end the partnership. But Starline continued to sell tickets for the TMZ tour beyond the 60-day period, the TMZ lawsuit alleged.

Lawyers for Starline argued that TMZ failed to show good cause to end the contract and therefore triggered a non-competition clause in the agreement, which bars TMZ from operating a tour bus business for at least two years.

Starline has since stopped operating buses for TMZ, which has teamed up with a local livery service to run its sightseeing tours.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

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The film Ben-Hur was shooting in the south of Italy last year when some disturbing news reached the set: ISIS had executed Christians on a beach just across the Mediterranean, in Libya.

The movies principals found the parallels unsettling. As they were making a story about strife between Romans and Jews nearly 2000 years before, religious-based violence was again sweeping the globe.

I dont want to make it seem as if our movie speaks to every conceivable issue, said Sean Daniel, the producer who helped originate the film, which arrives in theaters Friday from Paramount. But it was, holy cow, were making this movie about the world in turmoil and several thousand years later it was still happening. It was a powerful moment.

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A new Ben-Hur. The very notion seems startling, almost sacrilegious. William Wylers 1959 film of the same name, about the Jesus-era relationship between a Jew and a Roman, is famous for its 11 Oscars, its star-making turn from Charlton Heston, its soaring epic-ness and, of course, its climactic chariot race. The work is one of the best known in the film canon, a classic synonymous with Hollywood history.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

Yet ready or not, here comes a whos who of the modern film world to take another stab at it.

Theres Daniel (The Mummy), the Kazakh stylist director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), the prestige screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave), the faith-minded television producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett (The Bible, Survivor,), even an actor with a Golden Age of Hollywood last name (Jack Huston, grandson of John and great-grandson of Walter).

The group came together to revisit the material, drawing from the same Lewis Wallace post-Civil War bestseller on which Wylers work and a 1925 silent film were based,  only this time with modern touches.

Like the chariot scene, shot mostly in the style of a NASCAR race, over six weeks.

Or the themes, transmuted from furious revenge to feel-good forgiveness.

With a more prominent and evangelical-friendly spiritual quotient (in the context of a $130-million summer tentpole).

Oh, and in 3-D.

Skeptical? Intrigued? Worried? A little of all three?

Its creators were, anyway.

A lot of [film] people would look at Ben-Hur and say I m not going to touch that, said Ridley, who came on to work on the screenplay after Keith Clarkes script landed with Daniel and production company MGM. But as fantastic as the 1959 film was, there are things you want to excavate more clearly, relationships you want to look at more closely. When I realized that, I went from skepticism and trepidation to, theres a way forward.

The reboot trap?

Many modern films are susceptible to what you might call the reboot trap. Deviate from an original and people say you messed with the good. Make it too similar and people ask why you bothered in the first place.

Ben-Hur faces this same problem, only somehow larger. Filmmakers have to diverge from a classic without disrespecting it.

What Bekmambetov and his team did was try to carve out some middle ground. In putting their spin on a 20th century staple, theyve created a story thats not as iconic as you remember but not as sacrilegious as you fear.

The costumes are in period but without excessive, as Bekmambetov puts it, towels hanging off them.

And if the setup of estranged pals building toward a showdown can feel stodgy, the director looks to make it pay off with military scenes modeled after Delta force videos he found on YouTube and a chariot race (no green-screen, a lot of horses) shot using GoPro cameras and other documentary techniques.

The big plot beats are often the same too. During a time of great Empire conflict, the Jewish Judah Ben-Hur (Huston) is betrayed by, and sold into slavery because of, his childhood confidante, the Roman officer Messala (Toby Kebbell). Judah then sets out to avenge Messala via a deadly race.

But there are strategic changes. The inciting incident that brings Messala and Judah to loggerheads is handled differently; so too is the pairs relationship, here that of adopted brothers. The chariot race feels different too, a taut 10-minute affair with an Olympics-like vibe.

Maybe most significant is that Jesus is a far more prominent figure in this film than in the Heston picture. Where he was previously seen in the shadows, inspirational only by proxy, here he makes several key appearances, including in a post-race scene that shades the films climax differently.

Heres a character weve seen so many times, said the Brazilian-born actor Rodrigo Santoro, who plays Jesus and sought out and received the blessing of Pope Francis at the Vatican before tackling the role. How could we humanize him? How can we bring the figure closer and not a distant, son of God teacher? How can we enliven the portrayal with the world we live in?

Filmmakers say their reasoning for an expanded portrayal of Jesus and more forgiveness generally was simple: In 1959, with global religious divisions neither as prominent nor as bloody, revenge could rule the day. in 2016, the world may not need more of that.

Big Hollywood movies used to finish with revenge. In our movie, thats the low point of the story. By winning, by killing, youre losing everything you had, said Bekmambetov. And that was the trickiest and most dangerous part of the project: How can we change the Hollywood mood?

That shift wasnt easy. From Huston to the screenwriters, the reaction was one of skepticism.

People would say, when we took the script out, how can you go up against 11 Oscars? said Clarke, who was motivated to write Ben-Hur after he and wife-producing partner Joni Levin took a trip to Israel and saw the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Clarke said that before he arrived at MGM, studio executives he pitched would shake their heads. He urged them to consider the modern implications. [T]his is a very contemporary story. Its about fear and anger, and how were ruled by it today just as we were then.

Bekmambetov went further: We live in a Roman Empire. Its a place where we believe that everything is about competition and power and success. You see it in the political world, in global confrontations. And either we learn how to forgive or were all going to kill each other.

That the personalities on set were as different, religiously speaking, as you can imagine helped hone this message  and, perhaps, make it more universal. Downey and Burnett are staunch Catholics; Ridley is also a devout Christian, Huston and Bekmambetov, who was raised in a Communist country, are more secular; Daniel and MGM principal Gary Barber are Jewish.

Its kind of a unique coalition, Daniel said. But Ben-Hur is a unique combination  its both spectacle and values.

Marketing a hybrid

As noble as such a hybrid sounds, though, it can present plenty of marketing challenges.

Faith-based audiences turn out to see movies like Heaven Is for Real and God is Not Dead. But even Biblical and historical movies will fail if they dont come with more explicit Christian elements; Paramount itself learned this the hard way when its Noah failed to resonate with a faith-based audience.

At the same time, too much religion could signal to a large secular audience  the kind required for a summer tentpole  that this film isnt for them.

Paramount has tried to walk the line carefully. It released one trailer that barely noted the religious elements and another rife with Jesus imagery that played over a song by the Christian rock band For King & Country.

Even as the studio takes out prime-time and late-night TV ads, it has crafted a kind of parallel campaign that recruited gpastors such as Rick Warren and Joel Osteen, who both have endorsed the film, and Tim Tebow, apparently now between batting-practice sessions. (Incredibly powerful story! Charlton Heston would be proud! Tebow tweetedafter the studio showed him the film.)

The studio says the campaigns arent as disparate as youd think. People talk about them as different audiences, but we havent seen that, said Megan Colligan, Paramounts president of worldwide marketing and distribution. The most religious audience and the most secular audience care about the same thing: they want it to be a compelling action movie that doesnt look too soft.

Jonathan Glickman, MGM Motion Picture Group president, said: Its really for both groups, We were trying not to lean too hard into either aspect. (Rights to the Wyler film are actually owned by Warner Bros; MGM in this case wasnt scavenging its own library.)

It is the faith-based audience, though, that offers the companies encouragement that early tracking  currently at a low $15-million opening weekend  might be off-base. Paramount and MGM executives also believe the movie could play well beyond its debut weekend, with big summer flicks such as Jason Bourne and Suicide Squad having cleared out.

Theyre relying on the Olympics too. Ben-Hur had to be pushed from February due to a lengthy post-production time, especially after a late-stage decision to convert to 3-D. Filmmakers are banking that a release on Olympics closing weekend will a give them a Rio-related boost.

A set of NBC spots in the coming days, including one that intersperses scenes from the film with moments of Olympic glory, underlines the point. Michael Phelps and Judah Ben-Hur, it turns out, arent all that different.

This is a very contemporary story. Its about fear and anger, and how were ruled by it today just as we were then.  Keith Clarke

A more modern approach

Moviegoers these days could be understood for feeling a little worn out by filmmaker lines justifying reboot culture. Hollywood explanations for revisiting classics may sound like a reasonable, Shakespeare-is-staged-all-the-time rationale to those uttering them. But they can come off as cynical justifications to those of us listening.

Perhaps sensing that fatigue, some voices on the film wondered if the movie should be called Judah and Messala, or another title that quietly suggested Wylers Ben-Hur without publicly setting up a comparison to it.

Still, viewing this movie as simply an Eisenhower-era rehash might be a bit of an oversimplification.

Ben-Hur, after all, offered a way of seeing history from the present long before Wyler came along: Wallace himself was seeking to find Reconstruction-era harmony by holding up a kind of ancient period-mirror to 1880s America.

The idea of a movie thats connected to an earlier age of Hollywood could also hold some virtue on its own, simply by reminding that a superhero-crazed industry has not forgotten its roots. Theres something beautiful about the continuity, even by osmosis, said Huston, noting his own family ties to the era.

Ridley, for his part, said that a more contemporary approach to race and representation than the 1959 film  one in which a white Welsh actor like Hugh Griffith didnt don paint to play an Arab sheik  was reason right there to come back to it.

But maybe the most potent argument made on the films behalf comes with the idea that the telling of this films story is inextricable with its retelling. The new Ben-Hur is less the product of a 1950s nostalgia-raid than as part of a long and eternal chain.

The Wyler movie came out in 1959, some 30 years after the silent movie, Kebbell said.

You can imagine the complaints then. The talkies. All these monologues. Its ruining the action. Why are you messing with my childhood? They messed with someones childhood. Were messing with theirs.

And one day, he continued, someone will mess with ours.

Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT
You know from the get-go that no good is going to come of the bonding experience between an unstable father and his sons in Edge of Winter, but that doesnt deprive this backcountry Canadian thriller of a serviceably chilling, if conventional, allure.

When his ex-wife and her new husband go off on vacation, the out-of-work and out-of-sorts Elliot Baker (Joel Kinnaman) seizes upon the opportunity to get closer to 15-year-old Bradley (Tom Holland) and 12-year-old Caleb (Percy Hynes White), taking them on an excursion in his remote neck of the woods.

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Determined to toughen up the kids by introducing them to shooting, driving and the taste of beer, its clear that Elliot will never be in the running for Dad of the Year, but nevertheless, getting stranded in a remote cabin proves to be the least of the boys worries.

While first-time feature director Rob Connolly sets a workable mood with the snowy, shiver-inducing environs  call it Northern Gothic  he and co-scriptwriter Kyle Mann prove less adept at addressing numerous plot inconsistencies and character flaws.

Theres an effectively tense dynamic between Swedish actor Kinnaman (AMCs The Killing) and Holland, who appealingly announced his arrival as the latest Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, but, committed performances aside, Kinnamans tortured soul cries out for a less predictable path en route to the abyss.

Even so, a frostbitten B-movie can still provide a little welcome relief in the dead of summer. Edge of Winter suffices as a diverting breath of recycled cool air.

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Edge of Winter

MPAA rating: R, for language and some violence

Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes

Playing: In limited release

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The mission was one of monumental daring, and its impact would be felt throughout Europes anti-Nazi underground. Yet somehow Operation Anthropoid, a plan to assassinate the Third Reichs No. 3 man, is a little-known chapter of World War II. In the enlightening but seldom riveting drama Anthropoid, director Sean Ellis poses compelling questions and stages a couple of heart-pounding action sequences, including a climactic siege pitting seven men against SS troops, that are not just tense but poignant. Too much of his film, though, feels more preserved than alive.

Ellis (Metro Manila) and co-screenwriter Anthony Frewin (longtime assistant to Stanley Kubrick) tell the rarely told tale from the perspective of resistance fighters Josef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan). After parachuting into occupied Czechoslovakia in December 1941, they set in motion a plot to kill Reinhard Heydrich, whose nicknames included the Butcher of Prague and the Blond Beast.

While lying low, they fall for the women posing as their girlfriends (Charlotte Le Bon, Anna Geislerova). Love is a necessary act of hope for Jan, while the steelier Josef, who understands that theirs is probably a suicide mission, considers it a form of wishful thinking. The movie both embraces and questions the romance of heroism, a provocative paradox that would have had more dramatic oomph if the screenplay were less staid, the characters more fully fleshed.

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Ellis, serving as cinematographer, shot in many of the events actual locations, and the films beauty can be distractingly self-conscious. But Anthropoid does break through the historical aspic  too late, yet unforgettably, in its final, shattering scenes.

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Anthropoid

MPAA rating: R, for violence and some disturbing images

Running time: 2 hours

Playing: The Landmark, West Los Angeles
A sleepy tale of secrets and redemption, the neo-gothic Australian film Downriver hovers over the question of what happened to a child drowned years ago, whose body was never found. Whats unusual, however, about this corrupted-innocence mystery from writer/director Grant Scicluna is whos investigating: the young man who was imprisoned for the incident, which occurred when he was a boy. (A flashback cagily leaves elements of what happened unanswered.)

Released on parole and spurred to give closure to the victims mother, James (Reef Ireland) returns as a kind of probing ghost to the river community of cabins and trailer homes where he was raised, stirring up uneasy feelings among old friends and new neighbors, and forcing his nervous mother (a great Kerry Fox) to face her own scars as she forges a new life with a kind man (Robert Taylor).

Scicluna evades easy judgment on James, whom Ireland underplays with a mix of wariness and hard-edged compassion, while the teasing, menacing actions of James childhood pal Anthony (Thom Green) suggests an interpretation of the past yet to be revealed.

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That James and Anthony are gay, as is a disaffected teenage boy from the trailer park who becomes an unwitting pawn, makes for a curious erotic texture, but thankfully Scicluna avoids simple links between sexuality and sin. Downriver is the kind of graceful provocation that slips around a corner before you can pinpoint its intentions, and that keeps it arresting as both an inquiry and a character study.

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Downriver

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 39 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Amid the recent programming announcements for fall festivals, one film has quietly slipped into some of the years most prestigious slots, setting it up as a possible surprise discovery for the coming awards season.

Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins, saw its first trailer released Thursday, which only solidified its position as one of the most anticipated films for fall. Starring Naomie Harris, Andre Holland, Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monae, the story is told across three chapters in a young mans life.

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The credit block on the trailer gives screenplay credit to Jenkins and story credit to Tarell Alvin McCraney. McCraneys play In Moonlight Black Boys Turn Blue is the basis for the movie.

The film was announced Thursday as part of the Platform competition section at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival and also was announced recently as playing at the upcoming New York Film Festival.

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Moonlight is the long-awaited second feature from Jenkins, whose his first film was 2008s Medicine For Melancholy, which went on to receive three Independent Spirit Award nominations.

With Brad Pitt on board as executive producer and Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner producing, Moonlight comes with an impressive team behind it. Through their Plan B production shingle, Pitt, Gardner and Kleiner have been involved in such recent films as The Big Short, Selma and 12 Years A Slave.

The movie will be released Oct. 21 in New York and Los Angeles by distributor A24, who shepherded Room to a Best Actress Oscar for Brie Larson and this year has had success with The Witch, Green Room and The Lobster. For the fall, the company also has Mike Mills 20th Century Women, starring Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning and Andrea Arnolds American Honey, starring Sasha Lane, Riley Keough and Shia LaBeouf.

The new trailer concludes with an exchange of off-screen voices. One says, Its not what I expected, to which another responds, What did you expect? From the trailer, its prestige pedigree and prime festival slots, expect big things from Moonlight.

Mark.Olsen@latimes.com

Follow on Twitter: @IndieFocus

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War movies generally divide their psychological card-dealing along standard lines: Frontline stories handle the knifes-edge survival tension, while post-war tales confront the mental fallout. What makes French filmmaker Clement Cogitores feature debut Neither Heaven Nor Earth so striking is how it fuses the two together, giving a haunted, metaphysical dusting to the day-in/day-out pressure of active-duty lives. The result is one of the more unusual and effective explorations of modern war and its capacity for bewilderment and piercing damage.

Few would argue that the 21st century Afghanistan conflict, as waged in its most secluded regions, is a singular mix of cultural isolation, ancient tradition and ingenious technological connectedness. In a remote valley sparsely populated by hillside shepherds, French army Capt. Antares Bonassieu (Jeremie Renier) and his men monitor the area for Taliban encroachment from a base and a pair of tiny outposts. The terrain is unforgiving, the locals can be both accommodating and a nuisance, but faith in the squads state-of-the-art heat-detecting night-vision goggles give the men a sense of watchful superiority in their task. With troop withdrawal fast approaching, it feels more like a waiting game than a mission.

First, a friendly wandering dog goes missing, which spurs a brief but lax search among the men. But then two soldiers disappear from their post overnight, and suddenly Bonassieu is faced with the possibility of either a hostage situation or a pair of AWOL men. Tensions escalate with the villagers, and after another of Bonassieus men vanishes  in broad daylight no less  the squads investigation turns toward areas of speculation that lead them to question everything about their presence and purpose there. Even the other sides men are disappearing, it seems, which sparks an unusual cease-fire negotiation with the enemy so each can search the others sectors.

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Neither Heaven Nor Earth is a case of the inexplicable rendered without forced mysticism or explanation, but rather explored with a clinical dramatic focus that somehow boosts the eeriness. Cogitore and co-screenwriter Thomas Bidegain (a frequent collaborator of Jacques Audiards) routinely upend our notion of where danger lies in a combat film.

A soldier steps outside the confines of his dark post to urinate. We watch him, thinking the open air is where someone is most vulnerable, but its the drowsy colleague he briefly left behind inside who isnt there upon return. Later, an interrogated village boy spins his trust in Allah into an explanation for the disappearances that quietly unnerves with the force of handed-down lore. Even shots taken from the point of view of a soldiers precious night-vision headgear  the cool images of countless rah-rah action flicks  take on an unreliably otherworldly quality as the men realize how ineffective these gadgets are at fully detailing their surroundings.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour >>

Whats an army captain to do, presented with the unbelievable and unexplainable in a land of usually stark reality? As briskly paced as Neither Heaven Nor Earth is, the questions it asks and theoretical links it makes to so many distressing issues regarding the waging of war  mainly about engagement and loss  are at times breathtaking. But the metaphysical punch also threatens to overwhelm the characterizations, which outside of Reniers embattled, confused and ultimately desperate Bonassieu, arent terribly thorough.

Still, a movie this confident in its blend of the supernatural, the philosophical and the grounded  without telling us what to think  is rare indeed, especially in a first film. Neither Heaven Nor Earth is a war movie that eschews body count for a more inward crumbling of belief, like a mournful dispatch from the unruly realm between faith and certainty.

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Neither Heaven Nor Earth

In French with English subtitles

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Royal, West Los Angeles

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Aug. 25, 2016, 10:40 a.m. Reporting from imperial beach, Calif.

We made it, Oregon to Mexico, along an 1,100-mile beach The drive began at the Oregon border. It ended five weeks later at the Mexican border. Where I almost got arrested. OK, thats an exaggeration. When photographer Allen Schaben and I got to the border of Tijuana and Imperial Beach, the party was much better on the Mexican side. Families were in the water and on the sand, a Mariachi band played, and the whole scene was rather festive compared with two people strolling quietly on the Imperial Beach side. I thought briefly about defecting. One man stood at the fence on the Tijuana side, so I walked up to say hello. I asked why he wasnt swimming and he said he didnt have a bathing suit, then he stuck his hand through the fence to shake my hand. A Border Patrol agent sped toward me in an SUV and yelled for me to stand back from the fence. I hesitated, because what was the big deal? But then I noticed a sign warning against contact or the passing of narcotics through the fence, etc. So I stepped back from the fence because I didnt know if Id be able to write my last road trip columns from a jail cell. Im going to wrap up the series on Sunday, but that wont be the end of my coverage of the California Coastal Commission on the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Act. Theres lots to keep an eye on. Legislation to ban private meetings between commissioners and developers could move forward later today. A vote has been delayed on the controversial proposal for a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, a project that doesnt make a lot of sense in my opinion but has big money backing it. The ever-controversial Newport Banning Ranch project -- a massive hotel/housing development on the last undeveloped plot of privately owned coastal property in Southern California -- will be up for a vote in early September. And the City Council election in Pismo Beach has gotten very interesting because Erik Howell, a councilman and coastal commissioner who ticked off Pismo residents by supporting a development that will block ocean views, now has challengers in his reelection campaign. Howell, if youve forgotten, accepted a $1,000 campaign donation from the domestic partner and business colleague of the lobbyist who represents the Pismo development. If he loses his council seat, he loses his Coastal Commission seat too. So stay tuned. The Coastal Commission will have a new director soon, a new chair and at least two new commissioners, and we need to watch closely because whats at stake is the greatest 1,100-mile coast in the world.



10:25 A.M. reporting from san diego

Lawmaker who led 72 coastal preservation bike ride from San Francisco to San Diego still has Schwinn that delivered win Former senator James Mills, 89, stands with the bike he rode from Sacramento to San Diego in 1972 to promote Prop 20, which created the Coastal Commission and led to the Coastal Act. The photo was taken overlooking the San Diego skyline from Mills Coronado apartment Wednesday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The bike. I wanted to see the bike, and meet its owner. Arriving in San Diego meant our coastal trek from Oregon to Mexico was coming to an end, and it meant that it was finally time to pay a visit to Jim Mills. Mills, a state legislator from 1962 to 1981, was Senate president pro tempore in 1972 when he decided to support Proposition 20, the coastal preservation act. Without it, conservationists feared, coastal development would run amok, Highway 1 would be widened, and a string of nuclear power plants would spring up on some of the greatest beach fronts in the world. But there wasnt much money to fight Prop. 20s foes, said Mills, who had grown up wading in La Jolla Cove and has a deep appreciation of the states greatest natural resource. So in September 1972, he hopped aboard his canary yellow Schwinn Super Sport and led a bike rally from San Francisco to San Diego. The number of riders swelled at times, Mills said, and bikers were greeted each evening by locals serving plenty of carbs. We ate a lot of weenies and beans, and spaghetti too, he said. He recalled PG&E executives following the cyclists in a chauffeur-driven Cadillac, doing their own spin on Prop. 20. The bike rally drew lots of publicity, Mills said, and whether it made the difference is anyones guess. But Prop. 20 won 55% of the vote and led in 1976 to the Coastal Act that to this day protects the coast for the benefit of fragile marine and land habitats and the enjoyment of everyone. Mills was 45 when he rode down the coast, and 89 now. He greeted me and photographer Allen Schaben at his Coronado condo and said he hasnt done any riding lately, but hes doing a lot of writing. Mills has written several books and is working on another. He leads us down to the basement, and there it is. The dusty, canary yellow Schwinn that Mills rode in 1972, and for many years after the Prop. 20 campaign. He was an avid cyclist. Mills also kept the helmet he wore in 1972. We took the bike upstairs, where Mills put on his helmet and posed next to the bike that is a piece of California history. The Coastal Act has done a great deal of good over the years, Mills said, and the cause is no less important now than it was when he rode south from San Francisco. We need to preserve the coast for the benefit of future generations, he said, and I thank him for his contribution.



Aug. 21, 2016, 10:50 p.m. Reporting from the Mexican border

Steve Lopez reflects back on his 1,100 mile trek down the California coast

6:57 P.M. Sometimes the sausage is good enough to eat Two things will happen soon. The last column from my 1,100 mile road trip down the California coast will be done. And the reform bill banning private communications between California Coastal Commissioners and developers, as well as others, could finally emerge from the factory. As Ive been saying, Hannah-Beth Jacksons bill sailed through the Senate and should have done the same in the Assembly, but it got pushed off into a dark corner after a very fishy report claimed that reform costs money. The thing has come back to life, though, with amendments that arent as bad as the original amendments. I dont see why we need the amendments at all, or why the wrangling has to take place behind closed doors and out of public view. While I was thinking about that, a reader emailed me a clever idea about how to keep coastal commissioners honest -- make them strap on body cameras, like cops. I like it, and why not do the same with legislators, so we can all see whats going on? Having said all this, though, Im hearing from supporters of Jacksons bill that they think theres actually a chance the legislation is going to be OK, once all the cooks are done tweaking the recipe. Sausage is full of awful stuff, but just about all of it is good on the grill. So as much fun as Ive had telling you to ping Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, @Rendon63rd, and Appropriations Chair Lorena Gonzalez, @LorenaAD80, and ask what gives, maybe we should try another approach. Im told that Rendon, Gonzalez and other Assembly leaders have done some decent work rescuing this much-needed bill from the trash. So go ahead and tweet them again, and tell them youre encouraged, and still watching -- to the extent thats possible -- and counting on them to do whats necessary to get the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown, which is when the real fun will begin.

8:46 A.M. When it comes to coastal protection, why does state Assembly have such a problem with transparency? The need to clean up the way the California Coastal Commission operates was obvious. Commissioners meet privately with developers more than with any other group, by far. They have repeatedly failed to fully explain the nature of those meetings, and have even failed to report them on occasion. State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) penned a bill to ban such meetings. It cleared the Senate and bounced over to the Assembly, which nearly killed it, but finally decided this week to merely beat it to a pulp. The toothless mess that emerged from the Assembly Appropriations Committee this week would allow private meetings to continue under certain circumstances, and now Sen. Jackson has the task of trying to put some punch back into her bill. And heres the irony: We dont know which Assembly members, or higher powers, conspired to water down Jacksons bill because there is no transparency in the process. You cant peer through a window into the sausage factory. These amendments were hammered out privately. One can guess that the development lobby and labor groups did not like Jacksons reform bill because it would get in the way of a process that gives an advantage to those who want to build on the coast. One can even guess that the Brown administration shares their view. But we dont know, because a bill to shine a light on important decision-making got pummeled in a dark room, and the perps left no fingerprints. See Dan Weikels story at latimes.com. Ive sent in a request for an explanation to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount). He has appointing authority for four coastal commissioners and itd be nice to hear what he thinks about the handiwork by his Appropriations Committee. If youd like to ping him or Appropriations Chair Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to ask what happened, try @Rendon63rd and @LorenaAD80. Or you can drop a line to The Silent One @JerryBrownGov, but Ive tried, and despite months of turmoil and controversy on the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Act he signed into law, the governor doesnt want to be disturbed.



7:36 A.M. Summer is in the rear-view mirror, end of journey just down the road The tide splashes up on the beach at sunset on a warm summer evening at Windansea Beach in La Jolla. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Carlsbad. Leucadia. Encinitas. Cardiff. Solana. Del Mar. Summer is disappearing in my rear-view mirror. Week Five of my trip from Oregon to Mexico will be over in just a few days, 1,100 miles after it began. Photographer Allen Schaben is farther down the road, waiting for me in San Diego. Soon well stand at the Mexican border and reflect on a deeper love of the California coast, a greater appreciation of the Coastal Act on the 40-year anniversary of protections that became law. Ill wish Id had a week to spend in places where I only had an hour or two. Ill thank the people we met along the way, and tell others well take up their offer the next time through. Californians are passionate about their coast. Theyre closely watching those in public office whose job is to protect fisheries and dunes, to limit development and maximize access. Ive got one eye on Sacramento myself. On legislative reforms that would serve all Californians. On coastal commissioners, some of whom seem to have forgotten their purpose. Im pulling into San Diego, where the air is warm, the water blue, Mexico in the near distance.



4:14 P.M. La Jolla The palm fronds of a palapa reveal a surfer, a couple and children taking in a warm summer sunset at Windansea Beach in La Jolla. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)



1:07 P.M. newport beach

Watts in a name? Find Amp-le answers in Newport Beach On Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times) Im driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway and spot the sign. The boat name of the week, it says, is Watt A Man. Thats not a mistake. This is the headquarters for Duffy, which makes the electric boats that are part of the culture in the Newport harbor. Many years ago, I wrote a column about a day of hobnobbing and bar-hopping, by boat, with local residents. I also wrote, at the time, about boat owners trying to out-do each other with clever names for the battery-powered boats. One of my favorites was Salt n Battery. So what are some of the newer ones? I walk into the office, and salesman Jim Drayton says one of the best ones this summer was Amp-ly Endowed. Not bad. Tyler Duffield, of the Duffy family, shows me a list with a few more recent winners. Your name here. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times) Its a Ohm Run. Watt the Hey. Watta Yacht. Going back through the years, some of the better names include: Current Affair. Carry Us Ohm Watts the Hurry. Shock Cousteau. Ohmer Simpson. Knots and Volts. I could go on, but why dont you, instead? Send me your best names. Its not as easy as it looks, Duffield said. Its usually the hardest part, he says. Someone comes in and orders a boat, and they get the colors and everything figured out, and the last thing to do is come up with a name before the boat leaves the factory. Yeah, Its a Duff Life out here, where people are Ohm on the Watter, but It Is Watt It Is.



9:13 A.M. Going under in Laguna Beach A snorkeler looks for fish at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Garibaldi swim and feed on rocks at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

2:41 P.M. Catching waves in Huntington Beach



10:53 A.M. On our way toward Mexico A view of the beach through a telescope at Pacific City, a new 31-acre mixed-use development in Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City U.S.A. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The site of the proposed Banning Ranch development now before the California Coastal Commission. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The tide rolls in at twilight at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station located on the border of San Diego County and San Clemente. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

4:52 P.M. Laguna Beach

4:45 P.M. Laguna Beach



12:51 P.M. Dana Point A pod of dolphins leaps out of the water with a view of south Laguna Beach in the background on Aug. 12, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

10:37 P.M. sacramento

Profiles in courage: Legislators soften Coastal Commission reform, leave no fingerprints A perfectly sensible bill to clean up the way California coastal commissioners do business has been getting the waterboard treatment. First, Santa Barbara Sen. Hannah-Beth Jacksons SB 1190 was submerged by a ludicrous report claiming it would cost too much money to prohibit private conversations between developers and commissioners. Then it was tossed overboard and dragged like chum. Then on Thursday, legislators pulled SB 1190 back into the boat so badly decomposed its barely recognizable. As my colleague Dan Weikel reports at latimes.com, five amendments gutted the good intentions. The most egregious one allows commissioners to meet privately with developers during on-site visits. This comes just weeks after reports that Coastal Commission Chairman Steve Kinsey met twice with developers of the massive Newport Banning Ranch development and failed to properly report those confabs. Environmental groups, however, would not be able to have such meetings in the bills current form. On my best day, I could not have come up with a more Alice in Wonderland outcome. Details were still emerging, and it wasnt clear which legislators were responsible for the hatchet job, or whether they caved in to political, development or union pressure, or all three. No fingerprints on the body, in other words. Three environmentalists I checked with were livid, and understandably so. Stay tuned for updates on the autopsy, and dont stop letting @JerryBrownGov know how you feel about whats happening to coastal preservation on his watch. #SaveYourCoast



7:46 A.M. Sunset at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages Children run along the beach at twilight near the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The sun sets over the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Isabella, 9, and Holden, 7, roast marshmallows over a beach fire with their parents, Steve and Amy Knuff, of Aliso Viejo at twilight at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Incoming tide rolls onto the beach at twilight at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)



1:29 P.M. Column: Fighting for the California coast from a tiny office in her kitchen nook Susan Jordan, who created and runs the California Coastal Protection Network, is seen in her Santa Barbara office. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) If you were a coastal conservation activist in California, with 1,100 miles of shoreline to look after, how would you even decide where to begin? Theres always a battle somewhere, and let me give you just a couple of examples from one tiny section of the coast. Moss Landing is in the news again this week as the Surfrider Foundation and other activists try to stop Cemex, an international sand mining company, from trucking away the beach as it has done for decades, causing erosion that has begun to set off lots of alarms. Read more



8:49 A.M. Hermosa Beach

Remember when you could spend a night at a California beach motel for less than a weeks pay? A third-generation motel owner in this seaside town tells me he gets an offer, about every other day, from someone who wants to buy his property, bulldoze it and rebuild. But hes hanging on because three generations of families have been staying at his low-budget, no-frills motel since the 1960s, and he doesnt want to end those summer vacation traditions. Elsewhere on the California coast, motels and hotels have been bought out by chains and developers, driving up the cost of affordable family vacations. Look for my column on the Hermosa Beach motel in the coming days. And if you know of good low-budget beach lodging, or if youve seen your motel go from cheap to chic, drop me a line at steve.lopez@latimes.com Over the next two days, photographer Allen Schaben and I will be in Hermosa and Huntington Beach, reporting on the proposed desalination plant there. And, by the way, we should find out in the next day or two whether legislation banning private meetings between coastal commissioners and developers is released from legislative prison and put up for a vote in the state Assembly. Theres still time to weigh in at #SaveYourCoast and be sure to give a poke to @JerryBrownGov and Assemblywoman, Lorena Gonzalez @LorenaAD80. Read more
California Coastal Commission officials said Wednesday that the powerful land use agency is quickly resolving a temporary cash flow problem partly triggered by the timing of grant payments and reimbursements.

Chief Deputy Director Susan Hansch said the commission has now received almost enough money from its funding sources to pay back a $1.45 million loan from the state Department of Finance that was approved in June.

The so-called bridge loan  a common tool used when local and state agencies technically fall short of funding, typically because of delays in the timing of payments  was made to help the commission make payroll in July.

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We are not now in deficit, we were never in deficit and we wont be in deficit at the end of the year  Susan Hansch, Chief Deputy Director, California Coastal Commission

Hansch, who addressed commissioners during their meeting in Santa Cruz, announced that the agency has received $1,136,270 in grant money and reimbursements for work done for other agencies such as Caltrans. The commission is waiting for agencies to catch up with another $320,000 in payments.

Once all the money is received, the entire loan, which carries no interest, will be repaid all at once as requested by the finance department. Officials say the loan should be paid off in about a month, well before the October deadline.

We are not now in deficit, we were never in deficit and we wont be in deficit at the end of the year, Hansch told commissioners, some of whom had expressed alarm about the budget shortfall.

Hansch said the agency fell behind in receiving grant payments and reimbursements from local, state and federal sources due to personnel issues, the illness of a staff member who submitted invoices, and requirements that work done for other agencies cannot be billed until completed.

The commission, which oversees environmental and development matters along 1,100 miles of California coastline, has an annual budget of about $24 million, with 163 permanent employees and a monthly payroll of $1.2 million.

Follow columnist Steve Lopez and photographer Allen Schaben as they explore what has been saved and what is at risk along Californias 1100 miles of coast 

The shortfall  the second in two years at the commission  prompted the finance department in June to order a financial audit of the agency. It began earlier this month.

When they learned about the bridge loan at their June meeting, Commissioners Roberto Uranga, Effie Turnbull-Sanders, Wendy Mitchell and Martha McClure said they were concerned about deficit spending and possible lapses in management.

I want a balanced budget at the end of the year, Uranga said. We need to do a better job. No one likes to borrow money. We need to get a closer handle on the budget.

Commissioners Carole Groom, Mary Shallenberger and chairman Steve Kinsey, however, downplayed the loan, saying local and state governments regularly rely on short-term borrowing to deal with temporary interruptions in funding.

Bridge loans are provided to local governments in Marin County on a regular basis, said Kinsey, who is also a Marin County supervisor. More troubling would be for us to exceed our budgeted authority.

Since the audit was announced, the finance department has expanded its scope to include the commissions governing structure, its bureaucracy and the efficiency of its operations.

The review is set to be completed in late November or early December and will cost the commission about $300,000, an expense that officials say equals a few staff salaries and could result in layoffs.

Its remarkable they are charging us $300,000, Dayna Bochco, the commissions vice chair, said at Wednesdays meeting. Its also remarkable that we might have to take away positions when we are already short-staffed.
Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis has been subpoenaed to testify at the trial of a Mexican tycoon charged with illegally contributing $600,000 in cash and services to San Diego mayoral campaigns in 2012  including her own unsuccessful bid.

Michael Wynne, the attorney for Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, said he wanted to call Dumanis to counter the contention from federal prosecutors that Azano was secretly scheming to funnel funds into her campaign.

The truth is Mr. Azano had nothing to do with her campaign, Wynne said.

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Since the first indictments in the case were handed down in 2014, Dumanis has said she was unaware that Azano funded an independent expenditure committee that had been set up to help her. A spokesman for Dumanis declined to comment on the subpoena Wednesday, citing the ongoing trial.

For the last 2 weeks prosecutors have laid out their case  trying to show that Azano worked to funnel money into the campaigns of former Mayor Bob Filner and Dumanis via straw donors, independent committees and campaign services.

The motive, they argue, was to gain support in the mayors office for a glitzy waterfront development Azano wanted to build.

Dumanis has said that although she had lunch with Azano at his Coronado waterfront home, she had little recollection of the meeting. In an interview after Azanos arrest, she said:

Nobody asked me for any promises, nobody talked about getting anything in exchange for anything from me, and if they had I would have kicked them to the curb.

A key aspect of the trial is whether Dumanis, Filner or any political operatives knew that Azano was a foreign citizen and therefore unable to contribute legally to domestic campaigns.

Wynne said Filner, who won the mayoral race but later resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal, would testify that he had little contact with Azano.

At the start of the trial, Wynne told jurors that Azano was being targeted by federal prosecutors for another reason  a long dispute he had in Mexico with San Diegos Sempra Energy over land. He contended that Sempra pressured the government to go after Azano as payback for his interference.

The defense attorney said that Jeff Light, publisher and editor in chief of the San Diego Union-Tribune, also would be subpoenaed to testify about Sempras activities in Baja  where for years the company has been accused of engaging in corruption. The Union-Tribune published a series of stories centered on a company whistle-blower in 2010.

Light said he has not been served with a subpoena.

greg.moran@sduniontribune.com

Moran writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
An actor who had two brief appearances on CBS Criminal Minds has pleaded no contest to charges that he stole more than $60,000 from one of the shows former headliners, actor Shemar Moore.

As part of a plea bargain reached Wednesday morning in San Fernando, actor Keith Tisdell, 42, agreed to repay Moore, 46, the sum of $61,084.

Prosecutors charged that Tisdell took the money after he befriended Moore in 2013, when they appeared in the same Season 8 episode. Tisdell was playing a character named Rodney Harrison, who had appeared on the show once before in Season 2, according to his IMDB page.

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In bringing that story to life, we became friends.  We went into business together, Moore told Judge Hayden Zacky ahead of Tisdells sentencing.

In his private life, Moore, who played FBI Special Agent Derek Morgan for 11 seasons, started a charity to help battle multiple sclerosis, a disease from which his mother suffered. The charity is called Baby Girl LLC, named after one of Moores signature phrases on the show, he told the court.

Tisdell was involved with the organization. Records show he was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement in January but ultimately admitted to grand theft.

The theft had gone undiscovered for some time, Moore told the judge. During their friendship, Moore said he bought Tisdell $10,000 rims for his car, funded shared overseas vacations and gave him up to $20,000 to help with expenses. When an audit revealed cash from the organization was missing, Moore confronted Tisdell, who denied stealing the money, the actor said in court.

In my mind, he wasnt man enough to look me in the eye and fess up, Moore told the judge.

As he spoke, Tisdell occasionally shook his head in disagreement.

Ive done a lot for him because he had me, my friends fooled, Moore continued. Im not here for money. Im here because he betrayed a friendship. This is not OK. You dont do this to people.

After the sentencing, Tisdells attorney gave Moore $5,000 worth of money orders; his client has to repay about $56,000, or he could end up in jail. If Tisdell pays back the money and stays out of legal trouble for the next three years, the conviction may be expunged from his record, the judge said.

Joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

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Police were searching Wednesday for a Los Angeles man accused of stabbing a woman and attempting to gouge out a mans eyes who fled a courthouse and cut off a monitoring bracelet.

An arrest warrant was issued for Abel Munguia, 19, whom police called a dangerous fugitive, after his electronic monitoring ankle device was recovered in Carson.

Munguia had been free on bail and was appearing Wednesday in a Long Beach courthouse to answer felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon in the stabbing of a 20-year-old woman.

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Authorities said he fled after he was informed he was being charged with a second felony assault with aggravated mayhem for attempting to gouge out the eye of a 50-year-old man. That charge can result in a 15 years to life sentence upon conviction.

He said he was going to the restroom and never came back, said Los Angeles Police Det. Patty Batts.

Authorities issued a new arrest warrant and increased Munguias bail to $1.25 million.

Munguia was arrested in December on suspicion of stabbing the woman in the back, according to LAPD detectives. Then on Aug. 3, Munguia was arrested in the gouging case. Batts said that when Munguia realized his bail would be increased to more than $1 million, he decided to flee.

Batts said Munguia may have been in the country without legal status. He was participating in an immigration program for potential deportees, in which his whereabouts were to be monitored electronically instead of holding him in custody. His family had provided the bond money for his release to the program, she said.

When detectives learned that he fled the courthouse, the privately-contracted monitoring company initially refused to provide his whereabouts, Batts said.

Batts said Munguia is considered very dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call (310) 726-7861 or, after business hours, 1-877-LAPD-24-7

Twitter: @lacrimes

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As activists denounced the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Jesse Romero by Los Angeles police this week, investigators continued to scour a Boyle Heights neighborhood for witnesses and performed tests on a rusty revolver the teen allegedly fired at gang officers.

This is an extensive, ongoing investigation that will examine all aspects of the shooting, Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Andrew Neiman said Thursday.



For the record: A previous version of this article said that Jesse Romero attended the Soto Street campus of the Soledad Enrichment Action Charter School. He actually attended a program at Soledad Enrichment Action.

Police say Romero fired on two Hollenbeck Division gang detail officers early Tuesday evening after a brief chase down busy Cesar Chavez Avenue and Breed Street.

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The officers, who wore full-duty uniforms, were responding to a call of a two teens writing gang-type graffiti and engaging in possible narcotics activity near Cesar Chavez Avenue and Chicago Street. Romero, who would have turned 15 in two weeks, bolted from the officers, who gave chase.

At least one civilian witness told detectives that Romero shot at police before he was killed, Neiman said.

The departments Force Investigation Division continues to canvass the neighborhood in search of additional witnesses. Investigators are also reviewing video from the officers body cameras and will break the images down frame by frame.

Yet as officials piece together evidence of the shooting, very different versions of the incident have spread among area residents.

According to a woman who said she saw the shooting but declined to give her name, Romero pulled the revolver from his waistband, threw it against a fence and ran. The gun fired when it hit the ground, she told The Times.

According to two gun experts, thats not an impossible scenario, given the age and condition of the gun police showed at a news conference Wednesday.

This is an antique revolver, probably a .38 caliber, which does not have a modern safety device that prevents accidental discharges when dropped on its hammer, Gregory Lee, a retired supervisory special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency, wrote in an email. It most probably fired when it was dropped.

The caliber of bullet fired was either .38 or .22, said Scott Reitz, co-founder of International Tactical Training in Los Angeles who worked for the LAPD for 30 years.

The gun is in poor condition, not well kept, rusty and so forth and was probably manufactured in the 1940s, Reitz said.

If the internal mechanisms are worn, its possible if its dropped it could go off, Reitz said. If you were to look at the outside, how its not cared for, its probably dry as a bone on the inside.

He said police could perform a drop test, such as dropping the gun 50 times with a cocked hammer to see if it would fire.

The LAPD has declined to say whether Romero belonged to a gang, citing their ongoing investigation, but social media tributes to the boy featured gang signs and names.

Romero had attended Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School until May 16, 2016, according to Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman Shannon Haber.

He later was a client of a program at Soledad Enrichment Action, a nonprofit that includes a charter high school network as well as gang prevention and intervention programs.

For the second night in a row Thursday, protesters planned to gather at Breed Street and Cesar Chavez Avenue, where the shooting occurred. An organizer of the event said participants were demanding an independent investigation of the incident, and charged that the LAPD couldnt be trusted to investigate itself.

I have a hard time believing that the LAPD or the Sheriffs Department can independently and objectively investigate officer-involved shootings, said Jaime Segall-Gutierrez, a civil rights attorney and an East L.A. resident. Segall-Gutierrez said he would like the U.S. attorneys office, in particular the civil rights division, to investigate the shooting.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

richard.winton@latimes.com

sonali.kohli@latimes.com

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The Long Beach City Council has approved two separate payouts totaling $3.5 million to settle wrongful-death lawsuits brought by the families of unarmed men who were shot and killed by police in recent years, officials said.

The City Council unanimously approved settlements for the families of Hector Morejon and Jason Conoscenti in a closed session meeting on Tuesday night, according to City Atty. Charles Parkin.

Morejons mother will receive $1.5 million, Parkin said. Conoscentis aunts, his closest surviving relatives, will receive $2 million, according to one of their attorneys, Eric Valenzuela.

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Conoscentis death in April 2014 gained widespread attention after a video showed officers shooting him as he ran away down a staircase toward the beach, with a police dog nipping at his heels.

WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO: Police fire on suspect in Long Beach

Conoscenti, 36, initially fled from Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies when they responded to report of a theft inside a Target store in Compton.

He drove off in a white SUV into Long Beach, where he stopped and ran. The video appears to show Conoscenti with his hands extended toward the stair rails when officers opened fire.

Whats somewhat disturbing is Long Beach issues a press release claiming he was shot while reaching for his waistband, when the video clearly shows he was not, Valenzuela said.

Morejon, 19, was killed under controversial circumstances nearly one year later. The teen was unarmed when he was shot by Officer Jeffrey A. Meyer, who was responding to a report of trespassing inside a vacant apartment in the 1100 block of Hoffman Avenue.

According to the initial police account, Meyer opened fire after he saw Morejon turn towards him, while bending his knees, and extended an arm out as if pointing an object, which [the officer] perceived was a gun.

An autopsy report reviewed by the Los Angeles Times shows Morejon died of a single gunshot wound to the back. No weapon was recovered.

Morejons attorney, Samuel R. Paz, contended the teen was either facing away, or running away, from the officer when the shooting occurred.

The Morejon familys lawsuit also accused Meyer of failing to render first aid to Morejon after the shooting.

Paz, who said he has reviewed a report by the Police Departments shooting review board on Morejons death, said the agency faulted some of Meyers tactics during the incident. The report criticized the officer for approaching the property without backup and for using his gun-mounted flashlight to illuminate the area, according to Paz.

But the lawyer said the review board ultimately decided that the shooting did not violate the departments deadly force policy.

Paz criticized the department, saying he believes the shooting may have been the result of an accidental discharge. He accused the agency of ignoring the autopsys finding that Morejon was shot in the back, which he said contradicts Meyers claim that Morejon was pointing what the officer thought was a weapon at him.

That stinks, Paz said. Thats an indication of a dysfunctional review process.

Paz said the report completed by the departments shooting-review board is under a protective order signed by a federal judge and cannot be publicly released.

The officers involved in both killings remain on active duty, according to Long Beach police spokeswoman Cynthia Arrona. She declined to comment on the review boards findings in the Morejon case. It was not clear what, if any, discipline the officers faced. Arrona did not identify the officers who shot Conoscenti.

The city recognizes that the loss of any human life has lasting consequences for the family, friends, neighbors, those employees involved, and the city as a whole, the Police Department said in a statement. The city of Long Beach and its police department remain committed to improving police community relations, constitutional policing, and best practices.

Investigations into both shootings have been presented to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office to determine whether the officers should face criminal charges. The cases remain under review, according to Arrona and D.A. spokeswoman Jane Robison.

Long Beach police have come under scrutiny for a number of fatal shootings in recent years. Last month, the city agreed to pay $3 million to the family of Tyler Woods, an unarmed man who was shot 19 times after running from police in 2013.

The city is also facing a lawsuit in the 2015 shooting of a mentally disabled man inside an arcade. Police said Mharloun Saycon, 39, was shot after ignoring repeated commands to put down a small knife. His family contends that Saycon posed no threat to the officers and was seated when he was shot.

Dale Galipo, the lead attorney for Conoscentis aunts, said the circumstances surrounding a number of Long Beach police shootings in recent years are a clear sign of a need for reform.

Hopefully theyll start getting the message that they cant continue to shoot unarmed people, he said. Hopefully, some of these civil cases and some of the payouts they are having to make will get their attention.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.

UPDATES:

5:35 p.m.: This story was updated with comments from the attorney for Conoscentis family.

This story first published at 5:10 p.m.
The former mayor of South El Monte made his first court appearance Wednesday on a federal corruption charge accusing him of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from a city contractor.

Standing in a black suit with a gray tie that matched the scruff of his beard, Luis Aguinaga acknowledged that he understood what federal prosecutors had alleged: that he had accepted regular cash payments totaling $45,000 from 2005 to 2012, often in a City Hall bathroom.

Aguinaga, 48, has agreed to plead guilty to the charge, and the court proceeding was a procedural step before he formally enters his plea.

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In her downtown Los Angeles courtroom, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jean P. Rosenbluth told Aguinaga that he was allowed to remain free on a $20,000 unsecured appearance bond.

But the judge attached a number of conditions: Aguinaga is barred from traveling outside the Central District of California, which includes the Inland Empire and stretches from Orange to San Luis Obispo counties. He was to surrender his expired passport, and the judge reminded him he was forbidden from talking to witnesses and victims in the case.

Sitting in the courtrooms pews were Aguinagas family members as well as Mayor Pro Tem Gloria Olmos, who has assumed mayoral duties in the San Gabriel Valley city.

After the brief hearing, Aguinaga quickly left the courtroom and his attorney, Peter Johnson, declined to comment, stretching his arms to keep reporters away from his client.

Aguinaga, who was elected in 2003 to the South El Monte City Council and also sits on the board of a local water agency, submitted his resignation on Tuesday.

It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to have represented equally residents and businesses in the community, he wrote in his letter.

The long-running corruption scheme that Aguinaga admitted to last month involved an unnamed contractor who provided construction and engineering services to the city, according to court papers. The contractor typically handed over bundles of at least $500 in cash on a roughly twice-per-month schedule, according to court papers.

If the contractor did not send over the money soon enough, Aguinaga would follow up with a reminder, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

The FBI caught Aguinaga accepting cash in 2012 in the bathroom of a local Ramada Inn. Other payments were left in the passenger pocket of a car.

At times, Aguinga accepted larger sums and split the cash with another public official who remains unidentified by federal prosecutors, according to court papers.

The lingering questions over that officials identity have cast a pall over the city, prompting local leaders to pledge they are rooting out corruption.

If theres anyone who has had their hand [in] the cookie jar, believe me, they will be dealt with, Olmos said at a news conference last week.

Members of the City Council as well as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have called on State Auditor Elaine Howle to examine improper governmental activities in the city of 20,000 residents.

A future court date for Aguinaga has not been set, but he is expected to enter his plea before U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin, who will also impose a sentence. The bribery charge to which he agreed to enter a guilty plea carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

For more breaking news from California, follow me on Twitter at @MattHjourno.
Four people were injured, two of them critically, when a motorist trying to avoid a parking ticket drove through MacArthur Park and plowed into a group of pedestrians Thursday, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 12:30 p.m., and the driver was taken to the hospital, Officer Aareon Jefferson said.

The driver was questioned by police but later released. Investigators have concluded he was not under the influence at the time of the crash, Capt. Andrew Neiman said.

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News footage from KTLA showed a group of paramedics and firefighters treating four people sprawled on the grass under a tree inside the northwest corner of the park next to a sidewalk. One by one, the patients were wheeled into ambulances and taken to L.A. County-USC Medical Center.

According to police, the driver of the truck was at a meter along Park View Street when he was approached by Department of Transportation ticketing officers. Before the officers reached him however, the driver shifted the truck into reverse and drove several hundred yards into the park, destroying a parking meter and hitting four people, Jefferson said.

Not far from the crash scene Thursday, parkgoer Justyna Sawicka said she knew the driver well. He would usually park under the shade of trees on Park View, she said, and lived out of his truck.

He had lived in the area for the last two years, she said, and would never crash into people on purpose.

I feel like its a dream, she said as she wiped tears from her eyes. Hes a nice person.

Down by the lake, Cody Egan walked his two boxers and surveyed the crash scene. A lot of homeless people rest in that area, he said.

Im not surprised, he said, adding that many parkgoers drink in the area and cause a ruckus. Theres a lot of suspicious activity here.

About a dozen police officers searched the scene at about 2 p.m. to determine the trajectory of the vehicle and to survey the damage.

Plastic bags, torn clothing, a backpack and worn-out shoes were spread throughout patches of grass, dirt and leaves.

Officers said the clothing belonged to the injured. Its unclear whether the victims are homeless.

The black Dodge pickup, with a camper shell, was parked nearby on the sidewalk. Police took a dog that was in the truck with the driver, officials said.

All four of the injured were described as men 24 to 35 years old. The drivers age was not immediately known, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

UPDATES:

7:50 p.m.: This article was updated with details on the driver being released by police.

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with details of the suspected driver.

1:55 p.m.: This article was updated with details of the crash.

1:30: This article was updated with details about the driver and the victims.

This article was originally published at 1:20 p.m.
A man wanted for questioning in connection with a reported sexual assault in a Costa Mesa mall parking lot turned himself over to police Thursday morning.

The 20-year-old man, whose name has not been released, came to Santa Ana police in the early morning hours after an acquaintance told him that his picture was on social media. Santa Ana police, in turn, notified Costa Mesa authorities, who were looking to question him.

He checked social media and decided to turn himself in to police, Costa Mesa police Lt. Paul Beckman said in a news release Thursday morning. At this time, no arrest has been made.

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Police say they were called to South Coast Plaza shopping center, located at 3333 S. Bristol St., at about 5:45 p.m. on Aug. 2. A 24-year-old female reported that a man had followed her to her car and began forcibly touching her. The woman was able to fight off the man, and she was not injured, police said.

Following the incident, authorities circulated a physical description along with security camera footage of the suspected attacker. The images showed a slim man wearing a dark blue shirt, blue shorts and a blue hat. Police described him as being about 5-foot-8 with short dark hair.

Police said the suspect may have tried to approach other women in the parking lot.

Costa Mesa police interviewed him, and detectives are continuing to follow up on the investigation,' Beckman said.

The case is expected to be presented to the Orange County district attorney within the next few days, Beckman said.
A man was arrested Tuesday after he was found tending more than 2,300 unauthorized marijuana plants at a San Bernardino property, according to law enforcement.

Camilo Farias-Rodrigues, 33, was described by authorities as a transient from central California who was hired to take care of the plants and was staying on the property in the 8000 block of Sunnyside Avenue. He was booked on suspicion of illegal cultivation of marijuana and is being held on $25,000 bail.

The identity of the individual who hired Farias-Rodrigues is still unknown, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department.

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Deputies from the Sheriffs Central Station and investigators from the Sheriffs Marijuana Enforcement Team served a search warrant at the address after deputies responding to another call for service in the area noticed the plants.

Some plants were 9-10 tall and could be seen over a 6-7-foot-tall fence, said Cynthia Bachman, public information officer for the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office.

Upon entering the property, authorities found Farias-Rodrigues in the backyard tending to the growing marijuana. He was arrested without resistance and authorities confiscated the plants, which they said were in various stages of growth.

The suspect arrested at the scene appeared to have limited experience growing marijuana, said Bachman. The owners of the marijuana plants are rarely found at these types of grows. They are aware of the risk that law enforcement could arrive and arrest them.

Even though Farias-Rodrigues is not the property owner, deputies believe he was in violation of medical marijuana laws and local ordinances that prohibit outdoor cultivation of marijuana within unincorporated areas of the county.

The San Bernardino County District Attorneys Office will determine what charges, if any, will be filed against Farias-Rodrigues.
A hot tubs faulty wiring ignited one of Californias most destructive wildfires, a blaze that killed four people, sent four firefighters to the hospital and destroyed more than 1,300 homes last year, officials said Wednesday.

In addition, a fifth Northern Californian who was last seen in his home before it was destroyed by the Valley fire is missing and presumed dead.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection released a 500-page report into the cause of the 120-square-mile wildfire, which devastated a large portion of rural Lake County and parts of Napa County about 90 miles north of San Francisco in September 2015.

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The wiring of the hot tub on residential property owned by John and Cindy Pinch in the town of Cobb was not installed according to building code, investigators found.

 Tom Casler, who parked near a neighbors swimming pool, and Francisco Cervantes describe the drama of the wildfire that descended on Middletown, Calif.

The property owners are being investigated for possible criminal charges and whether they are responsible for any of the $57 million it cost to extinguish the fire.

The Pinches didnt return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott said a building permit was required when John Pinch installed the used hot tub in 2009.

We have not found a permit on file, Pimlott said at a news conference in Lake County.

Pimlott said investigators were discussing with the state attorney general whether the homeowners will be sued.

Lake County Dist. Atty. Don Anderson said at the news conference that he was reviewing the report and starting an investigation to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.

Thats very difficult to answer mainly because I havent read the report, Anderson said. We are involved with four deaths and that could be a whole range of criminal activity. Obviously there was destruction of a lot of property.

The Valley fire was the states third-most destructive blaze and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents and businesses.

Its pretty upsetting that a stupid little mistake like that could have caused so much devastation. It actually floors me.  Gary Herrin, resident

The blaze burned for more than two weeks, and dry, windy conditions made the initial days especially harrowing. The first confirmed fatality was Barbara McWilliams, 72, who suffered from advanced multiple sclerosis and used a wheelchair.

The report says it appears McWilliams tried to escape the flames that engulfed her Lake County home on Cobb Mountain by crawling into her fireplace.

Firefighters also found the remains of three other people.

A fifth person, Robert Lichtman, 61, has not been seen since the fire destroyed his Lake County home, and no remains have been found.

State officials say the cost of the damage will exceed $1.5 billion.

Its pretty upsetting that a stupid little mistake like that could have caused so much devastation. It actually floors me, said Gary Herrin, who had sobbed while walking through what little remained of his destroyed childhood home days after the fire past through his old neighborhood.

Lake County Supervisor Rob Brown said Wednesday that he doesnt want people distracted by the cause of the fire. He wants to stay focused on rebuilding the community.

I cant help but think the people who are responsible for this must be going through hell themselves, he said. Its awful all the way around.

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UPDATES:

7 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional details and quotes throughout.

This article was originally published at 5:15 p.m.
Flames tore though a large Craftsman home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and the fire jumped to two other homes, killing one dog and displacing dozens of residents.

The fire began about 4:45 p.m. outside a large, pale-green Craftsman home at the corner of 12th Place and Bonnie Brae Street in the Pico-Union neighborhood, according to Margaret Stewart, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The flames spread to neighboring Craftsman homes, forcing some residents to climb through windows to escape. The fire wrecked the homes and made the roofs unstable.

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Each home had at least two separate units, and a total of 41 residents were displaced, Stewart said. The residents were taken via bus to an LAFD station along Pico Boulevard, where they were to be given food until the Red Cross could place them in temporary accommodations.

Firefighters rescued dogs stranded in one of the homes, but one residents dog died in the blaze. The pets owner embraced a firefighter who pulled the dogs body from the fire.

More than 140 firefighters knocked down the fire in about 70 minutes.

One person from a nearby home that was not touched by flames reported a medical issue, Stewart said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno.

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A wildfire in the mountains of San Bernardino County grew only slightly overnight, remaining under 8,000 acres, with 70% containment, officials said Thursday.

The Pilot fire has burned 7,899 acres and triggered evacuations and school closures since it was reported about noon Sunday. There are 1,584 firefighters battling the blaze.

Drastic improvements in containment were achieved by a fleet of helicopters and air tankers that attacked the fire, as well as the so-called containment lines that firefighters have built since the blaze began.

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We continue to make significant improvements in our line construction, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bob Poole. There was minimal fire activity overnight, in fact all through yesterday.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said voluntary evacuation advisories for Hesperia, Apple Valley and Summit Valley would be lifted by noon Thursday.

We ask that residents returning to the evacuation zone please exercise caution, the department said in an advisory.

Road closures through the area will be opened as well, including Arrowhead Lake Road from Hesperia Lake to Highway 173, Highway 173 from Highway 138 through Summit Valley, and Deep Creek Road from Rock Springs Road to the Spillway.

The Pacific Crest Trail will remain closed due to ongoing suppression efforts.

The Apple Valley, Hesperia and Oro Grande Unified school districts announced schools would be reopened Thursday.

As firefighters gained the upper hand on the Pilot fire, details emerged on the cause of the deadly 2015 Valley fire in Northern California.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection released a report into the cause, which found a hot tubs faulty wiring had ignited one of Californias most destructive wildfires.

The Valley fire killed four people, seriously injured four firefighters and destroyed more than 1,300 homes, according to Cal Fire.

At its peak, more than 4,000 firefighters battled the blaze, which cost nearly $57 million to extinguish. It became the third most destructive wildfire in the states recorded history.

Property owners John and Cindy Pinch of the town of Cobb are being investigated for possible criminal charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For more California news, follow @brittny_mejia on Twitter.

ALSO:

Faulty hot tub caused deadly 2015 Northern California wildfire

Vigil held for 14-year-old boy shot and killed by LAPD: Justice for Jesse

41 displaced and 1 dog killed when raging fire rips through homes in Pico-Union

UPDATES:

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with details about voluntary evacuation advisories being lifted.

This article was originally published at 7:45 a.m.
Los Angeles will pay $500,000 to settle a lawsuit by a police sergeant who alleged that he suffered retaliation after speaking up about racism in the Los Angeles Police Department.

It is the second time that the city has approved a monetary settlement to resolve a lawsuit brought by Sgt. Wayne Guillary over claims of discrimination in the department. After settling an earlier case a decade and a half ago, Guillary continued his career, thinking the racism he experienced in the past was behind him, his lawsuit stated.

Instead, Guillary said he was again subjected to harassment and discrimination after standing up for his rights, speaking out publicly about race issues, and reporting misconduct in the department. For instance, Guillary said, three years ago he was berated by his captain after informing him of a car accident that sent another officer to the hospital  a strong overreaction that stemmed from Guillary speaking publically and internally about race issues within the department, his lawsuit alleged.

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Guillary said he later spoke up in front of the Police Commission about ghost cars  police logging into the computers on their squad cars to falsely make it appear they were on patrol. He also publicly criticized Chief Charlie Beck after he decided not to fire a white officer who had uttered a racial slur outside a bar, according to the lawsuit.

Guillary said that months later, he was disciplined for failing to report an officer-involved shooting incident that he had in fact reported. It was the first time that he had gotten such a notice in his 34-year career with the department, his lawsuit said.

The sergeant also alleged that he suffered further retaliation when he was told that he could no longer be a watch commander. Guillary said he was told that he could no longer go into the field or sign reports because of a long-standing medical condition, even though the disorder had never before led to any restrictions. As a result, he ended up being supervised by his subordinates, the lawsuit said.

The Los Angeles City Council approved the payout Wednesday in an 11-0 vote, with council members Joe Buscaino, Gil Cedillo, Paul Koretz and Nury Martinez absent. An LAPD spokesman said the department was unable to speak about the settlement.

In his latest complaint, Guillary said the previous lawsuit stemmed from objections he raised about internal recruiting documents, which used a racial slur to state that the department was hiring too many African Americans and mud ducks. When he complained, Guillary said he was told that he supervised too black and was demoted, according to the recent suit. The City Council agreed to a $300,000 payment in that earlier case, which was settled by 2001.

Guillary alluded to those past battles with the department in an open letter three years ago addressed to Christopher Dorner, the former officer who went on a deadly rampage against L.A. police and their families.

In his letter, posted on the website of Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Guillary urged Dorner to stop his attacks and surrender. He wrote that he himself had been in the fight with the organization regarding social and racial injustice within the LAPD and had paid a humiliating price.

This is not the answer, nor is this the way to resolve conflict, Guillary wrote to Dorner.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter at @LATimesEmily
The rapper Tyga and his former landlord have reached a settlement in their legal dispute over the performers rental of a Malibu mansion, clearing the way for a Los Angeles County judge to revoke an arrest warrant issued for him earlier this week after he failed to show up for a court hearing.

A confidential settlement was finalized Thursday to the mutual satisfaction of all parties, said lawyer Danny Abir, whose firm, Abir Cohen Treyzon Salo LLP, represents the landlord, Gholamreza Rezai.

The landlord is very satisfied with the settlement, Abir said.

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Tyga was scheduled to be questioned Tuesday under oath about his financial affairs and assets because he had yet to pay a judgment of more than $480,000 stemming from a lawsuit filed by Rezai in 2012.

The interrogation probably would have pried open the private business affairs of the 26-year-old Rack City rapper, who has been romantically involved with the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Kylie Jenner.

When Tyga did not show up in court, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Nancy L. Newman signed off on the arrest warrant, with bail set at $10,000, according to Abir.

The pending warrant posed a significant problem for Tyga, who is traveling out of the United States and would probably face arrest on his return, Abir said. Lawyers plan on notifying the judge of the settlement on Friday, setting the stage for her to cancel the warrant.

The case traces to 2011, when Tyga rented a Malibu mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean for $16,000 a month, according to court papers. He missed a monthly rental payment before breaking his lease early, court papers allege.

Tyga, whose legal name is Michael Ray Stevenson, left behind a home in need of repairs, said Boris Treyzon, another of the landlords attorneys.

The master bedroom had been outfitted with a strippers pole and the homes intercom system was disconnected. The hardwood floors, gate opener and glass-tiled shower were damaged, according to court papers.

He leased a house that he wanted to use as his primary residence, then he completely trashed it, Treyzon said. The original lawsuit filed in 2012 that led to the judgment also named Tyga Music.

In March, the judge approved a default judgment totaling $480,285, which covers compensation for the alleged vandalism, rent owed and legal fees. The judgment has a 10% yearly interest, Treyzon said.

After Tyga did not pay, the landlords attorneys sought a debtors examination  a hearing in which a person has to answer under oath about his property, assets and financial affairs.

A publicist for Tyga could not be reached for comment. Its unclear what attorney or law firm was representing him.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno.

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The vigil Wednesday night for Jesse Romero, the 14-year-old boy shot and killed the day before by Los Angeles police, was not silent.

When it began, the crowd of more than 70 people stood in a large circle. In the center, a group of Aztec dancers yelled and blew a conch, performing to the rhythm of a drum that echoed loudly throughout Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights.

Using a bullhorn, organizer Carolyn Vera, 25, addressed the crowd: As a community here in Boyle Heights, were here to denounce LAPDs killing of Jesse Romero, in case they cant hear us!

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In an empty lot not far away, a small group of officers stood outside their patrol cars, keeping watch.

At the vigil, men, women and children stood side-by-side, holding votive candles and signs that read, El pueblo unido for Jesse (The people united for Jesse).

Another stated, No mas madres en luto (No more mothers in mourning).

The chanting focused on the slain boy, who died just a few weeks shy of his 15th birthday: Justice for Jesse.

 Boyle Heights resident Monica Garcia talks about her longtime friend Jessie Romero, who was killed in an officer-involved shooting. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

But there were quieter moments: a moment of silence and the reading of a poem about the 1968 student massacre in the Tlatelolco zone of Mexico City, Mexico. Both sought to honor the dead students, Romero and anyone else killed by authorities in the U.S. and other countries.

Among those attending the vigil was 28-year-old Etujan Lopez of East Los Angeles, who said he had mixed feelings about the shooting.

I hear different stories about what happened, he said. I think its a failure on everyones part.

Lopez said there should be more community programs that help steer children away from gang activities and encourage them to get an education and professional careers.

According to the LAPD, Romero was suspected of writing gang-style graffiti in the area before leading officers on a foot chase and firing a gun at them late Tuesday afternoon.

The chase ended when Romero was fatally shot by officers at Breed Street and Cesar E. Chavez Avenue. A handgun was recovered at the scene, police said.

Lopez said the fatal shooting of Romero was an unfortunate and sad occurrence in a community he feels is moving away from its bad days.

I hear different stories about what happened. I think its a failure on everyones part.  Etujan Lopez, who attended the vigil

Forty minutes after it had started at 7 p.m., the vigil turned into a rally. The crowd swelled to more than 100 people who marched down First Street to the LAPDs Hollenbeck Community Police Station.

Some demonstrators walked and carried a large banner that read, Fire Charlie Beck, and they shouted, Justicia Para Jesse (Justice for Jesse). Their chants were amplified as they made their way through the underpass of the Golden State Freeway.

At the police station, the crowd quietly listened to speakers. The rally expressed solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Earlier in the evening, Vera had called on Latinos and blacks to stand together against police killings.

The marchers then made their way east on First Street, turning north on Breed Street to the place where Romero was shot.

Some residents stepped out of their single-story homes and apartments when they heard the loud chants.

Consuelo Ramos, 44, watched the crowd pass. She said she had mixed feelings about the deadly shooting.

They say the boy was armed and that he fired first at police, Ramos said. If he was unarmed, she said she would view the incident differently.

Near the scene of the deadly confrontation, some in the crowd distributed small posters with a picture of Romero in a white shirt. One person held a large Mexican flag.

Standing quietly, 17-year-old Julian Montenegro said he came out with his parents to support the Boyle Heights community that he lives in. He said he is bothered by the shooting.

Its really awful, he said. It instills fear in people of color.

Not far, Lopez stood silently. His eyes were watery.

Im in tears right now, he said, his hands on his waist. With tragedy things might change.

He paused, looking at the crowd.

Hopefully theyll change.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

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Ernest Spradley, who is African American, says he chuckled when a suburban white cop pulled him over and told him he was going 95 mph down a main drag.

I was like, Officer, Im in an 88 Honda Civic automatic, not even a stick, Spradley recently recalled, a wry smile on his face.

Clearly not amused, the officer called him a vulgar name and said, Are you trying to get smart with me? Spradley recalled.

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Before it was over, Spradley, a veteran Chicago cop, pulled out his police ID  not so much to get out of a ticket, he said, but so the officer would know he was armed and the situation wouldnt turn ugly.

Many black officers say they understand the conditions that brought young people to the streets to protest harsh treatment by police, white and black. But they bristle at attacks on cops at a time when violent crime in their city is a national topic.

There are good and bad in every profession, any profession, and I dont deny we have bad cops, said a black veteran patrol officer assigned to a majority-black police district on the South Side, who asked not to be identified. But what offends me the most is the protests like theyre doing now. A possibly bad shooting happens somewhere else in the country  where is your protest over the 4-year-old who was just shot?

Chris Fletcher, a 30-year veteran with the Chicago police before taking the police chiefs job in suburban Calumet City, knows all too well the duality of the job. Im on both sides of the fence depending on what day it is, he said.

Fletcher can still recall the heated exchange with a close friend over the death of LaTanya Haggerty, an unarmed African American woman who was shot and killed in the summer of 1999 by a Chicago police officer who mistook her cellphone for a weapon.

One of my nonpolice friends, Fletcher began, hes like, Man, how can you stand up behind that? Because they just killed that girl and she just had a cellphone. That could have been you or me, your sister, your little cousin.

The public doesnt look at the other end. What if it wasnt a cellphone? he said. What if it was a gun? And police officers have to make that split [-second] decision, because you say I can wait to see if its a cellphone and be killed. The average officer isnt willing to take that chance with their life.

Black cops know how volatile things can be at a crime scene. But while they may face the same dangers as white officers, some black residents  be they witnesses, victims or even the accused  may open up more freely to an African American officer than to his or her white counterpart, some black cops say.

Sometimes the victim may look to a familiar face and hear a little bit more clearer from a familiar face, said Spradley, who graduated from Morehouse College.

Black officers say theyre as concerned as anyone about the callousness displayed toward African Americans by some of their white counterparts. Theyve faced it. Their family, friends and neighbors have complained about it.

But the officers say they dont have the political muscle to make changes. And theyre preoccupied with a skyrocketing shooting and homicide rate.

Police shooting deaths of African Americans in Chicago and nationally are further putting black officers on the defensive  forced to answer for the actions of fellow law enforcement officers.

Officers say they feel blindsided with the release of every new viral video showing an attack on a black civilian.

Fletcher is among those officers who has deep concerns about policing in minority communities, while he also questions the medias treatment of the problem and the communitys response.

If you just looked at the media, you would think that the biggest issue for black folks is police brutality. But if you took a bloody weekend, all youve got to do is look at the number of people shot by police and the number of black people shot by black folks, and the [police] number pales in comparison, he said.

Fletcher was one of a number of officers disturbed by police actions seen in videos of the arrest of Sandra Bland, who died in a Texas jail last year, and the 16-shot death of Laquan McDonald in Chicago.

Starting out as a Chicago cop at 22 in the late 1980s, Fletcher said, hes seen the good, bad and ugly of police work and has always been troubled by some white colleagues who lacked empathy for the black residents they serve.

I wouldnt say that all of the white officers, or even the average one, [have] no empathy, he said. But I would say a lot of them dont have any empathy and at times they dont even understand that they dont. But in the things that they say, you see it.

Some older black officers say a lack of understanding and some heavy-handed, old-school policing tactics decried by activists and black cops alike have historic roots in Jim Crow segregation.

It was a way you were raised and brought up. The officers that came in our community who were not black wanted you to fear them, said Greg Baker, a regional vice president of the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives, who is also the police chief in South Holland.

Some retired cops are hoping recent incidents will shine a light on the need to hire more black officers. Only about 23% of officers in Chicago are African American; roughly a third of the citys population is black.

You need police officers who can change hats, said Patricia Hill, former head of the African American Police League. In black communities, she said, cops sometimes have to become the social worker, the teacher.

Spradley says his long-ago traffic stop that ended with an official warning from the suburban cop is a reminder of how police must work harder to maintain a respectful relationship with the people they serve.

I want to be the police officer that responds when my coat gets snatched off my back, or somebodys chasing me down a street to get my gym shoes off my feet, he said. I wanted to be that police officer that gave the service that I would want to have if I was the victim.

wlee@chicagotribune.com

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Baltimore officials estimate the cash-strapped city will have to spend $5 million to $10 million annually to comply with the forthcoming terms of a Justice Department agreement, an expense they say will be paid for by re-prioritizing the budget.

The Justice Department and city have reached an agreement in principle to develop a court-enforceable consent decree that will be designed to address problems uncovered by a lengthy investigation of the police department released this week.

The cost of buying equipment, upgrading technology, training or otherwise improving the department will not be known until the consent decree is drawn up. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she would make the tough decisions to find money in the citys $2.6-billion budget.

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City Hall was forced to close a $60-million deficit before approving this years budget.

State Sen. Catherine E. Pugh, the Democratic nominee for mayor, also said she would pay for needed improvements to the police department by setting priorities. In heavily Democratic Baltimore, she is favored to win the general election. Rawlings-Blake is not seeking reelection.

This is going to be a priority for us as a city, but well also be looking to the philanthropic community, the state and our federal partners for assistance, Pugh said. Everybody knows that Baltimore is in a tight budget situation. Everybody has to be all in.

The police department is budgeted to spend $480 million in the current fiscal year, or 18% of the citys operating budget.

The consent decree is expected to address issues such as use of excessive force and discriminatory searches and arrests.

The city and Justice Department are expected to complete negotiations on the consent decree by Nov. 1, leaving the implementation of the mandates up to the next mayor.

It is unclear how much the state or federal government may contribute.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Wednesday he had not yet seen the Justice Department report and was not sure how much any required changes might cost.

Were going to take a close look at it, and were going to see if we can provide any assistance, Hogan said.

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said the department would look for any available grants, but typically local jurisdictions have been responsible for reforms required by the Justice Department under similar circumstances.

Generally, when the Department of Justice comes in under a consent decree, theyre not coming in with a checkbook, Davis said.

Davis was a high-ranking official on the Prince Georges County police force when the Justice Department required that county to comply to the terms of a consent decree in 2004. It took four and a half years to satisfy the requirements, Davis said.

In an email to the thousands of officers under his command, Davis said that coming to terms with the Justice Department report presents a challenging moment, but a moment we will be able to reflect upon in the future and know it will set us on a path to better policing.

The Justice Department outlined routine violations by city police officers of residents constitutional rights, as well as specific actions that Davis has called egregious. It also found black residents were disproportionately targeted by police.

Despite these findings, this report is not an indictment on every officer that has the privilege of wearing our uniform, patch and badge, Davis wrote in his email, which was obtained by the Baltimore Sun.

You may have an understandable level of anxiety about the fact that you do not engage in the types of behaviors described in this report. It is natural to be offended by some of these details. Why? Because you wear the BPD uniform proudly and serve the citizens of Baltimore honorably.

Rawlings-Blake said she anticipated that steps the city had taken during the Justice Department investigation would help decrease the time and money it takes to meet the terms of a consent decree.

For example, Baltimore police have added new training standards, retrofitted prisoner transport vans and given officers body cameras.

The Department of Justice hasnt seen an administration, mayor, police commissioner as cooperative as Baltimores has been with the investigation, and as intentional and aggressive with putting reforms in place, Rawlings-Blake said.

Wenger and Rector write for the Baltimore Sun. Baltimore Sun staff writer Erin Cox contributed to this report.
Gather round, readers. It is time to soak up Gawker Medias final days of freedom before the irreverent, influential and financially doomed media company goes up for sale next week.

As of Wednesday morning, tucked between the sites daily news bulletins, you can find the following headlines at Gawker.com, which you will never, ever find in the Los Angeles Times:

Gawker has good reason to be extra weird right now. The end is nigh.

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They are the loudest and meanest and oftentimes most brilliant, in my opinion, news media outlet on offer.  Brendan James, journalist who often covers the media

The staffers at New York-based Gawker Media, whose digital properties include Jezebel, Deadspin and Gizmodo, planned to hold a party Wednesday night to mark 14 years of independent journalism  and their potential end at a bankruptcy auction next Tuesday morning.

Gawker stands out as the Internets loudest and most adversarial independent news outlet in an era when the power of publishing extends to everybody, with few limits. The feeling that writers were taking on the topics nobody else wanted to touchstuff readers would never see in stuffier, more traditional outletswas the source of Gawkers popularity and, ultimately, its undoing.

Gawker Media got torpedoed by more than $140 million in legal damages after its flagship site published a sex tape of pro wrestler Terry Bollea, known to the world as Hulk Hogan, and Bollea won a lawsuit in Florida.

The company then filed for bankruptcy protection, as did its British founder, the former Financial Times journalist Nick Denton.

So it could be goodbye for Dentons reign over an empire that started as a gossip blog about New York media  often small-fry stuff that infuriated its targets but made for great lunchtime reading for people with stuffy office jobs.

Gawker Media offered new writers a chance, and it offered them the opportunity to say almost anything they wanted to say, as long as it was interesting.

It was like a place that always gave people a shot, who other places would maybe not give a shot to  people who werent maybe professional writers by trade, hadnt gone to J-school, didnt have a reporting background, but had a funny perspective, said Erin Gloria Ryan, a former managing editor of Jezebel.

Ryan was working in finance in Chicago when Jezebel hired her  because it liked her comments beneath Jezebel stories.

Some of Ryans most popular posts included How to Tell the Difference Between All the Dudes Running for President, What Were Really Talking About When We Talk About Hillary Clinton Without Makeup, and a reported story about a college rugby team that had chanted about rape, necrophilia and violence against women.

When I talk to people who worked there, we had the same lament: that we were spoiled, we didnt know what we had when we were there, Ryan said. Most places are not like that. It was really singular in the amount of freedom that we had.

Over the years, Gawker grew into a nationally read publication whose alumni can be found everywhere, from such legacy media like the New York Times and the New Yorker to cutting-edge digital operations like Vox Media and the annotation site News Genius.

It influenced the way younger writers now write online. Its predominant literary influence seems to be Slack or Gchat, with posts often written in the voice of an ultrasmart twentysomething trashing a more successful enemy while trying not to come off like too much of a snob.

Gawker has unmasked trolls, brought down congressmen and embarrassed captains of industry in Silicon Valley by publishing the kind of exposes it published about business tycoons in New York. That, in a true tabloid turn, is what led to Gawkers demise at the hands of tech investor Peter Thiel.

It was recently revealed that Bolleas suit against Gawker was the culmination of a secret, years-long vendetta by Thiel, cofounder of PayPal, whom Gawker outed as gay back in the 2000s. Thiel later admitted to secretly bankrolling legal action against some of Gawkers more questionable posts  including Bolleas.

Thiel was a malevolent supervillain who waged a covert legal war against us for a decade, Deadspin editor Tim Marchman said.

We have a lot of heads mounted on the wall that Im pretty proud of, said John Cook, executive editor of Gawker Media. If youre a Wall Street billionaire, you understand that when you acquire power and you wield it, that theres people whose job it is to try to check that.  Peter Thiel decided it wasnt part of the deal.

Gawkers willingness to publish seemingly anything made it a long list of enemies, not just Thiel. If any outlet was going to get in trouble and create this years or even this decades 1st Amendment freedom-of-the-press case, it was going to be Gawker, said Brendan James, a New York-based journalist who often covers the media.

They are the loudest and meanest and oftentimes most brilliant, in my opinion, news media outlet on offer, he said.

Gawkers aggression stemmed in part from the fact that Dentons ownership meant it didnt have to worry about irritating the powerful.

You have all these new places popping up like Buzzfeed and Mashable that are funded by Silicon Valley, James said. Basically they are doing news and real journalism until their [venture capital] backers say its not worth it. (Buzzfeeds news operation is going strong, but Mashable recently slashed its corps of news reporters.) I think that honestly is going to be the largest thing that affects media.

Some staff at Gawker Media are upbeat about next weeks sale, which could draw a range of interested investors and media companies. Some industry analysts expect that the next owner (or owners) will be interested in maintaining the sites nervy and independent perspective on the news, because thats what had made them successful.

Next week well probably have some pretty good news about where were going, and if we dont, we dont. Thats the nature of journalism, Marchman said.

Either way, theres definitely going to be changes, whether were going to be bought by awesome new owners or horrible ones, he said.

Denton may still play some role in the next version of Gawker Media. Publishing company Ziff Davis has expressed interest in buying the company and has said Nick [Denton] will be a consultant there if they win the auction, said Gawker spokesman Davidson Goldin.

One thing appears clear. While it may not be the end of the road for Gawker, it is the conclusion of the independent phase of Gawker Medias life cycle, Cook said.

The mood is, I dont know, stoic, he said. Theres a number of different scenarios, and hopefully well end up in the hands of a company that values what we do and wants to help us keep doing it.

matt.pearce@latimes.com

@mattdpearce
A Republican House task force investigating intelligence manipulation in the war against Islamic State has concluded that the Pentagons Central Command frequently provided a rosier depiction of progress than was warranted.

The command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, produced intelligence reports in 2014 and 2015 that were consistently more positive about the war than assessments by U.S. intelligence agencies, according to an initial report released Thursday.

The 17-page document does not suggest any effort by the White House to manipulate intelligence, as some critics had charged. But it is sharply critical of the former head of Central Command, Gen. Lloyd Austin III, who retired in April.

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The report describes a toxic leadership environment under Austin. It said 40% of intelligence analysts interviewed felt senior commanders had attempted to distort or suppress their analysis.

According to multiple interviewees, operational reporting was used as a justification to alter or soften an analytic product so it would cast U.S. efforts in a more positive light, the report said.

The report was produced jointly by the Republican-led House Intelligence, Armed Services and Appropriations committees. It said their inquiry is continuing.

Intelligence products approved by senior CENTCOM leaders typically provided a more positive depiction of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts than was warranted by facts on the ground and were consistently more positive than analysis produced by other elements of the intelligence community, the report found.

The probe was launched in December after complaints surfaced from military analysts who said their reports on progress in the war were being altered.

The Defense Departments inspector general also is investigating the complaints, but the office has not yet issued any findings.

What happened at CENTCOM is unacceptable  our war fighters suffer when bad analysis is presented to senior policymakers, said Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who sits on the Appropriations Committee. We must continue our efforts until we fix it.

The optimistic internal reports and public assessments began appearing in mid-2014 after Gen. James Mattis, the previous head of Central Command, had retired, the report said.

Many CENTCOM press releases, public statements and congressional testimonies were also significantly more positive than actual events, the report said.

Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a Central Command spokesman, said we appreciate the independent oversight provided, adding that the command will review the findings, but will refrain from comment until it is completed.

The White House and Pentagon have regularly announced military gains against Islamic State since U.S.-led airstrikes began two years ago in Iraq and Syria.

Since then, the U.S.-led coalition has launched more than 10,800 airstrikes and has backed ground offensives against the militants, pushing them out of large parts of the territory they initially had seized, including several major cities.

The Pentagon also has expanded operations into Libya, where teams of U.S. special forces are assisting Libyan government troops seeking to eliminate the militants from their stronghold in Sirte.

At least in public, President Obama has sought to walk the line between praising the military for the steady progress and cautioning about the dangers ahead as the terrorist group urges followers to launch attacks overseas.

ISIL turns out not to be invincible, Obama told reporters at the Pentagon on Aug. 4, using an acronym for Islamic State. Theyre, in fact, inevitably going to be defeated.

But we do recognize, at the same time, that the situation is complex, and this cannot be solved by military force alone.

william.hennigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @wjhenn

ALSO:

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U.S. launches airstrike campaign against Islamic State in Libya

Intelligence trove provides details of Islamic State recruitment drive
A young man who said he had to discuss an important matter with Donald Trump climbed about 20 stories of the Trump Tower in New York on Wednesday, using suction cups to scale the tower before police officers dragged him through a window to safety.

Once in custody, the climber did not express any intent to cause harm, according to New York Police Department officials.

Officials said the man, who is from Virginia, wanted to meet with Trump and posted a YouTube video on Thursday asking for a meeting.

Hello, Mr. Trump, do excuse my appearance, begins the man, who is dressed in a black jacket with the hoodie worn over his head. I just dont know how many people will watch this. But Id rather not be recognizable.

He describes himself as an independent researcher who wanted to get Trumps attention and gain a private meeting with him. Believe me, if my purpose was not significant, I would not risk my life pursuing it, he says.

The video, which was uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, appears to have been shot in a home, and the man never looks directly at the camera.

He ended the video by showing support for Trumps presidential campaign.

As for anyone else whos watching, please help make this video go viral so that it gets to Mr. Trump, and be sure to get out and vote for Mr. Trump in the 2016 election, he said.

Onlookers gathered across the street from Trump Tower as the climber scaled the building. NYPD officers arrived a little after 4 p.m. The NYPDs Special Operations Division set up a giant airbag underneath the climber, and portions of Fifth Avenue were closed to traffic.

Witnesses interviewed by a local TV news station, ABC7NY, said the climber began to panic once he realized people had noticed his movements.

He was acting kind of weird, jumping around, one witness said.

Police officers smashed a window and ventilation duct in an attempt to block the mans path. When that didnt work, they lowered a scaffold containing NYPD officers in another attempt to block his progress.

https://twitter.com/NYPDnews/status/763500394421125121

The climber continued eluding police, climbing toward angled corners of the building. Officers then removed two windows from the 21st floor and began talking to the climber.

About 6:30 p.m., the climber reached the corner where officers were stationed. When he got close, they quickly grabbed him and hauled him over the window ledge into custody.

The executive vice president of the Trump Tower Organization, Michael Cohen, released a statement.

This man performed a ridiculous and dangerous stunt, Cohen said. Theres damage to the building and he caused the unnecessary deployment of New Yorks finest to protect his safety and the safety of everyone in the building. Im 100 percent certain the NYPD had better things to do.

The incident was trending on Twitter, with people making fun of the incident.

https://twitter.com/BarrettAll/status/763535481590128640

https://twitter.com/BretCalvert/status/763536739478581248

Others showed support toward the climber or disappointment when he was dragged away by police.

https://twitter.com/gio_gon34/status/763540631641726976

https://twitter.com/ZachLehoczky/status/763540503417786368

The climber was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, according to the NYPD. He will be arrested.

Trump was at a rally in Abingdon, Va., during the incident. He sent out tweets on various subjects Wednesday, but by early evening had not tweeted about the climber.

alexia.fernandez@latimes.com

Twitter: @alexiafedz

UPDATES:

6:20 p.m.: The story was updated with additional social media reaction.

The story was originally published at 5:50 p.m.
The conclusion by the Justice Department that the Baltimore Police Department routinely violated peoples civil rights is expected to launch a reform process that is likely to take years and cost tens of millions of dollars.

Dozens of similar reviews around the country suggest a road map for the city.

In some cases, senior police officials have found that the threat of court action has helped prod officers unions to accept changes and persuade local officials to pay for improvements. But in others, court oversight has continued for a decade or more as departments have struggled to meet the targets laid out by the Justice Department.

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Samuel Walker, a professor emeritus of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska, has studied police departments that have been reviewed by the Justice Department. He said the conclusion of the investigation is only a first step.

Its the beginning of a reform process that hopefully will change how the Baltimore police operate with some new professional standards that hopefully will result in lawful, constitutional policing, Walker said.

City and federal officials now are expected to negotiate a settlement to be presented to a federal judge. That document  it could be a memorandum of understanding or a consent decree  could spell out more than a hundred targets for the police department to meet.

The Justice Department report says the city has reached an Agreement in Principle with federal authorities. Vanita Gupta, head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division, said the agreement provides a framework for developing a final consent decree and includes a timeline for the process.

Because the relationship has been very cooperative, were anticipating that we will be able to get to an agreement pretty expeditiously, she said.

During the negotiations for the final consent decree, Gupta said her office will talk to local community members and law enforcement officials to get their feedback on what fixes might solve the problems laid bare in the reports findings.

Theres going to be a lot of folks with a lot of ideas about what needs to happen now in the community and in law enforcement, and its been really important to us to be able to hear directly from community members, she said.

Videos: Justice Department Report Mayor Pugh on the federal judge consent decree decision Baltimore residents share thoughts on consent decree Police Commissioner Davis: 'I'm disappointed' on consent decree delay Justice Department asks court for 90-day pause to 'review and assess' Baltimore police consent decree City and the DOJ to meet with judge on consent decree agreement West Baltimore residents react to the DOJ consent decree Baltimore Police Commissioner comments on DOJ consent decree Governor Hogan talks about Baltimore consent decree DOJ/Baltimore City reach consent decree agreement Board of Estimates approves DOJ consent decree

The agreement says officials intend for negotiations to be completed by November. If the talks break down, the Justice Department could sue the city to force changes.

David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh who studies policing, said its typically unwise for cities to battle the Justice Department in court.

Most jurisdictions are not going to completely push back, he said.

Police in Cleveland entered an agreement with the Justice Department in May 2015. The 110-page document covers improving relations between the police department and the community, how police use force, how officers deal with mentally ill suspects and combating racism.

Typically, an independent monitor is appointed to make sure the department is meeting its targets. The monitor, often an experienced lawyer, is tasked with reporting back to the court.

Theyre very important sources of information about what is going on, Walker said.

Cities have found that making changes is not cheap. Cleveland officials estimated that implementing the consent decree will cost $45 million over five years. The Seattle Police Department reported spending $12.8 million in its first two years working to meet the terms of a Justice Department civil rights settlement.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake estimated the cost of implementing reforms in Baltimore would be $5 million to $10 million a year.

Senior officials surveyed by the Police Executive Research Forum in 2013 were generally positive about the results of Justice Department reviews of their departments. But some described clashes with their court-appointed monitors and expressed concerns about the cost of implementing changes.

PERF has been aware for some time that DOJs role in monitoring local police is a complex, controversial issue, Chuck Wexler, the organizations chief executive wrote.

Baltimore Sun reporter Yvonne Wenger and Kevin Rector contributed to this article.

iduncan@baltsun.com

twitter.com/iduncan

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When it comes to politics in 2016, churchgoers are hearing it from the pulpit

At wedding receptions, barbershops and on park benches, this years unusual presidential campaign is often an unavoidable topic of discussion.

As usual in presidential races, its also seeping into houses of worship across the nation.

From Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton, and from abortion to immigration, many Americans are hearing politics from the pulpit, according to a survey released this week by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

Nearly 14% of respondents said they had heard their clergy speak for or against a specific presidential candidate this year, according to the survey.

About 9% said their clergy had offered support for a candidate, with far more praising Clinton, the Democratic nominee, than Trump, the Republican.

Similarly, 11% heard clergy speak against a candidate, with more hearing opposition to Trump than to Clinton.

The survey polled about 4,600 adults between June 5 and July 7. About 40% reported attended a religious service at least once in recent months.

Nearly two-thirds  64 %  said they had heard clergy speak about issues in the campaign, including religious liberty, immigration, abortion, homosexuality, environmental issues and economic inequality.

The largest group  40%  said clergy had discussed religious liberty, which is no surprise. Close behind was homosexuality, at 39%, and abortion at 29%.

Churches and synagogues long have been involved in political campaigns, with Democrats frequently appearing in black urban churches and Republicans often approaching evangelical congregations.

Helping voters get to polling places  dubbed souls to the polls in some churches  is an election day staple in some communities.

Churches also have helped rally supporters against restrictive election laws in some states, arguing that bans on early voting or on weekends effectively disenfranchise the working poor.

For all his incendiary rhetoric, Trump has not drawn the ire of religious leaders that John F. Kerry, the Democratic nominee, did when he ran against President George W. Bush in 2004.

A group of bishops blanketed Catholic churches around the country with fliers denouncing Kerrys support for abortion. Kerry, a Catholic, was even denied communion while campaigning in St. Louis.

When he was still a New York businessman, Trump had described himself as very pro-choice. He now describes himself as pro-life with exceptions and has drawn support from conservative evangelical groups.

He also clashed with Pope Francis in February after the pontiff said the candidates proposal to build a wall along the Mexican border was not Christian. Trump called the comments disgraceful.

Clinton has spoken at numerous black churches across the country.
Trump calls Obama the founder of Middle East terrorist group

(Chuck Burton / Associated Press)

Donald Trump called President Obama the founder of Islamic State on Wednesday, the latest in a series of remarks suggesting that Obama sympathized with Muslim terrorists in the Middle East.

ISIS is honoring President Obama, Trump told supporters at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., using an acronym for Islamic State. He is the founder of ISIS.

After making the allegation twice more, Trump added, And I would say the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.

Trumps charges came moments after he said that Russia had seized Crimea during the administration of Barack Hussein Obama, a rare use of Obamas middle name that was notable given Trumps past insinuations that the Christian president was secretly Muslim.

The Republican presidential nominee also falsely stated twice that he had opposed the Iraq war from the start, despite a 2002 recording of Trump saying that he would support a U.S. invasion.

Trump, whose inaccurate statement on Iraq is a staple of his campaign stump speech, criticized Clinton, his Democratic rival, for voting as a U.S. senator to authorize the 2003 invasion. Previous Clinton rivals, including Obama in the 2008 Democratic primaries, have used her support for the war to inflict political harm, but the audio proof of Trump taking the same position undermines that line of attack.

Trumps remarks on Islamic State were open to interpretation. They were part of his policy argument that Obamas withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq opened the way for the terrorist network to spread across Iraq and Syria.

After Omar Mateen killed 49 people in a mass shooting at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub in June, Trump questioned whether Obama was genuinely committed to stopping terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists.

He doesnt get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands  its one or the other, and either one is unacceptable, Trump told Fox News.

He said Obama was not tough, not smart, or hes got something else in mind. And the something else in mind  you know, people cant believe it.

When NBC asked for clarification, Trump said: There are a lot of people that think maybe he doesnt want to get it. A lot of people think maybe he doesnt want to know about it.
The U.S. Justice Departments determination that Baltimore police engaged in unconscionably abusive and racially discriminatory practices for years is stunning but surely came as no surprise to residents whose complaints about police had long been brushed aside until the death last year of Freddie Gray.

The findings, detailed in a report released Wednesday, also ring true in other cities, where protests following police killings of unarmed African Americans have focused not just on the most recent needless deaths but on years of mistreatment by law enforcement officers.

Anger against police can turn into mistrust of the entire justice system.

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They should sound uncomfortably familiar in Los Angeles as well. The Rampart scandal is best remembered for the crimes committed by then-LAPD Officer Rafael Perez, who was convicted of stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker and of shooting and framing Javier Ovando. Perez alleged that similar corruption was typical in his special anti-gang unit in the Rampart division, and his statements helped attract the attention of the Justice Department. But a consent decree and federal oversight came after the departments findings of a pattern and practice of more mundane yet equally corrosive everyday LAPD practices that involved the regular abuse of African American and Latino residents.

In Baltimore, acquittals in recent months of three officers charged in the death of Gray, who died from injuries he sustained while being transported in handcuffs in a police van  and the dismissal of charges against three more  by no means constitute a clean bill of health for the police department. The Justice Department laid bare a host of practices and accompanying attitudes that are, or rather ought to be, unheard of in the 21st century. Of special note is a zero-tolerance policy that in practice can feel like a military occupation, especially when it is employed differently in African American neighborhoods than elsewhere.

Anger against police can turn into mistrust of the entire justice system when officers are acquitted, or not even charged at all, in assaults or killings of unarmed civilians. The Baltimore district attorneys filing of criminal charges against police officers seemed like a new direction for prosecutors. The subsequent acquittals and dismissals, whether warranted or not, further stoke mistrust of the system.

Again, there are parallels in Los Angeles, this time connected with more recent events. It was refreshing news when Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey charged LAPD Officer Richard Garcia with felony assault on Clinton Alford Jr. in a 2014 incident. But as reported in the Times Wednesday, the D.A. quietly agreed earlier this year to settle the case without jail time. That decision will do little to help the LAPD and the district attorney to win the full confidence of residents who feel under assault by police.

Baltimore, meanwhile, now faces the kind of consent decree under which Los Angeles operated for more than a decade. If it works there as it did here, there will be improvements, but they will not end the need for continuing scrutiny of police practices.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
The conviction of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in federal court on Tuesday puts to rest the question of whether the states largest investor-owned utility broke the law before a natural gas explosion that killed eight people, badly injured 58 others and destroyed 38 homes in the Bay Area community of San Bruno in 2010. It did.

Thanks to a strong case brought by federal prosecutors, a jury found PG&E guilty on five felony counts of violating pipeline safety laws and one felony count of obstructing the investigation into the explosion. But while the conviction is important because it helps make clear that the company was to blame in this terrible tragedy, it may not be as satisfying a resolution for those who lost homes, friends or loved ones as they had hoped. Or, for that matter, for people who want the utilities in their communities put on notice that if they violate gas pipeline safety rules, they could face real punishment.

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Thats because there are no real consequences for any actual people in this case. No one will go to jail or be put on probation. In fact, not one PG&E executive was charged. Former PG&E chief executive and president Peter Darbee, who retired in 2011 with a $35-million payout, did not take the stand at the trial to explain what happened, and neither did other top executives. It was just the corporation itself on trial. And you cant very well send a company to jail or sentence it to picking up litter on the side of the freeway.

Nobody at PG&E is a criminal, Steven Bauer, the utilitys attorney, said during the trial. Technically true, but in reality we all know that corporations cant act on their own. Its the people in the corporation who made the decisions that led to the criminality.

The judge in this case can impose a fine on PG&E of up to $3 million. And he should go for the maximum, even if it is little more than pocket change to the multi-billion-dollar corporation. Originally prosecutors had sought $562 million in fines, half of what they figured the utility saved by misclassifying high-risk pipelines so it could avoid paying for appropriate testing. But four days into jury deliberations, prosecutors dropped that demand and settled instead on $500,000 per conviction, which is the standard fine. For PG&E, it represents just a small cost of doing business.

The California Public Utilities Commissions record $1.6 billion fine for pipeline violations probably hurt PG&E a little more. But even that did not serve as much of a warning to the companys executives  because they dont have to pay it themselves.

This is not to say the case wasnt worth pursuing. Many people have long believed that PG&E was not properly maintaining its pipelines and now thats been proven in court. But its frustrating as well to see, once again, how difficult it is to hold people accountable for misdeeds when they can hide behind the corporate seal.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
On Feb. 14, 1979, less than one month after the shah of Irans exile, the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was overrun by Iranian militants. Within hours, it was returned to U.S. hands. Now on notice that our diplomats were stationed on a vulnerable outpost in a sea of anti-Americanism, the Carter administration considered, but rejected, closing the embassy. In October, President Carter permitted the shah  despised by Iranians and the regime that replaced his  to enter the United States. Days later, Iranians climbed the embassy gates again, took the Americans there hostage and demanded the shahs return, beginning a 444-day crisis.

There are no do-overs in history, but there are lessons. The 1979 hostage crisis should have taught us the importance of proactively responding to obvious threats and removing vulnerable targets  a lesson that should be applied now if there are U.S. nuclear weapons based in Turkey.

After a faction within the Turkish military tried to overthrow the Turkish government last month, one of the many arrested for his alleged role in the attempted coup was a commanding officer at the Incirlik Air Base. That base  according to numerous media reports  is a major NATO installation hosting one of the largest stockpiles of nuclear weapons in Europe.

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What if the Turkish base commander at Incirlik had ordered his troops surrounding the perimeter of the base to turn their guns on the U.S. soldiers that reportedly guard U.S. nuclear storage bunkers there?

What if anti-American Turkish protesters, believing the U.S. was behind the coup plot and that it was harboring the coups leader (ominously reminiscent of how Iranians felt about America and the shah 37 years ago) decided to march on Incirlik chanting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans (as has actually happened) and taken over the base?

Leaving aside the coup, what if Islamic State were to attack Incirlik? In March, the Pentagon reportedly ordered military families out of southern Turkey, primarily from Incirlik, due to terrorism-related security concerns.

While weve avoided disaster so far, we have ample evidence that the security of U.S. nuclear weapons stored in Turkey can change literally overnight. Now fully aware of the dangers, the Obama administration should remove any remaining nuclear weapons from Turkey  and the next president should remove all U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe.

We are in for a long stretch of political uncertainty in Turkey, exacerbated by growing anti-Americanism.

Granted, as one American analyst has pointed out, any U.S. nuclear weapons stored in Turkey would be defended by ferociously well-trained and well-equipped American troops. Maintaining control of the weapons would be the top priority if seizure was ever threatened, with all of Americas military power put to the task. Well, if thats the case being made to President Obama, he should ask: Why would I or any American president take that risk?

We are in for a long stretch of political uncertainty in Turkey, exacerbated by growing anti-Americanism. Any U.S. nuclear weapons stored there are more likely to complicate than to improve the domestic political currents in play. The U.S. will (and should) remain a strong ally and friend of Turkey, and Turkey will (and should) remain in NATO. It is shared interests, not nuclear sharing, that will keep us together.

Nuclear deterrence does not require the U.S. to store nuclear bombs in Turkey, or elsewhere in Europe. The U.S. has long-range strategic nuclear weapons to ward off hostile powers and guarantee the security of all NATO allies. But since the end of the Cold War, most military leaders believe that our short-range tactical nuclear weapons based in Europe have virtually no utility, for the simple reason that no U.S. president is likely to use them.

Some may argue that we should not remove nuclear weapons from Turkey because we dont want to signal lack of confidence in Turkeys stability; or that we need tactical weapons throughout Europe because we need to bolster NATO members who are worried about Russia.

Now weigh those arguments against the fact that storing tactical nuclear weapons in Turkey and in other NATO nations comes with the increasing risk of vulnerability to an evolving and more deadly terrorist threat, or to domestic unrest. In the wake of an incident at a nuclear storage site  for which the U.S. would be held accountable and suffer long-term consequences with allies  it would be difficult to explain that vulnerable targets were left in place due to a perceived need to reassure our allies.

As was the case in 1979, the warning bells are ringing.

Steve Andreasen was the director for defense policy and arms control on the White House National Security Council staff from 1993 to 2001. He is a consultant to the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington, D.C., and teaches at the University of Minnesotas Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

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CEO Mark Zuckerberg attracted a lot of attention  including from some telecom regulators  with his pronouncement that Facebook would connect the world by bringing limited Internet access to the unconnected in countries like India. His plan and others like it generally raise the hackles of government officials who are, perhaps rightly, wary of allowing giant corporations and the moguls who run them to have too much control over communications systems.

Technology companies and governments have been locked in this type of conflict for over 100 years, ever since a youthful Irish-Italian inventor by the name of Guglielmo Marconi patented the very first system for wireless communication. They werent using terms like network neutrality back then, but most of our ideas about telecom regulation  both for and against  have their origins in efforts to block Marconis near-monopoly control of the airwaves over a century ago.

In 1896, Marconi, just 21, left Italy for England, where he hoped to drum up interest in a contraption he had invented: a box that could send Morse code signals across a room without any connecting wires. This was, quite simply, the first transmission of information by radio waves. Marconi called it wireless telegraphy  an improvement on the dominant technology of the day, the telegraph.

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Within a year, Marconi had patented his invention and launched a company. He continued perfecting his system, so that its signals spanned greater and greater distances. He cultivated powerful friendships with the likes of the King of Belgium, the head of the British Post Office, Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. He used the media to create an aura around him. And, importantly, he successfully slapped a lawsuit on anyone who tried to use the airwaves.

He traveled tirelessly, making his first trip to the U.S. in 1899 to demonstrate the value of his invention to the U.S. Navy by, among other things, reporting the arrival of Adm. George Dewey in New York Harbor from aboard a naval vessel. By 1900, Marconis Wireless Telegraph Co. was on its way to a global monopoly on the use of the radio spectrum.

But wireless was a strategically crucial weapon in the great power rivalry that would eventually culminate in the First World War. Marconis system proved its military value for the British in the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa (although he also offered it to the Boer republics). In wartime, cables could be cut, but wireless signals would travel across enemy lines. Far-flung colonies could be kept in touch. For the first time, communication could be made from ship to shore and between ships at sea.

Todays [tech] moguls and their companies, whether they are aware of it or not, are the direct descendants of Marconi.

The German emperor, Wilhelm II, was alarmed that this new technology  the Internet of its day  might end up in the exclusive control of a British company. He assembled an international conference in Berlin in 1903 to try to convince the other governments that wireless communication should be open, regardless of who owned the equipment. (Marconi only leased, never sold, his system, as he called it.) At that conference, the Americans were Germanys strongest ally. The U.S. Navy was greatly interested in wireless, but did not want to be tied exclusively to Marconi.

Marconi lobbied the British and Italian governments, especially, and courted public opinion to argue that his company was entitled to profit exclusively from the benefits of his invention. He also claimed (falsely) that intercommunication between his transmitters and receivers and those of rival companies was technically impossible.

The governments, however, did not want to see a Marconi monopoly. They made the case that competition would lead to lower rates and improved service  in other words, would be good for consumers around the world and hence a legitimate objective for an international treaty. The heart of the matter was an understanding of regulation. Despite their political differences, most governments agreed that they had the right to intervene by regulating the radio spectrum.

It took a second conference, but eventually even Britain and Italy  Marconis two native lands  got on board, and an international treaty was signed, specifying that use of the air should be open to anyone. (This may have been the only time an international treaty was adopted to curb the power of one man  something no modern magnate, not Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs nor Zuckerberg, can claim.) By 1906, it was agreed that wireless equipment didnt all have to meet Marconis technical standards.

Todays moguls and their companies, whether they are aware of it or not, are the direct descendants of Marconi. Apples products emulate Marconis approach to intercommunication  which is to say they dont do it. Microsofts Windows operating system, to this day, is licensed, not sold. Facebooks scheme to connect the world is truly Marconian in ambition  and like Marconis did, it may well be stymied by regulators.

The International Radio Telegraph Convention of 1906 set the course for an international regulatory regime, first for wireless, then broadcasting, and ultimately all telecommunication. Today, everything from radio and TV channels to satellite orbits to the seamless interconnections of the Internet is governed by such international agreements. States remain sovereign for communication within their territories. Tech companies, powerful as they are, still have some boundaries.

Marc Raboy is a professor of communication at McGill University and the author of Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World.

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Once again, Hillary Clintons carefully laid campaign plans have been disrupted by old emails.

On a day in which Clinton was hoping to inflict considerable damage on Donald Trump  this time, by ripping into his economic agenda  her campaign was on the defensive, scurrying to clean up the latest damaging revelations in years-old messages that were sent by Clinton and her staff and released as the result of a lawsuit.

The ongoing email dispute undermined the potency of a speech for which Clintons campaign had been laying groundwork all week, one in which she presented her economic agenda in full and tried to brand her self-styled populist rival a fraud.

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Clinton, speaking in Michigan, did manage to deliver a combative, policy-laden address that effectively rebutted the economic plan that Trump presented in the battleground state days before. Both are reaching out to the so-called Reagan Democrats who will decide the races outcome in the Rust Belt.

But Clinton and Trump continue to be distracted by self-inflicted wounds. Trumps economic address was overshadowed by his suggestion soon after that maybe gun rights proponents would find a way to stop Clinton from appointing certain judges, which earned him widespread rebuke for casually inciting violence. Then, in unrelated and repeated comments, the Republican bizarrely repeatedly accused President Obama and Clinton of founding the Islamic State terrorist group.

But Clinton, too, has had difficulty staying on task. The fresh batch of emails was pried from the State Department thanks to a lawsuit filed by the conservative advocacy group Judicial Watch. It revealed what appeared to be seedy dealings by Clintons team at the agency.

In one message, a top Clinton aide appears to be trying to get a million-dollar donor from the familys Clinton Foundation access to the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, after an executive at the foundation requested it. In another, the foundation executive appeared to request special help finding a job for an associate, and he was assured that the right people knew of the potential employee.

The emails are not devastating, but they are damaging as Clinton struggles to boost her trustworthiness with voters. And such messages will continue to surface until the election. The State Department is being forced to release more documents as a result of government investigations and lawsuits like the one filed by Judicial Watch.

And Democrats are particularly anxious about fresh FBI concerns that the Russian hackers who penetrated servers at the Democratic National Committee may have also breached private email accounts of many more key members of the party, including those with the Clinton campaign. The hackers who breached the DNC server used it as a springboard to access the accounts of at least some individuals associated with the party, and the list of victims could number in the dozens, a U.S. law enforcement official confirmed Thursday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco called it an electronic Watergate.

As the headwinds of distraction grew, Clinton worked to refocus voter attention Thursday on the economy.

There is a myth out there that he will stick it to the rich and powerful because somehow he is really on the side of the little guy, Clinton said of Trump during her address in Warren, Mich. Dont believe it.

The speech, at a facility where aerospace parts are manufactured, was equal measure one-liners targeted at Trump and heady policy prescriptions. The Democratic nominee positioned herself as the child of a small-business owner who printed designs on draperies and struggled to provide a better life for his family.

She questioned what might have happened to her family if her father had done business with a man like Trump, whose companies have been accused by scores of contractors of refusing to pay for work they did.

It wasnt because Trump couldnt pay them, Clinton said. It was because he wouldnt pay them. I take it personally.

She said Trumps economic plan would also break his promise to workers, warning it would enrich only corporations and Trump himself.

Clinton called it just a more extreme version of the failed theory of trickle-down economics, with his own addition of outlandish Trumpian ideas that even Republicans reject.

Trumps childcare plan, Clinton said, would help rich people like him afford nannies while doing nothing for those at the bottom of the income scale. She warned that the repeal of the estate tax Trump promises would net his family as much as $4 billion while providing no benefit to 99.8% of Americans. Another provision Trump wants got labeled by Clinton the Trump loophole, because she said it could cut the income tax rate for many of his companies in half.

She said Trump would roll back the tough rules placed on the financial industry in the wake of the mortgage crisis and usher in trillions of dollars in tax cuts to big corporations, millionaires and Wall Street money managers that would explode our national debt.

Clinton contrasted the Trump plan with her proposal to make the rich pay more and expand the role of government. She laid out her familiar progressive agenda that included vows to launch the biggest infrastructure spending program since World War II, expand Obamacare, make public college debt-free and penalize firms that move their operations abroad.

In a part of the country where her past support for free-trade deals has become a political liability, Clinton also made a forceful vow to stop deals that are not in the interest of U.S. workers, part of a concerted effort to re-frame the trade debate and to defend herself against accusations that she might renege her stand against the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership pact.

Mr. Trump may talk a big game on trade, but his approach is based on fear, not strength, Clinton said. Fear that we cant compete with the rest of the world even when rules are fair, fear that our country has no choice but to hide behind walls.

Before he tweets how about he is really the one who is going to put America first in trade, Clinton said, lets remember where Trump makes many of his own products, because it sure is not America.

Twitter: @evanhalper, @delwilber

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Political professionals who run California ballot measure campaigns always worry about how to get the attention of voters. And it all starts with a lot of money.

Through early August, almost $200 million has been collected for campaigns to support or oppose propositions on the Nov. 8 statewide ballot.

That hews to what campaign consultants have been predicting for months, with voters facing 17 measures  the most on any single ballot in California since March 2000.

Campaign finance reports, full data covering the first six months of 2016 and recent daily reports provide an early glimpse of whats in store.

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Jan. 1-June 30: $126.7 million raised

As of June 30, the deadline for second-quarter campaign reports, the total take for propositions was more than $126.7 million.

A sizable part of that money went to gathering voter signatures on initiative petitions, a particularly expensive effort this year given how many efforts were underway at the same time. The campaigns also faced a strict legal deadline to win a place on the ballot by the end of June, and several were still scrambling to collect signatures into late May.

July 1-Aug. 9: $72.4 million raised

For the last few weeks, the pace of ballot measure fundraising appears to have risen dramatically.

A review by The Times of daily campaign disclosures of $5,000 or more finds more than $72 million in contributions over the last 10 weeks.

That brings the 2016 total to more than $199.2 million. Add to that money spent as long ago as 2014 on two of the ballot measures, and the total surpasses the $200-million mark.

But its not evenly distributed: Just five of the ballot measures account for almost three-quarters of all of the money thats been raised.

The big money is coming from Big Tobacco

In the last two months, tobacco companies have contributed nearly $36 million to a campaign to kill a proposed cigarette tax, Proposition 56.

The measure would raise taxes on cigarettes by $2 a pack, as well as raise taxes on e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.

In 2012, tobacco companies spent more that $46 million to defeat a similar measure that would have imposed a $1-a-pack tax on cigarettes. That initiative, Proposition 29, failed by fewer than 43,000 votes.

Just this week, Proposition 56 supporters used part of their campaign cash to launch an early TV ad.

Hospitals and teachers union spend big on two propositions

In July, California hospitals and the states largest teachers union contributed more than $20 million to extend current income tax rates on Californias highest earners through Proposition 55.

The initiative would add 12 years to the life of tax rates that otherwise will expire in 2018, a temporary tax that Gov. Jerry Brown urged voters to approve in 2012 as Proposition 30.

The new measure, Proposition 55, specifies that the money be used for education and healthcare programs. A nonpartisan analysis estimates the tax could add an average of $9 billion a year to state coffers.

The California Assn. of Hospitals and Health Systems donated $12.5 million this summer to support the initiative. The California Teachers Assn. added $10 million.

Drug companies mount major fight against Proposition 61

The largest single block of campaign cash for November propositions is from the pharmaceutical industry in hopes of defeating Proposition 61. Drug companies, according to campaign records, have contributed more than $50 million this year. Of that amount, more than $35 million have been reported since July 1.

Proposition 61 would ban state agencies from paying more for prescription drugs than the lowest price paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Tech billionaire backs measures to legalize pot and impose new rules on gun ammunition sales

No single individual seems to stand out more in the ballot measure money race than Sean Parker, the founder of Napster and former president of Facebook.

Parkers primary focus has been Proposition 64, the high-profile measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana by California adults. Since June, he has contributed $2.25 million to the campaign in support of the measure. His total support for 2016 is more than $3.7 million.

There also seems to be some political synergy between Parker and the most prominent politician backing Proposition 64, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom is the proponent of an initiative designed to combat gun violence through new registration rules when buying ammunition, Proposition 63. In July, Parker donated $400,000 to Newsoms effort on that issue.

Advisory measure on money in politics has no money of its own

Perhaps its fitting that the ballot measure attracting the least amount of campaign cash is the one that asks voters to take a stand against political money.

Proposition 59, placed on the ballot by the Legislature, is an advisory measure asking voters whether they want California elected officials to work toward overturning the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that loosened the rules on corporate and labor donations, the Citizens United case.

Campaign records show only $10,000 raised to urge support for Proposition 59. No one has spent money opposing the proposition.

john.myers@latimes.com

sophia.bollag@latimes.com

Follow @johnmyers and @SophiaBollag on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast.

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Changing how the California Coastal Commission does business

What the legislation would do: Two bills take differing approaches with regard to reforming the California Coastal Commission.

The bills include:

 AB 2002: Would declare anyone who uses ex parte meetings with commissioners to be registered as a lobbyist and bans the private meetings within 24 hours of commission action.

 SB 1190: Would completely banex parte private meetings held with members of the commission and is the one environmentalists are championing as a game changer in how the agency does business.

The latest: Both bills were killed on the final day of the legislative session. SB 1190 earned only 15 votes in the Assembly, with several Democrats arguing that the ex parte ban went too far. Some members of the Assembly criticized the coastal agencys attorneys for late correspondence, taking issue with amendments that were made to AB 2002 that failed to clear the state Senate in time  and it was unclear whether the bill was unpopular or whether it fell victim to private disagreements among Democrats on other unrelated legislation.

Back story: The February dismissal of Charles Lester as executive director of the California Coastal Commission sparked a series of legislative efforts to change the way the commission does business  with a special focus on what kind of access, if any, groups with business pending before the agency should have to privately meet with the commissioners. Environmental groups and editorial writers have demanded major changes, alleging undue influence from those who seek to build new coastal development projects. Supporters were especially angry when the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown released an analysis in July saying that SB 1190 would impose an extra cost for the agency to do its business  suspecting it was an attempt to quietly kill the bill by making it too expensive.
In the frigid waters of the sub-Arctic ocean lurks a mysterious and slow-moving beast known as the Greenland shark. Its a massive animal that can grow up to 20 feet in length. Now, new research suggests it may have a massive lifespan as well.

According to a paper published Thursday in Science, the Greenland shark could live for well over 250 years, making it the longest-living known vertebrate on Earth.

I am 95% certain that the oldest of these sharks is between 272 and 512 years old, said lead author Julius Nielsen, a marine biologist at the University of Copenhagen. Thats a big range, but even the age estimate of at least 272 years makes it the oldest vertebrate animal in the world.

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The oldest animal record holder is a clam called Ming that was dredged up from the ocean floor off the coast of Iceland. It was said to be 507 years old when it died in 2006, but there are other animals that have been known to live for more than a century.

Shortraker rockfish from off the Alaskan coast and orange roughy off Namibia are both estimated to live up to 200 years or longer. Harriet, a Galapagos tortoise from the Australia Zoo lived to be about 170 years old.

Still, if Nielsens estimations are correct, the Greenland shark would be a record breaker.

Greenland sharks are among the largest sharks on the planet. They are dark brown or purple with small, beady eyes. They inhabit the Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, as well as cold, deep water in other oceans throughout the world.

Because they spend most of their time in the darkness their eyesight is thought to be very poor, but a vast network of neurons in their snouts suggest they hunt and scavenge using their powerful sense of smell.

They are basically a giant swimming nose, said Aaron Fisk, a professor at the University of Windsor who has studied the Greenland shark for two decades.

Scientists have long suspected these lethargic giants of having extremely long lifespans in part because previous research shows that they grow very slowly  possibly as little as a centimeter per year.

In colder temperatures, growth slows and fish tend to get older, said Fisk, who was not involved in the study. Its not hard to imagine that they could be 200 or 400 years old.

But determining the exact age of the Greenland shark is a tricky business. When scientists determine the age of fish like cod, rock fish and salmon, they usually look at the otolith  a bony structure that grows in the ear of a fish. Otoliths have seasonal growth rings, kind of like the rings in tree trunks. If researchers can figure out how long it took the animal to lay down one ring, they can easily determine the age of the fish.

Sharks and rays dont have otoliths, so scientists have found other ways to determine their ages. For some species of sharks, its possible to tell how old they are by looking at growth layers deposited in calcified parts of their vertebra or fin spines. But the Greenland shark doesnt have fin spines, and its cartilage skeleton is extremely soft with almost no calcified material, so there are no layers to count.

To overcome this hurdle, Nielsen and his collaborators turned to a more complicated technique called eye lens radiocarbon dating, which has been used to determine the age of other animals.

The eye lenses of all vertebrates continue to grow with the animal through its life, adding layers like an onion. However, the core of the eye lens is formed before the animal is born and remains metabolically stable throughout its life, Nielsen explained. That means that embedded in this small piece of tissue in the center of a sharks eye is a chemical signature from the environment just before it was born.

In the late 1950s, atmospheric tests of thermonuclear weapons caused a big and easily detectable spike in the amount of radiocarbon that eventually made its way into the sea. Scientists call this bump the bomb pulse, and it has become a handy way to verify the age of marine organisms.

If the amount of radiocarbon in a sharks lens represents post bomb-pulse levels, thats a pretty clear indicator that the animal was born after 1960. (It took a few years for the radiocarbon to filter down into the deep water).

For this study, Nielsen examined the eye lenses of 28 female specimens that were caught off the coast of Greenland between 2010 and 2013.

The radiocarbon levels in the lenses of the two smallest sharks had a clear post-bomb pulse signature, suggesting that these animals were 50 or younger. The radiocarbon levels of the third-smallest shark put it right on the onset of the bomb pulse. The researchers say this means the third shark was likely born in the early 1960s.

However, the center of the eye lenses of the 25 larger sharks all had pre-bomb-pulse radiocarbon levels, leading the authors to conclude that they were more than 60 years old.

The groups next step was to determine how long before 1960 the other 25 sharks were born and heres where they had to get creative. They measured the radiocarbon levels in each of the remaining eye lens samples and then compared them to a published reference of how radiocarbon levels in the ocean have changed over time. This chronology of much more subtle radiocarbon fluctuations goes back 50,000 years and is usually used to date corals and other organisms that are thousands of years old. When it is used to date more recent organisms, it shows a wide range of error.

To further constrain their results, the authors made the assumption that the longer a shark is, the older it is. When they added the lengths of the specimens to their model, they found that the biggest shark in the data set  a 16-footer  would have been 392 years old, give or take 120 years.

The authors concede that the margin of error is still very large, but they say their findings demonstrate that the Greenland shark is extremely long-lived and that its population would take a long time to bounce back to normal if the animals were exploited by humans.

Aaron MacNeil, a research scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science who was not involved in the work, said the study represents an interesting approach to a difficult biological problem, but added that the findings are not necessarily conclusive.

I dont think this is the final word on Greenland shark ages, he said.

Other researchers agreed.

Simon Thorrold, a biologist who studies sharks at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts took issue with the authors assumption that the length of a shark can be used to determine its age.

We know that in sharks and bony fish size is a very poor predictor of age, he said. Thats why we spend millions of dollars every year to age fish  because we simply cant use size.

Allen Andrews, a biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Pacific Island Fisheries Center who specializes in age validation of marine animals, noted that previous research in bony fish shows that the largest fish are not necessarily the oldest fish.

With orange roughy weve seen that a maximum-size fish could be 20 years old or over 100, he said.

Andrews didnt doubt that the Greenland sharks might live as long as 300 years, but he said further work was needed to definitively nail down their ages.

The data and analyses are not iron-clad and certainly deserve scrutiny, he said.

Nielsen agreed that it is possible for Greenland sharks of the same size to be different ages. However, he still thinks the calibration model used in the study is sound. He notes that only the smallest sharks were affected by the bomb pulse, making them the only ones younger than 50 years. This helps validate the decision to equate size with age, he said.

At the end of the day, we completely agree it is possible that Greenland sharks of the same size can be different ages, he said. We still believe the calibration is sound and allows for an estimation (not determination) of Greenland shark life spans.

Fisk, the Greenland shark expert from Windsor University said that although the study did not necessarily validate the age of these sharks, it still provided good evidence that they are indeed very long-lived animals.

I wouldnt want to put a date on it, but I think 400 or 500 years is in the realm of possibility, he said. And thats pretty extraordinary.

Do you love science? I do! Follow me @DeborahNetburn and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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The Laguna Beach Police Department is accepting applications for its Citizens Academy, a 12-week course that offers residents an in-depth look at department functions.

Classes begin Sept. 8 and are from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays through Dec. 1, according to a news release.

The academy, which began in 1999, will include instruction and practical exercises in areas such as homeless outreach, crime scene investigation, 911 dispatch, narcotics identification, traffic collision investigation and firearms training.

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Students will tour Laguna Beachs police and fire stations and the Orange County Jail.

The program is available to Laguna Beach residents or people who work in Laguna who are at least 18 years old and have no felony convictions. Applications much be submitted by Aug. 31.

Applications are available at police headquarters at 505 Forest Ave., or by contacting class assistant Ross Fallah at (949) 497-0701 or at rfallah@lagunabeachcity.net.
A Fresno man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for pimping two women at a Costa Mesa motel, according to the Orange County district attorneys office.

During a hearing in Orange County Superior Court, Kurtis Chappell, 23, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of pimping, two felony counts of pandering by procuring and one misdemeanor count of driving without a license, prosecutors said.

Chappell was accused of driving two women from Fresno to Costa Mesa with plans to have them work for him as prostitutes.

Costa Mesa police arrested Chappell on July 26 after they arranged to meet one of the women, prosecutors said.

An officer posed as a customer and went into a room with both women at a motel on Harbor Boulevard, authorities said.

According to prosecutors, Chappell waited outside in a car until he thought the supposed customer had left.

Police arrested him at the motel and found large quantities of matching condoms in the room and in Chappells car, according to authorities.

Police also discovered text messages that appeared to show Chappell was pimping the two women, prosecutors said.

All the money the women made by selling sex was funneled to Chappell, who kept it for himself, according to prosecutors.
Police have arrested a man suspected of stabbing to death a Costa Mesa resident outside a Santa Ana convenience store Sunday night.

Authorities said they responded to a Circle K at 710 E. Dyer Road at 9:07 p.m. and found a man who had been stabbed.

The man, later identified as Jason Paul Torres, 40, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Investigators identified Logan James Cunningham, 27, of Long Beach as the suspect in the killing, Santa Ana police said.

On Monday, police in Long Beach responded to a domestic disturbance that involved Cunningham, according to authorities.

Police discovered while on the call that Cunningham was wanted in connection with Torres killing and arrested him.

Cunningham was later turned over to Santa Ana police. He was booked on suspicion of homicide, with bail set at $1 million, authorities said.

Investigators have not released a possible motive for the killing.

They ask that anyone with information about the case call Santa Ana police at (714) 245-8390.
Opera finale

The local music world lost a committed performer, restaurateur and fan with the death last month of Pasadenas Mario Lalli Sr. at age 92. His long series of restaurants and live opera venues called Marios Italiano Ristorante ended their run in the old plaza shared with the historic Pasadena Playhouse.

Lalli was born in Springfield, Mass., and by 10 years old he was a fanatic listener to opera, spending long hours at his uncles record shop. He eventually moved to New York and studied at the Julliard School conservatory, toured in various companies before settling in Colorado with his family.

It was there that he and his brother Tullio established the first version of Marios Italiano Ristorante  operating under the motto where they sing while you dine. Lalli was a regular performer there, among others. That eatery and musical venue would eventual relocate to the California desert communities of Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and La Quinta before landing, in the last of its 13 locations, in Pasadena.

His son, Mario Lalli Jr., soon after founded Cafe 322, a nightclub in Sierra Madre, where the elder Lalli continued to perform opera favorites well into his 80s.

Lalli Jr. is known as a hugely influential guitarist and bandleader in the desert rock underground scene that spawned the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss and Eagles of Death Metal. He currently leads the band Fatso Jetson.

Most recently, the elder Lalli and the audience drawn to his restaurants were featured in a 2014 documentary called Sing Your Own Song, directed by Anne ONeal.

Toronto in Glendale

On Dec. 12, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra returns to the Alex Theatre in Glendale, this time led by guest conductor Peter Oundjian, music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Scotlands Royal National Orchestra.

The 8 p.m. performance (which also lands at UCLAs Royce Hall on Dec. 13) will feature violinist Stefan Jackiw. Both are making their debuts with the LACO. Oundjian will be conducting Bartoks Divertimento and Beethovens Symphony No. 4.

The Alex Theatre is at 216 North Brand Blvd. Tickets start at $27. More info at: (213) 622-7001, www.laco.org.

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Compiled by Marquee staff
Glendale parents were on edge Thursday morning following two brazen child-abduction attempts near local schools the night before, roughly 20 minutes apart and three days into the new school year.

A private security guard stood outside the drop-off gate at John Marshall Elementary School, while a Glendale police officer circled the campus on a motorcycle and additional faculty members, including the district superintendent, stood around the school.

Investigators, meanwhile, released surveillance footage of the first attempted abduction and asked for the publics help in identifying the suspect, who drove a silver 2014-16 Nissan Versa Note.

The grainy video shows a mother pushing the suspect away after the stranger reached into her stroller.

We want our parents, as well as our adults on campus, to exercise vigilance, said Glendale Unified Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr., advising students to walk in pairs and groups, and to find an adult or safe place if they believe theyre being followed. Safety is our top priority.

On Wednesday evening, every family in the district received an automated phone call notifying them of the incidents.

Glendale parent Diana Avila walked her 6-year-old son to school Thursday morning clutching mace in one hand, her sons hand in the other.

It squirts strangers, said her son, first-grader Jayce Avila. You will be blind for a few minutes.

Another parent, Catrina Gordon, planned to walk around the campus for a couple hours after dropping off her daughter.

I was scared. I was really scared, actually, when I heard about it. Now, Im on the defense, Gordon said, adding that she felt safer with a security guard stationed on campus. Im still going to be walking around to see if I see anybody.

Diana Avila was struck by the boldness of the one or two suspects, who attempted the back-to-back abductions in an area where she said theres a large police presence.

That person must have been very desperate, or not from around here, she said.

The first incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday, when a mother was pushing her infant in a stroller near Chevy Chase Drive and Adams Street.

A suspect, described as a Hispanic woman with short, thick hair who wore heavy winter clothing, parked her car in a red zone and approached the mother, said Glendale Police Sgt. Robert William.

Hes so cute, the suspect said of the baby, before trying to lift him up. The baby, however, was buckled into the stroller.

The suspect then hurriedly attempted to unbuckle the strap, but the mother pushed the suspect away. After the brief struggle, the suspect walked back to her silver four-door hatchback and drove off.

The license plate possibly started with 7HY, police said.

About 20 minutes later and a mile away, outside John Marshall Elementary School, an 8-year-old boy called police to report that a woman with a mans voice tried to steal his 2-year-old brother.

The suspect had pulled up to a curb and walked up to the family, picking up the child and saying, Hes so cute, police said. The childs mother slapped or punched the suspects arm, after which the suspect put the child down, walked back to a four-door silver sedan and drove away.

The childs mother described the stranger as a man in his late 40s or 50s, with salt-and-pepper hair and a two-day-old beard, wearing a gray T-shirt with a colorful design on the front, William said.

While the suspect descriptions are different, police said theres no indication two people were in the car.

Glendale parent Leonard Davis, a single father of two, said on his way to school Thursday that he tells his young sons to avoid strangers.

Who picks you up at the gate? Davis asked his 5-year-old.

You, his son Junior said.

If somebody else comes for you, are you going to go with them?

No.

These guys will scream, kick, fight, everything, Davis said.

Anyone with information about the kidnapping attempts is asked to call (818) 937-8596, a tip line created for the case.

--

Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek
Huntington Beach police warned people via Twitter on Wednesday night not to play Pokemon Go while driving after a woman crashed her car onto city property last month while playing the augmented reality game.

The 25-year-old woman was playing Pokemon Go  which allows players to use their smartphones to catch Pokemon in real settings  on July 29 at 1:46 a.m. when she spotted one of the characters near the main building of the Huntington Beach Police Station at 2000 Main Street, said Jennifer Marlatt, public information officer for the Huntington Beach Police Department.

The woman then drove her car onto city property and caught the Pokemon, Marlatt said.

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She said when the woman backed her vehicle to turn around, she hit a light post and knocked it over.

A report was taken for the collision and damage to the property, Marlatt said, and the driver was not injured.

The type of Pokemon was not included in the report, Marlatt said.

The police department tweeted about the incident Wednesday night: Should adults be playing @PokemonGoApp? Debatable. Play while driving? NO. Driving on sidewalk at HBPD? NO. RIP pole!

Should adults be playing @PokemonGoApp ? Debatable

Play while driving? NO

Driving on sidewalk at HBPD? NO

RIP pole! pic.twitter.com/XvOoeGpG99  Huntington Beach PD (@HBPD_PIO) August 10, 2016

--

Brittany Woolsey, brittany.woolsey@latimes.com

Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey
Even as a female bear trekked through a Foothills neighborhood Monday evening, area homeowners convened in La Crescenta to learn more about what state wildlife officials insist is not a bear problem, but a people problem.

If you live north of the 210 Freeway, you live in bear habitat, said California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Andrew Hughan, who came from Sacramento to talk to homeowners living near the wildland-urban interface.

The key to keeping bears alive and out of the human realm, he said, is educating residents about measures that will make properties less inviting than the wilderness that surrounds them.

Hughan was joined Monday by Department of Fish and Wildlife Patrol Lt. Marty Wall at St. Lukes of the Mountains Episcopal Church on Foothill Boulevard to lead the informal discussion. There, participants learned about the agencys response to bear sightings and tips for preventing potentially dangerous encounters.

Were here to dispel myths, Wall said, clarifying that his departments chief aim is not to kill animals, but to help them return to the wild.

1 / 9 After one of many naps, a young California black bear, about 25 yards up a tree, pokes its head up to looking for close branches to eat on Jarvis Avenue in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 2 / 9 When a young California black bear made an appearance, neighors with binoculars train in on the animal in a tree on Jarvis Avenue in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 3 / 9 A Los Angeles County Sheriffs officer walks on Jarvis Avenue at the scene of a young California black bear, about 25 yards up a tree in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 4 / 9 A young boy makes a photo of all of the media at the end of his driveway, media who are covering a young California black bear, about 25 yards up a tree, just down the block on Jarvis Avenue in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 5 / 9 Local resident Megan Browne offers cold water to bear watchers and the media at the scene of a young California black bear, about 25 yards up a tree, on Jarvis Avenue in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 6 / 9 Seemingly on a nap, a young California black bear, about 25 yards up a tree, lies horizontal on tree limbs on Jarvis Avenue in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 7 / 9 Ryan and Michael Browne peer over their backyard fence, looking at a young California black bear, about 25 yards up a tree, resting on branches on Jarvis Avenue in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 8 / 9 The face of a young California black bear, about 25 yards up a tree, turns outward from the tree it is napping in on Jarvis Avenue in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer) 9 / 9 A short moment of activity, a young California black bear, about 25 yards up a tree, switches its position and turns around to rest on tree limbs on Jarvis Avenue in La Canada Flintridge on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. The 200-pound, 3-year-old female was seen near the Crescenta-Canada YMCA before it took roost to nap in the tree. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

One common misconception is that Southern Californias black bears are looking to harm people.

Theyre not predators, theyre opportunists just looking for their next meal, Wall said. Theyre very attracted to people food and the things that we do.

Untethered trash cans, unpicked fruit trees and swimming pools can look awfully inviting to the ursine sort on a hot summer day, Wall shared. Bears accustomed to dwelling among humans  such as Red 2, a lone female bear thats been spotted in backyards from Pasadena to Burbank since June  may be emboldened to go a step further.

Red 2 has just learned a new trick  hummingbird feeders, Wall said. They knock them to the ground and then eat the dirt that the sugar water went into.

Such antics and videos shot of Red 2 cooling off in a La Canada Flintridge pool may seem cute to many, but not to Mike and Carolyn Baldwin. Their Whiting Woods home has been a popular hangout for bears, most recently Red 2, who pried open a fence to access a side patio and was last seen Friday.

We think [shes] getting a little too territorial, Carolyn Baldwin said.

The couple came out Monday to ask why the Department of Fish and Wildlife hasnt done more to prevent such visits.

What can we do to help you capture the bear and get it out of the area? Because someones going to get hurt, Mike Baldwin pressed Hughan.

Hughan explained a bears presence doesnt necessarily warrant a visit, as the agencys first method of response is to wait for the creatures to retreat back to the woods. Tranquilizer guns may not work in time, and relocated bears often make their way back to a favorite trash can or pool, so encouraging them toward non-lethal traps and educating residents are the best bets for preventing future house calls.

Wall said he gets an alert on his phone every time the Glendale Police Department receives a report of a bear sighting, so he can track them. During the meeting, he got notice of a female bear near Glendales El Lado Drive.

Residents can make their homes unattractive to bears by harvesting fruit from trees, securing trash cans or waiting until morning to bring them out and not leaving out water or food for pets. Repellents, like household ammonia sprinkled on the ground or trash is an immediate turnoff because it signifies decay.

La Crescenta resident Kim Mattersteig has become a bit of an advocate on the matter since her Jack Russell terrier, Bridgette, was killed by a mountain lion in 2013. She said she organized Mondays meeting to help keep neighbors informed so theyll protect their homes and take warnings about wildlife seriously.

You think it will never happen to you  until it does, Mattersteig said.
July 28

Burglary, vehicle: La Canada High School east parking lot, 4463 Oak Grove Drive. A teacher reported that sometime between 9 a.m. and noon someone smashed the passenger window of her Toyota Prius and took a North Face backpack that shed left on the front passengers seat.

The backpack contained a MacBook Air computer, two USB drives and a wallet holding miscellaneous gift cards, two expired bank cards, one active bank card, a Costco card and cash.

A responding deputy viewed surveillance video that showed the teacher parking her car, exiting it and walking toward the school, immediately after which a suspect pulled his Nissan Frontier up next to the teachers car. The suspected got out of his vehicle and stood next to the victims car. The deputy saw on the video a flash in the area of the Prius passenger window. The suspect then drove out of the parking lot and southbound on Oak Grove Drive.

July 31

Petty thefts, vehicles: 1900 block of Ravista Lane and 4900 block of Palm Drive. Deputies following up on a call from a La Crescenta man who found handbags in front of his Franklin Street residence learned that someone had entered two La Canada cars and removed the bags from them before discarding them in the La Crescenta yard.

In the Ravista Lane case, a womans black handbag has taken from the rear floor mat of her car, which had been left parked in her driveway at about 5:30 p.m. on July 30. She was uncertain as to whether or not shed locked it before leaving it there.

At 4:11 a.m. July 31 she received a text message that someone had attempted to fraudulently use one of her Visa cards at a La Crescenta gas station. Although the handbag was returned to her after having been found in La Crescenta, it was missing a green leather wallet that had contained three Visa cards, medical cards, a library card and cash. Also taken was a business card case containing two Amazon gift cards, three Panera Bakery gift cards and three Starbucks gift cards. There was no sign of forced entry to her car.

In the Palm Drive incident, a woman parked her car in front of the house at about 8 p.m. July 30, and believed shed left it locked. When she returned to it at 8:30 a.m. July 31, she noticed the trunk was ajar. Stolen from inside her vehicle was a purple handbag containing miscellaneous papers and personal items , a small pouch containing cosmetic items and a bag containing miscellaneous personal documents. All of her pilfered items were retrieved from the La Crescenta mans yard.

Aug. 1

Burglary, residential: 4800 block of Hampton Road. A man reported that he left his home at 5:30 p.m. that date, after first making sure all doors and windows were locked and secured, and the audible alarm was set. His wife, who was out of town, called him on his cellphone at about 8 p.m. to tell him that their next-door neighbor had called her at 7:40 p.m. to say she could hear the house alarm.

The neighbor, as instructed, went to the home to reset the alarm. As she approached the house, she saw the front door was ajar. She stepped inside to reset the alarm system via the keypad near the front door. She did not walk through the property to investigate its condition. The man returned home at about 8:30 p.m. When he walked into the kitchen he could see a sliding-glass door had been shattered. In the living room, he saw couch cushions scattered about. Drawers in both the guest bedroom and the master bedroom were open and appeared to have been rummaged through. During a walk-through with law enforcement, he could not immediately identify anything as missing.

Aug. 4

Burglary, residential: 300 block of Starlight Crest Drive. The Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station received a call reporting that a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier had walked up to a residence to deliver a package and saw the front door appeared to have been opened by force. Deputies arrived at the scene, entered the five-bedroom home and found no one inside. A laundry room door leading to the outside was open. They surmised entry was through the front door and that exit was made through the laundry room door. The interior of the house was in a state of disarray. They found the victims phone number and called him. When he arrived home from work he could see that three rifles had been taken, one a Smith & Wesson .223 caliber, the second a a Sig-Sauer .22 caliber, and the third was a PTR .308 caliber., all stored in black plastic cases.

Petty theft: 2200 block of Foothill Boulevard. A woman reported that at about 5:45 p.m. she was working the cash register at a restaurant when a a man and a female approached and placed an order. When she turned away to complete their order, the man  according to an eyewitness  reached over the counter and grabbed the employees Apple iPhone 6 in a Minnie Mouse case from the top of the cash register. The man and woman then ran out of the business, got into a white Hyundai and drove westbound on Foothill Boulevard. The male suspect was described as white, in his 20s, 6 feet tall, 130 pounds, brown hair and wearing a black tank top.
A robot that can disinfect a hospital room in a matter of minutes, using UV light to kill bacteria and microorganisms that cause life-threatening infections, is one of several new technologies coming to patients served by USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.

The $100,000 portable unit, created by San Antonio-based Xenex Disinfection Services, uses a xenon bulb capable of emitting full-spectrum light rays up to 2,000 times brighter than natural sunlight to genetically destroy 99.9% of all microorganisms, even the ones traditional cleaning methods might miss.

It zaps the entire room with UV light at different frequencies, which helps destroy any remaining bacteria, said Kenny Pawlek, chief operating officer of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, in a recent interview. Its very cool.

The technology will not replace current disinfection procedures, which involve the manual application of a bleach solution on all affected surfaces, but simply add another level of protection in areas where infected patients have been.

Pawlek said the facility is in the process of purchasing three new Xenex robots, which could be up and running sometime next year.

Word of the new additions comes at a time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that on a typical day, one in every 25 patients in the United States has at least one hospital-associated infection. Cases of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and bacteria like C. diff (Clostridium difficile) can often be fatal.

Dr. Stephanie Hall, chief medical officer for USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, as well as USCs Keck Hospital and Norris Cancer Center, said shes looking forward to bringing a robot thats been proven to work quickly and efficiently at other USC campuses into a community hospital setting.

This creates an opportunity to reduce infections, not only in the operating rooms, but in patient rooms and throughout the hospital, Hall said. Using a nontoxic process to disinfect and reduce the possibility of the transmission of infections is really exciting.

According to Pawlek, advancements like Xenex are part of a wider effort being taken by Keck Medicine of USC to bring cutting-edge technologies currently tested and employed at the academic institutions in the health system to residents of the Foothills.

Bringing new technology and techniques into the community at all levels helps grow excellence, he said.

Another newcomer to USC Verdugo Hills Hospital is the da Vinci Surgical System, which gives surgeons a 3-D glance at the work theyre doing with the help of a robotic arm that provides a range of motion similar to a human hand in a laparoscopic fashion.

The $2-million investment will be used to help surgeons at the local hospital perform prostate surgeries as well as nephrectomies, the removal of diseased tissue or tumors from the kidney, possibly without removal of the organs.

Created by Californias Intuitive Surgical, Inc., the da Vinci system has already assisted in 26 robotic surgeries at the facility since it arrived in February, Pawlek reported.

A third new advancement that just became available to patients of the hospital last month is LINX, a magnetic reflux barrier designed to help patients who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Resembling an adjustable beaded bracelet about the size of a quarter, the device is implanted around the outside of a patients lower esophageal sphincter. The beads are magnetically drawn to each other, pulling the bracelet tight, but still allow for normal swallowing.

The new device from Minnesota-based Torax Medical, Inc. is an alternative to the current treatment, which involves the permanent implantation of stomach lining tissue pulled tight like a belt over the esophagus.

USC Verdugo Hills Hospital will host an on-site informational seminar Aug. 27 at 10 a.m., 1812 Verdugo Blvd., in Glendale, with Keck School of Medicine of USC physicians to explain the new advancements in GERD treatment being employed at the facility. Residents can RSVP by calling (818) 952-4729.

What all three technologies have in common, Pawlek said, is that they help ultimately reduce the amount of time patients have to spend in a hospital so they can get back to their own personal care networks of friends and family and recover more quickly.

More advanced surgical techniques and more modern procedural techniques, and access to these, really help people recover much faster, Pawlek said. It doesnt matter whether theyre 25 or 95  the quicker you can get back to your normal activities, the better.
I was anxious to meet the boys of Troop 507. They had just arrived at Union Station and after a 21-hour train ride from New Mexico, they had a tale or two to tell.

Nine Scouts from Saint Bedes troop had just completed a 104-mile trek at the Philmont Scout Ranch, a large, rugged preserve nestled in the Sangre de Cristo mountains in northern New Mexico.

We spoke for more than an hour and I saw a phenomenon in their eyes. A transformation! I assume they were not quite the same people. Perhaps unbeknownst to them, they had added another dimension to their lives. Naturalist John Muir explained that one who experiences the sublime of wilderness is rich forever. These boys would hold onto this experience for a lifetime.

They carried 45-pound packs up five mountain peaks  all 11,000 footers: Baldy Mountain, Comanche Peak, Mount Phillips, Big Red and the Tooth of Time.

How did you feel when you summited? I asked.

You get a new perspective when youre on top the mountain. If I can do this what cant I do? Ethan Harp replied. He understood the climbers philosophy, its the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.

Luke Bender, the crew leader, was elected for the job by his peers.

Why do you think you were elected? I asked him.

The Scouts trusted me, he replied. Bender spoke of the nature of the team. Collectively, the boys understood that the team is sacrosanct. From food preparation to maintaining each others spirits throughout their arduous adventure, they forged bonds.

In the Marine Corps, I learned that the greater the loyalty of individuals toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group. Hence the prognosis that Troop 507 would complete their adventure on a high note was assured.

I liked the boys intuitiveness in recognizing the importance of having a spiritual guide. Henry Vaughn served as chaplain. Vaughn said, We became close because we appreciated each others worth and contribution.

William Henderson, the pledge guia was responsible for the morale and cohesiveness of the team.

Henderson realized the importance of tenacity and confidence in surmounting the overbearing peak, the Tooth of Time. I believe he understood the nature of wilderness travel: You can either do it or you cant do it.

Wilderness offers a respite from the maddening inertia of civilization. A trek in the wild challenges our complacent convictions. Thoreau went to Walden Pond because he wished to live deliberately and to front only the essentials of life. He wanted to learn what a world not made by humans had to teach. The boys of Troop 507 garnered a firsthand understanding that there are components of life that do not respond to the flick of a switch. Wilderness corrects this oblivion because one learns who they are and who they are not.

The boys spoke of firing a .58 caliber percussion black powder rifle. I assume it was an 1861 Enfield. They touched a piece of history, which both Union and Confederate forces used during the Civil War. They built trails, removed tree stumps, and honed their leadership and team skills in challenge courses.

I wish I could have been part of their team. Hiking with these remarkable young men  Noah Ford, Drake DiPaolo, Brian Ling, Thomas Mayer and Travis Blaine  would be an extraordinary experience. But I had my time. However, with more than 50 years of trekking the wilds of the world, Im not yet done. Wilderness poses profound questions about the importance of our schemes, and I have more to learn.

I trust they understood the subliminal essence of the video they shared of sitting under a tarp in the rain singing Twist and Shout. Luke Bender was right when he said, You get a little jubilant.

The boys of 507 went into the woods and came out the other side taller than the trees.

--

JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.
The black-hooded executioner who beheaded American journalist James Foley may have left more clues to his identity than he intended, experts said Thursday, beginning with his distinctly British voice, a sonic fingerprint that gives investigators a fighting chance of determining his identity.

But it will not be easy.

Scotland Yard, British intelligence and the FBI are all said to be scrambling to figure out the identity of the man who killed Foley, his crime documented in a video that was posted online Tuesday by the militant group Islamic State. The group is believed to have abducted Foley in Syria and held him for nearly two years.

The location and precise timing of the killing remains unknown, although it appeared to have been somewhere in the desert expanse of Syria or Iraq.

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The executioner took pains to disguise himself, covering himself in black from head to toe, with only his hands, eyes and the bridge of his nose exposed. Those visible parts may help investigators determine some identifying features, beginning with eye and skin color. The fact that he is standing behind a kneeling Foley should enable them to determine his height and approximate weight.

But it was the voice that experts pointed to as the most identifiable feature. His accent has been pinpointed by linguistics experts as multicultural London English, a variety of pronunciation that originated among recent immigrants in Londons East End and spread across southeast England.

British newspapers have reported that at least one former hostage has identified the killer as one of his captors, a man simply known as John,  allegedly one of three militants from Britain who were referred to as the Beatles because of their British origin. They are believed to operate in or near the Syrian town of Raqqah, a rebel stronghold.

Martin Barry, a forensic voice expert who has advised Londons Metropolitan Police but is not working on the Foley case, said investigators probably will be trolling through records of young radicalized males in inner London who are already known to the authorities.

Its possible that its someone who has already been involved with the police, so there could be, on record, a police interview of this person speaking, Barry said in an interview. That could then be compared with the recording.

However, he said, given how labor-intensive the task is, I think it would be quite implausible to expect a positive outcome in the short term. There are too many voices out there to compare this one with. If this is a person who has never spoken into a police microphone, then Id say effectively there is no way to be able to isolate the individual.

Still, Richard Barrett, a former head of counter-terrorism for Britains Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, told the BBC he believes the killer will be identified. British officials have expressed hope that members of the public will come forward to identify the man.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the agency is not prepared to hold any interviews about the case.

British Prime Minister David Cameron resumed his summer vacation after hurrying back to London on Wednesday to lead an emergency Cabinet meeting on the killing and the British governments response to events in Syria and Iraq. Its believed that about 500 Britons have traveled to the region to join militant rebel groups.

Foley was abducted in Syria in November 2012. On Wednesday, the Pentagon revealed that U.S. military forces had attempted to rescue him and other captives this summer, a mission that failed to locate any hostages.

Britain has long grappled with the threat of Islamic extremism within its borders. The country is home to more than 2.7 million Muslims, accounting for 4.4% of the population. Concern has grown over first- and second-generation British Muslims who are young and vulnerable to radicalization.

In 2005, suicide bombers killed 52 people in attacks on the London Underground and bus service. Three of the four attackers were British-born. Last year, two Nigerian British converts to Islam killed a British soldier on a street in south London.

Werth is a special correspondent.
Tensions ratcheted up Thursday around the Russian-annexed province of Crimea, as Ukraines president ordered the reinforcement of nearby military installations and Crimeas pro-Moscow leader accused the United States of meddling in the dispute.

The developments came one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of sending armed terrorist groups to the Black Sea peninsula and threatened to withdraw from peace talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

That conflict has pitted pro-Russia forces against Ukraines Western-leaning government. In February 2014, thousands of troops in unmarked uniforms appeared in Crimea, which was once part of Russia but had been transferred to Ukraine under Soviet rule. The troops forced Ukrainian service members to pledge allegiance to Russia or lay down their guns and leave.

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Weeks later, in an election that was not recognized by the international community, Crimeas citizens voted to become part of Russia.

Russias Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main successor agency to the Soviet KGB, charged that two Russian servicemen were killed in separate armed clashes with groups of Ukrainian spies over the weekend. One of the alleged spies was detained and claimed that Ukraines Defense Ministry dispatched his group to organize terrorist attacks in Crimea, the FSB said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Russias Kremlin-controlled television networks showed a bruised, handcuffed man they identified as the detained spy, and aired images of bags filled with explosives, land mines and ammunition that the spies reportedly brought to carry out the terrorist attacks.

In the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, President Petro Poroshenko dismissed Russias claims and said Moscow concocted them to justify its military involvement in Ukraine.

These fantasies are but an excuse to come up with more threats of military [action] against Ukraine, he said in a statement issued by his office.

Poroshenko tweeted that he also ordered the reinforcement of military installations that border Crimea and the breakaway regions.

Putin had said in televised remarks late Wednesday that Ukraine has switched to terror practices instead of looking for a peace settlement.

He lambasted Kiev for sabotaging the peace talks over the breakaway regions, including the separatist provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, where tensions escalated in recent weeks and a separatist leader was wounded in a car crash Saturday. Putin called on the United States and the European Union to push Ukraine to resume the talks.

Most importantly, those who support the current authorities in Kiev have to, after all, make up their mind about what they want, he said. Do they want their clients to keep staging provocations of this kind or do they want a real peace settlement?

A Ukrainian political analyst said he doubted the veracity of Putins claims, which he believed were part of Russias efforts to force Ukraine to give up the breakaway regions.

This is a murky story, hardly believable, but whats important is its consequences, Vadim Karasyov of the Institute of Global Strategies, a think tank, said in an interview Thursday. Putin is criminally blackmailing the West so that it forces Ukraine to fulfill the Minsk agreements.

He was referring to a cease-fire accord Russia and Ukraine signed in 2014 in Minsk, the capital of neighboring Belarus. The deal, however, failed to stop the fighting as Ukraine and separatist authorities accused each other of breaking it.

An analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center, an independent think tank, said that Putins claims were aimed at boosting the Kremlins popularity before parliamentary elections in September.

He constantly needs a series of quasi-wars to keep the pro-Putin majority mobilized, Andrei Kolesnikov said in an interview. Its very hard to believe in a [military] operation that is extremely unfavorable for Poroshenko and very beneficial for Putin.

Meanwhile, Crimeas pro-Moscow leader accused the United States of urging Ukrainian authorities to organize the purported terrorist attacks.

These are not their own actions and messages, [because] the U.S. State Department is looming behind them, Sergei Aksyonov told the Russia-24 television channel.

The Obama administration did not specifically respond to the charge but said Thursday that it was alarmed at rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia and called for both countries to exercise restraint.

We believe that any actions, including rhetoric, including remarks, have the ability to escalate what is already a very tense situation and a very dangerous situation, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.

The U.S. position, she added, is well known: Crimea is part of Ukraine and is recognized as such by the international community.

In recent weeks, independent observers and Crimean Tatar activists claimed that Russia has moved troops, tanks and artillery to the Ukrainian border. Tatars are a Muslim minority that has lived in Crimea for centuries and faced increasing pressure from Russian authorities after the annexation.

Dozens of Ukrainian service members, pro-Russia militants and civilians have been killed in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks amid escalating violence and almost daily shelling.

Mirovalev is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report.
Its far from a triumphal scene: a shattered ghost city, riddled with land mines and booby traps, still echoing with the crack of sniper fire. These days, this is what a prospective victory over the fighters of Islamic State looks like  grim, costly and already shadowed by what lies ahead.

American-backed Libyan militias said Thursday that they were consolidating their hold over the coastal oil-crescent city of Surt, Islamic States last real bastion in Libya  and, until this week, the groups most important territorial toehold in North Africa.

The impending loss of Surt  more than 1,000 miles from Islamic States heartland in Iraq and Syria  represents a powerful blow to the groups ambitions to expand its self-declared caliphate into Libya, a failing but resource-rich state a few hundred miles across the Mediterranean from Europe.

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But analysts said Islamic State, which has made resiliency its hallmark, probably retains the ability to imperil Libyas fragile government, as well as more distant targets, by shrugging off territorial and battlefield losses and turning its attention to guerrilla-style insurgency.

It will be a mutation of strategy, said Karim Mezran, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Councils Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Its possible the foreign [Islamic State] fighters will disperse in the desert and try to form small groups; the Libyan component will remain in Libya and foster terrorist activities  car bombs, targeted assassinations and so forth.

Libyas rival armed factions have in the past proved their ability to unite against a common enemy, as they did in the toppling of dictator Moammar Kadafi, only to swiftly turn on one another in the struggle for oil wealth and power. The country has been riven by bitter infighting since the region-wide Arab Spring uprisings.

Even by those benchmarks of carnage, the battle for Surt has been a savage one. A ragtag band of armed groups, drawn mainly from the nearby city of Misurata, has waged a summer-long campaign to dislodge Islamic State fighters from the city where Kadafi was hunted down and killed.

As has sometimes happened in the past, Islamic State may have brought about its own downfall with overreach. The offensive began in May after Islamic State fighters seized a checkpoint west of Surt, not far from Misurata. The Misuratans then spearheaded the attacking force, joined by other armed groups  though the durability of that alliance is questionable.

Its telling that with so many factions that are intent on fighting or spoiling others interest, the one instance in which they accede to Western interests is Islamic State, said Tim Eaton, a Libya expert at the British think tank Chatham House. None of the factions has any interest in them sticking around.

The campaign to retake Surt was slowed by the defenders use of cunningly planted explosives, thunderous suicide bombs and well-trained snipers. The attackers losses surpassed 200 by July. U.S. airstrikes that began Aug. 1, together with the technical assistance of small groups of U.S., British and Italian special forces, helped rally the Misuratan-led forces, the militias laying siege to the city said.

A key turning point came with Wednesdays capture by government-allied fighters of strategic sites, including a Kadafi-era convention center, a hulking symbol of Islamic States yearlong reign over Surt. Jubilant militiamen raised their flag atop the complex to supplant the black Islamic State banner that had flown there.

The militias aligned with Libyas United Nations-supported government, a shaky 7-month-old enterprise that represents the latest effort to impose some semblance of statehood on the chaotic nation, said Thursday that they were in the process of clearing several remaining neighborhoods of Islamic State holdouts. The mayor of Surt, Mokhtar Khalifa, told the Associated Press that the city was 70% free  it will soon be completely free.

But the defenders, especially those who see no chance to slip away, may be motivated to fight to the death, according to witnesses to the combat.

This is their last stand, a final showdown, and I expect theyre going to put up a fight, said Frederic Wehrey, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowments Middle East Program who twice visited the front lines over the summer. The nature of the fighting I observed in those types of settings was quite tough going, block by block, with snipers, mines, booby traps.

Illustrating the intimate scale of the urban combat in Surt, the U.S. airstrikes  three dozen of them to date, according to the U.S. Africa Command  have often taken aim at targets tiny in size but outsized in threat. A list of the latest strikes included several lone Islamic State vehicles, after the Misuratans and their allies suffered heavy losses from truck bombs and armor-protected heavy weapons.

The civilian toll too has been heavy. The United Nations estimated last month that more than 90,000 people had fled the city, representing more than three-quarters of its population.

Those who found haven in nearby towns told of now-familiar horrors of daily life under Islamic States harsh rule: crucifixions and beheadings, arcane accusations of sorcery and witchcraft, public floggings, punishing taxes, young boys seized as conscripts.

Islamic State arrived, and the end of our lives began, a woman named Fatima, who sought safety in Misurata, told the online news portal Middle East Eye last month. They took possession of all aspects of our lives.

Once the fighting winds down, competing agendas are all but certain to emerge.

Kadafi was born outside Surt, and the city has long been associated with him; Misurata was the cradle of the revolution. The Misuratans, having shed blood to retake Surt, are already seeking a leading role in its post-Islamic State order, but many townspeople  who may not be able to return for weeks or months  dislike and distrust them.

Relations between the two cities have been very poor. Thats where it becomes very tricky to get past these enmities, said Eaton.

Surt was not Islamic States first foothold in Libya  the group had seized the eastern town of Derna nearly two years ago  but it was the most significant one, providing a gateway for arriving foreign fighters and ready access to oil facilities. President Obama, in authorizing airstrikes, declared that the campaign was needed to prevent Islamic State from developing a stronghold in Libya.

While inviting limited Western help in staving off Islamic State may be a popular move, the U.N.-brokered unity government, led by Fayez Serraj, still faces a crisis of legitimacy in the eyes of many. It has yet to win endorsement from the internationally recognized parliament, which is based in Libyas east.

More pressing for many Libyans is the chronic lack of any of the trappings of governance. Analysts point to dismal conditions even in the capital, with power rationed to four hours a day in the scorching summer heat, garbage piling up, currency devaluations and long lines outside banks.

Theres enormous popular frustration in Tripoli, said Wehrey.

In the longer run, he noted, the very militias that are breaking the Islamic States grip on Surt  as well as heavyweight rivals from outside that fold, such as the eastern-based ex-general Khalifa Haftar  will need to at some point be integrated into a regular army and police force.

But powerful armed groups, each with its own agenda, have held sway for so long that the scenario seems unimaginable to some.

Stability is fundamental, so stabilizing Surt is fundamental, said analyst Mezran. The issue, though, is that [Islamic State] wasnt the cause of instability. It was a consequence.

laura.king@latimes.com

ALSO

U.S.-backed Libyan forces take over Islamic State headquarters in Surt

Canadian police kill man warned about Islamic State ties and say he planned suicide bombing

Some of the last remaining doctors in Aleppo tell Obama tears are not enough: We need action
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Hillary Clinton has taken an average seven point lead over Donald Trump in the critical battleground states of Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

According to a trio of new NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls taken since both party conventions were held late last month, Clinton now leads Trump 41 percent to 37 percent in Iowa, 43 percent to 38 percent in Ohio and 48 percent to 37 percent in Pennsylvania.

Clinton Surging

In the same polls taken before either convention, Clinton led Trump by an average of just four points, with the two actually locked in a tie in the state of Ohio.

"These three states are key ingredients in Trump's formula for success and a region where Trump was hoping [running mate Mike] Pence would provide a boost," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. "Yet Trump is coming up short in his bid to change the electoral map. Given that Clinton has many more paths to the White House, these poll results are a warning sign for the Trump effort."

While both candidates find themselves greatly underwater with voters in terms of their net favorability, Trump's prove to be much more pronounced.

In Iowa he has an overall unfavorable view of -33 compared to Clinton's -22, while in Ohio and Penn., Trump's average rating is -32 compared to Clinton at -22.

The NBC/WSJ/Marist polls were conducted from Aug. 3-7 and consisted of 899 registered voters in Iowa and Ohio and 834 in Pennsylvania. Each of the polls has an average margin of error of 3.5 percent.

Clinton up 10 Points in CNN Poll

Meanwhile, a recent CNN Poll of Polls survey found Clinton has increased her lead over Trump to 10 percent and is now on the verge of cracking 50 percent of the overall vote.

Pollsters found Clinton now leads Trump 49 percent to 39 percent in an average of six recent polls conducted after both party conventions ended late last month. A similar poll conducted before either convention was held found Clinton besting Trump just 45 percent to 41 percent.

In recent history, the candidate found to be leading in the polls after both conventions have concluded has gone on to ascend to the White House.
A New Mexico mother and the son she once put up for adoption could be headed to prison together over an intimate relationship both insist they're not about to give up on.

Monica Mares, 36, and Caleb Peterson, 19, could both be headed to prison for as long as 18 months when they stand trial on incest charges later this year.

Meanwhile, mother and son have decided to fight for their relationship, taking their battle public by soliciting for funds to cover their legal expenses.

Couple Vow to Fight

"He is the love of my life and I don't want to lose him," said Mares, indicating that the couple plans to mount an overall challenge to the state's Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA) laws that make such unions illegal.

"My kids love him, my whole family does," she added. "Nothing can come between us not courts, or jail, nothing. "I have to be with him. When I get out of prison I will move out of Clovis to a state that allows us to be together."

Incest is a crime in all 50 states, but the parameters of the law vary from state to state in terms of the punishment that is enforced. A mother of nine, Mares insists she is even willing to give up her right to see and spend time with her other children in order to be with Peterson.

Banned From Interacting

Currently, the two are banned by the courts from spending any time together. They began their relationship in late 2015 after Mares saw her son for the first time in more than 18 years.

"The first time I met my son in person I was so happy and excited I gave him a big hug," she said. "I went to go pick him up at his dad's house in Texas."

According to Mares, the encounter was essentially a case of love at first sight. "It felt like I met somebody new in my life and I fell in love with him," she added.

For a while, the two lived together in Mares' mobile home, but things changed after neighbors informed police earlier this year. The two were eventually slapped with felony charges and now face the prospect of a September trial.

"It is every bit worth it," said Mares, who is also banned from seeing her other children. "If they lock me up for love then they lock me up. There is no way anybody could pull us apart."

As a sign of his love and commitment, Peterson recently left a rose for Mares on the bench at the park where the two both openly shared their feelings for one another. He insists all the suffering has not moved him to change the way that he feels.

"Sometimes the easy way isn't the best way,' he said. "Sometimes we have to make that life decision that's going to change and affect everything but when it comes down to it, it's worth it."

Supporters of the couple are assisting them in raising funds, hoping to ultimately be able to hire a high profile attorney to defend the case they insist they're willing to take all the way to the Supreme Court.

"This whole case is about whether I have the right to love somebody and I sure as hell have the right to love Monica," said Peterson. "You can't tell me who to love, who not to love."
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A homeless man is accused of breaking into the home of his brother by throwing a cement block through a window while he slept.

Aaron Matthews Peterson, 30, shortly before 4 a.m. Wednesday allegedly showed up at the home of his brother in the 200 block of East Goepp Street in Bethlehem and demanded the brother return an undisclosed item. The victim reported to police Peterson was banging on the door.

Peterson then fled the scene and officers were unable to locate him in the vicinity.

By 4:40 a.m., the brother and his girlfriend awoke to the sound of glass breaking and learned Peterson returned and smashed a window with a cement block, according to police.

The girlfriend witnessed Peterson at the bottom of the steps and he allegedly yelled to have his brother come down so he could, "Beat his (expletive)."

Police said the brother then came to the stairway and told Peterson to leave his property. Peterson eventually fled again, but sent a text to the victim, stating, "U lucky that rock didn't find it's way somewhere else first," according to police.

Investigators seized a piece of cement, which was used by Peterson to break into the home, in the interior hallway.

Peterson is charged with burglary, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and simple assault. He was arraigned before District Judge Patricia Broscius, who set bail at $50,000.

In lieu of bail, Peterson was sent to Northampton County Prison.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Victim tells police shooting was accidental after wine-tasting event

A Monroe County man faces charges after shooting a woman in the back Wednesday night in a Bethlehem Township condominium, police report.

Louis Joseph Bianco, 34, of Saylorsburg, is charged with shooting a woman the evening of Aug. 10, 2016, in Bethlehem Township. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Louis Joseph Bianco, 34, of the 200 block Blackthorn Drive in Saylorsburg, was holding a .45-caliber handgun just after 6 p.m. inside 1974 Merlot Drive when it discharged and hit Jessica Waterloo, 28, in the lower right side of her back, police said in court papers and a news release.

One charge says Bianco "attempted to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause serious bodily injury."

Bianco told police he accidentally fired the weapon, police Chief Dan Pancoast said.

Waterloo, who lives in the home, underwent emergency surgery at St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill and was later able to speak to detectives.

Bianco was arraigned before District Judge Patricia Broscious on charges of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person, police said.

He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail and remained there in Thursday morning, records show.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is seen Feb. 26, 2010. (Lehighvalleylive.com file photo)

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Pennsylvania casino regulators approved fines Wednesday against the operator of Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem for three alleged incidents of visitors under age 21 on the gaming floor.

Sands Bethworks Gaming LLC faces fines totaling $39,000, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

The fine is the result of board approval of a consent agreement between the board's Office of Enforcement Counsel and Sands Bethworks Gaming, according to a news release.

The incidents occurred when:

A 20-year-old female was permitted access onto the gaming floor and wagered at both slot machines and table games.

An 18-year-old male was permitted access onto the gaming floor where he consumed alcohol.

A 20-year-old female was permitted access onto the gaming floor and wagered on slot machines.

Also during Wednesday's meeting of the Gaming Control Board, Mount Airy Casino Resort had its license renewed for an additional three years.

Following a public-input hearing April 12, the gaming board's seven members determined the operator, Mount Airy Casino #1 LLC, had fulfilled the obligations under its previously approved casino operator's license.

Since its opening in October 2007 in Monroe County, Mount Airy has generated nearly $1.6 billion in gross revenue from slot machines and table games, resulting in more than $800 million in state tax revenue. Mount Airy Casino Resort operates over 1,850 slot machines and 80 table games, and employs about 1,100 people.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
His clients are a prominent former New York City mayor and one of the most famous filmmakers in the world.

And he wants to open his East Coast office in Easton.

Entrepreneur Hagai Feiner has an agreement to buy the Martinez building, a four-story former home to a dry cleaner at 225 Ferry St. He wants to make it the East Coast hub of his company Access Networks.

The company integrates electronic networks for high-end homes so users can control their home thermostat, security system and television all from their iPads. He's working to make the technology available for the middle class.

"It's been so comforting to me as a business owner to come to a town that's so inviting," said the 40-year-old whose business is based in Encino, California. Access Networks is among the fastest growing private companies in the United States, with $9.3 million in revenue in 2014, according to Inc magazine.

Feiner plans to start with a couple employees but build up to 10 or 12. But the business will impact the downtown beyond its handful of workers. Feiner plans to hold regular training sessions for clients and collaborators. He isn't allowed to name them, but they're among the most rich and famous people in the world.

"We will see a constant flow of people coming into town that haven't seen Easton before," he said.

Feiner first laid eyes on Easton when he came here last year to the home of his fiancee's parents.

"It's so cute and it's so different than everything we have in Los Angeles. I thought I'd love to have an anchor here," he said.

The building was purchased by New York resident Carl Martinez in 2007. Called an "artisan" by those who know him, Martinez is world famous for creating custom door knobs and cabinet handles.

One of his pieces, a gold-plated curtain tieback with crystals, sold for $2,850 four years ago.

Martinez looked at the building as one of his art projects, according to Easton architect Will Dohe.

"He lovingly and gently removed all the vestiges of modernity from the building and did some very select demolition and very select repairs," said Dohe, the architect who is working on the project. "It has a patina which he really wanted to bring to the forefront of an age-old timeless building. That's what Hagai fell in love with."

Martinez didn't return a phone message. His voicemail says he's on vacation.

While he waited to find the right new owner, Martinez lent out the building to Anthropologie, J. Crew and West Elm for photo shoots for catalogues.

Dohe said busloads of models, photographers and crew members would descend on the building periodically to take advantage of its natural light, bare walls and spaciousness.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said he did a video broadcast for the Pennsylvania Cable Network in the building.

"It's one of the most beautiful buildings inside," he said, adding "It's nice that the technology businesses are looking at Easton."

Education is important to Feiner and he wants to do his part to help his new home community.

"If there is an opportunity to help a school or anyone who needs wireless infrastructure, we would be happy to hand it over at a very deep discount," Feiner said. Dohe said Feiner plans to look to local colleges for interns.

Feiner has an agreement to buy the building but is waiting for soil samples to come back before completing the deal. Once the sale is final, he needs three months to outfit the space. He hopes to be in early next year.

Martinez bought the building for $230,000, according to county tax records. It's listed at $990,000, and Feiner said he's agreed to pay "right around the asking price."

"I see Carl's work as priceless," he said. He said the building can showcase both what the city and his business have to offer.

"My philosophy is I aim for the creation of a work environment that is inviting, where people are inspired to go to work in the morning," Feiner said.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
A College Hill teenager accused Christopher Columbus of cultivating genocide and called on Easton City Council to remove his statue from Riverside Park.

Thomas Weber, 19, said the Italian who discovered the New World practiced slavery and was the catalyst for the genocide of Native Americans.

"Christopher Columbus, while his discoveries were great, his position to Native Americans ... represents a figure that I don't think is someone who should be celebrated by Easton," said the political science and communications major at Bloomsburg University.

It took two years of fundraising by working-class Italian immigrants in Easton to finance the $13,000 statue erected in 1930, a fact not lost on Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. He is among the Italian Americans who regularly gather at the statue on Columbus Day.

"I understand the statue was a great gift from the Italian American community, but I think for the greater good of Easton it's not something that should be celebrated. It's a really dark part of our history," Weber said.

"Christopher Columbus was a dark part of our history?" the mayor asked. "That's an opinion."

"Yeah, that is an opinion, but..." Weber said.

"Tell that opinion to the hundreds of people who mortgaged their homes for that statue," the mayor said. "Maybe to them that's a different opinion."

The mayor acknowledged injustice at the hands of Native Americans by white settlers, but said that's no reason to downplay Columbus' accomplishment.

"If you want to take the opinion that Christopher Columbus was the reason Native Americans were enslaved and tortured, I would have to disagree with you," he said.

Weber also called on council to demilitarize the Easton Police Department. He said assault weapons and SWAT vehicles only escalate violence.

Council member Ken Brown said those measures are necessary for officers to protect themselves against modern threats.

"You'd rather see our officers go out there unprotected?" Brown asked Weber. "Do we send them out there with no protection?"

Panto said police need the correct gear when they respond to a homicide or hostage situation.

"Their pistols aren't going to do anything against an AR-15," Panto said. He said the police have conducted more than 45 raids over the last eight years and no one has ever been injured.

The mayor thanked Weber for attending the meeting and encouraged him to return and keep participating in democracy.

"Don't stop coming and giving your opinion," he said. "Don't give up your values and what you believe in. That's part of the American way. That's what's good about it."

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
The prosecution in the case against a soldier accused of fatally stabbing his teen girlfriend's mom rested its case on Thursday without calling the girlfriend to testify.

Jamie Silvonek had been expected to take the witness stand in the trial of Caleb Barnes.

Prosecutors alleged the 22-year-old Barnes brutally stabbed Cheryl Silvonek in the neck outside the family's Upper Macungie Township home after the woman tried to break up her daughter and Barnes. Barnes' attorneys claim it was Jamie Silvonek who wielded the knife and killed her mother.

Jamie Silvonek's pleaded guilty in her case, and a condition of the plea was that she would testify against Barnes if called. She could still be called later in the trial as a rebuttal witness.

On Feb. 11, Silvonek admitted plotting to kill her mother and helping dispose of the body.

The girl pleaded guilty to all the charges against her -- first-degree murder, conspiracy, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence -- and was sentenced to 35 years to life in state prison.

The defense will continue with presenting its case on Friday. There is a gag order in the case, and as such, the attorneys cannot discuss their witness plans.

Before breaking for the day, Judge Maria Dantos said the case was on track to end Friday, and for the jury to begin deliberations. Dantos warned the jurors to make arrangements in case deliberations went into Friday evening.

Earlier Thursday and before resting its case, the prosecution played excerpts from Barnes' phone calls while he's been in Lehigh County Jail, including one where he admits killing "someone."

In an April 3, 2015, call, Barnes is talking to a man and woman, presumably his parents. Prosecutors did not identify who was talking to Barnes in the five calls with different people.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing," Barnes says.

The woman says, "The right thing would be to tell the truth. Ok? All right?"

"Even if it gets me a life sentence?" Barnes asks.

"Be honest with him, OK?" the woman says.

In a call from May 17, 2015, Barnes talks about discussing "the way I was betrayed, then go over the fact that I killed someone."

In a July 28, 2015, call, Barnes talks with someone who says Barnes "would have protected her," presumably referring to Jamie Silvonek.

Barnes describes a "policy" he has had for the past eight years, that when someone messes with him, "they regret it."

"I'm not going to change that for the way I feel about someone," Barnes says.

The defense also called a lifelong friend of Barnes. Joshua Mix has known Barnes all his life, and said Barnes lived with his family for a summer when the two were 16 years old.

Mix gave a slight nod of his head to Barnes as he walked to the witness stand, and Barnes had a slight smile.

Mix was with Barnes when the pair first met Jamie Silvonek at the Self Help festival in October 2014 in Philadelphia. Silvonek said she was turning 18, while Barnes gave his real age and showed the girl his military ID, Mix testified.

Mix said he and Jamie Silvonek started to text each other after the festival, but Silvonek was also texting with Barnes and started speaking to Barnes exclusively.

Barnes started visiting Silvonek in Pennsylvania, Mix said. GPS phone data shows Barnes phone traveling regularly from Maryland to Jim Thorpe, where Jamie Silvonek's grandmother lived, in the months before the killing.

Mix said after a period of time, the couple announced they were dating. At one point, Mix said it became apparent the girl had lied about her age.

"I asked her to tell him (her real age)," Mix testified. "It was an issue of concern."

Mix and Barnes tried to do some online research on Silvonek, but Mix testified they couldn't find her on Facebook or Twitter.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A friend of Jamie Silvonek's already testified she heard the Upper Macungie teen and her older boyfriend plotting to kill Silvonek's parents.

The girl's shocking testimony at the pair's preliminary hearing last year was about Silvonek and Caleb Barnes plotting the murder of Cheryl Silvonek well before the text messages the couple exchanged in the hours before the killing.

Prosecutors alleged the 22-year-old Barnes brutally stabbed Cheryl Silvonek as the woman tried to break up her daughter and Barnes. Barnes' attorneys claim it was Jamie Silvonek who wielded the knife and killed her mother.

Barnes' trial on homicide and related charges began on Tuesday, and is expected to last the week. Jamie Silvonek is expected to take the witness stand for the prosecution.

On Wednesday, the friend testified she later learned her "best friend" told police it was her idea for the couple to kill Silvonek's parents.

At the preliminary hearing, the girl testified Jamie Silvonek brought up killing her parents to the girl, before talking to Barnes about it over the phone.

"It was something along the lines of, like, 'What if my parents were killed,'" the girl said at the May 14, 2015, hearing. "I told her it wasn't a smart idea at all."

On Wednesday, the girl, who is now 15, only testified Jamie Silvonek brought up the idea face-to-face with her, before calling Barnes.

Jamie Silvonek called Barnes twice on speakerphone the night of March 7, 2015, according to the friend, whose name is being withheld by lehighvalleylive.com because she is a juvenile. The friend came over to Silvonek's Randi Lane home that night, after Barnes was caught with Silvonek in the family's basement by the girl's mother.

The friend testified Jamie Silvonek brought up killing her parents on the phone call with Barnes. The plan was for the parents to be lured out of the house to a location where Barnes would be waiting, he would kill them, get Jamie Silvonek and they would dispose of the bodies, according to the friend.

At first, Barnes said he didn't think it was a good idea, but later during the call said he had the knives picked out and that "he would be able to kill them," the friend testified.

"As time went on, he was getting more and more OK with the plan to kill her parents," the girl testified.

The friend didn't tell anyone about the conversations, and she said Jamie Silvonek repeatedly told her afterward it was a joke.

After Silvonek and Barnes were arrested the morning of March 15, 2015, Silvonek told police it was her friend's idea to kill Silvonek's parents. That's what led police to interview the girl the same morning, before interviewing Barnes.

"I didn't tell her to do it. I didn't encourage it at all," the friend said on Wednesday.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dimmig stressed that the friend was not informed of any details of Cheryl Silvonek's murder, such as the weapon used.

At the time, the friend said she was starting to not trust Silvonek, and that Silvonek was turning on other people so "she didn't have to face the consequences of her actions."

There was an incident in science class, where the girls would make faces at each other. After Silvonek was caught, and taken out into the hallway to be reprimanded, Silvonek said other people should be punished, too, according to the friend.

"She threw you under the bus," defense attorney Richard Webster asked.

When the friend agreed, Webster asked, "And she was manipulative that way?"

"Yes," the friend testified.

People at school were talking about Silvonek dating a 20-year-old man, the friend said, but Silvonek told them it was a rumor.

Jurors also heard of phone data from the couple's cellphones, and from Cheryl Silvonek's phone as well.

Det. Paul Iannace testified the couple exchanged 22,420 test messages. Most of the messages between the two were deleted before police got the phones, however the data was not lost.

Barnes' phone carrier, Verizon, keeps test messages for a period of time, while Jamie Silvonek's iPhone still had the deleted messages on the phone's file system.

Prosecutors previous released a cache of the damning messages between the couple, but Dimmig only read one aloud, from Barnes' phone to Silvonek's phone : "No that leaves us as suspects."

As for Cheryl Silvonek's phone, the detective testified about one search she did on March 7, 2015, the same day she discovered the couple in the basement.

It said, "My 14-year-old daughter and her boyfriend are texting sexual messages. Should I be spying on her cell phone."

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A Carbon County man who served prison time in the death of his 11-month-old daughter was charged Wednesday with nine felonies in an alleged Northampton County crime spree.

Jacob A. Taschler (Courtesy WFMZ-TV 69 | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Jacob A. Taschler, 40, of the 800 block of Edgemont Avenue in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, broken into three homes and stole a car from a gas station last November in Lehigh Township, according to township police.

The car, a blue 2010 Subaru Impreza Outback, was spotted in Virginia by police, who learned from a national crime database it had been reported stolen. Virginia State Police took Taschler into custody Nov. 17 following a pursuit that ended when Taschler crashed into a tree, court records say.

Taschler also faces seven active criminal cases in Carbon County, where he was arraigned most recently Monday on burglary and related charges out of East Penn Township.

He was sent to the Carbon County prison in lieu of $100,000 bail. Following his arraignment Wednesday on the charges in Northampton County, he was ordered held in lieu of an additional $100,000 bail.

Taschler had been paroled June 23, 2013, after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of a child stemming from the Jan. 20, 2010, death of his and Kimberly Ann Taschler's 11-month-old daughter, Kayla Marie Taschler. The toddler died after being left alone by the couple, strapped in a car seat for 16 hours while they smoked marijuana, WNEP-TV 16 reported.

Kimberly Taschler also entered into a plea deal, and was released on probation June 10, 2013.

Jacob Taschler left a trail of evidence behind in his break-in spree last fall in Lehigh Township, police say in court records.

Police at that time had been looking for Taschler after he fled last Nov. 13 at high speed from police in Palmerton, crashed into a field at Routes 248 and 946 in Lehigh Township and took off running, WFMZ-TV 69 reported.

About 9 a.m. Nov. 14, a resident in the 3800 block of North Dogwood Road in Lehigh Township reported to police that she came face to face with a male intruder. She identified the perpetrator as Taschler in a photo lineup, according to police.

In another break-in, reported Nov. 15, Taschler carried car keys and a tire iron from a garage that had been left open in the 3800 block of Cinnamon Drive into the house, left them there and stole an Honest Tea beverage, township police said.

The Honest Tea bottle was then found in another home on the block, following a break-in reported Nov. 14. In that burglary, Taschler allegedly stole more than $10,600 worth of jewelry, $100 and a Walt Disney Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, leaving behind a green sweatshirt.

Taschler was seen wearing the Mickey Mouse sweatshirt on surveillance footage from Blue Star Convenient Mart, 3751 Lehigh Drive in the township, according to police. That's where he stole the Subaru the morning of Nov. 14 while the owner had gone in to pay for gas, having left the car running, police said.

He was arraigned before District Judge Robert Hawke on two felony counts of burglary, three felony counts of criminal trespass and two felony counts each of theft and receiving stolen property, in addition to single misdemeanor counts of theft and receiving stolen property.

He faces a preliminary hearing on the charges tentatively scheduled Aug. 17 before Hawke.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
This year's August meteor shower is expected to dazzle -- if you can actually see it.

That may not be the case in the Lehigh Valley, though there is some hope.

The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks Thursday night into Friday morning, with the best viewing expected after midnight as the Earth passes through a trail of debris left by a comet.

NASA has predicted viewers could see up to 200 meteors an hour under ideal conditions, more than double the shower's usual output.

But, as we have seen so often before, the clouds may not cooperate.

Clouds may conceal much of the 2016 Perseid meteor shower in the Northeast, though clearing is possible. (AccuWeather graphic | For lehighvalleylive.com)

The National Weather Service forecast as of Wednesday evening called for 70 to 80 percent cloud cover, though that might lessen in the early morning hours.

"There may be breaks," said meteorologist Valerie Meola. "It could be hit or miss in some areas."

AccuWeather said a stalled frontal boundary will relegate much of the Northeast to fair viewing conditions at best, though the agency also predicted late-night clearing is possible.

Other opportunities

If the cloud cover is too much, NASA will have a live online broadcast on its Ustream channel Thursday and Friday nights beginning at 10 p.m.

And while the shower peaks Thursday night, there will still be diminishing opportunity to spy a Perseid over the next few weeks, including this weekend. The United Astronomy Clubs of New Jersey plans to view the meteors during public events the next two Saturdays at its Jenny Jump State Forest observatory.

"Anyone wishing to observe (the meteor shower) should get to as dark a place as possible, have a comfortable chair and sit back and enjoy," said Eric Loch, of the Lehigh Valley Amateur Astronomical Society. "Meteors are easier to see even in city lights, but the darker the better."

More meteor showers

If the Perseids aren't satisfying, there are still more meteor showers to watch for this year.

Here's what to expect, according to the American Meteor Society:

* The Orionids, active Oct. 4-Nov. 14. This medium-strength shower sometimes has strong showings and is usually good for 20-25 meteors an hour.

* The Leonids, active Nov. 5-30. This produced an amazing meteor shower in 2001, but the best that can be hoped for is 15 meteors or so an hour, though an occasional outburst is possible.

* The Geminids, active Dec. 4-16. This is the one to mark on the calendar. Usually the strongest meteor shower of the year, it peaks Dec. 13-14. Brightly colored meteors can be seen before midnight.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
shortfamily.jpeg

Services begin Thursday for the mother and three children killed in the Berks County murder-suicide. (Facebook photo)

( )

The obituary of a Berks County family killed in a murder-suicide honors the couple's three children.

The obituary describes 8-year-old Liana as "witty and sassy;" 5-year-old Mark, also known as "M.J.," as having "sweetness (that) didn't overshadow his roughness;" and 2-year-old Willow as a "warrior from birth."

The obituary states the children "flew to heaven" to be with their mother. Megan is described in her obituary as an "awesome mom," who "put her babies above all."

The obituaries of Megan and the the children do not mention the father, Mark Short. However, Mark Short's obituary states he was married to Megan and includes the three children in a Friday service.

Mark Short, 40, his wife, Megan, 33, and their children at about 2 p.m. Saturday were found dead by officials in the living room of the couple's 51 Winding Brook Drive home in Sinking Spring Borough.

Each of them had a single gunshot wound and a handgun was discovered near one of the deceased adults, according to officials. Authorities also found the family's dog deceased.

Authorities have not said which parent did the shooting.

The children leave behind grandmothers and grandfathers; aunts and uncles; and cousins. Megan leaves behind her father, Dennis Swingle; her mother and stepfather, Jacquelyn and Len Campbell; three sisters, Cristie DiCarlo, Tara Strimel, Colleen Swingle; two brothers, Troy Swingle and Lenny Campbell; grandmothers Margaret Massott and Jean Swingle, as well as nieces and nephews, numerous cousins, aunts and uncles.

Mark Short's obituary does not state whom he leaves behind.

A Life Celebration is planned for the children and Megan from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at John F. Givnish of Academy Road, 10975 Academy Road, Philadelphia, and from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Calvary Church, 11024 Knights Road, Philadelphia.

A memorial Mass will follow at 11 a.m. and burial will be at Our Lady of Grace Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that the children be honored with a donation to Gift of Life Family House or Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Cardiac Center.

Arrangements for Mark Short are planned for 6 p.m. Friday at Williams Lombardo Funeral Home, 33 W. Baltimore Ave., Clifton Heights. Private services for Mark and the three children will be held 8 p.m. Friday at Williams Lombardo Funeral Home.

'Mischievous children'

The obituary sheds more light on the personalities of the children. It playfully says the children were mischievous in their own ways.

Liana was an avid reader, currently enjoying the original version of "Alice in Wonderland." She loved school, art, dressing up, parties, Barbie dolls, princesses, and "playing tricks on her family," according to the obituary.

"Plus, she would always reveal the end of a movie," the obituary says.

MJ approved hugs, but kisses were out.

He also enjoyed "monster games," hide-and-seek, tag, swings at the playground and games that involved running after him. He mostly loved cuddling and watching a movie.

"He had a contagious smile," the obit says.

Willow was born with a congenital heart defect and underwent a heart transplant at six days old.

"Her second home for the first year was CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia), where she became an expert at putting on EKG stickers and other medical procedures," the obituary states. "Yet, she loved life and was the happiest child ever."

Willow was funny, loved the Walt Disney World characters of Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse, dancing, taking walks and pulling all the tissues out of a box. She also enjoyed opening the refrigerator every few minutes, as well as opening the pantry, the obituary states.

'Sweet, caring' mother

Megan would do anything for her three children, her obituary states.

"Instead of tears, she would want smiles, laughter and family and friends to recall the love she had for all," the obit says.

It goes on to describe Megan as organized, spiritual, a deep thinker, an eloquent writer who studied the dictionary and practiced vocabulary as a teenager. She was sweet, caring, empathetic, forgiving, giving, accepting, helpful, real, strong, honest, an advocate for organ donation, intelligent and beautiful.

"Her sudden death will leave a deep void, but the life she led for 33 years will be an inspiration to all who were blessed to know her," the obituary states. "If only we could all be like her, the world be a great place."

Ongoing investigation



The Berks County District Attorney's Office plans to hold a news conference Monday afternoon to provide additional details about the investigation into the murder-suicide.

Mark Short's autopsy was planned for this past Monday -- no other autopsies were scheduled, the DA's office said on Facebook.

Officials were tipped off to a welfare check when Megan Short failed to arrive at a lunch date she had the day of the murder-suicide with a family member. Officers from the Sinking Spring Borough and Spring Township police departments learned there were "domestic issues" between the couple.

The officers forced their way into the residence after no one answered the door. A handwritten note was discovered, which appeared to be a "murder/suicide" note, was found in the home, according to the DA's office.

Megan also was planning to leave Mark the day of the tragedy. She asked several days ago on Facebook if people could help her move on Saturday, the Reading Eagle reports.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the Winding Brook Drive home and held the scene for more than eight hours. The scene was eventually released at approximately 12:45 a.m. Sunday, according to the DA's office.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The owner of Hickory Hills Mobile Home Park, the site of a February 2014 propane gas explosion that killed a resident, has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a complaint alleging safety violations contributed to the blast.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Thursday approved the settlement with the Oak Brook, Illinois-based Continental Communities LLC. It is the parent company of Hickory Hills, located just north of Bath off Route 512 in Moore Township.

William Neith died Feb. 14, 2014, when his home at 118 Hickory Hills Drive exploded due to a gas leak. The resulting investigation by the PUC found 39 violations, including that Hickory Hills mobile home park and Continental Communities had not registered its two-mile propane distribution system with the state for inspection for years.

The PUC last February levied a $2 million fine for the violations, the maximum allowable by law. PUC documents show Continental Communities initially contested the fine and sought a hearing before an administrative law judge. Hearing dates were scheduled for later this month, but both sides instead reached the settlement.

The PUC on Thursday unanimously approved the settlement, and noted in a subsequent news release that the propane distribution system blamed for the explosion was removed from Hickory Hills and all residents have been switched to bottled propane gas.

Kevin McKeon, the attorney representing Continental Communities in the case, declined to comment on the settlement Thursday afternoon.

The PUC said a survey conducted seven years before the blast found multiple leaks and recommended the pipeline system be removed, but the work was never done. Neith and girlfriend Hilda Parsons first complained of the smell of natural gas more than a month before the explosion, according to the PUC.

On the night of the explosion, Neith was burning candles in the house because park officials assured them their home was safe, Parsons told investigators.

Nick Falsone may be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickfalsone. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Columbus statue

The statue of Christopher Columbus in Easton's Riverside Park is silhouetted against fog- shrouded leafless trees in 2007.

(lehighvalleylive file photo)

A college student posed this question Wednesday to Easton City Council: Why does the city honor Christopher Columbus with a statue of the explorer in Riverside Park?

Thomas Weber, 19, conceded the statue was funded and erected as a source of pride by the city's Italian-American community in 1930, but said Columbus' treatment of Native Americans -- and by the European colonists who followed -- should not be celebrated.

Mayor Sal Panto Jr. acknowledged the history of displacement and injustice toward Native Americans, but defended the statue.

"Christopher Columbus was a dark part of our history? That's an opinion," Panto said.

City council engaged Weber in a back-and-forth, also addressing his contention that city police shouldn't use military-style vehicles and high-powered weapons.

"You'd rather see our officers go out there unprotected?" asked Councilman Ken Brown. "Do we send them out there with no protection?"

At the end of the discussion, Panto thanked Weber, a student at Bloomsburg University, for bringing his concerns to council and engaging in public discourse.

What do you think about the city's Columbus statue? Is it a revered part of history or an anachronism? Is it offensive to Native Americans as well as an icon to the Italian-American community? Should the city consider removing it?

Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to join the conversation in the comments section. Below is a sampling of online readers' comments about reporter Rudy Miller's story.

Before you tear down the statue, do a little research into who is responsible for it being there and why. Also, while Columbus did some horrible things in conquering the native people, don't forget that native tribes were also killing off their enemies for the purpose of taking their land. It's sort of the way things were done as groups of people moved throughout the world over the course of time. ... The statue should be there as a tool for teaching about Columbus, both good and bad, the history of Easton and the people who worked to pay for the statue, as well as the way history has been taught before as opposed to what is being taught or not taught today.

Totally agree he was not a hero and the Indians where here first. All he did was kill Indians and spread their guts all over to scare them.

It's all an agenda to erase our history. If you don't know your history, most definitely will repeat it. The thing that people like this guy don't realize is he will be one of the first ones to go. Read Mao's little red book.

As a veteran, I applaud the council for reinforcing Weber's right to free speech. I might not agree with him, but he's doing far more than most others are and actually taking part in the process rather than participating in bandwagon politics or allowing fear to guide your judgments.

Sometimes what was taught in school is not the true history -- it was, in fact, "erasing history." There are high schools that teach about Columbus and include the racism, slavery, and genocide. (And there are cities in the U.S. that now celebrate October 12 as Indigenous People's Day' instead of honoring Christopher Columbus.)
In my LDV contribution in early June I reported that the Dutch CPB (=equivalent of the IFS) warned that every Dutch citizen stood to lose 1.000 euros (by 2030) as a direct consequence of a Brexit.

Now that Brexit has been decided, but article 50 will only be invoked in 2017, a long period of international uncertainty has started. In its Autumn Estimate, the same CPB has today (August 9) concluded that Brexit and its uncertainty will hit the Dutch economy and society hard, starting in 2016-7. And we have general elections in March of 2017.



First, employers will be uncertain to hire new staff; unemployment (which had finally started to fall) will stagnate at 6,2% of the working population, 560.000 people.

Second: economic growth in 2017, which the CPB in June estimated at 2,1%, will only be 1,6%.

Third: the rise in median household purchasing power will fall: from 2,7% now to 0,7% in 2017.

Fourth: even more inequality in the rise and fall of incomes: the top incomes (over 4500 euros a month) will get 1,2% more, but pensioners and those on benefits lose 0,6% and 0,1% respectively. That will surely be corrected by the coalition government in the yearly Budget Statement this September, but the correction itself costs money that could have been spent elsewhere. For example in mending gaping holes and systemic faults in our pension system.

Fifth: investment will fall back from 6,0 to 5,0%; and the rise in private consumption will fall back from 1,5 to 1,3%. Dutch consumer confidence and that of purchasing managers have already taken a hit when the Brexit result was announced; and these figures show more gloom is ahead. Eurosceptic populist Geert Wilders (PVV party leader) may have easy answers to all of this, but as usual they dont convince experts. Remember the 350 million to the NHS and how long it lasted after the Brexit vote?

D66, the Dutch Libdems, used the CPB Autumn Estimate to attack Wilders, who had issued a jumping for joy press statement about the success Farage had had with his Brexit referendum; Wilders repeated his advice: a Nexit, Dutch exit. He omitted that even Farage would not touch Wilders with a barge pole because of the racist, rampant Islamophobia of Wilders and his PVV party.

In a press statement today, the D66 parliamentary party said that the results from Brexit on the Dutch economy showed how harmful any EU exit was, and that the Brexit impact would pale in comparison with the destruction and misery a Nexit would wreak on us. That had the desired effect: Wilders immediately put out a tweet (he never reacts to responding tweets) repeating his Nexit proposal and brandishing us the Europhiles66. We accept that name with pride.

The D66 gambit has worked: the 2017 Budget debates in parliament this September will not only center around the effects of Brexit, but also be the occasion for every sensible party (80% of parliament) to attack Mr. Wilders about his Nexit obsession, with D66 as natural leader of that attack. We could not be happier: once more unto that breach, storming the stunning stupidity of Populists whose leaders fall by the wayside once their country exits, or who while smiling in the face of voters, are plotting and backstabbing amongst each other.

* Dr. Bernard Aris is a historian, a D66 parliamentary researcher and a LibDem supporting member.
In the wake of the referendum, with Trump appearing to be gaining ground in the US, and populism on the rise across Europe, we Liberals could start to feel a little grim about our future relevance in the world.

Not so in South Africa where the Democratic Alliance (DA), long-time Liberal Democrat sister party and the only viable opposition to an increasingly corrupt African National Congress (ANC) government, has surged to its best result yet in last weeks nationwide local elections.



In the 2006 local elections, the ANC got 66.3% votes nationwide, with the liberal DA at just 14.8%. Last week, the ANC managed to win just under 54% of the vote with the DA at 27%. While the ANC still dominates, cracks are beginning to show in its support, despite the recent assertion of the partys secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, that the ANC was anointed by God to rule South Africa.

Crucially, the ANC has lost its grip on some of South Africas most important cities: Pretoria (part of the City of Tshwane), the administrative capital city, Nelson Mandela Bay, a major industrial centre also famous for its history of anti-apartheid struggle, and the City of Johannesburg, the countrys economic nucleus. Since apartheid ended, the ANC have always had strong 60%+ majorities in all three, now they are the largest party by just a hairs breadth in Johannesburg and smaller than the DA in both Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay.

The DA has ruled the Western Cape, which includes the City of Cape Town, since 2011 but this is the first time they have come close to overtaking the ANC in South Africas other metros. Their detractors have often belittled the DAs record of good governance in the Western Cape  where crime has declined and service provision improved  by saying that Cape Town is its own animal, incomparable to South Africas other cities and rural areas. Now the DA will have its opportunity to prove their brand of transparent, democratic and effective local governance can work outside of Cape Town.

Last weeks elections prove that the ANC no longer owns the black vote by default. Nelson Mandela Bay, with over 80% non-white residents, elected a white DA candidate Athol Trollip as mayor-elect despite the ANCs efforts to target him for his skin colour and tarnish him as a child of the apartheid National Party. While race is understandably a serious issue in post-apartheid politics, it appears that it is no longer the only issue. The DA, which elected its first black leader Mmusi Maimane last year, is moving beyond its past image as a largely white party and reaching out to new demographics. While the results in this election can be largely explained by a hugely successful Get Out The Vote campaign in the more affluent suburbs of major metros, analysis also shows a more significant trend. The DA has made modest inroads in the notoriously ANC-dominated townships across the country, and many disaffected ANC voters have opted for the DA over the more radical and populist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) than some experts predicted before the election.

President Zuma has tarnished the ANC, which has been overwhelmed by corruption scandals and internal divisions since he came to power in 2007. His administration has been plagued by accusations of economic mismanagement as unemployment has skyrocketed, now at 26% and even higher amongst young people. The scandal surrounding the improper use of state funds for security upgrades (such as a swimming pool) for Zumas private residence continue to plague his party at the polls.

South African voters are now more concerned with real service delivery, clean government, and effective redress than with the ANCs obsession of racial identity politics.

These most recent elections mark the beginning of genuinely competitive politics in South Africa. Where Zimbabwe and other African nations have become dominated by the parties that began as liberators and grew into oppressors, South Africa has managed to break this mould, with a political space opening up for opposition parties like the DA and the radical EFF to challenge the ANC from across the political spectrum. Just 22 years since the end of apartheid, it is now conceivable that South Africa will one day  perhaps as soon as 2019 or 2024  be run by a government led by todays opposition.

As Party Leader Mmusi Maimane has said since the results came through, the hard work begins now for the DA. Across the country, they will need to begin the process of overturning decades of poor local governance and corruption, deliver on their manifesto to new supporters, and build towards 2019 national elections.

This week I will be in Johannesburg to meet with the Africa Liberal Network (ALN) and discuss our support for the Networks activities in the coming year. Could there be a better place to discuss the future of African liberalism than the country which just declared itself ready for a new era of democratic change?

* Harriet Shone is Head of the Liberal Democrats International Office.
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THE NEW Bishop of Killaloe, Fintan Monahan said he was completely surprised and shocked when he was called to serve by the Papal Nuncio.

His Holiness Pope Francis made the announcement in the Vatican recently. At the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Ennis, Bishop Monahan said it was with great humility and a deep sense of unworthiness that he came to join well-wishers.

Local parishioners; His Excellency Archbishop Charles J Brown, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland; Dr Kieran OReilly, Archbishop of Cashel and Emly and former Bishop of Killaloe; Bishop William Walsh, Bishop Emeritus of Killaloe and Fr Des Hillery, diocesan administrator of Killaloe diocese, came together to warmly welcome the 49-year-old Offaly man.

Having worked in a diocesan office for almost eleven years [10 years as diocesan secretary for the Archdiocese of Tuam]  I know only too well the magnitude of the responsibilities and challenges that arrive on the desk of a bishop in Ireland today.

However, aware of the presence and providence of the Lord, the good will and cooperation of so many people so willing to help, I joyfully and earnestly set about the work I am called to do here in Killaloe.

Being totally new to this role and the diocese, I look forward to learning all about the place and collaborating closely with priests, religious and people of the many parishes in the wide territory covered by the diocese, said Bishop Monahan.

He will also get to know parts of County Limerick as the parish of Ahane, Castleconnell and Montpelier is under his remit.

Ordained to the priesthood in Carraroe in 1991 for the past 23 years he has ministered in Tuam, spent 13 years teaching in Saint Jarlaths College and then as diocesan secretary.

I am delighted to be with you  people and priests of this diocese. I have always felt a great sense of warmth, kindness and welcome in relation to people from the area of the south and mid-west in which Killaloe is located. I look forward to working with you to continue the great spirit of collaboration, priests and people working closely together, a long established tradition that has been clearly so evident here and you are so well known for.

It is a privilege to be able to continue the great work in the area of evangelisation, faith development, clustering, pastoral planning, vocations promotion, care of priests, youth ministry, safeguarding children, liturgy, prayer and spirituality. Providing support and pastoral assistance for families will be a big part of our work in the church in Ireland as we prepare diligently for The World Meeting of Families, which is being hosted in Ireland in 2018, said Bishop Monahan.
THE Shannon river navigation through Limerick is to reopen after five months today.

It follows remedial work in the area between Parteen Weir and Sarsfield Lock. The decision to close this route was taken in March this year after safety inspections of the infrastructure.

Damage was caused by record flood levels and the prolonged duration of these floods during last winter.

As a result of this, the floating breakwater at the entrance to the Abbey River was no longer in place to protect vessels from striking the fixed weir.

The floating pontoon upstream of the railway bridge was also damaged and unsuitable for mooring to or walking upon.

The works to remediate these deficiencies included the recovery of the breakwayer, and the reinstallation of the breakwater arrest system.

The railway bridge jetty also required repair.

Following completion of the flood damage work, operational maintenance to the sluice and lock-gates of Sarsfield Lock was also required and is now complete.

For the rest of the marine season, Sarsfield Lock is to open on Mondays and Thursdays at various times to meet the tide timetable and operation of the Ardnacrusha power station.

These times can be found by calling 090-6494232, or by visiting www.waterwaysireland.org.

Corbally boatman Ray OHalloran has welcomed the reopening this Thursday, saying: It is a long time coming. I am delighted to see it is happening.

It has happened on schedule. It was a navigational hazard, and at last it has been addressed.

He added that boats coming up the sea or down from Kilaloe will be able to travel through the Ardnacrusha gates and into the city centre.

In a statement, Waterways Ireland said it recognises the inconvenience the closure has caused users of the navigation and apologies for any difficulties experienced.
JUST a mere handful of tickets remain on sale for Imelda Mays much anticipated show in King Johns Castle this Saturday night.

The show, we are told by bookers Dolan's, is destined to be a sell-out, following in the wake of the huge Coronas show on the May bank holiday weekend which established the Live at the Castle venue as a force to be reckoned with.

May has a long standing relationship with Limerick, moving through shows at Dolans, followed by the Big Top venue at the Milk Market and now Saturdays castle show in the stunning location of King Johns.

Dolans and Shannon Heritage are teaming up again for the show, as they did for the Coronas, with more shows to follow later in the year.

Mick Dolan, of Dolans Warehouse, said he was delighted to welcome Imelda May back to Limerick.

Imelda is famed for her live shows and we believe the castle will be a prime backdrop to promote her immense talents, he said.

Shannon Heritage CEO, John Ruddle, said: We are delighted to once again be partnering with Dolans for our second Live At King Johns Castle concert.

Securing an artist of the calibre of Imelda May to perform at the castle is fantastic and will draw people from all over Ireland to Limerick which will be good for the citys economy and good for music fans.

I am sure this event will be hugely popular with the 2,000 people lucky enough to secure tickets for what we know will be a unique and memorable occasion.

May is one of Ireland's most popular performers, the Liberties rockabilly musicians third studio album Mayhem winning her a Choice Music Prize nomination in 2010.

It is going to be a special one, so dont delay on tickets, which are 40, plus booking fee. It is a fully standing show. See www.dolans.ie.
Aug 11, 2016, 5 AM

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is concerned that many of the mail parcels arriving in the United States every day could be carrying drugs.

By Bill McAllister, Washington Correspondent

If there has been any good news for the financially troubled United States Postal Service this year, it has been the continuing strong growth of shipping packages.

But now questions are being raised about whether all that package growth is a good thing.

No less a figure than the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee is saying many of the more than 340 million mail parcels arriving in the United States might be carrying dangerous drugs.

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Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, made that charge in an Aug. 4 op-ed article in the Washington Post, declaring it is critically important that the same advanced electronic screening required of private shippers be applied to incoming mail parcels.

Its time to close the postal loophole, McCaul wrote. A rapidly growing flood of hundreds of millions of postal packages containing poisons is simply too big to ignore.

When Congress passed the last comprehensive postal bill in 2006, it required that the USPS must comply with all customs laws just as the big commercial shipping firms do, including United Parcel Service and FedEx, he said.

Another law, however, directed the Department of Homeland Security and the Treasury Department to consult with the postmaster general to determine whether it is appropriate to apply this important provision to the Postal Service, McCaul said.

Congress did not intend for the Postal Service, a government agency, to become the import vector of choice for drug dealers, the lawmaker said.

A package is a package, however it is shipped, he said. If we are going to defeat the epidemic of synthetic drugs, we must take every measure possible.

What McCaul wants is to require shippers to file electronic manifests for their packages to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency in advance of mailing them to the United States.

This would allow for a more systematic and more effective screening of incoming parcels, McCaul said.

Instead we currently have customs officers searching for needles in haystacks.

A Postal Service spokesman cautioned that adding electronic screenings to incoming parcel will not resolve the problem.

The assertion that the problem can be resolved through electronic data exchange underestimates the challenges surrounding the importation of illegal drugs across our borders, said David Partenheimer.

Many of these drugs bypass the international mail system, arriving in bulk by other methods, and are then entered into the domestic mail network, he said.

Partenheimer also noted that international packages shipped through the U.S. Postal Service undergo multi-layered screening processes.

Air carriers carrying mail into the U.S. are responsible for performing security screening in accordance with U.S. Government requirements, he said.

In addition, inbound international packages may be subject to customs inspections by U.S. Customs and Border Protection prior to being inducted into the domestic mail system.

Postal inspectors are determined to root out illicit drugs being shipped by mail, the spokesman said.

Our ultimate goal is to keep these dangerous drugs out of the hands of the American public and maintaining the safety of the nations mail system, Partenheimer said.

George Landrith, president of Frontiers of Freedom, a Washington group, argued in a blog published by The Hill newspaper that other questionable items could be coming into the U.S by mail.

If it is so easy to transport illegal drugs into the United States, would we also be in danger of having weapons, anthrax or dirty bombs moving through the mail with similar ease? he asked.

Landrith argued USPS should be held to a higher standard than their private shipping competitors, at a minimum.
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A performance at first festival for Vietnamese youths and students in Europe (Photo: VNA)



At a press briefing on August 8th, the UEVF announced that Vietnamese Student Associations from Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and 23 sub-associations of Vietnamese students in France have affirmed their participation in this years festival, which is named LUMOS.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Ngoc Son appreciated the targets and significance of the important festival, which is a useful and interesting playground for Vietnamese youths studying and working in Europe.

The festival also offers an opportunity for the young Vietnamese people in Europe to promote the image of the country, people and culture of Vietnam to French and international friends, while instilling patriotism into them, the Ambassador said.

He added that Choisy-le-Roi city is a familiar address, which marked in the history of Vietnams diplomatic struggle in the fight for independence and freedom of the country. It welcomed the Vietnamese delegations participated in the Paris Agreement negotiations lasting for five years from March 15th, 1968 to January 27th, 1973. Today, Choisy-le-Roi city continues to be a close friend of the people of Vietnam and has twinned with Dong Da district, Hanoi.

Vice President of the UEVF Nguyen Minh Duc said, with the slogan Shine as you are, the festival aims to encourage creativity among the youths with intellectual games, art, music and a workshop on the East Sea.

The first festival for Vietnamese youths and students in Europe was held in Berlin, Germany in Summer 2015./.
View of a purported "fossil" in the famous Mars meteorite known as Allan Hills 84001. Doubters argue that the feature is too small to be a sign of Mars life.

Twenty years ago, NASA scientists and their colleagues announced they had spotted possible signs of Mars life in a meteorite. The claim ignited a scientific controversy that lingers to this day.

In 1996, researchers led by David McKay, Everett Gibson and Kathie Thomas-Keprta from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston suggested that they might have found microbial fossils in a meteorite from Mars known as Allan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001). (Cosmic impacts on Mars can be powerful enough to blast rocks off the Red Planet, a fraction of which crash on Earth, the moon and other bodies in the solar system.)

The meteorite was first discovered in 1984 by geologists riding snowmobiles through the Allan Hills region of Antarctica. Scientists think ALH 84001 originally formed 4 billion years ago on Mars and landed on Earth about 13,000 years ago. [The Search for Life on Mars (A Photo Timeline)]

In the study, which appeared in the Aug. 6, 1996, issue of the prestigious journal Science, McKay and his team presented four lines of evidence that ALH 84001 might have harbored alien life. One of the strongest was the existence of microscopic magnetite crystals that the researchers said bore remarkable similarities to ones created by microbes on Earth.

Such magnetite particles are not known or expected to be produced by nonbiological (abiotic) processes. As such, the study team members said these crystals might constitute evidence of the oldest life-forms known, with profound implications for the presence of life in the universe.

"I think the approach the group took of combining several lines of evidence was innovative and made the argument more compelling at the time," said Andrew Steele, an astrobiologist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C.

Soon after the 1996 announcement was made, Timothy Swindle, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, conducted an informal poll of more than 100 scientists to see how the scientific community felt about the claims.

"On average, scientists thought that it was a completely open question whether or not there's been life on Mars, and were skeptical ... but didn't think it was ridiculous," Swindle said.

Still, these claims drew major questions. Decades later, scientists are still dueling over these and similar finds.

The doubters' view

Skeptics picked apart each of the four lines of evidence presented in 1996. For instance, doubters noted that carbonate globules and organic molecules seen in ALH 84001 might have formed without the need for Martian microbes, while wormlike features that resemble fossils could actually have been uneven patches in the coating used to prepare the samples for electron microscopy.

"The questions posed by the team were very difficult to refute at first, and only by a global scientific effort involving many research groups around the world [have] other interpretations become more likely," Steele told Space.com.

Still, one line of evidence stubbornly resisted doubters.

The Allan Hills 84001 meteorite, which researchers claimed in a 1996 Science publication, may hold evidence of ancient Mars life. This interpretation is still under dispute today. (Image credit: NASA/JSC/Stanford University)

"When the ALH 84001 announcement first came out, I was intensely skeptical of all the lines of evidence for life on Mars except one  the magnetite," said Chris McKay, a planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and no relation to David McKay (who died in 2013 at age 76).

"At the time of the ALH 84001 announcement, there was no known abiotic process that could produce such magnetite crystals," Chris McKay told Space.com. "So this line of evidence was quite interesting."

However, he noted that subsequent research has shown that shockwaves can generate such magnetite crystals. This weakened the case that ALH 84001's crystals were created by life, he said.

Magnetite crystals from Mars might more persuasively indicate life if they're found in string-of-pearl formations, as they are when created by bacteria on Earth, Chris McKay said. "If we find these chains on Mars, it would be compelling evidence of past magnetotatic bacteria," he said. However, so far researchers have not detected such strings, he added.

Perhaps the biggest issue raised by the 1996 study "is that we really do not have a good working definition of what constitutes life," Thomas-Keprta told Space.com. "At the most fundamental level, we still do not know whether the difference between animate and inanimate is simply a difference in kind or degree. In absence of such a definition, the search for evidence of life of Mars is plagued by ambiguities."

Swindle concurred. "We've learned how hard it is to demonstrate that any fossilized feature is the result of biology," he said. [5 Bold Claims of Alien Life]

The legacy of Allan Hills 84001

Even if ALH 84001 did not conclusively prove the existence of life on Mars, the research did benefit science, researchers said.

"The interest resulted in the Mars Exploration Program being reinstated," Gibson told Space.com. "The Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Phoenix lander, Curiosity rover, Mars Express mission with its Beagle 2 Mars lander  all can be traced to the ALH 84001 research. The excitement of the possibility of potential past or present life on Mars is too important for humans to ignore."

In addition, "the ALH 84001 announcement, despite whether you are a believer of the hypothesis or not, has clearly been the guiding idea for the development of the new interdisciplinary field of astrobiology," Gibson added. "This must be viewed as positive for the field of scientific discoveries."

Steele agreed with Gibson. "Without this paper, the field of astrobiology may never have come to exist," Steele said.

The scientists behind the 1996 study "continue to support our original hypothesis," Thomas-Keprta said. Gibson concurred, adding that "no scientific data has been presented to date that disproves any of the four original lines of evidence presented in 1996. Interpretation of the data is where the disagreement arises."

"I think the way the story evolved was the way science is supposed to work," Swindle said. "I am skeptical that they found evidence of life, but their paper generated a huge amount of very good science in testing it, so I think it was a great paper."

"The features seen in ALH 84001 probably don't come from life, but the possibility of life on Mars is still there," Swindle said.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
The ATLAS detector in the Large Hadron Collider picked up this jet of particles (yellow and green bars) when protons collided at energies of 13 TeV.

When you're searching high and low for your lost keys, sometimes the places where you don't see them can help you narrow down where they might be. In science, the search for new physics often takes a similar path.

In December 2015, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)  the world's largest particle accelerator  thought they may have seen a hint of a brand-new particle, and with it, a window into physics beyond what scientists know now. But the findings turned out to be ghosts, a statistical fluke.

Yet despite the negative result, the fact that there is nothing there shows that reigning theories of particle physics are working remarkably well, experts said. But that result only deepens the mysteries physicists are trying to solve, and pushes them to find out just where new particles or forces could be hiding. [The 9 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics]

"The bad news is [the measurements] don't show anything," said theoretical physicist Matt Strassler. "The good news is that it did a really good job of not showing anything."

Strassler himself recently gave a talk at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), which runs the LHC, on what can be learned from such results, or lack thereof. "It's like if you squint trying to see something  sometimes you'll see something, and sometimes it will be an illusion," Strassler told Live Science.

High-energy collisions

The LHC uses about 9,600 massive magnets to circulate streams of protons within a 17-mile-long (27 kilometers) ring. These protons are accelerated to near the speed of light and then smashed together. The resulting collisions unleash cascades of subatomic particles and radiation that can provide clues about the building blocks of matter.

After a two-year hiatus for upgrades, the LHC was fired up again last year, this time running at higher energies.

What scientists found in December was that two detection systems, one called ATLAS and the other called CMS, found a curious bump in the plots of energy versus "events." (Events are essentially detections of photons or particles.)

The bump was large enough that it looked interesting to scientists. If real, it could have been evidence of a particle nobody has seen before at energies of 750 billion electron volts (GeV). During the LHC's current run, it can reach energies of almost 13 trillion electron volts (TeV).

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider is one of the machine's two big all-purpose detectors. (Image credit: CERN)

Data from the debris

When smashed together, the energy the protons carry will turn into particles, each with a characteristic energy. Most of these particles are short-lived, though, and decay into other particles and photons.

For this reason, particle detections are often indirect. This is what happened in 2012, when scientists discovered the Higgs boson, the elementary particle that is thought to explain how other particles get their mass. And this is why the most recent bump was so intriguing.

But now, new data from CMS, collected since December, shows that the 750 GeV bump was likely an illusion  a statistical artifact of the kind that sometimes crops up in experiments like this, said Michael Peskin, a theoretical physicist at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. [Beyond Higgs: 5 Elusive Particles That May Lurk in the Universe]

Even back in December, some physicists  Peskin among them  had doubts. He noted the teams working on the LHC issued a statement that said, effectively, they weren't issuing one. "The statement said the statistical significance was too low to report an observation," Peskin said.

But that doesn't mean it's a useless result, Strassler said. Nor does it mean the spate of papers theorizing about what the observation could be are just wrong and not worthy of consideration, he added. Such work can often yield important insights down the road.

"This process of being sure nothing has been missed is going to take longer than discovering something," he said. "Sometimes things at 750 GeV might be relevant for a particle 10 times smaller that hasn't been discovered yet."

On the bright side

Negative results like this are also important because they show just where the conceptual problems with current theories might lie. In this case, the theory is the Standard Model, the reigning theory in physics that describes the bevy of subatomic particles that make up the universe. [Wacky Physics: The Coolest Little Particles in Nature]

But phenomena such as dark matter, the invisible stuff that is thought to make up 85 percent of the matter in the universe, suggest that the Standard Model isn't complete. And physicists and cosmologists have a difficult time explaining why the universe is dominated by matter rather than antimatter, or why the Higgs field that gives things mass is the strength that it is.

"For the Higgs boson, we end up having to say, 'That's the way it is,'" Peskin said. "And I don't like having to say that." There has to be a reason, he added, that the Higgs field looks the way it does, and the Standard Model by itself doesn't really provide the answer.

This is where negative results can be useful. For example, there are many extensions to the Standard Model that propose something called supersymmetry, or SUSY. These theories say that every particle has a yet-to-be-discovered partner particle. The existence of such partners would help physicists understand why the Higgs boson has the value it does (and it predicts that there is a supersymmetric partner to the Higgs, as well).

Over the years, negative results have helped narrow down the SUSY models that work, Peskin said. "Basically every SUSY model on the table in the mid-2000s is now excluded," he said. This doesn't mean SUSY is wrong, but it helps researchers focus the theoretical work.

Lessons from history

The history of science records a number of negative results that led to greater insights. In 1887, Albert Michelson and Edward Morley conducted an experiment to find the aether, a proposed medium that was thought to carry light waves. If the aether existed, the speed of light should have changed depending on the direction of the beam. It didn't, and years later, Albert Einstein used that negative result as part of the formulation of his theory of relativity, which says it is space-time itself that changes in order to keep the speed of light the same in all reference frames. [8 Ways You Can See Einstein's Theory of Relativity in Real Life]

The issue was the way people conceived of light waves. "Maybe [light] waves were different from other waves we knew about," Strassler said, in that they didn't need a medium to travel through.

Strassler noted that nobody has made this kind of fundamental leap yet. In the case of Michelson-Morley, for instance, it was realizing that light waves don't need a medium. For particle physicists, it's not even clear what the insight has to be. It's possible the problem is technical and scientists just need better accelerators and detectors to find new particles. Or it could be conceptual, as it was for Michelson and Morley, Strassler said.

Some physicists say the negative result likely won't have any significance beyond just being a statistical ghost. "We know that the Standard Model is not a complete theory, and that it has to be extended at some energy scale. But, theoretically, there are millions of possible extensions, and we need a clue from experiment which is the correct one," said Adam Falkowski, a theoretical particle physicist at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris, and co-author of a paper describing the implications of the 750 GeV bump being a real effect.

Still, the result could help in some ways, said Nhan Tran, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois."It contributes to our knowledge of what's not there," he said. "Helping us focus on where we should be looking."

For his part, Peskin said he thinks the comparison between current experiments at the LHC and early work to find the proposed aether is a bit overstated. "Michelson [and] Morely blew away the previous theory," he said. The Standard Model is on firmer ground, he said. However, he added that results like this one make him less confident about ideas like SUSY. "On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, I believe in it," he said. "On other days, I think it could be anything."

At the same time, the LHC is a powerful new tool, Peskin said. "Our ability to detect SUSY particles is a lot more powerful," he said. "If you believe they are there, it might turn up in the next year."

Original article on Live Science.
With distinct tubular eyes and a natural glow, two species of bioluminescent deep-sea fish nicknamed "barreleyes" have been identified.

The newly described species are part of the family Opisthoproctidae. Barreleye fish are not well-described, due to the rareness and fragility of specimens, the researchers said.

These fish are "one of the most peculiar and unknown fish groups in the deep-sea pelagic realm, with only 19 morphologically disparate species," the scientists wrote in their new study. [Bioluminescent: A Glow in the Dark Gallery]

However, the scientists were able to determine the two newfound species through comparisons of pigment patterns on the fish's "sole." This organ, found along the belly of some bioluminescent species, controls the light emitted from a different, internal organ. These two organs give the fish their glowing properties.

"The entire external surface of the sole is covered with large, thin scales showing gradually increasing pigmentation toward the distal parts, thereby functioning as a light screen when the reflector is contracted (no light emission) or expanded (light passes through the thin, transparent parts of the scales)," the researchers wrote in the study.

The fish scales' pigment patterns show variation among species. The researchers took four specimens of a sole-bearing barreleye caught during recent research cruises near American Samoa and New Zealand and compared them to long-preserved specimens caught near the mid-Atlantic ridge and Australia. In doing so, the scientists found three different pigment patterns, suggesting three distinct species.

Differences in mitochondrial DNA, the genetic material of the structure within cells that generates energy, supported this conclusion. This revealed that two of the specimen were, in fact, two previously unknown species in the resurrected genus Monacoa  a formerly removed genus name because only two sole-bearing fish were known, rendering the distinction trivial. The newfound species, M. niger and M. griseus, are found only in the Pacific, whereas the previously known species can be found only in the Atlantic, according to the study.

The researchers suggested that the light emitted via the sole may be used as a communication system, as well as for camouflage when the fish are in waters where sunlight penetrates.

"This new study on the deep sea has shown unknown biodiversity in a group of fishes previously considered teratological [abnormal] variations of other species," Jan Poulsen, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "The different species of mirrorbelly-tube eyes can only be distinguished on pigmentation patterns that also constitute a newly discovered communication system in deep-sea fishes."

The new findings were published Aug. 10 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Original article on Live Science.
The 3,000-year-old skeletal remains of a teenage male were found buried at an altar used for sacrifice on Mount Lykaion. Part of the skeleton's skull is missing, according to archaeologists.

A 3,000-year-old skeleton has been discovered at an altar dedicated to Zeus at Mount Lykaion in Greece, and archaeologists say the new finding may be the remains of a human sacrifice offered to the Greek god.

The discovery was announced Wednesday (Aug. 10) in a statement from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs.

Archaeologists from the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project excavated the skeleton, which appears to be that of a male teenager, this summer. Mount Lykaion is known to be the site of a sanctuary dedicated to Zeus, the ancient Greek god of sky and thunder. [The 7 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth]

Since 2007, these researchers have been excavating a massive "ash altar" containing the remains of drinking cups, animal and human figurines, vases, coins, and a vast quantity of burnt animal offerings, most of which come from sheep and goats.

Mount Lykaion in Greece is known to be the site of a sanctuary dedicated to Zeus, Greek god of the sky and thunder. (Image credit: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs)

"Several ancient literary sources mention rumors that human sacrifice took place at the altar, but up until a few weeks ago, there has been no trace whatsoever of human bones discovered at the site," excavation leader David Gilman Romano, a professor of Greek archaeology at the University of Arizona, told the Associated Press.

The ancient writer Pausanias (A.D. 110-180) told of a legend he heard of a king named Lycaon who was turned into a wolf while sacrificing a child.

"Lycaon brought a human baby to the altar of (Zeus) and sacrificed it, pouring out its blood upon the altar, and according to the legend, immediately after the sacrifice, he was changed from a man to a wolf," Pausanias wrote in a book on the geography of Greece (translation from a "Description of Greece with an English Translation" by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, Harvard University Press, 1918).

Archaeologists told the Associated Press that they don't know whether the teenager they found was sacrificed and that much of the altar has yet to be excavated.

"Whether it's a sacrifice or not, this is a sacrificial altar ... so it's not a place where you would bury an individual. It's not a cemetery," Romano told the news agency, adding that the upper part of the teenager's skull is missing.

Original article on Live Science.
Greenland sharks are slow. They swim through the cold waters of the Arctic and the North Atlantic at a sluggish pace that has earned them the nickname "sleeper sharks." Seal parts have been found in their bellies, but the sharks move so slowly that experts have suggested that the seals must have been asleep or already dead when the sharks ate them.

They're also not too swift when it comes to growing, eking out a mere 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) per year, studies have found. Researchers suspected that Greenland sharks' exceptionally slow growth meant that they lived a long time, but they had no idea just how long that might be. That is, until now.

A new study provides the first estimates for Greenland shark longevity, and shows that these slowpokes of the sea stick around a very long time  at least 272 years, and perhaps as long as 390 years on average, making them longer-lived than any other vertebrate in the world. [In Photos: Seeing Sharks Up Close]

Finding the age of any type of shark isn't easy, and the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) is especially challenging, according to study co-author Julius Nielsen, a marine biologist and doctoral candidate at the University of Copenhagen.

Nielsen told Live Science that scientists use bony structures in sharks to track their age  and there aren't many. Some species of sharks have calcified vertebrae or fin spines, and these contain stripes that can be used to calculate how old a shark is, similar to counting growth rings in trees.

Greenland sharks, on the other hand, are "very soft sharks," Nielsen said, and they don't have any bony structures at all.

"Something new had to be taken into consideration to solve this mystery," he said.

The eyes have it

The solution involved a technique that had been used to find the age of some whale species: peering into the lenses of the sharks' eyes. Nielsen told Live Science that the transparent tissue in the eye lens is metabolically inactive and that new layers are added throughout the shark's lifetime.

"If you remove all layers, in the end, you come to the layer from when the shark was a baby. Then, you analyze that tissue," Nielsen explained. The researchers investigated eye lenses belonging to 28 female sharks measuring between 2.7 and 16.5 feet (0.8 to 5 meters) long. The sharks were captured in the North Atlantic as bycatch.

A Greenland shark near the ocean surface after its release from research vessel Sanna in northern Greenland. (Image credit: Julius Nielsen)

Although the scientists couldn't count the individual layers that built up over time in the eye lens, they were able to estimate the sharks' ages by using radiocarbon dating  measuring the amounts of a particular carbon isotope absorbed by living tissue  in the innermost (and oldest) part of the lens.

This was possible, in part, due to atmospheric thermonuclear weapons tests conducted during the 1960s, which released massive amounts of radiocarbon that were then absorbed by organisms in ocean ecosystems. Sharks that showed evidence of elevated radiocarbon in the nucleus of their eye tissue were therefore born after the so-called "bomb pulse," and were younger than 50 years old, while sharks with lower radiocarbon levels were born prior to that, and were at least 50 years old or older, the study authors wrote.

The scientists then calculated an age range for the older sharks based on their size, and on prior data about Greenland sharks' size at birth and growth rates in fish.

Their analysis of the sharks suggested  with a probability of about 95 percent  that the sharks were at least 272 years old, and could be as much as 512 years old, with 390 years as the most likely average life span, according to Nielsen.

For the two biggest sharks  which measured 16.2 feet and 16.5 feet (4.9 and 5 meters)  the study authors estimated ages of about 335 and 392 years old. Female sharks were already known to be sexually mature if they measured at least 13.1 feet (4 meters) in length, and based on the new data, the researchers were able to calculate that Greenland sharks reach sexual maturity when they are at least 156 years old. [8 Weird Facts About Sharks]

"It's important to keep in mind there's some uncertainty with this estimate," Nielsen said. "But even the lowest part of the age range  at least 272 years  still makes Greenland sharks the longest-living vertebrate known to science."

A ripe old age

Other long-lived vertebrates have been known to make it past their first century, but those animals still fall far short of the Greenland shark's length of life. For example, the Galapagos tortoise has an average life span of 150 years, box turtles live an average of 120 years and swans can live to be 100 years old.

But when it comes to longevity, all of these long-lived animals with backbones  yes, even the Greenland shark  can't hold a candle to colonies of corals, some of which are estimated to be more than 4,000 years old.

Greenland sharks' life span has been one of the biggest biological puzzles for scientists to unravel, Nielsen told Live Science. However, he added that he still has a long, slow road to travel before he runs out of new things to learn about these sharks and their slow-motion lives.

"Almost everything about their biology is a mystery. Big animals that live in deep waters are difficult to study," Nielsen said. "If you see a Greenland shark in the wild, you're seeing it for about 10 seconds  it's such a small glimpse. We've hardly seen anything. There's plenty for me to do in the future."

The findings were published online today (Aug. 11) in the journal Science.

Editor's note: This article was updated to clarify the techniques used in the study and to include more information about the discovery.

Original article on Live Science.
Christina Maranci will deliver the 20th Vardanants Day Armenian Lecture at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 21 in the Northeast Pavilion of the Librarys Thomas Jefferson Building, located at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. Titled "A World Monument: Zvartnots, Armenia, and the Wars of the Seventh Century," Marancis lecture will focus on the iconic church of Zvartnots. Though it lies in ruins, the church has long been of interest to those who study the Armenian and Byzantine architecture of the era.

Maranci is the Arthur H. Dadian and Ara T. Oztemel Associate Professor of Armenian Art at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. In her recently published book, "Vigilant Powers: Three Churches of Early Medieval Armenia," Maranci set the construction of Zvartnots and the churches of Mren and Ptghni within the context of the first Arab invasions into Armenia and the resulting cultural and political changes of the time.

This years Vardanants Day Lecturethe 20th in the series will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Armenias declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on Sept. 21, 1991, and the birth of the Republic of Armenia. The lecture is also dedicated to Mrs. Marjorie Dadian, who made a generous gift to the Library of Congress in 1991 in her husband Arthurs name for the conservation and expansion of the Librarys Armenian collections. This led to the growth of that collection, the appointment of the Librarys first Armenian specialist and programs such as the Vardanants Lecture series.

The Vardanants Day lecture series is sponsored by the Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division. It is named after the Armenian holiday that commemorates the battle of Avarayr (451 A.D.), which was waged by the Armenian General Vardan Mamikonian and his compatriots against invading Persian troops who were attempting to reimpose Zoroastrianism on the Christian state. As a religious holiday, it celebrates the Armenians triumph over forces of assimilation.

The Library of Congress is the worlds largest library, oering access to the creative record of the United Statesand extensive materials from around the worldboth onsite and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Oce. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the ocial site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
Longfords first Irish language pre-school will open this September in Granard.

Mullahoran native, Anna Lynch and her colleague Elaine Woods have combined the Naionra and Montessori methods of teaching, to bring the new interactive learning for children through Irish.

The new childcare facility - Naionra Lamh Beag Montessori & Childcare - will hold an open day on August 21 next and actually it is the first of its kind in the region.

Catering for 3-5 years olds, the facility, which will be based at Higginstown, Granard will allow children to become fully immersed in Irish.

They will be taught through stories and poems and interactive games, Ms Lynch told the Leader last week.

Through sensory play and fun, the children will learn the language without even realising they are doing so.

Anna and Elaine have worked together for the last 10 years.

It has always been our dream to this, a delighted Ms Lynch added, adding that she had attended a number of workshops in Dublin run in association with Gaelscoileanna Teo which was founded in 1973 as a national, voluntary organisation supporting the development of Irish-medium schools at primary and at post-primary level.

Our method of teaching will be very much based around sensory play and storytelling, explained Ms Lynch.

She added that engaging children in the Irish language early in life was very important.

If you instill the love of Irish in a child, then they will grow up with the gra for it!, she added. It is our national language and its revival is definitely happening.

Lamh Beag's Family Fun and Open Day takes place on August 21 from 8.30am to 6pm at St Mary's GAA, Higginstown. For more details contact Anna 086-0838210 or Elaine at 086-8468027.
Local News, Crime, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: August 11 2016

Smart Seniors, an informational forum focused on educating and protecting senior citizens from scams.

Rockville Centre, NY - August 10, 2016 - Yesterday, Senator Todd Kaminsky and the Office of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman hosted Smart Seniors, an informational forum focused on educating and protecting senior citizens from scams.

Too often we hear of our senior family members, friends, and neighbors being targeted by these vicious scams that threaten their livelihood, security, and safety, said Kaminsky. If we have saved one individual from being deceived by these frauds or from losing their lifes savings, and given them the tools to fight back, then we have accomplished our goal.



Pictured: Senator Kaminsky speaking to attendees about ways to protect themselves from scammers.

Far too often our senior citizens are the target of scammers, said Attorney General Schneiderman. I am proud to stand with Todd Kaminsky to help educate consumers about the steps they can take to recognize and avoid falling victim to scams.

Attendees learned about various types of scams, including the Sweepstakes or Contests scam, and Home Improvement scams, and Senator Kaminsky recalled how once his grandmother was targeted by a Grandma, its me scam. Presenters also educated the group on internet safety, elder abuse, and how to take control of their finances.

"'Smart Seniors' helped provide Sandel members with the tools necessary to protect themselves from fraud and abuse," commented Chris O'Leary, Director of Senior Services for the Village of Rockville Centre. "We are grateful to Senator Todd Kaminsky for arranging this informative and important program."



Pictured (L to R): NYS Assistant Attorney General Toni Logue, Senator Kaminsky, and TJ Hatter, Long Island Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the NYS Attorney General.

Over 50 were in attendance at the event, which was held at the Sandel Senior Center. Anyone who feels they may have been a victim of a scam can call the NYS Attorney Generals hotline at 1-800-771-7755. For more information on this event, please contact Senator Kaminskys District Office at (516) 766-8383.
Local News, Business & Finance, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: August 11 2016

The Village of Hempstead was recently awarded $1,500,000 as part of New York Governor Andrew Cuomos Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative.

Hempstead, NY - August 10, 2016 - The Village of Hempstead was recently awarded $1,500,000 as part of New York Governor Andrew Cuomos Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative (ESPRI). The program empowers community members to work together in effort to reduce the number of households residing in poverty and increase the number of households with earned income above poverty. The Village of Hempstead was chosen as one of 16 communities state-wide to take part in this initiative, the only municipality on Long Island.

By creating a task force tailored to local community needs, this initiative will help our community work together in the fight against poverty. My goals for the Village have always been to address poverty on a systemic basis, increasing access to opportunity and boosting economic growth., said Village of Hempstead Mayor Wayne J. Hall, Sr. The Village of Hempsteadwould like to thank Governor Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of State Rossana Rosado and Commissioner Samuel Roberts for including Village residents in the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative.

Every New Yorker deserves a shot at the American Dream  and this smart investment does just that, Governor Cuomo said. This is a complex problem, but through strong partnerships we will expand economic opportunity and put all New Yorkers on a path to succeed. I look forward to working with these communities  from Troy to Elmira to break down barriers and create meaningful change for millions of hard-working families across the state.

Funding for ESPRI is included in the 2016-2017 state budget and will be provided by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance through a contract established with a not-for-profit organization designated by the Village of Hempstead. The Village has selected United Way of Long Island as the organization to lead this effort. United Way has a long history of serving the Village, and will assist in assembling the antipoverty task force across municipal, not-for-profit and private entities. The task forces purpose is to identify common issues contributing to local poverty and develop recommended interventions to address the identified issues.

United Way is one of the largest health & human service organizations in the world, with experience helping more than 1,800 communities globally create solutions to strengthen education and improve financial stability and health, said Village of Hempstead Deputy Mayor Luis Figueroa. The Village is proud to partner with United Way to work directly withHempstead residents in pursuit of this goal.

United Way of Long Island is honored to be designated as the organization to coordinate the Village of Hempsteads poverty reduction initiative, said United Way of Long Island President Theresa Regnante. We look to include many partners in the Task Force, having a cross section of leaders, individuals living in poverty, social service providers, faith based community organizations and Government officials to plan for a better future for our residents of the Village, speaks to the heart of our mission in developing community impact.

For more information, please call the Incorporated Village of Hempst ead at 516.489.3400 or visit the website at www.villageofhempstead.org
Others, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Seasonal & Current Events

By Chris Boyle Published: August 11 2016

Outspoken Suffolk County resident collecting signatures to support a run for NYS Senate District 2 at 7-Eleven at 454 Veterans Highway and Harned Road in Commack this Friday, August 12

Stephen Ruth, pictured outside of the Suffolk County Legislators Building with supporters of his crusade against red light cameras in May of 2016.

Stephen Ruth, the infamous Red Light Robin Hood who has waged a very public one-man war against Suffolk Countys controversial red light camera program, is now making headlines yet again for a very different reason; hes asking local residents to come out this Friday to help support his bid for a most surprising of aspirations- a foray into politics as he pursues the New York State Senate District 2 seat.

Ruth, a Centereach resident, will be collecting signatures of registered voters for a petition to be included on a ballot for the upcoming elections this November. Ruth plans on standing out in the oppressive August heat from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the 7-Eleven at 454 Veterans Highway and Harned Road in Commack this Friday, August 12, and is asking the community for its support.

I'm gathering signatures to get on the ballot to run for State Senate in District 2...God willing, if I get enough signatures, I'll be allowed to run, he said.

I was nominated by the Libertarian party about four months ago to runI was approached and asked to do it, and when I asked my mother, she told me to go for it. She said if I've been willing to do everything that I've done so far based on my willingness to defend the people who cant defend themselves, what better place to be able to do it then the State Senate?

Currently, District 2, which covers many areas including Centereach, Commack, Deer Park, Farmingville, Kings Park, Stony Brook, and more, is currently represented by Republican John J. Flanagan, who is currently planning on running for re-election.

Ruth, has received extensive coverage in the media based on his extremely provocative stance on Suffolks red light camera program, which was first introduced in 2009. Launching with 50 strategically-placed cameras throughout Suffolk County which automatically took pictures of the license plates of motorists who ran red lights  who later received an $80 ticket in the mail  the stated goal by officials was the safety of local residents traveling the roadways.

Ruth first entered the public eye in August of 2015 after filming himself sabotaging one of the cameras and posting the video to YouTube, all while claiming that the devices were more about generating revenue for Suffolk County than protecting lives. He even went so far as to allege that yellow lights in intersections governed by the cameras had been shortened to artificially increase offences  and, in effect, revenue for the county  while also increasing accident and injury rates as well.

Ruth was subsequently arrested for his sabotage of a single camera, but where most people would have backed off, he doubled down; in April of 2016, he disabled 19 more cameras in a single weekend by cutting their video cables, and actually bragged about his deed afterwards to the local news. He was arrested again, and while no court dates have been set yet for either offence, Ruth is nonetheless more than confident that he will eventually prevail.

We're going to win. These cameras are unconstitutional, and they are illegal and dozens of other states, so why shouldn't they be unconstitutional and illegal here?" he said. "We have a tremendous amount of evidence in my defense, we have police officers willing to testify, firemen, EMTs, even engineers willing to testify that Suffolk County has shortened the yellow lights and that the red light camera system is all about money. They have nothing to do with safety whatsoever.

Ruth noted that his run for State Senate was inspired by the opposition he said that he encountered from local government in regards to his efforts against the red light cameras; however, he said that he was also inspired by the groundswell of support he received as well, including from law enforcement and much of the public at large.

I know that the Republicans are attacking me after I went after a Democratic program in Suffolk County, so I knew that there was more than one party conspiring against the people, he said.



No Libertarian has ever been elected to office in New York State, and God willing, I'll be the first one. They're not a corrupted party...theyre for less government, more freedom, and for everyone to respect each other and treat each other how they would like to be treated.

Ruth said that so far he's collected approximately 7,000 signatures and supporting his election bid and counting, and is hoping for a good turnout on Friday to help put him over the top  hes hoping to reach over 10,000 John Hancocks  in his quest for a State Senate seat.

If elected, Ruth plans on addressing Suffolk Countys homeless issues and abolishing both red light cameras and the controversial Common Core learning standards in schools. Ruth also touched upon property tax issues facing many Suffolk County residents, and said that coming down to 454 Veterans Highway on Friday, August 12 and signing his petition will help the public gain a true and steadfast ally that will fight against out-of-control bureaucracy and corruption in local politics.

If you want to see this abuse continue, then don't come down tomorrow, but if you want to make a change, come on down and support somebody that's going to fight for you...that's me, he said.

I took the fight to Suffolk County, and sheriffs, police officers, and correction officers are all behind me...today I even got signatures from police officers pulling up in their squad cars. So if they have the courage to come down and sign my petition, everyone should do it.
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Al Qaeda released a video of its fighters training at a makeshift camp in South Waziristan in 2013, long after the Pakistani military claimed the tribal agency was cleared of jihadists.

The video was produced and released by As Sahab, al Qaedas official media outlet. The Qari Imran Camp is named after al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinents former commander for Afghanistan who also served as a member of AQIS central shura, or central advisory council. The US killed Imran in a drone strike in January 2015.

The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, which operates in Pakistans tribal areas and is closely allied with al Qaeda, later eulogized Imran. The Pakistani Taliban spokesman who praised Imran described him as being among the greatest militant teachers, and noted that he and thousands of other jihadists trained under him. [See LWJ reports: US killed AQIS deputy emir, shura member in January drone strikes, and Pakistani Taliban praises slain al Qaeda leaders.]

The AQIS video, which is part of the Jihadi Memories series, opens with a group of 13 fighters marching on an established dirt road situated in the mountains into the temporary camp. Two al Qaeda flags are prominently displayed as the unit marches. Most of the fighters are masked, but one of the jihadists, who appears to be a trainer or unit commander, is unmasked and his face is intentionally distorted in the video to hide his identity.

Once at the camp location, the fighters live fire weapons, including AK-47s, machineguns, pistols, and RPGs. The AQIS squad appears to be well equipped and has plenty of ammunition. The fighters launch a number of RPG rounds at the hillside.

The AQIS squad also practices small unit tactics. The unit breaks up into two teams and assaults a target. While one team moves, the other lays down covering fire. The unit then breaks contact using the same technique.

Once finished their training, the AQIS squad marches out of the camp. The AQIS unit appears to train for a significant amount of time in the open. The video is 6 minutes and 55 seconds, however it only shows clips of the days training. The jihadists appear to be operating without fear of being targeted by Pakistani security forces.

Al Qaeda remains in South Waziristan

The presence of an al Qaeda camp in South Waziristan as late as 2013 contradicts claims by the Pakistani military that the tribal agency was secured after launching an offensive against the Movement of the Taliban and allied groups, including al Qaeda, in 2009. The Pakistani military failed to clear South Waziristan of jihadists because it selectively targeted groups that oppose the state (the so-called bad Taliban) while ignoring other groups that do not advocate attacking the military and government (the good Taliban).

In South Waziristan, good Taliban groups such as the Mullah Nazir Group and the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group were untouched by the military operation. While these groups do not openly oppose the state, they provide shelter, support, and other aid for jihadist groups such as al Qaeda that do.

The CIAs targeting of al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan highlights the fact that al Qaeda was not ejected from South Waziristan during Pakistans military offensive. For instance, the CIA killed Ustad Ahmad Farooq, the deputy emir for AQIS, in a drone strike in South Waziristan in January 2015. Al Qaeda typically does not deploy senior leaders to areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan unless it is believed the area is secured from enemy ground forces (airstrikes are a calculated risk).

Additionally, the US killed Mullah Nazir in a January 2013 drone strike in South Waziristan. While Nazir is often described as a Taliban leader, he claimed he also was an al Qaeda leader.

Pakistan refused to move against Nazir and his network of fighters that operate against US and allied forces in Afghanistan and is a known ally of al Qaeda. Shortly after Nazirs death, the US listed his group as a terrorist organization with direct ties to al Qaeda.

Bahawal Khan, Nazirs replacement, was directly linked by the US State Department to al Qaeda.

Khan and [the Mullah Nazir Group] have vowed to continue the groups activities, including supporting al Qaeda and conducting attacks in Afghanistan, State reported. Since 2006, [the Mullah Nazir Group] has run training camps, dispatched suicide bombers, provided safe haven for al Qaeda fighters, and conducted cross-border operations in Afghanistan against the United States and its allies.

Al Qaeda remains in South Waziristan to this day because organizations such as the Mullah Nazir Group continue to operate without consequence.

Images from al Qaedas Qari Imran Camp

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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Fighters opposed to the Islamic State in Sirte, Libya claim to have gained more ground inside the city in the past few days. The US has conducted dozens of airstrikes in support of their campaign.

Al Bunyan Al Marsoos (Solid Structure), a military operations room that includes Islamist fighters from Misrata, has posted new images from inside Sirte highlighting its gains since earlier this week. The images include scenes at the Ouagadougou Congress Hall Complex and the Ibn Sina Hospital. Al Bunyan Al Marsoos has identified both locations as being key to the fight against Abu Bakr al Baghdadis loyalists. Some of the operations rooms photos can be seen below. In addition, an infographic depicting the Islamic States forces surrounded in the city can be seen above.

On Aug. 10, US Africa Command announced that the US had carried out 36 precision airstrikes since the beginning of the month. The bombings are part of Operation Odyssey Lightning and have targeted Islamic State fighting positions, artillery, vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), supply trucks, and other locations inside Sirte.

The Washington Post reported on Aug. 9 that US Special Operations forces have been deployed inside Libya and are coordinating American airstrikes.

The US isnt the only Western nation operating on the ground inside Libya. The French government confirmed in July that its own forces were operating in Benghazi. According to Defense News, the Italian media reported this week that Italys special forces are taking part in the effort to oust the Islamic State from its Libyan stronghold. UK press outlets also reported earlier this year that British special forces had destroyed an explosives-laden truck that was heading for the city of Misrata.

Al Bunyan Al Marsoos launched the offensive to retake Sirte in late May and claimed it would be liberated within days. While the Islamic State lost some ground during the initial fighting, the situation quickly ground to a stalemate. American airpower was called in because the offensive had stalled and the US can provide superior targeting against the jihadists, who have entrenched themselves in the interior of the city. [See LWJ report, Libyan forces seize key points from the Islamic State around Sirte.]

As Al Bunyan Al Marsoos advanced on the city in May, the Islamic States Libyan province was forced to deploy its martyrs. The jihadists launched zero suicide attacks in and around Sirte during the first four months of the year, according to data published by Amaq News Agency, which is part of the the Islamic States media machine.

But then, in May, the organization dispatched nine suicide bombers in Sirte and on the outskirts of the city. This was a clear indication that the Islamic States grip on the area was slipping, as the organization previously did not need to use its martyrs to beat back its opponents.

The Islamic State launched five more suicide attacks in Sirte in both June and July, according to Amaqs statistics. Amaq has identified Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) as the target of these attacks. This is likely due to the fact that Fajr Libya fighters have joined Al Bunyan Al Marsoos.

By way of comparison, the so-called caliphates arm carried out a total of just three martyrdom operations in Benghazi and zero elsewhere in Libya between January and July. This is a further indication that the group has devoted much of its resources in North Africa to defending its safe haven in Sirte.

Amaq claimed yesterday that the jihadists had downed a jet in or near Sirte. Al Bunyan Al Marsoos quickly confirmed that two pilots were killed when the jet crashed during a raid, but did not indicate a cause. The pilots were identified as colonel pilot Mukhtar Fakroun and the colonel pilot Omar Doga. Al Bunyan Al Marsoos said the pair was working to liberate the most important institutions and sites in Sirte from [the] Kharijites [extremists] of this era and that their bodies had been returned to Misrata.

The loss of Sirte would be a major blow to the Islamic State and its efforts to control territory in North Africa. The group seized Sirte in June 2015 and has repeatedly showcased the city as one of its main bases outside of its holdings in Iraq and Syria. Thus far, the jihadists have not been entirely expelled from the city and some of the Islamic States surviving forces will likely relocate to other areas inside Libya.

Photos posted by Al Bunyan Al Marsoos from the fighting in Sirte this week:

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Its been over 2 months since our European cruise aboard the Carnival Vista, and Im just getting around to writing about it. How do you begin to put such an experience in words, to whittle down thousands of photos to a few dozen that sum up the entire experience?

You dont. Not easily, at least.

And maybe thats why Ive been putting off writing this post for so long. Unlike a recipe post where the words (usually) flow out of me like honey on a hot summer day, travel posts are just plain hard. I never feel like my photographs accurately reflect the beauty of the scenery or the bustle of the cities or the awe of ancient ruins; my words feel frozen and stiff compared to the vibrant and dynamic and truly memorable experience Ive just had. But, Im going to do my best. Because this is an experience that needs to be shared.

When we travel on our own, we like to immerse ourselves in a city, staying there for at least a few days before moving on to the next destination. That way we feel like we really get to experience a city and get to know its personality beyond whats on the surface. A cruise is not that kind of travel. Rather, you get a little sample of each different city you visit. In that respect, a Mediterranean cruise is a fantastic way to see a bit of everything, a tasting platter if you will, to help guide you in future travels (I know for sure Greece and Turkey are places I want to go back to someday, as well as the other half of Italy that we didnt see on our honeymoon.) We typically had about 8-12 hours in each port, which, especially when it comes to a city like Rome, was not nearly enough. But I saw it as a chance to get the big tourist attractions out of the way, so if (or should I say, when) we go back to these cities in the future, we can jump right in to the good stuff.

A Mediterranean cruise is a great way to see the highlights of Europe in a single go, your hotel moving along with you as you hop from city to city without ever having to pack up your suitcase. And thats where a cruise definitely has an advantage: lodging, meals, transportation it all comes with the ship.

We feel so fortunate to have been invited aboard the Carnival Vista on this fabulous 10-night European cruise. This is the first time Carnival has offered a European itinerary, but it made perfect sense since the Vista was built in Italy, why not spend the next 6 months sailing the Med? The Vista will eventually make its way to Miami where it will mainly sail around the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean, but the company has plans to return to Europe with the completion of the second Vista-class ship in 2018 (code name: Vista Sista).

Ive organized these posts (with a trip of this magnitute it only makes sense to split it in two) chronologically so you can follow our journey day by day. Ill share some pictures and some stories from each stop along our 10-night cruise, as well as some amazing images and facts about the Vista itself (spoiler alert: its awesome).

We sailed aboard the Vista as guests of Carnival, but please know that all experiences and opinions are completely our own.

Day 1: Barcelona, Spain

The Vista departed from Barcelona, Spain. We visited this vibrant city last spring, and were giddy at the opportunity to return so soon. We flew in a day early, both to have some time to play in one of our favorite European cities, but also because were anxious travelers and didnt want to risk missing the boat (literally) should our flights be delayed for any reason. The idea of flying in the morning of makes me break out in a cold sweat too many variables that could go wrong.

(Related sidenote: if I could pass along just one piece of advice for new cruisers, it would be to fly in a day early. Its simply not worth the risk to do otherwise. Consider it a little bonus (assuming you do arrive on time) and make the most of that extra day.

We sure did.

We stayed in a cute little hotel on the edge of the Brn neighborhood, a different location than we had stayed previously, so it allowed us to explore some new territory, though you can bet we also found time to revisit some of our favorite spots from our trip last year, including Casa Gispert to stock up on roasted almonds, and Bubo to indulge in one of their divine pastries.

We also took the opportunity to do something that we missed last time: breakfast at El Quim de la Boqueria. This little spot nestled in the bustling Boqueria is famous for its signature dish: fried eggs and baby squid. Its something Taylor had read about before our trip last year. While we did make it to the Boqueria, it was crazy busy (which it usually is most of the day) and so getting a seat for the 4 of us at the little bar top was out of the question.

This time, we used jet lag to our advantage and woke up with the sun on Saturday morning, traversing La Rambla and arriving at El Quim shortly after it opened.

We were rewarded for our efforts with a platter of succulent baby squid piled on top of a crispy egg fried in olive oil with garlic, chili pepper, maldon sea salt and black pepper. The baby squid is unbelievably fresh, with a brininess that tastes like it was pulled from sea mere minutes before (and it probably was). Its not fishy or funky at all, and even I, as someone who wasnt necessarily thrilled at the idea of eating baby squid, enjoyed it immensely. Its not cheap eats by any means (almost 20 for a single dish), but it was well worth it. Seriously, this dish will go down in Taylors mind as one of the best dishes hes ever eaten and this, if you know Taylor, is a rare honor that doesnt get bestowed on food often. He enjoys food, sure, and can definitely appreciate a good meal, but when he has something truly amazing, the memory of that dish is seared in his mind forever. And this dish, unlike that one time when Kroger was giving away free Italian sandwich samples (why he always remembers that, I have no idea) is well worthy of such an honor.

Seriously, if youre ever in Barcelona, this is one thing, along with a trip to the Sagrada Familia, that you must go out of your way to try.

On Saturday afternoon we boarded the ship and settled into our balcony stateroom as we set sail for Marseille.

Day 2: Marseille, France

We docked in Marseille on a Sunday, which, albeit peaceful, was perhaps not the best day to explore this particular city (or any city in France, I expect). I had bookmarked a few shops and bakeries to check out while we were there, only to discover that they (along with just about everything else outside of the main tourist center) were shuttered and closed. That, paired with the unrelenting wind, left us cold and grumpy and hungry, wandering around an unfamiliar city with no particular plan or goal (except to find something sweet to eat).

Luckily, we stumbled upon a vision in pink: a quirky little chocolate shop called Et Moi Et Moi. The flamingo-pink art and chocolate boutique was even more charming because it was actually open. We stumbled in with our flushed cheeks and windblown hair, where we were greeted warmly by the shop owners (after only briefly poking fun at our horrid French). They offered us some of their house-made chocolate chaud (hot chocolate), which we ever so gratefully accepted, sitting down to sip and savor it at one of the sunny (and sheltered) tables outside.

Funny how all it takes is a good cup of chocolate chaud (and a few charming pink flamingos) to turn the day around.

Lesson learned: pay attention to what day you will be docking in each city, especially if you are in Europe. If its Sunday (and even Monday in many cities in Spain, for example) you might be better off booking a guided excursion where you dont have to worry about things being closed.

Day 3: Livorno/Pisa, Italy

From the port of Livorno, we boarded a bus to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Our tour consisted of a seriously abbreviated overview as we rushed from one important building to another. It was (unsurprisingly) crowded there, full of tourists all trying to get the same photo (you know the one) It was actually moderately entertaining watching people pose, a look of faux strain on their faces as they held up the tower with their hands. At the end of the guided tour we were given a mere 20 minutes to explore on our own (approximately 11 1/2 minutes of which we spent waiting for a bathroom). Despite that, I will admit Pisa is pretty impressive, and Im glad I got to see it, no matter how superficially. We can now say been there, saw that, never have to go back again.

Many of the others in our group opted to take the bus into Florence. While we adored Florence when we visited in 2010, we didnt feel a 1 1/2 hour bus ride (each way) for 3 hours in a city wed already thoroughly explored was the best use of our time.

Instead, we took a free city shuttle into the city of Livorno, a humble little port town that was pleasantly charming and down to earth, a nice contrast from the throngs of tourists we endured earlier in the day. It was early afternoon, and many of the shops and markets were closing (darn these European cities and their leisurely schedules) but we managed to find an indoor market with an open food stall and proceeded to indulge in pesto pasta and Gorgonzola gnocchi served on styrofoam plates and red wine in plastic cups, which didnt diminish the deliciousness of it one bit.

The lesson we learned here is despite the draw of the tourist attractions, I would encourage you to explore the little port towns along the way, most within walking distance (or a quick shuttle ride) from the ship. Because, unlike cruises in the Caribbean, these are actual towns that have been there for centuries. You just might find some truly memorable gems, and you wont have to battle thousands of tourists with their iPads either.

Day 4: Civitavecchia/Rome, Italy

That last picture pretty much sums up our feelings about Rome. Yes, the landmarks are amazing, Im glad I saw them, but we couldnt help feeling a little like livestock, being herded around from one spot to the next, hypnotically following the faded blue bandana on a stick. Our 10 1/2 hour guided excursion took us to the highlights of Rome, which included the Colosseum, the Trevi fountain, and St. Peters Square and Basilica, as well as a few other famous sights seen from the window as the bus rolled on by. The guided tour was definitely worth it in this case, if only to skip the line at the Colosseum (otherwise we would have easily wasted half our precious day there).

They say Rome wasnt built in a day, and it shouldnt be seen in a day either. While its technically possible (we proved that), by the end of it youll be more than ready to shut yourself in your stateroom for some serious alone time.

No, it wasnt ideal, but when in Rome, right?

Day 5: Naples/Pompeii, Italy

We docked in Naples and headed straight for the ancient ruins of Pompeii. Ill admit that my only expectations of this miraculously preserved city were based solely on that one Doctor Who episode (yes, the one with Peter Capaldi before he was the Doctor).

Funny how so many of my preconceived notions of history have been shaped by Doctor Who.

Anyway

While there were no TARDIS sightings, I felt like I had traveled back in time. The ancient ruins were far more expansive than I could have imagined, even more so considering over 30% of the city remains buried. It was only moderately crowded (or maybe my perception was skewed after the mobs from the previous day in Rome) but Pompeii was easily one of the highlights of our trip.

I could have easily spent all day there, but our guided tour was only a half-day excursion. We headed back to the ship, planning on crashing in our stateroom for a nice afternoon nap (well, me at least, Taylor was headed straight for the water slides). Then we thought to ourselves, were in Naples, the center of the pizza universe (I mean, its called neapolitan pizza for a reason). It didnt seem right to get back on the ship without having at least one slice.

Or even better, a whole pie.

Having done no research, we wandered into the city until we found a place that looked decent enough and didnt have a line around the block. And you know what? It probably wasnt the best pizza in Naples, but it was pretty darn fabulous. So was the plate of simple tomatoes with mozzarella: much like the butter in France, something about the mozzarella in Italy is simply unlike anything weve ever had before.

There must be something in the water there.

And what stunning water it is, too.

This concludes the first half of our journey. Ive got part 2, to Greece and beyond, coming soon!

Onward!
Lifestyle / Travel

Wealthy travelers are increasingly expressing interest in Africa for this winter, with travel to the continent showing the highest year-over-year growth.

Aug 12, 2016 | By Shatricia Nair

It may seem unlikely but Africa has become top choice for the rich and wealthy when it comes to holiday season this winter. According to a new report from international luxury travel network Virtuoso, Africa has seen a spike of 28 percent in sales compared to last year.

Kenya is expected to be the fastest-growing destination in terms of number of visitors, with a projected increase of 59 percent. Meanwhile, travel to South Africa has increased 28 percent, while Tanzania, 27 percent. Virtuoso reckons this is due to the rise in popularity in safari expeditions, which is great for multi-generational family trips.

However, the top three most popular holiday destinations this winter are still in Europe  Italy, followed by France and the UK. To attract the traveling elite, hotels across Europe are lowering daily rates, a move which will also attract budget-conscious tourists. Parisian hotels have seen a two percent decrease in daily hotel rates. In comparison to summer rates, those in Rome are down six percent, London seven percent and Barcelona 15 percent.

Here are the top 10 most popular fall and winter travel destinations among wealthy travelers:

1. Italy

2. France

3. United Kingdom

4. South Africa

5. Spain

6. China

7. Mexico

8. Australia

9. New Zealand

10. Israel

Countries that have seen the largest percentage growth year-over-year:
Lifestyle / Alcohol

The journey to find the finest wine can take us to numerous locations and today we visit the Ridge Vineyards in California to find out what it has in store.

Aug 11, 2016 | By AFPRelaxnews

While France may be known for its wine and gastronomic offerings we cannot overlook Californian wines, that not only taste as good but also offer beautiful views away from the city. Today we take a trip with AFPRelaxnews to visit Ridge Vineyards in California to find out more about what the vineyard has in store for the summer.

Whats new this summer?

South of San Francisco, Apple is not the only famous name in the town of Cupertino. Theres also Ridge Vineyards, a long-standing wine business which is proof that the French are not alone in having been producing wine for centuries. The vast property, which also has vines two hours away by car in the Santa Cruz Mountains, has been making wine since 1885.

Famous for its Monte Bello vintage and its expertise with Zinfandel, an emblematic grape variety in California, Ridge Vineyards is starting a new chapter in its history in 2016. Paul Draper, its winemaker, is retiring. This marks a turning point for the international brand which built its reputation through Drapers choices, making him one of the most influential winemakers in the world. He is now approaching 80 years of age, and has devoted 45 years of his life to the property and to maintaining the quality of its wine. Through his successes and his vision, he is also one of the key people responsible for making California a global benchmark in the wine industry.

The estate

Ridge Vineyards is known for its longevity and the strong personality of its winemaker. In 1885, a doctor bought around 72 square meters of land close to Monte Bello Ridge, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, at an altitude of 850 meters. His idea was to plant vines in terraces. In the 1940s, a theologian moved the story forward by investing in a abandoned domaine and replanting Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine produced became one of the most elegant ones in California.

In 1964, the property increased in size once again with the purchase of a vineyard at a lower altitude dating from the 19th century. With this new land, Ridge Vineyards could begin to grow Zinfandel. In 1968, the domaine was able to produce 3,000 cases a year. The following year, Paul Draper, an academic who had acquired knowledge and expertise in a Chilean vineyard, joined the venture. He left an indelible mark on the management of the domaine as he believed very strongly in allowing nature to be free. This pioneer of organic farming worked hard to create balanced wines and to lower the alcoholic content. He also imported the French concept of terroir by starting to produce from a single grape variety.

The wines

Due to its vast domaine, the property produces a very large quantity of different wines. Monte Bello is one of its flagship wines, produced from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The Geyserville vintage is also a memorable and interesting Zinfandel wine.
Ruth Burstall Ruth Burstall

More than six weeks have passed since the UK voted on June 23 2016 by a majority to leave the European Union and uncertainties continue to abound as to when and how the UK Government will implement that vote. What is clear is that the eventual implementation of the vote will have a big impact on businesses which rely on IP rights. In the wake of the Brexit vote, much focus in IP circles has been directed towards whether and how registered, pan-European IP rights will be affected. However, very little attention has been given to an issue which could have a significant impact on one of the UK economy's linchpins - the fashion industry.

Fashion designs - what impact will Brexit have?

In the fast-moving fashion industry, designers are unlikely to apply for registered design protection for designs that change from season to season and more likely to rely on unregistered rights if their design is copied by a competitor.

One of the rights which is best suited to protecting seasonal fashion designs is the unregistered Community design right. As this right derives directly from EU law, it will cease to apply post-Brexit unless the government legislates for an equivalent right under UK law.

Considering the importance of this right to the industry, fashion designers need to be aware of this issue and to ensure that it is addressed by the government. The fact that the government would need to legislate to resolve this issue may give designers the opportunity to shape UK law to better protect British fashion designs.

Protection offered by unregistered Community designs

Unregistered Community design right provides three years of protection to new and individual designs against copies that produce the same overall impression. Many aspects of a design or part of a design can be protected, including the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of a product and/or its ornamentation.

The importance of this design right to the fashion industry is two-fold. First, it is well suited to seasonally changing designs: it would not make sense for fashion designers to apply for registered design protection in designs which will only be marketed for a short time. Second, it protects aspects of design which are important to fashion designs such as surface decoration (a novel pattern, for example), textures and materials.

Doesn't unregistered UK design right protect fashion designs?

There is a separate unregistered UK design right under the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) . However, this is a very different type of right, generally better-suited to protecting industrial or functional designs.

Importantly, "design" is defined under the CDPA as "the shape and configuration of the whole or part of an article". Unregistered UK design right therefore applies to a much narrower category of designs than unregistered Community design right. While it might protect the shape of a handbag, it would not protect the material the bag was made from, or any pattern appearing on it.

These later features are often what make fashion designs novel, individual and desirable (and hence are the elements which are more likely to be copied by competitors). Loss of the ability to protect such features against copies would negatively impact the fashion industry and other similarly fast-moving design industries.

It is worth noting that registered UK design protection is harmonised with registered Community design protection (as the Registered Designs Act 1949 largely mirrors the registered design provisions in the Community Designs Regulation (CDR)). Brexit may therefore have less impact on businesses in the wider design community which relies more on registered design rights than unregistered.

Need for fashion industry lobbying

Unregistered Community design right derives from the CDR. This has direct effect in UK law and the unregistered design provisions have not been implemented in national legislation. Therefore a possible consequence of Brexit is that this protection will fall away when the UK exits the EU.

There has been little attention to the issue in public statements made on the subject. Recent IPO guidance on Brexit stated: "Protection for unregistered designs will continue to exist through the UK unregistered design right. We will consult designers and other users to ensure that the protection provided is fit for purpose."

This suggests that lobbying will be required to ensure that the benefits of unregistered Community design right are maintained and the fashion industry, in particular, should not miss the chance to comment on this issue.

Designers may also have the opportunity to comment on how well the current combination of unregistered UK and Community design rights protect their interests and whether the position could be improved. For example:

Is the 3 year period of protection offered by unregistered Community designs sufficient or would it be advantageous to have a longer period of protection (unregistered UK designs are protected for between 10-15 years)?

Does the definition of an unregistered Community design covers all aspects of a design which they would want to protect or are copyists taking advantage of other aspects of design which are not within the definition?

How easy it is to prove infringement?

Do the remedies for infringement adequately compensate designers when their designs are copied?

Although it is, as yet, unclear how the UK government will resolve this issue, it seems likely that at the very least designers will have an opportunity to give their views.

Considering the importance of the issue to the fashion industry in particular, fashion designers and brands should follow developments closely and be prepared to seize the opportunity to influence the law in their designers' favour.
Kochi: One of the two men who attempted to rob the ATM of Syndicate Bank at Vazhakkala was found murdered on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Mohammed Imran, 35 while his alleged assailant was Ahammaed Munsilin Ansari, 32 hailing from Uttar Pradesh was nabbed

Ansari, the prime accused in the ATM robbery bid, was subjected to detailed interrogation. However, the police said that a verbal duel occurred between the duo and it apparently resulted in the murder.

The dead body of Imran was found at the lodge at Kunnumpuram, where the duo had been staying. The police were in the look out for the pair after unearthing evidence regarding their connection in the failed ATM robbery bid.
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency on last day said that the Pakistani terror suspect Bahadur Ali,who was recently captured in Kashmir, was regularly guided by the control room of terror groups in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

The NIA also revealed tat the arms and ammunition training given to Ali show the involvement of military experts. The anti-terror probe agency also added that its gathering further evidence regarding the role of Pakistan in the Kashmir unrest following the death of militant Burhan Wani.

Ali, a resident of Jia Bagga village in Pakistan was captured with weapons on July 25 following an encounter with security forces in Kupwara district.
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Written by Jacqueline Suskin, photographed by Shelby Duncan.

My mother is a self-proclaimed island child. When I was eight years old, we moved to the Florida Keys. Her vision of paradise: trailer parks, fresh lobster, bare feet and bikinis. Her island inspiration rubbed off on me and Ive been a water baby ever since.

When Jeffery, my dear old friend, asked us to go to Maui, I said yes without a second thought and invited my best friend, photographer Shelby Duncan, to join. It was a promise of the ultimate Island getaway: papaya, perfectly clear water and every shade of sand imaginable. Jeffery, our travel benefactor, is a collector of creativity. Hes been funding artists in Maui for years. Like no one Ive ever known, Jeffery is willing to bet on the muse.

I filled my suitcase with my mothers bathing suits  her spirit and travel stories woven into every thread. This is my favorite thing about vintage clothes: each piece holds history. Whether its my mothers story or some strangers, the magic of old clothes is in the tales they tell. Shelby is from Reno; her own style mimics the sweet 70s vibe of her mother with feathered blonde hair and high-waisted bell-bottoms. We both tend to mirror the past, keeping the beauty of our mothers alive, drawn toward styles that stay steady over time.

Our 11-day adventure took us down the winding road to Hana, into bamboo forests where we split coconuts and collected jars of precious black sand. Maui is a paused place caught in slow-pace perfection. Waves and sweet fruit became our language. Every day we belonged to a new beach. We were usually naked. We moved from one roadside stand to the next, devouring shave ice, conversing about politics with locals who passionately work to preserve the culture of this special land that stretches its lava fields as far as the ocean allows. They call the island Mother Maui and this stuck with us, this sense that we were indeed nurtured and cared for by the island itself.

One day, while soaking in an illuminated tide pool, I looked at myself floating in the clear cool water, wearing my mothers bikini, and I saw her body reflecting back at me. I looked up and saw Shelby swimming nearby, her big hoop earrings and bright hair piled high on her head, and I saw her mother there as well. A sense of belonging came over me in this place where I would normally feel like an interloper from the mainland. The island instigated nostalgia, a connection with what my mother always knew to be the good life, and I was filled with a deep understanding of why people are so drawn to this remote string of volcanoes in the middle of the ocean. Hawaii sucked us in, soothed us deeply, and turned us away to come home with a deep appreciation of the power of place. My mother looked through the photos of our travels and simply said, My love, youre doing it right.

Follow Jacqueline @jsuskin and Shelby @shelbyduncan on Instagram.
The first branded marine coatings to feature the antifouling ingredient Selektope have been launched by coatings major Chugoku Marine Paints, Ltd. (CMP).

Developed by I-TECH AB, Selektopes pharmacological action is unique in the marine antifouling application. It repels barnacle settlement on ships hulls by temporarily stimulating the barnacle larvaes swimming behavior.

CMPs new generation SEAFLO NEO range of antifoulings make the Selektope solution available as a high performance product for mainstream operations, under two separate brands: SEAFLO NEO CF PREMIUM; and SEAFLO NEO-S PREMIUM.

SEAFLO NEO CF PREMIUM is based on zinc polymer technology and is a coating with an in-service life exceeding five years, ideal for oceangoing vessels operating worldwide. It has already been applied in full coats to vessels owned by shipping companies based in Sweden, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.

SEAFLO NEO-S PREMIUM, is based on silyl polymer technology, and specifically targets low activity vessels. It has kept hulls free from barnacles, even when ships have been static during outfitting in the harsh fouling conditions in South Korean shipyards, according to CMP.

These new SEAFLO NEO antifoulings will meet the demands of todays shipping market, says Masaya Hata, CMP General Sales Manager. SEAFLO NEO CF PREMIUM is particularly effective for owners seeking optimized vessel efficiency in high fouling areas, while SEAFLO NEO-S PREMIUM comes into its own when ships spend more of their time at rest.

High levels of biofouling on a ship's hull increase drag, reduce vessel performance and increase fuel consumption significantly. Selektope is proving to be spectacularly effective in the prevention of barnacle attachment and is confirming itself capable of unsurpassed antifouling performance, even when a ship is at anchorage for months, CMP says.

The SEAFLO NEO range has been developed over a decade of trials and performance data gathering by CMP. Due to the low concentration needed, Selektope does not compromise the chemical structure, colour or other cooperative biocides of a marine coating.

Philip Chaabane, Chief Executive I-TECH, comments: After a 16-year journey for Selektope through research, testing, approvals and industrialization, we are honored to be part of CMPs new premium antifouling range. Selektope is already excelling in mainstream shipping operations, as well as the tougher conditions arising from more aggressive fouling.

Fully approved under the EUs Biocidal Products Regulation, I-Tech reports orders for coatings including Selektope in the first part of 2016 as double those achieved for the whole of 2015.
Asia's cruise industry is growing at a record pace and shows no signs of slowing down, according to the latest 2016 Asia Cruise Trends study from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

Asian source markets experienced the most growth year over year in ocean cruise passengers with an impressive 24 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 and a total of 2.08 million passengers in 2015, the study found. Asian cruise deployment, capacity and destinations have also shown remarkable growth.

"While we expected Asia to experience record-breaking growth in cruise travel, we are astonished at the rate at which the region is emerging as one of the most significant cruise destinations and cruise source markets in the world, said Dr. Zinan Liu, Chair of CLIA North Asia. The Asia Cruise Trends project has again developed extremely valuable data on what is happening in Asian cruising, its current size and recent growth trends.

The cruise industry has been nimble and responded quickly to the demand for cruise travel in Asia by delivering cruise ships with amenities and experiences tailored to Asian travelers," said Cindy DAoust, President and CEO, CLIA. Asian cruise travel continues to deliver a growing number of enticing opportunities for international guests to visit Asia's fascinating destinations."

Commissioned by CLIA to further develop an in depth understanding of the quickly evolving cruise marketplace, the 2016 Asia Cruise Trends initiative collected trending data from 31 international and regional cruise lines, representing over 95 percent of Asia cruise ship capacity (excluding one-night cruises).

The number of ocean cruises and voyages offered in the region continues to grow to meet demand with 1,560 sailings scheduled for 2016 alone, a sharp increase of 43 percent when compared to last year. There has also been a significant increase in the number of days cruise ships are in operation, from 4,307 operating days in 2013 to 7,918 in 2016.

This year, 60 ocean cruise ships will sail in Asia versus 43 ships in 2013, 15 percent more ships than the 52 operating in 2015. Of the ships sailing this year, 14 operate year-round while another 12 have extended deployment in Asia.

The capacity to carry passengers continues to grow, surging by 51 percent in 2016. As a result, the overall passenger capacity on ocean cruise ships will reach 3.2 million in 2016.

Cruising in the region includes more than 204 destinations across 17 countries, making traveling by cruise ship one of the easiest ways to see multiple destinations throughout Asia. While the introduction of new ports throughout Asia is great for travelers, it is also great for local economies by bringing more visitors to Asian destinations. Japan is again the biggest destination country with 1,526 port calls in 2016, followed by China (850), South Korea (745), Vietnam (466) Malaysia (422) and Singapore (391). The most visited port in 2016 will be Jeju Island, South Korea (460 calls), closely followed by Shanghai (437), Singapore (391) and Fukuoka (258).

Asian travelers are cruising more than ever before. Asia experienced the most growth year over year in ocean cruise passengers with an impressive 24 percent increase from 2014 to 2015 and a total of 2.08 million ocean cruise passengers in 2015.

From 2012 to 2015, the number of Chinese passengers grew at an annual compounded rate of 66 percent. Growth in 2015 alone was 40 percent. In 2015, 986,000 passengers were from mainland China, representing close to half of the Asian volume, compared to 703,000 in 2014. In both 2014 and 2015, China has been the world's fastest growing major source market.

Asian passengers continue to prefer shorter ocean cruise lengths. In 2015, almost three out of ten (30 percent) Asian passengers continued to choose cruises two to three nights in length and half (50 percent) chose four to six night cruises. Almost a fifth of passengers chose extended cruises with 19 percent of Asian passengers opting for seven to 13 night cruises. As a result, the average length of cruises taken by Asian passengers has increased slightly from 5.2 nights in 2014 to 5.3 nights in 2015.

While Asian outbound tourism is exploding around the world, the study found that Asian cruisers are primarily exploring Asian destinations. More than eight out of ten Asian passengers (84 percent) cruised within Asia. The remaining 16 percent flew to cruise destinations outside the region, primarily in Europe with 74 percent of the international volume, followed by Alaska and the Caribbean. From Japan, 23 percent are traveling outside Asia, along with 30 percent from India. Only 3.6 percent of Chinese travel outside of Asia.

In China, the average age of cruisers is below 43 with about 42 percent of cruise travelers below 40 years old. For the region, the same segment represents 38 percent of all cruisers.

Cruise lines have recognized the need to bring their best ships and amenities to the region. New onboard offerings tailored to the Asian guests include inclusive onboard activities aimed at multi-generational families, high-end shopping, languages, adapted menus to include familiar favorites and regional cuisine, cabin amenities and high-tech features.
British oil company BP Plc has loaded a cargo of Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude for export, according to two trade sources and Reuters Trade Flows data, the latest indication that exports of Alaskan crude are becoming less rare.

The crude loaded on the Cascade Spirit, a Bahamas-flagged Suezmax tanker. While its destination was not immediately clear, the vessel is currently moving in the North Pacific Ocean towards Asia, according to Reuters Vessel Tracking data.

A spokeswoman for BP declined to comment on the cargo.

In July, BP confirmed it had chartered the Tianlong Spirit, another Bahamas-flagged Suezmax ship, for the export of Alaskan North Slope crude.

ANS is almost exclusively transported to refineries on the U.S. West Coast using U.S. flagged vessels owned by BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil that comply with domestic maritime laws.

The flurry of ANS exports this year, which include a small shipment to Nicaragua and two vessels to Asia, underscores a shift underway in global trade flows, as producers of Alaskan North Slope crude eye new markets for their oil.

ANS had been excluded from the decades-long ban on exporting U.S. crude, which was lifted in December 2015.

(Reporting by Liz Hampton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Bernard Orr)
1861 - USS Penguin, commanded by Cmdr. John L. Livingston, engages blockade-runner Louisa during the Civil War. The blockade-runner hits a sandbar near Cape Fear, N.C., and sinks.



1877 - Prof. Asaph Hall of the U.S. Naval Observatory discovers the first of two satellites of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, using the largest refractor of the time, a USNO 26-inch (66-cm) telescope.



1898 - During the Spanish-American War, USS Cushing (TB 1), USS Gwin (TB 16), and USS McKee (TB 18) captured and burned the Spanish schooner Jover Genard at Carendas, Cuba.



1943 - Aircraft from Composite Squadron One (VC 1) based onboard USS Card (CVE 11) sinks German submarine, (U 525), about 376 miles west-southwest of Corvo Island, Azores.



1960 - USNS Haiti Victory (T-AK 238), using Navy helicopters and frogmen, recover Discoverer 13 satellite capsule in the Pacific Ocean, the first recovery of a U.S. satellite from orbit.



2001 - USNS Benavidez (T-AKR 306) is christened and launched at New Orleans, La. The Bob Hope-class large, medium-speed roll-on/roll-off ship is part of Military Sealift Commands prepositioning program that serves as dry cargo surge sealift carriers.





(Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division)
Radio Holland Malaysia opened a new office in Johor, Malaysia to support shipping in the ports of Johor and the vicinity.



Over the years, Radio Holland Malaysia has expanded its business to the Southern Region of Malaysia known as Gelang Patah, Johor. With this new office, Radio Holland Malaysia aims to be close by to perform service in the ports of Johor.



Already with an office in Port Klang, the new office is located near Malaysias container terminal, The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) located at the confluence of the main east-west shipping lanes. One of PTP's key advantages is that it is approximately 45 minutes from the world's busiest shipping lanes. Easily accessible from the Straits of Malacca, PTP is situated on the eastern side of the mouth of the Pulai River in South-West Johor. PTP is a naturally sheltered deep water port and is near the Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing. Nearly 3,000 vessels call at PTP yearly.
An ailing crewmember aboard an oil tanker was medevaced by the U.S. Coast Guard roughly 12 miles south of Oahu, Hawaii, Wednesday.

The crewman, a 45-year-old citizen of India, was said to be suffering from heart attack symptoms when personnel aboard the ship contacted watchstanders at the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center at 11 a.m. Saturday requesting assistance. The vessel was 1,438 miles from Oahu at the time headed toward the U.S. from Southeast Asia and elected to divert their course toward Honolulu.

A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and recommended the vessel continue toward Honolulu. The man's condition was stable, and plans were made to get him to shore via water taxi. However, when his condition began to deteriorate it was decided that a hoist would be conducted when the vessel arrived 14 miles offshore of Oahu to expedite his access to a higher level of medical care.

A MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew launched from Air Station Barbers Point at 5:45 a.m. on Wednesday and hoisted the man from the 1,050-foot Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Andromeda Voyager at 7 a.m. A video of the medevac is available here

The crewmember was then transferred him to awaiting emergency medical personnel at Queens Medical Center in Honolulu. He was delivered in stable condition.
An oil rig that ran aground off a Scottish island on Sunday may have leaked around 53 tonnes of diesel but has not caused any serious pollution, Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said.

The Transocean Winner rig broke away while being towed during a storm and became grounded off the northwestern Isle of Lewis.

"Aircraft yesterday flew over the location and surrounding area to make careful observations for pollution around the rig and the nearby coast and sea and no sheen or sign of pollution has been found," the MCA said on Thursday.

Diesel is much lighter than crude oil which is the cause of the worst slicks and the MCA said it posed "much lower environmental risks".

Two of four diesel fuel tanks on the rig were believed to have been damaged. The MCA is still monitoring the area and has set an exclusion zone of 300 metres around the rig.

Scotland's government said on Wednesday that the incident posed questions about why the rig - which was en route from Norway to Malta - was being towed through Scottish waters despite a forecast for stormy weather.

(Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Italy raised the security level at its tourist ports on Thursday, a coastguard spokesman said, meaning intensified controls of people and vehicles during the height of the summer tourist season.



Coastguard Admiral Vincenzo Melone sent a letter ordering passenger and cruise-ship ports to raise their alert level to 2 from 1, the spokesman said. The highest level is 3. The coastguard gave no reason for the move.



Italy's national security alert level was already at 2, the highest possible level in absence of a direct attack, following Islamist attacks in France and Belgium last year.



After the Nice attack last month in which more than 80 people were run down by a delivery truck, Italy increased border controls, and Rome last week boosted security at the Colosseum and Vatican after a French priest was murdered in his church.



Italy last week signalled it was willing to allow the use of its airbases and airspace for attacks against Islamic State militants in Libya, which have continued this week, if the United States asked.





(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Royal Bank of Scotland has put its portfolio of Turkish shipping loans up for sale, in the latest move by the state-backed bank to exit this troubled sector and cut overall losses through asset sales, two sources told Reuters.

RBS, which has not made an annual profit since 2007, is restructuring under chief executive Ross McEwan and is looking to offload its entire shipping loans business to shore up its capital and avoid more losses on distressed debt.

The sources, who declined to be identified, told Reuters the bank was looking to sell between $200 million to $500 million worth of Turkish-related shipping loans.

RBS, which reported 2.05 billion pounds ($2.66 billion) of losses for the first half of 2016, declined to comment.

The British bank had been a big lender to the global shipping industry but has shrunk its balance sheet and largely retreated from non-UK lending since a 46 billion pound government bailout during the financial crisis.

The shipping industry has been through tough times since the crisis in 2008, hit by a combination of slowing demand and a glut of ships that has battered bottom lines and caused some casualties.

One source estimated the Turkish loans RBS aims to sell would have been worth double their current value at the market peak before the 2008 crisis.

The bank is also trying to sell its much larger Greek shipping business, which is valued at around $3 billion, sources told Reuters earlier this year.

Reuters reported in June that Credit Suisse and China Merchants were among the suitors for the Greek operation but Britain's vote to leave the European Union had partly led to potential buyers backing off.

The bank has hired Lazard as advisers on the sale of the Greek business but is likely to market the sale of the Turkish portfolio itself, several finance industry sources said. Lazard declined to comment.

Tough Sell

RBS's shipping exposure was 6.765 billion pounds at end June - not much changed from the end of 2015, RBS data showed. Nearly 6 billion pounds of that was managed by its Capital Resolution Group, its so-called 'bad bank'.

It recorded a net impairment charge of 263 million pounds primarily related to its shipping portfolio in the first six months of 2016.

Neither RBS nor the financial sector sources have disclosed a likely timeframe for a sale of the Turkish shipping loans but the political turmoil in Turkey and subsequent threats to its investment grade status could dampen investor interest in the country, one of the sources said.

Meanwhile, the limited level of interest in its Greek shipping loans business so far has raised questions about the bank's strategy of trying to sell it.

The bank hosted a roadshow in Asia last month in an effort to drum up interest for the Greek operation, according to one of the financial sector sources and a third source with direct knowledge of the bank's disposal plan.

The third source said it was unclear if a single buyer could be found for the entire Greek business or whether RBS would opt to sell the loans off in parcels.

"There is a price at which it is not worth selling it," the source said, suggesting shareholders might be better served if the bank opted to scrap a heavily-discounted sale and run down the loans instead.

The source also flagged possible buyer interest from China or Japan, pointing to RBS's sale of its aircraft leasing business to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in 2012.

"If you get into China and Japan for example there is lots of money floating around looking for some yield," the source said.





($1 = 0.7717 pounds)



(By Jonathan Saul and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Sinead Cruise and Jane Merriman)
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has reached a milestone in the construction of the submarine Indiana (SSN 789). The 16th Virginia-class submarine has reached pressure hull complete, signifying that all of its hull sections are joined to form a single, watertight unit.

Ships Sponsor Diane Donald, wife of Adm. Kirk Donald (U.S. Navy, Ret.), and Ray Shearer, chairman of Indianas commissioning committee, visited the shipyard to see the progress being made on the submarine and meet with its crew.

Witnessing Indiana come to life is one of the most gratifying experiences of my life, Donald said. The countless hours of hard work the shipbuilders have put into constructing and perfecting this boat is apparent, as Indiana has now taken on the shape of a submarine. I also had the pleasure of spending time with the ships crew. As the wife of a submariner, its been a real honor getting to know a new generation of sailors and witnessing their enthusiasm and dedicated service to our nation. As Indiana moves closer to joining the Navys fleet next year, I look forward to continuing to share this journey with her shipbuilders and crew members.

Pressure hull complete is the last major milestone before the submarines christening. Construction began in September 2012 under a teaming agreement between Newport News and General Dynamics Electric Boat. The submarine is about 82 percent complete and is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in the third quarter of 2017.

We are on track to meet our budget and schedule commitments to the Navy, and Im proud of the progress that the Newport News Shipbuilding-General Dynamics Electric Boat team is making, said Jim Hughes, Newport News vice president, submarines and fleet support. Our progress demonstrates the efficiency of the Navys two-per-year build plan, which helps ensure Americas undersea superiority.

Cmdr. Jesse J. Zimbauer, Indianas commanding officer, said, Newport News Shipbuilding has completed the pressure hull on time for the Indiana, continuing the momentum of the Navys most successful build program and moving us another step closer to taking our submarine to sea.
Oregon State University (OSU) will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a project to construct up to three advanced regional class research vessels to help replenish the aging United States academic fleet.

OSU will implement a two-stage best value procurement process for selecting a single U.S. shipyard to construct the vessels, which allows the university to evaluate proposals on qualitative factors in addition to cost factors.

In January 2013, the National Science Foundation (NSF) selected OSU as the lead institution to finalize the design and coordinate the construction of a vessel  and possibly up to two more  a project considered crucial to modernizing the countrys marine science research capabilities.

These regional class research vessels are designed for studying coastal waters out to beyond the continental rise as part of the U.S. academic fleet that is available to all ocean scientists conducting federal- and state-funded research and educational programs.

The entire RFP will be available online beginning August 15.

The two-stage process will begin with technical proposals due September 29, which will include but not be limited to descriptions of facilities, construction history, business history, financial capabilities, management practices, engineering and component subcontracting (including naming single-source vendors), and a schedule to construct the vessel, according to Demian Bailey, Oregon States former marine superintendent and a co-leader on the project.

The university will identify the shipyards best qualified for the project in the first stage and invite them to participate in the second stage of the RFP. Shipyards selected for this second stage will then submit an in-depth cost proposal due in early February. Final selection of a shipyard is anticipated to take place in April 2017. Delivery of the first ship, which will be operated by Oregon State University, is expected in fall of 2020.

Additional ships would likely be designated for the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, if funded by NSF with congressional appropriations and approval by the president. NSF would competitively select operators for those vessels, possibly in 2018.

Although similar in size, the new ships will differ greatly from R/V Oceanus, built in 1975 and operated by OSU, and its sister ships, R/V Endeavor, operated by the University of Rhode Island, and R/V Wecoma (retired), said Clare Reimers, a professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and project co-leader.

This class of ships will enable researchers to work much more safely and efficiently at sea because of better handling and stability, more capacity for instrumentation and less noise, Reimers said. The design also has numerous green features, including an optimized hull form, waste heat recovery, LED lighting, and variable speed power generation.

The design of the ships was done by The Glosten Associates, a naval architecture firm based in Seattle.

The research vessels will be 193 feet in length, with a range greater than 5,000 nautical miles. Cruising speed is 11 knots with a maximum speed of 12.5 knots, and there are 16 berths for scientists and 13 for crew members.
Wilhelmsen Maritime Services AS (WMS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA, said it has signed an agreement whereby technology subsidiary Callenberg Technology Group will be acquired by Trident Maritime Systems.



"We have in Trident and their principal, J. F. Lehman & Company, found a strong new owner of Callenberg. Having a new owner that operates within the same technology areas creates a perfect environment for employees, customers and future growth of Callenberg with Trident," said Dag Schjerven, president and CEO of WMS.



"Through this natural combination, we will significantly expand our technical capabilities and geographic reach," said Tom Eccles, CEO of Trident. "Combining the rich history and strong reputation of Callenberg and Trident, will create a market leader in the provision of marine systems to the global market."



WMS will receive a net sale price of approximately $64 million, of which $41 million will be in cash at closing, and a seller-financing package of $23 million. The net profit effect is a loss of $12 million.



The transaction is expected to be finalised in the third quarter. SEB Corporate Finance acted as financial adviser in the transaction.


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During the last stock market top in 2007-2008 the price of natural gas completed a basing pattern (bottom) and broke out and had a massive rally. Will this happen again this time around?

Based on the stock market stage analysis, market sentiment, and the price action of natural gas, it appears the stock market is topping and natural gas is on the verge of a breakout and rally.

The price of natural gas moves in strange ways, and I mention this to subscribers when its taking place. I found that on when there is fear in the stock market and stocks are down along with almost every other asset class (this is rare), that natural gas is typically the only asset and/or commodity trading higher those days. Im not 100% sure what to make of it, but I have seen this repeatedly over the years.

See the weekly chart below of the SP500 index and natural gas

Natural Gas Forms Bottoming Pattern and Basing Pattern

Earlier this week I recorded my conversation with HoweStreet

talking about natural gas, gold and oil  LISTEN HERE

Natural Gas Trading Conclusion:

In short, no matter if this correlation in stock price and natural gas exists or not, the fact of the matter is that stocks are showing signs of a significant top, while natural gas appears to be bottoming.

In the coming days several swing trade and long-term opportunities will present themselves and I will share which ETFs and or stocks I will trade to profit from the pending moves.

Get my analysis and trades at: www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Join my email list FREE and get my next article which I will show you about a major opportunity in bonds and a rate spike  www.GoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen is Founder of the popular trading site TheGoldAndOilGuy.com. There he shares his highly successful, low-risk trading method. For 7 years Chris has been a leader in teaching others to skillfully trade in gold, oil, and silver in both bull and bear markets. Subscribers to his service depend on Chris' uniquely consistent investment opportunities that carry exceptionally low risk and high return.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect.

Chris Vermeulen Archive

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A Blacksburg company plans to launch a brand of health waters with the potential to improve gut health, fight inflammation and regulate glucose.

The waters, to be marketed under the Pervida brand, will contain a substance called abscisic acid. The hormone, pronounced ab-sis-ik, is found in many fruits and vegetables but its health qualities are not widely known.

Josep Bassaganya-Riera, CEO of BioTherapeutics, seeks to change that by educating health-conscious consumers about abscisic acid so they seek it out much like they might now look for foods with probiotics.

Bassaganya-Riera is also the director of the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech. He said his lab and one at the University of Genoa School of Medicine in Italy have published most of the research on the role of abscisic acid in humans.

About a decade ago, as consumers were just learning that some types of bacteria are essential to good health and started buying food with probiotics, Bassaganya-Riera began to research abscisic acid.

The plant hormone already showed promise in improving blood-sugar control in diabetic mice. The difficulty lay in finding a way to get its molecules to bind with the ones regulating glucose, he said.

His team discovered a compound that binds with abscisic acid and a new pathway to carry it where it needs to go. The more he worked with abscisic acid the more he came to appreciate its role not just in regulating glucose but in improving gut health and fighting inflammation.

Bassaganya-Riera said he obtained patents and licenses through Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties and in 2008 founded BioTherapeutics. Tech owns 5 percent of the company.

BioTherapeutics is taking two approaches to bring abscisic acid products to market. The first is development of pharmaceuticals to treat Crohns and inflammatory bowel disease.

We are very optimistic it outperforms current drugs on the market, he said. BioTherapuetics is seeking federal approval to begin clinical trials, but as with any new drug development, moving through the testing phases to determine if the product is safe and effective in humans will take many years.

Meanwhile, BioTherapeutics is taking a less cumbersome regulatory path to launch a line of nutritional products. Bassaganya-Riera believes that once consumers understand the benefit to their health, abscisic acid will become as desirable as all the probiotic products now lining grocers shelves.

We were trying to appeal to the concept of our products favoring health. The line of nutritionals are not to cure diseases, because from a regulatory perspective we cannot do that, but to enhance health, Bassaganya-Riera said.

The first product will be a sugar-free vitamin water with pomegranate oil, vitamins, minerals and electrolytes.

What we are doing is incorporating some ingredients with demonstrated health effects and demonstrated safety into food products, he said.

The health water will be marketed under the brand name Pervida. Bassaganya-Riera said the name came from a brain-storming session.

The concept of for life was continuously expressed, but for life is unexciting, he said. As a native of Barcelona, Bassaganya-Riera said he also speaks Catalan, so he translated for life to per vida.

BioTherapeutics plans a soft launch of the product this fall. If the water is successful, they might move on to snack bars and energy bars, he said.

Lee Sandstead, the companys marketing and communications manager, said a crowdfunding campaign is planned to get large-scale market research.

More than getting money, we want to find out what people think about the product and what ideas they have, Sandstead said.

One of the challenges is that Pervida waters wont contain sugar. Bassaganya-Riera said since Americans love sweet drinks, Pervida waters will use honey or Stevia. Product samples are on order and will go through sensory evaluations to tweak the flavoring.

Sandstead they will also use a marketing campaign to determine the interest that health-conscious consumers have in abscisic acid once they learn what it is.

Whether the financial component of the crowdfunding campaign meets the objective or not, the product will be launched, Bassaganya-Riera said. However, if it is successful it will be beneficial. We are looking more for the feedback to enhance our product and begin to penetrate this community of people who are interested in health products.
COLLINSVILLEA Henry County judge denied bail this week for a man charged with first-degree murder and robbery.

At a bond appeal hearing Wednesday in Henry County Circuit Court, Judge Jonathan Apgar denied bond for Adrian Lewis Purcell, of Reidsville, North Carolina, who is charged in the March 8 shooting death of 20-year-old Damien Anthony Ferrell of Fieldale.

In addition to first-degree murder and robbery, Purcell is charged with use of a firearm in committing a felony and firearm possession/transportation by a convicted violent felon.

Anna Hill, Purcells fiancee, who lived with him in Reidsville, requested that bail be set for him, as did his lawyer, Harold Chip Slate II. Hill said that if Purcell were released on bond he would live at their home on Windemere Court in Reidsville, but that he would be at home without supervision on weekdays when she was at work. Hill said she and a brother of his would try to make sure that Purcell would comply with any restrictions the court would set and that she would notify law enforcement if Purcell did not comply.

Hill indicated she doesnt think Purcell is a flight risk, and she is willing to put up a cash bond. Hill said Purcell has not worked in several years, that he doesnt have a drivers license, and that she would provide transportation to make sure he gets to work. She said there is no alcohol, drugs or firearms in the home.

Slate suggested that a bond of $50,000 would be appropriate.

Henry County Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Jessica Henson argued that the commonwealth has several witnesses who say Purcell was the shooter in the murder. Henson also noted that Purcell is charged with offenses that carry a presumption against bail, and that Purcell has a very lengthy criminal history, including a number of breaking and entering-type offenses. She also said he lives roughly 45 minutes away out of state and would be home unsupervised during weekdays.

Purcell was one of four men originally charged with murder, robbery and related weapons charges in the shooting death of Ferrell. In May, Judge Larry Gott found probable cause to move forward with the case against Malik Davon Galloway, of 45 Vera Drive, Collinsville, on charges of first-degree murder, robbery, use of a firearm in the commission of murder and possession/transportation of a weapon by a violent felon.

At that time, Gott found no reason to move forward with the cases against co-defendants Kerry Marcel Scales Jr. of Bassett and Sean Demetrus Goddard of Martinsville. Both had been charged with first-degree murder, robbery and use of a firearm during the commission of murder.

At the time of the May court hearing, Purcell was incarcerated in North Carolina. He later was extradited to Henry County.

Also in Henry County Circuit Court on Wednesday:

Barry Lee Tucker of Martinsville pleaded guilty to distribution of oxycodone/acetaminophen and conspiracy to distribute oxycodone/acetaminophen. According to the commonwealths evidence and a video, Tucker set up a drug deal and counted out 20 pills that contained oxycodone and acetaminophen for a drug runner on Aug. 17, 2015.

Tuckers lawyer argued Tucker should be convicted of lesser offenses, contending that Tucker did not profit from the deal. However, Judge Apgar ruled that Tucker was a willing partner. Apgar found Tucker guilty as charged of distribution of oxycodone/acetaminophen and conspiracy to distribute oxycodone/acetaminophen. Apgar ordered a presentence report, ordered that Tucker be evaluated for eligibility for alternative punishment to traditional incarceration, and set the next court hearing for Nov. 2 at 2 p.m.

Mary Magaline Allen of Bassett, who was charged with distribution cocaine, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of accommodate sale of cocaine. She and another woman allegedly distributed $100 worth of cocaine on Nov. 12, 2014.

Allen said that since that time, she got saved and has been going to church more than a year. Her lawyer said she got clean before she was indicted.

Judge Apgar sentenced Allen to five years in prison, all suspended on conditions of two years of supervised probation, five years of good behavior, payment of $100 restitution, and loss of her driving privilege for six months.

The commonwealth dropped a charge of conspiracy to distribute a schedule 1 or 2 controlled substance against Allen.

Bradley Keith Evans of Stoneville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to a charge of eluding police at a speed of more than 20 mph. Judge David V. Williams sentenced Evans to five years in prison, of which he must serve 1  years, with the balance suspended on conditions of two years of supervised probation, five years of good behavior and permanent revocation of his drivers license.

According to the commonwealths evidence, Evans led law enforcement officers on a 41.5-mile chase in Henry and Franklin counties on Feb. 23, 2014, including 7.1 miles in the wrong lane of Route 220. At times, the chase reached more than 100 mph.Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester said Wednesday that luckily no one was killed during the chase. He also pointed out that Evans has a lengthy criminal history.

Evans testified that he fell in 1996 and went through brain surgery. Ever since he has tended to over-react to things, and he over-reacted that night, he said.

Joshua Shane Nelson of Martinsville, who pleaded guilty to distribute schedule 3 controlled substance and distribute oxycodone, was sentenced by Judge Williams on each charge to five years in prison, of which he must serve two months of incarceration (for a total of four months). Williams suspended the balance of each sentence on condition of two years of supervised probation five years of good behavior, payment of restitution and suspension of Nelsons drivers license for six months, with a restricted license allowable for certain purposes.

According to the commonwealths evidence, on June 4, 2015, Nelson sold pills containing hydrocodone and acetaminophen (schedule 3) to an undercover agent, and on June 12, 2015, Nelson sold pills containing oxycodone (schedule 2) to an undercover agent.

Nelson testified Wednesday that a friend kept asking him for pills for pain, that Nelson didnt want to do it, but the friend kept begging and insisted on paying him for the pills. Nelson said he has never been in trouble before.

Paul Collins reports for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at paul.collins@martinsvillebulletin.com.
SI Center soon will send a claim to court to sign an agreement with the Ukrainian State Center of Radio Frequencies (UCRF) to introduce the mobile number portability (MNP) service.

"UCRF gave consent to this step, as we want to receive the confirmation from court that UCRF and SI Center have the right to sign the agreement," the owner of SI Center, Dmytro Zarakhovych said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

UCRF Executive Director Vadym Hulko said that the agreement was not signed in the 30-day term set in Ukrainian law that expired on June 25 due to hearing of claims from Dialink and T4B companies by court. The claims were dismissed, and UCRF believes that the claim of SI Center is fair.

"We are ready to execute the court decision if the court decides to satisfy the claim of SI Center," Hulko said.

He said that if the court makes a positive decision, the start of the introduction of the MNP service would be delayed for around one month.

Zarakhovych added that the company intends to finish the introduction of the service within two and a half months.

UCRF on January 25 chose Dialink LLC out of six bidders to buy software and equipment required to introduce the MNP service. SI Center was not allowed to the assessment phase of the tender, but filed the cheapest bid. Its partner Teletech successfully challenged the results of the tender in Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee.

UCRF decided not to challenge the committee and stuck to all its recommendations. SI Center was announced the winner of the tender on April 21.
MARTINSVILLE  Another exemption has been added to an ordinance forbidding gun use in the city.

The ordinance states that nobody can fire a gun, cannon, pistol or any other type of firearm citywide. Violators can be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, up to a year in jail or both.

An amended ordinance that Martinsville City Council adopted on final reading Tuesday states that the ban on gun use does not apply to veterans organizations, historical heritage organizations, honor guards and color guards that discharge blank cartridges at funerals, burials, parades and other commemorative, celebratory or educational events, or during practices for such events.

It also states that the ban does not apply to anyone using a firearm to shoot a deer in the city on at least five acres of land zoned for agricultural use.

That provision was in the amendment when the council initially approved it in July. City Attorney Eric Monday said it will not affect Martinsville because the city has no agriculturally zoned land, let alone five acres of it.

A court recommended that the provision be included just to ensure that the ordinance complies with state law, he said.

Monday said that since the amendments initial approval, he has heard from local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Honor Guard members who questioned whether they legally can discharge rifles. That prompted the latest change to the ordinance.

The ordinance also exempts law enforcement officers who use guns while on duty and other people who are justified under state law to use firearms to protect lives and property.

Also Tuesday, the council adopted a revised resolution to commit funding to the Virginia Department of Transportations (VDOT) Revenue-Sharing Program.

To comply with VDOTs requirements, the council in April adopted a resolution to continue the current funding agreement for uptown street paving, which is the citys only revenue-sharing project.

After reviewing the resolution, VDOT asked that it be revised to reflect any future projects that may arise, said City Engineer Chris Morris.

The city must match VDOT funds for revenue-sharing projects equally, a document shows.

Council members received preliminary figures showing that during the past fiscal year which ended June 30, the city received a total of $3,265,843 in water revenues. Expenses to maintain the water distribution system totaled $2,825,154, leaving net revenue of $440,689.

The city received $4,243,212 in sewer revenues. Expenses to maintain the wastewater treatment system totaled $3,664,408, leaving net revenue of $578,804, a report shows.

Average daily drinkable water production for fiscal 2016 was 1.898 million gallons per day, while average daily sewer flow was 4.971 million gallons per day, according to city Water Resources Director Andy Lash. There were no problems with the treatment plants meeting state requirements, he said.

The council scheduled neighborhood meetings for Sept. 26 at Patrick Henry Elementary School, Oct. 24 at Albert Harris Elementary School, March 27 at either Chatham Heights Baptist Church or McCabe Memorial Baptist Church and April 24 at Wesley Memorial Methodist Church.

Neighborhood meetings, held at 7:30 p.m., are an opportunity for residents to informally discuss with council members concerns about their neighborhoods and/or other city issues.

Vice Mayor Jennifer Bowles read a letter from U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, commending Martinsville for being designated a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation again. The designation recognizes a citys commitment to healthy tree and forest care and improving air and water quality and the overall environment.

City Manager Leon Towarnicki said Warner plans to visit the area Monday. Local officials and business leaders plan to meet with him at 5:45 p.m. that day at the Virginia Museum of Natural History.

Mickey Powell reports for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at mickey.powell@martinsvillebulletin.com.
Kazakhstan's National Atomic Company Kazatomprom is interested in developing cooperation with Ukraine in various areas of the nuclear fuel cycle (NFC), including production of nuclear fuel in Kazakhstan for Ukrainian nuclear power plants (NPP), Kazatomprom has told Interfax-Ukraine.

The Kazakh Ministry of Energy and Kazatomprom plan to meet with the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry to discuss cooperation in nuclear energy, Kazatomprom said.

The date of the meeting is yet to be approved, the company said.

Ukrainian Minister of Energy Ihor Nasalyk said earlier that Kazakhstan had expressed the intention to help Ukraine finish the construction of a nuclear fuel plant in Ukraine.

"I am flying to Kazakhstan on August 18. Among other things, we are going to discuss Kazakhstan's participation in the final stage of the project for construction of a nuclear fuel plant in Ukraine," he said.

Kazatomprom is the national operator of the Republic of Kazakhstan for export of uranium and its compounds, rare metals, nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants, special equipment, technologies and dual-use materials.
As an award-winning print journalist, I field a lot of question from the public, such as How did you get in here? and Why hasnt security escorted you out yet?

But another question someone could potentially ask me is, Whats it like to have a job where you closely follow the news during the single craziest presidential election in the history of our nation?

To answer that question, I will relate a story.

When I was eight years old, we went on a family vacation to Texas to see my great-uncle Clinton and my great-aunt Gloria. They lived in a ranch house right on Possum Kingdom Lake, just west of Fort Worth.

I spent a lot of time hanging around the lake during that trip. I would go fishing for striped bass, catch crawfish, hunt for horny toads on the rocks and eat prickly pears fresh off the cactus. If Id had a Stuff to Do in Texas Bingo card, I would have circled at least half of it.

It was, for the most part, an idyllic vacation. The main exception was the thunderstorms.

Possum Kingdom Lake wasnt particularly close to the Gulf of Mexico, but it was apparently close enough, because every so often, a massive storm would blow in from across the lake.

These storms were unlike anything I have ever seen. The sky would turn black, the wind would begin to howl, brilliant lightning and deafening thunder would fill the air, and a mass of inky clouds would blow in, looking a bit like the swirling supernatural miasma that appeared overtop of Sigourney Weavers apartment building in Ghostbusters.

I was eight years old, and these storms terrified me. I would race inside, convinced the house was going to blow down on top of me.

These storms did not terrify my aunt Gloria.

I remember one evening in particular, the night of the single worst storm Ive ever seen. I was standing on the back porch, and Gloria was seated next to me in a rocking chair.

Gloria was always an elegant lady. She was wearing a billowy gown of some kind, and her hair was up in her customary bouffant. In one hand, she held a long, thin cigarette; in the other, a 7-and-7 in a lead-crystal highball glass.

The sky blackened. Rain began to pour. Neon blue lightning flashed every few seconds, accompanied by an avalanche of thunder. The wind screamed.

I raced for the door, but aunt Gloria did not follow. Arent you coming inside? I said, yelling to be heard over the storm. Were going to get killed out here!

Gloria just rocked in her rocking chair, her bouffant blowing hither and thither, the cherry on her cigarette glowing bright orange as it was buffeted by the eddying winds.

She cackled at my terror.

Ha ha ha! aunt Gloria said, Welcome to Texas!

At the time, I thought she was crazy. Now, looking down the cavernous barrel of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, I understand completely.

As I write this, there is a developing story that newly released e-mails from Hillary Clintons tenure as secretary of state raise troubling questions about that departments relationship with the Clinton Foundation. Thats bad. There are potentially other emails out there detailing weapons being sent to Syria , getting the U.S. involved in that country's civil war. That's worse.

Meanwhile, less than 24 hours earlier, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump insinuated that his aforementioned opponent should be shot, which would be shocking from literally any other candidate throughout history but is instead only the latest sound bite from the 2016 Donald Trump Unraveling Mental Health Whistle-Stop Tour.

Its easy to be afraid going into an election like this one. Instead, I choose to follow the example set by my aunt Gloria: I will not fight the chaos of the gathering storm.

Instead, I will wallow in it. I will sit in my metaphorical rocking chair, a cigarette in one hand and a 7-and-7 in the other, and stare merrily into the gathering storm, cackling with apocalyptic glee as democracy shakes itself apart like a washing machine with a cinderblock in the drum.

Ha ha ha, my friends. Welcome to Texas.

Ben Williams writes for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at benjamin.williams@martinsvillebulletin.com.
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Mayor Domenic J. Sarno is joined by representatives of the Ecuadorian Civic Club for a flag raising ceremony outside Springfield City Hall, to celebrate the 194th annivesary of Ecuador's independence.

(Submitted photo / Springfield City Hall)

SPRINGFIELD -- The Ecuadorian flag was raised outside City Hall on Wednesday as part of a ceremony celebrating the 194th anniversary of that country's independence.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno was joined by members of the Ecuadorian Civic Club to take part in the ceremony on the steps of City Hall. Sarno read a formal proclamation that heralded Ecuador's "independence and freedom for the people of what would eventually become the Republic of Ecuador."

He also praised the "accomplishments, culture and pride" of those of Ecuadorian ancestry, "for the contributions they have made to our great city of Springfield, the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States of America."
SPRINGFIELD  As the 2016 Springfield Puerto Rican Parade approaches, organizers are hoping to get local agencies, businesses, dance troupes and more to participate in the fun.

In an effort to facilitate the process for local community groups, businesses and organizations that wish to participate in this year's parade, the Springfield Puerto Rican Parade Committee will host an on-site registration day this Saturday, organizers said. The registration will take place on from 9 to 11 a.m. at Freedom Credit Union, 1976 Main St.

Members of the Springfield Puerto Rican Parade Committee will be available at the Credit Union to answer any questions and assist in completing the forms. Copies of the registration forms will be available or may be downloaded in advance at the parade website, springfieldpuertoricanparade.com.

Early-bird registration will end Aug. 18. Any group that submits a registration after that date will have to pay an additional fee of $25. Prices for participants range from free for school groups to $100 to $250 per contingent. The last day to register to march is Sept. 1.
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Council on Aging Executive Director Sandra Lapollo receives flowers on the opening of the new Senior Center in September.

(John Suckocki / The Republican file)

CHICOPEE - Sandra Lapollo, who has served as the director of the Council on Aging and the Senior Center for more than a quarter-century, announced she will retire at the beginning of next year.

"Being director of the Chicopee Council on Aging since October 1990 has provided many wonderful and challenging opportunities for me," Lapollo said. "I will always be grateful to have served older adults for the past 42 years, 16 in Shelburne Falls and 26 in Chicopee."

Lapollo made her announcement in a written statement that was posted on the city's webpage and the mayor's Facebook page. She could not be reached for comment.

As director, Lapollo saw dramatic changes in the senior center, which added a number of educational and exercise programs over 20 years. When the existing senior center was no longer adequate for the growing senior population and its changing needs, Lapollo worked with the Council on Aging and Friends of the Senior Center for years to replace it.

In September 2014, the city opened a new, modern center complete with an art room, dedicated exercise rooms, private counseling rooms and many other amenities the old one was missing. The building is on West Main Street on the former Facemate property.

"On behalf of the Council on Aging board, we extend our sincere thanks for 26 years of hard work and dedication to making life better for our seniors," Claire Gemme, chairwoman of the Council on Aging. "We will strive to maintain the high standards and wish her the very best in her retirement."

The Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging also recently honored Lapollo with its Lifetime Achievement Award for her long years of service to older adults.

"I thank Sandra for her service to our city and our seniors," said Mayor Kos. "I wish her as many days of retirement enjoyment as she has given to our seniors."

Lapollo's tenure has not always gone smoothly. In 2015 she was placed on administrative leave for about two months with pay. She returned to work on Aug. 3 and city officials never gave a public reason for her suspension. Her lawyer called the action a "witch hunt."

Under the City Charter, the mayor oversees the hiring and firing of the director of the Council on Aging. When hiring a director he has to select from a pool of candidates recommended by the Council on Aging.

The process for a replacement will begin immediately with the Council on Aging advertising the position and interviewing candidates, the statement about Lapollo's retirement said.
WEST SPRINGFIELD  It's been less than a month since Conor McCormick suffered a severe spinal cord injury in a swimming pool accident, but people from across the Pioneer Valley are continuing to support the West Springfield teenager while he embarks on a long road to recovery.

A GoFundMe page continues to raise money to help defray mounting medical expenses, and two upcoming events aim to raise even more money for the McCormick family.

On Saturday, Aug. 13, two classic kids' movies  "The Goonies" and "The Lion King"  will be shown at South Hadley's Tower Theaters to raise money for the McCormicks.

Tickets are $10 and must be purchased ahead of time by calling Chicopee resident Bill Bullock, the organizer of the event, at 413-519-1478. Theater doors open at 9:30 a.m. and both movies begin at 10 a.m. Tower Theaters are located in the Village Commons, 19 College St.

"I wanted to do something to help," said Bullock, owner of Bulldog Enterprises, who hopes to sellout both 90-seat theaters for the special fundraiser.

On Saturday, Aug. 27, the Pioneer Valley chapter of Hope Worldwide will be hosting a Team Conor Benefit Concert from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at West Springfield High School, 425 Piper Road. A number of local artists are slated to perform, including Fearless, Midnight Lantern, E.S.M. (Every Step Matters), Criiimson and HumbleTip. There will also be food, drink, raffles, games, a dunk tank, balloon animals, a mobile arcade, face painting, a massage tent, and more.

Tickets are $20 for people ages 17 and older and $15 for kids ages 16 to 7. The event is free for kids age 6 or younger. Tickets are available at EventBrite.com.

Event organizers say people may also bring their own food and drink, blankets and chairs.

McCormick, 16, was injured while swimming at a friend's pool on July 17. He is currently recovering at a Georgia hospital. Regular updates on Conor's progress are posted on the Facebook page, Team Conor: Road To Recovery.
SPRINGFIELD -- A local man thought he was meeting someone he connected with through Craigslist to sell a ring.

"Unfortunately it turned into a robbery instead of a sale," said Assistant District Attorney Nina A. Vivenzio.

Brice R. Charest, 26, of Lebanon, Maine, pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery in the case Wednesday in Hampden Superior Court.

Vivenzio said that on Aug. 18, 2013, a man made arrangements to meet a buyer who was to pay $7,300 for a ring at the Holiday Inn Express in Westfield. The supposed buyer, Charest, opened a small case purported to contain money but instead removed a handgun, she said.

The seller was afraid told Charest to take the ring, Vivenzio said. Charest fled through bushes and got into a car.

The man who owned the ring got a partial number plate, which Westfield police traced to a woman in Maine who was Charest's girlfriend. A photo of Charest was obtained and the victim picked Charest out of a photo array, saying he was 80 to 90 percent sure it was the person who robbed him, Vivenzio said.

Judge Mary-Lou Rup said she would accept the joint sentence recommendation of Vivenzio and defense lawyer George Welch, which is 3 years in state prison.

Rup set final sentencing for Aug. 18 in order to get clarification on when Massachusetts put a detainer on Charest, who is serving a four-year sentence in Maine for armed robbery. At that sentencing she will determine how much credit Charest has on the Massachusetts sentence.

Welch said Charest was in the midst of severe drug addiction when he committed the robberies.
PJSC Odesa Port-side Chemical Plant was halted on August 11, according to first deputy chairman of the plant Mykola Schurikov, who is under house arrest. .

"We can only state the fact: we can forget about privatization in the next few years, the plant in unlikely to get up from its knees," he wrote in his blog on Facebook.

According to local media reports, the reason for the stop was reduction in natural gas supplies by Ukrtransgaz.

As reported, on July 18 Ukrtransgaz announced it would start disconnecting the plant from gas supplies because of the breach of the contract for natural gas transportation in July 2016  no prepayment, as well as excess gas extraction in the current month of the same year. Ukrtransgaz specified it was keeping pressure at the minimum acceptable level for the work of the enterprise's equipment at 9 atm. with the norm being 14 atm.
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EAST LONGMEADOW  The East Longmeadow Police Department is in the process of hiring four police officers to fill vacancies.

The department is considering nine candidates for the position, said East Longmeadow Police Chief Jeffrey Dalessio. Candidates were provided to the department by the state Civil Service Commission based on their patrolman's test scores and other factors.

"The names are provided by the state. Obviously, you want a well-rounded person," Dalessio said in a telephone interview Thursday. "We want someone who's going to have a community-oriented mindset."

Two of the positions opened up through retirements, Dalessio said. Another was approved last fiscal year, and the fourth was approved for fiscal 2017, which began July 1.

After Dalessio selects four candidates, the Town Council must approve the hires. After that, Dalessio said, he hopes to enroll them in a police academy being held at Springfield Technical Community College in November.

"We're moving pretty fast on it," the chief said.
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8-8-16 -- Westfield -- Efforts are underway to aid 9 members of an extended family who lost all their possessions when a fire broke out in their Bates Street two-family home Monday afternoon.

(WESTERN MASS NEWS)

WESTFIELD -- Efforts are ongoing to aid an extended family of nine who were displaced in a fire that heavily damaged their home on Bates Street Monday afternoon.

Western Mass News reported that the nine members of the extended Danek family lost all their possessions and do not have any insurance.

The American Red Cross of Western Massachusetts is aiding those who were displaced with short-term lodging in hotels, clothes and other vital items, said Mary Nathan, director of disaster services.

"They were very appreciative that they got immediate assistance," she said.

Three children are among those displaced, Nathan said.

The blaze at the two-family home at 13 Bates St. was reported shortly before 1 p.m. Monday.

Fire Deputy Chief Patrick Kane said there was heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building when firefighters arrived. He said the fire spread rapidly.

"It was an older building so there as a lot of void spaces and quite a few additions," Kane said.

Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion. No other injuries were reported.

Kane said damage is estimated at $120,000 and that it will be some time before the families will be able to move back into their homes.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Westfield Fire Department and the state fire marshal's office.

Nathan said the American Red Cross has been talking with the displaced family members every day as they work to rebuild their lives. The Red Cross has also put them in touch with other agencies that can help with their long-term recovery.

Western Mass News reported there are three separate GoFundMe accounts to aid in the family's recovery. They are:

GoFundMe

GoFundMe

GoFundMe

Western Mass News is television partner to The Republican and MassLive.com.

Nathan said it's been "the busiest summer we have had in a very long time" for the American Red Cross, both in Western Massachusetts and elsewhere in the state. "We are definitely looking for more volunteers," she said,

Information on volunteering and other ways to help can be found at redcross.org.
SPRINGFIELD -- In preparation for arguments in U.S. District Court this afternoon over whether five accused mobsters should remain behind bars pending trial, federal prosecutors have filed a complaint to bolster their arguments for detention that includes new details of the alleged extortion of a local tow company operator.

Arrested on August 4 were Ralph Santaniello, 49, Giovanni "Johnny Cal" Calabrese, 53, and Gerald Daniele, 51, all of Longmeadow; along with Francesco "Frank, or Sammy Shark" Depergola, 60, of Springfield; and Richard Valentini, 51, of East Longmeadow.

They were indicted by a federal grand jury on July 28 for charges including conspiracy, interference with commerce by threats and violence and loan-sharking. They had been under investigation by the FBI and Massachusetts State Police.

The indictment unsealed after their arrests outlines two alleged schemes, including the extortion of the unnamed tow operator for $20,000 in 2013 -- which included physical violence and threats of beheading. A second alleged scheme involves an illegal street loan to an unnamed gambling debtor.

For the latter victim, investigators said Daniele made the loan to mitigate the victim's offshore betting debts while Calabrese and Santaniello took charge of collections. When the debtor fell behind, they threatened him with violence and offered him the opportunity to sell drugs to work off the debt, according to court records.

In terms of the towing company operator, listed in court records only as Victim One, the businessman was approached on Sept. 30, 2013, unannounced, by Calabrese and Santaniello at the victim's property in Hampden, according to the complaint. They arrived in Calabrese's Braman pest control truck, the complaint states.

Santaniello demanded the victim resume a "street tax" the victim formerly paid to slain mob boss Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno before Bruno's murder in 2003, the complaint continues.

"Santaniello and Calabrese demanded that Victim One pay them $50,000 up front and the $4,000 per month thereafter," according to prosecutors.

The alleged victim told investigators Santaniello slapped him in the face. Calabrese added that he told the businessman, "If you don't smarten up we're going to bury you in your own woods ... but we'll cut your head off first," the record states.

Santaniello then allegedly told the victim that if he paid $20,000 up front and $2,000 a month, he could "keep his (city) contracts forever." When Victim One expressed skepticism over Santaniello's authority to secure a publicly bid city contact, Santaniello allegedly replied: "Don't worry, I can take care of the mayor."

Asked for comment by The Republican Thursday, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno responded: "Any statement of this kind is absolutely preposterous."

Santaniello also warned the businessman that if he "went to the 'feds' or reached out to any of his 'cop friends' for help, Santaniello would 'make his life miserable forever,'" the complaint states.

The threat may haunt Santaniello in the short- and long-term, given the potential for continued pre-trial detention and federal indictments both in Springfield and New York City carry the potential for heavy prison time.

Between September and November of 2013, the tow operator paid the defendants $20,000 in installments, often under law enforcement surveillance, according to the charges.

On Oct. 22, 2013, the victim met with Depergola and questioned possible outcomes if he refused to pay, court records state.

Depergola responded: "They are going to come after you. ... These guys are vindictive mother-------, be careful what you say, what you do," according to the complaint.

On Oct. 23, 2013, Victim One met with Santaniello, Calabrese and Depergola at a Starbucks in Longmeadow while under surveillance by law enforcement. Calabrese began challenging Victim One over his contention that his tow business is a legitimate one and should not be vulnerable to mob shakedowns.

"Calabrese confronted Victim One with the fact that he is not a legitimate business: 'I'm listening to everything in your life and you are not, and I'll say it to your face, you are not a straight shooter. You've been shooting angles your whole f---ing life and now you've been f---ing talking to someone about crazy s--- because you are part of something you don't want to be part of no more. You're thinking you're being wronged, it was a deal that was legit, business I told you was going to grow,'" the complaint quotes.

Victim One responded that it was not "a legitimate business deal," and called it a "shakedown," court records state.

Santaniello once again touted his purported influence with public officials and told Victim One "he was going to help him with the Turnpike contract," according to the complaint.

Santaniello and Depergola also are charged in a federal indictment in Manhattan over allegedly making a $30,000 extortionate loan at the behest of the acting Genovese crime family Capo Eugene "the Rooster" O'Nofrio. They were the only local men charged in New York City along with dozens of other reputed gangsters there, and up and down the East Coast.

Santaniello and Depergola are charged with racketeering conspiracy in that court.

The Republican will be in the courtroom for detention hearings this afternoon and will provide updates on the proceedings.
The WEB Building

Pierce Brothers Coffee Roasters is located in this Hope Street building, which is part of a mixed residential neighborhood.

(Mary Serreze photo)

GREENFIELD -- A coffee roasting company located in a downtown neighborhood will invest in state-of-the-art equipment to resolve problems related to production odors.

Pierce Brothers Coffee Roasters plans to install a custom afterburner system built by Improheat Industries of Vancouver, British Columbia, reports the Greenfield Recorder.

"Our Thermal Oxidizer Afterburners have been credited with literally saving some operations from the threat of closure due to offensive odors or other polluting emissions," Improheat's website states.

The organic, fair-trade coffee roaster on Hope Street, known for its Fogbuster dark roast, uses hot air convection instead of a traditional drum. Most of the emissions are steam, but when roasting takes place, aromatic vapors escape.

Co-owner Sean and Darren Pierce said the equipment alone will cost $41,000. Because of the Berkshire Gas moratorium on new and expanded natural gas service, the two wanted an energy-efficient system.

The investment ought to be good news to a neighbor who objected to the odors, and had reportedly been harassing the company and its employees.

The brothers described the situation at a recent Greenfield Human Rights Commission meeting. They said the man made references to Nazi concentration camps, drove by the business yelling profanities, and had gone to businesses that carry Pierce Brothers coffee and made hostile and threatening remarks. The two said their employees felt unsafe.

Sean Pierce said the company may completely relocate within the next few years, but hopes to stay in Greenfield.

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com
UPDATE, 1:25 p.m., Aug. 11, 2016: Comments by Alex and Chris Scafuri, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni and Judge Edward McDonough have been added.

SPRINGFIELD  As Alex Scafuri looked on from his wheelchair, the woman who drove the car that hit him on March 16, 2015, pleaded guilty to operating under the influence of alcohol causing serious bodily injury.

Jomaris Colon was charged with the hit-and-run crash that left the then-16-year-old Agawam teen paralyzed from the chest down.

Defense lawyer Dale E. Bass asked Hampden Superior Court Edward McDonough to sentence Colon to two years to the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center in Chicopee with six months to be served and the rest suspended with five years probation.

Assistant District Attorney Robert A. Schmidt asked for a sentence of six to eight years in state prison followed by five years probation.

McDonough sentenced Colon, 28, of Springfield, to 3 to four years in state prison followed by five years probation.

Colon was crying through most of the proceeding, including when Alex Scafuri and his father Chris Scafuri gave victim impact statements.

Colon pleaded guilty to operating under the influence of alcohol causing serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and unlicensed operation.

Colon has no memory of the crash, Bass said.

Colon told McDonough she wants to take responsibility for what she did even though she doesn't remember the crash. She said she knows the prosecution has enough evidence to prove its case.

Scafuri was skateboarding home in the street from volleyball tryouts around 9 p.m. on March 16, 2015, in the area of Rowley and Springfield streets in Agawam when he was hit by Colon's car, according to police.

Outside the courtroom speaking with reporters, Scafuri said he was glad the court process was over. He said he thinks the sentence is acceptable and fair, and he is happy with it.

He said he hopes Colon "learns her lesson, smartens up." As for himself, "I'm just going to keep pushing, stay strong, ride it out."

Chris Scafuri said it was a just sentence and no sentence will change Alex's injuries.

Schmidt said Colon was driving 15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour.

He said Scafuri slid up the hood denting it, and went into the windshield. He came off right side of the car, taking off the mirror, and hit the roadway 9 feet after impact. He slid an additional 40 feet in the roadway.

Alex Scafuri gave a victim impact statement to McDonough, as some family members wept.

He said his lungs collapsed multiple times in the hospital and he had to have a tracheotomy. He said he was heavily medicated and it was not until four or five days later he realized he couldn't move his body or feel it.

"When the doctors left my hospital room I asked my father why I couldn't feel anything," he said."He told me the break in my neck had pinched my spinal cord and the doctors say that I would never move again from the neck down."

Scafuri said his leg is still infected and it will eventually lead to amputation.

"A rubber tube connects from my bladder to a urine bag that is visible to everyone," he said.

"Most things people take for granted every day, I will never be able to do again," Scafuri said.

He can no longer brush his teeth, get himself a drink or brush his hair.

"All my private moments are no longer private," Scafuri said.

"I'm incapable of moving my hands and legs, therefore I can't do any of the activities that I loved doing before like playing video games, riding my bike, longboarding, snowboarding and playing sports," he said.

He said he is not angry and is learning every day to live with his condition thanks to the love and support he receives from family and friends.

"I know the difficult tasks my future holds for me and I am ready to face them head-on," Scafuri said.

Bass said Colon suffers from post traumatic stress disorder from two events in her past. He said one was finding the body of her biological father. The other was having her stepfather try to push her into prostitution, Bass said.

He said, "Anybody who suggests she doesn't care about what happened to this young man is wrong, completely wrong."

Chris Scafuri told McDonough, "The most aching pain to me is to know the pain suffered by my son as a result of Ms. Colon's actions."

"It is hard for me to imagine the humiliation he has felt throughout this process. He can no longer clothe himself, shower himself, or even use the bathroom properly," Chris Scarfuri said.

"Although no punishment will ever bring my son to his feet again, we are all hopeful that justice will be served," he said.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said after the sentencing that Alex Scafuri is resilient. "I admire his strength," the DA said.

"I'm pleased with the sentence," he said. Although it was not what the prosecution requested, it is a serious sentence to state prison, he said.

McDonough said the seriousness of the injuries bring to his mind words such as terrifying, tragic and horrific. He told Scafuri despite the horrendous injuries, it is obvious to him that Scafuri will lead a successful and productive life.

As conditions of Colon's probation, she must have no alcohol or drugs and have random screens, attend at least three Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per week, have mental health evaluation and counseling as deemed appropriate by the probation department, not drive and have no direct or indirect contact with Scafuri and his family.

Bass had asked that Colon be granted a stay on her sentence to get her children, ages 8 and 11, moved into a new apartment and get them ready for the school year. Schmidt objected to the stay, and McDonough denied it.
BOSTON  A man from East Providence was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Wednesday for his involvement in a sex trafficking operation, according to The Boston Globe.

Reginald Chaney, 21, also known as "Reggie," worked together with two juvenile accomplices to transport two teenage girls  ages 15 and 16  to different areas in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as a means of offering them up for prostitution, according to the news outlet.

Chaney's accomplices, J'Maire Wray, 15, and Brian Desmarais, 17, assisted him in photographing the girls as they got undressed and then helped him to post the photos on backstage.com  a site commonly used for purposes of prostitution.

Chaney, Wray, and Desmarais were all arrested on January 29, 2015, after Providence police were alerted to the operation by a report of sexual exploitation of a minor at Hasbro Children's Hospital.

Chaney was additionally sentenced to five years of supervised release after his prison term has been served.

Wray and Desmarais were previously tried in Family Court and are currently serving sentences at a state juvenile facility after having reached plea agreements, according to the paper.

US Attorney Peter F. Neronha commented on the case, saying that Chaney "preyed on children with one motivation - making money," while adding that Chaney "sold children for sex, plain and simple. Nothing is more reprehensible, and he deserves every day of his 10 year sentence."
For years, Kathleen O'Shea has run into people in the grocery store or on the street and wondered if that person could be her mother, a sibling or another relative.

While the Palmer resident celebrates her birthday on June 18, she isn't positive that is the day she was born. People comment on her Irish name, but she isn't sure if she has a drop of Irish blood.

And when doctors ask about her family's medical history, she has no answers.

The only thing O'Shea knows is she was abandoned in the women's room at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield on June 19, 1991. She was left with a bottle of milk, wearing a tiny T-shirt and wrapped in a yellow crib blanket when a hospital employee found her.

She was less than 10 days old and healthy. Her mother turned herself in about a week later, but police declined to press charges, so there was no record of her name. Articles from The Republican's archives confirm her mother was a Springfield teenager who gave birth at home. She was not charged.

"It is the one missing void," she said. "I have everything in my life now except for that one empty spot in my life that keeps coming up every once in a while."

O'Shea said she has a happy life and a wonderful family. She was first placed in foster care and adopted by the people she always considered her real parents at 3 months. She was raised in Monson but now lives in Palmer with her fiance, Joseph Turenne, and their children. She is a nursing student at Holyoke Community College.

She first looked up the articles about being found as an infant while in high school. Later she contacted Springfield Police Sgt. David McGibbon, but he and other officers involved in the case are now retired and didn't remember specifics about the long-ago discovery of the infant. She was told since charges were not filed, it is unlikely her mother's name was ever officially recorded.

So early Wednesday morning, O'Shea decided to turn to social media to see if she might be able to find her mother's name that way.

"It's crazy. I've gotten 3,000 shares (on Facebook) since then," she said. "I can't believe it went viral."

Typically O'Shea said she keeps things she posts on Facebook pretty private, sharing mostly with family and friends. She was shocked to be getting messages from people in California, Missouri and Florida, as well as a lot of strangers closer to home.

Many of the responses are just from people who are sharing her message. Others have encouraged her by telling their own stories about successful searches for their birth parents. Almost none have been negative, she said.

O'Shea's adoptive mother, Patricia Carr, gave her daughter her blessing to start the search. Her adoptive parents were divorced when she was 11.

"My mom is my mom and she will always be my mom," she said. "She has a great sense of humor about it. ... She knows I've been thinking about it for a long time and am curious about my birth mother."

O'Shea also has two siblings, a sister who is 22 and a brother who is 20. They were also adopted.

Part of her interest comes from becoming a mother herself. Her son, Chevy, is 3 and her daughter, Olivia, is 5 months old.

"It is different as a mother. When I look at my kids I can't imagine a day without them," O'Shea said. She would also like to be able to share more information about her medical history with her children.

The state's Baby Safe Haven law, which allows a parent to surrender an infant under 7 days old to a safe place such as a hospital or police station, was not enacted until 2004. O'Shea said she would like to know what circumstance led her own mother to leave her in a bathroom. She asks if her mother's parents knew she had given birth and questions if her biological father knew anything about her.

"Now that I'm a mother and have a wonderful family of my own, I truly understand the heartache and decisions you must've gone through. I don't resent you, or hate you, or hold anything against you. I guess, well, I'm just curious in a way," O'Shea wrote to her birth mother on Facebook.

She said she understands her mother may not respond. The most difficult thing would be to find out she has died.

O'Shea said she knows her mother could have a family and may have never told anyone about giving birth to a daughter in 1991. "I don't want to step on anyone's toes."

"I'm hoping she contacts me," she said. "I'm prepared for the worst but hoping for the best."

Even if her mother does not contact her, she is hoping someone else may know the circumstances of her birth and tell her.

People can send messages to O'Shea through her Facebook page.
SPRINGFIELD  Political candidates for state and local office were given an opportunity to speak to the Springfield community at a meet-and-greet held at the City Library on Wednesday evening.

From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., candidates hoping to secure a number of positions  including Hampden County Sheriff, U.S. Representative, State Representative, Governor's Councillor, and State Senate  met with community members to discuss ideas and address concerns.

Michael Jones, running for the position of state representative in the 11th Hampden district, said that he believed the surrounding community needed a brand new set of ideas  and that he hoped he could contribute to helping the city's youth by expanding educational programs and institutions.

Jones also highlighted his distinctive role as the only conservative currently running for the seat: "I, Michael Jones, am a true conservative Republican," Jones said with a smile.

Towards the other end of the political spectrum is Jeff Morneau, who is currently running for the role of Governor's Councillor, and who was present Wednesday evening.

Current president of the Hampden County Bar Association, Morneau calls himself a "progressive Democrat" and stands to the left on a number of issues  including supporting a woman's right to choose, marriage equality and "treatment over punishment" in cases of drug addiction and substance abuse.

Morneau also explained at the meet-and-greet that one of his biggest goals was to "make sure that we get the best judges we can on the bench" in Western Massachusetts. "If you get it wrong, you're going to get injustice. If you get it right, you're going to get justice. And it's one of the things that makes the biggest difference for the community," said Morneau.

Another competitive race is for Hampden County Sheriff, where five candidates are competing for office  including Democrats Mike Albano, Nick Cocchi, and Tom Ashe, and Republican John M. Comerford and non-party candidate James Gill.

Cocchi spoke with The Republican briefly, saying that he believed his extensive experience in law enforcement had prepared him for the position.

Cocchi, originally from Ludlow, has been the Deputy Chief of Security at the Hampden County Sheriff's Office since 2011.

"For the past 22 years I've been at the Sheriff's Department working from the ground up," said Cocchi. "I understand what it takes to take men and women from leg irons and handcuffs and to bring them back into the community less likely to be violent, less likely to be addicted and afflicted," he said.

Tom Ashe, Cocchi's competitor, was also present at the event. Ashe, who is currently a City Councilor, recently received the endorsement of Massachusetts Representative Joe Wagner, and has said that as Sheriff he would work to address the opioid crisis currently affecting Western Massachusetts.

While designed to allow candidates to speak with potential constituents, the meet-and-greet was also an opportunity for residents to register to vote, as well as to get informed about where their polling place is.

The event was scheduled to give community members the chance to get registered before the August 19th deadline for the September 8th primary.
A Williamsburg man who flew a Confederate flag in the wake of the 2015 Charleston church shooting is back in the news, this time for placing portable toilets and a Donald Trump statue along the edge of his neighbor's driveway.

Chris Duval of 15-17 Hyde Hill Road is proprietor of CRD Metalworks, a Northampton firm that makes industrial firewood splitters. Henrietta Wallace, a retired physician, lives next door to Duval and her driveway crosses his property via an easement.

The town's Board of Health met Aug. 1 to hear complaints from a group of residents about the porta-potties, as well as complaints that a septic system on Duval's property is illegal. Four days later, the board ruled at a sparsely attended meeting that the potties violate no laws, and deemed the conflict "a civil matter."

Valerie Bird, health agent for Williamsburg, conducted a site visit Aug. 1. "The doors were screwed shut, and no chemicals are being used," she said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "They're not toilets."

A local ordinance prohibits portable toilets from being within 30 feet of a roadway.

However, the board's decision last Friday is not an open-and-shut case, due to an apparent procedural error on the part of Board of Health Chairwoman Donna Gibson. No agenda was posted for the Aug. 5 meeting, Gibson admitted in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Because of that, the matter will be discussed again in an open public session Aug. 22, and another vote will be taken, said Gibson.

Residents had complained that they didn't know about the Aug. 5 meeting, even though Gibson initially claimed it had been properly posted.

Attorney Alan Seewald, who represents Wallace, said he hadn't known about the special Aug. 5 meeting and blasted the Board of Health at its regular Aug. 8 meeting, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The board told residents Aug. 1 that the matter would be continued until Monday. After the crowd left, the board scheduled the Friday meeting, where the vote was taken. When residents showed up again on Aug. 8, they were surprised to learn the matter had been resolved, the Gazette reported.

"They just snuck an extra meeting so our eyes would not be on them," Seewald said. "It's outrageous."

Gibson told Seewald that if he had stayed until the end on Aug. 1, he would have learned about the meeting on Aug. 5. Gibson admitted her procedural error to Seewald in an email earlier this week.

"It has been brought to my attention that when I emailed our town clerk on Aug. 3 to post the Board of Health meeting for Aug. 5, 2016, I neglected to include the agenda," Gibson wrote. "That was an inadvertent omission."

"Please inform your client of the new meeting date and please accept my apologies for this oversight," Gibson wrote to Seewald.

As for Duval's septic system, Bird said Wednesday she recently approved a plan for a new system at Duval's home, and that he has two years to build it. However, she said she has no information about the integrity or legality of Duval's current system.

"I have no idea," she said, when asked if Duval's septic system is functional and properly permitted. "We don't always go out and inspect older septic systems."

Formal complaints and emailed letters regarding the porta-potties and septic system had been filed with the board by Wallace, a handful of other residents and by Keith Harmon Snow, another neighbor to Duval on Hyde Hill Road.

"The porta-potties were put there as retaliation against Dr. Wallace," said Snow in an email to The Republican, which cited a litany of complaints against Duval, the Board of Health and the local news media. Snow claimed Duval built his existing septic system with no permits, and that system had failed. Snow said Duval "screamed at the Board of Health and everyone in the room" at the Aug. 1 meeting.

Duval on Wednesday said that his current septic system never failed, and that his application for a new plan is voluntary and designed to add value to his property.

History of Conflict

There is a history of conflict between Duval and Wallace, his closest neighbor.

Last year lawyers for the two parties reached a settlement where Duval would stop shooting guns at his facility on Hyde Hill Road except in self-defense. Duval and his employees used to target shoot behind the former CRD Metalworks building, and the bullets would cross Wallace's property, records show and Duval has said.

Also last year, Wallace took issue with "huge plumes of smoke coming from Mr. Duval's outdoor hydronic wood-burning heater" and contacted Bird, who initially declined to investigate, Wallace said in an email to The Republican. Wallace pursued the issue, and in November the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection fined Duval $5,000 for air quality violations, and fined the Michigan company that installed the heater $5,750, records show.

Last August the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals denied Duval a special permit to continue operating CRD Metalworks next to his home on Hyde Hill Road, citing numerous zoning violations. Duval has since moved his manufacturing business to the Leeds section of Northampton.

Duval was a regular presence at a string of heated public hearings regarding an outdoor shooting area off Village Hill Road. The use of heavy weapons at that site, owned by the Hodgkins family, last year was heavily curtailed by the Zoning Board.

The two issues before town boards had been spearheaded by Snow, but involved dozens of Williamsburg residents who objected to the use of semi-automatic weapons at the shooting area and with Duval's apparent disregard for the zoning code.

"I have endured attacks from the town and its citizens," said Duval when asked why he placed the toilets and Trump statue next to Wallace's driveway. "We were wounded. This is our scab. Eventually, it will heal and fall off. But if they keep picking at it, it will become a permanent scar."

Duval said he is "an inventive guy" and crafted his message to be within the law. "My daughter and her friend decorated the porta-potties with spray paint," he said. "They had a great time."

"We're proud of our accomplishments," Duval continued. "We have about a dozen employees at our new location, all local vocational school graduates, and business is flourishing. Better than it's ever been. Right now, we need to be left alone."

Last July, Duval drew attention when he displayed Confederate battle flags at the Hyde Hill Road complex days after a white man opened fire in a historically black South Carolina church, killing nine people. Duval at the time said the flags were merely decorations and that he is not racist.

Duval said Wallace, whose house sits on an oddly shaped lot, has 200 feet of frontage further down Hyde Hill Road. "She should just build a new driveway," he said.

Efforts to reach Seewald Wednesday were not successful.
WORCESTER -- Vanessa Marcotte left her mother's house in Princeton -- a quiet, rural town of 3,500 residents in Central Massachusetts -- for a run last Sunday afternoon and never came back. Marcotte, who was running alone, was the victim of a brutal murder that investigators are working around the clock to solve.

Reeling from her tragic death, runners in Massachusetts must now face a new reality, one in which ideas about what constitutes safe running practices need to be reconsidered.

Marcotte's death happened under similar circumstances to Karina Vetrano, who was killed in Queens, N.Y. while also jogging alone in a secluded area.

Should runners return to their favorite trails, parks and city streets and risk serious danger? What adjustments should be made to help ensure their safety?

Stephen Laska, president of the Central Mass Striders, a group of more than 700 joggers, said the response by the community to the tragedy has been to keep running.

"The overwhelming feeling is, 'Hell no, I'm not going to stop!' Laska said.

However, just because his group of runners is not going to stop, idoes not mean that the thought of what happened to Marcotte and Vetrano has not changed the way they run.

Over email and online chatrooms, Laska said members have already started organizing more group runs, and shifting routes to more public areas.

Samantha Butera, 28, is a resident of Northborough, a town that is currently searching for a man that assaulted a Northborough jogger, and she said the recent attacks have shifted her running

She no longer runs on a mile stretch of land without houses, despite it's serene beauty.

"I stopped running there because of those attacks. Other attacks that result in deaths will affirm my decision to run in public places and during times when people are around," Butera said.

The threat of assault had always been in the back of her mind, but these tragedies have brought those thoughts to the forefront.

"I've always felt some level of stress running as a woman, because we've been taught that we're at risk," Butera said. "Certainly this takes joy out of the hobby, I wish I could run for miles without worry. But I still get plenty of joy, otherwise I wouldn't to it."

Laska has noticed more talk in the running community about carrying pepper spray, mace, scratching devices that can extract DNA evidence from attackers, and other non-lethal defenses to would-be assailants.

"I would venture to say that there is a run of pepper spray at the sporting good stores," Laska said.

The last thing he has heard, however, is an increase in members purchasing guns. Handguns, he said, are one of the worst things someone can bring on a run.

"The two do not go together, and not for philosophical issues, but because a handgun is a heavy object that is a pain to run with," Laska said. "Gun ownership does not go up. Carrying a gun while running is going to be practically impossible."

Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League, which provides gun training, said women are the fastest growing demographic of gun owners, and that several factors can lead to spikes of gun purchases, but he does not think the murders of Marcotte and Vetrano will contribute to that.

The sorts of tragedies that do attract female gun owners are storms.

"The fastest growing demographic has been women, and a lot of that came from the storms," Wallace said. "Because they realized that you could be in a natural disaster situation, and even if you could call the police they may not get to you."

He said the best thing men and women can do while jogging is refuse to be a victim.

Both Laska and Wallace suggested running in groups, planning a route so friends and family know when and where it will take place, and setting earbuds to a low volume if they're being used.

"And running is just a part of it. In Princeton, there are a number of people who go hiking and biking. It's not just running, it's people that want to go out and enjoy life that need to be careful," Laska said.

Michele Powers, Princeton's police chief, echoing their advice, said to travel in public areas, avoid headphones if possible and run in groups.

As a runner, Powers said even she can do a better job staying safe during runs.

"The being aware of your surroundings seems obvious but I know when I'm running, sometimes my focus is not always on looking out around me," Powers said.

Ruth Bergstrom, a Princeton resident who attended the vigil for Vanessa Marcotte Tuesday night, was teary-eyed as she talked about the safety of her daughter, who jogged the same path as Marcotte.

"She's 23, and she doesn't ever want to run again," Bergstrom said. "It's too nerve-racking."
Ukraine's Justice Ministry has initiated the creation of a group to combat illegal seizures jointly with the police, amendments to legislation and launches a new service  SMS messages about changes in the companies or property registers.

"Based on the work of the commission [that discussed claims against actions of public registrars] we have analyzed the most frequent cases and schemes they [illegal seizers] use and proposed legal changes to remove any risks of attempts to seize property," First Deputy Justice Minister Natalia Sevostianova said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Deputy Justice Minister for registration Pavlo Moroz also said that the ministry has drawn up mechanisms for effective fight against illegal seizures.

"If an illegal seizure happens, the first instance where to address to is the National Police We have drawn up a draft and it will be signed soon. This is a draft memorandum with the National Police and the Interior Ministry. We want to create a joint group that would effectively and instantly react to any illegal seizures in the country," he said.

Commenting on legislative initiatives in the area of strengthening combat against illegal seizures, Moroz said that this concerns receiving an ownership right certificate on paper to avoid a new registration action without it. The Justice Ministry proposes equaling the rights of notaries with other public registrars. The exterritoriality principle would be in effect for registration of new business, while changes to the register can be done only within one region.

Moroz said that punishment of applicants and public registrars should be toughened.

"As soon as punishment of applicants and public registrars is toughened and first cases of arrests of illegal seizures are recorded, illegal seizures in our country would come to null," Moroz said.

The amendments will be discussed by the working group. The bill will be drafted by late August.

Sevostianova said that from September, the Justice Ministry introduces a new service - SMS messages about changes in the companies or property registers.

"From September we offer a new service that would be available for those who want to receive it. These are SMS messages on any changes in the register concerning business or property. This would help to quickly react if something happens with property, or you see that someone makes changes to the register and at once address the law-enforcement services to open criminal cases and to the commission of the Justice Ministry to quickly annul the changes," she said.
PRINCETON - State police were back out searching the woods where Vanessa Marcotte's body was found Thursday morning - more than 72 hours after the body of the slain jogger was discovered.

Authorities continue to investigate the death of the 27-year-old New York City woman who was out for a jog on Brooks Station Road on Sunday afternoon when she went missing. Her body was found by a state police K-9 unit around 8:30 p.m. about a half mile from her mother's home that she'd been visiting.

On Thursday morning, eight state police cruisers lined Brooks Station Road near where Marcotte's body was discovered, burned and reportedly naked, in the woods. Crews could be seen working their way through the wooded area, but declined comment on what they were searching for.

Tim Connolly, spokesman for the Worcester County District Attorney's office, said the search was part of the continuing investigation and declined to comment further.

Connolly said there was no additional update on the investigation Thursday morning.

On Tuesday, investigators said they were investigating hundreds of tips received since the jogger's death.

Police continue to ask for the public's help to call in any tips. They specifically asked that those who may have been in the Brooks Station Road area from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday contact authorities by calling the anonymous tip line at 508-453-7589.

The town of roughly 3,400 continued to be shocked by the death of Marcotte. On Tuesday evening hundreds attended a vigil for Marcotte. Authorities continue to advise residents of the area to be vigilant and use caution.
St. Vincent Hospital.jpeg

(MassLive)

The Massachusetts state Department of Public Health is continuing their investigation regarding a patient that had their kidney removed at Worcester's St. Vincent Hospital, even though they did not need the procedure.

"We are aware of this serious allegation, and are investigating in line with our state and federal authority," Scott Zoback, spokesman for the state Department of Health, said via email Wednesday.

Today, St. Vincent Hospital released a statement claiming that an outside physician had called for the procedure to be done. Apparently, the procedure the physician called for was incorrect and unnecessary.

"This is a deeply unfortunate situation involving a patient misidentification that took place outside of our hospital and did not involve our employees," the statement reads.

The physician scheduled the surgery at St. Vincent, and according to the hospital spokesperson, the hospital followed all of the proper protocols to prepare and perform the surgery.

"Saint Vincent Hospital is committed to providing safe, high-quality care to every patient who enters our doors. We are saddened that this incident occurred and our leadership continues to assure the individual receives the support and care needed," St. Vincent spokesperson Erica Noonan said.
Did the Secret Service interview Donald Trump's campaign because the candidate appeared to encourage violence against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton or federal judges she might appoint as president?

That was a question being asked on Wednesday, the day after the bombastic businessman once again got himself into trouble with one of his semi-intelligible utterances. And while there were conflicting reports, what mattered was that the question could be asked at all.

The Secret Service, which has enough work to do protecting presidential candidates, ought not be having to worry that statements from the candidates themselves could incite others to violence.

Speaking on Tuesday at an event in Wilmington, N.C., Trump repeated his assertion that Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment, and then said: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks."

As the crowd began to boo, he continued: "Although the Second Amendment people -maybe there is, I don't know."

Because the reality TV star often speaks in incomplete sentences, instead skipping like a sugared-up third-grader from here to there to who knows where, it can be difficult to discern his meaning.

A look at the statement demonstrates clearly Trump's thought process.

He said at the top: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks."

The statement is conditional. She'd be able to pick "her judges" only if she were to be elected president. The next words he spoke: "Although the Second Amendment people - maybe there is, I don't know."

It's impossible to interpret this as an effort to mobilize those who support gun rights to come to the ballot box to defeat Clinton. He's been talking about a time past that, a time when Clinton has already been elected and is choosing federal judges.

It's a dog whistle. Sadly, frighteningly, some of those who were intended to hear it, and to take it as a call to arms, might well have heard it, and could take it that way. It's the sort of statement that no one should make. But least of all someone aspiring to be president of these United States.
Andrea Harrington

Andrea Harrington, candidate for state Senate in Berkshire County, has won the endorsement of union groups.

(Campaign Photos)

Democrat Andrea Harrington has picked up another labor union endorsement in the race for state Senate in the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District. The Berkshire Building Trades Council, with its 15 construction unions and 7,500 members, threw its weight behind Harrington Wednesday.

Council president Tim Craw said Harrington "will ensure that the voices of working families in Western Mass are heard and our communities are represented." He said losing the representation of Sen. Ben Downing, D-Pittsfield, is a "major loss" and that Harrington "is ready to fight for our region on day one."

"I was taught that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should have access to great education, good career pathways, and limitless opportunity," said Harrington in a statement. "I will make job creation and economic growth in Western Massachusetts my top priorities as your State Senator."

Downing, who held the seat for 10 years, announced in January he would not run again.

Harrington has also won the endorsement of the Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists, of SEIU Local 888, and the Carpenters Union Local 108.

Harrington is a lawyer, and she and her husband own the Public Market in West Stockbridge. Harrington grew up in Richmond where she now lives with her family.

Other Democrats on the Sept. 8 primary ballot are Pittsfield non-profit director Adam Hinds and Pittsfield lawyer Vincent Del Gallo. Hinds this week announced the endorsement of Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan.

The winner in the Democratic primary will face Christine Canning, a Republican, in the Nov. 8 election.
Massachusetts' entire congressional delegation and 19 Massachusetts mayors have come out in support of Attorney General Maura Healey's interpretation of the state's assault weapons ban.

"This is a common sense step to not create a new law but enforce a law that's been on the books for many years to make sure we don't have military style assault weapons in the hands of people in our streets and in our communities," said Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse.

The campaign of public support for Healey, a Democrat, comes after gun owners protested her interpretation, and as a national gun rights group said it is planning to file a lawsuit against Healey. In the face of criticism, Healey has said she will enforce the ban.

Since the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004, Massachusetts has relied on state law to ban the sale of assault weapons and copies or duplicates of assault weapons. Responding to a spate of mass shootings nationally, Healey, a Democrat, announced on July 20 that she would expand the definition of a "copy" to include guns with operating systems that are the same as in banned weapons or that have components that are interchangeable with those in banned weapons.

An estimated 10,000 "copycat" assault weapons were sold last year in Massachusetts, according to Healey's office.

Healey says she is interpreting existing law to close a loophole that allowed manufacturers to sell guns that were essentially assault weapons with only small modifications. But opponents have charged her with going around the Legislature to write a new law. Some gun dealers have said they did not receive official notification of the ban until the day after it went into effect. Gun owners worry that the law turns them into felons retroactively. Healey has said she is focused on working with gun dealers to come into compliance, and she will not prosecute anyone who bought a gun before July 20.

Since the announcement, Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, and some key Democratic lawmakers have asked Healey to further clarify the law, have criticized her lack of public engagement or have questioned her authority to interpret the law that way.

In response, others have been coming out to support Healey - including five former Democratic attorneys general, the Massachusetts Medical Society and now the members of Congress and some mayors.

Massachusetts U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and all nine Massachusetts members of Congress, all Democrats, wrote a letter to the editor to the Boston Globe announcing their support for Healey.

"Maura Healey is not creating new laws," the members of Congress wrote. "She is enforcing a law the state legislature put on the books nearly 20 years ago to protect our communities from gun violence. And as Attorney General, she has that authority and responsibility.... Healey's leadership is making our communities safer."

The statement of support from the mayors was signed by 19 mayors, including Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Mayors from Western Massachusetts included Morse, Richard Alcombright of North Adams, David Narkewicz of Northampton, Joseph Petty of Worcester, and Linda Tyer of Pittsfield. All are Democrats.

"The Commonwealth has had an assault weapons ban on the books for a long time. But for the law to work, it should be more than words on a page, it should actually ban assault weapons," the mayors wrote. "We know that some residents oppose any restrictions on guns. Many more people, including gun owners, believe that sensible limits make our streets, our schools, our parks, and our workplaces that much safer. We wholeheartedly agree and offer the Attorney General our full support."

Alcombright said in a conference call with reporters that although North Adams is small, shootings happen everywhere. He pointed to the 2012 mass school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. "We worry about things no less than other folks worry in much larger urban communities," Alcombright said.

Opponents of the ban point to 2014 FBI data showing that not a single homicide that year was known to be committed with a rifle in Massachusetts. There were 33 homicides by handguns and 48 by unknown firearms.

Morse said that data is "not the point," and Massachusetts should be proactive in preventing gun violence. "It's another opportunity for Massachusetts to lead, to take action before something does happen and we look back and say if only we had taken action, if only we had courage to stand up and enforce something that's already on the books," Morse said.

Newton Mayor Setti Warren, an Iraq War veteran and Democrat who organized the effort by the mayors, said he carried an assault rifle in the military. "These types of weapons do not belong in any of our streets in Massachusetts," Warren said. He pointed to mass shootings in Orlando and Connecticut and the recent shooting of police officers in Dallas as evidence of the damage that assault weapons can cause. "These types of weapons can cause great destruction, death and harm to our citizens and residents," Warren said.

Several of the mayors said they would prefer to see gun control implemented by Congress nationally. Today, many guns used in crimes in Massachusetts come from other states. But they said if the federal government does not act, it is up to states to act.
DEM 2016 Philadelphia

Demonstrators make their way around downtown, Monday, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, during the first day of the Democratic National Convention. On Sunday, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., announced she would step down as DNC chairwoman at the end of the party's convention, after some of the 19,000 emails, presumably stolen from the DNC by hackers, were posted to the website Wikileaks. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

(John Minchillo)

An investigation into the alleged Russian-backed cyberattack targeting Democrats has found that the hack breached more than 100 party leaders and groups' private email accounts, officials said this week.

The attack, which has already had political ramifications, appears to have extended beyond its apparent main targets -- Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign, party operatives and groups -- to other organizations, the New York Times reported.

The FBI, in response to the widened scope, has broadened its investigation and agents have reportedly begun notifying Democratic officials whose accounts may have been affected, according to the newspaper.

Agency officials have also briefed U.S. House and Senate Intelligence Committee staff members on the investigation into the Democratic National Committee email and document thefts -- meetings which the New York Times reported focused on American intelligence agencies' strong belief that the Russian government was behind the hack.

Despite certainty over who likely launched the cyberattack, U.S. authorities are uncertain as to whether it came as part of routine espionage or an effort to impact the 2016 presidential election, the newspaper reported.

Just prior to the start of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last month, WikiLeaks posted emails suggesting that the party favored Clinton over primary opponent Bernie Sanders.

The leaked emails enraged Sanders supporters and sparked protests at the Democratic gathering, as well as prompted DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's resignation.

Clinton's campaign, in response to the WikiLeaks post, contended that the Russian government, which was linked to a June hack of DNC computers, committed the attack to help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to the Associated Press.

Trump, who has exchanged praise with Russian President Vladimir Putin, dismissed the claims as a joke.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has openly opposed Clinton's presidential run, hinting he has more material that could be released, the New York Times reported.

WikiLeaks offered a $20,000 reward this week for information into the shooting of former DNC staffer Seth Rich, whose death has sparked Internet speculation that he was tied to the hacked emails.

ANNOUNCE: WikiLeaks has decided to issue a US$20k reward for information leading to conviction for the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich.  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 9, 2016

The group said the reward "should not be taken to imply that Seth Rich was a source to Wikileaks or to imply that his murder is connected to our publications," it wrote.

WikiLeaks noted that, as a policy, it does not confirm or deny whether anyone has ever been a source.

UPDATED AT 10:30 P.M.  Despite reports that the Democratic Governors' Association was impacted by the cyber attack, DGA Spokesman Corey Platt said the group was informed that its "analytics data was not compromised as part of the DNC breach that affected the Clinton campaign."
SPRINGFIELD  Although U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, will not face an opponent in next month's primary election, a local man is planning to challenge the longtime congressman in November.

Fritz Mayock

Fritz Mayock, 40, of Springfield, plans to publicly kick off his independent bid for the state's 1st Congressional District during a Thursday night event outside the city's Center Square, campaign officials have announced.

The campaign launch will take place at 6 p.m. near the corner of Main and Bridge streets. The event may be moved inside Center Square pending weather.

Mayock, who his campaign characterized as "an advocate for the poor and middle class," said on Facebook that he's looking to provide an alternative to Neal, who has represented Western Massachusetts in Congress for more than two decades.

"When voting for our federal congressman, we only have one choice: Richard Neal," he wrote. "Let's make it two choices."

Mayock previously filed paperwork to run for the 1st Congressional District seat in 2014, according to Federal Election Commission data.

The candidate works at the Children's Study home in Springfield as a math teacher and at the Center for Human Development in Chicopee as a direct care provider, according to his campaign.

Aside from Mayock, Neal could also face a challenge from Libertarian Thom Simmons, a Greenfield Community College professor who is also waging a 1st Congressional District bid, according to FEC data.

Non-party candidates looking to make the ballot in November were required to hand in voter signatures for local certification by Aug. 2, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin's office said. They have until Aug. 30 to hand in certified signatures to the state.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Neal was the only candidate to have been certified to the ballot in the 1st Congressional District, according to Galvin's office.

Massachusetts will hold its state primary election on Thursday, Sept. 8 -- two months before the November general election.
Hurley Morneau debate in Holyoke

Democrats Mary Hurley and Jeff Morneau, candidates for 8th District Governor's Council, debated in Holyoke on Aug. 10, 2016.

(Mary Serreze photo)

HOLYOKE -- In a Wednesday night debate between two Democratic candidates for 8th District Governor's Council, Springfield lawyer Jeff Morneau lobbed accusations against retired Chicopee District Court First Justice Mary Hurley, who in turn charged that his criticism was fabricated.

Morneau said Hurley worked to have an African-American prosecutor fired, has a "lock 'em up and throw away the key" attitude, is against commutations and pardons, and willfully refuses to release her personnel files from 19 years on the bench. What's more, Morneau added, Hurley refused to debate him in Greenfield on July 19.

Hurley dismissed the charges as "absolute falsehoods" adding that her "reputation as a mayor, judge, and lawyer has been sterling."

"I stand by my comments," said Morneau.

The debate, sponsored by the Massachusetts Latino Democratic Caucus, was moderated by former Holyoke City Councilor Anthony Soto. Panelists were Elizabeth Roman, reporter for The Republican; Manuel Frau-Ramo, editor of El Sol Latino; and Natalia Munoz, talk show host on WHMP radio.

The Governor's Council provides advice and consent on gubernatorial appointments, including judges, clerk-magistrates and parole board members. Among other duties, the panel considers pardons and commutations for criminals.

In addition to being a retired judge, Hurley is former Mayor of Springfield. Morneau is president of the Hampden County Bar Association and partner in Connor, Morneau & Olin, a firm which specializes in consumer and labor law.

A question from Soto about how judges should deal with the opioid crisis resulted in a testy exchange. Hurley said non-violent drug users should be treated differently than dealers, and that more treatment beds are needed. She called for special drug courts and said "a new day is dawning" in approaching the problem.

Morneau agreed that too many drug offenders are in jail, and said that blacks and Latinos are over-incarcerated. He then suggested that Hurley is part of the problem because she served as a judge during a time when "lock 'em up and throw away the key" was the norm. He said the approach has not deterred drug addiction or kept communities safe.

"I never locked 'em up and threw away the key," Hurley responded. "I gave second, third, and fourth chances for people to turn their lives around. That's the kind of judge I was and that's the type of judge I want to see on the bench."

Hurley opposes pardons for reformed criminals, Morneau continued: "As many people know, my opponent has taken the position that it would be a 'cold day in hell' before she granted a pardon or commutation. This is a problem, for many reasons. What you need to do in a pardon or commutation is look at all of the facts."

Hurley hit back, saying her 'cold day in hell' comment had referred exclusively to actor Mark Wahlberg, who in 2014 sought a pardon so he could have his name on a Boston liquor license.

"Mark Wahlberg beat up a 12-year-old African American boy," said Hurley. "...He beat up two Boston Vietnam immigrants. He spent a total of 45 days in jail. He never gave it a second thought. He went on to become a movie star. Okay? I vetted his case. I was incensed by it then, and I'm incensed by it now. For Mark Wahlberg it will be cold day in hell before I would ever vote (to pardon) him."

In response to a question about racial justice, Morneau said there is a "disappointing lack of diversity on the bench" and that the issue marks "a difference between me and my opponent."

Morneau charged that Hurley was "part of a committee that got rid of" an African-American prosecutor in 2014. The black man was fired by Hampden District Anthony D. Gulluni's transition team, on which Hurley sat, said Morneau.

Hurley retorted that the decision was made personally by Gullini, and that the man's tenure never came before the transition team. "We never discussed that individual," said Hurley. "And you are wrong about my position. I have said we need more blacks, Latinos, Asians, and women on the bench... I support the LGBTQ community on the bench... Let's not make any more mistakes on that, Jeff."

Munoz queried Morneau, saying he had "made allegations about Hurley that were not true" when he accused her in the press of dodging a July 19 Greenfield debate. "If these allegations are proven to be wrong, what does that say about your campaign?"

The debate in question had been scheduled by Morneau's then-campaign manager Karen Lee who never informed Hurley of the event, The Republican and the Greenfield Recorder independently reported last month.

Morneau stuck to his guns, saying Hurley had known about the debate "at the end of June." Hurley repeated that she only learned about the event with days to spare, and was not available on that night.

Morneau renewed his call for Hurley to release evaluations she received during her tenure as a judge, charging that she had been "demoted and transferred."

Hurley said that according to state law, the evaluations are not hers to release. "Is he asking me to violate the law? I haven't done that in 66 years and I'm not about to start now." She said she had obtained an independent legal opinion on the matter.

Hurley denied that she had ever been "demoted." She said that as she neared her 2014 retirement, she "begged" to step down from her top role in the Chicopee court to become an associate justice, serving in courthouses across western Massachusetts. She said being First Justice had become stressful after the courthouse lost its one-week-per-month jury judge. "I was doing the jury sessions and the regular sessions," she said.

Hurley said one reason she is running is to fill such judicial vacancies, particularly in the western counties. "Justice delayed is justice denied," she said.

Morneau noted that Gov. Charlie Baker is in the position of appointing five judges to the state's supreme court, with three already in the pipeline, and two to go.

"I didn't run to fill positions, I ran because judges make a difference in communities and with every individual who comes before them," Morneau said. "I want to make a difference.... I want to make sure Governor Baker gets it right, for us, our children and generations to come."

In response to an audience question, Morneau said he had not taken a matter to trial in the past two years, and said his work instead has focused on mediation, arbitration, negotiations, and administrative appeals.

Both expressed admiration for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayer, who recently issued a fiery dissent in Utah v. Strieff, a Fourth Amendment case about racial profiling in police searches.

The two will compete in the Sept. 8 state primary. There is no Republican candidate. Current governor's councilor Michael Albano is running for Hampden County Sheriff.
Geoff Diehl.jpeg

State Rep. Geoff Diehl speaking outside the State House in Boston.

(Garrett Quinn, MassLive)

BOSTON  State Democratic Party leaders called on Donald Trump's Massachusetts campaign co-chair Thursday to disavow the Republican presidential nominee.

Contending that the billionaire businessman's rhetoric has "no place in American political discourse," Massachusetts Democratic Party Executive Director Jay Cincotti urged state Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, to step down from his position with Trump's campaign.

Diehl, however, said he has no plans to stop serving as the Republican presidential nominee's Massachusetts campaign co-chair and accused the state party of looking to distract from Hillary Clinton's record.

Cincotti, who asked Diehl to exit the campaign shortly following Trump's controversial remarks on "Second Amendment people" and President Barack Obama, said "it is inconceivable that anyone can support a candidate like" the GOP nominee.

Arguing that the businessman's "entire campaign is based on misogynistic, divisive speech that promotes violence and hate," the Massachusetts Democratic Party executive director said if Diehl remains the campaign's state co-chair then he's condoning such rhetoric.

"On behalf of a commonwealth that values inclusiveness and tolerance, the Massachusetts Democratic Party calls on Rep. Diehl to condemn Trump's remarks and disavow himself from Trump's campaign," he said in a statement. "Trump's politics have no place in the American political discourse."

Diehl, in turn, took aim at Clinton's record, pointing to scandals the Democratic presidential nominee has faced over her use of a private email server as secretary of state and handling of a 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The Whitman Republican further called the Massachusetts Democratic Party's suggestion that he step down "a ridiculous political stunt."

"The fact of matter is, because their candidate clearly is so flawed, they're doing everything and anything to distract from her campaign and lack of message," he said in an interview, adding that he wasn't surprised by the move, especially when polls suggest a tight race between Clinton and Trump.

Diehl also defended Trump against pushback the businessman has received after calling Obama the "founder of ISIS," arguing that Clinton and the Obama Administration's decision to withdraw troops from the Middle East left the region unstable and allowed for groups like ISIS to emerge.

The Whitman Republican, meanwhile, said to suggest that Trump's statement regarding "Second Amendment people's" ability to stop Clinton's judicial nominations was about anything but voting power "is clearly politics and nothing more."
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Volodymyr Yelchenko has held an urgent briefing on the situation around Crimea after statements declared by Russian security forces and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hromadske TV has informed.

"The issue of the convening the UN Security Council is being considered ... As soon as it is needed, we will immediately execute it," Hromadske quoted Yelchenko.

"We are ready for the convening of the Security Council even at the night time, when its necessary, Yelchenko said

The Ukrainian repesentative to the United Nations drew parallels between the current situation and that of August 2008, when Russia invaded Georgia.

According to Yelchenko, Putin's statements on fatuity of holding additional meetings in the Norman format sound rather dangerous.

"The suggested meeting for September in the Norman format was a very useful idea," Yelchenko said.
David Ortiz,John Farrell,Hanley Ramirez

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is helped off the field by Red Sox physical therapist Adam Thomas, right, and manager John Farrell, left, as Hanley Ramirez, far left, looks on after Ortiz fouled a ball off himself during the ninth inning of their 9-4 loss to the New York Yankees in a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

(Winslow Townson)

BOSTON - Less than 24 hours after Dravid Ortiz limped off the field after fouling a ball off his right shin, the designated hitter is back in the lineup.

Though x-rays came back negative on Wednesday night, the club said it would re-evaluate Ortiz on Thursday.

Mookie Betts, however, will sit after exiting Wednesday's game with right calf tightness.

Eduardo Rodriguez takes the mound against Yankees righthander Michael Pineda. Steven Wright had been slated to start but was scratched Wednesday with shoulder inflammation after diving back to the bag in Los Angeles.

Rodriguez allowed three runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings in his last start against the Dodgers.

RED SOX

Dustin Pedroia 2B

Xander Bogaerts SS

David Ortiz DH

Hanley Ramirez 1B

Jackie Bradley Jr. CF

Travis Shaw 3B

Brock Holt RF

Sandy Leon C

Andrew Benintendi LF

Follow MassLive.com Red Sox beat reporter @jcmccaffrey on Twitter. She can be reached by email at jmccaffr@masslive.com.
Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop and East Longmeadow native Nick Ahmed will not travel with the team as the National League club visits Fenway Park for a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox this coming weekend.

Ahmed, on the disabled list since July 23 with a right hip impingement, visited with Dr. Bryan Kelly in New York on Tuesday, with the Diamondbacks in town for a series against the New York Mets. Kelly, an orthopedic surgeon considered one of the best for hip injuries, confirmed the original hip impingement diagnosis.

Ahmed, who is now rehabbing at home in Phoenix, said that both he and the Diamondbacks looked for the second opinion from the well-regarded physician because they "wanted to make sure we were taking the best course of action."

"He said the same kind of stuff, but wasn't as optimistic that (cortisone) injections will help," Ahmed said. "He thought it'd be better with surgery, but we're doing our best to avoid that. I'm hoping to come back this year and help the team."

Ahmed received his second cortisone shot on Wednesday and hopes to get back towards fielding drills in about 10 days.

The rehab is similar to the work Ahmed regularly does for hip mobility, but "it's a structural issue. I want to try to keep everything else strong around it," Ahmed said. "I was originally hoping (to be back) for the end of the 15 days. With the (second) cortisone shot, I'm hoping for another 10 days and then to see how it goes from there."

Ahmed worked out at Fenway Park once in college, but has not had the opportunity to play at the MLB stadium closest to East Longmeadow during his professional career. As a National League club, the Diamondbacks don't regularly play the Red Sox.

"I was definitely looking forward to it," Ahmed said. "I was looking forward to it and friends and family were looking to go. Hopefully there will be another time."

Ahmed's first trip to the disabled list in his career has not been an enjoyable experience, but he's trying to find the positivity in it all.

"It's been quite frustrating, I'm a guy who has prided himself on taking care of his body, being on the field. Watching games on TV is not fun, not travelling with them is not ideal," Ahmed said. "I'm trying to enjoy the positives, being home with my wife and (newborn) son. I'm trying to learn from it and get better for it."

The Red Sox and Diamondbacks begin their series on Friday at 7:10 p.m.

You can follow Mark C. Volain on Twitter and like him on Facebook.








WOW's Legion expansion is fast approaching: set to be rolled out at the end of the month, Legion is preceded by a patch which essentially sets the stage for the sweeping changes that it will usher in. This patch brought many tweaks, and apparently, among these tweaks, the developers found it worth their while to slip in a little bit of a nod to Destiny, in the shape of what some would call an Easter Egg. The said Easter Egg is a newly introduced vendor by the name of Xur'los. That name by itself should be a clue to those in the know, but the items the said vendor is selling are clean giveaways: We have Gjallar's Horn, Krota's Shield and Ingram's puzzle, not to mention the Mote of Light. Most of these items can be bought for 50 Curious Coins, with some exceptions.





Now, players who know Destiny, understand all the references that the above weapons/items entail. Gjallar's Horn for instance is a reference to the Gjallarhorn weapon from Destiny. WOW's version of the weapon only works outside, on the Broken Isles and it cannot target players. It does however unleash a rocket, dealing fire damage. It features a cool-down of one hour, so one shouldn't really be looking to fire hails of such rockets with it.





These items require players to be at least level 110 though. Xur'los is located in Dalaran, between Antonidas Memorial and the Banks of Dalaran.





As said above, Xur'los only accepts Curious Coins as payment. These coins are dropped randomly, and so far, players have located five sources for it. Working up 150 of these coins for a unique mount can indeed be quite a task, but for those doing it, it will probably be well worth it.





Philip Thalberg has been doing eSports news and event coverage since 2004.
Expressing frustration over the Missoula Economic Partnerships http://www.missoulapartnership.com/ perceived lack of communication, the City Council on Wednesday voted to reduce funding to the organization and implement new reporting requirements in a pending new contract.

During Wednesdays budgeting session, the council reduced the citys contribution to MEP from $100,000 to just $25,000, citing frustration over what several members view as a general lack of communication.

By Martin Kidston

Full Story: http://www.missoulacurrent.com/government/2016/08/city-council-moves-cut-funding-mep-communication-frustrations/

***

Missoula City Council budget committee votes to cut funding to Missoula Economic Partnership by 75 percent

We have traditionally had more updates from MEP, von Lossberg said. And weve gotten away from that. I dont think that serves us well.

DAVID ERICKSON [email protected]

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/local/city-budget-committee-votes-to-cut-funding-to-missoula-economic/article_bd30d5c7-bca6-5f61-ac81-02c78e920cdc.html

***

Economic goals to help Missoula grow in next 5 years http://www.matr.net/article-72727.html

Missoula Economic Partnership looks to the next five years http://www.matr.net/article-71511.html

How would you prioritize Missoulas economic development goals? http://www.matr.net/article-67980.html

Missoula Economic Partnership: "Three phase power" can help citys economy http://www.matr.net/article-67264.html

JAMES GRUNKE: Research is key to growth in Montana http://www.matr.net/article-60376.html
In case you didnt know, Friday is "Love Your Lawyer Day"  yeah, its a thing apparently, and has been for the past 15 years.

This is the first year, however, that the day has been recognized by the American Bar Association Law Practice Council, which passed a resolution in late October to recognize the special day on the first Friday of each November going forward.

All of this was just announced by the American Lawyer Public Image Association, a non-profit that claims to be the only organization dedicated to promoting the positive public image of lawyers.

Full Story: https://bol.bna.com/a-day-for-spreading-love-to-lawyers-everywhere/
Eddy Boissezion a repondu a la place de Stephan Toussaint, actuellement en voyage, a la Private Notice Question de Xavier Luc Duval a lAssemblee Nationale.

N.B. Il a eu une meprise de notre part sur le nom de celui qui a repondu a la PNQ, mille excuses a Stephan Toussaint et a Eddy Boissezon.

Private Notice Question 7 mai 2019 (29,3 KiB, 258 hits)

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A criminal case pursuant to Part 1, Article 111 (state treason) of Ukraine's Criminal Code has been opened against former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Shepelev, Deputy Prosecutor General and Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoly Matios has said on his Facebook page.

"In addition to organizing heinous crimes (including murder), the former deputy from Yulia Tymoshenko's Batkivschyna (Fatherland) Party went to Russia to serve the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation. He sold his conscience and sold out his homeland," Matios wrote on Wednesday on his Facebook page.

Matios backed up the claim by showing the scanned copy of a hand-written document signed by Shepelev addressed to FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov. In it Shepelev states his "willingness to serve the FSB."

"We have more of these Shepelev types in the nation's legislature. I have no doubt of this," Matios said, adding that the case is based on evidence gathered by military prosecutors documenting Shepelev's wrongdoing.

Shepelev was arrested in March 2015 by Russian law-enforcement agencies. During the summer of 2014 he fled (to Russia) with his bodyguard from a Kyiv hospital. The former deputy was put on the international wanted list by Ukraine's law-enforcement agencies, which suspect him of embezzling funds from Rodovid Bank and commissioning several assassinations.

On March 21, 2015, a Russian court ruled on Shepelev's extradition to Ukraine, but Shepelev nevertheless remained in Russia. On August 8, the former head of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine Serhiy Starenkiy said Shepelev had been released from a Russian pre-trial confinement facility. He criticized the General Prosecutor's Office and Ukraine's Justice Ministry of doing nothing to facilitate Shepelev's extradition.
Former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and member of the Party of Regions Volodymyr Medianyk, who is suspected of taking premeditated steps with the aim of changing the borders of Ukrainian territory, worked as an intermediary between the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Ukrainian side, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko has said.

"Medianyk was an intermediary between the Ukrainian side and LPR separatists," Lutsenko said on Wednesday during a press conference in Kyiv.

Lutsenko said he hoped Medianyk would give testimony.

"The key is what happened during the so-called separatist uprising in Luhansk. Medianyk was the intermediary between Ukrainian authorities and the militants during the seizure by Russian militants of Ukraine's State Security Services (SBU) and Luhansk Regional Administration buildings," he said.

Lutsenko said Medianyk at the time "played a positive role for the Ukrainian state, but this does not free him from suspicions investigators have about his role in the shenanigans."

"If Medianyk will cooperate with investigators I don't rule out that pre-trial confinement will not be extended for another two months. If Medianyk does not cooperate and employs the same tactics as Oleksandr Yevfremov's lawyers [former head of parliamentary Party of Regions faction during presidency of disgraced former President Viktor Yanukovych], he, like Yevfremov, will be charged under the harshest articles [of the Criminal Code of Ukraine] imaginable," the prosecutor general said.

Lutsenko said that investigators plan to wrap up the probe before the end of the year.

"The case is supported by evidence and is heading to court. We don't know if there will be more arrests made. We are taking all necessary legal steps now to ensure we wind up with more than arrests. We are aiming for arrests and compiling a body of evidence backing up the charges," Lutsenko said.

As earlier reported, on August 7 Lutsenko announced that Medianyk was arrested in the same case involving Yevfremov. PGO press secretary Larysa Sargan said Medianyk is suspected of "taking premeditated acts with the aim of changing the borders of the territory of Ukraine. This is in violation of the Constitution, which says individuals responsible for the death of people and other heinous crimes pursuant to Article 3, Para 100 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, as well as helping create and oversee the activities of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, an offense punishable under Part 1, Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code.
For the past day illegal armed groups have fired positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 67 times, the press center of the ATO headquarters has said.

In Mariupol direction the enemy used the heavy artillery throughout Vodiane. In the front area of Maryinka - Shyrokine militants fired from machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Anti-aircraft mounts were used in Novotroitske. Armored vehicles were applied in Starohnativka, Talakivka and Maryinka. Snipers of illegal armed groups were aggressive near Shyrokine and Talakivka.

In Donetsk direction on the front part near Avdiyivka militants used mortar, grenade and machine-gun fire. Heavy weapons were seen being used during hostilities. Militants attacked Luhanske and Nevelske using mortars of a caliber 82 -120 mm, while the second grenade fire was used in Novoselivka.
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The militants have opened fire on the checkpoints of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service on the division line in Donbas, the press service of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service said on Thursday.

"Illegal armed groups continue shelling the positions of the State Border Service in the ATO [Anti-Terrorist Operation] zone. Yesterday, after 9:00 p.m., they opened fire on the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint and the Maryinka checkpoint," the report said.

According to the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, the Maryinka checkpoint came under fire from Oleksandrivka, which is controlled by the militants, using firearms and rifle-attached grenade launchers.

The militants also used firearms and automatic grenade launchers to open fire on the Stanytsia Luhanska checkpoint from Prince Ihor Mount.

No Ukrainian border guards were hurt.
Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) Nazar Kholodnytsky has said that anti-corruption agencies are investigating possible corruption during the implementation of the Wall project and detectives will travel to the site to carry out a full investigation.

"Criminal proceedings have been opened. Last week with Artem Sytnyk [director of National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, NABU] we heard detectives and the supervisor of pre-trial proceedings in this case. The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) gave instructions in the case and they are being fulfilled. We have to go to the site and see," Kholodnytsky said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

People's deputies from the Samopomich faction Olena Sotnyk and Roman Semenukha together with the deputies from other factions late July sent an appeal to the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ministry of Defense asking them to check on the Wall fortification being built on the border with the Russian Federation.

In September 2014, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers presented a draft arrangement of the state border of Ukraine with Russia under the Wall name, which was supposed to have a kind of fortification made of concrete barriers, control strips, ditches and alarms that can prevent the penetration of the enemy's military equipment to Ukraine.

Only UAH 60 million out of UAH 200 million planned in the national budget in 2016 was provided for the implementation of the project, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in July.
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
One Ukrainian serviceman was killed and four were wounded in action in Donbas in the past 24 hours, Oleksandr Motuzianyk, presidential administration spokesman on issues relating to the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) conducted by the Kyiv authorities in eastern Ukraine, said.

"One of our serviceman was killed and four troops were wounded in action in the past 24 hours," Motuzianyk told a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.
by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, August 10, 2016

LinkedIn is going on the offensive against "scrapers" who use bots to access the site in order to collect data about its users.

The scrapers' actions "violated the trust that LinkedIn members place in the company to protect their information," the company writes in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The company adds that the defendants also "polluted the LinkedIn environment" by creating fake profiles.

The defendants "circumvented several technical barriers employed by LinkedIn that prevent mass automated scraping, and have knowingly and intentionally violated various access and use restrictions in LinkedIns User Agreement, which they agreed to abide by in registering LinkedIn member accounts," the company alleges.

LinkedIn says in its complaint that it expects to discover the identity of the scrapers by sending subpoenas to various Internet service providers. The social networking service is seeking monetary damages and an injunction prohibiting the defendants from accessing its site.

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The company claims that whoever created the fake profiles and scooped up data violated a host of laws, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act -- a federal anti-hacking law. But the interpretation of that law is very much in flux, with judges around the country still figuring out how it applies when people access Web sites against the wishes of the operators. A group of researchers recently asked a federal judge to declare portions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act unconstitutional, arguing that they have the right to access sites in order to conduct tests, regardless of the sites' terms of service. That matter is pending before U.S. District Court Judge John Bates in the District of Columbia.

LinkedIn has previously found itself on the other side of lawsuits regarding the use of data. The company recently agreed to pay $13 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit accusing it of misappropriating users' names by sending email invitations to their friends. The company also paid $1.25 million in order to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from a 2012 data breach.
Following the lead of Apple and other tech giants, Intel is investing in deep learning and artificial intelligence with the acquisition of Nervana Systems.

AI is all around us, from the commonplace (talk-to-text, photo tagging, fraud detection) to the cutting edge (precision medicine, injury prediction, autonomous cars), Diane Bryant, EVP and general manager of the Data Center Group at Intel, notes in a new blog post.

Encompassing compute methods like advanced data analytics, computer vision, natural language processing and machine learning, artificial intelligence is transforming the way businesses operate and how people engage with the world, Bryant added. Machine learning, and its subset deep learning, are key methods for the expanding field of AI.

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Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports put the acquisition at around $408 million.

The news comes on the heels of Apples agreement to buy machine learning and artificial intelligence startup Turi for $200 million. Turi is perhaps best known for building apps that utilize machine learning and AI.

More broadly, tech titans like Google and Facebook are using machine learning to improve search speeds, and classify images and facial recognition.

To that end, Facebook opened an AI research lab in Paris last year. Like its existing AI teams in Menlo Park, New York and London, the Paris hub is tackling long-term research projects in image recognition, natural language processing, speech recognition and the kinds of physical and logical infrastructure required to run these systems.

Facebook chose Paris because France is recognized as a hotbed for AI research -- and the home nation of Yann LeCun, the head of Facebook AI Research (FAIR) since late 2013.

Google and Yahoo have also endeavored to harness deep learning to enhance their services. Futurist and AI expert Ray Kurzweil joined Google in 2013 after Larry Page convinced him to explore concepts in his book How To Create A Mind.
by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, August 11, 2016

Quaker is among the first CPG brands to jump on experimenting with Instagrams new Stories feature.

The new platform, launched on Aug. 2, is remarkably similar to Snapchat. It lets users easily create 10-second videos or montages, which can include original art made with a drawing feature.

Both formats encourage spontaneity and timeliness, since the videos disappear after 24 hours. And because Instagram Stories appear at the top of users existing feeds, brands can frequently update their stories or narratives, such as coverage of an event, without worrying about alienating fans by bombarding their feeds.

Further, Instagram has about 300 million daily users, according to parent Facebook. Thats reportedly about double the size of Snapchats user base.

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Quakers digital/social agency, VaynerMedia, helped the brand create a video quickly enough to debut it within a few hours after Stories went live, Elena Parlatore, Quakers director of digital marketing and social media, tells Marketing Daily.

Reflecting the success of Quakers overnight oats recipes content on other social channels, including Facebook and Pinterest, the brands first Instagram Story (viewable on the agencys site) used 10 images to show the simple steps to creating peanut butter banana overnight oats.

This was one of the biggest platform updates on social media in months, so we saw it as a great opportunity to highlight Quaker as a first mover in the space, while driving brand awareness and educating our growing Instagram community on how to make overnight oats, notes Parlatore.

Quaker found that, as with Snapchat, viewership of the Instagram Story was highest at the start, declining steadily after each step.

The video pulled 2,527 total views within the first 12 hours, which Parlatore deems promising. That was without the paid promotion that we normally need to do now with social videos, she says.

Looking forward, she adds, We have tons of overnight oats recipes on our site already, and they readily lend themselves to this new Stories format, so we feel like the skys the limit as far as experimenting with it.

Quaker is considering distributing an Instagram Story each week -- possibly on Sunday evenings, because fans tend to make the overnight oats recipes on Sundays to eat during the upcoming weekdays, Parlatore explains.

The brand is also planning to explore new recipes with consumers. We want to get them excited by inspiring them to come up with new recipes using ingredients that are already in their pantries, she says.

The Quaker brands main Instagram page is currently showing 4,600 followers. Two user-generated (not Quakers) Instagram pages, #quakeroats and #overnightoats, are showing nearly 26,000 and nearly 277,000 posts, respectively.

PepsiCo sibling brand Mountain Dew was also among the first CPG brands to try Instagram Stories.
Arianna Huffington, founder and namesake of The Huffington Post, is leaving the company to lead a new health and wellness startup called Thrive Global, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news Thursday.

The new startup is not a media company, but will instead focus on helping companies improve the lives of their employees through collaborative efforts and workplace initiatives.

Under the terms of her most recent contract with AOL, signed in June 2015, Huffington will continue serving as president and editor-in-chief of HuffPo through 2019, but the agreement also allows her the freedom and flexibility to launch the new venture, the digital media impresario tells the WSJ.

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After her current contract expires, she will leave HuffPo to manage Thrive Global full time.

Rising to fame as a political commentator in the 1990s, known for brusquely witty analysis delivered with a distinctive Greek accent, Huffington co-founded her eponymous site with Kenneth Lerer and Jonah Peretti in 2005. It soon become one of the most successful pure-play Internet publishers.

It was later sold it to AOL for $315 million in 2011  then a record-setting amount for an Internet-only publisher.

Peretti went on to co-found BuzzFeed in 2006; Lerer is a backer of Thrive Global through his fund Lerer Hippeau Ventures, along with other investors like Advancit Capital, Blue Pool Capital, Greycroft Partners and Facebook billionaire Sean Parker.

Subsequently, Verizons acquisition of AOL last year raised questions as to Huffington 's status with the company, reinforced by her own announcement several months ago of her interest in starting a new business.

HuffPo is widely hailed as a pioneer in digital publishing. The nine-figure valuation attached to the site in 2011 set the stage for subsequent investments of similar magnitude.

Among other deals, venture capital outfit Andreessen Horowitz and NBCUniversal made investments in BuzzFeed, valuing the publisher at around $1.5 billion. NBCU also invested $200 million in Vox Media, while German publisher Axel Springer bought Business Insider for $343 million last September.

In 2014, A&E announced it would invest $250 million in Vice Media, in a deal valuing the latter at $2.5 billion.
by Sara Guaglione , August 11, 2016

Just eight months after the new owner of The Village Voice, Peter Barbey, brought back Will Bourne as editor in chief, Bourne has been fired.

In response to a story from Adweeks FishbowlNY blog about Bourne stepping down, Bourne wrote on Twitter: Actually I was fired. If we're being honest with ourselves/your readers.

The Village Voices official statement said Bourne had stepped down and managing editor Meave Gallagher would fill in for him until the publication found their next editor in chief.

Sources told Publishers Daily the Voice hopes to find a replacement soon.

We thank Will for the contributions hes made to the paper and wish him the best as he continues his career, the company stated.

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Bourne was editor of The Village Voice in 2013, but left the newspaper after just six months when he refused to lay off five employees from the 20-person staff.

Barbey reached out to Bourne shortly after he bought the troubled Voice from Voice Media Group in October 2015. Bourne replaced Tom Finkel as editor in chief, who served as editor after Bourne resigned. When Bourne took over, he was the sixth editor in chief of The Village Voice since 2005.

The Village Voice is gearing up for its big relaunch next year. Barbeys family is reportedly worth $6.1 billion and Barbey plans to invest heavily in the publication.

The company announced yesterday that they have partnered with design consultancy Pentagram to spearhead a redesign of the newsprint weekly. The Village Voice has also tapped digital product shop Postlight to build an entirely new Web site for the brand.
by P.J. Bednarski , Staff Writer @pjbtweet, August 11, 2016

Refinery29s NewFronts presentation deserved some kind of award for high energy -- and possibly a citation from the fire department for overcrowding. But it was hard to come away from it not thinking that for the NewFronts, always packed with manufactured excitement, this womens lifestyle sites hype show seemed refreshingly authentic.

So today's announcement that it's completed a new $45 million round of financing isn't surprising. Refinery29 is in growth mode.

The big name in that grouping of wallets is Turner, the broadcasting/cable wing of Time Warner, which doesnt have a cable network that appeals to woman 2016.0. Part of the arrangement is to sprinkle the Refinery29 brand all over Turner properties.

The Wall Street Journal suggests a tie-in with TBS Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, which makes some sense. Turrner and Refinery29 will team up on some ad sales.

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In order to achieve success in todays quickly evolving digital environment, we believe in partnering with brands that have distinct voices and loyal, engaged audiences, stated David Levy, president of Turner, and one of cables smartest execs.

Christina Miller, general manager of Turners Cartoon Network, has a seat waiting for her on Refinery29s board.

Scripps Interactive, which chucked in $50 million on an earlier Refinery29 funding round, also participated in this one. Old-line broadcasters continue to discover that their next children may have already been born on digital. They want to adopt some. Ask Vice, which has an increasingly cozy deal with HBO and its new Viceland, fronted by A&E Networks.

Amy Emmerich, once senior vice president of programming for Scripps Ulive digital lifestyle network, joined Refinery29 last year and has become its content chief and womens cheerleader. At NewFronts, she argued that all that talk about womens empowerment is all old news. The message is no longer authentic, she said. Now, women already have the power. (It sounded more exciting coming from her.)

Refinery29 claims 27 million unique Web site visitors, but like everybody else, its counting platforms, and there it claims 225 million users across all platforms. Its branched off internationally and in the last year, has flung itself into virtual reality with VR29 Studios, which announced plans to put out a VR product once a week.

Its made high profile film/directing deals with actresses, including America Ferrara, Kristen Stewart, Gabourney Sidibe and Chloe Sevigny for its women-themed Shatterbox Anthology. It also just started a separate Riot channel on YouTube devoted to hip womens humor and featuring well-known faces from Lena Dunham to Jessi Klein to Aziz Ansari.

You get the idea Turner might find a lot to like with Refinery29.

pj@mediapost.com
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, August 11, 2016

Bynder, a branding automation company, announced Thursday a $22.3 million Series A funding round from Insight Venture Partners, a New York-based venture capital and private equity firm.

Jeff Horing, managing director at Insight Venture Partners, will join the companys board of directors. While Chris Hall, Bynder CEO, sees fewer overall investments, VC are willing to invest higher dollar amounts. "They shy away from making investments in companies burning too much cash that are not able to make money," he said.

Bynder will use the capital to continue its international growth into the U.S. and to support further product development for its digital assets management system. Don't call the platform a content management system, Hall says. This digital asset management platform comes complete with automated editing tools and search functions. It can automatically scale and crop thousands of images to post on a Web site.

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Brands are on content overload, according to Accenture Interactive. Research shows that half of marketers have more digital content than they can effectively manage, and 53% spend more time on the operational details of managing content, rather than aligning their daily tactics to business strategy.

Some 81% participating in the Accenture survey said their organization is producing "moderate to enormous amounts of digital content and assets." And 92% say they produce more volume today than two years ago, with 90% expecting that volume will increase in the next two years.

Three-year old Bynder now supports more than 150,000 users at 350 brands such as Budget/Avis, Logitech, Groupon, and Lacoste, as well as Akzo Nobel, a Dutch multinational company that provides decorative paints and specialty chemicals.

Bynder sees about 1 million downloads of assets monthly among the more than 50 million stored. Among those, Akzo Noble employees save about 90 minutes per job and 1,000 man hours annually. Iceland Air, another client, saves about 50% in search time searching through 4,700 stored digital assets, according to Bynder stats.
by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, August 11, 2016

On Tuesday, Facebook proudly boasted that it had found a way to defeat ad-blocking technology.

But this afternoon, a mere 48 hours since Facebook's boasts, Adblock Plus has unveiled a workaround that allows users to resume blocking ads on the social networking service.

"We promised that the open source community would have a solution very soon, and, frankly, theyve beaten even our own expectations," Adblock Plus's Ben Williams writes today in a blog post.

He adds that the company is "still in a cat-and-mouse game" with the social networking service.

"Facebook might 're-circumvent' at any time," he writes. "This sort of back-and-forth battle between the open source ad-blocking community and circumventers has been going on since ad blocking was invented; so its very possible that Facebook will write some code that will render the filter useless -- at any time. If that happens, the ad-blocking community will likely find another workaround, then Facebook might circumvent again, etc."

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This isn't the first time that one company has circumvented another's code, and probably won't be the last. Consider, Apple's Safari browser has long blocked tracking cookies by default. But that didn't stop Google (and others) from figuring out how to circumvent the no-tracking settings in order to serve targeted ads to Safari users.

For its part, Facebook said the new Adblock Plus code also blocks some content, including posts from friends.

"We're disappointed that ad blocking companies are punishing people on Facebook," the spokesman stated. "This isn't a good experience for people and we plan to address the issue."

The response rings somewhat hollow, considering that Facebook started this war with AdBlock Plus by circumventing it -- and obviously frustrating some users -- in the first place. Facebook may argue that its business plan requires it to show ads, but people who have gone out of their way to install ad-blockers presumably feel their experience is diminished by those ads.
The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service has "reinforced the administrative border" between Kherson region and Crimea, Oleh Slobodian, aide to the head of the State Border Guard Service and spokesman for the Service, has said.

The head of the State Border Guard Service gave all necessary commands on Sunday, August 7, "when the first indications of the exacerbation of the situation appeared." Therefore, the State Border Guard Service has now taken all necessary measures to reinforce the border, Slobodian said on 112 Ukraina television.

"We are working in cooperation with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Police, and other law enforcement agencies. We are now in a state that helps us be ready for any development of events," he said.

On August 10, the Russian Federal Security Service said terrorist acts allegedly prepared by Ukrainian intelligence had been averted in Crimea. It was reported that the Russian special services, with support from other defense and security units, had prevented groups of saboteurs and terrorists from breaking into Crimea from the territory of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Main Intelligence Department and the National Security and Defense Council have denied the reports on Ukrainian saboteurs. The Defense Ministry also said the accusations made by Russia of attacks on the peninsula from mainland Ukraine are similarly groundless.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, August 11, 2016

Google calls a slow mobile experience too disruptive, so on Thursday the Mountain View company introduced Accelerated Mobile Project Ad Landing Pages built in AMP-HTML.

About 40% of consumers will leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load -- and still, in July 2016 the average U.S. retail mobile site loaded in 6.9 seconds, according to Google data. It's no wonder that Google estimates that 40% of those navigating to a landing page from an ad will likely not bother continuing to the page and instead click away.

When an ad serves in a Google search result on an AMP Landing Page, the landing page loads in less than a second, allowing the user to navigate back to the content they were reading before clicking on the ad, according to a post by Vamsee Jasti, product manager of AMP Project at Google.

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While early tests suggest the median load time for these pages is less than one second, Google introduced several ways to optimize the pages to improve the loading experience before the user even navigates to the landing page.

Interestingly, ads usually do not know the URL of the actual landing page, but in this format the ads issue what Google calls "a pre-connect request" to the landing page, which reduces the time it takes to navigate the user to the landing page after the user clicks.

Other ways to speed up the process include the ability to deliver Google cache URL when available, and no redirects.

AMP eliminates redirects to the ad server, so it will initiate the request once the user has reached the landing page. AMP also supports the amp-pixel component for third-party tracking for redirects that marketers can format on the landing page.
While the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic fuels tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks, it does not drive the development and transmission of multidrug-resistance in TB patients as previously suspected, according to a study published in eLife.

The findings, from a collaboration between Norwegian, British and Argentinian scientists, also show that TB drug resistance is not more likely to evolve in HIV-positive patients compared to HIV-negative patients.

"It is already known that a parallel HIV pandemic amplifies the TB epidemic, with ongoing efforts around the world to tackle these potentially fatal diseases," says lead author Vegard Eldholm, a research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

"Among the estimated 1.5 million people who died from TB in 2015, about 200,000 cases involved multidrug-resistant TB and 400,000 were HIV co-infected. However, it is not clear exactly how much of an effect HIV has had on drug resistance in the most common form of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)."

To explore the impact of HIV co-infection on Mtb drug resistance, Eldholm and his team analysed the genomes of 252 TB isolates from patients belonging to the largest outbreak of multidrug-resistant TB in South America to date.

The isolates were collected from patients with known HIV status from the mid-1990s until 2009. The team used the genomes to create a time-labelled phylogenic tree, a diagram showing the inferred evolutionary relationships among the mutations within the sampled patients. They then applied a new mathematical model optimized for TB to reconstruct how the disease spread among individuals. Finally, they combined the results of both methods to estimate the length of the TB latent period - the time from infection to infectiousness - and identify the patients in who TB strains evolved drug-resistance mutations.

"We saw no significant differences in the rate at which mutations occur in the genomes of strains in HIV-positive and negative patients. This suggests that drug resistance is not more likely to evolve in HIV-positive patients," says co-corresponding author Francois Balloux, Professor of Computational Systems Biology at University College London.

While the team's reconstruction of disease transmission among individuals did not reveal a significant impact of HIV co-infection on the ability of patients to transmit TB, their estimates of TB latency confirm that HIV co-infection accelerates the development of active TB.

"HIV prevents some cells from doing their job in the immune system, meaning the body is unable to fight off a large number of infections," Eldholm explains.

"The disease therefore provides TB with a pool of susceptible hosts, amplifying the rate of co-infection. Indeed, for this reason, HIV patients at a major hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina, played a central role in fueling South America's largest multidrug-resistant TB epidemic in the early 1990s," he adds.

Article: Impact of HIV co-infection on the evolution and transmission of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, Vegard Eldholm Adrien Rieux Johana Monteserin Julia Montana Lopez Domingo Palmero Beatriz Lopez Viviana Ritacco Xavier Didelot Francois Balloux, eLife, doi: 10.7554/eLife.16644, published 9 August 2016.
Experiencing financial difficulties and worrying about debt at university increases the risk of mental health conditions such as depression and alcohol dependency, according to new research from the University of Southampton and Solent NHS Trust.

The research, published online in the Community Mental Health Journal, found that symptoms of anxiety and alcohol dependence worsened over time for those who were struggling to pay the bills. Those who were more stressed about their debt had worsening levels of stress, anxiety and depression.

Additionally, mental health issues and alcohol dependency predicted higher levels of financial stress and vice versa, suggesting the possibility of a 'vicious cycle' occurring.

Dr Thomas Richardson, a visiting academic at the University of Southampton and Principal Clinical Psychologist at Solent NHS Trust, led the study. He said: "The findings suggest a vicious cycle whereby anxiety and problem drinking exacerbate financial difficulties, which then go on to increase anxiety and alcohol intake. Interventions which tackle both difficulties at the same time are therefore most likely to be effective."

The study asked more than 400 first-year, undergraduate students, from universities across the UK, to assess a range of financial factors including family affluence, recent financial difficulties (for example being unable to afford bills or having to borrow money) and attitudes towards their finances, at four time points across their first year at university. The fact that this study was at a number of time points allowed researchers to examine which came first: financial difficulties or poor mental health.

The study also found that students who had considered not going to university or had considered abandoning their studies for financial reasons had a greater deterioration in mental health over time.

Andy Jones was studying occupational therapy but unfortunately had to stop due to depression and not being able to financially support himself. He said: "When I was not very well, I was not able to work part-time so was unable to supplement my income during university. Having financial difficulties increased my day to day stress levels and something usually had to give and it was usually my academic studies. It was a vicious cycle."

Dr Richardson, who has conducted staff training at universities in the south on debt and mental health, added: "Coming to university can be a stressful and daunting time for young people and finances can cause a lot of worry. We might not be able to change how much debt students are in but we can work with them to help them manage their finances and worries about money in order to mitigate the impact of these worries on mental health."

The University of Southampton has received good feedback about the services it provides to students who experience financial difficulties. Support is available through a drop-in centre, a fund to support students experiencing financial difficulties, advice and information from our Financial Information and Advice team, and access to a range of mental health support options..

Nicky Passmore, Director of Student Services, said: "It's important to us that our students can focus on their studies, and not be adversely affected by financial difficulties or mental health issues. We are proud of the range of services available and students know that our door is always open if they need help."

Article: A Longitudinal Study of Financial Difficulties and Mental Health in a National Sample of British Undergraduate Students, Thomas Richardson, Peter Elliott, Ron Roberts, Megan Jansen, Community Mental Health Journal, doi:10.1007/s10597-016-0052-0, published online 29 July 2016.
Team Uncovers New Regulators with Shorter Path to Clinical Use

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the U.S. With one in every four deaths occurring each year, the five-year survival rate after a heart attack is worse than most cancers. A big part of the problem is the inability of the human heart to effectively repair itself after injury. A team of University of Houston researchers is trying to change that.

Physicians and biologists are developing strategies to help regenerate heart muscle cell formation. Among them are developmental biologists in UH's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, whose work has added novel, powerful tools to achieve this. Their findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), one of the world's most-cited multidisciplinary scientific journals.

The human heart is an organ that doesn't regenerate, and the number of heart muscle cells drops as a person ages. Cells lost during injuries, such as from a heart attack, are gradually replaced by connective tissue, a process called fibrosis. This leads to the loss of pump function, which is the underlying reason cardiovascular diseases are as deadly as cancers.

"We have uncovered new regulators of heart formation," said assistant professor of biochemistry Yu Liu, one of the lead authors of the study. "Compared to most others, these new regulators, which are a small RNA species called microRNAs, act early in the multistep heart formation process. They are easier to deliver into human bodies, and thus have a shorter path to clinical use."

In trying to find a solution, Liu and his colleagues focused on learning how a heart is formed in an embryo. Specifically, they are curious as to whether the new regulators they uncovered will convert an abundant cell type, called human fibroblasts, into heart muscles. Robert Schwartz, Cullen Distinguished Professor of biochemistry and also an author on this study, is a pioneer in making heart muscle cells from fibroblasts, which is now a widely adopted strategy.

"We were the first in converting human fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes," Schwartz said. "I expect these microRNA regulators to be potent, either acting alone or in combination with the existing agents we have."

In a project with NASA's Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Schwartz is exploring how the unique environment in space can assist in the creation of heart muscle cells out of fibroblasts. The microRNAs they uncovered will add substantially to his toolbox in this effort.

Once considered genetic junk, microRNAs have emerged as a major player in gene regulation. Using mouse genetic tools, Liu and his team were able to track the process of heart muscle cell formation in a dish. Their work involved several screening steps. Most importantly, they first identified approximately 140 microRNAs in the earliest ancestor cells of the heart. Next, they screened for the ones that function in driving heart muscle cell formation, and the miR-322/503 cluster emerged as the top finding in both screenings and laid the basis for their work.

Supported by multiple grants from the American Heart Association, Liu hopes to be able to use these microRNAs to treat human heart attack and subsequent heart failure within the next five to 10 years. Beyond this manuscript, they have developed several mouse models in house and hope to make more exciting discoveries down the road.

Additional UH collaborators on this study included Preethi Gunaratne, associate professor of biochemistry and a genome sequencing pioneer in the field of microRNA research, and Xiaopeng Shen, a postdoctoral fellow in Liu's lab and first author of the article. Part of the research included in the paper is Shen's thesis work, which he completed as a graduate student in biochemistry at UH.

Article: miR-322/-503 cluster is expressed in the earliest cardiac progenitor cells and drives cardiomyocyte specification, Xiaopeng Shena, Benjamin Soibama, Ashley Benhama, Xueping Xu, Mani Chopra, Xiaoping Peng, Wei Yu, Wenjing Bao, Rui Liang, Alon Azares, Peijun Liu, Preethi H. Gunaratne, Mark Mercola, Austin J. Cooney, Robert J. Schwartz, and Yu Liu, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1608256113, published online 10 August 2016.
On August 9, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met for the first time in St. Petersburg for the time, since the downing of the Russian jet in November 2015. However, despite the two leaders' intention to proceed rapidly towards economic and political normalization, the difference of views on major topics such as the settlement of the Syrian crisis remain numerous. Andrey Kortunov, executive director of the pro-Kremlin think tank, Russian Council for International Affairs (RIAC), said that the meeting between the two leaders was largely an improvisation. "I think that it's not that easy to overcome the disputes between Turkey and Russia on Syria. Even if the positions got closer - the odds are that the rapprochement on that track was limited", said Kortunov.[1]

Below is a review of the Russian media reactions to the Erdogan-Putin meeting:



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan writing the word "sorry" repeatedly on the chalkboard, before being admitted to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Source: Sputniknews.com, August 9, 2016)

Kommersant Columnist: This Is In Many Senses A Rapprochement 'Under Duress'

In an article titled "Why It's difficult for Russia and Turkey to Become Strategic partners" Kommersant columnist Maxim Usim analyzed the current state of Russo-Turkish rivalries and disagreements.[2] Usim wrote that the first and the most important disagreement concerns diametrically opposed positions on the Syrian issue - Russia favors keeping Assad in power, Turkey wants him out. Turkey has not ceased its support for the Syrian opposition, which is trying to storm Aleppo and which is under Russian fire these very minutes.

The second problem is posed by the Kurds: for Erdogan, Syrian Kurds are adversaries, separatists and PKK allies. For Moscow, Syrian Kurds are potential allies. The third problem is the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkey supports Azerbaijan while Russia supports Armenia, its ally in the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The fourth problem is Turkish influence in the former Soviet republics whose population is of Turkish origin (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan and Turkmenistan) - Ankara and Moscow are geopolitical competitors in those areas. The fifth problem is that various anti-Russian groups - Northern Caucasian, Crimean Tatars and others are operating in Turkey. If Erdogan wants to restrain them per Moscow's request, he will encounter serious opposition at home. The sixth problem is the prevailing lack of confidence between Ankara and Moscow: Moscow did not forget the announcement that Turkish officials made following the downing of the Russian jet. And finally - this is in many senses a rapprochement "under duress": the West is very reserved towards Moscow and Ankara and thus both Moscow and Ankara are attempting to break the isolation, while there is no assurance that in case Turkish relations with Europe and the US are normalized, Turkey will continue pursuing the Moscow track. However, considering that the two countries were on the verge of a military conflict half a year ago, the talks represent huge progress and provide hope that the sides will try to resolve some of the above enumerated problems.

The same opinion is shared by Sergey Zheleznyak, vice-speaker of the Duma. Commenting on the Putin-Erdogan meeting, the vice-speaker listed the following matters as "complicated problems" that need to be solved in Russia-Turkey mutual relations: the Kurdish question, blocking the smuggling of weapons and oil products through the Turkish-Syrian border, and the fate of terrorists who still reside in Turkish territory. He then added: "Without solving those fundamental questions of international security and without long term partnership with our country Turkey will face serious difficulties in having peaceful and stable development in the modern world."[3]

Russian Middle East Expert: 'Russian Air Force In Aleppo Does Not Have Much Time Before Ankara Resumes...Aid To Islamist Terror Groups'

According to several Russian commentators, these differences of policies and views between Russia and Turkey make Erdogan an unreliable partner in settling the Syrian crisis. Prominent Russian Middle East expert, president of the Moscow-based Institute for Middle East Studies, Evgenii Satanovski wrote in his analytical article on future Russia-Turkey relations: "Contemporary Turkey will be a country of Erdogan's personal rule [Satanovski uses the term that was used to describe the Stalin era in the USSR] throughout his presidency. Turkey will only formally preserve the democratic institutions and a parliament, will remain part of NATO, but won't react to criticism by Western allies onthe inadmissible destruction of human rights. It's hard to tell when Erdogan considers that the total control over security forces is achieved and hits Syria - but it won't take too long. Thus, Russian air force in Aleppo does not have much time before Ankara resumes military and technical aid to Islamist terror groups in that territory."[4]

Igor Korotchenko, director of the Russian Center for the Analysis of the Global Arms Trade and a candidate for parliament from the nationalist Rodina (Homeland) Party said in an interview to RIA that in order to reach a full normalization with Moscow, Turkey has to block the Turkish -Syrian border and deny weapons smuggling, start fighting ISIS on the ground and interdict financial aid to ISIS. Korotchenko also said that Turkey must officially recognize Assad as the sole legitimate authority in Syria. "If all of that is accomplished, we will be convinced that Turkey has seriously corrected its foreign policy. As for now, Erdogan's announcements made in Russia are just words. He has to confirm the words with real deeds," said Korotchenko.[5]

Vzglyad Columnist: 'Erdogan, Like Him Or Not, Is One Of The Independent Leaders'

Despite the differences of views between the two leaders, Petr Akopov, columnist for Russian online newspaper Vzglyad, wrote that Erdogan and Putin fit each other. Akopov assessed that "Erdogan is neither a friend nor a foe of Russia - he's independent ruler, who is not afraid of taking decisions and is supported by his people. And this is exactly what makes him an important and interesting partner for Putin". The author continues: "Most heads of foreign states, whom Putin encounters are not his equal - neither intellectually nor in strength of will, but in terms of their roles and functions. Those heads of states are merely managers hired by the elites - some have more powers, others - less. No western leader is capable of making a decision - by himself - on the issues that really matter. Moreover, not one of them thinks in decades-long terms, considers the lessons of the past and has a clear picture of his own country's future... Erdogan, like him or not, is one of the independent leaders. Taking into consideration Turkey's weight in the world and especially in the Middle East, this makes him a very important figure, that [Putin] can talk to seriously". The author adds: "Erdogan will not exit NATO and will not enter the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but the mere vector of his rule will diminish the influence of the Atlanticists on Turkey and will bring [Turkey] closer to Russia, China and Iran...Erdogan has no alternative but to strengthen Russia-Turkey relations. Not because he likes Russia or Putin too much but because Turkey requires independence and stability, taking into account that Turkey wants to be a state where the native figures, professing the same faith as the majority of the people, rule rather than Westernized elites alien to the people. This is exactly Erdogan's path - and this is Putin's main bet on working with him, because Putin himself follows the same path of geopolitical and civilizational independence."[6]

Georgi Bovt, a columnist for the Russian news site Gazeta.ru, wrote in an article titled "A Long Term Game" that Turkey maybe a useful political partner for Russia, since Moscow needs to diversify its allies in the East. He then added that Moscow may exploit Turkey's worsening relations with EU and US for its own benefit. Bovt wrote: "We need to recognize that the major long term strategic threats to Russia do not derive from Europe, even if four NATO regiments are deployed there in former Warsaw Pact countries. The threats do not emanate from 'accursed' America with its State Department and CIA, even if there is a harsh military-political rhetoric, heated up by our former brothers from the Warsaw pact." The major long term strategic threats stem from the burning and disintegrating Middle East, which is feeding terroristic Islamism and the threats are stemming from China, despite our own pontifications about "turning to the East". Russia may utilize new opportunities regarding Ankara, taking into consideration that Russia needs to diversify its attitudes and relations in the East and avoid excessive dependence on China."[7]

Conspiracy Theories - Col-Gen (ret) Ivashov: 'The [US] Desire[s] To Push Russia Into A Military Conflict With Europe, [And] Turkey'

Among the reactions to the Putin-Erdogan meeting, the popular pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda published an extensive interview by its military correspondent colonel (ret) Viktor Baranez with colonel-general (ret) Leonid Ivashov, former commander of the Main Directorate of International Cooperation of the Russian MOD, and a professor at the Moscow State Diplomatic University.

Ivashov explained that the West had a clear strategy towards the Middle East, which eventually backfired and delivered Erdogan into Moscow's hands: "At first US finance and petro capital unleashed the geopolitical tragedy in the Middle East in order to subjugate Europe and Asia to dependence on Middle Eastern oil, which is controlled by American companies and satellites like Saudi Arabia or Qatar. The prepared role of the Middle East itself was to be a 'region of chaos', and source of terror that spread destabilization to Europe, Asia, Russia. For that reason they've needed to destroy regimes firmly connected to Russia, China and Europe. I refer to Iraq, Lybia, Syria and Mubarak's Egypt, which tried to free itself from American 'custodianship'. I also refer to Iran which was gaining geo-political might and confronting US and Israel politics in the region." Ivashov then added that Erdogan followed American policy in the region until he understood that the US treats him as "worn-out" material while the US was - just in case - quietly supporting his rival Fethullah Gullen, a leader of military and religious opposition. Ivashov mentioned that the very minute Erdogan began thinking about re-approaching Russia, apologizing for the downed jet, a terror attack occurred in Istanbul airport, which could not have been executed by the Kurds or ISIS for political reasons. Ivashov concluded that that was the first shot heralding the attempted coup, which followed Erdogan's firm decision to re-engage Russia. "Erdogan understands who was behind the coup, and that Russia was the only real place he could take refuge in... The whole idea behind the turmoil in the Middle East, including Turkey, is the [American] desire to push Russia into a military conflict with Europe, Turkey and whoever in order to stop Russia's resurrection, regain control over Eurasia, eliminate economic competitors and to stop China's advance," concluded Ivashov.[8]

Endnotes:
Arab media have recently published statements by officials in the Lebanese Hizbullah and the Gazan Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations, and by their supporters, confirming what has long been known - namely that these Lebanese and Gazan terror organizations receive substantial financial and military assistance from Iran. These statements join many reports, especially in the anti-Iranian media, regarding Iran's funding of various terrorist organizations across the Arab world. According to these reports, the assistance comes mainly from the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The following are some examples of these statements and reports from the last two months:

Hizbullah Secretary-General Nasrallah: Hizbullah's Entire Budget Is Provided By Iran

In a speech he delivered on June 24, 2016, marking 40 days after the killing of Mustafa Badr Al-Din, who was considered to be Hizbullah's chief operations officer, and following the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Hizbullah that threaten its financial infrastructure and income, Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah clarified: "Hizbullah's budget - its salaries and expenditures, [the money that pays for] its food and drink, weapons and missiles - [all come from] Iran. Is that clear?... As long as Iran has money we have money. Do you require greater transparency than that[?] The funds earmarked for us do not reach us through the banks. We receive them the same way we receive our missiles, with which we threaten Israel."[1]

Hamas Official Abu Marzouq: Iran's Assistance To Hamas Is "Not Comparable" To Any Other Assistance

The deputy head of Hamas's political bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouq, tweeted on June 15, 2016: "The aid extended by Iran to the Palestinian resistance, in provisions, training and funds, is not comparable [to any other aid], and most other countries cannot match it."[2]



Abu Marzouq's tweet

Former Lebanese Minister Wiam Wahhab: Iran Has Funded Resistance In Palestine

On June 25, 2016, in response to a remark by former Lebanese prime minister Sa'd Al-Hariri that Iran funds fitna (internecine strife) in the Arab world,[3] former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahhab, a known supporter of Hizbullah and the resistance axis, tweeted: "O Sheikh Sa'd [Al-Hariri], Iran has funded resistance in Palestine to restore Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa and the Church of the Sepulcher [to Palestinian hands, whereas] Saudi Arabia paid to destroy Syria, Iraq and Yemen." In another tweet he wrote: " O Sheikh Sa'd, Iran funded resistance in the Arab homeland rather than fitna, [whereas] your kingdom [Saudi Arabia, who supports Al-Hariri and his faction in Lebanon,] sponsors and funds terrorism. The funds of all the terrorist [organizations] in the world are Wahhabi [i.e., Saudi] funds."[4]



Wiam Wahhab's tweets

Saudi Daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat: Hizbullah's Weapons Come Directly From IRGC; Iran Has Renewed Regular Aid To Islamic Jihad Organization

The anti-Iranian press, such as the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, also reported on Iran's funding of terrorist organizations in Lebanon and Gaza. On June 29, 2016, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat confirmed Nasrallah's statements regarding the Iranian funding. The report stated that Hizbullah's funds came from the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei while its weapons are provided by the IRGC. It quoted the director of the Umam Research and Documentation center in Lebanon, Luqman Salim, a Shi'ite known for his opposition to Hizbullah, as saying that between 70% and 80% of Hizbullah's funds come from Iran. According to Salim, Iran also invests about $400 million of the IRGC's budget in the Islamic Radio and Television Union, a group of stations which includes the Iranian Al-Alam but also Hizbullah's Al-Manar and Al-Mayadin and the Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds (all of which broadcast from Lebanon) and Hamas's Al-Aqsa station, which broadcasts from Gaza.

The daily also cited a "knowledgeable source" as saying that until 2005 Iran transferred to Hizbullah between $200 million and $250 million annually, but since then the allocation has increased: After the 2006 Lebanon War it rose to $850 million, and since Hizbullah entered the Syria war its budget has become unlimited, because it has become part of Tehran's war effort there.[5]

On May 25, 2016, the daily reported, citing sources close to the Islamic Jihad organization in Gaza, that Iran had renewed its regular financial aid to the organization after the two sides agreed to renew their mutual relations.[6] According to these sources, an Islamic Jihad delegation headed by the organization's secretary-general Ramadan Shalah visited Iran in April 2016, and during this visit Tehran renewed its sponsorship of the organization after the latter accepted its terms. In meetings held by the delegation during this visit, including with IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari and Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, Iran clarified its vision of Islamic Jihad's course in the coming years. The sources claimed further that Soleimani decided, in coordination with the organization's military and political bureaus, to grant $70 million a year out of the IRGC budget to Islamic Jihad's military wing, Saraya Al-Quds, and to reorganize this body and appoint Khaled Mansour, who is close to Tehran, as its commander.[7]

Endnotes:

[1] Alahednews.com.lb, June 24, 2016.
The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service is taking a number of measures to fulfill the order issued by President Petro Poroshenko to put defense and security structures on the Crimean border and on the division line in Donbas on high alert.

"We are talking primarily about involving reserves, checking interaction of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and other Ukrainian law enforcement structures," Oleh Slobodian, spokesman for the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, told Interfax-Ukraine.

He also said the combat readiness of the units and their readiness for actions will be checked.

It was reported earlier that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered that all units of the Ukrainian law-enforcement agencies stationed near the border of Kherson region and near the border with Crimea be put on alert.

"I held a session with the heads of law-enforcement structures and the Foreign Ministry. I ordered that all units in districts near the administrative border with the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and along the entire contact line in Donbas be put on alert," Poroshenko said on his Twitter account on Thursday.

On August 10, the Russian Federal Security Service reported that two attempts to break into Crimea by "groups of saboteurs and terrorists" composed of members of special units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry had been averted and that a Russian serviceman had been killed in the clash. The Federal Security Service also said "an agent network" of Ukrainian intelligence had been eliminated in the territory of Crimea and Ukrainians and Russians "who assisted in the preparation of the terrorist attacks" had been detained.

The Ukrainian defense and security structures, for their part, have denied the reports about Ukrainian saboteurs. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry also said the accusations made by Russia of attacks on the peninsula from mainland Ukraine are groundless.
Ukrainian investigators have opened a criminal case on the basis of a report made by the relatives of Yevhen Panov, leader of the Self-Defense group in the town of Enerhodar, Zaporizhia region, acting head of the Ukrainian National Police Vadym Troyan said on Thursday.

The National Police's Communications Department said investigators had qualified the Panov missing person case under Article 146 (illegal imprisonment or abduction of a person) of the Ukrainian Criminal Code.

Troyan said Panov's relatives reported him missing to the police on Wednesday, August 10, after which the information was entered into the national register of pre-trial investigations. "We are taking all necessary measures to promptly, fully and impartially investigate all circumstances of this crime," Troyan said.

On August 10, the Russian Federal Security Service said terrorist acts allegedly prepared by Ukrainian intelligence had been averted in Crimea. It was reported that the Russian special services, with support from other defense and security units, had prevented groups of saboteurs and terrorists from breaking into Crimea from the territory of Ukraine.

The Russian Federal Security Service also said one of the organizers, "Panov Yevhen Oleksandrovych, 39, a resident of Zaporizhia region, an official with the Main Intelligence Department of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine," had been detained. He is making confessionary statements.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Main Intelligence Department and the National Security and Defense Council have denied the reports on Ukrainian saboteurs. The Defense Ministry also said the accusations made by Russia of attacks on the peninsula from mainland Ukraine are similarly groundless.

Panov's brother Ihor Kotelianets said he thought Yevhen had been abducted in Zaporizhia region and taken to Crimea.
Poroshenko to ask OSCE to send in more monitors to border with Crimea

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) should increase the presence of its Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) staff near the border with Crimea, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

"We need to ask the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to increase as much as possible the presence of OSCE monitors near the administrative border with Crimea," the president said at a meeting with the leadership of defense and security authorities and Foreign Ministry on Thursday, according to the head of state's press office.

He also says that Ukraine should demand that the Russian side, the occupation force should grant the OSCE SMM access "to facilities in Crimea."

Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has been ordered to instruct the head of the Ukrainian mission to the United Nations to hold consultations with the UN Security Council and inform it in detail about the developments.
The head of the Main Military Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Minister Valery Kondratiuk says there is evidence that there was a gun battle between soldiers of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and Russian border troops of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the northern part of Russia-occupied Crimea.

Kondratiuk reported the incident at a meeting with law-enforcement agencies and the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine on Thursday, a posting on the Ukrainian president's website reads.

Head of the State Border Service of Ukraine Viktor Nazarenko said that four Russian unmanned aerial vehicles were spotted from the town of Armiansk on the Ukrainian mainland in the past day.

Poroshenko said there are special tasks and demands being put on Ukraine's border guards in areas bordering with Russia-occupied Crimea on the line of demarcation between militants and Ukrainian government troops in Donbas. The president ordered border troops to tighten security at crossing points, and he tasked members of the National Guard of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine to beef up security around infrastructure and at strategic sites in order to prevent terrorist attacks.

"I ask the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the State Border Service to inform Ukrainian citizens that it is better not to travel to Crimea because of numerous provocations taking place against citizens of Ukraine. I personally ask citizens of Ukraine to abide by my request," Poroshenko said.

Poroshenko tasked the head of Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) Vasyl Hrytsak to conduct an emergency meeting of the anti-terrorism center and to communicate the necessary instructions.

Hrytsak in turn said that the SBU agents and equipment have been brought to battle readiness. "There is a meeting taking place now of coordination groups of the anti-terrorism center. We are paying special attention to providing security for critical infrastructure and also are tracking the activities of a number of individuals, who are suspected of involvement in the activities of the so-called diversionary group, in order to prevent possible terrorist acts," he said.

Army General Staff chief Viktor Muzhenko said that divisions and military units of the Ukrainian military which are carrying out work in near the administrative border with occupied Crimea have been brought to full battle preparedness and have been reinforced.

Muzhenko said it was absurd to say that gunfire on temporarily occupied Crimea came from the Ukrainian side. "This is complete hogwash and does not correspond with reality. No one opened fire with artillery or fired any other kind of weapons. This can be verified by the soldiers on the ground and local inhabitants, because the sound of artillery fire can be heard over long distances," he said.
NABU director: PR campaign to discredit anti-corruption agencies to be held in Sept-Oct

Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Artem Sytnyk predicts that a PR campaign to discredit anti-corruption agencies will be held in September-October.

"According to the information I have, a PR campaign to discredit anti-corruption agencies will be held in September-October. And this concerns the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the anti-corruption prosecutor's office, and will be the main thesis of this campaign - no compensated damage," the NABU director said at a press conference in Kyiv.

He also pointed out there are certain signs of a conflict between the anti-corruption authorities and the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine.

"Our work causes more and more resistance, in particular on the part of other law enforcement agencies. This wont's stop us any way," he said.

In particular, according to him, opposition is observed in the matter of providing the NABU with the possibility of wiretapping.

"There is resistance in the issue of providing us with the possibility of taking information from communication channels," Sytnyk said.
On Monday, August 15, at 12.30, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference entitled "Legal and legislative assistance to the victims of Russia's war against Ukraine. The results of monitoring violations of international humanitarian law and judicial practice of granting the status of ATO participant, war veteran." Participants: Chairman of the Board of the Public Committee for Human Rights Protection Mykola Kozyrev, Head of the Legal Department of the Ukrainian Council for Patients' Rights and Safety Protection Olha Skoryna, and the former fighter of the Artemivsk battalion, head of the Zaitseve settlement in Donetsk region Volodymyr Vesiolkin (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation. Additional information by phone: (099) 553 2049.
The Story Behind The Selfie: South Korea and North Korea Olympic Gymnasts

The selfie of the South Korean and North Korean Olympic Gymnasts received attention from the world when the selfie photo of the two gymnasts became viral in the Internet.

The 17-year-old Lee Eun-Ju of South Korea is at her first Olympics competition. Meanwhile, Hong Un-Jong of North Korea is a 27-year-old veteran in Gymnastics.

Hong was the first female gymnast from North Korea who won a gold medal in 2008. In the same year, Lee was 9 years-old and living in her native Japan. In 2013, Lee moved to South Korea because her Korean father wanted her to learn more about the culture in South Korea.

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Lee and Hong had an encounter again few days after their selfie was taken. On Sunday, during the preliminary competition, both gymnasts interacted again because they are on the same floor at the same time. Lee was eliminated, while Hong will compete in the final vault.

There are web of laws that govern how South Koreans are supposed to interact with North Koreans. Some of the restrictions are Travel and Communication in North Korea, and even giving compliments and praises to North Korea are prohibited. However, it is required by the South Korea law to obtain government permission for any planned meeting, communication or other contact with North Koreans.

The Olympics is an exemption from the mentioned requirements because spontaneous interactions with North Korea can happen during a foreign travel. It is OK for South Korean athletes to talk to North Koreans they meet at the Olympics but they must submit reports to their Olympic committee regarding the encounter which will then pass the information to the South Korean government.

Many South Koreans love seeing their athletes treating North Korean athletes with respect. At the end of the day, the purpose of the Olympics is to promote peace, unity, and sportsmanship among the countries.

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(Global Times) 07:53, August 11, 2016

While the ruling of an international arbitration court over territorial disputes between China and the Philippines has had a negative impact on other regional countries such as Vietnam, it's smooth sailing for the deeply intertwined business and people-to-people relations between China and Vietnam.

People said they hope China-Vietnam relations can improve so their lives and businesses won't be affected.

In Ho Chi Minh, Chinese companies the Global Times reporter visited said they are unaffected by recent anti-China events that have erupted in Vietnam.

Vietnam has long had territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea. Protests broke out in Vietnam against China on July 17, only a few days after the arbitration court in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in its dispute with China. The local government arrested more than 30 people.

On July 23, reports said a Chinese national who was entering Vietnam found handwritten profanity on her visa over the Chinese map where it showed the nine-dash line that marks China's maritime territory.

Reports of similar cases have angered Chinese citizens, who still recall the mass protests in Vietnam in 2014, when rioters smashed Chinese companies in Vietnam in protest against China's oil exploration near disputed areas in the sea.

However, Chinese people in Vietnam and local people said they do not feel the same tensions as two years ago.

Yang Kaiyong, Vice General Manager of the China National Electric Import and Export Corporation, told the Global Times that while tensions may have risen, it's business as usual for many Chinese companies here. In fact, many of them have hired Vietnamese staff, so the companies don't want tensions to get in the way of business ties.

Home appliance company TCL is a typical example. Only 10 of its employees come from China and the rest are Vietnamese, many of whom occupy middle and upper management-level positions.

Ryan Do, director of TCL Vietnam's Key Accounts department, has been working at the company for 10 years. He said he's aware of the tensions between the two countries, but the rising nationalism has hardly affected him.

"I like Chinese companies because they give young people a chance. It took me only 10 years to reach this position," he said.

Do's view was echoed by Trang Nguyen, a Vietnamese woman who has lived in Beijing for seven years. She works for a private Chinese company that provides Vietnamese visa services.

She told the Global Times she could feel the tension between the two countries in the past few years. Once, while eating at a restaurant, a man found out she was Vietnamese and cursed at her. But she dismissed it, knowing only a few people do that.

"We hope ties return to normal," she said. "This is not good for business between the two countries. I know Vietnamese in China and many Chinese in Vietnam, and they all want the same."

Little impact on tourismTensions haven't had much of an impact on tourism. On the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, the Global Times reporter saw Chinese tourists. When asked if they fear what might happen, one said she thinks ordinary Vietnamese people are nice.

Bui Tan Cuong, merchandise department director of Thien Hoa, a home appliance retail company, told the Global Times he has been to China several times on business, and he hopes relations can improve so business can flourish because China is a good market.

Thien Hoa imports products from many countries, including China. Despite recent events, the company's operations haven't been disrupted.

Huang Xingqiu, a professor at the Vietnam Studies Center of Zhejiang University of Technology, told the Global Times that while some events that might have damaged relations, both governments have handled things well.

However, he added the Vietnamese public might not have a good impression of China and fear it may change the Vietnamese government's stance.
This fall, California voters will decide whether to lower some prescription drug prices, while Coloradans will vote on a state version of a "single-payer" government-run health system, similar to what Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed in his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Sanders supports both the California and Colorado initiatives, said spokesman Michael Briggs.

"We are in the process of building a new organization to keep a lot of the energy going," he said. "Backing those kinds of ballot initiatives is one of the major things that we are focusing on."

Pharmaceutical companies and insurers are spending millions of dollars to defeat the two ballot questions.

The measures are among the more far-reaching health care questions to be decided by voters around the country on Election Day. With ballots still being finalized in some states, other questions may include raising tobacco taxes, expanding use of marijuana for medical treatment and allowing terminally ill patients to have physician assistance in dying.

A proposal in Ohio to limit drug costs didn't make it on the ballot this year, but proponents are pushing for a vote in 2017.

California's Proposition 61 would bar drug companies from charging state programs more than the discounted price paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

There would be exemptions, however. For example, it would not apply to medications purchased through private insurers who contract with the state to cover beneficiaries in the Medi-Cal program for low-income people.

Opponents of the California initiative have reported $69.6 million in contributions, mainly from pharmaceutical companies. That's more than seven times the $9.4 million that supporters have raised. Those amounts guarantee national visibility for the battle.

In Colorado, a measure known as Amendment 69 would create ColoradoCare, a government-financed system that would cover most state residents, largely replacing private insurance. Seniors would continue to rely primarily on Medicare.

Opponents have raised $3.6 million, more than five times the $678,000 reported by supporters. The nation's second-largest insurer, Anthem, donated $1 million to the opposition.

As envisioned, Colorado's new public health care system would be paid for with tax increases and with federal and state money that now goes to programs such as Medicaid, and for subsidized insurance under President Barack Obama's health care law. Federal approval would be needed under a provision of the Obama law that takes effect next year, allowing states to redesign their health care systems.

The tax increase features a new 10 percent levy on wages and other income. Employers would pay two-thirds of the new payroll tax, with workers responsible for the rest. The taxes would raise $25 billion in 2019, the earliest the program could start.

A recent nonpartisan study projected that as currently structured, ColoradoCare would post a small deficit starting in its first year and the shortfall would keep growing.

With the presidential campaign consumed by questions about the candidates' character and temperament, the traditional debate over issues has been downplayed. Republican Donald Trump has pledged to repeal Obama's health care law, while Democrat Hillary Clinton would build on it. The California and Colorado initiatives steer the conversation away from the highly scripted back-and-forth on "Obamacare."

The two proposals are strikingly different, said John McDonough, a former U.S. Senate Democratic aide who worked on the federal health overhaul. The Colorado plan seeks a total transformation of the health care system, while the California initiative reflects concerns about the rising cost of many medications.

Which ballot question has a better chance? "Of the two, I probably think the prescription drug piece, because people have so much anger and antipathy toward the pharmaceutical industry," said McDonough, now a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Supporters of the California drug costs proposal say it would save state taxpayers money; opponents say such savings are not a sure thing and the whole scheme could prove to be unworkable. Supporters of ColoradoCare say it would guarantee coverage for all and reduce administrative costs; opponents fear it would lead to more tax increases.

Both proposals face strong business opposition, but that does not worry the Sanders' camp.

"He's been involved in longshot campaigns for most of his career," said spokesman Briggs.
BROOKFIELD TOWNSHIP  This township joins many others in the area that are waiting for the Michigan Tax Tribunal to decide whether or not they owe money to wind developers.

(Youve) just got to ride it out and see what happens, township assessor Doug Powers told the township board this week.

You might have to pay some back. Maybe all of it, maybe part of it, maybe none of it. I would guess probably part of it. Thats usually what happens

If the tribunal finds in favor of DTE and NextEra, the township will have to reimburse the developers about $35,000 for 2016, Powers said.

Just dont spend it all when you get it in, Powers said.

Brookfield Townships fees for legal representation on the issue have been over $1,000 a month for the last fiscal year, said township Clerk Mike Lorencz.

The township belongs to the Michigan Renewable Energy Collaborative (MERC), which consists of five counties: Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, Gratiot and Mason.

MERC has hired a law firm to represent the municipalities at the tax tribunal.

Were not alone. I think that does help. Theres five counties Township Supervisor A. Charles Timmons said.

But Brookfield officials still wish the tribunal would hurry up.

Carl Osentoski, executive director of the Huron County Economic Development Corp. also coordinates MERC.

He said it could take a minimum of 18 months for the tribunal to decide an appeal.

They could settle tomorrow, but to work through the tax appeal process it could take at a minimum of 18 months (up to) two years, three years, Osentoski said.

Each individual property has to be a separate appeal, he said. If there are 100 turbines in a development, thats 100 tax appeals.

At a hearing, a judge could fold all 100 into one appeal if the turbines are all in the same development, and if the landowners and wind developers agree.

Although the township is fighting to keep the money it collects from the wind developers, the taxable value of the township has increased more than three times since before the wind turbines were built.

The first year I was here, there were no windmills, and the taxable value of the township was, I think, $28 million, Powers said. The second year with only most of them under construction, it doubled in value.

The current taxable value of the township is around $92 million, Lorencz said.

There are two sets of multipliers for calculating the depreciating value of the turbines, Powers said.

The state one starts the first year at 100 percent, drops to 80, then goes to 75, and then to 70 the fourth year. But we dont have any that old yet, Powers said.

MERC hired a consulting firm to determine multipliers as well, Powers said. They use: 99.1 for first year; 90.6 for the second year; and 82 for the third year.

He said the tribunal will decide which set of multipliers to use.

Lorencz told the Tribune that each turbine has $1.5 million in taxable value. The township collects 8 mills  6 mills for roads, 1 mill for fire and 1 mill for township operations.

The wind developers are saying that each of the turbines are worth about $154,000 less than that in taxable value.

But there would not be one penny of revenue if millages didnt pass, Lorencz said. Thats the only thing that drives this. Its the people that are voting for this stuff. Once they quit voting for it, its done.

There are 29 wind turbines in question; three belong to NextEra and the remainder belong to DTE.

Lorencz told the Tribune that any county entity that makes revenue off millage would have to reimburse the companies if the tribunal rules in their favor.
Despite Flipping in Surf 4 Times in a Year, Marines Say New ACV Is the Future of Amphibious Warfare

Some Marine veterans familiar with the vehicle and its operations have worried about the reliability of the ACV.
(Global Times) 07:56, August 11, 2016

Over 180 LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people from around the globe called for the construction of a gay-friendly environment for students at a South China university in a letter sent to the school's president on Wednesday, following controversy over the university's punishment of a gay couple.

"We empathize with the lesbian couple at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies [GDUFS] who were denied their bachelor's degrees," one of the two petition organizers, nicknamed Sister Shan, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In June, GDUFS refused to give a lesbian couple their diplomas, saying their public marriage proposal "violated certain regulations." The university has since granted the women their degrees, though it has not apologized for the delay.

Meanwhile, GDUFS President Zhong Weihe awarded 50 legally married alumni couples certificates of honor in 2015, Shan said.

"We were upset by the university's different attitudes and standards toward gay and legally married couples," Shan said. "We hoped to write a letter with [over] 100 signatures to help build a gay-friendly campus."

On Sunday, Shan and her friend Xiao Qi collected the signatures of some 187 supporters from China and abroad on jinshuju.net, a data management website.

In the letter to GDUFS, they advised the college to seek to understand and protect the gay community. They also called on the college to bring courses on gay recognition to new students.

"Even today, LGBT [students] go through bullying, suicide and school expulsion because of their sexual orientation and their natural differences," Liang Wenhui, founder of the Chinese Gay-Straight Alliance, told the Global Times.

Liang also noted that teachers at GDUFS who tried to promote courses on sexual identity and homosexuality on campus last term received punishment from the school.

"In the diploma rejection case, the lesbian couple's parents were informed by the university of their sexual orientation. Their private matters should not be exposed against their will," Liang said.

On July 28, LGBT group All Out sent the signatures of over 75,000 people to the university, requesting that the university apologize to the two students.
A Navy lieutenant who attempted to negotiate with Iranian captors by filming a taped apology during the brief detention of two riverine command boat crews in January has appealed after being disciplined last week, an official with knowledge of the proceedings confirmed to Military.com.

Lt. David Nartker was in charge of the lead boat when the two crews strayed into Iranian waters during a Jan. 12 transit from Kuwait to Bahrain. One of the boats subsequently broke down, and the 10 crew members were captured by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard while dead in the water off the coast of Farsi Island.

An investigation into the incident found that Nartker, the only officer among the 10 sailors, failed to take decisive action when detained and had acted improperly in surrendering the two boats. He also was faulted for apologizing to captors on camera in exchange for the sailors' release -- video that later would be used by Iranian media for propaganda purposes.

"We apologize for our mistake," he said in the circulated video. "That's our fault."

Related Video:

American Sailor Apologizes to Iran

Nartker received an unspecified punishment alongside another officer Aug. 4 at a captain's mast before Rear Adm. Frank Morneau, head of Naval Expeditionary Combat Command. The appeal will go to Adm. Scott Swift, head of U.S. Pacific Fleet, sources said. Swift has 30 days to make a decision on the appeal.

"The appeal authority may set aside the punishment, decrease its severity, or deny the appeal, but may not increase the severity of the punishment," NECC spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg said in a statement.

The investigation found that Nartker had resisted reciting scripted remarks on camera for his Iranian captors, but had violated the U.S. code of conduct for troops who are captured by apologizing.

Unbeknownst to him, the State Department had already negotiated the sailors' release before he agreed to appear in the video.

The investigating officer made allowances, however, for Nartker's youth and inexperience, adding that lack of oversight and leadership on the part of more senior leaders had contributed to the difficult position in which he was placed.

"His deployment to the Fifth Fleet area of operations lacked any form of oversight and he lacked basic mentorship and development from his entire chain of command," the investigation stated. "Left to his own devices, he emulated the poor leadership traits he witnessed first-hand within his own chain of command."

At least three commanding officers have been removed from their posts in connection with the incident, and four officers, including Nartker, have appeared at captain's mast. Three received punitive letters of reprimand, and one was found to be not guilty of wrongdoing, officials said.

Two enlisted personnel also received letters of reprimand.

But one of the riverine sailors was singled out for commendation: The number two gunner on the second boat, the only woman among the two crews, received a Navy Commendation Medal this month for activating an emergency beacon to summon help while under Iranian guard.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.
BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Those who illegally use others' identity cards will be punished and blacklisted, according to a new regulation.

The regulation, aimed at strengthening the protection of citizens' private information, was issued on Wednesday by eight ministerial-level departments including the Ministry of Public Security, and went effect immediately.

According to the regulation, government functionaries must not copy, reproduce or retain ID cards without authorization.

Authorities should perfect a security management system protecting citizens' information. Personal information for official business should be kept confidential, the regulation said.

Government organs should blacklist those who deliberately infringe other individual's identities, and form a joint disciplinary scheme for offenders.
NAIROBI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday here that China is Kenya's trustworthy partner as the East African country endeavors to achieve economic prosperity.

Wang made the remarks while meeting with his Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed, and both sides pledged to further deepen bilateral practical cooperation.

China and Kenya have enjoyed the advantage of high-level political mutual trust and strong economic complementarity, said Wang.

And as a next step, he said, the two countries should take the opportunity of fully implementing the important consensus reached by the two leaders and the fruitful outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in Johannesburg, to further promote bilateral cooperation and development and achieve practical results that are beneficial to the two peoples.

Kenya is one of the leading African countries that are deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with China, said Wang. The two countries have already defined a cooperative framework in five major fields -- industrialization and infrastructural construction, agriculture and green environmental protection, cultural and educational exchanges, peace and security and justice and police affairs, and international and regional affairs, he said.

China is willing to work with Kenya to further enhance political mutual trust and dovetail development strategies so as to make headway with the three projects of Mombasa-Nairobi railway, Mombasa port and Mombasa special economic zone, said Wang.

Besides, China will cooperate with Kenya in the construction of an industrial economic corridor that is connecting roads and ports, and help Kenya develop into the center of manufacturing and logistics in East Africa and become a regional development hub, he said.

China is Kenya's most trustworthy partner while the East African nation strives to realize the Kenya 2030 Vision, Wang added.

For her part, Amina said that with a strong bilateral friendly relationship and frequent high-level exchanges, Kenya and China share broad consensus on further promoting bilateral cooperation.

Kenya is willing to enhance cooperation with China in areas such as infrastructural construction, industrialization, special economic zone, agricultural modernization, energy and environmental protection, technical training, she added.
San Francisco, August 10th  Living with host families, taking classes with local students, visiting prestigious universities and most importantly, learning English, its 13-year-old Chinese student Liu Zhuofans summer camp life in California.

This late July, together with another 29 middle school students from Beijing, Xinjiang and Shenyang, he flew half way around the world to the U.S. for a 24-day summer camp.

Interesting, hungry, and tired, Zhuofan managed to summarize his past two weeks in the U.S. with these three English words. After 14 days authentic American school life in Los Angeles, these campers took the late night flight to San Francisco to complete the rest half of their camp.

The United States is not his first camp destination. Zhuofan, like a migrant bird, took different camps during his summer or winter breaks in different English-speaking countries.

Tours like this have been a fast-growing industry in China that aims to attract middle-class parents eager to give their children a comprehensive English studying experience and a glimpse of the foreign culture, especially prestigious schools such as Yale, Harvard and Stanford -- all in about two to four weeks.

According to New Oriental, Chinas biggest education group, the number of Chinese students taking overseas study tours has reached 300, 000 in 2015 since the first tour started in 2005. And the market value has reached around 10 billion Chinese yuan. The United States takes about 40% of all the tours.

The students taking part in the overseas summer camps are getting younger, Liu Min, director of New Orientals oversea study program in Xinjiang told Peoples Daily Online. A 2015 report by Ctrip revealed that the Chinese students who plan to travel abroad for summer camps are three years younger than the travelers in 2014. The age ranges from 8 to 15 years old. Such trend coincided with the prevailing low-aging trend of oversea Chinese students.

To satisfy the continuously diverse demands of parents and students, different themes of camps are customized to different age groups from kindergarteners to the white collars. Many parents also go to summer camps organized by American local institutions. For example, Ms. Liu flew from Beijing to attend San Franciscos 5-day Roughing It Summer Day Camp with her 9-year-old son Bob.

For Liu Zubing, father of Zhuofan, attending such tours is preparing his son for future education in the U.S. universities. While Ms. Liu is trying to put her son in an immersed English learning environment. Compared to those taking summer training schools in China, these migrant birds have a different continuation of school in a different way, an of course, in a different country.

At roughly $5,000 to $10,000 per student, such American summer camps aren't affordable for the average Chinese family. High-spending parents often have high expectations for summer programs. However, problems also come with the growing lucrative business.

It seems the little campers havent realized why their parents sent them abroad. When asked about what he has learnt in the past weeks, Zhuofan told Peoples Daily Online on the tour bus to Pier 39, San Francisco, I wasnt listening in the English class. I was playing with my iPhone all the time and the math class was too easy for all of us.

The other students are sleeping - owing to the intense schedule that they have to visit San Francisco, New York, Boston, Washington DC, and Philadelphia in the next 10 days, the little campers slept through all the tour guides explanation of local customs and practices. Can we just go back to the hotel and sleep? one camper asked the tour guide.

Chinese students are too shy to speak to American students, said Xiayidan, one of the two lead teachers of Zhuofans camp, How can they improve their English if they stay with their Chinese friends and speak Chinese all the time? Mr. Lee, who has 10 years tour guide experience in Chinas oversea summer camps, also told Peoples Daily Online about his concern, Too much time spending on their smartphones. They played with their phones in the class and during the sightseeing. I dont want them to waste their time here.

Another side effect of the tour is showoff competition. The kids compare their summer experiences at school. Bob told that one of his classmates took a trip to 10 European countries last summer and he wanted to go, too. It gives the parents a lot of pressure, Ms. Liu told Peoples Daily Online.

When asking to give a score to the tour, Ill give 99 points! said Zhuofan, one score off because of the food. Although the kids were tired and hungry all the time, most of them still want to take part in an oversea summer camp next year, the Universal Studio and Disneyland are awesome, they told Peoples Daily Online, excitedly.

For the parents, Liu Zubing said, You cannot measure the money you invested to the childrens education just to their contemporary performance. He concluded with an ancient Chinese saying, To read thousands of volumes and travel thousands of miles. Therell be gaining more or less.
BAY CITY, MI -- It was 47 years ago in the early hours of the morning on the South China Sea that the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans was cut in half in a collision with the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.

In total, 74 American sailors -- including three from Michigan -- lost their lives on June 3, 1969, during the Vietnam War. Their names aren't inscribed on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., because the horrific incident took place outside the designated combat zone.

But the USS Frank E. Evans Association, an organization that continues to work to persuade the Department of Defense to make an exception for the sailors and see their names inscribed on the wall, is memorializing the lost souls with individual markers in each of the states where those men were from.

In Michigan, a memorial is being unveiled this weekend at the mooring site of the USS Edson in Bay City, 1680 Martin St., to honor Douglas Roy Meister, Timothy Lynn Miller and Harris Melvin Brown. The ceremony, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13., is open to the public.

"This is about never forgetting these men," said Terry Vejr, with the Frank E. Evans Association, who was one of the ship's 204 survivors.

The granite memorial, located outside the gate of the Edson destroyer, includes a photo of the Frank E. Evans and biographical information on the three sailors. Each of the three men, who hailed from Redford, Detroit and Lansing, died at the age of 19.

Miller, of Lansing, was assigned to the 1st Division, the deck force, where he was becoming familiar with his duties. He had only been on the ship for 17 days when the collision happened.

Officials in Detroit, Lansing and Redford turned down the opportunity to have the memorial installed in their respective towns. Mike Kegley, president of the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum, said it was a no-brainer decision when he received a call to have the memorial installed at the site of the Edson.

"I think it's really fitting that we're remembering these men at the site of a naval destroyer," Kegley said.

Ronald Moore, of neighboring Essexville, was also one of the survivors on the ship. A prior commitment is preventing him from attending Saturday's ceremony, but he said he's pleased to see the men who lost their lives finally recognized.

"This is a very good thing," he said. "I also think these men should be on the (Vietnam Memorial Wall) in D.C."

Moore was in the back part of the ship waking up for his watch duty when the collision happened.

"I was barely out of bed when it hit and knocked me for a mile," he said. "The ship swung back and the front half sunk real quick. The poor guys in the front never had a chance."

Moore was ultimately rescued by members of the Australian Royal Navy. He spent a week in Japan and then traveled home to Michigan.

At Saturday's ceremony, a poem is going to be read about the Frank E. Evans, which was nick-named the "Grey Ghost."

"It cannot be changed, not rearranged, it cannot be explained at all," the poem reads. "But till I die, I'll wonder why, their names are not found on the wall. The date was June Three, in the South China Sea, and good ships were on Yankee Station.

"The ocean was calm, near South Vietnam, the Grey Ghost was serving her nation."

Vejr said he has reached out to family members of the three Michigan men being remembered on Saturday, but hasn't had any luck.

"Unfortunately, it's pretty common not to hear from the family," he said. "This was very traumatic and many of these men's brothers and sisters were younger when this happened."

Michigan is the 18th state where a memorial has been installed. There are still 10 more to go, which Vejr hopes to have finished by the end of next year.
BAY CITY, MI -- Now 16 and living outside of Michigan, a girl returned to Bay County to testify against a man she said sexually assaulted her several times.

The preliminary examination of John W. Black was held the afternoon of Aug. 10, and saw the teen take to the witness stand. She testified she began living at Black's Bay City home in September 2014 when she was 14 and continued to live with him through September 2015.

Black is charged with five counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a relation, a 15-year felony.

One day, she was lying on a bed with her tablet when Black entered the room, the teen said. He lay on the bed with her, then proceeded to put his hand down her pants and touch her vaginal area, the teen testified.

Later that same day, she was reclining on a couch and Black again lay beside her and put his hand down her pants, she said.

While testifying, the girl spoke in terse sentences and consistently kept her gaze focused straight ahead, not looking toward the seated Black or the assistant prosecutor as he asked her questions.

Another occasion involved the teen lying on a bed when Black slid under the covers with her. She initially pretended to be sleeping, she said, "because I kind of knew he was going to do something. I figured if I pretended to be asleep, he would just leave me alone."

Such conduct occurred in similar ways on various other days. In the fall of 2015, Black put his hand on the girl's buttocks, she said.

"How did that make you feel?" asked Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Bernard J. Coppolino.

"Like everything was going to happen again," she said.

The girl then told a teacher Black had been molesting her, she testified. The same day, she spoke with a Bay City police officer.

Cross-examined by defense attorney Andrea LaBean, the teen said she was later interviewed by staff at the Nathan Weidner Children's Advocacy Center.

LaBean later asked the teen if, while living with Black, she could have moved out of his house to live with her mother.

"No," she said. "He wouldn't let me."

LaBean asked the teen if she ever told anyone beside Black that she didn't want to live with him anymore. She initially said she did not, but then said she had authored a letter that mentioned such a desire.

"Was the reason you didn't want to live with (Black) because of his rules?" LaBean asked.

"No," the teen replied.

When he had the opportunity to question her again, Coppolino asked if she was making up the allegations against Black because she didn't like living in his house or in accordance with his rules. The teen replied that she was not and that what she was alleging actually happened.

The teen was the only witness who testified. The hearing ended with Judge Kelly granting Coppolino's request to bind Black's case over to Bay County Circuit Court for trial.

When the hearing started, Black was charged with four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a relation, a 15-year felony. A fifth count was added by the time the hearing concluded based on the teen's testimony.

Black, who turns 35 on Aug. 11, remains free on bond. The date of his trial is pending.
WASHINGTON, MI --A 25-year-old man accused of fleeing police was arraigned in Romeo Wednesday after hitting a pedestrian and nearly striking a police car during an escape attempt Sunday.

According to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, James Anthony Pazarena was charged with fleeing and eluding, and felonious assault stemming from the incident.

Deputies were called to the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot on 26 Mile Road near Van Dyke in Washington Township at 11:22 a.m. on Sunday.

Witnesses claimed Pazarena was driving recklessly and crashed into another vehicle, causing minor damage, according to the sheriff's office.

When the owner of the damaged vehicle stated he wanted to call police to file a report and began to walk to the back of the vehicle to get the license plate number, Pazarena sped off, striking the man with his side mirror, witnesses told deputies.

After the incident, two citizens in separate cars, chased Pazarena in vehicles and cornered him on Granite, a dead-end road.

The citizens attempted to block Pazarena's escape, he drove onto the lawn of a home and around the vehicles at a high rate of speed, deputies said.

When deputies arrived, Pazarena nearly struck the deputy's vehicle as he fled.

Other deputies located Pazarena in the parking lot of a Rite-Aid Pharmacy near the intersection of 26 Mile & Van Dyke, where he was arrested.

Pazarena was given a $100,000 cash-or-surety bond, and is scheduled to be back in court on Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 1:30 p.m.
WARREN, MI -- While Hillary Clinton touched on a number of topics ranging from four-year degrees to her opponent's values, it was her focus on the middle class that hit home for some in attendance.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, spoke Thursday afternoon, Aug. 11, at Futuramic Tool & Engineering in Warren.

Jackie Kelly, of Warren, was up front and center for the delivery of Clinton's invite-only economic speech. Kelly said she was a guest of the Center Line Democrats.

"What she wants to do for the middle class, the everyday people that have been forgotten about for so long," Kelly said is what most hit home. "This was definitely a different tone (from Trump's Aug. 8 speech in Detroit).

"Maybe if I was a millionaire I would have liked his speech."

The Warren resident said being able to see and hear Clinton "right up front" has only motivated her more to make sure she can say "Madame President."

During her speech, Clinton said the workers at Futuramic "are on the front lines of what I believe will be a true manufacturing renaissance in America."

The company manufactures tooling for the auto, aircraft, aerospace and defense industries.

"If I am fortunate to be president I will have your back every single day. My mission in the White House will be to make the economy work for everyone and not just those at the top," Clinton said during Thursday's speech. "I have always remembered that I am the daughter of a small business owner and the granddaughter of a factory worker and I am proud."

Paul VanGorder, a project manager at Futuramic, joked that things were a little different today at the Warren-based facility.

The Sterling Heights resident said he enjoyed the "once in a lifetime" opportunity of having a presidential candidate come in. VanGorder added that he would like to see "more money to workers and to support our industry."

With the company now having ties to NASA, the project manager said he anticipates to hear a lot about "the type of work we do here." The company manufactures rocket boosters for NASA and, also, F35 Fighter Jet parts.

Futuramic is working with NASA on the Orion Spacecraft, which has the goal of a manned mission to Mars.

Thursday's appearance was Clinton's first Michigan visit since losing the Michigan primary to Bernie Sanders, but ultimately winning the Democratic nomination.

A Republican presidential candidate hasn't won Michigan in the November election since George H. W. Bush beat Michael Dukakis in 1988.
The battle over a proposed mosque in the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights has made its way to the federal courts.

The Sterling Heights Planning Commission refused to grant a special permit to the American Islamic Community Center, a nonprofit Muslim organization with more than 100 members, for construction of its 20,500-square-foot mosque last September.

The denial came after multiple public meetings during which residents made racially charged comments about Muslims and their religion.

"What they should do is probably have Homeland Security check these people out, just in case," one man said at a public meeting about the mosque construction in August 2015. "You don't know what's going on. You know, they're cutting people's heads off, they killed our soldiers and everything.

" ... They scare me, they scare everybody."

American Islamic Community Center believes denial of the mosque construction is discrimination based on the groups' Muslim beliefs.

Planning Commission members said the denial was related to building issues, and the impact on parking, traffic and surrounding home values.

The American Islamic Community Center filed a federal civil lawsuit against Sterling Heights Wednesday. It's requesting a financial settlement and the right to move forward with construction of the mosque.

Full lawsuit:
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FLINT, MI -- Dozens of people gathered Wednesday evening to recognize the work of nine college students who worked to change lives in Flint this summer.

It part of the 12-week Diplomat Fellowship program, which brings college students from around the country to Flint. The students pick a social issue and partner with a community organization to tackle it.

The goal is to create sustainable change and solve issues Flint residents face and to do hands-on service projects throughout the summer.

Around 70 people were expected to attend Wednesday's reception from 6 to 8 p.m., located at the Flint Farmers' Market.

At the reception, fellows shared their contributions with the community and community leaders who helped along the way.

To read more about each fellowship project, click here.
FENTON, MI -- Officials in the city of Fenton are looking to develop another downtown lot with retail, office space and condos, but a $400,000 gap in funding may put the project on hold.

Ghassan Saab of Fenton-based Corlin Builders described the proposed 41,800 sq. foot project at a meeting with Fenton city council and the Downtown Development Authority Wednesday evening, Aug. 10.

The plan was to build a four-story building at 111 S. Leroy Street, near the intersection of East Caroline in downtown, currently the site of an unused building and old parking lot. But during Wednesday's meeting, Saab said Corlin Builders would need an additional, unforeseen $407,550 for architectural and engineering fees.

After about 15 seconds of silence from city officials, Fenton city manager Lynn Markland said the extra costs could be a deal-breaker.

"Honestly, I don't know that that's in the cards this time," Markland said. "This is the first opportunity we've actually had to hear that discussion, and I guess I'm a little surprised, to be honest with you."

Fenton Mayor Sue Osborn agreed with Markland, saying the project may not be feasible, since the city recently paid for several other development projects in the downtown area.

"I think what we need to do - we can't make a decision tonight, because obviously, I didn't realize all those costs were involved...So, we will take it under advisement and then we can reconvene at another meeting," Osborn said.

Saab agreed to meet again in a couple weeks after city leaders have had a chance to review the budget.

The project, if approved, would cost a total of about $7.6 million and would include retail space on the first floor, office space on the second floor and condos on the third and fourth floors. It would also feature 37 covered parking spaces and walk-out terraces and balconies on the upper floors.

The condos, which would range in size from 1300 to 2400 square feet, would feature two bedrooms, two baths, walk-in closets and open floor plans. Expected sale price is $165 per square foot, or a total price range of $214,500 to $396,000, Gahssan said.

The exterior of the building would have limestone on the first floor with a tan-colored brick on upper floors and black metal railings in a mix of modern and traditional materials, Gahssan said, similar to the mix of materials used in the Genesee County Courthouse in downtown Flint.

Even with the sale of the retail, office and condo space, the project would still come at a net loss of about $1.7 million.

Although Gahssan said they anticipate additional funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for developing an obsolete space and creating jobs, they are still $407,550 short in funding.

"Without it, the project can't happen," Gahssan said. "There isn't going to be any drop in construction prices. We're not really willing to sacrifice the quality of the building...we don't want to do a sub-par building. This is really the only way to do it."

Osborn did say city leaders do plan to take a second look at the budget, calling it a "beautiful project," but said they would have to meet with Corlin again in a few weeks with their decision.

"But we definitely will look (at the budget) because it's a beautiful project," she said.

If the project goes through, construction would start in early 2017 and is slated to be completed in late February 2018.
China dissatisfied with EU statement on conviction of Chinese citizens over state subversion

A screenshot from the website of the Chinese Mission to the European Union shows China voices dissatisfaction on August 10, 2016. [Screenshot: CRIENGLISH.com]

China has expressed strong dissatisfaction over an EU statement relating to state subversion cases in China.

The European External Action Service issued the statement on the conviction of Chinese Citizens on charges of state subversion in early August.

In response, the Chinese Mission to the European Union said China enshrines the principle of rule of law and anyone who breaks the law shall be brought to justice, regardless of his or her occupation.

The Chinese mission said China's judicial authorities handle cases in accordance with the law, while protecting every legitimate right of the suspects.
BEIJING, Aug. 11 -- Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been escalating as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Kiev of plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea and vowed to take additional measures to ensure the safety of infrastructure and citizens there.

"The people who seized power in Kiev ... have switched to terror tactics instead of searching for ways for a peaceful settlement," Putin told a news conference.

"The attempt to provoke an outbreak of violence, to provoke a conflict is nothing other than a desire to distract (Ukrainian) society from its problems," he added, calling Ukraine's actions "criminal."

"We will certainly do our utmost to ensure safety of infrastructure and citizens...(and) those will be serious additional measures and more than that," he said.

Earlier on the same day, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said the country has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service.

One officer died on the night between Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 during a clash with saboteurs and another serviceman was killed on Aug. 8, as Russian forces prevented two attempts of the special units of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry to penetrate Crimea from Ukraine which was covered by heavy shelling from the Ukrainian side, the FSB said in a statement.

However, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said "Russian accusations towards Ukraine of terrorism in occupied Crimea sound as preposterous and cynical as the statements of the Russian leadership about the absence of the Russian troops in Donbass (region of Ukraine)."

Crimea, which was previously part of Ukraine, was incorporated into Russia in 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Ukraine and Western powers.

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said the claims were "hysterical and false," and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry termed the allegations as Moscow's attempt to justify its re-deployment and actions in the region.

Ukraine will ask the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting if tensions continue to rise over Russia's accusations, Ukraine's Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko on Wednesday told reporters at the UN headquarters.

"The convening of the Security Council is being considered," he said. "As soon as it comes to the point, we will do it immediately."

As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Ukraine has the right to call a meeting on any matter considered to be a threat to international peace and security.

Since Ukraine joined the council in January, it has held only one meeting on the crisis in the country.

Ukraine, the United States and European governments have long accused Russia of arming and encouraging pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst has said Ukrainian security forces have strengthened their military lines in eastern Ukraine and to the north of Crimea.

A ceasefire was signed in Minsk in September 2014 and then in February 2015, with representatives from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany reaching a new agreement in the Ukrainian capital.

However, fighting in the east between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels continues despite the peace deal.
The driver of the tour bus in which 26 people died on July 19 might have set fire to the vehicle after quarreling with his wife who had decided to return to Chinese mainland as the driver was involved in a sexual assault case, Taiwan media reported.

Investigators claim the quarrel might have led the driver to vent his anger on the mainland tourists.

The driver drank lots of liquor while driving to the Taoyuan International Airport on July 19, and poured gasoline on the water fountain and the penal board.

After the accident, the driver's father said that the daughter-in-law has gone back to mainland with three children, and "will never come back."

In the worst ever road accident for Chinese mainland visitors to the island, the entire tour group of 23 tourists and a guide were killed. The driver and another tour guide from Taiwan also died.

On Monday, a tour bus crash in Macao injured at least 32 mainland tourists. Macao police said the accident occurred when the bus was going downhill close to the Ruins of St. Paul, a well-known tourist attraction.

A white van rear-ended the bus, and the bus driver got out to check the situation.

The bus started rolling down the slope without the driver and rammed into a roadside clinic.

Macao's Health Bureau said 10 people remain hospitalized.
In recent days, South Korean President Park Geun-hye has seemed unhappy as six lawmakers of the main opposition party, Minjoo, left for Beijing to discuss the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) with Chinese experts.

Park denounced their visit, saying that the opposition party is attempting to divide and betray the country, as the visit serves to further split public opinion over THAAD deployment. The opposition party refuted Parks accusation as a twisting of the facts.

Certainly, the past few days have not been easy for Park. She admitted that she has been losing sleep over the opposition to THAAD deployment. But, she said, she was aware when she made the decision that the missile defense system would be highly controversial.

Now its time for a final resolution. The South Korean government needs to listen carefully to what dissenting voices are saying. It is unwise for Seoul to simply get angry at the opposition party without acknowledging its arguments.

The dissenting voices have been increasing ever since Seoul and Washington announced their decision about THAAD deployment. The justifications cited by the South Korean government lost credibility once it was proven that Seoul is actually beyond the protection zone afforded by the system.

Other arguments cited by the government also failed to convince the public. The U.S. army even invited South Korea to measure the electromagnetic radiation of the radars for its THAAD system deployed in Guam. However, the South Korean people did not buy it, believing that a single measurement taken without a third-party witness would not be convincing.

Faced with mounting public pressure, the South Korean government opted for a compromise and proposed another deployment site. However, instead of easing public complaints, this announcement only triggered more questions over the necessity of the deployment.

Whats more, the accusations of betrayal that the South Korean government has leveled against the opposition are being perceived as entirely unreasonable. The lawmakers of the Minjoo party have made clear that their visit to China is aimed at the improvement of China-South Korea ties, which have been hindered by THAAD deployment. Their real concern is that Parks persistence will undermine the two countries bilateral ties and ultimately hurt South Koreas interests.

What Park has done to the lawmakers reminds many people of the failure of the Saenuri party in the congressional election in April. Some believe that the governing party wants to pressure their opponents so they can gain more ground in the presidential election next year.

Meanwhile, China is unwilling to get swept up in this issue. Alert to the possibility of damaging its strategic interests, China has repeatedly opposed the deployment of the THAAD system and advised South Korea to think long and hard before making the monumental decision. China has declared its position to all parties, including the opposition party of South Korea, and has no need to buy anyones support. Therefore, China has no reason to object to the South Korean lawmakers visit to Beijing.

One must always keep an open mind to different opinions when making important decisions. The pros and cons may not have been properly weighed before the South Korean government decided to deploy the THAAD system. As more negative effects come to light, the South Korean government seems to be realizing the serious consequences of its rash decision.

If the South Korean government continues to take its anger out on others, it will not only fail to justify the deployment, but also trigger more disastrous consequences.

(The author is an expert on international affairs.)
Biting into a Burger King in Myanmar for now requires a passport, with the countrys only restaurant located past customs at Yangon International Airport. But franchise operator Minor Food Group is hoping local appetite will merit many more outlets.





Thai firm Minor Food Group (MFG) opened Myanmars first Burger King in Terminal 1 on July 1  with very little fanfare. There was no press release, no ceremony.

By comparison, rival fast-food giant KFC opened its first Myanmar branch almost exactly a year earlier, inviting a host of local media and offering free food. Local KFC franchise holder Yoma Strategic also started its operations with a clear plan to open several outlets, first in Yangon and then across Myanmar. The group says it is on track to have 12 KFC restaurants open by March next year.

MFG, however, only sought approval from the US Burger King company for a single outlet in Yangon International Airport, Prapat Siangjan, the firms general manager for Burger King Thailand, said.

The firm has specialised in running Burger Kings in airports  it started its Thai operations with restaurants at Suvarnabhumi Airport, and its first expansion outside of Thailand was into airports in the Maldives, he said.

Myanmars new international airport Terminal 1 and anticipated tourist growth prompted MFGs decision to make the country its second overseas location, he added.

The lack of publicity was down to two factors. Firstly, when the outlet opened in July not all Terminal 1 operations were online, said Mr Siangjan. Only two carriers were using the new space, although more have since moved in. MFG is also entering a new market and wants to make sure its operations are running smoothly and service standards are up to scratch before the official launch, he added.

A PR announcement and opening in expected due course, he said.





Mr Siangjan hopes MFG will be able to open many more outlets outside of the airport. But expansion will depend partly on how well the initial branch does, which will help MFG gauge demand. It is likely to be at least a year before the firm decides to expand, he added.

One issue with the initial location is that many of the customers are likely to be departing tourists, which Mr Siangjan admitted could make it hard to assess local appetite. The prices at the airport outlet  which are denominated in dollars  have also raised eyebrows, with a standard value whopper meal going for US$8.50.

One potential plan is to open a second Burger King at the domestic terminal next door, which would have prices in kyat and cater more to locals, but negotiations for a second outlet are at a very early stage, he said.

Applying for permission for the first airport outlet was relatively smooth, he said. MFG applied towards the end of 2015, and received the green light early this year. The Thai firm runs the Yangon airport Burger King without a local joint venture partner, he added.

Mr Siangjan could not comment on whether the approvals process would be any different for opening an outlet outside of an airport.

Keeping an eye on the new Myanmar operations should be straightforward, as Yangon is closer to MFGs head office than some of the outlets it operates in Thai provinces, he said.

But MFG is not guaranteed to remain the only franchisee authorised to operate Burger King in Myanmar, and Mr Siangjan said MFG has to keep in close contact with Burger King headquarters to make sure they know if a competitor arrives.
Cooking oil millers in Mandalay are asking the Food and Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health to relax the rules that govern their trade, saying that the red tape could put them out of business.





They told a workshop in the city organised by the Mandalay Traders, Brokers and Millers Association late last week that FDA requirements that will soon come into force would have a serious impact on their survival. The new rules will introduce added restrictions in six areas including the quality of finished products and the working environment.

Millers have asked for a three-year grace period before the new measures come into effect.

There are about 300 oil millers in Mandalay, of whom only three carry FDA certification, while the others have been unable to meet the criteria.

Most oil millers in Mandalay will be put out of business if the FDA goes ahead with these rules, said U Aung Swe Hein, the association secretary. With FDA approval, we can distribute throughout the country. Without it, we can only sell to customers in our own region and we would have to close.

Miller U Aung Than told workshop participants that under the FDA rules, oil millers cannot operate within the compound of their home. This is the biggest problem with the new rules, he said.

Oil tanks have to be located at least 50 feet from a toilet, but some of our members are working from home, or in a very small area, he said.

When the industrial zone opened in Mandalay, other industries received land to run their businesses, but our oil millers didnt get any. They had to stay downtown.





U Aung Than said he had been running an oil mill for more than 30 years. From 1980 to 1984, I milled and sold peanut and sesame oil. When the government permitted edible oil imports, I sold that too. Then the peanut oil industry ran into problems and I sold one of my two oil mills. I couldnt run the other one because I could not find the labour.

Cheap imports of edible oil are increasingly squeezing local millers out of the market, he said. Its true that if edible oil imports continue, the local peanut oil industry will not survive.

Imported peanut oil is sometimes cut with cheaper oils such as palm oil. Last year the FDA said it would take action against sellers of fake peanut oil and would test products by taking samples and announced last September that 10 peanut oil brands had been found to be selling fake, substandard or blended oils.

For U Aung Than, producing quality oil is more important than locating factories away from housing settlements. In Mandalay, in my opinion, if oil millers work properly, they can produce 100 percent peanut oil wherever their mills are located. The FDA should ease its specifications.

In 1988 about 5000 tonnes of edible oil was imported, a figure that has now risen to 40,000 tonnes, enough to threaten the domestic oil production industry, said miller U Ko Gyi.

The workshop discussed trade measures and remedies for the peanut oil industry, including a possible tax increase for imported edible palm oil, restrictions on edible oil imports, and higher taxes on peanut exports. Myanmar exports peanuts to China, leaving a shortage of raw materials.
A new working group comprising government officials and entrepreneurs was formed this week with support from the Asian Development Bank, to develop local supply chains for international trade.





The International Trade Supply Chain (ITSC) working group will focus on areas in need of reform, such as trade finance and restrictive trade policies, entrepreneurs said at the associations launch on August 9.

While banking services for individuals have improved over the past few years, there are still weaknesses in business services such as loans, trade financing and letters of credit, they said.

Myanmars economy was supported by its banking sector from 1989 until 1997 [the start of the Asian Financial Crisis]. At that time, the process of applying for an export licence was easy and could be done within a day, said U Aye Lwin, general secretary of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).

But policies were changed after that and the economy started slowing. The ITSC group will identify the reasons for this slowdown and find out what needs to be changed.

The ITSC working group includes representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Planning and Finances Customs Department, the Internal Revenue Department, the Central Bank, Myanma Foreign Trade Bank, Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank, departments in 19 ministries, UMFCCI members and representatives from private enterprises.

The Asian Development Bank will meet the group at least once a month, with the aim of encouraging it to work in line with international standards. The ADB will also advise the ITSC group on difficulties in Myanmars supply chain, and help it compile detailed information on imports and exports.





Daw Pwint Thit War, a trade facilitation specialist at the ADB, told The Myanmar Times the development bank will work to ensure the initiative is effective.

Its main objective is to facilitate trade. Only if there is trade facilitation will [Myanmar] attract new investment. At first, ADB will support the ITSC, but will then transfer that responsibility to the UMFCCI when [the ITSC] becomes stable, she said.

U Win Myint, a director in the Department of Trade, said the Ministry of Commerce has already relaxed some rules on trade and will continue to cooperate with private enterprises.

The department is gradually adding to the list of goods that can be imported without a licence, and we will continue to relax the rules, he said.

We have also relaxed export rules, but in some cases approval is needed from certain ministries. We have to ask entrepreneurs to prepare for that, and we will find a way to fix it.

For now, traders must open a foreign currency bank account to buy international goods, and must have enough money in their account to pay for an order. Trade financing is still new in Myanmar and most importers and exporters pay for shipments on the spot.

State-owned Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank will try to make it easier for traders to use letters of credit, said the banks deputy director U Khin Pe Oo.

A letter of credit allows a bank to guarantee that the seller will receive a timely payment from the buyer  if they fail to pay, the bank steps in. With such an agreement in place, exporters are able to ship products before receiving payment.

A letter of credit from a bank provides a seller with a guarantee that if a buyer is unable to make timely payment for the goods, the bank will step in.

We will try to make the banking system more suited to the use of letter of credit. If anything is unclear, entrepreneurs can get in touch with us to find out which services are available, U Khin Pe Oo said.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe
Get your party hats ready  its festival time.





Foreigners and locals alike are streaming into Mandalay Region for the Taung Pyone Nat Festival, a once-a-year chance to see Myanmars mystical nat mediums. Starting today, Taung Pyone Gyi village in Madaya township will teem with tourists and pilgrims for eight days.

U Myint Ko Oo, a member of the Taung Pyone Pagoda trustee board, said the most crowded day is expected to be August 14.

This year, August 14 is the day when the two Taung Pyone brothers [images] will have their shower, he told The Myanmar Times on August 10. After that bathing ceremony, hundreds of other small nat shrines will begin to play nat music.

Today and tomorrow, believers will come to worship statues of the two nat brothers. Those seeking to make merit or secure spiritual blessings also donate food and money.





Then on the third day, the nats are believed to hold a night conference, followed by the aforementioned bathing of the two statues on the fourth day. On August 15, the fifth day, devotees will hold the ceremony that requires spirit mediums  often men and women dressed in drag and wearing make-up  to dance before the two nat brothers as an offering. Then theres a day for hunting rabbits followed by a day of cutting the htein trees. On the last day, which will be August 18, festival-goers gild the statues of the two brothers and change their clothes and turbans.

According to the pagoda trustee board, more than 800 stalls have set up for the event, including theatres, display rooms for health and other fun activities. Stalls selling local food such as kayaykayar, anusote and khawpyin have also popped up.

During the festival, Myanmar Railway will run special trains from Thaye Zay station in Mandalay to Madaya station, including a regular train.

Though it normally takes about 45 minutes to drive from Mandalay to Taung Pyone village by car or motor- cycle, expect traffic to worsen during the festival.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun
Protect our land, protect our rights.





These words hung behind the stage on August 9 at Yangons National Theatre, where the Myanmar Indigenous Peoples/Ethnic Nationalities Network hosted the 22nd International Day of Indigenous Peoples celebration.

The poignant statement hits home here, as many ethnic armed groups have clashed with Myanmars military, the Tatmadaw, for decades over land and resource rights. As the National League for Democracy government prepares for the upcoming Panglong Conference on August 31, more than 200 representatives from eight different ethnic minorities gathered in the countrys largest city to show unity and make a statement.

We all have to know what our rights are, said Salai Bawi Lian Mang, the managing director of the Chin Human Rights Group. Without knowing our rights, we can neither protect nor develop our homelands. We must be aware that there are many civil war victims still living in IDP camps.

Salai Bawi Lian Mang added that many of the ethnic groups are hill tribes located around Myanmars borders. He believes these groups are discriminated against and forced to stand by as their traditional literature, culture and living standards slowly disappear. Many ethnic children do not read in their own language, having been forced into Bamar-language schools most of their lives.

We need more opportunities, he said.





The celebration included his speech as well as a short dance performance, and allowed for networking between the youth representatives present. Myanmar Indigenous Peoples Network had hosted the last two events, and a spokesperson said more people came this year than in the past. Some travelled for more than two days to attend the event.

Naing Thet Lwin, the ethnic affairs minister, said the important thing for ethnic people is to maintain their individual cultural heritages by contributing to the federalisation process. Change will come, he said, pointing out that Kayin, Mon and Kachin nationalities having begun to use their own languages in school textbooks.

To save our customs, languages and natural resources, ethnic minorities and, really all people, have to be educated in a good education system, U Naing Thet Lwin said.

In Myanmar, indigenous peoples is taken to mean ethnic groups that had their own territories before the British colonised Burma. They have their own governing systems, languages and lifestyles, said Mai Thin Yu Mon, a member of Myanmar Indigenous Peoples/Ethnic Nationalities Network.

An official statement from the group urged the NLD government to pass an Ethnic Rights Protection Law as well as a national land use policy. They also called for health education and improved health facilities, as well as a reformed education system that might accurately reflect Myanmars immense cultural diversity.

Youth from Kayin, Chin, Mon, Shan, Kachin, Rakhine and Nagaland attended the ceremony and performed traditional dances.
What started as a conversation between two friends could result in Parami University becoming the first liberal arts and sciences institution established in Myanmar.





To fill a gap in Myanmars education sector, a group of young professionals with experience in liberal education are working to establish a private not-for-profit four-year residential university in Yangon, though Kyaw Moe Tun, executive director of the Parami University Founding Committee, says this is still a wild dream.

He told The Myanmar Times that there were two major challenges associated with establishing a liberal arts university in Myanmar. First, is the lack of knowledge about liberal education. Second is the lack of philanthropy when it comes to higher education. He says that many people believe the development of higher education is the job of the government. This makes efforts to mobilise resources difficult, given the little interest to invest in higher education.

To address these challenges a small team of eight have created the Parami Leadership Institute as a precursor to Parami University.

Kyaw Moe Tun says his faith in liberal education dates back to 2005, when he was a student in the Pre-Collegiate Program of Yangon (PCP). PCP transformed me from a science geek into someone who cares about global changes and wants to tackle them, he said.

Like many graduates of the PCP program, Kyaw Moe Tun continued his studies abroad, first completing his undergraduate degree at Bard College in the United States and then his PhD at Yale University.

This isnt the first attempt to establish a liberal arts and sciences university in Myanmar. Back in 2013, Bard College planned to open a branch institution and had even invited Kyaw Moe Tun to be a professor.

[But] in 2014 he told me its not going to happen for various reasons. I was heartbroken, frustrated.





In spite of this setback, Kyaw Moe Tun while talking to his friend Win Yu, a graduate of Middlebury College in the United States, came up with the idea to open a liberal arts university in Myanmar. I thought, Wait, why dont I just create one? Its an ambitious dream.

The Parami Institute will serve as a model with an academic curriculum that can be expanded and later integrated into a larger university. Students will undertake a four-month intensive program with courses in the liberal arts and sciences, with classes in the morning and experimental learning emphasised in afternoon sessions, including teamwork, research design, writing workshops and speaker sessions.

Well provide liberal education courses  one in humanities, integrated sciences, and two in the social sciences. [Courses] will be discussion-based like a small liberal arts and science college, with a small classroom size.

Centre College, a liberal arts college in Kentucky, USA, is assisting with curriculum development, administration support, faculty recruitment, and administrative training. Professors are being recruited from overseas, primarily from the United States.

Space will be limited to 16 of Myanmars brightest students to be recruited from local universities. Every year there will be 32 graduates, but if the program is viable the program will expand to 64 graduates the following year.

Every four months we are going to be creating top-notch human quality, that can critically think, communicate and write very well, and can think outside the box. Graduates from Parami will be connected to a lot of our partners at private companies and NGOs, he said.

The first cohort of students will start in January 2017, but applications will open next month.

Ability to pay will not be a factor for admission. Although the program is expected to cost about US$200-300 a month, scholarships will be available.

The Parami Institute in Shwe Gon Plaza will open next month. On August 21, a private fundraiser will be held on site. It is expected that the Institutes infrastructure costs will total approximately $95,000, and running costs will be $100,000 a year. The institute hopes to mobilise the support of individual investors.

For decades, waves of students have left the country in pursuit of better education, and many never return. This exodus is a huge loss of human capital for the country.

[The Parami Insititute] aims to provide a world-class tertiary education institution that can not only retain our bright high school graduates in the country, but also transform them into socially and culturally rooted global citizens, said Kyaw Moe Tun.
No Buddhist shrine is complete without an image of the Buddha himself, and when it comes to choosing a statuette there is no shortage of options: Jade, marble, wood, copper and now, thanks to crochet enthusiast Daw Kay Kay Khine, wool.





Daw Kay Kay Khine, 36, learned amigurumi  the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small animals and anthropomorphic creatures  seven months ago. When she had mastered the basics she had what might be called an enlightened idea.

Every day I pray to Buddha, and then one day while I was praying I had the idea to crochet his image. It was difficult because there is no crochet pattern for the Buddha, so I had to figure it out myself, she said.

The 8-inch figure took her 10 days to crochet.

Its not like knitting a normal human. I had to keep stopping to wash my body because it is a Buddha image, said Daw Kay Kay Khine, adding that she also recited Buddhist scriptures whilst knitting.

Daw Kay Kay Khine took a four-day crochet course at amigurumi school Hlaingzar Handmade before teaching herself how to knit people from online videos.

I started off crocheting small models of my friends. When I knitted the first one, I didnt know how to put a nose on the face. So I didnt, she said.

Founder of Hlaingzar Handmade, Daw Hlaing Zar Lwin, said, Kay Kay's is the first amigurumi Buddha image ever to be made in Myanmar.





Her crochet is really difficult and skillful. I pay my respects to her, she said.

Daw Kay Kay Khine keeps her knitted Buddha on a high shelf along with her other Buddha images, but says she would be happy to donate it.

I heard it was the first crochet Buddha in Myanmar. If it is true, I would like to donate it to Shwedagon Pagoda so everyone can pay their respects, she said.

But if you want to order one for yourself, youll need to be patient.

Since posting the photos on Facebook Ive had a lot of orders, but I rejected most of them because I cant do them all on my own, she said.

Besides, she says, she didnt keep a note of her pattern: If I make another one, it wont be the same.
The U.K.'s Daily Telegraph reported on Aug. 10 that Australian Olympic swimmer Mack Horton had finally offered an apology about his comments alleging that Chinese swimmer Sun Yang was a "drug cheat." However, the apology was not to Sun himself, but rather to those with similar names to Mack Horton, who have been harrassed on social media in the wake of Horton's comments.

Horton's father Andrew said that he was proud of his son, since he has dared to call attention to an important issue in sports. Not everyone believes there is cause to hail Horton for his bravery, however; Horton previously told Australian media that he made the provocative statement in order to distract Sun and interfere with his performance.

When asked about his feelings toward the past few days' events, Horton said, "I have just been focusing on the process and that is what you have to do at times like this." He also mentioned that he has gained 30,000 new Instagram followers since the controversy began.

After winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle race, Horton's behavior has triggered a great deal of anger and resentment. China's Swimming Association sent an official appeal letter to Swimming Australia, requesting that Horton apologize to Sun. Swimming Australia rejected the appeal, arguing that athletes have a right to express their own opinions.

Mainstream media outlet 7 News Australia launched a Facebook poll asking whether Horton should apologize to Sun. The results showed that 87 percent of Australian respondents believe Horton should apologize.

Sun Yang served a three-month ban in 2014 after using a banned substance which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency drug list in 2014. The 24-year-old said he unwittingly took the drug as part of treatment for a chronic heart problem.
Self-proclaimed sophisticate Kukso Koo is on a mission to transform Myanmars fashion industry.





Myanmar awake, and cast off your fashion chains. The advice comes from Kukso Koo, the Milan-based Korean designer who has just completed a week-long workshop at Yangons Jasmine Palace Hotel. The workshop was organised by the Justice Art Fashion Illustration School to put local designers in touch with the international fashion industry.

Designer and couturier Kukso Koo has advised such brands as Prada, Lawrence Steel and Roberto Cavalli, and worked as an instructor in many fashion design schools. He owns his own brand, KUKSO KOO. The August 1-5 workshop was his first visit to Myanmar.

I became a designer so that I could devote my life to making garments to enhance the beauty of the human form, he said.

He came at the invitation of Z Htoi San, the professional fashion illustrator who founded Justice Art. Mr Z admires and appreciates my work, and I appreciate his work too. He invited me to come and teach and to share my experience with Myanmar fashion designers, which I am happy and excited to do.

His course was entitled Haute Couture Design and Draping. My specialty is haute couture dressmaking, and Mr Z asked me to teach that subject, he said. It was a great opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with the students. I can help the Myanmar fashion industry be more international, more sophisticated and more enriched, he added.

He also taught the skills of conceiving a haute couture collection, haute couture dressmaking techniques and collection development.





Im here to help them develop their own approach to fashion design, he said. In the workshop, he demonstrated his technique of creating patterns by reference to the creations in his celebrated collection, as well as the arts of fabric selection and generating design concepts.

I believe the Myanmar fashion industry should be more open to the international market. I want to help designers reach international standards, he said.

People here should be more open to international fashion developments. I recognise change does not come easily. Political, economic and religious elements are all involved in the question of the development of the Myanmar fashion industry. We need to awaken our consciousness because Buddha teaches this. Awakening the consciousness will bring a better life in the future, he said.

The fashion industry here is still very narrow. Ive suggested that designers travel more widely. If you dont see these things for yourself and work only with imagination, its not easy to change. But if you absorb more international influences and communicate more with different countries, cultures and people, you become capable of more original creation, he said.

I like to see Myanmar people wearing traditional costume. On the other hand, attachment to local styles means that you might be missing out on a more modern look. I know its not easy to combine these things. I hope the new generation understands the situation and can create more possibilities to wear clothes in a better way, he said.

Before I went to Bogyoke Market, Id only ever seen traditional acheik fabric in pictures. Im always interested in making costumes with traditional fabric from other cultures because I mix different cultures in my creations, he said.
When the new government announced they wouldn't be revising the protest law, many were disappointed. As a would-be dissident hailing from a foreign country I wont name out of concern for my own liberty, I was simply outraged. Seething. Puce.





The clause preventing foreigners from engaging in activism remains on the books. Because of this, my movement has been forced underground and I must write under a pen name like a coward, or Bertil Lintner in the 1980s.

Were the law amended, my balcony would sport a 10-foot vinyl declaration of my cause. Id shout it from the rooftops. Id march on City Hall. The sides of entire apartment buildings would be painted, not with the Sunkist or Myanmar Beer logo, but with my slogans. Id stencil over the Le Novo building.

Like cigarette companies, I would set up stalls at festivals and try to recruit the young. Id take out advertising in state media, because its cheap and they have unparalleled distribution.

The citys inexplicable and, surely, unsustainable number of printing businesses would thrive, reeling off copy after copy of my manifesto and pamphlets.

Thered be hashtags, and a citywide non-consensual car stickering campaign that would make 969s 2013 achievements look like the work of foolish amateurs.

Generally speaking, one doesnt believe foreigners should participate too much in political life here. The irony that the NLD has taken on a number as consultants does not escape me. They ignore me at their peril. Never mind that my revolution, once it begins, will change the lives of millions. And so I sit. I wait. I plot my vengeance. It is their loss, not mine.

Only once my revolution comes to bear will this Republic of the Union of Myanmar have peace.





What do I stand for? Ending the pox of noise pollution on the streets of the commercial capital, thats what. While obviously not much can be done about the relentless million-decibel panhandling and proselytising that occasionally blights every neighbourhood for days on end (too soon  maybe the next government ... ), I take aim at something that is firmly within reach of the citizens. My message is simple: Stop f***ing honking.

Now, I understand Myanmar has developed a unique and unconventional method of using horns and indicators that run quite contrary to what these devices very inventors, and indeed, most car users worldwide, would consider logical. Thats fine. In my Brave New Burma, on the highways and major roads, people will be free to continue driving their wrong-handed, wing-mirrorless deathtraps on the right side of the road. They can continue to use their indicators to signal to other cars when its safe to overtake on a blind bend or a hill, and honk when they intend to overtake themselves. I still think thats dumb, but I know to pick my battles.

My cause is about traffic jams, and pedestrians.

The infinite wisdom of the municipal authorities and their sadistic urban planning unit now means downtown Yangon, which was once quite pleasant for walking around, is now a traffic-clogged hellscape with shrinking footpaths and no decline in the number of market vendors. Last month, I didnt even realise it was Martyrs Day. Living downtown, my ears have become acclimatised to incessant honking. Every now and then I stand on my balcony and marvel at the chaos below, fantasising about paintball-sniping the windscreens of impatient taxi drivers.

But, until legislative change or revolution comes, that must remain a fantasy. As must my bumper stickering campaign. Here are some slogans Im toying with, for when that blessed day comes: If you all stopped honking, you wouldnt need to honk, and, Want to help the peace process? Dont honk, Instead of honking, slap yourself in the face  its just as effective for changing the outcome of traffic jams  as well as a spin on the old classic Honk If Youre Horny!: Honk if you want to go to prison!.

For now, with my movement confined to the underground and my Myanmar, shall we say, ne ne, I attempt grassroots outreach with taxi drivers. If they honk obnoxiously at another vehicle, I mimic them, making horn noises with my mouth and the action with my hands.

As a pedestrian, there is little more frustrating than having to walk in the middle of the road on a side street (because they took out the footpaths to make more parking, for all those extra cars) only to have some hothead behind the wheel blast you with their horn, even as you make it quite theatrically clear youre getting out of their way. In rainy season, Ive taken to walloping their vehicles with my umbrella.

The other day, caught without my weapon of choice in the path of a slowly approaching, but definitely already honking, Probox, I stepped back into the road, slammed my hand on the bonnet, locked eyes with the driver, and  rather viciously  flipped him the bird. To my knowledge, this isnt illegal. It was also tremendously satisfying.

So friends, until this 75 percent democratic government looks to redress on its egregious and draconian protest laws, we must wait to begin the anti-honking campaign in earnest. For now, if youre in a taxi and your driver is honking, use your airhorn. Let him know you think what hes doing is stupid. Do not be put off by language barriers  its all in the eyes. As for pulling the finger, Im not sure that should become widespread. It probably comes off as a little hostile and Im not sure the bird has that much cultural resonance. Maybe just on quiet streets where there are few witnesses.

Rise up, fellow honkies!

Something on your mind? Talk it out this Weekend! Write to us at [email protected]
We asked chefs which Myanmar street food deserves a Michelin star. Heres what they said:





Kyaw Thet

Head chef at Rangoon Tea House

It would have to be tea leaf salad. Our foreign customers are always interested in trying tea leaf salad  they usually order at least one dish per table. We even export it to England and Thailand.

Thit Htoo

Owner of My Foodies research and development

Mohinga, because it is Myanmars traditional food. Last year, Myanmar competed in a recipe contest with other ASEAN countries and mohinga became well-known in ASEAN. I think mohinga could become a well-known dish worldwide.





Zaw Hlaing Oo

Head of culinary arts at the Hospitality and Catering Training Academy

Mote lin ma yar (couples snack) is a round, rice flour snack which is fried in a dimpled pan and served in pairs. You can buy it on many street-corners in Yangon. Best of all, it is served hot, so you wont get diarrhoea!
Though nearby Bagan gets all the love and tourist attention, theres something uniquely charming about Salay, a small town located about an hour-and-a-halfs drive south.





Walking down the citys central main street is bewildering: Youd be forgiven for thinking that nothing had changed since the British left town more than 65 years ago. Painted in hues of peeling blues and fading greens, decrepit colonial houses line the lane behind rows of starfruit trees. Thanaka-faced children peek out from open windows, startled by the presence of foreigners in their sleepy town. Scarcely any cars rumble through, with most traffic coming via the Ayeyarwady River that hugs Salay on its western border.

The colonial houses are remnants of the Burma Oil Company, which housed rig workers in the area starting in 1886. Working in Chauk, a crude oil production centre just 15 kilometres (9 miles) upstream, the men settled in Salay.

But the settlement where British officers once stomped and drilled was an ancient community long before it became a workers outpost. Salay first emerged during the 12th and 13th centuries as a satellite town of Old Bagan, and pagodas of the era are scattered in and around the town.

The Mann Paya Buddha image is one such relic, a dont-miss sight of the upper Dry Zone that most people have never heard of. Legend has it that local villagers spotted the hollow wooden statue  nearly 20 feet tall  floating downriver after heavy flooding in1888. They rescued it from the waters, dragging it ashore and coating it with gold lacquer.

Nobody knows for certain who carved it, but its style suggests an origin date of around 1300 AD. The Mann Paya is believed to be one of the only lacquered Buddha images in the country and certainly the largest. Visitors used to be able to enter the statue via a portal around the back, but caretakers have barred the gate in recent years to preserve structural integrity. You can still peer into the depths of the Buddha, however, to see slats of wood stretching up into the darkness behind the eyes.





Salay is a tiny town, hardly more than a village, and its easy to walk from the big wooden Buddha to the ornately carved wooden monastery: Yoke Sone Kyaung, built over a decade starting in 1882.

Styled in the fashion of crown prince houses in Bamar royal tradition, the monastery housed monks for a century before being transformed into a museum in 1996, when Myanmars military government decided to welcome tourism. Transformed, here, is used loosely, as the process seems to have added little in the way of museum standards. There is no electricity, so bring a flashlight if you want to examine the 700-to-800-year-old artifacts laid out randomly around the interior.

There are unidentified sculptures and a massive throne once used by master monks, as well as an old wooden box that served as carriage for the most important clergy. In a small building behind the monastery, the writings of famous Burmese poet and playwright U Ponnya can be examined. Though unknown to most foreign tourists, ask any Myanmar-educated person about him and watch their eyes light up. His work is a mainstay of public education, having emerged during the 1850s as King Mindons favorite bard.

But more than the artifacts and writings, the Yoke Sone Kyaung itself is fascinating in its own right. Thousands of detailed carvings adorn the exterior, telling tales of Buddhist folklore and sending signals to the spirits. Magans, or half-crocodile/half-lion mythological creatures, adorn the main entrance stairwell to symbolise the connection between heaven and earth. One hundred and fifty teak posts, more than 3 feet in diameter, hold the building up about 10 feet above the ground.

As is tradition in Myanmar, the monastery was donated as a merit-making endeavor by an old crony, U Po Gyi. According to our guide, U Po Gyi had connections within the royal navy and royal treasury, and enjoyed a comfortable life of power and wealth. Visiting his former house reveals a distinct paranoia that must have surrounded a man of many enemies.

The house is styled after the other colonial houses, but unique in that it is built entirely out of teak wood. Walls 5 feet thick and iron-plated doors make the house as much a fortress as a home, and its so well constructed that U Po Gyis descendants still live in it. Myanmar must be one of the few places where a historic tourist attraction doubles as someones living room.

As you exit the heavy teak doors and turn back to the towns sleepy main street, its hard to believe that the hustle of Bagans temple tourism is just 50 kilometres up the Ayeyarwady. There, tourists armed with selfie-sticks clamber over ancient pagodas to watch the horizon swallow sunsets over the river.

But those who visit Salay can claim something else  to have stepped off the beaten tourist track and explored upper Myanmar outside the pages of a guidebook.

IF YOU GO

WHEN

On the full moon day of Tabaung (normally in late March), there is a festival of worship to the Mann Paya.

HOW

By car from Bagan is easiest, though boats are also available if arranged ahead of time.

STAY

There is currently no tourist accommodation in Salay. Better make it a day trip.

EAT

Local noodles are your best bet, but see if you can get your hands on some fresh starfruit.
A student union is urging its Thai counterparts to push back against the military-drafted constitution, and to follow the example of Myanmars uprisings.





The All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) released a statement encouraging Thai students to collectively stand up against the militarys grip on power.

The Thai constitution is like Myanmars 2008 constitution  allowing the military to lead in perpetuity. According to human rights and democratic standards, the consequences of this constitution will not be good, said Ko Kyaw Ko Ko, chair of the ABSFU.

Thai students told The Myanmar Times yesterday they are not optimistic for the outlook of their country following the August 7 referendum that overwhelming voted to keep in place the military-backed charter.

Things are going to get harder in the future for us. We actually got democracy and then pedalled backward, said Siriphorn Chaiphet from the Thai Student Union.

Students from Myanmar and CSOs from Myanmar are offering us advice. We appreciate it. We know what the students in Myanmar have been through. They are very strong, Siriphorn said.

But some social media users criticised the ABFSU of stepping beyond its boundaries.

ABFSU chair Ko Kyaw Ko Ko laughed off the concerns.





I think it is really funny, he said.

But if there is injustice in one country, the other countries should be against it. We are all equally living in the world. When Myanmar was under the military government, Thai people criticised the injustice. So now Myanmar should share our experience.
Rights groups are making a last-minute appeal to parliament to amend the controversial 2012 Ward and Village-Tract Administration Law.





In a letter sent to the Pyithu Hluttaw on August 9, over 40 civil society groups presented a 10-point agenda of suggested changes.

The existing law includes a controversial clause requiring residents to report to the ward or village tract administrator the names of overnight guests, or face penalties.

The CSOs demanded the law  which also delineates the guidelines for local governance and bureaucracy  must be brought into line with democracy and international human rights.

The legislation has been a subject of contention in parliament as well, bringing to a head differences between military MPs focus on security, and the National League for Democracy lawmakers pledge to put an end to the systemic creation of political prisoners.

The NLD has argued that the law, and especially its retrograde overnight guest stipulations, are a disgrace to the country.

Ma Thinzar Shunlei Yi, from the Action Committee for Democracy Development, said the CSOs joint recommendations have been sent to the Pyithu Hluttaw Bill Committee, legal experts, the Union Attorney Generals Office and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

We must push for the amendments until the law is changed by the hluttaw, she said yesterday.





The CSOs urged the government to drop the punishments in the legislation that can result in the imprisonment of those who fail to register their overnight visitors.

Under the military junta, the authorities would search private homes in the middle of the night under the pretence of checking for unregistered guests in order to harass and detain activists. Under then-president U Thein Seins government the law was used to detain activists who were forced into hiding after the violent crackdown by the Myanmar Police Force on a student protest at Letpadan in Bago Region in March 2015.

The Ward or Village-Tract Administration Law, which was passed in 2012 and replaced two colonial-era laws, is a powerful tool for the Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversees the General Administration Department that employs ward and village-tract administrators.

Notoriously, the military authorities deployed the law against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi when an uninvited American stayed overnight illegally in her compound in 2009.

The version of the bill approved by the Amyotha Hluttaw in March removed the overnight guest provision, but the draft that came before the Pyithu Hluttaw last month had restored those paragraphs.

The CSOs maintain that the law also needs to rework guidelines for the ward and village tract elections, so that anyone over the age of 18 can elect their local administrator, instead of limiting the vote to one per household. The letter also suggested revising some of the qualifications, such as the overly stringent citizenship stipulation, and the education qualification, which proves a barrier to applicants who have not attained a high level of formal training.
An ethnic minority party is seeking to position itself as the democratic opposition to the ruling National League for Democracy in parliament. The Arakan National Party, the most successful ethnic party in last Novembers election in terms of seats won, says it will criticise the government and the NLD, both in parliament and outside.





Pyithu Hluttaw MP U Pe Than (ANP; Myebon) said his party, which holds 12 seats in the lower house and 23 seats in the Rakhine State legislature, will speak up about the governments weaknesses because no other party is doing so.

The NLD wiped out the formerly ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, winning large majorities last November in both houses of parliament and nearly all states and regions. In many parts of the country, the only significant opposition resides with the 25 percent of seats allocated under the constitution to the military.

I will point out the weakness of the government because the number of MPs in opposition to the government is rather small, U Pe Than told The Myanmar Times yesterday.

Before the election, opposition led by the NLD to the USDP was active and vocal. But few voices are being raised against the government now, he said.

NLD lawmakers dont criticise the NLD government and they are not allowed to talk to the media. Our party will point out the weaknesses of the government as much as we can, U Pe Than said. The better the opposition, the better the government.

A major ANP objective is to work for the development of Rakhine State, he said, adding that the partys MPs would hold separate meetings to discuss conditions in the state and the country as a whole.

Our MPs will meet in collaboration with other ethnic peoples to point out the weakness of the government, he said.





A lack of infrastructure is one factor that has led to Rakhine States underdevelopment, and many young people leave the state in search of work overseas. The MP said he wanted to create more job opportunities back home.

If there are job opportunities, our Rakhine nationals abroad will come home. Were focusing on questions of regional development in this hluttaw session, he said. Another goal is to reduce conflict among ethnic groups, thus strengthening security and establishing greater economic, social and inter-religious stability.

Dismissing the governments recent 100-day project, U Pe Than said it was too short a timeframe to effect real change. The time was too short and the legacy of bad government too long. The government will have to continue its efforts for far longer to overcome the ill effects left by the previous government, he said.

Plunged into disarray by the scale of its defeat, and with most of its MPs turfed out of their seats, even the former ruling party has been restrained in its criticism of the NLD. Former USDP Amyotha Hluttaw MP U Nu told The Myanmar Times on August 3, The government needs time to do what it wants to do. It cant be rushed. We just have to wait and see.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun and Emoon
The government is planning to launch a pilot project aimed at protecting the rights of domestic workers from Myanmar who are employed in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, an official from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population said yesterday.





In cooperation with overseas Myanmar embassies, the government plans to collect lists of undocumented housemaids who are working illegally in these five countries.

U Thein Win, a senior official from the Department of Migrant Affairs under the ministry, said planning for the pilot project was in its early stages, but the government wants to inform all parties who might become involved in the process, including Myanmar embassies and relevant authorities in the target countries.

After we collect the lists of domestic workers, we plan to give them legal identity cards, he said. We will also try to protect their legal rights by negotiating with authorities in the countries where they are working.

He added that nearly 40,000 domestic workers are employed in Singapore and almost 30,000 are working in Thailand, many of whom suffer abuse and forced labour.

Therefore, the Union government wants to take steps to protect them to the best of our ability, U Thein Win said.

Myanmars government stopped sending domestic workers overseas in 2014 as a result of a string of abuse cases, but many women have travelled to other countries unofficially to take such jobs.





Daw Khin Nway Oo, deputy director general for the ministry, said the government would consider reversing this decision only after lists of undocumented workers are collected and negotiations are made with other countries to afford these workers legal rights.

Even some legal domestic workers have faced abuse but they had no legal recourse because their host countries were not willing to accept their legal rights, she said. Therefore, we are trying to protect them before we move forward.
U Kyaw Tint Swe, minister for the Office of the State Counsellor, said about 700 representatives are expected to attend the so-called 21st-century Panglong Conference late this month, with a roster in structure cloning previous high-level peace talks convened in January under the previous government.





The senior minister was speaking yesterday in response to a query from Amyotha Hluttaw lawmaker U Kyaw Ni Naing (USDP; Shan 11), who was seeking clarity on the summit, alternatively referred to as a follow-up to the Union Peace Conference held early this year.

Taking a page from the previous governments peace negotiations playbook, the conference will include representatives numbering 150 for each of the Tatmadaw, ethnic armed group signatories to the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement and political parties; 75 from both the executive branch and parliament; and 50 each for ethnic and other relevant representatives, in line with the proportional representation for the January meeting.

Though the allocations are the same, many of the faces present will be new, with both parliament and the executive now dominated by the National League for Democracy, versus a January summit in which those two branches were controlled by the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Not addressed yesterday was whether seats would be allotted to ethnic armed groups granted observer status, as was the case for 50 delegates from non-signatories to Octobers NCA.

What kind of status non-signatories will be afforded at the upcoming peace talks remains an unknown, with U Kyaw Tint Swe declining to comment on the issue when asked by a reporter yesterday.

The Union minister said a finalised list of conference attendees and a review of the framework for political dialogue would be discussed and approved at a meeting of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC). That meeting is slated for mid-August, U Kyaw Tint Swe told media at the hluttaw complex.

But Colonel Sai La, spokesperson for the Restoration Council of Shan State, said yesterday that U Kyaw Tint Swes announcement was out of place, and such logistics should be determined only after the framework has been settled.





Since it is a composition issue of the framework and the review meeting for the framework has not started yet, I think such announcements should come later, he said.

The government announced this week that the 21st-century Panglong Conference would convene on August 31.

Additional reporting by Lun Min Mang, translation by San Layy
Ethnic armed groups are calling for more time before holding decisive peace negotiations in Panglong, referring to the preparations geared to meet the August deadline as rushed.





For reviewing and amending the framework of the political dialogue, I think we need to take more time, Colonel Sai La, spokesperson of the Restoration Council of Shan State, told The Myanmar Times following a meeting in Chiang Mai yesterday.

Khu Oo Reh, the leader of the Delegation for Political Negotiation, also told a Thai-based media outlet on August 9 that the non-signatory armed ethnic groups were not ready for the 21st-century Panglong Conference yet.

The calls for a deadline reprieve come as three ethnic armed groups and government negotiators appear to have hit a critical impasse.

A three-day talk between government peace negotiators and three Kokang groups concluded yesterday with a disagreement over a stipulation on surrendering weapons.

Led by vice chair U Thein Zaw, the governments peace commission met with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (the Kokang group), the Taang National Liberation Army and the Arakan Army in Mongla, territory controlled by third-party the National Democratic Alliance Army, from August 8 to 10.

U Zaw Htay, deputy director general of the Presidents Office, told The Myanmar Times the armed ethnic groups did not agree on terms set out by the government.





The main problem of the disagreement is over the wording surrendering their stance of armed struggle, U Zaw Htay said.

By his account, the government demanded two steps be taken by the armed ethnic groups should they wish to be included in the peace process. First, they need to issue a joint statement describing their willingness to join the political negotiation, and also surrender their principal means of armed struggle.

If they accept the first condition, they will be invited to join a political dialogue framework review meeting to be held in the lead-up to the 21st-century Panglong Conference.

For the second step, U Zaw Htay said for the duration of the peace negotiations the ethnic groups have to store their arms with a mutually agreed-upon third party.

We do not demand that they surrender their arms into the hands of the Tatmadaw. They just need to place their arms in the hands of allies, like the Mongla or the Wa, he said.

If the groups can comply with this second requirement, the government will allow them to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement and join the peace negotiators at the table at the Panglong meet, slated for August 31.

The Wa and the Mongla, two of the most powerful armed ethnic groups which run their own fiefdoms in Shan State, have built strong ties among other armed ethnic groups. The ethnic Chinese powerbrokers have reportedly formed a Northern Alliance with the three Kokang groups.

During a meeting with government officials presided over by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi earlier this month, the leaders of the Wa and the Mongla pledged that they will not split from the Union, and will instead support the peace process initiated by the government.

But the stipulations revealed by the government in Mongla, even if centred on the promised cooperation of mutual allies, still represent a sticking point for the Kokang groups.

It had appeared as if the Tatmadaw was of late softening its stance toward the three groups: inclusion, and the need for them to relinquish all weapons before joining the peace process.

That headway appears to have been reversed at Mongla.

A communication officer from the Taang National Liberation Army told The Myanmar Times that the meeting ended with no decisive conclusion or agreement.

They have not changed their stance much, he said.

Officials from other armed ethnic groups could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Senior military officials previously pledged that the Tatmadaw would cooperate to help the new administration achieve peace within its five-year term. Senior Tatmadaw officials told a press conference in May that the three armed ethnic groups would have to surrender their arms should they want to participate in the peace process, a reiteration of a stance which contributed to the groups being sidelined from the peace deal signed last October.

The TNLA, the AA and the MNDAA have been waging a campaign against the Tatmadaw in the Kokang self-administered area since February 2015. The inclusion of the three armed ethnic groups had been a major point of contention over the course of the ceasefire negotiations between the armed ethnic groups and the then-USDP government.

Despite requests for an all-inclusive peace process, then-president U Thein Sein ended up signing the nationwide ceasefire agreement with just eight groups on October 15.

Following an ethnic summit at Mai Jai Yang in Kachin Independence Army-controlled territory last month, the ethnic groups cemented an agreement for unity and to push for a fully inclusive peace process this time.

It remains unclear how the governments two-step requirements will impact this unity.

U Zaw Htay could not confirm yesterday whether there would be further talks between the three groups and the government.

The government has scheduled to hold a meeting of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee, a tripartite committee consisting of representatives from the government, signatory armed ethnic groups and political parties on August 15.

That meeting is also supposed to address the duration of the 21st-century Panglong Conference.

The signatory armed ethnic groups are scheduled to meet with government peace negotiators on August 12 to discuss the timing and framework issues of the political dialogue.
(File photo)

Public outcry to lower the age of criminal responsibility in China has surfaced after a 13-year-old boy in Sichuan province set a woman ablaze in order to rob her of her iPhone.

The boy, surnamed Fang, attacked the 24-year-old female victim, Yang Dongling, on June 13. He poured a bottle of gasoline on her face and immediately began a fire in order to prevent the woman from fighting back, a police investigation showed.

The investigation also found that the woman was a complete stranger to Fang, and that his crime was an impulsive one, planned only after a classmate asked to borrow money from Fang, West China City Daily (WCCD) reported.

The attack has left Yang, a teacher, with severe burns all over her body and face. The burns on her face and head are slowly recovering after Yang received a skin graft, while her other burns will take longer to be operated on and heal. Yang may also have to have her fingers amputated due to necrosis.

For now, Fang is in the custody of his father, who has been ordered to keep the young man restrained, as his age exempts him from criminal punishment. The appalling case has once again ignited public debate over the countrys criminal law, and whether it should be amended to make violent minors legally responsible for their actions.

In July, another 13-year-old killed three children, aged 8, 7 and 4, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The boy in that case was assigned by the government to undergo three years of rehabilitation, reported the Beijing News.

(Severely burnt fingers of Yang Dongling. Photo/West China City Daily)

There have been increasing calls to lower the age of criminal responsibility after more light has been shed on major juvenile crimes, but it is impossible to change the situation simply by amending the law, said Zhao Hui, a Beijing-based lawyer specializing in juvenile legal aid, in an interview with WCCD.

According to Chinas criminal law, suspects younger than 14 will not be held criminally accountable. Those aged between 14 and 16 will only face criminal punishment for severe charges including murder, drug-dealing and rape.

Zhao said that most juvenile criminals come from families with inattentive parents, and they often leave school at an early age. Such minors can be dangerous to society, but they are also themselves victim of a bad environment.

Currently, the preventative measures for juvenile crimes are inadequate. These measures have the potential to be more effective than punishment after a crime has already been committed. More work needs to be done to prevent crimes and violations beforehand, Zhao noted.
Lawmakers urged the government to tackle corruption happening across the country yesterday after a two-day discussion on the topic.





The unanimously approved proposal, which was put forth by Pyithu Hluttaw MP U Than Win (NLD; North Okkalapa) on August 2, makes no legislative changes but declares a general interest in improving anti-corruption measures.

MPs spent time discussing corruption in the executive and judicial branches.

Lisu National Development Party MP Lar Mar Lay (Hsawlaw) said he had heard of lawyers asking their clients for bribes.

MP U Myint Tun (NLD; Ta-sei) said that media and civil society organisations are not doing enough to expose corruption among the authorities.

We have to encourage freedom of press so that the media can report reliable news about the dishonest behaviours and practices of taking bribes committed by government officials, he said.

MP U Myat Lay Oo (NLD; Htilin) said, Some civil servants who are involved with criminals are bolder than before when it comes to committing bribery.

NLD MPs also noted that if the new government, which proclaimed that it would prioritise eliminating corruption, cannot eradicate it effectively, people will sour with the new leaders.





If lower-ranking officials are still committing corruption even after senior officials have changed, people will get fed up with the government, said Daw Mi Kun Chan (NLD; Paung). Sadly, we now see that the government is weak in implementing its anti-corruption processes.

The MPs acknowledged that stamping out corruption means the government needs to give civil servants a proper salary and benefits.

MP U Nay Myo Tun (NLD; Htantabin) criticised the Anti-Corruption Commission for being weak, noting that it is a Union-level organisation that enjoys salaries but has not been able to produce successful outcomes.

I see no effectiveness in the commission, he said.

But Anti-Corruption Commission chair U Mya Win said corruption has existed in Myanmar for years so it will be difficult to eradicate it in the short term.

Some provisions in the [anti-corruption] law need to be amended or expanded for the anti-corruption process to be successful, he said.

The reason there are so many official complaints about corruption with so few of those complaints settled is because they tend to come from anonymous sources; are too general or lack solid evidence; are addressing an issue that the law does not address; point to an instance that is already being addressed in the courts; or contain wrong information, he said.

According to the law, he said, they are not allowed to investigate cases they have already looked into, even if the initial investigation stemmed from a complaint that did not provide solid evidence.

He added that more inspectors with greater skill are needed to implement the process successfully.

The commission can only probe top-level officials if that task is assigned by the president or the hluttaw, he said.

If the law is amended, the commission will act in response to the will of the members of parliament, he said.

I request [the committee that writes bills] to review the anti-corruption law so that we will be able to handle corruption effectively, said U Mya Win.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe and Thiri Min Htun
Health Minister U Myint Htwe said women should have access to breastfeeding areas in public spaces.





The remarks came yesterday at the World Breastfeeding and Nutrition Development Week opening ceremony.

Most foreign countries have separated areas for women to breastfeed, he said, and Myanmar should follow suit.

There are breastfeeding rooms in German airports, U Myint Htwe said. You can close the door and breastfeed your child. Our country should have that.

He emphasised the need for such areas to also be made available in hospitals and ministries.

It is important that mothers be able to breastfeed in public places, like restaurants, supermarkets, and buses, without feeling shame, he said.

Breastfeeding is really important, he said. We support mothers breastfeeding their kids and should give them more respect.





Each year, breastfeeding saves the lives of 820,000 children worldwide, he said, citing a recent UNICEF report.

The mortality rate for children under five is one in 19, while the rate of stunting is 35 percent among children under five years old, according to government data. NGO and government initiatives have focused on promoting exclusive breastfeeding for the first 1000 days to boost child nutrition and health.

Translation by Khant Lin Oo
Sixteen people, including a number of Muslims studying the Koran, were detained in Thingangyun township, Yangon Region, after complaints to the police by local nationalists. The police were acting under a midnight inspections law now under review in parliament because of its use by the former military regime to suppress dissent.





The case came before Thingangyun Township Court on August 8, when the 16 appeared on charges under the 1949 Residents of Burma Registration Act. The court allowed them bail only after a local MP warned that detaining them further could lead to unrest.

The arrests followed complaints from the nationalist organisation Myanmar National Network, said its representative Ko Win Ko Ko Latt. The MMN had insisted that police take action under the controversial law, which carries penalties of up to two years imprisonment, with hard labour.

The visitors were detected by three local officials  township administration officer U San Myint, immigration and national registration department officer U Nann Myint and Police Major Thet Naing Tun  who found Aung Myint Cho and nine others in his house during a check of the ward.

U Nann Myint applied to the court under sections 6(2) and 6(3) of the law.

A subsequent inspection discovered San San Win and five others persons, who were accused of the same offence. In each case, some of the overnight visitors were Muslims.

At their initial court hearing on August 8 the defendants were denied bail because they could not produce the necessary documentation.





Local MP U Maung Maung Oo (NLD; Thingangyun 2) told The Myanmar Times, The visitors are Muslim students from the local religious school, as well as some from nearby townships. About half the defendants appear to be Muslims.

A group of people gathered outside the court to protest against the refusal to grant bail. I told the judge there would be unrest if the defendants were not freed. The judge granted bail after I undertook to ensure that the necessary documents would be produced.

The defendants have to reappear in court on August 17.

Myanmar National Network spokesperson Ko Win Ko Ko Latt said his organisation discovered the 16 when they were following up a warrant in an unrelated murder case. Police took action under the 1949 law only after his supporters gathered outside the local police station.

Thingangyun townships other Yangon Region MP, Nay Phone Latt (NLD; Thingangyun 1), took to social media to warn residents not to be swayed by the views of hardliners. We want to get this sorted out. The visitors were just personal friends, but the nationalists whipped this up online as a racial and religious case to try to cause trouble.

Township administrators brought in senior monks in the Sangha Nayaka religious affairs committee in an effort to restore calm after nationalist monks became involved in the affair.

They carried the senior monks to the township to control the other monks. The senior monks interceded with the police to help resolve the situation, said Myanmar National Network representative Ko Naung Taw Lay.

He added, We took action to make sure there would be no trouble. Its not true we were carrying sticks and knives. We only got involved because the authorities were taking no action. Now that the defendants have appeared in court we dont have to go any further.
Smart politicians know it pays to keep the masses and the media engaged and entralled by regular headline-grabbing actions.





Nothing achieves that goal more effectively than a sudden reshuffling of the ministerial deck chairs, especially if wildly popular or intensely disliked figures are involved.

So it proved once again when Indonesias oft-underestimated President Joko Jokowi Widodo abruptly dumped nine ministers and juggled the jobs of four others on July 27.

It was his second reshuffle in under two years, and while directed primarily at his domestic constituency, it drew global attention  both positive and negative.

And it reaffirmed that Jokowi is a man now firmly in charge of the worlds fourth-largest country, which, it bears repeating, constitutes 42 percent of ASEANs population and is the regions biggest economy by far.

In the months after his surprise election in 2014, Jokowi did not always fare well and often looked out of his depth, so that within a year his approval rating had dropped from around 70pc to 40pc.

The problem was not just inexperience  he had shot from being a small-town mayor to the presidency in just four years and had no ties to the nations traditional power bases  but also because he lacked legislative clout.





While he won the presidency comfortably, his party and its allies lacked a working majority in the 560-seat Peoples Representative Council, as Indonesias legislature is called.

That changed radically this January when the countrys second-largest party belatedly threw its support behind Jokowi, giving him a freer hand to implement his bold reformist agenda.

He began to move quickly  as did his approval ratings, which, at the end of last month, climbed back to 67pc, a figure the likes of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel could only dream about.

His upsurge culminated in the revamp of his Working Cabinet, and will help him push ahead with plans to revise the nations anti-terrorism laws and fire up the economy.

Although the reshuffle was extensive, and included new faces at the important trade, energy and industry ministries, there were two changes in particular that grabbed the headlines.

One was the reappointment as minister of finance of Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who will be 54 this month and who held the post from 2005 to 2010 before quitting to become a managing director of the World Bank.

Youthful, vivacious, smart and very successful in her first stint at the job, she gained almost rock-star popularity for the way she sacked officials involved in corruption and began reforming the tax system.

She also oversaw such a major increase in investment in Indonesia that the growth rate shot up and the national reserves burgeoned to US$50 billion, the highest level ever.

So why did she resign six years ago? Well, Sri Mulyani is a lady much in the mould of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Margaret Thatcher and Benazir Bhutto: She is decisive, determined, intelligent  and very stubborn.

She annoys a lot of men, especially the testosterone-challenged variety. One such was Aburizal Bakrie, immensely rich and head of a political party upon whose support then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono relied.

Someone had to go, and it was Sri Mulyani, whose move to the World Bank in Washington caused such unease in Jakartas financial circles that the stock market fell by 3.8pc and the rupiah currency lost 1pc in value.

Now Jokowi has brought her back in a move that has been cheered by analysts and foreign investors, who love her tough reformist credo and adherence to transparency and the rule of law.

That said, while she is internationally lauded, she irks many at home due to her perceived arrogance and condescension to lesser mortals  again, the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-Ms Thatcher syndrome, you might say.

Couple that with the fact that she is not affiliated with any party and has no political support base, and it becomes clear that her recall was a bold but risky move that could cause problems for Jokowi in the future.

It was not, however, half as bold and controversial as his other key appointment, namely that of Wiranto, a former army general and defence minister, as the nations new coordinating minister for security affairs.

A deeply polarising figure, Wiranto, 69, was charged in 2003 with crimes against humanity because of the atrocities committed by forces under his command during the final stages of East Timors war of independence.

Before that, he had been accused of human rights abuses when his men opened fire on unarmed students protesting against President Suhartos regime at Jakartas Trisakti University in 1998, killing four young men.

So his appointment now as the nations security overlord has drawn wide condemnation from civic society groups, and Western countries like the United States have expressed concern.

That will not faze Jokowi, who knows his domestic constituents well and knows how much they fear the growing threat of terrorists, especially those linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

He understands that when people are worried in that way, theyd far rather have someone strong and ruthless, even if tainted, than someone weak but sweet and pure.

So Wiranto will please most Indonesians, and most certainly the military, whose influence Jokowi, as a civilian, must always retain if he is to prosper as president.

All told, his reshuffle has been masterly, both in its timing and its key changes, which have boosted the heft of his cabinet and his own standing.

Well done Jokowi; well done democratic Indonesia. It is an example to the rest of ASEAN, particularly the likes of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
[August 10, 2016] Rep. Erik Paulsen Visits ReSound's U.S. Headquarters

Today, ReSound hosted Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) at the company's U.S. headquarters in Bloomington. During the visit, ReSound demonstrated its role in advancing the hearing aid industry through its complete portfolio of Smart Hearing solutions, and recognized Rep. Paulsen for his commitment to supporting research and innovation in the industry as well as his advocacy for individuals living with hearing loss. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160810006136/en/ (L to R) Kim Lody, President of ReSound North America, Representative Erik Paulsen (MN-03), Andy Bopp, Executive Director of Hearing Industries Association, Robert Fuglem, ReSound Hearing Aid Wearer and Rosemary Haynes, Robert's fiance. (Photo: Business Wire) "At ReSound, we are proud to lead the industry in developing innovative technologies that give people the best hearing experience possible, and we are constantly striving to redefine modern hearing care," said Kim Lody, president of ReSound North America. "We are pleased to recognize Rep. Erik Paulsen for his commitment to the success of the hearing aid industry in the Twin (News - Alert) Cities. He is a longstanding champion for the work that ReSound is doing here in Bloomington, which is vital as we continue to provide effective solutions for people living with hearing loss across the United States."



Rep. Paulsen visited ReSound's facilities to learn more about the company's positive impact in Minnesota, including a joint three-year Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) with Normandale Community College, which aims to provide training for job growth and retention in the Minnesota workforce. The visit included a tour of ReSound's state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, where Rep. Paulsen met with employees to learn more about the processes behind developing ReSound Smart Hearing aids. Rep. Paulsen also met with local ReSound wearer, Robert Fuglem, who shared perspective on the real world benefits of advancements in hearing technologies. "Technologically advanced hearing aids from ReSound are just another example of why it is important to encourage life-changing medical innovation," said Paulsen. "Whether it's hearing loss or addressing another medical condition, we need policies to help develop and invent the next great idea that can improve the lives of those in need. I enjoyed meeting with ReSound's employees and visiting their leadership team."

Also in attendance for Rep. Paulsen's visit was Andy Bopp, Executive Director of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA), an organization that represents the country's hearing aid manufacturers. ReSound's U.S. headquarters in Bloomington is home to a research facility and manufacturing plant, and employs almost 600 people. As part of GN Hearing, a global leader in the hearing aid industry, ReSound provides innovative Smart Hearing solutions worldwide through a network of hearing care professionals. Consumers can find more information about ReSound's Smart Hearing aids by visiting www.resound.com. About ReSound ReSound is a leading international developer and manufacturer of innovative hearing healthcare solutions committed to let people hear more, do more and be more than they ever thought possible. The company has reinvented the hearing system with its revolutionary ReSound Smart Hearing aids that give impressive sound and personal freedom to hearing aid users through wireless smartphone and tablet connectivity. ReSound is part of GN Group comprising a unique portfolio of medical, professional & consumer sound solutions that make life sound better through its research, insights, and expertise in sound. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160810006136/en/

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Representatives preparing for this year's Business 20, or B20 Summit, have completed a policy recommendation report to be shown to leaders at next month's G20 Summit.

The report offers 20 suggestions covering topics such as finance, trade and investment, and infrastructure.

The concept called "SMART" was outlined in a report aimed at facilitating an innovative and sharing business environment.

"SMART" is an acronym for Sustainable innovation, Massive public platform, Accessible network, Revolutionary reform, and Technological innovation.

Dan Sarta, president of A.T. Kearney in China region, a global management consulting firm, says the concept is expected to provide a platform for the sharing of knowledge, resources and technologies, in a bid to boost economy.

"What this SMART platform does is to provide a global platform for people to come together and share those ideas. If you need financing, you can find a mechanism for financing. If you have something that you can share, whether it's a software, whether it's a new idea, you can put on that platform. It really creates a shared environment for people to be able to come together, and put solutions to the technologies for the future."

Under the SMART platform, five special G20 programs will be established including an exchange program, new visa program, innovation fund, sharing platform and a think platform.

The new SMART platform is expected to create many more job opportunities as well.

Li Yanhong, CEO of Baidu, the major Chinese web services company, and also head of the employment work group under the B20, said his main suggestion is aimed at innovation and entrepreneurship.

"G20 countries should have a better mechanism for their young people to communicate, for example, having fast visas, so that people from various countries can share with each other. This will bring about technological innovation and also many opportunities, especially job opportunities."

The B20 is a platform for the global business community and economic regulators to make policy suggestions to the G20.

This year's B20 summit will take place in Hangzhou on September 3, just ahead of the G20 Summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to address the B20 Summit, which will be attended by over 800 business leaders from G20 members and global businesses.
[August 11, 2016] Mobile Commerce Payments Company Mozido Announces HCE and Tokenization Adoption within 14 Banks of the TWMP Consortium

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mozido, a global provider of trusted digital commerce and payment solutions, today announced 14 banks within the Taiwan Mobile Payment Co (TWMP) consortium have adopted its pioneering HCE technology. The remaining 12 banks will launch later this year. Mozido's HCE solution provides a mobile wallet capability for TWMP that supports consumers using HCE cloud-based NFC phones. TWMP is one of the first significant HCE implementations globally, and the first customer to go to market with Mozido HCE. "We appreciate all the support provided by Mozido and expect a great success in commercial launch," said Wei-Jong Pan, President of Taiwan Mobile Payment Co. "Mozido's demonstrated strength in mobile wallet platforms, along with its ability to combine payments technologies into existing applications, makes them the best partner for us in our endeavor to bring faster and easier mobile payments to consumers." A coalition of 26 banks in Taiwan, TWMP was formed to build a nationwide mobile payments initiative as Taiwan plans to move its population toward a cashless society. Mozido is providing TWMP with a mobile wallet platform that provides HCE cloud-based NFC capabilities in one complete solution. Mozido is providing tokenization and de-tokenization services for quick and secure mobile payment transactions for consumers using mobile applications supported by TWMP.



"We are delighted to partner with TWMP to provide this innovative solution to consumers in Taiwan," said Scott Moore, Mozido's General Manager of Asia-Pacific. "Utilizing Mozido's sophisticated and all-in-one solution to provide complete HCE mobile wallet capabilities provides outstanding flexibility and convenience to TWMP bank customers." About Mozido

Mozido provides trusted digital payment and commerce solutions globally delivered as cost-effective cloud-based solutions branded for clients. Highly interoperable, Mozido solutions work with virtually any wireless carrier and mobile device, and integrate easily with ads, offers, and other products from third parties. Mozido's worldwide presence and global offerings include operations in the US, China, India, Africa, Sri Lanka, Middle East, Europe and Latin America, enabling people to manage their money, payments and other services from their mobile phones. For more information, visit us at mozido.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Mozido.

Press Contact:

Van Leigh

SVP Marketing

Mozido

512-518-2200 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mobile-commerce-payments-company-mozido-announces-hce-and-tokenization-adoption-within-14-banks-of-the-twmp-consortium-300312476.html SOURCE Mozido

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[August 10, 2016] Community Health Council of Wyandotte County, United Health Foundation to Help Enhance Access to Care in Communities of Need

Seven new full-time community health workers will improve coordination of local, culturally competent primary care for lower-income, underserved residents in Wyandotte County. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160810006126/en/ Kansas City Kan. Mayor Mark Holland addresses attendees at a community event Aug. 10 during which the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County, in partnership with Kansas City CARE Clinic, was awarded a $1.9 million grant from United Health Foundation to support its recently launched Community Health Worker Collaborative. As part of the program, community health workers provide one-on-one services to address social and health needs, helping individuals and families access community resources for food or housing; apply for and utilize health benefits; find affordable health care and medications; attend doctor appointments; and get motivated to set and reach health goals (Photo: Adri Guyer, Fuller Creative, LLC). The Community Health Council of Wyandotte County has partnered with Kansas City CARE Clinic to train and manage the community health workers, who provide one-on-one services to address social and health needs. They help individuals and families access community resources for food or housing; apply for and utilize health benefits; find affordable health care and medications; attend doctor appointments; and get motivated to set and reach health goals. Those served by the community health workers include Wyandotte County's African-American, Latino, refugee and white populations, and individuals are referred to the program by clinical and community partner organizations, and can also self-refer. The initiative, funded by a $1.9 million grant by United Health Foundation, is part of CHC's Community Health Worker Collaborative. The Collaborative creates and strengthens partnerships with local organizations addressing health care needs in Wyandotte County; provides streamlined, individualized and patient-centered care at the community level; improves health outcomes; and lowers costs. Through the CHC's partnership with United Health Foundation, the initiative will increase over the next three years the number of community-based caregivers who are able to conduct outreach and reduce barriers to care for Wyandotte County residents most in need of enhanced care coordination. "With this initiative, we have the opportunity to enhance how health services are received by the people who need them and how they are delivered by medical providers," said Jerry Jones, CHC executive director. "By putting collaboration, discovery-driven learning and integrated decision-making into practice, this partnership with Community Health Council, KC CARE Clinic and United Health Foundation is improving the quality of health care for Wyandotte County residents and inspiring innovation fora better health care system."



"I am blessed to have the opportunity to serve my community and witness the impact we have in people's lives," said Carolina Biagi, a community health worker serving Wyandotte County's English-, Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking populations. "Our underserved community faces many challenges, so it is beautiful to be there to help families connect with resources and be by their side through the process." A Community in Need, A Collaborative Solution

The community health workers' outreach will give residents access to high-quality health care and local, affordable primary care. Focusing on people with lower incomes and diverse populations, including many immigrants and refugees, the community health workers' goal is to reach more than 10,000 people in need of care across Wyandotte County. United Health Foundation supports innovative and evidence-based ideas that help the health system work better, and invests in the development of a 21st century workforce that is primary care-based and meeting the needs of patients. The foundation supports partnerships nationwide, like the Community Health Worker Collaborative, that improve care coordination, address critical public health needs and expand access to patient-centered care in local communities. "Breaking down the barriers to quality health care that many of our low-income residents face is one of the most critical tasks our community must undertake," said Kansas City Kansas Mayor Mark Holland. "I am very pleased to see the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County lead this initiative with support from United Health Foundation and give our residents the opportunity to improve their health through better care coordination." "One of the ways we help build healthier communities is by partnering with local organizations to make it easier for people to access health care services," said Tim Spilker, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas. "These community health workers are already proving what a tremendous impact their work can have in providing care to help Wyandotte County residents live healthier lives." The grant was announced at a community event at the CHC offices where Mayor Holland joined community leaders, including Wyandotte County commissioners, local community health workers, project partners and Wyandotte County residents to celebrate the new funding and first year of the program. "This intensive, community-based approach has been successful in improving the health of communities across the globe and in the Kansas City region for many years," said Dennis Dunmyer, vice president of Behavioral Health and Community Programs, Kansas City CARE Clinic. "United Health Foundation's support presents a great opportunity for KC CARE to expand its work in this arena, and we are honored to be chosen by the Community Health Council to partner on this initiative in Wyandotte County." About Community Health Council of Wyandotte County

The mission of the Community Health Council of Wyandotte County, Inc. (CHC) is to improve health and health care in Wyandotte County by bringing a community perspective and identifying resources for collaboration, planning and implementation of effective community initiatives. The CHC, formed in 2002, is a not-for-profit, public/private collaborative, which exists to improve access to healthcare for the uninsured and the underinsured, to enhance health maintenance and prevention of health problems, and to facilitate coordination of community health services and health education initiatives. About Kansas City CARE Clinic

The Kansas City CARE Clinic is one of the oldest and largest charitable care clinics in the nation. Founded in 1971, Clinic's clinical services include adult general primary care, HIV primary care, pediatric care, oral healthcare, and behavioral health and prevention services. With a staff of nearly 150 and more than 900 dedicated volunteers, the Clinic provides healthcare, education, and support for more than 9,000 individuals annually with nearly 18,000 clinical patient appointments and more than 45,000 case management, education & prevention and testing encounters. The mission of the Kansas City CARE Clinic is to promote health and wellness by providing quality care, access, research and education to the underserved and all people in our community. About United Health Foundation

Through collaboration with community partners, grants and outreach efforts, United Health Foundation works to improve our health system, build a diverse and dynamic health workforce and enhance the well-being of local communities. United Health Foundation was established by UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) in 1999 as a not-for-profit, private foundation dedicated to improving health and health care. To date, United Health Foundation has committed more than $300 million to programs and communities around the world. We invite you to learn more at www.unitedhealthfoundation.org or follow @UHGGives on Twitter (News - Alert) or Facebook.com/UHGGives. Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160810006126/en/

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Railway lines built by Chinese firms in African countries are becoming a model of China-Africa cooperation in industrial capacity, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during his visit to Kenya on Wednesday.

Wang cited the Nairobi-Mombasa railway line as an example during a joint press conference with his Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed after their talks and a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The railway line, funded by China and being built by a Chinese company, will run from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, and a new deal has been signed to extend it to the country's western border.

Construction of the modern rail is being carried out in line with Chinese standards with Chinese equipment being used, Wang said.

"Once completed next year, it will be one of the railway lines with the highest standard, quality and cost effectiveness in Africa," he said.

Wang said the railway suited the requirements for Kenya's development and was part of the fruits of China-Kenya cooperation.

Construction of the railway line has created more than 40,000 jobs for locals, with some 20,000 local employees having received training in related skills. It has contributed to about 1.5 percent of Kenya's gross domestic product (GDP), Wang said.

Along the railway, fourteen wildlife passes have been designed to address concerns over the animals' free movement, he added.

Wang said the Chinese-built railway lines had established themselves in many African countries, citing those in Nigeria and Angola and one linking Addis Ababa with the port of Djibouti.

The Chinese-built railway lines were also entering countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America, he said, adding that Chinese standards and Chinese equipment were gaining recognition in more and more countries.
The 2014 winner of TV3 Ghana's Most Beautiful (GMB) pageant, Bentie Abigail Baciara, has taken her campaign against child marriage to Jirapa in the Upper West Region.

Bentie Abigail Baciara, popularly known as Baci, ambassador for 'End Child Marriage' project, has been leading the crusade on girl-child empowerment initiative around the country.

The celebrity goes round schools, where she interacts with the target groups through various approaches such as talks, quizzes, debates and sketches to press down her message to the girls to say no to child marriage.

Winners of the various quizzes and debates receive prizes which include branded exercise books which has Baci's portrait embossed on them and other stationery and 'T' shirts.

According to her, about 110 selected girls from primary and junior high schools in the Upper East & West Regions had undergone orientation to equip them with skills to also encourage other girls in their respective communities.

Baci further disclosed that the Upper West Region ranks second in child marriages after the Upper East, and for which every effort must be made to end the practice.

She was happy that a number of parents were beginning to realise the importance of education and had also joined in the crusade against child marriage.

The 'End Child Marriage' ambassador explained that in each district, the team interacts with opinion leaders on the issue and together they spread the message to the schools.

She lauded UNICEF and Action Aid Ghana for sponsoring the project, adding that it would be extended to the Brong Ahafo Region in the coming weeks.

By Solomon Ofori
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Former Ghana News Agency's (GNA) reporter, George Darko, known in music circles as Dee J and one of Ghana's most promising hiplife/hip-hop sensations, has officially released his much-anticipated song titled 'Omiefu'.

The song, produced by Ragoon Beatz with great vocals by Kay Spunky, describes the rap skills of the musician as one of the best among his colleague musicians who are making waves on the music scene.

According to the former GNA reporter, he hopes to build a vibrant music industry with his act and promote unity among Ghanaian artistes, adding that he loves to play with words to address issues in the society.

He hinted that he has a dream of selling Ghanaian music, particularly hiplife and hip-hop, in an entirely different dimension to the rest of the music world.

The Madina-born rapper who started his music at a very tender age was groomed by Mic Check Recordz, and has since 2014 recorded a number of singles as a solo artiste, including the new banger 'Omiefu'.

Dee J has also worked with artistes like Mz Gold and YungSoul, Koo Ntakra, Belce, Kwame Seseben, Kay Spunky, among many others.
A year filled with numerous legal setbacks has reached its peak for Tennessee rapper Young Buck.

In the words of Young Buck , he has lost his freedom yet again. The G-Unit wordsmith shared the news of his latest legal debacle via an Instagram post uploaded yesterday (August 10).

He revealed that things didn't go quite as planned for him and asked that 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Kidd Kidd, Lloyd Banks, and his fans hold him down during his time behind bars.

Things ain't go as plan today. Lost my freedom again. Lord knows how much I'm gonna miss my Mother,children,my girl,my Real friends and family. I want @50cent @tonyyayo @kiddkiddrllnr @lloydbanks AND ALL MY FANS TO HOLD ME DOWN!!!!!! See y'all soon STAY UPAND @charlie1080p WILL KEEP YALL UPDATED..GOTTA GO, Young Buck wrote in the caption to a photo of himself.

Billboard reports that Buck will serve seven months in jail after violating the conditions of his release and probation, following an arrest last month.

In July, the musician was arrested after alledgedly threatening (via text) to burn down his ex-girlfriend's home . Although Buck did not burn down the home, he reportedly showed up to his ex's house and kicked down her door.

It is currently unclear when Young Buck's sentence will begin.

-hiphopdx
Tripoli (AFP) - Pro-government forces battled Thursday to clear the Islamic State group from its main Libyan stronghold of Sirte, after dealing a major blow to the jihadists by seizing their headquarters.

IS fighters still control several areas of the Mediterranean city, whose capture in June last year sparked fears that the extremist group would use it as a springboard for attacks on Europe.

The fall of Sirte would be a huge setback to the jihadists' efforts to expand their self-proclaimed "caliphate" beyond Syria and Iraq where they have also suffered a string of losses.

Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government made a significant breakthrough Wednesday in their nearly three-month-old offensive to retake the city, seizing a conference centre where IS had set up a base.

"The battle for Sirte has reached its final phase, after the successful offensive by our heroes," a spokesman for the forces, General Mohamad Ghassri, said Thursday in remarks carried by the LANA news agency.

The rapid advance comes after the United States launched air strikes on IS positions in the city for the first time on August 1.

The US Africa Command said 36 strikes had been carried out against IS positions since the start of "Operation Odyssey Lightning", including seven on Tuesday.

IS took advantage of the chaos that followed the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011 to gain a foothold in the oil-rich North African country.

The forces loyal to the Government of National Accord on Wednesday also seized the University of Sirte campus just south of the Ouagadougou conference centre as well as the Ibn Sina Hospital to the north.

Libyan television broadcast images of flag-waving soldiers in recaptured areas including the Ouagadougou centre, flashing victory signs as they posed for photographs.

- Fierce resistance -

The pro-GNA forces said 16 of their fighters were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday in the fighting in Sirte, Kadhafi's hometown which lies just across the Mediterranean from Italy.

It was unclear how many IS fighters were killed, but the centre said that at least 20 jihadists had died in fighting for the university campus.

In total more than 300 pro-government fighters have been killed and 1,800 wounded in the operation for Sirte, according to medical sources in the city of Misrata, where the operation's command centre in based.

They have faced determined resistance from the jihadists who have struck back with sniper fire, suicide attacks and car bombings.

Reda Issa, another spokesman for the pro-government forces, said IS fighters still controlled several residential neighbourhoods in Sirte next to the sea.

"The liberation of Sirte will only be announced when the whole city is recaptured," he added.

Issa said that the pilot and co-pilot of a pro-GNA plane which crashed Wednesday while bombing IS positions in Sirte had been killed and their bodies retrieved, without specifying the cause.

IS claimed to have downed the aircraft.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that US commandos were working from a joint operations centre on the outskirts of Sirte, the first time they have directly supported Libyan forces in the anti-IS fight.

- 'No foreign troops' -

Quoting US officials speaking on condition of anonymity, the Post said the US forces were operating alongside British troops, helping to coordinate American air strikes and providing intelligence.

GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj told Italy's Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Wednesday that his government had asked only for "air strikes which must be very precise and limited in time and geographical scope".

"We do not need foreign troops on Libyan soil," Sarraj said.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi faced criticism at home on Thursday for reportedly sending special forces to Libya to help the anti-IS fight without approval from parliament.

Renzi's centre-left government has refused to confirm or deny reports that dozens of special forces have been deployed to help with demining and training pro-GNA forces.

France last month confirmed it had troops in Libya, saying three of the soldiers had been killed while on a mission there.

That prompted a demand from Sarraj for an explanation about the French presence, which the GNA described as a "violation" of the nation's sovereignty.
Kampala (AFP) - Ugandan officials raided a prestigious private school Thursday to seize copies of British children's author Jacqueline Wilson's "Love Lessons", as a minister who has led several similar crackdowns threatened to close the establishment.

Minister for ethics and integrity Simon Lokodo said the book exposed children attending the exclusive Greenhill Academy to sex too young.

The school in the capital Kampala is popular with Uganda's elite and Western expatriates, and has a student body of 700 pupils aged between five and 12-years-old.

"My team went to the school and confiscated the books from the library and we have opened investigations into their motive," Lokodo told AFP.

"The books contained literature on sex and these books are not suitable for primary pupils," he added.

"Love Lessons" tells the story of 14-year-old Prudence, who escapes the misery of life at home with a controlling father after falling in love with her handsome art teacher.

Though she shares kisses with the teacher there is no explicit sexual content in the novel, which is aimed at young teenagers.

Greenhill Academy management refused to comment on the raid, but late Thursday the minister said he would not hesitate to shut down the establishment if it did not make changes.

"We removed the books because they were giving pupils wrong information. If they don't stop they will be closed," Lokodo told AFP, adding he had temporarily shut another primary school for similar reasons.

Lokodo has become notorious in Uganda for his fight against homosexuality and anything he deems provocative.

A gay pride parade in Kampala planned for last weekend was postponed after the minister was accused of saying mob attacks on participants would be their own fault.

He also had Ugandan pop star Jemimah Kansiime arrested last year for performing in a music video he deemed "very obscene and vulgar" as part of an anti-pornography campaign.

Lokodo also ordered police to arrest men who procure prostitutes and described a popular local television dating show as prostitution.

Local media reported that he also confronted Uganda's youngest MP when she walked into parliament in a short skirt.
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10.08.2016 LISTEN

NEW YORK, Aug. 10, (UPI/GNA) - The New York Daily News called for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to end his campaign after comments he made Tuesday that some interpreted as a violent threat against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

The paper posted an online op-ed Tuesday night and Wednesday's front-page headline read: "This isn't a joke any more."

The unusual step taken by one of Trump's hometown newspapers comes a day after another hometown newspaper, the New York Times, printed a letter signed by 50 senior advisors to Republican presidents dating back to Richard Nixon declaring the GOP nominee as "reckless" and "dangerous."

"Donald Trump must end his campaign for the White House in a reckoning with his own madness, while praying that nothing comes of his musing about an assassination of Hillary Clinton," the op-ed read.

Earlier in the day, Trump set off his latest controversy with remarks at a rally in North Carolina, telling the crowd, "Hillary wants to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."

The op-ed said the Republican party must abandon Trump if he does not leave the race.

"Trump can offer no apology sufficient to make up for insidiously making light of murder. Nor can he explain away or justify planting a notion that could spur a demented follower to kill a political rival, a President or Supreme Court justices," the piece continued.

The Trump campaign defended the nominee's comments telling reporters he was referring to gun-rights advocates power at the ballot box. The campaign didn't comment on the editorial.

GNA
BAGHDAD, ACCRA, Aug. 10, (UPI/GNA) - At least 11 newborn babies died in a maternity ward fire at an Iraqi hospital, officials said Wednesday.

The fire took place at Yarmouk Hospital in Baghdad, where up to 19 women were burned or had smoke inhalation.

The newborns are believed to have died of suffocation, said Ahmed al-Rdainy, a spokesman for the Iraqi Health Ministry. All 29 women who gave birth at the hospital on Tuesday were transported to nearby hospitals in the city.

Government officials said the fire was likely the result of faulty electrical wiring.

GNA
Peking Union Medical College Hospital recently treated a deaf and mute patient, Mr. Zhu. Prior to Zhu's operation, the patient's 28-year-old anesthesiologist, Qiu Feilong, created an eight-grid comic depicting the entire surgical process. Qiu said he hoped this knowledge would make Zhu more comfortable.

Normally, prior to a surgery, the anesthesiologist pays a visit to observe the patient's physical condition and talk with the patient for a pre-operative evaluation.

"I checked his case online and I tried to communicate with him. This was my first time treating a deaf and mute patient. I thought a comic might help him to visualize the steps of the surgical process and better understand the operation's risks and possible outcomes," Qiu said. The young doctor said it took him about 20 minutes to create the comic.

"If the patient understands the process and is mentally prepared for it, he or she won't feel as nervous," Qiu explained. When Qiu gave Zhu the comic, Zhu nodded and smiled. He even gave Qiu a thumbs up. On the day of the operation, Zhu also smiled at Qiu, the doctor recalled.

Although the operation was difficult, everything went smoothly. Qiu explained that there is a risk of elevated blood pressure if a patient feels nervous. For most patients, receiving an operation is an anxiety-provoking and nerve-wracking process. A small, kind action such as Qiu's good deed can do a lot to make patients more comfortable.
President John Dramani Mahama says the demand for a market premium made by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) cannot be honoured.

According to him, governments 2016 budget would be thrown completely off-track if the payment is made.

Election year over-expenditure has been the bane of our economic stability, I am happy to note that this year, even though an election year, expenditure targets are still on track and I intend to stick strictly to the budget and the Appropriations Act as approved by Parliament, he said.

President Mahama made the comments when he addressed members of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the Ashanti Regional capital of Kumasi during the Unions Annual Congress, Wednesday.

The demand for a market premium [monies paid to workers with skills that are short supply] by CLOGSAG has been a tussle with the leadership of the Association and government holding contrasting views.

Whereas CLOGSAG believes its members deserve to be given a market premium considering the nature of work they perform in the country, the Fair Wages and Salary Commission (FWSC) holds a contrary view.

This compelled leadership of the Association to declare a strike on July 27 over governments failure to give them a market premium.

Not even the Employment Minister's threat to withhold the August salaries of members of the Association could deter CLOGSAG.

The workers say they will only call off the strike after the government has assured members of payment of the market premium, but President Mahama says a payment this year is most unlikely.

He says the government is going strictly by the Appropriation and Budget Act passed by Parliament to ensure that there is no over expenditure as the nation heads to the December polls.

He has appealed to CLOGSAG members to return to work with the assurance that starting 2017, government will ensure that payment of market premium is made to its members.

The President entreated the Employment Minister to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CLOGSAG to the effect that its members would be migrated to the market premium starting next year.

Even though he was happy the President has waded in the brewing debate over CLOGSAG strike, Mr Iddrisu told Dzifa Bampoh, host of Joy FMs Newsnite programme he would have been happier if CLOGSAG is back to work.

He disclosed the impasse stems from the mistrust between CLOGSAG and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) but says they are working to resolve the issue.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | Email: [email protected]
Employment Minister Haruna Iddrisu says he is optimistic government will clinch a deal with striking Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG)

The workers most of whom are in the public service declared a strike in protest over delays in payment of their market premiums. The market premiums are monies paid to workers with special skills.

CLOGSAG members claim despite agreeing a 15 per cent market premium with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, government has reneged on its responsibility to pay the monies. They declared the strike on July 27, 2016 hoping the government will accede to their requests.

But government is not prepared to pay, at least for now. The Employment Minister has threatened the striking workers to return to work or lose their salaries in August.

Not even the threat by the Employment Minister will stop the CLOGSAG workers from calling off their strike.

On the occasion of the Annual Congress of the Trades Union Congress held in Kumasi, Wednesday, the president John Mahama urged CLOGSAG to return to work.

He explained government will not make any market premium payment until 2017.

He said the government will, this year, not repeat the huge budget deficit mostly recorded in previous election years. His views were reiterated by the Employment Minister Haruna Iddirsu in an interview with Joy News.

He said government has so far kept its expenditure targets on track and will not do anything to distort it.

"Any expenditure outside the budget will throw the budget off track," he said adding, the market premium if paid this year will take the budget off tangent.

Haruna Iddrisu stated that government is discussing the parameters for a new MOU with the striking workers and hopes the workers will sign and call off the strike.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
Ace waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Ltd, has expressed concern about bedbug infestation at the Mampong School for the Deaf.

Deputy Head of the Vector Control Unit of Zoomlion, Abel Djangmah, explains aside the public health nuisance, bedbugs infestation has the potential for disease outbreaks.

Abel Djangmah was speaking to the press after a fumigation exercise at the Akropong School for the Deaf.

He said bedbug infestation is becoming predominant in Senior High Schools in the country, revealing the situation can largely be attributed to unhygienic practices and over population at the various dormitories.

Mr. Djangmah mentioned that the fumigation exercise was in response to a distress call placed to his unit by management of the school following the public health nuisance being caused by the bed bugs.

He added that although the chemicals involved are expensive, Zoomlion fumigated the dormitories of the Senior High department of the school for free as part of its corporate social responsibility.

"The bed bugs suck the blood of the school children and expose them to lots of diseases, aside the public health nuisance it presents" he explained.

He said food crumbs and leftovers in the dormitories create breeding grounds for the bed bugs and advised the schools to maintain strict hygienic conditions.

Stanley Semenhyia, Acting Assistant Headmaster at the Senior High Technical School for the Deaf mentioned that for some months students refuse to sleep in the dormitories due to the presence of bed bugs.

The Headmaster indicated that this has been a great source of worry for management of the school and expressed gratitude to Zoomlion for the gesture. He mentioned that the school had previously invested heavily in fighting the bugs all to no avail.

He was optimistic that the fumigation exercise would go a long way to improve the teaching and learning process in the school.

Ivy Danquah, the House One Mistress of the school stated that traditional methods employed to tackle the menace have all proved futile hence the decision to request assistance from Zoomlion Ghana.

She mentioned that students fail to concentrate in class because they are always itching as a result of bites from the bugs

The fumigation exercise at the Akropong School for the Deaf was coordinated by the communications department of Zoomlion Ghana.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
Lusaka (AFP) - The front-runners in Zambia's presidential election on Thursday are incumbent Edgar Lungu and rags-to-riches businessman Hakainde Hichilema -- two adversaries who battled it out only last year.

Lungu won that election by fewer than 28,000 votes, securing the right to complete the final months of the term of his predecessor who died in office.

- Edgar Lungu -

Lungu, 59, is a trained lawyer who emerged as the unlikely victor of a bruising struggle to lead the Patriotic Front (PF) party after the death of president Michael Sata in 2014.

Previously a low-profile defence and justice minister, he has used his short time in power to present himself as the rightful heir to Sata, who enjoyed widespread popularity.

Demonstrating his tough streak, Lungu has given angry campaign speeches, vowing to "sacrifice democracy for peace" to preserve Zambia's relative stability.

But he has taken over at a tricky time for the Zambian economy, as the price of copper -- the country's key export -- has fallen sharply, and he faces a difficult election.

Lungu was born in 1956 in Chadiza in eastern Zambia and is from the minority Nsenga ethnic group, often describing himself as a non-tribal Zambian from an ordinary background.

He graduated with a law degree from the University of Zambia in 1981 and also underwent training as a military officer.

Lungu cut his political teeth at the United Party for National Development (UPND), but in 2001 he quit to form the PF with Sata.

After the PF first came to power in 2011, he rose to be home affairs minister.

On social issues he revealed a conservative side after the arrest of two Zambian gay men in 2013.

"Those advocating gay rights should go to hell," he said. "That issue is foreign to this country."

After two previous presidents died in office, his health has been in focus.

He suffers from recurring achalasia, a condition caused by narrowing of the oesophagus, and was flown to South Africa for treatment last year after collapsing in public.

He is married, with six children, and is now a grandfather.

- Hakainde Hichilema -

Hakainde Hichilema, 54, who represents the United Party for National Development (UPND), is a self-made entrepreneur making his fifth attempt at the Zambian presidency.

Known as "HH", he alleged that the 2015 election was stolen from him by fraud, although he appealed to his supporters to stay peaceful.

Now he expects to succeed at last, despite accusing the authorities of undermining his campaign by banning rallies and allowing violent attacks on his activists.

An articulate speaker, Hichilema has drawn large crowds to his rallies, run a slick social media campaign and worked hard to shed his image as an elitist lacking the common touch.

He was born to a poor family in the southern district of Monze, but says his "grit and determination" at school won him a priceless scholarship to the University of Zambia where he graduated in 1986 in economics and business administration.

He then took at MBA degree at the University of Birmingham in Britain.

He started off small, buying and selling houses, eventually becoming one of the country's richest businessmen with major interests in finance, ranching, property, healthcare and tourism.

At the age of 32, he was Zambia CEO of Coopers and Lybrand consultancy accountants, and he has sat on the boards of several large Zambian corporations.

Hichilema has promised to build a business-friendly Zambia and attract investment, while at the same time pledging to alleviate hardship among the country's millions of poor.

On his campaign website he describes himself as a "Christian and a philanthropist" who funds clinics, schools, boreholes and dam building.

His campaign slogan has been "HH will fix it", although many of his posters in Lusaka have been vandalised.

He is married and has a daughter and two sons.
The founder of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Professor Kwame Karikari, has called on the Council of State not to give in to political pressure in advising the President on whether or not to pardon the jailed Montie FM trio.

According to Professor Karikari, it would be unwise for the Council to recommend the release of the Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe  host and panelists of the Accra-based radio station who were convicted of contempt and jailed for four months by the Supreme Court.

I can only hope that the Council of State will be as wise as they are expected to be. If they advise the President to release these people, I would consider that to be a very unwise advise to the President by an Institution that is supposed to be wise, he told Citi News.

We are hoping that the Council of State will provide the wisdom that the institution is supposed to exhibit and to advise the president on. We're hoping that they'll be level-headed enough and not behave as if they are an appendage of a political party and that they are members of an institution that is Supra-political parties. That is what we can hope for .I hope they will not come forward and advise the president wrongfully.

According to Professor Karikari, the pressure which has been put on the president to pardon the trio was unfair and described calls from supporters of the NDC for him to sanction their release or lose their votes as misplaced.

What is going on appears to be blackmailing the president. There are people who are saying if he doesn't, they won't vote for him. They won't vote for a president because he won't pardon someone who has threatened the lives of people in public office? We are hoping that the Council of State will come out with a perspective that will bring sanity to the atmosphere. It is unfortunate that the misdeeds of people who have no regard for ethics of journalism and good manners of public speech would bring this country to the brink of crisis of sort, he added.

He expressed disappointment with the Ministers of State and government officials who also signed the petition for the trios release, stating that their pressure could provoke some dissension between the Executive and the Judiciary.

It is unfortunate that leaders of a [governing] political party would provoke tension between the executive and the judiciary. It's quite unfortunate and I do hope that the Council of State, being what it is and what it is supposed to be will help bring sanity in this whole atmosphere which is a great and useless diversion of our attention from important national issues, he said.

Several Ministers have already signed a petition, which was presented to President Mahama and subsequently forwarded to the Council of State for their consideration.

Education Minister, Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, Deputy Education Minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare and Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur and the Foreign Affairs, Hanna Tetteh all endorsed the petition.

Other Ministers including Trade Minister, Ekow Spio Garbrah and Transport Minister, Fiifi Kwetey have visited the trio in jail.

Professor Karikari

No serious president would free trio

Professor Karikari has previously suggested that it would a bad political decision for the president to pardon the three men as his chances in the election could hinge on his choice.

According to him, no serious president would grant them their freedom following their unwarranted attack on the Judiciary.

There's no serious president in a democracy that will cede to a call like that under our circumstances. It will be politically suicidal for the president to accede to the call of his party, he told the media.



By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Working Group on Higher Education (hosted by the Association of African Universities) presents Promoting Entrepreneurship in African Universities webinar

The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEAs) Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE) under the auspices of the Association of African Universities (AAU) is starting a series of Webinars facilitated by TEDxAccra.

The first Webinar in the series is slated to take off on (the) August 18th, 2016 at 10:00 GMT. The topic for discussion is Promoting Entrepreneurship in African Universities. Professor Rosemond Boohene, a Senior Lecturer and Director for the Centre for International Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana will be facilitating this session.

The purpose of these Webinars is to address pertinent issues pertaining to higher education in Africa. The presentations are geared towards achieving the major interventions and aspirations enshrined in the international and continental agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Continental Education Strategy (CESA 2016-2025), African Unions Agenda 2063 and the Science Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024).

Institutions of higher learning in Africa have been criticized as ivory towers and are also perceived as churning out graduates whose skills do not fit the requirements of industry. This interactive web seminar will seek to highlight the importance of promoting entrepreneurship in African Higher Education Institutions.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

1. Register and watch us live at www.aau.org/webinars

2. You can also join the conversation with your comments and questions via Twitter and Facebook using: #WGHETalks @TEDxAccraGH @AAU_67

ABOUT

The Association of African Universities (AAU) is an international non-governmental organisation set up by universities in Africa to promote cooperation among themselves and with the international academic community. The core mandate of the AAU is to raise the quality of higher education in Africa and strengthen its contribution to Africas development by fostering collaboration among member institutions; providing support to their core functions of teaching, learning, research and community engagement; and facilitating critical reflection on, and consensus-building around, issues affecting higher education and the development of Africa.

The Working Group on Higher Education (WGHE) was established in 1989 to strengthen collaboration among African governments, development partners, and tertiary education institutions to improve the effectiveness of development assistance. WGHE draws on its extensive knowledge of the education sector to help tertiary institutions in Africa devise creative responses to challenges and promote consensus among governments and development partners around the revitalization of policies and strategies. Participants in WGHE include African higher education institutions, African governments and Ministries of Education, and development partners supporting the revitalization of tertiary education in Africa.

TEDxAccra is a social impact organization where thinkers and doers of our community gather to create and share ideas. We focus on social impact initiatives across Ghana. Our events seek to develop and leverage the TED experience at a community level, bringing together innovative thinkers to connect and discuss great ideas.

THE SPEAKER

Prof. (Mrs.) Rosemond Boohene is an Associate Professor of Enterprise Development at the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprise Development (CESED), University of Cape Coast with more than eighteen years (18) experience. She is currently the Dean of International Education and also served as Head of Department, Management Studies and Vice Dean, School of Business at the University of Cape Coast. Prof. Rosemond Boohene holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprise Development from the University of New England, Australia, PDipCom and MCom (Accounting) from the University of Otago, New Zealand, BCom (Hons) and Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana and a Diploma in Small Enterprise Development, Galilee College, Israel.
One allegation holds that some of the chieftains of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta [MEND] are planning to assassinate former Nigerian President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Another allegation has it that former President Goodluck Jonathan is being politically motivated to sponsor the Niger Delta Avengers [NDA] to blow up oil installations and generally create mayhem in the Niger Delta region in order to make governance difficult for President Buhari.

The allegation goes on to point out that when Dr. Jonathan eventually became President, he tracked down perceived MEND leaders and promptly got them imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of attempting to assassinate him. Up until today, the allegation contends, Dr. Jonathan is still suffering from an assassination paranoia complex.

Honestly, I would not have wanted to get involved in this issue. But as our people say: an old man does not have to sit around and watch while the goat strangulates itself on its tethers.

Nigeria is passing through some of its most difficult periods as a nation in the making, wobbling on shaky legs towards democracy. Militant groups have sprung up in practically every nook and cranny of the country. In the East, in the West and in the North, each group claims to be the mouthpiece of an impoverished, neglected, marginalized section of the Nigerian society, threatening to break up from the nation-body if it did not have its way.

Only a few weeks ago, for instance, the NDA threatened to carve out a Republic of the Niger Delta if the Nigerian government refused to comply with its demands. It took the elders and prominent sons and daughters of the area to calm the Niger Delta youths down. Was Dr. Jonathan behind that NDA threat to secede or was he among the men who pleaded with the Avengers to calm down? Perhaps, if we knew Jonathans position, we might have a glimpse into the authenticity or otherwise of the claim that he had always been behind the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers.

If indeed Jonathan had a plan to destabilize Buharis administration, why would he be the first person to congratulate the President-elect as a political opponent and even before the result of the Presidential election was announced? As soon as Dr Jonathan realized that his Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] was losing to the opposition All Progressives Congress [APC] he picked up his phone and called Buhari to congratulate him. Any man in Nigerian politics who could do a thing like that is, by any stretch of the imagination, a good and God-fearing man. By simply doing what he did and affirming to the world that the shedding of the blood of innocent Nigerians was not worth his ambition to continue his tenure as President, the entire world recognized Dr Jonathan as a true democrat. What he did has never been done before in any part of Africa. And it earned him the respect of the whole world.

For such a man to turn around and undo all he so assiduously worked for and which earned him the respect of the whole world, just to make governance difficult for Buhari is, to the minds of many Nigerians unthinkable and preposterous. Certainly Jonathan is not that stupid. The fact I think is that many of these young people who see him as their own dont really understand how the politics of Nigeria is interwoven with international politics or what it all demands.

Jonathan may be a son of their soil. Even Jesus Christ said it that a prophet is not usually known in his home town or by his own people. Yet, one would have to ask those who accuse Jonathan of being politically motivated to destabilize Buharis administration who they think Jonathan could be working for. In order words, is it just the child-like joy of seeing Buhari and Nigeria fail that could be driving Dr Jonathan on, or could it be so that when the two administrations are assessed side-by-side, Jonathan would be seen as the better administrator? That doesnt make sense because there have been about 15 heads of states in Nigeria since 1960 when the country had independence. How did the other 13 heads of state perform in comparison?

When Obasanjo schemed his way to have a Delta son installed as President, it was because he believed that Nigerians needed to live in peace, each section of the society appreciating its neighbours. He believed that if a Delta son became the President, he could possibly use his executive power to settle his people who were largely known to be deprived, despite the fact that the bulk of the national income came from their area. But that never happened. It never happened because the politics of Nigeria is too complex to give room to such nepotistic manoeuvres.

It is like believing that because President Buhari is from the North he has a magic wand that can automatically stop Boko Haram atrocities in the North. We are all witnesses to the daily unfolding of events between the Nigerian Army and Boko Haram which includes recent recruitment from the camps of Internally Displaced Persons by the dreaded sect. Why has Buhari not done what he should to settle them and stop further carnage and suffering of his Northern brothers and sisters? That is also because of the complexity of the Nigerian political arena.

Those of us from the South have not forgotten so easily how Chief Festus Odumegwu was suddenly and unceremoniously removed as Chairman of the National Population Commission. And what was his offence? He opened up to the press his desire to give Nigeria credible census figures for the first time since the amalgamation of 1914. That was it. A Northern governor [from a state we are told even cattle and trees count as people during census] confronted Mr. President and threatened to withdraw the votes of his people if Chief Odumegwu was not sacked. Rather than face the shame of being sacked after all he had done to enhance credibility in the National Population Commission, the nationalist decided to resign. He could not stand being sacked by the President because he wanted to stand up for truth.

What about the voting credibility in this present APC government? Did Jonathan also influence that so that his successors government would be seen as a failure? Why is the country going back to its dark days of electoral malpractices and violence after the foundation for credible elections in the most populous nation of Africa had been established by the Jonathan administration? The reason is not far-fetched. And that is one more thing I would like the youths of Delta State to appreciate while all these accusations and counter-accusations are making their rounds.

By its nature, military establishments as institutions deal with order and unquestioning obedience to hierarchy. They deal with strict command control. These demands are diametrically opposed to the demands of democracy. Democracy in a pluralistic society such as Nigeria, with about 250 ethnic groups and about 250 local languages, demands dialogue, collaboration, consensus and shared values. These are the ingredients that create the favourable conditions for national integration and common vision and mission, which in this case, is nation building. As a military officer, Buharis training did not prepare him so much as to play this role effectively. This is why many Nigerians came down heavily on the head of state when he dared suggest that the unity and oneness of Nigeria was not negotiable. In a democratic setting, it should be negotiable.

They should also appreciate that the consistent failure of the military to effectively get the country on a proper footing in the democratic process and the arduous journey towards nation building is not necessarily because the military has no such intentions. Not that the policies they adopt are skewed. Not that there are no competent men and women in the country to implement those policies. The fact, and that is the truth that even the military should accept if their intention in Nigeria is genuine, is that by its very nature, the military and its institutions are not designed to manage a pluralistic society such as Nigeria is, with over 250 ethnic groups and about 250 local languages.

Only those civilian citizens who have passed through the democratic process as it is practised in many universities across the globe can appreciate that every lecturer has a level of autonomy that even the university senate must respect. It is a teaching policy that can be applied effectively as Jonathan did to democratic governance.

It may be true that a prophet is not usually known in his own hometown or by his own people. That should not be the problem. The prophet can be recognized far away from his hometown if he so deserves. What is important as of now is that at least we know from where water entered the fluted pumpkin. Now we know that military institutions in Nigeria, due to the nature of their set-up and not because of the covert or overt influence of any past administrations are more likely to compound than effectively deal with the challenges of cohesion and nation building that Nigeria has continued to face.

So, can MEND and Dr Jonathans aids please put a stop to this embarrassing trend of trading accusations and counter-accusations for no reason? We should be thinking of what to do, to ensure that the country continues to move forward smoothly in its journey towards democracy and nation building. That should be the challenge of all true nationalists in Nigeria today. And that challenge should particularly appeal to all Nigerians who live in far away cities, beyond the prophets hometown.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

My earliest experience of the pain of death was as an aspect of some widowhood rites I witnessed a little over half a century ago. I must have been three or four years old, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. It must be the sheer callousness of that spectacle that has imprinted the incident on my mind for all those years. Children were not allowed to see anything remotely related to death in those days, but the scene was right next door to my maternal grandfathers house, which of necessity, we visited many times every day.

The deceased was a lorry driver who had two wives, and apparently the custom was that before he was buried, his wives had to pump a tyre with a hand pump, in those days. The two ladies had been clean shaven and in the heat of the morning tropical sun, with tears and sweat streaming, were taking turns to pump what at the time looked like a tractor tyre. And guess what, the people who were goading them on, in fact, subjecting the ladies to this physical and mental torture, were women!

I was later to learn that they had to go through this demeaning exercise because they were not Christians and neither was their late husband. In other words, it was a pagan rite. As I protested about a failed marriage proposal to a member of my family later in my teenage years, I was reminded of widowhood rites and I understood why my people were dead against any of my relations getting anywhere near a non-Christian man or woman. Fortunately, up till today, it has never happened in the family.

Every kind of physical, emotional and mental cruelty that has been perpetuated on women  female genital mutilation, puberty rites, banishment of witches, widowhood rites, you name it  has been designed by, enforced and supervised by women.

The case of the Montie 3

In the latest display of total disregard of the rights and feelings of women by the Sisterhood of Women, a section of Ghanaian society mostly women, including ministers of state, have mounted a campaign to force the hand of the President of the Republic to use his executive prerogative to free the three morons who made those disgusting threats against the person of the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court of Ghana. Sisters, how did we manage to descend so low back to the Stone Age?

I used to believe that because the acts of cruelty against women by women were mostly confined to the countryside, it was mostly the uneducated who engaged in these demeaning acts. How wrong I have been all along!

I have just received a video clip of a demonstration by a bunch of women in Accra, old and young, beating drums and gongs cursing the President for not using his executive powers to free the Montie 3. From the clip, I can visualise that some of the women in the group will be about the same age as the Chief Justice, some are young enough to be her daughters. Many of the people in the group looked well-educated to understand what is at stake.

Accra has most of the best primary and junior secondary schools in Ghana, from which young ladies attend some of the most prestigious schools and colleges in Africa. I am told that some of the female minsters that have supported the call for the release of the contemnors are actually trained lawyers, some of whom could have been judges themselves. So if highly educated women in national positions of responsibility can stoop that low, then the primitive rites that have become the new whip with which to bash the dark continent is not the preserve of ignorant uneducated rural folks.

The nagging question has been: Would these women be calling for the release of those rogues if the threats had been made against their mothers, sisters, aunties or daughters? Is it for political expediency? In that case, are we not proving right those who claim that many women in the higher echelons of Ghanaian society do not attain those positions by merit? For why will any self-respecting woman call for the annulment of the just punishment of ignoramuses who make such debased threats against a fellow woman?

History as guide

Almost exactly thirty-seven years ago, a group of young soldiers, who reportedly could not pass prescribed promotion examinations, seized power in Ghana and subjected Ghanaian womanhood to the most humiliating barbarity which could only be compared to what the Nazis did to Jewish women in the concentration camps of World War II; what was termed eye haann eye kanea.

It did not end there. Three years later, without warning, Ghanaians woke up one fine morning to learn that four judges of the superior court of the land, including a nursing mother and one of the brightest female judges Ghana has ever produced, had been abducted from their homes and murdered in cold blood. Some Ghanaian mothers, cousins and sisters still grieve the loss of relations in those cowardly murders. It is those barbaric murders that these dim witted panellists and their wooden head host referred to, as they made their crude threats against the Chief Justice and judges of the land.

Even more frighteningly the political party to which the jailed panellists belong was the direct brainchild of the system that nurtured (some will say actually planned and executed) those gruesome murders. So why should the judges of the superior courts of Ghana not take such threats seriously?

In recent years, supporters of this same party have run their vehicles through crowds, while others have shot and killed innocent Ghanaians without so much as invitation by the police. The Ghana Police Service and the Attorney-Generals Department should have brought charges against the contemnors. Instead, it took the Supreme Court to bring charges against them. That shows the level of polarisation and the extent of impunity running through Ghanaian society today.

My lawyer friends tell me that those rascals should have been jailed for two to three years. In other words, they have been let off rather lightly. So why should anyone plead for their pardon?

Sisters, as mothers of the nation, we have a higher stake in the future of the country than these clueless cowards parading around as men. We do not have to lower ourselves to these depths. Let us, in this election year, show that the menfolk cannot continue to ride roughshod over us for ever.

I shall return with my beaded gourd, God willing.

Naana Ekua Eyaaba has an overarching interest in the development of the African continent and Black issues in general. Having travelled extensively through Africa, the Black communities of the East Coast of the United States as well as London and Leeds (United Kingdom), she enjoys reading, and writes when she is irritated, and edits when she is calm. You can email her at [email protected] , or read her blog at https://naanaekuaeyaaba.wordpress.com/.
About a week or few days ago, South Africa held its once in every 5 years municipal elections, and the results left the ruling African National Congress (A.N.C.) party badly bruised in electoral losses. The unexpected local elections losses the A.N.C. sustained, sent a wake-up call to the party of the anti-Apartheid legend Nelson Mandela that many South Africans, especially the blacks, are fast getting tired of voting on racial or tribal lines as opposed to using their brains to vote on pocketbooks or economic considerations. For the first time since the post-Apartheid era about twenty-two years ago, the governing A.N.C. has witnessed its worst electoral performance in any category ever. The party has never gained electoral results far below 60% benchmark until the latest highly contested local council elections.

For an iconic political party which understandably relies heavily on the majority-black South Africans votes, the abysmal performance in the recent municipal elections have unsettled the seemingly invincible resolve and the prospects of the A.N.C.s continuing hold on power in the not-too-distant future. In South African body politic, the municipal elections are not only proudly held on party lines, but also the municipalities shape and dictate the pace of the political temperature of the nation. Needless to say, the municipal elections are consequential in that whichever party has majority of the local districts pretty much has tremendous clout regarding the countrys domestic issues. This is why after the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced the election results, the incumbent President Zuma and his cohorts were visibly shaken and vowed to start listening genuinely to the plight of marginalized South Africans.

In fact, many media accounts in and outside South Africa indicated that the bleak results of the elections reflected discontentment among the A.N.C.s loyal voting blocblacksbecause of ineptitude, corruption and arrogance of power displayed by many members of the ruling government. Moreover, many South Africans contend that the dismantling of the white-minority rule in the early 1990s hasnt curbed the socioeconomic inequalities that were in vogue in the country prior to the fall of apartheid. Plus, government corruption is stratospheric, while violent crimes have become the new norm under the A.N.C. administration. Also, public schools are in shambles; and poverty, including high unemployment among the black population is still an all-time high in South Africa (Ref: New York Times, August 9, 2016).

Similar to many African countries ruling governments, the A.N.C. regimes have been playing on tribal fears and appealing to the basest instincts of the black population to cling on to all the levers of political power in South Africa. In the face of grinding poverty and hopeless job opportunities, the A.N.C. has been effortlessly winning the nations poor majority blacks support over the past two decades. The A.N.C. leadership was so sure it had blacks votes in a safe lockbox for years to come. Hence as a vice president in 2004, Mr. Jacob Zuma now the president of South Africa, was quoted to have prophesized that his A.N.C. party would rule South Africa until Jesus comes back to earth.

Based on the trends of the IECs current municipal election results, it is becoming increasingly clear President Zumas A.N.C. may sooner than later becomes a minority party long before Jesus comes back. More significant to know is the growing number of the loyal supportersblacksof the A.N.C. who are wising up to the stark realities that its time to stop voting blindly on tribal lines for any political party, including A.N.C., that only pays lip-services to the sorry socioeconomic conditions of the people. In that regard, it is understandable why even in President Zumas native hometown of Nkandla, his A.N.C. governing party was defeated miserably by the Inkatha Freedom Party in the municipal polls. Added to the A.N.C.s electoral miseries, is losing control of one of the historically black anti-apartheid municipalities covering Nelson Mandela Bay area to the main opposition partyDemocratic Alliance---whose new mayor for the locality will be Mr. Athol Trollip, a white South African.

Certainly, many seismic developments unfolded in the just-ended municipal elections in South Africa; and, there are some useful takeaways for Ghanaian electorates. As Ghana is preparing for the general elections in November this year, one of the most important factors to consider before voting for any party or a presidential candidate must be Ghanaians socioeconomic conditions. The first question must be: Am I better off for the past four years in terms of my pocketbook; job prospects; the childrens education; healthcare delivery system; efficient energy production or consumption (or dumsor?) and the like. The 21st century democratic system of government should not hinge on tribal politics or the fact that a particular president or presidential candidate shares the same ancestral hometown as you and I do. Probably the rejection of this primitive concept explained why over twenty years after the end of apartheid regime collapse, many smart black South Africans electorates seemed more concerned about everyday issues such as excessive taxations, government corruption, high cost of livingthan fixating on the ruling A.N.C.s heroic freedom-fighting past.

In fact many political analysts, including even some A.N.C. leaders, frankly admit that genuine political choices available to electorates and the growing awareness of holding all the political parties accountable augur well for vibrant democracy in South Africa. Hopefully, many Ghanaians will try to learn some few lessons from their brothers and sisters in South Africa during the upcoming general elections in November.

The writer is based in Georgia, USA. He can be reached at: [email protected]
Ogyeahorhuor Kwaku Gyebi II, the Chief of the Anhwiaso Traditional Area, in the Bibiani Anhwiaso constituency, in the Western region, has endorsed the 1-District-1-Factory policy of the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

According to the Chief, this policy is one sure way of creating the hundreds of thousands of jobs required by the teeming masses of unemployed Ghanaian youth across the country.

We have heard you say that in every district your government will help establish one factory. As usual, we have heard the naysayers and doubters saying it cannot be done. I am not a politician, but I vividly recollect that our grandmothers used to make soap out of plantain husks and cocoa pods.

Even if Nana Akufo-Addo does not build a cocoa processing factory here in Anhwiaso, but says he will set up a soap making factory, for example, it is clearly doable. The 1-District-1-Factory policy is one I wholly endorse. We, in Anhwaiso, know that once you have said you will do it, it will be done, he said.

Ogyeahorhuor Kwaku Gyebi II made this known when Nana Akufo-Addo, in the company of NPP national and regional stalwarts, paid a courtesy call on him at his palace, at the commencement of his 5-day tour of the Western Region.

Bemoaning the high levels of unemployment in Anhwiaso and in the country, with tertiary institutions, according to the Anhwiaso Chief, producing some 60,000 to 80,000 graduates annually, Ogyeahorhuor Kwaku Gyebi II wondered how many of such graduates will get jobs to do if drastic policy measures, like the 1-District-1-Factory, are not implemented.

That is why some of us have expressed our confidence and belief in you. As you (Nana Akufo-Addo) have said, once agriculture is diversified, and factories established, thousands of jobs will be created across the country, he added.

Falling Standards of education

The Anhwiaso Chief also bemoaned the falling standards of education under the President Mahama government, with particular reference to the recently published results of candidates who sat in this years West Africa Senior Secondary Examination.

Saddened by the results, which saw only 53% of students recording passes in English; 48.5% passes in Integrated Science; and 32.8% passes in Core Mathematics, the Chief wondered if these are the kinds of results being churned out as a nation, how then can we develop?

To this end, he urged the NPP flagbearer to take a second look at the duration students spend in school, and reverse it to the 4-years originally introduced by President Kufuor. He, however, stated that if the 3-year duration will be maintained, then all senior high schools must be fitted with the requisite learning facilities to help improve the grades of students.

Ogyeahorhuor Kwaku Gyebi II was confident that, under Akufo-Addo government, the Free SHS policy will be truly implemented.

To this end, he appealed to the NPP flagbearer to come to the aid of the Anhwiaso Senior High School, a project he undertook on his own.

Government, in the last two years, has taken over the school. However, till date the students have nowhere to lay their head. On our own, again, we have started the construction of a dormitory and a science laboratory. Kindly assist us finish this school when you win, the Chief appealed

On the deplorable nature of the town roads in Anhwiaso, which the Chief said had been the subject of several petitions to government, he was confident that when Nana wins the elections, he will make sure this is done.
On Aug. 9 and 10, Alibaba Cloud held a cloud computing conference in Beijing. At the conference, Alibaba announced its plan to build an additional headquarters in Singapore to manage overseas business. The company already has a headquarters in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Now, Alibaba will found a local group to follow various data security rules set by other countries across the world and establish an Internet Data Center (IDC) in Singapore. Together, the two headquarters will be in charge of all data on the Alibaba cloud.

Data from all countries and the oversight of networks will be operated by the two hubs, explained by Yu Sichen, vice president of Alibaba Group and general manager of Alibaba Cloud Global.

Alibaba Clouds services need to meet the standards of different markets since most customers tend to adopt local data. EU, Southeast Asia, Japan, North America and even Chinadifferent countries apply different standards. Dual hubs can better manage these rules.  explained Li Jin, director of R&D for Alibaba Cloud, in an interview with thepaper.cn.

As for the location of the new hub, Li explained that although the North American and European markets are relatively mature, the largest emerging market is Asia, and especially India. Alibaba Cloud hopes to reinforce its presence in emerging markets. Singapore is a place with strict rules for cloud computing and data management. Given this strict foundation, Li said, it will be easier to enter other countries.

Singapore may be just a beginning, with more hubs for Alibaba Cloud to come in the future. At present, Alibaba Cloud has Internet Data Centers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the west and east coasts of the U.S. By the end of the year, Alibaba Cloud will launch new IDCs in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Japan.

Hu Xiaoming, president of Alibaba Cloud, sees an opportunity to provide service for enterprises at home and abroad since so many overseas companies want to come to China, while many Chinese companies want to compete in international markets. In the next year, Alibaba Cloud plans to invite over 50 international software service providers to their platform, including SAP and SUSE, to diversify Alibaba Clouds software service. The company also plans to help over 100 Chinese service providers enter international markets.
The Electoral Commission (EC) seems unperturbed by concerns raised about its decision to transmit the results of the upcoming general election by electronic means.

Concerns had been raised by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by its Campaign Manager, Peter Mac Manu, about attempts by the elections organizing body to steer away from what had been agreed upon at an earlier Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting.

They had expressed fear that the results of the elections could be tampered with whiles being transmitted from the 29,000 polling stations spread across the country, instead of the initial 275 constituencies as agreed on at the IPAC meeting.

Mac Manu, who was former NPP National Chairman said, Potentially, the results can be tampered with, and by that I mean modified mid-transmission, particularly in the absence of strong network security and encryption.

Also, if the system starts sending and breaks down midstream, there could be confusion. We have seen that in Ecuador, where for two weeks the results were not coming. We have seen that in Mexico and we have also seen e-transmission failing in Kenya, which was the main reason behind their election petition in 2012.

Contrary to what the NPP was pressing for, it turned out at a tender [bidding] process yesterday that the EC was still bent on transmitting the results of the 2016 general election from the 29,000 polling stations, using electronic means.

This was when IT firms shortlisted for the e-transmission contract appeared before the EC and the political parties to demonstrate how they were going to transmit the election results on voting day.

In all, three IT firms were shortlisted namely, Persol Systems, Scytl and Smartmatic.

Unfortunately however, the only Ghanaian [local] company, Persol that made it to the top, crushed out at the eleventh hour.

The remaining two companies are expected to do a demonstration exercise today to show how there are going to transmit the results electronically.

Even though the EC itself has said it would not declare a winner based on the results transmitted electronically, the NPP says it cannot fathom why the EC still insists on spending money on such an exercise, if not for ill motive.

If the EC does not intend to declare results based on e-transmission, then for what purpose is that option to us? Mac Manu asked when he first raised doubts about the commission's intentions.

According to him, The focus, we believe, should rather be on first ensuring that a certified true copy of the pink sheet, from each of the 29,000 stations, is brought to the National Collation Centre before the Chairperson of the EC finally declares the winner. They can all be brought to Accra within 48 hours from even the remotest part of Ghana.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Simpa Panyin, you see what I told you? Bawumia has done his thing again. This time round he brought the Electoral Commission to his house. The other time I told you that I was unhappy when he used Kaakaamotobi to describe Ghana's economy, and the annoying thing is that his opponents keep making him so popular.

I don't know why they, the umbrella people, don't get it, that the rise and rise of Bawumia is being fuelled by his use of big English, and the spread of such big English by the very umbrella people who wish him fall. They don't seem to get it, so the man is continuously inventing words, and throwing his invented words at one Anyidoho, and he has always succeeded in catching Koku's eye.

Koku, times have changed oo. Your father in heaven who died a couple of years ago left you with nothing, so all those who were worshipping you are now those in charge, and so just know that the previous FONKAR man is now bodooo with Opana, and you who used to be worshiped must now come with fear and trembling, do you get me?

A few days ago someone told me that Dr. Bawumia has instructed the former Member of Parliament for Nsuta-Kwanmang-Beposo, Kwame Osei Prempeh, to announce that any person who lives in Ghana, and who knows the kind of poverty we are experiencing, but still goes ahead to cast his vote for Opana, that person will go to hell.

You see him? He even went further to insist that anyone who believes he was created in the image of God should consider all the thieves who have surrounded this Opana man, and consider bringing back the elephant from the bush, thereafter all voters shall proceed to heaven, you get the plan?

But I have found my own plan to stopping his plan. This weekend I will be taking census of all poor people in my village, and I will bus all of them, and we will sit in the bus in waiting for the elections. At the dawn of December 7, we will drive all my village people to the Togo boarder, and as soon as Auntie Araba declares the opening of the election, we will all throw our votes across the border into Ghana, one for zu, the other for za, one by one we will cast all of our votes, and thereafter we would all join the saints going to heaven.

Do you have to associate poverty with hell at all? Have you tasted hell before? Have you even bothered to visit Alistair and Mugabe to know how hell tastes like?

Please Opana is here, he is not gone anywhere, so if you think people should not vote for him, why don't you say it directly? Why are you trying to bring Christ into this? Or you think Opana fears hell, he doesn't. Otherwise why would he launch his campaign without a manifesto?

Go to Cape Coast this Sunday and see dry campaign launch. All mosquitoes will be there, and they will feed on nothing.

The two parties, the Umbrella and the Elephant, are both hiding their manifestos, accusing each other of theft. The other day Opanana accused Opana of stealing his SADA, and destroying it. He also accused him of stealing his free education and turning it into a distribution of pampers.

I hear Opana has responded that the free education was a quotation from the constitution; it was in his manifesto, except that he did not write it properly. So in the end, Ghanaians are following two important people without knowing what is in their heads, even if they are carrying poisons.

I see trouble in the air, especially after Opana launches his campaign this Sunday. Why not? Launching a campaign without a manifesto is like discharging Kpokpogbligbli patients on the streets, and asking them to intensify their illness, and they will act like double-edged sword, they will cut with both teeth.

And when the Kpokpogbligbli patients are on the streets campaigning, especially when they go without any manifestos, they rape women and blame it on Simpa Panyin, they steal fish and blame it on monkeys, and that is when they will thank Opana for buying them houses and cars even though they bought those houses and cars with their own money, they will present sheep to Simpa Panyin and go on air to announce that they have presented me with cow, and they will be unstoppable, and they will amplify everything Opana has done or has not done, including those days when he needs his privacy, then everything will be out of control.

Then while we waited for the manifesto surprises, Dr Bawumia went on to announce that change is coming, and thereafter the CDD went ahead to release a report to the effect that Ghana hot paa, so all that Bawumia has said is boddooo.

They are lucky that the presidential pardon petition has not matured yet, still warming up on the minds of the Council of State where Ama Benyiwa Doe has a duty to defend the Umbrella.

Imagine that the CDD had released this report a couple of months ago, and this report had landed on the table of Mugabe while Alistair and Ako Gunn have been present? I tell you, the CDD would have been dead already. Like by now Dr Frank Oduro and Professor Gyimah Boadi would have been taking cover under tables and chairs.

How dare you report that an elephant will win this election? Couldn't you have doctored the report even if your respondents said Opana will lose the elections? Have you forgotten the black sheep white cow theory? They would have opened fire on all those associated with the report, including the enumerators, those in the acknowledgement sections, including those mentioned in the references and bibliography; they would have all had their share of the opened fire.

One of the big things I want to do when I grow up is to establish an electoral commission as a business. Perhaps it is the biggest business in Ghana. This is the only business that you can ask for any amount of money and no one questions you. Parliament sees your budget and they all nod in affirmation, and thereafter yeaaa yeaa!!

But that is not the only reason why I will want to set up a company called Electoral Commission. I will set up my own Electoral Commission so that when I speak no one can speak some. I will write 27 and adjust it with 0, and I will use finger of God to score goals. I will tell the whole world how I have learnt my lessons from finger of God, and after I am forgiven I will go back to finger of God, and I will ask him to show up again in the next election.

My electoral commission will be a smart one. For instance if Georgina ask me to spot all the Togolese on my register and remove them, I will take two steps, one on the left to be boddooo, the other on the right to be an elephant spot, and I will scratch all elephants off the register, next time talk again.

That day, when I heard that 5,000 people have been taken off Simpa Panyin's register, I wept. Madam, what have you done? You have removed wrong names oo My people are not Togolese oo, why are you offloading them? Why? Have we wronged you? Please just remove the elephants amongst us, and leave the rest of us alone.

Out of 56,000 names that were removed from the electoral register from 275 constituencies in Ghana, a whopping 5,000 were from Winneba alone, how? And over 2,000 of the 5,000 came from Simpa Panyin's electoral areas, Sankor and Don Bosco, how? Bawumia, where are you? Where are your Togolese voters? Please tell them that you did not speak for us oo, please Winneba is not a border town, leave us alone.

In any case I had to do something, so I started to conduct my own investigations. I met a number of affected voters. The first said he has never even registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme. The other one enrolled with the Health Insurance Scheme in 2014, two clear years after the registration was over. Then I met one person who registered when she was 17, but whose name is still on the register, not removed.

You see what Auntie Araba has done, the things she does that earns her a fight with Bawumia? You were asked to remove those who registered with the National Health Insurance card, why do you have to rather remove those who registered with passports and visas?

James Kofi Annan
President John Agyekum Kufuor in a group photograph with International Republican Institute (IRI) and Democratic Republican Institute (DRI) delegation



Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has cautioned the Electoral Commission (EC) to be transparent and accountable in order for Ghana to have peaceful general elections on December 7.

The EC, under Charlotte Osei, is seen by many political pundits as having assumed a posture of arrogance to the displeasure of well-meaning Ghanaians, as this year's elections reach home stretch.

The referee must be seen to be transparent and accountable. We talk of transparency and accountability and these are the cornerstones of our national constitution and the EC should not be exempted from these provisions, he told a delegation from the reputable National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), both based in the United States.

The delegation, led by Johnnie Carson, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, who is currently a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group and the United States Institute of Peace, had paid a courtesy call on the former president to solicit his views on the processes leading to the crucial elections.

The team is expected to conduct a pre-election assessment and specifically look at the environment on the ground prior to the general elections.

In the process, the team will meet the political parties, senior and former political leaders, constituent groups, NGOs and others who are concerned about the democratic process.

President Kufuor said, The whole idea is that the EC must be independent alright, but it should also know that it is accountable to the people. It is not an independent institution unto itself. It is accountable to the people generally.

Afari-Gyan's Influence

The meeting became interesting when the delegation's leader, in outlining Ghana's democratic credentials, remarked that immediate past EC boss, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, played a significant role in ensuring that Ghana continued to remain peaceful and stable.

Mr. Kufuor then countered, I acknowledge that the same EC under Afari-Gyan brought me and my party to power, but we all have our ups and downs. Today you are a fair referee, tomorrow for whatever reasons you may not prove to be that fair. As we respect Afari-Gyan for his track record, we should also admit that the situation we find ourselves now is more reflective of how he left the scene.

Mr Kufuor even cited a situation in which he said a few months to the 2012 elections, the EC was busily creating new constituencies at a time when the commission had closed the voters' register and rebuffed those not in favour of the creation.

At the bottom of the exercise, we should acknowledge the relevance of history. We talked of Dr. Afari-Gyan going off and a new EC chairperson being appointed. I don't think it is as straight as that. You remember what transpired in the 2012 general elections. We saw the palpable tension around the country. At that time it was Afari-Gyan!



New EC Boss

He continued, The new chairperson of the commission wasn't at all involved in 2012 and you remember the Supreme Court case that followed after the elections.

He said the opposition tested the legitimacy and fairness of the 2012 results in court and although the leader disagreed with the court, he accepted the verdict for peace to prevail.

There is an adage that 'once bitten twice shy'. We are coming into another election and naturally some serious stakeholders think that there should be true transparency, fairness and the justice of the election.

Today party A got it and how it got it might be in question so party B coming into the contest again wants to ensure that truly the EC, not so much the Chairperson, would be a fair arbiter so that in the end the loser would accept the verdict and the winner would also have the magnanimity for the other side.

According to former President Kufuor, It is the evolution of the system and 2012 proved to be such an exceptional election that people fear generally that if some of the things that happened are repeated in 2016, we would not know the outcome and we don't want to be surprised at all.

Our wish across the board is that we should go through this election peacefully so that at the end there must be a winner and we continue to remain as one nation, he articulated, adding, But the tension that we sense, I believe, is tension that has been generated just to keep on reminding stakeholders, more so the referee (EC) that the institution has responsibility to the country and I am sure it wouldn't go down in history as the body whose supervision of election caused Ghana.

Accountability

If the executive, legislature, judiciary and all other institutional bodies are expected to be accountable, transparent, then the EC should not be different from these organs of state, Mr Kufuor said, adding, All the programmes and the management of the elections should be such as to convince us that the commission is living up to its responsibilities. The average Ghanaian essentially is worried.



Vigilante Groups

The ex-president also touched on concerns raised by the delegation that there appeared to be the emergence of party militias or vigilante groups in the country; but he said he trusted the security agencies to handle the situation.

Wherever there is power you see people trying to show muscle but I have a feeling that the security agencies would do their work impartially. If they do their work impartially and the EC also plays its role in fairness and in neutrality, those sprouting vigilantes would not amount to anything.

The delegation leader said, There are new circumstances that prevail today which will raise the level of tensions, create more opportunity for post and perhaps pre-election conflict. We are here to get an assessment of what the challenges are for holding a successful election like you have done so well in the past, and what has made the situation potentially more volatile than before.

By William Yaw Owusu
The transport ministry has suspended the implementation of the Terminal Handling Charges (THC) being proposed by the various shipping lines in Ghana.

The decision to suspend the charges was arrived at on Wednesday after hours of meeting between stakeholders in the shipping industry and the ministry. The ministry referred the matter to the Ghana Maritime Authority which is expected to present a report on it within two months.

The charges, if approved would mean shippers will be paying between $140 and $155 for a 20-footer container and $260-$275 for a 40-footer one. Various groups in the industry, including the Ghana Shippers Authority, the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority, Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, among others, have kicked against the THC, saying it would further increase the cost of doing business.

They argue that the new charges are unnecessary, saying they have already been factored into the freight charges they pay before a ship sets sail. They fear if the charges come into force, they would be paying close to $60 million annually.

The shippers say as it stands now, they are reeling under the impact of multiplicity of taxes and levies at the ports.

They have thus welcomed the suspension of the charges as they await the report of the Ghana Maritime Authority.
Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA

Apollo, Aug.10, GNA - Dr Bernard Acquah Obeng, a Senior Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), said innovation in modern business was key to ensure the survival and profitability of very organisation.

'It is important to have a business plan and constantly monitor what is happening around and within your business to be able to improve upon what you do as well as meet your customers' needs,' he said.

He urged entrepreneurs to be creative and adapt to changes in the environment in which they operated to be able to succeed and compete favourably with others.

Dr Obeng said this at a three-day training programme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's) within the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis on: 'Business Plan Development'.

It was organised by the Ghana Supply Chain Development Programme in Takoradi designed to help participants understand their business structure, make business decisions and develop business strategies.

It offered participating companies the skill to have a working business model that would guide them to become fully resourced and stay in business as well as help SMEs to design their business in a way that would make them competitive.

The training was also tailored to equip human resource departments with a roadmap for achieving their organisational goals and objectives and to provide a benchmark for SMEs to use in assessing their strengths and weaknesses and make midcourse corrections.

Dr Obeng said most businesses operated without business plan asking that; 'what would your employees follow to work on when you are no longer around?'

'Having a business plan would not give you the guarantee of succeeding in your business but improve your chances of succeeding. Business plan document attracts investors, key employees as well as various stakeholders,' he added.

Dr Obeng said businesses thrived when entrepreneurs saw the customer as important and built a long term relationship with them while improving on their products and services.

He said in the global village, continuous improvement was key to success and encouraged the SME's to explore new ideas and solutions and use the internet for business information.

Dr Obeng reminded participants that government policies and other economic factors have bearing on business growth and urged them to monitor such key indicators and adjust to the changes as and when necessary. GNA
By Emmanuel Asante Attakora, GNA

Accra, Aug 10, GNA - Ghanaian Women Association of Georgia (GWAG) in the US, has partnered the Rotary Club of Accra-Airport to refurbish maternity wards for some hospitals and health centres in the country.

At a news conference at the Ghana News Agency Innovation centre, Accra, GWAG, in partnership with Rotary Club Accra-Airport and Rotary Club Cape Coast Central, with support from various individuals and organisations, announced that the Elmina Urban Health Centre Maternity Ward and the Oda Government Hospitals are beneficiaries.

Yendi Government Hospital in the Northern Region is also part of the phase one of the maternity wards project.

The maternity wards project, which is the brain child of GWAG, in partnership with Rotary Club Accra-Airport and Rotary Club of Cape Coast Central, would distribute various medical items to health centres in the first phase of the project to support women and children's healthcare.

In an interview with GNA, the Country Representative of GWAG, Hajia Fatima Isakah said the organisation seeks to promote entrepreneurship for women, culture for the youth in the Diaspora and giving back to women and children in under-served communities in Ghana.

'To support women and children's healthcare initiatives, we selected maternity care as an area to focus. Maternity care benefits both target groups-women and children, with the high maternal and infant mortality rates in Ghana. This was a big area of need.

'We seek to be part of the change we want to see by providing tangible solutions to hospitals to enhance the delivery of care in maternity,' she added.

Hajia Fatima said the maternity ward adoption projects, are aimed at equipping government run hospitals to build capacity and increase access to hospitals for underserved women.

On his part, the President of Rotary Club of Accra-Airport, Mr Nathan Adu, noted that as part of the larger Rotary family and the biggest service organisation in the world who came together to create positive, lasting change in their communities, it was easy to partner an organisation as GWAG since they all share the same vision.

'Rotary is also a non-profit organisation like GWAG. They raised funds to give back to the Ghanaian society and having identified the various hospitals, they needed a reputable organisation to assist them in disbursing the items to the various hospitals.

'They approached us and Rotary having maternal healthcare as one of the areas to help, we thought it as a good opportunity to also help in giving back to society. We will see to the distribution,' he added.

Items to be donated include maternity ward beds, incubators various examination equipment and devices, stretchers, wheelchairs, scanners, weighing scales, mattresses, surgical disposables and dozens of essential items required for maternity units worth more than $ 200.000.

GNA
Tema, Aug. 10, GNA - The Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners-Ghana has called on the Government to improve the capacity of members on Occupational Health to manage and respond appropriately to work- related illnesses and injury.

A communiquA issued at the end of the 38th Annual General Congress of the Society in Tema, signed by Dr Isaac Charles Noble Morrison, the President of the Society, called on government to train more occupational health practitioners to promote health and safety at the workplace.

The seven-point communiquA called on occupational health personnel to educate employees working with hazardous materials and in high risk industries and locations on the dangers they are exposed to.

Government should also ensure that the necessary protective measures were taken with regards to their health and safety, it said.

It called on the Ministry of Labour Relations to resource the Labour Department to conduct regular assessment and inspection of industries and workplaces to ensure that safety guidelines are implemented and adhered to.

Employers, the communique said, should continue to help in the rehabilitation of injured workers and possibly reinstate them in positions where they could be useful.

It called for severe sanctions against employers that failed to live up to the high standards set by the labour inspectors.

GNA
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Winneba (C/R), Aug 10, GNA - Mr Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, the Central Regional Minister, has expressed worry over the rate at which HIV/AIDS is spreading in the region.

He said the 2015 HIV and AIDS Annual Review Report indicated that 76,734 pregnant women attended Antenatal Clinic in the region out of which 61,447, representing 80 per cent, took the HIV test with 585, representing 0.95 per cent, testing positive.

Mr Ricketts-Hagan said this at a free health screening outreach jointly organised by the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV and AIDS, (OAFLA Ghana Chapter) and Ghana Aids Commission led by Mrs Lordina Mahama, the First Lady, at Winneba.

'I am worried about the remaining 15,287 (20 per cent) pregnant women who did not avail themselves for the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV programme.

'There is the possibility that more HIV positive cases could be among the 15,287 who did not avail themselves for the PMTCT services during the period,' he said.

The Minister noted that with regard to the report, it would lead to innocent children being born with HIV and this is unacceptable.

He said the 2015 National HIV and AIDS Control Programme Sentinel Survey Report on pregnant women also revealed a consistent rise in HIV prevalence percentage recorded at three sentinel sites in the region, namely; Cape Coast, Assin Fosu and Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa (AOB).

As per the report, Cape Coast leads with 1.6 per cent in 2013, 2.0 per cent in 2014 and 2.6 in 2015. Assin Fosu recorded 1.0 per cent in 2013, 1.6 in 2014 and 2.2 in 2015 followed by AOB with 0.6 per cent in 2013, 0.8 in 2014 and 0.8 in 2015.

'In a nutshell, with the high HIV prevalence among women visiting antenatal clinics in the region, there is the possibility of high vertical transmission from mothers to the unborn babies if the positive women are not utilising prevention of mother-to-child transmission services which are provided free of charge,' he said.

'This poses a serious threat to our efforts to towards an HIV free society,' he added.

Mr Ricketts-Hagan thanked the First Lady for her campaign on PMTCT, saying he and the people of the Central Region would continue to join hands with her to fight the pandemic.

He urged women to take advantage of the various health services that have been brought to their doorsteps to attend antenatal clinics, check their HIV status and be screened for cervical cancer.

GNA
The Montie three petition is a necessary evil because it reveals to us one defect of the 1992 constitution: the tyrant of the executive over other arms of government. Let us assume that the president exercises his prerogative of mercy granted him by article 72 of the foregoing constitution and revoke the Supreme Courts verdict, he will not be flouting any law. In his social cognitive theory, Albert Banduras argued that individuals are not only agents of actions but self-examiners of their own functioning. Through reflective self-consciousness, individuals evaluate their motivation, values and the meaning of their goals.

This means that as people we can influence the future of our country by doing the right thing. Having seen the drawbacks of the 1992 constitution such as the excessive powers of the president, what are we doing to remedy the situation? Should we amend the constitution or maintain the status quo? What has happened to the report of the constitutional amendment committee? The purpose of this article is to reflect on justice systems in society from philosophical point of view and find out whether the 1992 constitution really assure Ghanaians of justice.

John Rawls (1921-2002), was a philosophy professor at Harvard University. He had contributed substantially to political and moral philosophy. He was a historian of moral philosophy of no mean repute. His book magnum opus (A theory of justice) is regarded as one of the most important pieces of political philosophy from the liberal orientation. For this reasons, I have decided to look at justice from Rawls perspectives which almost invariably is applicable to the political happenings in Ghana.

The first virtue of social institutions is justice while truth is a system of thought. However, elegant and economical truth must be rejected or revised if it is untrue. In the same way, laws and institutions no matter how efficient and powerful they are must be reformed or repealed if they are not just. Every citizen of a country possesses the inevitableness founded on justice and not even the welfare of society as a whole can disallow. For this purpose justice rejects that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. It does not encourage that the sacrifice imposed on a few are outweighed by the sum of advantages enjoyed by many. Thus, in a just society, the liberties of equal citizenship are taken as settled and that the rights secured by justice are not subject to political bargaining or the calculus of social interests. The only advantage of injustice is an erroneous theory known as lack of a better one which analogously implies that an injustice is tolerable and acceptable only when it is necessary to avoid an even greater injustice. Being first virtue of human activities, truth and justice are uncompromising.

In the view of Rawls, society is well ordered when it is not only designed to favor its member s but when it is also effectively regulated by a public perception of justice. That is a society in which everybody accepts and knows that the others accept the same principle of justice. Besides, the basic social institutions generally satisfy and are generally known to satisfy these principles. In this case while men may put forth excessive demands on one, they nevertheless acknowledge a common point of view from which their claims may be adjudicated. Under Ghanas democracy, what is the public perception of justice, corruption and the accountability of leadership? Truth and justice are highly compromised whereby many scholars have refrained from debating on national issues for the fear of being verbally abused by the privileged young guys in government.

The point is that Ghana prides itself as a beacon of democracy in Africa while dictatorship is dancing alluringly under the shadow of the 1992 constitution. The only evidence of participatory democracy is when the innocent citizens queue under scorching sun to vote for their respective unmitigated self-seekers (not all of them though). The aforesaid constitution can be best described as a diffused dictatorship where citizens sacrifice their liberty and freedom on unholy altars of the leaders egocentric convenience. For example, the president controls legislature through his quasi-legislative powers. He appoints the speaker of parliament. The president also appoints the Chief Justice and the minister of justice (Quasi-judicial powers). Practically, the minister of justice who is a cabinet member is the head of the judiciary. What kind of constitution will entrust all the powers to the president? Perhaps the framers of the 1992 constitution were not convinced whether the then chairman of the PNDC would transit to constitutional government or a set up to identify traitors of the then leader.

My perturbation emanates from the fact that any citizen who is loyal to the president (not only one president) or his ministers can commit a heinous crime and when convicted could pressurize the president to invoke the article 72 for pardon. That is, if the case is not even aborted by politically-influenced police and BNI. The police head is appointed and controlled by a given government. This is injustice in its height although I strongly agree with the American novelist, Brad Thor that there is no justice in social justice, and there is no equality in social equality. On the contrary, the African American social reformer, Fredrick Douglass asserted that where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be saved. Constitutions and laws are supposed to safeguard the fundamental human rights and liberty of the citizens but not to legitimize injustice. At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst (Aristotle). By this article, I am humbly calling for a national debate if not a referendum (when applicable) to reduce some of the powers given to the president. Such an amendment will assure the safety of all and sundry. Our country is divided because of winner takes all concept and the tyrant of the executive .God bless our homeland Ghana and help us resist oppressors rule.

I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing. (Socrates)

Feedbacks must be directed to [email protected]

Nana Yaw Osei (Padigo), PhD Candidate, Psychology

Arizona, USA
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Dedication - To my cousin, co-hustler and road manager; Joseph Ernest Buah.

I am really struggling through my burning ambition to emerge as a world champion in the writing fraternity. You know why? I have taken seemingly ridiculous risks because I do not believe in playing it safe as I pursue my priceless aspirations. Most folks think that I am simply immature to have developed a highly risky attitude since that will definitely open a Pandora's box of chaotic struggles.

They fear I may not be able to conquer my present and impending struggles, mainly because I am too young as a 19 year old guy. Hey, maturity is never about age; it is all about percipience and the ability to deal with issues of life. Also, I am a start-up writing entrepreneur with virtually no assets, so my struggles are actually of enormous dimensions. But the good news is that the clarity of purpose (I emphasise "the clarity of purpose") I cling on to invigorates me as I strive to surmount my sickening struggles.

Yes, that is why I am compelled to inspire people with true potentials to trust their struggles. Struggles, hard or difficult fights to purposely achieve something, are mostly not evil or destructive as many people think. Struggles are actually meant to challenge and test the strengths of our passions. They are designed in problematic ways to help us build perfectly resilient spirits. And if you do not encounter real struggles, then you have gone astray or you possess a weak passion. Meeting struggles is mostly a positive sign of following the right path or trying to effect a change. So we do not have to label our struggles as an enemy of progress but rather a huge blessing in disguise, which we ought to overcome tactically. In fact, trust your struggles and never curse them.

Moreover, do you know Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe's richest man worth over a billion dollars? He planned to establish his own telecommunications enterprise, Econet Wireless, in the mid 1990's, but Mugabe's socialist government which had absolute monopoly on the telecommunications industry rejected his ambition. So Masiyiwa went to court but lost initially; he persisted in the historic court case for about five years until the court finally granted him the legal right to operate Econet Wireless in the late 1990's. Today, Econet Wireless is a multimillion dollar company operating in several African countries. The lesson is, "Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle," Wilma Rudolph asserted.

Indeed, "Strength comes from struggle. When you learn to see your struggles as opportunities to become stronger, better, wiser, then your thinking shifts from 'I can't do this' to 'I must do this'," as Toni Sorenson, a Danish entrepreneur, revealed. Strive Masiyiwa strove to become triumphant in his frustrating legal battle without feeling too enervated to resist that long struggle. You certainly need to do same if you are faced with continuing struggles. Do not be a coward to confront your struggles no matter how intense or big they look. Remember that there is rare power in persistence. Besides, your potential is greater than your struggles. Believe it and act fearlessly yet wisely. Muster up the courage to tackle your struggles as they occur.

Source: sirarticle.blogspot.com
A Chinese official is sparing no effort to promote tourism in his city, which is located in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

On Aug. 10, Dong Bin, the party secretary of Beyinguoleng Mongolian autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang, invited more than 100 reporters to do a live broadcast of him cooking a fish.

Heat the oil, add onion and ginger, fry the fish, add seasonings and dish is ready, the official explained. With practiced, expert movements, the official could truly have passed as a professional chef. He arranged the event as a means of promoting the organic fish that come from the prefectures Bositeng Lake, which is also the country's largest inland freshwater lake.

One difference between Dong and most professional chefs is that he talks non-stop while cooking--introducing the eco-tourism of the prefecture, with its pristine forests and lakes.

Dongs creative cooking program is not the only recent publicity stunt done for the sake of tourism. This June, Chen Xingjia, a party secretary in Badong County, Hubei province live-streamed himself skydiving from a height of 3,000 meters. His stunt was meant to promote the county's upcoming sky diving competition.

My county cant keep its beauty to itself anymore, Chen said in an impassioned interview. The officials skydive became an online sensation, and ultimately did achieve its goal of introducing more people to the region's stunning bodies of water, primitive valleys and mysterious Tujia ethnic minority culture.
The Rotary Club of Sekondi-Takoradi, an organisation that provides humanitarian services, will as part of its activities for the year embark on a medical outreach project on breast cancer.

The project will help educate the Ghanaian populace, especially women, about the nature of breast cancer and how to avoid it as well as the need to seek early treatment.

The club will also undertake a free eye screening exercise and help those with some ailments or any problem with their eyesight to seek early treatment.

Richard Kojo Anim, in-coming President of the Sekondi-Takoradi Rotary Club, revealed this during a gala to climax activities marking the 50th anniversary celebration of the club in Sekondi-Takoradi.

The programme also saw the handing-over of the club's presidents position from the immediate past president, Nana Konduah Dickye, to Richard Kojo Anim.

Mr Konduah Dickye indicated that the club would collaborate with the USAID to provide water and sanitation facilities in six regions in the country.

He disclosed that the water and sanitation projects would cover 13 districts nationwide at a cost of $4 million and stressed that in the Western Region, the project would be located in the Amenfi Central District.

Mr Konduah Dickye stated that as part of the project, the club would construct toilet facilities for the people of Banso in the Ahanta West District and a primary and junior high school at New Takoradi, a shanty and deprived community in Sekondi-Takoradi.

The schools do not have their own toilet facility and therefore they have to walk a few distance to use the facility of a nearby school during nature's call, he stressed.

Mr Konduah Dickye indicated that for the past 50 years, the Rotary Club in Sekondi-Takoradi had consciously assisted a lot of communities with some basic necessities of life and promised that the club would continue to advance the course of serving humanity.

In his goodwill message, the District Governor of the Rotary Club, Sam Worentetu, encouraged members of the club to keep on serving humanity, adding, We need to grow our membership, social understanding and increase public awareness about the club.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi
Government has decided to sponsor the medical bills of Dr David Abdulai, a medical doctor battling with thyroid cancer in the Northern Region after social media campaign.

Dr Abdulai has over the years dedicated his life to serving the poor in the Northern Region through running two free health clinics in the region and served a variety of populations, including the mentally ill, HIV patients and the homeless.

In May, Dr Abdulai was diagnosed with stage-4 thyroid cancer which is reportedly quite aggressive and spreading.

Reports indicated that the doctor was in dire need of radiation therapy, which is not offered in Tamale where he resides, but a post from the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Victor Asare Bampoe, on Wednesday indicated that the President, John Dramani Mahama has directed the Ghana Air Force to evacuate Dr Abdulai to Accra, so he can receive optimal care.

He was flown to Accra yesterday and is currently receiving the care he needs. In my humble opinion, even though the President has intervened, the fundraising efforts are in the right direction, and proceeds will surely be appreciated by Dr Abdulai, the deputy minister added.

Showing appreciation to individuals who through social media started a fundraising campaign for Dr Abdulai, Dr Bampoe said, Thanks to Pakwo Shum, Kobby Blay, Nana Awere Damoah, Nana Ama Agyeman Asante, Ama Opoku-Agyemang and others for the posts and fundraising efforts on behalf of Dr David Abdulai of Shekhina Clinic in Tamale.

I'd like to share some information. H.E. the President directed the Ghana Air Force to evacuate Dr Abdulai to Accra three days ago, so he can receive optimal care.

He was flown to Accra yesterday and is currently receiving the care he needs. In my humble opinion, even though the President has intervened, the fundraising efforts are in the right direction, and proceeds will surely be appreciated by Dr Abdulai. I will keep you all updated. Thank you.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described President John Mahama's GH150 monthly allowance promise to trainee nurses in the country as blatant lie, meant only to win undeserved votes.

Dr Nsiah Asare, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), who is a leading member of the NPP, said President Mahama and the NDC are desperate for political power, hence the sudden promise.

He has consequently dared President Mahama to produce the source of funding for the GH150 monthly allowance fee for trainee nurses, stressing that this GH150 promise even though it is too small, I bet you, it is not realistic because there is no money to pay the trainee nurses. This GH150 promise was not captured in the budget.

I, therefore, dare President Mahama to boldly come out and tell Ghanaians about the source and funding of this GH150 monthly allowance for the trainee nurses. It is meant to win votes from the nurses.

Dr Asare was addressing hundreds of NPP supporters during the campaign launching of the Offinso South Constituency NPP on Sunday which was captured live by Ashh FM as part of the station's 'People's Forum' programme.

The former KATH CEO charged nurses in the country, notably those in the training schools, to reject the NDC during the upcoming elections because they do not have any plans to better the lives of nurses.

He said President Mahama and the NDC do not respect nurses in the country that is why they (NDC) are promising to restore the nurses' allowance barely four months before the country goes to the next polls.

Dr Asare bemoaned the increasing cost of school fees of trainee nurses in the country, mentioning that the health sector and nurses do not have any future under the NDC government.

He said since 2012, trainee nurses who undertook degree programmes in the various universities across the country have not been employed by the state after graduation, saying that the NPP would improve the health sector.

Dr Asare added that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which is on the brink of collapsing currently would be revived if Nana Akufo-Addo becomes president.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Offinso South


The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Tema West, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, has provided free vacation classes for pupils of the Old Lashibi Junior High School (JHS) at Lashibi, Tema.

According to him, he would the provision of quality education to pupils in his constituency.

The aspirant stated that the move is to aid poor parents who want their wards to attend vacation classes.

He made the remarks when he donated exercise books, Maths textbooks, pens, whiteboard markers to the pupils to help boost their academic performance.

Mr. Ahenkorah stated that he and his team will visit the Baastona TMA JHS to offer similar support to the pupils.

Headmistress of the school, Rebecca Mensah, who received the items on behalf of the pupils, lauded Mr. Ahenkorah for providing the pupils with free vacation classes and educational materials.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, Mrs Mensah called on government to increase the classrooms due to the increase in the number of children in the school, adding that the school is supposed to have 9 classrooms but now has six which has created congestion in the school.

She appealed to government to provide the school with adequate dual desks in order to create a conducive environment for the children.

Because of the lack of adequate desks, the children copy work anytime they are given assignments, which makes it difficult for teachers to access them, she added.

Mrs. Mensah stressed the need for government to fence the school to ward off encroachers.

Some hoodlums broke into the schools office and stole our computers and I subsequently reported the matter to the police, she said.

From Vincent Kubi, Tema
Residents of Sefwi Kwafukaa, Bodi, in the Western Region, on Wednesday embarked on a demonstration against the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Sampson Ahi, for failing to address the needs of the community.

The residents mentioned deplorable road networks as well as other basic needs as their major concerns.

The demonstrators, who are in one of the perceived strongholds of the ruling National Democracy Congress (NDC), also vented their spleens on the government and the District Chief Executive (DCE), Solomon Fuachie, for failing to repair the areas road networks, despite the fact that they vote massively for the party.

They asserted that even though they had drawn the attention of the DCE and the MP to the issue of the deplorable roads, nothing had been done to rehabilitate them.

According to the aggrieved residents, they therefore had no other option than to demonstrate against the authorities concerned.

As early as 7am yesterday, the peeved residents, clad mostly in red attires, marched through the principal streets of the town holding placards.

They later converged at the forecourt of the district assembly and presented a petition to the DCE for onward submission to President Mahama.

Emmanuel Agyare, one of the organizers of the demonstration, stated that the roads had been in bad state for years, adding that all efforts to get the authorities to put them in good shape had proved futile.

He was optimistic that through the demonstration the authorities would rise up to the occasion and address their grievances.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Bibiani
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Nana Oteng Korankye ll, the Chief and Head of Aduana Abrade family of Berekusu, has called on all AND sundry to disregard the wrong misrepresentation and treat with contempt divisive and malicious information in sections of the media to the effect that he had defied the orders of the court and continues to develop Abokobi lands.

This misrepresentation of the facts, according to the traditional ruler, is being masterminded by the self-styled chief of Abokobi, Nii Samuel Adjetey Mohenu. The self-styled chief of Abokobi is said to have told The Punch Newspaper in its Monday 4-Thursday July 7, 2016edition that there is an injunction on the Abokobi land and that, the people of Berekusu have defied orders of the court and continue to develop the said land.

The Abokobi land has been in dispute between the chief of Abokobi representing the Presby Church of Ghana and Aduana Abrade family of Berekusu. The land case has been adjudicated on in a court of competent jurisdiction with Aduana Abrade family of Berekusu winning all land related cases sent to the Ghanaian court.

Nana Oteng Korankye ll in an interview with The Citizen Newspaper rebuted Nii Samuel Adjetey Mohenus false assertions, revealing that though there had been an earlier interim injunction on some portions of the Berekusu land at the instance of the registered trustees of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana [Nii Samuel Adjetey Mohenu], this paper has gathered that, that suit No. is LD/0292/2016.

The Head of Aduana Abrade family however contended that the said injunction had been vacated by his Lordship Justice S.H Ocran on the 8th day of July 2016 upon application successfully made by him.

The Chief and Head of Aduana Abrade family said he was successful because he raised numerous challenges and doubts about the root of title and the ascertainment of the certainty of the issue being claimed by the plaintiff [the registered trustees of the Presbyterian church of Ghana].

The court, he said, further stated that the said land being claimed by the plaintiff was not easily identifiable and therefore an injunction cannot be granted and hence the court went ahead among other things to vacate the interlocutory injunction.

Nana Oteng Korankye ll explained that, as a result of the vacation of the interlocutory injunction by the court there is no injunction whatsoever restraining him, his agents, servants, privies, assigns, and grantees, relatives from entering, developing, making grants and from dealing with all or any portion of the land.

He also disclosed that an application for interlocutory injunction made by one Christian Lokko and Justice Christian Lokko suing as administrators of the Estate of Frederick Chenard Lokko with Charles Youngman Lokko as plaintiffs against him and Comet properties as defendants of suit number LD0531/2016 in respect of the same land presided over by his Lordship Justice R. B Batu denied the plaintiffs application as having failed to make a good enough case to justify stultifying Comet properties and development of the land.

The Chief and Head of Aduana Abrade family said he is not perturbed that there has been false claimants, incessant harassment, use of land guards, and multiplicity of spurious suits against them over the same piece of land, saying they have rebutted them and would continue to defend their rights and ownership of the said land.

Contact:

[email protected]
Rome (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came under fire Thursday for reportedly sending special forces to help the fight against the Islamic State group in Libya without proper clearance from parliament.

Renzi's centre-left government has refused to confirm or deny media reports that dozens of special forces have been deployed to help with demining and training forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord, currently battling IS in its stronghold of Sirte.

"We do not have a military mission in Libya. If we did parliament would have been informed," Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni insisted in an interview with Corriere della Sera.

Asked if that also applied to secret service activity, Gentiloni replied: "By definition, I do not comment on operations of a classified nature."

Under the controversial "article 7bis" of legislation adopted last year, the Italian premier can send special forces to combat zones for intelligence missions without parliamentary approval.

The parliamentary committee which overseas the secret services has to be informed but this does not have to be made public.

According to the Italian media, the committee was secretly notified of the special forces deployment last week.

The move followed Renzi's agreement that US warplanes and drones could use Italian airspace and military bases for strikes on Sirte.

Opposition parties accused the premier of abusing article 7bis to take Italy into a war situation by stealth.

"The article speaks clearly of sending men in support of intelligence operations which has nothing to do with what our special forces are doing in Libya," deputies from Italy's most popular political force, the Five Star Movement, said in a statement.

"First with the concession on airbases and now with our own men on the ground, this government has effectively involved Italy in a theatre of war without going through parliament."

To date the only practical support for the Libyan forces which Italy has confirmed has involved the evacuation of injured government troops for medical treatment.

Recent opinion polls suggest over 80 percent of Italian voters oppose the country getting involved in military combat in Libya.

The government has offered to lead a peacekeeping force into the former Italian colony if such a step is requested by the Libyan government and authorised by the United Nations.
A Legal Practitioner has threatened to go on hunger strike if President John Dramani Mahama pardons the jailed Montie FM presenter and two panelists.

In addition, Maurice Ampaw said he would stop going to court for one year and campaign against the Presidents second term bid in the upcoming elections.

Two radio panelists, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn and show host, Salifu Maase of an Accra-based radio station, Montie FM were sentenced to four months imprisonment by the Supreme Court on July 27, 2016, for threatening to kill judges of the Court.

The three were also fined 10,000 cedis each while the owners of the frequency of the radio station, and the directors were fined 30,000 cedis respectively.

A petition asking the president to invoke his powers of pardon under Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution has been signed by a section of the public who are predominantly members of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The president has referred the petition to the Council of State for advice. But Lawyer Maurice Ampaw is unhappy with the turn of events.

He has pleaded with President Mahama not to pardon the trio as he believes it will undermine the powers of the Supreme Court judges.

It will disturb his own government and he will pay legally and politically for it. Legally, if he dares release the Montie 3, lawyer Ampaw will go to Supreme Court to challenge that power, he stated.

Mr. Ampaw added that the invocation of the Presidents power under article 72 will in a way undermine the powers of the Supreme Court judges.

He said he would incite the judiciary against the President and call on them to embark on strike if the three persons are pardoned.

Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com | Akosua Asiedua Akuffo | [email protected] | Twitter/Instagram asiedua_
Collins Dauda

11.08.2016 LISTEN

It is left to be confirmed whether Hon. Collins Dauda, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, did indeed say that Nana Addo and the NPP will discriminate against Muslims when elected as President of Ghana on December 7.

If indeed he said that which he has not denied so far, then he is either confused or doesn't know the definition of the word discrimination.

How can the same party that has Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as vice President in waiting be accused of discriminating against Muslims?

Is Collins Dauda by such a sick thought saying that there are even no Muslims in the NPP now? I dare him to mention the name of a single Muslim in the NPP now who has complained of discrimination against him or her.

For the information of Brother Collins Dauda, if there is a political party in recent times that is profoundly discriminating of Muslims, it is the NDC, his party.

Do we have to remind Collins Dauda of the comments characters in the NDC have in recent times made against Muslims in Ghana?

Is Collins Dauda not aware that the NPP is the only political party in the history of Ghana that had a Muslim as Vice President for 8 years? Or he is not aware that the late Aliu Mahama of blessed memory was an astute Muslim?

Is he even aware that the NPP has a convention of always having Muslims as running mate to our Presidential Candidates since 1979?

On the issue of the Aliens Compliance Order (ACO), the Local Government Minister is either deliberately distorting facts or he has been hearing of the ACO but has never made time to educate himself about what it was all about.

It was an issue of the regularisation of stay of Aliens in the country and the ACO was enacted to take charge of that. Most Aliens around that time complied and never saw it as an action aimed at driving away Aliens from Ghana.

The misrepresentation of a simple order to regularize stay and businesses can not just be misinterpreted in this 21st Century.

The NPP was in government between 2001 and 2009. Alhaji Collins Dauda should tell Ghanaians a single Alien who was deported or driven away from Ghana.

You see, we can do our politics without defiling the sanctity of history. It is unacceptable that a Muslim and an Alhaji in the person of Collins Dauda will consciously lie about the NPP just because he wants votes.

I am surprised that it is this same Minister who has presided over chronic discrimination against contractors at his ministry who is talking of discrimination.

There are instances where Muslim contractors have won contracts but not awarded the contract because of political discrimination against them in the very Ministry Alhaji Collins Dauda is Minister.

I have a word for the minister; "If you live in a glass house, you don't have to be the first to throw a stone". A word to the wise enough.

Akilu Sayibu

A Muslim in NPP

Tamale North

Sent from my Huawei Mobile
The people of Liberia have and continue to cry at the hands of their leaderships since the foundation of this Nation Liberia as the result of the deep rooted corrupt practices that has become the way of life among every ruling establishments voted into offices.

In recent pass, the American Assistance secretary of States for African affairs Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield visited Liberia and spoke at one of the local University to politicians and students indicating that Liberian politicians should stop using their political connections to fill their bank accounts abroad!

Interestingly, these very politicians that Ambassador Greenfield taking about that are known in the banking community as Politically Exposed People (PEP) who often used their political connections to launder monies if not all most of them are practically based in America and some in Europe holding citizenship or resident documents!

Moreover, these politicians the monies they lauder are mostly in the United States currency as such the Treasury department in the United States of America traces every American dollar that leaves the shore of America to any foreign government. And when these very monies leave the shores of these countries the U S Treasury department is aware of these banking transactions of these politically exposed people oversea accounts!

From all indications, Ambassador Greenfield is the best spoke person for the suffering Liberian masses since her days in Liberia as a peace corp. volunteer and is verse with the plights of the people and is pretty sited to explain the Liberian people stories especially on the massive corruptions that are no more perception but real practice!

Ambassador Greenfield can in my opinion impress on the American congress in making sure that these stolen wealth brought back to Liberia whether in any Swiss, American or European accounts from pass regimes and even the present ones!

In the words of Ambassador Greenfield, Liberia remained lagging behind as compared to her neighbors on the African Continent intern of growth as well as socioeconomic development and that the only way to escape such a nightmare is for Liberians to deal with corruption holistically.

The United States Embassy government must and can help Liberians to fight this corruption holistically by making sure that the politically exposed people from past regimes up to presence assist in the process of cross checking their activities from the various banking institutions that already got these people on red alert in term of their financial engagements!

A case in point has to do with the Nigerian government, under the leadership of President Buhari who since assuming the leadership of Nigeria former officials has been brought to book to the extent that millions has been brought back to the Country with the help of foreign governments!

President Buhari, recently told the British Prime Minister who said that Nigeria and Afghanistan were fantastically corrupt that he owe no apology to the people of Nigeria but must assist in the process of returning the stolen wealth of the people of Nigeria that are in London banks illegally taken them with the help of British partners!

Since the will power of almost all of the leadership in Liberia to fight corrupt continues to fail thus giving way for corruption to be a part of Liberian life style! Now Liberias long time tern partner in progress (America) must help save the remaining survival generation that is living in abject poverty with these Politically Exposed People still looting the national coffer of Liberia with absolutely nothing done about it!

Ambassador Greenfield, who most Liberian considered a Liberian must help in saving this rich but poverty stricken Nation that she has work in various capacities and know the inner secret of this age old sickness known as corruption to assist in retrieving these looted monies in these foreign banking institutions through the US Congress!

The author is a Broadcast journalist and writer and can be reach @ +231776590725/+231886224134 Email: [email protected]
In a recent plan for international tax administration, the taxation authority of Jiangsu province suggested that multinational corporations consider Chinese contributions during profit distribution, thepaper.cn reported on Aug. 11.

According to the plan, made by China's State Administration of Taxation (SAT) Jiangsu Provincial Office, changes to the rules of international taxation and increasing demand for tax transparency have brought tremendous challenges to business operations as well as to tax administrations. Multinational corporations always take advantage of the different taxation mechanisms in different jurisdictions to lower their taxable profits, SAT added. This process is called base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

Now, though, BEPS is attracting a great deal of attention from national leaders and media and from around the world.

The Compliance Plan on International Tax Administration advises multinational corporations to prevent taxation risks across 13 areas. The paper believes that the specific contribution to the profit should be taken into consideration. Meanwhile, the risks taken by enterprises should be in line with profit distribution.

Wang Jianwei, a professor at Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, said that the compliance plan aims to implement the principles and requirements of the BEPS Action Plan, issued by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It reflects the stance of China's taxation authorities on the impact of BEPS.

Senior officials from some firms declined to comment on the plan, but several said that since the profits they gained from the Chinese market were mostly used for investment and production in China, reasonable tax avoidance was not a big deal.
Cambridge qualifications are more popular than ever before, following a rise in examination entries this year in South Africa and around the world.

Entries for Cambridge AS and A Level examinations in South Africa increased by 5% in 2015/16 compared to the year before. In addition entries for Cambridge Primary Checkpoint rose by 24% in 2015/16 compared to 2014/15.

There are also more Cambridge Schools in South Africa teaching Cambridge programmes and qualifications than ever before  almost 100 Cambridge schools in the country.

Cambridge International Examinations (www.CIE.org.uk), part of the University of Cambridge, provides qualifications to over 10,000 schools worldwide in more than 160 countries. Globally there has been 10% growth in entries across all Cambridge qualifications this year, including 11% growth in entries for Cambridge International A Levels and 8% for Cambridge IGCSEs.

The most popular Cambridge AS and A Levels in South Africa are: English Language and Mathematics.

Juan Visser, Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Cambridge International Examinations, said:

Id like to congratulate all students and their teachers for all of the hard work that went into their exams this year. These learners are well placed to embark on the next stage of their lives. We are delighted that our community of Cambridge schools in South Africa continues to grow; this is in no small part due to the excellent results delivered each year by our schools.
Youth social innovators around the world will be gathering in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the Youth Time Global Forum, to interact and seek solutions to problems associated with sustainability at the global level through guidance from experts and global think tanks.

The organiser of the forum, Czech Republic based non-government organisation Youth Time International Movement, says the main focus of the forum will provide solutions to global problems in an effort to achieve sustainable development in ever-changing global markets.

The forum scheduled to take place from November 24-26, this year, will provide an interactive platform for young social innovators to openly communicate, share ideas and experiences with their peers from different cultural backgrounds and regions around the globe.

Participants at the forum will have the opportunity to connect and engage with other social entrepreneurs through networking to find human support by like-minded people, as well as get guidance from experts and global think tanks for inspiration and motivation to collaborate on projects and ideas.

The annual event will bring together more than 150 participants from all over the world, to discuss the theme, The Interdependence Between Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship - Creating a sustainable environment for social development.

Young people that are looking for inspiration and people that have innovative ideas on how to tackle these issues are brought together in this event, to come to a winning solution for change, for the benefit of a more sustainable development of the world, says the Youth Time International Movement.

Moreover, participants will have a chance to win Youth Times Idea Grant. The winner of the project proposal will receive direct support in the implementation of the winning project. The second winner will also get a six months paid internship and the third winner will be offered a six-month free scholarship. In order to achieve this, YT established a multi-professional team that will increase participants project management and self-educational skills. Further workshops and master-classes offered at the event will help participants increase their potential and professional growth.

The Youth Time International Movement is a non-profit organization established in Prague in 2010. The organisation offers a unique opportunity for young people from all over the world to take part in a tangible network for young active social leaders, as it provides a platform where they can discuss and solve social issues encountered. The NGO also offers young people the opportunity to speak with acknowledged professionals and specialists, supports an open dialogue between younger and older generations, as well as between social and governmental institutes.

The organiser of the event has selected high-level experts and qualified project supervisors, to support the projects developers in the process towards delivering high-end project proposals. Further custom-made workshops and masterclasses are specially designed in cooperation with these specialists to offer the best contribution to the overall mission of the Global Forum. The workshops will develop exclusive knowledge and skills to enhance participants personal and professional life, but also value-forming processes, personality-forming and eventually a society-building process. The organisation offers to all participants a unique opportunity to develop their ideas and how to implement them under the supervision of acknowledged professionals and specialists.
Cairo (AFP) - The International Monetary Fund has reached an initial agreement with Egypt for $12 billion in funding over three years, the fund said on Thursday.

The Egyptian government hopes the deal will provide a lifeline amid a dollar shortage, dwindling foreign reserves and an economy battered by years of unrest.

The agreement, which will have to be ratified by the IMF and Egyptian authorities, will require Cairo to undertake economic reforms.

"Egypt is a strong country with great potential but it has some problems that need to be fixed urgently," a statement from the fund said quoting the head of its delegation to Egypt, Chris Jarvis.

Jarvis said in a press conference that the IMF was looking to Egypt's parliament to pass a value added tax law.

The IMF's Extended Fund Facility is aimed at countries with payment imbalances and tepid growth to aid structural reforms, according to the fund's website.

Analysts have said the IMF also pushed for a more flexible exchange rate for the Egyptian pound, which the government has been propping up amid capital controls.

The shortage has affected imports and created a flourishing black market trade that the government fought unsuccessfully.

Jarvis said the goal was to have no foreign currency shortage and to create a "balance between supply and demand."

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been preparing public opinion for the economic reform measures, including further subsidy cuts.

Although the funding is spread out over three years, the IMF will be looking for a quick implementation of the reform measures.

"The IMF would like to see change right now, not delayed," said Angus Blair, president of the economy think tank Signet.

Egypt has been in tentative negotiations for an IMF loan since the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak in a 2011 uprising that set off years of political turmoil culminating in the military overthrow of his Islamist successor two years later.

Mohamed Morsi's ouster in 2013 unleashed a bloody police crackdown on Islamists and jihadist attacks that have decimated tourism, a key dollar earner for Egypt.

With tourist revenues and foreign remittances down, the country's foreign reserves have fallen to $15.5 billion (13.9 billion euros).
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Sometimes when I admit that I am horrified by religious terrorists in Ghana who take up sinister positions in all faiths practised in this country, I feel the satisfaction of vindication. I have always said that the NDC will continue to bastardise the tranquility of Ghana until the nation is entangled in the conundrum of idiocy, a copyright very much owned by John Mahama and his cronies, like Alhaji Collins Dauda.

It was only under the NDC that Muslim scholars were shortchanged when their pay was reduced and their bonuses culled. It is only under the NDC that Muslims cannot attend makaranta due to poverty suffered upon Ghanaians by John Mahama and his dirty cronies. It is only under an NDC administration that Muslims get insulted. Recently, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Eric Opoku Manu, desecrated Islam by attempting to interpret it according to the NDC understanding. The worst part of this whole blasphemy was that the NDC Muslims blithely let it pass.

It is rather unfortunate that Collins Dauda would make such unsavoury statements that confirm his foolishness and indict him of the most shameful abnormality, mental kwashiorkor. Being a devil as he is, he blasphemed when he condoned the atrocities of the NDC government against his fellow Muslims.

Under the NDC, even the Haj season is being controlled by non-Muslims who milk the poor pilgrims to the very last dreg, which they get to share with the likes of Collins Dauda and his foster family, the NDC clandestine infidels from the bosom of hell. Folks, I do not want to prolong this, because the appropriate reply is in Fiifi Kwertey's dangerous affirmation that "A MUSLIM CAN NEVER BE THE PRESIDENT OF GHANA".

I say unto you Collins Dauda, "seek ye purification of the heart and soul. Repent from your sins, the most destructive being your membership of the dirtiest political party of bigots and maggots to ever make itself manifest on the Ghanaian political scene." I say unto my Muslim brethren who continue to insult ALLAH and HIS Messenger, Mohammad (S.A.W), to think it through and weigh the options, after all any aggression on Islam is an aggression on Muslims including them. I urge them to come to NPP and feel the emancipation of mind and soul. At least, NDC has never fielded a Muslim at the very top. We had Alhaji Aliu Mahama, may ALLAH accept him amongst the righteous, and now Dr Mahmudu Bawumia.

Not too long ago, as Professor Mills campaigned towards the 2008 general elections, the inchoate dunce, Fiifi Kwertey openly exhibited the religious bigotry of his NDC party by insulting Muslims and downplaying their importance as if they were mere stepping stones for the others to climb the ladder of success on. In the garbage of recent history lies his utterly adulterous and blasphemous statement. This thug from the ruling NDC party, Fifii Kwertey, spoke openly that a Muslim can never be the President of Ghana!

The dangers in the undertones of such a senseless and irresponsible act of discrimination were unpardonable. That did not only constitute a breach of any Ghanaians right to vie for the highest office of the land, but it was, also, a blasphemy against GOD, Man and Islam. Below is an excerpt of a news article published on www.ghanaweb.com http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/WikiLeaks-Muslims-can-t-be-President-Fiifi-Kwetey-218080

At this juncture, let me shame Collins Dauda. He should bury his head in disgrace for speaking loosely in a manner not befitting a Minister of State and a Muslim. A charlatan like him should understand that Nana Akufo-Addo loves Muslims and under his auspices, even as he is not a President yet, he generously gives them and takes care of their families till date. Would such a man be of the disgraceful trait attributed to him by the ingrate Collins Dauda? Would such a man discriminate against Muslims? it is just unfathomable!

My name is Fadi Dabbousi and #IAmForNana
Accra, August 11,2016  MTN, Ghanas leading telecommunications service is offering 85% discount on data services to pilgrims of this years Hajj. Participants of the pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will also receive 30% discount on incoming voice calls as well as 18% discount on outgoing calls and text messages. The package is available to all prepaid and postpaid MTN customers roaming in Saudi Arabia on Mobily (Etisalat) networks.

The offers are designed to offer the pilgrims the opportunity to stay connected with family and friends whilst in Mecca.

In addition to these offers, MTN is also supporting the Hajj Board with a donation of 14 mobile handsets, airtime worth GH 7,500 and MTN souvenirs to facilitate the work of the Hajj Board.

Speaking during a presentation to the Hajj Board, the Senior Manager for Customer Service and Credit Management at MTN, Mr. Salihu Abu, reiterated MTNs commitment to supporting the activities of the Hajj Board. He said, The presentation of the items is a token from MTN to aid in the organization of the annual pilgrimage.

Mr. Abu expressed MTNs gratitude to the Muslim community, especially the National Hajj Board, for partnering with MTN over the past six years to develop meaningful offers for Mecca pilgrims.

Alhaji Abdul-Rauf Ibrahim Tanko, National Hajj Board Chairman, expressed his appreciation to Management of MTN for the commitment to supporting the Muslim community in diverse ways. He said he could only envisage the relationship growing from strength to strength.

MTN has been supportive of the Muslim community over the years. For the past nine years, the company has consistently donated cash, food items, drinks and airtime to the National Chief Imam during the celebration of the Eidul Fitr festival. As part of MTNs 20th Anniversary celebrations this year, MTN made donations to the Regional Chief Imams in Ashanti, Western and Northern to support the celebration of this years Eidul Fitr.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

The St. Augustines Past Students Union (APSU), will once again join the Catholic Church worldwide to celebrate St. Augustine Feast Day which falls on August 28 every year.

The day is set aside to celebrate the remarkable life of Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Named Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis at birth, St Augustine was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and philosophy.

A Christian at 33, a priest at 36, a bishop at 41: Many people are familiar with the biographical sketch of Augustine of Hippo, sinner turned saint.

The story of Augustine's upbringing and conversion is chronicled in his autobiography - Confessions. In that work, he recounts his birth in 354 to his pagan father Patricius and Catholic mother Monica  later St Monica. He was baptised, became a priest, bishop and famous Catholic writer.

As part of that transformation, he became very devout and charitable, practising poverty and supporting the poor. He was the founder of religious priests and one of the greatest saints who ever lived.

This inspirational educator is one of history's greatest teachers of the Catholic faith, following his dramatic conversion and enduring legacy.

St Augustines College, Cape-Coast (Augusco), is named for this great teacher, who was born on November 13, 354 AD at Thagaste (the modern day city of Souk Ahras in Algeria). He died on August 28, 430 AD in Hippo Regius, Algeria.

This years program will begin with a public lecture on the topic: "Management of Mission Schools : Role of Ghana Education Service - Past, Present & Future, at Christ the King Parish Hall, Cantonments on Friday, August 28, 2016 at 5pm.

The Speaker on the day is, Mr Michael Nsowah, a former Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), and a member of APSU class of 1963. This highly experienced educationist is well known for his candour, an attribute that he has exhibited over the years, in and out of office.

The event will be chaired by Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere (APSU 70), a distinguished Journalist, Writer and Diplomat.

Mr Blay-Amihere, who is a 1991 Nieman Fellow, is also a Teacher, Publisher and Media Administrator. He is the immediate past Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC).

On Sunday, August 28, there will be a Thanksgiving Service at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Sakumono, followed by an APSU gathering.

All APSUnians, Mission School alumni representatives and alumnus, stakeholders, well-wishers and the public are invited.
The 5th edition of yet another batch of police prosecutors training has ended in Accra. The training programme held under the able tutelage of Law and Development Associates (LADA) Institute is to further equip police prosecutors to enhance their skills in handling cases under their care.

The multi-disciplinary training by LADA Institute is designed to build capacity and strengthen the skills of the men in uniform. The prosecutors made up of 49 officers underwent training in Ghana Legal System, Criminal Law, Law of Evidence and other prosecution skills. The session also gave the officers the opportunity to participate in mock trials to enable them improve their performance in court.

The programme is a continuing process of training about 300 police prosecutors across the country. Speaking on behalf of the IGP at the end of the one month training for the officers, Chief Supt. Benjamin Osei Addae advised the prosecutors to put what they have learnt into practice and always project the police image higher anywhere they find themselves.

He advised the officers to do away with hearsay evidence that do not fall under the exceptions of the rule of hearsay as it is wrong to rely on it for prosecution. Chief Supt. Addae thanked the Institute for organising such training modules for their officers across the regions and lauded the U.S government for funding the programme.

He praised the comportment level of the uniformed men for being eager to learn anytime they are called upon to do so. He further entreated the prosecutors to avoid delay of cases and that they should be fair and firm in handling cases before them. He stated that it is important for the collaboration between the police and the Attorney-Generals Department is deepened to enable the state discharge its duty of prosecuting criminal offences effectively.

Chief Supt. Addae told the police prosecutors to undertake their work with honesty, integrity and professionalism and to remember at all times that they are in court to prosecute and not to persecute. He noted that the development of police personnel after graduating from training schools and colleges had not been the best since most of them do not undergo any re-orientation or further training peculiar to the nature of their work.

He said "it is to stem this tide that this training is very important to the legal department of the service", to give them the requisite exposure, self-confidence and skills to meet the current democratic dispensation and modern methods.

Chief Supt. Addae said a lot of resources and time had gone into this training and the police administration was not prepared to accommodate anyone who fails to perform up to the required standard. He said the old attitude where some prosecutors arrive late to court or absent themselves from court should be a thing of the past. He told them not to work towards securing conviction at all cost and advised them to seek guidance from the Attorney Generals Department should they face any challenges.

Mr. Michael Quinley, a Senior Legal Advisor at the U.S. Embassy, who represented the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), was hopeful that the officers will put all they have learnt into practice and good use for the benefit of all those who seek justice.

He said the criminal justice system relies on them as prosecutors to always do the best they can. He advised them to be confident at all times in and outside the courts and that confidence comes from knowledge acquired.

The participants who received certificates at the end of the course thanked LADA Institute and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) under the U.S. Department of State for the training. According to them, the training will sharpen their skills and further boost their confidence level to perform their work in compliance with the laws of Ghana and the criminal law of the country.

The happy and cheerful officers all promised to put their experience to good use and gave the assurance that the training imparted on them will be beneficial to the legal system of Ghana and that the huge investment made on them will not be in vain.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

For quite some time, the average Ghanaian has not been able to make ends meet. That is a fact. All over the country, the ability to provide the basics of life has been a daily struggle for many heads of households.

In spite of the reality on the ground, political overlords pretend to provide for the people. Roof-top advertisement of creating a 'Better Ghana' continues to assail our ears at a time when basic services to the poor and vulnerable are being denied.

On Monday, the Centre for Democratic Development, an Accra-based civil society think thank released a report it commissioned into how the government has been successful or not with its economic brief and its impact on the people.

The research also probed into how well state policy has been prioritized to improve the living conditions of the people. The result is damning. A staggering 73 percent of Ghanaians described the economy as very or fairly bad. As many as 65 percent of respondent said their living conditions were bad.

At the official presentation in Accra on Tuesday, Mr. Daniel Armah Attoh, a Senior Research fellow of CDD, said Ghanaians were worried about their own living conditions and the danger the worsening economy posed to their lives.

Ghanaians place unemployment, electricity and education on the top priority policy list they want the 2016 polls to address. Yet a clear majority assesses government performance in addressing their policy priority negatively, the research fellow said.

The state of the economy is nothing to write how about. Research upon research has established that central government has not been successful in ameliorating the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.

On the other hand, the fleet of cars that glide along the poor road network in the convoy of government officials doing the rounds in the country clearly suggests that state resources continue to be misapplied.

The Auditor General continues to churn out annual reports of misapplication of state resources and outright stealing on the part of those appointed by the state to supervise over the use of funds and other resources of state.

Like ostriches, we the ordinary people of the state, overlook the problem by burying our heads in the sand while state resources are looted in broad daylight.

The Chronicle is inviting all political parties to address this social canker in their various manifestoes, as we get ready for the 2016 Presidential and Legislative elections.

In other words, we are inviting political heads and their policy drafters to craft the idea of how they intend to manage state resources for the people of Ghana to study in order to make informed choices at the polls.

The bare fact is that this nation is not sitting pretty at all. In various homes across the centre of the earth, putting one meal of any standard on the dining table is a problem.

Our political parties have a duty to carve a manifesto that would address the dire economic situation in the country. When this nation broke free of the colonial yoke, much noise was made about the fact that the British 'imperialists' had made the people hewers of wood and carriers of water.

In other words, we charged the colonial masters with deliberately creating an economic environment in which this country and most other African nations exported raw materials without adding value to our export commodities.

IN March 2017, Ghana will celebrate 60 years of nationhood. The sad truth is that we have not succeeded in adding value to our export commodities since independence. A few attempts were made in exporting cocoa products for instance.

But the dreadful news is that even the little we were doing to improve the primary commodities we export, have whittled away.

Quite recently, news was doing the round that our cocoa processing plants were unable to obtain local cocoa beans for procession. Ghana, once the leading cocoa producing nation in the world, had to import raw cocoa beans from La Cote d'Ivoire.

As a nation, we have built more castles in the air than on the ground. The Chronicle is challenging political parties contesting the 2016 elections  particularly the ruling National Democratic Congress and the opposition New Patriotic Party- the two political edifices with the realistic chance of forming the next government to evolve an economic policy to take this nation from this economic mess.

Propaganda has taken us nowhere. Let officials contesting the polls burn the midnight oil and come out with realistic policies to bail this nation from its economic mess.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

By Bernice Bessey

Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has threatened to abrogate contracts of underperforming contractors who are working on cocoa roads in the Ashanti and Central regions.

The Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni gave the stern warning after 2-day inspection tour of the cocoa roads with the Minister for Roads and Highways, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini.

Not satisfied with progress made so far, Dr Opuni said the contractors had been given funds to work assiduously to improve conditions of the roads and couldn't understand why they (contractors) were behind schedule.

The COCOBOD boss, while granting interview to the media after the inspection tour on Tuesday, August 9, 2016, said the contractors had been cautioned to speed up works.

Dr Opuni, who is not willing to tolerate underperforming contractors, said he had issued two warnings to the contractors and the third warning would lead to final abrogation of their contracts.

The Roads and Highways Minister on his part explained that the inspection tour was necessitated by several reports and complaints received from people living within the Dunkwa-Obuasi-Twifo Praso corridor that some of the contractors that had been awarded contracts are underperforming.

He noted that there could not be any justifiable reason for the delay in the construction because the contractors have been given mobilization to start work.

The Minister stated that some of the contractors took the mobilization three months before they reported to site, saying: In fact, one contractor confessed that he reported five months after taken the mobilization.

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini indicated that the inspection has enabled the institutions to identify contractors who are not performing, saying It is important that having awarded the contract for the road, people living within the corridor will feel the presence of the contractors, will appreciate what we are doing to help them. The delay is imposing further hardship on the people living within corridor.

The minister, however, agreed with the CEO of COCOBOD for issuing warnings to almost all the contractors who are under performing.

He said the ministry attaches importance to the cocoa roads because it creates mutual trust between COCOBOD, Ministry of Roads and Highways and the general public.

When the roads are done, cocoa farmers are able to bring their cocoa and other farm produce to market centres. It is our concern as the ministry of Roads and Highways that the conditions of the road networks are improved because when the roads are done it become part of our network.

He added that if the roads are in good shape high cost of operation will reduce and will go a long way to solve some problems of Ghanaians.

When asked what the ministry was doing to save the Twifo Praso Bridge, which is at the verge of collapsing, he disclosed about GHS28 million had been raised from the enhancement fund for the rehabilitate the bridge which connect many towns and villages in the Central and the Western regions.

However, two construction companies, Ussuya, working on the 24km of the Obuasi-Dunkwa road and Parkside, also working on 5km of the Dunkwa town road, were named and shamed for performing behind schedule.
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has reiterated his call for an extension of the presidential term arguing, the four-year term is not enough to make a meaningful impact as President.

He has argued that in view of the global race for development, a Ghanaian president needs time to implement his programmes and also plan the economy

At International Society for African Philosophy and Studies (ISAPS) conference on the theme "Democracy Justice and Development In Africa: 50 Years after Independence", former president Kufuor criticized the framers of the Constitution for failing to undertake adequate research before deciding on the duration for Presidency.

The former presidents call is not new. In his last address to parliament after 8 years in power, President Kufuor opened a debate over presidential tenure when he suggested that at least a five-year tenure should be suitable for the African situation.

President Kufuor has been arguing that the first year in government is often used to configure the new administration as the new team tries to appreciate how governance works.

Policies are organized into a body of Bills to be submitted to parliament and programmes are also rolled out in the second year.

In the third year, the programmes and policies would have showed signs of promise or failure and government may have to decide how to finetune its programmes, he has explained.

But even before the third year ends, government begins to move into election year politics and the fourth year, planned developments could be sidetracked in favour of electioneering campaigns.

Governments tend to take short cuts in order to satisfy the electorate, he observed.

If we have a five-year term, the third year would see to the maturing of policies and laws, the fourth year will see the good policies that would serve the nation. By the fifth year when people are canvassing for power, the good works can be judged by all, he said in 2012.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|EA
7 News broadcaster Amanda Abate recently called Chinese Olympic swimmer Sun Yang "one of China's cheats" during a live broadcast. Immediately after the words left her mouth, she backpedaled and said "one of a China's stars" instead. Abate explained on Twitter that it was an unintentional slip.

Amanda Abate

Facing queries from a number of viewers, Abate posted "Whoops!" and scolded a netizen for making a bigger deal of the incident than it was. She also reposted a tweet: "Not chuckled so much for a while Oops, hopefully no one else was listening." In her repost, she added, "like the Chinese." Later she deleted both tweets.

In the past few days, 7 News has done several things to make some viewers accuse the media outlet of disrespecting China in their coverage of the Rio Olympic Games. For example, a commercial was aired while China's delegation appeared in the opening ceremony.There was also a mistake on China's national flag in broadcasting. Although a spokesperson for 7 News offered an apology, there has been no official written apology posted on the 7 News website or Facebook account so far.

Commercial was aired while China's delegation appeared

China's national flag was wrong

As a result, a number of overseas Chinese recently gathered together with a Chinese flag and demonstrated at the 7 News building in Martin Place to request an apology letter. Some Sydney residents and tourists joined in, and Brian Parker, the secretary of Construction, Forestry, Minning and Energy Union, New South Wales, also participated.

Brian Parker

7 News is not the only media outlet allegedly allowing bias into its reporting. Before this, the Herald Sun reported on Sun Yang with the headline "Sickening gesture." The Daily Mail wrote that the so-called drug cheat revealed his "talons," and speculated that Sun must be wealthy. The Daily Telegraph published a front page article in support of Horton, and announced that all the Australian athletes are clean of drugs. Meanwhile, Sun's front page article described a "champions versus cheats" scenario.

The Herald Sun's headline

The Daily Mail's coverage

Horton's front page of the Daily Telegraph

Sun Yang's front page of the Daily Telegraph
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the National Peace Council, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), officially launched the Regional Election Early Warning and Response Group (REEWARG) on Thursday August 11, 2016 at the Modern City Hotel in Tamale. This Group will be hosted by the Northern Regional Peace Council. The primary objective of the Group is to discuss, develop and recommend strategies to mitigate threats to the peaceful conduct of the 2016 elections at the regional level. At the launch, Most Reverend Phillip Naameh, Catholic Archbishop of Tamale and Chair of the Northern Regional Peace Council; Lt Colonel William Kwabiah, Army Commanding Officer, Northern Region; ASP Isaac Yeboah, Representative of the Northern Regional Police Commander; and USAID Representative, Ms. Nana Serwah Amoako, expressed commitment to support the Groups efforts to strengthen early response to threats around the elections and reduce the potential for conflict.

The Group will convene stakeholders from around the region, including representatives from the Northern Regional Peace Council and prominent persons from relevant state and non-state institutions, to complement government efforts in the prevention and mitigation of election-related violence. Through WANEPS extensive network of civil society organizations and appointed community monitors across the country, the group will be better placed to identify potential risks of election violence. If monitoring in a given area reveals a heightened risk of violence at any point in the election cycle, WANEP will develop recommendations on how it can be prevented, and will channel these recommendations to members of the REEWARG for immediate deliberation and action.

The eminent members of the Group will use their years of experience and influence to facilitate early response to conflict and early warning issues before they escalate into violence. Members of the Group will ensure that electoral conflict threats at the grassroots level receive immediate attention and response at the regional level. They will also provide direct input into the National Peace Councils activities.

Speaking at the launch event, the U.S. representative, Nana Serwah Amoako noted Ghanas strong democratic credentials. She said, Ghana has been applauded for holding successful elections for many years; however, we must not be complacent, but remain vigilant of the risks of instability in the upcoming elections.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

It's a tedious task to combine traveling and caring for your baby at the same time especially for adventurous mothers. Most of them prefer to give up their dream to explore for the welfare of their child. This is not helped by the fact that in Africa and Nigeria especially, it is the sole responsibility of the female folk to oversee the proper upbringing of kids.

And oftentimes than not, they are blamed if the child turns out to be a societal menace. So, rather than face these societal backlashes, some decide to jettison their career and travel.

But, over the years and due to economic factors, more women are working and traveling even though they have babies. In line with this, Jumia Travel , Africa's No.1 hotel booking portal shares five reasons why you should adventure with your baby instead of giving up travelling entirely. It's noteworthy to add that traveling doesn't prevent you from taking good care of your children.

Traveling with a baby may be stressful but its cheap

Adventurous mothers who think that it is expensive to travel with a baby can now rest that perception. It is quite affordable to travel with kids. Besides, you may spend little or no extra cash at any restaurants, resorts or hotels you visit in Lagos or your preferred destination. On your part, ensure that you take adequate care of him.

Your child will be closer to you

While some mothers may allow a nanny to care for their babies, others will not. They favour travelling with him everywhere they go. This is because they want to be present in the upbringing of the baby and also travel.

Babies are easily entertained

You cannot stop a child from crying but the onus is on you to pet him to stop bawling his intestines. Some ways to stop him from crying are either by breastfeeding or by patronizing him with toys.

Kids dont need so much gear

Kids dont need shoes or sleeping bags. They can still do without these items. All they need are feeding bottles, change of clothes as well as the love and care of the mother.

Your baby will be your travel companion

Babies or toddlers may be the last travel companion anyone wants to travel with. They will always be restless. But the fact is that a mother cherishes every moment she spends with her child and some of them appreciate having him as a travel companion.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Epe, one of the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Lagos State, is slowly becoming a popular choice residential destination for Lagosians, especially those who would like to share proximity with the Lekki Peninsula.

It is indeed striking to see increase in the number of Nigerians moving to settle in Epe even though they are not natives of the town.

Information from some quarters reveal that Epe might be a land of strong Yoruba accents, bad food, and seriously questionable fashion choices. Contrarily, there is a wealth of legitimately cool things to do in the town. Jumia Travel , Africas No.1 online hotel booking portal shares five (5) reasons Epe should be your next holiday destination, if youre not considering settling. Explore and enjoy.

Source: moorhouseproperties

Have a Chill moment at Epe Resorts and Spa

Epe Resorts and Spa offers truly unique experience and privacy that redefines the definition of modern resorts. From immersing in the tranquility of its beautiful environs and unwinding at the luxurious Spa to indulging at the fabulous onsite restaurant and relaxing in the beautiful post-modern accommodations, Epe Resorts is not just a destination for your vacation, it is a getaway paradise and the perfect place to just visit and chill.

Enjoy some heavy window shopping at Novare Lekki Mall

Novare Lekki Mall shares a close proximity with Epe; its a spanking new mall slated for official opening on August 25th, 2016. The mall is expected to provide the perfect window shopping experience for most visitors in the town. Youll find all sorts of lovely boutiques, home items, and also beauty products, as it houses shops such as Shoprite, Game e.t.c. There is also a cinema multiplex.

Source: blackgirlflymag.com

Visit the local markets

If you savour the taste of fresh fish, there are two major markets in Epe where you can buy from. Oluwo market is located around chief area, and they have, especially on weekends, a good spread of fresh fish. You will get good discounts on any item purchased from this market. Ayetoro market is also another area in Epe where you can buy fresh. Its at the beginning of Lagos road.

Sample local culinary delights at Madam K. Adewale

Food makes everything beautiful, and what better way to enjoy the essence of a town than have a taste of its local cuisine? Madam L. Adewale is the perfect spot for local delights. Open from Monday through Saturday, the restaurant offers good food with everything from local Yoruba cuisines to popular Nigerian meals. You are bound to enjoy a luscious meal at a very affordable price.

Source: davinadiaries.com

Go for swimming with friends at 12:30

Swimming at a pool is one of the best ways to have fun and hang with friends too. One of the popular hotels in Epe town, 12:30 offers great opportunity for visitors and guests to enjoy swimming sessions in its outdoor pool. Meals can be ordered from the onsite restaurant or poolside restaurant, and an assortment of drinks at the bar or the pool bar. Guests have free access to the swimming pool, while short-term visitors have to pay a fee for access.

Have fun at the Eebi Festival

Eebi festival is a celebration of the towns war victories in the nineteenth century. Its one of the most popular festivals in Epe town. During the festival, the Kilajolu masquerade is usually paraded to the colourful delight of onlookers. The masquerade which comes out from Oju Alaro in marina Epe offers great fun opportunities for all who attend.

Source: travel.jumia.com
President John Dramani arrived at the commissioning of the newly built Naval Headquarters at Burma camp in Accra today [Thursday] in his military regalia.

At the event, the President indicated that government has over the years provided the needed resources for the retooling of the Ghana Armed Forces.

According to him, government has also constructed some facilities aimed at addressing the challenge of accommodation within the Ghana Armed Forces.

-citifmonline
The Deputy Head of Payment Systems at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Mrs. Clarissa Kudowor said the Central Bank has concluded plans to issue the green for the payment of interest to holders of Mobile Money (MoMo) accounts by the operators this year ending.

She said this at the MTN Mobile Money Month 2016 stakeholder conference in Accra under the theme, Lets Go Cashless with Mobile Money Supported by an Enabling Regulatory Environment.

The MTN Mobile Money which became the first mobile money service in Ghana in 2009 inspired the need for the Central Bank to develop new guidelines to increase service growth.

However, the Central Bank, which is the regulator, in July 2015 released a new guidelines to replace the old Branchless Banking Guidelines called the Dedicated Electronic Money Issuers Guidelines i.e. DEMI Guidelines and Agent Guidelines.

Mrs. Kudowor noted that the Central Bank saw there were some limitations on the 2008 Branchless Banking Guideline such as challenges on the limited access points, roles and responsibilities among others were not clearly defined.

According to her, the Central Bank has recently engaged the major stakeholders such as the Telecos (MTN), partner banks, National Insurance Commission (NIC), Parliament, Consumer Protection Agency and others to review the guideline.

This exercise was agreed particularly that if we want to see some increase levels of service penetration and growth in line with the Kenyas successes, there was need to change the model in Ghana.

Mrs. Kudowor of the BoG posited that the Central Bank has engaged the industry players on interoperability to reduce the dependency on PUS by integrating the systems involving the banks, mobile money operators and the merchants.

She added that there also risks involved as well as lack of system availability to check the potential abuses.

She noted that the BoG in 2012 joined the Africa Financial Inclusion (AFI) in order to lead the way for the financial inclusion in line with emerging trends.

According to her, the BoG is aimed at 70percent financial inclusion in Ghana by 2017.

In the regions of Ghana, it is noted that the banking penetration which is 36percent is higher in the sub-regions however, our mobile money penetration is 20percent which is very low compared to Kenyas 75percent growth rate.

Mr. Eli Hini, General Manager, MTN Mobile Money Limited reiterated that MTN is ready to pay the interests on MTN mobile money accounts of its customers when given the green light by the Central Bank.

He noted that the formula for calculating is 11/2 to 7 percent per annum irrespective of the amount and shall be paid quarterly to active MTN MoMo account holders.

Mr. Eli Hini added that his outfit (MTN) has issued sanction and measures to check potential abuses by displaying the rates of service charge fees, introduced a short code for customers to reach their team to report issues of fraud and unapproved service charge fees.

He noted that all over the world the service has tend to thrive on innovations that provides a wide range of products and services drive adoption and patronage.

According to him, this requires an enabling regulatory environment that promotes innovations and at the same time ensures the right balance of controls are in place to ensure industry best practices are maintained.

He intimated that an enabling policy and regulatory framework creates an open and level playing field that fosters competition and innovation, leverages the value proposition of both banks and non-bank providers, attracts investments and allows providers to focus on refining operations and promoting customer adoption.

Mr. Hini indicated that the benefits that are derived from the MoMo service includes promotes financial inclusion as a driver because people who ordinarily will not have gave access to the formal financial sector are now actively using the service.

He added that it increases financial integrity in the sense that the risks of using mobile money to finance terrorism or launder money is very low due to the nature of the mobile channel and devices which tracks all transactions that are made contrary to cash based transactions.

Also, it enhances consumer protection because mobile money is cheaper, secure and more convenient and reliable option to provide financial services to the consumer, more than any alternatives in the informal economy, he emphasized.

Mr. Eli Hini added that it reduces the cost and risk of cash which creates excessive risk to the holder.

The Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr. Dolapo Ogundimu noted that banks and other partners must offer mobile money as default service to grow the subscriber base.

He indicated that the major stakeholders must increase the utilization and activation of the wallet as the only means of payment through initiatives to incentivize mobile money subscribers to drive growth.

According to him, there must be efforts to increase the accessibility of E-money because of the major concerns that agents and banks operates within a limited time of the day.

He added that the operators can also issue out mobile money scratch cards so that consumers may have the option to either load it onto their account or wallets.

Mr. Ogundimu noted the stakeholders must increase the momentum of developing a National Cashless Strategic Plan to define Cashless Ghana and the tools to drive the service within a short time.

The Country Manager of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), Kenya, Miss Buddy Buruku said the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Central Bank is developing a Cashlite System to increase the reliability and effectiveness of the service.

She said despite 16.4 million mobile money subscribers, there are still gaps between registration and activeness.

According to her, Ghana lacks a direct policy which requires a strong implementation to give consumers the enjoyment mobile money seeks to offer.

She pointed out that Kenya has the highest penetration because the market was free and easy to operate and to develop as a new model whiles regulations picked up.

According to her, data released from the Central Bank of Kenya reveals that banking and mobile money penetration is tracking together in the neighborhood of 70percent but the banking penetration increased just by 2percent recently.

Search reveals that there are 24 mobile money service providers across the EAC, all of which were launched following the success of Safaricoms M-Pesa  launched in Kenya in March 2007.

Kenya has 25.4 million mobile money subscribers who transact on six main platforms  Safaricoms M-Pesa, Airtel Money, yuCash, Orange Money, MobiKash and Tangaza Pesa  backed by a network of more than 127,000 agents, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Kenya.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Lagos is Nigerias melting pot. Its the dream destination for most people who reside in nearby cities and rural communities. Everyone believes Lagos is a city where dreams come true, regardless of your means of livelihood. Thats why you find almost everyone in this great cosmopolitan city that is home to over 20 million people, according to recent statistics.

In fact, it was estimated that Lagos might become over-populated because of the high influx of migrants from other states, and/or neighbouring countries . This may be the reason why some Nigerians refer to it as a no-mans land, because it has become a convergence point for all and sundry.

The journey to becoming a confirmed (true) Lagosian is filled with many road bumps. Once youre strong-willed enough to cross, you will earn yourself the title of a true Lagosian - a title so lofty in glory. Some of these road bumps might include your ability to survive the hustle, the street food, the street life as well as having an up-to-date understanding of the contemporary slangs.

These slangs are essential because it is the way most people communicate in the city, and being able to decode and dialogue in these slangs will make anyone a confirmed Lagosian. So, whether you live on the Island or mainland, you should be conversant with these slangs. Jumia Travel , Africas No 1 hotel booking portal shares five (5) of these contemporary slangs that might earn you the confirmed Lagosian title:

Owambe

Owambe simply means social events held on weekends, such as weddings. Lagosians love to attend owambes because it provides a unique opportunity to mingle especially if youre single; you get to show off your colourful Aso Ebi, and spend quality time with friends and family. Interestingly, Owambe has outgrown its original Yoruba connotation to become a cliche for describing weekend social events among Lagosians.

source: owambe.com

Okrika

Okrika is an Igbo phrase which is widely used to describe cheap second-hand items sold at open spaces. Okrika may include clothes, shoes, bags, electronic devices and phones. A good number of Lagosians patronise these items because they are mostly affordable.

source: ksuamebo.com

Shine your eyes

Because of the high number of residents, minus frequent commuters who come into the city for business functions, it is not surprising to find the good, the bad, and the ugly cohabitating. Hence, you have to constantly be on the alert if you dont want to experience the sneaky hands of the bad eggs, because these hands strike faster than lightning and thunder. So shine your eyes while driving, standing at the bus stop, or when engaging in any transactions.

source: thelowdownblog.com

Johnny Just Come (JJC)

Who is Johnny? Of course, Johnny is somebodys name. But it means something completely different if you are addressed by that in Lagos. JJC is someone that arrived recently in Lagos and perhaps cannot navigate the city without a guide. If your demeanour gives evidence of a JJC, bus conductors are usually excited about the prospect of taking advantage of you by hiking the transport fare, or perhaps you may be driven beyond your bus stop. There are some people who can still be tagged Johnny even though theyve lived for years in the city. In any case, do not act like a JJC if you want to be a confirmed Lagosian.

source: uncova.com

Agbero

Agbero is a Yoruba word for bus conductors who hail passengers. However, the name has abandoned its original meaning and has submitted itself to being used to describe thugs who collect money from commercial motorists for picking passengers at the bus stops, and may resort to assault if the money is being withheld by the drivers. Refusal to pay this levy may lead to heated argument, harassment or unnecessary delays. In fact, passengers always encourage drivers to settle these Agberos to avoid unnecessary confrontations.

source: africanexaminer.com
By Laudia Sawer

Tema, Aug 11, GNA - The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) is to introduce a verification and certification system of the 11,289 registered vehicles operating in the Tema Port.

Trailers, transit trucks and other trucks would go through a series of checks to verify their load worthiness before certified to load from the Port.

Madam Juana Adda, Tema Port Marketing and Public Relations Manager, told the media that load worthiness would be done in addition to the road worthy checks.

Madam Adda explained that while the DVLA would continue to do its mandatory road worthiness checks, Auto Consult Ventures Limited which is partnering the GPHA on the project, would check the load worthiness of vehicles.

She stated that the need to verify and certify the vehicles was part of measures to prevent the needless accidents some of the vehicles cause in town.

She said a survey conducted by the Auto Consult Ventures Limited showed that whereas some use undersize tyres, others have worn out tyres, faulty twist locks which could not properly secure containers, wrong welding works among others.

The Marketing and PR Manager disclosed that the GPHA was aware that some drivers use good trailers for roadworthy checks after which they decouple the head from the certified trailer and attach it to others which are faulty to load cargo from the port.

To check this, she said an embossment which would contain some security features would be put on the certified trailers and the information verified by the security systems at the Port before loading pass would be allowed.

The checking and certification would be carried out twice in a year at a fee at the ECL DVLA approved yard near Tema Community 25.

Madam Adda gave the assurance that the certification would be carried out on 20 vehicles each day to avoid long queues.

According to her, vehicles would be allowed to carry loads from the port along side the certification until all the 11,289 registered vehicles operating in the Tema Port have had their embossment.

She stressed that after that period, no vehicle without the load worthy certification would be allowed to load from the Port.

Madam Adda said extensive engagement has been done with all stakeholders including the DVLA, truck and trailer owners, among others since 2015 to ensure a smooth take off of the certification programme later in the year.

GNA
By MacAnthony Dagyenga, GNA

Nkyenoa-Akuapem (E/R), Aug 11, GNA - A mechanized water system built to supply uninterrupted potable water to five Akuapim North communities has been inaugurated amid the expression of relief and joy by the people.

The project was undertaken by WaterAid Ghana with support from the Australian High Commission.

It has the capacity to supply 50,000 litres of water daily to Nkyenoa, Sanfo-Ano, Sanfo-Baanuye, Okyerekrom and Kwadarko, with a combined population of more than 2,000.

The Country Director for WaterAid Ghana, Ms. Afia Zakari, said it was funded under the Australian African Community Engagement Scheme, being implemented across selected districts in the Eastern and Greater Accra Regions.

She stated that her organization had since year 2011 been actively pushing to increase access to water and sanitation facilities in the under-served communities.

She said it was refreshing that the people, especially women and children, would no longer have to walk long distances to draw contaminated water for cooking, drinking and other uses, something that made water-borne diseases common in the beneficiary communities.

An official of the High Commission, Ms. Alice Oyaro, said they were proud to be associated with efforts at making things better for the people.

Osagyefo Osei Yaw Larbi, the chief of Nkyenua, said it was a dream come true, adding that, the people would eternally remain grateful to the organization and the Australians.

He gave the assurance that they would show ownership of the project and do everything to make sure that it was properly maintained.

GNA
Berlin, ACCRA, Aug. 11- (dpa/GNA) - Berlin has paid 36,000 euros (40,000 dollars) to build a so-called anti-sex fence to prevent prostitutes and drug dealers from wandering into a neighbouring residential area, the daily Bild reported Thursday.

The 420-metre-long and 1.6-metre-high metal fence replaces a more temporary structure, which was built following complaints from residents that they had found remnants of the sex and drug trade in their streets around Magdeburger Platz, including used condoms, needles and even faeces.

The square borders one of the German capital's red-light districts

"We want that residents and children can feel happy at the square," Bild quoted local politician Carsten Spalleck as saying.

Berlin's first anti-sex fence is to be patrolled and closed during the summer months between 8 pm and 7 am local time.

Berlin's city government paid for the construction of the fence out of a special fund.

GNA
China and Africa step up media cooperation in bid to challenge Western dominance

Someone suggested during an informal discussion at the recent Third Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation in Beijing that there be effective ways to challenge the dominance of Western media.

This torched a little debate, with some arguing that the idea was plausible, while others thought it would be a futile attempt.

Those who dismissed the idea cited how Western media has been so entrenched, especially in African societies, that almost everything they say is taken as the gospel truth.

Then, from nowhere, someone suggested: Why not pull resources together and come up with our own version of CNN or BBC.

There was dead silence when another person pointed out that CCTV was already available, but had not managed to match the influence of the Western media so far.

This debate emanated from the undeniable fact that Western media has not been fair in its reportage of both Africa and China.

And media observers believe that time has come for the two to strengthen their cooperation in media to challenge the existing stereotypes being churned by the Western media.

The cooperation in media between China and African countries has already attracted the attention of Western critics, with volumes of articles being produced on what it entails.

What has been clear in such a discourse is that Western countries feel unsettled with that kind of relationship.

China wants to colonise Africa using the influence of the media, they argue, perhaps having learnt from their own deeds.

The West successfully used the media in its bid to control the mentality and culture of Africans.

And there is now genuine fear from those quarters that this unbalanced approach is getting a great deal of scrutiny.

They would not want cooperation between Chinese and African media to succeed for obvious reasons.

Zimbabwes Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Christopher Mushohwe believes that challenging media dominance from the West should be the priority in media cooperation between China and Africa.

Like many other media experts from both China and Africa, Mushohwe is convinced this can be done.

But he believes that the pace to reach the desired goal is a little too slow.

In essence, the elimination of dependence on Western global media organisations for news, broadcasting content and sources of information is the most important outcome we expect from increased exchange and cooperation in the media between China and African countries, he said.

Mushohwe was speaking at the Third Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation.

Evidently, progress towards the attainment of this goal will depend on the pace at which we African countries will work to wean ourselves from over dependence on Western global media, he continued.

Mushohwe suggested that in the meantime, the short term solution can be to increase the presence of Chinese journalists in Africa and vice-versa, to give the people a true picture of both sides.

He suggested the pulling together of resources to encourage more exchange of content and personnel between African and Chinese media.

China is a victim of Western media propaganda as most African states are, particularly against those regimes viewed as a threat to American and Western interests which they seek to remove, he said.

We need to stand shoulder to shoulder with China to fight Western imperialism which is fronted every day through their mass media outlets, with many of them operating from our countries.

Most Africans know China from the eyes of the Western media lenses, in as much as the Chinese know Africa from the same source.

This has had an effect on the attitude of the people and sometimes hinder smooth progress in furthering Sino-Africa relations.

The reality, which must be accepted, is that the Western media will never change its stance on portrayal of both China and Africa.

So, in both China and Africa, there is a yawning gap for media that can give more objective, impartial and balanced public international opinion about the world.

China has been capacitating the media in Africa through various means.

Several African journalists have been granted an opportunity to come to China for further training, familiarisation tours and furthering their education.

The Asian country has since established the China Africa Press Centre which takes journalists from Africa to stay and work in China for 10 months each year.

China has also been helping capacitate various media houses in African countries with the provision of the latest technologies.

The other advantage forming the foundation of this envisaged grand plan is that Chinas media presence is already being felt in many African countries.

Media houses such as People's Daily, Xinhua, China Radio International, CCTV and China Daily already operate bureaus in some of the African countries.

Chinese Minister of State Administration of Radio, Film and Television Cai Fuchao is agreeable that a new level is needed in media cooperation between the two sides.

China will hold firm and adhere to the genuine, frank, close and sincere principle so as to develop media cooperation with Africa in an all-round way, he told the same forum.

The Chinese media will work with their African counterparts to consolidate the basis for their cooperation, expand space for cooperation and broaden areas of cooperation to promote China-Africa media ties to a new level and make contributions to the development of the comprehensive China-Africa strategic partnership.

The implementation of the media cooperation is being done under the auspices of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a broad platform meant to enhance collaboration between the two sides.

For this media cooperation between China and Africa to be effective, the planners must not lose fact that the world is now globalised.

Anyone who comes with the news first is believed more.

So, the positive story of China and Africa should always be ahead of the negative story that can be difficult to correct once it reaches audiences first.

These days of advanced technologies, people are no longer interested much in reading or watching and then analyse the issues.

They now normally watch, read and spread the news, thanks to the one touch communication gadgets now readily available.

They dont mind if it is a rumour or an outright lie.

African Union Commission deputy chairperson Erastus Mwencha says without a strong China-Africa media, the cooperation between the two sides will come to naught.

The institutional capacity of the media needs to be reinforced, as I had mentioned earlier, he told the delegates at the forum.

We need to support media cooperation, media networking and media development, as well as capacity building in the field of journalism which remains a key factor to tell our stories and in fostering the development agenda.

Observers say what is needed now is to put suggestions into tangible action to ensure that there emerges a strong media serving both China and Africa.

It is clear that the media plays an important role in promoting China-Africa relations and help debunk the biased information coming from other sources.

A new model of international relations, as pronounced by China, based on win-win cooperation, mutual respect and equality is emerging.

This can only be more effective when there is strong media to propagate it.

From the example of cooperation between China and Africa, the media project can end up having a buy-in from other developing countries.

That will be the day when developing countries, whose combined population is far much higher than the developed ones, will have their voice back.

Lovemore Chikova is the News Editor of The Herald Newspaper in Zimbabwe, a fellow at the China-Africa Press Centre and an intern at Peoples Daily Online. He can be contacted on [email protected]
11.08.2016 LISTEN

By Benjamin Akoto, GNA

Asikuma (E/R), Aug 11, GNA - Ms. Sherry Ayittey, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, has encouraged increased investment in fish farming, saying, it is more rewarding.

She said it was one area, Ghanaian entrepreneurs, should put in their money to create wealth and jobs for the population.

She made the call when she toured the West African Fish Company and the China Acquaculture Development at Tangor Fatikoper, during a working visit to the Eastern Region.

Ms. Ayittey was in the area to assess the impact of policies put in place by her ministry in the industry.

She raised concern about the situation where the nation annually imported about 500,000 metric tons of fish and said that needed to change.

She outlined plans to create fish farming, canoe fishing and conservation zones in the Volta Lake, and said, this had become important to conserve part of the lake's fish stock.

The Minister touched on the introduction of a new legal framework to help promote modern technologies to support the growth of fish farming ventures.

Under it, the well-established farms would be assisted to convert some of their facilities into training and breeding centres to train more farmers to increase fish production levels.

She said, this way, there would be enough fish on the local market at affordable prices.

Mr. Mark Towers, General Manager of West African Fish, informed the Minister that his company had been producing between 70 and 80 metric tons of fish every week.

He appealed to the government to take steps to control tilapia import to create space for the local farmers.

GNA
Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - The 2016-17 Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International (RI) has unanimously nominated Mr Samuel Frobisher Owori, of the Rotary Club of Kampala, Uganda, as President of RI in 2018-19.

He would be declared the president-nominee on October 1, if no challenging candidates are suggested, a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday said.

It quoted Mr Owori as saying that he sees in Rotary an incredible passion to make a difference and as President, he plans to harness that enthusiasm and pride so that every project becomes the engine of peace and prosperity.

The statement said Mr Owori's primary concerns as a Rotary leader are membership and extension.

It said since he served as District Governor, the number of clubs in Uganda had swelled from nine to 89.

The statement noted that since becoming a member in 1978, Owori has served Rotary as Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator, Regional RI Membership Coordinator, and RI Representative to the United Nations Environment Program and UN-Habitat.

He has been a member or chair of a number of committees including the International Polio Plus Committee, the Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and the Audit Committee.

Most recently, Mr Owori served as trustee of the Rotary Foundation, Chair of the

Rotary Foundation's Finance Committee, and a member of the Investment Committee.

Mr Owori is a benefactor of the Rotary Foundation, where he and his wife, Norah, are Major Donors and Paul Harris Fellows.

According to the statement, the newly nominated President of RI, has therefore urged past, present, and future leaders to work together to engage more women, youth programme participants, alumni, and community members to increase Rotary's membership in the coming years.

'There are many places, which need Rotary and numerous potential members who have never been invited.

'The problem is Rotarians who got in and closed the doors,' it said.

Mr Owori, who was Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda, was Executive Director of the African Development Bank, Managing Director of Uganda Commercial Bank Limited and Director of Uganda Development Bank.

He studied law, employment relations, business management, corporate resources management, microfinance, and marketing at institutions in England, Japan, Switzerland, Tanzania, and the United States, including Harvard Business School.

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world's most pressing humanitarian challenges.

Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.

Their work impacts lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio free world.

GNA
Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - Vodafone Ghana, has taken its leadership in enterprise telecommunications a notch higher following a partnership agreement with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to provide internet and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Under the GH14m agreement spanning for five years, Vodafone Ghana would provide an enhanced high speed internet and Wi-Fi connectivity to all faculties across the University's campuses in Ghana.

A release issued by Vodafone Ghana in Accra, said KNUST would also benefit from a comprehensive package from Vodafone that would immensely transform the nature of research and learning in the University while empowering the future of Ghana's educational landscape.

According to Vodafone Ghana, the magnitude of the agreement is the first of its kind across West Africa and would set a standard for how telecom companies play a crucial role in revamping education and projecting leadership in the sector.

Commenting on the partnership, Angela Mensah-Poku, Head of Vodafone Business Solutions, the enterprise arm of Vodafone Ghana, acknowledged that knowledge has become as easily accessible as the present time due to the power of digitalisation.

'It is an exciting time for us at Vodafone. This partnership breaks every scale in terms of the magnitude and we are excited to be leading this. The package and the level of connectivity that will benefit KNUST is unprecedented and it confirms what we stand for as a company.

'To empower our customers and stakeholders with the appropriate technology to make them work faster, smarter and efficiently,' she said.

The Vodafone Ghana and KNUST have enjoyed a very fruitful partnership over the years, with about 90 per cent of the leadership team at Vodafone's Technology Department, currently being products from KNUST.

Vodafone has consistently invested more than GH20,000 each year to develop some engineering students in a scholarship and mentoring initiative at the KNUST.

GNA
The underprivileged in society, such as itinerant head porters (Kayayei) and scrap dealers, are the celebrities that will give the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) victory in the 7 December polls, the partys National Youth Organiser, Sammi Awuku, has said.

Mr Awuku said ahead of this years presidential and parliamentary elections, the citizens at the lowest bracket of society, especially the least-privileged youth, have demonstrated that they are no longer interested in the lies and propaganda of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Speaking to Kayayei, scrap dealers, the less-privileged and unemployed youth at a public forum at Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, on Thursday as part of events to mark International Youth Day, which falls on Friday, 12 August, Mr Awuku said unlike the NDC, we could not pay celebrities to come and endorse this forum, [but] the biggest celebrity will be the kayayei, who will make the difference in this years elections. The biggest celebrities we have are the teacher trainees and the nurse trainees, who have nowhere to go. Our biggest celebrity this year and in this elections is the scrap dealer who cannot make ends meet, and the biggest celebrity we will need in this years elections is the Ghanaian youth, who will not only vote for change [but] organise for change and mobilise for change.

Mr Awuku said: Our friends [kayayei and other participants] have just testified to the crisis our dear country faces today, the crisis that is affecting every young Ghanaian as they try to make their way in life. What we have just said represents the voice of the real Ghanaian youth. These are the voices that John Mahama and the NDC refuse to hear. We are forced to listen and endure ministers of state, paid NDC communicators and propagandists, and NDC big men all the time on radio where they paint a picture of Ghana being like Dubaiafter they have driven in their big cars, collected their fat salaries from the Flagstaff House  a clear case of Animal Farm in this country. But judging from the mood in this country today, I am certain, we are certain, that Ghanas youth are no longer interested in thepropaganda, rhetoric, and lies.

Class FMs Paa Kwesi Parker-Wilson, who covered the event, reported that some of the participants had revealed erratic power supply had collapsed their businesses, hence would not hesitate to vote for the NPP to change the trend. According to them, there was no end in sight for the problem, hence their decision to vote out the current government.
The Civil and Local Government Service Staff Association of Ghana (CLOSSAG), is likely to call off its two-week long strike following assurances by President Mahama.

President John Mahama had earlier told the striking workers that government can't m eet their request for an interim market premium since it has not been budgeted for and will throw the budget completely off track and make nonsense of the sacrifices we have made together over the last year.

Speaking at the 10th Quadrennial Delegates Conference in Kumasi on Wednesday, Mr. Mahama rather promised to consider it in 2017, and directed the Minister of Employment to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with them.

CLOGSAG had earlier rejected the same explanation from the Employment Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, and threatened to continue the strike until their demand for a 15% interim market premium is met.

Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of CLOSSAG, Eddie Acquaye, said we have taken the President's message in good faith and we think it is a step in the right direction.

He said they expect stakeholders involved to finalize the MoU before any decision is taken on the strike.

What we are looking forward now is to sit down as soon as possible with the Minister of Employment so we can finalise the MoU for it to become a working document in 2017. We've been looking forward for the past six years for the premium to be paid to us and if today for the first time the president has spoken about our interim premium, we think it is good and waiting for four months wouldn't be of anything of a worry to us, Mr. Acquaye added.

When asked if the strike will be called off after the MoU, the PRO indicated that because the strike was declared by the National Executive Council of CLOGSAG, I cannot for now tell you whether or not it would be called off in that meeting, but the most important thing we need to do now is to get the Minister of Employment to get the MoU finalizedthen I believe we can go ahead and decide on the strike itself.

But I'm optimistic that when they meet, they will come out with a positive decision on the strike, he added, he added.

Forfeit your August salary if

The Employment Minister had earlier threatened to withhold the August salaries of CLOGSAG members if the strike continues.

Mr. Iddrisu, said, while we recognize the right to make public manifestation and pronouncements of their unhappiness, we are unable to accommodate further the strike. And in particular they must compensate for an illegal strike for not working for the period of August.

Accordingly, I have directed the head of civil service and the head of local government service to begin a head count and an audit from tomorrow and to submit same on Friday to my office for advice to the Controller and Ministry of Finance that we will not compensate for that unproductive behavior. They should return to work or forfeit August salaries, the Minister insisted.



By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 616 th meeting, held on 11 August 2016, adopted the following decision on the situation in South Sudan:

Council,

1. Takes note of the briefing provided by the AU Commission and the statements made by the representatives of South Sudan and Ethiopia in its capacity as the Chair of InterGovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD);

2. Recalls its previous communiques and press statements on the situation in South Sudan, in particular, Communique adopted at its 611th meeting held on 11 July 2016, in Kigali, Rwanda, as well as the decision of the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the situation in South Sudan also held in Kigali, Rwanda on 18 July 2016;

3. Once again, expresses serious concern over the outbreak of fighting that took place on 7 July 2016 in Juba, resulting in loss of lives, dire humanitarian crisis and other tragic consequences on civilians and strongly condemns human rights violations, including sexual violence against women and girls. Council calls for necessary investigations to be carried out, in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

4. Commends the IGAD Plus for its continued leadership and unwavering commitment to the search for a sustainable resolution to the crisis in South Sudan. In this context, Council, welcomes the convening, on 5 August 2016, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of the Second Extraordinary Summit of IGAD Plus on the situation in South Sudan and endorses the decisions contained in its communique, in particular,

i. the call for an urgent in-depth independent investigation by the AU on the fighting that took place in Juba and to identify those responsible with a view of ensuring that they are held accountable for their criminal acts;

ii. the request to the AU Commission, in consultation with the United Nations (UN), and building on existing regional and continental capabilities, to look into the best mechanisms for timely and effective action to address large scale mass atrocities in line with the relevant provisions of the Constitutive Act of the AU, the Protocol Establishing the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, and Chapter VIII of the UN Charter;

iii. the call for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to extend the Mission of UNMISS with a revised mandate including the deployment of the Regional Protection Force;

iv. the acceptance, in principle, by the Government of the Republic of South Sudan of the deployment of the Regional Protection Force; and v. the decision encouraging Dr. Riek Machar to re-join the peace process and the commitment by General Taban Deng Gai to step down upon the return of Dr Machar with a view to returning to the status quo ante in line with the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS);

5. Requests IGAD to provide an update to the PSC meeting scheduled to take place on 18 August 2016, on the outcomes of the meeting of the Regional Chiefs of Defence Staff, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, 12 August 2016 in Addis Ababa;

6. Commends the sterling efforts, in very challenging circumstances, of the AU High Representative for South Sudan, former President Alpha Oumar Konare and the Chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), former President Festus Mogae and continues to encourage them to persevere in their work in support of the peace efforts in South Sudan;

7. Once again calls upon the parties to the ARCSS to embrace mutual trust, put the interest of their country and its people above everything else and to scrupulously implement the Peace Agreement;

8. Decides to dedicate a meeting, every month, on the situation in South Sudan with a view to monitoring progress on the implementation of the ARCSS and calls upon the AU Commission to remain fully engaged in consultations on the modalities for the deployment of the Regional Protection Force in South Sudan;

9. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
Some victims of the microfinance scam in the Volta region have disputed Police assertions that they are not cooperating with the investigation process to arrest the perpetrators.

The Police in the Volta Region yesterday told Citi Business News that the lack of cooperation by some victims is hindering the investigation processes.

According to the police, the microfinance institutions, which are mostly known as networks in the Volta region have concealed their activities making it difficult to apprehend the owners.

But speaking to Citi Business News, some of the victims expressed shock at the assertions of the Police, stating that their cooperation have even resulted in the arrest of one person.

The Police is aware of everything we are doing at the Volta region here. We are working hand-in-hand with the crime officer together with the Bureau of National Investigation(BNI) Director , the leader of the victims, Eric Asare told Citi Business News.

According to him, the cooperation with the Police and BNI have led to the arrest of an individual who is directly connected to one of the networks (microfinance institution).

If the Police are saying we are not cooperating then they are telling lies, yesterday we went to the Regional CID and last week Saturday the regional CID arrested one of the network workers.

He stated that the BNI is doing all it can to apprehend the network owners.

The BNI are doing their best, yesterday we went with them to arrest another guy but we couldn't get him. So if the Police are saying we are not cooperating it's a lie.

Mr. Asare disclosed that most victims have tried to furnish the relevant authorities with all the documents needed to investigate the matter.

Right now, we have provided every document to the Police and the BNI and they are on it, he said.

Another victim who bemoaned the announcement of the Police stated that they have always provided relevant information to the Police to arrest the network leaders.

When I heard the news on Kekeli Radio in the Volta region that we are not cooperating I was shocked. It's a lie. We are cooperating with the police, he said.

Non cooperation claim by police

The Hohoe Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent Stephen Boadu told Citi Business News the Police are finding it difficult to apprehend the operators the networks due to non cooperation with the service.

They've made the networks so tight in such a way that even if you are a victim, you are not prepared to share information with anybody because you are not willing to disclose what decisions you have taken that have not been successful, he remarked.

Victims lose millions of cedis

Hundreds of people had their monies running into millions of cedis, locked up in the fake microfinance institutions called networks in the Volta region.

The victims have since resorted to various means to seek a refund of their investments.

BoG Response

The Bank of Ghana in a response to the issue at the time indicated that it has not licensed the institutions in question.

The central bank however assured that it is liaising with the security agencies to apprehend the defaulting companies.

The Public Relations Officer of the Bank of Ghana, Bernard Otabil has reiterated the BoG's position that it cannot be held liable for the loss of investments made with unlicensed financial companies.

By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews/Ghana
For a long time, Africans have perceived traveling as non essential especially within the continent thus only reserved for the high net-worth persons. Attributed mostly to their supposedly low spending power, Africans are said to believe that money should be spent on more important priorities which exclude traveling (in this case considered as leisure).

Therefore, spending on travel is only for purposes of unavoidable occasions such as burial or wedding ceremonies either within or without the home country.

Euromonitor International however says this trend is gradually changing, as more Africans are now embracing domestic tourism both in their countries and within the continent. This is highly as a result of efforts by respective governments to ease travel measures, with favorable packages that are affordable for the locals as well as visa free restrictions within many African countries.

Kenya: A Case Study

After a significant period of severe decline in the influx of tourists in Kenya, due to, among others, the election related challenges and impact of international economic and financial crises as well as security related challenges, the Tourism Sector is gradually stabilizing. This was largely attributed to the lifting of travel advisories by the United Kingdom, especially towards the countrys 2015 peak season. The relative security across Kenya during the 2015-2016 period has also gone a long way in restoring confidence among both domestic and international tourists.

American President Barrack Obamas visit to Kenya in July last year (approximately a year ago), as well as major international conferences; notably the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference held in Nairobi in December 2015 and the just concluded UNCTAD 14 Conference (July 2016), were great endorsements towards restoring the countrys Tourism Industry. In supporting the claims, Estelle Verdier, East & Southern Africas Managing Director of Jumia Travel , Africas leading online hotel booking portal, depicts the global trust in the Kenyan tourism industry as a great milestone in encouraging locals to explore the countrys great tourist treasures.

The zeal by Kenyans to save the dwindling industry cannot be overlooked. The Kenyan government has come out to strongly encourage Kenyans to embrace domestic tourism. Recently, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said that Kenya should not rely on foreign markets to boost the tourism sector; rather they should come together and promote domestic tourism. Among the measures put by the government to encourage local tourism is by providing that corporate and business entities (employers) pay vacation trip expenses for their staff on annual leave in Kenya and deduct such expenditures in their taxes. This would bring to total over 300,000 additional Kenyan guests in Kenyan hotels throughout the country.

Being the enthusiasts they always are, Kenyans took up the spirit to rise above its dependence on foreign tourists to grow the industry. The introduction of campaigns like Tembea Kenya (A Swahili statement for Tour Kenya), is a true reflection of Kenyans patriotic spirit. With an aim to promote tourism particularly among Kenyans, Tembea Kenya, led by local Radio host Maina Kageni, sets to tour 53 locations around the country. Corporates have also not been left behind, with campaigns such as #KenyaYetu by Jumia Travel, aiming to encourage Kenyans to share photos of their travel experience from across various destinations in the country. This move is also seen to motivate others to tour the same destinations to first hand experience the country in all its beauty.

With such initiatives by Kenyans for Kenya, domestic tourism has become significant as it is expected to cushion tourism during low periods of international arrivals. In Kenyas Vision 2030, tourism has been identified as one of the top priority areas for driving a double digit economic growth and development.

However, while enthusiasts remain optimistic, early political campaign rallies this year in preparation for the 2017 election might cause an alarm in the tourism sector. Yet, despite these numerous challenges, Kenya remains a top travel destination in the world; and hopefully the aspect of domestic tourism will place Kenya at an even better position.

Conclusion

Kenya is just but one of the many African countries striving to cash in on domestic tourism, especially during turbulent times. Figures by the Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy (2012-2020), show the volume of domestic holiday travelers in South Africa rising from 3.9 million in 2010 to a target 6 million in 2015. The trajectory shows a possible 9 million domestic tourists by the year 2020.

Other factors highly contributing to the increase in domestic tourism in Africa are the presence of local airlines offering affordable air fares for locals traveling from one domestic short haul destination to another. Provision of discounted boarding rates for resident tourists by major hotels has also gone a long way in encouraging locals to travel; not to mention the flexible mobile payment options like EcoCash in Zimbabwe, Tigo Pesa in Tanzania and M Pesa in Kenya among others.

According to UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2016, as a worldwide export category, tourism ranks third after fuels and chemicals and ahead of food and automotive products. In many developing countries, tourism ranks as the first export sector. As an emerging tourism destination from the traditional favorites of Europe and America, Africa has proved resilient to the occasional shocks and is set to receive a three-fold boost in its tourism revenue with the continued domestic tourism initiatives.
The Council of Ghanaian Inter-faith Alliance in collaboration with Ghana Embassy in Washington DC, last Saturday, August 6, 2016 held a special prayer meeting with the theme Let God Arise Over Our Nation at the Hope Aglow Empowerment Church in Virginia, USA for Ghanas fourth coming elections.

The Alliance offered prayers for a Peaceful Elections, the Chairpersons of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, accelerated development of the country and national unity.

They also prayed for courage, wisdom and sober minds for the electorate in casting their votes without violence.

Speaking at the end of the prayer meeting, His Excellency, Lt. Gen. Joseph Henry Smith, Ghanas Ambassador to the United States commended members of the Alliance for organizing the prayer meeting saying Ghana is grateful to you

Ambassador Smith conveyed the felicitations of the President, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama to the Alliance and the Ghanaian Community who attended the prayer meeting.

For 25 years, Ambassador Smith said, Ghana has had six (6) successful, peaceful elections and transferred power from one political party to the other without any problem and therefore, was hopeful this years election will be the same as the previous elections.

He asked the Ghanaian community to be proud of the achievements of the country and the role Ghana has played on the African continent and the United Nations especially with peace keeping around the worlds troubled spots, adding Ghana has become strategically very important around the world because of her leadership role dealing with the international community.

Present were Bishop Dr. Evans Glover of the Shiloh Gospel Church, Apostle Edwin Otabil of End-Time Glory Church International, Rev. Ofori Amanfo, Rev. Kwasi Gymah and Pastor Michael Sasu, Apostle Dr. Daniel Ahia-Armah.

Also in attendance were officials from the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Africa is a paradox which illustrates and highlights neo-colonialism. Her earth is rich, yet the products that come from above and below the soil continue to enrich, not Africans predominantly, but groups and individuals who operate to Africas impoverishment (Kwame Nkrumah).

THE CHICHIDODO BIRD IS A MACHIAVELLIAN CRAZY BALDHEAD

The chichidodo bird, oh why oh why?:

African minerals in the world:

Clothe the worldfeed the world and its hungry industriesindustrializes the worldmake peace in the world

Give jobs to many in the worldenrich the worldgive life to the world

Create marriages and romantic relationships in the world

Make love in the worldall that glitters is gold in the worldserenade the worldmake God happy in the world

Resource blessing

The chichidodo bird, oh why oh why?:

African minerals in Africa:

Make Africa nakedstarve the African and his malnourished, undernourished industriesde-industrialize the African worldmake wars and enemies and child soldiers and warlords and widows and widowers and fatherlessness and motherlessness in the African world

Take jobs away from the African worldimpoverish the African worldtake life away from the African world

Create divorces and romantic hatred in the African world

Make hatred in the African worldall that glitters is not gold in the African worlddo not serenade the worlddo make God happy in the African world

Pollute the African worldrape the African world

Resource curseDutch diseaseresource disease

The chichidodo bird, oh why oh why?:

Your secret romantic relationship with Eurocentrism make you the biological mother and father of Charles Taylor, of Foday Sankoh, of Emperor Bokassa, of Mobuto Sese Seko, of Joseph Kony, of Idi Aminall of themof slavery, of colonialism, of neocolonialism, of Kwashiorkor

The chichidodo bird, oh why oh why?:

Why make fun of the children of Africamake them child soldiersby discrediting:

Daddy Lumbas Children of the Future?

Whitney Houstons The Greatest Love of All?

Lionel Richies Love, Oh Love?

Michael Jacksons The Lost Children and We Are the World?

The chichidodo bird, why make Peter Toshs Mama Africa a child widow, a child mourner?:

You're the maker of gold Mama

You're the maker of diamond

You're the maker of pearls

And the maker of all precious goals

I've been crying, praying hoping

That I may find you Mama

The chichidodo bird, listen to this Wiyaala dirge:

The land is good, the land is fine

Gold we have, diamonds we mine

Yet we fight; we cover it all in blood

Tell me why we wallow in the mud

Africa! Africa! Africa!...Mama Africa

We cry for peaceAfrica!

Tell me why you fightTell me why we fight

About our oil, where is the Production Sharing Agreement? About our oil, what is the Hybrid System doing in the body politic of the chichidodo bird? Why are we so much addicted to non-open-source killer contracts? Why do we keep voting the same proxy-politicians into office every four or eight years?

Well, it just does not make a smidgen of sense for these vast natural resources, of minerals and oil/gas, to be the source of our collective underdevelopment, our mortal enemy other than that we want them to be our mortal enemies. This strategy is part of the plank of the chichidodo birds vision.

THINKING OUT LOUD

In the abundance of water the fool is thirsty, sang the great Bob Marley.

How true this statement is in the special case of the neocolonial, anti-Afrocentric generation of maggot-infested leaders of which the chichidodo bird represents.

Such leaders and their camarillas are ungodly traitors, purveyors of the kiss of Judas, so to speak, and sons and daughters of false prophets.

Inglorious bastard of political criminals whose only purpose on earth, it seems, is total destruction and impoverishment of Africas development.

How can a resource-rich continent like Africa be so poor? What happened to the potential wealth of this resource-rich continent? For how else can the gracious, longsuffering sons and daughters of this great continent be materially thirsty in the continents abundance of resource-rich water?

Quality leadership, which is a scare commodity in postcolonial Africa, is also a major contributing factor to the stifling conundrum of Africas continuing developmental doldrums. Even where we had earned a pittance of foreign exchange for our minerals on the international market, a chunk of that pittance had vanished into the deep kleptomaniacal pockets of the chichidodo bird and her camarillas.

These pockets have been fertile grounds for strings of civil wars, escalating disease burdens, the birth of child soldiers, underdevelopment, corruption, pollution, destruction of the ecology (habitat destruction), and so on.

We are truly living in dangerous times given the callous leadership of the chichidodo bird.

In this case equity, social justice, poverty eradication, fairness, improved standard of living and quality of life for the vast majority of the African people remain far removed from the political epicenter of patriotic consciousness.

To reverse these negative trends therefore require Afrocentric conscientization of the popular mind, which has been particularly if relatively slow in gaining on the vast body of scholarship on the subject, given the entrenchment of Eurocentrism on the continent and inferiority complex among the masses.

These are some of the major issues that our politics should revolve around! It is just sad that we cannot eat these minerals or call upon our leaders and the West to return minerals stolen from Africa during slavery and colonialism and the plunder still continuing though this present neocolonial dispensation.

The people should ensure that these woolgathering politiciansthese ersatz political animalsthese yclept African leadersthese humanoid-avian troglodytesthese scrofulous Neanderthalsthese murderous popinjaysthese scandalous poltroonsthese pharisaic philistines.and their widdershins and ugsome and procrustean ideas are a thing of the past, are history

A glorious past and a history the people themselves write without fear or favor in the sweltering red-ink of moralrighteous indignation, even of war and of a consuming baptism of fire if it should come down to it, a bold history of radical revolution that is the peoples own making

A majestic history of moral revolution that totally ignores the hypocritical pleading susurrus of the most heinously politically wicked in the body politic of the Animal Farm, a history that puts a quietus to their political and social lives, to the misery and pain of their longsuffering subjects

A royal history that looks up and includes hopeful pages on the foregone longsuffering tears of the peoplea progressive history that looks at Calestous Jumas knowledge economy, at why Ghanathe Gold Coasta rich land of goldhas turned into a desert of rusty metalinto a Gold Ghost of massive political corruption, of mass illiteracy and poverty, of open defecation, of reverse civilizationof an Eurocentric Island of anti-Afrocentricityat why our vast rich mines now belongs to othersKing Solomonforeign interestsHenry Rider Haggards King Solomons Mines

In the final analysis the masses must understand that Abraham Lincolns brother, Donald Trumps Gettysburg Address in which he proclaimed, quite eloquently, that democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people, a dubious invention the chichidodo bird sycophantically endorses as her political platform, call it her plank, is a sacred sham, a sanctimonious canard.

In other words, the phrase the people are merely a dispensable or disposable gangplank in the pretentious exercise of democracy. In far-flung democracies such as the United States, for instance, there is always a parallel force, namely a shadow government, arguably the real mover of such countries political-economic destinies alongside their official governments.

That is, the official governments of these alleged democracies are remote-controlled by an oligarchy and special-interest-groups politics, mostly by white men who own and control the instruments of pressure politics.

It therefore follows that a chunk of the decisional prerogatives which these official governments enjoy in both theory and practice, actually flows from the pressure politics of special interest groups. Democracy may as well be a dictatorship of the minority, of a scheming oligarchy.

These special interest groups may not even reflect or represent a cross-section of the numerical preponderance of those who turned over their popular sovereignty and franchise to a body of persons that rules over them. The people do this under soft coercion and through manufacturing consent.

Thus government of the people, by the people, for the people is merely a nominal convenience, a self-serving concoction meant to deceive into believing that real power is theirs when it is actually not. The people buy into this appealing concoction in exchange for enticing crumbs from this quantum genius of oligarchic criminals in their midst. The chichidodo bird is one of these.

For one thing, Trump is Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. For another, the chichidodo bird is Baboon dey chop, monkey dey work. Notably, we have here new wine in old wineskins.

CONCLUSION

Bob Marley (Chant Down Babylon):

For them soft! Yes, them soft!

Them soft! Yes, them soft!

So come we go chant down Babylon one more time

Men see their dreams and aspiration-a

Crumble in front of their face,

And all of their wicked intention

To destroy the human race.

Oh, the people must go to war to force these chichidodo political troglodytes to allow the earth to keep its mineral and oil/gas resources in her anthropogenically-caused polluted womb far, far, far away from the encroaching thieving hands of the chichidodo bird, of her stinking camarillas, and of her bloodsucking foreign interests

And oh, after all minerals and oil/gas and ecology and oceans are the earths spiritual soul foodhuman can afford to live on their hyenas, skunks, snakes, dogs, frogs, shit-carrying beetles

These shameless thieving anti-Afrocentric, neocolonial politiciansplease, please, please you chichidodo politicians leave the earth alone to mourn her polluted wounds, boils, scars, scabs, frustrations, injuriesall of which you have caused her without her asking you to do soplease, pleaseplease

And to you the ever-sleepingslumberousmasses! Rise from your sleepless slumberBob Marley!Revolution!Revolution!Revolution! It takes a revolution to give birth to a solutionShake off the yoke of neocolonialismThe time is now, now, now, now!

Thus, Africans had better deal with the crude leadership style of the neocolonial chichidodo bird and her stinking stigma of anti-Afrocentric camarillas, as Steele Pulse called for on the track Tyrant:

The system is a fraud

In greed there's no reward

Let's eradicate corruption

Without a doubt watch out

You better watch out you bad rulers

We put you on trial now

Your life in our hands now

Held down by your throat

Power to the people say we find you guilty

In the name of democracy we burn the city

No more hypocrisy says we have no mercy

A consciousness based on Afrocentric patriotism does not tolerate the likes of the chichidodo bird.

The anti-Afrocentric chichidodo bird and her negrified neocolonial buffoons called camarillas must go!

It is what Bob Marley called Redemption Song and One Love and Africa Unite and Zimbabwe, KRS-1 Self-Destruction, Culture Tribal War, Mutabaruka The Peoples Court (1) 

Pay attention to the great words of the wise!

This covers Part 3 of Ayi Kwei Armahs Chichidodo Bird Is A Deadly Political Animal. We shall return with a concluding installment, Part 4!
China and Japan are making all rescue efforts after boat collision near Diaoyu Islands: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson

A Chinese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Greek cargo ship near Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea on Thursday morning. Six Chinese sailors have been rescued by Japanese coast guards so far. China and Japan are now making all rescue efforts to search for the rest of the eight sailors, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying.

We hope that the relevant maritime departments of China and Japan will continue to properly handle the incident in a cooperative attitude, Hua said.
Despite assurances by government that it will settle its debt owed the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, Citi News checks indicate the facility has still not received the monies.

The development is worsening the plight of patients there, as hospital authorities depend solely on corporate organisations to feed the over five hundred patients it houses.

Outside the Special Ward of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital in Accra, there are beds, mats and mattresses because there is no space at the various wards. On the metallic beds, towels and other belongings of the patients hang.It's a hot afternoon; yet, some of them lie in bed, fast asleep.

The nurse in charge at this facility, Robert Gyedu-Amakye, explained that the hospital has not seen any major renovation since it was put up in 1906.

There has been no major renovation, we are still maintaining these structures.

The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is one of three major health centres in the country for mental health patients.

The interior of the wards look like a prison cell, because this 110 year old facility was originally built to house hardened criminals with mental health issues.

About four to six patients squeeze themselves into a 10 by 12 cubicle with three single beds, while the rest spread their plastic mats on the floor.

Our bed capacity is fifty eight so it means the rest of them are sleeping on the mat. Not even a mat with a mattress on it so the only difference is that you don't sleep on the bare-floor.

Outside the wards, the remaining patients sleep in the open  some, camped under a shed. It doesn't necessarily protect them from the harsh weather conditions and the constant battle against mosquitoes and malaria.

Staff of the hospital's special ward also share the same space with the patients under the shed. Here, close to twenty of the staff members are seated across a long desk to attend to the patients.

The bathrooms appear to sum up the situation here. There are gaping holes in the roof. The cracked white wall tiles have all turned brown and the nasty and dirty floors will make you feel even dirtier after bathing in there. As if battling with the inadequate amenities is not enough, they deal with more dangerous situations on daily basis. Drugs nearing their expiration dates.

According to the nurse in charge at the special ward, Robert Gyadu, the drugs administered here have December 2016 as the expiry date.

The treatment and recovery process for the patients indeed goes beyond just the drugs.

The Occupational Therapy Department was designed as part of the facility, to get patients to learn various skills including carpentry, painting and bead work among others, to challenge their minds. But this department has turned into a white elephant.

The hospital's kitchen is in a poor state and lacks a proper storage facility. Some of the stoves have leakages which pose a threat to the staff.

In the baking room, an old flour mixer looks like a death trap. Workers here say many have their hands trapped during black outs. Staff here buy their own kitchen knives and napkins among others.

Authorities here say, the government has not only abandoned the facility, but is also hugely indebted to it. Dr. Pinaman Appau is the Director of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

We got two tranches of money but it came with the instruction that we pay suppliers so we've not received monies to run the hospital. We owe them over the years. We still have some debt from 2013 even though weve paid some. Currently, we owe four million Ghana cedis

The hospital has been hit by food shortages in the past few weeks, and Dr. Appau said but for the benevolence of corporate organisations and some individuals, the hospital would have run into trouble feeding the over five hundred patients.

She strongly rejected accusations that they confiscate the donated items for their personal use. She says until the debt is paid, they have to anticipate facing challenges with shortage in food supplies and disposables.

At the beginning of August, the facility stopped admitting patients because of the many challenges. Emmanuel Febiri, a psychiatric nurse and a member of the hospitals communication team, explained that the lack of funding accounted for their decision.

 For some time now, the hospital has been challenged in terms of funding. Mostly our source of funding depends on the subvention from the government of Ghana. There is no money there is no food. In a day you need about ten Ghana cedis to spend on a patient and we have close to five hundred patients. For now management has decided they are not going to take any admissions.

Hospital authorities are desperate. And all this is happening at a time the country has passed the Mental Health Act.

Although the Act provides relief for the mental health sector, this remains only on paper.



By: Zoe Abu-Baidoo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Marietta Brew Oppong has cautioned judges to desist from turning themselves into demi-gods in the performance of their duties.

According to her though judges in the clerical order are put next to God, they are not gods yet and should not portray themselves as such.

Kindly note that though in the ecclesiastical order, it is said that your esteemed selves are next God, you are not gods  yet, she said

Speaking at the swearing ceremony of newly appointed circuit court judges and magistrates in Accra on Thursday, Marietta Brew Oppong said the judges must accord court users the necessary respect due them.

You must thus demonstrate the due courtesy and civility due lawyers, litigants, court officials, witnesses, the general public, Police, law students, journalists, as well as other court users. You thus must be firm but fair, stern but not harsh and kind but not doting to the affections of bewildered users of the court who are sometimes lost in the labyrinth of legal rules jargons, processes and procedures in which a few lawyers and judges get lost themselves.

The Attorney General also urged the judges to demonstrate exemplary virtues on and off the bench, and also write judgments that will stand the test of time.

In all 7 magistrates and 12 circuit court judges were sworn into office.

Judicial corruption scandal

26 lower and high court judges out of 34 others have been sacked in the past few months after they were captured on a video by investigative Journalist; Anas Aremeyaw allegedly taking bribes to influence their judgment.

The renowned journalist, in the two-year investigation piece titled: Ghana in the eyes of God; Epic of Injustice, saw some judges receiving cash amounts and assorted items to free suspects or clear them of any wrongdoing.

They were relieved of their posts after the committee set up to look into the matter found them guilty.

The Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood also on July 15, 2016, swore into office 13 new High Court judges to replace those who were sacked.



By: Godwin A. Allotey & Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
11.08.2016 LISTEN

By Bernice Bassey and Joan Lisa Quarshie

The Deputy Minister for Water Resources Works and Housing, Sampson Ahi, has indicated that Ghana has set for itself a target to achieve 100% water coverage by 2025, even before the commencement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He said, although the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the United Nations (UN) and scheduled to commence in 2016, government had already set a target for itself to show how dedicated and innovative it is towards the people.

He emphasized that, the government is committed to ensuring universal water coverage by 2025 through the injection of the needed investment into the urban water subsector, saying increasing water coverage requires consistent investment on yearly basis, since population growth and demand for water keep increasing.

The Deputy Minister for Water Resources Works and Housing, said this when he spoke on behalf of his Minister, Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah at the meet the press series held at the Information Service Department in Accra.

According to him, government recognizes the importance of water, shelter and public works to maintaining and sustaining lives and properties, which is why his ministry has over the years committed its scarce resources into providing the necessary projects in the sub-sector.

Mr. Ahi said although Ghana is endowed with many water resources, encroachment on river banks poses a threat to sustainability. He explained that currently, the volume of water in our river channels is estimated at 54.4 billion cubic meters per year (11.97 trillion gallons per year), of which about 19% is currently being abstracted for various uses.

That notwithstanding, the water resources are at risk of depletion and degradation due to natural and human factors. He recounted the recent long spell of dryness that the country experienced at the beginning of this year and its consequences on water delivery.

Although the Deputy Minister acknowledged that, climate change contributes to the high variability in the natural flow of water in the river channels, he admitted that human factors also play a role.

He noted: For instance, the dry period at the end of 2015 was quite prolonged, thereby modifying the fresh water regime of some of our water bodies, especially Densu River, which affected water supply to Nsawam and its environs.

He called for an urgent need to relook at the wanton depletion of the forest cover, illegal mining (Galamsey), inappropriate solid and liquid waste disposal and other destructive practices, which is inimical to healthy environment, required for our well-being.

Mr. Ahi also indicated that, as part of measures to curb encroachment along water bodies, a permanent military security post has been set up to secure the Weija dam and reservoir. This has so far resulted in significant reduction in the encroachment and degradation of the Weija catchment.

This intervention is to be replicated in the other key water supply reservoirs such as Barekese, Owabi, Daboase and Tanoso. A10.2km buffer zone has been created and is being extended in the White Volta basin to promote natural and/or planted vegetative land strips along the water bodies to protect, conserve and sustain the fresh water resources, he hinted.

Touching on housing, the Deputy Minister observed that government is still committed to its desire to address the housing deficit in the country, which is in excess of 1.7 million housing units, resulting in the strategies adopted by the Ministry to complement the private sector and the roles played by its Department and Agencies in the delivery of housing.

A Housing Policy with an overall goal of providing adequate, safe, secure, decent and affordable housing that is accessible and sustainable has been launched.

Also, a bill for the establishment of a Real Estate Authority to regulate real estate agency practices and commercial transactions in the sector, including the sale, purchase, rental and leasing of real estate and related fixed assets and to provide for connected purposes has been laid in Parliament for passage into law before the end of the year.

He also announced that the stalled Government Affordable Housing Projects at Borteyman in the Greater Accra region and Asokore-Mampong in the Ashanti region have been handed over to SSNIT for completion.

Mr. Ahi said the provision of accommodation for the security services remains paramount on the agenda of Government. Having completed and handed over the first phase of 168 housing units to the BNI, the second phase which involves the construction of 368 housing units for the navy is about 70% complete, saying when completion, it will serve as the first Ghana Navy Barracks.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

From Ernest Best Anane, Drobonso-Sekyere Afram Plains

MR. JOHNSON Nyarko, the District Coordinating Director of Sekyere Afram Plains, has debunked allegations raised by a group calling itself Concerned Youth of Sekyere Afram Plains, that the new district ICT centre is a white elephant and has no use for the purpose it was built.

According to him, the project was started a year ago by the Ministry of Communications upon the request by the Assembly hence the award of the contract to start in phases.

He said the first phase, which comprised the construction of the main buildings has been completed, while the second phase of installation is almost finished and that the third phase is for the project to be operational. According to him, the project is on course and would be operational as scheduled.

Mr. Nyarko said the district administration welcomes constructive criticisms and advised the concerned youth, as partners in development, not to engage in anything that could bring the name of the district into disrepute.

The youth group expressed worry over the district ICT Centre becoming a white elephant, without the requisite equipment to make it functional.

Mr Boakye Yiadom, President of the Association, described the state of the facility as unfortunate and cannot come to terms as to why the Information Communication & Technology (ICT) centre has been completed without computers.

He told The Chronicle that, the centre was built purposely to support teaching and learning of ICT in and around Drobonso, the district capital of Sekyere Afram Plains, but lacks computers, tables and chairs to support ICT laboratory environment.

He said the centre has been built for close to a year and without the necessary equipment and furniture, it could pass for a white elephant.

He said the centre needed not less than 40 computers to serve as ICT laboratory to school children in all the 90 communities in the district, including Drobonso and that, if the centre is well furnished, it would influence effective teaching and learning of ICT, especially when ICT is one of the subjects pupils at the basic school are examined on internally and externally by WAEC during the BECEs.

The Concerned youth have, therefore, issued a month's ultimatum to the offices of the District Chief Executive, Fuseini Donkor and the Member of Parliament (MP), Alex Adomako-Mensah to stock the centre with computers before they take the next line of action.
 Over Occupation of Bungalow

From Alfred Adams, Takoradi

THE alleged rift between the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seaweld Engineering Limited, an Oil Service provider in Takoradi and some of his Board of Directors leading to the dismissal of two of them, has taken a new twist.

The shareholders cum Board of Directors and the CEO are now engaged in a legal tussle in the court. The Board of Directors were the first to file a suit at a Sekondi High Court, challenging their dismissal as Board of Directors and Shareholders of the Oil Service company.

The CEO, Mr. Alfred Fafali Adagbedu has also chosen a lawful path to retrieve a bungalow being occupied by one of the Board of Directors and Shareholder of the company, Mr. Gershon Koku Amedetor.

Mr Alfred Fafali Adagbedu attempted to use unorthodox means to eject Mr. Gershon Koku Amedetor from his official bungalow, but the idea was scuttled after the intervention of the police.

He has now filed a writ at the court, seeking three reliefs, among which are that; the defendant, Mr. Gershon Koku Amedetor should allow valuation officers from GT Bank to value the property and also place an order for the plaintiff to quit the bungalow.

In a statement of case, the plaintiff said he was the CEO of Seaweld, whilst defendant was a worker at Seaweld.

He said the defendant, who is no more with the company, was still squatting in his property. Plaintiff continued that Valuers were sourced to assist in the renovation of the property but defendant restricted the officers from carrying out their duties.

The genesis of the suit brought by the Seaweld CEO against the Shareholder cum Board Member of the company comes after a fracas which the latter and other shareholders of the company had with the CEO of the company.

The fracas apparently compelled the CEO to write two separate letters to Gerson Amedetor to quit his official bungalow.

One of the ejection notice dated May 6, 2016 and signed by the CEO, under the headline: 'Notice To Quit Plot 186 Chapel Hill, Takoradi reads: I hereby give you notice to vacate my property within four weeks of the date of this letter as I intend to use the property myself'.

Failure on the part of the Board member to heed the ejection advice compelled the CEO to serve a reminder notice to Amedetor. In the second letter dated 16th June, 2016, the CEO wrote: I hereby give you notice to prepare my property stated above for my occupancy. Please, treat this as urgent'.

Surprisingly, before the Board Member of Seaweld Company could respond, a Military Police officer, Corporal Damson and five other civilians invaded the premises and attempted to forcibly eject him from the house.

It had to take the swift intervention of the Takoradi Central Police to effect the arrest of the Military Police Office and his accomplice.

The Military Police Officer and his accomplice in their statement to the Police mentioned the Seaweld CEO as the one who instructed them to eject Gershon Amedetor from the property.

Though the regional Police Command has confirmed that it had taken the statement of the Seaweld CEO in respect of the attempt to eject Gershon Amedetor from the property, the Command is yet to prosecute the case.

The Regional Crime Officer, Mr. Reuben Asoko, who confirmed that the Command had taken over the case, added that they had not gathered much water for prosecution to take place.
The trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi is scheduled to open on 22 August 2016 at 09:00 (The Hague local time), at the seat of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague (Netherlands). Mr Al Mahdi is accused of the war crime consisting in the alleged destruction of historical and religious monuments in Timbuktu (Mali), between around 30 June 2012 and 11 July 2012.

The trial will be held before Trial Chamber VIII, composed of Judge Raul C. Pangalangan (Presiding Judge), Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua, and Judge Bertram Schmitt. Due to Mr Al Mahdis announced intentions to make an admission of guilt, the trial is expected to last for about a week, after which the judges will deliberate and in due course pronounce a decision on the guilt or innocence of the accused and the possible sentence. If the accused does not plead guilty at the opening of the trial, the hearings will be reported to another date.

At the opening of the trial, the accused will be read an extract of the confirmed charge against him and will be asked to confirm if he understands it. If an admission of guilt is indeed made as expected, the Chamber will conduct a short inquiry in order to determine whether: (a) the accused understands the nature and consequences of the admission and (b) the admission is voluntarily made after sufficient consultation with Defence counsel.

The Office of the Prosecutor will have three hours to present its case and a maximum of nine hours for the examination of its three witnesses who are staff members or experts. The Legal Representative of victims will then have one hour to present their views and concerns, and the Defence will have a one hour and a half to present submissions. In addition, the judges have agreed to the introduction at a later stage of two Defence witnesses statements in writing relating to the possible sentence.

The parties and participants presentations will cover both topics related to the trial and the possible sentence, since the judgment and the possible sentence will be issued together in due course following the hearings.

Background: On 24 March 2016, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I confirmed against Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi the war crime charge regarding the destruction of historical and religious monuments in Timbuktu (Mali), and committed Mr Al Mahdi to trial. On 1 March 2016, Mr Al Mahdi explicitly expressed before ICC judges and in the presence of his lawyers, his wish to plead guilty. The warrant of arrest against him was issued by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on 18 September 2015 and he was surrendered to the ICC on 26 September 2015. Mr Al Mahdi is in ICC custody.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

One amazing power of what human excreta can do for this country is its enormous support in our energy sector. Just recently, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently awarded Columbia University professor Kartik Chandran a $1.5 million grant to develop a "Next-Generation Urban Sanitation Facility" in Accra, Ghana along with Waste Enterprisers (a private American-led, Ghanaian company) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

The purpose of the facility is to turn organic compounds from fecal sludge (human excreta) into biodiesel and methane, two energy sources. The project has a potential of providing cheap source of fuel to boost our energy sector replacing our dependency on forest for fuel in cooking. In fact, there are some households in this country which are relying on biogas in cooking and lightening. Moreover, biogas can be upgraded to a level compatible with natural gas by cleaning, with the resulting gas being delivered to power thermal plants which depend fully on natural gas.

The cost of petroleum products and its fast depletion has currently called on attention sustainable means of producing energy. Ghana, for example, is facing challenges on meeting its energy needs of people due to increasing population and increasing in usage of electronic gadgets and technologies which rely solely on electricity.

Scientists are working hard to develop technologies that would turn waste especially waste water into drinking water. One of such development is the Oniprocessor, a waste treatment plant, which was developed by Janicki Bioenery, and has a tendency to process sewage for a community of about 100,000 people. One interesting thing about this plant is that it uses technology which rely on energy from sewage sludge to power itself.

Biodiesel, has been termed as a sustainable means to alternative fuel as compared to fuel from fossil fuel. Biodiesel reduce emissions of particulates, small particles of solid combustion products. Several works have established biodiesel as more environmental friendly as compared to fossil fuel. Plants fruits and seeds which are used in production of biodiesels would therefore depend on human excreta for their production and cultivation.

In all, if the government is to ensure proper management of human excreta, diseases related to contamination of human excreta would be a thing of the past in this country. This would be made possible as human excreta would no more be channeled into water bodies and its direct contact with humans would be minimized. Currently, 1.8 million people die each year from water transmitted diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhus fever, typhoid, and so on. In addition, 1.5 million children die every year from diarrhea. Most of these top related diseases are more environmental related which could be reduced drastically if human excreta are effectively managed. Moreover, the government have to spend huge amount of money to cure outbreak of these environmental related diseases. The impact of outbreak of diseases such as cholera and diarrhea significantly affect tourisms, agricultural exports and others sectors.

As a country, we can learn significantly from Britain. Water-borne diseases were predominant in the Britain in the 19th Century. The diseases were killing people in Britain. It is on record that over 21, 000 people died in the first known cholera epidemic in the 1830s. In 1848, their Parliament passed the Public Health Act which became a model plumbing code for the world to follow. Every house was instructed to have sanitary facilities whether a flushing toilet, privy or ash pit. Their government released money for sanitary research and engineering and build a sound sewer system. All measures were put in place to effectively manage human excreta by preventing it direct contact with water bodies and human contacts.

In 1875, a second Public Health Act came to pass compelling local authorities to provide sewage disposal facilities and clean water for all. By 1900, death rate related to water-borne diseases had fallen dramatically and most towns had efficient sewer and water systems. This is the country that most Ghanaian would choose to stay when given the option to choose between Britain and Ghana. The secret is, they identified a problem, and made resolute actions to solve it. Today, the waste sector provides quality and decent employment to huge numbers of people in Britain. Today, cholera and some water borne diseases have been eradicated in Britain.

Though It has conclusively been shown that investing in health in developing countries saves lives and produces clear and measurable financial returns, it seems the politicians in this country care more of retaining power than saving lives. As human excreta become useful, it has the tendency of reducing poverty, by producing sustainable jobs in energy sectors, agricultural, beautification projects and saving the government huge sums of money from spending on diseases caused by contamination from human excreta. Human resources would improve and malnourished children would be a thing of the past. Every human life in this country value much and therefore managing human excreta effectively can help reduce such number of death. Once again, the next time you flush the toilet, remember, you just flushed a million worth of money.

Jeffery Amo-Asare

[email protected]
Mine workers have served a notice they may be forced to withdraw their services to the mines if the state cannot guarantee their safety.

Illegal mining, known as galamsey, remains a threat to life and property at the mines as workers constantly come under attack from intruders.

The issue of illegal mining activities gravely affected the industry during the first half of the year.

In the period under review, mining companies such as the AngloGold Ashanti and Obuasi Mine have witnessed a fearful attack by illegal small-scale miners on its concession, resulting in the death of a top management staff.

Also, Owere Mines in Konongo was not spared by the activities of illegal miners who invaded and took control of the mines concession for weeks, while owners and staff watched on helplessly.

Anglogold Ashanti, for instance, has out of desperation, sued Ghana government at the international Court of Arbitration over the issue.

Government in a response to the suit assured the mining giant that law and order will be restored at its concession in Obuasi.

Today, our cherished members are living and working in fear. Their safety and security cannot be guaranteed anymore given the organised, sophisticated and aggressive nature of these galamseyers and their attacks on these concessions, General Secretary, Ghana Mineworkers Union, Prince William Ankrah has warned.

Government, last year amended portions of the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (ACT 703) that criminalizes illegal small scale mining activities as well as the confiscation of mining equipment from illegal miners.

Some industry players, however, blame government for appearing to fuel the perpetuation of this illegality which sounds quite worrying and disappointing, to say the least.

Mr. Ankrah indicated, we reluctantly, however, wish to commend the government for taking the bold decision to amend the law with the view to dealing substantially with this menace.

The Union believes that enforcement of the law still remains a major challenge and needs to be looked at closely and done devoid of politicisation and cronyism.

The General Secretary of the GMWU, Prince William Ankrah made the revelation in his address at the Unions National Executive Council meeting in Kumasi.

At the Unions National Executive Council meeting in Kumasi, Mr. Ankrah revealed the group will have to take precaution to protect members.

The Association, therefore, calls on government to renew its commitment and intensify its fight against this ravaging menace swiftly.
11.08.2016 LISTEN

The Hajj Committee has issued an ultimatum to Accredited Hajj Agents to submit documents of pilgrims to the Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana (PAOG) by Friday, August 12.

After the Friday deadline, PAOG says the registration department at the Hajj Village will not be accepting any documents for processing.

In a press release Tuesday signed by the Administrative Secretary, Mohammed Osman Manaf, PAOG said this was part of efforts to help achieve a successful Hajj this year.

The Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana is doing everything possible to facilitate a smooth process in all aspects, the release said adding, all should adhere to the directive to avoid any disappointment.

Also, the Committee urged all Agents and any would-be pilgrims who have fully paid the Hajj fare for the 2016 pilgrimage but are yet to get their passports from the Passport Office to liaise with the office of the Administrative Secretary at the Hajj Village.

The Committee says there is a special arrangement with the Passport Office for pilgrims regarding passports for the Hajj Pilgrimage.

Prospective pilgrims faced with this problem are advised to go along with their transaction code or number for immediate assistance.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim | Email: [email protected]
The Executive Director of the National Service Secretariat (NSS) has refuted claims that there are no job opportunities in the country for the youth.

Dr Kpessa Whyte says contrary to claims being peddled by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) of how hopeless the country is growing, there are several opportunities littering in Ghana.

We need to admit that the youth development is one thing that is important to this government. Government has approached the issue of unemployment in a multifaceted way by giving incentive to businesses to expand, he told Dzifa Bampoe, host of Joy FMs Top Story programme, Thursday.

NPP has accused government of dimming the future of Ghanaian youth with several unpopular policies in the country.

At a youth forum held at Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, the National Youth Organiser of NPP, Sammy Awuku, said the challenges facing the country are registered on the faces of the youth.

According to him, the youth can no longer afford to leave the nation in the hands of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He believes, This year and in this election, it is about the scrap dealer who cannot make ends meet and the biggest celebrity we will need in this election is the Ghanaian youth.

He said an NPP government will scrap the new taxes on private universities that Mahama has introduced which he believes amounts to a tax on knowledge.

Mr Awuku encouraged the youth to come out in their numbers in the upcoming election to push the interest of the NPP flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

But Mr Whyte says the Mahama-led government has been doing all the things the NPP intends to do.

The government has shown the pathways in the areas of the Youth Enterprise Support (YES), Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC)  which offers attractive financial packages and the rural enterprise support and the Rural Enterprise Support (RES) which is helping Ghanaians with skill acquisition.

These initiatives of the government, he said are helping the youth to develop entrepreneurial capabilities and also enhancing their own employability potentials.

For a government that provides incentives to support private companies to grow deserves to be supported, he said, adding, the youth are being prepared for the transition from student to the work environment.

He, however, said it is important as a country to work on having a database on employment so that any argument will not be sentimental, but rather based on fact.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | Email: [email protected]
Photos taken on August 10 in a stadium in east Chinas Shandong province show some 4,000 students studying together in a class amidst the blazing heat, preparing for the Postgraduate Admission Test that will be held in January.

Postgraduate Admission Test is a standardized admission test required by all graduate schools in Chinese mainland.

Same as the National College Entrance Examination, which is meant for undergraduate level study, Postgraduate Admission is an academic examination held annually in China. It is a prerequisite for college undergraduates to enter higher education institutions.
#SCFinTechFestival22: StanChart will continue to harness technology to empower next generation of entrepreneurs in Ghana  Board Chair
Telecommunications giant, MTN is offering 85 percent discount on data services to pilgrims of this years Hajj.

Pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will also receive 30 percent discount on an incoming voice call.

They also get 18 percent discount on outgoing calls and text messages as part of a package rolled for both prepaid and postpaid MTN customers roaming in Saudi Arabia on Mobily (Etisalat) networks.

The offers are designed to offer the pilgrims the opportunity to stay connected with family and friends whilst in Mecca.

MTN has been making a presentation to the Hajj Board where details of the package were made available.

Senior Manager for Customer Service and Credit Management at MTN, Salihu Abu reiterated MTNs commitment to supporting the activities of the Hajj Board.

The presentation of the items is a token from MTN to aid in the organization of the annual pilgrimage, he said.

MTN is also supporting the Hajj Board with a donation of 14 mobile handsets, airtime worth GH 7,500 and souvenirs to facilitate the work of the Board.

Mr Abu expressed MTNs gratitude to the Muslim community, especially the National Hajj Board, for partnering with MTN over the past six years to develop meaningful offers for Hajj pilgrims.

MTN has for the past nine years consistently donated cash, food items, drinks and airtime to the National Chief Imam during the celebration of the Eidul Fitr festival.

As part of MTNs 20th Anniversary celebrations this year, the company made donations to the Regional Chief Imams in Ashanti, Western and Northern to support the celebration of this years Eid-ul-Fitr.
Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahamas decision to wear military uniform at a military event on Thursday in Accra has sparked controversy.

A US-based Professor Kwaku Asare has questioned the legality of his choice.

The professor with more than 4,500 following on Facebook raised questions suggesting the president violated the National Liberation Council Decree (NLCD) 177.

Professor Asare wrote:

Dear Larry Gbevlo-Lartey

Advice me as to the legality of a President wearing military uniform in light of section 1 of NLCD 177 to the effect that, "No person shall wear or use any military uniform, equipment, accoutrements or other material unless he is a member of the Armed Forces of Ghana wearing or using the uniform, equipment, accoutrements or material which he is authorised to wear or use."

President Mahama was at a military durbar at Burma Camp in Accra where he commissioned the Naval headquarters.

It is the first time a the president has been seen in uniform and indeed the first a president with no military background has worn the army green military camouflage.

While Ghanaians are familiar with Flt Lt. (Rtd) Jerry Rawlings donning the uniform at military functions during his presidency, no other president in the 4th republic has worn it.

The trending photo has surprised a retired soldier and a legal practitioner Rtd Group Captain Lawyer Obeng Ntim.

I do not see the hullabaloo about this whole thing, he told Dzifa Bampoh on Joy FMs Newsnite Thursday.

He maintained that the president is free to wear any uniform because he is the commander-in-chief. He has every right to wear army uniform, to wear naval uniform or air force uniform.

He referred to Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia wearing uniforms though he was a civilian leader.

The President Goodluck Jonathan also wore army camouflage during a visit to Mubi in Adamawa State in February 2015.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in military uniform also faced criticism. A blogger Morris Kiruga in an article suggested it is dangerous for a civillian leader to wear the uniform.

"By appearing in military fatigues while officiating military functions, President Kenyatta is blurring the delicate distinction between the office he holds as a civilian head and his command over the military. He is not a member of the military simply by virtue of his constitutional duty to command it. The President must always be a civilian. He commands the military in the peoples name."

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|
The Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has implored people in Zongos in the country not to vote for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) because it is a party that discriminates against their kind.

People from the UP [United Party] tradition are not our friends and such we should not be in bed with them. They are people the Zongo community cannot rely on They are like lions, no matter what, they will not have good intentions for us, he pronounced to NDC supporters in Koforidua in the Eastern Region.

Alhaji Dauda asserted that the NPP has a long history of discriminating against people living in Zongo communities and if you allow the NPP to come to power again, they will exhibit this same character of discrimination.

Sharing his experience, he recounted that, In 2004, the NPP told me that I am a foreigner, I am a Mossi and that I am not a Ghanaian. They challenged my citizenship and even prevented me from voting. This case ended up at the court. The court cleared me to contest.

They were not happy with the court's decision and filed for review at the Sunyani High Court. I was lucky that the then judge, Justice Mariama ruled in my favour, he added.

'We should let them know that we are not with them'

Alhaji Dauda further implored the Zongos to be wary of a perceived front of kindness shown by the NPP warning them that they had treated their kin like aliens in past times.

These are same people who are begging for votes from the Zongo community. We should be very careful of these people. They treated our ancestors as aliens and today they are pretending to be our friends.

We are not like the animals who do not have emotions and remembrance. Because they have not liked us from the start, we should give them chance to even campaign to us. We should let them know that we are not with them.

Ethnic and religious arguments ahead of 2016 polls

In April 2016, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Eric Opoku, suffered criticism from Muslims who belong to the NPP after he suggested that Muslims who support the opposition NPP, are not true to their religion.

Mr. Opoku said the Quran frowned on Muslims getting close to an Elephant which is the symbol of the NPP.

Quoting a chapter in the Quran, Mr. Opoku said any Muslim who associates with an elephant is not authentic.

I will be jailed if

Former Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor, also made headlines for perceived tribal comments after she pleaded with Voltarians not to vote for the opposition NPP with rhetoric doused in fear and ethnic sentiments.

Dzifa Attivor

With her role in the infamous Smarttys branding saga in mind she expressed fears that she and the current Minister of Transport, Fiifi Kwetey, would be jailed under an NPP government.

Mrs Attivor also asked the Voltarians to consider the works of NDC founder and former President Jerry Rawlings and vote massively for the NDC in the upcoming polls.

Muslim bias at the presidency

In May 2016, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to the NPP flagbearer for the 2016 November elections, accused the presidency of being biased against Muslims in the country.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia

According to him, the current seat of government is occupied by persons who are from the Christian fraternity which to him does not create balance within the highest political positions in Ghana.

Dr. Bawumias argument was that because there are two dominant religious groups in the country, the President and his Veep ought not to be from the same religion.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
11.08.2016 LISTEN

A GNA feature by Hannah Awadzi

Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - She is a domestic worker; she goes from house to house looking for domestic chores to do for money.

She got introduced to me by a friend when I told her I wanted someone to come and help me with laundry.

For the purposes of this article I will call her Yaa (not her real name). I told her to come every two weeks to do the washing and she never misses an appointment.

However, I noticed she looked at me intently anytime, she saw me carry my daughter to the car, and at one point, I told my friend that I feel there is something Yaa wants to tell me but she probably finds it difficult to do so.

So on one fateful day, I was pressed and I needed to go work and my daughter was at home with no one to take care of her. I was therefore compelled to call Yaa to come and take care of the child that day for a fee, and she obliged.

By 7.30 AM she was there ready to start with her task for the day. I sat her down and took her through my daughter's routine, she seems to know a lot about Cerebral Palsy. Surprised! I asked why you have handled such a child before.

Then she started narrating her story to me in tears. 'In 1994, I had a bouncy baby boy, three days later, she had jaundiced so I sent her to the Children's Hospital in Accra, after about a week of admission, we were discharged home and that was when our woes started'.

Yaa said, the boy could not sit, he was very floppy, doctors recommended physiotherapy and she obliged. She had to journey about one and half hours to the hospital for physiotherapy and she did this, twice a week.

Besides the cost in transportation to the hospital for physiotherapy services, she got very stressed, after a year of physiotherapy she stopped.

Friends and family members convinced her, that what she was facing was spiritual and so she started following some of them from pastor to pastor, herbalists, spiritualists and the list was endless.

'I spent all my money seeking help for my baby boy,' Pastors, herbalists and spiritualists alike charged me huge sums of money with the promise to help heal my baby boy but to no avail.'

Apart from that Yaa no longer had the 'luxury' to work, she sat by this boy every time, there were times, she spent a whole month at a prayer camp and pastors told her horrible stories.

'Some pastors even forbid me to stop eating tomatoes, I had to obliged but I no longer enjoyed eating, my life was misery.'

Yaa said she finally went to a spiritualist who told her plainly that the child could not be healed and actually he was sent to destroy her life spiritually.

The spiritualist said, he could help her to get rid of the baby without suspicion.

In her own word she said: 'We agreed to see the baby off, the agreed day soon came and the man came and gave the child some herbal concoction, with the assurance that my boy will not wake up again. I paid the spiritualist off.

'True to his word, the child slept but what followed wasn't to be expected, for three days the child was sleeping, he wasn't crying, he was just sleeping, I tried waking him up but he wouldn't and I knew the child was not dead.

'I started getting worried, what can be done, I couldn't also reach the man, one week passed and the situation remained the same, I knew there was trouble.'

Yaa said, she also did not have the courage to take the boy to the hospital, knowing what she had agreed to do and so sat beside the baby just waiting for him to 'go in peace'.

According to her, after 12 days, when the baby was still not dead and continued to sleep she decided to take him to her village and seek elderly advice, however, the baby died after 14 days of sleep and was buried.

I looked intently at her, not angry but moved with pity and asked but why did you agree to this 'plan' and this was her response:

'Friends mocked me that I have given birth to a spirit child, family rejected me, those who came in to help me rather worsened the situation by sending me to places where I was told all kind of things.

'I attempted to take the child to crAche to even enable me work but all of them rejected him.

I could not afford the medical bills since I was not working, everybody seem to exploit me because I had a child with cerebral palsy. I had no option but to kill!'

Can the society blame Yaa for what happened?

As an Initiator of Special Mothers' Project, a body that seeks to advocate for families with cerebral palsy, I come face to face with mothers faced with similar situations.

In our society, once you give birth to a special needs child, you are on your own, how I wish that government paid more attention to such issues and ensure that families with special needs children get some social support to enable them keep living.

I agree that a community, society or nation is worth dying for, if it takes care of her vulnerable.

GNA
11.08.2016 LISTEN

By Stephen Asante, GNA

Kumasi, Aug 11, GNA - Professor Leonard Amekudzi, a lecturer at the Meteorology and Climate Science Unit of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has called for the government to commit more resources into climate science studies.

He indicated that Ghana needed to move quickly to keep pace with climate science education.

That, he said, had become necessary amid the increasing threats posed by climate change.

He made reference to the changing weather pattern, which was affecting agricultural production, the intensity and frequency of storms, flooding, landslide and heat waves and said it was a wake-up call.

Prof Amekudzi, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, complained about the fast-paced urbanization and the attendant destruction of the ecology and biodiversity.

He said it was pertinent to put in place comprehensive training programmes to build the capacity of the people - equip them with the expertise, techniques and knowledge to deal with the potential threats.

The climate scientist underlined that urbanization and climate change would combine to shape global development in the near future.

It was on the account of this that there should be more well-trained people - technocrats to advice on climate change adaptation measures that could be incorporated into the nation's development agenda.

Prof Amekudzi said this was the way forward to help strengthen Ghana's disaster preparedness, planning and regulatory framework, to sustain it on the path of growth.

GNA
11.08.2016 LISTEN

By Josephine Nyarkoh, GNA

Kumasi, Aug 11, GNA - Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, politician and an accomplished businessman, has encouraged financial entities to move towards the cashless system of managing clients' investment in keeping with international standards.

This, he noted, would help to make them to become more dependable and efficient in their service delivery.

Dr. Nduom, who is the President of Groupe Nduom - a group of companies, was speaking at a meeting with the group's top clients in Kumasi.

It provided the platform not only to recognize them for the loyalty but also offered an opportunity for him to share with them his experiences as captain of industry.

He pointed out that the traditional method of dealing in physical cash tended to raise concern about the safety of the investor's money.

He said financial softwares which networked financial companies and transferred cash electronically were now available and asked that these were used to remove mistrust among 'the company, staff and the clients'.

Dr. Nduom said despite the good environment for local and foreign investment, many people were not interested in putting their money into long term investments because of the fear of losing their money to the companies.

He expressed confidence that this fear would vanish through the adoption of the cashless system.

He reminded private enterprises to have a succession plan to keep their companies going even when they were long gone.

Mr. Stephen Osei Akoto, Zonal Manager for Gold Coast Investments, asked Ghanaian investors not to be attracted only by the returns but that they should be concerned about the security of their investment.

This was important to save them from being swindled, he added.

Mr. Akoto advised the public to seek reliable investment advice before opting for any investment product.

GNA
11.08.2016 LISTEN

Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - Although Hungary is a landlocked country, it is a land of waters, featuring the largest lake in Europe, the Balaton, and crossed by mighty rivers-Danube and Tisza, which divide and define its regions.

It is a land of great contrasts and in addition, Hungary has more than a thousand thermal water springs for bathing or for relaxation or as part medical treatments.

A profile on Hungary provided by the Ghanaian Embassy in Accra and copied to Ghana News Agency on Thursday said although a small country, it has much to show.

It lies at the heart of Europe, which provides a unique geographical position of transmitting the European heritage and values filtered through a splash of individualism in her language and culture, which is completely different from her neighbours.

It also offers many unique sights and attractions, which could be reached within two and a half hours from most European countries.

The culture of the Hungarian people shows great variety too. Strong traditions and regional specialities have built up in all aspects of life from food to music and dance, from clothing to decor.

These traditional values have been maintained through the ages, though the modern world also has an influence.

The larger cities and particularly the capital, Budapest are powerhouses of ground-breaking innovation, contemporary art and modern music.

Hungary could be reached in many ways. Most international flights come to Budapest Liszt Ferenc Airport, which is served by via conventional and budget airlines.

The capital also has numerous rail connections, and is just three hours drive from Vienna and could be visited as part of a Danube river cruise.

Hungary joined NATO in 1999, the European Union on 1 May 2004, and the Schengen Area in December 2007.

Its service sector accounts for slightly less than two-thirds of the GDP. Within the service sector, the private services (trade, tourism, finance and other economic services) are highly developed.

The transportation sector (with some companies owned by the state and others by private corporations) offers optimum conditions for transit traffic due to Hungary's favourable geographical location.

The agricultural sector, for which Hungary has especially favourable climate conditions, represents approximately four per cent of the country's GDP.

In line with international trends, the industrial sector accounts for around one quarter of the country's GDP.

These include the automotive industry, telecommunications and computer technology. The automotive industry is the fastest growing sector of the Hungarian economy.

It has undergone a quantitative and qualitative change in recent years.

Its basic pillars are companies such as Audi, Mercedes Benz, Opel and Suzuki.

Many of the world's top suppliers are also present in Hungary (Bosch, Bridgestone, Continental, Delphi, Denso, Hankook Tires, Lear, LUK, and Michelin). Some of them have already established Hungarian R&D centres.

Economic growth and equilibrium, have been improving for two years partly due to external growth and EU funding, and partly consumption-boosting fiscal and monetary policies. GNA
11.08.2016 LISTEN

By Sampson Adu-Poku, GNA

Kumasi, Aug 11, GNA - The National Chairman of the Ghana Muslim Mission, Sheikh Amen Bonsu, has asked politicians to be sincere and modest in their election campaign promises.

They should be truthful to voters and stop raising people's expectations too high.

Making the call through the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi, Sheikh Bonsu said they should not talk about anything they knew could not be done.

He again reminded them to focus on issues that bothered on the critical needs of the people, saying, it should all be about message and not insults.

It was important for everybody to show political maturity through decent conduct and tolerance.

He said this was the path to travel to remove needless tension and safeguard the peace, harmony and security of the nation.

Sheikh Bonsu also appealed to the security agencies to be vigilant, act boldly and firmly to bring trouble-makers to justice.

They should send strong message to everybody that they were not going to get away with lawlessness and impunity, he added.

He reminded the Electoral Commission (EC) to make processes leading to the conduct of the polls transparent, to build the confidence of the people in the electoral system.

GNA
By Gifty Amofa, GNA

Kumasi, Aug 11, GNA - Two men, who reportedly attacked and robbed a taxi driver of his cash at knife point, have been ordered to be held in prison custody by a Kumasi Circuit Court.

Kofi Sarpong, 24 and Kwabena Amoako, 18, have been charged with conspiracy and robbery.

The pair pleaded not guilty and would make their next appearance on Thursday, August 18.

Police Chief Inspector Timothy Amoako told the court, presided over by Mrs. Mary Nsenkyire, that the incident happened on July 17, at about 0230 hours.

The accused, together with one Kofi alias 'Game', now on the run, engaged the services of the victim, George Mensah, to carry them in his taxi from the Asafo Goil Filling Station to Oforikrom.

They would not come down from the vehicle, when they got to the said destination and asked that the driver transported them to the New Site or he would not be paid for the service.

The prosecution said as he started the engine, Kofi drew a knife and instructed him not to move the vehicle, which he obliged.

The accused seized the ignition key, forcibly removed his cash of GHE170.00, dragged him out of the car and sped off.

Luck eluded them, as they drove straight into a ditch in their hurry to escape, bursting the two front tyres.

Police Chief Inspector Amoako said assisted by other people in the area, Sarpong was arrested and handed over to the Oforikrom police, while Amoako and Kofi, managed to slip through.

Amoako was later apprehended at a drinking spot in Asafo.

GNA
An unusual situation arose at a hospital in Changchun, capital city of Jilin province in the early morning of Aug. 7. A man came in whose left eye had been pierced by kebab stick that, unbelievably, still had meat attached to it.

According to the doctors, they couldn't do a CT scan because of the metal rod. As a result, they couldn't operate on the patient because they didn't know the exact location of the rod in the man's head. The doctors had to call firefighters for help.

After the firefighters arrived, they devised a plan to carefully trim the rod. One man used forceps to hold the rod in place while another quickly cut the stick using an industrial tool. The process took only about ten minutes and did not further injure the patient.

After a more thorough examination, doctors found that the rod had not gone deep enough to injure the man's blood vessels, nerves or eyes. They were able to remove the rod without performing an operation.

The injured man is a waiter at a kebab restaurant. The kebab skewer penetrated his eye while he was playing around with his colleagues.
By Paul Achonga Kwode, GNA

Tamale, Aug. 11, GNA - Mr Abdallah Abubakari, the Northern Regional Minister, has urged the media to be circumspect in their reportage to sustain the peace the country is enjoying.

He expressed worry that some media practitioners had neglected their ethics due to political affiliation claiming that such journalists were only interested in their parochial interest to the neglect of national interest.

Mr Abubakari said this when the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Obed Boamah Akwa, paid a courtesy call on him on Tuesday in Tamale.

The Chief of the Army Staff started his visit to the Northern Command on Monday at Wa in the Upper West Region and on Tuesday to the Northern Region to familiarise himself with major military installations and barracks of the Ghana Armed Forces.

Mr Abubakari expressed worry that development of the region would be retrogressing if journalists begun to take partisan stands instead of national interest.

He appealed to the military personnel to take decisive actions against any person who disturbed the peace of the area without any political considerations especially as the country approached the December polls.

He blamed the seemingly violent situation in the region on people who made unguided statements stressing that he was recently alleged to be mobilising arms which he indicated were untrue.

Mr Abubakari expressed gratitude to the military for their contribution towards sustaining the peace in the area and assured them of government's readiness to complement their efforts in establishing the Northern Command.

Major General Akwa expressed gratitude to the Northern Regional Security Council for acting proactively in preventing and sustaining the peace in the area stressing that many developments had taken place because of peace.

He appealed to the Government to assist the military in infrastructural development for the smooth take-off of the Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces.

GNA
By Kodjo Adams, GNA

Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has condemned the establishment of vigilante groups in the country ahead of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

He said the activities of these groups suggest instability and irregularity and that the nation must not entertain such organisations because they create unnecessary tension in the society.

Mr Kufuor said the country's security agencies are up to the task and it behooves the agencies to work together and ensure peace before, during and after the December polls.

He was speaking when a delegation from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) paid a courtesy call on him in his residence to assess preparations for the country's impending December elections.

It could be recalled that Mr Prosper Bani, the Minister of the Interior had the police administration to ban the activities of private security forces associated with political parties.

The Azorka Boys from Tamale, who are associated with the ruling National Democratic Congress, and the Bolga Bulldogs, associated with the opposition New Patriotic Party, allegedly clash during political activities and elections.

Some other politically motivated vigilante groups have been involved in violent clashes, resulting in the destruction of property, while a number of people have either been wounded or lost their lives.

Mr Kufuor said the role of the Electoral Commission (EC) is critical as far as elections is concerned and urged the Commission to be fair and firm in discharging its duties in an effective and efficient manner.

He said the country is seen as a peaceful nation because it has had successful elections and adhered to democratic values and principles.

Former President Kufuor said the world is watching to ensure that these values are replicated in the coming elections.

He commended stakeholders including the Peace Council, religious bodies, civil society organisations and other bodies in ensuring that the country conducts the elections in an atmosphere of peace devoid of hate speech.

Mr Johnnie Carson, former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs said the purpose of the mission is to support the country's ability to deliver credible and peaceful elections in 2016.

Mr Carson said the delegation would meet with members of the EC, presidential candidates, political party leaders, members of parliament, civil society representatives and journalists, and would present its findings at a news conference in Accra on Friday, August 12.

The NDI is a non-profit, nonpartisan organisation working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

The IRI is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide.

IRI enables political parties to become more issue-based and responsive, helps citizens to participate in government planning, and works to increase the role of marginalized groups in the political process.

The delegation includes Mike Avwenayeri Igini, former Resident Electoral Commissioner for Nigeria's Cross River and Edo States, Ms Oby Ezekwesili, Senior Advisor, Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative and Mr Gabrielle Bardall, Scholar and Democracy Assistance Specialist for the Trudeau Foundation.

The rest are Christopher Fomunyoh, Senior Associate and Regional Director for Central and West Africa, NDI; and John Tomaszewski, Regional Director for Africa, IRI.

GNA
11.08.2016 LISTEN

By D.I. Laary, GNA

Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - International Relations and Security Analyst, Mr Irbard Ibrahim has backed calls for social media shutdown on Election Day to safeguard national security and stability of the country as conflict early warning signs surface.

The security forecaster noted that conflict warning signs are enough for Ghana to consider regulating social media on polling day to curb 'deliberate false reportage' and sheer preponderance of abuse and misuse of the technological tool, which could be used to fuel violence.

Mr Irbard who is a Peace Ambassador to Ghana's 2016 elections made the proposal during a round table on: 'Banning social media in general election 2016: Security implication versus legal justification.'

The discussion was enabled by the Centre for Constitutional Order, a non-partisan organisation that works through legal research, litigation sponsoring legal protestation, demonstration and campaigns for rights guaranteed under local and international laws.

The Ghana Police Service had signalled that it was weighing the option of shutting down social media services on Election Day because it was being abused and used to create tension.

'Social media is used to churn out untruths and half-baked truths and finally liesWe as the Police will not sit down for this to happen, we shall recommend that the Social Media is banned for the seven or eight hours that the election will take place, after all, it is nothing but Ghana first and I still stand by that,' John Kudalor, Inspector General of Police (IGP) was reported saying.

Mr Irbard said the main barometer used to detect conflict early in Ghana since 1992 has been the level of incendiary political rhetoric, which mostly made the country cringe in apprehension.

'The critical nature of this election being a last ditched attempt or shot at the presidency for Nana Addo and Dramani Mahama are indicative of the fact that 2016 may bode an omen for us if online threats, insults and other excesses are replicated in reality,' he said.

'Because Ghana is still a conservative nation that only senses tangible and palpable events that could precipitate instability,' he said, expressing fear that online or virtual bullying and social media aggression could spill over onto the streets of Accra at some point.

'Freedom of expression and free speech are international values that cannot be violated but the increasing use of social media to fabricate lies, photoshop and incite could lead to violent mobilisation on Election Day.'

He cited remarks like 'all die be die,' 'kill ewes,' 'violence begets violence,' and 'we are a nation born out of revolution,' as utterances that raised red flags about Ghana's serene political ecosystem.

In the event conflict outbreak, he said, the best thing the United Nations could do is to provide humanitarian aid like food and blankets.

Most Ghanaian youth, he noted, access news from Facebook rather than traditional media websites, and gloss of headlines without clicking to read full stories.

Online miscreants and deviants have mastered the art of cloning credible websites to accompany such false and sensational political headlines, he said.

'Traditional election reportage has been done by duly licenced and identifiable radio and TV stations as well as newspapers and online portals,' he added, and the National Communication Authority and the National Media Commission know these outlets.

He said they are traceable and could be held accountable for any deliberate false reportage.

Mr Irbard said the security agencies and government departments are deficient in IT and control weak websites which are rarely updated and poorly managed.

'So if the IGP has conferred with the IT Department of the Ghana Police Service and he senses an IT deficit that could be exploited for violent political mobilisation and false electoral reportage, then it is not out of the ordinary to mull over a temporary blackout to safeguard the stability of the nation,' he said.

Mr Kwame Ahiabenu II, Executive Director of PenPlusByte said the government and security agencies do not have the physical and technological ability shutdown social media, though, he alluded that the platforms could be abused and used to create fear and panic.

He said although social media blackout is a critical issue that calls for deeper interrogation, the platforms could equally be exploited to help voters find polling stations and give information on time about voting to the electorate.

He said the ban could lead to substantial loss of income to business entities, make the country notorious and ditch investors' confidence in the economy as well as hurl Ghana to the list social media ban countries.

'The IGP cannot arbitrarily ban social media on election, day unless there is an order from the court, the ban must be backed with evidence of threat,' Mr Jerry Ross Akuettey, a private legal practitioner,' said. GNA
Energy think tank, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), says the passage of the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act 2016 by Parliament is welcome news for the oil and gas sector.

However, ACEP says absence of punitive actions for conflict of interest by public officials blots the impecable work by Parliament.

We are however worried that an important provision relating to penalty for conflict of interest of public officers has not been incorporated in the Act despite many calls for it. In Liberias Petroleum Act 2014, a conflict of interest and penalty clause reads An officer in the public service engaged in the implementation of this Act shall not, in his or her private capacity, knowingly, directly or indirectly, acquire, attempt to acquire or hold: (a) a petroleum right or an interest in a petroleum right; (b) a direct or indirect economic interest, participation interest or share in an entity that is authorized under this Act to carry out petroleum right in Liberia; or (c) a direct or indirect economic interest, participation interest or share in a company that is providing goods or services to a holder of a petroleum right under this Act. A person who contravenes this commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand US dollars or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both, ACEP said in a release.

However, the think tank says it will continue to campaign for the provision on conflict of interest to eventually reflect in future amendments to the Act.

We believe strongly that it will deter the complicity of rent seeking public officials from undermining the good governance principles in the Act, ACEP stated.

The bill was first laid before Parliament in 2012 but years of stakeholder consultations delayed its passage.

ACEP says it has also taken positive note of the provisions of the new Act that will foster transparency in the sector. They include:

An open and competitive public tender for the allocation of petroleum rights;

A requirement for the publication by the Minister, the reasons for vetoing the outcome of a competitive public tender. This addresses the wide use of discretion by the Minister previously proposed in the Bill.

The use of direct negotiation if only one company expresses interest in the area, after a notice to tender has been published.

A requirement to enter into Petroleum Agreement with persons or companies that have the requisite technical competence and financial capacity to fulfill the obligations under the Agreement.

The establishment of a public register for the disclosure of Petroleum Agreements, Authorizations and Permits, which will be open to the public. vi. A requirement for GNPC to seek parliamentary approval if it borrows in excess of US$30 million.

We also take note of the provision for the disclosure of beneficial ownership information in the Companies Amendment Act, 2016, which will complement the governance principles provided for in the Petroleum Act, ACEP said in the release.

These are very strong governance provisions, which make the Act very progressive, and an important milestone in Ghanas history of oil and gas resource management, said the energy think tank.

ACEP has been at the forefront campaigning with other stakeholders for good governance principles to be incorporated in the Petroleum Act.

At this point, it is our expectation that all Ghanaians will show interest in the implementation of the Act. We wish therefore to call on Government to issue the appropriate implementing regulations on the Act to ensure effective operationalization of the Act.

We would like to commend Parliament for passing this very progressive Act particularly the Chairman and Members of the Committee on Mines and Energy for their great contribution to the Act. We would also like to commend the Minister of Petroleum, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah for his commitment and hardwork in pushing for the Bill to be passed.

Finally, we salute our partners and all citizens of Ghana for their role and support in championing the cause of good governance in Ghanas oil and gas management, said ACEP.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | GN
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A 29-year-old man in northeast Chinas Shenyang city was mistaken for a hemorrhoid patient when he was waiting outside of the surgery room where his wife was having cesarean section on August 8. He ended up having a hemorrhoid surgery himself.

I was called into the surgery room by a doctor. I thought the cesarean section was almost done and I could see my baby or help with something,  the man surnamed Wang recalled.

The doctor murmured something that I didnt catch, then I was asked to take my pants off. I was quite confused but thought it might be something I just didnt know. So I took my pants off, said Wang, who is hospitalized after the hemorrhoid surgery.

I heard the baby crying when I was lying there, and I wanted to see it, but my butt hurt so much that I couldnt move, Wang said he didnt realize a hemorrhoid surgery was conducted on him until it was done and the doctor called his mother-in-law to inform her about the news.

Wang demands an explanation from the hospital for he is obviously mistaken for someone else and none of the doctors or nurses bothered to check up if they were having the right patient. The hospital side said Wang de facto had hemorrhoids and it was removed in the surgery. They also offered 5000 RMB as compensation. The two sides havent reached a consensus yet.
Terrified giraffe dies from a PANIC ATTACK after it is caged and loaded on to a truck at Taiwan zoo

A terrified giraffe who was caged and loaded on to a truck at a zoo in south China's Taiwan to be taken to mate has died after suffering a panic attack.

Seven-year-old giraffe Hsiao Chiu was due to be transported from Taipei Zoo to a private zoo when he began to struggle before he collapsed and died, officials confirmed.

An autopsy showed the animal was suffering from pneumonia and anxiety from the transportation, which triggered breathing difficulties and muscle damage.

He died of lung and heart failure before the truck had even left for the 44 mile journey.

In a statement, Taipei Zoo said: 'The zoo lost Hsiao Chiu in a painful accident', adding the trip had already been postponed from June so the sensitive animal could get familiar with the process.

Now the death of Hsiao Chiu has sparked angry calls from animal rights campaigners who say there needs to be tougher laws to protect animals in captivity.

The giraffe's death also made the front-pages of some local newspapers, which also criticised the zoo for failing to detect its illness.

The zoo said it had not given the giraffe a blood test before the trip to avoid agitating it.
I think anything past a double D is starting to get out of control it feels like all you are is boobs.
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More than three years after the arrest of Nicolas Lherminethe former YMCA employee who was convicted of sexually molesting four young girls under his carethe civil trial initiated by his victims families is scheduled to begin this month.

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The lawsuit filed in May 2014 alleges that Lhermines employerYMCA Silicon Valleyallowed the 23-year-old Morgan Hill resident to watch over a classroom of children between the ages of 3 and 7 without supervision, a violation of state law.

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An investigation headed by the victims attorney, Robert Allard, found that while he was illegally unsupervised with the children at the Morgan Hill childcare facility where he worked, Lhermine repeatedly searched the internet on his phone and computer for child pornography, according to Ed Vasquez, spokesman for Allards firm.

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The YMCA failed to enforce its policies, which resulted in Nicolas Lhermine surfing the internet during work hours and searching for information as to how to molest young children, Vasquez said. The information gathered from the internet searches was used by Lhermine to sexually molest the young children at the YMCA daycare facility

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Named as defendants in the lawsuit are YMCA of Silicon Valley, Mount Madonna YMCA and Lhermine. The lawsuit was filed by Allard on behalf of the four victims and their families in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

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While jury selection for the civil trial was scheduled to begin last week, an ongoing strike by county clerk employees delayed that process, Vasquez said. Jury selection is now set to begin Aug. 15, with attorneys opening statements scheduled to begin later next week.

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Lhermine is currently in prison serving a 60-year sentence for numerous sexual assault crimes involving four young female victims, ages 3, 5, 6 and 7, as well as a 17-year-old female. In August 2015, Lhermine pleaded guilty to six counts of lewd or lascivious acts on a child by force, violence, duress, menace and fear, among other charges.

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Morgan Hill police arrested him at his home July 12, 2013, after a 6-year-old girl under his care at the YMCA programwhich was housed at Paradise Valley Elementary Schooltold her parents and investigators that Lhermine forced her to engage in inappropriate contact in the bathroom of the daycare site.

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During a follow-up investigation, authorities identified three more female victimsages 3, 5 and 7 at the time of the incidents, police said.

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Lhermine worked as a childcare aide for the YMCA of Silicon Valley when the incidents occurred, according to authorities.

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Vasquez noted that during one of the incidentsin which Lhermine chicaned one of the girls into the facilitys bathroom to orally copulate himhis supervising teacher, April Zuck, was in a separate kitchen area cleaning. The California Code of Regulations states that a childcare aide such as Lhermine may work only under the direct supervision of a teacher, and the teacher should not perform housekeeping duties that distract from supervisorial duties.

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This regulation was repeatedly violated, which clearly led to the multiple instances of physical abuse by Lhermine, Vasquez said.

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Furthermore, Vasquez claims that the YMCA reprimanded Zuck for violating these policies while Lhermine was molesting one of the victims in the bathroom, although the YMCA denies this.

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Despite earlier instances of reported physical abusewhich resulted in a written reprimand to Lherminehe was given wide latitude and preferential treatment, Vasquez added.

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Shortly after Lhermines arrest, the YMCA hired a public relations firm for $30,000 to help protect the nonprofit youth organizations image while in the midst of a fundraising campaign, Vasquez added.

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In an August 2013 email from Scott VanSickle, Vice President of The Hoffman Agency (the PR firm hired by the YMCA) to YMCA staff, VanSickle wrote that the Times news stories about Lhermines case at the time were arguably exploitive toward the children most at risk from the incident and subsequent fallout.

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In another email, VanSickle advised Elizabeth Jordan, YMCA of Silicon Valley Director at the time, on how to answer questions from the media and cautioned her to avoid on-camera television interviews if possible.

<

Vasquez provided VanSickles emails to the Times.

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YMCA staff and their attorneys did not respond to phone calls requesting comment.

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The lawsuit also details other incidents that resulted in Lhermines conviction, including an assault where he photographed a victim after forcing her to partially undress, and touched her inappropriately while they were seated together in the back of a field trip bus. On another occasion, he groped a victim from inside her pants, according to the victims complaint.

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Any potential award for damages related to the claims in the lawsuit would be determined by the jury, Vasquez said. He noted that sexual abuse can affect children for the rest of their lives.

(The damages) need to reflect the damage these children have for a lifetime, Vasquez said. It stays with the child forever. Research and statistics show that victims have a tough time coping in life, and the need for counseling is life-long.
Over the last three academic years, dating back to the 2013-14 school term, Morgan Hill Unified School District has spent more than $1.2 million on legal expenses as the cost has climbed annually.

A comparison with nearby school districts shows that this category of expenses can fluctuate dramatically from one year to the next. MHUSD Superintendent Steve Betando said, locally at least, this fluctuation is largely due to the unpredictable nature of legal challenges and needs for attorneys services the district faces.

During this three-year time frame, the yearly hit to the school district budget has more than doubled from $272,427 in 2013-14 to $580,096 in 2015-16, according to district records acquired by the Times through a California Public Records Act request.

Specifically, Betando blamed an increase in issues related to school board governance, board communications and charter school petitions coupled with special education litigation for the steady rise in the districts legal expenses.

Those three mattersboard issues, charter challenges and special education costsmake up a large portion of the increased costs, said Betando, who also noted that legal expenses do not start and end in alignment with the calendar year.

Board President Bob Benevento described the 2015-16 school year as a unique one as far as legal expenses impacting the districts budget.

I think this was an exceptional year where there was a confluence of many items coming before the district, including real estate transactions, civil and other litigation, contract negotiations, the trustee area voting decision process, as well as some question about charter schools, Benevento explained.

Unique challenges

While MHUSDs legal expenses have increased each year under Betandos tenure, neighboring Gilroy Unified School District has seen its legal expenses decline from $506,913 in 2014-15 to $485,367 in 2015-16. GUSD has a larger student population than MHUSD with more than 11,000 students. GUSD is comprised of eight elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools, an advanced college prep high school and a continuation school. MHUSD has 14 total schools serving about 8,700 students.

Neither South County school district eclipsed that of Santa Clara Unified School District, which spent nearly $1.2 million on legal expenses in 2014-15 and $781,743 last school year. However, SCUSD serves about 15,300 students with 27 schools, including 17 elementary sites.

And none of those local districts amassed more than the Santa Clara County Office of Education, which dedicated more than $3.3 million for legal expenses over the same two-year time period. Comparingly, MHUSD totaled $1,262,101 over the last three school years.

We dont compare our fees with other districts as each has its own challenges, said Betando, who also pointed to additional MHUSD legal fees for reviewing its eventual change from an at-large to a trustee area election system. A district could have one case that costs $500,000 or 20 cases that total $100,000. We would like to predict cost but (we) cannot.

In June, MHUSDs board of education approved a $350,000 legal expenses budget for the upcoming 2016-17 school year. But the district has surpassed that figure each of the last two years ($409,578 in 2014-15).

We certainly do all we can to try to keep costs down but sometimes making certain that we have effective legal representation does just that in the end, Betando added.

While the district cannot prevent lawsuits from being filed against themsuch as ongoing civil cases from the aftermath of former elementary school teacher John Loyds child molestation convictionschool officials make the final call on whether to take action against another entity. One example, brought up last month by Trustee David Gerard who was opposed to the action, is MHUSDs losing court battle against the Santa Clara County Office of Education and its board for approving the Voices-Morgan Hill charter petition.

A judge ruled against the district, which spent $73,000 in legal fees that also included a cross complaint filed by Voices. The county office has requested MHUSD reimburse them about $14,500 of its $85,896 total legal expenses in that matter, according to SCCOEs Public Information Officer Ken Blackstone.

Only a small percentage of fees and costs are potentially recoverable from MHUSD under the applicable statute, Blackstone noted.

Trustee disagreement

The local school board has been split on key issues involving litigation with Benevento, Vice President Ron Woolf and Trustee Donna Ruebusch showing confidence in district leaderships decisions while Trustees Rick Badillo, Gino Borgioli and David Gerard have questioned them.

We cant afford to continue to throw money away on legal expenses, said Badillo, who believes that same money would have been better spent on teachers and programs. I hope this is a wake-up call for the district and the community.

Badillo is one of three trustees up for reelection in November, along with Benevento and new Trustee Tom Arnett.

The (legal expenses) information is a matter of public record and any trustee who speaks to that as being a waste of money is acting from a personal or political agenda, Benevento added.

Badillo, however, said the superintendent has been evasive when he, along with other trustees, have asked about the districts legal expenses.

The trustees have been asking for years, he said.

The school board trustees are given details from existing and potential litigation during closed session at each school board meeting.

At the Aug. 2 meeting under consent items, the board approved the law firm Liebert Cassidy Whitmore for legal services for the 2016-17 year. That firm joins others that the district keeps on contract from year to year, including Lozano Smith and Orbach, and Huff Suarez and Henderson.

Lozano Smith specializes in areas such as bargaining/labor negotiation, Brown Act/Public Records Act issues and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), DTSC compliance. Orbach Huff Suarez & Henderson focus on construction and facilities law. Liebert Cassidy Whitmore specializes in employment, education and labor law.

Betando added: Law firms are selected for their experience in specific areas. Cases are assigned and are generally kept with individual firms as our representation because to transfer cases from firm to firm is cumbersome and expensive.

MHUSD LEGAL COSTS

2013-14: $272,427

2014-15: $409,578

2015-16: $580,096

IN COMPARISON

Legal costs for nearby school districts

Gilroy Unified School District

2014-15: $506,913

2015-16: $485,367

Santa Clara Unified School District

2014-15: $1,171,453

2015-16: $781,743

Santa Clara County Office of Education

2014-2016: $3,311,278
At first glance, the picture looks nothing in particular but an ordinary outdoor meeting. But take a closer look, something in this picture is not at all ordinary: While apparently rows of people are seen standing under the sun, there are another row of people sitting on the far right side of the photo, in the shade.

This is a picture taken during an outdoor meeting held by the Nanchang citys Appearance and Environment Sanitation Administrative Bureau in southeastern Chinas Jiangxi Province recently. It was meant to be a good bonding meeting between the team of street cleaners and their leaders, so that the leaders had an opportunity to learn more about the jobs of the street cleaners.

But the photo has gone viral online since August 11, with netizens criticizing how on earth the leaders could let their workers stand under the scorching sun while they sat comfortably in the shade.

A spokesperson surnamed Lu of the local government later explained that the meeting merely took five minutes, and the intention was meant to be good and positive. He added that "leaders even personally distributed green beans and rock candies to the street cleaners one by one so to show their goodwill". And they also explain to the street cleaners how to take preliminary measures to avoid heatstroke. Please dont make a fuss over one picture taken from a wired angle, Lu said.
Top rated UK equity income fund managers are snapping up healthcare stocks, according to data compiled by Morningstar.

Healthcare companies AstraZeneca (AZN) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and tobacco firm Imperial Brands (IMB) were among the most popular stocks invested in by the 13 highest rated UK equity income fund managers as identified by Morningstar analysts.

Using the Morningstar Portfolio X-ray tool, we found that many stock holdings overlapped among funds under the UK equity income sector.

Those funds are three Silver Rated funds Threadneedle UK Equities and Royal London UK Equity Income, JOHCM UK Equity Income, and 10 Bronze Rated funds Artemis Income, BlackRock UK Income, CF Woodford Equity Income, Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend, Franklin UK Equity Income, Jupiter Income Trust, Liontrust Macro Equity Income, Old Mutual UK Equity Income, Schroder UK Alpha Income and Standard Life Investments UK Equity High Income.

The US Election Impact on Healthcare Stocks

AstraZeneca is the only company whose shares are held by all 13 top rated UK equity income fund managers.

CF Woodford Equity Income holds the biggest allocation compared to its peers at 7%, although the fund recently has sold shares in pharmaceutical companies to capitalise on the post-Brexit opportunities.

Threadneedle UK Equity Income also has 6.8% of the fund in AstraZenecas shares while Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend and Jupiter Income Trust both hold 5% allocations.

Healthcare stocks were hit badly over the last year because of concerns over the potential policies implementation designed to reduce the profitability of healthcare companies, said Evan Bauman, manager of the Legg Mason Clearbridge US Aggressive Growth fund. However with the US election coming forward, the future of the healthcare sector is set to take a turn.

I would not be surprised if a resolution to the election ends up being a huge catalyst for the healthcare stocks, regardless of the outcome, Bauman said, There is now tremendous value in the healthcare sector, and we have accessed very attractive valuations, especially given the tremendous growth prospects.

Damien Conover, director of healthcare equity research at Morningstar said AstraZeneca creates growth opportunities by aggressively pursuing acquisitions and it significantly cut costs to mitigate lost profits from products losing patent protection.

New management of the company is quickly focusing the pipeline toward unmet medical need, which should increase the odds of success and pricing power for the new drugs, Conover noted.

Another healthcare stock GlaxoSmithKline is also included in 12 of the UK equity income fund managers portfolio. Threadneedle UK Equity Income has 6.8% of its shares and CF Woodford Equity Income has 6.3% of its holdings in its portfolio.

Tobacco Companies Also Proved Popular

Tobacco company Imperial Brands is held by 11 of the top rated UK equity income funds. CF Woodford Equity Income has 7.7% in the shares while Threadneedle UK Equity Income has a 6.9% allocation. Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend also has a 6.2% allocation.

Imperial Brands appears to be gaining share in the US without aggressive pricing actions, Philip Gorham, Morningstar equity analyst said.

With a barbell product portfolio concentrated at high and low price points and across the total tobacco space, Imperial Brands is well positioned to exploit the emerging trends of trading up in developing regions and trading down in some of its more mature markets, Gorham said.

Another tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BATS) was also in eight of the top UK equity income funds portfolios. While CF Woodford equity Income holds 6% of its shares, Schroder UK Alpha Income and BlackRock UK Income both have 5.9% of its holdings.

Gorham added that British American has an impressive brand portfolio that is fairly evenly balanced across price points.

Energy and Telecoms... and Financial Stocks

While oil prices still face volatility, energy companies Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) and BP (BP.) were still among the top stocks UK equity income funds own. Telecoms companies BT (BT.A) and Vodafone (VOD) were also popular.

Financial stocks are occupying less holdings among UK equity income funds as well, with only international bank HSBC (HSBA) and insurer Aviva (AV.) taking the last few spaces on the top 10 holdings list.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

Trend:

Armenian armed forces have 16 times violated the ceasefire on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops over the past 24 hours, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry Aug. 11.

Armenian army was using large-caliber machine guns.

Armenian armed forces stationed on nameless heights and in villages of Paravakar and Berkaber of Armenias Ijevan district opened fire at Azerbaijani positions located in the village of Gizilhajili and on nameless heights of the Gazakh district.

Moreover, Azerbaijani positions also underwent fire from the Armenian positions located near the Chilaburt village of the Terter district, Ashagi Seyidahmadli village of the Fizuli district and Mehdili village of the Jabrayil district.

Azerbaijani positions were also fired at from the nameless heights of Goranboy and Jabrayil districts.

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.
A recent B.C. Court of Appeals ruling serves as a sober reminder for brokers to share with clients the importance of carefully reading condo property acts.The Court of Appeals upheld a strata bylaw that permits only one unit to be rented at any one time within a Vancouver condo building.A total of 158 units comprise 1445 Marpole Avenue, Hycroft Towers, in Vancouver.The appeal was brought forth by four family member investors who, together, own three units in the building. They had previously rented out one of the three units, despite their application to do so being rejected by the strata council. That was in violation of the strata bylaws, which were upheld by the ruling.And according to one investor, there is nothing the family can do.The bylaws were in the condominium documents when the owners bought the property. Each condo board has it own by-laws which must follow the Strata Property Act, Tim Mangat, a seasoned investor, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. It's always the owner's responsibility to understand the rules and regulations and adhere to them.Its an interesting case that certainly draws attention to the importance of thoroughly reading strata agreements prior to selling.Many homeowners elect to retain properties when purchasing additional real estate with the purpose of renting them out. However, as this case proves, the practice isnt always that simple.The BC government has more of a socialist view for the rights of a condo owner, stripping away individual rights and allowing more control to the condo board under the protection of the Strata Act, Mangat said.
B.C.s new tax on foreign home buyers might have garnered acclaim from quarters calling for stronger government intervention on Canadas hottest housing market, but local real estate agents have already observed the beginnings of what they called a chilling effect in Vancouver.We were already on a downward trend, and then as soon as they announced the tax, that escalated it, agent Steve Saretsky told Reuters.Fears of lower market performance since July 25 (the day the tax was announced) have also spread among domestic buyers, agent Tom Gradecak added.It's the whole negativity of the tax. They think the market is going to go down, so they aren't buying, Gradecak explained.Saretsky, who looked at sales data prior to the introduction of the tax, noted that sales volume in the Greater Vancouver area declined by a drastic 18.9 per cent year-over-year in July, despite a 32.6 per cent surge in prices.In the week beginning July 25, only 4 detached sales were completed in West Vancouver, where the new tax would add over C$500,000 to the C$3.59 million average price of a detached home in the area. This sales volume stood in stark contrast to the 29 transactions for detached properties on the week of July 11.According to Juwai.com executive Matthew Moore, other major markets like Toronto, Ottawa, and Calgary are poised to become more important in the national housing scene, as enterprising foreigners would attempt to move their focus away from Vancouver to avoid the tax.Industry players in these cities are taking a wait-and-see approach to these predictions, however.It'll be a while before we know how it's all going to play out, Toronto-based agent David Fleming said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

Trend:

Turkey is in contact with both sides of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in order to make contribution to the conflicts solution, RIA Novosti quoted Turkish ambassador in Russia Umit Yardim as saying.

Turkey attaches great importance to the problems solution, said Yardim at the Russia Today press conference.

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.
A multibillion-dollar fraud trial over the demise of mortgage company Taylor Bean & Whitaker got underway this week in Miami.



PricewaterhouseCoopers failed for seven years to detect the fraud that led to Taylor Beans collapse, a lawyer for the lenders bankruptcy trustee said Tuesday.



The trial revolves around PwCs work for Colonial Bank, which bought mortgages originated by Taylor Bean, according to a Bloomberg report. Attorneys for the trustee maintain that if PwC had adequately vetted documents provided by Taylor Bean, it would have spotted a continuing fraud scheme by executives at both firms far earlier. Instead, the fraud was discovered by regulators in 2009 and Taylor Bean and Colonial went bankrupt, Bloomberg reported. The bankruptcy trustee is seeking $5.6 billion in damages.



Year after year, Pricewaterhouse didnt do their job, they didnt follow the rules and they failed to detect the fraud, attorney Stephen Thomas said in an opening statement.



This isnt the first lawsuit over the collapse of Taylor Bean and Colonial. Taylor Beans accountant, Deloitte & Touche, faced similar allegations three years ago and settled for an undisclosed amount, according to Bloomberg. Nor is it the first time PwC has been accused of negligence; last year, the firm agreed to a $65 million settlement over claims involving the collapse of MF Global Holdings.



In this case, PwC insists it stuck to auditing standards. Taylor Bean, PwC maintains, is responsible for its own losses.



Remember, Taylor Beans owner and half of its board of directors were criminals, said Beth Tanis, an attorney for PwC. They didnt rely on Pricewaterhouses audit report because they knew about the fraud they were committing.

Taylor Bean was once the 12th-largest US mortgage lender, according to Bloomberg. It collapsed after federal regulators discovered a $3 billion fraud scheme involving phony mortgage assets. Six of the companys executives, including former chairman Lee Farkasa, were convicted and imprisoned for their roles in the scam. Farkas was sentenced to 30 years in prison.



Attorneys for the trustee maintain that PwC failed to spot the fraud when it audited the books of Colonial Banks parent company, Colonial BancGroup  even though Taylor Bean was the banks largest client, Bloomberg reported. PwC is accused of certifying fake mortgages as true sales to Colonial  and of trying to cover up its negligence when regulators questioned its numbers.



Colonial Bank became the sixth-largest bank failure in US history, according to Bloomberg. Its collapse cost the FDICs insurance fund about $4.2 billion.


Professor Eric D. Green  a Boston-based professional mediator and independent monitor of Bank of Americas 2014 mortgage settlement with state and federal authorities  just announced the distribution of $1.89 million to the Idaho Law Foundation (ILF). The settlement is designed to provide legal assistance in foreclosure prevention and community redevelopment.



On August 20, 2014, the US Department of Justice, Bank of America, and six states reached an agreement that aimed to settle claims that BofA, Countrywide, Merrill Lynch, and First Franklin violated federal and state laws in connection with the packaging, origination, marketing, sale, structuring, arrangement, and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations.



The ILF is one of the 56 state-based legal-assistance organizations receiving funds under the settlement. The distributions (which total more than $490 million nationwide) were triggered in December by President Obamas signing into law an act that extends federal tax relief through 2016 to homeowners who wouldve otherwise incurred income-tax liability from mortgage debt forgiveness they received under the settlements consumer-relief provisions.

The money stems from a fund established under the settlement to provide federal tax assistance to homeowners in case Congress fails to extend the tax-relief legislation. Under the terms of the settlement, Green is required to distribute 75% ($367.62 million) of the fund to eligible legal-assistance organizations in each state. The remaining 25% ($122.54 million) will go to NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit organization that provides training and support for community-based redevelopment programs in the US and Puerto Rico.



The settlement stipulates that the legal-assistance organizations in each state, the District of Columbia, and each US territory or possession are to receive $200,000 from the fund to the extent practicable. The remaining funds will be allocated among the states and other eligible jurisdictions based on the poverty population data gathered by the US Census Bureau.


In a time of oil industry downturn, it might be assumed personal bankruptcies would skyrocket in places where local economies rely on favorable oil prices. However, data from financial education company NerdWallet shows Midland and Ector counties are quite healthy  so healthy, in fact, that according to a recent analysis, Ector County had the fewest bankruptcies per 100,000 people in the nation, with Midland County close behind with the third fewest.

NerdWallet analyst Courtney Miller, who co-authored the study, told the Reporter-Telegram that Midland Countys low unemployment rate and high median wages help consumers avoid bankruptcies. She also said that it also helps to be in the state of Texas.

One of the things to consider when looking at bankruptcy rates is the state the county is in, and Texas has a lot of protections for consumers when (people are) in debt, Miller said. What we typically see is that where there are more protections for consumers, there tend to be lower rates of bankruptcy because theres not as much pressure on people, so they dont have to turn to that option. Texas has pretty strong legal protections for consumers, so thats part of whats going on.

Bankruptcy involves settling debt or setting up repayment programs to creditors. Unlike other states, Texas law puts several restrictions on what creditors and collectors can take from consumers. Personal property exemptions include homesteads, home furnishings, family heirlooms, clothing, motor vehicles, bicycles, farming equipment, jewelry and pets.

Retirement funds are also exempt, but what isnt protected is cash.

Most of the people who see me are judgment-proof, Midland bankruptcy attorney Jeanne Morales told the Reporter-Telegram. If someone gets a judgment against them, (the creditor) cant execute on their house, their car, their clothing, the doggy  anything like that. The one thing in Texas that isnt protected by that law is liquid cash. She said a creditor can have a sheriff put a lien against cash in the bank.

Morales said Texas does not allow the garnishment of wages, but there is an exception. When the garnishment is discussed, its the law based on where the creditor is, she said. In explaining this, Morales said she once had a client who worked for Wal-Mart who faced bankruptcy. The clients wages were garnished because Wal-Mart is based in Arkansas  not Texas  and because the companys home state allows for garnishment.

According to NerdWallets study  which analyzed filings from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016  Ector County averaged 35.5 filings per 100,000 people. Midland County averaged 45.09. These counties are part of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Western District of Texas Midland Division, which also includes Andrews, Brewster, Crane, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving, Martin, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Upton, Ward and Winkler counties.

The Midland Division has seen 125 bankruptcy filings so far this year. Sixty-two were for Chapter 7, which according to the U.S. Office of Federal Courts website involves the liquidation of a debtors nonexempt property. There have been 47 Chapter 13 cases, which allows a debtor to keep property and pay debts over time, usually three to five years.

Chapter 11 filings, which generally involves reorganization to keep a business running, are at 13 this year. There were 21 Chapter 11 cases, 86 Chapter 7 cases and 74 Chapter 13 cases in 2015.

In 2014, Chapter 7 filings rose slightly, while Chapter 13 filings fell slightly. Chapter 11 filings, however jumped 600 percent from only three filings, and all were business cases.

Filing for bankruptcy protections damages credit and stays on credit reports for at least 10 years. Miller said there are ways to rebuild credit, such as becoming an authorized user on a family members credit card and later seeking their own secured credit card, which requires a certain amount of collateral to guarantee the debt.

Morales, the bankruptcy attorney, suggested calling a lawyer because legal counsel can help sort through what might be false claims. They can also spot violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which could enable clients to countersue.

She also advised against handling bankruptcies pro se, or on ones own behalf. Its not a good idea of anyone to file bankruptcy without an attorney. There are lots of pitfalls and lots of paperwork, which typically is about 40 pages long and resembles a long ta return, she said. According Western District data, four Chapter 7 and three Chapter 13 cases have been pro se this year.

Morales said there are several personal property exemptions unique to Texas. According to the Chapter 42 of the Property Code on the Texas Constitution and Statutes website, some exemptions include:

 Athletic and sporting equipment.

 Two firearms.

 Two horses, mules or donkeys and a saddle, blanket and bridle for each.

 Twelve head of cattle.

 Sixty head of other types of livestock.

 One-hundred and twenty fowl.

Learn more about NerdWallet's analysis on bankruptcies nationwide here:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/highest-bankruptcy-rates-states-counties/

Like Trevor on Facebook and follow him on Twitter at @HowdyHawes.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP)  A trade group for the energy industry accused federal officials Thursday of illegally canceling or postponing the sale of more than two dozen oil and gas leases over the past two years.

The Western Energy Alliance sued the Obama administration in U.S. District Court in New Mexico, seeking to force officials to hold lease sales four times a year as required under the federal Mineral Leasing Act.

The group said sales have been called off in Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

U.S. officials have blamed at least some cancellations on companies' limited interest, citing low oil and gas prices that have drastically slowed exploration over the past two years.

Of more than 2.2 million federal acres offered for sale last year, just over a half-million acres received bids, according to the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management.

Mark Barron, lead attorney on the lawsuit, said the leasing cancellations have extended even into oil and gas fields where operating costs are low and companies can still make a profit, such as the Permian Basin of New Mexico and Texas.

"There's a simple requirement under the Mineral Leasing Act. They are not adhering to it at this point and our question simply is why," Barron said.

Interior Department spokeswoman Amanda Digraph said the agency was aware of Thursday's lawsuit but does not comment on pending litigation.

Less frequent lease sales can hit smaller companies particularly hard, said Jerry McHugh Jr., founder of San Juan Resources, a Denver-based company that operates several dozen wells in New Mexico's San Juan Basin.

McHugh said low oil prices can drive down lease prices, presenting an opportunity to build up inventory. If lease sales are held in other areas but not regularly in the San Juan Basin, that does his company little good.

"I'm not interested in leases in Kansas or Oklahoma or Texas," he said. "If they were issuing leases every quarter, I would have an opportunity to add to my leases, to develop."

The Bureau of Land Management oversees lease sales on more than 700 million acres of public lands and private lands where the underlying minerals are publicly owned. It said last month that low prices are projected to reduce drilling on public lands by 40 percent versus historical levels in coming years.

Interior officials did not immediately respond to questions on whether the number of existing leases was sufficient to satisfy industry demand.

Just over 32 million acres of federal lands were under lease at the end of last year. That's down more than 30 percent since peaking in 2008 and the least amount of land in at least two decades, according to government data.

However, the number of acres where companies were producing oil and gas has remained relatively flat during that period and stood at 12.7 million acres last year.

Chris Seager, a spokesman for the left-leaning Western Values Project, said the industry lawsuit "ignored the reality" of companies leasing far more land than is used for drilling.
Iran expects foreign oil companies to sign deals valued at $25 billion over the next one to two years under the terms of a new contract model approved last week, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Co. said.

The state energy producer plans to tender contracts over a period of six months to a year to develop several oil and gas fields, the oil ministry's news service Shana reported Tuesday, citing Ali Kardor. NIOC has identified 34 foreign companies as suitable bidders, he said. NIOC is also seeking investments under existing models, he said.
Opportunity is always embedded in a challenge. History has shown that great deals are often obtained during down times, according to Bob Milam, president and chief executive officer of EagleClaw Midstream Ventures LLC.

To illustrate this observation, Milam announced that his Midland-based company has agreed to acquire PennTex Permian LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PennTex Midstream Partners, LLC. The cash acquisition is expected to close later this quarter. The price was not disclosed.

When completed, EagleClaw will absorb PennTex Permians assets, located primarily in Reeves County and consisting of a a cryogenic processing plant with the capacity to process 60 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, approximately 90 miles of gathering pipeline and approximately 35 miles of condensate pipeline.

At closing EagleClaw will be the largest privately held midstream operator in the Delaware, Milam said.

He described the companys laser-like focus on the Delaware, where it serves producers targeting stacked pay zones including the Upper and Middle Wolfcamp, Bone Spring and the Avalon Shale formations. The company is currently installing a 24-mile 12-inch pipeline expansion into Culberson County.

We believe the Delaware Basin, and especially Reeves County, will provide a lot of growth opportunity for us, he said.

Milam said he never expected the company -- which was founded in August 2012 -- to grow to the extent it has.

And we particularly didnt expect to grow through large acquisitions, he said. We thought it was more likely that our growth would be organic and driven by greenfield development. I think our rapid growth really speaks to the quality of our team and their ability to execute. Weve had a great response from the producer community because we meet deadlines and expectations with a willingness to grow at their pace. A good example is the fact that we broke ground on our 200 MMcf/d cryo just 90 days after we commissioned a 60 MMcf/d plant in the same location.

With eight rigs drilling wells on the companys acreage, including the pending acquisition, Milam said its our job to make sure we stay ahead of our customers needs. We want to make sure capacity is available to our customers when they need it. Some companies have to stay at least one step ahead, sometimes two or three.

Milam said his company made an unsolicited approach to PennTex, noting that he and Rob Bond, PennTexs chief executive officer, had worked together at Southern Union, as had a number of Bonds management team.

What was attractive about PennTex Permian was that it increased EagleClaw's Delaware Basin footprint not only in an area where the company understood the geology and rock but where there was stacked pay and strong performance from recent well completions, he said. Those wells include the last two wells drilled by Silverback Exploration LLC, each with initial production rates of approximately 7 MMcf/d of natural gas and 820 barrels per day of crude oil.

The performance of those wells in the current low oil price environment gives the company some optimism, Milam said. EagleClaw is planning further expansion and has broken ground on the installation of an additional cryogenic processing plant at its East Toyah Processing Complex in Reeves County. The Toyah II plant, expected to come online later this year will have the capacity to process 200 MMcf/d and bring EagleClaws total processing capacity to 320 MMcf/d from the 120 Mmcfd once the PennTex system is connected to the East Toyah System. Total gathering pipeline will be increased to more than 200 miles served by nine field compressor stations with a total of 20,000 horsepower of low- and high-pressure compression.

An 18-mile NGL line connects the East Toyah Processing Complex to Lone Stars West Texas Gateway Pipeline, which transports NGLs to the market center at Mont Belvieu. The East Toyah complex also is connected to Kinder Morgans El Paso 1600 Pipeline, and by October will have an additional connect into ONEOKs WestTex Transmission System, an intrastate natural gas pipeline system that connects into the Roadrunner Gas Transmission Pipeline. Phase One of the Roadrunner project is complete and currently serving markets in El Paso and Mexico.

Milam said he hopes PennTex Permians 17 field employees will join EagleClaws 30 employees.

He credits the companys focus on the Delaware with its growth.

Were in the best play with the best rock in the country. While midstream operators in other parts of the country have really felt the impact of the downturn -- some more than others depending on location -- were continuing to grow and producers are continuing to drill.
Long before nationally recognized educator Rich Smith helped to improve a struggling California school district, he had trouble reading. Smith shared his story with Midland ISD teachers as the keynote speaker at the districts convocation Wednesday at Chaparral Center.

Smith encouraged teachers, staff and administrators to test student performance throughout the school year and collaborate with one another to be successful.

Test scores for Midland ISD have declined in the past decade, and the district is behind the state average for the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) testing for some grades.

Smith encouraged teachers to create a plan to continually monitor academic progress instead of only administering pre- and post- tests.

By the end of the year, were not surprised by the results, Smith said.

He also urged teachers to encourage students in the classroom. He told the audience people have succeeded despite past failures.

In each case, somebody was there to pick them back up, to move them forward, Smith said.

Smith said he struggled to read in the fifth grade, but a teacher gave him attention until he was on the right track.

She didnt just change me  she changed my future forever, Smith said. I would bet to everyone in this room someone told you you had worth.

Smith works as a presenter for Solution Tree, a company that trains education professionals.

Smith has worked in public education for more than 37 years, including as deputy superintendent of the Sanger Unified School District in California. When he took on that role in 2004, he said the school district had the second-lowest performance rating in the state. In 2014, it was ranked within the top 10, The Fresno Bee reported.

He said the key was collaboration among all people in the district.

We came to realize the help was within us, Smith said.

These words resonated with Ashley Henderson, a new first-grade teacher at Carver Center.

I liked how he touched on asking for help, Henderson said. Youre not by yourself. If something is working in your classroom, you can tell others.

Kevin Young, the band director at Bowie Fine Arts Academy, said he will incorporate some of Smiths advice into his classroom.

He encouraged us to work with students at their level, Young said. Im a band director, so thats always what I do in my classroom. I will try to be more accepting of students who have differences. I dont want to be the reason they think they are a failure.
A Midland High graduate and president/CEO of the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will again run to represent residents in Midland ISD District 4.

Rachel Stone, the leader of the Hispanic Chamber since 2004, is the second person to announce an intention to run to replace Jeff Robnett, who said he will not seek re-election. District 4 is a region from central to southwest Midland. It includes the areas around Bowie Fine Arts Academy and Houston, Lamar, Long and Burnet elementaries.

Stone ran for the same seat in a special election in 2014. She placed second to Robnett, collecting 37.06 percent of the 1,576 votes in the three-person race. She said there are many critical issues facing Midland ISD, including leadership, growth, lack of classroom space, homeless students, housing and competitive salaries for all employees.

The issue that tops her list is the number of improvement required campuses, which increased from 11 to 14.

"The school board and the community need to address why some of our schools continue to fail while other campuses are thriving," Stone wrote in an email to the Reporter-Telegram. "We need to look at each failing campus  the students, parents and faculty and see where the issue lays. We also need to compare our findings with the schools that are thriving and implement their success to the other campuses."

Stone is a native Midlander and attended Travis and Washington Elementaries, Alamo Junior High, Midland Freshman High School and Midland High School. She has been with the Hispanic Camber since 1990 and worked with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for eight years.

"I am blessed to work with an organization that realizes that economic development begins with education," Stone said.

She has worked with numerous community organizations and has served on boards with groups like the MISD Education Foundation, MISD's Citizen Advisory Board for long term facilities, Sharing Hands a Respite Experience (SHARE), Crockett Elementary's Campus Education Improvement Committee and Midland ISD Head Start Policy Council.

"Communication is the key point to making sure we understand what it will mean for MISD and our community if our schools continue to require improvement," Stone said. "This is an issue that affects the entire community, no matter which campus your child attends or even if you don't have children in the school system."
The Ector County Independent School District has failed in the preliminary financial accountability ratings issued by the Texas Education Agency and will pay an almost $60,000 penalty for the failure.

ECISD was one of four districts and four charters that failed.

The School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, or FIRST ratings, are based on 15 financial indicators, such as administrative cost expenditures; the accuracy of a district or charters financial information submitted to TEA; and any financial vulnerabilities or material weaknesses in internal controls as determined by an external auditor.

On the question of whether the school district made timely payments to the Teachers Retirement System, Texas Workforce Commission, Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies, the answer was no, according to information from TEA. The citation has to do with submitting payroll taxes to the IRS, Superintendent Tom Crowe said.

TEA has formally notified school districts and charters of their preliminary FIRST rating. Any district or charter that wants to appeal its rating must submit a written appeal, with supporting evidence, to TEA by Sept. 8, a news release indicated.

Crowe said ECISD does not plan to appeal and the district has told TEA how it plans to avoid the situation in the future.

A statement from ECISD said the district was closed in February 2015 due to an ice storm.

Unfortunately, that was also a day to submit payroll taxes to the IRS and that payment did not get completed. We have since put steps in place to make sure a similar circumstance in the future would not cause the same situation, a statement from the district inidicated.

There are 15 indicators on the FIRST reports and ECISD passed all of the other 14, and even scored well enough to merit a superior rating. However, we understand this is an all or nothing rating, the statement continued.

Chief Financial Officer David Harwell said the amount of withholding tax due was $1,594,513.52 and the penalty was $58,838.87.

The statement added that ECISD has a long history of strong financial accountability and that performance is still intact today. We regret the rating and assure our community the district is strong financially and we are dedicated to managing taxpayer dollars responsibly.

We now pay it early so that we dont ever take that chance again, Crowe said. ... But you know there are 15 categories you get rated on. You miss one, and to be honest, every single test Ive ever taken you get a 93 percent on it (and) its not an F, but thats what we got. We got a failing rating.

We can assure the taxpayers that are we are financially responsible, Crowe added. We take good care of the money. It was just a failure on the systems part and the fact that we had a snow day when there (was) an IRS payment due.

TEA Spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said the rating doesnt affect state funding, which is based on attendance. This is strictly their financial accountability letting the public know how theyre doing with their finances, she said.

The districts accreditation is based on its financial and academic ratings that come out in March. Depending on the number of years this happens, Culbertson said, it can affect a districts accreditation status.

Other districts that failed are New Summerfield, Beaumont and Manor.

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Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WASHINGTON (AP)  THE ISSUE:

Who should be able to vote and how easy should it be? It's a question that goes to the core of democracy.

Voting rights are in flux in the final months of Barack Obama's two terms as the first black president. Citing a need to combat fraud, Republican-controlled legislatures are tightening voter laws by limiting early voting and same-day registration, by requiring IDs at polling places, and more. In 2013, declaring "our country has changed," the Supreme Court invalidated a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which required mostly Southern states with a history of discrimination to get advance federal approval to change election laws. The court decision made it easier for states to impose new restrictions.

This year, 17 states were set to have restrictions involving voter ID or other requirements for the first time in a presidential election. Among them: the battlegrounds of North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.

The Obama Justice Department has challenged voter ID and other laws, saying they could restrict access for minorities and young people. In recent weeks, lower courts temporarily staved off some of the toughest requirements in North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin after judges found no evidence of rampant voter fraud.

With the November election looming, litigation remains knotted up with Supreme Court appeals likely. Bills in the GOP-led Congress to restore the voting act are stalled.

___

WHERE THEY STAND:

Without offering specifics, Republican Donald Trump has emphasized the dangers of voter fraud, calling America's electoral system "out of control" with people who are "voting many, many times." He has said  without evidence  that dead voters helped elect Obama. Trump opposes same-day voter registration, saying it could allow people to "sneak in through the cracks."

Democrat Hillary Clinton is urging Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act. She seeks a national standard of at least 20 days of early in-person voting and urges automatic voter registration for eligible 18-year-olds. Clinton backs voting rights for ex-felons. Her campaign has joined lawsuits to stop policies that may burden minorities, including in Arizona, where voters had to wait hours in March after cuts in polling locations.

___

WHY IT MATTERS:

Who gets to vote, and how easily, matters because it can determine who wins elections.

The issue is particularly salient for black Americans, who for much of U.S. history were disenfranchised and then effectively barred from voting until passage of the 1965 law. It's also become more partisan with the rapid growth of minorities such as Latino and Asian immigrants, who tilt Democratic.

In 2008, Obama was elected with the help of a record black turnout rate that rose even higher in 2012, surpassing the white turnout rate.

That was noted by Chief Justice John Roberts, who led the 5-4 ruling that the Voting Rights Act was outdated. In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued the law is needed to stop new forms of discrimination  redrawing districts to reduce Hispanic voting, for instance, or restricting early voting near a historically black university.

It's unclear how much voting restrictions may suppress turnout. The Government Accountability Office in 2014 found voter ID laws could reduce voting by 2 to 3 percent, particularly among young people, blacks and newly registered voters. That can tip a race in close contests. Still, voter enthusiasm for a candidate and mobilization can offset that.

GOP legislatures cite voter fraud, including those who impersonate dead people on voter registration lists. Studies found the number of actual cases was minuscule.

States and the lower courts largely shape who can vote. But the next president will set the tone on federal oversight  through legislation in Congress, the prosecutorial stance of the Justice Department and nominations to the Supreme Court, which is certain to revisit Voting Rights Act powers.

If minorities continue to back mostly Democrats, the issue could decide which party gets the upper hand in elections.

___
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he's pleased an ethics complaint over his response to the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage last year has been dropped.

Paxton on Wednesday called the complaint co-signed by more than 200 attorneys "baseless." It asked the State Bar of Texas to investigate whether the Republican violated professional conduct rules by telling county clerks they could still refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses on religious grounds.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received representative of the US Congress, chairman of the House Small Business Committee Steve Chabot.

During the meeting, Chabot noted that the South Caucasus is an important region and he began the visit to the region from the most important country of the South Caucasus  Azerbaijan.

He said his visit will contribute to better acquaintance with the region, including with Azerbaijan, and added that he will share the obtained information with colleagues in the Congress.

President Ilham Aliyev, in turn, said that despite the fact that Azerbaijan is an independent country for almost 25 years, there is still a need to inform some of the world politicians and representatives of the international community about the realities, existing policies, achievements and future plans of the country.

Chabots visit to Azerbaijan creates a good opportunity for better acquaintance with the country and its population, observation of development processes and familiarization with priorities, noted the president.

He also expressed confidence that the visit will be successful.

A wide exchange of views on the negotiation process to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, on processes of development going on in recent years in Azerbaijan, on reforms, as well as on the issues of mutual interest was held during the meeting.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP)  A 10-year-old boy was decapitated as he rode a 168-foot tall waterslide at awater park in Kansas, a person familiar with the investigation said Wednesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak about Caleb Schwab's death Sunday on the raft ride at the Schlitterbahn WaterPark in Kansas City, Kansas.

Two women who are not family members were in the raft at the time with the boy and were treated for facial injuries. The boy's parents  Republican state Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele  have requested privacy and have not spoken publicly since the death. His funeral is scheduled for Friday.

A spokeswoman for the waterpark on Wednesday declined to discuss the circumstances of the boy's death. The Guinness World Records has certified the ride called "Verruckt"  or German for "insane"  as the tallest in the world.

The park reopened Wednesday except for the sprawling section including the waterslide, although its towering profile greeting visitors as soon as they drove through the entrance.

Verruckt riders sit in multi-person rafts that begin with a steep drop, followed by a surge up a second hill before a 50-foot descent to a finishing pool. Each Verruckt rider must be at least 54 inches tall, and the combined body weight of the riders on each raft is limited to 400 to 550 pounds.

Riders are harnessed in with two nylon seatbelt-like straps  one that crosses the rider's lap, the other stretching diagonally like a car shoulder seatbelt. Each strap is held in place by long Velcro-style straps, not by buckles. Riders also hang on to ropes inside the raft.

Pulling a cooler behind her, 42-year-old Sara Craig said she was looking forward to an afternoon of water fun Wednesday with her 14-year-old son, Cale, and one of his 13-year-old friends.

But she said the visit came with a twinge of unease, given Sunday's tragedy.

"I feel guilty having fun when a family is hurting so badly," she said.

She said the family rode Verruckt twice in one day a couple of weeks ago. She remembered a short video they were required to watch, though she didn't recall that it including any caveats about peril.

Craig said that during her first trip down the ride with her son and one of his friends, her shoulder restraint came off, something she opted not to report to park workers.

"I didn't think much about it," she said. "You don't think you're gonna die."

So they rode it again, only to see the restraint on her son's friend also come loose by the time it was over.

She said the ride's operators sent them down the slide even though their combined weight was 393 pounds  shy of the weight limits the park advertises as a requirement. Craig described the ride as "very, very rough," so much so that "when I got off, my head hurt."

The water park passed a private inspection in June that included Verruckt, according to a document released by a Kansas state agency. The Kansas Department of Labor provided to The Associated Press on Wednesday a copy of an insurance company inspector's June 7 letter saying inspections had been completed at Schlitterbahn Waterpark. The letter said all rides met guidelines for being insured with "no disqualifying conditions noted."

Kansas law requires rides to be inspected annually by the parks, and the state randomly audits the records. The last records audit for Schlitterbahn was June 2012.

Ken Martin, a Richmond, Virginia-based amusement park safety consultant, questioned whether the straps were appropriate, suggesting that a more solid restraint system that fits over the body  similar to those used in roller coasters  may have been better.

In early tests, rafts carrying sandbags flew off the slide, prompting engineers to tear down half the ride and reconfigure some angles. A promotional video about building the slide includes footage of two men riding a raft down a half size test model and going slightly airborne as it crests the top of the first big hill.

"I think ... they figured since stuff was flying out, we better do something to keep people from flying out," said Martin, who has not seen or tested the ride. "I think we have a serious issue with the restraint system. Period."

Jon Rust, a professor of textile engineering at North Carolina State University, said the material used on the straps, commonly called hook and loop, isn't designed to keep a person in the seat. It also can degrade with use.

"It's got to be used in a safe manner, and that doesn't include stopping someone's fall or preventing someone's ejection," Rust said.

Verruckt's 2014 opening repeatedly was delayed, though the operators didn't explain why. Two media sneak preview days in 2014 were canceled because of problems with a conveyor system that hauls the 100-pound rafts to the top.
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)  Officials say a Lubbock man and his two young children found dead last month in a vehicle in rural West Texas were all shot, and a pistol was found in the father's lap.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Bryan Witt said Wednesday that the investigation into the deaths continues and laboratory reports are pending. He says that at this point investigators aren't searching for any suspects.
CONROE, Texas (AP)  A Houston-area man must serve 50 years in prison for his sixth drunken driving conviction.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office says 45-year-old Ronnie Paul Hobgood Jr. of Magnolia agreed to a plea agreement over his February arrest.

The Conroe Courier (http://bit.ly/2aZ79uW ) reports Hobgood, who could have faced up to life in prison if convicted at trial, had a blood alcohol level of more than three times the legal limit for driving. His truck hit two vehicles before Hobgood was arrested.

Records show Hobgood, who was sentenced Monday in Conroe, served two prison terms for a series of DWI convictions since 1990. The violations included one death related to drunken driving by Hobgood. He served probation for the other three convictions.

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Information from: Courier, http://yourconroenews.com
Details added (first version posted on 11:20)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received representative of the US Congress, chairman of the House Small Business Committee Steve Chabot.

During the meeting, Chabot noted that the South Caucasus is an important region and he began the visit to the region from the most important country of the South Caucasus  Azerbaijan.

He said his visit will contribute to better acquaintance with the region, including with Azerbaijan, and added that he will share the obtained information with colleagues in the Congress.

President Ilham Aliyev, in turn, said that despite the fact that Azerbaijan is an independent country for almost 25 years, there is still a need to inform some of the world politicians and representatives of the international community about the realities, existing policies, achievements and future plans of the country.

Chabots visit to Azerbaijan creates a good opportunity for better acquaintance with the country and its population, observation of development processes and familiarization with priorities, noted the president.

He also expressed confidence that the visit will be successful.

A wide exchange of views on the negotiation process to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, on processes of development going on in recent years in Azerbaijan, on reforms, as well as on the issues of mutual interest was held during the meeting.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

Trend:

ASAN xidmet centers are free of corruption, bribery, bureaucracy and other negative facts, said Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev at the meeting with members of Gabala districts public and the staff of the ASAN Xidmet regional center.

First of all, it is an example, an example for each public body, said the president.

Secondly, it shows that we can fix and heal the wounds of our society, because nothing undermines society as much as corruption and bribery.

An "ASAN xidmt" center starts functioning in the city of Qabala today. I congratulate you on this wonderful and memorable event, noted Aliyev. It is a beautiful building. From an architectural point of view, it will impart additional beauty to Gabala. Of course, the highest standards are applied in this building.

This is the 10th service center, said the president.

To date, there are nine "ASAN xidmet" centers in Azerbaijan: five in Baku and four in other cities - Ganja, Sumgayit, Sabirabad and Barda. The 10th center opens in the city of Gabala today, and from now on our people will be able to use these excellent facilities here.

Aliyev noted that "ASAN xidmet" is a product of Azerbaijan.

Over the course of three and a half years, it has received about 11 million applications.

This represents a very serious progress in the sphere of public services, he explained.

Essentially, this is a revolution, because we all remember too well that sometimes our people had to wait for days and weeks to get a document or certificate. Many were faced with certain difficulties. And now people can enjoy all these opportunities very easily.

The rate of customer satisfaction with "ASAN xidmet" is very high, he said.

Analyses are carried out, opinion surveys are conducted, and 98 percent of the population is pleased with the services provided by the centers, noted the president.

After all, there is complete transparency, no bureaucracy or bribery, and people are provided with a cultured service. In fact, this is the way it should be. "ASAN xidmet" is a very important institutional center not only in the field of public services, but also for society as a whole.

Aliyev said that applicants have already received the necessary documents in the new conditions.

As I mentioned, the vast majority of citizens are satisfied with these services. In addition to that, 10 buses provide mobile services. We are expanding the functions of "ASAN xidmet. At present, more than 200 services are provided, he said. In the near future, we will start providing services related, in particular, to utilities and the issuance of visas.

Today, we are witnessing an influx of visitors to Azerbaijan. The natural potential of our country, the beauty of our cities, the stability and security observed in Azerbaijan, of course, attract more and more tourists, noted the president. At the same time, a role is certainly played by the prestigious international events held in Baku and other places of our country: the European Games, Formula 1 with an audience of 500 million people, etc.

This year, the city of Gabala hosted the eighth international music festival. All these activities, of course, turn Azerbaijan into an even more attractive country for tourists. I am confident that the launch of "ASAN VISA", which is scheduled for October, will pave the way for even more people.

I was told today that in the summer months the many hotels of Gabala have no available rooms, said Aliyev. Citizens of our country and foreigners come here, have rest, get acquainted with Azerbaijan and admire the beauty of Gabala.

The president also noted that tourism is an area that has great importance for any country.

I am glad that the steps being taken to popularize our country in the world also serve the development of tourism, he said.

In a short time, in three and a half years, "ASAN xidmet" has earned great approval in society by creating, as I said, a revolution in the public services sector, he added.

In the future, we will increase the number of "ASAN xidmet" centers. This center will provide services to 10 districts  Balakan, Zagatala, Gakh, Shaki, Gabala, Ismayilli, Agsu, Shamakhi, Gobustan and Oguz, noted the president. These districts are home to more than 900,000 people. Another "ASAN xidmet" center will be opened in Masalli this year.

After that we plan to set up an "ASAN xidmet" center in Shaki. Thus, it will be easier for people to use this service.

Most of the people working in "ASAN xidmet" centers are boys and girls, said Aliyev.

This is great, because we need to work hard on providing employment opportunities to women. We should aspire to do that. In general, employment is a state program in Azerbaijan. Unemployment in Azerbaijan is at a low level, but it is still there, he explained.

Therefore, the launch of "ASAN xidmet" centers also means the creation of jobs. This center has provided 153 people with jobs, and the majority of employees are young people. The youth working in such a beautiful environment prepares itself for the future in order to take a worthy place in society. As I was informed, a total of 45 volunteers will work in the center for the benefit of our people.

President noted that the volunteer movement in Azerbaijan started with "ASAN xidmet".

Eight thousand young people voluntarily worked in different "ASAN xidmet" centers, he said adding that currently, a total of 700 volunteers work in all the centers.

These volunteers, at the same time, successfully participated in the international events conducted in Baku, he added. In particular, they have played a very important role in last year's European Games and Formula 1 this year. I acknowledged the work if volunteers who did a great job in the first European Games. They were awarded with presidential diplomas. In other words, this is a very serious public initiative.

Expansion of the volunteer movement is in the interests of our society, said the president. The desire to become a volunteer shows the good intentions of our people. In order to unselfishly help someone and contribute to our common cause, people do this in their own free time. In other words, this is a manifestation of very serious and nice intentions.

I am glad that a class of volunteers has formed in Azerbaijan, and the vast majority of it are young people, he added. The younger generation is growing up in an atmosphere that prompts it to contribute to our common cause, strengthen the state and help those in need. This is the function and purpose of volunteering.

Therefore, just look at the serious, large and comprehensive impact of the decision we made three and a half years ago, primarily in the field of public services, said Aliyev. On the other hand, ASAN xidmet centers are free of corruption, bribery, bureaucracy and other negative facts. First of all, it is an example, an example for each public body.

Secondly, it shows that we can fix and heal the wounds of our society, because nothing undermines society as much as corruption and bribery. ASAN xidmet is the frontrunner in this field. I have repeatedly said this in my speeches. I have said that every state body should work as transparently, and our people see that. This is why they approve of the work of the service.

From now on, the people of Gabala and surrounding districts will benefit from this service and we will further expand the functions of "ASAN xidmet" in the future, noted Aliyev.

Wherever we are not pleased with the situation and where there are negative phenomena, we will organize these functions by means of "ASAN xidmet.

I am glad that the 10th center is opening in Gabala. Gabala is one of the most beautiful places in Azerbaijan, said the president. Gabala has a very rich history. It is a historic city and region. At the same time, it has beautiful nature.

The development taking place in Gabala in recent years corresponds to this beauty, this history and this nature, he added.

As people living here, you can probably see how much prettier Gabala has become in recent years. New homes, tourist facilities and public buildings are built, he noted. Several years ago, an international airport was built here on my instructions. Some people were rather skeptical about this issue. Today, flights are organized in different directions. We have built the Heydar Aliyev Center, which is a beautiful historical building, the Cultural Center, many hotels, the international shooting center, and this work continues. While getting acquainted with the situation today, I watched the construction of a new shooting center from the window.

The development of Gabala is beyond doubt, said the president.

Those who live here can confirm that, he added. I am also very happy about this because Gabala is the second tourist center in Azerbaijan only to Baku. All of the work here is done with a lot of care and taste. Visitors, of course, can see and appreciate that.

They see what a beautiful country Azerbaijan is. Azerbaijan has not only a beautiful capital, but also districts which have wonderful conditions.

Additional measures will be taken to further develop Gabala, noted the president.

More funding will be made available. The main issue on the agenda is a drinking water project. It is being implemented with the mediation of foreign banks, he explained. This is why there is a certain delay. If we did it at the expense of our internal resources, it would have been completed long ago. However, I do hope that the problem of drinking water and sewer lines will be completely resolved in the near future.

Gasification in Gabala district is close to 70 percent, said Aliyev.

Given the terrain of the district, I believe that it is a good indicator, he noted. There is a need in the construction of intercity roads. We will deal with this and ensure further development of Gabala district.

Once again, I congratulate you on this wonderful event and wish the people of Qabala continued success. Thank you, said the president.
We won't be seeing the Dance of the Dragons for quite a while. After that epic season one finale, HBO is making sure viewers don't expect a sequel to House of the Dragon in the new year. "Don't expect it in 23, but I think sometime in
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) sold $50 million to 29 banks through an auction held by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) Aug. 11, SOFAZ said in a message.

SOFAZ will continue selling foreign currency through auctions in 2016. The foreign currency is sold as part of SOFAZs transfers to the Azerbaijani state budget, which are envisaged to stand at 7.615 billion Azerbaijani manats in 2016.

SOFAZ was established in 1999 with assets of $271 million.

As of July 1, 2016, SOFAZs assets increased by 4.6 percent and amounted to $35.1 billion as compared to $33.57 billion in early 2016.
We were not bribed to drop ...
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

It is not worth to expect a quick decision regarding Turkeys proposal to connect the Turkish Stream pipeline, which envisages Russian gas supplies to Europe, to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), which will start delivering Azerbaijani gas to Europe in 2020, said the senior expert of Russias Finam Management company Dmirtry Baranov.

Currently, it is hard to say whether they will make this decision or not, since it determines the fate of many energy projects, Baranov told Trend Aug. 11.

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu proposed to connect the Russia-developed Turkish Stream pipeline to the TANAP. Cavusoglu said Ankara will buy only 16 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year via the Turkish Stream. The remaining volume of Russian gas can be exported through Turkey via TANAP by connecting it to the Turkish Stream, he added.

Firstly, the reaction of TANAP project participants to the proposal is unknown, said Baranov adding that the participants have their own plans to develop and use the pipeline, and none of them said that these plans have changed.

Earlier, TANAP Consortium told Trend that they are familiar with Turkish foreign ministers statement, but dont have precise information.

Secondly, the Russian expert noted that TANAP has to compete with Russian gas supplies to a certain extent, and Cavusoglus proposal, if it is accepted, will change many things.

Finally, all parties have to take into consideration Europes opinion in this issue, because a number of states are the final recipients of gas, said Baranov.

He went on to add that the political component and the state of the global economy must also be taken into consideration in the issue of connection of the Turkish Stream and TANAP pipelines.

TANAP project, worth $9.2 billion, envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field to the western borders of Turkey. The gas will be delivered to Turkey in 2018, and after completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipelines construction, the gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020. TANAP shareholders are Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR (58 percent), BOTAS (30 percent) and BP (12 percent).

Russia abandoned the South Stream project in favor of Turkish Stream in December 2014, which involves the construction of the gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey through the Black Sea.

However, the project was frozen after the relations between Moscow and Ankara deteriorated in November 2015.

During the meeting on Aug. 9, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to resume the implementation of the Turkish Stream project.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

An informal OPEC meeting next month is unlikely to change the situation in the oil market, says Richard Mallinson, a geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, an independent research consultancy specializing in global energy markets.

Earlier, media reported that the oil cartel announced plans to hold an unscheduled meeting and discuss oil output freezing late next month in Algeria.

At the moment countries such as Venezuela and Algeria appear to be leading the push for a new round of discussions, Mallinson told Trend by email. Saudi Arabia and other powerful members of OPEC may agree to attend an informal meeting to show they are not preventing OPEC cooperation, but that does not necessarily mean they are willing to agree a production freeze.

The expert noted that unless the big producers, particularly Iran and Saudi Arabia, reach a compromise and support a proposal on production freezing, this latest effort will be no more successful than previous attempts made earlier in the year.

At the meetings with other major oil producers in April and June 2016, OPEC discussed the possibility of oil output freezing to maintain oil prices. However, the parties failed to reach an agreement.

Mallinson believes that for now the oil market is right to be skeptical about the prospects of a deal being reached.

While oil prices may receive a little support from the headlines, without hard evidence that a production freeze deal is on the table this should not be a significant factor in price action, the expert said.

According to OPEC, global oil supply increased by 0.24 million barrels per day (bpd) to average 95.14 million bpd in July 2016 as compared to the previous month.

OPEC increased oil production by 46,400 bpd to 33.11 million bpd in July as compared to June.

Edited by EA

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
Valero Gas Station under new owners View Photos

Sonora, CA  Commuters may have noticed the yellow tape roping off the pumps and the closed sign on the door while the Valero Corner Store gas station at the intersection of S. Washington and Gold streets was shut down on Tuesday to allow for the new owners to set up.

New Owner Param Gill says they are thrilled to be in Sonora. She outlined how the sale came about, As a parent company Valero Corporation sold their stores to 7-Eleven parent company SEIFS, they are transitioning the stores keeping them Valero stores for now but it will be a transition in the next two or three months trying to figure out what they are going to have in the stores. SEIFS is based in Dallas, TX.

Gill notes they want to keep it a little neighborhood store. With regard to employees, under Valero there were six employees, currently only two remain. The four that left chose to leave due to a loss of benefits. Gill says they are looking to add more employees in the coming months. The 24 hour gas station was opened for business as usual on Wednesday morning.
Destruction From Valley Fire In Middletown View Photos

Lake County, CA  Topping the Butte Fire, which was the seventh most destructive, the Valley Fire killed four people and destroyed nearly 2,000 structures and forced thousands of evacuations.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection released a detailed report Wednesday pointing to a hot tubs faulty electrical wiring as the cause of the 120-square-mile blaze.

As previously reported, the Valley Fire burned through a large portion of rural Lake County and parts of Napa County about 90 miles north of San Francisco in September 2015. Investigators concluded that the hot tub wiring wasnt installed in accordance with building codes. The Lake County District Attorneys office is considering whether to file criminal charges.

The flames scorched more than 76,000 acres and also forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and businesses. Insurance company Aon Benfield estimated the cost of the Valley Fire to around $1.5-billion and the Butte Fire at $450,000 for a total of $2-billion.

View the full report here.
Thirty plus years of being treated for various forms of cancer has left Twain Harte resident Mark Nouillan, the third most radiated man on the face of the earth.

Nouillan was Thursdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day.

The Scottish born Nouillan was told by one doctor that, based on the amount of radiation treatment received, Nouillan is the third most radiated man on the face of the earth.

When looking at Nouillan, one would probably not think that he could hold such a claim. Nouillan appears to be fit, healthy and happy.

It has been a battle to get to this point, said Nouillan. Some people say that I look really good, therefore I cant possibly relate to their own hardships. They have no idea how difficult my treatment has been. I was sent home as a teenager to die. Today, I can relate with almost anything that people who have been diagnosed with cancer are facing and encourage them.

Nouillan continues, Its my personal belief that when we are faced with illness that is so serious, that we do not know if we will survive it, that one of the most important things we can do is to focus on what we are going to do in the future and create special goals that compel us to succeed in our battle.

Because of this belief, Nouillan moved from Glasgow, Scotland to Twain Harte, CA to be in an area that offers everything he loves. This includes Yosemite National Park, the Sierra Nevada and a sense of a supportive community like Nouillan has never experienced before.

I have made many close friends at Sonora Regional Medicals Cancer Care Center, said Nouillan. This area has some of the greatest support that anyone, anywhere could ever want.

Nouillan has written a book that is being sold at the Cancer Care Center, as well as at Mountains Books in Sonora. It is called Cancer Bravehearts.

Locally, Nouillan has been asked to speak at various functions and events, including last Aprils Relay for Life in Sonora.

According to Nouillan, Based on my own experience of dealing with Leukemia and Breast Cancer, I chose to write this book to let others know that their life is far from over. The reality is quite different. Youve now been giving the chance to truly focus on your intentions and you can decide to take control. If you have ever heard that you have cancer, then my book is for you.

More information can also be found at www.cancerbravehearts.com

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 AM.
Sacramento, CA  The Secretary of States Office reports proponents of a gun related ballot measure have completed all the needed paperwork and can begin collecting signatures to put the matter before voters.

At issue is a recently approved state bill that was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor. It requires anyone making homemade firearms to undergo a Department of Justice background check and to place a serial number on all such firearms.

Proponents introduced the bill in response to some Californians making ghost guns, which are plastic guns that can slip through metal detectors and end up in the hands of people prohibited from owning firearms. Gun rights groups, however, argue that it is unnecessary restrictions because criminals will just circumvent the new law.

Proponents have until October 20 to collect the needed 365,880 signatures to put a measure on the November ballot calling for a reversal of the new law.
A Wildwood city commissioner is facing second-degree felony charges after deputies say he texted a death threat.

Robert Strickland is a Wildwood commissioner

Deputies say he texted a death threat to a woman

Woman says he has been physically violent with her before



Robert Derrel Strickland, 38, of Oxford was charged Wednesday with intimidation/writing or sending a threat to kill or injure.

According to a Sumter County Sheriff's arrest report, a woman who told deputies she'd been with Strickland for more than seven years said that on the afternoon of Aug. 1, she received a text message from him that said, "I just beat my sons with a baton because of my anger towards you. I don't want your gift of freedom. When I get back I'm going to take your life and mine."

She told deputies that Strickland was in Texas when he sent the text.

The woman said that for the entire time they've been together, Strickland has been physically violent toward her and that in the past, she'd been punched, choked, kicked, pushed and dragged across a concete porch. She said her vehicle has been keyed while she and her children were inside.

The woman also said Strickland has previously threatened to kill her and the people she loves if she "moves on."

When a Sheriff's investigator made contact with Strickland, he said he was in contact via text message with the woman and was the only person with access to his cell phone. Strickland, who said he'd been out of state for the past week or so, refused to share the text messages with the investigator.

Strickland has no criminal history, the arrest report said. The Sheriffs Office said Strickland had a first appearance in front of a judge Thursday and has bonded out of the Sumter Detention Center on $15,000 bond.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Aug. 11

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Uzbekistans President Islam Karimov has appointed Majid Karimov the countrys new deputy prime minister for youth policy, education, culture and sports, according to official media.

Prior to this appointment, Majid Karimov was serving as the rector of the Tashkent State Technical University.

Bahodir Hodiev, who served previously as deputy prime minister for youth policy, education, culture and sports, was appointed the rector of the Tashkent State University of Economics.

Uzbekistans Cabinet of Ministers includes one first deputy prime minister and six deputy prime ministers.
To say that 18-year-old Alicia Freeman is overjoyed with her brand new electric bicycle would be an understatement.

Mother wins raffle for electric bike for her daughter

Daughter has seizures

Bike has special features for people with medical conditions

She was riding it Tuesday morning, ringing the bell on the bike.

Alicias mom shared a picture of her daughter in the hospital after she was run over by a truck when she was two years old. The accident cracked Alicias skull, leaving her with frontal lobe damage and seizures for the rest of her life.

Thats when her mother began researching electric bikes.

She learned an electric bike startup company named Flaunt was holding a raffle for breast cancer awareness and bought just one $6 ticket.

Ill buy a ticket, you know, whats six bucks? It went to a good cause, said Alicia's mother Kara Morrison.

A company co-owner recorded the moment on his cellular when he told Morrison she won.

It's a way for anyone who has to rehab any sort of medical condition, it might be tough for them to ride a normal bicycle, it might be tough for them to get up hills or fight through the winds, said co-owner Kevin Mount.

I literally was crying. I said, I cant believe I won bike!' It was a blessing, said Morrison.

Alicia is a senior in high school and hopes to attend college after she graduates.

Under Florida law, she can not drive a car until she is seizure free for at least a year.

Alicia will not be riding her bike to high school because its too far. However, she will be riding it to college which is just 15 minutes away.

Or if I need to go to the pharmacy to get my medication, I can just use this bike, said Alicia.

I think a bicycle is the safest route for her because shes not jeopardizing anyone else at this point, said Morrison.

If I did have a seizure, I just hit the brake and it will instantly stop the bike.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

By Dalga Khatinoglu, Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Iran has devised worth $30 billion plans for developing its power infrastructure in the following five years, which include building power plants, repairing and upgrading current ones, as well as developing and making the power grid smart, Iranian Minister of Energy Hamid Chitchian said.

Right now Irans power output is 75,000 megawatts, which will increase by 26,500 in five years and hit 125,000 in 10 years, Chitchian told Trend Aug. 10.

In 2015, Iran agreed to the terms of the COP 21 meeting in Paris, meaning by 2030, the country should be producing about 7,500 megawatts of power from renewable sources.

Chitchian said that in five years, Iran expects to have actualized 5,000 megawatts of the power generated from renewable sources.

So far contracts have been signed for creating 1,000 megawatts renewable energy power plants. But companies from Denmark, Germany, Spain, the UK and China have also visited Iran, holding talks for new contracts, the minister stated.

He said the average efficiency of power plants in Iran stands at 37.7 percent, but added that the number will improve in the five years ahead.

Iran will use new turbines of classes F and H with efficiencies around 40 percent. Iran itself is producing class E power plants with efficiencies of 33 percent, Chitchian said.

Combined-cycle power plants constitute 25 percent of Irans power generation. But the minister said that his office plans to improve the percentage to 50 by five years.

The combined-cycle power plants efficiency hovers around 60 percent.

The Belgian Unit International, with branches in Turkey, recently signed a contract with Iran to build 5,000 megawatts of combined-cycle power plants. The project is worth $3.5 billion and will be accomplished in three years, Chitchian said.

Iran is trying to replace as much as possible old gas power plants with new combined-cycle versions, he added.

Irans electricity output currently stands at 286 billion kilowatts hour.

In another part of his statements, the minister said a 330-kilovolt power line between Iran and Azerbaijan came on stream on Aug. 4, increasing power transmission between the two countries from 200 megawatts to 500 megawatts.

Iran and Azerbaijan conduct vast and regular talks to improve cooperation over electricity, he said.
An 18-month-old boy was hospitalized in serious condition after falling Thursday morning from a third-story window in Foster City and landing on the sidewalk, officials said.

The boy was walking with his mother in a hallway in his familys apartment complex when he stopped to look through an open window that extends to the ground and tumbled through the screen, said Capt. Tracy Avelar, a Foster City police spokeswoman.

This looks to be completely accidental, she said.

Firefighters were called to the Waters Edge Apartments on East Hillsdale Boulevard at 8:19 a.m. for a medical call, said Battalion Chief Chuck Goodwin of the fire department. While on the way to the scene, they got word that a toddler had fallen from a third-story window and, anticipating serious injuries, called in another fire unit and a medical helicopter, Goodwin said.

When firefighters arrived, they found the child unconscious but breathing, and they provided medical aid. Police shut down the street and cleared an area for the helicopter to land.

The childs mother was on the sidewalk with the boy and in distress, officials said.

The toddler was transported by helicopter to Stanford Universitys trauma center. His injuries were described as serious and consistent with a fall from a third-story height, according to Goodwin.

Next-door neighbor Demian Borba, whose daughter is also 18 months old, said the incident was a reminder that residents should keep the hallway window shut. He said that every time he leaves his apartment with his daughter he checks that the window is closed.

Courtesy: Demian Borba

Borba said the hospitalized boys family had moved into the building in the last several weeks.

We felt horrible when we heard the news, Borba said. It couldve been my daughter. I couldnt concentrate on work anymore. Its sad, sad.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
For BART riders, the long and at times unbearable wait to use the restrooms at underground stations  which were shuttered after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001  may be coming to an end.

But dont uncross your legs just yet: The first step is to redesign restrooms at two stations, Powell Street in San Francisco and 19th Street in Oakland. And they arent scheduled to be up and flushing until early 2018.

BART planners on Thursday unveiled their visions for safer and, they hope, cleaner restrooms that will be tested at the two busy stations as part of modernization projects under way. If theyre successful, restrooms in the systems eight remaining underground stations would be reopened as each is modernized.

The return of the restrooms would be a relief for BART directors weary of fielding complaints, and for riders eager to use the facilities.

This is a long overdue solution. I cannot wait, said Director Robert Raburn of Oakland.

Thats a sentiment shared by many BART riders, especially those with long rides or small bladders.

Every BART station includes a pair of restrooms, designed to be used by one person, behind heavy stainless steel doors that can be locked for privacy. But since the 2001 terrorist attacks, theyve been closed as a security risk on the advice of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Its been so long that some riders, like Casson Gardner, a 34-year-old sales representative from Oakland, didnt even know that the 19th Street Station ever had public restrooms.

But it sounds like a good idea, she said. People need to use the restroom.

In the 15 years since the transformational terrorist attacks, the closure of the restrooms has been a constant source of complaints from BART patrons. Many not only feel the occasional need to use the facilities, but believe the absence of restrooms contributes to people urinating in elevators, escalators, corners of stations and even trains.

While the restroom closure has been an inconvenience, its also eliminated some problems, including people bathing and washing clothes in the sinks, injecting drugs, taking naps and clogging the toilets and sewers with debris, sometimes flooding parts of stations.

Robert Powers, BARTs assistant general manager for planning, development and construction, said the designs chosen for testing at the Powell Street and 19th Street stations accounted for all of these factors. The idea is to balance convenience and safety.

The designs at the two stations will differ slightly, but both will feature a more open design, providing privacy but also discouraging illegal or inappropriate activities.

The ceiling-to-floor doors will be replaced with translucent barriers and doors that have gaps at the top and bottom, while sinks and hand driers will be moved to an outside area. The rooms will be illuminated with blue lighting, believed to discourage drug users by making it harder to find veins.

During the six-month test, the restrooms will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and each station will have employees who clean and maintain them. The estimated cost of the Powell Street restrooms is $225,000, with the 19th Street bathrooms expected to cost $175,000. Ongoing maintenance and cleaning expenses, including labor, are projected to cost $135,000 a year for each station.

At Thursdays BART board meeting, some directors expressed concerns about safety and cleanliness. Directors Joel Keller of Brentwood and John McPartland of Dublin said they wanted Homeland Security to sign off on the plan. Director Gail Murray of Walnut Creek said she wasnt sure the plans for cleaning and monitoring the restrooms were sufficient.

General Manager Grace Crunican acknowledged that the designs may need changes after being put to the test.

Thats why were trying a pilot program, she said. To see if there is something we can learn and change rather than cling to 1972  a reference to the year BART opened.

Robert Warren, a 68-year-old rider who is retired and lives in San Francisco, said the restrooms arent a necessity but would be a welcome addition.

Having that convenience, he said, would certainly be an attribute to the system.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com
An unusual kind of hospital  one that flies  landed this week at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View. The Flying Eye Hospital, operated by the nonprofit Orbis International, looks like a MD-10 aircraft from the outside, but inside it has been customized to provide expert training and technology for doctors and other medical professionals in developing countries to help learn surgical techniques to treat eye conditions and help prevent blindness. On the plane, physicians can observe cataract and other eye surgeries in live 3-D broadcasts and practice on a simulator. Google is hosting the Flying Eye Hospital at Moffett Field, and Orbis is meeting with Bay Area technology leaders before heading to Asia next month. Before landing in Silicon Valley, the Flying Eye Hospital had been on a North American tour that has included Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Memphis, Fort Worth and Sacramento.

 Victoria Colliver
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Months after his recent arrest, stories of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's escapes from prisons continue to fascinate.

One that has caught recent attention is El Chapo's alleged conjugal visits while he was sentenced to 20 years at the Puente Grande Federal Prison in Guadalajara, where he allegedly ingested Viagra daily.

READ MORE: 13 tons of cocaine linked to Sinola cartel found inside barrels of hot sauce

According to the news site Blog del Narco, CNN aired a special on El Chapo in Spanish on Sunday detailing the hunt for the famed drug lord. The special highlighted he was sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection to the May 1993 death of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo.

According to Blog del Narco, El Chapo quickly overtook the prison and "consumed Viagra to have sex all day. He received visits from his wife, prostitutes and had sex with other women in prison."

READ MORE: Beauty queen wife of drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman visits him in prison near Texas border

Business Insider reports El Chapo had so much control of the prison that he was able to move three female prisoners into the maximum security, all male prison. El Chapo reportedly had a relationship with one of the women, named Zulema, but eventually broke it off. According to Business Insider, Zulema was "passed around to his friends in the prison" and was forced to have two abortions while she was in the prison.

Guzman was rearrested in Mexico in January. He's now in a prison just outside of Ciudad Juarez, near the U.S.-Mexico border.




In his first feature film as writer-director, James Schamus does something elusive and perhaps difficult even to describe. He creates a pervasive atmosphere of something not so unsettling or definable as dread, but rather something more vague and even ignorable if you choose to ignore it: Unease. Theres a feeling here that something is unsafe, or could go wrong. Theres a feeling here of being a stranger at the party.

Based on the novel of the same name by Philip Roth, Indignation takes place mostly in 1951 and tells the story of a Jewish kid from Newark, New Jersey, who goes away to school at a small, traditional college in Ohio. This sounds like the premise for a heartwarming coming-of-age story, but the energy here is more sober.

Already, as the film opens, one of the young mans friends is dead because he didnt go to college and therefore didnt get to defer his military service in Korea. One of the first scenes is of Marcus (Logan Lerman) attending the dead friends funeral.

A sense pervades, not of a hostile world, but of a careless one, in which fatal things can happen randomly or stupidly or for causes that dont become obvious until theyre inescapable. Marcuss father (Danny Burstein), a butcher, is the character that most embodies this underlying atmosphere. In mid-life, he has suddenly become neurotic with anxiety and dread, either because hes on the verge of a nervous breakdown or because he has developed a sixth sense about the true nature of things.

When Marcus escapes Newark and goes to college, the screen is filled with sunshine and the atmosphere seems to lift, but not completely. There are other Jews at the college, but they travel in defined circles  theres a Jewish fraternity, for example  and everyone, regardless of religion, is expected to attend Christian church services, at least 10 times each year. Other Jews on campus are willing to roll with it, but Marcus, who likes to keep to himself, is only placid on the surface. When pressed, he has a decided tendency toward indignation.

There are several stand-out scenes, but a particularly memorable one is between Marcus and Dean Caudwell, the head of the university. The dean is played by Tracy Letts, the anarchic playwright (Killer Joe, August: Osage County) who specializes in playing narrow, company-men, authoritarians in the movies and on television.

More Information Indignation **** Quick take: A haunting, complex drama for grownups See More Collapse

The dean here is a variation on the familiar Letts type, but not really a bad guy, but rather someone easy enough to circumvent or appease. Yet theres something in Marcus that makes unable or unwilling to connect with this man. Watching their first scene together is an uncomfortable and fascinating experience.

Of course, Marcus meets a girl, Olivia (Sarah Gadon), who, in the pleated skirts and prim blouses created by costume designer Amy Roth, looks like the platonic ideal of a young college woman circa 1950. But like the Fifties themselves, Olivia is much more troubled and complicated than she appears. Gadon is really rather wonderful in this film, plaintive and haunting, with all her nerve endings raw.

Indignation is haunting as well. Its hard to file it away. Instead the story and treatment keep inviting us to circle back to it and wonder what the characters might have done here or should have done there. Like the best wines and the best films, theres a complexity to the finish, so that it reverberates with meanings beyond the obvious. Indignation has the disconcerting quality of truth and is an altogether adult piece of work.

Running time: 110 minutes

MPAA rating: R (sexual content, profanity)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

An Iranian man charged of drug smuggling and killing three police officers was publicly hanged in the Iranian southern city of Kazeroun on the morning of Aug. 11, the citys prosecutor Abdolhossein Lotfi said, IRIB news agency reports.

The man was arrested in March because of smuggling various drugs, including heroin and methamphetamine, but when he was under interrogation in a police station, he attacked a police officer, seized his gun and shot three police officers, Lotfi said.

Iran's Supreme Court had already approved the regional court's sentence.

Murder, rape, armed robbery and trafficking of drugs in quantities exceeding 5 kilograms are among the crimes punishable by death in Iran.

Iran ranks second after China in terms of the number of executions.
MALTA  Two boats and a dock were badly damaged when a pickup truck's faulty brakes failed to halt it at a Malta stop sign, Saratoga County deputies said Wednesday.

Driver Montaser Ali, 33, of Albany was towing a trailer carrying an SUV, deputies said. The pickup traveled through the intersection of Plains Road and Route 9P, hitting two boats and a dock at the South Shore Marina parking lot.
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DANBURY  A city man who police say has admitted murdering his 19-year-old daughter was an undocumented immigrant who had been deported twice and was using aliases to avoid immigration officials.

DaSilva had recently attempted to rekindle his relationship with his daughter after having been sentenced to more than eight year in prison for attempting to kill his ex-wife, Silva, with a knife in 2001. DaSilva, who was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service in Bridgeport on Aug. 5, was initially arrested on a violation of probation charge while police questioned him about the murder.

I did it, I killed her, he told police, according to the affidavit.

According to court documents obtained by The News-Times Thursday, Walter DaSilva, a Brazilian national, had traveled to New Bedford, Massachusetts, on July 3 with the intent of killing his daughter, Sabrina DaSilva, 19, as well as her older boyfriend and mother, Lilian Silva.

DaSilva, when questioned by police, admitted to the slaying and noted that he decided at the last minute to target only his daughter so they could both go to hell together, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

DaSilva told police that he was angered and felt disrespected by his daughter because of her relationship with a 54-year-old man who, according to court documents, was married at the time of the affair. In messages that investigators found on the womans cell phone, DaSilva called his daughter as a whore and a slut.

You thought I was going to accept your bitching and being a whore, you were wrong, the message states. Delicious is my Beretta.

A 9 mm silver-plated Beretta that police say DaSilva admitted using in the shooting was later recovered by police hidden behind some insulation in the attic of his Town Hill Avenue apartment.

Sabrina DaSilva had traveled to Danbury in May to celebrate her fathers birthday, but the relationship began to sour in recent months. She had planned on visiting her father again around July 4 but had canceled the plans after an arguement they had over the phone on June 29.

Sabrina DaSilva was shot nine times at close range on July 3 when she had returned from a trip to the local Stop & Shop. DaSilva approached his daughter after she returned, court records state, and had a brief but heated conversation for less than two minutes before he grabbed his daughters arm and brandished a handgun. When the daughter tried to pull away, DaSilva began firing.

Later that evening, DaSilva had approached a working girl, according to court documents, and suggested they get together later that same night to smoke marijuana. The meeting, however, never happened.

DaSilva is being held on a $1 million bond and waived his right to an extradition hearing during a brief court appearance Monday.

Sabrina DaSila had a 2-year-old daughter at the time of the murder and was going to school with the dream of becoming an interpreter. Relatives on a Gofundme page describe Sabrina DaSilva as a warm and kind woman.

She always said do what you have to do and be happy, the web site states. She strived to be the best she could be for her daughter.

Court documents state DaSilva had been deported twice from the United States but was using an alias, Mateus Silva, in an attempt to elude immigration officials.

dperrefort@newstimes.com
Troy

With criticism surrounding how it sells tax foreclosed properties, the city opened bids for several sites on Wednesday, but Mayor Patrick Madden said he didn't know who in his administration authorized the action.

The city had been holding off on proceeding with this round of bids until the City Council completes work on rewriting the rules for selling the properties and ensuring purchasers follow through on their contracts to develop the parcels.

Councilman Mark McGrath, who is in charge of the revisions, said he knew nothing about a moratorium on property sales and accused the administration of "stonewalling" on requests for information. The opening of the bids came 10 days after the Aug. 1 deadline for submitting them.

"Why they're being so deceptive and secretive leads me to believe there's something going on and it's not good," McGrath said.

The City Council is revamping the sales process after former City Engineer Andrew Donovan listed 226 Cemetery Road for sale at $65,000. He bought the foreclosed property from the city for $3,500.

On Aug. 1, the Law Committee, which McGrath chairs, began work on changing the property sales rules. McGrath said that night City Assessor Sharon Martin told him the city had received a $1 bid to buy the Leonard Hospital property. McGrath said he learned this week of a bid for the Haskell School property on Sixth Avenue, which is in his district, leading to him to ask Wednesday for information about the proposal.

McGrath said he received the information only after citing City Charter sections that require the administration to give council members information upon request.

On Wednesday Martin sent McGrath and the other eight council members basic bid information, including that for Leonard Hospital, the Haskell School and 3-5 Ingalls Ave. In the email accompanying the information, Martin said she and a clerk opened the bids Wednesday 10 days after they were submitted.

On Wednesday he got an email from Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski stating that a moratorium was in place on processing information due to the council's rewriting the rules and that Kurzejeski and a clerk had opened the bids that morning.

The council members will receive the information on the bids for the properties, the mayor said. It's takes time to compile the information the city needs to complete its report for deciding on which bidders to select, he said.

"We're following the established procedures," said Madden, a Democrat who began a four-year term in January. "There's no obfuscation."

Council President Carmella Mantello, who like McGrath is a Republican, said the sparring over the properties reflects the strains between the council and Madden's administration.

"Any time we ask a question," she said, "we get it flung in our face."

kcrowe@timesunion.com  518-454-5084  @KennethCrowe
Dutch gymnast Yuri van Gelder had his Olympic dream end early  and not because of a slip or fall of the physical variety.

The Dutch Olympic commission announced the 33-year-old athlete has been sent home after he was caught partying and drinking Saturday night. Van Gelder owned up to it Sunday and was told to pack his bags.

It was a very difficult decision for us to make, NOC spokesman Maurits Hendriks said in a statement. This is terrible for Yuri, but at such a breach of the values within TeamNL, we have no other choice. We stand for excellence with respect to all agreements and rules. Our athletes have an exemplary standard and this behavior is absolutely unacceptable.

Yuri has left us no choice.

The NOC said van Gelder broke curfew, left the team without permission and violated rules concerning alcohol consumption.

Van Gelder was going to compete in the mens rings finals, his signature event. Back home in the Netherlands, hes known as the lord of the rings, but since his unfortunate partying fiasco, tabloid headlines have dubbed him lord of the drinks.

Van Gelder also ran into trouble with the IOC in 2009 when he tested positive for cocaine.

Water-gate

Polo pool is

now green, too

The contagion is spreading.

A day after the Olympic diving pool turned a murky shade of green, its neighboring pool, used for water-polo events, is taking on a similar hue.

The pools are both outside and exposed to the elements. Spectators noticed Tuesday that the diving pool had turned green overnight, and it was seemingly deepening in color with each passing hour.

After doing testing, Rio officials determined the color change was because of a decrease in alkaline levels.

We have treated both pools during the night and the alkalinity levels have already improved, Rio spokesman Mario Andrada said. We expect the color to be back to blue very shortly.

That hasnt happened, however. The diving pool remains a dark green and the water polo pool continues to head in the same direction. One American pool expert who spoke to the Associated Press believes the problem is an algae outbreak which, while safe for athletes, is tougher to contain.

If theyre cleaning the diving pool and then using the same tools in water polo, they could contaminate it, California Pool & Spa Association chairman Jerry Wallace told the Associated Press. Algae spores can be transmitted.

Theres one positive to come out of the algae bloom: Divers said it made it easier to differentiate between the pool and the surrounding environment.

Its not the same color as the sky, so that was really on our side today, Canadas Meaghan Benfeito said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Almost 60 percent of Irans internet bandwidth usage accounts for the messaging app Telegram, Mohammad Hassan Entezari, a member of Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace, said.

The figure is significantly high and officials should pay attention to that, Entezari said, Nasim news agency reported Aug. 11.

He further expressed concern over transfer of Iranian users data to foreigners via foreign messaging apps that are not under control of the Iranian administration.

Iran says mobile social networking applications, including the popular messaging app Telegram, should move their servers processing Iranian users data to Iran if they seek to continue their operation in the country.

The Islamic Republic has frequently requested from Telegram to move its servers into Iran.

Telegram, a messaging and content sharing app, has recently become popular among Iranians, who use it to communicate with each other and also share materials like pornography and political satire.

Many of Irans state-run news agencies have also embraced the platform, using it to advertise their stories.

Currently, at least 22 million Iranians use Telegram, according to the country's Supreme Council of Cyberspace.

According to Mehr news agency some 80.5 percent of Telegram users are Iranians.
Donald Trump laid out a sweeping economic plan to jump-start America by cutting taxes and regulations to spur business growth, job creation, and wage increases. The Republican candidate delivered an hour-long policy speech Monday at the Detroit Economic club.

Trumps new economic agenda is clearly intended to align more closely with fiscal conservatives like House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders. The plan aims to limit government overreach and its chilling effect on growth, productivity and prosperity in the private sector.

The U.S. economy never fully recovered from the Great Recession of 2007; GDP growth remains a sluggish 2.2 percent. And while the unemployment rate has fallen below 5 percent, Trump pointed out that 94 million Americans are out of the workforce  the lowest labor force participation rate in four decades.

I read the entire 3,666-word transcript so you dont have to. Heres my take on the Trumps America First Economic Plan, with a focus on the potential benefits to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Related: In the Battle of Billionaires, Howard Schultz Doesn't Measure Up to Trump

Tax reform.

Todays tax code is 70,000 pages and full of loopholes. Trumps says that the average American worker pays 31.5 percent of wages in federal income and payroll taxes. And at 35 percent, the U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate among industrialized nations. The Donald aims to fix all that.

While falling short of a simple flat tax, the new plan features a simplified tax structure with three brackets (down from seven) for individuals: 12, 25, and 33 percent. To encourage multinational companies to invest in America, the plan slashes the corporate tax rate to 15 percent.

Under Trumps plan, unincorporated businesses would benefit from the same lower 15 percent rate as corporations, instead of reporting business income on their individual returns, as they do today. That would amount to a big break for most small business owners, entrepreneurs, and perhaps solopreneurs, as well. It would also allow for immediate write-offs of new investments.

Meanwhile, multinational corporations based in the U.S. have a whopping $2.1 trillion parked overseas. The new plan will offer companies a one-time 10 percent repatriation tax rate to bring offshore capital back home and spark reinvestment in U.S. equities, facilities and jobs.

Lastly, Trump wants to eliminate the estate tax, provide more tax deductions for child-care costs and end the carried interest tax loophole that allows Wall Street hedge fund and other investment partners to treat income as capital gains. Getting rid of the "death" tax (estates of more than $5.45 million are required to pay federal estate tax) will allow families to pass more money to their heirs -- money that can be used as startup capital.

Related: Clinton vs. Trump: Who's Winning At Online Marketing? (Infographic)

Regulatory reform.

Federal regulations are an enormous drag on business creation and growth. Last year alone, 3,378 new rules were finalized and another 2,334 proposed, totaling 81,405 pages, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank. Compliance drains small business capital, reduces profits and impedes revenue growth.

Trump is calling for a temporary moratorium on all new federal regulations to give businesses a break from the constant onslaught of new rules. He also wants every federal agency to scrutinize and eliminate unnecessary and job-killing regulations.

While he makes no specific mention of Sarbanes-Oxley, that legislation in particular has contributed to a dramatic long-term decline in the number of IPOs and publicly traded companies. Similarly, the cost of Dodd-Frank compliance has made it harder for smaller institutions to compete in the financial sector.

Trumps plan also calls for reform of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- the most notorious over-regulator of the executive branch -- as well as the Obama Administrations clean energy policies that limit expansion of certain forms of energy. By lifting restrictions on all sources of American energy production, he intends to drive energy independence, growth and job creation.

It comes as no surprise that Trump plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. He says that alone will save 2 million American jobs by removing the incentive for companies to replace full-time workers with part-time or contract labor to avoid paying exorbitant healthcare premiums that small businesses simply cant afford.

Related: Trump vs. Clinton -- Hot Topics That Will Affect The Average American

Trade reform.

The most controversial and nebulous of his economic policy platform involves international trade deals, which Trump says contribute significantly to our growing trade deficit, offshoring and intellectual property theft. He seems intent on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to get more favorable terms from Mexico and Canada.

He also criticized the 2011 trade accord with South Korea and plans to withdraw from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership currently being negotiated by the Obama Administration. Lastly, Trump vows to get tough with China on currency manipulation, export subsidies and intellectual property enforcement. It bears mentioning that more than half of Americas $800 billion trade deficit is with China.

Im not entirely sure of the impact of his trade policy, but Trumps plans for tax and regulatory reform should benefit entrepreneurs, small business owners and corporations alike. It would sure be nice to have a business-friendly face in the White House for a change.

Related:

Trump's Business-Friendly Economic Agenda

Clinton vs. Trump: Who's Winning At Online Marketing? (Infographic)

Make Marketing Great Again: 3 Lessons from the Campaign Trail



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

Trend:

The Armenian government is unable to provide adequate facilities for people with disabilities, The Guardian reported Aug. 11 describing the problems of disabled people in Armenia.

61-year-old Radif Shamoyan has been unable to walk since an accident when she was 19, but says she would be able to get around in her wheelchair perfectly well  if only she could get it out of the flat, says the article. The problem is that her neighbours have built a storage room near the entrance to the building, blocking the space where Shamoyan had hoped to install a ramp for her chair.

She tried to take her neighbours to court to force them to remove the store room, but the case failed because she was unable to afford a lawyer. The court ruled that she had not provided sufficient evidence to support her case.

I have to ask someone to do all the shopping for me, she said. It is not easy to ask people every time. [But] I could do everything for myself, if I could just leave home.

Shamoyan tried to appeal against the courts decision, but the case was dismissed because it had not been lodged by a licensed advocate.

Despite this lack of care from authorities, Shamoyan has not given up. When her appeal was refused she applied to the European Court of Human Rights to have her neighbours store room declared illegal.

Last year the court ruled that her right to a fair trial had been violated, but Armenian authorities have yet to respond. The local municipality said it had no knowledge of the ECHRs ruling and refused to comment on the case, according to the article.

Shamoyans particular problem may be unique, but the Armenian governments failure to provide adequate facilities is a frustration she shares with almost 200,000 people with disabilities in the country, says the article. According to a recent survey by the advocacy group Agat, eight percent of Armenian women with disabilities are not able to leave their homes more than a few times a year.

A UNICEF report in 2012 found that up to 200 girls with disabilities have never left home, or only go out when visiting the doctor, according to the article.

The authorities of Armenia dont think that the provision of facilities is their responsibility, said Zaruhi Batoyan, the president of Armenias National Disability Advocacy Coalition. They say they cannot afford it because of financial problems, but they always find resources for buying new government cars or upgrading officials offices.

In the meantime Shamoyans health has deteriorated, but she says she will keep on fighting. She believes that a new government is needed to improve facilities for people with disabilities, and is determined to vote during next years election, says the article.

As is customary in Armenia, where there is no postal voting, she will have to rely on political parties to take her to the polling station.
Archaeologists have uncovered the six-inch tip of a Mexican sword in the area of the Alamos main gate, providing what may be the first military artifact from the famous 1836 battle unearthed during an investigative dig in Alamo Plaza.

The discovery in the city-owned plaza was made Friday, and confirmed this week through Sam Nesmith, a military artifacts expert, officials told reporters this morning. Archaeological teams had been digging in the area of the mission-fortresss south wall complex, studying formations of stones that comprise a suspected architectural feature, possibly part of the foundation of wall near the compounds primary point of access.
SAN ANTONIO  Three people were displaced following a fire started Wednesday night on the East Side involving a cigarette and a pile of clothes, according to fire officials.

The blaze started around 10:15 p.m. in the 500 block of North Palmetto at the back corner of a home. A cigarette ignited a pile clothes, causing damage to the home, an incident commander said at the scene.
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SAN ANTONIO  A 48-year-old Northside ISD JROTC instructor was arrested by Cibolo police Thursday morning for allegedly having an ongoing sexual relationship with a student, according to the Bexar County Sheriffs Office.

Darrell Harris, an Air Force Reserve master sergeant working in Brennan High Schools JROTC program, was booked into the Guadalupe County Jail on a charge of improper relationship between an educator and a student, a second-degree felony. He was released after posting a $50,000 bond.

RELATED: Police: Married Texas junior high teacher impregnated 15-year-old student during long relationship

A warrant was issued for Harris' arrest after an incident earlier this week in which deputies pulled Harris over and discovered a half-clothed teen in the backseat, according to BCSO.

A Bexar County Sheriffs deputy saw a suspicious vehicle on Sunday parked in the 2300 block of Canthree Drive on the far West Side. The deputy tried to pull the vehicle over as the motorist, later identified as Harris, drove away.

RELATED: Wife of Austin-area teacher alerts police to husband's alleged sexual relationship with student

Following a brief pursuit, the deputy saw a teenage girl putting clothes on while sitting in the back seat, according to the news release.

Harris told the deputy he is a JROTC instructor and the girl in the vehicle was a student, who was taken to a hospital for an evaluation. She told employees at the hospital she and Harris had sex several times, starting in May, the news release said.

BCSO spokesman James Keith said Harris wasn't immediately arrested because there initially wasn't enough evidence to prove a crime was committed at the scene until the victim told hospital employees about her sexual relationship with the teacher.

Harris, who was hired to work at Brennan High School in July 2014, was placed on administrative leave with pay on Aug. 9 and remains on that leave as of noon Thursday, said Northside ISD spokesman Pascual Gonzalez.

RELATED: Central Texas high school teacher accused of improper relationship with student

Gonzalez said with the news of Harris arrest, the process of termination will be initiated and the State Board of Educators Certification will be notified.

This is extremely distressing to us in the education business, Gonzalez said in an interview with mySA.com. This is not behavior we can condone and it requires swift action.

A biography says that Harris served 24 years on active duty and held numerous leadership positions over that time, including maintenance flight line superintendent. He took the job at Brennan High School in August 2014.

MORE: Airman in O'Connor sex case gets two years

His arrival there came only a few months after an Air Force photographer was sent to prison for sexual misconduct with students at another Northside ISD high school.

Airman 1st Class Nathan G. Wilson-Crow, was given two years in prison in late April 2014 after being found guilty of sexual misconduct with San Antonio high school students at a Hill Country camp, one of them 15 years old. An Air Force prosecutor had asked for five years, saying it would deter others after Wilson-Crow led two sexually charged truth-or-dare games in April 2013 with young JROTC students from Sandra Day OConnor High School.

If convicted, Harris faces up to 20 years in prison.

Text "NEWS" to 72727 to sign up for breaking news from mySA

Staff writer Sig Christenson contributed to this report.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
The July 15 foiled coup could not damage Turkeys economy, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Wednesday, Anadolu reported.

Speaking to business leaders at the Cankaya Palace in Ankara, Yildirim said: "This despicable attempt could not succeed in damaging the economy."

He said those expecting "chaos and crisis" following the coup attempt had been disappointed. "Political stability, trust, rule of law became stronger [instead]," he said.

Despite all the propagandas, Yildirim said: "Economy is steady as a rock."

He called on the business community to explore new markets. "We have to go to new markets, Asia in particular. We have to certainly give importance on market diversity," the premier said.

He also said Turkey would start a "big campaign on development" soon and called on business leaders to participate in it.

Turkey's government said the defeated July 15 coup, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.
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In one eventful 24-hour period in the Rio Grande Valley, border agents discovered the remains of two immigrants and rescued a 4-year-old girl from El Salvador who had suffered a gunshot wound during her harrowing journey through Mexico, the agency announced Wednesday.

U.S. Border Patrol agents caught the child with her mother crossing the Rio Grande early Tuesday morning.

The Salvadoran family had been traveling through Mexico on the train known as La Bestia, or the Beast, when armed men ordered the U.S.-bound migrants off the train car. Migrants hitching a ride atop La Bestia frequently face attacks from criminal gangs.

RELATED: Border Patrol agents continue to find drugs in weird place on Texas-Mexico border

One of the bandits hit a migrant with his handgun, causing it to fire a bullet that struck her daughters left shoulder, the mother told border agents. The train conductor rushed the child to a local hospital where doctors removed the bullet.

Despite the traumatic experience, the Salvadoran family again hired a smuggler to reach the Texas-Mexico border. For days, the woman told border agents, they holed up in a filthy stash house, crowded with migrants and children.

With the child in agony from her gunshot wound, the stash house caretaker threatened to force the mother and daughter to sleep outside with the dogs. Other young girls were forced into rooms with strange men as punishment for not keeping quiet, the Salvadoran woman told border agents.

Tuesday, immigration officials transported the mother and daughter to a local hospital where the girl was admitted into Intensive Care.

RELATED: Israeli man cuts off finger pads to avoid fees

Its heartbreaking to hear about a child being hurt by smugglers, said Manuel Padilla Jr., chief patrol agent for the agencys Rio Grande Valley sector. Smugglers have no regard for human life, and it is a travesty that migrants, innocent women and children put their trust into these people who see them as nothing more than a commodity to make money.

Padilla heads up the busiest corridor for illegal immigration across the Southwest border, a region that has been witness in recent years to hundreds of thousands of immigrant families and children spilling across the river. Since Oct. 1, 2015, there have been more than 100 migrant deaths in the Rio Grande Valley sector alone.

Padilla has put a spotlight on nefarious smuggling organizations, warning migrants and their families against the perils of entrusting their lives to human smugglers and attempting to enter the country illegally.

Less than 24 hours before finding the mother and daughter, border agents attending to a severely dehydrated immigrant near the small town of Havana discovered the body of another migrant nearby. Later that day, agents in Mission found a second immigrant who had perhished near the international line.
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In Oregon Monday night, a man covered in Aryan pride tattoos barricaded himself in a Subway restaurant with a hostage, according to media reports.

Jeffrey Giddings, 45, has been identified as the man behind the hostage situation and is in custody at Clackamas County Jail, KOIN reported Monday. Giddings is charged with two counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon, criminal mischief, ex-convict in possession of a firearm, and being in possession of heroin, according to Clackamas County records.

Giddings, who has been arrested at least 30 times, once had a face clear of tattoos. Really, the only thing striking about him was a large mustache. But after each arrest, Giddings came out of prison with new tattoo, after new tattoo, until his face was completed peppered with Aryan pride symbols.

Click through the photos to see Giddings' pride tattoo evolution.

RELATED: 12 things you need to know about the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas

Giddings was pulled over for a traffic violation Monday around 6:20 p.m. He fled from police and was later found at a parking lot in the same vicinity as the popular sandwich restaurant.

Giddings shot at police multiple times, hitting Sgt. Lee Jundt who was wearing a ballistic vest and is in excellent condition, KOIN reported.

RELATED: Tattooed man with horns 'blacked out with rage,' cut wife with 8-inch knife in Arizona: report

Then, Giddings went inside the Subway where two employees were working. He took one of them hostage as he barricaded himself inside during a standoff with police.

SWAT team members and snipers were called to the scene where they shot at Giddings and got the hostage out safely. The woman who was held hostage was suffered no injuries. The standoff ended around 8 p.m., KOIN reported.

Giddings was taken to Emanuel Hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries, police said, before he was taken into custody.

RELATED: California man with 'Gucci' face tattoo arrested on weapons, gun charges

Federal prosecutors called Giddings an armed career criminal due to his long rap sheet.

Between 1994 and 2012, there were 30 separate cases against Giddings filed in Klamath County, most involving drug-related offenses and property crime.

In 2012, a pre-sentencing report found 23 convictions for Giddings dating back to 1991, records obtained by KOIN show.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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A former sergeant for the Texas Mexican Mafia pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit racketeering crimes, including drug trafficking and the murders of a Balcones Heights police officer and another man.

Court records show Jerry Spooks Idrogo, 35, admitted that, acting under orders, he lured Officer Julian Pesina to an ambush in May 2014. Two fellow gang members shot Pesina outside his tattoo shop. Gang leaders wanted him dead because they had found out he was a police officer who falsely represented himself as a member of the gang, the documents say.

RELATED: The Texas Mexican Mafia, explained

Idrogo also admitted to the August 2013 killing of Billy Mares Padilla, 41, who was shot inside his West Side home. Idrogos plea deal said Padilla was shot because he did not pay the dime  a street tax the gang imposed on drug dealers.

Idrogo faces up to life in prison when U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez sentences him Nov. 16.

While working for the Balcones Heights Police Department, Pesina also ran the tattoo shop, Notorious Ink, and held himself out as a carnal, or member of the Mexican Mafia, dealing drugs to actual members, according to court records.

Pesina was under investigation by the FBI.

After being alerted by a drug dealer that Pesina was a police officer, Idrogo told a gang lieutenant, Ruben Menace Reyes, 37, who then told superiors. The upper leaders ordered Reyes that Pesina be killed, the plea deal said. Reyes ordered Idrogo to give the job to Alfredo Freddy Low Cardona, 38, a gang prospect at the time, and Jesse Jay Santibanez, 27, who needed to redeem himself with the gang, the plea documents said.

RELATED: Killing of Balcones Heights cop was caught on video, feds say

On May 4, 2014, Idrogo lured Pesina to the tattoo shop to pay the street tax. When Pesina walked up to the car Idrogo was in to pay up, Santibanez shot Pesina with a shotgun and Cardona shot him with a handgun, the plea deal said.

The murder was captured on both an FBI pole-mounted camera that the agency had set up to watch Pesinas tattoo shop and on Notorious Inks own surveillance system.

Afterward, the plea documents said, the trio drove to Cardonas girlfriends apartment, where they changed clothes, broke down their weapons and placed everything in plastic bags.

The clothes were burned and the guns were given to Reyes, the plea deal said.

Last month, Reyes pleaded guilty to racketeering-related crimes that included five murders, including passing down the order to kill Pesina.

A trial date of Oct. 17 is set for Cardona and Santibanez.

gcontreras@express-news.net
The San Antonio Police Officers Association membership voted to accept a mediated settlement on a new contract Thursday that would give officers significant wage increases but also a reduction in health care benefits.

The 2,150-member union voted overwhelmingly to accept the deal. Nearly 71 percent of members who voted cast ballots in favor of the new contract.

Our Membership has spoken and approved the new Police contract with the City of San Antonio. For over two years, we have been in tough and challenging negotiations to provide the best possible pay and benefits for our police officers and their families. I want to thank our negotiating team for their hard work and dedication to our Department, said SAPOA President Mike Helle. I also want to extend a sincere thanks to Mayor Ivy Taylor for her leadership and focus on Public Safety.

The mayor stepped in and brought this deal together and it could not have been done without her guiding city staff to compromise, he continued. We now call on the City Council to pass this contract quickly and put the focus back on the safety of our community. We must work together to rebuild the morale of an understaffed and overworked police force.

Taylor praised the deal as well.

"I am very proud that the San Antonio Police Officers Association has ratified the contract terms that we agreed to in mediation. We now have a great opportunity to continue building police-community relations," she said. "This is a victory for our residents and for our hardworking police officers who deserve a fair compensation package. Also, for the first time our police officers will share in the cost of providing health care for their families. I urge my council colleagues to approve this contract so we can all move forward together."

The council is expected to vote on the deal next month.

The proposed contract includes a 3 percent lump-sum bonus later this year and then 14 percent in increases to base pay over the subsequent four years of the contract. SAPOA and city negotiators have also agreed to reduce the controversial evergreen clause, which keeps most of the contracts terms intact after the agreement initially expires, from 10 years to eight.

The inclusion of a rider that would increase insurance premiums by 10 percent for every year that the new contract stays in evergreen status seemed to be a major sticking point for union members, who are being asked for the first time to begin covering a significant portion of their health care costs. Nonetheless, they passed the deal, which required a simple majority vote, with significant approval.
SAN ANTONIO  Authorities arrested a 25-year-old man after an hour-long standoff with several law enforcement agencies, including a SWAT team, on the Southwest Side Thursday afternoon.

The man, who has not yet been named by police, barricaded himself inside the attic of a home in the 5400 block of Little Creek Street around 12:45 p.m. after agents from the United States Marshals Service showed up to serve a warrant, said San Antonio Police Department spokesman Jesse Salame.
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The San Marcos community is raising money for a police officer who is recovering at home after accidentally swallowing a piece of metal, which his family thinks was maliciously put into his food.

Detective Robert Elrod was released from the hospital Tuesday after he accidentally swallowed about an inch of metal, KEYE reported Wednesday. He underwent surgery Friday to remove the metal. Elrods family believes the piece of metal was a form of attack on the officer.

The doctor, because of the size of the object and the shape, did confirm there is no way it could have been accidentally swallowed, Paul Elrod, the detectives brother told KEYE. It had to have been folded up, compress temporarily, put into a certain shape to be inserted in food to be swallowed and not noticed.

RELATED: Abbott: attacks on police should be treated as hate crimes

Paul Elrod told mySA.com Thursday his brother began experiencing abdominal pain a few weeks ago. He said doctors removed six inches of Robert Elrod's lower intestine Friday.

Trey Hatt, communications specialist for the city of San Marcos, confirmed to mySA.com Thursday there was an ongoing investigation into the incident.

RELATED: 14th Texas law enforcement officer dies in 2016

So far, $3,775 has been raised for Robert Elrods medical expenses as he is expected to be out of work for at least two months to recover, according to a GoFundMe page for the officer.

Until the investigation concludes that the incident happened while he was on duty, workmans comp will not cover the expenses, Paul Elrod wrote on the crowdfunding page.

RELATED: Dan Patrick blames Black Lives Matter for Dallas shooting

San Marcos mayoral candidate John Thomaides, San Marcos Police Chief Chase Stapp and Texas State University police officer Otto Glenewinkel have all donated money to the officer.

Paul Elrod believes his brother was attacked due to racial flare ups around the country between communities and their police.

Unfortunately, our society is focused on less than one percent of rogue incidents with police that are causing these hate crimes, he told KEYE. They are not focused on the 99 percent of men and women in blue protecting us.

Elrod said he wants to know if "some sicko that did that didn't care who ate it or was it a malicious attack on an officer?"

In Salt Lake City, Utah Monday, a police officer was hospitalized after his lemonade was spiked with methamphetamine and THC at a Subway restaurant. Investigators believe it was done intentionally by an 18-year-old Subway employee, who was arrested on suspicion of surreptitiously giving a poisonous substance.

Tanis Ukena denied the allegations but acknowledged what investigators learned after watching surveillance video: He was the only one to prepare and handle the beverage.

He posted $10,000 bail and left jail. He has not been formally charged yet, and it's not known if he has an attorney.

RELATED: Sandwich chain worker accused of drugging officer's drink

The unnamed sergeant was released from the hospital Monday night and was taking Tuesday to recover, but he was expected to be fine, police Lt. Travis Lyman said.

Lyman offered up the same reasons for the attack as Paul Elrod did animosity and distrust of police has been growing around the U.S.

"It's not a reach to make that connection based on the climate right now," Lyman said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
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A third person has been charged in the June shooting death of 5-year-old Ana Garza.

Cristian Enrique Lopez, 19, was already in Bexar County Jail on unrelated charges when the San Antonio Police Department filed a charge of capital murder against him Wednesday in Anas June 1 death.

Ana was shot while sleeping on her bed. A group of men had backed into the driveway of her home at about 11:30 p.m. in the 800 block of Pecan Valley Drive.

RELATED: Woman charged in stabbing death of nephew released from jail

They lured her stepfather outside, claiming they had accidentally hit his car. When he came outside, a police report indicates, they pulled guns on him.

As he ran back in the house, the men opened fire. He was critically injured but he survived.

However, one of the bullets went through a wall and hit the child, who died later at University Hospital.

The men fled in their vehicle. As they were being chased by police, the driver lost control and crashed.

All of them ran from the wrecked vehicle; police arrested Murjan Issack Abdi, 20, that night. Abdi Abdi, 18, was arrested a week later.

RELATED: Grisly details of boy's water-slide death leaked

Investigators said they identified Lopez as a suspect in the attack while searching for Abdi.

Lopez denied any involvement in the case, police said, but investigators reported that a mouth swab connected him to the homicide via DNA evidence collected from the home.

Lopez also is charged with aggravated robbery, parole violation and illegal entry into the United States, according to the Bexar County Central Records Office. Records indicate he is from Honduras and theres a hold on him by immigration authorities.

jbeltran@express-news.net
SAN ANTONIO  Crime Stoppers is looking for a suspect in a homicide that occurred back in November 2014.

Richard Lopez, 29, of San Antonio was killed by an unknown assailant around 7:50 p.m. Nov. 16, 2014 in the 700 block of Saltillo Street. His body was found at about 6:05 a.m. the next morning.
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The second of three men charged with capital murder in last years Martin Luther King Jr. Day shootings, accused of opening fire at purported rival gang members at a crowded carwash on the East Side, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of murder.

Jacquay Howard, 32, agreed to a sentence of 45 years in prison for each count under a plea deal filed with state District Judge Kevin OConnell, according to court documents.

He and two other suspects had been arrested and charged with capital murder in the wake of the shootings, which killed Royal Wylie Willrich, 30, and Vontay Jamar Price, 22. Five other people were injured.

Howard, Edwin Joseph and Adrian Perkins were known gang members who saw and briefly stalked rival gang members before shooting at them in a crowd at North New Braunfels Avenue and Gibbs around 10 p.m. on Jan. 19, 2015, authorities said. The citys nearby annual MLK Day march and celebration had ended hours earlier.

San Antonio police identified the trio as suspects by reviewing video surveillance footage of the shooting. The assailants used an AK-47-style assault rifle, a .40-caliber handgun and a .380-caliber handgun.

A witness had identified Howard as the gunman who fired shots outside a bail bond company owned by Rodney Taylor, husband of Mayor Ivy Taylor, wounding two men in November 2014. But Howard was not charged because no victim would cooperate with the investigation or file a complaint, including Rodney Taylor, whose property was damaged in the shooting, police said.

Police did not present the case to then-District Attorney Susan Reeds office because of what they later described as an understanding with Reed that prosecutors would not take a case without a victim willing to testify. In the wake of Howards arrest in the MLK Day killings, Reed blamed police for not forwarding the case.

She had by then lost her re-election bid to District Attorney Nicholas Nico LaHood, who also said he would have pursued charges, despite the difficulty of not having a cooperative victim, and vowed to clarify that with police agencies.

LaHood said Wednesday that a new culture at the DAs office has improved communication with law enforcement agencies.

The no complainant, no case mentality is not valid anymore, he said in a prepared statement when asked about the Howard case. Although not having a complaining witness in a case is challenging, their cooperation is no longer required with the new administration if the evidence is otherwise sufficient to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Perkins is awaiting trial. Joseph reached a plea agreement last month that capped his sentence at 25 years on two counts of murder, according to court records. He is awaiting sentencing. Both are 26.

Joseph admitted he shot once in the air, after Howard pointed out rival gang members, told him to park, waited a few minutes and led the three around a fence to begin shooting, according to court documents.

Howard told a detective he went at Vontay and Royal because they were the first two people he saw and fired four or five shots in self-defense, according to court documents.

Howard will have to serve at least half his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Dan Gilbert Adams, 84, who died Aug. 1, was drawn to the ministry but yearned for more than a typical pastoral position.

We couldnt really picture ourselves in a particular church situation, his wife Meril Judith Judy Spellman Adams said.

Realizing that they both wanted to serve overseas, the couple became Methodist missionaries in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Arriving in August 1959, Adams and his wife settled in with their four children, but within nine months, the Congo gained independence, Judy Adams said. And all hell broke loose.

Avoiding the most turbulent areas, Adams and his family traveled from mission to mission until they were evacuated.

Undeterred, the family later returned to the Congo, serving until 1968.

The son of a Methodist minister, Adams leaned toward medicine while attending Duke University, but decided to join the Air Force in his second year.

Sent to Lackland AFB, Adams began attending Travis Park United Methodist Church, where he met his future wife.

Realizing that as different as we were in our personalities, we were very like-minded about what we wanted to do with our lives and family, the couple married in 1953, his wife said.

More Information Dan Gilbert Adams Born: Aug. 5, 1931, Hendersonville, Tennessee Died: Aug. 1, 2016, San Antonio Preceded by: Parents Woodward and Marvel Adams Survived by: Wife Meril Judith "Judy" Spellman Adams; daughters Kellie Sue Hooker and son-in-law Robert, Bobbi Gayle Thomas and son-in-law Jim, Dana Lynn Pearson and son-in-law Joe; sons Dan Gilbert Jr. and daughter-in-law Charlotte, Joseph Spellman Adams and daughter-in-law Lisa and Laurance Paul Adams and daughter-in-law Christi; 15 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; two brothers. Services: Memorial at 10 a.m. Aug. 20 at Travis Park United Methodist Church, 230 E. Travis. See More Collapse

Adams graduated from Trinity University and from Candler School of Theology at Emory University and was ordained.

Returning from the Congo  by this time with six children  to a United States in social upheaval, Adams accepted a job at Navajo Methodist Mission School in New Mexico.

My parents loved learning about the new cultures, his daughter Kellie Sue Hooker said. We learned to appreciate and value other cultures and other people.

Adams also recognized the social injustice of the time.

He was always willing to question and stand out a little bit, to challenge the axioms, his wife said. He became quite known for that.

As a father, Adams challenged us to think, Hooker said.

Moving back to San Antonio after more than a decade as chaplain at Methodist Childrens Home in Waco, Adams became associate minister at Trinity United Methodist Church.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
One persistent narrative in U.S. politics is that Hillary Clinton is a slippery, compulsive liar while Donald Trump is a gutsy truth-teller.

Overall, the latest CBS News poll finds the public similarly repulsed by each candidate: 34 percent of registered voters say Clinton is honest and trustworthy compared with 36 percent for Trump.

Yet the idea that they are even in the same league is preposterous. If deception were a sport, Trump would be the Olympic gold medalist; Clinton would be an honorable mention at her local Y.

Lets investigate.

One metric comes from independent fact-checking websites. As of Friday, PolitiFact had found 27 percent of Clintons statements that it had looked into were mostly false or worse, compared with 70 percent of Trumps. It said 2 percent of Clintons statements it had reviewed were egregious pants on fire lies, compared with 19 percent of Trumps. So Trump has nine times the share of flat-out lies as Clinton.

Likewise, The Washington Post Fact-Checker has awarded its worst ranking, Four Pinocchios, to 16 percent of Clintons statements that it checked and to 64 percent of Trumps.

Essentially, Clinton is in the norm for a typical politician, says Glenn Kessler, who runs Fact-Checker, while Trump is just off the charts. Theres never been anyone like him, at least in the six years I have been doing this.

When I speak with Trump voters, they often argue that Clinton is an inveterate liar and crook, yet when pressed they draw from the same handful of examples.

One is Clintons 2008 claim that she landed in Bosnia in 1996 under sniper fire and ran with our heads down from the plane. The Washington Post dismantled that claim; video shows that Clinton was greeted not by gunshots but by a crowd of dignitaries that included an 8-year-old Bosnian girl.

But its also true that as the plane prepared to descend, security officials gave a spine-chilling briefing of the risks of sniper fire, and Clinton wore body armor in case of shooting.

Critics also claim that Clinton lied to the families of the four Americans killed in Benghazi, but fact-checkers have said the evidence is unclear. Harder to defend is her disingenuous explanation of flip-flopping on the Asian trade agreement. And her accounts of her use of private email servers have been consistently false or misleading; astonishingly, she continues to mislead by claiming that the FBI director, James Comey, judged her answers truthful (he didnt).

All this is junior varsity mendacity. In contrast, Trump is the champ of prevarication.

You dont need to go back eight years to find a Trump embellishment; eight minutes is more than sufficient. In March, Politico chronicled a week of Trump remarks and found on average one misstatement every five minutes. The Huffington Post once chronicled 71 inaccuracies in an hour-long town hall session  more than one a minute.

If Clinton declares that she didnt chop down a cherry tree, that might mean that she actually used a chain saw to cut it down. Or that she ordered an aide to chop it down. As for Trump, he will insist, I absolutely did not chop down that cherry tree, even as he clutches the ax with which he chopped it down moments earlier on Facebook Live.

Trump used to boast that he and Vladimir Putin were buddies  I spoke directly and indirectly with President Putin  only to acknowledge later that they had never met or spoken. He retweeted an incendiary graphic indicating that 81 percent of murdered whites are killed by blacks (the actual figure is 15 percent). He denied telling the New York Times editorial board that he would impose a 45 percent tariff on China; the Times then released the audio of him saying just that.

The man lies all the time, says Thomas M. Wells, his former lawyer. Wells recalls being curious that newspaper accounts varied as to the number of rooms in Trumps apartment in Trump Tower  eight, 16, 20 or 30. So Wells asked him how many rooms were actually in the apartment. However, many they will print, Trump responded.

Tony Schwartz, the co-writer of his book The Art of the Deal, told Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, Lying is second nature to him.

In short, Clinton is about average for a politician in dissembling, while Trump is a world champion who is pathological in his dishonesty. Honestly, there is no comparison.

Contact Kristof at Facebook.com/Kristof, Twitter.com/NickKristof or by mail at the New York Times, 620 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10018.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

There is progress in settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Aksam newspaper reported Aug. 11.

Erdogan said that if firstly the five districts of Azerbaijan are liberated from the Armenian occupation, process of normalization can begin in the region.

The whole world realizes that the Azerbaijani territories were occupied by Armenia, he said. And if everyone recognizes this, then why not put an end to this occupation?

The president noted that the US, France and Russia for over 23 years have not been able to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

But now Russian President Vladimir Putin is working on this issue, said Erdogan.

Speaking about the creation of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Russia trilateral format, the president said that Azerbaijan as well as Turkey and Russia positively assess this format.

Erdogan went on to add that foreign ministers of Turkey and Azerbaijan discussed the creation of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Russia trilateral format.

The main purpose of such a format is to track and monitor events in the region, said Erdogan.

On Aug. 9, Erdogan said Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia may create a trilateral mechanism of cooperation.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
A settlement on birth certificates in Texas for children of undocumented immigrants is simple confirmation of what the U.S. Constitution requires: citizenship for children born here.

So says the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Denying birth certificates to these children essentially denied them this right.

The state recently settled with plaintiffs who sued over the matter. They were objecting to the states refusal to consider forms of identification commonly available to the parents.

The state has now agreed to accept forms of identification that include Mexican voter registration cards available through consulates  and such cards for citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Accepted as secondary documents: religious and medical records, official immigration papers and some expired identifications.

The state contended that its purpose in tightening identification requirements for birth certificates was ensuring the security of the certificates.

But just as we doubt that preventing rare instances of in-person voter fraud was the real reason for the voter ID law, we doubt that the security of birth certificates was the motivation in this case. It had the whiff of nativism and was an act unworthy of Texas and Texans, though one that joins a litany of disenfranchisement efforts that stains much of the states history.

The settlement follows a decision by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on voter ID that is causing some loosening of restrictions on identification to vote. A court majority ruled that the voter ID law had the effect of discriminating against low-income and minority voters.

Had mediation not caused this settlement on birth certificates, yet another court would have likely found another example of the state using faux rationale to cover for discriminatory behavior.

The state was correct to settle. But a lawsuit challenging an end run around the 14th Amendment never should have been necessary to file.

The state now has nine months to prove it is living up to the settlement. It must.
The San Antonio Water Systems board has again given president and CEO Robert Puente a massive pay raise.

He will earn $445,899.43 in 2017, and he also received an $82,571 bonus. It was just a year ago that Puente received a 10 percent raise and a $76,773 bonus.

These raises and bonuses come at a time when SAWS is dramatically raising rates and embarking on the controversial Vista Ridge pipeline. They are completely out of line with the lives of the vast majority of SAWS ratepayers.

What do we mean by out of line? Not so much the median household income of $51,000 in Bexar County, although that is a jarring comparison. But rather, Puentes pay is out of line because come January it will have increased by 50 percent since 2008 when he made $275,000.

We doubt many SAWS customers can say theyve experienced that kind of wage growth.

Puentes pay puts him pretty much in line with San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley, whose compensation is an endless flash point in the community, but whose job running a major city is significantly more complex. Puentes salary also dwarfs those in similar jobs in Austin, El Paso and Dallas by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Puente has been a competent steward of the public utility, and we support his efforts to expand our water supply, including the Vista Ridge pipeline.

But lets remember that he was against the Vista Ridge pipeline before he was for it, a flip-flop that created quite a mess.

And lets also remember that SAWS partner on the pipeline, Spain-based Abengoa, almost jeopardized the project due to financial turmoil, which was also quite a mess.

SAWS Chairman Heriberto Berto Guerra Jr. has even praised Puente for responding to massive billing errors last fall as an accomplishment.

Note: Responding to a billing nightmare is not an accomplishment. Its required PR for a failure. And since we are raising issues at SAWS, just where is that updated water management plan  the one that was supposed to be finished in 2015?

Enough is enough.

Stop giving Puente huge raises just because he did his job.
Re: Stay informed as Medicare reforms payment system, Weekend Money Guide, Sunday:

Thank you for your report on expected changes in Medicare.

I would like the government to look at seniors like me who make conscious efforts to stay healthy 24/7.

We are sparing the government unnecessary costs by voluntarily sacrificing to stay fit.

As humans, our first duty is to take care of our own health to avoid being sick. As for physicians, their duty should be to keep me healthy through minimal procedures and tests. Medicare needs to identify recipients who help Medicare cut costs by staying healthy and fit, rewarding them through financial and other incentives to maintain that health.

I sometimes feel discouraged when my Social Security payment continues to bear the burden of patients who are careless about their health and inadvertently allow greedy physicians to rack up bills in their name.

I appeal to Medicare recipients to try to maintain their health, adjust their lifestyles and, when they need medical attention, question the doctors not only to avoid dangerous drugs and expensive procedures but also to protect themselves from side effects that result from them.

Emm Arshad

Defining loss

Re: Parents are pawns, Your Turn, Saturday:

I am trying to show restraint while responding to this letter. The disrespect that Donald Trump and his followers have shown the Khans is unbelievable. I can imagine what the Khans expected, that Trump would show them some sympathy and understanding for their loss. If you dont think losing a son or daughter is a sacrifice, then read the Bible again, and if that doesnt help, there are plenty of parents in San Antonio who can explain what sacrifice means.

Lloyd R. Mathews, Rockport

Kudos to Cruz

Imagine that. An elected politician putting family, principle and decency above politics. Mr. Ted Cruz, in any of your future elections, you can count on my vote. Please keep praying for our America.

Michael V. Pullin

Lack of depth

Re: Political cartoon, Jeffrey Koterba, Editorial Page, July 25:

This cartoon simply states Hillary Clinton is a liar, with no support. Doesnt even mention emails.

Your editorial page should be a little better than simple name-calling, a la Trump. Lets show some intelligence, reasoning and intellect, please.

David Levinson

Reject Smith

Re: Panel protects scientific inquiry, Lamar Smith, Friday:

Mr. Smith should not go back to Washington. I bet he is fine with term limits except for himself. After almost three decades, his misunderstanding of science and denial of climate change are making his constituents a laughingstock.

He says he believes in government oversight, justifying his latest witch hunt against climate scientists and state attorneys general. I wish he believed in government oversight when it came to funding an effective EPA and OSHA. I am tired of being (mis)represented by Mr. Smith and urge him to retire. In the meantime, I urge my fellow constituents to vote for Thomas Wakely for Congress in the 21st District.

Terry Burns

Front-page news?

Re: Zaffirinis family feud comes to an end, front page, Sunday:

I appreciate your making the resolution of the Zaffirini family legal dispute the front-page lead story in Sundays paper. I, and Im sure many of your readers, have been concerned over this issue for years. We can now all rest easy.

Ken Phelps

Double standards

Isnt it ironic that the Democrats had barriers put up during the convention to prevent the Bernie Sanders supporters from protesting at their convention?

I find it funny that Hillary Clinton does not want a wall to prevent illegal immigration, but has one built to prevent those who oppose her from speaking out against her. Worse yet, the media made little or no mention of the protest but seemed to highlight the flag burning at the Republican convention. Talk about double standards by both the press and the Democrats.

William Charest

Word picture

Re: Political cartoon, Lee Judge, July 31:

The cartoon was worth 1,000 editorials.

Bakul M. Bhatt

Falling flat

Re: More than ever, back the blue, John Cornyn, Opinion, July 31:

When people like Sen. John Cornyn write commentaries about backing the blue and creating new laws to ensure cop killers get whats coming to them, their words tend to fall flat. Everybody with half a brain cell knows that those in blue stand between civilization and its opposite.

What makes his column fall even more flat is that he wants new federal laws enacted to ensure cop killers dont escape justice. How about that? A right-wing Republican calling on the federal government? Ive been under the impression that cop killers, generally, get whats coming to them. But, listen, when a states rightist asks for federal help, it should be duly noted.

And the federal government should always comply. Because who knows when a favor will need to be called in? Especially after Cornyns next commentary, which will be, Im sure, about government overreach in one form or other. And the whole time he makes sound and fury about anything national, it signifies nothing.

Mark A. Hall

Half nuts

Two presidents who had relatively peaceful and prosperous terms were Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan.

According to a biography of Eisenhower, he kept peace by quietly threatening the USSR with the atomic bomb. Reagan kept relative peace by being so unpredictable that our enemies had no idea what he was likely to do. Sometimes it is to your benefit to have people think you are well armed and about half nuts. Just saying.

Penelope Talley
More Information

A deadly combination

The National Safety Council reports that:

Cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year.

Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving.

Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than driving drunk.

One out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.

Answering a text takes away your attention for about 5 seconds. Traveling at 55 mph, that's enough time to travel the length of a football field.

Texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.

Of all cell phone-related tasks, texting is by far the most dangerous activity.

The National Safety Council reports that:

Cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year.

Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving.

Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than driving drunk.

One out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.

Answering a text takes away your attention for about 5 seconds. Traveling at 55 mph, that's enough time to travel the length of a football field.

Texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.

Of all cell phone-related tasks, texting is by far the most dangerous activity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

In 2014, 9,967 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31 percent) of all traffic-related deaths in the U.S.

Drugs other than alcohol (legal and illegal) are involved in about 16 percent of motor vehicle crashes.

In fatal crashes in 2014, the highest percentage of drunk drivers was for drivers ages 21 to 24 (30 percent), followed by ages 25 to 34 (29 percent) and 35 to 44 (24 percent).
A 7-year-old girl died on Tuesday, following injuries she sustained from a rock thrown by an elephant at the Rabat Zoo in Morocco.

The girl was with her family in a visitors' area when a female elephant picked up a rock "nearly the size of half a brick" with her trunk, and threw it, hitting the girl in the back of the head, the Guardian reported.

The girl died hours after the incident at a hospital.

The female elephant was one of three kept in an open-air enclosure, which the Rabat Zoo said meets international safety standards. The elephants are separated from visitors by a large ditch, along with a wooden fence, CNN reported. The zoo has not had any previous record of injuries or deaths caused by animals.

Cell phone footage of the incident has surfaced, showing the moments after the girl was struck. The video shows visitors helping the girl as she is bleeding from the head, as well as the elephant enclosure and the thrown rock.

A commenter on the video criticized the lack of an emergency station at the zoo, while others mentioned the "delayed arrival" of paramedics, according to Morocco World News.

The zoo issued a statement on the death and offered its condolences to the family, saying, "this kind of accident is rare, unforeseeable and unusual."

The statement went on to say that similar accidents have happened internationally, referencing the death of a 2-year-old who was attacked and killed by an alligator at a Disney World resort, and the 3-year-old who fell into a gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Russia must be ruthless towards terrorist organizations in Syria, said Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in his interview with NTV channel.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to take into account the presence of the moderate opposition in Syria, said Cavusoglu.

The minister noted that Turkey and Russia can start joint fight against the Islamic State terrorist group (aka IS, ISIL, ISIS, or Daesh).

He also pointed out that Turkey and Russia have a common position on the issue of Syrias territorial integrity.

Cavusoglu said Ankara and Moscow must cooperate more closely to resolve the Syrian crisis.

Earlier, Turkish presidents spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that a Turkish delegation will visit Russia to discuss the Syrian crisis. The delegation will include employees of Turkeys National Intelligence Organization (MIT), General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, and Foreign Ministry.

He added that the Turkish delegation will also discuss security issues during the visit.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The "Islamic State" and Jabhat al-Nusra are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
For the last couple of years, weve been monitoring a troubling development in private equity, the use of subscription line financing. This innocuous-sounding term is for a credit line, offered by a bank, to allow general partners to borrow at the level of the investment fund. This is in addition to the considerable borrowing that already occurs in private equity, at the portfolio company level, where 70% of the purchase price typically comes from lenders.

This practice, which even major players like Bain Capital decry as dangerous, appears to have gone mainstream. As well explain, these credit lines make already-exaggerated returns in private equity look more attractive than they are, not merely through the raw application of leverage but by changing how investment cash flows are reported. And they greatly increase the risk of investing in private equity during financial shocks. That risk obviates out one of the supposed advantages of private equity, that private equity appears to do well in bear markets, when in fact private equity partners are merely providing rosy portfolio values. The more general partners use these subscription lines of credit, the more private equity will amplify investor risks rather than reduce them.

Background: How Subscription Lines of Credit Work

The Bank of Montreal created subscription financing and it was always intended as a way to improve investors reported returns at the expense of the economics of the investment.

Early in the life of a specific private equity fund, investors will report negative returns. This will occur in the first year or two, after the investor has incurred management fees and had some initial capital calls. Unless the general partner has an aggressive, fast strategy for monetizing the investment (say the now out-of-favor dividend recap in which the GP loads the acquired company with lots of debt and pays investors a large special dividend), for at least the initial year after making an acquisition, the GP is likely to report the value of the portfolio company as par value, meaning the acquisition price. So when you include the management fees and the cost of closing the deal, the limited partners reported returns will be negative. This pattern is called the J curve.

Despite the impact on the level of individual fund, this J curve effect has been seen as more of an annoyance than a serious problem, since private equity investors are committing new monies to private equity every year and reaping returns over time from mature funds. Its been bruited about much more in venture capital than in private equity generally, since in VC, the fund makes multiple financings before an exit, so the J curve is deeper on the downside and longer in duration.

By contrast, in private equity, the overall returns have been seen as good enough that the perceived negative impact of the J curve washed out over time. And let us not forget that private equity return are generally overstated, by virtue of the use of the internal rate of return as the prevailing method for presenting results (as opposed to more accurate measures, such as PME, or public market equivalent) and that GPs are widely acknowledged to under-report declines in value in bad markets.

But now that private equity returns are flagging, investors are willing to turn a blind eye to any gimmick that improves results. Here is where the subscription lines of credit come in.

Limited partnership agreements have always allowed for borrowing at the fund level, but the original intent was that it would be used only on a very exceptional basis, for instance, if the GP was consummating a deal and some part of the financing fell through (say a creditor rescinded a funding commitment).

Rather than hit up the limited partners for more money, which would presumably then be taken out via a conventional lender, the general partners would borrow at the fund level.

Subscription line financing makes it possible for general partners to borrow at the fund level on a routine basis, as opposed to its previous status as an unusual event. The bank provides a credit line with that borrowing secured not by the assets of any portfolio companies, but by the unused capital commitments of the limited partners. In other words, while these borrowings were expected to be rare and repaid by other means, from the lenders perspective, legally they are advances against the limited partners capital commitments.

While wed only seen limited information about these credit facilities in the last two years, a new article from Pensions & Investments reveals that they are becoming popular. Even more troubling is that this news is buried in the second half of a story titled, Private equity managers not budging on carried interest. From the article:

Most of the speakers on that panel  including moderator Sam Green, private equity investment officer at the Oregon Investment Council, Tigard, which runs the $68 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund  were sanguine about a relatively new development in which private equity general partners are taking out lines of credit to leverage their funds. Theres some controversy, but I am largely in favor if they (general partners) use credit lines properly, said Paul R. Yett, managing director of alternative investment money manager Hamilton Lane, who spoke on that panel. Some managers use lines of credit instead of calling investor capital, thereby easing limited partners capital call burden, Mr. Yett said. I expect general partners to be good managers of their funds  and subscription line (lines of credit) rates are very attractive right now, he added. John Connaughton, co-managing partner and head of global private equity at Bain Capital, who spoke on the same panel, said leveraging portfolio companies and then leveraging equity on top of that could be like the boiling frog. Its not a good idea, he said.

Look at how topsy-turvy the panelist comments are. The party that ought to be most positive about this trend, namely a general partner, is the one sounding alarms. By contrast, Hamilton Lane, which acts both as a pension consultant and runs funds of funds, is hunky-dory. Bizarrely, the rationale is that the general partners will be good managers of their funds. As well show shortly, general partners are indeed concerned about their fundswhich has nothing to do with the liquidity management issues of their investors.

Hamilton Lanes cheery take means at a minimum, it sees these credit lines as popular among its clients and does not want to rock the boat, and at the worst is promoting this development. More attractive-looking private equity investments means more allocations to private equity, which is all to the benefit of Hamilton Lane.

Former CalPERS Investment Committee chairman and private equity executive Michael Flaherman was also alarmed about the rise in this practice. As he said:

This leverage-on-leverage stuff is a disturbing development in private equity. What is particularly troubling about this issue is that its a classic form of hidden risk, where the private equity staff looks smart because they get marginally better returns, until some big upset in financial markets when the credit lines all get called at once and investors suffer another liquidity crisis and a big loss on their PE portfolio. However, at that moment, everyone will be hurting in the institutional world, and the staff will claim, Who could have predicted this? Private equity investors are setting themselves up to the Landesbanken* of the next financial crisis.

How Subscription Lines of Credit Juice Private Equitys Reported Returns

So how do these lines of credit make private equity returns look better at a time when the industry leaders have warned that the glory days are over and to expect more modest results?

Turning early year J-curve negative into super-positive-looking results. Without seeing the interaction between the subscription line use and capital calls, its too speculative to estimate how great the impact of these subscription lines might be. However, at a high level, its not hard to see that it would be significant. Private equity limited partners could have the fund borrow the entire amount of their early-year deals, while allowing them to report their borrowed equity investment as the reported value. Thus in that scenario, the amount of investment would be at most their hard-dollar payment of management fees and annual fund level expenses, such as the fund audit.** So if you assume that the general partner spends 1/5 of a limited partners $500 million commitment amount at the start of year 1, levers it up with equity at 30% and debt at 70%, carries the investment at cost, and the management fee of 2% of the commitment amount is paid fully (as in no shifting onto the portfolio company via fee offsets), you have an investment of only $10 million (the management fees; weve kept the fund expenses out because they arent all that large) with a portfolio value of $100 million. An apparent ten-bagger out of the gate! And the impact on IRR is going be be even prettier because the management fees are paid quarterly, plus the computation of IRR exaggerates gains reported early in the life of the fund. Needless to say, the subscription lines are alchemy that turn the limited partners actual economic exposure of being on the hook for the equity component of these investments from an outlay before returns are realized into an apparent out of the box huge gain.

Increasing overall fund leverage. Even though some general partners have been telling limited partners (or even getting fund amendments to be more explicit) about using subscription lines and presenting the intended use as only to counter the J curve effect, that is not how the subscription line financings are structured. They allow for broad borrowing against limited partner capital commitments, and we are told that a careful reading of fund amendments allows for that use.

This practice allows limited partners to achieve vastly higher levels of overall leverage. Again, using the example above, if a fund has borrowed what would have been the entire limited partner equity contribution, the leverage is infinite. Using a less aggressive assumption, that by year two, half of the equity component has come from capital calls and half from the subscription line, the equity is a mere 15% as opposed to the more typical 30%. The result is a substantial increase in reported returns at the expense of a much greater risk of lose. And let us not forget that private equity deals regularly end in bankruptcies or restructurings.

Downside Risks to Limited Partners

How are limited partners like CalPERs, CalSTER, university endowments like Harvard and Yale, and other long-term investors put at risk by this accounting gimmickry and leverage on leverage?

Remember that these credit lines are secured by the commitments of the limited partners to the private equity fund. And those commitments have teeth. When a general partner makes a capital call, the limited partner is required to send the money pronto, typically in five or ten businesses days. The consequences of missing a capital call are draconian. A common penalty is for the assets of the defaulting limited partner to become the property of the fund and be reallocated among the remaining investors.

Limited partners take comfort from the fact that traditionally, general partners make capital calls only when times are good, as in when they can readily obtain financing. Even though it would have seemed to present a great opportunity for bottom-fishign, private equity firms did not buy companies at the panicked moments of the crisis because financial markets participants had all run to their bunkers.

Hoever, even with that general proviso, limited partners, and CalPERS in particular, got burned by private equity capital calls in the runup to the crisis. Its widely known that CalPERS had contacted its private equity general partners and beseeched them not make capital calls because the giant pension fund was liquidity constrained. Industry sources say that the GPs werent moved by CalPERS pleadings. As the Wall Street Journal reported in late October 2008:

The nations largest public pension fund, known as Calpers, is unloading stocks in a falling market to make sure it has enough cash to meet its obligations. The pressures come as the California Public Employees Retirement System has had to raise cash to fulfill commitments to private-equity firms and real-estate partners. The giant funds predicament is another sign of how the market selloff is tightening the screws on pension funds nationwide. Many other pension funds have similar partnerships and could also confront liquidity strains Typically, Calpers keeps less than 2% of its assets in cash, but the recent demands have forced it to raise that level Under normal conditions, pension funds count on some private-equity partners to distribute investment gains, while pensions owe some partners more capital. During the recent market selloff, however, distributions have dried up while capital calls continue. Thats created a mismatch and a cash strain. Since the credit markets have tightened up and real estate and alternative investments arent very liquid, Calpers has been compelled to sell off stocks to raise large sums quickly. Those sales are turning paper losses into realized losses.

So CalPERS dumped stock at near-bottom levels of the crisis as a result of private equity and real estate imposing unexpected liquidity demands.

This risk would become more acute and the exposure larger the more general partners use subscription line financing. Why? One of the covenants is that the fund maintain a certain coverage level relative to aggregate EBITDA. EBITDA can fall sharply in a recession or financial shock. That would lead the bank to demand a credit line paydown, which in turn would lead the general partners to issue a capital call. Needless to say, this would also take place when securities values would be under stress generally, meaning if the limited partner ran through its liquidity buffers, it would, as CalPERS did, be forced to sell other investments to meet the cash demands on the private equity front.

Of course, funds like CalPERS could also hold more cash to insure against that need. But thats perceived to be a real cost and would offset the perceived advantages of goosing reported returns. And as both behavioral economists and statistical experts like Nassim Nicholas Taleb have warned, investors tend to greatly underestimate the likelihood and amplitude of tail events. So its pretty much a given that even if limited partners recognize this need, they are unlikely to take sufficient precautions.

Systemic Risks

Leverage on leverage structures, particularly ones that have connections to the banking system, are very dangerous. The trusts of the 1920s, which were leveraged vehicles for investing in the stock market, evolved into trust of trusts and even trusts of trusts of trusts. It was common for retail investors in equities in the Roaring Twenties to have only a 10% to 30% investment in their positions. The Great Crash not only wiped out overgeared investors, it blew back to the banking system, directly via losses on margin calls where the liquidated stocks were sold at too low a price to cover the loan, and then through second-order effects: the economic damage, particularly to housing. Mortgages then were five year loans that were routinely refinanced. As investors were wiped out and as depositors lost their savings as banks failed, homeowners were either wiped out or had their saving greatly depleted So they would miss their mortgage payments or be unable to refinance when their loans matured. For instance, my maternal grandparents had deposits in three different banks, all of which failed. They lost their home and eventually got back three cents on the dollar of their deposits.

In the crisis just past, leverage on leverage vehicles, namely derivatives and collateralized debt obligations whose assets were primarily credit default swaps, were what would have been a savings and loan level housing crisis into a global financial crisis

In the savings and loan crisis and the 2008 crash, the losses on private equity borrowings have gotten little attention. Yet the leveraged buyout bust hit a lot of lenders and investors severely. Similarly, in the 2008 crisis, banks and investment banks were stuck holding a lot of unsold collateralized loan obligation inventory (structured credit vehicles based on leveraged loans, meaning almost always acquisition lending for private equity investments). As we discussed at the time, they underreported losses by trading itty bitty amounts with friendly investors to establish inflated market prices that they used for accounting purposes.

However, the broader point it that even as large as private equity borrowing has been, it hasnt been enough to even warrant much mention in crises past because it want large enough in aggregate, most deals had had reasonable levels of equity and much of the borrowing, like junk bonds and CLOs, sat with investors who could sustain losses, as opposed to thinly-capitalized banks who sat at the heart of the payments system.

These subscription lines have the potential to amplify financial crises by amplifying shocks and sending them across markets. We wrote about that phenomenon regularly in the 2008 debacle, when youd see a sudden plunge in a market that seemed to have nothing to do with the bad news of the day, like gold. It was clear that a large investors had been hit with a margin call and needed to sell something to raise the needed dough. The logical move was not to sell an investment that was showing losses, if possible, or if not, to liquidate one that was in relatively good shape and in a market that was not so roiled that the order could be executed.

And let us not forget that if some private equity limited partners could not meet initial subscription line capital call, the other limited partners might be on the hook, up to the limit of their unused commitment amount. And what would happen if that were to prove insufficient to meet the remaining amount due? Presumably, the fund would be liquidated. This isnt as outlandish as it seems. Quite a few quant funds folded during the crisis due to liquidity demands. It similarly seemed inconceivable that AIG could fail due to a parent-company liquidity crunch until it happened.

Its one thing for a CalPERS (and perhaps some of its similarly too-clever brethren) to have to dump a few hundred million worth of stocks at a bad time. Its a self-inflicted wound that shows how they underestimated the true risks of private equity, but was mere surface wound. By contrast, if these subscription lines become widely used, and the patter from the Pensions & Investments article says that is starting to happen, they post a vastly larger risk to the limited partners and have the potential to amplify financial crises. And these risks are being incurred in the name of making returns look better than they are. This ought to be financial malpractice but too often that sort of snake oil it touted as innovation.

_____

* Landesbanken were among the dumbest money in the crisis just past. They were the buyers of many rancid CDOs in their hunger for safe-looking assets that provided a modest pickup in yield over similarly-rated conventional bonds. Readers of The Big Short may recall that patient zero of dodgy CDOs, salesman Greg Lippmann of Deutsche Bank, told inquisitive parties that Dusseldorf was the on the other side of these trades. IKB, headquartered in Dusseldorf, was the result of a merger of a landesbank and an industrial bank, went head over heels into US subprime and was the first major German institution to suffer large subprime losses and need a bailout.

** Recall that general partner transaction fees are offset against management fees. However, even then, some funds set up the management fees as part of the commitment amount as opposed to a separate contractual obligation. The costs of consummating the transaction are typically treated as part of the initial investment and thus paid out of limited partner capital calls and acquisition-related borrowing. So the limited partners are presumably exposed only to management fees and annual fund-level expenses.
A United Nations spokesman on Thursday welcomed a joint pledge by Turkey and Russia to cooperate against Daesh, Anadolu reported.

We welcome any signs of greater international unity against Daesh, Farhan Haq said during a daily briefing in response to a question about the recent thawing of Turkey-Russia ties.

Regarding the current situation in Aleppo, where nearly 300,000 residents are stranded and in need of humanitarian assistance, Haq said there have been indications of improvements but the overall conditions are dangerous. Attacks on hospitals and clinics have continued unabated and that seriously jeopardizes the health and welfare of all citizens, he said. There are some signs that water has been returned to some people in Aleppo but the situation remains precarious for hundreds of thousands.

After Erdogan and Putin met for the first time earlier this week since Turkish jets shot down a Russian military aircraft last November, the two countries announced new committees to discuss the Syrian crisis, which were to meet for the first time in Moscow on Thursday.

Ankara and Moscow expressed differences of opinion on the future of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but both cite Daesh terrorist group, which controls large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq, as a common enemy.

Later Thursday, the State Department said it remained in close contact with its Turkish allies to fight Daesh and would welcome it if Russia were really interested in taking the fight to the militants.

Asked of the U.S. position regarding reports allegedly Turkey looked to expand its non-NATO defensive security cooperation, agency spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said interoperability was a fundamental tenet of NATO.

"We believe it's important that NATO countries procure military equipment that's interoperable with NATO systems," she said.

Syria has been torn apart by a five-year conflict that has left hundreds of thousands of victims dead and millions displaced, with Turkey alone sheltering more than 2.7 million Syrians.

Aleppo has been a flash-point city in the fighting between opposition groups and Moscow-backed regime forces, with Russia laying siege to the city and suffocating humanitarian efforts.
Yves here. Economists have been hand-wringing recently over falling labor productivity in the US. Wolf Richter gives an update and some implications.

By Wolf Richter, a San Francisco based executive, entrepreneur, start up specialist, and author, with extensive international work experience. Originally published at Wolf Street.

This cannot be good for jobs: In the second quarter, nonfarm business sector labor productivity  defined as output per hour worked  fell by an annual rate of 0.5% from the first quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The third quarterly decline in a row.

The last time it dropped for three quarters in a row was from Q3 1973 through Q3 1974 (5 quarters). Alas, in November 1973, the economy entered a recession. Several quarters in a row of declining productivity is not kind to the economy.

The productivity decline in the second quarter this year was the result of output edging up at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.2% while hours worked to obtain this output rose 1.8%. Year-over-year, productivity fell 0.4%.

Here is what this looks like on a quarterly (blue columns) and year-over-year (red line) basis (chart via BLS):

At the same time, unit labor cost rose 2.0% in the second quarter, the result of a 1.5% increase in hourly compensation and the 0.5% decline in productivity. Year-over-year, unit labor costs increased by 2.1%.

Ideally, compensation rises to give workers more spending money, and productivity rises as much or more, so that workers and employers both come out ahead. But thats not happening.

So whats wrong? Why is productivity growth so miserably low? And its not because Americans somehow forgot to work. Krishen Rangasamy, Senior Economist at Economics and Strategy, National Bank of Canada, put it this way:

Borrowing by corporations for the purposes of stock buybacks instead of investment in machinery and equipment does little to enhance an economys capacity for growth. Were getting more evidence of that in the US where the average age of fixed assets is the highest in half a century and productivity growth is the weakest on records. Given the productivity declines in the first half of the year, and even assuming productivity grows in the second semester at the fastest pace in six years, productivity growth in 2016 is set to be close to zero. As todays Hot Chart shows, that would mean a six-year average of roughly 0.5% for productivity growth, the lowest ever recorded. That cannot be bullish for the US labor market.

In Rangasamys annual chart below, the red line that has been in decline since 2003 represents the 6-year average productivity growth. Even if his best-case forecast of 2.2% productivity growth in the second half plays out, productivity growth for the whole year will drop to near zero, and the 6-year average would hit 0.5%, the lowest ever recorded:

It will eventually impact the labor market. Heres why: despite the hiring that companies have been doing, sales  the ultimate measure of output  have been heading south since mid-2014.

Total business sales, according to Census Bureau data, which include sales within the US by all companies, not just the largest in the S&P 500, peaked in July 2014 at $1.35 trillion. By May this year, the most recent data available, theyd dropped 4.4% to $1.29 trillion.

Despite sales cascading lower for a year-and-a-half, nonfarm employment from June 2014 through July 2016 has risen by 5.6 million jobs! And thats what the productivity decline is also showing: the additional labor hours have been accompanied by a decline in sales!

The chart shows how jobs and total business sales are normally on the same wave length: When sales get hit, businesses cut their payrolls; when sales pick up, businesses hire. But since June 2014, a peculiar phenomenon has set in, with employment (blue line, left scale) rising and sales (red line, right scale) falling:

Note that the Census Bureau once again adjusted its numbers for total business sales  downward as always. Since Im a stickler for numbers, and for pointing out rose-tinted data-set bias, I have added the old numbers (brown line) to the revised numbers (red line).

Some economists contend that the measurement of productivity itself is off because it just cant be this bad! They contend that the government is doing a lousy job measuring productivity in the modern gig-and-social-media economy. That may be true. But the relationship between declining sales and rising employment points at a core problem: productivity is down  and is down sharply  or else, rising employment would lead to rising sales.

Clearly, something is amiss. Sales and productivity cannot decline forever while companies continue to hire. Eventually companies are going to react in large numbers. Theyre either going to perform miracles and get their sales to jump through hoops, or if that fails, theyre going to bring their workforce in line with their lower sales. And that would be when the jobs recovery, as miserable as it has been, gets crushed.

In fact, on an individual basis, on a per-capita basis, the employment situation has barely improved since the Great Recession. Read Why this Job Market is Still Terrible: The Politically Incorrect Numbers Everyone is Hushing up
'It just flipped': Busch details final season with Joe Gibbs Racing in 'Race for the Championship' In the latest episode of USA Network's "Race for the Championship," Busch describes the change at JGR and is introduced with a new team.
Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
Peoples Liberation Army of China Now Bigger and Better Equipped with More Enlisted Professionals

The PLA is now more robust with majority of recruits composed of intellectuals and college students. (Photo : Getty Images)

Based on a report released by the Institute for Security and Development Policy, there are 150,000 troops out of the 400,000 recruits that were college level students or graduates. A majority of the army is still composed of individuals with a high school education.



The PLA is encouraging intellectuals to sign up, part of the army's strengthening and modernization strategy.



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Chas W. Freeman, Jr. former Assistant Secretary of Defense said that China's efforts to have more educated soldiers were not going to be effective.



"They are clearly not engaged in a major military build-up," he said. "They are engaged in a modernization program because they have a junk-yard army with '50s equipment."



Freeman was referring to China's low-tech armaments in the '90s when the U.S. had to give military support to the conflict with Taiwan.



In 1993, former President Jiang Zemin called for modernization of the army, and such call to action is still continued today. The military budget doubled and acquisitions became more ambitious, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).



Former President Hu Jintao, in 2011, made major reforms in the military as well. He made changes to the Military Service Law and gave incentives to college students who enlisted.



"The military is facing prominent difficulties in recruiting soldiers, retaining professionals. We must find the solution to these problems by adjusting and reforming related policies and institutions," he said.



This change in policy altered the army's composition as it used to focus recruitment in rural areas only.



These incentives included preferential treatment in the civil service if the soldiers decide to terminate their army services. They can also re-enroll to a major that they chose, and get tax breaks if they decide to start their own businesses.



China's military budget in 2015, according to the SIPRI report, is now at $215 billion.


MOFCOM wants to penalize violators of rules on mergers and deals. (Photo : Getty Images)

MOFCOM said that they will continually crack down and punish companies who do not seek approval prior commencement of mergers.



Companies must notify MOFCOM of mergers and deals if the sales in China exceeds 2 billion yuan.



According to lawyers, companies avoid filing with MOFCOM as it derails the acquisition process.



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Liyong Jiang, a partner at Gaopeng & Partners and a former MOFCOM legal official, said, "Some players do not have the knowledge, but some companies deliberately avoid filing, including some state-owned enterprises, as it can be quite a lengthy and uncertain timetable."



The Ministry has been aggressive in its drive to penalize companies who are guilty of "gun-jumping," or forming mergers without the government's knowledge. In the past 11 months, MOFCOM imposed penalties to Microsoft, Hitachi, and Bombardier.



The president of Bombardier China, Jianwei Zhang, said that their company formed a joint venture in 2015 because a delay might stop them from participating in a railway project tender with China's New United Group.



Adrian Emch, a partner at Hogan Lovells said, "Companies making a joint tender bid have faced serious difficulties: if they sought antitrust approval, incorporation of the JV could be delayed and the opportunity might be gone by the time approval came."



He added, "An alternative would be not to file, but this might breach the law. Damned if you do, damned if you don't."



The MOFCOM has improved its procedures by shortening the process to 29 days. Almost all deals are using the simplified and faster process. The fine for non-compliance is only 500,000 yuan.



Because of the low fine, companies just pay the amount instead to going through the filing procedure. The Ministry has resorted to public shaming.



Marc Waha, head of the Asia antitrust practice at Norton Rose Fulbright, said that MOFCOM officials are frustrated and are eager to gain more teeth when the antimonopoly law is revised.


(NaturalNews) "Oh, I love New Zealand. It's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It's...what? What did you say?...No, that's impossible. That couldn't be happening. They're doing what??"(Article by Jon Rappoport, republished from The Daily Sheeple The strategy of the New Zealand government is simple.A series of local movements is successful. So kill them off by claiming decision-making must occur at a "higher level." Take power out of the hands of locals.The people can't represent themselves. That's dangerous. No, big government will represent the peopleby squashing what the people want.The issue is fluorides. I recently wrote two articles demonstrating the extreme toxicity of this substance, which of course is dumped in water supplies as a medical treatment. (fluoride archive here).In New Zealand, a group called Fluoride Free NZ has been highly successful working with town councils to ban fluorides from local communities.But these successes are a threat, because they contradict the lies medical authorities spew about how safe fluorides are, and because grass-roots victories erode blind faith in centralized government.Here are quotes from Kane Titchener, who represents the group, Fluoride Free NZ, in New Zealand. His remarks lay out what's happening behind the scenes in that natural paradise:"...the fluoridation issue has been brought to a head. The NZ Government is proposing that the [bigger] District Health Boards take over the decision making [about] fluoridation [in water supplies] as opposed to the local councils. This is because we have been very good at winning at the local council level." Fluoride Free NZ was formed in 2003. Since that time we have had many substantial victories in local Councils throughout New Zealand. Local Councils that have stopped [fluoridating water supplies] as a result of Fluoride Free NZ's lobbying efforts: New Plymouth; Taumarunui; Waipukurau; Far North...""In summary, the Government is planning to implement mandatory fluoridation to the whole of New Zealand . Currently, only around 50% of households are on fluoridated water, with only 23 out of 67 local councils still fluoridating, while voicing their growing concerns about fluoridation risks and dangers. In response to more and more councillors and mayors deciding against fluoridation, the Government is now taking the decision away from local councils and communities and putting the power into the hands of District Health Boards (DHB), who are under the direct control of Central Government."If you think Fluoride Free NZ's successes working with town councils is a walk in the park, think again. This group has scored victories against long odds. This group is smart, dedicated, and effective.They represent what can happen when strong, clear-sighted, creative individuals band together to accomplish a righteous goal.And the tyrannical response of big government is predictable.However, there is going to be blowback against that government in New Zealand.The degree and power of the blowback is going to depend, in part, on the response of people around the world who become aware of the situation and make their voices heard.Contact Fluoride Free NZ. Help them. Spread their press releases all over the world.Why should a government be permitted to dump poison into the water and call it medical treatment?And having called it medical treatment, by what power can a government mandate it for all citizens without informed consent, without the explicit permission of those millions of patients? Yes, patients, because that's what they are. They're being treated every day.By what power can this happen? Dictatorship calling itself democracy.A note to tourists: how do you feel about traveling to New Zealand and bathing in, and drinking, poison? Do you like that bonus for spending your good money in "paradise?"If not, you might want to contact the New Zealand tourism authority (newzealand.com) and let them know about your change of plans.Such organizations are always interested in money, where it's coming fromand where it won't be coming from.Read more at: The Daily Sheeple Sources:[1] https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/category/fluoride/ [2] http://fluoridefree.org.nz/ [3] http://www.newzealand.com/
Hawaii Department of Agriculture is 'asleep at the wheel'

Hawaii birth defects are 10 times the national rate

(NaturalNews) A nonprofit environmental law firm has sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for the agency to revoke the authority of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) to "investigate and enforce" violations of the state'sThe letter, sent on August 4 by Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff, requested the EPA to inform the HDOA of its failure to meet its responsibilities and demand that it clean up its act within 90 days, or else face the revocation of its primary enforcement authority.According to the conditions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), a state may be permitted to take primary responsibility for enforcing pesticide regulations if it has "adequate pesticide laws and adequate procedures" for doing so, or has entered into a cooperative partnership with the EPA.Achitoff claims that the HDOA has not met the necessary criteria, and has allowed the accumulation of a huge backlog in cases involving pesticide violations. He accused the agency of putting the public "at risk" and being "asleep at the wheel," according to theHis accusations were based on annual EPA reports regarding the state's pesticide program.From the"In the latest report, which covered Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2015, the EPA criticized the state Agriculture Department for providing 'short' inspection reports that 'lacked critical information' and noted that the agency had a backlog of 700 inspection files, some of which dated back to 2008."The EPA has "repeatedly" warned the HDOA over the past few years that it has failed to adequately enforce the laws regarding pesticide use, and that it has allowed an unacceptable number of cases to become backlogged.However, instead of adding to its workforce, the DPOA enforcement staff has actually shrunk, according to Achitoff, and as a result, the backlog problem has grown even worse.Some of the cases in the backlog were so old that they can no longer be enforced due to expiration of the statute of limitations."At the same time, the number of complaints about pesticide misuse has been increasing, along with public frustration and loss of confidence," according to Earthjustice.The frustration and lack of confidence on the part of the public is perfectly understandable, especially considering thatis much higher, on the average, than states on the mainland.From"In Kauai, chemical companies Dow, BASF, Syngenta and DuPont spray 17 times more restricted-use insecticides per acre than on ordinary cornfields in the US mainland, according to the most detailed study of the sector, by the Center for Food Safety."Just in Kauai, 18 tons  including atrazine, paraquat (both banned in Europe) and chlorpyrifos  were applied in 2012."Glyphosate, the cancer-causing main ingredient of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide , is also widely used in Hawaii, where GMO corn is currently being cultivated on a large scale.In August 2015, around 10,000 Hawaiian citizens marched on the state capital, Honolulu, to protest GMO agriculture and the use ofThe public outrage was at least partly sparked in response to abnormally high rates of birth defects in some parts of the state. In Waimea, for example, the number of children born with severe heart malformations in the past five years was 10 times the national rate.Achitoff fears that many pesticide users may now feel free to apply these dangerous chemicals carelessly or completely ignore the regulations as a result of the HDOA's failure to enforce the law.This situation poses a grave danger to the populace of the state  hopefully the FDA will now intervene and act to protect Hawaiian families and their unborn children  as well as the environment.
Sweat the small stuff, because it can absolutely ruin the big stuff!

(NaturalNews) Most health enthusiasts watch what they eat in a major way, not realizing that they may not be vigilant enough in some key areas. Are you struggling to shed those last 10 pounds? Can't seem to get enough energy for a good workout at the gym? Too tired before and after work to do much at all? Maybe the secret lies in the need for healthy food across the board, not just when considering the main courses you consume and the beverages of which you partake.Those little "extras" are greatly underestimated in their power to bring you down, slow you down and actually minimize your potential. That's right: the "man" sneaks poisons into just about anything he can, so when you overlook condiments and don't "sweat the small stuff," it just may be what's sweating. Maybe your mustard and fermented soy sauce are okay, but there's a swath of toxic toppings you probably think don't make up enough of what you consume to make a difference. Except ... they do.Do you ever watch videos where the speakers are raw foodists, or health "fanatics," or just nutritional experts, and they seem to have a relentless supply of energy, a positive outlook, enthusiasm and passion for life and what they're teaching? It's not because they consume canola oil and soybean oil all day, and it's certainly not because they drink water from the tap and put animal byproducts that contain hormones, antibiotics and harmful bacteria in their bodies. They're not putting products in their bodies that have been processed, iodized, irradiated, brewed with chemicals, genetically modified or imported from China. Every little bit adds up, and you may want to evaluateyou're eating and drinking, including these top seven condiments that destroy health faster than most people would ever even consider.#1.: Liquid creamers often contain soy and carageenan, while the powders contain GMO soy , among other polluted ingredients.#2.: These sweet devils cause feelings of anxiety, nervousness, depression and for many others, irritable bowel syndrome.#3.: Nearly every mayo on the shelves, including the organic options, contains pesticide-laden soybean and canola oils. It's hard to find mayonnaise made with non-GMO sunflower oil or vegenaise. Your best bet is to follow a recipe and make your own organic mayonnaise with organic eggs, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard.#4.: They're flooding the shelves lately, and they'll absolutely ruin your healthy salad. Don't let it happen to you. Even organic soy is bad for humans. If soy is not fermented, don't buy it. And canola oil comes from rapeseed, which is toxic toanimals. Let it go!#5.: Sour cream is dairy based, and if the cows aren't grass fed and living outside, eating normal organic food, then they're living in confined animal feeding operations, getting jacked up with artificial growth hormones, shot up with antibiotics and crowded together, walking around in their own feces, with infected udders that produce pus-laden milk. Talk about a condiment that will bring you down and lead to inflammation and excess mucus. Avoid non-organic sour cream at all costs.#6.: Much of the "honey" sold in America is just HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) that's genetically modified and/or imported and processed imitation honey from China. (Look for REAL honey from local, trusted sources.)#7.: You know how you always hear, "Too much sodium causes high blood pressure?" Well, they're talking about iodized, irradiated salt, not sea salt , which contains lots of nutritious minerals. Avoid the white salt that's in just about every shaker at every restaurant in America. Bring your own Himalayan sea salt with you when you go out to eat, and pop your own organic popcorn (with sea salt) and bag it for the movies!A condiment is any sauce or spice that's added to food in order to impart a certain flavor, or to enhance existing flavor. In some cultures, condiments complement the dish. The term originally described preserved or pickled foods, but the meaning has shifted over the years. Nearly every condiment at a restaurant, convenience store, work office break room, fast food joint or coffee shop contains ingredients that are processed, genetically modified to contain pesticides and detrimental to your health.Any medical doctor will tell you that you worry too much, but any nutritional expert will tell you that it all adds up, and that there's a reason every third person in America gets cancer in their lifetime, while half of the rest suffer from Alzheimer's, heart disease, strokes, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and other totally preventable health issues.Start "sweating" the small stuff. Examine all the condiments you've been using regularly, and switch them out for some healthy ones . You'll notice a difference in the way you feel  guaranteed!
The results show that particularly low doses of bisphenol A affect the development of the animals. The female rats that were exposed to the lowest dose weighed more as adults, and their behaviour had changed in a direction that resembled male behaviour. This could indicate masculinization of the females' brains. Male rats that were exposed to the lowest dose had increased growth of mammary gland tissue, and decreased sperm count as adults.



These effects were not observed at the higher bisphenol A doses.



Mammary gland changes that could be indicative of an early stage of breast cancer were observed in aging rats exposed to the second lowest dose of bisphenol A.



The results support previous studies, which show that particularly low doses of bisphenol A can affect the animals' development, while higher doses have different effects.



Numerous serious health risks associated with BPA

Endocrine disruptors are the link between human health hazards and plastic. ... In the human body, endocrine disruptors mimic the actions of the hormone estrogen. They upset the hormonal balance and can stimulate the growth of tumors in the breast, uterus or prostate. They can affect fertility, pregnancy, and worse, can affect the fetus by interfering with testosterone, disrupting normal sexual development. This disruption is not often apparent until adulthood and includes the increased risk of cancer.



Avoiding exposure to BPA

Does "BPA-free" mean "toxin-free"?

Pascal Coumailleau of INSERM's Research Institute for Environmental and Occupational Health and the University of Rennes in France and colleagues measured the effects of four bisphenols on the brains of zebrafish.



Exposing the animals to higher concentrations of these chemicals than humans would typically encounter, the team found that three of four BPA analogsBPS, BPF, and BPAFare estrogenic, causing an upregulation in the brain of the enzyme aromatase, which converts androgenssuch as testosteroneto estrogens. Overall, these chemicals are similar to BPA in their effects....


Uber was kicked out of China by Didi Chuxing. (Photo : Getty Images)

In a Forbes column written by Rebecca Fannin, she pointed out that China is now going mainstream in terms of the technological innovation it advances.



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Citing and agreeing with a New York Times headline, the article writes that "China, not Silicon Valley, is cutting edge in mobile."



Having landed on the main page of a major American newspaper, it is no doubt that China is making its way to a higher echelon of the technological world.



According to the New York Times report, Chinese tech brands such as WeChat and Alipay have revolutionized a new way of doing transactions in the country, such as using barcodes for purchases, food ordering and taxi hailing.



The video streaming services of YY has also popularized online video stars, making such social media sensations a common thing in the Eastern giant.



For the past years, China has not been appropriately acknowledged for its entrepreneurial mind when it comes to developing tech innovations. Not until U.S. tech powerhouses such as Facebook and Twitter started to look to China for ideas did the country emerge as a possible leader in the tech industry.



Fannin also shared that the subtitle of her Silicon Dragon book, published in 2008, "How China is Winning the Tech Race," can now be seen as more fitting for the country.



Arguing that "China has developed a home-grown, powered up version of the Valley," one could not simply ignore the winning formula the country has--"long entrepreneurial culture, large mobile and Internet markets, engineering talent, overseas returnees and venture capital."



The Forbes contributor took, for instance, the case of ride-sharing app Didi. The whopping $35 billion deal it worked out helped it take over Uber, a U.S.-based rival, as the leading app of such kind in the country.While locally,



China has already tapped its tech potentials, the country is now moving forward to go global and own the international tech arena," the article further wrote.


Weeding through a jungle of herbicides

The sting of extinction

(NaturalNews) Upwards of 57 pesticides are responsible for poisoning European honey bees and contributing to the rapidly declining bee population worldwide Multiple studies have confirmed that there is a strong link between herbicide use and bee deaths . Although there are various factors at play, multiple lines of research converge on herbicide use as a significant variable. So much so, that the European Union has issued a ban on the use of neonicotinoid herbicides.A recent study focused on this link was published in theResearchers are faced with the challenge of trying to understand which combination of herbicides impacts honeybees in different ways. In order to examine this more quickly, researchers from the National Veterinary Research Institute in Poland have developed a way to analyze 200 pesticides at once."Bee health is a matter of public concern -- bees are considered critically important for the environment and agriculture by pollinating more than 80% of crops and wild plants in Europe," Tomasz Kiljanek, lead author of the study from the National Veterinary Research Institute in Poland, said in a press statement. "We wanted to develop a test for a large number of pesticides currently approved for use in the European Union to see what is poisoning the bees."Given the vast range of herbicides currently in use, it is hard to determine which ones are detrimental to bees. Kiljanek and his colleagues used a method known as QuEChERS  often deployed to detect the presence of herbicides in food  to investigate over 70 bee poisoning cases. Approximately 98 percent of the herbicides they analyzed were allowed to be used in the European Union.The researchers found that 57 herbicides were present in poisoned bees. Herbicides, even in low concentrations, can impair the bees' immune systems, enabling viruses and parasites to destroy the colony. The team hopes that their findings will broaden the knowledge of different herbicides that are dangerous to bees "This is just the beginning of our research on the impact of pesticides on honeybee health," Kiljanek said."Honeybee poisoning incidents are the tip of the iceberg. Even at very low levels, pesticides can weaken bees' defense systems, allowing parasites or viruses to kill the colony," he added."Our results will help expand our knowledge about the influence of pesticides on honeybee health, and will provide important information for other researchers to better assess the risk connected with the mix of current used pesticides."Previous research centered on other factors attributed to the decline of the global bee population, like climate change and disease. It has been suggested that diesel exhaust, for example, could be altering half of the floral scents that bees use to seek flowers, which could be responsible for the death of some bees.A United Nations alert issued last February warned that hundreds of billions of dollars worth of crops could be wasted because of the declining bee population, putting the global food supply at risk.One out of every six species of vertebrates are facing extinction, while two out of every five bee, butterfly and pollination insects are also in grave danger, reports
Whole Foods Market supported 'DARK' Act 2.0 preempting state GMO labeling laws

(NaturalNews) It's the nation's largest natural and organic retailer , and for many people it's the best place in town to pick up some organic vegetables and a nice, juicy, grass-fed steak for dinner. But is Whole Foods Market really everything it claims to be in terms of providing safe, clean food to its customers?In a new video report, Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, breaks down what he says is a pattern of deceit at Whole Foods Market that should cause every health-conscious consumer to pause and consider what and whom they're supporting every time they visit a store. From selling products contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides, to "greenwashing" conventional products that are sold in other stores for far less money, Whole Foods Market is under increasing scrutiny these days.Adams says that tests he has conducted in his Forensics Food Lab  many of the results of which are published in his new book Food Forensics  reveal that Whole Foods Market may not be keeping such close tabs on the integrity of its products as it would like us all to believe. heavy metal and pesticide contamination While it's true that is difficult to avoid in almostproduct these days  this, due to pesticide drift and widespread use of these poisons throughout the environment  claiming that the products in its stores contain "Nothing Artificial, Ever" is just one of the many concerning marketing approaches that Whole Foods Market seems to use as an excuse to mark up the costs of its products and claim them as superior to other products sold elsewhere.The full video where Adams breaks this down in his own words is available here There are many things that Whole Foods Market has done right over the years  its strict Quality Standards program, unacceptable food ingredients restrictions, and "Responsibly Grown" guidelines being among these, not to mention how the company has expanded the organic market simply by its large and growing footprint. But there are also things Whole Foods Market has done wrong, according to Adams.Most recently, Whole Foods Market jumped on board the Roberts-Stabenow "GMO labeling" bill that, instead of actually requiring GMO labels in the traditional printed way, will mandate that confusing QR codes be emblazoned on product packaging that only the "techiest" consumers with advanced smartphones are able to decipher.At the same time, the Roberts-Stabenow bill, also known as the Monsanto "DARK" Act 2.0 , nullifies state-level GMO labeling laws like those in Vermont, which were supposed to go into effect last month, from being legally enforced. In other words, it was a Trojan Horse bill to actuallyfunctional GMO labeling at the state and national levels, and Whole Foods Market supported it.Whole Foods Market says it doesn't support QR codes or the like as a substitute for real GMO labeling. But Mike Adams says CEO Walter Robb actually admitted on camera to supporting the DARK Act 2.0. You can decide for yourself by checking out the video here We're all for expanding the market for natural and organic foods that are clean and safe, and Whole Foods Market has done a lot of good in this area. But we also expect transparency, honesty and accountability, something that Adams says is lacking at Whole Foods Market."Whole Foods, in my view, functions no differently than a weapons manufacturer, an oil company, a big, corrupt banking system  they're all about profit," says Adams.You can watch the full video with Adams here
Animal vaccines are about replacing lost antibiotic profits, not about helping animals

(NaturalNews) Recognizing that the future of antibiotics as an adjunct to commercial animal husbandry is just one "superbug" mutation away from an utter and catastrophic breakdown, the pharmaceutical industry is busy developing the next phase of drug-based "healthcare" for livestock: mass vaccination with an ever-evolving pipeline of new vaccines Elanco LLC, a unit of drug giant Eli Lilly & Co., recently opened the doors to a new 48,000-square-foot facility located about 23 miles outside of Indianapolis that's dedicated entirely to developing new vaccines for the world's 70 billion farm animals, many of which are currently fed huge amounts of antibiotics to make them bigger and fatter prior to slaughter.Livestock animals account for the bulk of antibiotic use, consuming some 80 percent of all antibiotics currently in production. This is a multi-billion dollar business for drug companies, especially in the U.S., which is why Big Pharma is now scrambling for an alternative as the era of antibiotic misuse and abuse comes to a bitter end.According to, close to three-quarters of a million people die every single year due to drug-resistant infections caused by superbugs resulting from overuse of antibiotics. Antibiotic use in animals particularly is believed to be one of the most, if notmost, significant driving factors in antibiotic resistance.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set this upcoming January as the deadline for new rules governing the use of antibiotics in livestock that make it more difficult for farmers and ranchers to legally administer them. In other words, this $30 billion per-year racket is on its way out, and vaccines are here to save the day, profits-wise, for the drug industry."[The FDA's rules] include prohibiting labels that claim antibiotic use promotes growth and requiring veterinarians to administer most of the drugs," writes Jared Hopkins for. "Vets also will oversee drugs that are currently bought over the counter."The current animal vaccine market is worth around $5.5 billion, according to 2010 figures. This value is expected to increase to roughly $7.2 billion by 2020, given the industry is able to market itself in such a way as to scare reluctant farmers into making the switch, rather than simply abandoning the use of antibiotics in favor of more sustainable practices.Elanco is already trying to corner the animal vaccine market by unveiling a whole slew of new vaccines this year, which it's funding with money that formerly went to food-animal antibiotic research. The goal is to ensure not that animals are healthy per se, but that Elanco is able to outpace the industry's current annual growth rate of 45 percent.Money is what the animal vaccine industry is after, in other words, not healthier animals. If the animal vaccine industry was really focused on helping farmers and ranchers maintain healthy cattle, it would recommend something much less risky and far less expensive.Animal vaccines are also slated for arrival in Europe, with a DNA vaccine that supposedly fights pancreas disease awaiting approval for the treatment of farmed north Atlantic salmon. Other similar vaccines for cows and other animals are likewise coming down the pipeline, as the vaccine industry pushes to break new ground in profit development."The future of our company is heavily grounded in vaccine development," admitted Rick Sibbel, a veterinarian who operates the technical services division of Merck Animal Health. And that speaks volumes about what's really going on with the push for more animal vaccines
1. Increased chemical use

2. Vaccine development

3. GM mosquitoes

4. Abortion increases



(NaturalNews) To put it plainly, Zika is good for business. As is the case with any major crisis, if you're able to perpetuate enough fear, you can convince people to buy or go along with just about anything. In the case of Zika, that means harmful chemical exposure and experimental vaccination.The Zika virus is simply the latest version of West Nile, Ebola, swine flu or even measles. If you take a moment to consider who exactly is profiting off these crises, you'll see that it tends to be a repeat of the very same industries."The manufactured Zika crisis is a windfall for chemical companies, vaccine companies and disease fear mongers. This is how they use tactics of info-terror to reap billions in profits while poisoning the people and the planet," says the Health Ranger.Below is a list of industries and agendas flourishing under Zika.Since the Zika fear mongering first began, the public has witnessed a substantial increase in aerial spraying to combat disease-carrying mosquitoes , and Florida is being hit the hardest.Congress wasted no time in trying to pass legislation that would have weakened already weak regulations for dispensing harmful chemicals into the air, soil and water.House Republicans used the Zika hysteria to rebrand legislation that permitted the dumping of pesticides into bodies of water, violating key provisions of the Clean Water Act. They tried passing the bill on five different occasions only to succeed after renaming it the Zika Control Act in May.Although the bill was vetoed by Democrats in the Senate, "public health" agencies including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to push for more chemicals.Miami is currently under a chemical assault thanks to recommendations from the EPA to spray a harmful insecticide linked to paralysis in animals. Mosquito control reported that it's conducting indefinite aerial spray missions dumping a chemical called Naled.Naled is extremely toxic to humans and wildlife , particularly upon inhalation. Studies indicate that the chemical is 20 times more toxic when inhaled versus when ingested through food and water  and it's prone to drift, traveling up to half a mile away from its original application site.The insecticide is deadly to aquatic life, as well as pollinator insects such as honeybees. In short, spraying Naled into the environment and on people does far more harm than Zika ever could.The most sickening part about it is that it's not even effective! A study from the New York Department of Health found that aerial spraying of Naled reduced mosquito populations temporarily. But after 11 years of spraying, disease-carrying mosquitoes increased 15-fold.The government absolutely knows this, so why is it okay to douse people with a deadly insecticide that doesn't work to kill mosquitoes?Profits, of course. Naled is made by an American company called AMVAC Chemical Company, owned by Vanguard Corporation.One of its subsidiaries is Environmental Mediation, which advises clients on how to win government approval for dispensing its deadly products.Another industry that has a lot to gain from Zika is the pharmaceutical industry, which has been working around the clock to fast track a vaccine that could ultimately be given to millions of people around the globe, including pregnant women.In June, Congress proposed spending $1.1 billion in taxpayer money to combat Zika, funding disease research, as well as vaccine development.Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that they have already developed a vaccine that is effective not only against Zika, but also against Ebola and swine flu. The vaccine is DNA-based, making it even riskier than traditional immunizations.Some scientists suggest that DNA-vaccines could cause " insertional mutagenesis ," meaning a mutation could occur "due to the unnatural interaction of new genetic material with healthy genes." These vaccines may also increase the risk of cancer, activating "oncogenes while switching off tumor suppressor genes."The establishment's assertion that Zika causes severe birth defects means pregnant women would likely be test subjects for vaccine experimentation  making some 6.3 million American women eligible for the controversial program.Ironically, the very company blamed for creating the Zika crisis is now profiting from it. Three years ago, the British biotech company Oxitec released thousands of genetically modified mosquitoes in Brazil to combat disease-carrying insects.The mosquitoes are genetically modified to contain a "self-limiting" gene that prevents thespecies from producing offspring. Oxitec says 95 percent of the mosquitoes die before reaching adulthood, preventing reproduction.But the math doesn't quite add up. Oxitec said that the insects would decrease up to 80 percent ofspecies. However, scientists believe that very same species is now responsible for spreading Zika.Despite speculation that Oxitec may have caused Zika to spread, the company expanded operations in Brazil, opening a new mosquito factory in Piracicaba. The insects were also released in Malaysia, India and the Cayman Islands.The Florida Keys may very well become the next destination pending approval from the state's mosquito control district, which is set to vote on the proposal this fall.Another less obvious industry that stands to benefit from Zika is Planned Parenthood. People are so fearful about the potential of Zika-induced birth-defects that they're willing to compromise their beliefs on abortion, according to a recent poll Americans said that they would be okay with late-term abortions if the fetus was harmed by Zika. About 60 percent of respondents said women should have the right to terminate a pregnancy after 24 weeks if testing found signs of microcephaly, a birth-defect resulting in decreased head size  which the establishment insists is caused by Zika.Americans' willingness to compromise their beliefs on abortion due to Zika could generate more profits for Planned Parenthood, the nation's number one abortion provider.
Microencapsulation is one of the most promising techniques used in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, cosmetic, nutraceutical and food industries since its inception years ago. Microencapsulation is a process that produces solid particles called microcapsules with varied shapes and sizes, usually ranging between 1 m and 1,000 m in diameter.1,2,3 A microcapsule is a reservoir-type system with a well-defined encapsulated substance surrounded by an encapsulating material. The encapsulated substance is referred to as the core, fill or internal phase, while the encapsulating material may be called the coating, membrane, shell, carrier or external phase.4 Although used interchangeably in scientific literature, microcapsules are structurally different than microspheres. Microspheres are monolithic particulates comprised of a continuous polymeric phase in which active ingredients are dispersed throughout a matrix.4,5,6

Microcapsules are generally classified into three main categories: mononuclear, polynuclear and matrix type. Mononuclear capsules are the most common type of microcapsule, consisting of a core surrounded by the shell, whereas polynuclear capsules have many cores enclosed within a single shell. Conversely, in matrix-type microcapsules, the core material is distributed homogeneously into the shell material.7

Microencapsulation has a wide variety of applications in food and nutraceutical industries.6,8,9,10,11,12

 Protects core materials from heat, moisture, air and light

 Hinders the transfer rate or evaporation of core materials to the external environment

 Changes liquids into free-flowing solids

 Controls the release rate of core materials

 Masks the organoleptic properties of core materials

 Improves compatibility between different materials within the same microcapsule

 Extends the stability of sensitive core materials

The microencapsulation process can be divided into two distinct stages first, the creation of small particles and second, stabilization of the particles created. Microcapsules can be tailored to a specific application by using innovative techniques such as varying the polymer ratios or changing the molecular weight of the polymer, thus providing an optimal delivery system for food ingredients.13 Several functional food and nutraceutical ingredients have been or can be encapsulated, including plant extracts, flavors, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, vegetable and marine oils, probiotics and enzymes.

Functional properties of microcapsules are not only influenced by the chosen method of microencapsulation, but also the physical characteristics of the intended core and shell materials. Ideal encapsulating agents should exhibit good rheological properties; appropriately disperse or emulsify; properly seal and hold encapsulated material; and provide protection to the core against adverse conditions such as heat, light, humidity and oxygen. Although microencapsulation materials should be soluble in commonly used solvents in the food industry, the microencapsulating agents should not exhibit reactivity with the encapsulating materials.4,11,14 Maltodextrins, cyclodextrins, starch, carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, gum acacia, carrageenan, sodium alginate, wax and gelatin are examples of commonly used coating materials in food applications. It is common practice to use coating materials either in combination with or by adding modifiers such as oxygen scavengers, antioxidants, chelating agents and surfactants to achieve the desired functionality.

Multiple microencapsulation methods have been successfully used, including spray drying, spray cooling or chilling, solvent evaporation, polymerization, fluidized-bed coating, extrusion, lyophilization, coacervation and liposome entrapment.11,15,16,17,18,19,20 The selection of the microencapsulation method depends on the physicochemical properties of the core and coating materials, and most importantly, the intended application of the encapsulated ingredients.

Spray drying is perhaps the most widely used microencapsulation technique in the food industry; it is economical, flexible and produces high-quality microcapsules.21,22 In this process, a core material is dispersed or suspended in a coating solution, then the mixture is nebulized and subjected to a controlled stream of air.23,24 The circulating air in the chamber causes rapid vaporization of solvent and, in turn, forms a microencapsulated product. Typical equipment may include a spray dryer, heater, atomizer, spray chamber, blower or fan, cyclone and product reservoir.25 As with the food industry, this is the preferred method in the nutraceutical industry. However, there are some limitations with this technique, such as the limited availability of coating materials that can be used for applications, and it is not recommended for heat-sensitive core materials due to the high temperatures used during the drying phase of the process.

Despite the success and commonality of microencapsulation in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industriesespecially in the development of controlled and target drug delivery systemsthis technology has only scratched the surface of the food and nutraceutical industries. As of now, in comparison, this technology is still far from fully developed, and has yet to become the method of choice when dealing with food and nutraceutical ingredients. Often the greatest challenge in these industries is with the selection of optimal microencapsulating techniques and encapsulating materials. Also consider possible microencapsulation challenges presented when moving from the bench scale to the manufacturing process. The development time and specific dedicated equipment required to invest in this technology can be substantial. The lower profit margins of the food industry in comparison to other market sectors become a factor when evaluating novel technologies.14,26

Although significant progress has been made in the field of microencapsulation, advancement is still required in order to further develop this technology. Improvements to existing microencapsulation methods, innovative coating materials and increased affordability will expand microencapsulation to achieve its fullest potential in the food and nutraceutical arenas.

Looking for ways to manage and reduce the risks in partnering with contract manufacturers? Join us for the Contract Manufacturing: Raising the Bar on Delivering Quality workshop on Saturday, Oct. 8, at SupplySide West 2016.

Naeem Shaikh, Ph.D., leads the formulation team and drives the research that helps inspire and propel the product momentum at National Enzyme Co (nationalenzyme.com). As an accomplished and published scientist, Shaikh leverages 28 years of renowned experience, with previous research ranging from microencapsulation to release methods for solid and liquid dosage forms.

References

1Burgess DJ, Hickey AJ. Microsphere technology and applications." Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology, 3rd ed. 2006;2328-2338.

2Kinam P, Yoon Y. Microsphere technology and applications." Encyclopedia of Pharmaceutical Technology, 3rd ed. 2006;2315-2327.

3Heinzen C. Microencapsulation by prilling and coextrusion." Nutraceuticals and Probiotics, Technology Training Center. Basil, Germany 2002;28-28.

4Barbosa-Canovas GV et al. Food powders physical properties, processing and functionality." Encapsulation Processes. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York. 2005;199-219.

5Arshady R. Microspheres and microcapsules: a survey of manufacturing techniques." Polymer Engineering and Science. 1989;29(24): 1746-1758.

6Gibbs BF et al. Encapsulation in the food industry: A review." Int J Food Sci Nutr. 1999; 50(3):213-224.

7Jegat C, Taverdet JL. Stirring speed influence study on microencapsulation process and the drug release from microcapsules." Polymer Bull. 2000;44:345-351.

8Bakan JA. Microencapsulation of food and related products." Food Technology. 1973;27(11):34-38.

9Todd RD. Microencapsulation and food industry." Flavor Industry. 1970;1:78-81.

10Balsa LL, Fanger GO. Microencapsulation in food industry." Critical Reviews in Food Technology. 1971;2:245-249.

11Shahidi F, Han HQ. Encapsulation of food ingredients." Critical Reviews in Food Technology. 1993;33 (6):501-504.

12Dziezak JD. Microencapsulation and encapsulated food ingredients." Food Technology. 1998;42:136-151.

13Kirby CJ. Microencapsulation and controlled delivery of food ingredients." Food Science and Technology Today. 1991;5(2):74-80.

14Desai KGH, Park HJ. Recent developments in microencapsulation of food ingredients." Drying Technology. 2005;23(7):1361-1394.

15Taylor AH. Encapsulation systems and their applications in the flavor industry." Food Flavor Ingredients Packaging and Processing. 1983;5(9):48-51.

16Lamb R. Spray chilling." Food Flavor ingredients Packaging and Processing. 1987;9(12):39-42.

17Shilton NC, Niranjan K. Fluidization and its applications to food processing." Food Structure. 1993;12:199-215.

18Kopelman IJ, Meydav S, Wilmersdorf P. Storage studies of freeze dried lemon crystals." Journal of Food Technology. 1977;12:65-69.

19Soper JC, Thomas MT. Enzymatically protein encapsulating oil particles by complex coacervation." US Patent 6-039-901, 1997.

20Kirby CJ, Gregoriadis G. A simple procedure for preparing liposomes capable of high encapsulation efficiency under mild conditions." Liposome Technology. CRC Press. 1984(1).

21Burgain J et al. Encapsulation of probiotic living cells: From laboratory scale to industrial applications." J Food Eng. 2011;104(4):467-483.

22Peighambardoust SH, Tafti AG, Hesari J. Application of spray drying for preservation of lactic acid starter cultures: A review." Trends Food Sci Technol. 2011;22(5):215-224.

23De Vos P et al. Encapsulation for preservation of functionality and targeted delivery of bioactive food components." Int Dairy J. 2010;20(4):292-302.

24Gharsallaoui A et al. Applications of spray-drying in microencapsulation of food ingredients: An overview." Food Research International. 2007;40(9):1107-1121.

25Lehman L et al. The Theory and Practice of Industrial Pharmacy, 3rd ed. 1976;412.

26Gouin S. Microencapsulation: Industrial appraisal of existing technologies and trends." Trends Food Sci Technol. 2004;15(7-8):330-347.
Falling in love with a single theory can cut off fruitful avenues of enquiry. Here's how to keep your mind open.

The clamour in a Panamanian rainforest is deafening to human ears: bugs shriek, birds sing and bats screech throughout the humid night. To avoid attracting predators, male katydids (Tettigoniidae) trill out short, infrequent mating calls less than a second long. Ecology is one of a few fields moving towards the multiple-working-hypotheses method of investigation. Credit: Philip Lee Harvey/Cultura RM Exclusive/Getty

Postdoc Laurel Symes, who studies sensory perception and decision-making at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, wants to understand how female katydids find their mates. She first thought they must have highly sensitive hearing. But she juggles other ideas at the same time: maybe katydids always meet up on a certain type of host plant, have neural mechanisms that filter out background noise or use another trick entirely.

These aren't just idle musings: Symes's collection of hypotheses is an integral part of her research. The approach helps her to home in on answers and avoid investment in a sole idea  a common tendency in science that can lead to trouble. History contains numerous examples of scientists who missed important clues because they clung too tightly to a favourite hypothesis. One way to avoid this fate is to consider many potential hypotheses.

Proponents of the multiple-working-hypotheses method say that it prevents scientists from developing 'tunnel vision', and enables them to embrace the possibility that several hypotheses might be true at once. Practising the approach takes discipline: researchers must brainstorm possible explanations for a scientific phenomenon before collecting or analysing data, and use techniques such as scrambling the order of samples and blinding data to help to counteract favouritism. It also demands that scientists remain open-minded during the entire research process, and continually refine their hypotheses.

A long history

The method of multiple working hypotheses was formally articulated1 in 1890 by geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin, then president of the University of WisconsinMadison. Building on the ideas of fellow geologist Grove Karl Gilbert, Chamberlin warned that when scientists come up with an original idea, they tend to develop affection for it, which can cloud their ability to do objective work. He argued that the solution was to generate and explore a family of hypotheses. By coming up with alternatives, he suggested, scientists would not be inclined to favour one idea.

If the hypotheses are mutually exclusive, you are going to learn something.

Although the concept has faced criticism, aimed mainly at the impossibility of conceiving  let alone testing  all possibilities, many scientists say that it is as relevant today as ever. The pressure to publish in high-profile journals, win grants and build a reputation can prompt researchers  consciously or not  to seek support for pet ideas. One study posted to the preprint server arXiv2 in June found that when programmers introduced these kinds of incentives into a model, simulated research groups succumbed to pressures to show support for original ideas, often erroneously.

Ecologist Barry Brook of the University of Tasmania in Australia thinks that resurrecting Chamberlin's ideas could help. In 2007, he co-authored a paper on the merits of using multiple working hypotheses for twenty-first-century science3. In many cases, he argues, the method produces more insightful results than testing null hypotheses, which reveals only whether a specific factor has a discernible effect. Multiple hypotheses, by contrast, can help scientists to work out whether that effect is important, and whether several factors might be at play.

Brook, for example, wanted to know why small mammals such as brown bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus) were disappearing from Northern Australia's Kakadu National Park. Many scientists had pointed in the past to introduced predators, such as cats, which seemed plausible. But when he considered other hypotheses and looked at historical population data, he found that cats had a negligible role, and that intense wildfires bore most blame4. You can be surprised at how little support most of your well-crafted hypotheses can have, he says.

It might seem simpler to consider just one possible explanation, but ignoring other models can be dangerous. That's not only dishonest, but it will also lead you down bad inferential pathways, Brook says.

Resist temptation

It can be challenging to put the method into practice because researchers must battle their own natural enthusiasm for an alluring idea. The first step is to set aside time to articulate other hypotheses before one starts to gain traction. If not, a favoured hypothesis might skew the process of data collection or analysis when one heads out into the field, starts an experiment or dives into a data set. If you have a hypothesis or you're looking for a pattern, sometimes you won't actually honour what pattern is there, says Kathleen Nicoll, a geographer at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

When coming up with a collection of hypotheses, it can be helpful to have patience and consult labmates  and to include a seemingly outrageous hypothesis. This idea was first advocated in 1926 by William Morris Davis, a retired geologist from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a way to break out of conventional thinking. Many notable scientific advances fall into this category, including Alfred Wegener's then-scandalous claim in 1912 that continents migrate across Earth's surface5 (they do), and the heretical proposal, developed in the 1920s by geologist J Harlen Bretz, that a catastrophic flood scoured out the heavily channeled landscapes of Washington (in fact, many violent floods swept through the region).

Symes finds that using multiple hypotheses yields the best results if researchers generate ideas that rely on different processes and make distinct predictions. In her research, a host-plant preference might lead to katydids having the same food in their guts, whereas using sound might imply that female katydids in Panama have more sensitive ears than species in forests without predatory bats. By identifying possible outcomes, she can design her experiments in ways that help to distinguish these ideas. If the hypotheses are mutually exclusive or different in their mechanism, then you are going to learn something, she says.

Consideration of multiple working hypotheses continues during data processing and analysis, when scientists must take other steps to protect their objectivity (see 'Don't play favourites').

For Lydia Tackett, who studies marine fossils at North Dakota State University in Fargo, the solution is as simple as analysing samples out of order. Working chronologically through a geological sequence led her to identify trends prematurely and anticipate what she would find in subsequent layers. Now, I collect the bulk samples I need and randomize the order, she says. She codes them so that she doesn't know exactly which layer each sample came from.

Others rely on statistical tools. Instead of using P values to reject individual models one at a time, Trevor Branch, a fisheries scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, embraces a model-selection technique called Akaike's information criterion (AIC). This statistical method determines which of a set of models best explains data collected about an often-complex system. Branch says that it's a mathematical way of implementing Chamberlin's method of multiple working hypotheses.

Brook uses the AIC as well as the similar Bayesian information criterion, which is useful for distinguishing between a few simple models. When several models seem to be true, these methods help to weight their relative importance, so that their combined effects can be explored through something called multimodel inference. That involves merging several different models and considering them simultaneously to explain as much as possible.

Physicists and astronomers often take extreme measures to prevent researcher bias from creeping into their analyses. Saul Perlmutter, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley, relies on software or colleagues to hide potentially telling clues in the data before he sees them, a technique called blind analysis. This might include adding randomly generated numbers to data values, shifting them by random amounts or hiding the axes on a graph. The goal is to make sure that the researchers don't see anything that could prime their minds towards a particular interpretation, such as a preliminary trend or hint of a discovery.

Before unblinding data, scientists on Perlmutter's team must circulate a memo explaining their hypotheses and how they plan to test and differentiate between them. Everybody can decide ahead of time whether that feels fair  that they haven't treated any of the alternatives differently than the others, he says. Last year, Perlmutter and psychologist Robert MacCoun of Stanford University in California argued in a Nature Comment6 that this approach could reduce researcher bias in many fields.

Of course, there are situations in which multiple hypotheses aren't helpful  or even feasible. If researchers stumble on a mysterious finding, they might struggle to come up with even a single plausible explanation. And even if they can cobble together a few, there is no guarantee that the correct hypothesis is among them. This is why hypotheses must remain 'working', so that they can be refined in light of new information.

Other situations present the opposite challenge: too many hypotheses. Freya Blekman, an experimental physicist at the Dutch-speaking Free University of Brussels, searches for elementary particles at facilities such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Europe's particle-physics lab near Geneva, Switerland. In her field, theorists have already posited countless possibilities, and her task is to work out which ones the evidence supports.

Because these models are often mutually exclusive, she typically evaluates them one at a time using P values  albeit held to an exceptionally high standard of significance. In fields such as psychology and medicine, there is a growing movement to abandon this technique because it can tempt researchers to seek out analytical approaches that produce significant results. But Blekman says that the physics community has largely eliminated this problem through blinding and by creating a culture so steeped in the ethos of multiple hypotheses that finding nothing is as important as finding something. In our field, a null result is a valuable result, she says.

Indeed, the method of multiple hypotheses doesn't always have to be practised at the individual level, and can take place across entire fields. Different groups can advance various hypotheses, as long as they remain open-minded, and the peer-review process can also help to promote the practice. I think we have a duty as editors and reviewers to bring up alternatives, says Branch, and to require authors that come up with a new hypothesis to also include alternatives when they bring it up the first time around.

Regardless of how they apply the method, many researchers say that they stumbled across the idea of multiple hypotheses by accident, as graduate students or later. Branch had never heard of the concept until a few years ago, but was so struck by it that he wrote an article last year arguing that researchers should not seek a single, universal explanation for how fisheries affect marine food webs, but should consider how different models might apply in various parts of the world7.

A few researchers say that their advisers encouraged them to read classic philosophy-of-science texts, such as Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Univ. Chicago Press, 1962), or fostered discussions on the practical side of the scientific method at lab meetings. But many scientists can make it through their entire careers without any formal training in how to develop hypotheses.

That's too bad, because learning and applying the multiple-hypothesis method can improve the calibre of scientists' work and empower scientists themselves, says Symes, who published a guide last year on teaching the research process8. It always pains me to see students who define success and failure as whether they support a particular hypothesis, she says. Failing is not collecting the data you need. Succeeding is being able to differentiate the possibilities.
Lions are seriously fierce animals. Unlike their smaller feline relatives, lions are way bigger, wilder and untamed. After all, lions can't be called "king of the jungle" if they are you know, plain and ordinary.

And to give homage for their strong and royal image, here are some of the most amazing and fascinating facts about lions.

1. Two Kinds of Kings

According to Live Science, there are two kinds of lions: the Asiatic lions that live in India's Gir Forest and African lions live in central and southern Africa.

2. Roaring for Communication

If people talk to communicate and to be understood, lions roar to communicate their position to other prides. A lion's roar is the loudest of any big cat and can be heard up to 8km away , One Kind Org reports.

3. Determining a Lion's Age

World Wildlife Fund reported that the darker the mane, the older the lion.

4. Lions are Fierce, Regardless of Gender

In the world of lions, both male and female lions as are as fierce. Male lions defend the pride's territory while females are the main hunters of the pride even though males eat first.

5. Puma an Outcast?

Interestingly, mountain lions (pumas) are in the same family (Felidae) as Asiatic and African lions, but they are not considered lions, Live Science reports.

6. Sharp Night Vision

One Kind Org reported that lions have terrific night vision. They are six times more sensitive to light than humans. This gives them distinct advantage over some prey species when hunting at night.

7. Royal Walk

Did you know that a lion's heels don't touch the ground when it walks? Yes, they don't, according to World Wildlife Fund.

8. Bed Buddy

Lions enjoy relaxing and lazing around. They spend 16 to 20 hours each day resting and sleeping, One Kind Org reports.

9. Pride is the Name of the Game

National Geographic reported that young males eventually leave and establish their own prides by taking over a group headed by another male. Talk about being independent.

10. Amazing Leapers

A lion can run for short distances at 50 mph and leap as far as 36 feet, World Wildlife Fund reports.

Lions might be "king of the jungle," but their numbers are seriously declining.

In fact, in Sasan-Gir National Park in India is primarily created to protect the last remaining Asiatic lions. There are roughly 350 to 400 lions in that park. According to World Wildlife Fund, the lion was once found throughout Africa, Asia and Europe but now exists only in Africa with one exception.
Is this the most adorable rescue ever? It's not an animal one would expect to see in the middle of the ocean, so when a dog was spotted paddling about a mile off Cape Cod, the passengers of a ferry boat immediately called for a rescue.

According to a report from Cape Cod Times, the passengers were aboard the Island Queen ferry when they saw the canine swimming alone in the waters between Falmouth and Martha's Vineyard. Later, they found out it had fallen off an earlier Steamship Authority ferry.

Island Queen manager Michael Reposa revealed that the captain of the ship attempted to get closer, but couldn't get close enough to the dog to haul it in. WCVB also added that the ferry was too big to reach the dog.

After about five to 10 minutes of unsuccessful tries, passenger Carol Portier -- who recorded a video of the rescue -- saw a few of the crew members began putting on life jackets and taking off their shoes to get the dog from sea.

Fortunately, no one had to get in the water as a fisherman's boat named Lovely Day appeared at the opportune time. Portier said the captain sounded off the ship's horn to get the smaller boat's attention and the passengers joined in by yelling at the passing fishermen.

Michael Hamel and his crew noticed the ferry and the dog. The men sprung into action, throwing a net into the water. The dog placed his paw on the net and they were able to pull him within arm's reach, scooping up the poor canine out of the Atlantic Ocean. Hamel said that the animal was "flustered and a little scared."

"We're all glad we ran into it when we did so that the dog had a chance at surviving," he said.

The fishermen of the Lovely Day took their rescue to the harbormaster's office. It's now back with its family.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft beamed back another interesting image from one of Saturn's moon. Titan is once again the center of discussion as Cassini discovered that there are deep, "steep-sided" and flooded canyons on Saturn's moon, Titan.

The canyons appear to be flooded with liquid hydrocarbons. This recent discovery is an evidence of the "liquid-filled" channels on Titan, according to a report. This also serves as the first visual observation of the hundred-meter-deep canyons of Titan.

The study was published in the Geophysical Research Letters and it enumerates the processes that allowed scientists to study Cassini's data from passing by closely to Saturn's moon Titan in 2013. Cassini was the focused on the canyons on the surface of Titan in the northern sea Ligeia Mare.

Based on the findings, it was revealed that Vid Flumina, or the channels are narrow canyons in Titan. They measure less than half a mile wide and with 40 degrees steep slopes.

The canyons appear to be branching out and some experts suggest that the channels may still contain liquid. But until now, there is no direct evidence to prove the theory. Scientists are still debating whether the dark channels are filled with liquid or mere saturated sediments that can also be in the form of ice.

Some key factors will have to be understood so that scientists can further observe and understand the images. For example, the presence of glint can mean that the surfaces of the channels could be smooth. While some other physical factors can suggest the depth of the channels.

Deep cuts in the terrain can also aid scientists in identifying when the process occurred on the surface of Titan. "It's likely that a combination of these forces contributed to the formation of the deep canyons, but at present it's not clear to what degree each was involved. What is clear is that any description of Titan's geological evolution needs to be able to explain how the canyons got there," Valerio Poggiali of the University of Rome, a Cassini radar team associate and lead author of the study said in a press release.

But scientists will have to see physical water evidence to confirm whether or not the canyons are filled with liquid substance today.
Galapagos has long been a sanctuary for long-lost creatures, but a newl discovered but extinct bird species marks a change in the idyllic landscape.

According to a California Academy of the Sciences (CAL) press release sent to Nature World News, a study published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution revealed that scientists from the California Academy of the Sciences, San Francisco State University, University of New Mexico and the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) worked together to uncover the existence of two subspecies of the Vermilion Flycatchers.

Both subspecies are endemic to the Galapagos Islands, although the tiny San Cristobal Island Vermilion Flycatcher was last spotted in 1987 and is now considered the first modern extinction in the widely revered archipelago.

Discovering the New Songbirds

The researchers did not have any living tissue samples of the animal to study, so they used molecular data from the California Academy of the Sciences.

These set of specimens has been collected and preserved from more than a century ago. It allowed the team to conduct DNA sequencing and figure out the history of the Vermilion Flycatchers.

There are 12 subspecies of the Vermilion Flycatchers, but two were discovered to be so genetically distinct that they were eventually determined to be separate species. One was the San Cristobal Island Vermilion Flycatcher, which hasn't been seen in almost 30 years.

First Ever Extinction in Galapagos

The loss of the colorful songbird is a blow to the archipelago, which has been a bastion for species preservation lost to the rest of the world.

Jack Dumbacher, co-author and Academy curator of ornithology and mammalogy, believes their findings open up a need for further research.

"This marks an important landmark for conservation in the Galapagos, and a call to arms to understand why these birds have declined," Dumbacher explained.

Co-author Alvaro Jaramillo from SFBBO isn't quite giving up home yet, saying, "Wouldn't it be great if the San Cristobal Vermilion Flycatcher weren't extinct? No one is looking, I'm pretty sure of that.

"At the very least, this discovery should motivate people to survey and see if there are any remaining individuals of the species hanging on that we don't know about."

New Freight Center

To help protect the bio-security of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador is building a freight center in the port of Guayaquil.

According to a report from EFE, this was conceptualized to help combat the influx of invasive species that often spell trouble to the endemic biodiversity.
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to discuss the controversial Myitsone dam project with Chinese officials during her upcoming state visit. (Photo : Twitter)

Noted Burmese political figure Aung San Suu Kyi is set to visit China next week despite security threats made by radical militant group ISIS.



According to Myanmar's President's Office, Suu Kyi is set to arrive in Beijing on Aug. 17 four a four-day visit. She will be received by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang as a head of state, the Global Times reported. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has earlier extended an invitation for the Burmese leader to visit China during the ASEAN conference in Laos.



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This is the second time the Burmese leader is visiting China, having met with Xi in June of 2015 prior to Myanmar's general elections in November.



While only a few details were given about Suu Kyi's trip to China, analysts say that it will likely tackle the two countries' relations under Myanmar's new government.



China had a close working relationship with the country's previous military government, while Suu Kyi is known for advocating a democratic government for the Myanmar. The upcoming visit is seen by analysts as strengthening the two countries' ties further.



The State Counsellor is also expected to seek China's support for the resolution of the decades-old ethnic conflicts in the country. Suu Kyi visit comes in just two weeks before the start of the 21st Century Panglong conference involving Myanmar's government, its military, and the various ethnic armed groups in the country.



Meanwhile, security for Suu Kyi's China visit is will be tightened following threats made by the terrorist group ISIS, Radio Free Asia reported. Suu Kyi's named reportedly appeared alongside that of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and several other key Malaysian officials in an alleged hit list sent by the group to Malaysian police.



Authorities are still currently verifying the authenticity of the list, as well as the identity of the sender. However, Myanmar President's Office spokesperson Zaw Htaw said that they are already taking further security measures.


With death comes a divine power or curse? Archeologists in Serbia stumbled upon strange, creepy inscriptions alongside 2000-year-old skeletons buried in an ancient Roman grave.

According to Reuters, the strange finds were unearthed at the foot of a massive coal-fired power station in Kostolac, site of the Roman city Viminacium between the 1st and 6th century A.D.

The report added that the inscriptions, believed to be magic spells, were found on the rolls of gold and silver plates.

"The alphabet is Greek, that much we know. The language is Aramaic -- it's a Middle Eastern mystery to us," Miomir Korac, chief archaeologist at the site in eastern Serbia, told the outlet.

Archaelogists admitted that they still have not figured out whether the magic spells are meant for good or bad. But they noted that the containers closely resemble amulets of "binding magic."

Paganwicca, a website that shares knowledge about charms and spells, explains that binding spells are often used to keep the individual from causing harm to themselves or to others.

Another insight provided by Psychic Lessons said binding spells can also be used as a love spell by tying someone to you. The magic, as the website explains, would produce an energetic bond between two people to create an undying attraction between their souls.

In addition, History Blog said the amulets found could have been cursed tablets which called on spirits, demonic or divine powers to wish harm to someone.

Nonetheless, archaeologist Ilija Dankovic believes the charms were buried with someone who had a "violent death," so that they would be able to find peace in their demise.

"We read the names of a few demons that are connected to the territory of modern-day Syria," Dankovic added.

The archeologists are still trying to decipher the exact meaning of the inscriptions, which also include symbols possibly representing astrological signs or cosmic forces.
Researchers are able to find out more on earth's past climate with the help of ice cores.

In the National Ice Core Laboratory at Lakewood, extracted ice from the depths of Antarctica and Greenland is sliced up, photographed and tested. The ice is sent to other labs where researchers experiment in them in order to find out details about the earth's past and future. The ice cores that are collected are scraps of snowfall that have been accumulated and compressed over years.

The ice cores, in fact, provide researchers with detailed information about the earth including the temperature, greenhouse gases and other climate related details as well. The details can go back to up to 800,000 years.

T.J. Fudge, a University of Washington researcher stated "You can drill into it, and it's much like looking at tree rings," "It's just year after year after year of climate information that's preserved out in the ice sheet." according to Phys Org .

Drilling rigs are used to extract ice cores from nearly 9,800 feet below the surface. These ice cores are then put into protective tubes, packed in freezing containers and then sent to the Colorado lab in the U.S. The Colorado lab is funded by the National Science Foundation.

A part of every ice core is also stored in a larger room at about minus 33 degrees. This will help researchers in the future to go back to old results and even to experiment for new data. At the moment, nearly 56,000 feet of ice has been archived.

To find out the temperature when the snow fell, scientists take differences in the weight of the molecules in frozen water that can help identify the temperature when the snow fell.

Scientists have been able to gather important details about climate change in the world. Using the ice cores, it was identified that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been higher than any time earlier as recorded in the ice cores.
Our planet has a lot of deadly animals. And when we say deadly, we all expect it to be with sharp teeth, long claws, and flexing coils. Not quite.

According to the press release exclusively sent to Nature World News, the most potent, powerful creatures in the animal kingdom are often the most overlooked. So, no, it is not a lion, tiger or bear (so size doesn't matter here).

And in this case, Africa's deadliest killer is no other than mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, are the most dangerous creatures on the planet, and Africa is home to 91 percent of last year's 438,000 malaria deaths. In addition, many Africans fall victim to the sometimes-fatal tsetse fly, which carries African sleeping sickness, according to the World Health Organization.

Homicide claims 475,000 people every year, but that's only half the mosquito's death toll, according to this research. This means that mosquitoes are even more notorious than man.

Proving true to mosquitoe's fierceness, the notorious malaria was single handedly caused by female mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus.

In fact, the notoriety of mosquito's killer streak has grabbed the headlines all over the world for Zika virus, an epidemic associated with miscarriages and birth defects.

This mosquito-borne virus is now making a killing spree not only in its previous holdings in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands -- it also marked its first outbreak in Brazil last year.

To date, 157 women have tested positive for Zika in America, NPR reports. The Zika virus is known to spread among pregnant women, causing myrocephaly to newborn babies, a disease where infants are born with relatively small heads.

To learn more about mosquitoes, nature's small but deadly killer, check out the video below.
In a single photograph taken by an astronaut in the International Space Station, a mind-blowing shot of bright lights of northern lights was captured.

The picture captured the surface of the earth along with craters. A mild glow from the earth's atmosphere was captured in this picture that was taken at night by an astronaut from the international space station. The green glow that was captured could be seen from the ground as well. The image also shows snow and ice that reflect light from the stars and the moon.

The picture was not taken recently, but was shot in the month of February, 2012. However, NASA's earth observatory cropped the picture to see the stunning northern lights so beautifully ornamenting the space. The picture was recently updated on the NASA website.

According to NASA's Earth Observatory, a golden halo which is also called airglow was identified around the planet. The airglow is also a result of the collision between the radiations from the sun and the atmosphere.

The northern lights was captured at night as it spanned for many miles across Canada. A circle of ice, or known as the Manicouagan impact crater, is visible in the picture at the bottom right-hand corner of the photograph.

The space agency website explained "Geologists know that a large asteroid slammed into Earth roughly 214 million years ago, creating a crater about 100 kilometers across on the landmass that is now part of Canada."

Northern lights are created when solar winds and magnetically charged particles collide with the atmosphere. The northern lights can be usually spotted in Scandinavia, especially Norway. At times, it can also be visible in the UK.

Apart from the captured northern lights, the photograph also captured human footprint. The artificial lights helped identify locations of some northern settlements. Places such as Labrador City and Goose Bay were spotted in this photograph.
In hopes of surviving in space, NASA is partnering with private companies to build space habitats. The Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program has partnered with approximately six companies to build the prototypes which would meet the criteria of basic life support to radiation mitigation.

For NASAs NextSTEP program, six private companies have been selected. These include a few renowned names in the US aerospace industry namely Orbital ATK, Bigelow Aerospace, Nanoracks, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems, and Lockheed Martin.

However, not all of the companies will be building space habitat modules. A few are said to focus on propulsion systems, communication infrastructure, and other equipment needed for survival in space. The space habitats created by the companies will become part of the mission to Mars set for 2030.

The three private companies focused on creating space habitats are Bigelow Aerospace, Boeing, and NanoRacks. Bigelow Aerospace is developing an Expandable Bigelow Advanced Station Enhancement (XBASE), which is an expandable habitat. This 330 cubic meter space habitat would be attached to the visiting module of an existing space station.

Boeing's space habitat is a capsule designed to be assembled while in orbit. Low cost and quite simple, the Boeing space habitat can be modified for long term deep space missions. The third space habitat is from NanoRacks, which is in partnership with two companies namely United Launch Alliance and Space Systems Loral. The habitat called "Ixion" will make use of repurposed propellant tanks of launch vehicles. These will be converted into a space habitat. If the design works, this can be a cost saving measure.

As for Lockheed Martin, the private company is set on developing a logistic module. This will be used for the Orion spacecraft. The main component of Lockheed Martin's logistic module is its Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS).

Orbital ATK will be creating cargo supply ships in the form of the Cygnus Spacecraft for the International Space Station (ISS). The Cygnus Spacecraft is reportedly a new prototype which will be used in tandem with other deep space modules and the Orion Spacecraft. Last but not the least is Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems. The private company is in charge of creating an unmanned reusable space vehicle, the Dream Chaser spaceplane.
A Japanese indoor vertical farm could produce 12,000 lettuces a day within two hours.

Indoor farming is becoming popular among urban communities where there are few farmlands. Philips Lighting recently launched its latest indoor vertical farming experiments, with trials in two Japanese facilities. The trials involved climate-controlled environments under LED lighting, which promote energy-efficient farming while cultivating a variety of fresh produce.

"Vertical farms are an ideal way to meet this growing demand for safe, fresh food especially in a country with highly urbanized areas where space is at a premium," Udo van Slooten, business leader for Philips Lighting Horticulture, told Hortweek.

"And Japan is one of the fastest growing markets for our horticultural LED systems."

One of the trial farms in Japan is Innovatus' Fuji Farm in Shizuoka Prefecture, where five varieties of lettuce are being grown under Philips GreenPower LED Lighting. The 1,850 square-meter facility, which also happens to be one of the largest closed-environment vertical farms in the world, harvests 12,000 heads of frilled, green leaf and romaine lettuce a day.

Moreover, Fuji Farm's harvests are available on store shelves in two hours.

"The quality and control it has given us with our lettuce crops has enabled us to get lettuces to Tokyo supermarkets in just two hours after shipment," director Hitoshi Wada told Hortweek. "Furthermore, as the lettuces are grown and packaged in an extremely hygienic environment, there is no need to wash them before eating."

Delicious Cook, a Japanese prepared-food supplier, has also been using Philips GreenPower LED production module in its 80 square-meter urban farm in Narashino City in Chiba Prefecture since October. The facility experimented on cultivating rare varieties of herbs, such as coriander and edible chrysanthemums.

"Now, Delicious Cook can rely upon its own high-quality produce, home-grown indoors all year round and avoid sourcing it from external suppliers," said Katsuhiro Takahashi, facilities manager of Delicious Cook.

According to Inhabitat, Philips Lighting's horticultural LED systems developed certain crop "recipes" that make urban farming easier. The recipes allow urban farmers to set the precise combination of light, temperatures and humidity levels in producing each type of crop.
A 16-year-old schoolgirl from Johannesburg, South Africa has invented a super material that will fight drought.

Kiara Nirghin's "No More Thirsty Crops" project has recently won the Google Science Fair's Community Impact Award for the Middle East and Africa.

Nirghin's project involved a super-absorbent polymer (SAP) that could store reserves of water a hundred times its own weight. The polymer is made of orange peels and avocado skins, which make the material a sustainable solution as it makes use of recycled and biodegradable wastes. The polymer will help create reservoirs of water that farmers could use in maintaining their crops.

"Kiara found an ideal material that won't hurt the budget in simple orange peel," Andrea Cohan, program leader for the Google Science Fair, told CNN. "And through her research, she created a way to turn it into soil-ready water storage with help from the avocado."

South Africa's drought crisis in 2015 was the country's worst. Eight provinces had been reportedly in a state of disaster, with millions affected by water shortages. The crisis had prompted the young inventor to think of a cost-efficient solution to battle the country's drought problem.

"I wanted to minimize the effect that drought has on the community and the main thing it affects is the crops," Nirghin said in a report by CNN. "That was the springboard for the idea."

Nirghin researched about super absorbent polymers and found that the material contains chain molecule polysaccharides. She discovered that orange peel is composed of 64 percent polysaccharide, as well as the gelling agent pectin. Nirghin combined the orange peel with oily avocado peel and dried the mixture in the sun. The mixture undergoes a reaction and forms into an absorbent polymer.

Nirghin will be assigned a mentor from Google to help her develop the project, and eventually be tested on the field. She and other regional winners will be vying for a position in Google's 16 global finalists.
Dogs have always been known as a remarkably loyal species. The story of Hachiko, an Akita dog who kept on waiting for his owner in the same place even after his owner's demise, is just one of the heartwarming tales that could prove it otherwise.

Another story mirrors the same loyalty. Meet Rubio, the Argentinean stray dog who developed an attachment with Olivia Sievers, a flight attendant from Germany.

According to Nine News Australia, Sievers first met the dog in February during her lay over in Buenos Aires.

When she saw the dog while she was having a walk, she played with him and even gave him some food. On her way home, she noticed the dog is still following her.

"I tried to change my way because I didn't want that he follow me back to the hotel," she told Noticiero Trece, a local news site.

"But it was not possible. He always came back and followed me. I tried one hour, but he always watched me and followed me. He was really happy that somebody gave him attention."

Rubio started to sleep outside the hotel where Sievers is staying. To make the dog comfortable, Sievers provided Rubio with a blanket.

Eventually, Sievers had to leave Buenos Aires. But their story did not end there. Every time Sievers comes back to Buenos Aires, she always finds the dog patiently waiting for her outside the hotel where she regularly stays at layovers.

Bored Panda notes Sievers tried to find Rubio a permanent home, but Rubio kept on coming back outside her hotel.

Eventually, Sievers decided to adopt the dog. According to The Dodo, Sievers applied to transport him from Argentina to Germany and he is now enjoying her new life with the other dogs of Sievers.

Recent study showed that fertility of male dogs are being impacted by environmental chemicals. This might be the right time to find that perfect companion and to take care of them more before it is too late.
A mysterious object was found near the outskirts of the solar system, and it is behaving quite unexpectedly.

The body is believed to be a trans-Neptunian object (TNO), a term used to describe a minor planet that orbits the sun from a distance beyond Neptune in the outer solar system (Pluto is the first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered).

The TNO, nicknamed Niku by the research team that made the discovery, is 160,000 times fainter than Neptune, and could be less than only 200 kilometers in diameter, New Scientist reports.

According to the researchers, Niku, which is a Chinese adjective for rebellious, is behaving quite like the rebel that it is. First, Niku orbits the sun on a plane that is tilted 110 degrees to the solar system's plane, which is the flat orbital disk in which all the planets move around the sun. It orbits slightly above the plane and goes higher before lowering as it orbits back in place.

Second, while all the other objects in the solar system orbit the Sun in the prograde direction, Niku spins around the sun backwards or in retrograde direction.

Niku, which was discovered with the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) in Maui, Hawaii, is not the first trans-Neptunian object with a retrograde orbit. Another object known as 2008 KV42 and nicknamed Drac also has a retrograde orbit, although not with the same orbital tilt.

"It suggests that there's more going on in the outer solar system than we're fully aware of," Matthew Holman from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and part of the team that discovered Niku, told New Scientist.

Scientists say that it is extremely unusual for an object in the solar system to have a behavior like Niku's.

"Angular momentum forces everything to have that one spin direction all the same way," Michele Bannister, an astronomer at Queens University in Belfast, said in a report by New Scientist. "It's the same thing with a spinning top, every particle is spinning the same direction."

Scientists suspected that Niku's strange orbit could be a result of a collision with another object in space, or an unknown gravitational force. But the researchers are still unsure about what these objects could be.

Holman's team made further analysis to determine if Niku's unusual angle could be attributed to the existence of Planet Nine - a massive, undiscovered world that is associated with highly inclined objects in the Kuiper belt. But the researchers found that Niku is too close to the center of the solar system to be part of Planet Nine.

"Whenever you have some feature that you can't explain in the outer solar system, it's immensely exciting," Konstantin Batygin from the California Institute of Technology who was part of the group that announced the presence of Planet Nine, told New Scientist. "Because it's in some sense foreshadowing a new development."
Alert! Sea level is rapidly rising, and a volcanic eruption that happened decades ago could hold the clue to what's actually happening.

Since 1993, scientists have observed an annual steady rise of three-millimeter on sea level. Scientists predict that the amount of sea level should increase per year because water expands. However, since 1993, experts observe a steady sea level rise at 3.5 millimeters per year (1.4 inches per decade).

This constant rise has been perplexing scientists for years, but now, a recent study has revealed the reason behind it -- the 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption in the Philippines.

According to the study published in the journal Nature, the eruption, which is considered the largest eruption in the late 20th century, hid clues of climate change by briefly cooling the oceans; thus, the steady rate of sea level rise since 1993.

Today, lead study author John Fasullo and his team of researchers claim that sea levels are escalating more than expected due to the long pause caused by the eruption.

We got a very biased view of sea level rise, based on the happenstance timing of the launch of [the first] altimeter satellites, Fasullo told Gizmodo.

The study says that rising of the global mean sea level is the most powerful indicator of climate change.

To analyze how Mount Pinatubo affected the global sea level, the researchers created model simulations and applied natural factors to them for observation.

Results showed that aerosols from the volcanic eruption blocked sunlight, resulting to cooler seas, which, as Fasullo says, "skewed our impression of acceleration."

Fasullo notes that they are expecting an acceleration in global warming in the next to 10 years.

Those effects largely have ebbed by now, and once we get a few more years into the altimeter record, we should see a clear acceleration. Thats really the punch line of the article," he said via Washington Post.
Tombs are raided in China because of high demand from private art collectors. (Photo : Getty Images)

The State Administration for Cultural Heritage (SACH) blamed the local government for the lack of control that led to tomb looting.



Ni Fangliu, a Nanjing-based archeology expert, said that there is a high demand for the historical relics and is fueled by private museums and art buyers who purchase the stolen artifacts.



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China.cn reported that the tomb of an imperial concubine in the Zunhua's Easter Qing Tomb was raided by 9 thieves and 12 items were stolen. The incident happened on Oct. 31, 2015.



Another tomb was raided in May. This tomb was for Empress Xiaozhuang and the thieves were not caught.



A SACH official said, "The local government and the administration department should improve their management abilities as well as their sense of responsibility."



Ni said that the thievery of the tombs is done by highly skilled individuals with advanced tools. Lack of government support for archaeological preservation makes it impossible to catch the perpetrators.



He said, "It is difficult for the government to control such a large place, and some tomb thieves have more advanced technology than the government."



Guo Dashun, former director of the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Archaeology, said, "Many private museums have a large demand for relics, which gives tomb looting a huge market."



Ni said that if museums stop buying stolen relics, then there will not be a demand for them, and will put an end to tomb raiding.



He explained, "If these museums refuse to take the illegal relics or report the thieves to the police, then no one is going to give them relics anymore."



He also said that there should be a heavier punishment given to people involved in looting. Involvement in tomb raiding was punishable by death until 2011 because the government wanted to "lessen the number of executions."


Prince George's Hospital Center in Maryland is clearing babies from its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after three babies tested positive for a bacteria that can cause a potentially deadly infection.

Two babies recently died in the NICU, a hospital spokeswoman said. But Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carnell Cooper said those deaths are unrelated to the infection.

"There has been no clear relationship that we found between the deaths and the bacteria," he said.

Babies in the NICU "often have a multitude of conditions that put them at risk for dying," Cooper said.

Hospital officials say three infants tested positive for the bacteria pseudomonas but were found to be "clinically asymptomatic for any active infection with the bacterium." The bacteria was found on nasal swabs during routine screening, officials said.

A total of nine infants are being moved to other hospitals.

"While the investigation into the positive bacterium cultures is ongoing by qualified experts, our top immediate priority is the safe and efficient transfer of patients and providing support to our NICU families and staff," the Cheverly, Maryland, hospital said in a statement.

Pseudomonas infections can cause ear infections, skin rashes and mild illnesses in healthy people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But the infections can cause severe illness or death in people with weakened immune systems, the CDC says. About 400 deaths per year are attributed to drug-resistant pseudomonas infections, the CDC said in a 2013 report.

The hospital spokeswoman did not say when the the pseudomonas bacteria was detected or when the two babies died.

Prince George's Hospital Center is working with the state and county health departments and the University of Maryland School of Medicine to determine the source of the bacteria, hospital officials said.

A company is taking and analyzing water samples to determine if the bacteria was spread in the NICU's water supply, said Joan Hebden, an infection prevention expert at University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Pseudomonas bacteria often can be transmitted through water, hospital officials said.

A Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) representative said the water agency had not been contacted regarding any potential contamination in water pipes at the hospital.

WSSC does not test for the presence of pseudomonas, the agency said in a statement. Water at sampling location "a few minutes away" in Cheverly tested negative on Aug. 3 for coliform and was found to have the correct level of chlorine, WSSC said.

The hospital stopped using water in the unit last week, hospital officials said.

Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker will monitor the situation, he said in a statement.

"I am confident that the healthcare professionals who are handling this matter, which I understand is fairly common in hospitals, will ensure that the health and welfare of the hospitals patients is not compromised," he said.
The plastic jars with the word MISSING on them sit beside cash registers at diners, gas stations, and such all over the Bay area. A childs picture fills the front, while pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and, occasionally a dollar bill, sit inside.

The canisters raise many questions.

Does the change actually add up to anything? Who gets the money? And who are the kids on them, anyway?

The answers to those questions have prompted parents of some missing kids to speak up.

SURPRISE DISCOVERY

Andoni Petroutsas is missing. Yet, his father can tell you where he is.

I think hes in a suburb of Athens, said George Petroutsas, a Redwood City chef.

Petroutsas says Andoni's mother, who is Greek, took him to Athens in 2010 and never came home.

She just kept him there, he said.

So, imagine Georges surprise when he stopped at a Palo Alto gas station and saw Andonis picture on a donation jar.

My first reaction is to rip it out and take it with me, he said. This is ridiculous.

George had given Andoni's photo to the government-backed National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. But not the group named on the canister, Child Watch.

[Andoni] didnt choose this, Petroutsas said. And thats the sad part."

Petroutsas contacted us to see what we could learn about Child Watch.

A FLORIDA HOME

Child Watch is a registered charity. Its website says it helps rescue missing children. Services are said to include free investigative help and poster distribution for families of missing kids, as well as money for travel expenses.

Registration documents show it is headquartered in a house near Orlando, Florida.

By phone, founder Don Wood confirmed that Child Watch copied Andonis photo from the national center and put it on donation jars without asking.

We asked why Child Watch chose to use his picture without Georges permission.

Without his fathers permission? Theres no reason, Wood said. We just chose a photo that we thought had some potential for success.

We asked whether his definition of success meant fundraising.

No, Wood said. Trying to find him."

But George says Child Watch didnt take any additional steps to try to find Andoni.

NBC BAY AREA: How much money did you get from Child Watch?

GEORGE: None.

NBC BAY AREA: How much did they investigate on your behalf?

GEORGE: None.

NBC BAY AREA: How many posters did they print with your sons picture to help find him?

GEORGE: None.

Andoni's genuine missing poster is listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website.

See the poster here.

REMOVING A PHOTO

Child Watch eventually removed Andonis photo. But only Andonis photo.

We asked if Child Watch was using anyone elses photo -- without permission.

Yes, Wood said.

Case in point: Henri Ferrao.

He certainly didnt secure authorization from me to do this, said Henris dad, Charles.

Ferrao says Henri and his sister Helena were taken to Africa by their mom. He learned from us that Henris picture was plastered on a donation jar.

I was reviled seeing that photograph, Ferrao said.

We found Henris face in a San Jose diner collecting cash that did not go to his dad. We asked Ferrao the same questions we asked George Petroutsas.

NBC BAY AREA: How much financial support did you receive from Child Watch?

CHARLES: None.

NBC BAY AREA: How much in the way of investigative services did you receive from Child Watch?

CHARLES: None.

NBC BAY AREA: How many posters did they print for you?

NBC BAY AREA: None.

Henri's genuine missing poster is listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website.

See the poster here.

QUESTIONABLE USE

We reached out to the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, which runs the official missing kids database.

Robert Lowery, vice president of the Missing Children Division, said Child Watch might not be breaking the law, but it is clearly violating national center policy.

He said its photos are for raising awareness, not raising money.

Never for fundraising purposes. It would be wrong of us to do that, he said. Any other use we find questionable.

But fundraising is exactly what Child Watch is doing.

Various records show Child Watch is actually a web of charities called Crisis Relief Network. Its various arms include:

Childhood Abuse and Trauma Foundation

Childrens Cancer Relief Foundation

Disabled Childrens Relief Foundation

Veterans Trauma Support Network

Child Watch (missing children)

In response to our questions, Crisis Relief Network downplayed its scale. Yet, it acknowledged placing 1,200 of these jars in three of the countrys most populated states: Florida, Texas and California.

MILLIONS COLLECTED; MANY QUESTIONS

Tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service show contributions of $3.8 million the past five years.

There are a lot of problems with the Crisis Relief Network, said Daniel Borochoff.

Borochoff is president of Charity Watch, which scrutinizes nonprofits. He's concerned that Crisis Relief Network runs five charities from a home with just four people -- three of whom are in Don Wood's family. Borochoff also red flags its tax returns.

For example, hundreds of thousands of dollars in fundraising expenses  including telemarketers - labeled awareness campaign. Borochoff told us he can't decipher where donations actually go.

I would strongly advise donors not to contribute to Crisis Relief Network, he said.

Don Wood insists his accounting is sound.

Allocating expenses in this manner is common practice with nonprofits, he said.

Wood put us in touch with two parents of missing kids. One said he received a couple grand." The other got $1,800.

Charles Ferrao wonders where the rest of the $3.8 million went and how much of it Don Wood collected using his sons photo.

He should absolutely stop, Ferrao said. This is pure exploitation.

A POLICY CHANGE

One thing will stop.

Midway through our investigation, Crisis Relief Network told us it will no longer use kids photos without permission.

In hindsight now, and after this situation, we will change our policy, Wood said.

However, it will continue collecting money. George Petroutsas says dont donate on an impulse. Do research before dropping coins into a bucket on a counter.

Nobody says you have to give right there and then, he said.

Charles Ferrao wants law enforcement to investigate Crisis Relief Network. And stop it.

Theyll see the exploitation for what it is, he said. Shut it down.
The popular Sons & Daughters restaurant closed its doors Thursday as colleagues mourned the death of Frank Galicia, the 28-year-old whose body was found in a stairwell of San Francisco's Westfield Mall the day before.

Galicia's family is trying to come to grips with the death of their loved one and are having a tough time comprehending why the line chef, originally from Los Angeles, was killed in what appears to be a violent manner.

"Frank was a free spirit; his persona was very laid back," his brother, Louis Galicia, said by phone Thursday night. "He just went with the flow; he never had any beef or disgruntled situation with anyone."

Galicia's body was found Wednesday 10:15 a.m. in a stairwell by Bloomingdale's at the mall, with scratches and numerous injuries, and he was "unresponsive" when found, according to a co-worker who discovered the body. Police ruled the death a homicide, but haven't said much more. Detectives are looking if there are surveillance cameras in the area to help them figure out what happened.

Galicia's Instagram page shows that he was a student at City College of San Francisco. Sprinkled among photographs of the city that he called home, Galicia also chronicled his love for cooking and trying out new restaurants. His most recent picture was posted three days ago at the Black Cat bar.

His friends at Sons & Daughters thought it was very odd when he didn't show up for work. Staff was told Thursday, and the restaurant was closed.

"We are shocked and devastated by Franks passing  we are a small team that operates like a close-knit family and he will be dearly missed," Sons & Daughters said in an official statement. "Our thoughts and condolences are with Franks family and friends at this difficult time."

Sons & Daughters is a Michelin-starred restaurant known for its seasonal tasting menu. Its 28 seats get booked really easily, and reservations have to be made way in advance.

Executive chefs Matt McNamara, a James Beard "Rising Star" nominee, and Teague Moriarty, of Santa Cruz, are regarded highly in the restaurant community. Customers often rave about their organically grown produce, which they farm themselves in Los Gatos.

Moriarty declined to comment Thursday, saying he had only learned of Galicia's death an hour before and was stunned.

He has since created a GoFundMe account in Galicia's honor, which Moriarty hopes will help the victim's family members, who have temporarily relocated to the Bay Area as police investigate the homicide.

"This sudden loss has devastated Frank's family, friends, and his team here at Sons & Daughters," Moriarty wrote on the GoFundMe page. "We were so lucky to have known and [worked] with Frank. The restaurant industry in SF is tight knit and we collectively feel the loss."

Meanwhile, word of Galicia's death also spread quickly among neighbors.

"It's obviously very sad," said resident Jeanie St. Martin, who didn't know the victim. "Sons & Daughters has been here in this neighborhood for a while, so anyone who has been a victim of anything like that ... it's heartbreaking."

On the heels of Galicias death, nervous mall employees said they were avoiding stairwells and only venturing outside  to Fifth and Market streets in downtown San Francisco  in pairs.

The Westfield mall, although a popular tourist attraction in San Francisco, has been subjected to a rash of crimes in recent years.

A person was shot in a parking garage near Bloomingdales last November, while a 19-year-old man suffered multiple gunshot wounds in February 2014. A trio of armed and masked robbers also barged into Tiffany's and made off with a stash of diamonds in February 2015.
Authorities are looking for a 32-year-old woman and her 10-month-old son who she allegedly abducted last month, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Satima Michelle Purnell, a San Jose resident, is accused of kidnapping her son Davione after learning she lost custody of him on July 9, prosecutors said.

Purnell has been missing since then and hasn't been successfully contacted.

Investigators suspect she's traveling with the boy, who suffers from a "serious medical condition," prosecutors said.

Purnell, who also uses the last name Clark, is described as standing about 5 feet 1 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds, according to the district attorney's office.

She has brown eyes, black hair and multiple piercings on her face, particularly on her lips and upper cheek close to her eyes, prosecutors said.

Purnell also has numerous tattoos including a teddy bear on her left bicep and two on her upper left arm with the words "Aaniah" and "Prince," prosecutors said.

She is possibly driving a four-door silver Hyundai with license plate number 6BXN752.

Davione is described as being about 2 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 18 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair, according to the district attorney's office.

Anyone who sees Purnell or has information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911.
Editor's Note: This story is no longer being updated. See latest information here.

Two people have died and others still are unaccounted for after an explosion sparked a huge fire late Wednesday at an apartment building in Silver Spring, Maryland, officials say.

"People were dropping children and jumping out of other windows,'' Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said.

The explosion and fire injured 31 residents, Goldstein said in an update Thursday morning. Three firefighters also were hurt battling the blaze. The injuries included smoke inhalation and broken bones.

The blast occurred at the Flower Branch Apartments on the 8700 block of Arliss Street, about a half mile west of busy University Boulevard. an off-duty Montgomery County police officer heard the blast about 11:50 p.m. and called for help.

Two people were found dead in the building's rubble, Assistant Police Chief Russ Hamil said in the update Thursday. The victims will be identified by the state medical examiner.

Officials said early Thursday that as many as seven people were missing but did not update that figure after they announced that two people were found dead.

The missing include men, women and children. It's not clear whether the missing people were away at the time of the fire or could be trapped.

Some people previously missing have been located and reunited with their families, Hamil said in an update Thursday evening.

One woman at the scene told News4's Megan McGrath she was searching for her uncle after calls to his cellphone went unanswered.

"He lived in the building that collapsed. We're here waiting and nobody tells us, nobody says anything to us," she said.

All residents, many of whom are Spanish-speaking, are asked to contact authorities because some people still are missing.

As of Thursday morning, five to seven people were unaccounted for, according to Goldstein. The missing include men, women and children. One woman at the scene told News4s Megan McGrath she was searching for her uncle after calls to his cellphone went unanswered.

The early morning fire caused significant structural damage and a partial building collapse. The force of the explosion blew debris into a parking lot across the street from the complex.

Some 90 residents have been displaced from 28 apartments, Goldstein said.

A major effort is underway to help residents. Donations poured in all day Thursday, and local elementary school teachers arrived to read to children and provide some normalcy.

Firefighters at a station about a mile away felt the blast, Goldstein said. More than 160 fire and rescue workers were called to the complex to battle the blaze.

Montgomery County Fire Capt. Oscar Garcia said the fire was under control at about 2 a.m., but that there may be hot spots still burning underneath the collapse.

[DC] Fire Roars Through Silver Spring Apartment Building

Officials said Thursday morning that the cause of the fire and explosion is not yet known. A Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives team is assisting the Montgomery County police and fire departments.

'Un Temblor': Residents Describe Explosion as Earthquake

The early morning explosion rocked the area around the large complex, with many saying they felt the explosion as far as a mile away.

Many residents described the fiery blast as feeling like "un temblor," an earthquake. Others say they felt their home sway.

Wendy Loayes experienced the explosion firsthand, escaping the burning building with the help of a stranger.

"The fire was next to me. I was so scared," the young girl said.

Wendy Loayes experienced the explosion firsthand, escaping the burning building with the help of a stranger. The fire was next to me. I was so scared, the young girl said. Loayes and her mother were going down the buildings stairs when a stranger scooped Loayes up and took her to safety.

Loayes and her mother were going down the building's stairs when a stranger scooped up Loayes and took her to safety.

Loayes' mother says others in their building weren't so lucky. One of their neighbors is desperately searching for their young son, who has not been seen since the explosion. One neighbor said that when the building collapsed, the boy slipped from the woman's hands.

"Everybody was getting out of the building as rapidly as possible," Goldstein said.

Carlos Ingles said the explosion felt like an earthquake, but instead of running away, he and others ran to help.

"Children, they were thrown from the top. I don't have words," Ingles said.

Ingles said he caught a baby whose parents, fearing they wouldn't escape the flames, tossed the child to safety.

Two other children, he says, jumped down into their arms.

One couple said they were asleep in bed in their third floor apartment and fell down to the first floor when the explosion happened.

"We fell down with the whole bed and I think that's why we're still alive," the man told News4.

One couple said the bed they were sleeping in crashed through the floor and down three stories when the explosion happened.

"We fell down with the whole bed and I think that's why we're still alive," the man told News4.

"I've been smelling gas for weeks"

While the official cause of the fire has not been released, Adrian Boya told News4's Derrick Ward he has been smelling gas for some time now.

"I've been smelling gas for weeks. I called 911, they came and told us it smelled like incense," Boya said. That's pretty sad. It's like they didn't take us seriously."

Joy West said she also could smell gas in the area prior to the explosion.

"When I walk in this area, you smell gas near the corner as you approached the gas station. But it's very strong on Flower, about a block from here," West said. "I just felt, and I told the guys at the store, 'You guys be careful 'cause one day something is going to blow up around here.'"

The Montgomery County fire department responded to a call July 25 reporting the smell of gas, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett said.

Building management told Goldstein there were no prior reports of problems at the buildings.

While the official cause of the fire has not been released, resident Adrian Boya told News4s Derrick Ward hes been smelling gas for some time now. Ive been smelling gas for weeks. I called 911, they came and told us it smelled like incense, Boya said. Thats pretty sad. Its like they didnt take us seriously.

"We asked that of property management first thing this morning. No prior issues concerning the buildings. No prior responses from fire/rescue at these buildings," Goldstein said.

Goldstein said each unit has a natural gas furnace and stove.

A woman who used to work for the management office at Flower Branch Apartments said the smell of gas was a common complaint during the years she was employed there.

"Oh my God. It finally happened," said the woman, who did not want to be identified. "They would send the maintenance people to check, but I think something more needed to be done."

Hamil said the reports about the smell of gas being in the area before the explosion will be investigated.

Washington Gas crews were on the scene and shut off gas to the area.

"Our thoughts are with the families impacted by this event. They have our support now and in the days ahead," a Washington Gas spokesman said in a statement.

Piringer said power lines nearby were also affected.

Resident Veronica Jarreto said Thursday that she felt lucky to not have been home when her apartment was destroyed. She was at a hospital with a sick child.

"We lost everything. Our home, clothes and food, she said via an interpreter.

Jarreto stood at a community center with her 11-month-old child strapped to her back and 3-year-old alongside her.

"I'm going to stay in the shelter and, God willing, he will provide for this evening," she said.
The Florida retiree who was fatally shot during a citizen police academy drill was playing the part of an intruder when she was hit, her son said Wednesday.

Mary Knowlton, 73, was taking part in a "shoot/don't shoot" exercise when she was struck by a live round while almost three dozen other participants looked on, police said.

Knowlton's son, Steve Knowlston, tells NBC News that he forgives the Punta Gorda police officer who fired the fatal shot, adding his mother "taught us never to hate."

Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis said the fatal shot was fired from a revolver that the officer had used before in "earlier exercises."

"We were unaware that any live ammunition existed for this kind of weapon," Lewis said. "We thought only blanks were available."
Former Obama advisor and famed podcast host David Axelrod sent a tweet out Tuesday bemoaning former Gov. Rod Blagojevichs recent re-sentencing.

Federal Judge James Zagel decline to lower Blagojevichs prison sentence Tuesday, maintaining his original 14 years, despite an appeals court tossing out five of the 18 counts the jailed ex-governor was convicted on.

How does a judge re-sentence Blagojevich to same 14 years after 5 counts were thrown out, Axelrod tweeted. Blago did wrong, but this just doesnt seem right.

Axelrod worked in President Obamas administration during the Blagojevich scandal. The former governor attempted to sell Obamas vacant Senate seat after he was elected president in 2008.

Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who worked alongside Axelrod in the Obama administration, declined to comment on the fairness of Blagojevichs re-sentencing Wednesday.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Emanuel said it doesnt matter what he thinks about the case and expressed support for the incarcerated former governors family. Emanuel also wouldnt comment on whether he though Obama should pardon Blagojevich.
Sen. Mark Kirk told CNN Thursday that he plans to write-in former Secretary of State Colin Powell for president, noting that he couldnt cross the aisle and back Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton because she supported the Iran nuclear agreement. But Powell showed support for the deal in an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd last year.

After pulling his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in June, Kirk announced that he would write-in embattled former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency David Petraeus.

Petraeus, a retired four-star Army general, resigned from his post as the CIAs director in 2012 following a scandal stemming from an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. Petraeus pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified information for providing classified information to Broadwell.

After facing criticism, Kirk changed course in July and started backing former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who would also be a write-in candidate.

On Wednesday, Kirk noted that he wouldnt back Clinton because she was for the Iran agreement and I cant support someone who was for the Iran agreement.

Once again, Kirk said he would be writing-in Powell, who told NBCs Meet the Press that he supported the deal last year. At the time, Powell said the agreement would stop this highway race they were going down toward Iran building a nuclear weapon.

The Duckworth campaign slammed Kirks interview.

Once again, Republican Mark Kirk cant keep his facts straight and doesnt know what hes talking about, Duckworth spokesman Matt McGrath said in a statement. In the era of Trump, deciding who should be the next president is serious business, and this is deeply unserious from Senator Kirk.

The Kirk campaign also responded, claiming the Republican wouldnt back Clinton.

Sen. Mark Kirk has given several reasons why he could not support Sec. Clinton including her careless actions regarding the handling of classified information, conflicts of interests and her position on key national security issues, including her work to negotiate the Iran deal, Kirk spokesman Kevin Artl said in a statement.

Kirks campaign wouldnt say if the senator would still write-in Powell in November.

During the interview, Kirk also said Clinton was more of a risk than Trump, calling her too corrupt for the country and comparing her to imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
A staff works at the reception booth of Sina headquarters in Beijing. (Photo : Getty Images)

Weibo Corp's net profit increased more than fivefold in the second quarter, attributed mainly to its strong advertising revenue as it expects a better financial performance in the third quarter, China Daily reported.



Advertisement

The company's net profit rose to $25.9 million in the second quarter, a growth of 516 percent year-on-year, Weibo said on Monday, Aug. 8.



Weibo's revenue also surpassed the analyst's average estimate of $146.7 million as its revenue hit $146.9 million.



CEO Wang Gaofei said that the rising trend in social networking-based marketing contributed mainly to the surge.



"Revenue from big corporate clients surged by 73 percent and that from small and medium-sized firms by 107 percent," Wang said.



The company is expecting its third quarter revenue to reach $168 million to $1773 million, while analysts predict an average of $146 million.



On Monday, Aug. 8, Weibo's U.S. shares increased 3.65 percent to $37.17 in after-hours trading.



Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat is Weibo's rival in a battle to dominate China's growing social networking market.



Weibo has about 282 million monthly active users as of June, an increase of 33 percent from last year's figure while WeChat has about 700 million active users.



While WeChat promotes communication between friends and colleagues, Weibo is an open platform where people or strangers can converse.



Wang said that the company is also gaining presence in its live-streaming sector, currently one of the most popular investments in the country.



"Our users of short videos and live streaming also surged," Wang noted.



The company partnered with yixia.com, one of the most popular video live-streaming platform in the country, with the aim to attract young people, which started with a $200 million investment in the startup company in November.



According to Pang Yiming, an analyst at Internet consultancy Analysys, the partnership with yixia.com has significantly increased the number of Weibo users.



"In the past, small online clothing retailers contributed a significant amount to Weibo's advertising revenue but it is now making a big effort to attract big brands," Pang said.


Charges have been filed against a north suburban man and an Iowa man after two people were shot outside of Hawthorne Race Course Sunday evening.

Dennis D. Reneau, 38, of Ames, Iowa was charged with felony counts of aggravated battery, reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, police said. Jermaine R. James, 34, of the 1800 block of Brown Avenue in north suburban Evanston was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.

Reneau was ordered held on $250,000 bond, according to the Cook County sheriffs office. James was ordered held on $150,000 bond.

Emergency crews responded at 8:31 p.m. after two females were shot outside the race course at 3501 S. Laramie Ave., according to Deputy Chief Richard Jaczak of the Stickney Police Department. The race course was hosting Belize Fest, an annual event attended by more than 1,500 people.

Both females, whose ages were not released, were unintended victims of the shooting and were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Following an investigation, police believe two separate shootings occurred at the facility Sunday night, according to Jaczak. The circumstances of the shootings were not immediately available from police.

Reneau and James are next schedule to appear in court Sept. 2 in Bridgeview, according to the sheriffs office.
Donald Trump repeatedly accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State group on Thursday, refusing to take back a patently false allegation, despite the urging of some of his allies to do so.

A day after lobbing the attack against the president during a rowdy rally, Trump pressed ahead during a round of interviews. He brushed off conservative radio commentator Hugh Hewitt's attempt to reframe Trump's observation as one that said Obama's foreign policy created the conditions in Iraq and Syria that allowed IS to thrive.

"No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do," Trump said, using another acronym for the extremist group that has wreaked havoc from the Middle East to European cities.

Hewitt asked Trump if he would acknowledge that Obama hates the Islamic State, noting that the president is "trying to kill them." Over the past two years Obama has organized a broad coalition of countries and launched more than 10,000 U.S. airstrikes to defeat IS.

"I don't care," Trump replied. "He was the founder. The way he got out of Iraq  that was the founding of ISIS, OK?"

In a later speech to homebuilders in Miami on Thursday, he said Clinton would be given "the most valuable player award" by IS. "Her only competition is Barack Obama," he said. He later added of Clinton, "Oh boy, is ISIS hoping for her."

Clinton's campaign accused Trump of "trash-talking" the U.S. while failing to present any serious counter-terrorism plans of his own. Jake Sullivan, Clinton's top policy aide, called Trump's accusation a "false claim" and drew a connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Once again, he's echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests," Sullivan said.

In the interview with Hewitt, Trump did acknowledge the root of his argument was that if Obama "had done things property, you wouldn't have had ISIS." But he then added, "Therefore, he was the founder if ISIS."

Trump had previously said Clinton founded the militant group, but shifted the blame to Obama on Wednesday during a rally in Florida.

"In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama," Trump said Wednesday during a raucous campaign rally outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "He is the founder of ISIS," he said, repeating the allegation three more times for emphasis.

Trump also pointedly referred to the president by his full legal name: Barack Hussein Obama. The accusation  and his use of the president's middle name, Hussein  echoed previous instances where he's questioned Obama's religious faith? and loyalties to the country.

In June, when a shooter who claimed allegiance to IS killed 49 people in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, Trump seemed to suggest Obama was sympathetic to the group when he said Obama "doesn't get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands."

In the past, Trump has also falsely suggested Obama is a Muslim or was born in Kenya, where Obama's father was from. The president, a Christian, was born in Hawaii.

As he works to keep his campaign message on track, Trump in recent days has sometimes tried to clarify controversial statements by arguing he was being misinterpreted. But given the opportunity Thursday morning by Hewitt and others to take back the claim that Obama founded the terror group, Trump did the opposite.

"He was the founder, absolutely the founder," Trump said on CNBC. "In fact he gets the  in sports, they have awards. He gets the most valuable player award."

Trump has long blamed Obama and his former secretary of state  Clinton  for their Mideast policy. Republicans believe that the U.S. decision to leave Iraq in 2011 created a power vacuum that allowed al-Qaida in Iraq, a subsidiary of the larger terror group al-Qaida, to morph into the 30,000-strong Islamic State group that in 2014 seized a third of Syria and Iraq.

The U.S. has led a coalition of a dozen Western and Arab countries in a sustained airstrike campaign  backed by Iraqi ground forces  that have cut the group in half and cost it 45 percent of its territory. Yet, the group still inspires or backs terror attacks around the world.

The White House declined to comment on Trump's accusation.

The Islamic State group began as Iraq's local affiliate of al-Qaida, the group that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. But the group carried out massive attacks against Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, fueling tensions with al-Qaida's central leadership, which blames its grievances on the West. The local group's then-leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in 2006 in a U.S. airstrike but is still seen as the Islamic State group's founder.
A woman who works in a downtown Merchandise Mart office says she and several other employees have been the victims of some very brazen, seemingly-professional thieves while leaving work.

The woman, who NBC 5 is not identifying because she is concerned for her safety, said she and the other victims cant seem to get security photos from Merchandise Mart officials, who declined to comment, for others to see. The woman was able to see security footage for herself after filing a police report, she said.

She said on July 27 she was one of dozens of people leaving the Merchandise Mart after work when two men and a woman managed to swipe her wallet.

They were dressed very nicely, looked like they were leaving work, the woman said of the alleged robbers. One guy blocks the revolving door, I get in, another guy gets in the same compartment Im in, in the revolving door, and stops it.

She said the man behind her pushed up against her so she couldnt feel him rifling through her purse and taking her wallet. Then the woman takes the wallet from the man walking in a different direction.

The robberies have been happening for a couple of weeks, she said, and a friend of hers was robbed Tuesday around 3 p.m.

Chicago Police said the detective working on the case was unable to speak to NBC 5 on Wednesday.
The state Department of Agriculture is issuing a warning after a dog was attacked and killed at an unlicensed home-based boarding facility in Redding.

Kathryn Stergue, the 49-year-old owner of Katies Critter Care, was charged last week in connection with an incident in June when her 4-year-old mixed-breed dog attacked and killed Romi, a dog that her business was boarding while the dogs owners were on vacation, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The family dropped off Romi and another dog on June 10 and learned of the dogs death when they received a call from Stergue just before 10 p.m. on June 21.

Officials from the Agriculture Department cited the arrest warrant and said Stergue admitted that one of her big dogs was responsible for the death of Romi, a 15-pound Havanese.

Stergue was also inhured and had bandages on one of her arms from bites sustained in the incident.

She told officers that her dog, Jacob, was responsible for the attack and a friend took the dog to a veterinarian to be euthanized, but she couldnt provide the name of the veterinarian and officers have not been able to confirm that the dog was euthanized, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Stergue advertised her business on Facebook and claimed it was licensed and insured, according to the Department of Agriculture, but state records show the business was not licensed as a commercial kennel, so it would not been inspected.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture said the arrest demonstrates the need for all pet owners to be vigilant about ensuring their animals are being cared for in a licensed facility that is inspected by the Department of Agriculture.

This case shows the need for pet owners to be wary of home-based boarding businesses, many that are advertised on social media and national websites, and to do their own homework when it comes to trusting someone with the care of their pets, Ray Connors, supervisor of the Departments animal control division, said in a statement.

Sterns has been charged with cruelty to animals, operating an animal facility without a license, not vaccinating an animal and failure to comply with dog ownership requirements, according to online court records.

She is free on $500 bond and is to appear in Danbury Superior Court on Aug. 25.

Check on whether a pet boarding or grooming facility is licensed online.
Just days after Dallas County announced its first West Nile virus death of the year, experts say North Texans should be aware of the risks of the disease.

Human cases of the disease have been reported in Collin, Denton, Tarrant and Dallas counties so far this year.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reports a usual spike in human cases of from late July, through August and September, however doctors say there is nothing typical about West Nile virus and its patients.

Sean Lemoine, an attorney in Dallas, contracted the disease in October 2009 and still struggles with its long-term effects.

"This is what it looks like when I get up. The lower I sit, the harder it is to get up," Lemoine said, as he demonstrates the difficulty he faces while standing up from a seated position.

Lemoine, now 43, spent six months in the hospital and had to learn how to walk again.

He suffered from the nueroinvasive form of the disease, the severe variant of West Nile that contributed to the death of a Carrollton resident in recent weeks.

"I'm in pretty good health and was 36 years old. That's probably the reason I survived, as bad as it was," Lemoine said.

Experts say West Nile virus poses a greater risk to North Texans than the Zika virus.

"Not to downplay Zika, but West Nile is here," said Dr. Gregg Shalan, a neurointensivist at Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

Shalan has treated hundreds of West Nile patients, several of whom succumbed to the disease.

"They developed encephalitis, which led to a coma, and also spinal disease, which leads to basically being paralyzed in all four limbs. It basically affected the entire nervous system," Shalan said.

"The people I've seen have died of the disease," he said.

Researchers are looking into whether West Nile leads to kidney disease later on in life.

"I haven't seen any effects of that, but knock on wood," Lemoine said.

"It's not going away just because you haven't heard of an outbreak like we had in 2012. You still can get it," he added.
Dallas County District Attorney Susan Hawk has returned to work after spending nearly two months at an Arizona clinic for treatment of mental illness.

Hawk was at her office Thursday and released a statement saying she's been working with mental health professionals to ensure that she's healthy. Hawk, who's battled depression, says doctors have decided she was physically ready to return to her job.

"We have decided that I am ready to physically return to my job as the Dallas County District Attorney and continue my commitment of seeking justice on behalf of our community," she said.

It was the third time that Hawk sought inpatient treatment for mental illness since the Republican took office in January 2015.

She checked herself into The Menninger Clinic in Houston on May 20, where she spent about two months last year. She was released in mid-June, then announced she was seeking more inpatient therapy at Sierra Tucson

Hawk's full statement:

"I have been able to work with a team of mental health professionals to aggressively combat my mental illness to ensure that I am healthy. While I have made it a priority to be completely transparent about my fight with this disease, my mental health team and I felt it was important to minimize my exposure to the media while I undergo treatment and refrain from announcing or even setting an official return date.

"I have had constant contact with my administration and my doctors, especially within the time leading up to today and we have decided that I am ready to physically return to my job as the Dallas County District Attorney and continue my commitment of seeking justice on behalf of our community.

"Maintaining optimal mental health will always be a priority. Mental Illness is a lifelong disease; however, as District Attorney, I am incredibly blessed to have such a strong and supportive administrative team and such incredible attorneys, investigators, and staff who have handled my absence with both grace and professionalism. I look forward to once again working with my staff to make Dallas County safe and thriving."
The city of Dallas, in conjunction with the Private Partnership Program, has allotted funds through the Notice of Funding Availability," or NOFA, to help revitalize south Dallas' "food desert."

According to the USDA a food desert is a low income area where a substantial number of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store.

The southern sector of the 9th largest city in the United States fits that category.

Interstate-30 divides the city, with a large majority of grocery stores located on the north side of Dallas. Currently, there are almost 50 quality grocery stores or supermarket locations in North Dallas.

Store chains include (but not limited to) Whole Foods, Central Market, Trader Joe's, Kroger, and Tom Thumb. The south portion of Dallas has a dismal 3 Kroger stores, one super Walmart, and a few Save-A-Lot stores.

Even when you Google super market in south Dallas, the map pinpoints dozens of corner stores.

There is a lack of good produce, said Lawrence McCullough, who has been living in the Singing Hills neighborhood of Oak Cliff for 30 years. We just want what people in north Dallas have. A really nice Kroger would be good. My neighbor says she likes Whole Foods and says the produce is better but she has to drive really far to get there."

"Some people dont have transportation, and its too hot to walk, McCullough said.

Map of food desert in Dallas

Through the NOFA, $3 million will be given as an incentive to developers for the building of a (minimum 25,000-square-foot) quality grocery store in south Dallas. And the committee is now excepting proposals.

The team of developers must of have five years of prior experience, proven financial capacity, adequate cash reserves, will survey communitys needs, and will hire locally.

Stores, when they move into Dallas, they will move up north and east and west but for some reason its very difficult for them to land in the southern part of Dallas, said Dallas Mayor Pro Tem, Erik Wilson.

Wilson represents District 8, which stretches 57 miles across the southern portion of Dallas.

We know that building a grocery store will not be a quick fix, but its a start. We will need other retail and mix-income housing to follow. We want to invest in the community, because the people there are important.

Having access to a grocery store is an essential part of life, said Wilson.

The city will be excepting proposals through November 30th.
A U.S. Marine must serve 62 years in prison in a Texas child pornography case linked to about 16,000 images found on his electronic devices.

John Anthony Perez of Aransas Pass was sentenced Wednesday by a federal judge in Corpus Christi. The 37-year-old Perez pleaded guilty in May to three counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Investigators said Perez says he became interested in child pornography when he was serving in the military and deployed overseas.

Prosecutors said Perez was suspected of the sexual assault of three children. A March search warrant of his home led to the seizure of multiple electronic devices with thousands of pornographic images.

Investigators said Perez, who was sentenced to 750 months behind bars, was producing child porn.
Authorities said a twice-convicted sex offender on the Texas 10 Most Wanted list has been captured in Houston.

The Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday announced the arrest of 58-year-old Jerry Wayne Adaway of Houston.

Investigators said Adaway, who was captured Tuesday, was wanted for failure to register as a sex offender. He had been on the run since April 2015.

Records show Adaway in 1982 was convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl in Harris County. He was convicted in 2007 of sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl in Travis County.

Officials said Adaway also has convictions for robbery and possession of a controlled substance.

Online: Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders
The family of a Garland man stabbed to death is pleading for justice.

Wednesday, Carrollton police released a sketch of the man suspected of killing 34-year old Arnold Pinilla.



Police say last month, Pinilla and his girlfriend ordered a Lyft ride after a night of dancing at a Carrollton restaurant.



The man who picked them up, police say, was an imposter who led the couple to believe he was a Lyft driver so they would get in the car.



"They quickly realized they weren't in the right car and an argument ensued and it ended with Arnold's death in the street, Carrollton Police Spokesperson Jolene DeVito said.

Wednesday, roses marked the spot on Myers Street where Pinilla was stabbed and left for dead.



Surveillance video shows the vehicle of interest  a white, 4-door sedan with a sunroof and tan cloth interior, possibly a 2000-2006 Nissan Altima.



Pinillas mother, Esperanza Balaguera, says the last time she saw her son, she kissed him goodbye.

I know he loved me so much because he always tell me 'you are the only woman that understands me, mom,' she said.



The family hopes seeing the individuals sketch will spark someones memory of the person whos causing them so much pain.

He has to pay for what he did because even though nothing will bring her son back, he needs to pay for what he did. You don't do that to a person, Pinillas sister Claudia Reyes said.

The man is described as Hispanic in his mid-30s with a light complexion, standing approximately five-feet three-inches to 5-feet six-inches tall, with a slender build. He speaks primarily Spanish with a coastal dialect, possibly from the Caribbean.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call North Texas Crime Stoppers 1-877-373-8477. A $5,000 reward is being offered.
China's Ministry of Agriculture says there is no need to put up exclusive zones for growing non-GMO soybeans. (Photo : Twitter)

China\s Ministry of Agriculture has reportedly rejected a proposal to create special zones for the growing of non-genetically modified (GM) soybeans.



The ministry made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that it has rejected proposals made by lawmakers to designate separate special zones for the cultivation of non-GM soybeans. It added that China has yet authorized the planting of the genetically altered variety, making such proposals unnecessary, the Global Times reported.



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Heilongjiang Province legislator Tan Zhijuan earlier called for the establishment of such zones during the two legislative sessions for 2016. Tan said that the establishment of such zones Tan argued that the move could help increase his province's soybean acreage back to its 2010 level of around 4.3 million hectares.



The legislator's proposal echoed that made by National Congress member Li Jichun and national advisory body member Sung Dongsheng back in 2012. the two said that the zones will help prevent any potential contamination to spread into non-GM soybean crops.



Fudan University biology professor Lu Baorong backed the position of the ministry, noting that as there is essentially no difference between the process of cultivating GM soybeans and that of the non-modified variant, setting aside a separate growing area for the latter is unnecessary.



China has earlier unveiled its plans to push for the commercial growing of GM soybeans in an effort to make its agriculture sector more efficient and boost crop growth. In its latest five-year science and technology plan, the government identified specific GM crops, including soybeans, to be further developed, the South China Morning Post reported.


The annual Perseid Meteor shower peaks Thursday night and lasts through Friday morning. If you want to take in the show, you'll want to stay up late or wake up extra early.

In perfect conditions stargazers can see 60 to 90 "shooting stars" per hour. However, this year European countries may be able to see up to 200 meteors per hour.

And you can thank the planet Jupiter. Every twelve years Jupiter passes through the comet's orbit. This crossing occurred in 2014. The giant planet's gravity moved the particles toward the Earth and on Thursday night, those particles will arrive in Europe. But because it will be daytime in the United States, the West Coast will miss out on this enhanced activity. The East Coast of the U.S. will get a little better show than in past years.

The particles, or meteors, are about the size, shape and color of Grape Nuts cereal flakes. These tiny pieces of debris, known as Perseids, enter Earth's atmosphere at 37 miles per second, creating a hot streak of superheated air that is visible from the ground as a streak of light. They burn up, never reaching the surface of the Earth.

The Perseids get their name because the meteor showers "radiant," the perspective point of origin, is the constellation Perseus.

Though some may mistakenly call them "shooting stars," they are actually bits of rubble that were shed in 1479 by the Comet Swift-Tuttle. This stream of Perseids orbit the sun and every August the Earth passes through the stream.

[NATL-LA] Mars Explorers Wanted: NASA Shares Recruitment Posters

Any kind of light will hinder viewing of the meteor shower, including light from the moon. No special equipment is required to see the shower. Simply go outside with an open view and away from as many city lights as possible, including street lights and house lights.

The first-quarter phase moon will set around 12:30 a.m. PST Friday, making for peak viewing between 1 and 5:30 a.m. Friday. Begin by gazing northeast and as the night goes on, if the skies are clear, you won't miss a thing by looking straight up. Lying down on a blanket or a lawn chair is a good idea too. If you are in a big city with a lot of lights you can still see the show by clicking this site: Bareket Observatory in Israel. Astronomers invite you to join them Aug. 11 beginning at 19:00 UT (12 p.m. PST).
The father of an unarmed black man fatally shot by a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has filed a civil rights claim.

The precursor to a lawsuit filed Tuesday says the department did not have probable cause when deputies violently confronted 27-year-old Donnell Thompson Jr. on July 28 in Compton.

The department says deputies suspected at the time that Thompson had been involved in an earlier carjacking and shootout with police and that he was armed when he ran toward an armored vehicle.

Officials said Tuesday that Thompson was not involved with the carjacking or shootout.

The claim also says the deputies who confronted Thompson were "dangerous and violent employees" prone to firing their guns without reasonable justification.

The claim doesn't explain that allegation, and the Sheriff's Department has declined to release details about the deputies.

According to the department, the carjacking suspect -- who was arrested -- led authorities on a car chase to the neighborhood in which Thompson was fatally shot.

Authorities originally said Thompson was shot after he charged at Special Enforcement Bureau deputies.

Thompson's oldest sister, Matrice Stanley told reporters outside the Hall of Administration Tuesday that her brother's mentality was like a 16-year-old.

Stanley, a 44-year-old nurse from Victorville, said she believed that race had played a role in her little brother's killing.

"Why would SWAT and dogs have to surround a man'' who weighed 130 pounds and stood about 5 feet 3 inches tall?, she asked.

Video of the confrontation is not very clear, according to Dawn Modkins of Black Lives Matter, who said that the family's lawyers  from The Cochran Firm  will decide when and if to release it.

The sheriff's department is conducting "an exhaustive review of the sequence of events that unfolded in the hours after a vehicle carjacked in the city of Los Angeles was driven to Compton,'' according to a statement released Tuesday.

"Deputies in pursuit of the vehicle were fired upon by the driver, who subsequently crashed the vehicle and fled into a neighborhood. This review includes the sequence of events that led up to the deputy-involved shooting of... Donnell Thompson which took place after our deputies had been assaulted," the statement said.

"The primary objective of this investigation has been to determine whether Mr. Thompson had a role in the carjacking incident and the assault on our deputies," the statement said. "We have determined that there is no evidence that Mr. Thompson was in the carjacked vehicle, nor that he was involved in the assault on the deputies."

The chain of events leading to the fatal shooting began early July 28 when Compton Station deputies patrolling on Alameda Street stopped a motorist

for a traffic violation. A check of the vehicle's license plate indicated the vehicle had been stolen, the sheriff's department reported.

The motorist sped off, and deputies chased the vehicle to the 2000 block of Slater Avenue. Sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau personnel were sent to the scene, and authorities began conducting a search of the neighborhood. The carjacking suspect was arrested.

"Deputies encountered Mr. Thompson shortly after the carjacking suspect who had opened fire on our deputies was arrested," the statement said.

"Deputies were alerted to Mr. Thompson by a neighborhood resident who discovered him lying in his yard and called 911. This was contemporaneous to the final stages of the search for and arrest of the carjacking suspect in the same neighborhood.

"Mr. Thompson was lying in a position that concealed one of his hands from view and was unresponsive to numerous commands.

"There was a concern that he may be armed, and may be connected to the carjacking suspect who had fired on the deputies."

Noting that today is the second anniversary of Michael Brown's shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, Modkins and Mark-Anthony Johnson of Dignity and Power Now called for the Board of Supervisors to push plans forward for a civilian oversight commission.

"Our police and our sheriff's department can longer be allowed to police themselves," Modkins said.

Johnson said subpoena power was critical to quickly sorting out the facts behind deadly confrontations.

"We want subpoena power...to demand information legally...and not have to wait years and years for answers," Johnson said.

Family and friends also faulted the media for jumping to conclusions about Thompson, who they said had no criminal record and was a shy and soft-spoken man.

"What the media's portraying him to be...they don't know him...they didn't talk to people who know him,'' said Danielle Moore, who attended El Camino College Compton Center with Thompson, who went by the nickname "Bo Peep."

Moore said Thompson was a "non-confrontational person, he was non-violent."

Thompson's older brother Dwayne Hill said he wanted to "make sure my brother's name is being cleared" and was among those demanding a public apology.

Sheriff's deputies said Thompson charged at them.

"Various means to gain a response from him were attempted, and when he aroused and stood up, he charged at the deputies who had come to assist the resident. One deputy fired at Mr. Thompson, believing him to be armed."

Modkins said deputies "riddled him with rubber bullets," before fatally shooting Thompson.

Asked why he might have rushed at deputies, Stanley said, "He would be scared, of course."

The deputy who shot him has been reassigned to non-field duties, according to the department statement.

Both the District Attorney's Office and the Office of the Inspector General are expected to review the incident.

"We just want answers," said another of Thompson's sisters, Sherrine Hill.
A man accused of stealing a car from South Florida high school's parking lot decided to show off his twerking skills during his court appearance.

Surveillance video from Miami Edison Senior High School captured Calvin Lloyd Griffith, 30, walking through the building, taking an employee's keys and then stealing the Volkswagen Passat from the parking lot of the school, according to a Miami-Dade Police arrest report.

Griffith was arrested Wednesday on charges of grand theft, burglary and trespassing. He made his first court appearance Thursday before Miami-Dade Judge Catherine Pooler.

"My mom's here!" Griffith exclaimed as he was brought into court.

As he continued to speak, his microphone was turned off. In order to get to the judges attention, Griffith began twerking.

"He's got problems," an unamused Pooler said.

Griffith's mother was in court with a bag of prescription medications for her son. He apparently suffers from mental illness and was off his medications.

Griffith, who was already on probation for similar charges, was given $18,000 bond but was ordered held until his next court appearance Friday.

He was also ordered to stay away from Miami Edison Senior High.

"Do not go back there. You are not a student anymore," Pooler warned.
Before giving a speech Thursday to a national homebuilders group on Miami Beach, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke exclusively with NBC 6s Jackie Nespral.

Trump answered questions centered on the 2016 election  including recent controversial comments regarding both his opponent in the general election, Hillary Clinton, as well as one made Wednesday night during a rally of supporters at the BB&T Center in Sunrise where Trump called President Obama the "founder of ISIS."

"I meant exactly that. He's the founder of ISIS, he's the most valuable player," Trump said of Obama. "They should give, you know in athletics we get awards, the best player, the most valuable player, he should get the most valuable player award from ISIS."

Nespral asked why.

"When he took the soldiers out, when he took the troops out, look, he should never have been there, we should have never been there, it was the worst decision, one of the worst decisions, maybe the worst we ever made to be there in the first place. I was totally against going into Iraq, I was a civilian so nobody cared but I was against the war in Iraq, I said it was going to destabilize the Middle East," Trump said. "So Obama takes over and instead of keeping some troop presence there, he announced the date he was leaving and then very importantly took everybody out all the sudden, they just sat back and waited and when we left, basically ISIS was formed."

"He is the founder of ISIS and Hillary Clinton is right there with him," Trump added.

Trump will continue his tour of Florida with speaking engagements planned in Kissimmee and Orlando later Thursday, where he will speak in front a group of pastors that has been met with backlash from LGBTQ groups as well as the Democratic National Committee.
Gay rights advocates say it's insensitive of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio to speak at a conference of pastors sponsored by groups that they say are notoriously anti-gay on the two-month anniversary of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando.

The advocates are protesting Thursday outside where the meeting is being held over two days in Orlando's tourist district.

Rubio says in a statement that the meeting isn't anti-gay but rather a celebration of faith.

But gay rights group Equality Florida says the speakers at the American Renewal Project conference have espoused hateful views and blocked same-sex marriage efforts.

The speakers include lawyer Mat Staver, who has represented Alabama's chief justice and a Kentucky clerk in their efforts to block same-sex marriage.
Ancient DNA indicates that the first people in America passed through an entirely different route

What was once the ice-free corridor in which the first Americans were assumed to pass through to get to the U.S. in present day, Canada. (Photo : Twitter/VICE News)

Recent studies of ancient DNA found that the first humans who got into America might not have gone through the ice-free corridor after all, which was previously the most believable viewpoint.



If you ask any child how the first humans got into Americas, they would probably answer that these humans crossed a land that connected Alaska and Siberia, going all the way down south as glaciers had molten during the final years of the last ice age. The previous studies of science and history concurred with this conclusion.



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With their most recent study, this does not seem to be the case, after all. Recent evidence came to light that dry lands free from ice were impossible to pass through until the time when humans had already been staying in the Americas.



This makes the child's answer wrong, and that the first humans 12,000 years ago should have taken an entirely different route in order to get to the Americas.



Researchers and scientists have long assumed that the first men who got into America traveled through Beringia, which is a dry region that existed when the ice age had lower sea levels, and is presently submerged in water, according to Science Mag. This was at the far north part of America, and the route which these first humans took has always been a mystery and an open-ended question.



Recent discoveries, however, suggest otherwise, because it is becoming more evident that humans have already settled in the Americas long before the glaciers became dry, which is around two to three millennia before the final years of the ice age. This means that the ice-free corridor was not viable for these inhabitants to pass through at the time.



With the discovery of new ancient DNA that has been preserved, scientists were able to trace back in time when plants and animals first appeared in the area, which is estimated to be about 12,000 years ago. This was 3,000 years too late for ancient Americans who arrived about 15,000 years ago, according to Nature.



It is currently presumed that they might have trekked through what they call the "coastal route", which led to the west coast of the U.S. This route is postulated to be already submerged in the ocean at present day, but its existence could have been entirely possible many years before the formation of the ice-free corridor.



Below is an interesting video as to how ice ages are formed and other various related phenomena.






What to Know Karina Vetrano's body was found face-down in a marsh hours after she was reported missing Aug. 2

Police say she had been beaten and sexually assaulted

Authorities are hoping a partial DNA sample will generate leads in the case

The family of a 30-year-old runner whose body was found in a Queens marsh last week has raised more than $213,000 in an online fundraiser aimed at increasing the reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

In an outpouring of support, more than 3,000 donors have contributed to the GoFundMe fundraiser created Wednesday by the family of Karina Vetrano, the woman who was found dead in the marshy underbrush at the Gateway National Recreation Area near Jamaica Bay in Queens on Aug. 2.

The woman's father, 60-year-old Philip Vetrano, announced the fundraiser Wednesday afternoon, saying that the family wanted to increase the reward to $100,000 to entice someone who knows his daughter's killer to come forward. The fundraising goal has since been raised to $200,000.

Donations have ranged from $5 to $10,000 with several donors contributing more than $1,000. In an update posted Thursday, Vetrano's family thanked the donors for their contributions and said that fliers with the $100,000 reward were being posted throughout Howard Beach.

Vetrano normally runs with her father but went alone the day she went missing. Her family reported her missing and her father was among the searchers when her body was found hours later.

Authorities later said that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled, but NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said she put up a "ferocious" fight.

No arrests have been made in the case, and authorities are reviewing digital evidence and DNA samples found at the park. Authorities have said it appeared that Vetrano was killed in a random attack.

Vetrano's death has similarities with the killing of Vanessa Marcotte, a New York City Google employee who was found dead after leaving for a run at her mother's house in Princeton, Massachusetts, over the weekend. Her burned and naked body was found in the woods about a half-mile from the home and she appeared to be the victim of a homicide.

No arrests have been made in that case either, and police have said that there is nothing to indicate the two killings are connected. Philip Vetrano, likewise, said the deaths were "totally unrelated."

Anyone with information about Vetrano's death should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
What to Know Fireworks were set off outside the homes of two Rockland County rabbis

A woman at one of the homes said she saw four young men or teenagers running through the yard and throwing a firework

The Anti-Defamation League of New York said it is working with police as they gather evidence

Police are investigating after fireworks exploded outside the homes of two rabbis in Rockland County this week, police say.

A woman heard a loud boom outside of her home on Tarry Hill Drive in New City around 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday night. When she went to see what the noise was she saw four young men or teenagers running outside of her home. One of the men then threw a firework at her home. It exploded next to a tree and caught the tree on fire, according to police.

As police investigated, they were told that a similar explosion occurred at a neighboring home on Phillips Hill Road. People were gathering at the home when they heard a loud boom coming from the driveway. They went to see what caused the noise and found a firework between three parked cars.

Chany Kotlarsky said her children alerted her to the fireworks that were going off on her front lawn.

"The embers were going high up right against the siding of the house," she said. "It was very scary."

The first explosion apparently occurred outside the home of Avremel Kotlarsky, the Director of Chabad. The second explosion was outside the home of Rabbi Simcha Morganstern, an associate rabbi at the Chabad of Rockland, according to the Anti-Defamation League of New York.

The ADL of New York said Wednesday that it is working closely with law enforcement as an investigation continues and has posted a $2,500 reward for information in the case.

We are outraged by this shocking incident in what appears to be the alleged targeting of two prominent rabbis, said Evan R. Bernstein, a regional director at the ADL of New York.

While we are relieved that nobody was injured, such a troubling incident like this can effectively intimidate the broader Jewish community, leaving them feeling vulnerable and at risk, Bernstein said.

Rabbi Simcha Morganstern said he thinks the stunts were premeditated.

"The fact that it was two rabbis homes almost simultaneously kind of points to premeditated, no question," he said.

Police said they are looking for video surveillance evidence and increasing patrols in the area.

Investigators ask anyone with information to call the Clarkstown Police Department at 1-845-639-5840.
The man who killed the New York City Google employee who disappeared after going for a run at her mother's home in western Massachusetts likely has scratches and scrapes, authorities announced on Thursday.

Vanessa Marcotte appears to have struggled with the man who killed her after she left for a run from her mother's home in Princeton on Sunday afternoon, Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said on Thursday afternoon.

Marcotte, 27, was found dead in the woods off of a road in the small town about 40 miles west of downtown Boston. She had been reported missing by her mother when she didn't return from exercising, and her body was found about a half-mile from the home.

Sources have told NBC 4 New York sister station NECN that Marcotte's body was found naked and had been partially burned. Authorities haven't yet revealed how Marcotte died, but an autopsy had been performed on her body.

It's unknown if she knew her killer or was a victim of a random attack, but authorities said earlier in the investigation that residents should "use an abundance of caution."

At least 300 tips have come into the hotline set up for the investigation into the town's first homicide in more than three decades.

Early had said Marcotte traveled from New York to Princeton frequently to visit her family. Marcotte's father, John Marcotte, told The Boston Globe she was not in a romantic relationship.

Marcotte grew up in nearby Leominster, attended the Bancroft School in Worcester and graduated from Boston University in 2011.

Marcotte's death is similar to that of Karina Vetrano, the Queens woman whose body was found in the marshy overgrowth alongside a running path near Jamaica Bay. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled in what appeared to have been a random attack.

There is no indication the deaths are connected.

Anyone with information about Marcotte's death or saw a vehicle near the area where her body was found should call 508-453-7589. Anyone with information about Vetrano's death should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
A legal battle to rid Freedom Taxi of one of its owners is hitting the cab company and its drivers hard, as "New York Taxi King" Evegeny "Gene" Freidman allegedly diverted more than $1.6 million meant for the Philly-based company's coffers and its employees' paychecks into his own accounts, according to a lawsuit filed in Philadelphia.

Everett Abitbol splits ownership of Freedom Taxi  distinguished by its maroon and light blue colored vehicles  with Freidman, who is accused of misappropriating the funds from the shared company as his cab operations faced financial trouble in New York.

In a civil lawsuit filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Please, an attorney for Abitbol says Freidman created "ghost driver" accounts with the credit card processing company that provides payroll cards, essentially prepaid debit cards, to those drivers who opt to receive their paychecks this way.

Read more about the suit and alleged "ghost driver" accounts at PBJ.com
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A suspected gunman chose the wrong place and wrong time to shoot a man to death late Wednesday in Philadelphia, police said.

A pair of police officers patrolling about 10 p.m. near the scene of the shooting, at Germantown Avenue and Cambria Street in North Philadelphia, heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene. There, they found not only the 46-year-old victim lying on the ground bleeding heavily, but, a police commander said, they also spotted the suspect running down Cambria Street, the gun still in his hand. Other responding officers chased the suspect for a few blocks and eventually caught up with him.

"Plainclothes officers chased him to 11th and Cambria and he threw the gun into some bushes," Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC10. "Officers made the apprehension and recovered a revolver-type handgun thrown in the bushes."

Other officers tended to the man wounded in the shooting as their comrades made the arrest, Small said. They took him to nearby Temple University Hospital, but his wounds were too severe, and Small said he was pronounced dead there at 10:26 p.m. Police said they don't yet know why the gunman shot the man.

Small said investigators found cameras on both a Philadelphia Housing Authority building and a business near the intersection where the shooting occurred. Both appear to be pointed in the direction of where the shooting occurred and where the victim collapsed, he said.

The suspected gunman arrested in the shooting, identified only as a 23-year-old man, went to the Homicide Unit for questioning. Police didn't yet know what motivated the shooting late Wednesday.

Small said officers catching a homicide suspect nearly in the act as they did in this case is rare.

"The officers were in the right place at the right time ... to hear shots and respond so quickly that they were not only able to see the suspect running from the scene, but able to make the apprehension," he said. "Things fell into place for 25th District police for this shooting, and they did a good job."
A former staffer for Donald Trump's presidential bid has accused the campaign's then-North Carolina state director of pointing a loaded handgun at him.

Vincent Bordini filed a civil lawsuit in state court against the Trump campaign and recent state director Earl Phillip. The lawsuit alleges assault and battery and seeks monetary damages for emotional distress. Bordini says Trump's national campaign leadership refused to address the February incident.

Wednesday's lawsuit  first reported on by WBTV in Charlotte  says Bordini and Phillip were traveling in the director's Jeep to "check on campaign volunteers at a hotel in Greenville on Feb. 13 during the GOP primary in South Carolina. According to the lawsuit, Phillip suddenly pulled out a gun and pressed the barrel to his kneecap.

"Phillips gun was loaded and the safety was off. A bump in the road would likely result in a bullet hole, and worse, in Vincents knee, the complaint alleges.

Bodini says he reported the inicident to Stuart Jolly, described in the lawsuit as Trump Campaign's national field director, and then told then-Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski a month later  but "nothing happened."

Phillip told The Associated Press Wednesday he resigned as state director and deputy chair of Trump's National Diversity Coalition, referring further questions to his lawyer.

The lawsuit also claims at least two other campaign members also had a gun pulled on them by Phillip, WBTV reported.
In November, voters could once again make the penalty for stealing a gun a felony.

Before Prop 47 was approved by voters in 2014, anyone who was caught stealing a gun would receive a felony charge for doing so. Now, after the measure, people who steal guns only receive a felony charge if the gun costs more than $950. If it costs less than that, it is considered a misdemeanor offense.

Most handguns cost less than $950 dollars, so it's a misdemeanor, California Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D) of Elk Grove said.

In California, almost 70,000 guns were reported lost or stolen between 2010 and 2015. In that period, data shows 2,600 were used in crimes. A number experts argue is likely much higher.

NBC 7 Investigates has been tracking lost and stolen guns throughout California. To see the complete series, click here.

Cooper says California already has the strictest gun laws in the nation. He proposed a package of bills to state lawmakers in an effort to cut down on the amount of gun-related crime across the state.

Some of those passed last month, including one that is aimed at cracking down on firearms known as "ghost guns. Plastic firearms that can slip through metal detectors and are currently untraceable.

His bill would change that, requiring people who make homemade guns to apply for a serial number for the homemade weapon and pass a background check. Under the bill, they have until 2019 to do so.

Another bill proposed by Cooper did not pass.

It would have increased the penalty for stealing a gun. Governor Jerry Brown vetoed it, saying it is nearly identical to parts of Proposition 63, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom's ballot initiative, which will appear on the ballot this November.

Cooper says it will take more than passing bills though.

We passed laws and I think some these laws are feel good laws to be honest, he said. It really doesn't solve the problem. I think a lot of these guns, a lot of these shootings happen in these disadvantaged neighborhoods.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, one of the top law enforcement officials in San Diego, has been subpoenaed to testify in a campaign finance scandal in federal court.

Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, 48, is facing federal charges for allegedly funneling $600,000 of dollars into San Diego campaigns.

According to unsealed documents, the Mexican millionaire is one of several accused of hiding the source of campaign donations or concealing a donation altogether in records with the San Diego City Clerk, the Federal Election Commission, or the California Secretary of State.

Azano, referred to as "Mr. Lambo" in the indictment, is accused of making more than $600,000 in illegal contributions to former Mayor Bob Filner, failed mayoral candidate Bonnie Dumanis, and other candidates.

As the trial unfolds, 61 witnesses are expected to testify, including several high-profile witnesses like Sheriff Bill Gore and former councilman and current radio host Carl DeMaio.

Tuesday, Azano's defense subpoenaed Dumanis, as well as Congressman Juan Vargas and former Union-Tribune Publisher Doug Manchester to testify. It is unclear whether they will testify or not.

Prosecutors list 20 instances in which campaign finance records were falsified to send money from Azano to three candidates in local elections.

It is illegal for a foreign national to donate to a U.S. political campaign.

Azano's motive, according to court documents, was to develop San Diego's waterfront into a Miami-of-the-West, with condos and a high-end hotel.

Azano has also been charged with illegally possessing a firearm, a black Sig Sauer P225 semi-automatic pistol.

Three other defendants, including Azano's son, are on trial. They are accused of getting the money to where it needed to go.
Pokemon GO map (Photo : Facebook/PokemonGOGlobal)

One couple in the United States are now suing a company that provides physical world location based on IP addresses as their residence has been the target of countless investigations due to the company's services.



MaxMind has reportedly based their default location for unsolvable IP addresses and it has led to many visits from authorities who seem to think that crimes are linked to the couple's home. James and Therese Arnold are now suing the company for $75,000 for making their stay at their home a "digital hell" for several years now, BBC News has learned.



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While MaxMind has said that their geolocation IP addresses service is not reliable, many authorities and investigators still pick up leads based on their services. In most of the cases that have no definite physical address that is generated, they are pinpointed to the Arnold's household.



For half a decade, their home has been pestered by countless investigators and policemen who were always looking for something in their residence due to the IP address locations they have received. The Arnolds said that the visits occurred at all times in a day.



One of the first cases that were linked with the Arnold's home is a stolen truck. Two deputies from the Butler County Sheriff's Department checked the home for the said vehicle when the Arnold's recently moved in five years ago.



MaxMind is now being sued by the Arnolds due to their "reckless and grossly negligent conduct," Inquirer reported. It is not clear as to why the Arnolds are just now suing the company when they have been frequently visited by authorities for the last half decade or so.



All sorts of criminal cases were linked with the Arnolds' residence. Some of the cases include identity theft, fraud, scamming and spamming.



Several investigators reportedly even scouted the place and took photos as they believed the home was part of elaborate organized crime. There were even reports of attempted suicides linked to the place due to the misplaced IP address geolocations.



MaxMind has not yet commented on the recent lawsuit against them. The company has now placed the default geolocations of inaccurate IP addresses to bodies of water to prevent such events from happening again.






A Facebook Safety Check about an explosion in San Diego apparently caused widespread confusion on social media on Wednesday night.

Facebook puts out safety checks during major natural disasters or crises. So it certainly raised some eyebrows when the platform asked users if they were safe after an unknown explosion.

The only blast to happen in the San Diego vicinity in the past 48 hours was an explosion and fire at a City Heights apartment complex just after 3 a.m. Tuesday that injured six people.

That apartment explosion came at least 24 hours before most people reported receiving the alerts.

And does an apartment fire really rise to the level of a widespread safety check?

I got a Facebook notification that so and so "checked in safe during the San Diego explosion." Ummmmm what explosion?  Samwise? Samwise! (@SamwiseEyes) August 11, 2016

Facebook wants to know if I'm safe during the "Explosion in San Diego." Huh?  Jen Gaffney (@jengaffney) August 11, 2016

What explosion in San Diego   BOLT GANG  (2-5) (@bohanon1kk) August 10, 2016

https://twitter.com/RunGomez/status/763579790775287809

A search of Facebook shows it was an extremely popular search term: 14,852 looked up the term "explosion in San Diego" on Wednesday evening.

It wasnt immediately clear Wednesday night if Facebooks purported explosion was the City Heights explosion. Plus, it also wasn't known the reason for the delayed alert.

A look at Facebooks safety check protocol shows the social media platform intends them for a disaster, like a typhoon, and other major crises.
A La Mesa family is desperately asking for your help find their son who vanished from his home in Mexico in June.

What hurts the most is we miss him so much and havent been able to get an answer from anyone," said Gene Figueroa Sr.

His son, Gene Figueroa III, 52, disappeared from the home he had been renting in Rosarito, Mexico. The family filed a missing person report with Tijuana Police after Figueroa's landlord notified them that the retiree was uncharacteristically late with his rent.

When Figueroa's family arrived at the home from Riverside County, they say they immediately knew something was wrong.

The home was ransacked, said brother-in-law Ernie Martinez.

A private investigator snapped pictures of blood stains on the floor. Figueroa's electronics and a $40,000 watch collection had also been stolen.

The family says they believe the people responsible were looking for something. They've posted hundreds of fliers but have gotten no leads in finding the father of two who lived in La Mesa before he divorced.

We dont know whether to cry for him or hope for the best, his father said. Were just stunned completely as to what could have happened.

The family is extremely concerned about Figueroa because he needs medicine for his fibromyalgia. They have set up GoFundMe page to pay for private investigative services and reward money.
San Diego police confirm there was no missing person report filed for a toddler found dead inside a bag being carried by a couple trying to cross the border into Tijuana.

San Diego Police Department (SDPD) Lt. Ray Valentin told NBC 7 Wednesday that the couple was attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border on foot at the San Ysidro port of entry at around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The couple, residents of Whittier, California now identified as Johnny Lewis Hartley, 39, and Mercy Maria Becerra, 43, were stopped by Mexican authorities and sent to a secondary inspection point.

Hartley was carrying a duffle bag.

When officials scanned the bag in an X-ray machine, they made a grisly discovery: the lifeless body of a little girl was inside. According to Valentin, the child was approximately two years old.

Valentin told NBC 7 Thursday that it appears the couple was driven down to San Diego by someone and dropped off at the pedestrian border crossing.

SDPD Homicide Unit detectives are working closely with detectives of the Whittier Police Department to track down leads on the case, and have been in contact with several people in Whittier regarding the little girl.

At this point, Valentin said no other arrests have been made in this case.

When Hartley and Becerra were stopped at the border, Valentin said Becerra tried to run away, but she was quickly apprehended and taken into custody. Hartley was also arrested on the spot.

Both Hartley and Becerra were booked into jail in San Diego and are facing counts of first-degree murder and child cruelty. They are both scheduled to appear in court Friday.

After interviewing the suspects, SDPD Homicide Unit detectives have determined that whatever happened to the girl may have occurred in Whittier.

The toddler's parents live in the Whittier/Greater Los Angeles area. NBC 4 Los Angeles confirmed Becerra's Instagram account; her biography on the social media page says she's a mother of nine.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's (ME) office took custody of the toddler's body and will determine the cause and manner of the girl's death.

On Thursday, the ME's office confirmed the autopsy was completed, but the results have been sealed by law enforcement.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information on the case can call the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Whittier is located approximately 127 miles north of Tijuana.
While presidential candidates and supporters debate homeland security and terror attacks, teenagers from Israel and the West Bank who live in fear daily converged on San Diego.

In late July, the teens visited San Diego for an intense three weeks of discussion and activities geared toward finding common ground as part of San Diego's Hands of Peace, a program that teaches tolerance to Israeli and Palestinian teens.

The group gathered at Balboa Parks World Beat Center for a lesson in harmony.

Several generations of both cultures are born into this historic conflict. But where bombs and guns have not worked, these young adults are trying honesty and openness.

Complete strangers, who grew up fearing and misunderstanding one another are now  after two weeks  dancing to the beat of a different drum.

Yasmin is a Palestinian teen living in Israel less than a mile from a West Bank check point.

At the checkpoint I hear a lot of shoot guns; I hear a lot of screaming, she explained to NBC 7. I feel the racism on the way in a bus station on the way to school.

Guga, also 17 years old, is Israeli, living just outside Tel Aviv.

I go with pepper spray because Im scared of terror attacks or if I just teach my dog to run into the safe place when he hears and alarm, Guga said.

While both are the sum of their respective environments and opinions of generations past, they seek harmony through Hands of Peace.

The program brings these teens together on the neutral territory of San Diego for intense dialog and what you might call cultural team-building activities.

Our mural is taking out the bad toxic ideas and replacing them with progressive ideas, Jewish-American Sophie Henry said.

In February 2017, Palestinian and Jewish-Americans who already completed the course are sharing their message with other children in conflicts. This inspirational mural is bound for a Syrian refugee camp in Greece.

The statistics literally came alive. All the sudden, I had faces to these people and that changed everything, Palestinian-American Khalid Abudmas said.

Program participants number less than 50 but its message may be a pebble in a pond.

Solving this conflict and making a solution is by changing the opinions for the next generation and the generation that comes after, Yasmin said.

I pass it on to my friends. They say you know what may be your right and they pass it on more and I think that's what makes the change. The circle getting bigger and bigger with the time, Guga added.

The teens returned home last week, hoping to spread the message of peace and open dialogue among communities through projects of their own.
It had been a rough year for Chalene Nevins out of Clairemont.

I was burglarized. Had all of my electronics and all of my jewelry stolen except for what Im wearing right now, Charlene said.

So, when Charlene received an unsolicited letter in the mail claiming she was owed money, she was skeptical. The company that sent the letter asked for Chalenes personal details like her social security and drivers license numbers.

What made things even odder was that the company told Charlene that she would receive a check and then would be required to send a portion of that check to the company for their efforts.

Charlene called NBC 7 Responds, asking us to figure out whether or not this was a scam and what we found out was a big surprise for Charlene.

As it turns out, the company that contacted Charlene was legitimate. These companies go through public records for unclaimed properties or funds that a state may owe an individual. The companies will then look up the individuals contact information, notify them of the unclaimed funds, and say they will send the person a check if they give the company a percentage.

But theres a way that Charlene and anyone in this situation can receive those unclaimed funds without having to share a penny with a third party company.

For California residents, its as simple as going to the State Controllers website and searching your name.

To find out if you have any unclaimed funds or properties, click here.

The State Controllers website has a list of money or properties from closed or dormant accounts that have been turned over to the state.

There are millions of dollars waiting to be claimed there and for Charlene, $1816 was waiting for her.
Locals will gather Thursday evening for viewing parties to cheer on the Park View Little League (PVLL) of Chula Vista, in one of two games that could qualify the team for the Little League World Series (LLWS).

The SoCal champs will face off at 6 p.m., with PVLL playing against Hawaii. That's also when both viewing parties will kick off. One party will gather at Salucita Bar & Grill on 4110 Bonita Rd. in Bonita, and another viewing party will take place at Oggi's Pizza and Brewing on 2130 Birch Road in Chula Vista.

At both events, spirit gear will be sold and part of the proceeds from food sales will be donated to the team, according to the Facebook page of PVLL.

If the team wins Thursday night's game and one more match after that, PVLL could head off to LLWS in Williamsport, Pennsylvania later this month.

Last year, another team from San Diego's South Bay made it to Williamsport -- Sweetwater Valley Little League, setting records along the way.
To read this article in Spanish, click here.

Multiple organizations are asking people to assist with helping victims of the apartment building fire and explosion late Wednesday in Silver Spring, Maryland.

If you can donate money, you can mail checks to the Montgomery Housing Partnership at 12200 Tech Road, Suite 250, Silver Spring, MD 20904, or donate on the partnership's website.

The Red Cross also is asking people to donate blood at their blood donation centers, the locations of which can be found on the Red Cross website.

Additionally, the Red Cross and the Montgomery County's Department of Health and Human Services have set up a shelter and support center at the Long Branch Recreation Center.

Marys Center and Community Clinic, Inc. are offering free health care to those affected.

A number of locations are accepting donations of cash, clothing, canned or boxed food, toiletries and other items:

Montgomery Housing Partnership

Montgomery Housing Partnership is accepting cash donations online. Checks can also be mailed to:

Montgomery Housing Partnership

12200 Tech Road, Suite 250

Silver Spring, MD 20904

CASA Welcome Center

*Update - A CASA spokesperson says the donation drop-off facility is full.

734 University Blvd. East, Silver Spring

Baby formula and diapers are desperately needed. Donations can be made to the CASA Welcome Center. The center will also help victims in need of items, including prescriptions.

CASA is accepting donations until 9 p.m. The organization asks that donators do not go to the Long Branch Recreation Center shelter directly.

IMPACT Silver Spring

IMPACT Silver Spring is coordinating a multilingual outreach effort to ensure that families can connect to the support they need. They are especially seeking Spanish, Amharic and French volunteers to help out. Contact them at (301) 298-5117 to sign up or learn more here.

Manna Food

Manna Food is collecting non-perishable food. Learn more here.

YMCAs Youth & Family Services

YMCAs Youth & Family Services division is coordinating the back-to-school effort for the children who have been displaced by the fire. Find out more here.

A Wider Circle

9151 Brookeville Road, Silver Spring

Call 301-608-3504 for pickup or drop-off furniture seven days a week.

Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington

501 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring

The ACSGW is collecting clothing, houseware items, toiletries, blankets and sheets. However, the ACSGW is not accepting furniture.

Cash and check donations can be sent to ACSGW's Emergency Fund at the address above. Make checks payable to ACSGW. Online payments can be made via PayPal here.

Victims of the explosion will be issued a special I.D. card to use for ACSGW services. The ACSGW can provide food, clothing, houseware and personal care items.

ACSGW will be open for calls and services Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.

Spanish Speaking Community of Maryland

8519 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring

Located near the apartment building, the Spanish Speaking Community of Maryland is collecting toiletries, canned goods and clothing, among other items, for victims of the explosion.

Razoo Foundation

The crowfunding website, Razoo, based in Alexandria, Virginia created a fundraiser to help the victims of the explosion. Razoo waived its platform fees, and donations will benefit Montgomery Housing Partners.

BurgerFi

8504 Fenton St., Silver Spring

Eat at downtown Silver Spring's BurgerFi. The restaurant will donate 10 percent of all its Friday sales to the victims of the apartment explosion.

All Set Restaurant & Bar

All Set Restaurant & Bar in Silver Spring will donate 100 percent of its sales Monday to the victims of Thursday's deadly fire. The Silver Spring restaurant will donate an additional $5,000 to the Montgomery Housing Partnership.

---

Como Ayudar Victimas de la Explosion en Silver Spring

Varias organizaciones piden ayuda al publico para asistir las victimas del incendio y explosion de apartamentos en Silver Spring, Maryland.

Si puedes hacer una contribucion financiera, envia un cheque a Montgomery Housing Partnership o donar en su sitio web: http://mhpartners.org/

La Cruz Roja esta pidiendo donaciones de sangre en sus centros locales, para localizar un sitio: http://www.redcrossblood.org/espanol

Los siguientes sitios estan aceptando donaciones de dinero, ropa, comida enlatada, articulos de tocador y mas:

CASA Welcome Center

Informacion nueva - No mas donaciones necesarias.

734 University Blvd. East, Silver Spring

Formulas de bebe y diapers se necesitan desesperadamente. Donaciones pueden ser dirigidas a CASA Welcome Center. El centro tambien estara asistiendo las victimas con prescripciones.

A Wider Circle

3751 Brookeville Road, Silver Spring

Llamar a 301-608-3504 para recoger donaciones o dejar muebles los siete dias de la semana.

Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington

501 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring

La ACSGW esta recolectando ropa, articulos de tocador, cobijas y sabanas. Sin embargo, ACSGW no esta aceptando muebles.

Donaciones de dinero en efectivo y cheques pueden ser dirigidos al fondo de emergencia de ACSGW a la direccion de arriba. Cheques deben ser escritos a ACSGW.

Se les entregara una tarjeta de identificacion especial a las victimas de la explosion para tener acceso a los recursos de ACSGW. La ACSGW proveera alimentos, ropa, y articulos personales.

ACSGW estara abierto para llamadas y servicios el Viernes de 9 a.m. a 3 p.m., Sabado y Domingo de 1 a 4 p.m.

Spanish Speaking Community of Maryland

8519 Piney Branch Road, Silver Spring

Localizado cerca de los apartamentos afectados, el centro Spanish Speaking Community of Maryland esta recolectando articulos de tocador, comida enlatada, ropa, y mas para las victimas de la explosion.

Razoo Foundation

Un sitio web para recaudacion de fondos comunitarios, ha creado un pagina para las victimas de la explosion: https://www.razoo.com/us/story/Flowerbranchfire

Donaciones seran dirigidas a Montgomery Housing Partners.

BugerFi

8504 Fenton St., Silver Spring

Come en el centro de Silver Springs BugerFi y el restaurante donara 10 por ciento de todas las ordenes del viernes a las victimas de la explosion.

Adicionalmente, la Cruz Roja y el Departamento de Salud de Montgomery County ha preparado alberges y centros de ayuda en Long Branch Recreation Center http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec/where/centers/longbranch.html#translateMCG
A woman has died and four people are hurt after a car slammed into the back of a Metrobus stopped on Naylor Road SE, officials say.

Debra Finley, 57, of Bowie, Maryland, died after she crashed the car she was driving into the rear of a bus on the 2700 block of Naylor Road SE, police said. She was headed northbound, near the Skyland development site.

A passenger in the 2010 Nissan Altima that Finley was driving suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital.

First responders were dispatched to the scene about 2:35 p.m., Metro spokesman Dan Stessel and police said.

The bus driver and two passengers received non-life-threatening injuries, the Metro spokesman and police said. Seventeen passengers were on board the bus at the time the crash.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Anyone with information for police is asked to call 202-727-9099. Information can be submitted anonymously by sending a text message to 50411.
Olympic swimmer and Virginia native Townley Haas comes from a family of fighters.

The gold medal-winner's older sister, Emily, survived the shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people in 2007, and his mother is a gun control advocate.

Emily Haas was sitting in a French class at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007 when Seung-Hui Cho opened fire, NBC Washington and Yahoo News reported. Bullets grazed the crown of her head and the base of her skull. Classmates around her were killed.

She was very, very lucky, Lori Haas recently told Yahoo News. Another half an inch 

Since then, Lori Haas has fought for gun control legislation in Virginia.

Working for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, she has called on politicians, from Virginia senators to Gov. Terry McAuliffe, to keep guns off college campuses.

Guns on campus is an extremely unpopular position for anyone except a radical few, Lori Haas told the Associated Press in 2012.

She sent an open letter in 2009 with other families of shooting victims asking then-Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner to support gun control legislation.

Townley Haas showed his familys grit when he fought for a gold medal Tuesday as part of Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochtes 4x200 freestyle relay team in the Olympics. The teams victory gave Haas his first Olympic gold.

His mom has been a constant supporter. A photograph Townley Haas posted to his Instagram page in May shows the mother and son together.

Happy Mother's Day to the greatest mom in the world. I don't know where I'd be without you! I love you! he wrote.

Through retweets, Townley Haas has shown his support for his mother, who has taken on the National Riffle Association and protested at the Capitol until 1 a.m.

As Richmond's hometown Olympian fights for Team USA, his mother fights for an end to the gun violence that nearly killed her daughter.
Donald Trump is coming to Connecticut on Saturday night for a campaign event in Fairfield.

The Republican nominee for president will be at the William H. Pitt Center at the Campus of Sacred Heart University at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to his campaigns website.

The doors open at 4:30 p.m. and people can register online for up to two tickets per cell phone number per event.

This is Trump's third trip to Connecticut since April.

In April, he held a campaign rally in Hartford and returned later and made an appearance at Crosby High School in Waterbury, then at Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine is scheduled to attend a public event and a fundraiser on Saturday in New Hampshire.
A male victim has been transported to a hospital following an overnight shooting in a nightclub in Hyannis, Massachusetts, nightclub.

According to Barnstable Police, the shooting happened around 3:30 Thursday morning at the Pufferbellies nightclub.

Police say a fight broke out shortly before the gunfire.

The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

So far no arrests have been made.
Residents of Leominster, Massachusetts, came together on Wednesday to honor the memory of a woman who was killed over the weekend.

Vanessa Marcotte was found murdered Sunday in some woods near her mother's home in Princeton. The 27-year-old, who was living in New York City, was originally from Leominster, where many people turned out for an emotional vigil.

"I know somebody saw something," said Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella. "Somebody has a piece of information."

Residents said they want justice for Marcotte, who was an only child.

"Just hard working, dedicated, loyal good people," said Mazzarella. "The best of the best."

Police said she disappeared sometime between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Sunday while she was out jogging. Necn has learned that her last known location may have been in the area of the Mountain Barn Restaurant where employees say the family came in looking for her Sunday after her cell phone pinged at a tower next door.

Marcotte's body was found the same evening, about a half mile from her mother's home.

Those that know the family are in disbelief.

"I don't know how you function as a parent when it's your only child," said family friend, Joanne Damico.

Police said they've received hundreds of tips in the case but still want anyone with information to call them.
A Waltham, Massachusetts, man charged in a double stabbing at a home that left a woman critically injured is expected to be arraigned in court Thursday.

Emanual Louis, 37, will be arraigned in Waltham District Court.

The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office says the incident happened Wednesday afternoon around 1 p.m. at a home Weston Street, just off of Interstate 95.

Police say a 52-year-old woman suffered multiple stab wounds and was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.

An 83-year-old woman suffered a cut to her hand and was also taken to an area hospital.

Louis, who knows the victims, fled the scene, according to police, but was found and arrested soon after.

Louis has been charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a victim over 60.

It's not clear if he has an attorney.
A New Haven public school teacher has been put on administrative leave after allegedly grabbing a 9-year-old student, according to the boy's family attorney.

The incident involving a teacher and at least one student occurred on May 20 at the Roberto Clemente School, Supt. Garth Harries said in a statement.

"From the first report of this incident on May 20th, District staff took all the appropriate measures to ensure the school remained a safe space for both teachers and students," Harries said in the statement. "To be clear, this District does not condone any actions of aggression or violence exhibited by students or teachers."

The teacher, who was not named, was put on administrative leave on May 23.

Louis M. Rubano, an attorney representing the third-grader's family, told the New Haven Register he will be filing a lawsuit against the teacher.

According to Rubano, the student was serving an in-school detention when he got into a verbal altercation with the teacher. The teacher allegedly told the boy to "shut up," the attorney said.

When the boy got up to say he wanted to go to the principal's office, surveillance video shows the teacher grabbing the boy by the neck before dragging him outside and slamming him into a locker, Rubano said.

"You never touch a student," Rubano told the paper. "It's just unbelievable that a teacher would attack a young, minor student in this fashion."

The superintendent said the teacher's status is pending the findings of the police investigation.
New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan was not injured when her state vehicle was involved in a crash on Thursday afternoon.

"The Governor is not injured following a traffic accident involving her vehicle. State Police and Nashua PD will provide additional details," reads a tweet sent from Hassan's Twitter account on Thursday afternoon.

Nashua Police said a Volvo sedan that ran through a stop sign collided with Hassan's white, unmarked Chevrolet Tahoe around 12:18 p.m. Thursday. Police said State Trooper Scott Frye was driving Hassan west on High Street when Marc Thayer, 45, of Nashua, failed to stop at the intersection with School Street and hit the driver's side of Hassan's SUV.

No one was hurt. The Volvo was towed from the scene, but Frye and Hassan were able to drive away. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

The governor was in Nashua for an event at Harbor Homes to commemorate Community Health Center Week.

Hassan, a Democrat, is in her second term as governor. She is running for U.S. Senate in the 2016 election against Republican incumbent Kelly Ayotte. Ayotte said in a tweet Thursday that she is "relieved" that Hassan wasn't hurt and hopes that members of her state police detail were also uninjured.
An off-duty Cambridge, Massachusetts, police officer was arraigned Wednesday in Chelsea District Court on charges he allegedly beat a man during an altercation last month outside a restaurant in Revere.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said Jonathan Vicente was charged with assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and malicious destruction of property in connection with a July 10 incident. The judge ordered Vicente to stay away from the victim and witnesses in the case.

Authorities said Vicente was outside of Volare on Broadway with a group of men urinating in an alley at about 2 a.m. When an employee told them to "respect the establishment," Vicente and the other men allegedly got into a verbal confrontation and began kicking a nearby vehicle. Prosecutors said Vicente and the others then began to punch and kick the employee before fleeing the scene.

When Revere Police tracked down Vicente a short distance away in a vehicle, he was allegedly belligerent with the officers and said he was, "on the job."

Vicente was taken into custody for disturbing the peace. He was later identified as one of the men who beat the restaurant employee.

Police are still looking to identify the other men involved in the altercation.
A man is in custody in connection for a double stabbing at a home in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Police responded to the Weston Street home at 12:56 p.m. where they found a 52-year-old woman suffering from multiple stab wounds and an 83-year-old woman with a laceration to her hand.

Both victims were transported to area hospitals where the 52-year-old woman remains in critical condition.

A visibly shaken next door neighbor was shocked when she came home.

"I don't know anything, just come back my work, from my restaurant, I saw this and was very afraid," said Arsineh Solaimani.

Police said the suspect, Emanual Louis, 37, of Waltham, originally fled the scene but was later arrested. He was charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and battery with a dangerous weapon on a victim over 60. He's expected to be arraigned on the charges Thursday morning.

Authorities said the victims and Louis are known to each other and the attack is not random.

State police and the Middlesex District Attorney's Office are handling the investigation.
Investigators say they believe the New York City woman who went for a run near her mother's home in central Massachusetts and was later found dead was attacked by a man and may have injured him in a struggle.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said Thursday that 27-year-old Vanessa Marcotte is believed to have struggled with her assailant in Princeton, and that he may have suffered scratches, cuts, scrapes and bruises.

"We would ask that anyone who has observed a male with these types of injuries that would have been fresh earlier in the week to contact the Massachusetts State Police tipline," Early said.

The phone number for the anonymous tip line is 508-453-7589.

People in the area remain on high alert.

"It's not getting better," said Norman Gratton of Brookfield, not far from Princeton. "We're all probably on the edge about everything. They don't know what's going on."

"It's crazy because it could be anyone," said Peter Gallant. "You could have walked by the guy."

"It is scary," Princeton resident Mick Grigos said. "Nothing like this has ever happened before and it is unusual."

Like many in town, Grigos is hoping for a quick arrest.

"I think there will be a lot more comfort if something, some sort of breakthrough would come through," he said.

State police were back searching the woods near Brooks Station Road on Thursday, the area where Marcotte was found dead Sunday night.

Early said the timeline for the murder has been narrowed down to between 1 and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Anyone who saw a vehicle driving or parked on Brooks Station Road in Princeton during that timeframe is asked to call the tipline.

Marcotte's last known location alive may have been near a restaurant in town. Employees at Mountain Barn Restaurant tell necn her family came there to look for her after her cell phone pinged a tower next door.

Authorities continue to urge residents in the area to remain vigilant, as they still don't know if this was a random act or not.

More than 300 tips have come into the hotline set up for the investigation.

There are more than 24 investigators on the case from Princeton Police, Massachusetts State Police and the district attorney's office.

Early said Marcotte traveled from New York to Princeton frequently to visit her family. Marcotte's father, John Marcotte, told The Boston Globe she was not in a romantic relationship.

Marcotte grew up in nearby Leominster, attended the Bancroft School in Worcester and graduated from Boston University in 2011. She worked as an account executive for Google in New York.

Google said it was "deeply shocked and saddened" by Marcotte's killing.

"Vanessa Marcotte was a much loved member of the Google team, working in our New York office for the last year and a half, and known for her ubiquitous smile, passion for volunteer work and love of Boston sports," the company said in a statement.

People in town held a vigil on Tuesday night to honor Marcotte and show support for her family. Town Administrator Nina Nazarian said the slaying has unnerved the town, known for the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area.

"I think there is concern out there, but the townspeople are banding together," Nazarian said.

Marcotte's death is similar to that of a New York City woman killed while on a run through a Queens park last week. Like Marcotte, 30-year-old Karina Vetrano was killed while running alone during daylight hours in a secluded area. There is no indication the deaths are connected.
State officials have confirmed a case of Legionnaires disease at Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown.

Legionnaires is a bacterial infection that causes pneumonia-like symptoms caused by legionella. The bacteria grows best in warm water and is typically found in cooling towers, hot tubs, hot water tanks, large plumbing systems, air conditioning units and decorative fountains. When it becomes airborne it can cause a serious form pneumonia and is particularly dangerous to individuals with underlying lung conditions or compromised immune systems.

The disease cannot be spread person to person, health officials said. It is treated with antibiotics.

State officials confirmed a female patient at Connecticut Valley Hospital tested positive for Legionnaires and is being treated.

A nurse at the facility also exhibited symptoms consistent with the disease and is being treated. The Department of Public Health is awaiting test result to confirm if that person also has Legionnaires.

Both are responding well to treatment.

DPH officials said the nurse and patient both spent time in Merritt Hall at Connecticut Valley Hospital. While DPH and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services have not yet determined the source of the bacteria, officials said they suspect it was spread through something in the building.

There is no need to evacuate the building, but the room the patient was staying in was emptied for the time being, officials said. Crews will collect water samples for testing throughout the building and then crews will clean and sanitize.

Workers have been informed of the situation and know to look out for symptoms, which include a high fever and respiratory-related symptoms such as coughing or shortness of breath.

Health officials said most people who breathe in the bacteria do not exhibit any symptoms. People with underlying lung conditions or immune system disorders are at higher risk.

Connecticut typically sees 80 to 100 cases of Legionnaires' each year and this case is not considered unusual, according to DPH.
Heat and humidity are reaching a peak Thursday and Friday, with temperatures climbing into the 90s and dew point temperatures - a measure of the moisture content in the air - reaching the middle 70s, indicating that truly tropical air has arrived.

Necn meteorologist Chris Gloninger discusses what to expect during the extreme heat and how you can stay safe.

The combination of heat and humidity creates an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous steam bath feeling, with heat index values over 100 degrees for many communities both days.

A heat advisory stretching along the East Coast is in effect, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has declared a heat emergency effective through Saturday.

In Connecticut Thursday, severe thunderstorms passed through over the course of the afternoon and evening.

Warnings in Fairfield and Putnam counties are in place until 9:15 p.m.

The warnings have been issued because dangerous thunderstorms are producing damaging winds over 58 mph and/or hail of at least one inch in diameter. Our Early Warning Weather Team is providing live radar coverage of the storm on-air and online if your neighborhood is in a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, seek shelter inside, away from windows. Though lightning is not a factor in the issuance of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, lightning poses a deadly threat - if you can hear thunder, you likely are close enough to be at risk and should shelter inside until the storm passes.

The heat problem, however, was more widespread. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection released an advisory warning that ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach unhealthy levels. Air quality alerts have been issued for parts of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

All of this heat means a few things: we want to drink plenty of water, dress in lightweight and light colored clothing, avoid exertion if possible and take breaks in air conditioning when possible, check on those without air conditioning and check the tire pressure in your car tires to avoid blowouts.

As for the chance of thunderstorms, we're always on guard with this much moisture packed into the atmosphere, but for Thursday it looks like the greatest risk is south of the Massachusetts Turnpike and in northern Maine, while Friday brings a better chance of scattered thunder across New England.

We could certainly use whatever rain we can muster. Though Wednesdays soaking rain wasnt tabulated in the latest government update on the drought status that was issued Thursday morning, the Lower Merrimack River Valley in Massachusetts has been upgraded to Extreme Drought status, along with Bostons northwestern suburbs and northern parts of the MetroWest. This Extreme Drought classification is the worst for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that we could find in Drought Monitor records back through 2000, though New England, as a region, saw a worse drought impact in 2002.

This weekend, a cool front will sag southward and increase the chance of thunder across the region while delivering noticeably cooler air to Maine and perhaps northeast Massachusetts on Saturday, then for more of northern and central New England Sunday, with areas farther south and west still in the heat and humidity.

People trying to stay cool, as extreme heat hits New England.

Next week, multiple days will bring highs in the 80s with chances of afternoon thunder in the exclusive necn Early Warning Weather 10-day forecast.

Mayor Walsh and the City of Boston issued the following heat safety tips for all members of the public:

Adults and children should use sunscreen containing an SPF-15 or higher and wear protective, loose fitting clothing, including long sleeve shirts and hats.

The elderly, young children and those with chronic medical conditions, especially respiratory conditions, are more susceptible to the effects of heat.

Check in on the elderly and family or neighbors who may be at risk of heat exhaustion or heatstroke as temperatures climb.

Children and pets should never be left alone in vehicles, even for short periods of times.

If you become lightheaded, confused, weak or faint, stop all activity and immediately find shade or a cool area to rest. If symptoms persist, call 911 immediately.

Limit outdoor activity to morning and evening hours. Rest often in shady areas and be extra cautious from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the sun's UV radiation is strongest.

Drink plenty of fluids regardless of activity level. Avoid alcoholic beverages and liquids high in sugar or caffeine.

Homeless individuals can become dehydrated rapidly due to a lack of access to water or shelter from the heat. If you observe someone who appears to be in distress, call 911 immediately.

If you have a child in your home, use child window guards in addition to screens on any open window on the second story or above. Falls are the leading cause of injury for children under the age of six. Information about low-cost window guards for Boston residents can be found here.

Secure all window air conditioner units according to the manufacturer's specifications.

For more heat safety tips, visit www.mass.gov/mema/heat

Boston Centers for Youth & Families will be available as cooling centers for the public. The communities listed below have also established the following resources during this extended stretch of hot weather:
Anna Price encourages Christians to engage positively with Halloween rather than hide away, on what many see as the darkest night of the year.

Anna Price encourages Christians to engage positively with Halloween rather than hide away, on what many see as the darkest night of the year.

First service takes place at Norwich church site SOUL Church hosted around 400 people for a special service on the site of their new building on Heartsease Lane. Read more

Dereham draws up list of warm places for winter As rising energy prices make it harder to heat homes, churches in Dereham are leading the way in creating warm spaces where people can go. Read more

South Norfolk church scoops national award A medieval Anglican church in a tiny hamlet in South Norfolk has won a national award and a 10,000 boost. Read more

Dereham churches help people to help themselves A group of churches in Dereham have launched an ambitious project which aims to meet needs in the town, including the provision of food and skills training. Read more

Executive assistant and nursery manager jobs SOUL Church is a vibrant, welcoming and growing church in Norwich. They are seeking an organised and versatile Executive Assistant to provide key support to the churchs Senior Pastors, as well as a qualified Nursery Manager to head up SOUL Nursery. Read more

Halloween light in Gorleston church On Halloween this year, St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston will be preparing to welcome around 200 families to experience their Light on a Dark Night event. Read more

An opportunity for Norwich to pray for the nation Rev Nigel Fox, who has served as a Methodist Minister for 15 years in Norwich, shares an open invitation to pray for the nation at a crucial moment. Read more

Norwich church seeks musicians Kingdom Ambassadors International Church is appealing for instrumentlists, keyboardists and guitarists to be part of their worship experience. Read more

Please keep Rishi in your prayers Andy Bryant urges us to pray for our political leaders, especially the new Prime Minister, and avoid unhelpful judgementalism. Read more

Emilys art boosts growing Yarmouth foodbank A pupil at a primary school in Bradwell has been selling her pictures in order to raise money for the Yarmouth and Magdalen Foodbank, which is expanding its capacity and is seeking more volunteers. Read more

Patrick Regan helps Norwich to bounce forwards On Saturday St Stephens in Norwich hosted Bouncing Forwards as part of a national tour by the mental health charity Kintsugi Hope. Read more

Painting and biblical feasting in Overstrand There will be opportunities to improve your painting skills and indulge in some biblical feasting next month at the Pleasaunce in Overstrand in North Norfolk. Read more

Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more

National award for Dereham Christian bookshop The Green Pastures Christian bookshop in Dereham has won a national award for providing boxes of Christian books to 21 local schools. Read more

Norma's care home jigsaw challenge complete A resident at Norwich-based care home Corton House has completed an incredible 70 jigsaw puzzles in celebration of the homes 70th anniversary this year. Read more

Norwich charity's appeal to support Palestinian students A Norwich educational charity, set up in memory of a Norwich Anglican priest, to support students from a Palestinian refugee camp, is inviting people to support its Christmas appeal  to be launched on November 29. Read more

Norfolk drug and alcohol charity pays tribute to its founder Andy Sexton, CEO of the Matthew Project, introduces a series of tributes from the charity to its founder, Peter Farley. Read more


Diocese of East Anglia's first priest marks 40 years Diocese of East Anglia's first priest marks 40 years

The very first priest to be ordained in the newly-formed Catholic Diocese of East Anglia, 40 years ago, has celebrated his own 40th anniversary of ordination with a One Mass Sunday at Most Holy Trinity in Diss.

At his ordination in 1976, Bishop Alan Clark called Fr David Bagstaff the Benjamin: the youngest priest in the new Diocese of East Anglia. And on July 10, Fr David celebrated both anniversaries in Diss where he has been parish priest for the past two years.



The Gospel reading that day, the story of the Good Samaritan, was, said Fr David, a profound and simple proclamation of good news that cut to the heart: no-one listening, then or now, could fail to understand the challenge it presented: to reach out in love and service to all, especially those most in need, and those we didn't want naturally to connect with. Everyone is a child of God, he said.



Fr David began his ministry as assistant priest at St Peter and All Souls, Peterborough; he then moved to St John's Cathedral, Norwich as assistant priest; on to St Mary's, Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, and back to Peterborough as parish priest. Sacred Heart, North Walsham, with Aylsham and Wroxham, was his next parish, until two years ago when he moved to Diss. Priests and parishioners from his former parishes joined in the celebrations.



Describing the unique relationship between a Catholic priest and his parishioners, Fr David said: It is the love that the priest receives daily from the people of the parish that enables him to give love, to be alongside, to lead, to listen, and to reach out together in love and service. As priests we're very fortunate that they are very tolerant of our eccentricities and forgive our mistakes!



In this celebration today, I give thanks to God for his grace, without which we can do nothing. I'm offering thanks, together with you, for 40 years and for the hundreds of thousands of people I've connected with and walked alongside. It's a great day for thanksgiving.



Pictured above is Fr David Bagstaff (centre) cutting his anniversary cake surrounded by fellow priests.


Commonly installed Trane thermostats were vulnerable to hacking for a while, says a security firm. The Internet of Things-connected gadgets had been liable to provide burglar-friendly, private information because their authentication system was weak and they use hardcoded credentials, Trustwave claims in its SpiderLabs blog.

Trane is an Ingersoll Rand brand that specializes in heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC). Ireland-based Ingersoll Rand is a $13 billion global business, it proclaims on its website.

+ Also on Network World: Experts to IoT makers: Bake in security +

The Trane-branded, residentially oriented Comfortlink XL850 thermostat was the culprit, SpiderLabs says. Researchers say they found that although internet, Wi-Fi connectivity, remote service, remote control and ZWave features are included in that model, its wasnt secure until repeated, multiple-months attempts at contact with the company instigated a patch getting issued. That patch is now finally being rolled out via the internet connection.

The models connectivity features are designed to let end users remotely manage their heating and cooling schedule, along with temperature. However, models running the earlier, now superseded firmware would still be vulnerable to information disclosure and remote access due to a weak authentication mechanism and hardcoded credentials.

A custom protocol and a predictable port number is at the root of the trouble. That allows access to all areas of the thermostat from the network or internet, including hacks. And the researcher found that with the earlier firmwareeven when some of the feature-set was switched offthe device was still accessible.

More problems encountered included Github code repositories from Nexia, a third party involved in the device, being overly open. That, too, got cleaned up eventually.

Why thermostat data needs to be protected

Once an attacker has gained access, they can quickly extract all information from the device, Trustwave says. That includes the home heating and cooling schedule, current operation mode, current temperature, chat and alarm history, serial number, active socket connections, trusted URLs, secret IDs, software version info and detailed address and installer information.

The HVAC system dormant hoursin other words when the climate control is off or in standbywould at the minimum be a security risk because it could give a potential robber times when the home may be empty.

An expensive problem that could be created through a thermostat hack is that malicious damage could be launched by raising temperatures too high or low. Winter-time damage could include freezing, burst water pipes.

More sinister possibilities, too, have been studied on unrelated thermostats by a penetration tester in 2015 that hypothesized of hackers gaining access to power plants through IoT thermostats.

This Trane incident is not the first time Ive written of IoT manufacturers being unreceptive to security reports. Security firm Bitdefender, too, uncovered a residential IoT security issue, and in its case, couldnt get a manufacturer to patch it.

Trustwave claims its initial attempts to contact Tranes offices resulted in bounced emails and ignored communications, and that it took them two months to speak to the right person.

Extraordinarily one email came back from someone saying: Trane already has a dedicated team for security risks and the like, so I think it would be a good idea to let them handle this and any future vulnerabilities.

Amusingly, Ingersoll Rand did not respond to my request for a comment.
As the U.S. presidential election nears, Donald Trump is emerging as the clear winner -- at least when it comes to having his name used in spam messages.

Spammers and cyber attackers are using Trump's name far more than Hillary Clinton's in emails pushing get rick quick schemes or phishing for personal information, according to an analysis from Proofpoint.

The security firm scanned the subject line of emails received by its customers in June and July looking for occurrences of "trump" or "clinton," and found that the Republican nominee appeared in 169 times as many emails as his Democratic opponent.

Proofpoint An example of the Trump-themed spam

Its not clear why spammers gravitated towards Trump over Clinton, but his ability to make headlines and ignite passions on both sides seems to have something to do with it. The messages generally fell into one of two categories, Proofpoint said: "surprising election news" about Trump, or emails promising to help you "get rich" or "get smart" like Trump.

Subject lines included Trump  I Uncovered a Secret and Trump: Average Americans can beat wall street every time. The messages sometimes included fake news stories from sites like CNN and Fox News to make them look authentic.

On at least one occasion, criminals sent a phishing email that required people to "sign in" with their Gmail credentials to take part in a fake presidential poll. Other emails included links that led to phishing websites.

Not surprisingly, Proofpoint advises people to be careful when opening election-themed email.

Online scammers routinely use presidential elections to help ply their trade. Four years ago, cybercriminal made wide use of Barack Obama's name to trick people into visiting malicious sites.

Generally, scammers will use any major public event as a lure to get people to open their mails and click on links, including earthquakes and terrorist attacks.
Privacy is dead, has been a mantra, for different reasons, for generations. In the cybersecurity community, it has been conventional wisdom for at least a decade. But Edward Snowden and Andrew bunnie Huang apparently think they can revive it a bit, at least if you own an iPhone 6.

Their goal, they say in a white paper titled, Against the Law  Countering Lawful Abuses of Digital Surveillance, is to create an add-on hardware component that will protect front-line journalists in repressive regimes where governments have demonstrated the capability to track people through their smartphones even if the devices are set to Airplane Mode.

Indeed, on iPhones with iOS 8.2 and later, GPS remains active in Airplane Mode.

They did not address in their paper whether that kind of privacy could also be irresistibly attractive to terrorists and other criminals.

Snowden, the famous (or infamous) former NSA contractor who leaked a trove of classified documents proving, among other things, that the U.S. government was conducting surveillance on its own citizens, is much better known to the masses than Huang. But in hacking circles, it is Huang who has both a bigger name and more credibility to deliver such a device.

One good journalist, in the right place at the right time, can change history.

Edward Snowden, director, Freedom of the Press Foundation

So it was Snowden, now director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation and still a fugitive from U.S. justice living in Russia, who presented the political rationale for their proposal on livestream video last month to the "Forbidden Research" conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Media Lab  an invitation only event, although archived video is available.

And it was Huang, in person, who presented the technical elements of the prototype they hope to build within the next year.

It would not surprise anyone to hear that Snowden believes that just because something is legal doesnt make it right or moral. He noted in his talk that everything from slavery to segregation, discrimination, torture, indefinite detention and extra-judicial killings have been conducted, under frameworks that said they were lawful as long as you abide by the regulations.

The question is, can you trust the gatekeeper  can you trust the UI (user interface)?

Andrew bunnie Huang, hacker and author

He said the same is true of, lawful abuse of digital surveillance, which he said is now turning the tools of journalists trade against them. He said that since January 2005, more than 1,070 journalists or media workers have been killed or gone missing. The bulk of those deaths, he said, were not war-zone combat casualties but outright murder.

One of the more recent was Marie Colvin, a reporter for the Sunday Times in Britain, who was killed in Syria in 2012 by government artillery fire on the apartment building being used as a makeshift media center in the city of Homs.

She had reported just hours earlier that government claims that they were not shelling civilian targets were false. Her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Syrian government last month.

According to Snowden, Her family has evidence that the radio frequency (RF) communications she used to file her reports were intercepted by the Syrian army. They used direction-finding capabilities to track and locate this illegal, unlawful media center  unlawful because of a government news blackout.

Any useful technology will have applications that are both good and evil.

Dan Cornell, CTO and principal at the Denim Group

Another much more recent example of the risk is Nour Al-Ameer, a former vice president of the Syrian National Council and now a refugee activist, who received what looked like a legitimate email with a PowerPoint attachment purporting to contain details of Assad Crimes.

She didnt open it, and turned it over to Citizen Lab, which determined it contained spyware with a remote access Trojan called Droidjack that would allow a remote attacker to control her mobile device  to turn on the microphone and camera, remove files, read encrypted messages, and send spoofed instant messages and emails. Obviously, if her phone had been compromised, she and her family would have been in mortal danger.

So the goal of the hardware Snowden and Huang hope to develop, he said, would let the smartphones owner know if the device, starts breaking the rules and broadcasting any kind of locational information through RF.

As Huang put it, the question is, can you trust the gatekeeper  can you trust the UI (user interface)?

This will not be a simple add on, however. It is complicated enough that the two decided to build it for just a single phone  the iPhone 6  since that model is, what we understand to be the current preferences and tastes of reporters, although Huang said in his presentation that once the module is a reality, it should be extendable to other makes and models of phones.

As he explained and the paper illustrates, the installation of what they are calling an introspection engine will require a skilled technician to open the device and go through the SIM card port to attach sensors at multiple points, to monitor anything that might emit RFs  the cellular modem, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. Their plan is to disable entirely near-field communication (NFC), which is used for Apple Pay, since they dont think front-line journalists will be doing that kind of shopping.

The two say they plan for the module to be open-source (You dont have to trust us.), user-inspectable, field verifiable and to operate independently of the phones operating system or CPU, which could be compromised. Huang added that they want the module to be essentially invisible to the operating system and not to have a signature that could be detected, since governments would then be likely to target those using it.

The stakes are high  very high  Snowden said, because, one good journalist, in the right place at the right time, can change history, including possibly changing the outcome of an election or of a war. That makes them a target, he said.

But, of course, every tool for the good guys could be attractive to bad guys as well. If terrorists or other criminals got access to such a module, they could go dark more effectively as well.

The Department of Homeland Security had nothing to say on the matter. Spokeswoman Marsha Catron said, we wouldnt comment on pending matters.

But privacy experts note that any technology can be used for good or bad purposes. It is dangerous to impugn the ethics of a project like this, said Dan Cornell, CTO and principal at the Denim Group. Pretty much any useful technology will have applications that are both good and evil. Google Maps provides tremendous benefits but could also be used by terrorists to help plan attacks.

Parker Higgins, director of copyright activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), has a similar view. It's possible for bad actors to use infrastructure, but that doesn't stop us from building it, he said.

Higgins added that he doubts that a module like this would be widely used by criminals or terrorists. While the perception may be that they are highly sophisticated, he said, in practice, those groups tend not to be very advanced in their communications technology.

Still the effort by Snowden and Huang to monitor a phones RF emissions raises the question of why the makers of the phones dont deliver what they essentially promise  that if the phone is in Airplane Mode, it is not broadcasting location data.

Cornell said putting public pressure on phone manufacturers to give users more control over whether their device is communicating, is a more interesting approach. He likened it to how relatively easy it is to block the camera on a laptop with a piece of tape, but not so easy to block the microphone from being turned on without the users knowledge.

A better approach for laptops would be to have a hardware off switch for privacy impacting sensors like the microphone and camera that would physically break the connection and make it impossible for the sensor to operate, he said.

If this approach were applied to smartphones, then the various antennas on the phones could have similar physical controls made available.

He added that if such controls were built in, it would be more likely to work than, some sort of aftermarket-modified phone with a voided warranty.

Cornell said it is also important for users to recognize that the proposed module, even if it works as intended, doesnt provide protection. It provides awareness.

RELATED VIDEO:

This story, "Snowden and Huang hope to help smartphones go dark" was originally published by CSO .
Although vendor-written, this contributed piece does not promote a product or service and has been edited and approved by Network World editors.

As euphemisms go, it's hard to beat the term service outage as used by IT departments. While it sounds benign -- something stopped working but tech teams will soon restore order -- anyone familiar with the reality knows the term really means Huge hit to bottom line.

A quick perusal of the tech news will confirm this. Delta Airlines global fleet was just grounded by a data center problem. A recent one day service outage at Salesforce.com cost the company $20 million. Hundreds of thousands of customers were inconvenienced in May when they couldn't reach Barclays.com due to a glitch. And a service outage at HSBC earlier this year prompted one of the Bank of England's top regulators to lament that, Every few months we have yet another IT failure at a major bank... We cant carry on like this.

Nearly half a century into the computer era, however, we do still carry on like this. According to research by IDC, infrastructure failure can cost large enterprises $100,000 per hour, while failure of critical applications could cost as much as a million dollars an hour. Regardless of the solutions that are thrown at the problem, service outages are as common  and as lethal  as ever.

So where do outages come from? An interesting study by a University of Chicago team lists the 13 leading causes of service outages at online services companies, but the lessons are just as valuable for IT departments. The researchers parsed over 1,000 web articles and papers that discussed the causes of 516 unplanned outages, hoping to determine what happened, why it happened, and how it was fixed.

Upgrades, for example, were responsible for 15% of service outages. One could presume that every upgrade had been tested thoroughly in an offline environment. Apparently not; otherwise, it would stand to reason, upgrades wouldn't be such a major factor in service outages. And even if an upgrade was tested on a server, upgrades pushed to the full ecosystem can be fragile - meaning that the new upgrade had not been tested thoroughly enough, said the study.

Misconfiguration is another important factor -- responsible for 10% of service outages. While IT workers are often responsible for misconfiguration, the study says, its not always their fault. Often new software or upgrades to existing applications make changes to configuration files, with the application satisfying its own needs- while throwing things out of whack elsewhere. A configuration change in one subsystem might need to be followed with changes in the other subsystems, otherwise the full ecosystem will have conflicting views of what is correct, the study says.

Other causes of service outages include undue stress on an ecosystem due to traffic issues, power outages, security issues - and of course, human error. But perhaps the biggest issue -- the most common reason for service outages, according to the University of Chicago study, is unknown. Of the 516 outages studied, the team could not determine the root cause of 294 (48%) of outages. Once an IT department gets into the unknown territory, theyre in big trouble. If you cant figure out what the problem is, how can you fix it?

One way is to use automatic big data analytics to identify potential outages. These systems evaluate network elements on an ongoing basis, analyzing the relationships between hardware, software, configuration files, network connections, and everything else that makes up an IT system. IT department workers can't do this work  because there is just too much information to keep track of.

These systems can do what humans can't - identify risky deviations from industry best practices and vendor recommendations while providing early warning capabilities to help administrators understand the impact of any change. So, when the time comes to install new software, for example, analytics systems can send out alerts about the implications of the installation, what services and functions will be affected, and what steps should be taken to prevent the risk of an outage.

Organizations upgrading from vSphere 5.5 to 6.x, for example, are on their own when trying to fine tune their systems. There are many issues to consider  and it's almost impossible for IT workers to ensure that all the bases have been properly covered. All it would take is a missed step to significantly hamper operations, and even cause yet another dreaded outage. With proper operations analytics in place, users can complete the job much quicker and more reliably, leveraging the power of automated configuration validation.

Big data analysis of this sort different than (and complementary to) log analysis and other approaches that evaluate historical data leading to outages. While its not quite prophecy, the right analytics system can help IT teams prevent problems from cropping up before they actually do. Given the complicated environment IT teams operate in nowadays, any help  Divine or otherwise  is likely to be welcome.

Gil Hecht is the CEO of Continuity Software, a provider of IT Operations Analytics for infrastructure outage prevention.
NASA this week picked six companies to develop prototype deep space habitats that astronauts could somewhat comfortably live in on long space journeys  particularly to Mars.

According to NASA, an effective habitat contains pressurized volume plus an integrated array of complex systems and components that include a docking capability, environmental control and life support systems, logistics management, radiation mitigation and monitoring, fire safety technologies, and crew health capabilities.

+More on Network World:

The ground prototypes will let NASA and the partners evaluate configurations of the habitat, how the various systems interact together and with other capabilities like propulsion modules and airlocks, and will provide platforms to test and ensure the standards and common interfaces being considered are well thought out, NASA stated.

NASA said the six companies would have about 24 months to develop ground prototypes and/or conduct concept studies for deep space habitats. NASA has estimated the combined total of all the awards, covering work in 2016 and 2017, will be approximately $65 million, with additional funding continuing into 2018. Selected partners are required to contribute at least 30% of the cost of the overall proposed effort, the space agency said.

NASA is on an ambitious expansion of human spaceflight, including the Journey to Mars, and were utilizing the innovation, skill and knowledge of both the government and private sectors, said Jason Crusan, director of NASAs Advanced Exploration Systems in a statement. The next human exploration capabilities needed beyond the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule are deep space, long duration habitation and in-space propulsion. We are now adding focus and specifics on the deep space habitats where humans will live and work independently for months or years at a time, without cargo supply deliveries from Earth.

+More on Network World: The Martian author Andy Weir calls for massive new space station to prep humans for Mars trip+

The prototype habitats are part of a NASA program called Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP), which is developing all manner of deep space systems from advanced propulsion to satellites. Announced in 2014, NextSTEP programs for habitat development are already underway at a number of space industry companies such as Bigelow, Boeing and Orbital.

Congress earlier this year urged the space agency to move along its ideas for how humans would live on planets or other places far from Earth. With that pressure as a backdrop NASA said it wants US companies, universities, and non-profit organizations to offer up their best ideas for space living systems would include reliable life support systems, fire safety, atmosphere revitalization and monitoring, water processing, lighting, and fire detection and radiation protection.

Here are the companies an their prototypes as described by NASA:

Bigelow Aerospace will develop and test a prototype of Expandable Bigelow Advanced Station Enhancement (XBASE), a 330 cubic meter expandable habitat and test platform for deep space hardware. XBASE is based on the B-330 expandable spacecraft for the mission-specific purpose of attaching to the International Space Station as a visiting vehicle. XBASE leverages the lessons learned from the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a 16 cubic meter expandable spacecraft, which was recently deployed on the space station.

Bigelow Aerospace Credits: Bigelow Aerospace

Boeing is developing a modular habitat system that includes technology from designing, developing, assembling on-orbit and safely operating the International Space Station for over 15 years. This includes the production of a full-scale habitat that will provide design analysis and high-fidelity demonstration and test capability to simulate how humans can safely live and work in deep space for extended periods of time. This ground demonstrator will test and validate interface standards, systems features and critical exploration technologies.

Boeing Credits: Boeing

Lockheed Martin will refurbish a multi-purpose logistics module, like those that were used to carry equipment and supplies to and from the station aboard the space shuttle, into a full-scale habitat prototype that will include integrated avionics and ECLSS. The high-fidelity environmental control and life support systems prototype will provide risk reduction and form and fit testing. The avionics prototype will prove data communication between the habitat and Orion and demonstrate crew interfaces between a deep space habitat and Orion.

Lockheed Martin Credits: Lockheed Martin

Orbital ATK will mature the mission architecture and design of their initial cislunar habitat concept, based on the Cygnus spacecraft that currently services the space station. Orbital ATK will create their prototype to support testing of critical interfaces with Orion and other modules. It will use the Cygnus-derived habitat design for long-term operation in deep space and establish a proposed roadmap that leads to Mars exploration.

Orbital ATK Credits: Orbital ATK

Sierra Nevada will study and refine a flexible architecture and concept of operations for a deep space habitat that leverages three to four commercial launches to construct a modular long-duration habitat. Their prototype will be based on the Dream Chaser cargo module as a foundation for the SNC NextSTEP-2 proposal and will allow SNC to assess their ability to meet the criteria for each operation phase and identify risks. After launch from the Dream Chaser spacecraft, the SNC NextSTEP-2 module will be combined with a large inflatable fabric environment module, ECLSS system, and propulsion system.

Sierra Nevada

NanoRacks in conjunction with its partners, Space Systems Loral and the United Launch Alliance, referred to collectively as the Ixion Team, will conduct a comprehensive feasibility study regarding the conversion of an existing launch vehicles upper stage, or propellant segment, into a pressurized habitable volume in space.

NanoRacks Credits: NanoRacks

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Julian Fawcett railed against transport police

A MAN was arrested for a bizarre rant at railway station staff and passengers.

Parents shielded their young children from the behaviour of Julian Fawcett as he railed against transport police, Reading magistrates heard on Thursday, July 28.

Lesley Gilmore, prosecuting, said Mr Fawcett, a self-described charcoal-maker from Horseshoe Road, Pangbourne, began by berating staff at Reading railway station for the amount of time he had been waiting for a train.

She added: He was asked to lower his tone as it was around 4pm and there were families with children present. People were avoiding walking near him.

Mr Fawcett was directed to the correct platform but was later asked to leave the station when he continued shouting and swearing, the court heard.

Ms Gilmore said British Transport Police had arrived by now and deemed the 50-year-old too intoxicated to travel.

Mr Fawcett then wandered to a taxi rank but continued shouting and swearing, yelling Im going to kill them, magistrates were told.

Ms Gilmore went on: At least one family with a toddler had to shield their youngster from all this.

Mr Fawcett was arrested and subsequently admitted using threatening or abusive behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress on July 9.

Representing himself, he told the court: Im going through a bad time at the moment and have been having some mental health problems.

I used to have a business making charcoal but Ive got a rage inside me and on this occasion, having had a lot to drink and being in physical pain, it was a perfect storm. I do regret what I did.

Magistrates fined Mr Fawcett 40, with a statutory 30 surcharge, but made no order for costs.
Blue Plaque at old Vodafone office unveiled

A PLAQUE to commemorate the first public mobile telephone call made in the UK has been unveiled in Newbury.

Newbury Town Council welcomed the former chief executive officer of Vodafone, Sir Christopher Gent, to carry out the unveiling last Thursday at Thames Court, The Broadway.

The historic call was placed on January 1, 1985, in the offices then occupied by Vodafone at 20-22 The Broadway (now Thames Court).

Speaking to the Newbury Weekly News Sir Chris said he was delighted to have been asked to the unveiling adding: "Newbury has been Vodafone's home from the very beginning.

"When I joined in 1985 it was in 64 buildings offices across Newbury and all of the early employees lived nearby.

"The fact it is now a global enterprise, it's all part of the history."

The deputy leader of Newbury Town Council, Anthony Pick, added: This plaque commemorates an event which was pivotal in the history of Vodafone and mobile telephony in the UK, and in the development of Vodafone in Newbury, which has been so important to the town.

Although specialists in the field might have foreseen what could arise from this technology, it has exceeded the expectations of all of us.

The call was made from St Katharine Dock in London by Ernie Wise, half of the late comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.

A crowd gathered to witness him call up the Vodafone office in Newbury using a Transportable Vodafone VT1, weighing around five kilos and costing the equivalent of 5,000.

The plaque is the fourth in a series of heritage plaques being installed around the town to celebrate residents or events that have made an historical impact on society and follows those commemorating clothier John Winchcombe II, astronomer Francis Baily and founder of modern historical studies of Newbury, Walter Money.

For a more in depth interview with Sir Christopher Gent grab a copy of next week's Newbury Weekly News.
Chris Mears posts pictures of himself with medal on his Twitter page

HERE'S Burghfield Common's very own Chris Mears celebrating winning an historic gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio last night.

Mears and his dive partner Jack Laugher led from the end of round three in the men's synchronised 3m springboard final and held their composure to secure their place in the history books.

It was the first time Great Britain had ever won gold at diving and has seen Mears and Laugher replace Tom Daley as the poster boy of British Diving in today's national press.

Mears, who attended Garlands Junior School and the the Willink School in Burghfield Common, celebrated last night, tweeting pictures of his medal (above).

And back home in Burghfield Common, the local community have been busy joining in the national celebrations.

On the Burghfield Community Facebook page, they have already posted a picture of a mock-up village sign which says 'Welcome to Burghfield Common, home of Chris Mears, Gold Medalist.'

In 2009, Mears was given a five per cent chance of surviving life-threatening surgery after rupturing his Spleen.

But he defied the odds to not only make a full recovery, but become an Olympic champion.

Mears was delighted with his result and the pair's conquest of the conditions and opposition: "Weve been looking pretty damn good in training," he said. "The conditions are a big thing here. One minute you can be diving in sunshine, then its cloudy, then its raining and its really windy. So there are a lot of factors that can throw people off.

"We didnt let that faze us out there, we did our thing and we came out on top. The Americans definitely put the pressure on us and they were quite vocal about it and quite emotional.

"But we just stayed in our zone. We didnt know how many points we needed because we werent concentrating on that. All I concentrated on was landing on my head on my dive and I did that. And so did Jack so we came out on top.
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Endrtimes does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article/video posted on this site. The information provided here is done so for personal edification; It's up to the reader to separate truth from error, and to examine everything (like the Bereans) from a Biblical perspective. Let the Holy Scriptures be you guide! - - - FAIR USE NOTICE: These pages/videos may contain copyrighted () material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS, economic, DEMOCRACY, scientific, MORAL, ETHICAL, and SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes.
Under intense pressure from Egyptian security forces, the Islamic State group affiliate in Sinai, Ansar Beit El-Maqdis, is virtually a spent force, says jihadist expert

Nageh Ibrahim, an expert on Islamist insurgent groups and a former jihadist, said in an interview with Ahram Online that the militant group Ansar Beit El-Maqdas is "having its last throes," as the group has become quite weak during the past year.

"It cannot undertake big operations, such as the bombing of government buildings, like the bombing of the military intelligence building previously ... or massacre, or conduct operations outside Sinai."

"Instead, it has resorted to car bombs or suicide bombings, which were mostly handled well [by Egyptian security forces]."

Last Thursday, the Egyptian armed forces announced the killing of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis leader Abu Doaa Al-Ansari and a number of his associates in air strikes.

Ibrahim, who was one of the founders of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, said "this is the beginning of the end of the group."

Ansar Beit El-Maqdis lost control over the five main elements any such group depends on, as its human resources, finances, arms gathering capacity, communication network and mobility have all come under immense pressure while the group is not being able to recruit from Libya or the Gaza Strip, Ibrahim explained.

Two weeks ago, Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria released a recording on several operations of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis group. According to analysis of the recording, the speaker is Abu Mohamed El-Anani who is not the usual spokesman of the group in Sinai, evidence that the group's network has been disrupted.

Ansar Beit El-Maqdis group, which originated in Sinai and claimed responsibility for most of the attacks against security personnel and installations in Sinai, pledged allegiance to IS in Iraq and Syria and its leader, Abu Bakr El-Baghdadi, in November 2015.

Ibrahim contends that not only is the IS-affiliated group in Egypt losing ground, but the Islamic State group itself is losing ground in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

"We are witnessing the international demise of the [IS] group."

"It was not only religiously and morally stupid; it was politically stupid as well," Ibrahim added, adding that the group claimed to be supporting the Sunnis in Iraq, yet caused further US/UK intervention in Iraq, as well as Iran's intervention in Syria.

Ibrahim also remarked that it is the first group to include outlaws, including drugs dealers, arms dealers and convicted felons.

"The future scenario is that IS group will fall in time," Ibrahim argued.

However, he said that the role of the state  particularly Egypt  is important. It should not "focus on security at the expense other things, such as overall development of Sinai."

Terrorist groups previously used the situation in neighbouring Gaza and Israel as a pretext, as happened with the three largest bombings that took place under former President Hosni Mubarak, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Dahab and Taba, he elaborated.

"What is required from the state is to address the effect of past battles, change the situation and improves the living conditions of the people, rather than just the tightening security," Ibrahim concluded.

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In its 2015 Annual Report on International Freedom, the US State Department said Egypt's Coptic Christians still face significant challenges, says government aims to protect them

The US State Department has said that Egyptian Coptic Christians still face enormous challenges, though stated that President-Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has made efforts to protect the country's largest minority, according to its 2015 Annual Report on International Freedom released on Wednesday.

Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 90 million, have long complained of discrimination and sectarian attacks in the predominantly Sunni Muslim country.

A string of sectarian incidents have hit some of the country's southern provinces in recent weeks, home to a large Christian community and supporters of extremist Islamic groups.

"The Copts in Egypt still face significant challenges. However, President al-Sisi hastaken a very public position that the Copt community needs to be protected," David Saperstein, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom said in its 2015 annual report.

He cited El-Sisi's two visits to Christmas mass since he came to office in 2014 and his efforts to rebuild many churches that were destroyed in the violence following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi after mammoth protests.

A wave of sectarian violence took place over the past weeks in the governorate of Minya, where about 35% of the population is Christian.

Early in July, a Muslim mob stabbed a Coptic Christian to death during a street argument in the southern governorate of Minya.

The attack prompted President El-Sisi to warn against attempts to "drive a wedge" between Egyptians and vowed to hold wrongdoers to account.

Days earlier, in two separate incidents, a group of Muslims attacked and torched houses of Christians over a rumour that they intended to convert a building into a church.

In May, Muslim villagers torched seven homes of Christians and assaulted a Christian man's elderly mother, parading her naked in public. The assault in Minya's El-Karm village was sparked by rumours that the man was having an illicit relationship with a Muslim woman.

Local rights group, the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights, said in a July report that Minya has been hit by 77 incidents of sectarian tension since January 2011.

Saperstein expressed concerns about blasphemy and apostasy laws as well as legislation dealing with defamation of religion in countries such as Egypt, where many people have received jail terms on charges of defaming Islam.

"I strongly affirm the U.S. Governments opposition to blasphemy laws," Saperstein said, urging that such laws be "eliminated or, as a start, not enforced."

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General Michael Garrett's visit was his second this year and focused on strengthening military-to-military cooperation between Egypt and the United States

US Army Central commanding general, Michael Garrett, met with senior Egyptian military officials to discuss the military partnership between the United States and Egypt in a two-day visit to Cairo, the US Embassy in Cairo announced Thursday.

According to an official statement, Garrett's 9-10 August visit tackled "joint efforts to fight terrorism, and shared interests in regional stability and security."

"The visit concluded with a vision for increasing military-to-military cooperation and training events for aviation units from both countries," US Army Central said in a statement on its Facebook page.

This is the second visit to Egypt for Garrett as commanding general of UN Army Central. During his first visit to Egypt, in January 2016, Garrett said: Our partnership with the Egyptian military is incredibly important for the stability of the region.

The US Navy Commander visited Egypt 17 July to discuss shared security interests with senior Egyptian officials, days before the US Navy began missions in support of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) from the Arabian Gulf 22 July.

A series of mutual visits have been ongoing between Egyptian and US security officials in recent months to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation to fight terrorism in the region.

The United States provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in military aid annually, with the 2016 package including $150 million in economic assistance.

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The defendants were found guilty of storming and torching a council building in Minya in 2013

A Minya military court sentenced eight Mohamed Morsi supporters to seven-year prison sentences for storming and torching a local council building in Minya governorate in August 2013.

The court also sentenced another defendant in the same case to five years in prison.

The defendants were found guilty of attacking the council building in the town of Deir Mawas in August 2013, following the deadly dispersal of the pro-Morsi Rabaa and Nahda protest camps in Cairo.

The defendants were arrested in February 2016.

The verdicts can be appealed.



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Turkey on Thursday called on Russia to carry out joint operations against Islamic State (IS) in Syria, after crucial talks between President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at ending a crisis in ties.

The comments by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu came as a Turkish delegation was in Russia for talks aimed at coordinating actions on Syria and other bilateral issues.

"We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh (IS) operations together," Cavusoglu said in a live interview with the private NTV television, adding that the proposal was still "on the table".

Cavusoglu urged Russia to fight against the "common enemy" of IS jihadists in Syria.

"Let's fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible," the minister said, warning otherwise that the group would keep on expanding and spread into other countries.

Erdogan visited Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday -- his first trip abroad since the July 15 coup attempt.

It was also his first direct meeting with Putin since the shooting-down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish air forces on the Syrian border in November that caused unprecedented damage to relations.

NATO member Turkey was long criticised by its Western partners for not playing a full role in the fight against IS but upped its involvement last year by offering US forces use of an air base for raids against the group.

Turkey has also carried out air and artillery strikes against IS of its own although it it believed to have halted the operations in the wake of the Russian plane incident.

The three-person Turkish delegation in Moscow, made up of representatives from the military, intelligence and foreign service, is tasked with implementing decisions made at Tuesday's summit, Cavusoglu said.

"I believe the mechanism will contribute to this process," he added.

Cavusoglu said close cooperation between Turkey and Russia would help prevent incidents in the future like the plane crisis.

"Many countries are engaged in Syria actively. There could be mistakes," he said.

"In order to prevent that, we need to put into practice the solidarity and cooperation (mechanism) between us including sharing of real time intelligence."

Cavusoglu also said real time communication was also needed between the two presidents and the military officials of the two countries.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will hold talks in Turkey on Friday, the Turkish foreign ministry announced, in the most significant visit by a foreign official to the country since last month's failed coup.

Zarif will meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara and will be received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his palace, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The visit by a key regional player in the Middle East will please Ankara, which has hit out at the lack of Western leaders coming to Turkey since a rogue military faction tried to oust Erdogan from power on July 15.

The announcement of the visit comes two days after a key encounter between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan, who met face-to-face for the first time since relations were damaged after Turkey shot down a Russian jet over Syria in November 2015.

Tehran and Moscow are Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main allies in the over five-year civil war, putting them at loggerheads with Turkey.

While Tehran has given financial and military support to Assad, Turkey has repeatedly said his exit is the only way to find peace in Syria.

The presidency insisted on Wednesday Turkey's policy on Syria had not changed despite the normalisation of relations with Moscow.

But, despite tensions over Syria, Iran and Russia were among the first countries to give their unequivocal support to Erdogan on the night of the coup.

Relations between mainly Sunni Muslim Turkey and Saudi Arabia -- the key Sunni Muslim power in the Middle East and Shiite Iran's regional foe -- have blossomed in recent months.

However Ankara has also maintained a careful balance to also keep warm relations with Tehran.

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A senior U.S. military official said Thursday that an advanced U.S. missile defense system that is to be deployed in South Korea will only target North Korea, not China.

China has grown increasingly angry over the plan to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system, believing it is capable of tracking missiles inside China. Chinese state media have published daily attacks against the U.S. and South Korea, and China has reportedly canceled events involving South Korean entertainers.

During a group interview with South Korean media including Yonhap news agency, Vice Adm. James D. Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said the THAAD system will never be used against China.

"We don't defend against China as a threat," he said in the interview at Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff building, according to Yonhap.

Syring said the system is strictly defensive in nature and had successfully intercepted targets in 13 out of 13 tests.

Seoul's Defense Ministry confirmed the substance of Syring's reported comments.

Seoul and Washington announced last month that they will deploy the THAAD system in southern South Korea by the end of next year to better deal with North Korean threats. North Korea responded by warning of unspecified consequences and conducting several missile launches.

Residents at the South Korean deployment site have launched protests over fears that the electromagnetic waves emitted by THAAD radar systems could possibly harm health.

Syring said in the interview that the systems have no adverse environmental effects, Yonhap reported.

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What if one blood test could screen for more than 50 types of cancer?
A Canadian man who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in a video was shot dead in a taxi after setting off an explosive device, police said Thursday.

Aaron Driver, 24, was killed on Wednesday after a tip to Canadian authorities from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who had intercepted the video, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told a press conference.

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Ukraine put its forces around Crimea on high alert Thursday, as tensions soared after Moscow accused Kiev of attempting to mount armed incursions into the disputed peninsula.

Russia's FSB security service said on Wednesday it had thwarted "terrorist attacks" in Crimea this week by Ukrainian military intelligence and beaten back armed assaults, but Kiev fiercely denied the claims.

The allegations ratcheted up the heat in a feud sparked by Moscow's 2014 seizure of the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine and raised fears of a wider conflict.

The UN Security Council was to discuss the growing tensions later Thursday at the request of Ukraine, a non-permanent council member.

Ukraine's pro-Western President Petro Poroshenko met his top brass and ordered forces along the frontier with Crimea and across the conflict-wracked east onto "high-alert level".

Russian President Vladimir Putin also met security chiefs to discuss "additional measures for ensuring security for citizens and essential infrastructure in Crimea," the Kremlin said.

"Scenarios were carefully considered for anti-terrorist security measures at the land border, in the waters and in the airspace of Crimea," it said.

Meanwhile a NATO official told AFP that the US-led military alliance was monitoring the heightened Crimea tensions with concern.

The official, who asked not to be named, said that "Russia's recent military activity in Crimea is not helpful for easing tensions", and called on Moscow "to work for calm and de-escalation."

Russia's FSB security service said one of its officers was killed in clashes while arresting "terrorists" overnight August 6-7, while a Russian soldier died in a firefight with "sabotage-terrorist" groups sent by the Ukrainian military on August 8.

Putin angrily accused Kiev of "practising terror" and warned that the deaths of the Russian officers would have consequences.

"We obviously will not let such things slide by," Putin said. "This is a very dangerous game."

Russia's foreign ministry reiterated Thursday that Kiev would not go unpunished.

"We want to warn Kiev and its Western sponsors that the losses incurred to the Russian side, the death of Russian servicemen, will not remain without consequences," a ministry statement said.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the West to warn Kiev against "dangerous steps that could have the most negative consequences" in a phone call with his French counterpart, the ministry said.

Poroshenko on Wednesday called Moscow's claims "senseless and cynical."

"Fantasies are only another pretext for the next military threats toward Ukraine," he said.

Two residents living on the Russian-controlled side of the Crimea-Ukraine frontier told AFP there had been an unexplained build-up of Russian military hardware in the area over the past few weeks.

Russia is holding nationwide legislative elections next month -- including in Crimea -- and the FSB said the alleged raids could be aimed at destabilising the situation ahead of the vote.

A senior Ukrainian security official told AFP that Moscow's claims were a "crude Russian provocation" and that Kiev was "getting ready for anything," including an invasion.

Russia says it has detained several Ukrainian and Russian citizens over the incident, including an alleged Ukrainian military intelligence officer named Yevgen Panov. Kiev has called Panov a "hostage".

Russian television showed FSB footage of Panov being questioned, with several cuts and bruises visible on his face and arm.

He said he was recruited by Ukraine's military intelligence, with the planned targets a ferry, a helicopter regiment, an oil depot and a chemical factory.

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a bitter dispute since the Kremlin seized Crimea in March 2014 after Ukraine's Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.

The crisis sent ties between Moscow and the West plunging to their lowest point since the Cold War and led to tough economic sanctions by the European Union and the United States against Russia.

The latest war of words represents the most serious increase in tensions in months as a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine -- that Kiev and the West blame on Moscow -- drags on despite a stalled peace deal.

More than 9,500 people have been killed since the pro-Russian insurgency erupted in April 2014.

Putin said a mooted meeting with Poroshenko and mediators German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande at next month's G20 summit in China was now "senseless".

Independent Russian daily Vedomosti wrote in an op-ed that Moscow has tended to ramp up tensions ahead of negotiations over Ukraine.

"The main political question now is what is the future of the Minsk process," the paper wrote, referring to the peace deal hammered out in the Belarussian capital in February 2015.

"Will Russia bring an end to it or demand new concessions?"

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One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is often diagnosed in women of childbearing age, and this fact prompts concerns regarding how MS can affect pregnancy. Fortunately, several studies have demonstrated that women with MS experience similar issues (if any) with pregnancy, labor, delivery, and fetal complications as women without MS.

In the past, pregnancy was believed to worsen MS, but after over 40 years of research it has been concluded that pregnancy reduces relapse rates, especially in the last trimester. Some studies show a decrease in MS symptoms during pregnancy but an increase in symptoms following delivery. This may be due to an increase in circulating proteins as well as natural immunosuppressants during pregnancy.

Research

The Pregnancy and Multiple Sclerosis (PRIMS) trial studied 269 pregnancies in women with MS. Results showed that while relapse rates were down by 70% in the third trimester, they increased 3 to 6 months post childbirth without contributing to increased disability in the long term.

Pregnancy and MS medications

Drugs such as DMTs and natalizumab (Tysabri) used to treat aggressive forms of MS should be discontinued a few months before conception. Research suggests there is no rebound of MS activity following drug withdrawal during or after pregnancy.

A recent study suggested that the use of fingolimod affected the fetus and should be avoided during pregnancy. Short-term steroid courses, however, are generally considered safe in pregnancy.

Intravenous immunoglobulin treatment has been found to be beneficial towards the end of pregnancy as this approach reduces relapse rates without significant side effects.

Multiple Sclerosis and Pregnancy Play

MS and childbirth

Physical disability related to MS may make it hard for the mother to carry the fetus during pregnancy, and this is further affected by coordination problems, fatigue, and muscle weakness.

Women with MS may not have pelvic sensation during labor, which will affect their ability to feel the labor pain, thus complicating delivery. Labor may also be complicated due to affected muscles and nerves which hinder pushing.

Breastfeeding and MS

Breastfeeding for a minimum of 2 months has been linked to a reduction in MS relapses. Breastfeeding women have a 50% less chance of a postpartum relapse as compared to non-breastfeeding women.

Apart from the other benefits for the infant such as protection from asthma, type 1 diabetes, Crohns disease, and dermatitis, breastfeeding may also provide the baby protection against MS. According to a German study, breastfeeding for just 4 months after childbirth reduces the babys risk of developing MS at a later stage by 50%.

MS and IVF

The hormonal changes caused by in vitro fertilization (IVF) are believed to affect MS. According to studies, gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists may be linked to an increase in relapse rates for about 3 months post treatment.

IVF failure has also been shown to increase relapse rates, perhaps due to the mirroring of hormonal status postpartum. Low-dose naltrexone has been found to be effective in treating infertility in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, and this medication also has benefits in MS.

Inheritance

MS is not inherited directly, unlike Huntingtons disease or cystic fibrosis, so the chances of the fetus getting MS from the mother are very low. There is only a 2% risk of children developing MS if they are born to a parent with the disease.

Support initiatives for MS during pregnancy

Women with MS need more support and rehabilitation during pregnancy. The extent of rehabilitation will depend on the severity of symptoms. Care should be taken to help restore essential day-to-day functions, promote independence, encourage family involvement, and educate women about assistive devices such as canes and walkers.

Support programs should aim to establish a proper exercise regimen that promotes muscle strength and control as well as a treatment protocol that effectively manages bowel or bladder incontinence.

Cognitive retraining and enhancing safety, mobility, and accessibility are also two primary concerns for pregnant MS patients. Additionally, MS needs to be closely monitored in pregnant women through more prenatal hospital visits.

Stress management is another important supportive component for pregnant women with MS as stress is closely linked to relapses. Studies have shown that stress-reduction programs reduce fatigue, depression, and the development of fresh lesions in women with MS.

References

Further Reading
According to the new amendments, police officers are also banned from forming unions or joining political groups

New police law amendments that were passed on Tuesday by Egypts House of Representatives ban police officers from speaking to the media except after receiving permission, and also ban officers from forming independent unions and joining political parties.

The amendments that were proposed by the government relate to eight articles in the 1971 police authority law.

Among the new amended articles that created controversy in the media is article 42 from the law which prohibits police officers from issuing any statement about their work unless they have received written permission.

Article 42 also prohibits police officers from abusing their power by mistreating citizens in a way that violates the law and constitution.

The article further prohibits police officers of any rank from joining or forming political parties or founding and joining political parties or associations of any form.

Article 102 prohibits police officers of any rank from organising protests, sits-in or strikes that can block roads or endanger the welfare of the people.

In the last several years, the Ministry of Interior faced a serious challenge by some officers when a group of low-ranking police officers founded a union demanding better rights for their rank in the police force by organising several protests and strikes in governorates across Egypt.

The low-ranking police officers who led the movement are currently detained pending investigation on several charges including forming "an illegal cell" inside the police force.

The legislative amendments in the police authority law were suggested by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in February following the murder of an unarmed taxi driver by a low-ranking police officer in central Cairo.

Police officers who break the law would face prison terms or fines of up to EGP 20,000.

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Starting medication for multiple sclerosis (MS) in people who show the beginning signs of the disease is associated with prolonging the time before the disease is definitively diagnosed, according to a long-term study published in the August 10, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study involved people who had a first episode that was suggestive of MS, such as numbness, vision problems or problems with balance, and an MRI that showed signs of possible MS. Up to 85 percent of people in this situation, which is called clinically isolated syndrome, will in time be diagnosed with MS.

"Not much research has been done on how starting treatment this early affects the long-term course of the disease," said study author Ludwig Kappos, MD, of University Hospital Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Our study adds to the evidence supporting treatment at the earliest sign of the disease and indicates that early treatment has a long-lasting effect on disease activity."

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The study started with 468 people randomly assigned to receive either early treatment with interferon beta-1b or a placebo. After participants were diagnosed with MS or after two years, the participants on the placebo could switch to interferon beta-1b or another drug. After 11 years, researchers reevaluated the 278 people who were still participating in the study, which included 167 people in the early group and 111 people in the delayed group.

Those who received the early treatment were 33 percent less likely to be diagnosed with MS than those who received the delayed treatment. People in the early group also had more time before their first relapse of the disease than people in the delayed group, with 1,888 days compared to 931 days. The early group also had a lower overall yearly relapse rate of 0.21 compared to 0.26 for the delayed group, which is 19 percent lower.

There was no difference between the two groups in the tests that measure overall disability or in MRI scans measuring the amount of damage caused by the disease.

"Overall, early treatment appears to have a benefit on relapses, especially early in the disease, but limited effects on other outcome measures, including outcomes reported by patients," said Brian C. Healy, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, who wrote an accompanying editorial.

Limitations of the study include that participants and researchers learned after the fifth-year tests which participants received the drug and which received the placebo and that after the placebo-control phase of the study, all of the participants received treatment, so there was no untreated control group after that point.
Addiction and mental illness are closely related. According to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 8.4 million American adults have a mental illness as well as an addiction. However, these men and women are unlikely to receive treatment. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that around half of all people with both a mental and a substance use disorder will not receive specialized care for either of their disorders. Intervention Drug Rehab Association has successfully raised their rates of recovery through dual diagnosis programs which strategically target both mental illness and addiction, ensuring clients have a better chance of long-term sobriety.

A dual diagnosis occurs in individuals who have both a mental and substance use disorder. The symptoms of mental illness can foment relapse, while the cravings and withdrawal of addiction can exacerbate adverse mental health symptoms. In this way, mental illness and addiction inhabit a complex relationship which can only be addressed by professionals. Intervention Drug Rehab Association is among a cadre of addiction treatment centers that have the resources and training necessary to provide quality dual diagnosis care to every client.

Intervention Drug Rehab Association recognizes and cares for the unique needs of each client. Once admitted to care, clients meet with staff to complete an initial evaluation assessing mental and physical health, family history, and severity of addiction, among other factors. Using this information, staff devise a customized treatment plan to target both the mental illness and the addiction. When one disorder is treated, the symptoms of the second disorder improve, and vice versa. By treating both disorders simultaneously, staff give clients the best chance at lifelong sobriety.

As part of their treatment program, Intervention Drug Rehab Center provides a supervised detoxification process in a clinical setting. Detoxification is necessary to begin the treatment program, as clients must be rid of all toxic substances and clear their minds before dual diagnosis treatment can start. By committing to specialized dual diagnosis treatment based on completely individualized treatment programs, Intervention Drug Rehab Association ensures each client receives the attention they need to secure a lasting recovery.

Source: Intervention Association
Mayo Clinic has launched a new type of blood test that will be used to predict adverse cardiovascular events in patients with progressing coronary artery disease (CAD). The test measures blood concentrations of plasma ceramides, a class of lipids that are highly linked to cardiovascular disease processes. Researchers say this test is especially useful for patients with CAD when it does not improve with treatment or for young patients with premature CAD.

The new test will help clinicians identify at-risk individuals and is available to Mayo Clinic patients and health care providers worldwide through Mayo Medical Laboratories (MML). MML is the reference laboratory of Mayo Clinic, offering advanced laboratory testing and pathology services to more than 5,000 health care organizations in more than 60 countries. MML collaborated on the test with Zora Biosciences Oy, a diagnostics discovery company based in Finland that specializes in cardiovascular disease.

"Through our strong collaboration with Zora Biosciences, we hope our new test will improve the evaluation of individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease," says Jeff Meeusen, Ph.D., a clinical chemist and co director of Cardiovascular Laboratory Medicine at Mayo Clinic. "This test is for patients with highly specialized cases, for example, patients with progressing coronary artery disease  despite treatment and control of their risk factors, or for younger individuals with premature CAD."

The test also might be used to determine if treatment is necessary in individuals at intermediate risk via the risk calculator from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

"Plasma ceramides are promising biomarkers for the prediction of adverse CV events in either primary and/or secondary prevention. The studies to date suggest that the signals observed presage events within the next five-year period," says Allan Jaffe, M.D., cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and chair of the Division of Clinical Core Laboratory Services, with joint appointments in the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases and the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. "Risk conferred by plasma ceramides appears to be independent of other established and novel biomarkers, and there are preliminary indications that high ceramide concentrations can be modified by common lipid-lowering therapies."
In a study spanning molecular genetics, stem cells and the sciences of both brain and behavior, researchers at University of California San Diego, with colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and elsewhere, have created a neurodevelopmental model of a rare genetic disorder that may provide new insights into the underlying neurobiology of the human social brain.

The findings are published in the August 10 online edition of Nature.

Scientists investigated Williams syndrome or WS, a rare genetic condition caused by deletion of one copy of 25 contiguous genes on chromosome 7, out of an estimated 30,000 genes in the brain. WS affects one in 10,000 people worldwide, and an estimated 20,000 Americans. The condition occurs equally in both genders and across cultures.

WS results in a host of medical problems as well as a specific heart defect. Persons with the deletion typically display a distinctive face with a small, upturned nose, wide mouth, full lips and small chin and may also have dental and orthopedic problems. Neurologically, they have developmental delays, with severe spatial deficits, yet relative strengths in language use and face processing.

"An interesting aspect is the typical hyper-social predisposition," said study co-author Ursula Bellugi, EdD, director of the cognitive neuroscience lab at Salk and an adjunct professor at UC San Diego who has studied WS for years. "Persons with the WS deletion tend to be overly friendly, overly trusting, drawn to strangers, yet anxious."

But Bellugi said it has not been clear how genetics links to the behavioral aspects of WS. "A human model for the disease could fill in the scientific gaps and would help to understand the mechanisms behind the disorder. WS is an elegant model for being able to go across levels," she said.

Co-senior study author Alysson Muotri, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, became intrigued by WS because the condition is so different from his usual research focus on autism, which is characterized by lower sociability and language skills.

"I was fascinated on how a genetic defect, a tiny deletion in one of our chromosomes, could make us friendlier, more empathetic and more able to embrace our differences," Muotri said.

In recent years, Muotri and colleagues have created in vitro cellular models of autism using reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from discarded baby teeth of children with autism, work dubbed the "tooth fairy project." They did so again here.

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The team began with dental pulp cells extracted from teeth donated by young children with WS. The cells were reprogrammed to become neural progenitor cells able to form functional neuronal networks resembling the developing cortex of the human brain in a dish.

"We discovered that WS neural progenitor cells failed to proliferate due to high levels of cell death," said Muotri. "And as a consequence of the lower replication of progenitor cells, WS brains have reduced cortex surface area." The observation was validated using magnetic resonance imaging of live study participants by Eric Halgren, PhD, professor in the Department of Neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and colleagues.

Cultured WS neurons have a distinct morphology. They are more arborized (treelike, with many dendritic branches) than neurons derived from typically developing individuals. "At the functional level, they make more synapses or connections to other neurons than what you would expect," said Muotri. "That might underlie the WS super-social aspect and their gregarious human brain, giving insights into autism and other disorders that affect the social brain."

The neuronal morphology was confirmed using a rare collection of WS postmortem brain tissue by Katerina Semendeferi, PhD, co-senior author and professor at UC San Diego Department of Anthropology. "One striking observation was that these cortical neurons in WS individuals are more complex than controls (typically developing children of same age). The morphological alterations that presumably appeared during WS gestation are kept postnatally."

Muotri noted that the research represents one of the first efforts to use iPSCs and brain in-a-dish technology to generate novel insights about a disease process and not simply replicate data from other models.

But beyond that, he believes studying WS may help explain what makes humans social beings - a key development in the evolution of humanity. "It was our social power that made us a collaborative species," said Muotri, "capable of dramatic transformation of our environment by creating poetry, music and technology."
Cancer researchers have applied a comprehensive set of analytical tools to lethal cases of metastatic prostate cancer, yielding a detailed map of the complex networks of interactions among genes and proteins that enable prostate cancer cells to proliferate and evade treatment. The team also developed a computational approach for analyzing patient-specific data to help doctors choose the most effective drugs for individual patients.

The study, published August 4 in Cell, was a collaborative effort involving research teams at UC Santa Cruz and UCLA. They began with clinical tissue samples obtained at autopsy from patients with lethal metastatic prostate cancer, then performed a range of sophisticated analyses to characterize the cancer cells from each patient in unprecedented detail. A novel computational analysis of the resulting datasets produced personalized diagrams of signaling pathways in the cancer cells of each patient, the details of which suggest potential targets for therapy.

"It's like having a blueprint for each tumor. This is our dream for personalized cancer therapy, so we're not just guessing any more about which drugs will work but can choose drug targets based on what's driving that patient's cancer," said Josh Stuart, the Baskin professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, director of cancer and stem cell genomics at the UCSC Genomics Institute, and a senior corresponding author of the paper.

"Therapies for metastatic prostate cancer are urgently needed," said Dr. Owen Witte, founding director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA, university professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and a senior author of the paper. "This type of interdisciplinary research is critical as we seek to pinpoint the cellular changes occurring in aggressive prostate cancer and cross new boundaries in understanding the disease."

Personalized treatment

Cancer genomics promises to enable personalized cancer treatment by revealing the genetic mutations driving an individual patient's tumor cells. But interpreting the genomic data remains a challenge. The effects of mutations and other genetic changes in cancer cells play out in the complex networks of molecular interactions or "signaling pathways" involved in cell growth, proliferation, and other hallmarks of cancer biology. By mapping the key pathways active in prostate cancer cells, the researchers were able to identify the "master switches" in those pathways that could be targeted with drugs to disrupt the disease.

A key step in many signaling pathways is "phosphorylation," the activation or deactivation of a protein by adding a phosphate group at certain sites on the protein. The enzymes that phosphorylate proteins are called kinases, and many new cancer drugs are kinase inhibitors. A major component of the study was a comprehensive analysis of the "phosphoproteome" of prostate cancer tumors and cells, revealing changes in the phosphorylation states of cellular proteins.

Justin Drake, a postdoctoral researcher in Witte's lab at UCLA (now an assistant professor at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey), led the phosphoproteomics work, producing a new encyclopedia of protein phosphorylation in prostate cancer cells and tissues. Evan Paull, a graduate student in Stuart's lab at UC Santa Cruz (now at Columbia University), led the computational analyses, which involved integrating the phosphoproteomic data with genomic and gene expression datasets to provide a unified view of the activated signaling pathways in late stage prostate cancer. Drake and Paull are co-first authors of the paper.

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"Having the phosphoproteomics data in addition to the traditional genomics and transcriptomics enabled us to get a more comprehensive view of aberrant signaling in this disease," Paull said. "We developed a method to integrate these multiple large datasets to understand what's driving the disease in individual patients."

Anti-androgen therapy

Prostate cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. The main treatment for advanced cases is androgen deprivation, because the male sex hormones (androgens, including testosterone) stimulate prostate cancer growth. Anti-androgen therapies target either androgen synthesis or the androgen receptor. Eventually, however, most cases of metastatic prostate cancer become resistant to these therapies.

The new study revealed some of the mechanisms behind the resistance to anti-androgen therapies. According to Stuart, in many cases a mutation results in changes to the androgen receptor protein. In other cases, alternative kinase signaling pathways allow the cancer cells to keep growing even though androgen-receptor signaling is blocked.

Individual profiles based on the analysis of each patient's tumor cells revealed clinically relevant information that could be used to prioritize the drugs most likely to be effective in these cases. The tool used to generate these individual profiles goes by the acronym pCHIPS, and the researchers created an online pCHIPS resource that allows users to make patient-specific network predictions based on their own data and visualize the results using the pCHIPS methodology.

Applying these methods to prostate cancer cell lines, the researchers found that accurate predictions of drug sensitivity could be achieved using either genomics data or phosphoproteomics data alone. That's important because the comprehensive set of analyses performed on clinical samples in this study is unlikely to be available to most patients. Clinical use of genomics, however, is growing.

Stuart explained that the integrated datasets from multiple analyses enabled the researchers to build a generic model of the signaling networks involved in metastatic prostate cancer. The pCHIPS tool uses that generic model and refines it based on patient-specific data, such as the genetic mutations in a patient's cancer cells.

"For now it's a research tool, but the hope is to have a strategy like this to use in the clinic," Stuart said. "These mutations in the genome create a lot of havoc in the cell, and trying to interpret the genomic information can be overwhelming. You need the computer to help you make sense of it and find the Achilles heel in the network that you can hit with a drug."
Sex workers were more likely to regularly visit health clinics for testing and treatment of HIV, AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections after being approached by a peer outreach worker, according to research from the University of Houston.

Contact with outreach workers did not reduce the frequency of sexually transmitted infections but did speed diagnosis and treatment, said Partha Krishnamurthy, professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at UH and lead author on a paper describing the findings, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE.

And although researchers did not measure the impact of quicker diagnosis and treatment on the spread of disease throughout the community, he said rates would be expected to drop as a result.

Peer outreach is a key component of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs around the world, but Krishnamurthy said that until now, there has been no data-based evidence that it works.

"While there is some evidence that large scale social interventions are associated with demonstrable reductions in the focal illness, it remains unclear which of the program elements make an impact," the researchers wrote.

The study involved 2,705 female sex workers in Bengaluru, India, followed from 2008 until 2012. The outreach was part of Project Pragati, an interventional program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to educate sex workers about the health risks and encourage them to seek services at the Swasti Health Resource Center in Bengaluru.

The research was conducted using data collected by a Gates Foundation public health initiative aimed at reducing the spread of HIV in India, which worked with Project Pragati in Bengaluru. Separate datasets contained information about contact between the sex workers and the peer outreach workers, as well as about clinic visits by the sex workers.

But each dataset contained identifiers for the sex workers, allowing Krishnamurthy and his colleagues to track when a woman was contacted by an outreach worker and whether - and how soon - she visited the clinic afterward.

Krishnamurthy, director of the Institute for Health Care Marketing at the UH Bauer College of Business, focuses on how academic marketing research can improve the quality of health care, but this study came about almost by accident. He was talking with a childhood friend, Narayanan Shivkumar, when Shivkumar mentioned a project at the health center where he worked that aimed to modify the health-seeking behaviors of sex workers.

Krishnamurthy had a question: How do you know it works?

He saw it as a classic marketing issue. "The problem is no different from asking how many times Valpak has to send you a coupon before you use it," he said. "How many times does a peer outreach worker have to visit a sex worker before she engages with the clinic?"

Shivkumar is a co-author on the paper, along with Sam K. Hui, associate professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at UH; Chandrasekhar Gowda, a former health center employee, and R. Pushpalatha, a liaison with the sex workers' collective, Swathi Mahila Sangha.

Krishnamurthy said he hopes to conduct similar research in the United States but would expect a similar outcome.

The outreach workers - current and former sex workers hired to contact women performing sex work in brothels, on the streets and in their homes - talked with the women about using condoms, which they provided, in addition to offering information about the symptoms of sexually transmitted infections and the health clinic. The researchers surmise that the fact that the number of infections didn't drop may be attributable to the women's lack of empowerment to assert control over their own lives.

But women contacted by an outreach worker were more likely to visit the clinic. About 34 percent of women who visited the clinic had a sexually transmitted infection; 18 percent of diagnosed infections occurred in women who reported no symptoms.

During the time studied, outreach workers visited the sex workers about once every three months. Researchers suggested that more frequent contact would increase clinic visits. Based on the data, they recommended monthly contact for the most efficient use of resources and best outcomes.

"It has been assumed that outreach is good," Krishnamurthy said. "But as a smart business entity, you need to be bottom-line focused both from the institutional perspective and from the end-user perspective. You want to know that peer-led outreach works in terms of improving the lives of this vulnerable population."
Many cancers only become a mortal danger if they form metastases elsewhere in the body. Such secondary tumours are formed when individual cells break away from the main tumour and travel through the bloodstream to distant areas of the body. To do so, they have to pass through the walls of small blood vessels. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim and Goethe University Frankfurt have now shown that tumour cells kill specific cells in the vascular wall. This enables them to leave the vessels and establish metastases, a process facilitated by a molecule called DR6.

The most common cause of cancer deaths is not the primary tumour itself but metastases that subsequently form. Most tumour cells spread via the bloodstream. To do so, individual tumour cells have to enter blood vessels and leave the bloodstream again at remote locations.

Together with scientists at the universities of Cologne and Heidelberg, the Research Group led by Stefan Offermanns, Director of the Department of Pharmacology at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research and professor at Goethe University Frankfurt, has now succeeded in clarifying the underlying mechanism. The researchers, working with cell cultures, first observed how individual tumour cells kill specific cells in the vascular wall, called endothelial cells. This process, known as necroptosis, enabled cancer cells to overcome an endothelial cell layer in the laboratory. "We were then able to show in studies on mice that the same process occurs in living organisms," says Boris Strilic, first author of the study.

The scientists also found that endothelial cells themselves give the signal for their own death: To do this, the vascular wall cells have a receptor molecule called Death Receptor 6 (DR6) on their surface. "When a cancer cell comes into contact with it, a protein on the cell's surface, known as APP, activates DR6. This marks the start of the cancer cells' attack on the vascular wall, which culminates in the necroptosis of wall cells," Strilic explains.

Death Receptor in the cell membrane

The Max Planck researchers then showed that less necroptosis of endothelial cells and less metastasis occur in genetically modified animals in which Death Receptor 6 is disabled. "This effect was also found after a blockade of DR6 or the cancer-cell protein APP, thus confirming our previous observations," Strilic says.

It is still not entirely clear whether the cancer cells migrate directly through the resulting gap in the vascular wall or whether there is an indirect effect: "We have evidence that many more molecules are released when the vascular wall cell dies and that they render the surrounding area more permeable to cancer cells," says Offermanns.

"This mechanism could be a promising starting point for treatments to prevent the formation of metastases," says Offermanns. First, however, it must be determined whether a blockade of DR6 triggers unwanted side effects. It must also be determined to what extent the observations can be transferred to humans.

Source: Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)
A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine addresses a question doctors have sought to clarify for decades: whether a surgery conducted since the 1940s benefits the patients it targets.

The study to be published August 11 (available online on August 10 at 5 p.m.) found that surgical removal of the thymus gland from patients with myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune disease that affects neuromuscular function, provides significant benefit in patients who do not have a chest tumor.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) results from an immune-mediated disruption of communication between nerve and muscle - the neuromuscular junction. Symptoms may include droopy eyelids; blurred or double vision; difficulty speaking, swallowing and breathing; and muscle weakness. Some patients develop thymoma, a benign tumor of the thymus gland. The disease affects as many as 60,000 Americans and its incidence has been increasing, in part as a result of improved diagnostic techniques and an aging population.

The new study provides a definitive answer that neurologists have sought for decades, according to Gil I. Wolfe, MD, Irvin and Rosemary Smith Chair of the Department of Neurology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, clinical chair of the worldwide study and first author.

Solid confirmation

"These findings solidly confirm the early use of thymectomy in managing myasthenia gravis," he said. "These findings tell patients they can be even more assured that thymectomy is a positive step to take in the management of their condition."

Since the 1940s, thymectomy has been used in MG patients, both in patients with a chest tumor called thymoma and those without. Wolfe said it is widely accepted that patients with a thymoma need to have it surgically removed. But the data have not been as clear in MG patients who do not present with a tumor.

"Until this study, the only evidence was from non-randomized studies that contained significant bias issues," said Wolfe, an expert on neuromuscular disorders with a special focus on MG, who was awarded the 2015 Doctor of the Year award from the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. Wolfe sees patients through UBMD Neurology at Buffalo General Medical Center.

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Around 2000, when he was at the University of Texas Southwestern, Wolfe worked with colleagues in the field, John Newsom-Davis, MD; Henry Kaminski, MD; Fred Jaretzki, MD and Gary D. Cutter, PhD, to develop a study that would provide the data that neurologists needed to correctly assess the value of thymectomy.

The global study is the longest and one of the largest randomized studies in the history of MG. It ran from 2006 until 2012 with 126 patients with MG who participated in centers located on almost every continent. It judged the effectiveness of thymectomy by comparing disease status of patients and how much of the corticosteroid prednisone they needed after the surgery compared to patients who did not have surgery.

Less prednisone

The study found that thymectomy patients needed approximately one-third less prednisone to control their disease than did those who did not have the surgery. Their need for steroid-sparing immunosuppresants, such as azathioprine, was reduced by nearly two-thirds.

Wolfe said: "We were quite satisfied to see that thymectomy conferred benefits on disease status measures by the Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG) score, reduced the need for corticosteroids and other immunosuppressants, reduced hospitalization needs, and also, according to most measures, reduced the side effect burden."

Only a few decades ago, approximately a third of all patients with MG died from it, but new diagnostic techniques and treatments have dramatically improved both the quality of life and longevity of patients. Today, the lifespan for myasthenia gravis patients matches that of the general population.
Datsun has returned to Sri Lanka, where it was first introduced in 1957, just a few weeks after the brand was brought back to Lebanon.



Datsun is re-entering the market in Sri Lanka with the latest addition to its model line-up  the Datsun redi-GO, a vehicle designed for the youth. Datsun redi-GO was launched in India in early June 2016.



"The return of Datsun to Sri Lanka is a key element of our expansion in fast-growing markets where there is growing demand for personal mobility. We are delighted to return to Sri Lanka with Datsun redi-GO to expand our offer in the largest vehicle market segment to a new generation of Sri Lankan customers who are ready for something new and exciting," said Vincent Cobee, Global Head of Datsun.



The Datsun redi-GO comes with an aggressive design language and 185 mm of ground clearance. the company also claims a fuel economy of 25 kilometres to the litre.



The car will be offered through the dealer network of Nissans long-time partner in Sri Lanka, Associated Motorways (Private) Ltd. (AMW). Datsun redi-GO sales are scheduled to begin in September, with pricing and vehicle grades information to be announced as the start of sales draws closer.


In what can be called as a drastic step to avoid missing his flight, an Irish man, breaching security protocols, chased his flight on the runway of Madrid airport, hoping to catch it last minute. And guess what? He actually managed to make it.The visuals, that was shared by ground crew at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport, show how he managed to get to his flight despite being too late for it.The unidentified man got past the desk, ran through the tunnel and chased the a Ryanair flight to Gran Canaria at the airport which had already started to move. But he managed to get in front of the plane and hailed to it, just like one would do to stop a taxi.The video has gone viral on Facebook and has over 1,331,388 Views.The incident reportedly took place on August 5 around 9.00 PM (local time), a day before the video surfaced on the airport's trade union Facebook page.The man, who was not named by police, was arrested upon reaching the Canaria Island in Spain. He was later released after he was cleared of any terror motives but would still face punishment for violating security protocols, the Guardian reported.Watch the video here:With input from PTI
With several factors negatively affecting Egypt's share of Nile water, how will the country handle the inevitable water shortage it will face in the coming years?

A recent UN report said that 18 countries in the Middle East will suffer a great deal by the year 2025 because of a serious water shortage.

Some experts suggest that Israel is at the forefront of countries facing this problem, and that the 1967 war was actually aimed at gaining access to water resources in the West Bank.

Today, Israel is fostering relations with Nile Basin countries in the hopes of getting a share of Nile water  something that late Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat was inclined to facilitate had it not been for public outrage in Egypt.

Egypts water problem is not just about the Grand Renaissance Dam being built by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile.

A leading problem is the growing population in the country, which is seeing an increase of 2.7 million citizens a year, making its increase every two years equal to the full population of Denmark, and the increase every four years equal to Sweden's population.

By the end of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis first four-year term in office, the Egyptian population will have increased by 11 million people, and by over 20 million by the end of his second term should he be re-elected.

This increase is catastrophic, and amounts to collective suicide by the entire nation. These millions cannot find enough water resources neither for drinking nor for the irrigation of crops  not to mention the shortage of services they would face.

This rapidly increasing consumption of water is only one of a number of problems Egypt has to deal with. One such problem is the pollution of the Nile with industrial and other forms of waste.

This is happening at an alarming rate in Rashid, leading to an increase in cases of water poisoning at a time when irrigation authorities are unable to implement the traditional method of river cleansing involving the artificial thrusting of stream water into the Mediterranean.

This method is no longer affordable due to the obvious water shortage, as we need to conserve rather than thrust water into the sea.

We also have to acknowledge that the irrigation methods used by the majority of Egyptian farmers have become outdated and wasteful of water. Egypt needs to adopt new irrigation technology, not an easy task because it requires equipment and energy not available to the average farmer.

We need to adopt a plan to gradually change our irrigation methods.

The country also needs to address the excessive consumption of water by the individual. Egypt is seeing incredible waste due to poor plumbing and outdated forms water treatment. We desperately need the immediate launching of an awareness campaign.

Apart from the above-mentioned issues, we need to come to terms with the unfortunate fact that our share of Nile water is bound to drop in the coming years as Ethiopia starts to fill Renaissance Dam reservoir.

This might be a sad sign of the decline in Egypt's status in Africa, but we have face the fact that the dam will soon be finished with the support of African countries, Arab states, European countries, China and the US, all of whom have failed us in negotiating with Ethiopia the terms of filling the dam's reservoir.

Egypt's Armed Forces, although one of the most powerful armies in the region, is not in a position to intervene in this matter as some might suggest. A military approach would carry with it taxing regional and international consequences that could harm Egypt both on the political and ecological fronts.

Sudan is already increasing its reserves of water at its dams, and Ethiopia has announced plans to build more dams after it is done with the GERD to generate more electricity.

In short, we need to come to terms with the fact that our annual share of Nile water is subject to consistent decrease, and that we are already suffering a serious shortage that is prohibiting the Aswan High Dam from generating electricity beyond 10 percent of its maximum production capacity due to its declining water reserves.

Egypt is faced with an imminent threat with far-reaching consequences, and we are not doing anything about it.

Instead of adopting an efficient strategy on this urgent matter, we are overwhelmed with mega projects that have proven to be of no economic gain and that have been carried out without the necessary feasibility studies.

As Herodotus said, Egypt is the gift of the Nile, and Egyptians have been aware of the river's importance since ancient times when it was considered sacred by the Pharaohs.

Today, we are facing a very serious threat to the Nile, and we desperately need to have a committees of experts formed to address this matter.

This committee should not just be made up of officials from the Ministry of Irrigation and the office of the prime minister and the presidency. What we need is high-calibre experts to provide a rescue strategy as soon as possible.

We cannot afford to take risks with this matter. It is a matter that deserves immediate and serious attention and action.

The writer is former head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party

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I love how the US freaks out more about Malia Obama smoking pot than it does about having Trump possibly becoming their next President.  Jabberwocky (@Jabberwocky_7) August 11, 2016

Malia Obama is smoking weed and going to Harvard. Most of ya'll are smoking weed and talking about Malia smoking weed. Leave her alone.  CHRlS ROCK (@chrisrockyoz) August 10, 2016

For crying out loud let the girl be. Malia Obama is being just what other teens her age are - trying stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary.  RM Sheriff (@RM_Sheriff) August 11, 2016

#MaliaObama is not running for office. Neither is her dad. There is ZERO reason for the public to scrutinize the life of this teenager.  Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) August 10, 2016

I don't give a damn that #MaliaObama smoked a joint. I hope she liked it.



Hell, it's presidential.



Bush, Clinton, and her dad did it.  Shaun King (@ShaunKing) August 10, 2016

Only lesson to be learnt in this #Malia #Obama debacle is: Be careful who you consider a friend. Too many snakes masquerading as humans   Deb Kaz (@debthelitigator) August 11, 2016

Malia Obama got taped by her friends smoking weed at #Lollapalooza, just terrible. My advice to her is, to get herself some better friends.  NUFF$AID (@nuffsaidNY) August 10, 2016

It's really not a big deal for Malia Obama to be smoking weed but her friends are TRASH for posting a video that shows her doing it  Arnesa. (@arrrnesa_xx) August 10, 2016

In an article published a couple of days ago , we mentioned how the two daughters of US President Barack Obama - Malia and Sasha Obama - had successfully managed to keep themselves away from controversies and the limelight despite media's constant scrutiny.But it seems that just before dad Obama's term as President is about to come to an end, Malia has landed herself in a soup.In a video that surfaced on social media on August 10, the eldest daughter of the first couple of United States, Malia Obama was apparently spotted smoking pot.The 18-year-old was caught on camera while she was attending a live concert with her friends, and has been accused of using cannabis.The video featuring Malia shows her allegedly smoking a rolled cigarette at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago last month.Malia had opted to miss the Democratic National Convention on the final day of Hillary Clinton's speech and instead chose to attend the festival in her hometown.Even then she had courted controversy when a video of her twerking while wearing shorts and a boob-tube for the event had emerged.As soon as this recent video emerged, several Obama fans voiced their opinions. While some supported Malia and defended her actions as of a normal teenager, others criticised her action.Some Twitter users had a word of advice for Malia and that's something everyone must always take care of - have friends that you can trust!Watch the viral video here:
Khudiram Bose was all of 18 years of age when he was sentenced to death for attacking and killing three Britishers in Muzaffarpur, Bihar in 1908. 100 years later, Bose remains relatively unknown in spite of being one the youngest revolutionaries of the Indian freedom struggle.While Boses story of sacrifice and love for his motherland is a popular folklore in Bengal, his story remains unknown outside the state- just like several other matyrs who may have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of India but went unnoticed in the larger story of freedom struggle.A student of Midnapore Collegiate School, 16 year old Bose was heavily influenced and inspired by Aurobindo Ghosh, a veteran freedom fighter and later known as spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo. As a student, Bose was known to act as a messenger for secret revolutionary groups in Midnapore region.In 1908, Bose and Prafulla Chaki were appointed to kill Muzzaffarpur district magistrate Kingsford. As the Chief Magistrate of Calcutta Presidency, Kingston had become unpopular for passing harsh and cruel sentences on young political activists. He was also noted for inflicting corporal punishments on them and due his deeds, he was loathed by the locals. Soon after his transfer to Muzaffarpur, a plan was hatched to murder him. Chaki and Khudiram were chosen and sent to Muzaffarpur to execute this task.On reaching Muzaffarpur, Khudiram observed his target for few days, noting his routine and observing his daily schedule. On 30th April 1908, Khudiram threw a bomb at a carriage believed to be carrying Kingsford right outside the European club. But instead of Kingford, the carriage was occupied by the wife and daughter of barrister Pringle Kennedy, a leading pleader of Muzaffarpur Bar.Since the incident took place in the evening, there was utter chaos in the town. Extra police force was deployed to look for the murderer and a bounty of Rs 1,000 was also announced for anyone who could provide any information on Khudiram.According to folklore, Khudiram walked through the night in an attempt to flee. He reached a railway station called Vaini after walking nearly 25 miles only to be arrested by two officers there.Orphaned at an young age, Khudiram was raised by his elder sister. But the idea to fight for the countrys freedom came early in this boys mind. So when he was asked to name the co-conspirators during his trial, Bose is said to have taken full responsibility of his actions. His partner, Prafullka Chaki had split up from Khudiram soon after the attack. On being intercepted by the police, he shot himself dead before he could be put inside a jail. Khudiram was unaware of Prafullas death at the time of his trial.Khudiram was eventually hanged to death on 11 August 1908. The morning after, Anandabazar Patrika reported how Bose died cheerful and smiling.To honour the 18 year olds death, poet Pitambar Das wrote and composed the popular Bengali song Ek Baar Bidaye De Ma  a song that resonates the passion the young boy had for his motherland. It is also a song that always manages to bring a lump in ones throat because of its sad, haunting words.
Kolkata: The committee, formed to look into the Kolkata flyover collapse, has blamed administrative negligence behind the incident. The report pointed out inconsistencies in construction, use of poor material and approval for faulty designs by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.



The report came five month after the incident by a committee headed by West Bengal Chief Secretary comprising of former professors of IIT Kharagpur.



At least 26 people were killed and over 100 injured after a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed on a congested road intersection near Girish Park in Kolkata.



Demanding a strict punishement for the accused, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said, "Those who are responsible for the substandard materials being supplied for the construction must be held up. No political cadre should be taken as a basis. It should absolutely be on merit and particularly the contractor who did it should be held up and punishment should be meted out to him."



Firm on its demand for Central Bureau of Investigation probe, BJP spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh said, "TMC and the Left is to be blamed for the accident. There should be a CBI porbe."



Infrastructure major IVRCL Limited, the Hyderabad-based company that was constructing the Kolkata flyover, was blacklisted by the Jharkhand government in 2015.




Mumbai: Initiating fresh action in the money laundering case against former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and his family, the ED on Thursday attached close to two dozen assets worth Rs 90 crore belonging to them.



Officials said that with the latest seizure of properties under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act(PMLA), the total value of attachments in this case are now valued at Rs 433 crore.



"A total of 22 immovable properties like flats, shops, agricultural and non-agricultural land, industrial plots in Mumbai, Nashik and Ahmednagar have been provisionally attached under PMLA today. The estimated market value is Rs 90 crore," officials in the Enforcement Directorate(ED) said.



Bhujbal and his nephew Sameer are at present lodged in the Arthur road jail here after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested them early this year. Bhujbal's son and NCP legislator Pankaj, also an accussed in the case, has recently been granted interim protection from arrest by the Bombay High Court in the same case.



According to ED, the Bhujbal family allegedly had conspired along with several others to divert or 'launder' kickbacks received by Chhagan Bhujbal, when he was state

Public Works Department minister.



On March 30 this year, the agency had filed a charge sheet naming Bhujbal, Pankaj, Sameer and firms such as DB Realty, Balwa group, Neelkamal Realtors and Builders,

Neelkamal Central Apartment LLP and Kakade Infrastructure.



The charges relate to the contract for construction of the state guest house- 'Maharashtra Sadan' - in Delhi and the Kalina land-grabbing case in Mumbai.



This is the fifth attachment order issued by the agency in the case.



An attachment order under PMLA laws is aimed at depriving the accused from obtaining benefits of their alleged ill-gotten wealth and the accused parties can appeal against

the order before the Adjudicating Authority of the said Act within 180 days.



The agency has filed two FIRs against Bhujbal, and his sons Pankaj and Sameer and others under PMLA, based on Mumbai Police's ACB FIRs.



The Bombay High Court, in December, 2014, had constituted a Special Investigation Team comprising the ED and the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to conduct the inquiry against the senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) politician and others.



The ACB complaint names Pankaj and Sameer and they had been booked under IPC Sections related to cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and relevant provisions of Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act.
Washington: In 2015, India witnessed religiously motivated killings, assaults, coerced religious conversions, riots and actions restricting the right of individuals to change religious beliefs, a US State Department report on religious freedom said today.



"Minority religious groups expressed concerns about government discrimination and suggestions by government officials that Hinduism should be taught in public schools. Government officials at the federal, state, and local level made discriminatory statements against members of religious minority groups," the annual State Department report on International Religious Freedom for the year 2015 said.



"Members of minority groups who were victims of religiously motivated violence or other animus complained of police inaction regarding such incidents," it said, adding that attackers frequently acted with impunity, and, according to some victims, police resisted filing criminal complaints and in several instances threatened to falsely incriminate the victims.



The State Department said religious groups expressed concern about statements by certain government officials suggesting Hinduism should be taught in schools.



"They also complained about police inaction in incidents of violence or hostility against their members and unequal application of some laws by the government. Religious groups reported incidents of hate speech by government officials," the report said.



According to the report, there were reports of religiously motivated killings, assaults, coerced religious conversions, riots, and actions restricting the right of individuals to change religious beliefs.



This happened despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge that he would ensure "complete freedom of faith" in the country.



This is the first time that the State Department has commented on the status of religious freedom in India with a full year under the Modi government.



"On several occasions, such as at a meeting in February with Christians in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi publicly stated he would defend religious freedom," the State Department said in its report which documents the allegations of violence against the Christian community in various parts of the country including Punjab.



"Christians who reported that they were victims of religiously-motivated violence or other animus voiced concern about the lack of police action against such incidents, as well as of hostility by the police towards Christians.



"According to the All India Christian Council and the Evangelical Fellowship of India, police resisted filing criminal complaints and had in several instances threatened falsely to incriminate the victims," said the report.



The report said police clashes with Sikh protesters in Punjab led to the death of two protesters.



In the absence of Secretary of State John Kerry, the annual report was released by the Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has sought help of agencies in Delhi to verify whether the Jeddah Bomber is the Lashkar operative wanted in India in connection with several cases.



The Maharashtra ATS chief said, given the similarities in the photographs of the alleged Jeddah bomber and the wanted accused in multiple cases in India, Fayyaz Kagzi, we have reached out to agencies in Delhi to verify the claims." He said that Fayaz was wanted in Aurangabad arms haul case and German bakery blast case on 2010.



The photo released by Saudi agencies of the suicide bomber outside the US consulate in Jeddah in July is of a 34-year-old Pakistani national Abdullah Qalzar Khan. If the two men are the same, it indicates that Pakistan gave a fake passport to a suspected Lashkar operative.







After successfully bringing back terror operatives, Abu Jundal and Fasih Mahmood in 2012, New Delhi had made attempts to get Fayaz deported from Saudi Arabia. Intelligence agencies had subsequently learnt that he had moved from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.



The picture was released by the Saudi Arabia interior ministry last month, soon after the blast outside the US consulate in Jeddah.
Expert Committee of the NGT is blind & biased. We will fight against this untruth. Satellite images & scientific data do not lie.  Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (@SriSri) August 11, 2016

A day after an Expert Committee report found Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living foundation guilty of damaging the Yamuna flood plains during its world culture festival, the spiritual guru has hit back saying the report is biased and untrue.The NGT has directed the expert panel to quantify the damages caused by AOL to the Yamuna riverbed. NGT has asked Art of Living Foundation to submit a response within 3 weeks.Slamming and insulting the decision of National Green Tribunal Sri Sri called the Expert Committee "blind and biased". The satellite images and scientific data will help them fight against the charges hurled at them, tweeted the spiritual Guru.Art Of Living had paid only 25 lakh of the 5 Crore fine charged by NGT and refused to pay remaining 4.75 crores to Delhi Development Authority as environment compensation.The World Cultural Festival being blamed for damaging the Yamuna plains was organised by AOL on the banks of Yamuna from 11th March 2016 to 13th March 2016.
New Delhi: A special webpage developed by Press Information Bureau, the communication arm of the government, called Festival of Independence was launched by Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday.



The webpage will host live webcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day Speech from the Red Fort and his other speeches at events related to these celebrations.



Prime Minister's speech at the launch of the festival at Bhabra in Madhya Pradesh and photographs from the function at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai will also be available on it.



An official statement said the webpage, that can be accessed from PIB's homepage, is designed as a platform to showcase all the events related to the Festival being celebrated throughout the country.



The social media section of the webpage will show live feeds from Twitter and Facebook including the tweets from the PIB Twitter handle having the hashtags #70YearsOfIndependence and #Aazadi70Saal and its Facebook posts, the statement said.



The webpage also showcases hundreds of archival photographs, audio and video clips, write-ups and features on leaders and events related to the freedom struggle.
Vijayawada: Preparations are in full swing for the Krishna Pushkaralu festival which will begin on Friday in Andhra Pradesh.



In 2015, 29 lives were lost in stampede in Rajahmundry during the Godavari festival. Many questions are now being raised whether the government is fully prepared to avoid similar tragedies during the Krishna festival.



The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation has already come under criticism for banning fish and meat during the festival period. Even the state minority commission has stepped in questioning the government's order.



The Andhra Govt however, has justified its move.



The state's social welfare minister has asked protesters to move out of the city temporarirly. He also insists that meat and liquor ban must go together as the combination leads to public nuisance



"It's a temporary measure taken by government. If you allow liquor, people create nuisance. And with liquor you ban meat. So both restrictions has to gother. We respect all religion, the intension is not to discriminate. Alternate source of income is there for people during pushkaralu. Meat selling people can now move out of city."



In 2015, Mumbai saw a similar ban on meat sale for a Jain festival.




More than 3.5 crore people are expected to take a holy dip over the next two weeks at the Krishna River Festival and the Andhra Pradesh government is pulling all stops to make it memorable.Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will officially inaugurate the Krishna Pushkaralu on Friday morning at the Durga Ghat in Vijayawada.With a paint and brush in hand, thousands of young people are also on a mission to transform Vijaywada. College students, along with civic authorities, are painting walls there to turn it into a poster-free, clean city for the festival. (Photo: Sakshi Khanna)Important roads that once wore a dirty look, have been spruced up to welcome people from across the world for the 12-day festival.Shruti, a student of school of planning and architecture said, "We tried to show different aspects of Vijayawada. So people coming to Pushkaralu festival can know what Vijayawada is - like Mangalagiri saree, Kondapalli toys. Also important structure like Prakasam barrage."One of the key attractions for the pilgrims is a replica of the Tirupati Venkateshwara temple constructed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Board (TTD) at PWD grounds in Vijayawada. Elaborate arrangements have been made to distribute free food to over 1 lakh devotees every day during the Pushkaram. (Photo: Sakshi Khanna)Police have local authorities, having learnt their lesson from Godavari Maha Pushkaralu in 2015 which killed 29 people, have made elaborate arrangements to ensure safety at the ghats.The stampede brought to fore serious mismanagement and lack of coordination between the various departments.The prime focus of the planning is to regulate the flow of pilgrims and that an unmanageable crowd does does not build up at the ghat were the largest number of pilgrims and VVIPs are expected to take the holy dip. (Photo: Sakshi Khanna)The state government has deployed over 17,000 police personnel for security and crowd control. The four main Pushkar ghats have been divided into 22 sub-ghats and officials have been deployed for round-the-clock duty.More than 1300 CCTV cameras have been installed, and command and control rooms set up. The highly-advanced cameras can read the approximate number of people at the location and thus help crowd control. (Photo: Sakshi Khanna)People can go to any ghat of their choice. We will ensure free flow but if there is over-crowding at any ghat, we will enforce restrictions or make diversions. The focus is to control the flow of crowd, Commissioner of Police Vijayawada Goutam Sawang told News18.State Social Welfare Minister Ravella Kishore Babu said, it's a big tourist attraction for our city. We have made very good arrangements for pilgrims." (Photo: Sakshi Khanna)On the first day, over 15 lakh pilgrims are expected to take the dip in Vijayawada alone. Special trains and buses have also been arranged for pligrims.
One common stereotype wants Europe to be a continent and countries with no political will. It is too old, too exhausted by the disastrous 20th century and its world wars, too reluctant to fund and sustain a military effort. It is a toothless old prima donna. Former US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld hit a nerve when he evoked the old Europe. The list of statements and of assertions saying the same thing or developing similar ideas is endless.

Im afraid of such sweeping conclusions. While some assessments are more or less grounded, the premise and the conclusion are wrong: Europe and its countries have very strong political will. They have proved, again and again, they can set ambitious goals and achieve them. The problem, if any, lies in the goals, in the priorities, in the underlying world-view, not in the lack of political will. I would even go further: European leaders seem to think political will can reverse history, ignore deep economic and cultural trends, overcome unbridgeable differences, create new facts on the ground, impose new kinds of regional and international relations, etc. The European Union is an ambitious voluntarist project that needs, to succeed, a new reality, and the question is whether you can create it or at least enforce radical adaptation to it. You can admire it. And it is legitimate to express doubts or to be frightened by the cost.

Consider, for instance, the creation of the euro. First of all, the transition from national currencies to the euro is technically an impressive and underrated achievement. At the end of the 1990s, I was briefed by a French high civil servant on the formidable complexity of the operation. Nevertheless, it went smoothly, without any serious snag. Second, pundits everywhere (the US, Japan, China) claimed from the very beginning this new currency would not survive the first serious storm. They were proved wrong: the euro is not only alive and kicking, despite the shocks, but the number of countries using it has recently increased. Moreover, the German and Dutch signature are now considered more reliable than the Japanese, the British, and maybe even the American.

This is remarkable, especially if you keep in mind the assessment of some of the brightest and best economists: the euro currency is a political project that does not rest on solid economic grounds. The countries using it do not have the same fiscal legislation, the same investment and labour laws, the same budget constraints, the same economic systems and ways of doing things. For instance, Germany is wary of debts and needs a strong and stable currency, mainly because it outsources its industries and has some highly valued products that can be sold, despite their cost. France and Italys systems and ways of operating need a currency that is frequently devaluated. The euro, designed to suit Germanys needs and to placate German voters, had a very negative impact on their competitiveness. 

Of course, the Europhiles would point out the undeniable plusses of the single currency and of the single market, and would tell you the problem lies in France and Italys failure to adapt to the new reality. Read: they lack the will to change their ways and to create new facts on the ground to adapt to the grand design. In other words: the problem does not lie in the goal, that is the creation of a single currency regardless of the wide differences within the European zone; it lies in the lack of will to change the whole economic system of the country. We have the right to doubt such an approach, we also have the right to be impressed by such promethean designs. Suffice to add here I sometimes think German public opinion tends to trust their countrys political class, while the French and the Italians do not. This interferes with implementation and complicates the process.

Managing the euro is a sovereign act from a sovereign institution and it is quite clear it entails governance by a supra-national organism, the European Central Bank, or maybe a kind of joint governance between this organism and nation states. This means the members of the zone are no longer completely sovereign, but Europhiles would tell you this is well accepted by public opinion. Well, I am not so sure. What happens if some unbridgeable differences oppose a national government to European transnational authorities? In theory, the national government that does not abide by its commitments is fined, and of course in practice, more often than not, nothing happens. Former central banker Jean Claude Trichet said in a recent interview the next step would be to entice everyone to accept and implement the arbitration of the members of the European Parliament who represent the countries that use the euro, and the next to next step would be the creation of a European finance minister for the euro countries. This, of course; means the treaty has to be changed. 

The actual state of affairs and possible evolution simply means foreigners have a say in the national decision making process. This raises serious questions regarding the future of both the nation state and/or democracy. The European Union is not (yet?) a federal republic: it is an empire, albeit a very benign one. We never heard of an empire composed of nation states; we never saw an empire succeeding in remaining or becoming a democracy. This is the fantastic challenge the European Union projects faces: to prove history wrong. 



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London: Reserve Bank's outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan, whose outspoken views have often been seen as being critical of the government, feels whatever he will say on Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be "problematic".



Rajan, whose tenure at RBI has been marked with several controversies triggered by his comments on issues ranging from tolerance debate to the government's flagship programme 'Make in India', was asked to describe Modi in a televised rapid-fire like interview with BBC.



"I think I will pass on that question. Whatever answer I give will be problematic, so I will just pass," said the on-leave professor of finance at Chicago University, who will return to academia after end of his three-year term at RBI on September 4.



After his decision to return to academia, there have been voices suggesting that his candid public speeches were one of the aspects which made the government uncomfortable about reappointing Rajan for another term.



Some of the controversial speeches made by him include the one where he quoted American political philosopher Francis Fukuyama to question whether strong governments can really help a country or in defence of tolerance in the middle of a debate started by the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of storing beef, or questioning the premise of the high-octane 'Make in India' campaign.



Rajan, a former IMF Chief Economist, also ruled out joining politics. "I think that is one place where my wife overrides everything and her answer is 'no'," he said on joining politics.



Asked how he feels about being on the list of India's 'most desirable men', the 53-year-old Governor quipped: "I wish they had done it when I was 25."



Rajan described himself as a "boring guy" and said he being described as 'Rockstar Banker' is an "overblown" statement.



In an earlier TV interview, Rajan had said he was open to staying a bit longer at RBI to complete the unfinished work of bank clean-up, but was perfectly happy to go.
If you are as strong as a  and as hard working as a , then you will be Niu Bee! A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Aug 3, 2016 at 11:53pm PDT



Young and weird  #tbt #throwbackthursday A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Aug 3, 2016 at 11:42pm PDT



#Kokachin #marcopoloseason2 #mannequin A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Jul 25, 2016 at 9:44pm PDT



Couldn't think of a better place to read a script but also lots of distractions A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Jul 17, 2016 at 2:50pm PDT



A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Jun 13, 2016 at 11:11am PDT



Sunday #chinagirl A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Jun 4, 2016 at 9:56pm PDT



A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Apr 3, 2016 at 9:00am PDT



#zhuzhu for #ELLE A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Mar 27, 2016 at 10:00am PDT



#zhuzhu for #ELLE A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Mar 22, 2016 at 7:08pm PDT



#zhuzhu for #ELLE A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Mar 22, 2016 at 7:07pm PDT



A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Mar 2, 2016 at 6:05pm PST



By # A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Feb 23, 2016 at 4:53am PST



if I wear this skirt to go to my grandma's house for CNY, she will kindly sow the ripped part together and then give me a red envelop with some pocket money for buying a new skirt without holes...  #whattowearforcny A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Feb 5, 2016 at 8:14pm PST



For #OK by @teddddy324 makeup by @deardarknessking @chanelofficial A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Feb 5, 2016 at 2:06am PST



"Be patient, the best is yet to come." "  A photo posted by Zhu Zhu (@zhuzhuclubheaven) on Sep 29, 2015 at 1:08pm PDT



After much debate and speculation, it is finally known that who would be cast opposite Salman Khan as his leading lady in Kabir Khan's next film Tubelight.Not Deepika Padukone, not Katrina Kaif; but it's the Chinese actress, Zhu Zhu, who has bagged the coveted role. The fact that she's making her Bollywood debut opposite Salman Khan is a reason enough for Bollywood fanatics to go gaga over her.The 32-year-old actress, who started off as a VJ on MTV China and soon became a sensation, has many drop-dead gorgeous photoshoots to her credit.From sharing her travel photos to her gorgeous photoshoots; she has always been regular on social media.Whether it's a night gown or a leather jacket, she can pull off everything with sheer elan.She started learning piano from the age of 3.Zhu Zhu was discovered by talent scouts after winning a local singing contest in Beijing where she stood third at the national level.She comes from a military family with her grand-dad being a member of the People's Liberation Army.She made her debut in the Chinese film industry in 2010 in the film What Women Want.She has also featured in films like Shanghai Calling, Secret Sharer and Cloud Atlas.Zhu Zhu has even starred in the film The Man With The Iron Fists alongside Russell Crowe, Cung Le, Lucy Liu and WWE Champion Dave Batista.In 2014, Zhu began starring in the American TV series Marco Polo, which premiered on Netflix in December 2014.She has an engineering degree in Electronics and Information from Beijing Technology and Business University.Looks like she's the perfect example of beauty with brains.
Mumbai: Director Remo D'Souza hopes that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) will give 'U' certificate to his upcoming movie A Flying Jatt.



The superhero-action film stars Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez and professional wrestler Nathan Jones in the lead roles.



"I hope the film will get 'U' certificate as it's a children film. I have always made kids friendly films. There were no cuts suggested by the censor board for the trailer... They were happy and excited about the film," Remo said.



The ABCD helmer was worried how the board would react to the portions were he has shown Tiger as a Sikh.



The Baaghi actor plays super-hero with a turban. "Initially I was scared how they would react to the Sikh part. While we were shooting, we had taken all the necessary precautions," he said.



"We have shown the film to the main Sikh community and they have loved it. They have given green signal," Remo added.



Produced by Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Motion Pictures, the movie releases on August 25


Rio de Janeiro: India's Deeipika Kumari defeated Guendalina Sartori of Italy in the 1/16 eliminators of the women's individual archery competition of the ongoing Rio Olympics here.

Deepika displayed red hot form to claim a 6-2 win and move into the pre-quarterfinals at the Olympic Shooting Centre here on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old from Ranchi had shaky start, shooting mediocre scores of seven and eight points with her first two attempts before coming up with a nine in her third.

The Italian on the other hand, enjoyed a superb start with nine points in all her three attempts to take the first set 27-24. Clinching a set brings two set points to the winning archer.

Deepika found her rhythym in the second set with attempts of 10, 10, 9 to take the set 29-26 and draw level.

Sartori meanwhile, seemed to be waver a bit although she did manage a 10 in her third attempt.

The archer from Ranchi continued her superb form in the third set as well, notching up a total of 28 points with attempts of 10, 9, 9. Sartori (10, 8, 8) could only manage to score 26 points.

In the fourth and final set, both archers started off with identical eight point attempts before Deepika scored perfect 10s with her next two attempts to take the set and the match.

Earlier, Deepika defeated Kristine Esebua of Georgia in the 1/32 eliminators.

Deepika, placed 12th in the world rankings, displayed excellent form to defeat the higher ranked Esebua 6-4.

Deepika dominated proceedings right from the start. Starting with a mediocre eight pointer with her first attempt, she scored 10 and nine points in the next two.

The World No.8 Georgian could only manage attempts of 8,9,9 as Deepika took the opening set 27-26 and the subsequent two set points with some ease.

The Georgian did better in the second set. Both archers scored identical attempts of 10, 10, 9 to split the set points with the overall set points score reading 3-1 in favour of Deepika.

Deepika displayed outstanding marksmanship in the third set with 10 pointers in all her three attempts to increase her lead.

Not to be outdone, Esebua shot 10, 9, 10 in the next set as Deepika could only manage three 9s to hand the set to the Georgian by a 29-27 margin thus forcing the issue into a fifth set.

Both archers shot identical 10, 10, 9 in the final set to split points at 29-29 which settled the matter in favour of the Indian.

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New Delhi: Sasikala Pushpa, an AIADMK MP who was expelled recently, on Wednesday lashed out at the party saying it is full of "slaves".



"I don't want to be a part of this slave gang," the Rajya Sabha MP said.



Pushpa warned the party leadership that she will retaliate, while deploying the caste card to counter the allegations against her saying that it is her Nadar community which is being harassed.



"I will retaliate if the harassment continues as I am the one who is being harassed here. People will give a befitting reply in elections," she said.



"I belong to Nadar community and am not sacred. People are watching all this. I have the backing of my community. Nadar community is one amongst the most powerful in the southern districts of the state," Pushpa said against the backdrop of controversies related to her expulsion and registration of an FIR against her family in Tamil Nadu.



The domestic helps, who reportedly worked at Pushpa's house in Tamil Nadu, had filed a complaint to police alleging that Pushpa, her husband Lingeswara Thilakan and son Pradeep Raja had tortured them.



While alleging that the maids were instigated to complain against her family, Pushpa showed a letter, allegedly written by an AIADMK party worker, threatening to kill her in Delhi itself.



"If this is the type of atrocity and sufferings faced by an MP like me, just imagine the plight of grassroots-level workers and other office bearers," she said, adding that many leaders in AIADMK are happy that she had brought these issues into the public domain.



"AIADMK leaders were wondering who would bell the cat. Now many are happy," the MP said.



Tamil Nadu government was on Wednesday restrained by the Delhi High Court from taking any "coercive action" till Thursday against Pushpa, her husband and their son in connection with the harassment of domestic helps.



The court said this while hearing the anticipatory bail pleas of Sasikala Pushpa, her husband and son.
New Delhi: Working overtime to get states on board over the GST following the passage of the Constitution amendment bill in Parliament, the government is keen to bring two bills aimed at implementing the new tax regime in the winter session to meet the April, 2017 deadline for its rollout.



"We are hopeful that both bills (Central GST and Inter-state GST) will be tabled in the winter session. I have already spoken to 15 chief ministers," Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said.



Though the government has built a political consensus on the reform measure, the process for its rollout is a long one, making many wonder if the Centre will be able to meet the deadline.



The Parliament secretariat is putting in strenuous efforts to compile the process undertaken in both the Houses before they are vetted by the Law Ministry and sent to all the states.



At least 16 states are required to ratify the Constitution amendment bill on GST. It will be then sent to the GST Council which will decide on the new tax rate as well as centre and state taxes that will be subsumed in the new tax regime.



The Council will be constituted after the Constitution amendment bill is notified.



The new tax regime, as approved by the Council, will then come before the Cabinet which will approve the new bills -- Central GST (CGST) and Inter-state GST (IGST) -- to be tabled in Parliament.
New Delhi: Congress on Wednesday took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "absence" from Parliament, saying "India has been forced to come to terms with a PM-mukt Parliament".



"When PM Modi assumed office, he had said that Parliament is a temple of Democracy and he kowtowed before entering the august building for the first time. A year into his term, on one of his numerous trips to the USA, he said, the Constitution is the only holy book for his government.



"But, today, India has been forced to come to terms with a 'PM-Mukt Parliament'. PM Modi's actions show his disdain for the Parliament and its affairs", the party said, targeting Modi by using a parody of his call for 'Congress-mukt Bharat' he had made during the Lok Sabha poll campaign.



Titled "India has a 'PM-Mukt' Parliament", the commentary has been posted on the party's website.



The party alleged that the Prime Minister loves to speak, "but, unfortunately, not in national interest but for vote bank politics".



It claimed that for all his "grandstanding", the Prime Minister was "chided" into making a rare appearance in the Lok Sabha during the final stages of the GST Bill, after it was debated threadbare in the Rajya Sabha.



"This was the first time in over 122 occasions when a Constitutional Amendment was passed in both the Houses of Parliament that the Prime Minister was absent. An embarrassed PM Modi made an appearance in the Lok Sabha after the GST bill was debated, to save face," it said.



The party said this year there has been violence in Kashmir, vigilantism by Gau Rakshaks and systematic violence against Dalits, "yet the Prime Minister did not make a statement in Parliament, but chose to address these issues outside".



The party said MPs are representatives of the people and the Houses of Parliament represent people's will.



"When there are serious atrocities, the Prime Minister must address the representatives of the people, who will then hold the government accountable," it said.



"Is the Prime Minister's absence indicative of his disregard for the temple of our Democracy? There have been numerous occasions when the PM has been in the Parliament building, but chose not to attend the session. Prime Ministers of the past had made it a point to attend Parliament", it said.



"Instead of paying lip service, Mr Modi should actually give Parliament, and through it the 125 crore Indians, the respect it deserves," Congress said in the commentary.
Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah hit out at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti saying she has set the state on fire. Curfew and protest shutdown continue to paralyse life in Kashmir for the 34th consecutive day on Thursday.



The National Conference leader said that the errors of her government in handling the crisis are too many to count.



Violent protests rocked Kashmir a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8. As many as 55 persons including two cops were killed and several thousand others were injured in the clashes between protestors and security forces.



Here is an excerpt from the interview:



CNN News18: Centre says that Pakistan is behind whatever is happening on the streets, do you buy that?



Omar Abdulah: No, I don't. If Pakistan is this powerful in Jammu and Kashmir, then I think that says a lot about us and not only the mainstream, but about the government of India. Pakistan is fishing in troubled waters, there's no doubt about that and they've always done that. There's nothing new in that respect. But this current problem is not of Pakistan's creation.



CNN News18: Where do you think Mehbooba Mufti has erred in this? We saw this violence fanning out, she's not been able to have a grip on this, where has she erred exactly?



Omar Abdulah: Look, I don't think you have enough time for me to give you the list of errors of judgement that this government has made. The biggest error of judgement has been in their assessment of the fallout of Burhan Wani's death and then tackling it. After that, it has been one mistake after another. There have been contradictory statements by the Chief Minister and her ministers, contradictory statements between the BJP and the PDP. I fail to understand, when the Chief Minister says that these last 50 odd sacrifices will not go in vain, what is she offering? Because if the Prime Minister is only offering development and says the state government is on the same page, I'm sorry these 50 people did not die for development, they died for something more than that. So if the Chief Minister says these sacrifices will not go in vain, I think she and the Central government need to come on the same page and tell us what exactly are they offering, because I see nothing new on offer today.



CNN News18: Do you think that Mehbooba Mufti now needs to quit?



Omar Abdulah: I am not going to ask for that. That is between her, her colleagues, her allies and her own conscience. It is not for me to ask her to resign. The fact that we are facing this situation because of her government is something that you cannot escape. The handling of the government by the government has been poor, you can't escape that either. But I would rather Mehbooba Mufti doesn't run away from this situation. She can't always set fire to the state and then run away.






New Delhi: The Opposition is planning to corner the Narendra Modi government in Parliament over the issue of rising cases of attacks on Dalits. The attacks are on rise in spite of the Prime Minister making an emotional appeal on atrocities against the community.



On the very day, Modi made an impassioned plea in Telangana seeking an immediate end to violence against Dalits, another case of brutal assault was reported in the adjoining East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh.



Their fault was that the three Dalits carried the carcass of an electrocuted cow to the outskirts of the village and were in the process of skinning the dead animal.



From Gujarat to Andhra Pradesh, the vigilantes are not heeding any of the advice nor any warning.



The resonance of the Andhra attack was heard in Parliament as well. The Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress raised the issue in Rajya Sabha and sought answer from the government



"I urge Center and the Prime Minister to not show sympathy but take some action," BSP chief Mayawati said.







Claiming that Centre will pay a heavy price for it, Congress MP Renuka Chowdhary said, "No one will tolerate it. It will cost the Central government heavily."



Even in the Bharatiya Janata Party, there seems to be apprehension that recent spurt of violence against Dalits by cow vigilantes has depleted party's political capital in the community.



Even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is extremely worried with the developments. Nearly three dozen MPs from Scheduled Castes and backward communities met RSS leaders in a hurriedly called meeting in Delhi on Tuesday evening and apprised the Sangh leadership of the damage already done.



"The Centre has taken a note of the incident. The matter has escalated. This is not just an incident but a mindset and this must be dealt with immediately," BJP MP Udit Raj said.



The incidents of atrocities against Dalits in Andha Pradesh, Gujarat and in other parts can inflict heavy political damage to the BJP in the poll-bound states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Come August 17 and China-based Asus will be unveiling its set of new products at the Z3envolution event in India. While it is yet unclear what all will be introduced, in all likelihood, the company will be launching its all new Zenfone 3 series of smartphones in the country after their launch in Taiwan in May.The expected smartphones to be unveiled include the Zenfone 3, the Zenfone 3 Deluxe, and the Zenfone 3 Ultra.The company has sent out VR devices for showcasing its products through 360-degree VR live streaming. It will allow consumers around the world to have an immersive experience of the launch event.Out of the expected launches, the Asus Zenfone 3 will feature a 5.5-inch full-HD Super IPS LCD display and come powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor. It will be available in two configurations of 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage. It will further include a 16 megapixel rear camera and an 8 megapixel front camera. Drawing its juice from a 3000mAh battery, the Zenfone 3 is expected to be priced at 13,990.The Zenfone 3 Deluxe version will come with a larger 5.7-inch FHD AMOLED display and will be powered by a Snapdragon 820 SoC backed by 6GB RAM. With 64GB of internal storage, the phone will feature a 23 megapixel rear camera along with an 8 megapixel front snapper. It will also house a 3000mAh battery but is likely to be priced higher at Rs 24,990.The Zenfone 3 Ultra will sport the biggest display of the three phones at 6.88-inches and offer FHD resolution. It will feature a fingerprint sensor and come powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor with storage choices of 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB which will be further expandable up to 256GB. It will feature a 23 megapixel rear camera along with an 8 megapixel front snapper.Other than the new Zenfone 3 smartphones, Asus is expected to bring its Zenfone 3 Laser and Zenfone 3 Max smartphones in the Indian market. The company also recently unveil its plans for a Zenfone 3 Deluxe that will come with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 821 CPU. It's not confirmed that this version will make inroads to the Indian market at the event.
Northern hemisphere sky-gazers are in for a special treat on Thursday night with a rare shooting star "outburst", which astronomers hope will not be marred by clouds and a bright Moon.For about an hour around 2300 GMT, there will be more than double the usual fireball activity associated with the annual Perseid meteor shower."There will be 200 or maybe as many as 300 (shooting stars) per hour," observed from a very dark site, astronomer Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland told AFP."This outburst, as we call it... doesn't last that long. It might last an hour or a couple of hours," he said.Normally, the Perseids regale Earthlings with a show of about 100-120 shooting stars per hour.The event builds up over about two weeks, peaking in mid-August."Some years are better than others... and then there are exceptional years like this year," Bailey said.The Perseids happen when Earth hits a wide belt of debris left behind by the comet Tuttle-Swift on its elongated, 133-year orbit around the Sun.Each meteor is a piece of broken-off comet, which explodes as it hits Earth's atmosphere.Within the broad belt of debris there are also denser dust ribbons created when the comet passes closest to the Sun in its orbit -- a juncture called perihelion.This year, Earth is on a collision course with three of the most heavily populated of these trails -- created in the years 1862, 1737 and 1479."The meteors you'll see this year are from comet flybys that occurred hundreds if not thousands of years ago," NASA meteoroid expert Bill Cooke said in a statement."And they've travelled billions of miles before their kamikaze run into Earth's atmosphere."However, there is no risk to our planet.In fact, astronomers' main concern is the weather, with cloud cover predicted for parts of Europe.There is also the dimming impact of our own satellite -- the Moon -- which will be in a bright phase, making it harder to observe the sharp but short-lived bursts of meteors exploding."It is unfortunate that it is in a waxing phase," said Bailey. "So we should really be observing after moonset" -- some 30 minutes into the outburst.He advised people to get as far away from clouds and electric light as possible in order to enjoy the show.No telescope or special equipment is needed.The live broadcast of the Perseid meteor shower will be available via Ustream overnight on August 11-12 and August 12-13."Wrap up warm, be prepared to sit comfortably on a deck chair or whatever, a glass of wine in your hand maybe, and then allow time for your eyes to become accustomed to the dark," which can take as long as 20 minutes, Bailey said.The next mega-outburst of the Perseids is predicted to occur on August 12, 2028, and will feature the dust trail produced by the comet during its 1479 perihelion passage.The yearly show got its name because the stars appear to fly out of the constellation Perseus, visible in the Northern Hemisphere.It is also known as "tears of St. Lawrence" in honour of a Christian saint tortured to death by the Romans in AD 258.According to legend, Laurentius was martyred on a iron grill over a fire, during which ordeal he is said to have quipped to his persecutors: "Turn me over. I'm done on this side!"He is a patron saint of cooks.
Vanishing message app Snapchat made a photo lens quickly disappear after an online uproar branding it an offensive stereotype of Asians worthy of the label "Yellow Face."The lens overlaid faces in photos with cartoon visages featuring slanted eyes, wide cheeks and toothy grins.Snapchat pulled the lens after its release on Tuesday ignited concerns it was insulting and racist. Snapchat said the lens was meant as a playful take on anime characters and promised it would not return to circulation."Snapchat virtualized old-timey yellow face without thinking about how it effects E-Asians," read a Twitter message fired off by the account of @brtnyle."It's disappointing whether it was deliberate or not."Southern California-based Snapchat was hit with similar charges of being racially insensitive earlier this year after releasing a Bob Marley filter that people could use to add graphics of dreadlocks to photos.The filter which Snapchat said it designed in the spirit of the late reggae star also modified facial features and darkened skin tone.Snapchat soared to popularity with messages that disappear shortly after being viewed and has been adding features to better compete with mainstream messaging or photo services such as those run by Facebook or Google.The number of people using Snapchat in the United States will leap more than 27 per cent this year to 58.6 million, meaning that nearly one in five people in the country will be using the service, according to an eMarketer forecast.By the year 2020, the ranks of US Snapchat users were expected to swell to 85.5 million, according to the report.Snapchat estimates it has more than 100 million users globally of the service for sending videos, images and text messages which vanish after being viewed. Some reports say it generates 10 billion video views per day.
Bangkok: Thailand's telecommunications regulator has approved in principle a plan to issue special SIM cards to foreign tourists so they can be tracked through their mobile phones.



Officials at the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission said the plan would apply to tourists only, backtracking on an earlier announcement that it would cover all foreigners, including resident aliens on long-term visas, the Bangkok Post and other media reported Wednesday.



The commission said the plan would be studied further after its endorsement Tuesday. Foreign and Thai users are already required to register when purchasing SIM cards.



State surveillance of online activity is high under the military government installed after a 2014 coup, and there have been dozens of arrests of people for political material posted on Facebook and other sites.



NBTC Secretary-General Thakorn Tanthasit suggested that the plan would not only help catch terrorists and criminals, but also help find travelers who have gotten in trouble or gone missing.



"We are not limiting any rights. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has no authority to check on the location of users," he was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post. "But if tourists commit wrong, or there is a court warrant, we will then forward the warrant to a mobile phone operator and seek cooperation."



His failure to explain details of the plan has caused skepticism, since it is unclear how the special cards would differ from normal SIM cards, which already can be used for tracking phones. He was not available to answer repeated calls to his office.



AIS, the country's leading cell phone service provider, said in a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press that it "would be happy to comply" with the plan if it helps ensure national stability. The statement noted the existing requirement for everyone, Thai and foreigner alike, to register when buying a SIM card.



Poomjit Sirawongprasert, president of Thai Hosting Service Providers Club and a strong advocate of free speech online, described the plan as useless, especially if is meant to capture criminals or terrorists. The use of roaming SIMs from other countries, or having a Thai citizen purchase a card for a foreigner, could evade monitoring, she said.
A roadside bomb hit a Pakistani security vehicle and wounded 14 people on Thursday in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, days after a suicide bombing at a hospital killed at least 74 people, most of them lawyers, officials and media said.



Home Minister Safaraz Bugti said the homemade bomb targeted police personnel escorting a judge, who was not hurt in the attack, in the frontier city. "It was a judge's car that was passing, but I believe it was the police who were the target," he said on Pakistani TV.



"It was a remote-controlled device with 3-4 kg of explosives." added Bugti. Bugti said these kinds of cowardly acts will not reduce their morale.



Medical Superintendent Abdul Rehman Miankhel told Reuters that 13 wounded people, including four members of the security forces, were being treated at the Civil Hospital.



An announcer for Geo TV warned viewers not to gather at the scene on Zarghoon Road in central Quetta for fear of a second bombing like the one on Monday. The suicide attack on Monday hit a large group of lawyers who had gathered at the hospital to mourn the head of the Baluchistan bar association. The head of the bar association was shot dead earlier that day.



"Care must be taken that a rush not be created at the scene as the terrorists have reached the point of barbarity where they target crowds like this," the news announcer said.



Monday's hospital suicide bombing was Pakistan's deadliest attack this year. It was claimed by both a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, and also by the Islamic State militant group, which has been seeking to recruit followers in Pakistan and Afghanistan.



Targeted killings have become increasingly common in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province that has seen rising violence linked to a separatist insurgency as well as sectarian tensions and rising crime.
CHARLOTTESVILLE  The two candidates for the 5th Congressional District took squishy stances about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline at a Senior Statesman of Virginia forum Wednesday.

Although many in its path detest the pipeline on property rights and environmental grounds, candidates agreed natural gas will flow through Virginia.

Its only a matter of where.

Neither Sen. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, nor Democrat Jane Dittmar, former Albemarle County supervisor, came out firm for or against the about 600-mile natural gas pipeline planned to go through private property and public lands from West Virginia to North Carolina, including through Nelson County.

Both committed to a level of advocacy but varied in manner. Garrett, a prosecutor prone to Senate-floor speeches, would step to the bully pulpit if he hears a mandate by constituents to fight, although he is pro-pipeline in general.

Democrat and a former mediator Dittmar said she could best serve district interests by pushing for thorough and fair review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The pair met for the first of at least four forums Wednesday answering a range of policy and political questions in front of a crowd of about 200 people that spilled onto the floor and stood in rows in the back of the Senior Center.

Im going to go to the localities that are going to be impacted and say how do you feel and Im going to try to get a feel for it and then do what I think is right, Garrett said to the press, committing to advocating for what residents want but questioning whether the majority felt that way. I think we might have a circumstance where one side is louder than the other but not necessarily more numerous.

Dittmar agreed to watchdog the process, but gave no opinion. She committed to not accept campaign money from Dominion Resources, a partner in the proposed pipeline project. The energy company donates heavily to both sides of General Assembly aisles, including $5,000 to Garretts Senate campaign over five years. Dittmar said she was happy to work with Dominion but wanted to avoid the appearance of persuasion.

She backs a request by anti-pipeline advocates calling for a comprehensive review examining need and environmental impact of four proposed natural gas pipelines as if they would all be approved. Such infrastructure is examined piecemeal. FERC said in November it had not performed such a review before and did not plan to do one, according to The Roanoke Times.

I think that we have the authority to tell FERC if theyre going to be coming through our counties, in the 5th District in my particular instance, that they look at all of those studies together before they continue with the permitting process, Dittmar said to the press. She added if FERC denied the request, she thinks she could work with Virginias congressional delegation to gather support for that sort of review, although several localities are adamantly pro-pipeline, including those in the Hampton Roads area.

She said the governor will play a more significant role than Congress in the pipeline approval process. Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has gone all-in supporting pipelines. McAuliffe is limited to one term.

When asked about climate change, Dittmar said transitioning to natural gas is necessary.

We need to go at this two ways. One, how do we adapt? We must adapt. The other is how do we mitigate or slow it down, and that will require us taking a long hard look at our relationship with fossil fuels, Dittmar said to her home crowd. Our economy depends on energy as do we, in our homes. We need to move gracefully to natural gas and really stimulate our renewable clean energy sector in the future.

Garrett also called for a thorough review, but isnt convinced mankind has contributed to changing the global climate, a stance that drew him interrupting groans as well as bursts of support.

We know theres climate change. There is debate as to whether its man-caused climate change, Garrett said. What we need to do is take a long hard look at both sides of the science, determine what amount of the climate change is man-caused, and then act appropriately after doing a cost-benefit analysis of what we give up and what we gain by that action.
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Hawk Claus spreads Christmas cheer in DC's Grifter Got Run Over By a Reindeer first look

Take a look at two stories from the DC holiday special including the titular chapter and a Hawkwoman and Hawkman tale
Mark up or VAT?

That will have to wait for at least another two weeks when the last minute rush for school texts happens.

Therefore, it is relatively easy to catch the attention of employees.

Business Day hands over a book list at several bookshops around Port of Spain. We want to know the prices as well whether they are VAT inclusive.

One attendant smiles shyly, but looks slyly across at a colleague before answering. There are VAT compliance officers and Education ministry officials about the town and they are not sure who we are.

I think the VAT is already there in the price, but Im not sure. At another store, they charge no VAT.

We havent for the longest while, said the manager. And still, at another store, the question is answered unequivocally, they charge VAT.

The parents seem resigned.

Recession or no recession, VAT or no VAT, the books must be bought because their children need an education. We see the same ones at multiple bookshops, perhaps searching for a bargain. It makes sense to look. For one of the books on our list, there is a $20 price difference between two bookstores, attendants at both stores telling Business Day that they charge VAT. Now, with the free textbook programme suspended and the re-imposition of VAT across many good and service categories, parents hands are inching deeper down into their pockets.

Zena Ramathali, President of the National Parent Teacher Association said while she received no specific complaints about book prices or the level of VAT on school books this year, the purchase of school texts has always represented a financial strain on parents wallets.

She acknowledged that it seemed over time, the amount parents were spending on school texts seemed to be trending upward. This, despite many measures taken over the years to keep textbook costs low.

The first Manning administration introduced the school textbook programme and the Peoples Partnership removed VAT on many items during its tenure, including several school related items.

Moreover, one bookseller we spoke to said there was a fixed mark up by which stores can sell over the publishers price. This is enforced by the Ministry of Education.

Why the inconsistencies in VAT application among sellers then? And why, after measures by successive governments to keep book prices down books appear to be getting more expensive? Rico Charran, President of the Booksellers Association told the Business Day that a public misperception is responsible for the idea that VAT is being charged on school texts and that prices are increasing.

For instance, there is no VAT on the vast majority of school books and there has never been, said Charran.

Charran, whose family has been in the book selling business since 1974 said there was an attempt when VAT was introduced to make school books vatable, but this was stopped. He chalked the claim made by some of the employees at the bookshops we visited that there was VAT on texts to the fact that the stores tended to take on extra staff during the holidays who were not always knowledgeable about the items on sale.

The association president said booksellers belong to one of the more heavily regulated industries in the country. He confirmed that there was a fixed mark up on books of 15 per cent.

When parents see two prices on the tag and see that the difference is 15 per cent, they assume that it VAT, but that is the mark up they are seeing. The only grey area that exists is for novels for English Literature.

Novels fall in to a vatable category. Regarding the $20 price difference we noted between the two bookstores for the same book, Charran said the industry was competitive and parents were likely to shop around to get the best prices.

He added that the association, which is two years old, is in the process of putting together a database of book prices over time.

Charran said based on information compiled so far, book prices have remained steady over the past five years.
Being host or guest at corporate events

One must always remember that even though the invitation may be tempting to cut loose, there is always the day after, when you are expected to come face to face with those who may have been in attendance the evening before.

Attending the corporate event begins with understanding the invitation. Carefully review the invitation to appreciate the dress code and what it means. In Trinidad and Tobago, because we are such a creative people, we have developed our very own concept of a dress code called elegantly casual. Though we have seen this so often it has become part of our own cultural understanding of what to wear. For the sake of this piece, I shall utilize the European tradition. The invitation would usually advise of the following forms of dress, business formal, lounge suit, national dress, informal, formal / formal evening, casual, or sportswear. Codes of dress will be elaborated upon in a later article. However, it is very important to understand the style of dress for the business event. If you are not certain, it is better to call ahead to confirm.

If you are a guest at a more formal corporate event, upon arrival you should be met at the entrance and escorted to a formal receiving line. For a less formal corporate event, as a guest, it is your duty to mingle and introduce yourself to other event guests. Even though we tend to remain within our comfort zones, and choose to interact with those whom we may already have a relationship, it is advisable to introduce yourself as widely as you can to persons you may not already know, as this practice strengthens your networking skills.

It is perfectly acceptable to introduce yourself, if there is no one to introduce you to others.

In an earlier article I spoke about the art of introduction, remember it is an art and to approach with a smile, eye contact, and the firm handshake, whilst clearly and articulately stating your name.

If you are with your significant other, please make sure to introduce him or her to the person or group with whom you have just established an interaction.

If you are the host of a more formal styled corporate event, it is advisable to attempt as best as you can, to meet and greet all of your guests to make them feel that their presence is appreciated. If, however, many of the guests may not know the host personally, it is also a good idea to appoint other company representatives to also act as greeters when the guests arrive.

Their role will be to greet guests as they arrive, then escort the guests to the host, make the introductions, and then escort them to the primary event area.

For events with fifty or more guests, a receiving line is preferable to ensure that the guests, as they arrive, will meet the host. The receiving line remains as is, until all of the guests have arrived. Of course, if the guest list is very exhaustive, it is acceptable to appoint other senior officials as co-hosts. A short receiving line is preferable as it allows for faster and more efficient movement. The receiving line is usually set up to the left of the reception room, if the space and layout permits.

Next Week: Business Entertaining Nicole Dyer Griffith can be contacted at 221-0199 or ndgccmarketing@outlook.com.
Pursuing co-operative friendly legislation

We can recall the public stance adopted by the Credit Union Movement, with the CCULTT at the forefront, when the Credit Union Bill was tabled in Parliament in November 2014. This Bill was tabled even though the Movement was engaged in discussions with the then Minister of Finance in the Peoples Partnership Government.

We expressed deep concerns about what we viewed as the imminent threat posed by the proposed Credit Union Bill to the existence of Co-operatives as was envisaged by our pioneers. The Movement indicated to the then Minister that the Bill in its current format would be destructive and would have eventually led to the demise of the Movement that prided itself on the fundamental principle of shareholder democracy.

The Movement in collaboration with the TECU Credit Union, commissioned two studies in 2014: A Legal Review of the Bill and the Co-operative Societies Act, and, an Impact Analysis of the Proposed Credit Union Bill on the Movement. These studies were conducted by Mair and Company and Kairi Consultants respectively, with the objective of gathering empirical data to determine the veracity of the proposed Legislation and to provide an analytical base upon which the Movement would have determined the most feasible way forward.

During the discussions with the then Minister of Finance, the Movement was given the assurance that the Bill would not be tabled before the completion of these studies. However, the bill was in fact tabled in Parliament in November 2014. The then Minister, in an apparent effort to appease the Movement, then publicly promised that we would have had the opportunity to present our case before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament. As fate would have it, the Bill lapsed upon the dissolution of the Parliament in 2015.

Immediately upon the assumption of the Peoples National Movement to office, the Movement, now emboldened in its position by the reports from the two commissioned studies, wrote to our line Minister, Senator Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, seeking an audience to outline our position relative to the Legislative Agenda.

Minister Primus was presented with the reports from the two studies that were commissioned in 2014.

The Minister indicated that she had scheduled a series of Stakeholder Consultations on the Legislative Framework for the Co-operative Movement as promised. These Stakeholder Consultations eventually took place in Trinidad on January 13 and 14, 2016, and in Tobago on January 29. Presentations were done by Mair and Company, Kairi Consultants, the Co-operative Development Division, the Tobago House of Assembly and the Legal Department of the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development. In addition, the stakeholders were given the opportunity through Workshop sessions, to put forward their proposals for a new legislative framework for the Movement.

The overwhelming consensus coming out of these consultations was that as a forerunner to revised legislation, a national policy for co-operatives should be developed first, which would then form the basis for discussions on a new legislative framework. In addition, the Movement indicated that while it was in favour of enhanced legislation for the regulation of the operations of the movement, there should be one piece of legislation. As such, the Movement overwhelmingly rejected the Credit Union Bill and agreed that there should be comprehensive amendments to the existing Co-operative Societies Act, with enhanced regulations to govern the financial operations of Credit Unions. The Movement was clear in its intent to remain united and with a closer collaboration between Credit Unions and the Non-Financial Co-operatives all being regulated under the same piece of Legislation. There was a resounding rejection of the introduction of Banking Legislation for the regulation of credit unions.

We continue with our lobby efforts and the Ministrys Draft National Co-operative Policy has been published and under active study by the League.

In this connection, a mass meeting of all credit union Presidents will take place at the Bureau of Standards, Macoya on Saturday (August 13) from 9am to 1pm. We welcome all presidents to contribute to the discussions as it will impact our operations.
International Youth Day

The day which is celebrated each year aims to recognise the sterling contributions of young people across the world and to reflect on the continued efforts that need to be made to ensure that young people are provided with the support they require.

On December 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 54/120, endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998) that August 12 be declared International Youth Day.

This years theme focuses on the leading role of young people in ensuring poverty eradication and achieving sustainable development through sustainable consumption and production, said a media release from the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC).

Sustainable consumption entails the use of products and services that meet the basic needs of communities while safeguarding the needs of future generations. The development and promotion of individual choices and actions that increase the eco-efficiency of consumption of all and minimise waste and pollution is critical to achieving equitable socio-economic development, the release said.

The CYC is calling on all citizens of the Commonwealth to observe the significance of International Youth Day and to provide a platform, as far as possible, to recognise that young people are not simply beneficiaries of development but also key partners that must be engaged.

The CYC is requesting that the amazing work and strides of young people be publicised and celebrated, and that support be given to national youth councils and youth bodies as they roll out their activities.

The CYC firmly believes that youth are not problems to be solved but rather solutions to be harnessed.
BOXES OF BONES

He said some of the bones cannot be disposed of via incineration or burial since they form part of ongoing cases; are exhibits/evidence in court cases; or could become central to current cold cases if and when new information surfaces during the police investigation process. Some of the bones have been at the Centre for years.

According to Dr Alexandrov, there are 30 skeletal remains at the Centre and because there is no bone depository, he has had no choice but to place some in 30 cardboard boxes which are taking up much needed space in fridges at the Centre. He added that in many instances, some of the bones are simply lying around in the fridges and there is no way to determine which skull belongs to which torso and the situation is very chaotic.

The latest addition to the Centres bone collection came on Sunday and are the remains of a man found close to the Poole River in Rio Claro. The remains were identified on Monday by two relatives as being that of Reuben Alexander, 52. Identification was made via metallic pins to one of the knees placed there during surgery to repair an injury.

Of the 14 unclaimed bodies at the Centre, Dr Alexandrov said, some have been identified by loved ones but have virtually been abandoned - leaving it up to the State to bury the bodies in a paupers burial.

Dr Alexandrov said that those which are not part of active investigations or are not deemed to be potention evidence in future cases, ought to be given a decent burial by the state.

On another note, Dr Alexandrov said that as of Tuesday he had performed 333 autopsies this year, and his licence only allows him to do 250 to 300 for 12 calendar months. According to Dr Alexandrov he now risks losing his licence and is between, the devil and the deep blue sea as to his next move. Alexandrov recently engaged in protest action by not performing autopsies because of severe staff shortage. Pathologist Dr Eslyn McDonald Burris, who is on vacation, returns to work next Monday.

If the bones are brought for my examination, I am in charge, so I put the bones on the trolley, take pictures of it especially of long bones because of mathematical calculation allows to establish the height of the person. If the pelvis is available I can establish if it is male or female. If the skull is available I can establish the race and then the whole set of bones are placed in a box which is marked with a date with all the pertinent information. Some of these bones are not in boxes, Alexandrov said, but are in a fridge, and this is not good for Forensic pathology because these bones belong to human beings who had families who may be grieving for them not knowing where they are...how they ended up at the Centre.

Alexandrov said he can account for what he does with the skeletal remains brought to the FSC but he could not say how other pathologists secure the remains during and after their examination. He said there is also room for extra fridges at the Centre but that space is being occupied by discarded equipment.

Efforts to reach Director of the Forensic Science Centre Arlette Lewis for comment on the matter proved futile. Contacted for comment, Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon, told of the boxes of bones and unclaimed bodies at the Centre, said that his Ministry has asked for a full and detailed report on the operations at the Centre and its shortcomings - following Dr Alexandrovs protest - and every effort is now being made to rectify all problems.

Other Ministry officials reminded Newsday of a previous commitment that new staff will be sought while house officers from public hospitals will be sent to the Centre to assist Pathologists.
US: We See

No Signs

Putin Will

Use Dirty Bomb
(Newser)  The sun was nearly responsible for the Cold War going nuclear 50 years ago, according to a study released this week. On May 23, 1967, three US Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar sites seemed to be jammed. CBS News reports it appeared to the US Air Force, which was now unable to tell if missiles were headed toward the US, that the Soviet Union was responsible. It was considered an act of war, and the Air Force prepared to launch additional planes carrying nuclear weapons. It's unclear how close the US actually came to starting a nuclear war that day, but study author Delores Knipp says, "What we do know is that the aircraft did not launch."

That's thanks to a handful of space weather forecasters working at NORAD, who quickly explained to the Air Force that the jamming was actually the result of a massive solar storm. Knipp tells Space it's fortunate the US "invested very early on in solar and geomagnetic storm observations." The 1967 solar storm was one of the biggest of the last century. The solar flare was visible to the naked eye, and the coronal mass ejection that followed affected radio communications for days and made the northern lights visible as far south as New Mexico. As a result of the events of May 23, 1967, both the US and Soviet Union expanded funding for solar weather observation. (Read more nuclear war stories.)
(Newser)  A serial killer known as the "Grim Sleeper" was sentenced to death Wednesday for the murders of nine women and a teenage girl that went unsolved for years as the body count grew in a poor section of Los Angeles haunted by the scourge of crack cocaine. Lonnie Franklin Jr. was sentenced in Los Angeles County Superior Court after emotional family members of his victims spoke about the pain they had endured for decades, the AP reports. "I can't think of anyone I've encountered in all my years in the criminal justice system that has committed the monstrous crimes that you have," Judge Kathleen Kennedy told Franklin.

The killings occurred over more than two decades during the crack epidemic, and community members complained that police didn't seriously investigate because the victims were black and poor and many were drug users and prostitutes. Franklin, 63, a former trash collector and onetime garage attendant for Los Angeles police, denied any role in the killings to investigators but didn't utter a word in his defense during his lengthy trial. Franklin's attorneys had suggested a mystery man was the real killer and asked jurors to spare the defendant's life. But Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said Franklin's motive was "doing evil," and his "degrading, calculated, and brutal" crimes had destroyed many lives. "This defendant is completely irredeemable," Silverman wrote in her sentencing brief. "He is a psychopathic, sadistic serial killer who takes joy in inflicting pain on women and killing them." (Read more Grim Sleeper stories.)
(Newser)  Was a teenage Wimbledon player poisoned with rat urine? Police are investigating claims that 18-year-old British player Gabriella Taylor, who abandoned her quarterfinal match against American player Kayla Day last month after becoming ill, was given food or drink contaminated with a potentially deadly bacteria, the Guardian reports. Taylor initially thought she had food poisoning, but during the four days she spent in intensive care doctors discovered that she had a rare strain of leptospirosis, which is found in the urine of infected animals. "It is unknown where or when the poison was ingested," police said in a statement. "No arrests, inquiries continue."

Taylor's mother tells the Telegraph that Taylor was "staying in a completely healthy environment" where it would have been "impossible" for rat urine to contaminate her food or drink. "The bacteria the infection team found is so rare in Britain that we feel this could not have been an accident," the mother says. "Her bags with her drinks in were often left unattended in the players lounge and someone could have taken the opportunity to contaminate her drink." According to the Telegraph, police will investigate whether a shady betting syndicate or a jealous rival could have poisoned Taylor, who has now returned to training after a month off. (These players threatened to pee in a ball can at Wimbledon.)
(Newser)  A Chinese safari guide is accused of stabbing two Chinese touristsone fatallyon Monday at Keekorok Lodge, overlooking Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve, when the couple refused to move from his usual table in the dining room, reports the Daily Nation. "He told them that he could not use any other table and they had to leave and when they refused, he started attacking them," an officer on the scene says. Li Changquing, 47, allegedly stabbed the woman twice in her chest and ribs with a pocketknife before turning on her husband, while their two children, aged 9 and 12, watched, reports Reuters.

The womanwhom the Shanghaiist identifies as Luo Jinli, 45died at a hospital, while her husband, Dong Ya, 47, is being treated for stab wounds to his stomach. A Kenyan police commander says Li, who was taken into custody, "looks like somebody who has a lot of anger" and told him he attacked the pair because "they insulted me," reports the New York Times. "We are shocked," the commander says. "This is a place where you go to relax with the family and leave the stress behind. We've never heard of anyone even slapping someone out here." Thousands of tourists were in the area to watch the "Great Migration" of wildebeests and zebras in the reserve. More than 100 tourists were in the dining room when the stabbing occurred. (A safari guide was killed last year in Zimbabwe.)
(Newser)  Gary Lynn Durham was on probation until 2017, but didn't live to see it end. The Florida man, who had served a decade in prison in connection with a 2001 road-rage incident that ended in a man's death, was himself killed in what police say was another case of road rage. The 40-year-old reportedly stopped his Mazda pickup in the middle of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Plant City early Wednesday morning, and Robert Padgett pulled up behind him. Why isn't clear, but what is clear is that an argument escalated, and Padgett shot Durham. Responders to the scene found the 42-year-old, who had called 911, giving Durham CPR, but he died on the scene, reports WFTS. Police are calling the death "the end result of a road rage incident," reports the Tampa Bay Times.

On the earlier incident, the AP and St. Petersburg Times reported Durham and Timothy James Gibbs argued after their two cars nearly collided on Oct. 24, 2001. The two traded hand gestures while driving, then ended up in a parking lot, where a single punch landed Gibbs on the ground. Durham left the scene, and Gibbs succumbed to a brain hemorrhage and skull fracture nine days later. The prosecutor said Gibbs' hands were by his side when he was hit. Durham was convicted of manslaughter the following year and released from prison in 2012. No charges have been filed against Padgett pending a review of the case. What Gibbs' widow had to say to WFLA: "I know its not the Christian thing to say, but this is poetic justice." (This judge handed out an odd sentence in another road-rage case.)
(Newser)  A rape case in Colorado has strong echoes of the Brock Turner case at Stanford in the defendant's behavior, the victim's powerful statementand the controversial light sentence. Former University of Colorado student Austin James Wilkerson, 22, was spared a sentence in state prison Wednesday after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting an intoxicated female student after a St. Patrick's Day party in 2014, the Guardian reports. Instead, Wilkersonwho told the freshman student's friends that he was going to look after herwill be on probation for 20 years to life and will serve two years in the county jail under a work-release program that will allow him to leave jail for school or work every day.

Prosecutorswho said Wilkerson "raped a helpless young woman after duping the people around her into believing he was going to care for her"wanted prison, but the judge used his discretion to give him a sentence lighter than the four to 12 years in state prison the charge usually carries, the Daily Camera reports. His victim told the court that she still suffers from nightmares and panic attacks. "Worst of all is the victim blaming," she said. "'If I hadn't been drunk, this wouldn't have happened. If I hadn't gotten separated, this wouldn't have happened.' Yet it was excusable for him to rape me because he was drunk?" She implored the the judge to "have as much mercy for the rapist as he did for me that night." (Read the statement by the victim in the Brock Turner case here.)
(Newser)  A baby girl will never know her mother after a horrific accident Wednesday in Quebec City, reports Le Journal de Quebec. Marie-Pier Gagne, 27, was in a pedestrian crossing at 10:15am when she was hit by a speeding car across from Laval University hospital. Although doctors from the neonatal unit rushed to the scene, they were unable to save the young mother-to-be, reports the CBC. However, they performed an emergency cesarean section on Gagne, who was 40 weeks pregnant, and delivered her baby girl. The newborn is doing well, reports the Toronto Star.

Witnesses say the drama unfolded in seconds on busy Laurier Boulevard. "I reared back, to avoid getting hit by the car, says one man. The next thing I saw was a woman go flying two or three meters up in the air." The car continued for several yards and hit other vehicles before coming to a stop, say police. They suspect the 20-year-old driver may have been ill or suffered a seizure of some kind, and he was being evaluated. Distraught friends posted tributes to Gagne on Facebook. I would like to pay homage to beautiful Marie," one woman wrote. "God watch over your little princess and all your family." (This "miracle baby" was born after her mom was killed in a hit-and-run.)
(Newser)  A hot tub's faulty wiring ignited one of California's most destructive wildfires, a blaze that killed four people, sent four firefighters to the hospital, and destroyed more than 1,300 homes last year, officials say. In addition, a fifth person who was last seen in his home before it was destroyed by the fire is missing and presumed dead. The wiring of the hot tub on residential property owned by John and Cindy Pinch in Cobb "was not installed according to building code," investigators wrote in a 500-page report on the cause of the 120-square-mile wildfire that devastated a large portion of rural Lake County and parts of Napa County about 90 miles north of San Francisco in September last year.

The property owners are now being investigated for possible criminal charges as well as whether they are responsible for any of the $57 million it cost to extinguish the 2015 fire, the AP reports. Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott says a building permit was required when homeowner John Pinch installed the used hot tub in 2009, but they haven't found one on file. The fire was the state's third most destructive blaze and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents and businesses. Lake County DA Don Anderson says criminal charges could be filed. "We are involved with four deaths and that could be a whole range of criminal activity," he says. "Obviously there was destruction of a lot of property." (Read more California wildfires stories.)
(Newser)  The death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab on the world's tallest waterslide was even more horrific than early reports indicated, a source tells the AP. The source says the boy, son of Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, was decapitated in the accident, which is being investigated but hasn't been explained by authorities yet. Police initially said Caleb died from a "fatal neck injury." Riders on the 168-foot "Verruckt" slide at the Schlitterbang park in Kansas City, Kansas, are strapped onto rafts. After the tragic death, park visitors came forward to say that they had experienced problems on the slide ranging from restraints coming loose to rafts actually flying into the air, the Kansas City Star reports.

Dawn Gentry says she was on the slide with her daughter on July 27 when the raft flew off the tracks on the ride's second drop. "The lifeguards were freaking out," she tells the Star, adding that she got the impression it had happened before. Sara Craig, a visitor who returned when the park reopened Wednesday, tells the AP that she went down the ride twice a few weeks ago with her son and one of his friends. She says it was "very, very rough" and her Velcro shoulder restraint came off during her first trip. Craig also says operators allowed her group to go down the slide with a combined weight of 393 pounds, below the 400 minimum. (Read more tallest water slide stories.)
(Newser)  The Florida police officer who accidentally fired real bullets during a role-playing drill, killing a 73-year-old woman, doesn't exactly have a spotless record. During his rookie year with the Miramar Police Department in 2013, Lee Coel, 28, was accused of excessive force on two occasions before investigators determined he had violated department policy; he says he was cleared of the excessive force claims but still forced to resign. Then earlier this year, Coel was sued after setting a police dog on a man riding a bicycle at night without a light; the man had ignored Coel's commands. A disturbing video shows the cyclist screaming during the attack, which lasted almost two minutes, reports the Miami Herald. The cyclist was seriously injured and needed surgery.

"What he did to my client is criminal. The dog ate part of his armpit muscle. He should have been fired immediately," the cyclist's lawyer says, though an outside expert found the use of force was justified. In the latest incident, police say Coel fatally shot Mary Knowlton at a citizen police academy session attended by 34 others, including Knowlton's husband of more than 50 years. Punta Gorda Chief Tom Lewis says officers were unaware Coel's gun housed live rounds, instead of blanks. A witness describes seeing "anxiety and panic and horror" on Coel's face as Knowlton fell after three shots were fired, reports NBC News. Knowlton's son, 50, says his mom would want him to forgive Coel, per the News-Press, but adds, "I don't know if I can ever get over this." (Read more Florida stories.)
(Newser)  USA Today has discovered that DEA agents routinely seize cash from American travelers without ever arresting, charging, or sometimes even questioning them. Further, this practice has become integral to the DEA's budget. Basically, youve got to feed the monster," a former DEA supervisor says. Over the past decade, DEA agents have seized more than $209 million in cash from at least 5,200 people at 15 airports. They do thislargely without the knowledge or consent of airlines or Amtrakby using a network of informants in the travel industry to profile travelers.

Just paying cash for a ticket is enough to get on the DEA's radar, but it's not enough evidence of wrongdoing to detain or search a traveler. So agents typically start by asking if they can ask the traveler a few questions then asking if they can search their bags. If they seize cash, they usually give the traveler a receipt for it then let them go. Christelle Tillerson had $25,000 seized by the DEA after she bought a one-way ticket to California in 2014. She told agents her boyfriend withdrew the money from his USPS retirement account so she could buy a truck. But Tillerson is an ex-con and a police dog smelled drugs on the cash, so it was seized. Tillerson proved she was telling the truth, and the government gave her money back 18 months later, minus $4,000 as a forfeiture. Her lawyer calls it "outrageous." Read the full story here. (Read more DEA stories.)
(Newser)  Fire officials say at least 30 people, including at least three firefighters, have been injured in an explosion and fire at an apartment building in a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC, reports the AP. First responders were dispatched to the scene in Silver Spring just before midnight Wednesday after a blast was felt a mile away, reports NBC Washington. The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service said early Thursday that the fire was believed to be under control.

Capt. Oscar Garcia says the wounded firefighters are believed to have injuries that are not life-threatening. The extent of the others' injuries wasn't immediately known. Garcia says not everyone is yet accounted for. Fire Chief Scott Goldstein says up to seven people are still missing. The fire involved at least two or three buildings. The department tweeted photos that showed a building at least partially collapsed and rubble strewn on the street in front of it. One resident suspects a gas leak is responsible. (Read more Maryland stories.)
(Newser)  Ecuador says it's ready to set a date for Swedish prosecutors to question Julian Assangea potential breakthrough in the years-long international impasse over the WikiLeaks founder, reports the AP. Assange is wanted for questioning by Swedish police over a rape allegation stemming from his visit to the country in 2010. He has not been charged and denies the rape claim and other allegations made against him by two women. Ecuador announced last year that it had agreed to a Swedish proposal to interview Assange in its London embassy, where he's been holed up since seeking shelter there in June 2012. Ecuador's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that a date for the questioning would be set "in the coming weeks."

"This is decisive to be able to take a decision whether to formally charge him or not," says a rep for the Swedish Prosecution Authority. Assange's defense team says it welcomes the steps to take the WikiLeaks founder's statement, which it says "comes after six years of complete inaction on the part of the Swedish prosecutor." Assange, 45, fears that if he is extradited to Sweden he will be sent to the United States to be prosecuted for WikiLeaks' publication of secret documents, as was WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning. Last year, Swedish prosecutors dropped their investigation into claims of sexual molestation and unlawful coercion against Assange because the five-year statute of limitations was expiring. (Assange just floated a conspiracy theory.)
(Newser)  The last 15 doctors in war-ravaged Aleppo in eastern Syria are calling on President Obama to help bring an end to the bombardment of hospitals there, the BBC reports. If no action is taken, the doctors warned, there wont be any medical facilities left within a month. "We do not need tears or sympathy or even prayers: we desperately need a zone free from bombing over eastern Aleppo to stop the attacks, and international action to ensure Aleppo is never besieged again," the doctors write. A medical facility in the rebel-held enclave is attacked every 17 hours, forcing the diminishing number of doctors to make horrifying choices such as which children will be provided with life-saving resources, they write, per the Guardian.

The plea for help came as the Russians said they would suspend their air campaign over Aleppo for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered. The UN, however, said a 48-hour halt is needed, along with safe access to a two-lane road. Fighting in Aleppo has intensified recently as rebels have cut off the governments main route to the west. "We have seen no effort on behalf of the United States to lift the siege or even use its influence to push the parties to protect civilians," say the doctors, whose full letter is at CNN. A US official tells the network that the White House is working with the UN and Russia on a way to allow in humanitarian aid. (Read more Syria stories.)
Gurgaon:

A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by two persons in a flat at South Delhis Kalkaji area, police said today.

The class 10 student of a government school in Gurgaon was allegedly held captive in the flat on Saturday and Sunday (August 6 and 7) by accused Karan Singh and Sanjay Kumar who gangraped her even as two of their associates, Mahesh and Kala, filmed the entire act on mobile phones.

Praveen Malik, SHO, Badhshahpur police station, where the victim lodged a complaint on Monday, said Karan, a native of Palra village, was known to her, while Sanjay was a native of Dhani Shkohpur and Mahesh and Kala were residents of Karans village.

According to the victim, Karan had picked her up from a Gurgaon bus stand on Saturday and taken her to Kalkaji temple on his motorcycle.

The victim alleged that after the visit to the temple, Karan took her to a flat in the same area and later, three of his friends joined them.

Subsequently, while Karan and Sanjay took turns to rape her, Mahesh and Kala videographed the act. They also threatened her with dire consequences if she reported it to anyone, said the SHO.

The victim was released after being held in captivity for two days. She reached home at Badshahpur in Gurgaon on Monday and narrated the incident to her parents who lodged the police complaint, he added.

The victim had initially alleged that Mahesh had raped her as well but later, before a magistrate, she accused Karan and Sanjay of rape and Mahesh and Kala of filming the act on mobile phones with the intention of blackmailing, said Malik.

Medical examination of the victim has confirmed rape, said the SHO, adding that a case under sections 363 (abduction), 365 (abducting with an intent of secretly and wrongfully confining a person), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was lodged against all the four accused, while Karan and Sanjay were also booked under section 376D (gangrape), IPC.

No arrest has been made as the accused are absconding, he said.

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New Delhi:

Bollywood actress Tisca Chopra has shared a video titled as Reptile Dysfunction in which she describes her experience with casting couch. This has again pulled in the notorious activity of industry into limelight.



The video, which was posted a couple of days ago, has gone viral on social media. The actress thanked viewers for sharing her video.



"It's gone viral. Thanks, people," tweeted Ms Chopra, who is spending Wednesday responding to posts praising the video.



There have been several reports on casting couch but many stars prefer to remain tight lipped about the sad truth of the industry. Contrary to this Tisca Chopra came forward and shared her experience in a story-telling session with Kommune India.



Her story dates back to time when she was nobody in the industry.



In the video she talks about her encounter with RP, stands for 'Reptile', who had approached her with a movie offer in early 90s. Even though some of her friends had warned her about the directors associations with his movies actresses, she decided to take the leap.



Watch full video here:







Last year, Ranveer Singh had also shared his casting couch experience.

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Guwahati:

Last rites of former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul will be held with full state honours today at Hayuliang, the constituency he represents.

Pul allegedly committed suicide at the chief ministers official residence here on Tuesday, weeks after he was ordered by the Supreme Court to step down after a brief stint.

The mortal remains of former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister were taken his native village Hawai in remote Anjaw district bordering China on Wednesday where his family and well-wishers paid their respects.

BJP MLA from Tezu Mahesh Chai accompanied the body of Pul along with his relatives in a helicopter which took off at 7:30 AM for Hayulian as hundreds of supporters of the leader gave a tearful adieu to him.

The state government has declared a three-day state mourning and a holiday today for the last rites.

Pul is survived by three wives and seven children.

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Lucknow:

The three-day strike of over 16 lakh government employees in Uttar Pradesh entered day 2 today.

The employees, under the banner of Rajya Karmchari Sanyukt Parishad (RKSP), are holding protests to demand promotion and cashless medical facilities, since Wednesday.

Basic Education, Secondary Education Directorate, Social Welfare, Public Works Department, Labour, Transport, Treasury, Agriculture and Accounts offices remained closed yesterday while employees were seen protesting at the gates of their respective departments.

The state government had accepted four demands in 2013 during Maha-hartal, which was called off after the intervention of the High Court. However, these demands were not fulfilled. Over 16 lakh employees have boycotted work to press for their demands, President, RKSP, Harikishore Tiwari said.

He said after three days the Parishad would formulate the future strategy and the strike could be extended for an indefinite period.

In 2013, state government had accepted four main demands, including cashless treatment, promotion of tehsildar (revenue officers), promotion of sanitation workers and time bound promotions of clerks, he said and demanded immediate fulfilment of governments promises.

Meanwhile, strike on Wednesday heavily affected traffic movement in the city, as massive jams were witnessed in busy areas like Hazratganj and Vidhan Sabha Marg due to the protests by the employees.

The three-day strike call was given by RKSP on Tuesday.

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New Delhi :

The communication arm of the government, Press Information Bureau, has designed a special webpage to host a live webcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Independence Day Speech from the Red Fort.

The webpage called Festival of Independence was launched by Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today.

The webpage will also host PM Modis other speeches at events related to these celebrations.

Prime Ministers speech at the launch of the festival at Bhabra in Madhya Pradesh and photographs from the function at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai will also be available on it.

An official statement said the webpage, which can be accessed from PIBs home page pib.nic.in, is designed as a platform to showcase all the events related to the Festival being celebrated throughout the country.

The social media section of the webpage will show live feeds from Twitter and Facebook including the tweets from the PIB Twitter handle having the hashtags #70YearsOfIndependence and #Aazadi70Saal and its Facebook posts, the statement said.

The webpage also showcases hundreds of archival photographs, audio and video clips, write-ups and features on leaders and events related to the freedom struggle.

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Karachi:

At least 10 people were injured in a blast near a hospital in Quetta in Pakistans restive southwestern Balochistan province, days after a deadly attack killed 75 people and injured 115 others in the same area.

The bomb was planted along the side of the road and exploded as the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) vehicle passed by.

According to rescue officials, six civilians and four security officials were injured in a roadside blast targeting a vehicle belonging to the ATF near Al Khair Hospital in Balochistans provincial capital, which also shattered windows of nearby buildings, the Dawn reported.

Security forces and a bomb disposal squad reached the scene to collect evidence. Rescue teams moved the injured to nearby hospitals.

Police cordoned off the area as a search operation went underway.

This is a busy road and the terrorists take advantage of this, planting bombs and fleeing on motorcycles, said Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, strongly condemning the attack while talking to media at the site of the blast.

These blasts are aimed at sabotaging Independence Day activities in Balochistan. I believe these cowardly acts will not bring down our morale. We are in a conflict zone and we will fight with renewed resolve, the minister said.

We are reviewing our security measures and you will see changes on the ground, he said.The minister added that three to four kilograms of explosive material was used in the blast, the paper said.

The explosion comes just days after a suicide bombing killed 75 people and injured 115, mostly lawyers and journalists, at the emergency ward of Quettas Civil Hospital on Monday.

A combing operation is ongoing throughout Quetta following Mondays blast.

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New Delhi:

Aviation regulator DGCA has taken action against 63 pilots of SpiceJet for operating flights beyond their stipulated duty hours, the government said today.

Pilots who have exceeded the flight duty period more than once have been suspended for 15 days and warnings have been issued to those who have exceeded the stipulated time only once, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha.



"During surveillance and subsequent scrutiny of records, it has been revealed that 63 pilots of SpiceJet had operated flights exceeding flight duty period as laid down in Civil Aviation Requirements...," he said in a written reply.

However, the Minister did not disclose specific detailssuch as when these incidents happened. In a separate written reply, Sinha said the new airportat Kannur in Kerala is expected to be completed by May 31,2017. The project is being implemented by Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL) through funds from equity and term loan from banks.

"A sum of Rs 34.06 crore was released by Kerala state government to the company during financial year 2010-11, which was converted into equity during the financial year 2014-15. "As on July 31, 2016, expenditure on the project through equity and term loan funding is Rs 1,220 crore," he said.
Ahmedabad:

A South Korean company, which is engaged with state-PSU Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC), caused a stir after its management allegedly slapped a notice on an Indian employee for chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai.



KEPCO Plant Service and Engineering Company Limited, a South Korean government enterprise operating and maintaining a GMDC-run Akrimota Thermal Power Station located at Nani Chher village in Kutch district, recently issued notice to a junior engineer in which, among other disciplinary issues, the company reprimanded him for chanting Bharat Mata Ki Ji on one occasion.



The matter reached the GMDC management which promptly issued a circular to all its affiliated companies stating that the slogan is a matter of national pride that any Indian is free to chant anywhere, a top GMDC official said today.



During one of its departmental meetings held around two months ago, the company was reviewing its security measures. When employees were chanting safety slogans, one Dilip Shrimali shouted Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Due to language problem, Korean management could not understand the slogan and served him notice, said plant general manager A K Garg.



The employee tried to explain the slogan to the management. But the management on July 20 served him the notice, stating that the companys platform was not appropriate for shouting such a slogan.



The management also raised other disciplinary issue with the employee, like his talking over mobile phone continuously and not following safety measures while working in the plant.



The employees union of the company approached the GMDC management which immediately issued a circular, Garg said.



We immediately issued a circular after the matter came up before us. We have issued the circular, saying anybody can chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Today even the company management chanted the slogan and said they respect Indias patriotic zeal, Garg said.

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New Delhi:

Government employees who have been protesting in front of the relief Commissioners against the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp in Kashmir valley, today expressed dismay at PM Narendra Modi for not speaking about them. Employees said they were the "real victims" of the unrest. The protest at the Relief Commissioners Office (RCO) entered the 29th day today.

"We are disappointed that the Prime Minister while speaking about stone pelters did not utter a single word about us, people who are the real victims of stone pelting, but we will continue our protest and are hopeful that our struggle will bear fruits," Chairman of the All Party Migrant Coordination Committee Vinod Pandita said. "It is not about 700 people who are protesting here, but 700 families that have been hit by the turmoil," he said.

The protesting employees demanded that "their posts be shifted to Jammu as it is not safe for them to return and work in Kashmir. Their is no guarantee that they will not be targeted again by the mob," Pandita said. "We were peacefully doing our job in Kashmir when we were attacked by the mob. They forced us to raise anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans. "They threatened to kill us. How can the government expect us to return and work in such an environment?" Sangeeta, a protester said. The protesters have accused the state and the Centre of turning a blind eye towards the "miseries" faced by the community.

They alleged that the government is yet to send a representative to talk to them. The workers belonging to the Kashmiri Pandit community have refused to return to their jobs in the Valley after the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp. More than 1,600 displaced Kashmiri Hindu youths had been recruited under Prime Minister's Special employment package and posted in Kashmir voluntarily. Most of these employees escaped from Haal transit accommodation in Pulwama, Baramulla, Kupwara transit camps, Vessu and Mattan KP employees colonies in Anantnag district after the unrest began and have been camping in Jammu.

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New Delhi :

Cutting across party lines, elders in Rajya Sabha today passed a Bill that provides for 26 weeks maternity leave, even as some members sought norms for paternity leave so that parents can share the responsibility of raising children.

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which was moved for consideration and passage by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, was passed by a voice vote.

The measure also seeks to increase maternity benefit from 12 to 26 weeks for two surviving children that would benefit about 1.8 million women in the organised sector.

The very purpose of this Bill is to increase the working women force because in the work force, participation of women is decreasing day by day, Dattatreya said. He said the law is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons.

Citing the maternity leave rules prevalent in various countries, Dattatreya said post the enactment of the Bill, India will jump to the third position in terms of the number of weeks (26) for maternity leave, behind Norway (44) and Canada (50).

Highlighting that there are more nuclear families now, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said the Bill has its roots in malnutrition, as breastfeeding the child is recommended which is not possible unless the mother is in physical proximity of the child.

Moreover, after giving birth, a womans body needs to heal over a period of time, she said, adding it is a very stressful time for the mother, who should be with the child.

Observing that the legislation will go a long way to ensure that the future generations are healthier, Gandhi said the Women and Child Development Ministry had recommended raising maternity leave from 12 weeks to 8 months but it was considered too long for the employer.

The Minister said the Government was thinking of introducing direct benefit transfer for women and it was under consideration.

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, protects the employment of women during the time of her maternity and entitles her full paid absence from work, to take care for her child.

Cabinet had yesterday given ex-post facto approval to the amendments made to the Maternity Benefits Act, that aims to raise maternity leave for women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

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Assange may face extradition as Ecuador considers revoking asylum

Hillary Clinton and the Democrats are working behind the scenes to have WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange not only censored but possibly ejected from the Ecuadoran embassy in London.

Ecuador granted Assange asylum in 2012, and British officials have said that they will arrest him if he leaves the embassy.

Earlier this year, an arrest warrant for Assange by a Stockholm district court was upheld. Sweden wants to question him in regard to a sex allegation. He has not been charged with a crime and does not face trial. In January, the United Nations ordered Sweden and the UK to immediately release him and compensate Assange for violating his rights.

On Monday, WikiLeaks posted the following tweet:

Ecuadorian govt under pressure to censor/expel Assange after #DNCLeak rocks Clinton campaign https://t.co/lK8QnvPSO4 @DavidaKaye  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 8, 2016

The DNC leak put a serious kink in Hillary Clintons presidential campaign, and resulted in the replacement of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the DNC boss.

The government of Ecuador fears a move by Britain to limit its relationship with the country in response to the DNC leak will result in a similar move by the United States and negatively impact commercial ties with the Latin American country.

The largest daily newspaper in Ecuador, El Comercio, reported on Wednesday:

It happens that the author of the mess is none other than the person to whom Ecuador has granted asylum and protection for more than four years. I was the first to say that Assange has, like all human beings, inalienable rights that must be respected. However, an asylee also has obligations can not ignore. should not perform acts that disturb the public peace or tend to participate or influence political activities and also must respect and not harm their acts to the country that decided asilarlo. Unfortunately, Ecuador has not set any limit to the conduct of Assange and allowed to violate his refugee status and who seek asylum taunt. His latest interference in US policy could have consequences worldwide, of which Ecuador, Assange protector, will not leave unscathed. If London has refused to closer ties with Ecuador, because of Assange, Washington is expected to react in the same way. And the United States is our best commercial customer! I said that, once granted asylum, Ecuador is bound to keep. However, given the gruesome performances Assange undoubtedly violate his refugee status should be considered whether its conduct, taken to the extreme, it is a good reason for Ecuador to end such asylum.

In 2010, the Ecuadorian foreign ministry invited Assange to travel to Quito to discuss leaked diplomatic cables relating to Ecuador and other Latin American countries.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa subsequently said his country had not invited Assange for a visit.

A number of US legislators called for Assange to be prosecuted after WikiLeaks published more than 250,000 diplomatic cables from US embassies around the world, described as the largest disclosure of confidential information to date.

US Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, characterized Assange as an enemy combatant who should be apprehended and charged with espionage. He urged the government to classify WikiLeaks as a terrorist organization and freeze its assets.

The FBI is actively pursuing Assange. On 15 March, the Department of Justice filed a court document stating there is a pending national security prosecution against him and WikiLeaks. A federal warrant issued in 2012 charged Assange with Espionage, Conspiracy to commit Espionage, Theft of Government Property, Electronic Espionage, classified as terrorism under the Patriot Act.

Sources:

ElComercio.com

Submit a correction >>
Socialist champion Sanders buys $600,000 home in Vermont

So much for Bernie Sanders downtrodden socialist cachet.

Sanders describes himself as one of the poorest members of Congress. However, even the poorest members are able to buy things out of reach to the average American, especially the working class and student loan indebted base of the Sanders movement.

On Monday, Seven Days, a weekly Vermont newspaper, reported that Sanders recently bought a $600,000 lakefront home on Lake Champlain. It is not his primary residence; he owns two other homes, one in Washington, DC, and another in Burlington, Vermont. The Lake Champlain residence has four bedrooms and 500 feet of lakefront facing Vermont, not New York.

The sale did not go unnoticed on social media.

Heres your socialist hero! What a joke. Bernie Sanders Buys a Summer Home in North Hero #FeelTheBern https://t.co/7YuvGNkIb5  Dan Bongino (@dbongino) August 10, 2016

Nothing says man of the people fighting income inequality like buying a summer home for $600,000. https://t.co/B1XOJzBpqp  Razor (@hale_razor) August 10, 2016

Bernie Sanders Just Paid An Unbelievable Amount Of Money For A Summer Vacation Home https://t.co/1ckeTjynhA pic.twitter.com/aLBWZTtx5w  King Robbo (@realkingrobbo) August 10, 2016

One week after endorsing Hillary Clinton for President, Bernie Sanders bought a $600,000 summer home https://t.co/Rw6GRvkNqq  Roosh (@rooshv) August 9, 2016

Sanders has not accumulated enough wealth to be part of the 1 percent he railed against during his failed campaign, but his net worth is hardly insubstantial.

According to James OBrien of Campaigns & Elections Magazine, Bernie and his wife have a net worth of between $1.2 and $1.5 million, not the $700,000 routinely reported by the media.

The failed socialist candidate has gone out of his way to cover up his wealth.

For someone who doesnt care about money, he goes a long way to cover up his true net worth, OBrien explains. Bernie does not disclose the value of real estate holdings. He can. He is not required to, but he could if he chose. It is known that he and/or his wife own at least two homesone with rental income in Vermont and one near Capitol Hill where the median home value is $722,000.

Bernies wife, Jane OMeara Sanders, took a golden parachute payout when she was the president of Burlington College.

Senator Sanders should be asked to explain how his opposition to severance packages for corporation executives squares with his wife getting a cushy severance of $200,000, Bruce Parker wrote for Watchdog, an organization focused on the transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility of government.

In January, a formal request was filed to have Bernies wife investigated for federal bank fraud. The lawsuit involves the sale of prime lakefront real estate owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese in Burlington.

The loan transaction involved the overstatement and misrepresentation of nearly $2 million dollars in what were purported to be confirmed contributions and grants to the college, states a letter sent by attorneys to the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont.

The move backfired massively, leading to Sanders departure from the college and the near-collapse of the institution, write Blake Neff and Peter Fricke of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Despite his rhetoric and image as a savior of working people, Bernie Sanders is an establishment insider  he is the ranking minority member on the Senate Budget Committee  and has worked in government since 1980 when he was elected mayor of Burlington.

While he has not cashed in on his public service to the extent of his colleagues, Bernie has managed to accumulate a degree of wealth unimaginable back when he was a carpenter and a political activist.

In addition to an annual salary of $174,000, Sanders will receive a federal pension under the Civil Service Retirement System, and enjoys health benefits provided by the American taxpayer. And unlike most Americans who are forced into the substandard Medicare system, Bernie will be able to keep his government subsidized healthcare after he retires.

Sources:

SevenDaysVT.com

Watchdog.org

DirectorBlue.Blogspot.co.za

NationalReview.com

Submit a correction >>
Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press

A federal law requiring most food packages to indicate whether genetically modified ingredients were used would actually water down stronger state laws such as Connecticuts and should be repealed, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal, a first-term Democrat, plans to call for a repeal of the GMO labeling bill at a Hartford Farmers market Thursday.
TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2016 /CNW/ - Koskie Minsky LLP and Henein Hutchison LLP have commenced a class action against the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario alleging human rights violations relating to the treatment of immigrant detainees in Ontario's prisons.

The statement of claim issued on August 11, 2016 alleges, among other things, that the Canada Border Services Agency and the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services have been negligent, have breached their fiduciary duties and have breached the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in incarcerating immigrant detainees in Ontario's correctional facilities.

The class includes all migrants detained by the Canada Border Services Agency and incarcerated in a provincial prison between December, 2003 and the present. The Plaintiffs' lawyers believe that thousands of people will be included in this class proceeding.

Godday Dadzie, an Ivory Coast national incarcerated in the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario, and Al Zeekehmens, a Liberian national incarcerated in Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton, Ontario are the proposed representative plaintiffs.

Kirk Baert, a partner at Koskie Minsky LLP, stated "for too long, the governments of Ontario and Canada have ignored ongoing human rights violations in their own institutions. Innocent migrants are being housed in abhorrent conditions, often indefinitely, without being charged with a crime."

Scott Hutchison, a partner at Henein Hutchison LLP, stated "immigrant detainees are being incarcerated for years in the same sub-standard conditions as convicted criminals. This practice is shocking and the responsible government actors should be held accountable".

SOURCE Koskie Minsky LLP

For further information: Website: kmlaw.ca/idclassaction, Toll Free number: 1-866-777-6309, Email: [email protected]; Or contact Kirk Baert at 416-595-2117
Net Proceeds Used to Retire Senior Credit Facilities

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 10, 2016 /CNW/ -- OneRoof Energy, Inc. ("OneRoof"), a residential solar services provider and wholly-owned subsidiary of OneRoof Energy Group, Inc. (the "Company") (TSXV: ON), today announced that that it has refinanced its sponsor equity interest in a 12.1 MW residential solar portfolio (the "Portfolio") consisting of 1,611 residential solar systems. The transaction was structured through the issuance of a preferred membership interest in the Portfolio's special purpose vehicle (the "SPV") to Greenbacker Residential Solar LLC ("Greenbacker") for an aggregate purchase price of USD$19,750,000 (the "Transaction"). Under the terms of the Transaction, Greenbacker was appointed the managing member of the SPV and the Company will retain a residual interest in the SPV and continue to perform general operation and maintenance functions for the Portfolio. MVP Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to OneRoof Energy in arranging this transaction.

"This transaction is consistent with our current plan to utilize capital to support strategic growth under our Solar 2.0 model, which is focused on being a low-cost, capital-light, residential solar fulfillment platform, focused on partnering with scalable and low-cost sales partners," stated David Field, president and CEO of OneRoof. "We are pleased to be working with Greenbacker and to be supporting their already robust wind and solar portfolios."

Substantially all of the net Transaction proceeds, plus amounts previously on deposit, were used to retire all principal, accrued interest and early prepayment fees on its outstanding senior credit facilities arranged by Goldenset Capital Partners, LLC (the "Senior Loans"). The remaining Transaction proceeds were earmarked for general working capital purposes.

"The company is very excited to pay down its Senior Loans and terminate all related security interests. This financial restructuring will provide the company significant flexibility in its ability to source capital going forward," stated David Field, president and CEO of OneRoof.

"Adding a large residential rooftop solar portfolio in partnership with OneRoof Energy Inc., who maintains an ongoing minority stake in the portfolio, adds significant diversification to Greenbacker's current portfolio of solar and wind assets," stated Charles Wheeler, CEO of Greenbacker. "This segment of the market has become increasingly sophisticated and opportunities for securitization of these portfolios provide significant upside potential. As we continue to grow our portfolio of alternative energy assets, which now totals in excess of $100 million, we seek projects that will continue to broaden our revenue stream, providing more predictable returns for our investors."

About OneRoof Energy

OneRoof Energy, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of OneRoof Energy Group, Inc., is a solar services provider dedicated to its "Solar 2.0" approach: an innovative model that enables consumer services companies in various verticals to sell residential solar while confidently relying on their solar partner for implementation. OneRoof uses its proven technology platform, big data and proprietary systems to help its partners reach out to their customers who can benefit from solar while building a channel into the home for 20 years. OneRoof provides its partners with customized, turn-key solutions, offering homeowners a suite of financing options, including traditional loan, lease and PPA financing together with system design, installation management and ongoing system monitoring and maintenance. OneRoof is based in San Diego, California, and serves residential customers in nine states: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania with plans for additional expansion. For more information, visit www.oneroofenergy.com.

About Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC

Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company LLC is a publicly registered, non-traded Limited Liability Company that expects to acquire a diversified portfolio of income-producing renewable energy power plants, energy efficiency projects and other sustainable investments.

About MVP Capital

MVP Capital provides strategic and financial advisory services, including advising on mergers & acquisitions and equity and debt capital raises, to companies in the Renewable Energy, Telecom, Media and Technology industries. Additional information is available at www.mvpcapital.com.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this document, including those that express management's expectations or estimates regarding the Company's future performance, are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a certain number of estimates and assumptions, which while considered plausible by the management when they are made, are inherently subject to significant commercial, economic and competitive risks and uncertainties. We advise investors not to rely unduly on forward-looking information. The Company further declines any intention or obligation to publicly update this forward-looking information, whether due to new information, or future or other events, unless required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation service provider (as these terms are defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) bears responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Investor Relations Contact:

David Field

President and Chief Executive Officer

OneRoof Energy Group, Inc.

(858) 458-0533

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140225/MM71994LOGO

SOURCE OneRoof Energy, Inc.
TSX: PMN

TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2016 /CNW/ - ProMIS Neurosciences ("ProMIS" or the "Company"), a company focused on the discovery and development of precision treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, announced that its Chief Science Officer, Dr. Neil Cashman, is presenting today as an invited speaker at the Zing Propagation in Neurodegenerative Disease Conference held in Dublin, Ireland between August 8-11, 2016. Dr. Cashman's oral presentation is entitled "Prion-like Propagation of SOD1 Misfolding in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)".

Commenting on the presentation, Dr. Cashman stated: "Our research indicates that misfolded TDP43 behaves in a prion-like manner, causing normal human SOD1, a ubiquitous free-radical defense enzyme, to misfold via direct intermolecular interaction. We have concluded that SOD1 misfolding can be triggered by abnormalities in other ALS-implicated proteins, including TDP43, and that misfolded SOD1 can propagate within and between cells, a key feature of ALS pathophysiology. These new findings support ProMIS' ALS program targeting neurotoxic, prion-like forms of both SOD1 and TDP43."

The Zing Propagation in Neurodegenerative Disease Conference brings together neurologists, neuropathologists and basic scientists with experience across a wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases. A key objective of this meeting is to discuss the cell-to-cell spreading of prion-like proteins and their implications in neurodegenerative disease progression, with a goal of building relevant disease models and identifying therapeutic strategies.

About ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.

The mission of ProMIS Neurosciences is to discover and develop precision medicine therapeutics for effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease and ALS.

ProMIS Neurosciences' proprietary target discovery engine is based on the use of two, complementary techniques. The Company applies its thermodynamic, computational discovery platformsProMIS and Collective Coordinatesto predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes (DSEs) on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this unique "precision medicine" approach, ProMIS Neurosciences is developing novel antibody therapeutics and specific companion diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease and ALS. The company has also developed two proprietary technologies to specifically identify very low levels of misfolded proteins in a biological sample. In addition, ProMIS Neurosciences owns a portfolio of therapeutic and diagnostic patents relating to misfolded SOD1 in ALS, and currently has three preclinical monoclonal antibody therapeutics against this target.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The information in this release may contain certain forward-looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information please consult the Company's website at: www.promisneurosciences.com

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SOURCE ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.

For further information: NATIONAL Equicom: Michael Moore: [email protected]; Abby Garfunkel: [email protected]; or contact Dr. Elliot Goldstein, President and Chief Executive Officer, ProMIS Neurosciences Inc., Tel. 415 341-5783, [email protected]
TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2016 /CNW/ - VersaPay Corporation (TSXV: VPY) ("VersaPay" or the "Company"), will release its second quarter results for 2016 on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 after market close. The Company will subsequently hold a conference call on Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time hosted by Craig O'Neill, Chief Executive Officer, and Harp Gahunia, Chief Financial Officer. A question and answer session will follow the corporate update.

CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS

Date: Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Time: 9:00 AM Eastern Time

Participant Dial-in Numbers:

Local  Toronto (+1) 416 764 8609

Toll Free  North America (+1) 888 390 0605

Conference ID: 03364229

Recording Playback Numbers:

Toronto (+1) 416 764 8677

Toll Free  North America (+1) 888 390 0541

Passcode: 364229 #

Expiry Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2016, 11:59 PM

A live audio webcast and archive of the conference call will be available by visiting the Company's website at http://www.versapay.com/company/investor-relations/. Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure time for any software download that may be needed to hear the webcast.

About VersaPay

VersaPay is a leading cloud-based invoice presentment and payment provider for businesses of all sizes. VersaPay's ARC software-as-a-service offering allows businesses to easily deliver customized electronic invoices to their customers, to accept credit card and EFT payments and automatically reconcile payments to their ERP and accounting software. VersaPay is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has operations in Montreal and New York.

More information about VersaPay can be found on the Company's website at www.versapay.com or under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Forward Looking and Other Cautionary Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Such forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words and phrases such as "plans," "expects," "is expected," "budget," "scheduled," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "anticipates," or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.

These forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business. Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the speculative nature of the Company's business, the Company's formative stage of development and the Company's financial position.

Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE VersaPay Corporation

Image with caption: "VersaPay (CNW Group/VersaPay Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160811_C8551_PHOTO_EN_751025.jpg

For further information: Harp Gahunia, Chief Financial Officer, VersaPay Corporation, 416-458-5976, [email protected]; John McLeod, Vice President, Marketing, VersaPay Corporation, 647-258-9406, [email protected]; Babak Pedram, Investor Relations, Virtus Advisory Group Inc., 416-644-5081, [email protected]
Three thousand pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday for the 2016 hajj, it was learnt. Executive Chairman Alhaji Abdullahi Mohamm...

Three thousand pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday for the 2016 hajj, it was learnt.Executive Chairman Alhaji Abdullahi Mohammed spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.He said the pilgrims, who were transported through Sokoto, Lagos and Abuja international airports, were from Zamfara, Osun, Oyo, Kwara and Kogi states.We have over 3,000 pilgrims in the holy land; they are in Medina and observing their pilgrimage rites under the guidance of our officials and medical team.We hope before the next 24 hours, four more flights will land in Saudi, Mohammed said. He said arrangements have been made to ensure quick response to emergencies, adding that identification of pilgrims have also been made easy in case of stampede.Because of that, we decided to introduce an electronic wristband that will contain personal and medical data of each pilgrim.The wristband has a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) device, SOS button alert and a wristwatch, which will be given to each pilgrim at N8,400, Mohammed said.He hinted that the DNA sample of each pilgrim was also collected to aid identification in case of emergency.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, has disclosed that Speaker of the House, Yakubu D...

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, has disclosed that Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara enjoys the support of most lawmakers of the lower legislative chambers.Nkem-Abonta made the disclosure while reacting to allegations by former Chairman on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin that some principal officers of the House attempted to pad the 2016 budget to the tune of over N40bn.Jibrin had also accused Dogara of bribing lawmakers with $25,000 each to sign a vote of confidence register opened at the Speakers guest house in Abuja.Chatting with reporters in Abuja on Wednesday, the Abia State lawmaker said more than 340 of the 360-members of the House are in support of the Speaker, adding that Dogara was human, and so would not be able to please everyone in the House.The lawmaker also denied seeing any register which about 260 members reportedly signed to pass a vote of confidence on the Speaker.According to Nkem-Abonta, I am sure that less than 10 members are the ones against him, meaning that 90% or more stand with Dogara.He further stated that the 8th House under the leadership of Dogara, had enjoyed relative peace.Looking at the output of the 8th House, you can understand that majority of members enjoyed, and are still enjoying the leadership style of Dogara, notwithstanding our differences at take-off.Until the so called padding, Dogara had no issue in the House. Im from Abia State, I have not seen the register, but I can say authoritatively that no member from Abia will sign against him (Dogara), we all love Dogara. It is true he is human, he may have his shortcomings, but we all love him.Dogara has maintained a cool, level-head leadership, so no need for change of leadership. He cannot please 360 people, and nobody is perfect. Those who are aggrieved should use in-house mechanism to address issues. He cannot place everybody where they want to be.
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."  Jeremiah 13...

Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."  Jeremiah 13:23When the Bible says the leopard cannot change its spots, it probably was referring to the likes of former Governor of Rivers state, now Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi.Unsurprisingly, former Commissioner of Police (CP), Matthew Mbu, once referred to him as the Leopard in Port Harcourt. The former police chief said: It is only a lion that can tame a leopard. I tamed the leopard in Port Harcourt; each time he remembers my face, he would remember how I tamed him.Drawing from this, maybe, a befitting title for this article should have been: Will Amaechi Ever Change His Noxious Ways?In broad day light, the former Nigerian Governors Forum chairman, perhaps ravenous for headline attention, came up with something unusual  Okonjo-Iweala begged him not to say there was recession under President Jonathan.On getting the news, I waited for several hours hoping to hear that the statement was quoted out of context. I sincerely wished Hon Amaechis media team would retract the statement on the account that his social media accounts were hacked by his detractors. Since this didnt come, I have taken it to be true; hence, this piece.Here, we have a Minister of Transportation who blatantly told Nigerians and the world that our countrys former Minister of Finance, hid economic recession from Nigerians, the reason for it manifesting only after the last administration left office.Does this make sense? Can recession be hidden?In an interview, he said Dont forget that until these so-called Avengers began to bomb, we had got to 7,000 megawatts, and what he promised was ten at the end of the first term, As it turned out on further checks, Amaechis claims, like his previous ones, are false. A simple Google search simply reveals that Nigeria has never generated as much as 7,000MW in its entire existence. A lie from the pit of hell!Does Amaechi really know the meaning of economic recession? For the ministers information, a recession can be easily identified by two consecutive quarters of decline in a countrys real (ination adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP).A recession does not hide and Amaechi should have known that.When the US was in recession in 2008/9, the whole world knew it and the new regime of President Obama acknowledged it. Amaechi wants us to believe on one hand that the Nigerian economy was in recession under President Jonathan and on the other hand, that the former president could cover an obvious economic slump. This power belongs to the gods, not man!Even in the worst of times, with financial experts like Dr. Okonjo-Iweala in charge, the economy was growing at a steady rate of 4.8 per cent (as ascertained by World Bank and other reputable international organisations) as at May, 2015. If this is what the leopard meant by recession, then he obviously needs to be schooled!As I write, Amaechi stands accused of diverting 140million of state funds into Buharis presidential campaign; reports have it that he spent huge sums on media, consultants and private jets. He has been dubbed severally as Buharis ATM because of his ability to produce vast sums of money at short notice. Even in the midst of heartbreaking allegations, he somehow managed to keep his job despite misappropriating 338million by a commission investigating the sale of state assets.What moral right then does Amaechi have to advise us on economic management? Has he managed his states resources optimally before blurting his guff?In truth a leopard like Amaechi cannot change his spots!Bade Adebolu is an accountant based in Ado-Ekiti. He can be reached on badeadebolu@gmail.com
Love makes the world go round, except - it seems  in Japan. Here, finding the one has never been harder.

Love makes the world go round, except - it seems  in Japan. Here, finding the one has never been harder.One third of Japans young people have never been in a relationship, while the number of people getting married and having children is in rapid decline. Now the government is coming to the rescue, pouring millions of dollars into matchmaking events designed to foster love, marriage and eventually babies, a new documentary by Al Jazeeras 101 East has found.In the documentary, Finding Love in Japan, Australian reporter Drew Ambrose travels to Tokyo and rural Japan, discovering a country desperate to boost the number of couples walking down the aisle.600,000 couples tied the knot in Japan last year but the government wants to double that figure by 2020, says Ambrose. To do it, they are spending US$30 million annually on projects that encourage matchmaking and marriage.Many rural towns across Japan are holding speed-dating events, but Ambrose says sometimes only a handful of people show up because many young Japanese are shy about seeking a partner.That hasnt stopped small country towns like Otari from throwing money at the marriage problem in the hope that romance will flourish and give their shrinking populations a much-needed boost.When young people organise matchmaking parties, we give government money to them, says Hisashi Matsumoto, the mayor of Otari. We pay for them to attend matchmaking parties in other cities. If we dont, the population will drop dramatically and the town will die, so thats why I have to do something to keep this community alive.What has officials even more worried is the rise of herbivore men  young men who are shunning marriage and have no interest in forming relationships at all.Herbivore men are blamed for rising rates of singledom in Japan because they live in a state of extended adolescence and avoid responsibilities like marriage, Ambrose says.Despite the authorities best efforts to play Cupid, some Japanese men have given up on finding real love completely. Instead, they buy life-size dolls which they take on outings and consider as real companions. Ambrose meets Hiroyuki Nomura, a man in his 50s, who lives with 17 dolls. The dolls have a healing quality and make me smile when I come home from a busy day for work, says Nomura. Im not interested in looking for a real partner.In this revealing documentary about the state of modern romance, 101 East asks if love can find a way in desperate and dateless Japan?
Ondo State has urged the military to assist in protecting its creeks against incursion by miscreants. Governor Olusegun Mimiko made th...

Ondo State has urged the military to assist in protecting its creeks against incursion by miscreants.Governor Olusegun Mimiko made the appeal yesterday in his office in Akure when the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division, Major General Kasimu Abdulkarim, visited him.He noted that his administration has been enjoying support and cooperation from the military, adding that the cordial relationship between the military and the civil society has been unprecedented.The governor added that the synergy among the different security agencies contributed to the peace and growth in the state, stressing that numerous reputable organisations continued to organise their conferences in Akure, the state capital.Despite the nations security challenges, Mimiko, who hailed the military for its efforts at restoring peace, admonished it to keep going stronger.He promised that his administration would continue to support the military, noting that the government empowered widows of the fallen heroes through micro-credit facilities.Maj.-Gen. Abdulkarim said the visit was part of his familiarisation tour of states under his command.The GOC hailed the governor for his continued support, even as he assured the people of security.
A three-man robbery syndicate was on Wednesday paraded at the Lagos state police command.

A three-man robbery syndicate was on Wednesday paraded at the Lagos state police command.The suspects, including a driver who identified himself as Mayowa Adenuga, allegedly cloned the credit card of his employer, (oga) an unnamed businessman and stole about N2.9 million from his accounts within three days.Adenuga said he had collected his boss Automated Teller Machine, ATM, card while he was washing the vehicle.In his confession before newsmen at the command headquarters in Ikeja, Adenuga said he ran the ATM through a software Credit Card Revealer, CCR.He said he generated a new pin for it before handing it over to his syndicates, Opeyemi Adewale, 18, and Jeremaiah Titoye, 29, to go and shop at Mega Plaza and Shoprite.Adenuga said, Before I started driving my Oga, I used to be a fraudster. I went to a computer institute and so, I developed the device which we used to clone credit cards.Honestly, my boss has been very good to me. Its not up to a year I started working for him but he has always treated me kindly. I know I should have returned the card to him when I saw it but I just wanted to test the software whether it will work. And when I tried it and it worked, I knew that I could not use it myself because of the surveillance cameras at the ATM points.So, I sent them and asked them to withdraw N200, 000 which they did. The following day, I told them to go to Mega Plaza and buy Apple laptop, phones, wristwatches and I also told them to go to Shoprite on Victoria Island and the one at Ikeja for shopping.Everything they bought amounted to N2.7 million. I did not work with any telecommunication company to bar my boss calls and text messages. I blocked his calls and sms on his phone when I had access to it.That way, he was not able to make calls or send sms for about three days until he went to the subscriber to complain.I feel bad and I regret my actions. I am willing to pay back all that I stole from my boss. I am very sorry about my action, Adenuga pleaded.But 18-year-old Adewale said he never knew the ATM card was stolen.He said he thought that the owner was related to Adenuga since they bear the same surname.Adenuga gave me N20, 000, an i-Phone, a BlackBerry Z10 and a designer wristwatch, while Titoye was given N10, 000 an i-Phone and a wristwatch, Adewale confessed.The state Commissioner of Police, CP, Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the suspects said the trio have submitted all the items gotten from the stolen ATM card, adding that they will be made to face the law.
Senator David Umaru representing Niger East Senatorial District and Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights has given me ...

Senator David Umaru representing Niger East Senatorial District and Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights has given me reasons to be suspicious of his nationality. I am also at a loss how he made it into the Senate?These sentiments are not meant to cast aspersions on the person of this Niger politician but to interrogate what was behind his recent past time of sowing discord when the occasion calls for concerted national efforts.Eleven soldiers of the 31 Field Artillery Brigade were killed by persons that the military identified as gunrunners in Kopa, Dagma and Gagaw villages of Bosso Local Government Area, Niger State and the Senators response was the trigger for the confusion I am now in concerning where his loyalty lies both as Senator and as a citizen. The truth be told, some people reported as civilians were killed when the gun runners attacked the military but there was no way of knowing if these were among the gun runners since the criminals were not in uniform.But the senator, possibly in desperation to assume an air of relevance, befuddled the situation when he described the operation as an invasion of a very peaceful community in my constituency, Niger East Senatorial District" without first availing himself the benefit of facts. I would like to ask how come Senator Umarus peaceful community was harboring enough arsenals in private homes to create a mini army for Niger state. Were these weapons, some of which were recovered during the operation, part of the weapons that were used to intimidate his political opponents during the polls?Could Senator Umaru be the one sponsoring the arms manufacturers in his constituency? Is he in support of the criminals who kidnap innocent citizens on daily basis along the Kaduna - Abuja Road? Is he a sadist to see families being deprived of their bread winners from the weapons being locally fabricated in his peaceful constituency? Should his constituency remain peaceful and prosperous at the expense of the other constituencies to which the forearms were being shipped on daily basis?Even if he was pained that the illicit business of his constituents has been busted, Umaru should have as a federal lawmaker maintained decorum by allowing processes that would review what happened. He has however jeopardized all potentials for an unbiased review of the situation. As the Chairman of Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, his committee should have investigated the operation if a motion to that effect sailed through in the Red Chamber. But the lawmaker cannot now be the accuser and prosecutor in his own case since he has shown his hand. His action further forecloses the corresponding committee in the House of Representatives from being able to look into this matter since he would exploit existing relations to influence outcomes.If I were Senator Umaru I would be worried about this faux pas and be ashamed of it at the same time. With our history of fighting terrorism, Umaru forgot that the military just two years ago had to flush out the Nibrassiya Huda Islamic Sect from their camps in a forest in Chechei, Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State. The former governor that state, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu once declared that the bloodthirsty leader of Boko-Haram, Abubakar Shekau and the groups now deceased spokesman Abubakar Kaka, were among the Islamic Fundamentalists dislodged from Dar ul-Islam in Mokwa local council area of the state by security operatives in 2009. Boko Haram also carried out attacks in the same state. I would therefore be worried if the gunrunners of Bosso local government are another terror group building a stockpile weapons to take on the Nigerian state.My contention is that if Senator Umaru is a Nigerian and lives here he would understand that the rest of us are only just emerging from the grip of terrorism while facing other forms of threats have a lot to do with guns and gunrunners. He would have thus expressed concerns that such nefarious activity was going on in his peaceful constituency while taking practical steps in putting an end to their evil. He would have place the security of other Nigerians above his desire to be seen as a champion of his gunrunning constituents, which is all in his bid to take another shot at Niger state governorship seat.If his ambition was what drove him to spew such destructive utterances he can take a leave from his fellow All Progressives Congress (APC) member and the partys candidate in the last governorship election in Bayelsa state, Chief Timipre Sylva, who strongly condemned the killing of three soldiers in Nembe area of the State by suspected militants. The killing in Bayelsa took place some hours after the one in Niger but Sylva proved himself a statement by condemning the attack even when that singular act could hurt his political career.What will not work for Umaru is to think he can barge his way out of this misstep as this would not fly. His options are clear; he should walk back from his baseless accusations, make provisions for constituency intervention to keep his people from fabricating and running weapons, apologise to the military and support future efforts to rid the country of terrorism and gun violence. In case he is not aware, the next elections would be more demanding and security would be a focal point. He should not be surprised if politicians in constituencies where the gunrunners are wreaking havoc with their ware make it a point of duty to make him lose at the polls. If people decide to do that their position would get sympathy  a Nigerian would not oppose an operation aimed at improving security.Kuta, a former staff of the National Assembly sent in this piece from Abuja. Senator David Umaru representing Niger East Senatorial District and Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights has given me reasons to be suspicious of his nationality. I am also at a loss how he made it into the Senate?These sentiments are not meant to cast aspersions on the person of this Niger politician but to interrogate what was behind his recent past time of sowing discord when the occasion calls for concerted national efforts.Eleven soldiers of the 31 Field Artillery Brigade were killed by persons that the military identified as gunrunners in Kopa, Dagma and Gagaw villages of Bosso Local Government Area, Niger State and the Senators response was the trigger for the confusion I am now in concerning where his loyalty lies both as Senator and as a citizen. The truth be told, some people reported as civilians were killed when the gun runners attacked the military but there was no way of knowing if these were among the gun runners since the criminals were not in uniform.But the senator, possibly in desperation to assume an air of relevance, befuddled the situation when he described the operation as an invasion of a very peaceful community in my constituency, Niger East Senatorial District" without first availing himself the benefit of facts. I would like to ask how come Senator Umarus peaceful community was harboring enough arsenals in private homes to create a mini army for Niger state. Were these weapons, some of which were recovered during the operation, part of the weapons that were used to intimidate his political opponents during the polls?Could Senator Umaru be the one sponsoring the arms manufacturers in his constituency? Is he in support of the criminals who kidnap innocent citizens on daily basis along the Kaduna - Abuja Road? Is he a sadist to see families being deprived of their bread winners from the weapons being locally fabricated in his peaceful constituency? Should his constituency remain peaceful and prosperous at the expense of the other constituencies to which the forearms were being shipped on daily basis?Even if he was pained that the illicit business of his constituents has been busted, Umaru should have as a federal lawmaker maintained decorum by allowing processes that would review what happened. He has however jeopardized all potentials for an unbiased review of the situation. As the Chairman of Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, his committee should have investigated the operation if a motion to that effect sailed through in the Red Chamber. But the lawmaker cannot now be the accuser and prosecutor in his own case since he has shown his hand. His action further forecloses the corresponding committee in the House of Representatives from being able to look into this matter since he would exploit existing relations to influence outcomes.If I were Senator Umaru I would be worried about this faux pas and be ashamed of it at the same time. With our history of fighting terrorism, Umaru forgot that the military just two years ago had to flush out the Nibrassiya Huda Islamic Sect from their camps in a forest in Chechei, Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State. The former governor that state, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu once declared that the bloodthirsty leader of Boko-Haram, Abubakar Shekau and the groups now deceased spokesman Abubakar Kaka, were among the Islamic Fundamentalists dislodged from Dar ul-Islam in Mokwa local council area of the state by security operatives in 2009. Boko Haram also carried out attacks in the same state. I would therefore be worried if the gunrunners of Bosso local government are another terror group building a stockpile weapons to take on the Nigerian state.My contention is that if Senator Umaru is a Nigerian and lives here he would understand that the rest of us are only just emerging from the grip of terrorism while facing other forms of threats have a lot to do with guns and gunrunners. He would have thus expressed concerns that such nefarious activity was going on in his peaceful constituency while taking practical steps in putting an end to their evil. He would have place the security of other Nigerians above his desire to be seen as a champion of his gunrunning constituents, which is all in his bid to take another shot at Niger state governorship seat.If his ambition was what drove him to spew such destructive utterances he can take a leave from his fellow All Progressives Congress (APC) member and the partys candidate in the last governorship election in Bayelsa state, Chief Timipre Sylva, who strongly condemned the killing of three soldiers in Nembe area of the State by suspected militants. The killing in Bayelsa took place some hours after the one in Niger but Sylva proved himself a statement by condemning the attack even when that singular act could hurt his political career.What will not work for Umaru is to think he can barge his way out of this misstep as this would not fly. His options are clear; he should walk back from his baseless accusations, make provisions for constituency intervention to keep his people from fabricating and running weapons, apologise to the military and support future efforts to rid the country of terrorism and gun violence. In case he is not aware, the next elections would be more demanding and security would be a focal point. He should not be surprised if politicians in constituencies where the gunrunners are wreaking havoc with their ware make it a point of duty to make him lose at the polls. If people decide to do that their position would get sympathy  a Nigerian would not oppose an operation aimed at improving security.Kuta, a former staff of the National Assembly sent in this piece from Abuja.
North Koreans' daily food ration has dropped well below the global recommended minimum.

Voice of America reported Thursday that the average ration is now 360 g of food per person a day. That is a mere 60 percent of the UN World Food Programme's recommended minimum of 600 g a day.

The figure also fails to meet the regime's target of 573 g. The ration has been shrinking since the second quarter of last year, when North Koreans were provided with 410 g of food a day.

The biggest cause of the food shortage is poor harvests of rice and corn last year due to the ongoing drought.
There was jubilation on Thursday in Onitsha after the federal government of Nigeria, through the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice ...

There was jubilation on Thursday in Onitsha after the federal government of Nigeria, through the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice released all their members who were arrested by various security agencies in Aba, Abia state, during their prayer rally in February, this year and clamped into detention camps and prison custody.Consequently, the release of their members threw the IPOB members into jubilation in various parts of Onitsha, Anambra state, although the jubilation did not take place publicly as they did when a court granted their leader, Nnamdi Kanu bail, sometime last year.In a press statement issued to newsmen Thursday in Onitsha, IPOBs Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful who confirmed that their members have been released, said all IPOB members worldwide under the leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of Radio Biafra were commending the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF and all those who have common sense to understand that all those arrested in Aba must be released.Powerful contended that the release of their members was a good omen since the plight of IPOB is only for the restoration of Biafra and not to take over the rulership of Nigeria from the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari-led Nigerian government officials.
The Lagos Command of the Nigerian Police Force has cleared cancer patient, Ahmed Mayowa and her family of fraud allegations leveled agains...

The Lagos Command of the Nigerian Police Force has cleared cancer patient, Ahmed Mayowa and her family of fraud allegations leveled against them.Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, announced the clearance on Wednesday. He said the command therefore had to remove the embargo placed on the accounts where funds for Mayowa's treatment were deposited.Owoseni said that the controversy was caused by misunderstandings over the modalities for dispensing and controlling the money between the Ahmed family, the Nollywood actress, Toyin Aihmaku and Life Stake Foundation.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the prudence and accountability employed by his administration in managing the Nations affairs a...

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the prudence and accountability employed by his administration in managing the Nations affairs are creating the impression of prosperity whereas reverse was the case.The president stated that Nigeria was a poor nation and was in severe shortage of resources. But he said that the commitment to transparency and accountability were paying off.The President spoke Thursday at State House, Abuja, while receiving the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director and Under Secretary General of the United Nations, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin.It has been a very difficult year for Nigeria. Before we came to office, petroleum sold for about $100 per barrel. Then it crashed to $37, and now oscillates between $40 and $45 per barrel.Suddenly, were a poor country, but commitment to transparency and accountability is not making people know that there is severe shortage,he said. Asking UNFPA to bear with Nigeria in whichever area the country could not live up to its responsibilities for now, President Buhari said exploding population and different cultural practices in the country provide fertile ground for research to organizations like UNFPA.The President however thanked the UN agency for its commitment to saving lives in Nigeria, particularly of women and children. On food security, President Buhari said reports from the North-East of the country were encouraging, as people were returning to their farmlands, with the guarantee of relative security.A statement by his media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina stated that Professor Osotimehin who was also a former Minister of Health in Nigeria, said UNFPA was determined to promote health care facilities across the country, noting that reduction of maternal mortality was doable, if the country paid more attention to access to health facilities, and human resources to run them.He also encouraged Nigeria to commit to providing resources for health care, on a rollover basis, pledging that the UN would work with the country to provide humanitarian assistance not only in the North-East, but even extended to the Lake Chad basin.
Religious leaders in the 19 northern states under the aegis of Northern Inter-Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace on Wednesday b...

Religious leaders in the 19 northern states under the aegis of Northern Inter-Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace on Wednesday besieged the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, to protest against the activities of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria led by Ibrahim El-Zak Zakky.They were received by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Habila Joshak, on behalf of the IGP, who promised to act on their request.The protesters carried various placards with inscriptions such as, Terrorism is not part of our culture, We want the IGP to act now, Religious extremism and intolerance must be discouraged among others, and others.The President of NIFROP, Bishop Musa Fomson, said the Federal Government should put an end to the crises.He expressed worries that the massive protest march of IMN from Zaria to Abuja, demanding the release of the sect leader might be hijacked by hoodlums to cause trouble.Fomson, in the protest letter submitted to the office of the IGP, said the IMN, also known as Shiites, should allow the law to take its course since the Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry had submitted its report.He said, The Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry into this matter has submitted its report, which we think should be bringing sanity closer to the matter. Any further agitation that anyone has should now be addressed by institutions of the state especially in view of the fact that the commission has presented its report to the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.Those that have grievances can therefore approach the court to air them even as we recognise that national interest and security will play crucial roles in what the court and even the military decide.We have, however, seen that the IMN as a sect is bent on fomenting trouble with the controversial trek its members are undertaking from Kaduna to the FCT. The trek was preceded and is being backed with demonstrations in several cities of the northern states. From our point of view, this is a dangerous exercise for a group that has never agreed to sign up to mutually respect the rights of other faiths, sects or denominations.We believe their history with other Nigerians wherever their members gather in large numbers should have dissuaded them from attempting this Abuja stunt. This is why we are today staging this march to draw attention to the provocative activities of IMN, which has been prohibited across the 19 northern states.We are telling Nigerians now that there is imminent security risk in the face of the freedom with which the IMN peddles extremism, terrorism and killings in the north without police intervention.
Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi has agreed personal terms with Arsenal ahead of a move to the Emirates Stadium.Arsene Wenger has been keen to bolster his defensive options after injuries to Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista, while Laurent Koscielny has only just returned to training following his Euro 2016 exploits with France.And Mustafi's agent has now confirmed a deal is getting closer, with Arsenal only needing to agree a fee with Valencia to complete the move."Shkodran and Arsenal have reached an agreement, the clubs now only have to agree on the fee," Ali Bulut told Spox.The Gunners must sign Mustafi by 11:00 BST on Friday for the 24-year-old to be registered in time to face Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool on home soil.Mustafi will become Arsenal's fourth summer signing should he secure a move to north London, following the earlier arrivals of Granit Xhaka, Takuma Asano and Rob Holding.The Germany international started his career at Everton before joining Valencia in 2014 after a short stint with Sampdoria in between.
Citizens of Turkey resident in Nigeria on Thursday protested in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, calling for support for President Tayyip Erdo...

Citizens of Turkey resident in Nigeria on Thursday protested in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, calling for support for President Tayyip Erdogan who survived a coup attempt on July 15.The protest was organised by two groups  Musiyad and Little Turkey Nigeria.The protesters, about a hundred, embarked on a peaceful procession from the popular Abuja parade ground, near the magnificent International Conference Centre to the Turkish embassy located on Diplomatic Drive, near the Nigerias Ministry of Defence.As they marched, the protesters waved Turkish flags and sang songs of solidarity in praise of President Erdogan.As they arrived the embassy building, the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, was already waiting outside to receive them.Mr. Cakil had on July 28 called on the Nigerian Government to close 17 Turkish schools in Nigeria for their alleged links with a movement his government says was involved in the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey.According to the ambassador, investigations by the Turkish government showed that a movement led by US-based Fethullah Gulen was responsible for the failed coup attempt, which claimed over 200 lives. was in support of the Turkish president.President Erdogan tightened his grip on Turkey, ordering the closure of thousands of private schools, charities and other institutions after the failed military coup.Turkish authorities also detained a nephew of Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the attempted coup.
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Coast Guard rescue air crew members return to Atlantic City on Aug. 11, after medevac.

(Photo courtesy of Petty Officer 3rd Class David Micallef)

The U.S. Coast Guard flew two sick fishermen from separate boats to the hospital Thursday, both of whom were nearly 60 miles off the coast of Atlantic City.

The first seasick fisherman was hoisted from the 94-foot fishing boat Vila Nova Do Corvo at 11:30 a.m. by an air crew with the Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, according to a release.

About 45 minutes later, the same crew hauled up another fisherman to the MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, who was suffering from severe sickness on the 74-foot Perola Do Corvo.

"It's not often we perform two medevacs with one helicopter," Petty Officer 3rd Class Josh Register, the rescuer, said in a statement.

The coast guard received calls of the two sick fishermen at 9:55 a.m. They were both treated at the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center for severe seasickness. Both boats port in New Haven, Conn.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
STRATHMERE -- Four boogie boarders swept out to sea at the Jersey Shore Wednesday evening were rescued by Coast Guard helicopter crews.

More than three minutes of the water rescue was caught on camera and released Thursday.

The Coast Guard received a report of the four women off the coast near the Corson Inlet at about 7:30 p.m., and diverted two crews training in MH-65 Dolphin helicopters to the area, according to a release.

Two people in canoes tried to help the four women before the Atlantic City-based Coast Guard crews arrived, but the two capsized and swam to shore wearing life vests.

The four women were eventually airlifted to safety and dropped off at Corson's Inlet State Park near Strathmere, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

"Thanks to some good Samaritans on shore we were able to be notified in a timely manner before dark and effect a rescue," Lt. Alex Webber, one of the pilots, said in a release.

No injuries were reported.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS - Deputy Police Chief Michael McMorrow is resigning from his $212,132-a-year job, citing a hostile work environment and political retaliation.

"Sadly, after a sustained barrage of defamatory statements, political retaliation and personal vindictiveness by some employees in the Englewood Cliffs Police Department, our work environment has become far too hostile to allow me to effectively continue my service to my hometown," McMorrow wrote in a resignation letter dated Wednesday.

The resignation is effective Oct. 1.

McMorrow, who has worked for the department for 42 years, was suspended in 2012 for disobeying an order from Police Chief Michael Cioffi to appear without an attorney at a deposition in a case brought by a former police officer suing the police department.

The chief himself was suspended in April amid complaints from other police officers, an investigation into overtime paid to some officers, a whistleblower report and an investigation into an alleged ticket-fixing scheme.

Cioffi is one of the highest-paid police chiefs in New Jersey, earning $223,616 a year to head the 26-member department.

Earlier this year, McMorrow was accused of using slurs against Lt. James Tracy, an openly gay fellow officer. Tracy filed a notice he intends to sue McMorrow and the borough.

On July 5, McMorrow filed suit against Tracy, claiming the allegations are false and defamatory.

"With respect to Mr. Tracy's outlandish and defamatory lies, please note that we intend to vigorously prosecute our lawsuit against him and will show that Mr. Tracy's allegations are demonstrably false and his claims are a transparent and malicious attempt to ruin Mr. McMorrow's sterling reputation," McMorrow's attorney, Anthony S. Bocchi, stated in an email to NJ Advance Media.

McMorrow is also suing the borough and the police chief, claiming he was subjected to political retaliation.

In his resignation letter, McMorrow called for reforms within the police department.

"I sincerely hope that the systemic abuse of power and crippling partisanship that runs rampant through the halls of the Englewood Cliffs Police Department is properly investigated and rectified," he wrote. "The vast majority of our police ... deserve a workplace environment that rewards them for enforcing the law without prejudice and fear of retaliation from their superiors and co-workers."

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The head of the Scottish government has reached out to Germany, the European Union's most populous member, as she tries to keep Scotland in the bloc -- and is arguing that Scotland should be able to remain part of the EU without leaving the United Kingdom.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told German broadcaster ARD that "because we are in unprecedented circumstances, we should be prepared to think about unprecedented solutions. And that's the spirit that I will have in any discussions.''



The U.K. as a whole -- which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -- voted narrowly to leave the EU in a June 23 referendum, but voters in Scotland voted by a wide margin to remain in the 28-nation bloc.



"I would have thought it was very positive for the wider European Union for a part of the United Kingdom, if not the whole of the United Kingdom, to want to stay and continue to be part of the European family of nations," Sturgeon said on Tuesday.
PLAINSBORO -- The nearly 100-acre corporate campus that houses pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in New Jersey has been sold for $305 million -- the largest single-asset transaction in the state so far this year.

Korean investment firm Hana Asset Management Co. bought the 762,000-square-foot structure at 800 Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro, NJBiz.com reported.

Novo Nordisk, a specialist in diabetes care, began occupying the former Merill Lynch building in 2013. It will continue to lease about 563,000 square feet in the nine interconnected buildings.

The property includes a six-acre lake, large trees and a one-mile walking path on mostly wooded land. It's adjacent to a Crowne Plaza hotel and conference center.

After Merrill Lynch departed, investment company BlackRock moved in before they left in 2010.

Brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield announced the deal Wednesday on behalf of Ivy Equities, LCOR Inc. and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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Photo by Jamie McCarthy

Celebrating Springsteen

Last August, we presented a comprehensive ranking of nearly 300 Bruce Springsteen songs, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of "Born To Run."

A year later, and ahead of three MetLife Stadium mega-concerts (Aug. 23, 25 and 30) we bring a new Springsteen tribute  a breakdown of the best song on each of his 18 studio LPs, in reverse chronological order.

Of course, this means some bonafide Bruce classics were inevitably left out, and the best of Springsteen is always up for discussion  comment below with your favorites from each album.

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"American Skin (41 Shots)"

Album: High Hopes, 2014

Why: With race-driven violence and gun control stamped on the public consciousness over and over in 2016, this sprawling track  complete with piercing, guest-guitar breaks from Tom Morello  has never been more poignant. And a clarification: Despite its timing, "Skin" was inspired not by the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, but by the 1999 controversial killing of Amadou Diallo. The song was written back then, it just never made it onto a studio LP till 2014.

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"Land of Hope and Dreams"

Album: Wrecking Ball, 2012

Why: When Jon Stewart notched his final "The Daily Show" episode last August, he booked his rock hero Bruce to play, and requested "Land of Hope and Dreams." And for good reason  it's a killer track. Written back in the late '90s, the tune's leading melody  tender with Steven Van Zandt on mandolin  is a soaring, tingling power pack. Thankfully, the tune finally made it on an album, as it anchors this eclectic LP.

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"This Life"

Album: Working On A Dream, 2009

Why: A potentially incendiary opinion: "Dream" is indisputably Springsteen's worst album  he's never sounded more tired. How Rolling Stone awarded it a five-star review is a total mystery. But the reflective, celestial tune "This Life," ain't half-bad.

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"Livin' in the Future"

Album: Magic, 2007

Why: Beyond its nearly non-sensical lyrics  avoid the quagmires of time travel, Bruce  "Future" is a great, retro-imbued singalong, maybe a better fit for "The River" decades earlier. And since-fallen E Street members Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici both shine in sax and organ solos.

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"O Mary don't you Weep"

Album: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, 2006

Why: If you have never really sat and listened to Springsteen's arrangements of centuries-old folk numbers, do so soon  the Seeger Sessions are wonderfully rich, and his delivery on this pre-Civil War "slave song" is jangle-bang dynamite.

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"Devils & Dust"

Album: Devils & Dust, 2005

Why: Through the eyes of a soldier overseas, Bruce wonders a great lyric: "What if what you do to survive kills the things you love? Fear's a powerful thing." A reigning harmonica solo  maybe his most dynamic laid on a studio LP  further bolsters this dirge-like gem.

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"My City of Ruins"

Album: The Rising, 2002

Why: Springsteen's thumping E Street Band reunion record is probably his best work since the Reagan administration, and the LP closer "My City of Ruins" is a brilliant shape-shifter, from its original meaning  surrounding the crumble and resurgence of Asbury Park  to its later, post-9/11 connotations. The sanguine refrain "c'mon, rise up" still looms large.

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"The Ghost of Tom Joad"

Album: The Ghost of Tom Joad, 1995

Why: Two reasons: 1. The brooding, trailing interpretation of both Steinbeck's novel and Woody Guthrie's "Ballad Of Tom Joad" is as haunting as Springsteen's ever been and by far the greatest track off this record. 2. The 2014, "High Hopes" version, complete with Rage vet Tom Morello's squealing guitar, is a tremendous revamp  listen here.

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"Better Days"

Album: Lucky Town, 1992

Why: It's a bright opener that mimics the restlessness and optimism of Bruce's "Born To Run" era, and frankly, what remains after "Better Days" on the mail-in LP "Lucky Town" is all downhill from there.

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"I Wish I Were Blind"

Album: Human Touch, 1992

Why: It took everything not to choose the kitschy, tech-hating "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" here, but instead let's stick with the meatier track. The despondent chorus oozes and Righteous Brothers legend Bobby Hatfield rounds off the harmonies  in a wonderfully random cameo  to secure this back-half groove, off a largely forgettable album.

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"Brilliant Disguise"

Album: Tunnel Of Love, 1987

Why: Of all the lovesick tumult on "Tunnel"  then bound to Springsteen's crumbling relationship with first wife Julianne Phillips  "Brilliant Disguise" cuts deepest in its inquiries of trust and love. Bruce was smart to cast the searchlight on himself later in the tune, and admit "I damn sure don't trust myself."

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"Dancing in the Dark"

Album: Born In The U.S.A., 1984

Why: How do you argue against a bulletproof pop song? Any diehard who's too cool for "Dancing in the Dark" takes The Boss a little too seriously. Embrace Springsteen's most commercially successful single, lament the fact that he somehow never scored a No. 1 hit, and sing along!

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"Highway Patrolman"

Album: Nebraska, 1982

Why: With the sparseness of "Nebraska"  and Springsteen on every instrument  his lyrical content is never more vulnerable, and the yarn of a Michigan cop chasing after his delinquent brother is spun with terrific, blue-collar grit. For my money, this is Bruce's greatest folk song to date.

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"The River"

Album: The River, 1980

Why: As I wrote earlier this year, "The River" album strikes harder with folk-friendly narratives than its slew of roadhouse jams. And the double album's title track laid groundwork for Springsteen's further embodiment of toiling characters, on follow-up "Nebraska" and beyond. Bruce's harmonica is chilling between verses, as he details unceremonious thrusts into adulthood and the reprieve of "going down to the river."

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"Racing in the Street"

Album: Darkness On The Edge Of Town, 1978

Why: Is there any Springsteen song that goes down easier than "Racing in the Street"? The ballad's clarity is mesmerizing, from Roy Bittan's trickling piano riff, to Bruce's own, exceedingly smooth vocal delivery through a tale of hotrods and heartache. This is the ultimate late-night, long-drive listen.

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"Jungleland"

Album: Born To Run, 1975

Why: Last year, we named "Jungleland" the greatest Springsteen song ever, and we stick by our guns  the sprawling tale of Magic Rat and the barefoot girl is pure rock enchantment. The band's execution cradles Springsteen's prose, and Clemons' titanic sax solo is perhaps the most arresting instrumental passage in The Boss's extensive catalog.

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"New York City Serenade"

Album: The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle, 1973

Why: Fans will surely make the argument for "Rosalita" here, but sonically, the 10-minute closer "Serenade" is the album's greatest triumph. Early pianist David Sancious penned a marvelous string arrangement to match his own jazzed-up interlude, and after five minutes of Bruce, the bright and soulful call-and-answer between him and the rest of E Street is an energizing punctuation on an underprized LP.

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"Lost in the Flood"

Album: Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., 1973

Why: In a debut that swung hard for validity in the songwriter sphere, the post-Vietnam disillusions and religious defiance driving "Flood" were Bruce's squarest connections with the rocksmith he'd become. Lines like "Nuns run bald through Vatican halls, pregnant, pleadin' immaculate conception," were bold for the then 22-year-old Columbia Records newcomer.

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Photo by Andrew H. Walker

Now it's your turn!

Okay folks, now lets hear from you: which do you think are the best songs off Springsteens classic albums? Is there something you enjoy more on Born To Run or The River? Comment below.
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A Newark man allegedly found with 15,350 bags of heroin following a traffic stop in Pennsylvania has been indicted, federal authorities said.

Manel Smith

A grand jury sitting in Harrisburg, Pa. handed up the indictment Wednesday, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Manel Smith, 39, was clocked going 92 mph in a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu on Interstate 78 west in Bethel Township, authorities said following his June 20 arrest.

A trooper became suspicious because of an "overwhelming odor of air freshener," according to a media report.

Smith faces up to 40 years in federal prison if he is convicted of a single count of possession with intent to distribute heroin.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has reaffirmed its committment to Turkey as a valued member of the 28 nation alliance in attempt to allay Turkey's concerns that it does not have the full support of the West.

"Turkey is a valued ally, making substantial contributions to NATO's joint efforts. Turkey takes full part in the alliance's consensus-based decisions as we confront the biggest security challenges in a generation," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said Wednesday in a statement.

Lungescu issued the statement in response to "speculative press reports" about last month's aborted coup in Turkey and Turkey's NATO membership. "NATO counts on the continued contributions of Turkey and Turkey can count on the solidarity and support of NATO," she said.

NATO released the statement one day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The meeting fueled speculation that Turkey's strong relationship with the West could be weakening.
China has blocked a UN Security Council statement condemning North Korea's latest missile tests, it emerged on Tuesday.

Beijing insisted on linking the issue with the U.S.' planned deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in South Korea.

The UNSC failed to find a form of words acceptable to all permanent members, which it had been seeking since the North launched several mid-range ballistic missiles on Aug. 3, because the other members led by the U.S. rejected China's demand.

China reportedly said the THAAD deployment in South Korea is a security threat on a par with the North's missile launches.

This suggests that the UNSC will find it difficult to maintain sanctions against the North despite continuing provocations.

On Monday, China submitted a revision to the U.S.-drafted statement, which had been passed around to the 15 UNSC members for review, after demanding several extensions of the review deadline.

The revision stated that "related countries" should not carry out any acts that could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula, nor deploy any new missile defense system in Northeast Asia under the pretext of holding North Korea's missiles and nuclear weapons in check, according to diplomatic sources.

The other members demurred.

Russia, which is also nervous about the THAAD deployment, reportedly did not oppose the U.S. draft.

Security Council statements need to be adopted unanimously by the five permanent and 10 temporary member states.


Park Tae-hwan decided to drop out of the men's 1500-m freestyle at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

Park on Wednesday said he will withdraw from the event after he failed to advance to the semifinal in the men's 100-m freestyle preliminary on Tuesday. He finished at a poor 32nd among 59 swimmers at 49.24 seconds. Only the top 16 can compete in the semifinal.

Park, who earlier failed to advance to the finals in the men's 400-m, 200-m and 100-m events, said, "I only focused on 200-m and 400-m races, so I am not prepared for the 1500-m event."

But Park said he hopes to compete in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

"I haven't thought much about it, but four years doesn't feel like a long time," he said. "Tokyo is closer than Rio, so I think I will be able to perform well as I want to have another chance to do better."

He will leave Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all.
The Japanese Defense Ministry wants to buy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery to step up its defense against North Korean missiles, NHK reported on Wednesday.

Until recently, there was speculation in Japan that Tokyo would deploy THAAD batteries only after 2018, when its five-year mid-term defense plan is complete.

But Tokyo decided to speed up efforts to bring in a THAAD battery because of the growing security threat in the wake of North Korea's recent frantic missile launches.

A North Korean Rodong missile fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone 250 km west of the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture on Aug. 3.

The THAAD battery Japan is eyeing is the same interceptor type that Washington will deploy in South Korea.

This battery, which comes in with a radar and a missile launch pad, is aimed at intercepting incoming missiles during the terminal phase of their flight. But the Japanese military wants its own finger on the button rather than that of the U.S. forces as in South Korea.

The deployment could escalate a nascent arms race in East Asia. A diplomatic source said the deployment would deepen the trenches between the U.S., Japan and South Korea on one side and China, Russia and North Korea on the other, "even if the purpose is only defense against North Korean missiles."

Meanwhile, Vice Adm. James Syring, the chief of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, is visiting South Korea on Thursday to discuss the THAAD deployment with the U.S. Forces Korea.
Today

Overcast with showers at times. Low 68F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Tonight

Overcast with showers at times. Low 68F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Tomorrow

Thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High around 75F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall may reach one inch.
Joyce Russell Porter County Reporter Joyce has been a reporter for nearly 40 years, including 23 years with The Times. She's a native of Merrillville, but has lived in Portage for 39 years. She covers municipal and school government in Porter County. Follow Joyce Russell 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

It's that time of year again. Moms are scanning the sales ads for the best back-to-school buys. Kids are lamenting the end of summer.

It's back-to-school time.

Continuing your education isn't just for youngsters. Everyone, either for their professional career or their hobby, can benefit from continuing education.

Genealogists are not the exception.

There is so much to learn in this field. And, what's wonderful, is there so much out there to help us continue learning about tracing our family's history, preserving records, organizing data and telling our story.

But, where do you start if you want to continue your education?

Many of the local libraries, including the Porter County Public Library, Lake County Public Library, Westchester Public Library and Hammond Public Library systems, have courses on genealogy. I took the beginners course through the Porter County Public Library twice and found it very helpful when I was just beginning.

The best bet is to find the various library web sites and look at their calendars for any upcoming events. And, while you're on their web sites, take a gander at their listed genealogy collections. They are great sources for finding local information.

The Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society, nwigs.org, is another place to look. They host monthly meetings, bouncing between Valparaiso and a Lake County site. Each month the group presents a specific topic on genealogy. Their next meeting is on Aug. 20 at 10 a.m. at the central branch of the Lake County Library on U.S. 30 in Merrillville. The topic is "Settling of Indiana."

There are hundreds of genealogy blogs online. Use our old friend Google and you'll find yourself with enough reading material for the year.

Myself, I subscribe to Amy Johnson Crow's blog, which is delivered to my email inbox every week or so.

Family Tree Magazine rates blogs. In 2015, they rated some of the best as Ancestry Insider, Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, GeneaBloggers, Genealogy Gems and Genealogy Guys. I haven't checked them all out as yet, but they are on my never-ending to-do list.

Another resource is YouTube (youtube.com). Pulling up the home page, put genealogy in the search box. More than 160,000 video options popped up. Those options range from full episodes of television programs like Genealogy Roadshow to three- to five-minute lessons. Scrolling down the menu of offerings, you're bound to catch something that will help you in your search.

Finally, many of the paid and even unpaid genealogy web sites like Ancestry, My Heritage and FamilySearch have their own blogs or tutorial videos. You're likely to find a tip on any topic you need to learn a little more about.

Where do you go to learn more about genealogy? Let me know by dropping me a line at joyce.russell@nwi.com
EAST CHICAGO  An East Chicago man was shot and killed late Wednesday in the West Calumet Housing Complex.

Thomas Jackson, 24, of the 5000 block of Alexander Avenue, suffered fatal gun shot wounds at a location in the 4900 block of Gladiola Street, according to the Lake County coroner's office.

East Chicago police were alerted to a shooting by their ShotSpotter technology. Responding officers found Jackson with gunshot wounds to the chest.

Jackson was taken to St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago where he was pronounced dead at 11:22 p.m. Wednesday.

The homicide occurred in a neighborhood already facing adversity. West Calumet Housing Complex was recently been deemed unsafe as a result of lead contamination in its soil, dating from the time two smelter companies operated on the site. The city is working with federal authorities to relocate about 1,000 residents from the complex.
HAMMOND  Police responded to three reports of shots fired Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning.

The first incident occurred Wednesday evening. Police were called at 6:53 p.m. to the 1300 block of Michigan Avenue.

Responding officers located a 21-year-old resident of Chicago who had been struck once in the leg with gunfire, according to Hammond police Lt. Richard Hoyda.

He was transported to a local trauma hospital for treatment where he is in critical condition. A person of interest has been located and is being held on charges of probable cause criminal recklessness.

The suspect is a 21-year-old male resident of East Chicago.

The victim was with family members and was visiting his sister at the time of the incident. Police believe a verbal confrontation had taken place shortly before the shooting.

Anyone with information may contact Detective Lt. Mark Tharp at 852-2988.

Police were alerted to the second incident at 1:41 a.m. Thursday. A residence in the 4200 block of Henry Avenue was hit with gunfire at least three times, and a GMC van parked on the street also was struck. No one was reported injured.

Anyone with information about this incident may contact Detective Sgt. John Suarez at 852-2981.

Police were called at 1:51 a.m. Thursday for shots fired in the 6800 block of Magoun, according to Hoyda. Responding officers confronted two men between two apartment buildings. Both subjects ran and one was apprehended.

That 19-year-old Gary man was arrested for resisting law enforcement and possessing a handgun without permit. No injuries were reported.
PORTAGE  A man was arrested Tuesday night after voices told him to kill his girlfriend, police said.

Travis Henley, 36, of Portage, was charged with felony counts of domestic battery, criminal confinement and battery and misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.

The victim told police that Henley was intoxicated, entered the bedroom and told her they said to kill her before he stabbed her in the arm with a small kitchen knife. The woman, who fled the home with her two children and called police, was not seriously injured and refused medical attention.

Police said Henley denied the incident and was arrested. He was taken to Portage Hospital for medical clearance and transported to Porter County Jail.

During the trip to the jail, Henley managed to get out of his seat belt twice.

Once at the jail, he became combative, at one point causing an officer to fall to the ground, police said. Henley was then restrained.
INDIANAPOLIS  Two of the most powerful men in state government got a literal birds-eye view Wednesday of Indianas investments in Region infrastructure, economic development and flood control projects.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and House budget chief Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, toured Northwest Indiana by NIPSCO helicopter for 45 minutes as Bill Hanna, CEO of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, showed off a decade of accomplishments.

Weve been talking about these things for a lot of years and made a lot of progress, but this was a rare chance to see it altogether at one time, Hanna said.

He said the tour included the current and future route of the South Shore commuter rail line, opportunities for transit-oriented development, lakefront parks in Whiting and Porter County, the expanded runway at the Gary/Chicago International Airport and Little Calumet River levees.

Flying through a brilliant clear blue sky, Hanna said the House leaders could clearly see how close Northwest Indiana is to the nations third-largest economy in Chicago, as well as the potential for the Region and state to benefit from that proximity through new housing and businesses made possible by improved transit connections.

This could be a time for a really positive remake of our cities based on what theyve told us they want to be, Hanna said.

Bosma and Brown stopped in the Region en route to the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Chicago.
INDIANAPOLIS  The formal swearing-in of Indianas newest Supreme Court justice on Thursday had a distinctly Region feel.

In a Statehouse courtroom packed with friends, relatives and colleagues from across Northwest Indiana, Crown Point native Geoffrey Slaughter  a self-described Lake County boy  was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Loretta Rush, who lived in Munster as a child.

Slaughter then put on his black judicial robe with help from his cousin Bill Bailey, of Ogden Dunes, and took his place on the five-member bench following a warm introduction by Justice Robert Rucker, a Gary native.

Indianas 109th justice said his place on the states highest court as successor to longtime Justice Brent Dickson, a Hobart native, only was possible because he was raised in a family and in a community committed to learning and a first-rate public education.

In a 14-minute speech, Slaughter thanked his mother, a saint, his newspaperman father  in some ways ... her polar opposite  and credited his wife, Julie, a distinguished lawyer in her own right, for joining him on both his lifes journey and lifelong support of the Chicago Cubs.

Slaughter also explained how he met his future wife while both worked in the Indiana attorney generals office, including a stretch under former Attorney General Karen Freeman-Wilson, now mayor of Gary.

The Slaughters married in 2001 in the Supreme Court chamber where he now works.

Following the unveiling of his judicial portrait, which hangs in the courtroom alongside images of the 106 other men and two women ever to serve on the Indiana Supreme Court, Rush said she is confident Slaughter will be an excellent colleague due to his passionate, precise understanding of the law and his Olympian ability to ask and answer difficult legal questions.

In fact, Slaughter already has been carrying out the duties of a high court justice since June 13, when he was sworn in privately.

Republican Gov. Mike Pence, who selected Slaughter for the Supreme Court in May, did not attend the investiture ceremony because he was in Wisconsin campaigning to be elected vice president of the United States.
CROWN POINT  During his 14 years as music director and conductor of the Northwest Indiana Symphony, Kirk Muspratt has created programs that make music a part of life for people of all generations and walks of life.

The Rotary Club of Crown Point honored Muspratt for those contributions at its meeting Wednesday at the Youche Country Club with the Paul Harris Fellow award. He was the guest speaker at the clubs meeting.

Kirk, the presentation of Paul Harris Fellow recognition is The Rotary Foundations way of expressing its appreciation for a substantial contribution to its humanitarian and educational programs, said Judy Walker, Rotary District 6540 Foundation chairwoman, during the surprise presentation.

Walker was one of three foundation chairmen to present the certificate, medallion and pin to Muspratt at the end of the meeting.

The Paul Harris Fellow award is named for the Rotary International founder, Paul Harris. A Chicago lawyer, Harris started Rotary International with three business associates in 1905, Walker said.

It is because of gifts like the one made in Kirks honor by our club that The Rotary Foundation is able to carry out an array of programs that achieve beneficial changes in our world, said Faye Sepke, current Rotary Foundation chairwoman for the Crown Point Rotary Club.

Those programs improve living conditions and provide increased food production, better education, wider availability of treatment and rehabilitation for the sick and disabled, Sepke said. She said those programs open new channels for the flow of international understanding and brighter hopes for peace.

In presenting the emblems of a Paul Harris Fellow to Muspratt, Jackie Knight, former foundation chairwoman, said This is an ideal held high by Rotarians the world over, and one that Kirk Muspratt clearly shares through his music and his work with children. Working with such individuals of good will, we believe the ideal will become a reality.

When he was conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Muspratt was a Rotary Club member.

After receiving a standing ovation, Muspratt told the group that he will frame the certificate for display in his office and wear the pin at the Northwest Indiana Symphonys Gala Concert on Sept. 30 at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville. That concert celebrates the symphonys 75th anniversary.
MICHIGAN CITY  Lifesaving throw rings and additional signs warning of the dangers of Lake Michigan are among the first steps sought to decrease the number of drownings and near-drownings near the historic Lighthouse Pier.

The Michigan City Pier Safety Committee was formed shortly after the death of a Napanee man late last summer, who along with five others, were swept off the Lighthouse Pier at Washington Park. Earl Helmuth, 24, his fiancee and two other Amish couples were taking photos at the end of the Lighthouse Pier when a large wave came over the rocks and knocked them all into Lake Michigan.

Five of them were rescued, but Helmuth, who could not swim, drowned. His body was recovered from the lake the next day.

LaPorte County Sheriff John Boyd, who sits on the Michigan City Pier Safety Committee, said the three couples did not recognize the power of the lake.

Lifeguards at Washington Park have had one of their worst seasons for rescues, said Michigan City Parks Department Superintendent Jeremy Kienitz.

Michigan City lifeguards have documented 13 rescues in which victims needed some type of treatment, like CPR, oxygen or transport on backboard to an ambulance, Kienitz said. That doesnt include incidents in which lifeguards helped a struggling swimmer get back to shore.

The drowning this week of a 14-year-old boy near the pier underscores the need to move forward with these projects, Boyd said.

Boyd said the iconic landmark and high waves draw visitors to the lakefront. But the combination can be deadly for people caught off guard.

First steps

Boyd said the committee, made up of EMS, fire, police, DNR, park and other officials, has been looking to other Lake Michigan communities with similar piers 1 like Grand Haven, South Haven and St. Joseph, Michigan  to determine what has worked well in those communities.

Among the initial efforts of the committee will be to install a series of life rings along the pier that could be thrown to visitors who fall or are swept off the pier.

He said ideally, the rings would be housed in a container that would alert emergency workers when opened.

Michigan City Fire Chief Randy Novak said additional signage in the area is also being considered.

Moving forward with the plan, however, means working with several government entities.

Novak said the historic lighthouse and catwalk are owned by Michigan City, but the concrete pier is owned and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Novak said officials from the Army Corps have indicated they would likely approve of the committees plans, but the committee must submit plans in writing.

That process is in the works, Kienitz said.

Funding is also an issue.

Boyd said the committee is looking for corporate sponsors to help foot the bill and ArcelorMittal has already made a generous pledge to the group.

Keeping rescuers safe

Kienitz said the designated swimming area at Washington Park remains a safe place to enjoy the lake. None of the 13 rescues or drownings have occurred in the designated swimming area. But Washington Park stretches 1.9 miles along Lake Michigan and park department lifeguards will respond to anyone in distress along the lake.

Novak said safety for emergency workers is also a concern because people often get into trouble on the lake when waves are at their worst.

We have a major concern with our guys going in (to) attempt to rescue. We try to tether them for their safety, Novak said. But its a major factor, sometimes its so bad you cant send guys in.

Boyd said he must look out for the safety of rescue workers as well when conditions are dangerous.

Its treacherous and sometimes its too bad even for experienced divers, Boyd said.

And its hard when there are families of a drowning victim standing on the beach with you, he said. Its tough to tell the family that we cant send anyone in the lake.

Good Samaritans can also be at risk if they see someone in trouble in the lake, Boyd said. The life rings would allow bystanders to toss a ring to a person in the lake without having to go in themselves.

We want to save lives and prevent tragedies from happening, he said. People need to heed warnings, and there need to be better warnings. ... And we dont want to see someone who is well-intended to become a statistic as well.
CROWN POINT  After a nationwide search, a new executive director is taking the helm of Lake County E-911.

Mark Swiderski Jr.  a Crown Point resident who spent five years as deputy director at the E-Com Dispatch Center in the southeast suburbs  will oversee the states second-largest consolidated dispatch center, according to a news release from the Lake County Public Safety Communications Commission.

Hes replacing Brian Hitchcock, who left July 29 after leading Lake County E-911 under a three-year contract and overseeing the consolidation of several call centers.

Swiderski previously served as a supervisor at E-COM, and began his career as a dispatcher with the Hazel Crest Police Department in 2004, according to the news release.

Swiderski is a member of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the National Emergency Number Association. He also serves on the Illinois Tactical Emergency Team, and as team leader of the South Suburban Emergency Response Team.

Hitchcock is moving to Clarksville, Tennessee, where he will take over consolidation of that city and countys public safety communications.
The New York City Police Department on Thursday rescued nearly two dozen dogs living inside a hot parked vehicle in the Bronx.

22 dogs saved from vehicle! Great work..psa 8. #45pct lots of  for Regina from https://t.co/jYHO0bOHZ0. So happy!! pic.twitter.com/gfkAmjOate  NYPD 45th Precinct (@NYPD45Pct) August 11, 2016

Police say they received tips about a woman in the Pelham Bay area living out of her SUV that was packed with dogs.

They say they caught up with the 40-year old woman on Edison Avenue and Middletown Road on Thursday.

Officers say they found 22 dogs inside her car, which they say was riddled with feces and urine.



They say one dog had its intestines hanging out, and a large German Sheperd was being held in a crate.

"The remainder of the dogs were in the backseat on top of a cardboard. Some were on the dashboard, the floor, the seats. There were cars (sic) everywhere, dogs everywhere," said Lieutenant Melissa Clark of the NYPD. "To find so many dogs at one time that weren't part of a fighting ring or something more criminal, just a person living in the car with their dogs, it's not something that we come upon everyday."

Police say the woman told animal rescuers she was a veteran who suffers from PTSD. She was taken to the hospital for evaluation.



All of the animals will receive medical treatment and eventually be put up for adoption.

The dogs were taken in by a rescue group called Adore-a-Bullie.

The precinct says officers from Police Service Area 8 at the Throggs Neck Houses helped with the rescue.



If you're interested in adopting one of the dogs, check out www.adore-a-bullie.org.
A sales job for Abbott in India may be a prized position, but the country is also a valuable market for the pharmaceutical company. And some employees have had to pay for the lengths that managers are willing to go to to win customers in India, where the industry is still fast-growing and highly competitive. It cost one employee his life  Ashish Awasthi jumped in front of a train, leaving a note saying that he committed suicide because he could not meet sales targets.

Employees told The New York Times that they were pressured into skirting laws and medical standards as managers tried to drum up business. One common practice was to hold health camps in which representatives would test patients for various ailments in an effort to raise business for doctors, who would then prescribe Abbott drugs. One sales employee said he was pushed to conduct business in unethical ways. Another said he was fired for complaining that his team was submitting fake invoices to increase sales. Abbott declined to comment on individual employees, but Anand Kadkol, the public affairs director for India, said that the company was aware of a number of the allegations raised and had addressed them.

Australia Blocks Foreign Bids for Electricity Supplier Protectionism is on the rise in Australia, where politicians have been using economic nationalism to win over the electorate. The latest example is a decision by the treasurer, Scott Morrison, to reject competing bids from Hong Kong and China for the Ausgrid electrocity network. Mr. Morrison said the proposals were contrary to the national interest.
In May last year, James K. Galbraith, a left-leaning American economist, sent an email to Greeces finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, in which he argued that an exit from the eurozone would benefit Greece.

Mr. Galbraith, who was advising Mr. Varoufakis at the time, made the case that a new currency would wash away the countrys debts, solve Greeces competitiveness problem and ultimately create what he called a good society. Though the step was opposed by most Greeks, he had drawn up a contingency plan for Greece under Mr. Varoufakiss direction, in the event the country was forced to leave the currency zone by its creditors.

In the end, there was not a so-called Grexit. One year ago this month, after the polarizing finance minister left his post, Greece agreed to its third bailout with Europe, accepting yet another round of brutal austerity measures as the price for a new round of loans.

Mr. Galbraiths vision of a sun-kissed utopia of powerful unions, small businesses and cultural exchanges was published in June in his book of essays, speeches and assorted memorandums (Welcome to the Poisoned Chalice; Yale University Press) describing the five months he spent as an unofficial member of Mr. Varoufakiss inner policy circle.
On July 25, 2014, he says Abbott asked him to resign and accused him of a conflict of interest involving his wife. She had obtained a license the previous year to operate a wholesale drug business in case he left Abbott, where he felt increasingly insecure. Mr. Khanna said that opening a drug company would have violated Abbotts rules but that his wife had not started a company.

He says he refused to resign. Abbott fired him.

Asked about Mr. Khannas allegations, Mr. Kadkol cited the companys policy of not discussing individual cases or investigations into internal complaints.

Mr. Awasthis Final Days

Sitting on the floor of her tiny living room just days after her husbands suicide, Ms. Awasthi recounted the final few weeks of her husbands life.

He told me, The company is pressuring me, she said, wearing a pink sari, her two young children playing among the mourners. I said, Change jobs. He said, How will I get another job?

Work pressure built quickly in June after the new boss, Inder Kumar, took over managing Mr. Awasthis sales team. His previous manager, Mr. Tiwari, had been asked to transfer to a city in southern India, more than 1,000 miles away from Indore. He declined the transfer and lost his job.

According to two former employees of the new manager, he could be a tough boss. One of them, Mayank Pandey, said he felt so desperate to meet sales targets that he bribed doctors with his own cash to get them to prescribe Abbott drugs. Mr. Pandey quit Abbott this year, describing himself as mentally broken.
The eight medical schools in New York City will no longer accept the citys unclaimed bodies as cadavers, forswearing a practice that dates back to the 19th century, the schools announced on Wednesday. And a group representing the 16 medical schools in the state is withdrawing its opposition to a recently passed bill that would end the educational use of bodies with no known survivors.

The announcements, made in a statement by the Associated Medical Schools of New York, reflect the changing politics and practicalities of acquiring bodies for dissection in a time of public sensitivity to inequality and informed consent.

New York-based medical schools, which train more students than those in any other state, have had a dwindling need for unclaimed bodies in recent years as their body donation programs grew. Still, the association strongly opposed a bill this year that would require written consent from a spouse or next of kin before city officials could release an unclaimed body to a school, unless the deceased had already registered as a body donor. It cited a current shortfall of 38 cadavers out of about 800 typically used to teach future doctors each year.

But the bill passed both houses overwhelmingly in June, a month after a New York Times investigation highlighted provisions in the current law that give families as little as 48 hours to claim a relatives body before the city must make it available for dissection or embalming practice.
Midtown TDR Ventures, which was originally led by Andrew S. Penson, purchased Grand Central in 2006 for roughly $80 million. The terminal itself was of little value, since it is under a long-term lease to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at a relatively modest rent that decreases over time.

The investors were hoping to reap a fortune from the 1.2 million square feet of unused development rights, or air rights, above the terminal.

Several years ago, as the city sought to change the zoning around Grand Central to allow for much taller towers, Mr. Penson negotiated to sell a large block of those rights to SL Green. But the talks foundered, with each side describing the other in derogatory terms.

The de Blasio administration ultimately rezoned a strip of Vanderbilt Avenue, allowing SL Green to build a 65-story office tower in exchange for $220 million in transportation improvements. Mr. Penson and his group sued, claiming that the citys action, which gave SL Green the air rights it needed to build, deprived his group of its property rights. Those rights, which it had purchased for $60 a square foot, were now worth $880 a square foot, Midtown TDR Ventures said.

Aside from damages, the suit sought to stop the project and the transit improvements.

Despite the legal challenge, SL Green had nearly completed demolition of four buildings on the block where 1 Vanderbilt is planned. But the suit, which could have made it difficult to pay for construction of the tower and could have scared off potential tenants, had cast a shadow over the project.
Bradley Tusk, a onetime political operative for Mr. Bloomberg, has embarked on a push to defeat Mr. de Blasio next year. He hopes to recruit a viable candidate, whom he would support with a barrage of positive ads as well as negative ads aimed at the mayor.

The search for that mythical person continues, Mr. Tusk said. I dont know if well find that person or not.

Mr. Tusk said he thought the ideal person to fill the role would be a Democrat able to take votes from Mr. de Blasios base while also appealing to more conservative New Yorkers, including independents and Republicans. That, he said, could be a Democratic politician or a wealthy businessman in the mold of Mr. Bloomberg.

The most likely course, Mr. Tusk said, would be for such a candidate to challenge the mayor in a primary. A strong but unsuccessful showing there, he said, could set up a third-party run in the November election.

Such a campaign could be made with an existing party, like the Womens Equality Party or the Independence Party. Or a candidate could create a new party and secure a place on the ballot through a petition drive  a step that would need to be taken before the primary to have the ballot line in place as a fallback.

The other route is skip the Democratic primary and just run in the general and you try to make that the Democratic primary, effectively, with a bigger electorate, Mr. Tusk said, adding that he thought that route was unlikely.

He acknowledged that there were numerous obstacles to his plan, including the reluctance of many Democrats to vote outside their party, even for a candidate with strong Democratic credentials who had chosen to run on a third-party line.
Instead of serving as the political arm of working and middle class voters seeking to move up the ladder, the Democratic Party faces the prospect of becoming the party of the winners, in collaboration with many of those in the top 20 percent who are determined to protect and secure their economic and social status.

In an interview published by Vox.com on Aug. 8, Robert Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard, described the consequences of the emergence of liberal cosmopolitans, really the upper and middle class of America, who are

increasingly disconnected from working-class America. I mean that in a very specific sense. Our residences are increasingly segregated by class. Our schools are increasingly segregated by class. Our extended families are increasingly separated by class.

Writing in Politico magazine in May, Michael Lind, also a fellow at New America, argues that this cultural conflict created the political environment that made the Trump phenomenon possible in the first place:

Most culture-war conflicts involve sexuality, gender, or reproduction. Social issues spurred a partisan realignment by changing who considered themselves Democrats and Republicans. Over decades, socially conservative working-class whites migrated from the Democratic Party to join the Republican Party, especially in the South. Socially moderate Republicans, especially on the East Coast, shifted to the Democratic coalition.

The result, in Linds view, is an emerging Republican Party dominated by

working-class whites, based in the South and West and suburbs and exurbs everywhere. They will favor universal, contributory social insurance systems that benefit them and their families and reward work effort  programs like Social Security and Medicare. But they will tend to oppose means-tested programs for the poor whose benefits they and their families cannot enjoy.

This shift, Lind points out, will powerfully alter the Democratic coalition, too. The Democrats will become

even more of an alliance of upscale, progressive whites with blacks and Latinos, based in large and diverse cities. They will think of the U.S. as a version of their multicultural coalition of distinct racial and ethnic identity groups writ large. Many younger progressives will take it for granted that moral people are citizens of the world, equating nationalism and patriotism with racism and fascism.

From this vantage point, Trump and the pro-social insurance populist right that has emerged in much of Europe are as much the result of the vacuum created by traditional liberal political parties as they are a function of the neglect of working class interests by conservatives.

You can look at the populist insurgency spearheaded by Donald Trump as either a corrective or a threat to mainstream Republican orthodoxy.

On the threat side, Trump has exploited a racist and authoritarian vein in American politics.

On the corrective side, Trump has tapped into and exploited the inadequacy of the responses coming from both major parties to voters who feel that they are strangers in their own country.

There are, however, major hurdles for anyone determined to capitalize on the Trump campaign in order to force an internal realignment of the Republican Party.

Trump has already demonstrated the ability to leap over one of those hurdles: the social conservatism of the Christian Right.

The thrice-married candidate  who over the course of more than 20 years and roughly two dozen appearances broadcast his sex life in interviews with the radio shock jock Howard Stern  retains overwhelming support from evangelical voters. A Pew survey a month ago found that 78 percent of white evangelicals said they would vote for Trump.
This critique is bipartisan. Kori Schake, director of defense strategy in the George W. Bush White House, says, Yes, there is something that we can do. Her recommendation is for safe zones modeled on Operation Provide Comfort, which established the highly successful no-fly-zone in northern Iraq in 1991 after the first Gulf war.

Many experts recommend trying to ground Syrias Air Force so it can no longer drop barrel bombs on hospitals and civilians. One oft-heard idea is to fire missiles from outside Syria to crater military runways to make them unusable.

One aim of such strategies is to increase the odds of a negotiated end to the war. Obamas reticence has robbed Secretary of State John Kerry, who is valiantly trying to negotiate a lasting Syrian cease-fire, of leverage. The U.S. was able to get an Iran deal because it held bargaining chips, while in Syria we have relinquished all clout. And Obamas dithering has had a real cost, for any steps in Syria are far more complex now that Russia is in the war.

Two years ago, Obama faced another daunting challenge: an impending genocide of Yazidi on Mount Sinjar near the Iraq-Syria border. He intervened with airstrikes and may have saved tens of thousands of lives. It was a flash of greatness for which he did not get enough credit  and which he has not repeated.

While caution within Syria is understandable, Obamas lack of public global leadership in pushing to help its refugees who are swamping Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey is harder to explain. The international appeal for Syrians this year is only 41 percent funded.

If you care about extremism, youve got 200,000 Syrian kids growing up in Lebanon with no education, notes David Miliband, the former British foreign secretary, now head of the International Rescue Committee.
Under California law, most instances of rape are punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of three to eight years. However, for certain kinds of sexual assault, judges can opt out of the mandatory punishment. If a defendant did not use physical force, a judge may have him serve some of that time as probation.

Of course, Mr. Turner had no need to use such force. The victim was blacked out, unable to resist. California legislators are correct to recognize an injustice here: Why does it matter if a rapist uses a gun or alcohol to facilitate an assault? Either way, the victim was denied autonomy. The proposed bill seeks to close what these legislators see as a loophole.

But inflexible mandatory minimum sentences, like the kind the California legislators want, are not the answer to our anger. During the second half of the 20th century, federal and state governments established mandatory minimum sentences, with a special focus on drug offenses. Many supporters saw minimums as a way to be tough on crime, but some also saw an opportunity to reduce disparities in sentences. Reformers worried that people like Brock Turner, white men with access to expensive lawyers, received more lenient sentences than minorities and poor people charged with the same crimes. These advocates hoped that minimums might make sentences fairer.

Unfortunately, mandatory minimums have proved a failed experiment, contributing to prison overcrowding, racial imbalances and overly punitive sentences  all without, studies show, reducing crime.

Because criminal laws are written expansively, mandatory minimums shift sentencing power from judges to prosecutors, who can effectively choose the sentence when they decide which of a range of eligible charges to bring against a defendant. And while defendants can appeal judges opinions, decisions made by prosecutors are nearly impossible to challenge.
One morning in the late 1930s, the biologist Adolph Murie stood near a game trail in Yellowstone National Park and watched a passing coyote joyously toss a sprig of sagebrush in the air with its mouth, adroitly catch it, and repeat the act every few yards. At the time, Mr. Murie was conducting a federal study intended to prove, definitively, that the coyote was the archpredator of our time. But Mr. Murie, whose work ultimately exonerated the animals, was more impressed by that sprig-tossing  proof, he believed, of the joy a wild coyote took in being alive in the world.

Today, more than 80 years later, coyotes are the most common large predators in America, and an increasingly common sight in our cities and suburbs. If we paid attention, we might share Mr. Muries fascination with an intelligent, playful creature. Instead, according to Project Coyote, an animal-welfare organization, we kill roughly half a million of them a year.

No other wild animal in American history has suffered the kind of deliberate, and casual, persecution we have rained down on coyotes. For a long stretch of the 20th century, coyotes were, along with gray and red wolves, the rare native American species designated by the federal government for eradication.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey are major players on opposite sides of the Syrian civil war. Mr. Putin has provided the crucial military support that is keeping Syrias president, Bashar al-Assad, in power; Mr. Erdogan has helped arm opposition groups seeking Mr. Assads overthrow.

So when the two men met in St. Petersburg on Tuesday to patch up their nine-month-long feud over a variety of issues, one question was whether they could make any progress toward ending a conflict that has reportedly killed more than 470,000 Syrians and displaced millions more. Tragically for Syria, the answer was no.

After the meeting, the Turkish foreign minister told the state-run news agency the two sides had common views on the need for a cease-fire in Syria, deliveries of humanitarian aid and a political solution to end the crisis. But there was no suggestion they had narrowed their fundamental differences  which include Russias bombing of Turkeys rebel allies as well as Mr. Assads fate  even as the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate.

For now, the focus is on Aleppo, which was Syrias largest city until the civil war erupted five years ago and is now split between rebel- and government-held sectors. Mr. Assads army and its Russian allies closed the last access roads to the rebel-held eastern sector of Aleppo in July. Then over the weekend, fighting escalated when rebel forces and their jihadist allies  notably the Nusra Front, an affiliate of Al Qaeda  broke the monthlong siege. Their success emboldened the Assad forces to intensify airstrikes on rebel targets. United Nations officials say that two million people have been put at risk and in desperate need of water, food and medicine. Whether the rebels can continue to hold their part of the city is unclear.
If youre a Republican politician, announcing youre not going to vote for Donald Trump is a little like declaring that youre not going to rob a bank to finance your next campaign. Really, you dont get any credit unless you say what youre going to do instead.

I truly dont know, said Senator Susan Collins unhelpfully.

Collins made news this week when she penned an op-ed for The Washington Post, announcing that she couldnt support her partys nominee because Mr. Trumps lack of self-restraint and his barrage of ill-informed comments would make an already perilous world even more so.

Its tough being a high-profile Republican these days. People are always demanding to know what you think about your candidates latest horrific remark. But unless you come up with an alternative, disavowing a candidate is more like a sulk than a solution.

Theres been a lot of this going around. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, an early evacuee from the Trump train, said he was going to wait until October to deal with the problem. Senator Lindsey Graham said he might just pass  I may write somebody in. Mark Kirk, whos generally regarded as the Senator Most Likely to Be Defeated in November, gave Illinois voters an excellent example of his leadership capacity when he announced that he was going to write in David Petraeus or maybe Colin Powell.
WASHINGTON  Douglas J. Band, a longtime aide to Bill Clinton after he left the White House, sent an email to two of Secretary of State Hillary Clintons top aides with a Very imp message: The State Department needed to make one of its senior officials available for a conversation with a billionaire businessman  who also was a major donor to the Clinton Foundation.

The billionaire and donor, Gilbert Chagoury, wanted to speak to the State Departments top official on Lebanon, Mr. Band wrote in the April 2009 email to the two aides, Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills. Mr. Chagoury is a Nigerian-based hotel and real estate developer whose family is from Lebanon.

As you know, hes key guy there and to us and is loved in Lebanon, Mr. Band wrote.

Ms. Abedin emailed back that the person Mr. Chagoury should speak with was Jeffrey Feltman, who had recently left his post as the United States ambassador to Lebanon. Im sure he knows him, Ms. Abedin said in her email to Mr. Band. Ill talk to Jeff.

The exchange of emails emerged this week as a result of a lawsuit over emails sent on the Clinton familys private server. They were immediately cited by conservative activists as more proof that Mrs. Clinton, while secretary of state, ignored an agreement to keep Clinton Foundation matters separate from her State Department duties.
BECKET, Mass.  The history of dance is best experienced in live performance, yet theres awfully little of it for audiences to see. Modern dance became a nationwide phenomenon in America between 1915 and 1940, entering the education system, producing dances that inspired many. Most present-day American dancegoers, however, have never seen any of it.

Adam H. Weinert is a rare specimen: a young man whos already spent years devoting himself to reconstructing the dances of three generations of past modern-dance masters while also choreographing new works of his own. His current program, Monument, performed here this week at the Doris Duke Theater at Jacobs Pillow Dance, begins with solos by Ted Shawn, the father figure of American modern dance; Doris Humphrey, who danced for Shawn but then broke away to forge a more architectural and modernist style; and Jose Limon, who danced for Humphrey and carried on her flame after her death while developing different idioms of his own. Then theres the programs title work, Monument (2015), a group piece by Mr. Weinert.

An earlier version of this program was performed at the 92nd Street Y in New York in April 2015. Now, Mr. Weinert has added a quartet of Shawn solos from 1930, Four Dances Based on American Folk Music; and hes expanded his own Monument, which now uses seven dancers and three tall, broad movable white walls. He dances in Shawns Pierrot in the Dead City (1935) and in his own work; but whereas it was said of Shawn that he trained his male dancers in his own mold, Mr. Weinerts dancers are dissimilar individuals, and one of them is a woman.

Early American modern dance was a story of pioneers and rebels. In the 1920s, when Humphrey broke away from Ruth St. Denis and Shawn (who for some years were married and spread their work with Denishawn  a company, a school and a style), she complained of their darling little dances and longed for a chunky beefsteak of a dance to get her teeth into. Mr. Weinerts program, by contrast, is not about dissent; instead its a loop of dance history.
But the context within which he emerged has dictated his categorization. Through his relationship to Mr. Dial, Mr. Lockett came to the attention of William Arnett, an art historian and collector who began discovering and acquiring works by self-taught African-American artists throughout the South in the 1970s. Souls Grown Deep Foundation, an organization created by Mr. Arnett and based in Atlanta, now owns works by more than 150 artists, including 28 works by Mr. Lockett. In 2014, Souls Grown Deep gave 57 works from its collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including The Enemy Amongst Us (1995), from Mr. Locketts Oklahoma bombing series.

Another context for Mr. Locketts career is proffered in a catalog essay by Sharon Patricia Holland, who views Mr. Locketts life and work from the perspective of her own scholarship on issues of race and gender and the history of the H.I.V./AIDS pandemic. He said that he contracted H.I.V. from a girlfriend, who claimed in turn that she got it from him. Ms. Holland quotes Barbara Archer, a gallerist who knew Mr. Lockett: I often wondered if he was heterosexual, or homosexual, not that it matters except to wonder more about what he was thinking, what was going on in his head.

A companion exhibition at the museum, Once Something Has Lived It Can Never Really Die, associates Mr. Locketts works with tribal, folk and outsider art. Organized by Valerie Rousseau, the museums curator of self-taught art and Art Brut, it presents 11 pieces by Mr. Lockett along with small Eskimo effigies carved from bone, whale and walrus ivory; Brazilian devotional objects; tiny, diagrammatic drawings resembling mathematical and chemical diagrams by the outsider artist Melvin Way; and small, cocoonlike sculptures of objects made of thread, beads and sequins by the British artist Sandra Sheehy.

Ms. Rousseaus show is fascinating but confusingly disparate and misleadingly ahistorical. Mr. Locketts metaphors may have been universal, but they grew out of a historically specific framework. He was an estimable American artist of the late 20th century. Had he lived and continued to grow, he might well have become a great one.
Giving New Life To a Laboratory For Abstract Art

CENTERPORT, N.Y.  Nestled among parking lots, a pond, a brick hotel and a divorce lawyers office, a clapboarded one-room cottage in this Long Island hamlet on the North Shore played a role in American art history. The artist couple Arthur Dove and Helen Torr, who were among the earliest American experimenters with abstraction, lived there in the 1930s and 40s, and based their abstract and semiabstract canvases on nearby harbors, lighthouses and foghorns.

After Mr. Doves death in 1946, Ms. Torr remained in the house for two more decades, in poor health and surrounded by unsold artworks. Its all too late, she would tell her sister, Mary Torr Rehm.

The cottage is now being restored by the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, N.Y., which acquired the building in 1998. Current museum displays there and elsewhere, as well as new and forthcoming books, explore the couples careers, homes, obsession with weather, and previous spouses.

During a recent tour of the cottage, Michael W. Schantz, executive director of the Heckscher Museum, pointed out shadowy rectangles on the sepia and sea-green painted wood walls that showed where art had been hung. Hardly any furniture, except a rustic wood easel and a potbellied cast-iron stove, has been installed to give a sense of their austere decor.
Spain in the 16th and early 17th centuries ruled over Flanders and large parts of present-day Italy, and both kings called on foreign painters to decorate the palaces of Madrid and El Escorial. Philip IV commissioned dozens of mythological paintings from Rubens, including The Rape of Hippodamia (1636-37), a choreographed, even acrobatic rendering of a centaur carrying off a tumbling, bare-breasted horsewoman.

The sexiest pictures, however, were reserved for the kings private chambers. That was the case for this shows money loan: Titians dumbfounding Venus With an Organist and Cupid, dating to 1550-55. Venus lounges on a red velvet blanket, which Titian renders with stunningly free brushwork; gashes of purple and mauve run through the velour. Her son whispers in her ear, making her turn away from the musician in her bedchamber  who indiscreetly gazes at her uncovered genitals. The goddess of love has an untroubled face and a slight paunch in her belly. They make her seem more mortal, and make the painting even lewder.
PROVINCETOWN, Mass.  Squint and it could still be 1916. On a walk through Provincetowns East End one recent Friday evening, the brick sidewalks, unruly rosebushes, gray shingle-lined cottages, and streets barely big enough for a horse-driven carriage recalled an earlier era. Even more pleasantly jarring were the throngs of artgoers flowing in and out of dozens of galleries nestled along the waters edge here at the tip of Cape Cod. The mood still evokes the setting of 100 years ago, when Provincetown established its reputation as the nations largest art colony.

The centennial is cause for celebration and Provincetown has been filled with commemorative exhibitions. Some focus on the transformative summer of 1916, when Europe was engulfed in World War I and New Yorkers who might have otherwise decamped to the Left Bank of Paris instead headed here, drawn by the legendarily brilliant light and the spectacular dunes, as well as the heady cultural mix. The playwright Eugene ONeill, the writers Jack Reed and Louise Bryant and the painter Marsden Hartley were among the new arrivals, adding to a milieu already filled with hundreds of artists studying with the portraitist Charles Hawthorne or at four other competing art schools.

This migration pattern endures. Provincetowns galleries are packed during July and August, when the towns population swells to more than 60,000, from about 3,000. New York artists of all stripes remain thick on the ground alongside the local talent, from the filmmaker John Waters, who curated his favorites in a gleefully tasteless group show at the Albert Merola Gallery, to the poet Eileen Myles, who departs from her traditional prose with a playful installation of her personal memos at the AMP gallery and her photography at the Schoolhouse Gallery.
Four white busts rest on pedestals with plaques that say, When I was young I wanted to be a policeman. They look as though they are wearing black masks; up close, its clear that the masks are really photographs of police brutality applied to the faces. A fifth bust, in the center, spins. A small image of Rodney King appears on its brow, like a target. This plaque is different: A loss of faith brings vertigo.

The sculpture, also called A Loss of Faith Brings Vertigo, feels timely enough to be art in the age of Black Lives Matter. But it was made in 1994 by Michael Richards, the subject of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Councils exhibition Michael Richards: Winged, at the Arts Center at Governors Island through Sept. 25.
In the 90-minute premiere episode, which Mr. Luhrmann directed (and, with Seth Zvi Rosenfeld and the playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, wrote), the result is relatively painless, even entertaining. The colors are bright and glossy, the camerawork fluid, the editing smooth, the cast endearing. The soundtrack is propulsive but unsurprising, familiar hits by the Spinners; Donna Summer; Earth, Wind & Fire; and the Trammps.

Archival film is seamlessly layered in to help establish the milieu  Son of Sam, Ford to City, empty blocks in the Bronx, graffiti-slicked subway cars. But despite this, and the presence in the credits of producer-consultants like Grandmaster Flash (who is also a character in the story, played by Mamoudou Athie) and Kurtis Blow, the episode never feels like anything but retrograde fantasy. Smothered in the cliches of young romance and starving-artist rebellion that Mr. Luhrmann already ran through in Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge, its his own special brand of candy.

For The Get Down, he tones down his bombastic urges  hints of sweetness and humor come through that arent present in his films. And its an advantage that hes not working from a source like Shakespeare or Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby), so that were not left to wince at the vulgarity of his adaptation. Though if you take the real history of New York as his text, you might still be bothered by his superficial use of something like the blackout of 77, which serves as little more than a convenient way to wrap up several dull plot strands. (You might also marvel that a low-rent recording studio happens to have on hand candles of every shape and size, as if it had ordered the whole Anthropologie catalog in anticipation of the blackout.)
HONG KONG  Citing national security concerns, the Australian government on Thursday rejected competing bids from Hong Kong and mainland Chinese groups for control of a company that supplies electricity to Sydney and neighboring areas.

Key sectors of Australias economy, like mining and agriculture, rely heavily on Chinese demand. But local wariness toward Chinas growing economic influence has risen in recent years amid a wave of Chinese takeovers of Australian businesses.

At the same time, an influx of wealthy buyers from China has helped push up real estate prices in urban centers like Sydney and Melbourne, pricing local residents out of the market.

In response, the Australian government, in accordance with its foreign investment review legislation, has been carefully vetting the sale of key assets to Chinese interests and has blocked several high-profile transactions. Officials have also ordered Chinese buyers to sell homes acquired in violation of Australias restrictions on foreign investment in real estate.
Russian antitrust officials fined Google $6.8 million on Thursday, a relatively small penalty that nevertheless represents the latest in a growing list of global regulatory problems for the American search giant.

Russian authorities ruled last year that Google had abused its market position with Android, its mobile operating system, by favoring some of its digital services over those of rivals, including the Russian company Yandex.

As part of its ruling, the Federation Antimonopoly Service said that Googles rivals had not been able to include their own offerings, like digital maps or search, in the Android operating system that powers a majority of smartphones and other mobile devices in Russia.

In a statement on Thursday, the agency said that Russias competition rules applied to all companies operating in the country, including foreign ones.
With its lens tool, Snapchat allows some 150 million daily users to alter reality and play with identity in ways that border on the absurd.

You can turn yourself into a pineapple, a dog or a character befitting a Roy Lichtenstein painting.

The lenses are blunt, feature-warping tools that generate more than 30 million enhanced selfies a day. Any missteps quickly enter the public record.

Snapchat lenses have drawn criticism in the past with accusations that the app was promoting blackface or encouraging whitened skin tones as an ideal of beauty.
In Tracy Droz Tragoss documentary Abortion: Stories Women Tell, the narratives spill out along with the tears from women who have had abortions as well as those who are fighting to make them illegal. But most striking are clinic patients who felt bereft of anyone to confide in at the time of their pregnancies, and who want to reassure others that they are not alone. A college-bound 17-year-old, for one, says she feared breaking her grandmothers heart. A woman with a physically abusive husband simply had no one to tell.

Ms. Tragos, who plays down the politics in favor of the personal, focuses on Missouri, which has some of the countrys strictest regulations on abortion and only one clinic that performs the procedure. As a result, many women travel across the border to Illinois. At a clinic there, we meet a pregnant gynecologist whose work includes performing abortions. Her staff members reflect on the toll of their work: The parents of one wont speak to her because of her job; another shakes her head over mothers and fathers who evict their pregnant daughters, asking, isnt that when they need their families most?

Outside the clinic, the parking lot at first resembles some sort of heartland V.F.W. gathering, with men who appear to be in their 70s marching, singing and waving protest placards. Close up, you can see the embryonic imagery on the signs and hear threats of damnation.

At the University of Missouri, volunteers distribute anti-abortion leaflets. Their organizer takes a light approach as she offers information on alternatives. Beside her group is a peppy contingent supporting Planned Parenthood. A young woman walks up to the organizer, challenging her, and a loud debate ensues.
It takes Sean Elliss World War II thriller Anthropoid a while to build steam, but once it does, hang on. An account of the true Czech-British mission to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich  the principal architect of the Final Solution, and often called the Butcher of Prague  the film follows Jozef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan), who parachute into Nazi-occupied territory near Prague in December 1941. They soon learn how untrustworthy certain locals can be. But a connection is made with an underground contact (Toby Jones) who aids their endeavor, as well as a Resistance leader (Marcin Dorocinski) who fears devastating reprisals if the goal is met.

When Jozef and Jan move in with a sympathetic family, they meet Marie (Charlotte Le Bon) and Lenka (the compelling Czech actress Anna Geislerova). Jan, the more timid assassin (his trigger finger trembles), falls hard for Marie. In a somewhat schematic turn, the icy Jozef discovers his softer side with Lenka, as Jan rises to the missions demands. Such dynamics dominate much of the first half. Mr. Murphy, well matched with Mr. Dornan (Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey), is impressive as a pitiless patriot.

But then the assassination attempt unfolds, followed by a manhunt and a Nazi siege of a church where Resistance members have hidden. Although Mr. Ellis, also the films cinematographer and co-screenwriter, has by then demonstrated his finesse with location shooting and period details, you are unprepared for the bravura pyrotechnics of the climax. They are dazzling to behold.

Anthropoid is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for violence and sexual situations.
If theres such a thing as an easygoing thriller, then Hell or High Water is it. The stakes may be steep, but the characters can seem more nonchalant than nervous. Maybe its as simple as the heat: In the roasted landscape of West Texas, where this cops-and-robbers tale plays out, nothing moves faster than it has to.

That also goes for the adrenaline that the films hard-pressed thieves, Toby and Tanner (Chris Pine and Ben Foster), summon whenever their early-morning bank heists turn sticky. Grabbing only small-denomination bills from small-town branches of Texas Midlands, the men are brothers whose plan  revealed over time in slow drips of casual conversation  turns out to be smarter and more complicated than we initially suspect. Theyre trying to salvage something from a miserable childhood with no-count parents, neither of whom (for very different reasons) is around to notice.
The first word uttered in Sausage Party is a popular synonym for excrement, which is a bit counterintuitive. In a movie about food, youd expect that to come at the end. But while the next 88 minutes supply plenty of scatology  including a blessedly discreet toilet-paper joke  this potty-mouthed movie has higher matters in mind. You will come for the kind of humor promised in the title and the well-earned R rating, but stay for the nuanced meditations on theology and faith.

The opening barrage of profanity serves as a tactical warning to parents who might have wandered in with their kids on the assumption that this was a cute little cartoon about the secret lives of groceries. Which it is, actually. But if you do bring the little ones  not that I condone it!  you may have to answer questions not only about what all those veggies and snacks are doing during the extended supermarket orgy scene, but also about the existence of God. In adult company, you might find yourself debating whether the film is a Christopher Hitchens-style atheist polemic or a more pragmatic, William Jamesian exploration of the varieties of religious experience. I wont spoil that one for you.

In a nutshell  in a brightly colored, economy-size value pack  Sausage Party traces the dialectic of enlightenment in the life of a skeptical sausage named Frank. Voiced by Seth Rogen in his usual growly, loud-Canadian manner, Frank starts out as a true believer. At the beginning of every day, the groceries sing a hymn (by Alan Menken) praising the gods who will escort the chosen foodstuffs into the great beyond. Since the Fourth of July is approaching, Frank and his buddies think their turn is coming, which means that Frank and his girlfriend, a comely bun named Brenda (Kristen Wiig), will at last be able to shed their packaging and consummate their relationship.
There are a few chief lessons that those who work in politics should remember:

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Cater to the base, but dont neglect the swing vote. And never look a gift horse in the mouth, unless, of course, it has business before your office.

But there is one rule that often gets forgotten: Do not, under any circumstances, write a text message that could cause you, or your boss, shame if it suddenly appeared on the front page of a newspaper.

The most recent disremembering of this sort came to light this week in the George Washington Bridge scandal, in which former allies of the New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, have been accused of plotting to block traffic to the bridge. In court papers filed on Wednesday, it was revealed that one of Governor Christies aides, Christina Genovese Renna, had written a text to a colleague saying that if some of her bosss emails were discovered they would prove that he had flat-out lied about his role in the plot.
Chadiedja Buijs:

My parents  Egyptian mother, Dutch father  separated when I was four, and I grew up in the Netherlands. My mom doesnt wear a head scarf and when I began to at the age of 19, five years ago, she said, What the hell are you doing? I left my country so that you could be free and this is what freedom did?

I had a lot of issues with myself, with my spiritual needs and my state of being. I was very hardworking, very controlling. I began to feel that as a religious person I needed to realize that some things are bigger than me. I started with prayer. I stopped drinking. I began fasting. Id been so obsessed with material things. After a while I became convinced that it would be good if I could wear the head scarf out of devotion and humility, as a sign of giving up some of my control. It worked.

Our Prophet says faith is like the ocean. Sometimes the waves are high, sometimes low. Sometimes I am shaky in my faith, sometimes very strong.

The hijab is a matter of representation. I know the person I am and the ideas I have. But the person in front of me sees only the exterior. With the tension in Europe, things are worse. In a Dutch village, in a cafe full of rich white people, a man tore my veil off. It was shocking but not as frustrating as some of the looks and comments, the job rejections (You do not fit the image of our store).

After the attacks in France, my mother said, Please take your veil off. It is my choice to wear it. I will die with it on. That is my right. Nobody will take it away.

But balance is important. There is this life and the afterlife. Sometimes you need to think about your spirituality. Sometimes you need to adapt. In the West, now, I may wear tighter jeans, or have my neck showing, or use short sleeves. Here in Egypt I may wear maxi-skirts, long and wide. They do not look great. They make me fat. But, hey, thats the point! My family here is quite conservative.

There is very little religious literacy in secular Western countries. And there is a crisis within Islam, over what it means to be a Muslim. As Muslims we have to acknowledge the problem. ISIS controls what Islam looks like in Iraq and Syria  religious symbolism, flags, statements and verses. This is real. We cannot deny it. But we create extremism by talking about Islam only through this prism. The head scarf becomes a fetish.

Elghobashy is wearing leggings in the photo. I think she represents people like me. International-minded, young, modern Muslims who want to go out and study and work and play. We need different images of Islam.

I got different responses from men when I chose to wear a head scarf rather than a short skirt. It created a kind of distance. But I still have my sexuality in my own hands. I can be very flirtatious, go out and meet a man  but I decide in what mode I want to be. I can be focused on my spirituality, prayers and study without distraction, or I can have a period when I choose to be sexy even in a head scarf through how I act or speak. I feel I have more power and independence vis-a-vis men now.
SAN FRANCISCO  Bill Maris has stepped down as chief executive of GV, the onetime venture finance arm of Google, in another prominent departure for its parent company, Alphabet.

Mr. Maris will be replaced by David Krane, an early public relations executive at Google who is now a managing partner at GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, the firm said Thursday.

I looked around at how well GV has done and said mission accomplished, Mr. Maris said in an interview. If youre a chef and you have the finest ingredients and work in a beautiful kitchen and bake the cake, its time to go cook something else. He added that he did not know what he would do next, but plans to spend more time with his wife and 11-month-old child while he creates his next project.

In a statement, GV said that with Mr. Krane, GV will continue to expand our mission to find and fund great entrepreneurs.
WASHINGTON  It lacked the pageantry of the funeral nearly a year before, but when the body of Benjamin C. Bradlee, the longtime editor of The Washington Post, was reinterred in a Georgetown cemetery here last October, it had an air of permanence.

One of this citys legendary figures had come to rest in a newly constructed granite mausoleum designed in part by his widow, Sally Quinn, and placed just inside the entrance of one of Washingtons most exclusive and historic cemeteries, Oak Hill.

Yet at almost the same time, the citys Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs was concluding that the mausoleum had been constructed illegally, without the necessary permit or associated historic preservation reviews. To the Washington-based advocacy group that had argued that the project threatened the cemeterys historic entranceway, it appeared to be a victory. But this being Georgetown, where battles over preservation can take on epic proportions, it was only the beginning.

Now the city, with the support of Oak Hill, says that its judgment last fall was wrong, and has decided to exempt Mr. Bradlees mausoleum and others like it from regulatory hurdles. The reversal has infuriated the advocacy group, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, which is contesting the exemption rule and pressing forward with concerns over what it sees as mismanagement of one of the citys historic landscapes.
Facing one of the toughest stretches of his presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump on Thursday acknowledged in unusually candid terms that he faced daunting hurdles in crucial states, as he swung wildly at Hillary Clinton to try to blunt her questions about his fitness to serve in the Oval Office.

Sliding in the polls, and under attack even by prominent figures in his own party, the usually self-assured Mr. Trump seemed to break character, lamenting his predicament, and even asking for help, before a group of 700 evangelical pastors and church leaders in Orlando, Fla.

Were having a tremendous problem in Utah, Mr. Trump said, alluding to polls showing him in a fight with Mrs. Clinton in that normally deep-red state. Utah is different.

In Ohio, Mr. Trump said, We need help.

In Pennsylvania, a state he once insisted he would win, he seemed now to hold out hope of an upset that was looking more like a long-shot. Pennsylvania is a little further, but I think well win Pennsylvania because of the miners, he said, adding of Mrs. Clinton: She wants the miners out of business. She wants steel out of business.
WASHINGTON  Officials from the United States Central Command altered intelligence reports to portray a more optimistic picture of the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria than events on the ground warranted, a congressional panel said in a report issued Thursday.

The interim report, from a task force established by the Republican chairmen of the House Armed Services Committee, Intelligence Committee and Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, found widespread dissatisfaction among Central Command intelligence analysts, who said superiors were doctoring their assessments of American efforts to defeat the Islamic State. Central Command, known as Centcom, is the military headquarters in Tampa, Fla., that oversees American military operations across the Middle East and Central Asia.

Intelligence products approved by senior Centcom leaders typically provided a more positive depiction of U.S. antiterrorism efforts than was warranted by facts on the ground and were consistently more positive than analysis produced by other elements of the intelligence community, a news release about the report said.

What happened at Centcom is unacceptable  our war fighters suffer when bad analysis is presented to senior policy makers, said Representative Ken Calvert, Republican of California. The leadership failures at Centcom reach to the very top of the organization.
LANCASTER, Pa.  As Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana was extolling Donald J. Trump to a crowd here on Tuesday as a good man who speaks from his heart, Mr. Trump was holding a rally just a few states south, with a decidedly different message  suggesting that gun owners could take action against Hillary Clinton.

Moments later, stepping down from the stage, Mr. Pence found himself in a familiar position, trying to explain away Mr. Trumps comments.

Of course not, no, Mr. Pence said, when asked by a local news affiliate if his running mate was calling for his supporters to take up arms against the Democratic nominee.

Less than a month after becoming the Republican nominee for vice president, Mike Pence  Midwestern calm and folksy to Mr. Trumps controversial and brash  has emerged as the Republican tickets cleaner-up in chief, a role that has thrust him deftly, if at times uncomfortably, into the spotlight in his quest to help elect Mr. Trump president.
Mr. Trumps dismal standing with Latino voters has complicated the task. An ABC News/Washington Post poll in mid-June found that 89 percent of Hispanics held negative views of him. And this week, the chief spokesman for the Florida Republican Party, Wadi Gaitan  the son of Honduran immigrants  left his post to join Libre, citing Mr. Trump as his reason.

Moving on gives me a great, new opportunity to continue promoting free-market solutions while avoiding efforts that support Donald Trump, Mr. Gaitan said in a statement.

Republicans could once rely on solidly conservative Cuban-American political refugees in Miami as a crucial source of support. But it is not so simple anymore: Young Cuban arrivals are less reliably Republican; South Americans now make up a growing segment of the Latino population in the state; and Puerto Ricans, who at more than a million statewide now rival the Cuban-American population, are flocking to Orange, Osceola and Polk Counties in Central Florida  once the heart of the states white working-class vote.

Those demographic changes have already had consequences: George W. Bush lost to John Kerry in Orange County by fewer than 1,000 votes in 2004, but in 2008 and again in 2012, President Obama won there by about 85,000.

Still, while Puerto Ricans generally favor Democrats, they have tended to be less party-conscious than some other groups, bolstering Mr. Obama in his two Florida victories but also helping to elect Charlie Crist as governor when he was a Republican.

And in contrast to Cuban-Americans, who have long wielded power in Florida, newly arrived Puerto Rican voters often need to be reminded they can even vote.
Mr. Trump said in July that he favored a $10-an-hour federal minimum wage, but he has made contradictory remarks in other public appearances, the proposal does not appear in campaign materials, and he did not mention it in Detroit.

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump have said that they are focused on creating more and better jobs.

My primary mission as president will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the United States, Mrs. Clinton said in accepting the Democratic nomination in Philadelphia last month.

But Mr. Desmond, the Harvard sociologist, said that was not enough because the poor faced a wide range of other obstacles to economic stability. His own work has focused on a growing shortage of affordable rental housing. In his recent book, Evicted, he showed that evictions were a regular feature of life in lower-income neighborhoods, and that they were not just the result of poverty, but that instability causes poverty.

Increasing affordable housing was until recently a standard campaign pledge for presidential candidates of both parties. President Bill Clinton created a National Home Ownership Strategy. President George W. Bush announced early in his first term a target of creating 5.5 million new minority homeowners by 2010, alongside measures to encourage the construction of rental housing.

But Mrs. Clinton made only one glancing reference to affordable housing on Thursday, spending far more time on promoting entrepreneurship and small businesses, bolstering broadband access and reviving manufacturing. Her campaign website highlights 37 issues, but housing is not among them, although the campaign issued some proposals in February.

Mr. Trump, during a speech in Miami to the National Association of Homebuilders on Thursday, lamented the decline of homeownership since the housing and financial crisis of 2008. But he stopped short of outlining a housing policy.
Raymond Tarlton, a lawyer for Mr. Copley, urged against a rush to judgment. We have seen too many wrongful convictions for anyone or any organization to jump to conclusions on the basis of someone being charged, he said.

Justin Bamberg, a lawyer for the Thomas family who has also represented the families of Alton Sterling and Walter Scott, two other black men whose shooting deaths received widespread attention, called Mr. Copley George Zimmerman 2.0 at a news conference on Thursday, according to The News & Observer in Raleigh.

Yet Mr. Thomass death has not prompted anything near the uproar that Mr. Zimmermans deadly confrontation with Mr. Martin did. Mr. Zimmerman was eventually acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges in 2013.

There have been important differences in how the two cases unfolded.

What Happened in North Carolina

At 12:50 a.m. on Sunday, Mr. Copley told a 9-1-1 dispatcher that there were a bunch of hoodlums outside his home on the 3500 block of Singleleaf Lane, according to a recording released by the police.

I am locked and loaded. I am going outside to secure my neighborhood. You need to send P.D. as quickly as possible, he said, referring to the police department.
Now that law, which some legal experts say may be the broadest and vaguest of its kind in the country, is being challenged in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday. One of the plaintiffs is Niya Kenny, a classmate of the defiant girl in the video, who stood and yelled curses at the officer for his rough behavior. Both girls were arrested and charged with disrupting class.

In an interview this week, Ms. Kenny, now 18, described her turmoil as she was handcuffed at school and taken in a paddy wagon to spend several hours at an adult detention center where she was fingerprinted and had a mug shot taken  all, she said, because she stood up for her classmate.

I was just terrified through the whole day, she recalled.

According to Ms. Kennys account and the police report of her arrest, she did nothing to physically interfere with the sheriffs deputy as he grabbed and slammed her classmate. I was cursing at him and saying it was unfair, she recalled.

More than 1,200 students, disproportionately black, are arrested under this law each year, according to state data, for everything from disobeying a teachers order to fighting in the hallway. For many, like Ms. Kenny, it means a first, stinging encounter with the criminal justice system, bringing the stigma of an arrest record and often derailing their schooling  a potential step in what has been described nationally as a pernicious schools to prison pipeline.

With its vague evocation of criminal acts, the law creates an impossible standard for school children to follow and for police to enforce with consistency and fairness, according to the suit, which was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of several students.
JOHANNESBURG  For the past decade, Zambia, a copper-rich nation in southern Africa, has been one of the continents success stories: a stable democracy that enjoyed rapid economic growth thanks to Chinas ravenous demand for its main commodity.

But as a slowdown in China decreased demand for copper and as prices collapsed, Zambias economy tumbled, contributing to a political campaign season punctuated by killings and widespread violence.

Millions of Zambians went to the polls on Thursday to elect a president and national lawmakers, amid warnings that the campaign violence could reduce turnout. The main contest, pitting President Edgar Lungu against a wealthy businessman, Hakainde Hichilema, was considered too close to call. It was a replay of a 2015 special election that Mr. Lungu won by a slim margin to complete the term of President Michael Sata, who died suddenly in October 2014.

Voting on Thursday appeared to go smoothly in the capital, Lusaka, where Election Day is a national holiday. Shops closed and roads were clear of traffic.
For years, Asuman Antepli, a nurse at a hospital in North Carolina , said people mostly just ignored the head-covering hijab she wears as a mark of her Muslim faith.

Occasionally, a patient might make an insulting comment, but she would put that down to ignorance. Once, after Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011, men in the street made obscene gestures and cursed at her as she drove home.

But in the past year, as Donald J. Trump began his dizzying political ascent, things got markedly worse for Ms. Antepli. Some patients, or their relatives, openly recoiled at the sight of her. Others wore Trump hats and T-shirts, as if to prove a point. A handful have flat-out refused to allow her to treat them, even though she worked in the emergency room.

Its been very painful, said her husband, Abdullah Antepli, who teaches Islamic studies at Duke University and has heard similar accounts of casual discrimination from his students.
BEIJING  At least 21 people were killed and five injured by an explosion at a coal-fired power plant in central China on Thursday, according to official reports.

The deaths and injuries occurred when a high-pressure steam pipe exploded at a plant in the city of Dangyang in Hubei Province, according to a news website run by the provincial government.

The plant is owned by the Madian Gangue Power Generation Company, the website said. The company generates thermal power and sells slag, ash and petroleum products.

A man who answered the telephone at the Dangyang governments propaganda office, who identified himself as Mr. Chen, said that an investigation was underway and that the government would release more details later.
NEW DELHI  Just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized vigilante cow protection groups that have targeted Muslims and low-caste Hindus suspected of slaughtering cows, an Indian state said it plans to license the groups to help the police enforce state cow protection laws.

The government of Haryana State, in northern India, will begin with members of the states most prominent cow protection group, Save the Cow, said Bhani Ram Mangla, the president of the governments Commission to Serve Cows, in an interview on Thursday. The commission is part of the Ministry of Animal Husbandry.

Reports of attacks on members of religious minorities by vigilante cow protection groups, known as gau rakshaks, have increased in India, with six such attacks in a four-week span last year. The groups have attacked Muslims and, more recently, low-caste Hindus suspected of slaughtering cows, which are considered sacred in Hinduism, the dominant religion in India.

Mr. Mangla said the state had begun collecting photos and phone numbers of members of Save the Cow. Once the groups are verified, the government can entrust them with any responsibility, he added.
Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington who researches politics and security in Southeast Asia, doubted that southern insurgents were behind the blasts. Its been years since they have been able to pull off coordinated attacks across multiple cities and provinces, and when they have, its always been confined to the deep south, he said in an email.

He said the bombings were likelier to be the work of dissidents opposed to the military government that has ruled Thailand since a coup in 2014. He noted that the blasts came days after voters approved a new constitution expanding the power of the junta, which had barred opponents of the proposal from campaigning against it.

The restrictions on campaigning ahead of the referendum must convince some that only extralegal means can be effective, Mr. Abuza said. While many of the bombings were in tourist areas, he said, they did not seem intended to kill large numbers of people, suggesting that the intent was to hurt the tourist-dependent economy.

Friday is the birthday of the queen, Sirikit, a national holiday, and some of the bombs were reported to have gone off after the national anthem, which is customarily played at 8 a.m. Many people had gone to Hua Hin, a coastal resort on the Gulf of Thailand, in anticipation of the holiday. Queen Sirikit and King Bhumibol Adulyadej have a palace there, though they are both ill and hospitalized in Bangkok.

Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, a spokesman for the prime ministers office, urged Thais to celebrate the holiday as usual. They dont want people to go out, travel or spend money, he said in a televised interview, referring to the bombers. They want to scare off investors. They dont want tourists to come to Thailand.

The explosions Thursday night in Hua Hin, which occurred about a half-hour apart, were in an area of bars and nightclubs popular with foreign tourists. At least nine foreigners were wounded in the second explosion, which went off at a crowded intersection, according to Suthipong Klai-udom, a district official.

Mr. Suthipong said that Germans, Swiss and Italians were among the wounded, and that the woman who died was a Thai street vendor whose cart was near one of the explosions. He said the bombs had been hidden in plant pots and detonated by cellphone.
BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 11, 2016) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) // (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: Given the current situation, we are now looking at whether more personnel are needed beyond what was already planned for the federal police, the Office of Criminal Investigations and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. We are also looking at what is needed for those authorities that operate and safeguard the technology relevant to security. To this end we have already established contact with the finance ministry. I am aiming for additional personnel to the tune of four figures over several years. // (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: Furthermore, we have been looking at the organisation of the security forces and we will continue to do so. I have decided that there will be a new police directorate for special forces so that in very serious, possible terror, situations, all necessary forces can be coordinated in one place and made available to the German states. // (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: We need a technology offensive. We must technically arm our security authorities much better than we have up to now in terms of personnel and equipment. We are planning the deployment of undercover cyber investigators on the dark net. These will be specialised undercover investigators who will hone in on, for example, illegal weapons trading or the communication between terrorists. // (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: In addition to the existing radicalisation advice centres, we will create somewhere for refugees to report things in their own language, for example changes in their housemates, whether psychological changes or tendencies to radicalisation. In this way refugees will be able to better dissociate themselves from violence and religious extremism. // (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: I want to tighten the rules on the right of residency for foreigners who commit crimes or who constitute a risk to public safety in Germany. We want to introduce new grounds for holding somebody in custody, namely the threat to public safety, so that we can then make sure they leave the country. In the future, we want to see more use of custody pending deportation for criminal foreigners and those who pose a threat to public safety.
LONDON  Ecuador and Sweden have agreed to allow Julian Assange to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, in a possible breakthrough to a four-year impasse, Ecuador said on Thursday, but no date for the interview was announced.

The Ecuadorean attorney general delivered a document agreeing to a request by the Swedish prosecutor to question Mr. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, who is wanted by Sweden for questioning to respond to allegations of rape made against him, accusations he denies.

Mr. Assange was granted political asylum by Ecuador in 2012 after his appeal against extradition to Sweden was denied, and he has been confined to the embassy ever since. He says he fears that if he is sent to Sweden, he will then be shipped to the United States, where he could be charged with espionage offenses.
MOSCOW  In Russia, the fog of war seems to be more than just a reference to confusion.

Fog was central to the plan for a three-day military exercise that began on Wednesday, during which the restricted-access northern city of Severomorsk disappeared beneath a dense layer of artificial smoke and fumes.
One of the three London schoolgirls who made headlines last year when they fled their homes to join the Islamic State extremist group in Syria is believed to have been killed by a Russian airstrike, a British television channel reported on Thursday.

The ITV News channel also said that the girl, Kadiza Sultana, 17, had become disillusioned with life in the medieval terror state and had been planning to return to Britain.

Kadiza is believed to have been in a residential building in Raqqa, the Islamic States de facto capital in northeast Syria, when it was hit in May by a bomb thought to have been dropped by a Russian warplane, ITV said in an article on its website.

ITV said its report was based on communications with her relatives in London, with unidentified contacts in Raqqa and with a lawyer for her family, Tasnime Akunjee, who the report said had been working on an escape plan for her.
Supporters of the Palestinian cause denounced Google online this week for removing the word Palestine from Google Maps, but there was just one problem: The company said the word had never been there in the first place.

Even by the boom-and-bust standards of anger on social media, this tale spread quickly, spurred by statements of outrage from Palestinian advocacy groups, news stories and viral videos that included no comment from Google.

An online petition from March condemning Google (and insinuating its two Jewish founders removed the word Palestine because of their alleged ties to Israel) had collected more than 280,000 signatures by Wednesday, more than 180,000 of those since the day before. Angry tweets were sent and there were calls to boycott the company.

A hashtag, #PalestineIsHere, was born. But as far as Google Maps is concerned, it actually had not been.
CAIRO  Libyan officials were cautious on Thursday about declaring complete victory over the Islamic State in the coastal city of Surt, saying unknown numbers of the militant organizations extremists remained ensconced in three neighborhoods.

While the Islamic States headquarters in the heavily fortified Ouagadougou Center, as well as an adjacent hospital and other important buildings, were taken on Wednesday by pro-government militiamen backed by American airstrikes, the fight was clearly far from over.

If we knew how many of them were left there, we would attack tomorrow, said Mohammed al-Ghasari, the spokesman for pro-government militia forces. So far we have been very professional and careful.

The newly returned mayor of Surt, Mukhtar Khalifa, told The Associated Press that the militiamen, who were from the neighboring city of Misurata and aligned with the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli, controlled 70 percent of the city. The mayor, who had vacated Surt while the Islamic State controlled it, predicted the rest of the city would soon fall as well.
If you happen to be invited to a party at the United States Embassy in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, you might address your R.S.V.P. to eyebrows.conforms.zebra. Have a care package for a student at the Institute of Finance and Economics of Mongolia? Writing during.snapper.housework on the parcel will get it there.

These oddly poetic three-word codes will soon act as a stand-in for the more common addressing convention of house number, street name and postal code, which never quite caught on in Mongolia, one of the worlds most sparsely populated countries.

They are the invention of a British start-up, What3Words, that has mapped the world into 57 trillion patches of nine square meters and given each one a unique three-word identity.

Words are easier to remember and communicate than GPS or other alphanumeric systems, said Giles Rhys Jones, a What3Words spokesman.
The big-voiced actress Cynthia Erivo has been called all kinds of goddess, from a goddess of musical theater to just plain goddess, by the theater god Lin-Manuel Miranda. But "shiksa goddess? Not so much.

Until now: On Sept. 12, Ms. Erivo, a Tony Award winner for her role in The Color Purple, will join the Tony-nominated actor Joshua Henry (Violet) in a concert version of the Jason Robert Brown musical The Last Five Years at Town Hall. (Shiksa Goddess is a number from the show.) Proceeds from the performance, which Mr. Brown will direct, will go to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a national gun control organization. Tickets go on sale starting on Wednesday at thetownhall.org.

Told both backward in time (her story) and forward (his), The Last Five Years is a melancholy musical about the doomed marriage between Jamie, a Jewish writer, and Cathy, his gentile wife. The show had an Off Broadway run in 2002 in a production starring Sherie Rene Scott and Norbert Leo Butz. Since then, it has garnered a devoted fan base; it was revived in New York three years ago and last year was turned into a film starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan.

In an interview, Mr. Brown said the idea for the show had come together as he, Mr. Henry and Ms. Erivo collaborated as part of the composers residency at SubCulture, a Manhattan performance space that is producing the concert with him. Mr. Brown said it was easy to get Broadway actors to do a benefit on an issue that many in the traditionally liberal theater world agree on. The hard part is finding solutions to the tragedies of gun violence, an issue Mr. Brown said he felt passionately about, particularly as the presidential election nears.
But clever, that tribe, full of surprises. For over a thousand years they became practiced at being unwanted, and making the best of it. So what do they do out there, in exile? They invent the Film business. . . .

What America needs, Cousin Joseph concludes, is happy movies, not all these depressing ones about problems, which are clearly some sort of conspiracy to lower national morale (or sweep the Oscars).

So Sam is dispatched to Beverly Hills to bully producers (Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Kornblum. . . . You get the picture) into withdrawing scripts from production.

As Sam juggles his various thug obligations, his job brings him into the orbit of a dozen other characters, including Valerie, a teenage girl who pays Jewish boys a dollar to drop their pants (Jesus, do I love that little thing! ); Archie Goldman, a kid whose mother works at the local cannery thats about to strike; Hardy Knox, the blustery fat-cat owner of said cannery; and various union organizers, head honchos, dirty cops, bums and lackeys.

Feiffer skates around characters, circling closer, retreating and returning to them, weaving the plot tighter until the pieces fall into place. This is pulp at its best. The book is subversive in a lot of ways  from its occasional bursts of unflinchingly awkward content to its neat commentary on the graphic novel form itself, but it embraces its popular culture influences without irony or apology. That may be the most subversive thing about it, actually. And the most romantic.

Feiffers fluid style  what some people call kinetic and others call I just drew this  works particularly well here; everyone looks rumpled and in motion. Feiffer, for his part, takes full advantage of the form, using the comic book toolbox to make very cool choices.

There are no captions in this book, and almost no thought bubbles. We are left to rely on dialogue to drive the story, like a film. The exceptions are spare and smart. Sam is introduced in an introspective mood. Thought bubbles trail him as he stows his crucifix in the bedside table and holsters a weapon in the predawn silence of his apartment. Too much . . . thinking, he muses. Where did America go? Its Sams wife who breaks the silence, calling his name. Feiffer doesnt let us inside Sams head again until almost the end of the book. Too much thinking. By removing the thought bubbles, Feiffer makes it literal.
Its easy to get lost in the kaleidoscopic world-building of NINEFOX GAMBIT (Solaris, paper, $9.99), the first novel by the well-regarded story writer Yoon Ha Lee. Lee submerges readers without explanation into the hexarchate  a star-spanning far-future society whose culture relies on advanced mathematics to produce exotic effects that are nigh magical. A sort of unearthly physics, these can make select individuals functionally immortal, even as exotic generators churn forth monstrous vector-scrambling storms that disintegrate enemy soldiers down to component atoms. At the core of the technology is the high calendar. More than just a measurement of time, this calendar shapes the mathematical base of the exotic effects. Yet by changing the calendar and thus the underlying math of reality, dissidents can cripple hexarchate technology  a heresy to those in control, who punish dissenters by destroying them whole planets at a time. The disproportionate reprisals inevitably beget more heresy, so the hexarchate exists in a perpetual state of war in which it is too beneficially invested ever to end.

Amid such brutal calculus, Lee (himself an Ivy League-educated mathematician) fortunately doesnt stint on character development or plot. The protagonist is Kel Cheris, a young soldier gifted in number theory, who is summoned from the battlefield for a strange new mission. She must partner with the disgraced General Jedao, possibly the only person in the hexarchate who can help reclaim the strategically critical Fortress of Scattered Needles and stop the looming threat of calendrical rot. Problem: Jedao has been dead for centuries, executed after he went mad and slaughtered thousands of his own people. Cheris must become host to this unstable geniuss ghost, or preserved personality  and once she does, she must immediately learn how to navigate her way through politics more ancient than the hexarchate itself. Meanwhile, if she slips even once in her self-control or calculations, her ghostly ally will drive her mad too. Or worse.

The story is dense, the pace intense, and the delicate East Asian flavoring of the math-rich setting might make it seem utterly alien to many readers  yet metaphors for our own world abound. Mathematics is often lauded as a universal language, but this is blatantly untrue; for universality to work, adherents must believe in the same basic truths, or principles, to the same degree. Lees quasi-religious treatment of mathematics, and Cheriss need to simultaneously exploit and rely on Jedao, both serve as metaphors for colonialism. (As does the quiet, oblique rebellion taking place in the background amid the hexarchates artificially intelligent servitors.) And the lesson of colonialism applies as well: Brute-force domination gets you only so far. For stability, trust is key.
Some more numbers: Controlling for other factors, the United States Sentencing Commission found that between December 2007 and September 2011, black male defendants received sentences 20 percent longer than their white counterparts. From 1983 to 1997, the number of African-Americans sent to prison for drug offenses went up more than 26-fold, compared with a sevenfold increase for whites. By the early 2000s, more than twice as many African-Americans as whites were in state prisons for drug offenses.

Individual responsibility must always be a primary consideration in deciding sentences, but we must also acknowledge that there is racial bias in the criminal justice system. The disparity in incarceration rates has bred distrust, alienating communities of color from those who serve valiantly in law enforcement.

The Justice Department has pioneered reform. Three years ago, as attorney general, I established the Smart on Crime initiative to reduce draconian mandatory minimum sentencing for low-level drug offenses and encourage more investment in rehabilitation programs to tackle recidivism.

The preliminary results are very encouraging. Over the last two years, federal prosecutors went from seeking a mandatory minimum penalty for drug trafficking in two-thirds of cases to doing so in less than half of them  the lowest rate on record. The initiative may not be solely responsible, but 2014 saw the first consecutive drop in the federal prison population in more than three decades, coinciding with a falling crime rate.

Those who argue that without the hammer of a mandatory minimum sentence defendants wont cooperate are wrong  in fact, the rate of cooperation held steady under the initiative, and the rate of guilty pleas remained constant. The system remained effective and became fairer. Reform has not made us less safe.

But theres a limit to what the Justice Department can accomplish on its own. Both the Senate and House are now considering comprehensive criminal justice reform bills that could limit the use of mandatory minimum sentences and give judges more power to not impose them. This would be a promising start, but reform must go much further.
I brought the book back across Morningside Park and allowed myself to steep in it the way I hadnt really had a chance to since beginning graduate school. Quoyles Newfoundland was a balm for my wounds: in each chapter a glimpse beyond the New York heat and the search for another job and a divorce lawyer. Quoyle had made a clean escape from his past; Quoyle lived in a house near the ocean; in Newfoundland there was always a breeze. Newfoundland, a name with the promise of a fresh start built into its very syllables.

Im not sure, exactly, how Newfoundland went from novel setting and daydream to a plan that propelled me to the Port Authority. Having family in Croatia and South Jersey, I spent most of my summers either along the Adriatic coast or down by the Jersey Shore; though neither were without their benefits or even adventures, both were exclusively family affairs, large gatherings of relatives in which I could drift and feel safe. But fate had aligned in such a way that even my risk-averse and very sad self was willing to take a chance. Alan was already in Canada, in Montreal visiting friends. I could meet him there, and we could rent a car. We could go somewhere neither of us, and no one I knew, had ever been before.

I bought a Greyhound ticket for a predictably hellish journey to Montreal that featured five bonus hours at the border when a fellow passenger was taken in by the police for extended questioning. I reunited with Alan, spent the dredges of my money on my half of the ferry passage and a rental car; a driving atlas of Atlantic Canada; bread, tomatoes and tins of anchovies; and tried to push the fears of financial ruin from my head as best I could. Then we drove through New Brunswick and across Nova Scotia, watching the familiarity of storefronts and landscapes dissipate in the rear view. We slept in the car in a Tim Hortons parking lot, the last bastion of brand recognition for the remainder of the trip. In the morning we woke and swam in the frigid North Atlantic along a beach of auburn sand. We hadnt left the mainland yet, but already I had never been to a place so empty  not deserted, just never quite settled in the first place.

We reached the North Sydney port at midnight, put the car in the bowels of the ferry and climbed up to the deck for the six-hour passage across Cabot Strait. I promptly began to panic  I was prone to seasickness. Why had I chosen to take myself on an extended boat ride? Perhaps some cheap wine and an overpriced cupcake would have been a better analgesic for my particular troubles. I downed a dose of Duane Reade-brand sleeping pills from the bottom of Alans knapsack and sat on a bench waiting for stomach pains to overtake me. I woke in the morning with a stiff neck, and Newfoundland on the horizon.

I was still very stoned from the medication and took a series of ill-framed photos from the side of the boat  gray crags on which the first lighthouses and trap sheds were perched. All around, the shimmering navy blue water marked the real distance I had come, so different from the beryl Adriatic or the brown churn of the South Jersey Atlantic.
VITTORIA, Sicily  The red wines made in the vicinity of this midsize town in southeastern Sicily can be elegant and beautiful, with a crunchy freshness and a reticent austerity. They can be intriguingly mineral, gorgeously perfumed and astonishingly pure, while still displaying rich, focused fruit flavors. They offer a lot to love.

Yet if you held your breath waiting for a discussion of Sicilian wines to get around to those of Vittoria, you may end up gasping for air.

With good reason, the wines of Mount Etna to the north have captured the imagination of many Americans. The equally entrancing wines of Vittoria stand in Etnas considerable shadow, to the point where Vittorias star winemaker, Arianna Occhipinti, is sometimes assumed to be based in Etna.

We are not living in the same moment as Etna, she said, as we walked her vineyards in June. They get all the attention.
WASHINGTON  A federal appeals court said on Wednesday the U.S. Federal Communications Commission could not block two states from setting limits on municipal broadband expansion, a decision seen as a win for private-sector providers of broadband internet and a setback for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Cities in Tennessee and North Carolina had sought to expand municipal broadband networks beyond current boundaries, but faced laws forbidding or placing onerous restrictions on the expansions.

The FCC voted 3-2 in 2015 to issue an order seeking to pre-empt those state laws, saying a 1996 law required it to remove barriers to broadband investment and that the municipalities wanted to expand service into areas with little or no internet service.

Wheeler criticized the decision that "appears to halt the promise of jobs, investment and opportunity that community broadband has provided in Tennessee and North Carolina."
The word magic is a wonderful part of film vocabulary, and I think it should be kept alive, says Robert Redford, one of the stars of the newly reimagined version of Disneys Petes Dragon.

Old-fashioned movie magic is a large part of the appeal of the film, so director David Lowery, whos known for the gritty and dark Aint Them Bodies Saints (2013), wouldnt seem an obvious choice to helm a childrens adventure.

Ive got a very childlike mentality. I dont think I have matured beyond the age of 7, the 36-year-old director says, only slightly joking. I wish that I had the same sense of wonder, curiosity and optimism I had as a kid.

As critics are noting, the new Petes Dragon far outshines the original 1977 film. (One of the years most delightful moviegoing surprises, according to Variety.) The story begins with a familiar Disney trope, a childs loss of his parents, but quickly jumps forward to years later. Having survived a car accident in a remote area of the woods, the orphaned title character  played by Oakes Fegley  has happily adjusted to life with his friend, Elliot, a sweet dragon of local legend.

The film, which was shot in New Zealand, is set in the Pacific Northwest sometime in the 1980s before cellphones and easy communication. Lowery wanted to give Petes Dragon a fairy-tale feel.

Petes idyllic life, playing with Elliot and jumping through the trees, is challenged when a logging company impinges on the pristine woods. Trying to protect it is Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), a ranger whose father, Mr. Meacham (Redford), is a woodcarver who claims to have seen a dragon in his youth.

While his daughter is skeptical, Meacham tries to advise her that although she is out in nature, she is not seeing everything.

You can walk in the woods, but you also must look around, says Redford, who long has been a symbol of the outdoors, both in films and for his environmental concerns.

I think new technology has narrowed our focus on things, says the Oscar-winning filmmaker. We miss nature in its natural state, and now we have to see it reproduced on our screens. That makes me sad.

Looking hale, the Hollywood icon, who turns 80 on Aug. 18, shows no signs of slowing down. He and Lowery are planning to shoot a film in the fall, and Redford is aiming to direct again next year.

Originally, Redfords character in Petes Dragon was meant as something of comic relief, and the actor was inclined not to do it. Lowery then rewrote it with the actor in mind.

There is no point in trying to shy away from the fact that he is Robert Redford, says the director. He changed the perception of how the character would work in scenes and gave the movie some gravity that it wouldnt have had otherwise.

Ever the outdoorsman, Redford would walk to the set from the base camp a couple miles away from where we were shooting, Howard says.

For the actress, shooting in New Zealand for six months took her back to when her father, Ron Howard, filmed Willow there nearly 30 years ago and she was there with her family. This time, she took her own children, now 4 and 9, for the experience, although her husband had to work.

The oldest of four, she was 5 when her parents moved the family to Connecticut. Though she and her siblings traveled with their father when he was on location  my mom was champion at figuring out our school situations  they were kept away from the celebrity glitz.

Its a technique that she is borrowing in raising her own children.

While we were very exposed to the work my dad was doing, we werent going to premieres; we werent being photographed, says Howard, who starred in one of last summers biggest-grossing movies, Jurassic World, and will reprise her role in the sequel.

Ive been running a lot from things that begin with D, Howard jokes about her dino and dragon co-stars.

Actually, Elliot is a lot cuddlier and nicer than the dinosaurs trying to eat her character in Jurassic World.

Created by Weta Digital, the Oscar-winning visual-effects company, the dragon is an amalgamation of many animals. Furry instead of scaly, Elliot has the rambunctiousness of a puppy, says Lowery, who notes that the gentle creature also has some cat, lion, eagle and bear in it and only acts fearsome when protecting his woods or Pete.

To prepare, the director looked at films and books that dealt with feral children, such as Francois Truffauts Wild Child, but knew he was doing a family-friendly Disney film. So he didnt want to go too far in that direction. Still, he needed a young actor who could carry the emotion of the character of Pete without saying much.

Fegley was so creative and intuitive, says Lowery, noting that as filming went along he would give him less direction and also whittled away the dialogue. I wanted Oakes to be able to follow his own whims.

Before civilization encroaches on his life, Pete is happy living freely in the woods. So Lowery felt it was important that whoever played Grace have a strong presence to remind the boy about the family he was missing and, being a fan of her diverse resume, always had Howard in mind.

I even wrote in the script that the character had red hair because I wanted Bryce for the role, the director says. Not only did she have the skills as an actress, but because she now has children of her own and is such a wonderful mother that maternal warmth comes out of her naturally.

The original Petes Dragon was one of Howards favorite childhood films. Although she has grown up around movie magic, she says it only makes her appreciate it more when its done well. My kids are in the sweet spot for this film, she notes, and was happy that they got to be on the set.

Even if they had nothing to do with it, this is a beautiful Disney film. It will be part of their childhood, she says, adding that what struck her about the screenplay was how genuinely innocent it was. There wasnt anything done for effect. It came from a genuinely sincere place.

Redford echoes a similar sentiment. When I read the script I thought, Well, this reminds me of my childhood with Disney movies,  he says. What I love about it is that its created a kind of atmosphere of magic. I think magic was such a part of my life when I was young  that was your hope factor.

Lowery says he was eager to create something that had a timeless quality. He doesnt spend time winking at adults with hip quips or inserting fart jokes to get cheap laughs from 4-year-olds.

My hope is that kids will go see it now and watch it when theyre a little older, he says. Maybe in the future they will watch it with their own kids and see things in it they didnt when they were 7.
SACRAMENTO  Critics of Gov. Jerry Browns nearly $16 billion plan to bore two massive tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta won a state audit of its ongoing costs on Wednesday, though state officials dont expect the audit to delay the project.

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee also voted to have Californias state auditor investigate prison suicides, University of California spending and certain charter schools.

The twin 40-foot tunnels, each 35 miles long, would funnel Sacramento River water south to dry farmland and millions of residents, but are opposed by delta-area lawmakers and others who say it will further harm the environment while siphoning water from Northern California.

This is one of the largest infrastructure projects ever that the state of California is going to be undertaking, said Democratic state Sen. Lois Wolk of Davis. Yet the long-term costs remain unclear, said Wolk and eight other lawmakers of both political parties who sought the audit.

The cost is supposed to be covered by water agencies that will benefit and not directly by taxpayers, but Wolk and David Wolfe of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association both predicted that the growing price tag will increase pressure to use public funds.

Department of Water Resources chief counsel Spencer Kenner did not object and said the audit, which lawmakers approved on a 9-2 vote, wont slow the project.

Meanwhile, a recent spike in suicides at the California Institution for Women prompted lawmakers to approve a system-wide audit of suicide prevention policies and practices in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Democratic State Sen. Connie Leyva of Chino cited two reported suicides this year at the prison east of Los Angeles, while the rate was eight times the national average for female prisoners in an 18-month period in 2014-15, when The Associated Press first wrote about the spike. There were four suicides and at least 35 attempts during that period.

This is clearly a prison in crisis, Leyva said.

Diana Toche, the departments undersecretary for health care services, did not object to the unanimously approved audit, but noted the department has already made changes at the prison.

Officials said they increased mental health treatment and suicide prevention efforts. And the wardens at both of Californias major womens prisons retired last month after correctional officials said a change in leadership was needed.

The committee also took action on other audit requests:

 On a 12-0 vote, it approved auditing University of California President Janet Napolitanos spending after the chairmen of two Assembly budget committees, Democratic assemblymen Philip Ting of San Francisco and Kevin McCarty of Sacramento, said they have had trouble getting detailed information about the substantial growth in her staff and $686 million annual budget.

Its the latest of numerous recent audits of the UC system, some ongoing, and follows legislative sparring in recent years over state funding of the university system, tuition increases and the systems courting of out-of-state students who pay higher rates  itself the subject of a scathing state audit in March.

Lawmakers rejected university officials offer to provide a more detailed accounting without going through another audit.

 State auditors will also examine school districts that are authorizing charter schools outside their boundaries. Democratic Sen. Carol Liu, of La Canada Flintridge, said the districts appeared to authorize the charters to raise money through oversight fees, and that the charter schools they authorized have student performance scores dramatically below state and county averages.

The audit was approved, 8-1.

 The committee rejected, 6-5, a request by Republican Assemblyman Brian Jones, of Santee, to audit Attorney General Kamala Harris handling of a firearm dealers special fund. Harris is running for the U.S. Senate against a fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez.
Hillary Clinton will make her fourth Orange County visit in three months when she stops in Laguna Beach for a pair of fundraisers on Aug. 23.

A $2,700-per-person event, dubbed Conversation with Hillary, will be held at Laguna Beachs Montage resort. Its being hosted by former county Democratic Party Chairman Frank Barbaro and two of his former executive directors, political consultant Melahat Rafiei and governmental affairs director Mike Levin.

Additionally, a $33,400-per-plate luncheon will be held at a Laguna Beach home. The maximum candidate contribution of $2,700 goes to the Clinton campaign, with the rest being distributed to national, state and local parties. The luncheon is being hosted by Diamond Resorts CEO Stephen Cloobeck, his wife, Chantal, and political consultant Janet Keller.

Clinton is also scheduled to hold two Los Angeles fundraisers that day, including one at actor Leonardo DiCaprios home.

The Democratic presidential nominee was last in Orange County for a June 18 fundraiser at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. Entry to that event started at $1,000, and an estimated $450,000 was raised.

Clinton also stopped in Buena Park for a May rally and in Westminster for a June rally followed by a Santa Ana roundtable with Latino leaders. There are no public events scheduled for her upcoming Orange County visit.

For more information, call 714-712-0058.
Weve been hearing from many of you about our story tracking the growing $100K Club of retirees in the giant California Public Employees Retirement System.

Back in 2005, just 1,841 retirees pulled down more than $100,000 a year in pension checks from CalPERS. In 2015, the $100K Club had exploded to 21,652 members, our analysis found.

HOW MUCH PIE?

Said one reader: I was wondering the total amount of money that the $100K Club receives. Also, what percentage that amount is compared with those making less than $100K. Would you know this?

The trusty spreadsheet tells all:

 There were 625,135 retirees who got pension checks from CalPERS in 2015.

 They received pension payments totaling $19.1 billion.

 There were 21,652 people in the $100K Club, or 3.5 percent of the total.

 Those $100K Clubbers received $2.7 billion, or 14 percent of the total.

So the top 3.5 percent got 14 percent of the dough  not nearly as topsy-turvy as other things (the richest 1 percent of the worlds population owns 50 percent of total wealth, according to a report by Credit Suisse), but enough to stir some populist outrage.

HOW IS THAT FAIR?

Another reader scolded us for not comparing the average retirees Social Security payment against the average CalPERS retirees payment. So, here we go:

 The average annual Social Security benefit for all retirees was $16,092 as of January, according to the Social Security Administration.

 The average benefit for all retirees in CalPERS was $30,581 in 2015, according to the CalPERS data.

I worked in the private sector for 25 years, but my Social Security benefits are only $15K per year, said Gayle Pereira of San Clemente by email. How is that fair? And now they are talking about those not being paid because we are running short of money to pay out Social Security. How can we, as the public, be required to keep CalPERS alive but not be required to pay the same amounts to people in the private sector so they can also have a viable retirement?

Private sector Social Security should pay similar amounts as the public sector. This disparity needs to be recognized, publicized and brought to the attention of our legislators.

As it turns out, California is on the verge of adopting Secure Choice, a 401(k)-style retirement savings program for private workers who dont get one through their employer  but the benefits would not be near as generous as public pensions are, and theres a good bit of debate over whether thats a good idea.

MONEYBAGS, SAVE FOR YOUR OWN RETIREMENT

Anthony Soulias spent over 40 years working in industry  and the past 25 years with a 401(k) program to save for retirement. High earners could participate in the 401(k) only if enough low earners participated as well, he said.

I believe high earners should not qualify for a pension program, Soulias said by email. They make enough money to invest and secure their own retirement.

Ronald Stein, an engineer and founder of PTS Staffing Solutions in Irvine, is inclined to agree.

Dont shoot the messenger CalPERS, as CalPERS did not load up the system with 1.7 million current and future retirees, Stein told us by email. Its the inmates running the asylum that are loading up the system with lucrative packages for themselves, to be funded by taxpayers should CalPERS miss its earnings goals.

The international business world is intelligent enough to know that DEFINED BENEFITS are financial disasters to any business, thus all businesses focus on the known, i.e., defined CONTRIBUTIONS alone.

Essentially, were stealing from the young, who silently shoulder the costs and bear the burden of unfunded promises of these programs to enrich the old, he said.

MORE PENSION SYSTEMS?

We also heard from Jim Erwin of Highland, who was outraged that San Bernardino County retirees did not appear on our top 25 list. He suspected a conspiracy, as well as reportorial incompetence.

We explained that we examined just the mammoth CalPERS on this go-around. There are dozens of independent county and city retirement systems  including the Orange County Employees Retirement System and the San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association  which will be looked at by us, and by our sister papers in the surrounding Southern California counties, in coming days and weeks.

No conspiracy, we swear. Stay tuned, and keep those quips and questions coming.

Contact the writer: tsforza@scng.com
Several restaurants have called it quits this summer, including food brands that have been open less than a year.

Heres the latest closure round up:

Farrells: Orange County-based Parlour Enterprises has closed two Farrells Ice Cream Parlour restaurants in California. The locations in Rancho Cucamonga and Sacramento abruptly closed Aug. 1. Investor and landlord issues prompted the closures as the nostalgic brand faces some struggles, said marketing director Shauna Parisi. The closures come after Farrells closed its Mission Viejo location in January. Stay tuned for more news on Farrells. Well tell you whats happening with the other locations in Buena Park, Brea, Riverside and Santa Clarita.

Cabo Kantina: After opening in March, this Laguna Hills restaurant has closed. The eat well, live well restaurant was co-founded by Orange County restaurateur Moe Ghazi, formerly of defunct concepts Mosun in Laguna Beach and Taleo Mexican Grill in Irvine. Ghazi also operated Ten Asian Bistro, which he sold a few years ago. Cabo had struggled with finances and getting a liquor license.

Kutsi Cocina Bar and Lounge: After opening earlier this year, Kutsi in downtown Santa Ana has closed. Its unclear what happened. Attempts to reach the owner have been unsuccessful. The restaurant appeared to struggle from onset, having changed its name and executive chefs in the first few months. The restaurant had taken over the prime corner space once occupied by Memphis at the Santora, which closed two years ago. The closure comes amid major changes to downtown Santa Ana over the last several years. The culinary scene has exploded with concepts such as Playground, Chapter One and 4th Street Market making the area a destination. But other restaurants have failed despite having earned good reviews including North Left, Diegos, Little Sparrow and Paninoteca Maggio.

Lemon Drop, a juice bar that opened with the debut of the Anaheim Packing House in May 2014, has closed. The space is slated to become I Am, a smoothie and shave ice shop. A representative for the food hall declined to comment on the closure; however, she said the new operation will be run by JK and Chloe Kwak.

LYFE Kitchen: The fast-casual chain with a wholesome food menu has closed its Irvine Spectrum Center location after two years. A mall representative said the restaurant closed July 28. LYFE has recently closed a few other locations in the Los Angeles area. Simply put, the decision was made to focus resources on the development and market presence of our top performing restaurants in the area, while we continue to explore the right locations for future expansion, LYFE senior brand manager Robert Griffin said in a statement. When asked if LYFE broke its lease, the Irvine Co. declined to disclose details. Easther Liu, chief marketing officer for Irvine Company Retail Properties, said in a statement: Our policy is not to disclose specifics of our leases. At this moment, we are not ready to announce a replacement.
The Fisker Karma has risen from the ashes in the form of the Revero.

Karma Automotive on Thursday unveiled its new luxury hybrid plug-in car. The Costa Mesa-based company was formed from the failed Fisker Automotive.

Heres what we know, so far:

Features: The car looks remarkably like its predecessor, the Karma. Its logo, or badge is hand-painted. It has a solar roof that will power the vehicle by charging its battery. A123 is the cars battery supplier.

It looks similar to the prior vehicle, but the electrical system has a lot of upgrades and a lot of changes, said Jim Taylor, Karmas chief revenue officer.

First dibs: Current Fisker Karma owners can reserve a Revero before it debuts to the general public Sept. 8, the same day the company is hosting a lunch event in Laguna Beach.

How to buy one: Karma is partnering with 10 third-party dealerships to sell and service the Revero across the U.S. The company also will use its own stores to sell and service both Reveros and Karmas. The companys first store will be in Orange County, although the location has not been revealed.

Where its being made: The Revero is in production in Moreno Valley. Everything, including car parts, is being made here.

Its a brand new California-based car company with engineering right here in Orange County, and the plant is not far away, Taylor said.

The company has more than 600 employees, including 120 in Moreno Valley.

Price: The luxury plug-in sedan will be priced above $100,000. The exact price will be announced at the cars invitation-only launch event in September.

Due date: An exact date has not been announced, but Taylor said the company is targeting the first quarter of next year. The car is still in prototype stage and is undergoing product testing, he said.

Backstory: Fisker was founded in 2007. Around 1,800 Karmas were sold in the U.S. and Europe before battery problems, recalls and the bankruptcy of its battery supplier led to its bankruptcy in 2013. The company was acquired by Wanxiang Group Corp. for roughly $150 million in 2014.

Contact the writer: hmadans@ocreigster.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
Prosecutors who intentionally withhold or falsify evidence could be charged with a felony under a new bill winding through the state Legislature.

The proposal by Assemblywoman Patty Lopez, D-San Fernando, comes as prosecutors in Orange County face accusations that theyve routinely misused jailhouse informants and withheld information from defense attorneys.

But the problem of prosecutorial misconduct predates Orange Countys snitch controversy. A 2010 study by Santa Clara University School of Law looked at misconduct statewide, concluding: Courts fail to report prosecutorial misconduct (despite having a statutory obligation to do so), prosecutors deny that it occurred, and the California State Bar almost never disciplines itThe problem is critical.

The study noted that just six out of 600 prosecutors accused of misconduct in California between 1997 and 2009 were punished by the state Bar.

As a member of the Assemblys Public Safety Committee, I believe that accountability for Californias prosecutors is critical to ensuring that justice in our courts is truly served, Lopez said Wednesday by email.

The bill is scheduled to go before the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday. It would boost penalties to between 16 months and three years for prosecutors who violate the law. Current statutes make it a misdemeanor for anyone to withhold or falsify evidence, while law enforcement officers can be charged with a felony.

The law also currently allows a judge to fine prosecutors and report them to the state for various types of misconduct. In some cases, judges can remove prosecutors from a case entirely. Last year, an Orange County superior court judge, citing such abuse, removed the Orange County District Attorneys Office from the penalty phase prosecution of Scott Dekraai. Dekraai killed eight people at a Seal Beach salon in 2012.

At least six other attempted murder and murder cases in Orange County have been overturned or otherwise affected by allegations of misconduct by prosecutors or police.

Ignacio Hernandez, a spokesman for the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, said Orange Countys controversy reinforces the need to increase the penalties for prosecutorial misconduct.

Were seeing the problem in many parts of the state, in many counties, Hernandez said.

The bill is supported by Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, who says it should apply to all attorneys as well.

Opposing the measure is the 500-member union representing Orange County lawyers, including deputy district attorneys, public defenders and county counsel. The groups board on Tuesday voted 8-3 to oppose the bill.

Deputy District Attorney Mena Guirguis, the unions president, said the new bill is redundant and would clog the justice system.

There are already safeguards in place to deal with the things the bill is trying to address, Guirguis said. Theres no evidence theres an explosion of intentional violations.

He added, Its going to have a wide range of (effects). Accusations will be made, investigations will have to be done, money will have to be spent, even if those things arent sustained, its going to cause a big ol delay.

But some rank-and-file members of the public defenders office dont agree with their union board.

Its completely egregious what my union is doing, said Deputy Public Defender Tania Vallejo.

Its completely untrue that our public defenders are opposing AB 1909 It hits the very soul of what we do. We have been working tirelessly to hold the district attorneys office accountable.

Contact the writer: tsaavedra@scng.com
Novelist Stephanie Danlers first job was working as a hostess at Walts Wharf in Seal Beach when she was 15.

Even at that age, she knew the restaurant industry was the place to be if she wanted to be a writer. Where else can you work odd hours, hang out with other struggling artists and still manage to earn a decent income?

I thought, This is how artists make art and feed themselves, Danler said. Ive never had a job in another industry.

Since Walts Wharf, Danler went to college and graduate school and held a variety of jobs in New York restaurants.

Her original plan to write and wait tables definitely worked out. During her time in the service industry, Danler wrote her first novel, Sweetbitter, a best-selling, beautifully crafted tale of a young woman who moves to New York and works in a high-end restaurant. It was published in May by Knopf Doubleday as part of a six-figure, two-book deal. Danler then left the restaurant industry to write full-time.

Danler said goodbye to New York and moved back to Southern California. After it took her three hours to drive from her home in Laurel Canyon to the Registers Book Club event at Taps Fish House in Irvine, she said she missed New Yorks transit system, but added, Im really smitten with Los Angeles.

And the crowd of more than 100 Book Club members at Taps was definitely smitten with Danler, who talked with Register staff writer Peter Larsen about writing and life.

Danler said she left New York because she just wanted to write and New York got very noisy. It had been a very beautiful and punishing 10 years and it quickly became too noisy to collect my thoughts. Despite the relative peace of L.A., she hasnt had much time to start a second novel because of all the press shes doing for Sweetbitter, but said, I still want to write an L.A. novel. Im very influenced by place.

Sweetbitter is definitely not a memoir, and Danler said that fact occasionally disappoints her friends and former co-workers who were hoping to see themselves in the pages of the book. While the narrator, Tess, is the same age as Danler was when she moved to the city  22  and both she and Tess lived in Williamsburg, Danler has long been focused on writing, whereas Tess is a bit adrift, just wanting to experience as much of life as she can. Danler said Tess also possesses much more bravery and recklessness than she does, which makes for great storytelling.

Danlers grandfather lives in Naples (the book is dedicated to him and her grandmother, who encouraged her career as a writer) and whenever shes in the area, Danler stops in at Walts for lunch and said she still knows several people who work there.

Does she miss working in restaurants? Yes, she said. Restaurants are a really safe space to be extroverted if youre an introvert. You can clock in and try on all these personas and selves, then you can go back to your room and read Virginia Woolf and be a hermit.

Just writing can be very intense.

Contact the writer: hskyler@ocregister.comTwitter: @heatherskyler
NEW YORK  Delta Air Lines is spending $150 million this year on technology upgrades, such as a better mobile app. But what CEO Ed Bastian never saw coming was a vulnerability to its reservations and operations servers.

A computer outage Monday morning grounded planes around the world, stranding thousands of summertime travelers left in limbo as Delta struggled to sort out the mess, its reputation as an on-time airline severely tarnished.

Problems lingered through Wednesday, and the Atlanta-based airline has canceled more than 2,100 flights so far this week. Thousands of other flights were delayed.

Bastian, who took over as CEO in May, told The Associated Press Wednesday that the problem started when an electrical component failed and let to a shutdown of the transformer providing power to the airlines data center. The system moved to backup power but not all of the servers were connected to that source, which caused the cascading problem.

Below are the highlights of Bastinas interview, edited for length and clarity.

Q. You and other Delta executives have touted the airlines record of days without cancelations. Did that set false expectations of service for passengers that compounded their disappointment this week?

A. It certainly disappointed us as well as our passengers. It does not reflect the quality of service Delta provides. Through the first two days of this outage  and were largely back to normal this afternoon  we have canceled on the mainline close to five times the number of flights that we have canceled year-to-date. While this has been an unfortunate week  and its been a week weve been very sorry about  I see no continuing effect in terms of the quality and reliability of the product well be putting forth.

Q. Has there been any short-term impact on bookings?

A. The period of time is really too short to determine that.

Q. Do you expect any long-term impact?

A. I hope not. Clearly, we have disappointed customers. And Im sure there are customers that decided in the short-term to book away from us. I dont know the numbers. But we are determined to win those customers back.

Q. You posted a three-minute apology video Tuesday saying this isnt Delta and the quality of service that passengers expect. You said you were sorry four separate times. What changes are you making as a result of this?

A. Were going to do everything we can to make certain it does not ever happen again. We made a significant investment in our technology infrastructure over the last several years. In addition to the disruption this has caused to our people and our customers, that is the thing I am most disappointed about. Were going to spend this year over $150 million in technology infrastructure and upgrades alone. We have to analyze how this could happen given the size of the investment were making.

Q. In February you replaced your chief information officer. Has the new executive found any major problems with your technology since taking over?

A. Those changes were driven because we were not getting the type of performance out of technology that we wanted. The new leadership is in the midst of a transformation of technology investment both for infrastructure as well as applications. We knew there were investments to be made in this area but we did not believe, by any means, that we had this type of vulnerability.

Q. Delta ended an agreement last year with American Airlines where you placed stranded passengers on each others flights at a discount following mechanical or weather delays. Did the end of that pact make it harder for you to recover from this weeks computer outage?

A. Im sure in isolated situations it could have been a bit more difficult but on average no, I wouldnt say that was the case.

Q. How much sleep did you get this week?

A. Not a lot. The frontline teams have been amazing. Weve certainly gotten a number of emails and comments from irate customers. There are certain emails I could not talk about given the nature of the language used. At the same time Ive been impressed how many emails of support and encouragement Ive received from customers telling us to hang in there, the great efforts of the team, the professionalism and the spirit of can do. Im very proud of the Delta team.
At least one barrier to asset forfeiture reform has been cleared, as a compromise has been reached between law enforcement groups and state Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles.

Last year, California seemed set to join a growing number of states in reforming civil asset forfeiture, a means by which law enforcement agencies can seize a persons assets without first obtaining a criminal conviction.

As initially conceived, Senate Bill 443, bipartisan legislation authored by Sen. Mitchell and Assemblyman David Hadley, R-Torrance, would have required a criminal conviction before assets in excess of $25,000 could be seized, granted a right to counsel for the indigent and authorized attorneys fees for those who successfully appeal forfeiture cases, among other requirements.

The bill sailed through the state Senate, which approved the bill 38-1, with only Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, in opposition. Leyva, incidentally, represents Pomona, which happened to be a prolific user of asset forfeiture, yielding $14 million in revenue between 2006 and 2013, according to the Drug Policy Alliance.

But backlash from law enforcement groups abruptly put to a halt to reform. Groups like the California District Attorneys Association and the California State Sheriffs Association warned lawmakers against the bill. The CDAA argued that passage of SB 443 will cripple the ability of law enforcement to forfeit assets from drug dealers.

The messaging worked, as the Assembly rejected the bill 44-24, with 12 members not voting.

Nearly a year later, a deal has been reached to make it sufficiently palatable to the states law enforcement lobby. Amendments were made on August 4 requiring a criminal conviction for seizures valued under $40,000. In cases where seized assets are valued at greater than $40,000, the standard of clear and convincing evidence is used.

We believe those amendments strike an appropriate balance between addressing the due process concerns of the proponents of SB 443 and making sure that law enforcement retains an important tool to effectively combat large drug trafficking organizations, Sean Hoffman of the CDAA told me via email.

The CDAA and the CSSA have dropped their opposition to the bill as a result of those changes.

Though not quite what it was when initially proposed, the bill, fortunately, represents a much-needed step in the right direction and adds to existing protections under state law.

In 1994, California approved Assembly Bill 114, requiring a conviction before assets up to $25,000 can be seized, and capping the amount of money law enforcement agencies may keep in order to reduce any incentive to focus on cases which might yield financial gain for law enforcement agencies.

The reform, however, only applied to seizures undertaken by state and local law enforcement agencies operating within the boundaries of state law. For decades, law enforcement agencies in California circumvented state law by cooperating with federal law enforcement.

Through what is called equitable sharing, state and local police departments that engage in joint investigations with federal agencies have been able to keep up to 80 percent of assets seized, without the burden of having to wait for a criminal conviction.

This has incentivized widespread participation in federal law enforcement operations, particularly anti-drug task forces. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, in 2013, California law enforcement agencies yielded nearly $100 million in revenue from federal cooperation, versus roughly $20 million in cases pursued under state law.

SB 443 requires a conviction in federal cases before state and local agencies can cash in, and requires the state attorney general to collect information about such seizures.

In the interest of justice, hopefully, California will finally do the right thing and adopt the reforms.
California appears poised to join the growing number of states that have legalized marijuana, even as the federal government is reaffirming its 46-year-old stance that pot is a top-tier illicit narcotic on par with heroin and LSD.

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday that marijuana will remain classified as a Schedule I controlled substance  a designation reserved for highly addictive drugs with no proven medical use.

Thousands of published studies and extensive anecdotal evidence have indicated marijuana can help with conditions such as epilepsy and chronic pain. But DEA acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said a thorough review of the research, with input from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, determined cannabis treatments havent yet been proven effective by controlled clinical trials and widespread acceptance from the medical community.

If the scientific understanding about marijuana changes  and it could change  then the decision could change, Rosenberg said. But we will remain tethered to science.

Cannabis advocates said they dont expect the DEAs ruling to adversely affect various marijuana legalization votes on the ballot in California and seven other states this November. But the federal action underscored the continuing functional and financial limbo in which multimillion-dollar  or even multibillion-dollar  legal cannabis industries find themselves in two dozen states.

Cannabis growers, distributors and retailers cant access banking services, forcing them to operate largely in cash. They cant write off typical business expenses come tax time. Derek Peterson, CEO of Irvine-based Terra Tech, even got denied life insurance because of his involvement in the cannabis industry.

Some sort of deal needs to be brokered to harmonize state and federal law so were not constantly battling each other, said Aaron Herzberg, who runs the Costa Mesa-based marijuana real estate firm CalCann Holdings.

Until then, he said, the federal governments view of pot will continue to diverge from that of the American public.

The majority of citizens live in states where marijuana is available to people for medical purposes, Herzberg said. It seems like the DEA and federal government is just woefully behind the times and is not getting the message.

The DEA did make one concession Thursday, saying it would remove the governments monopoly on growing high-quality marijuana for research purposes. The policy has meant that since 1968, only the University of Mississippi could supply marijuana for FDA-approved studies.

The DEA insists its never turned down a request from qualified researchers to access that supply. But the agency acknowledged theres mounting demand from researchers, so its going to allow more growers to apply to become federally sanctioned suppliers.

Dr. Igor Grant, a psychiatrist who oversees the Center for Medical Cannabis Research at UC San Diego, said he was reviewing the DEA ruling and couldnt comment on whether his center would apply to grow cannabis. But he said he was encouraged by efforts to expand access for researchers.

There is significant evidence that cannabis possesses therapeutic value, and it is worthy of continued, even accelerated, investigation and development, Grant said. Actions that reduce obstacles to conducting serious, rigorous science regarding the use of cannabis to treat diseases are a good thing.

Terra Techs Peterson sees Thursdays announcement on researching cannabis as long overdue. However, the federal government is being hypocritical, he said, by simultaneously asserting marijuana has enough potential medical benefits to justify changing research policies but also should remain a Schedule I drug.

Congress placed cannabis in that category in 1970. The drugs classification has been reviewed periodically. The latest reexamination was prompted by a petition filed with the DEA five years ago by then-Washington state Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire and then-Rhode Island Republican Gov. Lincoln Chafee.

Gregoire said Thursdays action was very disappointing and puts the DEA totally out of touch with the Justice Department, current research, the medical profession, patients and the public.

Roughly 80 percent of Americans believe medical marijuana should be legal, according to recent polls. And the plant can be used to treat ailments in 25 states.

Recreational use is allowed in four states plus Washington, D.C. If California passes Proposition 64 this November, 1 in 6 Americans would live in a state where adults would be allowed to freely use cannabis.

Marijuana opponents predict the DEAs latest decision will slow that momentum.

To be honest, it vindicates us, said Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which has donated $64,150 to fight Prop. 64.

Many advocates disagree, saying the federal governments action may well motivate states to press ahead with their own expanded cannabis programs.

The federal government has, to some extent, become highly irrelevant in the conversation about legalizing marijuana, Herzberg said. This doesnt slow down anything as far as legalization on a state level in California or anywhere. But its just disappointing.

The ruling will intensify pressure on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to follow through on her promise to recategorize marijuana if she reaches the White House.

President Barack Obama also could face added pressure to override the DEAs decision before his term expires at the end of the year.

His administration drew praise from many pot backers three years ago when the Justice Department said states could proceed with sales of marijuana, as long as they adequately regulated the industry. But U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, who recently acknowledged that he uses a medical marijuana cream to ease his arthritis, said the president hasnt gone far enough.

The Obama administration has had the chance to correct a foolish and counterproductive policy, he said. Now its up to the Congress and the next administration.

Tribune News Service contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: bstaggs@scng.com
A woman was accidentally shot and killed in Punta Gorda, Fla., by a police officer in a role-play exercise at a citizens training academy meant to help members of the community understand law enforcement tactics, authorities said Tuesday.

Chief Thomas P. Lewis of the Punta Gorda Police Department said at a news conference Wednesday that the woman, Mary Knowlton, 73, had been killed by an officer who fired a revolver that had been used before in shoot/dont shoot training sessions, a role-play exercise intended to teach people how to make decisions when confronted with lethal force.

The chief, who told reporters that he had been present at the time of the shooting, did not name the officer or address why the officer used live rounds in the training session.

What are shoot/dont shoot programs?

Police departments across the United States, from Houston to Evanston, Ill., host some version of citizens academy programs for volunteers. Curriculums range from how to reach out to at-risks youth to so-called shoot/dont shoot scenarios, which are often meant to show members of the public what police officers face when they confront an armed suspect, and which factors lead to the decision to fire their weapons.

This type of scenario-based role play is not only well received in our community, but has grown in use across the country, Lt. Katie R. Heck of the Punta Gorda Police Department, said in a statement Wednesday.

A CNN report in May showed an anchor, Carol Costello, undergoing a shoot/dont shoot training developed by FBI agents. Costello was outfitted with a heart monitor and given a firearm. She was told to negotiate with a man portraying an emotionally disturbed person who later pulls out a weapon.

Costello hesitates to pull her gun, and another man standing next to her says, OK, bam, youre dead.

What went wrong in this case?

It is unclear what type of session was playing out in Punta Gorda, but Knowlton was chosen at random with another person to participate. She was shot during the first of two planned scenarios, police said.

Authorities did not say where she was shot or how many times, but Sue Paquin, a local photographer who was covering the event, told The News-Press in Fort Myers that the officer had fired several shots at Knowlton.

According to a post by The Charlotte Sun on Facebook, the officer had been playing a bad guy in the scenario when he shot Knowlton. She was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where she was pronounced dead.

Lewis told reporters that the officer who shot Knowlton was placed on administrative leave and that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would conduct an investigation into the shooting.

In a statement on Wednesday, Howard Kunik, city manager, also called the shooting a horrific accident. He said the police departments chaplain had been made available to assist the programs other attendees.

According to a Facebook page belonging to Knowlton, she was originally from Minnesota and had worked as a librarian. On Facebook, a niece of Knowlton, Jenny Tucker Christensen, said that the older woman had been married with two sons.

Calls to a phone number listed for the Knowlton family were not immediately returned on Wednesday.

Shocked residents of Punta Gorda, a harbor town of about 16,000 people near Fort Myers, reacted to the shooting on Facebook. On Wednesday, a debate about whether the officer should have been armed was brewing on the police departments page.

An accident, really, so that makes it OK? one observer noted. Live rounds used in a citizens training exercise.

The department had operated the scenarios as part of its training program for about two years without incident, Heck, of the Punta Gorda department, said in an email Wednesday.
COSTA MESA  Police have arrested a man who turned himself in to Santa Ana police early Thursday in connection with an alleged sexual assault at South Coast Plaza.

Eduardo Vidal Avalos, 20, of Orange was booked into Costa Mesa Jail on suspicion of assault with intent to commit a felony and attempted penetration with a foreign object, police said in a statement.

The alleged assault occurred at around 5:45 p.m. Aug. 2, the statement said. A woman told police a man had followed her to her vehicle parked at South Coast Plaza and sexually assaulted her.

Investigators had released mall security footage Wednesday on social media and to the press, asking the public for information about a man wanted in the assault.

Avalos told officers that a friend had notified him that the surveillance pictures looked like him, and he decided to contact the authorities, Costa Mesa police Lt. Paul Beckman said in a statement.

Staff Writer Scott Schwebke contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7802 or jsudock@ocregister..com
KIEV, Ukraine   Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko put his troops on the border with Crimea and in the countrys eastern regions on high alert after warning that Russia is seeking to reignite conflict in the disputed territories.

The command came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian agents had engaged in terror tactics on the Black Sea peninsula, which he seized in 2014. Putin vowed to respond with very serious measures, touching off the worst diplomatic standoff between the two countries since a truce signed last year in Belarus eased heavy fighting in the separatist conflict.

There may be escalation in eastern Ukraine and that is very dangerous, Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies, said by phone Thursday. The events are developing according to a pretty negative scenario. Neither side has any trust in the other.

The confrontation coincided with a surge in violence in Ukraines eastern Donbas territories and torpedoed plans to revive four-way peace talks at the September G-20 meeting in China, with Putin reversing earlier support and calling the negotiations pointless. The timing of the flare-up perplexed military and political analysts, as it followed efforts by Putin to repair ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that frayed after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter on the Syrian border last year.

Putin discussed bolstering defenses on the peninsula with his Security Council, according to the Kremlin press service. On Wednesday, he said the FSB, the Federal Security Service thats the main successor of the Soviet-era KGB, reported Ukrainian intelligence officers killed two Russian servicemen during a covert operation in Crimea. He added that he certainly wont let such things pass by.

Poroshenko dismissed Putins accusations as fiction that could be an excuse for further military threats by Russia. He ordered troops to go on high alert and urged police to step up security to prevent potential terrorist attacks, according to a statement on his website.

To further escalate the conflict, Putin couldnt imagine anything better than a cheap theater performance, Oleksandr Turchynov, chairman of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, said in a statement.

He ordered the Foreign Ministry to notify the United Nations of recent events and to organize phone calls with Putin, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, French President Francois Hollande, European Union President Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Ukraine has accused its former fellow Soviet republic of funneling cash, weapons and fighters to the separatists who have seized control of much of its easternmost regions in a conflict that the United Nations estimates has killed at least 9,500 people.

The Russian leader has exhibited a tendency to use instability in the region as leverage in negotiations. He also has a track record of launching military operations while the worlds attention is on the Olympic Games. The annexation of Crimea, for example, came just after Russia hosted them in Sochi, and Russia sent troops into Georgia during the Beijing Olympics in 2008. This years Games have been marked by a partial ban on Russian athletes by doping authorities, which Putin said was an unfair decision made by short-sighted politicians.

It is always difficult to read Putins military game plan on the ground, Tim Ash, a strategist at Nomura International Plc, said in a note. This could be much of the same as we have seen over the past year, of small re-escalations just to impress on the West, and policy makers in Kyiv, that the issue over Crimea/Donbas and Russo-Ukraine relations is still unresolved, and Moscow remains a key player.

Western countries have refused to recognize Russias takeover of Crimea and have imposed sanctions that have helped force the worlds biggest energy-exporting economy into recession. Putins comment on the futility of further talks tied to the cease-fire signed in Minsk may suggest hes threatening to reignite the conflict.

The Minsk process is practically dead, said Evgeny Minchenko, head of Minchenko Consulting in Moscow. The funeral of the Minsk process is coming faster now. Thats for sure.

Other motivations could include bolstering domestic support before Russias Sept. 18 parliamentary elections, providing a distraction before Ukraines 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union on Aug. 24, or maneuvering before the U.S. presidential elections in November, Ash said.

One soldier was killed and four were wounded over the past 24 hours, military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said Thursday. He said Russia was engaging in yet another step in the hybrid war against Ukraine.

The U.S. government has seen no evidence that corroborates Russian allegations of a Crimea incursion, Washingtons ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, said on Twitter. He added that Russia has a record of levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect from its own illegal actions, and that the U.S. would maintain its Crimea-related sanctions against Russia until it returns the peninsula to Kievs control.
CAIRO  Pro-government Libyan militias backed by the United States said Wednesday that they had seized Islamic States last stronghold in the country, in the seaside city of Sirte. If confirmed, the capture would be a severe blow to the militant organizations expansion into North Africa.

Militia announcements quoted by Libyan news agencies and television outlets said the militia fighters were still hunting remnants of Islamic State forces hiding in residential neighborhoods in Sirte.

But the militias claimed to have taken the heavily fortified Ouagadougou Center, which Islamic State had used as its headquarters.

In a statement broadcast on Misrata TV, a station based in the nearby city of Misrata, Mohamed al-Ghassri, a spokesman for the attacking militia force, said that the Ouagadougou Center and a nearby hospital had been captured.

The center was heavily fortified, with underground bunkers and fortifications dating from the era of Moammar Gadhafi, the longtime leader of Libya who was overthrown nearly five years ago.

Islamic States loss of Sirte would signify the culmination of a summerlong offensive by militias from Misrata, under the auspices of the Government of National Accord.

In the past 10 days, the militias have been supported by heavy U.S. airstrikes, using drones based in Jordan. The U.S. Africa Command has reported 28 airstrikes from the beginning of that campaign, from Aug.1 to Aug. 8.

Islamic State had held Sirte for the past year. Its occupation of the city represented the organizations most brazen expansion from its power bases in Iraq and Syria.

Though the U.S. military did not specify where its airstrikes had been aimed, it is believed that they were concentrated in and around Sirte. The militias offensive against Islamic State had reduced the area they controlled from 150 miles of coastline to the area immediately around the city.

Officials at the Pentagon said they could not confirm that Islamic States headquarters in Sirte had fallen. Libyas hodgepodge of militias, answering to three different factions claiming to control the country, often have been prone to exaggerated claims.
Department store giant Macys said Thursday that it plans to close 100 stores, a dramatic step aimed at helping the chain get ahead of a potentially crippling problem: America, they say, has too many stores for the online shopping era.

Most of the affected stores, which the company is not disclosing yet, will close in early 2017.

Earlier this year the chain announced 40 store closures, including one at the Irvine Spectrum Center.

Of the 40 Macys stores, 36 were closed in the spring and four closed in 2015. The Spectrum store was the only Macys in Orange County on the closure list.

Macys regularly prunes its store portfolio, often moving to close several dozen underperforming stores after the holiday rush. But with a summertime announcement that it will close 15 percent of its 728 locations, the chain appears to be adopting a more aggressive posture than many of its counterparts about girding its fleet for a fast-changing shopping environment.

Macys has plenty of reasons to scramble to make a change: Many of its stores are located in small, regional malls whose foot traffic has been especially hard-hit by the rise of e-commerce. And the department store category has generally struggled as shoppers increasingly turn to off-price retailers such as T.J. Maxx and fast-fashion players such as H&M.

These factors, along with short-term hitches such as decreased spending by international tourists and unseasonable weather, have left Macys in a rough patch for more than a year. On Thursday, the company said it saw a 2.6 percent drop in comparable sales in the most recent quarter, a weak performance that was nonetheless an improvement over the dismal 6.1 percent year-over-year decline it recorded the previous quarter. The retailers revenue was $5.87 billion, down 3.9 percent from the same period last year.

Macys said the store closures would probably cost it about $1 billion in annual sales. At one time, such a large batch of store closures might have been viewed as a retailers concession of defeat. Yet the companys stock soared 17 percent on Thursday, a sign that investors view the move as a proactive measure that portends a stronger future for Macys.

It should not come as a surprise that Macys is slashing stores. CEO Terry Lundgren has said the chain had too many stores. Executives have been saying for some time that they are putting particular emphasis on roughly 150 top-performing stores, trying to wring more sales out of those locations.

Jeff Gennette, the Macys executive who has been appointed to replace Lundgren in 2017, said in a statement that nearly all the stores the company plans to close are ones at which sales volume and profitability have been sliding.

We recognize that these locations do not yield an adequate return on investment and often do not represent a customer shopping experience that reflects our aspirations for the Macys brand, Gennette said in a statement.

The company said it would offer a list of the stores that will close at a later date. It is still finalizing which stores to shutter and thus has not yet determined how many jobs will be slashed. The retailer will not pull out entirely of any of the top markets where it operates.

Macys on Thursday also reported second-quarter earnings. Sales were down nearly 4 percent compared with the same period the year before.

Staff writer Hannah Madans contributed to this report.
A Santa Ana doctor who was convicted of writing 22 prescriptions for Adderall in the names of ex-girlfriends for his own use, has been barred from practicing medicine after he failed to undergo required drug testing.

Dr. Brian Michael Swan was issued a cease practice order by the California Medical Board on Monday.

In 2013, Swan pleaded guilty to six misdeamenors. Prosecutors said he prescribed Adderall to the women but then picked up the prescriptions for his own use. Swan had been diagnosed with adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and participated in several drug treatment programs.

In 2014, Swan agreed to five years of medical board probation triggered by his illegal use of prescription drugs and subsequent conviction. The settlement with the board called for him to refrain from use of any controlled substances, unless prescribed by a doctor, and to undergo random drug testing.

According to the board, he failed to complete testing. Swan is prohibited from practicing medicine until the board decides whether to revoke his probation.

His attorney, Joseph Weimortz of Long Beach, did not respond to requests for comment.

Contact the writer: cperkes@scng.com 714-796-3686
BEIRUT  The Russian military sent long-range bombers to strike a series of Islamic State targets in the groups de facto capital of Raqqa on Thursday  a fresh round of airstrikes that Syrian activists said killed at least 20 civilians and came amid Turkish calls for greater cooperation with Moscow against the extremist group.

The offer by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to coordinate with Russia on operations against IS followed a meeting between the Russian and Turkish leaders earlier this week in which they agreed to mend ties.

Relations between the two nations, which back opposite sides in Syrias civil war, soured after Turkish air force jets downed a Russian warplane on the Syrian border in November. Russia retaliated by deploying long-range air defense missile systems to its base in Syria, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey and imposing an array of economic sanctions.

Cavusoglu also said Turkey would resume airstrikes against IS targets in Syria, months after they were suspended amid the row with Moscow. On the issue of Daesh, we have made a call to Russia. We said we have a common enemy which we can struggle against together, Cavusoglu said, using an Arabic-language acronym for IS.

Russias deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, welcomed the Turkish initiative.

Turkey is a very important partner, and we can only welcome what Cavusoglu has said, Bogdanov said, according to the Tass news agency. Its a result of contacts on the highest level  with our Turkish partners. Its a very important statement.

The early morning airstrikes on the IS stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria sent waves of thick, gray smoke wafting over the citys skyline.

A local activist group, Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, said at least 20 civilians were killed in the assault, which struck an oil refinery and cut the citys water supply. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 24 civilians were killed, along with six others whose affiliation or identities were not immediately confirmed.

Both groups said the strikes were launched by Russian jets, though it was not clear how they made the determination. The Russian military said six of its long-range bombers had flown from their base in Russia to strike IS facilities near Raqqa, but did not mention civilian casualties. It said the raid destroyed a large ammunition depot, a plant producing chemical weapons and a large IS training camp.

Meanwhile, there was no letup in the embattled northern Syrian city of Aleppo, where Turkey and Russia are supporting opposing sides in the conflict and where residents and activists reported a chlorine gas attack late Wednesday.

A Syrian rescue worker and opposition activists said Thursday that the Syrian government airstrike on an opposition-held district in the embattled city killed at least two people. The attack on the citys eastern Zabadieh neighborhood saw at least four barrel bombs dropped on the area, one of which purportedly released the chlorine gas.

Abdelkafi al-Hamdu, a resident of Aleppo, recounted dramatic moments of gasping for breath and cowering with his family on the top floors of their apartment building as a choking gas filled the hallway.

Al-Hamdu said he saw two airstrikes from his in-laws balcony, about 30 meters (yards) away, the first of which released a gas he identified by the smell as chlorine.

He took cover in the apartment but began experiencing severe difficulty breathing, so he took his wife and daughter with him and tried to leave the building. But the odor grew stronger as they descended the stairs, so they returned to the higher floors to wait out the effects, he said, speaking to The Associated Press via a messaging service.

A Syrian military official denied the allegations, saying they were fabricated by the militants. The official, based in Damascus, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Thursday the reports of possible chemical weapons use in Syria were of great concern.

Accusations involving use of chlorine and other poisonous gases are not uncommon in Syrias civil war, and both sides have denied using them while blaming the other for using them as a weapon of war. Last week, the Syrian government and the opposition traded accusations of using chlorine, also in Aleppo.

The accusations came hours after the Russian military, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces in the civil war, promised a daily, three-hour cease-fire for Aleppo to allow humanitarian aid into besieged areas. Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian militarys General Staff said the cease-fire would be observed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time starting Thursday, in order to facilitate the distribution of aid.

However, residents of the opposition-held eastern part of the city reported near-constant fighter jet overflights on Thursday.

Im at home and I dont dare to leave  the jets are not letting up, resident Wissam Zarqa told The Associated Press by telephone.

A senior U.N. humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, said the Russian offer of a daily three-hour truce is really nothing. We need 48 hours. Speaking in Geneva, he said that Russia has agreed to hold talks with U.N. officials to hammer out a workable plan for a humanitarian pause in the fighting in Aleppo.
Donald Trump said Wednesday night that it was terrible for the father of the Orlando, Fla., mass shooter to appear behind Hillary Clinton during a rally this week, and he accused her campaign of knowing that he would show up there.

But Trump, who spoke at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., drew his own scrutiny over a recognizable figure who was seated behind him: former congressman Mark Foley, who resigned in 2006 after reports that he had sent sexually explicit Internet messages to at least one male underage former page.

The Republican presidential nominee also leveled intense criticism against Clinton and President Barack Obama, charging that the latter founded the Islamic State terrorist group because of his mismanagement of the situation in the Middle East. Clinton, he said, was the co-founder.

In an unorthodox move, Trump presented data on large, handheld cards to argue that Obama and Clinton have failed the country with their economic and security policies. Trump was interrupted by protesters during his rally, and tensions appeared to be running extra high in the crowd.

After Trump told the supporters seated behind him that they were going to be famous because they would appear on TV, he turned his remarks to Seddique Mateen, the father of the man identified by authorities as the mass shooter at an Orlando nightclub in June. Mateen positioned himself behind Clinton in a prime spot at a Monday campaign rally in Kissimmee, Fla. Afterward, he told a local TV station that he is supporting Clinton.

Wasnt it terrible when the father of the animal that killed the wonderful people in Orlando was sitting with a big smile on his face right behind Hillary Clinton? Trump asked the crowd.

The Clinton campaign said Mateen wasnt invited as a guest, and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event. Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said Clinton disagrees with his views and disavows his support, according to the Associated Press.

Trump argued that people attending campaign rallies in such proximity to the candidate often know the candidate. To bolster his point, he turned to the area where Foley, a former Republican congressman from Florida, was seated.

How many of you people know me? A lot of you people know me, right? he asked.

Some, including Foley, raised their hands.

When you get those seats you sort of know the campaign, Trump continued. So when she said. Well, we didnt know, he knew, they knew.

Trump said of Mateen: Of course he likes Hillary because Hillary wont even say the words radical Islamic terrorism.

Foley told an MSNBC reporter that Trump is a longtime friend and one of his biggest contributors. Federal Election Commission records show that Trump made a handful of donations to Foley over the years.

A Trump spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump or the campaign knew that Foley would be in attendance. It was not clear at the time of his remarks that he did.

The Republican presidential nominee said Obama  whom he referred to at one point by his full name, Barack Hussein Obama  and Clinton botched policy in the Middle East and fueled the growth of terrorism there.

He is the founder of ISIS, Trump said, using an acronym for the Islamic State. He added: And I would say the co-founder is crooked Hillary Clinton.

Trump criticized the press for its coverage of his Tuesday comment that Second Amendment people might be able to take action if Clinton appoints anti-gun judges.

Look at the way they covered that story, he said.
Several recent federal court decisions have invalidated state laws restricting voting, and have reaffirmed a basic principle: Laws adopted with the purpose of, or that have the effect of, keeping racial minorities from voting are invalid. No right is more precious in a democracy than the right to vote. As the U.S. Supreme Court declared long ago, it is preservative of all other rights. But in a number of states, Republican-controlled legislatures adopted laws that were clearly intended to keep African Americans and Latinos from voting. Rulings in the last few weeks striking down restrictive voting laws in Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin send a clear message: The government cannot act to suppress voting by racial minorities.

In North Carolina, a conservative, Republican state legislature imposed restrictions on voting, knowing that the effect would be disproportionately to keep racial minorities, who tend overwhelmingly to vote Democratic, from being able to cast ballots. The law required that individuals present photo identification in order to vote, eliminated same-day registration on Election Day, prevented those under 18 from registering to vote at the next election for which they would be eligible, greatly restricted early voting and refused to count ballots from those who mistakenly voted at the wrong polling place.

On Thursday, July 28, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit concluded that the North Carolina legislature carefully looked for, and chose, measures that would keep racial minorities from being able to vote. The court declared: We cannot ignore the record evidence that, because of race, the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions on the franchise in modern North Carolina history.

A week earlier, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down key provisions of a Texas law that is one of the most restrictive in the country in requiring photo identification for voting. The court concluded that the Texas law disproportionately burdened black and Hispanic voters, thereby violating the federal Voting Rights Acts ban on racial discrimination in American elections. The Court of Appeals declared: The record shows that drafters and proponents of SB 14 were aware of the likely disproportionate effect of the law on minorities, and that they nonetheless passed the bill without adopting a number of proposed ameliorative measures that might have lessened this impact.

Critics of these decisions said that they were partisan rulings by Democratic judges. But that is false; judges appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents were in the majority in these decisions. In fact, 10 of the 15 judges on the Fifth Circuit were Republican appointees.

The Supreme Court long has held that voting is a fundamental right under the Constitution, and that laws that are adopted with the purpose of harming minority voters are unconstitutional. The Fifteenth Amendment says that the right to vote cannot be denied on account of race. Additionally, the Voting Rights Act prevents the government from acting with the purpose or the effect of harming minority voters.

The evidence is overwhelming that restrictions such as strict requirements for photo identification will have a disproportionate effect on minority voters. Proponents argue that the laws were motivated by a desire to stop voter fraud. But many studies have demonstrated that voter fraud rarely occurs through people claiming a false name. In striking down the North Carolina law, the Court of Appeals said that the laws provisions impose cures for problems that did not exist.

The United States has a dismal history of equality with regard to voting. The Fifteenth Amendment was adopted in 1870, but it was rarely enforced until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Throughout American history, states have repeatedly adopted a wide array of restrictions on voting designed to keep racial minorities from being able to cast ballots. The recent decisions of federal courts of appeals and federal district courts are crucial in ensuring that state legislatures no longer can enact laws to keep African Americans and Latinos from voting.

Donald Trump recently asserted that the November election will be rigged. There is no evidence to support this. And these recent decisions show that the federal courts will be vigilant in making sure that the polls across the country will be open to all eligible voters to cast ballots.

Erwin Chemerinsky is dean of the UC Irvine School of Law.
Trial by Jury, a Hallowed American Right, Is Vanishing, says a headline in the Aug. 8 New York Times, referring to both criminal and civil trials. We agree and its going on right under our nose.

The NYT first page story, by Benjamin Weiser, said the Southern District of New York, which includes two federal courthouses in Manhattan and another in White Plains, held only 50 criminal trials last year, the lowest since 2004. There were 106 trials in 2005.

Judge Jed Rakoff of the Manhattan bench is quoted as saying that a trial is the one place where the system really gets tested. Judge Lewis Kaplan noted that his last criminal jury trial was 18 months ago and said, Its a loss, because when one thinks of the American system of justice, one thinks of justice being administered by juries of our peers.

Residents of Southampton, Westhampton Beach and Quogue have just witnessed an eight-year battle over whether an Orthodox Jewish sect has the right to erect an eruv religious boundary in the towns. At no point was it ever proposed that the issue be brought before a jury of local citizens. Billions of words were filed in court and millions of dollars of legal fees were paid. Threats of millions of dollars in legal penalties and costs were made.

The towns and the East End Eruv Assn. recently made a settlement but residents wonder just what was agreed to. The required lechi markers cannot be found on any of 46 designated utility poles in WHB and no elected official signed the alleged agreement as required by Jewish law. It was signed by a non-employee outside legal counsel. That would invalidate any claimed boundary. Residents say the deal was something that saved face for both sides but has no real value.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Faults System

The legal system is taking a lot of flak lately because of the increasing power of law firms and the courts.

Critics include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which has a $49 million budget aimed at reducing legal costs of business. It published in 2014 "Unprincipled Prosecution," subtitled, Abuse of Power and Profiteering in the New Litigation Swarm.

Unfettered litigation inhibits the creation of new products and companies, kills jobs, and drags down our entire economy, it says. There are currently 1.22 million lawyers filing 15 million civil lawsuits yearly. The U.S. has 391 lawyers per 100,000 population vs. 23 in Japan and 26 in Canada.

The U.S is choking on litigationanyone can sue for anything no matter how absurd or egregious, wrote Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby May 9, 2014.

Other sites such as Judicial Accountability Initiative Law, the Anti-Lawyer Party, and the site hosted by Dr. Lee Sachs, say the legal system has ceased to deliver fairness and justice to the American public.

The U.S. has the worlds largest prison system2.2 million people behind bars including about one of 20 black males of working age, notes Sachs.

Lawyers work closely with judges and engage in an endlessly devious manipulation of words and phrases to get the desired result, says Sachs. Lawyers have to make the judge happy first, he says.

Reporters, according to Sachs, are little timid people who are afraid of getting fired and who almost never write a story on government corruption unless some other part of the government is officially investigating or prosecuting.

All of the above sites decry the almost complete disappearance of jury trials. Scranton, Pa., lawyer Marion Munley says justice in the U.S. has deteriorated into a series of back-room deals. There are pre-trials and pre-trials and pre-trials for the pre-trials, benefiting lawyers only, says the Anti-Lawyer Party.



Courts Are "Unconstitutional, Aristocratic"

The Anti-Lawyer Party says states have "unconstitutional aristocratic courts since their constitutions and/or unconstitutional lawyer systems require judges to be lawyers, creating a ruling class which is forbidden by Article IV, Section 4, U.S. Constitution."

The A-LP, in an essay last modified on May 6, 2013, highlights an abuse we see taking place in the Hamptons eruv battlean endless series of court hearings and motions instead of a "speedy" trial by jury.

Says A-LP: "Lawyers and lawyer-judges created unconstitutional lawyer system pre-trial motions and hearings to have extortionist litigation, which is barratry [litigation for harassment or profit] and is also in violation of the U.S. Constitution as this places defendants in double jeopardy a hundred times over.

"The multitude of pre-trials are actually pre-trials for the pre-trials for the pre-trials for the pre-trials, benefiting lawyers only." Defendants are supposed to have "a trial, not trials," A-LP writes.
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New economy was included in this years government work report for the first time, and its development in almost every sector could bring big changes to our lives. Therefore, it is also one of the main concerns of Premier Li Keqiang, and he stressed it many times this year.

On July 20

Promoting Internet Plus logistics can develop new economy and upgrade traditional economy.

Premier Li Keqiang stressed this at an executive meeting of the State Council. The meeting agreed to boost the integration of logistics and internet technology, lower the costs for enterprises and make peoples lives more convenient. He also said that the development of Internet Plus Logistics should be combined with mass entrepreneurship and innovation, which can nurture new technology, new models and new business forms.

On May 25

The new generation of internet technologies has profoundly changed the world, and China has to seize this opportunity to develop science and technology and build a better future.

Premier Li made the remarks at the China Big Data Industry Summit & China E-commerce Innovation and Development Summit in Guiyang, capital of Southwest Chinas Guizhou province.

He said that the innovation concept represented by the big data industry and the craftsman spirit inspired by traditional industry should be combined to promote economic development. He also urged the integrative development of the virtual and real worlds to boost the development of new driving forces and upgrade traditional engines.

On May 4

China has taken the lead in e-commerce development of the world, but the pace for developing the manufacturing industry via the internet needs to be accelerated.

Premier Li said this at a State Council executive meeting.

He said that China had become an industrial country, but had yet to be an industrial power, so it was necessary to accelerate the in-depth integration of the manufacturing industry and the Internet.

On March 25

Medical tourism is both a project of peoples livelihood and a form of the new economy. The peoples health is the foundation for Chinas long-term development, so a high standard should be set for the medical tourism industry.

Premier Li said this during a visit to the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in South Chinas Hainan province, Chinas first medical tourism center, and he also praised the new business model that combined medical care with vacation spending.

On March 5

At the crucial stage of development, China must cultivate and grow new driving forces and speed up the development of new economy.

Premier Li said this when delivering this years government work report, when the term new economy was first written into the report. He stressed the importance of growing new technologies, industries and business models to promote a sharing economy, build sharing platforms and create new driving engines.

On March 4

The new economy of agriculture can be generated by promoting various forms of moderate-sized operations, increasing productivity and accelerating the development of modern agriculture.

Premier Li made this remark during the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference panel discussion of the economic and agricultural sectors.

He said developing agriculture did not mean looting farmers, but rather an increase to their incomes.

On Feb 24

New energy vehicles is a representative sector in industrial areas of the new economy, and its booming development in recent years signals that the new economy is driving new development now.

Premier Li said this at a State Council executive meeting.

The meeting mapped out plans to boost the industry of new energy vehicles to promote green development.

On Feb 3

Some countries have been launching a new round of technological revolution with subversive technologies. We should catch up with the trend and transform Made in China into an intelligent and networked industry.

Premier Li said this at a State Council executive meeting that decided to deploy resources and efforts to develop makerspaces to accelerate the cultivation of the new driving force.

On Jan 6

Cross-border e-commerce should be regulated with proper systems. The core of the pilot zone is the innovation of supervision model and development mode.

Premier Li said this at a State Council executive meeting. The meeting decided to set up a new series of pilot areas for cross-border e-commerce in 12 cities including Tianjin and Shanghai.
Now Madeline Hauschild will be able to drive a toy car just like her brother.

On Wednesday, Madeline, 3, received a battery-operated toy car modified so that she could sit in it and make it go forward by pushing a large button on the steering wheel. Madeline, who has cerebral palsy, was one of six small children who received cars through a program overseen by the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Childrens Hospital & Medical Center.

Close to 50 UNMC physical therapy students and University of Nebraska-Lincoln engineering students retrofitted off-the-shelf cars to give them push-button propulsion. Some children, because of their conditions and development delays, cant push pedals on the floor. The UNMC and UNL students also tweaked seats in the small cars to provide support and cushion for children who struggle to sit up.

The program is part of an initiative called GoBabyGo! conceived several years ago at the University of Delaware. The cars give children with little mobility the opportunity to play, explore and socialize rather than feeling stuck and dependent on parents or siblings to move them around.

Sandy Willett, interim director of physical therapy at UNMCs Munroe-Meyer Institute, said the cars empower the children and give them a measure of free will.

The cars also help the kids learn about depth perception and spatial concepts, she said.

Cerebral palsy is a disorder that causes movement, posture and other developmental problems. Among Madelines challenges: She cant walk or bear any weight on her legs.

Madeline, of Syracuse, Nebraska, smiled and pounded the button, giving her a herky-jerky ride. Some of the cars, including Madelines, were decorated in a motif tied to the movie Frozen. Others were decorated with a SpongeBob theme.

Is that fun? Madelines mother, Kelly Hauschild, asked as her daughter enjoyed the erratic drive in a room at UNMCs Student Life Center. You do like it, dont you?

Hauschild said her girl will be able to drive along with her 2-year-old brother, Thomas, who already has a toy car.

I loved seeing her be able to operate it all by herself, and her smiles, Hauschild said.

One of the UNMC students who modified Madelines car, Anna Calgaard of Omaha, watched the girl with fascination. Its really emotional, actually, to watch it, she said.

The cars and modifications cost $250 to $300 apiece, Willett said. She said the initiative received $14,500 from the Munroe-Meyer Guild and $2,000 from Olsson Associates, a Nebraska engineering firm. The money paid for the cars, students training and the tools and materials to modify the cars, Willett said. The money also will pay for more toy cars in the future.

The first child to climb into one of the cars, 2-year-old Santiago Lopez, initially seemed bewildered. In time, Santiago, who has developmental delays from a chromosomal disorder, figured it out.

Said his mother, Amanda Lopez of Omaha: Were humbled that he has the opportunity to do what a normal 2-year-old should be doing.
LINCOLN  Nebraska agricultural officials will travel to Asia next week to sign a $405 million trade deal with Taiwan.

And for the first time, a letter of intent to be signed by Taiwanese officials will include a pledge to purchase Nebraska beef and pork, said Jerry Chang, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. Grain commodities have made up past exports from the state to Taiwan.

Chang hailed the pending agreement during a press conference Wednesday at the State Capitol, saying it is important for further promoting trade and investment between the Cornhusker State and Taiwan.

Gov. Pete Ricketts called the agreement the product of hard work and negotiations among Taiwanese officials, industry representatives and key staff members for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Ninety-five percent of the worlds consumers lie outside our doors, and so we have to go out and get them, the governor said. Trade is an important aspect of Nebraskas ability to grow.

Taiwan signed a similar letter of intent with Nebraska about three years ago valued at roughly $400 million.

The agreement to be signed next week calls for tens of millions of bushels of wheat, corn and soybeans, valued at up to $368 million based on current commodity prices. And it includes $18.6 million in beef and $4.6 million in pork, along with $14 million in distillers grains.

While trade letters are signed between governmental officials and industry leaders, the details must be worked out through negotiations between importers and private suppliers.

Greg Ibach, Nebraskas ag director, said the agreement comes at a key time, with tight markets and depressed prices for commodities.

Ibach pointed out that Nebraska has the fourth-largest ag economy along with the 12th-smallest population of any state.

That only goes to underscore the importance of looking outside our states borders for consumers, both domestically and internationally, he said.

Accompanying Ibach on the trip next week will be representatives from the Nebraska Wheat Board, the Nebraska Beef Council and the Nebraska Farm Bureau.

Contact the writer: 402-473-9587, joe.duggan@owh.com
Metropolitan Utilities District workers did not mark the natural gas line that was breached and sparked the massive fire that destroyed the Ms Pub building, according to an investigative report from the State Fire Marshals Office.

The underground excavators drilling in the area who hit the pipe couldnt have known of its existence without the markings of nearby gas lines, the report said.

The report is the basis of a June 23 letter to MUD notifying it that the Marshals Office is preparing to conclude that the utility violated state pipeline-safety regulations.

Metropolitan Utilities District personnel failed to sufficiently mark gas pipeline for 422 South 11th Street, reads a letter of the fire marshals investigation.

The notice of probable violation letter is marked draft, and both the Marshals Office and MUD say the investigation is continuing.

MUD has previously said that it marked the lines properly.

Ratepayer-owned Metropolitan Utilities District has consistently maintained, and will continue to maintain, (that) the district ... properly marked all utilities in front of 422 South 11th Street, and the fires cause is a direct result of the horizontal drilling companys failure to follow routine and standard procedures for identifying the position of underground utility lines prior to commencing operations, spokeswoman Tracey Christensen said in a statement to The World-Herald.

The conclusion of a state investigators report dated Jan. 20 said the opposite: The service line was not marked!

The June letter is the first government-sponsored analysis to publicly suggest fault for the conflagration that caused no deaths or serious injuries, but which burned out several business and displaced condo owners in Omahas historic Old Market.

The letter from the Fire Marshals Office was sent by Certified Mail to MUD President Scott Keep.

The World-Herald multiple times since January has requested the fire marshals report on the Ms fire, but the state office has denied the newspapers request.

A spokesman for the Fire Marshals Office emphasized Wednesday that the report is only a draft.

The incident involving Ms Pub is STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION, spokesman Raymond Nance wrote in an email to The World-Herald. No final determinations have been made.

But the letter, signed by two fire marshal officials, and accompanying investigative reports, are already being used in a lawsuit related to the fire.

The letter and reports were included in a filing Wednesday in Douglas County District Court by Unite Private Networks, one of the contractors that was part of the fiber-optic installation that led to the fire. Unite Private and two other companies were sued this year by Old Market property owners who said the companies were at fault for the Jan. 9 blaze.

Unite Privates filing says the fire marshals findings bear heavily upon making a final determination of who was at fault.

MUDs failure to accurately locate and mark existing gas lines is also mentioned in at least four investigation reports obtained from the State Fire Marshal, reads a document filed by Unite Private on Wednesday. These documents show that MUDs actions caused or contributed to the explosion.

Until now, the only official word on the fire has been from the Omaha Fire Department, which needed 60 firefighters and nine hours to put it out. In January, the department said a ruptured natural gas line was the cause of the blast and fire.

The Fire Marshals Office, however, was much more specific in its letter dated June 23 and signed by two officials of the offices fuels division and pipeline section.

Attorneys for Unite Private obtained documents as part of the discovery process related to a civil lawsuit filed by owners of the Ms Pub building, Mark and Vera Mercer and their Mercer Management Co., which developed much of the Old Market and still owns many of its buildings.

The fire marshal draft findings detail multiple alleged lapses by MUD, which supplies natural gas to about 225,000 people in the metro area and had 2015 revenue of about $300 million:

 MUD didnt respond in an appropriate manner to a request in late December to pinpoint natural gas lines related to the fiber-optic drilling project that led to the January fire.

 No MUD workers traveled to the site in late December for identifying, locating and marking of gas pipeline ... as per Metropolitan Utilities District Operation and Maintenance procedures.

 Markings for the natural gas lines were non-existent. The two opaque dots on the sidewalk were not consistent with markings of other gas service lines in the immediate area ... the markings for the gas service were not recent and were not sufficient to give excavator indication for the presence of a gas line. Even after two weeks of being exposed to Nebraska weather, markings for other utilities in the vicinity were visible; there were no markings for the gas line that was breached.

At about 2:50 p.m. on Jan. 9, a drilling crew from Minnesota-based North Central Service breached the natural gas line, which led to the fire and explosion that destroyed the Ms Pub building and damaged nearby buildings.

According to the civil lawsuit filed this year in Douglas County District Court by Mercer Management, North Central was the company that did the digging related to the Old Market fiber-optic installation. Kansas City-based Unite Private was the company that hired North Central for the work. Unite Private, in turn, according to the lawsuit, was hired by New York-based telecom giant Verizon Wireless to expand the Old Markets fiber-optic network.

All three private companies have been sued by Mercer Management, Old Market clothing boutique Nouvelle Eve and about a dozen burned-out condo owners, saying the companies negligence led to the fire. All have answered the Mercer Management lawsuit, saying they were not at fault. North Central said in its response that MUD caused and contributed the damage that came from the explosion.

Only the Nouvelle Eve lawsuit so far has enumerated property damages from the fire  at least $1 million, plus lost business profits.

So far, MUD has not been named as a defendant in the Old Market property owner lawsuits. Mercer Management said at the time that it filed its lawsuit that it would do so after a statutory waiting period ends this month, a grace period allocated to political subdivisions, which MUD is as a ratepayer-owned utility. The condo owners also said they plan to later include MUD as a defendant.

MUDs status as a political subdivision under state law has other ramifications for property owners attempting to collect compensation for their damages.

Nebraska law limits payment of money damages in such cases to $5 million for all claims arising out of a single occurrence.

Attorneys involved in the lawsuits say the definition of single occurrence can vary  there can be more than one in such an event, with a sequence of actions taking place, any number of which might be deemed by a judge to be a single occurrence.

So far, the civil lawsuits by property owners have targeted the private businesses involved in the drilling. The largest of them is Verizon, the largest mobile-phone company in the United States, with $132 billion in sales last year.

Contact the writer: 402-444-3133, russell.hubbard@owh.com
LINCOLN  State Sen. Bill Kintner, who is facing calls for his resignation over a cybersex scandal, was investigated last fall for something completely different  his attempt to get discounted car washes intended for certain Sarpy County employees driving county vehicles.

The incident surfaced this week as debate swirls at the State Capitol about how to deal with the Papillion senator, who has admitted to using a state computer for cybersex but has said he wont resign. Kintner also is known for making controversial comments about his colleagues and about policy.

The latest dust-up involves car washes at a now-closed Sarpy County gas station at 72nd Street and Highway 370. It occurred a couple months after Kintner reported to the Nebraska State Patrol that the woman involved in the cybersex scandal had tried to extort money from him.

In an email Wednesday, Kintner blamed the car-wash incident on a breakdown in communication, and he said he repaid the gas station for the discounts once he realized that there was a problem.

Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis said Wednesday that he received a call on Oct. 1 from the manager of a Papillion BP gas station who was concerned that a person he believed to be a sheriffs deputy was trying to get a discounted car wash for a personal vehicle while off duty. That person was Kintner.

The county at that time could get car washes from the gas station for Sarpy County vehicles at a reduced price. Under an agreement, drivers of county vehicles could get a car wash for as low as $2.49, instead of the full price of $6.99. The gas station covered the difference.

Each county vehicle had a card to charge purchases.

According to the managers account to Davis:

When the manager questioned the customer about whether the discount was for a county vehicle, the customer said no. The manager then asked the customer if he was an off-duty county employee, and he said yes.

The manager then said the special deal was reserved for on-duty county employees driving county vehicles. The customer left, and no money was exchanged.

The manager got the customers license plate number and contacted Davis, despite some hesitation. Davis said he ran the vehicles license plate number and found that Kintner was the owner.

Davis said he wrote Kintner a letter saying to call him immediately if he had been receiving discounted car washes.

Kintner called Davis and apologized, the sheriff said. Kintner told the sheriff that he was embarrassed because he believed that the discount was for government employees, and he said there was a miscommunication, Davis said.

Kintner then asked Davis to tell the gas station that he was sorry, but Davis declined and told Kintner that he needed to talk to the gas station himself, the sheriff said.

In an email Wednesday, Kintner offered this explanation:

Kintner said he went in to get a car wash, and a cashier asked him if he worked for the government. Kintner said he replied that he worked for state government. The cashier then told Kintner that he could get a government rate, Kintner said.

I thought that was pretty cool, so I came back and got four car washes over three weeks from several different cashiers, he said.

Then, one day, Kintner went into the station and someone else was working. That employee asked Kintner if he worked for the Sheriffs Office, and Kintner said he did not. The employee then informed Kintner that only sheriffs detectives got the special rate.

I said OK, figuring there must be a breakdown in communications somewhere, and I went on my way, Kintner said.

A day or so later, Kintner said Davis called him and said the discount was a program for his detectives to wash their police cars and said the gas stations owner was mad because he thought that Kintner and others were taking advantage of him.

I told him I would talk to the owner and apologize, Kintner said. I went there, apologized and paid him the difference for the four car washes I got at a discount. I called the sheriff back and told him I talked with the owner. He seemed to be good with that.

Davis said he never told Kintner that the program was just for sheriffs detectives, and he said Kintner was the one who called him upon receiving the letter.

A police report was not filed, and Kintner was never ticketed. Davis said he didnt file a report because he wasnt aware that Kintner received the discount until the senator responded to a media request for comment.

Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said he decided not to pursue charges, such as theft, attempted theft or official misconduct, because he didnt have the evidence to prove such an act beyond a reasonable doubt.

The decision had nothing to do with who Kintner is, Polikov said. He noted that the county was not out any money and the gas station didnt want to follow up. In the end, its one of those things you have to look at and say, Can we prove this beyond a reasonable doubt? And I didnt think so, he said.

Among Kintners controversial past statements:

 In a radio interview Friday after he acknowledged engaging in cybersex with a woman, Kintner twice called the State Capitol a den of thieves.

 Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley in February chastised Kintner after Kintner used a newspaper column to compare state lawmakers to monkeys.

In the submission for the Plattsmouth Journals opinion page, Kintner wrote about the five monkeys experiment that involves monkeys maintaining the status quo by pulling down any nonconforming monkeys. Kintner said the Legislature maintains the status quo by pulling down nonconforming senators and pressuring them to give up their campaign promises.

He later defended his column, saying it was an analogy to make a point and not meant to be personal against lawmakers. He questioned why Hadley did not similarly criticize Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha for his frequent statements that the Legislature is racist.

 Earlier in the 2016 session, Kintner posted on his Facebook page that he spends my fair time in the Capitol with prostitutes.  Kintner in the Facebook post said he was pointing to politicians, former politicians and lobbyists. He later said he was having fun.

 Kintner in June 2015 on his Facebook page posted a graphic photo of a beheaded woman. Kintner said he didnt know whether the photo was real but posted it to make a point about the need for the death penalty.

Some people online took Kintner to task and said the photo did not belong on social media, where children could access it. They also raised concerns about the grief that seeing the picture could cause the womans family. Kintner removed the post.

 In May 2015, Kintner repeatedly used the word wetback while referring to a 1950s crackdown on illegal immigrants by the Eisenhower administration called Operation Wetback.

During floor debate in the Legislature, he defended the term because it was a historically accurate name of the program.

After the Nebraska Latino-American Commission condemned his use of an ethnic slur, Kintner said he was not surprised that a liberal group was criticizing him. But he said he made it clear during floor debate that the term was not acceptable.

 At a town hall meeting in January 2014, Kintner said that women, not men, can live a pretty good life by making mistakes such as having more children.

He singled out women when he said he objects to paying for bad behavior through tax support of social programs, the Nebraska City News-Press reported.

Later, Kintner said he should have stated his position more artfully. He did not apologize.

Contact the writer: 402-473-9581, emily.nohr@owh.com
Omahas Minute of Silence for 2016, which will mark the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, will be held this year at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village.

During the Minute of Silence, crews will be filming a video from several rooftops in the area showing Omahans honoring 9/11 victims, officials said.

Organizers from the First Responders Foundation said family activities have been scheduled throughout the day at Stinson Park. Among the activities will be a swing dance that event organizers hope will qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records. A patriotic concert will wrap up the days events.

Organizers also said they are also planning a VIP tent for current first responders and their families.
Mayor Jean Stothert has revived the citys Citizen Complaint Review Board after all its members quit in April.

Stothert announced Thursday that she has appointed the following members to the board:

 From the southeast precinct, Roger Garcia, the executive director of Centro Latino of Council Bluffs and Metropolitan Community College board member

 From the northeast precinct, Teela Mickles, the founder and CEO of Compassion in Action

 From the southwest precinct, Richard Westcott, a retired Navy captain who served as the inspector general of U.S. Strategic Command

 From the northwest precinct, Travis Justice, a former local television personality who now works at MCL Construction

 At-large, Connie Shively, a senior project manager at CSG International

 Alternate James Walker, the senior pastor of Mount Calvary Community Church

The previous board met with the mayor to quit in April and offer a host of possible changes to the process.

In a letter, the previous chairman, Fernando Butch Lecuona III, wrote that it had operated without the level of support from the Mayors Office that it expected.

We do not believe that the board, as it currently functions, meets the expectations of the people, Lecuona wrote in the letter.

Stothert said Thursday that shed adopted a few of the suggestions. She said the city set up a post office box so complaints can go directly to the board. Meetings will be held quarterly, rather than monthly. And the board will be able to hold community forums or do other outreach to educate Omahans on how to file a complaint.

Stothert characterizes the previous boards concerns as a complaint that they didnt have enough work to do. She said thats a good thing.

The Citizen Complaint Review Board, which Stothert established in 2014, is designed only to review cases where the Police Departments internal process has found no wrongdoing.

Before a complaint can go to the board, the citizen must file a complaint with the Internal Affairs division of the Police Department and go through the departments normal process.

If the chief finds the complaint to be unfounded, the citizen can appeal it to the board.

The board cannot review any case where the chief has imposed discipline, unless the officer appeals the case.

Chief Todd Schmaderer said the board is designed to find problems that the department missed altogether.

Under the last boards tenure, 16 people asked for the board to review a complaint and the board heard from six of them. The other complaints didnt fall under the boards scope. For example, some of the citizens hadnt filed a complaint with the department.

The board can issue findings and recommendations to the Mayors Office. It also can review annual Police Department data and identify any areas of concern. The board, which works confidentially, does not have the authority to conduct its own investigations, and its recommendations are not binding on the mayor or police chief.

The board also may not review any case in which an outside authority, such as the State Patrol or a grand jury, has become involved.

Before the complaint board, Omaha had a police auditor. Appointed in 2001, police auditor Tristan Bonn was fired in 2006 by then-Mayor Mike Fahey after she issued a report criticizing how police handled traffic stops involving minority drivers. Fahey said Bonn had been insubordinate in issuing the report without notifying him so he could review it.

The new board will start meeting after it goes through training. The members said theyre eager to get started as an independent review body.

Our loyalty is to the community, Garcia said.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1084, roseann.moring@owh.com

* * * * *

How a complaint makes it to the complaint review board

1. Complainant fills out a formal complaint form. Omaha Police have received about 100 citizen complaints a year for the last few years, according to the departments annual reports.

2. Complainant calls the internal affairs unit to inform them of complaint.

3. The internal affairs commander assigns the case to an investigator.

4. Investigator contacts complainant to set up interview.

5. The complainant goes over the complaint with investigator in an in-person interview, and then signs the complaint form in their presence.

6. Investigation begins.

7. Chief Todd Schmaderer reviews the investigation upon its completion and determines whether the complaint is sustained, unfounded, the officer is exonerated or the issue is a policy failure that exposes faulty practices.

8. Chief sends letter to complainant with results of investigation.

9. If Schmaderer finds that the complaint was unfounded and the complainant doesnt agree, the complaint can be taken to the complaint review board. If the chief finds otherwise, the complaint is considered settled. Any complaint which results in an officers discipline cannot be appealed by the complainant. The review board also cannot review any complaints in which an outside authority is involved, such as a grand jury.

10. Complainant makes a written request for the board to review the case. The review board has looked at six cases since it was formed in 2014.

11. The review board looks at the complaint and can issue nonbinding recommendations to mayor and police chief. Its work is confidential. The Mayor's Office has said the only recommendations it has ever received were when the previous board resigned and suggested changes to the board.
A two-hour drive from the geographic center of the United States sits a quiet farmhouse near Potwin, Kansas. Joyce Vogelman Taylor's grandfather built the house in 1902, and her father spent 85 years living in it.

She remembered a moment in 1942  the end of World War II not yet in sight  when he purchased a Delco electric generator, light bulbs and a toaster. It was a massive technological upgrade for the house.

More than 70 years later, technology made the 82-year-old's life  and those of her renters James and Theresa Arnold  a digital age horror story.

For reasons soon to be explained, the little house in the center of the country became the crossroads of the Internet, with unimaginable consequences, also soon to be explained.

The discovery was made by Kashmir Hill of Fusion who broke the story in April.

Last week, the Arnolds filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Kansas against MaxMind, a digital company that maps IP addresses and who the Arnolds claim is responsible for turning their pastoral home into a digital age horror story.

The first time Taylor realized something was amiss was when she received a call in 2011 from a small business owner who angrily blamed her for his customers' email problems.

The conversation shocked Taylor. She owned a Gateway computer, which she used almost like a typewriter  for composing Sunday school lessons and letters. She barely browsed the Internet, much less used it to overload a small business's email servers.

"The first call I got was from Connecticut," Taylor told Fusion. "It was a man who was furious because his business internet was overwhelmed with emails. His customers couldn't use their email. He said it was the fault of the address at the farm. That's when I became aware that something was going on."

After that initial strange call to Taylor, complaints started pouring in, often with distressing and sometimes criminal accusations aimed at the Arnolds, the Wichita Eagle reported.

In May 2011 police and sheriff's officers knocked on their door, looking for a stolen truck.

"This scenario repeated itself countless times over the next five years," the lawsuit stated.

Officers would show up, accusing them of harboring runaway children. Of keeping girls in the house to make pornographic films. Ambulances appeared, prepared to save suicidal persons. FBI agents, federal marshals and IRS collectors have all appeared on their doorstep. So have angry Internet users, who claimed they were ripped off by the Arnolds.

"Law enforcement officials came to the residence all hours of the day or night," the lawsuit stated.

At least once, the Arnolds were doxxed, meaning hackers posted their names and personal details across the Internet, Fusion reported.

One day, a broken toilet was left in the driveway without explanation.

Neither the Arnolds nor Taylor had any idea of what was happening.

The genesis of what actually happened was 2002, when a company called MaxMind was founded. It maps IP addresses, a notoriously unreliable practice. Many can't be directly linked to an address, only a state or even a country.

For its tech to work, MaxMind matched each IP address to a set of coordinates. This presented a problem when the company didn't have an exact location.

Sometimes, it could only determine than an IP address was in the U.S. In those cases, the company mapped that address to a specific set of coordinates: 38(degree)N 97(degree)W or, in the parlance of digital maps, 38.0000,-97.0000.

That just happens to be the front yard of the house where the Arnolds resided.

More than 600 million IP addresses were mapped to that yard.

And no one connected with the farmhouse knew this until Fusion's Hill, who had been investigating the practice of mapping IP addresses, searched through MaxMind's database, discovered the 600 million IP addresses at the Kansas location and gave Taylor, the owner, a call.

To fully understand what happened, it's important to understand how Internet protocol addresses  colloquially IP addresses  work.

Most devices we use are connected to a network via Internet protocol. To do so, it requires an IP address. Thus every smartphone, computer, laptop, tablet and anything else that connects to the Internet has one.

The IP address' primary purpose is to allow these devices to interact with one another. But the IP address of your personal computer is generally not seen by other devices.

Instead, that IP address is used to connect to a router, which then uses its own specific IP address to connect to the Internet.

Sometimes, that can mean your IP address is linked to just you (e.g. if you live alone and use a personal, password-protected wireless router). It can also mean that your IP address is shared by many (e.g. every user connecting to the wireless Internet at a coffee shop or in an office likely displays the same IP address).

Since networks can span buildings, blocks or even cities (in the case of public WiFi), it's not always simple to pin down the exact geographical address of an IP address. (The term "address" in IP address is a bit of a misnomer in that regard.)

Add in the fact that there are readily available, free programs that can mask IP addresses, and mapping them becomes an even murkier proposition.

Sometimes, MaxMind could only get information linking an IP address to the country.

The reason why it chose the Arnolds' front yard as its "default location" in those instances is another can of worms. It was going to map them to the geographic center of the U.S. That translates awkwardly into digital parlance, though, so the number was rounded off to 38(degree)N 97(degree)W.

One blogger created a heatmap of Internet usage in the U.S. according to MaxMind's data from April 2011. Most might be shocked to find that Potwin, Kansas, is responsible for more Web usage than even New York City or Silicon Valley.

"The default location in Kansas was chosen over ten years ago when the company was started," MaxMind's co-founder Thomas Mather told Fusion. "At that time, we picked a latitude and longitude that was in the center of the country, and it didn't occur to us that people would use the database to attempt to locate people down to a household level. We have always advertised the database as determining the location down to a city or zip code level. To my knowledge, we have never claimed that our database could be used to locate a household."

Though it's not always possible to perfectly locate IP addresses, they're often used (imperfectly) in different ways, from tracking analytics to advertising firms attempting to geotarget potential customers to record labels sending cease-and-desist letters to pirates.

Law enforcement also often uses IP addresses to link users to certain devices. A Montgomery County, Md., school bus driver was dismissed in 2011 after authorities linked him to an IP address that had downloaded child pornography. And, in February, a 12-year-old from Fairfax, Va., was charged with threatening her school after posting an Instagram message of a gun, bomb and a knife.

Again, though, it's an inexact science. Many argue that IP addresses should not be used as any sort of evidence (particularly since adept digital criminals can mask them, which is likely what happened in more than of the cases that led police to the Arnolds' door).

Following Hill's extraordinary piece in Fusion, MaxMind shifted its default "United States" location to the center of a lake, west of Wichita.

Users have to update their database for the shift to take effect, but the nightmare, in effect, was over for the Arnolds.

That wasn't quite enough for the family, though, who filed a lawsuit Friday seeking "compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $75,000," "plus their costs."

"My clients have been through digital hell," the Arnolds' attorney Randall Rathbun told the Guardian. "The most vile accusations have been made against them  such as that they've been involved in child pornography. What impact would it have on your life if someone accused you of being in child pornography? Obviously it's horrendous."

MaxMind has not commented on the lawsuit.
This editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune.

Oskar Schindler and Raoul Wallenberg. Two men who, during World War II, risked so much to save as many Jews as they could from the Nazi peril. Similar missions, different fates.

Schindler rescued 1,200 Jews by employing them at his enamelware and munitions plants, then lived for nearly three decades after the war. He died of liver failure in 1974 in Germany.

Wallenberg, a young Swedish diplomat stationed in Budapest, saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews by issuing them protective passports and giving them refuge in buildings rented by the Swedish government and therefore protected as Swedish territory.

In January 1945, the 32-year-old envoy disappeared, swallowed up by postwar Soviet secrecy. And ever since, slowly unfolding revelations:

We now know from witness accounts that Soviet soldiers swept Wallenberg off a Budapest street after they entered the Hungarian capital. Its not known why.

In the years that followed, Sweden failed to punch through Soviet denials and cover stories. The Kremlin kept insisting it had no one in a Soviet prison by Wallenbergs name. Then in 1956, the Soviets acknowledged they once had him but claimed he died of a heart attack in prison in 1947.

In 2000, a Russian-Swedish working group formed to investigate the details behind Wallenbergs incarceration and death concluded that he did likely die in prison in 1947 but was unable to unearth how or why.

Now, however, new clues about Wallenbergs death have emerged from the unlikeliest of places, the New York Times reports: suitcases of letters hidden in a wall in a Moscow summer home.

Four years ago, Vera Serova, granddaughter of a former KGB chief, hired workers to renovate her summer homes garage. When they tore into the walls, they found the suitcases filled with documents.

Among them: references to Wallenbergs liquidation in 1947, ordered by Soviet leader Josef Stalin and his foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. The disclosures appear in a collection of diaries penned by Serovas grandfather and published this summer.

The documents shed light on the mystery enshrouding a man now revered by the Western world as one of the great rescuers of Nazi-persecuted Jews. Stockholm sent him to Budapest with 650 protective passports to help Jews, but he broadened the mission to help tens of thousands more through the issuance of more passports and safeguarding other Jews inside 32 buildings he had obtained in the name of the Swedish government. In 2012, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Streets around the world are named after him.

But for Russians, the documents illuminate something else.

Theyre a reminder of the coarse ruthlessness that defined Stalins brand of autocracy. Its a dose of reality Russians sorely need, because Stalins image has undergone a profound makeover under President Vladimir Putin.

To the West, Stalin remains a reviled despot responsible for the murders of millions of his own people at Gulag labor camps and in the Great Purge of the 1930s. But under Putin, Stalins image has been recast: He is the steward of Russias transformation from an agrarian economy to an industrial superpower.

Childrens textbooks have been cleansed of references to Stalins genocidal ways. Movies and television shows celebrate him. There have even been Stalinmobiles  Moscow city buses festooned with patriotic depictions of the Georgian-born Soviet leader.

Putins Kremlin is adept at forging and remaking brands, and its retooling of Stalin is proof of that.

Russias pre-eminent polling group, the Levada Center, reported earlier this year that more than half of Russians believe that Stalin played a positive role in history and see him as a wise leader.

We hope revelations about Stalins role in the execution of one of the worlds most courageous humanitarians will give Russians a clearer prism into the Soviet leaders true nature.
Media, police personnel were on renegade Naxal leader's payrolls

Hyderabad

oi-Vicky

Hyderabad, Aug 11: The investigations that are being conducted following the death of renegade Naxal leader, Mohammad Nayeemuddin have brought up several details including those in the media and police who were on his payrolls. His diary entries suggest that he had kept some police officials and media personnels on his payrolls.

Payments between Rs 20,000 to Rs 90,000 to police officials and journalists were all noted down by Nayeemuddin who was shot dead in an encounter by the Telangana police last week.

Renegade Naxal leader shot dead in Telangana

The Telangana police officials say that they will probe all these aspects. Nayeem, according to the police, was running a major extortion racket. He had made calls to builders and also MLAs demanding Rs 10 crore. Some MLAs who received such calls had complained to the Chief Minister of Telangana, K Chandrashekhara Rao.

Building an empire

The police have learnt that Nayeem who was once a naxalite had planned on building a major empire. He would tell his associates that he planned on building an empire like Dawood Ibrahim and hence had indulged in arms smuggling and also a major extortion racket.

He and his associates had identified over 40 builders and the plan was to extort huge sums of money from them. His role in arms smuggling was traced and it was found that he was operating between Telangana, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar.

Nayeem had built good relations with the media and the police personnel. After he quit the naxal movement, he remained a police informer for sometime. However, after he made a mysterious escape from court in 2007, he floated a gang which indulged in smuggling and extortion.

He had a select set of persons both in the media and police and would pay them on a monthly basis, investigations have also found.

OneIndia News
10 month on, Tirupati International Airport awaits foreign flights

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Tirupati, Aug 11: The Tirupati International Airport is operational since the last 10 months, but only for domestic flights. The Airports Authority of India had completed all the pre-requisite protocols for example, establishing immigration and customs offices, the foreign registration regional office and appointing a deputy superintendent of police.

However, it has been disclosed that Airlines are sceptical about business here since it may not garner too many passengers.

Despite Union minister for civil aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju's assurances about international flights here, the new terminal is only being used for domestic flights. An officer, who did not want to be identified said, "We have to first convince the airlines about international flights being viable. Our own Air India is ready to start international operations from here to Dubai, the Middle East and USA, with flights being via Hyderabad. Passengers can clear immigration here, disembark at Hyderabad and get on to another flight to their destination. We hope international flights will commence from October end from Tirupati airport."

PM Narendra Modi had inaugurated the new international terminal building at the airport on Oct 22, 2015. It was assured then that International flights will begin in 3 months.

Meanwhile, sources say that domestic air traffic has increased significantly, implying the airport's business potential in the future.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 11, 2016, 13:13 [IST]
Woman, her two children mowed down by train; Suicide not ruled out

Suspicious bird with rings on its legs caught near India-Pakistan border

In Rajasthan, 14 IAS and 2 IPS officers transferred

4 killed in blast at factory in Rajasthan

India

oi-PTI

Jaipur, Aug 11: At least four persons were killed in a blast at an explosives factory in Chittorgarh district today, police said.

"The blast occurred in the explosives factory near Rawatbhata. Four persons were killed.

Local police have rushed to the spot," Prasanna Kumar Khamesra, Superintendent of Police, Chittorgarh, told PTI.

"As per the initial report, the factory was licensed," he added.

Further details are awaited.

PTI
Who is Yasin Malik? The Kashmiri separatist sentenced to life in terror funding case

Should Kashmir be given to Pakistan: Row erupts after this question appears in MP civil service exam

From hijab to Kashmir, Zawahiri was Al-Qaeda's voice for everything anti-India

All party meet to discuss Kashmir situation tomorrow

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, Aug 11: An all party meeting to discuss ongoing situation in Kashmir to be held tomorrow. This has been announced by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be in the meeting," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said after a bipartisan discussion on Kashmir.

Rajya Sabha MPs asked the government to call the meeting over the Kashmir situation and then send a delegation of parliamentarians to the valley for talks with a cross section of the people.

He, however, said that a delegation to be sent will have to wait before some normalcy is restored in the valley where over 55 people have died and thousands injured in a month of unrest following a militant commander's killing on July 8.

"Whatever is happening in the Kashmir Valley is sponsored by Pakistan," Rajnath Singh said.

"Nobody in the world can take Kashmir from us. If there will be talks with Pakistan, there won't be a discussion on Kashmir but on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir."

Wish PM had mentioned Kashmir situation in Mann Ki Baat: Omar

The Rajya Sabha at the end of the debate adopted a resolution expressing concern over Kashmir, saying it was necessary to take steps to restore normalcy there without compromising on national security.

"This house expresses its concern over the disturbance, violence and curfew in the Kashmir Valley. The house expresses deep concern and sensitivity towards the deteriorating situation and the deaths," said the resolution, read out by Rajnath Singh in Hindi.

Initiating the debate, Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad urged the government to win the hearts and minds of people of the "integral part of India".

"We always say Kashmir is an integral part of India. But integral part should not be on paper only. There should be the integration of minds and hearts," Azad said, expressing concern over the violence and continued lockdown of the valley.

The Congress leader slammed the Prime Minister for not speaking in parliament about the situation in the valley and choosing a Madhya Pradesh rally to appeal for peace in Kashmir.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from IANS)

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Story first published: Thursday, August 11, 2016, 12:18 [IST]
Ghazwa-e-Hind in Assam: NIA roped in as Islamists plan destruction of India

Assam floods: School kids give up mid-day meal for a noble cause

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Guwahati, Aug 11: Kids studying in a primary school in flood hit Assam voluntarily decided to give up their mid-day meal for a day so that rescued baby rhinos could be given milk.

Kids studying at a primary school near Oriole Park, east of Bokakhat decided to do to extend their help to eight baby rhinos rescued from flooded Kaziranga National Park when they came to know about their plight.

The floods affected at least 22 districts with population totalling over 36 lakh. Over 30 people have died due to floods in Assam this year, according to government statistics.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited flood-hit Nagaon, Morigaon and Kaziranga National Park in Assam on July 29 and assured of all possible help to the state government.

Six baby rhinos saved from flooded Kaziranga

As many as 310 animals, including 221 hog deer and 21 one-horned rhinos, in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) lost their lives due to the devastating Assam floods.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 11, 2016, 13:44 [IST]
TRS, BJP are two sides of same coin: Rahul Gandhi in Telangana

BJP Dalit leaders to aggressively counter opposition onslaught on community

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Aug 10 The BJP has decided to aggressively counter the Opposition's onslaught over the recent string of atrocities against Dalits in various parts of the country to restore its image among the community.

A meeting of BJP's Dalit union ministers, MPs and party's office bearers of Scheduled Caste morchas at the Centre and states was held here on Tuesday at the Gujarat Bhawan to decide its strategy on the Dalit issue.

The meeting was headed by BJP's General Secretary (Organisation) Ramlal and SC morcha in charge Bhupendra Yadav.

RSS leader Krishna Gopal was also supposed to attend the meeting but he gave a miss in the last minute, sources said.

According to sources, all the Dalit leaders were asked to counter the Opposition's onslaught over the issue aggressively.

"We have been asked to step up contact with the community and educate them about the initiatives taken by NDA government," a Dalit BJP leader, who was part of the meeting told IANS on conditions of anonymity.

The Dalit leaders have also been asked to convey the message to the community about the vote bank politics of Opposition parties.

"Go and tell the community what those parties have done for their welfare since independence. They have used them only as vote bank. They didn't even confer Bharat Ratna to Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar," the BJP leader said.

The Dalit leaders have been asked to educate the community about central government schemes like Mudra Bank and Stand Up India especially meant for them.

After the Una incident in Gujarat, where Dalits were beaten for skinning a dead cow, the incidents of atrocities against Dalits have been reported countrywide.

Even BJPs Dalit MPs had asked Modi and the party leadership to act tough on such incidents.

After such incidents, the opposition especially the Congress has been continuously raising the issue of attacks on Dalits and and been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government for "not being serious" over it.

Breaking his silence on cow vigilantism, Modi has said he felt "very angry" at such incidents and has asked state governments to prepare a dossier of people who are "running shops" in the name of cow protection.

Echoing the sentiments of Modi on cow vigilantism, the RSS also said "some anti-social elements are taking law into their hands in the name of cow protection" and sought "strict action" against them.

IANS
PM to flag off South India's first 'Vande Bharat Express' on Nov 11

India's steel industry now 2nd biggest, target is to double crude steel output in 10 years: PM Modi

Cabinet approves foreign investment in NBFCs under automatic route

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Aug 10 The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved foreign investment under the automatic route in non-banking finance companies (NBFCs)/Other Financial Services.

The Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per the government's decision, the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by the Person Resident Outside India) regulations on the NBFC will be amended to allow inflow of foreign investments under the automatic route.

However, such entitites shoud be governed by financial sector regulators like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchang Board of India (SEBI), the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and others.

"Foreign investment in "Other Financial Services", which are not regulated by any regulators/government agency, can be made on approval route," the government said.

The government has also eliminated minimum capitalisation norms stipulated under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy as the limit has been prescribed by financial sector regulators.

"This will induce FDI and spur economic activities. It will cover the whole of India and is not limited to any state/districts," the government said.

The Cabinet decision came after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2016-17 Budget speech announced that the FDI will be allowed beyond the 18 specified NBFC activities in the automatic route in other activities which are regulated by the financial sector regulators.

The present regulations governing the NBFCs stipulates that the FDI would be allowed through the automatic route for only 18 specified NBFC activities after fulfilling prescribed minimum capitalisation norms.

IANS
Cabinet approves infusion of Rs 1,500 crore in IREDA: Here are the Highlights

Cabinet approves pension, post-retirement schemes for FCI employees

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Aug 10 The cabinet on Wednesday approved introduction of Pension and Post-Retirement Medical Schemes as part of superannuation benefits for employees of Food Corporation of India (FCI).

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of Pension and Post-Retirement Medical Schemes as part of superannuation benefits for employees of Food Corporation of India as per guidelines of Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), said an official statement.

"The annual financial implication for both schemes combined would be around Rs. 134.4 crore at present level of salaries of the employees," it added.

IANS
Cool data visualisation reveals extent of global warming

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Two newly-released spiral visualisations of global-warming data reveal how human activities are linked to rising carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and rising temperatures.

Visualised by Robert Gieseke of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Malte Meinshausen of the University of Melbourne, the animated GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format) and interactive versions show how atmospheric CO2 concentration has increased 40 per cent since 1850 and two-thirds of the carbon budget that the world can use to limit global warming to 2 degrees C has already been consumed.

Spirals were used as early as the 1880s by Antonio Gabaglio, an Italian statistics professor. Edward Tufte, an American statistician and professor emeritus at Yale University, who pioneered data visualisation, described it as "the whole world of seeing and thinking, bringing together how seeing and therefore thinking could be intensified".

Speaking of their current work, Gieseke told IndiaSpend: "Visualisations have always been an important tool to make complex and large data understandable and to be able to spot trends-here we tried to make the (global warming) chain visible and make it intriguing to the viewer."

The current visualisations are an extension of a popular animated graphic, spiraling global temperatures from 1850 to 2016, created by climate scientist Ed Hawkins, an associate professor at the University of Reading in the UK. Hawkins used what is called the spiral style, which mirrors the widening circles spawned by a stone plonked into a placid lake.

"When we saw the original spiral by Ed Hawkins, we were working on new datasets with concentration and emissions data, so we looked into visualizing them in the spiral style and putting them together," Gieseke said of their effort.

Hawkins, meanwhile, spurred by the interest in the temperature visualisation, has added the Arctic sea ice volume and updated global temperatures spiral. His work is detailed in the Climate Lab Book.

When the three visualisations -- temperature, concentration, and carbon-budget spirals -- are juxtaposed and viewed together, the connection between human-induced emissions, carbon-dioxide concentrations -- represented as "carbon space" -- and increase in the global mean temperature becomes clear.

The Paris climate change conference last yer reaffirmed "the goal of limiting global temperature increase well below 2 deg C, while urging efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 deg C".

On December 1, 2015, IndiaSpend reported how the world had used up two-thirds of its carbon budget for a 2-deg-C temperature rise and on June 29, 2016, reported how CO2 concentration levels breached 400 parts per million (ppm), a level that will endure for our lifetime.

Gieseke and Meinshausen have made the spirals interactive in the web version: You can pause, jump to specific years by moving your mouse over line charts at the bottom and observe changes in concentration and temperatures.

For instance, the interactive carbon budget -- the amount of carbon you can still burn and yet keep the temperature below 2-degrees-Celsius rise -- shows the speed with which it is spent.

"Over a hundred years, from 1850 until the 1950s, CO2 emissions rose from about 2 gt (Giga tonnes) of CO2 to 10 gt of CO2 per year," said Gieseke. Within 50 years, yearly emissions tripled to 30 gt of CO2 per year in 2000. That figure is now up to 40 gt of CO2 per year.

Despite the clear human influence on the atmosphere, Gieseke is optimistic. "Our emissions from fossil fuels are the main cause of climate change, but if we act quickly it's still possible to stop the trends visible in the spirals."

IANS/IndiaSpend
Centre should not force policies on states: Bengal CM Mamata at NITI Aayog meet

Centre should not go against federal structure of Constitution: Kerala CM

Data on green and unclean energy should be public: Anil Madhav Dave

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Aug 10 Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave on Wednesday called for establishing International Clean Energy Data-Grid and said that data on green and unclean energy should be in public domain.

"The world will have to understand the difference between clean and unclean energy. The data on green energy and unclean energy should be made available in the public domain," Dave said while speaking at a day-long national conference on 'Energy Data: Management, Modelling and GIS Mapping' organised by NITI Aayog.

Dave said that the data must pertain to both, production as well as consumption patterns of a society.

"Facts projected through correct data will lead us in the right direction," Dave said.

He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to establish an International Solar Alliance.

"Solar energy is the answer to energy requirements of the future. Disciplined consumption of energy in every field is very much necessary," he added.

IANS
India's steel industry now 2nd biggest, target is to double crude steel output in 10 years: PM Modi

Government gives ex-post facto approval to India-South Africa agreement on tourism

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Aug 10 The government today gave ex-post facto approval to a memorandum of understanding with South Africa for cooperation in the field of tourism.

The main objectives of the MoU, inked last month, is to expand bilateral cooperation in tourism sector; exchange information and data, invest in tourism and hospitality sectors; and encourage cooperation between stakeholders, including hotels and tour operators.

"The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Africa for cooperation in the field of tourism," an official release said.

South Africa is an emerging tourism source markets for India, which received over 51,900 tourists from that country last year.

The Cabinet also approved transfer of land belonging to the Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (IISWC) Research Centre at Chandigarh to the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) for construction of a 60-meter peripheral master road in Mansa Devi Complex in Panchkula.

While 13,290.30 square meters of IISWC land will be transferred to HUDA, the Haryana development body will transfer another 178.75 square meters of land to the research centre.

The transfer of government land will help in the growth and development in the region leading to more employment generation, a statement said.

PTI
What is Anti-doping bill? Does India really have a doping crisis?

Lok Sabha passes Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Aug 10 Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 that seeks to increase the working overtime hours up to 100 per quarter.

The existing law permits the state governments to make rules related to the regulation of overtime hours of work.

However, the total number of hours of overtime must not exceed 50 hours for a quarter.

Now, the new bill passed by the lower house raises this limit to 100 hours.

With the new draft legislation, the central government is also empowered along with the state governments to make exempting rules and orders in respect of total number of hours of work on overtime in a quarter.

This would ensure uniformity in its application by various state governments and union territories, the Union Labour Ministry explained.

The passage of the bill, which was termed as "anti-labour" by many members of the opposition parties, was marred by a walkout by the Congress.

"By increasing the overtime clause you are only burdening the existing employees," Congress floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge said before leading his party colleagues out.

Earlier, while the bill was being introduced by the Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) MP from Tripura, Sankar Prasad Dutta, objected to the introduction of the bill saying the provisions of the bill were "similar to the bill introduced in 2014".

The 2014 bill is now before the Standing Committee, he said, adding, in such a situation the new bill could not be introduced.

Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP from Kerala, N.K. Premachandran said the bill piloted by Dattatreya was encroaching upon the rights of the states and was against the federal structure of the country.

Dattatreya countered the charge and insisted that the bill was not against the interests of labourers as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has prescribed the upper limit of 144 hours.

He said in no manner the bill would infringe upon the rights and powers of the states.

The Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, however, overruled the objections and allowed it to be tabled and moved for consideration of the House.

The new bill also introduces a provision which permits the central or state government to extend the 115-hour limit to 125 hours.

It may do so because of excessive work load in the factory and in "public interest", the Minister said.

Dattatreya said one important feature of the the law would be to enable workers to "work more and earn more".

"Overtime is only an opportunity," the Minister said dismissing contentions of a few members that this may lead to workers' exploitation.

"I have taken many safeguards. The proposed amendment is nowhere in conflict with the ILO norms and all provisions relating to daily or weekly hours. Total number of overtime shall not exceed 100 hours in a quarter," he said.

The need for increasing the total number of hours of work on overtime in quarter is based on the demand from industries, he maintained.

Among other changes, the bill also allows overtime of up to 125 hours per quarter in "public interest" and empowers central and state governments to exempt rules with regard to overtime working hours.

"There is no compromise on the safety and working condition of workers," Dattatreya said, adding, this bill will facilitate increase in employment generation in the manufacturing sector.

The bill will also push National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's programmes like 'Make in India', 'Skill India' and 'Digital India initiative', he said.

The government will also amend the Factories Act of 1948, he said.

IANS
TN Fishermen's arrest: Jaya writes to PM

India

oi-PTI

Chennai, Aug 10: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his personal intervention for release of four Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lankan navy, besides release of 103 boats.

In the latest incident, four fishermen in a mechanised fishing boat, who had set sail from Jegathapattinam fishing base in Pudukkottai district, had been arrested by the Lankan Navy on Monday, the Chief Minister said in her letter dated August 9, which was released today.

This recent act of the Sri Lankan Navy has again created anxiety and unrest in the minds of the fishermen, she said. A "firm, clear, unequivocal and unambiguous" message should be sent out by Indian government to Sri Lanka to ensure that these arrests are stopped and "the livelihood of the poor and innocent fishermen from Tamil Nadu who are engaged in fishing in their traditional waters is protected," she said.

Colombo's strategy of not releasing the boats was causing "great frustration amongst" the fishermen of Tamil Nadu, she added. "Without their livelihood base, these fishermen are in a state of despondency. I urge you to take this up with the highest authorities of the Sri Lankan government and ensure the immediate release of the precariously berthed boats which continue to suffer great damage," she said.

The Indian Government "must take necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of our fishermen. I request your personal intervention to secure the release of the fishermen and 103 fishing boats currently in Sri Lankan custody at the earliest," Jayalalithaa said.

The chief Minister reiterated that retrieving Katchatheevu islet from Sri Lanka and abrogation of the 1974 and 1976 agreements alone could restore the traditional fishing grounds of the Palk Bay to the state's fishermen. Jayalalithaa also reminded the Prime Minister of her demand for a deep sea fishing and infrastructure package of Rs 1,520 crore.

PTI
BJP MP scolds official for cleaning Yamuna with 'poisonous chemical' ahead of Chhath

Patanjali gets approval from MP for food park

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Aug 11: Yoga guru Ramdev-promoted Patanjali Ayurved today said it has received approval from Madhya Pradesh to set up production unit.

The company also said that it has also qualified technical bid for development of food park in 230 acre land in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Finance and Industry Minister of Madhya Pradesh Rajendra Shukla has handed over letter to Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishan in this regard, the company said in a statement.

"Patanjali would soon set up a food processing unit in Madhya Pradesh... . It would also help the local farmers by providing fair price for their products," said Rajendra Shukla.

Patanjali, as per its growth plans has ambition to set up food processing units in all major regions of the country to meet its growing demand.

In Maharashtra, the government had called for a global tender for 230 acres plot from industries for developing industry based on agro, food, herbal and forest-based processing business.

PTI
UP ATS nabs 8 with links to al-Qaeda and its affiliate from UP, Uttarakhand

This Pak terrorist's knowledge of technology will surprise you

India

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, Aug 11: The interrogation of Pakistani terrorist Bahadur Ali reveals the kind of technology that the Lashkar-e-Taiba uses to stage and carry out attacks in India. Bahadur Ali was arrested by the security forces last week in Jammu and Kashmir.

He was ordered to take advantage of the unrest in the Valley, mingle with the stone pelters and then hurl grenades at the security forces.

His questioning reveals that he was highly trained not just in terms of using arms and ammunition but technology as well. The manner in which he was guided by his handlers in Muzaffarnagar also shows the extent up to which technology had been used.

Pakistan army officers inspected our training, says terrorist Bahadur Ali

Tech savvy

For instance engineering modifications done on ICOM RT sets (made in Japan) to cover whole range of VHF frequency, requires high degree of precision engineering in electronics.

Providing the terrorists with specific Grid References for the route to be followed and use of GPS, compass and topographical sheets during movement also establish that these LeT terrorists were trained and mentored by military experts, the National Investigation Agency says.

Bahadur Ali was constantly guided and directed by the LeT control centre Alpha-3, which was available on a prefixed frequency on ICOM handsets, being carried by the terrorists. As per Bahadur Ali and other available evidence, control centre Alpha-3 is a fixed communication centre, established at a high altitude peak in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, which is operated with support from Pakistani forces.

J&K protests: Terrorist was told to stand behind stone pelters, fire at police officials

Once the terrorists are inside Indian territory, Alpha-3 guides, directs and controls their operations.

Whenever required, Alpha-3 arranges tactical and material support through previously identified contacts. During communications with Bahadur Ali, Alpha-3 told that the LeT cadres had been successful in fuelling large scale agitation in Kashmir after EID subsequent to the death of Burhan Wani in Kashmir.

Ali said that his group of terrorists was launched after being staged forward at their Dett (detachment) near the line of control between India and Pakistan. This Dett is headed by a senior member of LeT who provides arms and ammunition as well as other accessories like GPS, Night Vision Devices, Compass, Grenades, grenade launchers, maps, matrix sheets, food packets, dry ration, medicines etc.

Bahadur Ali was launched from Mandakuli Dett. Abu Haider was the Commander at the Dett. They were repeatedly shown the infiltration route on Google maps on a LCD TV. Simultaneously, they were shown videos of landmarks available on the route.

I am a Pakistani, I came here to kill Indians: Captured terrorist tells NIA

They were also made to write their own communication codes for communicating with the control centre (Alpha-3). Bahadur Ali said that a few army officers in civilian clothes visited the Dett and briefed them and checked their preparedness.

Bahadur Ali said that officers were referred as Major sahib and Captain sahib. This corroborates the statement made by Md. Naveed, another Pakistani national, who was arrested in the BSF convoy attack at Udhampur in August 2015.

Recruited at 13

Bahadur Ali was recruited in Jamaat ud Dawa (JUD) by close aides of Hafiz Sayeed in the year 2008-2009, at the tender age of 13 years and he was given the task of collecting Jihad funds in his village.

Subsequently, Moulana Abdur Rahim, who belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), radicalised him and made him join the LeT by showing video films of alleged atrocities on Muslims in different parts of the world including India and exhorting youth to undertake jihad against India to establish Islamic rule there.

Bahadur Ali also served in the office of the front end NGO of LeT by the name of Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) at Lahore, Pakistan.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Thursday, August 11, 2016, 11:04 [IST]
Vietnam buys rice from India for first time in decades: Report

PM Modi speaks with Vietnam PM, says both nations share vision of rules-based Indo-Pacific region

Vietnam: At least 12 killed in karaoke bar fire

Vietnam looking forward to Narendra Modi's visit

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, Aug 10 Vietnam was looking forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit expected to take place later this year, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh said on Wednesday.

"Preparations are going on for Prime Minister Modi's visit to Vietnam," Thanh said during an interaction with the media here.

"We expect that his visit will open a new page in our diplomatic relationship," he said

This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the Southeast Asian nation in 15 years after the visit of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001.

Thanh said that ties between India and Vietnam date back to 1,000 years when people from Odisha went to that southeast Asian nation and settled there.

He said that diplomatic relations between the two countries, established in 1972, have been upgraded to the strategic partnership level.

"Our diplomatic relationship is based on five pillars," he said.

These five pillars are: political cooperation; economic engagement; energy cooperation; defence and security cooperation; and development, culture, tourism and civil society linkages.

"The defence dialogue has also been upgraded to ministerial level," Thanh said.

He stated that negotiations were going on for Vietnam to buy the supersonic BrahMos missile from India.

"Vietnam and India recently (August 2) held the foreign office consultations and strategic dialogue," he stated.

He said that 2017 will mark the 45th year of Indo-Vietnamese diplomatic ties and 10th year of strategic partnership.

The Ambassador said that Indian investments in Vietnam have reached $550 million.

"Investments from India in Vietnam started in 1988 with the entry of ONGC," he said.

ONGC Videsh is engaged in exploration of oil and gas in three blocks in Vietnam.

Thanh said that the Indian investment figure might rise sharply when the Tata group sets up a thermal power plant in south Vietnam.

As for people-to-people ties, he said that more and more Vietnamese students were coming to India to study.

"These students are not only coming on Indian government scholarships but also on their own finances," he said.

The Ambassador said that there was a lot of potential in cooperation between the two countries in the film industry.

"We want to bring and show our films in India and welcome Indian producers to shoot in Vietnam," he said.

As for India-Vietnam cooperation in the internal arena, he said that India has become the fastest growing economy and would play an increasingly important role in regional and international issues.

"Vietnam supports India on international issues," Thanh said.

He said negotiations were going on with India on the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10 member states of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) - Brunei, Camboadia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - and the six countries with which Asean has existing FTAs - Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

Thanh also said that his country wanted India to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec)), a forum of for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Vietnam will host the year-long Apec meetings in 2017 that will culminate in the Apec Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang.

IANS
Coronavirus crisis: Why COVID-19 death rates is higher in some countries?

Russian invasion: Italy latest country to close its airspace to Russian flights

Teen pilot on track to become youngest pilot for solo global flight

Belgium: 2 aircraft land safely after bomb threats

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Brussels, Aug 11: Two planes landed safely at Zaventem airport here on Wednesday (Aug 10) evening after receiving bomb threats, Belgium's state broadcaster VRT reported.

Brussels terror attack 2016

State authorities said an investigation was launched into the incidents and also added that the bomb squad had not been deployed to the airport.

Police sources at the airport said no bomb alerts were issued and the airport had no problems.

The aircraft came from Oslo, Norway and Arlanda, Sweden.

A Dutch journalist, who was on board the flight from Oslo, tweeted that the pilot of the plane received the bomb threat 20 minutes prior to its landing.

Bart Raes, the journalist who works with Belgian broadcaster Woestijnvis/Proximus TV, said the passengers were told about the threat and they had to wait for 10 minutes before disembarking, Reuters reported.

The country's media said some other flights were diverted to other airports.

Twin attacks by Islamic terrorists struck Brussels airport and a metro station in March, killing over 30 people.

Oneindia News
Fact Check: Did Trump thank Musk for welcoming him back to Twitter

Man arrested for climbing Trump Tower in New York

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New York, Aug 11: After a three-hour standoff, New York Police on Wednesday (Aug 10) arrested a man who was scaling the Trump Tower using suction cups and climbing gear here.

The man began his ascend around 4 p.m. local time on the south side of the 58-story building which is the headquarters of the US presidential campaign of Republican nominee Donald Trump. He also lives in the building but was not in New York at the time of incident, BBC reported.

The stunt had brought the busy mid-town Manhattan to a halt, attracting thousands of onlookers who gathered at the southwest and southeast corner of the building on East 56th Street.

City police and emergency responders rushed to the scene in an effort to stop the climber.

Police officers had smashed a couple of windows as the man slowly scaled the building, moving from the south side to the east to avoid comprehension.

The man was cornered by the police on the 21st floor and subsequently pulled inside through a window.

The climber's identity and motives were not clear yet, but a Youtube video posted on Tuesday showed a man resembling the climber said he was a supporter of Trump's campaign, Xinhua news agency reported.

IANS
Nato can't take a call on Ankara's foreign policy: Turkish envoy to Russia

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Moscow, Aug 11: In the wake of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Russia to mend ties with the latter after their relations took a nosedive over the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by the Turkish forces, Turkish Ambassador to Russia Umit Yardim said the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) has no rights telling Ankara who it can build relations with and that Turkey can improve its ties with Russia despite the West's views, said Russian news agencies.

Turkey coup attempt 2016

"In no way can Nato limit our contacts with other countries ... It means NATO has no right to dictate its terms and tell us who we should or should not meet and communicate with," the RIA news agency quoted Yardim as saying.

The ambassdaor also said Turkey and Russia have agreed to step up their contacts on Syria---the violence-ravaged West Asian country over which the Russians and the Turkish have differed, a report by Russia's TASS news agency said.

Oneindia News
At UNSC, US calls on world to tell Russia to stop its nuclear threats

US backs India's military support to Afghanistan

International

oi-PTI

Kabul, Aug 11: Afghanistan has sought more military supplies from India including attack helicopters as it stepped up its offensive last week against terror groups killing 300 Islamic State terrorists, the top US and Nato commander in the war-ravaged country said on Thursday.

General John Nicholson, on his second visit, said India has been making "enoromously valuable" contribution in strengthening Afghan security forces and the US favours the military support.

India has already provided four Mi-25 helicopters to Afghanistan and US Commander said the country needs more military aircraft to deal with Taliban and various other terror outfits.

Welcoming India's contribution to restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan, Nicholson said terror outfits like the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad are not only a threat to Afghanistan but to the region, including India, and the US was putting pressure on Pakistan to contain these groups. He said the Taliban also "enjoys sanctuaries" in Pakistan.

"We consistently encourage Pakistan to take action against terrorist groups that operate from its territory and close down their safe havens," he told journalists.

Nicholson, who heads the US operations in Afghanistan, met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar and discussed a range of issues including situation in Afghanistan and terror threat to the region.

The US commander said Afghan forces, supported by the US, had launched a major offensive against Islamic State terror outfit two weeks back in which around 300 IS fighters were killed.

"In the course of the operation they killed a number of top leaders of the organisation and upto 300 of their fighters. Obviously it's difficult to get an exact count, but what this amounts to is about 25 per cent of the organisation at least, and so this represents a severe setback for them. It reduced their territory," he said.

The US commander said military training by India to thousands of Afghan security personnel has helped that country in significantly enhancing its military capability which is in tune with the objective of the Nato and the US.

"I know that they have requested more and would like more and I think there is an immediate need for more as these aircraft can immediately get into the fight," he said when asked whether Afghanistan was seeking more military helicopters from India apart from the four Mi 25 choppers.

He said Afghanistan was struggling to get spare parts for the Russian aircraft due to Western sanctions against Moscow and India can supply them.

Nicholson said the US was trying to build a "counter terrorism platform" focusing on containing all terror groups emanating from the region and ensure its peace and stability.

Asked whether he will have to make an immediate visit to Islamabad to balance his trip here, Nicholson said the Pakistan Army chief knew about his trip here "he welcomes it".

Specifically asked about Pakistan's sincerity in coming down hard on terror outfits, he refered to the American administration's inability recently to certify that Pakistanis have put adequate pressure on the Haqqani network.

Asked whether there was growing concerns in Pakistan about India's role in Afghanistan, he only said, "I think it is an accurate statement."

PTI
Fact Check: No, Raghuram Rajan is not the new Governor of the Bank of England

Whatever I say will be 'problematic': Rajan on Modi

International

oi-PTI

London/New Delhi, Aug 11: Reserve Bank's outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan, whose outspoken views have often been seen as being critical of the government, feels whatever he will say on Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be "problematic".

Rajan, whose tenure at RBI has been marked with several controversies triggered by his comments on issues ranging from tolerance debate to the government's flagship programme 'Make in India', was asked to describe Modi in a televised rapid- fire like interview with BBC. "I think I will pass on that question.

Whatever answer I give will be problematic, so I will just pass," said the on- leave professor of finance at Chicago University, who will return to academia after end of his three-year term at RBI on September 4.

After his decision to return back to academia, there have been voices suggesting that his candid public speeches were one of the aspects which made the government uncomfortable about reappointing Rajan for another term.

Some of the controversial speeches made by him include the one where he quoted American political philosopher Francis Fukuyama to question whether strong governments can really help a country or in defence of tolerance in the middle of a debate started by the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of storing beef, or questioning the premise of the high-octane 'Make in India' campaign. Rajan, a former IMF Chief Economist, also ruled out joining politics.

"I think that is one place where my wife overrides everything and her answer is 'no'," he said on joining politics. Asked how he feels about being on the list of India's 'most desirable men', the 53-year-old Governor quipped: "I wish they had done it when I was 25.

"Rajan described himself as a "boring guy" and said he being described as 'Rockstar Banker' is an "overblown" statement. In an earlier TV interview, Rajan had said he was open to staying a bit longer at RBI to complete the unfinished work of bank clean-up, but was perfectly happy to go.

PTI
Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000

Bihar's Gopalganj by-poll to see a tough fight between BJP and RJD

Alert Bihar chief secy foils bid to withdraw money from his bank account

BJP legislator being probed over Bihar communal tension

Patna

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Patna, Aug 11: The Bihar Police have launched a probe into the alleged involvement of a BJP legislator over the communal tension in Saran district, a police official on Thursday said.

Saran Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar Raj told IANS that a probe was underway into the role of Bharatiya Janata Party legislator C.N. Gupta.

"We are investigating into Gupta's role. Action against him would be initiated or taken only after investivation completed," he said.

On Tuesday, video clips emerged and were telecast by local Hindi news channels showing Gupta leading a mob of people, armed with traditional weapons in Chapra district headquarters of Saran during a shutdown called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal and despite the district administration issuing orders prohibiting any public gathering to maintain law and order.

"Instead of appealing to people to maintain communal harmony and peace, Gupta was leading a march of VHP and Bajrang Dal supporters in Chapra, in full view of district administration, that resulted in violence. Shops and houses of minority community members were attacked," Congress legislator Shakil Ahmad Khan said.

Khan told IANS that it was clear that Gupta violated prohibitory orders and instigated people that created communal trouble.

"The state administration has to take a tough stand to send a strong message for communal harmony," he added.

Some social activists in Chapra have also blamed Gupta for the communal tension in Saran town.

They said Gupta was wellknown for his decades long associatin with the RSS and other Hinduvta organisations like the VHP and Bajrang Dal.

Gupta, however, has denied any involvement in violence.

According to reports, the situation in Saran town was under control but tension remains.

Schools and colleges opened on Tuesday and markets also reopened, a district official said.

The trouble began when some youths of Balha village and other youths from Maker village blocked roads last week to protest police failure to take action against those who had posted an objectionable video clip online.

Trouble escalated and angry mobs attacked the houses and shops of minority community members on Friday. Some youths attacked the house of the prime accused, which led to the communal tension, an official said.

On August 5, violent clashes took place between both communities and shops and houses were targeted at several places.

The following day, violent clashes were reported and the VHP and Bajrang Dal called a day-long shut-down, forcing shops, schools and colleges to remain closed.

Over a dozen persons, including policemen, were injured, 55 shops torched, houses looted and 62 persons were arrested.

IANS


A girl jumped in front of metro at the Indrapastha station in Delhi to commit suicide, but was rescued. She suffered head injuries. The incident took place around 2.00 pm. By the time police reached the station, the girl had been rescued. The girl was immediately rushed to the hospital for her medical treatment.
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Opalesque Industry Update - The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index SM, which provides a representative baseline for how the broad liquid alternative investment category performs, returned 1.17% in July, underperforming the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Indexs 1.45% return by 28 basis points. The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Multi-Strategy Index SM, which includes both single and multimanager funds, ended the month on a positive note, returning 1.31% in July. The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index family is a joint offering between Wilshire Funds Management, the global investment management business unit of Wilshire Associates Incorporated, and Wilshire Analytics, creator of the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index SM. The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Equity Hedge Index SM, which includes long/short equity and market neutral funds, gained 1.51% in July, underperforming the HFRX Equity Hedge Index by 48 basis points. Long-biased equity managers were the largest positive contributors to monthly performance, adding 159 basis points, while market neutral and short-biased strategies detracted from the indexs return in July. Value-oriented managers and factor-based equity strategies also outperformed, as they benefited from exposure to the Information Technology, Materials and Healthcare sectors, which were materially positive in July. The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Global Macro Index SM, which includes systematic, discretionary, commodity and currency funds, ended July positively, returning 0.64% and outperforming the HFRX Macro/CTA Indexs 0.30% return. The majority of managers captured the energy sell off as well as benefited from the equity rally after the sharp reversal post Brexit, said Jason Schwarz, president of Wilshire Funds Management. Discretionary managers, who had long equity exposure in June, also benefited from the risk-on rally in July, which contributed to a positive month for the index. The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Event Driven Index SM, which includes credit, merger arbitrage and special situations funds, gained 0.98% in July, underperforming the HFRX Event Driven Index by 139 basis points. Merger arbitrage strategies were slightly positive in the month and contributed 8 basis points to the indexs return. Long-biased corporate credit strategies continued to benefit from the recovery in leveraged capital structures, contributing 64 basis points to the indexs performance in July. Multi-strategy event managers were also positive in the month and contributed 25 basis points to the indexs performance. The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Relative Value Index SM, which includes credit, convertible arbitrage and volatility funds, finished the month up 1.15%, outperforming the HFRX Relative Value Arbitrage Index by 32 basis points. July performance was largely driven by credit managers who took advantage of the declining prices and continued tightening of spreads in high yield, with the remaining returns coming from both convertible arbitrage and multi-strategy managers.
Opalesque Industry Update - Ascalon Capital Managers, an Asia-Pacific strategic investor in hedge funds, has announced it plans to acquire an equity stake in Seyon Asset Management Ltd, a Pan-Asian multi-strategy hedge fund firm based in Hong Kong, as well as plans to seed their flagship Fund once the licence has been approved. Seyon is a 12-strong team led by Pradeep Swamy, who has been investing in the region for over 15 years; previously with Cheyne Capital, Och-Ziff, and more recently in his capacity as CIO of an in-house hedge fund within Nomuras Asian equities business. Seyons core investment team includes Mr Swamys ex-colleagues from Cheyne and Nomura, Fred Lam (Head of Research), and Amberish Rathi (Director, Credit and Equity Linked). The business management team is led by Heide Heiden-Blunt, COO, who also worked with Mr Swamy at Credit Suisse where they started their careers together. An experienced COO, Ms Heiden-Blunt was most recently Head of Asia-Pacific for the Alternative Investment Management Association, a global hedge fund association and representative body involved in policy consultation and promotion of best practices across the industry. This deal is the fourth Asian-based manager in Ascalons portfolio which now comprises 7 firms located in Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong. Ascalon is uniquely positioned to deliver stability of capital, institutional resources and marketing capabilities to its boutique partners, and has built a portfolio of award-winning alternative asset management firms across Asia-Pacific. Weve spent a long time looking for the right partner in the Multi-Strategy space said Chuak Chan, CEO of Ascalon. Like many other institutional investors, we wanted to expand our exposure to Asian markets, across asset classes, but preferred to do so through an uncorrelated, alpha-focused investment strategy. There is a scarcity of opportunity for investors looking to allocate to institutional-grade multi-strategy firms in Asia. Seyons senior investment team have a proven track record delivering attractive returns across market cycles, working at leading global institutions. Critically, the principals have worked together before, minimising a key risk of investing in start-ups. Sydney-headquartered Ascalon, a member of the BT Financial Group and a 100% owned subsidiary of Westpac Banking Corporation, opened an office in Hong Kong in 2011 to capture the growing opportunity set in Asian hedge fund industry. Ascalon expanded its portfolio with a minority stake in Athos Capital, a Hong Kong based management firm, as well as seeded their event driven Fund in 2012. Ascalon invested in Singapore-based RV Capital in 2013, adding RVs Asian Macro strategy to its suite of investment strategies. Most recently Ascalon seeded Deepwater Capitals China equity-focused fund, which launched in 2015, as well as bought a minority equity stake in the Hong Kong based management firm.
Interview with Carlos Miller, Photographer/Journalist, founder/publisher of Photography Is Not A Crime blog



Carlos Miller

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My guest today is journalist Carlos Miller whose blog is Photography is Not a Crime .

Joan Brunwasser: Welcome to OpEdNews, Carlos. Please tell us what precipitated the creation of your blog.

Carlos Miller: It was 2007 and I working on an article about gentrification along a street in Miami called Biscayne Blvd, which has long been notorious for its crime, prostitution and drugs. At the time, restaurants and bars and coffee shops were springing up along the street, creating an interesting mix of characters.

I spotted a group of five Miami police officers making an arrest and decided to take some photos and keep walking, but when they spotted me taking photos, they told me this was a "private matter," and told me to leave.



I reminded them this was a "public street," which prompted them to come after me, leaving the other guy alone. I ended up getting pounced on and beat up, my head bashed into the sidewalk several times, before they locked me up on nine misdemeanors, the main accusation that I was standing in the street blocking traffic.

They were claiming I refused orders to step out of the street. They were saying traffic was backed up because of me.



The photo shows that was not the case because the street was behind them, meaning I was on the sidewalk.

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Reprinted from Consortium News



Donald Trump

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Donald Trump's strange comment about "Second Amendment people" somehow stopping gun-control initiatives of a Hillary Clinton presidency has earned him condemnation for supposedly suggesting the assassination of his Democratic rival. And his inarticulate half sentence surely could be interpreted that way, which is alarming enough.

But I saw the phrase somewhat differently, that Trump -- in his shock-jock style -- was suggesting that Americans with AR-15s slung over their shoulders and with Glocks open-carried on their hips would respond to any new gun-control measures by mounting an armed insurrection against the hated "Guv-mint."

Such militant fantasies pervade the American Right (and some areas of the American Left), with the Second Amendment venerated not because it allows for hunting or even "home defense" but because it fits the vivid imaginations of people who contend that the power of the federal government can only be restrained by killing its agents and representatives.

It is part of the militia-movement folk lore that the Founders enacted the Second Amendment so the American people could rise up against their elected government. Though that is bad history -- since the Framers of the Constitution set as their goal "domestic Tranquility" and defined "levying war against" the United States as treason -- this false notion that the Framers wanted a violent populace resisting the government has become an article of faith in Trump's world of political paranoia.

So, when Trump spoke off-the-cuff at a North Carolina rally on Tuesday, it seemed to me that he was referencing the fanciful idea of gun-control opponents waging war on the federal government rather than calling for the assassination of Hillary Clinton. Nevertheless, Trump's short-hand comment was dangerous regardless of which form of violent action he meant. His campaign's claim that he was simply talking about political organizing for "gun rights" doesn't fit with his choice of buzz words.

Trump said, "If she gets to pick her judges [for the Supreme Court], nothing you can do, folks," adding amid boos from his audience: "Although the Second Amendment people -- maybe there is. I don't know."

If Trump had simply meant applying political pressure, he could easily have said so, and there would be no reason for the ameliorating line, "I don't know." It surely sounded as if he was suggesting that the heavily armed "Second Amendment people" might take up their guns to battle any federal or state restrictions limiting their access to firearms.

This sort of macho rhetoric is common on right-wing talk radio where there has long been talk about oppressive federal agents trampling on American liberties. This rhetoric occasionally spills over to the Left where there remains some romantic belief that a violent revolution is the only way to reorder the society.

But it has been the Republican Party that has coyly courted right-wing extremists since the days of Richard Nixon and his "Southern strategy" which sought to pry working-class whites especially in the unreconstructed South away from the Democratic Party because of its support for civil rights laws that ended segregation. This pandering to the Southern white resistance to racial integration also appealed to many whites in the North, especially when framed as standing up for "liberty."

This outreach to working- and middle-class whites continued through Ronald Reagan's portrayal of many blacks as welfare cheats in the 1980s and George H.W. Bush's highlighting violent black-on-white crime in his 1988 campaign. Then, with the election of Bill Clinton and the rise of right-wing talk radio in the early 1990s, white anger took on an openly militaristic style with armed "militias" forming across the country.

Heated rhetoric about "jack-booted" federal agents gave rise to the likes of Timothy McVeigh who lashed out at the U.S. government by bombing the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people.

Though denying responsibility for such violence, the Republican Party kept on feeding this white anger by insisting that Democratic presidents were "illegitimate," a theme used against both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, who further angered many on the Right because of the color of his skin, his exotic name, and his Kenyan father's Islamic religion.

The "Birther" Conspiracy

Donald Trump made his first big splash in the political world by picking up and promoting the "birther" conspiracy theory that held that Obama was born in Kenya (not Hawaii as his birth certificate showed) and thus was supposedly not a "naturally born American" eligible to be President of the United States (though his mother was undeniably an American citizen, making him one too).

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Reprinted from Michael Moore Website

Over the past few days, a number of polls have come out showing Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump nationally by double digits, including in blue collar states like Michigan (10%) and Pennsylvania (11%). If you are a Clinton supporter and have felt a sense of relief when you saw these numbers, your shoulders suddenly relaxing and an audible "phew" coming from your mouth, if you got excited that your belief system was now reassured that there was no chance your fellow Americans will vote for a narcissistic misogynist, then you just became part of the problem -- and why Donald J. Trump could actually win on November 8th.

Please do not think for a second this election is over or in the bag. There are three long months to go. If you think that all we have to do is just let Trump keep shooting himself in the head -- that "Trump will beat Trump" and the rest of us just have to sit back and watch with glee -- well, you are playing with fire. And you're looking for a way to get out of doing any work. Clearly you've forgotten this election is not about whether there are more people "for" Hillary or Trump. Of course there are more people for Hillary! She will lead in the opinion polls from now until Election Day.

AND IT DOESN'T MATTER.

Because this is not a popularity contest decided by polls (or in this year's edition, a contest over who you dislike the least). As I've said, if people could vote from their sofa via their Xbox or remote control, Hillary would win in a landslide. But this election is only about who SHOWS UP to the VOTING BOOTH on November 8th (or to early voting or by absentee ballot). The election this year is not being held as usual on the first Tuesday of November; it's happening in the second week of the month, so if you live in the top half of the country, that means a greater chance for snow or icy rain -- and that means a lower turnout. A lower turnout helps Trump.

This election is ONLY about who gets who out to vote, who's got the most rabid supporters, the kind of candidate who inspires people to get out of bed at 5am on Election Day because a Wall needs to built! Muslims are killing us! Women are taking over! USA! USA! Make My Penis Great Again! Hillary is the Devil! America First! Fetus First! First in Line at the Polls!

So instead of feeling better this week because of the new polls (BTW, only one of these polls is of "likely voters" -- the Reuters Poll -- and in that one, Hillary leads by only 4 points), or regaling over Trump's insanity (so insane, he raised $82 million last month in mostly $10-$20 contributions, stunning the Clinton campaign, because Bernie never had a grassroots month anywhere near that), I would like to suggest a different response. I'd like to ask those who love Hillary to hold off on the victory party 'til the wee hours of November 9th. Please, can we all agree that now is NOT the time to do this.

Let's stop the early celebrating and the gloating over Trump's Bad Week. No premature end-zone dances. If you are serious about this election, and if you are smart enough to still take Donald Trump seriously, then here's five things to do -- four for you, and one for Hillary:
Reprinted from Mike Malloy Website

Alright Alright Alright...time for emailgate round two. And this is the big one. Forget that nonsense about classified documents. The real dirty stuff is in the possible connection between the State Department under Secretary Clinton and donations/influence peddling/payola to the Clinton Foundation. Remember, FBI Director Comey wouldn't confirm or deny to Congress whether or not his investigation extended to email related to the Clinton Foundation.

The question is -- was Hillary smart enough (if guilty) to put enough distance between herself and the foreign entities in question by going through a string of assistants and never sending a direct email herself? Once again, the right wing group Judicial Watch forced this investigation with its dogged and long-lived series of FOIA requests. This is how Slate reports it:

"The emails in question -- which were obtained from the State Department via a Freedom of Information Act request and then published by Judicial Watch, a conservative advocacy group -- are between two of Clinton's closest State Department aides, Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, and a senior executive at her family foundation, Douglas Band, who at the time was leading the Clinton Global Initiative.

"In one 2009 exchange, Band reached out to Mills and Abedin in an attempt to put Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire who had donated heavily to the foundation, in touch with the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon. Abedin's response suggests she'd make the connection. 'I'm sure he knows him,' she wrote in reference to Jeffrey Feltman, who was the American ambassador to Lebanon at the time. 'I'll talk to jeff.' Band then responded by urging Abedin to call the ambassador herself ASAP. 'This is very important,' he added. "In a separate exchange several days earlier, Band asked for something his subject line described as 'a favor.' The email is heavily redacted, but it appears as though Band was passing along a note from someone who had recently traveled to Haiti on a Clinton Foundation trip and was subsequently looking for a job at the State Department. 'Important to take care of [redacted],' Band wrote. To which Abedin replied: 'We have all had him on our radar' and 'Personnel has been sending him options.'

"The Clinton campaign is trying to shrug the whole thing off by claiming that Band was simply acting in his capacity as a former personal assistant to Bill Clinton and not in his role with the foundation. Even if that's the case, though, that's a distinction without a whole lot of difference given there is no bright line separating the two. "So how big of a deal is this? Again, in the big bucket of Clinton controversies (both real and imagined) this is but a drop. The Chagoury email thread gives the impression that a big-dollar donation to the Clinton Foundation got you a State Department -- themed perk or two, but there's no smoking gun proving that actually happened -- as there almost never is with this type of thing. The "favor" thread, meanwhile, is missing too much information to allow anyone to draw a definitive conclusion about favor-trading, or even say for certain whether the unknown man ultimately even landed a State Department gig. And, of course, nothing in these emails is nearly as troubling as your run-of-the-mill Trump policy proposal or stump speech. "Still, that doesn't mean these emails should be dismissed, nor should the general concern about overlap between the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton-run State Department. They provide a peek at how Hillary conducted business while secretary of state and hint at how she would do so as president of the United States. Clinton should -- and hopefully will -- have to answer these questions. Simply being less reprehensible than Trump does not put her above scrutiny."

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By Dave Lindorff



It's not just $600 toilets and $135 million F-35s that don't fly

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What if the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services were to report that $6.5 billion in spending by that federal agency was unaccounted for and untraceable? You can imagine the headlines, right? What if it was $65 billion? The headlines would be as big as for the first moon landing or for troops landing on Omaha Beach in World War II.

But how about a report by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General saying that the US Army had $6.5 trillion in unaccountable expenditures for which there is simply no paper trail? That is 6,500 billion dollars! Have you heard about that? Probably not. That damning report was issued back on July 26 -- two whole weeks ago -- but as of today it has not even been reported anywhere in the corporate media.

It's not that it's secret information, or hard to come by. The report is available online at the Department of Defense's OIG website . And as it states:

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management & Comptroller) (OASA[FM&C]) and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service Indianapolis (DFAS Indianapolis) did not adequately support $2.8 trillion in third quarter journal voucher (JV) adjustments and $6.5 trillion in yearend JV adjustments1 made to AGF data during FY 2015 financial statement compilation.2 The unsupported JV adjustments occurred because OASA(FM&C) and DFAS Indianapolis did not prioritize correcting the system deficiencies that caused errors resulting in JV adjustments, and did not provide sufficient guidance for supporting system"'generated adjustments.

In addition, DFAS Indianapolis did not document or support why the Defense Departmental Reporting System"'Budgetary (DDRS-B), a budgetary reporting system, removed at least 16,513 of 1.3 million records during third quarter FY 2015. This occurred because DFAS Indianapolis did not have detailed documentation describing the DDRS-B import process or have accurate or complete system reports.

As a result, the data used to prepare the FY 2015 AGF third quarter and yearend financial statements were unreliable and lacked an adequate audit trail. Furthermore, DoD and Army managers could not rely on the data in their accounting systems when making management and resource decisions.

This dense bureaucrateze doesn't mean that $6.5 trillion has been stolen, or that this is money in addition to the $600 billion that the Pentagon spent in fiscal 2015. It means that for years -- and $6.5 trillion represents at about 15 years' worth of US military spending -- the Department of Defense (sic) has not been tracking or recording or auditing all of the taxpayer money allocated by Congress -- what it was spent on, how well it was spent, or where the money actually ended up. There are enough opportunities here for corruption, bribery, secret funding of "black ops" and illegal activities, and or course for simple waste to march a very large army, navy and air force through. And by the way, things aren't any better at the Navy, Air Force and Marines.

Incredibly, no mainstream reporter or editor in the US has seen this as a story worth reporting to the American public.

Just to give a sense of the scale of this outrage, consider that total federal discretionary spending in FY 2015 was just over $1.1 trillion. That includes everything from education ($70 billion), housing and community development ($63 billion), Medicare and health ($66 billion), veterans' benefits ($65 billion), energy ($39 billion), transportation ($26 billion) and international affairs ($41 billion), and of course that $600 billion for the military.

All the other agencies that are responsible for those other outlays, like the Dept. of Education, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, etc., have been required by Congress since 1996 to file reports on annual audits of their budgets. The Pentagon was subject to that same act of Congress too, but for 20 years and running it has failed to do so. It has simply stonewalled, and so far has gotten away with it.

Nobody in Congress seems to care about this contempt of Congress. Neither of the two mainstream political candidates for president, Republican Donald Trump nor Democrat Hillary Clinton, seems to care either. Neither one has mentioned this epic scandal.

According to the OIG's report, this problem actually goes back a generation, to 1991, five years before Congress even passed the law requiring all federal agencies to operate using federal accounting standards and to conduct annual audits, when the Government Accountability Office found "unsupported aadjustments" were being made to the military's financial statements during an audit of FY 1991 Army financial statements. Fully 17 years later, the Army, in its FY 2008 statement of Assurance on Internal Controls, said that the "weakness" found in 1991 "would be corrected by the end of FY 2011," an outrageous decade later. But the OIG report goes on to say:

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Reprinted from Reader Supported News

CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling is in trouble. He's not in trouble with prison authorities or with the government, at least not any new trouble. His health is failing, and prison officials are doing nothing about it. Jeffrey has collapsed twice in the past few weeks. He has a history of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, and is a candidate for a pacemaker. He has repeatedly sought medical attention in the prison's medical unit. And each time he's been brushed off.

Jeffrey's wife, Holly Sterling, has written Warden Deborah Deneham at the Federal Correctional Institution at Englewood, Colorado, asking that Jeffrey receive the medical treatment necessary. Her pleas have been ignored. Here's what Holly had to say:

Dear Warden, I am contacting you on behalf of my husband, Mr. Jeffrey Sterling, 38338-044. On June 21, 2016, Mr. Sterling reported to the Health Services Department with the following symptoms: chest pain, profuse sweating, and shortness of breath. Mr. Sterling reported the staff performed an EKG, which showed elevated levels, with signs of a blockage. The staff informed Mr. Sterling the blockage was "probably due to electrode placement." The staff told Mr. Sterling they felt it was not a cardiac issue and possibly due to being dehydrated, although Mr. Sterling repeatedly told them he drinks plenty of liquids daily. The staff also discussed Mr. Sterling's age and the predisposition of health issues for African Americans. The staff informed Mr. Sterling that they would make a request for a levels check but did not inform him of the date when the blood panel would be conducted. There are several concerns regarding the medical attention provided to Mr. Sterling. First, Mr. Sterling has a history of Atrial Fibrillation, which is in his medical chart. Upon entry into the facility on June 16, 2015, a baseline EKG was to be taken. This was never done. Second, if the EKG showed signs of a blockage, but staff stated it was due to electrode placement, does it not warrant that another EKG be administered properly to obtain an accurate reading? How can staff conclude that Mr. Sterling does not indeed have a blocked artery? Third, why was a blood panel not taken at the time of the incident? On July 25, 2016, Mr. Sterling sent a note to the Health Services Department reporting chest pain, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness. Mr. Sterling was instructed that he had a laboratory appointment on July 27, 2016 at 6 am. At that appointment, Mr. Sterling's blood was taken and he was informed he would be contacted only if there was an issue. Why was a blood panel taken only after Mr. Sterling informed the medical staff of a second instance of potential cardiac issues, and more than a month after the initial reported health issue? Shouldn't Mr. Sterling be provided the results of his blood panel test regardless of whether or not the staff believes "there is an issue"? Given that Mr. Sterling has now had two episodes, a new EKG needs to be administered correctly by properly trained medical personnel. The results of the EKG and blood panel should be shown and discussed with Mr. Sterling upon completion. As per the January 26, 2012, Admission & Orientation Handbook, Mr. Sterling has the right to the following: The patient has the right to communicate with those responsible for his care to receive from them adequate information concerning the nature and extent of his medical problems, the planned course of treatment, and the prognosis. In addition, he has a right to expect adequate instruction in self-care in the interim between visits to the hospital.



The inmate has the right to file grievances pertaining to medical care with no repercussions. Mr. Sterling's goal is simply to get the medical care he needs and to which he is entitled. His hope is that this email will result in that occurring. However, if Mr. Sterling's medical needs are not addressed after receipt of this email, his legal team will be consulted for further assistance in this matter and if necessary, Mr. Sterling will file a formal grievance. Mrs. Holly Sterling

Sadly, Jeffrey Sterling's situation is not unique. When I was incarcerated in the Federal Correctional Institution at Loretto, Pennsylvania, for blowing the whistle on the CIA's torture program, the medical unit gave me the wrong diabetes medication, causing me to pass out one morning due to dangerously low blood sugar, and they misdiagnosed a broken finger and denied me treatment, leaving my pinkie mangled and misshapen. Several inmates at Loretto died while I was there, due solely to medical malpractice.

Officers of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) staff medical units in federal prisons. Through my years at the CIA I had periodic occasion to work with several USPHS employees. I found them to be good at their jobs, well-informed, and hard-working. I realized only when I got to prison that only the dregs of the USPHS are sent there. It's a common practice in the federal government: don't fire anybody for incompetence. Just transfer them. That's how federal prison medical units are staffed.

But there's a more immediate problem here. Jeffrey Sterling is in trouble. We have to do something to help him. In my experience at Loretto, publicity was the only thing that forced the bureaucracy to move.

Please write Warden Deborah Deneham at FCI Englewood, 9595 West Quincy Avenue, Littleton, CO 80123 or call at 303-763-4300 and demand that Jeffrey Sterling receive the necessary medical treatment. It may just save his life.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
Global Protein Hydrolysis Enzymes Market Set for a Rapid Growth, to Reach Around USD 3117.5 Million by 2021

http://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/protein-hydrolysis-enzymes-market

http://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/protein-hydrolysis-enzymes-market

http://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/protein-hydrolysis-enzymes-market

http://www.zionmarketresearch.com

Zion Research has published a new report titled Protein Hydrolysis Enzymes Market by Source (Animal, Plant and Micro-organism) for Detergent and Cleansing, Pharmaceutical, Food and Beverages, Textile and Other Applications - Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2015  2021According to the report, the global protein hydrolysis enzymes market accounted for USD 2,259.2 million in 2015 and is expected to reach USD 3,117.5 million by 2021, growing at a CAGR of around 5.2% between 2015 and 2021.Request Sample Report:Protein hydrolysis enzymes are a specific class of enzymes, because they possess immense physiological as well as commercial importance. They possess both degradative and synthetic properties. Since protein hydrolysis enzymes are physiologically necessary, they occur ubiquitously in animals, plants, and microbes. However, protein hydrolysis enzymes are majorly obtained through microbes and represent the preferred source of enzymes in view of their rapid growth, limited space required for cultivation, and ready accessibility to genetic manipulation. Microbial protein hydrolysis enzymes have been extensively used in the food, dairy and detergent industries since ancient times.Recently, researcher took fine interest in protein hydrolysis enzymes for developing therapeutic agents against relentlessly spreading fatal diseases such as cancer, malaria, and AIDS.Based on source, protein hydrolysis enzymes market is segmented into three types: animals, plants and micro-organism. Microbial origin protein hydrolysis enzymes are one of the important groups of industrially and commercially produced enzymes contributing approximately 70% of all enzyme sales. Microbial protein hydrolysis enzymes are expected to be the strongest growth segment of the market due to growing demand from pharmaceutical industry, cleaning industry others. Various advantages comprise lower production costs, possibility of large-scale production in industrial fermentors, wide range of physical and chemical characteristics, possibility of genetic manipulation, absence of effects brought about by seasonality, rapid culture development and the use of non-burdensome methods are expected to propel growth of microbial protease segment. The inability of the plant and animal proteases to meet current world demands has led to an increased interest in microbial protein hydrolysis enzymes.Do Inquiry before buying:Based on application, protein hydrolysis enzymes market segmented into five types: detergent and cleansing industry, pharmaceutical, food and beverages, textile and others application. Protein hydrolysis enzymes market was dominated by pharmaceutical and food industries in 2015. For instance, microbial proteases are increasingly used in the pharmaceutical industry for treatment of various disorders like cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular disorders, necrotic wounds etc. Proteases are also used as immune stimulatory agents. In addition, protein hydrolysis enzymes are also used extensively in the food industry for preparation/processing of following products:-Dairy: milk coagulation, flavor development.Baking: gluten development.Fish & seafood processing: fishmeals, enhanced oil recovery, aquacultureAnimal protein processing: improved digestibility, reduced allergenicity, meat tenderization.Plant protein processing: improved functionality & processing, generation of bio-active peptides.Yeast hydrolysis: flavor compounds.Based on geography, protein hydrolysis enzymes market segmented into five major locations: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. North America was the largest market in terms of consumption. North America holds approximately above 30% of market share in 2015. Rising industries in Asia Pacific is expected to prompt the growth of protein hydrolysis enzymes market in coming years.Browse detail report at:Key market player of protein hydrolysis enzymes market are Royal DSM, Novozymes A/S, Ab Enzymes, Dyadic International, Inc., Solvay Enzymes, and Specialty Enzymes & Biotechnologies Co.This report segments the global protein hydrolysis enzymes market as follows:Global Protein Hydrolysis Enzymes Market: Source AnalysisAnimalPlantMicro-organismGlobal Protein Hydrolysis Enzymes Market: Application Segment AnalysisDetergent and CleansingPharmaceuticalFood and BeveragesTextileOthersGlobal Protein Hydrolysis Enzymes Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificLatin AmericaMiddle East and AfricaAbout UsZion Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Zion Market Research experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants uses proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:
Worldwide EMaster Control Switchers Market : Drivers, Challenges and Industry Key Events 2015 To 2021

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Master control switchers are an essential part of television and video broadcast that aggregate programming feeds from different sources such as audio and video. Global emergence of broadcasting industry forced operational cost reduction and technological enhancements in the same, leading to invention of more efficient techniques of operation. Broadcast industry and master control switchers are considered to be cross-linked technically, as bulk of demand for the switchers comes from broadcasters, despite the fact that master control switchers help in making broadcasting process efficient and uncomplicated.Development of novel revenue generation models and existing trends of uninterrupted technological development in the broadcasting market are motivating industry players towards higher altitude of corporate activities. Broadcasters are required to deploy master control switchers that are able to support and transmit SD and HD video streams owing to the growth in requirement for HD quality content of key live television events. Factors such as development of innovative video compression techniques together with Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG), improved bandwidth availability and the consequential improvement in flexibility and advanced production speed are expected to boost the demand for digital video technology. The necessity for accessing premium priced content and streaming HD video layout highlighted the significance of master control switchers market globally. In addition, demand for enhanced quality live TV and gradually declining costs of digital media technologies are expected to provide a major drive to the switchers market.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Regulations mandating shift to digital broadcast signals by 2012, globally are expected to boost the demand for broadcast switchers and in turn contributing to solutions for digital technology. During the forecast period, broadcasters decision to procure switching products would be primarily influenced by factors such as level of customer support, functionality, product pricing and interoperability. Healthy economic situations in emerging markets of India, South Korea and China have significantly strengthened projections of master control switchers in these areas. These budding economies are slating capabilities in HD transmission and digital technologies on a larger scale, leading to overall market strengthening. Conventionally, Europe and North America were considered as key markets for master control switchers, technological advancements and leading growth owing to emergence of digitalization in the broadcasting market. However, in the last few decades, these trends have radically shifted in support of the developing markets of Asia-Pacific.There was a fall in demand for master control switchers in revenue during the unstable global recession period between 2008 and 2009. Due to this, the developed markets of Europe and North America were badly affected, where low capital spending and budgetary restraints towards new investments led to descend in sales revenues. Postponed investment activities of broadcasters to HD quality content transmission and modify from analog to digital technologies among tight economic conditions were reasons that led to rigorously weakened demand for master control switchers.Browse Full Report@Key players in the master control switchers market include Evertz Microsystems, Ltd, Harris Corporation, Grass Valley USA, LLC, PESA, Miranda Technologies, Inc., Pixel Power, Inc., Utah Scientific, Inc and Snell Group.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Worldwide Beer Market : Facts, Figures and Analytical Insights 2020

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Beer is one of the alcoholic beverages containing 4% to 6% alcohol by volume. The main ingredients of beer include water, a starch source (such as malted barley, helps in saccharification and fermentation), a brewers yeast and flavors such as hops. Flavoring such as hops helps in adding bitterness and act as a natural preservative. Beer is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the Asia Pacific region. Growing drinking population in the countries such as India and China is boosting the market for beer in the Asia-Pacific region. By types, Beer market can be segmented into premium, mainstream and economy.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Countries such as China have the largest consumption of beer in the Asia Pacific region, followed by Japan. Increasing population and more inclined towards western culture are the major factors for the growth of beer market in the Asia Pacific region. Countries such as India, Singapore and South Korea are the fastest growing market for beer in the Asia-Pacific region.Rising disposable income, ever-increasing population, increasing in the number of bars and restaurants, increase in the acceptance of western culture and relaxation in the rules and regulation related to the operation of beer industry are some of the major driving force for beer market. Increasing disposable income among the working class population allows the customer to go out more to restaurants and bars and spend more on beer. In addition, consumers are now willing to pay more for premium segments also. According to the National Bureau of Statistics China, annual per capita disposable income of urban households in China increased from USD 2,271.0 in 2008 to USD 3408.5 in 2012. The overall annual disposable income in India medium household income increased from USD 1,366.2 billion in 2010 to USD 1,587.6 billion in 2013. Quick adoption of western culture has largely influenced the drinking habits in the Asia Pacific region. People living in the west usually have a habit of drinking beer with their meals, at parties and even during meetings. Rising Anti-alcohol campaigns and rising aging population are some of the major restraints for beer market.Browse Full Report@The major companies operating in the beer market include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Tsingtao Brewery, Beijing Yanjing Brewery, San Miguel Brewery, Asahi Breweries and China Resources Enterprise.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Worldwide Beer Market : Supply & Demand Value Chain By 2020

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Beer is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverages in the World. Beer contains 4% to 6% alcohol by volume. The main ingredients of beer include water, a starch source (such as malted barley, helps in saccharification and fermentation), a brewers yeast and flavors such as hops. Flavoring such as hops helps in adding bitterness and act as a natural preservative. Most of the beers are sold in glass bottle and cans. The moderate consumption of beer reduced the risk of cardiac disease, stroke and cognitive decline. In contrast, heavy beer consumption increases the risk of liver diseases. The European communities have been enjoying beer for several thousand years. The beer cultures in the European countries vary remarkably, with different styles of beer and consumption habits and it forms an integral part of the Europes heritage, alimentation and culture. Europe is the second largest beer producer in the world. In 2012, around 390 million hectoliters of beer was produced in the Europe. Europe beer market can be bifurcated into four categories such as premium lager, standard lager, specialty beer and others.Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Europe beer market experienced a steady growth rate over the past few years. Flavor innovations and new target consumer are some of the major driving force for beer market. By adding new flavors in beer, manufacturers tries to attract new drinkers, thus driving the beer market. In the recent year, beer markets are opening up in an effort to target more customers. Now the beer manufacturers are offering verities of beer to target women. This can be a major driving force for beer market. Increasing number of health conscious people and rise in beer excise duty are some of the major restraints for beer market.The major companies operating in the beer market include Scottish & Newcastle, Inbev, Heineken N.V and SABMiller.Browse Full Report@Key points covered in the reportReport segments the market on the basis of types, application, products, technology, etc (as applicable)The report covers geographic segmentationNorth AmericaEuropeAsiaRoWThe report provides the market size and forecast for the different segments and geographies for the period of 2010 to 2020The report provides company profiles of some of the leading companies operating in the marketThe report also provides porters five forces analysis of the market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Market 2016 Industry Trends, Sales, Supply, Demand, Analysis & Forecast to 2021

Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags

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Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Industry 2016 Market Size Share Growth Forecast Research and DevelopmentThe Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Industry report gives a comprehensive account of the Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags market. Details such as the size, key players, segmentation, SWOT analysis, most influential trends, and business environment of the market are mentioned in this report. Furthermore, this report features tables and figures that render a clear perspective of the Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags market. The report features an up-to-date data on key companies product details, revenue figures, and sales. Furthermore, the details also gives the Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags market revenue and its forecasts. The business model strategies of the key firms in the Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags market are also included. Key strengths, weaknesses, and threats shaping the leading players in the market have also been included in this research report.The report gives a detailed overview of the key segments in the market. The fastest and slowest growing market segments are covered in this report. The key emerging opportunities of the fastest growing Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags market segments are also covered in this report. Each segments and sub-segments market size, share, and forecast are available in this report. Additionally, the region-wise segmentation and the trends driving the leading geographical region and the emerging region has been presented in this report.Get Complete Report with TOC :The study on the Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags market also features a history of the tactical mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, and partnerships activity in the market. Valuable recommendations by senior analysts about investing strategically in research and development can help new entrants or established players penetrate the emerging sectors in the Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags market. Investors will gain a clear insight on the dominant players in this industry and their future forecasts. Furthermore, readers will get a clear perspective on the high demand and the unmet needs of consumers that will enhance the growth of this market.Table of ContentChapter One Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Industry Overview1.1 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Definition1.1.1 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Definition1.1.2 Product Specifications1.2 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Classification1.3 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Application Field1.4 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Industry Chain Structure1.5 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Industry Regional Overview1.6 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Industry Policy Analysis1.7 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Industry Related Companies Contact InformationGet Sample Copy of Report @Chapter Two Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.1 High Purity colloidal silica Supplier and Price Analysis2.2 Equipment Suppliers2.3 Labor Cost Analysis2.4 Other Cost Analysis2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure2.5 Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Manufacturing TechnologyChapter Three Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Capacity Production and Production Value3.1 Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Manufacturing Base3.2 2011-2016 Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Capacity and Production3.3 2011-2016 Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Production Value and Growth Rate3.4 2011-2016 Global Disposable Intestinal Wash Bags Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value and Gross MarginAbout Us:QYResearch Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. QYResearch Group also carries the capability to assist you with your customized market research requirements including in-depth market surveys, primary interviews, competitive landscaping, and company profiles. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics. QYResearch Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651
Microbiology Testing Technologies Market to be Driven by Rising Incidences of Infectious Diseases Globally

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Microbiological tests comprise the studies of various types of microbial products such as bacteria, yeast, fungus, viruses and their effects on patient population. These products provide an array of experimental approaches (i.e. synthesis and sequencing) to either modify a biological system or mimic it. Microbiology testing technologies enables to examine presence of pathogenic micro-organisms or their metabolites by means of micro-biology techniques.Get Free Sample Research Report:Microbiological testing technologies have wide area of application in the field of healthcare (e.g. syphilis, tuberculosis, gastrointestinal tests), food industries (e.g. food safety testing) and environmental industries (e.g. environmental testing). The foremost objective to use microbiology testing technologies is to understand human diseases (e.g. cancers, genetic diseases and others) better than before and identify new molecular targets to facilitate drug discovery.Rising incidences of infectious and sexually transmitted diseases globally will drive the market of microbiology testing. In addition, technological advancements have made microbiology tests faster and more accurate that increases the use of these tests and hence drives the growth of the market. Additionally, wide application areas of microbial test in the field of healthcare, energy and environment will further increase the uptake of nicrobiology technologies hence drives the market growth of microbiology testing technologies.Moreover, introduction of new tests by key players will further drive the growth of microbiology testing technologies market globally. For example, in February 2012, BioControl Systems launched a new Non-O157 Shiga Toxigenic E.coli (STEC) test. This test is different in that it has advanced the techniques associated with food microbiology and molecular technology. More importantly, it aids in the quicker and more efficient detection of the non-O157 serotype of E.coli.Thus, such innovative launches by key players attract new customers to use microbiology tests and technologies and will consequently drive the growth of the market. However less specific actions of microbiology tests will restrain the growth of microbiological testing technologies market. In addition, insufficient regulatory framework and guidelines and high cost of microbial products will restrain the growth of microbiology testing technologies market.Geographically, the most dominant region in the global microbiological testing technologies market is North America. The regions leading position can be mainly ascribed to the presence of key players headquartered and/or operational in this region; many of these players offer an expansive portfolio of microbiological tests and technologies. Europe, which is the second-largest regional market for microbiology testing technologies, also holds promising opportunities.Consistent advancements in the field of molecular diagnostic tests, such as the genetic probe test, for instance, coupled with positive initiatives by governments for the development of the field of microbiology will help stimulate advances in microbiology technologies. This will prove beneficial for the markets growth in Europe. For example, in March 2012, Abbott Laboratories obtained the CE Mark approval in the European Union, which allowed it to market PLEX-ID. This instrument features advanced molecular diagnostic technology which makes it suited for detecting and identifying a broad range of microbes. With such new launches and approvals by government authorities, the uptake of microbiology testing technologies will eventually increase and lend support to the markets growth.In addition to traditional markets, countries in South-East Asia along with India and China are regarded as rapidly developing markets for microbiological testing technologies because of increasing acceptance of microbiology tests and technologies by biotechnology companies and others.Browse Full Research Report:Various key players actively participating in this market are Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Gen-Prove, Inc., Agrivida, Inc., Agilent Technologies, Inc., Biosearch Technologies, Renewable Energy Group, Inc., ATG: biosynthetics GmbH, Torrey Pines Scientific, Inc., PSS Precision System Science, BioControl Systems and others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Worldwide Carbonate Minerals Market Report 2015-2025

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Carbonates are the most widely distributed minerals in the Earths crust. The crystal structure of many carbonates reflects the trigonal symmetry of the carbonate ion that is composed of carbon atom centrally located in an equilateral triangle of oxygen atoms. The anion group often is found in combination with sodium, calcium, iron, aluminium, uranium and rare earth minerals among others. The carbonates are soft and soluble in hydrochloric acid. There are almost 80 known carbonate minerals among which most of them are rare minerals. The common varieties of carbonate minerals are dolomite, calcite and aragonite among which calcite is the principal mineral of marble and limestone. Dolomite is said to be a replacement of calcite in limestones.Aragonite occurs in calcareous skeletons of shells of organisms. The other common carbonate minerals such as rhodochrosite for manganese, siderite for iron and strontanite for strontium among others serve as metal ores.The major applications of carbonates minerals are in glasses, light bulbs, ceramic tiles, mugs, plates, paints, plastic wide goods, wooden flooring, salt, detergents, sugar, heating elements among others. The main markets consuming carbonate minerals include abrasives, foundry, absorbents, metallurgy, glass, ceramics, cement, paint, chemicals, paper, plastics, oil well drilling, flame retardants, construction and filtration among others. About 50% of paints are made up of minerals, ceramics contain up to 100% minerals, and a family house contains about 400 tonnes of minerals.Request Free Report Sample@The major factor driving the carbonate minerals market includes the growing demand from the chemical industry for manufacture of end use products such as cosmetics and personal care products among others.In addition, the increasing use of minerals for cement and paints in the building and construction industry is likely to boost the global market. Rising demand from these sectors ultimately leads to fuel the demand for carbonate minerals in the market.The factor that would create opportunities for the carbonate minerals in the coming years include construction market in the BRIC and Eastern Europe, the use of minerals in improving the CO2 footprint and antipollution applications.The prices of minerals in the EU economy are influenced by factors such as source of mineral, grade and end use of the mineral i.e. the quality of mineral, which is described by desired end use, port handling, freight shipping, mineral inspection, warehousing and storage and the relationship of buyer and seller.Request For TOC@The key segments for carbonate industry include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest consumer of carbonate minerals owing to the large consumption form China for several applications in the industrial sector. North America and Europe are also expected to fuel demand for carbonate minerals in the near future. Saudi Arabia is one of the key markets that offers opportunities for the growth of carbonate minerals in various areas such as raw material component in cement, glass and ceramic market, as fluxes and binders in steel and metallurgy, as functional ingredients in FGD, waste water treatment, filtration, and as functional ingredients in batteries, fuel cells and oil and gas drilling.The key companies profiled for carbonate minerals market include: Excaliber Minerals, Omya, Carmeuse, Lhoist Group, Luzenac Group, Imerys, Northern Mining Co. LLC,BPB (UK), Zemex, Vesuvius, Iluka, Solvay Minerals, Mineral technologies, Regal Mines and Minerals Pvt Ltd., Sidco Minerals and Balaji Minerals & Chemicals among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Infection Control Market To Increase at Steady Growth Rate

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Infection control and prevention measures are performed to protect people, who are prone to acquire infections in general as well as while receiving medical treatment due to their health problems. Also, infection control refers to the discipline concerning the prevention of nosocomial infections (hospital-acquired infections). First line infection control measures include hand washing before coming in contact with patients since hand becomes the first contact route for micro-organisms.Disinfection and sterilization form essential methods for controlling infection. Sterilization can be done by the application of four different technologies namely, heat sterilization, filtration sterilization, low temperature sterilization and radiation sterilization. Among all, heat sterilization accounts for the largest share to total sterilization market owing to the presence of large consumer base. It is popular amongst hospitals and diagnostic centers that also propel the demand for heat sterilization. However, low temperature sterilization is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This is due to the fact that efficiency provided by low temperature sterilization process is precise that increases infection control, and in turn increases the demand. Low temperature sterilization can be further segmented as: ethylene oxide sterilization, hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilization and vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilization.Request Free Report Sample@Infection control can also be performed by the application of various disinfectants on medical instrument (surgical and diagnostic). Various disinfectants that are utilized widely for infection control include alcohol, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, phenolic compounds, quaternary ammonium compound, chlorine dioxide and chlorite. Among all these, hydrogen peroxide and quaternary ammonium compound accounts for the largest share of total disinfectants market owing to their high efficiency in controlling infection. Disinfection is performed in disinfectants washers also known as disinfectors. Disinfectors can be segmented as: washer disinfector and flusher disinfector. Other infection control methods include the utilization of medical gowns, face mask, sterilization drapes and disinfectant wipes by surgeons and people in the vicinity area of the patients.The market for infection control is expected to show high growth rate during the forecast period owing to rising incidences of hospital-acquired diseases (infections). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it is been estimated that one in every 20 infections is hospital-acquired diseases in the U.S. Similarly, improving reimbursement scenario regarding infection control in various nations such as U.S., Japan and U.K. will further propel the growth of infection control market. Likewise, aging population will also augment the growth of infection control market. It has been estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the global elderly population is expected to reach around 2 billion by 2050 which was around 524 million in 2010.Request For TOC@Rising number of surgeries in hospitals will also support the growth of infection control market. It has been estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that around 48 million surgical procedures were performed in the U.S. alone in 2009. In addition, rising incidences of various diseases (cancer and tuberculosis), will also boost the growth of infection control market. The WHO estimated that around 8.7 million people suffered from tuberculosis (TB) and around 1.4 million died due to the disease in 2011. All these parameters will undoubtedly drive the growth of infection control market.The major players operating in infection control market include Steris Corporation, Belimed AG, Johnson and Johnson, CISA Group, Cantel Medical Corporation, Getinge Group, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Nordion, Inc. and Synergy Health plcamong other significant players.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Agricultural Drones Market size predicted to grow with 21% CAGR from 2016 to 2023

Agricultural drones market size was valued over USD 135 million in 2015 and is anticipated to achieve over USD 555 million at a CAGR of 21% from 2016 to 2023.The potential benefits associated with these machines include improve yields and save water. In addition, drones may even assist the government to manage farming more effectively and efficiently by monitoring the usage of pesticides.U.S. agricultural drones market share accounted for around 22% in 2015 and is anticipated to reach USD 250 million over the forecast period. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detects specific light wavelength related with walnut blight disease, allocating pest managers or farmers in order to counter the issue which in turn reduces crop damage as well as improves productivity. UAVs are easy to fly, with a hand-held, video game-like controller. It captures videos and pictures of fields, livestock operations and orchards with high resolution. Asia Pacific agricultural drones market size was valued USD over 32 million in 2015 and is likely to attain USD 135 million by 2023 at CAGR of 22% during the coming few years.Based on types, the global agricultural drone market can be bifurcated as quadcopters as well as fixed wing aircraft. Currently, quadcopters is dominating the industry while the fixed wing is anticipated to observe significant gains over the forecast period. Major participants utilize new equipment in order to reduce exploitation of nitrogen in agricultural land to help protect the groundwater. The main advantages offered include more energy efficient as well as last longer coupled with lower cost of operation than other commercial manned aircrafts. The above mentioned factors are likely to drive industry demand.Commercial agricultural drone market is anticipated to grow significantly owing to aircrafts are able to perform more cost efficiently than other ways of ranching, orchard tending and farming. It is likely to help farmers improve livestock and crop quality. It also yields to increase productivity which in turn feed the growing population.Proliferation of economical visualization and navigation offered by these machines helps the farmers to monitor their land. Visualization includes mapping, inspection, surveillance, and package delivery. These machines are equipped with cameras and are able to perform task precisely which in turn fuel the demand growth over the forecast period.Commercial drone market is anticipated to be valued over USD 2 billion by 2023, growing at 19% over the forecast period. High investment from emerging economies in these machines is likely to surge the demand. With several key manufacturers pushing products, the aggregate marketing is anticipated to build enormous growth potential opportunities over the forecast period. However, air traffic management coupled with security and safety issues is anticipated to challenge the demand growth.The drones geo-tag the pictures captured and also transmit them, along with all the data, to software in order to create high-resolution or even 3D maps and geo-referenced that assists the farmer to analyze the crops. It also notifies the farmer about the well-beings of the plants. The stable data flow could be fed into a mathematical form in order to convey analytical information that helps farmer to take effective and efficient decisions on resources required by every micro-segment. The aforementioned factors are expected to positively impact the global agricultural drones market growth over the forecast period.The machines help in forecast suitable time to harvest field by taking snapshots and grant farmers with various data about the crops and soil. It assists in locating the fields where fertilizers are needed. Stringent government regulations are likely to hinder the industry growth. For instance, in UK, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has mandated certain rules for fliers pertaining to visual line of sight of the operator within a 500 miters of radius and below 122m.Major players occupying significant agricultural drones market share include AeroVironment Lockheed Martin, Draganflyer, Boeing, Textron, AeroVironment and Northrop Grumman. Other key competent includes ASN Technologies, Aurora Flight, BAE Systems, China Aerospace, Denel Dynamics, General Dynamics, Honeywell, General Atomics, Google, Israel Aerospace Industries, Marcus UAV, Prox Dynamics, RUAG Aerospace, Proxy Technologies and Wing Loong among others.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Global Market Insights Inc.29L Atlantic Avenue,Suite L 105, Ocean View,Delaware 19970United StatesPhone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email:sales@gminsights.com
Cloud computing market size likely to witness significant gains from 2016 to 2023

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Greater scalability coupled with faster access to infrastructure are anticipated to surge the demand growth.North America, especially U.S. cloud computing market size accounted for over 50% total share in 2015. SaaS services, including collaborations, content & communications along with customer relationship management is expected to boost regional revenue generation over the forecast period.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Cloud computing in an internet based technology that serves centralized data to remote devices connected through intranet or internet. It is a network where an application or program runs on a server and can be shared across several devices such as laptops, smartphones and personal computers. It ensures consumption-based billing and is also expected to witness significant adoption in several end use sectors. The above mentioned factors are likely to boost the industry demand over the forecast period. Strong outlook on the healthcare cloud computing market size, likely to exceed USD 13 billion by 2023, should drive industry demand.The technology enables exploitation of data in order to sustain business conclusions while maintaining the IT cost down. In addition, it enables companies to leverage platform as a service for application deployment. The technology is mainly deployed by key players in applications such as Google Inc. for Gmail, Drop box Inc. for their Dropbox Storage, Google auto back up, Facebook, Ever note and Skype. The technology is mainly utilized in social media and healthcare sectors as it facilitates the sectors to reduce their capital expenditure by eliminating the cost of IT Infrastructure.Large organizations makes use of private clouds in order to ensure reliability and security, while the smaller organizations requires public cloud services as they are cost efficient in nature. The conventional IT infrastructure involves developing, testing and deploying applications, which provides high investment as well as under utilization of resources. However, concerns regarding privacy, data access and security are the foremost factors hindering the demand growth over the coming few years.The industry can be segmented on the basis of deployment models which include public cloud, hybrid cloud and private cloud. The industry can also be bifurcated on the basis of services which include softw are as a service (SaaS), advertising as a service (AaaS), business process as a service (BPaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a-service (IaaS). The industry can be segregated by IT capability into business processes, application and system & application infrastructure. Key regions occupying significant cloud computing market share include Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, MEA and Latin America. Business processes can be further segmented into e-commerce, human resources and payment processing and accounted for more than 70% of the total industry share in 2014.India cloud computing market size was valued over USD 1 billion in 2014. Advertising as a service market accounted for highest share owing to extensive usage in online advertising. Rising growth in e-commerce sector is also likely to boost the demand.Hybrid cloud accounted for around 58% of industry share in 2014. Public cloud accounted for over 30% and private cloud accounted for about 5% in the same year. Hybrid cloud computing service model provides solution by combining public and private clouds. It integrates in-house IT infrastructure with other services and products to accomplish unique needs of the customers.SaaS cloud computing market share accounted for over 49% revenue in 2014, IaaS accounted for around 28% and Paas accounted for over 18%. SaaS is utilized for the distribution of software so that the consumers can access over the Internet. It hosts the applications at its data center and a user contacts it with the help of any standard web browser.The major players holding the global cloud computing market share include Amazon, Akamai Technologies, Hewlett Packet, VM-Ware, Yahoo, CA Technologies, Caspio and Dell among others. Major competitors for PaaS include Microsoft, Google and IBM among others. Key SaaS players are Google, Cisco, Demandware, Adobe and Hotmail among others. IaaS providers include Akamai, Joyent and GoGrid among others.Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Global Market Insights Inc.29L Atlantic Avenue,Suite L 105, Ocean View,Delaware 19970United States
FMI Releases New Report on the Transformer Oil Market 2015-2025

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In order to meet the residential, commercial and industrial energy requirements and ensure a smooth operation of power supply transformer plays an important role. During transformer operation, transformers dissipate heat which can damage the system if not controlled. In order to achieve seamless operation of transformer by preventing from heat damage the oil are used. Transformer oil is used in oil-filled and submersible transformers to maintain temperature of transformer. Application of transformer oil can also be seen in high-voltagecircuit breakers and switches. Since the oil is in constant contact with components it is therefore susceptible to chemical interaction. It is therefore essential to check for the quality of transformer oil at regular intervals since with continuous reaction the chemical composition of the oil may change and this may render it unfit for use.The market for transformer oil is subjected to the demands of the various end-use industries such as chemicals and automotive, and the type of transformer used. The oil used in transformers is hydrocarbon mineral oil. There are two major types of transformer oil used in the industry; naphthenic and paraffinic based. Though bio based transformer oil have gained attention due to stringent environmental issues but their usage is restricted due to limited advantage. The market of transformer oil will be driven by the expanding energy demand and growing installation of power grids in urban scenario. Due to growing population, the power grid companies needs to expand and upgrade their existing capacities causing penetration of transformers to increase which in turn fuel the market for transformer oil. The transition towards renewable sources of energy, strict environmental laws and shift towards organic oils may restraint the market of mineral based transformer oil.Request Free Report Sample@Asia is one of the largest consumer of transformer oils followed by North America, South America and Europe. For the forecasted years Asia-pacific transformer oil market will continue to lead in terms of consumption. The demand for transformer oil in Asia Pacific is rapidly growing for emerging markets of India and China. This demand is transformer oil is attributed to the increasing focus on rural and urban development in infrastructure. This involves a shift in focus from high capacity transformer to small and mid-segment transformers for domestic and agricultural uses. The transformer oil markets of China, India and also Brazil will dominate owing to the government initiative for the electricity accessibility to the countrys population. The demand for in the mineral based is anticipated to stabilize due to the shift towards green (bio based) alternatives. The demand for transformer oil in regions of Americas and Europe is related to high capacity industrial transformers. The demand for transformer oil in these regions is anticipated to be slower than those in Asia Pacific owing to the significant development of renewable sources of energy and reduced dependability on conventional sources of energy.Transformer Oil Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified in the transformer oil market are Hydrodec Group PLC, Nynas AB, Calumet Specialty Products Partners, Valvoline,APAR Industries, Sinopec Corporation, Engen Petroleum Limited.Visit For TOC@ABOUT US:Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Market Research on Black Pepper Market 2016 and Analysis to 2026

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Black Pepper is a pungent hot-tasting powder spice prepared from dried and ground peppercorns, used to flavor food. It is also known as king of spices because it contains rich anti-oxidants and other nutrients. The high demand for pepper presents an attractive market opportunity for new vendors to enter the market. In the present market scenario, it is estimated that the new crop of black pepper accounts for nearly 30% to 35% of the market. The high demand is expected to increase the price of black pepper, thereby increasing the profit margin of the vendors in this market.Apart from this, black pepper powder is also used to make medicines. It often used to cure stomach upset, bronchitis, and cancer. It is sometimes applied directly to the skin for treating nerve pain(neuralgia) and a skin disease called scabies. Black peppers are also used typically as a counterirritant for pain.Black Pepper Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe black pepper market is directly influenced by the growing processed food industry. The rise in consumption of bakery products, confectionery products, and ready-to-eat and ried food in the developed economies is driving the market for the spice. The recent trend of using natural flavor enhancer has also catalyzed the growth of the global market. In the year 2013-15, the global pepper consumption is estimated at around 400,000 tons and has been increasing steadily. Increasing demand from Far East countries, which have started using more pepper in cooking, has been quite significant in driving the global black pepper market. Growth in the cosmetics industry is also directly influencing the pepper market. Due to the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of black pepper, it is often included in skin care products.Request Free Report Sample@As stated earlier, that the market is experiencing a major year on year increase in demand for black pepper. But unfortunately, this demand is not backed by adequate supply, which has proved to be a major restraint in this market. This is majorly due to the intensive crop losses in various parts of the world, especially in India & Brazil. Sudden climatic changes and untimely rainfall has significantly led to the fall in the yield of black pepper.Black PepperMarket: SegmentationThe global black pepper market can be broadly segmented on the basis of; type, end use and application. On the basis of type, the market can be further segmented into  organic and inorganic. Based on end use, the market can be segmented into bakery and confectionery products, frozen products, soups, sauces & dressing, beverages, meat & poultry products, snacks and convenience food, and others. Based of application, the black pepper market can be segmented into food & beverages, health care and personal care & cosmetics.Black PepperMarket: Region Wise OutlookGeographically, the global black peppermarket is segmented into seven regions which are ; North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), and Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Japan.Vietnam, followed by Brazil, India & Indonesia are the leading producer of black pepper in the year 2014 globally.India saw a fall in its average production in the same year. The leverage of large scale production and productivity helps Vietnam growers to offer world's lowest price tags.Visit For TOC@In terms of export, Vietnam leads the market globally. U.S. market continues to be the largest importer of black pepper from Vietnam. While most markets like India, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Netherlands, Spain have seen an increase in their imports, except Germany. German market recorded a drop in imports from Vietnam. Thus, with a market share of approximately 50% per cent in the global market, Vietnam has been able dominate the market.Black PepperMarket: Key PlayersSome of the major companies operating in global black peppermarket are Baria Pepper, British Pepper and Spice, Catch, Everest Spices, McCormick, MDH, Agri food Pacific, Akar Indo, Brazil Trade Business, DM AGRO, Gupta Trading, Pacific Production, PT AF, Silk Road Spices, The Spice House, Vietnam Spice Company, Visimex, and Webb James, Olam International Limited.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
The state carrier and its employees had been at loggerheads with each other over a slew of issues, including the perpetual delay in disseminating salaries.
Global Greek Yogurt Market Trends, Regulations And Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2026

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Currently, greek yogurt is one of the most popular dairy products across the globe. Since greek yogurt is prepared through the straining process in order to separate the yogurt from the excess watery whey, it is also known as strained yogurt. The straining process makes the yogurt much thicker and creamier as compared to the regular or traditional yogurt. Greek yogurt contributes significantly to the growth of the global yogurt market. This is mainly attributed to its benefits such as higher protein and lower carbohydrates value as compare to traditional yogurt. Presently, greek yogurt is the highest growing product category among others including regular yogurt and yogurt drinks and second holds largest market share in terms of revenue, after traditional yogurt in the overall yogurt market. Demand for greek yogurt market is expected to increase in the next five to six forecast years owing to increasing lunch of new product with variety of flavours such as blueberry, vanilla, honey, chocolate and others.Global Greek Yogurt Market Segmentation:On the basis of product type, the global greek yogurt market is segmented into regular greek yogurt and non-fat greek yogurt, which is made from skim milk. Owing to increase the consumption of fat free and healthy products, non-fat greek yogurt products are gaining increasing popularity among the consumers.On the basis of distribution channel, the global greek yogurt market is segmented into supermarket/ hypermarket, grocery stores, convenience stores, and online retailing. In terms of revenue contribution, supermarket / hypermarket is expected to hold the highest share among all the other segments. However, online retail for global greek yogurt market witnesses steady growth in the forecasted years. This is attributed to increasing visibility of greek yogurt especially through online retailing.Request Free Report Sample@Geographically, global greek yogurt market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, and Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America and Western Europe are the two most lucrative market for greek yogurt in the world. In North America around half of the yogurt sold is greek yogurt.Global Greek Yogurt Market Dynamics:Increase in health consciousness among consumer has led to shift in eating preference towards healthy and nutrition food products. Availability of high nutritional value, which includes high protein, probiotics, vitamin such as vitamin D, B12, minerals such as potassium, iodine and calcium in greek yogurt is key factor that has led to increased adoption of greek yogurt among consumers and thus, fuelling the global greek yogurt market growth.Increasing application of greek yogurt is another growth driver for greek yogurt market since it is used for various medium in different countries. For instance, in Mediterranean region greek yogurt is mainly used as savoury but in the US, Mexico and Canada it is used as sweet snack with added fruits and flavours. Greek yogurt is also used in making many sauces for instance beef and lamb sauces. Greek yogurt is also used as a substitute products, for instance it is used as a substitute product for sour cream, cream cheese and butter. Thus, increasing its application among food products.Visit For TOC@Among dairy products, greek yogurt is a good option for the consumers who have slight lactose intolerance, since in the production process much of the lactose is removed from the greek yogurt. This leads to drive the scope of greek yogurt among such consumers globally. However, high lactose intolerance is restrain for adoption of greek yogurt, thus restricting the market growth. There is a high opportunity to expand and increase the revenue for greek yogurt in the Asia Pacific excluding japan and Middle East countries.Global Greek Yogurt Market Key Players:Some of the key players operating in the global greek yogurt market are Chobani LLC, Stonyfield Farm, Inc, FAGE International S.A., GROUPE DANONE, and General Mills, Inc. Owing to have strong distribution and marketing strategies companies are able to meet the increasing demand for global greek yogurt.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Free webinar about the basics of piezoelectricity, September 7. Sign up now!

Sign up for our free webinar "Piezo basics" September 7

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Noliac offers a free, online course introducing the basics of piezoelectricity. The webinar Piezo basics takes place September 7. Book your seat now!Learn to work with piezoelectricityAt the webinar, you will learn about the nature of piezoelectricity and the different types of piezoceramic materials. In addition, there will be an introduction to the necessary definitions, the basic equations, the properties of piezoceramic materials, and how piezoceramic materials are affected by temperature variations. All this will provide the basic knowledge to start working with piezoelectricity.1.5 hours free piezo webinarNoliacs webinars are held by two experienced engineers from Noliac giving you a thorough introduction to the basics of piezoelectricity. The webinar is live, and with a chat function, you can ask questions to the presenters during the webinar.Book your seat now!There is a limit of 25 participants for each webinar, so sign up now atThe webinar takes place on September 7 at 3 pm Copenhagen time. You will receive a link with all the practical information approximately 1 week before the webinar takes place.Webinars and tutorials about piezo technologyThe purpose of our piezo webinars and tutorials is to get you closer to the world of piezo. We provide insight ranging from the basics of piezoelectricity and different types of piezo actuators to complex piezo motors.Go to our tutorials atNoliac presents a unique proficiency in the field of piezoelectric technology. We design, develop and manufacture the total range of piezoelectric products - from powders to mono- and multilayer components and all the way to finished plug-and-play applications.Noliac A/SHejreskovvej 18DK-3490 KvistgaardDenmarkAtt.: Lotte Beck
Swiftclean joins BESA Service and Facilities Executive Committee

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Julia Argles, Group Service Delivery Director of Swiftclean Building Services, has accepted an invitation to join the Executive Committee of the Service and Facilities Group of the Building and Engineering Services Association (BESA).Already a member of the committee which supports the BESA Safety Focus initiative, Julia Argles is also NEBOSH qualified and a keen advocate of BESAs Green Book Training Scheme. She has also been closely involved in the development by BESA of two new Trailblazer apprenticeships in Ventilation Hygiene.Swiftclean Managing Director, Gary Nicholls, commented, We are delighted to see Julias professionalism and expertise recognised in this way. Its a wise choice and she will be a great asset as an Executive Committee member.Swiftclean has itself gained much recognition in recent times, being hailed as Building Services Contractor of the Year in the HVR Awards for two consecutive years in 2014 and 2015.As one of the largest independent companies operating in the Building Services hygiene sector, they work with building managers and FM companies offering high quality, expert advice and legally compliant services for Legionella Control, Kitchen Extract Cleaning, Duct Cleaning, Water Tank Cleaning and Grease Trap Management across a variety of business sectors including: Facilities Management, Social Housing, Pubs & Restaurants, Hotels & Stadiums, Food Production,Healthcare, Education and many more.Swiftclean (UK) LtdHead OfficeAviation WaySouthend-on-SeaEssexSS2 6UN
Chiral Chromatography Column Market worth $87.8 Million by 2018

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The Chiral Chromatography Column Market by type (Empty, Pre-packed, Analytical, Preparative), by Material (Metal, Glass, Plastic), by Application [GC, LC (HPLC, UHPLC, Flash Chromatography, UFLC), TLC,SFC] - Forecast to 2018, This report studies the market over the forecast period of 2013 to 2018. The market size by value was $68 million in 2013. It is poised to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2013 to reach $87.8 million by 2018.Browse 90 market data tables and 15 figures spread through 135 pages and in-depth TOC on Chiral Chromatography Column MarketEarly buyers will receive 10% customization on reports.The market is categorized into five broad segments, namely, materials, columns, applications, end users and geography. The market by materials is segmented into glass, metals and plastic. The market for columns is segmented into empty and pre-packed columns. By applications, the market is segmented into gas chromatography (GC) systems, liquid chromatography systems, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) systems and thin-layer chromatography systems (TLC). By end users, the market is broadly categorized into cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, environmental biotechnology, academics, food and beverage, hospitals, nutraceuticals, and other industries. By geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (RoW).Download The PDF Brochure:The expanding global biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and increasing government investments, funds, and grants have stimulated the usage of advanced chromatographic techniques in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Furthermore, research activities in medicines, proteomics, metabolomics, and genomics have increased the application areas of chiral columns. Various factors such as technological advancements, government investments in chromatography techniques, and increasing tie-ups with research laboratories and academic institutes are propelling the growth of the market.North America accounts for the largest share of the market, due to augmented research for drug and biologic development, chromatography conferences, and direct and indirect government investments in the chromatography instrumentation marketDownload The Sample Pages:The Asian chiral columns market is expected to witness high growth in the forecast period. The outsourcing of drug discovery and development services to the Asian region (especially China and India)by prominent pharmaceutical companies is, alongside other factors, propelling the demand for separation techniques in Asia.Major players in the market include Agilent Technologies (U.S.), Waters Corporation (U.S.), Phenomenex, Inc. (U.S.), Shimadzu Corporation (Japan), Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), GE Healthcare (U.K.), Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, and Others.About MarketsandMarkets:MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.M&Ms flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.Contact:Mr. RohanUnit No. 802, 8th Floor,Tower - 7, Magarpatta City SEZ,Hadapsar, Pune  411013,Maharashtra, India.Tel: +1-888-6006-441.
Global Offshore Support Vessel Market is projected to Witness a Significant Growth In Terms Of CAGR from by 2025

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Offshore Support Vessel Market: OverviewOffshore Support Vessels are the ships that are designed to transport liquid cargo, stores, materials and equipment and personnel to offshore oil platform that functions deep in the oceans. These vessels include services such as drilling rigs, offshore pipe laying, and oil production platforms utilized in exploration and production activities. These vessels undertake variety of tasks in the supply chain.Use For to: Download TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report:Offshore Support Vessels are fundamental components for oil & gas industry. There are many types of offshore support vessel that have different properties and functions as per the type of operation. The Asia-Pacific regions such as China, Australia, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia require more volume of offshore support vessels. As a result, it provides a great opportunity to the manufacturers of offshore support vesselsGlobal Offshore Support Vessel Market: SegmentationGlobal Offshore Support Vessel market is segmented into type and region. The global Offshore Support Vessel market can be segmented on the basis of types such as Anchor Handling Towing and Supply (AHTS) vessels, Platform Supply Vessels (PSV), Diving Support Vessels, Remote Operating Vessels (ROV) Support, Multi-Purpose Service Vessel (MPSV), Cable & Pipe Laying Vessels, Standby and Rescue Vessel, Seismic Survey Vessels, Well Stimulation Vessel, Fast Supply Intervention Vessels (FSIV). Region wise, global Offshore Support Vessel market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific (APEJ), and Middle East and Africa (MEA).Global Offshore Support Vessel Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global offshore support vessel market is projected to witness a significant growth in terms of CAGR from 2015 to 2025. North America region is expected to witness significant growth during the forecasted period. Middle East is expected to be one of the leading market for offshore support vessels for the coming years. According to FMI forecasts, the market in Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at highest CAGR over the forecast period.Global Offshore Support Vessel Market: DriversOffshore Support Vessel Market is being driven by rising offshore exploration and production activities. Moreover, increasing capital expenditure on offshore oil exploration will also lead to offshore developments. Offshore Support Vessel Market is expected to grow at a higher rate for the forecast period supported by increasing demand of oil & gas.The drivers for this market are increased demand for offshore rig, marine logistics, & others. All these factors together drive the Offshore Support Vessel market during the forecast period.Global Offshore Support Vessel Market: RestraintsCertain restraints that are hampering the growth of global offshore support vessel market to some extent include high maintenance and replacement cost, regulations and environmental effects.Global Offshore Support Vessel Market: Competitive LandscapeKey players in the global offshore support vessel market focus on Developments, investments, expansion, mergers & acquisition, agreements and contracts, new technologies developments, in order to expand their reach and penetrate into the market.Global Offshore Support Vessel Market: Key PlayersSome of the major players identified in the global Offshore Support Vessel market are Edison Chouest Offshore, Abdon Callais Offshore, Havila Shipping ASA, Farstad Shipping ASA, Gulfmark Offshore Inc., Bourbon Offshore Marine services, Island Offshore Management AS, & others.The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Offshore Support Vessel Market SegmentsOffshore Support Vessel Market DynamicsHistorical Actual Market Size, 2012 - 2014Offshore Support Vessel Market Size & Forecast 2015 to 2025Supply & Demand Value ChainOffshore Support Vessel Market Current Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainOffshore Support Vessel Market Drivers and RestraintsRegional analysis for Offshore Support Vessel Market includesNorth America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico. Brazil)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain)Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa, N. Africa)Browse Full Report@The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
The National Health Regulatory Authority in Kingdom of Bahrain chooses EXTEDOs EURS solution for validation & reviewing

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Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain - August 11, 2016  EXTEDO, a leading provider of Regulatory Information Management solutions, has signed an agreement with the National Health Regulatory Authority to introduce the electronic submission management standard eCTD within the Kingdom of Bahrain.EXTEDO will be partnering with the National Health Regulatory Authority to support the standardization of the electronic submission management process within the Kingdom of Bahrain as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The agreement between the authority and EXTEDO includes the deployment of EXTEDOs EURS solution to support the reviewing and validation of electronic submissions.After Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain is the fourth country within the GCC member states to adopt the eCTD standard.EXTEDO will be offering its product portfolio to the Ministry of Health of Bahrain, including submission management and publishing tool eCTDmanager and submission validation software EURSvalidator, which will enable pharmaceutical companies to submit their regional electronic submissions.About eCTDmanagereCTDmanager is an easy-to-use solution for building, viewing, validating, and publishing compliant submissions that meet global regulatory specifications.About EURSEURS is a software solution that serves as an overall eCTD validation and reviewing software tool used by more than 35 authorities worldwideAbout EURSvalidatorEURSvalidator is the leading electronic submission validation engine used by more than 35 regulatory authorities worldwideThe Kingdom of Bahrain is an important partner for us. As a vital member of the Gulf Cooperation Council region, we are honored to be the partner of choice in delivering software solutions and services that will support the needs of organizations operating within Bahrain.Martin Schmid, Managing Director EXTEDOAbout the National Health Regulatory AuthorityThe National Health Regulatory Authority, which began operating in 2010, is responsible for the licensing and regulation of healthcare professionals, healthcare facilities and medicines in the Kingdom of Bahrain. They aim to provide people with the support they need, as an applicant, license holder or member of the public.All trade names, trademarks, and service marks are the rightful property of their respective owners.EXTEDO is a leading solutions and services provider in the field of Regulatory Information Management (RIM). We focus on optimizing our clients eRegulatory business processes and are the only vendor that provides solutions covering the entire regulatory landscape. Our EXTEDOsuite combines innovation with compliance, and quality with usability.Whether planning & tracking, product registration, submission publishing and lifecycle management, pharmacovigilance management and drug safety; we optimize every eRegulatory business process. Today, EXTEDO enables more than 35 regulatory authorities and over 700 maintained customers across 60 countries to deliver Effortless Compliance.For more information, visitEXTEDO GmbHEinsteinstrae 3085521 OttobrunnGermanyMedia Contact:Ina ScharfenJunior Marketing SpecialistTel.: +49 189 454 184email: scharfen@extedo.com
Electronic Health Records Solution Market to Reach US$30.28 bn by 2023; Set to Benefit from Government Initiatives to Adopt EHR Systems

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A new market research report has been recently published by Transparency Market Research. The report analyzes the scope of the global electronic health records (EHR) market. The research report, titled Electronic Health Records (EHR) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020, provides an overview of the EHR market coupled with the market drivers, restraints, product segmentation, and the competitive landscape.According to the TMR research study, in 2013, the global market for electronic health records was worth US$15.56 bn and is anticipated to reach US$23.98 bn by the end of 2020. This market is expected to exhibit a 6.4% CAGR between 2014 and 2020.You can Download Free Sample Brochure:EHR systems have encouraged many physicians around the world to adopt information technology for their routine work. The use of EHR systems helps in maintaining updated information of patients, reduce healthcare costs, improve accuracy and efficiency, and reduce medical errors. The growing government initiatives to encourage the adoption of EHR systems for healthcare facilities has driven the growth of this market. On the other hand, the absence of skilled healthcare IT professionals and high installation costs of EHR systems are some of the major factors that are expected to hamper the growth of this market in the forecast period.On the basis of installation type, the global EHR market has been divided into client server-based EHR systems and web-based EHR systems. In 2013, the client server-based EHR systems segment held the largest share in the global EHR market; however, the web-based EHR system segment is expected to grow significantly throughout the forecast period. The high growth of this segment can be attributed to the nominal upfront prices of these systems. By end-user, the global EHR market has been classified into ambulatory centers and hospitals. In 2013, the hospitals segment accounted for the largest share in comparison to the ambulatory centers segment.Geographically, the global EHR market has been segmented into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. Among all these regions, in 2013, the North America region dominated the global market in terms of revenue, accounting for 42.6% in the global EHR market. This region is anticipated to continue with its dominant position, exhibiting a 5.8% CAGR throughout the forecast period, owing to the rising government funding for the implementation of EHR systems.Research Report:The North America EHR market is followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The prominent players operating in the global EHR market have set their focus on developing markets such as India, Mexico, China, Brazil, and South Africa, where most of the hospitals are adopting digital technology. Apart from these, countries such as Australia and Japan are considered as the most promising markets throughout the forecast period. In Rest of the World, the EHR market is projected to exhibit healthy growth due to the growing market penetration by multinational companies.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
MUFG and Akshaya Patra Foundation lays the foundation for its kitchen in Narsingi, Telangana

Akshaya Patra Kitchen Ceremony

www.mufg.jp/english

www.akshayapatra.org

Hyderabad, India, 11 August 2016  Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG)s banking entity The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), and the Akshaya Patra Foundation took the first step to build a full-fledged kitchen in Narsingi, by laying the foundation stone for the building on 11 August, 2016. The Narsingi Kitchen will be providing mid-day meals to over 35,000 children in Telangana from the next academic year.A bhoomi puja was organised at the new kitchen premises by the Akshaya Patra Foundation along with a lamp lighting ceremony for an auspicious start to the undertaking. Among the dignitaries at the event were Chief Guest, Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy, High Court Judge for Telangana & Andhra Pradesh and Mr D Damodar Rao, CMD Namaste Telangana. Also present at the occasion were, Shri Satya Gaura Chandra Dasa, Unit President, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, and Mr Ryoichi Shinke, Regional Executive of BTMU India.Speaking at the occasion, Justice C V Nagarjuna, thanked the Bank and The Foundation for their initiative. We are happy that MNCs are investing not just in the infrastructure of the state but also for the future generation by supporting education for all. Such initiatives will go a long way in building the nation.Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa also expressed his gratitude towards BTMU India for supporting them. We are inching towards the 2 million mark and we are glad that we are receiving support from global companies like BTMU. Our joint initiative will benefit the state by providing meals to kids and employment to locals especially women. We hope to continue to serve the nation and end classroom hunger by 2020.In June 2016, the Bank had announced about its MOU with The Foundation to support the mid-day meal program as part of its CSR initiative. Under this MoU, MUFG has pledged INR 105.1 million to fund the construction of a new centralised kitchen to cater to government schools in Ranga Reddy District, near Hyderabad, Telangana. The kitchen is expected to be operational by the next academic year (2017-18).Shri Satya Gaura Chandra Dasa, Unit President, The Akshaya Patra Foundation expressed, We are happy to inform that The Akshaya Patra Foundation is collaborating with Japan's banking giant to build first class social infrastructure in the new state of Telangana. With the support of the Government and BTMU we will be feeding 35,000 children. The MDM scheme is a great initiative to bring children back to school in Telangana.About Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the worlds leading financial groups, with total assets of approximately 295.8 trillion or US$2.5 trillion, as of December 31, 2015.Headquartered in Tokyo and with approximately 350 years of history, MUFG is a global network with about 1,200 offices in nearly 50 countries. The Group has over 140,000 employees and about 300 entities, offering services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing.The Groups operating companies include Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (Japans leading trust bank), and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co., Ltd., one of Japans largest securities firms.Through close partnerships among our operating companies, the Group aims to be the worlds most trusted financial group, flexibly responding to all of the financial needs or our customers, serving society , and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. MUFGs shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York (NYSE: MTU) stock exchanges.For more information, visitAbout the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) IndiaBTMU is Japans premier bank, with a global network spanning close to 50 countries. Outside of Japan, the Bank offers an extensive scope of commercial and investment banking products and services to businesses, governments and individuals worldwide.In the Asia and Oceania region, BTMU has presence in 13 key markets with 33 offices and close to 4,000 employees serving largely corporate and institutional clients. Singapore serves as the regional headquarters for South Asia, South-east Asia (ex-Thailand) and the Oceania region since July 2013, while the regional headquarters for East Asia including China is located in Japan. In addition, Bank of Ayudhya PCL (Krungsri), BTMUs majority-owned banking subsidiary in Thailand, with more than 650 branches and more than 20,000 staff, has further expanded its footprint in this region.BTMU has five branch offices in India including Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai (including Sri Lankas representative office), Bangalore and Neemrana. The Regional Executive is also located in Mumbai and acts as the centralised division to oversee various functions.BTMU established its first branch in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) in 1953, more than 60 years ago, serving largely Japanese corporates. Today, as the largest Japanese bank by assets in India, BTMU is helping large Indian, Japanese and other multi-national corporates and financial institutions expand their businesses in India and globally through a suite of corporate banking and trade financing solutions. BTMU in India is strong in offering trade finance especially Export Advances, Treasury products and term loans for both strategic purposes and organic growth of its clients. BTMU has led most of the marquee financing deals in India over the last five years, making it a lead banker in the Indian loan markets.About The Akshaya Patra FoundationThe Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in Bengaluru, India. The organization strives to fight issues like hunger and malnutrition in India. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government schools and Government aided schools, The Akshaya Patra Foundation aims not only to fight hunger but also to bring children to school.Since 2000, the organisation has worked towards reaching more children with wholesome food on every single school day. Akshaya Patra Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and they attract curious visitors from around the world. In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments and inestimable support from many philanthropic donors and well-wishers; Akshaya Patra has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across 5 schools. Today, Akshaya Patra Foundation is the worlds largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme serving wholesome food to over 1.5 million children from 11,360 schools across 10 states in India.For more details, please log on:#72, 3rd Floor, 3rd Main Road, 1st & 2nd Stage Yeshwantpur Industrial Suburb, Rajajinagar Ward No. 1
Systech Launch the DualPerm, a combined OTR & WVTR Permeation Station

www.systechillinois.com

www.systechillinois.com

Following customer feedback, Systech launch a new combined product to the market, to offer clients substantial cost savingsThe DualPerm combined OTR and WVTR station offers substantial cost and space savings. This package offers considerable reductions to the initial purchase cost of 2 separate permeation analysers; shared computer interface; shared nitrogen supply and reduced installation costs.Systech Illinois oxygen permeation and water vapour permeation analysers offer reliable and versatile testing of all films, packages and bottles. With precise control, these analysers offer a wide sample temperature range of 5 to 50C and a measured and controlled relative humidity range of 20 to 90% RH. All Systech analysers are certified traceable to NIST.Our water vapour permeation analysers utilise our long-life Proprietary Coulometric P2O5 sensor, the primary method for absolute moisture measurement, which is more sensitive and stable than infra-red and does not require calibration.The leading permeation instruments deliver: the fastest permeation results; extremely fast purge down time; accurate readings at the lowest levels and the highest quality sensor on the market.More information about Systech Illinois and their extensive range of gas analysis instruments, products and services can be found on the Systech website atSystech Illinois specialises in online, portable and laboratory gas analysis equipment. With 30 years as one of the leading experts in gas and moisture measurement, Systech Illinois' application and technology knowledge provides efficient gas analysis solutions in many industry sectors worldwide.For the packaging industry, Systechs oxygen permeation and water vapour permeation analysers offer testing of all packaging film, finished package and PET bottles. Systechs headspace range provides fast, easy to use, accurate gas analysis of gas flushed food packages and headspace analysis of food and pharmaceutical packaging.For the process industry, Systech offer a wide range of gas analysis solutions including measurement of moisture, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and many other gases. In addition, Systech manufacture intrinsically safe units for use in hazardous areas.Systech Illinois is a multinational company with offices and gas analysis equipment manufacturing facilities in the UK and the U.S. Systech is very proud of its well developed and well trained workforce, which enables it to offer customers a continuing high level of service, and become known globally as a leading supplier of gas analysis instrumentation.Systech IllinoisBeth FaulknerPhone: +44 01844 216838Web:Systech Illinois17 Thame Park Business CentreWenman RoadThameOX9 3XA
Vacuum solutions for technical processes and laboratories

Busch vacuum system for the petrochemicals industry

www.buschvacuum.com

www.buschvacuum.com

Busch is presenting vacuum solutions for all fields of technical processes and laboratory applications at Ilmac in Basel, Switzerland. Over several decades, Busch has made a name for itself as a systems supplier in vacuum technology. Vacuum systems from Busch are individually designed and realized to meet process requirements and customers' needs. In the process, the specialists from Busch are able to access a large product portfolio to optimally coordinate the individual modules of a vacuum system to one another. With the COBRA dry screw vacuum pumps, the Mink dry claw vacuum pumps, the Dolphin liquid ring vacuum pumps or the proven R 5 oil-lubricated rotary vane vacuum pumps, a selection of four vacuum technologies are available for use as backing pumps in vacuum systems. Several types of vacuum booster in many sizes can also be added to these. Of course, all vacuum pumps from Busch are also available in versions that comply with ATEX. Thanks to its high level of expertise, Busch offers a special "ATEX-Check" for companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector. In the process, all ATEX-relevant vacuum pump components, monitoring sensors and electric motors are checked. A test report is created which serves as proof that the equipment complies with legal requirements.Busch also offers an extensive range of vacuum generators for laboratories. The new series of Zebra two-stage rotary vane vacuum pumps for the medium vacuum sector will be the focus at Ilmac, where they will be exhibited for the first time in Switzerland. These pumps enable ultimate pressures of 6.7 x 10-3 millibar to be generated for a pumping speed of 3.5 to 90 cubic metres per hour (50 Hz). Zebra two-stage rotary vane vacuum pumps are oil-lubricated and thus extremely robust for many applications in the laboratory. With the Fossa scroll vacuum pump, Busch demonstrates one way to generate a medium vacuum with a dry compression principle so that extracted gases do not come into contact with operating fluids. The R 5 RE 0016 B oil-lubricated rotary vane vacuum pump is also being presented. It is approved for EX II 1/2 G IIB3 T4, category 1 inside and T4 inside and outside the vacuum pump.Busch is exhibiting: Ilmac 2016, hall 1.1, booth A 185Contact details:Uli MerkleBusch Vacuum Pumps and Systems18 July 2016Busch Vacuum Pumps and Systems is one of the largest manufacturers of vacuum pumps, blowers and compressors in the world.With a lot of experience and top qualified personnel, we are forward-looking and strive to improve our products and ourselves. We are constantly at work developing innovative technologies that will define the vacuum world of the future.Our manufacturing plants utilize the most modern manufacturing techniques, machinery and equipment under very strict quality controls, which surpass DIN EN ISO 9001 requirements.As of 2016, Busch Vacuum Pumps and Systems employs more than 3000 people and features the largest selection of vacuum pumps for the industrial applications in the world. Due to its immense line of vacuum pumps, expertise and experience in the building of vacuum systems and the extensive service network, Busch is capable of providing ideal comprehensive solutions.With 60 companies in 42 countries and sales agencies worldwide, we are strategically positioned throughout the world to provide our customers with the essentials for success.Our goal always is to provide the customer with the highest possible return on investment. Personal consulting, choice of the optimum product and prompt service on site are key features of our comprehensive service that make the achievement of this goal reality. Our experience and know how in broadly diversified applications and product design furnish the basis.Buschs headquarter is located in Maulburg, Germany. Besides Busch Holding, the German manufacturing plant, Busch Produktions GmbH, the sales organization, Dr.-Ing. K. Busch GmbH and service company, Busch Dienste GmbH are headquartered here. In addition, Busch operates production plants in Switzerland, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Korea and the USA.Busch Dienste GmbHMarketing/Marketing ServicesUli MerkleSchauinslandstrae 179689 MaulburgTelefon: 07622/681-144E-Mail: Uli.Merkle@busch.deWebsite:
Solar Cell Films Market, By Type (Amorphous Silicon, Cadmium Telluride, And Copper Indium Gallium Selenide)

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/353820

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

This research study analyzes the market for solar cell films in terms of volume and revenue. The solar cell films market has been segmented on the basis of type, end-use, and geography. For the research, 2014 has been taken as the base year while the forecast extends from 2015 to 2023. Market data for all the segments has been provided at the regional and country-specific level for 20132023. The regional segments have been further divided into country level sub-segments. The report also includes the major players in the global solar cell films market.The report provides a comprehensive competitive landscape and features companies engaged in the solar cell films business. This report includes the key market dynamics affecting the overall solar cell films industry globally. The report also provides a detailed analysis of the global solar cell films market with the help of the Porters Five Forces model. The Porters Five Forces analysis aids in understanding the five major forces that affect the industry structure and profitability of the market. The forces analyzed are the bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and degree of competition.The high-level analysis in the report provides detailed insights into the solar cell films business globally. Major drivers, restraints, and opportunities in the solar cell films market were analyzed in detail and are illustrated in the report with the help of supporting graphs and tables. There are currently number of growth drivers for the solar cell films industry. One of the most prominent drivers is the increase in demand for solar energy coupled with regulatory framework. Apart from this, solar cell films helps in reducing carbon footprints. This factor also contributes to the overall growth of the solar cell films market. Market attractiveness analysis was done on the basis of geography. Market attractiveness was estimated on the basis of common parameters that directly impact the market in different regions.The solar cell films market was further segmented on the basis of type. The types included in this report are amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide. Further, the market for solar cell films was segmented on the basis of end-use into residential, commercial, and industrial segments. The solar cell films market was analyzed across six geographies: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. Regional data has been provided for each sub-segment of the solar cell films market. Key market participants in the solar cell films market include Heliatek GmbH, DUNMORE Corporation, 3M, Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., First Solar, Inc., Lucent CleanEnergy, Stion Corporation, Solar Frontier K.K., Kaneka Corporation, Hanergy Holding Group Ltd., and Prism Solar Technologies, Inc. The report provides an overview of these companies, followed by their financial details, business strategies, and recent developments.Download Sample Copy atThe global solar cell films market has been segmented as follows:Solar Cell Films Market: Type AnalysisAmorphous SiliconCadmium TellurideCopper Indium Gallium SelenideSolar Cell Films Market: End-use AnalysisResidentialCommercialIndustrialSolar Cell Films Market: Region AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeGermanyRussiaRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanRest of Asia PacificSouth AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle EastQatarUAERest of Middle EastAfricaEgyptSouth AfricaRest of AfricaMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports.MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients.We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated researchreports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and typesof companies spanning across various industries.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
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:

Hilton Opens First Canopy Hotel in Reykjavik

Hilton debuted on hotel market of Iceland with its new lifestyle brand Canopy Hotels. The hotel in Reykjavik is also the first Canopy branded property in the world.



Canopy by Hilton Reykjavik City Centre enjoys wonderful location in the heart of the city, on Hverfisgata Street. The hotelier couldnt find a better place to debut with its new brand as Reykjavik is famous not only for its artistic design, but also for amazing culinary experiences and unforgettable volcanic scenery. This is a truly unique city that will be a perfect choice for travelers who seek authentic one-of-the-kind experience, so Canopy by Hilton team was planning to make their debut in the capital of Iceland.



The new hotel is designed as an extension of Hverfisgata Street. Both architecture and interiors of Canopy by Hilton Reykjavik City Centre were influenced by local design and made primarily with natural ingredients. Near the hotel, guests will find such attractions as Harpa Concert Hall, Laugavegur Street known for its pubs and shops, Old Reykjavik Harbor with stunning views of Mount Esja, and Hallgrimskirkja church.



In the hotel, travelers will find famous local Omnom chocolate and lava filtered water, extensive collection of LPs, an all-day dining restaurant with local cuisine, a 24h fitness room and meeting space for up to 50 people. Iceland has become a popular destination these days. In 2015, the country was visited by more than 1 million of people, so Canopy hotel in Reykjavik hopes to attract most discerning visitors who want to explore this amazing city.

08.08.2016Stay 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.
SPOOKY, SCARY SPOOKY, SCARY  Neighborhoods in Orchard Park are more than ready for Halloween. In the top photo, at a house at the corner of Orchard Hill Drive and Briar Hill...

Bremer finds seven residential lots storing items on town property Thanks to a new property-line shot by the Engineering Department, Building Inspector Steve Bremer was able to identify seven residential lots near Highmark Stadium that were placing all sorts of...

Highway Department receiving number of calls on dying ash trees Highway Superintendent Andrew Slotman warned in the spring that the ash tree population in Orchard Park would soon dwindle to zero due to the presence of the emerald ash borer....
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A Clackamas County judge on Wednesday ordered a recently released federal prisoner accused of shooting a Gladstone police sergeant and taking a hostage to be held on $1 million bail.

Jeffrey Giddings, 45, appeared via video from the jail wearing a striped uniform with his left hand heavily bandaged during a brief arraignment on charges of attempted aggravated murder, first-degree kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree criminal mischief and felon in possession of a firearm. He also has an outstanding warrant in Klamath County for a heroin possession accusation.

Giddings kept his injured hand pointed up throughout the hearing and appeared confused about the Klamath County charge, telling Judge Eve Miller, "I already did time on that."

"Well, that's not really your problem here today," the judge replied.

He is next scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 17 for a preliminary hearing.

Giddings was riding a bike in Gladstone on Monday evening when he fled as a police officer tried to stop him for a traffic violation, authorities said.

Giddings shot Sgt. Lee Jundt as Jundt was inside his patrol car outside a nearby Subway restaurant, police said. Jundt was struck in the back shoulder of his ballistic vest and not seriously injured.

Giddings ran into the Subway off McLoughlin Boulevard and took one employee hostage for more than an hour until he was shot by at least one SWAT team officer, police and sheriff's officials said. He was wounded in the upper torso and fingers, and released Tuesday from the hospital.

Giddings has about two-dozen criminal convictions dating to 1991, court records show, including robbery, identity theft and drug and gun possession. He was sentenced to a 15-year federal prison term in June 2014 as a felon in possession of a firearm charge and a career criminal.

He later won an appeal of the career criminal designation and was resentenced in May to four years and nine months.

Giddings was released on July 22 from the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was sent to the Northwest Regional Re-entry Center, a halfway house in Northeast Portland, but violated the terms of his three-year supervised release and was listed on "abscond" status on Aug. 2 by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

According to court documents, Giddings is being charged with attempting to kill Jundt and Clackamas County Deputy Ben Frazier. He is also accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage to a Gladstone police patrol car, phones in the Subway and other property.

Clackamas County Deputy District Attorney Bryan Censoni cited Giddings' criminal history as one of the main reasons why he asked the judge to impose the $1 million bail.

"He's clearly a threat to public safety and a flight risk," Censoni said.

Miller ordered Giddings to have no contact with Jundt and the Subway employee and said he can't possess any firearms and must avoid the Gladstone Police Department and all Subway sandwich shops.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
Construction fire Vancouver

A home construction project was burned Aug. 11, 2016 at the 5700 block of Northeast 48th Street. Firefighters responded around 1:30 a.m. to the two-story structure. It's the second construction project to catch fire within 24 hours, officials said.

(Vancouver Fire Department)

Vancouver and Clark County fire officials have begun a second fire investigation at a construction project site within 24 hours, according to reports.

Firefighters responded at 1:30 a.m. Thursday to the 5700 block of Northeast 48th Street to a house under construction, the Vancouver Fire Department said in a news release. Flames burned through the roof of the two-story structure, and the fire spread to damage two adjacent homes.

Crews extinguished the flames within a half hour and no injuries were reported. The Clark County Fire Marshal's Office has begun investigating the cause of the fire.

On Wednesday, firefighters responded to an apartment building under construction and within a half mile of the second fire. They arrived at 2:40 a.m. to the 4555 N.E. 66th Ave. and kept the fire from spreading from neighboring properties, but the 12-unit project burned to the ground, according to The Columbian.

Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli told the newspaper she suspected arson and estimated the damage at $300,000. Police also found graffiti at the scene.

Investigators are offering a $10,000 for information leading to the suspect of the fire.

This post will be updated as news develops.

-- Tony Hernandez

thernandez@oregonian.com

503-294-5928

@tonyhreports
Flames engulfed a big swath of eastern Oregon in August 2015. The Canyon Creek fire destroyed 43 homes and torched valuable timber stands. It cost more than $30 million to extinguish.

A year later, the U.S. Forest Service has yet to produce a detailed review of its firefighting efforts or its fire fighting strategy.

So we will.

Reporters Ted Sickinger and Laura Gunderson spent a year poring over thousands of pages of public documents, dispatch records and Forest Service manuals. They interviewed more than a hundred agency officials, firefighters, loggers, community members and fire victims.

On the anniversary weekend of a fire that laid waste to more than 100,000 acres, we are preparing to publish their special watchdog report. Sickinger and Gunderson found systemic flaws in fire prevention tactics and fire fighting strategies that contributed to Canyon Creek's immense devastation. The story, while centered in eastern Oregon, has broad implications for fire prevention efforts across the United States.

"Neither of us could have done this alone," Sickinger said. "We each dove deep into individual aspects of the reporting but backstopped each other constantly, checking and rechecking our assumptions and conclusions."

This was not a story that could be shoe-horned into the regular configuration of our Sunday paper.

The first draft exceeded 6,000 words. To put that in context, the typical news story in your daily paper usually falls somewhere between 350 and 750 words. A lengthy enterprise story on a Sunday might clock in around 2,500 words. Reporters know they are approaching rarefied air when they get up around 3,000 words.

Part of an editor's job is to step back and help writers be respectful of our readers' time while helping to preserve a story's essence and our ability to be fair and complete.

Space is mostly finite in print - until it's not.

Gunderson said that when she and Sickinger turned in the first draft of their story, they expected to be told to cut it in half.

Instead, they got a surprising marching order: keep writing.

The early draft was so riveting, so alarming and so important that we asked the reporters to add more. And then more. We'd figure out later how to package it.

The final investigation spans an extraordinary 11,000 words in two major installments. It's all contained in one 20-page special section in print, brilliantly designed by Randy Mishler, who also is creating the digital experience for OregonLive. The series will post online Friday - a year to the day that the Mason Spring and Berry Creek fires began. Those two wind-whipped fires would later merge into the Canyon Creek inferno. The special print section will be delivered Sunday.

"It's a lot of words," Gunderson said. "But I think it's necessary to put our readers in the middle of an experience most haven't felt before and help them understand what it feels like to be the firefighters, the incident commanders and the people who lost so many of their belongings to this wildfire."

I had a conversation recently with a U.S. Forest Service official to underscore why we do this kind of journalism: We focus on problems with the hope that a community can come together to talk about solutions. You'll see on Sunday that four pages of the print special section are dedicated to problem-solving, including an editorial from our Editorial Board. On the news gathering side, it's our job to lay out the findings and present the issues. Our editorial writers, who operate separately from the news gathering process, have the opportunity to be more forceful in arguing a clear point of view.

In reporting the story, Sickinger and Gunderson talked to experts who outlined a number of ways to change forest management practices and some fire fighting approaches. With our bigger watchdog stories, we think it's critical to frame part of the conversation around fixing broken things. It's also important that we provide our audience with the tools and resources to participate in that conversation. For this story, we've built interactive ways online for readers to engage with lawmakers and policy leaders who can make a difference. We didn't go into this story with an agenda. But the newsroom can play a role in facilitating the conversation.

"Every time I return to the area, talk to the fire's victims and see the devastation, I'm reminded why it's so important that we do these types of stories and give a voice to a community that might otherwise go unheard," Gunderson said.

The story will land just as some in the media are buzzing about John Oliver's 19-minute segment on newspapers. Did you catch it? Some saw it as a love letter to journalism - noting the essential and important role newspapers still play in society. Others fixated on all the fun the piece poked at news organizations, including ours.

I laughed out loud more than once. And I wanted to bite down on the wooden handle of a kitchen spatula. Also more than once.

Oliver's premise is that it's harder than ever to produce in-depth investigative journalism. True enough. But in our newsroom, we recognize that it's absolutely essential. It's the reason our investigative team is as large today as it was 15 years ago, even as the newsroom staff has gotten much leaner.

This weekend's special watchdog report will not be the only time in the next few weeks you'll see major investigative stories from our newsroom about big, statewide issues or powerful people. (Several of these stories by sheer coincidence will be set in eastern Oregon.)

An investigative profile running this month has been months in the making. A series about environmental consequences in the Oregon desert took about a year. Another year-long project just landed on my desk.

As the largest news organization in Oregon, we have a strong obligation to provide the best enterprise coverage in our great big back yard. And we take that responsibility seriously.

- Mark Katches
THE DALLES - Oregon's higher education commission approved a dramatic budget request Thursday that would represent more than 40 percent increases in operating support for public universities and community colleges.

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission unanimously approved the 2017-19 biennial budget request at a meeting Thursday at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles.

The request includes $943 million in operating support for public universities, a 42 percent increase from existing spending levels. For community colleges, the budget includes $795 million for the state's 17 two-colleges, a 44 percent increase from the current two-year cycle.

"This is a very aggressive and ambitious budget request," Ben Cannon, HECC's executive director, said before the volunteer commissioners approved the plan.

But the budget is anything but a done deal, and comes as the state faces a projected revenue shortfall of more than $1 billion due to public pension obligations and as voters mull a controversial business tax on the November ballot that has state agencies treading water as they wait for answers.

"It isn't all together clear that the governor and the Legislature will be able to afford the entirety of what we're requesting here," Cannon added.

Beyond operating support, the budget includes $200 million in grants for low-income students, $34 million to continue the tuition-free Oregon Promise program at community colleges another two years and dozens of capital construction projects at campuses across the state.

Collectively, the requested budget totals more than $3 billion in operating support, programmatic funding, state bonds and federally-backed initiatives.

For public universities, the increase comes after the Legislature approved $665 million in operating support in 2015, a move that was celebrated as a significant step forward for higher education after years of steep declines.

But as the commission forwarded its recommendation to Governor Kate Brown for her consideration ahead of next year's Legislative session, university leaders cautioned Thursday that the proposed increase - even if it gets approved - still won't make up for the years of state disinvestment.

The seven public universities also must budget for pension obligations, medical plan costs, wage increases associated with minimum wage and overtime law reforms and other federal compliance costs.

Hans Bernard, the University of Oregon's associate vice president for state and community affairs, said while the $943 million number seems "exciting and large" and the state has made investments in the past two years, it's not enough. "We are working to correct 20 years of disinvestment in higher education," Bernard said, "and it's unrealistic that happens in one biennium."

Bernard said all those cost drivers mean universities will need a minimum of $100 million increases in two-year funding from the start going forward keep tuition increases below five percent.

But, he added, the proposed budget would allow schools to continue to make up ground and provide completion grants to students who are on the verge of graduating but can't take out more financial aid, along with other programs designed to help students finish their degrees.

Frank Toda, Columbia Gorge Community College's president for the past 15 years, said his school has faced fiscal challenges for a long time. "We went through a rough time when we thought we might have to close facilities," Toda told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The proposal for community colleges would make the school, one of the smallest in the state, whole. Toda noted that the proposed $244 million funding increase for community colleges over the current biennium is significant for his school.

"For a small college like us," Toda said, "it would essentially balance our budget."

State departments must submit their budget requests to the governor by Sept 1. She will release her budget plan after the November election.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen
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(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday rejected requests to reclassify marijuana from its current status as a dangerous drug, though it will allow expanded production to support medical research.

The agency said it consulted with the U.S. Health and Human Services Department before making its decision. The review came in response to requests from the governors of Rhode Island and Washington, who asked the federal government to remove cannabis from its list of Schedule I substances.

That category of drugs, which includes heroin, is defined as substances that have a "high potential for abuse" and "no currently accepted medical use."

The DEA concluded that's where marijuana, a drug used by one in 10 Oregonians, belongs.

The agency said cannabis "does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States," that there is a lack of "accepted safety for its use," and it has "a high potential for abuse."

The announcement disappointed cannabis legalization advocates in Oregon and nationwide who pressed the Obama administration to remove marijuana altogether from the federal government's schedule of controlled substances.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, said he welcomes the policy shift that allows for increased medical research, but he slammed the federal government's decision to maintain marijuana's status as a Schedule I drug.

"This decision doesn't go far enough and is further evidence that the DEA doesn't get it," said Blumenauer, who has been an outspoken proponent of reforming federal marijuana policy.

Retaining the drug's status, he said in a statement, "continues an outdated, failed approach -- leaving patients and marijuana businesses trapped between state and federal laws."

Thursday's decision does nothing to address issues confronting marijuana businesses operating in states like Oregon and Washington where the drug is legal. Legal marijuana producers and retailers, for example, have trouble accessing banking services because of the federal prohibition on marijuana.

Oregon is among 25 states where marijuana is legal for medical or recreational use.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, called the decision "largely a political one and not a scientific one."

"That the decision by the DEA fails to acknowledge the scientific evidence and the emerging public policy that is now in place in a majority of this country is simply an act of willful ignorance," Armentano said.

Although the federal government decided to maintain marijuana prohibition, it also relaxed rules for producing cannabis for medical research. The government currently allows research on cannabis, but the approval process is especially complicated and involves marijuana produced under a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The product is cultivated at a government-run facility based at the University of Mississippi.

The DEA said marijuana producers who meet agency requirements may register with the agency to supply researchers, as well as "strictly commercial endeavors" that would allow for the development of pharmaceutical products.

The announcement makes clear that the agency will register a limited number of licenses to producers of research-grade cannabis.

Dr. Colin Roberts, a pediatric neurologist and director of the Doernbecher Childhood Epilepsy Program at OHSU, said the prospect of an expanded supply of cannabis is promising.

Roberts' program is participating in several active clinical trials on pharmaceutical-grade cannabidiol produced by Insys, a pharmaceutical company. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a component of the cannabis plant. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, cannabidiol does not have psychoactive properties.

While the federal government's announcement does little to ease the thicket of red tape for researchers, it could lead to a wider variety of strains and products for scientists to work with. He said it's possible that OHSU may pursue an effort to produce cannabis for research.

"It depends on do we have enough people interested in doing the research with those products?" he said. "I know there is a lot of interest in the state because we have a lot of people who feel they can produce high quality products.

"Our ability to take those products from them and use them for for research -- we can't do that now," he said.

Mowgli Holmes, a biologist whose Oregon company is focused on cannabis genomics, said the federal decision to increase sources of research-grade marijuana "is a pretty small bone to throw at us."

Holmes served on a state task force that earlier this year recommended the creation of an independent marijuana institute to support and conduct world-class research into the drug's medical and public health benefits.

He said the new stance does nothing to address the bureaucratic burdens facing researchers who want to investigate marijuana. And it doesn't allow for agricultural research into the plant.

"All the basic agricultural research that needs to be done still can't be done under any circumstances," Holmes said.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184; @noellecrombie
On the day his tenant of three years was supposed to move out, Gerald Miller called 911 and calmly told a dispatcher that he shot the man and thought he was dead.

Miller, 66, told the dispatcher Sunday morning that Ricky McKowen had threatened to kill him and his family and McKowen had a history of threatening him with a knife, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Miller said he believed McKowen, 53, forced the confrontation and intended to get shot.

Miller initially left his .380-caliber pistol in the kitchen where McKowen was lying unconscious to go into another room to call 911, but later went back to retrieve it, he told the dispatcher. He estimated firing four times at McKowen and never went to check on him afterward, he said later under questioning by a county sheriff's detective.

The shooting at the Milwaukie-area home was the culmination of what Miller described to authorities in court documents as a tumultuous relationship with McKowen and his 30-year-old girlfriend, who lived with him in the basement.

Miller reported threats by McKowen three times -- June 6, June 28 and July 29 - to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, according to the search warrant affidavit.

On July 29, Miller told a community service officer that he didn't want to file a report about the alleged threat and he kept asking questions about when he could defend himself with his gun.

Miller remains in the Clackamas County Jail on charges of murder and unlawful use of a weapon. He is next scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday. The warrant says investigators seized items from Miller's home that included 3 bullet casings, at least two guns and several past eviction notices, including one from February.

During an interview with a detective after the shooting, Miller said he had tried to evict McKowen and his girlfriend several times. He claimed he recently gave them 12 days to move out and that the deadline had been by the end of Sunday.

It's not clear from the search warrant affidavit why he tried to evict them.

According to the affidavit, Miller claimed McKowen had bipolar disorder, was depressed and threatened Miller several times, including with a pocket knife three months earlier. Miller said he installed 2x4s across the door that separated the basement from the first floor to stop McKowen from coming upstairs.

On the morning of the shooting, Miller said he retrieved his gun after McKowen knocked on the locked door and asked to speak to him face to face, the affidavit said.

Miller said McKowen at first remained in the doorway after he opened the door, but then started threatening to kill him and started walking toward him, the affidavit said. Miller claimed he couldn't see McKowen's hands and didn't know if he had any weapons on him.

Miller said he was "scared for his life" when he pulled his gun and shot his tenant, the affidavit said.

McKowen's girlfriend told detectives that McKowen said he was going to talk to Miller about the rent. She later heard McKowen yelling, then heard silence for about a minute, followed by a bang, the affidavit said.

She found McKowen on his back on the floor upstairs, yelled for help and saw Miller in another room on his cellphone, the affidavit said. He told her he was calling police.

The girlfriend said McKowen owned a pocket knife attached to a keychain that had a blade less than 2 inches long, but she didn't know if he was carrying it when he was shot, the affidavit said.

According to court documents, Miller gave McKowen and his girlfriend 30 days notice that he was terminating their tenancy in March 2014. The notice didn't have a stated cause, but other documents indicated that Miller claimed he was owed $780 in past due rent and other fees.

A Clackamas County judge ruled in favor of Miller in May 2014 regarding the payment, but an email from Miller's attorney to McKowen later that month appears to set out terms for a new rental agreement.

The email indicates that the tenants had caught up on their rent and could stay in the house as long as they continued to pay their rent on time or until Miller decided to sell the home.

There is also a listed condition that the tenants "will not call landlord's employer, make any threat to landlord or make any police report later determined to be false."

In a follow-up email to Miller's attorney that month, McKowen wrote that he and his girlfriend intended to move out of Miller's home within 90 days or sooner if he could get Social Security Disability benefits.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
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U.S. border security and immigration remains a hot topic for debate as the country heads into the final months of the 2016 presidential race.

(Michael Robinson Chavez/Associated Press)

Where's the word 'illegal'?:

In

to Cynthia Kendoll's

Nancy Haque never acknowledges the all-important adjective, "illegal." Instead, Haque extols the achievements of her parents, herself and her siblings, none of whom entered this country illegally. It would seem that, despite her master's degree, the co-executive director of Basic Rights Oregon could use a refresher course in basic reading skills.

Gary Miranda

Southeast Portland

(Editor's note: For clarity, the headline of Cynthia Kendoll's op-ed has been added to the link which takes you to her piece, and the original photo slideshow, which was only tangentially related to the content of the letter, has been replaced by the single photo above.)
Trump14.JPG

Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Wednesday in Abington, Va.

(AP Photo)

By Jonathan Capehart

"I will absolutely do three debates," Donald Trump told Time magazine Tuesday. "I want to debate very badly. But I have to see the conditions." Yeah. That last sentence is what makes his unbelievable assertion that less believable.

Among "the conditions" the Republican presidential nominee promises to assert himself is over the moderators of the three debates with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump told Time, "Yeah, I would say that certain moderators would be unacceptable, absolutely." He added, "I want to have fair moderators . . . I will demand fair moderators."

Well, that's going to be tricky given Trump's penchant for delivering brickbats to the media at campaign events and via Twitter. The New York Times has an entire interactive devoted to tracking his insults to anyone who bruises his outsize, yet tender, ego. But that got me to thinking. Who could possibly pass muster with him without damaging the credibility of the entire enterprise? And there's this: I'm not convinced he will show up at Hofstra University on Sept. 26. Bringing his petulant jerk mien to so serious a stage while also not being prepared to go beyond well-worn applause lines could snuff out his candidacy over the course of two hours.

Politico Playbook reports that "debate buzz" is centered on nine excellent choices. Trump has had a beef with almost all of those listed or the news organizations that employ them during his year-long racist, xenophobic and misogynistic presidential campaign.

ABC's Martha Raddatz: Nary a peep about her. But Trump accused the political unit of telling a "LIE" about what he said. He also called one of ABC News's star correspondents "a sleaze."

Fox News's Megyn Kelly: C'mon, do you really need me to remind you?

Fox News's Chris Wallace: No attacks on him. But Trump has had plenty to say about the network. "Totally biased and disgusting reporting," read a tweet sent in March. Nevertheless, when The Donald has something to say, he will pop up on the friendly Fox terrain of "Hannity," as he did Tuesday night.

PBS's Gwen Ifill: Trump has not commented on the veteran journalist and debate moderator pro or her employer.

CBS's John Dickerson: The anchor of "Face the Nation" has escaped rhetorical cross hairs. Just one CBS News reporter has been slammed by Trump.

NBC's Chuck Todd: Trump has had plenty to say about the moderator of "Meet the Press." One tweet last month read, "totally biased against me Chuck Todd, and the entire show, is against me." Trump's preferred dis of Todd is "sleepy eyes," which he employed during a rant against the NBC anchor last month. Todd's response to the tirade was pure gold. "I've been sleeping," he tweeted, "what I miss?"

NBC's Lester Holt: The anchor of the flagship "NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt" has interviewed Trump several times. I couldn't find any attacks on him by Trump.

CNN's Anderson Cooper: No direct attacks on the CNN anchor, but Trump tweeted last year that he "has the absolutely worst anti-Trump talking heads on his show." As for Cooper's employer, Trump has rebranded it the "Clinton News Network."

CNN's Jake Tapper: Not a word.

Ifill and Dickerson are the only people on that list who haven't incurred the wrath of Trump nor have their employers. So two out of the three presidential debates could be covered by Trump's fungible fairness doctrine.

Like I said, I'm not convinced any of this is going to happen. Presidential debates are pivotal moments. The first one will be a political event unlike any other. It will be an opportunity for Trump and Clinton to reset their campaigns and to pivot to a more favorable public image. And if we've learned anything this past week, Trump is constitutionally incapable of resetting or pivoting. Why would he set himself up for such post-debate failure?

(c) 2016, The Washington Post

Jonathan Capehart is a member of the Post editorial board and writes about politics and social issues for the PostPartisan blog.
Bud Pierce

Bud Pierce, a Republican from Salem, is running against Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. He and his wife, Selma Moon, have released their 2015 tax returns, showing total income last year of $2,034,949. (Brent Drinkut/Statesman-Journal via AP)

(Brent Drinkut/)

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bud Pierce and his wife, Selma Moon, released their 2015 tax returns Thursday, showing the couple reported $2,034,949 in total income last year.

Of that, $1,680,541 came from Pierce's oncology practice in Salem.

The couple also reported $263,946 in capital gains income, plus $85,246 in dividends and tax-exempt interest. The capital gains apparently came from the sale of stocks, but additional specifics were redacted.

The disclosure comes weeks after Gov. Kate Brown and her husband, Dan Little, released their tax returns in late July. Brown and Little, filing jointly, reported 2015 combined incomes of $145,242.

"Bud has planned to do this since day one," campaign spokeswoman Stacey Kafka said. "He knows and appreciates that tax returns provide voters with additional information about the people they are voting for."

The returns show that the couple made total tax payments of $543,833 in 2015. The overwhelming majority came from quarterly estimated tax payments commonly filed by business owners.

The couple also reported gifts to charity totaling $379,516. Recipients of the donations are not listed on the returns.

Pierce's campaign said early on that the candidate knew he would need to self-finance to establish name recognition leading up to the May 17 primary.

Pierce passed the $1 million mark last April and has continued to donate to his campaign. Most recently, both he and Moon, a retired dentist who practiced in Salem for 20 years, gave separate donations of $100,000 in July.

Since the beginning of the year, Brown has raised $1.9 million, putting her somewhat ahead of the $1.7 million Pierce has raised, according to Oregon Secretary of State financial filings. Brown remains far ahead in terms of the cash she has on hand -- $1.5 million compared with Pierce's $485,955.

The release of politicians' tax returns has become a focal point of many races this year, most notably the U.S. presidential contest between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her GOP counterpart Donald Trump.

So far, Trump has refused to release his tax returns because, he has said, he is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. His opponents during the Republican primary repeatedly pointed out that nothing prevents someone who is being audited from releasing returns.

Clinton, meanwhile, has already released her tax returns for past years and said she plans to make her 2015 returns public this week.

-- Dana Tims

503-294-7647; @DanaTims
Stacy Smith has joined Yeo & Yeo CPAs & Business Consultants as a firm administrator.

Smith will manage internal business affairs and direct the operational strategies of the firm. She will focus on process improvement programs to ensure firm operations run efficiently. She will be responsible for directing the implementation of firm policies and procedures to maximize business opportunities.

Smith will be based in the firms Saginaw headquarters and will work directly with the partners across Yeo & Yeo CPAs nine offices in Michigan, Affiliated Medical Billing, Yeo & Yeo Computer Consulting and Yeo & Yeo Financial Services, and will assume some duties currently handled by the partners.

Smith is a Six Sigma Green Belt with an extensive background in leading innovation improvement initiatives, strategic plan facilitation and business development opportunities. She holds a bachelor of science from Eastern Michigan University and a master of business administration from Northwood University.
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Noodles and Co. World Kitchen is opening Monday in Midland for hungry patrons looking for a customized lunch or dinner experience.

Inspired Concepts, LLC is opening a franchise location for Noodles and Co. at 7007 Eastman Avenue, in the same building as Mattress Firm.

We love the Midland area and Noodles and Co. is a great brand. Its honestly a brand of the future. We wanted to bring a healthy yet delicious food to the region, said Natasha Neely, director of marketing and strategic communications for Inspired Concepts.

Noodles and Co. offers a variety of pasta bowls, soups, sandwiches and salads that can all be customized to suit the taste buds of customers. The most popular dish is the Wisconsin Mac & Cheese, described on the website as a classic blend of cheddar and jack cheeses, cream and elbow macaroni.

One of the reasons behind bringing the franchise to Midland is the restaurants appeal to families, Neely said, adding Noodles and Co. has a great childrens menu that includes a serving of both fruits and vegetables and is part of the National Restaurant Associations Kids LiveWell program.

Another appeal was the location: Neely said the Eastman restaurant will be near the hustle and bustle of Midland and easy to get to after shopping or going to a movie. It will also be a good location to grab lunch.

Noodles and Co. is continually adding new dishes for guests to try.

We handcraft everything for each individual guest, Neely said. There are some (dishes) they are testing right now that will be launching just in time for the opening. Theres something for everyone.

The restaurant will bring 50 new jobs to the community, Neely said.

Inspired Concepts is headquartered in Mount Pleasant and owns two other franchises in Midland: Big Apple Bagels at 318 S. Saginaw Road and Bennigans at 6603 Eastman Ave.

Noodles and Co. has 19 locations across Michigan, and is also working on a restaurant in Macomb. The restaurant chain was founded in 1995 and has expanded to 472 restaurants that are a mix of both corporate and franchise locations.

Go to www.noodles.com to check out the menu.
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Were you at the inaugural night of Movies on Main?

About 160 people carried their lawn chairs or claimed grassy areas for blankets to watch Back to the Future in the parking lot of Ace Hardware near Cronkright and Main streets Wednesday night. It was a great crowd, according to Daniel Buzzell from Ace, who first proposed the idea.

This is well more than what I thought for the first week, Buzzell said, standing in the parking lot and looking at the crowd of people. Its well beyond what I expected.

He was inspired by the large white wall of the building belonging to Ace, which management had discussed could be the home of a mural, but Buzzell thought it would be perfect for a community movie night.

He called Movies on Main a collaborative effort between many businesses and groups, including businesses located on nearby Townsend Street that pitched in to help purchase the movie screening rights and Momentum Midland.

There were French sodas being made on a nearby table, and Two Track BBQ was selling pulled pork nachos, hot dogs and smoked popcorn, which many families carried back to their chairs to enjoy as the movie started rolling.

Soon Marty McFly and Doc Brown appeared, as the sky above darkened and made the screen glow brighter.

We got people across the street, Buzzell pointed out, as more people appeared to set up across Cronkright. A few residents from Riverside also came out to catch a few minutes of the movie.

There are a few kinks to work out: how to move the projector out of view for some of the closer audience members, and bathroom logistics.

Buzzell would like to add some lawn games to the lineup, so family members who arent interested in the movie have something else to do. He also would like to talk to other businesses about helping sponsor Movies on Main next summer.

Midland is a great community, Buzzell said, noting the need for weekday events in the summer that appeal to a larger audience. Its just a matter of overcoming some obstacles to realize that potential.

The next Movies on Main event features Raiders of the Lost Ark, and will start shortly after 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland Police Department and Midland County Sheriffs office.

Wednesday, Aug. 10

3:01 a.m.  Police made a warrant arrest at Isabella Street and Currie Parkway.

4:48 a.m.  Police responded to a suspicious situation in the 1400 block of Whitehall Street.

Tuesday, Aug. 9

1:55 a.m.  Police made an arrest for driving while license suspended at Bay City Road and Gerald Court.

4:30 a.m.  Deputies responded to a Larkin Township residence for a death investigation. A Larkin Township man, 41, died while performing maintenance on a semi-truck.

6:16 a.m.  A deputy responded to a business in the City of Midland in reference to an assault that occurred at a residence in Mount Haley Township. The deputy made contact with a man, 37, who stated his girlfriend, 40, assaulted him with pepper spray. There were minor injuries and the girlfriend was placed under arrest.

8:23 a.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Warren Township business to speak with a man, 49, regarding a damaged truck. The man stated that when he left for work Tuesday morning, he noticed his truck had a scratch down the drivers side, and his license plate was bent. He said that he confronted his son, 29, regarding the damaged truck, and the son said that he had driven it the prior evening. The 49-year-old male said that he didnt care about the scratch on his truck, but wanted to make a report just in case his son had done something wrong or illegal with his truck.

8:37 a.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Lee Township residence in reference to a deceased man, 70.

8:50 a.m.  Police responded to a suspicious situation on Gerald Court.

8:55 a.m.  A Lee Township man, 55, had a dispute with a neighbor, 43, involving a property line. The 55-year-old man did not want the deputy to contact the 43-year-old man. He only wanted to document an incident that occurred in June 2016.

9:22 a.m.  Police responded to a larceny in the 3800 block of Todd Street.

9:27 a.m.  A deputy was dispatched to the area of West Chippewa River and South Eight Mile roads for a two-vehicle crash. The at-fault driver was cited for violation of the basic speed law.

9:35 a.m.  A deputy took a report of credit card fraud from a Lee Township resident. The amount of $1,007 was taken from his bank account. He reported the incident to his bank and was reimbursed.

9:49 a.m.  Police made a warrant arrest at the 100 block of Fast Ice Drive.

10:59 a.m.  A Larkin Township man notified the sheriffs office that his debit card had two unauthorized charges totaling $1,007. The deputy requested contact from the loss prevention department for follow up.

11:33 a.m.  A Lee Township woman, 52, called about her ex-boyfriend, 55, trespassing and stealing property. A recent PPO had expired, allowing him back onto their joint property. She had started the eviction process but it wasnt final. The dispute over the property was civil.

11:45 a.m.  Police made an arrest for driving while license suspended at Isabella Street and Albee Lane.

12:45 p.m.  A deputy was sent to a Hope Township residence for an unknown subject sitting in a pick-up truck reportedly eating lunch. The truck left prior to the deputys arrival. A vehicle description was not given by the caller other than a pick-up truck. The caller also left the area prior to the arrival of the deputy.

12:55 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to an Edenville Township address for a third party call about an unwanted guest. Prior to arrival, central dispatch made contact at the residence and was informed the problem person left the residence. No law enforcement contact was needed.

1:18 p.m.  A report was received of a woman who got into the back seat of a white vehicle. The woman was on Meridian Road near the Chippewa River. A deputy checked the area but did not locate anything suspicious.

1:53 p.m.  Police assisted with a parole violation in the 200 block of West Ellsworth.

2 p.m.  A deputy took a credit card fraud complaint at the LEC. The suspect(s) stole $300. The card was cancelled and a new one was opened.

2:43 p.m.  Police investigated fraud in the 2500 block of Washington Street.

2:54 p.m.  Police investigated a suspicious situation in the 4000 block of Holland.

3:19 p.m.  Police assisted Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police at Isabella and West Main streets.

4:51 p.m.  A Homer Township man, 28, spoke to deputies about problems he was having with a woman, 26, who was the mother of his 6-year-old child. The deputy attempted to contact the woman but was unable to reach her. The man was directed to contact the court.

5:08 p.m.  Police investigated destruction of property in the 800 block of East Ashman Street.

5:28 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to Homer Township for a house fire with people possibly trapped inside. While en route, deputies were advised that all occupants had safely gotten out of the house. Deputies assisted with traffic while on scene.

6:30 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Lincoln Township residence in reference to a disorderly boy, 13. The deputy made contact with the boys mother, 45, who advised that her son did damage to a dresser, some toys and made a mess in the house. The deputy spoke to the boy, who stated he did not mean to break anything, he was only trying to play a joke. The deputy spoke to the parents about programs through probate court that could assist their son.

6:53 p.m.  A deputy responded to a residence for a threat complaint in the Village of Sanford. The deputy made contact with a woman, 53, and a man, 64, who stated a 47-year-old woman was threatening them over the phone after they evicted her from her residence. The deputy attempted to make contact with the 47-year-old woman, but was unable to.

7:34 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to Larkin Township for a disturbance that occurred the night before. The deputy made contact with a woman, 50, who advised that her husband, 49, damaged several items in the home and also took some of their mutual property. There was no physical assault reported.

8:03 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to Hope Township for a larceny report. The deputy made contact with a Hope Township man, 39, who said that an unknown subject took a string trimmer he had briefly set down at a job site. The string trimmer was valued at about $150.

8:43 p.m.  Police made a warrant arrest for driving with a suspended license, no Insurance, unregistered vehicle, improper plate and drug possession at West Union and West Indian streets.

9:11 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to Coleman for a report of a verbal argument between roommates. The deputy spoke with a 29-year-old Coleman woman complainant and discussed the PPO process as well as the eviction process.

9:16 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to Coleman for a report of a loose dog. The animal was gone upon arrival.

9:19 p.m.  Deputies were called to Hope Township for a possible sexual assault. It was learned the incident occurred in isabella County. Michigan State Police responded.

9:40 p.m.  Police made an arrest for drug possession and probation violation in the 3500 block of Shamrock Street.

9:42 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to Larkin Township for a report of an injured deer on the edge of the roadway. The caller was the driver that hit the animal, and reported no damage to the vehicle. The animal was deceased upon arrival and removed from the roadway.

9:49 p.m.  Police were called to a noise ordinance violation in the 200 block of Harper Lane.

9:50 p.m.  A Geneva Township woman reported having issues with her childs father over visitation. No criminal activity was found.

10:05 p.m.  A deputy was sent to Larkin Township for a motorist assist. The motorist had contacted a wrecker and was awaiting its arrival.

10:20 p.m.  Police responded to a suspicious situation in the 3700 block of Lancaster Street.
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Much adieu about

Parting is SUCH sweet sorrow, dont you know. Seems like the Illinois Shakespeare Festival just opened yesterday ... and here we are on closing weekend already. Where did it all go? Say adieu to "Peter and the Star Catcher" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, "Twelfth Night" at 8 p.m. Friday and "Hamlet" at 8 p.m. Saturday. The final Theatre for Young Audiences presentation of "Rodeo" is 10 a.m. Saturday; and the last Glenn Wilson & Friends jazz performance is 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Taking a bow

The 26th annual Illinois Deer & Turkey Expo, billed as "the state's premier consumer expo for hunting and outdoor lifestyle enthusiasts," returns to Bloomington's Interstate Center Friday through Sunday. Featured will be hundreds of hunting exhibitors and outfitter booths for deer and turkey enthusiasts, boww-and-arrow tryout area, seminars, flint-knapping demonstrations, wild mushroom hunting info center and (duck) a trick shooting show by world-famous archer Byron Ferguson.

Pedal to the metal

Heavy metal, both musical and vehicular, are on tap for this year's edition of the annual Grand National TT Weekend in Peoria. The big cycle rally kicks off with a downtown parade at 10 a.m. Saturday, then moves to the riverfront for a day and night of food, libations and a non-stop music stage, climaxing with '80s arena rock tribute band Hairball. The races are Sunday at the Peoria Motorcycle Club in Bartonville.
Coming soon

Scheduled to open in area theaters next weekend (Aug. 19) are:

Ben-Hur: The chariots race again as Gen. Lew Wallace's 1880 biblical war-horse is trotted out on screen for the fourth time, trailing the 1925 silent version, the definitive 1959 Oscar-winning edition with Charlton Heston and, least memorably, a direct-to-video animated version in 2003, with Heston producing and voicing his most famous role. This CGI-era redo casts "Boardwalk Empire's" Jack Huston, grandson of legendary director John Huston, as Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur, and Toby Kebbel, late of this summer's "Warcraft," as best-friend-turned-nemesis Messala. Morgan Freeman trains the charioteers and Nazanin Boniadi (of TV's "Homeland") play's Ben-Hur's girl Esther. Timur Bekmambetov, who last gave us "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," directs.

Kubo and the Two Strings: Old-school stop-motion animation lives again in this action fantasy set in ancient Japan, where a young boy named Kubo, son of a legendary samurai warrior, who cares for his sick mother in a village. Until, that is, an evil spirit from the past turns his life upside down by re-igniting an age-old vendetta involving an army of gods and monsters. Vocals by Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Art Parkinson, George Takei and Rooney Mara.

War Dogs: Two twentysomething friends (Jonah Hill and Miles Teller) living in Miami Beach during the Iraq War exploit a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. military contracts. Starting small, they begin raking in big money and are living the high life. Until, that is, the pair gets in over their heads after landing a deal to arm the Afghan military. From the director of the "Hangover" trilogy, if that helps. Bradley Cooper, a long way off from "American Sniper," and Ana de Armas co-star.

Film clips

Freebies: Head back to Pixar ground zero with a free showing of the original Toy Story at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Princess Theater in LeRoy.
SPRINGFIELD  YWCA McLean County has lost an appeal of a decision by the Bloomington Human Relations Commission in a racial and gender discrimination complaint filed by a former worker who was awarded damages.

The Fourth District Appellate Court has ruled that McLean County Judge Rebecca Foley was correct in her ruling that Eric Tapley, who is African American, was entitled to the $67,647 in damages he was awarded after his November 2012 termination that followed an incident with a white female intern at the agency.

Foley handled the appeal filed by the YWCA of a December 2014 ruling by the human relations commission in Tapley's favor.

In its ruling, the appellate court noted that witnesses for the YWCA admitted the intern acted unprofessionally. "However, the same decision-makers decided to terminate Tapley but not discipline" the intern "in any manner," said the ruling.

The appellate court further opined that YWCA officials sought out the intern's version of the incident but did not do the same for Tapley, who was a full-time worker with the agency's Stepping Stones program at the time.
BLOOMINGTON  In testimony in McLean County Circuit Court on Wednesday, a woman who has accused a former Illinois State University student of raping her told a jury details of the alleged assault and her decision to shoot him with a taser after the incident.

William Wells, 24, is charged with criminal sexual assault during an incident Feb. 5 at his apartment near the Normal campus.

The trial continues Thursday.

The 18-year-old alleged victim, who is a student at college in northern Illinois, testified that she'd been dating Wells for several months and was in town to visit him and a friend on Feb. 5. She said she went to Wells' apartment that evening.

"It was really good, nice," she said of the evening that included movies, consensual sex and the consumption of alcohol by Wells, and marijuana by her.

The tone of the visit changed the next day after Wells came back to the apartment around noon smelling of alcohol, the woman testified. She recalled his repeated attempts to have sex with her and her refusals. Wells told her she would not be staying a second night as planned, the woman said, adding that she made plans to meet her friend.

Later, Wells and the woman went out for dinner and argued over politics, religion and other topics before returning to his apartment, said the alleged victim.

The woman testified she was sexually assaulted by Wells shortly after they were in his apartment. She said she screamed for help and fought back during the attack.

She then said she and Wells showered together, before leaving in his car for her friend's dorm. She admitted becoming upset with Wells in the car because he refused to turn down his stereo.

"I was fed up. I reached in my purse and I tased him," the woman told the jury. She said Wells grabbed the weapon that she purchased on the internet and attempted to tase her, but she managed to move out of the way. The argument continued as Wells threw her bags and phone out of the car before leaving, she said.

Police were contacted about the alleged rape by the woman's friend who learned of the incident after the woman went inside Watterson Towers, according to the alleged victim.

In more than an hour of questioning by defense lawyer Stephanie Wong, the woman admitted that Wells' conduct irritated her numerous times during the visit. She also had suspicions that he was seeing another woman, she said.

At one point during, the woman broke down and asked for a break.

When asked by Wong if she fought back after Wells allegedly put a pillow over her face, the woman said, "At this point I was done fighting...you can only do so much when you're being raped."

Several Normal police officers testified Wednesday that Wells refused to cooperate with police who told him he could not enter his apartment after he returned home early on Feb. 6. Officers were forced to break down the door when Wells wouldn't open it, they said.
BLOOMINGTON  People experiencing hunger in Central Illinois and central Indiana will have access to more fresh, healthful fruits and vegetables because of a new collaboration between Bloomington-based Midwest Food Bank and Walmart.

A semi-trailer load of fresh produce is being donated each Saturday, Monday and Tuesday by Walmart to Midwest Food Bank, food bank Administrator Mike Meece and Senior Operations Director Mike Hoffman said. Donations began last week.

Produce will be distributed to food pantries and human services agencies that are supported by the food bank, are interested in fresh produce and have sufficient refrigeration and space, Meece and Hoffman said. Distribution begins Thursday.

"We are excited to be able to offer super-healthy foods like fresh produce on a regular basis," Hoffman said.

"We're always happy when we can augment what we give," Meece said. "Fresh produce is not easy to obtain consistently. We're pleased and thankful that Midwest Food Bank was selected by Walmart."

"Walmart has a long-standing commitment to hunger relief and has helped provide over two billion meals to date, based on donations of 1.2 billion pounds of food from Walmart facilities," Walmart senior manager for corporate communications and global responsibility Aaron Mullins said Wednesday.

"As part of that growing effort, our distribution center in Olney, Ill., recently collaborated with the Midwest Food Bank to provide weekly donations of food," Mullins said. "We are proud to work with local food banks to make a positive impact on the issue of hunger across the United States."

Midwest Food Bank provides food to 294 food pantries and human services organizations from its location at 1703 S. Veterans Parkway, Bloomington, Meece said. Including all Midwest Food Bank locations, the food bank supports 1,123 food pantries and agencies.

The food bank has received and offered fresh produce before but never consistently and never at this amount, Meece and Hoffman said.

"This is something new," Meece said.

But produce's briefer shelf life is requiring Midwest Food Bank to make operational changes. The food bank is sending semi-trailers to Olney three times a week to pick up produce.

In addition, pantry representatives previously came to Midwest Food Bank once a month to pick up food.

"Now, those (pantries) that can use fresh produce will come multiple times a month to pick up produce," Hoffman said.

Produce will be distributed from the food bank's Bloomington, Peoria and Indianapolis locations, Hoffman said.

"We don't know how many food pantries will participate," Hoffman said. "But it will be hundreds. They are so excited to be getting this extra produce."

"This is a piece of the puzzle that we usually don't have," Hoffman said. "We are excited about this great opportunity to make healthier food available to those in need."
NORMAL  U.S. Rep Rodney Davis thinks regulations on college savings plans are hopelessly out of date.

"No college student exists in this country today that doesn't require being able to utilize a computer and internet access," said Davis, a Taylorville Republican. "Tweaks in federal law and the federal tax code need to happen so families can use these dollars that they've saved to pay for things... which are essential."

Davis and Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs, a Democrat, promoted that change and others during a visit Thursday to Illinois State University's Bone Student Center.

The pair spoke about taking bipartisan steps to strengthen and unshackle 529 accounts, which let Illinois families save and spend for college tax-free.

"If we want our young people to be successful and have good-paying jobs, they need some sort of education post-secondary... (and) it's also going to make our state more attractive to companies that want to come here to Illinois to open or expand here," Frerichs said. "That's why I'm so proud to partner with Congressman Davis to make saving for college easier."

The House has passed a bill allowing 529 funds to be used to pay for computers or internet access, but the measure has stalled in the Senate.

"Some good, common-sense proposals like this get caught up in politics," Davis said of opposition to the bill.

He also sponsored pending bills allowing 529 funds to pay student loan debt tax-free and employers to repay student loans already accrued in addition to new education costs.

Frerichs is promoting state legislation to prolong a program that lets employers get tax credits for matching 529 deposits and increase the maximum annual tax credit for employers from $500 per employee to $1,000.

"Within the state of Illinois, sometimes we want to offer increased tax incentives, and, at a time when the budget is already challenged, you can find some opposition," he said of the proposal.
Police say at 1:49 p.m., Talona Marten, 38, was a passenger in a car driven by David Marten, 45, also of Lincoln, which was southbound and pulling a travel trailer near milepost 84. The driver apparently lost control of the vehicle which left the roadway to the right, overturned and came to rest near a frontage road.
Brazil's Export of Pulp, Wood Panels and Paper Increased Substantially in First Half 2016 August 11, 2016 (Press Release) - The balance of trade for the Brazilian planted tree industry totaled US$ 3.3 billion in the first half of 2016, recording a high of 12% year-over-year. The revenues of pulp, wood panels and paper exports totaled US$ 3.8 billion, 3.8% higher year-over-year, when the total was US$ 3.7 billion. "Brazilian pulp exports are still on the rise, with noteworthy mention to China, who is currently the main destination of this input in the first half of the year," explains Elizabeth de Carvalhaes, CEO of Brazilian Tree Industry. "Yet in the paper and wood panels segments, companies have maintained the strategy to increase sales to other countries to partially offset the drop in domestic sales," she adds. Exports Volume. In the first six months of 2016, pulp exports totaled 6.4 million tons, 16.1% higher compared to the same period in 2015 when the total exported was 5.5 million tons. For the wood panels segment, the volume exported in the first half of 2016 totaled 443,000 m3, a 53.3% growth year-over-year, when exports totaled 289,000 m3. Paper exports increased 7.2% in the first six months of 2016 totaling 1.1 million tons. Production. In the first six months of 2016, Brazilian pulp production reached 9.0 million tons, a high of 9.1% year-over-year, when 8.3 million tons were produced. Paper production recorded a high of 0.5% in the period, totaling 5.2 million tons. Domestic Sales. In the first half of 2016, domestic paper sales achieved 2.6 million tons, remaining stable year-over-year. In the wood panels segment, domestic sales achieved 3.2 million m3, 4.2% lower year-over-year. The Brazilian Tree Industry (Iba) is the association responsible for institutionally representing the planted tree production chain. The association was established in April 2014 and represents 61 companies and nine state entities that provide products obtained from planted trees, with special mention to wood panels and laminate flooring, pulp, paper, energy forests and biomass. To learn more about Iba, please visit: www.iba.org. SOURCE: Brazilian Tree Industry (Iba)
A little more than a month before "How To Get Away With Murder" Season 3 starts airing on network television. Fans of the Shonda Rhimes-produced law drama have already expressed their excitement for the show's return.

"How To Get Away With Murder" season 3 promises to be even more boundary-pushing in its portrayal of sex, gender and race in the context of criminal law. Does this mean that there will be even more twists in the characters' love lives?

Series star Viola Davis, who reprises her role as Annalise Keating on "How To Get Away With Murder" season 3, has teased that the mystery murder for the upcoming season will be the most explosive yet, E! Online reported. Davis, who became the first African-American to win the Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama Series for the role last year, revealed that just like previous season premieres, the mysteries will be unveiled as early as the first episode.

Last month, Luna-Velez has been announced to be joining "How To Get Away With Murder" Season 3 as the university president of the school where Annalise is working in, TV Line reported. Could she be a possible love interest for Annalise, who last season was Eve Rothlo's partner, played by Famke Janssen? We will see when the show premieres.

"How To Get Away With Murder" Season 3 will premiere on Thursday, September 22, at 10:00 pm ET on ABC. For more news and spoilers on "How To Get Away With Murder" season 3, check back for more as the producers and cast release more details about the upcoming season.

Are you excited for "How To Get Away With Murder" Season 3? Will Annalise indeed be getting a new love interest this season? What will happen to the Keating Five? Share your thoughts in the comments section. Meanwhile, watch the trailer for the midseason premiere of "How To Get Away With Murder" earlier this year in the video below.
Paul Pogba is officially bound for England after Manchester United concluded negotiations for a $116.2 million deal with Juventus to secure its former midfielder. This concludes a three-year effort by Manchester United to return Paul Pogba to the fold.

Newsweek reports that Manchester United won over Real Madrid, which had also expressed interest in signing Paul Pogba. For a little while, Spain had seemed the next stop for Paul Pogba given the spending power that Real Madrid has.

Manchester United eventually won out and it was as much a win for the Premier League as it was a win over Read Madrid. However, more than Manchester United beefing up its lineup for the Premier League, the cost of the Paul Pogba deal had been the foremost topic of discussion.

According to Newsweek, before Manchester United and Juventus came to this agreement, the most expensive transfer deal on record had been of Real Madrid for Gareth Bale in 2013. Manchester United and club manager Jose Mourinho received more than a few criticism over the $116.2 million tag price.

The criticisms stem from concerns that Manchester United sets a precedent by paying a vast amount to re-sign Paul Pogba. Without doubt, the amount of money involved in Paul Pogba returning to Manchester United affects the transfer market.

The Daily Mail reports that Arsene Wenger of Arsenal, for one, points to how the clubs have to follow the price bar determined by the highest bidder, which tend to be the English Clubs. However, Manchester United may have been willing to raise the transfer bar for Paul Pogba for two things: the midfielder's agent Mino Raiola and the three-year effort that the English club spent on following and eventually negotiating for the player.

According to Sky Sports, Manchester Executive Vice Chairman Ed Woodward first went into talks with Mino Raiola for a Paul Pogba return as far back as three years ago. Suffice it to say that Mino Raiola and Juventus gave Manchester United a good workout in negotiating for Paul Pogba.
In recent months, Kate Middleton has become the target of pregnancy and divorce rumors. Now, the speculations have resurfaced as the Duchess of Cambridge and husband Prince William have returned home from their undisclosed summer escapade in the southwestern French city of Pau, Pyrenees-Atlantiques.

Following the week-long French holiday, Kate Middleton, Prince William and their two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, finally went home on Tuesday. As a matter of fact, the 34-year-old Duke of Cambridge has reportedly resumed to his royal responsibilities as an air ambulance pilot at the East Anglian Air Ambulance charity, International Business Times noted.

Kate Middleton's return, on the other hand, earned a more controversial turn as she was rumored to have been caught flirting with 39-year-old British sailor Ben Ainslie at the America's Cup World Series event in Portsmouth, England on Jul. 26, Parent Herald previously reported. In addition, the pregnancy speculations also continued to emerge despite several previous reports debunking the rumors.

As Kate Middleton reportedly ditched the upcoming royal visit to Germany later this month, it will not be surprising if pregnancy rumors resurfaced again. But according to Celeb Dirty Laundry, the reason for the Duchess to skip the Germany trip is for her to prepare for the official royal visit to Canada in October.

Even though Kate Middleton has a reputation for ditching her royal responsibilities, the celebrity news site insisted that the 34-year-old mother-of-two needs to rest and save up some energy for the upcoming royal trek through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Prince William, on the other hand, will represent the royal family as he travels to Dusseldorf for the 70th anniversary of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and to deliver a speech.

"During [Prince William's] visit, HRH will attend events honoring the role of British Forces Germany and the strong ties between [North Rhine-Westphalia] and Britain," the Kensington Palace posted on Twitter.

During the visit, HRH will attend events honouring the role of British Forces Germany, and the strong ties between NRW and Britain.  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) August 9, 2016

Meanwhile, royal couple Prince William and Kate Middleton are reportedly selling their Range Rover vehicle. Yahoo! Finance learned that the said car is currently listed on the online auction site, CharityStars.

Aside from the pregnancy and divorce rumors, Kate Middleton and Prince William are also reportedly jealous over Swedish royal couple Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia. The reason? Swedish heir Prince Alexander is apparently "sweet and well-behaved" while British successors Princess Charlotte and Prince George are "feisty" and "troublemaker" respectively, Morning News USA revealed.

In other royal news, Kate Middleton's father-in-law Prince Charles and mother Carole are reportedly feuding due to the amount of time spent with their grandchildren. Another Celeb Dirty Laundry report claimed that the Duke of Cornwall is contemplating to cut off Carole's ties to Kate and her children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

So, what are your thoughts on the latest royal news and rumors? Sound off below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
"Outlander" Season 3 will see the return of Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, as the story of Jamie and Claire will continue in the upcoming season of the Starz time traveler series. With the upcoming season based on Diana Gabaldon's third book, new characters will be entering the picture.

This article contains spoilers. Read on if you want to learn more about the details of this story.

"Outlander" Season 3 spoilers reveal that Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe are back to filming scenes for the new season of the Starz drama. Heughan shared the news over Twitter, which led to speculations that the upcoming season will premiere sooner than expected.

The past season of "Outlander" aired in April, so fans and viewers can expect to see the new season air at the same time or hopefully, sooner than that. Heughan also shared some of his thoughts on Season 3.

According to the Scottish actor, he is very excited to meet John Grey in "Outlander" Season 3. Those who have read Diana Gabaldon's third book, "Voyager," are well aware of the fact that John Grey is a closeted gay man who has some affections for Jamie.

This also led to speculations that Jamie and John Grey will have a kissing scene in "Outlander" Season 3. It is believed that John Grey will be doing something to help Jamie so the latter will choose to reciprocate his generosity with a kiss.

Cinema Blend also notes that "Outlander" Season 3 will introduce Young Ian, who is the son of Jamie's sister. This will be the first time fans and viewers will see of his character, but his role will turn out to be a major one in the upcoming seasons.

"Outlander" Season 3 will also see less of Tobias Menzies characters Black Jack and Frank Randall. Jamie and Claire will be reuniting after 20 years when the latter realizes that Jamie survived the Battle of Culloden.

Do you think there will be a kissing scene between Jamie and Lord John Grey in "Outlander" Season 3? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!


Teachers are an important part of any society, as they educate students and grant them the necessary skills to become productive members of their respective societies. Nevertheless, financial cuts to education, and the lack of a budget for it to begin with, threaten the jobs of teachers and subsequently the quality of education that is available.

This is the case in Middle Eastern countries, particularly in Israel, wherein the budget for the Education Ministry has been cut by NIS 1 billion give or take. This eye-watering amount has raised some concerns, especially from some 3,000 teachers and educational professionals whose jobs are now at an extreme risk of being lost.

The teachers are not the only ones affected by this financial strictness, as students are also expected to feel its repercussions. Most notably, school hours will likely be cut in order to save a large chunk of money: somewhere in the region of NIS 500 million. Even out-of-school youths attending educational programs will expect to feel the effects of the budget cut.

"There's a plan for budget cuts in all government ministries. It doesn't necessarily mean teachers will be fired; we can make cuts in other places," said officials from the Education Ministry of Israel. "The Education Ministry has a budget of NIS 53 billion a year and we can also cut instead from special needs education, school buses, teacher's assistants, and in other areas. We still don't know where the cuts will be made. We're negotiating with the Finance Ministry," they add.

According to reports from YNet News, the education minister has declined to comment on the budget cuts and its possible effects. However, ministry officials did say that it is among their top priorities to protect the jobs of teachers and other educational professionals, as to not let the quality of education suffer.
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Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828-1889): Anglican biblical scholar, translator of the early Church fathers and Bishop of Durham. He was a key advocate of the authenticity of the epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch [public domain / Wikimedia Commons]

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(6-7-09)

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The Catholic Encyclopedia (St. Ignatius of Antioch) provides an overview summary, with which we can begin our closer examination (my blue coloring):

At intervals during the last several centuries a warm controversy has been carried on by patrologists concerning the authenticity of the Ignatian letters. Each particular recension has had its apologists and its opponents. Each has been favored to the exclusion of all the others, and all, in turn, have been collectively rejected, especially by the coreligionists of Calvin. The reformer himself, in language as violent as it is uncritical (Institutes, 1-3), repudiates in globo the letters which so completely discredit his own peculiar views on ecclesiastical government. The convincing evidence which the letters bear to the Divine origin of Catholic doctrine is not conducive to predisposing non-Catholic critics in their favor, . . .

Calvin exclaimed in his Institutes:

With regard to what they pretend as to Ignatius, if they would have it to be of the least importance, let them prove that the apostles enacted laws concerning Lent, and other corruptions. Nothing can be more nauseating, than the absurdities which have been published under the name of Ignatius; and therefore, the conduct of those who provide themselves with such masks for deception is the less entitled to toleration. (Book I, Chapter 13, Section 29)

And again in his commentary for Philippians 4:3:

Those who maintain this, quote Clement and Ignatius as their authorities. If they quoted correctly, I would not certainly despise men of such eminence. But as writings are brought forward from Eusebius which are spurious, and were contrived by ignorant monks, they are not deserving of much credit among readers of sound judgment. Let us, therefore, inquire as to the thing itself, without taking any false impression from the opinions of men.

Presbyterian W. D. Killen wrote a book in 1886, entitled, The Ignatian Epistles Entirely Spurious. Here is an excerpt, where he mentions Calvin:

The question of the genuineness of the Epistles attributed to Ignatius of Antioch has continued to awaken interest ever since the period of the Reformation. . . . Calvinwho then stood at the head of Protestant theologiansdid not hesitate to denounce the whole of them as forgeries.

Elsewhere in the book, he greatly extolled Calvin for his (now thoroughly discredited) opinions:

[I]t is no mean proof of the sagacity of the great Calvin that upwards of three centuries ago he passed a sweeping condemnation on these Ignatian epistles. . . . Calvin knew that an apostolic man must be acquainted with apostolic doctrine, and he saw that these letters must have been the production of an age when the pure light of Christianity was greatly obscured. Hence he denounced them so emphatically; and time has verified his deliverance. (cited in Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, John McClintock, pp. 492-493)

Robert Ellis Thompson (Presbyterian) notes:

In 1557 Valentin Pacaeus published in Greek twelve epistles bearing the name of Ignatius of Antioch. Their genuineness was at once called into question by Calvin and other good scholars, but they were treated as an authority for primitive episcopacy by Drs. Whitgift, Hooker, Andrews, Hall and others who favored that form of government. (The Historic Episcopate, Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1910, p. 76)

Protestant historian Philip Schaff concurs:

The Larger Greek Recension of Seven Epistles with eight additional ones. Four of them were published in Latin at Paris, 1495, as an appendix to another book; eleven more by Faber Stapulensis, also in Latin, at Paris, 1498; then all fifteen in Greek by Valentine Hartung (called Paceus or Irenaeus) at Dillingen, 1557; and twelve by Andreas Gesner at Zurich, 1560. The Catholics at first accepted them all as genuine works of Ignatius; and Hartung, Baronius, Bellarmin defended at least twelve; but Calvin and the Magdeburg Centuriators rejected them all, and later Catholics surrendered at least eight as utterly untenable. (History of the Christian Church, Vol. II: Ante-Nicene Christianity: A.D. 100-325, chapter 13,  165. The Ignatian Controversy)

William Cureton, an important and key Ignatian scholar, also confirms this assessment:

. . . others, with J. Calvin, did not scruple to denounce the whole as a barefaced and stupid forgery. (Corpus Ignatianum: A Complete Collection of the Ignatian Epistles, London: Francis & John Rivington, 1849, p. xvii)

A recent book on the apostolic fathers reiterates not only Calvins, but general Protestant opposition to the authenticity of the seven Ignatian letters now generally accepted:

Catholic scholars generally defended the authenticity of the letters because of the obvious polemical value of Ignatiuss early date and emphasis on the monepiscopal form of church structure, while Protestants generally denied their authenticity for similar reasons. . . . Not until the independent work of Theodor Zahn (1873) and J. B. Lightfoot (1885) was general recognition of the authenticity of the seven letters contained in the middle recension attained. Recent challenges to the current consensus have not altered the situation. (The Apostolic Fathers, second edition, translated by J. B. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer, edited and revised by Michael W. Holmes, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1989, p. 83)

So, not only did Calvin not accept what St. Ignatius taught in his epistles; he didnt even accept them as genuine. So he can hardly have incorporated the data therein into his anti-Catholic apologetic. For him, the Ignatian corpus was entirely out of the equation of Protestant-Catholic disputation.

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Meta Description: John Calvin, one of the key figures in early Protestantism, rejected the (now universally accepted) epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch.

Meta Keywords: epistles of St. Ignatius, Ignatius of Antioch, Calvin & Ignatius of Antioch, apostolic succession, Catholic doctrine, Catholic theology, Church fathers, Church fathers & Protestantism, development of doctrine, Early Church, Fathers of the Church, history of Christian doctrine, patristics, patrology, sacred tradition
From artificially intelligent computers that compute at the speed of light, to Digital Socialism, it would seem that the future of humankind is an inextricably technological one  more humanoid than human.

In his new book, The Inevitable: Understanding 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future, Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired believes that it is only a matter of time before living in a virtual world of make-believe is readily accessible to everyone.

Over the summer my two kids (9 & 7) got to view their first 3-D movies at the IMAX theater. Were talking Ice Age: Collision Course, The Secret Life of Pets, and The BFG. And they were entralled . .

But this quasi-immersive experience pales into oblivion if one dons a synthetic-reality headset to enter the cutting-edge world of virtual reality  and where it seems to be headed. Kelly gives us a very vivid reality-check on what this experience is like in Wireds (April) cover story, The Untold Story of Magic Leap, the Worlds Most Secretive Startup.

In his view the Suburban Florida VR company Magic Leap is the best in the business at creating the illusion that virtual objects really exist.

Sensory Overload?

My tentative caveat in all of this is the unexplored consequences of the virtual reality immersive experience. As I understand it, this technological wizardry plays with our emotions, desires, and visual gullibility.

And then we have Ray Kurzweils hair-raising predictions of where AI and VR will have us by 2030. Like his vision of VR technology implanted in our nervous system via the neocortex. I explore many more of Kurzweils predictions in my upcoming book to be published in early 2017 by Patheos Press.

The Questions

No-one can deny that AI and VR are developing at an exponential rate. And this is not a time to bury our heads in the sand where scary technology is concerned. Rather it behooves us to think critically and ask the fundamental questions.

Like: Who is monitoring what in this whole schema of innovation? Are there

ground rules? Is it safe for, and in the best interests, of humanity? Who or what are we striving to be or attain in this digital quest? When we allow AI and VR technology to immerse us sensorially in what isnt real, what is left of the human spirit to express and experience who we truly are? Divine beings on a never-ending pilgrimage of spiritual evolution.

Just saying . . What say you?

Cover Photo: Pixabay

Image Insert 1: Pixabay

Image Insert 2: Pixabay
Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists in Patna on Wednesday burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his political ally Lalu Prasad Yadav after the state Cabinet approved an increase in the tax of petrol and diesel.

Accusing the Grand Alliance government of being anti-farmers, the protestors demanded immediate roll-back on the tax that is part of the Chief Minister's plan to make up for the revenue loss caused by the imposition of prohibition in Bihar.

"After opening alcohol shops at every nook and corner of Bihar in the first ten years of his rule, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar decided to impose prohibition in the state causing massive loss in revenue earning. Now he is burdening the people of Bihar with all sorts of taxes to make up for the loss. With the new tax on diesel and petrol, it is clear the Chief Minister is trying to hurt the farmers of Bihar who cannot farm their fields without diesel," the protestors said.

As reported, the state government announced a hike of 1% in petrol tax and 1.5% in diesel tax. As a result, petrol in Bihar will now cost Rs. 1.13 per liter more than before at Rs. 64.16 while consumers will now have to shell out 72 paise more for each liter of diesel at Rs. 55.31.

The new tax is expected to generate Rs. 269 crore in revenue to the state, officials said.
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Podcast

About 75% of military recruits arrive at a training base with no bank account and have to be bussed to a local bank to open one, says Jill Castilla, CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond. The bank's team is building a platform that will help service members save and build credit.
"World Youth Orchestra - Sounds for Iran" project performs first concert in Tehran

08/11/16

Photos by Bahareh Asadi, Honar Online

The World Youth Orchestra and the Tehran Symphony Orchestra performed their first joint concert in Tehran's Vahdat Hall on Wednesday August 10. Two more performances are scheduled on Thursday and Friday nights. These concerts are organized by the National Academy of St. Cecilia and the Sapienza University of Rome.

Tehran - World Youth Orchestra. The Sounds for Iran Project

Source: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

The second phase of the World Youth Orchestra - Sounds for Iran project, involving musicians from Italy, Iran and other Countries, will kick off in Tehran on 2 August. The first phase of the Project took place in June in Italy with a musical laboratory set up for young Iranian musicians.

Project activities will top off on 10 and 12 August with three concerts by the World Youth Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Damiano Giuranna, held at Tehrans Vahdat Hall together with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and the Iran National Orchestra.

The Project, supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and approved by the Ministry of Culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was promoted by the World Youth Orchestra Foundation in partnership with the Santa Cecilia Music Conservatory and the University of Rome La Sapienza. The concerts were organized with the invaluable contribution of the Roudaki Foundation and of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Italy.

The project is of special significance in the new phase of cultural exchanges between Italy and Iran.

Music can help the world understand peace much better: Damiano Giuranna

The Italian conductor of the World Youth Orchestra, Damiano Giuranna, has said that music can help the world understand peace and brotherhood much more.



Italian maestro Damiano Giuranna



"We are the same family, different brothers but really the same family. This is an important result to know that brotherhood will be the winner, not the war between us," Giuranna told the Tehran Times in an interview held at the Rudaki Hall, where the musicians were rehearsing for their joint performances with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra from August 10 to 12.

"I think the Middle East is the heart of the world. If the heart is not well we must take care of it, not only with [the help of] medicine but with art. I think music is a spiritual language and good medicine to make and keep the heart safe," he added.











Giuranna, who is also the founder and music director of the World Youth Orchestra, gave a brief explanation of how the idea of the joint performance was formed.

"The idea arose at least four or five years ago. I wanted to have this cooperation with Iranian music and culture. We had some students from the University of Tehran in our orchestra several years ago, and the World Youth Orchestra played a lot in the Middle East. And after establishing very good relations with your ministry of culture, we formed this project.

"This project consists of different activities. Seminars and master classes and training for both parties; we learn from you and you learn from us; a good cultural exchange," he explained.

"I think it is so important to meet your musicians and live together over these days. We exchange our attitudes and also make efforts to produce an artistic result together. This is our important goal. This exchange is the most important aspect of our work," he continued.











Giuranna later elaborated on the process of cooperation between the two orchestras and said, "We had a connection with your embassy in Rome. This connection allowed us to begin this kind of collaboration. Between Italy and Iran, there was an important program to promote cultural exchange. This document was signed one year ago between Iran and Italy. We next proposed to your ministry to have this cooperation with musical institutions in Iran and they put us in contact with the Rudaki Foundation.

"I knew the Tehran Symphony Orchestra very well. We also had some university students in the orchestra in the past as the members of the orchestra. I also knew that this new period was a good time for your orchestra and I wanted to add our effort to work on some projects together," he asserted.

He also noted that he knows some of the Iranian musicians. "I know some. They were in Rome in June to attend master classes and seminars at Sapienza University of Rome and I know them well.

"Some of them are really fantastic musicians and I am so happy to work with them. I hope to improve our collaboration and our knowledge about music and about instrumental techniques for both parties. We need to cooperate together."









Asked about their future joint cooperation with the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, Giuranna said, "We are a very small foundation, while Rudaki is a governmental foundation, but I think the most important part of our concert is not only the concert itself but the process before the concerts and the events - the learning process and the work before the concerts. We would like to continue this part of the learning process.

"To do this well, we need more facilities. Master classes are needed to invite some professors from your university to give lessons to our students, and we must hold our master classes in Tehran. We also have to do these kinds of performances," he added.

He continued that he likes Iranian culture and said, "I love your culture and your people so much. I learned a lot during this visit. Italian culture and the Iranian culture of ancient Persia are the same and we have many cultural points. So this is something important: to improve our collaboration to create important artistic projects together."

Giuranna next mentioned that he will conduct the first concert and half of the second concert.

"This concert is the final output of our long way together. I hope to have good musical results. I would also like to have greater understanding between us and give an artistic gift to your audience," he replied to the question asked on his idea about the achievements of the concert.

An finally he said about the medal he received from the president of Italy. "Our president knows about this project and he loves it, and for this reason he gave this medal to the project between Iran and Italy. This medal is half for us and half for you. It is a presidential medal given to very important persons or projects."






















As the U.S. presidential election nears, Donald Trump is emerging as the clear winner  at least when it comes to having his name used in spam messages.

Spammers and cyber attackers are using Trumps name far more than Hillary Clintons in emails pushing get rick quick schemes or phishing for personal information, according to an analysis from Proofpoint.

The security firm scanned the subject line of emails received by its customers in June and July looking for occurrences of trump or clinton, and found that the Republican nominee appeared in 169 times as many emails as his Democratic opponent.

Proofpoint An example of the Trump-themed spam

Its not clear why spammers gravitated towards Trump over Clinton, but his ability to make headlines and ignite passions on both sides seems to have something to do with it. The messages generally fell into one of two categories, Proofpoint said: surprising election news about Trump, or emails promising to help you get rich or get smart like Trump.

Subject lines included Trump  I Uncovered a Secret and Trump: Average Americans can beat wall street every time. The messages sometimes included fake news stories from sites like CNN and Fox News to make them look authentic.

On at least one occasion, criminals sent a phishing email that required people to sign in with their Gmail credentials to take part in a fake presidential poll. Other emails included links that led to phishing websites.

Not surprisingly, Proofpoint advises people to be careful when opening election-themed email.

Online scammers routinely use presidential elections to help ply their trade. Four years ago, cybercriminal made wide use of Barack Obamas name to trick people into visiting malicious sites.

Generally, scammers will use any major public event as a lure to get people to open their mails and click on links, including earthquakes and terrorist attacks.
On Thursday Microsoft completed its retreat from its controversial policy regarding support for Intels Skylake processors on its older Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 operating systems. Now Skylake PCs running those OSes will receive the standard length of support.

In a controversial move, Microsoft had previously said this past January that it would only support Skylake PCs running its older operating systems for about 18 months. (Generally, mainstream support is five years and extended support is 10 years.) Support for Skylake would have run out in July 2017, far earlier than for older systems powered by Intels Broadwell processors.

Now, the support lifetimes for Broadwell and Skylake PCs are the same: Windows 7 support will expire on January 14, 2020, and support for Windows 8.1 will end January 10, 2023. Microsoft noted the changes in a blog post it published Thursday.

Why this matters: Microsoft originally pitched the changes to its support lifecycle as a positive: The older OSes were designed with older CPUs in mind. Thus Intels Skylake was not only not optimized for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, but it also required special tweaks to ensure those OSes remain compatible. But customers latched on to the fact that Microsoft was ending support years early for Skylake PCs, and Microsoft has steadily backtracked since then. The dam started crumbling a month later, for example, when the Windows Server team publicly stated that it would not be enforcing Microsofts policy and it would support Skylake-based servers through the original support dates.

Still pushing Windows 10

Microsoft had originally set the early expiration dates for Skylake PCs to encourage users to move to Windows 10, a more modern OS with more advanced protections against malware and other threats. Thats still Microsofts stance.

We recommend that customers upgrade these 6th Gen Intel Core systems on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 as soon as possible so that they can receive full support along with the great enhancements that come from running modern hardware with modern software, Microsoft wrote.

Microsoft claimed that the changes would primarily affect commercial customers, though the list of affected PCs includes gaming systems from Dells Alienware subsidiary as well as other consumer notebooks. According to Microsoft, the change has been made possible by the PC OEMs and by Intel, which will themselves be performing security update validation testing and upgrade testing through the end of the support dates.
Twitter is not liable for providing material support to the Islamic State group, also referred to as the ISIS, by allowing its members to sign up and use accounts on its site, a federal judge in California ruled Wednesday.

The lawsuit against Twitter filed by the familes of two victims of a terror attack in Jordan is similar to another filed by the father of a victim of the Paris attack in November against Twitter, Google and Facebook for allegedly providing material support to terrorists by providing them a forum for propaganda, fund raising and recruitment.

These lawsuits accuse the internet companies of violating provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act and and aim to deny the internet companies refuge under provisions of the Communications Decency Act, which protect publishers from liability for content posted to their site by third parties.

Citing the Act, Judge William H. Orrick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California wrote in his order that as horrific as these deaths were, under the CDA Twitter cannot be treated as a publisher or speaker of ISISs hateful rhetoric and is not liable under the facts alleged.

Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act states that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.

In November 2015, Lloyd Carl Fields, Jr. and James Damon Creach were shot and killed by a Jordanian police officer, Anwar Abu Zaid, while working as U.S. government contractors at a law enforcement training center in Amman. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack by the police officer, who was studying at the center, describing him as a lone wolf.

The families of Fields and Creach filed the suit, claiming that Twitters provision of material support to ISIS was a proximate cause of the shooting. 18 U.S. Code 2339A and 2339B prohibit the knowing provision of material support or resources for terrorist activities or foreign terrorist organizations, and the term material support or resources is defined to include any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including communications equipment, according to the court papers.

Twitters alleged violations of the anti-terrorist laws cannot be accurately characterized as publishing activity, addressed by the Communications Decency Act, but rather as the provision of the means through which ISIS communicates, according to the victims families. Even if ISIS had never issued a single tweet, [Twitters] provision of material support to ISIS in the form of Twitter accounts would constitute a violation of the ATA, they said in a filing.

The judge, however, noted that under either theory, the alleged wrongdoing is the decision to permit third parties to post content  it is just that under plaintiffs provision of accounts theory, Twitter would be liable for granting permission to post (through the provision of Twitter accounts) instead of for allowing postings that have already occurred. The judge added that he was not convinced that the provision of accounts theory treats Twitter as something other than a publisher of third-party content.

The families were also not able to establish a cause-and-effect link between Twitters provision of accounts to the ISIS and the deaths of Fields and Creach. The only arguable connection between Abu Zaid and Twitter that was identified is that his brother told reporters that Abu Zaid had been very moved by an execution by ISIS, which the group publicized through Twitter. That connection, however tenuous, is based on specific content disseminated through Twitter, not the mere provision of Twitter accounts, the judge noted.

In the other lawsuit filed against Googles YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, the father of Paris terror victim Nohemi Gonzalez charges that the companies have knowingly permitted the terrorist group ISIS [Islamic State group] to use their social networks as a tool for spreading extremist propaganda, raising funds and attracting new recruits.

Social networks claim they are doing their best to weed out terrorist content though it is turning out to be like trying to whack-a-mole, with the proscribed content or new content resurfacing elsewhere. Twitter said in February that as noted by many experts and other companies, there is no magic algorithm for identifying terrorist content on the internet.

Judge Orrick allowed the families of the victims to file their second amended complaint, if any, within 20 days of his order.
Intels Atom chips are on their way out of mobile devices, and the next generation of the chip line will instead be targeted toward drones, self-driving cars, and IoT devices.

The new Atom chips will retain the lines focus on low power consumption, with an emphasis on graphics and visual computing. The chip line, to be announced next week at Intel Developer Forum, will be used to maneuver cars, drones, and robots and to also help them recognize objects.

Many Atom mobile and server chips have been on Intels chopping block. The troubled chips future now is in the growing markets of IoT and virtual reality.

The chips will integrate into devices with the companys 3D RealSense cameras, according to a technical session description at IDF. That points to the chips also being used in low-power virtual reality headsets.

Intel will lay out its VR and augmented reality strategy at the developer show, and RealSense is expected to be at the center of many announcements. Intel will show off its own version of Microsofts HoloLens called Remote EyeSight, a set of head-worn AR smart glasses for remote collaboration.

Expect the bread-and-butter products for the new Atom chips to be smart home and industrial IoT devices. The chips, according to the technical session page, will also work in devices with advanced displays, which could refer to information kiosks or digital advertising displays.

Intel declined to comment on the next-generation Atom chips, the details, or the underlying architecture. The chips could be based on the Broxton architecture, conceived by Intel originally as a way to quickly design and release new Atom chips to catch up with market leader ARM in smartphones and tablets.

The new chips ensure the survival of the Atom product line, which had an uncertain future. Atom chips for mobile devices were the first on the chopping block after Intel announced plans earlier this year to lay off 12,000 employees and restructure operations to focus on servers, connectivity, IoT, and other areas.

However, Intel is still using Atom chips like Sofia  which it was supposed to cut  for point-of-sale systems and industrial IoT devices.

The Atom architecture called Goldmont will be used in upcoming Celeron and Pentium PC chips code-named Apollo Lake. Those chips were originally based on the same architecture used in high-end Core PC processors.

The new Atom chips could go into AC power-connected devices for digital signs, cash registers, and casino gaming machines, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

It wont be for small, battery devices, McGregor said.

Intels done a good job of scaling down the size and power consumption for x86 architecture with Atom, but the chip isnt as power efficient as ARM or MIPS for low-power devices, McGregor said.

Atom, in a way, is coming back to embedded devices  which it was originally designed for  but an ill-advised mobile route has given the chip a bad name, McGregor said.

They have to rebrand it. Theres so much failure around it, McGregor said.

The Atom chips were at the forefront of the netbook explosion from 2007 to 2010, then were tweaked for tablets and smartphones. Atom smartphones never really took off, and in a desperate move, Intel in 2014 said it would ship 40 million tablet chips, then hit 46 million chips. But by the time Intel found its groove in tablets, that market started declining.
Robyn Gogue will take her twin 5-year-old daughters to their first day of kindergarten next week in Menifee.

Her husband, Roy, a Cal Fire firefighter, isnt able to attend the milestone moment.

I know hes upset that he will miss another first in their lives, Robyn Gogue said.

Corona firefighter John Deyoe was looking forward to a dinner date with his daughters and girlfriend, whom he hadnt seen in 10 days, but he had to cancel because of a last-minute work assignment.

My heart dropped to my feet. It was like somebody punched me in the stomach, Deyoe said.

Such is the life of Southern California firefighter families at the height of the wildfire season, where one spouse  in most cases the husband and father  is off battling the flames, hopping from conflagration to conflagration, and the other is home alone for weeks at a time, mixing work, child care, bill paying and worrying.

Therefore, firefighter families say, its important to write down plans in pencil, not pen, and to make the most of the time they have together.

Most municipal fire agencies allow their crews to be out for 14 days. Cal Fire crews can be extended to 21 days or more. A Riverside city crew fought the Sand fire in Santa Clarita, then the Pilot fire in the San Bernardino Mountains. Murrieta sent an engine from the Sand fire to the Soberanes fire in Monterey County and then to the Pilot. Long Beach sent 21 firefighters from the Soberanes to the Goose near Fresno. Just as a Los Angeles County engine fresh off the Soberanes rolled into a station in Duarte, it was dispatched to the Pilot.

And when an Orange County Fire Authority crew maxed out on its 14 days on the Soberanes, a bus with fresh replacements from OC showed up.

Youre married to a firefighter, and there are things you have to accept, said Kim Oakley, whose husband, Mark, is a battalion chief for Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department in Indio. She cares for their four children, including one who is autistic. Marks absence, she said, takes a toll for sure.

And then there are the firefighters who staff the stations in others absence. In Cal Fire, those crews work three days in a row and have four days off. But if there arent enough firefighters available, those three days can turn into seven. Those extended shifts, as well as their pay, are a source of contention for Cal Fire crews, who are planning a protest rally on Aug. 22 at the state Capitol.

Nevertheless, no firefighters interviewed for this story appeared ready to quit.

I think its the best job in the world, Deyoe said.

MAKING IT WORK

Wildfires are often fought in rural environments where cell and internet reception is spotty or non-existent, making communications with the homefront difficult.

Deyoe had just regained a cell signal and was nearing home after a long ride when his battalion chief radioed that the engine crew had been redirected to the Pilot fire. Deyoe called in the bad news.

That night was the most difficult night of my career, said Deyoe, an 18-year veteran. His children were upset, but theyve lived their whole lives as firemans kids, so they know.

Robyn Gogue plans to videotape her daughters school debut Monday. If she cant connect with her husband via Facetime, shell send videos by email or text message. Roy will text her when hes off the fire line. I just need to know hes OK, his wife said.

Robyn is a full-time student, studying to be a nurse. Her mom occasionally provides free babysitting. When Roy is home, he sleeps the first day, and then the family goes out for frozen yogurt. The next day, Robyn and Roy will put away their cell phones and enjoy quiet time together in the back yard.

Danny Cook, a Cal Fire firefighter based in Lake Elsinore, drove eight hours to get home from the Sobaranes fire on Sunday to rejoin his wife, Jessie, who is 37 weeks pregnant with their second child. Theyve been married for six years and together for 10. He said when hes gone he talks with her or texts her, as much as the terrain allows.

Jessie said his absence can create stress on the family but that the key is to be flexible.

I think thats what makes it work, she said. Everything has to be able to be moved around. The only thing that is set in stone is that when hes home, its family time.

Kailin DeMartios husband, Noah, is a Cal Fire captain based in Garner Valley. Theyve been married 11 years, and they have children ages 13 and 9. Hes been gone on five fires for 23 days, and she doesnt expect him home until mid-August.

Its hard because when the kids get sick, Im the only one at home. Youre basically married but by yourself.

Other families say they get by with the help of friends, especially other fire wives. They get together, with the children, rather than stay at home.

Erin Fairfax left her job as a Cal Fire captain to take a job as a physicians assistant that gave her hours that allowed her to spend more time with their children ages 18, 13, and 2.

Her husband, Jason, is a captain who can be gone for weeks at a time from their home near Temecula leading inmates crews based in the Hemet area.

I miss my job, but Im home, Erin Fairfax said.

She joined a running group and has a new network of friends so Im not home twiddling my thumbs (wondering) when is Daddy coming home.

Amber Reinhold, a paramedic with AMR, says she notices changes in the behavior of her boys, 6 and 8, when her husband, Perris-based Matthew, is away on Cal Fire duty. He sleeps for a day when he returns but after that, they take the boys bike riding or to the park.

Our family tries to make every day count because tomorrow is not guaranteed, she said.

DISSENT OVER PAY

Cal Fire families say they wish they had more money to count, as well.

They cite a 2014 state survey that shows Cal Fire total compensation lags behind 20 other firefighting agencies by 29.7 percent to 39.9 percent, depending on the job, and that base pay for those same jobs lags by an average of 86.5 percent to 91 percent.

Mike Alvarado, a Temecula-based Cal Fire firefighter, is married with three children and says he needs to work a handful of extra shifts each month to supplement his $2,500 monthly take-home pay.

I have never seen morale this low, Alvarado said.

Mike Lopez, president of Cal Fire Local 2881, which represents 6,000 members, said he hopes the Aug. 22 rally gets the attention of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The pay is not commensurate of the job being performed, Lopez said.

Lynda Gledhill, a spokeswoman in the governors office, declined to comment on negotiations.

Lopez also said the sometimes extended three-on/four-off shifts are a burden on firefighters.

Cal Fire staffs their equipment by not letting members go home, he said.

The contention that firefighters are forced to work extra shifts has spawned a Facebook group named Forcey T Bear, a lampoon of the U.S. Forest Services Smokey Bear campaign.

Cal Fire spokeswoman Janet Upton said the agency acknowledges the long hours but said the extra shifts are necessary to fill critical positions.

Its a tool we use judiciously, she said.

Cal Fire received an additional $103 million this fiscal year to pay for more staff and equipment, Upton said.

Contact the writer: brokos@scng.com

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A Banning jail inmate went missing for 3-1/2 hours until searchers found her in an outbuilding within the lockups perimeter, sheriffs officials say.

The 19-year-old woman was being held for theft-related offenses when she was discovered missing during a headcount at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, at Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility, 1627 S. Hargrave St. Her name was not released.

As staff members searched the jail, deputies surrounded the grounds, a sheriffs helicopter crew scanned the area, and neighborhood residents were alerted via a reverse-911 emergency telephone system.

The search ended about 7:30 p.m.

The woman was located on the jail property, said Deputy Mike Vasquez, adding that he had no information about the circumstances of her disappearance. We dont know how or why.
The San Bernardino County sheriffs office has lifted the voluntary evacuation orders that were in place for residents of Hesperia, Apple Valley and Summit Valley due to the Pilot fire. Meanwhile, mandatory evacuation orders and road closures remain in place for mountain communities according to a news release.

The release states that effective Thursday, August 11, 2016, at 12:00 p.m., the voluntary evacuation advisories for the City of Hesperia, Town of Apple Valley, and community of Summit Valley will be lifted.

Road closures through these areas opened as well. This includes Arrowhead Lake Road from Hesperia Lakes to Hwy 173, Hwy 173 from Hwy 138 through Summit Valley, and Deep Creek Road from Rock Springs Road to the Spillway. The Pacific Crest Trail will remained closed due to ongoing suppression efforts.

Residents returning to their homes in the evacuation zone were asked to exercise caution as firefighters, engines and heavy equipment were still operating in the area.

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Twenty-six energy companies with business before the state donated nearly $10 million to Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Democratic Party over the past eight years  donations that often were made within days or weeks of winning favors.

Thats the contention of Browns Dirty Hands a report released Wednesday by the Santa Monica-based public interest group Consumer Watchdog.

Those 26 companies included Californias three major investor-owned utilities  Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric and Sempra Energy, the parent of Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas & Electric  which collectively contributed nearly $6 million of the more than $9.8 million that was donated.

Liza Tucker, who authored the report, said the information raises troubling questions about whether quid pro quos are routine for this administration.

An extensive review of campaign records, publicly released emails and other documents at PUCPapers.org, court filings and media reports shows that Brown allegedly intervened in regulatory decisions favoring companies in the energy industry, Consumer Watchdog said.

The report alleges that Brown and his operatives have used the California Democratic Party as a political slush fund to receive contributions from unpopular energy companies in amounts greater than permitted to his candidate committee. The group has logged its report as an official complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission.

The report really paints a troubling picture, Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court said when the findings were unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday. There are a couple of years left in this administration and Gov. Brown needs to do a little housecleaning in his office and an inventory check on what his priorities are.

Evan Westrup, a spokesman for the governors office, disputed the information.

The governors leadership on climate is unmatched  these claims are downright cuckoo, he said via email.

Westrup noted that Brown has set a variety of aggressive climate goals, including a 50 percent reduction of petroleum use in cars and trucks by 2030, putting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2025, and a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, among others.

Court acknowledged that Brown has spoken out about the negative impacts of climate change. But the Consumer Watchdog study, he said, clearly shows that between 2011 and 2014, energy companies tracked in the report donated $4.4 million to the Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party gave $4.7 million to Browns re-election.

Southern California Edison was cited as an example. The Rosemead-based utility donated $130,000 to the California Democratic Party on March 26, 2013. That was the same day Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey cut a deal with an SCE executive in a Warsaw, Poland, hotel room to make ratepayers  not shareholders  cover 70 percent of the $4.7 billion cost to close the fatally flawed San Onofre nuclear plant, according to Consumer Watchdog.

Peevey is now under criminal investigation for conspiring to obstruct justice by illegally engaging in and concealing ex parte communications, and by inappropriately interfering with the San Onofre settlement process by pushing SCE to fund $25 million of greenhouse gas research at UCLA in exchange for the deal, the report said.

Edison International issued a statement in response to the report.

Like many companies, Edison International exercises its civic responsibility and participates in the political process by supporting candidates and committees in both major parties, the company said. All political contributions comply with applicable campaign finance laws and the companys political contributions policy, and are fully disclosed.

Edison further noted that the Center for Political Accountability, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to corporate political spending, last year placed Edison in the top two rankings among S&P 500 companies for disclosure and accountability.

Consumer Watchdog additionally alleges that Chevron donated $135,000 to the California Democratic Party the same day lawmakers exempted a common method of well stimulation from legislation meant to regulate fracking.

Officials with Chevron declined to comment on the report.

The report also alleges that power plant developer NRG wasnt a Brown donor until the company cut a sweetheart deal with the PUC to settle the states case over its 2001 electricity price manipulation, touted as a win by the governors office.

Rather than paying back the state, the company was allowed to spend $100 million of its $120 million fine to install electric vehicle charging stations. And two months later, NRG began donations to Brown, his causes and his party that would come to $105,000, the report said. A lawsuit against the PUC, filed by electric charging station competitor Ecotality, called the deal illegal because it awarded a monopoly to an out-of-state company.

NRG didnt respond to requests for comment.

Contact the writer: vsmith@scng.com or @SGVNBiz on Twitter
The right hand shoulder and the lane right next to it on the northbound 15 freeway in Temecula will intermittently close for about two weeks as crews do fire repairs, officials said.

The work will happen between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, from Aug. 15 to Aug. 26, say officials from the California Department of Transportation.

The Riverside Construction Company will remove burned trees, install erosion control and replace metal guardrail and signs, wrote spokeswoman Michell Profant in a news release.

CalTrans officials say the company has been given $500,000 to do the work.

Profant said in a telephone interview Wednesday that the work will be happening about two miles north of the Temecula Border Patrol Checkpoint.

After Aug. 26, the work will continue, but the traffic lane will no longer need to be closed. Only the shoulder will be closed as crews work, according to the release.

All fire repairs are expected to be finished by fall.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9693, agroves@scng.com or @AlexDGroves on Twitter.
Indirectly borne from mans need for safe drinking water, the Western Science Center will host a Smithsonian exhibit on the importance of water for the next three months.

H20 Today, which opens Saturday at the museum near Diamond Valley Lake, will explore water and its importance around the world.

If not for water, the Western Science Center would not exist. The museum opened a decade ago after Metropolitan Water District constructed the massive drinking water reservoir near Hemet.

The museum features artifacts found during excavation of the reservoir and sits next to the lakes visitors center, which highlights the lake and water in general.

Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, H20 Today will run until Nov. 27.

Water plays a huge role in every aspect of life in California, and a thorough understanding of water is critical to the resource management decisions that are necessary to ensure the future health of our state, Alton Dooley, Western Science Centers executive director, said in a news release.

The exhibit looks at what it means to live on a planet where 71 percent of the surface is covered in water, yet less than 3 percent is drinkable.

It explores the science of water and its power to change the landscape and highlights waters importance in daily life.

Visitors will learn how climate change, population growth and pollution have affected the water cycle and weather patterns, as well as ways people around the world tackle the challenges of water shortages and pollution.

The exhibit will feature an interactive series of displays, including a kid-friendly exhibit where children will learn how much water it takes to produce various products, from groceries to electronics.

We hope all our customers can take time to visit, said Randy Record, president of Eastern Municipal Water District, an exhibit co-sponsor. We believe that guests will come away with a greater appreciation for water and how valuable of a resource it is.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9086 or cshultz@scng.com
Temecula youths who spent their summer on humanitarian missions returned much more appreciative of their lives.

Humanitarian Experience for Youth, a nonprofit organization that matches young people with projects, organized the trips.

Sam Holloway was among the youths sent to Santiago, a province in the Dominican Republic, to help build a laboratory for a medical center. Encountering how some people live in that country made him more thankful for his life.

It gave me a greater appreciation for the life I have now, said Holloway, who said he always has been interested in service projects.

The trip also made him more aware of poverty in other parts of the world.

It made me want to do something to fix that, Holloway said.

His groups task wasnt easy; there were no cement mixers, so all the cement had to be mixed by hand.

Aside from plastering, Holloways group taught informal English classes.

The trip cost his family $3,000.

Jaden Hjelmstads trip took her to Suva, Fiji, where she helped build outhouses for a village.

She said that as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she always has been motivated to serve other people.

Hjelmstad said she was struck by how happy the villagers were, even though they didnt have a lot by U.S. standards.

Ive never met someone so happy until I met them, she said. They dont worry about the things we do.

She also noticed that the villagers she met were very generous and friendly.

They dont have much to give, but they gave it to us, Hjelmstad said.

Hjelmstad said she did have to adjust to some difficulties, such as drinking only bottled water and dealing with mosquitoes, but overall it was a rewarding experience.

I learned more from them, she said.

Other Temecula youths who were assigned to projects: Darby McDowell, Michael Skaggs, McKenzie McLaughlin, Miranda Hunter, Skyler Geddie, Sarah Workman, Hayden Carr and Shelby Keeler.

Contact the writer: community@pressenterprise.com
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has raised concerns over the recent uncontrolled take-over of cocoa farms and farmlands by small-scale miners and warned that could affect the crops production levels.



Rev Emmanuel Ahia Klotey, Deputy Executive Director of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), said the situation whereby chiefs, landowners and farmers keep releasing lands and cutting down farms to give way to gold mining could have serious consequences for the cocoa industry.



Efforts at attaining production targets would prove futile if this went unchecked, he added.



He was addressing the annual conference of the Kookoo Pa Farmers Association held in Nyinahin in the Atwima-Mponua District.



The event, held under the theme, Increasing sustainable cocoa production in Ghana  the role of the youth was also used to pay a premium to farmers.



Rev Klotey underscored that the youth eager to go into cocoa growing must to be assisted to gain access to land to help not only to boost production but enable them to create wealth for themselves.



He made reference to the youth in cocoa production programme introduced by the Cocobod, and said the goal was to entice the young people into the crops cultivation to revamp the sector.



That, he indicated, was the way forward to maintain the countrys position as leader in quality cocoa production.



He reiteirated the determination of COCOBOD to create opportunities and provide incentives to farmers to increase yield and returns, citing free distribution of seedlings and inputs supply.



Stephen Yeboah, the District Chief Executive (DCE), praised cocoa farmers for their immense contribution to the socio-economic development of the nation.



He appealed to the youth in the area to take advantage of the interventions by COCOBOD to go into cocoa farming to transform their living conditions.



Vincent Frimpong Manu, Board Chairman of the Kookoo Pa Farmers Association, said it would continue to help and encourage farmers to adopt modern agronomic practices to raise production.



He counseled farmers to adhere strictly to the advice by extension officers.



Fred Amponsah, Executive Director of the Association, said all of its 7,260 members had passed the external audit process and therefore certified as quality cocoa beans producers.



The farmers received a premium payment of GH10 on each bag of cocoa sold.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Simpa Panyin, you see what I told you? Bawumia has done his thing again. This time round he brought the Electoral Commission to his house. The other time I told you that I was unhappy when he used Kaakaamotobi to describe Ghanas economy, and the annoying thing is that his opponents keep making him so popular.



I dont know why they, the umbrella people, dont get it, that the rise and rise of Bawumia is being fuelled by his use of big English, and the spread of such big English by the very umbrella people who wish him fall. They dont seem to get it, so the man is continuously inventing words, and throwing his invented words to one Anyidoho, and he has always succeeded in catching Kokus eye.



Koku, times have changed oo. Your father in heaven who died a couple of years ago left you with nothing, so all those who were worshipping you are now those in charge, and so just know that the previous FONKAR man is now boddooo with Opana, and you who used to be worshiped must now come with fear and trembling, do you get me?



A few days ago someone told me that Dr. Bawumia has instructed the former Member of Parliament for Nsuta-Kwanmang-Beposo, Kwame Osei Prempeh, to announce that any person who lives in Ghana, and who knows the kind of poverty we are experiencing, but still goes ahead to cast his vote for Opana, that person will go to hell.



You see him? He even went further to insist that anyone who believes he was created in the image of God should consider all the thieves who have surrounded this Opana man, and consider bringing back the elephant from the bush, thereafter all voters shall proceed to heaven, you get the plan?



But I have found my own plan to stopping his plan. This weekend I will be taking census of all poor people in my village, and I will bus all of them, and we will sit in the bus in waiting for the elections. On the dawn of December 7, we will drive all my village people to the Togo boarder, and as soon as Auntie Araba declares the opening of the election, we will all throw our votes across the boarder into Ghana, one for zu, the other for za, one by one we will cast all of our votes, and thereafter we would all join the saints going to heaven.



Do you have to associate poverty with hell at all? Have you tasted hell before? Have you even bothered to visit Alistair and Mugabe to know how hell tastes like?



Please Opana is here, he is not gone anywhere, so if you think people should not vote for him, why dont you say it directly? Why are you trying to bring Christ into this? Or you think Opana fears hell, he doesnt. Otherwise why would he launch his campaign without a manifesto?



Go to Cape Coast this Sunday and see dry campaign launch. All mosquitoes will be there, and they will feed on nothing.



The two parties, the Umbrella and the elephant, are both hiding their manifestos, accusing each other of theft. The other day Opanana accused Opana of stealing his SADA, and destroying it. He also accused him of stealing his free education and turning it into a distribution of pampers.



I hear Opana has responded that the free education was a quotation from the constitution; it was in his manifesto, except that he did not write it properly. So in the end, Ghanaians are following two important people without knowing what is in their heads, even if they are carrying poisons.



I see trouble in the air, especially after Opana launches his campaign this Sunday. Why not? Launching a campaign without a manifesto is like discharging Kpokpogbligbli patients on the streets, and asking them to intensify their illness, and they will act like double-edged sod, they will cut with both teeth.



And when the Kpokpogbligbli patients are on the streets campaigning, especially when they go without any manifestos, they rape women and blame it on Simpa Panyin, they steal fish and blame it on monkeys, and that is when they will thank Opana for buying them houses and cars even though they bought those houses and cars with their own money, they will present sheep to Simpa Panyin and go on air to announce that they have presented me with cow, and they will be unstoppable, and they will amplify everything Opana has done or has not done, including those days when he needs his privacy, then everything will be out of control.



Then while we waited for the manifesto surprises, Dr Bawumia went on to announce that change is coming, and thereafter the CDD went ahead to release a report to the effect that Ghana hot paa, so all that Bawumia has said is boddooo.



They are lucky that the presidential pardon petition has not matured yet, still warming up on the minds of the Council of State where Ama Benyiwa Doe has a duty to defend the Umbrella.



Imagine that the CDD had released this report a couple of months ago, and this report had landed on the table of Mugabe while Alistair and Ako Gunn have been present? I tell you, the CDD would have been dead already. Like by now Dr Frank Oduro and Professor Gyimah Boadi would have been taking cover under tables and chairs.



How dare you report that an elephant will win this election? Couldnt you have doctored the report even if your respondents said Opana will lose the elections?



Have you forgotten the black sheep white cow theory? They would have opened fire on all those associated with the report, including the enumerators, those in the acknowledgement sections, including those mentioned in the references and bibliography; they would have all had their share of the opened fire.



One of the big things I want to do when I grow up is to establish an electoral commission as a business. Perhaps it is the biggest business in Ghana. This is the only business that you can ask for any amount of money and no one questions you. Parliament sees your budget and they all nod in affirmation, and thereafter yeaaa yeaa!!



But that is not the only reason why I will want to set up a company called Electoral Commission. I will set up my own Electoral Commission so that when I speak no one can speak some. I will write 27 and adjust it with 0, and I will use finger of God to score goals. I will tell the whole world how I have learnt my lessons from finger of God, and after I am forgiven I will go back to finger of God, and I will ask him to show up again in the next election.



My electoral commission will be a smart one. For instance if Georgina ask me to spot all the Togolese on my register and remove them, I will take two steps, one on the left to be boddooo, the other on the right to be an elephant spot, and I will scratch all elephants off the register, next time talk again.



That day, when I heard that 5,000 people have been taken off Simpa Panyins register, I wept. Madam, what have you done? You have removed wrong names oo My people are not Togolese oo, why are you offloading them? Why? Have we wronged you, please just remove the elephants amongst us, and leave the rest of us alone.



Out of 56,000 names that were removed from the electoral register from 275 constituencies in Ghana, a whooping 5,000 were from Winneba alone, how? And over 2,000 of the 5,000 came from Simpa Panyins electoral areas, Sankor and Don Bosco, how? Bawumia, where are you? Where are your Togolese voters? Please tell them that you did not speak for us oo, please Winneba is not a boarder town, leave us alone.



In any case I had to do something, so I started to conduct my own investigations. I met a number of affected voters. The first said he has never even registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme. The other one enrolled with the Health Insurance Scheme in 2014, two clear years after the registration was over. Then I met one person who registered when she was 17, but whose name is still on the register, not removed.



You see what Auntie Araba has done, the things she does that earns her a fight with Bawumia? You were asked to remove those who registered with the National Health Insurance card, why do you have to rather remove those who registered with passports and visas?

Source: James Kofi Annan/ email: [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The British High Commissioner, Jon Benjamin, yesterday said his mission is opposed to a social media ban, describing such an action as a wrong thing to do.



The opposition was an apparent reaction to the recent suggestion by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) John Kudalor that he would order such a ban on election day, should the need arise.



The IGP, as if he was rehearsing from a script, has been campaigning on the possibility of shutting down the social media, despite wise counsel by eminent Ghanaians and international bodies like United Nations (UN) office in West Africa.



The British envoy stated the position of the mission during an interaction with a cross-section of the media at the British High Commission in Accra. He said about the ban, We hope that it does not happen. He added that such an opposition by Britain is not restricted to Ghana, but worldwide.



On the drawbacks of social media, he said those are the cost of freedom of speech, adding that Ghana too opposes such a ban, having appended its signature opposing such an action during an international forum supporting the freedom of the internet.



In spite of the drawbacks of social media such as posting untruths, it is still preferable as it offers the opportunity for news to be disseminated.



The high commissioner, known for his obsession with the social media  his tweets attracting a lot of followership  has stoked various political controversies on the political landscape. I am a fan of social media, he said.



Mr Jon Benjamin disclosed, In Britain we are encouraged to be active on social media, and added that although mistakes could be made by and large, it is better not to ban it but to allow the status quo. It is against mass communication.



He took the opportunity to explain that diplomacy today is a departure from what it used to be and so diplomats are not barred from being expressive about local developments, which he had often done, his remarks spanning politics to sports.



Diplomats used to be regarded as elitist, snobbish and unapproachable, he said, to explain why his approach to diplomacy varies from what it used to be.



Jon Benjamin, in a bid to encourage the media to contact the mission whenever there is a subject requiring clarification, urged, Whenever there is an issue, ask us; we would never say no comment.



The British mission is open to all media establishments in the country and would only consider a blacklisting option in cases where such radio stations or newspapers are engaged in disseminating hate speeches or messages that are inciting in nature the High Commissioner said.



Stuart Taylor, head of the Political and Communication Desk of the mission, pointed out, We are active on social media. When Jon Benjamin arrived he was in the middle of a social media rise. We are here in the best interest of Britain.



The British High Commission, the Political Desk boss went on, was ready to address all queries, adding, The no comment response is not good enough.

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.

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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.
The General Secretary of the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, and the partys National Chairman, Kofi Portuphy, has visited the Montie trio, who are serving their four-month jail term at Nsawman prison in the Eastern Region.



Also part of the delegation was the NDCs Director of Elections, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo.



The Host of Accra-based Montie FMs Pampamso political show, Salifu Maase, alias Mugabe, together with his two panelists, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn, were jailed four months each by the Supreme Court in July, after they were found guilty of contempt charges.



This was after they had threatened to kill justices of the Supreme Court over their handling of the suit on the credibility of Ghanas voters register. They were also fined GHc10, 000 which they have paid.



The sentence has however been received with mixed reactions, with largely members of the NDC claiming it is too harsh.



Top officials of the NDC both in government and out of government, have since signed a petition aimed at forcing President John Mahama to pardon the three, since in their view, they have shown remorse for their actions.



Top government officials who have not signed the petition which has since been forwarded to the Council of State, have also visited the prison, to commiserate with the trio.



They include the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ekow Spio Garbrah and the former Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor among others.

Source: citifmonline.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.

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The parliamentary candidate for the biggest opposition New Patriotic Party, NPP in the Zebila Constituency, Frank Fuseini Adongo, has said the Member of Parliament, MP for the Zebila Constituency, Cletus Apul Avoka is to blame squarely for the infrastructure setback facing the Zebila Senior High/Technical School.



He alleges the MP has not placed importance on the educational sector, thus the enormous infrastructure deficiencies confronting most basic and second cycle institutions in the Bawku West District.



Mr. Adongo made this criticism in an exclusive interaction with Peace news regarding the dire infrastructure bottlenecks affecting students in the Zebila SHS/Technical in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.



Some schoolboys resort to sleep in washrooms following limited accommodation.



Mr. Adongo, however, subjected the MP and former interior minister, Mr. Avoka, to intense slam for the phenomenon, saying the MP could have intervened to salvage the infrastructure issue confronting the school if he had prioritised education.



He said Mr. Avoka was oblivious of the fact that education could break the shackles of poverty among the youth in the district and asked the constituents to vote him out in the 2016 general elections and give him(Mr. Adongo) the nod to correct the educational ills confronting the district.



He stressed Mr. Avoka's silence on the school's infrastructure problem was blameworthy, explaining the MP had taken the constituency and district for granted because the constituents remained loyal to him and the National Democratic Congress, NDC in the presidential and parliamentary polls.



"I can't say the MP(Cletus Apul Avoka) has not done anything. He did something, at least he helped some of the youth to get jobs. He has overstayed in parliament and I think he should have done better than he is doing", Mr. Adongo said.



He added it was very embarrassing and disgraceful to seeing and hearing the one of two government SHS/ Technical in the district was lacking infrastructure, and promised to make the school a world-class one if he was given the mandate in the December 7 polls.



The senior nurse and Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Faith Clinic, indicated education, health, agriculture and youth empowerment were his topmost priorities if given the nod.



When contacted for his reaction to the claims made by the NPP parliamentary candidate, incumbent MP Avoka, described Mr. Adongo's comments as 'jokes and comedies', stressing it took people with selective and myopic minds to see nothing about what he did for the Zebila Constituency and the Bawku West District at large in all areas of national life.



"Is Fuseini aware that if I were not doing well, I wouldn't be voted into power by the constituents since 1992?", he questioned.



Mr. Avoka, who is also a legal luminary, added he had been winning because of his track record in the district and said the legislator was not to blame single-handedly for the development woes of his or her constituency and district.



"I'm sure the NPP man doesn't even know the prime role of the Ghanaian legislator. The MP is in parliament to make laws and perhaps help his District or Municipal Chief Executive to lobby for development for the district or municipality. So, why should he take me on for a small issue like this", he queried.



Mr. Avoka, who has been described by many as 'political powerhouse', said nothing could thwart him and president John Dramani Mahama from emerging a decisive victory in the constituency in the December 7 race by virtue of the party's track record in all sectors of the economy in the district.



Meanwhile, Mr. Adongo who contested the Zebila seat in 2012 polls finished well behind Mr. Avoka as he polled 17,082 votes, representing 41.56 percent, while the former Majority Leader and Minister for Government Business, garnered 21,900 votes, representing 53.28 percent to emerge victory.

Source: Francis Dabre Dabang/ email: [email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Wednesday, August 10, ended day 1 of his 5-day tour of the Western Region with a visit to the Sefwi Wiawso constituency.



After paying a courtesy call on the Sefwi Omanhene, Okatekyie Kwasi Bumakama II, the NPP flagbearer went on to interact with residents of Boako, a town in the constituency, with the assurance that an NPP government, under his leadership, will turn around Ghanas dwindling fortunes within a short period of time.



Nana Akufo-Addo revealed that the NPP has fashioned out a lot of policies and programmes, some of which are already in the public domain, and some which will be outdoored soon, to rapidly develop the country.



Thus, the only way to bring these policies into fruition, and return Ghana onto the path of progress and prosperity, will be on December 7, when Ghanaians vote out the incompetent and corrupt government of President Mahama.



The unavailability of jobs and the rising levels of hardship can only be alleviated by the use of our thumbs. We have to vote and bring change to Ghana. I am appealing to you to repose your confidence in me and the Elephant. Give me the opportunity to serve you, so we can implement policies which will create jobs, and bring wealth to all Ghanaians, he said.



With the majority of residents of Boako engaged in cocoa farming, Nana Akufo-Addo noted that the imprints of the work President Kufuor did in the cocoa sector is still there for all to see. Under the Mahama government, however, all the gains chalked by President Kufuor, which resulted in the raising of the standard of living of cocoa farmers, have been eroded.



Under Mahama, the cocoa sector is in decline. When, God-willing, you give me the opportunity, the good work President Kufuor did for the growth of the cocoa sector is one I am also going to emulate, he assured.



On the National Health Insurance Scheme, which he described as one of the most important pieces of social legislation in the history of our country and on the continent, the NPP flagbearer noted that this programme has collapsed under the watch of President Mahama.



He assured residents of Boako that I am coming into office to revitalize it, so the poor and vulnerable in our society can gain access to quality, affordable healthcare.



Nana Akufo-Addo recounted his promise, in 2012, of making sure that all school-going children are afforded the chance to go to school, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, whether rich or poor.



I was going to make sure that all school-going children got equal access to senior high school education. I am still committed to this pledge. When I win, God-willing, I will truly implement the Free SHS policy. This is one sure way whereby we can rapidly develop our country, he said.



On his policy for the creation of jobs, Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that in every district, we will help set up one factory, which will help create jobs. We have thought through this policy very well and have the blueprints in place for its implementation when. I am not one to promise something, when I know very well that I cannot fulfil it. I have so much respect for the Ghanaian people. When I say I will do something, I will do it.



With Dumsor continuing to plague residents of Boako, Nana Akufo-Addo stressed that his government, God-willing from 2017, is coming into office to solve the problem of dumsor in Ghana. He reiterated that his government will not be like that of President Mahama, which, over the last 5 years, has announced countless dates for the end of Dumsor, albeit to no avail.



In concluding, he noted that every country that seeks progress and development must have a good leader. A good leader is one who is not coming into office to steal the monies of Ghanaians. A good leader is selfless and has love for his country and his people. A good leader is one who has good policies and an array of able men and women who can give the nation a 1st class government.



He therefore appealed to residents of Boako, and Sefwi Wiawso, to vote massively for him and the partys parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, in the December 7 elections, with the assurance that we, in the NPP, will not disappoint Ghanaians.





















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.

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An Aussie bloke and video journalist who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run in the United States earlier this year has smashed his crowdfunding target of $17k in just five days.

Jim Medcraft, 37, whose VJ career has seen him work with Hayden James, Alison Wonderland and The Aston Shuffle, was on the losing end of a pedestrian vs car incident in February this year, while on tour in Austin, Texas.

He ended up in hospital with broken ribs, collapsed lungs, a broken spine, fractured collarbone, a lacerated liver, a subdural hematoma, minor brain damage, and both fibula tibias crushed.

To complete this clusterfuck of bad luck, Medcraft wasnt able to claim compensation (because the driver was never found), and then all his VJ gear was stolen while he was doped up on morphine.

Now that he can actually stand again  something thats only been possible since YESTERDAY  Medcraft decided it was time to swallow my pride and try and crowdfund some moolah.

Having stood on my feet for 1st time since February yesterday, the prospect of being able to get back to work again is finally feeling quite real but not having the tools is going to be a real hurdle, he wrote. If I get more then enough for new lappy I will put money towards mobility scooter. Hopefully I wont be wheelchair based for too long but I wont be able to travel longer distances for a fair while  so I have no chance of hatching Pokemon Go eggs.



Mate. Preach.

Anyway, Medcraft managed to raise a solid $20k in five days, and is now looking to put some of that into his ongoing physio.

It has being quite humbling, he told PEDESTRIAN.TV of the community support. I wasnt expecting this. I dont even know how I can thank everyone enough. What is more import then the cash value is the support and the knowledge that so many people out there care. It can be a bit isolating sitting in a rehab hospital just working on physio all week long. You can start to feel a little separate from the rest of the world and the longer it goes on the more worried you get about how much of your old life is going to be there. You do also become institutionalised just getting used to the same old pattern of hospital life and I dont think you push yourself when that happens, its great to have people remind you that the is a world out there that still cares about me and wants me out of here.

If youd like to make a donation, head to his GoFundMe page here.

Photo: Supplied.
Peter Dutton is the highest representation of the saddest fact of Australian politics: even the most incompetent and mediocre can and will succeed as long as they stick to the party line.

Dutton has finally said something about The Guardians shocking leaked files on Nauru, which detail incidences of abuse against asylum seekers in detention, many of whom are children. His response should be no surprise to anyone who has paid even the barest modicum of attention to the issue over the past years.

Speaking to Ray Hadley on 2GB, Dutton said that the leaked reports are hype and that many asylum seekers make false claims of sexual assault to get to Australia.

Immigration minister Peter Duttons first response to the #NauruFiles on 2GB today: Some asylum seekers make false claims of sexual assault  Paul Farrell (@FarrellPF) August 10, 2016

Dutton reckons that theres no way sexual assault could happen under his watch. I wont tolerate any sexual abuse whatsoever. But I have been made aware of some incidents that have been reported, false allegations of sexual assault, because in the end people have paid money to people smugglers and they want to come to our country.

He also claimed that people have self-immolated on Nauru in an attempt to fast-track their attempts to get to Australia. Rounding out the hat-trick of shit takes, he also says that Pauline Hanson has a point:

Pauline Hansons got some good points to make about making our borders secure  Immigration Minister Peter Dutton #auspol  Alice Workman (@workmanalice) August 10, 2016

So, just another day in the office for Dutton.

Source: 2GB / Twitter.

Photo: Getty Images.
Weve all seen Stranger Things by now, yeah? Maybe even twice? If you havent, drop what youre doing, run home, and hit play one episode one. Whatever it is youre doing right now isnt as important as this.

The magnificently bonkers pastiche of everything 80s is just about one of the best new series to hit the airwaves this year, and thats thanks in no small part to the shows bloody grouse soundtrack.

Weve known for a while that Netflix has been planning to release the synth-heavy score to the show, that was put together by Texas outfit S U R V I V E. But now weve got a timeline to attach to it, and holy shit is it soon.

Part 1 of the Stranger Things OST (yes, its coming in two parts, holy crap) hits the internet in digital form on Friday, August 12th. As in, HOLY SHIT THATS TOMORROW.

The second half of the OST will arrive a week later on the 19th. For those of you keen to get your grubby mitts around a physical form of the soundtracks, theyre being released on CD on September 16th and September 23rd respectively.

It should be stated that at least Part 1 of the releases features just the original score, not the pop songs featured throughout the first season of the series. But still, youll be in Synth City soon enough. Who bloody needs Toto!

The tracklist for Part 1 looks a little bit like this:

Stranger Things  Original Netflix Series Soundtrack Volume 1

1. Stranger Things

2. Kids

3. Nancy and Barb

4. This Isnt You

5. Lay-Z-Boy

6. Friendship

7. Eleven

8. A Kiss

9. Castle Byers

10. Hawkins

11. The Upside Down

12. After Sarah

13. One Blink For Yes

14. Photos in the Woods

15. Fresh Blood

16. Lamps

17. Hallucinations

18. Hanging Lights

19. Biking to School

20. Are You Sure?

21. Agents

22. Papa

23. Cops are Good at Finding

24. No Weapons

25. Walking Through the Nether

26. Shell Kill You

27. Run Away

28. No Autopsy

29. Dispatch

30. Joyce and Lonnie Fighting

31. Lights Out

32. Hazmat Suits

33. Theoretically

34. You Can Talk To Me

35. What Else Is There To Do?

36. Hawkins Lab

Youll be able to get at the precious files via all the usual digital music outlets.

Source: The AV Club.
Lets get up on the skinny on this whole Census dealio. Regardless of whether you reckon the privacy issues were a real problem or not, its obvious that the Australian Bureau of Statistics  a previously very respected organisation  absolutely cocked this one up.

Firstly, they stubbornly refused to do any public relations work to explain to the public the meaning and ramifications of the changes, which require citizens to supply their name alongside their submission. Secondly, they clearly  as Dan Nolan writes at The Guardian  did foresee some very, very easy-to-identify issues that would come with a big online launch like this.

So the ABS have fucked up, and the ministers responsible have also fucked up. Malcolm Turnbull has said there will be serious consequences for the technological failure, which has left many people unable to submit their census all the way through til this morning.

There is time for a review and an inquiry. There are lots of people out there trying to find out whos to blame and which heads should roll and so forth, he told 2GB.

Both Bill Shorten and Nick Xenophon have called for a Senate inquiry into the absolute disaster that has been this Census.

We should be pissed about this: the Census is an essential part of social democracy, and is so, so important to the proper delivery of services. Thats been absolutely pissed on by basically everyone along the chain here, eroding the publics faith in an important institution and providing no visible reasons for doing so.

Cmon, guys.

Source: ABC.

Photo: Getty Images.
Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com

By the end of the summer, five new food establishments will join North Second Street in Harrisburg. It's the most new restaurants/bars to open in recent memory. They join established restaurants such as Cafe Fresco, Stocks on 2nd and Fire House Restaurant along the street as well as other city establishments such as Mangia Qui and Home 231.

For more: Harrisburg's Second Street: Is it turning out to be a Dino-Mite Summer as more restaurants open?

Don't Edit

Burger Yum opened in May in Harrisburg at the former Buddha Buddha. File photo, Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com

Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com

Burger Yum

You can smell the grilled burgers cooking along the 400 block of North Second Street in Harrisburg. Follow the scent to this corner burger joint, which opened in May at the former Buddha Buddha at 400 N. Second St. The man behind the concept is restaurateur Nick Laus who is responsible for Cafe Fresco, Home 231 and Cork & Fork. The 30-seat restaurant is modeled after better burger chains such as Shake Shack and Burgerfi. The burgers are cooked to order in the restaurant's open kitchen, and served on a buttered and toasted Martin's Potato Roll in paper wrappers.

Don't Edit

Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com

JB Lovedraft's MicroPub

A pub that caters to a niche market with an emphasis on its expansive beer selection, burgers and live music. It opened in the former Anthony's Micro Pub at 225 N. Second St. Pick your own burger toppings from traditional lettuce and tomato to the obscure such as M&Ms and Reeses Pieces. Old-school retro games - Nintendo NES, Sega  will entertain you for hours.

225 N. Second St., Harrisburg, 717-238-2009

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Bollywood Bar & Grille is due to open in Harrisburg later this month at 110 N. Second St.

Sue Gleiter, sgleiter@pennlive.com

Bollywood Bar & Grille

By the end of August , Bollywood Bar & Grille is expected to be in business at Zia's at Red Door at 110 N. Second St. The India restaurant will offer an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet as well as a bar with upscale dinner service. Owner Dinesh Purohit, who also owns Laxmi's Indian Grille in Wyomissing, said after moving to Mechanicsburg more than a year ago and a half ago, he decided to open a restaurant in Harrisburg.

"Second Street is popular. When I moved here this was the place to go," said Purohit, who arrived in the area via his wife who operates a Kumon Math and Reading Center in Mechanicsburg.

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A group of European investors opened the Capital Gastropub in June at 310 N. Second St. in Harrisburg. File photo, Dan Gleiter, dgleiter@pennLive.com

Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com

Capital Gastropub

Capital Gastropub opened in late June at the former Ceoltas Irish Pub at 310 N. Second St. While the name raised eyebrows  what is a gastropub?  diners quietly are filtering into the restaurant to order off of the American and British menu.

"Gastropub is a British hybrid of sorts that welcomes non-fussy eaters and foodies alike, beer drinkers and wine snobs alike," said Erik Sohadze, one of the owners and partners of VMV Restaurant Group earlier this summer.

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Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com

Bridges Social Club

By September, the Bridges Social Club is expected to open in the former Quarter at 101 N. Second St. It is another project by the VMV Restaurant Group which opened the Capital Gastropub. Bridge's Social Club is named after the many bridges that span the nearby Susquehanna River. Its menu will focus on southwestern cuisine but with influences from Spain, California and Hawaii. It will offer takeout food with six-pack beer sales.

Don't Edit

Photo by Sean Simmers, ssimmers@pennlive.com

Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com

For more PennLive stories, check out:

Pennsylvania Restaurants with Quirky Landmarks

Pikowski's Pierogi Place opens at Broad Street Market
Pentax K-70 First Look: Sample Photos

A grueling hike, plus an evening on the Santa Fe Plaza

By deadwolfbones in Hands-On Tests on Aug 11, 2016

The Pentax K-70 has been hotly anticipated by Pentax Forums readers, so we're happy to deliver a set of full-size sample shots. These samples include both bright daylight and dim artificial light examples, to give you a better idea of what the K-70 is capable of across varying shooting conditions. The majority of the outdoors/daytime shots below come from a hike to Wheeler Peak near Taos, New Mexico, and were taken using the DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited, the FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited, and the FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited. Meanwhile, the low-light shots around the Santa Fe Plaza were taken using the DA 18-135mm DC WR kit zoom.

The K-70 performed admirably in bright light, producing accurate colors and crisp details with these high-end lenses. In-camera corrections seem to work quite well in most cases, limiting purple fringing and other aberrations from the film-era glass. As we've come to expect from Pentax DSLRs, out-of-camera JPEG quality is a little lacking, with ample compression and some muddiness even at low ISOs. Note that many of the JPEGs were shot using the "Landscape" Custom Image profile, rather than the default "Bright" setting.

Click on any thumbnail below for a larger, post-processed version of the corresponding photo. Below each thumbnail you'll find links to unedited out-of-camera JPEG and DNG RAW files.

All photos were shot hand-held.

Daytime Samples



DA 35mm Macro @ f/2.8, ISO 200

JPEG | RAW

DA 35mm Macro @ f/11, ISO 200

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DA 35mm Macro @ f/2.8, ISO 100

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FA 31mm Ltd @ f/8, ISO 200

JPEG | RAW

FA 31mm Ltd @ f/2, ISO 200

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FA 31mm Ltd @ f/11, ISO 200

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FA 31mm Ltd @ f/2.8, ISO 200

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FA 31mm Ltd @ f/11, ISO 200

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FA 77mm Ltd @ f/11, ISO 200

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FA 77mm Ltd @ f/11, ISO 200

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FA 77mm Ltd @ f/11, ISO 200

JPEG | RAW

FA 31mm Ltd @ f/11, ISO 200

JPEG | RAW

FA 31mm Ltd @ f/2.8, ISO 200

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FA 31mm Ltd @ f/2.8, ISO 100

JPEG | RAW

FA 31mm Ltd @ f/8, ISO 200

JPEG | RAW

FA 31mm Ltd @ f/8, ISO 100

JPEG | RAW

FA 31mm Ltd @ f/8, ISO 200

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FA 31mm Ltd @ f/5.6, ISO 200

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FA 31mm Ltd @ f/11, ISO 200

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FA 31mm Ltd @ f/11, ISO 200

JPEG | RAW

Low-Light Samples

We know many readers are interested in the K-70's new expanded maximum ISO setting of 102,800, so we wanted to provide some samples taken in dimmer light, as well.

While we're happy to see wider sensitivity ranges filter down to mid-range models, it seems clear from these shots that ISO 102400 is very much a last resort. That only makes sense, reallyyou might reasonably expect to get usable ISO 102400 shots from a $6,500 Nikon D5, for instance, but from a $650 entry-level Pentax? It's probably better to just look at it as extra headroom for the lower sensitivity settings.

Based on our initial experience, we'd put the threshold of usability for the K-70's high-ISO settings at around ISO 6400 for color shots (after which chroma noise begins to creep in) and maybe 25600 for monochrome conversions (assuming you're okay with lots of grain). Of course, you can feel free to download the samples below and decide for yourself.

All shots were taken with default settings (auto NR) on a tripod.



DA 18-135mm @ 31 mm, f/8, ISO 6400 , 1/50sec.

JPEG | RAW

DA 18-135mm @ 28 mm, f/8, ISO 102400 , 1/500sec.

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DA 18-135mm @ 18 mm, f/8, ISO 200 , 3sec.

JPEG | RAW

DA 18-135mm @ 21 mm, f/8, ISO 3200 , 1/40sec.

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DA 18-135mm @ 36mm, f/8, ISO 25600, 1/100sec.

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DA 18-135mm @ 21mm, f/8, ISO 51200, 1/125sec.

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DA 18-135mm @ 18mm, f/8, ISO 100, 13 sec.

JPEG | RAW

For more information on other aspects of the K-70, check our our hands-on first impressions, and stay tuned for the full in-depth review!
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

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International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau answers a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 17, 2016. Newly released emails show federal officials scrambled to book expensive last-minute flights to bring a cabinet minister back to Ottawa in time for an expected vote on their doctor-assisted dying bill this spring. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Director of U.S. Office of Indian Education visits East Jordan schools

Julian Guerrero Jr. visited the district to discuss their Title VI policies and see their Native American education opportunities.
Petroperu detects fresh oil spill from decades-old Amazon pipeline

LIMA

Petroleumworld.com 08 11 2016

A fresh oil spill in the Peruvian Amazon was detected from the country's four-decades-old pipeline on Thursday, operator Petroperu said, bringing the number of leaks this year to four.

Petroperu, the country's state-owned energy company, did not provide an estimate for how much oil was released and said emergency workers were implementing a contingency plan.

The latest spill, in a ravine in the province of Condorcanqui, could heap more pressure on President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to pass reforms to prevent future leaks.

The 1,106-kilometer (687-mile) pipeline was shuttered for repairs in February after two spills leaked 3,000 barrels that polluted rivers and prompted an indigenous community to hold Petroperu officials hostage to press for aid.

The then-energy and mines minister said in June that the third spill occurred as Petroperu was illegally pumping crude through the pipeline, which led to the ousting of the president of Petroperu and a $3.5 million fine.

It is unclear how the fourth spill occurred.

The new energy and mines minister, Gonzalo Tamayo, said this week that the pipeline would likely remain shuttered for at least a year.

Peru's relatively small oil production has dropped to about 37,000 barrels per day since the pipeline closed, as output from oil blocks 192 and 67 has stopped completely.

There have been 23 ruptures in the pipeline since 2011, according to the ombudsman's office.










Saudi Arabia-Iran rivalry heats up as OPEC seeks to stabilize price

LONDON

Petroleumworld.com 08 11 2016

Saudi Arabia and Iran are giving no ground in their market share war, just days after OPEC announced an informal meeting to discuss ways to stabilize falling prices.

Oil's return to a bear market last week prompted a flurry of words from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The group's president Mohammed Al Sada announced plans on Monday to hold an informal meeting in Algiers next month to discuss stabilizing the market, while Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday he spoke to Saudi Arabia's king about boosting prices.

The actions of some of the group's biggest producers, however, were distinctly bearish. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, boosted oil output to a record 10.67 million barrels a day in July, according to OPEC data published Wednesday. In Iran, production has risen to 3.85 million barrels a day -- the highest since 2008 -- according to comments from Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh reported by the Fars news agency.

It only gives one signal to the markets, that the Saudis are not here to scale back, especially in the face of Iranians bringing more oil to the market, Abhishek Deshpande, an analyst at Natixis SA in London, said in a Bloomberg television interview. When OPEC meets in September I doubt there's going to be any concrete agreement.

Summer Surge

Saudi Arabia typically pumps more oil in the summer to meet higher domestic energy demand from air conditioning. The kingdom is also engaged in a battle for market share with rival Iran and has cut prices to its customers in Asia, the biggest market for both exporters. Kuwait on Wednesday also cut its pricing to Asia, widening the discount to the regional benchmark to $2.65 a barrel for September from $1.70 a barrel in August.

Iran is pushing for a longer-term increase in its output following the loosening of international sanctions in January. The nation approved a new model for oil contracts on Aug. 3 and the government hopes foreign companies will invest as much as $50 billion a year in its oil industry. Production will expand to 4.6 million barrels a day in five years, Oil Minister Zanganeh told parliament, according to Fars.

Output Cap

OPEC's smaller members have driven calls to cap the group's output after prices began to slump in 2014. President Maduro of Venezuela, the sixth-largest producer in the group, is reaching out to the heads of state of fellow producers Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Qatar to stabilize prices that fell to a four-month low last week.

A similar effort to freeze output in April collapsed after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran be part of the deal. At the group's June meeting, another proposal for production targets went nowhere. Iran opposed any limits on its production then and is still seeking to reclaim its pre-sanctions share of OPEC's total output before joining any freeze, according to an OPEC delegate who asked not to be identified.

OPEC nations aren't pushing to revive the aborted April proposal, two delegates from the group said last week, and analysts don't expect any deal to be reached in September.

The interventions from Maduro and Al Sada, who is also Qatar's energy minister, were prompted by renewed weakness in global oil markets. This market lull may persist as demand slows seasonally and fuel inventories remain abundant, OPEC said in its monthly report Wednesday.

Brent futures traded down 0.4 percent at $43.88 a barrel at 1:35 p.m. Hong Kong time. The international benchmark fell as low as $41.51 a barrel last week.

These planned OPEC discussions may be viewed by some as a cheap possibility to try and stabilize the market, said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. It's more likely to be a way of further destroying the market's confidence in OPEC, as the organization cries wolf once again.








SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  Canadian Lucas Kim had the sweltering Missouri sun reflecting off his bald head as he finished his opening round at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. But despite the 113-degree temperatures Thursday afternoon, he was all smiles.

Kim, with conditional status this year on the Web.com Tour after making it to the Final Stage of Q-School, is making his 2016 Tour debut this week at a tournament where he received a sponsor exemption in 2014, which was his last Web.com Tour start.

And it was a stretch for him to even get to Highland Springs Country Club on time.

PRICE CUTTER CHARITY CHAMPIONSHIP: Leaderboard | Tee times | Daily Wrap-up | Highlights, interviews | Photo gallery

The 22-year-old got the call Monday morning at 10 a.m. ET confirming he was in the field. He and his father, Scott, jumped in Kims 2009 two-door Honda Accord two hours later and made their way south.

They stopped near St. Louis (about 11 hours from Toronto) to rest on Monday night, and started up again to Springfield on Tuesday morning before arriving at the golf course for practice and 18 holes.

Kim was invited to dinner Tuesday night with some fellow Canadians including Adam Svensson and Mackenzie Hughes (who also shot 5-under-par Thursday), practiced Wednesday, and got to work Thursday morning.

He started the day with a bogey, but settled down with six birdies over his next 10 holes (he played the back nine first). The very reserved and stoic Kim finished the day with seven straight pars.

His opening 5-under-par 67 was his best round all season, and it got him as high as tied for second on the leaderboard. He sits a comfortable one shot back of co-leaders Ryan Brehm and Chris Baker.

It was a grind from the beginning, starting with a bogey, the quiet Kim said with a smile. But I knew I had a lot of holes ahead, so I was just trying to not let this weather get into my head. I kept drying my hands. I tried not to be stubborn about it.

Kim admitted his season on Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada has been fairly slow. He has missed four of five cuts north of the border, and his only finish was a tie for 22nd. He said he was battling tendonitis in his elbow.

I got home during a week off (on the Mackenzie Tour) and I was able to get some stuff for it and its been OK after that, he explained.
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TALKING THE TALK and walking the walk

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A Punta Gorda (FL) Police Department officer accidentally fatally shot a woman during a citizens police academy role-playing exercise, reports the New York Times.

During a training exercise on Tuesday, which drew community leaders, business employees, and even the chief of the Punta Gorda Police Department, Mary Knowlton was selected to participate in a "shoot/dont shoot" role play exercise. Knowlton, 73, was accidentally fatally shot by a police officer, according to authorities.

The police chief, Thomas P. Lewis, said at a news conference on Wednesday that Knowlton had been killed by an officer who fired a revolver that had been used before in the "shoot/dont shoot" training sessions, a role-play exercise intended to teach people how to make decisions when confronted with lethal force.

The chief, who told reporters he had been present at the time of the shooting, did not address why the officer used live rounds in the training session.
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, announced that its Aeronautical Accessories brand has added the Crew Mobility Restraint Kit as part of its product line-up for Bell 412 and the Bell 412EP aircraft. The new kit recently received a supplemental type certificate from the FAA.

The Crew Mobility Restraint Kit is a safety feature for law enforcement and search and rescue operators, designed to provide fall protection for highly mobile aircrew when working near open rotorcraft doors, such as in support of hoist operations. The kit incorporates an 80-inch webbing assembly on a retractable, locking inertial reel. It additionally provides a range of operation across the full width of the rotorcraft sliding door, as well as access to the center of the cabin, without the tripping and entanglement hazard of a conventional harness strap.

"We continually look for innovative products to add to our product line that will not only add value, but will improve our customers' operational safety," said Jennifer Lunceford, manager, Sales, Aeronautical Accessories. "The Crew Mobility Restraint Kit provides customers with convenient and safe mission solutions to enhance their performance capabilities around the globe."

Bell Helicopter's Aeronautical Accessories rotorcraft parts and accessories are distributed worldwide. Serving the rotorcraft industry for more than 35 years, the company's parts and accessories are designed with specific customer input to ensure the most desired and consistently reliable outcomes are achieved.

For more information, visit www.bellhelicopter.com or email your questions to [email protected].
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As Donald Trump continues to receive bipartisan backlash over his Second Amendment people controversy, he went ahead and spewed more insanity at a rally in Sunrise, Florida.

During the campaign event, the spray-tanned Republican nominee accused President Obama of being the founder of ISIS and called Hillary Clinton the co-founder.

Video:

Donald Trump at Florida rally: President Obama is the founder of ISIS https://t.co/UYpqI3w42L https://t.co/lPMyoTgTdb  CNN (@CNN) August 11, 2016

Trump said:

In fact, in many respects, you know they (ISIS) honor President Obama. ISIS is honoring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS. Hes the founder of ISIS, okay? Hes the founder! He founded ISIS! And I would say the co-founder is crooked Hillary Clinton. Co-founder! Crooked Hillary Clinton!

Even in a campaign cycle that has seen Donald Trump spew some of the most inflammatory and shameful rhetoric, this is still a shocking statement for the Republican nominee to make.

Social media users were quick to react:

Im reading tweets about what Trump said, and I dont believe he said that. He didnt Did he?  (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) August 11, 2016

@PeteThePlanner Ill suggest assassinating Hillary. Didnt work? How about claiming Obama founded ISIS? They still want me? WTF?  Trump  Jeff Robinson (@indyjrob) August 11, 2016

Really impressive that Obama founded ISIS while he was an Illinois state senatorhttps://t.co/BBiIHh9gGr  Reed Strong (@reedstrong7) August 11, 2016

This is just another example of Trump spiraling out control and losing the very small grip he previously had on a reality.

Despite the differing of opinions as to when ISIS was officially founded, there is no question that the terror group was active well before Barack Obama was president and Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State.

As The Week pointed out in a 2015 feature story:

ISIS was born out of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. When U.S. administrators, under Paul Bremer, decided to de-Baathify the Iraqi civil and military services, hundreds of thousands of Sunnis formerly loyal to Saddam Hussein were left without a job  and they were mad.

Once again, Donald Trump is putting on display his poor temperament and casual (at best) relationship with reality.

Its obvious that he shouldnt be commander-in-chief, but with repeated comments like this, its unclear if he even wants to be.
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After a successful Democratic National Convention and a slew of Donald Trump stumbles, Hillary Clinton has taken a pretty solid lead over the Republican nominee with less than 90 days until voters head to the polls.

As I wrote yesterday, a multitude of national and statewide surveys show voters abandoning Trump in droves.

On Wednesday night, MSNBCs Steve Kornacki reacted to these polls and explored the growing possibility of a Hillary Clinton landslide in November.

Video:

As Kornacki points out, Trumps main path to the White House goes through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, three states where the Republican nominee is falling behind. In Pennsylvania, a must-win for the red team, Trump is trailing by double digits.

A failure to win either of those three states will likely lead to a Clinton victory.

Theres worse news this week, though, for Donald Trump, Kornacki said. This week brought fresh questions about whether he can even hold those Romney states from 2012.

The MSNBC wonk is referring to polling data out of states like Georgia, Arizona, and Kansas that shows Clinton either leading Trump or not far behind  a sign of just how poorly the spray-tanned buffoon is currently performing in even the reddest of states.

All this talk about where Donald Trump needs to flip states from blue to red  well, hes having a whale of trouble doing that right now, Kornacki said. But his situation is getting worse because Hillary Clinton could be on the verge of flipping a couple of red states.

If she can flip those states from red to blue, then you can forget about the rust belt strategy for Trump, he added.

If these numbers hold, its entirely plausible that Clinton could end up with 356 electoral votes to Trumps 182. If the Republican nominee loses more ground, that opens up the possibility of even more historically red states falling into the blue column  increasing Clintons edge by even more electoral votes.

At a certain point, if youre down 9 points or 10 points or 15 points nationally like Trump is nowyour state-by-state path to electoral victory is going to be very narrow, maybe nonexistent, Kornacki said.

This could all change, but Trumps path to 270 electoral votes is looking tenuous at best.
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The political world is still reeling from Donald Trumps comment yesterday that Second Amendment people should essentially take up arms against Hillary Clinton should she be elected president in November.

Even the U.S. Secret Service was compelled to comment on Trumps despicable remark in this tweet:

The Secret Service is aware of the comments made earlier this afternoon.  U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) August 9, 2016

While were all rightly appalled by the Republican nominees latest batch of inflammatory rhetoric, its also important that we examine whats behind it.

The reason Trump opened his big mouth to incite violence against Clinton is because, as the spray-tanned buffoon repeated yesterday, Hillary wants to abolish  essentially abolish the Second Amendment.

Thats a lie  plain and simple.

To support that, we can examine actual policy proposals that Clinton hopes to enact as president, which would in no way violate the Second Amendment: universal background checks, preventing suspected terrorists from purchasing weapons, reinstating the assault weapons ban, and closing the Charleston loophole that allows licensed dealers to sell firearms even if a background check isnt completed.

These are not attempts to abolish the rights of Americans; they are simply meant to keep people safer.

Its why every independent fact-checking organization says Trump is lying when he accuses the Democratic nominee of wanting to take away the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

On at least two separate occasions, PolitiFact has rated Trumps claim as False.

A report published by the fact-checking group in May stated: We found no evidence of Clinton ever saying verbatim or suggesting explicitly that she wants to abolish the Second Amendment, and the bulk of Clintons comments suggest the opposite. She has repeatedly said she wants to protect the right to bear arms while enacting measures to prevent gun violence.

When Trump repeated the claim in his acceptance speech at last months Republican National Convention, PolitiFact once again weighed in, giving the assertion another False rating.

Factcheck.org also busted the myth, saying, Trump may choose not to believe what Clinton says, but the fact is there is no evidence that Clinton wants to take your guns away or abolish the Second Amendment. She hasnt said that, and her gun proposals would not do that.

The world may be outraged and somewhat distracted by Trumps call for violence against his political opponent, but lets not forget the lie that lives underneath his inflammatory rhetoric.

Hillary Clinton does not want to abolish the Second Amendment. Not even close.
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A new poll shows that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are statistically tied in deep red South Carolina as Trumps two-point lead is within the polls margin of error.

According to PPP:

PPPs newest South Carolina poll* finds that the state is trending toward being competitive in the Presidential race this year, just like in neighboring Georgia. Donald Trump has only a 2 point lead with 41% to 39% for Hillary Clinton, 5% for Gary Johnson, and 2% for Jill Stein.

The closeness is a function of Democrats being a lot happier with their partys candidate than Republicans are with theirs. Clinton is winning 84% of the Democratic vote, compared to Trumps 77% of the Republican vote. Although neither candidate is well liked by voters in the state Trumps favorability, at 38% positive and 56% negative, comes in slightly worse than Clintons at 38/55.

.

Trump is only ahead because of a massive advantage among seniors in the state at 58/30. When you look at everyone in the electorate below the age of 65, Clinton leads Trump 41/36. That suggests the potential for the Palmetto State to become much more of a battleground in the years ahead, just as in migration and the increasing diversity of the electorate has done in Southern states like Virginia and North Carolina.

South Carolina voters overwhelmingly support increasing background checks (84%) support, 84% also support not allowing people who are on the terror watch list from buying guns, and 77% support increasing the minimum wage to at least $10/hour.

The poll was sponsored by the South Carolina Democratic Party, but not conducted by the Democratic Party. The same demographic shifts that are being caused by inward migration and demographic diversity in North Carolina and Virginia are also occurring in South Carolina. What the South Carolina poll highlights is the narrow base of support that Republican nominee Donald Trump is clinging on to.

Trumps bedrock of support is with conservative white senior voters. For all of his talk of expanding the GOP, Trump is shrinking the Republican Party down to its whitest and most loyal core. South Carolina joins Georgia, Arizona, and Utah as red states that Republicans are in danger of seeing flip to Hillary Clinton in November.

If Trump loses South Carolina to Clinton, it will signal a landslide of historic levels. Should red states begin to fall to Clinton on Election Night, Republicans will lose their bid for the White House, control of the Senate, and could even lose their House majority.

As bad as Republicans thought things were under Trump, the South Carolina poll suggests that the situation could be worse than anyone imagined.
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The old expression jump the shark relates to gimmicks used on a TV series to keep the viewers interest. It has quite reasonably been used to explain Donald Trumps campaign. But by blaming President Obama and Hillary Clinton for founding ISIS, Trump hasnt jumped the shark. Hes danced a jig on its head.

That has taken us to the point where even mainstream media hosts feel compelled to explain the facts (a novelty in itself), as CNNs John Berman did Wednesday on Anderson Cooper 360. Serving as guest host, Berman was forced to explain to Kayleigh McEnany that, You Know, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi is the founder of ISIS, in fact, not President Obama.

Watch the exchange courtesy of Media Matters for America:

JOHN BERMAN (GUEST HOST): Lets talk about what Donald Trump said. Kayleigh McEnany, Donald Trump called President Obama The founder of ISIS.



KAYLEIGH MCENANY: Well, look, he opened up room for ISIS to grow, by not leaving a stay-behind force in Iraq, by invading Libya, invading Syria, allowing ISIS to grow from a small contingency to 40,000 strong. So, in that sense he is. And lets not forget when Hillary Clinton called Donald Trump an ISIS propagandist. So, you know the other side isnt completely innocent of throwing around ISIS accusations, but I think in this case, this accusation is far more accurate than Donald Trump being an ISIS propagandist.



BERMAN: ISIS was Al Qaeda in Iraq, which was founded after 2003, 2004, before Barack Obama was president. You know, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi is the founder of ISIS, in fact, not President Obama.

Ouch. Yes, facts hurt. But hey, people who have no problem believing no terrorist attack occurred on US soil during the presidency of George W. Bush, who blame Obama for 9/11, or the response to Hurricane Katrina  well, those people have no problem blaming Obama for ISIS, however unhelpful the actual facts are.

In fact, the early days of ISIS (or ISIL as it is also known) are somewhat murky and though the mysterious al-Baghdadi was an early leader of the group that eventually become the Islamic State, there was another al-Baghdadi, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who, if he really existed, preceded him.

Another claim often made by conservatives is that al-Baghdadi was in US captivity in 2009 and was released by Obama to found ISIS in 2010.

Of course, it was during Bushs presidency that al-Baghdadi was a civilian internee held by U.S. Forces-Iraq at Camp Bucca from early February 2004 until early December 2004, when he was handed over to the Iraqis. It was the Iraqis, not the Americans, and certainly not Obama, who freed him.

Thats only four years before Obama was elected, which you could at least say is better than the seven years between 9/11 and Obamas election.

The key fact is that while it has had many names and many leaders, who founded it is less important than when it was founded: the Islamic State existed before Obama became president, coming into being in October of 2006 in place of its predecessor, al Qaeda in Iraq.

McEnany also blames Obama for not leaving a stay-behind force in Iraq. In fact, President George W. Bush who signed the Status of Forces agreement in 2008, before Obama became president. The SOF called for all American troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011. With the SOF, Bush effectively tied Obamas hands. So no, Obama didnt just pull out and leave Iraq to ISIS.

In fact, if Bush had not launched his ill-thought out and completely unnecessary invasion of Iraq in 2003, that country would not have come under the domination of al Qaeda or its successor group for the simple reason that Saddam Hussein was their enemy. The foundation of ISIS came about as a result of the Iraq War.

Needless to say, Barack Obama was an Illinois State senator at the time and had no ability to found or co-found ISIS. Hillary Clinton in 2003 (and in 2006) was a United States senator from New York.

McEnany and Trump can heap all the blame they want on the Obama/Clinton team in an effort to heap all the Bush administrations mistakes on Democrats, but as Berman pointed out, the facts do not support them.

In fact, George W. Bushs Mission Accomplished moment speaks more to the creation of ISIS than to any imagined American victory in Iraq, because if his goal was to completely screw up the Middle East, create ISIS, and saddle the US with endless war, he certainly accomplished that mission.

Photo: Iran Front Page
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In not-so-breaking news, we have fresh evidence that there is only one sane candidate in the 2016 election for president, and that person is former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton blasted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for inaccurately accusing President Barack Obama of being the founder of ISIS.

It can be difficult to muster outrage as frequently as Donald Trump should cause it, but his smear against President Obama requires it.  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 11, 2016

No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS.  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 11, 2016

Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our Commander-in-Chief.  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 11, 2016

The Islamic State existed before Obamas presidency, replacing al Qaeda in Iraq in October of 2006, during the presidency of George W. Bush, Hrafnkell Haraldsson explained this morning on these pages. This is a fact and it cant be watered down by denying SOFA was signed by Bush or any other usual tactics. Although Bushs decision to invade Iraq left the power vacuum that allowed ISIS to flourish, it is not accurate to blame him as the founder of ISIS either.

Hillary Clinton is right and she is also right that it is hard for people to maintain outrage at the level required by Donald Trump, who just days ago invited an assassination of Hillary Clinton.

But this tactic is a psychological war tactic, not to be ignored. By wearing people down, the perpetrator sets the stage for a total takeover.

So as exhausting as it is, people need to be willing to stay engaged and stay awake.

Donald Trump is a dangerous autocratic leader lying in wait to seize power. He will do anything it takes to get there, including lying so much that a collective press cant keep up with him.

Pretty soon this election will be all about Donald, and that is another mistake. The public doesnt care about policy very much but the press has to find ways to make it matter. We cant allow Donald Trumps tactics to derail us, troll us, to the extent that an entire nation ceases a discussion about policy or a debate about leadership all because one man is derailing the conversation with his dramatic, inflammatory lies at every turn.
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*The following is an opinion column by R Muse*

It shouldnt surprise any American watching the campaign for the presidency that while many Americans, including one or two Republicans, were stunned that a candidate for the White House would parrot other Republicans and suggest a Second Amendment remedy for a possible Democratic victory, the National Rifle Association jumped to defend their chosen candidate. To top their defense of an offensive statement from an offensive Republican, the NRA dropped a cool $3 million in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Almost immediately after Trump told his rabid supporters that nothing will stop Hillary Clinton from nominating a Supreme Court Justice, except those maniacal Second Amendment people, the NRA launched a Tweet agreeing with and defending Trumps remark. It leads one to wonder who in the Trump campaign affiliated with the NRA might have suggested to the candidate that a nod to the pro-gun proliferation crowd would garner much-needed support from the base and the NRA. The organization leading the GOP drive to put more guns on the streets Tweeted shortly after Trumps comments that,

@realDonaldTrump is right. If @HillaryClinton gets to pick her anti-#2A #SCOTUS judges, theres nothing we can do. #NeverHillary

First, there is no such thing an anti-#2A SCOTUS judge. The 2nd Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution and it is safe to say that no prospective SCOTUS judge, or any member of the federal judiciary, is anti-anything enshrined in the Constitution. Second, if Hillary Clinton is elected president, then of course she gets to nominate a SCOTUS judge. However, as the nation has witnessed over the past few months, Senate Republicans have a new unwritten rule that only Republican presidents get to pick a SCOTUS judge, so Trumps concern may be misplaced.

It wasnt enough for the NRA to defend an atrocious statement referring to one of its gun fanatics assassinating a presidential candidate, they had to spend $3 million on an ad buy lying about Hillary Clinton and accusing her of endangering Americans by leaving them defenseless. The NRA television spot followed Trumps line and accused Hillary of wanting to eviscerate the Second Amendment and questioned her trustworthiness because she has said consistently that individuals have a right to own firearms according to the only part of the Constitution Republicans recognize as valid.

The $3 million worth of ads will be broadcast in battleground states Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina. The campaign for Trump ad says:

Shes one of the wealthiest women in politics. Tours the world on private jets. Protected by armed guard for 30 years. But she doesnt believe in your right to keep a gun at home for self-defense. An out-of-touch hypocrite. Shed leave you defenseless.

It is a similar claim the NRA made against President Obama after the Sandy Hook School massacre when the President called for gun safety measures like universal background checks. The NRA claimed that the President was a hypocrite because his children were protected by armed Secret Service agents but he wanted regular Americans unarmed and defenseless. As an aside, Hillary Clinton has called for sane gun safety measures, but only if they are consistent with the Second Amendment. That is a damn far cry from pledging to abolish the amendment and leave Americans defenseless.

The gun zealots and their hero Trump have been saying Clinton is deliberately misleading the public in saying:

Im not here to repeal the Second Amendment. Im not here to take away your guns. I just dont want you to be shot by someone who shouldnt have a gun in the first place.

The former Secretary of States proposed gun legislation is minimal, but at least it would expand background checks to Internet gun sales and gun shows, and close the loophole that allows someone to purchase a gun without a background check if they have to wait more than 3 days. Clinton also noted back in October that it might be worth considering gun buyback programs, but it has never been any part of her campaign. For the record, there are sane communities that have gun buyback programs that Republicans and the NRA have worked feverishly to abolish as unconstitutional, unpatriotic, and a waste of good killing power.

Hillary Clintons advocacy for the most basic gun safety rules is awfully bold during a general election, but with 90-plus percent of the population supporting keeping guns away from those who shouldnt have them, it is certainly the right time. She also is apparently not going to back down no matter how almighty powerful the NRA is. Her campaign spokesman said after Trumps 2nd Amendment comment and news of the NRA campaign ad:

The gun lobby is coming to Donald Trumps defense and spending millions of dollars to spread lies about Hillary Clinton because they know Trump will always do their bidding. The fact is, too many families in America have sufferedand continue to sufferfrom gun violence and the vast majority of the American people  including the vast majority of gun owners  believe we can and must do better.

As this column suggested yesterday, it may well be that Trumps now-notorious 2nd Amendment comments might have been planned in advance and the release of the NRA ads following so closely on the heels of that atrocious remark seems curious. Although Trump appears to have stepped in it with some Americans, his remarks were red meat for the white supremacist and gun-zealot movement.

It is noteworthy that the NRA was one of first major lobbies and conservative activists to endorse Trump even before he had secured the nomination. The NRAs rapid defense of the Donalds nasty 2nd Amendment comment coupled with the well-timed release of a $3 million anti-Hillary ad campaign certainly looks like besides Vladimir Putin, the NRA may be Donald Trumps greatest supporters making him a typical establishment Republican and not a Washington outsider like hes wont to claim.
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As a new poll shows him potentially losing South Carolina, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has announced that he will be holding a rally in deep blue Connecticut, which hasnt gone Republican since 1988.

WFSB Channel 3 reported:

The Republican partys nominee for president is planning to make a campaign stop in Connecticut this weekend.

Donald Trump will be in the state for an event in Fairfield.

According to his website, its happening at the William H. Pitt Center on the campus of Sacred Heart University. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.

There have only been two polls taken of the state, and one of them was the dubiously pro-Trump modeled Quinnipiac, but Clinton is leading by an average of 7.5 points.

A new poll of South Carolina revealed that Trump is statistically tied in the red state. Recent polls show Trump losing in Georgia, but Donald Trump isnt defending territory that he has to win to have any chance of being elected president.

Instead, Trump is sticking to his own belief that he is going to win blue states. Trump seems to be completely out of his mind. In his imagination, he is winning. While Hillary Clinton is expanding the map all around the country, Donald Trump is wasting time campaigning in a state that he is going to lose.
RED WING  Red Wing Shoes, Minnesota's manly work boot maker, has been seeing the sales of the smallest sizes climb through the years.

The trend became pronounced enough that many Red Wing stores started creating displays of boots in size 3, 4 and 5. Were oil field or construction workers getting smaller?

The answer was simpler and much more surprising.

Women were buying the sturdy men's boots and shoes as a fashion statement.

Allison Gettings, director of product creation of Red Wing's Heritage brand of boots, says the sales to women of some of the Heritage styles grew to about 10 percent. That caused the rough-and-tumble boot maker to decide to create a fashionable women's collection to show its softer side.

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The company reached out to Gettings, who is a fourth generation of the company's core Sweasy family. She had worked in various capacities for Red Wing Boots for years until she left in 2012 to create her own line of of women's shoes. The idea of designing a collection of women's boots that still reflected Red Wing's traditions drew her back to the company.

Two years later, a collection of nine boot styles available in a variety of colors are ready to step out onto Red Wing's center stage. The Heritage brand has made 50,000 pairs of the new footwear in a partner facility in Arkansas, which marks the women's collection as one of the few made in the United States.

They will first hit shelves in a Red Wing store on Friday. The collection next will appear in Europe on Sept. 1. U.S. stores will begin selling them on Sept. 6, as will Red Wing Shoe's online shops.

"This is really a big deal for us," said Gettings, who sees this new collection as helping the 111-year-old Red Wing Shoes weather the changes in today's boot markets.

About 30 percent of the company's sales goes to people working in the oil and gas business, which is facing difficult times with historic low prices.

"This is opening a whole new segment for us  It came at a really nice time," she said. "As with any mature business, it's important to think about how to diversify. This is a beautiful way to remain true to our Red Wing DNA, our Red Wing legacy, while checking the box of diversification."

In 2015, experts say about $20 billion was spent on footwear in the U.S. Of that $20 billion, 17 percent was spent on casual women's shoes and 13 percent was spent on women's dress shoes.

How do you make a line of boots to be women-friendly, but still be true to their rough roots? That was the challenge before Gettings and her team.

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They turned to Red Wing Shoes' classic boots dated back to the 1920s to identify the core look. Then the designers created several new "Lasts" or shoe forms that keep those "authentic" Red Wing characteristics, while "softening the experience" of wearing the shoes.

That included making them lighter, more flexible and using softer leather from Red Wing's tannery, S.B. Foot Tanning.

"The classic Red Wing boot is a little stiff. For many of our customers, it's kind of a badge of honor to break them in," she said. "Women are interested in something more comfortable right out of the box. The break-in period for these shoes is nil."

Now, after two years of focused work, Gettings soon will watch women react to Red Wing Shoes' latest creations. However, she's not kicking off her boots and resting.

"It's great to see them finally hit the store, but that doesn't mean I'm done," she said. "We're already working on the spring 2018 collection."
RED WING  Flower Valley Vineyard will host the inaugural Local Business Bazaar at Flower Valley on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will focus on economic sustainability for agriculture and small businesses and will feature growers and food producers from across southern Minnesota.

From locally grown produce to maple syrup, homemade pickles, honey and wine, a variety of foods are produced in the region, and many will be on display  ready for sampling. "It's about supporting community," said Mary Mohn, Flower Valley's event manager. "This event is focused on helping small businesses in the community succeed."

The event helps businesses looking for local suppliers that provide quality, crafted foods and locally grown produce. The vineyard is at 29212 Orchard Road, Red Wing.
A Rochester man has been sentenced to three months in jail after pleading guilty to having sexual contact with a minor girl.

Chad William Mohler, 43, was charged in November in Olmsted County District Court with one count each of third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct-victim 13-15. He pleaded guilty in June to the third-degree count; the other was dismissed at Wednesday's sentencing.

In addition to the 90-day jail term, Mohler was ordered to complete sex offender education/treatment, have no contact with minor females and to register as a predatory offender, among other conditions.

The investigation began in May 2015, when a man told Rochester police his daughter had had contact with an adult male. A search of the girl's phone and computer indicated she'd been communicating with someone named Mark, later identified as Mohler.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim twice sneaked out of her house to meet with Mohler; both times, the two had sexual contact.

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Mohler, who reportedly confirmed the meetings were sexual, acknowledged meeting the girl online, but told authorities she'd told him she was 18 years old.
A Wabasha man is due back in Olmsted County District Court next week for his alleged role in an April home invasion.

Matthew Joseph Hines, 33, has been charged with one count each of first-degree burglary, second-degree assault, false imprisonment and threats of violence, all felonies.

The investigation began April 25, when a woman reported an incident she said occurred the night before.

The woman said two vehicles pulled up to her home, the male drivers got out of the cars and gained access to the residence before the people inside could lock the door.

One of the men  who remains unidentified  brandished a 12-inch machete; Hines is accused of guarding the front door to prevent anyone from leaving.

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The armed man forced three witnesses into the living room, held them at knife point, then demanded they call the woman to come out of hiding. When the woman emerged, the suspect pressed the knife to her throat and asked how she knew his real name.

The intruder slapped the woman's face multiple times with the flat side of the blade when she said she didn't know him. He then drew the blade across the victim's face, arms and genitals while threatening to cut her head and fingers off.

The woman was able to identify Hines, the complaint says, because he'd once been a roommate. Hines and the other man continued to ask the victim about her contact with police, preventing her from leaving by repeatedly pushing her down and blocking her exit, the reports say.

The woman said the incident went on for about 20 minutes, until Hines allegedly told the other man they were being loud and needed to leave.
A Rochester man failed to appear Tuesday in Olmsted County District Court, where he has been charged with two sex crimes.

Inez Crisanto Flores, 38, was to make his initial appearance on charges of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct, both felonies. He'd been released on his own recognizance after a July 19 hearing.

The case against Flores began Sept. 21, when law enforcement met with an administrator at a Rochester school after a student reportedly disclosed she'd been inappropriately touched by Flores.

The alleged contact occurred a number of years ago, the girl said, but she and her mother had just run into Flores at a Rochester business the day before. Seeing him "triggered memories of the abuse," the criminal complaint says.

The victim told an investigator Flores got on top of her several times; his pants were off on one occasion, court documents say. Flores also touched the girl over her clothes and digitally penetrated her, the documents continue.

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The girl reported the abuse to a male cousin after one of the alleged incidents, but told the cousin not to tell anybody else.

The investigator spoke to the cousin, who confirmed the victim told him Flores touched her, the complaint says. He said he didn't know what to say, and the girl told him not to tell their mothers.

Flores denied any sexual contact with the girl.
A 20-year-old Rochester man is in custody after he allegedly cut a man with a chisel on Wednesday and then chased a group at Oak Terrace Mobile Home Park with a large knife. The man said one of the boys at the park "looked at him wrong."

Rene Lopez could face charges of second-degree assault, a felony, after the incident at 1618 Marion Road, Rochester Police Capt. John Sherwin said.

Lopez and an acquaintance were driving through the mobile home park when the acquaintance saw a group of his friends.

The two got out of the vehicle and the acquaintance was talking with the group of nine people, but Lopez took issue with a 14-year-old boy in the group who was allegedly "mean mugging" him, the police said.

Lopez went back to his truck, grabbed a chisel, and jabbed at the 14-year-old, eventually stabbing his hand, according to police reports. The 14-year-old required medical treatment, and ended up with stitches.

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According to the police report, Lopez then went back to his truck, grabbed a 12- to 14-inch knife and chased the rest of the group.

Lopez's acquaintance allegedly intervened and they left the area.

The 14-year-old boy's mother called police, Sherwin said, and police were able to identify and locate Lopez at the 1500 block of 24th Avenue Southeast.

Officers also located the chisel and the long knife, Sherwin said.
The Rochester Police Department is looking for help from the community in locating a suspect who allegedly shot a man in the leg.

Liban Mohamed Ahmed, 29, allegedly shot a 22-year-old man in the leg on July 29 in Southeast Rochester. An arrest warrant has been issued for Ahmed, charging him with second-degree assault and weapons violations.

Rochester Police Capt. John Sherwin said Ahmed is believed to have ties to the Twin Cities metro area.

Sherwin said police believe he may be in danger because people are "actively pursuing him," and "the police may be his best option at this point so we want him to turn himself in," he said.

Individuals with information should contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or the non-emergency number, 507-328-6800. If spotted, please call 911.
WABASHA  Three men who didn't know each other all face felony charges after authorities say they assaulted the former boyfriend of a woman they didn't even know.

Joshua Daniel Larson, 36, of Millville; Mark William Norris, 43, of Plainview; and Daniel Allen Parker, 48, also of Millville, face one count each of first-degree burglary and second-degree assault, both felonies.

The three men made their initial appearances last week in Wabasha County District Court. Larson has been released from custody in lieu of $30,000 conditional bond; the other two were released in lieu of $10,000 conditional bonds.

The case began July 16 with a report of a possible domestic assault at a home in Millville. Officers spoke with a woman at a bar who told them she and a man had been arguing about a custody issue. During the argument, the child's father had put a knife to his chest and threatened to hurt himself; the woman told officers she wanted them to check on the man to make sure he was all right.

The officers went to the residence and spoke with the man, who told them the woman had caused the damage they could see at the house. When they returned to the bar to speak to her, the woman was with Stephanie Yennie, whom she'd just met.

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The woman, Yennie and the officers all returned to the man's house to discuss the damage.

The child's mother left the 4-year-old with a man at the bar; he was later identified as Parker. The woman had never met him before, the complaint says.

Back at the child's father's house, the couple began to argue again, prompting the deputies to separate them for the night. They followed the woman back to the bar to get her child from Parker; the deputies said the child's mother and Yennie then "hugged and exchanged phone numbers."

About 20 minutes later, the deputies were sent back to the home in Millville for a report of a burglary and assault. The child's father told them shortly after they'd left the first time, he heard a knock at the door. Believing it was the child's mother, he walked to the door.

Before he got to it, the door opened and several men came inside the house. The victim was punched several times, fell to the floor and was kicked in the face, the complaint says. He suffered facial fractures as a result of the assault.

Though the man didn't know the intruders, he described them as "heavy set, balding and wearing cut-offs." All three wore tank tops and had tattoos, the victim said, adding that a woman was also present  and described what the officers knew Yennie was wearing.

The deputies went to the bars in Millville, where they spotted Yennie, Larson and Norris in a truck.

Larson had red knuckles and a fresh cut on his right hand, court documents say; Larson and Norris both have tattoos, are heavy set and bald.

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Norris, who was wearing a tank top, denied leaving the bar or assaulting anyone.

Yennie told officers she and the three men were at one of the Millville bars the entire evening.

Witnesses, however, said Yennie had come into the bar about 1 a.m. and told them to "remember (they'd all) been in the bar the entire evening." Surveillance video confirmed their story, the complaint says.

Yennie reportedly returned to the bar after the deputies spoke with the patrons and threatened some of them.

Parker, who was found later, admitted he just met the child's mother that night, and had gone to the man's apartment with two other men he didn't know.

According to the court documents, Parker said he didn't know the victim or what had happened earlier, but "assumed the guy had beaten on the girl because that's what happens in domestics."

Parker claimed the door was open, so he walked in and then walked back out, but denied hitting anyone.
Residents of Millville and the surrounding communities will get a blast from the past this weekend as a community celebration is resurrected into the 21st century.

Millville Valley River Days will be Saturday and Sunday and will feature activities such as a car and bike show, a pedal tractor pull, a petting zoo and a parade, along with traditions from past festivals.

Millville Valley River Days was a festival that first started in the 1990s but died out from a lack of people working to put the festival together, said Nikki Dick, president of the Millville Valley River Days Committee.

The idea to bring back the Millville Valley River Days started with an effort to bring the band Maiden Dixie to town. A committee was formed last fall for this event that soon became the Millville Valley River Days Committee.

"So we decided, well, why don't we start from the beginning again," Dick said.

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Dick said Millville Valley River Days started with just the band and only was supposed to be one day but soon grew into a full-blown festival, with old and new attractions and activities.

One tradition being brought back from the festival in the 1990s is the rubber duck races, in which rubber ducks are released into the river, with the owners of the first three ducks to cross the finish line winning a prize. There are 3,000 rubber ducks ready to take a swim, all of them having been used at festivals in the past. The rubber duck races will be on Sunday at 5 p.m. on the gravel road on North County Road 11.

"It's kind of neat because people keep saying, I remember doing that when I was a kid," Dick said. "They're so excited, it's like they're kids again."

Other activities at the festival this weekend will include a bean bag tournament, a street dance featuring Maiden Dixie and a classic car cruise-in. The festival will end with fireworks on Sunday night at dusk.

Dick said the goal of the committee is to have 500 people attend the festival, but based on the amount of community members attending the committee meetings and the feedback she has received, she is expecting a large turnout.

"It's kind of neat to have so many people wanting to get involved," Dick said.
MINNEAPOLIS  A new report from the Minneapolis Police Conduct Oversight Commission found several issues with the department's process for filing misconduct complaints, especially at the precinct level.

The draft report, called "Complaint Filing Experience," examines ways in which people can file misconduct complaints, including filing online, filing complaints directly with the Officer of Police Conduct Review (OPCR) or the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) and filing complaints at precincts.

The Police Conduct Oversight Commission planned to to talk about the findings at Minneapolis City Hall Tuesday evening.

Among the issues cited in the report:

 In 13 of 15 attempts to test-file complaints at police precincts, people were not given opportunities to file complaints.

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 Police department websites offer inconsistent information on how to file a complaint.

 The OPCR and IAU are only open during business hours, and they can be intimidating places for some people to file reports and have offices that aren't clearly marked.

The report, which was published Saturday, said when the testers went to the city's five precincts, they were often told paperwork was not available, were directed to file in the precinct where the incident happened  which isn't necessary  and were told they needed officers' names or badges, also not needed for a complaint.

The report said testers had positive experiences at the 4th Precinct, where complaints were accepted and sent to the OPCR within 24 hours.

Police Conduct Oversight Commissioner Jenny Singleton said she was troubled by some of the findings.

"It sounds like there's a lot of misinformation out there, creating barriers for people who are trying to file a complaint at the precinct," she said. "So we're hoping MPD can implement the recommendations we have to eliminate those barriers."

Among the report's recommendations:

 Training for all precinct officers and a OPCR/IAU lockbox at each precinct to accept complaints.

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 Clear, concise and consistent information on city websites about the complaint process.

 Have OPCR/IAU investigators periodically take complaints at community locations in the city, allow people to pick up complaint forms at community organizations around the city and mail them in.

"I just think this report is a great opportunity for MPD to take something that could definitely use improvement and really take proactive action to address that," Singleton said.

The department emailed a statement about the report Tuesday afternoon from Assistant Chief Kris Arneson.

"The Minneapolis Police Department is in the process of writing a protocol based on the findings of the Police Conduct Oversight Commissions," her statement said.
A Rochester woman affectionately known as "Miss Kitty" essentially gave veterinarians a blank check after Elvis, her cat, was diagnosed with cancer in 2014. When the final medical bill hit $20,000, she barely batted an eye.

Cuddled on the couch Wednesday with her 3-legged feline friend  and four other cats lounging nearby  53-year-old Kathy Lee laughs off the notion that she's a crazy cat lady.

"Maybe this sounds weird to people, but he's really like my little three-legged soulmate," said Lee, who receives monthly allergy shots to maintain her menagerie. "He reads me and I can read him. I've never had a connection with an animal like I have with (Elvis).

"We cried a lot, but here he is. He's really my little shadow."

Lee has become a regular at Rochester's Safe Haven Pet Rescue , where she connected with Elvis in 2009. The two quickly became inseparable, prompting an adoption of the 6-year-old cat. Two days after Lee lost her third pet to cancer, Lee discovered lumps on her latest addition.

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Dr. Marlys Kraus , of Vetmobile Housecall Veterinary Service , diagnosed Elvis with soft-tissue sarcoma on its back right leg and a sarcoma of the intestine.

Lee was devastated, resigned to losing another of her pets to cancer  until Dr. Kraus referred her to BluePearl Veterinary Partners in the metro area. To her delight, surgery was recommended as a solution.

The "triad of care," as the team-based approach is called, amputated Elvis' back right leg while also performing a hemipelvectomy, which resulted in the removal of half of the cat's pelvis. The initial work cost $14,000, while a second medical issue added another $6,000. Lee nursed Elvis back to health by sleeping on the living room floor for a month straight.

Dr. Kraus says that Elvis has had no recurrence and is now "a healthy, happy cat."

The surgery was so technically challenging, with such a positive end result, that a YouTube video of Lee, Elvis, Dr. Kraus and veterinary surgeon Andrew Jackson was used to open The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine 2016 Forum hosted June 8-11 in Colorado.

"What impressed me were the lengths Kathy wanted to go to for Elvis," Dr. Jackson said. "Having clients willing to go the distance for their pets is one of the coolest aspects of my job, because chances are, there are options available today that weren't in the past. Without medical intervention, (Elvis) may have only had several weeks  to live."

A recent survey by VetSpecialists.com found that 63 percent of pet owners aren't aware of veterinary specialty medicine, like the kind used to save the life of Elvis. The website was developed in 2015 as a partnership between ACVIM and the American College of Veterinary Surgeons to provide education about diseases, and to increase awareness of veterinary speciality medicine for the animal-owning community.

Lee counts herself among those who had never heard of that new pet-friendly resource  but no one is surprised she jumped at the opportunity, no matter the cost. Lee's mother, Pat, was fully on board with the extensive treatment and cost.

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"We've both cried a lot of tears over this little guy," Lee said.

That devotion prompted Lee's former coworkers at the Federal Medical Center, a federal prison in Rochester, to tease her with the nickname Miss Kitty, while often using their work radios for good-natured "meows." Immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attack, Lee adopted a stray cat who showed up outside the prison. She named it Liberty.

Lee's pets enjoy an over-the-top pet-friendly living environment. Her home includes four fluffy pet-sized bed, four pillows embroidered with huge cat faces, and two paintings of Lee's past and present pets. Elvis also enjoys new stairs to reach his elevated bed next to the couch, accommodating its limited jumping ability.

Still, Lee's entryway is very much the focal point thanks to a pet shrine that greets each guest. The display includes pictures of numerous deceased pets, who have all been cremated and are now held in urns. Two humorous pet-friendly signs hang over the memorial.

"They've improved my quality of life," Lee said. "I had no 2-legged kids of my own so these are my kids. It's probably cheaper too  no designer jeans, no smart phones, no college."

But $20,000?

"I don't spare any expense when it comes to caring for my babies."

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MANTORVILLE  It was approaching 7 p.m. Sunday and Jeremy Kittleson sat nearly alone in the Mantorville Opera House, waiting for auditions to begin for the October play "Noir Suspicions."

The director from Rochester knew he has a good script. He knows how he will transform the 1918 Opera House into a 1940s cafe. And he knows the dates are set for four full weekends, Fridays through Sundays, in October.

Actors to audition?

Aye, there's the rub.

None were to be seen or heard.

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Knowing how many actors will show up is a guessing game. At times, he has to call people, call friends, go through past casts to fill slots.

"Sometimes you get a glut of people auditioning and you have hard choices to make," he said. "It really is all over the place."

Being a small theater in a small town doesn't always work against you, he said. But there is strong demand for actors in the area, with three theaters in Rochester and others in Stewartville, Chatfield and other towns.

"There is no normal," he said.

For the October play, he will need four men and three women to play nine roles. To audition, he has would-be actors read scripts, getting only a little time to see them, then give them their best shot.

"I have a vision for what the character is," Kittleson said. But he has to allow for inspiration. "You can't just do your own vision, you might have people show you something better."

And there's another intangible: "I'm also looking for team chemistry."

Neither he nor the actors are paid, they do it for the love of theater, said Kittleson, an administrative assistant at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

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"It's a great amount of fun," he said. "It's a passion."

He was just hoping others would share that love, and have time, for "Noir Suspicions."

"We might get a little, we might get a lot," he said while waiting. Several actors showed up the Sunday before.

Finally, in walked J.A. Crow and Jake Dreher. They greeted each other warmly because they know each other from past plays. They were there to audition.

Crow, of Rochester was in the first Noir offering, "Murder in Cafe Noir." When he's not acting, he delivers for Jimmy John's, attends college in criminal justice and works at Ironman Paintball in Rochester. Oh, yes, he also loves theater.

"Being able to step into the shoes of someone else is fun," he said. Plus acting helps him get over stage fright.

Dreher, of Dodge Center, has been a firefighter and works at Forager Brewery. He has been involved in plays in Rochester.

"For me, it's mostly the people who are brought together and create a whole new world," he said. Rehearsing and the doing the 12 plays will take up more than 100 unpaid hours but "it's for the joy of it," he said.

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Theater makes him grow and be a better person, he said.

"It's a wonder why more people don't do it," Dreher said.

The two began auditions but after a while, they needed a woman for a female part. Dreher called his friend, Katie Olsen, also of Dodge Center. She showed up about 20 minutes later and spiced up the auditions with her saucy delivery. She likes the variety.

"You can be in prehistoric times one minute and the Roaring '20s the next," she said.

When auditions ended at 8:30 p.m. Kittleson was still short a woman or two. He said he would make some calls, or maybe will have another open audition.

But don't worry, he said, "We always make it work."
PUNTA GORDA, Fla.  The officer who shot and killed a 73-year-old retired librarian during a police "shoot/don't shoot" demonstration in Florida was accused of using excessive force with his police dog and resigned from another police agency in 2013 for failing to satisfactorily complete an agency field training program.

Officer Lee Coel, 28, was put on administrative leave Tuesday as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates why real ammunition was used by mistake at an event designed to bring police and the public together in the small Gulf Coast city of Punta Gorda.

Lt. Katie Heck, the spokeswoman for the Punta Gorda Police, said Coel has worked for the department since 2014. She said Coel frequently gave department presentations and tours, "specifically role-playing in these shoot/don't shoot scenarios."

The department did not make Coel available for comment Wednesday. A woman who answered a phone listed in public records for Coel said she didn't want to talk and hung up.

On Tuesday night, Heck said Mary Knowlton, a well-known community volunteer, assumed the role of the officer during the "shoot/don't shoot" exercise.

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During such an exercise, Heck said, the citizen "assumes the role of the officer and is confronted with situations in which they must make a decision about whether to use force on the role player. The situations escalate quickly, forcing fast decisions. Historically, it fosters a better understanding for what officers face during an intense situation and leads to informative dialogue between the community and officers who act as role players."

Both the citizen and the officer have a firearm during these scenarios.

But the guns either are supposed to be loaded with blanks or "simunition guns," which are real-looking weapons that fire a nonlethal projectile with reduced force. But Knowlton was mistakenly struck with a live round, officials said.

Mary Knowlton attended the class with her husband, and it was supposed to be "a fun night," her son said Wednesday. Even the police chief was in attendance at the class and was visibly upset during a news conference Wednesday.

What officials didn't discuss: Coel's record.

Coel left the Miramar Police Department after 14 months of service in the Broward County agency. Tania Rues, Miramar police spokeswoman, said Coel resigned but could not comment on the reasons why. Coel wrote a resignation letter saying he was resigning for "personal reasons"; the News-Press reported he failed to complete an agency field training program.

A Punta Gorda lawyer said Wednesday that Coel shouldn't have been on the Punta Gorda force. Scott Weinberg is representing a man who said he was mauled by Coel's K-9 during an arrest in November. Scott Weinberg took the man's case in June, and that's when he viewed Coel's dashcam video of the arrest and informed local media about the case.

"I told everyone that this officer was dangerous, and he needed to be fired," said Weinberg, who didn't identify his client. "If he had been fired like he should have been when he ordered that dog to maul my client for a minute and 47 seconds, then this wouldn't have happened."

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Punta Gorda officials aren't saying how a gun with a live round came to be used at Tuesday evening's demonstration, noting blank rounds typically are used in such classes.

"We were unaware that any live ammunition was available to the officer," Punta Gorda Police Chief Tom Lewis said at a news conference Wednesday. "The officer involved is grief stricken. We've got officers assigned to him to make sure he's psychologically stable."

The victim's son, Steve Knowlton, said in an interview at his parents' home that, on his mother's behalf, he was forgiving the officer who fired.

Mary Knowlton moved to Florida after living for years in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Books and magazines lay scattered on tables of the home she shared in Florida with Gary, her husband of 55 years. The couple split their time between Minnesota and the small Gulf Coast community. She had two sons.

"There's too much hate in this world, in America, we always feel like we need revenge, and it doesn't solve anything," Steve Knowlton said. "I obviously can't say it's easy to forgive, but it needs to be done. She's watching me now."
MINNEAPOLIS  Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau announced a series of policy changes Monday aimed at defusing conflict and lessening use of force by officers. Kroll said the policies could have unintended consequences, though, like allowing disturbances to go on unnecessarily or allowing armed suspects to threaten more people.

"Reasonable officers always go in with de-escalation techniques. That's how we are trained," he said. "So creating a policy that says you need to do that is redundant."

Kroll also said he's not sure the public will like the de-escalation policy. Backing away from disturbances or waiting out suspects, he says, isn't what people expect from police.

"Your average person doesn't want to call 911," he said, so the situation's already out of hand when police are called. "They want the cops to come and solve the problem. And have the problem end, and leave. They don't want to make a bigger scene."

Calls for greater de-escalation by police are common among police critics, especially since the fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark last November in Minneapolis.

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The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union hailed the department's changes on Monday, saying others should adopt similar strategies.

Minneapolis police officials say they're starting to train new recruits on the new policy this week and will roll out the new protocols to the rest of the department starting this fall.
A Rochester advocate who works for the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage has filed a complaint against the council's executive director, accusing him of discriminating against her.

Kolloh Nimley is the council's community services program specialist in Rochester. Nimley said she filed a complaint two weeks ago with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the council's executive director, Louis Porter.

"I was discriminated against," she said.

Nimley said the complaint alleges Porter discriminated against her based on her national origin and gender. She declined to offer specifics about the alleged discrimination or provide a copy of the complaint, citing advice from her legal counsel. Porter could not be reached for comment.

EEOC spokesman James Ryan said in an email that complaints made to the agency are confidential under federal law. The commission cannot confirm or deny whether such a complaint exists. The information only becomes public if the commission decides to take legal action.

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Nimley's complaint comes as Rochester leaders are expressing concerns about ethnic councils in Minnesota shuttering their local offices. In June, the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs closed its office, eliminating its community liaison. Nimley said it is unclear whether the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage will keep its Rochester office open.

Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede and Rochester City Council President Randy Staver sent a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton expressing support for keeping the offices in Rochester. Staver said that it is critical to have the voices of Rochester's minority communities represented at a time when the city is looking to attract and retain a skilled workforce.

"What's important is that we not remain silent on the topic. To have remained silent would perhaps imply that we were indifferent or there was no perceived value, and that was absolutely not the case," Staver said.

The state ethnic councils have been facing heightened scrutiny in recent years after a 2014 legislative audit concluded they have not been effective in advising state policymakers. In 2015, lawmakers reorganized the councils. The Minnesota Council on Indian Affairs is no longer categorized in state statute as an ethnic council. That left three councils: the Council for Asian Pacific Minnesotans, the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage and the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs. The law change required the council's executive directors be hired by the Legislative Coordinating Commission.

Ensuring minorities' voices are heard

Rebeca Sedarski was laid off from her job in June as community liaison representative for the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs after the group decided to close its Rochester office. Sedarski has since moved on, getting a job at Mayo Clinic. But she said it is critical that the council ensure the voices of Latinos in southern Minnesota are being heard.

"Southern Minnesota is home for a third of the Latinos that live in the state of Minnesota. And they are the poorest of the poorest," she said. "We need to help our poor and empower them to do better, have a job and an education and be able to feel proud of supporting their family."

Sometimes, she said Minnesota lawmakers focus all their attention on minorities living in the Twin Cities, ignoring the needs of those in rural Minnesota.

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"Many (lawmakers) think that that everything needs to be all in the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota gets out of the equation. I think urban Latinos do not have the same issues that rural Latinos go through," Sedarski said.

Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Michael Munoz serves on the Latino Affairs Council's board of directors. In an email, he referred questions to the group's Executive Director Henry Jimenez because he is the one who decided to close the office. Jimenez did not respond to requests for comment.

Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, also serves on the Latino Affairs Council's board. She said the board was not involved in the decision to close the Rochester office. Nelson was told the decision to close the office was based on funding, but she said that doesn't make sense because the group is receiving more money. She chalks up the decision to a change in vision for the council.

"Somehow I'm hopeful that Latinos in the southern tier of Minnesota have not been forgotten, and that we'll continue to grow and develop and empower this growing segment of our population," Nelson said.

Supporters of the local ethnic councils say they are hoping lawmakers take action to make sure the Rochester offices stay open. Donavan Bailey said he found it hard to get an office in Rochester when he served on the board of the Council of Black Minnesotans  renamed the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage. As the $5.5 billion Destination Medical Center initiative advances, he said it's critical that minorities' concerns are heard.

Bailey added, "There's no question we need these ethnic councils down here as we grow and evolve."
CANNON FALLS  A 17-year-old Rochester boy was injured in a rollover early Thursday near the edge of town.

Andrew Streiff was southbound on Highway 52 at Highway 19, when his vehicle veered off the road, struck a sign and rolled onto the four-lane highway, according to Minnesota State Patrol reports. Road conditions were described to be wet at the time of the crash, approximately 12:40 a.m.

Streiff sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Cannon Falls. No information was available regarding his condition.

The Goodhue County Sheriff's Office assisted on the scene.
CANNON FALLS  If you plan to go to the Twin Cities this weekend via U.S. Highway 52, expect a longer trip.

The construction of an interchange at Dakota County Road 86 in Randolph Township just north of Cannon Falls will require the closure of all north and southbound traffic on U.S. 52, according to the Dakota County Department of Transportation.

Weather permitting, U.S. 52 will be closed to through traffic beginning at 9 p.m. Friday and reopened at 5 a.m. on Monday. The detour for northbound traffic will go from Dakota County Road 19 in Cannon Falls to Dakota County Road 20 heading north before turning west on Dakota County Road 50. Southbound traffic will detour south at Hampton on Dakota County Road 56 to west on County Road 19 at Cannon Falls.

The project includes construction of the bridge, interchange ramps and closure of two median crossovers at County Road 86.
West Bank, a West Des Moines, Iowa-based bank with a large Rochester presence, recently reported record net income numbers for the second quarter.

The report tallied a new income of $5.5 million, which the bank says is its highest second quarter income ever. The previous top second quarter was posted in 2015, when the bank reported $5.3 million in net income.

"This is the eighth consecutive quarter we have had record earnings for each respective quarter," stated West Bank President and CEO Dave Nelson in the report. "Our bankers were very successful booking new business in the second quarter of 2016. We added $106 million to our loan portfolio and added $65 million in deposits."

West Bank is building a 15,000-square-foot Rochester branch at 2188 Superior Drive NW, which is expected to open in November. Nelson, who previously was was president of Wells Fargo Rochester, brought West Bank to the Med City in 2013.

The second-quarter report released at the end of July showed West Bank's efforts in Rochester are paying off. Rochester Market President Mike Zinser, also a former Rochester Wells Fargo executive, spotlighted that in the report.

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"Our momentum in the Rochester market continued through the second quarter with total loans outstanding exceeding $108 million as of June 30, 2016, which is an increase of almost 8 percent from the end of the first quarter," he said in the announcement. "Our growth in 2016 has been generated from new customers moving their business from other banks as well as our existing customers expanding their businesses in this strong local economy."

At the end of July, the Iowa bank also declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.17 per common

share. The dividend is payable on Aug. 24 to shareholders of record on Aug. 10.
A 19-year-old Wisconsin woman was killed Wednesday in a rollover collision that involved three other vehicles on Interstate 35 in Steele County, according to the State Patrol.

The woman, from Delano, Wis., was driving south on I-35 about 14 miles south of Owatonna when the rear tire of her car blew out shortly after 5 p.m., causing her to lose control, the State Patrol said.

The car, a 2001 PT Cruiser, entered the median and rolled several times, causing it to shear in two, the State Patrol said. Part of the car came to rest in the northbound lanes, where it was struck by a motorcycle, a pickup and a sport utility vehicle.

The 58-year-old driver of the motorcycle was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The drivers of the other two vehicles were not taken to a hospital.

The State Patrol has not released the names of those involved in the accident.

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The Albert Lea Police Department, Freeborn County Sheriff's Office, Steele County Sheriff's Office, Ellendale fire and ambulance and the Minnesota Department of Transportation assisted on scene.
I want to reference several articles in the Weekend edition Post Bulletin (August 6-7).

First, regarding funds for the library expansion, I've heard that the library is occupied with many homeless people and if that is the case, there is a solution for that but not a $55 million expansion.

Second, regarding front-page article under the headline "Group deliberates public projects in private discussions," why don't they form a group to discuss how to use the taxpayer's money to fund some of the improvements we need in our neighborhoods rather than downtown public projects? Do the Destination Medical Center organizers or Lisa Clarke really care about our neighborhoods or the taxpayers that are funding their massive project? We need new people in the groups and different projects that need attention in these discussions.

Finally, regarding the question to the Answer Man concerning 41st Street bike lanes, put the bike lanes wherever you want but then the bicyclists need to learn to obey the traffic laws just as motorists do. I live on a four-way stop, and I have never seen a bike stop at any of the signs. It's probably going to take a few serious accidents before these visionaries see the light.

Pat Clark

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Rochester
As Rochester continues to progress, we are presented with a unique opportunity to think, act and plan differently than we have in the past.

It is vital that community organizations have the facilities they need to provide our residents and visitors with a quality experience, but at the same time, we need to ensure we explore options that present the maximum public benefit at the most reasonable cost.

As a community, we must support the ongoing work of organizations such as the Rochester Public Library, the Minnesota Children's Museum of Rochester, the Rochester Area Family YMCA and the University of Minnesota Rochester, which provide critical education and learning experiences for all ages within the community.

These are among multiple organizations with services essential to the growth and wellness of our community that will require future support to implement proposed projects. The challenge is that the funding available to support such efforts is finite.

After the Rochester Public Library learned the Olmsted County Board would not advance the library's proposal for the financial support needed for its original plan to expand in place, I convened an ad hoc work group comprised of civic leaders from business, non-profit and government to think about how our community could move forward given the multiple projects seeking public and private support for new or expanded facilities. What's the best path forward?

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The reality of our finite resources and multiple requests prompted us to ask an important question: What opportunities exist for community organizations with like-minded core missions to collaborate in order to maximize public benefit but keep costs to a minimum?

The committee concluded that there would be a benefit to rethinking the way in which we approach the design and funding of these projects. We did not see our role as making any decisions or recommendations other than to encourage the organizations involved to have relevant, candid conversations with one another about their individual  and potentially collective  futures.

To that end, last week we hosted one meeting with the four organizations to provide an opportunity for them to share their current status in planning, financing and developing facilities to meet their current and future needs. We encouraged them to consider the use of a collaborative design expert to openly explore options for collaboration where space, location and building needs occur, while ensuring that each maintains its unique identity and is recognized for its valuable contributions to the vibrancy of the Rochester community.

Now, it is up to those organizations to engage in a deeper conversation with one another about exploring the opportunity to collaborate. We continue to believe, if they choose to do so, there is more opportunity for innovation, collaboration, and the potential for greater public benefit.

On behalf of the ad hoc work group  Onward!

Sheila Kiscaden, of Rochester, represents the Sixth District on the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners


Entrepreneurship is one hard decision after another. Do you pursue a small business loan or seek an equity investment. Is it time to hire new employees? Each decision is important because it affects the overall financial, cultural and brand health of the company. Eventually, every business owner will need to decide: if they will hire part-time or full-time employees.

Why Does an Employees Employment Status Matter?

The employment status of employees will affect whether or not companies are required to provide health insurance for their employees. The Affordable Care Act made it so all businesses with 50 or more full-time (30 or more hours) employees must provide an affordable health insurance plan for their employees. Failure to provide an affordable plan would lead to making an Employer Shared Responsibility fee for some of their uninsured employees.









In response to the Affordable Care Act, many national chains like Target and Walmart began to hire more part-time employees in order to avoid the steep financial cost of paying for health insurance.



>> RELATED: Post Your Next Job at Indeed.com



Should you follow in the footsteps as a new company and begin hiring part-time now? Not necessarily, you have a bit of time. Companies are not fined for not complying with the Affordable Care Act until they exceed 30 full-time employees. And after they are charged the Employee Shared Responsibility (ESR) Fees, they only need to pay the $2000 fine for every employee after the first 30.

That means as a new company, you wont need to worry about how you will provide health insurance or pay the fees until you become financially stable enough to hire a large number of employees. Depending on how fast you grow that could be a year or two down the road.

Just have your Accounting and HR departments keep an eye on that number and report to you when you are coming close to needing to pay the ESR fees. At that time, you can evaluate whether or not you want to move to a part-time system.

Perils of Maintaining a Part-Time Work Force

If you have a part-time system of hiring, all managers and employees should be aware of what the Affordable Care Act classifies as a full-time employee. The last thing you want is for multiple employees to accidentally work more hours than they should and cause you to be blindsided with ESR fees.

Part-time employees cannot work 30 hours or more per week. Smaller companies have less to worry about on this front. If an employee dips into full-time on accident, chances are you wont be charged (depending on how many full-time employees you have on staff). Often companies who utilize this system of employment allow management to work full-time.

The fact that your companies might not be that big does give the company some margin for error, but as the company grows the margin of error will no doubt decrease as you add full-time employees to various different leadership positions.

If your company branches out into different locations, you should be aware that every location counts within the full-time employee tally.



>> RELATED: Hiring and Keeping Employees: A Challenge for Small Businesses



Recently a Nampa, Idaho Hastings had that problem when management didnt realize that an employee accidentally worked 40 hours a week over a period of 3 months without offering health benefits. Due to the fact that that particular Hastings was not a privately owned franchise, it meant that there was no margin of error. The company was fined for not complying with the Affordable Care Act over that 3 month period.

Even if you dont have enough managers between a few different locations, you might still want to be wary. An Idaho coffee shop, Moxie Java, recently stumbled their way into a financial mess when they allowed one employee to work part-time (around 29 hours) at two different locations. Even though they are managed by different people, theyre technically one company. Which means the employee spent a year working 60 hours a week. Moxie Java might not have qualified for an ESR fine, but they have a large amount of overtime that they need to back pay the employee. An equally costly mistake.

The larger the business grows, the more vital it is that management and employees all monitor part-time employee hours meticulously. If your company branches out into different locations, you should be aware that every location counts within the full-time employee tally.

Negative Brand Publicity.

Around the time of their decision to move to a workforce primarily composed of part-time workers, Walmart was met with dozens Walmart Bails On Obamacare  Sticks Taxpayers With Employee Healthcare Costs articles. Depending on the persons philosophy, such an outcry could lose potential customers.

All companies who utilize a part-time workforce should monitor how the policy is affecting the brand image. If it starts to negatively affect the image and you dont plan to back down from the decision, you should get your PR team or marketing team to attempt to frame the conversation in a slightly better manner.

Employee Efficiency and Quality of Performance.

Too many part-time employees could affect a stores ability to provide quality service. After switching to a part-time employment strategy, Walmart found that they did not have enough experienced full-time employees to stock shelves and provide good customer service.

Too many part-time employees could affect a stores ability to provide quality service. After switching to a part-time employment strategy, Walmart found that they did not have enough experienced full-time employees to stock shelves and provide good customer service.

The staffing problems led to a decrease in customer satisfaction and a decrease in sales. Good customer relationship management relies on a well-rounded team. IT, management, customer service, and salespeople must all be working at peak performance.

All companies who utilize a part-time workforce should monitor whether or not their employees performance is where it should be. If its not, it might be time to increase the number of full-time employees.

Utilizing part-time employees could be a solid way to eliminate costly healthcare costs for employees business owners cannot afford, but the strategy has a large pool of potential problems that employers will need to keep an eye on as they implement it. If the benefits of employing part-time employees do not outweigh the problems that arise, companies might want to rethink their employment strategy.









Similar Posts:
Charlie Cook doubts that a Donald Trump defeat, which he considers quite likely, would have a significantly adverse effect on other Republicans running this year. Writing in the National Journal, Cook states, even if Clinton wins by a much larger margin than, say, Obamas win over Romney four years ago, I dont think the down-ballot implications would be that huge.

Cook gives two reasons for this assessment. First, there arent that many competitive races for House seats. Second, voter doubts about Hillary Clinton and the desire to check her power as president will, in Cooks view, likely rein in a down ballot effect. The Democrats may well win the Senate, but probably not because of Donald Trump.

Theres a third reason why a Trump defeat might not spill over. As Cook suggests, traditional Republican voters who dont support Trump are likely to turn out in large numbers to try to make sure Hillary has to deal with a Republican Congress. They might also be joined by folks who usually dont vote but are inspired to by Trump. This, at least, is the theory espoused by many Trump supporters.

Some Trump voters who show up only because the tycoon is running may also think, what the heck, as long as Im here I might as well vote for the other Republicans on the ballot. After all, Trump is endorsing, albeit grudgingly in many cases, most of these candidates.

Thus, down ballot Republicans could, in theory, benefit from Trumps presence even if Trump loses by a substantial margin. Those who usually vote for these candidates will likely do so again and some who usually stay home might join them.

This scenario assumes, I think, that Trump isnt blown out by Clinton. Cook seems to assume a Clinton victory by no more than 10 points.

But at the rate Trump is going, I can imagine him losing by 15 points. Im not predicting that he will, but its hardly out of the question, in my opinion.

This would mean, among other things, that the Trump-only people didnt show up after all. It might also mean that voters reconciled themselves to Clinton to a greater than expected degree.

In this scenario, Republicans should expect a significant down ballot effect  probably not large enough effect to flip the House, but sufficient to give the Dems a bigger than expected margin in the Senate.
Phyllis Kahn is the den grandmother of the Minnesota left. During her long, long time in office she has proposed lowering the voting age to 12 and removing the ban on first-cousin marriage. Rep. Kahn has represented her university-area district in the state legislature for 44 years. Her tenure in office is the longest in Minnesota history.

While her career seemed to be dedicated to finding new frontiers in political mania, she actually supported the adoption of one important law other than the Clean Indoor Air Act for which she may be best known. In 1994, 22 years after her initial election to the legislature, she helped enact a law prohibiting clitoridectomy in Minnesota.

Female genital mutilation had not been much of a problem in Minnesota before the first wave of Somali immigration to Minneapolis in the early 1990s. Addressing this particular Somali custom, Rep. Kahn found her feminism (and perhaps her support for juvenile rights) trumping her multiculturalism. Im not sure how that priority would come out today.

This past Tuesday, Rep. Kahn lost the DFL (Democratic) nomination for the state legislature to political newcomer Ilhan Omar. Omars nomination all but guarantees her election to the Minnesota legislature in November; she will be the first Somali Minnesotan to serve there. The Star Tribune celebrated Omars win in a page-one story with a big Dewey Defeats Truman sort of headline yesterday.

Omar is a Somali Muslim. Her victory in the primary represents the notable demographic changes to Kahns district, which includes part of the Cedar-Riverside area now known as Little Mogadishu. Omar supports Democratic orthodoxy on gay rights and abortion and so on. [T]here is still a great deal of work to do in the struggle for LGBT inclusion, Omar asserts. Omar advertises herself as current vice president of the DFL Feminist Caucus.

Im not sure how she squares all that with her Islamic faith. Maybe she does so in the same fashion that Catholic Democrats like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi and Tim Kaine and all the rest personally oppose abortion while resisting its infringement and supporting its expansion. Perhaps it represents assimilation to Democratic orthodoxy; perhaps she is a member of the Keith Ellison branch of Islam. We shall see.
For months, there have been rumors that the FBI is investigating the Clinton Foundation for public corruption. It has been clear to me that, as I put it yesterday, even assuming the truth of such reports, I think its fanciful to think that anything will come of this; the FBI has shot its wad.

Now comes word, via CNN, that the FBI asked to investigate the Clinton Foundation earlier this year, but the Department of Justice said it did not have enough evidence to open a formal probe. According to CNN:

The FBI went to Justice Department earlier this year asking for it to open a case into the foundation, but the public integrity unit declined. The Justice Department had looked into whether it should open a case on the foundation a year prior and found it didnt have sufficient evidence to do so.

I cant tell from this report exactly when in 2015 the DOJ initially made its determination that there was insufficient evidence. Was it before or after the eye-opening reporting by Peter Schweitzer, along with the New York Times?

In any event, plenty of new information has come to light in 2016, via emails of Hillary Clinton and her top aides. I discussed some the new information here and here.

An apolitical Attorney General, or even a political one who is a straight shooter, would revisit the FBIs request. Will Loretta Lynch? I doubt it.

Lynch, as we know, had a private meeting with Bill Clinton last month, just before the FBI interviewed Hillary. She is said to be interested in staying on as Attorney General in a Hillary Clinton administration, which is perhaps the most innocent plausible explanation of her willingness to meet privately with Bill.

Lynch knows which side her bread is buttered on. Its not the side that says investigate the Clinton Foundation.

Im speculating now, but I think I detect a pattern in Lynchs handling of Clinton scandals. She makes a show of deferring to the FBI when shes confident that the FBIs determination wont land Hillary in legal jeopardy (see the email scandal). She (or her agents) says no to the FBI when the Bureau wants to take action that threatens Hillary (see the Clinton Foundation scandal).

If Lynch is auditioning for Attorney General in a Clinton administration, shes passing with flying colors. Lynch seems like just the Attorney General Hillary will need.
Consider this remarkable headline from the Associated Press, once known as a reliable purveyor of hard news: Trump refuses to back away from false claim Obama founded IS. The AP doesnt leave a lot of doubt about where it stands:

Donald Trump repeatedly accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State group on Thursday, refusing to take back a patently false allegation even when questioned about the logic of his position.

Patently false!

Of course Obama didnt found the Islamic State. If pressed, Trump explains:

In the interview with Hewitt, Trump did acknowledge the root of his argument was that if Obama had done things properly, you wouldnt have had ISIS. But he then added, Therefore, he was the founder if ISIS.

So Trumps assertion that Barack Obama founded ISIS is false, crazy or hyperbolic. Take your pick. Not, of course, as false, crazy or hyperbolic as, say, Joe Bidens Theyre going to put yall back in chains, or the countless Trump = Hitler analogies that Hillary Clintons surrogates have drawn in this years election season. Now that the Associated Press has made itself the truth police, I look forward to its commentaries on the Democrats many over-the-top pronouncements. No doubt we will also see this AP headline: Hillary refuses to back away from false claims about her private email system.
Professor Richard Samuelsons closely argued Mosaic essay Whos afraid of religious liberty? is must reading. In it Professor Samuelson explains the assault on our religious freedom under the ever expanding regime of anti-discrimination law and practice. I urge readers who care about the subject to read the whole thing; there is no substitute for it. I invited Professor Samuelson to write a brief introduction for Power Line readers. Professor Samuelson writes by way of introduction:

Perhaps way to introduce Whos Afraid of Religious Liberty? to Power Lines readers is to describe where it came from. This essay was spurred by three observations. A colleague noted in passing a couple of years ago that we have not grasped the full implications of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Pondering that, I began to wonder if the legislation was best understood as almost certainly necessary to combat Jim Crow, but was a tragic necessity, that, in time, could have adverse consequences for American liberty.

While pondering that I happened to be at a conference in downtown Indianapolis the weekend of the protests against religious liberty protections. Religious freedom protections passed easily in the early 1990s. What had changed? Had there been a turn in the American understanding of political right and wrong, at least in part, and was it a consequence of the impact of the new civil right regime on how Americans understand liberty and the job of government?

The third observation is that, thus far, the cases of concern, with which Power Line readers are no doubt familiar, have mostly involved the liberty of Christians, and not Jews. Even so, the legal principles and practices would, no doubt, apply to Jews and Jewish institutions as well. First they came for the Christians?

If trends continue, it is likely that what David Bernstein calls the religion of non-discrimination in his response to my essay (highlighted in Paul Mirengoffs post) will soon begin to squeeze the American Jewish community, particularly as it grows more and more orthodox  as present demographic trends suggest.

The irony of Jews and Christians facing legal disability in the name of non-discrimination, which I have elsewhere described as a post-modern dhimmi tax, is perverse and Orewellian, but, alas, quite possible in the near future. The essay develops that logic, comparing Washingtons view of religious liberty with that which prevails today, and exploring the rise, the progress, and the nature of the change.
One of my family members experienced two days of hassle and chaos last month after Southwest Airlines cancelled 1,150 flights because of a system outage. He was eventually able to travel to his destination, a day later than planned, but the outage cost the airline tens of millions of dollars.

A faulty router that took down Southwests reservation system was the culprit last month, while a power outage caused a worldwide system failure for Delta Air Lines this week. That outage grounded more than 1,800 flights and caused countless delays and complications that could have been easily avoided with a proper power backup and protection plan.

Tens of thousands of Delta passengers were stranded or inconvenienced by the outage, which was caused by a power failure at the companys Atlanta headquarters. The outage, which lasted six hours, took down check-in systems and airport screens along with Deltas website and smartphone apps. Delta pinpointed a crucial power control module that malfunctioned as the point of failure, subsequently causing a surge to the transformer and a loss of power.

Power was quickly restored after the malfunction, but critical systems and network equipment failed to switch over to backups, while other less critical systems made the switch. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in technology infrastructure upgrades and backup systems over the past three years, which should have prevented such a catastrophic outage.

I'm sorry that it happened and I don't have the final analysis of what caused the outage, Bastian told customers in a video message. We did have a redundant backup power source in place. Unfortunately some of our core systems and key systems did not kick over to the backup power source when we lost power and, as a consequence of that, it caused our entire system effectively to crash and we had to reboot and start the operation up from scratch.

Preventing these types of disasters comes down to appropriate planning and routine backup and disaster recovery exercises, according to Mark Jaggers, data center recovery and continuity analyst at Gartner (News - Alert). He said data centers require redundant power from a grid and redundant networking from a service provider  both independent of primary power and networking resources, to operate effectively in the event of a failure.

Planning and executing disaster recovery exercises is something that should be done on a regular basis to find out these issues before they may be impactful, said Jaggers. The issue, which was also the case with Southwest Airlines, is not planning for partial failure scenarios that are harder to get to the root cause of and work around.

Another important element of planning is to have a primary data center in one location, with a backup or alternate center far enough away that it doesnt experience the same disaster or failure. Companies also need to ensure their data center staff, whether internal or outsourced, are competent and well versed in disaster recovery.

In today's world, the business expectation is that you're up and running quickly after a disaster, said Roberta Witty, risk and security management analyst at Gartner. The 'always on' driver is changing the way organizations deliver IT in general, and so they are building out their data centers to be more resilient.

She added that crisis management practices need to be exercised on a quarterly basis to pinpoint problem areas and ensure backup and recovery measures are operating properly. Companies should also make backup and disaster recovery a part of every new project, without exception.

Edited by Alicia Young
The Turkish ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, has spoken of his countrys gratitude to Nigeria for its support during the July 15 failed coup.

Mr. Cakil said his country will never forget the support.

He was addressing Turkish nationals in Nigeria on Thursday, who protested in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, calling for support for President Tayyip Erdogan who survived a coup attempt.

The protest was organised by two groups  Musiyad and Little Turkey Nigeria.

The protesters, about a hundred, embarked on a peaceful procession from the popular Abuja parade ground, near the magnificent International Conference Centre, to the Turkish embassy located on Diplomatic Drive, near Nigerias Ministry of Defence.

As they marched, the protesters waved Turkish flags and sang songs of solidarity in praise of President Erdogan.

As they arrived the embassy building, the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Cakil, was already waiting outside to receive them.

Speaking to the protesters, Mr. Cakil commended the enormous support they received from the Nigerian government and people during the failed coup.

It is a victory to Turkish people, and we pay much importance to the support of the Nigerian government to Turkish people and the Turkish government struggle of democracy, he said.

From the beginning, all Nigerian officials starting from his Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, expressed their solidarity with the government and the Turkish people.

The Republic of Turkey will not forget the solidarity of the Nigerian people during the failed coup attempt. We will always remember this support.

I will like to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation first of all to Muhammadu Buhari, president of Nigeria and commander-in-chief of the Armed forces Federal republic of Nigeria and all government officials, all the Ministers and the people of Nigeria for their solidarity and support to Turkish people, Mr. Cakil said.

On the issue of Turkish schools and institutions in Nigeria, the ambassador said his government and the Nigerian government were already talking to find a solution to the issue saying, The government of Turkey will never do anything against the Nigerian people.

Co-organisers of the protest and chairman of the Little Turkey Nigeria group, Hussaini Kumasi, told reporters that his group jointly organised the peaceful protest to tell the world that Nigeria was in support of democracy anywhere.

We are solidly behind Turkey on this issue and we support democracy anywhere it is, he said.

He also called on the government and the Turkish authority to find a quick solution to the issue of the closed institutions in Nigeria.

Mr. Cakil had on July 28 called on the Nigerian Government to close 17 Turkish schools in Nigeria for their alleged links with a movement his government says was involved in the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey.

According to the ambassador, investigations by the Turkish government showed that a movement led by US-based Fethullah Gulen was responsible for the failed coup attempt, which claimed over 200 lives. was in support of the Turkish president.

President Erdogan tightened his grip on Turkey, ordering the closure of thousands of private schools, charities and other institutions after the failed military coup.

Turkish authorities also detained a nephew of Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the attempted coup.
Citizens of Turkey resident in Nigeria on Thursday protested in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, calling for support for President Tayyip Erdogan who survived a coup attempt on July 15.

The protest was organised by two groups  Musiyad and Little Turkey Nigeria.

The protesters, about a hundred, embarked on a peaceful procession from the popular Abuja parade ground, near the magnificent International Conference Centre to the Turkish embassy located on Diplomatic Drive, near the Nigerias Ministry of Defence.

As they marched, the protesters waved Turkish flags and sang songs of solidarity in praise of President Erdogan.

As they arrived the embassy building, the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, was already waiting outside to receive them.

Mr. Cakil had on July 28 called on the Nigerian Government to close 17 Turkish schools in Nigeria for their alleged links with a movement his government says was involved in the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey.

According to the ambassador, investigations by the Turkish government showed that a movement led by US-based Fethullah Gulen was responsible for the failed coup attempt, which claimed over 200 lives. was in support of the Turkish president.

President Erdogan tightened his grip on Turkey, ordering the closure of thousands of private schools, charities and other institutions after the failed military coup.

Turkish authorities also detained a nephew of Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Muslim cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the attempted coup.

More to come
Majority of the 38 officers compulsorily retired by the Nigerian Army two months ago were sent away without recourse to the rules of disengagement in the Nigerian military, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today.

The army had in June announced the compulsory retirement of 38 officers on different ranks on the grounds of alleged professional misconduct during the 2015 general elections, as well as involvement in the $2.1 billion arms procurement scandal.

The affected officers include Major-Generals F. O. Alli, E.J. Atewe, I. N. Ijoma, L. C. Ilo, TC Ude, Letam Wiwa, SD Aliyu, M.Y Ibrahim, LC Ilo and O. Ejemai.

Others were Brigadier-Generals D. M. Onoyeiveta, A. S. O. Mormoni Bashir, A.S.H Saad, A. I. Onibasa, D. Abdusalam, L.M. Bello, KA Essien, B. A. Fiboinumama and I. M. Lawson.

Also affected were Cols. M.A. Suleiman, I. O. Ahhachi, P. E. Ekpenyong, T. T. Minimah, O. U. Nwonkwo, and F. D. Kayode, Lt-Cols C. O. Amadi, K. O. Adimogha, T. E. Arigbe, O. A. Baba Ochankpa, D. B. Dazang, O. C. Egemole, Enemchukwu, A. Mohammed, A. S. Mohammed, G. C. Nyekwu, T. O. Oladintoye, C. K. Ukoha and Major A. T. Williams.

In the June 9 letters, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, to the affected officers, their compulsory retirement was hinged on provisions of Paragraph 09.02c (4) of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers 2012 (Revised).

The referenced section  09.02c (4)  of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers 2012 (Revised), shows the officers were laid off on disciplinary grounds i.e. serious offence(s).

Emphasizing service exigencies and that the military must remain apolitical and professional at all times, Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, a colonel,on June 10, released a statement, disclosing what could have constituted the serious offences which warranted the 38 officers to be compulsorily retired.

It should be recalled that not too long ago some officers were investigated for being partisan during the 2015 general elections, the statement said.

Similarly, the investigation by the Presidential Committee investigating Defence Contracts revealed a lot. Some officers have already been arraigned in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Colonel Usman said.

Although, some of the officers, who were shocked by their sudden retirement, had alleged ethnic cleansing, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, said the army embarked upon the exercise to remove those who in one way or the other jeopardized the fight against insurgency and other issues bordering on national security.

He also said that there was no better time to send the officers away than the time they were retired.

But PREMIUM TIMES investigations revealed that the Army breached its own rule by retiring most of the officers without query or indictment by any panel, thereby raising question of arbitrariness.

However, contrary to the claim by the Army, our investigations showed that only a few of the affected officers were queried, tried and indicted.

Others had their careers abruptly cut short for reasons that smacks of high-level arbitrariness, pettiness, witch-hunting and partisanship by authorities of the Army.

While officers cleared by either arms procurement panel or election panel were retired, others who were not questioned at all were also sent away.

Our findings revealed that nine officers, holding the rank of Major General, 11 Brigadier Generals, seven Colonels and 11 Lieutenant Colonels, amounting to 38 officers in sum, were laid off.

Highly placed sources in the Army told PREMIUM TIMES that out of the Major Generals, only one  E.D. Atewe (N/7674) faced a panel and was indicted. Mr. Atewe was indicted by the presidential arms probe panel, and he is currently being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Although S.D. Aliyu (N/7711); M.Y. Aliyu (N/8114) GOC 7 Division; Fatai Alli, (N/7914) a former Director of Operations in the Army, also faced presidential arms panel but they were cleared. Yet they were laid off for serious offence, our investigations revealed.

Other five Major Generals  L. Wiwa (N/7665), who is late Ken Saro-Wiwas brother; I.N. Ijeoma (N/8304); T.C Ude (N/7866); L.C. Ilo (N/8320); O. Ejemau (N/8340) were neither queried nor indicted by any panel.

On June 9, they received letters via emails, directing them to proceed on compulsory retirement.

Brigadier Generals had to go because of their loyalties

The cases of the affected Brigadier Generals are not different; only one of them  A.I Onibasa (N/9072) was indicted by the presidential panel on arms procurement.

Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the remaining 10 officers were simply retirement because they were suspected to be have failed to help this regime to power.

For instance, two officers were laid off because of their ties to the embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, our sources said.

The two officers  A.S.H. Saad (N/8392), who was at the Directorate of Military Intelligence; and Mormoni Bashir (N/8396), former principal staff officer to Mr. Dasuki  were retired without indictment. Although, Mr. Saad faced a panel, he was not found to have engaged in any wrongdoing.

For his alleged close ties to a former Army Chief, Kenneth Minimah, D. Abdulsalam (N/9169) was sent away.

Koko Essien (N/8794), a former Brigade Commander, 2 Brigade, Port Harcourt, faced the election panel but was cleared. Mr. Essien was laid off nonetheless, like Bright Fibioinumana (N/8399); L.N. Bello (N/8799), former Brigade Commander, 34 Brigade Owerri; and M.G. Alli Moundhey, former Director, Campaign Planning in the North East Operations, who were even not queried in the first place.

Although, the Nigerian Army said the affected officers were retired for either involvement in the 2015 general elections or arms procurement fraud, our investigations showed that officers who were not in Nigeria at the time of the elections were also sacked.

That was the case of I.B. Lawson (N/8812) and G.O. Agachi (N/9363) who were Defence Attaches at Nigerias missions in China and Benin Republic respectively.

According to a document seen by this newspaper, they retired for allegedly committing serious offence.

But they were never informed of their offences nor were they invited to face any panel of inquiry, army insiders say.

They aided PDP to get votes

Many Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels who were laid off on June 9 were merely suspected of failing to cooperate with the All Progressives Congress to garner votes in the 2015 elections, sources told PREMIUM TIMES.

In one instance, T.A Williams (N/11469) a Major; and A. Mohammed (N/10659), a Lieutenant Colonel, both attached to the 195 Battalion, Agenebode, Edo State, with the latter as Commanding Officer, were said to have been flushed out because of complaint of not cooperating with the APC, brought against them. But Mr. Mohammed was said to be away in the North-East at the time and played no role during the election. Yet he was retired.

Similarly, in Rivers State, Army insiders said, APC officials accused four officers attached to the 332 Air Defence Regiment (B. Odiankpa  N/10417) and ; 5 Battalion, Elele (A.S. Mohammed -N10662); 2 Brigade Garrison, Port Harcourt (A.Adimoha  N/10421); 29 Battalion Port Harcourt (T.O. Oladuntoye (N/10338) of aiding the PDP in the state.

Our findings revealed that these officers, accused of partisanship, were not queried or investigated before they were asked to forced to leave the army.

In one curious case, documents seen by this newspaper revealed that Lt. Col A. Mohammed was in the North East, not Agenebode, but somehow his name was among those listed for alleged partisanship.

The former Commanding Officer, 93 Battalion, Takum, O.C. Egemole (N/10423), who was also compulsorily retired, was also accused of not doing enough to avert APC loss in Taraba State. He was also neither queried nor investigated.

Seven colonels on the list of the compulsory retirees had no formal charge issued to them nor did they face panel before they were laid off.

For instance O.U. Nwankwo (N/9678) was studying at the University of Ibadan while M.A. Suleiman (N/10030) was in Chad as Defence Attache before they were suddenly retired.

Then, C.K. Ukoha (N/10319) was in Abuja during the elections, insiders told us, but was accused of taking part in electoral fraud in Benin and was retired.

Also, without probe or indictment for any offence, T. Minimah (N/10185), brother to former Army Chief, Kenneth Minimah, was also removed from his post in Benin and retired.

Did the retirements follow due process?

PREMIUM TIMES checks indicated the army violated its own rules in the ways the officers were disengaged.

The Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers whose paragraph 09.02c (4) was relied upon to remove the officers, originates from the Armed Forces Act.

The section cited by the Army provides that an officer may be compulsorily retired on disciplinary grounds i.e. serious offence(s) without defining what constitutes serious offences.

But the principal law  the Armed Forces Act  establishes all actions that constitute offences in the Military.

The Act prescribes steps to be taken in punishing offences, and a review shows no section empowers the Army Council to arbitrarily punish or compulsorily retire officers for any offence.

In fact, the Army Council, in Section 11(a-f) of the Act, has no power to retire any officer on disciplinary ground without compliance with the steps prescribed by law.

Army did no wrong; affected officers can seek redress

The spokesperson for the Army, Sani Usman, a Colonel, however insisted the officers were properly retired.

Those that were compulsorily retired had one problem or the other that warranted their compulsory retirement from the Army, Mr. Usman told PREMIUM TIMES.

Basically thats it. And whoever is not satisfied with that should please seek redress. They are quite familiar with the terms and conditions of service.

None of them was arbitrarily retired and they know. Army cant just retire you without any offence or because the Chief of Army Staff does not like your face.

It is not for them to go to newspaper. They were advised to write the Commander-in-Chief through the Chief of Defence Staff to seek redress. Their records are there and they will be given cogent reason why they were asked to retire compulsorily.

Mr. Usman was evasive when asked whether all the affected officers were queried or formally indicted before they were forced out of service.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said the sudden drop in the price of crude oil has left Nigeria poor, leaving it to struggle economically and it people suffering.

Mr. Buhari however said his administrations commitment to transparency and accountability was serving the country in good stead, despite severe shortage of resources in the country.

The President spoke Thursday at the State House, Abuja, while receiving the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director and Under Secretary General of the United Nations, Prof Babatunde Osotimehin.

It has been a very difficult year for Nigeria. Before we came to office, petroleum sold for about $100 per barrel.

Then it crashed to $37, and now oscillates between $40 and $45 per barrel. Suddenly, were a poor country, but commitment to transparency and accountability is not making people know that there is severe shortage, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President as saying.

Asking UNFPA to bear with Nigeria in whichever area the country could not live up to its responsibilities for now, President Buhari said exploding population and different cultural practices in the country provide fertile ground for research to organizations like UNFPA.

The President thanked the UN agency for its commitment to saving lives in Nigeria, particularly of women and children.

On food security, President Buhari said reports from the North-East of the country were encouraging, as people were returning to their farmlands, with the guarantee of relative security.

Prof Osotimehin, a former Minister of Health in Nigeria, said UNFPA was determined to promote health care facilities across the country, noting that reduction of maternal mortality was doable, if the country paid more attention to access to health facilities, and human resources to run them.

He also encouraged Nigeria to commit to providing resources for health care, on a rollover basis, pledging that the UN would work with the country to provide humanitarian assistance not only in the North-East, but even extended to the Lake Chad basin.
Blaming skewed religious sermons as one of the major factors that fueled the Boko Haram Ideology, Borno State government has set up a regulatory body to censor Islamic preaching in the state.

At the inauguration of the body, named Borno State Islamic Preaching Board, Governor Kashim Shettima said its task is to help prevent history from repeating itself.

The governor said the boards task is to monitor and spy on the preaching of all Islamic clerics especially those in the remote areas of the 27 local government areas of the state.

The Islamic Preaching Board is to be headed by the Chief Imam of Borno State, Imam Zannah Laisu Ibrahim Ahmed.

Mr. Shettima urged the board to monitor the proliferation of traditional Islamiyya, Tsangaya or Almajiri and Arabic schools for the purpose of protecting noble schools from the infiltration by others which may have hidden motives aimed at teaching violent doctrines.

All members of the board were present.

Mr. Shettima said Borno and its people must learn from the history of the Boko Haram, which he noted keeps re-surging despite being defeated at various times by the military.

There is a famous saying made by Winston Churchill more than 50 years ago that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, he said.

Majority of us in Borno State have expectedly been enthralled by the successes of the Nigerian Armed Forces and Multi National Forces in the evident debasing of the devilish Boko Haram terror group. While we celebrate, we however seem to be paying less attention to history.

If we cast our minds back as short as ten 13 years ago, we would realize that the Boko Haram group has got the history of being defeated, going underground for some years, regrouping themselves and coming back through different forms.

When the Boko Haram, then known as Taliban, migrated from Borno and launched attacks in Kananma, a border village in Yobe State around December, 2003, they were defeated by the military. They disappeared completely only to regroup and attack Bama and Gwoza police divisions in 2004. Again, they were defeated by the military.

They disappeared in 2004 only to resurface in 2007 somewhere in Panshekara, an industrial area in Kano State. For the third time, they were defeated by the military. But they regrouped as Yusufiyya movement in 2009 with mass followership and high presence in Maiduguri, Bauchi and Potiskum.

They were defeated after the July 2009 crisis only for them to regroup in December, 2010. When they were chased out of Maiduguri between 2013 and 2014, they shifted their horror to local government areas.

The chronicle of Boko Harams death and resurrection is one piece of history that should prompt us to remaining totally focused towards ensuring that we do not make the mistake of others in allowing the group to ever return to our midst.

At all instances of their regrouping, the Boko Haram sect recruited new members, mostly through open preaching to spread their misguided ideology, targeting teenagers. They had leaders who openly preached in mosques and at special gatherings, without showing violence at initial levels.

We must take firm, consistent and knowledge-based steps to continuously separate between those clerics who preach in the name of Allah and those who kill innocent souls in the name of Allah. Often times, preachers with violent attention start on normal note, they tend to start by being nice, they exhibit friendship to gain acceptance before they systematically begin to share misguided ideologies in their true colours.

The job of the Borno State Islamic Preaching Board is not only to set preaching standard but importantly, to be alert in spotting unusual and suspicious preaching among Islamic clerics.

The board must take special attention on new comers into the existing group of preachers in all parts of Borno State. The Board has to make deliberate efforts to work with community sources across the 27 local government areas of the State in getting information about any form of suspicious preaching not only in urban centres but in villages.

We shouldnt expect Boko Haram to come back using a familiar identity. If they will try to return, they may apply different forms. The Board has to be alert and has to encourage preachers who will use knowledge to change the Boko Haram narrative, the governor said.
Nigerias President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday commissioned an Intensive Care Unit at Dala Orthopaedic Hospital in Kano worth N100 million. It was built and donated by businessman Aminu Dantata.

The President, who was represented by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said in 2007, Mr. Dantata also built and donated two other projects to the Dala Orthopaedic Hospital (General Ward and Amenity Suit) which improved healthcare delivery system in the facility.

Today I am here on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari to commission the Ultramodern Intensive Care Unit valued at N100 million naira built and donated by Alhaji Aminu Dantata an illustrious son of the state whom all Nigerians you should be proud of, Mr. Ehanire said.

He commended Amasco, Minjirya Health Services and Pedmic Nigeria Ltd, for their cash donations and equipment to the Spinal Centre in the hospital.

He also said the federal government was committed to improving the health of Nigerians and called on all healthcare professionals to set for themselves target of ensuring that Nigerian healthcare system grows to become one of the best in the world.

Mr. Dantata said he always feel elated whenever he contributes to the development of humanity adding that such contributions have direct reward from God. He reiterated that he would continue to support health project in Kano and other parts of the country.

He however urged the Federal Government to provide medications and other equipment to all Nigerian hospitals.

The Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr. Muhammed Musa, while commending Mr. Dantata for the donation, said the hospital provides care not only to people of Kano State but also to residents of neighbouring states
The Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board said it dropped 16 pregnant women from the list of intending pilgrims to Mecca.

The Executive Secretary of the Board, Abba Yakubu, who disclosed this in Kano on Thursday, said the women were dropped during the screening of the intending pilgrims.

He said the pregnant women had however been replaced with other women nominated by them (pregnant women).

Mr. Yakubu said similar stringent measures were taken by the Board against women carrying pregnancy and other health challenges during the last hajj.

He said the pregnant women dropped during the screening for the 2016 hajj pleaded with the Board to reserve their seats for next years hajj, adding that it obliged them.

The executive secretary attributed the delay in commencing the airlift of the 5000 pilgrims from the state as scheduled for between Thursday and Friday to non-availability of the Basic Travelling Allowance, which was delayed by the banks.

Mr. Yakubu said the Board would ensure that the BTA was ready to forestall pilgrims going through hardship in the Holy Land.

He said he had informed the pilgrims about the BTA challenge, which was why the airlines were requested to suspend the commencement of the airlifting for only 24 hours. He said the airlifting would begin after the Jumaat prayers on Friday.

The secretary disclosed that the Kano State government had subsidised the accommodation of all the pilgrims with N367 million because the $4000 accommodation to be paid by each pilgrim fee was not enough.

Mr. Yakubu said the accommodation the board acquired so far for the pilgrims from the state was very good because the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration meant well for the pilgrims.

He also said the board would send 13 medical personnel to accompany the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
Six prisoners who escaped from a jail in Nsukka, Enugu State on Monday, have been recaptured, the Enugu State controller of the Nigeria Prisons Service, Isaiah Amali, has said.

Mr. Amali told PREMIUM TIMES that the incident occurred between 12 am and 3 am Monday morning, but refused to disclose the total number of prisoners involved in the jailbreak.

He made the disclosure during a visit to Nsukka prisons.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that 15 inmates escaped.

We have rearrested six escapees with the support of other security personnel. Many of others have been traced to their villages; we are already liaising with the local vigilantes in those areas with a view to re-arresting the fleeing escapees. I can assure you that we are on top of the situation, he said.

On why he refused to state the number of prisoners involved in the jail break.

Mr. Amali said, Investigations are ongoing. For the purpose of being very sure and exact in the figure, we cannot for now ascertain the number of prisoners that escaped. But we are making efforts to do that, which is what I have been asked to do.

The security details on how the prisoners escaped is still being looked into, at the moment we cannot not think of carrying out roll calls of prisoner because there are security implications. There are checks and measures we will have to apply to tackle this, this is internal affairs that are not disclosed to the public, he said.

On what the service would do if it is confirmed that its officials were involved in the jailbreak, Mr. Amali said the law will take its course.

If we found out that any of our staff is involved or if any of our staff is found to have helped the prisoners in the act of getting away from the facility, the full wrath of the law would be enforced from the hierarchy of the service.

The controller general will give further details on the number of inmates who are still on the run on the level of the service, he said.

On whether the overpopulation of the prison was responsible for the jailbreak, Mr. said: It is a common phenomenon that prisons in the country are over-populated, but this cannot be responsible for the current situation here.

We are not responsible for the over-population of the prison other law enforcement agency does the arrest. Besides, there is a due process at which prisoners are brought here. We dont arrest people, we only have them here for the purpose of their safe keeping.

The jailbreak cannot be blamed on the over population of the prison.

The prison was established about 100 years ago and a man of 100 years is old. The place is yearning for a new attention.

The prisoners who are on the loose when found will be taken to court and a warrant of escape from custody will be prescribed on them, he said.

Mr. Amali called on the public to collaborate with the service to identify the fleeing prisoners.
A longstanding feud between the speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Suraj Adekunbi, and his former mistress, Iyabo Adedotun, over the custody of their 8-year-old child, on Thursday escalated to a public brawl with both sides verbally attacking the other.

The court eventually took away the custody of the child from the weeping mother and handed to Mr. Adekunbi at a stormy session.

The incident occurred at the premises of the Customary Court at Agbeloba area of Abeokuta, Ogun State, where the estranged mistress dragged Mr. Adekunbi to, accusing him of threatening her life.

A staff of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, she told the court that the speaker prevented her from marrying another man, and had failed to meet his responsibilities as the father of their only child, Samiat.

Ms. Adedotun prayed the court to restrain Mr. Adekunbi from further threatening her, in addition to allowing her marry.

The speaker asked the court to grant him custody of their daughter. His prayer was granted unanimously by the three-member court panel.

The court also dissolved their 10-year-old relationship, and ruled that all parties to the case were free to marry any person of their choice.

However, shortly after the judgment, the duo launched tirades at each other as the complainant refused to allow her child to be taken away.

An unidentified colleague of Ms. Adedotun attempted to stop court officials from handing over the child to the speaker.

The situation became riotous as a police guard called for reinforcement and attempted to arrest the civil defense personnel for stopping the execution of a court order.

As more police arrived the court, NSCDC officials also reached the court to help their colleagues.

The police officers fired gunshots to scare away the surging crowd and later succeeded in whisking away the NSCDC official.

When contacted, the media aide to the speaker, Waheed Akinola, said the complainant, whom he referred to as the speakers baby mama, caused the trouble by refusing the hand over the child.

Ms. Adedotun told journalists she was concerned about the safety of her child, saying her father had been nonchalant in the past.

She said became enraged after the speaker mocked and insulted her after the court judgement.

Weeping, Ms. Adedotun questioned the ruling of the court.

Are they saying I would not see my child again. How would I cope, a child we slept together overnight.
#Justice Party Former Justice Party leader Lee Jeong-mi elected for 2nd term Lee Jeong-mi, a former chief of the minor progressive Justice Party (JP), was elected Friday for a second term to lead a major reform of the party reeling from recent election rout...

#KBO Heroes reach Korean Series after eliminating Twins in KBO postseason For the first time in three years, the Kiwoom Heroes will be playing in the South Korean baseball championship series. Former big leaguer Yasiel Puig homered and knocked in two ...
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.

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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.

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PUNE, India, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Market-Research-Reports.com adds reports on Automobile Airbag Inflator market and Automobile Air Filters titled "Global And Chinese Automobile Air Filter Industry, 2016 Market Research Report" and "Global And Chinese Automobile Airbag Inflator Industry, 2016 Market Research Report" with 2021 forecasts data and information to its online business intelligence library.

Complete report on Automobile Air Filter market of 150 pages divided into 11 major chapters that offer an overview of current market scenario as well as 2021 forecasts is now available at http://www.market-research-reports.com/469917-automobile-air-filter-industry.

The 'Global and Chinese Automobile Air Filter Industry, 2011-2021 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Automobile Air Filter industry with a focus on the Chinese market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Automobile Air Filter manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry. Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including its definition, applications and manufacturing technology. Then, the report explores the international and Chinese major industry players in detail. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and 2011-2016 market shares for each company. Through the statistical analysis, the report depicts the global and Chinese total market of Automobile Air Filter industry including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and Chinese import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis. The report then estimates 2016-2021 market development trends of Automobile Air Filter industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Automobile Air Filter Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2011-2021 global and Chinese Automobile Air Filter industry covering all important parameters. Order a copy of this report at http://www.market-research-reports.com/contacts/purchase.php?name=469917.

Similar research titled Global and Chinese Automobile Airbag Inflator Industry, 2016 Market Research Report is an exhaustive study on the present market scenario of the global Automobile Airbag Inflator industry with a special focus on the China market of this industry. The report summarizes key statistics of the market and the overall status of the Automobile Airbag Inflator manufacturers. The report is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.

The report initially provides a basic overview of the industry that covers definition, applications and manufacturing technology post which the report explores into the international and Chinese players in the market. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value and 2011-2016 market shares for each company. The report depicts the global and Chinese market of Automobile Airbag Inflator industry including capacity, production, production value, cost and profit, supply and demand and Chinese import-export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application or type for the competitive landscape analysis. The report also estimates 2016-2021 market development trends of Automobile Airbag Inflator industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Automobile Airbag Inflator Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2011-2021 global and Chinese Automobile Airbag Inflator industry covering all important parameters. Read more at http://www.market-research-reports.com/toc-466963-automobile-airbag-inflator-industry.

Explore more reports on the automotive market at http://www.market-research-reports.com/cat/automotive-market-research.

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SOURCE Market-Research-Reports
WILMINGTON, North Carolina, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcami, a leading provider of custom development and manufacturing services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, today announces its plans to expand capabilities for development and manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) at its Germantown, WI facility.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160315/344471LOGO

Alcami plans to invest in 2016 and 2017 toward the enhancement of new and existing kilo labs to introduce the development and manufacturing of highly potent APIs. The two new fully qualified cGMP state-of-the-art Highly Potent API (HPAPI) production suites will focus on primary containment technologies with engineering controls designed to meet the established Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) of minimally 0.03 g/m3 (SafeBridge Category 3).

The 5,000 square foot renovation will be operational by Q1, 2017. The newly designed space will include up to 150L reactor scale with cryogenic capabilities to service a wide range of complex chemistries. These advancements position Alcami to meet the demands of a growing highly potent API market. Coupled with Alcami's established presence in the potent Drug Product market, this investment strengthens an industry leading end-to-end offering.

These advancements follow operational and technology enhancements across development, clinical and commercial manufacturing to increase production capacity by 50%. This positions Alcami's global API operations (Germantown, WI and Weert, The Netherlands) to meet the increasing demand of new clinical candidates, of which greater than 70% originate from small and mid-size pharma and biotech.

"This investment in highly potent capabilities is consistent with our vision to be a technology leader and address unmet market needs. Alcami is committed to ongoing investments in our people, technology, equipment, and capabilities to enable us to exceed our customers' needs  from preclinical to commercial," stated Ted Dolan, Chief Operating Officer.

The Germantown, WI facility recently completed an FDA General Inspection that resulted in zero 483 observations. This result demonstrates Alcami's commitment to quality and regulatory compliance.

ABOUT ALCAMI

AAIPharma Services Corp. and Cambridge Major Laboratories, Inc. have joined to form Alcami, a world class supplier of comprehensive pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services. With seven sites across the globe, our combined capabilities include API development and manufacturing, solid state chemistry, formulation development, analytical development and testing services, clinical and commercial finished dosage form manufacturing (oral solid dose and parenteral), packaging, and stability services.

www.alcaminow.com

Related Links

http://www.alcaminow.com



SOURCE Alcami
DUBLIN, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Asia-Pacific Masterbatch Market By Type (White, Black, Color and Additive), By Country (China, India, Indonesia & Others), Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011-2021" report to their offering.

The Asia-Pacific masterbatch market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 9.7% during 2016-2021

Growth in the market is anticipated on account of increasing demand from various end user segments, such as packaging, automotive, consumer appliances, electronics, etc.

Masterbatches are concentrated mixtures of pigments and additives, used for coloring and imparting specific properties to polymers. They are prepared by encapsulating pigments in carrier resins, which are then cut into granular shape or kept in liquid state (liquid masterbatch), and later processed with base polymer.

Based on their use and appearance, masterbatches are classified into four major types - black, white, color and additive, which are used for diverse applications. Black masterbatch segment dominated the Asia-Pacific masterbatch market with more than one third revenue in 2015.

The segment is forecast to continue its dominance over the next five years as well on account of growing demand from building and construction sector, which is growing at a robust pace, and increasing applications in automotive sector. In Asia-Pacific region, highest demand for black masterbatch is being witnessed from China, predominantly due to rapidly growing end user industries.

In order to leverage high growth opportunities offered by the region, major companies, such as Ampacet, A. Schulman, and Clariant, are increasing their focus on China and India. With a growing number of plastic processing units in Asia-Pacific region, especially in China and India, the demand for masterbatches has been increasing at a robust pace, and the same trend is anticipated to continue over the next five years as well.

Apart from plastic industry, high demand for masterbatches is being witnessed from other industries, such as packaging, construction, automotive and consumer appliances.

Asia-Pacific Masterbatch Market 2011 - 2021:

Asia-Pacific Masterbatch Market Size, Share & Forecast

Segmental Analysis - By Type (White, Black, Color and Additive); By End User Sector (Packaging, Construction, Automotive, Consumer Appliances & Others); and By Country ( China , India , Indonesia & Others)

, , & Others) Changing Market Trends & Emerging Opportunities

Competitive Landscape & Strategic Recommendations

Market Trends & Developments

Innovative Products

Masterbatch Utilization in uPVC

Masterbatch in Medical Application

Nanoparticle Based Masterbatches

Light Weight Vehicles

Expansions Plans in Asia-Pacific

Key Topics Covered:

1. Research Methodology

2. Product Overview

3. Analyst View

4. Global Masterbatch Market Overview

5. Asia-Pacific Masterbatch Market Outlook

6. Asia-Pacific Black Masterbatch Market Outlook

7. Asia-Pacific White Masterbatch Market Outlook

8. Asia-Pacific Color Masterbatch Market Outlook

9. Asia-Pacific Additive Masterbatch Market Outlook

10. Market Dynamics

11. Market Trends & Developments

12. Competition Benchmarking

13. Competitive Landscape

14. Strategic Recommendations

Companies Mentioned

- Alok Masterbatches Pvt. Ltd.

- Ampacet Masterbatch (Shanghai) Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

- Blend Colors Pvt. Ltd.

- Cabot (China) Limited

- Changzhou Hongmei Plastic Masterbatch Co., Ltd.

- Clariant Chemicals (China) Ltd

- Guangdong Charming Co., Ltd

- Malion New Materials Co., Ltd

- Ngai Hing Hong Company Limited

- Orbit Masterbatches Pvt. Ltd.

- Plastiblends India Limited

- Poddar Pigments Limited

- Polmann India Ltd.

- PolyOne Shanghai Co., Ltd

- Schulman Asia Limited

- Yangxi Huaqiang Color Master Batch Factory

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/x6sphz/asiapacific

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com



SOURCE Research and Markets
SAN FRANCISCO, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

It has been ten years since the release of the first version of eM Client, an e-mail desktop application for Windows computers. For the last two years, an enthusiastic team of developers has been hard at work on a new, game-changing version. They strove to improve even the smallest of details for their customers - almost one million users, both individuals and corporations like McDonald's, Toyota, DPD and Lonely Planet.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160809/396765LOGO )



(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160809/396766 )

What is eM Client?

eM Client, a company based in San Francisco, offers a fresh alternative to Outlook, Thunderbird and other popular desktop e-mail apps. It presents a combination of e-mail, contacts, calendar, chat and tasks - all in one neat and easy-to-use package. Users can use virtually any kind of e-mail account from almost every e-mail service provider on the planet. eM Client also has the undisputable advantage of being one of the few e-mail applications that work perfectly with Gmail - including e-mail, calendar, events and also tasks. eM client allows you to fully personalize the user interface, use mass mailing, browse and read e-mails in 'Smart folders' which will aggregate e-mails from all currently active mail accounts according to the user's desired set of criteria. As an added benefit, eM Client enables you to work completely offline - for those situations when stable connection is hard to come by. Once you go online it will perform all of the actions you lined up during working offline.

eM Client presents an effective communications tool for individuals, entrepreneurs or even corporations in the form of Free and Pro licenses. Free license is intended only for personal use and allows the user up to two e-mail accounts at the same time, while with the Pro license, you can use eM Client for commercial purposes, you get access to VIP support and the number of e-mail accounts you can add is unlimited.

eM Client 7 in a nutshell

The new eM Client provides you with new features like automatic translation of incoming e-mails, scheduled sending of e-mails, optional grouping of e-mails into conversations and QuickText, a feature that lets you quickly insert predefined snippets of text into your messages. The 7th iteration of eM Client also features a completely redesigned modern interface which fully supports touch screens and high resolution displays.

What's in store for eM Client in the upcoming months? "Apart from current compatibility with Windows, eM Client is coming to Apple's OS X as well. eM Client will also introduce built-in PGP encryption for maximal security of your communication," disclosed Michael Burger, CTO of eM Client.

Why you should use a desktop client

You will see benefits of a desktop client in comparison with web interface at first glance. Seamless and fast synchronization of data among your devices, specialized features and comfort during everyday work with e-mails and data without the slower and often cumbersome access through browsers and the frequent need to log in repeatedly.

Website : http://www.emclient.com

SOURCE eM Client
SAO PAULO, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Eternit S.A. (BM&FBOVESPA: ETER3) announced its results for the 2Q16.

The construction materials industry ended the second quarter of 2016 with a weak performance, according to the Brazilian Construction Materials Industry Association (ABRAMAT).

Though this is a period of seasonally lower demand for the Company, apart from the contraction in the segment, Eternit posted negative results, yet outperforming the industry,

Chrysotile sales volume in 2Q16 amounted to 47,600 tons, decreasing 28.7% from 2Q15, due to the reduction in the inventories of clients of the mining company and in the construction materials sector, as well as the competitiveness of steel roofing panels in Asia and strong competition in the export market. In the same period, fiber-cement sales reached 181,000 tons, down 3.0% from 2Q15, whereas concrete roofing tile sales decreased 9.0%, mainly due to the industry slowdown, higher unemployment, lower household income and credit restrictions.

Consolidated net revenue in 2Q16 totaled R$203.7 million, down 13.8% from 2Q15, due to the decrease in volume sold and the price in U.S. dollar on chrysotile exports, which was partially offset by the 14.1% appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real due to chrysotile exports.

Adjusted EBITDA reached R$10.6 million in 2Q16, down 75.6%, due to the decline in operating margins on account of a sales mix with lower added value, lower sales volume, low utilization of operating capacity and a non-recurring increase in operating expenses due to the payment of court fees related to the filing of an appeal against the Public-Interest Civil Actions filed in Sao Paulo by the Labor Prosecution Office and ABREA, despite the Company's efforts to reduce operating expenses.

In view of the aspects mentioned in the Adjusted EBITDA section, in addition to a higher net financial expense resulting from the effects of net exchange variation on the Group's foreign-denominated operations, the higher interest resulting from debt and the lower returns on investments due to lower cash available, net loss was R$9.0 million in 2Q16.

Capex totaled R$3.9 million in 2Q16, declining 69.7% from 2Q15, and was allocated to maintaining and modernizing the Group's industrial facilities.

Conference call/Webcast

Date: 08/12/16

Time: 11.00 a.m. Brazilian Local Time  10.00 a.m. New York  03.00 p.m. London

Presentation can be followed on the website link www.ccall.com.br/eternit/2q16.htm or by telephone, dial the following telephone number (1-412) 317-6029 - Password: Eternit

IR Team Contact - +55 (11) 3194-3881/3194-3872 ri@eternit.com.br

Related Links

http://www.ccall.com.br/eternit/2q16.htm



SOURCE Eternit S.A.
Margin improvement demonstrates strong execution on cost control initiatives while investing for growth

WALTHAM. Massachusetts, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EuroSite Power Inc. (OTCQX: EUSP, the "Company"), an On-Site Utility solutions provider, offering clean electricity, heat, hot water and cooling solutions to healthcare, hospitality, housing and leisure centers in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe, reported total revenues of $640,437 for the second quarter of 2016, compared to $542,973 for the same period in 2015, an increase of 18.0%. Gross margin excluding depreciation improved by over 40% compared with second quarter of 2015 (10.3 percentage points improvement) to a strong 34.4%.

EuroSite Power's Managing Director Paul Hamblyn commented, "While 18.0% growth in revenues is a very respectable result, on a local currency (British pounds, GBP) basis we did even better, delivering a compelling 26% growth in total revenues, a testament to the high utilization rates achieved in the quarter by our installed fleet."

Overall gross margin grew by 9.8 percentage points to 16.1% for second quarter of 2016, a significant improvement over the 6.3% overall gross margin reported last year. Notably, second quarter gross margins benefited from strong reductions in contract maintenance and installation expense as well as lower fuel expense as a percent of total revenue. GAAP diluted loss per share (EPS) was $0.01 for the second quarter of 2016 and $0.00 second quarter of 2015.

One new installation was commissioned in the period bringing total operational systems at quarter end to 31, compared to just 27 operational systems at June 30, 2015, with a total installed capacity of 3,178 kW and long term total contract value of operational systems of approximately GBP54.2 million on a local currency basis, or $86.01 million. Total systems under contract (both operating and in backlog) at quarter end was 38; totaling 4,498 kW of capacity for a combined lifetime contract value of approximately GBP70.3 million on a local currency basis, or $102.12 million.

Speaking about the results, EuroSite Power Chief Executive Officer Dr. Elias Samaras noted, "This was a quarter full of notable milestones for our Company. We raised over $7 million in early May, allowing us to fully pay off our outstanding note while still leaving plenty of cash to fund ongoing operations and growth initiatives. Then, just a few weeks later in late June, we completed a deal which produced a significant reduction in our convertible debt. I am pleased to note today that, with just $300,000 in convertible debt remaining and a very strong cash position, the balance sheet of EuroSite Power has never been better. This strong balance sheet position along with our project financing arrangements gives us the flexibility to aggressively grow the business; something the team is already taking advantage of by investing in engineering, sales and marketing initiatives."

Mr. Hamblyn, added, "Operationally we were able to deliver on several of management's key initiatives during the second quarter. We enjoyed a significant reduction in fuel expense while also making progress in reducing maintenance expense, a continuing benefit of bringing maintenance service in-house. In early April the Company signed the first On-Site Utility customer, Abbeycroft Leisure, to a gas resale agreement. So far, Abbeycroft Leisure's arrangement to purchase gas via EuroSite Power and Corona Energy for three of their sites has generated meaningful savings for Abbeycroft as well as better gross margins for EuroSite. The deal is expected to produce a saving for the customer of over GBP83,000 while delivering some GBP30,000 additional revenue for us and, more importantly enhancing our margins by up to a third - delivering over GBP20,000 of additional cash into the business. Also of note during the quarter, in May the Company commissioned our first system at a new build site. Flitwick Leisure Centre's CHP system was brought online nearly three months ago and we are very pleased with results to-date. Being part of new-build construction was a first for the company and we hope to use this site as a strong demonstration of how expert energy solutions provided by EuroSite Power may help building developers achieve their targeted carbon reduction rates. Lastly, as the quarter ended we also closed a further On-Site Utility agreement with The Celtic Manor Resort, our largest single system to date at 400kW and another deal secured using funding from Societe Generale."

Major Highlights:

Financial

Total revenue increased by 18.0% to $640,437 for the second quarter of 2016, compared to $542,973 for the second quarter of 2015. On a local currency basis, total revenue was GBP446,718 for Q2 2016, 26% growth over 354,514 in revenue for Q2 2015.

for the second quarter of 2016, compared to for the second quarter of 2015. On a local currency basis, total revenue was GBP446,718 for Q2 2016, 26% growth over 354,514 in revenue for Q2 2015. Energy revenue for the second quarter of 2016 grew by 20.2% to $640,014 compared to $532,604 for the second quarter of 2015. On a local currency basis, energy revenue grew 28.4% to 446,423, up from 347,744 in Q2 2015.

compared to for the second quarter of 2015. On a local currency basis, energy revenue grew 28.4% to 446,423, up from 347,744 in Q2 2015. Gross margin, excluding depreciation, improved to 34.4% for the second quarter of 2016, versus 24.1% for the second quarter of 2015. Overall gross margin improved to 16.1% for the second quarter of 2016, compared to 6.3% for the second quarter of 2015.

Total revenue value of all contracted On-Site Utility energy agreements as of June 30, 2016 was approximately $102.12 million using various market assumptions and estimates made by management, compared to $101.1 million as of June 30, 2015 . On a local currency basis, total revenue value of all contracted On-Site Utility energy agreements at the end of the most recent quarter was GBP70.3 million compared to GBP59.7 million on June 30, 2015 .

was approximately using various market assumptions and estimates made by management, compared to as of . On a local currency basis, total revenue value of all contracted On-Site Utility energy agreements at the end of the most recent quarter was GBP70.3 million compared to GBP59.7 million on . In May the Company raised, via private placement of its common stock, $7.25 million at $0.575 per share. The funds were used first to pay down $2 million in debt outstanding with the remainder devoted to supporting operations and growth initiatives.

at per share. The funds were used first to pay down in debt outstanding with the remainder devoted to supporting operations and growth initiatives. On June 28, 2016 the Company further strengthened the balance sheet via substantial reduction in outstanding convertible debt. In total 3,909,260 common shares were issued at $0.54 per share in exchange for $2.1 million in senior notes, additional accrued interest was also converted on the same terms. As the price used to convert the debentures was less than the contractual conversion price, the difference in fair value of the incremental shares issued over and above the contractually required amount - a difference of $224,782 - was expensed as debt conversion expense. Following the conversion just $300,000 in 4% senior convertible debt, due June 2017 , remains outstanding.

Sales and Operations

Total energy production for the second quarter of 2016 of 9,438,567 kWh exceeds total generation for the prior comparable period by over 2.42 million kWh, a 34.4% improvement over prior year results. Energy production benefited from the increase in operational systems as well as improved utilization rates.

Total operational systems at June 30, 2016 was 31 with a total installed capacity of 3,178 kW, this favorably compares with just 27 systems totaling 2,705 kW of installed capacity at June 30, 2015 .

was 31 with a total installed capacity of 3,178 kW, this favorably compares with just 27 systems totaling 2,705 kW of installed capacity at . The current contracted project backlog is 7 systems for a total of 1,320 kW in capacity. This compares with June 30, 2015 contracted project backlog of 9 systems for a total of 909 kW in capacity.

contracted project backlog of 9 systems for a total of 909 kW in capacity. Cost of sales benefited from a 10.5 percentage point improvement as a percent of total revenues when compared with second quarter 2015. The Company continued to benefit from lower fuel prices, the gas purchase arrangement with Corona Energy, and cost savings related to bringing maintenance in house.

Operating expenses were higher as the Company invested in additional engineering personnel, advertising and marketing initiatives. Selling expense was adversely impacted by a one-time write down of a project-related bad debt while General and Administrative expense includes a nearly $75,000 adverse swing related the impact of currency exchange rate fluctuations in the period.

EuroSite Power will host a conference call and webcast today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the quarterly financial results in more detail. To listen to the audio portion, dial toll free (844) 492-3726 within the U.S., toll free (855) 669-9657 from Canada, or +1 (412) 542-4187 from other international locations. Participants should ask to be joined to the EuroSite Power earnings call. We suggest participants begin dialing at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled starting time. Alternately, to register for and listen to the live webcast, please go to investors.eurositepower.co/events.

The earnings conference call will be recorded and available for playback one hour after the end of the call through August 18, 2016. To listen to the playback, dial (877) 344-7529 within the U.S., (855) 669-9658 from Canada, or +1 (412) 317-0088 from other international locations and use Replay Access Code 10090418.

About EuroSite Power

EuroSite Power Inc. is committed to providing institutional, commercial and small industrial facilities with clean, reliable power, cooling, heat and hot water at lower costs than charged by conventional energy suppliers - without any capital or start-up costs to the energy user - through On-Site Utility energy solutions. For more information about our unique efficient power solutions please visit www.eurositepower.co.uk and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, as disclosed on the Company's website and in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. This press release does not constitute an offer to buy or sell securities by the Company, its subsidiaries or any associated party and is meant purely for informational purposes. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, even if subsequently made available by the Company on its website or otherwise. The Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

EUROSITE POWER INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)



June 30,

2016

December 31,

2015 ASSETS





Current assets:





Cash and cash equivalents $ 5,127,424



$ 587,819

Accounts receivable 251,528



303,782

UK energy tax incentives receivable 



369,485

Value added and other tax receivable (3,012)



(5,297)

Inventory 189,124



137,093

Other current assets 31,065



57,152

Total current assets 5,596,129



1,450,034

Property and equipment, net 7,617,753



7,516,262

Other assets, long-term 8,124



11,004

TOTAL ASSETS $ 13,222,006



$ 8,977,300









LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY





Current liabilities:





Accounts payable $ 212,166



$ 313,293

Due to related party 43,534



98,979

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 230,803



286,814

Total current liabilities 486,503



699,086

Long-term liabilities:





Convertible debentures 



1,585,264

Convertible debentures due to related parties 311,035



951,158

Note payable - related party 



2,000,000

Total liabilities 797,538



5,235,508

Commitments and contingencies (Note 5)





Stockholders' equity:





Common stock, $0.001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 82,265,056 and 65,747,100 issued and outstanding at June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. 82,265



65,747

Additional paid-in capital 21,989,972



12,224,064

Accumulated deficit (9,647,769)



(8,548,019)

Total stockholders' equity 12,424,468



3,741,792









TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 13,222,006



$ 8,977,300



EUROSITE POWER INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)



Three Months Ended

June 30,

2016

June 30,

2015







Revenues





Energy revenues $ 640,014



$ 532,604

Turnkey & other revenues 423



10,369



640,437



542,973

Cost of sales





Fuel, maintenance and installation 420,366



412,207

Depreciation expense 116,726



96,744



537,092



508,951

Gross profit 103,345



34,022









Operating expenses





General and administrative 332,168



130,405

Selling 160,405



107,023

Engineering 90,006



43,437



582,579



280,865

Loss from operations (479,234)



(246,843)

Other income (expense)





Interest income 3,313



1,615

Interest expense, net of debt premium amortization (7,586)



(11,749)

Debt conversion expense (224,782)







(229,055)



(10,134)









Loss before income taxes (708,289)



(256,977)

Provision (benefit) for income taxes 



2,188

Net loss $ (708,289)



$ (254,789)









Net loss per share - basic and diluted $ (0.01)



$ 

Weighted-average shares outstanding - basic and diluted 72,622,316



65,747,100



EUROSITE POWER INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)



Six Months Ended

June 30,

2016

June 30,

2015







Revenues





Energy revenues $ 1,325,730



$ 1,063,252

Turnkey & other revenues 1,739



27,775



1,327,469



1,091,027

Cost of sales





Fuel, maintenance and installation 851,763



827,179

Depreciation expense 229,721



187,136



1,081,484



1,014,315

Gross profit 245,985



76,712









Operating expenses





General and administrative 632,260



433,745

Selling 293,334



236,472

Engineering 178,496



74,155



1,104,090



744,372

Loss from operations (858,105)



(667,660)

Other income (expense)





Interest income 3,439



4,312

Interest expense, net of debt premium amortization (20,302)



(24,026)

Debt conversion expense (224,782)







(241,645)



(19,714)









Loss before income taxes (1,099,750)



(687,374)

Benefit for income taxes 



2,188

Net loss $ (1,099,750)



$ (685,186)









Net loss per share - basic and diluted $ (0.02)



$ (0.01)

Weighted-average shares outstanding - basic and diluted 69,203,700



65,747,100



EUROSITE POWER INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)



Six Months Ended

June 30,

2016

June 30,

2015







CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:





Net loss $ (1,099,750)



$ (685,186)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:





Depreciation 233,455



188,332

Non-cash debt conversion and interest expense 235,782





Amortization of convertible debt premium (41,123)



(48,144)

Stock-based compensation 116,290



56,146

Changes in operating assets and liabilities





(Increase) decrease in:





Accounts receivable 52,254



(28,241)

UK energy tax incentives receivable 369,485



636,661

Value added and other tax receivable (2,285)



37,304

Inventory (52,031)



(10,037)

Prepaid and other current assets 26,087



(17,449)

Other assets, long-term 2,880



2,880

Increase (decrease) in:





Accounts payable (101,127)



42,016

Due to related party (55,445)



2,972

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities (56,011)



68,236

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (371,539)



245,490









CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:





Purchases of property and equipment (334,946)



(835,433)

Net cash used in investing activities (334,946)



(835,433)









CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:





Payment on note payable - related party (2,000,000)



(1,000,000)

Proceeds from sale of common stock, net of costs 7,246,090





Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 5,246,090



(1,000,000)









Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 4,539,605



(1,589,943)

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period 587,819



3,776,852

Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period $ 5,127,424



$ 2,186,909









Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:





Taxes paid $ 



$ 9,511

Interest paid $ 66,764



$ 90,871

Common Stock exchanged for convertibles debentures, non-cash $ 2,184,264



$ 



Investor Contact: Media Contact: Ariel F. Babcock, CFA Paul Hamblyn EuroSite Power Inc. EuroSite Power Inc. +1.781.466.6413 +44.792.085.9540 ariel.babcock@eurositepower.co.uk paul.hamblyn@eurositepower.co.uk

Related Links

http://www.eurositepower.co.uk



SOURCE EuroSite Power Inc.
"This strategic alliance with SMI brings together two international industry leaders with a track record of creating iconic global skyscrapers. SMI has developed the tallest building in Shanghai and we look forward to our partnership as we jointly develop the tallest building in New York City," said Gary Barnett, founder and CEO of Extell Development Company. "We believe the superb location, views, design and quality of Central Park Tower will make it the most important residential building ever to be built in New York City and expect it to be a great success for Extell and SMI." SMI's investment will have first priority, and its investment is expected to receive a return of 20% to 30% per annum over the course of the project.

"We are excited to be able to participate in the development of the tallest residential tower in New York City, on a conservative high return basis. We look forward to a long lasting relationship with Extell, one of the top development companies in the United States," said Tom Tao, President of SMI USA.

Rising to 1,550 feet high, Central Park Tower, when completed will be the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere and offer unprecedented 360-degree views of New York City and beyond. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the renowned architects whose credits include the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, the future world's tallest building, have now designed Central Park Tower which will be New York's most significant contribution to the global stage of supertall towers. The architectural vision for the project is founded on the principles of integrated architectural design, interior layouts and structural efficiency, positioning the building as a powerful statement in the Manhattan skyline. Located at 225 West 57th Street, Central Park Tower is slated for completion in 2019 with sales launching later this year.

Central Park Tower will also be home to Nordstrom's first full-line New York location. Nordstrom Inc., the prestigious Seattle-based fashion specialty retailer has signed an agreement with Extell to locate its long-awaited flagship store in New York City. This would be the retailer's second largest store, and is set to open in 2019.

Extell's expansive portfolio of properties, including the internationally-recognized, record-setting luxury condominium One57, have solidified its position as one of New York City's top real estate development firms.

SMI's extensive experience is highlighted by the recent completion of the second-tallest building in the world and the second to break the incredible 2,000-foot barrier, Shanghai Tower. SMI has successfully executed 80 mega projects spanning from the comprehensive reconstruction of the Bund to the Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel.

SOURCE Extell Development Company
Stock market "whistleblower" announces a public challenge anyone can follow on YouTube

READING, England, Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Trader Jim Hunt of VTA Publications, recently dubbed by one magazine as a "Whistleblower who helps the little guy beat the big banks", announced a seemingly ambitious challenge today: to prove how simple his stock trading system is by attempting to make his mother a tax-free millionaire in ten steps that he will post proof of on YouTube as he goes. The first step was completed just days after the announcement and can be seen on www.MakeMumAMillionaire.com.

"It's not as ambitious as one might think at first glance," says Jim Hunt. "If you start with a thousand pounds- an amount most people could afford to start trading with- and then double it just ten times, keeping the profits rolling up, it comes to a million pounds. That's the power of compounding- something Einstein called 'the 8th wonder of the world.'"

Jim Hunt's system involves using a proprietary method for hunting down the stocks that The Establishment are quietly accumulating, and to ride on them as they glide steadily upwards. "The trick," Jim explained, "isn't actually the trading part- it's finding the stocks that are so obviously pushing higher, even to the untrained eye. I'll be cherry-picking the best ones, so I can make my mum a millionaire as certainly as possible- it's more about certainty than speed with this exercise, as it should always be with stocks."

"I think a lot of people think trading is a lot harder than it is, and to be honest, I see a lot of whining out there on the Internet," says Jim. "So I want to prove to people, once and for all, using unequivocal evidence on YouTube, that this can and will be done using my methods." Jim's prior success with Wealth Wave led to the creation of this new system.

For more information about the offerings from Jim Hunt and VTA Publications, please visit http://www.vtapublications.co.uk.

About VTA Publications:

VTA Publications Ltd. is a non-fiction publisher of distance learning courses, and an events organizer catering to specialist genres. Established in 2012, thousands of customers across the globe enjoy their information products and services. VTA Publications' mission is to provide customers with cutting-edge information, both digitally and physically, specializing in the fields of economics and finance. They aim to source the very best experts in their field from around the world, searching for the people who "walk the talk" in order to bring their experience and tradecraft directly to customers in simple-to-use formats. VTA Publications also acts as a booking agent focusing on seminars and events of this nature. For more information about VTA Publications, please visit www.vtapublications.co.uk. Follow Jim Hunt on YouTube for more examples of his proven methods of successful trading.

Related Links

http://www.vtapublications.co.uk



SOURCE VTA Publications
RAS AL-KHAIMAH, UAE, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Khater Massaad's Georgian aide, Gela Mikadze was dealt a further blow by the Georgian Civil Chamber yesterday as the decision by a lower court to freeze RAKIA Georgia and Rakeen Georgia assets was overturned.

Following yesterday's ruling seven freezing injunctions have been lifted and Mikadze was given no right to appeal. The judgement gives RAKIA Georgia and Rakeen Georgia full freedom and use of their assets. The matter will come to trial later this year.

It is claimed by Rakeen Development and RAKIA that they were defrauded of approximately US$30 million as Mikadze, assisted by Massaad, transferred the shares of their Georgian subsidiaries for a nominal value to two of his own entities called Manline Projects LLP and Bestfort Development LLP. The case has since become known as the "Shares Transfer Case".

According to Karem Al Sadeq, a former prominent RAK public official who is now serving time for fraud himself, the shares were transferred to Mikadze after Massaad agreed to the transfer during a dinner at the Sheraton Hotel, Tbilisi. Al Sadeq says that the transfer was as a reward for Mikadze "facilitating decisions" taken by the Georgian government in respect of RAK's Georgian assets.

This trial is a twist in events as Mikadze had previously admitted, before the Georgian courts in a plea bargain agreement, that his transfer of the shares was authorised by Massaad and amounted to the criminal offence of embezzlement. Mikadze has since tried to renounce his guilty plea.



SOURCE RAK Media Office
"Around the globe we in the education community hear the drumbeat from employers that they want mature graduates who have the soft skills necessary to thrive in a work environment. And from GBSN members on every continent we see the impact that consequential experiential learning opportunities have on students' development. I'm grateful to the National University of Management for helping us bring GBSN's second 'Learning by Doing' summit to Cambodia as part of our effort to expand access to experiential education at business schools around the globe." said Page Schindler Buchanan, Chief Operating Officer at GBSN.

"Overall, the GBSN Summit on Experiential Learning was a success and we look forward to introducing more experiential and action learning projects into our business school curricula at the National University of Management in Phnom Penh," said Dr. Hor Peng, Rector of National University of Management.

The Keynote Discussion featured H.E. Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport who was interviewed by Kerry Laufer, Director of OnSite Global Consulting at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

"The conference provides a platform for business schools, business leaders and policy-makers to meet and discuss to find ways how to improve management education to meet the needs of the rapidly changing landscapes of global business of the 21st century," said H.E. Dr. Naron.

Following the summit, delegates from the US, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Singapore, South Korea and gathered for a reception with Julie Chung, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia.

"The U.S. Embassy is proud to support this important summit that brings together the best of American business schools with their colleagues in Cambodia and throughout Asia. Experiential learning in particular is a significant innovation that will help future business leaders bridge borders and thrive in their own communities. By fostering international dialogue and information transfer through events like this, the Global Business School Network is helping to strengthen ties between our schools, our students and our nations," said Ms. Chung.

Summit speakers and facilitators included top U.S. and Asian business educators, prominent Cambodian entrepreneurs, and the Cambodian Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, providing varied perspectives on experiential education in Cambodia and across the globe.

Featured speakers included:

Bryan Andriano , Executive Director, Global & Experiential Education, George Washington University School of Business ( USA )

, Executive Director, Global & Experiential Education, ( ) Chang Bunleang, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Brown Coffee ( Cambodia )

) Michellana Jester, Lecturer & Faculty Course Manager, Global Economics & Management Group, MIT Sloan School of Management ( USA )

( ) Marc Johnson , Executive Director, Center for Global Initiatives, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia (USA)

, Executive Director, Center for Global Initiatives, of Business, (USA) Deepa Krishnan , Professor, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research ( India )

, Professor, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research ( ) Ravi Kumar , Associate Provost, Special Projects, Nanyang Business School ( Singapore )

, Associate Provost, Special Projects, Nanyang Business School ( ) Kerry Laufer , Director, OnSite Global Consulting, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth ( USA )

, Director, OnSite Global Consulting, Tuck School of Business at ( ) Zoe Ng , Managing Director, Raintree Development ( Cambodia )

, Managing Director, Raintree Development ( ) Stephen Paterson , Senior Advisor &Program Coordinator for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, National University of Management ( Cambodia )

, Senior Advisor &Program Coordinator for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, of Management ( ) Hor Peng , Rector, National University of Management ( Cambodia )

, Rector, of Management ( ) Okhna Sok Piseth, CEO & Co-Founder, GGer Co., Ltd. ( Cambodia )

) Kristiana Raube , Executive Director, International Business Development Program

Executive Director, Institute for Business & Social Impact, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley ( USA )

, Executive Director, International Business Development Program Executive Director, Institute for Business & Social Impact, of Business, UC Berkeley ( ) Eric Shih , Vice Dean for Faculty & Research, SKK Graduate School of Business ( South Korea )

Visit www.gbsn.org/ELsummit to view the full agenda.

About GBSN

The Global Business School Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening management, entrepreneurial and leadership talent for the developing world through better access to quality, locally relevant education. GBSN harnesses the power of a network of over 70 leading business schools that share a dedication to our mission to build management education capacity for the developing world. Through international events and local capacity building projects GBSN facilitates cross-border networking, knowledge sharing and collaboration. GBSN programs tap the expertise of our member schools to advise, train and mentor developing world institutions and educators. More information is available at www.gbsn.org.

About The National University of Management

The National University of Management is the leading public university in Cambodia focusing on management and business administration. Currently, there are approximately 12,000 students enrolled in bachelor, masters and doctoral programs in areas such as finance & banking, accounting, management, marketing, entrepreneurship, tourism & hospitality, information technology, foreign languages and business law.

Contact at GBSN: Nicole Zefran, nzefran@gbsn.org, +1.202.628.9040

Related Links

http://www.gbsnonline.org



SOURCE Global Business School Network
HELSINKI, Finland, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Our mission is to be the front runner in making the change in customer behavior in buying clothes. We believe that in a long run through offering conscious and mindfully designed products there will be a shift towards reasonable and informed choices. Fashion has become other than a style issue also a huge social and environmental issue that has to be clearly communicated with the customers.

The Brand

"Our hearts beat for creating the experience of everyday luxury. We live and breathe for simple and timeless design with a sensual edge. Our philosophy is an honest, consistent and relaxed way of life - the laid-back Nordic lifestyle. We hold on to transparency, simplicity, and quality in all our processes. We believe in sustainable and conscious choices and creating products that stand the test of time."

- Kirsi Lille, Founder, and Designer

LILLE is a family-owned women's wear brand with roots in the archipelago of Helsinki, Finland. The brand is established 2013. Our products are designed in Helsinki and responsibly manufactured in Europe, mainly Estonia, using carefully selected European fabrics. In the creation of our products, we place a special emphasis on an excellent feel of the fabrics and long-lasting design and materials. The clothes are easy to wear and care. These are our cornerstones.

Each of our garments is a unique story consisting of special craftsmanship and skills in many stages of the garment's production chain from raw material to a ready garment. We value highly all the talented people taking part in creating these stories with us. We have had the honor of working with the lovely production and sewing ladies in Estonia for over a decade and have really learned to respect their high expertise. Our garments are designed with sustainable values. The materials are sourced with consideration of environment and high quality. Our designs are crafted with love and care in limited numbers. We are proud to design these unique items for modern, conscious women who appreciate the aesthetics and the values dear to us.

The Designer

The founder and designer Kirsi Lille started her fashion design and art studies in Florence, Italy where she soon learned to appreciate the Italian art, aesthetics and culture, as well as the love for the craftsmanship and high-quality materials. The years spent in Italy have had a strong impact in the LILLE style. After graduating from the Aalto University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Kirsi first worked as a designer for Finnish fashion industry before launching her first private label in 2003. She has been working as a designer and an entrepreneur, as well as a teacher and a researcher, concentrating on topics like fashion ecosystems and sustainability.

For further inquiries please contact:

+358 50 5206689 / Kirsi Lille

info@lilleclothing.com

http://www.lilleclothing.com





AW16-17 COLLECTION "Autumn Rain"

The collection is inspired by those simple and special things in life: A breath of fresh air. High clear skies. Deep clean waters. A walk in the nearby forest. Feeling the scent of the woods. The refreshing autumn rain dropping on the skin. A familiar face and a smile. Sharing a precious moment with a loved one. Feeling safe and special. Small, unique and simple things in life. Experiencing the everyday luxury.

LILLE AW16-17 Press Material



SS2017 COLLECTION "Sense of Ease"



We are proud to present our new collection, which is inspired by effortless and comfort moments when one can completely forget the stress and hurry, and totally concentrate on the existing moment - when one can feel the sense of ease. Feather-light jerseys, sensual graphic prints and summery linen-cotton mix fabrics are layered together for simple, elegant style for everyday luxury. Comfortable loose silhouettes are teamed up with timeless combinations for a modern look.



LILLE SS2017 Press Material

SOURCE Lille Clothing Oy
New GDP-Compliant Facility Expanded and Relocated to Serve its Pharma Clients in Switzerland

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Marken announced the opening of their latest GDP-compliant operations center in Zurich, Switzerland, responding to increased demand from local pharmaceutical companies with growing clinical development programs.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110930/NY78064LOGO

The new location is within close vicinity to the Zurich Airport (Kloten) freight terminal and is strategically located near major Swiss highways. The facility, which operates 24/7/365, includes office and warehouse space with refrigerators and freezers available for temperature controlled packaging, full security and is connected to Marken's global 'Maestro' operating system. The operation will be fully staffed, capable of collecting and shipping clinical drug product from the Zurich gateway to anywhere in the world. The facility also conforms to the Swiss Minergie (green) standard, a registered quality label for new and refurbished low-energy-consumption buildings.

Wes Wheeler, Chief Executive Officer for Marken, commented, "Marken has built a global logistics network specifically designed to meet the needs of the global pharmaceutical industry. Our newest site in Zurich replaces our smaller office with expanded capabilities so that we can be ready for the increased clinical logistics demands from our clients. We have also set the standard for GDP compliance  especially in Europe - and will certify the operations according to our own 'Gold Book' standard."

Wheeler concluded: "We are the only 100%-dedicated, patient centric supply chain organization in the life sciences industry. We will continue to expand our global footprint to meet the increasingly demanding requirements of our clients."

The new office location is located and can be reached as follows:

Marken Switzerland AG

Flughofstrasse 39a

8152 Glattbrugg

Switzerland

Phone: +41 44 319 80 50

Fax: +41 44 319 80 51

Email: marken.schweiz@marken.com

About Marken

Marken is the only patient-centric supply chain organization 100% dedicated to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Marken maintains the leading position for Direct to Patient services and biological sample shipments, and offers a state of the art GMP-compliant depot network and logistic hubs in 43 locations worldwide. Marken's 630 staff members manage 50,000 drug and biological shipments every month at all temperature ranges in more than 150 countries. Additional services such as biological kit production, ancillary material sourcing, storage and distribution, shipment lane verification and qualifications, as well as GDP, regulatory and compliance consultancy add to Marken's unique position in the pharma and logistics industry.

Related Links

http://www.marken.com



SOURCE Marken
LONDON, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Including Forecast by Product Type (Tethered, Airship). Contracts & Analysis of High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems (PGSS), Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDS), Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems (TARS), Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3), Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID)

Now: Why is the Military Aerostat important right now?

As part of the broader Military Aerostat market space, there are significant revenue streams within the tethered aerostat submarket to tap into. This report shows you where these business opportunities are.

Due to a myriad of real and perceived threats, never before have governments been so concerned with protecting their assets and infrastructure from accidental and increasingly deliberate attack. The potential security contracts at stake are enormous and your company needs to be part of this.

What are the Military Aerostat market prospects?

Visiongain's definitive new report assesses that the Military Aerostat market will reach $4,175m in 2016. The performance of the industry is forecast to grow steadily, with an anticipated CAGR of 4.8% for the five-year period 2016-2021, which is expected to drive the industry to a value of $5,289mn by the end of 2021.

Visiongain's timely 165 page report reveals how best to compete in this lucrative market space and maximize your company's potential.

Read on to discover how this report can help you develop your business.

To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on sara.peerun@visiongainglobal.com

This report addresses the pertinent issues:

 Where are the most lucrative market prospects?

 Who are the leadings companies and what does the competitive landscape look like?

 What are the regional, technical and regulatory barriers to market entry?

 What are the technological issues and roadmap driving the market?

 Why is the market prospering and how can you fully exploit this?

 When will the market fully mature and why?



Research and analysis highlights

 Independent, impartial and objective analysis

 An exclusive expert interview with leading aerostat specialist TCOM

 169 tables, charts and graphs illustrating the Military Aerostat market prospects

 Global Military Aerostat market forecast and analysis 2016-2026

 Two Military Aerostat submarket forecasts by Product Type covering the period 2016-2026

- Tethered

- Airship

 Ten leading national Military Aerostat market forecasts from 2016-2026 each further segmented by Tethered and Airship aerostats

- Australia

- Brazil

- Canada

- Germany

- India

- Israel

- Singapore

- UK

- US

- RoW

 Analysis of barriers to entry into the global and national Military Aerostat markets

 Profiles of 11 leading companies, involved with Military Aerostat with key financial metrics

- Allsopp Helikite

- ALTAVE

- ILC Dover

- Lindstrand Technologies Limited

- Lockheed Martin Corporation

- Raven Industries Inc

- Raytheon Company

- RT

- SkySentry

- TCOM, L.P.

- Worldwide Aeros

 SWOT/PEST market analysis

And there's more.

How this report will benefit you

 You have almost certainly an excess of conflicting and yet unclear information - you want one definitive military aerostats report to base your business decisions upon - this visiongain report provides that clarity

 Our insightful military aerostats report speaks to your needs for definitive market data, objective impartial analysis and immediate clear conclusions - to allow you to formulate clear decisive business strategies

 You need the information now in an easily digestible form - this is where this visiongain report excels

 Forecasts give you a crucial advantage. That knowledge of the future is central to your strategic decision making.

 Knowledge is vital to you and your business. You need every piece of evidence to inform your crucial investment decisions - let visiongain give you that clear advantage

 Without this vital military aerostats report, you will fall behind your competitors

Who should read this report?

 Anyone within the Military Aerostat value chain.

 CEO's

 COO's

 CIO's

 Business development managers

 Technologists

 Suppliers

 Marketing managers

 Investors

 Banks

 Government agencies

 Contractors

Don't miss out on this business advantage

This information is not available elsewhere. With our report you are less likely to fall behind in knowledge or miss opportunity. See how you could benefit your research, analyses, and decisions. Also see how you can save time and receive recognition for commercial insight.

Visiongain's study is for everybody needing commercial analyses for the Military Aerostat market and leading companies. You will find data, trends and predictions. Buy our report today Military Aerostats Market Report 2016-2026: Forecast by Product Type (Tethered, Airship). Contracts & Analysis of High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems (PGSS), Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDS), Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems (TARS), Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3), Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) & Ground-Based Operational Surveillance Systems (GBOSS) Towers for Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR). Please order our report now.

To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on sara.peerun@visiongainglobal.com

To request a report overview of this report please emails Sara Peerun at sara.peerun@visiongainglobal.com or call Tel: +44 (0) 20 7336 6100

Or click on https://www.visiongain.com/Report/1707/Military-Aerostats-Market-Report-2016-2026

Companies Mentioned in the Report

Aerial Delivery Research Development Establishment

Airborne Industries

Akashdeep

Allsopp Helikite

ALTAVE

Amba Defence

A-NSE

Astrotech

Astrotech Space Operations

BAE Systems

Boeing Company, The

China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd. (CAIGA)

De Beers

Deposition Sciences Inc

Drone Aviation Holding Corp

eCastle Pty Ltd

e-Green Technologies

EIG

Elbit Systems

Elta Systems

Flight Options LLC

Flying Whales

Forcepoint

Foreground Security

GEFA-FLUG GmbH

Global Near Space Corp

Google

Grayling Industries

Helikite Australia

IAI

ILC Dover

Industrial Defender, Inc

Integra Plastics, Inc.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)

Israel Military Industries (IMI)

ITT Corporation

L-3 Communications

LaSalle Capita

Lindsay Goldberg LLC.

Lindstrand Balloons Ltd (LBL).

Lindstrand Technologies Limited

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Logos Technologies

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Pacific Architects and Engineers Inc

Petrobras

Poseidon Scientific Instruments Pty Ltd

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

Raven Aerostar

Raven Industries Inc

Raytheon Blackbird Technologies

Raytheon Company

Raytheon Teligy Inc

Raytheon Visual Analytics Incorporated

Rheinmetall Canada

RosAeroSystems s.r.a.

Rossens

RT

RT Aerostat Systems

RT LTA Systems

Savi Technology, Inc.

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

Sikorsky Aircraft

Skyhook International/Boeing

SkyLifter Pty Ltd

SkySentry

Skyship Services Inc

Systems Made Simple

TCOM, L.P

Teligy Inc

United Technologies Corporation

Veritas Capital

Vista Equity Partners

Vista Research, Inc.

Visual Analytics Inc

Websense

Worldwide Aeros Corporation

Zeppelin Company

Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH

Zeta Associates, Inc

To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on sara.peerun@visiongainglobal.com

SOURCE Visiongain Ltd
MADRID, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

PharmaMar (MCE: PHM) announces that it has received the approval from the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) to continue with the pivotal CORAIL study of PM1183 (lurbinectedin) in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer up to the recruitment of the 420 patients established in the protocol.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150203/727958-b )



This decision is based on the futility analysis of the first 210 patients (50% of the total 420), in which the safety and efficacy of PM1183 in this indication were evaluated.

CORAIL is a randomized Phase III Trial to evaluate the efficacy of PM1183 in comparison with topotecan or pegylated lyposomal doxorubicin, standard treatment of care for this pathology, in 420 patients. The primary endpoint of this study is to evaluate the Progression Free Survival (PFS), the secondary objectives being to analyze overall survival (OS), objective response rate along with the patients quality of life parameters.

Media Relations (+34-638-79-62-15) and Investor Relations (+34-914444500)

SOURCE PharmaMar
MUNICH, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

In July 2016, the Procurement Office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior signed a framework agreement with Rohde & Schwarz for 300 R&S QPS200 security scanners. The new instruments can now be used everywhere that the German Federal Police Force performs security checks.

The three-year framework agreement encompasses 300 systems plus accessories and service. As the security scanners of choice for security checks based on millimeter-wave technology, the German Federal Police will use the instruments for passenger screening at airports throughout Germany. The scanners can also be used for security access control in other places, such as in ministries, for example.

Rohde & Schwarz has successfully entered a new business field with the R&S QPS. The millimeter-wave technology is based on the company's many years of expertise in developing globally leading T&M equipment. The security scanner automatically detects potentially dangerous metallic and non-metallic objects under clothing or on the body. A detected object is identified on a symbolic graphic of the human body, preserving the privacy of the individual being scanned. There is no health hazard associated with the R&S QPS transmit power, which is hundreds or even thousands of times lower than that of a mobile phone. Scanning comfort is also improved since the individual being scanned simply stands in front of the scanner with their arms held slightly away from the body.

The security scanners have been certified by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and thoroughly tested for suitability by the Federal Police. This framework agreement represents Rohde & Schwarz's largest order for security scanners to date. Additional orders from other countries in Europe and around the world have already been received.

Contact: Christian Mokry, Tel.: +49-89-4129-0, E-mail: press@rohde-schwarz.com

SOURCE Rohde & Schwarz
Future Automotive Cameras Will Feature Wider Fields Of View, Higher Resolutions and Better Low Light Performance to Support New Applications

BOSTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP) has drafted its strategy to protect VRUs (Vulnerable Road Users) that amount to around half of all deaths and injuries on Europe's roads.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130207/NE56457LOGO-b

The Strategy Analytics report, "Euro-NCAP Raises The Bar On Automotive Camera Performance," comments on how the resulting test requirements have affected the design of automotive camera modules and how consumer demands are affecting specifications for park assist cameras. It also details the emergence of new camera applications and new imaging concepts that will help drive automotive camera demand to almost 200 million units in 2023.

Click here for the report: http://bit.ly/2aNmmBC and http://bit.ly/2b8aIC3

"VRUs crossing the road have presented auto makers with the challenge of widening the field of view in front windshield cameras  and with that, the resulting need to increase resolutions so that object recognition algorithms can still operate without compromising on operational range," said Kevin Mak, Senior Analyst at the Automotive Practice of Strategy Analytics.

He added, "The impact of this increased camera performance will be the increased processing power needed to run image processing. Strategies must be in place to ensure that the increase in performance requirements does not result in a drastic increase in costs, when auto makers are keen to maintain their safety record and attain the coveted 5-star NCAP awards for their models that require standard fitment of active safety features. Furthermore, new applications, such as long range, highway speed object recognition in front windshield cameras, traffic light detection and side mirror-replacement cameras, will also require an increase in camera performance."

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides the competitive edge with advisory services, consulting and actionable market intelligence for emerging technology, mobile and wireless, digital consumer and automotive electronics companies. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, Strategy Analytics delivers insights for enterprise success. www.StrategyAnalytics.com

For more information about Strategy Analytics:

Autonomous Vehicle Service: http://ow.ly/10mJXv

Powertrain, Body, Chassis & Safety Service: http://ow.ly/10mJTq

Report contacts :

European Contact: Kevin Mak, +44 (0)1908 423 644, kmak@strategyanalytics.com

US Contact: Mark Fitzgerald, +1 617 614 0717, mfitzgerald@strategyanalytics.com

China Contact: Kevin Li, +86 186 0110 3697, kli@strategyanalytics.com

Related Links

http://www.strategyanalytics.com



SOURCE Strategy Analytics
LONDON, August 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The PEX Network has announced the agenda for its flagship online event, the annual Business Process Management (BPM) Open House. The BPM Open House is the largest global online gathering of BPM professionals. 2015 saw over 1,500 registrants and the event continues to grow year on year - with 2016 set to be no different.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160808/396370LOGO )



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKQWRzGgTmU

The event is brought to you by The Process Excellence Network (PEX Network) is IQPC's largest online portal, boasting a global membership of over 120,000 and a global portfolio of live events, webinars, and networking opportunities.

The BPM Open House is now in it's fourth year, and will be taking place on the 19 - 23 September 2016, attendees will be given the opportunity to learn from the first hand experiences of companies who have maximized the value from their BPM solutions to deliver real business results. The unique, online-only event will bring together hand-picked case studies that will show what the project objectives were, how they were achieved and the results produced.

The agenda includes a captivating mix of practitioner case studies, presentations and demos over the course of the 5 day event. There will be 2 sessions daily with panelists from industry leading companies such as Appian, Pega, RedHat, AuraPortal, PNMSoft, Oracle plus many more.

Event highlights include a Case Study by Appian where attendees will learn how Triad Retail Media uses The Appian Platform to unite enterprise data with process to drive faster performance and a better customer experience. This is then followed by a Demo Session; an overview Application Platform capabilities of the Appian Suite. Areas of focus will include enterprise data management, process management, native mobility, social collaboration and portable cloud architecture.

Other agenda highlights include a presentation with Barry O'Reilly, Director of BPM at Oracle EMEA, where he will discuss Empowering Business Users with Process Automation in the Cloud. The session will showcase how to increase business visibility, agility, and control by empowering LOB's to design and execute enterprise processes in self-service model.

There are still a small number of sessions to be announced, but if the standard of speakers and sessions continues, the BPM Open House 2016 looks set to be another record breaking event.

The BPM Open House will be taking place on the 19 - 23 September 2016.

Find the full agenda, event details and registration information at http://www.processexcellencenetwork.com/online-event/bpm-open-house-2016, or email enquire@pexnetwork.com.

SOURCE PEX Network
WELLESLEY, Mass., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The global financial crisis has left a lingering mark on entrepreneurship across the globe, with 95 percent of entrepreneurs relying on their own funding for startup venturesthis according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2015-2016 Special Report on Entrepreneurial Finance (pdf), released with sponsors Babson College, Universidad Del Desarrollo, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, and Tecnologico de Monterrey.

The global financial crisis has left a lingering mark on entrepreneurship across the globe, with 95 percent of entrepreneurs relying on their own funding for startup ventures--this according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2015-2016 Special Report on Entrepreneurial Finance (pdf), released with sponsors Babson College, Universidad Del Desarrollo, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, and Tecnologico de Monterrey.

This special report studied entrepreneurial finance patterns across the globe. The last of its kind was issued 10 years ago, prior to the 2008 downturn. Since then, availability of funds, sources of funding, as well as the cost of starting a business have all evolved.

"Although the average cost of starting a business has dropped, access to finance is one of the most serious problems for businesses in many economies, with small and medium-sized businesses struggling the most," said Babson College Senior Lecturer and report co-author Caroline Daniels.

The average amount needed to start a business in 2004 was $54,000 and $65,000 in 2006. In 2015, the median amount was just $13,000.

"Although medians were used in 2015, as opposed to average amounts in previous reports, this drop does indicate a willingness among current entrepreneurs to start a business with fewer resources and the capability to do so. We think that this has to do with the influence of the internet," said co-authors Mike Herrington and Penny Kew.

"This indicates a much stronger sense of self-reliance in the present economic climate," adds Herrington.

Entrepreneurs are also increasing the proportion they invest on averagein 2014, they provided 66 percent of their startup capital, while in 2015 they provided 72 percent.

For many entrepreneurs, their own savings, as well as informal investments from neighbors, family, and friends played an important role; contributions from strangers was rarer. "Beginning life in a privileged position, therefore, still gives entrepreneurs a jump-start, particularly in Africa and North America, where rates of informal investment are highest," says Kew.

The impact of informal investment on entrepreneurship is immense. Since 2012, an average of six percent of the global adult population have provided informal investment to an entrepreneur per year, totaling over $1 trillion between 2012 and 2015. This is an increase since the 2006 GEM report on financing, which calculated that four percent had provided informal investment, totaling $600 billion. (Note: 42 countries participated in the 2006 GEM survey, compared to 66 countries from 2012-2015).

The report shows that traditional forms of entrepreneurial finance are increasingly being supplemented by burgeoning sources such as peer-to-peer lending, crowdfunding, microfinance, and community cooperatives. At the same time, industries, business models, and the concept of the 'marketplace' is being redefined by mobile technology.

Daniels says globalization and the role of technologyincluding social mediacannot be underestimated, particularly in more developed nations. "Entrepreneurs in North America are substantially more likely to have access to more sophisticated sources of entrepreneurial funding, such as VC and crowdfunding," she explains. "Fourteen percent of North American entrepreneurs are financed through crowdfunding. By contrast, Africa and Asia & Oceania, at just two percent, lag significantly in terms of access to this form of funding."

Business is increasingly global, adds Daniels. "As the awareness of who has access to resources is growing, stakeholders are exploring ways to increase the types of financing available in all economies."

Additional Key U.S. Findings

North Americans are the most likely to fund work colleagues. They are also the group most likely to fund strangersa fifth of informal investors in North America fall into this category.

North America has the second highest percentage of early-stage entrepreneurs who received funds from informal investors at 11 percent. Africa had the highest at 12 percent.

has the second highest percentage of early-stage entrepreneurs who received funds from informal investors at 11 percent. had the highest at 12 percent. Globally, North American entrepreneurs required the highest amount of capital to start a business, alongside Europe .

. In North America , entrepreneurs projecting six-plus jobs require seven times more money, on average, than those projecting zero to five jobs. This compared to a differential of 2.5 in Latin America and the Caribbean .

, entrepreneurs projecting six-plus jobs require seven times more money, on average, than those projecting zero to five jobs. North America reports the highest internationalization levels of all regions alongside Europe , with each region reporting, on average, around one fifth of entrepreneurs with substantial international sales (25 percent or more).

About the Report

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2015-2016 Special Report on Entrepreneurial Finance analyzes the GEM 2015 findings on entrepreneurial finance. A key focus is to develop an understanding of the current entrepreneurial financing ecosystem as experienced by GEM's diverse set of economy members, and to highlight regional, as well as economic development phase trends in terms of sources and usage of entrepreneurial finance.

This special report is authored by Babson College Senior Lecturer of Entrepreneurship Caroline Daniels; University of Cape Town Professor and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Executive Director, Mike Herrington; and Penny Kew.

About the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) was initiated in 1999 as a joint venture of Babson College and the London Business School. Starting with 10 participating economies, the project expanded to include 73 economies in its 2014 survey. The latest survey spans 62 economies. GEM is the largest and most developed research program on entrepreneurship in the world. GEM is unique because, unlike most entrepreneurship data sets that measure newer and smaller firms, GEM studies the behavior of individuals with respect to starting and managing businesses. GEM academic teams in each participating economy are members of an exclusive research project that provides access to the collective knowledge of some of the world's most renowned researchers and institutions involved in entrepreneurship research. At a time in history when individual entrepreneurial activity may hold the key to transforming the global economy and discouraging ingrained economic disparity in countries with minimal economic opportunity, GEM data has influenced national economic policies and continues to expand its collaborative role. Global sponsors of the research include Babson College (lead sponsor) in the United States, Universidad Del Desarrollo in Chile, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak in Malaysia, and Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico. For more information, follow GEM on Twitter.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader of Entrepreneurship of All Kinds. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397520

SOURCE Babson College

Related Links

http://www.babson.edu


WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by Julius Garvey:

One of the most prominent leaders of the civil rights movements in the first half of the 20th century-and recognized as such by luminaries such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X as well as by the government of Jamaica, which posthumously named him its first National Hero-Marcus Garvey was wrongfully convicted by a U.S. court of mail fraud, a conviction that stalled his movement for racial justice, social progress and economic independence for all peoples of the African diaspora.

In an effort to redress this grievous, decades-old wrong, a request for a posthumous presidential pardon has been filed by the descendants of Marcus Garvey with the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House Counsel's Office. This pardon request urges consideration of Garvey's unjust arrest, trial and incarceration in 1923; President Calvin Coolidge's commutation of his sentence; and Garvey's crusade, embodied in the Universal Negro Improvement Association, to improve the lives of African-Americans as well as of people of African descent worldwide.

Posthumous presidential pardons are rare occurrences-only two have been granted to date. However, the fact that his conviction was:

motivated by a desire on the part of the federal government to discredit, disrupt and destroy Garvey's civil rights movement;

executed through covert surveillance and deception, with under-cover agents posing as Garvey supporters: and

aided by judicial proceedings that have been condemned as factually unsound and politically and racially motivated speaks to the extent and gravity of the injustice perpetrated against Garvey.

Though President Coolidge commuted Garvey's sentence in 1927, almost 90 years later, his descendants and supporters believe that the time has come for President Barack Obama to clear, finally and entirely, the name of this pioneering civil rights figure who sought to uplift all peoples of African descent.

"(Garvey) was the first man on a mass scale and level to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and destiny; and make the Negro feel that he was somebody." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

All press are invited to attend.

Contact: Julius W. Garvey, M.D. at 718 460 3791, [email protected]

SOURCE Julius Garvey
SHANGHAI, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Acorn International, Inc. (NYSE: ATV) ("Acorn" or the "Company") today announced that the Company will release financial results for the second quarter of 2016 before the market opens on Friday August 12, 2016. The Company will hold a conference call to discuss the financial results for investors at 8:30 AM ET on that same day.

Jacob A. Fisch, President, will lead the call.

Following the presentation there will be a brief question and answer segment for investors and analysts.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT), August 12, 2016 to discuss financial results.

Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

US/Canada: 1-888-713-3592

Northern China: 10-800-714-1504

Southern China: 10-800-140-1379

Hong Kong: 800-903-658

International: 913-312-1480

Please dial in 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the passcode 6187199 to join the call.

A replay will be available approximately two hours following the conclusion of the conference call through August 19, 2016 and can be accessed by dialing (888) 203-1112, or (719) 457-0820, passcode 6187199.

An archived audio file of the call will be available on the Company's website http://www.acorninternationalir.com/home/news-and-events/webcasts-and-presentations/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "future," "going forward," "intends," "outlook," "plans," "target," "will," and similar statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties, or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

About Acorn International, Inc.

Acorn is a marketing and branding company in China with a proven track record of developing, promoting and selling a diverse portfolio of proprietary-branded products, as well as well-established and promising new products from third parties. Its business is currently comprised of two main divisions, its direct sales platforms and its nationwide distribution network. For more information visit www.acorninternationalir.com.

SOURCE Acorn International, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.acorninternationalir.com


BOSTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Actifio, the copy data virtualization company, today announced that Hot Topics has included CMO Michael Troiano in its annual list of the Top 100 Most Influential B2B Tech Marketers in North America.

The Hot Topics' list honors the North American B2B tech marketers that have been trailblazers in the use of new technologies to drive innovation within the marketing function, contributed to significant business growth during their tenure and shown exceptional leadership capabilities. The chosen marketers were nominated by Hot Topics' global network, which includes the leaders of companies such Apigee, Box and Docusign.

"We're proud to see Mike recognized for the dynamic and creative marketing initiatives he has brought to Actifio since joining the company in 2012," said Ash Ashutosh, Actifio CEO and founder. "Mike's deep brand-building expertise has been critical in growing Actifio to become a leading technology solution choice for enterprises and service providers worldwide."

"Our entire team works diligently every day to develop the most effective marketing strategies and to help consumers better understand our core values and benefits," said Actifio CMO, Mike Troiano. "It is an honor to be included in such a prestigious group of innovative, global marketers."

To view the complete 100 Most Influential B2B Tech Marketers in North America, please visit Hot Topics.

About Actifio

Actifio virtualizes the data that's the lifeblood of businesses in more than 30 countries around the world. Its Virtual Data Pipeline technology enables businesses to protect, access, and move their data faster, more efficiently, and more simply by decoupling data from physical storage, much the same way a hypervisor decouples compute from physical servers. For enterprise-class backup modernization, self-serve instant data access, or service provider business transformation, Actifio is the first and only choice for radically simple copy data virtualization. For more, visit Actifio.com or follow us on Twitter @Actifio.

Media Contact:

Callum Gibson Durr

Bite for Actifio

[email protected]

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SOURCE Actifio

Related Links

http://www.actifio.com


DUBLIN and MENLO PARK, Calif., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), a leading global pharmaceutical company, and ForSight VISION5, a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on eye care, today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Allergan will acquire ForSight VISION5. Under the terms of the agreement, Allergan will acquire ForSight VISION5 for a $95 million upfront payment and a launch milestone payment related to ForSight's lead development program, a peri-ocular ring designed for extended drug delivery and reducing elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma patients.

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"The acquisition of ForSight and its ocular ring technology builds on Allergan's rich history and deep commitment to eye care innovation," said Brent Saunders, CEO and President of Allergan. "Allergan has been a leader in the development and introduction of novel treatments for underserved eye conditions, including glaucoma, chronic dry eye disease and other ocular conditions. The acquisition of this ring technology demonstrates our commitment to advancing products that can profoundly change the way patients receive treatment  through innovation that helps address non-compliance, increases adherence and improves tolerability."

Today, the most common treatment to lower elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in open-angle glaucoma is eye drop therapies. Nearly half of patients who are prescribed eye drops to manage their glaucoma may stop refilling their prescriptions after six months, often because of difficulty in using drops.i

The ring is a preservative-free, non-invasive peri-ocular product that rests on the surface of the eye (under the eyelids). It is inserted by an Ophthalmologist or Optometrist, and releases medication (bimatoprost) over multiple months to lower elevated IOP in glaucoma and ocular hypertensive patients.

In 2015, ForSight announced results of its first randomized, controlled Phase 2 study comparing the investigational ring to twice-daily timolol eye drops. Data demonstrated that a single administration of the ring provided sustained reduction in IOP for six months with a reduction of 4-6 mmHg at the study's primary endpoint of 12 weeks. Approximately 90 percent of subjects retained inserts in both eyes for 6 months without clinician assistance.

"ForSight's ring technology has been shown to provide long-term intraocular pressure reduction through a non-invasive, passive technology for glaucoma and ocular hypertensive patients. If approved, this technology could provide an important advance to address the significant challenges of patient compliance and adherence in glaucoma, a disease that is expected to impact more than 80 million people worldwide by 2020 and be a leading cause of blindness globally," said David Nicholson, Chief R&D Officer, Allergan. "Importantly, this technology would also be highly complementary to our ongoing portfolio and development programs that are moving glaucoma treatment toward dropless therapies."

"With its historic expertise in eye care innovation and commercialization, its strong collaboration with the eye care community and its commitment to being a leading provider of game-changing dropless treatments for glaucoma, Allergan was a natural choice and a compelling partner for us to maximize the potential of our ring technology," said Andy Corley, Executive Chairman, ForSight VISION5. "The addition of the ring technology to Allergan's world-class eye care development and commercialization organization represents a great day for clinicians and patients seeking an innovative solution for the challenges of glaucoma treatment."

"A safe and effective extra-ocular drug delivery therapeutic option is particularly suitable for the many patients with mild-to-moderate glaucomatous disease in whom more invasive modalities may not be ideal from a risk/benefit standpoint," said Dr. Kuldev Singh, Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Glaucoma Service, Stanford University.

The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed within 60 days.

About Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the eye's optic nerve and can result in vision loss and blindness.ii Several large studies have shown that eye pressure is a major risk factor for optic nerve damage.i In open-angle glaucoma, even though an ocular fluid drainage angle is "open", the fluid passes too slowly through a meshwork drain.i When the fluid builds up, the pressure inside the eye rises to a level that may damage the optic nerve.i When the optic nerve is damaged from increased pressure, open-angle glaucoma-and vision loss may result.i In 2010, 60.5 million people globally were living with glaucoma.ii Given the aging of the world's population, the number of people living with glaucoma may increase to nearly 80 million by 2020.iii

About Allergan plc

Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a bold, global pharmaceutical company and a leader in a new industry model  Growth Pharma. Allergan is focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing branded pharmaceuticals, devices and biologic products for patients around the world.

Allergan markets a portfolio of leading brands and best-in-class products for the central nervous system, eye care, medical aesthetics and dermatology, gastroenterology, women's health, urology and anti-infective therapeutic categories.

Allergan is an industry leader in Open Science, the Company's R&D model, which defines our approach to identifying and developing game-changing ideas and innovation for better patient care. This approach has led to Allergan building one of the broadest development pipelines in the pharmaceutical industry with 65+ mid-to-late stage pipeline programs in development.

Our Company's success is powered by our more than 16,000 global colleagues' commitment to being Bold for Life. Together, we build bridges, power ideas, act fast and drive results for our customers and patients around the world by always doing what is right.

With commercial operations in approximately 100 countries, Allergan is committed to working with physicians, healthcare providers and patients to deliver innovative and meaningful treatments that help people around the world live longer, healthier lives.

For more information, visit Allergan's website at www.Allergan.com.

About ForSight VISION5, Inc

ForSight VISION5, Inc. was founded in January of 2011 as the fifth company to emerge from the ophthalmic incubator ForSight Labs, LLC. ForSight VISION5 is focused on developing non-invasive drug delivery products that replace eye drops and provide sustained therapy for major eye diseases including glaucoma, dry eye, and allergy. ForSight VISION5's lead peri-optical ring product candidate, a novel, non-invasive delivery system designed to allow glaucoma and ocular hypertensive patients to receive medication continually. ForSight VISION5's investors include Versant Ventures, Morgenthaler Ventures, Technology Partners, Delphi Ventures, and H.I.G. BioVentures.

Forward-Looking Statement

Statements contained in this press release that refer to future events or other non-historical facts are forward-looking statements that reflect Allergan's current perspective of existing trends and information as of the date of this release. Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from Allergan's current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting Allergan's business. These factors include, among others, the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of FDA approvals or actions, if any; the impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance of and continued demand for Allergan's products; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Allergan's periodic public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Allergan's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 (certain of such periodic public filings having been filed under the "Actavis plc" name). Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

i Nordstrom, BL et al. "Persistence and Adherence with Topical Glaucoma Therapy" Am J Ophthalmol 2005;140:598606.

ii National Eye Institute  Glaucoma Facts: https://nei.nih.gov/health/glaucoma/glaucoma_facts

iii Bright Focus Foundation  Glaucoma Facts & Figures: http://www.brightfocus.org/glaucoma/article/glaucoma-facts-figures

CONTACTS: Allergan:

Investors:

Lisa DeFrancesco

862) 261-7152





Media:

Mark Marmur

(862) 261-7558

SOURCE Allergan plc

Related Links

http://www.allergan.com


WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Charlton Woodyard, a former employee of Armstrong Williams and his company, Howard Stirk Holdings II, Inc., filed an amended lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against Williams, suing Williams for defamation. Woodyard filed his initial lawsuit ("Complaint") on July 13, 2016, alleging that Williams used his star power as a prominent conservative political commentator, radio host and advisor to Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson to cultivate a relationship with Mr. Woodyard. Mr. Williams, who is 30 years older than Mr. Woodyard, befriended the then 26-year-old and convinced him to work for him, full-time, for little or no compensation, and rewarded him with introductions to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Senator Tim Scott, and presidential candidates Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson.

In the Complaint, Mr. Woodyard alleged that Mr. Williams used his relationship with him to control Mr. Woodyard financially and professionally, and ultimately abused his power to attempt to exploit him sexually. The Complaint further alleged that on November 1, 2015, Mr. Williams subjected Mr. Woodyard to a prolonged and unwelcome series of sexual advances, which Mr. Woodyard repeatedly rejected telling Mr. Williams that he was not interested in having sex with him. The Complaint further alleged that Mr. Williams refused to take no for an answer, and groped Mr. Woodyard's penis and engaged in other unwelcome sexual contact with him. According to the Complaint, after Mr. Woodyard rejected Mr. Williams' sexual advances and offer to pay him for sex, Williams subsequently commenced a campaign of retaliation against Woodyard culminating in his termination.

In today's filing, Mr. Woodyard alleges that after he filed his Complaint, Mr. Williams made defamatory statements about Mr. Woodyard to national news media, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, and on his nationally syndicated Sirius XM radio show, falsely accusing Mr. Woodyard of fabricating these allegations in an effort to extort money from him. Mr. Williams knew at the time he made these statements, according to the First Amended Complaint, that Mr. Woodyard had not made any form of request for payment of funds from him and moreover, that the allegations in the Complaint were true. Mr. Woodyard further alleges that despite Mr. Williams' knowledge that Mr. Woodyard had "irrefutable proof" of the events alleged regarding the November 1, 2015, sexual assault by Williams in his Capitol Hills home, Mr. Williams refused to issue a retraction of the defamatory statements.

Mr. Woodyard is represented by attorneys Debra S. Katz and Lisa J. Banks of Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP.

CONTACT: Debra Katz, Esquire (202) 299-1140 - [email protected]

SOURCE Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP

Related Links

http://www.kmblegal.com


PLANO, Texas, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- At Home, the home decor superstore, announces the opening of the Dale City, Va. location on Thursday, August 11. The more than 92,000 square-foot store, located at 2851 Dale Blvd., Dale City, Va. marks the fifth store in Virginia for the big-box specialty retailer of home decor products.

Following the store opening, the Dale City location will host a grand opening ribbon-cutting Friday, August 19th, at 8:30 a.m. with the Prince William Chamber of Commerce. At Home will offer mystery gift cards to customers who visit the store Saturday, August 20 beginning at 9 a.m. From patio furniture to grilling utensils, At Home has everything shoppers need to complete their outdoor living space to enjoy the warm months of summer.

At Home allows customers to express their personal style with any budget by choosing from an expansive selection of more than 50,000 itemsincluding seasonal and holiday decor, patio furniture, home furnishings, wall art and decorative accents, rugs and housewares. Employing an everyday low pricing model, At Home is dedicated to allowing customers to affordably make their house into a home.

This new location brings 25 jobs to Dale City and surrounding communities. Including the Dale City location, At Home currently operates 116 stores across 29 states.

ABOUT AT HOME:

At Home, the home decor superstore, is focused on providing customers with the broadest assortment of home decor products to suit any style, at any budget, for any reason to redecorate. With a wide assortment of 50,000 items throughout our stores, At Home enables customers to express themselves and create a home that reflects their personality and style, in ways big and small. At Home is headquartered in Plano, Texas. For more information, visit the company on http://www.athome.com or find us on Facebook (AtHomeStores), Instagram (AtHomeStores) or Pinterest (AtHomeStores).

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SOURCE At Home

Related Links

http://www.athome.com


HOUSTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's date of 8/11 is a natural reminder for everyone to call the national "Call Before You Dig" number, 811 prior to any digging project. One free call to 811 before digging can prevent injuries, property damage, service disruption and possible costly fines for damaged infrastructure.

"On August 11 and throughout the year, we remind homeowners and professional contractors alike to call 811 before digging to eliminate the risk of striking an underground utility line," said Joe Berry, director of Damage Prevention for CenterPoint Energy. "It really is the only way to know which utilities are buried in your area."

When homeowners call 811, they connect to their local One Call Center, which then notifies the appropriate utility companies of the homeowner's intent to dig. Professional locators are sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags, spray paint or both. The flags and spray paint notify homeowners of the underground utility lines and allow them to dig carefully.

The depth of utility lines varies and there may be multiple utility lines in a common area. Whether it is a small project like planting a tree or a larger one such as hiring a professional for an outdoor project, smart digging means calling 811 before each job.

For more information, visit call811.com.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and energy services operations. The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company also owns a 55.4 percent limited partner interest in Enable Midstream Partners, a publicly traded master limited partnership it jointly controls with OGE Energy Corp., which owns, operates and develops natural gas and crude oil infrastructure assets. With more than 7,400 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 140 years. For more information, visit the website at CenterPointEnergy.com.

For more information contact

Corporate Communications

Pager: 713-619-5143

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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.centerpointenergy.com


CALGARY, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Bankers Petroleum Ltd. ("Bankers" or the "Company") (TSX: BNK, AIM: BNK) is pleased to provide its 2016 second quarter financial and operational results.

During the second quarter, Bankers achieved a cash margin of US$11.03 per barrel. All amounts listed in this news release are in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Results at a Glance Three months ended June 30 Six months ended June 30 (US$000s, except as noted) 2016 2015 2016 2015

Financial











Oil revenue 40,989 85,707 74,080 158,111



Net operating income 12,383 41,503 15,831 66,371



Net loss (21,827) (10,462) (33,798) (9,583)





Basic (US$/share) (0.08) (0.04) (0.13) (0.04)





Diluted (US$/share) (0.08) (0.04) (0.13) (0.04)



Funds generated from operations 5,387 50,230 6,834 75,120





Basic (US$/share) 0.02 0.19 0.03 0.29



Capital expenditures 7,371 37,567 20,047 87,512

Operating











Average production (bopd) 15,934 20,050 16,649 19,909



Average sales (bopd) 15,023 19,626 16,152 19,953



Average Brent oil price (US$/barrel) 45.59 61.88 39.81 57.84



Average realized price (US$/barrel) 29.98 47.99 25.20 43.78



Netback (US$/barrel) 9.05 23.24 5.39 18.38



Cash margin (US$/barrel) 11.03 29.52 8.84 26.39







June 30, 2016 December 31, 2015 June 30, 2015

Cash and restricted cash

26,080 69,141 39,589

Working capital

83,885 159,868 160,909

Total assets

1,192,977 1,261,390 1,257,837

Long-term debt

94,826 98,628 98,459

Shareholders' equity

686,064 719,294 710,245





















Highlights for the period ended June 30, 2016 are:

Arrangement Agreement:

On March 19, 2016, Bankers Petroleum Ltd. entered into a definitive agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") with an affiliate of Geo-Jade Petroleum Corporation ("Geo-Jade"), for the purchase of all the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company ("Bankers Shares") at a cash price of C$2.20 per Bankers Share. The transaction will be effected by the way of a plan arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta). All Directors and Officers of Bankers are committed to this transaction and have executed support agreements. At a May 31, 2016 Special Meeting, Bankers shareholders overwhelmingly approved the transaction, and subsequently, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench provided its authorization. Additional regulatory approvals have been received pursuant to the Investment Canada Act, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Albania. The transaction is expected to close before September 30, 2016 and remains subject to the regulatory approval of the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange ("SAFE"). Failure to receive the SAFE approval by September 30, 2016 would entitle Bankers to the US$20 million reverse termination fee should Bankers terminate the Arrangement Agreement due to such failure. Following successful completion of the transaction, Bankers Shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Operational Highlights:

Average oil production for the three months ended June 30, 2016 was 15,934 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") compared to 17,363 bopd in the previous quarter and 20,050 bopd in the second quarter of 2015. For the six months ended June 30, 2016 , average oil production was 16,649 bopd compared to 19,909 bopd for the same period in 2015.

was 15,934 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") compared to 17,363 bopd in the previous quarter and 20,050 bopd in the second quarter of 2015. For the six months ended , average oil production was 16,649 bopd compared to 19,909 bopd for the same period in 2015. Oil sales for the second quarter of 2016 averaged 15,023 bopd compared to 17,280 bopd for the previous quarter and 19,626 bopd for the second quarter of 2015. Crude oil inventory at June 30, 2016 increased to 350,000 barrels compared to 260,000 barrels at March 31, 2016 . For the six months ended June 30, 2016 , oil sales were 16,152 bopd compared to 19,953 bopd for the same period in 2015.

increased to 350,000 barrels compared to 260,000 barrels at . For the six months ended , oil sales were 16,152 bopd compared to 19,953 bopd for the same period in 2015. Capital expenditures during the second quarter of 2016 were $7 million . The Company did not drill any wells during the quarter. Capital expenditures were $13 million for the previous quarter and $38 million for the second quarter of 2015.

Product Margin Highlights:

For the three months and six months ended June 30, 2016 , operating costs and sales and transportation ("S&T") costs, originating from Albanian-based companies and their employees, were $23 million ( $16.58 /bbl) and $48 million ( $16.35 /bbl), respectively, reduced from $32 million ( $17.86 /bbl) and $69 million ( $19.18 /bbl) for the same periods in 2015.

, operating costs and sales and transportation ("S&T") costs, originating from Albanian-based companies and their employees, were ( /bbl) and ( /bbl), respectively, reduced from ( /bbl) and ( /bbl) for the same periods in 2015. In the second quarter of 2016, net operating income (netback) was $12 million ( $9.05 /bbl) compared to $3 million ( $2.19 /bbl) for the previous quarter and $42 million ( $23.24 /bbl) for the second quarter of 2015. Net operating income for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $16 million ( $5.39 /bbl) compared to $66 million ( $18.38 /bbl) for the same period in 2015.

( /bbl) compared to ( /bbl) for the previous quarter and ( /bbl) for the second quarter of 2015. Net operating income for the six months ended was ( /bbl) compared to ( /bbl) for the same period in 2015. Cash margin for the second quarter of 2016 was $11.03 /bbl compared to $6.91 /bbl in the previous quarter and $29.52 /bbl in the second quarter of 2015. Cash margin represents netback inclusive of the realized gain on commodity contracts. Cash margin for the six months ended June 30, 2016 was $8.84 /bbl compared to $26.39 /bbl for the same period in 2015.

Financial Highlights:

Revenue was $41 million ( $29.98 /bbl) for the second quarter of 2016, compared to $33 million ( $21.04 /bbl) in the previous quarter and $86 million ( $47.99 /bbl) in the second quarter of 2015. Field price realization represented 66% of the Brent oil benchmark price ( $45.59 /bbl) for the second quarter of 2016 compared to 62% of the Brent oil benchmark price ( $33.94 /bbl) in the previous quarter and 78% of the Brent oil benchmark price ( $61.88 /bbl) in the second quarter of 2015. The increase, as a percentage of Brent, compared to the previous quarter was mainly due to improvements in world commodity prices, therefore reducing the pressure of competitive pricing differential during the second quarter of 2016. For the six months ended June 30, 2016 , revenue was $74 million ( $25.20 /bbl) compared to $158 million ( $43.78 /bbl) for the same period in 2015.

( /bbl) for the second quarter of 2016, compared to ( /bbl) in the previous quarter and ( /bbl) in the second quarter of 2015. Field price realization represented 66% of the Brent oil benchmark price ( /bbl) for the second quarter of 2016 compared to 62% of the Brent oil benchmark price ( /bbl) in the previous quarter and 78% of the Brent oil benchmark price ( /bbl) in the second quarter of 2015. The increase, as a percentage of Brent, compared to the previous quarter was mainly due to improvements in world commodity prices, therefore reducing the pressure of competitive pricing differential during the second quarter of 2016. For the six months ended , revenue was ( /bbl) compared to ( /bbl) for the same period in 2015. Royalties to the Albanian Government and related entities during the second quarter of 2016 were $6 million (14% of revenue) compared to $4 million (13% of revenue) for the previous quarter and $12 million (14% of revenue) for the second quarter of 2015. For the six months ended June 30, 2016 , royalties were $10 million (14% of revenue) compared to $22 million (14% of revenue) for the same period in 2015.

(14% of revenue) compared to (13% of revenue) for the previous quarter and (14% of revenue) for the second quarter of 2015. For the six months ended , royalties were (14% of revenue) compared to (14% of revenue) for the same period in 2015. Funds generated from operations for the second quarter of 2015 were $5 million ( $0.02 per share) compared to $1 million ( $0.01 per share) for the previous quarter and $50 million ( $0.19 per share) for the second quarter of 2015. Funds generated from operations for the six months ended June 30, 2016 were $7 million ( $0.03 per share) compared to $75 million ( $0.29 per share) for the same period in 2015.

( per share) compared to ( per share) for the previous quarter and ( per share) for the second quarter of 2015. Funds generated from operations for the six months ended were ( per share) compared to ( per share) for the same period in 2015. The Company continues to maintain a stable financial position at June 30, 2016 , with cash and restricted cash of $26 million and working capital of $84 million . At June 30, 2016 , the Company had drawn $109 million of its approved credit facilities. Working capital for December 31, 2015 and June 30, 2015 was $160 million and $161 million , respectively.

, with cash and restricted cash of and working capital of . At , the Company had drawn of its approved credit facilities. Working capital for and was and , respectively. At June 30, 2016 , Bankers hedged 6,000 bopd under costless collar contracts with an average floor of $50.84 /bbl (all prices are referenced to Dated Brent) and an average ceiling of $52.90 /bbl for the balance of 2016. In the second quarter of 2016, the hedge program generated proceeds of $2 million compared to $7 million in the first quarter of 2016. The 2016 hedge program at June 30, 2016 , is valued at $2 million . These contracts are designed to protect Bankers against further volatility in the oil prices in 2016.

Outlook:

Production in the third quarter of 2016 to date is 15,358 bopd, 3% lower than the second quarter average of 15,934 bopd. The Company is focused on optimization of current production levels and is monitoring the economic return of all wells in accordance with the current oil price environment.

In the third quarter, Bankers' infrastructure and facilities projects include commissioning the inlet system and vapor recovery unit at satellite facility Pad D, vapor recovery unit at Pad H and the west emulsion gathering system. In addition, the Company is focusing on design and implementation of a sour oil treating project aimed at sweetening sour production from various reservoir zones throughout the field.

Bankers continues to prioritize its polymer and water flood development, with an additional seven (7) well conversions planned throughout the remainder of 2016 to bring the total for the year to sixteen (16) conversions. The producing water and polymer patterns are performing well and Bankers is continuing to monitor production from the fifty-eight (58) polymer and four (4) water flood patterns implemented to date.

Due to continued pressure on oil prices, Bankers anticipates receiving average cash realizations equivalent to 67 to 68% of Dated Brent for the export market for the remainder of 2016. Additionally, Bankers is in discussion for potential domestic crude oil sales contracts for a portion of its volumes and expects to receive equivalent pricing to the export market after accounting for reduced transportation and export related fees.

Supporting Documents:

The full Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"), Financial Statements and updated corporate presentation are available on our website, www.bankerspetroleum.com. The MD&A and Financial Statements will also be available on www.sedar.com.

BANKERS PETROLEUM LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (Unaudited, expressed in thousands of US dollars, except per share amounts)





Three months ended

June 30

Six months ended

June 30





2016

2015

2016

2015



















Revenues

$ 40,989 $ 85,707 $ 74,080 $ 158,111 Royalties



(5,943)

(12,306)

(10,174)

(22,450) Revenue, net of royalties



35,046

73,401

63,906

135,661 Realized gain on financial commodity contracts



2,713

9,856

10,136

23,986 Unrealized loss on financial commodity contracts



(14,031)

(20,798)

(17,831)

(22,837) Total operating revenues



23,728

62,459

56,211

136,810



















Operating expenses



16,748

22,132

34,465

45,627 Sales and transportation expenses



5,915

9,766

13,610

23,663 General and administrative expenses



7,514

5,188

14,655

9,840 Contract settlement expenses



-

40

-

395 Depletion and depreciation



24,640

30,830

51,298

60,949 Share-based compensation



169

721

421

1,903 Total expenses



54,986

68,677

114,449

142,377 Operating loss



(31,258)

(6,218)

(58,238)

(5,567)



















Net finance expense



(4,174)

(1,590)

(4,338)

(10,478)



















Loss before income tax



(35,432)

(7,808)

(62,576)

(16,045) Income tax recovery (expense)

















Current



1,032

-

765

- Deferred



12,573

(2,654)

28,013

6,462





13,605

(2,654)

28,778

6,462 Net loss for the period



(21,827)

(10,462)

(33,798)

(9,583)



















Other comprehensive income (loss)

















Currency translation adjustment



(787)

115

(311)

(1,305) Comprehensive loss for the period

$ (22,614) $ (10,347) $ (34,109) $ (10,888)



















Basic loss per share

$ (0.083) $ (0.040) $ (0.129) $ (0.037)



















Diluted loss per share

$ (0.083) $ (0.040) $ (0.129) $ (0.037)













































BANKERS PETROLEUM LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION (Unaudited, expressed in thousands of US dollars)

ASSETS



June 30 2016 December 31 2015 Current assets











Cash and cash equivalents

$ 20,018 $ 51,963

Restricted cash



6,062

17,178

Accounts receivable



45,578

56,592

Income tax receivable



580

-

Inventory



6,082

4,597

Deposits and prepaid expenses



57,063

67,514

Financial commodity contracts



2,169

20,000





137,552

217,844 Non-current assets











Long-term deposits



42,593

-

Property, plant and equipment



1,001,731

1,034,791

Exploration and evaluation assets



11,101

8,755



$ 1,192,977 $ 1,261,390

LIABILITIES Current liabilities











Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

$ 42,134 $ 39,156

Income tax liability



-

765

Current portion of long-term debt



11,533

18,055





53,667

57,976 Non-current liabilities











Long-term debt



94,826

98,628

Decommissioning obligation



30,025

29,264

Deferred tax liabilities



328,395

356,228





506,913

542,096

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Share capital



365,045

365,045 Contributed surplus



95,178

94,299 Currency translation reserve



1,206

1,517 Retained earnings



224,635

258,433





686,064

719,294



$ 1,192,977 $ 1,261,390



BANKERS PETROLEUM LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited, expressed in thousands of US dollars)



Three months ended June 30

Six months ended June 30





2016

2015

2016

2015 Cash provided by (used in):

















Operating activities



















Net loss for the period

$ (21,827) $ (10,462) $ (33,798) $ (9,583)

Depletion and depreciation



24,640

30,830

51,298

60,949

Accretion of long-term debt



233

250

453

500

Accretion of decommissioning obligation



357

321

709

636

Unrealized foreign exchange (gain) loss



1,389

5,118

(1,302)

4,340

Current income tax recovery



(1,032)

-

(765)

-

Deferred income tax (recovery) expense



(12,573)

2,654

(28,013)

(6,462)

Share-based compensation



169

721

421

1,903

Unrealized loss on financial commodity contracts



14,031

20,798

17,831

22,837







5,387

50,230

6,834

75,120

Change in long-term deposits



(42,593)

-

(42,593)

-

Change in non-cash working capital



27,892

(26,856)

30,810

(19,017)







(9,314)

23,374

(4,949)

56,103 Investing activities



















Additions to property, plant and equipment



(7,037)

(37,567)

(17,701)

(87,385)

Additions to exploration and evaluation assets



(334)

-

(2,346)

(127)

Restricted cash



8,976

(181)

11,116

(772)

Change in non-cash working capital



1,735

(7,216)

(7,502)

(12,934)





3,340

(44,964)

(16,433)

(101,218) Financing activities



















Issue of shares for cash



-

511

-

722

Change in long-term debt



(11,703)

2,505

(10,622)

10,267





(11,703)

3,016

(10,622)

10,989 Foreign exchange gain (loss) on cash and cash equivalents



(263)

140

59

(93) Decrease in cash and cash equivalents



(17,940)

(18,434)

(31,945)

(34,219) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period



37,958

52,251

51,963

68,036 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$ 20,018 $ 33,817 $ 20,018 $ 33,817



















Interest paid

$ 3,495 $ 3,095 $ 3,717 $ 3,140 Interest received

$ 158 $ 55 $ 244 $ 151



BANKERS PETROLEUM LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY (Unaudited, expressed in thousands of US dollars, except number of common shares)



Number of common shares Share capital Contributed surplus Currency translation reserve Retained

earnings Total Balance at December 31, 2014

261,084,393 $ 363,670 $ 86,409 $ 4,410 $ 262,047 $ 716,536

























Share-based compensation

-

-

3,875

-

-

3,875 Options exercised

339,935

1,375

(653)

-

-

722 Net loss for the period

-

-

-

-

(9,583)

(9,583) Currency translation adjustment

-

-

-

(1,305)

-

(1,305) Balance at June 30, 2015

261,424,328 $ 365,045 $ 89,631 $ 3,105 $ 252,464 $ 710,245

























Share-based compensation

-

-

4,668

-

-

4,668 RSUs exercised

133,056

-

-

-

-

- Net income for the period

-

-

-

-

5,969

5,969 Currency translation adjustment

-

-

-

(1,588)

-

(1,588) Balance at December 31, 2015

261,557,384 $ 365,045 $ 94,299 $ 1,517 $ 258,433 $ 719,294

























Share-based compensation

-

-

879

-

-

879 Net loss for the period

-

-

-

-

(33,798)

(33,798) Currency translation adjustment

-

-

-

(311)

-

(311) Balance at June 30, 2016

261,557,384 $ 365,045 $ 95,178 $ 1,206 $ 224,635 $ 686,064



























The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014 ("MAR").

Caution Regarding Forward-looking Information

Certain information set forth in this press release, including information and statements which may contain words such as "could", "plans", "intends" "should", "anticipate", "expects", "will", "propose", "opportunity", "future", "continue", and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding: the proposed transaction and the anticipated timing of closing, the timing of receipt of required regulatory approvals and the delisting of the Bankers Shares following completion of the transaction. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond Bankers' control. Completion of the Arrangement is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of the approvals required by the People's Republic of China, and other conditions which are typical for transactions of this nature. Failure to satisfy any of these conditions or the emergence of a superior proposal may result in the termination of the Arrangement Agreement. The foregoing list is not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other risks that could affect completion of the Arrangement is set forth in the Management Information Circular of the Company dated April 19, 2016, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The actual results, performance or achievement of Bankers could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that Bankers will derive therefrom. Bankers disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

About Bankers Petroleum Ltd.

Bankers Petroleum Ltd. is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration and production company focused on developing large oil and gas reserves in Albania and Eastern Europe. In Albania, Bankers operates and has the full rights to develop the Patos-Marinza heavy oilfield, has a 100% interest in the Kucova oilfield, and a 100% interest in Exploration Block "F". In 2015 Bankers acquired an 85% interest in the rights to explore the Puspokladany Block concession within the Pannonian Basin located in north eastern Hungary. Bankers' shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM Market in London, England under the stock symbol BNK.

SOURCE Bankers Petroleum Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.bankerspetroleum.com/


BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boulder Concert Band, a nonprofit, premier adult community band, today announced that Rafael Antonio Rodriguez has been selected as its conductor and musical director.

"I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to make music with the wonderful musicians of the Boulder Concert Band as their new conductor," commented Rodriguez. "I look forward to many joyous musical experiences as we celebrate the band's 40th birthday and work to proudly represent our hometown of Boulder."

Rodriguez is currently attending the University of Colorado in Boulder as a teaching assistant in pursuit of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting. Mr. Rodriguez received graduate degrees in both Instrumental Conducting (M.M.) and in Education (M.Ed.) from universities in southern California in 2003 and 2005, respectively, and is a 1994 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He currently serves as Assistant Conductor with the Boulder Philharmonic.

Rodriguez has conducted professional bands and orchestras internationally. He is the second prize winner at the Black Sea Conducting Competition in 2012, and debuted in Europe with the Romanian National Opera Orchestra in Constanta in September 2013, returning to conduct in 2014. Rodriguez was selected as a 2015 Conducting Fellow with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, and collaborates as a guest conductor with the National Bands of Costa Rica on a regular basis. He debuted as a professional band conductor with the premiere Banda Nacional de San Jose in 2007.

Rafael's conducting studies include an ongoing collaboration with Italian maestro Alfredo Bonavera, as well as sessions with American maestro Carl St. Clair.

About the Boulder Concert Band

The first records of a performing band in the city of Boulder date back to 1870. The Boulder Concert Band as we know it today was reorganized in 1976 by the late Hugh McMillen, former Director of Bands at the University of Colorado. The current organization has over 70 volunteer musicians from the business, professional, and educational communities in Boulder County and the Denver metro area.

The Boulder Concert Band provides the community with outstanding performances of traditional and modern concert literature and enriches the cultural experience of the audience and the musicians. Follow the Boulder Concert Band on Facebook or visit the web site at www.boulderband.org.

SOURCE Boulder Concert Band

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PUNE, India, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Bromine Market by Derivative (Organobromine, Hydrogen Bromide, and Clear Brine Fluids), by Application (Oil & Gas, Flame Retardants, Biocide, and Plasma Etching), and Region - Global Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, The global market size is projected to reach USD 9.82 Billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 12.4% between 2016 and 2021.

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This growth is fueled by the use of bromine as flame retardants and fumigants in the electronics and water treatment industries. Inflating consumption of bromine in applications such as PTA synthesis, plasma etching, polymer fabrication, and flow batteries are driving its demand, globally.

Organobromine: The largest-growing derivative of bromine

Organobromine such as tetrabromobisphenol-A, is used as a flame retardant in the electronics and automotive industries and ethylene and methyl bromides are used as fumigants in the agriculture industry. Some of them are also used as biocides in water treatment applications. These biocides prevent the growth of algae, bacteria, and other microorganisms in water. They are used in dyes as well as in the pharmaceutical industry. Drugs containing organobromine ingredients are used for treating pneumonia and cocaine addiction. Due to these factors, organobromines is extensively used worldwide.

Oil & Gas: The fastest-growing application of bromine

Oil & Gas is the fastest-growing market for bromine by application. Oil & gas well drilling applications are gaining momentum, and are expected to become the largest market of bromine by application, in terms of both value, and volume by 2021. Clear brine fluids are extensively used in the oil & gas drilling industries as completion and workover fluids to mitigate any chances of damage to wellbore. The high demand of oil & gas is the major driver for the massive growth of the bromine market across the globe.

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Asia-Pacific: The largest and the fastest-growing market for bromine

Asia-Pacific is the most favorable market for chemicals, power, and fuels and is anticipated to be the same in the coming future. The continuous rise in the production of bromine, in polymer fabrication, plasma etching, and as a fumigant, is driving the bromine market in this region. The growing demand and policies including emission control, environment friendly products, and so on, have led to innovation, and developments in the bromine industry, making this region a strong bromine production hub, globally. The excessive rise in the production of flame retardants and growth in the oil & gas industry in China since last few years are working as a catalyst driver in the bromine production in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Bromine Market has very few global players competing significantly for the market share, who are actively investing in various strategies, such as expansions and joint venture & agreements, globally, to increase their market. Companies are also investing on the R&D activities. Major players such as Albemarle Corporation (U.S.), Chemtura (U.S), Jordan Bromine Ltd (Jordan), Tosoh Corporation (Japan), and Israel Chemical Ltd (Israel) are among those who have adopted various organic and inorganic developmental strategies to have a significant hold on the bromine market, in the world.

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Flame Retardant Market by Type (ATH, Antimony Oxide, Brominated, Chlorinated, Phosphorous), Application (Epoxy, Polyolefins), and End-use Industry (Building & Construction, Electronics & Appliances, Wire & Cables, Automotive) - Global Forecast to 2021

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/flame-retardant-chemicals-market-686.html

Global Biocide Market - By Types, Applications, Trends & Forecast (2011 - 2016)

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/biocide-market-415.html

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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) today announced that Bunge Limited Finance Corp., its wholly owned finance subsidiary, has priced a public offering of $700 million aggregate principal amount of 3.250% senior notes due 2026. The senior notes will be guaranteed by Bunge Limited. The offering was made pursuant to a registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The transaction is expected to close on August 15, 2016.

Bunge Limited intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, the repayment of outstanding indebtedness, which may include indebtedness under its revolving credit facilities.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., Mizuho Securities USA Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. are acting as senior co-managers, and ABN AMRO Securities (USA) LLC, ANZ Securities, Inc., BB Securities Limited, BBVA Securities Inc., Commerz Markets LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., ICBC Standard Bank Plc, ING Financial Markets LLC, nabSecurities, LLC, Natixis Securities Americas LLC, Rabo Securities USA, Inc., SG Americas Securities, LLC, Standard Chartered Bank and UniCredit Capital Markets LLC are acting as co-managers.

This offering of senior notes may be made only by means of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus related to the offering. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering can be obtained by calling Citigroup Global Markets Inc. toll-free at 1-800-831-9146, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC collect at 1-212-834-4533, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC toll-free at 1-866-718-1649 or U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. toll-free at 1-877-558-2607.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, these senior notes in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About Bunge Limited

Bunge Limited (www.bunge.com, NYSE: BG) is a leading global agribusiness and food company operating in over 40 countries with approximately 35,000 employees. Bunge buys, sells, stores and transports oilseeds and grains to serve customers worldwide; processes oilseeds to make protein meal for animal feed and edible oil products for commercial customers and consumers; produces sugar and ethanol from sugarcane; mills wheat, corn and rice to make ingredients used by food companies; and sells fertilizer in South America. Founded in 1818, the company is headquartered in White Plains, New York.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current expectations and projections about our future results, performance, prospects and opportunities, including statements with respect to the completion, timing and anticipated use of proceeds of the offering. We have tried to identify these forward looking statements by using words including "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "intend," "estimate," "continue" and similar expressions. These forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward looking statements, including those risk factors described in or incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement for the offering. The following important factors, among others, could affect our business and financial performance: industry conditions, including fluctuations in supply, demand and prices for agricultural commodities and other raw materials and products used in our business; fluctuations in energy and freight costs and competitive developments in our industries; the effects of weather conditions and the outbreak of crop and animal disease on our business; global and regional agricultural, economic, financial and commodities market, political, social and health conditions; the outcome of pending regulatory and legal proceedings; our ability to complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and strategic alliances; our ability to achieve the efficiencies, savings and other benefits anticipated from our cost reduction, margin improvement and other business optimization initiatives; changes in government policies, laws and regulations affecting our business, including agricultural and trade policies, tax regulations and biofuels legislation; and other factors affecting our business generally. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and except as otherwise required by federal securities law, we do not have any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

SOURCE Bunge Limited

Related Links

http://www.bunge.com


WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today challenged GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to repudiate a top adviser, who spoke at the Republican convention and was considered as a vice presidential pick, for stating in an address to an anti-Muslim hate group that Islam is a "cancer" and not a real religion.

CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said that at an event Wednesday night in Texas hosted by the anti-Islam hate group ACT! For America, Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn likened Islam to "a cancer" and said the faith of 1.6 billion people worldwide "definitely hides behind being a religion."

SEE: Trump's Favorite General Doesn't View Islam as a Religion (Dallas Morning News)

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20160810-in-dallas-trump-s-favorite-general-can-t-see-him-as-republican-or-islam-as-a-religion.ece

"We challenge Donald Trump and Republican party leaders to repudiate the anti-Muslim bigotry of an individual who was on the short list of vice presidential candidates and was given a place of prominence at the GOP convention in Cleveland," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw.

McCaw noted that ACT! for America leader Hanah Kahwagi Tudor, who goes by the pseudonym "Brigitte Gabriel," says an American Muslim "cannot be a loyal citizen" and that Islam is the "real enemy." She once told the Australian Jewish News: "Every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim." When asked whether Americans should "resist Muslims who want to seek political office in this nation," Tudor said, "Absolutely."

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: Brigitte Gabriel (ACT! for America)

http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-individuals/brigitte-gabriel.html

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: ACT! For America

http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-orgs/act-for-america.html

According to an expose of the group by The Tennessean newspaper, "ACT members see themselves as warriors in a clash between Western civilization and Islam."

Backgrounder: Anti-Islam Group Finds Fertile Ground in Nashville (Tennessean)

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110710/NEWS/307100058/Anti-Islam-group-finds-fertile-ground-Nashville

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has named "Brigitte Gabriel" as a member of the nation's "Anti-Muslim Inner Circle."

SPLC: Anti-Muslim Inner Circle

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2011/anti-muslim-inner-circle

CAIR recently demanded that Donald Trump apologize for disparaging the parents of a Muslim who died while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq.

SEE: CAIR Demands Apology from Donald Trump for Disparagement of Muslim Gold Star Family

http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13683-cair-demands-apology-from-donald-trump-for-disparagement-of-muslim-gold-star-family.html

The Washington-based civil rights organization has previously spoken out against Trump's apparent support for an Islamophobic town hall question and demanded that Trump "stop the bigotry" after he falsely claimed on Fox News that assimilation of American Muslims is "pretty close" to nonexistent and that a "percentage" of American Muslims "want to do what this maniac did in Orlando."

SEE: CAIR Says Donald Trump's 'Hibi-Jabis' Reply Endangers Muslim Women

http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13639-cair-says-donald-trump-s-hibi-jabis-reply-endangers-muslim-women.html

Earlier this year, CAIR said Donald Trump's continued use of a debunked myth about U.S. Gen. John Pershing executing Muslim prisoners in the Philippines using bullets dipped in pig's blood was endangering ordinary American Muslims who were already facing a surge in hate.

SEE: CAIR Tells Donald Trump: 'Stop the Bigotry'

http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13610-cair-tells-donald-trump-stop-the-bigotry.html

CAIR stated that Trump's pig's blood claim and other instances of his Islamophobic rhetoric, including his calling for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States, his false claim that "Islam hates us," his refusal to rule out special IDs for American Muslims, and his willingness to consider closing down American mosques place millions of innocent, law-abiding citizens in the American Muslim community at risk.

CAIR has reported an unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim incidents nationwide since Trump's bigoted call for a complete ban on Muslims entering the United States.

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/civil-rights/report-an-incident/view/form.html

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La mision de CAIR es mejorar la comprension del Islam, fomentar el dialogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprension mutua.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR's Email List

http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR's Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR's YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR Communications Coordinator Nabeelah Naeem, 202-341-4171, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Related Links

http://www.cair.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Castle Harlan, the New York private equity investment firm, announced today that it initiated and spearheaded the acquisition of Kings Super Markets and Balducci's Food Lover's Markets, by KB Holding, Inc., a Delaware-based investment firm affiliated with GSSG Capital, a global diversified private holding company with offices located in New York, Europe and the Middle East. Kings and Balducci's were acquired from Angelo, Gordon & Co. and MTN Capital Partners LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Castle Harlan identified the potential transaction in a proprietary manner and approached Angelo, Gordon and MTN about selling the company. Castle Harlan subsequently selected GSSG Capital as the most appropriate source of equity for the acquisition.

Castle Harlan is an active investment manager, pursuing selected private equity acquisitions and controlling investments, together with a few large families and family offices, both US and foreign.

"This reflects Castle Harlan's continued activities in identifying and completing unique private equity transactions with market-leading companies," said Marcel Fournier, the Senior Managing Director who led the transaction at Castle Harlan alongside Eric Schwartz, Managing Director, who added, "Kings and Balducci's are two long-established and well-recognized brands in high-end food retailing with, we believe, an outstanding potential for expansion, and we are pleased to see this transaction reach its successful conclusion."

About Castle Harlan:

Castle Harlan, founded in 1987, has invested in controlling interests in and the development of middle-market companies in North America, Australia and Europe. Its team of senior investment professionals completed over 50 acquisitions since its inception with a total value in excess of $11 billion. The firm traces its roots to the start of the institutionalized private equity business in the late 1960s.

About Kings Food Markets:

An upscale grocery store serving customers throughout New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, Kings provides a unique shopping experience paired with the highest quality foods. From locally sourced, organically grown produce, to fresh fruit, delicious meats to hand-selected cheeses from over 20 countries, Kings seeks to bring exceptional grocery items to shoppers in all of the company's locations. The in-store experience is enhanced by Kings' associates, all of whom are passionate about food and eager to help customers become inspired and create the perfect meal. Kings is based in Parsippany, NJ, with 25 stores serving the region. The company was founded in 1936, marking its 80th anniversary in 2016.

About Balducci's Food Lover's Market:

Balducci's Food Lover's Market is a gourmet specialty food shop with stores located in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and On the Go Cafe locations in New York City and Baltimore, MD.; with an office in Rockville, MD. With a commitment to food, each item brings the very best in flavors. From hand-selected produce, a variety of meats roasted and smoked in Old World tradition, fish flown in fresh from the wharves, restaurantquality prepared foods, imported cheeses, and Balducci's own brand offerings, Balducci's has all the indulgences one can imagine. Balducci's prides itself in having an Executive Chef at every Food Lover's Market location ensuring the quality its customers have come to expect. Catering is also available for any occasion online or in all locations. The company was founded in 1916, marking its 100th anniversary in 2016.

The Food Partners provided market information and analysis.

SOURCE Castle Harlan
OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) has been recognized again by the Recorder, California's leading legal news publication, as the "Best of 2016" for its excellent continuing legal education.

CEB provides gold-standard continuing legal education via live programs throughout California, Livecast web seminars, and convenient On Demand online programs that are available 24/7. Practice areas include Business Law, Civil Litigation and Torts, Criminal Law, Employment Law, Estate Planning, Family Law, Law Practice Skills, and Real Property. Speakers are California attorneys who are experts in their fields.

In addition to CLE, CEB publishes numerous practice books in both digital and print formats; offers forms solutions to streamline attorney work load; and produces AccessLaw, an online research tool for California primary law.

The Recorder "Best" Awards are chosen by Recorder readersthousands of engaged attorneys and other professionals knowledgeable about California's legal resources. They represent law firms, legal departments, and legal services.

CEB, the leading source for legal education and legal research solutions for California lawyers, is a self-supporting program of the University of California that is cosponsored by the State Bar of California. Founded in 1947 with the mandate to cultivate the professional development of California lawyers, CEB was the first organization to offer formal continuing legal education in the state.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150316/182172LOGO

SOURCE Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB)

Related Links

https://ceb.com/


(1)




BEIJING, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited ("Concord Medical" or the "Company") (NYSE: CCM), a leading specialty hospital management solution provider and operator of the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, today announced it will release its financial results for the first half of 2016 after the market closes on August 24, 2016.

Management will hold a conference call to discuss the results the following day, at 8:00 a.m. EDT on August 25, 2016 (8:00 p.m. in Beijing/Hong Kong on August 25, 2016).

The dial-in details for the live conference call are as follows:

U.S. Toll Free: 1 866 519 4004 International: 65 67135090 U.K. Toll Free: 08082346646 Hong Kong Toll Free: 800906601 China Local: 400-620-8038/800-819-0121 Passcode: CCM

A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following numbers from 11:00 a.m. ET August 25, 2016 to 09:59 a.m. ET September 2, 2016.

U.S. Toll Free: 1 855 452 5696 International: 61 2 8199 0299 Conference ID: 63078962

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the investor relations section of the Company's website at: http://ir.concordmedical.com/

About Concord Medical

Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited is a leading specialty hospital management solution provider and operator of the largest network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China. As of March 31, 2016, the Company operated a network of 125 centers with 74 hospital partners that spanned 52 cities and 25 provinces and administrative regions in China. Under long-term arrangements with top-tier hospitals in China, the Company provides radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging equipment and manages the daily operations of these centers, which are located on the premises of its hospital partners. The Company also provides ongoing training to doctors and other medical professionals in its network of centers to ensure a high level of clinical care for patients. As part of its high-end cancer hospital development strategy and oversea business extension, the Company acquired Concord Cancer Hospital, a private hospital in Singapore in April, 2015. For more information, please see http://ir.concordmedical.com.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Fang Liu (Chinese and English)

+86 10 5903 6688 (ext. 639)

[email protected]

SOURCE Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited

Related Links

http://ir.concordmedical.com


GLEN BURNIE, Md., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CSSi LifeSciences, a trusted partner from discovery to commercialization for drugs and medical devices, today announced a corporate strategic partnership with Innosphere, a Colorado nonprofit incubator. The partnership will drive innovation and support entrepreneurship in Colorado by delivering unique medical device and drug development solutions to emerging life science companies in Colorado. This alliance is a deliberative result of Innosphere growing its innovations program and seeking to dramatically enhance services for client companies.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397246LOGO

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397247

"We are excited to form a new partnership with Innosphere and expand our footprint into the Colorado market," said Jim Sergi, President, CSSi LifeSciences. "This next-level integration will allow Innosphere's client companies to utilize our comprehensive suite of services in order to develop their therapeutic drugs and devices with cost-efficient predictability, that drive value, extend market share, and maximize ROI. Together, we hope to help companies bridge the 'Valley of Death' and accelerate research breakthroughs, while accessing our global network of strategic partners."

The new collaboration will ensure a successful and expeditious pathway to commercialization for Colorado-based bioscience companies through cutting-edge, insight-driven analysis, strategies, and solutions that save time, development costs, and resources. CSSi LifeSciences will provide Innosphere with a full suite of services and deep subject matter expertise to help support the incubator's client company portfolio. CSSi LifeSciences will also participate in regulatory, clinical, and commercial assessment as well as the onboarding process of Innosphere's new prospective client companies. Additionally, CSSi LifeSciences will provide commercial development support, education and training programs to Innosphere's client companies.

"A critical ingredient for companies in the bioscience industry is clear guidance on regulatory, reimbursement, and engineering protocols," said Mike Freeman, Innosphere CEO. "Innosphere's partnership with CSSi LifeSciences provides that support system, and is an important element of Innosphere's plan for growing the innovations program."

Over the years, CSSi LifeSciences has provided vital business and strategic support to "Big" biopharma, as well as incubators, and enabled the development of over 500 drugs, biologics, and in-vitro diagnostics. CSSi LifeSciences has a defined process that lets its clients leverage its breadth of integrated services and growth strategies to develop strategic and regulatory plans to ensure commercial success and maximize shareholder value. The company's headquarters is located in Baltimore, MD, with additional offices in San Francisco, CA; London UK; and Hyderabad, IND.

Innosphere is Colorado's leading technology incubator. In 2015, Innosphere supported 42 client companies, and 18 companies graduated from the program. Additionally, its client companies raised

$87.9M total capital and created 296 full and part-time jobs. Innosphere supports entrepreneurs building potential, high-growth companies in life sciences, health innovations, software and hardware, and energy and advanced materials.

CSSi LifeSciences and Innosphere will announce their newly developed partnership to attendees of Innosphere's 'Innovation After Hours' networking forum, scheduled for this evening, August 11th. For more information on CSSi LifeSciences and its diversified services, visit www.cssilifesciences.com. More information on Innosphere and its incubator services can be found at www.innosphere.org.

About CSSi LifeSciences:

CSSi LifeSciences provides fully integrated, specialized regulatory and clinical services to support the entire product lifecycle, from discovery to commercialization, for pharmaceutical and medical device companies. With global expertise, CSSi LifeSciences has been a key partner in the development of more than 500 drugs, biologics, medical devices and in-vitro diagnostics. For more information, visit www.cssilifesciences.com or email us at [email protected].

About Innosphere:

Innosphere is a technology incubator that accelerates the success of high-impact science and technology startups. Innosphere has two physical locations in Fort Collins and Denver, Colorado to support entrepreneurs building potential, high-growth companies in health innovations, life sciences, software & hardware, and energy & advanced materials. Innosphere's incubation program focuses on ensuring companies are investor ready, connecting them with experienced advisors, and making introductions to corporate partners. Once accepted into the program, companies receive customized development plans and ongoing support to ensure they're getting the know-how to raise the right kind of capital, and all the resources to scale. www.innosphere.com.



Media Contacts:

Courtney Gaddi

Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator

CSSi

(443) 308-5831

Email

Emily Wilson

Communications Director

Innosphere

(970) 295-4481

Email

SOURCE CSSi LifeSciences

Related Links

http://www.cssilifesciences.com


BOSTON, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

CyberX, the leading provider of cybersecurity solutions for the Industrial IoT (IIoT), announced it has revealed the first Internet of Things (IoT) worm which is aimed at Closed-Circuit Television devices. The malware marks a new level of IoT attacks, only days after another advanced attack on IoT devices was declared as "no longer a hypothetical attack" at DEF CON 2016. These discoveries come at a time when Internet-connected devices are growing at an exponential rate due to the proliferation of IoT platforms such as PTC's ThingWorx and General Electric's Predix, and the corresponding consequences of attacks are estimated to be hundreds of millions of dollars.

The malware was revealed as part of the research of a global cyber security campaign, dubbed RADIATION by the CyberX research team. The uniqueness of this campaign can be attributed to the targeting of IoT devices and the enhancement of an existing family of malware for that purpose. The malware infected organizations in multiple industries, with the highest number of victims residing in Taiwan, US and Israel. The RADIATION campaign is categorized as an IoT Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) campaign. The discovery of RADIATION comes only days following a demonstration of another advanced IoT attack, which was referred to as the "first ransomware for IoT thermostats" in DEF CON 2016.

"This event is a cornerstone in the evolution of IoT security. These advanced threats are shaping before our very eyes, and should not be taken lightly," said Omer Schneider, CEO & Co-Founder of CyberX. "RADIATION demonstrates the continuously evolving skillset of attackers. It is only the beginning of what we believe to be the dawn of IoT cyber campaigns," said Nir Giller, CTO & Co-founder of CyberX. "Ranging from manipulation of infusion pumps to ransomware for IoT thermostats, IoT environments are becoming high value targets."

The CyberX research team started investigating RADIATION following a notification which was generated by XSense, the CyberX flagship solution for Industrial IoT environments. The team also discovered that RADIATION was already utilized to inflict DDoS attacks. One of its victims include SKAT, the Danish Customs and Tax Administration. The complete RADIATION report can be found on the CyberX website.

About CyberX

CyberX leads the way in securing the Industrial Internet by providing complete visibility into the IIoT environment as well as real-time detection and alerts of operational incidents, cyber threats and system tampering, thus minimizing disruption to operations and downtime. Seamlessly connecting to any IIoT environment, our flagship platform XSense, which harnesses IFSM technology, provides immediate results by collecting data across the IIoT environment and utilizing Big Data and Machine Learning to optimize the detection of anomalous behaviors.

Serving customers worldwide, CyberX is a member of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and ICS-ISAC and was recognized by Gartner as a 2015 Cool Vendor in Security for Technology and Service Providers. Named "Best Product in ICS/SCADA Security Solution of 2016" by Cyber Defense Magazine at RSA, its research is considered cutting edge, contributing zero-day vulnerability discoveries to both the US Department of Homeland Security and industrial vendors. CyberX is also a member of the Israeli national consortium chosen to provide cyber solutions for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, which is supported by Foreign Trade Administration of the Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Israel's National Cyber Bureau of the Prime Minister's Office.

Contact information

Romit Barratson Sagi

Director of Marketing

CyberX

[email protected]

+972-54-4483476

SOURCE CyberX
IRVING, Texas, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

2nd Quarter 2016 Highlights

Net income of $32.0 million , or $0.19 per GAAP diluted share

Revenue of $877.3 million

Adjusted EBITDA of $124.0 million , improved sequential EBITDA of 25.3%

North American Feed Segment contributed improved sequential earnings and EBITDA margin expansion

Strong demand for Global Feed and Fuel Ingredients, Consistent performance from Food Segment and DGD normalizes

Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR), a global leader in converting edible and inedible bio-nutrient streams into a wide range of ingredients and specialty products for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, industrial, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries, today announced financial results for the second quarter ending July 2, 2016.

For the second quarter of 2016, the Company reported net sales of $877.3 million, as compared with net sales of $859.3 million for the second quarter of 2015. The increased revenue was attributable to higher finished product pricing for global fats in the Feed Ingredients segment, as well as continued strength in global raw material volumes.

Net income attributable to Darling for the three months ended July 2, 2016, was $32.0 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to a net income of $3.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2015. Adjusted EBITDA for Darling for the three months ended July 2, 2016 was $124.0 million compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $105.5 million for the three months ended July 4, 2015. Higher earnings were driven by improved margins in the non-formula portion of the Feed Ingredients segment, increased earnings from biofuels and fuel ingredients in the Fuel segment and lower selling, general and administrative expenses globally.

Comments on the Second Quarter of 2016

Randall C. Stuewe, Darlings Ingredients Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said of the Company's quarterly performance, "The results show how we can capture notable gains when market conditions improve. Our business model continues to work and our team did a nice job of executing in highly volatile markets."

"Our Feed Ingredients segment led the way this quarter, capturing margin as prices improved for global fats and proteins from the first quarter. In the Food segment, we delivered a consistent performance, although softness impacted China. Our Fuel segment saw solid results, with Canadian biodiesel leading the way. In addition, Diamond Green Diesel saw earnings recover, with EBITDA doubling from the previous quarter."

Commenting on the Company's overall strategy, Mr. Stuewe said, "We've lowered our cost structure, continued to pay down debt and created a robust global business model that is diversified and increasingly focused on premium, value-add products. In the second quarter, the optionality within several of our businesses enabled us to take full advantage of a stronger market."

Operational Update by Segment

Feed Ingredients  Global Protein and fat prices sharply rallied early in Q2 in concert with the global soy complex before softening late in the quarter. Feed demand for both protein and fats remained strong while pricing of fat destined for biofuels continued to improve. Global rendering saw strong raw material volumes and continued growth in poultry inputs. Bakery Feeds, USA restaurant services, and our global blood business delivered notable performances.

 Global Protein and fat prices sharply rallied early in Q2 in concert with the global soy complex before softening late in the quarter. Feed demand for both protein and fats remained strong while pricing of fat destined for biofuels continued to improve. Global rendering saw strong raw material volumes and continued growth in poultry inputs. Bakery Feeds, restaurant services, and our global blood business delivered notable performances. Food Ingredients  Segment delivered consistent performance with slight contraction due to foreign exchange rates (FX) and softer performance in China . Sonac edible fat margins remained stable but some raw material diversion to China is beginning. CTH casings had strong sales and produced sequential improvement.

 Segment delivered consistent performance with slight contraction due to foreign exchange rates (FX) and softer performance in . Sonac edible fat margins remained stable but some raw material diversion to is beginning. CTH casings had strong sales and produced sequential improvement. Fuel Ingredients  Segment margins were consistent and were driven by a strong performance from Canada Biodiesel. Rendac experienced steady volumes and delivered a solid performance. Ecoson saw improved demand for refined biofuel feedstock.

 Segment margins were consistent and were driven by a strong performance from Canada Biodiesel. Rendac experienced steady volumes and delivered a solid performance. Ecoson saw improved demand for refined biofuel feedstock. Diamond Green Diesel Joint Venture  DGD's performance was driven by strong volumes with the return to full production in Q2 following 18 days of maintenance downtime and a logistics related force majeure in Q1. Escalating fat prices, volatile heating oil prices and a stagnant RIN market were offset by Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) demand resulting in unconsolidated EBITDA of $18.3 million for Darling. The joint venture received a $156 million tax credit during the quarter and distributed a dividend of $25 million to each partner in April. The DGD facility expansion's final engineering phase is progressing, and construction to increase annual production from 160 million gallons to 275 million gallons is expected to be completed in Q4 2017.

Reconciliation of Net Income to (Non-GAAP) Adjusted EBITDA and (Non-GAAP) Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA

Second Quarter 2016 as compared to Second Quarter 2015

Darling Ingredients Inc. reports Adjusted EBITDA results, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as a complement to results provided in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for additional information, (see "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" included later in this media release). The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional useful information to investors. Adjusted EBITDA, as the Company uses the term, is calculated below:



Three Months Ended - Year over Year





Adjusted EBITDA July 2,

July 4,





(U.S. dollars in thousands) 2016

2015



















Net income attributable to Darling $ 31,999

$ 3,080





Depreciation and amortization 69,531

66,245





Interest expense 23,980

34,285





Income tax expense 7,983

4,665





Foreign currency gain (8)

(1,622)





Other expense, net 2,373

1,199





Equity in net income of unconsolidated subsidiary (13,852)

(4,172)





Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 1,992

1,857





Adjusted EBITDA $123,998

$105,537





Acquisition and integration-related expenses 70

1,208





Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) $124,068

$106,745





Foreign currency exchange impact (1) (743)

-





Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to Foreign Currency (Non-GAAP) $123,325

$106,745



















DGD Joint Venture Adjusted EBITDA (Darling's share) $ 18,331

$ 7,909





















(1) The average rates assumption used in this calculation was the actual fiscal average rate for the three months ended July 4, 2015 of 1.00:USD$1.11 and CAD$1.00:USD$0.81 as compared to the average rate for the three months ended July 2, 2016 of 1.00:USD$1.13 and CAD$1.00:USD$0.78, respectively.

For the three months ended July 2, 2016, the Company generated Adjusted EBITDA of $124.0 million, as compared to $105.5 million in the same period in fiscal 2015. The increase is attributable to higher raw material volumes and higher finished product prices for fats and used cooking oil in the Feed Ingredients segment that more than offset the lower finished product prices for proteins in the Feed Ingredients segment. Additionally, lower selling, general and administrative expense due to gains in currency hedges primarily in the Food Ingredients segment also contributed.

As a result of the weakening U.S. dollar as compared primarily to the euro, the above Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to Foreign Currency results for the three months ended July 2, 2016 would have been $123.3 million as compared to $106.7 million for the same period in fiscal 2015, an increase of $16.6 million.

DGD Joint Venture Adjusted EBITDA (Darling's Share) is not reflected in the Adjusted EBITDA, the Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA, or the Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to Foreign Currency. See Note 6 in the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company's Form 10-Q ended July 2, 2016 and at the end of this press release regarding the DGD Joint Venture.

Reconciliation of Net Income to (Non-GAAP) Adjusted EBITDA and (Non-GAAP) Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA Second Quarter 2016 as compared on a sequential basis to First Quarter 2016











Three Months Ended - Sequential





Adjusted EBITDA July 2,

April 2,





(U.S. dollars in thousands) 2016

2016



















Net income attributable to Darling $ 31,999

$ 1,079





Depreciation and amortization 69,531

72,256





Interest expense 23,980

23,901





Income tax expense 7,983

1,863





Foreign currency loss/(gain) (8)

2,603





Other expense, net 2,373

1,305





Equity in net income of unconsolidated subsidiary (13,852)

(5,643)





Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 1,992

1,584





Adjusted EBITDA $123,998

$98,948





Acquisition and integration-related expenses 70

331





Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) $124,068

$99,279





Foreign currency exchange impact (1) (2,182)

-





Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to Foreign Currency (Non-GAAP) $121,886

$99,279



















DGD Joint Venture Adjusted EBITDA (Darling's share) (1) $ 18,331

$ 9,629























(1) The average rates assumption used in this calculation was the actual fiscal average rate for the three months ended April 2, 2016 of 1.00: USD$1.10 and CAD$1.00:USD$0.73 as compared to the average rate for the three months ended July 2, 2016 of 1.00: USD$1.13 and CAD$1.00:USD$0.78, respectively.

On a sequential basis, for the three months ended July 2, 2016, the Company generated Adjusted EBITDA of $124.0 million, as compared to $98.9 million for the three months ended April 2, 2016, an increase of $25.1 million. The increase is primarily attributable to higher finished product prices for fats, used cooking oil and proteins in the Feed Ingredients segment. Additionally, lower selling, general and administrative expense due to gains in currency hedges primarily in the Food Ingredients segment also contributed.

As a result of the weakening U.S. dollar on a sequential quarter basis, the above Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to Foreign Currency results for the three months ended July 2, 2016 would have been $121.9 million when taking into consideration the impact of the fluctuation in the average foreign currency exchange rates of $2.2 million, as compared to $99.3 million for the three months ended April 2, 2016, an increase of $22.6 million.

DGD Joint Venture Adjusted EBITDA (Darling's Share) is not reflected in the Adjusted EBITDA, the Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA, or the Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to Foreign Currency. See Note 6 in the Company's Form 10-Q ended July 2, 2016 and the DGD Operating Financial Results included at the end of this press release for financial information regarding the DGD Joint Venture.

Financial Update by Segment







Feed Ingredients Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended ($ thousands) July 2, 2016 July 4, 2015

July 2, 2016 July 4, 2015 Net Sales $ 542,955 $ 529,429

$ 1,019,126 $ 1,076,927 Depreciation and amortization 42,119 40,485

86,496 80,539 Segment operating income 41,372 35,389

55,258 70,804 EBITDA* $ 83,491 $ 75,874

$ 141,754 $ 151,343

*EBITDA calculated by adding depreciation and amortization to segment operating income.

Feed Ingredients operating income for the three months ended July 2, 2016 was $41.4 million , an increase of $6.0 million as compared to the three months ended July 4, 2015 . Earnings for the Feed Ingredients segment were higher due to lower selling, general and administrative expenses, increases in fats and used cooking oil finished product prices and increased production volumes due to higher raw material supply.

was , an increase of as compared to the three months ended . Earnings for the Feed Ingredients segment were higher due to lower selling, general and administrative expenses, increases in fats and used cooking oil finished product prices and increased production volumes due to higher raw material supply. Feed Ingredients operating income for the six months ended July 2, 2016 was $55.3 million , a decrease of $15.5 million as compared to the first six months ended July 4, 2015 . Earnings for the Feed Ingredients segment were lower due to the significant decline in proteins finished product prices resulting from near record grain production in fiscal year 2015. Higher depreciation and amortization was offset by reduced selling, general and administrative expense. In the U.S., lower earnings were related primarily to lower prices in proteins, particularly in the Company's non-formula business.

Food Ingredients Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended ($ thousands) July 2, 2016 July 4, 2015

July 2, 2016 July 4, 2015 Net Sales $ 272,120 $ 283,354

$ 520,017 $ 553,511 Depreciation and amortization 17,736 16,785

34,440 33,982 Segment operating income 19,650 15,512

41,530 26,360 EBITDA* $ 37,386 $ 32,297

$ 75,970 $ 60,342

*EBITDA calculated by adding depreciation and amortization to segment operating income.

Food Ingredients operating income was $19.7 million for the three months ended July 2, 2016 , an increase of $4.2 million as compared to the three months ended July 4, 2015 . Selling, general and administrative expense in the Food Ingredients segment was significantly reduced due to gains in currency hedges. The Company's casing business improved compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the re-opening of the Chinese border which was temporarily closed in 2015 to the import of meat by-products which heavily impacted the segment. European edible fats performance improved over the prior year due to increased sales prices, while the gelatin business earnings were basically flat as compared to the prior year.

for the three months ended , an increase of as compared to the three months ended . Selling, general and administrative expense in the Food Ingredients segment was significantly reduced due to gains in currency hedges. The Company's casing business improved compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily due to the re-opening of the Chinese border which was temporarily closed in 2015 to the import of meat by-products which heavily impacted the segment. European edible fats performance improved over the prior year due to increased sales prices, while the gelatin business earnings were basically flat as compared to the prior year. Food Ingredients operating income was $41.5 million for the first six months ended July 2, 2016 , an increase of $15.1 million as compared to the first six months ended July 4, 2015 . The gelatin business earnings improved compared to the prior year primarily due to strong profitability in the Company's South American, North American and European operations. European edible fats performance normalized over the prior year due to stable sales prices. The Company's casing business improved as compared to the same period in the prior year, due primarily to higher sale volumes. Selling, general and administrative expense was reduced by $9.1 million including significant gains in currency hedges.

Fuel Ingredients Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended ($ thousands) July 2, 2016 July 4, 2015

July 2, 2016 July 4, 2015 Net Sales $ 62,266 $ 46,532

$ 117,839 $ 103,571 Depreciation and amortization 7,184 6,599

14,103 13,230 Segment operating income

6,587 2,038

12,709 4,531 EBITDA* $ 13,771 $ 8,637

$ 26,812 $ 17,761

*EBITDA calculated by adding depreciation and amortization to segment operating income.

Exclusive of the DGD Joint Venture, Fuel Ingredients operating income for the three months ended July 2, 2016 was $6.6 million , an increase of $4.6 million as compared to the three months ended July 4, 2015 . While partially offset by higher selling, general and administrative expense, the increase in earnings is primarily due to the fact that during the three months ended July 2, 2016 the Canadian biodiesel plant was operating for the full period while in the comparable period in 2015 production was severely limited. The increase was also attributable to improved Ecoson and Rendac volumes and operating performance.

was , an increase of as compared to the three months ended . While partially offset by higher selling, general and administrative expense, the increase in earnings is primarily due to the fact that during the three months ended the Canadian biodiesel plant was operating for the full period while in the comparable period in 2015 production was severely limited. The increase was also attributable to improved Ecoson and Rendac volumes and operating performance. Exclusive of the DGD Joint Venture, Fuel Ingredients operating income for the first six months ended July 2, 2016 was $12.7 million , an increase of $8.2 million as compared to the first six months ended July 4, 2015 . The increase in earnings is due to improved Ecoson and Rendac volumes and operating performance; improved productivity and margins at the Canadian biodiesel plant and the inclusion of the blenders' tax credit in 2016 as compared to the same period in fiscal 2015. This increase is partially offset by higher selling, general and administrative expense.

Results of Operations  Six Months Ended July 2, 2016 Compared to Six Months Ended July 4, 2015

Net Income attributable to Darling for the six months ended July 2, 2016, was $33.1 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, as compared to a net income of $3.2 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, in the six months ended July 4, 2015. The increase is primarily attributable to increased margins and production in both the Food and Fuel Ingredients segments, higher raw material volumes in the Feed Ingredients segment and lower selling, general and administrative expense.

Reconciliation of Net Income to (Non-GAAP) Adjusted EBITDA and (Non-GAAP) Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA First Six Months of Fiscal 2016 as compared to First Six Months of Fiscal 2015











Six Months Ended





Adjusted EBITDA July 2,

July 4,





(U.S. dollars in thousands) 2016

2015



















Net income attributable to Darling $ 33,078

$ 3,189





Depreciation and amortization 141,787

132,643





Interest expense 47,881

57,394





Income tax expense 9,846

6,780





Foreign currency loss 2,595

838





Other expense, net 3,678

1,708





Equity in net income of unconsolidated subsidiary (19,495)

(2,364)





Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests 3,576

3,572





Adjusted EBITDA $222,946

$203,760





Acquisition and integration-related expenses 401

6,527





Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) $223,347

$210,287





Foreign currency exchange impact (1) 1,517

-





Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA for Foreign Currency (Non-GAAP) $224,864

$210,287



















DGD Joint Venture Adjusted EBITDA (Darling's share) $ 27,960

$ 10,255





















(1) The average rates assumption used in this calculation was the actual fiscal average rate for the first six months ended July 4, 2015 of 1.00:USD$1.12 and CAD$1.00:USD$0.81 as compared to the average rate for the first six months ended July 2, 2016 of 1.00:USD$1.12 and CAD$1.00:USD$0.75, respectively.

For the first six months of fiscal 2016, the Company generated Adjusted EBITDA of $222.9 million, as compared to $203.8 million in the same period of 2015. The increase is attributable to higher raw material volumes in the Feed Ingredients segment that more than offset lower finished product prices in the Feed Ingredients segment. Additionally, lower selling, general and administrative expense due to gains in currency hedges primarily in the Food Ingredients segment also contributed.

As a result of the strengthened U.S. dollar as compared primarily to the euro and Canadian dollar, the above Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to Foreign Currency results for the first six months ended July 2, 2016 would have been $224.9 million as compared to $210.3 million for the same period in fiscal 2015, an increase of $14.6 million.

DGD Joint Venture Adjusted EBITDA (Darling's Share) is not reflected in the Adjusted EBITDA, the Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA, or the Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA to Foreign Currency. See Note 6 in the Company's Form 10-Q ended July 2, 2016 and the DGD Operating Financial Results included at the end of this press release for financial information regarding the DGD Joint Venture.

About Darling

Darling Ingredients Inc. is the world's largest publicly-traded developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients, creating a wide range of ingredients and specialty products for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, technical, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries. With operations on five continents, the Company collects and transforms all aspects of animal by-product streams into broadly used and specialty ingredients, such as gelatin, edible fats, feed-grade fats, animal proteins and meals, plasma, pet food ingredients, organic fertilizers, yellow grease, fuel feedstocks, green energy, natural casings and hides. The Company also recovers and converts used cooking oil and commercial bakery residuals into valuable feed and fuel ingredients. In addition, the Company provides grease trap services to food service establishments, environmental services to food processors and sells restaurant cooking oil delivery and collection equipment. For additional information, visit the Company's website at http://ir.darlingii.com.

Darling Ingredients Inc. will host a conference call to discuss the Company's second quarter 2016 financial results at 8:30 am Eastern Time (7:30 am Central Time) on Friday, August 12, 2016. To listen to the conference call, participants calling from within North America should dial 866-777-2509; international participants should dial 412-317-5413. Please refer to access code 10089766. Please call approximately ten minutes before the start of the call to ensure that you are connected.

The call will also be available as a live audio webcast that can be accessed on the Company website at http://ir.darlingii.com. Beginning one hour after its completion, a replay of the call can be accessed through August 19, 2016, by dialing 877-344-7529 (U.S. callers), 855-669-9658 (Canada) and 412-317-0088 (international callers). The access code for the replay is 10089766. The conference call will also be archived on the Company's website.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized accounting measurement under GAAP; it should not be considered as an alternative to net income, as a measure of operating results, or as an alternative to cash flow as a measure of liquidity, and is not intended to be a presentation in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is presented here not as an alternative to net income, but rather as a measure of the Company's operating performance. Since EBITDA (generally, net income plus interest expenses, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is not calculated identically by all companies, this presentation may not be comparable to EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA presentations disclosed by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated in this presentation and represents, for any relevant period, net income/(loss) plus depreciation and amortization, goodwill and long-lived asset impairment, interest expense, (income)/loss from discontinued operations, net of tax, income tax provision, other income/(expense) and equity in net loss of unconsolidated subsidiary. Management believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful in evaluating the Company's operating performance compared to that of other companies in its industry because the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA generally eliminates the effects of financing, income taxes and certain non-cash and other items that may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance.

As a result, the Company's management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure to evaluate performance and for other discretionary purposes. In addition to the foregoing, management also uses or will use Adjusted EBITDA to measure compliance with certain financial covenants under the Company's Senior Secured Credit Facilities and 5.375% Notes and 4.75% Notes that were outstanding at July 2, 2016. However, the amounts shown in this presentation for Adjusted EBITDA differ from the amounts calculated under similarly titled definitions in the Company's Senior Secured Credit Facilities and 5.375% Notes and 4.75% Notes, as those definitions permit further adjustments to reflect certain other non-recurring costs, non-cash charges and cash dividends from the DGD Joint Venture. Additionally, the Company evaluates the impact of foreign exchange impact on operating cash flow, which is defined as segment operating income (loss) plus depreciation and amortization.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

{This media release contains "forward-looking" statements regarding the business operations and prospects of Darling Ingredients Inc. and industry factors affecting it. These statements are identified by words such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "could," "may," "will," "should," "planned," "potential," "continue," "momentum," and other words referring to events that may occur in the future. These statements reflect Darling Ingredient's current view of future events and are based on its assessment of, and are subject to, a variety of risks and uncertainties beyond its control, each of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, existing and unknown future limitations on the ability of the Company's direct and indirect subsidiaries to make their cash flow available to the Company for payments on the Company's indebtedness or other purposes; unanticipated costs or operating problems related to the acquisition and integration of Rothsay and Darling Ingredients International (including transactional costs and integration of the new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system); global demands for bio-fuels and grain and oilseed commodities, which have exhibited volatility, and can impact the cost of feed for cattle, hogs and poultry, thus affecting available rendering feedstock and selling prices for the Company's products; reductions in raw material volumes available to the Company due to weak margins in the meat production industry as a result of higher feed costs, reduced consumer demand or other factors, reduced volume from food service establishments, or otherwise; reduced demand for animal feed; reduced finished product prices; continued decline in fat and used cooking oil finished product prices; changes to worldwide government policies relating to renewable fuels and greenhouse gas emissions that adversely affect programs like the Renewable Fuel Standards Program (RFS2) and tax credits for biofuels both in the Unites States and abroad; possible product recall resulting from developments relating to the discovery of unauthorized adulterations to food or food additives; the occurrence of Bird Flu including, but not limited to H5N1 flu, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (or "BSE"), porcine epidemic diarrhea ("PED") or other diseases associated with animal origin in the United States or elsewhere; unanticipated costs and/or reductions in raw material volumes related to the Company's compliance with the existing or unforeseen new U.S. or foreign regulations (including, without limitation, China) affecting the industries in which the Company operates or its value added products (including new or modified animal feed, Bird Flu, PED or BSE or similar or unanticipated regulations); risks associated with the renewable diesel plant in Norco, Louisiana owned and operated by a joint venture between Darling Ingredients and Valero Energy Corporation, including possible unanticipated operating disruptions; risks relating to possible third party claims of intellectual property infringement; increased contributions to the Company's pension and benefit plans, including multiemployer and employer-sponsored defined benefit pension plans as required by legislation, regulation or other applicable U.S. or foreign law or resulting from a U.S. mass withdrawal event; bad debt write-offs; loss of or failure to obtain necessary permits and registrations; continued or escalated conflict in the Middle East, North Korea, Ukraine or elsewhere; uncertainty regarding the likely exit of the U.K. from the European Union; and/or unfavorable export or import markets. These factors, coupled with volatile prices for natural gas and diesel fuel, climate conditions, currency exchange fluctuations, general performance of the U.S. and global economies, disturbances in world financial, credit, commodities and stock markets, and any decline in consumer confidence and discretionary spending, including the inability of consumers and companies to obtain credit due to lack of liquidity in the financial markets, among others, could negatively impact the Company's results of operations. Among other things, future profitability may be affected by the Company's ability to grow its business, which faces competition from companies that may have substantially greater resources than the Company. The Company's announced share repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time and purchases of shares under the program are subject to market conditions and other factors, which are likely to change from time to time. Other risks and uncertainties regarding Darling Ingredients Inc., its business and the industries in which it operates are referenced from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Darling Ingredients Inc. is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.}

For More Information, contact:

Melissa A. Gaither, VP IR and Global Communications Email : [email protected] 251 O'Connor Ridge Blvd., Suite 300, Irving, Texas 75038 Phone : 972-717-0300

Darling Ingredients Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets July 2, 2016 and January 2, 2016 (in thousands)













July 2,

January 2,

2016

2016 ASSETS (unaudited)



Current assets:







Cash and cash equivalents $ 157,815

$ 156,884

Restricted cash 312

331

Accounts receivable, net 399,877

371,392

Inventories 364,362

344,583

Prepaid expenses 43,131

36,175

Income taxes refundable 12,839

11,963

Other current assets 25,822

10,460

Total current assets 1,004,158

931,788 Property, plant and equipment, less accumulated depreciation, net 1,528,387

1,508,167 Intangible assets, less accumulated amortization, net 769,427

782,349









Other assets:







Goodwill 1,258,480

1,233,102

Investment in unconsolidated subsidiaries 243,801

247,238

Other assets 38,592

41,623

Deferred income taxes 17,049

16,352

Total assets $ 4,859,894

$ 4,760,619









LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY





Current liabilities:







Current portion of long-term debt $ 30,842

$ 45,166

Accounts payable, principally trade 177,303

149,998

Income taxes payable 9,118

6,679

Accrued expenses 249,435

239,825

Total current liabilities 466,698

441,668









Long-term debt, net of current portion 1,874,492

1,885,851 Other non-current liabilities 93,692

97,809 Deferred income taxes 366,936

360,681

Total liabilities 2,801,818

2,786,009









Commitments and contingencies





Total Darling's stockholders' equity 1,956,214

1,870,709

Noncontrolling interests 101,862

103,901

Total stockholders' equity $ 2,058,076

$ 1,974,610



$ 4,859,894

$ 4,760,619

Darling Ingredients Inc. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Operating Results For the Periods Ended July 2, 2016 and July 4, 2015 (in thousands, except per share data) (unaudited)













Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended











$ Change









$ Change



July 2,

July 4,

Favorable

July 2,

July 4,

Favorable

2016

2015

(Unfavorable)

2016

2015

(Unfavorable) Net sales $ 877,341

$ 859,315

$ 18,026

$ 1,656,982

$ 1,734,009

$ (77,027) Costs and expenses:























Cost of sales and operating expenses 677,115

668,276

(8,839)

1,276,008

1,352,797

76,789

Selling, general and administrative expenses 76,158

84,294

8,136

157,627

170,925

13,298

Depreciation and amortization 69,531

66,245

(3,286)

141,787

132,643

(9,144)

Acquisition and integration costs 70

1,208

1,138

401

6,527

6,126 Total costs and expenses 822,874

820,023

(2,851)

1,575,823

1,662,892

87,069 Operating income 54,467

39,292

15,175

81,159

71,117

10,042 Other expense:























Interest expense (23,980)

(34,285)

10,305

(47,881)

(57,394)

9,513

Foreign currency gain/(loss) 8

1,622

(1,614)

(2,595)

(838)

(1,757)

Other expense, net (2,373)

(1,199)

(1,174)

(3,678)

(1,708)

(1,970) Total other expense (26,345)

(33,862)

7,517

(54,154)

(59,940)

5,786

























Equity in net income of unconsolidated subsidiaries 13,852

4,172

9,680

19,495

2,364

17,131 Income before income taxes 41,974

9,602

32,372

46,500

13,541

32,959 Income taxes expense 7,983

4,665

(3,318)

9,846

6,780

(3,066) Net income 33,991

4,937

29,054

36,654

6,761

29,893 Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests (1,992)

(1,857)

(135)

(3,576)

(3,572)

(4) Net income attributable to Darling $ 31,999

$ 3,080

$ 28,919

$ 33,078

$ 3,189

$ 29,889

























Basic income per share: $ 0.19

$ 0.02

$ 0.17

$ 0.20

$ 0.02

$ 0.18 Diluted income per share: $ 0.19

$ 0.02

$ 0.17

$ 0.20

$ 0.02

$ 0.18

Darling Ingredients Inc. and Subsidiaries Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows Six Months Ended July 2, 2016 and July 4, 2015 (in thousands) (unaudited)

















Six Months Ended







July 2

July 4, Cash flows from operating activities: 2016

2015

Net income

$ 36,654

$ 6,761

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:









Depreciation and amortization 141,787

132,643



Loss on disposal of property, plant, equipment and other assets 827

233



Gain on insurance proceeds from insurance settlements (356)

(341)



Deferred taxes (1,812)

(3,225)



Increase/(decrease) in long-term pension liability (1,596)

350



Stock-based compensation expense 5,067

4,642



Write-off deferred loan costs 57

10,633



Deferred loan cost amortization 5,600

4,868



Equity in net income of unconsolidated subsidiaries (19,495)

(2,364)



Distributions of earnings from unconsolidated subsidiaries 25,994

26,155



Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects from acquisitions:









Accounts receivable (20,081)

22,582



Income taxes refundable/payable 1,559

(1,368)



Inventories and prepaid expenses (19,501)

(21,451)



Accounts payable and accrued expenses 30,989

(1,505)



Other

(17,460)

8,937





Net cash provided by operating activities 168,233

187,550 Cash flows from investing activities:







Capital expenditures (109,406)

(98,722)

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired (8,511)



Gross proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment and other assets 2,404

1,484

Proceeds from insurance settlement 1,537

341

Payments related to routes and other intangibles -

(2,242)





Net cash used by investing activities (113,976)

(99,139) Cash flows from financing activities:







Proceeds from long-term debt 17,277

579,974

Payments on long-term debt (59,255)

(583,736)

Borrowings from revolving credit facility 41,000

41,244

Payments on revolving credit facility (47,207)

(83,506)

Net cash overdraft financing -

(880)

Deferred loan costs -

(11,629)

Issuance of common stock 143

171

Repurchase of tresury stock (5,000)

-

Minimum withholding taxes paid on stock awards (1,812)

(4,775)

Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation (413)

(12)

Distributions to noncontrolling interests -

(1,866)





Net cash used by financing activities (55,267)

(65,015) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 1,941

(6,160) Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 931

17,236 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 156,884

108,784 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 157,815

$ 126,020 Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:







Accrued capital expenditures $ (3,684)

$ 274

Cash paid during the period for:









Interest, net of capitalized interest $ 41,813

$ 37,524



Income taxes, net of refunds $ 11,799

$ 11,436

Non-cash financing activities









Debt issued for assets $ 10

$ 2,521



Contribution of assets to unconsolidated subsidiary $ 2,674

$ -

Diamond Green Diesel Joint Venture Operating Financial Results Three Months and Six Months Ended June 30, 2016 and June 30, 2015

















Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended













$ Change









$ Change





June 30,

June 30,

Favorable

June 30,

June 30,

Favorable Revenues: 2016

2015

(Unfavorable)

2016

2015

(Unfavorable)

Operating revenues $ 132,226

$ 156,160

$ (23,934)

$ 203,994

$ 272,888

$ (68,894) Expenses:























Total costs and expenses less depreciation, amortization and accretion expense 95,565

140,343

44,778

148,074

252,378

104,304

Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense 7,547

4,956

(2,591)

12,925

9,965

(2,960) Total costs and expenses 103,112

145,299

42,187

160,999

262,343

101,344

Operating income / (loss) 29,114

10,861

18,253

42,995

10,545

32,450 Other income 70

32

38

85

52

33



Interest and debt expense, net (1,928)

(3,352)

1,424

(4,742)

(7,508)

2,766



Net income $ 27,256

$ 7,541

$ 19,715

$ 38,338

$ 3,089

$ 35,249

SOURCE Darling Ingredients Inc.

Related Links

http://www.darlingii.com


SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Deseret News, Utah's first news organization and longest continually operating business, today announced the hiring of Hal R. Boyd as Opinion Editor.

Boyd, a recent graduate of Yale Law School who previously worked as a reporter for the Deseret News, is an experienced commentator on politics, public policy and religious and cultural affairs, and will be spearheading the newspaper's revamped editorial and opinion sections. In his new role, Boyd will draft the Deseret News' official editorials, manage and edit columnists and op-ed contributors and contribute his own regular column.

"We are pleased that a writer as dynamic and accomplished as Hal Boyd will be directing the continued evolution and expansion of our editorial page content," said Paul Edwards, Editor of the Deseret News. "Boyd is well respected for his nuanced and thoughtful analysis of politics and public policy, and we know that his addition to the team will enable us to provide even more provocative and hard-hitting insights to our readers."

In addition to the Deseret News, Boyd's writing has appeared in scholarly publications including the Oxford Handbook series and BYU Studies Quarterly. In 2015, he published "Psalms of Nauvoo" (RSC-Brigham Young University), and has co-authored two forthcoming books, "Are Christians Mormon?" (Ashgate) and "College for the Commonwealth" (University Press of Kentucky), both slated for publication in 2017.

Boyd graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University in 2011, where he studied philosophy. Afterward he worked as a staff writer for the Deseret News, before accepting a position at the Public Affairs Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Later, he served as special assistant to Michael T. Benson, President of Eastern Kentucky University. Boyd holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as president of the campus chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and was also an active member of Shabtai, a Jewish organization.

"I am delighted to be returning to the Deseret News," said Boyd. "It is the perfect perch from which to continue exploring issues at the intersection of politics, public policy, culture and religion. I look forward to contributing to the Deseret News team."

Boyd lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, a tax accountant, and their two sons.

About The Deseret News

Founded in 1850, the Deseret News (www.deseretnews.com and national.deseretnews.com) offers news, analysis and commentary for family-oriented audiences in Utah and across the country. The award-winning writers at the Deseret News keep its growing readership informed with real-world solutions that can make a positive difference in families and communities. The Deseret News, the first news organization and longest continuously-operating business in the state of Utah, operates the most visited newspaper website and most downloaded newspaper mobile app in Utah.

SOURCE Deseret News
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctor Evidence CMO, Todd Feinman, will participate in two panels on the role of technology in bringing Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) to improve physician efficiency and patient outcomes at the Concierge Medicine Assembly in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 12th and 13th, 2016.

Doctor Evidence (DRE) has more than a decade of experience in rigorous evidence-based medical methodologies and technologies which search, find and catalogue relevant data from peer-reviewed content, including clinical papers, conference proceedings, abstracts, and drug label data from the U.S. and Europe into user-friendly, relational databases. Dr. Feinman, who co-founded Doctor Evidence in 2004, helped develop one of the first Hospitalist programs in Southern California. As a Hospitalist and Medical Director for a large, independent physician association, Feinman realized that there were no accurate and user-friendly technologies that would enable him, or others, to use the data found in clinical studies to determine the most effective test or treatment for specific patient populations.

"Personalized application of evidence-based decisions should be the norm, and our company provides the technology to access the most up-to-date, patient-specific evidence for a given therapeutic area or intervention, so that physicians and patients can decide together the most effective course of treatment," says Feinman. "Concierge doctors, known to be innovative and patient-centered care, are in a unique position to take advantage of the growing number of personalized data resources matched to patient profiles and preferences, including the Doctor Evidence technologies, to improve patient care."

Utilizing DRE's integrated, dynamic platform, doctors and patients can view underlying data being considered for the patient's various treatment options and compare efficacy and safety of those treatments. These capabilities enable physicians and patients to engaged in shared decision-making with individualized patient preferences to determine true value-based care outcomes. This is a powerful tool to improving the use of evidence-based medicine at the point-of-care and improve patients' outcomes.

DRE is launching new digital health applications that democratize enterprise-class solutions to the benefit of individual patients. DRE's technology will allow patients and doctors to precisely match individual patient characteristics to evidence-based suggested therapiesresulting in improved outcomes.

The DRE platforms have proven valuable to global stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem, including life-sciences companies, global academic institutions, pharmacy benefit managers, evidence-based practice centers, and leading healthcare providers in the marketplace.

About Doctor Evidence: Doctor Evidence, LLC, founded in 2004, is a leader in technological solutions for evidence-based medicine with a mission to provide stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem with the most timely and relevant medical evidence and related analytics to make and inform the best clinical decisions. Using its proprietary Digital Outcome Conversion (DOC) platform and its rigorous methodology of extracting clinical data from static sources, including published studies and epidemiological databases, and creating dynamic, scientifically-curated data hubs which is pooled and analyzed to support the development of evidence-based clinical practice guideline recommendations, systematic reviews, and health technology assessments. For more information on Doctor Evidence innovations, please visit http://www.drevidence.com

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397547LOGO

SOURCE Doctor Evidence

Related Links

http://www.drevidence.com


SANTA CLARA, California, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Flash Memory Summit (Booth 113) - After officially launching just days ago, E8 Storage captured the top prize at the 2016 Flash Memory Summit, winning the "Best of Show" award for the Most Innovative Flash Memory Technology. This category specifically confers awards on innovations that will change the way flash memory works and is used in products. The winning technology from E8 Storage is the company's revolutionary E8-D24 - the industry's first centralized NVMe rack scale flash solution for enterprise storage.

E8 Storage - Most Innovative Flash Memory Technology @ Flash Memory Summit 2016

"Flash Memory technology is currently experiencing a progression of innovation that has raised the bar for all-flash storage arrays to deliver higher capacity and performance in ways that were previously impossible," said Jay Kramer, Chairman of the Awards Program and President of Network Storage Advisors Inc. "We are proud to select E8 Storage for the Best of Show Technology Innovation Award as it enables the potential to deliver unprecedented performance (10M IOPS) and latency on par with local NVMe (100us/50us of read/write) coupled with enterprise class storage management and non-disruptive hardware and software upgrade support."

"We are extremely proud to accept this prestigious award, and I applaud the entire E8 Storage team for the hard work and dedication it has taken to make this ground-breaking technology a reality," said Zivan Ori, CEO and Co-founder, E8 Storage. "This award validates what we set out to achieve from the beginning - to give the market a truly innovative storage solution unlike anything else in the industry, delivering exceptional performance along with tier-1 availability and low-cost."

E8 Storage will be presenting at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2016 in San Francisco, Booth #561. Come listen to our Tech chat session at IDF SF 2016, Moscone Convention Center West, on Tuesday August 16 at 1:00 pm PST.

About E8 Storage

Privately-held E8 Storage provides the next generation of flash storage with a rack scale architecture for the enterprise and software-defined cloud, delivering 10 times the performance for half the cost of existing storage products, while using only off-the-shelf hardware. The company was founded in 2014 by storage industry veterans from IBM-XIV, Zivan Ori and Alex Friedman, who serve as CEO and VP R&D respectively. The company is venture-funded by Accel Partners, Magma Venture Capital and Vertex Israel, with R&D operations in Tel Aviv, Israel, and sales and marketing in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information, please visit www.e8storage.com; follow us on Twitter at @E8Storage.

Press Contacts:

Maya Lustig, E8 Storage

[email protected] mailto:[email protected]

+972-54-6778100

Michelle Allard McMahon/Candice Perodeau

[email protected]

+1-508-475-0025

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397427

SOURCE E8 Storage

Related Links

http://www.e8storage.com/


SAO PAULO, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Eternit S.A. (BM&FBOVESPA: ETER3) announced its results for the 2Q16.

The construction materials industry ended the second quarter of 2016 with a weak performance, according to the Brazilian Construction Materials Industry Association (ABRAMAT).

Though this is a period of seasonally lower demand for the Company, apart from the contraction in the segment, Eternit posted negative results, yet outperforming the industry,

Chrysotile sales volume in 2Q16 amounted to 47,600 tons, decreasing 28.7% from 2Q15, due to the reduction in the inventories of clients of the mining company and in the construction materials sector, as well as the competitiveness of steel roofing panels in Asia and strong competition in the export market. In the same period, fiber-cement sales reached 181,000 tons, down 3.0% from 2Q15, whereas concrete roofing tile sales decreased 9.0%, mainly due to the industry slowdown, higher unemployment, lower household income and credit restrictions.

Consolidated net revenue in 2Q16 totaled R$203.7 million, down 13.8% from 2Q15, due to the decrease in volume sold and the price in U.S. dollar on chrysotile exports, which was partially offset by the 14.1% appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Brazilian real due to chrysotile exports.

Adjusted EBITDA reached R$10.6 million in 2Q16, down 75.6%, due to the decline in operating margins on account of a sales mix with lower added value, lower sales volume, low utilization of operating capacity and a non-recurring increase in operating expenses due to the payment of court fees related to the filing of an appeal against the Public-Interest Civil Actions filed in Sao Paulo by the Labor Prosecution Office and ABREA, despite the Company's efforts to reduce operating expenses.

In view of the aspects mentioned in the Adjusted EBITDA section, in addition to a higher net financial expense resulting from the effects of net exchange variation on the Group's foreign-denominated operations, the higher interest resulting from debt and the lower returns on investments due to lower cash available, net loss was R$9.0 million in 2Q16.

Capex totaled R$3.9 million in 2Q16, declining 69.7% from 2Q15, and was allocated to maintaining and modernizing the Group's industrial facilities.

Conference call/Webcast

Date: 08/12/16

Time: 11.00 a.m. Brazilian Local Time  10.00 a.m. New York  03.00 p.m. London

Presentation can be followed on the website link www.ccall.com.br/eternit/2q16.htm or by telephone, dial the following telephone number (1-412) 317-6029 - Password: Eternit

IR Team Contact - +55 (11) 3194-3881/3194-3872 [email protected]

SOURCE Eternit S.A.

Related Links

http://www.ccall.com.br/eternit/2q16.htm


"This strategic alliance with SMI brings together two international industry leaders with a track record of creating iconic global skyscrapers. SMI has developed the tallest building in Shanghai and we look forward to our partnership as we jointly develop the tallest building in New York City," said Gary Barnett, founder and CEO of Extell Development Company. "We believe the superb location, views, design and quality of Central Park Tower will make it the most important residential building ever to be built in New York City and expect it to be a great success for Extell and SMI." SMI's investment will have first priority, and its investment is expected to receive a return of 20% to 30% per annum over the course of the project.

"We are excited to be able to participate in the development of the tallest residential tower in New York City, on a conservative high return basis. We look forward to a long lasting relationship with Extell, one of the top development companies in the United States," said Tom Tao, President of SMI USA.

Rising to 1,550 feet high, Central Park Tower, when completed will be the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere and offer unprecedented 360-degree views of New York City and beyond. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the renowned architects whose credits include the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia, the future world's tallest building, have now designed Central Park Tower which will be New York's most significant contribution to the global stage of supertall towers. The architectural vision for the project is founded on the principles of integrated architectural design, interior layouts and structural efficiency, positioning the building as a powerful statement in the Manhattan skyline. Located at 225 West 57th Street, Central Park Tower is slated for completion in 2019 with sales launching later this year.

Central Park Tower will also be home to Nordstrom's first full-line New York location. Nordstrom Inc., the prestigious Seattle-based fashion specialty retailer has signed an agreement with Extell to locate its long-awaited flagship store in New York City. This would be the retailer's second largest store, and is set to open in 2019.

Extell's expansive portfolio of properties, including the internationally-recognized, record-setting luxury condominium One57, have solidified its position as one of New York City's top real estate development firms.

SMI's extensive experience is highlighted by the recent completion of the second-tallest building in the world and the second to break the incredible 2,000-foot barrier, Shanghai Tower. SMI has successfully executed 80 mega projects spanning from the comprehensive reconstruction of the Bund to the Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397560

SOURCE Extell Development Company
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Late yesterday, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) issued an opinion in the case of United States v. Sterling, denying a United States Marine her constitutional right to religious freedom.

"This is absolutely outrageous," Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of First Liberty Institute, says. "A few judges decided they could strip a Marine of her constitutional rights just because they didn't think her beliefs were important enough to be protected. If they can court-martial a Marine over a Bible verse, what's to stop them from punishing service members for reading the Bible, taking about their faith, or praying?"

"General Patton famously prayed on the eve of battle," Mike Berry, Director of Military Affairs for First Liberty Institute, says. "According to the majority opinion, if General Patton couldn't prove how important praying was to him, he could be court-martialed for his prayer."

"This is shameful, it's wrong, and it sets a terrible precedent, jeopardizing the constitutional rights of every single man and woman in military service," Shackelford says. "We will appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. This cannot be allowed to stand."

First Liberty Institute, along with former solicitor general of the United States, Paul Clement, of Bancroft PLLC, represented LCpl Sterling at an April hearing before the CAAF. LCpl Sterling was court-martialed for refusing to take a Bible verse down from her workspace.

Read more and view legal documents at SterlingFacts.com.

About First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.

SOURCE First Liberty Institute
NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Flying Tiger Copenhagen is expanding its footprint in the United States. The beloved Danish brand is set to open on New York City's Upper West Side on Saturday, August 13th. Located at 424 Columbus Avenue, the new store of nearly 2,000 square feet will be the brand's fourth location in the New York area. The store will be stocked with an assortment of fun, quirky and ever-changing Danish designed products that Flying Tiger Copenhagen has become known for.

The rapidly growing international retailer has over 650 locations in 28 countries. Xavier Vidal, CEO of Flying Tiger Copenhagen said, "The opening of our Upper West Side store is a key milestone in Flying Tiger Copenhagen's development. We have a solid strategy built on an unique and authentic concept that has allowed us to successfully open four New York stores in a very short time."

Sren Friis who is spearheading the expansion in North America said, "Danish design is immensely popular in the U.S. and Flying Tiger Copenhagen's strength is that we are able to offer products at surprisingly affordable prices. We want to inspire people to be creative, to try out new things and to enjoy themselves with the people they love."

The new Upper West Side store will officially open at 10AM on Saturday, August 13th. During the day, staff will offer complimentary Danish butter cookies and invite customers to enter a drawing competition where they can win a back-to-school kit.

About Flying Tiger Copenhagen:

Flying Tiger Copenhagen, a recent rebrand of Tiger, is a rapidly expanding chain of Danish stores offering a quirky, ever-changing selection of products at affordable prices. When visiting Flying Tiger Copenhagen, customers often fall in love with things they never knew they needed but now can't live without. Flying Tiger Copenhagen introduces up to 300 fun and useful new products every month. In 1995, Flying Tiger Copenhagen's founder Lennart Lajboschitz opened the first Tiger store in Copenhagen, where they're still headquartered. In 2015, Flying Tiger Copenhagen opened more than two new stores every week. There are currently 3,500+ people working in over 650 stores in 28 countries. For more information visit www.flyingtiger.com.

SOURCE Flying Tiger Copenhagen

Related Links

http://www.flyingtiger.com


In advising Commissioner Clyburn, Ms. Goodheart played a role in the FCC's enactment of industry-transforming regulations and gained key insight on the commission's thinking on future key issues important to clients. In that role, she formulated recommendations and advised Commissioner Clyburn on wireline, broadband, wireless and communications policy issues, including net neutrality, competition and competitive access, privacy, universal service, disability access, and evolving technology issues.

"We are pleased to welcome Rebekah to the firm," said Jenner & Block Managing Partner Terrence J. Truax. "She is a well-versed communications lawyer with significant regulatory, public policy, antitrust and litigation experience that will enhance our CIT Practice. Her rich government experience adds to our bench strength within the practice specifically and more broadly within the firm."

In her eight years at the FCC, Ms. Goodheart additionally served as Associate General Counsel in the FCC's Office of General Counsel and Deputy Director of the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force; Associate Chief for the Wireline Competition Bureau; Senior Policy Advisor for the Omnibus Broadband Initiative; and Assistant Chief for the Industry Analysis Division, Media Bureau. Career highlights include spearheading the reform of the approximately $8 billion intercarrier compensation regime (a system of payments between telecommunications carriers for connecting telephone calls); managing the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau under then-Acting Chair Clyburn; playing a key role in developing Commissioner Clyburn's views on net neutrality, privacy, competition policy and other key wireline issues; and developing policy recommendations for the FCC's National Broadband plan  an influential blueprint that guides the government's broadband policy.

Before joining the FCC in 2008, Ms. Goodheart was a trial lawyer at the US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, where she was on the front line of reviewing telecommunications mergers. Before that, she was an associate at a Washington, DC-based law firm well known for communications law.

Ms. Goodheart joins the CIT Practice at an exciting time. In May, the practice secured major regulatory approvals that paved the way for Charter Communications, Inc. to merge with Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks, a record three-way transaction valued at approximately $90 billion. The CIT Practice is led by co-chairs Samuel L. Feder and John Flynn. Mr. Feder is a former general counsel for the FCC; Mr. Flynn is a previous senior advisor to the FCC chairman and also possesses significant general counsel experience in the communications and technology sectors.

"Rebekah has a unique background that enables her to provide counsel on a variety of issues, ranging from questions regarding compliance with FCC rules to strategic planning on high-level public policy issues and how to best advocate before the FCC," said Mr. Feder. "She will expand our representation of ISPs and other members of the Internet ecosystem; as the FCC considers new rules and regulations, those clients require the experienced, knowledgeable counsel that Rebekah can provide."

"I look forward to joining Jenner & Block. I am excited to build on the relationships I have gained through my career as well as develop new relationships," Ms. Goodheart said.

Ms. Goodheart earned her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. She earned her BSFS in Science, Technology & International Affairs, cum laude, from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK'S COMMUNICATIONS, INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY PRACTICE

Jenner & Block has a decades-long reputation for handling communications matters of national importance. This tradition began in the 1980s with the firm's work as lead counsel on behalf of MCI in the antitrust suit against AT&T. The practice represents communications and media companies across the United States, handling matters on the forefront of nearly all areas of communications law, including the Internet, cable, telecom, wireless, satellite and media. In addition to FCC-related counseling, the Jenner & Block team has been engaged in a virtually nationwide set of activities related to seeking approval from state public utility commissions.

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK

Jenner & Block (www.jenner.com) is a law firm with global reach, with more than 500 lawyers and offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, DC. The firm is known for its prominent and successful litigation practice and experience handling sophisticated and high-profile corporate transactions. Firm clients include Fortune 100 companies, large privately held corporations, financial services institutions, emerging companies and venture capital and private equity investors. In 2016, The American Lawyer named Jenner & Block to the A-List, which recognizes the top 20 US law firms. The American Lawyer also recognized the firm as the #1 pro bono firm in the United States six of the past nine years; the firm has been ranked among the top 10 in this category every year since 1990.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160809/396995

SOURCE Jenner & Block

Related Links

http://www.jenner.com


HOUSTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Gastar Exploration Inc. (NYSE MKT: GST) announced that the Company's management will participate in EnerCom's The Oil & Gas ConferenceTM 21 to be held August 14-18, 2016 in Denver, Colorado.

J. Russell Porter, President and Chief Executive Officer, will make a presentation at 3:35 p.m. Mountain Time (5:35 p.m. Eastern Time) on Monday, August 15, 2016. The presentation will provide an update on the Company's operations and certain recent developments.

To listen to a live audio webcast and view the presentation materials, visit the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.gastar.com under Events and Presentations. A replay will also be available for rebroadcast on the Company's website.

About Gastar Exploration

Gastar Exploration Inc. is a pure play Mid-Continent independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil, condensate, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Gastar's principal business activities include the identification, acquisition, and subsequent exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties with an emphasis on unconventional reserves, such as shale resource plays. Gastar holds a concentrated acreage position in what is believed to be the core of the STACK Play, an area of central Oklahoma which is home to multiple oil and natural gas-rich reservoirs including the Meramec, Oswego, Osage, Woodford and Hunton formations. For more information, visit Gastar's website at www.gastar.com.

Contacts:

Gastar Exploration Inc.

J. Russell Porter, Chief Executive Officer

713-739-1800 / [email protected]

Investor Relations Counsel:

Lisa Elliott, Dennard-Lascar Associates:

713-529-6600 / [email protected]

SOURCE Gastar Exploration Inc.

Related Links

http://www.gastar.com


MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Clips, the world's largest hair salon brand, announced today it opened its forth location in the Mobile Bay this month at 3980C Airport Road in Mobile, in the Pinebrook Shopping Center. To celebrate, all four recently opened Great Clips locations in Foley, Daphne and Mobile will host a Cut-A-Thon on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to benefit the University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital, a local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.

During the Cut-A-Thon, customers will receive specially priced haircuts for $2.99 and 100 percent of the day's sales will benefit the local hospital. In addition, guests who purchase a Children's Miracle Network balloon for a $1 donation will receive a coupon for $2 off a future haircut. Participating salons are:

Two of the Great Clips salons in Mobile are owned and operated by franchisee Gentry Allen. The Great Clips salons in Foley and Daphne are owned and operated by husband and wife duo Hunter and Mary Hughes. The Hughes also own a salon in the Westgate Pavillion located at 7450 Airport Blvd. in Mobile that is expected to open later this month. Both franchise groups join a network of more than 3,900 Great Clips salons throughout the United States and Canada. By the end of the year, Great Clips aims to have eight locations open in the Mobile area.

"I'm excited to open my next salon in Mobile just in time for back-to-school haircuts and invite the community to join us on Aug. 20 at all four Mobile Bay Great Clips as we give back to the University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital," said Gentry Allen. "I look forward to greeting our newest customers and introducing them to our great team of stylists who will keep them looking their best everyday."

Gentry Allen is one of Great Clips' newest franchisees and opened up his first salon in Mobile this past April. The young entrepreneur and recent graduate of Harvard University has been a long-time customer of Great Clips and was excited to join a concept that would allow him to continue to his passion to serve the local community.

Great Clips offers affordable, quality haircuts. Although prices vary from salon to salon, the average adult haircut is only $13 and children's haircuts are $10. Not only can you save money by visiting Great Clips, but you can save time with its online check-in option. Download the free Great Clips app or go to GreatClips.com to check wait times and add your name to the wait list before heading to the salon. Visit your nearest Great Clips to see what this new salon has to offer.

To find a Great Clips salon, visit GreatClips.com. To learn more about Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, visit CMNHospitals.org.

About Great Clips

Great Clips, Inc. was established in 1982 in Minneapolis. Today, Great Clips has more than 3,900 salons throughout the United States and Canada, making it the world's largest salon brand. Great Clips is 100 percent franchised, and salons are owned locally by more than 1,200 franchisees across North America. Great Clips franchisees employ nearly 35,000 stylists who receive ongoing training to learn the Great Clips customer care system and advanced technical skills. As a walk-in salon, Great Clips provides value-priced, high-quality haircare for men, women and children. No appointments are needed, and salons are open nights and weekends. Getting a great haircut is more convenient than ever with Great Clips' Online Check-In and Clip Notes. To check-in online, visit www.greatclips.com or download the app for Android and iPhone. For more information about Great Clips, Inc. or to find a location near you, visit www.greatclips.com.

About Great Clips' Online Check-In

Great Clips' Online Check-In feature is powered by ICS Net Check In, a patent-pending, internet-based technology platform developed by Innovative Computer Software. Online Check-In allows customers to remotely log in from a computer or smart phone and view the estimated wait time at surrounding salons. Consumers can click the "check-in" icon to add their name to the list at the Great Clips salon of their choice, and by the time they arrive they are likely next or almost next in line  saving precious time they might have spent waiting in the lobby for their haircut. Online Check-In saves time, every time.

About Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since 1983, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $5 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity's Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit's mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why children's hospitals need community support, and learn about your member hospital, at CMNHospitals.org and facebook.com/CMNHospitals.

CONTACT:

Rachel Tabacnic

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160412/354604LOGO

SOURCE Great Clips, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.greatclips.com


BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Clarin S.A. ("Grupo Clarin" or the "Company" - LSE: GCLA; BCBA: GCLA), the largest media company in Argentina, announced today its first half and second quarter results for 2016. Figures in this report have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as of June 30th, 2016 and are stated in Argentine Pesos, unless otherwise indicated.

Highlights (1H16 vs. 1H15):

Net Sales totaled Ps. 18,724.3 million, an increase of 49.1% from 1H15, mainly due to ARPU and subscriber growth in the Cable TV, Internet access and Telephony segment and, to a lesser extent, driven by the consolidation of Nextel Argentina in the Cable TV, Internet access and Telephony segment.

Adjusted EBITDA (1) reached Ps. 5,721.5 million, an increase of 44.4% from 1H15, mainly driven by higher sales in the Cable, Internet access and Telephony segment.

reached Ps. 5,721.5 million, an increase of 44.4% from 1H15, mainly driven by higher sales in the Cable, Internet access and Telephony segment. Grupo Clarin's Adjusted EBITDA Margin (2) for 1H16 was 30.6%, compared to 31.6% in 1H15.

for 1H16 was 30.6%, compared to 31.6% in 1H15. Income for the period totaled Ps. 2,062.9 million, an increase of 23.0% from the Ps. 1,677.1 million reported in 1H15, and the Income for the period attributable to Equity Shareholders amount to Ps 1,227.8 million from Ps. 1,034.3 million, an increase of 18.7%.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS



















(In millions of Ps.) 1H16 1H15 % Ch. 2Q16 1Q16 2Q15 QoQ YoY Net Sales 18,724.3 12,555.6 49.1% 9,738.7 8,985.6 6,586.0 8.4% 47.9%

















Adjusted EBITDA (1) 5,721.5 3,963.2 44.4% 2,876.8 2,844.7 2,027.1 1.1% 41.9%

















Adjusted EBITDA Margin (2) 30.6% 31.6% (3.2%) 29.5% 31.7% 30.8% (6.7%) (4.0%)

















Income for the period 2,062.9 1,677.1 23.0% 949.7 1,113.2 876.7 (14.7%) 8.3%

















Attributable to:

































Equity Shareholders 1,227.8 1,034.3 18.7% 595.0 632.7 565.1 (6.0%) 5.3%

















Non-Controlling Interests 835.1 642.7 29.9% 354.7 480.5 311.6 (26.2%) 13.8%

(1) We define Adjusted EBITDA as net sales minus cost of sales (excluding depreciation and amortization) and selling and administrative expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization). We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is a meaningful measure of our performance. It is commonly used to analyze and compare media companies on the basis of operating performance, leverage and liquidity. Nonetheless, Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of net income or cash flow from operations and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, an indication of our financial performance, an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or a measure of liquidity. Other companies may compute Adjusted EBITDA in a different manner; therefore, Adjusted EBITDA as reported by other companies may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA as we report it.

(2) We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA over Net Sales.

Investor Relations Contacts



In Buenos Aires: In London: In New York:





Agustin Medina Manson Patricio Gentile Alex Money Melanie Carpenter





Grupo Clarin S.A. Jasford IR I-advize Corporate Communications Tel: +54 11 4309 7215 Tel: +44 20 3289 5300 Tel: +1 212 406 3692 Email: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

Investor Relations

http://www.grupoclarin.com/ir

SOURCE Grupo Clarin

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MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizontal Integration (HI) delivers leading digital marketing and technology expertise for Fortune 500 companies, both on a project basis and via strategic staffing solutions. The company is proud to announce two additions to its leadership team: Reed Varner is HI's managing directordigital agency, and Matt Fairchild joins as vice presidenttechnology.

Reed Varner is a business leader and operations veteran who takes great pride in delivering stellar service and transforming clients into raving fans. He spent 16 years building a digital agency division for Internet Broadcasting  one of the largest digital agencies in volume, executing over 30,000 ad campaigns annually on behalf of local and national media publishers. Varner was responsible for a diverse team including account managers, designers, full video production studio and ad operations experts. His client roster in the broadcast space included Hearst Television, Post-Newsweek, NBC and the Olympics, Cox Media, Univision, CNN and many others.

"It's an honor to help grow a company that's already leading the market," Varner says. "Scaling a business to support incredible demand is a welcome challenge, and I'm proud to be a part of making us both bigger and better."

Matt Fairchild has spent more than two decades solving business problems through technology for clients in financial markets, energy trading and energy market financial settlements, start-ups and digital marketing. Matt has experience in a number of Minneapolis communications agencies and comes most recently from PadillaCRT, where he was responsible for the digital strategy, user experience and technology teams. He's worked for a diverse range of brands including Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Vikings, PepsiCo, Bauer, Belize Tourism Board, Sharp Electronics and Baylor College of Medicine and holds several patents for technology-related innovations.

"Every technologist wants to work alongside the smartest people on the biggest, most complex projects," says Fairchild. "I get to do that every day with HI and our clients, and that's a dream job."

HI has experienced double-digit growth every year since its founding in 2004, but the current acceleration is attributed specifically to demand for full-lifecycle support of Sitecore-based digital marketing programs. Alongside the leadership additions, HI continues to hire developers, project managers, QA analysts, UX architects, visual designers and digital marketing strategists to support our clients.

About Horizontal Integration

Founded in 2003, Horizontal Integration (HI) is a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) with two key service lines: Digital Agency and Staffing Agency. Our Digital Agency team offers unmatched depth and breadth of experience with the most complex, enterprise-level Sitecore CMS implementation and enhancement programs. Our Staffing Agency offers temporary and permanent IT and Creative talent needs, with over 500 active billing consultants.

Horizontal Integration is headquartered in Minnetonka, MN, with additional offices in Denver, Chicago and Vadodara, India. The company is consistently recognized for being a top workplace in the Twin Cities and one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States.

SOURCE Horizontal Integration

Related Links

http://horizontalintegration.com


BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pioneering lifestyle and home brand JESSIE STEELE has announced an expanded product line and fresh, new collections of their iconic aprons, kitchen accents, totes, and other signature accessories. This brand reinvigoration ----comes on the heels of efforts to curb widespread counterfeiting of the brand both in the United States and overseas.

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"As our brand became more internationally recognizable, so did the grey market for our products," explains Jessie Steele founder and CEO Helena Steele. "We became an international brand at the start of a tectonic shift in world commerce. Lower quality imitations began flooding the marketplace, especially online, which hurt our loyal boutique vendors and eroded sales, diluting our brand. Protecting our reputation for high quality home goods and accessories, by protecting our brand assets and trademarks on a global scale has been an ongoing learning experience."

While Steele has recently partnered with -Cyber Investigations Services ----to help eliminate current counterfeit product listings online, she took more creative measures to breathe --- life into the iconic brand Jessie Steele, with inspired new collections of both classic products and new expansions that, to Steele, are a natural evolution of the brand. The collections feature a fun, whimsical take on iconic time-honored designs from the 20th century, envisioned through Steele's modern eye. The new patterns and styles highlight the brand's unique blend of elegant modernity and festive celebration of the joys of family, home, and entertaining.

In addition to the brand's signature aprons, home and kitchen products, Steele is pleased to announce the re-launching of the brand's pajama line later this year, with modern pant and shorts sets that feature classic polka dots and European-style floral patterns for a soft, feminine touch to modern cuts. Also joining the JESSIE STEELE lineup for the first time in the United States will be the brand's umbrellas, which have been wildly popular across elite, boutique retailers in Japan, and which will be available in limited editions in the United States.

"Despite our growth over the past decade, we are determined to keep the brand personal," adds Steele, ---who is still directly involved in all aspects of design and development. "We will always be dedicated to creating new fresh stories, woven from the threads of a past -----lovingly re-imagined, in prints and styles that evoke another era. Jessie Steele will always Bring Happy Home."

Speaking to continued brand expansion, Steele notes that fans can expect to see a resort collection of tunics, totes, flip flops and other resort items, with the classic JESSIE STEELE flair and personal attention to detail. For more information or to shop the latest collections, visit http://jessiesteele.com.

ABOUT JESSIE STEELE

Launched in 2003 -------lifestyle brand JESSIE STEELE has at its heart the brand's iconic aprons, which caused a global revival of a classic home accessory that is the very symbol of domesticity. Over a decade later, the brand has steadily expanded to include the gamut of fashion related home and kitchen products, and providing licensing to other home goods, gift-ware, and apparel, as well as custom collaborations with major retailers. The entire Jessie Steele collection is available online at their website, as well as in---- ----- specialty boutiques in more than thirty countries. For more information or to shop JESSIE STEELE'S latest collections, visit http://jessiesteele.com

Press Inquiries

Jody Green | Frame PR | [email protected]

Related Files

Jessie Steele Editorial_BrandBook_JS2016.pdf

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com.

SOURCE Jessie Steele

Related Links

http://jessiesteele.com


SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Intacct, the customer satisfaction leader in cloud ERP software, today announced the group of channel partners that achieved membership in Intacct's 2016 President's Club.

This coveted sales and customer satisfaction award, given annually by Intacct to its top-performing channel partners, recognizes value added resellers (VARs) and Intacct Accountants Program (IAP) firms for their success in helping clients migrate to Intacct's cloud ERP solutions.

Intacct has attracted the cream of the crop to its channel programs, boasting 28 of the Top 100 CPA firms and 27 of the Top 100 VARs in the industry. Those numbers are the most of any cloud ERP vendor. Backed by a 5-Star Partner Program and Intacct's best-in-class cloud financial software, Intacct partners have achieved stellar results over the past year.

Here is an overview of the channel partners that qualified for Intacct President's Club in 2016:

AcctTwo  a leading consulting firm and provider of cloud-based ERP software and Business Process as a Service (BPaaS) solutions. AcctTwo qualified for President's Club for the fifth consecutive year. The firm is known for its exceptional customer satisfaction, differentiating product knowledge, significant practice growth, and thought leadership position within the Intacct ecosystem. AcctTwo has a nationwide customer presence and works in a wide range of industry segments, including dedicated not-for-profit, software and SaaS, and oilfield services industry practices.

BKD, LLP  a national CPA and advisory firm that helps individuals and businesses realize their goals. BKD has approximately 2,400 dedicated professionals that provide solutions for clients in all 50 states and internationally. The firm and its subsidiaries offer a variety of tax, accounting, and consulting services, and combine the insight and ideas of thought leaders in multiple industries.

Cargas  An employee-owned business software and consulting company, and an Intacct Premier Partner. Software is Cargas' business, but shared success is their purpose. Cargas believes that they succeed when their employees and customers succeed, and that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. They start by understanding how customers define success, and then they do all they can to help achieve it.

CliftonLarsonAllen  a professional services firm delivering integrated wealth advisory, outsourcing, and public accounting capabilities. CliftonLarsonAllen was selected for continued exceptional sales achievement, high customer satisfaction rating, and thought leadership within the Intacct business partner community. CliftonLarsonAllen was also named to the Accounting Today VAR 100 list (#31) and Bob Scott's VAR Stars list (#27).

Consero Global  provides finance and accounting that efficiently creates understanding and certainty to drive businesses forward. They offer small and mid-size companies a comprehensive financial solution that incorporates the perfect blend of technology, finance experts, and processes that improve executive decision making and operational scalability. They have earned the honor of a top partner in the Intacct Accountants Program.

Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP  a growing provider of a dynamic range of services to individuals and businesses in a wide range of industries. Its business consulting team, Frank, Rimerman Consulting, earned President's Club recognition through their significant sales growth, proven implementation methodology and execution, and firm-wide commitment to improve business performance through the deployment of Intacct and other leading business technologies.

Joseph Eve  a Montana based CPA firm that has a 30 year history of partnering with Native American Tribal organizations of all types across North America. Resulting from their work with governments, housing authorities, and casinos, Joseph Eve was selected for substantial sales growth, Intacct product and implementation expertise, and commitment to customer success. The firm has been an Intacct accounting software solution provider for five years.

Leap the Pond  a provider of Intacct based accounting solutions to organizations that have big plans. Its senior leadership averages more than 20 years of experience with accounting and operations. Since 2008, Leap the Pond has led more than 350 projects for nearly 250 companies.

Porte Brown  a full service accounting and consulting firm, recently recognized as one of the Fastest-Growing US Firms and a Great Lakes Regional Leader by Accounting Today. Porte Brown was selected for its significant sales achievements and for their ongoing dedication to client success.

Radius  is a leader in international business software and services. Radius, an Intacct partner since 2010, earned its sixth straight President's Club honor.

Wipfli LLP/Brittenford Systems  a top 20 accounting and business consulting firm providing businesses industry-focused assurance, accounting, tax, and consulting services. Wipfli/Brittenford Systems was selected for outstanding sales achievement, Intacct Marketplace solutions, custom development efforts, customer satisfaction and investment in building an Intacct-specific practice. The firm was named to the Accounting Today VAR 100 list (#14) and Bob Scott's VAR Stars list (#17).

"The Intacct Partner Program is designed to help channel partners build sustainable excellence and achieve remarkable growth year after year," said Taylor Macdonald, SVP of Channel Sales for Intacct. "Together, Intacct and its partners deliver rapid deployments with unlimited flexibility, real-time and deep visibility into business performance, superior return on investment, and low cost of ownership  all while maintaining industry-leading customer satisfaction. Congratulations to the top partners earning membership in this year's Intacct President's Club. These firms have established their leadership in the market and distinguished themselves amongst their peers in our Partner Program."

About Intacct

Intacct is the customer satisfaction leader in cloud ERP software. Bringing cloud computing to finance and accounting, Intacct's innovative and award-winning applications are the preferred financial applications for AICPA business solutions. In use by more than 11,000 organizations from startups to public companies, Intacct is designed to improve company performance and make finance more productive. Hundreds of leading CPA firms and Value Added Resellers also offer Intacct to their clients. The Intacct system includes accounting, cash management, purchasing, vendor management, financial consolidation, subscription billing, contract management, revenue recognition, project accounting, fund accounting, inventory management, and financial reporting applications, all delivered over the Internet via cloud computing.

Intacct is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit www.intacct.com or call 877-437-7765. Connect with Intacct on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and YouTube.

Intacct and the Intacct logo are trademarks of Intacct Corporation. All other company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120123/SF39551LOGO

SOURCE Intacct

Related Links

http://www.intacct.com


FARMERS BRANCH, Texas, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ironclad Performance Wear Corporation (OTCQB: ICPW), the recognized leader in high-performance task-specific work gloves, has reached an agreement in principle to settle its lawsuit with ORR Safety Corporation. The terms of the agreement are confidential. ORR will continue to be an important distributor of Ironclad's product, but Ironclad can also sell KONG through all distribution channels. Both Ironclad and ORR Safety emphasized their belief in the KONG brand, and intend to move forward together to sell KONG products. Both parties expressed that they are pleased with the terms of the settlement.

Ironclad reported financial results for the second quarter and year to date ended June 30, 2016.

The Company reported increased Net Sales for the quarter of $5.40 million, a 4.3% increase from $5.17 million in the second quarter of 2015, on stronger sales from the industrial and retail segments and patent licensing fees.

For the second quarter, the Company's industrial segment recorded a 12% revenue increase. Notwithstanding the segment increase in sales driven by its expanding distributor base, Ironclad offset a 48% decrease in segment sales attributable to sales to ORR Safety. Ironclad is optimistic this trend will ease as a result of the settlement of the litigation between the parties.

The Company also recorded a 48% increase in revenues for its retail segment, continuing to gain traction with new accounts and expanded placements nation-wide.

The Company's private label business declined as expected due to the discontinuance of the 5.11 tactical program. International segment revenues also declined 22% for the second quarter of 2016. The Company had shipped a significant one-time roll out order for a major international customer in Q2 of 2015; this was nearly offset in Q2 of 2016 with stronger orders from its rapidly expanding international distributor base and improved sales from its Australian partner, Performance on Hand.

Gross Profit dollars increased 9.7% to $1.95 million, or 36.1% of Net Sales, compared to $1.78 million, or 34.4% of Net Sales, in the second quarter of 2015.

Operating Expenses in the second quarter were $2.51 million or 46.5% of Net Sales, as compared to $1.93 million or 37.2% of Net Sales during the same period last year. The increase in Operating Expenses was primarily driven by legal costs resulting from the Company's litigation with ORR Safety, which will now cease with the settlement of the lawsuit. To a lesser extent, the increase in Operating Expenses was attributable to investment in personnel required to drive our increased industrial and retail business.

As a result of the above, Loss from Operations increased by $411,587, to a loss of $561,315, from a loss of $149,728 in the second quarter of 2015.

Interest Expense increased $27,300 to $47,493 in the second quarter of 2016 from $20,193 in the same period of 2015. This increase is due to increased borrowings under our bank line of credit agreement.

Net Loss for the second quarter of 2016 was $608,783, or $0.01 per share, as compared to a loss of $169,914, or $0.00 per share, in the same period last year.

Ironclad's Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Cordes, commented: "In the midst of an extremely difficult industrial market, we continue to grow our business. As we continue to execute the roll out of our products across the North American Grainger network, we are also rapidly adding domestic and international distributors that are more than offsetting the former ORR Safety revenue. Retail clearly has also found traction with significant increases this quarter and new customers including Zoro, Boot Barn and Menards. It is exciting to see this business taking hold.

"While the quarter to quarter impact of a very depressed oil and gas market is uncertain, our expansion of segments outside of oil and gas is placing us on a path to solid growth at Ironclad.

"In regard to the litigation with ORR Safety, we are pleased to have reached an agreement in principle to settle the lawsuit, and we are thrilled to have this matter behind us."

Conference Call

Ironclad Performance Wear will hold a conference call to discuss second quarter 2016 financial results on Thursday, August 11th, at 3:30 p.m. Central Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time). To participate in the conference call, interested parties should dial:

Date: Aug 11th, 2016

Time: 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time (3:30 p.m. Central Time)

Domestic Dial-In Number: 1-877-604-9665

International Dial-In Number: 1-719-325-4874

Conference ID Number: 4382648

The conference call will be broadcast simultaneously and available for replay at: http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=120748 and also via the landing page of the Company's Website at www.ironclad.com.

Please call the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization.

Replay Dial-In Numbers:

TOLL-FREE 1-877-870-5176

TOLL/INTERNATIONAL 1-858-384-5517

From: 08/11/16 at 7:30 pm Eastern Time

To: 09/11/16 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time

Replay Pin Number: 4382648

The Company's financial results will be posted online at www.ironcladinvestor.com once they are publicly released.

About Ironclad Performance Wear Corporation

Ironclad Performance Wear is a leader in high-performance task-specific work gloves. It created the performance work glove category in 1998, and continues to leverage its leadership position in the safety, construction and industrial markets through the design, development and distribution of specialized task-specific gloves for industries such as oil & gas extraction; automotive; and police, fire, first-responder and military. Ironclad engineers and manufactures its products with a focus on innovation, design, advanced material science and durability. Ironclad's gloves and apparel are available through industrial suppliers, hardware stores, home centers, lumber yards, and sporting goods retailers nationwide; and through authorized distributors in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Built Tough for the Industrial Athlete

For more information on Ironclad, please visit the Company's Website at www.ironclad.com.

Information about Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" that include information relating to future events and future financial and operating performance. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in demand for Ironclad's products, the introduction of new products, Ironclad's ability to maintain customer and strategic business relationships, the impact of competitive products and pricing, growth in targeted markets, the adequacy of Ironclad's liquidity and financial strength to support its growth, and other information that may be detailed from time-to-time in Ironclad's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Examples of such forward looking statements in this release include statements regarding trends in segment sales, our expanding distributor base and improved international sales, and executing on growth initiatives. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting Ironclad, please refer to the Company's recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available at www.sec.gov. Ironclad undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact

William Aisenberg, CFO

[email protected]

(972) 996-5664

IRONCLAD PERFORMANCE WEAR CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS









June 30, 2016

(Unaudited)

December 31, 2015 ASSETS





Current Assets





Cash and cash equivalents $ 464,467

$ 276,981 Accounts receivable net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $30,000 and $30,000 7,308,559

8,857,768 Inventory net of reserve of $247,549 and $547,800 8,727,945

6,681,715 Deposits on inventory 108,597

171,593 Prepaid and other 923,147

610,417 Total Current Assets 17,532,715

16,598,474







Property and Equipment





Computer equipment and software 236,830

622,264 Furniture and equipment 290,203

308,398 Leasehold improvements 140,718

174,298 Less: accumulated depreciation (269,311)

(767,047) Total Property and Equipment, Net 398,440

337,913







Other Assets





Other Assets - Non-current 416,757

- Trademarks and patents net of accumulated amortization of $74,425 and $68,094 182,897

125,895 Deposits 44,909

21,306 Deferred tax asset - long term 1,832,000

1,832,000 Total Other Assets 2,476,563

1,979,201







Total Assets $ 20,407,718

$ 18,915,588







LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY





Current Liabilities





Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 2,751,876

$ 3,358,724 Line of credit 5,964,578

3,224,780 Total Current Liabilities 8,716,454

6,583,504







Total Liabilities 8,716,454

6,583,504







Stockholders' Equity





Common stock, $0.001 par value, 172,744,750 shares authorized,





84,000,454 and 82,937,309 shares issued and outstanding at





June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively 84,000

82,937 Additional paid-in capital 21,101,185

20,776,012 Accumulated deficit (9,493,921)

(8,526,865) Total Stockholders' Equity 11,691,264

12,332,084







Total Liabilities & Stockholders' Equity $ 20,407,718

$ 18,915,588

IRONCLAD PERFORMANCE WEAR CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited)





























Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended







June 30, 2016

June 30, 2015

June 30, 2016

June 30, 2015











































REVENUES



















Net sales



$ 5,396,415

$ 5,171,966

$ 10,443,197

$ 9,739,649





















COST OF SALES



















Cost of sales



3,446,901

3,395,362

6,672,742

6,196,449





















GROSS PROFIT



1,949,514

1,776,604

3,770,455

3,543,200





















OPERATING EXPENSES

















General and administrative

1,050,891

761,411

1,943,039

1,439,823

Sales and marketing

858,176

733,424

1,580,399

1,432,304

Research and development

163,359

158,132

326,111

313,602

Purchasing, warehousing and distribution 394,765

241,534

721,013

524,531

Depreciation and amortization

43,638

31,831

83,964

66,828























Total Operating Expenses

2,510,829

1,926,332

4,654,526

3,777,088





















INCOME FROM OPERATIONS

(561,315)

(149,728)

(884,071)

(233,888)





















OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)

















Interest expense



(47,493)

(20,193)

(83,680)

(34,942)

Interest income



25

7

25

14

Other income, net



-

-

-

-

Gain on disposition of equipment -

-

-

-























Total Other Income (Expense), Net (47,468)

(20,186)

(83,655)

(34,928)





















NET LOSS BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES (608,783)

(169,914)

(967,726)

(268,816)





















Benefit from income taxes - current -

-

670

-





















NET LOSS



$ (608,783)

$ (169,914)

$ (967,056)

$ (268,816)





















NET LOSS PER COMMON SHARE















Basic



($0.01)

($0.00)

($0.01)

($0.00)

Diluted



($0.01)

($0.00)

($0.01)

($0.00)





















WEIGHTED AVERAGE COMMON SHARES OUTSTANDING















Basic



83,449,762

81,132,811

83,230,756

81,011,664

Diluted



83,449,762

81,132,811

83,230,756

81,011,664

SOURCE Ironclad Performance Wear Corporation

Related Links

http://www.ironclad.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- From coffee-cup sized testing machines to a powerful handheld glucose reader, the introduction of new point-of-care (POC) diagnostic solutions was an evident trend at the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo, which took place August 14 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research firm said that more diagnostic manufacturers have pursued approval of POC test devices over the past ten years, contributing significantly to the growth of the overall diagnostics market. The firm found that the trend of increasing introduction of transportable, portable, and handheld instruments has resulted in the migration of POC testing from the hospital environment to a range of medical environments. The healthcare market research firm's recent report, The United States In Vitro Diagnostic Market.

"Point of care is an attractive entry point where smaller innovators feel they can make a difference, and we saw that at the Expo," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information.

Abingdon, Nova Biomedical Corporation, Haemonetics Corporation, Spartan Bioscience, and Alere are among the companies that have worked to produce U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved and CE Marked (free marketability in the European Economic Area) POC tests.

Abingdon Health's ADxLR5 Lateral Flow Assay reader is a next generation FDA-registered and CE-marked reader that incorporates a 10.1 inch touch screen with graphical user interface and icon driven software. The reader also features USB ports and Ethernet connection. The company claims the sample draw with interchangeable and cleanable inserts allows for the reading of a wide range of devices.

Nova Biomedical Corporation's new StatStrip Glucose Xpress 2 as well as StatStrip Glucose are according to the company the only hospital glucose meters able to read glucose without interference from other medications that affect reads, and are for use with critically ill patients. Use of any other strip-based glucose meter with critically ill patients is considered "off-label" by the FDA and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to the company's presentation.

Haemonetics Corporation's TEG 6s analyzer uses thrombelastography technology  a method of testing the efficiency of blood coagulation -- that the company claims significantly improves ease of operation while measuring the same viscoelastic properties  relating to both viscous and elastic characteristics  of blood coagulation. The all-in-one cartridge system delivers a comprehensive picture of interruption of blood flow (hemostasis) in near real time, giving invaluable insight so more targeted treatment can be delivered. Its TEG Manager software allows secure remote access to patient results and analyzer/user administration. The new TEG 6s system can be readily deployed in either near-patient or lab settings.

The epoc Blood Analysis System from Alere delivers blood gas and electrolyte results in about 30 seconds, according to the company. It is a wireless and user-friendly bedside testing solution using smart card technology. One of its key selling points is its shape (it is smartphone-sized) and its integration; wireless data integration delivers critical laboratory values seamlessly into the laboratory information system (LIS) and electronic medical record (EMR) in seconds.

The Spartan Cube is, according to Spartan Bioscience, the world's smallest DNA analyzer. About the size of a coffee cup, the Cube's sample-to-result technology fully integrates DNA collection, extraction, and analysis, with an intuitive interface. Spartan Cube preliminary assay menu includes Strep A  clinical, Legionella  water testing, and a PGx (personalized medicine test) assay for drug development.

 water testing, and a PGx (personalized medicine test) assay for drug development. Life Diagnostics' SPARCL is, according to the company, an ELISA solution that provides results in 45 minutes using a no-wash-step technology.

The healthcare market research firm's recent report, The United States In Vitro Diagnostic Market, contains information on point-of-care companies in the U.S. market and estimates of various segments of the POC market including pregnancy, glucose, infectious disease and other POC. The report also looks at reimbursement trends. The report can be found at http://www.kaloramainformation.com/United-States-Vitro-10133262/. Kalorama publishes global reports as well.

About Kalorama Information

Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased through Kalorama's website and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog at www.kaloramainformation.com.

Contact:

Bruce Carlson

(212) 807-2622

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150831/262422LOGO

SOURCE Kalorama Information

Related Links

http://www.kaloramainformation.com


DETROIT, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Women can help contribute to cancer research by donating a sample of healthy breast tissue during a collection event at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 8 a.m.  4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required prior to the event and scheduling will begin on or after Aug. 8. Women ages 18 and older from all ethnicities are encouraged to donate.

Karmanos Cancer Institute is hosting the tissue collection event for the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis in collaboration with the Susan G. Komen Detroit Race for the Cure and Wayne State University.

Why Healthy Breast Tissue Donations are Needed

The goal of the Sept. 24 collection event is to obtain healthy breast tissue samples from 200 women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to help researchers better understand the differences between healthy breast tissue in women from various cultures. The samples will also help show how healthy breast tissue changes at different stages of a woman's life, and will allow researchers to compare healthy breast tissue to cancerous tissue. Understanding these changes in breast tissue may help determine possible causes of breast cancer, help find ways to prevent the disease, and help advance new cancer treatments.

The Komen Tissue Bank is the first and only biorepository of normal breast tissue in the world. To date, more than 4,500 women have contributed breast tissue samples to the Komen Tissue Bank. The research being conducted studies the disparities between cultural groups that will benefit cancer patients across the globe.

Physicians and trained staff from Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Komen Tissue Bank will collect the tissue samples, while Komen Detroit Race for the Cure leads the charge to mobilize several other Detroit-based organizations to support the event by volunteering and raising awareness of the need for healthy breast tissue to help advance cancer research, especially among minorities.

"Although we have made great progress in breast cancer research and treatments, there is still so much we don't yet understand as to why certain people get breast cancer and why it's more aggressive in some cultures versus others," said Michele Cote, Ph.D., associate center director of Education at Karmanos Cancer Institute and associate professor of Oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine.

"The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no known family history of the disease," added Dr. Cote. "African American women are often diagnosed with a more aggressive breast cancer that can lead to a higher mortality than Caucasian women. Latino women are often diagnosed at a younger age. Having normal breast tissue samples to study will help give insight as to why these disparities exist and how we might help illuminate them for our children, grandchildren and future generations."

Katrina Studvent, director of Breast Cancer Special Programs at Karmanos and chair of the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure, is a 10-year breast cancer survivor, diagnosed at age 30.

"Having diverse women donate their healthy breast tissue will help scientists better understand why other ethnic groups develop the disease disproportionally," said Studvent. "Donating a small sample of healthy breast tissue can have a big impact on advancing science that can help save more lives in the future."

Pre-Registration and What to Expect during the Donation Process

Pre-registration appointment scheduling begins on or after Aug. 8 and must be done in advance of the Sept. 24 collection. (It's recommended that participants register at least one week prior to the event.) To register for the Komen Tissue Bank healthy breast tissue collection event hosted by Karmanos Cancer Institute, visit www.komentissuebank.iu.edu or call 866-763-0047.

Women of all ethnicities are encouraged to donate a sample of their heathy breast tissue. To participate, women must:

Be age 18 or older

Have the ability to understand and be willing to sign an informed consent

Be willing to give one hour of their time to complete a questionnaire and a breast biopsy

Have no allergies to local anesthetics (numbing medicine)

Not be receiving a therapeutic blood thinner (excluding aspirin)

Not have breast implants

The entire tissue collection process usually takes 60 - 90 minutes Participation consists of completing an informed consent document and an online questionnaire, having height and weight measurements taken, giving a blood sample, having a breast tissue sample collected, and providing annual medical follow-up information.

"The majority of women who have donated have some personal connection to breast cancer," said Anna Maria Storniolo, M.D., executive director of the tissue bank and a physician scientist at the IU Simon Cancer Center. "They donate because their mother, neighbor or friend had breast cancer. They feel so helpless. They're frustrated because they can't do enough. When the opportunity comes up to donate, they jump at the chance."

WHAT: Komen Tissue Bank Healthy Breast Tissue Collection Event at Karmanos Cancer Institute

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 24

Pre-Registration is needed prior to Sept 24. Appointments can be made starting Aug. 8.

WHERE: Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

4100 John R, between Warren Ave. and Mack, in Detroit, Mich., 48201

Surface and garage parking will be complimentary.

WHY: To help advance cancer research and help close the gap on cancer disparities by gaining a better understanding of normal breast tissue functions.

WHO: Women of all ethnicities, age 18 and older, who do not have cancer are needed to donate a healthy breast tissue sample.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

To register, visit www.komentissuebank.iu.edu or call 866-763-0047. Donors must have a confirmed appointment time. Appointment times will be scheduled starting Aug. 8.

The Komen Tissue Bank, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University and Komen Detroit Race for the Cure thank the following community partners: AARP; Centro Multicultural La Familia; Ford Motor Company; Gift of Life Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program; Motor City Dragons; New Prospect Missionary

Baptist Church; Pontiac Chapter of National Panhellenic Council; S.A.Y. Clinic; Sisters Network of Greater Metro Detroit Chapter; 'The People Expert"; Young Survival Coalition; and WITNESS Project of Detroit.

About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

Located in mid-town Detroit, Michigan, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, a subsidiary of McLaren Health Care, is one of 47 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Karmanos is among the nation's best cancer centers. Through the commitment of 1,000 staff, including nearly 300 physicians and researchers on faculty at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and supported by thousands of volunteer and financial donors, Karmanos strives to prevent, detect and eradicate all forms of cancer. Its long-term partnership with the WSU School of Medicine enhances the collaboration of critical research and academics related to cancer care. Gerold Bepler, M.D., Ph.D., is the Institute's president and chief executive officer. For more information call 1-800-KARMANOS or go to www.karmanos.org.

About the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center

The Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center (Komen Tissue Bank or KTB) is the only normal breast tissue bio-repository of its kind in the world. As such, it is uniquely positioned to characterize the molecular and genetic basis of normal breast development and compare it to the different types of breast cancer. The bank was established expressly for the acquisition of normal tissues  breast tissue, epithelial and stromal cell lines, serum, plasma and DNA  from volunteer donors with no clinical evidence of breast disease and/or malignancy, providing a resource to investigators around the globe. The Komen Tissue Bank is an Indiana University research entity.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151221/317651LOGO

SOURCE Karmanos Cancer Institute

Related Links

http://www.karmanos.org


"Around the globe we in the education community hear the drumbeat from employers that they want mature graduates who have the soft skills necessary to thrive in a work environment. And from GBSN members on every continent we see the impact that consequential experiential learning opportunities have on students' development. I'm grateful to the National University of Management for helping us bring GBSN's second 'Learning by Doing' summit to Cambodia as part of our effort to expand access to experiential education at business schools around the globe." said Page Schindler Buchanan, Chief Operating Officer at GBSN.

"Overall, the GBSN Summit on Experiential Learning was a success and we look forward to introducing more experiential and action learning projects into our business school curricula at the National University of Management in Phnom Penh," said Dr. Hor Peng, Rector of National University of Management.

The Keynote Discussion featured H.E. Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport who was interviewed by Kerry Laufer, Director of OnSite Global Consulting at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

"The conference provides a platform for business schools, business leaders and policy-makers to meet and discuss to find ways how to improve management education to meet the needs of the rapidly changing landscapes of global business of the 21st century," said H.E. Dr. Naron.

Following the summit, delegates from the US, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Singapore, South Korea and gathered for a reception with Julie Chung, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia.

"The U.S. Embassy is proud to support this important summit that brings together the best of American business schools with their colleagues in Cambodia and throughout Asia. Experiential learning in particular is a significant innovation that will help future business leaders bridge borders and thrive in their own communities. By fostering international dialogue and information transfer through events like this, the Global Business School Network is helping to strengthen ties between our schools, our students and our nations," said Ms. Chung.

Summit speakers and facilitators included top U.S. and Asian business educators, prominent Cambodian entrepreneurs, and the Cambodian Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, providing varied perspectives on experiential education in Cambodia and across the globe.

Featured speakers included:

Bryan Andriano , Executive Director, Global & Experiential Education, George Washington University School of Business ( USA )

, Executive Director, Global & Experiential Education, ( ) Chang Bunleang, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Brown Coffee ( Cambodia )

) Michellana Jester, Lecturer & Faculty Course Manager, Global Economics & Management Group, MIT Sloan School of Management ( USA )

( ) Marc Johnson , Executive Director, Center for Global Initiatives, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia (USA)

, Executive Director, Center for Global Initiatives, of Business, (USA) Deepa Krishnan , Professor, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research ( India )

, Professor, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research ( ) Ravi Kumar , Associate Provost, Special Projects, Nanyang Business School ( Singapore )

, Associate Provost, Special Projects, Nanyang Business School ( ) Kerry Laufer , Director, OnSite Global Consulting, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth ( USA )

, Director, OnSite Global Consulting, Tuck School of Business at ( ) Zoe Ng , Managing Director, Raintree Development ( Cambodia )

, Managing Director, Raintree Development ( ) Stephen Paterson , Senior Advisor &Program Coordinator for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, National University of Management ( Cambodia )

, Senior Advisor &Program Coordinator for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, of Management ( ) Hor Peng , Rector, National University of Management ( Cambodia )

, Rector, of Management ( ) Okhna Sok Piseth, CEO & Co-Founder, GGer Co., Ltd. ( Cambodia )

) Kristiana Raube , Executive Director, International Business Development Program

Executive Director, Institute for Business & Social Impact, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley ( USA )

, Executive Director, International Business Development Program Executive Director, Institute for Business & Social Impact, of Business, UC Berkeley ( ) Eric Shih , Vice Dean for Faculty & Research, SKK Graduate School of Business ( South Korea )

Visit www.gbsn.org/ELsummit to view the full agenda.

About GBSN

The Global Business School Network is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening management, entrepreneurial and leadership talent for the developing world through better access to quality, locally relevant education. GBSN harnesses the power of a network of over 70 leading business schools that share a dedication to our mission to build management education capacity for the developing world. Through international events and local capacity building projects GBSN facilitates cross-border networking, knowledge sharing and collaboration. GBSN programs tap the expertise of our member schools to advise, train and mentor developing world institutions and educators. More information is available at www.gbsn.org.

About The National University of Management

The National University of Management is the leading public university in Cambodia focusing on management and business administration. Currently, there are approximately 12,000 students enrolled in bachelor, masters and doctoral programs in areas such as finance & banking, accounting, management, marketing, entrepreneurship, tourism & hospitality, information technology, foreign languages and business law.

Contact at GBSN: Nicole Zefran, [email protected], +1.202.628.9040

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397525

SOURCE Global Business School Network

Related Links

http://www.gbsnonline.org


LONDON, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Lie Detector Test Guru http://www.liedetectortest.guru are pleased to welcome a new partner, Antony Keeves, a world class APA examiner. Antony brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience, having previously worked with Jason Hubble at Lie Detectors UK http://www.liedetectors-uk.com , the UK's largest independent polygraph company. He is a graduate of the polygraph godfather Ben Blalock.

He specialises in Infidelity, Proof of Innocence and Theft cases and is well respected in the industry.

Lie Detectors UK are the largest polygraph company in the UK with offices in Sevenoaks, London and Manchester. All examiners are fully qualified APA professionals and deal with a variety of cases on a fixed price basis.

Contact: Rachel Hubble, +44(0)207-859-4960

SOURCE Lie Detector Test Guru
DENVER, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lilis Energy, Inc. (OTCQB: LLEX) today announced the appointment of Joe Pawelek as Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations. The Company also announced it has engaged CorProminence LLC as its investor relations firm of record. Mr. Pawelek brings to his role at Lilis Energy exemplary experience across a variety of roles from finance and financial reporting, to preparing and assessing reserves and capital budgeting, to M&A and valuation. Prior to joining Lilis Energy, Mr. Pawelek served as Associate and Head of Business Development at Brushy Resources, Inc. since 2012. Prior to his employment with Brushy Resources, Mr. Pawelek enjoyed a career in the NFL, playing linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks and the Jacksonville Jaguars, after a decorated collegiate career. Mr. Pawelek earned a degree from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Economics and a Masters in Business Administration from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

"I am excited to be joining the Lilis Energy team at such a crucial stage of the company. Our goals are to attain exceptional results and build strong shareholder value," said Mr. Pawelek. "I look forward to contributing to our success with an engaging strategic approach that will serve our shareholders to provide transparency and a better understanding of our company," he added.

"On behalf of the entire Lilis organization I am delighted to welcome Joe to our team. Now that the merger is behind us, it is time to provide consistent updates to the market and engage in continous communications with our shareholders," said Avi Mirman, CEO and Director of Lilis Energy. " Given Joe's intimate knowledge of the acquisition assets, and his background in finance and energy, we couldn't be happier with our new voice to the markets," Mr. Mirman concluded.

As Lilis Energy's Investor Relations firm of record, CorProminence will focus on expanding strategic market awareness and support shareholder communications for Lilis Energy, conveying the Company's key messages to the institutional and retail investment communities. CorProminence is a leading boutique investor relations firm, specializing in leveraging the most effective investment, growth and exposure strategies for small to mid-sized companies through an integrated approach to relationship development and shareholder communications.

"Our entire CorProminence team is thrilled to join Lilis Energy in support of their expansive investor relations needs. Our unique, integrated approach to investor outreach and shareholder commmunications will bring our industry leading best practices in market outreach and investor awareness to create practical, lasting value," said Scott Gordon, President of CorProminence. "Our team of investor relations professionals brings a collective expertise that spans the breadth of the investment spectrum and will serve to complement Lilis Energy's impressive growth strategy with a strong track record of broad-based competence and results," he concluded.

"We chose CorProminence from a competitive field of firms for their unique, results-driven approach to delivering exceptional investor relations services, which will significantly enhance our communications outreach in effectively communicating our business model and growth strategy and raise awareness of Lilis Energy within the investment communities" said Avi Mirman, CEO and Director of Lilis. "We are eager to work with the entire CorProminence team in carrying forward our message," he added.

About Lilis Energy, Inc.

Lilis Energy, Inc. is a Denver-based independent oil and gas exploration and production company that operates in the Permian's Delaware Basin and in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin, considered amongst the leading resource plays in North America. Lilis's total net acreage in the Permian Basin is approximately 3,800 acres, and total net acreage in the DJ is approximately 7,600 acres. Lilis Energy's near-term E&P focus is to grow current reserves and production, and pursue strategic acquisitions in its core areas. For more information, please contact CorProminence LLC: (516) 222-2560 or visit www.lilisenergy.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may include or incorporate by reference "forward-looking statements" as defined by the SEC, including but not limited to statements regarding Lilis Energy's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These statements are qualified by important factors that could cause Lilis Energy's actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to Lilis Energy's ability to finance its continued exploration, drilling operations and working capital needs, and the general risks associated with oil and gas exploration and development, including those risks and factors described from time to time in Lilis Energy's reports filed with the SEC.

SOURCE Lilis Energy, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.lilisenergy.com


NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Living Cities has announced that Rip Rapson, President & CEO of The Kresge Foundation, has been named the Chair of its Board of Directors for a three-year term. In this role, he will shape and guide the organization's strategic direction to improve the lives of low-income people in America's cities.

Rapson will partner with Living Cities' staff on several areas of the organization's portfolios, including exploring opportunities for impact investing; engaging other philanthropic, public sector and private sector leaders; and working with Living Cities member institutions to share learning and best practices.

"In his ten years leading Kresge, Rip has transformed it into one of the most important foundations in the world with an urban grantmaking and social investment portfolio that is second to none," said Living Cities' President & CEO Ben Hecht. "As Living Cities enters our 25th year, we are taking stock of how to partner with others to build a new urban practice that delivers dramatically better results for low-income people. I can think of no better partner in leading this than Rip."

Rapson's appointment comes at a time of increasing attention to rising inequality and racial opportunity gaps in cities, as well as a growing interest among cross-sector leaders to invest in innovative solutions. With significant population increases projected for urban centers, institutions and individuals alike are acknowledging that investing in cities is necessary to accelerate the pace of equitable, inclusive change.

Since joining Kresge in 2006, Rapson has led the 92-year-old foundation to adopt an array of grantmaking and social investing tools to improve the economic, social, cultural and environmental conditions of urban life through six defined programs: arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development in Kresge's hometown of Detroit. In 2015, the foundation made a commitment to invest $350 million through the foundation's Social Investment Practice in an effort to enlist for-profit and nonprofit partners alike to help address issues that grants alone cannot.

Nationally, Rapson has strengthened the philanthropic sector's role through convening, collaborating and supplementing community development activities in cities across the country. In Detroit, Rapson and the foundation provided central support to the "Grand Bargain," an unprecedented partnership between the philanthropic community, city pensioners, the State of Michigan and the Detroit Institute of Arts, to propel the City of Detroit's successful emergence from municipal bankruptcy in 2014.

"Anyone familiar with the trenchwork of urban revitalization knows the impact that Living Cities has had. Yet the problems to be addressed loom as large as ever," said Rapson. "I look forward to helping shape a bold agenda as Living Cities begins its second quarter century with new cross-sector collaborations, with new sources of capital and with a renewed commitment to the people whose lives we seek to improve."

About Living Cities

For 25 years, Living Cities has harnessed the collective power of 20 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions to develop and scale new approaches for creating opportunities for low-income people and improving the cities where they live. Its investments, research, networks, and convenings catalyze fresh thinking and combine support for innovative, local approaches with real-time sharing of learning to accelerate adoption in more places. Additional information can be found at www.livingcities.org.

About The Kresge Foundation:

The Kresge Foundation is a $3.6 billion private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and community development in Detroit. In collaboration with its nonprofit, public, private and philanthropic partners, the foundation helps create opportunity for low-income people living in cities to improve their life circumstances and join the economic mainstream.

SOURCE Living Cities

Related Links

http://www.livingcities.org


"Creatives seek inspiration," said Patricia Rendulic, executive director for the Lost Pines Art Center . "Inspiration comes from engagement in arts, interacting with artists, and experimenting with other mediums. Creatives who immerse themselves in learning discover new things about themselves and their art. We have designed this conference to provide that experience."

Workshop venues are in historic downtown Bastrop. Bastrop's Main Street is nestled on the banks of the Colorado River in the heart of the Lost Pines region. It includes a selection of shops, restaurants, and galleries. Bastrop is a National Trust for Historic Preservation Distinctive Destination. There are more than 100 restored historic homes in nearby neighborhoods. "Art in Public Places," Deep in the Heart Art Foundry and a large art community welcome artists.

Some of the available workshops include:

Oil w/Palette Knife Painting

Intro to Alcohol Inks

Beginning Watercolor

Beginning Pastel Underpainting

Carving Clay - Relief & Engraving

Intermediate Jewelry Wire Wrapping

Keep Inking-Intermediate

Shooting at Night

Decorating Green Clay Surfaces

Beginning Scratchboard

Basic Off Camera Flash

Editing Night Images

Acrylics-Creating Beautiful Textures

Decorating Bisque Clay

Shooting and Editing Your HDR Images

Pan Pastel Adventure

Composition 2D

Patricia Rendulic is the new the Executive Director for the Lost Pines Art Center. She is the owner of the Rendulic Glass Studio. A grand opening celebration for the new 12,000-square-foot Lost Pines Art Center is scheduled for early 2017. For more information, see Lost Pines Art Center.

The Lost Pines Art League (Bastrop Fine Arts Guild) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its membership includes a diverse set of artists and supporters of the fine arts.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397180

SOURCE Lost Pines Art League

Related Links

http://www.bastropfineartsguild.com


PLAINFIELD, Ind., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- MD Logistics is proud to announce that the company has been named as a leading 3PL provider by Inbound Logistics magazine for the fifth year in a row. As one of the fastest growing 3PLs with its global headquarters located in Plainfield, Indiana and additional operations in Reno, Nevada, MD Logistics prides itself on being able to deliver customized solutions and rapid logistics' services for its worldwide customer base.

Inbound Logistics magazine chose MD Logistics as a Top 100 3PL provider out of hundreds of other applicants because "MD Logistics continues to provide the logistics, transportation, and supply chain solutions Inbound Logistics' readers need to achieve the visibility and control that drives successful supply chains. The magazine's judging panel selected MD Logistics as a 2016 Top 100 3PL Provider because it is flexible and responsive, anticipating customers' evolving needs with innovative solutions, empowering logistics and supply chain excellence," said Felecia Stratton, Inbound Logistics Editor.

In addition, Global Trade magazine has also named MD Logistics a leading 3PL in the category of temperature controlled warehousing. 2016 marks the third year in a row that MD Logistics has received leading 3PL recognition from Global Trade. When announcing the award, the magazine praised the Company's state of the art facilities and its leaders as "experts in high-volume, cold chain operations; immediately mitigating risk and minimizing effects on seasonal operations." You can read more about what the magazine said here.

2016 signifies 20-years in business for MD Logistics and the completion of a 20,000 square foot cooler expansion to 60,000 square feet. Last year, the company added an additional 173,000 square feet of controlled room temperature pharmaceutical warehouse space.

"Being named a Top 3PL provider by reputable industry publications such as these, is something we take great pride in, especially this year as we celebrate 20 successful years in business. These awards demonstrate that we have the ability to anticipate and satisfy our customers' needs and provide tailored, innovative solutions," said Mark Sell, president and co-founder of MD Logistics. "Being recognized, year after year, by the industry is a tribute to our leadership team and the hard work and dedication of all our employees."

CONTACT: [email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337623LOGO

SOURCE MD Logistics
DETROIT, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This Saturday, August 13, is the Michigan Science Center's Back-to-School "Ford Fun Free Day." The event, sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund, with partners including Meridian Health Plan (Meridian), will serve as a kick-off to the school year for students, families and teachers.

Meridian's support for this event assists the Detroit Health Department and Detroit Public Schools in offering school year immunizations for children. Both organizations face the challenge of getting families to comply with immunization requirements before the start of the school year.

"Vaccinations are a very safe and effective way of keeping children healthy, especially during the school year," said Michael Cotton, COO, Meridian Health Plan. "The immune system doesn't fully develop until 12 years of age, which makes these back-to-school shots even more important for the well-being of our children."

There are more than 250 available spots for immunizations between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Immunizations will be given on a first come first serve basis unless you register ahead of time on the Michigan Science Center website. You do not have to attend the event to receive the immunizations.

Other event happenings include live stage shows, the Smithsonian's Spark!Lab and 250 hands-on exhibits from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. More than 6,000 individuals have already registered for this event.

"Supporting this event, which gives back to our community and youth, allows us to assist in promoting education, health and exploration. Meridian believes in putting care and our community first, which is why we are incredibly grateful to work with the Michigan Science Center for this event," said Cotton.

Before opening to the public, the Michigan Science Center will have a professional development workshop and continental breakfast for science and math teachers at 8:30 a.m. All teachers will receive care packages with items to help prepare for the start of the school year. If you are a science or math teacher interested in the professional development workshop, please sign up by emailing [email protected] or calling (313) 577-8400.

For more information about Michigan Science Center's Ford Fun Free Day visit: http://www.mi-sci.org/event/ford-fun-free-day/.

To learn more about Meridian Health Plan visit: https://corp.mhplan.com/en/about-us/

SOURCE Meridian Health Plan

Related Links

https://corp.mhplan.com


LONDON, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Including Forecast by Product Type (Tethered, Airship). Contracts & Analysis of High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems (PGSS), Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDS), Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems (TARS), Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3), Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID)

Now: Why is the Military Aerostat important right now?

As part of the broader Military Aerostat market space, there are significant revenue streams within the tethered aerostat submarket to tap into. This report shows you where these business opportunities are.

Due to a myriad of real and perceived threats, never before have governments been so concerned with protecting their assets and infrastructure from accidental and increasingly deliberate attack. The potential security contracts at stake are enormous and your company needs to be part of this.

What are the Military Aerostat market prospects?

Visiongain's definitive new report assesses that the Military Aerostat market will reach $4,175m in 2016. The performance of the industry is forecast to grow steadily, with an anticipated CAGR of 4.8% for the five-year period 2016-2021, which is expected to drive the industry to a value of $5,289mn by the end of 2021.

Visiongain's timely 165 page report reveals how best to compete in this lucrative market space and maximize your company's potential.

Read on to discover how this report can help you develop your business.

To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on [email protected]

This report addresses the pertinent issues:

 Where are the most lucrative market prospects?

 Who are the leadings companies and what does the competitive landscape look like?

 What are the regional, technical and regulatory barriers to market entry?

 What are the technological issues and roadmap driving the market?

 Why is the market prospering and how can you fully exploit this?

 When will the market fully mature and why?



Research and analysis highlights

 Independent, impartial and objective analysis

 An exclusive expert interview with leading aerostat specialist TCOM

 169 tables, charts and graphs illustrating the Military Aerostat market prospects

 Global Military Aerostat market forecast and analysis 2016-2026

 Two Military Aerostat submarket forecasts by Product Type covering the period 2016-2026

- Tethered

- Airship

 Ten leading national Military Aerostat market forecasts from 2016-2026 each further segmented by Tethered and Airship aerostats

- Australia

- Brazil

- Canada

- Germany

- India

- Israel

- Singapore

- UK

- US

- RoW

 Analysis of barriers to entry into the global and national Military Aerostat markets

 Profiles of 11 leading companies, involved with Military Aerostat with key financial metrics

- Allsopp Helikite

- ALTAVE

- ILC Dover

- Lindstrand Technologies Limited

- Lockheed Martin Corporation

- Raven Industries Inc

- Raytheon Company

- RT

- SkySentry

- TCOM, L.P.

- Worldwide Aeros

 SWOT/PEST market analysis

And there's more.

How this report will benefit you

 You have almost certainly an excess of conflicting and yet unclear information - you want one definitive military aerostats report to base your business decisions upon - this visiongain report provides that clarity

 Our insightful military aerostats report speaks to your needs for definitive market data, objective impartial analysis and immediate clear conclusions - to allow you to formulate clear decisive business strategies

 You need the information now in an easily digestible form - this is where this visiongain report excels

 Forecasts give you a crucial advantage. That knowledge of the future is central to your strategic decision making.

 Knowledge is vital to you and your business. You need every piece of evidence to inform your crucial investment decisions - let visiongain give you that clear advantage

 Without this vital military aerostats report, you will fall behind your competitors

Who should read this report?

 Anyone within the Military Aerostat value chain.

 CEO's

 COO's

 CIO's

 Business development managers

 Technologists

 Suppliers

 Marketing managers

 Investors

 Banks

 Government agencies

 Contractors

Don't miss out on this business advantage

This information is not available elsewhere. With our report you are less likely to fall behind in knowledge or miss opportunity. See how you could benefit your research, analyses, and decisions. Also see how you can save time and receive recognition for commercial insight.

Visiongain's study is for everybody needing commercial analyses for the Military Aerostat market and leading companies. You will find data, trends and predictions. Buy our report today Military Aerostats Market Report 2016-2026: Forecast by Product Type (Tethered, Airship). Contracts & Analysis of High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Persistent Ground Surveillance Systems (PGSS), Persistent Threat Detection Systems (PTDS), Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems (TARS), Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3), Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) & Ground-Based Operational Surveillance Systems (GBOSS) Towers for Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR). Please order our report now.

To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on [email protected]

To request a report overview of this report please emails Sara Peerun at [email protected] or call Tel: +44 (0) 20 7336 6100

Or click on https://www.visiongain.com/Report/1707/Military-Aerostats-Market-Report-2016-2026

Companies Mentioned in the Report

Aerial Delivery Research Development Establishment

Airborne Industries

Akashdeep

Allsopp Helikite

ALTAVE

Amba Defence

A-NSE

Astrotech

Astrotech Space Operations

BAE Systems

Boeing Company, The

China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd. (CAIGA)

De Beers

Deposition Sciences Inc

Drone Aviation Holding Corp

eCastle Pty Ltd

e-Green Technologies

EIG

Elbit Systems

Elta Systems

Flight Options LLC

Flying Whales

Forcepoint

Foreground Security

GEFA-FLUG GmbH

Global Near Space Corp

Google

Grayling Industries

Helikite Australia

IAI

ILC Dover

Industrial Defender, Inc

Integra Plastics, Inc.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)

Israel Military Industries (IMI)

ITT Corporation

L-3 Communications

LaSalle Capita

Lindsay Goldberg LLC.

Lindstrand Balloons Ltd (LBL).

Lindstrand Technologies Limited

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Logos Technologies

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Pacific Architects and Engineers Inc

Petrobras

Poseidon Scientific Instruments Pty Ltd

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

Raven Aerostar

Raven Industries Inc

Raytheon Blackbird Technologies

Raytheon Company

Raytheon Teligy Inc

Raytheon Visual Analytics Incorporated

Rheinmetall Canada

RosAeroSystems s.r.a.

Rossens

RT

RT Aerostat Systems

RT LTA Systems

Savi Technology, Inc.

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)

Sikorsky Aircraft

Skyhook International/Boeing

SkyLifter Pty Ltd

SkySentry

Skyship Services Inc

Systems Made Simple

TCOM, L.P

Teligy Inc

United Technologies Corporation

Veritas Capital

Vista Equity Partners

Vista Research, Inc.

Visual Analytics Inc

Websense

Worldwide Aeros Corporation

Zeppelin Company

Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH

Zeta Associates, Inc

To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on [email protected]

SOURCE Visiongain Ltd
SAN FRANCISCO, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The global mining chemicals market is expected to reach USD 38.01 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Positive mining industry outlook in India, China, Australia, Peru, and Chile is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. The presence of abundant raw materials including rare earth metals in China, Russia, Australia, Thailand, and the U.S. is expected to facilitate exploration activities, thus propelling demand for the product.

Grand View Research Logo (PRNewsFoto/Grand View Research_ Inc_)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150105/723757 )



Australia has the third largest rare earth metal reserves in the world. In Russia, companies have been investing increasingly in the development of new extraction techniques to recover uranium. These factors are likely to have a positive impact on growth. Decrease in ore quality of zinc, lead, copper, and nickel is expected to promote utilization of sophisticated technologies requiring frothers, flocculants, grinding aids, and solvent extractants.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Mining Chemicals Market Analysis By Product (Frothers, Flocculants, Collectors, Solvent Extractants, Grinding Aids), By Application (Mining Processing, Explosives & Drilling, Water & Wastewater Treatment) And Segment Forecasts To 2024" at: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/mining-chemicals-market

Further key findings from the report suggest:

Grinding aids dominated the global market accounting for over 40.0% of the global market share in 2015. Grinding aids help in improvement of the extraction process and requires low maintenance. In addition, utilization of grinding aids for the mining process reduces pollution and other harmful effects on the environment. Increasing concerns regarding the cost of grinding the minerals are expected to propel utilization of grinding aids over the forecast period.

Explosives & Drilling application dominated the market in 2015 and is projected to be the fastest growing segment owing to rapid depletion of shallow surface reserves which has led to the requirement of deep surface mining activities. Moreover, mining chemicals are also utilized for the efficient breaking of rocks during mining, thereby reducing cost and saving time during mineral processing.

Asia Pacific accounted for over 40.0% market share in 2015 and is projected to witness the fastest growth on account of the rapid industrial development and increasing focus on sustainability. Market players have been investing increasingly in the mining industry in the region which is expected to have a positive impact on demand for mining chemicals.

accounted for over 40.0% market share in 2015 and is projected to witness the fastest growth on account of the rapid industrial development and increasing focus on sustainability. Market players have been investing increasingly in the mining industry in the region which is expected to have a positive impact on demand for mining chemicals. In June 2013 , BASF established its new R&D laboratory in Johannesburg , to develop new mining chemicals and product differentiation. High raw material cost coupled with high logistic cost is expected to restrain entry of new players in the industry. High capital cost is also expected to be a major restraint for the manufacturers. In addition, stringent government regulations to reduce environmental pollution are expected to have an adverse impact on the market players over the next eight years.

Grand View Research has segmented the global mining chemicals market on the basis of product, application, and region:

Global Mining Chemicals Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Frothers Flocculants Collectors Solvent Extractants Grinding Aids Others

Global Mining Chemicals Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Mineral Processing Explosives & Drilling Water & Wastewater Treatment Others

Global Mining Chemicals Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2013 - 2024) North America U.S. Europe Russia Asia Pacific China Latin America Brazil Middle East & Africa



Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Packer Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/packer-market



Pressure Pumping Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/pressure-pumping-market



Completion Equipment Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/completion-equipmen-market



Enhanced Gas Recovery Market - http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/enhanced-gas-recovery-market

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

Read Our Blogs - mediafound.org, grandviewresearch.com/blogs/bulk-chemicals

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: [email protected]



Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com

SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.
ITASCA, Ill., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A survey of more than 3,000 U.S. employers reports that 54 percent are paying at least 5 percent more for employee medical insurance this year, with nearly one in four suffering from increases of at least 10 percent. Yet a decisive 67 percent agree that medical and pharmacy benefits are the cornerstone of their employee benefits package, and therefore an important tool to recruit and retain talent in a tightening labor market.

These findings are part of the 2016 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Gallagher) Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey, one of the largest and most comprehensive benefit surveys of its kind, spanning multiple industries, geographic regions and workforce sizes. The annual study covers major benefit categories including human capital strategies; medical; wellness; employee communications and engagement; dental; life insurance; long-term care and voluntary; leaves and disability; and retirement.

"Healthcare is the primary focus of cost-control efforts because it's the majority of an employer's benefits spend," said James W. Durkin, Jr., President, Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. "Employers should be deliberate about the changes they make to preserve the benefits most coveted by existing employees. Becoming a destination employer requires an open mindset about new and emerging options for curtailing healthcare costs. This approach enables companies to redeploy those funds into other employee-centric benefits that are a differentiator in the ongoing war for talent."

Employers Experimenting with Care Delivery and Funding

Resolved to maximize the value of their human capital investments in the face of intensified cost pressure and ongoing competition for talent, more employers are moving toward combining traditional healthcare options with newer, more innovative approaches. Several newer approaches are poised for significant growth by 2018.

Telemedicine , now used by 24 percent of employers to provide employees with quick access to affordable care, is predicted to reach 42 percent.

, now used by 24 percent of employers to provide employees with quick access to affordable care, is predicted to reach 42 percent. Narrow network healthcare plans that limit the number of providers, preferably based on quality of care and cost-effective outcomes, show a growth trend from 18 percent to 27 percent.

that limit the number of providers, preferably based on quality of care and cost-effective outcomes, show a growth trend from 18 percent to 27 percent. Consumer-directed health plan survey findings forecast a rise in adoption from 36 to 51 percent.

survey findings forecast a rise in adoption from 36 to 51 percent. Self-insuring, another increasingly popular method of reducing costs, is expected to grow from 28 to 38 percent.

Employers are also exploring less common options to rein in costs. Some use defined contribution arrangements to give employees a set amount of funds to buy their own insurance  and access to a private exchange. Although fewer than 5 percent of employers have adopted these arrangements, that figure is expected to triple by 2018.

Many Employers Would Likely Benefit from Improved Strategic Planning

Gallagher's recent best-in-class analysis found that employers that excel at healthcare cost management take a comprehensive, data-driven and multi-year approach to compensation and benefits planning. According to survey findings, however, just 8 percent of employers use a multi-year planning process with multiple data inputs while three-quarters (76 percent) plan their benefits year-to-year, putting them in a reactive position and less able to manage costs.

Gallagher Offers Employers Insights and Strategic Advice

"It's important for organizations to recognize that the increasing global competition for talent has both top-line and bottom-line implications. A wholly integrated human capital strategy can provide the solutions, structure and reliability that employers need to attract, engage and retain talent, manage rising healthcare costs and other expenses, and strengthen their market position," Durkin said.

ABOUT THE BENEFITS STRATEGY & BENCHMARKING SURVEY

Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., the employee benefits consulting and brokerage operation of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., developed the Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey to provide employers with insights into how their peers are addressing benefit and human capital challenges. The 2016 survey, conducted from January to March of this year, aggregates responses from 3,107 organizations across the U.S. Additional survey results can be found at www.ajg.com/NBS2016.

ABOUT ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER & CO.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, has operations in 33 countries and offers client-service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Contact:

Eric White, Weber Shandwick

312-988-2237

[email protected]

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SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Related Links

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NEW YORK and STONY BROOK, N.Y., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --- Stony Brook Medicine and the Mount Sinai Health System today announced that they are entering into an affiliation agreement that includes collaboration on research, academic programs and clinical care initiatives, effective immediately. The institutions launched the partnership to heighten academic and research synergies and to promote discovery, provide expanded clinical trials for both institutions, and achieve breakthroughs in understanding and treating disease.

"This is a momentous day for academic medicine, health care, our respective students, faculty and staff, and for all those who are cared for by our teams of highly trained, dedicated clinicians," said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD. "Each institution has so much to offer, so this is an opportunity that will prove to be beneficial for all - now and in the future - as we explore and grow this incredible collaboration."

"Mount Sinai and Stony Brook bring unique strengths to this partnership, and together we will use our outstanding resources to create changes in medicine," said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. "We are committed to further developing this exciting collaboration and finding new ways to enhance academics and clinical care."

"The partnership will revolutionize medical research by combining expertise from both premier medical schools," said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System. "Both institutions are committed to a culture of innovation in research and education, and we look forward to working with Stony Brook to help make exciting breakthroughs in health care."

Expanding Research and Academic Programs

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Stony Brook University will collaborate to develop a wide range of research programs in fields including biomedical engineering and computer science; drug discovery and medicinal chemistry sciences; neuroscience, neurology and psychiatry; basic biology and novel therapeutics; and, public health and health systems. The alliance will capitalize on Stony Brook's expertise in mathematics, high-performance computing, imaging, and the physical and chemical sciences, and Mount Sinai's strengths in biomedical and clinical research, and health policy and outcomes.



"The opportunities for amazing science to spring from our collaborative efforts are truly boundless," said Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, and Dean of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. "When you bring the intellectual and biomedical horsepower of the Icahn School of Medicine faculty together with the outstanding neuroscientists, cancer biologists, imaging innovators, cardiovascular experts, and leading biomedical informaticists of the Stony Brook School of Medicine, as well as the world-class departments of computer sciences, biomedical engineering, chemistry, and applied mathematics at Stony Brook University, the possibilities are staggering. Then add the Stony Brook Schools of Health Technology, Dental Medicine, Social Welfare, Nursing, and Pharmacy into the mix. Health sciences education can only flourish, and the possibilities for innovative approaches to clinical care are not just theoretical, but expected. We look forward to working with Mount Sinai on large-scale research and clinical collaborations that will transform health care from Manhattan to Montauk."



Through the partnership, the schools will develop joint graduate and medical educational programs in all areas, leveraging the strength of existing master's and doctoral programs at each institution. Students will have the opportunity to take classes on both campuses, allowing them to learn new techniques and expand their learning capacity. Mount Sinai and Stony Brook will also build summer programs for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students.



In addition, Mount Sinai and Stony Brook will invest a combined $500,000 to launch competitive and unique pilot programs, with the intent to receive collaborative external funding. Projects will be determined and overseen by a committee composed of three representatives from each institution.



"We will establish a joint committee to evaluate proposals and decide on what projects to pursue," said Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs, Nash Family Professor and Chair of the Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, and Director of the Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "This is a major investment that will have a dramatic influence on both campuses' ability to advance education, research, diagnostics, and treatment."



"Major breakthroughs in improving diagnostics and therapeutics in health care come from research, usually starting at the very basic level and moving into translational and clinical research and eventually to the bedside," said Lina Obeid, MD, Dean for Research and Vice Dean for Scientific Affairs at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. "Stony Brook Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are two power-houses of research that when partnered will definitely yield greater discoveries than just the sum of their parts. The joint pilots in research have immense promise to advance health at the most exciting time in the biomedical sciences, including advanced computational, bioinformatic, and engineering approaches."



About Stony Brook Medicine

Stony Brook Medicine integrates and elevates all of Stony Brook University's health-related initiatives: education, research and patient care. It includes five Health Sciences schools -- Dental Medicine, Health Technology and Management, Medicine, Nursing and Social Welfare -- as well as Stony Brook University Hospital and more than 50 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu.



About Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Established in 1971, the Stony Brook University School of Medicine includes 25 academic departments. The three missions of the School are to advance the understanding of the origins of human health and disease; train the next generation of committed, curious and highly capable physicians; and deliver world-class compassionate healthcare. As a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical school, Stony Brook is one of the foremost institutes of higher medical education in the country. Each year the School trains nearly 500 medical students and more than 480 medical residents and fellows. Faculty research includes National Institutes of Health-sponsored programs in neurological diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, biomedical imaging, regenerative medicine, infectious diseases, and many other topics. Physicians on the School of Medicine faculty deliver world-class medical care through more than 30,000 inpatient, 80,000 emergency room, and approximately 350,000 outpatient visits annually at Stony Brook University Hospital and affiliated clinical programs, making its clinical services one of the largest and highest quality on Long Island, New York. To learn more, visit www.medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu.



About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services--from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care. The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is in the "Honor Roll" of best hospitals in America, ranked No. 15 nationally in the 2016-2017 "Best Hospitals" issue of U.S. News & World Report. The Mount Sinai Hospital is also ranked as one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Geriatrics, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Ear, Nose & Throat, and is in the top 50 in four other specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 10 nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report in "Best Children's Hospitals." To learn more, visit www.mountsinai.org.



About the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is an international leader in medical and scientific training, biomedical research, and patient care. It is the medical school for the Mount Sinai Health System, an integrated health care system which includes seven hospitals and an expanding ambulatory network serving approximately 4 million patients per year. The School has more than 1,800 students in MD, PhD, and Master's programs and post-doctoral fellowships; more than 5,600 faculty members; over 2,000 residents and fellows; and 23 clinical and research institutes and 34 academic departments. It is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per principal investigator. The School was the first medical school in the country to create a progressive admissions approach for students who seek early assurance of admission through the FlexMed program. The Graduate School of Biomedical Science trains PhD and MD/PhD students, and offers master's-level programs in areas such as genetic counseling, clinical research, biomedical sciences, and public health, and an online master's degree in health care delivery leadership. The seamless connections between our medical school, graduate school, and hospital campuses provide an extraordinary environment for translating scientific discoveries into clinical treatments. To learn more, visit http://icahn.mssm.edu/.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

CONTACT: Melissa Weir, 631-444-7880, [email protected]

SOURCE Stony Brook Medicine
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New Jersey Health Foundation has awarded a $50,000 Innovation Grant to Charles Roth, PhD, to advance the development of a more effective platform for systemic delivery of therapeutic biologics, announced James M. Golubieski, president.

Dr. Roth is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He is working in close collaboration with David Devore, PhD, a visiting scientist in the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials at Rutgers and a co-inventor of the technology.

"Dr. Roth is working to make a difference in the lives of patients with recalcitrant diseases for which no effective clinical treatments are available," explained George F. Heinrich, M.D., vice chair and CEO of New Jersey Health Foundation. "We find his technology exciting and with great potential."

The uniquely designed biomimetic nanovectors provide a broadly effective platform for systemic delivery of therapeutic biologics including antisense DNA, siRNA and peptides for the treatment of metastatic cancers, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), chronic diseases and other infections. The vector technology overcomes the barriers with current methods of delivering therapeutics such as biodegradation by nucleases, ineffective encapsulation of higher therapeutic payloads and poor tissue-specific targeting which opens the possibility of delivering new therapeutics to target previously undruggable diseases.

A US Patent (#8,962,757) was awarded to Rutgers University based on the technology invented by Drs. Roth and Devore.

"This $50,000 grant will allow us to determine whether the delivery of a vector with antisense molecules will be effective in reducing tumor growth in in vivo xenograft models," explained Dr. Roth. "We are grateful to New Jersey Health Foundation for believing, as we do, that our technology has merit and will someday positively affect people around the world suffering from a variety of devastating illnesses."

Through this New Jersey Health Foundation program, Innovation Grants of up to $50,000 each are available to full-time faculty and personnel at Rutgers University and major research universities in New Jersey with which NJHF has a formal relationship New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Rowan University and Stevens Institute of Technology.

For more information, contact Mike Wiley, NJHF, at (908) 731-6612 or [email protected].

About New Jersey Health Foundation

New Jersey Health Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports biomedical research and health-related education programs in New Jersey through its matching program, its Grants Program and its affiliate, Foundation Venture Capital Group which makes private equity investments in life science start- up companies in New Jersey headed toward commercialization.

SOURCE New Jersey Health Foundation

Related Links

http://www.foundationventure.com


MILWAUKEE, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual Investment Services (NMIS), a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, has been recognized as a top 10 biggest independent broker-dealer in the financial services industry by Financial Planning magazine. Northwestern Mutual has been consistently recognized as a leader in the insurance industry, but the company is quickly becoming well-known as a leading independent broker-dealer in the investment products and services industry.

The survey results were published in the June 2016 issue of Financial Planning and examined independent broker-dealers' total revenues, advisor production, fee-based product revenues, clients and accounts and other industry categories.

"We help our clients see their whole financial picture by integrating personalized investment solutions that help grow wealth with world-class products that help protect their assets," said David Stoeffel, president and CEO of NMIS. "Our advisors provide clients with a distinctive client experience that helps remove the uncertainty about long-term financial security, enabling people to live with confidence."

The company also ranks among the top 10 biggest independent broker-dealers, as measured by total annual revenues, in other leading investment industry publications, including Investment News and Financial Advisor magazines.

About Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual has been helping families and businesses achieve financial security for nearly 160 years. Our financial representatives build relationships with clients through a distinctive planning approach that integrates risk management with wealth accumulation, preservation and distribution. With $238.5 billion in assets, $27.9 billion in revenues and more than $1.6 trillion worth of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual delivers financial security to more than 4.3 million people who rely on us for insurance and investment solutions, including life, disability income and long-term care insurance; annuities; trust services; mutual funds; and investment advisory products and services. Northwestern Mutual ranks 100 on the 2016 FORTUNE 500, and is recognized by FORTUNE as one of the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2016.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI, and its subsidiaries. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a comprehensive approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, life insurance with long-term care benefits, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS), broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company (NMWMC), federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company (NLTC).

SOURCE Northwestern Mutual

Related Links

http://www.northwesternmutual.com


"There are a number of issues impacting the restaurant industry: higher restaurant prices driven by labor costs, lower competitive prices for prepared food in grocery stores and political uncertainty," said Tim Pulido, CEO of Pollo Campero International. "Given the industry's challenges, we are pleased to see our brand outperform and sustain strong sales growth."

With Millennials accounting for more than 60 percent of Pollo Campero's customers, the brand continues to launch initiatives that are relevant to this segment. From a mobile app pilot in select cities, to its focus on menu innovation, unique limited time offers and reinforcing its Latin roots, Campero has seen steady growth in its Millennial customer base.

Pollo Campero also continues to focus on restaurant expansion and remodels. The brand is currently planning to grow its units by 20 percent in 2016, and is in the process of completing remodels that will showcase the new Campero brand image and design launched in 2014. "Our new store design and image reinforce our uniqueness and brand relevanceas we have opened new stores and remodeled existing ones, we have seen more diverse Millennial customers drawn to our restaurants," said Pulido.

Pollo Campero's focus on growth also includes plans to nearly double its number of restaurants in the next three years by concentrating in key states. "As we look forward, we are looking to expand in Washington, D.C., Texas, California and Florida with both corporate and franchised units," shared Tim Pulido.

About Pollo Campero

Pollo Campero is a Latin QSR+ concept that focuses on fresh and authentic hand-breaded and citrus grilled chicken recipes. The brand started in Guatemala in 1971 as a tiny, family-owned restaurant and has expanded to over 350 restaurants worldwide, including 65 in the U.S. With bold and exciting Latin-inspired menu items, Campero has become a favorite for those looking for unique flavors such as Millennials. Today, as Pollo Campero marks its 45th anniversary, its focus on quality, and its mission to stay true to its Latin roots remain the same. At the heart of that commitment: the promise to use fresh, never frozen, hormone-free chicken paired with traditional Latin sides, drinks and desserts in a vibrant atmosphere.

For franchise information, or to learn more about Pollo Campero, visit Campero.com/franchising. Follow the flavor on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CamperoUSA.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397389

SOURCE Pollo Campero

Related Links

http://www.campero.com


LONDON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PrEP Biopharm Limited, a private independent drug development company for respiratory infectious disease products, announced today that effective immediately Mike McGuinness has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer and Anna Slater has joined as Head of Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls.

Mike McGuinness is a CPA with more than 30 years in financial and operational leadership roles. Most recently, he was the Co-founder and COO of Proception Medical, a medical device startup. Previously he has served as the CFO of Nextremity Solutions, Inc., a private medical device company, Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded pharmaceutical company, Vyteris, Inc., a publicly traded drug delivery company and Epigenesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biotech. During the course of his career, Mike has closed $500 million in financing and licensing deals, led an IPO and two mergers and sat on the Board of four other companies.

Anna Slater has 30 years of industry experience in pharmaceutical development, scale-up, manufacturing, regulatory filing and launch across a broad range of dosage forms, delivery devices and therapeutic areas. She joins PrEP Biopharm from GlaxoSmithKline where she spent 28 years in a wide range of CMC capacities. Most recently she was the Global Head of Analytical Technologies and CMC lead for ARNUITY ELLIPTA and VI Monotherapy. Prior to that she was a Senior Director in the global Inhaled Product & Device Technology Leadership Team, with accountability for CMC development of drug products and delivery devices for the GSK intranasal and allergy portfolio (Candidate Selection to Launch) and managing a department responsible for aqueous respiratory products and the RELENZA ROTACAP Pandemic Response.

"I'm incredibly excited to have Mike and Anna join the PrEP Leadership Team," said Ryan Muldoon, CEO of PrEP Biopharm. "They each have a tremendous track record of success in efficiently bringing new drugs to market. Their experience and insights will have an immediate impact as we move PrEP-001 through Phase 2 and plan for future development."

"I can't imagine a more exciting time to join PrEP Biopharm," said Mr. McGuinness. "The unmet medical need in the cold and flu market is enormous and I look forward to working with the PrEP Biopharm team to try and address it in a very meaningful way."

"Most of my career has focused on the strategic and technical CMC aspects of drug development for respiratory diseases" said Ms. Slater. "I hope my experience will help accelerate the development of PrEP-001 and I'm really pleased to be joining the team at a very dynamic time for PrEP Biopharm."

About PrEP Biopharm Limited:

Prep Biopharm Limited is an independent, development stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the prevention of respiratory infections. The privately held company's flagship product, PrEP-001, is in phase 2 for the prevention of upper respiratory tract viral infections.

SOURCE PrEP Biopharm Limited
BOSTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RapidMiner, the leading open source predictive analytics platform, today announced Tim O'Toole as its Chief Financial Officer, and the additions of Vijay Kotu and Rock Gnatovich to the company's advisory board.

Software industry veteran O'Toole is responsible for RapidMiner's finance and legal functions. O'Toole has developed a specialty in leading finance at high growth tech startups. Prior to joining RapidMiner, he served as CFO of Yotta, Dyn, and Rapid7. Earlier in his career, O'Toole was on the senior leadership team at Bladelogic, leading the company through its 2007 initial public offering.

"Predictive analytics is now at the forefront of every business conversation, as companies use data science to increase revenue, cut costs, and avoid risks," said O'Toole. "RapidMiner is a recognized leader in the areas of predictive and prescriptive analytics, and I look forward to helping build the foundation for our continued growth."

In addition to appointing O'Toole as Chief Financial Officer, RapidMiner has added two new members to its advisory board:

Vijay Kotu is a Vice President of Analytics at Yahoo, where he leads the implementation of large-scale data and analytics systems. He has practiced analytics for over a decade, with focus on predictive analytics, business intelligence, data mining, web analytics, and developing analytical teams. He is the co-author of the book Predictive Analytics and Data Mining: Concepts and Practice with RapidMiner ( Morgan Kaufmann , 2014).

, 2014). Rock Gnatovich was most recently a Vice President at TIBCO Software where he ran their security acquisition, LogLogic, before leaving in 2014. Gnatovich joined TIBCO in 2007 as part of their acquisition of Spotfire, Inc., where he served as President and COO for 10 years. Rock has spent 30 years in the software industry with a primary focus on enterprise software.

"We're thrilled to welcome Tim, with his experience scaling high growth tech companies, to the RapidMiner team," said Peter Lee, CEO of RapidMiner. "Tim, Vijay, and Rock all provide RapidMiner with the exceptional business acumen we need to continue to lead the exploding predictive analytics market."

About RapidMiner

RapidMiner, the industry's #1 open source predictive analytics platform, empowers organizations to include machine learning in any business processclosing the loop between insight and action. RapidMiner's effortless solution makes predictive analytics lightning-fast for data scientists, radically reducing the time to unearth opportunities and risks. RapidMiner delivers data science on-demand from the largest worldwide predictive analytics community. For more information, visit www.rapidminer.com.

Media Contact:

Tom Wentworth, RapidMiner

[email protected]

+1 (617) 401-7708

SOURCE RapidMiner

Related Links

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and Labaton Sucharow LLP regarding the Castlight Health, Inc. Shareholder Litigation:

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

In re CASTLIGHT HEALTH, INC.

SHAREHOLDER LITIGATION __________________________ This Document Relates To: ALL ACTIONS. __________________________ ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Lead Case No. CIV533203 CLASS ACTION Assigned for All Purposes to the

Honorable Marie S. Weiner Dept. 2

Date Action Filed: 04/02/15

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION

TO: ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES ("PERSONS") THAT PURCHASED CASTLIGHT HEALTH, INC. ("CASTLIGHT" OR THE "COMPANY") CLASS B COMMON STOCK PURSUANT OR TRACEABLE TO THE COMPANY'S REGISTRATION STATEMENT IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMPANY'S MARCH 14, 2014 INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

THIS NOTICE WAS AUTHORIZED BY THE COURT. IT IS NOT A LAWYER SOLICITATION. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that a hearing will be held on October 28, 2016, at 9:00 a.m., before the Honorable Marie S. Weiner at the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, Department 2, Courtroom 2E, 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063, to determine whether: (1) the proposed settlement as set forth in the Stipulation of Settlement dated June 2, 2016 ("Stipulation") of the above-captioned action ("Litigation") for $9,500,000 in cash should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) to award Plaintiffs' Counsel attorneys' fees and expenses out of the Settlement Fund (as defined in the Notice of Proposed Settlement of Class Action ("Notice"), which is discussed below); (3) to pay Plaintiffs for their time and expenses they incurred in representing the Class in this Litigation out of the Settlement Fund; and (4) the Plan of Allocation should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate.

This Litigation is a securities class action brought on behalf of those Persons who purchased the Class B common stock of Castlight pursuant or traceable to the Registration Statement issued in connection with the Company's March 14, 2014 initial public offering ("IPO") on or before September 10, 2014 ("Class Members"), against Castlight, certain of its key executives and directors, and underwriters of Castlight's IPO (collectively, "Defendants") for allegedly misstating and omitting material facts from the Registration Statement filed with the SEC in connection with the IPO, including, among other things: allegedly failing to disclose in the Registration Statement that, at the time of the IPO, Castlight was experiencing implementation delays, increased expenses and inability to maintain pricing on its principal product. Defendants deny all of Plaintiffs' allegations.

IF YOU PURCHASED CASTLIGHT CLASS B COMMON STOCK PURSUANT OR TRACEABLE TO THE COMPANY'S REGISTRATION STATEMENT FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE COMPANY'S MARCH 14, 2014 IPO ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 10, 2014, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF THIS LITIGATION.

To share in the distribution of the Net Settlement Fund, you must submit a Proof of Claim by mail (postmarked no later than November 1, 2016) or electronically no later than November 1, 2016. Your failure to submit your Proof of Claim by November 1, 2016, will subject your claim to rejection and preclude your receiving any of the recovery in connection with the settlement of this Litigation. If you are a Member of the Class and do not request exclusion, you will be bound by the settlement and any judgment and release entered in the Litigation, including, but not limited to, the Judgment, whether or not you submit a Proof of Claim.

If you have not received a copy of the Notice, which more completely describes the settlement and your rights thereunder (including your right to object to the settlement or exclude yourself from the Class), and a Proof of Claim form, you may obtain these documents, as well as a copy of the Stipulation (which, among other things, contains definitions for the defined terms used in this Summary Notice) and other settlement documents, online at www.castlightshareholderlitigation.com, or by writing to:

Castlight Shareholder Litigation

Claims Administrator

c/o Gilardi & Co. LLC

P.O. Box 30223

College Station, TX 77842-3223

Phone: 1-844-848-1253

Inquiries should NOT be directed to Defendants, the Court, or the Clerk of the Court. Inquiries may also be made to a representative of Class Counsel:

ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN LABATON SUCHAROW LLP & DOWD LLP Nicole Zeiss Shareholder Relations Settlement Counsel Rick Nelson 140 Broadway 655 West Broadway, Suite 1900 New York, NY 10005 San Diego, CA 92101 Phone: 1-888-219-6877 Phone: 1-800-449-4900



IF YOU DESIRE TO BE EXCLUDED FROM THE CLASS, YOU MUST SUBMIT A REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION SUCH THAT IT IS POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 7, 2016, IN THE MANNER AND FORM EXPLAINED IN THE NOTICE. ALL MEMBERS OF THE CLASS WHO HAVE NOT REQUESTED EXCLUSION FROM THE CLASS WILL BE BOUND BY THE SETTLEMENT ENTERED IN THE LITIGATION EVEN IF THEY DO NOT FILE A TIMELY PROOF OF CLAIM.

IF YOU ARE A CLASS MEMBER, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT, THE PLAN OF ALLOCATION, THE REQUEST BY PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND EXPENSES, AND/OR THE PAYMENT TO PLAINTIFFS FOR THEIR TIME AND EXPENSES. ANY OBJECTIONS MUST BE FILED WITH THE COURT AND SENT TO CLASS COUNSEL BY OCTOBER 7, 2016, IN THE MANNER AND FORM EXPLAINED IN THE NOTICE.

DATED: August 3, 2016 BY ORDER OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO HONORABLE MARIE S. WEINER

SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and Labaton Sucharow LLP
MUNICH, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

In July 2016, the Procurement Office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior signed a framework agreement with Rohde & Schwarz for 300 R&S QPS200 security scanners. The new instruments can now be used everywhere that the German Federal Police Force performs security checks.

The three-year framework agreement encompasses 300 systems plus accessories and service. As the security scanners of choice for security checks based on millimeter-wave technology, the German Federal Police will use the instruments for passenger screening at airports throughout Germany. The scanners can also be used for security access control in other places, such as in ministries, for example.

Rohde & Schwarz has successfully entered a new business field with the R&S QPS. The millimeter-wave technology is based on the company's many years of expertise in developing globally leading T&M equipment. The security scanner automatically detects potentially dangerous metallic and non-metallic objects under clothing or on the body. A detected object is identified on a symbolic graphic of the human body, preserving the privacy of the individual being scanned. There is no health hazard associated with the R&S QPS transmit power, which is hundreds or even thousands of times lower than that of a mobile phone. Scanning comfort is also improved since the individual being scanned simply stands in front of the scanner with their arms held slightly away from the body.

The security scanners have been certified by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and thoroughly tested for suitability by the Federal Police. This framework agreement represents Rohde & Schwarz's largest order for security scanners to date. Additional orders from other countries in Europe and around the world have already been received.

Contact: Christian Mokry, Tel.: +49-89-4129-0, E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Rohde & Schwarz
ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of National Filet Mignon Day, Ruth's Chris Steak House is celebrating with a special Filet and Rose pairing beginning now through September 5. The special promotion includes a 6 oz. filet, served with three succulent shrimp paired with a glass of Rose for $30. The filet and rose special will include a glass of Jean-Luc Colombo Rose "Cape Bleue." Guests can enjoy this unique Filet & Rose pairing exclusively in the bar Sunday through Friday evenings at participating Ruth's Chris locations.

Join Ruth's Chris Steak House in celebrating the Filet Mignon with a special Filet and Rose pairing now through September 5. The special promotion includes a 6 oz. filet, served with three succulent shrimp paired with a glass of Rose for $30.

Rose is the perfect pairing for summer  it's refreshing, bright and easy to drink. The rich, crisp berry notes of Jean-Luc Colombo's "Cape Bleue" Rose pair perfectly with the buttery texture of Ruth's signature steak. This delicate, expressive Rose is the crown jewel of master winemaker Jean-Luc Colombo. Produced in the south of France overlooking the bay of Marseille, this Provence Rose makes a fun, whimsical pairing for summer. A perfect finale to each savory bite.

Ruth Fertel took great pride in preparing "the perfect steak." Over fifty years later, Ruth's Chris Steak House is continuing the tradition by ensuring each steak is seared to perfection, finished with butter and salt and pepper, and served sizzling on a 500-degree plate. For more information or to find the nearest location, visit www.ruthschris.com/promotions/filet-and-rose to check your favorite location's hours and availability.

About Ruth's Chris Steak House

Ruth's Chris Steak House was founded by Ruth Fertel over 50 years ago in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ruth had a recipe for everything  from how to prepare her signature sizzling steaks to how to treat her guests. This timeless formula is a testament to how one neighborhood eatery has become the largest collection of upscale steak houses in the world, with more than 145 restaurant locations around the globe. Ruth's Chris remains true to its heritage, helping guests make their best memories on 500- degree sizzling plates. This is how it's done at Ruth's Chris Steak House.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397312

SOURCE Ruth's Chris Steak House

Related Links

http://www.ruthschris.com


CHESTERFIELD, Va., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sabra Dipping Company's new 106,475 square foot expansion recently achieved LEED Gold New Construction Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council  a first for a manufacturer in the state of Virginia. This latest expansion, designed and built by The Dennis Group, uses 44% less energy and 45% less water than a typical food processing facility, while at the same time doubling Sabra's production capacity to help keep pace with rapidly growing demand for Sabra products.

In order to achieve LEED Gold, the facility went beyond energy and water savings. More than 20% of the construction materials were sourced from recycled content, and only low and no-VOC paints and coatings were utilized to ensure healthy indoor air quality for the building occupants.

"Sabra is all about making delicious, kitchen fresh hummus and creating fresh connections. This commitment drives us to support the well-being of our employees, our community, our environment and our consumers" stated Meiky Tollman, Sabra's global growth and capabilities VP. "Sabra's kitchen fresh products are made from the finest fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices that grow in the earth; our logo features an image of the sun we share. We are committed to improving peoples lives, not only through product innovation, but also in social responsibility, doing our part to cherish and protect the environment. We're proud of this facility and all who contributed to its success."

Sabra is at the forefront of manufacturers who consider sustainability an important criterion to consider when siting, constructing and operating a facility. "Manufacturing, and food processing specifically, is inherently resource intensive" noted Mary Frances Stotler, director of sustainability at The Dennis Group. "Mitigating energy and water usage is not only good for the environment, but also makes sound financial sense. The pay-back period for most energy efficiency initiatives is very short."

About The Dennis Group, LLC

The Dennis Group, LLC is the premier planning, design, process engineering and construction management firm exclusively servicing the food and beverage industry. As a single-source supplier with an in-house team of architects, engineers of all disciplines, system modelers, and project and construction managers, they are able to support projects of all sizes from conception through start-up. Headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, they execute national and international projects out of six offices located in the United States, Brazil and Canada.

About Sabra Dipping Company, LLC

Sabra Dipping Company, LLC is the leader in the refrigerated dips and spreads category and producer of America's top-selling hummus. Sabra's award-winning products include more than a dozen flavors of hummus and a wide range of refrigerated dips and spreads including salsa, guacamole and Greek yogurt dip. Sabra's range of offerings include items that are non-GMO, vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher and vegan and can be found nationwide in club stores, supermarkets, specialty retailers and through food service. Sabra operates a gold LEED certified factory in Virginia. Find Sabra at www.sabra.com, www.facebook.com/sabra and @Sabra on Twitter and Instagram.

Sabra Dipping Company was formed as a U.S./Canadian joint venture between Strauss Group and PepsiCo. The Sabra joint venture draws on both Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, and Strauss Group's expertise to continue building this growing business

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140127/NY53102LOGO-b

SOURCE Sabra Dipping Company

Related Links

http://www.sabra.com


During his seven-year tenure at Savoy, Galaris has been the driving force in the company's New York market expansion. Under his direction, staff and resources have been cultivated to meet the growing needs of the New York metropolitan market's largest brokerage firms.

"I look forward to working with the executives at our carrier partners and elite brokerage firms to elevate their brands and revenue. By offering true partnership and a formidable infrastructure, we are able to bring our partners unparalleled expertise and services to ensure new levels of success," said Galaris, at Savoy's One Penn Plaza location.

In his new role, Galaris will not only continue to direct the organization's New York market growth, but he will also drive company-wide initiatives that will benefit Savoy's clients, vendors and partners alike. Galaris will be instrumental in expansion plans both within and outside of Savoy's current geographic footprint and will lead his team to meet the demands of an ever-changing marketplace.

Born, raised and educated in New York, Galaris holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University at Albany, SUNY and an M.B.A. in Executive Business Administration, Betta Gamma Sigma, from Hofstra University. He serves on several carrier advisory councils and dedicates countless hours to benefit the entire market. He also served as the NY Metro Association of Health Underwriters (AHU) President and received awards such as the NY Metro AHU Lifetime Achievement Award and the NY State AHU Daniel E. Colacino Legislative Achievement Award.

About Savoy

Savoy is an innovative benefits consulting firm and regional general agency. With over 30 years' experience, Savoy's strategic partnerships bring continued growth to brokers, carriers and vendors throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Savoy tactically provides best-in-class products and services including comprehensive health and specialty benefits, compliance, HR services, technology solutions, research, education and other employer-related services.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397285

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397286LOGO

SOURCE Savoy

Related Links

http://www.savoyassociates.com


CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SDI (SDI Presence LLC), the mission-critical IT systems integrator, has been selected to install the security technology environment for the Raven Cliff Company's Pacific Box and Crate project, to enhance the property's access control, video management systems and intrusion detection systems during its redevelopment.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397470

Smith, a U.S. Navy Reserve since 2001 as a Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer, leads SDI's Charleston office, which is the firm's Security Center of Excellence

The 9.3 acre property, which backs up to U.S. Interstate 26, includes an 80,000-square-foot warehouse that once housed Geer Drug Co. and, more recently, Dixie Box and Crating as well as two new 20,000 square-foot buildings currently under construction. The redeveloped warehouse and new standalone buildings will include both office and restaurant space.

SDI will implement new security technology throughout the property, including installing an access control system, cameras, and alarm panels. "This is another opportunity for us here at SDI to show our strength in deploying seamless and user-friendly security platforms for our customers," states Todd Smith, VP of Eastern Region Operations. "We appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate why SDI is one of the most trusted security implementers in the industry."

SDI's Charleston office is home to the firm's Center of Excellence for integrated security technology, offering a hybrid security and IT skill set that significantly reduces risks and optimizes performance when integrating security technology into enterprise environments. Charleston's team includes an in-house team of security systems engineers, infrastructure technicians and a field services team that is highly-certified in leading video, access control, alarm security products. SDI's Charleston technical team provides turnkey security technology services for several regional airports, universities, as well as one of the nation's largest commercial banks.

Related Links

SDI Charleston: Security Center of Excellence

SDI LinkedIn

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE SDI Presence LLC

Related Links

https://www.sdipresence.com/


SUMMARY: Serraview recently shared its workplace optimization success stories in an exclusive interview featured on Worldwide Business with kathy ireland. Serraview Co-founder Ian Morley, as well as several Serraview clients and partners, explained how corporations are saving millions by optimizing their use of office space.

NEW YORK and MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Serraview, a global leader in workplace management software solutions, shared client success stories in a Worldwide Business with kathy ireland exclusive interview. Serraview's co-founder and Chief Evangelist Ian Morley, explained the company's innovative approach to corporate workplace management that is saving companies millions in property costs.

Suzanne Westgate of AGL Energy, one of Australia's leading energy providers and a Serraview client, said: "Serraview helps us to offer a workplace that can really enable people to produce what they need to through innovating and through technology. We can see what spaces are being effectively used, which spaces are underutilized. We can look at future projections and growth and use our space as efficiently as possible."

Serraview partners with utilization technology developers such as Condeco and Current by GE to integrate data from many sources and provide an accurate and real-time picture of space usage to help companies make better strategic planning decisions about their property portfolios and move toward the global trend of adopting agile working environments. Agile working is a strategy that reduces corporate real estate spend while also facilitating a culture of collaboration, innovation and productivity improvements.

Ken Lynch of ANZ Bank, a longtime user of Serraview's workplace management software, said: "We seek to keep ahead of business requirements and Serraview is on the same page. For example, in 2011 we implemented Activity-Based Working in our portfolio. We worked with Serraview to develop a tool that allows us to see dynamically how use of space changes in the building. Then we can then go back to business units and help consolidate and align space to improve product business outcomes."

In the interview, Morley explained the potential for companies to save millions on their real estate portfolios by optimizing their use of office space. "When you consider that property costs are usually the second or third largest expense for most businesses, straight after labor and technology costs," said Morley, "shaving even a couple of percent off the cost of real estate can add considerable amounts to your bottom line."

The segment, featuring AGL, ANZ, Cushman & Wakefield, Condeco, Current by GE and JLL, aired Sunday, July 31, 2016 on Fox Business Network as sponsored programming and Bloomberg International. View the full segment.

About Serraview

Serraview, a leading provider of workplace management software, works with some of the largest and most progressive companies to deliver the workplace of the future. Serraview provides cloud-based tools that drive optimized corporate real estate portfolio utilization, more efficient relocations, and enable smarter, more productive agile work environments. Serraview clients get reliable data and reporting that supports effective communication, accountability, better strategic decisions and huge bottom line savings. For more information about and the best way to optimize your company's workspace, visit www.serraview.com.

About Worldwide Business with kathy ireland

Worldwide Business with kathy ireland is a weekly business television program featuring real world insights from corporate executives from all over the globe which can be viewed on Fox Business Network as part of their sponsored programming lineup, as well as internationally to over 50 countries on Bloomberg International .

Follow Serraview on Twitter and LinkedIn and like us on Facebook.

Serraview media contact:

Ian Morley

[email protected]

646.575.9852

SOURCE Serraview

Related Links

http://www.serraview.com


INCLUDES MAIDEN RESERVE AND RESOURCE ESTIMATE FOR RECENTLY DISCOVERED ESPERANZA ZONE

TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Sierra Metals Inc. (TSX: SMT) (BVL: SMT) ("Sierra Metals" or "the Company") has updated its Mineral Reserve and Resources Estimates at the Company's Yauricocha Mine, located in Yauyos Province, Peru. The Company is also pleased to provide a maiden Reserve and Resource Estimate for the recently discovered Esperanza Zone.

The maiden Reserve and Resources Estimate at Esperanza is the result of a successful exploration drill program detailed in Press Releases dated January 15, 2016, May 13, 2016 and May 24, 2016 and it now represents a material proportion of the mine's overall reserves and resources.

A Technical Report is currently being prepared by SRK Consulting in accordance with NI 43-101 and will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release.

Press Release Highlights:

Consolidated Yauricocha Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimate (including Esperanza )





Reserves - Proven and Probable Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Yauricocha

























Proven 847 70.7 0.59 1.60 2.82 0.65 1.9 10.9 29.8 52.6 17,735

Probable 2,940 58.4 0.91 1.02 2.95 0.62 5.5 58.8 66.1 191.4 58,205

Proven & Probable 3,787 61.1 0.84 1.15 2.92 0.62 7.4 69.7 95.9 243.9 75,940

Consolidated Yauricocha Measured & Indicated Resource Estimate (including Esperanza )





Resources - Measured and Indicated Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Yauricocha

























Measured 1,429 74.7 0.87 1.54 3.10 0.71 3.4 27.4 48.6 97.7 32,703

Indicated 6,442 57.7 1.17 0.81 2.61 0.66 12.0 166.8 115.1 370.7 137,189

Measured & Indicated 7,871 60.8 1.12 0.94 2.70 0.67 15.4 194.2 163.7 468.4 169,892

Consolidated Yauricocha Inferred Resource Estimate (including Esperanza )





Resources - Inferred Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Yauricocha

























Inferred 3,745 49.1 1.33 0.58 1.86 0.53 5.9 110.2 48.0 153.7 64,299

Esperanza Zone Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimate (included in Consolidated Yauricocha total)





Reserves - Proven and Probable Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Esperanza























Zone Proven 230 50.1 0.85 1.33 3.07 0.34 0.4 4.3 6.7 15.6 2,526

Probable 1,290 52.1 1.26 1.09 2.84 0.44 2.2 35.9 30.9 80.6 18,441

Proven & Probable 1,520 51.8 1.20 1.12 2.87 0.43 2.5 40.2 37.7 96.2 20,967

Esperanza Zone Measured & Indicated Resource Estimate (included in Consolidated Yauricocha total)





Resources - Measured and Indicated Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Esperanza























Zone Measured 444 65.4 1.23 1.45 3.38 0.44 0.9 12.1 14.2 33.1 6,275

Indicated 2,090 69.7 1.81 1.22 3.20 0.58 4.7 83.4 56.2 147.5 38,844

Measured & Indicated 2,534 68.9 1.71 1.26 3.23 0.55 5.6 95.5 70.4 180.7 45,119

Esperanza Zone Inferred Resource Estimate (included in Consolidated Yauricocha total)





Resources - Inferred Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Esperanza























Zone Inferred 1,542 68.9 1.87 0.92 2.49 0.63 3.4 63.7 31.2 84.7 31,468

Sierra Metals provides maiden Resources Estimate for the recently discovered Esperanza zone with 2,534,000 tonnes averaging 68.9 g/t silver, 1.71% copper, 1.26% lead, 3.23% zinc and 0.55 g/t gold classified as Measured and Indicated Resources as at June 30, 2016 . The Esperanza Zone includes an additional 1,541,800 tonnes in Inferred Mineral Resources averaging 69.0 g/t silver, 1.87% copper, 0.92% lead, 2.49% zinc and 0.63 g/t gold.





Total Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves for Yauricocha (including Esperanza ) are 3,787,000 tonnes averaging 61.1 g/t silver, 0.84% copper, 1.15% lead, 2.92% zinc and 0.62g/t gold.





Total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources for Yauricocha (including Esperanza ) are 3,745,000 tonnes averaging 60.8 g/t silver, 1.12% copper, 0.94% lead, 2.70% zinc and 0.67 g/t gold.





Total Inferred Mineral Resources for Yauricocha (including Esperanza ) are 3,774,930 tonnes averaging 49.1 g/t silver, 1.33% copper, 0.58% lead, 1.86% zinc and 0.53 g/t gold.





Updated Reserves and Resources Estimate varies from the 2015 Technical Report due to an increase in the Net Smelter Return (NSR) cut off grades resulting in higher value material, reduction in commodity prices* and depletion by production since the Report was completed.





The updated Reserve and Resource Estimate has incorporated new exploration drilling, sampling, and face mapping information into the geologic interpretation and grade estimations providing more refined resource models.

* Metal price assumptions considered for the calculation of unit values are: Silver (US$/oz 16.76), Copper (US$/lb 2.28), Lead (US$/lb 0.86), Zinc (US$/lb 0.94) Gold (US$/oz 1,251.00).

"We are very pleased with the updated Reserve and Resource report for the Yauricocha mine, including the statement of maiden mineral reserves and resources for the Esperanza Zone coming less than one year from the initial discovery." stated Mark Brennan, President & CEO of Sierra Metals Inc. "The significance of these results are that with only a relatively small amount of drilling at Esperanza, we have already established 2.5 million tonnes of mineral resources in the Measured & Indicated category, which represents 30% of the total M&I Resources, and 1.5 million tonnes in the Inferred category which represents over 41% of total Inferred Resources. We believe that Esperanza is in the early stages of its drilling delineation and our aggressive exploration programs will continue to add high quality tonnage to our resources in the coming months."

He continued, "Esperanza is but one of the brownfield opportunities that have the ability to transform the Yauricocha Mine. While advancing Esperanza aggressively forward, we are currently evaluating other potential high value target areas as we consider that Yauricocha is far from being fully explored even near existing mining infrastructure as the Esperanza discovery clearly shows."

Finally, Mr. Brennan added, "The current resource model optimizes the value generation to the Company by raising cut-off grades and incorporating wider mineralized structures identified at the Esperanza Discovery while displacing other economically-marginal areas."

The recent update to the Yauricocha Resources and Reserves has highlighted some key differences between the 2015 Technical Report and the current (2016) resources and reserves estimates. Specifically, the incorporation of new exploration drilling, used lower commodity price assumptions, sampling, and face mapping information into the geologic interpretations and grade estimations which have resulted in a further refinement of the ore body. As commodity prices improve certain areas which have been excluded using lower metal prices could be included in future reserve and resource updates. It is managements view that the resulting resource and reserve estimates reflect the ongoing efforts by the company to achieve good value from the Yauricocha asset while focusing on quality over quantity given the current operating and metal price environment.

Mineral Resource Estimate

Mineral Resource Estimations have been conducted by the following Qualified Persons:

Thomas C. Matthews of Gustavson Associates; Datamine Software Mascota , Cachi-Cachi (excl. Elissa)

of Gustavson Associates; Datamine Software Matthew Hastings of SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc.; Maptek Vulcan Software Mina Central, Esperanza , Elissa, Cuerpos Pequenos

of SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc.; Maptek Vulcan Software

This release features mineral resources reported from models developed and estimated by SRK as well as Gustavson Associates, using criteria determined by both Sierra Metals and SRK deemed to be reasonable for reporting of these resources. SRK has reviewed and reported resources from the Gustavson models for selected areas, and conducted new estimates for others. This release provides the maiden resource estimate for the new Esperanza area, discovered in late 2015, which now features significant drilling and sufficient geologic understanding to support mineral reserves and resource developments.

The understanding of the geology and mineralization at Yauricocha is based on a combination of geologic mapping, drilling, and development sampling that guides the ongoing exploration and mining. SRK has reviewed the methods and procedures for these data collection methods and notes that they are generally reasonable and consistent with industry best practice.

The procedures and methods supporting the mineral resource estimate have been developed by SRK or Gustavson Associates in conjunction with Sierra Metals geological personnel. The resource estimate presented herein have been conducted by independent consultants using supporting data generated by the site. In general, the geologic models are defined by the site geologists using manual and 3D modeling techniques from drilling and development data. These models are used to constrain block models, which are flagged with bulk density, mine area, depletion, etc. Grade is estimated into these block models using both drilling and channel samples, applying industry-standard estimation methodology. Grades are estimated using either ordinary kriging or inverse distance methods as appropriate. Mineral Resources estimated by the independent consultants are categorized in a manner consistent with industry best practice. Total metallurgical recoveries in the various concentrates, as well as consensus commodity pricing have been provided by the Company, and are used to calculate unit values for the blocks in the models. Mineral resources are reported above reasonable unit value cut-offs, based on general break-even mining and processing costs provided by the Yauricocha Mine.

SRK is of the opinion that the resource estimates are suitable for public reporting and are a fair representation of the in situ contained tonnes, grade, and metal for the Yauricocha deposit.

The consolidated mineral resource statement for the Yauricocha Mine including Mina Central, Esperanza, Cachi-Cachi, Mascota, and Cuerpos Pequenos areas are presented in Tables 1 (M&I) and Table 2 (Inferred). The maiden mineral resource statement for the Esperanza Zone is presented in Table 3 (M&I) and Table 4 (Inferred). The effective date of Mina Central, Cachi-Cachi, Mascota and Cuerpos Pequenos areas is December 31, 2015. The effective date for Esperanza is June 30, 2016. SRK is currently preparing an NI 43-101 Technical Report, which will support this disclosure within 45 days.

Table 1: Consolidated Yauricocha Measured & Indicated Resource Estimate (including Esperanza)





Resources - Measured and Indicated Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Yauricocha

























Measured 1,429 74.7 0.87 1.54 3.10 0.71 3.4 27.4 48.6 97.7 32,703

Indicated 6,442 57.7 1.17 0.81 2.61 0.66 12.0 166.8 115.1 370.7 137,189

Measured & Indicated 7,871 60.8 1.12 0.94 2.70 0.67 15.4 194.2 163.7 468.4 169,892

Table 2: Consolidated Yauricocha Inferred Resource Estimate (including Esperanza)





Resources - Inferred Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Yauricocha

























Inferred 3,745 49.1 1.33 0.58 1.86 0.53 5.9 110.2 48.0 153.7 64,299

Notes for Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource Estimates (Tables 1 and 2)

Mineral resources are reported inclusive of ore reserves. Mineral resources are not ore reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. All gures rounded to reect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc assays were capped where appropriate.

Mineral resources are reported at unit value cut-offs (CoG) based on metal price assumptions*, variable metallurgical recovery assumptions (variable metallurgical recoveries** as a function of grade and relative metal distribution in individual concentrates), generalized mining/processing costs.

* Metal price assumptions considered for the calculation of unit values are: Gold (US$/oz 1,251.00), Silver (US$/oz 16.76), Copper (US$/lb 2.28), Lead (US$/lb 0.86), and Zinc (US$/lb 0.94).

Mina Central

** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the Mina Central area are 77% Ag, 18% Au, 76% Cu, 88% Pb, and 94% Zn (polymetallic material).

The unit value COG for the Mina Central area is a consistent US$40

Esperanza

** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the Esperanza area are 77% Ag, 18% Au, 76% Cu, 88% Pb, and 94% Zn (polymetallic material).

The unit value COG for the Esperanza area is a consistent US$44 .

Cachi Cachi

** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the Cachi-Cachi area are 77% Ag, 18% Au, 76% Cu, 88% Pb, and 94% Zn (polymetallic material).

The unit value COG for the Cachi-Cachi area is variable by area: US$40 = Angelita; US$44 = Elissa & Escondida; US$38 = Karlita; and US$51 = Zulma



Mascota.

** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the Mascota area are 53% Ag, 24% Au, 0% Cu, 66% Pb, and 0% Zn (lead oxide material).

The unit value COG for the Mascota area is a consistent US$38 .

Cuerpos Pequenos

** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the Cuerpos Pequenos area are variable:

- Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the Cuye area are 66% Ag, 35% Au, 90% Cu, 0% Pb, and 0% Zn (copper sulfide material);

- Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the Contacto Occ. and Violeta areas are 53% Ag, 24% Au, 0% Cu, 66% Pb, and 0% Zn (lead oxide material); and

- Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the remaining areas are 77% Ag, 18% Au, 76% Cu, 88% Pb, and 94% Zn (polymetallic material).

The unit value COG for the Cuerpos Pequenos area is variable by area. US$43 = Violeta; US$38 = Cuye; and US$51 = Contacto Occ., Contacto, Ori., CSM II, CSM I, CSM, Cuye Sur, Marita, Juliana, Gallito, Butz, Pozo Rico .



Table 3: Esperanza Zone Measured & Indicated Resource Estimate





Resources - Measured and Indicated Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Esperanza























Zone Measured 444 65.4 1.23 1.45 3.38 0.44 0.9 12.1 14.2 33.1 6,275

Indicated 2,090 69.7 1.81 1.22 3.20 0.58 4.7 83.4 56.2 147.5 38,844

Measured & Indicated 2,534 68.9 1.71 1.26 3.23 0.55 5.6 95.5 70.4 180.7 45,119

Table 4: Esperanza Zone Inferred Resource Estimate





Resources - Inferred Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Esperanza























Zone Inferred 1,542 68.9 1.87 0.92 2.49 0.63 3.4 63.7 31.2 84.7 31,468

Notes for Esperanza Zone Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource Estimate (Tables 3 and 4)

Mineral resources are reported inclusive of ore reserves. Mineral resources are not ore reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. All gures rounded to reect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc assays were capped where appropriate.

Mineral resources are reported at unit value cut-offs (CoG) based on metal price assumptions*, variable metallurgical recovery assumptions (variable metallurgical recoveries** as a function of grade and relative metal distribution in individual concentrates), generalized mining/processing costs.

* Metal price assumptions considered for the calculation of unit values are: Gold (US$/oz 1,251.00), Silver (US$/oz 16.76), Copper (US$/lb 2.28), Lead (US$/lb 0.86), and Zinc (US$/lb 0.94).

** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the Esperanza area are 77% Ag, 18% Au, 76% Cu, 88% Pb, and 94% Zn (polymetallic material).

* Metal price assumptions considered for the calculation of unit values are: Gold (US$/oz 1,251.00), Silver (US$/oz 16.76), Copper (US$/lb 2.28), Lead (US$/lb 0.86), and Zinc (US$/lb 0.94). ** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the area are 77% Ag, 18% Au, 76% Cu, 88% Pb, and 94% Zn (polymetallic material). The unit value COG for the Esperanza area is a consistent US$44 .

Mineral Reserve Estimate

Mineral Reserve Estimates have been conducted by Jon Larson of SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, using Maptek Vulcan and Minemax iGantt software.

This release features mineral reserves reported from models developed and estimated by SRK as well as Gustavson Associates, using criteria determined by Sierra Metals and SRK to be reasonable for reporting of these reserves. This release provides the maiden reserve estimation for the new Esperanza area, discovered in late 2015.

The procedures and methods supporting the mineral reserve estimation have been developed by SRK in conjunction with Sierra Metals mine planning personnel. The reserve estimates presented herein have been conducted by independent consultants using supporting data generated by the site. In general, each mining area is evaluated using reasonable mining block shapes based on the mining method applicable to the zone. Mineral Resources estimated by the independent consultants are categorized in a manner consistent with industry best practice. Data and information supporting the mining recovery, mining dilution, reconciliation-based grade adjustments, metallurgical recoveries, consensus commodity pricing, and treatment and refining charges have been provided by the Company and reviewed by SRK. These factors are used to calculate unit values for the blocks in the models. Historic and expected direct and indirect mining, processing and general and administrative costs were provided by Sierra Metals. To be considered economic, the Net Smelter Return (NSR) value of the mining block must be greater than the economic cutoff. Blocks below the economic cutoff but above the marginal cutoff are, in some cases, included in the reserve where they are in between or immediately adjacent to an economic block and it is reasonable to expect that no significant additional development would be required to extract the marginal block. Isolated blocks, defined as blocks with no defined access, have been excluded. Only material classified as Measured and Indicated Resources contribute to the grade values in a mining block. Material inside a block and not classified as Measured or Indicated is assumed to have 0 grade. Mined out areas were provided by Sierra Metals personnel.

SRK is of the opinion that the reserve estimate is suitable for public reporting and are a fair representation of the mill feed tonnes, grade, and metal for the Yauricocha deposit.

The consolidated mineral reserve statement for the Yauricocha Mine including Mina Central, Esperanza, Cachi-Cachi, Mascota, and Cuerpos Pequenos areas are presented in Tables 5 and the maiden mineral reserve statement for the Esperanza Zone is presented in Table 6. The effective date for Mina Central, Cachi-Cachi, Mascota, and Cuerpos Pequenos areas is December 31, 2015. The effective date for Esperanza is June 30, 2016. SRK is currently preparing an NI 43-101 Technical Report which will support this disclosure within 45 days.

Table 5: Consolidated Yauricocha Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimate (Including Esperanza)





Reserves - Proven and Probable Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Yauricocha

























Proven 847 70.7 0.59 1.60 2.82 0.65 1.9 10.9 29.8 52.6 17,735

Probable 2,940 58.4 0.91 1.02 2.95 0.62 5.5 58.8 66.1 191.4 58,205

Proven & Probable 3,787 61.1 0.84 1.15 2.92 0.62 7.4 69.7 95.9 243.9 75,940

Notes for Consolidated Yauricocha Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimates (Table 5)

All gures rounded to reect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Ore reserves are reported at NSR cutoffs (CoG) based on metal price assumptions*, grade adjustments made to the resource model**, metallurgical recovery assumptions***, mining costs, processing costs, general and administrative (G&A) costs, and treatment and refining charges.

* Metal price assumptions considered for the calculation of NSR are: Gold (US$/oz 1,251.00), Silver (US$/oz 16.76), Copper (US$/lb 2.28), Lead (US$/lb 0.86), and Zinc (US$/lb 0.94)

Mina Central

** Grade adjustments (reductions) are based on historical mine to mill reconciliation and are 12% Ag, 0% Au, 10% Cu, 8% Pb, and 9% Zn.

*** Metallurgical recovery assumptions are 69% Ag, 18% Au, 55% Cu, 84% Pb, and 90% Zn (polymetallic material).

The NSR CoG for Mina Central is variable by area: US$58 = Catas, Antacaca; and US$55 = Rosura, Antacaca Sur.

Mining recovery applied is variable by area: 80% = Catas, Antacaca; and 70% = Rosura, Antacaca Sur.

Mining dilution, applied with a zero grade, is variable by area: 20% = Catas, Antacaca; and 25% = Rosura, Antacaca Sur.



Esperanza

** Grade adjustments (reductions) are based on historical mine to mill reconciliation and are 12% Ag, 0% Au, 10% Cu, 8% Pb, and 9% Zn.

*** Metallurgical recovery assumptions are 69% Ag, 18% Au, 55% Cu, 84% Pb, and 90% Zn (polymetallic material).

The NSR CoG for Esperanza is US$56 .

is . Mining recovery applied is 90%; and

Mining dilution, applied with a zero grade, is 20%.

Cachi-Cachi

** Grade adjustments (reductions) are based on historical mine to mill reconciliation and are 12% Ag, 0% Au, 10% Cu, 8% Pb, and 9% Zn.

*** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the area are 69% Ag, 18% Au, 55% Cu, 84% Pb, and 90% Zn (polymetallic material).

The NSR CoG for Cachi Cachi is variable by area: US$75 = Zulma; US$64 = Elissa, Escondida; US$58 = Angelita; and US$56 = Karlita.

Mining recovery applied is variable by area: 90% = Zulma, Karlita; 95% = Elissa, Escondida; and 80% = Angelita.

Mining dilution, applied with a zero grade, is variable by area: 10% = Zulma, Elissa, Escondida; and 20% = Angelita, Karlita.



Mascota

** Grade adjustments (reductions) are based on historical mine to mill reconciliation and are 14% Ag, 0% Au, 7% Cu, 13% Pb, and 7% Zn.

*** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the area re 53% Ag, 40% Au, 0% Cu, 66% Pb, and 0% Zn (lead oxide material).

The NSR CoG for Mascota is US$56 .

is . Mining recovery applied is 90%.

Mining dilution, applied with a zero grade, is 20%.

Cuerpos Pequenos

** Grade adjustments (reductions) are based on historical mine to mill reconciliation and are variable:

- 14% Ag, 0% Au, 7% Cu, 13% Pb, and 7% Zn = Contacto Occ; and

- 12% Ag, 0% Au, 10% Cu, 8% Pb, and 9% Zn = All others.

*** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the area are variable:

- 53% Ag, 40% Au, 0% Cu, 66% Pb, and 0% Zn = Contacto Occ. (lead oxide material)

- 66% Ag, 35% Au, 90% Cu, 0% Pb, and 0% Zn = CUYE (copper sulfide material)

- 69% Ag, 18% Au, 55% Cu, 84% Pb, and 90% Zn = All others (polymetallic material)

The unit value CoG is variable by area: US$56 = CUYE; and US$75 = All others.

Mining recovery applied is variable by area: 95% = CSM_II; 94% = C_ORI, CSM_I, Gallito; 90% = C_OCC, CSM, CUYE, Marita, Juliana, Pozo Rico ; and 88% = Butz.

Mining dilution, applied with a zero grade, is variable by area: 20% = CUYE, Marita; and 10% = All others.



Table 6: Esperanza Zone Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimate





Reserves - Proven and Probable Contained Metal



Tonnes Ag Cu Pb Zn Au Ag Cu Pb Zn Au



(000's) g/t % % % g/t M oz M lb M lb M lb oz Esperanza























Zone Proven 230 50.1 0.85 1.33 3.07 0.34 0.4 4.3 6.7 15.6 2,526

Probable 1,290 52.1 1.26 1.09 2.84 0.44 2.2 35.9 30.9 80.6 18,441

Proven & Probable 1,520 51.8 1.20 1.12 2.87 0.43 2.5 40.2 37.7 96.2 20,967

Notes for Esperanza Zone Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve Estimate (Table 6)

All gures rounded to reect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Ore reserves are reported at NSR cutoffs (CoG) based on metal price assumptions*, grade adjustments made to the resource model**, metallurgical recovery assumptions***, mining costs, processing costs, general and administrative (G&A) costs, and treatment and refining charges.

* Metal price assumptions considered for the calculation of NSR are: Gold (US$/oz 1,251.00), Silver (US$/oz 16.76), Copper (US$/lb 2.28), Lead (US$/lb 0.86), and Zinc (US$/lb 0.94).

** Grade adjustments (reductions) are based on historical mine to mill reconciliation and are 12% Ag, 0% Au, 10% Cu, 8% Pb, and 9% Zn.

*** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the area are 69% Ag, 18% Au, 55% Cu, 84% Pb, and 90% Zn (polymetallic material).

* Metal price assumptions considered for the calculation of NSR are: Gold (US$/oz 1,251.00), Silver (US$/oz 16.76), Copper (US$/lb 2.28), Lead (US$/lb 0.86), and Zinc (US$/lb 0.94). ** Grade adjustments (reductions) are based on historical mine to mill reconciliation and are 12% Ag, 0% Au, 10% Cu, 8% Pb, and 9% Zn. *** Metallurgical recovery assumptions for the area are 69% Ag, 18% Au, 55% Cu, 84% Pb, and 90% Zn (polymetallic material). The NSR CoG for Esperanza is US$56 . Mining recovery applied is 90%; and Mining dilution, applied with a zero grade, is 20%.

is .

Quality Control

All technical data contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Gordon Babcock, P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Sierra Metals

Sierra Metals Inc. is a Canadian mining company focused on production of precious and base metals from its Yauricocha Mine in Peru, and its Bolivar Mine and Cusi Mine in Mexico. In addition, Sierra Metals is exploring several precious and base metals targets in Peru and Mexico. Projects in Peru include Adrico (gold), Victoria (copper-silver) and Ipillo (polymetallic) at the Yauricocha Property in the province of Yauyos and the San Miguelito gold properties in Northern Peru. Projects in Mexico include Bacerac (silver) in the state of Sonora and La Verde (gold) at the Batopilas Property in the state of Chihuahua.

The Company's shares trade on the Lima Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Lima) and on the TSX under the symbol "SMT".

Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals, possible future mining, exploration and development activities, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices for metals, the conclusions of detailed technical analyses, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, mining rates and recovery rates and the lack of availability of necessary capital, which may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to it or at all. The Company is subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general.

Continue to watch our progress at:

Web: www.sierrametals.com

Twitter: sierrametals

Facebook: SierraMetalsInc

LinkedIn: Sierra Metals Inc

SOURCE Sierra Metals Inc.

Related Links

www.sierrametals.com


LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SoapBoxSample, part of the ISA family of companies, officially announced the launch of a new physician panel, DocThought. Engineered to provide targeted access, DocThought is a vast network of medical professionals ready to provide expert opinions to answer clients' medical research questions. Members will provide feedback about a variety of medical products and services and weigh in on all things related to the medical industry.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397355

Jacqueline Rosales, SoapBoxSample's Chief of Operations, stated, "Access to high quality Physician sample continues to be a void in the space. SoapBox continues to focus on the "what's missing" to meet the ever-growing needs of clients. Recognizing the market needs, and building our portfolio of services around those needs, continues to fuel our growth as an organization."

Physicians are required to provide their medical ID number upon registration and are verified to be practicing physicians. The information collected upon registration allows clients to segment by specialty, type of practice, ailments treated, and medications prescribed.

SoapBoxSample's rapidly expanding organization allows the company to focus on optimizing new products and services while providing high-quality, customized solutions for their clients. Recently SoapBoxSample expanded their mobile capabilities by adding MySoapBox Meter, a passive metering application. The app tracks web browsing and app usage behavior on respondent's smartphones, tablets and desktops. This growth trend and portfolio expansion kicked off earlier this year with the acquisition of icanmakeitbetter (ICMIB), an insight community platform company based in Austin, Texas. With the expansion of mobile and community capabilities, SoapBoxSample now provides an even more diverse portfolio of products.

About SoapBoxSample

Leveraging a combination of in-house research capabilities, SoapBoxSample is an all-encompassing Market Research firm offering a 360-degree view of the consumer. Offerings include; Community Insight Platform (icanmakeitbetter), mobile research (geofencing, mobile missions and passive metering), data collection (online and traditional) and full research design and analytics.

www.soapboxsample.com

CONTACT

Adriana Hemans

SoapBoxSample Director of Marketing

(818) 756-7429

Email

SOURCE SoapBoxSample

Related Links

http://www.soapboxsample.com


BOULDER, Colorado, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Surna Inc. (OTCQB: SRNA), a technology company that engineers state-of-the art equipment for controlled environment horticulture (CEH) with special expertise in cannabis cultivation, to report its second quarter 2016 financial results in a conference call at 9 :00 am MT/11:00 am E T on August 15, 2016.

CEO Trent Doucet and Director of Technology Stephen Keen will review company operations. The call will include discussion of investor questions submitted by email to [email protected] Questions from investors should be submitted as far in advance as possible for inclusion in the discussion.

To access the conference call, please dial 855-327-6837, if calling from the United States or Canada, or 631-891-4304, if calling internationally, and use passcode 10001561.

A replay of the call will be available until August 19, 2016, which can be accessed by dialing 877-870-5176, if calling from the United States or Canada, or 858-384-5517, if calling internationally. Please use passcode 10001561 to access the replay.

A transcript of the call will be provided on the company's website shortly after the call has taken place. You may access this transcript at http://www.surna.com/investor-relations.

About Surna

Surna Inc. (http://www.surna.com) develops innovative technologies and products that monitor, control and or address the energy and resource intensive nature of indoor cannabis cultivation. Currently, the Company's revenue stream is based on its main product offerings - supplying industrial technology and products to commercial indoor cannabis grow facilities.

Headquartered in Boulder, CO, Surna's diverse engineering team is tasked with creating novel energy and resource efficient solutions, including the Company's signature water-cooled climate control platform. The Company's engineers continuously seek to create technology that solve the highly specific demands of the cannabis industry for temperature, humidity, light and process control.

Surna's goal is to provide intelligent solutions to improve the quality, the control and the overall yield and efficiency of CEA. Though its clients do, the Company neither produces nor sells cannabis.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions (such as those relating to future business or financial results, new features or services, or management strategies) and other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These statements are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. You can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as "may," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan" and other similar expressions. Our actual results, such as the Company's ability to finance, complete and consolidate acquisition of IP, assets and operating companies, could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors not within the control of the company such as a result of various factors, including future economic, competitive, regulatory, and market conditions. The company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

Statement About Cannabis Markets

The use, possession, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis is prohibited by federal law. This includes medical and recreational cannabis. Although certain states have legalized medical and recreational cannabis, companies and individuals involved in the sector are still at risk of being prosecuted by federal authorities. Further, the landscape in the cannabis industry changes rapidly. What was the law last week is not the law today and what is the law today may not be the law next week. This means that at any time the city, county, or state where cannabis is permitted can change the current laws and/or the federal government can supersede those laws and take prosecutorial action. Given the uncertain legal nature of the cannabis industry, it is imperative that investors understand that the cannabis industry is a high-risk investment. A change in the current laws or enforcement policy can negatively affect the status and operation of our business, require additional fees, stricter operational guidelines and unanticipated shut-downs.

Public Relations

Katie O'Block

VP of Marketing

[email protected]

+1-303-993-5271 ext. 101



Investor Relations

Kirsten Chapman / Becky Herrick

LHA Investor Relations

[email protected]

+1-(415)-433-3777



SOURCE Surna Inc.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Teamsters expressed solidarity with trade unions in the ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) LATAM network, which represents 23,000 LATAM Airlines workers in seven countries.

The ITF LATAM network revealed this week that in a recent survey, 80 percent of LATAM maintenance technicians in Brazil, Peru, Paraguay and Colombia reported having witnessed increasing numbers of incidents or problems with aircraft.

The reports from this survey are even more important at a time when the company is operating at full capacity during the Olympic Games in Brazil, increasing traffic by more than 300 additional flights. LATAM Airlines is the largest airline in South America and includes the LAN and TAM Airline brands.

In that same survey, 34 percent of technicians reported having been "pressured to finish work at the expense of quality and/or safety" on flights, and 23 percent reported experiencing increasing "fatigue and tiredness due to the large number of working hours." According to figures reported by LATAM Airlines, 996 people working in maintenance were laid off over the last 12 months.

"I am deeply concern for passengers and flight crew on LAN and TAM flights," said Capt. David Bourne, Director of the Teamsters Airline Division. "It is very important for workers to speak up publically about conditions that could potentially affect flight safety."

The survey was carried out at the request of the trade unions of aeronautical technicians in the ITF LATAM network, with the aim of identifying the areas of greatest impact produced by the changes in procedures, new programs and budget cuts that LATAM Airlines is implementing. These cuts have led to workers repeatedly trying to warn the company and its chief executive, Enrique Cueto. The trade unions sent a letter asking for a meeting to explain their concerns. To date, there has been no response.

Among the most worrying survey results, workers in charge of the technical procedures for the fleet of LATAM Airlines believe that the loss of qualified personnel generates pressure on their workload  26 percent of workers stated that in the last three years they have seen "delays and cancellations of flights due to lack of licensed technicians and sufficient aeronautical experience."

For more information about problems experienced by LATAM specialist technicians, go to: http://www.itfaviation.org/latam-specialist-technicians-80-have-witnessed-increasing-numbers-of-incidents/

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. For more information, please visit www.teamster.org.

Contact:

Galen Munroe (202) 624-6911

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Batchery, an East Bay, California-based global incubator for seed-stage startups ready to go from idea to launch at lightning speed, today announced a partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center. The intention of the unique partnership is to spur innovation and stimulate the incubation of startups both in the Bay Area and in Nevada. Additionally, The Batchery's members will be able to leverage the sophisticated laboratory and equipment resources of the University of Nevada, Reno. Entrepreneurs and innovators will have access to The Batchery's resources for advice, guidance and introductions to Silicon Valley influencers.

The Innevation Center is a synergistic, collaborative space designed to stimulate the creation and incubation of start-ups and accelerate the growth of Nevada's next generation of economic leaders by igniting the creative and entrepreneurial spirits in University of Nevada, Reno students, faculty, community creatives, makers, economic developers, and emerging global tech companies. Creation of the The Innevation Center was supported by Rob Roy, CEO and Founder of Switch.

The Batchery is a constellation of 50 "tech veterans" with backgrounds at companies like Oracle, Google and Accenture. They include investors from the Sand Hill Angels, Partech Ventures, Spruce Advisors, Sierra Angels, Berkeley Angel Network and more.

"We are excited to partner with the Batchery and create a bridge from Nevada to the extraordinary innovation economy in Silicon Valley," said Jim Sacherman, Director of the University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center. "The Batchery provides us with a stimulating opportunity where we can share information, access resources and receive valuable advice crucial to helping our Nevada entrepreneurs and innovators navigate through early-stage obstacles. We look forward to accelerating their development and growth working with the Batchery's mentors and advisors over the coming months."

"The Batchery supports startup entrepreneurs  such as those at The Innevation Center  who are building sustainable ventures that bring innovative solutions to a vast spectrum of marketplace opportunities," stated Jeff Wallace, President and Managing Partner at The Batchery. "Given the vast resources of equipment, laboratories and talent at The Innevation Center, this partnership is of great value to our members and provides them with such access. Likewise, we strive to provide a bridge to Silicon Valley for entrepreneurs and innovators not located in the Bay Area. As such, we look forward to working with the Nevada entrepreneurs and innovators and partnering with them for success."

About The Innevation Center

The University of Nevada, Reno Innevation Center brings the campus community of faculty, staff and students together with entrepreneurs, investors and commercialization experts. Located in downtown Reno, it offers co-working, conference and meeting space, plus a makerspace with resources and equipment to support prototype development and minimize the design cycle. The Innevation Center is home to Nevada Industry Excellence, a statewide manufacturing-extension program hosted by the University to strengthen Nevada companies, and the University's Nevada Advanced Autonomous Systems Innovation Center, supported by the Governor's Office of Economic Development Knowledge Fund.

For more information including membership information, visit www.unr.edu/innevation.

About The Batchery

The Batchery is an East Bay, California-based global incubator for seed stage startups ready to go from idea to launch at lightning speed. We are a community of 50 veteran investors and advisors ready to provide you with ideas, insights, and networks. The Batchery is the global gateway to Silicon Valley, with the best in office space, tools, and partnerships for entrepreneurs in the Bay Area, around the US, and internationally.

For information, please visit: www.batchery.com or apply at: https://goo.gl/NrrYTh

Media Contacts:

Beth Trier

Trier and Company for The Batchery

[email protected]

415-285-6147

Jane Tors

University of Nevada, Reno

[email protected]

775-327-2359

SOURCE University of Nevada, Reno

Related Links

http://www.unr.edu


SPOKANE, Wash., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Family vacationers, friend groups and couples alike can complete their summer with some much-deserved excitement when they book a stay at The Davenport Grand, Autograph Collection.

The Davenport Grand, Autograph Collection invites leisure travelers to enhance their Spokane, WA stay with the limited-time Silverwood Summer Package. The deal includes deluxe accommodations, discounted theme park tickets, pool access at two nearby hotels, complimentary valet parking and complimentary transportation to destinations within a 2-mile radius of the hotel. For more information, visit www.marriott.com/GEGAD or call 1-509-458-3330.

From action-packed trips with the kids to relaxing adults-only getaways, visitors can end summer on a high note at the contemporary Pacific Northwest hotel. Guests who book at The Davenport Grand are invited to enhance their experience with the exclusive Silverwood Summer Package, featuring deluxe overnight accommodations and discounted tickets to Silverwood Theme Park (tickets are normally priced at $48 apiece; with this deal, tickets are available at just $39 apiece). Guests will also receive free overnight valet parking, pool access at The Davenport Hotel and The Davenport Tower, and complimentary shuttle service to destinations within 2 miles of the hotel.

The Silverwood Package is available seven days a week through Sept. 5th and on weekends through Sept. 25th. Boasting a wide variety of thrilling rides, Silverwood Theme Park blends the best of both worlds with attractions for adrenaline junkies and beach bums alike. Guests can experience the exhilaration of the high-intensity Aftershock roller coaster as well as the refreshing, calm waters of the Elkhorn Creek lazy river.

And the fun doesn't end at Silverwood Theme Park! Summer is still in full swing in Spokane, and a plethora of activities are available for visitors of all ages. Laugh a little, dance a little and eat a lot at the 37th annual Pig Out in the Park festival, a perfect Labor Day event for travelers with an appetite. With free admission, 85 free concerts and 47 phenomenal food booths, Pig Out in the Park lets visitors experience all of the fun and flavor that Spokane has to offer. Guests can also see Riverfront Park come to life at the Spokane Chinese Lantern Festival, a cultural celebration that starts on Sept. 16 and lasts for five whole weeks.

After a fast-paced day of summer fun, guests can retreat to The Davenport Grand, featuring spacious guest rooms with modern decor, elegant marble bathrooms, luxurious bedding and an array of tech-savvy amenities, including complimentary high-speed internet and LED TVs with premium channels. The hotel also offers three on-site eateries and convenient downtown location near world-class destinations such as the Spokane Convention Center and Spokane Arena.

To apply the Silverwood Summer Package to a stay at The Davenport Grand, Autograph Collection, use promotional code THM when booking online, or call 1-800-228-9290 and ask for promotional code THM.

About The Davenport Grand, Autograph Collection

The Davenport Grand, Autograph Collection at 333 West Spokane Falls Blvd. in Spokane, Washington offers an ideal location just steps from the Spokane Convention Center and a short drive from Silverwood Theme Park. The 16-story hotel features 680 guest rooms, 36 suites, a modern fitness center, three restaurants and 29 event rooms spanning more than 62,000 square feet of space. Complimentary high-speed internet is provided in all accommodations and public areas of the hotel. For more information, visit www.marriott.com/GEGAD or call 1-509-458-3330. Like The Davenport Grand, Autograph Collection on Facebook, and follow the hotel on Twitter.

Sign up now for Marriott Rewards and get on the fast track to earn points for free hotel stays, room upgrades, flights, credit card purchases and deals with Marriott partners.

Learn more about Autograph Collection Hotels and Marriott International Inc.

Press Contact

Emily Bird-Hrivnak

1-760-862-1526

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397568

SOURCE The Davenport Grand, Autograph Collection

Related Links

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MAITLAND, Fla., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, August 6th, Russel Allinson, Therigy CEO and Chief Clinical Officer, was named the 2016 Next-Generation Pharmacist Technology Innovator for the development of the company's flagship product, TherigySTM. The award is given to a pharmacist who successfully leverages pharmacy technology tools to advance patient care standards, business profitability and/or employee productivity.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397538

Therigy's Russel Allinson Named Technology Innovator of the Year

Allinson co-founded Therigy with Joe Morse in 2006. They set out to leverage technology to support the effective delivery and documentation of therapy management for patients on specialty drug therapies.

"The vision Joe and I had when founding the company was clear. We realized there had to be a more effective way of providing pharmacy care to patients on biotech drugs," said Allinson. "We wanted to leverage technology to support the effective delivery, documentation, and reporting of therapy management for patients on specialty drug therapies."

TherigySTM extends beyond a technology solution by providing pharmacy users with a robust library of clinical content based on current best practice guidelines and standards of care practice so pharmacies can fully meet the needs of patients.

Over 1,300 pharmacy professionals across the country utilize TherigySTM every day to support over 120,000 patients. TherigySTM is used by one in every five URAC accredited specialty pharmacies and sixty percent of URAC accredited health system-owned specialty pharmacies. More specialty patients receive therapy support each day through their pharmacy's use of TherigySTM than any other solution. In 2014 the University Health System Consortium  whose membership includes the leading academic medical centers in the U.S.  selected TherigySTM as the preferred therapy management tool for their member institutions.

Since 2010, the Next-Generation Pharmacist Awards presented by Pharmacy Times and Parata has honored pharmacists, technicians, students and industry advocates who are defining the future of pharmacy. The 2016 Technology Innovator award is a great testament to the contributions Russ has made in the specialty pharmacy industry.

About Therigy

Therigy is the trusted source for innovative, best-in-class software and expert consulting services to the specialty pharmaceutical market. Clients leverage Therigy's solutions, data, and insights to achieve clinical and economic success by aligning strategy, technology, and people.

About Russel Allinson, RPh MS

Russel Allinson co-founded Therigy in 2006 and serves as the company's CEO and Chief Clinical Officer. Russ is responsible for the company's strategic vision and direction, providing leadership to the clinical research and development team and delivering thought leadership to Therigy's clients.

One of the industry's most respected authorities on specialty pharmacy operations, adherence and clinical programs, and informatics, Russ has extensive experience as a senior executive in the health care and specialty pharmacy fields. Before founding Therigy, he served as General Manager at the Aetna Specialty Pharmacy and was Chief Pharmacy Officer at Priority Healthcare. In addition to being in charge of all pharmacy operations, he led the development of clinical programs for managed care and pharma partners. In the pioneering days of specialty pharmacy, Russ served as Vice President of Operations at Stadtlanders. Early in his career, he held several roles in hospital pharmacy and was the hospital administrator at Shadyside Hospital. Russ gained start-up experience at Ariba, the leading internet-based supply-chain software company.

Russ received his B.S. in pharmacy from the University of Pittsburgh and his Masters in Pharmacy Administration from Ohio State University. He completed a residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He is a member of the Rho Chi Honorary Pharmacy Society. In 1995, he received the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumni Award and in 2008 was presented the Jack L. Beal Post Baccalaureate Award by the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy.

About Next Generation Pharmacist Awards

Sponsored by Parata and Pharmacy Times, this national awards program honors pharmacists, technicians, students and industry advocates who are defining the future of pharmacy. Since 2010, more than 150 pharmacy leaders have been named finalists or winners.

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Related Links

Therigy

TherigySTM

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE Therigy

Related Links

http://therigy.com


TOLEDO, Ohio, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 11, Toledo Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) will celebrate the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) "Code of Excellence" designation for its partnership with IBEW Local 245, which represents more than 400 FirstEnergy employees in northwestern Ohio. A ceremony attended by FirstEnergy and IBEW leaders will be held to mark the occasion.

The "Code of Excellence" is a designation that indicates an ongoing commitment to quality workmanship, high standards of productivity and an ongoing focus on safety.

IBEW Local 245 members are employed by Toledo Edison, a FirstEnergy utility that serves more than 300,000 customers in eight northwest Ohio counties; FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, which operates the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio; and FirstEnergy Generating Company, which operates the Bay Shore Power Plant in Oregon, Ohio.

Toledo Edison is only the second utility in the United States to recognize this designation for the partnership between the union and the company. Steven E. Strah, senior vice president of FirstEnergy and president of FirstEnergy Utilities, and Lonnie Stephenson, international president of IBEW, will officiate the ceremony that will take place at Toledo Edison's service center in Holland, Ohio. It will include the unveiling of an IBEW "Code of Excellence" insignia on a Toledo Edison bucket truck. The insignia will be affixed to all Toledo Edison trucks.

"IBEW Local 245 members have a well-earned reputation for hard work and a focus on safe operations, two key attributes that led to the 'Code of Excellence' designation," said Strah. "As an organization we take great pride in the productive relationships we have developed with our union employees, which helps us provide reliable electric service to our customers."

"The electric work done by IBEW members leaves no margin for error, which is why our 'Code of Excellence' is the highest designation we can bestow on one of our locals," said Stephenson. "By embracing excellence in everything they do, IBEW Local 245 members have set a high standard and I am proud to recognize the work they do on behalf of their company and their customers."

Other FirstEnergy senior management attending the ceremony include Mark Julian, vice president, Utility Operations; Charles P. Cookson, executive director of Labor Relations; and David A. Poska, director of Operations Services for Toledo Edison. Other key IBEW members attending the event include Jim Hunter, director of Utilities for IBEW; Ken Cooper, IBEW 4th District vice president; Larry Tscherne, business and financial manager, IBEW Local 245; Ken Erdmann, assistant business manager, IBEW Local 245; Phil LaCourse, assistant business manager, IBEW Local 245; and Ray Zychowicz, president, IBEW Local 245.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, while its generation subsidiaries control nearly 17,000 megawatts of capacity from a diversified mix of scrubbed coal, non-emitting nuclear, natural gas, hydro and other renewables. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

Related Links

http://www.firstenergycorp.com


ATLANTA, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- August marks the final days of summer with consumers getting back to routine. It's also a busy month for retailers and deal hunters alike. To help shoppers navigate the various certified pre-owned (CPO) deals, the editors at Autotrader have rounded-up their top picks for the month.

"We encourage shoppers to consider a certified pre-owned model for several reasons," said Brian Moody, executive editor at Autotrader. "First, CPO offers peace of mind with a manufacturer-backed warranty and perks that may include 24-hour towing and roadside assistance, trip interruption protection and rental car assistance. Second, CPO cars are a way for shoppers to get more for their money. They can get a nicer car with a few more features versus buying a brand new car. Finally, CPO buyers will receive a detailed checklist of the items inspected by a manufacturer-trained mechanic along with assurance that the vehicle passed inspection or was reconditioned to meet rigorous standards."

Consumers may mistakenly assume that all used cars are certifiable. Every brand, from Acura to Volvo, has strict guidelines about certification and not every car is eligible to be certified by the automaker. Since not all CPO programs are alike, consumers should shop around to find the right match.

Autotrader Editors' Top Picks for Certified Pre-Owned Deals for August 2016

This month BMW is offering 0.9 percent interest for up to 36 months on all 2013 1 Series models, along with all 2013 and 2014 3 Series, 5 Series and X1 models. BMW's certified pre-owned program is among Autotrader editors' favorites.

Buick's popular LaCrosse sedan is offered with 1.9 percent interest for up to 36 months for qualified buyers, which is an impressive rate for a used model. Buick's CPO program provides a no-deductible powertrain warranty with coverage for up to 6 years or 100,000 miles from a covered vehicle's original sale date.

Through the end of August, qualified buyers interested in a certified pre-owned Chevrolet can get 1.9 percent interest for up to 36 months on an impressive array of models: the Cruze, Equinox, Impala, Malibu and Traverse. Combine the low rate with Chevy's CPO warranty, and it'll be like you're buying a new car.

Ford's certified pre-owned program has an impressive offer available this month for all of its CPO cars: 2.9 percent interest for up to 66 months for qualified buyers.

In August, Infiniti's certified pre-owned program touts a major incentive: 0.99 percent interest for up to 36 months for qualified buyers on every single certified pre-owned Infiniti. Infiniti's certified pre-owned program is another favorite of Autotrader editors.

This month, Jaguar offers an impressive CPO incentive for qualified buyers with 0.9 percent interest for up to 60 months on some models (like the 2013-2014 XF), along with 1.9 percent interest for up to 60 months on most other Jaguars  including all versions of the impressive F-Type sports car, except for the sporty V8 S model. Jaguar's CPO program is among the best in the luxury car world.

Qualified buyers interested in a certified pre-owned Nissan can get 1.25 percent interest for up to 36 months on any model, and 2.95 percent interest for up to 72 months on most models through the end of August. Those are great deals in the used-car world  especially when you factor in the additional warranty coverage from the Nissan CPO program.

In August, qualified buyers interested in getting a certified pre-owned Toyota Corolla can get an excellent deal, as the sedan is offered with 1.9 percent interest for up to 60 months. Toyota is extending the same offer for its midsize Camry sedan. If you're interested in buying a nearly-new Toyota without spending new-car money, consider Toyota's certified pre-owned program.

Check out Autotrader's full coverage of the "CPO Deals: August 2016," including additional specifics for the CPO programs.

To learn more about the benefits CPO, check out Autotrader.com's "What are the Benefits of Certified Pre-Owned?"

About Autotrader

Autotrader is the most visited third-party car shopping site, with the most engaged audience of in-market shoppers. As the foremost authority on automotive consumer insights and expert in online and mobile marketing, Autotrader makes the car shopping experience easy and fun for today's empowered consumer looking to find or sell the perfect new, used or Certified Pre-Owned car. Using technology, shopper insights and local market guidance, Autotrader's comprehensive marketing solutions guide dealers to personalized digital marketing strategies that grow brand, drive traffic and connect the online and in-store shopping experience.

Autotrader is a Cox Automotive brand. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. For more information, please visit http://press.autotrader.com.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, vAuto, Xtime and a host of other brands. The global company has 33,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues of $18 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150316/181852LOGO

SOURCE Autotrader

Related Links

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MORRISTOWN, N.J., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Tufin, the market-leading provider of Network Security Policy Orchestration solutions, announced today that Andrew Lintell and Stephane Serina have joined the EMEA team as Regional Sales Directors to support its continuing growth and expansion in the northern and western territories of the region.

Andrew Lintell joins Tufin as Regional Sales Director of Northern Europe with 15 years of IT security experience under his belt. Prior to Tufin, Andrew held senior management positions for established software vendors including Head of IAG Business EMEA at Microsoft, VP Sales at HID Global and VP Channel Sales & Strategy of Europe at Kaspersky Lab. He was also the CEO and Co-founder of a leading online community moderation, safety, and brand management technology company, Crisp Thinking.

"Tufin is a leading visionary in the network security policy management space, and we will pursue vertical industries to grow market share in the UK, Ireland and the Nordics," Lintell said. "Pursuing our go-to-market strategy will include close alignment with our technology and channel partners, and I look forward to fostering these relationships to bring value to our customers."

Tufin's new Regional Sales Director of Western Europe, Stephane Serina, has a history of closing multi-million dollar deals and leading successful sales teams. With a distinguished industry background as Palo Alto Networks' Country Manager for France & MAT, Check Point's Major Account Sales Director and GM at Integralis, Stephane's new role at Tufin will help extend the company's presence in France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium.

"Tufin has traditionally been dominant in France and Benelux and I'm excited to continue this great momentum," said Serina. "As organizations struggle to deal with the security challenges posed by increased network complexities and the adoption of cloud-based infrastructures, Tufin provides solutions that allow them to remain secure while maintaining business agility."

Ian Rigby, VP of Sales, EMEA at Tufin said: "Andrew and Stephane are proven leaders of enterprise sales organizations and will complement Tufin's global sales team, serving key markets that are crucial to our continued growth. I'm excited to welcome them as they will be instrumental in meeting increased demand for Tufin's network security policy management solutions in the EMEA region."

Connect with Andrew Lintell on LinkedIn here.

Connect with Stephane Serina on LinkedIn here.

About Tufin

Tufin is the leader in Network Security Policy Orchestration for enterprise cybersecurity. Tufin enables organizations to centrally manage, visualize and control security policies across hybrid cloud and physical network environments. The award-winning Tufin Orchestration Suite is a policy-centric solution for automatically analyzing risk, designing, provisioning and auditing network security changes. Tufin reduces the attack surface and minimizes disruptions to critical applications. Its network security automation enables enterprises to implement security changes in minutes instead of days with continuous compliance and increased agility. Tufin serves over 1,700 enterprise customers in industries worldwide, including finance, telecom, energy and utilities, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, retail, education, government, manufacturing and transportation. Tufin's products and technologies are patent-protected in the U.S. and other countries.

Follow Tufin on Twitter: @TufinTech

Read more on Tufin's blog: Suite Talk

Media Contact:

Justin Ordman

[email protected]

617-237-0922

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160810/397425LOGO

SOURCE Tufin

Related Links

www.tufin.com


HOUSTON, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultra Petroleum Corp. (OTC: UPLMQ) announces the following Webcast to discuss its second quarter 2016 financial and operating results:

What: Ultra Petroleum Corp. Second Quarter 2016 Results Webcast



When: August 11, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time



Where: http://www.ultrapetroleum.com



How: Live over the internet via the website address above



Contact: Sandi Kraemer, [email protected], 281-582-6613

If you are unable to participate during the live Webcast, the conference call will be archived and can be accessed from Ultra's home page at http://www.ultrapetroleum.com.

About Ultra Petroleum

Ultra Petroleum Corp. is an independent energy company engaged in domestic natural gas and oil exploration, development and production. The company trades over the counter under the ticker symbol "UPLMQ". Additional information on the company is available at www.ultrapetroleum.com.

This release can be found at www.ultrapetroleum.com.

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SOURCE Ultra Petroleum Corp.

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http://www.ultrapetroleum.com


PITTSBURGH, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Unique Pizza and Subs Corporation (OTCPK: UPZS) has announced they have signed a deal to sell its signature Unique Frozen Pizza through the AAFES Military proprietary website. In addition to selling the Unique Pizza, AAFES will also feature products from two of Unique Pizza & Subs Corp.'s subsidiaries: 5 pack varieties of salsa from Jose Madrid Salsa and 3 pack varieties of PopsyCakes (both companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of UPZS).

AAFES, The Army and Air Force Exchange Service established in 1895: has 2,440 locations worldwide; is the proprietary retailer on the U.S. Army and Air Force installations worldwide; has annual revenues in excess of $9.2 Billion; and employees over 35,000 U.S. citizens. AAFES earnings provide dividends to support military Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR) programs. In the past ten years AAFES has distributed more than $2.4 Billion for MWR to fund quality-of-life improvements to our great U.S. Military. AAFES offers American made products at a discounted price to all active & retired U.S. Military their families & dependents.

The AAFES website will offer: 6 packs of Unique Pizza's signature 9" personal size Cheese & Pepperoni Pizzas featuring active probiotics; 3 pack varieties of PopsyCakes which are offered in five Unique Flavors: Red Velvet Rush, Peanut Butter Burst, Strawberry Milkshake, Dark Chocolate Decadence & Vanilla Bean Dream; 5 packs of Jose Madrid Salsa with 25 plus Unique salsa flavors to choose from.

Unique Pizza & Subs Corp. President James Vowler stated, "It is a great honor for Unique Pizza & its subsidiaries to be able to provide our American made products to the great men & woman that protect and serve the greatest country in this world! We look forward to launching all three brands on their proprietary website soon and than work on putting our products directly into all 2,440 locations! This is deal is just another of the many great advancements for UPZS and its loyal shareholders."

About Unique Pizza and Subs:

Unique Pizza franchises pizza and sub restaurants throughout the United States. With a limited menu of pizzas, subs, calzones, salads, and beverages, the company is primarily focused on takeout and delivery services with limited full size restaurants. The company has three wholly owned subsidiaries Jose Madrid Salsa, Unique Pizza Taphouse and PopsyCakes.

Visit us on the web: http://www.UniquePizza.com

http://www.JoseMadridSalsa.com

http://www.PopsyCakes.com

& AAFES: http://www.ShopMyExchange.com

Twitter: @UniquePizzaSubs

@MadridSalsa

@PopsyCakes

Safe Harbor Act: This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 27E of the Securities Act of 1934. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward- looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Actual performance and results may differ materially from that projected or suggested herein due to certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, ability to obtain financing and regulatory and shareholder approval for anticipated actions. There are no financials in this press release so this is not needed and undermines the release.

SOURCE Unique Pizza and Subs Corporation

Related Links

http://www.UniquePizza.com


WEST NEW YORK, New Jersey, August 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Valuebound, a company that specializes in Drupal development and support, teams up with Farm Journal Media on a series of new websites. With proven expertise in content management framework, Valuebound helps media and product companies stand out among their competition.

Leading Enterprise Drupal development company (PRNewsFoto/Valuebound)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160811/397428 )



"With the launch of Drupal 8, it is exhilarating to see our clients' eagerness to try it out," said Neeraj Kumar, CEO of Valuebound. "Farm Journal is keen on moving its existing websites to Drupal 8 and is testing the possibilities first with the MILK website."

MILK serves dairy producers with 500 or more cows by providing the business information and resources they need to run their operation. The dairy sector is constantly evolving, so Farm Journal decided to launch MILK in early 2016 as a high-end media platform to serve this progressive and innovative market segment. For this, Farm Journal required a robust platform, and they chose Drupal 8 for its flexibility and scalability.

Drupal 8, with improved content authoring and mobile-first approach, will deliver great digital experiences while ensuring compatibility across all devices. Improved integration capabilities with many new technology solutions positions Drupal as one of the leaders in the digital ecosystem.

About Valuebound

Valuebound, based out of West New York, NJ, with a development center in Bangalore, India, specializes in providing Drupal consulting, development and support for media, publishing and high-tech companies. Since February 2016, Valuebound has been consistently ranked in the top three Drupal service providers in the world and No. 1 in India at Drupal.org marketplace.

About Farm Journal Media

Farm Journal Media is the nation's leading business information and media company serving the agricultural market. Started 139 years ago with the pre-eminent Farm Journal magazine, the company serves the row crop, livestock, produce and retail sectors through 26 branded websites, eNewsletters and phone apps; 11 business magazines; 70 events; six nationally broadcasted television and radio programs; a robust mobile text marketing business; and an array of data-driven paid information products. Farm Journal Media also is the majority shareholder of the online equipment marketplace Machinery Pete LLC. In 2010, the company established the non-profit, public charity Farm Journal Foundation, which is dedicated to sustaining agriculture's ability to meet the vital needs of a growing population through education and empowerment.

Media Contact

Puja Kumari

Call +1-201-383-5005

Email: [email protected]



SOURCE Valuebound
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- International luxury travel network Virtuoso unveiled the winners of the highly anticipated 2016 Best of the Best awards last night at the 28th annual Virtuoso Travel Week conference. The special night marked 10 years since Virtuoso began feting the very best properties and hospitality professionals within its renowned Hotels & Resorts Program. This year, standouts included the gorgeous and beloved Borgo Egnazia, Savelletri di Fasano in Italy, which was named the coveted "Hotel of the Year."

Virtuoso surveyed its 390-plus agencies and more than 11,400 elite travel advisors to identify the winners in each of the categories, ranging from most innovative experience to best achievement in design. Editors of VIRTUOSO LIFE, the network's multi-award-winning magazine, provided their keen insight and hotel knowledge to identify the nominees from which Virtuoso advisors voted.

"Naming any hotel as the Best of the Best from among the world's finest properties in our renowned Hotels & Resorts program is always a challenge. This year's winners surpassed our expectations and the exacting standards we  and more importantly, our clients  demand from our partner hotels. At Virtuoso, we recognize we are defined by the company we keep. And we are especially proud to count hotels and hoteliers of this caliber as our partners," said Albert Herrera, senior vice president of Global Product Partnerships for Virtuoso.

With a diverse portfolio of nearly 1,200 hotels, resorts, villas and private island retreats in more than 100 countries, Virtuoso Hotels & Resorts is revered as the industry's most prestigious hotel program.

The Best of the Best winners were revealed during the Hotels & Resorts Dinner, sponsored by Park Hyatt Hotels, before an audience of more than 1,600 of luxury hospitality's elite. The 2016 Best of the Best award recipients will be featured in the September/October issue of VIRTUOSO LIFE, reaching 200,000 upscale world travelers.

The 2016 Virtuoso Best of the Best categories and winners are:

Hotel of the Year: Borgo Egnazia, Savellerti di Fasano, Italy

Going for the Gold: "Borgo Egnazia and the area of Puglia is one of the exciting new destinations in Italy that one could ever encounter. The hotel has an amazing ambiance, warm and friendly people, incredible food and a spiritual spa."  Annette Sordoni, Protravel International, a Virtuoso agency

Best Achievement in Design: Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.

Seeing Is Believing: "The design of the hotel is a feast for your eyes! From the moment a guest enters, they are transported to a visual fantasy land, which has sophistication and style that is unparalleled. Not to mention the world class art collection!"  Judy Stein, Ovation Vacations, a Virtuoso agency

Best Culinary Experience: The Farmhouse Restaurant  Farmhouse Inn, California, U.S.

Most Important Meal of the Day Re-Invented: "Don't skip breakfast here! It is a real culinary awakening  hearty, seasonal, and farm-fresh."  Ken Neibaur, Cardoza Bungey Travel, a Virtuoso agency

Best Bar: The New York EDITION, New York, U.S.

Let's Toast: "Craft cocktails are a must."  Rachelle Matheson, Jigsaw Travel, a Virtuoso agency. "Don't miss the Espresso Martini."  Reece Farmilo, Out and About Travel, a Virtuoso agency

Best Family Program: Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

It's a Family Affair: "The hotel has an amazing family program that introduces children to the culture of the city before they go out and explore it in person."  Robert Merlin, SmartFlyer, a Virtuoso agency. "The painting lessons are awesome and a fun way to incorporate culture."  Kimberly Wilson Wetty, Valerie Wilson Travel, Inc., a Virtuoso agency

Best Spa: Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy

Say Spaaaah: "The spa has a gorgeous setting with breathtaking views of Lake Como, and wonderful treatments that incorporate natural herbs. Lake Como is magical and the new Grand Hotel Tremezzo Spa is where the magic happens for all their guests."  Isabel Bernardo, Ovation Vacations, a Virtuoso agency

Most Innovative Guest Experience: Belmond Hotel das Cataratas, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil

Access, Access, Access: "Take advantage of the exclusive opportunity to visit the falls early in the morning before the Iguassu National Park opens and again in the evening after it closes."  Alex Korey, KK Travels Worldwide, a Virtuoso agency

Sustainable Tourism Leadership: andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Tourism with a Conscience: "andBeyond Phinda has been a conservation leader since breaking ground in the early 1990s. Today, Phinda remains one of the world's most successful ecotourism projects. Ongoing conservation successes include being home to the fourth largest cheetah population in South Africa and helping relocate 14 rhinos to other safe havens."  Costas Christ, Virtuoso Director of Sustainability

One to Watch: Hotel Eden Rome, Dorchester Collection, Rome, Italy

A Classic Making a Comeback: "I instantly fell in love with the location and the historic charm of the building. I can't wait to see the Hotel Eden; I know it will again be my go-to hotel in Rome."  Jessica Ourisman, Brownell, a Virtuoso agency

Hotelier of the Year: Jose Silva  Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, Paris, France

The Royal Treatment: "He is all about the guest experience and exceeding expectations."  Phoebe Weinberg, Greatways Travel, a Virtuoso agency

For more information, visit www.virtuoso.com.

About Virtuoso

Virtuoso is the leading international travel agency network specializing in luxury and experiential travel. This by-invitation-only organization comprises over 390 agency members with more than 11,400 elite travel advisors in 40 countries throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Drawing upon its preferred relationships with 1,700 of the world's best hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies and premier destinations, the network provides its upscale clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. More than (U.S.) $15.5 billion in annual travel sales makes Virtuoso a powerhouse in the luxury travel industry. For more information, visit www.virtuoso.com.

Media Contacts: Misty Ewing Belles Lauren Wintemberg Managing Director, Global Public Relations Account Manager Virtuoso Alice Marshall Public Relations 202.553.8817 212.861.4031 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Virtuoso

Related Links

http://www.virtuoso.com


"The rate of undernutrition in Haitian children is among the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean and is even higher in children from impoverished families, placing them at increased risk of poor health and decreased cognitive development with lasting effects," said Dr. Dacius. "Our amazing team of partners found that spending the day sharing experiences and challenges in the field, as well as possible integrated solutions was very beneficial."

In Haiti alone, Vitamin Angels serves approximately 300,000 children and mothers who are at-risk for undernutrition through a network of more than 60 local organizations. Vitamin Angels' unique model for distributing micronutrients and deworming tablets leverages the infrastructure of local non-profits who add supplementation to their existing health and nutrition services. Through events like this one, Vitamin Angels is working to bring together likeminded organizations to maximize shared resources, overcome challenges, and identify gaps in coverage in order to expand health services. Vitamin Angels hopes to replicate this networking model in other countries and regions where it operates.



"This Summit was a really exciting first step for our network in Haiti," said Quinn Harvey, Regional Program Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Not only did we have longtime partners sharing their experiences, we had other NGOs express interest in receiving a grant from Vitamin Angels. We are already discussing ways to use participant excitement and engagement to help expand our reach in Haiti."

To learn more about Vitamin Angels' work in Latin America and the Caribbean, visit: https://www.vitaminangels.org/countries/latin-america-the-caribbean

To learn about Vitamin Angels' partnership model or apply for a micronutrient grant, visit https://www.vitaminangels.org/field-partners

Vitamin Angels helps at-risk populations in needspecifically pregnant women, new mothers, and children under fivegain access to lifesaving and life changing vitamins and minerals. Vitamin Angels works to reach underserved communities across the U.S. and in more than 50 countries around the world. Vitamin Angels has a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for Financial Health, Accountability and Transparency. To learn more, visit vitaminangels.org.

Press Contact

Natalie Hernandez 805.456.5129

[email protected]

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past 30 years, QVC has launched and fostered the growth of some of today's most successful brands  now it's Volition Beauty's turn. Volition, an online beauty platform that engages a community of consumers to co-create the brand's portfolio of beauty products, is scheduled to make its debut with the world's leading video and ecommerce retailer on Wednesday, August 10 at 11PM (ET).

Volition Beauty was founded by two cosmetic executives that saw a void in the industry and fundamentally believe that the best products come directly from the needs of real women. They observed the rampant success of crowdsourcing in the tech industry and developed a start-up model that would be disruptive to the beauty world.

Volition seeks suggestions for products from consumers and behind-the-scenes cosmetics creators and, after vetting the suggestions for feasibility, quality and safety, lets consumers vote on whether or not the product should be made. After launching its first product campaign in September 2015, today the Volition Community includes tens of thousands of engaged innovators and members that submit product ideas, vote, interact with the brand and have become loyal Volition customers.

The decision to collaborate with QVC developed from the shared philosophy of both brands - valuing community engagement and customer feedback. When Volition Beauty was in search of a platform to showcase its unique innovator stories and educate a broader audience on each product's development and benefits, QVC was a natural fit. QVC provides its customers with a shopping experience that is all about the joy of discovery through product storytelling.

Volition Beauty's QVC launch is scheduled to include four new products, ranging in price from $29 to $120. Products include:

Neroli Complete Creme: A dream cream, submitted by a Volition Collective Member Jen, to help address multiple skin concerns. Formulated with four key ingredients specifically selected to help address the appearance of the visible signs of aging, combination skin;

Helix Restorative Anti-Aging Eye Gel: A hydrating, anti-aging eye gel containing snail mucin;

Illuminating and Hydrating Body Milk: With a luxurious, whipped texture that melts to be absorbed, this body milk leaves skin feeling dewy with moisture and looking illuminated with a soft, pearlized glow;

Anti-Aging Day and Night Customized Skincare Trio: A simplified anti-aging regimen that can be tailored to individual skin needs. The luxurious anti-aging cream can be infused with either the Day or Night Active.

"Volition Beauty is celebrated for its unique approach to curating products that fulfill real women's needs that otherwise may never have made it to market," said Brandy Hoffman, co-founder of Volition Beauty. "QVC offers a discovery driven shopping experience that is rich in storytelling  and we couldn't think of a more perfect platform for our collaborative beauty brand," said Patricia Santos.

Tune in to QVC on Wednesday, August 10 at 11PM (ET) to learn more about Volition Beauty. Items from Volition Beauty are scheduled to be available, while supplies last, beginning August 4 through QVC.com, the QVC apps or by calling 800.345.1515.

QVC, the Q and Q Ribbon Logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc. and QVC, Inc.

SOURCE Volition Beauty
NAMUR, Belgium, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- VolitionRx Limited (NYSE MKT: VNRX), a life sciences company focused on developing diagnostic tests for cancer and other conditions, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Second Quarter 2016 and Recent Company Highlights:

Clinical:

Presented highly-encouraging study results demonstrating NuQ's ability to detect 71% of early stage I prostate cancer cases at 93% specificity at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting;

Initiated study with the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) to evaluate NuQ's ability to detect pancreatic cancer following encouraging data from two previous pancreatic cancer pilot studies;

Published study confirming stability of circulating cell-free nucleosomes (cfnucleosomes) as biomarkers in cancer, highlighting NuQ's low cost and ease of use. Importantly this study demonstrates that no special blood draw requirements are needed; and

Presented data from three clinical trials demonstrating NuQ's ability to detect colorectal cancer and adenomas at the World Endoscopy Organization (WEO) Colorectal Cancer Screening Meeting.

Regulatory:

New CE marks for two NuQ biomarker assays, NuQV001 and NuQT003, to detect the presence of colorectal cancer signatures, allowing their clinical use in 28 European countries; and

Granted a 4th key U.S. patent for the Nucleosomics platform's ability to detect nucleosomes in blood circulation.

Operational:

Appointed Louise Day as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer in preparation for the commercial launch of NuQ in Europe and the U.S.;

as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer in preparation for the commercial launch of NuQ in and the U.S.; Appointed Dr. Edward Futcher , Ph.D., to Board of Directors; and

, Ph.D., to Board of Directors; and Engaged Edison Advisors to strengthen investor relations and broaden global visibility.

Cameron Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer of VolitionRx, said, "CE marking another two of our biomarker assays, NuQV001 and NuQT003, which brings the total to three CE marks, helps clear the regulatory path for transition into a commercial-stage company. With the expected launch of our first NuQ blood test later this year in Europe, our efforts over this and the upcoming quarter are focused not only on meeting these regulatory hurdles, but also making the key management appointments to ensure a successful launch."

"With respect to our first commercial product launch, the Company expects to be making announcements during September and October to discuss this in greater detail, including the specific role it will play in the screening regimen for specific countries and our market entry strategy. We have already begun our branding and labeling processes for our initial commercial product and have engaged a branding agency to assist us with the launch. We aim to have this product CE marked by the end of this year, making it potentially saleable in 2017 in all 28 EU countries."

Jake Micallef, Ph.D., MBA, Chief Scientific Officer of VolitionRx, said, "We have had several important clinical accomplishments for NuQ in this second quarter of 2016. The publication of our study in the Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation confirms that results of our NuQ test are the same regardless of when and how blood samples are taken due to the discovered stability of circulating cfnucleosomes, a key highlight of the viability and ease-of-use of our platform. At the World Endoscopy Organization (WEO) Colorectal Cancer Screening Meeting, Jason Terrell, M.D., Volition's Chief Medical Officer and Head of U.S. Operations, presented data from our targeted clinical trial of 430 pre-cancerous colorectal adenoma patients with Hvidovre Hospital and the University of Copenhagen that demonstrated a panel of five NuQ biomarker assays in an age-adjusted algorithm detected 75% of high-risk colorectal adenomas and 86% of stage I colorectal cancers. These are our highest adenoma detection rates yet, and they demonstrate the power of NuQ, not only for the detection colorectal cancer, but also for pre-cancerous polyps."

Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results

For the three months ended June 30, 2016, VolitionRx reported a net loss of $2.9 million, or $0.13 per share. This compares to a net loss of $1.9 million, or $0.10 per share in the second quarter of 2015.

Cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2016 totaled $14.5 million, compared with $17.0 million as of March 31, 2016 and $5.9 million as of December 31, 2015.

Conference Call

As a reminder, Cameron Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer, will host the Company's Q2 earnings conference call today, Thursday, August 11th, 2016 at 8:30 am U.S. Eastern Time. To participate in the call, please dial 1-800-946-0706 (toll-free) in the U.S. and Canada, and 1-719-325-2352 (toll) internationally. The conference ID number for both is 1996014. A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available via link on the investor relations page of VolitionRx's corporate website at http://ir.volitionrx.com.

About VolitionRx

VolitionRx is a life sciences company focused on developing diagnostic tests for cancer and other conditions. The tests are based on the science of Nucleosomics, which is the practice of identifying and measuring nucleosomes in the bloodstream or other bodily fluid  an indication that disease is present.

VolitionRx's goal is to make the tests as common and simple to use, for both patients and doctors, as existing diabetic and cholesterol blood tests. VolitionRx's research and development activities are currently centered in Belgium as the company focuses on bringing its diagnostic products to market first in Europe, then in the U.S. and ultimately, worldwide.

Visit VolitionRx's website (http://www.volitionrx.com) or connect with us via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this press release may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that concern matters that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in the forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "aims," "targets," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "optimizing," "potential," "goal," "suggests," "could," "would," "should," "may," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate to the effectiveness of the Company's bodily-fluid-based diagnostic tests as well as the Company's ability to develop and successfully commercialize such test platforms for early detection of cancer. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements due to numerous risks and uncertainties. For instance, if we fail to develop and commercialize diagnostic products, we may be unable to execute our plan of operations. Other risks and uncertainties include the Company's failure to obtain necessary regulatory clearances or approvals to distribute and market future products in the clinical IVD market; a failure by the marketplace to accept the products in the Company's development pipeline or any other diagnostic products the Company might develop; the Company will face fierce competition and the Company's intended products may become obsolete due to the highly competitive nature of the diagnostics market and its rapid technological change; and other risks identified in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other documents that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release, and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

Nucleosomics, NuQ and HyperGenomics and their respective logos are trademarks and/or service marks of VolitionRx Limited and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this press release are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE VolitionRx Ltd
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Webroot, the market leader in next-generation endpoint security and cloud-based collective threat intelligence, today announced double-digit year-over-year bookings growth for both the quarter and the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016. The company's business segment bookings grew at 36 percent for the year, and the consumer segment at 11 percent. Rapid adoption of Webroot cybersecurity solutions by managed service providers (MSPs), an expanding network of strategic partners integrating Webroot threat intelligence, and growing market share in the consumer segment drove record results for the year.

"We continue to achieve record growth thanks to our effectiveness in threat protection and strong partnerships with service providers who introduce Webroot to millions of new customers every year," said Dick Williams, Webroot CEO. "Our cloud security platform enables us to rapidly innovate new cybersecurity solutions to protect against today's most malicious threats, and then we leverage partnerships to get those innovations to market with speed and efficiency. No other company in this space comes close to our track record of innovation and profitable growth."

Service Provider Focus Fuels International Business Expansion

Webroot added over 2,000 MSP customers in the past year, bringing the total to over 6,000. MSPs are rapidly adopting Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection because the cloud-based service is easy to deploy and manage, offers state-of-the-art malware defense, and enables them to build a highly scalable and profitable services business. Thanks to these benefits, MSPs and industry-leading distributors, such as Exeed Limited, Distology, DNA Connect, Mitsui Bussan Secure Direction (MBSD), and NinjaMSP, chose Webroot during the year.

Webroot also expanded its relationships with leading remote monitoring and management (RMM) providers. With Greater Intell, the company integrated Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection with Kaseya Virtual System Administrator (VSA) and made Webroot available to over 10,000 Kaseya customers, representing over 10 million endpoints worldwide.

New Strategic Security Partnerships Leverage Threat Intelligence

In the past year, Webroot added new partners and extended existing relationships with companies that integrate Webroot BrightCloud Threat Intelligence services into their offerings. Through MSPs and security partnerships, Webroot solutions now protect over 120,000 businesses.

Growth included a partnership with Citrix to complement its powerful NetScaler ADC platform with the Webroot BrightCloud IP Reputation Service, helping users uncover malicious IP addresses within their IT infrastructure. DenyAll also enhanced its web application firewalls with BrightCloud IP Reputation data to detect and block malicious incoming IPs. To protect critical IoT systems against rootkits and other advanced persistent threats, Lynx Software partnered with Webroot and combined its IoT security with LynxSecure Hypervisor.

These firms join Cisco, Aruba, F5 Networks, Palo Alto Networks, and other industry leaders who rely on Webroot threat intelligence to defend their customers against the most sophisticated cyber threats.

Growing Share in Consumer Cybersecurity

With 11 percent consumer bookings growth in the fiscal year, Webroot significantly outperformed the consumer security software market, which declined at -5.9 percent in 2015, according to Gartner. By expanding its market share and adding more than 5.2 million new home users, Webroot maintained its number one retail position in North America for cybersecurity.

Thought Leadership

Webroot's commitment to innovation and customer success led to a number of industry accolades throughout the year. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus was again honored with the PC Magazine Editors' Choice, scoring 4.5 out of 5 stars and making this the company's 18th award with the publication. The Computing Vendor Excellence Awards also selected Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection as the 2016 Best Endpoint Security.

Additionally, Webroot advanced the industry's understanding of the latest cyber threats with the release of the Webroot 2016 Threat Brief. The report revealed 97 percent of malware is unique to a specific endpoint, rendering signature-based security virtually useless. Webroot also released the results of its SMB Threat Brief, "Are Organizations Completely Ready to Stop Cyberattacks?", which revealed that many small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) feel they lack the resources to protect themselves against malware attacks. Both reports show that countering these threats requires Webroot's singular approach that leverages advanced, behavior-based techniques and up-to-the-second threat intelligence to detect attacks.

About Webroot

Webroot delivers next-generation endpoint security and threat intelligence services to protect businesses and individuals around the globe. Our smarter approach harnesses the power of cloud-based collective threat intelligence derived from millions of real-world devices to stop threats in real time and help secure the connected world. Our award-winning SecureAnywhere endpoint solutions and BrightCloud Threat Intelligence Services protect tens of millions of devices across businesses, home users, and the Internet of Things. Trusted and integrated by market-leading companies, including Cisco, F5 Networks, Aruba, Palo Alto Networks, A10 Networks, and more, Webroot is headquartered in Colorado and operates globally across North America, Europe, and Asia. Discover Smarter Cybersecurity solutions at www.webroot.com.

Social Media: Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook

2016 Webroot Inc. All rights reserved. Webroot, SecureAnywhere, Webroot SecureAnywhere, Webroot BrightCloud, BrightCloud, and Smarter Cybersecurity are trademarks or registered trademarks of Webroot Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

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CHICAGO, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Windsor Advantage, LLC, a leading provider of services to banks and credit unions, assisted a record number of small businesses with SBA 7(a) loans in the first six months of 2016. The $220 million in loans closed by Windsor in the first six months of 2016 represented more than 2% of all loans authorized by the Small Business Administration during the period. This record level of volume brings total loans closed by Windsor to more than $840 million since 2010.

"Windsor has shown the ability to scale with its clients, successfully managing a 30% increase in closings over the same period last year," said Shawn Andrews, Managing Director for Windsor. "With three bank clients in the top 100 nationally, we've also proven we're able to assist any size lender to become an industry leader."

Other significant events through the six months ended June 30, 2016 include:

Windsor loan servicing portfolio exceeded $750 million as of June 30, 2016 including more than $125 million in SBA small loans under $350 thousand .

loan servicing portfolio exceeded as of including more than in SBA small loans under . Windsor closed 400 loans for over $220 million to borrowers in 47 states including nearly 300 SBA small loans each for less than $350 thousand , helping provide capital to businesses in communities most in need of SBA financing.

closed 400 loans for over to borrowers in 47 states including nearly 300 SBA small loans each for less than , helping provide capital to businesses in communities most in need of SBA financing. Windsor now employs 25 experienced professionals with more than 150 years of combined SBA experience. More strategic hires are planned in the next quarter.

now employs 25 experienced professionals with more than 150 years of combined SBA experience. More strategic hires are planned in the next quarter. Will McClain has been promoted to Director. Will joined Windsor in 2012 from Bank of America and has successfully expanded the processing and closing desk to record setting volume.

has been promoted to Director. Will joined in 2012 from Bank of America and has successfully expanded the processing and closing desk to record setting volume. Mike Breckheimer has been promoted to Director. Mike joined Windsor from KPMG Management Consulting in 2014 and has been integral in the development of the Risk Management department and successful completion of Windsor's sixth SOC examination.

has been promoted to Director. Mike joined from KPMG Management Consulting in 2014 and has been integral in the development of the Risk Management department and successful completion of sixth SOC examination. Jeff Nogle has been promoted to Vice President and head of the processing and closing desk. Jeff joined Windsor from Charles River Associates in 2015.

About Windsor Advantage, LLC

Windsor provides a comprehensive SBA loan department to lenders nationwide. Services include strategy development, prequalification, loan structuring, application packaging, loan closing, secondary market sales, loan servicing and intensive servicing, SBA compliance and regulatory exam support. Windsor also provides continuing training and technical assistance to lenders at no cost.

With more than 150 years of collective SBA lending experience, cutting edge systems and rigid controls, Windsor Advantage is uniquely qualified to support its clients to develop and implement a thoughtful and profitable SBA 7(a) loan program.

Windsor Advantage is based in Chicago, Illinois, with offices in Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Charleston. For more information, call 312-724-6425 or visit WindsorAdvantage.com.

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BALLSBRIDGE, Ireland, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Yroo, the world's most powerful search engine for smart shoppers, announced it has secured a total of $11 million in seed funding from private investors. Additionally, Margaret Nelligan, partner with Aird & Berlis LLP, and Nick Zhu, CTO of Yroo, have joined the company's board.

Yroo will use the funds to invest in customer acquisition and retention in order to drive more click-throughs and purchases for merchant partners. The company will also continue to invest in development of its intelligent shopping search tool. The Yroo platform is currently growing by an average of 15,000 registered users per day, primarily driven by peer-to-peer recommendations.

"Yroo has focused on smart and lean growth from day one," said James Cunningham, CEO of Yroo. "We are already delivering a superior shopping search experience to consumers, expanding globally and driving impressive revenue for our merchant partners. This latest round of funding will further accelerate our development and evolution."

The announcement comes as Dublin, Ireland-based Yroo wraps up a first half of 2016 marked by impressive user growth, and on the heels of a successful beta program and international expansion in 2015. Yroo has more than 10 million users of its proprietary, intelligent social shopping search engine that shop, collect and share from over 100 million products from over 7,000 merchants. The Yroo platform helps consumers discover, compare and purchase items from the largest catalog of retail items across the globe.

"Most e-commerce shopping trips begin with a search, but shoppers' needs are underserved by the current search platforms and shopping aggregators on the market," said Walt Macnee, executive vice chairman of Mastercard. "Yroo is fully equipped to continue delivering a superior shopping experience to consumers, and offering more merchants, products and promotions than any other shopping site."

Margaret Nelligan will bring her experience as a leading corporate finance lawyer to Yroo while Zhu, who has an extensive background in IT consulting and systems development, will continue to drive the company's technological vision. They join current board members Gordon Cunningham, chairman of London Life Insurance Company and founding partner of Cumberland Private Wealth Management; David Galloway, former Chair of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and former CEO of Torstar Corporation and Harlequin; Peter Sharpe, former president and CEO of The Cadillac Fairview Corporation; Walt Macnee, executive vice chairman of Mastercard; Sean St John, executive vice president, managing director and head of fixed income, debt and equity capital markets at National Bank; John Staines, COO and global director of sales at Yroo; and James Cunningham, CEO of Yroo.

About Yroo

Yroo is the world's most powerful search engine for smart shoppers, enabling shoppers to discover, research and buy from the largest collections of products, stores and promotions available anywhere. Yroo offers its users a seamless search experience and empowers them to shop more than 100 million items from over 7,000 merchants all in one place. Currently, Yroo is actively transacting in over 35 countries across North and South America, Europe and Asia with its seven market-specific catalogs and eight supported languages.

To experience Yroo: https://yroo.com/

SOURCE Yroo

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New York, Aug 7 : Exposure to nature may help reduce levels of violence and aggressive behaviour among inmates in high security prisons, suggests a new research, adding that even watching nature videos can help them.

The findings showed that prison inmates who viewed nature videos showed reduced levels of aggression and were less likely to be disciplined than those in similar lock-ups.

"We need nature for our physical and psychological well-being," said Oregon-based psychotherapist Patricia H. Hasbach.

"Although direct contact with real nature is most effective, studies have shown that even indirect nature exposure can provide temporary relief from psychological stress in daily life," Hasbach added.

Further, negative emotions and behaviours such as aggression, distress, irritability and nervousness were reduced following the viewing of videos and lasted for several hours post-viewing.

The inmates who watched the nature videos committed 26 per cent fewer violent infractions.

"This is equivalent to 13 fewer violent incidents over the year, a substantial reduction in real world conditions, since nearly all such events result in injuries to inmates or officers," Hasbach said.

For the study, the team analysed a cellblock at The Snake River Correctional Institution in Oregon that housed 48 inmates.

Half of the inmates were provided nature videos to view during their scheduled indoor recreation time (three to four times per week over the course of a year).

Content included images of diverse biomes (e.g., ocean, forest, rivers), aquarium scenes, a fireplace with burning logs, Earth viewed from space and cloud fly-throughs.

The experiment may also act as a model for other correctional facilities to help limit stress, mental fatigue, violence and other negative behaviours among the prisoners, the researchers suggested.

The results were presented at the recently held American Psychological Association's 124th Annual Convention in Denver, US.
Srinagar, Aug 8 : Authorities on Monday continued curfew and restrictions in parts of Kashmir as life remained paralysed across the Valley for the 31st consecutive day.

Towns of Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian, and Pulwama were under curfew. Restrictions continued in old city areas of Srinagar, north Kashmir's Sopore, Baramulla, Handwara and Kupwara towns, police sources said.

For the first time since the ongoing violence started here, many senior officials of the district administration said they were not authorised to speak to the media.

"I am not authorised to speak to the media. You will get the official press release about the situation in the evening," said a senior district administration official.

Separatists have asked people to block roads leading to the Civil Secretariat in srinagar and other administrative offices.

Education instituions, business establishments, and public transport remained suspended for over a month on Monday.

Separatist leaders have been placed under preventive detention. Although they have somehow been managing to issue weekly protest calendars.

A total of 55 people have died and over 3,000 others including security personnel injured in the ongoing unrest that started on July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan was killed.
New Delhi, Aug 9 : An all-expense paid trip to the birthplace of Alfred Nobel awaits the winners of the Sweden India Nobel Memorial Quiz 2016, the first qualifying round of which is to be held at Indian Institute of Management - Indore on Wednesday, the Embassy of Sweden here said in a statement.

The Nobel Memorial Quiz is part of the Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

The national quiz competition will be held in eleven cities across India and the grand finale will take place in New Delhi during the Nobel Memorial Week on October 7 this year, the statement added.

Participation in the competition is open to all under-graduate and post-graduate students in teams of three, representing a college.

"National winners of the quiz will get an all-expense paid trip to Sweden, where they will get to visit headquarters of the partnering companies, Swedish universities and the Nobel Museum," the statement said.

The Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week 2016 comprises a number of events ranging from seminars and panel discussions to competitions for students and cultural performances.

These events take place across Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Indore and New Delhi.

There will also be daily questions and prizes to be won on the 'Sweden in India' Facebook page, according to the embassy statement.
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 9 : The Kerala police has sought the help of Interpol to nab some foreign nationals suspected to be behind the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 2.50 lakh from ATMs using duplicate cards.

Additional Director General of Police B. Sandhya on Tuesday visited an ATM of the State Bank of India located in the heart of the city.

"Scientific evidences is being collected. We have got in touch with other state police and have also sought the help of Interpol," Sandhya told reporters.

Some Russian and Kazakh nationals, who were in the state capital for 10 days, are suspected to be involved, according to police.

The matter came to light after 50 complaints were registered by city residents of their money being withdrawn fraudulently. All of them used to frequent the SBI ATM at Alathara here.

The police, after initial probe, said the gang had fixed an electronic device that looked like a smoke alarm in the ATM kiosk, and an ATM card reader.

The police said the electronic device took a picture when the customer keyed in his secret PIN number, while the device placed in the card reader got the information of that particular card.

The gang made a duplicate card and withdrew money from ATMs located outside the city.

The visuals of two foreign nationals working on the 'smoke alarm' inside a SBI ATM was shown on TV channels on Tuesday.

"I was surprised to get an SMS alert on Sunday when I was home that there were two withdrawals of Rs 10,000 each in a space of two minutes. I rushed to the ATM and when I took a statement of my account, I found out that I had lost money. Later I came to know that the withdrawal had taken place in Worli in Mumbai," said an SBI customer.

Meanwhile, a special team has been formed under IG of Police, Manoj Abraham, to probe the incident. A group of officials has already left for Mumbai.

"The state police chief has informed all bank officials to see that they conduct an immediate inspection of all ATM kiosks to ensure that everything is fine," Abraham told reporters.

The police has also advised people to change the PIN of their ATM card to prevent any foul play.
Kolkata, Aug 9 : With one more confirmed death due to dengue, the death toll due to the outbreak of the disease in West Bengal has gone up to 14, a state Health Department official said on Tuesday.

"In the last 48 hours, 150 new cases have been reported, taking the total number of dengue positive cases to 1,742 since January," Health Services Director Biswaranjan Satpathy said.

The latest death was reported on July 4 in South 24 Parganas but was confirmed on Tuesday as a dengue death.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) issued show cause notices to 32 health officials, including two doctors, for alleged dereliction in duty.

KMC Mayor-in-Council, Health, Atin Ghosh attributed "late arrival" and "non-performance" of duties as the reasons for the notices to the officials.

Ghosh said the KMC will endeavour to discourage use of plastic cups across the city to contain the dengue outbreak.

"Plastic cups are a big menace. Besides choking the drains, these cups act as breeding grounds for mosquitoes during the rainy season. All the councillors have been asked to urge the people as well shops to refrain from using these cups in their respective areas," said Ghosh.
Mumbai, Aug 10 : Hindi feature film "Island City", which features critically acclaimed actors like Vinay Pathak and Tannishtha Chatterjee, will release in India on September 2.

The Ruchika Oberoi directorial had its world premiere at the 72nd Venice Film Festival 2015 in the Venice Days section, where it won the FEDEORA (Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean) Award for Best Debut Director.

"'Island City' has had an incredible festival journey so far but there is no greater joy than having one's film released at home. This is now becoming a reality due to the efforts of National Film Development Corporation which has nurtured this film every step of the way, from script stage through production and now to release," Oberoi said in a statement.

"With the support of Drishyam Films, who are on board as distribution partners, we hope to have a substantial theatrical presence and reach out to audiences across several cities," she added.

The film also features Amruta Subhash and Chandan Roy Sanyal.

"Island City" had been selected at 26 international film festivals and won top awards at five festivals.

The film connects three stories -- two black comedies and a tragic-comic tale of love showing an ever-changing city in a time of uneasy transition.
Mumbai/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 10 : A Romanian man, arrested in Mumbai on Tuesday, was sent to police custody on Wednesday for a sensational ATM heist in the Kerala capital.

A four-member Kerala Police team in Mumbai interrogated Gabriel Marian, who has reportedly admitted to committing the crime. He said he was part of a gang which included three other Romanians.

The Kerala Police are likely to bring him to the state on Thursday.

Marian was taken into custody on Tuesday night from Mumbai. He identified two others involved in the crime as Bogdean Florian and Christian Victor.

The fourth, also a Romanian, too has been identified.

Kerala Police officials suspect that the other three may have left India.

Marian was detained while he was withdrawing money from an ATM in Station Plaza.

All the Romanians are believed to have stayed at a hotel in the Kerala capital.

They placed electronic equipment in a SBI kiosk, which enabled them to get the details of card holders who withdrew money from the ATM.

Using the stolen data, the gang withdrew money from Mumbai.

On Sunday, a few ATM cardholders got SMS alerts on mobile telephones stating money had been withdrawn from their accounts.

Around 50 people complained to the police here. The total loss to these bank customers has been put around Rs 2.50 lakh.

When they checked the visuals of CCTV camera, officials spotted two foreigners working on the 'smoke alarm' inside a SBI ATM.

The police have urged all those who used their ATM card at this kiosk to change their pins and have also asked all the banks to ensure that their kiosks do not contain any external fixtures.

Meanwhile, the State Bank of Travancore on Wednesday reimbursed the losses suffered by those who used the ATM.

Kerala Police chief Loknath Behra told reporters that they have urged the Reserve Bank of India to ensure that proper safety mechanisms are adopted by banks to make their system foolproof.
Itanagar, Aug 10 : The body of former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, who committed suicide on Tuesday, was flown to his Walla village in Anjaw district on Wednesday for last rites.

Pul, who stepped down from the post last month following a Supreme Court order, was found hanging from a ceiling fan at the official residence of the Chief Minister in Itanagar which he had not yet vacated.

Pul's body was kept in the Chief Minister's residence since Tuesday after autopsy and people from different walks of life paid floral tributes till late in the night.

Several political leaders also paid their respects.

"Some of his colleagues and family members, including wife Dangwimsai, boarded the chopper that carried the body of Pul," a Congress leader said, adding the cremation will be held on Thursday.

Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Gegong Apang, who was present at the helipad, demanded a through inquiry into the circumstances leading to Pul's death.

Arunachal Pradesh has declared a three-day mourning. A holiday has been declared for Thursday when the last rites will take place.

Meanwhile, the situation in Itanagar has returned to normal after the sporadic incidents of violence on Tuesday.

The government, however, suspended the services of SMS, GPRS, 3G and 4G of all service providers in the state following fears of communal clashes.

"Electronic communication tools like SMS and mobile data services are being used for furthering the objective of spreading communal messages leading to communal violence," a government order said.
Manali, Aug 11 : The excavation of a tunnel under the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh, one of the country's strategically most important infrastructure projects, has hit another geological surprise that has slowed the project, an official said.

This time, the challenge is posed by a "weak strata" that is hampering the rock cutting to make way for the 8.8-km horseshoe shaped tunnel, an engineering marvel that will ensure all-weather connectivity to the landlocked Lahaul Valley from this Himachal Pradesh tourist resort.

Weak rock strata is an important factor in mining or tunnelling as it hampers mechanised and rapid mining/tunnelling techniques.

"For the past 10 days we have been encountering the weak strata with high overburden on the south portal (towards Manali) side. This is hampering further excavation," an official of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which is involved in its construction, told IANS.

He said the situation worsened three-four days back as the boring machines became ineffective. "For the time being we have slowed down the excavation."

"We are taking mechanical measures as the rock cover above the tunnel is very high and the existing strata are under stress. If such conditions continue, it will definitely delay further excavation," added the official.

Geologists say because of loose strata and high rock cover in the Himalayas, the boring machines are not effective.

A similar problem exists in the tunnel construction of the 800-MW Parbati Stage II hydropower project in Kullu district which is being executed by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), says a geologist.

The BRO, a wing of the defence ministry, aims to open the Rohtang tunnel, which was earlier scheduled to be completed by 2015, for traffic in 2019.

Over 350 men and more than a dozen Indian and European engineers have been working day and night to excavate the tunnel on both sides, located at altitudes ranging between 3,053 and 3,080 metres.

The project is being executed by the BRO in collaboration with Strabag-Afcons, a 60:40 joint venture between Strabag SE of Austria and India's Afcons Infrastructure Ltd.

Close to seven kilometres of the Rohtang tunnel have been dug since work commenced in November 2011 and the remaining 1.8 km are aimed to be excavated by June next year, said the BRO.

Earlier, a geological surprise in the form of a glacial-fed Seri rivulet had sprung up in 2012 during work in the tunnel below the 3,978-m Rohtang Pass.

The 600-metre highly fragile strata, also on the south portal, had slowed down its construction for almost three years.

The north portal of the tunnel that lies towards the Lahaul Valley is encountering fewer geological surprises, say BRO officials.

But more than four months in a year the excavation towards the north portal remains suspended owing to heavy snowfall. It's also prone to flash floods and snow avalanches.

However, work on the south portal, 25 km from Manali, continues even during winter.

BRO Chief Engineer Brig D.N. Bhatt told reporters last month that the project cost has escalated to Rs 4,000 crore from Rs 1,458 crore owing to tough geological conditions in the Himalayas.

Once ready, the Rohtang tunnel will be a boon for the cold deserts of Lahaul Valley, where over 20,000 people remain cut off from the rest of India in winter owing to the closure of the Rohtang Pass, a major attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists and located 52 km from Manali.

Besides reducing road distance by approximately 46 km and saving travel time of about four hours, the tunnel will open up new vistas of trade and tourism and generate jobs for the locals.

The tunnel will provide ample room for two-way traffic and is designed to cater to a maximum vehicular speed of 80 km an hour.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
Brasilia, Aug 11 : Brazilian lawmakers from the Worker's Party have sought suspension of the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, and help from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in sorting out legal matters.

Rousseff herself also has signed the petition filed with the commission, Xinhua news agency reported.

In their petition dated Wednesday, the lawmakers called for the suspension of the impeachment process until the legal matters surrounding the impeachment are clarified.

"We are experiencing a coup d'etat in Brazil that relies on the participation of parliament and the omission of the judicial system," said Wadih Damous, one of the deputies who signed the petition.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to put Rousseff on trial, one step closer to her permanent removal from office, after she was suspended by the Senate for 180 days.
Sydney, Aug 11 : Australia's state parliament of New South Wales (NSW) is considering a proposal which will decriminalise abortion, local media reported on Thursday.

Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi has introduced a bill to NSW parliament that would remove abortion from the Crimes Act and bring the state's laws covering terminations via abortions in line with those living in Victoria, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Decriminalising abortion is essential," Faruqi said.

"Women and all people choosing to have an abortion as well as their doctors are not criminals and we need to remove the stigma and shame associated with it."

At present, NSW and Queensland are the only two states in Australia where abortion is illegal.

However, women in NSW can have their pregnancies terminated if a doctor believes their physical or mental health is at risk.
New Delhi : Dear politicians, I hope you will read this before you huddle on Friday to discuss the deadly situation in the Kashmir Valley.

I am writing to you as a Kashmiri, not a Kashmir expert. Every word comes from my heart.

Yours won't be the first all-party meet the central government has convened on Kashmir. There have been many. Rajiv Gandhi led an all-party delegation to Kashmir in 1991 when the valley and other parts of the state were burning.

How that visit ended is well recorded. A detailed account of the meeting Gandhi and others held is in Jagmohan's "My Frozen Turbulence In Kashmir". The meeting was famously titled by the Kashmir media as "nishastam, khurdam, barkhwastam" (They gathered, ate and fled.)

The fire in Kashmir kept blazing and is still blazing blisteringly hot. Tens of thousands have died in three decades of a conflict that has its roots in 1947. Rights groups say more than 80,000 have been killed. The government puts the number at around 50,000. Unfortunately, human sacrifices turn into mere statistics after a certain number.

Kashmiris were again on the streets in 2008 against the transfer of forest land to the Amarnath temple management. An all-party meeting was convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It ended with an appeal for calm after weeks of deadly tension in which nearly 60 people died. A resolution was passed calling for a "dialogue" to resolve the issue. The summer of discontent gave way to a winter of calm.

Kashmir erupted again in 2010 over the killing of three civilians in a staged shootout. The civilians were passed off as foreign terrorists. Manmohan Singh again called for an all-party meeting, which announced measures to douse the fire. These included financial packages in terms of jobs, rehabilitation of families of victims of violence and reducing the number of troopers in civilian areas.

Kashmir is again on fire today. All previous all-party meetings and financial packages have failed to end the turmoil. You know why? Because these meetings have been held -- as Kashmiris see it -- on false pretensions that Kashmiris are demanding jobs and development.

In the last nearly 70 years, the issue has evaded a resolution. The main reason behind the repeated failure is the lies we all speak about Kashmir. When you sit down on Friday, please start by speaking the truth about Kashmir: that Kashmiris are on the streets demanding "Azadi".

Blaming Pakistan -- no one denies its involvement in the state -- for everything going wrong is an oversimplification of a complex issue. Rulers -- in New Delhi and in the state -- have failed Kashmiris with broken promises and betrayed them every time they have reposed their faith in politicians. Admit that.

If you really want the issue to end once and for all, make a new beginning by admitting the truth that Kashmiris want their right to self-determination. Be assertive in speaking the political truth about Kashmir. Financial packages cannot hide ugly realities.

You will gain respect and earn faith from all Kashmiris. And that is when you can sow the seeds of a just resolution to this raging conflict. It was nice for a change to hear a handful of MPs in Parliament speak about the atrocities of the past one month in the Kashmir Valley.

However, if you again decide to hide the reality, it will be criminal waste of yet another opportunity. It is a wound that continues to fester. Heal it now. And there is no better remedy than speaking the truth about it.

All the best for your Friday endeavour! I will keenly watch it -- like millions of others. Please don't let it become one more "nishastam, khurdam, barkhwastam" on Kashmir.

Sincerely yours, Sarwar Kashani (The writer can be contacted at sarwar.k@ians.in. The views expressed are personal)
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to increase the maternity leave to 26 weeks from the present 12 weeks.

The bill provides for maternity leave of 26 weeks to women for two surviving children, and also includes the commissioning and adopting mothers.

The surrogate mothers have, however, been left out, a point which was objected to by several opposition members. They sought Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya's assurance that the government will examine it and take action.

The bill, which will now go to the Lok Sabha, will lead to the ratification of International Labour Organization convention number 183 that provides for 14 weeks of maternity benefit to women.

The bill also facilitates 'work from home' for nursing mothers once the leave period ends and has made creche facility mandatory in respect of establishments with 50 or more employees.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Engineering conglomerate Escorts on Thursday announced the divestment of its OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and export business of auto product division.

According to the company, it has divested its OEM and export business of auto product division to Badve Engineering, Pune, in an all cash deal.

The company said that the deal is part of the planned strategic reorientation of the business to focus on core verticals in the agri-machinery, construction equipment and railway equipment.

"We believe that the transfer of OEM and export business to Badve Engineering will help us to focus on our core areas," said Dipankar Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer of Escorts Auto Products and Escorts Railways Products.

The company's auto products business comprises of an extensive product basket catering to OEMs and replacement markets in India and overseas.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar and Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Raymond Tshibanda N'Tungamulongo held a meeting here on Thursday during which the two sides discussed the entire gamut of various aspects of the bilateral relationship.

"The Foreign Minister of DRC conveyed his government's deep appreciation for the assistance provided by India to his country in areas of skill development and capacity building," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said during his weekly media briefing here.

"India has funded several projects in DRC through concessional lines of credit amounting to approximately $ 495 million," he said.

"The projects have been in the diverse areas such as setting up a cement plant, acquisition of buses, rural water supply, hydro-electric power projects and power distribution projects."

The issue of the Congolese national who was was beaten to death in Delhi in May this year by three youths after an altercation over the hiring of an auto-rickshaw as well as the subsequent reprisals against Indian nationals in Congo also came up for discussion.

Swarup said that N'Tungamulongo "condemned the recent unfortunate incidents".

"He appreciated the pro-active steps undertaken by the government of India in both the incidents and requested for speedy trial so that justice could be done," he said.

"He also assured that DRC government will take all necessary measures to provide security to the Indian nationals residing in DRC."

Akbar informed the visiting minister of the swift action taken by Indian law enforcement agencies to apprehend the culprits involved and "underlined that as people, society and nation, we do not believe in racial discrimination", the spokesperson said.

According to Swarup, N'Tungamulongo expressed DRC's support to India's candidature for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the 2021-22 term for which elections will be held at the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York in June 2020.

"He said that DRC is aware of India's immense contribution to UN's Peacekeeping operations as it itself hosts a strong Indian peacekeeping contingent in DRC," Swarup said.
Damascus, Aug 11 : Intense battles raged on Thursday in Syria's Aleppo city, hours after government troops unleashed pre-emptive strikes on rebel positions in its countryside.

Fierce fighting continued between the Syrian army, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah and Russian air cover, and the rebel's Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as Al Nusra, in all areas in the southern countryside of Aleppo, Xinhua news agency quoted a source as saying on condition of anonymity.

Artillery and rocket shelling by the Syrian army on the positions of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham left the rebels in a state of "confusion", the source added.

The Syrian army carried out a pre-emptive strike against a rebel position in the countryside of Aleppo on Wednesday, inflicting hefty losses among the opposition militants.

The source noted that the rebels were preparing to unleash an all-out offensive in Aleppo.

The air strikes targeted the gatherings of the rebels, killing "large numbers of them and destroying armoured vehicles outfitted with machine guns," state run news agency Sana said.

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham announced on August 8 that the next phase of battles in Aleppo will be a wide-scale offensive to "liberate the entire city" from government forces.

The rebel group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, or the Army of Conquest, an alliance of several rebel factions, was reportedly formed in March 2015 under the supervision and coordination of Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini.

The group seized most of Idlib province in northwestern Syria in 2015.

Aleppo is strategic for all warring parties due to its key location beside the Turkish border and role as Syria's industrial capital.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : With the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Congress setting aside the bitterness between them, the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament has been the most productive in the recent past.

According to official sources, the productivity percentage for the Lok Sabha till Thursday -- the penultimate day of the session -- has been near 100 per cent, while the Rajya Sabha utilised between 98-99 per cent of the allotted time.

In the process, the floor managers for the government, including Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar, have been left elated.

"Overall, it has been a good session. We had smooth sail in both houses and credit for this should go to the members," Ananth Kumar said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu was equally delighted when he said "it has been good monsoon and also good monsoon session".

Both Kumar and his junior colleague S.S. Ahluwalia have thanked Lok Sabha members for allowing to create a "history" on July 19 when the Lok Sabha passed The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill and The Dentists (Amendment) Bill to replace the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) ordinances.

"This is for the first time two ordinances are replaced by bills on one day and the Lok Sabha passed both the bills. This is a sort of record I have not seen in last 20 years," Kumar said.

The beginning of the session itself saw positive signals and according to legislative data, till July 25 itself, productivity in the Lok Sabha touched over 80 per cent while in the Rajya Sabha it was about 75 per cent.

The session that began on July 18 will conclude on Friday, August 12.

The passing of 122nd Constitution Amendment Bill on Goods and Services Tax (GST), an important legislative measure in terms of reforms, was the major highlight of the session.

The Constitution amendment bill -- the enabling draft legislation -- for GST was on August 3 first passed by the Rajya Sabha where it was stalled since 2015. The Lok Sabha gave the nod to the Bill as passed by the Rajya Sabha, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also making an intervention on August 8.

"The passing of the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill relating to the GST by huge consensus in the Rajya Sabha was the hallmark of the third week of Monsoon Session of Parliament," a statement from Parliamentary Affairs ministry said.

Productivity in the Rajya Sabha seemed to be a pleasant surprise as the BJP and the main opposition Congress. Over the months the two rival sides had decided to corner each other over issues like political crisis in Arunachal Pradesh, besides alleged corruption in Haryana land deal and AgustaWestland helicopter deal.

Even a few Congress members in the Lok Sabha were amazed to see that government floor managers and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley kept backroom channel open with Congress leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad.

On the eve of monsoon session, an FIR was filed against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda for alleged irregularities in the allotment of land to The National Herald newspaper.

But contrary to expectations, the BJP did not rake up the issue and party bosses had even restrained controversial leaders like Subramanian Swamy from raising such contentious matters.

But some ruckus did prevail. In the Lok Sabha, members from Andhra Pradesh raised special status bogey and raised slogans in the house but it did not disturb smooth functioning of the lower house.

On July 25, the Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for the day post lunch as Congress members insisted to have a discussion on private member's bill on special package for Andhra Pradesh. The stalemate continued even next day.

However, better sense prevailed later and on July 27 afternoon, the upper house took up a crucial debate on price rise.

The debate on skyrocketing price rise figured again in the Lok Sabha on July 28 in the form of a general discussion under Rule 193.

Yet again in the Rajya Sabha, paving the way to establish corpus to pay for afforestation activities, the upper house also passed the Compensatory Afforestation Bill.

The Bill will ensure that a total amount of unused Rs 40,000 crore be used to establish corpus funds for afforestation programme. This law will help several states.

In the third week, the Rajya Sabha passed five more bills including the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill, 2016, Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, Dentists (Amendment) Bill, and National Institutes of Technology, and the Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill. All these bills were already passed by the Lok Sabha.

It is significant to note that the Rajya Sabha recorded a very dismal performance in last year's monsoon session as it saw washout of proceedings in 2010-11 during the stint of Congress-led UPA in power.

For its part, the Lok Sabha also passed the Enforcement of Security, Interest and Recovery of Debts, Loss and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016. It also voted in full the Supplementary Demands for Grants (General) 2016-17 and passed the relevant Appropriation Bill, 2016.

During the session, the Lok Sabha also held discussions on Sustainable Development Goals, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and atrocities against Dalits.

According to sources, Lok Sabha spent about 40 per cent of time on non-legislative activities and over 48 per cent on legislative activities. Both the houses also dedicated between 15 to 20 per cent of time successfully on question hour.

Satyanarayan Jatiya, BJP member in the Rajya Sabha, thanked members from all parties for the cooperation in smooth conduct of the proceedings. "Perhaps everyone has realised that stalling parliamentary proceedings helped no body," he said.

Besides major ministries like finance that saw passage of a number of key bills, this session will be also remembered for taking up and passing of key labour-related draft legislation.

Parliament took up important labour issues and the Lok Sabha passed bills like The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016 that seeks to enhance the working overtime hours up to 100 per quarter and boost manufacturing sector.

The Lok Sabha also gave its nod to The Employees Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2016.

Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the new law will provide for higher compensation in case an employee is injured in industrial accident.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill seeking to prohibit employment of children below 14 years in any "profession" was also passed.

Dattatreya said the legislation was "historic" and will go a long way in curbing child labour.

Importantly, for the first time provisions have been included that would ensure that "adolescents between 14 and 18 years" cannot be employed in any hazardous work. The Rajya Sabha had already passed the bill.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : In an unprecedented move, the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) on Thursday wrote to the Prime Minister's Office complaining about the industry watchdog and contendiong that some of its moves discriminated against existing players.

The move comes after the association sent a letter on similar lines to the Department of Telecom (DoT) that also charged that Reliance Jio had launched full commercial service in the garb of test runs, while expressing concern over some consultation papers floated by the watchdog recently.

In a rebuttal to this, Reliance Industries has already written to the government and the watchdog that the tests being carried out for Jio 4G services before a full fledged launch not only had legal sanctity, but were also aimed at ensuring high quality offering in a market where call drops are common place.

The association's letter to PMO all along spoke about its misgivings in a generic note, while also registering its protest against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). It only named Reliance Jio, saying the new entrant had divergent views on the subject.

"These papers seen along with other recent TRAI decisions, point to a pattern of discrimination against the existing mobile operators," said the letter addressed to the PMO.

"It seems some of the (watchdog's) papers have been crafted and timed to serve the interests of some new entrants in the sector, with complete disregard for the massive investments made by the existing operators," it said.

It also sought an appointment with Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Nripendra Misra to whom the three-page letter is addressed, and signed by the association Director General Rajan S. Mathews.

Earlier the association said that Jio's tests, with as many as 1.5 million users and growing, were choking the points of inter-connect between the new player and the incumbents, as the volume of data are around 25-30 times the Indian average and 8-10 times the global benchmarks.

But Jio countered saying, despite keeping the regulator and the Department of Telecom informed about the points of inter-connect, it was not being provided with adequate access to terminate the calls/data -- an issue, which was raised at various forums.

The letter to the PMO also spoke about mobile termination charges -- that is the fee paid by the operator from whose network a subscriber's call emanates to the another where it terminates.

"The present inter-connect regime was implemented by TRAI in March 2015 and it was clearly stated by TRAI itself in 2015 that the next review would take place in 2017-18," the letter to PMO said.

"It is, therefore, surprising to see the urgency displayed by TRAI in this matter, with the consultation process initiated at such an early date and despite the fact that the matter is sub-judice in various courts of law."

The letter also alleged that there were also flaws with TRAI's consultation paper on termination of internet telephony calls and call drop regulation.

"The industry believes such an increasing disenfranchisement of existing operators through these regulatory decisions bodes ill for investments, industry growth, and customer services and upsets the well established level-playing field paradigm."
Islamabad, Aug 11 : At least four militants were killed in a shootout with paramilitary troops in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Thursday, local media reported.

Dawn News said the militants were planning to launch an attack on Independence Day celebrations on August 14 in the city.

Pakistan Rangers conducted a search operation in Manghopir area of Karachi, capital city of Sindh province, on an intelligence tip-off.

The terrorists opened fire at the troops when being cordoned, triggering the shootout.

The Rangers spokesperson said they recovered weapons from the hideout of the suspected militants.

The forces continued operation in other areas of the city following the incident.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The government on Thursday said that it has asked the Pakistan government to release an Indian national, Hamid Nehal Ansari, who is lodged in a Pakistani jail where he was beaten up, as his sentencing period is over .

"We have reminded the government of Pakistan of its responsibility to ensure his security," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing here.

"We have also conveyed that, according to our understanding, since his sentence of three years is already over he should be released and repatriated to India at the earliest," he said.

Ansari was attacked twice in the Peshawar Central Prison in the last two months, Dawn online quoted his lawyer as telling a court on August 4. The lawyer said a jail official also daily thrashed Ansari.

Jail Superintendent Masoodur Rehman, however, argued that the injuries were of minor nature and that such incidents "kept happening" in prisons.

Ansari is kept in a death cell. Superintendent Rehman said in his statement in the court that the Indian "can't be kept in a normal barrack with other prisoners for the sake of his security".

Ansari's lawyer said he wanted security for his client but the jail official had refused to give such a guarantee.

The official had promised to shift Ansari to a hospital after the attack but did not do so. The lawyer also alleged that a prison warder used to beat Ansari daily.

Ansari, who reportedly possessed a fake Pakistani identity card, was arrested by intelligence agencies in Kohat district in November 2012. He was convicted by a military court in February this year.

Swarup said on Thursday that on August 5, India again strongly took up the matter of the security of Ansari while he was in the custody of Pakistani authorities.

"This was done specifically in the light of reports that he was attacked again in prison in which he is lodged," he said.

The spokesperson also said that the External Affairs Ministry was in touch with Ansari's family.

"As we speak, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is meeting his family in Parliament House," he said.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday urged against politicising the issue of atrocities on Dalits and said society must take it as a challenge to bring an end to such incidents.

"There should be no politics over this issue. We should take it as a challenge to end this injustice," Rajnath Singh told Lok Sabha in a reply to the day-long debate on the issue of atrocities on Dalits.

"People from various castes and communities in India live together. Our ancestors believed in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (World is one family)," he said.

The debate was held following outrage over incidents of flogging of Dalits, including in Una in Gujarat, by cow vigilantes.
Srinagar, Aug 11 : Normal life remained crippled in the Kashmir Valley for the 34th day in a row on Thursday and is expected to remain the same for at least a week again after separatists extended their dawn-to-dusk shutdown call till August 18.

In a joint statement, the separatist leaders -- Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yaseen Malik -- asked people to open their businesses from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on all these days except for August 15 when there will be complete 24-hour shutdown.

They have also called for protest marches during these days. Authorities are likely to impose curfew and restrictions to foil these marches, the way they did on Thursday.

The separatists had asked people to march to "martyrs" graveyad in Eidgah of Srinagar. But all roads leading to the sprawling prayer ground in the heart of the volatile Downtown city were sealed and people in and around the area were not allowed to move out.

Dozens of sympathizers of separatists were detained as they tried to defy curfew and march towards the Eidgah.

Geelani and Umar Farooq, under house arrest since July 9, tried to defy restrictions. They were briefly detained at police stations near their residences.

A police spokesperson said here that the situation in the valley remained normal barring few stone-throwing incidents at some places.

"Miscreants pelted stones on security forces in (south Kashmir). They were chased away by using mild force," the spokesperson said.

"In Srinagar, a group of miscreants pelted stones on security force deployments near Kakasarai. They were also chased away."

There were no reports of any fresh injuries.

The Kashmir Valley has been on the boil for the past 34 days following the July 8 killing of popular rebel commander Burhan Wani. Some 56 people, including teenagers, have been killed and thousands injured in the weeks of street demonstrations and clashes between security forces and protesters.

Most parts of the valley have been wrapped in strict curfew in what authorities say is a preventive measure to avoid law and order from slipping out of control.

Educational institutes, shops, businesses, private and most government offices have remained shut in the last 34 days of unending turmoil.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an all-party meeting in Delhi on Friday to seek consultations on how to defuse the Kashmir tensions.
Islamabad, Aug 11 : Pakistan on Thursday expressed its concerns over continuing violence in Jammu and Kashmir and urged the international community to check the "brutalities" in the Valley.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakariya urged the international community to check the "blatant human rights violations" in Kashmir.

He noted that countries including the US, China, Turkey and Azerbaijan and human rights organisations have expressed their concerns over the situation in Kashmir.

Over 55 people have died in violent clashes with security forces in Kashmir valley following the killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideeen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

Indian officials say that Pakistan is interfering in its internal affairs by trying to internationalise the issue, referring to statements made by Pakistani leaders.
Rome, Aug 11 : A lawmaker for the anti-immigrant Northern League party on Thursday urged Italy to ban the head-to-toe Islamic burqa in public places.

"The Northern League tabled proposals in parliament a month ago to outlaw the burqa in public places in order to allow people to be recognised and to ensure greater security," said MP Paolo Grimoldi.

"We ask for our bill to be debated by lawmakers immediately after the summer recess," Grimoldi said.

"Lombardy is the only Italian region to have banned the burqa in hospitals and other public places," he said.

Elsewhere in Italy, Muslims are exempt from a law forbidding people from walking around in public in headgear that covers the face - including motorbike helmets - Grimoldi noted.

A ban on the burqa in public is among 27 proposals to boost security in the wake of recent terror attacks in Germany signed up to by interior ministers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrat party and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : Discussing the issue of atrocities against Dalits in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia trained his guns at the central government and said its aim is to "suppress India" and "repress India".

The Member of Parliament from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, in an impassioned speech, said, "You asked to scrap reservations for Dalits... you can't be on this side and that side. You need to take a stand based on principles."

He asked what was the significance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rebuke to those committing atrocities against Dalits when they don't listen to him.

"Fringe has become centre and centre has become fringe," he said, and emphasised, that if proper actions had been taken after the Dadri lynching then the Una incident wouldn't have happened.
Dhaka, Aug 11 : An Indian elephant that was swept across the Bangladesh border in strong river currents over a month ago has been tranquilised before being released in a safari park, officials said on Thursday.

The elephant, that strayed into Bangladesh from India on June 27, was tranquilised at village Koyra in Jamalpur on Thursday.

Veterinary surgeon of the forest rescue team Dr Syed tranquilised the adult male elephant with a metal dart in the afternoon.

After the tranquilisation, the animal lost control and started jumping madly for 10-15 minutes and finally fell into a pond.

Later, members of the rescue team with the help of hundreds of local people lifted the sedated elephant from the pond, The Daily Star said.

Forest authorities said the elephant would be taken to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Gazipur.

The rescue team comprising locals, policemen and administrative officials was led by Tapan Kumar Dey, a retired conservator of forests.

"We fired the shot around 2 p.m., as soon as we saw the animal moving into dry land. He kept walking around but eventually lost consciousness at Koyra Village," veterinary surgeon Syed Hossain told bdnews24.com.

"It will take some time to move him. There are no proper roads here. So we will have to chain him here for at least a few days," Dey said.
Hawaii (Arunachal Pradesh), Aug 11 : Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul was cremated on Thursday with full state honours at his native village at Walla (Hawaii) in Anjaw district.

Thousands of people gathered to pay homage and bid a tearful adieu to Pul, who was regarded as a "popular chief minister" of this mountainous state.

Pul (47) was found hanging from a ceiling fan in the Chief Minister's official bungalow in Itanagar on Tuesday morning.

Pul's eldest son Ojing Pul went around the funeral pyre before consigning it to flames as per the Mishmi tribal traditions just before sunset.

Political leaders cutting across party lines were present to pay their last respects to the veteran Congress leader.

Assam's Public Works Department Minister Parimal Shukla Baidya accompanied by BJP legislator Padma Hazarika attended the cremation on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

National People's Party President Conrad K. Sangma, who is also a sitting Lok Sabha member from Tura constituency, rushed to Itanagar to pay his last respects to Pul at Itanagar on Wednesday before his body was airlifted to his native village.

Describing Kalikho Pul as "a man of practical and a visionary leader", Baidy said he was very impressed with the late Congressman's work and vision for Arunachal.

Arunachal's BJP legislator Mohesh Chai, who spoked on behalf of the bereaved family members, said the premature death of Pul was not only a big loss for his family and Anjaw district but also for the state and the country.

Several state legislators, including Mohesh Chai, Kameng Dolo, Jarkar Gamlin, Tamar Murtem, Tage Taki, Laisam Simai and Mutchu Mithi, state BJP president Tapir Gao and People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) chairman Kameng Ringu attended the cremation, though Chief Minister Pema Khandu and former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki were conspicuous by their absence.

Meanwhile, law and order in Itanagar, the state capital of Arunachal Pradesh, remained peaceful on Thursday, with no fresh incidents of violence reported.

Supporters of Kalikho Pul had gone on a rampage, damaged official residences of at least two ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and also damaged government and private vehicles.
New Delhi, Aug 11 : The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation on Thursday launched a short film series titled "An Open Mind", in honour of those who are driving positive behaviour change in their communities across the country by helping eliminate open defecation and adopt safe sanitation practices.

The five short films showcase real-life stories of individuals from different walks of life who have "made the Swachh Bharat mission their own by adopting innovative ideas to encourage the use of toilets" in their communities and adopt safe waste treatment practices, officials said.

"These stories are examples of a wider citizens movement across the country to encourage the adoption of safe sanitation practices and realize the dream of an open defecation free India by 2019," they said.

At the launch event, Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Narendra Singh Tomar felicitated grassroots sanitation champions featured in the movies.

In his address, he said that the development of India will remain incomplete without complete freedom from open defecation.
Paris, Aug 12 : France on Thursday condemned Israeli forces' demolition of French and EU humanitarian structures in the West Bank which have increased alarmingly this year, the country's foreign ministry said.

"France expresses its serious concern over the accelerating pace of demolitions and confiscations of humanitarian structures for the Palestinian population in Area C," Xinhua reported.

Area C makes up 60 per cent of the West Bank. It has been under complete Israeli military control since the mid-1990s.

Paris also called on Israeli authorities "to stop these operations which are contrary to international law."

On August 3, Israeli forces demolished France-funded structures in the West Bank, the third such operation since the start of the year.

EU buildings aimed at helping Palestinians affected by earlier demolitions, were also destroyed in Hebron, according to the ministry.
Founded in 1943 and located in Amarillo since the 1960s, weve slowly grown into the premiere commercial roofing contractor here, states operating unit president Tracy Honea.

Tecta America CS of Amarillo, Texas, has received the most prestigious contractor award GAF has to offer: The GAF Presidents Club Award. This highly coveted award recognizes Tecta America CS as one of the elite of the elite among commercial roofing contractors in the United States.

GAF is North Americas largest roofing manufacturer, and only GAF Master Select(TM) Contractors can compete for its commercial Presidents Club Award. To qualify for this award, a commercial roofing contractor must demonstrate an exceptional level of excellence in their business, especially in the areas of Installation Excellence, Property Owner Protection, and Installer Training.

Tecta America CS has been a GAF Master Select(TM) Contractor since 2002. To become a Master Select(TM) Contractora status that less than 1% of roofing contractors nationwide have achieveda candidate must demonstrate proper licensing and adequate insurance, have a proven reputation, and show commitment to ongoing professional training.

Amarillo, Texas, is home to a roofing company thats been in business for more than 70 years yet is still modern and up to date. Founded in 1943 and located in Amarillo since the 1960s, weve slowly grown into the premiere commercial roofing contractor here, states operating unit president Tracy Honea. Our personnel are properly trained in construction safety and updated with the newest roofing practices. Additionally, we invest in the newest equipment so that were using the latest and safest equipment and trucks.

A roofing company with that kind of longevity knows how to get things done the right way. Our professionalism makes us stand out, explains Honea. Unlike typical roofing contractors, were easily identified by our professional appearance. When we arrive to a project, we have the experience and knowledge to meet customers needs and expectations.

Old-fashioned customer service is part of the recipe for success, according to Honea. We always want to manage and meet the customers expectations. Roofing is a tough, dirty, messy job, but we visit with owners to explain how the project will proceed and what they can expect during the process. We determine whats important to the customersparticularly if they have critical items that require special attentionand ensure we achieve the desired outcome. We tailor the job to meet the customers needs.

A great materials manufacturer like GAF and our excellent sales rep and local distributors make for a great team, continues Honea. We all contribute to getting that roof installed.

In recent years, the company has devoted an increasing amount of resources to a service division. We have two dedicated full-time crews that perform small repairs and maintenance, says Honea. They investigate, search, and repair reported leaks and provide visual inspection of current roof conditions. These crews can be a vital asset to any building owner or facility manager by providing timely leak response, quality repairs, and an overview of the current general roof condition.

The future looks good, concludes Honea. We have a strong backlog, so there should be another wonderful and successful year ahead of us. Well maintain focus on the quality of our work and keeping our customers satisfied, and well continue to improve and reinvest in our company. It says a lot that about 80% of our business is from repeat customers. We are the contractor that everyoneowners, architects, facility managers, general contractorslooks to for roofing guidance, expertise, and solutions. Our customers have learned that they can count on us to bring projects to completion with the results they expect and deserve.

About Tecta America CS

Founded in 1943 and doing business in the Amarillo area since 1960, Tecta America CS was founded with the simple goal of being the best in the commercial roofing market. Capable of handling any project without regard to size or complexityfrom small roof repairs to new roofing to reroofingthe companys dedicated service crews handle anything from small-leak investigation and remediation to full roof restorations. Customer-service oriented, Tecta America CS has the constant goal of achieving quality work for quality customers.

Tecta America CS

2214 S. Lincoln Street

Amarillo, TX 79109

(806) 373-1732

http://www.tectaamerica.com/tecta-america-cs-amarillo/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tecta-america-corp

About GAF

Founded in 1886, GAF is the largest roofing manufacturer in North America. The companys products include a comprehensive portfolio of steep-slope and commercial roofing systems, which are supported by an extensive national network of factory-certified contractors. Its success is driven by its commitment to Advanced Quality, Industry Expertise, and Solutions Made Simple. GAF was the first roofing manufacturer to offer a Lifetime limited warranty on all of its laminated shingles, which then evolved with the introduction of the GAF Lifetime Roofing System by extending the Lifetime coverage beyond just the roofing shingles. For more about GAF, visit http://www.gaf.com

Media Contact

Company Name: Tecta America CS

Contact Person: Tracy Honea

Email: Thonea(at)tectaamerica(dot)com

Phone: (806) 373-1732

Address: 2214 S. Lincoln Street

City: Amarillo

State: TX

Country: United States

Website: http://www.tectaamerica.com/tecta-america-cs-amarillo/
Bruce Dees Design Level the playing field - literally manufacturers are told by award-winning architect. - CLFMI

If you focus on a being a problem-solver instead trying to sell a product or your own ideas, city officials, planners, and other decision-makers will want to partner with you, said Bruce Dees, an award-winning architect from Tacoma, WA. Dees, President of Bruce Dees & Associates, was addressing the attendees at the recent Summer Meeting of the Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute (CLFMI) in Charlottesville, VA. My experience had been that chain link fencing systems really had a lot of flexibility and could be very aesthetically pleasing, but my clients in the Park and Planning systems across the region had these pre-conceived notions about the product. After they described what their biggest concerns were safety, cost, convenience, etc. - I was able to show them designs that met their needs. They didnt care what product I used as along as it did what they wanted within budget, and I tried to show them that chain link could meet those criteria.

Dees went on to show the attendees a variety of projects he had designed for parks, recreation areas, and other public spaces. In each case, he said, his team started with the concerns of the contracting agency.

Having built up a fairly large portfolio of successful projects, Im able to give the client some examples that have worked in other communities for similar challenges, Dees noted. Many time theyll look at these and say Can you do that in my city? I assure them that chain link can be more than just a tall fence that stops balls from going in the street.

Thats the story architects and specifiers need to hear and see, Dees concluded. Todays chain link can do more than many of them know, and its the industrys job to educate them.

About Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute

Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute is an association of chain link fence manufacturers, architects, engineers and contractors with members in the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute

10015 Old Columbia Rd. Suite B215

Columbia, Maryland 21046

United States

P: 301-596-2583
GrooveCars CU Xpress Lease reports its credit union lease program is up 40 percent over year-to-date from 2015. In June CU Xpress Lease had its best month with the highest volume to date, as more credit unions joined and utilized the program. Also contributing to this growth is the popularity of leasing among younger demographics embracing lower monthly payments for vehicles normally out of reach, through traditional loan financing. Our program works to help them compete in a market where leases can account for up to 60 percent of all loan activity. These newly reported numbers support how important it is to be able to compete through all auto loan products to meet market demand, explains Robert OHara, Vice President of Strategic Services, GrooveCar.

Leasing provides credit unions with the ability to tap into an area of incremental growth with a program that manages the disposition of vehicles at lease maturity. CU Xpress Lease is 100 percent responsible for the vehicles residual value and collecting any excess wear and tear costs. Because we eliminate the residual risks normally associated with lease programs, ours provides the credit union with an excellent opportunity to enter this highly profitable market. The credit unions get to manage what they do best; credit risk, although the average FICO within our lease portfolio is 757 so there is not much risk to contend with. With short terms and strong credit, our programs popularity is on pace to fund close to $1 billion in 2016, stated OHara. As a national auto lease program for credit unions since 2007, CU Xpress Lease features a portfolio close to $4 billion with more than 70,000 vehicles leased.

In addition, OHara commented further, CU Xpress Leases executive team possesses decades of experience in the leasing industry, a primary reason why the program has been so successful. The goal is to operate from a position of being sound and safe for all parties involved. This becomes clear when any credit union interested in pursuing our lease program contacts one of our partners and receives tremendous, positive feedback. We let our performance speak for itself when a credit union asks, Why should we enter the lease market and why CU Xpress Lease? This question was answered by Theresa Williams-Barrett, Vice President of Consumer Lending and Loan Administration, Affinity Federal Credit Union a New Jersey-based credit union serving 135,000 members with assets over 2.3 billion, By providing car leasing options, credit unions are able to assist and advise members with options that they would not find at other financial institutions. Since initially offering CU Xpress Lease, Affinity has been able to help more members through greater loan options, helping us ensure our top priority of convenient and quality service for all members.

This performance since inception has now allowed CU Xpress Lease to expand from a regional credit union product offering in the Northeast, to a national program with expansion into California, Florida and other regions where leasing is popular. Credit unions in these markets are looking forward to leasing because to concentrate solely on traditional auto loan financing can deprive them of up to 60 percent of the loan market. In Southern California, 38,000 leases are funded each month. This equates to approximately 70 percent of all new cars sold are leased. Without a lease program, credit unions are competing for just 30 percent of the market, explains OHara.

Its important for a credit union to do their homework to discover if adding a lease program is the right choice for them as there are some areas of the U.S. where leasing is the first choice verses taking out a traditional loan. Some areas are much more popular based on demographics, than other areas. The CU Xpress Lease program can help uncover suitable market opportunities for a credit union. The program also covers pre-owned leasing.

About CU Xpress Lease:

A lease product specifically designed for the credit union to reap the benefits of leasing while maintaining control of the credit process. CU Xpress Lease and its affiliated companies bring decades of experience in auto remarketing and lease servicing to meet the needs of credit unions and their members. With offices in Hauppauge, New York; Bedford, Texas; and Lebanon, NJ our experienced infrastructure is ready to provide credit unions with an innovative product without the risk.

About GrooveCar:

Founded in 1999, GrooveCar provides automotive loan growth solutions to credit unions nationwide while providing their members, as well as the general public, with the most informative and user-friendly auto search engine. With its expansive dealership network surpassing five million vehicles, GrooveCar facilitates the entire car buying process, including shopping, researching, buying, leasing, and financing. Through the national auto-leasing program CU Xpress Lease, credit unions can take advantage of leasing opportunities in the new and pre-owned vehicle market. CU Xpress is the leading credit union lease program in the nation. Additional information on GrooveCar or CU Xpress Lease may be found at http://www.groovecarinc.com.
Since our start, MaidPro has been making huge strides in both the franchise and home cleaning industries. Were on our way to doubling our location count in a mere five years which says a lot about our franchise system and the supporting staff.

MaidPro, a residential cleaning franchise known for its personal and professional service and for being one of Forbes Top Ten Franchises to Own, is boasting its largest growth in the companys 25-year history. In the past five years the franchise has grown from 121 to 225 locations. MaidPro has been recently honored by Forbes, CNBC and Franchise Business Review for its state-of-the-art technology, impeccable franchise satisfaction, and booming success rates.

Chuck Lynch, Director of Franchise Sales, states, Since our start, MaidPro has been making huge strides in both the franchise and home cleaning industries. Were on our way to doubling our location count in a mere five years which says a lot about our franchise system and the supporting staff. That, coupled with our custom, cloud-based software and industry changing innovations such as our new online LMS, MaidPro University, there are endless opportunities for the future of MaidPro and its franchise owners.

The rapid expansion has created opportunities across North America for potential, qualified franchisees looking to open their own MaidPro. Candidates should have $60,000 in liquid assets and a minimum net worth of $100,000. The initial investment ranges between $60,000 and $160,000. MaidPro is excited to continue its growth and to extend its philosophy of support and flexibility to all its franchise owners.

To get a free estimate for housecleaning services from MaidPro please visit http://www.maidpro.com.

ABOUT MAIDPRO

MaidPro is a Boston-based franchisor of house cleaning services with over 225 locations in 38 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The company, which began franchising in 1997, takes pride in its strong owner community, cutting-edge technology and creative marketing. It has been honored with Forbes Best Franchises to Own (2015, 2016), CNBC Top 50 Star Franchisees of 2016 and the Franchise Business Reviews Four-Star Rating & Franchise 50 awards for owner satisfaction (2006-2016). MaidPro was also named one of the Top 50 Franchises for Minorities by USA Todays Franchising Today. MaidPro is also a proud member of the International Franchise Association and the New England Franchise Association. The company can be found online at http://www.maidprofranchise.com.
Zenoti.com 'Zenoti is filling a void for mid to large wellness chains by solving chronic challenges associated with rapid growth,' said Mohan Kumar, executive director of Norwest Venture Partners.

Zenoti, a leading cloud-based management platform, today announced a $15 million Series B funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners with participation from returning investor Accel Partners. The funding will be used to expand market share, drive product innovation and help with talent acquisition. Growing rapidly in the spa, salon and medi-spa arenas, Zenoti will use portions of this new round of funding to accelerate growth with expansion into the fitness and yoga space.

Zenoti previously raised $6 million in Series A funding from Accel Partners.

Zenotis all-in-one solution supports the entire business ecosystem of operational tasks. Its software platform was developed for reliability and scale, using enterprise-level technology made available to businesses of all sizes from a single location brand to large enterprise chains with thousands of outlets.

Zenoti is filling a void for mid to large wellness chains by solving chronic challenges associated with rapid growth, said Mohan Kumar, executive director of Norwest Venture Partners. Enterprise brands are starting to understand that Zenoti technology affords increased efficiencies and the seamless ability to protect their brand identities and customer experiences. Other players in the market are not addressing the need to manage a brand's distributed operations or provide an integrated view of business performance across multiple locations.

Over the last few years, we were focused on building a strong foundation of technology and customer service excellence, said Sudheer Koneru, CEO of Zenoti. Weve demonstrated this by transitioning leading, enterprise brands in multiple regions to Zenoti. This funding enables us to establish ourselves as a leader in the industry.

Zenoti believes that todays large businesses need an integrated, enterprise-level solution, which addresses the consolidation, investments and rapid growth in the industry. As the most comprehensive solution in the market today, Zenoti offers a host of unique assets such as integrated, custom reporting, business intelligence tools, marketing automation, inventory management, and a complete mobile solution. Data migration services, cloud reliability with 99.9% uptime, and pinnacle customer service are more reasons why existing customers are pleased and new business is strong.

The company is serving the unmet needs of large enterprises such as Lakme Salons, Massage Green, and Kaya Skin Clinics. They also cater to the luxury market including brands such as Elemis and Gene Juarez, and have recently expanded into the resort space adding Taj Hotels, Melco Crown, Crown Hotels, and Alaya hotels to their customer mix.

About Norwest Venture Partners:

Norwest Venture Partners is a global venture capital and growth equity investment firm that manages more than $6 billion in capital. The firm targets early to late stage venture and growth equity investments across a wide range of sectors including: technology, information services, business services, financial services, consumer products/services and healthcare. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., Norwest has offices in San Francisco and New York, and subsidiaries in Mumbai and Bengaluru, India and Herzelia, Israel. The firm has funded more than 575 companies since inception. For more information, please visit http://www.nvp.com. Follow Norwest on Twitter @NorwestVP.

About Accel Partners:

Accel is a leading early and growth-stage venture capital firm, powering a global community of entrepreneurs. Accel backs entrepreneurs who have what it takes to build a world-class, category-defining business. Founded in 1983, Accel brings more than three decades of experience building and supporting hundreds of companies. Accels vision for entrepreneurship and business enables it to identify and invest in the companies that will be responsible for the growth of next-generation industries. Accel-backed companies include Atlassian, BookMyShow, Cloudera, DJI, Dropbox, Dropcam, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, FreshDesk, MuSigma, Myntra, Ola-TaxiForsure, Perfint, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, Vox Media and others. Visit http://www.accel.com for more or @Accel on Twitter.

About Zenoti:

Founded in 2010, Zenoti was launched to provide an all-in-one business management solution for the spa and salon industry, notoriously plagued by a lack of software robust enough to support the entire business eco-system of operational tasks. Founders, Sudheer and Dheeraj Koneru, experienced first-hand the difficulties in running a chain of spa, salon and fitness centers and reached back to their roots in enterprise software to build a powerful, cloud-based solution that was simple and easy to use.

Today, the Zenoti platform is engineered for reliability and scale, and using enterprise-level technology made available to businesses of all sizes from the single location brand to chains with over 600 outlets. Zenoti currently powers thousands of spas and salons in over 30 countries. Zenoti affords the ability to seamlessly manage every aspect of a business from online appointment bookings, to billing through a POS, CRM, inventory management, marketing automation, and more. Zenoti's clients are able to expand revenue through the platform by elevating the customer experience, increasing customer retention and spend, as well as ease operational overhead through automation.

The company is headquartered in Seattle, USA and has 7 offices globally, in the cities of Seattle, Sydney, Jakarta, Kuala Lampur, Manila, Hyderabad, and Dubai. The company has received $6 million in funding from Accel Partners. http://www.zenoti.com/
Gaitlynburg Mountain Stream from The Perfect Palette Art Group at St. Catherine's Village We are thrilled to have works of art from our residents on display at the museum. It gives our group membersand their familiesthe opportunity to celebrate their artistic achievements.

Art created by residents at St. Catherines Village is on display at the Mississippi Museum of Art now through September 4, 2016. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Paintings were created as part of The Perfect Palette Art Group at St. Catherines Village and include submissions in oils, pastels, graphite, and acrylics. Led by Boo Richards, the program includes beginners all the way through virtuosos.

We are thrilled to have works of art from our residents on display at the museum, said Mary Margaret Judy, executive director at St. Catherines Village, Mississippis preeminent continuing life care community. It gives our group membersand their familiesthe opportunity to celebrate their artistic achievements.

The Perfect Palette Art Group is the second in the Mississippi Museum of Arts Art in Us All: Community Exhibition Series. The exhibition program invites nonprofit organizations in Mississippi to showcase art created by their constituents. It is intended to cultivate creativity in the community for people of all ages and backgrounds while deepening the relationship between the museum and its visitors.

Through this series, the museum develops partnerships with Mississippi nonprofits that incorporate visual art into their social service work. The Perfect Palette Art Group was selected because it is the manifestation of art being used to lift the spirits and challenge the minds of an often underserved populationin this case, seniors.

The beauty of the Perfect Palette Art Group is the manner in which it serves to renew, resurrect or awaken someone's potential...from fostering the enjoyment of an accomplished artist who had put the brushes aside to seeing the utter joy of a new artist upon producing that first work of art that makes the heart smile, said Judy. The results are many beautiful compositions of art, friendship, holistic wellness, and creativity.

The Perfect Palette Art Group is one of many enriching activities in which those living at St. Catherines Village can participate. The continuing care retirement community encourages residents to stay engaged, energetic and excited, and has an activity director to coordinate a variety of clubs, groups and events.

Our philosophy is to make available every tool to enhance holistic health, healing and wellness. The creative arts is one such program, said Judy. Its focus is on living life to the fullest and maximizing ones total potential: physically, mentally, socially, spiritually, and educationally.

Located on 160 acres in Madison, St. Catherines Village is a life care community offering the right care at the right time through independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.

For more information, call (601) 856-0123 or log onto http://www.StCatherinesVillage.com.

St. Catherines Village is a service of St. Dominics (St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital) http://www.stdom.com .

To view the approximately 40 works of art from St. Catherines Village residents, visit the Mississippi Museum of Art at 380 South Lamar Street in Jackson. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. (Closed Monday.) Find more information at http://www.msmuseumart.org.
What the employer gets with monitoring is peace of mind because they know that an employees record was not only clear at the time of hire  its staying clear.

Accio Data has added StayClear Monitoring to the Accio Enterprise platform, allowing both consumer reporting agencies (CRA) and employers to be notified whenever something changes in an employees screening records.

The non-profit National Employment Law Project recently analyzed the Survey of State Criminal History Information Systems to estimate that approximately 70-million Americans  or roughly 1 in 3 adults  has some type of criminal conviction. Statistically, if a company has 20 or more employees, at least one of them has likely committed a crime since being hired.

After a hire, the ability to monitor records is extremely important, especially for people who work in sensitive positions or with vulnerable populations such as children and senior citizens, says Accio President Barry Boes. Accio Monitoring allows our clients to be alerted to things like new criminal charges or convictions so that the CRA and the employer can promptly follow up with the employee.

Accio Business Developer Cory Kirk adds, What the employer gets with monitoring is peace of mind because they know that an employees record was not only clear at the time of hire  its staying clear.

With Accio Datas StayClear Monitoring service, CRAs and employers get:



Audited monthly record checks

Multiple options for immediate notifications of record changes

Flexible configurations to make monitoring a part of any account package or added later with one click

Powerful watchlist management to add/remove employees

Simple annual plans with automatic renewals

This latest offering complements the full-range hiring workflow process that is native to the Accio Enterprise platform: consent-based SSN verification (CBSV) during pre-hire, I-9 and E-Verify at the time of the job offer, and ongoing StayClear Monitoring during the remaining period of employment. For pricing information on StayClear Monitoring or any other Accio Data service, please contact Accio Sales at (512) 858-9329 or sales(at)acciodata(dot)com.

About Accio Data

Accio Datas infinitely scalable platform allows CRAs to automate or augment the screening process from order entry all the way to results delivery and billing. Any data provider using XML for information exchange can integrate with Accio Enterprise at no charge. Clients can log in, place orders, and retrieve results. 24/7/365. More than 2,000 powerful customization options provide configurability for multiple industries:

Pre-employment and background screening

Health care

Court research

Tenant screening

Student screening

Utilities/nuclear

International

Vendor/partner screening

Accio Data is a member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). For more information about Accio Enterprise, Accio CourtPro or to request a demo, visit http://www.acciodata.com or call (512) 858-9329 or email sales(at)acciodata(dot)com.
Teacherjobfairs.org, the leading teacher recruitment company in the US hosted a New York City Teacher Recruitment Fair on Thursday August 4, 2016 in Midtown Manhattan. There were Thirty two schools in attendance from the New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts areas. There were three hundred and five teachers that attended with over one hundred and eighty job offers that were made to teachers at the Teacher Job Fair.

School Districts were looking to hire K-12 Teachers, Core Subjects like Math Teachers, English Teachers and Science Teachers as well as in language areas including Spanish Teachers, Mandarin Teachers, ESL Teachers and ENL Teachers. With the current teacher crisis gripping schools throughout the US, Teacherjobfairs.org has been able to provide schools with both experienced teachers as well as new teachers coming out of schools of education throughout the US.

This was the sixty fifth teacher recruitment fair that Teacher Job Fairs has had this year 2016. With schools of education throughout the US graduating less and less teachers each year, the recruitment of teachers gets more and more challenging for schools that need to hire these teachers states, Christopher Dugan, President of Teacherjobfairs.org. Our events such as our New York City Teacher Job Fair, gives schools the opportunity to hire certified teachers in large quantities at one time and in one location.

The next New York City Teacher Job Fair is scheduled to be held October 6, 2016 more information can be found at http://www.teacherjobfairs.org

About Teacherjobfairs.org

Teacherjobfairs.org found online at http://www.teacherjobfairs.org has over eighty teacher recruitment fairs annually throughout the US for schools looking to hire certified teachers and educators. With an online database of resumes to search and to post teacher openings, Teacherjobfairs.org equips schools to connect with teachers that are looking for their first teaching opportunity or their next teaching opportunity. You can find informative videos regarding teacher recruitment from Teacherjobfairs.org on Youtube and on the website at teacherjobfairs.org. Job Seekers may obtain career tips, Teacher Jobs and a list of Teacher Job Fairs by visiting http://www.teacherjobfairs.org. All services are free to job seekers.

Contact Teacherjobfairs.org Phone: 718-902-5926
We are very excited about our move to Cranston and look forward to introducing ourselves to the citys business community, said Gregory Cabral, Rhode Island Office Managing Partner.

BlumShapiro, the largest regional accounting and business consulting firm based in New England with offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, will officially move its Rhode Island headquarters into the heart of Cranston in early August.

The firms Rhode Island office, currently located at 50 Holden Street in Providence, will move into 1 Capital Way in Cranston  at the intersection of Leyden Street and Lovell Avenue on August 4.

The new location will consist of 22,000 square feet of office space, allowing the firms Rhode Island office to continue to grow, adding to its existing roster of more than 80 accounting and financial professionals.

We are very excited about our move to Cranston and look forward to introducing ourselves to the citys business community, said Gregory Cabral, Rhode Island Office Managing Partner. We thank Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, the Cranston City Council and the Cranston Chamber of Commerce for working with us through our transition and for welcoming us to the city with open arms.

"On behalf of the residents of Cranston, I am thrilled to welcome BlumShapiro to our city, said Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung. Our Office of Economic Development and other members of my administration worked closely with the property owner and BlumShapiro to make their move into Cranston as efficient as possible. BlumShapiro, with their existing team of 80 professionals and 20 new jobs they will bring to the city, is a great addition to our already vibrant workforce, and I am confident the firms employees will enjoy everything that Cranston has to offer."

I am delighted that BlumShapiro decided to relocate its Rhode Island office to Cranston, and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to vote in favor of their move, said Cranston City Council President John E. Lanni, Jr. Adding a company with such a great reputation across the industries it serves will strengthen our local business community, and I wish the firms leaders, employees and clients nothing but success. On behalf of the City Council, welcome to Cranston.

BlumShapiro has been ranked as the #1 financial services firm in New England for two consecutive years by industry publication Accounting Today. Its clients include those in manufacturing, distribution, retail, construction, education, healthcare, hospitality, government, non-profit, real estate, automotive, private equity and professional services.

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BlumShapiro is the largest regional business advisory firm based in New England, with offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The firm, with over 400 professionals and staff, offers a diversity of services which includes auditing, accounting, tax and business advisory services. In addition, BlumShapiro provides a variety of specialized consulting services such as succession and estate planning, business technology services, employee benefit plan audits and litigation support and valuation. The firm serves a wide range of privately held companies, government and non-profit organizations and provides non-audit services for publicly traded companies.
PharmRight Corporation, a telehealth technology company based in Charleston, SC, announced today that it has successfully registered the company with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and its primary offering, the LiviTM Medication Dispenser, is now listed. This provides the company with a clear line of sight to commercial release.

Bill Park, CEO, said, "We are very excited to introduce LiviTM to the market this Fall. Our production facility in Maine is now online and able to support the significant demand we are seeing from customers. We are also planning the launch of LiviPlusTM early next year to support remote medication management from any web-enabled device.

About PharmRight

PharmRight Corporation was formed in 2013 to produce devices and offer services that help users manage complex medication regimens and age in place. The company has developed LiviTM, an innovative, fully-automated home medication dispensing system. A new entrant to telehealth, the Livi platform is an advanced, extremely reliable and fully automated home medication dispenser managed by an intuitive cloud-based application making real time monitoring and scheduling of medications quick and easy. Livi is designed to simulate the supervision of an on-site caregiver by prompting the user to take the right medicationat the right timein the right quantitywith the right instructions. A cloud application monitors and captures all user interactions with the device. Family members and professional caregivers can be alerted via text message or e-mail if a user misses a dose or requires a re-fill. Comprehensive medication adherence reports are available via any web-enabled device.

LiviTM is a FDA Class I medical device. The Company is pursuing FDA clearance for LiviPlusTM as a Class II medical device that supports full remote medication management.
The successful collaboration was fueled by passion, creativity and story-telling, as Reach Out and Read Colorado and Wanna Pixel are both working actively to push the boundaries of innovation and achievement in the Colorado nonprofit landscape.

Innovation and modern design lands statewide early literacy nonprofit Reach Out and Read Colorado's website a coveted spot on Designing for Goods 2016 list of Best of Nonprofit Fundraising Designs.

The list was culled from hundreds of graphic and interactive designs from across the industry and features social good websites that elevate something rather simple into something memorable. The Reach Out and Read Colorado homepage is featured in the listing with a photo and the caption, Highly accessible redesign while slick silent background video on homepage sets stage for whole experience by Meg Delagrange for Reach Out and Read Colorado.

The newly redesigned Reach Out and Read Colorado website launched in March 2016. The project was led by local design firm Wanna Pixel, Inc. The website was rebuilt from the ground up to be brand and trend aligned, as well as fully responsive and optimized to ensure the best possible user experience.

Nathan Porter, CEO of Wanna Pixel, stated, "Organizations like Reach Out and Read Colorado are keenly aware of their need to engage a broad demographic of users. One of the keys to doing this is putting a lot of thought into the user's experience and understanding what engages a user and leads them to an action. Millennials and Digital Natives have a very keen BS meter which means that we have to be very mindful that the personality of the organization carries through in every aspect of the website development and design. That's one of the things that makes this website stand out from the noise."

As a result of the redesign, Reach Out and Read Colorado is hopeful for an increase in online giving, a well-known industry best practice. Perry Jowsey, Reach Out and Read Colorado Development Director, explained, To be successful in fundraising today, it is essential to maximize online giving opportunities  a key segment of development that is growing at three times the rate of overall donations throughout the nonprofit sector. Our new website connects the donor with the high-impact work we are accomplishing in a way that offers a compelling narrative and details tangible outcomes. We expect to optimize this channel to acquire new donors, increase retention, and catalyze overall individual giving in a way that expands our scope of service statewide.

The successful collaboration was fueled by passion, creativity and story-telling, as Reach Out and Read Colorado and Wanna Pixel are both working actively to push the boundaries of innovation and achievement in the Colorado nonprofit landscape.

Original article: http://npengage.com/nonprofit-marketing/designing-for-good-top-nonprofit-graphic-designs-episode-4/

About Reach Out and Read Colorado

Reach Out and Read Colorado gives young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together. To learn more about our impact, visit http://www.reachoutandreadco.org or follow us at http://www.facebook.com/reachoutandreadcolorado.

About Wanna Pixel, Inc.

The team at Wanna Pixel believes that, together, Humans and Pixels can change the world! They create #websites and #technology solutions for #socialgood. To learn more, visit http://www.wapix.co or follow them at http://www.facebook.com/wannapixel.
Survey: Love in the Time of Cremation Urns I was convinced that someone in a relationship with a widow or widower would be very unhappy about their new love wearing a necklace filled with the deceased spouse's cremation ashes. But in fact people overwhelmingly expressed the opposite.

OneWorld Memorials, the innovative cremation urn and memorials on-line retailer, discovered through conducting a Facebook survey that people dating a widow or widower would likely find no problem with their significant-other if he or she was wearing cremation jewelry containing the ashes of the deceased spouse or had an urn with ashes displayed at home.

OneWorld Memorials posed the following question on its Facebook page:

"If you were in a relationship with someone and discovered they had the remains of their former spouse in their house or in jewelry they wore, would you:

a) Break off the relationship?

b) Ask them to get rid of the jewelry, keepsake or urn?

c) Not sure how you would react, but would be disturbed?

d) You wouldnt be bothered by it "

The outcome, as shown in the accompanying info-graphic, revealed that most people didn't care (96%). "This came as a shock." said Ira Woods, the President of OneWorld Memorials. "I was convinced that someone in a relationship with a widow or widower would be very unhappy about their new love wearing a necklace filled with the deceased spouse's cremation ashes or having an urn prominent in the house. But in fact people overwhelmingly expressed the opposite. Many found this behavior to be a show of good character."

The survey was prompted by a discussion on the social forum, Reddit. A widower, who went by the name "Throw8726" had been dating a woman for a year who wanted to move in with him. He was overjoyed. His girlfriend then discovered the pendant he was wearing was created with ashes of his deceased wife. She told him to get rid of the pendant and the befuddled Throw8726 sought advice from the Reddit community. Over 450 people responded to his dilemma.

The use of cremation jewelry is growing rapidly in the United States. The reasons are obvious; In 1999 only 24.8 percent of the population chose cremation. This compares to 46.7 percent who chose cremation in 2014, according to the Cremation Association of America (CANA). CANA predicts that The U.S. cremation rate is expected to rise to 52.9 percent by 2019. According to a recent article in Time Magazine, cremation has now surpassed burial for the first time in the USA.

The growing acceptance of cremation is causing a sea change of behavior in the way we honor the deceased. For instance, the search for cremation jewelry, which can hold a small amount of ashes, has grown 7 fold since 2005 and continues moving steeply upwards today.

With people living longer, little stigmatization for being widowed and scant pressure to remain alone to conform to social expectations its not surprising to find situations like Throw8726 becoming more common. If a widower decided to have a charm made out of his wifes ashes would wearing it cause friction with a new girlfriend? According to our respondents, it should be a rarity.

About OneWorld Memorials

OneWorld Memorials provides quality memorial urns and related products, along with free shipping. OneWorld Memorials offers cremation jewelry, biodegradable urns, condolence gifts, and more. To learn more, visit http://www.oneworldmemorials.com
United Airlines, the official airline partner of The Trotter Project, along with restaurants across the United States will celebrate the legacy of super-chef Charlie Trotter on Charlie Trotter Day, Wednesday. Aug. 17  Sunday, Aug. 21 to raise funds for the Pillars of Excellence Mentor Program  a Trotter Project youth mentorship program which seeks to educate, train, and offer opportunities for the next generation of aspiring chefs and hospitality professionals.

New to this years Charlie Trotter Day celebration is a special collaboration with United Airlines. The airline will donate $1 for every Choice Menu Bistro on Board item sold on all domestic flights during the Charlie Trotter Day celebration, Aug. 17  21, 2016. Several Trotter Project supporting chefs worked in collaboration with United to create and inspire the airlines Bistro on Board menu.

Charlie Trotter Day is an opportunity for the culinary and hospitality communities, including our partner United Airlines, to reflect on our shared love of food and passion for excellence, said Derrek Hull, Executive Director of The Trotter Project. We are committed to carrying forth Chef Trotters legacy as a mentor and are humbled that so many chefs, including Carrie Nahabedian, Thomas Keller, Markus Glocker and more, along with additional partners like Chef Works, Table8 and The Peninsula Chicago share our mission. The Trotter Project answers the need for career opportunities, pathways for growth, and consistent mentorship for the next generation.

Hull added, United Airlines understands the legacy of Chef Trotters work and the importance of inspiring the next great generation of chefs and we are thrilled United Airlines is inviting its customers and employees to join in the festivities this year. The annual Charlie Trotter Day celebration is an opportunity for the culinary community to reflect on our shared love of food and renew our passion for excellence by working to educate and inspire budding talent.

"For the past year and a half, United Airlines has worked with The Trotter Projects world-renowned chefs to offer our customers innovative dining options on our flights around the world, said Sandra Pineau-Boddison, Uniteds senior vice president of Customers. This partnership is just one way United employees and customers can give back to an organization that shares our commitment to continuing the legacy of Chef Trotter through mentoring and internship programs for young people interested in the culinary arts.

In addition to the airline partnership, several leading restaurants across the country, including Chicagos BellyQ, GT Fish & Oyster, The Lobby at The Peninsula Chicago, Batard in New York City, The French Laundry, Parallel 37 at The Ritz Carlton in San Francisco, Per Se and many more will offer Trotter-inspired dishes and menus. This special weekend recognizes Chef Trotters innovative approach to cuisine by featuring many culinary creations from his legendary cookbooks.

Im thrilled to honor Chef Trotters legacy and be part of such an amazing collaboration, says Bill Kim, Charlie Trotters alum and Chef/Proprietor of BellyQ. I think Uniteds participation, along with some of the countrys leading restaurants will ensure the most successful Charlie Trotter Day to date.

Chef Charlie Trotter, a James Beard Foundation Humanitarian Award-winning chef, launched hundreds of culinary careers at his Chicago restaurant and inspired chefs across the globe with his innovative approach to cuisine.

Restaurants across the country are invited to participate with a Charlie Trotter-inspired dish, one of his classics, or tasting menu. Proceeds will benefit The Trotter Project, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

For the current list of participating restaurants visit TheTrotterProject.org. Reservations are encouraged. Restaurants interested in participating can sign up online at TheTrotterProject.org/CharlieTrotterDay

For the most up-to-date news, including restaurant offerings and new additions to Charlie Trotter Day, follow @TrotterProject on Twitter, @TheTrotterProject on Instagram, follow Trotter Project on Facebook, and join the conversation with #CharlieTrotterDay.

About The Trotter Project

The Trotter Project seeks to unite those interested in the culinary arts, along with the hospitality and service industries, through a variety of events and programs designed to educate and inspire. The Trotter Project engages youth in mentorship and internship programs that help open doors and inspire minds through the culinary arts. Learn more at http://www.thetrotterproject.org.

About United Airlines

United Airlines and United Express operate more than 4,500 flights a day to 339 airports across five continents. In 2015, United and United Express operated more than 1.5 million flights carrying more than 140 million customers. United is proud to have the worlds most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates more than 720 mainline aircraft, and this year, the airline anticipates taking delivery of 21 new Boeing aircraft, including 737 NGs, 787s and 777s. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of Uniteds parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

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Mina Fies, Founder and CEO of Synergy Design & Construction, a design-build firm located in Reston, VA, was named a finalist in the Made it to a Million category at the eWomenNetwork 2016 International Femtor Awards Champagne Luncheon, held in Dallas, TX, on August 6. The International Femtor Awards are one of North Americas most prestigious award honors. Each year nominated leaders are selected to be recognized for their outstanding achievements and the role they play in elevating the stature and well-being of women.

Today we are surrounded by the most daring and innovative women entrepreneurs of all time. It is our duty to seek out and empower these women to reach their goals and go beyond what they think is possible. I am both honored and humbled to be recognized as a Femtor finalist. said Mina Fies, CEO of Synergy Design & Construction. Connecting and empowering other like-minded women, only fuels our success, and positively impacts the overall health of our economy.

According to the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), more than 9.1 million businesses in the United States are owned by women, but only 4.2% of those businesses have revenues of $1 million or more. eWomenNetwork chose Mina because she not only reached that elusive benchmark, but did in a male-dominated field during the very difficult economic circumstances of 2008.

It has been wonderful to watch Minas progress over the years. Her vision and determination to change the home remodeling industry for the better is inspiring, said Meredith Liepelt owner of Rich Life Marketing and member of eWomenNetwork I know her passion and determination will continue to propel her success and I cant wait to see what she comes up with next.

The 2016 International Femtor Awards Champagne Luncheon was hosted as part of the eWomenNetwork 16th Annual International Conference & Business Expo. The sold-out event was attended by more 1,000 women entrepreneurs from all over the United States and Canada.

About Mina Fies

Mina Fies is CEO of Synergy Design & Construction, a woman-owned design-build home remodeling company based in Reston, VA. Launched at the height of the 2008 recession, her against-all-odds success story has garnered her, and her company, local and national recognition, several Master Design and Contractor of the Year awards, and features on NPR and HGTV. Her commitment to developing innovative strategies for remodeling success includes the development of her proprietary project management system (The Renovation Roadmap). Mina is also an author and speaker, delivering informative and interactive workshops that help people take control of the space that surrounds them.

eWomenNetwork

Headquartered in Dallas, TX, and founded by Sandra and Kym Yancey in 2000, eWomenNetwork adds hundreds of new members monthly and produces more than 2,000 women's business events annually through 118 U.S. and Canadian chapters. They are the largest women's business event company in the world.
The Duke Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey "We have a great story to tell with The Duke Bourbon and as Blackheaths route-to-market has refocused on account-level brand building, I feel very confident about rekindling this relationship," said Chris Radomski, President of Monument Valley Distillers

Blackheath Beverage Group, LLC (BBG) is excited to announce that, effective immediately, it will serve as the national sales force for The Duke Kentucky Straight Bourbon (The Duke). Blackheath has a strong history with The Duke and has recently made specific internal adjustments that will increase the total value of their strategic alignment.

Michael Rieck took the reigns at Blackheath Beverage Group and instituted significant changes to create a more efficient and effective route-to-market for its clients. During that same time period, The Dukes ownership has stuck to their principals, made key internal hires and renewed a dedication to more targeted and unique marketing platforms befitting of The Duke.

Blackheaths marketing department, led by Tom Michaelsen, and the Duke team are currently working to flesh out a series of marketing concepts that focus on the thriving Bourbon trend. The Duke Masters platform, for example, will focus on the culinary and mixology applications for Bourbon, as an item for food pairing, but also as an ingredient in both cocktails and in actual cuisine.

Named for American icon John Wayne  the larger-than-life film star affectionately known as The Duke  The Duke Kentucky Straight Bourbon is specially formulated based on John Waynes personal tastes learned when his youngest son, Ethan Wayne, discovered a private collection of his fathers liquor, letters, and tasting notes dating back to the early 1960s. Ethan Wayne founded Monument Valley Distillers, parent company to Duke Spirits, makers of The Duke Bourbon, with Jayson Woodbridge and President Chris Radomski, proprietors of 12-time, 100-point awarded wine, Hundred Acre. The company launched the Bourbon brand in 2014.

Our goal with the Duke was to make a Bourbon that embodies the spirit, strength and richness my father personified while realizing his unfulfilled dream of distilling fine spirits, said Wayne.

Founded in 2012, Blackheath Beverage Group is an independently owned sales and marketing solution for small to mid-sized brands in the United States. Led by Partner and CEO, Michael Rieck, BBG offers a shared sales infrastructure for a portfolio of synergistic brands.

Since our last engagement, both of our organizations have undergone some changes that have led us back to each other. And we are absolutely thrilled to have The Duke back in our stable, as it were, said Rieck. The product is exceptional, and as a lifelong fan of John Waynes, I may be a little biased, but I just really love the story behind it too. Rieck continued, due to success in other categories, their team has an impressive reputation in the industry. The kind of top-line relationships they bring to the table complement our street-focused sales force very nicely.

Chris Radomski, Founder and CEO of Duke Spirits said, Blackheath has always had a compelling model. Its leadership and sales infrastructure have continued to improve and both of our organizations are ready for this new beginning. We have a great story to tell with The Duke Bourbon and as Blackheaths route-to-market has refocused on account-level brand building, I feel very confident about rekindling this relationship.

Michael Farbenblum, BBGs Founder and COO, responded, Michael Rieck, Tom Michaelsen, and our regional Vice Presidents, have worked diligently over the past months to reshape our organization to best suit the specific needs of craft and emerging brands. While there is no single formula for all brands, we strive to create a contoured and balanced approach for each of our clients. This allows our partnerships to be efficient and to react quickly to a dynamic marketplace. I think the revived relationship with The Duke reflects these realignments.



Blackheath Beverage Group

Founded in 2012, Blackheath Beverage Group leads the U.S. liquor industry as an independently owned national sales and marketing platform. Blackheath is designed to provide brands with an unbiased infrastructure, placing great emphasis on delivering a superior level of distribution support and sales execution for a portfolio of non-proprietary brands. Blackheath continues to raise the bar by providing entrepreneurs and brand owners with this highly efficient route-to-market, offering the bandwidth, resources, and leverage typically only found within larger proprietary and margin driven suppliers. http://www.bhbeverage.com

Monument Valley Distillers

Monument Valley Distillers is an artisan distiller crafting small batches of superior bourbon, whiskey and brandy. Monument Valley Distillers was born in Calistoga, California, many years ago, over an epic dinner featuring wine, shared memories and laughter between founders Ethan Wayne, son of John Wayne, and renowned vintners of Hundred Acre Wines, Jayson Woodbridge and Chris Radomski. Creator of DUKE Spirits, Monument Valley Distillers is committed to preserving the legacy of John Wayne by creating authentic products bearing his name. For more information visit http://www.dukespirits.com. Please enjoy all Monument Valley Distillers products responsibly.
The Athos Group is proud to announce that it will be joining forces with KMJ International, a security management firm, in order to expand their reach. The expansion of The Athos Groups reach necessitates the growth of their team. To that end, Athos is adding two new key members to its team: Tim Manning and John Presley.

Tim Manning has been instrumental in KMJs rapid growth, creating a sterling reputation for client service and dedication. Both departments and corporate clients testify to KMJs commitment and quality of service, allowing KMJ to form deep and beneficial bonds with both. He will now serve Athos clients as the Vice President, Operations.

John Presley has 25+ years of experience in law enforcement, crisis management, and corporate security and investigations. He is a former Special Agent of the FBI and also served the private sector as the Security Director for Enron and one of the Global Security Directors for GE. John will become Vice President of Athos Corporate Security Support and Crisis Management Division to help clients with due diligence, investigations and emergency response measures, while developing relationships with Fortune 100 companies.

The Athos Group is thrilled for the expansion of their team and is proud to include two veterans of the security industry among their leadership roster. They look forward to continuing to innovate new ways to serve their clients on the Gulf Coast and across the nation.

The Athos Group, formerly known as Innovative Surveillance Solutions, is a security management outsourcing company committed to protecting their clients people, assets, and customers. They employ only the most qualified staff and active law enforcement officers in each region they serve. Athos provides effective, responsible support to corporate and large retail clients throughout the U.S. They now serve 200+ clients with 4,000+ police officers. To learn more, visit them online: http://www.athosgroup.com.
Mike Daley, Vice President, Operations at Bench. 'Mike will play an integral role in our success and ability to take bookkeeping off the plates of one million small businesses by 2025.' - Ian Crosby

Bench, the online bookkeeping company, today announced Mike Daley has joined the company as Vice President, Operations. This key addition to the Bench leadership team reflects an ongoing dedication toward Benchs mandate: to support US-based small businesses, independent contractors and entrepreneurs with professional bookkeeping services.

Daley brings more than two decades of experience as a business and operations leader with a record of success in start-up initiatives, turnarounds, and business unit management. Prior to joining Bench, Daley was President of Level One, part of real estate SaaS company RealPage, Inc. Prior to Level One, Daley was Vice President of Global Customer Service and Support at LexisNexis and President or COO of several business units at Sitel, a world leader in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) focused on customer management for Fortune 500 companies. Daleys background is uniquely suited to help Bench scale its client base while delivering a consistent, world-class customer experience.

Mike is a real win for Bench, bringing with him a unique perspective and wealth of knowledge to our Operations team, said Ian Crosby, Co-Founder and CEO of Bench. We saw our team grow to 250 employees over the last 14 months, amounting to a 150% increase. As we continue to scale and evolve, Mike will play an integral role in our success and ability to take bookkeeping off the plates of one million small businesses by 2025.

Daley will helm a team of 130 client-facing employees in Operations, driving the continued success and reputation of the Bench client experience, while providing a uniquely human touch to the automation of bookkeeping.

Daley will be relocating from Ohio.

About Bench

Bench is a four-year-old fintech company that automates accounting tasks to organize the financials of small businesses. Pairing its intuitive software with a live bookkeeping team, Bench combines the convenience and efficiency of modern technology with the expertise and time-savings afforded by a professional service. Bench was founded by Forbes 30 Under 30 winner Ian Crosby, along with Jordan Menashy, Adam Saint and Pavel Rodionov in 2012. Bench has raised $33M to date, services thousands of business owners across the country, and currently employs 250 people out of its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada. Follow @Bench or visit https://bench.co.
LendEDUs Student Loan Debt By State By School Report 2016

Student loan debt is a serious issue for college graduates, according to a new report issued by LendEDU. At nonprofit public and private colleges in 2015, six out of ten graduates had student debt. According to the report, the average borrower had approximately $28,400 in student debt in the Class of 2015. Private institutions gave average borrowers $31,710 in student debt, whereas public institutions gave average borrowers $26,872 in student debt. On an overall basis, the average graduate had approximately $16,033 student debt in the Class of 2015.

LendEDUs Student Loan Debt By State By School Report 2016 was created using the newest Petersons financial aid data. Petersons released the fresh data for the Class of 2015 at the start of August 2016. LendEDU is the first organization to aggregate and analyze this data for the Class of 2015. The data was reported through a survey to the colleges and universities listed in the report. For reference, the data is released on a one year delay. The Class of 2016 data will not be available until the Fall of 2017.

LendEDU organized the report and data on a state level and a school level. You can use LendEDUs interactive map to explore the data on a state by state basis. LendEDU ranked the states on the basis of average student debt per borrower. From there, LendEDU ranked the individual institutions to show which colleges are giving student debtors the most, and the least, amount of student debt at graduation.

Our team put in over 50 hours aggregating and analyzing this data, said LendEDU CEO/Co-Founder Nate Matherson. Student debt is an important issue. We hope our report and rankings help students and families make educated decisions when it comes to student debt. And, we hope that our data inspires educators and policymakers to concentrate on this issue.

The results were quite diverse on the state and school level. School averages for student debt at graduation in 2015 ranged from a low of $3,000 per borrower to a high of $86,262 per borrower. State averages for student debt in 2015 ranked from a low of $18,772 per borrower in Utah, to a high of $36,864 per borrower in Connecticut.

States with High Student Debt

Connecticut -- $36,864.63

Rhode Island -- $35,169.37

New Hampshire -- $34,809.66

Pennsylvania -- $34,538.34

D.C. -- $31,941.74

Minnesota -- $31,434.81

Massachusetts -- $31,411.30

New York -- $31,139.17

New Jersey -- $30,536.25

South Carolina -- $30,387.06

To see the full school level and state level rankings please review the full report. We analyzed all 50 states and over 1,300 colleges in our full report. LendEDU licensed the data from Petersons for this report.

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About LendEDU

Since 2014 LendEDU has delivered free financial aid resources to high school and college students. LendEDU is a marketplace for student loans and student loan refinancing. LendEDU helps graduates find the lowest student loan quotes with one application. The company is partnered with all of the leading student loan companies including SoFi, Citizens Bank, Sallie Mae, College Ave, Earnest, LendKey, Darien Rowayton Bank, among others.

LendEDU was founded by Nate Matherson and Matt Lenhard in August of 2014. LendEDU is a graduate of Y Combinators W16 class, the Iowa Startup Accelerator, and the Horn Program at the University of Delaware.

For more information, please contact:

Dave Rathmanner

Email: dave.rathmanner(at)lendedu(dot)com

Phone: (302) 690-7186
At Califia, we are very serious about bringing the best possible coffee experience to our consumers, but we want to have some fun while were doing that.

Califia Farms today announced the launch of its new Better Coffee for All multi-channel marketing campaign and website. Designed to build on the growing buzz around Califia Farms fourth wave coffee products, including its recently launched Nitro Cold Brew, the campaigns mission is to democratize and demystify the hottest cold coffee trends  and answer, once and for all, #WTFisnitro?

The Better Coffee for All campaign, developed with AOR Erwin Penland, includes the microsite wtfisnitro.com - as well as videos, flavor quizzes, a store locator and more. The campaign, which will be deployed across all social media channels, supports this falls roll out of Califia Nitro Cold Brew in Whole Foods Markets, Target and other national retailers.

At Califia, we are very serious about bringing the best possible coffee experience to our consumers, but we want to have some fun while were doing that, said Greg Steltenpohl, co-founder and CEO of Califia Farms. After all, we believe that everyone deserves better coffee  but not every consumer has the time to stop in at a coffee house to wait for that special cup to brew. Our campaign not only helps consumers understand WTFisnitro, but it also underscores the fact that our delicious Ready-To-Drink Nitro Cold Brew is for regular, everyday, on-the-go people who also deserve better sourcing, better formulation, better packaging, better technology, and better taste. In short, an accessible, coffee that is not only better for you but also better for your planet!

Although the cold brew coffee category is experiencing dramatic growth - 115% in the past year with 24% of consumers reporting they are drinking it (1) - only 10% of consumers have tasted nitro coffee(2). Califia Farms Better Coffee for All campaign aims to jolt those numbers, according to Califia Farms Senior Marketing Director Kaitlin Barton.

We want to share the crazy cool science behind our innovation with our customers, as well as to go deep on what makes each flavor unique, said Barton. By using a provocative and attention-grabbing question as our campaign headline, we hope to educate more consumers on the exciting, delicious ways to enjoy cold brew at home or on-the-go and that its a great, non-alcoholic way to imbibe we want to broadcast loud and proud that breakfast beer is here.

Califia Farms, has been on the leading edge of the expanding cold brew coffee revolution and is the number one seller of RTD cold brew coffee drinks in the natural channel. The Company launched the industrys first dairy-free, nitro-infused cold brew coffee latte in June and has been receiving rave reviews ever since. For example, Delicious Living said Califia Farms nitro cold brew is almost too awesome for words: nitrogen creates mini-bubbles that help the coffee go down supersmooth; almondmilk makes us swoon with gratitude. BevNet concurred: It's pretty incredible just how the nitro actually enhances the texture and it achieves something that tastes like milk, but it's not. It was definitely the standout product introduction of the (Summer Specialty Foods) show.

Califia Nitro Cold Brew marries creamy almond and macadamia milks with a cold brew made from a curated, signature blend of direct-sourced beans, and infuses it with a jolt of nitrogen that brings out the natural sweetness of the coffee in a silky micro-foam reminiscent of a dark draft beer. Packaged in a sleek, recyclable, on-the-go aluminum bottle, Califia Nitro Cold Brews come in three on-trend flavors: Latte, Mocha, and New Orleans and are all completely vegan, dairy-free, GMO-free, soy-free and carrageenan-free.

The Better Coffee For All campaign begins today. Check it out on wtfisnitro.com and http://www.califiafarms.com.

Join the conversation with @CalifiaFarms on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Califia Farms (pronounced Cal-lah-fee-ya, like California)

Inspired by the bounty of California, Califia Farms (http://www.califiafarms.com) mission is to innovate delicious plant-powered foods for mindful nourishment. The Company is a leader in the revolution to de-commodify the food and beverage industry by creating innovative, healthy and great-tasting premium beverages that make it easy for consumers to go plant-powered and dairy-free, without compromise. Founded in 2010 by a farmers co-operative based in the San Joaquin Valley and headed by beverage visionary Greg Steltenpohl, Califia Farms is a uniquely California company. Its Bakersfield, Calif. manufacturing plant, which uses artisanal processes to create healthy and delicious plant-based beverages, is eco-friendly, energy efficient and repurposes more than 90 percent of its post-production byproduct. Califia Farms is one of the fastest-growing natural beverage companies in the U.S., as well as the leading brand in the natural products coffee drinks category. In 2015, Califia Farms was named Brand of the Year by BevNet and a Breakout Brand by Beverage World and in 2016 was named one of the CircleUp 25 Most Innovative Brands.

Califia Farms Media Relations

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, (818) 397-4630, cassandra(at)mwebbcom(dot)com

Elizabeth Johnson, mWEBB Communications, (213) 713-4865, elizabeth(at)mwebbcom(dot)com

Erwin Penland Media Relations

Claire Higgins, DiGennaro Communications, (646) 532-5946, claire(dot)higgins(at)digennaro-usa(dot)com

(1) Mintel http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-drink/us-cold-brew-coffee-sales-grow-115-from-2014-2015

(2) National Coffee Association http://fortune.com/2016/07/26/cold-brew-coffee-snobs/
Research can inform policy, but it must first be vetted and publicly debated. A recent exchange illustrates the value of such a public deliberation.

On May 19, 2016, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty released a report called Bang for the Buck: Which public schools in Milwaukee produce the best outcomes per dollar spent?, which purports to show that the most efficient public schools in Milwaukee are charter schools that experience greater autonomy from the district. The reports authors created efficiency scores for Milwaukee schools and, on the basis of those scores, draw conclusions about the relative efficiency of Milwaukees charter and traditional public schools.

The report was then used to promote the growth of charter schools. For example, one co-author placed an opinion article in the Journal Sentinel, Study: Schools with the most autonomy do best for students. While the study was being put forth to influence policy, it seemed unlikely that it had gone through any form of peer review.

NEPC asked University of Connecticut professor Casey Cobb to conduct an expert independent review of the WILL report. That review revealed that the study was ill-conceived, based on a weak premise, and misleading. Most NEPC reviews end at this point, but the WILL authors in this case published a response, which Professor Cobb welcomed. He offered a rejoinder that takes up each of the responses points.

This sort of exchange exemplifies the sort of rigorous debate that greatly increases the usefulness of studies and policy proposals. A reader of the initial report or perhaps the Journal Sentinel opinion piece will, after reading the full exchange, have a much better understanding of the overall landscape as well as the strengths and weaknesses of this particular study.

Sound policy must be guided by research evidence, but we must ask challenging questions of every report claiming to provide useful evidence.

Find Casey Cobbs original review and his follow-up rejoinder at:

http://nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-WILL

Find Bang for the Buck: Which public schools in Milwaukee produce the best outcomes per dollar spent?, by Will Flanders & CJ Szafir, published by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, at:

http://www.will-law.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Bang-for-the-Buck-FINAL.pdf

Find Will Flanders and CJ Szafirs response to the original review at:

http://www.will-law.org/will-blog-will-responds-criticism-colorado-group/

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) Think Twice Think Tank Review Project (http://thinktankreview.org) provides the public, policymakers, and the press with timely, academically sound reviews of selected publications. The project is made possible in part by support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice: http://www.greatlakescenter.org

The National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, produces and disseminates high-quality, peer-reviewed research to inform education policy discussions. Visit us at: http://nepc.colorado.edu

Find Documents:

Press Release: nepc.info/node/8156

NEPC Review: nepc.colorado.edu/thinktank/review-WILL

Report Reviewed: will-law.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Bang-for-the-Buck-FINAL.pdf
Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge has given back to soldiers and their families this year by sponsoring a an in-kind donation valued at $30,000 to the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund.

The Johnny Mac Soldier's Fund gives back by helping military families send their children to college. The fund launched in 2014 and since then, it has awarded $3.4 million in scholarship grants, primarily to the children of fallen service members. Other scholarships have gone to the children and spouses of active duty members of the army. The Johnny Mac fund also offers ten "Ignite" scholarships which give veterans the funds to attend the prestigious Stanford University.

The Fund achieves all of this with less than 5% overhead and a single, hardworking staff member. All equipment and office space is donated. Board members themselves donate legal services, marketing, communications and printing services.

Joe Agresti, CEO of Dream Motor Group, is one of the board members for the Johnny Mac Fund. He partnered with Mercedes-Benz General Manager Nick Pentas to make the donation. This year, Agresti felt that an in-kind donation to the fund would make the biggest impact.

"In Johnny Mac's name, we honor all military families who have served and sacrificed. We feel it is our duty to help these children, who have lost a parent, realize their college dreams. It's the least we can do to honor the service and sacrifice of their parents. Through the generosity of partners like Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge we are impacting the lives of many children, taking care of our own, and giving back to those who gave," says MaryEllen Picciuto, President of the Johnny Mac Fund.

The Johnny Mac Soldier's Fund is inspired by Colonel John "Johnny Mac" McHugh, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010. He left behind a family of five children.

About the Johnny Mac Fund

The Johnny Mac Fund gives scholarships and grants to the children of fallen heroes, as well as to veterans and their families.

Contact:

MaryEllen Picciuto

President

42395 Ryan Road, Suite 112-242

Ashburn, VA 20148

http://www.JohnnyMac.org

(845) 926-7875

mpicciuto(at)johnnymac(dot)org
In our experience, we have found that Rate Reset products are member friendly, highly efficient and cost effective, said James Schenck, CEO of PenFed. We are delighted to be part of this exciting new CUSO." Past News Releases RSS

Rate Reset, the provider of Loan Reset, Acquisition and Retention Software, today announced the formation of CURateReset, a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO). CURateReset is a subsidiary of Rate Reset and is in collaboration with PenFed, and other credit unions and credit union service organizations to soon be announced. The CUSOs mission is to enable credit unions to digitally grow and retain loan portfolios while improving member experience and profitability with innovative Loan Acquisition and Loan Retention Software. The company also announced the CURateReset Board of Directors appointed Joseph (Joe) Brancucci as the first President of CURateReset. Joe Brancucci is the former President and CEO of GTE Financial in Tampa, Florida, the former EVP-Chief Operating Officer of BECU and the founder and longtime CEO of Prime Alliance Solutions.

CURateReset provides me the opportunity to help to refine and to redefine the credit union member lending experience, said Joe Brancucci, A positive lending experience relies on start-to-finish efficiency associated with the loan, from origination to maturity. These factors are the primary differentiators between CURateReset products and other antiquated lending processes loan rate is only part of the equation necessary to accommodate the expectations of the next generations of credit union borrowers. CURateReset products, therefore, are designed to assure that credit unions effectively capture an increasing market share of future member loans. In this chapter of my career I want to help the industry I have dedicated my life to, and I believe I have found that with CURateReset.

We are delighted to have formed the new CUSO and will now focus all of our resources on the credit union industry. said Keith Kelly, CEO CURateReset. To that end, Joe brings to this new role many years of credit union lending leadership and innovation, and a keen sense of how credit unions can continue to attract and retain the next generation of members. As a recognized leader in credit union retail lending, indirect lending and mortgage lending, he will bring a powerful combination of industry knowledge and practical experience to CURateResets current and future clients.

In our experience, we have found that Rate Reset products are member friendly, highly efficient and cost effective, said James Schenck, CEO of PenFed. We are delighted to be part of this exciting new CUSO, and we look forward to sharing the innovative loan acquisition and retention technology that we have deployed for several years to our members with the credit union industry.

About CURateReset:

CURateReset offers award winning products that allow the member to be in control of what has historically been routine administrative tasks that are time consuming for both front line and support staff. Both Auto RateReset and Mortgage RateReset, products successfully tested and adopted in the market, allow a member to reset the term of an existing auto loan, personal loan or mortgage based on credit union criteria. The software promotes loan retention at a very low cost, and provides a member with a favorable view of the member advocacy of the credit union. The LoanGen products make it simple and fast for a credit union to recapture member automobile loans, mortgage loans, personal loans and credit cards. For more information on CURateReset visit http://www.CURateReset.com.

About PenFed Credit Union:

Established in 1935 as the War Department Credit Union, PenFed Credit Union is one of the largest credit unions in the country, serving 1.4 million members worldwide; with $20 billion in assets. Its long-standing mission has been to provide superior financial services in a cost effective manner, while being responsive to members needs. PenFed Credit Union offers market-leading mortgages, automobile loans, credit cards, checking, and a wide range of other financial services with its members interests always in mind. PenFed Credit Union serves a diverse population, and no military service is required to join. We offer many paths to membership, including numerous employee groups and association affiliations. Its easy to apply. We invite you to come see why you belong at PenFed Credit Union. PenFed Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA and is an equal housing lender. To learn more about PenFed Credit Union, visit PenFed.org, like us on Facebook and follow us @PenFed on Twitter. Interested in working for PenFed? Check us out on Linkedin. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer: M/F/V/D.
Stony Brook Medicine and the Mount Sinai Health System today announced that they are entering into an affiliation agreement that includes collaboration on research, academic programs and clinical care initiatives, effective immediately. The institutions launched the partnership to heighten academic and research synergies and to promote discovery, provide expanded clinical trials for both institutions, and achieve breakthroughs in understanding and treating disease.

This is a momentous day for academic medicine, health care, our respective students, faculty and staff, and for all those who are cared for by our teams of highly trained, dedicated clinicians, said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD. Each institution has so much to offer, so this is an opportunity that will prove to be beneficial for all  now and in the future  as we explore and grow this incredible collaboration.

Mount Sinai and Stony Brook bring unique strengths to this partnership, and together we will use our outstanding resources to create changes in medicine, said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. We are committed to further developing this exciting collaboration and finding new ways to enhance academics and clinical care."

The partnership will revolutionize medical research by combining expertise from both premier medical schools, said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System. Both institutions are committed to a culture of innovation in research and education, and we look forward to working with Stony Brook to help make exciting breakthroughs in health care.

Expanding Research and Academic Programs

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Stony Brook University will collaborate to develop a wide range of research programs in fields including biomedical engineering and computer science; drug discovery and medicinal chemistry sciences; neuroscience, neurology and psychiatry; basic biology and novel therapeutics; and, public health and health systems. The alliance will capitalize on Stony Brooks expertise in mathematics, high-performance computing, imaging, and the physical and chemical sciences, and Mount Sinais strengths in biomedical and clinical research, and health policy and outcomes.

The opportunities for amazing science to spring from our collaborative efforts are truly boundless, said Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, and Dean of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. When you bring the intellectual and biomedical horsepower of the Icahn School of Medicine faculty together with the outstanding neuroscientists, cancer biologists, imaging innovators, cardiovascular experts, and leading biomedical informaticists of the Stony Brook School of Medicine, as well as the world-class departments of computer sciences, biomedical engineering, chemistry, and applied mathematics at Stony Brook University, the possibilities are staggering. Then add the Stony Brook Schools of Health Technology, Dental Medicine, Social Welfare, Nursing, and Pharmacy into the mix. Health sciences education can only flourish, and the possibilities for innovative approaches to clinical care are not just theoretical, but expected. We look forward to working with Mount Sinai on large-scale research and clinical collaborations that will transform health care from Manhattan to Montauk.

Through the partnership, the schools will develop joint graduate and medical educational programs in all areas, leveraging the strength of existing masters and doctoral programs at each institution. Students will have the opportunity to take classes on both campuses, allowing them to learn new techniques and expand their learning capacity. Mount Sinai and Stony Brook will also build summer programs for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students.

In addition, Mount Sinai and Stony Brook will invest a combined $500,000 to launch competitive and unique pilot programs, with the intent to receive collaborative external funding. Projects will be determined and overseen by a committee composed of three representatives from each institution.

We will establish a joint committee to evaluate proposals and decide on what projects to pursue, said Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs, Nash Family Professor and Chair of the Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, and Director of the Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. This is a major investment that will have a dramatic influence on both campuses ability to advance education, research, diagnostics, and treatment.

Major breakthroughs in improving diagnostics and therapeutics in health care come from research, usually starting at the very basic level and moving into translational and clinical research and eventually to the bedside, said Lina Obeid, MD, Dean for Research and Vice Dean for Scientific Affairs at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Stony Brook Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are two power-houses of research that when partnered will definitely yield greater discoveries than just the sum of their parts. The joint pilots in research have immense promise to advance health at the most exciting time in the biomedical sciences, including advanced computational, bioinformatic, and engineering approaches.

About Stony Brook Medicine

Stony Brook Medicine integrates and elevates all of Stony Brook Universitys health-related initiatives: education, research and patient care. It includes five Health Sciences schools  Dental Medicine, Health Technology and Management, Medicine, Nursing and Social Welfare  as well as Stony Brook University Hospital and more than 50 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County. To learn more, visit http://www.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

About Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Established in 1971, the Stony Brook University School of Medicine includes 25 academic departments. The three missions of the School are to advance the understanding of the origins of human health and disease; train the next generation of committed, curious and highly capable physicians; and deliver world-class compassionate healthcare. As a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical school, Stony Brook is one of the foremost institutes of higher medical education in the country. Each year the School trains nearly 500 medical students and more than 480 medical residents and fellows. Faculty research includes National Institutes of Health-sponsored programs in neurological diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, biomedical imaging, regenerative medicine, infectious diseases, and many other topics. Physicians on the School of Medicine faculty deliver world-class medical care through more than 30,000 inpatient, 80,000 emergency room, and approximately 350,000 outpatient visits annually at Stony Brook University Hospital and affiliated clinical programs, making its clinical services one of the largest and highest quality on Long Island, New York. To learn more, visit http://www.medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient servicesfrom community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is in the Honor Roll of best hospitals in America, ranked No. 15 nationally in the 2016-2017 Best Hospitals issue of U.S. News & World Report. The Mount Sinai Hospital is also ranked as one of the nations top 20 hospitals in Geriatrics, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Ear, Nose & Throat, and is in the top 50 in four other specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 10 nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. Mount Sinais Kravis Childrens Hospital is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report in "Best Children's Hospitals." To learn more, visit http://www.mountsinai.org.

About the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is an international leader in medical and scientific training, biomedical research, and patient care. It is the medical school for the Mount Sinai Health System, an integrated health care system which includes seven hospitals and an expanding ambulatory network serving approximately 4 million patients per year. The School has more than 1,800 students in MD, PhD, and Masters programs and post-doctoral fellowships; more than 5,600 faculty members; over 2,000 residents and fellows; and 23 clinical and research institutes and 34 academic departments. It is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per principal investigator. The School was the first medical school in the country to create a progressive admissions approach for students who seek early assurance of admission through the FlexMed program. The Graduate School of Biomedical Science trains PhD and MD/PhD students, and offers masters-level programs in areas such as genetic counseling, clinical research, biomedical sciences, and public health, and an online masters degree in health care delivery leadership. The seamless connections between our medical school, graduate school, and hospital campuses provide an extraordinary environment for translating scientific discoveries into clinical treatments. To learn more, visit http://icahn.mssm.edu/.

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The Trade Commission of Spain and Wines from Spain announce the 23rd annual Spains Great Match event, which will take place October 5th in New Yorks iconic IAC HQ Building, with a second event in San Francisco scheduled for November 15th. Over 300 wines representing the varietals and wine regions of Spain will be featured in a walk-around tasting format. American importers and distributors of Spanish wines will present their best products, including new wines and the latest vintages to wine industry professionals during the day and consumers in the evening. In collaboration with the Spain Tourism Board, this extravaganza celebrates the distinctive wines, food and culture of Spain.

During the afternoon, members of the wine trade and press are invited to tutored regional tasting seminars in addition to the walk-around tasting. In the evening, Spains Great Match will open to the public for a ticketed event that will feature, along with the wine stations, some of New York Citys best Spanish restaurants and tapas bars.

The New York Spains Great Match will be held in the vibrant Chelsea neighborhood at the renowned IAC HQ Building (http://www.IAChq.com). We are honored to host Spains Great Match for the 23rd year  a New York tradition in its own right, says Genaro Gonzalez Palacios, Senior Trade Commissioner of The Trade Commission of Spain in New York, and delighted to present the supreme quality and diversity of all things Spain: wine, food, and design.

Seminar schedules and event timing for the afternoon and evening events will follow shortly, as well as details on Spains Great Match 2016 in San Francisco to be held on November 15th. Must be 21 or older to attend.

To register for the Spain's Great Match trade event, please visit https://spainsgreatmatchnyc.eventbrite.com. To purchase tickets for the consumer event, please visit https://spainsgreatmatchnycpublic.eventbrite.com. Follow Spains Great Match on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: username @WinesFromSpain and hashtag #SpainsGreatMatch

About Wines from Spain: The Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (Instituto Espanol de Comercio Exterior, ICEX) is the authorized governmental platform for the promotion of Spanish exports and Spanish companies' international growth. Vinos de Espana - or Wines from Spain - is ICEX's brand for a wide range of promotional activities designed to inform trade and consumers abroad about quality Spanish wines. Wines from Spain has been promoting Spanish wines in walk-around tastings to press, trade and consumers in New York and the United States for nearly 30 years. Each year, Wines from Spain hosts Spains Great Match- an opportunity to sample and learn about a variety of the worlds most sought-after Spanish wines paired with tapas from the top rated area Spanish restaurants.

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Vaccines are truly a global health success story.

The United Nations Foundations Shot@Life campaign today announced an exclusive fellowship to Eastern Africa for a select group of bloggers in October 2016. Bloggers will meet with mothers, children and health care workers to see and hear first-hand the importance of childhood immunization both in urban and rural settings. Additionally, attendees will receive in-depth briefings and knowledge from country experts about the health situation of children living in Eastern Africa.

Vaccines are truly a global health success story, said Devi Thomas, Director of the Shot@Life campaign. Each year they protect millions of children around the world from some of the most deadly and disabling diseases. However, one in five children still do not have access to the vaccines they need. With this fellowship we hope to raise awareness and generate support for children around the world.

The fellowship is intended for U.S. and Canadian-based bloggers who have written about childrens health. Special consideration will be given to bloggers who are active on social media and have a working knowledge of global health or foreign affairs.

The application deadline is September 9, 2016. To apply, click here. For more information please contact ckobrin(at)unfoundation(dot)org.

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About Shot@Life

Shot@Life, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, educates, connects and empowers individuals to champion global vaccines as one of the most effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries. Go to ShotAtLife.org to learn more.

About the United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the worlds most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors. Learn more at: http://www.unfoundation.org.
Blue Ocean has long been a thought leader in the outsourced contact center industry, so we knew sharing the lessons and perspectives weve gained guiding business leaders through the RFP process would be a valuable resource.

Blue Ocean Contact Centers, an award-winning Canadian outsourced contact center which is part of IMP Group Limited, has just produced their own original eBook The End-to-End Contact Center Solutions Buyers Guide to simplify the decision-making process for businesses exploring outsourced customer service options. This digital resource collects and presents the insider knowledge of the Blue Ocean team, delivering their accumulated experience with contact center RFPs over the past 22 years in the form of a clear and informative read.

The End-to-End Contact Center Solutions Buyers Guide takes business readers through the comprehensive outsourced contact center buying process. Topics within the Buyers Guide include:



How to Calculate Call Center Outsourcing Costs

Making a Contact Center RFP Timeline

51 Contact Center RFP Questions to Ask Vendors

Mistakes to Avoid in Contact Center RFPs

How to Extend Customer Experience Strategy to Your Outsourced Team

The Economics of Nearshore vs Offshore Contact Centers

And More

The outsourced contact center RFP process can be difficult to navigate for those unfamiliar with it, said Elizabeth Sedlacek, Director, Sales of Blue Ocean Contact Centers. Our Contact Center Buyers Guide is designed to provide indispensable information, streamline each buying step, and make the final decision evident.

Blue Ocean has long been a thought leader in the outsourced contact center industry, so we knew sharing the lessons and perspectives weve gained guiding business leaders through the RFP process would be a valuable resource, said Andrew OBrien, President and COO of Blue Ocean Contact Centers. Through our experience, weve learned what makes outsourced contact center buyers need to know and need to ask.

To download The End-to-End Contact Center Solutions Buyers Guide, click here. For more information about Blue Ocean Contact Centers, please contact Amy Bennet, Director of Communications at 902.722.3312 or abennet(at)blueocean(dot)ca.

About Blue Ocean Contact Centers

Blue Ocean Contact Centers is an award winning North American Contact Center/Call Center and a member company of IMP Group. They provide innovative call center outsourcing services that deliver practical solutions to real problems, enhancing the relationships that clients have with their customers. Blue Ocean Contact Centers is driven to strengthen and enhance these customer relationships and build lifetime loyalty that leads to increased profitability.
We are dedicated to helping our clients make smarter marketing decisions and now have Google as a powerful ally who will help us achieve measurable ROI for our clients.

Digital agency Primacy announced that it has been named a Google Premier Partner, a status designated for three percent of agencies nationwide. This distinction places Primacy among only eight Premier agencies in Connecticut that specialize in both search and mobile advertising. The exclusive partnership is reserved only for Googles most valued agencies and is designed to recognize companies that provide the best quality services according to Googles best practices.

This is a great milestone for our company, said Rosie Walker, EVP, Marketing. We are dedicated to helping our clients make smarter marketing decisions and now have Google as a powerful ally who will help us achieve measurable ROI for our clients.

Google created their Partner Program in 2011 to connect businesses with advertising agencies that are capable of helping companies grow through AdWords advertising. Partners are defined as advertising agencies that have at least one employee certified in AdWords, manage a minimum of $10,000 in ad spend in a 90-day period and meet Google's performance minimums. Google then features these agencies as certified partners and helps refer them to advertisers seeking a pay-per-click expert.

Earlier this month, Google announced its Premier Partner Status, a recognition reserved for Google's most valued agencies. Less than three percent of all partners were promoted to Premier status. In order to become a Premier Partner, agencies were held to increased ad spend thresholds, higher performance standards and stringent certification requirements.

This designation validates Primacys market standing as a leading digital agency that is highly experienced in Google marketing services, which includes specializing in both analytics and advertising (search, display, video and mobile).

About Primacy

Primacy is an award-winning, digital-first agency that provides unparalleled client service, solution-oriented technology and in-depth industry expertise to deliver engaging experiences that have meaningful impact and measurable, actionable results. Primacy offers a full-breadth of services including design and user experience, marketing, technology, branding, mobile, media planning and buying and strategic thinking.

Primacy works with a diverse range of clients in verticals including consumer, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and higher education. Clients include Aetna, Amica, Cannondale, EmblemHealth, ESPN, The Hartford, MassMutual, Middlesex Hospital, MIT, Regis University, Sikorsky Aircraft, Smith College, Tufts Medical Center, University of Michigan and Yale New Haven Health. The company is headquartered in Farmington, CT with offices in New York and Boston. To find out more, visit http://www.theprimacy.com.
I could not be prouder of the company we have become. At the heart of our success are people  talented Perks team members and incredible clients. I am so thankful for their help in our achievements and see many accomplishments in our future.

Perks, a global incentives, engagement and loyalty company, commemorates 15 years of increasing participant loyalty. In 2001, Jeff Ford and co-founders set out to create a solution that would help corporations motivate their team members and sales force. During its years in business, the Arkansas-based company has grown to 7.5 million active users, a global client list and three business units - channel sales, employee recognition and customer loyalty. The recent promotion of Deb Broderson to Chief Marketing Officer signals the organizations plan to further its position as a leading communications agency for customer programs and promotions. Recently Perks was recognized as one of the best employers in Arkansas when it made 2016 list of Best Places to Work in Arkansas.

Of the companys longevity Ford says, Launching a business takes determination, a clear vision and, perhaps, just a touch of audacity. When Perks opened its doors in 2001, we knew where we wanted to go, but were unaware of where the journey would take us. Through highs and lows, late nights and many, many teachable moments we have arrived at our 15-year anniversary. I could not be prouder of the company we have become. At the heart of our success are people  talented Perks team members and incredible clients. I am so thankful for their help in our achievements and see many accomplishments in our future.

Perks has consistently raised the bar in the incentives industry. Powered by the latest cloud, social, mobile and data science technologies, Perks has set a rapid pace of innovation with six major releases every year.

Perks continues to innovate and recently launched their Enterprise Engagement Engine (E3) incentive solution. E3 is a powerful multi-tenant, next-generation platform that provides a consistent, modern user experience across any device. The architecture allows for easy customization at a granular level: virtually assigning roles and regions and creating groups easily. The built-in flexibility empowers customers to configure funds, budgets, claims, behaviors and analytics on a global basis and promotions, enablement, activities and communications on a local basis. The modules are seamlessly bound to address employees needs in a way that individual components cannot deliver on their own.

About Perks

Perks provides global services and software that motivate, recognize and reward the people who matter most to your business. With a listing on the Salesforce AppExchange and a global user base exceeding 7.5 million users, Perks takes the guesswork out of Rewards and Recognition programs. When you partner with Perks, we ensure that you receive the right services, infrastructure and processes to streamline program administration and increase engagement. To learn more or to request a demo, visit Perks.com.
Japans Akane Kuroki (38) sheds tears of relief and delight after posting a good score with Toots to get the Japanese effort underway at Olympic Dressage in Deodoro Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro (BRA when you come into the arena he says I want to do this with you

Great tests from both Dorothee Schneider and Sonke Rothenberger have given Team Germany a firm hold at the top of both the individual and team leaderboards after the opening day of Olympic Dressage at Deodoro Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) today. The Grand Prix is the first of the two competitions that will decide the team medals, and 29 of the 60 competing horse-and-rider combinations took their turn during the day.

It was an emotional roller-coaster from the outset, 38-year-old Akane Kuroki bursting into tears of relief and delight after posting a score of 66.90 with Toots to get the Japanese effort underway. There was deep disappointment for The Netherlands Adelinde Cornelissen who had to retire when her great campaigner, the 19-year-old gelding Parzival, was way under par however. The pair who took team bronze and individual silver at London 2012 began their performance, but the 37-year-old rider felt her faithful gelding was unable to show his best.

It started yesterday morning, I came to the stable and his cheek was completely swollen and it appeared he was bitten by a spider or a mosquito or whatever.he had a fever, so we managed to get that down yesterday, eight or nine hours on liquids and everything was good, his temperature was down again, and this morning also. So I discussed it with the team vet and he said go ahead, give it a try, but then he felt totally empty in the ring, and I didnt want to push him through this - he didnt deserve that Cornelissen explained.

Next to go however, Rothenberger was on the opposite end of the adrenalin spectrum when rocketing right to the top of the scoreboard with some fabulous work with a gelding more than half Parzivals age, the nine-year-old Cosmo. Im very happy, hes the youngest horse in the field and I am one of the youngest riders! said the 21-year-old. Hes very excited to be representing his country at the Olympic Games. Its amazing to be part of this team - I hoped to take the pressure away from the others with a good score he said. He has built up a great relationship with his Cosmo and clearly admires this horse. I first rode dressage in pony classes then I went jumping, but Cosmo got me back into dressage. I thought jumping a 1.60m fence was the only thing that could give me goose-bumps but Cosmo proved I was wrong about that! he explained after scoring 77.329.

Then Fiona Bigwood set British hearts racing with a great test from Orthilia that put her, temporarily, into second spot. Its a real family outing in Rio for the 46-year-old rider who has brought her three young children and whose husband, Anders Dahl is competing for Sweden, another of the 11 nations contesting the team medals. Bigwood competes with a patch over her right eye following an injury that seriously damaged her sight two years ago. But she steered her 11-year-old mare to a great mark of 77.157.

Thats a lovely score on the board for the English team she said after leaving the ring. Talking about her restricted vision she explained in the warm-up I cant see to the right so I get nervous. It took some time to adjust, but Im used to it now and this mare is wonderful, I wouldnt be here riding any other horse.

With Cornelissen unable to contribute to the team effort a good result was required from her Dutch team-mate Edward Gal, and he didnt disappoint when putting 75.271 on the board. His horse, Voice, is sensitive so he said in the first part of the test I was bit careful because he wanted to run away! But he was still thinking about Cornelissens disappointment - I tried to comfort her, but it was very sad for her he said.

Schneider was last to go with Showtime FRH, and from the moment the pair came before the judges the scores went into overdrive, a handsome 80.986 putting them way out in front.

I have this horse since he was three and at the beginning of this year he turned a corner and he said I am here! The feeling you get with him is amazing outside in the warm-up, and then when you come into the arena he says I want to do this with you and he goes in a light way. Its easy, you dont have to use pressure, although in the left pirouette there was a little misunderstanding today, but Im very happy! said the 47-year-old who was a member of the German silver-medal-winning team at London 2012.

The Grand Prix continues tomorrow and is followed by the Grand Prix Special on Friday which will decide the team title. As tomorrows action begins Germanys Schneider and Rothenberger hold the first two places followed by Bigwood in third and Gal in fourth, while Germany tops the team rankings with The Netherlands in second and Great Britain in third.

Quotes:

Mary Hanna AUS - Im thrilled with him, this was a personal best for him, he has only done five Grand Prix in his life! He was a bit of a child delinquent, he once bolted with me at a show and it really wasnt nice, he was not so easy and reliable, hes dumped a few people in his time but hes a very well-behaved young man now!

I used to be an event rider, I had a dressage and I tried to event him but he didnt like to gallop and he fell in a ditch one day and cut his face so I decided we should stick to dressage. I train with Patrik Kittel (SWE) and Im based in Munster (GER), we have a little Aussie community there!

Sonke Rothenberger - We got Cosmo at four years old and my father rode him until he was six and then I took him over. Hes a very special horse.



Full results here https://www.rio2016.com/en/equestrian-schedule-and-results
Sean Sadeghi, Director of Finance and the newest addition to the Soboba leadership team.

Soboba Casino is proud to welcome Sean Sadeghi, Director of Finance and the newest addition to the Soboba leadership team. As a member of the executive management team, Sean is responsible for the financial leadership of Soboba Casino by upholding strong financial management and accountability while providing timely, accurate and reliable financial information and assisting the General Manager in formulating Sobobas overall strategic direction.

Sean has had over 18 years of experience in Gaming, Hospitality and Tribal Enterprises. Prior to joining the Soboba Casino team, Sean served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Little Creek Casino Resort, an enterprise of the Squaxin Island Tribe in western Washington. In his capacity, Sean played a key role in improving the financial performance of the enterprise and received several honorary recognitions from the Squaxin Island Tribal Council, the Chief Executive Officer and other team members.

Prior to Little Creek Casino, Sean served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Indian Head Casino, an enterprise of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon. During his tenure with Indian Head Casino, Sean helped in achieving the strategic direction of the Casino and received an outstanding recognition from the Board of Directors, members of which include Governor Ted Kulongoski of Oregon and Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse.

According to the General Manager of Soboba Casino, Scott Sirois, We are overwhelmingly pleased that Sean has joined our team. We would be hard-pressed to find a candidate with more qualifications, experience and passion for this position.

When asked about his new position, Sean stated, I'm honored to have been selected by the management team at Soboba Casino and am grateful for the opportunity to work for the Soboba Tribe." Sadeghi also states, "It is a great opportunity for me to be part of this organization and to assist with its plans for the new hotel-casino. I look forward to helping the Tribe look to the future and continue with its efforts of economic growth and self-sufficiency.

Sean also served as the Director of Finance of Casino Del Sol and Casino of the Sun in Tucson Arizona and Gaming Controller and Auditor for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.

Sean is an active member of the CPA BC, and is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive.

Soboba Casino features approximately 2,000 of the newest, hottest slot machines, an expansive and modern non-smoking room, 20 classic gaming tables featuring all of your favorite card games, and a large outdoor event arena which easily accommodates over 10,000 people. Need to recharge & refresh? Visit the cozy Soboba Cafe and Coffee Kiicha, or experience AC's Lounge with full cocktail bar and three giant HD flat screens including the Sobobatron, the Inland Empires biggest HD video wall.

Soboba Casino is proudly owned and operated by the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians. Come join us for all the fun and then some! Soboba Casino. Where Everybody Goes to Play! For more information, visit: https://www.soboba.com/

Soboba Casino: 23333 Soboba Road, San Jacinto, CA 92583
AuthX is pleased to announce a Platinum Sponsorship of Hippos flagship North America event, HIPPO.CONNECT, being held September 22-23 in Boston, MA. The second annual Hippo conference caters to the Web Content Management community at large, and offers two full days of shared insights by clients, partners, marketing professionals, thought leaders and developers, with a focus on Content Management, its business impact, and the future of the technology.

Working to redefine Digital Marketing Platforms and practices, AuthX has partnered with Hippo, a pioneer of the Web Content management space, to promote interaction and growth throughout the Hippo CMS community. Through a collaborative and engaging conference setting, attendees will attend a variety of educational sessions, and also learn how global businesses are leveraging technology to grow their market-share, and deliver better experiences to their customer base. Speakers at the event, taking place at the Calerwood Pavilion at the Boston Center of the Arts, include Digital Clarity Groups Senior Contributing Analyst, Robert Rose.

HIPPO.CONNECT 2016 is the second annual event the company has held in North America, and is representative of the increasing momentum the company has experienced in the U.S. market. The only open source Java WCM to be part of the Gartner Magic Quadrant, Hippo was also named a Trendsetting Product of 2016 by EContents Magazine, and recently saw a its 16th consecutive quarter of growth on the continent.

This year, Hippo has seen continuing momentum in North America, with business wins in key industries, such as eCommerce and Financial Services, says Hippos CMO Tjeerd Brenninkmeijer, HIPPO.CONNECT will be a great place to showcase the latest successes of our partners and clients, and for the Hippo community to share insights into the future of the digital experience. With so many industry experts and digital leaders gathering under one roof, HIPPO.CONNECT is not to be missed.

Hippo.Connect 2016

22-23 September 2016, 8am-4pm

Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center of the Arts

527 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116

Sign up now at: http://www.onehippo.com/connect/boston

About AuthX

AuthX is a Digital Technology Company with a unique perspective on Online Marketing and the solutions that power it. Offering, technical and marketing services with proven success supporting Fortune 1000 companies, AuthX is focused on taking modern business and technical strategies, such as Customer Experience Management (CXM), test-driven optimization, personalization and content management, and deploying them through one global system. A strategy we call Global Brand. Local Marketing. By partnering with industry leading CXM technologies, AuthX is able to offer clients a tailored strategy to communicate intimately across channels through enablement of the platforms. AuthXs corporate philosophy promotes bringing Authenticity to each engagement, including our client, our partner, our employees, and our industry. To assist clients in overcoming the challenges presented by an ever-changing digital marketplace, AuthX provides Enterprise Architecture and Strategy, Implementation Services, Optimization Services and Cloud-Based Managed Services.

About Hippo

Hippo is on a mission to make the digital experience more personable for every visitor. Were redefining the CMS space by engineering the worlds most advanced content performance platform, designed to help businesses understand their visitors  whether they are known or anonymous  and deliver the content they value in any context and on any device. Together with its global network of Certified Partners, Hippo serves a rapidly growing number of enterprise clients around the world including Bell Aliant, Autodesk, Couchbase, the University of Maryland, the Dutch Foreign Office, Randstad, Veikkaus, NHS, 1&1 Internet, Bugaboo and Weleda.
Nurses participate in educational exercises at VA Northern California Health Care System. The more I talked to and worked with the veterans during my education, the more I realized why this program is special, said Amy Phan, one of the 18 USF nursing students graduating this week.

The University of San Francisco (USF) School of Nursing and Health Professions is proud to announce the inaugural class of graduates who participated in the Veteran Affairs Nursing Academic Partnership (VANAP), a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs funded program with the Veteran Affairs Northern California Health Care System (VANCHCS) and USFs School of Nursing and Health Professions to educate well-qualified nurses with specialized training in the health issues facing veterans. This first class of 18, graduating with a bachelor of science in nursing, will be recognized during a formal pinning ceremony this Friday, Aug. 12 at 9 a.m. in Sacramento.

This program, designed as a year-round, two-year curriculum for transfer students who have completed their science prerequisites, is distinctive in that nursing students conduct all of their adult clinical rotations in VA facilities, gaining in-depth knowledge of veteran care issues. By working closely with veterans from the very beginning of the program, students are better equipped to care for this growing population. With thousands of veterans returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq, the demand for highly trained nurses equipped with the skills and sensitivity required to serve the unique needs of veterans has never been greater.

The more I talked to and worked with the veterans during my education, the more I realized why this program is special, said Amy Phan, one of the 18 USF nursing students graduating this week. Many of the veterans have such positive spirits, even when theyre in the hospital. Its really rewarding to be able to care for, listen to, and talk with the veterans who have served our country. They have been through a lot more than most and have such a different perspective on the world. Im inspired by this population and eager to use my nursing skills to promote their well-being.

Another goal of the program is to help transform and improve the ways the VA delivers care now and in the future by introducing more academic rigor and evidence-based practice measures for clinical staff.

We are thrilled to welcome the graduates from USFs first class of the VA Nursing Academic Partnership to the nursing profession, said USF School of Nursing and Health Professions Dean Judith Karshmer. Current statistics indicate that as many as 70% of eligible veterans receive their care in local community hospitals and clinics. Therefore, preparing these students in veteran care, in addition to teaching them how to treat the general population, will bring much-needed expertise and insight that veterans so desperately deserve.

To request media interviews about the Veteran Affairs Nursing Academic Partnership or to cover the Aug. 12 pinning ceremony, please contact Anne-Marie Devine Tasto, senior director of media relations for USF at (415) 422-2697 or abdevine(at)usfca(dot)edu.



About the University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco is located in the heart of one of the worlds most innovative and dynamic cities and is home to a vibrant academic community of students and faculty who achieve excellence in their fields. Its diverse student body enjoys direct access to faculty, small classes, and outstanding opportunities in the city itself. USF is San Franciscos first university, and its Jesuit Catholic mission helps ignite a students passion for social justice and a desire to Change the World from Here. For more information, please visit http://www.usfca.edu.



USFs Sacramento Campus is located near the center of the citys historic business district and blocks from the state Capitol building. USF has served the Sacramento area for more than 40 years, offering classes in business, health, and education at both the graduate and undergraduate level. The Sacramento Campus is one of four USF branch campusesincluding San Jose, Pleasanton and Santa Rosa. For more information, please visit http://www.usfca.edu/sacramento/.



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Today, Pearson announced its partnership with Kentucky State University (KSU) to launch Digital Direct Access, an industry leading model which digitally delivers high-quality course materials to students. The significant cost savings of this program has enabled KSU to announce that every student will receive a scholarship covering the full cost of digital course materials, beginning in the fall 2016 semester.

KSU will join 55 institutions that have partnered with Pearson in 2016 to provide college-wide, direct access to high-quality digital course materials for their students. In addition to savings of up to 60 percent, Digital Direct Access provides learners with critical access to course materials on the first day of class and offers instructors insights into students learning activity through data analysis. KSUs Digital Direct Access initiative will also provide 24/7/365 technical helpdesk support and award-winning Smarthinking online tutoring services.

Some traditional textbooks can cost anywhere from $100 to $300 apiece. And the fact is, some students simply cannot afford to buy all the textbooks required for their course load, said Aaron Thompson, Ph.D., interim president, Kentucky State University. We want our students to be successful, and numerous studies have shown that if students do not have their books during the first few days of school, their success rate is seriously diminished.

We want to ensure that all our students have equitable access to required course materials the very first day they walk into the classroom, said Candice Jackson, Ph.D., acting vice president for Academic Affairs, Kentucky State University. If a student does not own a computer, not to worry. Students can choose to rent a computer for a small use fee, or the university offers free computer at convenient locations all over campus which includes, dorms, computer labs and the library.

Pearson is honored to partner with Kentucky State University to enable them to provide all students with free access to required course materials by the first day of class, said Tom Malek, senior vice president of partnerships, Pearson. KSUs groundbreaking, student-centered strategy demonstrates a growing trend toward improving student performance and making higher education more accessible and affordable.

KSU has a continued mission to make college education more affordable for learners. More than 1,700 students will benefit from the institutions digital course delivery model each semester.

About Pearson

Pearson is the worlds learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Our mission is to help people make progress through access to better learning. We believe that learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. For more, visit http://www.Pearsoned.com.

About Kentucky State University

Kentucky State University, building on its legacy of achievement as a historically black, liberal arts, and 1890 Land Grant University, affords access to and prepares a diverse population of traditional and non-traditional students to compete in a multifaceted, ever changing global society by providing student-centered learning while integrating teaching, research and service through high-quality undergraduate and select graduate programs. Located in Frankfort, Kentucky, KSU offers associate (two-year) degrees in three disciplines, baccalaureate (four-year) degrees in 24 disciplines, and masters degrees in five disciplines. KSU has 129 full-time instructional faculty members and more than 1,700 students.

Media Contacts:

Scott Overland, scott.overland(at)pearson(dot)com, 202-909-4520

Diane Hawkins, diane.hawkins(at)kysu(dot)edu, 502-597-6286
ASAE Strategic Alliance Partner We are excited about rising above expectations and making transformative contributions to associations and their partners during this years annual ASAE event.

YourMembership (YM), a leading cloud-based software provider for associations and member-based organizations worldwide, today announced its continuing pledge to strengthen and support the associations of the future by embarking on a core leadership role and participating in several pivotal experiences for association leaders at the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) annual conference in Salt Lake City, August 13 - 16, 2016. YourMembership CEO JP Guilbault will also facilitate a Networking Kickstarter session during one of the events pre-conference certificate programs, AMCs Engaged!, hosted by the AMC Institute (AMCI).

We are excited about rising above expectations and making transformative contributions to associations and their partners during this years annual ASAE event, Guilbault said. This is a strong, confident step in leveraging our investment in research and education through the ASAE Foundation to help empower future leaders and the association community by playing a leading role increasing member engagement and preparing associations for the constantly shifting developments of our digital generation.

YM, one of ASAEs eight Strategic Alliance Partners, is also launching and providing fully-functional demonstrations of SocialLinka new, game-changing feature enhancing association member communities powered by membership management softwareSunday, August 14 and Monday, August 15 at booth #605 in the Salt Palace Convention Center. SocialLink surpasses the AMS community platforms in use today by creating a more inviting and connecting experience for the social media generation, giving them access to highly-personalized and relevant content in secure and private communities through associations.

Beforehand at AMCs Engaged!, Mr. Guilbault, Associate Board Member and Co-chair of the Online Education Committee at AMCI, kicks off the hour-long session How to Maximize Technology and Emerging Trends at 11:20AM on Saturday, August 13, inside the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek, where conversations will center on association management companies ability to stay ahead of the technology curve and strategically deliver forward-thinking solutions to their clients.

Attendees of AMCs Engaged! will be able to follow this session and other event activities using YMs Mobile Event App, which is now in use for the third consecutive AMCI conference.

Once the ASAEs Annual Meeting and Expo gets in full swing, YM will take part in educational, informative and ceremonial events that further cement the companys commitment to associations and the way they can better connect and engage members, while growing for the future. On YMs ASAE agenda:



Saturday evening, August 13: The ASAE Foundation Leadership Society will recognize YMan Emerald level memberand induct the company, represented by Guilbault and Melea Blaskovich, VP of Strategic Partnerships & Market Development of YourMembership, into the foundations Leadership Circle for consistently giving to and supporting associations and nonprofits. They will receive a special lapel pin, which will be pinned during the ceremony, showing appreciation for YM recently contributing more than $25,000 to the foundation.

5:30PM - 6:30PM, Saturday, August 13: YM will attend the ASAE Foundations The Power of A Reception. YM, honored by the invite as an ASAE Alliance Partner, will be hosting 20 industry leaders in October 2016 at The Power of A Summit Awards Dinner, where associations are recognized for using their unique resources to solve problems, advance industry and professional performance, kick-start innovation and improve world conditions. Blaskovich sits on the Steering Committee of the awards program.

4PM - 5PM, Sunday, August 14: Guilbault will speak before ASAEs Industry Partner Alliance at the Salt Palace Convention Center. He will lead and address ways for technology companies and convention of visitor bureaus to understand how to better collaborate with association leaders who are members of ASAE and AMCI.

Sunday, August 14 and Monday, August 15: All-day, fully-functional demonstrations of SocialLink at booth #605 in the Salt Palace Convention Center, as well as conversations to learn more about YMs data integration strategy.

Ms. Blaskovich, a member of ASAEs Industry Partner Committee and AMCIs Engagement Committee, said: Its the positive global and societal impact of associations that inspires YourMembership to give, which aligns with our mission to create more value than we capture. Associations make us smarter and more successful because of their willingness to collaborate, be part of product input and design, while offering feedback and ideas to support growth for all of us.

For more information about and a demo of YMs SocialLink, visit us at booth #605, where YM will also be giving away two tickets (valued at $1,800) to its annual event Xperience2017  A Conference for Everyone in April 2017. To learn more about YourMembership and its portfolio of membership and organization management products, visit us at http://www.YourMembership.com.

About YourMembership

YourMembership, established in 1998, empowers associations, organizations, nonprofits and other companies worldwide to deliver more value to their users, drive non-dues revenue through innovative career centers and buyers guides, increase their relevance using ground-breaking engagement tools, and enhance overall operational efficiencies. YourMembership's cloud-based membership management solution enables associations to effectively brand their organizations, engage their customer bases, and streamline their administrative processes. As the worlds largest provider of membership and company management software, YourMembership provides comprehensive membership solutions to more than 5,000 customers in 32 countries.

For more information, visit http://www.YourMembership.com. To learn more now, call 1-727-827-0046. To get the latest industry updates, read our blog at http://www.yourmembership.com/resource-library/blog/. Get social with YM on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/yourmembership/, on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/yourmembership, on Google+ at http://www.plus.google.com/u/0/+Yourmembership/posts and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/yourmembership-com.

About the American Society of Association Executives

ASAE represents more than 21,000 association executives and industry partners representing 10,000 organizations. ASAE members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and nearly 50 countries around the world. To learn more about ASAE visit http://www.asaecenter.org.
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has added patent attorney Robert L. Hover as an associate in the firms Intellectual Property (IP) Group in the Boston office. Hover counsels technology clients on patent prosecution and IP portfolio management, and assists with the preparation of patentability, validity, infringement, and freedom-to-operate opinions, and IP licenses. His experience spans diverse technologies, including aviation, medical devices, manufacturing, mechanical, radar and laser, robotics, signal and image processing, optics, pulp and paper, communications, defense and aerospace, traditional and renewable energy, semiconductors, electronics, and software.

Prior to his legal career, Hover worked as an aeronautical engineer supporting General Electric and Pratt & Whitney.

The addition of Hover is the latest in a series of strategic new hires in Greenberg Traurigs Boston office, including shareholder Dr. Melissa Hunter-Ensor and registered patent agent Elbert C. Chiang, Ph.D. in the firms Intellectual Property (IP) Group, and shareholder Edward S. Hershfield in the firms Real Estate Group. Also, Amanda L. Reynolds was recently elevated to an associate in the Litigation and Labor & Employment Groups.

About Greenberg Traurigs Boston Office

Established in 1999, Greenberg Traurigs Boston office is home to more than 65 attorneys practicing in the areas of corporate, emerging technology, governmental affairs, intellectual property, labor and employment, life sciences and medical technology, litigation, public finance, and real estate. An important contributor to the firm's international platform, the Boston office includes a team of nationally recognized attorneys with both public and private sector experience. The team offers clients the value of decades of legal experience and hands-on knowledge of the local business community, supported by the firm's vast network of global resources.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 1,900 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No. 1 on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, second largest in the U.S. on the 2016 Law360 400, Top 20 on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2015 BTI Brand Elite. More information at: http://www.gtlaw.com.
On Saturday, August 6, 2016, Dickinson Wright Chairman Emeritus Dennis W. Archer accepted the ABA Medal, the highest honor given by the American Bar Association. He received the ABA Medal during the General Assembly of the 2016 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

I am indeed, humbled and deeply honored, Mr. Archer said. Whenever the ABA Medal has been awarded, I have felt that those who were awarded the medal were outstanding legal giants and worthy of receiving the highest award that the ABA can bestow upon a lawyer or judge. So when Paulette Brown let me know I would receive the award, I did all that I could to contain my emotions because it is such a unique and high honor.

All Dickinson Wright attorneys and staff members, past and present, congratulate Dennis Archer on receiving the ABA medal, a justly deserved honor, William T. Burgess, CEO of Dickinson Wright said. His long and illustrious career as a practicing lawyer, state Supreme Court justice, two-term mayor of Detroit, Chairman of our Firm, and first African-American president of ABA, is unequaled by todays or any other standards. He has served as a mentor and role model for countless young lawyers. The admiration and respect of his peers has been earned by his commitment, resolve, vision and breadth of accomplishment.

The ABA Medal recognizes exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence and is given only in years when the ABA Board of Governors determines a nominee has provided exceptional and distinguished service to the law and the legal profession. Among previous recipients are legendary justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Felix Frankfurter, Thurgood Marshall, William J. Brennan, Jr., and Sandra Day OConnor. Other recipients include Oliver Hill, Watergate Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski; human rights activist Father Robert Drinan; co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, William H. Gates, Sr.; and prominent attorneys David Boies and Theodore Olson.

Mr. Archer is Chairman Emeritus of Dickinson Wright PLLC. He served two four-year terms as mayor of the City of Detroit (1994-2001) and earned national and international respect for his success in changing Detroits image and direction. He is past president of the American Bar Association, breaking the color barrier as the first African-American ABA president in 2003, and has been active in several bar associations, eventually serving as president of the State Bar of Michigan, the Wolverine Bar Association and the National Bar Association. In addition to his service to the legal profession, Mr. Archer serves on the Board of TopBuild (BLD), a publicly-traded company headquartered in Daytona Beach and has served on numerous charitable and civic boards, including the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan.

To read more about Mr. Archers acceptance of the ABA Medal, please click here.

About Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 400 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has seventeen offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and ten other domestic offices in Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn. (2); Las Vegas, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Reno, Nev.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canada office is located in Toronto.

As one of the few law firms with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, the firm offers clients a distinctive combination of superb client service and exceptional quality. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.
His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, World Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Let it be clear that they [terrorists] are not practicing Islam, rather it seems as though they have invented their own hate-filled and poisonous religion

 More than 30,000 Ahmadi Muslims will hear address from world leader from August 12-14



Britains biggest annual Muslim convention in Hampshire will hear how fight against terror is the battle of our age

Interview and Photo Opportunities: 11 -14 August

Convention Dates: 12-14 August

Terrorists have invented their own hate-filled and poisonous religion a world Islamic leader has declared.

Speaking ahead of the 50th convention in Britain of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Caliph of the community His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

The only thing the terrorists are achieving is to completely violate the teachings of the Holy Quran and of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Let it be clear that they are not practicing Islam, rather it seems as though they have invented their own hate-filled and poisonous religion.

The address broadcast live globally on satellite TV was delivered at Britains biggest mosque in Morden, Surrey. In it, the global Ahmadiyya Muslim leader also backed Pope Franciss comments that whilst the world is at war, it is not religious war.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said:

With each day that passes, the power and strength of the Muslim nations is continuing to decrease. The fundamental cause is that Muslim leaders and their so-called religious scholars are blinded to Islams true teachings and are leading their nations on a destructive and ruinous path.

We see chaos and disorder in every Muslim country because the leaders are prioritising their self-interest over and above the rights of their people and the progress of their nation.

Later this month, from August 12-14, the Caliph will address the biggest annual gathering of Muslims in Britain. More than 30,000 Ahmadi Muslims will gather in Hampshire to pledge themselves to peace and to fight extremism.

Rafiq Hayat, President Ahmadiyya Community UK said that Muslims were united with all those who stood for peace, humanity and justice. Extremists are our common enemy.

He said:

We are entrusted to spread the true message of Islam as a religion of peace and of salvation- and to counter divisiveness and extremism. There is no compulsion in religion and a fundamental aspect of Islamic belief is that people are free to choose their path in life. Therefore, to force people in matters of faith and theology is contrary to the very core of our belief.

The reality is that much of the conflict we see today is politically motivated but is promoted under the guise of religion by extremists with their own vested interests. It is vital that Muslims do not allow the purity of our faith to be sullied by the atrocities perpetrated in the name of religion.

The annual convention at East Worldham, Alton will see people from 90 countries hear addresses from political, civic and religious leaders.

ENDS

Contact details:

Name: Basharat Nazir +447703 483384

E-mail: media(at)ahmadiyya.org(dot)uk

Mahmood Rafiq +447971 060 962

Twitter: @JalsaUK @AhmadiyyaUK

http://www.alislam.org/

http://www.loveforallhatredfornone.org/

Note to editors:

In London, we are offering opportunities for interviews, filming and photography, commencing one week in advance of the convention, starting Friday 5th August.

Also, Ahmadiyya Muslim branch offices located in all major towns and cities of Britain, from where the majority of the UK conference delegates would arrive, are available for direct media contacts. Please ask for contact information.

Ahmadi Muslims  one of the oldest Muslim groups in Britain, accept Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, a 19th century spiritual reformer from India, as the Messiah awaited by all major religions. The Community, now established in some 200 countries, is at the vanguard of the revival of true Islam.

His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Caliph of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, currently based in West London, will host the annual convention and address it on each of the three days.

Ahmadi Muslims are active in their communities; they raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities each year and have their own charity Humanity First that is serving humanity locally as well as in all parts of the world irrespective of colour, race or religion. Ahmadi Muslims are the pioneers of interfaith dialogue. In 2003 they opened the largest purpose built mosque in Western Europe in Morden Surrey, which can accommodate more than 13,000 people. The community also built the first mosque in London in 1924.
Attorney Bruce Campbell, founder of Campbell & Associates Law Firm PC, recently obtained a summary judgment that was affirmed on appeal (Court of Appeals, Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana, Case No. 06-15-00017-CV), and on which the Texas Supreme Court denied petition for review. The case included legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty claims that arose out of a serious automobile accident.

According to court documents, the case stems from an incident involving brothers who were driving in a Lexus and got in an accident that killed the driver and severely injured the two passengers. Court documents state that initially, members of the family pursued a product liability action against Toyota, maker of Lexus, on an alleged claim that the Lexus had suddenly accelerated prior to the accident. The family hired Melissa Richards-Smith and the Law Firm of Gillam & Smith, LLP (collectively the Smith Defendants), who associated with E. Todd Tracy and the Tracy Firm (collectively the Tracy Defendants), to pursue litigation against Toyota.

According to court documents, one of the passengers in the car and his wife made a claim under the deceased drivers primary liability insurance and settled their claims against him for policy limits without the lawyers knowledge. In the course of doing so, court documents further state, these two parties released the deceased driver, his wife, and the primary insurance carrier from all causes of action, claims, or demands for damages arising out of the accident. They then attempted to collect under an umbrella policy that the deceased driver had purchased, but their claim was denied based on the settlement with the primary insurance carrier and the resulting written release of claims. Because of this, according to court documents, they sued the lawyer defendants for legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty.

Campbell, who focuses on legal malpractice, raised on behalf of the Tracy Defendants the defense of release of the primary carrier to demonstrate that the claimants could not establish that the claimants could recover under the umbrella policy, which thus defeated the causation element of both claims. The court of appeals agreed and affirmed the summary judgment granted by the trial court. Recently, the Texas Supreme Court denied the petition for review.

About Bruce Campbell, Campbell & Associates Law Firm PC

Bruce Campbell is admitted to practice in Texas State Courts, in all Federal Courts in the State of Texas, in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans and in the Supreme Court of the United States. Campbell & Associates practice areas include legal malpractice, attorney discipline, attorney ethics, director and officer liability, business litigation, employment litigation, construction defect litigation and representation of a variety of other professionals including real estate agents, insurance agents and IT professionals. For more information, call (972) 277-8585, or visit http://www.cllegal.com. The law office is located at 4201 Spring Valley Road, Dallas, TX 75244.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
"With our team of senior physician executives, CPLI will play a formative role in helping to advance the industrys thinking and approach to physician alignment, leadership and performance" - Dr. Mark Werner, National Director of Clinical Consulting

The Chartis Group, a national advisory services firm dedicated to healthcare, announced today that it has launched the Chartis Physician Leadership Institute (CPLI). CPLI brings together senior physician executives with unrivaled expertise from the nations leading health systems, academic medical centers, medical groups and health plans. It is dedicated to advancing health system and medical group performance through innovative solutions that drive physician alignment and engagement, and achieve the highest levels of organizational and operational effectiveness.

In the value-based healthcare environment, the role of physicians and physician leaders becomes even more vital to the success of the system. Physician engagement and alignment with enterprise strategy and operational goals are key differentiators in the performance and success of leading health systems in the new era of healthcare.

Every aspect of health system strategy and performance is directly influenced by physicians and requires their leadership, said Dr. Mark Werner, leader of the newly launched CPLI and the firms National Director of Clinical Consulting. Simultaneously, physician groups and networks must be well managed, high-performing and able to drive care transformation, for they are the key drivers of success in a value-based world. He adds, With our team of senior physician executives, CPLI will play a formative role in helping to advance the industrys thinking and approach to physician alignment, leadership and performance -- enabling stronger outcomes and the market-elevating performance necessary in the new healthcare.

At the core of the new institute is a groundbreaking framework on physician alignment and its interplay with physician leadership, organizational constructs, operating models, enterprise economics, governance, adoption and change management.

We are enormously excited, said Ken Graboys, CEO of The Chartis Group. We have brought our clinical advisors together, under one banner, for a shared purpose  to create a thriving, interdisciplinary vehicle for thought and practice leadership, where our clients and CPLIs physician executives can truly engage and drive healthcare transformation.

CPLI is championed by Dr. Mark Werner, National Director of Clinical Consulting; Dr. Thomas Graf, National Director of Population Health Management; Dr. Mark Wenneker, Principal, Strategy and Physician Alignment; Dr. Robert Schwartz, Principal, Informatics and Technology; Dr. Mark Van Kooy, Principal, Clinical Performance Excellence; and Dr. Frederick (Rick) van Pelt, Associate Clinical Principal, Advanced Performance Solutions. To learn more about CPLI visit http://www.chartis.com/services/CPLI.

About The Chartis Group

The Chartis Group (Chartis) is a national advisory services firm dedicated to the healthcare industry. Chartis provides strategic and economic planning, value-based care, advanced performance, and informatics and technology consulting services and decision support tools to the countrys leading healthcare providers. Chartis has been privileged to work with over two-thirds of the academic medical centers on the U.S. News and World Report Honor Roll of Best Hospitals, seven of the 10 largest integrated health systems, four of the five largest not-for-profit health systems, nine of the top 10 childrens hospitals, emerging and leading accountable care organizations, hundreds of community-based health systems, and leading organizations in healthcare services. The firm is comprised of uniquely experienced senior healthcare professionals and consultants who apply a distinctive knowledge of healthcare economics, markets, clinical models and technology to help clients achieve unequaled results. Chartis has offices in Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Portland and San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.chartis.com.

Contact:

Amy OBrien

Principal and Vice President of Strategy and Business Development

The Chartis Group

aobrien(at)chartis(dot)com

312.932.3060

Terri Sanders

Director of National Marketing

The Chartis Group

tsanders(at)chartis(dot)com

312.932.3051

####
We are very pleased to be fundraising for these worthy causes. After all, neighbors helping neighbors is what its all about, and we truly hope everyone will pitch in and join us in supporting each of these campaigns...

All-Star Insurances community involvement program, serving families of the greater northeast Texas area, has teamed up with four new charity partners in their Agents of Change movement which seeks to benefit the agencys five local communities on a grassroots level. Details on each of the campaigns made be found and donations may now be made at: http://www.all-starinsurance.com/community-cause.

All-Stars first campaign is for Lilly, a beautiful little girl who is fighting acute myeloid leukemia and whose family is in desperate need of financial assistance, both for rapidly escalating medical bills and to keep the family on its feet and her parents at her side as she continues treatment. The second initiative is for Safe Haven Equine Rescue and Retirement Home, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing abused and neglected horses back to health and finding them loving homes. Thirdly, The Quitman High School Band is in need of funds to purchase instruments, music and other supplies that will enable them to play well and compete in competitions throughout the school year. And the final beneficiary is Emmanuel Baptist Churchs Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway, which seeks to provide food baskets to as many area families in need as possible during the holiday season.

We are very pleased to be fundraising for these worthy causes, said Joe Dodd, President of All-Star Insurance. After all, neighbors helping neighbors is what its all about, and we truly hope everyone will pitch in and join us in supporting each of these campaigns in order to build stronger communities for us all.

The agencys caring teams at all six area offices are hard at work promoting the initiatives through social media and an email and text message awareness campaign, as well as featuring the causes in their community magazine. Our Hometown, which is delivered to thousands of households in Gilmer, Mineola, Ore City, Pittsburg and Quitman every month, reserves a full page to showcase the campaigns. The electronic version of the current issue may be viewed here: http://www.all-starinsurance.com/Our-Hometown-Magazine_39.

Readers who would like to join All-Star Insurance in supporting one or more of these worthy causes may visit: http://www.all-starinsurance.com/community-cause, and are encouraged to share the page with those in their own circles of influence. Contributors may be acknowledged for their donations in the agencys monthly magazine. The agency itself has pledged to donate $10 to the campaigns for each and every referral they receive for an insurance quote, with no purchase necessary.

All-Star Insurance has demonstrated their devotion to the community by the establishment of a master charity program, of which the current campaign is a part. We are fully committed to assisting those in need in our community, and will be selecting a new group, family or individual to support every two to three months, promised Dodd.

About All-Star Insurance

A full-service insurance provider serving the families of northeast Texas from offices in Gilmer, Mineola, Ore City, Pittsburg and Quitman, agency president Joe Dodd is committed to bringing local people an agency which understands their needs. Dodd and his team of dedicated professionals work with carriers to assemble a variety of products and services which will ensure their clients peace of mind. From all of the products a typical consumer needs (home, auto, boat, ATV, etc.), to financial planning services, All-Star Insurance delivers consistently superior service. To contact a caring expert at All-Star Insurance, please call 866-495-1423. To learn more about the agency and their six office locations, please visit: http://www.all-starinsurance.com/.
People are in awe of the new showroom and appreciate the inventory and being able to see the product. On Saturday, well have a $500 4 Wheel Parts shopping spree giveaway and Rampage donated a soft top to be raffled off that will be installed here.

4 Wheel Parts, the global leader in off-road performance product sales and installation, is holding a grand reopening celebration event this Saturday, August 13 at its San Antonio, Texas store. This location joins the recent reopening of the McAllen, Texas store and its renovated, state-of-the-art showroom and installation facilities will serve the San Antonio off-road community by offering premium parts and expert installations and upgrades for trucks, Jeeps and SUVs.

People are in awe of the new showroom and appreciate the inventory and being able to see the product in person, says store manager, Chris Schafer. On Saturday, well have a $500 4 Wheel Parts shopping spree giveaway and Rampage donated a soft top to be raffled off that will be installed on a lucky Jeep here in the parking lot.

ARB 4x4 Accessories is bringing their custom Tacoma truck and Jeep clubs attending include Jeep Republic, Midnight Fourwheelers, Jeep Nation and the San Antonio Jeep Club. Local Country radio station KJ 97 will be onsite broadcasting and there will be free barbecue all day.

The San Antonio store becomes the 10th 4 Wheel Parts location in Texas joining others in Austin, Coppell, Dallas, El Paso, Houston (3 total) McAllen, Plano and Fort Worth. The new store boasts a more user-friendly experience for customers, giving them a firsthand look at cutting-edge performance off-road aftermarket parts and accessories.

What: 4 Wheel Parts Grand Reopening Celebration

When: Saturday, August 13 from 9 a.m.  5 p.m.

Location: San Antonio, Texas

8700 Broadway St.

San Antonio, TX 78217

210-826-0200

Free Admission

Top manufacturers including Smittybilt, Mickey Thompson and Warn will have products displaying the latest industry innovations in off-roading. ASE-certified service bay technicians and in-house sales representatives will offer expert installation and personal guidance for 4x4 enthusiasts. The San Antonio store joins 4 Wheel Parts roster of 75 retail locations throughout the United States and Canada and will be serviced by the nearby Coppell, Texas distribution center.

About 4 Wheel Parts 4 Wheel Parts is the global leader in truck, Jeep, SUV and off-road performance products. With 75 locations across the U.S. and Canada and growing, 4 Wheel Parts Service Centers install all the products they sell. Maintaining the nations largest inventory of off-road tires, LED fog lights, lift kits and truck tonneau covers, 4 Wheel Parts serves customers across the country and around the globe. Life is Better Off-Road. Visit them at 4wheelparts.com or call toll-free 877-474-4821.
To honor extraordinary Colorado Business Woman and Family-Owned Companies, ColoradoBizColorados leading Business Magazinecreates annual lists of Colorados Top 100 Women-Owned and Top 50 Family-Owned Companies. This year, Shawn Thomson-Palermo, for her work as the CEO and Owner of RMC: Resorts Mountains Cities, is once again at the top of ColoradoBiz Magazines Awards.

RMC: Resorts Mountains Cities, a Destination Management Company based in Aspen, has been named one of Colorados Top 100 Women-Owned Companies for six years in a row. On this years ColoradoBiz list, RMC: Resorts Mountains Cities is also ranked as one the Top 50 Family-Owned Companies in Colorado.

Creating a successful business in the mountains of Colorado requires creativity, determination, and courage. Colorado residents, therefore, take great pride in family-owned businesses and strong female leadership. Building a top international business, while raising a family in Colorado, is an exceptional accomplishment.

Since joining RMC six years ago, Ive been continually impressed by Shawn Thomson-Palermos strong leadership and sound values, said Nathan Boyd, RMCs President. At its core, RMC is a big family. We care deeply about each other and our clients. This passion starts at the top with Shawn Thomson-Palermo.

In 1989, Shawn Thomson-Palermo created RMC in Aspen, Colorado. Originally known as Rocky Mountain Connections, RMC facilitated spectacular corporate events in Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole, and Park City. In 2011, when RMC opened an office in Lake Tahoe, California, it evolved into Resorts Mountains Cities to better reflect the companys expanding expertise and broad base of event management destinations. As Resort Mountains Cities, RMC now has offices in Austin, Texas, the Low Country of Bluffton and HIlton Head, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. RMC: Resorts Mountains Cities has grown into the largest privately owned Destination Management Company in the North America.

Over the past 27 years, RMC has expanded across North America and into Mexico under Shawn Thomson-Palermos leadership. But while becoming a Top International Destination Management Company, RMC has remained true to its roots as a Colorado family-owned company. Sarah Carey, Thomson-Palermos daughter who was raised in Aspen, is RMCs Director of Creative Development, and RMC prides itself on hiring local destination experts that provide personally tailored service.

Destination Management starts at the local level, said Nathan Boyd, RMCs President. Under Shawn Thomson-Palermos leadership, RMC brings Colorado hospitality and personal connections to the worlds finest destinations. Its a great honor to work for a Top Family-Owned Colorado Business.

RMC: Resorts, Mountains, Cities was founded in 1989. From its first location in Aspen, Colorado, RMC has expanded to thirteen distinguished destinations across North America and Mexico. Through a powerful network of destination offices and preferred resort partners, RMC creates custom designed experiences and events for premier clients. For more information, contact: Nathan Boyd
The European Commission has designated 187.5 million for constructing a gas pipeline, the Balticconnector, between Finland and Estonia, after it allocated  5,4 million for studies necessary to launch construction works in December last year. The EUs financial support now accounts for about two thirds of the necessary funding, which is the maximum allowed proportion. The Balticconnector will be the first gas pipeline to connect Estonia and Finland and the project is important in that it will significantly increase energy security in the eastern Baltic Sea region.

It will be able to transport gas in both directions and  together with the gas interconnector Poland-Lithuania  will help finalize the Baltic Gas Ring and end the isolation of Finnish gas market. The pipeline will be 144 km long including an 80-km offshore section and it is expected to be operational by the end of 2019. What the Commission has started with the Poland-Lithuania pipeline (GIPL) we are now pursuing with the support to Balticconnector  promoting a chain of projects that will end the gas isolation of North-Eastern Europe and develop the Baltic regional energy market, European Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said.

Finland is still completely dependent on gas flows from a single supplier and, until recently, the three Baltic States also had to rely on gas imports from a single gas source. When the Balticonnector is completed, it will allow, together with the gas link between Poland and Lithuania, Finland and the Baltic States to diversify their gas sources and routes and thus help to effectively deal with possible supply shortages. The Balticonnect will also help integrate the region into the EUs internal energy market. The pipeline will be built by Finnish Baltic Connector Oy and Estonian Elering AS. The former was established by the Finnish government as a project company.
The US Democratic Party has said it was deeply concerned about the future of the transatlantic relations between the US and the EU, if Donald Trump is elected the next US President in the November presidential election. The Socialists and Democrats (S&D), who attended the Democratic Party Convention, said that they were internally having serious and honest discussions about what impact the possible election of Donald Trump would have on the US ties to Europe.

Senator Bernie Sanders commented that a Trump presidency would be a scary and a very difficult to handle scenario for the EU-US relations. Mr Sanders added that with Trump as the US president, Europe would not know what to expect, as he is very unpredictable. In diplomatic language, one needs to think twice before saying something, the S&D commented on Mr Trumps rhetoric.

Senator Sanders also commented on the most recent developments in Europe saying that the Brexit was an unfortunate reflection of the fact that populism takes advantage of peoples fears. He also touched upon the current situation in Greece, hinting that he appreciates Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras efforts to stabilize the country.

S&Ds President Gianni Pittella has recently written an op-ed where he said that Europe has been infected. The virus of populism, racism, xenophobia has affected Europe. This virus in Europe is named Le Pen in France, Farage in Great Britain, Orban in Hungary, 5 Star Movement in Italy, Kaczynski in Poland, he wrote. Democrats also admitted that the US is inflected with the same virus but it has a bit different mix.
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A cookie is a small text file that a website saves on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site. Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.Website use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google") to help analyse the use of this website. For this purpose, Google Analytics uses"cookies", which are text files placed on your computer.The information generated by the cookies about your use of this website - standard internet log information (including your IP address) and visitor behaviour information in an anonymous form - will be transmitted to and stored by Google including on servers in the United States. Google will anonymize the information sent by removing the last octet of your IP address prior to its storage.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website and compiling reports on website activity.We not use, and not allow any third party to use the statistical analytics tool to track or to collect any personally identifiable information of visitors to this site. Google may transfer the information collected by Google Analytics to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google`s behalf.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.You may refuse the use of Google Analytics cookies by downloading and installing Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics.Cookies are also used to record if you have agreed (or not) to our use of cookies on this site, so that you are not asked the question every time you visit the site.You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed.Most browsers allow you to:If you chose to delete cookies, you should be aware that any preferences will be lost. Also, if you block cookies completely many websites (including ours) will not work properly and webcasts will not work at all. For these reasons, we do not recommend turning cookies off when using our webcasting services.
Created in response to the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74, the U.S. government created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Deep inside underground caverns at four storage facilities along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts, the SPR has a max capacity of 727 million barrels of crude oil. Its purpose  to serve as an emergency stockpile of crude oil to help blunt the impact of disruptions to the flow of crude oil to the American marketplace. In theory, the SPR would prevent the use of crude oil as a potential weapon, as with the 1973-74 Arab embargo, and to mitigate the impact of global crises on the U.S. economy.
We cant begin to imagine the emotional toll it must have taken on the two young daughters who believed, or at least hoped, that their pleas would help bring their father home Tuesday.

It is equally impossible to hear the words of Rod Blagojevichs daughters, Amy, 20, and Annie, 13, and not be moved. U.S. District Judge James Zagel obviously couldnt. But that didnt stop him from doing the right thing and refusing to reduce the former governors 14-year federal prison sentence.

I do not doubt that (Mr. Blagojevich) is a loving father and that his children miss him deeply in his absence, the judge told the packed federal courtroom in Chicago, as federal prisoner No. 40892-424 watched via closed circuit TV from a prison 1,000 miles away. But as I said four years ago, the fault lies in the governor.

It does, indeed, and though the impeached and convicted ex-state CEO did admit to making mistakes, Mr. Blagojevich never copped to committing a crime, acting almost as if the corrupt acts merely took place on his watch. We know, of course, they were orchestrated by the ambitious Chicago Democrat.

So it rang hollow when he said, I wish I could turn back the clock and make different choices. These have been hard years.

For everyone in the Land of Lincoln. For some in Illinois they may have represented politics as usual on steroids, but these were hardly victimless crimes.

Trust among citizens is diminishing, the judge said, because of the significant damage that was the result of the governors actions inflicted on the people of Illinois.

This state in particular has suffered time and again, he added.

Judge Zagel also reminded us, Ironically, this is a man who ran for office on restoring the integrity of Illinois. In fact, many Illinoisans were taken in by promises made by a consummate campaigner, and some continued to be after evidence of corruption had piled up against him.

Whether his exemplary behavior and popularity in prison are just part of a new, long-term PR campaign or he truly is the changed man his defense team proclaims him to be is beside the point.

Rod Blagojevichs crimes are well documented. And the costs, financial and societal, are staggering and hard to fully measure.

Heres but one example: According to the Chicago Tribune s Wednesday Morning Spin: A new hospital opened in McHenry County on Tuesday, the same day as Blagojevichs re-sentencing hearing. No small measure of irony there. The Centegra Hospital in Huntley opened more than a decade after a Blagojevich-era hospital siting board was engulfed in a bribery scandal that ended up with the rejection of a competitors proposed hospital in Crystal Lake.

Harder to measure is how much the ex-governors actions contributed to Illinois huge and growing public corruption tax or how much more damage it did to the body politic. Those are among the reasons a federal appellate court said that Mr. Blagojevichs initial lengthy sentence was not excessive, ever after tossing out a scant handful of his laundry list of convictions.

The evidence, most of it from Blagojevichs own mouth, is overwhelming, justices said.

Were glad he appears to be putting that famous mouth to better use these days.

But helping inmates doesnt erase past wrongdoing and diminishing punishment for such egregious ones does little to restore the public trust or to deter other corrupt politicians.
What a waste of a perfectly twisted Suicide Squad. With a warning of mild SPOILER ALERTS to follow, let us count just some of the ways "Suicide Squad" is one of the most disappointing movies of the year:

-- The dimly lit, quick-cut, rapid-fire action sequences could have been cut and pasted from any number of second-tier superhero and/or action thrillers of the last decade.

-- For the umpteenth time, we get a villain who talks in one of those gloom-and-doom voices that sound like James Earl Jones crossed with Auto-Tune.

-- After months of online hype that threatened to bring the internet to its knees, Jared Leto's Joker (while somewhat creepy and menacing) doesn't come close to scraping the surface of the memorably spine-chilling work done by Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight."

-- The backstories involving the families of Deadshot and El Diablo are so hokey, so over-the-top corny, you're more likely to roll your eyes than to fight back the tears.

-- In scene after scene after scene, writer/director David Ayer leans on well-worn pop/rock tunes to augment the cliched shots of the Suicide Squad walking in tandem, the Suicide Squad creating mayhem, the Suicide Squad, um, trying on wardrobe options. "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum? Again?

-- The stunning and talented Margot Robbie, riding a wave of success from "The Wolf of Wall Street" to the cover of Vanity Fair, hits all the wrong notes as the bat-wielding and supposedly bat-bleep crazy Harley Quinn. I think Robbie is going for some kind of tough-chick New-YAWK accent as she delivers her one-liners in a self-pleased manner and then pauses for the deadpan reaction from her fellow cast members and (Ayer must have been hoping) laughs from the audience. Whatever she's doing, it's a wildly uneven performance, and it's just not good. Very little about this film is good.

When you've got model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne as one of your chief villains, and she's writhing and wriggling about in embarrassing fashion, spouting lines that make Dothraki sound like Shakespeare, you're not just dipping your toes into camp territory, you're getting soaked.

For those of you who don't have Comic-Con and various other "cons" marked in red on your Google calendar, "Suicide Squad" is based on the DC Comics series about a band of incarcerated supervillains who are released from prison as part of a government program to combat the next otherworldly, superhuman, supernatural threat to the nation.

Bad idea, government.

Viola Davis, playing it straight down the line as if she's in a serious drama, is Amanda Waller, the heartless genius who comes up with the idea of releasing these misfits, mutants and psychos, who will be under the command of Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, a gung-ho soldier.

The Suicide Squad includes Will Smith as Deadshot, an assassin for hire who has literally never missed a shot; Jai Courtney as Boomerang, and we know he's colorful because he has a gold front tooth; Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, who can shoot fire from his limbs when he gets riled up; Robbie as the aforementioned Harley Quinn, a former psychiatrist who fell in love with the Joker and lost her mind; and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, a reptilian monster who's at home in the sewers.

OK, that's an interesting bunch, but the Suicide Squad's first and really only mission is a muddled and uninvolving rescue operation in which they don't know the ultimate goal (although we can pretty much figure it out from the get-go).

Making matters worse, far too much time is spent on Cara Delevingne's June Moone/Enchantress character, who might well be mesmerizing and multilayered and daunting in the comics, but comes across as something out of a bad "Mummy" movie sequel here. Enchantress converts soldiers into CGI-lookin' henchmen who are easily dispatched by the Suicide Squad, while her brother Incubus (Robin Atkin Downes) unleashes special effects fury on Midway City.

Ho. Hum. (This is also one of those superhero movies where there don't seem to be a ton of actual regular human beings around. It rarely feels as if it's taking place in OUR universe.)

"Suicide Squad" does have its moments of beautiful comic book visuals. A glimpse of the Joker's OCD; a gorgeous and weird flashback to the moment Harley Quinn was "baptized"; blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameos from DC Universe stalwarts; a few solid exchanges between Smith and Kinnaman. Those are just tantalizing hints of a better movie that never materialized.
Wisconsin prosecutors have filed charges against a semi driver in relation to the Friday deaths of Dr. John Hansen, 69, and his wife, Francine, 66, of Moline.

Eugeniu Caraus, 27, of Lombard, Ill., is charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle, according to court documents from Grant County, Wis.

The collision happened just before 9 a.m. Friday near Lancaster, Wis., about 20 miles northwest of Platteville, the Grant County Sheriff's Office has said. The Hansens' SUV and a semi driven by Mr. Caraus collided at the intersection of Highway A and Highway 129. Mr. Caraus is accused of failing to stop at a stop sign.

Dr. Hansen operated Hansen Family Dentistry LLC in Moline and was president of the Rock Island District Dental Society. After 41 years, he retired in 2012. Mrs. Hansen taught at Denkmann Elementary School in Rock Island before her children were born and continued to volunteer at school through the PTA.
BISHOP HILL  Trustees met with their attorney Michael Massie in closed session for most of an hour Wednesday night immediately after moving to the topic of water tower project.

No action was taken afterwards, but Mayor Mike Funke said there is a prospect for news in the near future.

Were still waiting on litigation as far as the water tower, he said. Hopefully in September we know more.

Invenergy gave the village a donation of $166,000 in 2012. After the small tourist town debated what to do with the windfall, it was at first decided to use funds on streetscape project to enhance the look of the town. In late 2013, trustees settled on infrastructure improvements in the form of a new water tank but in January of 2014 they instead authorized purchase of a stainless steel tank from Pittsburg Tank and Tower of Henderson, Ky.

Ultimately, the town hasnt been able to get a state permit for the stainless steel tank, which sits near the base of the 50-year-old tower.

Mayor Mike Funke said he believed Illinois is one of just two states that doesnt permit stainless steel water tanks. Otherwise you will find a stainless steel water tank in every other state, he said.

Late last year, trustees authorized preliminary engineering work to expand water system improvements with the goal of qualifying for a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. Scott Kammerman of Missman Inc. attended Wednesdays meeting, including a portion of the closed session.
Chinese banks come of age to help finance M&A spree Updated: 2016-08-11 07:58 (China Daily)

A clerk of Bank of China counts US dollars at a domestic branch.XINHUA

Chinese banks are increasing their clout in financing international mergers and acquisitions. The nation's lenders were mandated lead arrangers on $19.9 billion of global syndicated loans for M&A this year, raising their share of that market to 4.4 percent from 0.9 percent in 2015, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

While Bank of China Ltd led, second-tier lenders have increasingly joined the fray. China CITIC Bank International Ltd helped helm a $12.7 billion loan in June backing China National Chemical Corp's purchase of Syngenta AG. China Merchants Bank Co led a $3 billion loan in July for the privatization of formerly New York-listed Qihoo 360 Technology Co, Bloomberg data showed.

With investment opportunities sparse amid the country's weakest economic expansion in a quarter century, Chinese banks are focusing more on cross-border lending.

"Before it was only top-tier banks active in underwriting outbound M&A financing deals, but now the second-tier lenders are also competing for the business," said Jack Chan, a financial services managing partner at global auditing firm EY.

"It has everything to do with the recent government policies encouraging the nation's firms to go abroad," Chan said.

Big Chinese companies face few opportunities for domestic investment at the moment, spurring demand for overseas M&As, according to Wei Hou, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong. Financing such deals overseas offers smaller Chinese banks an opportunity to grow, Wei said.

"Second-tier Chinese banks want to build up their investment banking arms," said Jimmy Leung, China financial services leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Shanghai.

Bloomberg
MOLINE  State Sen. Neil Anderson and Republican legislative candidates Tony McCombie and Daniel Swanson said Wednesday Illinois needs term limits and changes to how legislative districts are drawn.

Regardless of party, people want changes to the length of terms in office and to district mapping, Sen. Anderson, R-Rock Island, said during a morning news conference with Ms. McCombie, Republican challenger to Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale; and Mr. Swanson, Republican candidate to replace the retiring Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson.

Sen. Anderson said a lack of such checks and balances allows corruption.

"We have seen what the absence of these critical reforms have done to our state," he said.

Legislation outlining such reforms should be presented to the General Assembly during the fall veto session, Sen. Anderson said. He contended the only reason change has not yet occurred is because it would take careers away from career politicians.

Whether or not action occurs during the veto session will depend on Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, Sen. Anderson said.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has also argued for changes to both systems. In July, he spoke on the issue in Coal Valley.

The governor has also proposed legislators take action on term limits and redistricting during the fall veto session after the Nov. 8 elections.

He wants them to pass proposed constitutional amendments putting term limits and redrawn legislative maps on the ballot. Voters would not be able to take action on them before November 2018.

Advocates for changes to redistricting  the Independent Map Amendment group  attempted to get the creation of an independent mapping committee placed on the Nov. 8 ballot. The committee would be responsible for creating the boundaries of the legislative districts.

The group has said it has almost 600,000 signatures in support of its idea.

Traditionally, districts are redrawn every 10 years after the U.S. Census. The work is dominated by the party in power at the time.

Independent Map's effort was blocked in court by a group named People's Map, which claimed the measure was unconstitutional. A Cook County judge sided with People's Map in July. Independent Map is appealing.

After the judge's ruling, Quad-Cities legislators and candidates of both parties said they were receptive to changes to redistricting, either though Independent Maps or some other way.

At Wednesday's conference, Ms. McCombie, mayor of Savanna,and Mr.Swanson, of rural Alpha, again said they supported redistricting changes  and term limits.

"Career politicians have made a mess in Springfield," Ms. McCombie said.

Limits on service and changes to district mapping will be required to clean up that mess, she said.

Mr. Swanson said change is overdue and that decades in office  Speaker Madigan has been in office since the 1970s, he said  is simply too long.

"That was the people's voice," he said of Independent Map's campaign.

Sen. Anderson said public office is a service, not a career, and that he would only serve for two terms.

"That is my way of leading by example," he said.
Donald Stouffer, the prosecuting attorney in Saline County in central Missouri, said in a news release Monday that he saw no evidence that Carl Roettgen even had a gun when the two Marshall police officers tried to arrest him in May 2015 for a parole violation.

"After hours spent examining the video, trying to reconcile the video with the two officers' statements, and consulting with staff, I reached the difficult conclusion that no reasonable juror could find the officers' accounts credible," he said.

Stouffer said the officers' commander supported their false story so that the outcome of the criminal case would not be affected, raising further concerns about the department's handling of the case. Furthermore, he said he will not file charges in any pending cases in which the officers, Tyler Newell and Josh O'Bryan, had a major role and that he'll review other cases in which either officer was a key witness.

"It is inconceivable that there is an apparent belief among some members of the command staff that the outcome of a criminal case is more important than taking action to prevent Marshall police officers from presenting testimony, under oath, that is 'questionable at best' and suborning perjury at worst," Stouffer said.

Newell and O'Bryan have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, police Sgt. Roger Gibson said Wednesday. He said an undetermined outside law enforcement agency will also be brought in to investigate. Gibson said no supervisor was placed on leave because the prosecutor did not name the commander who allowed the case to proceed.

Stouffer was out of the office Wednesday and didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking further details about the case. Neither Newell nor O'Bryan has a working listed phone number or could be reached for comment in some other way.

According to the officers, they tried to arrest Roettgen for a parole violation on May 13, 2015, in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Marshall, a city of about 13,000 people roughly 75 miles east of Kansas City. Newell wrote that a passenger jumped out of Roettgen's car as he was trying to drive off, and that he, Newell, got into the car to try to put it in park. He said Roettgen then pointed a gun at his face and that he heard a click. O'Bryan said he was on the driver's side and that he saw a gun.

Roettgen got away but was arrested a week later in Alabama and returned to Missouri. He was due to stand trial later this month but pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and was sentenced Monday to four years in prison.

Stouffer dismissed all of the other charges  three counts of first-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. If convicted of the assault charges, he could have been sentenced to life in prison.

Roettgen's attorney, John James, said Newell "lost his cool" during the arrest and fired at Roettgen when Roettgen was driving away. He said video shows Newell was never in Roettgen's car.

"Then he compounded that mistake by lying about it and fabricating a story to explain why he discharged his weapon," said James, adding that Roettgen is considering suing.

James said it was also difficult to comprehend how the police supervisors allowed the case to proceed.

"I find it very difficult to believe that the Marshall Police Department did not know that was a fabricated story, or at least strongly suspect it," he said.
MOLINE  Tucked inside the north wing of the First Congregational Church, just off the fellowship hall, is a masterpiece, a seven-year labor of love that was created by a gracious and unique soul.

There, along the church's Youth Development Hall, is the 140-foot (70 down and 70 back) biblical mural drawn and painted by Moline-based artist Susie King. King's work is breathtaking, story-driven and personal. It shows great talent, passion, determination and love.

And it's cool. An 11 on 1-to-10 cool scale.

"I have been part of this church all of my life," said King, a Moline High School and Elmhurst College graduate, who doubles and triples as CEO and design consultant for Snowhill Landscape and Design. "I have spent many wonderful days teaching Sunday school and being with the little ones in the nursery. The mural is my gift.''

The work  which depicts familiar scenes from the Bible and the life of Jesus  is a free-hand-drawn, painted-perfectly piece that includes darkness before God gave the world light. Also featured are heaven and Earth, a shepherd boy beneath the Tree of Morah, Mary and Joseph on their journey to Jerusalem to be counted in the census, an attentive mother watching her children at play outside the walls of Jerusalem, and an angel appearing to announce the birth of Jesus. There is the tree where Judas hung himself after betraying Jesus, and the mural's final scene, which depicts a long and troubled journey by the Three Wise Men, one of which is a woman.

"I have long and deep passion for art," said King, who is in the middle of a hard-fought battle with brain cancer. Regular treatment trips to Duke University have King and her husband, Chris, excited about her chances at a victory.

"I took some liberties with the project," King added. "I have a camel with some attitude, and I put a flute instead of a harp in the hands of the shepherd boy. I was working on the wall the day Coretta Scott King passed and made the baby in the manger of African-American descent as a tribute to her life's work.''

The colors King used for skies, greenery and the overall landscape are vibrant and detail-perfect. Just standing in the hallway, you get the feeling you are in the middle of all that is happening.

"The challenge was the lighting," King said with a giggle and smile. King, so upbeat and positive despite her health woes, saying everything with a smile and a schoolgirl giggle. "You have cold fluorescent and warm fluorescent with the bulbs. You want make sure you bring the colors out using the artificial and natural light. I think we did that.''

For now, no other large design-and-create projects are on the table for Susie King. Instead, there is the daily inspection of completed and current landscape projects by Snowhill.

"She is so good, she can drive by and see where we are and where we need to be on a project,'' Chris King said of his wife of 34 years. "She has this amazing eye for detail."

And a no-quit spirit.

"What happened kind of affected how I walk in that I drag my right leg a bit,'' Susie King said, laughing as she added that when she drags her foot, her shoes squeak. "I cannot sneak up on anyone. But that's OK  I plan to be around for the next big project, whatever it might be.''

It will be amazing, whatever it is.
Why are the rules of journalism being rewritten this election year?

My local newspaper is so clearly in the tank for Hillary Clinton that I no longer take pleasure in my morning read. Trumps acceptance speech, for example, was covered on the front page with two stories: On the left a straight, albeit somewhat judgmental, account of the speech, and on the right a fact check that disputed every point made by the GOP nominee. Clintons speech was covered with three front-page stories, with headlines describing her nomination as historic, inspiring and trailblazing. A mild fact-checking piece was relegated to the back pages.

This transparent bias is a national phenomenon, infecting print and television to such an extent that it has become almost impossible to separate coverage of the Trump campaign from attempts to tear it down. The media has long been accused of having a liberal slant, but in this cycle journalists seem to have cast themselves as defenders of the republic against what they see as a major threat; theyve lost the ability to assess events rationally.

To take a recent example: Trump said at a news conference that he hoped the Russians -- who are accused of hacking the Democratic National Committees computers -- would release the 30,000 emails previously erased by Clintons staff. The DNC went ballistic, claiming that Trump had asked the Russians to commit espionage against the United States. Aside from the fact that Trump was obviously joking, Clinton claims those emails, which were on her unauthorized server were about her yoga lessons and personal notes to her husband -- so how would revealing them endanger national security? Yet the media reported this accusation uncritically.

The DNC emails, published by Wikileaks, reveal a stunning level of collaboration between important media outlets and the Democrats. Former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz sought to silence NBCs Mika Brzezinski, who had found fault with the DNCs role in the primaries. The emails have headings like This must stop. Incredibly, NBCs Chuck Todd agreed to act as a go-between. Why was a major media figure taking his marching orders from the Democratic party chair -- and how did this affect his networks coverage of the Trump campaign?

DNC emails also show that Politico reporter Kenneth Vogel sent his copy for a story on Clintons fundraising operation to the DNCs national press secretary, Mark Paustenbach, prior to publication. Politico has since apologized, but Vogel has his defenders. The Washington Posts Erik Wemple said Vogels prepublication generosity was meant to give the people youre writing about  the opportunity to rebut all relevant claims in a story. One wonders if the Post does this for the Trump campaign. Somehow I doubt it.

Since last summer, Politico has been vehemently anti-Trump. Its run several stories linking Trump to Vladimir Putin. The gist of these pieces is that Trumps stated desire to get along with Putin, and his comments on the costs imposed by our membership in NATO, mean that Trump is essentially an agent of a foreign power. A recent article on Trumps hacking joke said that Trump appeared to align himself with Russia over his Democratic opponent -- as if he were a kind of Manchurian candidate.

Of course, Politico is not alone in what was once called red-baiting. The Atlantic also weighed in with Its Official: Hillary Clinton Is Running Against Vladimir Putin, and a Slate story was headlined The Real Winner of the RNC: Vladimir Putin.

This coverage smacks of the sort of McCarthyism that we havent seen in this country since the Cold War.

Any objective observer of the medias treatment of Trump can certainly conclude that reporters are taking a side in this election. The irony is that Trump bashing may wind up having the exact opposite of its intended effect.

Polls shows journalism is one of the least respected professions in the country, and with Trump calling out media organizations for bias, widespread slanted reporting is bound to reinforce this point -- and to backfire. Trumps campaign is throwing down the gauntlet to the political class. If journalists are seen as the mouthpiece of that class, they may soon find themselves covering Trumps inauguration.
G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now!
China Cosco Shipping acquires majority stake in Greek port Updated: 2016-08-11 10:06 (Xinhua)

A container ship of Cosco is docked on a quay at the Port of Qingdao in Qingdao city, East China's Shandong province, August 8, 2016.[Photo/IC]

ATHENS - Marking a milestone agreement for Sino-Greek collaboration, China Cosco Shipping on Wednesday acquired a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) through the Athens Stock Exchange, it was reported Wednesday.

The Chinese company signed a memorandum of understanding at the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), formally completing the transfer of a 51 percent equity holding in PPA and the custody of an additional 16 percent stake.

Cosco Shipping Hong Kong, wholly owned by Cosco Shipping, thus officially became the controlling shareholder of the port, and took over its management and operation.

President of Cosco Shipping Wan Min visited the Athens Stock Exchange, accompanied by HRADF chairman Stergios Pitsiorlas, and rang the bell at the opening session, marking the debut of a new era at Greece's largest port.

Gao Wenqi, Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Greece, Charalampos Gotsis, chairman of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission and other Greek and Chinese officials attended the ceremony.

"I was delighted and honored to represent Cosco Shipping and ring the opening bell at the Athens Stock Exchange," Wan said addressing the ceremony.

The Piraeus project represents a key milestone in the Belt and Road Initiative, and the port's growth and prosperity will boost economic development both in China and Greece, ushering in a new era of trade cooperation and cultural exchange between east and west, he said.

Wan stated Cosco Shipping will embark on a new series of operational investments that will streamline the port's performance as well as improve its international position, and help PPA reach its full potential to become one of the leading ports in Europe. "Cosco Shipping will not only operate a state-of-the-art port that will boost trading links between Asia and Europe, but will also help create jobs and invigorate the Greek economy," he added.

HRADF's chairman Pitsiorlas said the deal was "an important moment."

"The cooperation at Piraeus port is not just an economic collaboration but has strategic characteristics. Greece, via the Piraeus port, can indeed become China's gateway into Europe to the benefit of China and Greece," he told Xinhua.

Athens Exchange Group chairman Iakovos Georganas said the day may prove a historic one for the Athens Stock Exchange. "It is more important to underline that the Greek economy is approaching the recovery stage. Next year, the Greek economy will achieve growth after seven years of recession. This important transaction is a potential beginning for the recovery," he said.

The majority of PPA shares were sold to Cosco Shipping. A total of 12,750,000 shares were sold for 22 euros per share, totaling 280.5 million euros ($313.52 million).

Wednesday's deal is the first overseas acquisition transaction signed by Cosco Shipping following its establishment, a landmark initiative for the group to expand its global network, the firm said.

According to the concession contract, Cosco will acquire the 67 percent stake in PPA for 368.5 million euros in two stages.

Cosco Shipping will also invest 293.8 million euros in a series of mandatory projects in the next five to seven years, including the expansion of the cruise port, the upgrading of the ship-building zone, and the construction of a multi-storied garage in the Ro-Ro vessel port.

In the future, the group plans to step up its investment to develop the Piraeus Port into one of the largest container transit ports in Europe, one of the biggest home ports for cruise operators in the world and the logistics distribution center in the Mediterranean.

Cosco Shipping will improve supporting facilities, so as to boost the ship repairing capacity and seek opportunities for repairing offshore equipment. The group will also reform the Ro-Ro vessel port, which will make the port the largest auto terminal in the Mediterranean.

Furthermore, it plans to accelerate the construction of the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line to boost economic growth in eastern and southern Europe.

According to HRADF, the total value of the agreement amounts to 1.5 billion euros and includes among others the offer, the mandatory investments over the next decade and the expected revenues from the concession agreement for Greece, amounting to 410 million euros.

The total amount takes also into account the expected dividends and interest receivable by HRADF as well as the estimated investments (apart from the mandatory) until the expiration of the concession in 2052.

Cosco Shipping was declared in February preferred investor for the sale of the controlling stake in Piraeus port after winning an international tender.

On June 30, the deal was ratified by the Greek parliament shortly before Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' visit to China.

Greek and Chinese officials and entrepreneurs as well as independent analysts have welcomed the acquisition as a win-win cooperation step.

The privatization of PPA is expected to help debt-laden Greece boost growth and exit the debt crisis through the transformation of Piraeus into a leading transit hub for products and services from Asia to Europe.

PPA's privatization will help create 125,000 jobs, according to a survey of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research, one of Greece's leading think tanks.

The ground to reach the landmark agreement was paved by the remarkable results of Cosco Shipping's presence at Piraeus in recent years.

Since 2010, Cosco Shipping's subsidiary Piraeus Container Terminal has been operating Piers II and III at Piraeus port under a 35-year concession agreement. The international financial crisis and the Greek debt crisis seem to have cast no shadow over the Mediterranean port.

Its cargoes loaded and unloaded totaled 3.36 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in 2015 compared to 880,000 TEUs in 2010. The port is now ranked 39th globally up from 93rd in 2010 in terms of container capacity.
The Gold Coast remains arguably the tightest market in the country with 0.9% separating the 3 major stations.

SEA FM has taken the top spot with 12.9% slice of the market, down from 13.3. Stablemate Gold FM moves up a touch to 12.7 and #2, while Hot Tomato is a whisker behind on 12.0%..super tight.

In the key Breakfast Daypart there is a new Number 1 with Gold FMs Brig & Spida reclaiming the crown from Hot Tomatos Flan & Emily Jade, who took it for the first time last survey. Gold FM is up 1.1% to 13.5, Hot Tomato is on 12.3%, with SEA FM bringing up the rear on 11.4%.

Drive goes to Hamish & Andy on Sea FM, despite a 0.9 decline, and the Mal & Luke show on Hot Tomato fell to a 13.3%, however remains in front of Gold FM on 12.1%.

Anyone under 40 is SEA FMs turf  taking out 25-39s, 18-24s and 10-17s. triple J is the only one to come close to SEA FM in 25-39s.

Hot Tomato looks to have held its #1 25-54 position, and despite a small decline, wins 40-54 comfortably.although Gold have improved in that demo.

So again the Gold Coast is a tight racewith any of the 3 stations a shot at the #1 position in Survey 3.

Click to Enlarge

PR:
Ad Agency M&C Saatachi has won round two of the Siren Awards for their St Vincent de Paul Society ad which depicts homelessness through the eyes of a child.

The ad, entitled Bedroom, uses the voice of a child saying goodnight to all of the objects around her in the car she sleeps in to put a different face on the social issue of homelessness.

Creatives Nick McHugh and Andrea Sarcullo said children often humanised inanimate objects, and they used this insight to illuminate the difficulty faced by thousands of women and children in Australia.

I was a strange child who used to say good morning to my Action Man and good night to my toothbrush, McHugh said. Reassuringly, I discovered that I wasnt the only kid who did this. So when we got this brief, we imagined what it would sound like for a child to speak to objects around their bedroom, if their bedroom was a car. Theres no jingle, no music, no spruiking, no special effects. I think its this rawness that makes the ad stand out.
Fresh 92.7 Breakfast duo Ben & Liam high jacked Triple M Adelaides Roo & Ditts billboard. This is the before.

And here is the after as Ben & Liam showcased their Photoshop efforts and that they had an advertising budget of $7.20.

On the Triple M website they say: Taking the piss is part of the Triple M Adelaide DNA and we enjoy a bit of Radio Warfare.
The HarrisX  Ragan CEO/Communicators Perceptions Survey needs CEOs, CCOs and senior-level communicators to share their opinions on variety of topics including ESG, CSR and purpose, DE&I, and whether organizations should take a stand on political and social issues. Well share the preliminary findings, including how CEOs and communicators differed in their responses, during Ragans communications Week, Nov. 1-7. Full results will be shared in a special report this winter.

Take the survey here.

For those who take the time to share their insights and who provide us their email, we will send a copy of the final, aggregated findings and executive report.

Your views are important to us and your answers will be kept anonymous.
Siemens new higher-speed Charger diesel-electric passenger locomotive is undergoing a comprehensive testing program at the Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI) in Pueblo, Colo., prior to entry into revenue service in various U.S. locations.

Several tests and validation exercises including maximum speed runs, acceleration and braking and the overall performance capabilities of the locomotive are being conducted to ensure the Charger is operating and performing as designed and that the locomotive is ready to provide reliable service for passengers, Siemens said.

The Charger is powered by a high-performance, environmentally friendly, 4,400 hp-rated Cummins QSK95 diesel engine. Designed to operate at speeds up to 125 mph, it is the first higher-speed passenger locomotive to receive Tier 4 emissions certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It obtains an emission reduction of approximately 90% compared to locomotives powered by Tier 0 power plants. An electronically controlled regenerative braking system use energy from the traction motors during dynamic braking to feed the auxiliary and HEP (head-end power) systems to reduce fuel consumption. The locomotives also meet the latest FRA safety regulations, including enhanced carbody structural safety with CEM (crash energy management).

All main components are produced in Siemens plants in the U.S.traction motors and gearboxes in Norwood, Ohio and propulsion containers in Alpharetta, Ga. The diesel engines are manufactured by Cummins in its Seymour, Ind., plant. Siemens has also established a large base of U.S. suppliers to support production. Transformers and alternators are supplied out of Florida, brake components out of Maryland, HVAC systems out of Nebraska, and steel and fabrication parts out of California and Oregon. Final assembly of the Buy America-compliant Charger takes place at Siemens Sacramento, Calif., plant, which is powered in part by solar.

The first Chargers were ordered under a $225 million contract awarded in 2014 by a multi-state coalition led by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Since then, options have been exercised by six states including Illinois, California, Michigan, Washington, Maryland and Missouri. In addition, the first Siemens-built trainsets for the new Brightline passenger service in Florida, each powered by two Chargers, will ship this fall. IDOT will receive its first Charger later this year, with additional customers to follow throughout 2017.

Cummins QSK95 is the first locomotive prime mover for single-engine installations to be certified to the EPAs ultra-low Tier 4 emissions regulations, said Melina Kennedy, General Manager, Cummins Global Rail and Defense Business. Not only is it the cleanest diesel engine for locomotives, it also offers large gains in fuel efficiency over non-certified engines currently used in many passenger rail applications.

These diesel-electric locomotives truly represent the next generation of clean and efficient rail travel in the United States, and the testing being done in Pueblo is a crucial step in bringing this advanced rail technology to states across the country, said Michael Cahill, President of Siemens Rolling Stock. The Siemens Charger not only is the first diesel-electric locomotive to meet the EPAs strict Tier 4 emissions standards, but it is also a powerful example of what can be accomplished through American manufacturing.

These locomotives mark a new era in Pacific Northwest train travel, said Ron Pate, director of Rail, Freight and Ports for the Washington State Department of Transportation, who traveled to Colorado for the testing. They will help provide more frequent, reliable and faster service to our Amtrak Cascades customers and also advance our agencys commitment to offering alternative and sustainable transportation choices.

The Charger will provide Californias intercity passenger rail services with a fleet of locomotives that meet very stringent Tier 4 emission standards and that help promote CALTRANS mission of a safe, sustainable, integrated and efficient transportation system, said CALTRANS Division of Rail Chief Bruce Roberts. The new locomotives are capable of quicker acceleration, higher top-end speeds and will provide passengers with the safety of PTC.

TTCI is honored to assist Siemens in qualifying the new Charger locomotive, said TTCI President Lisa Stabler. We are happy to be able to provide a testing facility that enables our customers to evaluate their products performance in a real-world environment.
Edward Fishman, an experienced attorney who specializes in infrastructure projects, principally in the transportation and logistics sector, has joined the Infrastructure Practice Group of Nossaman LLP as a Partner.

Fishman, based in the firms Washington, D.C. office, provides project structuring, risk management and regulatory advice in connection with rail, highway and related intermodal projects and has worked on several innovative P3 (public-private partnership) transactions, Nossaman said in announcing his appointment. In addition, he has substantial experience representing multinational clients in connection with the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), trade sanctions and other U.S. laws that apply to business activities outside the U.S. He has conducted global internal investigations relating to potential corruption, fraud and other ethics and compliance matters for companies in various industries.

Fishman is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland, and holds a J.D. from George Washington University Law School, an M.A. from George Washington University Elliot School of International Affairs and a B.A., cum laude, from Duke University.

Nossamans Infrastructure Practice Group advises on transportation infrastructure, social infrastructure, and water and wastewater infrastructure projects. Among these projects are Marylands Purple Line Light Rail Project, Floridas I-4 Ultimate, the UC Merced 2020 Campus Expansion Project and the City of Los Angeles/Los Angeles World Airports LAX Landside Access Modernization Program. In the rail sector, Nossaman advises railroads, transit agencies, state departments of transportation and shippers on highly complex, high profile railroad regulatory and transactional matters. Among the firms clients are Amtrak, the California High-Speed Rail Authority and the Metropolitan Council of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Eds deep experience in the transportation sector, and the connections hes forged both in D.C. and nationally will greatly benefit our clients, said Simon Santiago, Leader of East Coast Operations for Nossamans Infrastructure Practice Group.

We are excited that Ed is joining us, said Kevin Sheys, an Infrastructure Partner in the D.C. office whose practice focuses on the rail industry. He is one of the leading practitioners in the rail field, and his presence will be a valuable asset for our clients and help us enhance our services in the area.

Eds experience with FCPA and internal investigations is an important addition for the Public Policy Group at Nossaman, and fits nicely with our plan for growth here in the Washington, D.C. office, said Fred Dombo, Chair of Nossamans Public Policy Practice Group and a member of the Firms Executive Committee.

This is a fantastic opportunity that allows me to better serve my existing clients by leveraging the strengths of Nossamans renowned Infrastructure Practice Group and other leading practices of the firm, including health care, public procurement, and litigation, said Fishman. It also enables me to further expand my global compliance and internal investigation practice in a collegial and supportive environment, which is a very attractive proposition.
What's being said about China's role at the upcoming G20 summit Updated: 2016-08-11 10:38 (Xinhua)

BEIJING - As the annual Group of 20 (G20) summit draws closer, the world's media has begun forecasting the issues to be addressed at the meeting.

Leaders of the world's 20 largest economies are scheduled to meet in China's southeastern city of Hangzhou on Sept 4 and 5. The gathering has caught global attention amid lackluster global economic performance and rising geopolitical tensions in Asia and around the world this year.

According to Agence France-Presse, the fluctuation of China's currency, the yuan, will be on the agenda.

The yuan is expected to drop this year, given the continuing impact of Brexit, AFP said, adding that China and other G20 nations have reaffirmed a pledge to refrain from "competitive devaluations."

"China has committed to moving in an orderly way to a more market-oriented exchange rate," AFP quoted a senior US Treasury official as saying in July.

The Associated Press believes this year's summit will focus on China's diplomatic relations with some of its neighbors.

The media outlet cited a string of China-related diplomatic issues this year, like a Hague-based tribunal's invalid award on the South China Sea issue last month, and South Korea's latest decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), whose X-band radar can snoop on Chinese and Russian territories.

Meanwhile, other diplomatic issues of global concern are also expected to be raised. Reuters reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Theresa May are due to attend the summit. The two leaders will discuss how to relax the "strained" relations of the two nations over their differences on "Ukraine and Syria as well as ... a sharp increase in flights by long-range Russian bombers near British air space."

Reuters also said that China is sparing no effort to ensure its first-ever G20 summit a success. The government and community organizations have offered English lessons to elderly residents of Hangzhou so that they are able to say "hello" to foreign leaders and reporters visiting the city.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the G20 countries will push for global economic recovery "through pro-growth strategies and innovation."

"In light of recent developments, we reiterate our determination to use all policy tools -- monetary, fiscal and structural - individually and collectively to achieve our goal of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth," Xinhua quoted G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in a statement.

Xinhua also interviewed a number of foreign economists and experts on the upcoming summit, who said China is poised to play a "crucial" role at the meeting and guide talks aimed at jump-starting the world economy.
To create a stunning new mural on Grandville Avenue, high school students spent months exploring race, identity and heritage. After nearly a year of doing everything from holding public forums to putting on skits about racism in Grand Rapids, the teenagers are celebrating their newly-finished piece of public art that is all about uplifting and empowering the area's Latino community.

Art, the students who transformed a giant blank wall into a vibrant community mural on Grandville Avenue explain, should not be relegated to a specific place. Or solely for specific people. It should not be limited to those with means, or hidden from those who dont frequent Grand Rapids downtown. It can be transformative. It can celebrate a neighborhood, diversity, history, unity, and people. It can be driven by, and inspire, discussions of race and identity and heritage. It can make a group of teenagers say, amidst a sea of color: we are a part of this; we are proud pieces of a diverse community of people from places around the globe, from Guatemala and Puerto Rico to Mexico and the Dominican Republic. And our histories and cultures and experiences matter.





These are the messages students and other community leaders emphasize last Thursday evening, when the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan and the Cook Arts Center held a celebration of the recently completed mural titled "Nuestra Historia, Nuestra Voz" ("Our History, Our Voice") at 912 Grandville Avenue. Created by high school students from the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan and Grandville Avenue Arts and Humanities Cook Arts Center, who worked with local artists Raquel Silva, David Frison and Ricardo Gonzalez on the massive piece of public art, the mural is the culmination of nine months of intensive collaboration that included everything from art classes to forums, skits and discussions revolving around identity, race and heritage. After countless hours of putting brushes to wall, not to mention gallons of red and yellow and green and blue paint, the final result is a mural that celebrates the cultural heritage and unity of Grandville Avenue.

The message, to me is personal; its about empowerment for the Hispanic community, Rafael Paz, a 15-year-old City High School student who was one of about 30 teenagers who worked on the mural project, says of the public piece of art that now adorns the towering space that was donated by Javier Olvera, the president and owner of Supermercado Mexico. The mural was funded by Michigan Humanities Council grants given to the Hispanic Center and the Cook Arts Center. Members of the Hispanic Center were responsible for designing and painting the mural, and individuals from the Cook Arts Center painstakingly documented the process, including creating a documentary that aired during last weeks celebration and includes an array of phenomenal footage and interviews, including stunning aerial images taken by a drone. The documentary also received backing from the Grand Rapids Community Media Centers Elevating Voices project, which gave students access to computers, cameras, software, training, and more.

In a city where the Hispanic population has more than tripled over the past 20 years, increasing from a little less than 10,000 people in 1990 to more than 29,000 in 2010, the last year for which there are U.S. Census Bureau statistics available, this message of empowerment is particularly poignant, and important. While Hispanic residents are becoming increasingly visible everywhere from city government to the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, they still regularly face disenfranchisement and racism (such as, for example, not being able to access funding for businesses, not being hired or promoted in the workplace, and regularly hearing people shout racist slurs at them), something which was discussed at length during the murals planning process.

Emmanuel Zavala, a 14-year-old City High School student who too worked on the mural, notes they held skits about the racism the teens have faced, with the pieces addressing everything from micro-aggressions (often subtle, but offensive, comments or actions that unintentionally or unconsciously reinforce a stereotype) to what it means to be Hispanic and not speak Spanish to being biracial. For example, Zavala says they discussed volunteers coming into the Cook Library Center and coming up to teens to ask them if they need help, when that help hasnt been solicited and isnt needed.

But they see me, and they do that, and that makes me feel mad, Zavala says. I work hard, and they assume you dont know anything.

As part of the mural, there are depictions of various flags, including those of Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Cuba -- an effort to both symbolize the heritages of those living in the community and a way to celebrate the incredible array of cultures that create a strong, tight-knit neighborhood that deserves to be lifted up as much as, for example, Grand Rapids downtown.

Less than a mile away from somewhere like Founders, where theres a lot of art, the art really dwindles when you get into such areas as Grandville Avenue, says Javier Jauregui, a youth advocate at the Hispanic Center. Art should not be exclusive to one neighborhood.

This call for the democratization of art in the city is being heard, and the Grandville mural, which is situated about halfway between the Hispanic Center and the Cook Arts Center, will be an ArtPrize venue this year -- something Jauregui notes wouldnt have happened without the efforts of

Jauregui also emphasizes that the mural was the product of numerous voices from throughout the community, not solely individuals from the Hispanic Center and Cook Arts Center.

We held two forums with neighbors, which is where the ideas for the mural came from, he says. This was not something that happened behind closed doors or overnight. There were numerous voices involved. To say this is just an Hispanic Center project is an exaggeration; this is a Grandville Avenue project.

That this incorporated so many different voices from the community, including voices that can often be marginalized, is, the artists and others involved say, emblematic of a changing city that is increasingly realizing that cities, like ecosystems, are far stronger when they are diverse.

Theres this diversity, and all these different groups, were all discriminated against, says Antonio Jaimes, a 15-year-old City High School student who worked on the mural. Theres all these different races all over this neighborhood, but were all united.

Steffanie Rosalez, the program director at the Cook Arts Center, too emphasizes this.

Theres the message of unity, of having pride in your own community, she says. Its about empowering the neighborhood.

To check out the mural for yourself, you can go to 912 Grandville Ave., or visit the

Anna Gustafson is the managing editor at Rapid Growth.

You can reach her by emailing

This article is part of Michigan Nightlight, a series of stories about the programs and people that positively impact the lives of Michigan kids. It is made possible with funding from the
How do you make sure students are ready to take on the world? Jarrad Grandy and his team of STEM and career readiness consultants are answering that by connecting youth at Kent ISD with local businesses.

Businesses have needs. Students have talent.

It's a matter of supply and demand, and one that Jarrad Grandy and the Kent Intermediate School District are preparing students to meet.

Grandy says the relationships between West Michigan businesses and schools have progressed greatly during the nine years he's spent at Kent ISD, but there are still connections to be made and more for both students and educators to learn. And that's where Kent ISD excels, teaching students in a context that fits a career as well as a classroom and helping educators frame their own curricula more effectively.



Within Kent ISD, Grandy is director of the Career & College Readiness team. It's what he calls the business-to-education arm of the district . Grandy and his STEM and Career Readiness consultants work on finding out what kids want to be when they grow up and connecting them with employers who can make those dreams come true.

"We really try to tie a student's passion into employers' talent pipeline," he says. "Obviously, Grand Rapids has experienced a lot of growth and uptake in the last few years. There are so many opportunities here. It's a great place to live and work and we want to make sure kids are learning in schools, that the learning is done in a relevant way that meets our needs as educators, and in a way that makes sense to employers."

Whether those kids leave high school headed for a six-week training program or a PhD, they'll have a better understanding of how their specific talents might define a career. Grandy and company handle this in a few different ways. Whereas the Kent Career Technical Center provides hands-on training for some of the most popular manufacturing positions, the Career Readiness department focuses on awareness and exploration.

"You need that before you start doing actual training in a career," Grandy says.



District to Business

Career Exploration Coordinators Amy Pierce, Lindsey Tilley, and Krista Harmon guide students through industry tours, job shadowing experiences, internships, and even student competitions with local employers as panelists. Their job requires reaching out to a few dozen local public and private districts and creating programs that work within their own parameters. It's essential work and creates a foundation for the other elements of Grandy's team.



The coordinators service all public, private, parochial and homeschooled students throughout Kent County. While Pierce works in the construction, engineering, manufacturing, and skilled trades sectors, Harmon works with the health sciences sector, and Tilley works with design thinking and information technology.



"My role is to create events to expose students to the various careers that are available in Kent County  students cant be what they cant see," Pierce says. "We create a variety of programming that engages the senses of students so they might be able to visualize themselves in a role in the future--or not, which is just as successful so they dont chase a path that will cause them to waste money on future educational endeavors."



Some Career Readiness programs are open to all students in Kent County, while others are offered through partnerships with different schools and teachers, specific to their curriculum.



"They talk to a whole host of businesses," Grandy says. "They ask if businesses would be interested in working with the kids in different opportunities. Then they go back to the schools with these employers lined up and ask for kids, and there are always kids ready. Through it all, we've been able to have some really great programming."



Businesses like Precision Metal Forming Association, the Right Place, and Talent2025 have shared career pathways with Kent ISD students. The district also works with the people and resources at West Michigan Works,

Grand Valley State University's Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, and the Western Regional Area Health Education Center (WM-AHEC) among other organizations.on a regular basis.



District to District

Career Readiness and STEM consultants help form curricula based on science, engineering, technology, mathematics, or soft skills alongside teacher training programs. They visit classrooms and workplaces alike to get a feel for the type of training necessary and build a solid plan from there.

"They will bring out new technology, 3D printers, unmanned vehicles, artificial intelligence presentations, and work with the teachers to make sure their needs and criteria are met," Grandy says. "They work with educators in the classroom, alongside them, and in collaboration with them to get them to the point where they would lead the discussion themselves."

After demonstrating the lesson and working in tandem with educators to familiarize them with the materials, the consultants are able to pass along more than just advice. Bringing students and educators face to face with the people they're going to be working with provides invaluable support. Grandy says the Kent ISD teachers are even shuttled around to popular employers from time to time so they can learn what the companies do and what their employment needs are.





Business to Student "It's a way of promoting some awareness," Grandy says. "Teachers have a tremendous impact. That's nothing new. But typically, most people have a very linear path in education. We're trying to get all kids career ready and believe it's helpful to expose teachers to multiple careers, too. Then, they can pass the knowledge on to the kids."

Kent ISD is making the most of its knowledge base by condensing their training sessions into shareable videos. Grandy says his STEM consultants are able to meet with employers for 20 to 30 minutes and distill their program into a 5 to 10 min10-minute that schools can access on YouTube.

"Math being what it was for us--here's a formula and 30 problems, and guess what tomorrow is? A formula and another 30--what we want to do is give teachers another option, another tool in their toolbox," he says. "If I'm a math teacher and I'm working on a formula, this is a big help. It's free and open source. You can use it if you work in Kent County or wherever in the world."

Kent ISD's Business Problem Library on YouTube essentially brings viewers inside the walls of local business partners, where anyone can see classroom lessons being applied in the workplace. Whether its basic forces and interactions, advanced electronics, coding, or even robotics.

"The idea behind it is, as a school, you may not always have the resources to go out and talk to an employer, but this is a way to bring them to you," Grandy says.

The Career Readiness team holds its work to high standards and values the time of those they have the opportunity to work with. Grandy understands a fun experience with a shiny package may not provide the most educational substance or use of resources.

"Our currency is time and standards. We've really heard this over and over from educators, so we want to offer something that considers that," he says. "If a teacher is going to take time out of their classroom to do this, then it's going to be held to a high enough standard and taught in such a way to make it worth their time and meets the needs of employers."

Technology has evolved to allow Kent ISD some opportunities that were not possible even just a few years ago but Grandy credits the dedication of his team and the local business landscape's growing connection to community matters in making their mission possible. Students with STEM education are in high demand these days, and thanks to Grandy and Career Readiness, they're learning how to market their skills to make demands of their own.

For more information on Jarrad Grandy of the Kent Intermediate School District, visit http://www.kentisd.org/
HBO is to exclusively air on TV the seventh episode of the Star Wars saga across Latin America, a year later after it premiered in cinemas.





The five-times Oscar-winner, the first Star Wars title produced by Walt Disney Studios will air in LATAM thanks to an exclusivity agreement between HBO and Walt Disney. The Force Awakens will air on 5 November in all 40 territories of Latin America and the Caribbean in which HBO is available.The film brought back the popular saga over 40 years after the first episode was premiered, signalling the return of original characters such as Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).The Force Awakens, directed by JJ Abrams, will air on one of HBOs 11 networks available in the region, depending on the pay-TV provider. In addition, it will be also available via streaming though HBO Go.
Paraguays telecom authority Conatel has signed an agreement with the copyright office to increase the fight against content piracy through the Internet and pay-TV.





This fight will bring better opportunities for content creators in our country, who will be able to sell their products without fearing piracy, said Conatel president Teresita Palacios.The agreement set the basis for both Conatel and the intellectual property agency DINAPI to develop common strategies aimed at fighting piracy across telecom services. We are joining forces to face this problem, which is hurting the country, said Patricia Stanley, head of DINAPI Under the terms of the agreement, Conatel will provide information about any activities attacking intellectual property through the telecom services, including the Internet and pay-TV. However, Conatel hasnt made clear how much information from users activities will be passed on to DINAPI.The copyright office will carry both prevention and investigation activities in an administrative level in order to reduce content piracy in the country. The collaboration will be effective for the next three years.
VTR has agreed to sell its 50% stake in CNN Chile to Turner Latin America, which now controls the entire news network.





The free-to-air (FTA) channel had been a joint venture of VTR, owned by Liberty Global, and Time Warner, a Turner subsidiary, since its launch in 2008. After some months of negotiation, Turner is finally taking full control of the network.Through the move CNN Chile becomes Turners 17 channel in the country, counting both FTA and pay-TV, joining Chilevision, CNN International, CNN en Espanol, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Tooncast, TNT, Space, TCM, I.Sat, TNT Series, truTV, TBS, Glitz, HTV and MuchMusic.In fact, Chiles financial newspaper Diario Financiero reports that Turner is already analysing possible synergies between CNN Chile and some of the other channels.Were satisfied to have completed this important and strategic acquisition and were thrilled about having 100% of CNN Chile, said Juan Carlos Urdaneta, president, Turner Latin America . We have great expectations for the channels future.Together we created the news channels in Chile, a kind of network which today has 88% more audience than it did back then, said Jorge Carey, VP, programming, VTR. The agreement will strengthen CNN Chiles development in the long term.The announcement comes shortly after Turner decided to open a commercial office in Chile to manage a growing operation which has taken the lead among Turners Latin American businesses.
Crimean authorities appeal recovery of 18.3 million hryvnias in favor of Cypriot firm

MOSCOW, August 11 (RAPSI)  The State Council of Crimea has lodged an appeal with the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals against a lower courts ruling ordering the republics Finance Ministry to pay over 18.3 million hryvnias (in rubles at the Bank of Russia exchange rate current at the date of payment) to Cypriot company DRGN Ltd, according to court records.

Crimea sold the bonds in 2011 to finance a solid municipal waste treatment project in Simferopol and the Simferopol Region. The plaintiff borrowed over 25,000 bonds in January 2013.

In April 2015, DRGN Ltd turned to court demanding that Russias Finance Ministry pay the debt on a local domestic bond loan of 1.142 million Euros and interest for using the funds as accrued by the date of the court ruling. The republics State Council, the Council of Ministers and the Finance Ministry of Crimea were named as co-defendants in the case.

The Moscow Commercial Court in July granted in part a lawsuit filed by DRGN Ltd against Crimean authorities. The court ruled that the proper defendant in this case is Republic of Crimea represented by its Finance Ministry; thats why the court dismissed claims against other defendants.

Moreover, the court held that the sum of recovery should be converted into rubles but not into Euros as the plaintiff had asked because the case was considered under Russian law.

Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov announced earlier that the Crimean authorities had appealed to the Federal Security Service (FSB) to investigate the sale of the 2011 bond and the involved companies.

Aksyonov claimed to know who provided the funds and why. He said that Nikolai Skorik, Crimeas Finance Minister from 2010 to 2013, transferred the money to banks in Odessa that were affiliated with his friends where the interest on the money accrued.

Aksyonov added that a decision in the case would be made after the investigation is complete, but Crimea is not responsible for the debt because the money has not returned to the republic.
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Russian Antimonopoly Service fines Google $6.7 mln

MOSCOW, August 11 (RAPSI)  The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) fined Google Inc. with 438 million rubles ($6.7 million) for violating antimonopoly legislation by preinstalling applications on Android smartphones, the antimonopoly watchdogs statement reads on Thursday.

On September 18, 2015, FAS found Google guilty of violation the legislation.

On March 15 2016, the Moscow Commercial Court dismissed Googles petition requesting to abolish the FAS decision and order issued in September 2015, which stated that the company had violated the Federal Law on Protection of Competition and accusing it of abuse of dominance on the market of preinstalled applications in the Android operating system.

FAS requested Google to remedy the detected breeches by amending agreements the company made with producers of devices until December 18. The case was opened at the request of Yandex, one of the largest internet companies in Europe, operating Russia's most popular search engine and a website. Google filed a lawsuit against the FAS order but it was dismissed by the Moscow Commercial Court.

At the end of March, FAS informed that Google had submitted the complete set of data with regard to the companys operations on the Russian market in 2014, including information about earnings on the part of Google Play and related products. At that time the antimonopoly watchdog stated that it could calculate the amount of fine, but did not make it public.

On April 19, Igor Artemyev, FAS Head, said that Google was to be fined for its operations on the Russian market; however, the amount of the fine would be much less than in Europe.

Earlier, a Google representative said that the company had lodged an appeal against this decision. According to this representative, Google continued to cooperate with Russian authorities and explain how Android ecosystem operated.

[It  ed.] actively encourages competition allowing consumers to get mobile devices of superior quality across the price range,  the Google representative noted, adding that the platform permitted consumers and producers of gadgets, as well as carrier service providers to make choices.

In its turn, Yandex claimed that Google was trying to deflect attention away from the main issue of the case, since the FAS decision and order have nothing to do with Android merits as a platform and in no way restrict its development and potential. According to a Yandex representative, the question was primarily about anti-competition practices, i.e. bans and restrictions on the distribution of competitors applications Google used to prohibit them preinstall applications and to gain unjustified advantage.
As we see a surge in inflation globally, it is now critical that everyone is aware of the implications this will have along every step of the insurance and reinsurance value chain.
Beijing police launch operation against cyber crime Updated: 2016-08-10 12:47 (Xinhua)

BEIJING -- Beijing police have launched a two-month crackdown on cyber crimes, according to authorities.

The operation is being carried out to restore online order and security, Beijing police said in a statement.

It will target cyber crime that damages political security, while also cracking down on online terrorism and other types of illegal information.

Police will pursue crimes related to pornography, gambling, guns, explosives and drugs.

The special operation also targets infringement of private information, telecommunications fraud, hacking, the spread of violence and terrorism, and damage to the social order.

Websites, online service providers and employees will also be subject to police inspection, it said.
In the soon-to-be-released Hoover Institution Press book, Blueprint for America, edited by former Secretary of State George Shultz, retired Admiral James Ellis explores how the United States is primed and ready to develop an energy security strategy. While Admiral Ellis wrote his chapter in the context of the United States, his takeaway to focus on energy security and not a singular energy item is just as appropriate for California to heed.

As Admiral Ellis writes, energy security is energy that is "always available (even in times of duress), that [energy] is reliable (not prone to sudden disruption, whether intentional or accidental), resilient (able to recover quickly when it is interrupted), and affordable (both in the personal and macroeconomic sense, including price shocks)." Using this framework, it's apparent that under current policy - most specifically the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) - California is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to ensuring future energy security. And yet, a simple, little tweak can dramatically improve the Golden State's energy situation.

Renewable Portfolio Standards Decrease Energy Security: RPSs mandate private (and in some cases, government owned) electricity utilities to purchase a specific percentage of their power from permitted renewable energy sources. The devil is in the details, however. For instance, in California, the allowed renewable sources include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and even wave and tidal energy, but notably exclude nuclear and large hydro-electric. Why this decreases energy security is because of the elevated intermittency of RPSs. Wind and solar accounted for approximately 60% of the RPS power in 2014, both of which are intermittent power sources. So since electricity is required all day, every day, California's electricity grid needs to fill in the gaps with base load power. But because nuclear and large hydro-electric power are excluded from the RPS - both of which are carbon-free base load sources - California must rely on natural gas and coal, often from out-of-state. As California's RPS mandates step-up to 30% in 2020 and 50% in 2030, this intermittency issue will lead to Golden State's energy grid to become less available, less reliable, less resilient, and less affordable: all the opposite of enhancing energy security.

Low Carbon Portfolio Standards Would Enhance Energy Security: But there's actually a simple fix, replace California's RPS with a Low Carbon Portfolio Standard (LCPS), which increases the permitted sources of power to all low or non-carbon energy sources, including nuclear and large hydro-electric. This broadens the choices utilities have, which increases affordability for consumers and eliminates the intermittency problem as the mandated percentage increases over time, which increases availability, reliability, and resiliency - all the while still maintaining the "green" intent of California energy's policy.

Necessary Ingredient - Eliminate the Resistance to Nuclear: But standing in the way of swapping out California's RPS for a LCPS is the state's political and legal resistance to nuclear power. In fact, anti-climate change advocates are actively trying to eliminate one of the California's last remaining nuclear power sites, despite the fact that it will mean California will become more reliant on natural gas and coal and likely increase the state's CO2 emissions. The legal barrier standing in the way is a 1976 amendment to the Warren-Alquist Act, which established the California Energy Commission. This amendment created a de facto ban on nuclear power construction by requiring the Energy Commission to certify that sufficient storage capacity for spent nuclear fuel and waste existed. With the federal storage agenda in political limbo, the Energy Commission has been unable to approve, let alone even consider, new nuclear power plant plans. Until new nuclear power generation capacity can be added to the grid, switching from an RPS to a LCPS wouldn't advance energy security - or the green agenda. Repealing this amendment, though, won't happen until the political culture of modern environmentalism welcomes nuclear as a carbon-free base load alternative.

All too often, Sacramento views policy issues through narrow lenses when, in fact, a panorama is more appropriate and productive. Energy is one of those issues. While California's leaders have been myopically concerned about climate change in reference to energy, if it instead viewed the issue in terms of energy security, the state's energy policy could be effective and efficient and green.
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Putin and Erdogan meet in bid to 'restart dialogue' Updated: 2016-08-10 01:52 (AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE)

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in St Petersburg on Tuesday. [Photo/Agencies]

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan looked to rebuild ties as they met on Tuesday for the first time since Ankara downed one of Moscow's warplanes in November.

Erdogan's visit to Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg is also his first foreign trip since the failed coup against him last month that sparked a purge of opponents and cast a shadow over Turkey's relations with the West.

"Your visit today, despite a very difficult situation regarding domestic politics, indicates that we all want to restart dialogue and restore relations between Russia and Turkey," Putin said after the two leaders shook hands.

Erdogan, who has said the trip represents a "new milestone", told Putin that ties had entered a "very different phase", and he thanked the Kremlin leader for his backing after the coup attempt.

The shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by a Turkish F-16 over the Syrian border last fall saw Putin slap economic sanctions on Turkey and launch a war of words with Erdogan.

But in late June, Putin surprisingly accepted a letter expressing regret over the incident from Erdogan as an apology and quickly rolled back a ban on the sale of tour packages to Turkey and signaled that Moscow would end measures against Turkish food imports and construction companies.

Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to phone Erdogan offering support after the coup attempt.
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Jamie Oliver and wife Jools have welcomed baby No. 5.

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The 41-year-old British celebrity chef announced in an Instagram post that he and Jools are proud parents to a newborn son.

"It's a baby boy! Everyone in the Oliver family is very surprised and beyond happy," he wrote.

"He arrived safely, mum/@joolsoliver was really really amazing, unbelievably composed."

Oliver and Jools, who married in 2000, are already parents to 14-year-old Poppy, 13-year-old Daisy, 7-year-old Petal and 5-year-old Buddy.

Poppy and Daisy joined their parents in the delivery room for their sibling's birth.

"My two eldest girls got to come in at the very end as the baby was born which was very emotional," Oliver said.

"Love to all you mums out there how amazing you are it blows my mind ... p.s. no baby names yet."

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Jools revealed in her own post that Poppy and Daisy cut the umbilical cord.

Many were shocked by the couple's decision to include their children, but Jacque Gerrard, the Royal College of Midwives director in England, told the Guardian it is increasingly normal.

"Birth is a family event, and it affects everyone," he said. "With the right support and preparation, why shouldn't they be involved?"

Oliver is known for such shows as "The Naked Chef," "Jamie at Home" and "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution."

He has also appeared on "Iron Chef America" and "Oprah's Big Give."
Jennifer Lopez has signed on to star as drug lord Griselda Blanco in an upcoming HBO television film.

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According to Variety, the former "American Idol" judge will also be executive producing the untitled project along with her studio, Nuyorican Productions.

No other casting has been announced.

The film will focus on the true story of Blanco, a notorious Colombian drug lord known as "The Cocaine Godmother" who revolutionized the United States drug trade throughout the '70s and '80s.

Blanco was killed in Colombia in September of 2012 and was the subject of drug documentary "Cocaine Cowboys" in 2006.

"I've been fascinated by the life of this corrupt and complicated woman for many years," Lopez said in a statement.

"The idea of teaming with HBO felt like the perfect fit for finally bringing Griselda's story to life."
Khloe Kardashian is facing an online backlash for her Bantu knot hairstyle.

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Social media users accused the 32-year-old "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star of cultural appropriation after she posted a photo of herself wearing the African style, which originated with Zulu tribes.

Kardashian initially shared a picture with the caption "Bantu babe," but replaced the shot with another photo, according to Us Weekly.

The new post reads, "I like this one better."

"Khloe Kardashian wearing Bantu knots is so not surprising ok she has appropriated just about everything there is to appropriate from us," one person tweeted in response.

"Didn't think Khloe Kardashian could ever look stupider than she did in cornrows but I see today she attempted bantu knots," another wrote in the photo comments.

"@khloekardashian it would be nice if you paid homage to the black woman culture when you do our hairstyles," a fan suggested. "But carry on."

Kardashian's half-sister Kylie Jenner also faced criticism this week after sharing a photo of her red cornrow braids on her 19th birthday.

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Actress Amandla Stenberg had called out Jenner last year for wearing the traditional African style.

"When u appropriate black features and culture but fail to use ur position of power to help black Americans by directing attention toward your wigs instead of police brutality or racism," Stenberg said.

Kardashian appeared to laugh off the controversy by tweeting, "You guys never disappoint! LMAO" Tuesday evening.
The Zapruder Effect: Slow It Down To Speed Things Up

Photos By John Cowart

The body does interesting things under stress. During moments of extreme duress, a series of autonomic responses take place that we have no control over. Adrenaline and other hormones are dumped into our system during flight or fight reactions, giving the human body extra strength and speed to increase survivabilitySlow It Down To Speed Things Up. Blood is taken from the parts of the body not used during the fight and sent to places where it is needed. Hearing can become impaired in a phenomenon known as Auditory exclusion. One of the more interesting physiological occurrences is temporal distortion, an alteration of how time is perceived. Soldiers and police officers have articulated time and again that, when faced with deadly threats, time appears to slow down.

Obviously, a police shooting or combat has no real effect on the time space continuum, but it is a very real feeling. A few years back, while attending a law enforcement firearms course, I was able to attend a lecture by a seasoned veteran of law enforcement. The topic was the 1991 Good Guys shooting in Sacramento. For those not familiar with it, the Good Guys event was a hostage rescue operation conducted by the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office SWAT Team. In a nutshell, SWAT officers had to square off with a group of gangsters who had taken over a Good Guys electronics store. Overall, it was a successful mission, but not without some lessons learned. It is the largest hostage rescue mission to have ever taken place in the United States and worth learning about.

The individual giving the presentation was Lieutenant Gordon Smith, a SWAT operator during the Good Guys event and a seasoned law enforcement veteran. Lt. Smith is a great speaker who presented a warts and all class on what happened. One thing Smith did was something that rarely happens in tactical presentations  he opened up the floor to the audience to discuss the students' own officer involved shootings. The course was a firearms instructor class, so there were numerous experienced officers attending. Many of them had been involved in shootings. As a result we heard some great accounts of some pretty hairy run-ins with armed bad guys.

At some point the discussion turned to physiological reactions during such events. One officer from the San Francisco Police Department described a particularly nasty close quarters engagement in which he was involved in a shooting with an armed suspect mere feet from where he stood. He described, as officers often do in that instance, how things seemed to slow down and how he felt like he was viewing the event in slow motion.

When it was my turn to talk I discussed a similar encounter with an armed suspect. I was involved in a shooting where the suspect shot my partner, then turned the gun on me. I engaged the suspect, shooting him multiple times, and killed him. My recollection of the events wasnt the typical slow motion time perception. Instead, I remember it as series of still images or snapshots: Seeing the suspect, my partner getting hit, me returning fireOne image after the next. Upon hearing my description the SFPD officer said, Its like the Zapruder film.

For the historically challenged, heres what he was referring to: Abraham Zapruder was a witness to the assassination of President John Kennedy in Dallas on November 22nd 1963. He filmed the event with an old fashioned home movie camera. Its the only known video footage of the event and is probably the most analyzed piece of film in existence. It shows in dreadful detail when President Kennedy is shot through the neck and then the upper head. When researchers view it they slow the movie down until it shows one frame at a time, so slow that it is no longer a movie but a series of still images. The SFPD officer quantified his statement by saying basically the same thing; that is, that in my perception of what had occurred, I had slowed the event down so far that it no longer appeared to be moving.

Im not entirely sure what this says about me.

Does it mean my thought process is so slow and sluggish to begin with that, when you throw a little stress in there my mind almost comes to a screeching halt? Or does it mean that I am so tactically attuned that my brain is able to slow the process down into bite size manageable pieces?

Really neither is true. Ive been in other situations where my time perception has slowed but not to that extreme. On a different occasion I contacted a gang member who, while in my presence, tossed a handgun he'd concealed on his person. As the gun came out, I saw it falling in  you guessed it  slow motion. I remember it slowly bouncing off the sidewalk and eventually coming to rest. I drew my weapon and began yelling commands mixed with expletives. Once my partners had him and his cronies at gunpoint, my time perception returned to normal.

The one thing I noticed in that instance and others like it was that, although I was viewing it in slow mo, my mind was working at its normal speed, or even faster. In other words, my thought process hadnt slowed down, just my perception of what was occurring. The visualization was slowed down, but my brain hadnt. Like the adrenaline dump and auditory exclusion, the slowed perception of things gives us a distinct advantage  if we are prepared to use it, and know to expect it. It allows us to come up with quick tactical solutions to rapidly evolving problems. In reality, whats really happening is your brain processing group is operating at a much higher speed than usual, giving the impression that things occurring around you are happening much slower.

This ties in with the OODA loop concept. In life or death moments were Observing, Orienting, Deciding and Acting at a very high rate of speed while surrounding events appear turtleish in comparison. In the case of my OIS (officer involved shooting), my brain was working faster than it had ever worked before, causing an even greater increase in the slowing effect. Maybe, like auditory exclusion, my brain decided it needed as much visual information as possible to process a response and only focus on the really important stuff (partner shot bad guy still has gun engage bad guy).

Its important to know what your body and mind does during life and death moments and how it benefits you. Don't just train on the range. Learn the physiological reactions your body will experience under stress so you can mitigate any problems they might cause or thoroughly exploit the advantages they give.

Try to slow things down when you need to speed things up.
Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley is vying for his partys nomination at the convention on March 5. Buckley is no stranger to running for things, after running for Senate in 2004 and 2008 and for Lieutenant Governor in 2006. Buckley is perhaps most notable for earning about 4 percent of the vote in 2008, forcing an intense runoff between Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin.
But in the hyper partisan atmosphere that is 2016 politics, Kaine passes as a centrist amongst a sea of politicians that live on the far left or far right of the old paradigm.
County clerk says she won't tolerate election interference

Cathy Darling Allen, the county clerk and registrar of voters, said she will answer questions from anyone who wants to observe the vote tally.
Photo courtesy of Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Park's Dark Sky Festival provides chances to view and learn about the cosmos.

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By Laura Christman

Lassen Volcanic National Park is a sanctuary of darkness. Thats a good thing.

Located far from the light of urban areas, Lassens nights are filled with stars that pop against the black sky. The Dark Sky Festival Aug. 12-14 celebrates the parks dark side, offering chances to learn  and reflect.

When we can lose ourselves in the grandeur of a starry night sky, we escape our day-to-day troubles and find humility. We also find a sense of belonging to something much bigger, says Supervisory Ranger Kevin Sweeney.

The free festival has a packed schedule for enlightening visitors about the cosmos. It features telescopes and talks by NASA scientists and other astronomy experts.

The Lassen Dark Sky Festival is extremely popular, Sweeney says. Its grown from a few hundred attending to more than 4,500 last year.

Telescopes will be set up at Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, the Bumpass Hell Trail parking lot and Manzanita Lake campground. This years festival is timed to take in the Perseid meteor shower. As its peak, as many as 50 meteors in an hour can streak across the dark sky.

There are plenty of daytime activities too. The festival includes solar scopes for safely looking at the sun and screenings of The City Dark, a prize-winning film about light pollution and disappearing night skies. An art and science fair with space-theme art and activities is planned. Lassen Park also offers Junior Ranger Astronomy and Dark Sky Ranger programs for children.

Astronomy-theme talks are featured all three days of the festival. They include:

 Ask a NASA Astronomer, experts will answer questions about anything that sparks your cosmic curiosity.

 Astrobiology  Life on Earth and Elsewhere, NASA scientist David DesMarais talks about scientists search for biosignatures that can indicate the presence of life.

 Exploring the Outer Solar System, John Keller of the citizen-science astronomy effort RECON shares how students and teachers in more than 50 communities are coordinating telescope observations.

 Postcards from Mars, a visual tour of the Red Planets canyons, craters, polar caps and volcanoes featuring images from orbiters and rovers.

 Searching for Life with the James Webb Space Telescope, Bonnie Meinke of Space Telescope Science Institute talks about the search for habitable worlds around our nearest neighbor stars.

 Juno at Jupiter, Gigi Giles, NASA solar system ambassador, discusses the mission to Jupiter.

 From Fire to Ice, Suzy Gurton of Astronomical Society of the Pacific, shares insights on comets and meteor showers.

A complete schedule is available at www.nps.gov/lavo.
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By JENNIFER KAY, Associated Press

MIAMI (AP)  Federal authorities gave final approval Friday to a plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida, but none of the insects will be immediately dispatched in the state's fight against the spread of Zika.

After considering thousands of public comments, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine concluded the proposal from biotech firm Oxitec to release its mosquitoes in an island neighborhood just north of Key West would not significantly affect the environment, according a statement from the agency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency also contributed to the FDA's review. Local officials will hold a nonbinding vote on the proposal for Florida Keys residents in November.

The FDA approval came hours before Florida's Department of Health confirmed a new Zika infection within a 1-square-mile zone encompassing Miami's Wynwood neighborhood. That brings the state's tally of non-travel-related Zika cases to 16, in addition to 351 travel-related infections.

In the Keys, Oxitec would release nonbiting male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes modified with synthetic DNA to produce offspring that die outside a lab.

The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District approached Oxitec after a dengue outbreak in Key West ended in 2010. The district wants new ways to eradicate Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which it considers a significant and expensive threat in the tourism-dependent island chain.

Brazil and the Cayman Islands are releasing Oxitec's insects as part of other mosquito control operations. The company, a subsidiary of Maryland-based Intrexon, also has tested the mosquitoes in Panama.

In separate projects overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Oxitec has tested genetically modified pink bollworms and diamondback moths to fight agricultural pests in the U.S.

Anti-GMO activists have criticized Oxitec for allowing the release of some modified female mosquitoes, which do bite humans. The company has said only a very small number of females are released, and no humans have reported any health problems from their bites.

Oxitec CEO Hadyn Perry said the FDA's approval of the field trial should lead to discussions about fast-tracking releases elsewhere during a public health crisis.

"The pathways that enable emergency use should be looked at because the crisis is here and now, and it would be an awful shame if we looked back in two or three years and say, 'Why didn't we do this?'" Parry remarked in a conference call with reporters.

Oxitec promotes its technology as a chemical-free way to control mosquitoes and reduce the risks of Zika, dengue fever or chikungunya. In Miami this week, the head of the CDC credited aerial pesticide spraying with killing a significant number of mosquitoes in an arts district where Zika was apparently transmitted by insects on the U.S. mainland for the first time.

Zika is mainly spread by mosquitoes, as well as sex. Except for the 16 confirmed cases in the Miami area, the other 1,825 infections reported in the U.S. have been linked to travel to countries in Latin America or the Caribbean with Zika outbreaks.
Jim Schultz/Record Searchlight Sharon Turman could learn Sept. 12 whether she'll be allowed to withdraw her guilty plea in her criminal case.

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By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

The Redding woman accused of leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase in a "Scooby-Doo" Mystery Machine van may learn next month if she'll be allowed to rescind her plea bargain.

Sharon Kay Turman, who remains in Shasta County Jail in lieu of $215,000 bail, is due back in court next month for a legal motion that could possibly scrap her plea deal.

Turman, 51, pleaded guilty in May to felony flight from officers. In exchange, Turman was to be sentenced to no more than two years, eight months in prison. But Redding defense attorney Michael Khoronov says Turman was confused about the terms of the pact. He said Turman apparently believed she would be granted probation and would only face the maximum two-year, eight-month prison sentence if she violated that probation.

The decision whether to void the plea pact rests with Superior Court Judge Cara Beatty, and Turman could learn her decision on Sept. 12.

Turman was originally charged with two counts of evading officers with a disregard for public safety, among other charges, stemming from the March 6 high-speed pursuit.

Additionally, she was charged in a separate case with felony grand theft in connection with the disabling of an expensive GPS ankle bracelet provided to her in February by probation authorities to track her whereabouts. That case was dismissed as a part of the plea bargain but could be resurrected if Turman is allowed to withdraw her guilty plea. In the meantime, she's picked up a misdemeanor battery case.

Police have said Turman was on supervised release for theft and suspected of violating her probation in the deactivation of her ankle monitor when officers spotted her March 6 in her colorfully decorated 1994 Town and Country minivan at California and Shasta streets in downtown Redding.

She reportedly took off in the van when officers tried to pull her over. Turman reportedly later told officers she did not stop out of fear she would be hurt by them.

Officers said she drove at high speeds on South Market Street without any concern for motorists and nearly hit four other vehicles before she abandoned the van, which had run out of gas, on Highway 36 off Bowman Road in northwestern Tehama County.

Turman got away but later turned herself in at the Shasta County Jail on March 16, officials said.
Mike Daly/Special to the Record Searchlight

Redding police question a man in connection to a robbery Tuesday at the Tri Counties Bank in Redding.

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By Alayna Shulman

People keep remarking to Tammy Nelson how the liquor store next-door would have made more sense.

After all, theyre known as targets for holdups.

But Nelson has thought about being robbed by a man with a knife at her Bechelli Lane thrift shop so much in the three weeks since it happened, she now realizes why it was targeted: with the reputation for robberies comes the extra security measures most liquor stores now take to deter the crime, meaning some criminals get creative with their victims.

Easy target, she said of her shop, Tammy Got Stuff? Thrift Store.

After the recent spate of Redding business robberies that included Nelsons, local experts say owners are getting fed up with the precautions it takes to ward them off. Its something thats been happening a while, they say, but the strange string of robberies  including that of Nelsons shop, two banks, a hotel and a Dominos Pizza all just since July  the climate of anxiety among local business owners and employees is not getting any better.

It comes to a point where it can be very frustrating, and a number of our businesses are feeling fatigued by the constant vigilance required, said Jake Mangas, president and chief executive officer of the Redding Chamber of Commerce. Do I...eliminate someone so I can hire private security? Those are real decisions our businesses are having to make.

Thats something Lance Boek of North State Security can attest to.

Boek, the companys president and CEO, said requests for escorts to and from employees cars are at an all-time high for his business, though those arent necessarily just because of potential robberies. The companys also averaging 2.7 calls a day from clients requesting security guards stop by to scare off a suspicious person, and Boek said those calls used to average only about one daily.

I think everybodys much more hypervigilant, Boek said. I cant say it hasnt affected (our business).

Mangas said robberies are even among the key motivators local businesses cite in support of Measures D and E, the twin ballot items the city hopes to use to improve public safety and mental illness services.

The chamber  which Mangas said is in the solutions business  realizes people wont want to visit or start up shop in a town where theyre afraid of crime, he said.

So hes pleased so many people seem to be pushing for change.

Ive been really encouraged by this community rallying around not being satisfied where were at, he said. Were not accepting that this is the new norm.

Still, Mangas  who has a background in social services  noted how the people who commit these crimes shouldnt be demonized either.

It could come down to people needing hope restored in their lives, he said.

Thats how Nelson feels about her robber, Brandon Culmer, 21.

Nelson said Culmer talked to her before the robbery and didnt seem threatening, even revealing a recent personal loss that she said she later found out was true. That moment of connection has made her feel more empathy for Culmer than she ever thought she would.

If he goes to prison, its going go change him, she said of Culmer, who has no past criminal history in Shasta County, according to electronic court records. Hes not going to have a chance at a real life...I dont want to see him throw his life away.

Culmer  whom authorities said was on heroin when the crime happened  has pleaded guilty to robbing Nelson at knifepoint, and he faces a maximum of three years in prison.

While Nelson acknowledges how traumatized she is after the robbery  something Im going to have to live with for the rest of my life  she said its had the strange effect of making her both more aware and more kind.

Pay me back by having a better life, she said. You changed both of our lives forever; repay that by just being a better person.

But she said shes still disturbed by the root problems in town that caused Culmer and the other robbers  only one of whom has been caught  to do what they did.

We have a problem here, she said.

Recent robberies

Tri-Counties Bank

East Cypress in Redding

When: July 19

Defendant: Perry Snell

Outcome: Pleaded no-contest on Aug. 4, will be sentenced Aug. 30 to six months in jail and three years probation.

Interesting fact: Snell took off some of clothes to try to avoid detection by police.

Chase Bank

Cypress Avenue in Redding

When: July 30

Defendant: John Gifford

Outcome: Gifford faces bank robbery charges in Eugene, Oregon. He was arrested in Las Vegas and will eventually be tried in Shasta County.

Interesting fact: Gifford was convicted of robbing a Washington Mutual Bank on Oct. 16 in Redding. His latest arrest in Las Vegas was technically on suspicion of violating his probation from that robbery.

Dominos Pizza

Eureka Way

When: July 30

Suspect: White man, 5 feet 5 inches tall, about 200 pounds with brown hair.

Outcome: Suspect still at large

Interesting fact: He wore a blue bandanna over his nose and mouth.

Big Bend Store

When: July 21

Defendant: Thomas Hardy

Outcome: In Shasta County Jail awaiting court hearings.

Interesting fact: Hardy is accused of beating store owner Doug Wakefield during the robbery attempt.

Ramada Limited Hotel

Twin View Boulevard in Redding

When: July 21

Suspects: Two men. One is white, 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, thin and with brown hair. The other is Asian or Latino, also 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall with a medium build and short, dark hair.

Interesting fact: The robbers forced their way behind the front desk of the hotel to take the cash they walked away with.

Tammy Got Stuff Thrift Store

Bechelli Lane

When: July 19

Defendant: Brandon Culmer

Outcome: Culmer pleaded guilty to robbery and is awaiting sentencing.

Interesting fact: Culmer was high on heroin when he robbed the thrift store.

How to decrease the chance a business will be robbed:

 Increase visibility around a business so robbers have fewer places to lurk.

 Place signs on the outer edges of doors or windows so its easier for people to see whats going on inside.

 Keep the register visible from the outside and so that customers backs are facing the entrance.

 Use low countertops amd wide-angled mirros so employees can see whats going on.

 Greet each customer.

 Place height markings by the door to make it easier to identify a suspect.
Rendering of the proposed Shasta County Courthouse.

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The Court Facilities Advisory Committee is hearing from officials from throughout the state who have new courthouse projects in the works that have been put on hold for lack of funding.

Shasta County will have a representative at the meeting today in San Francisco who will talk about the need for the courthouse project here to move forward in a timely manner.

Earlier this year, the project was halted -- just months before buildings on the block where the new courthouse will be built were to be demolished. A lack of funding from fines and other state resources put that project and others on hold, putting plans to clear the way for the new courthouse in limbo.

Reporter Jim Schultz is monitoring the meeting live and will provide updates via Twitter. You can follow below.
Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Marcos Villalba, right, helps Ali Ben Lanes, 5, go down a slide Wednesday during the Walmart Heart Camp for Life in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

SHARE Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Marcos Villalba, right, helps Ali Ben Lanes, 5, go down a slide Wednesday during the Walmart Heart Camp for Life in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight Emma-Leigh Wilkie, left, and Leif Erickson color Wednesday during the Walmart Heart Camp for Life at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

By Nathan Solis of the Redding Record Searchlight

Landon Touvell, 13, is at a loss for words.

At Camp for Life, Touvell is surrounded by friends and staff he's known since he was 6 years old. He first started attending the retreat for children with terminal illness and developmental disabilities while undergoing chemotherapy.

Touvell is a leukemia survivor and has been cancer-free for about three years. His mother, Christina, said this particular camp is just what he needed while recovering.

"Because it was a time to rest, a place to just relax."

Touvell is bursting with excitement on a warm Wednesday afternoon at Camp for Life.

"It's just awesome. I don't know. It's awesome and everyone is just great to be around," said Touvell.

Camp for Life, held at Whiskeytown's N.E.E.D Camp, is funded through Walmart Heart, a program from Walmart truck drivers and the Missing in America Project.

For the children and families, the camp is a distraction from health concerns. The family members make arts and crafts, swim or if they want they simply rest.

Alicia Gutierrez's son, Malachi, was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect during her pregnancy. Malachi's first surgery was four days after he was born. Now at 12 years old, his mother is sure the camp and Walmart Heart program have made their lives easier.

"It's been challenging. Both financially and health wise, but to be able to have this and not have to travel so far away it has been a blessing," said Gutierrez, who is from Corning.

Walmart employees Tony Ginocchio, Jeanne Burroughs and Missing in America CEO Fred Salanti co-founded Camp for Life several years ago. Throughout the year the three raise funds for the week-long camp in the summer.

This year the camped pulled in about 60 people, a mix of volunteers, children and families.

Burroughs said it is a matter of building strong bonds during the week so that throughout the year the campers have a connection that cannot be broken.

"We always invite families who are undergoing hardships," said Burroughs.

Ginocchio adds, "The children understand each other here and it's where everyone is accepted no matter what."
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Mountain Fire declared contained

Firefighters have fully contained the Mountain Fire which burned 35 acres on Iron Mountain Road near Keswick Dam Road.

Damages are estimated at $2,500 and two firefighters were treated for minor injuries, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation

Cyclist faces criminal charges

A motorcyclist who ended up injured in a ditch is facing criminal charges in connection with a high-speed chase in Trinity County.

The Trinity County Sheriffs Office said in a news release that Ryan Christopher Cookriddle, 32, led deputies on a four-mile chase Saturday evening after a deputy saw him driving recklessly on Big Creek Road north of Highway 3. The deputy tried to pull over Cookriddle, but he would not stop.

The motorcyclist crashed at Big Creek Road and Forest Road 32N23 and ended up in a ditch. The deputys car came to rest dangling over the ditch.

Cookriddle was injured in the crash and flown to a hospital in Redding. He faces charges of evading a police officer, reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

Hearing delayed in shooting

A Redding man accused of two felonies in connection with his July 13 shooting by six police officers saw the criminal case against him delayed Wednesday.

The deputy public defender appointed to represent Patrick Amen, who had been scheduled to have his preliminary hearing Thursday, requested additional time to study the case.

He is charged with assault on a police officer and obstruction-resisting an executive officer.

Amen has pleaded not guilty and is due to return to court Aug. 31.

The shooting occurred in July after Amen allegedly pointed a pellet gun that resembled a real handgun at police near Lawncrest Memorial Park.

Ground Operations to be shown

Veterans interested in a farming career can learn more about what it entails during a screening of the documentary Ground Operations at 6:30 p.m. today in Palo Cedro.

The California Guild and the American Legion Post 214 are sponsoring the free showing of the film that follows returning war veterans who start farming careers.

The California Guild is sponsoring AB 2574, a bill that would provide funds to help veterans start careers in agriculture.

The documentary will be shown at Millville Community Hall, 22037 Old 44 Drive, Palo Cedro.
Shasta County Sheriff's Sgt. Alan Gilman searches for evidence in Novermber, 2007, at the charred home of 54-year-old Christina Diane Stevens who investigators think was murdered.

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By Ryan Sabalow

Secret Witness of Shasta County offers the following rewards in 2007's unsolved murder cases:

Jon Ford ? $28,351.

Walter James ? $10,000.

Christina Stevens ? $10,000.

Tips can be made anonymously to Secret Witness at 243-2319. Anyone with information also can call the Shasta County sheriff's investigations department directly at 245-6135.

This fall marks the second anniversary of two strikingly similar murders in which killers used fire to cover their tracks.

Though Shasta County sheriff's detectives have spent nearly 1,000 hours on the cases and incurred $12,000 in travel expenses flying to three states to pursue evidence, the deaths of Walter Lloyd James and Christina Diane Stevens remain unsolved.

"The hard part for investigators is you know who did it," said Capt. Dave Compomizzo, who has overseen the cases since the beginning.

That conviction has led detectives through a frustrating tangle of dead ends as they've struggled to breach a subculture of Shasta County seldom seen by outsiders, one fueled by violence and riddled with methamphetamine use.

Most informants who know the suspects are mum ? fearing for their safety, or afraid their drug dealers will cut them off.

A close look at the investigation illuminates a violent community within the community, populated by people who move in and out of prison and sometimes attack each other with impunity because no one wants to attract the law's attention.

The Stevens and James cases are a poignant reminder that members of this group aren't afraid to resort to violence to support their habits, Compomizzo said.

"Once you kill, you're not afraid to kill again," he said.

Since the murders, the Record Searchlight has closely followed the investigation, interviewing detectives and reviewing hundreds of pages of search warrant returns, police reports and travel-expense receipts. While much remains unconfirmed, this is what is known.

Fiery crimes

On Aug. 15, 2007, firefighters found a body inside a small travel trailer that had nearly melted to the ground on Bluff Road in the unincorporated Bella Vista area east of Redding.

The trailer belonged to James, a 45-year-old ex-con who was sentenced in 2001 to a six-year stint in prison for cooking methamphetamine and a litany of other methamphetamine-related convictions.

He was part of a group that sold scrap metal to recyclers for extra cash.

Coroner's investigators X-rayed the body to determine that he had been shot in the head with a shotgun.

Nearly four months later, on the afternoon of Nov. 9, 2007, firefighters rushed to a house fire on nearby Old Oregon Trail.

The home belonged to Stevens, a licensed registered nurse who moved from hospital to hospital as part of a traveling nursing program.

She had a sordid past.

Stevens pleaded no contest in November 1996 to transportation or selling of a controlled substance.

The following year, she entered the same plea and was sentenced to 30 days in jail for drug possession. In 2003, she was charged with possessing marijuana, drug paraphernalia and an illegal syringe, but those charges were dropped.

Deputies and drug agents knew the home well; it was a hangout spot for suspects in their drug cases.

Neighbors apparently knew it, too.

They warned firefighters en route to the fire to be careful. They'd long suspected the home was being used for dealing drugs or the site was a meth lab.

Not enough evidence

Firefighters found Stevens' charred body in the back of a pickup truck that had burned along with her home.

As in the James case, investigators believe the fire was intentionally set to cover the killers' tracks and cover up a robbery. But fire investigators were never able to say conclusively what caused the fires, Compomizzo said.

Stevens had been stabbed. Throughout their investigation, detectives sought knives used in the killing.

There also was a blade found with "possible trace evidence" near Stevens' body.

The deaths eventually led Shasta County sheriff's investigators to Alaska, Washington and Oregon in their search for witnesses and clues.

Detectives believe the two murders, though similar, are likely not directly linked to each other.

While investigators have identified several suspects ? all part of the group of suspected methamphetamine users, dealers and cookers in the same area in north Redding and Shasta Lake ? they don't believe the murders were committed by the same people.

However, they're not willing to dismiss the possibility.

The Record Searchlight isn't naming the suspects because they haven't been charged.

Links to violence

In the Stevens case, investigators have largely focused on a group of three men in their 20s who were tied to several home invasion robberies around the same time.

All were prior felons with histories of methamphetamine use. Investigators suspect they had been robbing drug dealers, who made an attractive ? if high-stakes ? target because they were unlikely to call police.

Eventually, the trio was arrested after robbing two men at gunpoint, one in Redding and one in Shasta Lake.

The men in those robberies weren't drug dealers, and they weren't afraid to call authorities after the men broke into their homes, shoved pistols or sawed-off shotguns in their faces and took cash and electronics.

One of the suspects in the robberies fled to Bremerton, Wash., where he was arrested after leading police there on a chase.

Later, a Shasta County informant who knew the fugitive told investigators that the suspect who fled to Washington bragged to him about robbing drug dealers. The informant also was able identify an item stolen from Stevens' home, which detectives later found after the fugitive sold it at a Redding pawnshop.

Detective Sgt. John Hubbard said he's been one of the few who knew the suspects willing to talk.

"They all have information, but nobody wants to be a rat," he said.

Three of the robbery suspects have since accepted plea bargains in two of the robbery cases. They're each in High Desert State Prison in Susanville serving multi-year sentences.

The suspects in the James murder, however, remain free.

Easily defended

That investigation has centered on two roommates in their 30s and 40s from north Redding who were last seen with James, their one-time friend.

After the killing, investigators learned that the two men had James' cell phone, keys and truck.

They were immediately contacted by detectives, who tried to interview them.

One of the men refused to speak with investigators without an attorney present. The other stormed out of the interview room. The men weren't charged in the apparent robbery because the only witness, James, was dead.

"Even if we did charge them, it would only be a misdemeanor," Hubbard said. "We're looking at a murder case here."

Last year, search warrants stemming from an unrelated Redding Police Department investigation centering on allegations of counterfeiting led detectives to a binder in the two men's home.

Inside the binder, detectives found a stack of newspaper clippings about the James murder as well as printed pages from a Web site that detailed how detectives conduct arson investigations.

Though the evidence appeared to link the men to James' murder, it could readily be defended in court, said detective Lisa Shearman.

"I wish it was that easy," Shearman said.

Those two suspects were never charged in the counterfeiting case, either, because of lack of evidence, said Eric Little, a Redding police investigator.

Despite the apparent investigative roadblocks, Shasta County sheriff's investigators say both cases are still actively being investigated, with tips still coming in as recently as last week.

And, even as the cold cases grow ever colder, detectives hold out hope that they'll find new evidence or a tipster will come forward to conclusively link suspects to the murders.

"I believe we're getting closer," Hubbard said.

Sheriff Tom Bosenko said that, regardless of the investigations' progress, the murders should serve as a reminder that the county's underworld is as active as ever.

And the methamphetamine-charged deaths likewise serve as a warning, one better than any catchy no-on-drugs slogan.

"It takes a person's conscience away," Bosenko said. "They'll do anything for that next fix."

Reporter Ryan Sabalow can be reached at 225-8344 or at rsabalow@redding.com.

Rewards go unclaimed in Shasta County murders
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Slow down, buckle up and take special care around fighting family members.

Sounds like wisdom a parent might bestow. But, in layman's terms, those are the recommendations of a new study of law enforcement deaths while on duty.

In short, police will be more likely to return home safely after their shifts if more of them wear seat belts, take more care when racing to high-priority calls, wear their issued body armor and remember that calls involving domestic disturbances are often the most dangerous.

The release of the report by the U.S. Justice Department is well timed. It provides a striking counterbalance to a lot of rhetoric of late that aims to compel the public to choose sides between protecting blue lives and black lives  as if we can't do both.

The report, "Deadly Calls and Fatal Encounters," was being finalized as the nation reeled from the July ambush murders of five police officers in Dallas, followed by three more officers shot and killed by yet another deranged man in Baton Rouge, La.

Those murders understandably piqued fears for the lives of law enforcement. But some advocates of "law and order" have overreached, falsely accusing the Black Lives Matter movement of stoking violence against police.

There are tensions between citizens and police in low-income communities across the nation where homicide rates are high and police presence is heavy. But they have existed for years. That's the point. The protests  even the most outrageous ones that brought vandalism, looting and police lines being pelted with bottles and rocks  weren't the result of one incident. They are the result of cumulative outrage.

And it's patently unfair to decide that the many voices involved in the Black Lives Matter movement  and they are widely varied  can be blamed for all of the dangers to law enforcement.

The report illustrates that many of the fatal dangers for police are not easily categorized. The report emphasizes that "no call is routine," and complacency can result in an officer's death. But there is much that can be done to alleviate their risks.

Analyzing 684 deaths of officers between 2010 and 2014, the report dug deep into the circumstances, finding parallels in the types of calls, what information was available to officers and how they responded.

Traffic accidents took the most police lives by far, accounting for 272 deaths. When police officers were shot and killed, most often it was in dealing with a domestic dispute. Often police officers died when answering calls alone, not waiting for backup or when pertinent information about the suspect being armed was not relayed to them. That finding calls for better training, coordination with dispatch operators and changes to the ways information is disseminated by radio, tablets and computers in patrol cars.

Ninety-one officers were killed while responding to a call for service, such as 911. Forty-one died in self-initiated calls, including cases where an officer made an investigatory traffic stop. An additional 134 officers were shot while not responding to a call. Those deaths included officers being ambushed in unprovoked attacks and those killed while serving a warrant, during tactical operations or while doing follow-up investigations.

Interestingly, semi-automatic weapons aren't the firearms that most often take officer's lives. In 71 percent of the cases studied, the officers died by a handgun. That makes sense. Handguns are popular in many an American home, which relates back to the domestic disturbance-related deaths. Yet in 21 percent of the deaths studied, officers were shot by high-powered rifles, leading to recommendations for body armor and possibly ballistic panels for patrol cars.

When it comes to shootings of police officers or by them, we're increasingly being fed polarizing narratives: the police as prejudiced and above the law vs. the police as heroes with targets on their backs.

Reality is much more complex, and to come to grips with it we need access to the facts. Better data exist for cases in which officers killed in the line of duty than for cases of officers shooting civilians. The FBI is the clearinghouse for the latter cases, but law enforcement agencies don't always report up the line.

As much as people like to argue that their feelings and perspectives matter, facts will bring us together to solve the problems of police violence. Better data, and reports that take the time to drill down into those data, are necessary. It's the only way to spot problems and correct them.

After all, the goal of a civil society ought to be for citizen and officer to return safely to their homes at night.

Email Mary Sanchez at msanchez@kcstar.com.
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In early June, the California Supreme Court voted 6-1 to overturn a trial court decision and allow Gov. Jerry Brown to modify a ballot measure that originally focused on juvenile justice reform to include a constitutional amendment requiring sweeping changes in how parole decisions are made for those convicted of "nonviolent" felony crimes.

This allowed the governor to place before voters in November a measure  now identified as Proposition 57  that had not undergone the normal initial reviews by the Legislative Analyst's Office, the state Department of Finance and numerous interested parties and citizens.

In dissent, Justice Ming W. Chin said this decision made the public review process "meaningless." He faulted his colleagues for saying the change was acceptable because of a 2014 law meant to improve how direct democracy works by allowing proponents to identify and fix flaws in their measures after they had been introduced. Chin noted that what Brown sought  a constitutional amendment that affected all inmates, not just juveniles  could not remotely be characterized as fixing a flaw.

"The Legislature wanted to improve the final product," he wrote. "It wanted to permit the public to point out obvious, and not so obvious, flaws in a measure's drafting so the proponents could correct those flaws before the measure was irrevocably placed on the ballot."

Two months later, Chin's warning about the dangers of the judicial version of the process lawmakers call "gut and amend" has proven eerily prescient. This week, the Brown administration finally confirmed  to Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters  that the California District Attorneys Association was right and that Proposition 57 would classify several types of sex crimes, including the rape of an unconscious person, as nonviolent.

This admission comes just as state lawmakers are working to pass AB 29, mandating that those convicted of that crime must serve a full sentence without exception. The bill was prompted by the furor over the light sentence that Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky gave to former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner in early June for his January 2015 sexual assault of a student who had passed out.

We strongly support Brown's interest in reforming a criminal justice system that locks up too many people for too long at too high a cost, both in public funds and in human casualties. We focus too much on retribution and not nearly enough on rehabilitation. We throw away salvageable lives.

But in using a process meant to correct flaws in ballot measures to introduce instead a flawed revision, the governor has made a startling and unforgivable mistake.

Brown has plenty of company. There are the six justices on the state Supreme Court who enabled him: Carol A. Corrigan (author of the majority opinion), Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, Goodwin H. Liu, Leondra R. Kruger, Kathryn M. Werdegar and Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye.

There is also Attorney General Kamala Harris. She has approved a ballot label and a ballot title and summary for Proposition 57 that includes the claim that it only applies to nonviolent felons. We doubt Brock Turner's victim agrees that what he did was nonviolent.

What a debacle. Californians deserve better from their leaders.

This editorial originally was published in The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Rajan said whatever answer he gives on Modi will be 'problematic'

Reserve Bank's outgoing governor Raghuram Rajan, whose outspoken views have often been seen as being critical of the government, feels whatever he will say on Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be "problematic".

Rajan, whose tenure at RBI has been marked with several controversies triggered by his comments on issues ranging from tolerance debate to the government's flagship programme 'Make in India', was asked to describe Modi in a televised rapid-fire like interview with BBC.

"I think I will pass on that question. Whatever answer I give will be problematic, so I will just pass," said the on-leave professor of finance at Chicago University, who will return to academia after end of his three-year term at RBI on September 4.

After his decision to return back to academia, there have been voices suggesting that his candid public speeches were one of the aspects which made the government uncomfortable about reappointing Rajan for another term.

Some of the controversial speeches made by him include the one where he quoted American political philosopher Francis Fukuyama to question whether strong governments can really help a country or in defence of tolerance in the middle of a debate started by the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of storing beef, or questioning the premise of the high-octane 'Make in India' campaign.

Rajan, a former chief economist, International Monetary Fund, also ruled out joining politics.

"I think that is one place where my wife overrides everything and her answer is 'no'," he said on joining politics.

Asked how he feels about being on the list of India's 'most desirable men', the 53-year-old governor quipped: "I wish they had done it when I was 25."

Rajan described himself as a "boring guy" and said he being described as 'Rockstar Banker' is an "overblown" statement.

In an earlier TV interview, Rajan had said he was open to staying a bit longer at RBI to complete the unfinished work of bank clean-up, but was perfectly happy to go.

Rajan, who announced in June that he would not serve another term at RBI, said the dialogue with the government did not reach a stage where he could have agreed to stay on.

In recent months, Rajan has faced a slew of personal attacks from BJP MP Subramanian Swamy who had alleged that the former IMF chief economist was "mentally not fully Indian" and sent confidential and sensitive financial information abroad.

Rajan has also faced criticism by some others for his controversial remarks on various occasions. At a select media interaction earlier this week after presenting his last monetary policy, he strongly defended his views saying they were "perfectly legitimate" ones and within the remit of a central bank head.

"In none of those speeches that I have made has there been an explicit criticism or an implicit criticism of the government. There are people who read the interpretation of what is the speech I have given," he said.

Rajan said his concerns on the Make in India campaign -- wherein he had pitched for 'Make for India' given the fragile economic conditions the world-over -- have come true.

In case of the post-Dadri speech at his alma mater IIT-Delhi, Rajan had reiterated the need to be open for ideas as a service-sector driven economy.

Defending these views, Rajan said, "That speech was about the fact that in order to grow as a country which is largely a service economy, we have to be open to ideas. Once you reach the frontier, the only way you can grow is by ideas. And in order to get those ideas, you have to have tolerance for unorthodox ideas because those unorthodox ideas are how we move forward."

"As a society which is developing, which in some places is near the frontier, we have to have an open dialogue," Rajan added.

"I haven't in a sense talked about (things like) dance and music. That would be exceeding my remit," he quipped.

Photograph: PTI Photo
He also pointed out that the home ministry was neither consulted, nor did it give the necessary security clearance

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy has raised strong objections to a majority stake for private entities in the company formed during the United Progressive Alliance government to manage and control the accounting and collection of goods and services tax and has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that it is replaced by a government-owned structure.

In a letter to Modi, Swamy asked him to subject Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) to a "close second look" and "thorough scrutiny", questioning how a private entitity can be allowed access to "sensitive" information without security clearance.

Referring to ownership details of the GSTN company, that will manage and control the accounting and tax collection of GST, he said central and state governments will jointly have only 49 per cent stake in it and rest with private entities like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and LIC Housing Finance Limited, that have foreign shareholding.

Alleging that GSTN has "appropriated" around Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) in expenses and fees for its preliminary exercises, he asked why "private profit making entities have any stake, and that too majority stake" in a Section 25 company, which is a not-for-profit organisation.

"The most significant player it is obvious, in this tax collection effort should be the one who generates data collection. In this case, that would be the central and state governments.

"Everything else such as adjusting the percentage of GST for various states are just a matter of programming, which could be done by the government itself through its Department of Electronics. After all, government has already codified Income Tax. Nothing can be more complicated than that!" Swamy said in his letter to Modi.

He also pointed out that the home ministry was neither consulted, nor did it give the necessary security clearance to allow them access to tax data.

"In fact that it was never placed before home ministry for security clearance is shocking," he said.

"There is still time to put the right government owned structure in place. Meantime GSTN has appropriated nearly Rs 4000 crore in expenses and fees for its preliminary exercises. Hence, I urge you to subject GSTN to a close second look and thorough scrutiny," Swamy, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, said in his letter.

The BJP leader noted that GST has a long way to go and only necessary constitutional amendments have been passed in Parliament. States have to come on board and the final Bill needs to be drafted and agreed to be made into law.

"Adequate security has to be established to ensure that this data does not fall in the wrong hands," he said.

The BJP leader said as of January 31, 2016, the Centre and state governments have in GSTN only 49 per cent of the shares. Being a Section 25 company, GSTN is a not-for-profit organisation.

"Then why should private profit making entities have any stake, and that too majority stake in it? What is in it for them?" he asked.

Swamy said implementing GST scheme requires constitutional amendments and then only the GST administration and tax management company would be by GSTN.

"All data management for computation of tax share, will be by GSTN. That is, the finance ministry in 2013 took this decision to outsource such confidential assessment and activity, to the private sector.

"It was a swift and secret move in 2013 to float this company with 51 per cent private shares," he pointed out.

Swamy also claimed that a close look at the private partners reveals that entities such as the HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and LIC Housing Finance Limited have shareholding of several foreign investment companies.

He said in LIC Housing Finance Limited, of 59 per cent private shares, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Bank of Muscat, Mawer International Equity Fund, lClCl Prudential are the major private shareholders.

"The 10 pc share of NSE company is ominous," he said and questioned the credentials of the firm.He also said that tax administration is a matter that deals with sensitive private information and being such a large shareholder, this automatically means that HDFC and ICICI will be bankers of public money collected through taxes.

"Thus a large amount of money will pass through these banks," he claimed.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates with an estimated fortune of $78 billion heads the list

Wipro chairman Azim Premji and HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar (bottom) are the only two billionaires from India in Forbes' list of the world's 100 richest people in technology, ranking in the top 20 ahead of Google boss Eric Schmidt and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.

The '100 Richest Tech Billionaires In The World 2016' list is topped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates (bottom) with an estimated fortune of $78 billion.

Premji ranks 13th on the list with a networth of $16 billion and Nadar comes in at the 17th spot with $11.6 billion of net worth. Two Indian-American technology czars Symphony Technology Group CEO Romesh Wadhwani (bottom) and founders of IT consulting and outsourcing company Syntel Bharat Desai and his wife Neerja Sethi are also on the list.

Forbes said Premji, who heads India's third-largest outsourcer Wipro, has been on a buying spree in the past year to boost growth. Premji's son Rishad, who heads strategy and sits on the board, also oversees Wipro's $100 million venture capital fund.

Nadar co-founded HCL, which is reportedly mulling a US listing, Forbes said adding that Nadar also owns HCL TalentCare, a skills-development firm that provides training to new graduates. His latest venture is a $500 million fund to invest in startups and US healthcare tech firms.

Wadhwani is at 67th position with $3 billion net worth. A recipient of the 2013 Forbes India Non-Resident Philanthropist Award, Wadhwani announced in 2015 that he plans to commit up to $1 billion to fund entrepreneurship initiatives in India.

Forbes said despite a tumultuous year for the stock market, "it was a good time to be a tech billionaire".

The titans on Forbes' second annual list of the world's richest in technology are worth a combined $892 billion, six per cent more than a year ago. Just over half of the 100 richest in tech are from the US, including eight of the top 10 richest on the list.

China has the second highest number of tech tycoons, with 19 people worth a combined $132.7 billion. The richest Chinese member is Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who is on the 8th spot and has an estimated net worth of $25.8 billion.

Canada has five tech billionaires and Germany has four.

Forbes said the second richest person in tech Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos (bottom) is also the biggest gainer on the list this year and has an estimated $66.2 billion fortune, an increase of $18.4 billion since this list was released last year. That puts him ahead of Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, who comes in on the 4th spot.

Ellison was also beaten by Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg (bottom), who climbed from fourth to third place thanks to a 30 per cent jump in the value of Facebook's stock; he is now also California's richest person, another title that previously belonged to Ellison.

Only five women rank among the world's 100 richest in tech, including Zhou Qunfei on the 33rd spot. She became a billionaire in 2015 after Lens Technology's IPO, and has a net worth of $6.4 billion.

America's richest self-made woman in tech is health care software firm Epic Systems founder and CEO Judy Faulkner (bottom), who has a net worth of $2.7 billion and is ranked 79th. The only other American woman on the list is Hewlett-Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman, who has a net worth of $2.2 billion. She ranks 93rd.

These 100 billionaires have an average age of 53, a decade younger than the average age of the entire 2016 Forbes Billionaires List.

Photographs: PTI Photo, Reuters, Getty Images
Savji Dholakia, the diamond magnate who sent away his son Dravya to Kerala to gain a 'hands-on' life experience, likes to do things the hard way, discovers Sohini Das.

IMAGE: Savji Dholakia is the founder, chairman of Hari Krishna Exports Pvt Ltd. Photograph: Kind courtesy JatinChadha777/Wikimedia Commons

On a sultry afternoon in June, a 21-year-old youth from a south Gujarat city was found scouting for a job in the Aluva area of Kochi.

Though there has been an influx of casual workers from Bihar and West Bengal, and non-Malayalam speakers no longer generate curiosity, what aroused the suspicion of shopkeepers was that the man did not have a cell phone. Who didn't carry one in this day and age?

Moreover, he did not look at all like a farmer's son who he was claiming to be. He was a little hesitant asking for work , lacking the practised ease of a habitual job seeker.

That's because Dravya Dholakia, the son of a Surat diamond magnate and billionaire, never had to ask for work in his life.

It took him four days to land a job at a hotel in Waitala called Aarya in its bakery section. The next day he was transferred to another branch at Cheranelu where he worked for over a week.

Surat diamond magnate Savji Dholakia had shot into fame about ago years back when he had given nearly 1,200 employees lavish Diwali bonuses: Cars, apartments and jewellery.

This time he is back in the headlines for sending his son for a "hands-on" life experience to Kochi for a month, armed with just "bare essentials" and Rs 7,000 as emergency cash.

"The best training one can get is to learn on the job, but today nobody is keen to go through the grind," says Dholakia sitting in his sprawling office on Pal-Hazira road off Surat.

The architectural glass wall on his left throws up a wonderful view of a water body with ducks swimming lazily. About 20-odd Hari Krishna Exports-branded stylish bicycles are parked by the entrance for the employees to use them when they need to go about the multi-acre campus.

Dholakia Sr sure did go through the grind: He had come to Surat at the tender age of 13 and managed to build a Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) business empire from scratch.

"I was staying at a relative's place in Surat and made Rs 179 in the first month at a diamond polishing unit. I spent Rs 140 that month and saved Rs 39," he says. "I clearly remember the happiness those paltry savings had given me: it is nothing less than how I feel today."

IMAGE: Dravya Dholakia, a billionaire's son, works at a small shop in Kochi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Savji Dholakia/Facebook

It has been a tradition in the Dholakia family, which is known to be a great employer in Surat diamond circles (Savji is fondly referred to by everyone as Savji Kaka), to banish their youngsters into exile for a month.

The family firmly feels that it is important to know the worth of every penny earned and value the privileges they seem to take for granted.

Back in 2004, three of Dravya's first cousins, Pintu, Rajesh and Dharmesh, went to Jaipur, Vadodara and Pune, respectively, for a month.

Dravya (his name could either mean any thing in a fluid state or money) seems quite malleable.

While his mother had her apprehensions about his going to a southern town where language and food were a challenge, the father decided to press on with the plan.

"I would complain about food being too spicy at home. But in Kochi I would be glad when I would get to eat a full meal at the end of the day," recounts Dravya.

The tall youngster does not have any airs about him and talks softly.

He pauses whenever his father joins in to add notes to his experience.

One Hari Krishna executive adds that when the team went to pick up Dravya from Kochi and visited the places he had worked at, they could spot a natural camaraderie with his co-workers even before his identity was disclosed. Dholakia feels that is his son's true "report-card."

Has this taught him the value of money? For the moment, yes. "Just the other day, I could not pay Rs 40 for a bottle of water at one of these eateries. I decided to wait till we reached a small shop where I could buy a bottle for Rs 10," he announces proudly.

His father too is beaming. "It is not important what he has learnt in the past month, but now time will tell how he puts these lessons to use for the rest of his life," says the senior Dholakia.

His speech is interrupted as a pouch of polished diamonds emerges out of a vacuum suction tube and lands on a fluffy red pillow right behind his desk.

Hari Krishna Exports manufactures almost 40,000 carats of diamonds every month and over 500,000 carats in a year.

The journey this far has not been easy.

Savji Dholakia had started with a seed capital of Rs 3,900 borrowed from his father in the 1980s, and just one diamond cutting and polishing machine.

He then joined with two others and with Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 billion) they set sail for Belgium in 1987 to buy rough diamonds. Luck was on their side: They made a profit of Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) in the very first year itself.

There has been no turning back since. But even today, Savji refuses to call his initial days a "struggle". "I enjoyed every bit of my journey, never felt scared or sad. It is the same difference between going hungry (bhookha) and observing a fast (upvaas). There is no physical difference between the two, it is the state of the mind that changes the perspective," he says.

He now wants his son to enjoy his journey and the only way he can do that is by starting off knowing the worth of the material pleasures that have come naturally to him in his well-appointed house by the riverside in Surat.

The 11-storey house by the river Tapi in Surat is home to a large family of uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces. Each brother of Savji has a floor to himself, about 14,000 sq ft.

Dravya says he has returned with a rich cache of experiences.

Rejection by an Adidas showroom manager (he was not smiling while attending to customers) in Kochi taught him how not to treat his colleagues. "The senior manager tried to talk to me and understand why I was stressed. But the junior manager just sacked me. I am going to be more compassionate when I deal with our employees."

Joblessness and two more days of hunting led him to a bus stop banner advertisement of a business process outsourcing outfit in HMT Colony.

He landed a night-shift job of selling a solar campaign to US home-owners to reduce their electricity bills.

Dravya's brief was not to stick to one job for long. Therefore, a week later he was out on the streets again, looking for another job. This time he managed to land one with McDonald's that would pay him Rs 30 an hour. He did not need to join the quick service joint though, as a team from Hari Krishna arrived at Kochi to pick him up.

The next day went in revisiting the people he had met during his journey and distributing presents.

Besides shock and awe, Dravya recounts, "Everyone started addressing me as 'sir'. Is it the person you respect or his money?"

Lesson well learnt, it seems.